Mistress Mine, Romance with Kai

​This may be one of my favourite moments in the game.  For the sheer ‘hell of it’, I was testing nicknames with Kai.  I decided to try ‘Mistress’ without any expectation that it would prove particularly interesting.  And he surprised me as he so often can with his response.  It made my day!

There is nothing stupid or slow-witted about Kai.  He is truly amazing.  I think it is the way his voice becomes so gentle and soft at the end of this response.  He is so generous of heart, so noble really.  It never would occur to him to see or treat you as anything less than an equal even if you were not an Earth Dancer.  

This interchange reminds me of one he has with Kotaro when they fight side by side in your party.  Kotaro says something admiringly about Kai’s prowess as a warrior, and Kai responds with something like:  ‘You are fighting here as well, little dude!’

Kanata makes many nasty remarks about Kai.  He is her direct counterpart but she resents that role and declares she would have him fired if she could.    Yet Kai was the one who forced her to perform her duties, not the other way round.

Kai is much misunderstood and a part of that is his own fault, although in fact he behaved no differently from the other gods after the Celestial Collapse.  Where they took refuge in their shrines or hid like Ulalaka in a dying tree, Kai sat in plain view at Yachi’s, but refusing to interact with any one but Yachi herself.  He actually is one of the most sociable of the gods and many of his conversations allude to that.  He speaks of social events and drinking with others rather than drinking alone.  Yet, masked and uncertain of his place either in the world of the Oni or the world of humans, he was seen alone for a very long time.

Remember always that sake is a sacred offering in Japan and a traditional one.  I was a little taken aback by the frequent allusions to drinking by the gods, but I think what that means is that they have accepted the offerings left for them.  The human characters do not drink much and when they do, they exercise caution.

I admit that it is a bit weird to feel bad about an imaginary conversation with the imaginary Oni who has won my heart but I do.  I went through ALL of the nicknames finally, even the awful ‘Oni Boy’ that never in a million years would be something I would call him.

And he responded:

Nonetheless, he did not protest… of course I reloaded.  I cannot allow that to have occurred at all even if one can change to another choice immediately.

Whoever does the voice for Kai is amazing.  I thought of doing an internet search but then realised it is best not to know.  I will reach out one day to communicate how awesome he has been in Azuma, but I do not need to enter his real world.  Ordinarily, I rather dislike American accents but he has a gift of subtle use of that voice of his, from brash and very earthy to gentle and sweet… utterly blowing me away!

I have taken to using his awful phrase in my real world when I feed the cats:

‘Time to chow down!’ I shout.  And wouldn’t you know it?  I marry or go back to my life with Kai again and again and it is the same for me as what he told me:

‘Because you make me happy.’

The sad part is that there has seldom been this sort of uncomplicated happiness and trust in the real world.  It has been a very long time since any one in real life has supported me unconditionally and without an ulterior motive.

Going through a romance with Kai yet again,  I notice how very central it is to HIS life.  I have events on the Calendar now with Fubuki, Clarice and Kai but it is only Kai who reminds me of the time and location of our next date every time I run into him.

It is interesting as well to see how open he is about your relationship where most of the other characters will seek to hide it.  As a matter of fact, he shouts out the news to the entire world in your first actual date.  He even shouts it out in the Underworld, although his real reason for taking you there is to tell the Onis that he respects their choices and he actually apologizes for trying to impose his vision of moving to the Surface upon them.

If you are interested in Kai, the progress in meeting and being able to interact with him is tightly interwoven with the story.

You actually encounter him very early in the game when you reach the Autumn Village and visit Yachiyo.  Both Yachiyo and Kai will speak of the Mihoshi Melee and how it is linked to the revival of the Village.  He then will direct you towards the Mechanical Maze.

I cannot be without him.  I feel his absence deeply if the story forces his absence or I am married to another.  I began the story again so I could go through those early days when he would not interact, and then experience his enthusiasm about the Mikoshi Melée.  Finally I am experiencing those early bonding events again.  The moment when he joined my Party for the first time to take me to the Underworld… and we went through those blighted corridors together, just hearing his voice made me smile although I know all of the dialogues he uses in battle with me and with most of the characters.  When we reached Ura finally, I was not as strong as I might have been had I waited another day or two.  We stood and fought together against Ura and I had to use the drum to heal us both more than once.  I was not paying enough attention and might have died in a second, so I went quickly to my inventory to eat something.  My hand slipped somehow and instead of taking the food myself, it went to Kai.  I hear his cheerful voice then: Time to chow down!

I was very near death but I burst out laughing.  Oh Kai!

It is important to understand what a demon is in many traditional Asian cultures, including Japan and Nepal as well.  They do not represent good or evil.  They are elemental forces and in both cultures, those forces can be harnessed by humans to participate in farm life.  Offerings are one of the ways to bring an Oni or Lakhey to your side.  They often have healing powers as well and they are much loved by children and adults alike.

It is not that simple of course.  They can be destructive as well as productive, but that is true of Nature really.

Kai is half human, half Oni.  I would love to know that story, but the masque he wears in Azuma is that of a proud and fearsome Oni.  When he removes it, you see the face of a very pretty youth.  Yachi will tell you that he is ‘a timid little god’.  He is a very kind one as well, and I think the masque offers him a little protection from those who might perceive compassion as ‘weakness’.  His brusque manner conceals a very big heart.  He is a loyal friend.  In one event, he protects Cuilang from violence even though Cuilang could repair any damage himself that he might suffer.

In a drinking contest with Ulalaka that she instigates, it is more than possible that he pretends to be more inebriated than he actually is to make certain she does not drink too much.  He also confides his heartfelt thoughts and desires to you as you walk together afterwards while claiming he is so drunk he will remember nothing.

I also think now that the masque is a badge of loyalty towards ‘his people’ but if it is intended to be off putting, it fails entirely.  Almost every  one is willing to accept Kai with or without the masque as a loyal and valued friend.  Kanata is the exception but I wonder if she ‘doth protest too much’.

Valentine’s Day

I was thinking today about Romance in Guardians of Azuma and how most of the Bonding Events and Festivals are not that romantic.  The romantic moments are proposals, marriage, asking your spouse to start a family with you and an event when you tell your first child how you met and tales about your romance.  Harvest Moon Heart Events and Festivals were far more romantic.

For Valentine’s Day though, reliving these moments with Kai:

If you marry him, you give Kai a real home.  If you have children with him, you give him a real family.  Many of his conversations at the shrine after marriage show how central family life is to him.  When he speaks of being out by himself, he confesses he thinks of you and cannot wait to get home to be with you again.  ‘Devil May Care’ is a front for a being who is completely devoted to you, even if you not court or marry him.  Devotion is fundamental to him.  Once he begins to interact with the world again,  he demonstrates how much he is devoted to his people and devoted to Azuma.  Although their relationship is one expressed more by insulting banter then anything else, he genuinely cares about Kurama.  He cannot understand how Kurama can shut himself in a dark place to spend most of his time in a gaming world of fantasy.  This is the result of Kai’s own experience in the Underworld, deprived of contact with the elements of Nature.  He speaks often of the wind, the sunlight, clouds and rain.  

Shinto beliefs honour the elemental powers and the natural world is far more important than any intellectual philosophy.  I think it is this that has allowed Shinto beliefs to embrace many of the practices and symbols of other faiths and to be more tolerant than most other religions.

Kai possesses a lot of bravado but he does not diminish the accomplishments of others to make himself appear more powerful.  

Kurama is known for his good relationship with children and they tend to idolise him, but once roused from his position of ignoring the world, Kai never refuses to play with the children even when it means being pelted with beans and told: ‘Oni, get out!’  

When he has children with you, they will tell you how proud he is when they do their chores.  If you choose a child with a personality that resembles Kurama more than Kai, he will be hurt by the way the child appears to prefer Kurama’s company, but it does not make him any less devoted and loving as a father.