Onishi Rini

Onishi Rini is one of the main characters in *Beneath the Sugar Sky*.

## Appearance

Rini's fashion sense is described as that of a drunken mockingbird, attracted to brightly coloured and shiny things. When she is first introduced, she's wearing an electric pink dress made of layered cake. After this is dissolved in pond water, Kade gives her a rainbow sundress, a pair of mismatching slippers, and some hair ribbons from the group wardrobe.

Cora says that she's tall and thin, and that she looks around 17. Christopher say that she looks like Sumi, if Sumi was "older, and taller, and hotter." She has orange eyes with a thin ring of white outside the irises and a thin ring of orange around the pupils, which resemble candy corn.

## Personality

Rini is just as wild and nonsensical as her Mother; she doesn't quite understand logic and is terrified of the idea of being still. She is quite bold and stubborn, and rarely ashamed of herself. She also loves her family quite dearly: she hugs her Father instantly upon seeing him, and cries at the prospect of being reunited with her Mother.

## History

### Before the Books

Rini was conceived by Ponder and Sumi before the candy corn harvest, the year after Sumi's defeat of the Queen of Cakes. She was raised by them at the Candy Corn Farms.

When she was a child, before she started school, she knew a boy who was the son of fudge farmers and hated chocolate and nonsense. The day they started school, he disappeared, and his parents said that he'd found his door. Around this time, a new Baker arrived as well.

Sumi eventually disappeared, and the Queen of Cakes returned, as Sumi was killed on Earth before she could return. Rini started to disappear, too, and went to the Fondant Wizard, trading two seasons of her share of the harvest for a bracelet that could take her to any world so long as there was sugar and she knew who she was looking for. She ate one of the beads, transporting her to Reality.

### Beneath the Sugar Sky

After transporting to Earth, Rini crashes into the turtle pond at the back of Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. Upon seeing Cora and Nadya, she demands that they take her to her Mother. When Nadya says that Sumi is dead, Rini throws a turtle at her head. Cora leaves, fetching Kade and Christopher, and upon her return, Rini's candy dress has dissolved in the pond, and she is now naked. After showing them that she was disappearing- two of her fingers had vanished- Kade gives her a dress and takes her to Eleanor. Rini explains the situation, and is confused at why they can't just tell Sumi to stop being dead. She also shows them her bracelet, and Kade is upset at her for not coming for her Mother sooner.

Christopher has the idea to collect Sumi's skeleton, return her hands to her, and then go to the Halls of the Dead to find her soul. Kade takes them all on a roadtrip in the school minivan, and Rini keeps unfastening the seatbelt, not liking the way it pinched. When they get to the graveyard, Rini is fascinated by the stars, as they don't have them in Confection. Christopher plays his bone-pipe and summons Sumi's skeleton, and Rini is shocked to discover that her Mother truly is dead. After they return her Mother's hands, Rini tells them that she can get them to the Halls of the Dead if it has sugar and if she knows who she's looking for. Kade, Nadya and Christopher describe Nancy to her, and then Kade tells her about the red sugar they mix with pomegranate juice. Rini eats a bead and opens a door to the Halls of the Dead, leading the group inside.

As they walk through the Halls, Sumi's skeleton stays close to Rini, who is uncomfortable with this. The group encounters the Lady of Shadows, who agrees to take them to Nancy. They walk through a hall of statues, which terrifies Rini, who hates to stand still. Kade explains that this was not their world, and Rini remembers a boy from her childhood who didn't like candy or nonsense, and one day disappeared, and his parents said that he'd found his door. Kade explains that he and Sumi had been born in the wrong worlds, while Rini had been born in the right one.

The group enters the throne room, and sees Nancy, who is working as a statue. Once she is given permission to move, Nancy greets them, and is shocked to find out that Sumi has a daughter. She agrees to take them to the room of souls, and once there, Christopher summons Sumi's ghost. However, Rini is horrified to see her looking too logical, and Nancy explains that her ghost is only a shadow of who she once was, and they will still need to find her Heart. Before they can leave, however, the Lord of the Dead arrives, saying that if they want Sumi's shade, they have to trade one of theirs. After Nadya agrees to stay, the Lord of the Dead tells the travelers that Sumi's Nonsense is in Confection, so Rini takes the group there.

The travelers land in the Strawberry Sea, where Christopher almost drowns. Rini is horrified at the idea of drowning, as that doesn't happen in Confection. The group then heads towards Rini's home, as Rini explains more of Confection's history and structure. The Queen of Cakes's army then arrives, arresting them and dragging them to the castle. Rini tries to argue with the guards that the world should be unruled, but they slap her to shut her up.

The travelers are brought before the Queen, who revels in the idea that Rini is disappearing. Cora deduces that the Queen was a traveler, and when the group refuses to tell her how they made Sumi a Shade, she pulls out Christopher's bone flute. Christopher attacks her before being dragged back, and the Queen orders her guards to take the travelers away, while leaving Sumi with her.

Upon being imprisoned, Rini loses hope, thinking that she'll eventually waste away into nothing while the Queen rules over Confection. However, Cora comes up with a plan to escape and manages to bring two guards into the cell. Kade knocks one out, and Rini grabs the other, offering to watch him, and try to figure out where he's supposed to be (as, since the Queen is supposed to be dead, he was supposed to be somewhere else). When Kade and Cora return, Rini helps them tie up the Queen, though her left eye has already vanished. The travelers then leave, heading for Rini's farm.

Upon reaching the farm, Rini rushes over, dragging Sumi's shade along with her. She believes that her Father will have the answer to where her Mother's Nonsense is, and is disappointed and sad when he reveals that he doesn't know. He does, however, direct the group towards the Baker. He also gives them gifts, though Rini doubts they will help. She also shares her worries about meeting that Baker, and that fixing Sumi might not fix her, as Sumi is too young to have her at her time of death.

The travelers reach the Baker's Oven, where Rini is astonished to meet the Baker. She asks her to help Sumi, and though at first she's doubtful she can actually help, the Baker agrees. She patches up Sumi's skeleton with sweets and then bakes her. Once she is finished, the Baker brings her out, though she doesn't know how to wake her. Rini approaches, telling her Mom the story of her adventure and begging her to wake up. Sumi does, wondering why she's alive and naked.

Sumi leaves with the other travelers, through one of the Baker's doors. She tells Rini that she doesn't love her yet, but thinks that someday she will. As soon as she's gone, Layla tells Rini to go home, and Rini rushes back to her farm.

## Trivia

* "Rini" could be derived from the Japanese name "Rina", which means "White Jasmine", "Village" or "Vegetables."
	+ "Onishi" is a Japanese surname coming from "Big" (O) and "West" (Nishi)

## References

1. ↑ http://www.tor.com/2017/05/10/beneath-the-sugar-sky-seanan-mcguires-wayward-children/