*The curtain opens to reveal KKD and TB, both of whom were dressed in extravagant Japanese kimonos with kabuki makeup, dancing a very over the top style with swinging their wigs a bit and crouching while moving like waves or gusts of wind.*
KKD: Greetings one and all~!
TB: We have appeared~ to continue~ an amazing story!
KKD: *stops* Wait… why are we doing this Kabuki style again?
TB: For the theme.
KKD: Right… but this is weird… never got used to this even back when I did a school play of the Mikado.
TB: You were in a school play? Fascinating.
KKD: Yea… though I was more of an extra than anything.
TB: Still good for you. Now… Previously on Oni no Kokoro!
KKD: Yoko was about to be coronated as princess, but Yusuke intervened and caused Astra to come out, accidentally killing the king, and now Yoko's on the run with Rika.
TB: Demons are also involved as it was revealed that Yusuke made a pact with the demon king himself, Gouki. We now continue with our Disney story already in progress.
DISCLAIMERS: Neither TokuBrony nor KKD Silver own Disney or anything that might be used in this except for the original concepts within. This is just a fun concept for a potential Disney movie in the future, so just relax, let loose, have fun, and enjoy.
We see Yusuke and Gouki walking towards the Murakami castle, the human citizens terrified by his presence as more demons appeared, all of them keeping the humans back as Gouki kicked the door off the castle. He and Yusuke entered with the Queen horrified at the sight of the demon leader.
"You have got yourself a new ruler, Your Highness," Gouki announced to the Queen.
"Why would you do this, Yusuke? What is the meaning of your actions!?" she demanded to know.
"...Gouki promised me that I would gain a high spot of royalty of my own," Yusuke informed.
"Is that why you resorted to framing my daughter for murder?!"
Yusuke denied a response to that as Gouki turned his attention towards the Queen. The demon leader just stared at the Queen with his two red and black eyes, and the moment she made contact with his eyes, the Queen shivered in fear, dropping to her knees.
"Wh-What is with this aura…?" the Queen grunted in pain.
"Guards, take her away," Yusuke ordered as the Ashigaru helped the Queen up and took her away.
"You will regret this, Yusuke! You will pay for your actions somehow!"
Yusuke said nothing as Gouki sat on the throne, the demon smirking as he looked outside to the village.
"No one is the same after looking into my eyes," Gouki chuckled throwing his legs up and reveling in his victory.
The next morning, our focus turns to a riverside where Rika was asleep, mumbling something before her eyes opened. Her vision was blurry for a moment before she saw Yoko sitting over at a fire spot as she focused on keeping the fire lit.
"...Lady Yoko…?" Rika asked, slowly waking up before realizing something, gasping, and shooting straight up, "*gasp* Milady! ...Weren't we falling?"
"I… I thought we were falling too. What happened?" Yoko panted, trying to gain her focus before she grunted a bit as one eye turned red.
"I saved your lives… your welcome," Astra answered, surprising both Yoko and Rika.
"You saved us? W-Why?"
"If you die, I die. Plain and simple."
"Why did you save me too?" Rika asked in response.
"...I don't know," Astra admitted as she swiped her hair back out of her face, eye returning to blue after a bit.
"...My father is dead and we left Mother alone to those monsters… w-we have to go back!" Yoko shouted, clearly in a panic over what happened the night before.
"No. Given that she told me to come with you, I think that those demons would be expecting us to return. For now, we must seek out a safe haven until we figure out what to do."
"...Okay… I feel bad for leaving Mother, but… my father…" Yoko started to whimper, eye becoming red again.
"...It wasn't my fault…" Astra uttered under her breath.
"Excuse me?" Rika responded.
"It wasn't my fault! I wanted to kill that wussy Yusuke! He insulted me, he insulted US! He thought he could expose and try to kill us!"
"If you didn't reveal yourself, we wouldn't be running away and Father would still be alive!" Yoko snapped back.
"If I didn't come out, we would both be DEAD! He tried to outright KILL US! I defended us! Daddy's death wasn't my fault!"
"Both of you stop!" Rika shouted, getting the new princess' attention, "I know this feels out of line for me as a maid to the princess, but as your friend Yoko, I insist that you calm down and remember the teachings from your father!"
She inhaled and then let out an exhale to calm down, managing to think back.
"Father did say that he looked into Astra's eyes and knew that it was an accident…" Yoko started to understand.
"You've already said enough, Yoko. It's very clear that you don't want me in your life, that I'll just get in the way. I am very irritated that you forced me back for so long. But as another part of you, I understand… if you don't want me around, I'll just disappear," Astra responded, defeated and dejected as the eye returned to its blue color.
"Astra, don't you be difficult, too. Astra?"
There was nothing except the sounds of nature around Yoko and Rika, leaving them in a predicament.
"*sighs* When I don't want her to come out, she comes out. Yet when I want to talk to her, she goes silent."
"Is there some sort of way to physically talk to her without… you know, sharing the same body?" Rika wondered aloud as Yoko thought about that idea.
"Mother did say that she and Father visited an old mystic when I was a baby, and that's how they learned of Astra. ...If he knew of her, maybe he figured out a spell to separate us so we can actually talk to each other."
"...It has been years since then, so he may have discovered something. But even if he did, who's to say he didn't die or become a Youkai or anything, really."
"Only one way to find out. Father said that the mystic lives in a temple up where the forest springs meet the mountains and just where you can see Mt. Fuji," Yoko recalled as they looked towards the west to see the great mountain in the distance.
"Well what are we waiting for. Shall we, Princess Yoko?"
"We shall."
They both smiled at each other as they began their trek westward, feeling their journey was going to be a tough one.
Back in the castle, Yusuke had all the guards searching below for other Third Eye jewels within the castle. He also stood in front of a prison cell holding the Queen, having told her why they are doing what they're doing.
"There's more than one Third Eye?" she gawked, almost in disbelief upon hearing this.
"At least that's what I heard from Gouki. He believes that the room the Third Eye of Balance he calls it also holds more, and so I have my men searching for them," Yusuke explained, looking to see his soldiers bashing at the walls, digging at them.
"...I still don't understand why you are siding with the demon king. He is causing nothing but harm and disorder!"
"I loved Daiki like a brother too, but… I always felt inferior to him, like I would never be his equal."
"Gouki is just playing to your desire to lead and be respected!"
"Even then, I'm still too weak to face him! What other choice do I have!?" Yusuke snapped back, clearly starting to get emotional.
"Yusuke…" the Queen uttered, stunned by his reluctance yet desire to follow through in the hopes of receiving some reward.
"You can't help me, Akemi."
With that, Yusuke walked away with a saddened look on his face and had his men continue to search the castle, pretty much defacing some of it in the process.
Back with Yoko and Rika, they started getting tired while walking through an open grassy plain. The grass might've felt nice on Yoko's bare feet, but both their feet and legs were killing them as they were not used to traversing so far without aid or even a horse.
"There has to be a village close…" Rika panted as she was close to falling to her knees.
"Of all the times, why did Astra have to stop coming out now? Surely she could take a turn…" Yoko groaned, stopping as if to give Astra the chance to take over or at least respond, but there was still silence, "...Still nothing. Four hours of nothing."
Just when they were about to collapse, they heard a rustling and a yip nearby, turning to a patch of taller grass. A small fox was limping out of it while some five foot demons jumped out and started skipping alongside it, laughing at the little kit, leaving Yoko to try and go towards it despite exhaustion.
"Wait, Yoko, please stay here. Let me…" Rika started in an attempt to protect her friend.
"You are just as tired as well, Rika. I don't want you to get hurt," Yoko responded, both of them collapsing and breathing heavily as they struggled to get back up.
Just as the demons continued, a tall figure in a blue kimono with a katana at his side and a gorilla mask covering his face approached on a black horse. He unsheathed before jumping off the saddle and slashed at the demons swiftly, causing them to roar and stumble. The man sheathed his sword back in again, unsheathing it repeatedly as other demons came running in and tried to attack, Yoko opening her eyes slightly to get a glimpse of the man slashing before they all stopped. And when slowly sheathing his sword back, with the clinking sound, the demons fell in defeat as he walked over to the little fox.
"Come here, little buddy," he said, walking closer to the fox who growled at him in self defense, the man soon realizing something, "Hold on."
The man then removed the gorilla mask to reveal a face that had lime green eyes and his black hair almost slicked back.
"See? It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."
The fox seemed less defensive now, looking more cautious as it slowly approached the man, who saw the fox had more than one tail. He then actually counted the tails as the fox waved them around a bit.
"Ten tails… you must be one of those demon foxes I read about," he realized, the fox still a bit cautious of the man as it was almost ready to flee, "Come here and let me look at you."
The fox got closer to the man as he crouched down, gently reaching his hand out and lifting the fox up. He looked and saw where the fox was limping.
"Sprained leg, hmm? That can be fixed up no problem," he figured, about to take the fox with him before he turned and noticed the two girls lying unconscious on the ground, "Well, this is just my lucky day. That's now THREE lives to save."
With a chuckle, he had the fox sit on his shoulders for a moment before he hoisted Yoko and Rika up on the back of his horse before letting the fox jump on.
"Come on, Misaki."
He grabbed it by the reins and walked it down the field.
Soon, as the sun began to go down, Yoko groaned a bit as she woke up to find herself in a small wooden house with floor mats made of reeds.
"Where am I?" she muttered as she sat up and saw Rika and the man she caught a glimpse at without the mask on kneeling at a table.
"Ah, you're awake. Good timing. Your friend was helping me make some tea," the man replied, Rika doing just as he said, "What were you two doing so far from your home?"
"We were going to see a mystic that the family I served under knew well," Rika explained.
"Well, it would take you a long time to get westward on foot, that's for sure. You didn't have a horse or anything?"
"We were… pressed for time," Yoko answered, not wanting to go into too much detail before noticing the little ten tailed fox with a bandaged leg, "So you saved the little fox in trouble."
"And brought you here on top of that. Your welcome, by the way," he responded before smiling, "I'm Kai Shiroyuki, Professional Ronin at your service."
"Rika Kurogane," Rika introduced with a bow and even a small curtsy, Yoko feeling like she shouldn't say her name.
"Um… uh…"
"It's okay, Princess. I recognized you by your attire and word of mouth spreads quickly outside your kingdom," Kai assured, making Yoko sigh in relief.
"Okay… Yoko Murakami is my name."
"It's an honor to meet you. And let me just say that I am very sorry what happened…"
"How do you kno-?"
"Remember, word of mouth," Kai reminded as Yoko let out a breath, "Is the whole other personality thing true?"
"...It is. However, that other personality you're speaking of is remaining silent at this moment," Yoko informed with some slight annoyance.
"I see… anyway, I can help you guys go west once I get everything ready."
"Really?! Oh, thank you so much, Kai! We very much appreciate your help," Rika smiled as she bowed.
"It's no problem. Though you two are going to need new clothes if you want to avoid drawing any more attention."
He soon got up to do a little bit of cleaning in his home, the fox snuggling on Yoko's knee in comforting manner while looking up at her.
"Look at him, he seems to have taken a liking to you," Rika noted with a smiled as the fox sniffed Yoko's foot for a bit, its tails springing up and eyes widening like he sensed something.
He then jumped up on Yoko and continued sniffing all over, making her fall back and giggle.
"Stop, stop, that tickles," Yoko laughed a bit uncontrollably, getting tickled by the fox's sniffing, "Rika, help!"
"Come here you little ruffian!" Rika snickered, picking up the fox, the little kit letting her do so as he snuggled all over her too.
"Seems like you're all getting along with Minori," they heard Kai chuckle before he tossed some clothes down for them.
"Minori?" Yoko asked in confusion.
"It's what I decided to call him."
"It's a nice name," Rika smiled before they heard some noise outside.
"Hang on," Kai told them, sliding the door open slightly to take a peek outside.
Kai's eyes almost widened, threatening to pop out their sockets as he saw people approaching the small house on horseback, the sunlight almost absorbing into the ebony hides of the steeds as they stopped.
"Come out, Shiroyuki! We know that you're hiding here!" the leader shouted, surprising the girls as they got off their horses.
"Who is he?" Rika inquired.
"The local militia known as the Black Bandits. Their leader, Ryuichi Ikizama is a very ruthless leader of that group and he does not like me very much."
"What did you do that made him so mad at you?"
"Um… I may have robbed him of the thousands of Yen he made from stealing and selling priceless artifacts just so I can make a living away from him."
The girls just looked at him and then at each other, both stunned and dumbfounded by this.
"Oh sweet lord," Rika sighed as Kai put his gorilla mask on as well as grab his sword, carefully keeping his eye on the Bandits.
"There you are," Ryuichi scowled, carefully checking his sword to ensure he had it ready, "You think you could just run away and steal from us?"
"Yes, yes I did think that actually," Kai admitted while keeping a firm grip on his own sword, "And I don't regret it for a second."
"Well you should, considering that we trusted you as our finest Rodin."
"Living with you guys sucked. You're nothing but a bunch of dishonorable scoundrels!"
"Worm! You and all these people will pay for your insolence and insubordination!"
They both unsheathed their swords, running towards one another and quickly clashing, metal against metal, skill against skill. The echoes of battle caused the girls to look on at the fight from a safe distance in the house.
"He's quite amazing," Rika admitted as Yoko just looked nervous at the sight.
"B-But we can't stay here for too long. We still have to visit that mystic before the demons and Yusuke do whatever it is that they're doing!" she reminded.
"He said that he would help us, Lady Yoko. We can trust him."
"I know, but… I'm just afraid of him losing…"
The fight kept on going, the Bandits seeming to watch with intent as Kai used the quick draw on his sword to counter any of Ryuichi's swings. The Bandit leader was getting frustrated before he motioned to one of his men to go to Kai's house, the bandit in question ramming down the door. The girls screamed in response before Yoko was grabbed by the kimono and had a sword pointed to her.
"Lady Yoko!" Rika gasped before Yoko was pulled outside, really nervous as another man aimed the blade right at her from the front.
"Yoko! You coward!" Kai snapped.
"I prefer the term opportunist," Ryuichi responded, "Now surrender, or this girl dies."
Kai looked between him and Yoko being held hostage with a blade to her back.
"I could use the help right now," Yoko whispered to herself, trying to speak to Astra before turning her words inward, 'I know that you didn't kill my father on purpose. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. I'll let you take control of my body just to defend us, but PLEASE don't lock me away like I did to you! You know it isn't right!'
"I won't surrender to you!" Kai roared.
"Suit yourself. Kill her!" Ryuichi ordered as his fellow Bandit reeled back his katana.
"Lady Yoko, no!" Rika screamed.
'I… I'm sorry…' Yoko thought, the man yelling as he thrusted his sword forward.
Suddenly, the blade stopped, the man gasping as he saw Yoko had actually grasped the blade to stop it. A little bit of blood dripped from the palm, confusing the two Bandits who had held her captive before she growled, lifting her head to reveal the red eyes instead of her normal blue.
"You honestly think I'd be taken so easily?" Astra smirked as she gripped the sword tighter and actually snapped the top of the blade in half, making the man wielding it gasp before she grabbed the Bandit holding her and tossed him over her shoulder and into the other man.
"Ha! I knew that would happen!" Kai shouted as Astra glared at the rest of the Bandits before stealing one of their swords.
"Now then… who's next?"
"Don't just stand there, get her!" Ryuichi snapped as the Bandits revealed their own swords before running towards her.
"Keep your eyes on me!" Kai shouted as they kept clashing while Astra was surrounded by the other Bandits.
"Yo… Astra, be careful!" Rika shouted, Astra smirking as she gripped the sword tightly in hand.
"I got this, Rika," Astra assured, swinging the sword around at her foes to block their own blades.
She giggled as she kept clashing and countering each strike before managing to disarm each on, using only her hands and feet to knock them to the ground once dropping her sword.
"This is not the same girl we held hostage! Something's wrong!" one of the Bandits panicked as he began to back up in fear.
One of the Bandits seemed brave enough to attack from behind, but the fox, Minori leapt out of the house and scratched the bandit's face and gnawing at his nose. He grunted and groaned in pain, trying to get the fox off, but didn't notice Astra smirking as she rushed up and kicked him in the chest, sending him falling back down as Minori jumped off and ran back to Rika.
"Anyone else want some?!" Astra taunted as she picked up the sword yet again, forcing the Bandits to back away.
"Why are you yielding?! Are you scared of a woman?! Get back and fight like men!" Ryuichi commanded, continuing to fight Kai until the Ronin sheathed his blade and tackled Ryuichi back enough to quick draw and knock the sword out of his hand before pointing his own to his neck.
"You might want to consider running now. I would hate to see what would happen if you get on my friend's bad side over there," Kai advised, smirking under his mask as the Bandits, including Ryuichi backed up and kneeled down, "Oh, and before you go, leave two of your horses behind. My friends are going to have to borrow them."
Ryuichi felt frustrated and humiliated as he just walked off, tossing the reins as they retreated. Astra tossed the sword on the ground as she smirked, looking in the blade's reflection to see Yoko.
"Y'know, you're not such a stick in the mud as I thought," she muttered as one of her eyes turned blue.
"...I know that what happened wasn't your fault… and I apologize for lashing out at you," Yoko responded, "If we are going to stop those demons and Yusuke from ransacking our kingdom, you and I will have to put aside any grievances from the past and work together."
"There's something we can agree on."
"So, this is your other persona, huh?" Kai noted with a rather impressed look on his face, "Fascinating."
"Kai, right? I may have kept silent, but I've been listening," Astra pointed out, "Call me Astra."
"So, um… can we have Yoko back?" Rika requested, still nervous about how to approach Astra.
"*sighs* Alright. But don't pretend that I'm not here and try to keep me inside."
With that, both eyes returned back to blue as Yoko panted a bit, recovering from Astra's taking over.
"She kept to her word… she let me back out…" she panted as she sat on her knees on the dirt and let out a really exhausting breath, "Thank goodness."
"Now that they are out of the way, let's get ourselves ready and be on our way, shall we?" Kai replied as he walked back into his home to get some things ready.
Later, the girls walked towards the black horses with their new clothes on. Yoko was now wearing a black shirt with a white dress-like gi vest on top and blue pants that fit rather comfortably on her, the legs stopping in between the knees and the ankles while remaining barefoot. Rika wore a similar attire with some kanji on the back that spelled out her name vertically and it was tied up with a red sash and wore black boots. They packed supplies for each of the horses while the fox Minori hopped onto Yoko's shoulder, the princess petting him under the chin as they hopped up on their horses.
"Now we'd best get moving. The mystic that you're looking for is only a day away," Kai informed as they all got themselves situated, "If we keep going now and stop to camp for a night, we'll be able to make it by noon tomorrow."
"Then we have no time to waste, right Lady Yoko?" Rika checked.
"Right. Let's go," Yoko nodded.
"Hya!" Kai called out, the horses galloping out of the village as the group ventured towards the mountains, Mt. Fuji being just a day away as Yoko looked onward.
'Hang on just a bit more, Mother. I'll be back after a visit to the mystic,' Yoko thought with a worried look on her face.
However, as they galloped on by, a pair of eyes peeked through a bush before they disappeared.
Back at the Murakami castle, Gouki held the purple gem from before, the Third Eye of Balance that he called, in his palm with a look of intrigue. He pondered the power that it could wield as he smirked.
"Gouki… we found another Third Eye gem in the catacombs," he heard Yusuke call out to the lead demon as he put the gem he held down, Yusuke revealing a small blue gem.
"Hmm… still not the one I want, but it is of interest. This is the Third Eye of Transcendance," Gouki informed, "This gem is said to grant whoever wields it the powers of a god. However, it is nothing compared to the one I seek… the Third Eye of Finality. The power to destroy all…"
Yusuke looked a bit nervous at that as he placed the gem next to the purple gem near the throne.
"Do not worry. You shall rule with me as not a king… but a god."
"A god…?" Yusuke uttered in disbelief before a demon appeared from the shadows.
"What is it?" Gouki inquired, the demon whispering something to him, "You found the Princess and her friend… a Ronin is with them… and they are heading off to meet a mystic. Mystic…"
He growled in frustration as he slammed his fist against a wall, making it crack.
"What do you mean, Gouki?"
"Tsukasa Higashi… I've fought him before. Make sure that they do not make it to him," Gouki ordered, the demon nodding in response before vanishing into the shadows.
Suddenly, an unearthly wail was heard from this one demon as more of them emerged from the shadows with wails of their own, increasing the volume to levels that nearly made humans cower in fear as they swarmed and went out to stop the princess.
KKD: Whoa… that was neat.
TB: Yeah. We just keep adding more intrigue to this story, don't we?
KKD: For certain.
TB: Favorite part of this second chapter?
KKD: Hmm… I gotta say Minori was definitely a highlight. Always a cute addition. But my favorite part was Astra helping Kai fend off the bandits.
TB: I liked how slowly but surely, Yoko and Astra are starting to see eye to eye. They're still reluctant to trust each other, but one step at a time. And yes, Minori was a cute addition. You know how it is with Disney Princesses and cute animal sidekicks.
KKD: Of course.
TB: For now, this is where we'll leave things. Next part is where we get more character driven stuff as well as meeting the mystic known as Tsukasa Higashi.
KKD: Until then, ore wa KKD Silver.
TB: I am TokuBrony…
KKD: *salutes* Jaa ne.
TB: SEIYAA!