Tale 2: To Purify a Black Heart
Back in Sakura New Town, things mostly remained the same. Quiet, relaxed, most that was different was the frosting presence of a light snow. A few people were bustling about, usually to find warmer places indoors during this kind of weather.
One of which was a familiar dark haired girl, she was scrambling to find her way to a local cafe where one of her friends was hanging out at. Though along the way, a voice stopped her.
"Miss Shinju Mori, it's been a while," A man with a name tag from Sakura New Town High School asked, Shinju seeming to recognize, stopping to say hello.
"Oh hey Mr. Kazakiri, it's been a while," Shinju greeted the teacher a bit hastily. Mr. Kazakiri simply nodded.
"Indeed it has, I hope your studies abroad have been going well," Mr. Kazakiri responded with, rubbing the back of his head. "You were a pretty good student when it came to zoological studies,"
Shinju simply responded with a shrug. "Well when I was in middle school, I wanted to become a zoologist, then a novelist, then fate had other things in mind and I'm where I am today,"
"Well whatever your dream may be, I hope you can find it one day," Mr. Kazakiri replied to the dark haired teen, rummaging through his bag. "Oh, there was something I've been needing to give you before you moved out,"
The former teacher of the second year handed over a strange charm that could easily fit into one's hand. It was done in a semi-transparent black material highlighted with a solid gold. The pattern seemed to depict some kind of reptilian beast, surrounded by snakes and blossoming trees. The odd trinket looked a bit unpolished and disrepaired over the years.
"What's this exactly, Mr. Kazakiri?" Shinju asked, holding the strange charm. Like the student earlier, the teacher simply responded with a shrug.
"Not sure, but I'm pretty sure you can figure it out," Mr. Kazakiri responded, slowly beginning to part his way. "I knew you were always smart at cracking down the details on things!"
"I'll be sure to at least attempt figuring out this...this thing!" Shinju waved back, heading off in her own separate way.
Back on her merry way, Shinju had arrived to the cafe her friend, Kokoro Yukimura, was waiting for her. In contrast to Shinju, Kokoro was a lot more...aggressive looking for lack of a better word. It was hard to believe she was actually a princess of the yokai world sometimes...
"Oi, Shinju, did something bad happen along the way here?" Kokoro asked, pushing aside her strawberry parfait as Shinju pulled up a chair. "You're never even a second late!"
"My apologies, Mr. Kazakiri stopped me along the way to give me this," Shinju responded, showing Kokoro the trinket. Kokoro inspected it, intrigued by it's strange design.
"Woah, some teacher dude just gave you that outta nowhere?" Kokoro asked, Shinju nodding. "Well in that case, that might mean you're either going to be part of a super squadron, curing the pretties, or one ultra man,"
Shinju waved her hand around. "Oh don't be ridiculous Kokoro, nothing that crazy could happen, especially after it was revealed I can control yoki and my family friend was Princess Kaguya!"
Kokoro responded only with a dead serious glare. "Shinju...I'm a princess, a ghost princess nonetheless. Mai could use magical girl powers and used said powers to bring my nephew back from the dead and break the mold between humans and yokai. Nothing's too ridiculous."
"True, but sometimes it ain't bad to be grounded in reality," Shinju responded to her more wild friend before pausing for a bit. "But speaking of your 'nephew', weren't we supposed to meet up with him here today?"
"Yeah but he ran off, citing that he'll be looking at the local zoo for a little bit…" Kokoro answered with a heavy sigh at the end. "He's been gone for over an hour at this point."
Shinju looked shocked at the news. "Oh dear, that might mean there's serious danger!"
"Shoot you're right!" Kokoro yelled, sitting right up in her chair and nearly toppling over her nearly finished parfait in the process. "We got some butt to kick and you're comin' with me!"
Within almost a flash, the duo of girls made it to the Sakura New Town Zoo, paying for their tickets and running on through the gates without a second of hesitation. Nor did they ever really decide to check their surroundings to see the instances of disrepair across the various exhibits.
Thankfully after a bit of running around, the group came across exactly who they were looking for. A boy with dark skin, spiky black hair, and attire that fit in a black, grey, and yellow color scheme. It was also a miracle that for once in the colder weather he put on longer pants and a jacket, he usually wore shorts even in the colder weather.
He was busy sitting at a bench, looking stunned and a bit miffed as the two girls joined up with him.
"En-Err...Daitaro, what's wrong?" Shinju asked, the boy looking up with a stern look before shaking his head.
"Long story short, I came here out of curiosity to not only see more exotic animals across the human world, but how they get along with yokai," The disguised king explained to the two girls. Kokoro scratched the back of her head.
"You didn't attempt to get into a fight with any of the animals, did ya?" Kokoro asked, tilting her head just a little bit. "I mean, you can probably get past most of the bars and barricades here."
"No I didn't. Another main reason I came here was to see if the yokai I requested to help lead this facility a few months ago was just...gone," Daitaro explained. "And well, something pretty awful happened that's a bit trickier to explain normally…"
It was earlier that day, things seeming peaceful in the zoo. Though it was clear something was a bit amiss among all of the facility as Daitaro walked through the paths of the zoo.
"This doesn't look like the plans Darwin had in mind…" Daitaro thought aloud to himself, looking around. A few things looked a bit unsightly, enclosures looked dirty, some of them having indisposable trash in them. Animals looked too tired to play with one another, even the tigers in one exhibit began gnawing on the bars of their cages since they didn't have anything to gnaw on. The hawks and birds of prey seemed to rely on whatever poor vermin managed to squeeze into their cages, it be squirrels or smaller birds.
Nor did they look like they had food in a long time. Was this really how the human world treated their animals? It made the young man feel a bit uneasy, seeing plastic cups and containers in everything from the flamingo bay to the lions looking unusually unhealthy...How was this place still open?
Though one thing caught Daitaro off guard the absolute most. He had finally made his way to one of the newest exhibits, or rather, stages. It was a large open air stage, bringing in quite the crowd. In the center was a young woman performing a few songs, looking quite flashy in her appearance. Around the main entertainer's neck was a decently large blue jewel often held by a particular yokai.
And he could feel it's yoki from nearby…
"R-Ryuujin? How is one..." Daitaro whispered to himself, trying to push around the crowd looking at the concert. Trusting his instincts, he backed away from the crowds only to find one horrifying sight.
Towards the back there was a dingy, pathetic looking cage, smeared in dirt and old age. Within was the Nyororon tribe yokai Ryuujin, a usually majestic yokai with green scales and a fiery orange mane, but it was clear he had seen much better days. The poor thing barely had any room to move around in, his overall physique looked extremely weak as he laid low to the cold, hard bottom of his confinement. The jewel the dragon usually carried in his claw was nowhere in sight...Meaning things might turn for the worse…
"Ryuujin!" Daitaro yelled, getting as close as he could do the dragon's cage. It was surprisingly easy with how close he could get, especially with how dangerously powerful some yokai can be.
"I'm glad someone has decided to visit me for once…" Ryujin responded to the child, his voice strained with illness and weakness. The boy tried to reach for the bars of the dingy cage, but they were given a stinging yoki charge that even he pulled back from.
"W-What on earth happened?" The disguised king asked the dragon, genuine concern painting his face as the dragon looked saddened. "I swear if this place was being run by Darwin like I had intended...you wouldn't be in such a bad spot right now…"
"It's true Darwin was in charge...at least a few days ago...but without him here...I fear for the worst…" Ryuujin responded as best as he could, trying his hardest to muster up the energy to speak. "Someone else has taken over...they took my jewel...I don't think I'll have much longer…"
"What!? Who could have taken Darwin's position!? Let alone leave you in such a horrific state!?" Daitaro yelped in horror, feeling anger, sadness, and utter confusion.
"I'm not sure...but I have one last thing to say…" Ryujin weakly spoke up, barely begin above a whisper in terms of voices. "...And that is...Thank you…"
With those final words, soon Ryujin was gone, glowing and fading away as if there wasn't a trace of him left. Witnessing all that happened, it made the black haired boy absolutely sick. The earlier hints of anger and sadness were now multiplied further.
Heck, he couldn't help but cry just a little. It was all a bit too much for him to witness at once.
"Oi kid, could you not cry in the middle of my zoological garden?" A voice scolded at the kid, coming from a rather stingy, old looking woman whose breath smelled rather ashy. "I, Chika Maki, really doesn't like cryin' kids."
"But...one of your captive yokai...he just died! I...I saw it before my very eyes!" Daitaro tried to reason with the older woman, the latter giving a huff with her ashy breath being smelt.
"Kid...yokai are ruled under the king of hell basically," Chika responded to the kid's dismay with. "And the king of hell doesn't cry over the loss of others."
Both girls were absolutely stunned that such a thing happened. Moments of silence passed between the two before any of them spoke.
"Honestly if I were you, I would have fought her right then and there," Kokoro concluded, her voice huffing with rage. "Heck I'd do that right here right now!"
Shinju put her hands on the rather rowdy royals, a deep look on her face.
"You two...I know the things Ms. Maki said were awful, I'm just as livid as all of you...but I'll calmly try to reason with her…" Shinju tried to reason with the other two. "You can rally up any yokai you think might can help, and perhaps see if Darwin is anywhere as well, alright?"
The other two darted, going their own ways as Shinju made her way to the main office in the zoo. Much to her surprise, it was easy to get in and have a talk with the head of the zoological gardens.
"So, whatcha in here for?" Chika asked, looking bored and done out of her mind. "If you're gonna be one of those 'complain to the manger to get free stuff' types, make it snappy."
"Listen, I never complain for the sake of getting free things, but you have to listen to me," Shinju stated, keeping her head calm yet was a bit firm with her tone. "The animals under your care are in pretty garbage conditions. Anyone can see the animals here aren't all the happy…"
Chika looked quite annoyed by the girl's remark by giving a shrug. "Kid, animals don't bring in the big bucks. I'm merely focusing my efforts on what the people, both humans and spirits, want."
"What do you mean 'what the people want' exactly!?" Shinju questioned the zoo's head admin, raising her voice slightly. "People come here to see and learn about animals in happy, well kept environments. Because if animals aren't happy, people aren't happy!"
"You know what else is a smash hit among both yokai and humans? NyanKB," Chika began to answer to Shinju, her voice sounding slurred and gravely. "I may as well ride that money train while it's hot, maybe convert this dump into a full on idol capital! After all, money makes the world go round and round!"
Shinju was a bit stunned at what this woman was saying, pretty much downright disgusted. "H-How could you even think of such things?! That's downright inhumane!"
Chika gave a grin. "Oh who said I was ever human?"
A puff a ashy smoke soon revealed Chika's true form. She took the form of a long, tattered looking yokai, long face and long, legless body and everything. She had a haunting face, her old kimono decorated to look like a once priceless folding screen.
"My name is Byobu Nozoki, I'm one of the great commanders for the majestic lady Tamamo no Mae," Byobu Nozoki properly introduced herself. "Which is why I was able to take over so easily, made that alleged 'Great Man Legend' Darwin a mere joke."
"Alright I now know who you are, but why take over a zoo of all places?" Shinju questioned the evil yokai.
"Simple, I'm fueled by the lust for greed and power both humans and yokai share," Byobu Nozoki explained. "A zoo seemed the best place to keep cover and farm despairty from life in the human realm. My majesty loves seeing things suffer after all."
Shinju bit her lip, can't helping but letting her internal anger slip just a little bit. "So you really are being cruel to the animals here!"
Byobu Nozoki looked back, extending herself to grab herself around the long haired girl. "And you know what I do with you preachy environmental types? I put you where you belong!"
The long yokai dragged Shinju along, to a deep hole within one of the backstage areas of the zoo. "Which is where the dinosaurs are: underground!"
With little to no time to react, Shinju was thrown into the hold, ending up in a dark, dingy underground facility that was just barely illuminated. The bulbs on the underground lamps could be replaced, they kept flickering…
"Ow...that was a hard landing…" Shinju cursed to herself, looking up. The hole was sealed, and there didn't seem to be any way out.
"Goodnes, how did you end up down here?" A voice asked, giving Shinju a sense of relief but also slight fear that she wasn't alone in all this.
"W-Who said that!?" Shinju asked, looking around. Soon enough, she was greeted by a yokai that took the form of an old man with a long beard and a golden star on his head. He was riding on a galapagos tortoise and had a small finch on his head. By his side was another yokai, taking the form of a small green dragon.
"Apologies for the startling, I'm the Pokapoka representative of the Great Man Legends, Darwin," The old man yokai, Darwin, introduced himself, gently gesturing to the small green dragon by his side. "And this is my assistant in training, Nyororon Ryuu-kun."
"Hello…!" Ryuu-kun shyly greeted.
"Heyo, I'm Shinju Mori, long story short, that yokai Byobu Nozoki threw me down here after I questioned her," Shinju introduced herself. "The place is in shambles without you Darwin, we honestly need you back!"
Darwin stroked his beard. "I'd love to be back, however I lack any sort of key to break free. Believe me, I don't think I can bear to look at a place like this in shambles…"
"I want that mean yokai gone too...she...she took my papa and I was too sick to do anything!" Ryuu-kun teared up a little. "I'm better now thanks to Darwin, but I wanna save my papa! I don't know what that meanie could have done to him!"
"I think we all do...but I'm not sure how we can break out…" Shinju stated aloud, rummaging through her pockets. "Most I got is my cell phone, a lipstick charger, and this weird ancient lookin' thing a former teacher gave me…"
Though as Shinju got out the strange black and gold emblem began to faintly glow.
"Why is it glowin?" Ryuu-kun asked Shinju, trying to look at the emblem. Darwin was able to get a good look and deduce something.
"I think it might lead a way out of here!" Darwin concluded, Shinju looking stunned before nodding.
"Alright, let's see if this takes us anywhere!" Shinju finished, holding out the black trinket to figure out a direction. It got brighter in some directions, dimmer in others.
The merry trio kept going on their way, the underground facility getting less and less modernized and much more like a cave as the light from the trinket grew brighter and brighter and the trinket began to look more and more cleaned up.
Once it was at its brightest, the Great Man Legend had sort of an "oh" moment.
"Wait a moment...That's...That's the emblem for one of the Four Holy Beast yokai!" Darwin gasped, Shinju looking just as shocked.
"I mean, I had a friend who's visiting the USA find one of those…" Shinju responded with a bit of stammering. "Dunno much about them beyond that…"
"A lot of their lore remains a mystery...all we know is that they're some of the oldest and most powerful yokai, believed to possibly had a great war in China before making peace and migrating here…" Darwin stated, looking deep into thought. "They all ran off into isolated places or sealed themselves off...nobody's sure why…"
"So maybe…" Shinju stated, before turning around to see a massive rock formation. It was vague, but looked like the front end of a very large tortoise if you squint hard enough. This didn't stop the teen from getting closer and closer until…
"A-Ack!" Shinju gasped, the emblem glowing a blinding light. The rocks slowly began to shatter away. Bioluminescent plants began to grow across the cave floor, giving much of a clear image down bellow.
Once the light show had stopped, the rock formation was no more. Now standing in front of the three was a black and dark grey tortoise yokai easily the size of an apatosaurus and looked just about as old as one too. The massive yokai lowered it's neck, getting a better look at the three with gentle eyes and small branches of plum blossoms circling it's head.
"It's been a while since I've had any sort of company I'll say," The large yokai greeted with, a feminine voice that was old, yet incredibly soothing and gentle.
"W-Who are you?" Shinju asked, stunned at the massive yokai. The tortoise simply gently nodded her head before introducing herself.
"I am none other than Genbu, the black tortoise of the north, ruler of the plains and flora," Genbu formally introduced herself, looking down to see Shinju with the black emblem. "It appears one of you has my emblem...Do you mind telling me what's wrong, child?"
"The zoo we're under the grounds of...it's a mess right now, the animals are being treated horribly...all for the scheme of the yokai Byobu Nozoki in farming despairty…" Shinju explained, looking distraught. Genbu put on a rather serious, worried expression on her face.
"Goodness me...I can't believe a former general of mine would even think of such a thing!" Genbu responded with. "After all...while it's true humans and yokai depend on one another, same is for animals and yokai…"
Genbu lowered her neck low to the ground in front of the three. "Now, please climb onto my neck, we're getting ourselves out of here."
As prompted, the trio all climbed onto the neck of Genbu. The large tortoise shifted around, breaking free from her rocky confinements and emerging onto the surface. It turned out most of the surface of Genbu's shell was used as small garden, the large tree, grass, and even the stone structures staying intact as she resurfaced. Quite a few people stepped back as Genbu made her ways, trying not to step on anyone or anything.
Thankfully nearby were Shinju's two other friends alongside a small posse of yokai. Like everyone else, they were quite shocked to see the massive yokai.
"W-Where did that yokai come from!?" Kokoro gasped, Genbu lowering her head.
"Why, from the underground," Genbu simply and calmly answered the rougher teen. "Heaven knows how long I had been under there…"
"S-Shinju? Y-you befriended this yokai?" Daitaro asked, Shinju nodding.
"Oh Genbu, Darwin, Ryuu-kun, these are my friends, Kokoro and Daitaro. Say hello!" Shinju prompted, both sides waving back as they well, all climbed onto the back of Genbu.
"Well now that we're all together, now what do we do?" Shinju wondered, something catching her eye.
Inside a stone lantern was a completely clear jewel, only marked with black lines that represented the bagua symbol for water.
Within Shinju's mind something seemed the clock, with both the jewel and emblem in hand. She slowly but surely motioned her hand to insert the jewel into the emblem, it beginning to glow as words formed into her mouth.
"Calm as a plain, the north blossoming with life! If you would please come forth, the Black Guardian...Genbu!" Shinju called forth, a powerful light enveloping her and Genbu. The light was a bit too distracting from having the teen question what exactly was going on.
Once the light died down, not only was everyone standing on solid ground, but Genbu had shifted her form. She now took the appearance of an old looking humanoid yokai, carrying around a walking stick and a large shield on her back.
Of course, Genbu wasn't alone. Shinju also gained a few threads, mostly in the form of a black martial arts outfit with a few blue-grey accents. In her hair was a silver hair accessory vaguely resembling the tortoise yokai, complete with plum blossoms in her hair. She wielded a nicely decorated bo staff in her hands.
"W-What the!?" Shinju gasped, looking shocked at her new looks. "I...I transformed, but how!?"
"I'm not sure how, but kudos, that's pretty dang cool," Kokoro commented, nodding. "Now if only I could get one of those…"
"Are you sure this is going to be more effective than, you know, being a giant turtle monster?" Daitaro inquired, Genbu nodding.
"I'm sure it will, it's been ages since I wasn't in a form so…reasonably sized. Anywho, I believe I have a plan," Genbu stated, tapping her cane down. "All you yokai, go gather as many animals as you can, it'll be essential in fending off Byobu Nozoki!"
"You got it!" The crowd of yokai said, all going their own ways to free up some animals.
Back at the main attraction of the zoo, the large stage, the zoo's main performer stood in a cute pose.
"Alright fellas, who's ready for The Amazing Kyu-tie-Zoo's hit single~!?" The zoo's stage attraction, Miss Kyu-tie-Zoo, asked the audience. A somewhat audible cheer could be heard as the performance was about to start…
Until a large posse of animal calls could be heard. There was an elephant's, followed by a lion, a tiger, then finally an eagle. Crashing onto the stage was a large posse of animals and a few animal based yokai. An African elephant, a lion, a Bengal tiger, A baboon, and a ball python were accompanied by the yokai Manjoshi and Nue. A group of birds including a Sea Eagle, California Condor, Trumpeter Swan, Blue Swallow, and a Great Horned owl were being lead by Kijinyan. A few Aldabra giant tortoises, a komodo dragon, and some flamingos were being accompanied by Darwin and Ryuu-kun.
And finally there were the ones leading the charge.
"Apologies for the crashing in on things," Shinju opened with, sounding friendly yet firm. "But we're all here to speak with your boss about messing with wildlife here."
Miss Kyu-tie Zoo looked frightened, fearful. "Ohhh shiitake mushrooms this is everything but extra peachy keen!" She cursed to herself. She then thought of an idea to try and make peace with the animals.
She turned around to the group, giving a cute pose with one sentence coming out of her mouth. "N-Nya!"
The group of animals did not approve, charging in after her. Even the eagle of the group managed to swoop down and snap up the large dragon jewel around her neck. Miss Kyu-tie-Zoo made one heck of a scramble out of there.
"Byobu Nozoki! Boss! We got some pretty not authorized company!" Miss Kyu-tie-Zoo yelled the for evil yokai as she ran off stage, the group of yokai and animals following suit. "Kyah! I can't stand filthy animals!"
"This is much more entertaining, honestly…" An audience member remarked.
"Agreed," Their neighbor nodded with in agreement.
It didn't take all that long for the charge of the wild to find the long, elongated yokai.
"Oh it's the pathetic troupe of children again…" Byobu Nozoki cursed, before getting herself a bit straight. "...And it seems you've broken out a lot of the zoo's animals...goodie…"
"And it's been quite some time since we've last met, Byobu Nozoki," Genbu greeted with, sounding fairly firm, but it was enough to get the long yokai all nervous.
"Listen, humans are naturally greedy, so yokai are greedy, animals are just caught in the crossfire because they're too stupid to think!" Byobu Nozoki responded with a loud hiss. "That's exactly why I left you in the dirt, you old coot!"
Genbu paused, looking at the long yokai with a serious look in those calm, old eyes of hers. "Perhaps my friends here could introduce you to...What did you call it again, Darwin?"
"Natural selection?" Darwin filled in for his fellow elder yokai.
"Yes, that," Genbu concluded before nodding her head. "Now, animals of the human world, wild hearted yokai of the yokai world, let your instincts awaken!"
Byobu Nozoki tried to stretch around the herd of wild animals, but was constantly broken through. Claws, talons, nibbling, the sheer girth and size of some of the animals alone, it didn't hold up against the more sinister yokai very well.
"What do you think this is?" Byobu Nozoki snarled, trying to recover from all the tearing apart. "Some magical rainforest inhabited by pixies? Please, this is reality! Filthy animals will never win, but my greed will!"
Before she knew it, Byobu Nozoki was being wrapped up like a noodle by the swift movements of one bo staff wielding teen.
"What's that? I can't hear you!" Shinju remarked, dragging the yokai along as she approached Genbu. The dark haired girl extended her hand out to the elder tortoise yokai "I...I think this is how my friend did it…"
The two forces joined hands, an elegant and vibrant black light shining as the two posed.
"Nature's Greatest Healing Call!" Both of them yelled, Genbu holding up her shield as Shinju swung around her staff with Byobu Nozoki wrapped into it, smacking it right onto the shield.
The large metal disc not only made a loud chime, but unleashed a powerful shockwave all across the zoo. Once the light calmed down, a lot had changed. The audio stage and Byobu Nozoki were gone, so was all the trash and disrepair in the zoo. All the animals were returned to their exhibits, now much more spacious, well kept, and given food regularly. Peace seemed to have truly returned to the zoo…
...Except for one thing…
"W-Where's my papa?" Ryuu-kun asked, looking around. A worried look graced the dragon child's eyes. "Wasn't he taken here?"
Before the eagle was returned to it's home, it had given Daitaro the dragon's jewel. The young boy bit his lower lip, knowing it wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done. May as well reveal his true identity to the yokai kid…
Unveiling his identity as Great King Enma, the boy knelt don to Ryuu-kun holding the dragon jewel close. "I would hate to be the bearer of bad news but…"
"B-But what y-your majesty?" Ryuu-kun stuttered, shocked to see the young king of the yokai world before him. Was he in major trouble!?
The young king held out the jewel that was once held by the dragon child's father, before giving the small dragon a hug. "I'm sorry...I'm really sorry...there wasn't anything I could do…"
Ryuu-kun hugged back, trying not to cry but failing. The rest of the gang stood in silence before the two broke away from their hug.
"Please, have this...it belonged to your father, I have no need to keep it," Great King Enma finished, even a few tears escaping his eyes as he handed the small dragon the jewel.
"I'll take good care of it, not just for your sake, but my papa's!" Ryuu-kun finished, trying his best to dry up from his tears as he clenched the jewel.
Within moments, a powerful aura surrounded Ryuu-kun until he had transformed into Ryuujin. He ended up greatly resembling his father, but looking much more vibrant and bold. Lowering his head somewhat, he game Great King Enma an affectionate snuggle.
"Thank you, I have no other words to really say to express my gratitude towards you and your friends here today," Ryuujin thanked, only to look around a bit, only to see a large crowd slowly starting to form. "...You all wouldn't mind a ride back to the yokai world, would you?"
"I don't mind, I mean, I've probably been out for a long while now…" Great King Enma sheepishly responded, embarrassedly rubbing the back of his head. "But, can you blame me, humans are quite interesting."
"Yeah good point, we should be getting a move on," Kokoro stated, kicking up a strange jewel the evil yokai had left behind. It was crystal clear like the one Shinju had used, marked with black and azure lines that represented "mountain".
As her two other friends got onto the back of the dragon yokai, Shinju waved goodbye to Darwin and Genbu, the latter peacefully lounging with her fellow torises.
"Thank you! I'll be sure to call you if I need anything!" Shinju waved, Genbu and Darwin nodding.
"And we'll be sure to get a hold of you if anything dares to interrupt the peaceful circle of life!" Genbu said, watching the three fly off peacefully back to the yokai world.
Though while victory seemed peaceful, a soul thought to have disappeared brushed off dirt as she walked through the outskirts of the zoo once it closed at the dead of night. Miss Kyu-tie-Zoo, the former idol, gave a tsk before unveiling her true form.
Her true form was that of a ghostly, whisp like figure with a wispy tail instead of legs, a feminine upper body, and a boar's head covered by some strange VR mask.
"Ugh, I hated being in that form," The boar yokai cursed to herself. "It was way too sarchine for my tastes...Well at least I better head back and tell Tamamo the bad news…"
As for Tamamo no Mae, she had quite the agenda on hand. She had located where the Yokai Sangokushi replica was made by, one of the most prestigious families in the yokai world known as the Line of the Snake Kings.
Appropriately, she disguised herself as a small yet quick snake, slithering around until she found exactly what she was looking for. It was in one of the darkest, dingiest cells in the mansion basement.
"So, you wouldn't happen to be the true Snake King, now would you?" Tamamo no Mae whispered to the sole soul in the prison cell.
"Yeah..." The prisoner responded. He looked like he had seen better days, his medium length cobalt hair a bit of a mess, dirt staining his clothes. His eyes of light blue and carmine looked tired, exhausted. "But who are you exactly?"
Figuring it was best to reveal her true self, Tamamo no Mae did just that, kneeling before the chained up prisoner. "I'm the one who will help you set things right. I mean, a hanyo like you should be in charge of the yokai in this new society, correct? One where humans and yokai live in harmony, isn't that a dream you wish to lead?"
The prisoner remained silent for a bit, biting his lower lip.
"Of course, a lot of people in this world are cowards, fools," Tamamo no Mae spoke. "I mean, who would lock up their true king, one that should certainly be the one bringing yokai hand in hand."
Tamamo no Mae put her hands on the prisoner's shoulders. "Just come with me, I'll not only get you out of here and treat you like the royalty you deserve, but give you unbelievable power. All for one simple price."
The blue haired hanyo looked intrigued, a smug grin showing up on his face. "Sure, I'm willing to pay!"
"Good, it's simple, make those fools who defied you cower in fear and despair!" Tamamo no Mae said, breaking the chains off the prisoner, holding out a pocket mirror as she set off a smoke trap. Soon, the two had returned to the lair of the shapeshifting fox.
"Lady Tamamo!" The boar headed yokai said, floating up to the kitsune yokai. "I would hate to report this, but not only did Byobu Nozoki perish, but Genbu has awakened, she seems to have formed an alliance with Great King Enma, and the mountain jewel Byobu Nozoki was holding is in their hands!"
"Goodness, well that's...pretty bad I'll say," Tamamo no Mae responded, looking doubtful before grinning once more. "But, my dead Jami, don't fret, for I have a savior in all of this,"
"You do?" The boar headed yokai, Jami, responded with shocked.
"Yes, please meet my newest and greatest ally in our mission," Tamamo no Mae introduced the recently freed prisoner. "His great majetsey, Snake King Kaira."