The story of Aku continues with his rise to claiming power to unit all under one banner. His own.
"If you truly wish to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln
It has been quite a long time since Aku was forced into the world from the life he was happy with. He had a family that loved him, a life as a chef, and a world class eating contest champion. The man had everything he could have wanted before he was forced into a world full of equines that looked down upon him and stabbed him in the back over and over because they do not understand him and the magic that was also forced upon him.
Now, the man has become a monster. An ancient oni that dwells within him has finally awakened and has transformed him physically. And with every bit of evil that Aku consumes, it threatens to darken his heart. However, what do the inhabitants of this new world see as evil? Those who threaten the lives of innocent people? Sure, that is evil. But the struggle of political power between rulers is free game. And Aku has had enough of everyone's agendas and decides that he will no longer have any part of it and rule his own domain. And the kingdoms outside of his rule will work on HIS terms. He will not take anyone's shit anymore.
But, will he be able to keep both his heart and mind from completely going evil? After all, all that evil has to go somewhere...
They say that once someone reaches a position of supreme authority over a city, they always have to answer to someone higher. But what if that person is the one who is the highest on the ladder? It is said that they walk a razor’s edge when it comes to their morals. With so much responsibility and power. It could even drive one mad. And with this fateful encounter of Aku and Tirek, Aku unknowingly begins his ascent to power of his own. And so, this part of the story shall begin with something that was always destined to happen. And will be part of his test to maintain the balance within his mind, heart and soul.
–Canterlot Streets, secluded alleyway–
Aku stood there for a moment before tilting his head at what Tirek had just told him. “I mean, other than having similar abilities. What could you have in common with me?” Aku asked as he crossed his arms and leaned to the side a bit as he waited for an answer. Tirek smiled knowingly and answered right away. “It is your hatred for the damned equines that I also share. It is because of them that I was imprisoned in Tartarus for wanting all their magic for myself. And so I vowed to myself that I’d take my revenge on them all and rule Equestria ruthlessly once all it’s magic is mine.”.
Aku arches a brow and shrugs his shoulders indifferently to Tirek’s plan. “Well, you hate them for a totally different reason than I. You see, I am simply disputed by most ponies because I am different from any other race in this world. And with the ability to eat their magic, it only makes my case even worse in their eyes. Your fight is with them on a whole different subject. And while I do hate ponies in this country. I don’t hate all of them. So what would I stand to gain by helping you?”.
Tirek tilted his head at Aku’s response. Something he didn’t expect the man to say for sure. “Why, you would rule at my side and make every pony who wronged you pay for what they did. You could do whatever you wanted and when you wanted. It is an offer that you simply can’t refuse. Or rather, it would be foolish to do so.”. Aku, still rather indifferent about the whole ordeal between the centaur and the ponies, simply shook his head. “I have no desire to rule this country whatsoever. I have a whole other nation to look after not only ponies, but other races to protect. That is where I truly belong in this world and I will not abandon it because of some old grudge you have.’. Aku turned and started to walk away from Tirek before looking over his shoulder.
“You want my advice? Hold onto your hatred as much as you desire. But move forward. Because your hatred is useless if you are stuck in the past. Because you will never grow mentally and physically. I suggest leaving this place and finding a new path in life.”. Tirek growled slowly in his chest and suddenly charged forward at Aku. Aku turned around before he was lifted off his feet and held up in the air by the throat by Tirek who smiled evilly and began to squeeze as hard as he could. “Fine then, if you are not with me, then I shall simply dispose of you. After all, I can’t have you going around and spilling my plan to anyone.”.
The moment that Tirek touched Aku, something inside the man stirred and began to wake. The sound of his own heartbeat getting louder and faster was all Aku could hear right now as images of the onii he had met in his dream and had given him that cursed arm flashed before his eyes. Aku slowly lifted his hand up as a fiery, dark purple aura began to flash around his body before becoming fully solid. The harder Tirek squeezed, the more intense the aura became. Aku’s eyes suddenly snapped open as his pupils now glowed brightly with the same color of the aura surrounding him.
“Get your filthy, fuckiong hands off me.”.
He said as he simply slapped the hand away with his wrist before dropping to the ground and began to punch rapidly all over the centaur’s torso before leaping into the air and coming down with a spinning overhead kick to the top of his head. As Tirek staggered back, Aku delivered a dual open palm hit to Tireks chest and sent him flying into the wall of the alleyway.The voice in which he spoke was a mix of his own and a more foreboding, growling mixture. It would seem that when Tirek had touched him, the evil that exists within the centaur had awakened the onii spirit that had been trying to become one with Aku had finally done so.
However, this wasn’t another presence now controlling Aku. This was Aku himself. “You think that I need YOU to get what I want? And you think I would ever side with someone who only instills fear with violence?” he said as he slowly started approaching Tirek with the ogre walking behind him, now in actual view. Aku squatted down while resting his arms on his thighs in front of Tirek who stared at Aku with a glare of both hatred and annoyance. “Granted, fear is part of the engine to keep one’s subjects in line…” he said before firmly grabbing at the centaur’s jaw so that his eyes remained locked with Aku’s. “...But a ruler who instills fear through means of violence is nothing more than a tyrannical brute. And I do not work with brutes.”.
“What the hell is that thing?! H-How can you be this strong without any magic..?! It is impossible!” Tirek shouted as Aku got up and walked away again, the onii still following close behind. Aku chose not to even respond with a glance back at Tirek who was shakily getting back up to his hooves. Aku emerged from the alleyway just as the ogre disappeared along with the aura around his body and began to make his way back to the castle. Aku was fully aware of what had just happened. One would think that it would have shaken him up, but the man had been expecting this for quite some time. All that was needed was the proper catalyst.
When Aku made it to his room, he undressed down into his boxer and flopped on the bed as the adrenaline from earlier had finally caught up to him and he was asleep within seconds. At first, it was nothing but darkness. But soon enough he opens his eyes as sounds and visuals of a busy arcade form. He looked down at his hands and then at his reflection in a nearby mirror. It appeared he was having another dream of being his high school self once again. And any moment now, he expected to see that familiar blue haired girl.
As he walked through the arcade, he found his way over to one of the dancing machines that almost everyone enjoyed playing on. “Hah, Dance Dance Revolution, this takes me back. My friend and I would come here every Friday after school and play this game to the point of nearly breaking the arrows on the pads.”. He placed a hand on one of the hand rails before looking around at all the people playing other games before stepping up to the left dance pad and reaching into his pocket, pulling out a couple of coins. He inserts enough of them for one song. “Dance Dance Revolution!” The guy on the game exclaims. Aku scrolls down a few times before the game speaks again “Heavy Mode!”.
As the music started he began to move his legs at a rather speedy pace, his feet clapping against the arrows and landing nothing lower than ‘good!’ steps. He had to make sure that bar stayed full at the top left of the screen and get as many combos as he could. Little did he know that behind him in that crowd, both Luna AND Celestia were watching him. The crowd started to cheer Aku on as the song seemed to never slow down until the two final arrows at the end. Once the song is over, he stomps on the last two arrows with heavy breathing, his chest rising and falling as a smile forms on his face and opens his arms up before facing the crowd. They all cheered and clapped for him before he stepped down to let someone else play.
Aku made his way over to one of the vending machines and bought himself a green tea soda. His absolute favorite beverage. WIth the sound of the can hitting the bottle of the opening, he reaches down and grabs his drink before opening in taking a rather large swig from the can before letting out a satisfied sigh of delight. As he turns to walk away, both Luna and Celestia stand before him in their human forms to better fit in his dreamscape. Aku stands there for a moment before narrowing his eyes in annoyance to the pair of sisters before growling slowly “I told you to stay the hell out of my dreams. Not only did you not listen, you brought your sister in here as well?”.
Both of them could hear the venom in his voice, as if the death glare he was giving them didn’t send chills down their spines already. “We have come to talk to you about your little display of power you put on when you came here. What exactly do you hope to gain by doing such a thing?” Asked Celestia as she recovered from her slight fear of the man. Aku sipped on his tea before answering “it is simple. I brought a small portion of my army and the technologies we have created in order to make sure that we don’t get invaded by anyone. Not that I plan on invading anyone myself. Simple deterrents of war.”.
As Luna was about to ask Aku a question, he put his hand up in front of her face to stop her from speaking “And no, I will never, ever share our technologies and advancements with you or any other country. You all ruined that for yourselves with how poorly your citizens treated me and the other refugees that became part of our nation. And I see no mutual benefits from doing so. However…” he said as he lowered his hand and narrowed his eyes seriously again. “..I will not show mercy for any country who choses to invade mine. We WILL take control and expand on those who make the first move. Just keep that in mind.”
Aku tossed the now empty soda can into the trash can next to the vending machine before speaking again “Also, I went on a little stroll tonight before I went to sleep. I think you should know, someone by the name of Tirek is planning on absorbing all the magic from every pony in your country. Whatever you did to the guy, he is royally pissed off.” Both of the sisters’ eyes went wide with shock when Aku told them “T-Tirek is back..? This is not good at all, Celestia. We need to stop him at all costs before he finally gets what he wants.” Said Luna as she was already starting to think of plans A through Z.
Aku shrugged slightly and turned away from the pair as he started walking away “You two have fun with that. If things are going to go down here within the next couple of days, I am leaving with my soldiers for home tomorrow. This Tirek guy is your problem, not mine.”. Before he could walk away, His hand was grabbed by Celestia. Aku turned his head to Celestia and saw the look of desperation on her face. It was a look that he had never seen on any of the ponies in this country, let alone their ruler. And he knew that she was about to ask him for a favor “Please Aku.I will do anything you ask of me. Please help us defeat Tirek so we can send him back to Tartarus where he belongs. I want my subjects safe and free from this tyrant..please.” she begged.
Aku pulled his hand away from hers before forming a wicked smile across his lips slowly, the onii appearing behind him once again in full view for the sisters to finally see. They both back away in fear as Celestia stands in front of her younger sister to protect her. But Aku wasn’t going to attack them, he had a far better plan. He lifts a hand up slightly and extends his index finger before firmly pointing to the ground in front of him “Kneel, both of you.” he said as the onii behind him did the same exact movement as he did. “W-what do you think-.” Luna tried to speak but Aku cut her off. “You see, where I come from, when someone wants something badly enough to beg, they get on their hands and knees and bow their head to the floor while actually begging. And if you want my help, then you will do exactly that. Right here, right now.”.
Celestia looked at him with disappointment in her eyes. She wasn’t angry with him. After all, she had no right to be after what had happened to him when he first came into this world. Luna however, glared daggers at Aku before the both of them came in front of him and dropped to their hands and knees before bowing low enough for their foreheads to touch the ground. “Please, Aku. Please help us defeat Tirek. I am begging you from the bottom of my heart. For all of our citizens in Equestria..” Aku chuckled lowly in his chest before lifting his foot up and placing it on the back of her head to hold her down as that dark purple aura swelled around his body. “That’s right. Beg for your country’s life and soul. Beg to the one you humiliated and tortured because they were different and your kind couldn’t understand.” he said before removing his foot from ehr head and turned away again. “You and your citizens will experience hardships beyond your understanding. And I won’t be there to help you after this one time until you pay up what is owed for the way you treated me AND the refugees your fat, corrupted nobles wronged that helped me form a small, but great nation. Welcome to the corner of pay and back, princesses.”
It was late afternoon as Aku sat under a tree in the field outside of Ponyville. He could hear it all going on in the distance. The chaos being caused by Tirek and his magic stealing ability caused as he waited. The man simply bided his time until he decided that it was time for him to step in on the whole matter. While he did promise to help the princesses with their power issues with Tirek, he was going to do it on his terms. The man simply sat there with his eyes closed as the wind blew past him, letting the leaves dance around his form before he went deep into thought.
“Now that these ponies have a big problem that they can’t handle themselves, it is all chaos and destruction. I really shouldn’t have agreed to help them. But, a deal is a deal. And I do not go back on my deals.” he said to himself as he then stood up and dusted his jacket off and gazed around. Aku suddenly felt his onii side stirring within him once more. As if indicating that a strong force of evil was getting closer and closer. And the beast within was hungry for it.
Suddenly, something caught his eye. He looked up and saw both Tirek and Twilight trading magical blows while soaring through the air. He made his way closer to the fight in view until his aura started to flare up once more. The closer he got, the larger it became. Aku’s left demon arm began to tingle and pulsate. No, he wasn’t having a heart attack, that is just how the limb seemed to react now that Aku had been fully awakened.
While Twilight and Tirek took a minute to trade insults and talk, Aku took this time to clear his throat to make his presence known to both of them. Both were shocked to see him approach the battlefield in such a casual manner. “A-Aku?! What are you do9ing here?! This is no place to just be walking about!” Exclaimed Twilight as she flailed her arms about. As Aku’s eyes fell upon Tirek, he did notice the physical change in him. Knowing full well it was from absorbing magic from other ponies however, he wasn’t impressed at all. He simply sighed and shrugged his shoulders “Why am I not surprised you took the easy route to improve upon your power by stealing it from others?” Aku asked in an almost disappointed, fatherly tone.
“Because, these weak minds and bodies of these equines don’t even use their magic properly. So why let them waste it when I can be the one to use it the way it is meant to be used? To rule ruthlessly! And soon enough, I will make all the princesses in this land bow to me!”. Aku cracked a smile at Tirek’s words and gave him the most smug look ever “Huh, I actually made two of them bow down to me last night. And I didn’t need to go and steal their magic or take over their kingdom. I just had to make a deal with them.”. Tirek blinked a few times before balling his fists up in anger “You liar! There is now ay they’d bow to someone like you. You do not possess any magic or real power!”. Aku’s smile slowly faded into a neutral expression before he tilted his head. Clearly, the beat down from last night must have slipped Tirek’s memory
Aku picked up a nearby rock as Tirek turned his attention back to Twilight. “Once I steal all the alicorn magic from you, I will be unstoppable-gah!” Tirek screamed as the rock whistled through the air and nailed him right in the side of his left eye. Aku stood there while tossing another rock up and down with a look of disapproval on his face “Look, it is time for you to give everyone back their magic and go home already. I don’t want to have to deal with this as much as I have to already.” he said in a rather annoyed tone of voice now. And unless you want to deal with the other side of me, you will do as I say.”. Tirek’s horns began to glow as they powered up and suddenly shot a massive beam of concentrated magic at Aku, hitting him directly. Twilight cried out in horror with an extended hand towards Aku. But it was too late. Twilight’s eyes began to well up with tears, thinking that the man was surely dead. However, her expression changed to astoundment as he stood there while dusting off his jacket.
“You want the onii then? Fine by me.” he said as he closed his eyes for a moment before snapping them back open. They glowed a fierce dark purple before Aku wrapped his own arms around himself and began to laugh maniacally, two voices now overlapping with each other as the physical transformation began. It wasn’t just his arm anymore. Aku was now in the full image of his onii spirit, standing as large and bulky as Tirek was now. Aku continued to laugh and howl through his transformation until it finished.
What Twilight saw chilled her to the bone, a constant shiver running along her spine which caused her wings to freeze up and her ears pin hard to the back of her skull. There Aku stood, a monster with large oni horns, dark slate gray skin and large sharp teeth. His once long straight hair now wild and seeming to flow on it’s own without any kind of wind. Not only did the transformation go off smoothly, But Aku was in complete control and fully aware of what was going on. He looked down at his hands and squeezed them into fists a couple of times before cackling.
“Heeheeheeeeeh..it feels rather good to have shed my humanity after all this time. ANd now, I have nothing holding me back!”. Not even giving time for Tirek to respond, Aku rushes forward at breakneck speed and collides into the large centaur. The impact sent a shockwave which threw Twilight back into a large rock. “I am going to enjoy killing you and devouring every single part of your being to boot! Yiaahahahahaha!!!”
After those words, the sky started to darken as the moon rose and the night sky became crimson red. Foreign buildings and trees began flickering in as the world changed around them, a crimson rain starting to pour heavily from the sky as Aku and Tirek began to go at each other. Knowing full well now that magic wouldn’t work against Aku, Tirek had to now rely on his brute strength. As everything that was flickering in now became solid, it was like the building and architecture of the feudal period of japan. But, it looked more like it was warped and twisted in the world of yokai with dead bodies and remains all around the area now.
Twilight was absolutely frozen in fear now as she saw the world change before her eyes. She suddenly remembered something that Aku had told her back when he was first staying with her. Something about how there were two different worlds. The human world, and the yokai world. Was this the yokai world he spoke of? She quickly got to her hooves and moved away from the brawling beasts. As she did however, she watched skeletal remains in old oriental armor shuffle about and groan and growl with their weapons in hand, making their way to Aku and Tirek. Once Tirek had finally separated Aku from him, he shot another beam of magic at him. This made Aku slide back a few feet, but he still remained standing before slamming his hand into the ground. "Time for the butcher to do what he does best...~." Aku suddenly pulls out a large greatsword which seemed to be something out of a Nioh game. It was a pure black sword with jagged teeth that replaced its edge. And once the hilt was in Aku’s hand, the jagged teeth started to rapidly move up and down the blade, letting out an eerie chainsaw sound that echoed through the area. Aku suddenly disappeared within the pouring rain without a trace. Tirek looked around as he watched the undead moving slowly but menacingly towards him. Demonic laughter echoed throughout the new setting as Aku now stalked his prey, the grinding of the blade’s teeth also echoing out every now and then.
All was quiet for a moment before Aku suddenly swung from behind one of the large oak trees and revved the sawsword, Swinging it down to Tireks front left leg and cutting clean through it Tirek watched as his leg was taken from him, the shock preventing the pain for a moment before he dropped to the ground and howled in absolute agony as he watched Aku pick up the now severed limb and took a big chunk out of it with his mouth and swallowed it whole. Aku’s plan seemed to be working perfectly as everything that had happened and came into existence seems to have nearly destroyed Tirek’s mind. Tartaros was a paradise compared to what Aku had just unleashed upon this world.
Tirek immediately got up and started running away the best he could with just three legs now. He had run into a forest of extremely tall oak trees that weren’t there before, looking around and seeing Aku’s figure peeking around trees with his glowing eyes with that terrifying sword in full view. Trek’s mind continued to slip further into despair until he came to a sudden stop after turning his focus to his front. There stood Aku, face to face with him with a bloody smile on his face. He slowly looked down to see the sword buried in his lower torso. “May the fiends of hell be the ones to drag your body to hell and feast upon your corpse. Because you taste awful…” he growled in annoyance.
Before Tirek could try and pull away, the teeth had already sunken into his flesh. Aku gripped the hilt tighter before the teeth went to work. The sword literally ate up Tirek’s flesh and evil energy which flowed into the sword and into Aku’s body. In his onii form, the evil energy only made him stronger and boosted his constitution. Before long, Aku literally split Tirek up the middle before swinging his sword back down to finish the job. And just as Aku said, long bones arms soon sprouted from the ground and began to tear at Tirek’s lifeless body while pulling him down.
But before disappearing, all the magic that was absorbed from the other ponies was dispersed and returned. This event however, combined with the new world that had appeared in the massive field had created a massive dome of dimensional energy, allowing for a yokai portal to remain open. Aku returned from the forest to the abandoned village that had flickered into existence when the portal opened. There in the middle stood a large well where the portal was wide opened. Aku stabbed his sword into the ground and leaned over the smooth stone well and peered down into the dark, watery gate. The world he saw was unlike any other he had dreamed of back when his family told him the legends and stories of the yokai.
The world was twisted and dark, but full of ethereal light and somewhat beautiful in Aku’s eyes. It truly was a portal to the world of yokai. But was it just one world? Or were there more just as the legends spoke of? AT any rate, Aku couldn’t risk leaving this portal open. So he takes his sword back into his hand and grips it with both hands getting ready to perform an overhead strike to destroy the well. Before he can come down with one powerful swing, a voice calls out to him to stop “W-wait! Please don’t destroy the portal, sir!”.
Aku comes to a stop half way through his swing before looking down to see a small femine looking figure with fox ears and tail coming up slowly out of the portal with their hands up. Judging by the kind of shrine robes they were wearing, this must have been a kitsune yokai. But seeing how it had only two tails, it was below the rank of tenko. As the little yokai came out fully, they realized just who and what was about to strike the portal and nearly fall back into it with a shriek of terror. But before they fall back in, Aku reaches down and catches them by the back of their robe and lifts them up to face level as he looks them over with a look of amazement on his face.
“A real Kistune…holy fuck this is so cool!” He said before letting them drop onto their feet in front of him and crouched down before starting to poke gently at their cheek with a claw. “So, the stories of yokai from my world are real after all. You really do exist.”. The kitsune in question was stunned for a moment at Aku’s words. They lightly started batting at and pushing his large hand away in mild annoyance before nodding and pushing his hand down slightly. “What do you mean? Are you a yokai yourself? You have the form of a rather frightening onii. But now that I get a good look at your soul, your origins are human. Were you a wicked human in your lifetime?” asked the kitsune with wide eyes, curious as to why they haven’t been destroyed or eaten by Aku yet.
Aku shook his head as he rested his hands on his thighs. He lets out a soft sigh and rubs the bridge of his nose as he thinks of a short way to explain it all, but can’t “It is a truly long story. And here isn’t the place to explain it. I need to shut this portal down quickly before the beings of this world. But I will tell you that I am originally human. Circumstances have changed me otherwise. Tell you what, you provide me with the means to open up another portal elsewhere, and I will rebuild one for you. And since I can tell you aren’t a nogitsune, I feel like I can trust you.”.
The little fox perked their ears up and nodded understandingly “Ah, if that is all, we can go ahead and destroy this one then! But I will need to come with you to open the new one. I shall conceal myself. Don’t mind me~.” The kitsune said before poofing into a cloud of smoke and changing itself into a pipe fox before hiding in one of Aku’s pockets “Okay, you can proceed!”. Aku nodded and brought his sword back up for another overhead strike, this time coming down full force before destroying the gate completely. Soon enough, everything that flickered into existence earlier dissolved away slowly until there was nothing but the empty field once more.
Just as everything finally disappeared, Aku went back to his former form and the sword disappeared back into the ground. Just in time for the royal guards to show up with the princesses and the main six in tow. “Where is Tirek…? Did you send him back to Tartaros? Twilight told us what happened/ Where is the ‘dark world’ she spoke of?” asked Celestia as she looked around, seeing no evidence of any kind of fight. Aku looked back at Twilight before turning his attention to Celestia and her sister “Tirek is dead. That’s all you need to know.”. Celestia’s eyes widen for a moment before she stomps her hoof in disapproval “I said to STOP him, Aku! Not to kill him!”
“Guards, restrain him, and toss him into the dungeon!” Luna barked. “The deal is off! And we will take you prisoner for what you have done…” Just as the guards start to move in on Aku. A sudden round of gunfire carves a line between Aku and the guard as one of the helicopters soars down and ten soldiers drop to the ground with guns drawn. “Back the fuck off before we unload into your asses!” the ranking officer shouted as the clicking of the guns filled the immediate area. Right as when the helicopter landed, Aku was hurried into the helicopter and the soldiers back away with their guns still trained on the guards until they were all inside and the bird took off in the direction of Kazoku. “We got the boss, let's head home.” the pilot said as he went full speed.
“Looks like you were right on the money, sir. They weren’t going to honor the deal like you thought they wouldn’t.”. Aku wasn’t really surprised. This only increased his distrust in this country. And it was going to take a lot more than a little bowing to ever get him to help again. However, he had a new plan. And it is all thanks to an idea he got from his new friend who rested in his pocket.
As the citizens of Kazoku went about their day, the sound of rumbling echoed through the air as the helicopters that had left for Equestria flew overhead. Realizing that the Oni General had returned, Ironheart and all the other big wigs were made aware by soldiers posted near the City Hall. Once the helicopters had landed at the base just outside the city walls, Aku and his group of soldiers made their way straight for city hall to report on the action taken while in Equestria and to report the rather unfavorable outcome of the mission he was given. After getting half way into the city, Aku dismissed his protection unit. Not like he needed it anyway. “Alright everyone, head on home and get some rest. I am sure your families are wondering about you.” he ordered. “Sir! Take care, sir!” that said as they saluted and dispersed.
As Aku walked through the streets, he was approached by citizens who knew him personally and even stopped by a few shops on his way to the city hall. Even after all this time, with someone in as much power as him still remained humble and down to earth. Interacting with the creatures he had built this small nation with. And there was no way he was going to let it be taken or destroyed. He’d even give his very life if it was needed. Aku even came up to one of the street food vendors and spent some time talking to the owner. An older griffon who ran a mexican food grill. Formally a bandit seeking refuge from the far reaching claws of Equestria seeked assylum Kazoku. Thanks to the kindness of Aku and giving the griffon a second chance, he was able to find employment and sell his family’s long practiced cooking skills here, And make a killing off it as well.
“Aaah, Aku mi amigo! Good to see you again! The usual I assume?” he asked while placing beef fajitas upon his grill and began cooking it up. “Hey there, Astuto. Yeah, and make it to-go huh? I gotta get to city hall and report the nonsense I experienced over in Equestria.”. The griffon stoped for a second before going back to work as he reflected on his past from when he lived there. It was just like many others who came to this town. Someone trying to feed their family by doing what they could, even if it was rather..unsavory. “Ah, that place.” he said in a low gravelly voice.
“You know, I still feel like I haven’t thanked you enough for giving me and my family. A place to live. And not to mention this fine little building for me to sell my family’s traditional food. I have been far more prosperous in this than being a bandit.”. Aku smiled lightly and shook his head “Astuto, you made this happen all on your own. I simply gave you the second chance and a clean slate. And trust me, you didn’t disappoint anyone here. Everyone who has come by here is crazy about your food. I know I am.” The two went on and on as the food was being prepared. Just speaking about day to day things and catching up.
After taking his sweet time eating his food on the way to city hall, Aku finally gets there and heads inside while waving to everyone on the way up to the conference room. He pushes open the double doors and stands at the opposite end of the large table with Ironheart and the other council creatures at his left and right. Aku wasted no time as he placed his hands upon the table and leaned forward with a sigh. “Negotiations didn’t quite go as planned I am afraid everyone. While half of Equestria’s leaders were quite pleased to make alliances and trade pacts with us, I am afraid that the other half, including the royal sisters, were rather displeased with me showing up there.”.
Aku lifted his head up before speaking further “I also against my better judgment, did them a large favor in defeating Tirek for them only to turn around and try and throw me in prison simply because I didn’t stop him the way they wanted me to. He would have found some way to come back anyway if I hadn’t done it the way I did anyway. Thankfully a part of my team was able to come in and extract me quickly without me having to hurt anyone else. I told you those helicopters were a good idea.”. After Aku finished his report, the council spoke amongst themselves in a hushed tone before Ironheart stood up and walked over to Aku with a serious look on his face. Nothing was said between them for a moment before a smile formed on Ironheart’s muzzle and he gave Aku a good slap on the shoulder.
“HA! That actually turned out better than we had originally thought, kiddo! You did good!” he said before he returned to the other side of the table. Aku, standing there visibly confused as to what his leader said about him doing good, was trying to think of what would warrant praise for failing a mission. “I..don’t understand, Iron. Sure I got some support, but not all of it.”. Ironheart took a seat at his chair again before chuckling “Don’t you get it Aku? We sent you there to test your diplomatic skills and you surpassed all our expectations. The fact that you got ANY support from Equestria leaders is amazing. From what you have told us, it seems there are those who are getting rather tired of the royal sisters and their bullshit. This is good news all around.”.
Ironheart’s smile became a toothy grin and his eyes narrowed “And the fact that you took down Tirek and they STILL turned on you. You don’t understand what kind of chain reaction that will set off. That news will spread like wildfire all throughout Equestria and the ponies who love their princesses so much will have a change of heart. “The Magic Eater and the Oni General of Kozaku destroyed Tirek.” they will say. And the citizens of Equestria will no longer fear you, but sing and speak of your deed for many, many years to come. Though, I suppose that your new title will now be ‘The Oni King’ from this day forward.”.
Aku’s eyes widened in shock as he wasn’t sure he heard Ironheart right. “What do you mean…the ‘Oni King’?” he asked as he tried to process the meaning of that title. The whole table stood up and clasped their hands together before deeply bowing to Aku, Ironheart included. One of the council began to speak “Aku, you have shown signs of being the leader this nation needs. You are level headed and rational in your way of thinking. And the creatures here adore you with all their hearts. It is because of you that creatures from all around our world have flocked here seeking a second chance, and have become better for it.”.
“Not to mention, you have helped develop a small but very powerful military power within our world. The things you have brought over from your world and shared with us have made both our military and way of life both exciting and comfortable.” said another council creature. Aku shook his head and put a hand up slightly “I-I just brought the ideas up! I had no hand in actual development and all the hard work that everyone in R&D and engineering did. Besides, I don’t know if taking over this nation is right for me. I have always been more suited to being in the field…”
Ironheart sighed softly and walked back over to Aku and placed his hand upon his shoulder again, but in a more gentle, supportive way “You don’t understand, kiddo. We didn’t decide this on a whim. You may not believe it, but you are a major part in why this nation has become so successful. We need you here, alive and healthy. Not just us, all of Kazoku. While you have been away, we conducted a poll to see if you’d be accepted as the new ruler. And it was decided in a landslide that you’d certainly be accepted. The creatures here love and adore you for the life you have helped give them. And if they were to lose you in any way, their happiness and morale would nosedive. Understand?”
Aku’s mind was racing one hundred miles a minute. Never in a million years did he ever think he would be taking the role of a leader of a nation. He wanted so badly to refuse it, but at the same time, Ironheart’s words rang true in both his mind and heart. In Aku’s own opinion, he felt he was too humble to accept such a position. But, if that is what the creatures truly wanted from him, then he really didn’t have a choice. He did make a personal vow to do what he could for his nation. “Very well then, if that is how you and everyone else feels, then I will take up the mantle.”.
As Aku left the city hall back to his home, the little pipe fox that was hiding in his pocket flies out and circles him with a smile on their muzzle, having heard everything back in the conference room “Wowie! I would have never guessed that someone with the form of an oni could be so noble and benevolent as you! It really surprised me. But in a good way!” they said not wanting to offend Aku. Aku said nothing for the moment, his mind still trying to process the fact that he is now the ruler of a nation. At least officially at the moment. He still had to go through the formalities and ceremonials. “I…just never knew that everyone here counted on me so much. Quite a far cry from when I first came into this world.”
As Aku explained his story to the pipe fox, Shadow Temptest saw him off in the distance. She gave a small but excited smile as she ran up to him, the pipe fox disappearing back into his pocket before she could notice “Aku! You made it back safely!” she said as her tail swayed behind ehr excitedly. However, she noticed the rather troubled look on his face and immediately grew concerned for her friend. “Aku..? What happened?” she asked in a softer tone. “Come with me, Shadow. I will explain everything at home. Right now, I need a drink.”.
Aku and Shadow sat at the kitchen table as Aku pounded cup after cup of sake while explaining what had gone down at the city hall. It was clear to the mare that this decision weighed heavily upon not only her now commander and chief, but her closest friend she had ever made. She gazed upon Aku’s flushed face as he gave a small hiccup. “I understand how you must be feeling, Aku. It is going to be a big change from what you are used to. But, I want you to know that I will always be by your side and support you in all that you do. After all, I am one of those ponies that you have helped. And I owe you greatly for that. I would follow you into hell itself if it came to that.”.
Soon enough, Aku was far beyond the point of being sober. As he stood up from his chair, he nearly falls to the floor before Shadow quickly gets up and catches him. She places one of his arms over her shoulders and walks him to his bedroom. Aku said nothing all along the way. Apparently, he was a quiet drunk. As they got to his room, Shadow carefully placed him on his bed and laid him back onto his pillow before noticing that he had gone straight to sleep. She gave a soft smile and placed a hand upon his and gave a soft squeeze “You will make an excellent ruler, I promise.” She whispered before seeing herself out.
–Canterlot Castle–
Princess Luna stood on one of the throne room balconies as she looked over the land below. Aku weighed heavily on her mind after he had been saved by his soldiers from being taken prisoner. The fact that he escaped so easily made her angry beyond belief. As she continued to look out, a thestral guard approached her and kneeled down “Your highness, i bring news of the nation of Kazoku. One of our spies has reported that the one known as Aku is going to be ascending to the status of ruler of the new nation. And..I bring more troubling news. It would seem that many of our own citizens had learned that Aku was the one who destroyed Tirek. And that..you and princess Celestia turned on him when the deed was done. Protests and ponies leaving their homes in support of Aku have already begun against the both of you…”
Luna slowly squeezed her hands into fists as she began to curse Aku from the bottom of her heart. She still hadn’t forgotten the fact that Aku made both her and her sister bow before him, even if it was just in the dream realm. Now that he was becoming a ruler and her subjects were either leaving Equestria or protesting in favor of him angered her even further. “Oh? He is planning on becoming a ruler is he? I am going to see to it myself that that never happens..I am leaving for Kazoku. Not a word of this to my sister. Is that understood?” she ordered. “Y-yes your highness..” the guard said as he could feel the anger swelling up inside Luna as she made ehr way to the royal armory.
–A Couple Days Later–
Aku stood in the changing room as he was putting on his ceremonial robe. A long flowing black and white emperor’s robe with long billowing sleeves and a decorated katana at his left side and a large embroidered yin and yang on his back surrounded by an octagon. He stood there after finishing up and looked into the mirror at himself. This was the day that everyone in his nation would know he is their ruler now. And he was beyond nervous. Suddenly there was a knock at the door “Aku, it is me. May I come in?” asked Shadow from the other side. Aku turned and said “Yes, come in.”. Shadow makes her way into the room, dressed in a beautiful dark purple and white ceremonial kimono that looked amazing on her.
“Wow..you look really handsome in that, Aku. It really suits you.” she said as she looked him up and down. He truly did look like one of the rulers of which he had told her about in his world. “The ceremony is prepared and everyone has gathered. We are just waiting on our great Oni King to come and take his rightful place.”. Aku took a deep breath and gave a firm nod “I may have accepted this position. But I am so fucking nervous right now..”. Shadow could see it on his face. She made her way to him and took both of his hands into hers “Listen to me, Aku. You have all of the military, citizens, and especially me wanting this for you. Even if one day, everyone should turn against you, I won’t ever do so. I promise.”
They both stood there for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes before hugging tightly. The embrace lasting for a good few minutes as Aku took in her scent and warmth. He didn’t realize it yet, but the mare was becoming something far more than just a friend to him. Shadow didn’t stick by his side out of obligation or military loyalty, but because she genuinely cared for and loved Aku. If it wasn;t for him, she’d still be struggling to find a place in the Storm King’s ranks. After their embrace was broken, Aku smiled and placed his hands on ehr shoulders”Thank you, Shadow. That truly does mean the world to me.”
As he made his way up the steps and stood under the tori gate, he turned to face the massive crowd before him as they all stood back up. Aku cleared his throat and closed his eyes for a moment. He took in the quiet scenery before speaking as loud as he could. “To all who belong to this nation. I am deeply honored that you have decided to make me your acting ruler. I honestly had serious doubts in myself about taking this position. But, I was reminded over and over that I was perfect for the role. As your new ruler, I will do anything and everything I have to to make sure all who call this nation home are happy, healthy, and live prosperous. Everyone who ventures here for a new life deserves a second chance. And that policy will never ever change. And I will even give my own life to make sure that we all stay happy forever.”.
Suddenly, a quote from his home struck him. He places his hand upon the hilt of his katana”A single arrow is easily broken. But, not a bundle of ten. Alone, we are weak, but together, we are unbreakable!” he said as he took out the sword and thrusted it high into the air, the wind flowing through his robes and hair as the crowd cheers as loud as it could be. Once he sheathed the sword back, he dropped to a knee, Ironheart coming up behind him and placing a rather beautifully decorated headpiece upon Aku’s head before he rose back up “Your Oni King, Aku!” he happily announced. The crowd went crazy again with cheers and clapping. At that moment, Aku felt a strange yet pleasant feeling from all the cheering. The fact that all these creatures saw him as a proper leader and depended upon him. He felt like he could do it now. It was going to be a long and hard road. But, his heart was telling him that he was made for this now.
Just then, Aku could sense something was off, a sick feeling in his stomach crept up on him before he looked up to see a rather large dark blue beam of magic heading directly his way. He pushed Ironheart back forcefully and leapt into the air as high as he could before letting out a loud battle cry as he thrusted his left hand forward and intercepted the beam. The collision causing a large shockwave to disperse and knock everyone down and onto one another. Thankfully, Aku swallowed up most of the magic so the damage minimal. After landing on the ground, he looks up to see Princess Luna clad in black and dark blue armor with a scythe in one hand, and her other extended out.
“So, here you are. Taking the place of a ruler in our world. I will not stand for this. Do you understand..? You have upset the natural order of things and I will NOT stand for it you bastard!”. Aku looked around at everyone to make sure they were okay. What he saw however were his people injured. Some had some broken bones, others had cuts and bruises. The civilian damage seemed to varey. The last straw was the fact that children were also involved in the blast. Aku feel silent for a moment before burying his face into his hands. He started grunting quietly at first, bearing his teeth as the grunting turned to growling as the dark purple aura started flickering around him.
The pipe fox could sense what was about to happen. They knew that this presence was that of the oni. And they flew out of Aku pocket and took their full form before trying to calm Aku down “W-Wait! Calm down! I know this is bad, but you have to-!” she was then interrupted by Aku letting out a roar of rage and anguish as the dark aura became a fiery pillar “I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE FROM ME AGAAAAIIN!!” he screamed as he took his oni form once again and slammed his hand into the ground to pull out his saw sword. The blades and teeth revved up as he squeezed the hilt tightly. He lowers himself down, the ground cracking below him before he jumps and soars up toward Luna. Not caring if everyone sees him mutilate her. His hearts was now bent on revenge and murder.
As Aku flew straight towards Luna, the sheer speed of his leap surprised her as she brought her scythe up to defend herself from the overhead strike that he was performing on his way up. When the buzzing bladed teeth struck the weapon, sparks flew furiously as they cut against the reinforced metal of Luna’s weapon. However, the sheer brute force of the attack sent Luna spiraling out of the air and down to the forested area outside of the town, Aku leaping again from building to building after her before disappearing over the wall.
Luna collided with the ground after a few bounces as she was thrown out of the air. Had she not been wearing armor, the alicorn may have suffered critical damage.As she slowly rose to her hooves, Aku landed maybe fifteen feet from her and growled lowly in anger with his weapon held tightly in one hand. And just then, something familiar began to happen. Just as in the fight with Tirek, the area darkened with a red fog as an ancient Japanese forest began to flicker into existence. Luna looked around as she watched the world change before her eyes. She wasn’t sure what was going on. And Aku was in too much of a rage to even realize it himself.
“You…you and your fucking xenophobic, hateful country filled wIth ponies who are afraid of beings or things they don’t understand. You have tried to take every little good thing from my life the first day I got here. Not only that, you repay my good deeds with a stab in the back each time. And I am so fucking sick of your bullshit!” Aku roared out in anger as he revved the bladed teeth once more. Luna took her own stance with weapon in hand as she glared daggers into Aku.
“Because of you, our citizens are turning against us! Everything was going just fine until you were dropped into our world. We had a plan for everything! And here you came and derailed it all! YOU of all creatures weren’t meant to be a hero!” Aku heard that word, ‘hero’. It infuriated him beyond belief. First off, he was certainly no hero And second, the fact that she was botching to him that her subjects were turning against her wasn’t his problem. The fact that she solely blames him for it all?
“I never wanted to be here in the first place! I was ripped from my home onlyu to be brought here and seen as a fucking outcast on day one and suffered under your damned poeple and yopur country! ANd now that I found a place in this world, you come and attempt to destroy it because things aren’t going your way?! I AM SICK AND TIRED OF IT ALL!” he roared again. Aku's stance changed for a normal offense to one with absolute intent to kill. He lifts his sword up over the the right side of his head with both hands with the blade pointed down, his feet spread with his left foot forward and his right foot behind him.
“You invaded my home…attacked my people unprovoked…I am going to strip you of your ‘divinity’ and devour every fiber of your being. There will be nothing left!” Aku shouted as he lunged forward before colliding with Luna’s weapon, this time sliding past her as the weapons scrape each other again, sending off more sparks. As Aku slid behind her, he performs a spinning heel kick to her back which makes her tumble forward but she quickly recovers back onto her hooves.
Aku comes in for another wing of his sword, but lLuna comes in with a quick swing over her own, landing a slash across his torso which causes Aku to growl in pain. But his anger far outweighing his sense of self preservation pushes him to grab at Luna, his large left hand engulfing her head easily as the mouth on his hand opened widely and began to chew and tear at her face while slapping her of her magic. Muffled screams of agony could be heard as her body twitches and convulses as the alicorn flails her weapon wildly to try and hit Aku to force him to let go. While the strikes do land and leave deep wounds across his arm, it takes a considerable amount of cuts to make him let go. And by letting go, he really threw her across the forest and into a tree.
Luna’s face, nor torn up by the teeth from the mouth in Aku’s left palm, was bleeding badly. Somehow, she avoided losing both of her eyes, but blood was pouring into them, certainly impairing her vision. But, it didn’t stop her. She got up to her hooves and charged at him with a warrior’s cry. Aku looked down at his currently left useless arm, the pain finally hitting him from all the damage it took from Luna’s scythe. He was certainly being reckless in this form. It was now time to put this forest to use now that his rage was finally dying down. But the intent to kill her was still very much alive.
Aku watched the alicorn charge forward before a wicked smile formed across his face along with narrowed, glaring eyes. He backed away behind a tree with an eerie echoing laugh “You are in my realm now, princess. These are the same kinds of woods that people would wonder into and get captured and eaten by the oni.” he said as his voice echoed around her. Each time she would turn around, she’d see Aku’s silhouette peeking from behind the trees before disappearing just as quick as it appeared, those dark glowing purple eyes sending chills down her spine.
“Foolish, ignorant humans. It didn’t matter if they were adults or children..the oni considered them all prey to be devoured. You wandered into MY territory and attacked an oni. So naturally, I am going to make you my next meal.”. Luna swung at Aku whenever he got close enough. Only to bait her before disappearing behind the trees again. “You may be in your element here,monster! But all I have to do is take flight and I will have the advantage!” she said as she’d spread her wings. Just as she took off, Aku grabbed her tail from behind and yanked her back down.
Aku tore open her armor with his right hand and teeth as if destroying a lobster’s shell from behind “Ah yes, these things. I shall rid you of them, permanently.” he said before digging his teeth into her back right where the wing joints and muscles connected. The sound of bones breaking and muscles being torn apart could be heard as Aku ate away at her back. Luna’s eyes shot open in horror as the shock hit her before the unbearable pain did. She cried out with tears flowing from her eyes before she was thrown to the ground once more.
What remained of her wings dropped to the ground at Aku’s feet. Once he was done with that, he placed his foot upon Luna’s head and took hold of her horn. Luna knew what he was trying to do. In a natural defense, she powered up her horn to cause him to let go from the concentrated magic. But she had forgotten that this realm’s magic is completely negated by his touch. With one swift motion of his wrist, the horn snaps right off at the base, a small stream of blood pouring from where the horn used to be now. Aku tosses it away and goes to grab his sword which he planted in the ground up right and made his way back to the fallen princess. Slowly, dragging the sword behind him as if to prolong the closing in of death
Luna looked up at Aku with a mixture of tears and blood on her face. The confident warrior that faced him before was now a quivering, whimpering mess as Aku raised his blade over his head”P-Please, AKu…please show me mercy. I was wrong to do what I did…please..!” Aku looked down to see Luna transforming into a smaller light blue version of herself. A defenseless little mare who looked up at Aku with a pitiful and scared expression on her face. Aku wasn’t buying it though. He smiled wickedly before shaking his head “I recall no such courtesy from you. Now, die.” He said in a cold tone.
Just as Aku swung his sword down, the blade was blocked by a large golden halberd as Celestia now stood over her sister clad in heavy golden plated armor in a defense stance, glaring up at Aku with disdain in her eyes Aku’s glare never broke however as he applied more pressure upon the defending princess of the sun. “Well well, look who it is. The biggest fucking hypocrite of all Equestria. All those promises you made to me about clearing my name, only to betray me each time.” The weapons shimmered in the red light as the two weapons pressed against one another.
“It’s your fault, you know. Both of yours. Some of your people know the last betrayal you committed against me. And they have decided to leave your country or protest against your decisions it seems. All because you chose to bury your heads in the sand in fear and sought to kill me. YOU are the reason why your sister is now in this sorry state.” Aku said as he tried to apply more pressure to make Celestia lose her footing. The older alicorn growled lowly as Aku continued his combination of well placed blame and physical suppression against her.
“Y-You didn’t have to go this far, Aku! You have caused my sister great harm, you have taken ehr wings and her horn-!” she was suddenly cut off by Aku who responded angrily “And your sister blatantly invaded MY land and nearly killed HUNDREDS of my people on MY coronation day! Every single one of my people, including children that attended, are hurt because of your sister’s petty pride! Diplomacy wasn’t even offered! She attacked without any provocation from me or ANY of my people! So she is paying the price!”
As Aku told this to Celestia, the alicorn’s strength came to full as she pushed Aku away finally and scooped up her sister in an arm “As a ruler myself, I understand where you are coming from! But you need to understand that because of what you are and what you can do, you should have shown my sister mercy!” Aku let out a roar and threw his sword at Celestia, the blade grazing her cheek as it planted itself right into the tree behind her. “Mercy?! MERCY?! How about the mercy you showed me when one of your hand picked royal guards fucking stabbed me in the gut in a PUBLIC execution?! Did you show me any mercy there?! Huh?!”. Aku was making valid points all across the board. Her country did indeed try to have him killed over something as trivial as him being an outsider of the world. She remembered the friendship lessons that Twilight had been reporting to her everytime she learned one. And yet, the same was never shown to him with his stay in Equestria. But the condition of her sister was causing her emotions to overdrive into angry and upset states “I don’t know what to say to you, okay?! I know what my country has done to you! But still…you didn’t have to..you didn’t have to…!”
Celestia’s eyes welled up with tears as she continued to glare at Aku. He truly painted her into a corner at this point. Aku lifts his hand up as the sword flies back into his hand and growls lowly “Get the hell out of my nation before I decide to cut you down as well. ANd if you dare invade my nation and hurt my people, I will be retaliating with the full force of my military. You have been warned, Princess Celestia. Keep your soldiers and spies out of my nation. I have already had many disposed of and burned to ashes. But this, this is your final warning. And I will NOT show you or them any more mercy. Do I make myself clear?”.
Celestia knew that wasn’t an empty threat. WHat she saw before her was a monster. But a monster who had every right to defend his nation from those who invaded. After all, he never once threatened to invade Equestria. He simply wanted his own nation to prosper and be left alone by others. Her thoughts turned to Aku for a moment and what he said to her back at the summit in private. ”I don’t care about your political squabbles between your leaders of your country. My nation is a peace loving and self-sustaining one. All we want is to live out our lives free from corrupt nobles and two faced leaders. Nothing more, nothing less.”.
Those words carried genuine meaning. And she now knew that Aku would be willing to do anything for his nation. Even becoming something like this to protect their health and happiness. To do what and make the decisions she couldn’t all while maintaining the love and adoration of his nation. And it infuriated her to no end that he could do it so easily. “You see, Celestia. My nation knows about what I am. They have never seen this side of me, but they know it exists. But, they know that if I have to become this monster, it is to make sure I have the power to keep my nation safe. Now, leave.”
Celestia disappeared in a bright golden light with ehr sister in her arms. Once he knew she was gone. Aku collapsed to his knees and held his still bleeding arm which Luna had carved up good and still had the huge opened gash across his torso. He sat there for a moment before rising up to his feet again and began to walk tiredly back to his home. The scenery changed back quicker this time. And his sword disappeared back into the ground once more for whenever its owner would call upon it once more.
A crowd stood at the gate that led out in Aku’s direction. A group of samurai and ninjas stood ready to go out and help support Aku. Just as they started to move out, the gates swing open as Aku walks within view, still in his oni form. One would expect the citizens to run away in fear and the military to attack him on sight. But, they all knew who he was. He was their leader, their Oni King. So rather than flee or attack, they all crowd around him as he falls to his knees again. “Quick, get a medical team out here on the double, he has been cut up pretty bad!” shouted one of the higher ranking samurai as others came around him to support his form physically.
“How is everyone back at the ceremony? Please tell me no fatalities.” Aku said with a hopeful look in his eyes. One of the ninjas came up to him and confirmed that no one had died. Just a few broken bones and minor injuries. Aku gace out a sigh of relief before he finally changed back into his normal form. A medical team had arrived short after and placed him on a stretcher. They carried him off to the hospital as quickly and as careful as they could. The crowd of creatures following close behind, worried for the man who had saved his people and truly showed what kind of leader he is.
All was quiet in the Royal Medical wing in Canterlot Castle. Princess Luna laid in the room ,a medical bed covered in head to toe with bandages which included where her horn and wings used to be. The mare slumbered, albeit rather roughly as Celestia opened the door closed it behind her as she walked over to her younger sister’s side and gently shook her await. The younger sister immediately shot up with bloodshot eyes and a cold sweat dripping down her face “N-No please, not my wings!!!” she screamed in absolute horror before realizing where she was now. She looks up to see her sister standing by her side before wrapping her arms around her tightly.
“Sister! I am so glad that you came to rescue me!” Luna cried out with tears of happiness. However, that moment wasn’t meant to last as Celestia placed her hands upon her sister’s shoulders “Dear sister..do you realize what you have done..?” she asked in a rather somber tone. She pushes Luna back lightly as she gazes down into her eyes “You went and attacked an enemy nation out of a fit of rage for Aku? You should have known what he would have done. Despite how evil and cruel he seems, he has shown that he cares a great deal for the nation he now rules.”.
Luna’s eyes widen as she leans away from her sister’s touch before looking out the window of the clear afternoon sky “You are taking his side now..? After what he did to me-?”. Celestia closed her eyes and raised her tone rather harshly “Wake up, Luna! You went and attacked an unprovoked nation! Aku was well within his right to do what he did to you! Had I not shown up to bring you back home, there would have been nothing left of you!”. It was clear that what Aku had done to Luna tore Celestia up inside. Her eyes both filled with anger and sadness for her younger sister. But, as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t blame the Oni King.
Celestia walked over to the window with her left hand squeezing her upper right arm “You are lucky to be alive..he would have devoured you without a second thought.” she said as the gruesome image in her mind played out, making her shudder in terror. “At least he was compassionate enough to let me leave with you. You need to remember that he has the distinct advantage of siphoning our magic away. And Unlike Tirek, there is no way to retrieve it from him. Once he swallows all your magic, there is no getting it back.”. However, this talk was being wasted upon the former alicorn. For without her wings and horn, she might as well be an earth pony.
Luna, being the younger sister, wanted to protest against her elder. She wanted to tell her that everything was his fault. The protests, their citizens leaving, everything. But deep down, she knew that she was the one who made the mistake of doing what she did. She looked down at her hands and began to sob quietly “He took my magic from me..not just my wings and horn. The way he did it was so brutal. He had this..mouth in the middle of his left palm. It tore at my face and I could feel my magic literally being torn from me. It hurt so much. Not only that, but I felt whatever presence of Nightmare Moon I had left within me get ripped from me as well. If he can do that…there is no telling what else that monster is capable of.”
Celestia listened as her sister described in detail of what had happened. It made her shudder in horror for sure. But, that didn’t make her stance on the matter change. Her sister did what she did. And now, it may cause issues for both of them and their kingdom down the road sooner or later. There was only one thing to do and hope that it will cool things down between Equestria and Aku’s nation. “We have no choice, Luna. We must send the elements on our behalf to negotiate peace. I know that if either you or I show up there, they will not give us a chance. I hate to do this to Twilight and her friends. But they are the only ones who are on somewhat decent ground with Aku.”
Celestia walks away from her sister and sits down at a table as a paper and quill appear in front of her. As she began writing, Luna looked down at her hands which rested in her lap. She didn’t like the idea, not one bit. BNut, it was the logical thing to do after her irrational decision. It was a risk to send them to Aku. But, with everything going on now, their choices were running low. However, would this choice be a costly one?
–Outside Of Kazoku–
The sounds of construction could be heard as a team of builders were busy putting together a small village that surrounded a well with a shrine sitting at the top of the village. Aku stood there in dirty work clothing, not wanting to have his people work on it all by themselves without his guidance and support. Not to mention, it was an excuse to get away from his new ruler position, even if for a little while. He didn’t mind the work anyway. “So, these plans follow the golden ratio quiote nicely. And the buildings are looking just as they did back in the feudal era where I come from. You are all doing extremely well.” he said as he looked over the blueprints which sat on a workbench with the leaders of the teams standing next to him.
“What are we building this village for, Aku?” asked one of the leaders. Even though he was their ruler now, he didn’t really care for formalities unless they weren’t his citizens. They didn’t deserve that right. Aku smiles as his gaze turns to the leader”This is for an experiment I will be conducting soon. Rest assured, nothing negative will come of it. You have my word, as do the rest of you and all the citizens. If anything, this may help us all in the long run. Now then, make sure this goes here, and that there…” he said as he continued to instruct the building.
–A Few Hours Later–
Twilight and her friends ventured down the stone brick path that led to Kazoku. She was the first one to notice the tori gates every now and then that stood over the as they grew closer and closer to the capital of the nation and that the road splits off into others which lead to the smaller cities. As they came to the main gate of the city, a group of samurai who were stationed to guard the entrance moved closer together in front of the gate with their hands on their sword hilts. “Your faces aren’t familiar here. State your names and business here.”
The six mares stopped in their tracks as the guards stood in their way. Rainbow Dash, being the hot head she was, flew right up into the first guard’s face and glared as she spoke. “You listen here, buddy. We are here to speak with Aku, not you. So you better let us through if you know what’s good for-Woooah!” she screamed as she was pushed away and then thrown to the ground with a quick and simple aikido throw from the guard who in fact was a mare. And a very strong one at that. “First off, you WILL refer to him as the Oni King. Second of all, this isn’t YOUR homeland. So you and your friends will follow the rules just as every new face does here.” She then turned to one of the guards behind her”Go and retrieve General Tempest. We have a group of ponies here who say they need to speak with the Oni King.”
As the guard went off to get Shadow Tempest, Twilight placed a palm on her face before walking over to help Rainbow up from the ground “You know, that isn’t going to look good when and if we get to see him, RD. I know you still carry a grudge against him. But, if we are to succeed here, you will need to reign in your teper. She is right, we are in his domain now. And we need to be respectful if we want this peace talk to go well.” After an hour, Tempest Shadow comes to the gate with Aku next to her. He was dressed in his usual ruler attire after he had cleaned up and finished his business on the outskirts of the city. His eyes widened for a moment before narrowing at the group of familiar faces “You six…” he simply stated in a rather harsh tone.
Twilight takes a step toward him with a hopeful smile before he puts a hand out in front of him to make sure she stays back “Your time may have expired from being banned here. But that doesn’t mean you are on friendly terms with me, Twilight. Fluttershy is the only exception to that. Now then, I take it you are here to speak with me about some kind of peace talk with your leaders. No doubt you know what one of them did here, and what I did to them in return.”
Twilight stopped in mid step as Aku spoke to her. Her ears and tail dropped as he prevented her from getting closer “Y-yes. They made it clear to us that you forbade them from ever stepping hoof into your nation. So they sent us in their place.” Aku looked down at Tempest with a nod “They are here on royal business. So see to it they are given the finest hospitality we have. I mean it.” He said as he turned away to head back to city hall. Tempest nodded and motioned for the guards to let them pass and follow her.
As they walked through the city, Tempest spoke to them “You know, if he was still a general, he would have denied all of you entry right away. I know what some of you think of him. You see him as a ruthless monster. But, take a look around this city, and you will find he is a better ruler than your two princesses could ever be.”. And look around they did. Not only did they see ponies, but gryphons and hippogryphs too. All coexisting happily within this nation peacefully and happily with one another. Guard and citizens speaking to each other as equals on the streets. Shops and businesses thriving greatly, and all around peace. The six mares could hardly believe what they were seeing. Expecting a kingdom full of sadden faces and poverty, now finding it happy and affluent.
Once they had settled into their room, the six of them gathered around on the couches. “Okay, this city is certainly what I wasn’t expecting. It seems that all the creatures here are doing just fine. I even saw some familiar faces in town who had moved away from Canterlot and Ponyville. It would seem that the rumors of ponies leaving Equestria to come make a life here are true.” Twilight said as she rubbed her chin in thought, genuinely surprised at this. “And did you see the style of clothing that was in the shops?! So many exotic and beautiful designs! I am most certainly inspired to create more whenever we return home~.” Beamed Rarity as new ideas swirled around in ehr ever creative mind.
“And did you smell all the wonderful foods we passed on the way here? They have just about everything here! And new foods I have never ever seen before.” pinkie said as she bounced excitedly in her seat. Applejack and Rainbow however, sat there with their arms crossed. Both were unimpressed at what Aku had helped create. Of course those two would still be holding a grudge against him. Fluttershy remained speechless as she sat there in ehr own thoughts. She had her own plan in mind after everyone had gone to sleep for the night.
It was late in the evening. Aku sat at his desk filling out requests and important paperwork that had been sent to him over the past few days. As he was focusing on his work, he heard a knock on the window behind him which made him jump slightly before grabbing his sword that sat next to him, getting ready to pull it out before seeing Fluttershy peering in at him. She gave a light squeak as she saw him grab his sword and flew back a bit. He sighed before placing the sword back down against his desk and opened the window to allow her to come in.
She cautiously makes her way into the room after he closes the window behind her before landing on her hooves. “You know you could have come through the front, right?” said Aku as he turned to face her. “I…I don’t think they would have let me in to see you, Aku..” she said as she swirled one of ehr hooves on the ground while she looked at him from behind her hair. “I…I wanted to see you so badly, I just couldn’t help myself. I really, really mi-..eep!” She lets out before she is cut off by Aku embracing her into a warm and tight hug.His chin rested atop her head between her ears as his hands ran up and down her back, a shaky breath escaping his lips as he spoke to her “I have missed you too, Shy. So, so very much. More than you will ever know in fact.”
As Fluttershy was being held by Aku like this, a fear had finally been lifted from her shoulders. The little yellow pegasus had feared that he had lost all affection for her. Her arms slowly wrap around Aku’s back and grip his robe firmly as soft little sobs and whimpers come from her as she buried her face into his chest staining his clothes with her tears, the mare shaking hard as she tries to find the right words to say to him after all this time. “When I first saw you at the gates, I wanted to hold you just like this right away. But..I couldn’t.”
Fluttershy understood why he acted the way he did. But here and now, he was showing that side of himself that she had missed while he was living back in Ponyville, that sweet and loving side she had come to love about him. After a few more minutes, she looked up at him before saying “I…I have thought about this long and hard since the last time I saw you, Aku. The others don’t know about this. But I have come to a final decision on the offer you made to me last time. I want to come and live here in this nation. I want to experience what this nation has to offer and support you in any way I can…”. The room fell silent for what felt like an eternity. Did he hear her right? She wanted to leave Equestria…?
Twilight and her friends sat one one end of a long, finely carved wood conference table in chairs they had never sat in before. Sot and plush from the back to the seat and be able to lean back and roll around in them. The typical office chair from where AKU came from. While Aku himself sat at the other end of the table with his hands clasped together and resting upon the shiny, clean wooden table top with Tempest standing at his side along with the other council members in the respective seats next to him. The room was dark all for the lights that hung over the whole seating area.
In this kind of light, Aku looked more intimidating than ever, which made Twilight and the others a bit uncomfortable. However, they did notice that Fluttershy wasn’t anywhere among them. Thinking that she didn’t want any part of this, they figured they’d get things started with the peace talk. “So then…I imagine that your princesses have set out a few terms to form a peaceful relationship with this nation then?” Aku asked as he sat there in the same position. Twilight nodded and took out the stack of several scrolls and levitated them towards Aku. Once they were placed in front of him and he opened them, he started reading them.
All was quiet for a moment as he had passed the scrolls around to the council members. Once he and they had finished reading them. Aku stood up and walked over to one of the windows as he looked out at the city.”So, your leaders are demanding I send back every single pony from Equestria, refugee or not, so that they can be returned to their proper home and the refugees properly punished? And the fact they demand that we share our military skills and technologies? And the gaul they have of even asking for this last one…” he said before turning to face them again. “..For me to step down as the ruler of our nation? Al for the possibility of not having to worry about Equestria sending in forces to take over?”
Aku stepped forward and leaned on the table with his hand flat on the surface and his head lowered for a moment before lifting his head slowly. A sharp toothy grin slowly formed on his face, a ghostly image of the oni standing behind him with the same smile on his face,which was clearly visible to everyone in the room. While Twilight and the others were clearly disturbed by the ghostly image, the council and Tempest only looked to Aku and the image with acknowledgement and reverence. “You can tell your leaders to “get fucked’’. Even a child could see that this is a one sided deal. I might have not been a leader as long as the princesses of Equestria. But I have learned many, many things thanks to experienced minds that have come to our nation.”
He takes the scrolls in his hand and rips them apart into tiny shreds before tossing them in the air, a look of shock upon Twilight and her friends’ face as they didn’t expect this peace talk to go south so quickly. “Now you listen here!” shouted Applejack “The ponies that came here from Equestria belong there. It is because of yer influence that they up n’ abandoned their homes to come tuh this nation! We dun know what kinda tricks you are usin’, but you are splittin’ up families and protectin’ criminals from justice that needs to be served!” She shouts as she stands up while banging her fists on the table. The guards at the double doors place their hands on their sword hilts and start to move in slowly. Aku places a hand up to stop them and shakes his head which makes them step back into position.
“When you came into our city, did you notice all the creatures who own their own shops and restaurants? Half of them are refugees from not only Equestria, but from other nations as well. They are living a life far better than they had ever done so before finding their way here. In my nation, we believe in second chances. While there are some cases where they are a lost cause, we have a ninety-eight percent success rate of reformation. Twenty-three percent higher than Equestria. DO you know why? Because we give them not only incentive, but a choice. Not an ultimatum unlike your princesses. “
“As for breaking up families, everyone is allowed to make their own decisions in life. We have even had children make their way here because of abusive parents or guardians. And we have happily taken them in and helped them find new homes or even allowed them to take up jobs if they so desired. All while still treating them with the proper care a child needs.” Rainbow stands up and points a finger at Aku with an enraged glare “You promote child labor?! WHat kind of monster are you?!” she screamed, getting ready to fly over the table at Aku. Aku shook his head in response
“Paid internships. As I said before, we don’t force the children to work. But,we have those few who already know what they want to do in life and seek out a master of the craft they wish to pursue. While education is a must for everyone, it is good to allow them to start when they are young so that their experience grows even more when they go into adulthood. All while making money so that they can buy all their needs and wants. And what’s even better? You won’t find a single one of them living on the streets or in alley ways simply because they want to better themselves for their future.” Aku continued to explain in a calm and rational manner. All while quietly reveling in their angry outbursts.
Aku looked over to the guard at the double door and nodded “You can bring him in now.” He said as before the guards opened the door and a colt who was at least fifteen years of age came in. He was wearing a chef’s jacket and black pants with a slightly messy apron around his waist. Once he was brought in and spotted Aku, his eyes lit up and a genuine smile formed across his muzzle. “Oh wow! Had I known I was coming to see you, I would have changed into something more proper!” He said as he ran up to Aku and swung his arms around him in as tight of a hug as he could. Aku responded in kind as he placed a hand on his shoulder and gently ruffled his hair.
“Hey there, Cookie Crunch. How goes the sweets business with Sweet Cream? Is she teaching you everything you want to learn?”. The colt nodded multiple times and pulled out a rather hefty coin purse of bits he had worked so hard to earn”Mhm! And she has been paying me on the amount we both agreed on. She is even talking about already giving me a raise!” From the five mare’s view point, the colt was genuinely happy with his situation. Even Pinkie could tell that his smile was one-hundred percent real. And as much as she didn’t want to admit it, Applejack could tell that none of this was staged or an act.
Aku smiled in approval of the colt which in turn made him chuckle and smile back “You gotta come by sometime, Aku! We came up with a new cupcake icing flavor that has been making them fly off the shelves. And I am sure you will like it!”. Aku nodded again and placed his hand upon the colt’s shoulder again like a father would do to show his son that he was proud of him “I will most certainly swing by sometime soon. Now, off you go.”. ANd with that, the colt gives Aku one more hug and runs out of the room.
Aku then turns to the six mares as a serious gaze returns to his face “So, as you can see. Everyone is doing fine in OUR nation. We may not be perfect, but you know what? We work through things TOGETHER. Your princesses send you out into the world to fix their problems. But you follow them blindly. That is your problem.” Aku then makes his way to his spot at the table and smiles again. “Speaking of new residents of our nation…” he said as Fluttershy came out from behind a curtain and took her place at Aku’s left side. “Fluttershy has made a choice she has been thinking about for a long time now. And she has chosen to make her new home here in Kazoku.” he said as he placed a hand upon her shoulder in a comforting manner, knowing what was about to come next for her.
All five of them gasped in shock as their eyes widened to look like saucer plates. Twilight stood up with a look of both anger and disappointment upon her face “Fluttershy…how could you even want such a thing? Would you really betray your own nation for another..?” Fluttershy looked up at Aku, he nodded in reassurance to ehr before she got a serious look on her face and began explaining herself confidently. “Yes, I do, Twilight. And do you know why? Because while everyone else was blaming and ridiculing Aku, I saw past all that and found a sweet and caring stallion who wanted to do what he could to help others. And what did Equestria and its residents do? They turned against him because they didn’t understand his abilities and immediately saw him as a monster! You and I both know that wasn’t fair to him, Twilight!”
Aku could hear the emotion starting to shake her voice and tears slowly welling up in her eyes. Tempest, having the same kind of feelings after learning about Aku’s past in Equestria, felt sentimental herself as she makes her way over to Fluttershy and gently places her hand on her other shoulder in a gentle manner. It seems she had already found common ground with the yellow pegasus. They both cared for Aku a great deal. “And I decided I want to be a part of this nation! And there is nothing you can say or do that will change my mind! I won’t ever sit on the sidelines again and let him go through that kind of pain ever again!”.
Fluittershy’s heart beat rapidly as she let all that out, the mare having never spoken ehr mind so much in so little time. She placed her hands on her chest and breathed heavily before Aku nodded to Tempest “She has had enough…take her to one of the overnight rooms and let her rest. This has been weighing on her shoulders ever since last night.”. Tempest nodded and gently took Fluittershy’s arm around hers and led her out of the room. As she passed her friends, she said one final thing “I am not sorry about the choice I have made here.” as the doors close behind her.
Twilight and the others look back at Aku with resentment in their eyes. Not only has one of their best friends chosen to abandon Equestria, but now the elements are split apart. Rainbow and Applejack were hot now. Both of them climbed over the table and made their way straight to Aku. They both tackle him to the ground and start to pound their fists into his body as hard as they could before the council members start scrambling to get them off him. Suddenly, they are sent flying across the room and into one of the marble pillars. A loud thud and cracking sound could be heard as a few of their ribs have been broken.
Aku rose to his feet, not looking any worse for wear as he dusted off his clothes and menacingly made his way over to the two mares who groaned in pain, but looked up at him with the same expressions they had before. As he gazed down at them, his eyes started to glow a dark purple as a toothy grin formed across his face again “You know, I could tear you apart right here and now for what you two just did. I could drain you of every last bit of your magic and make you into nothing but a sulking mess. You two would never be able to buck apples or fly the skies ever again. But, out of respect for Twilight and the others, along with Fluttershy’s affection for all of you, you are lucky you are getting off with just this. General Tempest would have torn you apart herself if she saw what you had just done.” he said before looking back at Twilight “Take the rest of your friends and return home, Twilight. Tell your leaders what I have told you.”
Suddenly a pair of hooves started running towards Aku as a pink blur latched herself around Aku while looking up at him with tears in her eyes “This isn’t who you are, Aku! What happened to the guy who helped me bake cupcakes even though he didn’t want to?! And even was nice enough to stick around and help me clean up?! I know you are still that some stallion under all this darkness in your heart along with all these physical changes!” she exclaimed as she started crying into his chest.
Aku didn’t push her away, instead he reached up and ran his fingers through her messy but soft mane and placed a hand upon her back gently. “It's too late, Pinkie. With everything I have been forced to endure in this world, I am afraid darkness is part of who I am now. But, I can promise you this. I will not allow it to turn me into a ruthless tyrant who oppresses his residents and brings unhappiness to them. I refuse to become that kind of monster.” Aku then turns his gaze to the guards and motions them over “Escort them out to the main gate. Gently, please.” He said before the guard had to pry the sobbing pink pony off of him, the mare thrashing and trying to get back to Aku to hug the evil out of him, but to no avail. Twilight looked back at Aku who then returned to the window to look out upon his city once more before being escorted out.
As they made their way back to Equestria, both Aku’s and Fluttershy’s words rang in her mind. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, he was absolutely right in his response to the peace offering and the way he was running the nation. Never ever in a million years did she ever start to doubt Celestia’s choices and knowledge. But after today, the seeds of doubt have been planted in her mind. And from all angles, Aku’s ways seemed to be the most logical she had ever known. Would she defect from Equestria and leave all that she knew behind and abandon her teacher and princess?
Aku sat in his office filling out paperwork along with his staff who sat a few feet in front of him at their own desks, the sounds of pens writing and scribbling on paper was the only thing that filled the room before a knock at the door was heard. It took Aku a while to come out of his focused state before he put his pen down and called out to whoever was behind the door “Enter.”. One of the doors opens to reveal Tempest with one of the lead workers who had been working on the village outside the walls of their city. Aku stood up and made his way over to the gryphon and patted him on the shoulder in greeting. “I am pleased to inform you that the village is complete, my king. Everything you have asked for has been built and created.”. Aku smiled and took the gryphon’s hand and shook it firmly, very happy with the results in such a short amount of time “Excellent, you and the others who worked on the project will be well compensated for all your hard work. You can leave the rest to me. Go and let the others know I offer my gratitude and appreciate everyone’s hard work.”.
Aku then made his way through the city and out one of the main gates. Normally, he’d have a group of guards with him who’d insist on taging along with him. But this time, he made sure that he went alone, even forbidding the ninjas who usually kept watch over him to not even follow. Once out of range of the city, the little pipe fox climbs out of his pocket and coils around his arm before wrapping around his neck like an adornment. It smiled up at him warmly before speaking “I can’t believe the time has really come. Our worlds will finally connect and we will have a new place to call home for those who want a new place. And, as I told you before, we won’t allow any evil yokai to pass through here. The last thing we want to do for someone like you is to cause trouble. After you have gone through all the trouble to make this place look very inviting for us.”.
Aku smiled in return to the little fox and nodded “I feel that now I am part yokai, I must do all I can to help my fellow kindred. Though, since I am human in origin, I don’t think they will take a shine to me right away. I am sure that the full blooded oni will want to size me up and see what I am capable of.” Aku then remembered something. Something he should have asked the day he met the little kitsune one day one. “You know, you have been hanging out with me all this time, and I never even once asked you for your name.” The pipe fox then changed into her true form and walked alongside him, taking his hand in a gentle affectionate manner as she looked up at him with those big icy gray eyes of hers. He knew that she was over a couple thousand years old, but she was absolutely adorable. “My name is Kyrara! But, you can just call me Rara, all my closest friends do!”.
She considered him one of her closest friends? Then again, ever since she came to him, she had been spending every waking..and sleeping moment with him. And if she hadn’t run away by now, she must really see something special in him. Because he surely didn’t see it. Even in the back of his mind, doubts of him being a leader were still very much there. His thought process was interrupted by a gentle squeeze from her hand as she could sense those very worries coming to the surface “Aku, with all the time I have spent with you, I know and feel the constant struggles you face in both mind and heart…” she said before leaping open onto his back and wrapping her limbs around him in a rather affectionately way. “...But, you have certainly never wavered from your convictions and what you believe is right. Not to mention, you have a whole nation who believes in you. And…I believe in you as well.” she said as she tried to hug him as much as her small limbs would allow.
Aku could feel his worries start to melt away for now with Kyrara’s words. He reaches up and places a hand over hers, gently squeezing it while looking over his shoulder at her with a grateful smile “Thank you, Rara. It means a lot that a heavenly kitsune such as yourself sees so much decency in me. Despite the decisions I have made.” She nodded again, giving him another squeeze as she rested on his back “As for the oni in the yokai world, they already know about you! I have been reporting all my findings to the boss and the stories of you have spread. Some oni are actually looking forward to meeting you! And I mean that in a very good way!” she explained as she then released her grip from him as they entered the village.
“I figured you had some way of maintaining contact with the current leader of the yokai. I wonder what they are like…” In Aku’s mind, he was picturing some kind of wizened century old kitsune with…ten tails or something along that line. “Once we open the portal, you will get to meet them.” the kitsune said as she pulled out some old rice paper and handed them to Aku along with ink and a brush “This needs to be done by human hands for it to work. I am going to teach you the basics of onmyo magic!” Magic? The one thing Aku couldn’t use in this world. How does she expect him to actually cast magic when she knows that he can’t? “Rara, you know I can’t use magic in this world. I purely negate it.”
She smiled widely and waggled her index finger at him with a giggle “You can’t use THIS world’s magic. But you forget, onmyo magic isn’t part of this world now is it? And given your…change from your normal human self, you now have an abundance of magic forming in your hybrid soul. Onmyo magic has to come from within. If it goes out of use for too long, it will stagnate and become completely useless. But, given that your change is still fairly fresh, it is still capable of growing.” Aku’s eyes light up with excitement and fascination. As a child, he always loved reading and learning about onmyo magic from the ancient times of his people. And to find out that such a thing really existed only excited him further. He was ready to learn, no matter how tedious the work was going to be.
“Now, before we begin, we need to see where you are at and find your affinity, if not multiple.” she said as she walked over to the rock garden that Aku had made himself in the village. Once Aku had removed his shoes and crossed his legs, he closed his eyes and lowered his head as he placed his hands in his lap and looped his thumbs and index fingers together. Once he was in a quiet and calm state of mind, Kyrara kneeled in front of him and gently cupped his chin before pressing her forehead against hers, her body began glowing with a soft sky blue light as she delved deep into Aku’s mind and heart, respecting his privacy of other matters that didn’t involve what she needed of course.
“Very good, Aku. Focus on your inner power. Guide me through so I can awaken that sleeping power you possess…” she said softly into his mind. As she zoomed around, she appeared in a rather tall, grain filled field with someone facing away from her, the moon was quite sizable and the figure stood in black and white onmyo mage robes with there hands cupped behind them, and a single black steel katana with the name ‘Akabane’ carved into the blade that stuck in the ground next to them. Their hair was as long as Aku’s, but it was a pure jet black color, and once their head turned to face Kyrara, their eyes were a piercing bright yellow, like that of a serpent and their skin a ghostly pale. Their face was fairly androginous, so it was rather tough to tell if they were a man or a woman. Under those robes
They looked fairly young, but not the age of a child for certain. Once they smiled and chuckled however, it was clear the person was a man “Dōyara... sore wa kare o mezame saseru jikandesu.” (Apparently…it is time to wake him up.) said the man before the whole scene vanishes from Kyrara’s sight. Whoever he was, he clearly shared Aku’s family name and blood. Another scene comes into view, this time the moon was high again and the sky was blood red. She appeared to be in a village that was definitely in the same time period as the way the man is dressed for. Kyrara heard shuffling footsteps behind her, ehr ears perking up before she turned her head to see the reanimated corpses of undead soldiers and samurai mindlessly walking through the streets of the abandoned village. She sees the same man standing atop the hill with those glowing yellow eyes with a sinister smile on his face, holding both healing and dark magic talismans in his hands.
She lowered her ears and tail in fear of what she knew was going on. This man had used both his affinities for necromancy. If one combines the two affinities for life and darkness, they can easily make the dead do their bidding. “Watashi no idaina, idaina, idaina mago o zenshin sa sete kudasai. Akabane regashī o fukkatsu sa se. Heh…heh…heeeh” (Go forward my great, great, great grandson. Revive the Akabane legacy.) he said in his rather calm but dark voice as he held his hands out to his side as the talismans were released into the air, flying along the wind. While he hadn’t said a word through all of this, Aku was watching everything going on in his mind. The fact that his ancestor was a fully realized onmyo mage. And a rather dangerous one at that made him feel both worried and excited at the same time. At this point, it is clear that his affinities arew both dark and healing magic. A frightening combination to be sure.
Once the mental connection was broken, Kyrara fell back onto her rear and Aku nearly fell back himself before dipping his face into his hands and rubbing his eyes. Kyrara has a rather solemn expression on her face before looking up at Aku. “I can finally see the resemblance in you now. It was always nagging at me everytime I looked at your face. You are the direct descendant of Hatori Akabane, or as he was known as ‘The Necro Dragon Of The East’. It seems that your natural curiosity for onmyo magic runs through your veins. I just hope you don’t go down the path he followed, Aku..” she said with worry in ehr voice.
Aku did have a look of rather unsettling understanding on his face when she said those words. His memory immediately goes back to the fight he had with Tirek when a horde of undead limbs and bodies sprouted from the ground to pull the dying centaur down to have him devoured and ripped to shreds. And why the area around him seems to change into that same kind of setting when he is fighting as the oni. It all made sense now. Thanks to his oni form’s power, he was unconsciously using those same abilities. “Oh my god..I really am a monster..aren’t I? Not only do I use the oni form that has grown within me, but I have already pulled the dead from their graves and used them to destroy my enemies…” he grabbed at his head as doubts began rushing to the surface far quicker than before, his eyes widen with fear and disdain for himself as his pupils shake and his mouth slightly agape.
Kyrara could see the horrified look on Aku’s face, the fear slowly consuming him as a shadowy aura started to grow behind him in the form of his ancestor, those yellow eyes once again standing out along with a wicked grin slowly forming. Aku could feel the cold grip of a hand now resting on his shoulder as the shadowy figure whispered to him in words only he could hear while it sounded like gibberish to the kitsune. “Destroy this world, Aku. SHow them all that they should have never isolated and treated you like a monster. Show them what a monster really is. Make them beg for your mercy, and once they do that, snuff the life out of every single one of them and make them your undead puppets. Become the ’Dark Oni God Emperor’. Your bloodline demands it.”
As Aku was at the point of despair, the memories of his friends came rushing back to him. Those faces that smiled warmly and genuinely at him began to drive away the shadow behind him and bring him back to the point of calming down. Especially the faces of Fluttershy and Tempest. Those two especially made him forget about his fears for now. “Aku…Aku!” said a voice that started to become less and less muffled before finally coming in clear. The familiar scent of fresh flowers and the view of yellow and pink came into view before his vision was no longer blurred, revealing Fluttershy as she kneeled in front of him with her hands cradling his cheeks with worry on her face, tears nearly pooling up in her eyes. She couldn’t have come at a better time for sure. Aku’s face fell into Fluttershy’s chest before wrapping his arms around her, the man shaking heavily in the yellow mare’s arms which were wrapped tightly around him in a protective embrace, slowly stroking his back and through his long hair.
“How…did you find me, Shy?” he asked in a shaky voice. “I was called here by an unknown voice. They sounded extremely worried and distressed, they told me that I should come here and find you for your sake. I was terrified at what I saw when I came here. You hold this strange figure behind you. Whispering as their grip grew harder on your shoulder. You looked so scared and you weren’t moving. I was frightened, but I knew that you needed me. So I am here now. And I got you…” she said as she brought her wings around to wrap him in an extra warm embrace.
The comforting feeling of her arms and soft wings holding him made him grip the back of her shirt a bit more firmly, the fabric stretching between his fingers as he held on to ehr tightly. “I…wasn’t going to tell you about this place until I was ready. Please keep this a secret from everyone else. They aren’t ready for it yet.”. Fluttershy nodded as she continued to comfort him “So, this is where you have been running off to. And why you contracted so many carpenters. This is such a lovely little village. But what is its purpose..?” Aku finally stood up and shook his head “I can’t reveal that to you either. I..am alright now. I need you to head back to the city though. I appreciate you coming to break me out of that state. I truly do. But please, wait for me back home…please.” he asked with his head bowed sincerely. While she really, really wanted to stay and comfort him more, she could say no to him.
After she left, Aku and Kyrara resumed their training. Within a few more hours, Aku stood before the well that was made and suddenly threw a few of the talismans in the air which formed a pentagram from the motion he drew in the air with his fingers, performing various hand signs as he chanted the spell. Once performed, the well started to glow a bright golden yellow and soon, three figures stood in the light. One a short and hunched over figure with a cane. And two which he could tell right away they were females. Very amazonian females at that. Was the short one the boss that Kyrara spoke of?
“Well well well, look at you. All grown up.” said a familiar and kindly old voice of the one with the cane. As they came into view, a woman with a kindly wrinkled face smiled up with closed eyes at Aku. Her long gray hair nearly paired in the front with a decorative lotus pin poking through a bun in the back, dressed in a black and white kemono decorated with flowers “Grandmother…?” Aku asked in disbelief. She had passed away when he was younger, but never in a million years did he think he’d ever see her again till he died and went on to the next world…
As Aku stared at his grandmother who had just emerged from the portal, a sense of warmth and nostalgia washed over his body, that warm fuzzy feeling running up his spine as he remembered the days of his early childhood when he went to go and stay with his grandparents. Up in the mountains away from all the city noise in a big house surrounded by large okay and pine trees. His fondest memories of those being during the winter. He and his grandfather would enjoy watching the light falling of the snow as they sat under the kotatsu with the holiday tv special in the background. All while his grandmother was either in the kitchen making his favorite meals or she was sitting with them and just talking and smiling atn Aku. It was something that he truly missed, even more so as the memories came flooding back.
Aku took a step closer to the old woman as a tear streamed down his face. His grandmother was especially close to. Not only because she would spoil him every now and then, but because of how she cared for him as well. She loved him just as much as his own mother did. And she spurred him on to stand up for himself as well, where his own mother didn’t like it when he got in fights. But when her mother told his grandmother about all the scraps he had gotten into in and out of school, she couldn’t be any more proud of her grandson.
Aku went on into a full sprint towards his grandmother and wrapped his arms around her in a big hug, nearly knocking the old woman over, but she took the hug happily and wrapped her own arms around his waist. After all, he was much taller than her at this point. “Oooh, sweet child. It is good to see you again as well…you have grown into such a handsome young man!” she said as she pulled him down slightly before gently cupping her hands upon his cheeks to get a closer look at his face. He takes right hand and gently squeezes her wrist in response”I never thought I’d see you until I passed on myself, gran-gran. ANd I would have never thought that you’d become part of the yokai ranks. What…..what about grandpa?”
“He is up in heaven, Aku. After all, he was human, just as you were.” Aku blinked a few times before it hit him immediately “You mean…you are a yokai as well?”. The old woman nodded before speaking again “I am a tsurara-onna. Your grandfather and I are one of those one in a million human-yokai couples that existed in legend. How we met is a long story, but that is for another time. I see that the yokai in your blood has awakened in you.”. Aku stood back up straight and looked at his oni arm. Then back to his grandmother “If you are an ice woman, then why am I an oni?” he asked before turning his attention back to her.
She walks over to a bench that’s nearby and pats the spot next to her as she leans her cane on the side. Aku nods and catches a full view of the two amazonian females that accompanied his grandmother through the portal. Both were female oni. One blue and the other red each with one black horn and long,straight white hair that went down to their lower back, clad in armor that barely held their curves in. They gazed back at Aku with narrowed eyes and mischievous smiles. Aku couldn’t tell if they wanted to eat him or take him to their chambers. Maybe boith.
Aku sat next to his grandmother and placed a hand on his knee in a comforting manner “Your mothers didn’t inherit my blood. But, it seems that the gift was passed on to you. Not only that, but you carry the Akabane onmyo abilities with you as well. I have no idea why you were brought to this world, Aku. But it seems that destiny has given the yokai a new chance at living peaceful lives. As the human world grows even more and more crowded, we yokai are starting to vanish. But, with your help, we now have a gateway into this world. This big, expansive world. With many mountains and forest to make our homes in. And enough so that we won’t interfere with the lives of the sentient beings here. All thanks to you my sweet grandson.”. She said as she reached up and gently patted his right cheek. “To show you my gratitude, you are more than welcome to come through the portal anytime to come visit. You have an extended family who are dying to meet you.”
“As for the reason why you are an oni. Well, when a human with yokai blood is born, the soul of a newborn yokai is placed in a human shell. Though, it seems that your human soul and oni soul were compatible from the start. WHich explains your massive appetite and while you never gained a single pound overweight. And from what I am gathering from your heart and mind, you have been in and out of a bunch of turmoil in your life here. That only sped up the process more of the two souls belding together.”
Aku listened intently as his grandmother explained everything to him. His yokai blood, and the blood of his ancestor known as the ‘Necro Dragon’. And how she had hoped he’d never have to experience all this and live a completely normal life. But, it seems that wasn’t in the card for the young man. After they had finished talking, the woman reached into her purse and suddenly pulled out a long object wrapped up in black and white silk. “I had hoped to never have to pass this on to you, Aku. But, the bloodline demands it..” she said as she pulled the ribbon off that was binding the material before it rolled off the black wooden sheath, revealing the same black and white steel blade that his ancestor used all those many, many years ago. Aku hesitated as he slowly brought his hand towards the sword. Something was screaming in his mind “If you take this sword, there is no going back….” and it kept repeating the same words over and over. He pulled away for a moment before grabbing the sword and placing it at his side. His grandmother smiled softly before she got up with her cane. “Ah, before I go. There is a special spell I need to teach you. One that I am sure you will need here in this world…”
–A Day Later–
As the creatures of Kazoku went about their day, a cloaked hulking figure emerged from one of the alleyways close to the wall with a hood over his head. As he stepped out, he stumbled for a moment before regaining his balance and made his way into the crowded streets. The creature stood at ten feet tall with a single spiral curled slate gray horn from his forehead, an equine muzzle of the same color being the only thing that poked out from his hood. As he walked along, he noticed that others would look at him, but only for a moment. He assumed that they only looked at him because of his sheer size. As he looked like just an oversized pony, After all, he had two whole feet on Celestia herself.
As he made his way further into the town, he came up to the vendor stalls and looked around. Not even the creatures who he knew personally could recognize him in this form. It would appear that the transformation spell his grandmother had taught him was holding together. That’s right, this hulking unicorn stallion was indeed Aku utilizing an onmyo technique that helped them blend in with their surroundings. ”The only issue with this spell is that you will not be able to use your oni powers unless you want it to break.” Those words from his grandmother rang in his mind as he continued to explore the city in his disguise. Everything was going great until he noticed several samurai and ninja following him from the ground and rooftops at a distance. He chuckled to himself before quickening his pace through the crowded streets, weaving and dancing through the crowd as if he was his normal size. While the ninja were able to keep up, the samurai were falling behind as the crowds got denser.
Suddenly, Aku broke off the crowd and started running down the alleyways, leaping over obstacles and running along walls as he led his soldiers on an unknowing chase. He makes it to the rooftops and runs along them with his ninja chasing behind him and a few of the winged samurai giving chase in the air as well. Aku turned his head and smiled as they called out to him “You need to stop right now!” they ordered. Aku continued to run and leap across roofs like it was nothing. The soldiers wondered how this stranger knew the city so well when they had never even seen him once.
Once Aku leapt from the roof and ran into the central park, he hid behind a large oak tree and changed back into his normal self before exiting out from behind it just in time to see his soldiers entering the park and looking around frantically for the unknown stallion. “Well, you all seem like you are in a bit of a panic huh?” Aku asked with a feigned expression of curiosity. They all stood there confused and lost. They had just seen him run into the park, and now he was just….gone.
“Y-yes, sir. We were in pursuit of an unknown pony. And quite large in size to..now he is just gone. How in the world could someone that large just vanish…?”. Aku just chuckled and shrugged “Perhaps…a group hallucination? Maybe you all need some time off?” He teased as he patted the samurai on the shoulder “Hang in there, guy.” he said before he went on his way. As he walked through the park, he thought up ideas to make his disguise more convincing. And then it hit him hard, a smile forming across his lips as he said three simple numbers “Zero, four, nine.”
Aku now sat at his desk with doctors now sitting in chairs in front of him. Each a different race with notice of medicines, surgery and various other practices of medicine and medical care. All legit of course. He sat there for a moment until the room was cleared of just them before he spoke. He stood up and gave a deep bow. “First off, thank you for agreeing to meet with me about my selfish request. I know you all have patients to deal with and can hope we find time to work on this little project of mine.” They all nod with a smile on their faces, all too happy to help their leader with what he needed.
He came back up from his bow before he began pacing back and forth while he explained “For the next two months, you will be cramming all the knowledge and wisdom of the medical profession you all possess into my head. Of course, you take care of your patients before each lesson. And while you are teaching me, don’t treat me as your ruler, understand? Treat me as a student. I am here to learn. If you gotta whack me in the head with a book for me to understand, do it. And of course, you will all be compensated for your time.”
The training did indeed last quite a while, longer than expected in fact. But, by the time it was over, AKu now had a rather extensive knowledge and handson experience of a general doctor, surgeon and pharmacist under his belt. He even got himself a legit medical license after passing all the tests that his teachers issued him. He was now a fully realized doctor. SOmething he thought he’d never accomplish or need in his life. But, this was needed for the plan he had in mind. And he was going to take a little revenge on Equestria with this plan.
Aku now sat in his living room with both Ironheart and Tempest sitting across from him at his kotatsu table. Snack and tea provided of course. Once he had told them what his plan was and why he was so busy lately, they sat there in complete shock. “So, let me get this straight. You plan on going back to Equestria, disguised as a doctor, get thrown into prison, STAY in said prison for half a year, and then break them all out?!” Asked Tempest in a bewildered tone, completely surprised that Aku would even think of such an idea. “Ah, you are missing the point, Tempest. I am going to get in good with the big bosses of the criminal underworld in Equestria. From what I have gathered by new faces coming in, they’d love to have me on their side. And my ticket in is through the biggest prison they got. Right in the heart of Canterlot.”.
Aku stood up and walked towards his bartop and poured himself a small cup of sake, sipping it down before smiling widely “And to make it even more worth it, I am going to take a little revenge on the royal palace and cause those two bitches a little grief…and get away with it scott free. All while empowering our nation even further. Create chaos in the enemy nation, its people while finding safety in yours.” he said as he then returned to the table and sat down.
“I am considering entrusting Tempest with temporary command of the nation until I return. Unless you think you can handle it for me, Ironheart. I know you just came out of retirement and are enjoying a much less stress free life. Besides, I just need you to be a figurehead, the council can handle everything behind the scenes in my absence. It is more for a formality.” said Aku as his eyes turned to Ironheart who sat there for a moment. He rubs the side of his tea cup as he seems to go deep into thought. “Honestly, kiddo. I am VERY impressed you thought ahead with all this…”
He sat there for a little longer before placing a hand on the table with a smile”Bah, the hell with it. I can handle a few more months playing as leader again. We will just tell the masses that you have gone on an important mission that only you can do. And the best part? It's the actuarial truth.” he said with a light chuckle. AKu smiled and grabbed the bottle of sake and poured a cup for each of them before holding it up “A toast then. To the success of this mission and may it bear fresh juicy fruit in the end.” They clink the cups together and drink down the liquid with a satisfied sigh at the end.
Aku now stood at the entrance of Ponyville. Now in his pony form, dressed in a long black robe with a deep black hood cloak, and to top it all off, a white ceramic plague doctor mask and a black doctor's bag in his right hand. “This place…is full of pestilence. I…am the cure.” he joked to himself before stepping into the small town.
Everyone in the streets of Ponyville watched in a mix of curiosity and shock as Aku walked past them in his hulking pony form. Mostly because they had never seen a pony his size before. But, there wasn’t any look of disgust or fear. Aku had fully expected as such. “Pft, if I was in my true form, they’d be calling the guard on me without hesitation…” he thought to himself. As he walked along the streets, he was rolling name ideas around in his head before he had accidentally bumped into a pony who had been carrying a few bags of clothing material.
“Ah!” she cried out before falling back and dropping everything. Aku however simply looked down through the tinted lenses of his plague mask and saw it to be the local fashionista of the town and one of the elements of harmony. He wanted badly to just walk past her and ignore her. But, this was a new role he had to play, just for now. “Ah, please forgive me, madam. I was lost deep in thought and I wasn’t paying attention.” he said in his suddenly adopted french accent. If he was going to play the role inspired by the good doctor, he may as well go all the way.
As he knelt down to help put things back in her bags, the mare laid eyes upon the large robbed stallion. His accent certainly caught her attention. But his outfit had a certain..alluring renaissance mystique to it. And she loved it. “O-oh, it is no trouble, darling! I wasn’t paying attention myself!” she said as she leaned down to help with the mess. Once he had helped her clean up, he smiled under his mask before picking up his black doctor’s bag and bows his head in departure “Be careful with all that now. That’s a lot of fabric to be carrying.” he said before walking away. “Wait!” Rarity called out with a slightly outreached hand, hoping he’d stop.
“What’s your name, dear? I’d like to know who the gentlestallion is who helped me just now.” Aku rumbled in his chest until the perfect alias came to mind, a smile forming under his mask “Plague Walker, at your service. I am just a simple traveling doctor.” he said as he placed his right hand over his left breast with a slight bow. Rarity mimicked the same gesture before smiling back at him “Aaah, you must be the new doctor that has come to take the open position at the hospital! Well, I might have to come see you sometime. I’d love to see what you look like under that mask~. My name is Rarity, by the way. A pleasure to make your acquaintance~.”. Aku nodded again before bowing his head again.“I must get to the hospital and get settled in now. It was nice meeting you, Rarity.” he said as he went on his way.
A couple of weeks went by as he got settled into his role of playing a pony. He also performed his role as a doctor faithfully to the point where it was like he had been doing this for many, many years. It was as if he was living a completely different life. No one was afraid of him or attacking him. It almost felt quite wonderful. But, he knew why. Because he was one of them. They accepted him right away because he was in the form of a pony. And this fact alone was enough to make his blood boil. He would make them pay for how they treated him in his true form. And he was going to enjoy doing it.
After having finally dug in deep into his role, Aku had a day to himself to recuperate. He walked along the street wearing something a bit more comfy now. A simple but rather ritzy getup. He long sleeved black buttoned up shirt with the first three buttons undone, a pair of nice black slacks and a mid length black coat made by the finest seamstress his nation had to offer. Soon enough, he came upon the town’s local burger shop, his tummy growling at the thought of some good fast food which he hadn’t had in forever.
The door opens and the bell rings, the owner turns to the door with a big smile “Hello, welcome to Mickey D’s! How can..I..help…you?” he asked as he slowly lifted his head up to gaze upon the massive pony. Aku chuckled softly before looking up at the menu “I’ll have four number fives, a number six with extra dip, three number sevens…”. Soon enough, Alu sat at one of the outside tables with not one, but four trays of food stacked upon food. Aku took a few of the napkins and made himself a makeshift bib and clapped his hands together “Thank you for the food.” before scarfing it all down like it was water.
Little did he know that someone was watching him intently as he ate. A certainly lavender alicorn who was three tables away eating her own meal, sipping on her drink as she watched. Once he had finished his food, there was absolutely nothing left. And not a drop or crumb on his clothing either! After his lets out a mighty belch, he lightly dabs his lips and cheeks with the extra napkins he had acquired before placing the empty trays where they needed to go. The alicorn falling behind him to do the same. “My goodness, I haven’t seen an appetite like that in quite some time!”.
Aku turned his gaze to the alicorn, knowing exactly who it was just from her voice. He knew he would run into her eventually. It was simply a matter of time. “Well, when you are hungry, you are hungry.” Alu said as he maintained his role as Plague Walker. Twilight giggled softly as she sat her tray down on top of his before introducing herself “I am Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship. It is…a recently acquired title. Still quite new to this princess thing.”. Aku chuckled and shrugged his shoulders a bit “You will do just fine, I am sure of it. My name is Plague Walker. I am the new doctor in town.”.
Twilight’s eyes focused on his when she could get a good look, they reminded her of..his. “Ah, so you are the one who has my friend in a tizzy. She seems to like you quite a lot. Though, I can see why. You are quite handsome. In fact, you remind me of someone who I find very precious to me…” She said as she’d let out a sigh of sadness. Alu blinked a few times before tilting his head “Oh? And who is this pony you speak of?” he asked making sure to play it off as smoothly as possible.
“Well, he isn’t a pony actually. He is someone who has been through quite a lot ever since he came to this world. He has been hurt, betrayed and lied to by so many ponies here. All because of what he is and what his abilities are….But…” she said as she rubs one of her arms and squeezes it. “I believe that despite all that, there is still some good in him. He has just been hurt by so many that he thinks no one from here cares about him. But, he is wrong…I love him so so much. He used to stay with me when he came here. And he was the sweetest stallion in the world, even though he was rather…aloof.”
Alu could feel a slight twinge in his heart at Twilight’s words. Not only that, but they were absolutely genuine to boot. After all, she had no idea that Aku was standing right beside her as they talked. Aku went quiet for a moment before answering her back “I…don’t know who he is. But, it sounds like this guy has been through quite a lot. Maybe his heart is just so damaged that he would never believe you if you shared those feelings with him, as he may suspect it would be a way to trick him again. Emotional trauma can be as bad as physical. He just needs time to heal is all. Whoever your friend is, I am sure he thinks about you as much as you think of him.”.
–A Few Nights Later-
Aku stands outside of the hospital with a detonator in his hand. If he was going to do this, now was the right time. There were no patients, no staff. The hospital was completely empty at this very moment. He had placed C4 charges on every single support beam and outer corners of the hospital within a couple hours, and now stood on the hill outside of the hospital, the wind flowing through his long white hair. He looked down at the detonator before giving a wicked smile “Kah-powf.” he said before hitting the button. A couple seconds later, multiple explosions rattled the small out as the C4 did it’s work.
Aku chuckled evily in his throat as he watched the show unfold, the large building crumbling in on itself as the structure was destroyed so easily. And right on que, Twilight appeared behind him in complete shock and devastation “What…what have you done…?” She asked as she watched Aku turn to her with that evil smile on his muzzle. “I have destroyed your hospital. Simple as that.”. He said without a hint of remorse. He genuinely had none. There was nobody inside after all.
Aku turned fully to Twilight before getting down on his knees and holding both his wrists out, that smile still on his muzzle while maintaining eye contact with her “Guess you gotta take me in huh, princess?” he asked as he gave a wicked laugh as the fire behind him continued to burn the building to the ground. Twilight looked at Aku with a mixture of anger and sadness, tears streaming down her face as she glared at him. And on top of all this, she still remained none the wiser.
–Canterlot Prison–
Aku stood in the intake line, wrists and legs shackled as he waited to be processed. One thing he noticed about the prison’s staff is that..it all seemed to be run by female staff, mainly unicorns and pegasi. And rather beefy ones at that. “Come on, fuckheads! Move it on up, we don’t got all night here!” shouted the warden as she watched the new inmates arrive. Her attention immediately went to Aku as she eyed him up and down before approaching him “Aaaah, we got a biggun on our hands here, ladies. Betcha the rest of him doesn’t match his size though!” she said in a mocking manner, eyes between his legs, the rest of the guard present laughing along with her.
Alu grinned back at the warden and narrowed his eyes “Bitch, I could split you in twoi with my cock if I so wanted to. But I am sure you have been fucked so many times by the inmates here that your meat flaps hang to your knees.”. Both the male and female inmates laughed at Aku’s counter to the warden’s attempt to shame him. Of course, she and the other guards didn’t find that funny one bit. She motions two of the unicorns to restrain him with their magic, naturally it had no effect on him, but he had to act like it did. He fell to his knees before a nightstick came across his gut, shoulder, then face. “Ponies like you who talk back to prison staff get their asses beat. You understand that, shitbird?” Aku lowered his head for a moment before lifting it back up, spilling a mouthful of blood right into her face before laughing “Take these nightsticks and shove them up your ass you fucking cunt.”.
Aku knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to build himself a reputation with both the inmates and guards so that when the time came, it would be all the more sweeter when the breakout happened. The warden reeled back with disgust as she tried to wipe the blood from her face with her arm. Clearly angered she had Aku shoved to the front of the line and processed quickly before having him thrown in a cell at the basement level, isolated from everything and everyone. Down here, this is where they kept the troublesome prisoners “Your first day here and they are already throwing you in the bastille. You must have a death wish!” the guard said as she locked the door behind him
Once the guards had walked away and left him alone, Aku huffs tiredly and leans against the wall of his cell before sliding down it and sitting “Bleh, hopefully I can remain in character long enough for this to work. I will just have to work quickly.”. He sits there silent for a moment before calling out “Rara, you there?” he asked before a small light appeared in his cell before changing into the little kitsune yokai before him, landing in his lap before hugging him tightly “Yep, I have been with you the whole time! I gotta say, you adapt rather quickly to your role! And the way you insulted the warden? I was about to just burst into laughter!” she exclaimed quietly, so as to not be heard.
Aku smiled and hugged the little yokai tightly before releasing her. At least he wasn’t going to be completely alone in his time here. And even better, she could bring him good food and lots of it! The perks of having a yokai on your team! “What did ya bring me for dinner, Rara?” he asked as he leaned back against the wall. The kitsune reached into her bag and pulled out a rather large multilayered bento box and held it out to him “Fried chicken with rolled omelet with beef curry and rice! Lots of it too!” she said before Aku placed a hand upon her head and rubbed between her ears “Thank you, Rara. I will try not to bug you to make me food everyday.”
“What are you talking about?! I finally have a chance to be useful to you properly. Plus…I enjoy serving those I like. And I…like you a whole, whole lot!” she said as she nuzzled into his chest fluff, Alu wrapping ehr up in his arms for another hug before releasing her again “I suppose I better eat up before they come back. Theory will wonder where I got such amazing food from.”. They both laughed softly at that before he began to chow down. Once that was done, the little kitsune took her pipe fox form and wrapped herself snuggly around Aku’s neck, hiding perfectly in his excess fluff. “I will always be here for you, Aku. No matter what happens..I promise.”
Aku smiled softly before falling on his side and getting as comfy as he could. The ground looked far more comfier than the bed did anyway. And he had his little pipe fox to keep him comfy and warm, as her energy provided all he needed.
AKu walked along the second floor of the commons with the staff watching them all from the very top floor. As he observed the conditions below, he noticed that the population was co-ed rather than male only. This was a rather unusual thing for him to see considering where he was from, the prison system separated genders for many reasons, mainly to keep some of the order. But here, it seems like everyone got along famously. Maybe it was because it was co-ed, things weren’t so stressful being locked up with another male or female all the time.
Aku had been locked up in the bastille the first week he showed up. Which was their form of solitary confinement he assumed. After having been moved to another cell to join the general population, he is still lucky enough to have his own cell. But, to him it wouldn’t have mattered, the man ate like a king every day and night and slept comfortably thanks to his little friend, Kyrara. But, he still had to play the part of a proper inmate when outside of his cell with most eyes on him now, the ‘fresh meat’. Little did the staff know that with each guard that passed by his cell, Aku was draining their magic bit by bit by swallowing it.
It was all according to Aku’s plan. Slowly siphon away all the staff members' magic and strength. They would have no idea what or who could be causing it. For now, Aku just wandered the commons, studying and listening to both guards and inmates alike. He was playing out his role perfectly while gathering all the information he could. Especially about the big shots that were either in separate pods of the prison or also down below in the bastille where he was held his first week.
Aku could also notice that the females of the prison asserted far more dominance over both the males and other females here. Probably because of the staff members being only female as well who were in a position of power, small it may be. Aku could only chuckle to himself and looked over the railing with his arms crossed “What would I expect with a prison run by power hungry female ponies? This reeks of third wave feminism. Had enough of that garbage back in my own world.” he said to himself as he continued on his way down to now stand in the yard.
He walked over to a more secluded part of the yard and began his daily martial arts training. It was mainly to keep himself from getting rusty and to keep himself in shape at the same time. This however, got the attention of both guards and other inmates. “Hey, you need to quit that right now, shitbird! No form of fighting is allowed here!” shoputed one of the guards who was coming down to confront Aku. Aku didn’t listen, however. He just continued his training until the guard came up behind him and pushed him forward, hoping to knock him on his face in an attempt of humiliation.
Aku was quick to recover from the push however and slowly turned around to gaze down at the female pegasus who smiled at him so smuggly. Aku leaned in with his own smile “Tell me. Do you get off on throwing your commands and waving your little batons around at the prisoners here because your husband is too much of a dom for you to control? So you use your meger power and authority here to make yourself feel better, hmm? I bet that is how your warden is to. I bet when she goes home, she hates the idea of how her husband or boyfriend is the real provider of the family. Just like how you feel.”
Now, Aku didn’t know the lives of the guards outside of the prison. He was just talking smack to see if he could get the staff members riled up without him having to even take a swing. Fortunately for his trash talk, it worked. A little too well in fact. The mare was getting red in the face before she took out her baton and swung it at Aku who simply leaned to the side to avoid it “There it is! That female insecurity strikes again! You see where I come from, we believe that both the male and female contribute what they can in every aspect. Therefore everything is equal. But you idiots are so outdated here!”
Aku continued to mock and laugh at the mare’s pitiful attempt to land any hits upon him, other guards even joining in to try and subdue Aku so that they could beat him down to make themselves feel better. But, Aku never so much as layed a single strike back, letting them tire themselves out before watching them collapse to the ground in exhaustion. This is where is magic eating came into play, that week that each of the guards passed by his cell, he has been sapping their strength.
“Geez, with all those muscles and bravado, I figured you could all gang up on me and take me down easily. I guess you all need to hit the gym more, yeah? Maybe skip out on steroids.”. Just as he walked over the exhausted guards, the warden came down into the yard baton in hand as she focused immediately on Aku “Causing injury to my staff now huh? That’s a month in the bastille for you, fuckface.”.
Aku chuckled lowly before he held an arm out in the direction of the guard still on the ground “As you can see, I haven’t placed a single hand on your guards. They simply lack the stamina and precision to hit their target. Perhaps you should train them better.”. The warden went quite for a moment before she nodded to the other three guards that were with her before that walked up to the fallen guards and began kicking and punching them while they were down. The smile that was on Aku’s muzzle quickly faded before he turned his gaze back to the warden and now stood over the beaten staff “Ah, well it appears that you are lying about causing my girls injury! As it is plain as day that YOU are the one who injured them? Am I wrong!?”.
No one, not even the other staff members disagreed with her. Aku glared angrily at the warden, his hands forming into fists. It took him nearly everything he had to not leap at her and tear her apart in that moment. Corrupted authority was one thing, but that same kind of authority bringing harm to their own subordinates to cover up a truth? That was something Aku hated entirely. Just as he was about to step forward, he felt a firm squeeze around his neck, but not enough to choke him. Kyrara was pulling him back to remind him now wasn’t the time. As he was being escorted back to the bastille, he whispers to the warden “Just wait you fucking bitch. Your little fortress here is gonna come crashing down all around you. And no one, I mean no one, is gonna save you.”.
–6 Months Later–
The sound of a cell door could be heard being forcibly removed from its latches was heard all throughout the bastille as Aku walked out with a a rolling luggage bag behind him. No long in prison garb, he was now wearing his usual black and white combat robes. He walks past the now passed out guards who got hit by the flying door not even sparing them a glance. “Thank you for bringing this, Rara. This has been worth the wait.” he said to his little companion that rested beneath his now flowing robe as he makes his way to the outside main yard.
“Of course! I can’t wait to see what you have inside of that bag. Though, judging by its energy and how many presences I can feel in it, it is going to be something very..sinister.”. Aku brought his free hand up to lightly grasp and pet the pipe fox that lovingly coiled around his neck “Just stay close okay? They won’t hurt you as long as you remain close to my side. I promise.”. Ask he made his way out into the yard, multiple guards and the warden were already in wait for him with the spotlights shining right on him.
“Well well, it looks like you have found your way out of your cage and all packed up. Where do you think you are going all dressed up and looking so spiffy?” she asked as she tapped her baton on her shoulder. Aku chuckled wickedly in his throat and looks up at her from the yard as she was at the top floor “Oh, I am going home. I tire of the service here. Not even deserving of a one star review. Management sucks, customer service is severely lacking, the staff members are so bitchy. Oh, and I am planning on liberating a few of your prisoners as well. I am sure you won’t miss them.”.
The warden laughed loudly as she shook her head “No, you won’t be leaving today or anytime soon, asshole. You belong to me until you rot in your cozy little cell. Because I made sure that you have no chance of being released. So, you may as well turn right back around and head back. This is MY castle.” she said in an authoritative tone. She began to make her way down along with her fellow guards, ready to beat Aku into submission as they all start to circle around him.
From the sudden explosion of ghosts and not knowing what they could do, the staff start to panic and swing their weapons in anyway they can as the ghosts start swarming them mercilessly all while Aku walked through the swarm like he was enjoying a fresh breeze on a sunday afternoon, completely calm and with a smile on his face. The warden tried to use her magic to restrain Aku, thinking she could easily get a one up on him just from that. However, she suddenbly felt a chill down her spine when he continued to walk towards her in a calm but menacing manner.
“Magic doesn’t work on me, warden. I am afraid I played you for a fool the first time I came here. And now, I have a reason to bring you harm due to that little stun you pulled all those months back…” he said as he then pulled out his katana that was handed down to him from his grandmother. The blade could sense his intent and drew upon it immediately. Not to mention all the evil he had gathered while he consumed all the magic of the guards that passed his cell everyday. It was enough to almost completely break his pony disguise completely, leaving dark purple cracks along his wickly smiling face, as if the mask was about to shatter.
“W-what the hell are you..? There is no way you are an actual pon-...” she couldn’t finish ehr sentence as Aku moved in quickly with an unsettling, jerking leap forward before he blade found its way shoved all the way through her torso, right between her ribs and through her heart. “You are right, I am not a pony at all. But, I will become the dark oni emperor and take this land as my own one day. Your pathetic rulers will bend their knees to me, and I will abolish this ‘superiority’ bullshit they did to me. Die knowing that this world will be mine…” he said before bringing his hoof up to her stomach and kicks her off his blade as hard as he could before lifting it up and swinging it back down to get her corrupted blood off his blade.
Afterwhich, he walks over to her now lifeless corpse and yanks the keys from ehr belt before sheathing his blade. He makes his way through the prison as calm as before while the ghosts continue to rampage and terrorize those with malice in their hearts. Aku walked all throughout the cell block, opening and releasing all the inmates who the ghosts didn’t even pay attention to because of the lack of true evil in their hearts. He then got to the point where he was standing in front of the wing where all the big shots were held. Funny thing is, there were no ghosts in this wing at all.
“Hello to you all, honorable crime lords. You have two options now that I am here…” He said as he now started pacing in front of the eight cells. “...You can be released by me, and I let you back out into the world and you serve as my agents here in Equestria. Or, I leave you all here to parish in the fall of this prison. Though, given what I promised you when I spoke with you many months back, I think you will make the right choice.”. He said as he stood there will a knowing smile before his disguise finally broke, revealing his true form to the shadowed individuals in their cells before giving a wicked laugh.
Half an hour later, the prison suddenly explodes as if a small magical nuke had detonated from within, killing att the guards and inmates who weren’t released by Aku in the process. By the time the royal guard had gotten there, Aku and the survivors had all disappeared into the night. Aku had done what he set out to accomplish. ANd now, he could go home.
After having returned from his long six month mission from home, Aku was happy to be back with the people he cared about. Having given the news of his exploits in Equestria, the man finally returned to hisnduty as commander and chief of his small yet still growing nation. But nw, it was time for him to go home and rest in his own bed. Something that he had been missing to do for half a y3ear now. Little did he know that this night was going to be a restless one for him. For his actions in Equestria had only pushed the oni that was inside him to greater power.
Aku opened his eyes as he lied on a rippling surface. He was literally lying on water. As he looked around, he noticed that he was in what appear to be the Suicide Forest from back in hisnworld. It was deathly quiet and everything was still for the moment. As Aky slowly got to his feet, he began to notice blue and red fox fires dancing around him rhythmically before starting to form a path for him to follow. Instantly, he thought back to that one dream he had when the oni he met that night ripped off its arm and shoved it in place of the one he had lost.
Hesitantly, he followed the path that the fox fires lead him down, each step making the water below his feet ripple. His eyes continued to shift between the fires and the extremely tall trees that surrounded him as he saw the full moon peeking through the opening of the branches above. As he traveled further into the forest, he noticed a tori gate coming into view, along with a rather large Edo period style castle that sat upon a large flight of steps.
Once Aku crossed the gate’s threshold, he suddenly felt a loss of control of his body as hislegs started moving on their own. Like he was being controlled by something or rather, someone else. As he walked up the first set of stairs, he noticed several heavily armored oni dressed in royal armor who immediately dropped to one knee upon seeing him approach while bowing their heads.
“My lord, welcome back from your long journey. We hope that your endeavors bear fruit with your glorious return.” said what Aku assumed to be the leader of the group. Aku was about to speak before a voice not his own escaped his throat. “Indeed it has, General Niwa. We are growing ever closer to the day that we will rule this land. And bring everlasting peace to the realm of yokai under our rule.”. Alu took notice of all the oni present before him. And he noticed that all of them were rather large, but very attractive females. Muscles and curves in all the right places from what he could tell.
“Excellent. And what of my children? Out in the gardens getting into trouble no doubt?” Niwa laughed softly and shook her head “From what I have heard, my lord. They have kept the trouble to a minimum in your absence. Prince Ito and Princess Nana have been taught very well by their father. You should be proud.”. Aku gave a nod before making his way past the guards, Niwa follow close behind him as he made his way to the throne room.
As he walked through the corridors of the castle, every single oni he walked past bowed to him respectfully with a look of gratitude in their gaze. Where was this dream happening? And why was it so damn vivid? It was as if Aku was living in a totally different world and time that where he was now. And he could feel, smell and see everything around him. This dream felt like no dream at all. And who were all these oni? How did he know all their names?
Aku’s train of thought was broken once he made his way into the throne room of the castle. A beautifully ornate decorated room with deep purple torches on the walls of the room with obsidian spires of which the light of the fires shimmered off of, adding a rather radiant but eerie feel to the room. Soon, Aku now found himself sitting on the black and white throne, looking over at his subjects who now bent one knee before him with absolute loyalty.
“Welcome home, dark emperor. We and the village below the mountain have missed you.” said the oni in unison that kneeled before him. Aku smiled and nodded “They have given me their greetings as I passed through the village on myway here. It makes me so happy to see their smiling faces. Even more so when those smiles are genuine. The last oni emperor who ruled here didn’t care about his subjects. What he failed to realize, is that a ruler is nothing without his or her people.”,
Niwa lifted her head to gaze upon Aku with whom she revered as nearly a god. So much dark power, he could rule through brutality and fear. But, he chose to rule through kindness and compassion with his people. It is no wonder that other yokai come to his kingdom for sanctuary. The village below his castle was full of not just oni, but other yokai from all over who have come to seek a peaceful life, no matter what kind they were.
As Aku was about to start discussing his journey, multiple shadows started crawling across the room at blinding speeds before cloaked humanoid creatures rose up out of the ground in front of him, already presenting themselves on a bent knee in front of him. These were aragami. Aku’s shadowy spirits of vengeance who became his personal royal shinobi of his castle through the mercy he had shown them once as they invaded his lands on the behalf of another yokai king. Now, they served him faithfully and without question.
Aku sits up straight and looks down at the aragami in front who seemed to only speak in whispers, but Aku understood them fully. “Enemies on the outskirts you say? Thank you for letting me know. I want you and the others to capture them and bring them to me at the usual place. Make sure that you disarm them fully. You can rough them up a bit. But, I don’t want them dead…yet.” he said as he stood up and made his way out, grabbing that all too familiar katana from his throne before looking into his reflection. What Aku saw…was himself, but istead of just being partial transformed, his skin was now that full dark grey color, and instead one one horn, he now had two. The only things that were missing was his much larger size and full on oni appearance he would change into when he was angered.
Aku suddenly sat up in his bed with a scream of shock before he started to breathe heavily for a few seconds. He was drenched in sweat and his body was shaking to the point where his could see his hands trembling as he gazed down in front of them. It took him a moment to fully focus in on his hands for a moment. Then his arms. His skin was now that same dark grey he had seen in that reflection in his dream. Aku sat there for a moment before he shot up out of his bed, running to the bathroom mirror in a panic as he now gazed into his reflection now seeing that same one he had seen in his dream.
It seems that his transformation from only being a partial one was now growing even more. At this point, any visible human traits he had were now long gone. His even now even solid glowing dark purple orbs that could put fear into the most fierce warrior. Aku pawed at his face and body as he became visibly worried now. “No..nonononono!!!” he shouted at he began to thrash his head about in his hands before rearing back and punching the mirror, the shattering reflective glass falling to the ground as the sound echoed through his home.
Aku continued to cry out in anguish at his further changed visage. What will the people he has ruled over think of him now? Will they shun him and push him out of this nation they had worked so hard to build together? AKu quickly threw on some clothes before sneakily makes his way out of his home, slipping past guard making sure not to be seen by them or anyone else. Once he makes his way to the edge of town, he runs off into the direction of the village he had built for the yokai all those months back.
As he ran through the forest, he could feel eyes upon his form. Many, many eyes. It seemed that the yokai who had crossed over into this world were making themselves right at home. But, also seemed to be honoring the deal that was made for them to be here. Perhaps his grandmother would be able to answer his question as to why his form has changed so drastically than how it was..
As he entered the village, he noticed right away that yokai were starting to gather around him slowly. Coming out of the homes and from within the trees before they all started lowering their heads or kneeling in respect for him. Aku’s eyes shifted between them all before he called out to his grandmother, hoping that she would come to him in this time of need. “Gran-Gran, I need you here, please!” he cried out in desperation, remembering a time long ago when he was lost in the woods as a child, hoping she’d come to him now just as she did then.
And appear before him she did. Accompanied by those very same oni she was with when she came to this world those few months ago. As she looked upon her grandson, her face was filled with a conflicting mixture of pride for him, but at the same time with sorrow as she knew he was struggling with this new development. “Aku…my dear sweet grandson…” she said as she hobbled over to him before reaching up to gently cradle his cheeks in her hands. “It seems…that your oni blood has further taken over your human form. At this point, your physical humanity is no more, sweetie.. The sins you have eaten recently have only pushed your yokai nature even more.”.
Aku blinked a few times “What sins? I have done nothing wro-...”. Then it clicked in his frantic mind. The prison. While he sapped both inmates and guards of their magic, he had been eating away at the evil within those very same creatures during his say. And all that evil had to go somewhere. And it went straight to his body, further cursing him to become more and more like a yokai than what he was already. “I am proud of who and what you have become, Aku. But, I also know that this is bringing you heartache. And I can’t bear to see you like this. But the things you are doing to better your subjects, you are sacrificing your humanity to do so.".
His grandmother motions for him to drop down, wrapping his arms around him and stroking his back in a comforting manner just as she did when he was a child when he was in need of a warm hug. “Gran-Gran…what am I going to do…? If they see me like this, I am afraid…they won’t want me as their ruler, let alone friend anymore. I am now past the point of no return..all because I thought I was doing what was right by both myself and them.” Aku wrapped his arms around his grandmother firmly yet gently, gripping the back of her kemono as he did when he was a child.
“I know you are doing what you feel is right, Aku. Despite what you are becoming, you have a kind and noble soul who has unfortunately had to spill the blood of those who have threatened you and the ones you care for. But, being a ruler means you have to make sacrifices for the ones you love. In this case, you are surrendering your humanity to make sure the world is atmpeace for your subjects. Just as the yokai here have learned of your efforts to create a peaceful world, they respect you for it. Just as your subjects do. No matter what form you take.”.
SHe looks up into his eyes as she gently rubs his cheeks with ehr thumbs “So long as you stay true to who you are, the oni on the outside will not change a thing. You are meant to become the dark oni emperor god. But, that does not mean you have to be a cruel and malevolent one. I have been watching you rule over your people way before you left those few months ago. I have never seen subjects so genuinely happy in all my years. And so many who have come from all race and walks of life. Even Buddha himself would be proud of how kind hearted you are when it comes to your people. And yet, you are as fierce and strong as the most feared oni in all of yokai history. I am so very, very proud of you, Aku.”.
SHe released the hug they shared before smiling up at him again “If you parents knew what you fought for in this world, they would be too. And I know the ones who you hold close here to feel the same way. Especially the young lady with the broken horn and the other with the rather shy manner. Those two seem especially smitten with you.”.
Aku thought about it for a moment before he knew who she was talking about “Tempest and Fluttershy…? I haven’t really noticed any signals that they see me as more than just close friends…”. His grandmother paused for a moment before shaking her head and gave that kind of distinct old lady chuckle “Still so so clueless even after all these years. My sweet boy. This only proves that despite all that you have gone through, you haven’t changed one bit.”.
She then took notice at the morning sunlight beginning to peek through the trees. She gently shoos him away with her walking stick at this point “Now then, off you go. Go back home where you are needed and loved, my child.”. Just before she walked away, Aku mentioned his dream to her that he had earlier that night. She simply chuckled again and winked at him”Don’t you think that your dreams may be telling you of something that you are now capable of? Or perhaps showing you a similar future that is to come? Yokai dreams tend to entail that sort of thing. Now, off you go. Your subjects need you!” she said as she playfully thwacked the back of his thighs with her walking stick. “And you better get me some great grandchildren soon, buster!”.
Aku huffed and grumbled on his way back home in embarrassment. Though, if those two really did feel the way his grandmother spoke of. He had a duty as a man to respond in kind. After all, he did really like the both of them. A lot in fact. But, as his grandmother stated. He was absolutely hopeless when it came to matters of the heart. But, he couldn’t worry about that now. It was time for his people to see what he had become. And no matter the outcome, he would strive his best to continue to make his subjects happy
Over the next few days, things went on as normal. Just as Aku’s grandmother had said, his subjects showed no fear in his further transformation. In fact, many of them simply said that they liked him better this way now that he no longer looked so asymmetrical with just only half his body transformed. Though not fully transformed into his true oni form, he was pretty close. All that worrying for absolutely nothing! The poor man was having anxiety attacks with how they’d react to him while making his way back that morning. But thanklfully, everythingwas still good. In the land.
As Aku was handling business at the military training grounds, a postrpony ran up to him with a rather ornate looking envelope. The paper was smooth and the trimming on the side of the envelope was gold and looked rather..familiar. Like something he’d see back in his world that made him think of someone rather high in society. And the writing on it…it was almost in japanese, but it was closer to this world’s language, just in a similar style to his. And yet, he could read it just fine.
Dear Oni King Aku,
I do hope that this letter finds you well and high in spirit. I am Emperess Everbloom. I am the ruler of the eastern nationof Hiizurukuni. I have been hearing many, many wonderful things about your flourishing nation and wish to talk about a possible alliance between or nations.
I believe that we could both benefit from the union of our lands. Even if just from domestic affairs and such. I eagerly await your response, and hope to have the pleasure of meeting you soon.
Warm regards,
Empress Everbloom
Aku looked down at the letter for a few more moments before folding it up and placing it in his coat chest pocket. Hiizurukuni? WHat would a large nation like that want with his much smaller one? And why ask for peace talks? It's not like they have anything to fear from Aku since neither he nor the nation in question have shown any signs of hostility. Nevertheless, it was Aku’s duty as a ruler himself to respond in kind. He would even be so kind as to make the journey himself to the kingdom rather than have the empress come all the way out to his land.
A few days after having written the return letter, Aku prepared a small traveling party of several samurai, a few shinobi and a handful of soldiers. Along with one transporter helicopter, he assigned two attack choppers for escort. Not as much military might he showed off to the Equestria rulers. After all, this wasn’t to intimidate possibly new allies. This trip was going to be a peaceful one. And to make sure it was, Aku made sure to let the empress know to look out for ‘unusual flying machines’ to signal that he was coming in his return letter.
As Aku and his traveling party flew over the new lands, Aku quickly noticed the structures and layout of the kingdom. It was very much feudal/edo era japan style. It was extremely similar to how his own home looked all those many years ago in his history. There were certainly a lot of sakura trees to be sure. In fact there was a whole entire forest of them. The land below was truly a beautiful sight to behold. It was almost like he had gfone back in time in his own world. But, he knew better than that.
As the party drew closer and closer to what he assumed was the capital, he took immediate notice of the castle as well. And just as he thought, it was a large and grand castle just like how it was in Edo way back in the feudal era in his world. Tall and decorated with gold and the curved rooftops. Even with the lion statues at the multiple sets of steps that lead up to the castle itself and a long main road that went all the way through the town to the main entrance.
“Just like home….” he muttered to himself as he remembered seeing building of the past back on his school field trips, a small pang of longing hitting his heart as he truly did miss his home back in his world, and seeing all this wasn’t helping his small bit of grief. However, this wasn’t thew time to be dwelling on such things. He had business to conduct here after all. As the transport helicopter landed and the two escorts remained airborne, Aku and the couple of samurai and soldiers he had stepped out of the helicopter and made their way up the stairs, taking in their surroundings and making sure that they are all being welcomed.
Once they reached the top to the palace entrance, a tall, brawny looking stallion with white fur and a black mane and tail stood there waiting for them. One thing that Aku noticed right away was that one of the stallion’s eyes was closed with a rather nasty scar running down it. And his face was weathered and looked like it had seen the tides of battle over and over again. Right away, this stallion had already started earning Aku’s respect. As Aku now stood before the stallion, he watched as he reached out his hand. Aku reached out as well, but not going for his hand, instead, they both clasp each other’s forearms with a firm shake, both of them smiling at the same time when they do so.
“It seems your greeting is similar to my own from my own land, Oni King Aku. We welcome you to our kingdom. I am General Shadow Fang, leader of Empress Everbloom’s army. We were told to expect strange flying machines upon your arrival. But these…these are a technical marvel…” he said as he continued to eye the flying machines every now and then. “And the soldiers you have brought with you…never have I seen such streamline armor and weapons…”. Aku smiled and looked back to his people before turning to face the stallion again “I do hope you don’t mind their presence here. Simple protection for me in a foreign land and all. We don’t want to cause any trouble, on my word.”.
Shadow Fang gazed up at Aku, searching his eyes for any hint of deception. While the older stallion could sense…something swirling within Aku, it wasn’t deception. “Very well, she is waiting for you now, King Aku. If you’d please follow me.” he said as he turned to lead Aku and his men into the palace. “You can drop the king part…I am not a fan of having titles like that. Believe it or not, I came to this world as an outcast. Other than to my own people, I am still treated as such..”. Shadow Fang Nodded as he could hear truth in Aku’s words “I can tell that you suffered quite a bit in your past. I can see it in your eyes, young one. But, you haven’t let it hold you back from what you need to do. You heave the heart of a warrior. And you will do what you have to to keep those who believe in you safe. Signs of a true leader.”.
As they continued through the palace, Aku took in the architecture. It truly was just like how it was in the edo period back in his own world, except he was getting to see it all in pristine condition. Far better condition than how the aged buildings in his own world looked. Once they made it to the royal chamber, Shadow Fang stopped at the large double doors “Only you may enter from this point on, Aku. I trust that won’t be an issue?” He asked as he turned his head slightly to gaze upon him with a knowing look. Aku picked up on it quickly before nodding to his men “Wait out here for now. This is their kingdom after all. We must abide. I will take the gifts from here and present them myself.”. The soldiers nodded before taking up post ojn the opposite wall on the dors. One of them handing off the couple of boxes they had brought with them to Aku.
Shadow Fang nodded before pushing open the double doors, allowing Aku to enter into the massive royal throne room which was decorated to the teeth with golden oriental design, and at the very end of the room, a shrouded throne which definitely screamed ‘feudal emperor’. Once he stood before the throne, Aku dropped to a knee and bowed deeply in respect to the fellow ruler. Before presenting the gifts by holding them above his head. “A little something for you, Empress Everbloom. I wasn’t sure what you would like. But I brought you some sweets from my land. They are just simple sweet dumplings stuffed with red bean jam. And I brought you a katana hand forged by my best smith. They aren’t much, but I do hope you will accept them.”.
Shadow Fang nodded before taking the gifts from Aku and walking them up to the shrouded empress who sat there without a word for now. The first thing that he did was open the box of dango before popping one into his mouth. He was quiet for a moment before opening his jaw slowly while gazing down at the treats “This…this small dumpling…it tastes absolutely magnificent! I have never had a sweet like this, even in my youth! My empress, you must try this!” he exclaimed before offering the box to her. Aku took notice of the empress’ hand and arm right away, noticing that they were too small to be a full grown mare. Everbloom took her first bite of the dango before placing a hand upon her cheek, her eyes widening in delight as a blush forms across her face “I have never enjoyed something so simple but yet so divine…what do you call these, King Aku..?”
Aku stood to his feet with a smile, happy that the sweets were making a good impression “They are called dango. Those kind are called anko dango. A traditional treat from where I come from. It makes me happy that you enjoy them> I would ber happy to share the recipe with you and your subjects. Along with a few other foods that you may enjoy.”. Everbloom placed the box of sweets next to her before letting Shadow Fang open up the decorated weapon case that held a katana that was forged with the highest quality metal that Aku’s nation had available. The hilt was black and silver with the guard having the design of a dragon encircling it and the head holding the blade from its open maw.
“This is some very fine crafting here, King Aku. Your warriors must be very capable to have earned such fine swords.” Everbloom said as she continued to ey the sword up and down before handing it off to Shadow Fang. Once she had done so, she stands up from her throne and slowly makes her way down to Aku’s level. Just as Aku had thought earlier, she was no mare. But a filly, no older than what appeared to be fifteen years of age. Did this kingdom really have such a young ruler? As he looked down at her, he took in her features. Deep purple fur with a multicolored mane and tail, mostly black with ice blue streaks running through them. And piercing sky blue eyes.
However, his gaze wasn’t one of negativity or pity. It was of respect. Someone so young had taken charge of this land and appeared to be doing just fine with what he had seen on his way here “Forgive me, empress. I had not expected a leader to be this young. Though, it doesn’t surprise me in the least. Where I come from, there were many young rulers in the past. One was just about your age actually.”. Everybloom looked up at him in shock. She had expected him to ridicule her and make fun of her youth as the current leader of such a large nation. But, he was respectful and didn’t see her as anything less.
“Also, you don’t have to put the King part in. If it pleases you, you can just call me Aku. We sare here to build friendly relations are we not?”. The guards along with Shadow Fang were surprised with Aku’s forwardness towards their leader. Nevertheless, Everbloom dropped her poised appearance and gave out a sigh of relief as she revea;ed her true self to him. Just a teenage girl who was getting tired of ‘keeping up appearances’ and tugged at his hand for him to follow her “Finally, a fellow ruler who isn’t so stuffy! Come with me, I wanna show you around the palace!” she said as she pulled at him. Shadow Fang’s jaw dropped at this before he reached out to Everbloom “Y-Your grace, not in front of the guest!” he said in a panicked manner.
Aku shook his head as he put a hand up to stop Shadow Fang “It’s just fine. Let the girl let down her collective mane. I promise what I see here won’t leave these palace walls. Bsides, I would love to see what this place looks like from all around. It truly is a beautiful palace. I will be a proper gentlecolt and make sure nothing gets out of hand.” He said as Everbloom finally pulled him away to give him a tour of the palace. It truly was a place worthy of oriental royalty. But, one thing was bothering Aku very much. The crown she wore. It radiated a rather foul type of magic, almost as if it were cursed.
Once they were in a secluded area, Aku took this chance to ask the question. “Forgive me, Empress…but your crown. Is it…cursed?”. She had stopped in her tracks as she stood there for a moment in silence with her head down “I..suppose there is no hiding such a thing from a magic eater like you huh? Yes, it is cursed. And it has been for generations now. Every twentieth birthday, the ruler of our land dies who has worn this crown. And the rulers must pass it on to their heirs or else the land will fall into ruin. And this curse was forced upon us by the royal sister of Equestria…”
Aku stood there speechless for a few minutes as he heard what or rather, who was behind this curse that Everbloom’s family had suffered under. He slowly clenched his fists in anger to the point where his claws were digging into his palms “They have gone so far as to curse who whole nation to ensure they stay in power..? That is absolute cruelty. Making another nation suffer while you claim to be these peace loving rulers in your fucking castle…” he said as that dark purple aura started forming around his fists. Before he lost his composure however, he breathed in slowly, then exhaled as he began to calm his mind and heart.
Everbloom took notice of this, walking over and taking one of his hands into her much smaller ones “Judging by your expression, it seems they have brought a great deal of harm to you. I can feel it in your emotions…” she said with a worried expression on her face. Aku nodded and opened up the top part of his jacket and shirt, revealing a faintly glowing scar where the royal executioner had stabbed him all those years ago. “They tried to end me because I had a power that they chose to demonize me for.”.
As Everbloom gazed upon the scar, she reached up and placed one of her small hands over it before giving a sympathetic gaze up to the man “You have been through so much it would seem. Hurt and betrayed. Darkness surrounds your heart and mind but you keep it at bay. I can feel that you control and embrace these dark powers of yours….but don’t lose sight of who and what is important to you…grandpa Shadow Fang was right to advise me to have you brought here and pursue friendly relations with your nation. But….” She said as she removed her hand from his chest.
“...I don’t want that…I want to be free of this curse and this responsibility. I want to be free to live my life the way I want to. I am only the ruler of my nation because my parents gave birth to only myself before the curse took them. And it is traditional that a male ruler take over each time. And also….I want to live a full life. Dying at just the beginning of adulthood is just…so unfair!” she exclaimed as she dropped to her knees before starting to cry. Streams of tears falling down her cheeks as she buries her face into her hands. Aku could definitely feel where she was coming from. Your life being forfeit at a decided time would bring anyone to tears. It was practically a living sacrifice.
“King Aku..my people know about this curse…and have so since the beginning of our nation. It is there wish that this land would no longer have to worry about such a thing, and could live and prosper without knowing that their leader’s time is so very limited. Therefore, I would like to make you an offer…”. Aku offered his hand down to help the young ruler off her knees before he gently wiped away her turns on his sleeve for her. She gratefully took his hand as she stood back up, her hand so much smaller in his, the larger man taking great care in treating her gently. “Over the next few days, I will be having talks with my advisors in all branches of my kingdom. And I want you to be there. But, before I sent out the letter..will you please consider absorbing the nation of Hiizurukuni into your own? I feel like under your rule, my subjects could be even more happier than they are now. And that someone with your power will be able to end this curse once and for all…”.
Aku’s eyes met with ehrs as she looked up at him with pleading eyes “I can easily break the curse without all that needing to happen. But, why would you want to have my nation take full control of yours? WOuldn’t your subjects be against such a thing? After all, I am just a ruler of a small nation who is considered a villain to the major power of this world. Don’t you think that might cause some issues?” he asked rather concerned about the outcome.
However, Everbloom was not concerned in the least “You see, Oni King. Your reputation has travelled further than you think. You took a handful of refugees who had been wrongly accused, worked with them to create a new nation entirely. And continued to take in more and more refugees who have pledged their undying loyalty to you because you have them a second chance. Oni King Aku is a name that is widely known and respected in Hiizurukuni. And if you were to become our leader and take our lands into yours, I have no doubt that we could prosper even more so. Our military might become stronger for it. And given from what I have heard from some of my officials that have come to visit your nation, domestic, cultural and residential life would become even more advanced than in Equestria.”.
Everbloom did have a point, several of them in fact. But, this was going to have to be her and her people’s decision first and foremost. Aku was not in the habit of forcing another nation under his rule unless provoked through means of violence and invasions. “If this is what you truly want, Everbloom. Then get with your subjects and spread the news first. Yale however much time you need. And if things go well, I will free you and your subject from your generations of this curse. And you will be free to live your own life.”. He said as he placed a hand upon one of her shoulders.
Over the nextyear, Aku spent his time traveling between Hiizurukuni and his own homeland as new was being spread between both lands. Once all the detailed had been ironed out and everything was legally prepared, the day was upon them to finally free Everbloom from her curse, and for Aku to absorb the second largest nation into his much smaller one. Who would have ever guess that in all his life, he would become not merely a king, but a full blown emperor of a nation so much like his own from his world.
One the day of the ceremony, Aku stood next to Everbloom as they walked out ontothrone room balcony above thousands of ponies who had gathered to watch both the breaking of the curse, and the transfer of leadership. Aku stepped forward and spoke first “I have been told that you have all been hoping for this day for a long time. To finally be free of this curse that could bring ruin to this land if the cycle failed to continue….” he said before turning abc to Everbloom before he reached out a hand, the mouth opening up on it before it began to literally eat away at the foul curse before the crown suddenly crumbled into nothing but dust.
“...No longer. All of you, and everyone else in this kingdom can now live without any worry of the royal sisters’ tyranny being held over you and bringing sorrow and pain to anyone again.”. The crowd cheered loudly as they witnessed the shattering of the crown, the ground nearly shaking with how loud it was. Afterwhich, Everbloom stepped forward and spoke her peace as well “And, after much deliberation. And a year's worth of preparation, legal talks, and hard work. The nation of Hiizurukuni is now absorbed in Kazoku. With that, Aku is now our new ruler. And has promised that everyone under his rule will be even more happier than we could have ever dreamed. And remain that way forever and ever..”.
Aku nodded as he stepped back up to speak once more “From this day forward, everyone’s lives are going to improve. It will take some time to improve the infrastructure, but I promise you, I will make things better for everyone. And I mean everyone. This is a great day for all in this nation. No more oppression, no more tyranny!” he said as he thrusted a fist into the air, a strong breeze flying past him with sakura blossoms flowing around and pas6t him before the gathered croud shouts and cheers once more.”All hail Oni Emperor Aku!” sjputed Everbloom
“Ah-ku, Ah-ku, Ah-ku!!!” shouted everyone below. The crowd was in an absolute joyful frenzy of their new ruler as a festival had already begun in the capital. Music and dance, good food, and most of all, happy faces on every colt, mare and foal. This was a brand new age for this land. And Aku was going to do his damnedest to keep it that way. However, he knew that trouble was going to be on the horizon here soon enough. But, he was ready…
Later that late afternoon, Aku and Everblookm sat in one of the garden in front of a fountain on a marble bench, the filly’s head resting on one of Aku’s thighs as she looked up at him with a warm smile. Aku returned the affection by gently stroking through her hair. It would seem that over the year they had been meeting over and over, they had grown rather close. As close as blood family could be. The two were practically sworn siblings at this point. “Big brother Aku? You once said when we first met, that there were rulers that were as young as I where you came from. Who was one that stuck out to you the most?” she asked in genuine curiosity.
Aku rubbed his chin in thought with his free hand before chuckling to himself as he answered “Oh that is an easy one. There was a young ruler called Baldwin The Fourth. A truly noble king who showed both valor and greatness at the age of sixteen. However, the young one was cursed with the disease of leprosy. A disease that slowly killed him as he aged older and older. Once he believed that after his first great victory, he would live to be a hundred years old. But the fact is that due to this disease, he wouldn’t live to see thirty. However, he didn’t let that stop him from his kingly duties. He was even very well respected by his enemy. When you can achieve such a thing, you know you are ruling properly.”. Aku continued with the story of King Baldwin as the night went on and on, making sure he told her all about his triumphs
–Canterlot Castle–
As Celestia and Luna went about their royal duties, they suddenly felt a sharp pain in their chest,both of them dropping to the ground on their knees and spilling all their paperwork. They both looked at each other with wide, knowing eyes. The fear built up in their hearts as they knew exactly what this meant. They both hurried to Celestia’s private study before locking themselves in it.
“Sister…the curse has been lifted from the lands in the east…but only we could do that. How is this possible?” Asked Luna as she clutched at her chest still in pain. Celestia however, knew who could destroy such a power with ease “That accursed magic eater….Aku.” she said as she slammed her fist onto one of the hardwood tables “He is ruining everything you and I have done. This can’t keep going any further.” She growled in anger.
