"I've been having these weird thoughts lately."

having

weird

real

or not?

"Like, is any of this real… or not?"

real

not?

"…You're telling me."

tell

me

what do you

know…?

"The only thing that lets me know this is a dream…"

know

a

dream

"…Is the music that keeps playing in my head…"

a

maiden's

capriccio


Two bodies were floating down slowly in what seemed to be underwater, a young boy and girl, both their eyes half opened as if trying to stay conscious. A large beam of light guided them down, down, down, until…

They both jolted their eyes open. The two of them were standing on a brightly lit beach. They looked around in confusion, then turned their eyes to the water. The sun was shining in their eyes, but they could see two other people standing in the waves; a different pair of a boy and a girl with a large hat, facing the opposite direction. The first boy shielded his eyes while the first girl tilted her head. The boy took a small step, but went back as he looked at the large tide. Suddenly, the girl gasped and the boy looked up to see a rather large wave coming towards the two in the water. Slowly, the boy in the water turned around towards them, smiling, and held out his hand to them, while the girl in the hat stayed with her back to the three of them. The boy started and ran to the other boy, as the girl seemed to hop on the waves towards the other girl. Before they could reach the other pair, however, the wave crashed into them, and the first boy and girl were swept away by the current.

After a few spins, the boy and girl looked up to see the other two, standing as if nothing was wrong, as if they weren't even underwater, on the seafloor. The boy was still holding out his hand to them, but the other girl, hat still on her head despite the current, had turned to face them, yet despite her standing there next to the smiling boy, she seemed to be asleep. The first pair tried to swim towards the second, but their efforts were in vain as they were swept away by the current again.

Suddenly, the boy found himself floating up to the surface of the water. It seemed to be sunset now, and the other girls and boy were nowhere in sight. However, a third, red-haired girl was standing at the water's edge, calling and waving to him. He waved back, and started towards her. He reached her and panted, as she laughed. Her laugh turned into a look of surprise though, as they turned and saw shooting stars falling down the sky. The boy saw a dark shape and realized it was the body of the other, first girl, falling down. Without warning, he fell backwards into the water, the red-haired girl looking down in shock. Then, he realized he was falling down from the sky as well.

He fell headfirst into the water, back into the darkness of the depths. He saw the first girl floating down next to him, looking at him with a confused face. They tumbled and swirled down, until finally they landed, back to back, on a dark platform. They looked around, trying to figure out where they were. The boy took a step, and the blackness of the platform dissolved into white birds, flying around the two in a spiral, as the platform revealed itself as a stain-glass image of a sleeping girl. The platform was green and emitted light. The boy and girl watched the birds fly away into the darkness, then looked down at the platform itself.


The boy and girl looked around, still confused. They looked at each other, and the girl was about to say something, when-

So much to do, so little time…

They both started. The boy gave the girl a look that said, 'you heard that too, right?' She nodded.

Take your time. Don't be afraid.

The door is still shut.

Now, step forward.

Can you do it?

The boy looked at the girl and shrugged. They both took a few steps toward the center of the platform.
The light coming down from above disappeared, and the girl looked up, wondering where it had gone. The boy looked around as three pedestals rose from the ground.

Power sleeps within you.

If you give it form…

It will give you strength.

Choose well.

The boy walked over to the pedestals, each with an item floating above them: a sword, a shield, and a staff. No… a wand. He looked at them all, and looked back at the girl. She walked up to the wand, and reached out to grab it. Instantly, some sort of invisible barrier pushed her hand back. She looked at the boy and raised an eyebrow. Then, the voice came again.

Not yet. Please watch warmly until he is ready.

She looked at him, and he shrugged. He went up to the sword, and tentatively reached out for it. Unlike the wand with the girl, no barrier stopped him from grabbing it. He pulled it close to him and examined it. It was a regular looking sword, with a yellow hilt and blue handle. A small red circle was in the middle of the hilt, and three tiny black circles were inside it, making a shape that resembled a mouse head.

The power of a warrior.

Invincible courage.

A sword of terrible destruction.

Is this the power you seek?

The boy looked up, at the girl who shrugged, at the sword, then back up again.

"Y-yes." He spoke aloud. Instantly, the sword disappeared in a flash of light that surrounded him.

Your path is set.

Now, what will you give up in exchange?

The boy turned toward the other two items. He looked from the wand to the shield.

"Um…" He said softly. He looked to the girl. She tilted her head.

"Don't look at me. I have no idea what's happening."

He looked back at the items.

"You're no help." He walked towards the wand, then back to the shield. After looking back and forth a few more times, he looked at the shield with determination. He walked to it and jumped on the pedestal, grabbing the shield.

The power of the guardian.

Kindness to aid friends.

A shield to repel all.

You give up this power?

He looked up again.

"Yeah." After saying this, the shield disappeared in the same way the sword did. The voice came back.

You've chosen the power of the warrior.

You've given up the power of the guardian.

Is this the form you choose?

"I guess." He said.

Then please, if you would.

The pedestals began to glow, and the boy jumped off. Where the sword had been, a wooden rod tied with white paper streamers appeared. Where the shield had been, a large red and white orb with a yin-yang design replaced it. The wand was still there, but, in a flash of light, was replaced by a small rectangular piece of paper, with odd red writing on it. As with the boy's items, these ones had the little mouse head symbol on them; the rod's paper segments, the small circles on the yin-yang orb, and in the center of the writing of the piece of paper, the symbol was neatly drawn on, also in red. The girl stepped forward.

Your power is great, and equals his.

However, you have a different part to play…

But that doesn't make it any less important.

What will your choice be?

The girl put her hands on her hips and looked at the three items. She walked slowly and deliberately in a circle, looking over each one carefully. The boy waited, wondering which one she would pick, and what they even did.

Eventually, she came up to the small piece of paper.

"What does this do?" She asked aloud, and grabbed it.

The power of the shooter.

Powerful if used properly.

Spell cards bring destructive colors.

Is this the power you seek?

The girl looked for a moment, then shook her head.

"What?" asked the boy.

"I want to see what the other two are." She said simply. The boy nodded. Unlike the sword and shield, he didn't know at first glance what these things were. The girl walked up to the orb, and touched it.

The power of the familiar.

Protection from above.

The yin-yang orb can be disguised as a cat.

Is this the power you seek?

She looked blankly up.

"…Um. No, thanks." She put the orb back. The boy was scratching his head at the last line the voice had said. The girl turned to the rod and grabbed it with no hesitation.

The power of the miko.

Divine purifying powers.

A gohei fitting for a maiden of paradise.

Is this the power you seek?

The girl looked at it, then towards the other two items.

"You know what? Sure. I like this one." As with the boy's sword, the gohei disappeared in a flash of light. The girl blinked a few times.

Your path is set.

Now, what will you give up in exchange?

Without skipping a beat, she pointed at the large yin-yang orb.

"Don't want it."

You give up this power?

"Take it." Like the shield, the orb disappeared in a flash.

You've chosen the power of the miko.

You've given up the power of the familiar.

Is this the form you choose?

The girl nodded with a smile. She hopped down from the pedestal and walked to the boy. The 'spell card' vanished, and with a loud rumbling, the pedestals sank back into the ground. But that wasn't the only thing happening; the girl gasped, and the boy turned around to see the stained-glass floor shattering away. They both fell down into darkness once more.

For a few seconds, they could only see each other. Then, they saw a new platform appear: a blue one, with a woman in a white dress. Like the girl on the other platform, this woman seemed to be sleeping as well. They both landed lightly on the ground. In a mass of sparkles, the sword appeared in the boy's hand, and the gohei in the girl's.

You've gained the power to fight.

They looked at each other blankly.

"Uh…" The boy looked down at his sword. He gripped the handle with both hands and dropped into a fighting stance, and swung at the air with the weapon. His eyes followed the blade as he swung around, hitting imaginary enemies clumsily.

The girl watched silently, and then decided to move as well. Her stance wasn't as deep as his, but while he used both his hands to hold the sword, one hand was good enough for her. She swung her gohei fast and sharply, and the two mimicked each other's strikes.

All right! You've got it.

Use this power to protect yourself and others.

The two looked at each other and smiled. Then, out of the corner of her eye, the girl saw a shadow appear on the white dress. She pointed at it, and the boy turned and leaned in for a closer look.

There will be times you have to fight.

Keep your light burning strong.

The shadow grew into an odd black creature with antennae and glowing yellow orbs for eyes. More of the odd creatures started to form from nowhere. The boy and girl glanced at each other with worried looks, but nodded and ran towards the creatures. The boy slashed with his sword and the girl struck with her gohei, both of them doing considerable damage to the small creatures. Eventually, the remaining ones melted into the ground. The boy and girl high-fived. Their celebration was short lived, however, as-

Behind you!

The girl looked over the boy's shoulder and saw a creature jumping towards the back-turned boy. The boy glanced quickly, then, with one swing, slashed the creature in midair, destroying it. Once again, more creatures appeared. The boy and girl dealt with them accordingly. One was left, however, and as it melted into the ground, a much bigger glob of darkness came with it. The darkness spread over the platform until the boy and girl were being pulled under with it.

They opened their eyes and found themselves struggling on the floor of yet another platform. This one was mainly pink with three large heart shapes. Inside the hearts were three white silhouettes. The boy and girl stood up to find themselves facing a door. A lone beam of light was shining on it, and it was slightly transparent. They walked up to it.

"How are we supposed to open it…?" The boy asked, crossing his arms. The girl's hands were on her hips again. She turned to look around, and saw another beam of light shine down, and a chest appear with a small sparkle. She nudged the boy and pointed. He walked over to it, and tapped it with his sword. Instantly, it opened, and then disappeared with yet another sparkle. They turned, and saw a large wooden crate appear. The girl walked over to it and tried tapping it as he had done, yet nothing happened. Disappointed, she scowled, and she swung her gohei down on it, hard. A few smacks, and the crate was smashed. When this happened, the door seemed a bit more solid. They both turned and saw a wooden barrel appear from nowhere. They looked at each other, then both ran to it, and smacked it simultaneously, destroying it. With that, the door became completely solid. The two walked up to it, but before they even moved their hands to grab the handles, the door opened of its own accord. Light seeped through, almost blinding the two of them, but shielding their eyes, they walked through it.

Hold on.

The door won't open just yet.

First, tell me more about yourselves.

They were no longer in the dark area; they seemed to be on a wooden lookout, with sea surrounding them. Three other children, two boys and a girl, sat and stood, watching them. The duo walked towards the girl, who was sitting on a fence railing.

"What's most important to you?" She asked.

The boy and girl looked at each other, then back to the sitting girl.

"Um… my friends." The boy said. The girl shrugged and nodded.

The sitting girl giggled.

"Is friendship such a big deal?"

They turned and walked towards a boy standing in a corner.

"What are you so afraid of?" He asked.

The pair didn't look at each other, but both shifted uncomfortably.

"I guess… being alone." The girl said slowly.

"…Being abandoned." The boy said softly.

The standing boy grinned.

"Is that really so scary?"

"Shut up." The girl said, and she turned to the last boy. Her companion followed. The last boy was holding a ball.

"What do you want outta life?" He asked.

Both the boy and girl thought for a moment.

"Excitement." The girl said. She looked at the boy.

"To be strong, I guess." He said.

"To be strong, huh?" The ball-carrying boy asked. He started to twirl the ball on his finger.

You want friendship.

You're afraid of being alone and abandoned.

You want excitement, and to be strong.

Your adventure begins at twilight.

If you do not let the fog deceive you, your journey should be on the path to truth.

"Um... sounds good." Said the boy, placing his hands behind his head. The girl, however, frowned.

The day you will open the door is both far off and very near.

Suddenly, the two of them were in the dark place again, on a new platform. This one was red, and had the image of a beautiful sleeping woman surrounded by thorns. A large beam of light was shining down, and they both ran towards it. As they reached it, it disappeared, and they found themselves surrounded by even more of the small black creatures from before. The boy and girl rushed in, beating the creatures with their sword and gohei, respectively. When they had finished, a beam of light shot down to the ground; however, this beam was much brighter than the beams before it. The boy and girl walked into the light, instantly felt refreshed, and it moved to the other side of the platform. Reaching the edge, it disappeared, and smaller stained-glass platforms appeared, making a walkway. The duo ran to the walkway and began to climb. Eventually, they arrived at a new platform; this one was yellow and had the image of a sleeping woman in a yellow ball dress, a rose, and some sort of beast behind her.

A much larger beam of light was shining down on this one. The two looked at each other, nodded, and walked slowly to it, looking up. The boy smiled, looking up into the light, but the girl was the one who heard what the voice said next.

The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes.

She shrieked. The boy turned- and saw his shadow elongated all the way to the edge of the rose and morphed into a copy of the boy, but black and dark blue. He gasped as it grew from that.

But don't be afraid.

He stepped back. The girl was frozen, looking at the large, black monster that had grown from the boy's own shadow, staring at its large hands and feet, and its piercing yellow eyes. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back with him.

And don't forget…

Still holding her arm, he turned and the two of them ran to the edge of the platform, just stopping before falling down. They slowly turned to the gigantic monster. He pulled out his sword, and looked expectantly at the girl. She swallowed, nodded, and brought out her gohei. They ran forward towards the monster. He jumped at a lowered hand and began to swing. She did the same, with the opposite hand. Eventually, the hand she was attacking rose up and began to glow. She fled to the hand the boy was hitting, as the other hand was slammed down into the ground, and a large black pool of darkness appeared with it. The smaller creatures from earlier crawled out, and began swiping at the boy's legs.

"I'll handle the little ones!" The girl shouted, and began hacking away. The boy nodded and started slashing the monster's head. Soon, however, the monster leaned backward, and where there was a large heart-shaped hole in its chest, blue light began to form. With a large twitch-like motion, beams seemed to come out from the light, and began homing their way to the girl and boy. As they were hit with each beam, they both cried out with pain, and began darting around, trying not to be hit again. Whenever they got close, they attacked the monster, but until the beams stopped, they kept running, trying not to get hurt.

The monster repeated this pattern several times, each time the boy and girl getting more and more confident that they could do this. Finally, the monster staggered back a step. The boy and girl quickly rushed in together. With two large jumps, they both reached its head, and swung down their weapons with all their might. The monster leaned forward, the two of them falling to the ground, landing on their bottoms. The sword and the gohei both disappeared, to the horror of the boy and the girl. They looked at each other and stared up at the monster. It had dug its claws into the ground, and was leaning over them menacingly. It got close—

The ground around the boy and girl was suddenly covered in darkness. Slowly, they both began to sink.

But don't be afraid.

The darkness began to cover the boy's leg, and the girl's arms. They both tried to cry out, but no sound could be heard at all.

You hold the mightiest weapon of all.

The boy had turned over on his stomach, desperately trying to get away. The girl tried to pull him away with her, but she too was being covered in darkness. All the while, the large, black monster loomed over them, getting closer and closer. The boy reached out his darkness-covered hand to the girl. She tried to take it, and just managed to grab his fingers in a tight grip.

So don't forget:

The two stared up at the monster, their faces almost entirely covered by the darkness.

You are the ones… who will open the door.


the spiky haired young boy

and the red-eyed young girl

couldn't see anything anymore.


Ah. Hello everyone. It's me, Frost.

Welcome to Kingdom Hearts of an Eastern Wonderland (version 2.0!).

To be honest, the first few chapters aren't going to be TOO much different from the original, since I'm really perfectly happy with what goes on, but I did revise and do a LOT of editing and there are a lot of key things changed to flow better and just be better for the story.

I'm going to keep the policy I had with the original; please, please, PLEASE let me know if I have any information wrong or seem to be writing a character wrong. I don't want to make anyone too OOC or, god forbid, overpowered or mary sue-ish. Now, there are of course villainous Touhou girls in this story, but since in Touhou canon there aren't really that many villains but rather girls with ambiguous morals, I will be taking some liberties, but even still I'm trying to make them as in character as possible. Please be patient with me!

But. Um. Yeah. Thank you for reading and your support. I will try my damn hardest not to just abandon this story with no warning. Please look forward for the plot to get going! uwu