The Twelve Kingdoms
Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze
by Ono Fuyumi
translated by Cheng Jianrong and Mina
and then translated again by Retrooo
©ONO FUYUMI, KODANSHA LTD.
last modified, 05.27.2005
CHAPTER FOUR
1
Taiki absent-mindedly wandered around the small paths, not looking at where he
was going at all. In addition, Taiki was still essentially unfamiliar with the roads outside
of Rosen Palace. However, since Sanshi was with him, he didn't worry about getting lost.
He was walking aimlessly like this for a while when he suddenly saw a gate in
front of him, obstructing the path. The door was shut tightly, preventing Taiki from going
any further.
This was the outer perimeter of Houro Palace. It probably took him a while to
walk here from Rosen Palace, which meant that he had already been lost in thought for a long
time.
"..." Taiki sighed. The bolt for the gate was on this side, so it would have
been easy to open the gate, had he wanted to. However, the nyosen had told him before that he
absolutely could not take one step out of this gate.
But Taiki didn't feel like heading back, so he turned around and raised his arms
toward Sanshi, who had been quietly following him.
"Sanshi, can you take me up there?"
Sanshi nodded her head and picked Taiki up. At Taiki's current age, it wouldn't
be easy for most women to lift him, but ever since he returned to Mt. Hou, he was no longer
as heavy as he looked on the outside. Since he now had an immortal body, he was extremely
light, so Sanshi didn't expend the slightest amount of energy to pick him up. Only two or
three jumps and she arrived at the top of a cliff.
Looking down from the top, Houro Palace looked like a maze. The roofs of the
palace structures that were scattered everywhere reflected a greenish light. At the edge
of the maze there stood a snow-white tree, which at that moment was bathed in sunlight.
Taiki held on to Sanshi as he stared in the direction of the tree.
Gazing at it from above, Houro Palace appeared to be in the shape of a fan. The
Shashinboku was situated beside a cliff wall on the terrace furthest east, which was also
the eastern boundary of the palace. The top of the enormous, strangely-shaped crag could not
be seen, and the bottom extended into a gorge of an unknown depth. Most people could not
walk its complex, intertwining terrain.
On the inner side of the terrace, there was a gradual slope, the area of which
was wider the closer it got. At some point, it diverged into a countless number of small
paths, and at another point it converged into one path. This path was cut off firmly by the
gate that Taiki had just seen at the end of the maze.
A steep mountain peak stood on the northern side of the maze. The cliff wall
of the steep mountain, as well as the soaring peak that extended past the clouds included
no easy way to climb, even for Sanshi.
The eastern and northern sides were protected by towering cliff walls, so those
who wanted to visit Houro Palace must first enter through that gate, and then walk the
correct route through the maze in order to reach their destination.
Taiki left Sanshi's embrace and, standing on the crag, he looked back behind him.
On the southern and eastern sides outside of the maze of the palace, the confusing
terrain continued.
The inside and outside of the maze formed a single gigantic labyrinth. Even with
Taiki looking at it from above, he wasn't clear where the border between the two actually was.
However, the terrain on the outside did look slightly simpler than that of the
inside. The small paths were wider and the open areas were much bigger. If someone walking
in the middle of it mastered the direction of the sun, they should be able to reach Houro Palace.
Taiki was thinking these things as he looked around, when he saw an emerald
green glimmer coming from somewhere a far distance down the mountain.
"Sanshi, what's over there?" Taiki asked as he pointed. Sanshi looked in that
direction with her round eyes.
"Hoto Palace..."
"There are palaces outside of the gate?"
Sanshi nodded. "Outer palaces."
"Oh..."
In this way, Taiki was looking at the maze, when a strong gust of wind blew at
them. He looked around and saw no oceans around, but the wind had carried with it the smell
of the sea.
"What's wrong?" Sanshi couldn't help but ask, seeing Taiki stare into the distance
as he stood in the wind. Sanshi did not speak up to ask him questions very often, so that meant
that he appeared to be completely lost in thought.
"Sanshi, did you have to transform in order to look like you do now? Or were you
born this way?"
Sanshi gently stroked his head. "Nyokai cannot transform. Transformation requires
a special power in order to perform."
"Oh..."
"Changing your outward appearance is not a very easy thing to do. There are youma
that are capable of it, but their magical powers are extremely strong. Even monarchs may not
be able to control them."
"Youma?"
"They are creatures that possess supernatural powers and do not listen to the
will of the heavens."
"Are nyokai also youma?"
Sanshi shook her head. "Nyokai are creatures that are between humans and youju, called nin'you
or youjin. The special ones born on Mt. Hou are called nyokai."
"Then... are kirin considered youju?"
Sanshi revealed to Taiki an expression that no one else had ever had a chance to
see. "Kirin definitely possess powers, but we don't call kirin by the name youju. Kirin are
shinju, divine beasts."
"Why?"
"Because in this world, only gods and monarchs are nobler than the kirin. More
particularly, only the Taiou, Lady Seioubo and Tentei hold a higher status than you."
"I...don't quite understand."
Sanshi brushed his hair. "Then just remember that since Seioubo and Tentei don't
usually come down from the Heavens, you will probably never have a chance to meet them. Thus,
the only one who is nobler than you is the Taiou."
"Then what about everyone else? Doesn't Lady Gyokuyou have a higher status than
me?"
"If you can call her by the name Gyokuyou, that means that you and she share the
same status. It is only etiquette that requires you address her as Lady."
"This is so complicated."
"Is it very complicated?"
"Yes." Taiki lowered his head to look at the scenery below his feet. After
standing in the wind for a moment, he asked Sanshi another question.
"What do I need to do...to be able to transform?"
Sanshi looked at the depressed expression on Taiki's face. "That is an ability
that you were born with... When the time comes, you will do it naturally."
"Really...?" Taiki lowered his eyelids. Recently, a lot of the nyosen had told
him to quickly transform into a black kirin so that they could experience something new.
Taiki knew that the nyosen all adored him, so that he could satisfy their hopes. However,
he had no idea as to how he would do it.
"You don't need to worry... you just need to live your days with happiness."
"Okay..." Taiki leaned his head on Sanshi's wrist.
It was at this moment that he spotted two figures on a small path in the
vicinity of Hoto Palace.
"Sanshi, there are people over there."
Sanshi looked over toward Hoto Palace and nodded her head. "It's probably a couple nyosen
who've gone to burn some incense. They're bringing flowers and sticks of incense to the altar
in Hoto Palace."
"Sanshi, let's return with the nyosen."
Taiki had no way to get himself down to the path from the top of the crag, so he
prepared himself for Sanshi to carry him down. At this time, Sanshi suddenly jerked her head
fiercely.
"What's wrong?"
In the second that it took Taiki to ask this question, Sanshi's outline looked
like it had been sucked into a little crack and disappeared.
"Sanshi?"
"Stay where you are and don't move."
He only heard Sanshi's voice--her voice came from beside him, full of a tense
feeling, but he couldn't see her.
Taiki stood on the crag. Hearing such a nervous tone, as well as an unimaginably
monstrous ferocity develop in her voice, he guessed that something was definitely out of the
ordinary.
Taiki carefully looked around, not daring to breathe too loudly. He grabbed onto
the cliffside, and stretched his neck out to see if he could find Sanshi's figure. At this
time something suddenly brushed past his neck.
"Huh...?"
He felt something fly towards him and graze his cheek. And then, something else
wrapped itself around his hands, with which he had been holding on to the cliffside. Suddenly,
his hands were tugged by a strong force and it flung his body over the side of the rock face.
In that second, Taiki saw that his hands were bound by a long chain.
He began to fall.
--Someone was pulling him off the crag.
2
"I've got you!"
Taiki was startled awake by a loud and coarse voice.
He suddenly remembered that he had fallen off of the crag and into the area
beyond the boundary where the nyosen had told him never to cross. When he tried to think
back to why he had fallen, he heard another deep shouting. He was laying on the ground
and turned to see where the voice came from, when he saw a few droplets of blood spray
thru the air.
"It looks like blood..." In the moment this thought floated into his mind,
it was as if his body temperature had dropped, and he was suddenly unable to move his body.
He remembered a peculiarity that he had almost forgotten after he had arrived at
Mt. Hou.
--I'm afraid of blood!
Even when it was blood from his own injury, he almost couldn't stand it. If it
was someone else's blood coming out of their wound, he would get so scared that he couldn't
breathe.
He tried to close his eyes, but even his eyelids wouldn't listen to his
commands. It was as if he had forgotten to take a breath, and all he could feel was the
urgent beating of his heart. He had almost reached his limit. The sight of the blood spray
kept replaying itself deep inside his pupil, which had already lost focus.
(I was originally standing on top of the crag!)
Then something had bound his hands and dragged him down. He felt that that
thing was still wrapped around his hands now, like it was a chain of thorns.
He knew that he had fallen off the crag.
He was now laying on the ground which was piled full of rocks, with his body in
an unnatural position. He was on his back with stones under him.
Having fallen from such a high place into the bottom of a valley, and passing by
so many sharp rocks, logic dictates that he must have been wounded. However, right now Taiki
was not clear on whether or not he had been injured, or if through a miracle, he was only
lightly hurt.
He could only feel the strong beating of his heart. His hands and feet were
already so cold he could not move them, and he was dizzy as if he had a fever. He couldn't
wipe the bright red pigment of blood away. It occupied his mind and was so vivid that there
was no way for him to understand what was going on in front of him.
He wanted to shake his head forcefully so that he might wake up a little bit,
however he couldn't even blink his eyes. Was his inability to move due to an injury? Or
was it because he had just seen droplets of blood? What was actually going on right now?
"You monster!" He heard a coarse voice calling out, and finally understood what
it was that he was looking at.
It was a man. He was a big man who was holding a sword in his hands.
And that sword was pointed at Sanshi!
"I'm not going to be beaten by a nin'you! Go the hell back to the Yellow Sea!"
He raised the sword and sliced it down quickly.
(Sanshi!)
He wanted to shout, but he couldn't make any sounds.
The edge of the blade made an arc in the air, brushing past Sanshi's body.
Sanshi had reached out in an attempt to grab a hold of his throat.
The tips of her white fingers had been stained red. In the next moment, Sanshi's
wrist sprayed fresh blood as the edge of the sword crossed it.
(Stop!)
He shut his eyes tightly, secretly wishing that he wouldn't have to open them
again. He was already not sure if he was still breathing or if his heart was still beating.
He didn't want to open his eyes, but all of a sudden a strong force tugged at
his hands, and he opened his eyes in shock. Before he was clear on what had happened, he
had already rolled off the rocks.
His back was struck and just as he wanted to cry out, his wrists were being
tugged again. He looked up only to see his two wrists being pulled into the air. Around
his wrists was a thin chain that was connected all the way to the man's hand that wasn't
holding the sword. Whenever the man moved a little, a sharp pain would occur in his
shoulders and elbows as if they were being dislocated. He was dragged forward on top of a
crag in this way, with the upper portion of his body rubbing against the top of the stones,
causing him a piercing pain.
"Who are you?"
The man was pointing his sword at Sanshi as he looked at Taiki. He looked very
angry.
"Why is your hair like this?" The tone of the man's voice sounded like he was
blaming him, but Taiki didn't know how he should reply.
Sanshi jumped in front of the man again. He swung the sword at her and cut her
leg. Bright red spots sprayed from Sanshi's body once again.
The man glared at Taiki again and twisted his long, cruel face as he yelled at
him loudly.
"Boy, you aren't a kirin?"
Kirin? Of course he was a kirin. Everyone had said so.
Could he answer him like this?
But right now, he was more worried about Sanshi!
Sanshi...
(Ah... She's bled so much...)
Whenever the man moved, Taiki's wrists would be jerked at. It was so painful, he
felt like his whole body was going to be ripped apart.
"Damn it! And I thought you were a kirin. I spent all this time and I end up
with a little brat and a nin'you following me!"
Sanshi lunged at the man again, but met only his sword as he swung it at her.
More blood droplets splattered onto the ground. Sanshi backed up as the man moved forward
a few steps, causing Taiki to be dragged along again, the sharp rocks scratching up his body.
"How did a nin'you like you get into Mt. Hou? Let me teach you a thing or two!"
He cut Sanshi again with the point of the blade, which hit the rocks.
(Sanshi...)
Sanshi's white body was already spotted with blood.
(Sanshi, run away...)
He really wanted to call this out, but he could not say anything...
3
"Stop this immediately!"
Suddenly hearing a loud sharp voice, Taiki opened his eyes.
"How...could this happen!?"
"Taiki!"
He heard a mass of footsteps running in his direction as pale-faced nyosen
entered his line of sight.
"This...is too much! Taiki!"
When the nyosen ran over and reached out their hands, Taiki broke out in
tears. Warm hands picked him up and he smelled the pleasant fragrance of a nyosen, making
him feel like he could sleep forever.
"What is going on here? Sanshi, stop!"
"Is she your pet dog? Quickly, take her away!"
"You're the one who should go away, you horrible person!"
Hearing a loud shouting, Taiki lifted up his head.
It had been Teiei's voice. This was the first time he had seen her so agitated.
The man was also looking at her with surprise, while Sanshi hatefully glowered at the man.
"Sanshi, that's enough. If you bleed any more you won't be able to be by Taiki's
side. If you don't want that to happen, then you should cool down a little bit."
After saying this to Sanshi, Teiei glared at the man.
"How dare you come to Mt. Hou and treat Taiki in this vulgar manner!"
"Taiki?" The man looked at the child who was being tightly embraced by a nyosen.
"You're saying that this brat... no, this child is Taiki?"
"Correct! Since ancient times, the only children that appear on Mt. Hou are the
Mt. Hou Kou. And you perform these treacherous actions upon Mt. Hou Kou! I would like to hear
an explanation now."
An expression of joy piled upon the man's entire face.
"Taiki! I can't believe I caught him." After saying this, he strode forward a step.
Teiei extended her hand to block him. "What is your answer? You are not to get
one step closer to Mt. Hou Kou! I want to hear your explanation first."
"I've caught Taiki! It was me!"
"You still won't answer me? Is it possible that you want to experience the power
of the nyosen?"
The man had a hateful grin upon his face. "I am the Shikou Daibu of the Bakou
in Tai Kingdom. I am called Goson. I heard that the kirin had returned to Mt. Hou, so I came."
"Hoto Palace has not permitted anyone by the name of Goson to climb the
mountain."
"Ah... Regarding this, I am very sorry. I was too eager to see Houro Palace, and
consequently, I did not go to Hoto Palace beforehand to tell them. However, I've caught the
kirin!"
"You've caught him? What do you mean by ‘caught him'?"
The man widened his eyes. "I've caught the kirin. Though my hasty rush up the
mountain is my mistake, for which I apologize, but I hope that you can grant Taiki to me."
After saying this, the man laughed. "I am the King of Tai!"
Taiki felt the body of the nyosen who was embracing him begin to shake with
anger. And as if it had been contagious, Teiei's shoulders also started to shake a little.
"You ignorant fool!"
Hearing Teiei's angry yell, the man couldn't help but take a half-step back.
"Who would have thought that the Bakou of Tai Kingdom would actually have
allowed such a foolish person to become the Shikou Daibu!"
The man retreated another half-step backward.
"What did you think Taiki was? Did you think that the honorable Mt. Hou Kou was
the same as the youju that you catch in the Yellow Sea? Don't kid yourself! You, the King of
Tai? I advise you to get off this mountain before lightning strikes you as a punishment from
the Heavens!"
"But..."
"Be quiet! If more nonsense comes out of your mouth, even if the Heavens don't
punish you, I will tear you into pieces!"
The man could no longer speak, his mouth simply opening and closing.
The nyosen who was holding Taiki stood up and carefully helped Taiki remove the
chain on his wrists.
She gently rubbed the skin where the chain had bound Taiki's wrists, and then
she stroked his cheek and brushed his hair. Then she spoke to Taiki, who was near tears again.
"This makes me so angry. You must have been so scared! I am going to take you
back to the palace now."
"But Sanshi..." He looked at Sanshi, who was standing quietly to one side. The
nyosen shook her head.
"Not yet. Don't worry about her right now."
Though he still wasn't clear on what had happened, he did know that Sanshi was
injured for the sake of protecting him.
He wanted to know if her wounds were serious and to thank her and treat her
wounds, but just looking at her with blood all over her body, made his heart feel like it
was being squeezed. Since Sanshi's body gave off a strong smell of blood, no matter what,
he would not be able to be close to her.
He carried a mood that was hard to get over as he let the nyosen pick him up.
His whole body ached, and as a result, he really wanted to cry before the nyosen had even
walked one step.
After they entered the big gate, he saw Youka.
All the nyosen who ran over to him saw Taiki's appearance and cried out. The
nyosen who was carrying him explained what had happened to them, and after they heard,
they rushed outside.
"Really...this is too much!" said Youka, as she stared angrily out the gate.
Then she anxiously reached her hands to Taiki.
"This is really unfortunate. You must have been so scared. Are you all right?"
"Sanshi..."
Youka nodded her head in understanding.
"Sanshi's fine. Although a nyokai's wounds might look very serious, they will
heal very quickly. But did you get hurt?"
"I don't know."
"At any rate, we should return to the palace first. Sanshi will clean her body
before she comes back, so you don't need to worry."
Taiki finally nodded his head.
"You don't need to be so sad. There was nothing you could do. Kirin have always
been creatures that feared blood. Even to the point that some kirin will get sick when they
just smell blood!"
"Really...? The other kirin are like this too?"
"Yes, so you don't need to feel so ashamed. After Sanshi comes back, I'll help
treat her wounds."
"Okay..."
Taiki reached his hand out to Youka, and Youka picked him up.
Afterwards, all the nyosen who had come rushing argued about who would carry
him back, all along the road to Rosen Palace.
4
After they got back to his bedroom at Rosen Palace, Youka brought a big basin of
medicinal water and let Taiki soak in it.
She carefully checked Taiki's body for injuries and then delicately washed his
body as she listened to him tell her about what had happened to him. She listened and silently
cursed the foolish man several times.
"Do you know what was actually going on?" Taiki still didn't quite understand
the cause of the occurrence.
Youka smiled at the puzzled and anxious Taiki. "It was because I was too careless,
thinking that since the spring equinox had passed, everything would be fine... Please forgive me
for my mistake."
"You didn't make a mistake."
"No, I should have been more clear with you. Luckily, you didn't get any serious
injuries. When you fell off the crag, I'm certain it was Sanshi that caught you. After she
comes back, you need to properly show her your appreciation."
"Yes..."
"Also, please promise me that you will never, even if Sanshi is with you, cross
the big gate of Houro Palace without a nyosen accompanying you. No, please promise me not even to
get near to the big gate."
"I won't go out there."
Hearing Taiki say this, Youka nodded her head. And then after Taiki got out of
the bath, she wrapped him up with the towel in her hand.
Youka carried Taiki to his bed and lightly wiped his body clean.
"...The kirin will choose a ruler."
"How is the ruler chosen? Shouldn't the child of the king succeed him?"
"No, the kirin chooses him."
"I don't understand..."
"Actually, I'm not too clear on it either. After all, I'm not a kirin. But it's
probably like this: the ruler is decided by Tentei, who holds the highest status in the
Heavens. After he compares the natures of many people, he chooses the person who most fit to
be the ruler."
"Oh..."
"And then Tentei will inform the kirin of his choice... Oh, he doesn't just use
his mouth to tell the kirin! It's just that when the kirin meets the person who should become
the ruler, he will know naturally that it is him, because the kirin will receive a revelation."
"What's a revelation?"
"That's something only a kirin knows. If you are a kirin, it is certain that you
will be able to feel the revelation. Regardless of how small the kirin is, they can definitely
all choose a ruler."
"...Okay."
"After a little while, those who hope to become the ruler will climb Mt. Hou in
droves. That is how they will be able to meet you, so that you can choose a ruler out of them."
"Just like...that guy today?"
Youka nodded. She put down the cloth she had been using to dry Taiki's hair and
began to help him put on his undergarments.
"Yes. A lot of people will come! Then... It'll probably be around the summer
solstice."
"Why the summer solstice?"
"Because Mt. Hou is located in the center of the Yellow Sea. Ordinarily, people
aren't allowed into the Yellow Sea. However, there are four gates upon the periphery of the
Yellow Sea. Once they go through those gates, they will have entered the Yellow Sea. Also,
the four gates will open alternately at the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and
winter solstices."
The day the gate opens is called Ankou Day. Outside of Ankou Day, these four
gates are so closely protected that not even a drop of water can get through.
"They only open for one day?"
"Right, from noon on the day of, to noon on the day after. The spring equinox
occurred not long after you had just arrived, and I thought that even if those people had
wanted to climb the mountain, they probably wouldn't have had enough time. I didn't think
it could happen, so I lowered my guard. Please forgive my error."
"That's okay."
"That man today probably rushed here to make it in time. However, when the summer
solstice arrives, then there really will be many people coming to climb the mountain."
"Oh..."
"To get from any of the four gates to here, no matter how fast they are, it takes
half a month. Thus, once they enter a gate, they aren't able to leave until the next time a
gate opens. Also, those who wish to climb Mt. Hou will set up camp in the area around Hoto
Palace, and they will stay there until the day they can leave. Although there are many youma
and youju in the Yellow Sea, they aren't able to enter Mt. Hou, so staying there is very safe.
When the time comes, there will be so many people that the commotion will seem like a small
town!"
"That many people? Then will I really know who the ruler is?"
"You don't need to worry. You will gain a revelation, so you will certainly
know. Regardless of how great a person looks, if you don't receive the revelation, then
they aren't the ruler."
"Okay..."
"However, among those, there will still be people like that idiot today, who
think that they just need to use their savage strength to capture the kirin or force the
kirin to bow down to them in order to make them king."
"So is that why Houro Palace was built at the end of a maze?"
"Probably. Because when some people hear that a kirin has been born, they will
want to come and take the kirin."
"Oh..."
"When you are allowed outside of the gate, naturally we will take you outside,
so until that time, you must not run out there by yourself. Even when you are inside the gates,
you still need to be careful."
"I know."
Youka smiled and rubbed Taiki's head. "When the kirin receives the revelation,
he will bow in front of the ruler.
Besides the ruler, the kirin will absolutely not bow down to anyone else. Even
in the shrines of Tentei and Seioubo, only kirin are allowed to not bow down in respect."
"Wow..."
"And then the kirin will vow never to abandon the ruler, never to disobey his
royal command, and pledge his loyalty to the ruler."
"Okay."
"After the ruler vocally agrees, the kirin will press his forehead, or I should
say his horn, against the feet of the ruler. Thereupon, that person formally becomes the ruler.
The person you choose will be called Taiou, which is what the ruler of Tai Kingdom is called.
And from then on, you will be called Tai Taiho."
"This is so complicated!"
Seeing Taiki's sour face, Youka laughed.
"Is it? After you choose a ruler, you will ascended to a place even higher than
Mt. Hou. There sits the shrine of Seioubo, where you will take the Taiou."
"How do I take him up there? Even Sanshi can't go up there."
Youka laughed even more happily.
"At that time, a road will naturally appear. You will go up and enter the shrine
to receive the Tenchoku. Afterwards, you will go down to the Kingdom of Tai. You shouldn't
ask me what the Tenchoku is though, because this is something only kirin and rulers know about."
"Okay."
"When it comes time, a path of beautiful clouds will appear from Mt. Hou
straight to the Kingdom of Tai, and you will ride the clouds all the way down to Tai Kingdom."
"And then?"
"And then?" Youka looked at Taiki and saw only Taiki's anxious face.
"And then what happens? Am I going to live in Tai Kingdom forever?"
"Of course."
"Then will I never see you again?" Taiki looked like he was about to cry. "What
about Sanshi? And Teiei? And the rest of the nyosen?"
"Well," Youka sighed. She hugged Taiki, who was sitting on the bedding. "Yes...
I suppose we may never have another chance to meet. However, Sanshi will always stay by your
side, forever and ever."
"Do I have to choose a ruler?"
"Choosing a ruler is your most important duty!"
Seeing Taiki hugging her tightly with his little hands, Youka gently stroked his
back.
"You must become an exceptional kirin and choose a great ruler! We will all care
about you from far away at Mt. Hou."
Mt. Hou was a place to bring up kirin, so once a kirin leaves Mt. Hou, on
principle, they cannot come back. After all, the nyosen of Mt. Hou need to concentrate on
taking care of the newly born kirin. But Taiki didn't need to know these things right now.
"Our only hope is that you can become a spectacular kirin and fulfill your
duties without any problems."
Taiki nodded.
--Although, it was very forced.
5
Finally, relative to the calendar, summer was getting closer and closer.
Relative to the calendar because there were no so-called seasons on Mt. Hou.
After a page was turned, it would be the summer solstice. On that day, the
Reikon Gate on the southwestern side of the Yellow Sea would open.
"Taiki, I'll brush your hair into a topknot," said Teiei to Taiki. Because she
saw that as Taiki was gathering stones from the river, he would constantly be pulling his
hair out of the water.
"Okay," said Taiki as he sat down on the crag next to the river. Teiei
unfastened the thin rope that was at her waist and began to tie a topknot. Taiki's
neatly trimmed head of steel-colored hair had already grown down to his back, but
then putting it up into a topknot made it feel like it was still too short.
"Can I trim my bangs?"
"If you must trim them, we will do it for you. However, if you end up regretting
it, we won't sympathize."
"This length should already be long enough, shouldn't it?"
Hearing Taiki say this with such apprehension, Teiki couldn't help but laugh.
"When you transform into a kirin, your hair won't be this long. It will become a
length that is just right. It looks like your hair is still growing, so that means that it's
not yet long enough."
"If only I could transform now and see if it's long enough or not."
"That's not necessary. We are all very experienced! Your topknot is finished."
Teiei squinted and watched as Taiki jumped back into the water with a plop.
"Have you heard the story of Sairin?"
"Sairin? Nope."
"A long time ago, there was a kirin who liked to look pretty, called Sairin."
"That's a woman because she has Rin in her name, right?"
"Right. Sairin was always very envious of the nyosen's hairstyle, so she would
always complain that she wanted the nyosen to brush her hair into a topknot."
"And then she got a topknot with a hairpin, like you?"
Teiei nodded as she was sewing clothes. "Right. We combed her hair with pomade
and tied it up into a tight topknot, and then we inserted all sorts of hairpins. Unexpectedly,
when evening came and she transformed in order to get back to the palace, her mane was still
bound in a topknot and there was no way for her to straighten her neck, so it became crooked."
Taiki giggled.
"That must have hurt."
"Right. So you have to be careful. If you transform with your hair in a topknot,
it will hurt a lot."
"All right!"
Taiki and Teiei both laughed. Following that, Teiei lowered her head to look at
the clothes beside her hand.
Ever since that incident with that Goson from Ba Province, Taiki always had at
least two or three nyosen by his side. Because when the nyokai encounters urgent situations,
the only thought that goes through her mind is to protect Taiki, sometimes she will injure
herself needlessly and cause injury to Taiki.
Just like on that day, after Sanshi had cleaned her body once, she had still not
been able to completely wash off the smell of blood. Taiki didn't tell the nyosen and let
Sanshi be by him until he fell asleep like in the past. As a result, he had gotten a fever
by the next day.
(It would be better if Taiki had shirei...)
Teiei quietly thought to herself.
Relying only on Sanshi to protect Taiki isn't enough.
At times like these, she felt like the ten years that Taiki had been away from
Mt. Hou was really too long a time.
The Yellow Sea around the Five Mountains was a habitat for youma, and
ordinarily, a kirin would use his spare time to walk along the periphery of the Yellow
Sea and tame youma, turning them into his shirei. At first he would find a few smaller
youma at the foot of the Five Mountains to test out his skill and tame them.
(However, Taiki's already run out of time...)
Moreover, Taiki also didn't know how to tame youma, and there was no way Teiei
could teach him, because this should have been an instinctual skill that a kirin was born
with.
(If only he had come back five years earlier.)
Kirin are born in beast form and in their first five years, do not change their
appearance, since they don't have a horn yet. They don't know how to speak and don't quite
understand everything a nyosen says, like a small bird that has just hatched.
However, newly hatched birds can't fly, but kirin already know how to gallop
through the air when they are born. Small kirin can only follow their nyokai around,
wandering blithely through the Five Mountains, as they search for youma and tame them for
their own amusement. Small kirin grow up only drinking their nyokai's milk, so they build
up a resistance to injury and blood.
Though it is a little different for every kirin, they begin to transform every
now and then to human form and speak the human language after an average of about five years.
After another period of time, their transformations will last longer, until one day the sharp
tips of their horns will emerge from their foreheads. That is also the time it stops nursing,
and from then on, they can show their complete human forms.
Thus, from the time they stop nursing, most kirin just know naturally how to
transform and how to tame youma, and they don't need anyone to teach them. Though they are
not considered fully grown until their horns are completely developed, they basically already
possess all the skill that a kirin should have. Also, it isn't until this time that the flag
can be raised.
After a kirin stops nursing, their native kingdom--although they weren't really
born in that kingdom, most people refer to it as such--receives news of this event, and every
shrine in the kingdom raises a Kirin Flag. This meant that there was a kirin on Mt. Hou who
was already prepared to choose a ruler. After all those that hope to be the ruler see the
raised flag, they then climb the mountain in throngs.
Teiei sighed.
Taiki was no longer a small kirin. On the day that he had returned to Mt. Hou,
his native kingdom, Tai Kingdom had raised the Kirin Flag. There was no way to tell the
people now that Taiki was not yet ready. He had to choose a ruler. At this point, Taiki
should already know how to transform, and he should already have shirei.
"What's the matter?"
Taiki asked Teiei this. He may have heard Teiei sighing.
Teiei shook her head at Taiki's curious face.
It would be better if she didn't say anything. Or else it might be like the
matter concerning his transformation, causing Taiki to worry to himself. After all, this
was something that no one could teach him.
It wasn't easy to cheer Taiki up, and she didn't want to make him depressed and
unhappy again.
Ever since Taiki had heard Youka say that after he chooses a ruler, he wouldn't
be able to return to Mt. Hou, he had been in low spirits. The closer the summer solstice got,
the more he moped, making the nyosen who saw him feel all anxious inside.
He was like this up until he had heard that there wasn't necessarily a real
ruler among the people who will climb the mountain during the summer solstice, and that
some kirin live on Mt. Hou for several years and wait many seasons before they finally
find a ruler. Then, he recovered the cheerfulness of his former days again.
"We need to think of a way to take advantage of the time we have now..."
Fortunately, there were no people at Hoto Palace right now. It seemed that the
only person to make it for the Ankou Day of the spring equinox was that Goson.
Afterwards, all the nyosen had reproached Goson, and they also didn't give him
any food or water before chasing him off the mountain. In order to get back to the Kingdom
of Tai, he had to wait at the Reikon Gate for the next Ankou Day before the gate would open.
However, setting up camp there, he had to avoid the attacks of the youma and youju, which
was not an easy thing to do. Even though he would probably be able to survive, when Ankou
Day arrives and the crowds enter the Reikon Gate to climb the mountain, he will definitely
become a laughingstock. However, Teiei did not feel sympathy for him at all.
But the current situation could only be kept until the summer solstice. After
that day passes, Hoto Palace will be filled with a multitude of people. Perhaps they could
make the most of their time by taking Taiki to the Yellow Sea and letting him scuffle with
the small youma, and possibly then he would be able to figure out how to tame youma. But
then again, compared to most small kirin, Taiki had already lost the tenacity of an animal
born in the wild, so Teiei was very afraid that something unexpected would happen that they
would not be able to control.
"Teiei, do you have something on your mind?"
Hearing a voice, Teiei lifted her head and saw Taiki looking at her with
concern.
"No..."
"Are you worrying about me?"
Teiei gently laughed. Taiki already knew that everything that a nyosen would be
anxious about had to do with the kirin. This caused Teiei both to be happy that Taiki was
smart and clever, and to adore that he was so perceptive he was able to sense what was in
her heart.
"How could that be!?"
"But..."
"I've just been sewing so much that I'm feeling a little restless. I'm telling
you, I don't like doing needlework at all!"
"Do you want me to help?"
"Ah! I must really thank you, but if you did sew better than me, then I would be
too embarrassed. Don't worry about about and go play!"
Teiei laughed and rubbed Taiki's head, as she secretly thought, "If only we
could let Taiki meet other kirin, then things would be better."
A kirin would be able to teach Taiki all the things that the nyosen and Sanshi
could not.