Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Chapter 7

that pounded at his mind.
    GOU. Gou, gou, gou, gou, gou, gou, gou... [note: different written characters with the same  pronunciation of "gou" are going through taiki's head.]
    Taiki was drawn into the sounds, and scenes were shown continuously in his mind: A person.
    Playing. Leaving. With the wind. A flag, fluttering. A whip, hitting, striking, water. --They overflow.
    "Quickly according to the laws!"
    It was simply intuition.
    "Submit! Gouran!!" The dog stood up.
    Amidst the haze, Taiki thought that this dog looked like a shiba inu. Just as he thought this, at every  step, the shadow became smaller and smaller, and the fur on its body turned brown.
    It would be good for it to be a small dog, but it would be better if the ends of its paws were white.
    Gouran followed Taiki's wishes and transformed into a little dog. When the dog sat near Taiki's feet,  it looked just like the shiba inu of his native land.
    "Gouran..." Taiki bent down and the dog lifted its head to look at him, lovingly wagging its tail. Taiki  reached out with his hand, and the dog licked it. He could feel the dog's warm tongue at his fingertips.
    Taiki hugged the dog and pulled him close. His legs suddenly lost their strength and Taiki sat down  in place.
    "I can't believe it..." It didn't feel like he had just done what he did.
    Deep inside, Taiki felt that he really wasn't a human, nor was he a beast. He was part of some power-  -a power both great and frightening.
    (I'm not human.)
    At this moment, he firmly believed that he was a kirin.
    (So I'm not actually human...)
    He realized profoundly just what kind of creature a kirin was.
    Kirin are part of the Heavens. Thus, he was able to understand the Will of the Heavens, and also  specifically express this Will.

    --He was once confused. He could not believe that inside of his body, besides himself, there was  another him.
    Now, he finally understood.
    It wasn't until after this that he discovered he possessed far more than the limits he had previously set  for his own "self." Also, he had a direct connection with the Heavens. Unexpectedly, this enormous power  had been poured into that little body of his.
    "I can't believe it..."
    Suddenly, upon hearing a voice, Taiki was brought back to his senses. He remembered that he was  not the only one there. He hurriedly turned his head back and saw Gyousou in a daze, sitting amongst the  rocks.
    "And I thought that you would be snatched away by the toutetsu..."
    Taiki forced himself to stand up though his legs didn't have strength in them. His legs shook, making  it hard for him to walk forward.
    "Are you all right? Are you hurt?"
    "No..." Taiki held Gouran in his arms and plopped down next to Gyousou. Although the torch had  long since gone out, a sliver of light shone through a thin crack in the rocks, so that in what was originally a  pitch black cavern, it was not so dark that one couldn't see their fingers in front of them.
    He turned to his side to check the condition of Gyousou's injuries. After he looked up and down  Gyousou's body closely and carefully, he discovered that Gyousou did not have any open wounds.
    "Where do you hurt? Do you have any broken bones?" Taiki lifted his head to look at Gyousou only  to see him shake his head.
    "I...am not hurt anywhere." His blood-red eyes revealed a mysterious look. "I'm very sorry... I did not  tell you the truth."
    Taiki was struck dumb for a moment and then immediately comprehended Gyousou's reasons.
    "Sir Gyousou..."
    - - - - -
    When Taiki had strongly urged him to leave, Gyousou understood very clearly. Under no  circumstances should he have moved.
    Had he moved, Taiki would surely have eased up a bit, and had Taiki eased up, it would have been  all over. He didn't want to give the kirin, who was using all of his energy to deal with the toutetsu, any  reason to relax.
    Thus, he had decided then that he could not move. He understood extremely well that he could not  split the kirin's attention. So he quietly sat where he was, not allowing Taiki to sense his presence, and  looked on attentively at Taiki from the sidelines.
    He silently looked at the child in front of him and what method he used to restrain this youma that  was worthy of its reputation. He also understood in this way the determination that Taiki had previously  mentioned. Other than determination, a better word could not be found to describe the intensity that had  filled the cave at that time. He believed