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

of surprise and heard the nyosen make similar sounds. Then,  following the lines of sight of the nyosen, she lifted her head.
    In the moonlit night, the rocks were black, as were the shadows. Along the lines of the ridge that
    made the crags distinct, there was an indistinct silver shape. What the group of people saw was a glowing  beast galloping through the night sky.
    "Taiki..."
    His short mane was the color of steel. The black fur on his back was interwoven with the colors of  silver and mica, and his head and hooves were jet black. On his forehead was a short horn of pearl.
    --I must catch up to him.
    Sanshi held on to the pajamas in her hand tightly.
    However, in this world, one could not find a creature that was able to catch up to a kirin at full  gallop.
    All Taiki could think about was running.
    After he had evaded Gouran and shaken off Sanshi's hand, when he began to run, he suddenly felt his  body grow much lighter. Having obtained this ability, he ran forward even more quickly. When he realized  what he was doing, he had already sped up into the sky.
    After a few steps, Taiki discovered that he had transformed. Looking back, he saw only Rosen Palace  far behind him.
    Taiki did not feel any unease or pain. In his mind, he thought only of running forward, and his four  legs shot him ahead.
    After another few steps, he had arrived at Hoto Palace. The fires of the torches that the mountain- climbers had lit, left a trail that was dim and far away.
    - - - - -
    The first to notice him was the sugu.
    Gyousou looked at his own mount. He was just planning on taking advantage of the moonlight to  start hunting. He suddenly stopped preparing the saddle.
    "What is it?"
    The sugu looked up into a corner of the sky and called out deeply from his throat. At first, Gyousou  thought it was a night attack by youma. However, the sugu did not appear to be nervous at all.
    He squinted, following the sugu's line of sight, and immediately spotted what the sugu was seeing.
    Backed by the moonlight, there was a beast that could only be described as graceful, galloping towards him.
    --A black kirin!
    Just as Gyousou felt like exclaiming, a lingering feeling floated back into his mind. It was because he  could not allow himself to feel such attachment to Taiki that he chose to leave the mountain early.
    The others who had not yet fallen asleep lifted their heads and looked up into the sky in the same  way. And as if they had previously arranged it, they let out a cry of surprise. The kirin's tail was reminiscent

    of fireflies, giving off a glow. He finally stopped on top of a rock from which he could overlook the  encampment.
    The area was a depression surrounded by bushes and rocks, in which there were tents, mounts, as  well as people staring dumbfoundedly into the sky and standing in the middle of five lit torches.
    "What a...magnificent kirin." The first to speak was Gyousou. He smiled as he spoke, putting the  saddle down on the ground. "What is it, Kou? Have you come especially to see us off?"
    Taiki hesitated a little before finally deciding to walk down off the crag to stand in the depression. He  knew that he was stepping towards a criminal act.
    "From appearances, it looks like you can already transform. I am very happy for you. It really is an  unexpected honor to have this rare opportunity to see such a unique sight. It is hard to imagine that this is the  Kou."
    Taiki had no way of responding.
    "Though you already have shirei now, it is still a bit careless. You should hurry and return to the  palace." Seeing that Taiki was not going to move, Gyousou took a robe out from his bags. "Or is it that...you  have come to see me about something?"
    Gyousou spread the robe out and draped it over Taiki's body, who had then undone his beast form. It  wasn't clear how he knew how to recover his human form. In reality, it was as if he didn't put any effort into  changing back. There was only the sudden feeling that his body had become heavier.
    He looked up at Gyousou, who had laid a robe around him. The two looked at each other and Taiki  saw only warmth in Gyousou's eyes. They was nothing the least bit frightening about them.
    --The fear was within himself. Did he really know what he was doing?
    "Sir Gyousou..."
    (There was clearly no revelation...)
    However, there was no better way than this. Taiki knelt down in submission and Gyousou widened  his eyes. "Kou...?"
    Taiki bowed his head down low. He was