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

laying prostrate as if he was asking Gyousou to forgive him.
    "I will never abandon you...never disobey your royal command...and I pledge my loyalty to you." He  had violated the Providence of the Heavens and betrayed the nyosen, the ruler, as well as everyone else.
    "This I vow."
    (How could I possibly do this...?)
    Gyousou was silent for a moment.
    With Gyousou's eyes upon him, Taiki felt so bad that he was not able to breathe.
    It was not too late now to turn back! Just as Taiki thought this, a calm voice came from above his  head. "I accept."
    It was no longer possible to take it back now. Taiki simply lowered his head further. To be in this  position was hard to endure.
    What a betrayal! For all those who had up until now shown him that much love and concern, for the  kingdom, its ruler and its people, and even for Gyousou, it was all a deception for which there was no way  out.

    Taiki pressed his forehead upon Gyousou's feet. His body was now pierced with the feeling of having  committed a crime, and he all he could see in front of him was darkness.
    --I want to take it back.
    This is all a lie, he nearly shouted. He felt an unreal sense of drifting away, and he stopped himself  from almost crying out.
    Gyousou helped Taiki get up. Taiki looked at Gyousou in surprise, for the latter had revealed a  smiling face.
    "Let us forgo formalities... Taiki!"
    Taiki didn't know how to respond. The surroundings were stirred up into a commotion. Gyousou  picked Taiki up and turned in a circle, letting everyone take a look at him. As if there was nothing else in the  world worth feeling pride over than the kirin in his arms, he smiled at Taiki. "Though you are young, you  have quite a good eye for things."
    Taiki could no longer withstand Gyousou's direct gaze, and by accident his eyes fell upon the arrival  of the pursuing Sanshi.

Chapter 11
    --So it turns out that he was the king.
    When Sanshi saw Taiki pressing his head near Gyousou's feet, she came to that sudden realization. It  was very clear to her that Taiki had felt a sort of fear of Gyousou that he couldn't quite put into words.

    Taiki was now already really used to spending time with Gyousou, and he had never originally been  the kind that was shy to strangers, so it didn't seem as though this was special. In terms of friendship, it was  obvious that he was closer to Risai than Gyousou by far. Thus, that's why the fact that Taiki had been so  insistent about going to find Gyousou had quite perplexed Sanshi.
    She had followed the spirit of Taiki (in Sanshi's eyes, it was always a golden glow) and chased him to  the Yellow Sea, with one part of her mind in doubt.
    Why couldn't she catch the running Taiki? Why had Taiki suddenly transformed into a kirin?
    Perhaps "will" was the best explanation. The will of Taiki, who had wanted to see Gyousou with all  his heart, allowed him to remove with determination any obstructions that hampered him.
    --Was it that Taiki had previously subconsciously hesitated in trying to avoid Sanshi's grasp, and so  the transformation that had up until today been impossible became possible?
    The question was, why was it only when Gyousou was involved that Taiki finally revealed an intense  will that didn't quite fit with him?
    The feeling that Taiki's appearance gave other people was just like that of a weak, passive kirin. But  because of an unknown reason, Taiki had very little confidence in himself. At times, his excessive modesty,  on the contrary, let others feel like it was self-loathing.
    When a kirin with this sort of personality displays their strong will, they will always be paired with  someone like Gyousou. To Sanshi, Taiki's safety was paramount, regardless of the meaning behind the  awakening of Taiki's willpower, his evasion of Sanshi's hand, his subduing of a toutetsu into becoming a  shirei, and even the first time he transformed.
    There had been no way for Sanshi to clearly see from beginning to end the reasons behind everything that had happened. Perhaps the power that Taiki possessed could not be seen, or there were other, better  explanations for this.
    She needed only to hide herself in order to more easily attach herself to Taiki's shadow. Wherever he  went, she would follow him. Only when she had to stop Taiki would she then appear. Sanshi carried within  herself a relentless spirit and leapt across the crags with Gouran. It was not an easy thing to catch up to her  master amid the