Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Prologue

Sanshi!"
    "Taiki ran that way."
    "I almost knocked him over!"
    Even though the nyosen tried to trick Sanshi, there was no way she wouldn't be able to find Taiki. She  walked directly over to Youka and lifted up the cloth that was covering him. Taiki, who had been hiding  inside with neck scrunched up, looked up at her and sighed forcefully. "You still found me."
    Still panting heavily, he sat down and hugged Sanshi's foreleg. Sanshi handed the fabric and clothes  back to the nyosen and rubbed his head. The nyosen laughed joyously.
    "It's impossible to hide from Sanshi."
    "I know," said Taiki, as his cheeks turned red. He leaned on Sanshi's foreleg and loosened the collar of  his robe. Everyone stifled their laughter and watched him. They all thought that Taiki looked much cuter  than any of the kirin who had stayed at Mt. Hou before--It was probably because of their favoritism.
    Youka laughed as she stroked Taiki's hair. His hair had grown much longer since he first arrived, and  his bangs stuck to his forehead because of his sweat. She gently lifted it aside.
    Most kirin had golden hair, but to be accurate, it should be called a mane, rather than hair.
    Furthermore, Taiki's mane was the color of steel. This showed that he was not like most kirin, and it caused  the nyosen to feel that he was particularly dignified.
    "You should go bathe for a bit. It's almost time for dinner."
    The status of a kirin is much higher than that of a nyosen, but since they take care of a kirin's everyday  life, they feel as if the kirin was their own child. Thus, it follows that the tone of their voice isn't overly  respectful. Even the head of the nyosen, Hekika Genkun is like this, so naturally no one can blame them.
    "Luckily, there is a lot of clothes here for you to change into. I'll tidy up here and then I'll come find  you."
    "Okay." Taiki nodded and stood up. "Sanshi, let's go."
    The nyosen smiled as they watched Sanshi leave, holding on to Taiki's hand.
    "It looks like the one who favors Taiki most is Sanshi!"
    "That's right!"
    Though they all agreed, none of them felt jealous, because Sanshi and the nyosen were not the same.
    Sanshi existed solely for Taiki. Moreover, they were all in a good mood, because anyone who saw Taiki  before dinner could eat with him. This was the newest unwritten rule upon Mt. Hou.
    After she put away the sun-dried clothes, Youka chose a set that smelled like sun and jasmine for Taiki  and walked to the river. She used a path by a waterfall that ran beside Rosen Palace, and after she turned a  corner, she heard crisp and clear laughter.
    In the river, Taiki was chasing Sanshi's tail around. One moment, it floated up out of the water, and the  next, it sunk back down. Even when he got a hold of her tail, she would lift it up high, sending him back into  the water, and then he would surface again with a splash. At this time, he noticed Youka walking towards  him and waved to her.
    "I've come to see you."
    "Thank you."
    A nyosen spread a cloth at the side of the river. Taiki walked up onto the blanket on the bank, and  another nyosen used the cloth that was hanging at her wrist to wrap around Taiki.
    "I can do this myself."
    "You never completely dry your upper back, so I think you should still let me do it." After the nyosen  said this, she began to wipe down Taiki's body. Even though Taiki felt very embarrassed, all the nyosen  wanted to attend to him. And then yet another nyosen helped him put his clothes on, as Youka dried his hair  for him.
    "I think it's okay already."
    "But your hair isn't dry yet."
    He took a few tufts of hair in his hand as it rolled off the cloth. His hair had now become an unusual  color between black and silver.
    "Is my hair too long?"
    "Right now, it's still too short!"
    Taiki looked Youka with astonishment. "Do I have to keep letting it grow longer? Until it's as long as a  girl's?"
    "Usually, you let it grow until it stops growing any longer. We'll cut it neatly for you."
    "Then I can't cut it myself?"
    If you want to be ugly when you transform, then we'll cut it off for you."
    "Transform?"
    Youka began to comb Taiki's already partially dry hair. "You are a kirin, so you can change into the  outer form of a kirin."
    "The outer form of a 'kirin'? Do you mean the animal?" [note: in japanese, the word for giraffe is  "kirin." for this next part, just keep in mind that while they're all saying "kirin," taiki is thinking of a giraffe,
    while the nyosen