The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

smile and a bob of his head.
    The En spoke up in sterner tones. "Even if you do return to Japan, Youko, you will by no means be beyond danger."
    "I know."
    As long as the Royal Kou refused to relent, he could still send youma after her. Her return as well would likely occasion natural disasters. Innocent bystanders would get caught up in youma attacks. She was a goddess of death. Here or there, going home would be no good for anybody. But even knowing this, she couldn't make up her mind.
    "Do you think that before I go back, I ought to settle the score with the Royal Kou?"
    "That you cannot do. I would not help you in the least."
    "You can't?"
    The En nodded. "If nothing else, remember this. There are three sins a king cannot commit. The first is to reject the Mandate of Heaven and stray from the Way. The second is to choose suicide rather than accept the Mandate. The last is to invade another country, even, for example, to suppress an internal rebellion."
    Nodding, Youko said, "Yes, but what about you? What about invading Kei in order to take back Keiki?"
    "If the Royal Kei herself stands at the vanguard and leads the way, then it shall be done in her name. In such a case, we are only answering her call and assisting her as her allies."
    "Of course."
    The En laughed heartily. "In order to secure Keiki's release, I shall grant you the use of the Imperial Army. What say you?"
    Youko bowed, a thin smile on her lips. "If you wouldn't mind. I apologize for giving you nothing but reasons to be disappointed by my presence."
    Enki scowled, then smiled. "Shouryuu wants there to be more taika kings. But it's nothing to get worked up about. After all, up till now there's been only one."
    "There's only one?"
    "For the time being. There have been any number in the past, but their numbers were never that great."
    "Aren't you a taika, too, Enki?"
    "Yes. Me and Shouryuu and Taiki. You make it four."
    "Taiki is the kirin of the Kingdom of Tai?"
    "Yes. The hinasa of the Outland Kingdom of Tai.
    "Hinasa?"
    "A fledgling. A kirin who has not reached adulthood."
    "Like you?"
    "I am an adult kirin. When a kirin reaches adulthood, his outward appearance stops growing as well."
    "In other words, you grew faster than Keiki did."
    "That's it," he said, with no little pride in the fact. The En smiled to himself.
    "So Taiki wasn't fully grown?"
    "No."
    " Wasn't, as in the past tense?"
    Enki responded to Youko's question with a strained expression on his face. He exchanged glances with the En.
    "Taiki died. At least, that's what was communicated to us. The Kingdom of Tai is in the midst of chaos. No one knows what happened to Taiki or to the Royal Tai."
    Youko sighed. "So it's a bad situation, like it is here."
    "Where there are people, there are complications. His name is Takasato. In human years, he would have been about your age."
    "A man?"
    "The ki in kirin indicates a male. The Tai kirin was a beautiful black unicorn."
    "A black unicorn?"
    "Have you ever seen a kirin?"
    "Only in human form."
    "The coat of a kirin is an orange-yellow, the back variegated, the mane usually gold."
    "Like your hair?"
    "Yes, but this isn't hair, really. It's a mane."
    Makes sense, Youko thought to herself.
    "The Tai kirin was black, the color of polished steel. The coat was jet black and the back silver. This variegation was rather unique."
    "Is it rare?"
    "Indeed. In all our history, there's nothing quite like the black unicorn. There have been red unicorns and white unicorns, too, but I have never seen them.
    "Huh."
    "If Taiki had indeed died, the Royal Tai could be expected to pass away as well. The Tai-ka --the fruit bearing the Tai kirin--should have appeared on Mt. Hou. But there was no sign of it."
    "Tai-ka?"
    "The tree that bears the fruit of the kirin is on Mount Hou. When a kirin dies, at the same time, the ranka of the new kirin should begin to grow. If Taiki had died, it would become the next Tai kirin. In the case of a female, then Tai rin, from the second syllable of ki rin . The ranka is named according to the name of its kingdom, in this case designated the Tai-ka. However, there was no Tai-ka to be found on Mount Hou. So he still must be alive."
    "Don't kirin have parents?"
    "No. Being a taika is beside the point. That's why kirin don't have names. Only titles."
    "Keiki, too?"
    Enki nodded. There seemed something quite sad about that fact. As if knowing what was on her mind, he put on a deliberately sullen face.
    "The kirin are sad creatures.