The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

stood together at a crosswalk or passed by each other on the street.
    He was the kirin of the Kingdom of Tai. He'd chosen the Royal Tai, they had established the Imperial Court, and Risai--the general whose body was scarred from head to toe--had come to Kinpa Palace at the risk of her own life on their behalf
    "Something on your mind?" queried Keiki, furrowing his brows.
    Youko came back to herself. "Ah, no. It's nothing. I felt a little weird there for a moment. That's all." She smiled wryly. Concern showed on Koukan's face as well. "Sorry, Koukan. Where were we?"
    "Taiki," Koukan said, looking at her. He glanced down at the manuscript. "A shoku transported him to Yamato where he was born a taika. After that, he returned to Mt. Hou. Though that was ten years later."
    "Ten years later? And he's ten years old?"
    "Yes, and--?" queried Koukan.
    Youko shook her head. But when his taika was swept away and implanted in the womb of a human woman, a life in utero must have already been there. The implications came to her with something of a shock. The vessel that would become Taiki already existed in his mother's womb. It moved. It had a heartbeat that its parents could hear. In its place Taiki's taika took root.
    But what happened to the life that was already there? Was it expelled by Taiki? Had she likewise been born after stealing the place of another? Thinking about her birth in these terms, she was overwhelmed by strange feelings of guilt. Though perhaps it was a mistake to think of the life there and the taika as two separate things. This was one question she couldn't expect to find an answer to here.
    Youko again shook her head as Koukan turned to her with a puzzled expression. "I'm okay. Continue."
    "Upon Taiki's return, the yellow flag was raised in Tai and the shouzan commenced. The Royal Tai was forthrightly seated upon the throne. A record of the event remains in Kei. The Phoenix sang forth the name of the Tai Kingdom, announcing the ascension of the king. According to our records, the Taiho made an unofficial visit to Tai to deliver his congratulations."
    When Youko cast a surprised glance over her shoulder, Keiki wordlessly confirmed that this was true.
    "So we have diplomatic relations with Tai."
    "Well, in terms of diplomatic relations," Keiki said. "I was still on Mt. Hou at the same time as the Taika, Taiki's ranka. And when the shoku swept him away. When Taiki returned to Mt. Hou I took the opportunity to return to Mr. Hou and met with him. Hence the ties between us."
    "Wow," said Youko, the strange feeling returning. This child from her dreams had met with the kirin right there in front of her. "So that's why that woman--Risai--came to Kei? To petition Keiki, because he's a friend of Taiki?"
    Keiki tilted his head to the side doubtfully. "Hard to say. I haven't met with General Ryuu personally."
    "But the Royal Tai?"
    "I have met with His Highness. He struck me as a quite extraordinary person."
    Koukan nodded his head as Keiki had done. "I don't know that we can term these two personal visits by the Taiho an establishment of foreign relations. Indeed, with Kei herself falling into chaos shortly thereafter, the Taiho was not able to congratulate the Royal Tai upon his coronation. Neither do the ministers show any indication of having concluded their deliberations about whether or not to send an official envoy to express Your Highness's well wishes. In other words, we have not even established such diplomatic relationship that would allow us to exchange ambassadors."
    Keiki apparently agreed with this summary of events. "In any event, the new king was enthroned. However, barely six months later, there came from Tai an Imperial Communique to the effect that the Royal Tai had died."
    "An Imperial Communique? What about the Phoenix? When the king abdicates, doesn't the Phoenix announce the end of the regime?"
    "You are correct. The Hakuchi sings forth when the king is enthroned, as he does when the kings gives up the throne. The Phoenix will then pass these tidings along. But this time the Phoenix did not sing. The Phoenix has not yet announced the end of the Tai regime. In short, I do not believe that the king has died or abdicated."
    Youko rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. "I heard something similar from the Royal En. The proclamation came that the Royal Tai was dead, but it didn't ring true to him. If the Taiki died, then the fruit of the next kirin sprout forth on Mt. Hou. But there