The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

is definitely not where we are meant to be. It is almost as that world constantly repels us from its presence."
    Rokuta agreed. "It is very difficult for those who are not taika to maintain a concrete existence there, except as spirits or ghosts. They cannot maintain a firm hold on their physical bodies over long periods of time. And if they can maintain their physical shells, it is with great uncertainty. They become like shadows. This applies to kings as well as kirin. And counts and wizards suffer even worse effects. Furthermore, the people there know nothing of the world here. A whole bunch of non-corporeal being showing up over there would cause a bit of a ruckus."
    "I see."
    "Moreover, even if they were to force their way through, they don't know what Taiki looks like. Risai could certainly sketch a resemblance, but six years have passed. He's a taika, so that means his appearance would have changed as well."
    Youko puzzled over this information. "How I looked definitely changed when I came here. What happens when you go back?"
    "Don't you be going back," Rokuta said bluntly. "Taika are born in that other world from a woman's womb. When they are born, they are covered with a shell resembling that of their parents, called the taikaku. When a taika returns here, he reverts to his God-given form. In the case of the kirin, our hair takes on this golden hue."
    "Yeah, that makes sense. You wouldn't likely be born blond over there."
    "Yes. I don't understand all the reasons, but it sort of feels like wearing a reversible coat. When you go back to Yamato, you take on the form you had there. So you'd think that when I went back, I'd turn into the skeleton of a tottering old man. That doesn't happen. When we stop growing older here, our taikaku seems to stop aging as well. While things don't match up exactly, I'm fairly confident they'll fall into the same general category."
    "So even if you brought Risai with you, there's no guarantee she would recognize Taiki?"
    "Pretty much so. Except that a kirin's aura can be comprehended. Taiki was swept away to Yamato while still an egg. I'm the one who found him there."
    "Enki?"
    "Yeah. I was on an excursion. Or rather, I was there to scout things out. And I felt the aura of a kirin. I notified Mt. Hou, and they arranged for a rendezvous."
    "But that means you can search for a kirin?"
    "I can. Except when I say I sense the aura, that means that first we both must be in the same general vicinity. And what's worse, back then, we knew from wake left behind by the shoku that he was in Yamato. But it still took ten years. This time around, we don't know whether he's in Yamato or China. He could have swept away to either. Even with Keiki helping me, it could easily take years."
    "What about a dozen?" Youko casually asked, but her question was met with stunned silence. "Well, I guess there are kingdoms with vacant thrones, so it's not like we could come up with all twelve of you-- What? Did I say something funny?"
    Shouryuu sighed. "Youko, here we don't interfere in the internal affairs of other kingdoms. That is a long-established tradition. Each kingdom deals with its own problems in its own way. They don't seek the assistance of other kingdoms, and don't seek their cooperation in such causes."
    "But the Royal En gave me a helping hand when I needed it."
    "That's because I'm also a taika and a known eccentric."
    "And he loves sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong," Rokuta chimed in.
    "I'm telling you the way things really are. Officials don't get together in the name of mutual cooperation. Even if once in a while a kingdom requests aid from another, such things are always carried out in purely diplomatic terms. We have no allies, only interests. This is a world where, except out of need, even neighbors avoid forging international relations."
    "So even with twelve kingdoms, nobody ever forms some sort of United Nations and does anything together?"
    "History suggests no precedents."
    "Because it's expressly not allowed, like not invading another kingdom?"
    "Hmm." Rokuta and Shouryuu exchanged glances. "It's never been confirmed one way or another. The subject itself is so extraordinary it simply hasn't ever come up before."
    "No doubt."
    "But there's probably isn't any other way. The Royal Tai cannot escape his own kingdom. No such rumors have come to our attention. Taiki most likely has been swept away and cannot venture back under his own power. We know this simply because he