My own idea as to what might happen to bring Taiki and Gyousou back to their country. This is a mix of both the anime and the original books. I know I can't hold a candle to the craftsmanship of the original stories, but I hope to be able to contribute in some small way.

Here's to hoping they eventually translate the last three stories in this wonderful series.

Italics will indicate sirei or Kirin in their beast form.

Hooves of Glass, A Hawk Arises

"Hey. Sorry I haven't had a chance in order to visit for a while. School has been picking up, and painting has been taking a lot of my time.

"I, had another person die around me. A teacher this time. He encouraged me to paint more from life and less from my imagination." A slight laugh, as if the young man found this ironic. "Then he slapped me. It wasn't even that hard, it more startled me than it hurt, but 'they' didn't like it. I wish, I knew how to tell 'them' to stop."

A pause, then a small smile. "I have a girl following me around. Wonder what the others would have said about her. Wonder what you would have said about her. Your little buddy growing up maybe? I'm going to have to drive her away soon though. Before 'they' see her as a threat... I really don't want to though. She said she she'd been spirited away like I had. She's, a link to what I have trouble remembering. I still have trouble remembering why I fell back home. Whenever I try, my forehead throbs."

Dark gray eyes fluttered closed, turning away from the comatose man. The steady beeps of the heart monitor in the background was a reassuring sound, a promise of possible life. He patted the thin hand, his own skin so dark now against the pale skin of the albino. He remembered when he first learned that the man was here, how dark his skin had been despite his lack of true pigmentation; he'd found him a few weeks after being refound by his family, having wandered away while his mother was talking to the doctor. The doctors had figured that the only way for the man to had actually tanned was if he'd spent most of his life outside. The young man brushed pale hair away from those closed eyes as he stood up. "I'll try to visit again soon. I hope you'll start to wake up soon. Maybe you can tell me what happened to us. Or why I remember you even though I don't know how we met."

The young man turned to leave, only to pause, had on the door frame as a final thought came to him. "That girl. She knew part of the name you gave me. She called me Kouri."

~~~...~~~...~~~

"You know I can't take you back to Wa!"

"I won't allow it! You're needed here!"

Youko scowled, arms folded over her chest as she stared down the pair of Kirin. Over to the side, Naotaka was snickering as he watched, hand under his chin as he enjoyed the show. The En pair had come for a visit, to help celebrate the Kei-ou's victory over the uprising that had started in Wa province. That was when she had mentioned Japan again.

"I'm not asking to be taken back, I'm asking to help!" she barked, staring down the pair of mythical beings.

Enki rolled his eyes, hands waving as he argued, a half-eaten peach forgotten in one fist. "An' I said you can't! You know as well as the rest of us that Keiki and I can travel easily enough, but dragging along a ruler takes too much power to control a Shoku. It takes too much strength and causes too much damage on both sides."

"There are others way to help look than on foot." Youko pulled up the Suiguuto from where it had been resting against her seat. "I can always look for him with this. And if I see him, I might be able to get you a general idea where he is, or even an address if we're lucky."

"But that will not work." Everyone turned to look at Keiki, stoic as always as he pointed at the national treasure. "You cannot find him, because you have never seen him. You will not be able to find him by name alone."

Youko scowled. "Doesn't mean I cannot help some other way. Enki," she turned to the smaller Kirin. "Did you try using a computer last time?"

All three were beyond confused. "A com-pyu-ter?" Enki asked, head cocked to the side. He didn't notice the En-ou unconsciously copying him.

And in this, the Suiguuto was useful. A drop of tea to activate the sword and help focus the visions, and the form of a desktop computer appeared on the blade. "A computer is a way to hold large amounts of data, and if connected to the internet, can be used to find data. If you find a public library," and the vision flickered to the one near her old home she used to go to, "you will be allowed to use them without a fine."

Enki's eyes were large as he bent over the sword, mesmerized by the images. "And this, com-pyuter, will know how to find Taiki?"

"It might help, as long as you know his original name. You mentioned Takasato before I think it was? A first name or his age would help narrow the search."

"Well, he was about eleven when he went missing again, and that was six years ago."

Youko nodded, letting go of her hold on the visions. "Then he might be a junior or senior in high school, that's basically a Middle Learning for us." She paused, trying to remember information she hadn't had to think about for a few years. "I think I can remember a few websites you can try to use to look for him."

"That would be amazing! I wonder if we could figure out how to use these compyuters here in the Twelve Kingdoms," Enki muttered.

"I don't think you can. Not until you learn how to harness electricity."

"Electricity?"

Youko chuckled at the older king. Enki made it a habit to bounce back and forth from the Twelve Kingdoms and Hourai, so he had more of an idea as to what she was talking about compared to the Feudal Age Shoryu. "That's a discussion for another time."

Rokuta grimaced after a minute. "I wish I could stay in Hourai for more than a few days. I might have better luck if I did!" he groaned, perpetually annoyed at his own lack of power.

A blink from the more stoic Kirin. "Did you not meet with young Sugimoto?"

"Course I did, I ran into her a few times."

"She was sent back to Japan, could you not contact her and ask for aid from a native?"

A collective blink. "That, sounds perfectly reasonable," Shoryu offered. "And we have her address from when she registered at our office. Couldn't be that hard to meet up with her again."

Enki nodded after thinking about this for a second. "I'll try again next week then."

Youko smiled. "Come back before you go, I'll see if I can give you any more information that can help."

~~~...~~~...~~~

Yuka was panting as she tried to calm her heart rate. The specter, the one she was sure was following Kaname, was back again. It had gotten so close to her this time, and she had felt the long fingers starting to curl around her throat before she mentioned that she knew Keiki and the Keo-ou. It was a few weeks after the death of an art teacher, and even though Kaname had told her to please stop following him, she was still allowing herself to run into him. The young man was so strange, he drew her to him. It was, an aura around him that drew her to him, and not the fact that he was also 'spirited away' like her. Yes, that was what first caught her attention, but it wasn't her main reason anymore.

"Leave ussssss..."

Yuka stiffened. This was a new voice. "I mean no harm," she whispered, eyes picking up the writhing shadows on the wall. The last one had been strange, almost chimeric. This one however, was more lupine, strangely enough.

"My charge, he is under our protection..."

"I mean no harm to him."

"Why...? Why are you bothering him?"

"I want to, to be friends with him. He's a link back to the Kingdoms," she offered, slowly straightening back up. This must have been the right thing to say, because while the presence didn't retreat, it did fade to something a little more bearable.

"We trust no one with him. Leave us."

"Please, I mean no harm. I mean only to be a friend and ally."

"And what...gives you the right?"

Yuka was afraid again now, the shadow was growling at her. She was surprised at what came out of her mouth next. "Don't you want to go home?" The growl stopped, cut off short as if in surprise at her own gall. "I am friends with the ruler and Taiho of Kei. And through them, the Kirin of En as well. Please, if they ever find me again, don't you want to be able to go home?"

"...this world is killing us."

"What?" But there was nothing more as the canine-like presence vanished. Yuka was worried as she straightened, what if the creature came back? She swayed on her feet for a few minutes in fear, before racing to the train station.

'But what did it mean, this world is killing them?' she thought a few minutes later, swaying with the train that was taking her home. 'Is the atmosphere too polluted? I remember the Twelve Kingdoms was so much cleaner than Japan.' Something about that didn't feel right though, it felt too simple a reason.

She sighed. Maybe she should leave him alone for a while, see if he would calm down about her.

Even so, as she was doing homework that night, her eyes kept flicking to the shadows, all of her lights on to try and banish the fingers of darkness.