Italics will indicate sirei or Kirin in their beast form.

Hooves of Glass, The Hawk Arises

Yuka was quite glad that after her time in the Twelve Kingdoms, her parents were so very trusting of her now. Before her sojourn into the Twelve Kingdoms, they had been much like Youko's parents, or at least like the hints she had picked up from Youko while they were on campaign to reunite the provinces of Kei. Well meaning, but very strict about her life. But after the miracle of her returning after so many months, they had given her more room to spread her wings, and part of that was that they didn't ask too many questions if she wanted to bring a friend over.

Kaname was benefiting from that now. They knew he was here, and that he had been in a fight with his parents, or at least that's what Yuka had told them when she had brought the young man home with her, his face pale as milk and a tremor running up and down his hands. They had said that as long as he moved into the dorms as soon as they opened, that he was free to stay for a day or two in order to get his feet beneath him again. And they were perfectly happy NOT knowing about his two lamia, thank you very much.

Sanshi was holding back tears as she cuddled against the young man, but Yuka could see the discomfort on Kaname's face, a similar look Keiki would get whenever Youko had been in a battle. She smelled of blood, but Kaname was putting up with it even if it was quite possibly making him feel sick. They would need to think of a way to cleanse the lamia if they could, or get in contact with Enki again to see if Kaname really was the same young man he had been searching for.

But if he was, then why hadn't Enki taken him back before? She knew for a fact that the address she had given the Kirin had been Kaname's, so as long as he didn't get too lost he should have found him, or sensed him or something. Yuka sighed, rubbing a hand over her forehead. One thing at a time. If, and it was a big if, she saw Enki again she would march the ancient child into her room to make sure the two boys met. But until the fantasy returned, she was stuck with a blood-scented reality.

Eyes flicking up to the Sirei, Yuka nodded after a second, getting up from her desk chair. Sanshi growled at her, the young woman moving too fast for the lamia's comfort, but Kaname placed a pale hand on a paler shoulder, and she calmed down long enough for Yuka to slip out of her room, motioning to Kaname that she would be right back. The bathroom was right across from her bedroom, and she grabbed the basin next to the shower head and started filling it with water, a hand towel and her strongest soap placed next to it. She doubted that they could clean away all of the blood smell, but reducing it would go a long way to making Kaname more comfortable around his pale friend.

Kaname frowned quietly at Sanshi, the lamia rocking back and forth on her paws as she stared after Yuka. He had them back under his control, his remembrance of their names the trigger to reactivating his contract with them. But they were still so aggressive, so much darker than he remembered from before. He shushed her, trying sooth her back down into a calmer state, but Gouran was growling from his shadow, and Sanshi looked like she just wanted to take him and run somewhere, and it took a lot of will not to bend to that. A Kirin, especially an immature one, is supposed to listen to their Sirei when in dangerous territory, and Kaname was fighting instincts that were all but screaming for him to run.

As much as he wanted her to leave him alone before, he did trust Yuka, and she was his only shelter at the moment. And as soon as Risai and Gyousou were well enough to leave the hospital, he would need her help in getting them somewhere safe as well. Neither had any form of ID, and with Gyousou awake and Risai on the mend, men from the government had been talking to them. They were using the excuse that the had lost their IDs, but that would only last for a day or two. And then Immigration would step in.

At least all the loans for his college were in his name. His mother wouldn't be able to do anything about him, even if she cared enough to try.

And now that he thought about it, maybe he could stash Gyousou in his dorm room with him. Risai wouldn't be able to blend in, by the simple fact that it was a male only dorm building, but at least he could tuck Gyousou away safely. But that still left Risai without a safe haven...

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door frame, Yuka having learned her lesson about how skittish the Sirei were. She peeked in before entering, her movements smooth and slow like someone approaching a feral cat. Kaname blinked at her cargo, her arms full of the basin and soap and wash cloth. "I thought maybe I could help you clean your friend there," she offered, nodding at the glaring Sanshi. But when she approached with the soapy cloth, the growl started back up in her pale throat.

"I think I should take that," Kaname offered, running a hand through Sanshi's hair to keep her calm.

"Are you sure? I'm sure she'd let me help eventually," Yuka asked, setting the basin down as close as Sanshi would allow her.

Only to pale as a familiar canid shape rose from the shadows at Kaname's feet. Gouran may be the strongest of the two lamia, but as a free Youma he'd had a high level of intelligence, and poor Sanshi had never truly recovered from her ten years of wandering, looking for her Kirin. As such, Gouran was in better control of himself compared to Sanshi. "I would appreciate it if you helped Gouran here," Kaname asked, already wringing the extra water out of the wash cloth. He turned to the massive hound. "Gouran?"

Dark eyes flicked to the young man, before Gouran bowed his massive head. "Yes Taiho." Before Yuka could say anything about the familiar phrase, the hound seemed to shift, a smooth transformation from massive dire wolf, to a small shiba inu puppy, though the power in those eyes remained. He looked up at the young woman. "Shall we?" he offered, padding off towards the bathroom.

Yuka shook her head. Life was going to be interesting with Kaname in the house.

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

Ganchou was frantic, having seen the encounter with Taiki and his mother. That young man was so different from the tiny Kirin he had known before, but he still recognized him for what he was. His panic had made them lose their concentration, and they had lost the picture in the Suiguuto, but Youko wasn't too worried about that. If need be, they knew how to try again.

"Shuu-jo."

She looked up at Keiki's quiet summon, the Kirin subtly worried. In his own quiet way, he had adored Taiki, and to see him possibly hurt made something in him almost angry. He was the representative of the land and the people, but that did not make him or his fellow Kirin perfect. Seeing him, the young woman nodded to him. "We will find him, I promise Keiki-san," she offered lowly. She gestured for him to follow her, the young woamn marching with a purpose down the polished marble halls. Curious now, Keiki followed placidly, only to blink as they came to her office, where a Seichou was waiting for them. But this one wasn't from Rakushun. At the beginning of the affair with Enki warning them about Ryuu starting to tilt, the young woman had ordered a second bird to be brought to her, this one meant to be used to send messages to the En pair. Picking a silver grain out of a silk bag, she offered it to the bird, smiling as it delicately picked it out of her fingers. She held the bird up to her eyes as soon as it swallowed it's meal. "Enki, En-ou, come to Kinpa Palace with all speed. We have found Taiki." Message 'recorded,' she opened the window, releasing the tiny feathered messenger.

Youko held back a giggle after a second. When Keiki glanced down at the noise, she smiled up at him. "I imagine it will take all of Shouryu's skill to keep Enki from just throwing him on his back and flying here," she offered, her smile growing wider when Keiki's eyes danced for a moment at the amusing mental image of the taller king straddling the frantic Enki's back and trying not to fall off.

They both grew sober as Youko sat down heavily at her desk, running a hand through her bangs. "This will grow very complicated, very quickly," she murmured. "We found Taiki, but a Kirin alone cannot run a kingdom," she said, shooting Keiki an apologetic look. The holy beast only nodded. he could not get mad at the truth.

"He still has his Shirei," he offered after a moment of quiet. "Perhaps they will have a better chance of finding the Tai-ou."

"Or Taiki himself, if he remembers." At the sharp look from her partner, she offered more in explanation. "Enki goes to Wa all the time, correct? Stands to reason that if he knew how to come back, he would have years ago."

"Either he has forgotten how, or he is protecting his ruler." Keiki hesitated, but placed a pale hand over Youko's shoulder. One would expect Keiki to be as cold as he was pale, but Youko could feel the warmth of his hand soaking in through her workout clothes. "It is no less than what I would do, if I were in his place." Youko could only smile at the Kirin; it was so rare for him to show his feeling to his second queen. He released her shoulder after a second. "He called the names of his Shirei. He remembers them, he remembers his King. I believe we will find both of them in Wa."

Youko offered a confident smile as she stood again, moving to her wardrobe. "Then I say we could call in our Generals of the Armies. We have a country to help liberate as soon as they return home."

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

The tiny form racing below was a comfort to the Nyosen, thankful that they had retrieved the little Lord earlier than poor Taiki. At only five years of age, he had transformed back into the shape of a small golden Kirin, with all the instincts that came with it. He and his Nyokai had rested in one of the many small palaces that dotted the mountain for only a day before the tiny holy beast raced away into the Yellow Sea, his Nyokai Tenwa, a cross between a woman and a nightingale, right behind him.

They would not see the pair for five more years, that time needed for Houki to grow and mature and learn how to retake human form. Immature Kirin would perish but rarely out in the Yellow Sea, and they had even less worry this time, because the pair were not alone. Kouki may be even younger than Houki at two years of age, but he had been out in the Yellow Sea for longer than his brother, and likely had a Shirei or two of great worth to his name already. Kenroushin-kun had dropped in the day before, and had mentioned that he had seen the pair together. Kirin were born together rarely, and the Nyosen were looking forward to seeing what would happen when the pair matured and rejoined them on Houzan.

Yuka sighed as she folded a cloth, helping her fellow Nyosen bring in the laundry. They had five years before they would be expected to do anything of value for the Kirin, but they were all chatting excitedly, counting down the days until Houki came marching up the path.

Her heart wasn't with the young pair, as harsh as it seemed to even her. She kept thinking about her last Kirin, the fist one that had been entrusted to her care, and she worried for him, because the news of Tai's fall had reached even them. 'Taiki, wherever you are now, I only hope that you are safe,' she prayed in her heart, bowing her head over her work. 'Please, come back to us. Come home. And please come home soon.'

Tenwa = Sweet Harmony