Author Notes: First of all, I'd like to apologise for any grammar mistake/word misuse/ misspelling you may encounter in this fanfiction. English is not my first langua, rather it's my third and it's also quite late so my vision is not at its finest. I'm really sorry for typos too, I'll read this at some point and correct them if I find them, but plase be patient.
This story is intended as pure fiction based on my own imagination and something I thought could be fun to write (and it has!) but yeah, there were some things I didn't know so I made them up (just small details, though). Also point out that I'm entirely writing this from the anime POV because I haven't read the books yet, sorry...?
Alsooo, this was intended to be a one-shot... But I think I can make it a full length fanfic with more chapter and such, just let me know if you'd like me to!
Oh! And I do not own The Twelve Kingdoms, sadly... or probably for the better!
Sweet moon; blind sun
"It was about time," sighed one of the nyosen, Hyurai. The other group of girls beside were cheering happily, and all exchanged an excited look: finally, Hou's kirin had been placed on the Shashinboku.
"It's been so many years!"
"Almost thirty years since Hou had a king, or a Kirin…" said Youka, twirling around with fellow nyosen and singing to a tune.
The Kingdom of Hou had been without a king for a period longer than two decades after their previous king, Chuutatsu, now known as Retsu-Ou, had been beheaded by his fellowman and friend, who's now in the position of honcho, Gekkei.
The kingdom had gone from a desolated island covered in dirt and snow, to a prosperous and fertile land. Its people were now proud of their way of living, their politics, and their commerce had been flowering in the past decade. They were proud of bearing the banners of the kingdom and, although they did not have a king to lead them, they put their trust on Gekkei as the leading light for the time being.
It was true that the previous ruler had been obsessed over the idea of purifying Hou to the point of killing a major number of the population, believing that would lead to a brighter tomorrow for the people counting on him… But he'd been so pure himself that he'd become blind to what the countrymen truly needed. He'd been overprotective of his own children, forgetting that the people he was ruling over should be also treated like his children. He'd also been manipulated by his queen; often enough to lead to the rumour that it was her who started his entire purifying obsession.
In spite of all what happened in said kingdom year before, the people were starting to understand that the ruler figure wasn't the enemy: the enemy had been Retsu-Ou by his own will, not the previous ruler nor the next! And So, they were all getting restless.
...
The old nyosen who was in charge of the nyokai ranka stood right in front of the hatching ranka, holding a lantern to see what was happening. She knew, though! Of course she knew what that ranka hatching meant; she'd been taking care of that kind of occasion for several hundred years.
Finally, she ranka fully hatched and all the liquid from the inside started oozing out and a loud shriek was heard.
"Beautiful, indeed!" whispered the old nyosen to herself, "her whole body is that of a feline creature, and tail of moukyoku! And she has wings like those of a tenba… Magnificent, indeed!" the creature known as nyosen was slowly drifting into full consciousness, slowly taking in her surroundings. "I will name you Jin, for you'll bring truth with you. Go now, Jin, go and fulfil your duty!" and within the next dew seconds the old nyosen was left alone with the echo of Jin's laughter.
Jin ran as fast and agile as she could master until she reached the ranka she was meant to take care of, there her expression changed for that of a caring mother who awaits her child.
It is said that nyokai share a special bond with the taiho until the point where she knows the gender of the newborn from the very first moment, taking that into consideration there was no wondering why all the nyosen had gathered closer to Jin and awaited until she named the ranka:
"Hourin…"whispered the creature, and all the nyosen changed a smile and the tunes started again. It was the will of Tentei that this ranka was Hou's Taiho, a female kirin named Hourin.
...
Gekki was standing in front of his window, staring at the mountains in the horizon. His advisors had recently informed him of the great news: Hou's Taiho ranka was already growing in Mt Hou, meaning that it was a matter of a mere couple of years until the kirin itself could choose the new king, following the will of Tentei.
"Finally," said Gekki to his own self. "Finally Hou will have a new liege! After all these years, we'll finally find balance again."
Gekki wondered what princess Shoukei would think of the news. The old princess would've been consumed by the anger of knowing that her father would be replaced by someone else, he was sure of that! But the new Shoukei… the new Shoukei knew better than letting the anger eat her insides, and he was sure she was happy to know that her kingdom would finally be at ease for years to come. Although he was happy knowing they'd soon have a liege, he was also worried about the people living in the palace. All the advisers were used to work under his command, that was for sure, but he knew his people would soon adapt at the new ruler if his intentions were for the wellbeing of the people of Hou.
...
The months passed by quite fast, and so did seasons until it was time for the ranka to hatch. When the day itself arrived the nyosen gathered all together around the sacred tree, Lady Gyokuyo standing in front of them with her personal handmaidens, waiting for Jin to take the ranka fruit.
And then, it happened. As fast and gently as the nyokai pulled tree and fruit apart, the ranka hatched and a young kirin was born. She was beautiful, gentle and pure-looking like every kirin, yet special in her own way. Her mane, for starters, seemed like threads of pure gold! And her horn was as white as pearls. Jin hugged the newborn lovingly, just like a mother her child.
"Jin!" said the little girl, and right next to her the nyokai appeared. "Could you help me do my hair?" said the kirin holding some ribbons in her hands and showing them to her protector. Jin took a comb and started to untangle the long, golden hair in front of her. Hourin's hair was truly magnificent when it came to colour and texture, no other kirin could compare to such neat and smooth mane! Not even Taiki with his silky black hair.
Some time had passed already since Hourin became a fully matured kirin, but she'd been quite the prominent and smart little one so her human form looked like that of a barely ten years old girl. Her eyes were pale blue, and her skin was quite fair giving her the appearance of a doll, fact that she took advantage of by using her charm to sneak more sweets after meals… Truth be told, the nyosen liked spoiling the young kirin so they'd give her the sweets even if she didn't use her charms, but they liked playing along because they all enjoyed that little game. Of course, Jin was Hourin's favourite companion when it came down to studying or playing games and they'd both shared a special friendship from the very beginning; just like what was expected of kirin and nyokai.
That day the doors of Mt Hou were open. It was already the solstice and that meant it was time for all those people from Hou who wanted to offer themselves in front of the kirin to see if they were the new liege. The queue of people ascending the mountain was impressive! Men and women alike were walking uphill to try luck, or to see the results with their own eyes.
The ceremony was quite simple: Hourin and Jin were sitting with the nyosen right behind a bamboo curtain thus making it impossible to the outsiders to see them, but they could see them quite clearly through the bamboo. Hourin would sit there and just stare at the person offering the sacred incense until she felt something.
By that point, Hourin was freely admitting to herself that she was getting nervous. She knew everyone was counting on her, and she knew she would know right away, but still she couldn't help herself from feeling a bit anxious.
The first person to do the offering was a tall man, with a strong and imposing aura who the kirin thought of as a good soldier… yet unable to be king. The next one was the daughter of a merchant with really a sweet-looking face… that would probably suit her best in her job than as a queen. People kept coming and going and not once did she feel anything.
She was already getting restless and bored when the son of a Lord came in. His sword was kept in its sheath by his waist, and his clothes were fine… but he was not the king, and he was the last one doing offerings that day.
...
It had already been a couple days since all the people of Hou gathered too see who the kirin would choose as the new sovereign, the first day of offerings hadn't been luck, and the second day there were no offerings for it was reserved for praying and thanking Tentei. But even so, some people started to get paranoid and the rumour of Hou being cursed by the Heavens because of what they did to the previous king was echoing around the camps.
Houring, however, spent that day sitting at her favourite place and eating as many sweets as she could sneak out from the nyosen. Her favourite spot was by the river, she'd go there and rest her back against the tree so she could enjoy a moment of quietness and tranquillity. Outsiders were not allowed to walk close to that one river, so she was safe but still Jin was by her side while the other members of her shirai were also close enough to attack anything were to happen to her.
"Jin," said the kirin, calmly. Jin awaited for her child to continue, "do you think I'll be able to find a good king?"
"Yes, I do not doubt that you will."
"Thank you…"
"Don't rush, Hourin. It's true that the Kingdom of Hou's been awaiting the arrival of the new king for a long time, but that's not reason for you to rush."
Hourin put her head on Jin's lap and the latter stroked the mane lightly, it was just in moments like those that Hourin would take her real kirin form instead of her human one. She did not enjoy hair cares as much as a human, she'd like it better when she was in her kirin form; although she usually liked staying in her human self because then she could wear the beautiful dresses that she so liked and eat all the sweets she wanted. All were pros and no cons when it came to stay in her human form, though Hourin.
...
Finally, the third day arrived and the people who didn't do the offering on the first day started to do the same ritual.
After a few more than a dozen had passed, a young girl no more than twenty walked in helping a soldier. At first everyone looked for some kind of injury but they found none, they could however hear a soft whispering voice barely louder than the wind: it was that girl's voice and she was talking to the man.
"The altar is right in front of you. The distance is that of half of your arm, and there are three incense empty holders: one is to your left, at a full arm's length. The other is to your right, two arm's length. The third is behind that on, ad arm and a half's length. Next to the left holder there are some flowers, I think they are –"
"Peonies," said the man to his companion. She smiled.
"Yes."
The girl started the incense but it was the man who put them in the holder and started to pray. A sudden realisation came to the nyosen:
"I think… I think he is blind."
"I think Youka is right," said another.
"Blind…" thought Hourin. She was fully aware that the possibility and the actions she'd seen lead to that, but she also felt that man could see her. She felt seen and then she felt a bit dizzy. Ouki? Was this what ouki felt like? Was this the sign?
"Hourin," said Jin, noticing that her mistress expression was different. "Hourin. Did you feel anything?" but she didn't get a voiced answer, for the kirin had stood up and rushed out of the temple.
"Wait!" she shouted, and everyone in the camp stopped doing what they were doing and stared at her. The man and the woman who was helping him stopped and Hourin rushed in front of them: "Can you see me, sir?"
"I can't see you with my eyes, but I do notice you. Taiho, right?" answered the man. His voice was velvety and rich, and he wore a serene smile on his face.
"But how can you know it's me and not your wife if you're not seeing me?"
"That's because the Heavens took away my sight, but not my hearing. And because I do not have a wife, my lady." Hourin felt herself blushing when she realised how obvious it was. The man in front of her could not see, that was a fact, but he could still hear and feel perfectly. His remaining senses had probably taken over the lost one, thus making him not see but perceive.
"My brother had an accident when we were children, your grace. He trained his other senses to satisfy his desire of learning, and quenching his thirst for knowledge."
Hourin listened to the woman, now identified as this man's sister, told her about how the man had learned to use a sword just by guiding himself with his hearing and feeling the ground where he walked and he had also learnt from books that his teachers had read to him over and over again, until he could remember the entire book. They were the children of a provincial general so they'd had the resources to make it happen, and after the teacher of their city had died her brother had started to teach the youngsters. He was quite respected by his fellowmen and women.
When Hourin lowered her head smiling her heart was at total ease. She bowed her head in front of that man, and then slowly she allowed herself to kneel. Everyones' faces showed surprise, even the man's who was blind sensed that something was going on.
"I swear never to desert my post before your throne; I swear never to disobey your orders. I shall never leave your side. My eternal loyalty, I pledge onto you."
"… I accept."
Everyone erupted in cheers while the woman started to weep due to all the emotions lived in such short time.
"However, my lord…" started Hourin to which everyone stared at her in surprise, "May you tell me your name, so I'll know who my king is?"
"My name is Hikitsu, my lady, and I'm honoured to be referred as king by someone with such sweet voice and presence. I'll do my best to make you proud; to make the people of my kingdom proud of their nation!"
...
The time through the naming of the king and the coronation had seemed an eternity, but finally all the procedure had been through. The new king was well-known and respected where he came from, but all around the island people had heard about his good deeds and they couldn't be prouder of their new liege. Some were a bit weary of having a king after the previous one, but there were not many of those.
One of the first changes king Hikitsu had done, was appointing Lord Gekki his personal advisor. Took him some time convincing Gekki into remaining in palace, but he finally won the battle.
The relationship between king and kirin was good and they both addressed each other casually. Some said they looked like father and daughter, for he took grate care of the young taiho… but she'd also taken the habit of serving as his eyes by spending as much time as possible together and guiding him when they were outside the palace. King Hikitsu used the nickname Taiyou, meaning sun, to refer to Hourin and thus this became Hourin's new name, something that she held onto dearly.