Okay, first of all, I apologize for not having updated for so long. I wasn't sure if I could continue this story or not. However, due to really comforting comments, two chapters came out of my hands. TWO CAPS T.T

Thank you very much to all who read my story. Hope you like the more drama I am gonna add XD

NOTE: The Twelve Kingdoms isn't mine (unfortunately).


Chapter VII:

Wind. Water. Ocean. Sounds melting into the horizon. The salt water was churning from one side to another behind the old and grimy concrete, covered with ropes and abandoned instruments.

Sunset. The orange and red were distinct yet inseparable in the picture. The grayish, black smoke coming out of the boats attacked mercilessly the few white clouds that were slowly dying.

Boats. Small dots sailed, swift on the far point of the sea , some closer than others , but in any case, far everyone. Rocked and they rolled on the water, as the breeze small roles controls his pleasure.

Calm. The tranquility spread unstoppable through the concrete floor, railings, road, light poles, and then came to him.

His dark eyes were fixed on the sunset, drawn to an almost supernatural and magnetic force. He watched emotionally the small sample of the supremacy of the sun.

When the last rays gave their final touches on the scene, a sweet melody immediately invaded the place. The shy symphony made its way through the empty road under the street light.

A slight marked the end of the song as the moon took the sky.

"That's a very beautiful song"

The shock, even though he had wanted to, could not be contained. He turned immediately to the source of the powerful and harmonious voice that had made the statement.

He, who had been sitting on the floor, looked up at the girl much older than him. She was a strange young woman, beautiful face and noticeable fragrance, who was wearing eccentric clothes that reminded him a little of those of ancient emperors of previous dynasties he had seen before in books.

He wondered whether that girl came from a theater that decided on a play about the Japanese Feudal Era, or from a party of the high options moved from his mind the idea of a likely insananity.

While he started getting over the initial surprise and covering the bruises on his arms with his coat, the girl came over to where he was, "Oh! Sorry if I scared you!" She exclaimed a little annoyingly to his liking "I really like that beautiful song. Any idea of the identity of the musician who composed it? Maybe I could hire for royal celebrations where I come from"

The child shook his head shyly, while staring at her in confusion. At the same time, the idea of madness increased.

"Umm... what a shame" she said, as she sat beside the boy, who couldn't remove his black eyes from her figure "And tell me... You got a name? I think I deserve to know how to call you"

There was no answer. Instead, appeared a long silence of distrust.

Noticing his doubts, she went on without even waiting patiently "I'll introduce myself first if you wish. Although I don't have a permanent name, but actually many..." She thought for some time, as if remembering her identity was as difficult as reminding the number of a credit card "Many call me Risetsu, and I must say that's a pretty name, don't you think?"

He didn't know why, but smiled slightly at the attitude the girl had. He doubted for a moment, but then his voice, in a soft and low tone, came out "I... I have no name really..."

She reacted helplessly surprised because of her obviously outgoing personality "Huh? What did you say?"

He regretted having talked, because in reality he wasn't used to it, but despite this situation he decided to continue, with a face full of a diffuse, sad expression. "I don't have a name ..."

The young woman at his side looked totally confused. He suddenly remembered the bruises on his arms and pulled the sleeves of his coat to cover them, before deciding to continue explaining.

"... At home... none of us have a name until parents come and give us one..." he said, his gaze lost between the intersection of the clothes of girl, the floor, and worn, old leather shoes of his "We... are called differently, acording to the date on which we were found ..."

The girl stayed silent for what seemed to be several seconds, as processing the information she had just obtained. Then her eyes filled up with a somewhat spirited sweetness, and they asked, having no need to talk: 'And how should I call you then?'

The child was a little surprised, and responded with his cheeks a little flushed "Hachi ..."

"Well, it's a pleasure, Hachi!" She said, smiling childishly "It's a pretty cute name too," she said afterwards.

He couldn't help smiling lightly. She must have known perfectly, as everyone, that Hachi meant (literally) eight in Japanese, which symbolized that he had been found on Nov. 8th, and yet she said things like that...

"So, what about the song? Did you invent it yourself?"

His smile faded for a moment to be replaced by sadness "I don't know... I've been singing it since I can remember..." he said, gazing at the floor "But... you're the first person who tells me it's pretty..."

"Huh? Who could say it is not?" She asked curiously, almost indignant that anyone could do such a thing.

He didn't answer, only repeated the gesture of pulling the sleeves of his shirt. He wondered briefly if he had caused a bad impression on his companion. However, a big smile appeared on the lips of the girl, whose hair, which he had just noticed, was strangely clear and had a bright, golden color.

"Could you teach me?"


The shiny trail that has came out swiftly, like a bright carpet of heaven, began to disappear as soon as he landed in one of the roofs. The strong limbs made the roofs crack and removed some dust, which danced in the cold night wind.

The creature golden mane leaned forward slightly, before returning to jump with impressive speed, the skies. He landed again on another roof of a building even higher.

"Master"

The head with the elegant horn of the golden-haired creature turned to its own shadow, as the shape changed suddenly to a winged human figure.

The maternal voice came softly, shaking the tired body a little "Han Taihou and Ren Taihou are ready to return"

"... Understood ..." said the voice of the creature, however, somewhat exhausted, with a hint of despair.

The flight, due to the characteristics of Kirin, became fleeting, swift, silent. However, he had to admit the discouragement and disappointment grew dark in his heart, and prevented him from focusing on his surroundings.

Soon he arrived at the meeting point: The port. The graceful movements soon made him descend to the ground. There, he heard a little melody, distant, but familiar. It was the melody that the boy had been singing, while he headed back to the orphanage where he lived. But this time, it was sung by the last person he wanted to see.

"Well, well. If it isn't the little Kirin from the SO HIGHLIGHTED Kingdom of En "

He turned his head toward the figure standing there, while a voice came out "I'm surprised her MAJESTY of eccentricity deigns to step on this ground"

"Well, I prefer myself eccentric than a grumpy brat" answered the girl with golden hair, evasively and reluctantly, as she crossed her arms over her elegant clothes.

"Better than being a spoiled princes ..." he replied with the same attitude as her. He had wanted to continue with his speech to rebut the previous insult made by Risetsu, but a voice, this time much softer, interrupted.

"I wonder which how you two still have enough energy to fight with each other"

The elegant and beautifully dressed, tall and slender figure of the Taihou of the Kingdom of Ren appeared near them. Moreover, her eyes more than her fake smile, expressed the weariness and discouragement flooding the three.

Enki thought she would speak again with her delicate voice, but what came out of her was a sad symphony coming from a sacred being "It's time to leave..."

Afterwards, there was their departure and crossing from one world to another, to their arrival.

Enki knew it. Inside himself, he knew they had saved only one kingdom, and that another would soon perish.


She had watched the way the petals fell from the trees of Mount Hou. She had seen the fishes moving their tails from side to side to move through the water. She had listened for a few seconds the song of birds perched on nearby rocks.

She had spent the morning cleaning the temple and the surroundings, and also the commonly crowded places. She had helped the arrangement of the offerings to the gods, with special attention to those for Tentei.

She had even sang and prayed all she could with her fellow priestesses, and also tried to write and read the few stories that had crossed in front of her.

However, nothing could distract her. The euphoria moved to different locations, and emotion dominated a part of herself. But nevertheless, what didn't disappear was the paradoxical feeling of sadness in a part of herself.

She looked up. There, standing at the top of a steep peak, a monstrous figure could be seen. It was shaped as a woman, but its body also had parts of animals.

The silver-coated figure, reflecting the sun, made her divert her eyee gently, but she could still notice. The same emotion she felt: the euphoria that burned inside her and wanted a way out.

Was it bad, baing a little selfish...?

"Hinaru"

She reacted with a slight jolt. She turned suddenly toward the person with a bit of a bossy tone but at the same maternal.

"Superior Teiyei ..." she said, bowing politely, even a bit surprised. The priestess there had been in the temple for more than a hundred years.

"I need you to hurry. Extra hands are required to prepare the arrival of Ren Taihou, and the sooner the better. All of the Kingdom of Hou are looking forward to..."

The girl, without paying much attention, returned her gaze to the peak, now empty and only accompanied by the warm wind of the afternoon.

"Hinaru! Pay attention! "

"Y-yes sir!" she replied, somewhat nervous about the tone of order. Perhaps the superior was feeling a little nervous too "I ... I will help soon!"

"Very well" continued the other, turning to go through a hall, but stopped for a moment "One last thing..." she turned around again. Hina shuddered at the possibility of another order "Has the group this morning come back yet?"

Hina reacted a little late. She paused before replying "...Yes... but ..."

"As expected" Teiyei said quickly, before starting to walk down the hall. After a few steps, she stopped again, and without turning around she said "A nyokai never gives uo on the search... we may not be able to find her in a long time..." Then disappeared into a doorway.

Without even thinking twice, Hina returned her gaze to where the image of the mostrous woman had appeared, and leaned against the nearest pillar.

Now it was different. Two eyes appeared, huge, golden, such as an eagle's, fixed on her. Both belonged to the contoured face of a monstrous woman-like beast.

In them, she saw the flash of euphoria again before it disappeared in the warm breezes of the mountain in spring, bringing with them a stack of memories of the meeting of the priestesses several days ago.

"What do you mean the ranka is no longer in Hourai?!"

She remembered the face of her friend and companion. A mixture of disappointment, anger, and helplessness filled Miyo completely.

"How come the search is going to be stopped?! Are we giving up to the war to end everything then?!"

Another wave of sadness hit her again. Slowly, she let her body down until she was on the floor.

"Do they want to leave the Kingdom of Kou while it's being destroyed?!"

She looked at the sky, then covered with small clouds of whitish color. She sighed, feeling some pain in her heart, as if she wanted to leave that place.

She had seen it all in silence. She had waited patiently until Miyo finished, because then she would try to comfort her. Hina knew Miyo needed it, even after following Superior Youka and Kenroushin in the search of the nyokai.

They both knew that nothing could be done about it, that they were tied of hands, but for Miyo, it was hard to accept.

She had waited so many years...

Hina sat on her legs, and clasped her hands, remembering the words her friend had said, while drops fell down Miyo's cheeks.

"Kou will die..."

"Please Tentei... find the Taihou"


A fuzzy ceiling hung over her body. A smell of incense came to her senses. She noticed the warmth coming from her right side, and soon found she was leaning on something like a soft blanket also covered with another very similar to that .

She noticed something really uncomfortable on her forehead. She turned slightly her neck in an attempt to shake it off. A wet object fell from there to the side of her head, which her eyes couldn't tell.

"Are you already awake...?"

Then she felt someone gently touching a part of the neck. That special touch, a fairly soft fur that could only belong to someone .

"... Mister Rakushun...?"

"Relax, I won't touch your forehead" he murmured in her ear loud enough for only her to hear "I noticed that you dislike when someone does it"

Her vision cleared slightly,and she managed to define the outline of the figure of the Hanjyuu. Similarly, more figures began to appear around.

"Your temperature is falling. That's good" Rakushun said, as he took in one of his furry hands a wet towel that had been in his forehead, and stood on a nearby site" Now you just need to rest a bit more"

Shiruku saw the large, muscular figure, and instantly recognized it, like the voice that came out of it, accompanied by a powerful sighed "Whew...What a relief! I'm glad you're better..."

She made a small gesture, asking a question that Koshou managed to understand.

He scratched his chin a bit before answering "Well... After our meeting with Youma, we got away from the storm and reached the coast of the Baku Province in the Kingdom of Kei... but... " He paused for a moment .

Rakushun decided to continue for him "You had a pretty high fever attack. We took a stop at the inn for several days while your temperature came down..."

Shiruku immediately made a sad expression, while weakly muttering "I'm... sorry..." Despite her parched throat prevented her from continuing, she did in her mind : "Sorry for being a burden..."

Rakushun and Koshou apparently understood almost instantly because they both grinned .

"Don't worry" Rakushun reassured her "We are not in a rush"

"Besides..." Continued Koshou "Look over there" he said as he pointed a corner of the room. Rakushun slightly helped the girl to lift herself to see .

There, lying like she had, was a man. She couldn't tell among the fuzzy features the shape of his face, but he breathed quietly. She also noted that the creature she had rescued, was asleep on his lap.

"Do you remember when I entered the boat in the storm?" Koshou said with a grin "If you hadn't begged to come back, he wouldn't be here. This man owes you his life. You're like a hero right?"

Shiruku smiled a little shyly. She couldn't help it.

"Rest now" Rakushun said "You'll probably be okay to continue the journey to Gyouten soon"

She then tried to close her eyes.

But then she noticed something different.

What was...?

Again. The same awful smell in the distance.

"Erm... Rakushun..." Koshou said, with his characteristic, powerful and mocking voice "I think the wound has opened again" He received extensive speech of scolding by the half-beast.

She turned around and snuggled on the side, opposite the origin of the smell. She could almost feel weaker.

An unpleasant smell.


The melody gently moved through the outer walls of the orphanage, taking courageous steps as he walked into the dark and overgrown garden .

He didn't notice the gray facade, nor the boring door with the typical sound of polished wood. Neither saw the dark furniture, nor noticed the dark hallway through which he must pass to get to his room.

Because that time, he was, as some used to say, 'Happy'.

It wasn't a truly deep joy, much less sudden peace. He didn't possessed such aspects . However, it was a finite simple joy, which soon was reflected in his painting.

Since he could remember, like the song, he had accustomed himself to paint or draw as a way to vent his feelings. To that moment, his works had always denoted his unhappiness and abandonment, or at least, almost always.

Other times, he only painted or drew things that made no sense . For example, strange monsters, like something out of a fairy tale.

However, this one would be different.

He looked at his work, almost ready. A congregation of different colors denoted a greatly warm and different environment. They all met in the middle to form a figure belonging to a girl with a pretty face, dressed in multicolored, elegant clothes.

He smiled .

"Where is he?"

He jumped up in surprise at the sudden, alarming and aggressive voice. Fastly and almost automatically, he took all his previous works, taking them to a small corner .

"Hachi! Come out immediately! I need someone to hit!"

He quickly picked up a piece of the wood floor with some difficulty. Beneath that was an excavated hole, big enough to store his work. He then ran to get the latest paint.

He heard nearby, the strong voice in the hall and the steps. "Hachi! If you don't come out I will kill you!"

The aggressiveness in his tone was even greater than common days. The boy flinched, but didn't stop his hands. Delicately, he hid his last work in the hole, praying swiftly to prevent it from ruining, and placed the wood again.

Now he just needed to hide too...

"GET OUT OF THERE!"

The door opened brutally. So hard, that it left his place and fell with a crash . There, it broke and lost several pieces.

Then appeared the figure of the huge, broad-shouldered teenager with crazy, angry eyes, bursing into the room. His face was contorted in an expression of anger, that semmed confusing at his sloppy, old clothes.

He looked from side to side . He walked a few steps between the seats of the art room of the old orphanage.

"I know you're close!" Despair and madness rose in his eyes "I'll kill you! "

As a lunatic, he began to turn upside-down everything he found in his way. He didn't leave an object intact. He destroyed everything he could find, like a beast playing brutally with its food.

"Enough!"

Another voice came through the hallway to the room. It was a much older, firm voice , possibly from the director of the orphanage

"Stop him! "

More figures, shadows outside, rushed and broke into the room. Firm steps accompanied the images that closely, seemed to be adults, those who worked there. Most of them, however, were over 40 years old.

They took the teen together, but it was a hard task because it was a huge character, with developed musculature even for his short 16 years of age. However, with joined efforts, they got him quiet on the ground.

"Enough is enough " The dean repeated again , approaching the young frantic "Your time in this orphanage has finished. We have no choice but to let you go..."

"What kind of crap is that?" He responded aggressively, writhing under the multiple hands that held him "You can't throw me out, bastards! Who the hell do you think you are, shit!"

"Silence!"

The sound of the blow that the skeletal knuckles of the dean while he gave a strong punch to the delirious face echoed throughout the place.

From his hiding in the vents at one side of the room, Hachi could still hear the beating of his heart, mingling with the frantic breathing young man trapped by the elderly.

"It's my last word! Get him out of here!"

At the order of man, the others painstakingly hauled the body of the young, which resisted vehemently, turning in their grip.

Hachi observed perfectly still, but when wild eyes finally found him in his hiding place, a smile filled with indescribable fury froze him completely.

"You'll pay for this... " He shouted a creepy way, while the echo ran all over the place .

Hachi knew , even at the sight of the moment, the nightmares wouldn't let him forget his promise.

"YOU WILL ALL PAY!"


I can't thank you enough for all the support. I'll be uploading the next chapter as soon as I finish translating it.

See ya until then ;D