Chapter 5

The day that Amaya had disappeared, Takashi had been playing football with his classmates nearby. Rather than staying to play with the 'kids', Takashi had much rather preferred to play with the big boys. He was good at football and that made him popular with them. So ignoring his mother's warning on not to leave Amaya, he left her by the swings with Naoki; but as fate would have had it, he had injured his foot and was forced to fetch Amaya to go home. That was when he saw a hand protrude from the shadow of the tree and beckon her. Naoki was oblivious to it, but Amaya had gone over and took it before he could stop her. Then she was gone.

The world around him erupted as he screamed running to the tree, "They took her!" The mothers that had been engrossed in their conversations tried to calm him down to explain. Why couldn't they understand that there was no time in calming down? His parents were called, the police were called, a search party was set out. No one saw her again.

It was all his fault.

He should not have left her alone with Naoki. He should have stayed with her or brought her along. Why didn't his parents blame him? It would have felt better if they did. Instead they just quarreled with each other constantly. This incident had spilt his family, his mother spent long hours on the streets begging pedestrians if they had seen her child; his father spent long hours at work so they could afford the best detectives. Then the case of the missing children was solved. The five mutilated bodies were unearthed in various locations. Some was still fresh, but the others had varying degrees of decomposition and only their teeth provided the DNA to identify them. His parents cried when they heard the news but all Takashi could think of that finally it would be closed. Subsequently, it was the news that Amaya was not among the pile. The policemen did not have much hope in find Amaya alive. His parents on the other hand continued their search: one year, two years. Finally they gave up.

Takashi had known all along that it had not been human that had taken his sister. The hand that protruded from the tree was feathery with long claws instead of nails. If Amaya was ever found, she must have been turned into a monster. It was with this rationale that Takashi waited for his sister after she had been finally found and discharged. Sullen, aloof, always watching, he found it hard to accept her. She was very different from how he remembered her. She liked to be by herself and talked to herself constantly when she was alone. All that was until he woke up from his sleep one day to see his sister jump out of the window and transform. His sister gamely explained to him her circumstances and then introduced her shirei, Houku. Houku was a shirei that looked like a mix of wolf and leopard. When Takashi first saw him, he almost screamed had it not been Amaya's hand pressing his scream back. Houku was anything but small. Roughly the size of a small van with long, large teeth protruding from his jaws, Takashi was certain that Houku could eat him whole if he wanted to. Since then after being introduced to her most of her shirei, he had insisted on tagging along for most of her night rides. He enjoyed just sitting on her shirei and watching her fly through the air. Her beast form was so beautiful that it was breath-taking – literally.

So now they were in the present, high above the city and gliding through the night sky. Takashi could feel the wind slice its cold fingers across his face. He dug his fingers deeper into Houku's fur. No matter how cold it was, being able to fly freely in the sky was a privilege. Amaya slowed down beside him. Her red mane streamed past her in the night sky, glinting quiet coppers in the pale moonlight. Her red eyes glanced sideways at him.

"Taka I was thinking we must never let Naoki know of this."

This Naoki in question was a flighty person, or so Amaya described him as. Takashi had seen him and had known him enough to get a decent grasp of his personality. Naoki was anything but flighty. Intelligent, incisive, patient. Those were the words he would have used to describe Naoki. If he had a secret, he would have entrusted it to Naoki. However due to Naoki's family relations, Takashi's parents did not find Naoki a good example to be friends with and so Takashi had never been close enough to Naoki despite being neighbors.

"Why's that?" he asked after a moment of thought. Despite his differences in perception of Naoki's personality, Amaya often considered her words thoroughly before speaking. She must have a reason for such a statement.

"Well-" Amaya started and stopped. She should land. Right here, right now. It did not matter how ridiculous it was going to be or how many people were going to see her. She had to land now.

She descended rapidly. Lower and lower, her hoofs touching the trees and then the fence. In the garden she stopped. Her hoofs barely grazing the cold, damp earth. It did not matter how many people there were in the garden for all her eyes had was the old lady sitting on the patio drinking her tea.

A great heat of joy ran through her. She could barely contain herself as she walked closer to the old lady. Her body shivering unbearably for she fought to not throw herself into the old lady's arms. This was her king. She transformed.

Her eyes weeping for joy as she placed her head onto the lady's feet. "With Heaven's Mandate, I greet my master. Henceforth, I shall never to leave your side, to serve you with utmost loyalty – this is my pledge."

She looked up. "Say you accept."

The old lady with light grey eyes and creases down her face smiled lightly. "And what would happen if I accepted it?" Though she was old, her wits were sharp and her memory was vivid. Never accept a mythical creature's pledge for one could never been certain what else it could mean.

Takashi watched from above. His sister groveling in front of an old lady, just seeing that made his stomach twist in a tight knot.

"Houku, we must stop her." He urged the motionless shirei.

"No." The reserved shirei that barely spoke did not offer any further explanation besides his single syllable answer.

"Why?" Takashi asked, trying to prompt the shirei into answering something satisfactory.

"She is the king."

Takashi stared dazed at the old lady. He had known that Amaya flew around because she was searching for her master, in which would become the king of her kingdom. It all sounded fantastically insane but considering she had speaking animals that speak and fly and hide in the shadows; and the very fact she could transform and fly. It sounded almost sane. What he did not expect was that the king would be an old lady. He had imagined in the back of his mind of a fierce looking, stoutly built man, not this old frail lady. Emphasis on the word OLD. She looked like she was going to break in the wind. That kind of old.

Amaya looked up at her master quizzically. "You would become the king of my kingdom."

The old lady laughed a hearty laugh. "An old lady like me? King? And where is this kingdom of yours?"

Amaya paused in her answer before slowly replying. "It is a land far beyond here."

"I would ask if you were playing a game, but as you descended into the garden and transformed to kneel and say those words, I am certain you are not." Her eyes took on a faraway look as though recalling something. "I am old now. With many grandchildren. There was a time where I would have gladly accepted."

She pulled Amaya up with her bony hands and patted her. "But it is no longer now. I refuse."

Amaya felt something break in her. It shattered into a thousand of pieces. It hurt her just to look at the old lady. Tears were still running down her face, but they were no longer with joy.

"W-Why?" Amaya stammered. The old lady might have lacked the energy as compared to a younger king, she would have been a fine king. She was wise and keen.

The lady smiled. "Because my grandchildren are more important than what this heaven's mandate will ever be."

Spinning around, Amaya leapt into the air, her body seamlessly transforming. Though her body was light, her heart felt unbearably heavy. What will the nyosen say? She had never heard of a king refusing. Then with a clap of thunder, she was gone.

It was pouring when she arrived at the edge of Kei. The last thing she remembered was staggering through the forest in the dark.

When she awoke, it was clear that she was not in Hourai but in the 12 kingdoms, Kinpa Palace to be specific. She gazed at the curtains. The soft sunlight filtering through the turquoise gauze, casting the emblems of Kei and En entwined onto the luxurious rug. Amaya had forgotten how luxurious it was in the 12 kingdoms. Shaking her head, she corrected herself. It was not that 12 kingdoms was luxurious, it was that the rooms she was used to were luxurious.

"Jyakyo."

"You wandered into forest and almost passed out. I carried you on my back and Hisaoki held you there until we reached the nearest government building."

"And that sent the official in a panic and summoned Daishito to pick you up." The strong feminine voice continued. Amaya could sense a wry humour in her voice as she spoke and though Amaya squinted, she could not see the speaker through the shadow. "To disappear for two years only to return in that state. It made us worry."

There was the shuffling of cloth and Amaya hear the shifting of position. The speaker tapped her fingernails on the armrest. Was she impatient or merely in thought? Amaya could not discern only that she was neither Suzu nor Yoko. This was Kei was it not?

"Who are you?" Amaya asked, finally finding her voice. Struggling to an upright position, Amaya found her body lethargic and unwilling.

"Who am I?" The voice said in an incredulous tone before breaking out in a chuckle. She continued though Amaya had not spoken. "I had assumed that you had gone to Hourai to search for your master. Yet here you are – alone."

"Where is the king?" A sense of foreboding began to overcome Amaya. The speaker had referred the Daishito by his rank rather than name. Most officials did not do so in Kei. Had something happen to Yoko?

"I am the king."

"What?!" Amaya fought to keep the panic down. "Hisaoki!"

Her nyokai leapt forward to pull the curtains apart, shedding light onto the speaker. The speaker grimaced in the light. Her hands shadowed her eyes before glaring down at Amaya. It was a child that could not be any more than twelve years of age. Her icy blue eyes glared at Amaya.

"How rude!" The speaker said.

"H-how can you be the king? Yoko was fine when I left…"

The speaker huffed angrily but before she said anything, a familiar voice interrupted. "Queen Kyou, I would like you to refrain from teasing Shunrin." The blond haired kirin gazed impassively at the Queen Kyou.

"I was not teasing her. I merely forgot to mention which king I was," Queen Kyou replied hotly. "You have not answered me."

Queen Kyou spun her attention back to the red haired kirin. "Why- are- you- alone?"

"I- I-" Amaya looked wildly at Keiki.

He raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps this is something left to the kirins to discuss?" He looked pointedly at the young Queen.

The queen of Kyou marched towards the door. Whirling around at the exit, she pointed. "But I better hear the reason later." With that, she left. The door slamming shut behind her.