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Yuka was on her class trip when the Takasato family was murdered. The news was broadcast, far and wide, along with the disasters which followed anyone associated with Takasato Kaname, and all she could do was visit the newsstands during their free time to pick up the outdated papers. She was sorry to hear about the deaths, since she had liked Suguru, but there was nothing she could do for him.
She wanted to be able to help Kaname, but there was no way she could leave early. The school trip was a surreal experience as they traveled through Kyoto, fixated on the past, which made it difficult to get updates on what was happening in Tokyo. She tried to image what he was going through, and stressed herself as she considered options that might make things better. The clearest one, where he should be returned to Tai, was not something in her power.
But if she could make him remember... surely the spirits guarding him would be able to help him discover his own way back across the Void Sea.
In the end, Yuka's half-formed plans didn't make a difference. By the time she returned, it was over.
She read with horror the accounts of Kaname's final days, the violent deaths which had plagued his every move. She wondered how his guardian spirits – his shirei – could do that to him. She knew what that much blood would do to a kirin's health. It had surely just compounded his problems.
But she remembered the way the creatures had threatened her for asking questions, and how only her connection to the Empress of Kei had stopped them from attacking. Perhaps this world had driven them into hyper-vigilance, lashing out at everything.
As the dust from the whole mess began to settle, one name came to her attention. A junior teacher, Hirose, had remained with Kaname until the end. The man had been there through the storm – what Yuka suspected was a shoku – and had come out alive. A part of her was envious that he'd been able to provide Taiki companionship, but she also knew Hirose would be the one to ask what had really happened, if answers still existed in this world.
She hadn't had any classes with Kaname, and wasn't familiar with his teacher. She wasn't surprised when she heard Hirose had quit – after all the deaths at their school, it was natural to want to get away. So she went to see him at his home.
Yuka knocked on the door to his apartment about a week after Kaname had vanished. He opened the new-appearing door slowly, a chain linking the door to its frame. "I'm sorry, but I'm not speaking to any reporters-" he said, and started to shut the door.
"Do I look like a reporter?" she asked a bit sharply, smoothing her hands over her school uniform.
Hirose blinked slowly. "Look, I don't recognize you, and it's been a very trying past couple of days, so I hope you don't think I'm rude, but I'm-"
"His name was really Taiki," she interrupted softly, intensely, meeting his eyes squarely.
He hissed slightly, the sound a man makes after being sucker punched. His knuckles tightened against the door's edge, and his face paled. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Someone who's seen the other side of the Void Sea."
He shut the door slowly, and she waited as the tell-tale sounds of the chain being removed reached her ears. A moment later, the door was opened, wider this time, to grant her passage. "You'd better come in."
She stepped into the room, taking the seat he gestured to. The surroundings were stark and basic, and she couldn't help but think it was a poor place for a kirin to be. Without asking, he went over to the small fridge to pull out two cans of green tea. He handed her one, before sitting down across from her. She couldn't help but notice his hands were shaking a tiny bit as he pulled the can's tab back.
"How did you know that name?" he asked.
"I was taken by a shoku about a year ago," she started. "I ended up in the Twelve Kingdoms, the land where Kaname – Taiki – belongs. I was lucky enough to have a friend who had the ability to send me back to this world. When I returned, I became curious about his spiriting away, and managed to put the basics together."
He shut his eyes, and she couldn't help think that he looked much older than he should. "I see."
She wondered if he did, but she wasn't here to explain herself. "How did things go so wrong for Taiki?"
"His guardian spirits became upset with the way people were treating him, and lashed out. The situation kept escalating until people became convinced he was either a demon, or just cursed," he replied. He raised his can, taking a sip to steady himself.
"Maybe he was cursed," she replied. "This world is not forgiving to gentle souls like a kirin."
He stared at her, and she couldn't help but notice how soulful his brown eyes were, much like a lost little boy's. "What was he, really?"
"He was a holy creature." She explained what she knew about Keiki's ability to walk between worlds, and how the ruler of each of those far-off kingdoms were selected. She spoke of the kirin's power, and what it represented. She talked of watching Kourin die, before Keiki finally returned her to where she belonged. When she was finished, her throat felt dry. She opened her own drink, and sipped at the sweet liquid.
Hirose didn't say anything immediately, and she was impressed. He was thinking what she had said through carefully before responding, a rare trait she appreciated. "I wanted to go with him," he said. "I thought he might be from the same world I am. When I met him, I didn't think I belonged in this world."
She knew exactly the feeling he was talking about. "I was the same. I forced Keiki to take me, and then wanted to come back here when I found out I didn't belong there. Sometimes I wonder if I'm going to find the place where I should be."
"Maybe we just need to decide to make wherever we are the place we belong," he said. He met her eyes, and suddenly she knew this was the man she was going to marry.