Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Labyrinth - Chapter Three

The Sea of Wind, the Shore of Labyrinth - Chapter Three is the seventeenth episode of the Twelve Kingdoms anime series. It is the third chapter in the arc featuring Taiki, the black kirin of Tai.

Summary
Youka continues to tell Taiki's story to Youko, explaining how it took a while for Taiki to get used to his new surroundings.

When Taiki is exploring the edge of the one of the gates, he is captured and chained by Goson, who believes that capturing a kirin will make him the new King of Tai. However, he doubts that Taiki is a kirin because of Taiki's black hair. When Goson roughly yanks at Taiki's chains, Taiki begins to bleed and faints while an upset Sanshi attacks Goson. Kenrou-shikin appears with his Tenken, escorting Goson and his men away while the Nyosen take Taiki back to the safety of Mount Hou.

In the present, during a walk to Chizu Palace, Youka relates to Youko and Keiki how the four gates that lead to Mount Hou will open at certain times during the year to allow pilgrims to enter the sacred mountain. The pilgrims will have an opportunity to meet the kirin and learn if the kirin will select a ruler from among them. As Youka explains the same thing to Taiki in the past, the young kirin realizes that he will never see her again after selecting his ruler.

Some time later, a nyosen escorts a young girl around Mount Hou. When the girl notices Taiki, she approaches him and begs for him to send her back home to Hourai. Sanshi perceives the girl as a threat and attacks her, while Taiki is left disturbed by the girl's pleas.

Realizing that Taiki is lacking the essential skills required for a kirin to protect itself, such as taming shirei and transforming to his beastly form, Lady Gyokuyo requests that Keiki come to Mount Hou. Her intention is two-fold: she hopes that Taiki will learn to be a kirin from Keiki while Keiki, who has recognized an underconfident and shy woman as his ruler, will learn to be more attuned to his monarch's feelings.

Keiki's blunt and cold demeanor creates an awkward relationship. To alleviate Taiki's worries, Keiki transforms into his kirin form to show Taiki what a kirin looks like. The gesture allows them to bond and Keiki teaches Taiki how to tame shirei. When Keiki returns to Kei, his newly developed sensitivity is a surprise to his ruler.