Rakushun

Rakushun (楽俊) is a hanjyuu with the form of a rat who is a citizen of the Kingdom of Kou. His formal name is Chou Sei (張 清).

Despite the discrimination, Rakushun is proud of being a hanjyuu and is somewhat uncomfortable in his human form; Youko only learns that he could appear as a human after quite some time. Though Youko is initially distrustful of him, he becomes her first good friend in the Twelve Kingdoms. He is very intelligent and knowledgeable, teaching Youko essential skills on how to live in the Twelve Kingdoms as well as politics and customs.

Rakushun travels with Youko from Kou to En in hopes of being able to further his education since hanjyu are prohibited from higher levels of education in Kou. Rakushun eventually deduces that Youko is the rightful ruler of the Kingdom of Kei based on the unusual circumstances that have surrounded her since coming to his world. Upon this discovery, he reassures Youko that he has faith in her and wishes to see what sort of country she will build when she doubts her ability to become Kei's new monarch.

After Youko ascends the throne of Kei, Rakushun remains in En and enrolls in the country's Greater Learning. During his tenure at school, Enki sends Rakushun to Ryuu to investigate why Youma are appearing there. While there, Rakushun meets Shoukei, who attempts to shift blame to him for stealing items from the palace at Kyou. The court does not believe her story and knows that she is the thief, but it nevertheless accepts the items as a bribe and allows her to go. Ironically, Shoukei's double-cross allows Rakushun to complete his mission, since the corrupt nature of the court shows that Ryuu is in decline.