of Ryuu inhabitants The following characters reside in the Kingdom of Ryuu: Rohou Rohou is the current ruler of Ryuu. Ryuuki Ryuuki is the current Kirin of Ryuu. Kingdom of Han inhabitants The following characters reside in the Kingdom of Han: Ranjou Ranjou is the king of Han who has ruled his kingdom for 300 years. Hanrin Hanrin is the Kirin of Han. Kingdom of Sou inhabitants The following characters reside in the Kingdom of Sou: Senshin Senshin is the king of Sou who has ruled for 600 years making him the longest-ruling king in the Twelve Kingdoms. Sourin Sourin is the Kirin of Sou. Hourai/Japan inhabitants Yuka Sugimoto is one of Youko's classmates in Japan and gets transported to Kou along with Youko and Asano. She enjoys fantasy books and is thrilled to be part of the adventure, believing that she is destined for greatness. Destined to be a rival, Yuka becomes extremely jealous of Youko when she finds out that Youko is the "chosen one" and believes herself to be just as worthy. The King of Kou takes advantage of Yuka's confused feelings to convince her to fight against Youko. She later realizes her mistake after making up with Youko, helps her to rescue the kidnapped Keiki, and Youko sends her back to Japan. She is the one who tells Youko's human parents what truly happened to her. After her return, she cuts her already short hair, determined to not hide behind her fantasies. By that time, she also becomes friends with Taiki, who has lost his memory as a being from the Twelve Kingdoms. In the novels, she is only mentioned in passing and does not go to the Twelve Kingdoms but remains in Hourai (Japan). Instead, she serves as a plot device to show Youko's lack of resistance to peer pressure. Ikuya Asano is another one of Youko's classmates and has known Youko since childhood. He is transported to the kingdom of Kou with Youko and Sugimoto, and conceals his deep set apathy under an energetic demeanor. When Yuka turns on Youko, he finds his loyalty split between them and eventually goes missing after a battle between Yuka and Youko when he falls from a cliff. He is not seen by either of them for some time. Asano eventually becomes part of a group of Shusei and works for them as they traveled through the kingdoms.