About half an hour later, the forest path finally opened onto the shrine grounds.
Kanetsugu slowed without realizing it.
The shrine rose quietly from the trees like it had always belonged there. Stone steps climbed gently toward the main hall, each lantern along the path glowing warm against the deep blue of evening. Fireflies drifted through the branches above, their faint lights mixing with the lanterns like scattered stars. Sacred ropes hung between the trees, paper charms swaying softly in the night breeze, and the carved fox statues flanking the steps watched the entrance with patient stone eyes.
For a moment, the young blacksmith simply stared.
"…By the heavens," he muttered under his breath.
Jinx walked ahead of him without ceremony, Kon still draped around his shoulders like a living scarf. The fox's tail swayed lazily with each step as they climbed the stone stairs.
Kanetsugu followed, still taking in the sight of the shrine.
"Jinx-kun… your shrine is magnificent," he said honestly. "I have traveled through many provinces, yet I have seldom seen one with such presence."
Jinx glanced over his shoulder.
"It may not look like it," he said calmly, "but my mother designed most of it."
Kanetsugu blinked in surprise.
"Truly?"
Jinx nodded once.
"She likes darker themes."
That explained quite a lot. The shrine didn't carry the bright, clean austerity most sacred places did. Instead, its wood was deep and aged, its lantern light warmer against shadowed beams. It felt… older. More mysterious. As if the shrine had grown naturally from the forest rather than being built atop it.
They stepped into the courtyard just as the sliding doors of the main building opened.
Kikyo stepped outside.
The moment she saw an unfamiliar man standing beside her son, her entire posture changed.
Fox-fire ignited across her hand instantly—dark blue flames curling around her fingers as her killing intent flared.
She moved.
Fast.
Kanetsugu barely had time to blink before Kikyo was already halfway across the courtyard.
Then Sadayuki grabbed her.
From the outside, the scene became far less intimidating than it should have been.
Kikyo struggled furiously while Sadayuki held her from behind, the tall white-haired man barely shifting his stance as she tried to lunge past him.
"Let me go!" Kikyo snapped. "A strange man walks into our shrine with our child and you expect calm?!"
Sadayuki sighed deeply.
"Kikyo…"
"I will at least threaten him properly!"
She kicked at the ground as she tried to reach Kanetsugu again.
Sadayuki simply held her at arm's length, looking mildly tired of this routine.
Meanwhile, Kanetsugu stood frozen near the bottom of the steps, unsure whether he should bow, apologize, or simply run for his life.
Jinx walked past them.
Kon yawned.
Sadayuki finally looked at the blacksmith calmly.
"You will forgive my wife," he said politely. "She is protective."
Kikyo was still attempting to reach around him.
"Release me, Sadayuki!"
Ignoring her entirely, Sadayuki turned back to Kanetsugu.
"Now," he said calmly, "perhaps you would explain why you arrived at our shrine alongside my son."
Kanetsugu quickly bowed.
"My apologies! I encountered Jinx-kun while he was fishing at a pond deeper in the forest."
Sadayuki nodded once.
"And?"
Kanetsugu's eyes brightened slightly as he continued.
"Well… while we spoke, the young master performed something rather astonishing. He simply waved his hand and the water in the pond split apart."
The courtyard went completely silent.
Kikyo stopped struggling.
Sadayuki blinked.
Both of them slowly turned their heads toward Jinx.
"…He did what?" they said together.
Jinx stood near the entrance with Kon still curled around his neck.
He wasn't looking at them.
He was staring down at the fox.
The fox stared back.
Kikyo gently slipped free from Sadayuki's grip and crouched down in front of her son.
Her voice softened.
"Jinx… can you move water?"
Jinx lifted one hand lazily.
Without looking away from Kon.
Across the courtyard, a flower vase trembled.
A thin stream of water lifted out of it and gathered into the air beside Jinx's hand. The water condensed slowly, forming a smooth floating sphere that shimmered under the lantern light.
Jinx closed his fingers.
The water compressed slightly.
Then he relaxed his hand again, and the sphere unraveled, flowing neatly back into the vase without spilling a drop.
"…Yes," he said simply.
Kanetsugu stared.
Sadayuki stared.
Kikyo stared.
After a long moment, Sadayuki slowly rubbed his temple.
"…I see."
Once the initial shock passed, Kanetsugu finally managed to explain the rest of the story. He spoke excitedly about his years traveling across the country searching for materials worthy of forging true swords. About his dream to create a system that would separate blades of true quality from the cheap weapons most lords handed to soldiers.
Then he mentioned the fortune teller who had told him his path would begin if he continued traveling north.
"And that is when I encountered Jinx-kun," he finished. "He parted the pond and revealed these."
He carefully opened the cloth bundle in his hands.
The shining stones caught the lantern light immediately.
Kikyo and Sadayuki both froze.
Because while they could barely sense natural energy themselves—humans were poor vessels for it compared to yokai—they didn't need much sensitivity to feel what poured from those stones.
Nature energy radiated from them in waves.
Pure.
Ancient.
Dense enough that the air around them felt subtly heavier.
Kanetsugu, completely unaware of what he was holding, continued speaking cheerfully.
"The brightest stones belong to Jinx-kun of course," he said. "But he requested that I craft two swords from them. One from the finest piece and one from a lesser stone."
He bowed slightly.
"With your permission, of course."
Kikyo and Sadayuki exchanged a look.
They stepped aside quietly to speak in private for a moment.
Kanetsugu waited patiently while Jinx sat nearby with Kon still perched around his neck, the boy calmly watching a moth flutter around one of the lanterns.
After a few minutes, Sadayuki and Kikyo returned.
Sadayuki nodded once.
"You have our permission," he said.
Kanetsugu's face lit up with gratitude.
"Thank you!"
Jinx glanced at his parents briefly, then back to the moth.
Behind him, the lantern light flickered gently against the shrine walls.
And though Kanetsugu believed he had simply found rare ore…
Kikyo and Sadayuki knew better.
Those stones were not ordinary materials.
Something about their son had changed them.