After recovering from his brief shock, the little silver fox scrambled back onto his feet. He shook his fur out, hastily adjusting his posture to reclaim his "serious sage" persona.
"Kuhum!" Kon cleared his throat loudly, desperate to wrangle the atmosphere back on track. "Anyway! Now that your spiritual power has been awakened, you naturally need to learn how to train it to increase its volume and capacity."
He shot Ren a pointed look, silently praying the boy would quickly forget his undignified shrieking from moments ago.
Hearing this, Ren quickly shook off his lingering shyness from the fox's praise. He straightened his spine and shifted into a formal kneeling position on the bed, resting his hands neatly on his knees like a perfectly studious disciple.
"Hai! Sensei, how should we go about this?" Ren addressed the fox, a playful glint in his eye as he addresses jokingly.
Hearing the respectful title, Kon nodded sagely. He narrowed his golden eyes into pleased slits, puffing his chest out once more as he looked immensely satisfied with his highly teachable student.
"First, you must understand how a soul actually grows," Kon began, pacing from the side like a tiny professor. "The soul can be nourished in various ways, such as feeling deep satisfaction or accomplishing a goal. But these methods are inconsistent. The satisfaction of completing a simple chore cannot compare to the catharsis of revenge. The mild achievement of finishing a book pale in comparison to the triumph of winning a gruelling competition. These experiences do feed the soul, yes, but relying on them alone is far too unpredictable."
He waved a paw dismissively. "Then, there is deep meditation. It is simpler than hunting for grand achievements, but it is incredibly slow. You must maintain a constant, perfectly calm mind to slowly temper your soul. It is a very mild method. Of course, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are extreme methods like fighting in life-or-death battles where your soul is forced to expand simply to survive."
Kon stopped pacing and looked Ren dead in the eye. "What I am trying to convey is that while there are countless ways to grow a soul, centuries of trial and error by ancient sages have yielded one supreme, most efficient method. And that is..."
Kon paused, milking the moment for all the dramatic flair he could muster. Ren, listening with rapt concentration, hitched his breath in anticipation.
"Discipline," Kon intoned deeply.
"Eh?" Ren let out a deeply puzzled sound. "That's it? That sounds so easy."
"Hmph! Hmph! What do you know about true discipline?" Kon huffed, crossing his front paws. He shook his head, feigning deep, theatrical disappointment at his student's shallowness.
"Listen closely! Discipline might sound simple when applied to mundane chores, but the discipline I am talking about has distinct stages. In fact, it perfectly incorporates all the methods of soul-growth I mentioned earlier."
Kon leaned forward, his golden eyes sharp. "For example, let us say you love calligraphy, and you practice it for a few hours every day. You set a specific goal for yourself. Upon completing it, you gain the deep satisfaction of a hard-earned accomplishment. Then, as you practice day after day, your muscle memory takes over. The physical act becomes second nature, allowing you to completely empty your thoughts, naturally achieving a state of deep meditation!"
Hearing this, Ren was suddenly enlightened. "Ohhh. So that's how it is."
"Then, Sensei!" Ren raised his hand high in the air like a perfect, eager student.
Seeing this, Kon paused his pacing. He tilted his furry head, silently indicating for Ren to speak.
"What if I don't have anything I like doing for long periods of time?" Ren asked.
At this, Kon placed his paws behind his back and turned away from Ren, staring at the wall in a profoundly wise manner. "Hmph! Of course, the ancient sages accounted for this exact problem."
Then, puffing his chest out, Kon delivered the answer with absolute, shameless pride. "You just do it until you like it!"
"Ah." Imaginary black lines dropped over Ren's head at that utterly useless answer.
"Alright, alright! Enough talking. Now, choose something you like to do," Kon said impatiently, waving a paw to move the lesson along.
"Ah? Right now? What about all the actual techniques for using spiritual power?" Ren asked, thoroughly bewildered.
Kon flinched. He suddenly realized he had completely skipped over the most crucial part of the lesson. The sheer, world-shattering shock of Ren casually emitting raw spiritual power earlier had completely scrambled his brain.
"Hehe! I forgot about that." Kon tapped himself lightly on the head with a paw and stuck out his tongue in a painfully cute, exaggerated manner.
"Forgot my ass!" Ren shouted, his polite 'student' act vanishing instantly.
The fact that his shikigami had almost glossed over the actual magic part of his training nearly angered him to death. Knowing this stupid fox, if Ren hadn't specifically brought it up, Kon probably would have never mentioned it!
"Hehe... well... I don't actually know how human Onmyōji use their spiritual power either," Kon admitted, shrinking back sheepishly.
"Whaaaaaaat?!" Ren shrieked in absolute disbelief. "So, all that grand talk about communicating with gods was for nothing?! Then how am I supposed to go pew pew?!"
"Ah, well... why don't you learn the yōkai way of using spiritual power? Haha..." Kon laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek. "Or! Or you could learn swordsmanship! Your mom was incredibly good at it! Haha..."
Kon kept rambling, trying to smooth over his mistake. "You can even use a sword to channel spiritual energy, just like some Onmyōji do! With your mother's genes, you'd probably be a natural at it."
Hearing that word, Ren's burning temper cooled instantly. The anger washed right out of him, leaving a hollow ache in its place. "Mom...?" he repeated, his voice dropping to a sad whisper.
Kon's ears immediately flattened against his head as he realized he had just leaped directly onto a massive emotional landmine.
"A-ah! I mean—wait! How about I just teach you those yōkai techniques right now?!" Kon stammered, his words tumbling out as he frantically waved his little paws in the air. "They're super powerful! I promise! You can weave massive illusions, or... or sense things from miles away! Very impressive, right?! Much better than swords! You don't need swords! Forget I said anything!"
"Sniff..." Ren's lower lip trembled as tears rapidly welled up in his eyes.
"Ah, wait, wait! Don't cry! Please don't cry!" Kon panicked, hurriedly jumping onto Ren's lap and pawing at the boy's knees in a desperate attempt to comfort him.
"Uuu... uuuuuuu..." Ren began to cry. The sound came out in soft, ghostly sobs that seemed to echo the deep emptiness in his heart.
"Uh... sigh..." Realizing his clumsy, flustered words couldn't fix this, Kon gave up his frantic pacing. He slumped down onto Ren's lap, his tail drooping as he let out a long, empathetic sigh of his own.
The melancholic atmosphere settled heavily over the room for a long while. Eventually, the ghostly sobs quieted down. Ren fiercely rubbed his red eyes with the back of his hand, while Kon gently patted the boy's leg in silent support.
"Sniff... Kon," Ren addressed his shikigami, his voice thick but steady.
"Hm?" the little fox looked up.
"I want to learn swordsmanship," Ren muttered, a new, profound determination cutting through his lingering grief. If he learned her art, maybe... just maybe, he could feel a little closer to his mother.
**********
"Um... so, Kon... do you actually know how to use a sword?" Ren asked meekly, his cheeks still burning slightly from his crying fit.
"Huh? Don't you just swing it? Like, swish, swish?" Kon replied dumbly, waving his little front paws through the air in mock sword strikes.
"Ah. Um..." Ren sighed. He really should have realized by now that his ancient, supposedly all-powerful shikigami was actually completely unreliable.
"Besides, before you learn swordsmanship, shouldn't you get a sword first?" Kon pointed out.
Realizing this glaring flaw in his plan, Ren clutched his head in sudden apprehension. "Ahhhh! That means I have to ask the servants for a wooden sword!"
Ren was genuinely terrified of the Ritsuzen estate staff. Serving such a strict, unforgiving clan meant the servants underwent intense training that scrubbed away their humanity. They were entirely numb, moving through the halls with faces as stone-cold as the Ritsuzen elders themselves.
Having Kon's warm, expressive presence around only highlighted how terrifying the estate staff truly were. Their cold, robotic handling of him since birth had left a lingering trauma in his heart. In truth, almost every child born into the Ritsuzen clan grew up with a deep-seated fear of those silent, emotionless servants.
**********
Outside his room, Ren shuffled down the long hallway, Kon perched comfortably on his shoulder. Ren's own shoulders were slouched in deep reluctance as he dragged his feet, making his way toward the staff quarters or at least hoping he would bump into an estate servant before he actually had to go inside.
The walk was completely quiet until the sharp click-clack of footsteps echoed sharply against the marbled floor.
Ren raised his head slightly to peek, then immediately snapped his gaze downward, dropping into a stiff, respectful bow.
It was one of the Ritsuzen elders. Though he was only a middle-aged man, perhaps around forty years old, he carried the heavy, imposing presence of a much older man. He wore a high-collared black robe lined with intricate golden trimmings. Thin, prematurely silver-grey hair framed the sides of his slightly wrinkled face, a face that looked as stern, cold, and unforgiving as carved stone. His pitch-black eyes, utterly devoid of warmth, seemed to absorb the light in the hallway as they flicked in Ren's direction.
Ren was about to hurry past when a stern, chilling voice cut through the silence of the hall. "Ritsuzen Ren."
Hearing his full name, Ren froze in his tracks. He tilted his head upward, his eyes wide with confusion as he met the elder's pitch-black gaze. On his shoulder, Kon's tiny body immediately tightened, the fox's instincts flaring with sudden wariness.
"Um... yes? Elder, what can I do for you?" Ren answered meekly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Hm. I learned of what happened in the woods earlier," the elder said, staring at Ren deeply. "My son was at fault. For that, I apologize."
"Ah, um..." Ren was startled by the completely unexpected apology. 'So, this is Riku's father?' he thought, his wariness fading just a fraction. "I-it's okay," Ren replied quickly. "I don't really mind."
"Hm. Good," Ritsuzen Gensai intoned. Then, his voice sharpened into a cold blade. "I heard of your little feat just now. It was impressive. I never thought an inferior could outwit a legitimate son of the main family. Clearly, his training is still lacking."
Ren's eyes widened at the sudden, biting insult. On his shoulder, Kon bristled fiercely, his silver fur standing on end as he bared his teeth. "You—!"
Gensai's pitch-black eyes flicked casually toward the shikigami. "A mutt should not speak when its betters are conversing," he whispered.
Without a single incantation, or even a shift in his posture, a massive, invisible force slammed into the space around Ren's shoulder.
"Gah—!"
The sheer, brute-force weight of Gensai's mana swatted Kon like a fly. The little fox crashed violently against the marble wall and slid to the floor, falling into a lifeless slump.
"KON!" Ren screamed, dropping to his knees. He hurriedly scooped the tiny, unconscious fox into his hands, his heart hammering with frantic worry.
Gensai watched the pathetic display coldly, utterly unconcerned by the violence he had just casually inflicted.
"YOU!" Ren snapped his head around, glaring fiercely at the elder, his earlier fear momentarily eclipsed by rage.
Unbothered by a child's anger, Ritsuzen Gensai simply turned his back and resumed walking. His footsteps began to click-clack down the hall once more, but he left one final sentence hanging in the chilling air.
"One month from now, you and Riku will have a formal match."
Clearly, Gensai was not as "apologetic" as he claimed. To the elder, it was perfectly natural for a legitimate heir like Ritsuzen Kaguya to step on a lesser clan member. But for an outcast like Ren to humiliate a true son of the Ritsuzen? That was a stain on his pride that had to be publicly washed away.
Left helpless on the cold floor with Kon unconscious in his arms, Ren clenched his free hand into a trembling fist. His knuckles turned stark white. He bit his lower lip so hard he tasted copper, a storm of unwillingness and fury raging inside him. Hot tears pricked the corners of his eyes, but Ren glared at the elder's retreating back, refusing to let a single drop fall in front of him.