Left alone in his room, with an assumption he would rest, Ren didn't do that at all. As soon as he closed the door, he sat on the ground, then pulled the whole weapon from behind his obi, and then slowly dragged out the katana from the saya.
The blade was completely black, even the edge, which made it appear as if the sword was dull. But upon closer inspection, he was able to notice that it was sharpened. There were also gold engravings on the weapon, signs which he couldn't read.
Curious about how sharp it was, he gently dragged the sleeve of his kimono against it. The steel cut easily through the fabric, prompting him to smile.
‘Those are secret symbols of the blacksmiths of the Noroi clan,’ suddenly the voice of the goddess explained. She was there, in his room, and slowly approached him from behind, sitting right next to him on the ground. ‘Some say it is due to those symbols that the Jujin blades are so special. Others will say it's the mountain where they are forged that makes them so special, but nobody, except the blacksmiths, knows the truth.’
‘Even you?’ Ren raised his eyebrows.
She answered him with a giggle. ‘Silly. I’m a goddess.’
Her reaction irritated him a little, so he focused back on the blade, getting up on his feet to try swinging it around. There was a difference in how it cut through the air. He could feel the strange grace and incredible sharpness, but there was also something else. Something that he couldn't really grasp at first, but then it struck him. There was always a sound when he swung the wooden blade. It could be heard easily. The real katana also produced it, although it was different, but the Jujin didn't have that. It was silent.
The first true indicator of how special his new weapon was, brought a wide smile to his face. He knew the weapon was better from the moment he used it, but that was only based on feeling. Now he had a proof.
‘Are you going to play with your sword the whole day?’ Tsukiko asked, observing him as he practiced the strikes.
‘Yes,’ he answered.
‘Shouldn't you be focusing on something else?’
‘Something else? Like what? I have the sword. This is all I needed.’
‘This is all you need to have a good shot at becoming a candidate. It doesn't mean you will automatically become one. Are you going to bet your wife on a chance? A good chance, but nevertheless a chance.’ The cat stared at him, and the tail swung around as if it had its own mind.
To Ren, it felt slightly taunting.
‘No,’ he said firmly.
‘Then you know what your next step should be, don't you?’ Tsukiko asked.
‘Maken,’ he answered. ‘How can I make one? I have the sword, shouldn't it be easy from this point forward.’
‘Go ask the old man. He knows,’ she replied before getting up on her feet and then leisurely approaching the open window to jump through and vanish.
Ren observed her, pausing his practice. ‘I'll ask him during lunch,’ he thought before returning to swinging the weapon around.
He passed the time repeating the forms, strikes, movements, and ways to defend which Satoru had taught him. The shoulder hurt a little, but he decided to ignore it, knowing that his body would regenerate by the next day without an issue.
Then, as the time felt right, he stopped and came outside. The instinct was right, as he saw Ayako walking through the corridor with a tray in her hands. It was covered by food contained in bowls. She smiled at him. "The food is ready," she said.
Ren nodded and followed her to the dining room, where Satoru already waited, sitting by the table.
"Here he is," the old man said, as a grin curved his lips. "Our soon-to-be candidate," he chuckled.
"Yes," Ren agreed, sitting down.
As Ayako placed the dishes on the table, he decided to ask the important question.
"When you told me before about Jujin swords, you also mentioned trapping spirits or ghosts in the weapon. How can I do that?"
The old man replied with a nod at first. "I see... I see what goes through your mind. Yes, I did mention that. To transform the Jujin into Maken, you need to either trap a ghost or a spirit in the blade. It's not easy, as it requires a proper ritual. I never learned one, since I never had a Jujin, but Haruki did, so I know who can teach you. That person will also tell you other things you should know about this process. Let's eat first, and then go."
"Yes," Ren smiled, grabbing his chopsticks from the table to dig in.
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As the meal finished, the two of them left the house. The old man immediately pulled out his pipe to have a smoke along the way. Due to this, he didn't speak. His adopted son also didn't say a word, wondering how hard the process of making Maken could be.
To him, it felt as if he had the worst part behind, him since he already got the sword, overcoming an impossible trial.
'How hard could it be?' he kept asking himself as ideas passed through his mind. Due to this, he didn't really register the streets they crossed on their way and also the changes to the layout of the city. The houses became sparser and sparser until they entered a square with only a single, but surprisingly huge structure in the center.
It looked very traditional with black tiles covering the roofs. The wooden beams supported the construction, and there were many entrances, with a lot of people walking around the long porch surrounding the structure.
The entrance they seemingly headed toward was bigger than any other, and it had an archway above. Slightly on the side of it, a bell hung, and right behind it, a staircase led up the porch. Satoru stopped to ring that bell before approaching the stairs, only to take his shoes off before he climbed up. Ren, noticing that detail, did the same before following.
As they approached the door, it slid open, revealing a teenage girl with long, straight hair. She had bangs ending right below her eyebrows and was wearing a ghostly white kimono. She bowed politely, prompting both of them to respond in the same way.
"Yes?" she asked simply.
"We are looking to speak with a saiin," Satoru stated.
"Please wait," she responded, then slid the door closed and vanished.
They had to wait quite a moment before those doors opened once again. This time, though, a different woman opened them.
She had long, black hair as well, with an identical hairstyle, making her bangs almost obscure her big brown eyes. That wasn't the only big thing she had, as her massive breasts were practically coming out from under the tar-black kimono. She clearly tried to contain them by tightly wrapping an equally black obi around her surprisingly small waist, which only underlined her ridiculously hourglass figure and further pushed up her assets, creating a nice cleavage.
"Saiin, at your service," she bowed. "How can I help you?"
"My name is Satoru, and this is my son Ren. He is looking to learn an exorcism to transform his Jujin into Maken," the old man explained.
"My name is Reiko, Noroi Reiko," she bowed again. Then, as she returned to her normal posture, her gaze switched to Ren. "Please show me your Jujin."
He blushed, as his agitated mind already turned to dirty thoughts. 'Oh trust me, I would show you.' But despite the dirty thoughts, he pulled the weapon from behind his obi and gave it to her.
She took it with both hands as if it was an unimaginable treasure. Then her grip switched, and she slightly pulled out the blade, staring at it for a moment, only to push it back into the saya and return in the same polite manner. "Please follow me," she said.
Ren nodded, taking the sword from her, and stepped inside, as she made enough room so he could enter, but she didn't go any further, instead sliding the door closed.
"I'll wait at home!" the old man shouted, then he left.
The shinshoku guided Ren through the first room into the corridor. It was empty, but the one they ended up in wasn't. The walls were covered with paper talismans, and on the floor was a small table placed between two pillows.
She knelt on the one closer to the back wall and looked at him. "Please close the door and sit with me," she instructed.
He followed those instructions, soon joining her.
"There are several ways to trap a ghost or a spirit," she began explaining.
"Wait… What's the difference? Between a spirit and a ghost, I mean?" He asked, interrupting her.
He couldn't even see as her eyebrows rose underneath her bangs indicating surprise, but nevertheless, she provided an answer. "Spirits belong to animals or elements, while ghosts are the souls of dead people who haunt the living."
"Oh… Now I understand," he let out an awkward chuckle.
She measured him with her gaze in response. It took her a moment to resume talking as if she wished to ensure there wouldn't be any more interruptions, but eventually, she did.
"There are several ways to trap a ghost or a spirit. The easiest one is to persuade it to your cause and enter your Jujin willingly. You can also use talisman seals, connected into a circle with salt. Depending on the strength of the spirit, you might need to use a higher amount of them, but usually, we prepare at least three. Then there is a chant I can teach you. If you complete it in the presence of the ghost, it will become weak, and you can use a different chant to lure it into your blade, but you can't lose your focus during chanting. It might sound easy, but with the presence of a ghost or a spirit around you, it won't be. Moreover, the number of chants you need to perform depends on how long the spirit has been present in the particular area, so it is wise to do some research first. The other methods are stronger but also more complicated. It would take years to train them. If you fail, a good idea is to have a mirror with you. If the spirit is vengeful or the ghost is evil, it might become scared of itself when it sees its reflection in the mirror. It will then scream so horribly that your ears will bleed, but it will also run away to enter an object it feels connected to. For example, if it's a fire spirit, it might possess the embers of a nearby fireplace."
She went silent as she finished speaking, instead reaching under the table. She pulled out several paper talismans densely covered in signs painted with black ink.
"Those are the talismans we use. One costs two Gin, so it's six for three. If you didn't bring money today, feel free to return it later. We have many talismans prepared to offer."
"N-no, I didn't bring any. I'll come back later with some… Could you teach me those chants?" He stuttered as the mention of currency surprised him quite a bit, and he felt embarrassed thinking that it all could be free.
"The chant of weakening is 'shinrei no chikara o yowame, ga ni kuppuku seshimen.' The chant to trap the spirit is 'ken ni fūji, eien no shukumei to naran.'"
"W-wait! Can you repeat that? Slower, please…"
She sighed, then began repeating. Over and over again until he got every word and was able to say it all. It took almost an hour of practice, as after remembering the first chant, he switched to trying to learn the second one and ended up forgetting what he learned.
She bore it with surprising patience. She seemed annoyed throughout the whole time but didn't complain at all.
A bit tired from this whole process, Ren finally left the temple heading straight home.
'Shinrei no chikara o yowame, ga ni kuppuku seshimen,' he repeated the first chant in his mind, only to take a few breaths' worth of a pause, and repeat the other one. 'Ken ni fūji, eien no shukumei to naran.'
Like that, he finally reached the house of Satoru and Ayako where a nice dinner awaited for him.