Kanaka arrived to find Junkojuro gently rearranging the branches of a bush with a few light pokes and prods; he avoided cutting the foliage whenever possible, and even then did so sparingly. He turned and smiled at the curious greeting, and noted the air of uncertainty in her voice. Good, that meant that she had not been suspicious of him up until this point. "People on this estate typically call me Kojuro-san. I would appreciate it if you called me such in the presence of others, but for now you may call me by my true name: Junkojuro." The fox spirit's voice was smooth and tranquil, matching the calm and welcoming expression on his face. "Am I correct in assuming that you are Mitsumine-sama's sister, Kanaka-san was it?"

The priestess that stood before him was young indeed; the spirits that wandered the woods would get an unpleasant surprise if the judged her by her looks alone. The level of control that she exhibited in her message was well beyond what most mortals her age could achieve, and there was not the slightest flicker of fear emanating from her despite knowing the Hakuro girl's identity and now standing before an old fox. Judging by the amount of spiritual wards that protected shrines from Youkai, he had expected at least some degree of apprehension from the girl, but he detected none. Was she hiding it? Was she confident that she could exorcise him if she needed to? Or was she genuinely at ease around him. "Well, I don't suppose we'll be needing these anymore," he said, and with a wave of his hand the wisps vanished. "Now, if you'll pardon the strangeness of my question, would you be so kind as to tell me what you see standing before you?" Just how good was her sight? Would she only be able to discern that he was a fox and little else, or would she truly be able to see just how long he had walked the earth?