Back in the kitsune realm, Kari and Hailey were trying to give Mason a little advice about what to say to Mason in preparation for his date with Anjelica, which they had planned to be in a few days.
"So, if you go somewhere nice, remember you want to pull her chair out first for her to sit down before you do. It's how she sees you as a gentleman." Kari said.
"Yeah, and remember to close your mouth when you eat little brother. I've seen how you eat sometimes and it's not a pretty sight." Hailey slightly joked while nudging her little brother on the shoulder.
"Oh! And you should also wear something nice, but not too fancy like a suit or anything like that. Also be sure to pay for the...." Kari said before she stopped and noticed Shizen with a kitsune couple before her. They could hear her grandmother saying something and recognized some of the words to be that of a prayer.
The kitsune couple gave their thanks and nodded leaving Lady Shizen's presence as the couple gave a slight bow towards the Harris siblings recognizing them as the heroes of the civil war.
"Grandmother, what were those people doing here?" Kari politely asked as Haley and Mason also looked interested.
"Oh, those two? Just one of the nice couples that live nearby. Every once in a while, a couple comes by and asks me to bless either their unborn child or the child they just had in hopes that they might have a good life." Lady Shizen explained as she then looked down at Mason.
"Your mothers also asked me to bless you after you came along." Lady Shizen said putting her hand on Mason's shoulder.
"They did? Wow, that must've been really lucky for me then." Mason commented.
"What's lucky?" Claudia said as they came over to their kids and Shizen.
"Grandma blessing Mason as a baby." Hailey said to her mothers.
"Oh yes, I remember that. You were such a cute little baby boy too." Mika smiled remembering back at the hospital when Mason was born.
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6 year-old Kari was being shown how to gently hold her new baby brother, Mason, by her mother Claudia. Nearby in the hospital bed, Mika was giving a little smile while her 5 year-old twin children Aaron and Hailey were looking at their new little brother with admiration.
"That's right Kari sweetie, just hold your hand like that, and rest his head on your arm." Claudia instructed Kari as she was liking how she was holding her baby brother and also how cute he was.
"I want to hold him next! I want to hold him next!" Little Hailey excitedly said jumping up and down.
"Hailey, wait your turn, you and Aaron will both get a chance to hold your little brother." Mika said putting a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"He looks like he has your hair momma." Kari said to Claudia seeing Mason's little hair on his head.
"Yes he does, and when he grows up, he'll be as smart as you and your mommy." Claudia said as Mika smiled and chuckled.
"Let's hope so." Mika added.
Claudia then had Hailey sit down and hold Mason since she was so eager to. Claudia reminded her that she had to be very careful as it's not like holding a toy. Hailey, one holding Mason just right looked at him and smiled.
"Is he going to be another tiger like me? Or another fox like Kari and Aaron? I hope he's a tiger." Hailey said.
"Do you mean....if he can change into an animal?" Mika asked her excited daughter.
"Yeah, I want him to be a tiger, then I'll have a baby tiger brother." Hailey said.
"No, I'm sorry sweetie, we think he may just be a normal baby boy." Claudia said to Hailey disappointing her a little bit.
"But....when he gets a little older, you can paint his face to look like a tiger, would you like that?" Mika suggested as Hailey smiled and nodded excitedly.
Finally, Aaron got to hold Mason and was surprisingly a fast learner at how to hold his brother as he only gave a little smile.
"I'm going to protect you, know why? 'Cause I'm a protector, at least I'm training to be, and I'm gonna protect our mommies, our sisters, and especially you." Aaron promised as Mika and Claudia both held each other's hands knowing their son was giving a legitimate promise to his little brother.
Some days later, Mika and Claudia brought their children to the kitsune realm to see Lord Tatsu and Lady Shizen. As they came into the palace, they noticed Fukushu preparing to leave and stopped him briefly to see Mason.
"Is he healthy?" Fukushu asked Mika and Claudia who both nodded in reply.
"Good, make sure he stays that way." Fukushu said as a suggestion leaving to do his own business.
Lady Shizen came over with a large smile on her face seeing not only her three grandchildren, but her newest grandbaby as well.
"Oh Mika, he's....he's so beautiful, I never thought I'd see you with another little one." Lady Shizen said with a delightful sigh.
"Yeah, we didn't either. But we still love him as much as all of our children." Mika said as she noticed Shizen looking lovingly at Mason.
"Shizen, would you like to hold him?" Mika asked as Shizen looked surprised and shook her head.
"Oh, no, no, Mika I'd scare the poor little babe if I held him." Lady Shizen initially declined.
"He's already met my dad, and if an old guy with a can doesn't scare him, then I don't a fox woman would." Mika said gently holding Mason towards Shizen who carefully took a sleeping Mason into her arms as the young baby opened his eyes and saw Shizen and started to grow a little smile on his face.
"Oh, uh...he-he-hello little one. I'm your grandma, it's nice to meet you." Shizen said calmly as baby Mason gave a little giggle at Shizen as she gently rocked him in her arms.
"He certainly is a beautiful baby, here Tatsu, now you..." Shizen said almost handing Mason over to Tatsu.
"Actually, we...we were wondering if you would, bless Mason for us. Mika told me you sometimes do that, so we wondered if you would do that for him." Claudia said as Shizen held Mason close to her face spoke gently towards her new grandson.
"Mason Harris, my beautiful little grandson. May you grow up to be a strong boy, and a stronger man. May our family protect you, as you in turn protect them, may you always have a good heart and be kind to others." Lady Shizen said as she blessed little Mason who gave a smile.
Shizen then handed Mason over to Tatsu who was also happy to see his new grandson. But wasn't so happy when his little diaper started to smell and they all had a good laugh about that.
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"So you're blessing must've really worked on me, huh?" Mason now asked back in the present.
"Well, yes and no Mason. To give a blessing is more like I'm offering a little luck to someone. Remember we all walk our own paths and no one quite knows the paths we take. There are those who do know their paths, like your grandfather, and those that don't, like me. It may surprise you to learn that I didn't always think your grandfather and I would end up together. But in time, I came to see our paths did eventually converge. Then there are those that....sometimes get lost on their path." Shizen said now sitting down with Mason, Kari, and Hailey sitting around her.
"Like Uncle Fukushu was?" Mason asked.
"Yes, just like your uncle was. Sometimes we may not always find the path back on our own. Sometimes we must accept help from others, even when we don't think we need it." Shizen said.
"But do you believe giving blessings can work?" Mason now asked.
"I believe, I want to offer hope to those who sometimes have none. I don't just see you and your siblings as my family, I see many kitsunes in the land as family and everyday I hope that they are guided towards a hopeful path." Shizen said as they looked out towards the nearby village where there were many old and young kitsunes walking together and all of them smiled.