Akiko’s breathing steadily returned to normal, and her blood stopped pounding in her ears. There was still a dull roar in the background, and Akiko realised that it was the sound of falling rain. She picked up her yukata and pulled it on, belting it shut as she went over to the door.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she pulled the door open. “Nightmare.” Shiraishi was also wearing a yukata, and looking rather dishevelled.

“Just a nightmare?” the priest asked, and Akiko shook her head.

“I think it was a message from Tamao. We should check the shrine grounds.” As she left her bedroom, Akiko realised that she could still smell the stench that had come with the creatures in the dream, and she shuddered. The smell got stronger as they approached the front door, and Akiko found herself hanging back. Shiraishi reached for the door, and Akiko couldn’t contain it any longer.

“Be careful!” she yelped. Shiraishi looked back, her face quizzical, and let her hand drop.

“Do you think it might be dangerous?”

Akiko took a deep breath, coughing slightly on the stench.

“Do you smell that?”

The priest nodded.

“I’m not sure I want to find out what it is, but it doesn’t smell dangerous.”

“In the dream…” Akiko didn’t want to go into details. “Just a moment.” She ducked into the office, where the rain was pounding on the windows, largely obscuring the shrine beyond, and picked up the kagurasuzu. Holding it up, she went back to join Shiraishi. “OK. Open the door.”

Akiko braced herself as the priest slid the door open, but nothing attacked.

“Oh, shit,” Shiraishi said, with feeling. It took another couple of moments for Akiko to focus on the mundane features of the scene, and understand the reason for the smell.

It was shit, quite literally, along with rotten food and other kitchen waste, and even, she saw, a few corpses of dead rats and birds. The rubbish was scattered across the precincts, even on the iwakura itself, but not right up to the house. There was a low rumble of thunder, and Akiko had no doubt that the rain was the result of the kami’s anger.

The priest turned to look at Akiko.

“How bad is the kegare?”

Akiko didn’t want to look, but she knew the priest was right; they needed to know. Steeling herself, she switched her vision.

The black vines from the dream were spreading across the precincts, their tendrils reaching out, probing, falling back. They were wrapped around the stones of the iwakura, reaching into the sky as if there was something just out of their reach. Akiko involuntarily took a step backwards, and, as she noticed some things moving in between the vines, let her vision switch back to normal.

“It’s bad. Really bad. Like in the nightmare.” She felt herself shudder again, and tried to get a grip on herself. The vines weren’t physically real; they couldn’t actually grab her.

“No surprise, really.” Shiraishi turned back to look at the mess. “We have to clean this up. No point trying to perform a harae with that much obvious pollution. No point doing any other ceremonies until we have.” She paused to look at the scale of the task, and Akiko also forced herself to look.

There was a lot of rubbish.

“It’s going to take all day,” Akiko said, with resignation. Shiraishi nodded.

“I don’t suppose you could convince Tamao to stop raining while we do it?” she asked. Akiko shook her head.

“He’ll probably stop once the shrine is clean again.”

“Of course. Just as we finish.” The priest sighed. “Oh well, we’d best get changed and get started. The shrine won’t clean itself.”

06: Wild Festival, Episode 38 | 8 Comments »

Despite her raincoat, Akiko could feel the rain water seeping into her clothes almost as soon as they stepped outside. It was warm, as well, and very humid, so she soon started to sweat. When she went to the entrance, however, she noticed the first benefit of the rain. There were no protesters. No guards, either.

“Revd Shiraishi, there’s no-one here,” she called. The priest came over to look.

“Well, I’m not surprised that the protesters went home. I mean, who would come to the shrine in this…” Shiraishi fell silent as a figure appeared at the bottom of the steps, hidden below a Japanese-style umbrella, and carefully began climbing, wary of the rain-slick stone. Akiko caught a glimpse of kimono, but it really couldn’t be anyone other than Ms Yamanaka.

She stopped at the top of the steps, shock on her face as she looked at the mess in the precincts, for a moment even forgetting to greet Shiraishi.

“Good morning,” she said, when she pulled herself together. “What happened?”

“What does it look like? Someone decided to pollute our shrine, in quite a concrete way.” Shiraishi sounded very annoyed.

“But what about the guards?” Ms Yamanaka sounded genuinely puzzled.

“Good question. I thought you might know.”

Ms Yamanaka shook her head.

“Could I stand under the porch while I make some calls?”

“Go ahead.”

Ms Yamanaka got her cell phone out of her bag, and as she began making phone calls, Akiko and Shiraishi started clearing up.

The rain was turning the ground to mud, making it harder to pick the rubbish up, but, on the bright side, it was washing the shit away, so they didn’t have to deal with that directly. For a moment, Akiko wondered whether Tamao knew what he was doing, but she quickly dismissed the thought. He was just being petulant and moody, as usual.

A few moments later, Ms Yamanaka came over, her expression concerned and apologetic.

“I can’t get through to anyone, so I’ve got no idea where they are. But… Can I help you clean up?”

Shiraishi straightened up and looked at her, obviously considering the offer. Akiko was willing her to say “yes”; any help to get this finished faster would be good.

“Yes, please. There is a lot to clear up.”

Ms Yamanaka smiled, and then suddenly blushed, embarrassed about something.

“Ah… Could I borrow some clothes? This kimono isn’t really appropriate.” Looking at her, Akiko had to agree. She didn’t know much about kimonos, but the one that Ms Yamanaka was wearing looked really nice, as always. Briefly, Akiko wondered just how rich the other woman was. Shiraishi looked at her, and then at Akiko.

“She’s nearer your size. Have you got anything?”

“Oh,” Akiko was briefly surprised, “yes, yes, no problem. Just jeans and a top, though.”

“That’s fine.”

“Well, come with me.”

As they entered the shrine house, shaking off as much water as possible, Akiko realised that Ms Yamanaka still looked rather embarrassed.

“Ah…” she began. “Could I, this is going to sound strange, could I borrow some underwear as well? Japanese style underwear won’t really work with jeans.”

“Underwear?” Akiko thought about it for a moment; it was odd, but they’d wash it afterwards, and they could really do with the help. “I suppose so. This way, Ms Yamanaka.”

“Thank you. I’m really sorry to cause this trouble.”

Akiko led the way back into the house, while the rain continued to hammer on the roof and windows.

06: Wild Festival, Episode 38 | 2 Comments »

The rain never quite stopped, although it did get lighter at times. Despite the waterproofs, Akiko was soaked to the skin before mid-morning, and by lunchtime she was really looking forward to getting out of the sodden clothes, taking a bath, and changing into a nice, dry yukata. When she caught herself constructing an elaborate fantasy around it, she decided it was time to eat, and suggested it to the other two.

Shiraishi ordered in packed lunches for everyone, and they sat on the step of the shrine house, under the porch roof, to eat them. The rain got heavier while they ate, Tamao doubtless complaining about them slacking off. It was true that, at first glance, they didn’t seem to have made much progress, but when Akiko looked carefully around the grounds, she could see the areas they had cleared, and it was clear that they would finish.

The presence of Ms Yamanaka stopped Shiraishi and Akiko talking much about what the kami might do in response to this, but she had kept trying to make conversation through the morning, and over lunch it finally started to flow easily.

“I only moved here a few months ago,” Ms Yamanaka said, in answer to Shiraishi’s question about her links to the shrine. “My family is from Kyoto. We’ve known the Fujimuras for, er, centuries,” she paused and smiled, a little embarrassed, “and Mr Fujimura was good enough to introduce me to some places round here, like your shrine.”

It turned out that Ms Yamanaka, Noriko, taught kimono, calligraphy, flower arranging, and tea ceremony, and she’d moved to the Tokyo area because there was more demand for teachers there.

“Everyone in Kyoto can already do them,” she said, laughing.

The rain eased off a bit as they started work again — Tamao pleased to see them back at it, presumably — and Akiko found herself daydreaming about the bath and the yukata again, when she wasn’t chatting with Noriko or Shiraishi.

Her reveries were interrupted by the splashing sounds of someone running up the steps in the rain.

“Oooh, whiffy!” Akiko didn’t even need to look round.

“Good afternoon, Ms Miura,” she said, as she turned to face her. Kazumi wasn’t even wearing a raincoat, and water was dripping from her school uniform, her skirt plastered to the trousers, which in turn hung close to her legs. “Shouldn’t you have a coat on?” Kazumi shrugged.

“Doesn’t make much difference in this weather. And it’s not like it’s cold. Anyway, what happened?”

“Someone threw rubbish into the shrine. We’re trying to clean up.”

“Yuck! Can I help?”

“Er…” For a moment, Akiko was caught by surprise, but it was still true that they wanted as much help as possible. “Yes, certainly. Thank you.”

Kazumi was enthusiastic, and the extra pair of hands made the last bit of the cleaning seem to go very quickly. Once the physical contamination was cleared, and the bags taken outside the shrine grounds, Shiraishi started preparing for the harae.

“We aren’t finished?” Kazumi asked, and Akiko shook her head.

“We have to cleanse the spiritual impurities as well,” she explained, and was a bit surprised when Kazumi nodded again.

“Oh, like you did in… for me, before. Right. Won’t the paper shaker thing get all wet?”

“The ohnusa? Yes, but it’s easy to make another one.” As Akiko said that, Shiraishi came out, still in her working clothes but carrying the ohnusa. Akiko’s surprise must have shown on her face, because Shiraishi smiled wryly at her.

“If Tamao wants a harae in full vestments, he can wait until after I have a bath.”

Akiko smiled back. She obviously wasn’t the only one who had been thinking along those lines.

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The harae finished, Akiko risked looking at the kegare. For a moment, she wondered if she had actually managed to shift, because everything looked clean, but then she walked over to the entrance to look outside, and saw the pollution hanging heavy over the street. She looked back at Shiraishi, and smiled, nodding.

“Did someone say something about a bath?” It was Kazumi, and Akiko only barely suppressed a laugh.

“Yes, I did,” Shiraishi said. “You’re very welcome to borrow the bath here if you want to, before you go. Thank you for all your help.”

“Great!” Then Kazumi looked around, and her face fell. “I bet I get to go last, right? Youngest and all that.”

“The bath’s huge,” Akiko said. “We can all go in together.”

“Really?” Noriko looked a bit surprised. Shiraishi also looked rather surprised, and was blushing, maybe because she hadn’t thought of it.

“Oh yes,” Akiko said. “Bigger than some onsens I’ve been to.”

“Yay! Bath!” Kazumi was already making her way to the entrance hall, where she was standing dripping on the floor when the others joined her, looking at the tatami corridor leading inside.

“The bathroom is down there,” Akiko said, pointing. Kazumi nodded, and started pulling her clothes off. Akiko heard Shiraishi’s sharp intake of breath, followed by the crash of the door being slammed shut behind them. “Ms Miura, what…” Akiko began.

“Don’t want to drip on the tatami,” she said, pausing, water running from the blouse she was holding in one hand.

“That’s… actually a good point,” Noriko said. “It’s better if it doesn’t get too wet. And actually,” she giggled a little, slightly awkwardly, “I suppose it doesn’t really make any difference where we get undressed if we’re going in together.”

“Right!” Kazumi continued stripping, and was standing naked in the hallway before Akiko had fully processed the idea. It did actually make sense, she had to admit, but still…

“The bath is ready, isn’t it?” Kazumi asked, sounding slightly worried.

Akiko laughed, and that broke her tension, so she started peeling her clothes off, feeling better as each bit of sodden cloth came off.

“You should have asked that a bit earlier! But yes, it is. Far too expensive to empty it.” Noriko had also started undressing, but Shiraishi was still fiddling with her top. “Fourth door on the left; the one that’s a door, not a sliding panel.”

“Ha! I get to go first!” Kazumi scampered off down the corridor, disappearing into the bathroom.

“Girls today!” Noriko said, her voice amused. Akiko grinned at her, and shook her head.

“I think it’s just her.” She dropped the last of her clothes on the pile, and headed into the house, quickly followed by Noriko. As they entered the bathroom, the older woman drew a sudden breath.

“Wow.”

Akiko nodded, remembering her initial reaction.

“Shiraishi says that there used to actually be a hot spring here, which is why the house has such a large bath.”

“Not now, though?”

“No, unfortunately.”

“Still feels great!” Kazumi was submerged in the bath up to her neck, her hands occasionally breaking the surface as she relaxed. Akiko fought down an urge to ask her whether she had washed properly. You are not her mother, she told herself sternly, as she went to shower.

She had almost finished showering before Shiraishi came in, and the priest didn’t join in the conversation in the bath, much of which revolved around Kazumi’s complete ignorance of the subjects Noriko taught. Akiko tried not to reveal that her ignorance was almost as extensive.

Outside, the rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds.

06: Wild Festival, Episode 38 | 5 Comments »

Akiko sat in her room, enjoying being warm and dry. She heard the doorbell ring, but ignored it; Shiraishi was dealing with visitors at the moment.

“Akiko? It’s Akira Takenaka. He said you have a date…”

Akiko sprang to her feet.

“Oh, no. I mean yes. I forgot! Er, tell him to wait a few minutes… Wait, a date? No, never mind…” She was already looking through her clothes, and when she looked up she realised that Shiraishi had already gone.

One advantage of being just out of the bath was that it only took her a few minutes to get ready to leave.

Date? she thought, as she checked her hair in the mirror. Well, I suppose it’s something like that.

Akira had, it was clear, taken some trouble over his clothes, and he cut Akiko off when she started to apologise, smiling.

“That’s OK. Women are allowed to be late. And Revd Shiraishi told me about what happened; you should have called me.”

“Oh… yes. Actually, you’re right, we should.”

“What happened to the guards?”

Akiko shrugged, as she put her shoes on.

“We don’t know. Even Ms Yamanaka didn’t know, although she stayed to help us clean up.”

“Oh.” Akira paused for a moment, and his voice was much brighter when he continued. “Well, shall we go?”

The restaurant was, Akiko had to admit, very nice. Akira insisted he was paying, and, looking at the prices, Akiko was glad he had said that, and willing to let him do so.

By unspoken agreement, they avoided the topic of the strange events at the shrine, instead talking about current events, television, and Akira’s company. Business was going well, he said, with more work coming in as jobs finished. They were, it seemed, basically back to where they had been before Wakabayashi started putting pressure on them.

“What happened to him?” Akiko asked.

“Nothing, I think,” Akira didn’t sound happy about that, and Akiko, realising that they had drifted on to unpleasant topics, was about to change the subject when he continued. “He’s keeping a much lower profile than before though; his company has stopped throwing its weight around. They’ve not approached us, though. And, of course, we wouldn’t work for them if they did.” Akira was very serious, his face dark, and as he finished he took a deep breath, and then a mouthful of wine, before continuing in a lighter tone. “How’s your food?”

“It’s very good…” Akiko started, as she glanced down at her plate.

Worms writhed in among the strands of pasta, and there were toadstools growing up from the plate, around which smaller creatures were crawling. The smell of rot hit her suddenly, and she looked up to see large cockroaches crawling over the walls and ceiling of the restaurant, dropping off onto the diners, scurrying over Akira, down inside his clothes.

“Akiko, are you all…” Akira sounded concerned, but he didn’t seem to have noticed anything.

It’s just the kegare, Akiko told herself. There aren’t really any worms. She looked down again, but the plate still looked the same, and she could feel her gorge rising as her stomach started to heave. Shaking her head, she bolted for the toilets.

06: Wild Festival, Episode 38 | 5 Comments »

“I’m really sorry,” Akiko said, for the hundredth time, as the car got near to the shrine.

“No, really, it’s OK,” Akira assured her, and he certainly sounded genuine. “I wouldn’t have been able to stay if I’d seen that, either.”

Akiko nodded, looking out of the window, avoiding eye contact. Would he just think it was an excuse? Don’t be silly, she told herself. Akira knows enough about what’s going on now.

“Maybe next time we should purify the restaurant before we eat,” he suggested, his tone suggesting that he was trying to make a joke, so Akiko turned back to him and smiled, but her heart wasn’t in it. Maybe he was right. Maybe they really needed to purify anywhere they went to eat.

As the shrine entrance came into view, Akiko could see that the protesters, and the guards, were back.

“Are you sure you’re OK?” Akira asked, and Akiko knew that he wasn’t asking about the restaurant anymore.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.”

“OK. Well, I really enjoyed most of the evening. We should do it again some time.”

“Yes…” Akiko realised that she wasn’t paying attention to Akira, and that she was being rude, so she turned back and smiled. “I enjoyed the bits you were responsible for, and the bad bits weren’t your fault.” Akira suddenly laughed.

“Very precise, Ms Tanahata.”

“Ms Tanahata?” Akiko was smiling genuinely now.

“OK. Akiko. Very precise. Anyway, see you soon.”

“See you.” Akiko stood at the base of the steps and waved to Akira as the car turned the corner, then sighed and turned to the entrance.

The protesters and guards were just watching her, saying nothing, so she decided to ignore them. As she approached, her vision suddenly slipped again, just like in the restaurant, and she could see that the protesters were heavy with kegare, in many different forms, while the guards were largely clean, just a few bits clinging on to them. She forced herself to look away from the protesters as she felt nausea rise again, and nodded curtly to the guards as she went past, up the steps.

At the top of the steps, she glanced around, and gasped. There were small patches of kegare around the edge of the shrine grounds, one of them, near the entrance, like a ball of centipedes crawling in, out, and over, one occasionally making a foray towards the iwakura, before turning back as if something was unpleasant.

Inside the shrine, Akiko thought, and hurried to the office.

“Revd Shiraishi, we… Oh.”

Shiraishi wasn’t in the office. Instead, Kazumi was sitting there, still in one of their yukata, reading the leaflet about the history of the shrine.

“Oh, welcome back. Revd Shiraishi had to go to do someone’s house.”

“Do? Oh, a harae. But…”

“My clothes were still wet.” Kazumi gestured vaguely back towards the shrine house. “Revd Shiraishi said I could wait here until they dried out.” She smiled, in a way that Akiko could only describe as naughty, and said “I feel quite like a miko.”

“Hmm. Well, thank you for keeping an eye on things.”

“Oh, no trouble. Actually I like it here; I feel much better in the shrine than I do anywhere else. Don’t you?”

“Yes, that’s true. Anyway, I’ll go and get changed and take over. You should be getting home.”

“Oh, it’s OK. I called. I wonder whether my clothes are dry.”

“I’ll check.”

Kazumi’s clothes were hanging on the veranda, and had largely dried out. It was only then, seeing the girl’s underwear hanging with the rest, that Akiko understood the smile.

Rolling her eyes, she went to get changed.

06: Wild Festival, Episode 38 | 1 Comment »

Shiraishi performed a harae for the shrine grounds as soon as she got back, and Akiko confirmed that it had cleared the kegare. Kazumi, claiming that her clothes were not quite dry, had insisted on waiting, and attended the harae in her yukata. Akiko noticed that the girl was watching her, and trying to copy her actions. Once the ceremony was over, Kazumi ran back inside to get changed, before setting off, in the dark, to go home.

“The Itos wanted another purification,” Shiraishi explained. “They said that they felt better afterwards, but…”

“Oh, I’m sure it was fine,” Akiko assured the priest. “The harae always seems to work.”

“Did Kazumi cause any problems?”

“Not so far as I could see.”

The relief was clear on Shiraishi’s face.

“Thank goodness. I really wasn’t sure that I’d made the right decision. But her clothes really were still wet, so…”

“No, I think it was safe. I’m not sure I’d trust her with anything that had to be done, but she really seems to like the shrine. I don’t think she’d do anything to harm it.”

Shiraishi smiled and nodded.

“That was my impression, as well. Oh, how was your date?”

“Until the kegare appeared, it was fine. Talking of kegare, do you have any idea why it was getting back into the shrine grounds?”

“Well, maybe because the protesters came back?”

“Could be.” Akiko wasn’t entirely convinced. “They do have a lot of pollution, but the guards keep them out.”

“The guards, then? They wouldn’t say where they were last night.”

Akiko shook her head.

“No. They have almost no kegare.”

“Really?” Shiraishi sounded a little surprised.

“Really. Whatever the problems with them, they aren’t due to kegare.”

“Oh.” Shiraishi fell silent, as did Akiko. She suspected that the priest was thinking along the same lines as she was: Tamao was just not strong enough to keep the kegare out completely. Whether he had got weaker, or the kegare had got stronger, the balance was shifting.

“I think I need to talk to the other miko,” Akiko said, at last.

“The other…? Oh, yes. Yes, she might know something.”

It was only when she left the house, late at night, that Akiko became aware of the problem posed by the guards. They were keeping an eye on the shrine grounds, as well as the entrance, which meant that they would see her going to the tree. For any number of reasons, Akiko didn’t want them to follow her, so she pretended to simply be checking the grounds herself until the guard, nodding to her, went back down the steps. Seizing her chance, she hurried into the woods.

Yoshiko was already waiting at the tree.

“Sorry I’m late,” Akiko apologised as she arrived. “I had to…” She cut herself off. “Sorry. No explanations.” Yoshiko smiled and nodded.

“Well,” she said, “we’d better get straight on with the practice.”

“Ah, actually, can I ask you something first?”

“Certainly.”

“It’s about kegare and Tamao.” Yoshiko nodded for her to continue. “Someone deliberately polluted the shrine last night, and so we had to clean and purify it yesterday. But a few hours after we purified it, there was already kegare within the shrine precincts. Is that normal?”

Yoshiko shook her head, her expression worried.

“The shrine grounds shouldn’t be polluted at all, at least not unless someone does something. The normal ceremonies and the power of the kami should be enough to keep pollution out.”

“That’s what I thought,” Akiko said, frowning. “So, what does it mean?”

“Well, either the kegare outside is very strong, or Tamao is very weak, I suppose. Or both.”

“The kegare outside is definitely very strong. I don’t think Tamao is that weak, but maybe he isn’t strong enough.”

“What does Tamao say?”

Akiko pulled a face, and then quickly forced herself to look neutral. It was too late, though. Yoshiko was already shaking her head, her expression half stern, half amused.

“You need to show more respect for your kami, Akiko. And listen to him if he chooses to speak to you.”

“I know, I know.” Akiko paused, searching for the right words. “It’s just… He doesn’t tell us enough. Or anything specific. Or anything useful.” She sighed, and shook her head in frustration. “I thought that things would be much easier if I could talk to him, but it’s not really worked out that way.”

“How much do you try to talk to him?”

“Well…” Akiko came to a stop. Not very much, she had to admit.

“Frightened?”

“No!” Akiko responded immediately, but Yoshiko didn’t take her eyes off Akiko’s face, and there was something eerie about her look. Akiko blamed it on the eyebrows, but also remembered that Yoshiko saw Tamao as well. “OK, yes. I’m frightened of what might happen if I talk to Tamao. I talked to the Aramitama, and…” She shuddered at the memories, and couldn’t go on.

“The Aramitama? Directly?” Yoshiko sounded surprised. “I’m not surprised you’re scared.”

“Have you…?” Akiko suddenly realised that Yoshiko might not want to remember either, but she really wanted to know.

The other miko nodded, her face set.

“It’s dangerous, outside the Aramatsuri. The Aramitama is not as controlled or as considerate as the Nigimitama. But then, you know that.”

Akiko nodded.

“Try to talk to the Nigimitama. Even the Aramitama almost never actually injures the miko.”

“Almost never?”

“Maybe never. There are stories, but the miko could have just slipped while dancing.”

“Not serious injuries, then.”

“Not really. But you are avoiding the main issue.”

Akiko blushed as she realised that Yoshiko was quite right.

“So, how should I talk to him?”

“Perform a ceremony to call him. If he wants to talk, he will, and if kegare is getting into the shrine precincts, I’m sure he will want to.”

“A ceremony…”

“It’s quite a standard one. Just like calling him into a himorogi at any other time.”

“But calling him into me?”

“Well…” Yoshiko looked down briefly, as if slightly embarrassed, but then looked Akiko back in the eyes.

“That is part of a miko’s job, after all.”

06: Wild Festival, Episode 38 | 3 Comments »