Shiraishi and Kazumi both seemed frozen in place, staring at Akiko and the pool. Akiko looked at them both, and then glanced behind her. The pool was filled by a spring that burst from the heart of the iwakura, and above the water Akiko could see a tongue of fire, dancing within the stones.

She looked back at the other women just as Shiraishi visibly shook herself.

“Later,” she said, in a quiet voice. Akiko didn’t need to ask what she meant. “Leave the curtains. We’ll perform the final ceremonies in front of them.” Akiko nodded in agreement and, a few moments later, so did Kazumi.

Kazumi held one of the curtains aside as they filed out, and there was a quiet murmur from the crowd. Akiko couldn’t quite read the mood; certainly not hostile, but somehow on edge, she thought. They lined up in front of the curtains and bowed once to the iwakura, before turning to face the attendees.

“The wild festival of Tamao Shrine has safely concluded,” Shiraishi announced, and a spontaneous cheer went up from the crowd. Akiko looked at Shiraishi in shock, but the priest was equally surprised. Indeed, when she looked back, many of those who had cheered also looked a bit surprised, as if they didn’t know what had come over them. Still, they also looked cheerful, and people soon returned to the food stalls, or to chatting in small groups. Akiko stood still, searching the precincts until she found Satomi.

“Satomi!” she called, as she walked over. “Thank you for coming.”

“Oh!” Satomi seemed, somehow, a bit surprised to see her. “Yes.” She suddenly grinned. “I still can’t believe you actually wore that outfit.”

Akiko smiled back.

“It was very cool. You should try it next time.”

“Yes, I think I will. When do you think the next time will be?”

“Er…” Akiko was a little taken aback. “We’re not sure. It isn’t a regular festival.” She paused a moment. “Do you really want to help carry the mikoshi?”

“Well, why not? It did look like fun. And…” Her voice trailed off, and she blushed, looking away from Akiko, towards the curtains. “And I feel so much better now, better than I’ve felt for weeks.” She looked back to Akiko. “Maybe there’s something to these festivals after all.”

“Thank you.” Akiko didn’t know what else to say, and Satomi just nodded. Then she smiled again.

“So, do you still doubt that you are lucky?” Akiko couldn’t suppress a laugh.

“No. No, not any more. Well, excuse me. I should talk to some other people.”

“I bet they’d rather talk to you in the mikoshi outfit.”

“That’s not an option,” Akiko said, laughing, as she felt her face turn red.

Unfortunately, it seemed to be a common thread in the comments people made to her as she circulated. No-one was actually crude, but just about everyone seemed to feel the need to compliment her on how much the mikoshi outfit had suited her. Fortunately, people also felt the need to say how much they’d enjoyed the festival, and more than a few also mentioned feeling a lot better after the festival. Her feelings a complicated mixture of embarrassment, pleasure, and relief, Akiko managed to speak to most of the attendees before they left, leaving her tired, but rather more optimistic than she had been.

07: Spreading the Light, Episode 43 | 1 Comment »

It was nearly midnight when the last people left the precincts, and Shiraishi, Akiko, and Kazumi could start taking down the curtains.

“That is going to take some explaining,” Shiraishi said, pointing at the pool. Akiko nodded, and then looked at the iwakura, where the flame was still dancing.

“Can you see the flame in the iwakura?” she asked. Shiraishi shook her head.

“Just the pool.” Kazumi was crouched down beside it, testing the water with her hand. She looked up with a broad smile on her face.

“It’s a hot spring! Feels great.” She looked around. “Hey, there’s no-one here. I’d really enjoy a bath…”

“You can have one inside,” Shiraishi said, sternly. Kazumi pouted for a moment, but she stood up. “And, actually, we should talk about what happened.” The priest turned back to Akiko. “You vanished while you were dancing. Then there was a small earthquake, and the spring started flowing from the iwakura. It looked like the bottom of the pool sank as the water flowed into it, and then you appeared under the water, walking out of the pool dry. Did I miss anything?” The question was directed at Kazumi, and the girl shook her head.

“That’s what I remember,” she said.

“So, Akiko, what did you see?” Shiraishi asked.

Akiko initially intended to give a brief explanation, but Shiraishi and Kazumi both asked lots of questions, and it was soon apparent that she would have to go into all the details, so she suggested that they finish the discussion inside, sitting down.

They gathered in the kitchen, still in vestments, and Shiraishi got drinks as Akiko finished her account.

“Do you think the fire would really have hurt them?” Kazumi asked.

“Yes,” Akiko replied. “I think it would have killed them. The Aramitama was furious at the pollution they had brought into the shrine.”

“But you stopped it,” Shiraishi said. Akiko nodded, shuddering slightly.

“I don’t want to have to do that too often; it’s very painful. But maybe now the shrine is clear things will start to get better.”

“You are sure it was fully purified?” The priest sounded concerned.

“Oh yes. There’s no way any kegare survived that. Of course,” Akiko continued, reflectively, “we’ll have to see how things are in the morning. I hope it lasts.”

“I hope the hot spring lasts,” Kazumi said. “And the enthusiasm. You were talking to people afterwards, right?” The girl was grinning, and Akiko smiled back, glancing at Shiraishi. The priest was also smiling.

“I didn’t just talk to people,” she said. “I collected donations.”

“Really? That’s great!” Akiko said.

“Almost a million yen.”

“What?”

“Hey, we should have the festival every week!” Kazumi said, her eyes bright. Akiko and Shiraishi both laughed, and she pouted at them. “What?”

“I don’t think we’d collect that much every week,” Akiko said. Kazumi frowned, and then sighed.

“No, I suppose you’re right.” She brightened again. “Still, it’s really good!”

“It is,” Shiraishi agreed, “and I spoke to several ujiko; they want to start having meetings again, and Noriko has expressed an interest in supporting the shrine more formally.”

Akiko realised she was grinning like an idiot, but she couldn’t stop.

“Everything seems to be going right for once, doesn’t it?”

07: Spreading the Light, Episode 43 | 7 Comments »

“I’d still like a bath,” Kazumi said after a moment. “I don’t suppose I could stay here tonight?” Shiraishi looked at her, apparently considering, and then nodded.

“You need to call home first, but it is rather late.”

“Oh, my mother won’t mind…”

“Maybe not, but you need to call.”

“OK, OK.” Kazumi went over to her bags and started rummaging through for her cell phone, which reminded Akiko of just how long it was since she had called her mother. She checked the time; her mother would still be up. For a moment, she thought about leaving it, but no, she felt better than she had for ages. This was the best time to do it. Excusing herself, she went to her room, and made the call before she could change her mind.

“Akiko?” Her mother didn’t pretend not to know who it was this time. “Is anything wrong?”

“What? Oh, no. No, we just had a night festival at the shrine, and I realised it was a long time since I’d called you. You were still up, right?”

“Of course. Still a night owl.”

They both fell silent, and Akiko started to feel uncomfortable as the pause got longer. What, exactly, had she planned to say?

“Er, Akiko.” Her mother broke the silence in the end.

“Yes?”

“I’m, er, sorry about, well, shouting at you.”

“Oh.” Akiko didn’t know what to say. Her mother had never apologised before.

“Your father reminded me that I’d had you by the time I was your age. You’re not a child any more. I…” Akiko heard her mother take a deep breath. “I shouldn’t treat you like one.”

“Er… Thank you.” This is good, Akiko told herself, but she still had no idea how to respond.

“So, from now on, I will just give you advice, not instructions. I’m not going to try to organise any more miai without your approval.”

“Great, thank you.”

“So, are you still working at that shrine?”

“Yes, mother. I said we had a night festival, remember?”

“Oh, yes, right. Mm. Are you sure it’s the right job for you? I mean, it doesn’t have much of a future.”

“This is the right job for me. At least at the moment.” Even as she said it, Akiko realised that she did need to think about the future. Was she going to serve at a shrine for ever?

“And what about a husband, and family? They are important, you know.”

“Not right now.”

“Oh. I do think you should be thinking about it seriously, you know.”

“I am thinking about it. And it’s not what I want to do right now.”

“Oh, I see. Well. Well, thank you for the call.”

“That’s OK. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Akiko put the phone down to charge, and went back to the sitting room, where Shiraishi was sorting out the donations, still smiling. She looked up as Akiko came in, her face quizzical.

“You look puzzled.”

“I just had a strange conversation with my mother…”

“Not a fight?”

“No… I think it’s better, but…”

Shiraishi’s eyes suddenly went wide, and she let out a strangled squeal. With a surge of panic, Akiko looked behind her.

And then relaxed. It was just Kazumi, completely naked and drying her hair with a towel.

“Kazumi! Put something on!” Akiko said, trying to keep her face stern.

07: Spreading the Light, Episode 43 | 5 Comments »

Akiko woke while it was still dark, feeling refreshed and full of energy. She lay still for a while, to see whether she would get back to sleep, but it soon became clear that she was thoroughly awake. She grabbed her yukata, but then ran to the bathroom without bothering to put it on. Kazumi’s a bad influence, she thought to herself.

She was washed and dressed in her vestments by the time the eastern horizon was starting to brighten, and she went out into the shrine grounds to see the dawn. She purified herself at the water basin by the entrance from the house’s garden, and then switched her vision to look for kegare.

There was none. Everywhere she could see was clean, pulsing with life. There were small spirits everywhere, more than she had seen for a long time, but they all looked healthy. Within the iwakura, the flame still danced, casting flashes of brightness into the twilight, while the hot spring continued to pour from within the stones, laughing as it cascaded into the pool.

“You too, huh?” Akiko looked round sharply; she hadn’t heard Kazumi come up behind her. The girl was in her vestments as well, and completely clear of kegare. “I don’t normally wake up this early, you know.”

“Neither do we.” It was Shiraishi, coming through the gate from the garden, robed and carrying the ritual equipment. “Akiko, could you get the offerings? They’re just inside the front door.” Akiko hurried to get them, joining the other two in front of the pool as they finished setting up the tables. Shiraishi was looking east, and suddenly she nodded.

“We should start the ceremony now.”

They all performed the morning ceremonies, closing them, as usual, with a single bow. As they sat up, the surface of the pool suddenly became very calm, even though the water was still pouring into it, and stones and trees, illuminated by the first rays of the rising sun, were reflected in it.

Tamao’s head rose from the water without so much as a ripple, and they all bowed again.

“Spirit Child, Bright Child, Beautiful Harmony. You have all done well. I am strong again, strong enough to keep the corruption from the shrine. But the pollution is strong as well. You must take this strength to the corruption, you must take it out of the shrine to cleanse the area.

“We are no longer losing, but we have not yet won.”

Tamao sank back beneath the surface, which immediately began to churn again from the water flowing into it, red, green, purple, gold and silver flashing on the surface for a few moments, before being replaced by the sparkle of the rising sun.

There was silence for a moment, then Shiraishi turned to Kazumi.

“Do you still want to bathe in that pool?” She sounded a little amused.

“Oh, yes” Kazumi’s answer was barely breathed, but there was so much sincerity, so much longing in it that Shiraishi suddenly looked embarrassed. The girl didn’t move, though, and after a moment she spoke again. “But I daren’t.” Another brief pause. “And my school uniform is at home! Ah! I’m going to be late!” She sprang up and ran into the house. Shiraishi and Akiko looked at each other for a moment, and then started laughing.

07: Spreading the Light, Episode 43 | 1 Comment »

Akiko stood up, still chuckling, and glanced around the shrine precincts.

“I’m just going to have a look around,” she said to Shiraishi, and the priest nodded.

“Let me know how things look,” she replied, as she started gathering up the ritual equipment.

Looking for kegare, Akiko still couldn’t see any within the shrine. It really did seem to be completely purified, and nothing had crept in during the night. As she approached the boundary of the precincts, she realised why. There was a curtain of light around the shrine, mainly gold and silver with purple, red, and green highlights flickering through it. It kept flaring more brightly in different places, apparently at random, and Akiko guessed that that marked the spots where kegare was trying to get through. She could not, however, see much beyond the curtain; nor, when she looked up, could she see how high it went.

Kazumi came charging past, shouting her goodbyes as she ran down the steps. The curtain of light flexed and rippled as she ran through, almost like the surface of a pool of water, but it didn’t break. Akiko took another look around the open area, and nodded to herself. This part, at least, was clear, and it was still early; she had time to look at the woodland before anyone was likely to come to the shrine.

It was suddenly cool when she stepped into the shadow of the trees, the air fresher than outside, with a gentle breeze teasing the leaves. The sounds of the city vanished completely, replaced by the singing of cicadas and the cries of birds. The low sunlight lanced through between the trunks of the trees, coating some in burning gold and scattering off tiny things dancing in the air. It was a moment before Akiko realised that they were spirits, not dust, and that they really were dancing.

She walked through the woodland, passed the kami-tree, which pulsed, visibly, as she watched, lightning scattering up and down the trunk while drops of light fell from the branches. As she stepped closer, the tree calmed down, and she could feel it calling out to her, inviting her to embrace it. She laid her hand on the bark, and felt both its calming influence and an insistent plea to get closer. Shaking her head gently, she stepped back, and returned to the open area.

Standing at the top of the steps, she looked at the curtain of light and gathered her courage. She had to look at what was outside. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through, and out.

The heat and humidity hit her like a wall, pressing down on her, instantly coating her in sweat. The noise of cars and arguments filled her ears, along with the smell of petrol, chemicals, rotten food… Here, too, there were spirits, but they were dark, twisted things. A layer of light danced over Akiko’s hands, and she saw the kegare burning away as it touched it, leaving the light slightly weaker.

She descended a few more steps, and looked out at the city, her heart suddenly leaping into her throat.

A greasy, brown-black cloud hung over the houses, and thin tendrils, tentacles of smoke, rose to meet it in a few places. The bottom of the cloud was constantly churning, and kegare spirits dived out of it, disappearing among the houses. She looked up and behind her, at the where the cloud met the curtain of light, and saw the curtain flare every time the cloud touched it, burning the pollution away.

She looked down again, as a small group of protesters came into view.

07: Spreading the Light, Episode 43 | 1 Comment »

The protesters, led by Mrs Watanabe, were heavily laden with kegare, with spirits riding them, pulling at their limbs so that they stumbled. One protester carried something that looked like a giant maggot, and Akiko realised that it seemed to be chewing on the back of his head. Her gorge rising, Akiko forced her awareness back to the normal world.

The protesters approached the bottom of the steps, and looked up at her. Akiko could see the weariness on their faces, and noticed that several had brought folding chairs. For a moment, Mrs Watanabe seemed to want to lead them in a chant, but as she looked round at their listless faces Akiko could see the enthusiasm drain from her face as well. She looked back at Akiko.

“We aren’t going to give up, you know.”

“The police said you had to stay away.”

“They said we had to stay away from the festival, and we did. But I heard about what you were wearing. You should be ashamed of yourselves. What kind of example are you setting?” The criticism was lacking some of the passion of Mrs Watanabe’s previous rants, and even she seemed to sense it, falling awkwardly silent.

“If you cause any trouble for people trying to get in, we will call the police again,” Akiko warned.

“Don’t worry,” a new voice said, “we’ll keep an eye on them.” Akiko looked round, to see a group of half a dozen of Mr Fujimura’s men arriving. She was shocked, and just stared at them for a few moments. She really hadn’t expected them to be back.

The guards seemed much more energetic than the protesters, so Akiko risked a quick look at the kegare, enough to confirm that they had much less.

“We would like to have a harae before we start, however. Would that be possible?”

“I’ll have to ask the chief priest. Please wait a moment.”

“They came back?” Shiraishi sounded as surprised as Akiko. “Well, send them away.” Akiko nodded, and was already turning when Shiraishi changed her mind. “No, wait. You said that the protesters were back as well, right? As long as they behave, it can’t hurt to have them around. I don’t trust the protesters not to make trouble; the guards should listen to us.”

“But will they?” Akiko was still unsure.

“If they don’t, we can call the police,” Shiraishi replied. “I really didn’t think Mr Fujimura would send them again, not after the festival.” Akiko shook her head.

“I didn’t, either. But here they are.”

“Yes. I’ll get ready to perform the harae. Invite them up.”

When Akiko descended the steps once more, she found the protesters and guards staring sullenly at each other, but saying nothing.

“We will perform the harae,” she said, beckoning to the guards. Then, on a sudden impulse, she turned to the protesters. “You may also participate, if you wish.” The guards looked shocked, but not nearly as shocked as the protesters.

“What?” Mrs Watanabe almost screeched the word. “How dare you! We are not such hypocrites.” She seemed to run out of steam almost immediately, though, and the other protesters said nothing, just glaring at Akiko and the guards. Akiko shrugged, and led the guards up the steps.

07: Spreading the Light, Episode 43 | 1 Comment »

“Is there any way to drive up to the top?”

Akiko shook her head, trying to ignore the protesters, who were chanting louder than ever now that they could see the television van. It had seemed like a good idea when Shiraishi mentioned it; use the appearance of the pool to get some more publicity for the shrine. Now, Akiko was not so sure. The protesters were trying to capitalise on it, and when Akiko looked at the kegare on the television crew, she wasn’t at all sure about letting them in.

Spirits like winged spiders crawled all over them, jumping from one to another, disappearing inside the camera, picking at the blouse of the young reporter, tangling in her hair. The cameraman was bound in threads that covered his eyes, clusters of the spider-things gathering over his eyes, legs reaching out, stretching and waving.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to carry it up,” she said, and the cameraman sighed, nodding as he shouldered the burden. The reporter glanced at the protesters, and Akiko was suddenly glad that there were only four of them, and that the guards had agreed to wait inside the house.

“Do they do that a lot?” the reporter asked. Akiko sighed and rolled her eyes, provoking a brief smile. “That often?” She looked over again. “Not enough of them to be news, though.”

As they started climbing the steps the cameraman muttered something about  background noise under his breath, and the reporter whispered something back, something Akiko couldn’t catch at all. In any case, she was concentrating on the kegare. The spirits were getting more agitated as they approached the wall of light, running to hide within the reporter’s clothes, or the body of the camera.

They passed through the light, into the shrine, and in a flare of light all the surface kegare was burned away. Akiko realised she was holding her breath, breath that she let out in disappointment as the spider-spirits began cautiously emerging, legs waving as if testing the air.

“Harae!” Akiko whispered, urgently, as she came up alongside the priest. Shiraishi looked at her, slightly surprised, then nodded in understanding, before greeting the news team.

“Welcome to Tamao Shrine. Thank you for coming.”

“No, thank you. Good local interest stories are always welcome,” the reporter replied, as the cameraman looked around the precincts. “Is that the pool?” she continued, pointing over towards the iwakura.

“Yes,” Shiraishi replied. “How do you want to do this?”

“Well, we’d like to film something more than a talking head. And a pool of water is also not exactly riveting television. Although the spring is quite pretty.” She paused for a moment. “This is the shrine that burned down, isn’t it. I thought so. Should we mention that, as well?”

“That would be helpful; we need to collect money to rebuild.”

The reporter smiled.

“The spring was a stroke of luck, then. So, any suggestions?”

Harae harae harae Akiko thought furiously, hoping that she’d somehow developed psychic abilities.

“Well,” Shiraishi said, “I could perform a short purification ceremony and you could film that. Thanks to the fire, there’s no other evidence that this is a shrine.”

Revd Shiraishi, that was very slick, Akiko thought.

“Oh, that’s a good idea. Would that be near the pool?”

The priest nodded, and the reporter quickly looked at the cameraman, who nodded back, and started setting up the camera.

“Right, and after that, we could interview you.” She paused and frowned slightly. “But the pool and the rocks would be a bit boring as background.” She looked around, and then smiled as she saw Akiko. “Aha! Could you be in the pool while we do the interview? Half out of the water?” Akiko could feel herself going bright red, and the reporter hurried on. “Oh, with your back to us, of course. This would be going out on local news.”

“No, sorry.” Shiraishi answered for her. “This is a shrine, not a hot spring spa.”

“Oh, good point.” The reporter looked a bit disappointed, and then looked around again. “It’s still a bit static…” she said, at least half to herself.

“I could dance,” Akiko found herself saying. Why did I say that? She didn’t feel possessed, but she had to fight an urge to shoot a suspicious glance at the iwakura.

“Oh, kagura!” the reporter said. “Yes, that’s an excellent idea. Can you dance near the pool, so that we have you in the background while Revd Shiraishi is talking?” Akiko nodded, and Shiraishi smiled encouragingly at her. Akiko bowed her head, and risked a quick glance at the stones.

The flame inside was burning brighter than ever, flaring and dancing, turning the inside of the stones red hot, but there was no particular sign of awareness. Surreptitiously, she looked back at the others; they really didn’t seem to be able to see the flame, even though Akiko was no longer looking at the kegare.

“Are you ready?” the reporter asked, getting a grunt from the cameraman.

“I keep getting glare from something…” he said, as he fiddled with the angle of the camera. Akiko glanced back, willing the flame to settle down. As she looked, it did die down, and Akiko somehow felt that it was chastened. “Oh, OK now,” the cameraman said, leaving Akiko wondering just what had happened.

The harae cleansed the news team, and Akiko began her dance in front of the pool, as Shiraishi started explaining about it, and about the fire at the shrine.

Don’t possess me, she thought to herself. And don’t snatch me off to some other world. Just let me be a bit of background colour.

The surface of the pool went very still, even though the water from the spring was still pouring into it. Every time the dance turned her towards it, Akiko could see the reflection of the iwakura in it, flames engulfing the stones and towering over them. The third time she turned, she saw Tamao in the reflection, coiled around the flames, the light refracting through his scales in a dazzling kaleidoscope of colour.

Akiko could have sworn he looked amused.

07: Spreading the Light, Episode 43 | 1 Comment »