Immediately, Akiko dropped to her knees, bowing her face twice to the ground, sitting back on her heels to clap twice, and then bowing once more, before sitting back up to look at the kami.

“Rise, Bright Child.â€ Tamao spoke to her, but Akiko heard her name’s meaning rather than its sound, just like when she had been possessed. Slowly, she got to her feet. “Welcome back.â€

“Thank you, Lord Tamao.â€ She bowed again; it seemed the only polite thing to do. And why had she used such an old-fashioned honorific? It had been instinctive, but it certainly wasn’t how she normally spoke.

“Welcome, Akiko.â€ Hideo Takenaka walked over to stand beside Tamao, bowing low to the snake as he reached him; Tamao bobbed his head in acknowledgement, and then looked back at Akiko.

“Bright Child, there is still darkness spreading across the land. Come, see.â€ He turned away, slithering towards the entrance, and Akiko quickly followed, Mr Takenaka coming along behind her.

The white torii still stood in these precincts, and she looked down the steps, lined by ancient trees, disappearing into the clouds. Tamao let out a long hiss, and the clouds suddenly boiled, surging and flowing away, splitting apart so that she could see below them.

The gap in the clouds revealed the area around the shrine, the area that was under Tamao’s protection. A net of pollution lay over it, threads covering the whole region, while a few nodes throbbed with kegare, seeming to writhe and boil with spirits, spirits that were barely visible from this distance.

“Bright Child, you and Spirit Child must drive back this corruption.â€

Akiko looked down, and quailed at the scale of the job. A question rose in her mind, but she didn’t want to ask it. She looked up, to see Mr Takenaka looking at her, and smiling.

“Ask, Akiko. Don’t assume he knows what you need to know.â€ Tamao’s face swung round to look at her, and for a moment Akiko lost herself in the glow of the golden eyes. Summoning all her willpower, she managed to stammer out the question.

“Why… Why don’t you cleanse it?â€ Even as she asked it, she was overcome with nerves. <em>That wasn’t very polite,</em> she chided herself, and, unthinkingly, she shrunk back a little from Tamao, fearing his reaction.

“I have not the strength.â€ The kami looked away, looking back down at the city. “Once I could have driven this away with one breath. Once it could not have risen so strong in the first place.â€ He looked back at her, and Akiko thought she could see regret on the serpentine features. “The kami gain power as people honour them, and people are made prosperous by the kami.â€

Akiko swallowed hard. The neglect of the shrine must be weakening Tamao, then, she thought.

“But the storms…â€ She cut herself off. Maybe asking everything was not such a good idea. Tamao’s eyes flared more brightly, and lightning danced over his lips, the gems of his skin scattering the light back in red, green, and purple.

“I can show my anger still, Bright Child. I am still a kami.â€

<em>He still has power in his anger?</em> Akiko thought.

“So, could your aramitama…â€ The breath was knocked from Akiko’s body as a blast of wind picked her up and hurled her into the air.