“What happened?â€ Shiraishi sounded slightly desperate as Akiko turned back to her.

“We purified the river.â€ Akiko suddenly realised that she was exhausted.

“With the flood!â€ Shiraishi was almost shouting, and her breathing was fast, from fear or excitement, Akiko couldn’t tell. Fear, most likely.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t see the flood.â€

“What?â€

“I was looking at the spirits. What happened?â€

“The…â€ Shiraishi paused, looking confused. “The river suddenly started flooding, rising rapidly, covering our feet. Then the water fell back to the channel, but it was still flowing very quickly. And now, well…â€ The priest gestured to the river, and Akiko turned to look. The water was flowing smoothly, and although it looked no cleaner than before, Akiko thought that it, somehow, <em>felt</em> better. “So,â€ Shiraishi continued, “what happened?â€

“The spirit of the river got angry when you started the purification. I was able to drive it back with the kagurasuzu while you finished, and the harae purified it.â€ Akiko paused as she remembered the purified spirit. “It was… beautiful.â€ She shook her head slightly, in wonder. “Then,â€ she said, looking back at Shiraishi, “the spirit seemed to finish the job of purifying the area.â€

“Spirit? Kami?â€ the priest asked. Akiko shrugged.

“I don’t understand the difference.â€ She paused. “No, that’s not quite right. I don’t know where the boundary is. There were a lot of small kegare spirits, and those are definitely just spirits. But the spirit of the whole river…â€ She turned to look back at the water, and could almost see the snake undulating in the flow. “That might actually be a kami.â€

Akiko glanced back, and the priest was looking at the river, biting her lip.

“Why can’t I see these things?â€ she asked, almost wistfully. Akiko couldn’t suppress a short laugh.

“Most of it is things you don’t want to see. Corruption. Pollution. Kegare.â€

Shiraishi shook her head angrily, and turned back to Akiko.

“No, I <em>want to see.</em> I am part of this, what, battle? Just as much as you. I have to perform the purifications. But you get to see Tamao and speak to him, and can see the pollution we cleanse.â€

“If I can trust what I see,â€ Akiko interjected, but the priest just shook her head again.

“It’s more than I have. I have to trust what you say.â€

Akiko winced. She hadn’t really thought of it from that angle.

“Do you trust me?â€ she asked. Shiraishi looked at her for what seemed like a very long time, and then nodded.

“Yes, I trust you. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be here. And I can see the tree, and hear about the Tanakas. And you came out of the burning shrine alive.â€ Akiko thought the priest blushed a little as she said that, but then she could feel her own cheeks heating up. The priest sighed, and looked down at her sodden feet, then turned to leave the park.

“We should get back, Akira can’t stay that long.â€

“Mm.â€ Akiko started after her, lost in thought, but the priest suddenly stopped and turned back to her.

“I trust you, Akiko. I believe you see what you say you see, and I believe that what you see is important. It’s just…

“<em>I</em> want to see.â€