Even as it got late, Akiko could tell that there was no chance of her sleeping.  She felt that telling her mother the truth had been the right thing to do, but she found herself reminding herself of that repeatedly. And there was still the issue of the possession. What did Tamao want them to do about the kegare? She thought that Shiraishi was probably right about rebuilding the shrine quickly, but was there something else that they should be doing about the protesters?

Should she call her mother back?

Akiko realised that she had been pacing in her room for the last half hour, and stopped.

<em>I have to do something definite,</em> she decided. <em>I will try to talk to Tamao again.</em>

After a moment’s consideration, she headed to the bathroom, to purify herself physically before the attempt.

Half an hour later, wearing her miko’s vestments and carrying a tatami mat, she went out of the shrine house and into the grounds. Tamao had appeared close to where the shrine had been, and the iwakura was also connected to him, so that seemed a good place to try it. She put the mat down and knelt on top of it, breathing deeply to calm herself.

She bowed twice, and then started reciting the purification prayer, pleased to find that she could remember it. She still didn’t fully understand the grammar, which reminded her that Shiraishi had said she had spoken in classical Japanese. Maybe that was the language the kami spoke among themselves, as well.

She finished the prayer, bowing to the ground twice, clapping twice, and bowing once more, before sitting back on her heels and composing herself, trying to remember how she had felt when Tamao possessed her.

“Oh, excuse me.â€

The voice startled Akiko, and she twisted to look round. There was a middle-aged woman behind her, someone who looked vaguely familiar. One of the protesters, Akiko was fairly sure.

“Can I help you?â€

“I was just wondering what you were doing here in the middle of the night.â€

<em>I live here,</em> Akiko thought. <em>I should be asking that question.</em> She got to her feet.

“Just a personal ceremony for the kami.â€

“Should you really be doing secret ceremonies? It doesn’t promote trust, you know. People might come to all sorts of strange conclusions.â€

“Now why would they do that?â€ Akiko was even warier now. Had the protesters realised that they had done a night ceremony? She thought they cleared the remains of the platform up properly, but maybe they’d left something. They hadn’t thought they had to hide all the evidence, after all.

“Well, you know, with Shinto’s connection to fascism…â€

Akiko cut her off.

“Might I ask what you are doing here at this time of night? You do not work at this shrine, after all.â€

“Oh, we’re just… keeping an eye on things.â€

“I see. I can assure you that everything is all right.â€

“We’re keeping an eye on <em>you.</em>â€ The tone sent a shiver through Akiko, and she involuntarily took a step back. But at that moment, someone called from near the entrance.

“Mrs Watanabe! Fancy meeting you here. And Ms Tanahata. This is a pleasant surprise.â€ Forcing a smile, Akiko bowed to Mr Akiyama, and then excused herself, returning to the house.

She had no chance of being able to talk to Tamao tonight.