<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Is there any way to drive up to the top?â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“I’m afraid you’ll have to carry it up,â€ 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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Do they do that a lot?â€ the reporter asked. Akiko sighed and rolled her eyes, provoking a brief smile. “That often?â€ She looked over again. “Not enough of them to be news, though.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Harae!â€ 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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Welcome to Tamao Shrine. Thank you for coming.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“No, thank you. Good local interest stories are always welcome,â€ the reporter replied, as the cameraman looked around the precincts. “Is that the pool?â€ she continued, pointing over towards the iwakura.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Yes,â€ Shiraishi replied. “How do you want to do this?â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“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.â€ She paused for a moment. “This <em>is</em> the shrine that burned down, isn’t it. I thought so. Should we mention that, as well?â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“That would be helpful; we need to collect money to rebuild.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">The reporter smiled.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“The spring was a stroke of luck, then. So, any suggestions?â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;"><em>Harae harae harae</em> Akiko thought furiously, hoping that she’d somehow developed psychic abilities.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Well,â€ 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.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;"><em>Revd Shiraishi, that was very slick,</em> Akiko thought.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Oh, that’s a good idea. Would that be near the pool?â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">The priest nodded, and the reporter quickly looked at cameraman, who nodded back, and started setting up the camera.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Right, and after that, we could interview you.â€ She paused and frowned slightly. “But the pool and the rocks would be a bit boring as background.â€ 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?â€ 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.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“No, sorry.â€ Shiraishi answered for her. “This is a shrine, not a hot spring spa.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Oh, good point.â€ The reporter looked a bit disappointed, and then looked around again. “It’s still a bit static…â€ she said, at least half to herself.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“I could dance,â€ Akiko found herself saying. <em>Why did I say that?</em> She didn’t feel possessed, but she had to fight an urge to shoot a suspicious glance at the iwakura.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Oh, kagura!â€ 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?â€ Akiko nodded, and Shiraishi smiled encouragingly at her. Akiko bowed her head, and risked a quick glance at the stones.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Are you ready?â€ the reporter asked, getting a grunt from the cameraman.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“I keep getting glare from something…â€ 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,â€ the cameraman said, leaving Akiko wondering just what had happened.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;"><em>Don’t possess me,</em> she thought to herself. <em>And don’t snatch me off to some other world. Just let me be a bit of background colour.</em></p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">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.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">Akiko could have sworn he looked amused.</p>