“Is it… over?â€

Shiraishi was whispering, barely moving her lips. Akiko nodded, her fingers still resting on the heavy necklace she was wearing. The priest bowed, and then let out a long, drawn-out “ohâ€, performing the formal ceremony for the return of the kami. Then she reached into the remains of the himorogi and picked up a brocade bag, walking round to Akiko and holding it out.

With a shock, Akiko realised exactly what she had around her neck.

Carefully, reverently, she lifted it over her head. The stones of the go-shintai were polished, not cut, but they still glowed in the light of the fires, crystals, gems, the size of hens’ eggs, red, green, purple, and large masses of gold and silver, apparently natural nuggets, polished but not shaped. The cord linking them appeared to be copper, glinting orange-red where it caught the light.

Hardly daring to breathe, Akiko dropped it back into the bag, which Shiraishi quickly drew shut.

As she shut it, the priest relaxed, almost falling to the ground, shaking and gulping in air. Akiko felt her calm draining away, as the implications of what had just happened started to come home to her.

“What happened?â€ Shiraishi’s question was a bit surprising.

“What did you see?â€ Akiko asked, suddenly unsure.

“You suddenly started dancing, very, very fast, leaping over the himorogi and spinning in the air. It was…â€ The priest paused, looking at the space over the shattered platform. “… amazing.â€ She barely breathed the last word, and then fell silent for a moment. “And then you knelt where you are now, bowed and clapped, and spoke the words of the kami. In fluent classical Japanese, the language of the noritos.â€

“I what?â€ Akiko thought she had been speaking modern Japanese, although now she thought back she could only remember hearing her own voice and knowing what Tamao was saying; she could not actually remember the words she had used.

“You were speaking in classical Japanese,â€ Shiraishi said again. “I’m pretty sure I understood it; you were using the standard pronunciation we use for norito. And you used all the proper forms for a high superior addressing inferiors, I think. At any rate, you didn’t use the forms we use to address the kami in a norito.â€

Akiko nodded. She realised that she was shaking a bit now. She had been possessed by a kami.

“When did I put the necklace on?â€ Akiko remembered Tamao leaping for her and then becoming a weight around her neck, but she was sure that wasn’t what Shiraishi had seen.

“I… It’s very strange. I don’t think you did. You were wearing it while you were dancing, but I never saw you take it from the bag.â€

“And what happened to the platform?â€

“You landed on it. Don’t you remember?â€ Akiko shook her head.

“I remember, but I don’t remember that.â€

“So, Akiko, what did you see?â€

“I saw Tamao. He appeared within the shimenawa around the himorogi, and the sakaki and platform shattered when he appeared. And then he spoke to me, but I could understand his meaning, rather than hearing his words. The music drove me to dance… Did you hear the music?â€ Shiraishi shook her head, a look of wonder on her face.

“I heard nothing but the sound of your feet on the ground.â€