There wasn’t, in fact, a great deal of litter left in the open area of the shrine precincts, but now that she didn’t have to worry about Shiraishi spotting her, Akiko took advantage of the daylight to track down the bits she had missed so far. They were mostly small things, and all of Akiko’s attention was focused on them, to the point that she didn’t notice Mr Takenaka until he was standing right beside her.

“Good morning, Ms Tanahata. Do I take it that you have made up with Revd Shiraishi?â€ Akiko straightened up, and felt herself blush slightly. Her behaviour seemed more than a little ridiculous, now.

“Good morning. Yes, we had a talk and sorted things out.â€ He smiled.

“That’s good to hear. I gather you met my son, Akira, one evening.â€ Akiko nodded.

“He helped a bit with the cleaning.â€ This time, she thought there was something a little sad about Mr Takenaka’s smile.

“He’s a good boy. Well, don’t let me keep you. I’ve got a meeting with Revd Shiraishi; ujiko business.â€ Akiko nodded, although she wasn’t entirely sure what ujiko business would be. Something to do with the people who used the shrine. She bowed back to Mr Takenaka, and then returned to hunting rubbish.

It started to drizzle as she did so, the path soon glistening under a film of water, the grass shining clean. The calm smell of the earth rose around her, and once again she forgot about the rest of the world, her mind completely at peace.

Her path took her round the back of the shrine, to the collection of rocks. It was only when she was poking between them, fishing out old leaflets and food wrappers that had blown in, that she remembered what she had seen there a few nights previously. She took a step back, but they seemed to be just rocks; fairly large rocks, certainly, but no more special than that. Still, she wasn’t willing to put what she had seen down to a dream. She reached back in, carefully, and picked up a sodden mass that had once been a leaflet. Nothing happened, and nothing happened while she finished gathering the rubbish, and then moved on to search the rest of the ground.

“Ms Tanahata!â€ It was Shiraishi, calling from the shrine house. “Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?â€

Akiko straightened up, and looked around again. It was definitely possible that she had found all the litter in the open area.

“That sounds great, thank you,â€ she called back, as she started to walk over. “I think I’ve got all the litter from the open area.â€

“Thank you so much. It’s really a big help, you know.â€ Akiko just shrugged, not really comfortable with the gratitude. <em>She doesn’t know the real reason,</em> she thought.

The tea was very good, and the small Japanese sweets that Shiraishi served were delicious, but Akiko felt very uncomfortable the whole time. Mr Takenaka was there as well, and he seemed worried by something; at any rate, he said very little, most of it to Shiraishi. Shiraishi herself also seemed distracted, but Akiko would have said that she was embarrassed at least as much as worried. And Akiko couldn’t think of anything to talk about apart from the appearances of the kami, and that was a topic she really didn’t want to raise.

When the shrine doorbell rang, everyone looked up, and Akiko could see the relief she was feeling on the faces of the other two.

“That will be my family,â€ Mr Takenaka said, and he was right. His wife greeted them all politely, but Akira seemed a bit tongue-tied.

“Well then, I’ll get ready for the ceremony. Please wait in here.â€ Shiraishi stood and took her leave, and Akiko followed her example.

“I don’t want to disturb you, so I’ll go back to cleaning. Please excuse me.â€

“Oh, you don’t have to go.â€ Mr Takenaka’s protestation did not sound at all sincere, and Akiko suspected that he had something he wanted to talk to his family about before the ceremony.

“I really should get on. I want to pick up some more litter in the woods before it gets dark.â€ Mr Takenaka nodded his understanding, and his wife murmured a few conventional words. Akira bowed to her, but he was blushing and didn’t seem able to say anything.

Akiko had barely started gathering the rubbish when her cell phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at it: Naoyuki. For a moment, she thought about not answering it, not here, but she quickly realised that that would just mean she had to explain herself later.

“Hello, Naoyuki?â€

“Yes. How are you? How’s work going?â€

<em>That’s right,</em> she thought. <em>He thinks I’m in work; that’s where I said I’d be.</em>

“Not too bad, but not as well as I would like.â€ <em>Not quite a lie,</em> she reassured herself.

“When do you think you’ll be finished?â€ That was a difficult question.

“Not today, I think. The computer is playing up, so I can’t get things done very quickly.â€

“That’s a shame. I was hoping you’d be able to come over this afternoon; I got my work finished this morning.â€ Akiko looked around the shrine, wondering whether it would be all right to go to see her boyfriend. If she could do it without any visions.

Before she could answer, the sound of the drum came from the shrine building, as the Takenakas’ ceremony began.

“What’s that?â€ Naoyuki’s voice was suspicious.

“What’s what?â€ Akiko was suddenly flustered.

“That noise. It’s a drum. You’re at the shrine, aren’t you?â€ The accusation was strong in his tone, and Akiko responded without thinking.

“No, I told you, I’m in work.â€ The shrine was quiet for a moment, and then Shiraishi started reciting a prayer, the sound carrying clearly to Akiko. She turned to run deeper into the woods, but it was too late.

“You are not. You’re at the shrine. Don’t lie to me, Akiko. I told you not to go there; why did you go? What are you doing there?â€

Akiko had no idea how to answer. She could hardly tell her boyfriend to mind his own business, but she didn’t know what else to say, especially while he was shouting into the phone.

“Look, you have to get over this shrine obsession, Akiko. Stay away from it, and call me when you think you can.â€ He hung up then, leaving her standing in the woods, the sound of the prayer flowing around her.