The boy didn’t stop crying, and Akiko and Shiraishi glanced at each other. Akiko wasn’t sure what to do, and it didn’t look as though the priest had a clear idea, either. After a moment, Shiraishi continued with the ceremony, concluding it as quickly as possible and then starting to clear away the equipment. Akiko hurried to help her, glancing back at the Itos, the parents attempting to comfort their son.

Once the equipment was gathered, Shiraishi turned to bow to the Itos, and excused herself.

“The ceremony is finished. Thank you for your devotion.â€ Mr Ito looked up and nodded to them, and Shiraishi beckoned to Akiko, leading her quickly out of the house.

In the car, Shiraishi just sat there, her hands on the steering wheel, staring out of the windscreen. Suddenly, she turned to Akiko.

“Akiko, tell me what you see.â€

“Kegare, I think.â€

“No, in detail. <em>How </em>do you see kegare?â€

“Oh.â€ Akiko turned to look out of the car, gathering her thoughts. “It… varies. Decay, normally. Vines, fungus, insects. Larger animals, often deformed, although those might be spirits rather than kegare itself. Smells of decay, as well.â€

“What about the Ito boy? Did you see why he was crying?â€

“Ah.â€ Akiko shuddered a little at the memory. “He was utterly covered in something, like a cocoon. It was leaking pus where his movements had cracked it at the joints.â€

“But why? What was it.â€

Akiko sighed, looking down and then looking back at Shiraishi.

“I don’t know. When the shrine was polluted, after… after Mr Takenaka died, I saw kegare a lot, but it looked different every time. I assume it was the same kegare, though.â€

“So different kegare doesn’t look different?â€

“No.â€ Akiko considered for a moment. “At least, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that the same kegare can appear in a lot of ways, and I don’t think the different sorts of kegare appear differently. Actually, I’m not even sure that there are different sorts of kegare.â€

“So you don’t know why the boy was crying?â€

“No. He had more kegare than his parents, I think.â€

“You can see amounts?â€

“I think so. Mr Ito only had a bit wrapped round him, maybe because he’d just had the harae. Mrs Ito had more. Their son, well. Like I said, a cocoon.â€

“What about me?â€

“None. I seemed to be clean, too.â€

“And it all vanished after the harae?â€

“Yes. And Mr Ito said that he felt better after the last harae. Actually, the boy didn’t start crying until you’d purified him of all the kegare.â€

“What about other people?â€

The questioning was starting to make Akiko a little uncomfortable; she was realising how little she really knew about what she was seeing.

“Other people. Yes, they have kegare. Mr Takenaka had a lot when he came to the shrine the morning before he died. Akira had a lot after that, until the ceremony to purify the shrine. Mr Wakabayashi always has quite a lot.â€

Shiraishi banged her hands on the steering wheel.

“Wakabayashi has it because he’s hostile to the kami, I think. Hideo had it because he was on the verge of suicide. But I think Akira had it because he had been near his father’s death.â€ She turned to look at Akiko.

“It doesn’t really tell us anything useful, does it?â€

Akiko shook her head.

“I just see the pollution. I don’t see causes.

“I don’t see answers.â€