“I just need to go and look at the city.â€

“What? Why?â€ Shiraishi didn’t sound critical, just curious.

“I need to see what sort of damage there is.â€ Shiraishi still looked puzzled. “Whether it’s all, ah, physical.â€ Understanding appeared on the priest’s face, and she nodded.

“Yes, I suppose we do need to know about that. Don’t be too long, though. There’s still a lot of cleaning to be done.â€

“I can see.â€ Something flickered at the edge of her vision, and Akiko whipped her head round to look. Nothing but ashes, scattered at the base of the purification basin.

“Is there…?â€ The priest’s voice was uncertain, nervousness, scepticism, and simple concern all possible interpretations. Akiko shrugged.

“Maybe I’m just jumpy and imagining things.â€ Akiko knew that she didn’t sound convincing, and Shiraishi didn’t look convinced. As she turned away, however, Akiko reflected that the priest seemed to believe her now.

<em>Coming unharmed out of a burning building could have that effect,</em> she reminded herself. The mask was sitting on the kamidana now, along with the go-shintai. Akiko had no intention of testing it with fire again, and it had shown no signs of any other remarkable properties. And as for wearing it; neither she nor Shiraishi had thought that was a good idea.

The steps up to the torii were slippery with mud and ash, and Akiko made a mental note to clean them when she got back. She made her way carefully to the bottom, and looked around.

The signs of the flood were everywhere, most notably in the water line that came up buildings, but also in the debris that had built up against walls, electricity poles, and other obstacles. There was nothing but physical damage to see, however, at least at the moment, so Akiko set off to walk down the hill.

As soon as she was moving again she started to catch glimpses of motion out of the corners of her eyes. As before, when she turned to look there was nothing there, or just a cat, or someone hanging out water-damaged goods to dry.

By the time Akiko reached the bottom of the hill, the damage around her was more serious. Cars had been washed into walls, damaging both, and balconies and tiny gardens alike were filled with sodden property as people tried to rescue their possessions. The water line was half way up the ground floor now, and obviously dead televisions sat outside a number of houses. The flickers at the edge of her vision were almost constant now, and Akiko had given up trying to see what they were. At the bottom of the hill she looked up and down the valley, seeing even more evidence of damage. The city was not as devastated as it had been in her vision, but it had certainly suffered.

Akiko turned to go back to the shrine, and caught her breath.

She could see them now, crawling over the buildings, leaping from the roofs of damaged cars to the street, slithering out of the backs of waterlogged televisions, or writhing within dripping futons. Spirits of kegare were everywhere, spidery lines of decay spread across all the areas of water damage, and up towards parts of buildings that hadn’t been touched directly. One spirit, like a malformed frog, turned to look at Akiko, and she suddenly felt wet and clammy, coughing and gasping for breath.

She ran back up the hill to the shrine.