“What do you mean, wasn’t here?â€ The question sounded stupid to Akiko even as she said it; it wasn’t exactly an unclear statement.

“I grew up here. I played in the woods. I worked in them when I was older. This tree,â€ she turned to look at the tree again, almost as if she wasn’t sure that it would still be there, “wasn’t here.â€

Akiko looked at the tree. It was huge, hundreds of years old. Well, far older than Shiraishi, anyway. She didn’t understand, but this time she kept her mouth shut, rather than say something fatuous. The priest turned back to her.

“So, you started here.â€

“Yes.â€ The rest of what had happened was also important. “And when I went back to the main precincts, I was, I don’t know, in a different version of the shrine. It still had a honden, a simple shinmeizukuri building.â€

“Let’s go and see.â€ The tension was obvious in Shiraishi’s voice, but Akiko couldn’t tell whether it was excitement or worry. They walked through the wood, the priest glancing back until the tree was out of sight, and then out into the clearing.

There was no honden; just the iwakura, the empty space, and, beyond that, the shrine house. Shiraishi sighed.

“Oh well. So, what happened then?â€

“I saw Tamao and Hideo Takenaka. They led me to the entrance, which was on a mountain high over the city, and had me look down. I could see the kegare all across the city, like a net, with some places swarming with corrupt spirits. And then Tamao told me that we had to cleanse it. He called you Spirit Child. He said that he wasn’t strong enough to cleanse it himself at the moment. Then a strong wind picked me up, and dropped me back in the tree.â€

“Tamao said that he wasn’t strong enough?â€

“He said that the kami draw strength from people’s respect.â€

Shiraishi nodded.

“That’s a phrase from the opening of a famous Kamakura period law. It’s true, then.â€ The priest’s voice was strained again.

“Do you think that the lack of worshippers has weakened Tamao?â€ This time, Shiraishi just nodded, her hands clenched by her side. Akiko looked at her more closely; she seemed to be swallowing and blinking a lot.

“Revd Shiraishi, are you all right?â€

“I didn’t know!â€ It was a wail. “I thought they were just traditional ceremonies! I didn’t know it was all real!â€

“Isn’t it good that they’re real?â€

The priest rounded on her.

“Good? I don’t understand what’s going on, or what to do. My training covered where to kneel while doing the Great Festival, not how to deal with spirits of corruption trying to destroy the city. I could just about cope with developers trying to get their hands on the shrine land; with this as well…â€ She came to a stop, drawing a deep breath. “No, I don’t think it’s good.â€ She paused.

“But we have to deal with it.â€

“So, what do we do?â€ Akiko asked.

Shiraishi turned to look out towards the city.

“You said that the harae ceremony removed the kegare, right?â€

“Yes.â€

“Then that’s something we know how to do. We should find the concentrations of pollution you saw, and purify them. Hunt down these corrupt spirits and drive them out.â€

Relief swept through Akiko’s body; finally someone was helping her to deal with the problems. She looked out of the shrine as well. They would cleanse the pollution together.