Akiko sat in the shrine office, looking out at the precincts, trying to keep her eyes open. The harae had left her drained, even though Shiraishi’s giggles had infected her in the car. Thinking about it now, she found herself smiling a little; it was true that the whole situation had been more than a little ridiculous. Then she yawned again, and shook herself. This was no good; she couldn’t afford to actually fall asleep. She peered out again. The sky was overcast, but it didn’t seem to be raining. Going out was a sensible possibility, then.

The warmth of the night surprised Akiko, reminding her that summer was approaching, and she still didn’t need a coat. The air was still and rather heavy, close, with a promise of rain, and the only sounds were those of distant cars and Akiko’s own footsteps. Akiko bowed to the iwakura, but it was just a group of stones tonight.

Then she caught site of a light among the trees, not very bright, but moving, as if carried. Sighing, she checked that she was carrying her cellphone, and headed into the woods to see who it was.

It was only when she was surrounded by the shadows of the trees that she started to get worried. If it was one of the protesters, that was no problem. They would go away when she asked. But if it wasn’t? If it was someone else? She took her cellphone out, opening it ready to call the police, as she made her way towards the flickering light. She stepped round a trunk, and found herself in the clearing around the sacred tree.

Another miko stood beside it, reaching up to fix a new shide to the shimenawa. Her lamp stood on the ground behind her, her shadow huge and dancing against the tree in its flickering light. Akiko froze, and the other miko turned to look at her.

“Good evening.â€

There was something strange about her pronunciation, an accent that Akiko couldn’t place. Akiko took a cautious step forwards, and switched her vision to see the spirits.

The tree dominated the scene, seizing her attention immediately, every detail of the bark clear. Smaller spirits, birds and insects, gathered on its branches, healthy and clean. Akiko forced herself to look down and at the miko. She looked human; completely free of kegare, but just human. Akiko’s eyes were drawn back towards the tree, and she switched her vision back to normal so that she could concentrate.

“Good evening,â€ she replied, still a little hesitant.

“Have you come to tend to the tree?â€ There was something very strange about the other miko’s accent, and about the way she talked, and something about her face wasn’t quite right. Akiko took another couple of steps forward.

“No. I was watching the shrine, and I saw your light.â€ Akiko was thinking as fast as she could. The miko was obviously changing the shide on the shimenawa, and someone had been doing that all the time, someone who wasn’t Akiko or Shiraishi. Thus, it seemed likely that it had always been her. But who was she? And where had she come from?

“Oh, I see.â€ Akiko thought she detected a questioning tone in the miko’s response, and took another step forward, as the miko took a step towards her.

And then her frustration with all the mysteries she had faced suddenly boiled over, and she couldn’t suppress the question.

“Who <em>are</em> you?â€