<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">As ever, the tree looked spectacular to her spirit sight, life surging through it, up into the canopy of the forest and beyond, and the shide on the shimenawa seemed to shine with their own light. The shide reminded Akiko of Yoshiko; they looked fresh, so Akiko concluded that the other miko was still coming there. She wasn’t there now, however, and Akiko took another step closer to the tree, reaching out to touch it.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">The invitation was almost overwhelming. The kami forest called to her, welcoming her if she would only step inside. There was nothing needy or desperate in the request; just life and delight overflowing so that the tree could not help but want to share. Even here, standing outside, the energy made Akiko shiver slightly.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">She glanced around quickly, and then started undoing the belt of her yukata. She caught herself wishing that she hadn’t worn any underwear, and smiled wryly to herself. <em>Kazumi is a bad influence…</em></p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">She embraced the tree as soon as she was naked — Kazumi still hadn’t influenced her that much — and it felt as if she was hit by a wall of water, swept away, tumbled over herself, then thrown up into the air where winds swept her ever higher, through the clouds.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">The kami forest was all about her, the energy so bright, so active that it almost blinded her, making her head spin so much that she had to reach out to a tree trunk for support. As quickly as she could, she dropped her spirit sight, but things only became a little calmer. She could <em>see</em> the trees growing, twigs pushing out, buds emerging, turning into leaves, unfurling, then turning a brilliant red before falling from the branch to the ground. Every branch, every bud seemed to be at a different season, as leaves constantly fell around her, vanishing into the labyrinth of roots under her feet, the brilliant green of new shoots a dazzling contrast.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">She felt the passion within her, driving her to run, to dance. She was laughing, laughing from pure joy, and she let herself run, springing up into the branches, tumbling back to the ground, dancing with the trees, which seemed to, no, actually did extend branches to meet her outstretched hands, lift her into their crowns, push her upwards with their growth so that she rose above the tops of the trees, seeing an endless sea of emerald under a flawless azure sky.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">Akiko closed her eyes and raised her arms as the wind caressed her body, but as it blew more strongly she opened her eyes again, watching the waves sweep across the tops of the trees, laughing as she was swept up and down, her hair swept back away from her face.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">She leapt, catching the wind, letting it carry her, higher now and higher, so that she could no longer make out leaves in the green below her, no longer hear anything but the roar of the wind in her ears, feel nothing but its pressure on her skin. She knew she was still laughing, but that was all she knew.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">And then it lowered her gently back into the branches of the trees, branches that supported her limbs on soft new buds as they lowered her to the ground, in front of a trunk, through which she could see the shrine grounds, dawn stealing across them, and people approaching the steps.</p>