Shiraishi went to bed once they got back to the shrine, so that she could watch the shrine for part of the night, and Akira had to go back to the office. The weather was still nice, though, so Akiko decided to wander round the shrine grounds. She kept thinking about what Shiraishi had said, and tried switching her vision to seeing the spirits within the shrine.

A deep fire pulsed within the iwakura, sending out pulses of light that burned away tiny fragments of kegare that were trying to take hold. There was no sign of Tamao, though, nor of Mr Takenaka. Akiko remembered the other shrine precincts, the ones that still had a building, and guessed that they must be there. For a moment she wondered how she could get there, but then she remembered that she was supposed to be keeping an eye on the protesters, and switched her vision back to normal.

As she did so, she heard a short commotion from below, followed by the sound of someone running up the steps. A high school girl, in uniform, her black hair cut short, came into view, looking around with a puzzled expression on her face until she spotted Akiko. A smile briefly crossed her face, soon replaced by a look of embarrassment.

Akiko recognised the reaction; it was how she had been the first time she came to the shrine. She smiled and walked over, noticing as she did so that the girl was wearing her skirt very, very short. <em>Girls today,</em> she thought, and then caught herself. <em>She can’t be more than ten years younger than you,</em> she chided herself ruefully. <em>Remember the things you did at that age.</em>

“Can I help you?â€ she asked, as she came closer.

“Ah, yeah. How do I, er, whatever it is you do here?â€ She was looking around, clearly slightly surprised.

“If you’re looking for the shrine building, it burned down a few weeks ago. It was on the news.â€

“Oh.â€ She looked a little nonplussed for a moment. “So, er, can I do, like, whatever it is?â€

“O-mairi? Yes, you can.â€ Akiko was getting quite puzzled, though. She was being very persistent about performing o-mairi for someone who didn’t seem to have the faintest idea what it was. Could she have seen something? “This way, please.â€ Akiko didn’t want to say anything yet, and she showed her how to cleanse her hands. As the girl bent over to spit the water out, her knickers were clearly visible. <em>Come on, I never wore skirts </em>that<em> short, </em>Akiko told herself, but she didn’t mention it, instead guiding her over in front of the iwakura, and showing her how to perform o-mairi. As she started, Akiko glanced round to make sure that no-one was standing behind them, but the shrine grounds were empty.

“Is that it?â€ the girl asked as they finished.

“Well, you can make an offering if you want, but we don’t have an offering box at the moment.â€

“Oh. Right, yeah.â€ She put her bag on the ground and squatted to rummage through it. Akiko glanced down quickly, confirming that her knickers were on display again, and then looked away, suppressing a sigh. <em>Girls today.</em> “Here you are.â€ She was holding out a 500 yen coin.

“Oh, um, yes, that’s fine.â€ The girl broke out in a smile.

“Excellent. Oh, I’m Kazumi Miura.â€ She bowed, and Akiko quickly bowed in return.

“Akiko Tanahata. A pleasure to meet you.â€

“Well, see you around.â€ She waved as she ran back to the exit, stopping at the top of steps to turn back and wave again, before running down. Akiko stood there for some time, looking at the coin in her hand.

<em>That was peculiar.</em>