The man in the doorway just stood there, staring at her, his hands frozen in the process of putting his mask on. Akiko was silent as well, berating herself internally.

<em>I decided that was a really stupid way to put it!</em> Still, she had said it now. What should she say next to recover from it? Her mind was blank. That was all of her message. What else could she say?

The man, presumably Mr Sugiyama, blinked, and finished adjusting his mask. He squinted at her, but the white material over his nose and mouth made it difficult to read his expression.

“Are you from that shrine?â€ His voice, muffled as it was, was suspicious, even hostile. Akiko didn’t know how to respond for a moment. Why would he jump to that conclusion? She even glanced down to make sure that she wasn’t, somehow, wearing a miko’s uniform, but she was dressed normally.

“Er, Tamao shrine?â€ she asked, unsure.

“I don’t know. Whichever one he was obsessed with.â€

“I don’t think he was obsessed…â€ Mr Sugiyama interrupted her.

“I thought so. Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage already?â€

“Sorry?â€ Akiko was really confused now. What damage had they done?

“You drove him to suicide with your outdated superstitions. Hounding a decent businessman until he couldn’t make any sensible decisions anymore. Everything depended on that shrine; it had a stranglehold over him.â€

That didn’t sound right to Akiko; certainly, the things Mr Takenaka and Akira had said didn’t suggest that, and she couldn’t see Shiraishi controlling anyone that way. Of course, if Tamao had been hounding Mr Takenaka in the same way as he was hounding her… She wondered again whether Mr Takenaka had known what she was seeing. Still, his ghost hadn’t been blaming the shrine.

“I don’t think it was the shrine that caused his suicide…â€ she began, but Mr Sugiyama interrupted her again.

“Oh? Where did he kill himself? Don’t you think that’s some sort of message?â€ He paused, almost as if he expected an answer, but Akiko had nothing to say.

“Look, I don’t have time to stand here talking about ridiculous superstitions. My wife and daughter both have the fever, and I have to look after them. Take your ideas of cursing gods, and pointless offerings elsewhere. I’m not interested in the inherent superiority of the Japanese nation, or the importance of loyalty to the Emperor. The Emperor! What importance does he have today? We’re a democracy now, not some sort of theocracy ruled by divine right. You and all the other Shinto people are just throwbacks to before the war, to the nationalism that led to our defeat. I’m sure you heard about that in school; there were two atomic bombs involved. <em>That’s</em> what Shinto brought to our nation, and Shinto led Takenaka to suicide. So why, tell me why, should I listen to what you say? Just get out, OK? Leave now, before I call the police.â€

Akiko, stunned by the torrent of words, could only nod, and turned to walk down the path. As soon as she stepped onto the street, she heard the door slam behind her.