Akiko stood watching the fire for a few more minutes, still not quite believing it, until she became conscious of the rain soaking her clothes. She looked around for somewhere to get out of it, but there didn’t even seem to be a convenience store. Resigning herself to being drenched, she turned and headed back to the station.

The rain got lighter as she walked, and by the time she was back it was nothing but a light drizzle. The motorcycle was still there, with police tape around it, but there was no sign of the spirit. Akiko hoped that the rider wasn’t too badly injured.

After changing into dry clothes, she found herself sitting in the manga cafe, idly surfing the net. She had meant to be looking for job vacancies, but really, what was the point? Tamao was willing to set fire to a company’s offices to keep her out of work, and was probably responsible for the bus’s breakdown and the weather, as well. How on earth was she supposed to fight that?

She rested her head in her hands, all her energy and enthusiasm gone. Her life was over. No husband, not even a boyfriend, no job, pursued by a giant snake and threatened by kegare spirits. What was the point of going on?

<em>Stop being melodramatic,</em> she told herself, sternly. <em>It’s not that bad.</em>

<em>Yes it is,</em> insisted a small voice in her mind, but Akiko wasn’t going to let that defeatist voice win. She had lost her job, her boyfriend, and her home. Fine. The kami wasn’t going to let her have them back, either. Fine. She would just have to build her life again. What would people think if she just gave up at this point? She had to be stronger than that.

She finally talked herself into getting up and leaving the cafe.

<em>The shrine,</em> she thought. <em>I’ll go to the shrine and tell Tamao that he can’t beat me that easily.</em>

The walk was surprisingly pleasant, despite the grey and overcast sky; the rain had stopped completely, and the wind was very gentle in the warm air. When the shrine came into view, the leaves were bright green, washed clean by the rain, and as she climbed the steps it smelled fresh, invigorated.

As she washed her hands and rinsed her mouth, she felt her spirits lift a little, and she marched over to the shrine, bowing and clapping to get Tamao’s attention before giving him a piece of her mind.

“I hope you’re happy now. You’ve driven my boyfriend away and got me thrown out of my flat, and, not content with getting me fired from my old job, you are doing all you can to stop me getting a new one. Well, you win. I can’t fight you. I give up. You don’t want me to have a happy, normal life. I don’t know what kind of misfit you want me to be, and I don’t really care. I can’t be normal? Fine.â€ She spat the word out. “I’ll just do…â€ What? What would she do?

“Er, Ms Tanahata?â€ It was Shiraishi. Embarrassed, Akiko spun round to face her, looking down at her from the veranda. “Can we talk?â€