The guards Fujimura had sent, and Akiko couldn’t help thinking of them in those terms, were certainly very polite. They stayed out of the shrine grounds for the most part, except for paying their respects to the kami when the arrived and just before they left. Indeed, Akiko could almost have forgotten that they were there, most of the time, if she hadn’t constantly felt the need to check on them. The people who had come to the shrine had commented, but Shiraishi had just said that they were making sure that the protesters didn’t cause trouble, and since the protesters were clearly there, that seemed to work.

Late in the afternoon, after the yohai, however, they did draw attention to themselves. Akiko was in the office, but could hear the shouting from there, and she hurried out to see what was going on.

The protesters had, once again, formed a barrier in front of the shrine, to keep someone out. The guards had lined up at the foot of the stairs, inside the barrier, and had started arguing. Standing beyond the protesters was Kazumi, looking slightly baffled, although she smiled and waved when she saw Akiko.

“You must not stop people who want to worship,â€ one of the guards said.

“She’s only a child. She needs to be protected from your propaganda!â€ one of the protesters shot back. Akiko could see Kazumi roll her eyes at this, and briefly smiled. No-one that age thought of themselves as a child.

“You are <em>not</em> going to stop her.â€ Suddenly, the guards moved forward, not attacking, exactly, but definitely pushing the protesters out of the way. The guards were quiet, but the protesters were very loud in the their objections, trying to push back, again without actually fighting. The guards were in better shape, however, and as a gap opened up, Kazumi darted through and up the steps. As she did, one of the protesters slipped and fell with a cry. Akiko saw a guard offer a hand, but the protester refused it, pushing himself to his feet, and then looking up to glare at Akiko. For a moment, she was afraid that the situation would deteriorate, but the protesters stepped back, and the guards returned to their place.

“Welcome back,â€ Akiko said, noting that Kazumi was wearing tracksuit bottoms again.

“Thanks,â€ Kazumi replied as they climbed the steps. “What’s with the Imperial Guard?â€

“I don’t think the emperor has anything to do with it,â€ Akiko replied, a bit puzzled.

“I meant like Star Wars. Dum-dum-dum dum-de-dum dum-de-dum.â€ Kazumi was grinning, and Akiko laughed as well.

“Better not let them hear you make that comparison. Anyway, they aren’t like that. They’re just…â€ <em>Just what?</em> Akiko thought. “Just friends of the shrine who don’t want the protesters to cause any damage.â€

“Hmm.â€ Kazumi didn’t sound completely convinced, which was hardly surprising. “Anyway, I just came to do the bowing thing before I went home. I can’t afford another harae at the moment, so…â€ Akiko quickly switched her vision. Kazumi was heavy with kegare, like a strangling vine growing over her whole body. It was wilting a bit at the edges in the environment of the shrine, but it clearly wasn’t going to be removed.

“Hang on. Don’t tell anyone, but we’ll do you a free one.â€

<em>At least help the people we can,</em> Akiko thought, as she hurried off to find the priest.