Akiko stood there for a long time, wishing that she could sink into the ground and disappear. She really hadn’t intended for the priest to hear that rant. She hadn’t really wanted anyone apart from Tamao to hear it, in fact. And now that she thought about it, yelling at the kami may not have been the most intelligent thing to do. Although, what else could it really do to her?

Shiraishi was still waiting at the bottom of the steps, saying nothing but keeping her eyes on Akiko. Akiko forced herself to nod, not trusting herself to speak for the moment, and, after making a perfunctory bow to the shrine, came down to stand next to the priest.

“I take it the interview didn’t go well?â€

“There was no interview. The bus broke down, then there was a rainstorm, and by the time I got to the company, their building was on fire.â€ Akiko saw Shiraishi suppress a smile, and had to fight to keep a scowl off her face. It wasn’t funny!

“I can see why you might feel cursed.â€ Akiko suddenly felt bad; she’d been accusing Shiraishi’s kami of cursing her.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to suggest that…â€ What? She had stood in front of the shrine and directly accused Tamao of cursing her. It wasn’t easy to get around that.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Curses from the kami are at least as common in the legends as blessings. Usually when they want something.â€

“Like what?â€

“A shrine. A particular priest. A festival. Those sorts of things.â€

“So, you think Tamao wants something from me?â€

“It seems likely. The kami don’t make people’s lives miserable for fun, at least not in the legends.â€

Akiko wasn’t sure whether that was a relief or not. On the one hand, if she wasn’t just being tormented for the sake of it, she might be able to stop it. On the other…

“<em>What</em> does he want from me?â€ The wind was picking up a bit, and it was cold. The first drops of rain began to fall, and Akiko shivered a little.

“Let’s discuss that inside.â€ Shiraishi didn’t wait for Akiko to reply before hurrying into the house, but Akiko was not far behind; the rain was getting heavy. Shiraishi led her to the reception room, and then asked her to wait for a little while. Akiko sat on the floor, and looked out of the window, at the rain falling on the garden, churning the surface of the pond and dancing off the stone lantern in a cloud of spray. Very heavy, already.

Shiraishi was back very soon, with a hot water pot and a tray of things.

“I thought you wouldn’t want to wait while I got the tea ready, so I’ll have to heat the water a bit here.â€ She put everything down, setting out more Japanese sweets, but Akiko wasn’t in a mood to eat.

“What do you think Tamao wants from me?â€

“Ah. Yes.â€ The priest looked down at her hands, which were clasped on the table in front of her.

“You have an idea?â€

“Mm.â€ Akiko was getting frustrated.

“Well, what is it?â€ <em>That was rude.</em> “I’m sorry, please tell me what you think.â€ Shiraishi took a deep breath, and looked up.

“Think about what has happened. Tamao has driven you out of your job and your flat, and stopped you getting a new job.â€

“And driven my boyfriend away.â€ The priest shook her head slightly.

“I’m not sure about that. Your boyfriend seems to have had a problem with the shrine; Tamao didn’t do anything against him directly.â€ Akiko thought about that for a moment, and it was largely true. There was only that one time, in bed, when Tamao had done something directly to come between her and Naoyuki. She nodded.

“Go on.â€

“Tamao also drove you to come here, and clean up.â€ Akiko started to get a sense of where this was going, and nodded again.

“So…?â€

“I think he wants you to be here, at the shrine.â€ Shiraishi said it quickly, and then looked down. Akiko turned to look out of the window. It did make a lot of sense.

“Doing what?â€ That was still a question.

“I’m not sure. Being a miko, perhaps?â€

“A miko? I’m not qualified.â€ Shiraishi looked surprised.

“Not qualified? What do you mean?â€ Akiko felt herself blush.

“I’m not… you know. I had a boyfriend.â€

Shiraishi laughed.

“Miko don’t have to be virgins.â€ Akiko felt her blush getting hotter. “I suppose you think that they don’t wear knickers, either?â€ Akiko said nothing, but her deepening blush gave her away. Shiraishi chuckled again. “You’ve been reading naughty manga, haven’t you?â€

“No! Well, not really.â€ Shiraishi shook her head, waving her hand to move off the issue.

“Anyway, you don’t have to be a virgin, and most miko wear knickers. In winter, they wear long, thermal underwear. Although… How old are you?â€

“Twenty six, why?â€

“Hmm, half my age.â€ Akiko was surprised. She had put Shiraishi in her late thirties, very early forties at most. “That’s actually a bit older than most miko; it’s normal to quite around twenty five. Still, not unheard of.â€

“Great, too old for this as well.â€ This time Shiraishi blushed.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to come out like that. You’d be fine as a miko, really.â€

“Yes, but I’m not sure I want to be one.â€

“I’m not sure that Tamao really wants to offer you a choice.â€

Akiko scowled, and looked out of the window again. Shiraishi was right about that. There was a pause, but Akiko had no intention of saying anything, and just waited for the priest to continue.

“Actually, the shrine isn’t doing that well at the moment, so I wouldn’t be able to pay you much. However, there’s only me in the house, so there’s plenty of room. You could stay here, at least until we figure out what Tamao wants.â€

Akiko looked back at the priest, surprised. It was a very generous offer.

“Why? You hardly know me…â€ Shiraishi blushed again, and looked down.

“I said I had chosen to believe you. If the kami is talking to you and driving you here, I can’t really object.â€ Akiko nodded slowly. She felt that she ought to turn the offer down, but…

But she didn’t have anywhere else to go. She thought about the shower room at the manga cafe, and compared it to the enormous bathroom in the shrine house in her mind.

“What if I don’t want to be a miko?â€ Shiraishi shrugged.

“That may not be what Tamao wants. I’m fairly sure he wants you here, but beyond that, it’s not clear to me.â€

“So, it’s all right if I think for a while?â€

“Yes. What do you say?â€

Akiko looked out of the window again. She was going to say yes, she knew it. How could she turn this offer down? She looked back at the priest.

“Yes. Thank you very much.â€

The sun broke through the clouds, turning the rain to a curtain of shining silver outside the window.

<em>On to <a href="http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/category/03-takenaka/">Part 3: Takenaka</a>.</em>