Akiko sat in the car for a few moments, gathering the nerve to get out. What finally did it was the sound of Shiraishi opening the boot; the addition of embarrassment pushed her over the limit, and she opened the door.

As she took some of the equipment from the priest, she looked over at the park. It was hard to see in the dark, but there seemed to be some people around, and Akiko wondered why. She considered looking at the kegare, but decided against it. She really didn’t want to see that thing again, and maybe if she couldn’t see it, it couldn’t see her.

“Ready?â€ Shiraishi asked. Akiko looked down at the things she was carrying, and into the boot again. They seemed to have everything, so she nodded.

“Let’s go.â€

The priest closed the boot and locked the car up, and they walked over to the park. There were definitely people there, but Akiko couldn’t see them clearly. She felt a little self-conscious in her miko’s vestments, but she told herself that there was no law against it, and that Shiraishi was completely calm. She glanced quickly at the priest to confirm it, and she did indeed look very confident in her vestments.

<em>I decided to do this,</em> she reminded herself. <em>I decided to do this to protect people.</em> Reminding herself of the reasons did help, and she straightened up a bit.

As they approached the park there was movement, and then the sound of female giggling.

“Fancy dress?â€ someone called, to renewed laughter. Akiko felt herself blush, but Shiraishi didn’t even break her stride. They could see the women now, most of them with bleached blonde hair, all of them wearing very short mini-skirts or shorts, most of them in brief tee-shirts that exposed their stomachs, despite the cool night. They looked at Akiko and Shiraishi for another couple of moments, then laughed and moved off, although they didn’t leave the park.

Shiraishi led the way to a space away from the entrances to the park, where there seemed to be fewer people. A couple of men, startled, left in a hurry, walking in opposite directions, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else immediately around.

As they were setting the himorogi up, Akiko heard a car pull up. She glanced at the street, and saw one of the women lean down to the window, then, after a short discussion, get into the car.

<em>Prostitutes!</em> she suddenly realised. That explained some of the features of the spirit she had seen, at least. As if answering her thoughts, Shiraishi came close beside her and muttered in her ear.

“Prostitutes and drug dealers. The pollution here isn’t entirely spiritual, Akiko. I hope this works.â€

“Yes,â€ Akiko whispered back, remembering the corruption she’d seen, the many spirits. Which corruption was cause, and which effect, she wondered.

Shiraishi looked over the himorogi, and nodded.

“We’re ready. Standing ceremony here, OK?â€

“Yes, I’m ready.â€

Shiraishi bowed once to open the ceremony, and as she began to recite the norito Akiko became inescapably aware that people were watching.

“Hey! Look over here!â€ one of the women called, and soon a small group had gathered, laughing and joking among themselves.

“Need any special help?â€

“Is it true miko aren’t allowed to screw?â€

“What about girl on girl?â€

“Wanna try? I’ll give you a first-time discount, miko.â€ That last comment met with a lot of raucous catcalls and laughter, and Akiko focused her attention on the himorogi and Shiraishi’s voice.

“Hey, this isn’t your shrine. Are you so stoned you got lost? Shall I show you the way home?â€ More laughter.

It didn’t matter, Akiko suddenly realised. She was doing the right thing. Maybe if the women knew the reasons, they’d agree, and maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, she was doing the right thing, and she couldn’t let their comments stop her.

When Shiraishi bowed and clapped at the end of the norito, Akiko joined in calmly, despite the mocking imitations she could see around them.

Shiraishi picked up the ohnusa, and Akiko realised that she would have to switch her vision, to make sure that the corruption was cleared.

The switch was almost immediate, and Akiko could see that the ground around the himorogi was already clear. The spirit she had seen during the day was still there, larger now, towering over the spindly trees, which were still laden with fungus. It looked down at them, and then away, its tentacles reaching down to push one of the prostitutes towards a car and draw two men together.

Akiko looked down, at the women gathered around them. Their faces were all covered by masks of makeup, garish and bright, tied on with their own hair, which was pulled violently round from the back. Their clothes were now rotten rags which hid nothing, and most had sores on their breasts, between their legs, on their arms. Huge, deformed slugs crawled over their skin, leaving trails of slime, and as one vanished between a woman’s legs Akiko suddenly realised what they looked like.

She shuddered, but kept watching. Shiraishi had raised the ohnusa now.

As she swung it, there was a sound of bells, hundreds of small bells tinkling at once, and the giant spirit swung its attention back to them, spinning round, its insect legs scuttling across the ground, tentacles reaching down.

Shiraishi swung it again, and the spirit recoiled, throwing its head back and belching a great column of smoke. A wind blew from the ohnusa, catching the smoke and scattering it.

Akiko glanced down at the prostitutes, to see the slugs dropping from their bodies to the ground, dropping not only from their skin, but from between their legs. The masks started to crack, and many of the women turned to run, somehow avoiding the legs of the spirit as it milled around.

The priest swung the ohnusa once more, and the great spirit screamed, a sound that hurt Akiko’s ears and shook her stomach, making her feel sick. A leg came down, and snapped, and then another, and the spirit came crashing to the ground. Akiko looked down, and saw one prostitute still standing there. The mask over her face shattered, and she doubled over, vomiting phallic slugs onto the ground. Beyond her, the spirit convulsed and fragmented, vanishing.

Akiko looked around. The park was dark, but clean. She even saw new green buds on the trees. Shiraishi, clean and shining as ever, glanced round at her, and she nodded. As the priest closed the ceremony, Akiko returned her vision to normal.

Only one of the prostitutes was still there, staring at them. Akiko met her eyes for a moment.

<em>She looks so young,</em> she thought, and then the girl turned and walked quickly away, straight out of the park.

“Well?â€

“Yes, we…â€

“Hey!â€ It was a man’s voice, and he didn’t sound happy. They glanced round, and saw a group of men approaching.

“Someone doesn’t want us here,â€ Shiraishi said, turning to grab the himorogi. Akiko helped her, and they were soon hurrying for an exit. The men were following them, so they broke into a run, which the men matched.

Akiko thought that the sounds of pursuit stopped quickly, but she didn’t risk a look back until they had reached the car. The men were standing at the entrance to the park, watching them, and the prostitutes had gathered around them again.

“Let’s go home,â€ Shiraishi said, and Akiko fully agreed.