Next Saturday morning greeted the residents of the shrine with a frigid cold November morning. After their breakfast, which thankfully included some fresh, hot miso soup, a lot of arguing ensued over who gets to go out into the cold first to help whatever visitors were brave, or stubborn, enough to brave the cold morning to do their prayers.

In the end, Komaki ended this argument by declaring they would simply stick to the normal schedule that had been set for the day. Soon after, Touya was grumbling as he had to go outside for the morning, while everyone else got to stay inside and lounge around the Kotatsu[1].

A few minutes in, Yukiko, the only one not bothered at all by the cold, went and got her Shamisen. Once she started playing, everyone inside slowly lost track of time, enjoying the warmth of the kotatsu and the soft music played by the Yukionna.

Just as she finished her rendition of Jongara Bushi[2], the door opened as Touya stepped back inside.

“Gah, it’s even colder than we thought outside.” The Tanuki said as he made a beeline for the free spot at the Kotatsu. “But at least there’s not many visitors today.”

“Wait, your shift is already over?” Eva asked mildly panicked while checking her phone to confirm that they had indeed wasted away a few hours just relaxing to Yukiko’s music.

“Yes. But at least you get some more sunshine, maybe that helps.” Touya said in response, trying to cheer the Kitsune up a bit before she would need to head outside and brave the cold.

“Well, enjoy the warmth then.” Eva grumbled as she got out from under the Kotatsu’s blanket and began to make her way outside. Taking a deep breath, she tried to not only change her clothes into the miko outfit she wore for work, but also add a warm lining to it. While everything felt heavier on her, the German would need to see how good a job she did out in the cold autumn winds.

Which did indeed bite into the exposed skin on her face and neck, but the chill did not yet penetrate through her garments. Under her geta, the gravel of the path crunched as the tiny bits of ice holding it together broke. Looking around, the grass and bushes still in the shadow were covered with tiny flecks of frost. Even the flow of the stream running across the shrine grounds seemed more sluggish this morning.

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With her breath forming small puffy clouds before her, Eva began to walk across the grounds, keeping an eye out for anything that needed her attention. Just as Touya had said, few people were braving the cold to come pray this morning. Which gave her a chance to see if anything had been dropped off for her to deliver in the small back area of the Honden. Finding only a small wooden crate inside, Eva decided that that could easily wait until later and went back outside, ready to help any visitors.

The first visitor that did brave the cold Eva saw was Hanako. For once the office lady was not wearing a suit, but instead a warm jacket and some very comfortable looking pants.

“Oh good morning Eva.” She greeted the German with a friendly wave. “What a poor day to have to work outside.”

“It really is.” Eva replied with a nod. “Which makes me wonder why you are here right now. After all, might get a bit warmer later.”

“Maybe, but Yujiro invited me to a weekend trip, so I only got some time this morning before we leave.”

“Oh so where are you headed?” Eva inquired as she accompanied the other woman across the red wooden bridge.

“We are going to spend the weekend at Koshu Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan.[3] It’s going to be wonderful to relax in the hot water together.”

“An Onsen huh? Makes me kind of jealous, especially with this weather.” Eva commented before taking a step back to let Hanako have privacy for her morning prayer.

After the local woman rang the bell, Eva heard a faint voice, but looking around could not see anyone but the two of them. As her friend had prayed silently, Eva was left wondering where the voice had come from as Hanako walked back over to her.

“Well I am off then, Yujiro is waiting for me at the train station.” Hanako said with a wave as she quickly made her way outside the shrine grounds.

The next few hours passed by with little of interest happening. Except that Eva noticed the strange faint Voice a few more times when she was nearby when people made their prayers. After letting Yukiko know she’d need to take over now, the Kitsune walked back into the small back area of the Honden, tied a ribbon around the box so she could more easily pick it up, and then carried it outside. Following the mental directions as normal, Eva soon found herself close to where she thought her destination was.

Now if only her sense of direction would give her an alternate route than jumping straight into the frigid river before her.