As the sun set, the festival transformed from a marketplace into a celebration. Beautiful lanterns were suspended on long ropes to illuminate the open center of the shrine grounds, where volunteer musicians played traditional instruments. Women in miko outfits demonstrated historic dances called kagura and some visitors followed along, growing in both numbers and confidence as time passed.
Akari wanted to join in the performance, but she was busy speaking to a group of volunteers about the evening's schedule. It took a lot of coordination to keep everything running smoothly, and she was the de-facto leader.
She announced, "In an hour or so, we'll switch gears again and do a formal dedication of the shrine, but until then—" She cut off suddenly as she saw something unexpected in the crowd. That can't be good, she thought, then she addressed the gathered volunteers again. "Sorry, but there's something I have to go check on. I trust you to follow through on the plan we covered earlier, and I'll be around if you need anything."
What had caught Akari's attention was a young girl with bright red hair and a comically large black bow on top of her head. She was short and slender and wore a long cherry-blossom pink kimono that nearly dragged on the ground. And Akari was convinced she was actually Inara in disguise.
The bow seemed to be hiding her ears and the kimono covered her tails, but the quality of her disguise wasn't the problem. Inara had made it clear to Akari that despite all her transformation powers, she couldn't walk amongst humans without her aura drawing attention. And after hearing from Hebi about what Inara's fertility aura had done in the past, and having seen its effect first-hand during the miko-outfit sizing, Akari was alarmed.
What's she thinking, walking around like that? I thought she wanted to stay out of sight?
Akari followed the child-sized Inara through the throng of people. There must have been over 200 guests at the shrine, a remarkable turnout that Akari wouldn't dare complain about, but it made it difficult to stay close to Inara. She ended up stopping next to a vendor stall and watching the goddess from a distance, hoping she wouldn't cause a scene.
But instead of causing trouble, Inara was just dancing playfully, giggling, and acting like a normal young girl, albeit one with infectious enthusiasm. She gathered seven guests, had them all hold hands with her in a circle, and started it spinning in time to the music. Soon, others were joining in, also in groups of eight. As she spun around, her dress flipped out and Akari caught a glimpse of her tails, all eight of them.
Throughout the clearing, visitors of all ages danced and laughed, giddy and childlike, just having innocent fun. Akari was sure it was the effect of Inara's aura, but it was a different emotion than she'd seen from it before.
"Don't worry about her," came a voice from Akari's right. She turned to see Usagi emerge from the shadows, still in her red and white miko outfit. "This is her least harmful form. I call it 'Innocence'."
Akari squinted at her. "Form? What do you mean?"
Usagi hopped up and sat down on the front edge of the wooden stand. "You've noticed, right? The way she acts like completely different people sometimes? Regal and bossy one day, then smothering you in love the next?"
Akari nodded slowly. "Or wild and almost too carefree?" she said, thinking of the unforgettable time that Inara had stripped naked in the kitchen, turned into a fox, and ran into the forest to frolick. That was just after she'd given Akari the nickname Kari-chan for some reason.
"Ah, so you've seen her six-tailed form? I'd call that one 'Wild' except she already nicknamed herself Kitsune."
Akari's eyes lit up. "So the number of tails does correspond to the personality! I'd been thinking that was the case."
Usagi smiled. "You aren't as dumb as you look, Akari."
"Hey!" Akari said, reminded of the time Inu said the same thing. Is there actually something about the way I look, or are they just being rude?
Usagi patted her on the back, almost friendly, then said, "I'm going to check on the shrine, to make sure no one's exploring the private areas. 'Innocence' usually isn't problematic, but it can cause people to get a little too curious, just like little kids."
Usagi walked away, a cheerful spring in her step from Inara's aura. Akari still had questions for her about Inara's forms, but she couldn't help but think of how cute Usagi's miko outfit looked, especially with the fluffy tail sticking out the back. Akari was proud of her work on the costume, and felt reinvigorated to work on the outfits for the two winners.
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After 10 more minutes of joyful calm, Akari decided she trusted 'Innocent' Inara to keep out of trouble, so she opted to make a loop around the grounds and check if any of the performers needed anything. She stepped around a cheerful teenage couple who were dancing hand-in-hand, then froze. Straight ahead, less than a half-dozen feet away, was someone she didn't want to see.
"Akari!" he said. "I didn't expect to see you here, but with your Shinto obsession, I guess it makes sense."
"Watanabe," she said, using only his family name. "Welcome to the grand opening of Mori-jinsha. I work here now."
He stepped closer, his features becoming clearer in the dim light. He looked the same as he had in high school, though leaner in the face and a bit taller. He was handsome, in a rough and unapproachable sort of way.
"That's cool. Seems like a step up from your old gig. I saw you there sometimes, working in your miko outfit." He reached out and flicked her dangling sleeve. "It's cute."
She stepped back. She hadn't forgotten how he'd treated her in their senior year. "Thanks."
"Got a girlfriend?" he asked, putting unnecessary emphasis on 'girl'. He knew that she was only attracted to the female form. But she had been attracted to him once, romantically.
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"No," she answered simply. She didn't owe him anything else. She had trusted him with her heart, once, at a time where she was still discovering herself. She'd wanted to spend time together, go on dates, cuddle and maybe kiss. But he had wanted her body. He wanted physical intimacy, including sex.
"That's too bad," he said with a smile. He had been cruel back then, pushing until it was clear she wouldn't budge, then dropping her in a heartbeat when she wouldn't give it up. He'd grown even colder in the years since. "Well good luck. If you're allowed to date other shrine girls, I'll try to leave one for you."
He walked off with a small wave, leaving nothing but dredged up memories and a sour taste in Akari's mouth. She felt that she'd handled it okay, but her heart was pounding and he left with the upper hand nonetheless.
A miko with floppy platinum blonde ears approached from across the clearing. Inu. "What's that guy's problem?" she asked.
Akari was confused at first. "You heard that? Oh right, your ears." Then she sighed and explained, "He was my boyfriend in my senior year of high school. We ended on bad terms."
"That's no excuse to be rude to you at your place of work."
Akari nodded. She wasn't interested in dissecting the reasons behind his shitty behavior.
Inu put a hand on Akari's shoulder. "I say he needs to be taught a lesson. Are you in?"
"Um," Akari floundered, "I don't know… I probably shouldn't do any—"
"Then I'll do it without you. No one disrespects my housemates, especially not on shrine grounds. This is our turf."
There was a look in Inu's eyes that Akari couldn't place at first, then it hit her: it was competitive spirit, just like in all of Inu's sports manga.
"I'll just tag along," Akari said. To keep you from doing anything extreme…
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After transforming inside one of the closed-up market stands, Inu padded through the festival grounds in her dog form. She slipped between people's legs, grabbed Watanabe's shoelace and tugged it loose, then vanished into the crowd again. People tried to pet the cute doggy, but she was remarkably good at dodging unwanted attention.
Before he could finish re-tying his shoe, she went for the other one.
"What the hell?" he squawked pitifully. "Whose dog is that?!"
Thirty feet away on the shrine's steps, Akari giggled. She had a great view from there, but even she couldn't follow Inu's movements through the crowd. She was like a shadow, striking only when Watanabe least expected it.
A few minutes later, he bought a skewer of meat from one of the few food stands that were still open. This one was run by a volunteer, since Usagi didn't want anything to do with its menu. Watanabe didn't get to eat a single bite.
A dog pounced out of the bushes and swiped the skewer right out of his hand. Inu stopped a few feet away, in plain sight, and started eating slowly. She was just begging for retaliation and Watanabe took the bait.
He ran after her, cursing under his breath, but Inu was faster. She led him back to the stand where she had changed, then waited until he could see where she'd gone. Then she darted inside through the heavy curtains.
Watanabe followed, then shouted, "I've got you now!" as he pushed his way through.
"Eeek!" screamed a woman inside the stand. It was Inu, partially clothed, with bits of her costume carefully covering her ears and tail. "I'm changing, and only staff are allowed inside the shrine stalls!"
The sound of a slap rang out, and Watanabe stumbled backwards out of the stall, one hand pressed to a growing red mark on his cheek. He made no effort to apologize and silently turned to leave.
Akari was standing right there, staring right at him.
"S-sorry," he mumbled, "There was a dog and it took my food, and I— I was just chasing it. I didn't mean to…"
Akari said nothing. She just stood there, her gaze hard and unforgiving.
He turned around and jogged off, silent and no longer looking so superior.
Inu emerged a moment later, fully dressed in her miko outfit with her 'cosplay' ears and tail on display. She grinned wide and said, "It's fun pretending to be human. I kind of wish I could do this in town. Just think of all the mischief I could get up to!"
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After that amusing and cathartic diversion, Akari returned to the shrine building to help with the final ceremony: dedicating the shrine to the various kami of the forest and the 'unnamed goddess'. It wasn't technically a lie, since Inara hadn't chosen a public-facing name yet.
A head priest from one of the larger shrines in town was in charge of the ceremony, with nearly a dozen shrine maidens assisting. Hebi was among them, looking very stoic in her miko outfit, but Inu and Usagi stayed out of it, since their 'cosplay' would look disrespectful during such an important ritual.
For this ceremony, the entire shrine was evacuated and all the lights were turned off. The head priest purified the darkness of the worship hall, then walked backwards out of the building and down the stairs, chanting and continuing his purification. The shrine maidens began to dance in the clearing in front of the shrine, beginning a portion of the ritual that lasted almost ten minutes.
It was something that all the miko had practiced specifically for this day, since it wasn't part of their daily work, and Akari was impressed with Hebi's skill. She moved smoothly and organically, yet with clockwork precision, and Akari's movement felt sloppy in comparison. It wasn't a problem, however, since the focus of the ritual, and the bulk of the labor, was on the head priest. He had to follow a rigid process to make the shrine ready for the kami and guide them into their new home.
Of course, he had no idea that the spirits and goddess in question had already been living there for some time, but that didn't change anything. According to Hebi, when the priest was done the shrine would feel more like home than ever before, like putting on clothes that were tailor-made for you.
Soft chanting and the ringing of ritual bells continued for a few more minutes, then the head priest brought it to a close. He clapped his hands once, knelt on the ground, and bowed his head toward the dark shrine. It was done. The building and its surrounding grounds were now an official Shinto shrine, in service to the gods, spirits, and people of Shinjō.
Once the ritual had completed, Akari climbed the stairs at the front of the shrine, drawing the attention of the audience and other participants. She faced them and said, "Greetings, everyone. I'm Akari, the primary shrine maiden here. I wanted to announce a few things. First, though we dedicated this shrine to the nameless goddess of this forest, the shrine's name will remain Mori-jinsha for now, representing the forest and all its wildlife. Second, I encourage everyone to return in one week for the shrine's first formal worship ceremony, or visit any day thereafter to pray for blessings or leave tribute."
Akari almost bit her tongue when she felt a sudden sensation flow over her, a powerful sense of pride. It was coming from behind her, inside the darkened front hall of the shrine. She shot a glance over her shoulder and saw the silhouette of Inara there, tall and imposing, proud and dominant. Akari felt small in comparison, but she also felt proud for the part she had played in such a successful event.
She turned back to the gathered crowd and finished strong, "And with that, I declare this festival complete. Thank you all so very much for attending our opening ceremony and for making this festival a success. Please be careful on your journeys home."
Then she bowed deeply and the other priests and miko followed suit. The visitors quickly dissipated until the only people still present were all volunteers and their families. Akari stayed with them for another hour, talking to the volunteers and preparing for equipment pickup in the morning. Inu and Hebi helped with some of the teardown work, but Usagi was nowhere to be seen.
I wonder if Usagi is off with Inara, Akari thought, since Inara seemed to be in a dominant mood, and that seems to be Usagi's thing… She shook her head, trying not to picture their love life. Seeing Inara all tied up by Hebi was quite enough of that stuff for one lifetime.