Akari considered it a good thing that her shrine maiden duties at Mori-jinsha had become routine, almost boring. Once you got past the fact that her boss and coworkers were supernatural, the job was basically the same one she'd been doing for years. Of course there were a few management tasks that Jin used to take care of back at her old shrine, but Akari had Hebi's excellent assistance on the administrative work and Inara handled all the really big decisions, like when to hold special events.

Another Saturday service at the shrine had come and gone without issue, and now Akari had some actual free time on her hands. She was free of responsibility for the rest of the night and all day Sunday.

A whole day to myself… What should I do with it? Akari wondered as she stripped out of her miko outfit. As much as she loved her ceremonial garb, it wasn't the most comfortable and taking it off felt wonderful. Then it felt almost as good when she slipped into some comfy pink pajamas.

"Oh!" she said aloud as she recalled something. Inara said I should do something fun with Hanako, to fill the hole in her memory. Maybe she'll want to hang out tomorrow.

A small part of Akari's mind whispered that Hanako would be busy, that she wouldn't want to spend time with someone she barely knew. But Akari recognized that voice and knew to ignore it. She was in a good mood and wasn't about to let a little anxiety ruin it.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Hanako. When the phone reached the third ring, that intrusive voice told her to just hang up, since Hanako wasn't going to answer anyway, then—

"Hello? This is Hanako."

Akari smiled, happy to see her anxiety proven wrong. With some luck, maybe its other claims would be false too. "Hey Hanako! It's Akari. How've you been?"

"I've been great! A little tired, but I've dealt with worse. You?"

Akari flopped down on the bed and playfully kicked her legs in the air. "Just had another successful ceremony, and now I'm just lounging in my room. And I happen to have tomorrow free as well."

"Oh really? Me too!"

"Perfect. Wanna hang out? Maybe go out somewhere? A change of pace would be nice."

"For sure!" Hanako said, sounding very excited. "I want to invite my new friend Ayumi too."

"The more the merrier, and I'd like to meet her. But… she's still just a friend?" Akari knew that Hanako had a crush on Ayumi, but it was still unknown whether Ayumi was into girls.

"Yep. We haven't spent that much time together yet, after all. It was hard to think of ways to hang out with her without it feeling like a date. But if the three of us go together, I think the pressure will be a lot lower." After a pause, Hanako added, "Oh, you have a girlfriend, right? You can bring her too!"

Akari's legs fell to the bed and she thought, Right. I did say I was in a relationship… But even if we were properly dating, there's no way Inara could come out with us. Her power would draw way too much attention. Akari scrambled to find an excuse and settled on, "Oh, we're not officially dating yet. And anyway, she's not available this week."

"No problem. Just the three of us then. I think you'll like Ayumi. She's interested in Shintoism too, we can talk about it for hours. But she's also just a fun girl. Always happy, unlike her intense parents."

Akari was relieved that Hanako hadn't pressed the Inara issue; she seemed more focused on Ayumi anyway. "Works for me. So where should we go?"

Hanako instantly answered, "Let's go to Shinjō Fun Land. I have a season pass and a few guest passes that came with it, so we'll all get in free."

Akari raised an eyebrow at that. Shinjō Fun Land was a local amusement park, and she'd always assumed it was more for kids than adults. Though Hanako was barely an adult; she couldn't even drink for another two years.

Akari said, "I guess I saw your Fun Land shirt the other day, but I had no idea you were so into that place. Is it that fun?"

"You've never been?! It's amazing! I've been going since I was a kid. You'll have a great time, I promise!" Hanako cheered. Then she got back on topic and said, "I'll call Ayumi now and text you the plan once I know it, alright?"

Hanako's enthusiasm was contagious and now Akari was hyped up too. She answered, "Alright. I can't wait."

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The next morning while Akari was getting dressed for the hike down into town, she got a phone call.

"Ayumi had to cancel…" said the voice on the phone, soft and sad.

"What?" Akari blurted. "But she was on board just last night."

Hanako sighed. "It's her parents. They pulled her into some career development thing at the last minute. I think they actually like ruining Ayumi's plans…"

"I'm sure they mean well," Akari started. "They just want her to—"

Hanako interrupted with, "Let's just cancel the whole thing. I'm not up to going to Fun Land anymore…"

Akari took a stand. "No, we should go ahead with it. You got me all excited for today, and with how much you love Fun Land, I'm sure it will make you feel better. We can always go again with Ayumi some other day." Of course, Akari had another motive as well. She wanted to fill the Neko-sized hole that Inara had punched in Hanako's memory. The younger woman seemed to be holding herself together better lately, but Akari didn't want to take any chances.

There was another sigh, then Hanako said, "Okay, I'll give it a shot. Meet at the south station? The bus to Fun Land comes every 15 minutes on weekends."

"Yep, see you there!" Akari said enthusiastically. She was looking forward to the day, but she was also keeping her expectations low in case the amusement park was as childish as she feared.

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"Fine, I admit this place is really fun," Akari said as she and Hanako jogged down the wooden roller coaster's exit ramp. Their hair was swept back and messy from the wild ride, but they were both smiling.

It was the end of the operating season and the sky was overcast, so the park wasn't very crowded at all. All the lines were short but there were just enough people around to keep it from feeling empty or boring.

"I told you!" Hanako shouted back as she ran toward the roller coaster's entrance, planning to ride it again. "Just wait 'til you try the churros."

Once they were back in line for the coaster and standing still, Akari asked, "Churros? Is that another ride?"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Hanako burst out laughing, then explained, "No, they're a dessert. Sticks of fried dough about this big, with cinnamon and sugar on them." After gesturing with her hands to indicate their size, she shrugged and said, "They're from somewhere overseas, but all the amusement parks sell them these days."

"I'm interested, and a bit hungry. Want to get those after this ride?" Akari asked.

"For sure. But we'll want to avoid intense rides for a while after we eat. One time when I was here with my parents, my dad ate a bunch of churros right before getting on the teacups. He threw up all over another family and almost got in a fight."

Hanako was giggling at the memory, but Akari had a very different reaction. Before she knew it, tears were welling in her eyes. She tried to hide it by looking up at the coaster as it climbed the towering lift hill, but Hanako noticed.

"Are you alright, Akari?"

"It's nothing," Akari lied. She had never been to an amusement park with her parents, but they had often gone sledding and hiking together before her mom passed, and she'd gone once or twice after that with just her dad. By the time he got cancer a couple years later, she thought she'd grown out of all that, out of spending time with him. And now she knew that she'd never have another chance again. He was gone forever.

Hanako raised an eyebrow and grabbed Akari's hand. "It's not nothing. Was it something I said?"

Then Hanako's expression fell as she realized what she had done. Back in her first year of high school, so long ago she had all but forgotten it, she'd heard about Akari's father passing away. The rumors about the third-year girl with no parents had been cruel, but they didn't last long; after a few weeks the rumor mill had moved on to some new topic.

"Oh." Hanako gave Akari's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful."

Akari stared at the ground as her tears grew stronger. "It's not your fault. Um, can we sit down for a bit?"

"Sure." Then Hanako pulled Akari back through the line, apologizing to the other riders they had to squeeze past.

She found a secluded bench near the food stalls and they both sat down. Hanako didn't say anything, waiting for Akari to decide whether she wanted to open up.

After a long moment, Akari said, "I was pretty mean to my dad, before he died. But now I miss him so much."

"Mmhmm," Hanako said, gently patting Akari's shoulder.

Akari continued, "Hearing about you and your parents, your silly story about your dad… it just hurts, you know? I have memories of my dad throwing up, but it was because of the chemotherapy. Not fun memories."

"I'm sorry."

Akari shook her head. "Don't be. I'm glad you mentioned it, because it reminded me that I do have good memories of my parents, of us hiking together, of my dad carrying me on his shoulders when my legs got too tired. Or my mom playing along when I saw… Nevermind."

Not the time to bring up my ability to see spirits. I'm here to help Hanako move on from supernatural stuff, Akari thought. And to have some fun.

Akari wiped her eyes and sat up straighter. "In any case, I'm thankful to you, Hanako. I was kind of stuck in a rut, thinking that my dad was this stupid, selfish man. But he was a good father too. He was human."

Akari had thought she had her emotions under control, but that last sentence hit her hard. It was as if a dam had burst and suddenly she was crying again. The tears came harder and she sobbed openly, but she felt Hanako's warm hand on her back, comforting her.

"I'm so sorry," Akari babbled through shuddering sobs. "This was supposed to be a fun day."

The warm hand rubbed gently. "Don't be," Hanako said, echoing Akari's own words. "I think you needed this, and there's still plenty of daylight left." Hanako removed her hand to dig into her bag for some tissues, which she handed to Akari.

Akari blew her nose and wiped her eyes then tried to smile. "I'm getting hungry. Can we get those churros now?"

"We definitely can. There's a lot of hearty options too, like yakisoba. I don't think they sell anything here I don't like, although the popcorn is a bit too expensive."

Akari followed Hanako toward the fragrant food stalls, thinking, I'm supposed to be the senpai. How'd it turn out like this?

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Akari felt a lot better with some tasty and sugary food in her belly. She and Hanako avoided rowdy rides for the rest of the afternoon, sticking to calmer things like the scenic train that ran around the outside of the park. They also went through the haunted house, but Akari didn't find it very scary at all. She had seen real spirits and they weren't anything like those bloody-faced actors and plastic props.

But now that she thought about it, the spirits she had seen were all nature or animal spirits. She couldn't recall ever seeing a human ghost, and she wasn't sure she even could. The spirit girls at home all used to be animals. If Inu became a spirit because of her owner's love, could a human soul do the same?

That line of thought was cut short when a rubber spider on a string dropped from the ceiling and landed on Hanako's shoulder. She squeaked in fear and hid behind Akari for protection. It was pretty cute, and Akari was bummed that Ayumi hadn't been there to see it, and to be Hanako's protector instead. It would have been a good bonding moment for the possible couple.

Hanako was a resilient girl and she quickly recovered from the spider attack, but she did pick up her pace after that. They emerged from the darkness of the haunted house into a different kind of darkness. The overcast sky had been taken over by storm clouds and a light rain had already started. All around them, rides were closing down and the whole park would probably close soon if the rain didn't stop.

"Curse my luck," Hanako whined. "The forecast said only a 10 percent chance of rain."

Akari ran with her toward the park exit, saying, "Yeah, but we had a lot of fun so far. Let's come back soon with Ayumi."

As they passed under the covered gateway, Hanako pulled Akari into a hug. "Definitely! Thanks for being my friend, Akari."

Akari couldn't help but grin. "You too, Hanako." Then she stepped out of the hug and said, "But isn't it a bit early for goodbye hugs? We're riding the same bus back."

Hanako giggled. "Oh, right."

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They chatted about anime and their jobs on the short bus ride, then parted ways at the bus station with another hug. Akari put up the hood of her jacket and mentally prepared herself to get wet. But when she stepped out from under the covered bus station, she found the rain was barely a sprinkle. She looked to the north, where Shinjō Fun Land was, and saw a sheet of rain still pouring down.

Wow, it's not letting up. It's a good thing we left when we did.

From there, her legs were on autopilot. She had walked this very path nearly every day for over a month now, and it was much nicer with the renovated walkway. Since her feet knew the way, she let her mind wander. It returned to the topic of spirits, and then found its way onto Inu, and her real name.

By the time Akari reached the shrine, she had formed a plan, one that would have to wait until a weekday to enact.

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Entering the town hall was hard, because of all the memories it brought with it. Akari's father had worked in the Department of Land Management before he got too unhealthy, and she had often visited him there on the second floor. But today she had a different destination.

"Excuse me? I'm interested in some records," Akari said after approaching a desk on the ground floor.

The petite woman behind the counter looked up from her computer with a puzzled look on her face. "What kind of records?"

"The ones about dog ownership," Akari answered. She knew that the law required all dog owners to register with the municipal office, and to notify the city of change of address or death. But what she didn't know was… "Um, are those public?"

The woman pushed her glasses up her nose with one finger. "Not normally. Why do you want them?"

Akari fidgeted. She was quickly realizing how poorly thought out this plan was. "Well, I heard from a friend about a special local dog that died about 30 years ago. I want to learn her name."

The woman tilted her head in thought. "Hmm, I guess I'm not worried about you misusing that information. I'll help with that." She readied her hands over her keyboard and said, "I just need some information so I can look up the record, like the owner's name, or the date the dog passed away."

Akari wilted. "Oh, I don't know anything like that."

"How about the breed?"

Akari opened her mouth to answer, then closed it. She didn't know that either. In her dog form, Inu looked a bit like a Shiba Inu or maybe an Akita, except her tail was straight and very fluffy like a Golden Retriever's. Akari frowned and said, "Let me email my friend to ask."

The woman nodded. "Sure. Just let me know when you have more information."

Akari sat down in the waiting area nearby, pulled out her phone, and started writing an email to Hebi. Inu didn't have an email address, or any device to check email on. Akari got halfway through typing up the clerk's list of questions when she went still.

Should I really be going behind Inu's back on this? It doesn't feel right to be sneaking around, but I don't think I'm close enough to Inu to ask her something so personal. She slumped deeper into the comfortable chair, thinking, And it might just upset her again.

She shook her head. No, I should be honest with her. We'll be exercising together this afternoon, and I'll ask her then. If the mood is right.

Akari jumped to her feet and approached the counter again. "No response yet," she said. "I'll come back another day when I have that info." She bowed her head and added, "Thank you for the help."

The woman shrugged. "Of course. Uh, good luck in your search."