"Oh! She says it went really well," Akari announced to the three other women in the kitchen. She was sitting at the dinner table, dressed in a cute skirt and blouse combo as if she was ready to go out somewhere.

"Who?" Inu asked. In contrast, she was wearing a sports bra and terry-cloth shorts, like she planned to resume working out after the meal.

Akari waved her cell phone, with a text message on its screen. "Oh, my friend Hanako. She confessed to her crush, a girl named Ayumi. I guess it went well." She paused for a second, then said, "I'm really happy for her."

"That's wonderful!" Inara cheered, raising her glass of water. Her loose kimono, a royal purple today, almost spilled open from the motion. Then she cast a seething glare in Neko's direction and added, "I'm glad she's recovered, too."

Neko's ears popped up and her eyes went wide and sympathetic. "Hey now, Goddess, I'm sorry about what I did, and you got me on a nice short leash now. No need to hammer that nail."

"Of course, of course." Inara relaxed, then added, "And I was partially to blame for Hanako's situation as well. Let's just focus on the good news." She turned to face Akari. "I take it Ayumi returned the sentiment?"

"Not quite. She's not sure whether she's into women, but she's curious."

Neko burst out laughing, earning curious looks from the other three women. Once she calmed down enough to speak, she said, "If she said that, she's def into women. I never met a 'curious' woman who didn't melt at my fingertips. The only real question is whether she's interested in a relationship with a woman. Humans get so hung up on that stuff."

"So, are we gonna talk about this relationship?" Inu blurted.

Everyone turned to face Inu, then Neko followed her gaze to Akari and Inara. The two were seated so close together they could be mistaken for conjoined twins. They were definitely in that new-couple phase where they tried to be together literally all the time.

"You're some sort of chosen one now, Akari?" Inu continued. She had received a brief explanation of the strange new development from Inara in private, but she wasn't satisfied.

"Uh, I guess so," Akari said.

"Yes, she is," Inara said at the same time. "But I was hoping to address that with everyone present. Maybe tomorrow after Hebi and Usagi's 'date'."

"You mean after Hebi finishes eating all our food?" Inu raised her chopsticks and let some fried noodles flop back onto her plate. "Leaving us with this greasy delivery yakisoba?"

"I ordered extra meat for you…" Akari said, frowning.

"I know and I'm thankful," Inu said, "but this just isn't very good."

Akari's expression became even more pitiful. "Okay. I won't order from that place again. Sorry…"

"Hold up!" Inara said firmly. "Emotions are running high right now and I'm to blame for that. No one else should feel bad about any of this."

Neko grinned and bounced on her cushion. "Great leadership, Goddess."

Inu shot a suspicious glance at Neko, then shrugged and said, "Fine, we'll talk tomorrow."

Inara shook her head. "No, anything worth saying is worth saying twice. I'll explain everything to the best of my understanding, and I'll say it again tomorrow with Hebi and Usagi present. You three should be there too, to participate in the conversation."

"O-okay…" Inu said, blinking in surprise.

Inara scooted a bit to her left, putting a whole foot between her and Akari, and she sat up straight and tall, then she explained, "Akari is a Chosen One, a human selected by a god to be their voice and representative in the world. It had never been a common thing, and then it fell out of favor centuries ago. Akari might be the only one alive right now."

"That's rather ominous…" Akari said, earning a giggle from Neko.

Inara continued, "It's actually very beneficial. It comes with spiritual protection, a stronger bond, and sometimes special abilities based on the god's domains."

Akari silently raised one hand.

Inara nodded her way. "Yes, Akari?"

Akari took a deep breath, then said, "I think I know what special ability I got…"

Everyone leaned closer, eyes gleaming and expectant.

"Uh, I had two small visions, like deja vu. Glimpses of the future."

"When?" Inara asked.

"Last night. Um, before the 'shockwave'." Akari meant before they made love, but she couldn't bring herself to say it that way. All of this stuff was so new and overwhelming. "The main one showed me the design on the inside of your kimono, long before I'd ever seen it."

"Anything since?"

Akari shook her head. "Not yet, but I feel different. Like there's something on the edges of my memory. Like if I tried hard enough, I could remember forward. Does that make any sense?"

"Oh, this gon' be good," Neko mumbled to herself.

Inu just stared and blinked.

Inara opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Akari broke the silence. "Uh, what's wrong, Inara?"

Inara hung her head, and shook it side to side. "That doesn't make any sense. Foresight isn't in my domain. Not my old one or the current. Why would you get that ability?"

"Ooh, I have an idea," Neko cut in. She turned and grinned at Akari. "Hey, Akari, what's your biggest worry right now, the thing that sometimes keeps you up at night?"

"Uh." Akari looked around, looking for assistance with the odd question. She found only curious faces watching her expectantly. "I guess…" She thought for a moment, and the answer wasn't far away.

"I guess I've been worried about my future. Whether I'll get to keep living here at the shrine, whether my life will ever go back to 'normal', whether I'll go to college some day. That sort of stuff."

Quietly, her voice barely over a whisper, Inara said, "And my power tried to give you the tools to answer your questions…"

"Ding, ding, ding!" Neko cheered. "You 'chose' a mortal with hangups about the future, Inara, and you made yourself a little seer. And grats, Akari. Hella sweet ability."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Then Neko looked back to Inara with an intense gleam in her green eyes. "And grats on a new domain."

Akari also to Inara. "Huh?"

Inara didn't speak, so Neko did. "That 'chosen one' business goes both ways, ladies. The student influences the master, or somethin' like that."

Inu stared across the table at Neko. "How do you know all this? You're just a major spirit like me."

"For now. I got goals, honey, so I did my research. And you spend enough time around priests and monks, you start to learn how the spiritual world works."

What had happened to Hanako was still on Akari's mind, and she took major issue with Neko's vague explanation. "Spend time? That's not all you did," Akari spat. "You stole from them. You're like a vampire."

Inara cut in, "Stop. Remember that everybody's nerves are running hot right now. Don't let your emotions run away with you." She let out a slow and deliberate breath. "And I need to process this too. I was ready to add personal growth to my domain. Representing it should be pretty simple since it's a part of normal life. But foresight is supernatural. It's not something we can just advertise on the shrine gates."

After an awkward pause where no one else had anything to say, the goddess pushed away her remaining yakisoba, which she hadn't particularly enjoyed either, and said, "Let's all sleep on this and convene in the morning."

"Okay," Akari said, even though she had two-hundred questions and no answers. And her supposed foresight wasn't giving her anything.

----------------------------------------

Neko's ears must have been nearly as sensitive as Inu's, because she turned to face Akari while she was still hidden in the darkened front hall.

"Can't sleep?" Neko asked. She was sitting on the shrine's front steps with a heavy blanket over her shoulders. Her breath was visible in the dull orange lantern light.

Akari sat down on the same step. She was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, and the cold air felt good on her face. "I'd be more surprised if I could sleep, after learning all that."

"Yep. That's why I'm out here, actually. Waiting for you."

"Huh? Do you have foresight too?"

Neko giggled. "Nah, just a hunch that paid off. I figured you or Inu would go for a midnight stroll, and I wanted to be here to help ya out. If you want help, that is. No pressure."

"I'll take everything I can get right now." Akari sighed deeply. "I've always been different, with my ability to see spirits, but then I moved in here and I started to feel normal. It was nice." She slumped forward, resting her head on her knees. "And now I've got a weird new ability that even Inara doesn't understand."

"Weird is normal," Neko said seriously, despite the total contradiction. "Everyone is weird, everyone is different, everyone has some part of them that no one else understands."

Akari raised one eyebrow. "Since when have you been a wisdom-dispensing sage?"

"Since I turned 200 and got my certificate in the mail," Neko joked. "Or, since I started to consider you a friend."

Akari blinked at the cat spirit, looking for signs of deception in her gorgeous eyes. "You do?"

"I do. Despite my shit reputation, I am capable of relationships." She cracked a smile and waved a hand at the clear night sky. "Sometimes. When the stars align."

"Me too," Akari said. "I mean, I consider you my friend too."

Neko punched Akari in the shoulder. "Aw damn, you're makin' me blush." Then her face went stoic. "Seriously though, you got any questions about all this chosen one BS, I'll answer best I can."

"Thanks, Neko…" Akari trailed off, staring at the starlit sky. Here on the edge of the city, far from the light pollution of millions of humans, even the milky way was visible, at least on a clear autumn night.

She could pick out a dozen stars with religious associations, constellations with stories and lessons to share, and not a single one of them applied to her weird new life in the Mori-jinsha shrine. But there was someone right next to her who might have some answers.

Akari opened her mouth to speak, then realized something: her new power wasn't the biggest problem on her mind, not remotely. Looming large in her thoughts, like a deep red sunset hiding all the stars, was something more important to Akari than her own issues. Her friends. Her family. She hated it when they snapped at each other, when they couldn't get along. She missed Hebi after not so much as glimpsing her for over a day, and she knew she needed to face and overcome Usagi's jealousy. And she wanted things to go back to normal with Inu.

"Hey, Neko."

"Ya?"

"You know how everybody's tempers are running hot, because of all these changes? How would you fix that?"

"Hell yeah they are. Inara's thermostat metaphor was dead on. But we can't just turn down the heat to where it was, so we gotta open the windows."

"Uh… huh. What's that mean?"

Neko mimed opening a window, then cupped her hands around her mouth and silently shouted through the imaginary window. Then she explained, "People gotta vent. Let the frustration out. As for how, I'm thinking friendly competition is a slick way to burn off some frustration. Inu'd definitely agree, with her love of sports manga."

Akari agreed, even if she couldn't really picture the kind of competition Neko was going for. Competing with the others to give inarizushi to Inara had been pretty fun, she thought. "So, what would we compete at?"

"Popularity," Neko said simply.

"Popularity" Akari frowned. "If we're fighting for Inara's attention, the competition won't be very friendly."

"No, no. Among the visitors to the shrine! We hold a popularity contest at the next festival. We all dress up and put on a show. Let the visitors vote for who they liked best. Japan's obsessed with pop idols, so let's capitalize on that."

Akari giggled. "Well, you said 'capitalize', so I'm sure Hebi's on board. She'll find a way to turn a profit from the whole thing for sure."

"So are you on board?" Neko asked.

Akari nodded. "Sure, I'm up for it. I've got a head start since the public actually knows me." Then a puzzled look came across Akari's features. "But what if my foresight does something that gives me an edge in the contest?"

"Then good on ya. You gotta learn how to use it eventually, and natural abilities should be fair game in this contest. Well, as long as they don't stain the shrine's reputation."

"I feel like that last bit was aimed at yourself."

"By choice or not, this is my home now. And if I screw things up for it, it'd only make my life harder." Neko smiled broadly. "So, miss miko, when's the next festival?"

"Aki Matsuri," Akari answered instantly. "On November 3rd, or at least that's when Shinjō holds theirs. It's a fall harvest festival down in the city, and our shrine would be more than welcome to participate."

"Hmmmm," Neko hummed, rubbing her chin. "I suppose that'll do. Think you can get a stage near the celebration for our little idol show?"

"As long as we keep the show Shinto related."

Neko bowed her head dramatically. "Of course."

Akari went still, then slowly turned to look Neko in the eyes. "Hold up. This festival would be outside shrine grounds."

Neko's eyes gleamed back in the low light, just like a cat's. "Yep."

"But you aren't allowed outside."

Neko grinned. "I suppose that's true."

Akari's eyes narrowed. "So you've got some sort of plan to get Inara to let you go?"

"I do indeed. I call it 'Operation Be a Great Person So That Inara Naturally Expands My Privileges and Eases My Prison Sentence'. Or you can call it 'Time Served for Good Behavior' for short."

"And you think that will work?"

"You're the seer. You tell me."

Akari giggled at that, then stopped abruptly when she realized it didn't have to be a joke. "I guess it can't hurt to try. Give me a sec."

Akari took a slow breath, then focused on that feeling that had been at the edge of her mind all day, the one that was so familiar and foreign at the same time. It really did feel like remembering forward, and now that she had a way to describe it, the sensation came through even clearer.

She thought back to that morning, to breakfast and her bath with Inara and Neko. Then to the calm hour when she checked her email for messages from Kasumi and prepared notes for tomorrow's call with Tetsuhiro. Then she recalled ordering Yakisoba and picking it up from a puzzled delivery driver at the shed by the road.

After the tense and unsatisfying meal, she tried and failed to get to sleep, and that brought her to the present. There wasn't anything else to remember.

Until there was.

Like a daydream she couldn't control, like a movie skipping scenes randomly, her thoughts flew forward in time. She caught a glimpse of a stone fox statue, fully finished and ready for shipment. She saw more than a little naked flesh, most of it belonging to Inara. And she saw a woman in a crowd wearing a shrine maiden outfit, with black ears sticking up over shiny black hair. Two tails flicked through the air, broadcasting the owner's pleased attitude.

Akari tried to look around, to see more of the festival, but the scene suddenly dropped out from under her feet, and she was falling. She saw the shrine covered in a foot of snow, then baking in the summer sun while cicadas sang. She saw Shinjō under construction, with massive cranes reshaping the skyline and a new bullet-train station being built right at the bottom of the hill beneath the shrine.

Faster and faster, glimpses of future memories flew past her, captured moments like drops in a rainstorm of time.

She reached out for something, anything to hold onto. But her fingers passed harmlessly through the visions, leaving only ripples in their wake. And the visions kept coming, accelerating more with every passing second. She no longer tried to make sense of the images. There were too many, too fast. She only wanted it to stop, but she didn't know how.

Akari wanted off this ride. She was scared and overwhelmed beyond belief.

And then everything went black.