"Attention, please!" Seshi called out to the line of shrine visitors, all waiting to see Akari. "Keep your questions about the near future. And the clearer your question, the clearer her answer can be."

"Um, miss?" started an older woman near the front of the line. "I just want to know about an event nine months from now, my husband's birthday. Is that near enough?"

From the woman's worried expression and the lack of said husband at her side, it was obvious that she was concerned for his health.

Seshi smiled kindly, a rare but not impossible occurrence. "That's just fine, ma'am."

Then she turned and jogged to the front of the line, where the resident seer was sitting at a small covered booth. "Hey, Akari. I've got somewhere to be. Want me to send another girl out, or do you got it from here?"

Akari leaned over to look down the line. It had been capped at fifty people when they started and she had whittled it down to less than ten people. Akari would have happily given more fortunes that afternoon, especially since the vast majority of guests' visions were pleasant, but Hebi had insisted that the shrine should curate a sense of scarcity by limiting the number each day.

"I can handle the rest," Akari answered. "Thanks for the help, Seshi!"

"Kickin'. I'll seeya around then!" Seshi called back, already jogging toward the big red torii gate that marked the edge of the shrine grounds. She was still dressed as a shrine maiden, but she could fix that on the way.

Partway into town, when the path was clear of humans in both directions, Seshi conjured a new outfit. The only witnesses were birds in the trees and some wispy minor spirits, and Seshi couldn't care less if they spotted her naked or using magic. In fact, aside from the consequences with Inara, Seshi didn't really care if humans saw her changing.

After changing, she pulled out a palm-sized mirror from the small black leather bag that hung at her lower back. She eyed herself, adjusted her makeup and hair, and started walking again. A few steps further down the hill, she stopped and checked the mirror a second time.

Gotta win her over without any illusions or deception, to play by Inara's rules. And as a personal challenge, Seshi told herself. It definitely wasn't because Kasumi was different from her past lovers, or anything like that.

She arrived early at the meetup spot, a little karaoke place that was built above a takoyaki stand. She immediately ordered some fried octopus balls so they'd have time to cool down enough for her sensitive tongue, then leaned against the brick building and waited.

"Wow, that's not a look you see much these days," came a voice from a few paces down the sidewalk.

Seshi turned and smirked at Kasumi. "You a fashion critic now? Didn't realize that came with sculptor territory."

Kasumi shrugged. "It looks good on you. Really suits your overall energy."

Seshi was wearing pale jeans so torn up they were barely holding on to her body, a baggy black tank top with a silhouette of a cat in front of a crescent moon, and a crop-top leather jacket studded with short chrome spikes. She raised a fist and struck a pose like a rockstar trying to hype up the crowd. "Thanks, babe."

Kasumi's eyebrows lifted above her sunglasses for an instant, then her face returned to its standard cryptic and nearly expressionless state.

Seshi didn't notice, because her eyes were busy drinking in Kasumi's outfit. If Seshi had come to sing karaoke as a vintage punk rocker, Kasumi was here to belt out something hip and edgy. She wore a gold-trimmed black jacket over a deep purple blouse, a frilly black skirt, and black leggings. It would be right at home in one of those J-pop-Metal fusion bands that were all the rage.

Long before Seshi could tire of the view, Kasumi nodded toward the entrance of the karaoke place. "Let's get this show on the road. Too many eyes on me out here."

Seshi opened the door and waved Kasumi in with the hand still holding a paper tray of takoyaki. "Yeah, sure. I know you don't like to stand out."

"Then why'd you ask me to come dressed up like a rocker?"

"A test, mostly. To see what 'rocker' meant to you, and to see if you'd go outside your comfort zone for me. Ow! What was that for?"

Kasumi withdrew her elbow and answered, "I had hoped it was because singing while dressed up would be more fun."

Seshi grinned. "That's true too."

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They stumbled out of the venue a couple hours later, quite tipsy and so hoarse it was hard to speak. But they could giggle, and apparently drunk Kasumi was a giggler.

"You really didn't know any recent music, Seshi," Kasumi rasped. "Like, did you grow up in a time bubble? Hehehe, no, a mini-disc recycling building!"

"Don't knock the mini-discs!" Seshi countered, ignoring the way her heart skipped a beat when Kasumi said her name. "Best invention in your lifetime."

Kasumi was quiet for a moment, then shook her head and said, "So, where to next, babe?" She tried to keep a straight face at the dated term of endearment, but quickly burst into giggles again.

"How about some pizza?" Seshi asked. "There's a place I haven't tried yet, but my friends keep ordering from it so it must be decent."

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At the back of Seshi's mind, she knew that Kasumi was a keen observer, and smart enough to pick up on and puzzle out every stray piece of evidence. And Seshi knew that Kasumi had some spiritual aptitude, the ability to see a little of what other humans couldn't.

Seshi knew she was playing with fire by being so carefree around a human. But she didn't care. She wanted to spend more time with Kasumi, just being herself instead of someone else. And every time Kasumi said her name, it made her feel vulnerable and different from her past self; she had always used fake names back when she slept around town.

What Seshi didn't know was what Kasumi would do with the clues to Seshi's secret, how the clever artist would react to the impossible truth her brain was assembling.

Even Kasumi wasn't sure what to think when she noticed Seshi's clothes flickering at the edge of her vision, when she remembered the strange feeling of being observed during that visit to the shrine, just before she met Seshi. Kasumi knew at a fundamental level that something unnatural was happening, but then again, she had moved to Shinjō to get closer to the Mori-jinsha Shrine and its mysterious patron. Was it a bad thing if one of its shrine maidens proved equally intriguing?

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A week later, after a chain of successful dates at bars and parks and even a makeout session in Kasumi's new sculpting workshop, they ended up inside Kasumi's apartment.

Seshi had been holding herself back all week. She was used to one-night stands, or sex on the second date at the very least. Waiting for Kasumi to make the first move had been torture… Satisfying, worthwhile torture.

"This is what you want?" Seshi asked, crawling onto Kasumi's plain white sheets, in Kasumi's minimalist white-walled apartment. Their clothes had been shed, peeled off in a clumsy frenzy of two pairs of hands.

Kasumi's smile shined up at her. Rare. Radiant. "It is. Relationships are new to me, outside my comfort zone. But I want this. I want you."

"Oh thank god," Seshi blurted, almost collapsing onto Kasumi as the tension in her muscles unwound in relief. "This is new to me too, and I was so afraid of pushing you too far, too fast."

A mischievous glimmer sparkled in Kasumi's green eyes. "Oh? You struck me as someone with a lot of experience."

Seshi glanced away, then met Kasumi's gaze again. It was so easy to look into those eyes that were nearly the same shade as her own, to fall into them like the reflection on a moonlit pool. Then she answered, "With sex? Yes. Relationships, not so much. Or at all, actually."

Kasumi reached up and twirled a lock of Seshi's hair around one finger. "You're doing just fine at the relationship part. A bit awkward, but always fun, always genuine. Now show me what you can do when you've got experience backing it up."

"You got it, babe."

A few minutes later, in the throes of passion, Kasumi opened her eyes and blinked several times. She reached up with one hand and grabbed Seshi's ear.

"Mmm, that feels good," Seshi mumbled without slowing her own busy fingers. Then she went completely still. The ear that Kasumi had grabbed was furry and triangular, and should have been completely hidden. Her twin tails had also been flicking excitedly through the air.

Oh shit. I let my transformation slip, but my illusion should have held. This never happened before. And if Kasumi knows what I am, Inara might have to erase her memories and—

"Don't worry. I suspected for a while, and your secret's safe with me." Kasumi's voice was soft and steady, completely unafraid. She rubbed Seshi's ear gently. "Inara's secret too. She's a super powerful spirit, isn't she? A real goddess?"

Seshi could only nod as she panicked inside. Inara already knew Kasumi was special, knew that she'd see through me eventually. She won't wipe her memory, right?

"And let me guess… Akari can see spirits, even better than me?"

Seshi laid on her side as she felt the fear melt into relief. Inara probably planned all this, or at the very least approved of it. She let a smile return to her lips and answered, "Oh yeah, she's super sensitive to spiritual energy. Even more since she became—" She cut herself off.

Kasumi blinked, her expression so curious, so engaged. It was part of what Seshi loved about her. "Became what?"

"Not sure I should say."

"I won't push you, but you can tell me. I promise I'll never reveal anything about this spiritual stuff to anyone. It's a brand new world to me, full of wonder and inspiration, and I don't want to ruin that. And as my biggest customer in my new hometown, Inara is basically my boss."

The erotic mood was gone, but Seshi didn't mind. She snuggled up to Kasumi and started to talk about Akari, and the other spirits, and herself. And when she revealed that she was actually a 200-year-old nekomata, Kasumi just giggled and said, "That explains so much."

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"Inara?"

"Yes, my love?"

Akari's cheeks flushed with warmth. She loved Inara's pet names and pillow talk. They made her feel amazing, like a blooming flower with all the sun and rain it could ever need. It also helped that Akari was still riding high on endorphins from a little roll in the hay just moments prior. Inara shared her love with multiple women, but tonight, it was all Akari's.

Smiling in the dim light, Akari continued, "Sorry to kill the mood, but I've been wondering…"

Inara nuzzled close and wrapped Akari in her soft, fluffy tails. "Hmm?"

"Why aren't there any other gods in my visions of the end? I only ever see you and a few spirits. Could we ask other gods for help averting your apocalypse?"

"Wow, when you call it my apocalypse, it sure puts a harsh spotlight on me…" Inara said. Then she let out a light laugh and kissed Akari on the cheek. "Just kidding. I own my role in this, and I appreciate you keeping things honest. As for your question…"

Inara hummed in thought for a moment, then said, "It's because there aren't actually many gods left. Even now, belief has waned or been split across the thousands of minor Shinto gods; most humans just aren't that devoted to any single god anymore. And without worship, without belief, the gods weaken. By the time of the apocalypse, all the other gods will have all grown too weak to hold physical form, or faded away entirely."

Akari frowned. "But why are you still around, all the way until the end?"

A long sigh escaped Inara's lips. "It's because of my domain: Progress. When this world becomes uninhabitable, humanity will need progress more than anything. And in some ways, mankind is addicted to it, they cannot help but pursue and worship progress, even to their own detriment. Their reckless lust for knowledge and advancement brings them harm almost as often as it helps, but they chase it nonetheless."

Akari opened her mouth, but she couldn't find the words. Had she been the one to doom Inara to that fate, by suggesting Inara's new domain? Was this all her fault?

Inara continued, answering the questions Akari had yet to ask. "But my old domains would have done the same. Agriculture and harvest, industry and fertility, they're all core to the human experience. Even now, I receive some power from those aspects, from the people who hold true to the old ways and worship the pieces of Inari-okami that still fit me."

She was quiet for a moment, then finished, "I am one of the oldest gods, and I was always destined to be one of the last."

"I'm sorry," Akari whispered, holding Inara tightly.

"No need to apologize." She squeezed Akari back and kissed her forehead. "We're in this together now. No blame, just teamwork. Just finding the solution, together."

"Speaking of solutions…" Akari started, once her anxiety had faded in the radiance of Inara's warm embrace. "According to my visions, Seshi is already on the right track. Just let her grow, and let her go when she asks to."

"Really? She'll come back to us?"

Akari nodded. "As a full-fledged superior spirit, a powerful one. The vision never shows me the path she took to get there, but the result is nearly overwhelming."

"Oh? I can't wait to see it with my own eyes, after all this is over."