On the morning of the third day of Akari's wild new life, she woke up feeling refreshed and ready for a productive day. She hopped out of bed and approached the dresser that held most of her clothes. The top of the dresser also served as a display area for a few precious belongings, like her mom's earrings and her favorite shrine fortune from middle school. The yellowed slip of paper claimed she would have 'great blessings' in the realms of learning and life goals. She had interpreted that as a signal to pursue her education in Shintoism and she'd never looked back. She wasn't on the exact path she had imagined, but there was no doubt that she was learning a whole lot about Shinto spirits, stuff that college wouldn't have covered.

Akari spent a few minutes picking out her clothes for the day. She decided on comfy black shorts and a red tank top, since the forecast said it would be hot and she needed to hike the forest trail with that construction company estimator. She started to change out of her pajamas and had her shirt up over her head when the bedroom door opened suddenly.

"Ah, didn't realize you were changing." It was Usagi's voice, and she didn't sound sorry in the least.

Akari's good mood evaporated in an instant. She pulled her shirt back down and spun around to face the intruder. "Okay, I'm officially sick of it. Why do people keep barging into my room without knocking?! I remember you specifically said not to enter other people's rooms uninvited, yet here you are!"

Usagi shrugged. "I'd guess that we were all testing you, figuring out your boundaries and finding just how far we can push you. It's all very pragmatic."

"It's all very rude," Akari snapped back. "If you want to know something about me, why not ask me?"

Usagi smiled cryptically. "There are so many things you can't learn about someone by talking."

Akari's anger was briefly eclipsed by confusion. O…kay, that sounded downright lewd. Just what did I get myself into?

Usagi resumed at a conversational tone, "But to your credit, I did actually come here to ask you something. I need your help on something incredibly important."

"Really?" Akari didn't have much faith in Usagi's evaluation of what was or wasn't important.

Usagi nodded firmly. "Yes. We need to sell food at our grand opening and Hebi tasked me with creating the menu. As a human yourself, you understand the tastes of the common folk better than I do"—Akari's jaw tightened at Usagi's pretentious phrasing—"so I'd like you to taste-test my recipes."

Akari's hostility disappeared instantly. "Ooh, I'd love to do that!"

Usagi said, "Excellent. I'll be cooking all day today and tomorrow, so please swing by the kitchen between your other tasks to sample whatever dishes I have ready."

"I'll do that," Akari said with a smile. Then she grew serious and shooed Usagi away with her hands. "But please get out of my room. And knock next time!"

The day absolutely flew by. Akari stayed busy and productive and never got a chance to worry about anything. First was the walkthrough with the contractor, which went pretty well. His estimate to clean and repair the entire trail wasn't cheap but it was within the budget Hebi had laid out, so Akari authorized the work to begin. Throughout the rest of the day, between phone calls and other planning tasks, Akari frequently zipped over to the kitchen to try out Usagi's latest creations and provide feedback.

The food was almost universally delicious, except for a few strange recipes that must have appealed more to rabbits than people. Akari ended up consuming way more calories than a normal day but she offset some of it by joining Inu for exercises in the shade outside. The trees around the shrine clearing were old and strong, with dense canopies that filtered out most sunlight and made a perfect place to work out or relax.

The rough ground was ill-suited for crunches or push-ups, but the cool mountain air was ideal for aerobic activities like jumping jacks or jogging. Akari learned that the path around the edge of the clearing was almost exactly a quarter mile long, and then she learned that jogging a full mile at once was beyond her current abilities. Halfway through her fourth lap, she slumped against a tree and threw in the metaphorical towel.

"You can put a fork in me, because I'm done," she panted at her dog-like companion, who ironically wasn't panting at all.

Inu shrugged and said, "Fair enough. You put in a good effort and it would be bad if you were too sore to do your festival planning stuff." She leaned against another tree, lifted her plastic water bottle over her head, and squirted water in her mouth and on her upper chest to help cool off. Then she looked back at Akari. "How's that going, anyway?"

Akari was torn. On one hand, she didn't want to stare at Inu's unintentionally lewd wet t-shirt or the blue sports bra underneath. On the other hand, she wanted to burn that image of sexy fitness into her mind as a goal to strive for. In theory, with enough work, Akari could look that good after a workout instead of looking like a red-faced ball of sweat and pain.

She steadied her breathing and said, "It's going well. Got a couple more calls to make today, then an in-person meeting tomorrow at the shrine association. It sounds like they're willing to recognize us as a new shrine instead of a lapsed one, which is huge."

Inu tilted her head and one furry ear flopped up on top of her head. "Why is that a big deal?"

"It means the association will promote our grand opening at the other shrine locations around town. Free advertisement is great, but this is even better than that. You can't normally advertise at shrines, and current shrine goers are definitely our target audience."

Inu straightened up but her ear stayed folded over and inside out, which Akari found just as adorable as when it happened to dogs, and even sillier on such a serious woman. Akari had to stifle a giggle as Inu said, "Ah, that makes sense. Those people seem pretty likely to be interested in our festival. But what about after the festival? Won't they return to their normal shrines to worship?"

Akari pushed herself to her feet and brushed pine needles off her hands and butt. "Yeah, which is why we need to advertise elsewhere too." Then her face went pale. "Ah crap…"

"What's wrong?" Inu asked as she stood on one leg and stretched the other behind her. She was surprisingly limber.

Akari let out a long sigh, the kind that said, 'I dug myself into a hole and the only way out is a whole lot of work'. Then she admitted, "I forgot that I need to pick up some flyers from the printer today and then put them up all around town. The route Hebi planned for me was over three miles round trip and I'm already exhausted…"

"Want some help?"

Akari was so surprised she had to do a double take. Inu just offered to help! Does she finally like me? She tried to keep her voice level as she said, "Yes, that would be amazing. If you could take half my route that would—"

"Hold up," Inu interrupted, "I can't put up flyers on my own. I'm stuck in dog form outside the grounds, remember?"

Akari slapped a palm to her forehead. "Ughh, that's right. Sorry, Inu." She looked back at Inu and asked, "So how were you planning to help?"

"Moral support, I guess? And I can probably carry some stuff for you, if that helps."

Akari nodded firmly. "I'll take what I can get. Thank you. Let's leave in 10 minutes. I need to taste-test more of Usagi's cooking real quick." Counterproductive or not, post-workout snacks were too good to pass up.

Akari stepped out of the kitchen just as Inu was passing through the hallway. "Want one?" Akari asked, holding out some sort of fried food on a stick. It was an egg-sized ball with a crispy tan coating that looked like panko or breadcrumbs. She had another one in her other hand, half-eaten.

Inu sniffed at the offered snack, then asked, "What is it?"

"Deep-fried sweet potato on a stick. I've never heard of anything like it, but it's delicious."

Inu hesitated, then nodded. "Sure, I'll give it a try." She grabbed the stick and opened her mouth wide, showing off her impressive incisors. She took a big bite and chewed heartily. "Mmm, thish ish rally gahd."

"I know, right? I'm sure they're like 500 calories each, but it's worth it."

Inu narrowed her eyes at the remaining snack as if it was a deadly threat. She swallowed and said, "I think I'll save the rest for later. I need to get changed anyway." With that, she jogged off toward her room.

She returned less than a minute later as a golden-blonde dog. Akari was getting used to seeing her in that form, but this time Inu had a spiral-patterned green bandana tied around her neck. As adorable as Akari thought it looked, she still had to ask, "What's with the bandana?"

"Makes it clear I'm not a stray," Inu answered, human speech somehow coming from canine lips. "And I can put stuff in it." Her canine form's voice was rough and gravely, so Akari could understand why Inu didn't like to use it, but it was also kind of cute.

"Ah, that makes sense. Do you wrap things in it before you put it on?"

Inu shook her head. "It's got pockets hidden inside. Hebi sewed it for me since I'm always going into town to get stuff for her." She smiled up at Akari, looking deceptively happy and friendly. Her dog features didn't convey her grumpy persona very well. "But you'll be doing most of that now."

"True," Akari said as they started toward the forest trail into town. Once the construction was going, the trail would be closed and she'd have to take the long way to town, via the deer trail and dirt road. She wasn't looking forward to that.

A few forest spirits flitted from tree to tree or hovered around the old stone lanterns, but Akari barely noticed them anymore. As a child, she had loved them. As a teenager, she'd pretended they didn't exist, lest she be mocked by her peers. And as an adult, she realized the little wisps just weren't useful, so she ignored them.

Then Akari said, "How did you pick stuff up for her, anyway? Wouldn't people notice a dog trying to buy stuff at a corner store?"

Inu let out a low bark and it took a second for Akari to realize it was laughter. "I never said anything about buying. Anything Hebi couldn't have delivered to our shed or a storage box in town, I just swiped from the shops."

"You stole it? Those poor shopkeepers!" Akari was appalled and more than a little worried that a mob of grumpy retailers would be on the lookout for a certain blonde dog.

Inu leapt over a destroyed section of the trail and waited on the other side for Akari to take the long way around. "If it looked like they needed the money, I always returned to leave some cash and a note. I write something like 'Sorry my doggie took your stuff and chewed it up. Here's some money. Sorry!' and it seems to work."

Akari relaxed. It would certainly be hard to stay angry after such a cute note. She could just imagine a little kid carefully writing it one letter at a time. "Let me guess, Hebi told you to do that?"

Inu tilted her head. "How'd you know?"

Akari shrugged. "Just seems like the kind of thing she'd do. She's very good at manipulating people, myself included. I usually don't even realize she's done it until it's too late."

Inu started back down the trail, calling back, "You're smarter than you look, Akari."

"Hey! What's wrong with the way I look?"

"You look a bit ditzy, that's all. And you'll look downright crazy if you don't stop talking to me. We're almost to town."

Akari glared at Inu as the fluffy dog bounded down the trail. "Hmmf, you win this round, pupper."

Inu's presence was a good motivator and Akari made good time putting up all the flyers. She saw a couple people she recognized, but the only people that stopped to talk to her were strangers who were only interested in the cute dog with the green bandana.

The hike back up the shrine was the worst part and it wiped Akari out. It was nearly dinner time when they arrived, but thanks to all the food she ate testing Usagi's recipes, Akari wasn't hungry. Just sore, mostly.

While the others ate together in the kitchen, she stayed in her room, sat on her bed with a notebook, and tried to work. But now that she finally had time to unwind, intrusive thoughts rushed in to fill the gaps. She started to doubt whether her current path was actually going to work out in the long term. Working for a bunch of spirits was about as far from a stable job as you could get. Surely something would go wrong eventually, then this strange and supernatural household would spit out its lone human like an immune system rejecting a disease.

And even if everything worked out for the next year and she saved up enough money for college, what was she supposed to put on her college application or her resume? It wasn't like she could use any of these mystical women as professional references, since they couldn't even talk on the phone. Akari just wanted be a regular girl on the same life track as everyone else in Japan. But thanks to her parents' deaths, her dad's terrible handling of their finances, and her own ability to see spirits, being normal wasn't an option.

I guess I'm doomed to be a weirdo forever. Maybe I don't deserve a normal life. Her thoughts spiralled around and grew darker and darker like a building typhoon until there was a knock at the door. She almost didn't recognize the sound of polite knocking after all the barging-in her housemates had been doing. Akari didn't want to deal with anyone anyway. She stayed quiet.

"Akari? Are you alright?"

That's Inara's voice! I can't ignore her. She called back, "Um, yeah, I'm fine!" but she didn't feel fine at all. She felt like a fraud, pretending to have everything under control when she really had no idea what she was doing. Not with her emotions and not with this shrine grand opening thing. Without Hebi's help, she would have cracked already.

The door opened and Inara stepped through, looking radiant in a bright red kimono that showed a bit too much cleavage for public use. She shook her head, looking disappointed in Akari. "You are not fine. I can see through lies, remember?" She closed the door and approached the bed where Akari was curled in a pitiful ball. "May I sit?"

"Sure," Akari said half-heartedly. "So how'd you know to come check on me?"

Inara sat on the corner of the mattress and folded her hands on her lap. Her tails moved continuously, waving like seaweed in a slow current, and it made them hard to count. "One of my abilities; I can sense nearby human emotions. It's one of several reasons I live so far from people."

Inara didn't need to explain why living near people would be a problem, with an ability like that. Akari imagined the negative emotions of an entire city of people, pouring in from all sides like a flood of pitch-black water. Not a pleasant thought.

"So, what's on your mind?" Inara asked. "I can't read your thoughts, but I can tell it must be something heavy."

Maybe it was Inara's aura or maybe Akari was just exhausted and broken down enough, but she opened up in a way she'd never done with anyone before. "I feel like a fraud, acting like I know what I'm doing, and I keep getting away with it by pure luck that isn't going to hold out forever."

Inara listened attentively, then said, "I don't mean to belittle your feelings, but what you just described seems like something recent, something surface-level. Is there something that's been bothering you longer? I sensed it the other night before our meeting, but it wasn't my place to mention it."

Ah, when I was crying about mom and dad. Akari peeked up at Inara and asked, "But it's your place to mention it now?"

Inara nodded. "It is. You're in a worse place now, a darker place. It's my duty as the head of this household to take action when anything gets that bad."

"My parents are dead," Akari blurted. "My mom when I was little. My dad more recently. I miss my mom."

When Akari paused, Inara said, "I can imagine how hard that must be."

Akari's voice cracked with emotion, surprising herself a little. "But I don't miss my dad. I hate him, even now, for how stupid he was. He spent all our money and left me with nothing. He ruined my life and still failed to save his own." As soon as the words left her mouth, she hid from them under her pillow.

"Ruined? Is it really so bad?" Inara's voice was gentle, like a warm blanket on a snowy day.

"It isn't what I wanted, that's for damn sure. I should be in college, studying Shintoism and working toward a career path. Working toward being a useful member of society."

Akari felt the comforting weight of a hand on her leg and Inara said, "At that university, would they teach you about those invisible minor spirits that you can see in the forest? Or major spirits like Inu, Hebi, and Usagi? Would the professors even know that I actually exist, living up here in the mountains?"

Akari had interacted with enough Shinto priests and shrine maidens to realize how incredibly rare her ability was. Even at the largest shrines, no one admitted to seeing spirits and Akari was sure that academia would be the same. "No, I guess not."

Inara's voice took on a harsh tone as she continued, "So what good would that education be? It is my opinion that learning untruths is worse than learning nothing at all."

Akari sat up quickly and the pillow she'd been hiding under fell away. She met Inara's golden eyes and firmly said, "That isn't fair. Shintoism is about more than nature spirits. Even if humanity at large doesn't know the full picture, there are so many lessons that the Shinto faith can share, so much it can do for humanity."

Goddess or not, Akari wouldn't let anyone besmirch her religion like that. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage, then said, "You should know better, Inari Okami."

Inara's eyes went wide, nettled by the use of her old name. Then she smiled wider. "There we go! There's the enthusiasm I saw when we first met. That's the Akari that I hired, the Akari that can keep this Shrine moving forward. It's as much my fault as the other girls, but we've let ourselves become stagnant. But you, my dear, are growing and changing."

Akari blinked dumbly as Inara continued, "Sometimes that is hard, sometimes it will feel like you are on the wrong path, but you'll keep moving because you are human. Because you're mortal."

Akari sat in silence for a moment. Was Inara-sama's disrespect of Shintoism just another test? Just another pragmatic way to learn my limits? Even if it wasn't… She looked down at her hands and said, "What good does that do me now? I feel terrible about my parents being dead, so you decide to remind me that I'm mortal too?"

"Being mortal is what drives you to greatness. Gods and spirits can live for thousands of years and accomplish less than some humans do in 60. I'm reminding you that you're powerful, that you're capable, that you're growing better every day."

When Akari didn't respond, Inara started to stand up, but Akari grabbed the hem of her kimono.

"Wait," Akari said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'm waiting."

"Thank you for that perspective, and I'll consider it, I really will. But…" Akari hesitated, then moved forward. "Can I ask you one more favor?"

Inara sat back down. "Of course."

"Just for a little while, can you hold me?"

Without a word, Inara reached out and pulled Akari into a warm embrace, her chin resting on top of Akari's head. Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe Inara had known somehow, but it was the exact same way Akari's mother used to hold her whenever she cried, whether she hurt her knee or got picked on at school.

And just like back then, Akari's pain and confusion vanished in an instant. She felt safe in those arms. She felt a little guilty about getting tears on Inara's gorgeous kimono, but she just said, "Thank you."