It was all-hands-on-deck at the Mori-jinsha Shrine. Inara urgently needed to reconnect to humanity, and there was a lot of work to do in order to make that happen. First, Hebi prepared a broad plan of attack that approached the problem from multiple angles. Then she enlisted everyone to handle the parts they were best suited for.

"What about me?" Akari asked. She had just watched Hebi give everyone else, even Neko, their own customized job. The other girls ran off to get started, leaving Akari and Hebi alone in the kitchen.

Hebi set her clipboard down on the kitchen table. "You're still our only liaison with humanity, and Inara has a special task for you. She wants to commission artwork from some of Japan's finest artisans, and you're going to be doing all the talking." Hebi smiled ever so slightly. "I've already prepared all the contact information for you. I'd do the communication too, but some things are not suited to email. My inability to speak with humans is… inconvenient."

"Oh, awesome. That actually sounds really fun," Akari said. She wasn't an artist herself, but she really respected them. Just being tangentially involved in the process of making art was sure to be rewarding.

"Glad to hear you're excited for it." Hebi plucked a small notebook from her breast pocket and handed it to Akari. "Here's the contact info for a couple dozen artisans that I believe we can afford. Try to keep the total spending below five million yen."

Akari's jaw dropped. That's more than what Hebi pays me in a year, and more than twice what I was making at my previous shrine. "Tha-that's a lot," she managed.

Hebi just shrugged. "Good art is expensive because it can take hundreds of hours to create, on top of the required talent. Sculpture is no exception, and as you've seen from her room, Inara has a taste for that." Hebi raised a pen and the tip of her tail in unison. "Oh, and make sure to leave money in the budget to transport the results here. Insured shipping, please."

"Oh, of course," Akari said, mentally noting that down and feeling embarrassed for not thinking of it herself.

Hebi stood up, smoothed her grey pencil skirt, and strode away, her grey-scaled tail swishing long and low, just above the floor. "Feel free to come to me if you need help, but remember that I have my own tasks as well."

"Right, thanks!" Akari called after her. Then she opened up the little notebook to see what Hebi had prepared. Inside, in Hebi's immaculate handwriting that could pass for a computer font, was a list of artists. Each had a short description of their style and specialties along with their contact information. For most of them, the contact was an agent or spouse rather than the artist themself.

Feeling curious, Akari used her phone to look up one of the artists online, a woodcarver named Izuka Tetsuhiro. Apparently his carvings were quite famous and often displayed in Shinto shrines. But the second search result was an article about how eccentric and difficult he was. The headline was, "Genius woodcarver or mad villain? The enigma of Izuka Tetsuhiro."

She looked back at Hebi's notebook and frowned. He was one of the few artists without an agent. Akari would need to interact with him directly. Maybe Inara won't choose him? There are tons of artists in this book, including another woodcarver.

"It has to be Tetsuhiro," Inara said, excitedly. His ranmas are gorgeous, like three-dimensional snapshots of reality. I want one above the shrine entryway for sure, and maybe another over my bedroom door." Smiling, she gestured at the door with one hand to show exactly where she meant.

"Alright," Akari said, resigning herself to having to call the troublesome artist. "But before we commission anything for your personal quarters, let's get all the public-facing ones figured out. This is about connecting to visitors, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Inara said. With a wink, she added, "You sound like Hebi."

Akari smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment. Now, how about a pair of fox statues at the base of the main stairs? Those other shrines don't have a trademark on fox statues, and we can include their traditional symbolic objects or not, your choice." Akari had been careful with her wording, making sure not to mention the shrines by name. There were almost 3,000 shrines to Inari-okami around Japan, and they were all dedicated to an old version of Inara that she no longer identified with. It was a touchy subject, and one worth avoiding right now.

Inara hummed in thought for a moment, her single tail flicking behind her. Even without that tell, it was obvious she was in a curious mood. "How about two foxes, both female, both with nine tails?"

At the words 'both female', Akari felt her hopes rise. Is Inara putting her sexuality into this by commissioning a lesbian couple? If so, that's a great sign for the plan to open up to humanity. But when Inara added that both statues would have nine tails, Akari's interpretation changed. Nevermind. I guess she just wants two statues of herself.

"So they're the same?" Akari asked. "Two identical statues?"

Inara's face scrunched up in thought. "Hmm, no, that's kind of boring. How about different poses? Ooh, they can be looking at each other, in love."

Okay, now I'm just confused, Akari thought. She decided she just had to ask, "Uh, what do these two statues represent to you?"

The answer was instant. "Me as I am now, and the woman I want to be."

Akari sat there and blinked several times. The answer seemed surprisingly profound, at least until she realized that the two statues still looked basically the same. "So you're already really close to what you want?"

"Oh, not at all. I have soooo much work to do. I guess I should make the two statues more distinct then, shouldn't I?" Inara clenched her fists and gave a determined nod, which Akari found painfully adorable, then she said, "Alright. One fox will look like a normal, real fox, albeit with nine tails. The other will be recognizably the same fox, only majestic, magical, and glorious. It needs to be obvious to all the visitors that this shrine represents personal improvement."

"Huh," Akari said as she processed all of that. Inari-okami was the Shinto deity of many things, from fertility to agriculture to sake, but self improvement was not one of them. Well, I knew she wasn't the same old Inari, and I guess this is one of the ways she's changed, and plans to keep changing. Then Akari remembered the intervention and how much everyone had been worried about Inara. She thought, I should tell Hebi about this development.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Akari blurted, trying to cover for her long pause. "Do you have a preferred sculptor from the list?"

"I haven't actually seen any works from this list. My favorite sculptor passed away, what was it? 50 years ago?" She shook herself from a brief reverie and added, "Can you find some example photos on my tablet for me? I'm looking for high detail, so that the first fox looks lifelike, but not too realistic. The second fox needs to feel supernatural." With that, Inara passed her touch-screen tablet to Akari and went back to pondering potential art.

"Sure thing." Akari woke the tablet up and jolted in surprise at the pornographic art displayed in the browser. Like before, it was a woman with a large dick, but she was just posing glamorously instead of having sex like many of the images Inara had shown her the last time. Akari quickly opened a new tab and entered one of the sculptors' names from Hebi's book into the search bar.

Hebi had really done her homework; this artist seemed to specialize in statues for Shinto shrines, and their animals in particular looked really good. "How about this sculptor?" Akari asked, showing the page of image results to Inara.

"Nope, too stylized. I know that's the fad among shrines these days, but I want these statues to look alive, like they might just get up and walk away once they get bored of posing."

"Hmm, alright," Akari said, already flipping through the book for another sculptor.

It wasn't until the third sculptor, a woman who went by just 'Kasumi', that Inara was satisfied. "This is the one. Look at those creatures! So intricate, so alive!"

Indeed, this artist had a real talent for making stone look like a living thing, and the fur was especially convincing. It looked soft to the touch even though Akari knew it was chiseled rock. Then Akari looked at Kasumi's commission-information page. One pair of statues from her was likely to cost over half of the art budget.

Akari took a deep breath, then said, "Is it okay if we move forward with just these two artists for now? I'm still pretty new at all of this, so I think it's best if I limit myself to a couple things at a time."

"Of course, Kari-chan!" Inara cheered, pulling Akari into a hug. Five tails wrapped around them both, like a soft blanket "You're doing great, and I'm sure you'll really connect with these human artists."

Akari felt her face heat up, but it wasn't entirely from the embarrassment of being squished into Inara's chest. Inara's confidence in her felt wonderful, and Akari finally started to believe she could really handle the task of coordinating such specific and expensive artistic endeavors. "Thanks, Inara. I'll do my best."

While Akari was busy navigating the new world of commissioning high-end art, Inara started on her own task that wasn't directly related to her quest to reconnect with humanity. She finally understood how much her past actions had strained her relationships with the other spirits, and she meant to fix that damage.

"Hey, Usagi?" Inara said, knocking on the rabbit spirit's bedroom door.

The door opened in a flash and Usagi appeared with her long blonde braid still swinging from her quick movement. "Yes, Mistress?" she asked hopefully, backing away from the door to let Inara enter.

Inara shook her head as she stepped inside. "None of that right now, sorry. I'm here to apologize, which can't be done right from a position of power."

"Apologize? What for?" Usagi asked with one ear quirked up.

Inara sat on the bed and crossed one leg over the other. "For neglecting you, and for overlooking your conflicts with the others. I should have noticed and helped, and I'm sorry."

Usagi started to lower herself to sit on the floor, but Inara patted the spot next to her on the bed. Reluctantly, Usagi sat there instead. Then she said, "I admit I had a rough start with Akari, but I'm already acting to improve it. I've apologized to her, and I want to get on friendly terms with her."

"That's great. And what about Neko?" One orange tail flicked behind Inara's back. She hadn't picked her curious mood, but she'd arrived at it naturally, healthily.

Usagi hesitated. She still wasn't sure what to think about Neko. Then she answered, "Well, I wouldn't say we're getting along badly. It's just… awkward."

"What's awkward about it?" Inara asked.

"Um, I guess it's just hard to understand her. Sometimes it's like we didn't even speak the same language, and not just because of her slang. I know what she wants, which seems to boil down to 'have fun and grow stronger', but that's all I know. Neko is just so different from me."

Inara nodded. "Anything I could do to help?"

Usagi froze. It was really unlike Inara to ask so many questions. She normally had all the answers, or told someone else to find them. Usagi wanted to see Inara above her, godly and powerful, but the intervention had made it clear that Inara had been hiding her weakness behind a mask of perfection. She had never been perfect, and pretending to be had only caused more trouble.

After a long time, during which Inara sat patiently and watched Usagi with her kind eyes, Usagi said, "I don't know. Maybe I just need to ask her about her interests or something."

With a smile, Inara said, "I'm sure you'll find something in common. And I'll keep an eye out for ways to help."

Then she pulled Usagi into a warm hug. "Thank you for being here for me, all these years," she said quietly, the way one might whisper a secret in a crowded room. "I'll try to be in a dominant mood for you soon. I love you, Usagi."

Usagi's face went hot and her pulse quickened, then it calmed as she sunk deeper into that comforting hug. "You're welcome, Inara. I love you too."

"You good?" Inu asked, jogging in place next to a red-faced Akari.

"Yeah," she panted, "Just gotta catch my breath."

"Take your time. I'm gonna do another lap. Got nervous energy to burn off, I think."

With that, Inu took off at a fast jog. Her tail swept back behind her and wagged from side to side with her footfalls. And for once, Akari wasn't distracted by the view; her thoughts were somewhere far more important.

Now's a good time, I think. She's in a decent mood, it's just us around. I just hope she'll be happy, Akari thought. She wiped some sweat from her forehead, thanked the weather for being nice and cool, then turned to watch Inu make her circuit of the shrine clearing. She was almost all the way around, so Akari quickly stood up straight and tried to calm her breathing.

"Hey, Inu?" she called out as the dog spirit approached. "Do you still want to know your original name?"

Inu almost tripped over her own feet, but she righted herself. She slowed to a stop next to Akari, then answered, "Yeah, I think so. You found it? And you're sure it's mine?"

Akari nodded. "I'm sure. That address was enough to narrow it down to just you, and there was even a photo."

"So? What's my name?" Inu said gruffly. Akari thought it felt a little forced, like she was putting on a tough front.

"Michi," she answered.

Inu narrowed her eyes. "Like the word for 'road'?"

"Or 'path' or 'method'," Akari said. "But there was a note in the file that you had been found as a stray puppy in an alleyway, so it might be related to that. In any case, I think Michi is really cute."

Inu nodded in agreement, but her eyes were wet. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, then overflowed, running down her face.

"Uh, are you okay?" Akari asked. "You're crying."

"What? No, I'm not," Inu insisted. Then she touched her face and her hand came away wet. "Oh. I'm crying."

"You okay?" Akari repeated.

Inu sniffed and wiped her face with both thumbs. "I'm fine. Just memories, coming back to me. Emotion, I guess? Sorrow, joy, relief. So much emotion." She turned away to hide her face as the tears turned into full-blown sobbing. "I… I need some time alone."

She started away, not jogging, just walking slowly. Akari felt conflicted, unsure if she'd done the right thing. But then Inu turned back, a weary yet genuine smile on her face. "Thank you, Akari," she said.

"You're welcome," Akari called back, with a bright smile of her own.