February arrived, and with it came Toshigoi-no-Matsuri, a low-key Shinto festival dedicated to praying for a good crop. The Sakura Creek Shrine in town hosted the event, but Akari and the major spirits all helped out while in the guise of red and white clad shrine maidens. Inara's control of her power had grown with practice, allowing her to hide all the spirits' animal features and mingle with humans for the full six-hour event.

Akari also used the opportunity to start rolling out the name 'Inara-hime' as a replacement for Mori-jinsha's 'nameless goddess', by mentioning it in conversation to the priests and shrine maidens. And since 'Inara' was now tied to the supernatural, Inara started using a new name while pretending to be human.

"Kitsuna? Really?" Seshi said while blatantly rolling her eyes. The neko-miko was carrying a box of repacked supplies back to the hosting shrine's storage shed.

"I think it's very pretty and fitting," Inara said with a nod. Even the regal goddess was helping clean up, albeit in a limited fashion since her movement was rather restricted by her gray kimono.

"I think it's lovely, too," Akari added.

Seshi looked doubtful. "Sure, but it's not really obscuring much. Any bloke with half a brain's gonna put two and two together." Seshi let her jaw go slack and affected an exaggerated rural accent. "Huh, that Kitsuna lady from the Inara-hime shrine sure is perdy. Perdy-er than my sister and mom combined! And her name is real close to 'fox'. I bet she's really a goddess in disguise!"

Nearby, Michi scoffed aloud and quipped, "Not seeing it." In the time since her naming, the dog spirit had finally settled back into her familiar rival-slash-senpai relationship with Seshi.

Then Usagi shook her head and said, "In any case, Inara eventually wants to reveal herself to the most devout followers. Better to have some clues out there ahead of time, so they aren't completely blindsided."

Seshi leaned close over Usagi, blinking down at the shorter woman. "Whoa, you're sounding awfully 'Hebi' today. Filling in as our resident schemer while she's busy helping the head priest with his budget?"

"Oh, is that what she's doing?" Michi asked. She grunted with exertion as she lifted a heavy crate from the ground, then said, "I thought it was weird that she wasn't around to help us out."

Akari opened her mouth to say, 'We're almost done anyway,' but a different thought crashed into focus. It is incredibly weird that Hebi is never around in my visions, Akari thought. She never even visits after my death, even though she's so committed to Inara right now and so content at her side…

"Akari?" Seshi started. "You trying to one-up my slack-jawed-yokel impression? 'Cuz I think you're overshooting just a bit."

"Huh?" Akari blurted. "Sorry, just lost in thought."

Michi lightly punched Akari in the arm. "I think you need a map, because that's been happening a lot lately."

"Ha ha ha, so many comedians at this year's Toshigoi," Akari countered lightly, but her thoughts were still heavy with concerns and unknowns.

Akari stared at the ceiling above her bed for a long time, until the subtle cracks and bumps in the old paint started to blur into constellations and silhouettes. The one that stood out the most was a long, winding snake that reached almost from the door to the window.

Hebi had been on her mind for days, and the vision Akari had just awakened from yielded no new clues. Nor had her gentle questioning over dinner the night before. She had asked everyone where they'd like to visit at some point, and then what they wanted to accomplish someday.

Their answers hadn't been surprising, for the most part. Michi wanted to watch a soccer game in person, and eventually become a superior spirit now that the major milestone of getting a name was out of the way. Usagi wanted to spend a summer in another country learning their recipes. Preferably a tropical place, with beaches and sun.

"I bet you're only saying that because you're tired of all this snowy weather," Seshi had guessed. "You don't strike me as a beach-bunny kinda girl. But if you're going to Cancún during spring break, I'm so in!"

Before Usagi could contest that, Hebi had answered Akari's second question. "I'd like to travel around the world. A single lap by airplane, just to say I did it."

Akari couldn't get that answer out of her head. That wouldn't even take that long to accomplish, and it wouldn't keep Hebi from Inara.

So why does she always leave us?

Akari's search for an answer led to researching lucid dreams, hoping that she could steer her nightly visions toward a new perspective. After three more nights of trying, she had learned only one new detail: in 30 years or so, Hebi leaves to travel the world for one year, then never returns, not even when she receives word of Akari's death. Akari tried again every night after that one, but the visions never revealed anything else.

But then, one rare sunny morning while Akari was jogging with Michi and enjoying the feeling of getting stronger together, she had a strange thought. A thought that just might lead to something.

Getting stronger…

She slowed to a stop, then said, "Sorry, Michi. Gonna break off early. I need to ask Inara something."

Michi jogged in place while she replied, "No problem. Seeya later."

Akari went straight to Inara's bedroom door, too excited to bother rinsing off the sweat of the morning's exercise. She knocked and said, "Inara-hime? Got a moment?"

The door opened within seconds, and a radiant beauty filled the frame. Behind Inara, a blur of tails settled into five. "For you, Akari, always." She gave just the smallest glance to Akari's sweat-soaked clothes, then waved her in and asked, "What's up?"

"I've been thinking about Hebi, and her goals and dreams. Do you know what she wants from life?"

Inara sat down on a cushion, then patted the one next to her. "I don't, actually. Her inner thoughts have always been a mystery to me, and I've never even developed a sense for when she's lying, thanks to that silver tongue of hers." She waved one hand and clarified, "Not that I think she ever lies to me about anything important. I trust her completely, and I know she cares deeply for all of us."

Akari nodded slowly, piecing together what she wanted to ask next. After a moment, she said, "I think it's fair to say that Hebi isn't very interested in becoming a superior spirit."

Inara nodded, so Akari continued, "Other than that, is there anything else in the spirit hierarchy between a major spirit and a goddess, at least in terms of power? I'm pretty sure Hebi doesn't care much about social status."

Inara hummed in thought for a moment, then answered, "Many things: minor deities, some chosen ones, aspects…"

Akari's eyes sparkled as she took in the new information. "Let me guess, a minor deity is something like the kijimuna of Okinawa, a location-based spirit with a tie to the people and land around it?" Akari had visited the island of Okinawa as a child, and she'd had been surprised when she saw glimpses of small red-haired spirits there, so different from the wisps she was used to. Only later did she learn they were called kijimuna or bunagaya, and they were mischievous and fickle beings who sometimes helped humans in times of need.

Inara smiled and nodded. "Yes, exactly right."

Akari continued through Inara's list. "And I guess a chosen one could become really powerful."

"You already are," Inara said softly. "Foresight like yours is a very rare gift."

Akari felt her cheeks grow hot, but she stayed focused on her goal. "But what's an aspect?"

Inara was ready with her answer. "Aspects are pillars of a specific concept, usually working underneath a god of that domain. Aspects go beyond normal spirits and embody a domain so perfectly they often go on to become the god of that domain themselves, given enough time. For example, I briefly employed the aspect of brewing, a spirit who loved alcohol to the exclusion of all else."

"Oh!" As much as Akari wanted to know more about that aspect who used to work for Inara, there were more important matters at hand. A plan was coming together in her head, and there was no reason to wait.

She leaned over and gave the goddess a quick kiss on the cheek, then hopped to her feet. "I've got a plan now. Thanks, Inara-hime!"

Hmm, how to handle this? Akari asked herself as she paced up and down the hallway in front of Hebi's bedroom door. Hebi's so much better at this than me, so she'll see right through any lies or schemes I try to pull. And she seems to appreciate straightforward information.

She clenched her fists and knocked on the door. Then I'm gonna play this straight.

"Please, come in," said a low, smooth voice, causing the memory of Akari's first arrival at the shrine to leap to mind. She had heard all the spirits' voices before she saw them, and Hebi's had been so distinctive.

She really does sound like a snake, Akari thought with a smile. Then she opened the door and stepped inside.

Hebi was seated at her desk. She gently closed her laptop and pushed it aside, then beckoned Akari to come closer. "Sorry I don't have another chair, but you're welcome to sit on the bed."

"No problem. That works for me just fine." Akari sat down, took a deep breath, then set right to it. "I just learned about aspects, spirits who embody one of a god's domains completely. Have you heard of them before?"

Hebi nodded slowly. "I have indeed. But why would you go so far out of your way to mention it to me?"

Then her eyes widened ever so slightly, giving a tiny glimpse of her silver-gray irises. "Do you think I could become one? Is this related to your recent attempts to adjust everyone's future paths?"

Akari blushed. "You knew about that?" Then she shrugged and said, "Of course you knew. But yes, it's related. I'm trying to help everyone find a future for themselves that also includes Inara."

Akari paused for breath, then continued, "Because someday I'll die, and I don't want her to be left alone. Through my visions, I've seen what happens when she's all alone at the end, and I…" Tears started to well up in Akari's eyes and she trailed off.

Hebi moved to her side, then patted her on the back. "I get it. She's never been the most stable of gods, especially since she split herself into nine, and she's taken to you stronger than anything I've seen in all my centuries knowing her. You are her first and only chosen one, after all."

Then Hebi smiled wryly. "So, you think I should look into becoming an aspect, for her sake and mine?"

Akari nodded, thinking, Hebi's so clever, I'd be surprised if she hadn't already considered this. But I had to try…

Hebi looked up at the ceiling. "Well, I've thought about it a little, from time to time. But I always determined that I didn't have anything I was passionate enough about."

Akari raised a hand, like a reporter at a press conference, then she asked, "How long have you been handling the shrine's finances?"

"Since before I started living here. As far back as 500 years ago, I would audit their finances every time I visited."

Akari hadn't expected that at all. "Even when there were priests working here?" she asked.

"Yeah, none of them were any good at accounting, so I had to do it." She pointed with her tail in the general direction of Shinjō and added, "Judging by the guys at Sakura Creek Shrine, that hasn't changed."

Akari saw an opening. "You had to do it, or wanted to?" Without giving Hebi a chance to answer, she continued, "I've seen how much you enjoy managing all the finances for our festivals. And then there's the contracts, the investments, your line of collectible sculptures and that redeemable ticket scheme. You really like commerce."

Hebi glared at her for a long moment. Her expression was as unreadable as always. Then she said, "You think… I should become the Aspect of Commerce."

"Yes," Akari said flatly.

Hebi twirled the tip of her tail around her finger, coiling and uncoiling it as she deliberated. "Hmmm. Answer some questions about my future, and I'll consider it."

Akari blinked. "Sure. What sort of questions?"

Hebi smiled, the line of her lips cutting a slow and menacing path across her face. "Nothing you wouldn't answer for a visiting worshiper. Let's meet up this evening in the bath. I think best while my body is warm, and the sunbathing this time of year is far from prime."

Akari arrived in the bath first, a circumstance that gave her an uninhibited view of Hebi as she washed herself and climbed into the steaming water of the pool. Her body was remarkably appropriate for a snake spirit, so slim and slender and sleek and svelte. And probably some more slithery-sounding words that Akari just couldn't think of at the moment.

How had Usagi phrased it? Akari thought to herself. A spirit's body is a reflection of their soul?

"I'm glad you were gifted with foresight instead of laser vision," Hebi said with a smirk, "or your stare would burn a hole right through me."

Blushing, Akari bowed her head and said, "Sorry, I was just noticing how snake-like your figure is. It's very fitting." She paused for a beat, then decided to add, "And beautiful."

Hebi nodded and put a hand to her chest. "No matter how much time passes, my original nature is still in here, somewhere." Then she smiled subtly. "I'm proud of my origins. I worked my way up from nearly nothing, after all."

Unsure of what to do with that reply, Akari switched gears. "You wanted to ask me some questions about the future?"

"Straight to business? Alright." Hebi scooted closer in the bath, until she was seated just to Akari's left. Her slender form was a stark contrast to Akari's softer figure and wide hips: a serpent and a pear.

"To start things off, if I start trying to become an aspect, when will I reach my goal? One year? Ten?"

"Good question. I'll take a look." Akari closed her eyes and planned out her approach to this vision. She knew from all her fortune-telling for shrine visitors that it was often difficult to find exactly when an unknown moment would arrive, but she had learned a trick to work around that. She could pick a future point in time, take a peek, then work her way forward or back in large chunks until she saw evidence of the change she was looking for.

Let's start at one year from now.

Thankfully, with Toshigoi as a chronological landmark, the next step was trivial. Akari just recalled the end of the festival, still fresh in her mind, then 'remembered forward' to the next one. The vision that came to mind was a bit fuzzy and it was hard to make out individual faces in the crowd, but one thing was immediately apparent: Hebi was there, and she looked happy and vibrant and full of life, to a greater degree than Akari had ever seen.

She shook herself from the vision, then said, "Well, I can tell that a year from now you'll be a lot stronger. I think that means you've become an aspect?"

"Oh, that's good to hear," Hebi said.

"Want me to look in the nearer future, to narrow down when it happens?"

"Nah. That's close enough for me. Next question." Hebi lowered her voice, then asked, "Are my bonds with Inara, Usagi, and Michi still intact in one year?"

Aww, she's worried about her relationships! I guess it only makes sense to be worried about a big change impacting the things you want to preserve, Akari thought. Then she said, "You looked really happy, so I assume so, but I'll check just in case."

Returning to a previous vision was easy, at least if she did it quickly before the dream-like memory could fade. Akari closed her eyes and found herself back at next year's Toshigoi. Everything was clearer this time, as if she was wearing prescription glasses that she'd lacked in the previous vision.

Hebi was seated at a park bench near the festival but outside the busiest areas, and she was talking to a man in a very formal business suit. She wore a shrine maiden's outfit, but somehow looked just as formal as the man. She was also very attentive and focused on their conversation, right up until she spotted Usagi waving from the festival area.

Hebi raised one hand. "Sorry, but I have to put this on hold for now. It looks like my dear friend needs my assistance."

"Huh? But this is important." The businessman looked surprised and irritated.

"Again, I apologize. Let's resume this tomorrow. Please take my card, and call me at the hour of your convenience. I will make time for you." She bowed and presented a business card, then jogged away.

Hebi reached Usagi's side, gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and asked, "What's up? Need my help with something?"

"We're all deciding where to have our post-festival meal, and we couldn't leave you out of that conversation. Michi's vote is for Korean barbecue, and Mistress Inara is leaning that way as well. The other girls don't care." There was a worried undertone to Usagi's voice, a subtle cry for help.

Hebi read the situation instantly. The resident vegetarian was obviously not too keen on the barbecue option. "Hmm. That does sound good, but I'd prefer noodles tonight. I'll take the Boss and Michi out for barbecue tomorrow."

Akari considered that enough evidence of Hebi's relationships, so she let the vision fade until she was back in the warm bath. She grinned and said, "All clear. Still as close as ever, from what I can tell."

"Excellent. One last question…" Hebi paused for a long moment, then asked Akari, "Are you happy that I lured you here to this shrine? Are you glad I intervened in your life?"

Akari didn't need to use her power or even think very hard to answer that. "Absolutely. I still don't know why you did it, but I'm so happy you did. Whenever I think about what my life would have been like if I never followed those fox statues, I nearly break down into tears. Thank you, Hebi."

"You're welcome," Hebi said simply. "And I'm glad you're meddling in my life."

"You know my reason for meddling, so… are you gonna tell me why you lured me to the shrine that day? I get the impression even Inara didn't know what you were planning."

Hebi just smiled, her narrow eyes revealing nothing at all. "Nope."

"Bah, okay. I've lived this long not knowing," Akari said as she stretched her arms over her head and relaxed into the hot water. Then she turned and faced Hebi. "So how about the aspect thing? Going to pursue it?"

Hebi sighed and slipped down in the water until only her face was visible. Slowly, her smug smile melted into a disgruntled frown. Then she huffed and said, "Fine, you win. I admit that it sounds like exactly my forte. I'm just so frustrated at myself for never seeing it sooner."

"Sometimes you need an outside perspective," Akari said. "And Inara allowed me into this family for just that purpose, to keep this place from stagnating or losing touch with humanity." Akari grinned. "Maybe that was why you lured me here."

Hebi didn't reply, so Akari kept talking. "So, what do you need to make the transition? Approval from Inara? Or a name from a human follower?"

Still mostly submerged in the water, Hebi shook her head. "No. After all the groundwork I already laid, after all the centuries of business and accounting…" She paused and took a large breath, her slender chest inflating, then slowly settling as she slowly let it out.

"All I need to do… is accept it in my soul."

She closed her eyes, then the water of the bath went strangely still, its surface becoming a perfect mirror. Hebi stood up, and the water remained as smooth as glass. The drops that fell from her sleek figure just passed through the surface like it wasn't even there.

In the reflection of that mirrored surface, Akari thought she saw something. A foggy apparition, a glimpse of another world or a possible future. Everything looked the same: the bathing room, Hebi's figure, and even the serene look on her face. But Akari sensed that on the other side of that looking glass, things would never be the same.

Then, with a whip-like CRACK, the calmness broke. Concentric rings rippled outward from Hebi, originating from the three points of her legs and tail, propagating and bouncing off the walls until they had filled the entire bath with a complex mesh of circles and curves. It reminded Akari of a celtic knot pattern, or a pit of vipers.

Akari blinked several times until her eyes could properly focus on the sight before her. Hebi's appearance seemed to be the same, but she felt different somehow. More powerful, more physical, more real.

"You're an aspect now?" Akari asked.

Hebi sat back down and the water cradled her slim body once again. "I guess so… I thought it would feel more different."

Hebi seemed a little puzzled as she twisted around and surveyed herself and tried to identify exactly what had changed. It wasn't until two weeks later that the two women learned that Hebi could now make herself visible to humans without Inara's help, and it even allowed her voice to carry over the telephone.

The vision of Hebi handing out a business card and asking the man to call finally made perfect sense.