"We won't be able to do this much longer," Inu said as she jogged in place next to the shrine steps.

"What?! Why?" Akari blurted, distracted from her shoe-tying.

Inu blinked calmly and brushed her bangs back from her forehead. "Uh, it's going to get cold soon? The first snow can't be far off." Their breath was already slightly visible this early in the morning, and the air had a harsh edge to it. Shinjō wasn't directly on the ocean, but the humidity was still high and wet-cold was the worst kind.

"Ohhh. Okay." Akari relaxed and returned to the task at hand.

"What did you think I meant?"

Akari stood up and bounced on the balls of her feet. "I thought you were going to be too busy for it or something."

Inu raised one eyebrow and one ear perked up to match. "Me, too busy to work out? And what would I even be busy with?"

"…Your name, becoming a superior spirit, that stuff."

"Oh. That's not a big priority for me. It's just an option for the future. I don't even know what it would take to make the transition."

"Ah, right."

Inu took off at a warm-up pace, then once Akari fell in next to her, she said, "It's kind of scary, actually."

"Scary?" Akari asked.

"Yeah, I could become a different person. A different thing entirely. I don't even know what a superior spirit is. What if I don't like it? What if it comes with some huge new responsibility? Will it be a blessing or a curse?"

Akari took a second to process that. This kind of worrying wasn't like Inu at all, and seeing her this unsure was a bit unnerving. "Ah, I can see how that would be scary."

Things were quiet for another lap of the shrine clearing, then Akari spoke up again. "Have you tried talking to Neko about it? She's so committed to becoming a superior spirit, I bet she knows what it would be like."

Inu was slow to respond, and when she did, her voice was quiet. "Neko and I… we don't get along. I doubt she'd give up any information that might help me become a superior spirit before her."

I wonder about that, Akari thought. I could see Neko refusing to do anything that might slow her own transformation, but I don't think she cares that much about other people or what they do.

She decided not to press that issue. "What about Hebi? She's very knowledgeable, and she'd be happy to tell you."

Inu sped up to a full-out run that Akari had difficulty keeping up with. But she wasn't trying to run away from the question; she was working through her feelings. She eventually slowed back down, much to Akari's relief, and said, "I'm afraid of what she might tell me. What if being a superior spirit is too good to pass up? What if it becomes an obsession for me, like it is for Neko?"

Akari recognized the questions as rhetorical, so she stayed quiet and just jogged alongside Inu. Sometimes silent support was the best action.

Eventually, Inu spoke one more time, her voice unsteady and full of emotion. "What if Hebi's information sets me on a path that leads me away from this shrine, from you, and from Inara?"

Akari could understand that feeling all too well. Now that the Mori-jinsha Shrine was truly her home, now that she had real friends for the first time since high school… she wouldn't want to risk that either. And when it came to Inara, to the goddess she had fallen for, the thought of losing her was too painful to even consider.

Between all her other work, Akari tried to do some online research. She pored over obscure blogs, decades-old religious studies, and any Shintoism-related page that so much as mentioned the word 'superior'. She had hoped that there might be some information in the human world about the difference between a major and superior spirit. She wanted to help ease Inu's fear of the transition, if possible.

But she quickly realized that the flexible nature of Shintoism, the lack of absolutes or any one correct way to believe, meant there was very little reliable information out there. Then there was the fact that what she was searching for was basically unrelated to humans and how they interacted with the spirit world. It would be pretty hard for a human to ever learn about the topic in the first place; Akari's gift to see spirits seemed incredibly rare, after all.

She put her phone down, admitting defeat, and decided to ask Inara or Hebi later. Neko probably knew too, but Inara had warned her to be careful with that topic around Neko.

If Neko got a name, would she ascend right there and then? Or are there other requirements? Akari thought. Then she shook her head. No, it sounds like she needs human followers, plural. She's not going to get those while she's stuck on shrine grounds unless she participates in a lot of ceremonies while visible to humans, and Inara wouldn't allow that unless we were desperate.

Or I suppose she could carve little figures like Hebi did. That got Hebi some followers in town.

Before Akari could ponder any further down that path, she was interrupted by a knock at the door. She rose from the bed and opened the door to find Inara there, looking wide-eyed and energetic, with her ears perked and one fox tail swishing behind her.

"Good afternoon, Kari-chan! Do you have any news about the commissions?"

Yep, that's her curious mood, alright.

"I do, but I was hoping to put it all into a small presentation for you," Akari answered. She felt a little guilty for delaying the news when Inara was so excited. "Can I get that together real quick, and show you in 30 minutes or so?"

"Absolutely! Just drop by my room whenever you're ready."

After Inara left, Akari got right to work. The woodcarver Tetsuhiro did all his communication over the phone, so Akari had been keeping written notes of their calls. She got out her notebook and reviewed what she'd written down, then she flipped to a new page and summarized it. Akari wasn't half as skilled as Hebi, but she thought she was pretty good at identifying the important information and the things Inara would want to hear.

Tetsuhiro had received the sketches of Inara, in both welcome and goodbye poses, that had been sketched, scanned, and emailed by Hebi. He had also purchased the wood for his carving from a specialty supplier who catered to ranma artists, so it would be sufficiently dried and ready to carve as soon as it arrived early next week. Tetsuhiro wasn't big on documenting his work progress, but he was happy to provide a weekly check-in over the phone. He really liked how organized Akari was, and he was looking forward to tackling such a big and ambitious commission.

Next, Akari went through the emails on her phone, since the vast majority of Kasumi's updates were text-based. Kasumi had already started sculpting some small-scale statues to experiment with poses for the two fox statues, since she wanted to be confident in her direction before she chiseled into the large and expensive stone blocks for the full-size statues. She had even sent photos of her progress, which Akari uploaded in a cloud-storage folder so Inara could look at them on her tablet any time she wished.

With a few minutes to spare on her 30-minute estimate, Akari arrived at Inara's door, notebook and phone in hand. She was hoping there wouldn't be a lewd surprise on the other side, another of Inara's attempts to gauge Akari's interest in male anatomy. But since I haven't actually told her about my preferences yet, I need to be prepared for anything.

"Come in," came a shout from inside, before Akari had even had a chance to knock.

Oh right, she can sense me.

Akari opened the door and was once again taken by the eclectic beauty of Inara's bedroom. The walls and area nearest them were positively coated in artwork, from paintings to pottery to an actual katana.

Inara herself was lounging on a wicker chair by the wide-open window, basking in the afternoon sun that streamed through. She hopped to her feet and scurried over to Akari's side, clearly eager. "Are you ready to give your update? When you said it would be a presentation, it got me so excited."

Inara's so cute like this! "Well, don't set your expectations too high. I just threw together all the information I had, using my phone since I don't have a PC."

"Do you want one?" Inara started for the door. "I'll have Hebi order one right away."

Wow, she's very distractible today, Akari thought. She guessed either one or eight tails, then saw that Inara indeed had eight. Innocent mode. "Hold on, Inara-sama. Don't you want to see this presentation?"

"Of course, the computer can wait." Inara flopped onto the floor, put her hands on her knees and smiled. "Go ahead."

"I'll need your tablet for a moment, to show the pictures."

"Pictures! Excellent," Inara said happily as she handed over her tablet.

Akari braced herself as she woke up the tablet, but she was greeted by a background image of a pretty forest with a scattering of app icons on top. Dual-wielding devices, she used her phone to share the image gallery to Inara's cloud account, then opened it on the tablet.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then began.

After her little presentation, which took less than five minutes in total, Akari asked, "Any questions?"

"Nothing about the commissions. You're doing great, and it seems like everything's going smoothly. I did enjoy the way you summarized everything for me. You really seem to know what I want to see."

Then Inara's tails grew indistinct and began slowly shifting between several moods, and she asked, "Do you like the nickname 'Kari-chan'? One of my tails called you that, and before I knew it, I was thinking or saying it in other moods."

Akari was caught off-guard by the change in topic. "Hmm, it's very cute, but it does feel a little… diminutive, like a little kid's nickname."

"Tsk, that won't do. What about just 'Akari'?"

Just Akari?

The longer Akari thought about it, the hotter her cheeks grew. Having her crush, also a literal goddess, address her so casually, with no nickname, no honorific, so comfortable and direct…

It was wonderful.

"That… would be nice, Inara-sama."

"Tsk, that won't do," Inara echoed. "Please just call me 'Inara'. I can't grow closer to you if you've got me up on a pedestal."

Akari's face somehow flushed even redder. "Oh… uh, okay… Inara."

"And I would so like to grow closer to you."

"I've noticed that." Akari fidgeted. "The other day, were you asking me… to be your lover?"

Inara smiled a soft and genuine smile, and it was glorious to behold, like a blessing from beyond Earth. "Yes, if you'll have me."

Akari hesitated. "I… it's just so much. Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Of course, but is more time what you actually want? Do you want to wait until the moment passes and the feeling that you're feeling right now becomes harder to grasp? Or do you want to take a plunge off the cliff that's before you, and see where the river takes you?"

There was a lot on Akari's mind, far more than could possibly be addressed in this single moment. But one issue stood out, its texture unique among all the other thoughts, jagged and tinted with fear as it was. "Um, will I be safe? I'm just a fragile human, and I saw what Neko's—" Akari almost said 'love', but she knew Neko didn't experience that. "—sex did to those people."

Inara reached out and grabbed Akari's hands so gently it was as if they'd been suspended on a cushion of air. "Neko's lovers ended up like that because of what she was taking, not what she was giving. And I am a giving lover."

Akari felt that fear dissipate, but something equally concerning rose in its stead, a different kind of fear. "And will this change things between us? Change what we are to each other, how we interact?"

"Yes, it will." Inara smiled. "But only for the better. My relationships with the other girls are not defined by our sexual encounters. Those moments are just one more ingredient in the stew, another flavor to add spice to our lives. And your moments would occur only as often as you want them."

"Can I say yes now, while I have the nerve, but have some time to prepare before we do anything? I'm still a virgin, and this is… a lot to take in."

Inara nodded. "Of course."

"Then my answer is yes. I want to be your lover. I've wanted it so bad I didn't even realize what I've been feeling, like I was lost in a forest so dense the sun couldn't reach the ground, and every tree was made of desire for you. I love you, Inara, and I don't think that's just your aura talking."

"It isn't. This entire conversation, I've been fighting tooth and nail to keep my aura suppressed. This is all you."

"Then all of me wants you. All of you. I want to be let in and I want to know the real you, to support you when you need it, to give everything you'll take, and take everything you'll give!"

Inara blinked. It was the most intense confession of love she'd ever received, and thanks to her aura and long life, she'd received many.

Inara leaned forward and embraced Akari in a wonderfully warm hug.

At a low whisper that was perfectly audible and perfectly intimate, Inara said, "I love you too, Akari. And while I can't promise to let you into my darkest corners just yet, I will promise to support you, and let you support me."

Just then, as Akari was feeling love and relief and elation and a hundred other feelings flow through her heart, she felt one feeling with an external source, a distant buzz that approached like lightning and vanished just as fast. It had been a burst of what Akari could only describe as magic, like the lingering sparkles of a fairy godmother's spell.

And if Akari's eyes had been open during that instant which lasted less than a single second, she would have seen all nine of Inara's tails pop firmly into existence, then fade. She would have witnessed Inara's true form as it returned to the world, however briefly, for the first time in over a century.