A week later it seemed like the sun had deserted them: the skies had been overcast and grey since the day after Paul had woken up with his head still pillowed in Inari’s lap. He smiled fondly at the memory of that glorious, lazy day, full of golden sunlight. But now it seemed as if autumn was drawing in.

Paul sighed as he glanced down at the ledger in his hands, on his way to breakfast with Inari. It had become a ritual with them this past week to breakfast together, while discussing the day’s business. Although sometimes it was more of a second breakfast for him, as Paul was in the habit of rising early, and Inari rarely woke before ten.

Paul sighed again, his mood as dreary as the weather. He was not looking forward to discussing this development.

Paul paused in front of the shrine, clapped his hands twice, and then went in. Walking around the altar he went to the back wall, and pushed on what appeared to be ornately carved panels. They were decorated to look like double doors, occupying the entirety of the rear wall of the shrine. It was supposedly to symbolise the entrance that the god or goddess used, and not uncommon in early shrines.

However, in this shrine… Paul pushed on the doors and they swung open.

What lay beyond wasn’t the courtyard behind the shrine, but Inari’s hall. The richly polished cedar wood floor shone with a warm golden light from between jewel-like rugs. The pillars were inlaid with precious stones in intricate and finely detailed patterns, between which art of the highest order, painted on fine silk, hung on the walls.

At the far end, Inari sat curled up in a throne like nest of furs, behind sheer curtains of silk embroidered with silver and gold thread, sparkling with tiny gem stones. Paul’s footsteps barely made a sound as he walked along the football pitch length of the hall. Brushing the gauzy curtains aside he called out.

“Good morning Inari-sama.”

There was a small, non-committal sound from the bundle of furs and silks in the divan. Paul bit his lip; evidently Inari was having another one of her bleak moods.

Putting the ledger down he busied himself with the tea things, and soon the fragrant scent of good quality Assam, with hints of other teas blended in, filled the air. Kneeling by the side of the low bed-like couch, he presented a delicate tea bowl of golden brew to Inari. It wasn’t a traditional tea ceremony by any means, but it was theirs, and like the tea, a blend of English and Japanese.

“Oh great Goddess, please accept this humble offering from your faithful servant.”

Inari lifted her head and eyed him balefully for a moment.

“Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

“Perhaps… is it working?”

Inari lifted a slim long-fingered hand and made a so-so gesture. Then turning her hand over, held out her palm for the tea bowl.

“It would be shame to let good tea go to waste though.”

Paul placed the small, delicately decorated, tea bowl in her hand. Saying, as he did each morning;

“It’s my own blend, so it’s a little bit different each time. I can’t always guarantee the taste will be the same, but at least it will be something new every morning.”

Inari smiled faintly, sniffed at the tea, and slowly rose out of her nest, drifting upwards like a trail of smoke in still air, slender and pale as a willow wand and as sinuous as a summers breeze. One shoulder lay bare down to the curve of her breast, where her robe had slipped in her sleep, and if Paul noticed he gave no sign, his gaze never leaving her face.

Inari took the bowl in both hands, and sipped delicately… then sighed.

“My Herald, if I had treasures to give you, I would. This is, what is that phrase you used..? Ah, yes, a right proper cuppa tea!”

Paul snorted with laughter.

“Good to see that your sense of humor hasn’t entirely deserted you then.”

Inari smiled.

“Not as long as you are here to remind me of it. Is that the temple’s ledger I spy?”

Paul glanced at the ledger, wishing he’d hidden it better.

“Yess… but..”

“Paul-san, I shan’t go into a decline because of that. You have my word. Breakfast first though, in case it sours my appetite.”

Paul sighed, nodded, and sitting down on a floor cushion helped himself to a cup of tea, as Inari investigated the toast and jam on offer. She’d always had a sweet tooth, she’d confessed, and found herself drawn to the ‘exotic’ English breakfast foods. So Paul, who’d also found himself missing English breakfasts, had stocked up on jams and marmalade to have with toast. The internet was a marvelous thing, one could buy ‘sampler’ packs of small jars online and have them delivered.

Once they’d eaten, and Inari was on her second cup of tea, she nodded in the direction of the ledger.

“So, how does my Temple fare Paul-san?”

Paul pulled a sour expression.

“The pages look like a battlefield after a particularly gruesome battle, there’s that much red ink. I hope you like rice and instant ramen, because that’s what we’ll be living on for a while at this rate.”

Inari grimaced.

“Well, we have suffered worse.”

Paul shook his head…reluctantly speaking.

“That’s not the worst of it. Basically, we’re flat broke. The donation money is already gone, and half the repairs that needed doing aren’t done yet. The roof on the main hall is probably not going to survive another winter and I’m doubtful if the stone bank that channels water into the water-wheel will survive the spring floods. The money I get from my books will ensure we won’t starve at least, although we’ll have to do some very careful budgeting. No more feasts for the foreseeable future.”

“What of funds for the sanctuary then?”

“Every single one of the lords and clan heads and so on is claiming poverty. Most of them truthfully. Even Boss Hirohido. The Tenuki aren’t hurting financially too much, the separate families all help each other out, but it’s a knife’s edge they’re walking. However at least they’re good for some practical help. We shan’t lack for firewood over winter either, which is probably a good thing, as they’ll help keep us supplied. Lord Sura said they can take what they want of deadwood from his forest. Also come spring, once the planting is done, Boss Hirohido has said that although they can’t donate enough to repair the roof, if we can raise funds for materials he will donate the labor for free, as long as we don’t mind cooking for them. But honestly, I don’t think we can manage that much even. Not unless things change.”

Paul looked around the hall and sighed.

“Pity this is all magic and illusion, but the temple coffers are empty. We don’t exactly have a steady stream of offerings from devoted worshipers and I can’t sell anything that’s of the temple either.”

Inari tilted her head.

“If I thought it would help, I’d pry the gemstones out of the statues eyes myself.”

Paul shook his head.

“Yeah. Two problems with that. Firstly, they’re cut glass, someone beat you to it a century ago, and secondly, legally I couldn’t sell off anything that belongs to the temple. Because technically, it all belongs to you: I’m just the current custodian.”

Inari opened her mouth, then hesitated rethinking what she was about to say, and sighed.

“I’d give you my permission, but proving that in a court of law...”

Paul nodded, he’d thought of that too.

“Which raises another problem. Lawyers fees, as in we can’t afford them. I thought we had a good legal argument to secure the temple against developers, but as it turns out Japan isn’t very keen on Gaijin owning property here. Apparently without knowing it I skated round those laws, because it was willed to me, not bought. However that’s a skinny legal loophole and it wouldn’t take much for a good lawyer to turn it into a noose around my neck. They could rightfully invoke eminent domain, keep the temple at least intact under state control, and mine the mountain from the other side. Which would be just as much a disaster for the Others.”

“So, even your ownership is in doubt?”

“I think so. I might have missed something however. I’m not a lawyer, and few days of research online isn’t the same. Especially when Japanese law is enough to give even experienced lawyers fits. It’s dense enough to be headache inducing.”

Paul paused, and glanced at Inari who was peering into the depths of her tea bowl with an inscrutable expression. Paul studied her for a moment, before speaking.

“I thought you’d be more perturbed Inari, or are you so far down in the doldrums that more bad news doesn’t make a difference?”

Inari lifted her head fractionally, and slowly moved it side to side.

“No, not that bad. I may have found something to help. I was up all night hunting through dusty archives.”

“Ah, so. It’s exhaustion not depression then.”

Inari nodded fractionally, then shook her head a little, before finally shrugging.

“A little of both, and neither. Just, so many dusty memories of times past and friends long departed.”

Paul reached out and gently placed his hand over hers. Inari’s lips curved up briefly, a small bitter-sweet smile there and gone like a fox glimpsed in the snow.

“However, it was not for nothing. I found records of this temple from before my main one in Kyoto was built. They mention this place, by name, as being my home and my birthplace. And pertaining to our finances, there is a copy of the agreement of a land lease for the Kyoto temple.”

“How is that relevant?”

“Ah well, the land was an Imperial gift to me, personally. However a hundred years after the first shrine was built in 711 by your calendar, it was relocated from the valley to it’s present site on the mountain. The new land was also a gift. So, although the temple was atop a mountain, it also had a wide area of rice fields to support it in the valley below. Those rice fields were drained and built upon, sometime around the construction of the second temple on the side of the mountain, and became a market town and artisans quarter. I still own both and the rents from the properties built in the valley are paid to the shrine in my name. I am a goddess of business as well as rice, harvests in general and fertility. I recall thinking at the time that it would be a sound investment.”

“Okayyy… and?”

“The Fushimi shrine is supposed to pay for the upkeep of this, my home shrine. From the rent collection. But as far as I can find, they haven’t paid it for a number of years… in fact, not since the war.”

“Knowing you this is where I say; ‘which one?’”

Inari laughed, wagging a finger at Paul.

“You know me too well my Herald! Not since the Boshin war, in 1868 or 69. That’s the last payment I can find.”

“Boshin… that was the one that ended the Shogunate, wasn’t it? It ended with the Emperor dying and being succeeded by his second son?”

“Yes just so! It seems the annual rent was never collected by the Imperial tax collectors and given to the Fushimi shrine in all the confusion, or at least if it was it never made it’s way here. It’s possible it’s still being paid to the shrine.”

“Ok, so someone owes us some back rent. Probably a lot, but I don’t see how we can collect on it.”

Inari was silent, as Paul thought it through.

“Inari-sama, these records… Are they spirit based or would they survive if I took them out of here?”

“They’re real, being held here in the spirit realm has meant they were preserved, that’s all. They came originally from the mortal world.”

Paul thought some more, then nodded.

“Ok, we can do it.”

Inari smiled.

“Do what my Herald?”

Paul raised an eyebrow at her.

“Probably what you were thinking of all along, knowing you. I’ll email the temple at Kyoto and tell them I found some early documents during renovation work, and could they send someone to look at them. Preferably several someone’s including a priest, as our Miko would like to talk to someone about the implications of this shrine being described as the birthplace of Inari...”

Inari giggled and nodded.

“... and then I will reveal myself?”

Paul grinned at Inari’s delight at the possible mischief.

“Well, maybe not so abruptly as that. But yes, more or less. We’ll convince them of your existence I hope, and convince them to pay a portion of the rent owning. But this advances our other plans rather as well.”

Inari tilted her head, a frown creasing her brow fractionally. Paul glanced at her, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

“Hadn’t thought that far ahead then? If we can recruit to our cause the priesthood of the main temple at Kyoto, that gives us a direct line to the Emperor, who I believe can call a special session of parliament, er, the Diet that is. Which means we have a way for you to get to address them, and force their hand regarding recognising Others as having the same rights as other citizens. Including the right to own land etc, which would rather settle legal questions since the deeds are held in your name.”

Paul sighed, and went on.

“Of course, that all hinges on recruiting the head priest of the Kyoto temple. People can be odd about religion. He might decide you’re not really you… if you see what I mean.”

Inari arched an eyebrow, looking every inch the imperious Goddess.

“You think he could refuse me?”

Paul shook his head slowly.

“Not exactly… however I think he might need convincing you are a goddess beyond a shadow of doubt. Which might be a problem, since currently you’re human. I think this hall of yours would probably be enough to convince anyone who comes here. Well, either that or they’ll think you’re a Time Lord. But you might need to put in an appearance in full Divine Goddess mode at the main temple, and like I said, problem, in so far as it doesn’t have a source of magic.”

“But, you’ve made one..?!”

“Inari, I have a convertor that’s lashed together from bits and pieces, powered by a fifty year old generator that’s in turn powered by a water wheel that’s almost as old as you are. None of which are portable, and I am damn sure it couldn’t produce even a tenth the power you’d need to go full-on Divine Presence, and we don’t have the funds to build a convertor that could run off Kyoto’s main power grid. Plus I’m not even sure I’d know how to do that safely. That’s high voltage electrical engineering, which is a separate and highly specialised discipline in it’s own right. All of which adds up to us having a HUGE problem.”

“Oh. Is there no way..?”

Paul opened his mouth, then stopped.. thinking of the experiment he did in the Oni’s main hall.

“Ok... there might be. It’s maybe a one shot deal, but I know of way to produce a massive jolt of mana. Which I think I might be able to rig a way to briefly store in something. Kind of a magical capacitor. But once it’s gone, it’s gone. I can build personal generators, I’ve been experimenting with them to allow Shoko to go where she wants, but those are tiny battery powered versions. Although that would be enough at least to keep you alive on the way home, but nothing more.”

Inari thought for a few minutes, then nodded, once.

“I think if you can produce enough power, then I would only need it once. How long would this magical ca..capacitor last?”

Paul shrugged expansively, throwing his hands up.

“How long is a piece of string?! It depends on how much and how quickly you drain it. We can do some small scale tests so I can get a rough idea how long it will hold a charge without being used. But part of the problem is that we have a very limited supply of crystals, and producing mana this way burns them up.”

Inari tilted her head, looking at him questioningly.

“Oh! Can you not get enough?”

“With the Oni’s help, yes I can, maybe. But the small scale tests isn’t the problem, we can use scraps and bits. But for the big version? That’s the problem. Because those are the sort I’d use in the convertor and they aren’t as easy to find. I have tried using multiple crystals, a cluster of small ones in the convertor.. but the coils need to be attuned to each crystal, and with three or more it’s impossible to control the harmonics, and if it runs out of control it goes boom. What I really need to do is get some very big, very pure synthetic crystals grown to my specifications. But...”

Inari interrupted with a sigh.

“We don’t have the funds for that, do we.”

“Exactly. No, we don’t. So, if we’re forced to make do with what we’ve got, I’d say we have one shot, because I have three crystals of the right size and purity to build a mana convertor with, and one of those is in use already and I want to keep at least one as a spare. So, that means we’ve only got one crystal we can afford to burn up. Unless we get lucky and the oni dig up another one, but who knows when that might happen.”

Inari nodded her understanding, and looked thoughtful.

“But, if you make enough mana, than I’m sure I can convince the priesthood. So it should be worth using up a crystal on this. And even if I can’t, you still have one spare crystal left, although it would take longer to build a more powerful convertor I assume. I have faith in your ability to do it, and then we would have as much magic as we need?”

Paul shook his head.

“No. There’s a definite limit to how much power the crystals can handle. They heat up during the process, too much and the crystal lattice deforms and... well, it goes boom, suffice it to say. The bigger the crystal, the less impurities of the wrong sort, the more power it’ll handle, but with those I have now, I couldn’t build a mana convertor that’s much more powerful than the one we have already. That’s why I was thinking of lab grown crystals.”

Inari sighed.

“So, it comes down to one roll of the dice then. All or nothing.”

“Pretty much. I mean, we can scrimp and save and pinch pennies and probably pull enough funds together in a year or three to build a second convertor using lab grown crystals. Assuming nothing falls apart in the meantime, but we’d lose the roof on the main hall for sure, and if the bank of the water channels collapses then it’s game over. No water, no power, no more mana.”

Inari nodded slowly.

“It sounds like we do not have a choice then my Herald.”

Paul nodded reluctantly.

“Probably not. But ironically, I’ve never been a big fan of leaps of faith. I prefer to have a back-up plan, just in case.”

Inari made small motion with her free hand, as if tossing away a small something.

“Well, it will take a few days for someone to come from Kyoto, so you have until then to come up with a back-up plan.”

“Yeahh… that’s a bit like making a parachute on the way down, but like you said, not much choice.”

“Have faith in your Goddess my Herald… we will prevail.”

Paul smiled fractionally.

“No offense Inari-sama, but I prefer the certainty of a solid plan over faith in the justness of our cause overcoming the odds.”

Inari smiled back at Paul with much more certainty, and a degree of fondness, shaking her head.

“And this is why I know I was right to choose you Paul-sama. You keep my feet on the ground.”

Paul’s face softened into a look of equal parts trust, amusement and devotion.

“And you remind me to have faith. Although I do believe in you, Inari, no matter what.It’s the rest of the world I have my doubts about.”