Eight Million Gods

by Wen Spencer

  What had happened to Miriam and Pixii after Nikki had stormed off in a rage? It only took a pen and a paper napkin to find out that they’d searched for her and discovered that the car was missing, too. Guessing that she’d ditched them to do something dangerous, they’d returned to Nara to pump Simon for information. The three of them spent the night combing for information about her and Leo. Everything they’d managed to learn had been alarming. Thankfully, though, Shiva seemed totally unaware that Miriam and Pixii were strong Sensitives.

  “We should go,” Nikki said.

  Simon was halfway down the driveway to Yamauchi’s kiln, ginger kitten in hand, when they drove up. He was dressed in a borrowed yukata and still looked pale and worn. Leo slammed the car to a stop the moment he saw his father and leapt out. Apparently remembering that the tanuki could shape change, Leo paused by the open car door, nearly vibrating with his joy and suspicion.

  Simon held up Maru as if to explain his presence. “He’d gotten himself stuck up a tree, kind of like another kitten I know.”

  “Is it really you?” Leo rumbled low and anxious.

  Simon gave a dry laugh and then said warmly, “This is my family. I found it all on my own. It’s little, and broken, but still good.”

  It was odd to hear the quote from Lilo and Stitch done in a rich, warm British accent.

  Leo breathed out in relief and pounced on his father.

  Simon laughed and caught him in a rough hug. “You little idiot. I knew you wouldn’t stop looking until you found me.”

  Leo nodded against his father’s shoulder.

  She gave them privacy to reconnect, hoping for the same. She knew that Miriam and Pixii were going to ask embarrassing questions once the scolding ended.

  They were sitting on the porch of the farmhouse, shoji doors opened behind them, frowning at laptop computers. Pixii saw her first and yelped. Only habit got the laptop put gently aside before Pixii tackle-hugged Nikki with a squeal.

  “You’re okay! You’re okay!” Pixii cried.

  “You idiot!” Miriam wiped tears from her eyes and hugged Nikki tight the moment Pixii released her. “What the hell were you thinking? I told you that getting your mother involved was a bad plan. At least you’re free of her now. Good rid—ow!”

  Pixii had smacked Miriam in the back of the head. “I know you’re probably still trying to cope with everything that’s happened. I know you probably don’t want to talk about it right now, but at some point you will and you should. But the important thing is you need to let go of all the hate and fear and anger. If you hold on to it, it will poison everything. It’s over. It’s done. Focus on the life you want to make for yourself.”

  “We’ll help you,” Miriam promised. “We’ll be there anytime you need us.”

  She understood now why the goddess had wept. Up to that moment, Nikki hadn’t realized how free she was. She didn’t have to hide anymore. She didn’t have to worry about being dragged away from any life she tried to build. She could do anything she wanted. The possibilities overwhelmed her.

  She hugged them both as she started to cry. “I love you two.”

  “Love you,” they said and held her as she wept.

  After she was done crying, they grilled her on her relationship with Leo in the disguise of gently teasing her with cat puns. Luckily, Yamauchi had running water and a garden hose.

  What kind of life did she want? What did she want to really do now that “to stay hidden” was no longer the foremost of her needs? Not even Shiva was looking for her; in rewriting Sato’s history at Hiroshima, she’d changed her own past in a thousand little impossible ways so that everything was the same and yet completely different. With her mother dead, she was sole heir to her family’s massive wealth. She could pay back her advance and never have to write for money again.

  Of course, she couldn’t stop writing; the need would always be there. All that had really changed was that she now knew the truth: she had power to know the future and to change it. Perhaps the compulsion was heaven’s way to make sure she owned the responsibility of having such a god like ability.

  She became aware that Leo was watching her with quiet intensity. Wanting her. Afraid that completely free, she’d walk away from him.

  She went to him and hugged him tight. “I love you,” she said just in case he didn’t know.

  “I love you,” he whispered fiercely. “What do you want to do?”

  She picked up Atsumori’s katana. “I want to go to Dupont, Louisana.” Leo raised an eyebrow in confusion. “There’s a demon there that I need to kill.”

  “We need to kill.”

  “And then Hawaii. There’s someplace I’ve been wanting to go.” She reached out to take his hand. “It’s been my refuge for a very long time. I just didn’t realize until recently that it’s a real place. It’s where I live with you.”

  Wen’s Not Completely Accurate

  GLOSSARY

  of Japanese Terms

  Amaterasu—Sun goddess

  Arigatou—Thank you

  Baka—Stupid, an insult, obviously.

  Bonito (flakes)—Fish that has been dried in a cave, allowed to grow mold, hardened to the consistency of wood, and then shaved off into tissue-thin wafers. Very odd but tasty stuff, has the weird habit of wiggling when on steaming hot food.

  Chigo—Celestial child, sort of a envoy to the gods.

  Chotto matte kudasi—“Wait a moment, please.” Sometimes uttered as “chotto” if the person is being super informal.

  Cosplay—Dressing up as your favorite manga or anime character.

  Desu—Handy Japanese word that Americans can abuse by assigning the meaning of “is” to it.

  Doko iku no?—“Where are you going?”

  Eh?—Not so much a word as a question mark sounded out.

  Fukuro Shinai—Shinai is the name of the bamboo sword used in kendo. Fukuro means bag, but when combined with shinai, it means a bamboo sword wrapped with leather or “in a bag.” No, I don’t understand it.

  Gacha—A company whose product is vending machines that dispense random toys inside of hollow balls. One ball is a variable price per machine, some as cheap as 100 yen ($1), others more expensive. (Since the one-hundred-yen coin is as common as a quarter, it’s simple to have the change to do this.) The toy is usually a figurine from anime. Each machine will have a common toy and a mix of more rare and sought-after toys, to encourage people to buy many in an attempt to get the one they want. It’s common to find an entire wall of these machines where manga, anime, and related products are sold. The toys are usually surprisingly well made for being only $1.00 US. I have one sitting on my desk, Akira-sama from Lucky Star. Do a YouTube search on “Lucky Channel Akira.” Be sure to watch it in original Japanese with subtitles—the voice actress is brilliant!

  Gaijin—Anyone not Japanese. The term means “outsider” and reflects a core philosophy of Japanese thinking. In almost every part of the Japanese life, a person is part of a group and anyone not in their group is an outsider. The “group” might be their class, or the people they work with, or their neighborhood. Whenever a group of Japanese takes a picture, they always take it twice, once with everyone but the initial photographer, and then the initial photographer and someone else taking the photo, because it would imply that the initial photographer wasn’t “part of the group” if he didn’t appear in the picture. This is also reflected in the language—how you address someone is completely dependent on if they’re in your group or outside of your group. Americans living in Japan—if they’re not working for a company—discover quickly that it’s very difficult to socialize with Japanese because they’re not part of a group. One reason Miriam attends the office drinking parties is that it’s one of the ways that company employees display that they’re part of the same group.

  Geisha—Counter to what Westerner believe, Geisha are not prostitutes but very skilled trained entertainers. From a very early age, they’re taught everything from the proper way t
o open a door elegantly to elaborate traditional dances. They take music lessons and dance lessons. Corporations consider it a status symbol to provide geisha to serve drinks and dance and play music at business meetings. However, it should be noted that when you bring rich and powerful men together with beautiful women, affairs do happen.

  Gion—At one point the Buddhist priests tried to replace the native Shinto religion. They took over Shinto shrines and claimed that the gods enshrined were actually Buddhist gods of different names but similar aspects. Gion is the name of the Buddhist god who they chose to represent Susanoo. The Yasaka Shrine for a time was known as Gion Temple. In the 1800s, however, the Emperor allowed the Shinto temples to return to their names and their original gods’ name. By this time, however, the area where the Yasaka Shrine stood had become known as Gion. This section of Kyoto is world famous for its geisha. (Inari is actually the Buddhist god of rice who could be male, female, or both. He was chosen to represent Susanoo’s daughter Uga-no-Mitama and son Uka-no-Mitama, who were gods of agriculture. Since Inari was more popular than the Shinto gods, he remains Inari.)

  Hai—Yes.

  Haiden—Hall of worship.

  Happi—Lightweight jacket worn during festivals that usually has a unifying symbol on it. At one time the symbol was the mon of the samurai family that the person worked for. Over time it’s been replaced by other kanji. Sometimes it simply says “matsuri,” which means festival. Sometimes it has a sponsor name in kanji. Since this is very traditional, it’s almost never anything as crass as a “corporate logo,” but the idea is the same.

  Honden—A small upraised building with a steep gabled roof where the actual god is housed. This area is off-limits to all but the priests of the temple, and the doors are generally kept closed except during special festivals.

  Inari—The god of good luck in business. Inari uses kitsune, or fox spirits, as his messengers and thus most of Inari’s shrines are littered with statues of foxes. The statues are usually in pairs, representing male and female. They often hold an old-fashioned key to a granary in their mouth. It is believed that a third of the Shinto shrines in Japan are dedicated to Inari and total thirty-two thousand plus countless little roadside and field shrines.

  Irashaimase—“Welcome.” All employees of business shout this out as soon as they see anyone enter the store. It can be amazingly annoying if there are several employees and a large number of people entering the store.

  Jogan—The Japanese only recently started to use the European method of telling time. Prior to that, the date was based on the year of the reign of the Emperor in power. The eighteenth year of Jogan, thus, means that it was the eighteenth year of the reign of Emperor Jogan.

  Kaguraden—Kagura is the sacred dance of the shrine maiden, thus the kaguraden is the stage on which the shrine maiden dances.

  Kami—A powerful spirit which is often worshipped as a god. Reflecting the structure of the Japanese society, there are greater and lesser kami.

  Kamishimo—A two-piece outfit. The top piece is a vest with wide stiff shoulders. The bottom piece is a hakama (pleated pants that look like skirts) of the same material. The two pieces are worn over a kimono, usually of a contrasting color.

  Kanji—Japanese writing.

  Katana—A samurai sword.

  Katajikenai—“Thank you,” Its origin is from the days of samurai and isn’t used now. It means more like, “I’m grateful and indebted.”

  Keitai haizara—Portable ashtray. Because the Japanese wouldn’t think of throwing their cigarette butts on the ground.

  Kendo—The martial art that uses wooden practice swords in lieu of katana.

  Kirin—An Asian flying horse with a horn. Like a unicorn but way more cooler.

  Kudasai—“Please.”

  Kunitsu-kami—A god of the Earthly realm.

  Kusanagi—Grass Cutter. One of the three imperial regalia. A sword passed from the Sun Goddess to her grandson, the first emperor of Japan. Last used in 1989.

  Maneki Neko—Literally “beckoning cat.” A statue of a cat, normally a calico bobtail, with one paw upraised. It’s believed to attract and house a lucky spirit that will bring you good fortune and money. There are several legends that explain how this belief came into existence. The earliest known statues were given out at a temple in Osaka. One of the most common legends is that a wealthy man was standing under a tree during a rainstorm when he saw a temple cat seemingly beckoning to him. He dashed into the rain to investigate, and a moment later, lightning hit the tree he been standing under. The wealthy man then heaped riches upon the temple in repayment for his good fortune. There is an elaborate iconology attached to the statue, including which paw is upraised, the color of the cat, and anything it’s wearing, such as a belled collar. I frequented a Japanese restaurant in Massachusetts and they gifted me with my favorite Maneki Neko, a ceramic Weebles Wobble statue with both paws upraised. It has a little bell that rings if the cat wobbles.

  Mansion—A no-deposit apartment building. Normally, a Japanese landlord requires a large non-refundable deposit called Key Money. There are no housing laws so landlords can and will refuse to rent to gaijin. Mansion are more expensive because they don’t require Key Money and will take gaijin renters.

  Matsuri—Festival.

  Mazu—“Almost” (I think).

  Mikoshi—Small buildings and boxes that can house the gods so they can be carried about. Many festivals feature parades of the gods through town so the gods can “visit” the area.

  Mizu—Water.

  Mon—This can be considered the family crest of a clan. It is circular with a stylized symbol in the middle, most often flowers, leaves, and insects. It was used often in warfare on flags so you could see in a glance who was where on the battlefield. The mon is quite beautiful in a simple, elegant fashion.

  Moshi moshi—The standard Japanese way to answer a phone. Basically it’s “hello” but best if you kind of think of it as radio-speak for “over” because it’s not something you say to someone face-to-face.

  Nani—”What.”

  Nani o osagashi desu ka?—A phrase used by salesclerks to ask if you need help; basically, “What is it you need?”

  Noh—A traditional type of Japanese theater.

  Nomikai—A social event requiring all employees to go out and drink with each other. Everyone is seated at one table at a restaurant which is often dedicated to this kind of gathering. There is bar food available, and the beer is often low-alcohol content because it’s expected that everyone will drink at the same rate regardless of age, sex, or weight.

  Noren—A curtain that usually hangs from the top of a door frame to part way down. Sometimes it only hangs low enough that a customer needs to duck under to enter the shop. Sometimes it will hang down to almost waist level. Usually found only at businesses, it often has lettering in kanji, either being the name of the shop or a greeting. Other times it will feature art. Traditionally, the noren meant to keep out dust and wind, but in modern times it is often used to create the illusion of privacy. It is are hung up at the start of the day and taken down when the shop closes.

  Obakemono—A word used to group all shape-shifting yokai together. These include bakeneko, kitsune, and tanuki. All three can be benevolent as well as dangerous.

  Obi—A wide belt used in wearing kimono and yukata.

  Ohayou gozaimasu—“Good morning.” Very formal version of it.

  Ojamashimasu—“I intrude on you!” It’s the ritual greeting that one calls as they enter the house of someone else. It stems upon the fact that, traditionally houses had a small “foyer” area that wasn’t really considered part of “the house” and that guests would enter without knocking. In this sheltered area, guests could be out of the rain, take off their shoes, etc., all the while shouting that they’ve come for a visit. It’s because of this custom that apparently staff at onsen will pop in and out of guests’ rooms with very little warning.

  Okonomiyaki—A fried cabbage pancake toppe
d with BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, and any number of possibilities. The name literally means “what you want” to indicate the freedom to chose what you like to top the pancake. It’s usually considered Japanese “pizza” in that regard, and can be found at restaurants where it’s cooked on a barlike counter, or on grill-topped tables, or on portable grills at festivals.

  Onsen—A hotel that features hot-spring baths. These are very popular with the Japanese. The “baths” are fed by water heated via the volcanic nature of the Japanese islands. The hotel provides bathrobe-like yukata, all meals and access to baths that are a mix of single gender, mixed gender, indoor, outdoor, private, and public. I’m told that the staff often follow the Japanese habit of entering a room and then announcing that they’re there.