>Let's go track down Haruka, then
>With your new clothes on, you and your colleagues head back to the road, which now appears to be clear, and resume course for the stairs leading up to the shrine, like a proper visitor should.
>The stairway leading up to the Fire Bird Shrine has at least one addition the other shrines don't. At the foot of the stairs, leaning against the torii gate, are a pair of rather firmly built shrine maidens. They are there to help the elderly and disabled individuals make their way up to the shrine, either by offering assistance or sometimes by outright carrying them. As obviously none of your group require this assistance, the two women merely give you a friendly nod as you start your climb.
>The front yard of the Bird shrine is a hot bed of activity, a rather large number of people standing, milling, talking, and nearly as many doing the same thing in the air. This is despite the fact that a section of the yard has been cordoned off with safety cones and yellow tape, and a small gang of workers are hard at work replacing a section of damaged concrete.
>For all the winged beings present, none of them are Haruka, so you make for the entrance to the shrine. Given your recent status in the news, you find yourself slightly surprised that no one points you out or calls out to you, at least not as far as you can notice. And this is true right up until you hear the familiar voice of Lily White call out, "Ya-hoo, Lotus!" from the sky above you. The lively little blonde, also in her magical girl form, swoops in from the air. "Just getting here?"
