A warm breeze woke me up in the morning, the curtains over my window dancing on the wind as morning light spilled into my room. I shivered slightly, realizing I was still naked and barely even had a blanket over me. I sent a quick text to Echiko while burrowing deeper under my blankets, "What time should I expect you here?" I just layed there watching the text window, minutes going by as I waited apathetically for her reply. Finally I crawled out from my blankets to get dressed for the day. I milled about my room for a while, went to the bathroom, grabbed a poptart from the cupboard, and checked my emails.
It had been almost an hour when I got a reply back from Echiko, "Probably late. Just before dinner maybe." I turned off my phone with a big sigh, deciding to head up to the shrine to get more chores done since the evening was going to be interrupted. I pulled my kosode and hakama out of the closet, laying them on my bed as I decided what to wear underneath. Even from the early morning warmth I could tell it was going to be another hot day. I started to look for my bikini when I realized it was still in the bottom of my bag. As I found it, I could still smell the beach and feel the sand on the material. Taking it to the bathroom I filled the sink and washed them before hanging them up to dry.
With those no longer an option for today I went through other undergarments I could wear but got distracted by something hanging in my closet. It was my new corset, sitting there on the hanger looking so nice. It certainly wasn't good work clothes, but it would be a lot of fun to be running around the shrine with something so sexy hidden under my robes. I put it on, flinching a bit as the thong got into place between my ass cheeks and the tiny piece of fabric rubbed along my slit. My breasts still jiggled a bit like they had in the changing room at the store, but that should be fine while working outside. It was mostly going to be a lot of sweeping and mopping anyways.
Changed into my shrine outfit, I made my way out of the house and over to the main entrance to the shrine. The parking lot already had a couple cars, though it looked like one person was just getting out quickly and about to take back off. I made my way over towards him, seeing that he was leaving a stack of flyers pinned to a little notice board at the bottom of the stairs. The flyers were for the upcoming Obon festival, pictures of fireworks were on the flyer to make kids more likely to beg their parents to go. The man gave me a toothy grin and a slight bow when he saw my outfit, "See you next week miss!" he called out to me as he got back into his car and drove off.
It felt a little unreal, having our shrine host a summer festival. I always felt like we were so far away and unknown, but this could actually bring a lot of people to the shrine. Hopefully people would like it so much that they'd make return trips even when it wasn't for a festival. I took a couple of the flyers with me, I figured I could hang them on some of the columns around the shrine so people who ignored the notice board could still potentially see it. As I reached the top of the stairs into the shrine, I paused at the last gate before walking in, taking a deep breath. The morning air was warm but still crisp and refreshing. An elderly couple were praying at the shrine, I never got their names before but they visited periodically, getting a morning walk in for their health in the process. I gave them a wave and a smile as they saw me, then remembered to bow as I was supposed to when "in costume" as dad would put it.
Unlocking the door to the tool shed I began rummaging around for a staple gun or something. I was hopeless with a hammer and nails, usually only succeeding in hitting my own fingers. After finally finding the staple gun I went about the shrine to hang up the flyers. Obviously I couldn't put them on any of the actual buildings or railings, so I just stapled a few to some of the trees that rimmed the courtyard and clipped one to the side of a bench. I bowed again to the elderly couple as they started walking back down the hill, turning to the shrine to access what still needed to be done. The whole yard needed to be swept and the rest of the shrine buildings needed to be mopped. Some of the trees needed pruning as well, but those could wait until dad was free to come up and work on it. Putting the staple gun back and claiming a broom, the courtyard was really what needed cleaning first. Leaves and branches from the storms over the last couple of weeks had made quite a mess of things.
-
Over the next several hours I watched as people came and went through the shrine. It wasn't the busiest day I had seen, but the traffic was certainly encouraging. Still, I could tell that hardly anyone was stopping by the donation box. By noon I was nearly done with the chores and was just doing some last touch ups of mopping. Before I even had a chance to admire the work being done, a voice behind me made me nearly jump out of my skin, "Excuse me miss."
I twirled around, almost falling onto my ass in the process. At first my voice was alarmed and exasperated, but then seeing how it was just a young man trying to get my attention, my voice calmed a bit, "I'm sorry, what?"
"Oh, I didn't mean to scare you. I just had a question. Do you know any prayers for good fortune? In particular, thanking the spirits for the good fortune they have bestowed on me?" He was well mannered and had a kind face, the complete opposite of my obvious red and flustered look.
"Good fortune? Sorry, I don't really know much about prayers or anything like that, this is just our family's shrine that I help take care of." The heat of the day was starting to get to me, I had been cleaning all morning without any water or anything, and after being startled like that I was a little worse for wear.
The man just bowed slightly. "Thank you, sorry to bother you." He began to wander about but didn't go directly into the shrine room to pray. A little confused, I just took the mop back to the tool shed and began to lock up. I was glad to have my chores done for the weekend, I could spend the rest of the day enjoying having an empty house. The man was still aimlessly walking about the shrine, looking into different rooms that were reserved for tea ceremonies or other group functions. The rooms never got used anymore, though they'll probably get some use during the festival.
"Are you lost?" I said as I approached the man, trying not to sound patronizing like I was talking to a lost child.
"Oh… I'm afraid this is the first time I've ever actually been in a shrine like this. I'm not really sure what to do."
"Well, the main shrine is that small building over there. That's where people go to pray. These other buildings are for events." He nodded at my directions, looking towards the prayer room. "Do you mind if I ask why you are praying today if you have never been to a shrine before?" I wasn't sure why I was being nosy, but I supposed being helpful was just part of owning a shrine.
The man looked around to make sure no one was around, "I guess I could tell you since you work here, but I just won the lottery and came into a lot of money." His grin was from ear to ear, he seemed so excited to share that information. It left me a little perplexed though, for some reason he thought that I would have to keep his secret just because I was cleaning a shrine. Not like I was going to tell anyone anyways. "I wanted to pray and thank the spirits for blessing me in such a way, but I was never brought up in a household that would come to a shrine like this, so I'm a little lost."
I'm not sure why, but I bit my lip and offered him my arm to guide him. "Well, if you'd like, I can walk you over to the prayer room and we could pray together for your good fortune?" That idea seemed to make him even happier. He took my arm and the two of us walked around the deck of the shrine buildings. I had no idea what kind of prayers I might say, despite my reverence for the shrine itself I had never been one to pray. Kneeling down in front of the altar, I patted the floor next to me so that the man would join me. It really did feel like I was patronizing him, but he seemed to be loving that he had his very own shrine maiden to assist him.
I closed my eyes and sat there silently, waiting to see if the man wanted to say anything out loud or if he would just pray in his own head. "What should I say?" I could feel the warm breath on my neck even through the heat of the day as he whispered into my ear. I wasn't sure why it was making my head feel light and my heart beat faster. A lingering scent of something minty hung in the air, his shaving cream maybe?
Who was I to say how a prayer should go? "Sometimes, if words don't come to you, just use your emotions. Whether you are speaking to your ancestors, guiding spirits, or something greater, they already know what you have to say. They just want to know you feel as grateful as you say you are." Even my own words sounded cheesy and over used, but it seemed to help the man understand the point of it all.
"Dear spirits that guide us, thank you for the gift that you have bestowed upon me. And thank you for my new friend here that has been so helpful and beautiful." I cringed at the words. Why would he possibly be thanking the spirits for me? And why would he be saying I was beautiful? He bowed as low as he could to the floor before sitting back up and resuming, "And spirits, please help guide the spending of my new fortune." He opened his eyes, turning towards me. "Thank you."
I smiled awkwardly, not sure what to do or say until I finally just said what was on my mind, "You know, you could always thank the spirits by donating money to the shrine. I'm sure they would be grateful… and I know I would be grateful too." I did my best to look at him with long eyelashes, the kind of look that Echiko perfected so well. He was blushing hard and I could almost hear his heavy breathing. He almost seemed to be in a trance, staring at me, until his eyes slowly moved up and down my body. I glanced out the doorway to the courtyard, making sure we were alone before timidly unfastening the sash that held my kosode closed, opening it to reveal the lingerie I had on underneath. "Is this being grateful enough for you?" My voice cracked as I said it, but I tried my best to whisper and be seductive.
The man just gulped with a slight nod, "I wouldn't mind a little more."
I bit my lip, my hands gripping the edges of the kosode to pull them down off my shoulders, completely exposing the corset and the see through material that barely covered my breasts. The sweat had made the material stick to my skin, my nipples poking into the fabric, my breasts bouncing slightly with my breathing only a couple feet from this stranger. His eyes were all over me… and I could tell he wanted more. At first I let my hands move across my body, gently squeezing my breasts for him as I made little whimpering sounds, an unintentional result of playing with myself. Finally I gulped as I reached down to loosen my hakama, adjusting my kneeling position so that it fell to my knees, revealing the tiny black thong that was now soaked in sweat and something else. "Do you think you could help our shrine, mister? It would make me so happy." I felt like I was saying lines from some smutty manga, but I knew I was in too deep and no other words would work as well right now. "Please mister, I'm desperate." My hand reached down to my thong, pulling it aside just enough so that my finger could rub along my wet slit. I stared deep into his eyes, my mouth parting in a slight gasp as I plunged a finger inside of me with a rather lewd sound to accompany it. We stayed like that for what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more than twenty seconds or so. My finger slowly worked in and out of me, my other hand grasping my breast through the thin fabric of my corset, my mouth hanging agape at the pleasure. The man barely moved but I could tell he wanted to jump on top of me.
Some noise from across the courtyard broke our illicit behavior, the sound of children laughing as they were running up the stairs to the shrine. I quickly covered myself, standing and hiding around the side of the doorframe so they couldn't see me even if they reached the courtyard. The man stood awkwardly, his vision shifting between me and the sound of the voices. He looked like he wanted to help me redress but had no idea how to actually assist me. It didn't take long to get my kosode back into place and the sash tied. With a little bow at the man and a whisper barely over my breath, "I hope you enjoyed yourself… please donate." I stayed in that bowed position for a while until he took the hint and finally left the altar area. He stopped by the donation box along the way and I could hear him pulling something out of his pockets but I couldn't bring myself to lift my head. A minute later he was on his way across the courtyard and out of sight down the path.
I could tell my face was still flush from the ordeal as I gave a quick bow to the family that had just arrived. While they made their way into the altar, I hurriedly checked the donation box so I could bring it home. As I unlocked it and lifted the lid, I could see the few yen coins and smaller notes that had been left behind from the visitors this morning, but sitting on top of them was a large roll of notes tied up with a rubber band. I felt oddly embarrassed, odd because what embarrassed me was collecting from the donation box while people were still around. Strangely I wasn't ashamed at all at what I had just done, though that was likely from the adrenaline of having just done it. I scooped up the money, relocked the donation box, and quickly made my way back home before anyone could stop me.
Safely within my room, my kosode and hakama hung back up and lingerie in a pile on the ground, I took a moment to count out the yen notes. The entire roll was packed tightly, and each one showed the denomination being ten thousand yen. I pulled off the rubber band and started counting out, finding that there were twenty of them. "What the fuck? Seriously?" My hands were shaking, how could the man have possibly been carrying that much around on him, not to mention just throw it into a donation box. Did he really just give the shrine that much money because a young woman masturbated in front of him? The very thought of it started to make me wet again.
-
After a shower and changing into some comfier clothes, I took the money downstairs to the safe where dad kept the donations until he could take them to the bank. I set the loose coins and notes in there but hesitated with the roll of notes that the man had given. What was I even going to say to my parents? "Oh yeah, a man just wanted to give the shrine a bunch of money because he won the lottery!" That would raise so many questions. I pulled out my phone to message Echiko, "How can I get change for 10,000 yen notes?"
I closed up the safe and carried the roll of notes around with me as I did a few minor chores around the house. Something in me was just telling me to stay busy, vacuum the floors, clean the couple of dishes that I had made already. When Echiko finally messaged me back I wasn't too surprised by her response, "Why could you possibly need to break 10,000? I'm on the train now, about to pull in. See you in 20 minutes." I grumbled to myself at her useless response. I wasn't about to tell her that I had twenty of them, and she would just love the details about how I got them.
I wrestled with my decision over the next twenty minutes before Echiko got there and finally decided that I would hold onto the notes until next week. They would be safe in my room and I could take them to the bank on Monday to get them changed to something less conspicuous. I had just hidden the roll away in the back of my nightstand when I heard the knock on the front door from Echiko.
Running downstairs and flinging the door open, I was bombarded by shopping bags and a weary teenage girl who threw herself on top of me, "Ah, Echiko, get off me."
"Oh Shizu, I'm so exhausted from my walk, carry me." I grabbed the bags from her, but let her slowly collapse onto the floor in front of me. "Oh, you are no fun."
I rolled my eyes at her. I was plenty of fun… she was just a couple hours late from seeing how much fun I was. We spent the next hour or so chatting about her overnight stay with her new boyfriend, Kisho. Just from the way Echiko was talking about him, I could tell she was still madly in love with Shunji and treated Kisho as no more than a distraction. "So, did you sleep with him?" I finally asked her as she finished her story with her quick shopping spree on the way out of the city.
She laughed, "What kind of question is that? Of course I slept with him. It certainly wasn't the first time, and he is huge. Way bigger than Shunji, it almost doesn't fit inside of me."
"Ew… Echiko, gross." I forced a sour look on my face, but my mind couldn't help but imagine how big he must be to get Echiko to say something like that. The man from the resort was the only penis I had really gotten a good look at in person and I thought he was pretty huge, though I easily could have said the same about Shunji that time I walked in on Echiko sucking…
I could feel my cheeks get warm, "Ha, you are having dirty thoughts, aren't you Shizu?" She prodded my side, trying to get me to start laughing or something like it would prove I was having dirty thoughts for some reason.
"I just remembered a couple weeks ago when I had to walk into that room where everyone was having sex just so that we could go home." I gave her a disapproving look, but I could tell we were in a stalemate.
Eventually her mom stopped by to pick her up and I had the house to myself again. I wearily climbed the stairs again to my room and nearly jumped when I stepped on something strange. Looking down I saw one of the flyers from the shrine. Picking it up, I started wondering what the festival might be like in our shrine, and who might show up. Part of me was hoping I could see Toin there, and maybe I would let him see me in some lingerie. The thought of it made me wet again, and I was quite glad the house was empty as I shut the door to my room.