It was a sunny day. Many days in Nerima were that. Sunny (not counting the usual freak rainstorm, of course). And as on all days, sunny or not, she went through her morning routine. She prepared for the moment when the cursed one would pass through her area of influence as it always did. Always would. The cursed individual couldn't help it. The process, once started, could not be stopped. The evil within him compelled the victim to arrive at just the right time. And she would carry out her duty.
She filled her bucket with the sacred waters, the last task on her list of preparations and carried the full bucket to the front.
The birds sang. The neighborhood bustled with renewed energy, waking after a long, rainy night. It was almost time. The cursed one would return and be cleansed. Eventually, they would be purified. Long years of work had gone into this, but soon her hard work would be rewarded. Even though the curse sought to thwart her efforts by blocking, negating, even redirecting her energy, it was all coming to a head now.
She prepared her ladle, poised for maximum effectiveness. Any moment now…
There! The curse one approached! She reacted quickly, filling her ladle and through the water in a perfect arc, streaming towards her target.
Her heart sunk. Once again, the curse took hold of her target, redirecting the purifying waters towards another target. Not that the other individual did not need purifying as well but…
She turned towards her home, and made for the shrine. She would beg forgiveness and return again in the morning to try again.
One day, one day soon, she would cleanse Akane Tendo of her family's curse, as she had the girl's sisters. And then maybe she would take care of that nice Saotome boy too.