The chapter opens with a description of a once-a-year ritual in which tired kami were invited into their hair to rest and then sent back to rest. The ritual was supposed to make the kami feel better, but in reality, they often become tired over their long lives. The narrator tells us that the ghost of a child appears in the room where the ritual used to take place. The child is named Mashiro, and he has been forbidden to leave the room since he was 3 years old. When he enters the room, he is greeted by his aunt, who scolds him for not being allowed to cut his hair. She also scolds his hair-moisture specialist, who cleans the child's hair. Mashiro tells her aunt that she is not allowed to leave her room because she is from another branch of the family, and her aunt has caught her and refused to feed her for three days. The aunt scolds her for being too careful with her hair, but Mashiro assures her that no one will ever leave her hair. The chapter ends with the narrator telling us that he is the "kami of fire" and that he will protect the child.