Itching to be freed

Today was going to be perfect.

Absolute magic.

It was my third day in Japan, but it was going to be my second date with... Do I even have to mention?

Hot. Beautiful. Sexy. Smart. Sakuya.

...

I jumped out of bed and got into the shower. I hummed a tune as I bathed. Tying a towel around my waist, I went to brush my teeth while staring at the numerous tattoos that covered my chest, arms, stomach, and back. There were so many of them. Most of them were depictions of African spirits, others were symbols that represented things like divine healing and protection. But the most pronounced one of them all was the tattoo of a giant armored warrior right in the center of my chest.

The Ogun.

Known as the god of iron, war, strength, technology, and craftsmanship, the Ogun was a powerful spirit from Yoruba mythology, West Africa, also recognized in other African spiritual traditions. It was one of the biggest tattoos I had, and it symbolized strength, durability, extreme stamina, and mastery over weapons. Constant fatigue was one of the symptoms of the sickness I had as a kid, and the Ogun tattoo was meant to tackle this problem from a spiritual angle. And the same thing goes for the rest of the drawings on my body.

Nyami Nyami.

A Zambezi River spirit, depicted as a serpent with a fish’s head. Its healing abilities were one of the main reasons this one was drawn on the left side of my chest. Any little break in my skin spent weeks before it started to close up. If the origins of my slow-acting immune system had their roots in spirituality, then this tattoo was meant to help accelerate my ability to heal faster.

And last, but most certainly not least, the Adroanzi.

A forest spirit, East Africa, Uganda, mainly known for their incredible bursts of speed. This tattoo, in particular, came about as a concerned mother wanting to give her son a slight unfair advantage during sports. Her justification, "My son is already the strongest boy, so he needs to become the fastest boy too."

I smiled when I remembered her exact words. She was definitely giving me the supernatural equivalent of steroids in that particular instance. But it was all coming from a good place. She only wanted me to get better, and she was utilizing every resource available at her disposal to do that.

I finished brushing my teeth and stepped out of the bathroom. I picked out the clothes I wanted to wear for that day. Again, it was a pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt. I wasn't very fashionable. However, while putting on the shirt, I noticed a slight itching sensation. It was coming from around the top part of my chest. More specifically, it was coming from the black-inked Ogun tattoo resting at the center of my chest. I rubbed it a little, and it eventually stopped. Then I finished wearing my clothes and headed outside to wait for Sakuya.

...

I was wrong.

It did not stop.

It did not stop at all.

In fact, it only got worse.

Very worse.

Very, very worse.

***

While on a date with the beautiful and amazing Sakuya later in the day, I could not focus. I could not focus at all.

Ogun on my chest was itching like crazy. It was itching like hell. It was now a constant burning sensation on my skin. It took everything I had not to scratch in public.

"Are... you okay?" Sakuya asked, taking note of how much I was sweating. We had been strolling in a public park when she suddenly stopped and asked me the question.

"Of course I am," I lied, flashing a nervous smile. "I'm just a little warm, that's all."

Sakuya stared at me with intense scrutiny. Almost as if she could pick up on the fact that I was not telling the truth. Honestly, the expression on her face at that moment was a welcome sight. The whole day, she looked like she had been battling with something on her mind she desperately wanted to say.

She didn't seem to have been enjoying herself all that much because of this, and it bothered me. But of course, I couldn't really talk freely because, again, the surface of my chest felt like it was on fire.

Sakuya turned to look at something behind her.

I utilized the opportunity to quickly get some relief by scratching my chest. I was going to have to get some kind of lotion by the end of the day.

Sakuya turned back, and I quickly smiled and pretended as if everything was normal.

"Wait here, let me go get some ice cream for the both of us."

"Wait, but..." I barely got the words out as Sakuya rushed off into the crowd.

It was no problem, though. It just meant more scratching time for me.

***

Spirits above, it was awful.

It was very awful.

Today was meant to be her second date with Jumo. The boy she loved. The boy she seemingly couldn't stop thinking about. But things weren't going well, and it was all her fault.

Jumo was excited as he visited places with her. She could see it in his eyes. She could see it in his smile. He was trying his best to engage with her, but she wasn't able to match him in his enthusiasm, and that made her heart ache.

Her mind was still clouded.

Duty or Jumo.

What was she even thinking?

There were no options.

Her family would choose her duty.

The elders would choose her duty.

Her culture would choose her duty.

She would never be allowed to choose him.

...

Sakuya finally reached the ice cream shop, then handled the real reason that brought her there. She turned around and, with her second sight ability, began scanning the crowd for the shadowy spirit that had been following them the entire afternoon.

There it was.

Standing in the corner, invisible to the naked eye, but not hers.

She knew it was following them.

She had already seen it.

The moment they first entered the park, while they were sightseeing, and even a few seconds ago when she was standing with Jumo. She had turned around and found it standing in the middle of the crowd. Nobody else could see it.

It had been actively making itself invisible. Just as it did right then. The outline was a shape of a woman, completely dressed in black. Its head was also covered with a veil to hide its face.

But why hide your face when no one else could see you?

And more importantly.

Why was it following her and Jumo?

...

Sakuya took a step forward in the direction of the figure.

The shadow immediately took off running.

Sakuya followed.

...

She apologized as she bumped into people.

She could still see the spirit; it was not moving fast at all.

She rounded the corner, and just as she thought she might have cornered the spirit in an alleyway...

It was gone.

***

By the time Sakuya arrived with the ice cream, I had already scratched myself to the point of drawing blood.

And it wasn't enough.

So I made a decision.

Before she could even hand me my ice cream cone, I spoke up.

"Kuya, I think I might need your help with something."

***

We were back in my house, and specifically, up in my bedroom.

Our date ended prematurely.

After I had told Sakuya about my situation, we quickly went to the supermarket and bought a lotion the clerk promised was going to help. Since the affected area was mainly my chest, application was going to be simple and straightforward. But someone had insisted she was going to apply it herself and had ordered me to take off my shirt and lie down on the bed. Now, lotion in hand, she was hesitating.

She could not even keep her eyes on me.

"Umm," I said, trying to grab her attention.

I mean, I understood why she might be a bit nervous.

If the situation were reversed, and she was the one lying down on the bed in nothing but her bra, then I would most likely be in the running for the world's tallest human anatomy in that very moment.

But she wasn't the one who had her nipples hanging out.

Finally, she squirted some of the lotion on her hand.

Wait...

She was actually doing it.

Sitting beside me on the bed, she slowly reached out her trembling hand and placed it on my chest.

The sensation of her warm palm against my chest was cooling.

I was suddenly back in the running for the tallest human anatomy in the world.

Wait...

I quickly reached down and grabbed my blanket to cover my lower body.

Sakuya flinched at the abrupt nature of my action.

I flashed a nervous smile.

Then she relaxed and continued.

Lotion.

Chest.

Rub.

Lotion.

Chest.

Rub.

It was working.

With every attempt, the burning sensation was quickly cooling down.

The itching was fading away.

I was...

At peace.

And then...

I fell asleep.

***

Sakuya stepped out quietly from the room so as not to wake Jumo.

She closed the door behind her.

Then she exploded in a fit of exaggerated expressions.

"EEEEEEEE!"

She couldn't believe what had just happened.

Jumoooo.

AHHHHH.

She didn't want anyone else.

...

Outside the house, Sakuya was about to leave when she noticed something.

Scratch marks.

On the front door.

It was weird.

It hadn't been there when she first rented the house, nor when she was helping Jumo move in.

So where had it come from?

Her mind quickly drifted to the spirit she had seen following them in the park.

Was it somehow responsible for the marks on the door? And was it the same shadowy spirit she had seen on the road the night before?

As she got on her scooter to leave, she felt relieved that she had secretly placed talismans within Jumo's house shortly before his arrival in Japan.

Something had decided to come after them, and she couldn't tell what.

Jumo was no longer safe living on his own.

He would soon have to come live in the temple with her.

At least, until she is able to find and trap their stalker.