My love. My duty.

There. She had said it. Whatever came next, she was going to handle it. One of the most important parts was done—introducing her family to Jumo and vice versa. Now, it was on to the next step: telling Jumo about her life. Specifically, telling him about her life as a spirit guardian.

...

Shortly after Sakuya made the announcement about Jumo being her boyfriend, there was a pause. A halt. A brief suspension of physical activity, where absolutely no one moved a muscle.

Everybody just stood there. She wasn't even sure they were breathing. Nobody said anything—Aunt Kanna, her sisters, Jumo. They all just remained quiet, staring at one another. And just as the tension was becoming thick enough to cut with a knife, her little sister, Shiun, stepped forward.

Oh no.

Ayane tried holding the girl back, but Shiun shrugged her off. The girl walked across the room to stand in front of them. More specifically, to stand in front of Jumo. Then, when she was ready, she took in a deep breath, exhaled, and spoke.

"Ayy, welcome, ma brother! Ma homie! Welcome to the family. Give me some dap."

Shiun held out a hand for Jumo to shake, and Sakuya immediately slapped her forehead in embarrassment.

Everybody did the same.

"So, what's good, dawg? How you been? You talkin’ to ma sis, huh? That's aight, that's aight, you got ma blessing."

Shiun continued to shake Jumo's hand while Jumo himself seemed a little awkward about the situation. But… was he also now smiling?

"Ayy, lil sis, I’m really feelin’ your big sis heavy," Jumo responded while still shaking Shiun's hand. "Hope that’s cool wit’ you?"

Sakuya couldn't believe her ears. Jumo was actually engaging with the dumb girl. And did he just call me fat?

"Ayy, I see you, bro! You got that riz for real. You all good in ma book," Shiun said.

"Aight, dawg, no stress. No stress," Jumo replied.

The two finally completed their handshake with a fist bump before Shiun stood beside Jumo and gestured for Ash and Ayane to come say hi too.

"Ayy! Y’all bitches pull up and come say hi to the man!"

Sakuya couldn't tell if she should be proud or gravely embarrassed by her little sister’s antics in that moment. On the one hand, the girl had unknowingly managed to diffuse a situation that could have easily made Jumo uncomfortable if it had lasted any longer than it did. They weren’t trying to intentionally discriminate. Her family was just shocked by the news, knowing that Sakuya, as a spirit guardian, was not meant to have romantic relations with anyone outside the village—let alone someone from a different continent entirely.

But the way Shiun had handled it was a little too Shiun. And how did she memorize all those slang so fast? When did she even have the time?

"Hi! I'm Ayane. Sorry for the whole spying-on-you-guys-earlier-from-the-bushes debacle. It’s good to officially meet you."

Seeing her sisters engage with the boy that meant the world to her, it made Sakuya extremely happy.

"Ayane. That means, like, ‘beautiful sound,’ right?" Jumo said, accepting Ayane’s hand and shaking it.

"Yeah. Wow, you translated that pretty well."

"That’s because I have an incredible teacher."

Sakuya noticed as Jumo smiled in her direction after his statement. She smiled back. But out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Aunt Kanna moving outside through the side door. Shortly before she went out, the woman turned back and gestured for Sakuya to follow.

She already knew what that meant. Aunt Kanna wanted to talk privately.

She was ready.

Letting Jumo know she would be right back, Sakuya followed Aunt Kanna outside.

"So, Jumo, what part of Africa are you from? Oh! And also, I apologize for my little sister. She stayed up last night watching YouTube tutorials so she could impress you. Most of what she just said was memorized."

"No one asked you! Shut up, ho!"

Smack!

"Aw! Ayaneee!"

***

Kanna had her back turned when Sakuya finally joined her outside. She heard the sound of the door sliding open, then shut.

Kanna didn’t want to see her just yet. She hadn’t called her outside to scold her or disapprove of her choices or anything of that matter. As old as Kanna was, she still recognized young love when she saw it. And she very much knew nothing was stronger.

All she wanted to do was remind the girl of a few things. And now that they were finally together in private, she could do that.

"Tell me, Sakuya, what are the duties of a spirit guardian?" Kanna asked while still facing away from the girl, her hands clasped behind her.

A few seconds passed before Sakuya responded.

"To protect the people, to protect the spirits, and to keep the balance between both worlds—the spirit realm and the living," Sakuya said, with Kanna catching faint traces of frustration in her tone.

It was clear Sakuya was here to fight and defend her love, which meant the girl already had her heart set on what she wanted.

"Yes," Kanna said. "And the spirit guardian achieves this by wielding immense power. Power that she uses to fight the spirits. Power that she uses to forcefully maintain balance when she needs to. And she almost always needs to."

Kanna allowed her words to sink in before continuing.

"Now, tell me, Sakuya. With all the evil that is out there—constantly getting stronger, constantly becoming more dangerous by the day—what happens if, eventually, the spirit guardian becomes too weak to protect herself, let alone anyone? What happens if the spirit guardian becomes a regular human, unable to forcefully command the supernatural to do as she says?"

Kanna waited for the girl to respond, but Sakuya remained quiet behind her.

Then Kanna turned to look at her, face to face.

Just as she suspected, the girl was well-mannered, but her emotions betrayed her. She could see the fire in Sakuya’s eyes in that moment. This was not a lecture she wanted to hear, but it had to be told. Whether she wanted to listen or not.

"He is a nice boy," Kanna said. "But this is what will happen if you choose to be with him. You will eventually want children, and the first girl born to your union will be significantly weaker than you. Her father will not be Japanese. Her father will not be from our culture. Because of this, she will only possess half of the strength you do now. Half of you."

Sakuya was quiet, but her eyes no longer burned with intensity.

Kanna continued.

"And if that child grows up one day and decides to have a daughter of her own, then that child will only receive half of her mother’s power. And so on, and so forth. Until the blood of the spirit guardian is completely wiped out from existence, and there will no longer be anyone to keep the balance."

Kanna knew her words were harsh, but they were true. She needed the girl to understand the decision she was making by choosing him. Everything she was going to be risking in the process.

"I’m sorry, Sakuya. Your happiness is all I ever wanted since you were a child—since your father entrusted you and your sisters to me," Kanna said. "But right now, I need you to think less as a girl in love, and more as a protector with her duties. You must put the interest and safety of the people first, above your own, Sakuya.

"This relationship cannot happen because the both of you are too incompatible.

"I’m sorry, but I do not give my blessing."