The bitch, The elder, Safina

It was the height of the afternoon, and Kanna was strolling through the bustling Yamazawa Central Market with Sakuya beside her. The girl coming along was completely unnecessary.

Kanna was there to get only a few groceries and ingredients, something she would have easily managed on her own without help from her late sister's firstborn daughter. But the girl was stubborn, and deep down, Kanna knew the real reason why Sakuya had tagged along.

It was about the boy.

Jumo.

...

As they both walked past vendors and shops, they mostly remained quiet, which gave Kanna plenty of time to reflect on the events of the previous night. The moment Jumo, the boy, transformed into a demigod from West African mythology and crashed into the temple courtyard with such intensity, leaving a mark and causing the entire house to rumble and shake in response. When she gazed upon the spirit deity, it was unlike anything she had seen before. The raw power it exhibited. The raw strength. It was as if she was looking at an entirely different force of nature—one that was carrying an injured and unconscious Sakuya in his arms.

"So, Aunty," Sakuya said, pulling Kanna back to the present as they continued to walk.

"Hmm?" Kanna responded.

"So, I was thinking of getting some new clothes for Jumo," Sakuya said. "I was thinking maybe a koromo, some linen, or even a hakama."

"That is a thoughtful idea," Kanna replied. She knew what the girl was doing. She was trying to get her to warm up to the boy. Kanna wished it was that easy.

From what she had seen and heard, Jumo was perfect for the girl. He loved her without question, slaughtered an entire horde of evil spirits just to save her. He had even fully accepted her and all the danger that came with living with a spirit guardian, despite nearly dying himself in the process. Tradition aside, he was definitely the kind of boy she would comfortably entrust her sister's oldest daughter with. The girl loved him, and he loved her back. That was the important factor that made Kanna want to advocate strongly for their union in the eyes of the elders. But she couldn't.

Even choosing to look past the part of their tradition that stated the spirit guardian must marry within her culture in order to preserve the need for her powers, there were still those in the elder council who would never allow their union to take place. Simply because they would never accept the boy and what he might unknowingly, and unintentionally, represent to the history of their culture.

"So," Sakuya said, "I was wondering if maybe after we are done shopping for groceries, you could help me pick out something for him."

Kanna thought about it. She had fought with the girl enough. Maybe she couldn't directly support Sakuya's relationship with Jumo, but she could be a proper auntie and help her niece buy something for the boy she liked.

"Let's go get the clothes before the groceries," Kanna said, turning to gaze at the girl's reaction. And just as she had suspected, Sakuya was beaming with joy and smiling uncontrollably.

***

"Where is the guardian? And just whom might you be?"

...

The demon in front of me was unrelenting in her scrutiny. Elder Safina, the part-owl, part-woman spirit thing, had her hollowed, angry sockets gazing directly at me. Ash immediately went down to sit on her knees, choosing to look down and refusing to meet the spirit's gaze. I, on the other hand, put simply—I fucked up. I didn't know I was supposed to kneel. I was too frightened.

As if the woman in front of me wasn't horrifying enough, Elder Safina suddenly grew in size. She expanded, got taller, then extended an arm to grab me by the front of my shirt. She lifted me off the ground. I was too stunned to react.

"You dare remain on your two feet in front of an elder with my status?!"

Her voice was a hissing thunder inside my head. Her empty-eyed expression on her ghostly white mask completely took over my field of vision. I was frozen with fear, and my heart was beating faster than my breathing could regulate. Was she about to kill me?

"I should drop you from the sky for your lack of decorum and respect, outsider," the spirit said, and I couldn't help but notice the venom in the way she addressed me at the end there.

"And what are these?! Some kind of sick joke?!"

Her attention shifted from staring at my face to scrutinizing the tattoos on my arm. Right away, she extended her other arm from underneath her wings and made a flicking motion with her fingers.

Something glinted in the afternoon sun.

Talons.

Big.

Long.

Sharp.

I began to panic.

I violently struggled, thrashed around, kicked the air, but nothing was working. The elder spirit remained unmoved.

I shouted, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Let me go! I haven't offended you!" But my shouts landed on deaf ears. If she even had any.

SWIPE.

Sting.

Pain.

Quick. Efficient. Clean. Or maybe not so clean. In one fluid motion, Safina had sliced open my shirt, tearing it diagonally from top to bottom.

Something warm was flowing down my chest.

I stopped struggling.

The elder spirit drew in for a closer look.

"Barbarian!"

The spirit let go of my shirt, sending me falling to the ground on my ass. I quickly crawled back on my hands and knees.

"You bear the markings of criminals! Murderers! Slaughterers! And you dare set foot in this temple?!"

Suddenly, I was less scared of her. There was something else bubbling up inside me. Hatred.

"You!" she snapped her gaze in Ash's direction.

The white-haired girl still had her head facing down.

"Speak! What is this vermin doing here?!"

At the sound of me being called vermin, something in my head just snapped.

"He is a beggar come for food, ancient one," Ash hurriedly replied. "Please show mercy. He was just leaving."

Despite possessing a laceration across my chest from when Safina had cut off my shirt, somehow, in that very moment, the wound hurt less than Ash's words.

Why had she said that? I thought we were getting to know each other just a second ago. Was that all a front?

"And you!" Safina's voice boomed in my skull, causing me to flinch back and wince in pain.

"You are so very lucky I don't kill anymore, unless it is in self-defense," the spirit said, glaring down at me from her towering height. "Your blood would have painted the temple grounds by this point, and what great offense that would have been to the spirits above."

I could only stare back in shock.

"Begone by sunset," she said. "Or I promise to end your life the next time I see you here."

...

"Child! Let the guardian know of my arrival when she comes. There are urgent matters to be discussed at the next meeting. You may return to your station."

With that said, the demon bitch shrank down to her original size, then launched herself upwards with a single flap of her wings. And just like that, she left.

Ash quickly rushed over to help me with my wound.

"No. No!" I said, shrugging her off. "Don't you FUCKING touch me!"

She was shocked. A sudden sadness enveloped her eyes at my rejection. I couldn't care less.

I hated the bitch, I hated the bitch, I hated the bitch. She wanted to kill me if I didn't leave? Well, I was going to kill her fir…

My breath suddenly caught in my throat as I realized something. My chest. It was starting to itch.

But I was still wearing my ring. Why was it…

My skin began turning a deep black, and my hair grew out in braids.

I hated the bitch. I hated the bitch. I hated the bitch. She wanted to kill me? Then let's see how she kills a god.