Hooba hooba trouble, beach day, and the amazing Nika Z

It was the third night in a row, and Sakuya was once again chasing down a ghost. It was a shadow. Dressed in a black cloak. They were speeding through the forest, with Sakuya only 10 steps behind. But no matter how fast she ran, she just couldn't catch up.

The identity of the person or thing she was chasing wasn’t completely mysterious. Sakuya had a good hunch it was the doppelgänger Jumo was talking about. The spirit that had been stalking them almost every day, to the point where it had become borderline obsessive. Sakuya needed to catch her, but again, she wasn’t fast enough. The person always ended up escaping. It was becoming tiring.

***

It was a warm, sunny morning. A perfect Sunday morning. It was also beach day.

The skies for miles were a perfect blue shade, the water was clean and crystal clear. A bunch of seagulls were squawking around the riverbank, and I desperately wanted to go lie down with my girlfriend, Sakuya, who was out like a light the moment we arrived and was now busy sleeping like a log underneath the shade.

Dear god, she was hot. Laying down in nothing but her swimsuit. A very revealing piece, I might add. Perfect toned thighs as if sculpted by the gods themselves, and a very shapely, busty, absolutely plump...

"Hey! Bro-in-law! Eyes down here!"

At the sound of Shiun's voice, I suddenly remembered what I was meant to be doing. Helping the purple-haired girl build a sandcastle.

Sighing, I tore my gaze away from Sakuya to focus on the task at hand. I didn’t mind hanging out with Shiun. The girl was energetic, blunt, and unfiltered. Her sisters might have seen her as an out-of-control motormouth, but personally, I saw those as part of her charm. She was real. And she was still my favorite Alba sibling. I just really wish I was spending time with Sakuya at that very moment instead.

"Alright," I said, taking the blueprint of what I was meant to be building from her. "Let’s see what we have here." I took a second to fully imprint the sketch into my mind. "Okay, got it," I said, handing the blueprint back to her. I took a step back, then clapped my hands in front of me.

...

With the sound of cracking thunder, I become Ekwensu, the spirit god of speed and agility. I shift into a running stance, digging my heels deeper into the warm sand. I picture, in my mind, the kind of structure she wants me to build for her. Then I burst into action.

Zipping back and forth in a small area on the beach. Hands molding, scooping up sand, patting the structure, shaping the structure. Fetching some water from the river, adding, mixing, fetching some more water, adding, mixing. Molding, patting, shaping. Molding, patting, shaping. A minute later, I’m done.

I shoot back over to stand in front of Shiun, before transforming back into my normal self.

...

"So what do you think?" I asked her.

Shiun turned to observe my handiwork. Her eyes instantly grew wide in astonishment.

"YEEEE! I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!" she squealed as she took off running toward the structures. Her blueprint had included not one, but 10 mini sandcastles, and one very big one in the middle. She was clearly excited at the final result, and I was happy because she was happy. Now to go lie down beside my girlfriend.

Dressed in my black T-shirt and deep blue trunks, I turned and began making my way over to Sakuya, sleeping under her umbrella. But then...

"HOOBA, HOOBA. Give me some sake, give me some sake. HOOBA, HOOBA."

I...

I......

I was assaulted. That was honestly the only way I could describe it.

"HOOBA, HOOBA. Give me that sake, give me that sweet sake. HOOBA, HOOBA."

I could see what was in front of me. Its features. But the very image of the creature was so bizarre, that my brain needed to take in its details one by one, lest I went mad.

"Sakeeeeeee, sake sake sake," the creature said, bouncing restlessly on its two feet.

It resembled a little boy, but not quite. It was a spirit, who resembled a little boy, whose face was entirely red. He was carrying a flask in his hand, with God knows what type of liquid inside. He was also missing his left sandal, and tiny white patches of hair were growing on certain parts of his head. He was still bouncing around on his feet, left and right, as he stared up at me, almost as if he was trying to pick a fight.

"Jumo!"

I looked up when I heard my name being called. Ayane, who was standing by the grill under a tree with Ash and one other girl, was leaned forward, hands cupping the sides of her mouth as she yelled back at me.

"It’s called the Aka Shojo," she said, pointing to the spirit in front of me. "They are generally harmless. A little annoying, but harmless. Just don’t drink anything it offers you. It should go away when you ignore it."

I couldn’t help but notice how she said should in that last part.

"Sake sake sake, sakeeeee." The red-faced demon child sloshed the contents of his flask around, holding it up for me to take a sip. "Good sake, drink drink, HUBA huba."

Ignoring it, I walked past it. But it reappeared in front of me a second later.

I sighed.

"Sake sake, drink drink, good good," he said as he continued sloshing the contents of his flask at me. This time, I thought about it for a second. He was just going to keep coming back over and over again. And I didn’t want him to eventually wake Sakuya up or bother her. He was probably going to end up dead if he did so.

So, I took the flask from the spirit. A terrifying grin began spreading across the creature’s red face. It was excited that I had accepted to drink. But that wasn’t really what I wanted to do.

I turned and chucked the flask as hard as I could into the ocean.

"Sakeeeeee," the spirit cried out as I proceeded to walk past it again. Even if it had willingly stopped following me from the start, I absolutely didn’t want it to potentially go poison Shiun. At least now it was completely harmless without its sake.

Feeling a bit bad for the little guy, I briefly turned, and found him heading over to marvel at the sandcastle. Apparently, he was over his feelings of sadness. Shiun was inviting him over with a wave of her hand. That was good. She had a playmate. Now absolutely nothing should stop me from going to spend time with Saku...

I almost crashed into someone as I returned my gaze forward. I jumped back instinctively to put some distance between us, as the person was dressed in a one-piece swimsuit. I recognized her almost immediately.

Nika Z, the greatest artist in the village. She was the third girl who had been hanging out with Ash and Ayane by the grill.

Chestnut eyes, dark brown hair with light blonde underneath. She was Ayane’s closest friend, maybe even her best friend, and she was also the daughter of the family who owned the private beach we were currently occupying.

In that moment, I felt honored. Extremely so. That she even wanted to come speak with me to begin with. But she was also standing in the way of reaching Sakuya, and I might have felt a little bit frustrated because of that. I just wanted to go lie down with my girlfriend. Was that so much to ask?

"Here."

She handed me a canvas she had been clutching closely to her chest.

"Umm, thanks?" I replied, surprised at the fact she was giving me something. I really didn’t know her all that well, and it was literally the first time we were talking. So yes. It was a little weird accepting a gift from her.

I flipped the canvas over, and holy moly, mother of God.

It was a painting. Of Sakuya and I. Standing together, laughing. In the sketch, I was wearing my green, multicolored hakama Kanna had gotten for me from the market. Sakuya, on the other hand, was sketched absolutely beautifully.

A Japanese girl, wearing West African, Nigerian, traditional Igbo attire. It was so gorgeous. Her one-piece red dress, the various pink-colored beads decorating her hair and resting around her neck. Nika Z even went as far as adding in the detail of Sakuya holding a white horse’s tail that symbolized wealth and royalty. The young woman was absolutely phenomenal in her artistry.

I looked up in excitement to thank her for the painting. But she was already gone. I turned and found her already walking over to meet up with Ayane and Ash by the grill. They had already begun chatting away while cooking. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I left to meet up with the future mother of my children.

...

When I finally arrived at the large umbrella, Sakuya was still fast asleep underneath the shade. She was even snoring a little. The woman was absolutely tired.

I settled in beside her, then planted a kiss on her forehead before turning to focus on what everyone else was doing. Shiun was teaching the red-faced Aka Shojo spirit how to make a simple sandcastle with a bucket. The girls were still busy grilling, chatting, and squealing at whatever they were talking about. Meanwhile, I thought as I turned to stare back at Sakuya, I was right where I always wanted to be. With a beautiful, strong, and all-around amazing woman whom I loved with every fiber of my being.

As if on cue, she opened her eyes in that very moment.

I smiled.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hey," I replied.

"Spirits above, I am so tired," she said.

"I can see that." I chuckled.

"I'm sorry I couldn't join you guys," she said, her voice a bit tired. "Are you having fun?"

"Well, not as much fun as we usually have together most nights but..."

Sakuya lightly slapped me on the shoulder to stop me from talking. "Shut up," she said, smiling. "What if someone hears you, dummy?"

"Umm, I'm pretty sure everyone in the house has already heard you."

"Ha!" she gasped, and lifted a hand to cover her mouth in shock at my comment. "You did not just say that to me. You're dead."

I laughed as she rolled on top of me and tried to pin me down.

"You have such a nerve saying that to me out in the open. I ought to—mm..."

I pulled her in for a kiss. Her body instantly relaxed onto mine. We were like that for a few seconds, savoring the moment. I secretly hoped everyone was too distracted to notice. When our lips finally separated, I picked up the painting and showed it to her. She sat up as she gazed at it.

"Awwwww, this is beautiful," she said. "I love this." She continued gazing at the sketch, her eyes filled with joy. "This has the amazing Nika written all over it. She is so talented. But when did you commission this? And how much did it cost?"

"I didn't," I replied, sitting up on the mat. "I was walking over here, and she just showed up and handed it to me. She didn't charge me or anything. She just gave it to me."

"Awww, our first gift as a couple. This is so beautiful, honestly. She is so kind for doing this," Sakuya said, gazing in the direction of Nika Z, who was still hanging out with the other girls. That was when it came to me—a very bizarre, over-the-top, out-of-nowhere idea—but I just had to say something.

"Sakuya?" I said, and she turned to stare at me.

"This is crazy, but...

Will you marry me?"

She continued staring at me, her mouth hung open in shock.

"Obviously not right now," I hastily corrected. "But like, after we both settle, you know? Like maybe a few months after we've been able to save up from our new jobs. After that. Will you marry me then?"