Guardian Angel.

"Why do you have Chuks following me around like a puppy and why does he have a samurai sword?" Kunle blurted.

"The business with the Seavile guys just got a bit serious and everyone is on edge right now. The seavile gang is under The Fakunle family and they're known to mess with people's families, fucking animals!" Kazeem replied.

The gangs had a set of codes they follow and one of the most important out of these rules is that you don't touch families during disputes. The gang leaders enforced these rules among their members but some gangs, especially the Fakunle family that led the Seavile street gang didn't care about the rules.

"So you gave a samurai sword to our mute brother to protect me with?" Kunle protested.

"Well he has a gun too, he's really good with that sword and he volunteered to be your bodyguard."

"I don't need a bodyguard, Kaz!"

"Oh but you do, you really need to grow up," Kazeem said, walking away from him to the door. He opened the door and Samson came in.

"We got hit, boss," he shouted

"Calm down, where is Dede?" Kazeem tried to calm him but it wasn't working.

"Seavile boys caught him slacking. Dede got shot to hell, boss" he kept pacing the room, waiting for Kazeem to tell him what to do next. 

Kazeem was quiet for some minutes and then he finally spoke.

Call Jacob, tell him we need some heat and I'm talking some real firepower. I'll call the "Devil" and ask for his permission to deal with these animals. He picked up the phone and started dialing.

I stood there for a while watching them devise their counter-attack plans until Kazeem told me to go into my room.

"He's gonna have to learn anyway, boss," Samson whispered.

Kazeem ignored him and continued with what he was doing. After some hours they left in Kazeem's jeep. 

I got into my bed and started thinking about everything. I thought about how fast everything can just go to shit. I was happy some hours before then, I was happy until I had to start worrying about what could happen to Kazeem.

I tried to block out the negative thoughts by thinking about something good. The only thing that came to mind was Titi. Her beautiful smile, her smooth skin, her beautiful blue eyes, and her accent. Everything about her physical appearance was just soothing. I fell asleep thinking about her for some minutes.

I thought I was alone in the house for a while until Chuks came into my room, holding a bowl of noodles he had prepared. He really liked cooking.

"You're home early today, Chuks" I mumbled, half asleep.

He signaled that I'm his responsibility now and as my bodyguard, he's always going to be by my side to protect me.

"What the hell, Chuks? You're really taking this bodyguard thing too seriously." I blurted.

Chuks just sank into the couch by the corner and placed his katana on his laps.

"God, you're annoying!" I shouted.

Shola and Shade were brought home by uncle Kasali to pack a few things. They were going to spend the weekend at his place.

"It would be safer, anyway," I said to myself.

"Hello Kunle," he said.

He was dressed in an old black overcoat and a papa's cap that covered half his face. 

He was a large, very dark man with a potbelly he probably got from heavy drinking.

"Hello uncle" I replied.

"Y'all moved out here and we don't see your brake light anymore. Even Kazeem comes around sometimes, but you..." His voice was so loud every time he spoke, it felt like he was shouting.

"It's all the school work that's keeping me from coming over, uncle. I miss my cousins, especially Maryam."

"Well, they miss you too, stay focussed in school but never forget your family. Family is everything, you hear?" he walked out of the room, walks to his truck, and opened the door. As he was about to get into the car, he removed a Mossberg 500 tactical shotgun from under his overcoat and threw it in the car.

Kazeem must have told him to come to get the twins, and he must have known I wouldn't go with him.

"Stay out of trouble," he said as he started the truck and zoomed off.

I turned back and Chuks was standing at the door, using his katana as a walking stick. I went into the house and thought about the party I was to attend the next day.

"Well if you're going to keep following me like a shadow, we need to get some suits because we're going to a party uptown."

He picked up the key to his bike and signaled to me to follow him. He headed uptown. I kept asking where we were going but he said nothing.

Half an hour later we stopped in front of a boutique uptown, the kind of place rich folks go shopping. 

"What the hell are we doing here, Chuks," I asked.

He went over to the receptionist and I immediately saw how scared the receptionist got, it was hard not to see, she was almost shaking.

He signaled her to call her boss and she rushed into an office. I stood there with my mouth open, I couldn't believe what was going on. Kazeem must have had Chuks collecting taxes for him and the boutique must have been one of his collection stops.

The boss rushed out of his office, he was Asian. Chuks pointed at his katana and pointed at the man, then made the most successful attempt at laughing that I ever saw him made. It was awkward.

"How hard can it be for you to laugh," I whispered to myself and chuckled. He was trying to tell me that he got the sword from the manager.

We all went to a dressing room and tried on some suits, the expensive kind. We finally chose two, one for me and another for Chuks.

"Tell Mr. Badur that I treated you very well, will you," the manager said and walked back to his office.

We stepped out of the office and a jeep parked right in front of us. As the door opened, Chucks grabbed his katana and began to unsheathe the long curved blade then I saw a familiar face emerge from the vehicle.

Sanusi came out of the driver's side and opened the back door. Titi got out and was arguing about something I couldn't hear.

"Titi," I called her name, smiling from cheek to cheek.

"Kunle, is that you? What are you doing here? " she said smiling brightly.

She walked towards me, and Chuks crossed her with his hand. She stopped, Sanusi reached for something under his suit but she stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"Who might this be, Kunle?" she asked.

"Pardon my brother's behavior, he's weird", I replied as I pulled down Chuks's hand.

"Is that a real samurai sword?" She giggled.

"Hope you're still coming to my Dad's party tomorrow, Kunle and you should bring your samurai bodyguard brother too, I like him,"  she declared and walked into the boutique followed by Sanusi who kept staring at Chuks.

Chuks turned the ignition of his bike and signaled me to get on. We got home and I couldn't stop thinking about Titi.

"What the hell is going on with me, " I whispered to myself. 

Chuks puts his index finger to his head and twisted it to show that I was going crazy. I ignored him and went into my room. 

I woke up the next morning to find him sleeping on the couch in my room.

"This guy must be kidding me!" I fumed.

It was the weekend, the first weekend my family didn't spend together, but it wouldn't be the last.