-From the perspective of Satoru Gojo-
Once we arrived in the bustling and noisy city center of Tokyo, we decided to take the train from there to Ginza to get to my favorite sushi restaurant. Despite the fact that it was already quite late in the evening, the various districts seemed to be far from going to sleep.
Bright neon signs together with the street lamps and the many shop window lights made the area look almost like broad daylight. Loud laughter and cheerful conversations echoing from all directions did the rest, whereby I concentrated more on the conversation with my pretty companion than on picking up the few snippets of conversation.
"You came from Shimoda, didn't you?" I unleashed my curiosity on her again, uninhibited, as we walked hand in hand through the crowded streets.
And if I wasn't completely wrong, then I was. From the beautiful south-western part of Japan, where one beach followed the next. It was actually inconceivable to me that someone would simply turn their back on a true vacation region like this and move to the exact opposite. A big city that never seemed to sleep and offered no relaxation. Although it was certainly nothing special when you had that around you every day.
"Yes, exactly. Lots of beach and sea. Peace and quiet and no action."
"Why?" I gave my thoughts a misleading expression, "I don't understand. What exactly drew you to Tokyo?"
She smiled, "Believe me, it wasn't that easy for me either. But I didn't want to stay there just because of the beautiful surroundings. It was the work and the city itself that drew me to Tokyo," she revealed, her eyes growing bright, "I know it sounds crazy, but Tokyo simply cast a spell over me while I was here on vacation a few times. Do you know Shimoda?"
"That sounds more than crazy... Yes, I do, I've been to the city twice for work to exorcize curses."
Pretty crazy to know that I could have bumped into her there already. And in Tokyo. As if it was fate - but I didn't believe in that.
"Really? That's funny," she beamed, "then we had to run into each other."
I looked down at her suspiciously, didn't comment on the sentence, which, unlike her, wasn't important to me anyway, and took the actual topic by the scruff of the neck again.
"And what about work? Didn't you have a nice job that you pursued?"
"Oh yes, even a very nice one that I was reluctant to leave behind."
...?
Did anyone understand this woman? Then please explain it to me...
At my completely perplexed expression, she couldn't pull herself together and laughed heartily.
"I can see exactly what you're thinking, Satoru. Yes, I've also turned my back on my beloved work. Before I switched to trauma surgery here, I worked in a GP practice for ten years. It was nothing special and sometimes rather boring, but I loved it. We were a big team of nine assistants and three doctors," she revealed, as we turned into an alleyway that no longer had any of the glamor and attractiveness of the main street.
Here it suddenly became more uncomfortable and gloomy. The boisterous conversations were replaced by a gloomy atmosphere and shady characters, who were increasingly being haunted by ghastly ghosts. Mayu didn't dislike this at all, which is why she snuggled closer to me and wrapped her arms around me. Still, she maintained her carefree smile and disposition, covering up the uncomfortable feelings that had instantly tried to take over her.
"Boring? Then how did you last ten years there? What exactly were your duties?" I understood her scaredy-cat language and started to change her mind.
"Girl for everything," she smirked, averting her eyes to the side as we walked past a mischievous curse spirit attached to a shady guy.
"I took care of administrative work and also worked at the registration desk from time to time. But what I enjoyed most was working in the laboratory, taking blood samples, performing ECGs and pulmonary function tests, as well as assisting with minor procedures. I had really loved it, but it was time for something new. I needed more challenges and a new area to explore, so I started looking for a new practice here."
If that wasn't a case for Shoko. Hadn't she recently sighed about how much she wished she had an assistant in some situations? So I would have found an assistant bursting with enthusiasm for this profession. And let's be honest - I could well imagine that the two of them would have got on really well.
Mayu seemed to be a cosmopolitan person and Shoko could really use that in her dreary working life.
I could also imagine Mayu looking pretty hot in her lab coat.
"And at your last job?" I asked curiously, "Trauma surgery sounds bloody."
She laughed again, "It was, but that was the attraction."
"Can you see something like that?"
"Sure," she grinned broadly, my empty stomach twisting in all directions as I imagined bloody accidents.
That was definitely not for me. I was more likely to see and dismantle badly mangled cursed spirits.
"So am I right in assuming that you would love to do this work again?"
"Of course," she confirmed exuberantly, "I really miss it, apart from training."
That literally called out for us to pay Shoko a visit soon.
Once again, we walked past a guy who had a hideous curse spirit sitting on his shoulder, which was on Mayu's side. In the corner of my eye, I could see that it was trying to get its fangs on her, but she didn't see it because she was looking in the opposite direction again. So I quickly released my arm from her fearful grasp, flicked a tiny ball of energy charged with my curse reversal technique of the color red at it, while I put my arm around Mayu's shoulder and pulled her closer to me.
So hastily and inconspicuously that neither of them noticed how I expelled the bastard that was trying to get at my companion.
So my distraction of the curse spirits was more successful than I had hoped, even if it secretly annoyed me that I still didn't hear any curse power flowing through her.
"So, here we are," I rejoiced as we arrived at the restaurant and the dark brown wooden door opened for us. We were immediately enveloped by the delicious aroma of the food, which made my mouth water. We entered together and were welcomed by the cozy atmosphere and one of the older employees.
"Oh, good evening, Mr. Gojo. Nice to see you again," he greeted me with a deep bow and in a friendly manner, "in female company today? Good evening," and bowed again to Mayu, who was standing next to me and did the same.
"Good evening, sir," she greeted him in an extremely friendly tone, beaming from ear to ear.
"I'm sure I can show you to your regular table," he guessed my unspoken wish, as we were also sometimes courted by the loud and unpleasant conversations of the other guests, and followed him through the traditionally furnished and fairly well-attended restaurant to the back area, where it was fortunately much quieter. There had been advantages to chatting to the waiters from time to time.
In the corner of my eye, I could see Mayu looking around inconspicuously. Not to mention her eyes lighting up again as she surveyed the beautifully decorated restaurant.
As soon as we sat down on the comfortable bench at our assigned table, the waiter handed us the clear and well-organized menus.
"I'll come back to you in a moment and take your order."
We both nodded in confirmation and he turned on his heel. He had barely taken a few steps away from us, just as we had opened the menus, when Mayu spoke up.
"Wow. How beautiful it is here," she whispered enthusiastically, inspecting one of the fake cherry blossom branches that were attached in heaps to the countless dark brown posts. Hidden between the individual blossoms were warm white light globes that gave off enough light to create a pleasant brightness.
"You're so easy to get excited about," I remarked with a grin.
"Not at all," she grinned, embarrassed, while a delicate blush appeared on her cheeks and she focused on the menu again, "you just have good taste," she mumbled sheepishly.
Was it childish that I just found it overly sweet? And even if it was, I was also aiming to make Mayu feel good. Although it wasn't much of an art with her either. So far, I hadn't discovered much that she didn't necessarily like - apart from the training, which she often grumbled about theatrically.
After the waiter had returned to us, taken our order and we had waited for the food, Mayu leaned back on the side of her seat, propped her elbow on the backrest and turned to me.
"You found out earlier where I grew up and how I came to live here in Tokyo. Did you actually grow up here in Tokyo?" she asked me curiously.
"No. I was born and grew up in Kyoto."
"Kyoto? And then you're moving to Tokyo too?" she sounded more reprimanded than surprised, "Kyoto had also been on my shortlist for where I would have moved to, but the practice in Tokyo that finally accepted me was quicker. So what drew you here?"
Sounded like she wasn't just addicted to Tokyo. I said yes - she was easy to get excited about.
"First and foremost because of the work. There are only two training centers for jujutsu here in Japan. One is here in Tokyo and the other in Kyoto."
Now it was she who looked at me in confusion. She had probably been mentally searching for instructions for me. But I had just realized that we had taken the same path independently of each other. Maybe there was this humbug called fate after all!
"Let me explain it briefly and concisely. I wanted to escape my overbearing parents."
If I wanted to find out more about my target subject, I had to reveal more about myself. Even if I hadn't liked talking about it.
"Too arrogant?" she snorted, 'I'm sure it's because of you, isn't it?' she guessed more as a joke.
"Bull's eye," I confirmed with a grin as her features slipped away.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Oh, I-I didn't mean to-" I quickly placed my index finger on her soft lips and shook my head.
"You're absolutely right, Mayu," I began and let go of her lips so that she could interrupt my explanation like everyone else.
"Among us Jujuzists, there are three clans made up of large elite families. One of them is the Gojo clan - my family. You should know that the six-eyes and the infinity curse technique are only found in my family. The Six-Eyes are innate, which should explain why owners of this gift are only born every few hundred years. The same applies to infinity, by the way. Although this is not innate, it is just as rare. I, on the other hand, have both, which results from the fact that I am the strongest Jujuzist of our time."
Strange?! She hadn't interrupted me yet, whereas everyone else had interrupted me long overdue, so I dared to go on a bit. Maybe the point of interruption was yet to come.
"In other words, my parents achieved a much higher status within the Gojo family. As a result, I was brought up strictly, had to abide by a lot of rules and was treated very specially, which really got on my nerves. As a result, I occasionally - or rather, far too often - ran away from home and preferred to hang around outside. When I was at home, I suffered under the command of my parents and was taught Jujutsu every free minute. Well, at least the basics, because no one was able to teach me my skills."
She was still sitting quietly and attentively opposite me and seemed to be literally hanging on my every word.
"And how did you manage to become so strong?" She even asked me a question that made me wonder at first.
Was this question more of a taunt or did she really want to know?
"Well, yes. I started reading up on it in various books from the Kyoto Academy. Then I tried it out and finally perfected it for myself," I let slip vaguely and pulled up my security wall.
That seemed strange to me. No one had ever taken an interest in me before. The realization that I was the strongest was sometimes simply accepted or even assumed that I had fallen from the sky like that and now this young jujuzist was sitting opposite me and asking me about myself?!
What was she trying to achieve? Was Mayu trying to see behind my facade or to harm me, but I couldn't see how?
"Typical parents," she mused absentmindedly, "what happened next? You were still at home then, so when did you move to Tokyo?"
"... After my time at boarding school. After my teenage years, to be precise."
Was I mistaken or did a hint of pity contort on her face?
"You even went to boarding school? That doesn't exactly sound like a picture-book childhood," she said much more cautiously, but again with suspicion. She probably didn't miss the fact that I had put up my wall, did she?
But there was nothing there! I read nothing but pure interest from her ultraviolet eyes. There wasn't a single spark of hypocrisy or mockery in them. On the contrary, she seemed to have been so captivated by the superficial tale from my childhood, as if she had been listening to an exciting report.
"That must have been difficult, wasn't it? In terms of your skills and training them. I mean, until two months ago, the concept of jujutsu was completely foreign to me and you've been teaching me ever since, which I personally find extremely difficult. But with you? You actually taught yourself everything. In fact, you didn't have anyone to show you, explain it to you or even demonstrate it to you. That's incredibly admirable."
She was just admiring me? That felt incredibly strange.
"Oh well. That was a piece of cake," I smiled, waving off the difficult part of my past, "it wasn't always easy now and then, but it's no longer a problem."
"Impressive," she remarked thoughtfully, "how often did you despair when things went wrong or you didn't succeed?"
I furrowed my eyebrows in a flash, but only for a brief moment.
"... Often enough."
I didn't have to mention again that the whole thing seemed strange to me, did I? Who the hell cared if I could manage my escape techniques? It was funny.
"I can imagine all too well. For my part, I find it really remarkable and have great respect for you, Satoru. Not just in terms of what you've learned as a jujuzist."
I simply hadn't expected such words, which is why I felt small for a split second.
Back to that small, often desperate boy I had recently grown out of, who had more than enough problems with his immense cursing energy and techniques.
There were always short but intense phases where it brought me to the brink of despair, but she didn't need to know that.
Just as I was about to respond, the waiter beat me to it with the full tray and Mayu sat down at the table again.
As soon as he had gone, the table was set with food and drinks and we were ready to start eating, Mayu's sweet voice broke the brief silence between us.
"Enjoy your meal."
"Thank you, you too."
Gone was my objection to that. I should probably have just left it at that. But I couldn't stop tiny little doubts joining me on my shoulder - about Mayu. What was she trying to say?
"Tell me," she began after a while, after we had started eating and she had said several times how much she had enjoyed it, "you mentioned earlier that you were treated specially. What is your current relationship with your parents like?" she asked, much more cautiously than before.
So now she wanted to know more about my parents? I noticed that the doubting spirits were tugging warningly at my white shirt.
Where was this immense interest in me coming from?
"My relationship with them is and remains difficult. We hear each other from time to time, see each other even less, but I don't want to have anything more to do with them," I revealed meaninglessly, 'that may sound harsh-' "No. It's not. It doesn't," she was the one who interrupted me nonchalantly, "you don't have to justify it. What you said about her earlier is enough. I can understand that."
"Understand?" I asked brightly and grabbed another piece of sushi.
Was it finally her turn to talk about where she had left off in training?
"Yes, that's right. I said earlier that my relationship with my parents is difficult because I'm the only one who can see curses."
"Yes, you did. Did I actually offend you earlier?"
"Because I stumbled for a moment?" she guessed, to which I nodded, "No. Not at all. Why should I make a secret of it? I hadn't expected this question at all and had to think for a moment myself about why I'm actually different as the only one in the family. So you can ask me anything about that. I was just unprepared for it."
Forget about Sukuna...
So she hadn't been looking for an excuse, as I had partly suspected.
"But you should know that my parents are strictly religious. Not Buddhist or Shinto, for example. They are devout Catholics. They believe in nothing other than God," she continued, which astonished me, "for them, this world and my peculiarity of seeing curses doesn't exist. They close their eyes to it. They also don't believe that the supernatural exists. And then I came along. I don't have the same status as you," she giggled, "but I was treated just as special as you. So actually rather odd."
What a contradiction, I smiled to myself. How could you believe in something you couldn't see, whereas you could still see curse spirits, depending on your rank? I already suspected where this was going.
Still... Christianity, then? It only played a very minor role here in Japan. I thought I had read that only about one percent of Japanese citizens living here professed this denomination. Furthermore, in the Edu period, the spread of Christianity was forbidden under the strictest penalties. And her parents professed this? That promised to be an exciting story about her family.
"Strange?" I repeated brightly, "... Sounds like you're the one of us who wasn't allowed to enjoy a typical childhood, doesn't it?"
"I guess it's in the eye of the beholder, but yes, I didn't have the typical childhood of carefree play and wasn't allowed to pursue my own hobbies. I had strict rules to follow every day, just like you, but they started with my choice of clothes, followed a timed schedule set by my parents and ended with an early bedtime. My everyday life consisted mainly of school and learning, learning and more learning. And what I just forgot to mention was studying. When I didn't have to study, I was put on household chores. This included everything my mother did. So cooking, cleaning, tidying up and the all too familiar rest. When that was finally done and there was still a little time before bedtime, I was allowed to play games or watch TV, although they told me what I was allowed to do. But that was a real rarity, as I'm sure you can hear."
I nodded silently, actually rather speechless - which I rarely was. But my vocabulary had just evaporated along with my good mood.
"Were you allowed to do anything at all?" I simply had to ask, as I had been discreetly shocked at how you could take your child under your wing like that.
She hadn't even had the slightest chance to develop in any direction. At least that's how it seemed to me.
"Almost not at all. Going out alone wasn't an issue between us until I got my first cell phone, which was in fifth grade, and they checked it every day. If I was allowed to play games, they checked them beforehand to see if they were for me, just like they did with TV. In that sense, they had to check and approve everything before I was allowed to do anything. The only thing I actually enjoyed was being allowed to learn to play the violin. But apart from that, my childhood was more like a prison sentence that I had to serve."
"... Why?" I blurted out.
"I don't know, Satoru," she shrugged sympathetically, "maybe because I could see curses and that's why they saw me as the devil's work? I don't know."
Devil's work... How I had hated such people beyond words. Just because they hadn't believed that there had been those among us who could be curse wizards and Jujuzists. With their helicopter behavior, they could have done a lot of damage, which was not apparent in Mayu, at least not yet.
She seemed to have a very strong sense of maturity and did not see this behavior as right or acceptable.
"Were friends allowed to visit you or vice versa?" I asked, clearly chilled, although I really had to be careful not to sound too patronizing.
"Yes and no. It was more of a whim. If I was good, kind and did what I was told, I was allowed to visit a friend on Wednesdays or invite her over. Although that was also rather difficult. I only had two friends with whom I got on very well. As I mentioned before, I was considered weird. It's difficult for a child to be around normal people who can't understand that I was afraid of something invisible. I confided in one of the two girls at the time, who thought it was cool and weird at first, but the older we got, the weirder it seemed to her and she eventually turned away from me."
"I know that all too well. People prefer to keep quiet about it because others can't handle it and finding someone like-minded has proved difficult."
She nodded in confirmation, a melancholy veil covering her face. If only there had been a chance for us to meet back then, she wouldn't have been completely alone with this shit.
"And your current relationship with your parents? Sorry, but I can't for the life of me imagine that it can be even remotely good."
"You're absolutely right about that. I can't even describe it as difficult. Tense is still too gentle and loving is completely out of place. Back then, I wanted to get out of that literal hell as quickly as possible and moved out of home when I was sixteen. Against my parents' wishes, of course, but what was keeping me at home? I could do anything because I was pushed into everything and so I got my way for the first time and left."
"Probably the best decision you could have made," I remarked sympathetically.
"For me in any case. I could put my hand in the fire that it was the same for them. I mean, who likes to have the devil's work in their hallowed halls?" she said with a grin, which at least made me smile.
Over the family revelations, more and more of these doubting spirits jumped off my shoulder until only a few remained seated. I understood, however, that she could identify slightly with me and that Mayu certainly had no bad intentions behind her questions.
"... If you have such a strained relationship, when was the last time you heard each other?"
As if she had seen a cursed ghost, she opened her eyes wide, immediately reached for her handbag, dug out her cell phone and hunted down the last call entry.
"Oh no, that was two days ago. So I'll have to talk to them again tomorrow, the day after tomorrow at the latest," she moaned and looked up at the ceiling.
Despite the fact that it wasn't my parents, I felt exactly the same emotion as her. I would have been just as reluctant to call them or even visit them. Speaking of visiting.
"And when was the last time you saw each other?"
She exhaled with both melancholy and disapproval and rubbed her face with difficulty.
"Six months ago for my birthday and Christmas. That was the condition for me being allowed to move out so early. So I have to... visit her every six months. Have to visit. No, wait a minute. Shit! So, yes, around Christmas, but that was more than half a year ago," she looked at me from a startled mirror, "oh fuck. So I'll have to show up again soon, otherwise I'll have to listen to them again. Not that I have to anyway, but even more so now."
The move to us had really messed her up, hadn't it? God, poor thing. Couldn't I have taken that off her hands?
"I'll come with you!" I suggested, and within the blink of an eye she looked at me, perplexed.
"What, you?" she blurted out in surprise, "you want to come with me when I visit them?"
"Oooh yes! I'll keep you company."
"Uh-... I-I..." she stammered, overwhelmed, "b-are you sure about that? You don't really know what you're getting yourself into, Satoru."
"But of course I do."
Once again she gave me a tense and hopeless smile that said something like 'you're getting yourself into the biggest mess, but I'd appreciate it'. I skillfully ignored the burgeoning stomach ache I felt at the thought and thought much more about the fact that I should see it as research. In my opinion, someone in her family would have been enriched in cursing energy.
And who knew if her parents hadn't lied to her over the years? Mayu didn't have the experience to find out exactly that. That could have been one of the reasons for the radical upbringing. To hide something they were probably able to protect their daughter from. But then with such a hard way? Hardly likely. So that suited me just fine.
"All right," she admitted, surprised but still skeptical, "are you sure about that?"
"If I had the chance, I'd pull the towel off you completely right now."
At first she had to look for the context, but in the same second she understood what I meant and shook her head with a grin. But not without a blush on her face.
"Okay, when do we want to get this over with? Next weekend? Not next weekend, but next week?"
"How long are you planning to stay there?"
She paused again, seemed to be trying hard to find the right time frame and picked up another piece of the last remaining sushi morsels.
"One night at most. From Saturday to Sunday."
"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind two nights either."
"Two nights?!" she said, which I had already expected, "will I gain something?" she was referring to the unbearably long time I had suggested with her parents.
"Yep. Time alone with me, where we can make out carelessly without anyone from the others getting in our way."
With the piece of sushi in her mouth, she spluttered and put her hand over her mouth. Her shoulders shook before she burst out laughing.
"I have to admit that if I were as quick-witted as you, I'd have a suitable line for you right now, but I think it's enough that I'll just take you with me."
"I think so too."
There they were again, the cherry-red cheeks. It made me happy that she was able to add a little humor to her unpleasant visit with her parents. Hard to believe, but I had sometimes thought that I had already been punished enough with my parents and that it couldn't have been any worse... But Mayu's parents?
The phrase 'worse is always possible' deserved another medal in his collection. Of course, things could have been far more unpleasant, up to and including violence and deeply disturbing actions, but that had already been more than enough.
"Are you really okay with this?" she asked cautiously, placing her hand on my forearm.
"Of course it is. It counts as a short vacation."
"Short vacation... That's anything but relaxing. I'd rather meet hundreds of cursed spirits in a row and be more relaxed..." she grumbled dismissively, which made me laugh out loud at this scaredy-cat.
"Well, I'm very curious to see how strictly religious you are. That's why you never wear a neckline, is it?" I teased her knowingly, which made her jaw drop and she took her hand away from me.
"Please?! That's not true," she laughed, "it has something to do with class and the fact that I don't want you to stare at my breasts all the time. Apart from that, have I ever worn anything more revealing? And besides - hello?! What happened earlier?! You were pretty close to seeing more than just my cleavage!" she reared up defensively, placing her hand symbolically and protectively on her cleavage, which I found unspeakably sweet and funny.
"Is that so?" I continued, to which she continued to huff.
"Yes! Besides, my parents are religious - not me. They couldn't force that line on me."
"But they tried?"
"Of course they did. Countless times," she rolled her eyes generously, "it felt like there was no method that wouldn't change my mind. I had to go to church services, memorize prayers, read the Bible up and down, recite the ten commandments every day and oh, I could write you a whole list about it, but I couldn't and wouldn't agree to it. They can do it however they want, but it was enough for me to see these strange curses."
I nodded in amusement and understanding.
"All right then. Then I'll clarify that with them on my next phone call, if I have to call them anyway."
I grinned to myself. I was secretly looking forward to this meeting more than going on a ghost hunt, even if I had mixed feelings about it. Had they really been that weird?
By now our plates were empty and the last drink had been drunk. Gradually, the mood to leave spread, which was not only evident from the late hour, but also the growing tiredness that was slowly making me long for a cozy bed. I enjoyed every minute I was able to spend with Mayu today to the full. The deep insight into her little self, which I found more than exciting, and learning more about her in general, which had nothing to do with training, was captivating.
The waiter had already unobtrusively taken care of clearing the table and bringing us the bill.
Of course, it went without saying that I had paid for them, and she had the glorious idea of pulling out her wallet even though I had invited her. That promised to be an afterthought, even though I had more than clearly understood her intention behind it.
Enveloped and delicately taken in by the cool and refreshing summer night air, we left the restaurant behind us meter by meter and leisurely made our way home towards the subway, which we had used to get here. My companion was walking close in front of me and I looked at her with completely different eyes after this profound conversation. Suddenly she stopped in front of me and turned towards me, which almost caused me to run into her. This had been her part, which I had always secretly enjoyed.
"Thank you, Satoru. For the delicious meal and the lovely evening with you."
She held on to my upper arm, stood on tiptoe, and I wrapped my arm around her narrow waist to steady myself and immediately received a tender kiss on the cheek.
"Despite these depressing issues?"
"Of course. I'm not going to let that get me down."
This was exactly the impression she truly conveyed with her unwavering and sincere smile.
We looked at each other urgently. Her hand now rested more on my shoulder, from which an enormous warmth penetrated through my snow-white shirt.
"Didn't that upset you too much?" because that wasn't exactly what I wanted.
"No. It didn't at all, otherwise I wouldn't have talked about it in such detail."
"I have one last question."
I gently brushed a strand of her lilac hair, which was blown into her face by the gentle breeze, back behind her ear.
"I'd like several," she replied warmly.
"When exactly did you realize that you could see curses?"
"Always, actually, but I really realized that it was somehow different or forbidden when I was about five or six. Due to my father's work at the bank, he occasionally took curses home with him that had attached themselves to him. Looking back and now knowing which levels they are divided into, luckily it was only the 4th level, which I then threw away with toys to make them disappear. But they still scared me. And what do you do when you're scared of something? Especially small children?"
"They confide in their parents, their caregivers with whom they seek protection," I answered her question, to which she nodded.
"And that's exactly what I did. I didn't know at the time that they couldn't do that and they treated me as if I had just done something really bad. Apart from my fear of this monstrosity that had wrapped itself around my father."
I pulled her closer to me and gave her a kiss on the temple. The behavior of these non-Jujuzists towards her was more than out of place, which made my inner rage boil. Mind you, I could understand their point of view, but I certainly didn't sympathize with it.
"Come on, let's go home," I mumbled against her soft skin, once again trying to suppress the feelings that had tried to take over me at the thought of her parents. So I grabbed her dainty hand from my shoulder, intertwined my fingers with hers and walked towards home, strolling as I continued to talk.