•My Father | JJK

05

19 YEARS PRIOR

After their first unpleasant encounter, Satoru Gojo, probably the most powerful sorcerer of his generation, and Sanae Hinode, a normal civilian who had no real knowledge of Jujutsu and only vaguely knew about the strange reality of exorcists, kept on seeing each other, by unfortunate chance. Whether it be in the bustling streets of Tokyo in the morning, or a shop, they would encounter each other almost on a daily basis. In the streets, when they acknowledged the presence of the other, Sanae would be glaring at him without any shame or restriction, while for Satoru, he would show her his biggest smile with all the arrogance in the world. When they would encounter each other in a store, Satoru would always walk towards her, showing her the same arrogant smile, and her response would be to leave the store with hurried steps the second she noticed him coming towards her. It would always leave Satoru laughing to himself, enjoying the reaction of the girl.

One hated the other, and one found the other nothing but laughable.

One wanted to avoid the other, and one wanted to chase the other until she would explode from anger.

One became angrier and angrier by the day from the actions of the other, and one was craving those angry reactions that would always give his ego a little boost.

One was running away, and one was chasing.

This kept going on for weeks. Weeks where the two would encounter each other from afar, doing only a quick eye contact without speaking a word to each other, only glares and stares were exchanged in those fast encounters of only a few seconds. Encounters where they would greet each other by meeting their eyes, and where they would bid farewell with the sound of their steps against the ground. It was nothing special, but it was enough so it could stay in their minds for a few days until the next encounter would happen. One hoped she would never have to see him again, even if she knew deep down that she would still run into him sooner or later, and the other was rather excited to see her soon.

Satoru kept on visiting his spot, the small grass hill in this rather unknown park, hoping to see the girl, just so he could enjoy watching her reaction, like every encounter they previously had. No matter how many times he viewed the same reaction, it would never cease to amuse him and make him laugh.

Sanae, on her side, found it more than annoying. Those encounters really were less than needed. Her days were already bad as they were, she didn't need anything else to worsen them. Recently, she and her mother were on rather bad terms. There wasn't a day when they wouldn't get into another argument. Sanae's mother had always been rather strict, but when Sanae went to high school, she only became more severe. Sanae's mother wanted to assure a good future for her only child, but even if she was filled with good intentions for her daughter, it didn't really show in her actions. The two would then get into a heated argument, Sanae's father standing on the side as he tried to reason them, but failed every time he did so. Often, the results of such argument would be a few tears dropping on the clean floor of their house, a mother and a daughter in a cold war, or even sometimes a bruise staining the skin of the teenager. No matter how it ended, it never ended well for both sides. Every time, Sanae would leave for a few hours, leaving behind her the loud noise of the door slamming shut as she made as much distance from her home and herself.

"Sanae!" The voice of her father calling for her was the last thing she heard before slamming the door shut behind her as she left her house, frustration taking over her as she walked and walked to where ever her legs would take her. As long as it wouldn't be anywhere near her house, it would be alright.