The tea between them had gone cold, but neither sister seemed to notice.
Maki sat opposite Mai in the dim corner of the Kyoto dormitory's lounge, elbows on her knees, leaning forward like every word she spoke was part of a fight she refused to lose.
Mai lounged back on the couch with her usual guarded posture, eyes half-lidded, arms crossed, but the slight tremor in her foot betrayed the tension that never really left her.
"You know I never wanted this either," Maki said finally, voice low. "But I wasn't going to let them decide how far I'd go."
Mai gave a short laugh, bitter but quiet. "So you decided to fight the tide head-on. Congratulations. At least I picked the smarter route and didn't drown."
"You call this smart?" Maki gestured at her sister, at the neat uniform, the perfect posture drilled into her by the Zen'in Clan's suffocating rules. "Living under their heel? Waiting for them to tell you who to marry, where to live, how to breathe?"
Mai's gaze flicked away. For a long moment, the sound of rain tapping against the window filled the space between them. "It's better than fighting until I break," she murmured. "At least this way, I get to choose the moments I want to enjoy before it all ends."
"That's the thing," Maki said. "It doesn't have to end like that."
Mai's brow furrowed. "And what exactly is your miracle plan?"
Maki took a breath. "Mahito."
That name pulled Mai's attention back immediately.
"He can sever the bond between us," Maki continued. "He says it'll make us stronger. Both of us. My Heavenly Restriction would reach its full potential, and your cursed technique could be freed. No holding back. No Zen'in deciding what you're worth."
Mai's expression shifted in small, reluctant increments. First the disbelief, then the slow, creeping consideration. "That's… not possible."
"It is," Maki said firmly. "He's confident. But it's risky. Untested. He's calling it an 'experimental procedure' for a reason."
Mai leaned back, staring at the ceiling as if the answer might be written there. "And if it fails?"
Maki didn't flinch. "Then we go down on our own terms. Not theirs." Her determination burned brightly; she hoped to break from her shackles, and she was willing to pay any price for it.
The room felt heavier then. The kind of heaviness that came from too many truths laid bare.
"You know," Mai said slowly, "I always thought you were the stubborn one because you wanted to prove them wrong. But maybe it's because you just can't stand losing."
Maki smiled faintly. "You're not wrong."
For a while, they sat in silence, two halves of the same coin finally facing the same direction.
"I hate to admit it," Mai said at last, "but you're right. My future here is garbage. Best-case scenario, I get shipped off to some old man so the clan can stroke its own ego." Her voice caught on the words, though she forced it steady again. "If this works, maybe I get to write my own future instead."
Maki's eyes softened just slightly. "So we agree?"
Mai exhaled, a long, slow surrender. "We agree."
They didn't hug. They didn't need to. They had never been on good terms to begin with, not since they chose different routes in life.
But now? Hugging felt wrong. After all, they were about to attempt to sever the deepest connection between them, the bond in their souls.
For their own good, to create a better future.
The decision hung between them like a silent pact.
-
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-
Later that day, the rain had stopped, leaving the air damp and sharp with the smell of wet earth.
Mahito was exactly where Yuki thought she might find him, stretched lazily along one of the low stone steps that framed the training grounds, eyes half-closed like a cat in a patch of sun.
It looked almost as if he wasn't all there...
She took her time approaching, letting her footsteps carry just enough weight to announce herself without rushing.
"Twice in one week," Mahito said without opening his eyes. "Am I supposed to start thinking you like me?"
Yuki's smile was slow, measured. "Would that be a problem?"
"Depends," Mahito replied, finally cracking one eye open to look at her. "On whether you actually do, or if you're just here for my cursed technique."
She laughed lightly, though inside she was already weighing her next move. In their previous meetings, she'd seen something in him, some kernel of honesty and kindness buried under all the smugness.
He didn't hide what he wanted, and he didn't waste time pretending to believe in lofty ideals.
And his ability… his ability might be the answer she had been searching for all her life. A way to break the boundaries of cursed energy, to reshape what was possible.
But telling him that outright would be a mistake. He didn't strike her as someone who responded well to being told what he should do. No, Mahito needed to think it was his choice.
She lowered herself to sit beside him, crossing one leg over the other. "Maybe I just like your company. You're not like the rest of them."
Mahito tilted his head. "Flattery? From you?"
"Observation," Yuki corrected, leaning slightly closer. "Besides, you're a rare kind of honest. Most people dance around what they want. You just say it."
Mahito's grin widened. "And what do you want?"
She met his gaze without hesitation. "To see what you can really do. Up close."
For a moment, the air between them felt charged, but not with cursed energy. Mahito studied her the way he studied everything, as though he were taking apart each word to see what lay underneath.
"I could show you," he said eventually, "but it may be more than you can take~"
"Hoho? Well, we'll see about that later~ For now, how has your life here been?" Yuki replied, her tone playful but her intent sharp as glass.
She had no plans to rush this. A steady approach would keep him curious, keep him open.
They talked for a while, their conversation meandering between harmless jabs and subtle probing. Mahito didn't mind the attention; in fact, he found it unexpectedly refreshing. Yuki wasn't afraid of him, and she didn't seem to care about whatever stories the others told.
By the time the sky began to darken, the tension had shifted. It was no longer a verbal game. Their banter carried a different edge, one that neither of them bothered to dull.
Yuki leaned in, her voice a little lower. "You know, for someone who's supposedly dangerous, you're awfully easy to be around."
Mahito's smirk returned, sharper now. "You'd be surprised how many people find me… interesting."
"Interesting, hm?" She let the word hang there, testing it. "I can see that."
Neither of them needed to say the rest. The pull was there, mutual and unspoken.
Later, in the quiet of a dimly lit room, the conversation stopped altogether. Whatever caution Yuki had planned to maintain blurred at the edges, and whatever restraint Mahito had been holding onto dissolved in the warmth of proximity.
'We get along fine enough. If she wants to give so easily, then who am I to complain?'
He had not been with anyone in months, and though he rarely admitted to feeling anything as human as pent-up, he had no reason to refuse, did he?
It certainly helped that he could feel it. The desire within Yuki. She had something else besides desire buried within her thoughts, but then again, why would someone interact with him without trying to gain anything?
It was only natural. In neither of his lives had he experienced unconditional love. He didn't think it even existed.
For Yuki, it was not just about the act itself, but the space it created. A closeness she thought could use. Trust was a currency, and tonight she was about to make a down payment.
The real question was... Could she keep control of the game she had just chosen to play?