Maki had never imagined that a father could be this depraved.
"What are you doing?" Maki spat, her teeth gritted against the pain. "The headship has been decided. Are you truly going to defy the Clan Head's direct order?"
Ogi Zenin let out a low, chilling laugh. "The Clan Head? As long as we do not recognize him, Megumi Fushiguro is nothing! Jinichi and Naoya should have converged by now to begin the coup. My second brother was far too idealistic, thinking his personal prestige alone could force through such a change. Pure fantasy."
Ogi unsheathed his blade, the cold steel singing as it caught the dim light. He stepped forward, sealing off Maki's only path of retreat.
"As for you... becoming Souma Gojo's disciple was quite the shock for your old man. But the Six Eyes twins have fallen silent. Besides, this is a family matter—a father disciplining his daughters. No outsider has the right to interfere."
Maki let out a roar of indignant laughter as she drew her weapon, the Cursed Tool True Steel Hou. "Family business, then? Fine. I've been wanting to slaughter you for years."
Ogi moved. He dropped his center of gravity, hand hovering over the hilt in a classic iaido stance. His eyes flashed with a predatory light.
"Secret Art: Falling Blossom Emotion!"
This was an inherited technique of the Zenin clan, designed to counter a Domain's sure-hit effect by meeting incoming cursed energy with a precise counter-burst. But Ogi was using it to augment his draw—a strike of god-like speed meant for a single, lethal blow.
Clang!
Maki raised her blade just in time to catch the strike. Gritting her teeth, she twisted her hips, putting the full weight of her reinforced physique into a savage horizontal swing. Ogi leaped back, his expression darkening.
"Do you know why the previous head didn't choose me?" Ogi asked, his voice serrated. "Why he chose Naobito instead?"
"Because you're a beast who would murder his own flesh and blood!" Maki screamed, slamming her hand against the back of her blade to drive it home.
SNAP!
The True Steel Hou, forged from Dragon Bone and the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, possessed a durability that transcended common weaponry. Ogi's katana shattered, the top half of the blade spinning into the shadows.
Maki saw her opening and lunged, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
Schlick!
Blood erupted from Maki's chest. She stumbled, her eyes wide with confusion. How? His blade was broken!
As she collapsed, she looked at the "broken" sword. The missing half had been perfectly reconstructed out of pure, condensed cursed energy.
"The reason I didn't become head," Ogi sneered, looking down at his fallen daughter, "is because my successors were two useless failures like you and Mai! You thought you broke my sword, so you rushed in? Pathetic."
He reached down, grabbing Maki and the unconscious Mai by their hair, dragging them across the floor toward the deepest cell in the warehouse.
"I am not a swordsman; I am a sorcerer! To judge me by the standards of a failure like yourself is beyond absurd. Do you see it now? I failed to reach the top because of the burdens you two placed on me! My eldest brother, Takane, was killed by Toji. My second brother, Naobito, has a flashy but ultimately shallow technique. The only way I was inferior was the quality of my children!"
He hurled them into a room teeming with low-level cursed spirits. The creatures hissed and retreated from Ogi's overwhelming presence, but their hungry eyes remained fixed on the bleeding girls.
"These spirits fear me for now. But once I lock this door, they will tear you apart piece by piece. Heavenly Restriction? Physical strength means nothing when we sorcerers can achieve the same through cursed energy."
"Have some self-awareness of your own worthlessness, Maki. This is the very room where Toji was tortured in his youth. Unfortunately for you... you are not him."
"Farewell, the stains of my life."
Ogi stepped out, bolted the heavy door, and walked away without a second glance.
Inside the darkness, Maki's vision blurred as she slipped toward unconsciousness. Beside her, Mai looked at her sister through a veil of tears.
"Why?" Mai whispered, her voice cracking. "Why must you always push yourself so hard? Is being strong that important? Why couldn't you just stay at the bottom with me?"
Mai finally understood. If they had been just a little stronger, they wouldn't be dying here at the hands of their own father.
"I'm sorry, Big Sister..."
Mai reached out with her mangled arms, pulling Maki's head to her chest and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
In the sea of her consciousness, a young Maki stood on a vast blue shore. The sun was setting, casting a long shadow behind a small Mai.
"Sister, I'm sorry. I have to go now," Mai said with a serene smile that terrified Maki.
Maki tried to run toward her, stumbling through the sand. "No! Wait! Don't go!"
"You've felt it, haven't you?" Mai's voice was becoming ethereal. "That invisible shackle stopping you from getting stronger? In the jujutsu world, twins are considered an ill omen because, in a way, we are the same person. You are me, and I am you."
"As long as I exist, you can never reach your potential. Because I don't want to be strong. I just wanted to be a normal girl. I've been holding you back, haven't I?"
"Don't apologize! Just come back here!" Maki screamed, running with everything she had, yet getting nowhere.
Mai smiled. "I'll take the rest of your cursed energy with me. You won't be burdened anymore. But... can you promise me one thing?"
"Sister... for my sake... destroy everything."
"NO!"
Maki sat bolt upright, tears streaming down her face. But the scene she woke up to made her freeze in total shock.
"Wow, Souma really called it, didn't he?"
"Souma is never wrong, Satoru. I've told you this before."
"Shut up, Suguru. You didn't say that when he bought those hundred lottery tickets and didn't win a single yen."
"Gambling is the exception."
"Speaking of gambling, Ogi Zenin is a real high-roller, isn't he? Leaving two sisters like this in a room full of curses? He basically set up the perfect 'sacrifice' scenario for an awakening. The tropes are just lining up."
"Shut it, Satoru! Where's the specialized medicine Shoko prepared? Get the injection ready for Mai. Reverse Cursed Technique can't fix her soul's depletion, but this might keep her stable!"
Maki blinked, staring at Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto as if they were hallucinations. "Gojo-sensei? Geto-sensei? What... what are you doing here?"
"Wait... Gojo-sensei, weren't you sealed?!"
The Zenin Main Hall
Naobito Zenin swallowed hard, wiping a cold sweat from his brow. He looked at the man sitting across from him with a mixture of awe and utter confusion.
Souma Gojo picked up his teacup and took a delicate sip. "Excellent tea."
Naobito's voice was strained. "So, the Head of the Gojo clan is perfectly fine... that is quite the revelation. Might I ask what brings you to my humble home?"
"To watch the play," Souma replied calmly.
"..."
"And," Souma added, placing a hand on Naobito's shoulder with a pleasant, terrifying smile. "To make sure you stay right here and don't do anything foolish."
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