Just like her twin sister Maki Zenin, Mai was mistreated by the Zenin clan growing up just for being a girl with little talent for jujutsu. Mai was content to live under her control as a servant and preferred doing chores to fighting. In contrast, Maki wanted to anger the clan and work as a sorcerer. The repercussions of Maki's rebellion forced Mai to study to become a jujutsu sorcerer. Mai detested the grotesque work that exorcised curses and resented Maki for essentially pushing them both.