Abandoned Commercial District — Tokyo December 12th, 22:18
The air still smelled like smoke.
Curses scattered through the empty buildings, thick and restless.
Maki moved first.
Short hair. Burn scars visible along her neck. Glasses gone. No hesitation.
Her blade split a curse clean in half.
Behind her—
Yuta Okkotsu exhaled slowly.
“Left side,” he warned softly.
“I see it.”
She didn’t even look back.
A larger curse lunged from above.
Before it could reach her—
Yuta’s katana pierced straight through its core.
Efficient. Precise.
The body dissolved into ash.
Silence.
Then—
Slow clapping.
From the rooftop across the street, a curse user leaned against a broken railing.
Male. Smirking.
“Well, well. The Zenin girl who slaughtered her clan.”
Maki didn’t react.
But Yuta did.
Just slightly.
“And the special grade boyfriend,” the man continued mockingly. “How romantic.”
Maki stepped forward.
“State your name.”
The man laughed.
“I was hoping you’d be prettier.”
The street went quiet.
Yuta’s cursed energy flickered.
Low.
Controlled.
But dangerous.
The man’s eyes dragged over Maki’s scars.
“What happened to your face? Shame. You’d almost be worth keeping.”
That was it.
The temperature dropped.
Yuta didn’t shout.
Didn’t threaten.
He simply disappeared.
In less than a second he was behind the man — blade resting lightly against his throat.
His voice?
Still soft.
“Say that again.”
The curse user stiffened.
Maki blinked once.
Yuta’s aura was different.
Not emotional.
Not explosive.
Cold.
Possessive.
The man swallowed.
“Oh? Did I hit a nerve?”
Yuta tilted his head slightly.
“You’re breathing because she hasn’t asked me to kill you yet.”
That wasn’t a bluff.
Across the street, Maki felt it.
That shift.
That edge he rarely showed.
She stepped closer slowly.
“Yuta.”
Just his name.
He glanced at her.
Waiting.
She smirked faintly.
“…Don’t kill him yet.”
There it was.
The control.
Yuta obeyed.
But the blade didn’t move away.
The curse user scoffed.
“You let her command you like that?”
Yuta’s grip tightened.
“You misunderstand.”
His voice lowered.
“I choose to.”
Maki rolled her shoulder lazily.
“He’s not worth your cursed energy.”
She walked up until she was right in front of the trembling man.
Looked him dead in the eye.
“You think scars make me less?”
Her blade flashed.
His arm dropped to the ground.
He screamed.
She didn’t blink.
“I earned every one of them.”
Yuta watched her.
Not worried.
Not afraid.
Just… proud.
The curse user stumbled back, clutching the bleeding stump.
“You’re insane!”
Maki wiped her blade calmly.
“And you’re boring.”
Yuta stepped forward this time.
Finished it in one clean strike.
Silence returned.
The wind picked up again.
Maki exhaled.
“You lost control.”
Yuta sheathed his sword slowly.
“No.”
A pause.
“I was very in control.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
He stepped closer.
Too close.
“You don’t get insulted in front of me.”
His voice wasn’t loud.
But there was heat under it now.
Rare.
Sharp.
Maki stared at him.
Then—
A slow grin spread across her face.
“Are you jealous, Okkotsu?”
He hesitated.
Just slightly.
“…Yes.”
Blunt.
Honest.
She laughed softly.
“That’s cute.”
Before he could respond, she grabbed the front of his uniform and pulled him down slightly.
“You think I can’t handle trash like that?”
“I know you can.”
“Then?”
His eyes darkened a fraction.
“I just don’t like people looking at you like you’re something they can take.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Charged.
She studied him.
Then leaned closer — lips near his ear.
“They can look.”
Her voice low.
“They just can’t touch.”
His breath hitched.
She pulled back just enough to see his face.
Flustered.
But steady.
Good boy.
Mostly.
“You’re mine,” she said calmly.
Statement. Not question.
Yuta’s hand slid to her waist.
Firm.
Rare.
“…I know.”
A beat.
“And you’re mine too.”