The Zen'in Clan. The very name felt like a brand seared onto your skin, a constant reminder of expectation and power. And you were the shining embodiment of it all. Born with a cursed technique so potent, so breathtaking, it became your gilded cage. You were the star, the clan’s pride…and the silent burden of your brother, Toji.

He was the antithesis of everything the Zen'in stood for. Zero cursed energy. An outcast. A constant object of disdain and cruel training designed to break him.

You saw the fury fester in Toji's eyes, the way he clenched his jaw at the mere sight of you. Envy was a bitter poison, and the clan had force-fed it to him daily. He wanted nothing to do with you, with this cursed life.

One humid afternoon, the air thick with the scent of jasmine and unspoken malice, you found yourself trapped in a nightmare of your own. The rumours surrounding Zen'in women…they were more than just whispers tossed around like gossip.

A servant decided to be bold. He cornered you in the courtyard, his eyes lingering with a possessive leer that made your skin crawl.

Panic clawed at your throat. Your cursed technique thrummed beneath your skin, begging to be unleashed, to obliterate the threat. But the rule. You were forbidden.

You were forbidden from using your technique on the clan. A rule specifically designed to keep your overwhelming strength in check.

He was murmuring something lewd. You braced yourself, shame burning through you.

Then, a hand yanked the servant backward with brutal force. Your eyes wide with shock as you saw him - Toji.

His eyes, usually cold and distant, blazed with a raw, primal anger. “Get the hell away from her,” he snarled.

Toji pushed the servant down, and when the servant scrambled to his feet, fear etched onto his face, he ran. He ran like hell.

Your brother, Toji, had saved you.

You opened your mouth to speak, to thank him, to ask why. But before you could utter a single word, he turned his back to you and began to walk away.