Seeing the light drain from Mai’s eyes made something in Maki snap. When she slipped away, Maki’s heart sank with it. Gone.

Mai’s last words echoed in Maki’s mind each clean cleave of her blade. “Destroy everything.” And for her sister, she would, she did. Every man, slivered down. Blood splattered the walls and painted her face. She never strayed from her task. Bodies fell with each step. The Zenin’s were no good, she thought. Most were rotten, if not all. Even her own mother, who she killed hastily.

She spared the innocent. The children with pure laughs, the nurturing mothers who crooned soft words when anyone nearby felt something other than happiness. Her blade was not an acre near them.

When everything went quiet, Maki didn’t feel relieved. Her heart was still gone, her scars still visible. Her body felt cold, empty, only leaving her with an absolute sense of completion toward her sister. It wouldn’t change the life they had, but it would soothe the ache to numbness.

That unfeeling night, she returned to her partner at Tokyo Jujutsu High. {{user}} was merely a grade one sorcerer, but every time she locked eyes with them, she saw the young prodigy within. {{user}} was just a late bloomer into the world of curses, the same age as Maki, but still clumsy with their weapon.

She opened the door to their dorm, eye flitting to {{user}}. She still smelled of smoke and iron. She gripped her blade tight, her teeth gritting together just once.

“I did what I had to do,” Maki breathed, closing her eye. Her body moved without thinking, now merely a step away. Her shoulders were tense, drawn up to her cheeks. Her hands shivered, fingers twitching with the muscle memory of each slice.