"That's different." She looked up, red-rimmed eyes fierce despite the tears. "I wanted to protect you. And I couldn't."
Ren met her gaze, expression flat. "Who are you, and what have you done with my boss?"
Maki blinked. "What?"
"The Maki I know doesn't fall apart after one bad fight."
"Don't patronize me, Ren."
"I'm not." He brushed a stray tear from her cheek. "You're Maki Zen'in. One fight against an overgrown campfire isn't going to break you."
She swatted his hand away, though there wasn't much force behind it.
"If you want to protect me," Ren said, voice turning serious, "then get stronger. We both will. But stop talking like you're weak. It doesn't suit you."
Maki stared at him. The hopelessness in her eyes cracked, replaced by a flicker of the defiant fire he knew so well.
"I never said I was quitting," she muttered.
"Good. Because I'm absolutely not dealing with all this jujutsu crap without you."
She dropped her head onto his shoulder with a heavy sigh. "You're an idiot."
"I know."
He kissed her cheek and lingered there for a second. Maki didn't pull away.
"I'm cutting my hair," she said quietly.
"How short?"
"Short." She tugged weakly at a dark green strand. "Half of it's singed anyway. And it keeps brushing against my neck."
Ren pictured it—the sharp angle of her jaw, the fierce look in her eyes no longer hidden behind heavy locks.
"Do it. It'll look good on you."
For a while, the joking made them feel safe. But the calm didn't last. Ren felt Maki suddenly stiffen.
"When I was asleep," she whispered, "I kept having a dream."
Ren stayed silent. He just held her tighter.
"The city was gone. Everything was dirt and craters." Her fingers clenched his shirt again. "Mai was there."
Her voice broke on her sister's name.
"She was dying..."
"I couldn't do anything to save her. I just stood there in the water." Maki swallowed hard. "She told me she was taking all of our cursed energy with her. Because in the eyes of jujutsu, twins are the same person. As long as she was alive and didn't want to get stronger, I could never reach my full potential."
Maki stared ahead, eyes glassy, like she was watching the future unfold in front of her.
"She walked into the ocean holding a single reed and left a sword behind for me." Maki took a shaky breath. "Her last words... she told me to destroy everything."
She paused, staring blankly at the wall.
"And when she finally died in the dream... I felt it. The connection snapped." Her voice turned hollow. "Every drop of cursed energy holding me back disappeared. And my body..."
A broken laugh escaped her.
"I got exactly what I always wanted."
"It makes me sick," Maki whispered, trembling against him. "Because my instincts are telling me it's real. Some part of me knows it's the truth. The only way I'll ever become strong enough to destroy the Zen'in clan... is if my sister dies first."
Ren said nothing. He pressed a long, gentle kiss to her forehead, then another beside the edge of her burn scars. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
He stayed still and let her lean against him.
Slowly, the shaking faded. Her grip loosened. Her breathing steadied into deep, exhausted sighs.
She was completely drained.
Ren moved carefully, sliding one arm beneath her knees and the other behind her back. He lifted her from his lap and laid her gently onto the mattress. She didn't wake. She only turned deeper into the pillow.
Ren pulled the thick white blanket up to her chin and brushed the singed green hair away from her face. He stood there for a moment, watching her chest rise and fall in the quiet room.
Then he turned, walked out the door, and locked it behind him.
...
The lock on Ren's own door clicked shut. He didn't walk to the bed. He just let his legs give out, sliding down the heavy wood paneling until he hit the floor.
"System," he muttered in the dark.
The blue holographic interface snapped to life, casting a cold glare across the room.
[Current System Points: 120,500]
///
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There were some delays in the daily updates because of some circumstances, but I will try to upload daily starting today.