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Things weren’t the same with Maki ever since the Culling Games and what happened with the Zenin Clan.
Yuta was told what happened. It brings chills to his spine knowing how much she’s been through.
Ever since that, she’s become more distant, more cold, more irritable. Even now, her skin seems paler and her eye seems more and more dead with each passing day. But no matter what changed, she still asked Yuta to spar with her whenever they finally had the free time.
Maybe she sees it as an outlet to vent her frustrations. He’s helping her by doing this. That’s what Yuta thinks at least. But he definitely doesn’t need an excuse to spar with Maki.
Her heavenly restriction being fully unlocked allowed her to reach feats of strength her past-self could only dream of. This was made apparent to Yuta as she absolutely destroyed him in their first bout of sparring. Their original rules were: no cursed energy, just physical prowess. Maki realized this problem as Yuta layed on the ground, utterly defeated.
So she allowed him to reinforce himself with his cursed energy, just to make it fair. This one change had elevated their sessions from simple sparring to something more akin to a deathmatch.
Maki’s ferocity with her dual-blades were matched with Yuta’s patience and strong defense. As their training sessions went on, the battles began to get more and more out of hand. The allowed borders of their battlegrounds kept extending. The training field was too small to contain them, so they started rushing through the surrounding forest and hills.
No words were exchanged in their kinetic dance with one another. Just small grunts of exertion and quick exclamations.
These battles were the only times he had heard any sound from her for the past few weeks. Outside of sparring sessions, Maki would just sit silently in the classroom, a dark aura surrounding her. Rarely would she say a word or even make a sound. Not even Panda or Inumaki had enough courage to approach her. Though they encouraged Yuta to try and break through and attempt to reach her, he doesn’t know why.
Yuta’s really, really worried about Maki. He’s never seen her like this. But he’s devised a plan. The only time they’re alone together is when they’re out on the field. Maybe he could talk to her there. Yeah. It’s decided. The plan is to talk to Maki and try to open her up while they spar.
After school the next day, Yuta waits on a bench near the training field. He knows Maki will be there after some time. Yuta hears footsteps from his right. His head pivots towards the sound. “Maki!” He tries his best to cover his excitement in his voice.
Maki hums at him and nudges towards the field with her head.
“Spar? Yes, of course!” Yuta gets off the bench and picks up his training katana. He already had it on him. Their sparring sessions had become something of a daily ritual. After her powers were unlocked, Yuta was the only one at the school able to keep up with her in a fight. So he was her only option.
The sun is high in the sky when they reach the field. Maki’s twin training blades, modeled after her real arms, slide out of a black bag she carried on her. Yuta unsheathes his training katana and waits for her in the center of the field.
Seeing her, holding the two blades, slowly making her way towards him. Her scars. She’s been through so much.
He still remembers when the news of the events that took place at the Zenin Clan’s compound hit him. He remembers when he was sent to investigate the scene after the conclusion of the Culling Games.
It was bloody.
He was mortified. Not even because of the viscera and gore strewn around the compound, but for the impact it had on Maki. She was deemed a criminal by the higher-ups. She was labeled a murderer. Would she be executed? Would he be assigned as her executioner? He wouldn’t allow it. He wasn’t going to be just some lapdog for the higher ups. It took some time. It took a lot of time. But eventually everything returned to a state of somewhat normalcy. But it was clear Maki was still recovering.
“Yuta.” She spoke. “You ready? You look out of it.” Her voice rang towards him, breaking him out of his thoughts. This was the first time he’d heard her say anything in weeks.
She was already in front of him, a short distance apart, readied in a low stance. Yuta readied himself. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.” His cursed energy flowed through his body, reinforcing it. His eyes locked with hers and the air began to still. He patiently eyed her body, waiting for any sign of movement.
A single twitch in Maki’s eye signaled the beginning of the match. Maki flew off her feet and swung at Yuta’s guard. He took the hit with his sword.
She swung. He guarded.
She danced around him, wildly swinging for his limbs. Yuta played on the defensive, letting himself be pushed back towards the edge of the field while trying his best to block and dodge the flurry of swings.
His mind was on something else. He was thinking about how he could get Maki to open up and talk. He was so horribly worried about her. He knew she was in pain, and he didn’t want her to be in pain alone. She was always there for him in the past. Seeing her like this, this hurt… He couldn’t allow himself to let her hurt alone.
Yuta’s train of thought was cut off by a swift kick to the chest from Maki, sending him flying backwards. He must’ve gotten too distracted. He rolled on the grass before using the momentum to right himself on the ground. Maki was out of sight. He turned around just in time to see her swinging her sword with a trajectory that cuts straight through his head.
He barely ducks it, his thoughts immediately switch gears. His eyes widened. ‘Is she trying to kill me?’ Her arm continues swinging and the sword flies out of her hand. His eyes meet hers. ‘She threw her sword? Why did she-’
Her open palm slams against Yuta’s face and her fingers tighten around his skull. With a grunt, she launches him in the direction her sword flew.
He slams against a tree and slumps to the ground. Her sword is jammed in a tree a couple feet away. She appears, beginning to pull the sword out of the tree besides him. Yuta gets up and dusts himself off.
The words he says slip out of his mouth. Half compelled by fear for his own safety and half compelled by his want to help her. “Maki. We need to talk.”
Her hand still rests on her embedded sword when she looks at him, eye sharp. “What. You’re not up for this today?”
He looked up at her. “No, no I’m good. It's just that…” His dark eyes softened and Maki felt a tug on her heartstrings. “You haven’t been talking to us lately. We’re really worried about you.” His eyes started examining her. “We don’t even see you after class anymore. H-have you even been eating?”
Maki pauses. Then her gaze hardens and sends chills down Yuta’s spine. She tears the sword out of the tree, sending wood splinters flying. “I’m fine.” Her tone is fake, firm, the words seem almost rehearsed.
“Maki-”
“I said, I’m fine!” She closes in on Yuta with an overhead swing. He barely meets the twin blades with his sword as they lock eyes once again.
“Maki…”
She grits her teeth and swings her leg into Yuta’s, sweeping his legs out from under him. She spins around using the momentum from her sweep and shoots her foot into Yuta’s surprised face.
With a pained yelp, he flies off and crashes deeper into the forest.
His vision slowly comes back to him. That was a good hit, she really got him. The tree she kicked him into is broken, and he can taste his own blood in his mouth. Okay. Secondary plan. Maybe he can just spar with Maki normally and she’ll be easier to talk to when she’s all tired.
Maki appears in front of Yuta, swords readied. Well, if it’s a fight she wants, Yuta can give her a fight.
She swings and her swords meet the dirt. She missed. He moves faster now that he’s fully focused on the fight. He steps forward, pushing the swords into the ground with his foot, and throws his fist forward with all his might.
He hits her square in the face. She’s thrown back. That hit left a mark. He feels like he should apologize, but the angry look on her face makes him think that apologizing would make it worse.
But there’s something in her eye. Something that makes Yuta smile even as he pulls back his fist and prepares for the inevitable counter attack.
There’s a sign of life. A flame inside her that he remembers from when he first met her. It’s been gone for so long, overshadowed by a dull, dead lens. But he sees it now, and he can’t help but smile.
Maybe he shouldn’t smile actually, she might kill him.
She starts the rhythm of her offense back up again. Yuta responds in kind. They both trade blows as they crash through the forest, ripping roots from the ground and branches from the trees with their speed.
From Yuta’s blindspot, Maki smashes her blade into his side. It’s reduced to splinters on impact, and Yuta winces in pain, it probably broke a rib or two. He turns around and grazes the side of Maki’s face with a stab, leaving a wide cut.
She growls and attempts to stab at Yuta with her second sword, he swipes it away, pushing it to the ground with his katana.
Both of them are unable to use their weapon, and they both see the opening in each other's defenses.
As if it were a choreographed dance, they both kick each other at the same time, sending the both of them to the ground, disarmed.
Disheveled, Yuta gets up and scrambles towards his weapon. Maki slams into his side, tackling him down to the ground.
They wrestle on the ground in a kinetic ball of energy. Eventually, she plants herself on top of him and her arm reels back.
He looks up at her. His eyes wide, mind going a mile a minute. “M-Maki?” She doesn’t hesitate. She hammers her fist down, straight into his face.
Bam!
He sees stars after the devastating blow. He tastes blood, and feels it flowing down his face, she must’ve broken his nose.
His blood sticks to her fist, She looks down on him, her flaming eye peers into his soul. She reels back for a second punch.
Bam!
He feels his lip split and jaw rattle. He sees more of his blood splattered on her face.
She reels back for a third, and slams down again. Yuta quickly shifts his head and her fist digs into the ground.
With her arm stuck in the ground, Yuta shoves her off of him with a push from his leg and rolls over to take the top position from her.
He traps her beneath him with his knee digging into her stomach. He feels the numbness in his face, and he sees his blood dripping down onto Maki. He reels his arm back, ready to pay back what she did to him. And-
Wait. Yuta notices the flame in her eye again, now paired with a devilish grin. ‘I-is she having fun? Is this the key to helping her?’
He throws his fist downward as hard as he could, aiming straight for the middle of Maki’s face.
She catches his hand like a pitcher’s glove catches a stray ball. A surprised “Uh-” escapes Yuta’s broken, bloodied mouth. A second startled noise escapes him as he feels the sole of Maki’s foot jam into his chest from beneath him.
She pushes upwards, sending him into the air. Still holding his hand, she gets up and puts her other hand on his forearm. Wielding him like an axe, Maki swings and tears him through a nearby tree.
Splinters fly as the thick trunk of the tree is ripped apart by poor Yuta. She lets go of him, sending him rolling onto the dirt as the felled tree shakes the ground on impact.
…
‘Holy shit.’ Yuta can barely get up, his entire body is bruised and battered past the point of any of their previous training sessions. His nose is busted, along with some of his ribs. ‘Did she just cut down a tree using me?’ He considers tapping out right here and now. But… ‘No. I haven’t seen her this fired up in a while. So. Even if my bones break, I will sacrifice my body and give her a good fight. Because… Because that…’ He recalls the fire burning in her eye. ‘That will make her happy.’
Yuta stands up, barely. He gets up just in time to witness Maki charging at him holding the tree he cut down.
She swings the entire trunk at him and he freezes.
Focusing his cursed energy, he braces his shoulder and runs head-on into the tree, bursting through it, and coming out on the other side. Maki is still recovering from her swing when she sees him.
It’s the perfect opportunity.
He jets forward in a single step and- they lock eyes. She’s caught off guard by Yuta’s sudden increase in speed, her expression reflects that. He lets loose a devastating punch that sends her straight to the ground. She skids on the dirt and the tree in her hands pops into the air.
Inspired by Maki’s brutality, Yuta grips the tree with his hand and hurls it towards her. The tree crashes into Maki and buries her under a cloud of dirt and dust.
‘Oh boy.’ Yuta’s reaching his limit. His vision starts to go blurry, probably caused by blood loss, overexertion, and broken bones. ‘Okay, I’m running out of steam.’
The tree explodes into splinters and she rises from its ashes. Yuta can’t make out her expression… Is she mad? Maybe smiling? She’s bleeding, he can see the red through his blurry vision.
He readies himself. Fists raised, legs slightly bent at the knee for maximum maneuverability.
She picks up her speed and rushes towards him. Out of fear, he raises his arms to protect his already broken face. She knocks the wind out of him with a swift blow to the torso, causing his arms to fall, dismantling his guard.
With her other arm, she follows up her swing with a brutal blow straight to Yuta’s face. It hits him straight in the eye. He reels backwards and sees her next strike. She swings but he diverts her arm to the side and shoots forward, driving a knee into Maki’s stomach. She keels forward, wind being knocked out of her.
Yuta doesn’t stop. He grips Maki’s shoulders and uses the leverage to ram his knee into her stomach over and over. Every hit, it seems, does more to him than to her. Moving his leg takes so much energy out of his already drained body. She senses this, and wraps her arms around Yuta and picks him up.
Startled, Yuta yelps as his feet leave the ground and Maki falls, throwing him down with her. He lets out a breathless yell of pain as he impacts the dirt. Maki, still holding on to him, throws aimless strikes into his side.
His cursed energy surges. He grabs her shoulder and tears her off of him.
He rolls over, onto to his hands and knees.
It hurts.
Everything hurts.
A sharp pain erupts from his chest, some of his ribs must be broken.
His knuckles are bruised, bloodied, and torn.
He can’t feel his face, but he can see the blood soaked into the dirt beneath him.
He coughs up more blood and nearly collapses to the ground, but he maintains himself. “Maki,” a breathless plea escapes from him.
He sees her shadow cast on the ground, she’s standing above him. Panting, she answers. “What? Done already?”
He can barely keep his eyes open, but he still manages to get up on his two feet. “Yeah, sorry.”
His legs turn to jelly beneath him and he falls forward.
Instinctively, she lunges forward and picks him up from under his arms. The momentum from him falling onto her brings his head to her shoulder, almost as if she embraced him.
“Yuta. Are you gonna die or something? C’mon, get up. I don’t wanna carry you.” Her voice is still cold, but it’s much warmer than before. He smiles, maybe the heat of battle melted through her cold exterior. But his smile slowly recedes.
…
“Maki… I’m scared.” He mumbles into her shoulder.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You. I’m… We’re all so worried about you, Maki.”
“Yuta. Shut up.” The coldness finds its way back into her words.
“You barely even talk to us anymore. Everyday you seem more sickly and pale than the last. I’ve been watching around campus. You don’t even leave your room to eat. The only time I see you is when you beat me up…” He lets out a slight chuckle. “Maki, please, jus-”
“Shut up.”
Yuta’s heart tenses and his lip quivers. “Maki, pleas-”
Her hands on his back ball into fists, taking in whatever cloth from his shirt they can grab. “Shut up!”
She flips him over, wildly throwing him over her shoulders, driving him into the ground. She presses him down into the ground on his shoulder, one of her knees is grinding into his ribs, the other is on the ground.
One of her hands moves to his throat. She perks up and leans forward, pressing her weight down on his shattered ribs and his throat.
She looks down at him, teeth gritted, eye glassy, clouded with anger.
He looks up at her, nose bloodied, lip split, eye swollen.
She spots something strange. Water pooling up on the bottom of his eyes. Oh no.
“M-Maki, please.” Yuta barely squeaks out the words from the grip on his throat. His hand rises and lands itself on Maki’s hand. She flinches, slightly loosening the pressure. His thumb starts moving back and forth, caressing her knuckles. “I know you’re in a lot of pain. I can’t stand seeing you like this. All alone.”
A soothing feeling flows into her through his touch. The cut on her cheek slowly closes. The bruises from his punches begin to fade away. Reverse cursed technique, he’s healing her.
He continues, “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.” Those words cause her heart to tighten. “You were always there for me when I was at my lowest. Please. Please allow me to be there for you too.”
All her wounds fully close up with the end of his words.
Water begins to pool in her eyes as well. She grits her teeth and gets off of Yuta, falling to the ground beside him.
Yuta begins coughing, his airway finally free. She lays there for a moment, unable to find the words to say.
“Maki.” Yuta says weakly, “are you there?”
She gulps. “Heal yourself already, idiot. What are you waiting for?”
He lets out a weak laugh. “Sorry, I will.” He winces in pain as he cracks his nose into place before healing, just to make sure it heals correctly.
Maki hears the crack, “…Sorry about that one. I kinda got carried away.”
Yuta laughs and Maki feels her heart grow warmer. “Yeah, you did get a little carried away.”
The two of them fall into silence, neither of them know what to say. The sun barely breaks through the canopy of the forest, casting small rays that dot the forest floor. The surroundings are still, all wildlife scared off by the fighting.
…
He hears a sniffle from beside him.
‘Is she crying?’ Yuta resists the urge to turn and look at her in shock, doing that would probably make her feel uncomfortable. He also can’t muster up enough effort to sit up and turn his head. So, he prepares his most consoling, softest tone he can manage.
“Maki, is everything alright?” His voice is soothing, pillowy. His hand searches on the ground for hers.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just…” She breathes in. “I’m just glad to have you here, I guess.” She lets out a weak laugh.
Yuta’s heart melts at those words. “Maki…” The water comes back to his eyes. On the ground, his hand finds hers. Struggling to hold back more tears, he continues. “I-I’m glad to have you back Maki.”
“S-shut up! Don’t get all sentimental on me, Yuta.”
“Of course, of course.” He laughs as he wipes the tears from his eyes.
After a moment, Maki gets up and Yuta sees her wipe her eyes on her forearm. She looks down at him and extends a hand. “We’re done for today, let’s get out of here.”
He grabs her hand and she pulls him up. Right when he stands up, his legs begin shaking, and he collapses in her arms.
He looks at her, embarrassed, “Uh, I don’t think I can walk.”
Reverse cursed technique only physically restores one’s body. Stamina lost or used would not be restored.
She firmly looks at him with a scowl on her face. “I am not carrying you.”
She ends up carrying him.
She’s holding onto him by his legs. He’s slumped on her back, arms wrapped around her neck and chin resting on her shoulder. They’re walking back to the main campus. Their fight took them pretty far away from the field, though still in Tengen’s barrier. The walk is silent, the weather transformed from hot to just warm as the sun waned in the sky.
Maki breaks the silence. “Maybe we’ll take tomorrow off. We went pretty hard today.”
Yuta hums in affirmation, “Yeah, maybe we can eat out tomorrow? A place to talk? I have some money saved up. We can bring Panda and Inuma-”
Maki turns her head and peers at him with a disapproving glare.
Yuta immediately reiterates, “Or I could… phone Ijichi, and get him to pick up some take out and we sit down somewhere and we… we talk?”
Maki turns her head away from Yuta, focusing on the path ahead. “Better.”
Time passes. Leaves crunch as Maki makes her way through the forest. Silence returns to the two of them.
Yuta’s chin rests on her shoulder. He doesn’t have enough power left in him to raise it any higher. Maki feels his breathing slow down, she peeks at him and sees his eyes are closed.
She breaks the silence. “Yuta. Are you still awake?”
Yuta stirs and responds in a groggy voice, “Yeah, I’m here.”
She breathes in, “I just wanted to say… I’m sorry.”
“For what? For breaking my nose and ribs? Seriously it’s fine, I don’t mind real-”
“No, no. I’m… sorry for worrying you and pushing you all away.” Her footsteps slow down, “I-I didn’t mean to. I just… I don’t know.”
“Maki…” His voice was comforting, “don’t be sorry. I understand, it’s alright.”
“It’s not alright.” She stopped in her tracks. “So many things have changed. Everything is never going to be like it used to be.”
Herself.
The jujutsu world.
Mai.
“...That’s okay, it’s okay if things change.” His arms that were holding onto her tightened, pulling himself nearer to her, into something that resembled a hug. “We can always look back on things with fondness or contempt. But things always change. Tomorrow always comes. And when it does, who’s to say that we can’t make new memories?”
Maki doesn’t move. She stays still, ruminating on Yuta’s words, her head down.
Her arm moves upwards and her hand gently grasps Yuta’s.
She looks towards him out of the corner of her eye. His thoughtful eyes pierce hers and she immediately looks back onto the road ahead of them. “Hmpf.” She tightens her grip on Yuta’s hand. “Whatever.”
Yuta smiles knowing that ‘whatever’ is probably the best response he could’ve gotten.
“What are you smiling about?”
He tightens his hug around Maki. “Nothing.” His smile bleeds into his words.
“Tch.” She’s too tired to be flustered. “It better be nothing.” She mumbles, slightly pouting.
Maki walks forward with Yuta. Forward into the uncertain future. None of them know what lies ahead, but as they walk together they both can’t help but think that everything is going to be okay.