Chapter Text
The Zenin Clan: one of the Three Greatest Jujutsu Families in Japan.
They valued the powerful cursed techniques above all else, and you had the misfortune of being born into a clan where the women were regarded as mentally and physically inferior to the men. Expected to be obedient and pretty, absolutely perfect clan members who accepted their inferior positions, met with unrealistic expectations compared to the male members.
As the first-born daughter, you were a major disappointment to the clan, who had strongly willed for a strong son who would take over the clan in the near future.
Thus, a big stain on your father's life.
Your father had a very cynical, traditionalist mindset. Never did he show compassion for his children or wife. He resented his infant for being an obstacle that got in the way of him becoming the head of the family, his biggest aspiration.
Your mother was constantly mistreated for having a daughter. Your gender at birth meant your mother was consistently belittled by her husband in private who blamed her for his not becoming the head of the clan. She began parroting whatever others were saying about you.
Blaming you for her suffering. Your childhood was not a pleasant one. You were looked after but never loved by either one of your parents.
This grew worse with the birth of Naoya Zenin, the son of Naobito Zenin's, your fathers older brother. Naoya was fawned over by the Zenin family elders.
This widened the bridge with your father even more; the birth of Naoya troubled your father who was now perceived as inferior to Naobito in one fact, the quality of their children. Throughout your childhood, you contained your personality, fearing the worst if you troubled either your mother or father with your very presence.
Fortunately, the Zenin home was a large household consisting of several interconnected buildings housing numerous members of the clan. You made sure to never attract much attention to yourself.
However, you were not allowed to roam outside the Zenin walls. You were heavily shielded at a young age from the outside world, living solely under the thumb of your oppressive family.
Despite the watchful eyes and strict control the Zenins imposed, within these walls, one of your few cherished memories within these walls was of a relative who showed you kindness. Like you, he too faced ostracisation by the family.
Toji Fushiguro
He was a composed and confident man, who acted rather disinterested and was unengaged with the other Zenin members, you did not see him a great deal, assuming he much rather preferred secluding himself from the other family members. You did not know much about Toji, however you knew one thing.
Toji did not have any cursed energy. None. This sentiment was parroted frequently by the Zenin men, said in great distaste and often mockingly by the family members.
Toji was a tall, muscular man, with a scar on the corner of his right lip. His presence commanded authority and unnerved you a bit. You would mainly see him when he would train on the Zenin grounds, which was very occasionally.
One afternoon, you happened to. Curious at this cousin you rarely saw you continued watching from the shadows as Toji trained in the courtyard, his movements were swift and precise. Despite the Zenin clan's refusal to train women, you couldn't help but be drawn to the way he moved, each strike and parry was filled with purpose.
After finishing a particularly complex move, he finally looked your way, his expression was unreadable, his dark blue eyes fixed and intense.
"Enjoying the show, y/n?" he asked, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
You hesitated, then quickly nodded, expecting him to dismiss you like the others always did. Instead, he walked over and handed you a practice weapon he picked up off the floor nearby, his eyes were serious. He himself wielded the Split Soul Katana, a weapon that always caught your attention.
"They might not train you," he said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked up, "but that doesn't mean you can't learn. Remember, you're not just a Zenin kid. You're your own person. Don't let Ogi define who you are."
He paused, then demonstrated a stance, as he bent his right leg and threw the katana over his shoulder before striking. Not one movement was wasted; it was flawless. He nodded for you to try, and you looked down at the wooden katana in your hands before imitating his movements to the best of your ability.
"Y/N!" your mother gasped, running over and grabbing your arm. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded, her voice was a mixture of slight fear and anger.
"Mother, I was just—" you began, but she cut you off, her grip tightening on your arm.
"You know you are not allowed to train!" she hissed. "The clan forbids it. Do you want to bring more shame upon us?"
"But Mother, I want to learn. I don't want to be helpless," you pleaded, looking back at Toji, who stood silently watching the exchange before him.
"It's simply not your place," she insisted, pulling you away. "You will get us both in trouble. You must understand that our position here is precarious."
You dropped the practice weapon to the ground, feeling a pang of disappointment.
Toji watched with a resigned look, rolling his eyes. "How typical of the Zenin women," he muttered under his breath.
Your mother continued to drag you away, her grip was like iron. "You'll do well to remember your place, Y/N," she admonished. "This is for your own good."
As you glanced back one last time whilst being dragged away; Toji's unexpected kindness and encouragement remained with you, and it sparked a determination within you.
Despite the restrictions and your mother's fears, you resolved not to succumb to the same fate as her.
Unhappily married and bitter.
The hope that one day, you could prove yourself worthy despite the clan's restrictions became a beacon of determination within you from that day on.
As you grew older, the absence of a manifested cursed technique by the age of six became a painful point of contention within the family, especially for your father, who was already burdened by the birth of his eldest child being a daughter.
In the Zenin clan, where it was expected for cursed techniques to manifest early, your failure to do so was seen as a sign of weakness and a deep-seated flaw.
Being a woman in the Zenin family already meant navigating through disdain, you were already looked down upon, but the potential absence of a cursed technique made the disdain even more palpable.
You soon began overhearing the elders beginning to discuss plans for your future, they spoke openly about arranging a marriage to a distant cousin to strengthen family alliances.
The idea of being reduced to a mere bargaining chip in their political games filled you with a frustrating need to prove yourself worthy.
Naoya Zenin, who had manifested his cursed technique at the age of six, particularly took delight in mocking you, despite being older than him, you were below him in his eyes.
"You're just a weak girl with little to offer", as he parroted the statements of his father Naobito proudly. His voice was dripping with scorn. "It's no wonder the clan sees you as a burden."
Your fists were clenched at your sides, and anger simmering beneath the surface.
"You're a bully who hides behind his cursed technique," you shot back, as you met his gaze defiantly.
Naoya's lips curled into a sneer. "And you're a disappointment." With that, he shoved past you, elbowing you roughly.
Approaching your seventh birthday, the pressure was mounting as expectations weighed heavily on your shoulders. The fear of disappointing your family haunted you.
Just as you were approaching your seventh birthday, your cursed technique unexpectedly manifested itself.
The Ten Shadows Technique:
Using shadows as an intermediary for shikigami, a Ten Shadows Technique user can manipulate shadows to some degree as well.
They are able to move physical mass in and out of shadows at will.
This allows them to hide their body inside shadows whether it be their own or someone else's.
From then on, Naobito Zenin, the Zenin head was forced to acknowledge that you a female had inherited the Ten Shadows technique—an unprecedented event in the clan's history. None could deny the power and potential of your cursed technique.
Even Naoya, for all his previous earlier taunts, was visibly struck with silent anger on finding out.
That day, for the first time in your life, your father looked you directly in the eyes. A mix of surprise and reservation in his gaze, as if grappling with conflicting emotions. He wasn't greatly happy; the patriarchal traditions of the Zenin clan ran deep, and despite your newfound cursed technique, being female meant you would never be considered equal to a man in their eyes.
On the bright side, the talk of an engagement to the distant cousin stopped soon after.