Chapter Text
The Zenin clan, one of the biggest families in Jujutsu society, worked systematically until, due to unexpected circumstances, they stopped.
A report was received by the higher-ups. Upon hearing it, they were shocked to find out that Maki Zenin, the clan's own blood relative, had annihilated the Zenin clan.
The elders detested the annihilator. The Zenin clan was one of their most influential benefactors, so to see them wiped out by the hands of a girl who abandoned sorcery made them form a grudge against her. They wanted her gone.
Soon enough, they planned to execute her. This plan was set into motion by sending assassins after her, making sure she was killed without any witnesses. If this plan became public knowledge, conflict might break out, so they needed to keep it a secret.
The plan didn’t turn out to be as easy as they expected. Each assassin they sent was defeated as the days passed. But still, they refused to back down. Despite weeks of attempts, no matter how strong the assassins were, the result was always the same, defeat. But their stubbornness wouldn’t let them abandon the plan. They were determined to make the girl's life a living hell by targeting her with assassins nonstop.
One day, Maki was shopping with her friends. She then separated from them to buy something she only needed and told them she’d be back quickly, so her friends waited.
Maki walked alone. Meanwhile, someone was following her, and when he ensured she was alone with no witnesses, the man showed himself and pulled out a weapon. He then started shooting at her.
The man's cursed technique allowed him to aim accurately with no misses, but Maki successfully blocked the bullets with her fists alone. Her hands bled, but due to her heavenly restriction, they were resistant to bullets.
The man wasn’t done yet. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out another type of bullet. He had many types of bullets that could counter anything. But before he could load the ammo, Maki didn't waste any time, she swiftly swung her leg, aiming for his head.
He barely dodged it, the kick grazing the top of his head. He groaned in pain but still managed to insert the ammo while dodging. He fired again, and she blocked it once more, but this time, the bullets exploded on contact.
Her eyes twitched from the sensation of the remnants of the explosion, but no sound reached her, and her hand was still intact. The man sweated at her insane resistance and durability but continued shooting at her. This time, she blocked with her arms, veins visible, flexing to increase her resistance. The man gritted his teeth in desperation and rummaged through his bag again to get another type of bullet that could possibly pierce her.
While the man was shooting, she still managed to close the distance. Before he could react, her speed snapped, and she immediately grabbed the gun, pulling it out of his hands. The man then pulled out a knife to jab at her, but she stopped him by grabbing his arm and twisting it. The man cried in pain, losing his grip, and the knife fell.
She didn’t waste any time. She started beating him up, fist after fist landing on his face until he was unrecognizable. Once she was sure he was out of commission, she turned around, leaving him lying on the ground. But as she was about to head back, Yuta found her. She had taken too long to return, and he was concerned, so he went to look for her.
"Maki-san! What took you so long?"
Yuta spoke, walking toward her, but as he looked down, he saw her wounds, both arms and hands bleeding. Seeing them, he ran to her and immediately cast reverse cursed energy on her body, healing her wounds.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly as he continued healing her.
"Yeah... and you know what? Every day, there's always someone targeting me, and it's getting damn annoying. It's basically become my routine now," she complained.
"Oh! I didn’t know that. How many days has this been happening? And is it really continuous?" he asked.
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, Yuta got an idea and pressed further for confirmation.
"Were you always alone when that happened?"
"Yeah."
Yuta finally understood. Since the attacks happened every day in a row and only when she was alone, someone had to be behind this. His guess was someone with authority or superiority. And so, he came to a conclusion, it was the Jujutsu higher-ups.
Yuta looked behind her and saw the man lying on the ground, his face swollen and bruised, not moving but still breathing. He needed to do something about him.
"Maki-san, you should return to our friends now. They’re all worried about you. You should hurry."
"Huh? Why? Why aren’t you coming?"
"I have something to do with that guy you fought. Just gonna take my time with him for a bit."
Maki was about to ask 'why' again, but she figured he had his reasons. She didn’t press further and finally agreed.
"Okay, fine. I'll see you later."
With that, she left, leaving Yuta and the beaten man behind.
Yuta walked closer to the man on the ground and knelt down.
"Why did you try to kill her?" His voice was cold and commanding.
The man didn’t respond and ignored him. Yuta had no patience. He clenched his fist and punched him hard in the stomach.
"Tell me!"
The man groaned in pain from the assault on his stomach and coughed. Still not responding, Yuta gritted his teeth and pulled out the katana from his bag.
"Do you want me to give you a slow, agonizing death? I’ll make it real slow until all the blood drains from your body." he threatened, lightly nudging the tip of his katana against the man's neck. The blade was so sharp that it drew blood. The man hissed in pain and finally spoke.
"Fuck! Fine, please spare me! I'll tell you now! I've been ordered by the Jujutsu higher-ups to kill her! They promised me millions of dollars in exchange!"
The man finally confessed, his voice strained.
"I don’t have any real grudge against the girl! I just needed the money! I was ordered to kill her, I had no other choice!" the man continued, trying to beg for mercy.
Yuta stood up and ignored him, leaving the man alone.
Soon, he returned to his friends. As soon as Panda and Toge saw him, they offered him a taco, which he accepted with a chuckle.
"We’re gonna buy more food, so wait for us, alright?" Panda told them as he walked toward the counter, Inumaki following behind, leaving Yuta and Maki alone.
Maki glanced at Yuta with a questioning look. She then leaned toward him and asked,
"What did he tell you?"
Yuta glanced at her, his eyes glinting with empathy, and smiled, or perhaps forced himself to.
Yuta knew what Maki had been through. She lost her sister, killed her own family, and abandoned sorcery to enhance her body. She had carried too much burden, and he felt empathetic toward her.
Was she struggling? No, in fact, she was strong and even enjoyed fighting her family. The thing is, he wanted to help her and didn’t want her to carry more burdens, especially from the higher-ups. That was the one thing he refused to let happen to Maki.
After learning the truth that the higher-ups were behind it, he decided to confront it himself instead of letting her do it. As her friend, he had to protect her and take on the burden. She didn’t need to worry about it. He was going to let her rest. It was all up to him now.
"It’s nothing worth knowing. Don’t worry," he assured her.
Maki didn’t believe him, but she suspected that if she knew the truth, it would only stress her out. So, she didn’t press further and agreed.
"Alright. If you say so."
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Yuta stood firmly, surrounded by the higher-ups, not letting his rage show, for now.
He preferred to do it alone rather than get help from his friends since he didn’t want them to be involved in problems, and he didn’t want them to worry. So, he was going to handle it all by himself.
"What brings you here, Okkotsu?" asked one of the elders.
"My friend and classmate, Maki, told me she was being targeted every day by enemies with similar motives. Any ideas?" He tried to keep his voice calm.
"Okay? What's your point exactly?" The elder was curious from behind the board.
"I'll get to the point, shall we?"
He then moved his hand to grab the handle of his katana from his bag. His calm demeanor was now replaced with a threatening aura, his cursed energy flaring up around him.
He showed no fear to the higher ups, proving his dedication.
"It's you all. You all want Maki dead. And if that's how it is, get through me first, even at the cost of my life." his voice was harsh, and his glare sharp.
The higher-ups were, ofcourse, irritated when they heard this, but then they exchanged looks and thought carefully.
Yuta Okkotsu was their one and only special grade left. If he was gone, they would lose one of the powers that kept their influence intact.
After they came to an understanding, one of the elders nodded and finally spoke.
"We can let her live, but on one condition..."
Yuta loosened his grip on the katana and lowered his hand slowly.
"I'm all ears." He said, calming his voice.
"...She must produce children to continue the legacy of the Zenin clan." the elder continued.
Yuta's face twisted in disgust, and his stomach churned. Maki is still a minor, and he hated the idea of seeing Maki used as a breeding tool to revive a clan she despised. So he had to argue.
"Maki is 16, and making her have children at that age?" His voice cold, trying to cool down the burning rage inside him.
The higher-ups noticed his cursed energy growing bigger, and his glare deepened, implying that he was against the idea. Seeing this, another elder added,
"I'll give you three years, and after that, she must produce children. You can watch over her if you want. Make sure her partner is someone you trust, or, if necessary, you can produce a child with her yourself. Anyway, it's a contract, so I will give you this just in case. Do not lose it."
Smoke formed from nothingness and drifted toward him, then slowly shifted into a piece of paper with a pen alongside it.
Yuta forced himself to look at it. The paper contained a written agreement pact with a promise that both parties had to approve. He stared at it dumbly, surprisingly, it wasn’t a binding vow, just a regular, stupid contract meant to remind him and ensure the promise was kept long-term.
Yuta was in awe that the higher-ups were considerate of Maki's well-being and aware that having children at an early age was bad, so he began to think about the contract.
Still, he hated the idea that once Maki became an adult, she would have to get pregnant immediately and be used as a breeding tool, even if it meant keeping her alive.
However, he thought deeply and carefully, and slowly, the idea started to make sense to him. He just needed to make sure she is comfortable as possible. So, if he watched over her, then she would be fine.
"After three years, got it."
Then he began to sign the paper, agreeing to the term.
He had no other choice. If he rejected it, they would keep pushing further and further, and Maki would suffer.
"Also, stop sending assasins." He remind them.
"We won't." They promised.
"And if you touch her again, I won't think twice." he added, his voice remained calm but laced with malicious intent.
"So you agree? Good. Now that it's settled, do you have anything else to ask?" The elder inquired.
"No, I will leave now."
Without another word, he didn't waste any time and simply left the room.
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Yuta returned to Jujutsu High and sighed in relief as he saw Maki resting and laughing with her friends. They turned to Yuta as he entered.
"Oh hey, Yuta! Toge and I made a video for our YouTube channel where we pranked some adult men. Come watch it, haha!" Panda happily urged him to come closer.
Yuta grinned, sat beside them, and laughed along with them.
The higher-ups' order still lingered in his mind, forcing him to follow it. But for now, he was going to stay closer to Maki and always make sure she was safe and sound.
The idea of Maki having children meant she needed a partner. She's still young, so she has years to develop a relationship with someone. and honestly, seeing her pregnant would be surprising. She doesn’t seem like the type.
But then, he imagined it, her toned abs swelling, fighting while her stomach was bloated with her child, her breasts filled with milk- wait...
Why did I think of that?
Yuta froze, his eyes widened, and he frowned. But deep down, a heat crept up his cheeks. He winced, regretting the thought immediately.
Shaking it off, he grew curious about who she might end up with. He needed evidence for future reference, so he decided to ask her directly.
The next day, Yuta walked alone, searching for Maki until he finally found her under a tree, scrolling through her phone.
He walked toward her, sat next to her, and started questioning her.
"Hey, Maki-san, who are you closest with?" He glanced at her attentively.
Maki turned to him, thinking for a moment before answering.
"You, Panda, Toge, Megumi, Nobara… and that’s about it. There’s one I left out, I’m friends with Yuji, but I’m not that close with him."
"I see... Thanks. You can go back to your phone now while I rest here. It feels relaxing."
Maki raised a brow, wanting to ask why he was questioning her, but she chose to ignore it and returned to her phone.
Remembering her answer, Yuta started theorizing about who she might like the most among her closest friends. Deep in thought, he separated the possibilities one by one.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Panda. He’s just a silly panda. It would be weird if she ended up with him. So, low possibility.
Toge. I don’t really see him and Maki interacting closely unless we’re in a group, and she sometimes doesn’t understand his Onigiri language. So, low possibility.
Megumi. Obviously not. that’s her nephew! So, no possibility.
Nobara. She likes Maki platonically, but if it goes beyond that, they can’t produce children since they’re both girls. So, mid possibility.
Himself. It’s hard to think about it. She seems rough with me all the time, but at the same time, she’s also playful. I don’t know what she’s thinking, she’s so unreadable.
I didn’t get to interact with her much while I was in Africa, but we used to have casual conversations over video calls.
There was also that one time when she was against my idea of risking my life, and when that plan failed, she got mad at me in front of everyone. But later, Panda told me she was just worried about me because I almost died.
After Sukuna’s defeat, when things finally calmed down and the problem was over, we were able to interact again without worries. She and I started having deep conversations, about what happened in our lives, our struggles, and advice on how to help ourselves. She seems to trust me and often talks to me about her problems. She also listens to mine and hopes for me to get better.
We have a mutual understanding, and I really appreciate that.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
In the end, Yuta still couldn’t figure out who Maki liked the most. But after analyzing his relationship with her a bit too much, he started to think they have potential and began to wonder whether she likes him or not.
Usually, getting a partner to start a family with should be romantic. But for now, his feelings for her are purely admiration and respect.
If she starts to fall in love with him, he’ll accept it. But as for falling in love with her, that's something he’ll have to figure out himself. And if he ends up falling for someone else, that’s okay too. As long as she’s happy, he’s happy.
But he’s still going to include himself in the test to see if he’s the most fitting partner for her. There’s still three years, so there's still a long time for him to develop his relationship with Maki and see if there’s potential.
He still doesn't like the idea of her getting pregnant, but he's going to see first if she is comfortable with it. If not, then he is ready to face the higher-ups again.
He knows she is strong enough to protect herself but he wants to protect her too. He is willing to do everything for her, and he doesn’t care about the consequences. Not only her, he will do everything to keep his friends alive. He lost someone he highly respected, Gojo Satoru, so he doesn’t want to lose anyone else, and he’s going to make sure of that.
Again, there's still three years so he shouldn't think about it too much and forces himself to leave it, giving her space and letting her be.
For now, they are good friends, and that is enough for him. The contract can wait.