get this — derpy's a gigantic mystical tiger (i don't believe he's a demonic entity, he's just able to traverse both human and demon realms via the honmoon) who became the HUNTR/X's magical emotional support animal slash domesticated pet.
what, then, is his "normal" appearance to the regular human/non-Hunters' eyes? i'd like to believe he appears to normal human still as a cat, but! not a regular sized house cat.
i dish out: derpy is a maine coon x russian blue mixed breed,
but his face looks precisely like this cat:
in lieu rumi, mira, and zoey CACKLING whenever bobby is house sitting him and takes a video of derpy's gargantuan maine coon body looking hella majestic, only for him to turn around and look at the camera with that (adorably) fuckass face, with sussy's perpetually judgy self perching atop of his humongous head.
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thought maybe i should let y'all fellow polytrix brethren know of oftenlyshitposting's condition
there had been plenty of political unrest in the last week of August—starting from the 25th August. Indonesian civillians started protesting against our lawmakers' unwise policies to increase benefits for the members of the People's Representative Parliament (which of course came from the taxpayer's money), whilst many Indonesian civillians are struggling to make ends meet in an unstable economy.
the situation escalated on the night of 28th Aug, where police force executed excessive brutality on the protestors indiscriminately in Jakarta's protest.
in the midst of crowd dispersing, a heavily armored mobile brigade vehicle (which is worth mentioning, it's a damn tank weighing at FOURTEEN TONNES) ruthlessly ran into a Gojek motorcycle driver (Indonesia's equivalent to Uber bike). his name is Affan Kurniawan, a 21 year old man who is the sole breadwinner in a low income family. he wasn't even participating in the protest; he was finishing a food delivery order.
instead of stopping the vehicle, the police officers in the vehicle chose to speed through his body, which ultimately caused his brutal death. the people of the nation shared this anger and grief, which led to another major nation-wide protest to demand justice for his death, the Parliament's reformation, and the police force's accountability over their brutalization.
this also sparked multiple nation-wide protests which lasted until 30th August; crippling the nation's capital. the protests marked yet another historical moment in the nation's records, with the most violent one this year alone. the people are scared, angry, anxious. our president is a prominent figure in the 1998 Revolution (also known as the overthrowing of President Soeharto), and we are all fearful of yet another incoming of militaristic dictatorship.
as an Indonesian citizen myself, i ask you to help spread the news of our nation's unrest. our government and president, ironically caves into international pressure more than to it's people. every single interaction you do with our news help to add pressure to the Indonesian government. our media barely reports anything, causing us to stay blinded unless we actively look for the news in other social media platforms (which is only accessible to people who are tech-savvy).
this tiktok edit of the protest, with Takedown as it's music, is just one of the many posts displaying the nation's current condition. it has become a rallying protest music from the k-pop section of the Indonesian internet, and honestly, i'm rather thrilled. it's an apt choice of music from the movie.
i apologize for the sudden political post in this otherwise tomfoolery Tumblr blog; but i need your help. we all do.
- everyone likes to assume maki is the bigger drinker compared to mai, and that mai is the lightweight of the two. interestingly, both of them are pretty good at holding their liquor down—mai just does it much less compared to maki.
- maki absolutely loves an ice cold glass of beer paired with juicy, crispy karaage and shredded cabbage. there's this izakaya downtown tucked in a more remote alley that makes karaage the way maki loves: greasy, oniony, and packs an otherwordly crunch that pairs so good with a tall pint of sapporo. the izakaya serves beer in pre-chilled (practically frozen) glasses, and although maki's not legally allowed to drink yet, the oyaji running the shop turns a blind eye as long as she has her fake ID.
- (probably because maki brings in the school staff members and friends as customers for the oyaji)
- mai, on the other hand, loves herself a nice serving of whiskey highball. she's a sucker for suntory whiskey, especially for highballs with yuzu syrup. mai prefers making drinks herself (she is guilty of stashing at least two bottles of whiskey in her dorm room; not that anyone else should know). her favourite food to accompany her drinks? deep fried wings and negima yakitori, with a bowl of steaming white rice. mai is strangely good at butchering chicken pieces (although her sister is more apt with blades, maki is known to be a disastrous cook), so she often makes yakitori for the girls in kyoto high.
- (miwa once caught her drinking late at night in the communal dining hall, so mai had to bribe her with both of the torikawa she'd made earlier)
- there was one time when maki impulsively travelled to kyoto during summer break that she accidentally ran into mai in one of a tiny izakaya specializing in yakitori, drinking by herself. the shop was kind of empty, safe for the zenin twins and three other customers. maki debated whether she should stay or find another place to eat, but her stomach had decided that it must be fed now. begrudgingly, she takes a spot in the corner, away from mai at the bar.
- maki orders a large bowl of rice along with some sides, karaage included, of course. from the corner of her eye, maki caught mai's little scoff when she asks for a can of sapporo. ticked, she asks for another can rather loudly. maki could almost envision mai's twitched brows at her loudness, smirking in satisfaction. she pours her first can to the pint glass, taking the first cold sip with a satisfied sigh.
- mai unexpectedly joins maki at her table, slamming her half finished glass of highball on the table. maki barely reacts, munching on her food nonchalantly. when mai spoke, it was oddly slurred, "what are you doing here?", and that's when maki realized her younger sister's flushed face. which is odd—maki had never seen mai gotten this drunk before. the older zenin twin shrugs mai's question, "to eat, obviously.". mai was not impressed, evident from the further dip of her brows.
- they don't say anything much while maki continues to eat and drink—mai had taken the liberty to order another glass of highball, with an extra shot of whiskey. only after maki finished eating, did she ask mai, "what are you getting drunk for? it's only tuesday." maki snickers and adds, "did some loser boy break your heart?". mai shoots her a bitter glare, which doesn't really faze maki at all; only further amusing her. mai clumsily replies, "i don't see… how that's 'yer business. nee-san.". maki internally cringes, because, ouch. that last part kind of stings.
- by midnight, maki vaguely remembers how she ends up taking mai back to her hotel room; the hassle of debating with a drunk mai, carrying the stumbling younger twin back to her place (because mai whines and whines about not wanting to go back to the school's dorm), and eventually reaching maki's hotel. even tucking mai in was a pain in maki's ass; her being uncooperative and an extra little shit was not in the older zenin twin's list. maki had to force mai to drink water before she passed out cold. "mai, you little– hey! don't bite my fingers, you brat." maki flicks mai's chin when the younger girl deliberately tries to bite her pinky. she grunted in annoyance, though she still tilts mai's head as she pours water. "drink slowly. if you choke and die, i won't resuscitate you."
- mai was tucked in maki's bed, dozing away in deep sleep with her back facing maki. maki lazily leans on the sofabed across the bed, nursing a can of beer and a perpetual headache. her creased brows had barely relaxed as she pinches the bridge of her nose. running into mai is certainly out of her itinerary; especially not after years of avoiding each other like the plague. maki exhales deeply, wondering what kind of joke the universe is pulling at them. one of her eyes peeled open when mai rustles in her sleep, turning to face maki. the older zenin's face relaxes, though her heart still weighs heavy.
- maki ends up falling asleep on the sofabed in an awkward, shrimp-like position. mai awoke just before dawn breaks, realizing she's dressed in one of maki's ridiculously oversized tee. the clothes she wore earlier were neatly folded on the bedside desk, along with her phone connected to the charger. when she checked her device, it had a few texts from miwa and momo. momo's most recent text said, 'thank you for taking care of mai-chan, maki-chan. i'll come pick her up in the morning'. mai glances at maki, muttering, "i hate owing you, you know...".
- (maki woke up in a surprised jolt, just before lunch. she was in her bed, she realizes, and she was alone. maki briefly wonders if she hallucinated everything that happened the night before. but when she checks her phone, there was a text from mai's line—the same line that hadn't reached her in years. the text contains a media attachment; a selfie of mai flipping her off, with momo, and–wait a minute, is that her limited edition t-shirt?!)
- maki used to talk with a distinct kansai dialect (being raised in the zenin compound, one will be bound to develop the dialect from exposure alone), but she purposefully lose it when she moved to tokyo. after leaving the clan, she does her best to discard whatever zenin identity left to her, safe for her surname. she sometimes slips up and cursed someone out loud with the dialect when she's pissed.
- mai also loses her kansai dialect by the time she enrolls to kyoto jujutsu high, but would often talk to miwa and momo with the dialect. the girls finds her speech pattern endearing, though mai kind of opposes it. she sometimes would speak in the dialect on purpose to confuse todo and kokichi. mai's dialect slips up without her control whenever she gets too drunk, but that's on the rarer side.
- (the students in kyoto high puts it as a benchmark; once mai starts speaking in kansai dialect, that's when they wrap up the drinks and take her to bed)
- mai sometimes felt a little jealous that maki and megumi gets along well; she felt a little lonely knowing that her older sister is closer to their distant cousin better that she does with her.
- maki, whenever she lets herself sit with her daydreams and feelings, thinks about how fun it would've been to hang out with mai and megumi together. a part of her wants megumi to get to know his other distant cousin, and perhaps get along with mai as well as he does with her.
- (funnily enough, there was the one time when maki and megumi hung out together at a batting cage, that megumi asks maki about mai. he asks what was it like to have a younger sibling, and what it was about the older zenin twin that mai hates so much. maki wasn't sure how to answer both of the questions; so when maki doesn't say anything, she was glad that megumi doesn't press further)
- maki's favourite flowers are: wisteria, tsubaki (specifically yellow tsubaki), and sakurasou (japanese primroses). but, whenever someone asks what are her favourite flowers, she usually says, "i don't really like flowers.", or "i prefer trees. why? well, i just think trees are cool? hey, i'm not weird for liking trees, dammit!".
- mai's favourite flowers are: suisen (daffodils), wisteria (she loves wisteria-scented things), osmanthus, blooming cactus, and kadupul (queen of the night). she keeps a couple of blooming cacti and regular cacti in her dorm room, finding them really adorable and fun to maintain.
- (mai is jealous that the tokyo high has a really beautiful wisteria tree in one of it's gardens. maki jokingly asked her one time, if mai wanted to steal the whole tree to bring back to kyoto high. mai was seriously considering maki's idea. maki was not impressed)
- maki secretly took up smoking (blame shoko) as a way to de-stress. shoko gave maki her first cigarette pack one day, after finding a sleepless maki pacing around the school's gates. maki initially didn't enjoy the taste of cigarettes, coughing and huffing the first time she smoked. shoko finds it amusing, half expecting the older zenin twin to stop right there. maki doesn't smoke often, though. a single pack she gets from shoko could last for two months.
- (there was a time, though, maki was horribly stressed out from her family issues that she ran through a pack of cigarettes in just two weeks. shoko was both surprised and concerned when maki asks for another pack after she just gave it three weeks before, knowing maki is not a heavy smoker)
- mai caught maki smoking one time when she travelled to tokyo for a takada fan-meet event (courtesy to todo's extra tickets) at maki's go to izakaya. maki was too engrossed in digesting some kind of letters (mai never did figure out what those letters are), a few cans of sapporo lined up on her table, a half empty glass of beer, and a freshly lit cigarette lodged between her slender fingers. she didn't even realize mai's presence at all, until eventually mai makes herself a comfortable across of maki. the older zenin twin nearly jumps out of her skin when mai says, "i didn't know you took up smoking, maki.", bumping her knees under the table. mai snickers at maki's reaction, while maki rubs her knees and hisses through her teeth, "what the hell?! why are you here? at my table, of all places!". mai rolls her eyes. "what? you don't like seeing me? you prefer keeping the pretense that your sister's non-existent?".
- maki scoffs, taking a deep drag of her cigarette. "stop projecting your delusions on me, brat." she then nods at her younger sister, questioning, "so, what brought you to tokyo? harassing nobara again?". mai's brows dipped, a telltale sign maki managed to press on her buttons. "no. i had business to do here. which is not of your concerns." mai flatly replies, not fully disclosing her reasons. maki doesn't pry about it, but she does ask, "but why this izakaya, specifically?" out of curiosity. mai easily replies, "todo-senpai told me this place has good karaage. he said itadori-kun recommended it.".
- at the mention of todo, maki raised a brow. "todo? you came here with him?". mai realized her slip up, and just as she was about to retract her statement, maki snickers and points out, "you came for the takada fan-meet event, ain't 'ya?". mai cursed internally; she'd forgotten maki is a sharp one. the younger zenin twin keeps her head up high. "so? what of it? i was just bored, and i wanna do something fun. i'm just hitch-hiking todo-senpai's agenda for free.". maki hums, mai wasn't certain to make of her reaction. maki shrugs, though mai could see the glint of mischief in her eyes as she says, "alright. if you say so."
- when they wrapped up from the izakaya, maki hesitantly asks mai to walk with her. which mai initally refused, saying that she's not interested. maki groans in annoyance, demanding mai to at least let her know where she's staying. mai tells maki that she's staying at a hotel not too far from akihabara. so, that's how they end up taking the metro together and walking to mai's hotel. maki stops them at an empty parking lot, taking out a cigarette from her pack. she offers the pack at mai, "want one?" while a cigarette lodges in between her teeth. mai asks instead, "don't tell me you came all the way here just to make me smoke, maki.". maki rolls her eyes, withdrawing the cigarette pack to light the one between her lips. "if 'ya don't want to, just say it. and, no. i'm not that petty, you little shit."
- mai crosses her arms, oddly defensive. "what do you want, maki?" she asks quietly, without sarcasm nor malice, despite her stance. it's odd, mai thinks to herself. maki huffs her smoke away. "how have you been, mai?" the older zenin twin asks, her voice strangely soothing in mai's ears. it feels out of place. familiar, but new at the same time. it makes mai even more guarded. "i'm… fine?" mai hesitates. she missed maki's flash of hurt. "i'm surviving sorcery, if that's what you're wondering.". maki hums; mai assumes it's out of satisfaction. maki then says softly, "i'm glad. you're getting stronger." she smiles, in a manner mai reads as proud.
- mai's heart churns uncomfortably. she hisses, "what are you doing, maki? you never cared about me, all these years. now, you're suddenly checking up on me?" mai scoffs biterly. "don't joke with me. you don't get to play sister after years of ignoring me! now, i'm asking you again: what do you want?". maki flinches at mai's abrupt hostility, instinctively taking a defensive stance out of drilled habit. she tries diplomatically, "mai, i... i don't want anything. i'm just–". mai cuts her off with a deep snarl, "just what, maki? just drowned in guilt? just trying to make yourself better by checking up on me? after all these years?!"
- maki snaps, biting back with equal force; like a wounded animal baring it's canines, "i'm just worried about you! god, i'm sorry that i haven't been good to you for the past few years!! i just–" maki's words choked her breathing, gurgling deep in her throat like bitter bile, forcing her to look down at her shoes. when she looks up at mai again, her usually stern gaze broke into the same hurt mai wears. "i just missed you, mai. i... i really do. i'm so sorry for bringing you into this mess. i'm so sorry i broke my promise to you. i'm so sorry i left you."
- silence hangs heavy in the air between them; the sound of crisp autumn wind at night breezes past them. maki's cigarette long died, it's burnt filter dropped beside her shoe. neither of them spoke, eyes avoiding each other. mai couldn't form any response—how could she, after maki had shot her confession dead center? mai's knees felt weak—so weak, that they gave out on her. maki was swift to catch mai from collapsing to the ground. "mai? mai... mai! hey, hold yourself together, mai! mai? hey, mai! wake up! mai!" maki frantically holds mai, tapping the younger zenin twin's cheek to keep her eyelids from shutting completely. mai's head feels fuzzy and her vision grows darker. the last thing she remembers seeing before her consciousness fades was maki's lips. they're mouthing her name.
- mai wakes up slowly, staring into the ceiling of... some room? she blinked slowly, accustoming her blurry eyes to her surroundings. she turns around to find familiarity, and slowly registering that she's back in her hotel room. her eyes dart towards the window side loveseat, where maki is currently sleeping, her head thrown back and snoring lightly with mouth ajar. the older zenin twin hasn't even taken off her hoodie yet, contrasting to mai who's already in her nightgown. mai frowns, perplexed. where's her bra...?
- maki jolts awake with a disgruntled groan, almost like her consciousness was yanked back into her flesh. her glasses were crooked awkwardly when she turns to look at mai. barely coherent, she slurs, "oh, 'yer 'wake. 'hat's good... that's good..." as she stretches her aching neck. mai feels somewhat endeared upon seeing maki's disheveled state—ponytail loose, hoodie wrinkled, and bleary-eyed. mai then asks, in an almost flustered manner, "uh, did you...undress me?" as her eyes flickers back and forth from maki and a particularly interesting patch on the carpeted floor. maki tilts her head briefly, before snorting in amusement at mai's fluster. she lets a lopsided smirk bloom, "what, you're shy about it, mai? cute." maki pokes at mai's buttons. it earns her a blush and yelp, "you didn't have to take off my bra, too! idiot!"
- maki clicks her tongue. "i didn't grope you, you little shit. you were drenched in cold sweat, if i didn't change your clothes, you'll wind up with a fever." and as if to prove her point, maki approaches mai and sits on the edge of the bed, pressing the back of her hand under mai's bangs to feel her temperature. mai's lips tremble in a flustered panic, while maki seemed blissfully unaware. maki clicks her tongue again, pointing out to mai, "ah, see? you're already getting feverish. goodness, you're just like when we were kids, ain't ya?". mai swats maki's hand away before her head gets too stirred up again. "stop it, idiot. i'm not a kid anymore. i'll be fine." she tries to scoff at maki, but somehow it ends up sounding like a whine instead. maki rolls her eyes, unimpressed at all. she flicks at mai's nose; not too hard for it to bruise, just enough for the younger zenin twin to listen. "you best lay down before you faint on me again. d'ya know how hard it is to debate with 'ya when 'yer half awake? it's like 'm talking to a brattier version of 'ya!".
- mai flushes again, her brows twitch in a particular manner (maki hasn't seen such expression on mai's face in a while). her eyes shift downwards, and her lips curl to a childish pout. "that's...not my fault." mai whines quietly, and for the briefest moment, maki thought they were seven again—just two kids who'd been swept up in a mess they had to clean up. maki's eyes softens, her hand instinctively reach to mai's head to pat it tenderly. mai flinches—not out of fear—and maki sighs slowly. "i know. i'm not blaming you. i'm just glad you're okay.".
- mai doesn't quite remember how did she end up leaning on maki's chest and listening to the older zenin twin's strong and steady heartbeats, but against her better judgement, she admits this was nice. it brings her back to their childhood; whenever mai feels tiny under the rest of zenin clan members' scrutiny, she felt safest in maki's embrace. maybe, just for tonight, the world lets her be that same little girl who seeks solace in her older sister's arms. and perhaps, just for tonight, maki is here—right where mai needs her most.
- "hey, mai." maki calls softly, a lilt of mirth in her tone. mai hums in response, slightly sleepy. "if i have a cent for every time you'd passed out on me, and i have to carry you back to a hotel room..." maki drawls coyly, and mai groans in annoyance, traces of sleep vanished instantly. "oh, my god. shut up!" mai shoves maki's shoulders, which garners a rumble of laugh deep from maki's chest. mai grits her teeth as she hisses, "god, i hate you so much." at maki, which maki merely hums at. maki then quietly responds, "yeah, yeah. love 'ya too, brat."
- the next time mai went to tokyo (only a month after she last went), maki's phone screen lights up with a text from her younger sister. maki's lips curled to a small smile, which was noticed by nobara and megumi. maki's brown haired underclassman asks curiously, "oh, who's that, maki-san?" trying to peep at maki's phone screen. megumi lightly smacks nobara's head for intruding maki's privacy. "hey. don't intrude.". nobara snarks at megumi for hitting her head, while maki simply shake her head at her underclassmen's acts. she pockets her phone, before answering nobara's question earlier, "mai is coming to town. her train arrives in an hour. i think?" which made nobara pale, and megumi alert. nobara shrieks dramatically, "the evil witch is coming?! maki-san, shouldn't we prepare? shit, let's go back and grab our weapons!".
- nobara's head was smacked the second time that day, this time by maki, who was unimpressed by her comments. "calm your ass, nobara. mai's just visiting me for a few days. she has a small break." maki explains simply, taking a small sip from her canned coffee. nobara was about to spew some more hysterics, but megumi had already clasped his hand on her lips, effectively shutting her up. this time, megumi asks, "is she on jujutsu business?". maki shook her head, replying him, "nah. pure vacation. i have plans with her tomorrow, but i was thinking of inviting her to dinner with us later. megumi, you okay with that?". megumi was slightly taken aback, about to answer maki, but yells in annoyance when nobara bit on his hand. whilst the spiky-haired boy cuss at nobara, the brown haired girl grabs at maki's sleeve, "why'd you think of that?! what if she poisons your dinner?!". megumi, now recovered from the pain, yanks at nobara's back collar, effectively strangling her. "hey! it's maki-san's business, dumbass! if you're not up for it, she's not forcing you to come with. and, don't you ever bite me again, kugisaki.".
- after nobara and megumi quits their bantering (by maki's not-so diplomatic approach of smacking them both in the head with her fists), the three of them comes to the station to pick mai up. maki instantly spots mai coming down from the platform, waving her slender arms at her younger sister. maki snorts when she finally registers mai's clothes; a black modern qipao style blouse—sleeveless as usual, a pair of flowy loose trousers, and a kind of silken outer that's neatly folded on her arm. maki felt a little self conscious of her own clothes; dressed in a simple fitted black cropped-top, an oversized open zip black jacket with gray hood, and baggy gray sweats. she brushed off the thought, stepping ahead of her juniors to greet mai.
- mai beams, something maki hadn't gotten used to seeing again, and teasingly says, "aw. you really came to pick me up? that's unusually sweet of you, maki.". maki rolls her eyes, good-naturedly of course, before pulling the younger zenin twin into a harmless headlock. "you're such an ungrateful little shit, 'ya know that? 'least you could say is thanks. or, even better: 'thank you for picking me up, onee-chan'." maki grunts as she grinds her fist on mai's head, purposefully messing her hair. slightly. mai shoves her sister to get away from maki's headlock, flipping her middle finger at maki. "god, i hate you so much. idiot!"
- maki waves her off, leading her towards an apprehensive nobara and stoic megumi by the exit. mai was surprised to find that maki didn't come alone; instead with her two first-years. "oh? megumi-kun, how have you been? good?" mai asks in that teasing tone to press on the fushiguro boy, earning maki's exaggerated eye roll. megumi, slightly flustered, avoided mai's eyes and curtly replies, "i'm well, zenin-senpai. thanks for asking. how are you?". mai pouts and whines, "i told you not to call me that, megumi-kun. mai is enough.". nobara is obviously disturbed by mai's incessant flirty-teasing tone, maki picks up from the vein threatening to pop on her forehead.
- mai then turns to nobara after purposefully ignoring the brown haired first-year, flashing a smirk that is borderline evil. "ah, kugisaki-chan is here, too? have you been good to maki?" mai teases, tilting the now furious brown haired girl's chin with the tip of her finger. "i've been the best to maki-san, zenin-senpai." nobara replies in a dangerous tone, laced with poisonous sweetness. maki sighs in exasperation, deciding that she best steps in between the hot-headed troublemakers before they pull out a fight in the station. "alright, that's enough you two. let's head out to eat. i'm hungry."
- maki took them all to her usual izakaya—mai felt a little nostalgic at the scene of the quaint shop. wafts of warm, grease-ridden air greets them at the door, warming their chilly skin. maki yells orders at the cheery oyaji behind the counter, and led them to a small booth for four. mai sits in the inside beside maki, whilst megumi is sat across of maki. which leaves nobara to sit right across mai, who is not very much pleased by the seating order. mai teasingly shoots nobara a flirtatious wink, just to vex the short-tempered first-year. maki pinches mai's cheek, "cut it out already, dumbass. i'll not be held responsible if nobara's nails ends up stabbing you." she reprimands flatly. mai pouts as she tends to the reddened cheek, but didn't press further. nobara grins triumphantly, only to be broken with maki's stern glare, "you too, nobara. behave. i can't help you if mai's revolver fires at your ass.".
- their dinner goes on rather peacefully—in a sense that neither nobara or mai tries to kill each other. mai managed to hold a decent conversation with megumi without pressing on his buttons too much—they even talked about the newest fps game that was just released last week—to maki's surprise. megumi agrees to invite mai to the game's mini chat server he plays with yuji and todo, informing the younger zenin twin that their next game session is tomorrow night. at that, mai turns to maki, who tilts her head at her younger sister. "are we still up for tomorrow arcade night? if we are, i might have to miss the game night, megumi-kun.". maki hums, checking her phone for a second. her brows furrowed in annoyance, whilst mai, nobara, and megumi wonders what causes maki's face to contort as such. maki groans loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "damn it. i just got news that the arcade's closed for some kind of renovation." maki turns to mai, apologetic. "sorry, mai. guess arcade's cancelled tomorrow. that okay?".
- mai blinks, unfamiliar by maki's reaffirming things with her. "oh. uh. yeah, of course. hey, megumi-kun?" mai turns to megumi, who was caught slightly off-guard. "can your server accept one more player? if it's possible, could you add maki, too?" the younger zenin twin asks genuinely, surprising maki, megumi, and nobara equally. megumi regains his composure and replies, "sure, if maki-san wants to. i'll let itadori and todo-senpai know you're both joining.". maki grins, flashing her thumb up at megumi. "thanks a lot, megumi!".
- maki excused herself to go out of the izakaya for a quick smoke break, not wanting her underclassmen and mai to be in the same space as her cigarette smoke. she chuckles to herself, slowly realizing she's growing more and more like shoko with her smoking habit. the cool late autumn air feels refreshing on her skin, blending with the smoke in her lungs. the izakaya's door slides open to produce megumi on his phone. he hasn't noticed maki yet, so maki steps further away from the door. megumi ends the call, and turns to where maki is standing behind a decorative pine tree, catching her red-handed. megumi tilts his head, puzzled. "maki-san. what are you doing there?" he steps closer to maki. maki panics, holding her hand out to distance her and megumi. "h-hey! back off, megumi! i don't want you near my smoke!". megumi laughs, shaking his head. "maki-san, i really don't give a shit about cigarette smoke. ah. pardon for my language.".
- maki clicks her tongue, slightly embarrassed at the minor commotion she caused herself. "damn you and your hard-headed ass." the older zenin twin tosses her dead cigarette away, stepping forward from behind the tree. "who did 'ya call, megumi?" maki asks, curious. megumi crosses his hands on his chest, leaning back on the wooden wall of the izakaya. "itadori. i was letting him know i'm opening the server to you and mai-san." he replies coolly. "hm. effective as always, ain't 'ya?" maki coos teasingly, poking his side with her elbow. megumi withdraws from maki's jabs, slightly vexed. he then quietly says, "i have a question, by the way." which maki hums to let him continue. "the arcade didn't actually close, did it?" megumi shoots straight to the point, and maki chuckles. perceptive as always. "nah, it's still open. i just want mai to spend time with other people than me. i wanted her to get along with you, yuji, and maybe nobara, too. though the last one's a bit of a long shot, ain't it?" maki chuckles as she answers truthfully. she then realizes something that was off, and asks megumi, "by the way... are you okay leaving those two alone? i'm kind of worried they're starting a war...". megumi's face drains of color about the same time as maki does, so they both barge back inside before a bloodbath happens.
- only to find mai and nobara... fangirling over a new girl rock band? mai's blushing as she daydreams about the band's drummer, whilst nobara is swooning over the rhythm guitarist's latest solo improv riff. megumi looks at maki with a raised brow, which maki returns with a shrug; as clueless as he is. maki decides it's better to return to their seats rather than standing around like a bunch of fools. just as she sat down, maki was instantly cornered by a pair of overly enthusiastic mai and nobara. mai straight up demands maki to buy her tickets to the band's next show in osaka, while nobara bats her lashes and pleads if maki can find tickets with half price discount. the older zenin twin sweats unsurely, darting her glance at megumi for some kind of help. uselessly, megumi shrugs and mouths 'good luck' at her. maki groans, flicking both mai's and nobara's foreheads hard enough to send them back to their seats as maki yells, "alright, alright!! i'll get 'ya both the damn tickets!".
- the zenin twins parts with megumi and nobara, as the two first-years heads back to the school's compound. maki stays with mai to walk her back to her hotel not too far from the izakaya. maki carries mai's simple baggage; a black leather duffle bag for her three days trip. maki was a little puzzled at the drastic simplicity; for as long as she's known mai, the younger zenin travels with at least one medium sized luggage. maki did point it out at mai earlier, and all mai said was, "it's a short trip to tokyo. i don't think i should be bringing my whole closet, maki.". once they made it to mai's hotel (maki wonders, did mai burn through her allowances for these trips?), maki helps her younger sister set up her room. it's a nice quaint room—minimalistic styled and colored in earthen tones. maki sets down mai's bag on the dresser as mai tossed herself onto the bed, exhaling loudly as she sank in the soft-as-cloud mattress. maki rolled her eyes, but doesn't say anything.
- "well, it's late, i better head back now. you should get some rest, mai." maki tells mai as she wears her shoes again, about to head out. mai drawls from the bed, sitting up in confusion. "you're not staying?" mai asks, half expecting. maki shook her head. "nah, i got some shit to clear with gojo-sensei tomorrow. i'll meet you here in the afternoon so we can go to an internet cafe to play with yuji and megumi." the older zenin twin pats mai's head gently, softly smiling. mai pouts childishly—adorably reminiscent to when she was much younger. "okay. can you..." mai trails off in hesitation, cheeks lightly tinted. maki catches on what mai failed to say out loud, nodding at her, "i'll stay over tomorrow after we play with yuji and megumi.".
- the next day, mai was lounging the day at the hotel she stays in as she waits for maki to arrive. after lunch, she finds herself swimming a few laps at the indoor pool. the last text from maki was in the morning, letting mai know she'll be off from satoru's evaluation training in the afternoon, and that mai should get something to eat for lunch first. mai wasn't expecting maki to arrive until much later in the afternoon, so it surprised her a little when she saw maki sitting comfortably by the side of the pool. "i didn't think you'd be here this early." mai says to maki, leaning forward on the edge lining, arms folded on top of the wet tiles. maki shrugs. "finished that blindfolded fool's evals quick. wasn't that difficult." the older zenin twin replies easily, like whatever it is that satoru made her do was just a simple task. hm, maybe it was, mai thinks. "how did you know i was here, though?" mai asks the next most rational thing, because, surely she didn't tell maki that she went swimming. "well, you didn't reply to my text earlier. and, this hotel has a pool. knowing you, the options are either swimming, or you forgot to charge your phone. my intuition says the first one.".
- maki waits for mai to shower and get dressed after the swim, lazing off on mai's unmade bed. it's funny that a lot of people assumes (and believes) maki's the messier one of the two—when the state of mai's room would easily dispute those beliefs. mai hasn't grown out of her habit of leaving clothes strewn around her room—a habit that used to get her into a lot of trouble with their mother. maki started taking the fault for her whenever mai forgets to clean up her clothes, by mixing her clothes into the mess, so when their mother caught the mess, maki's the one to get punished instead. maki huffs through her nose, deciding to tidy up mai's clothes (one of her underwear is strewn on top of the cabinet—maki wondered how the hell did it even get there).
- mai exits the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her torso, a trail of steam clinging behind her. she jumped when she saw maki standing right in front of her, shrieking, "what the hell?! god damn it, maki!! what are you doing?". maki ignores mai's shock, nodding to her finger—which is loosely dangling one of mai's underwear. the older zenin's face was flat, but there was a tinge of teasing in her tone as she asks mai, "did someone buy this for you?". mai's cheeks flushed deeply, in both embarrassment and annoyance. she yanks at the underwear and stomps right into maki—who is, annoyingly, smug. "stop snooping around my stuff!! dumbass!" mai hisses as she chucks the underwear into her duffle bag. maki presses on, "you didn't answer." toying with her younger sister. mai glares at maki, threatening to kill. it only amuses maki further. "i bought it myself! there, 'ya happy? jeez!". maki hums. "laces your thing, huh? i'll keep that in mind for your future boy. or, girl.". mai yanks at maki's collar, pulling the older zenin dangerously close. maki is barely fazed—this is probably the only time she's ever seen mai's buttons this pressed. she could take it as an achievement. when mai speaks, it's borderline a growl, "i'll put a damn bullet in your mouth before that happens.". maki smirks, "sounds like a promise to me." but she raises her hands in surrender, anyway. mai drops her collar, and the topic altogether.
- the twins meets up with megumi and yuji at the internet cafe down the block, greeted by an excited yuji waving at them. "maki-san! oh, and maki-san's sister, right?" yuji bows at mai, catching the younger zenin twin by surprise. yuji grins, charming as usual. "nice to meet you, zenin-senpai! hope you're excited to play with me and fushiguro.". mai flusters slightly, always a little awkward with new people. maki gives mai a little push, assuring her to be herself. mai gives a small bow in return, "nice to meet you too, itadori-kun.". yuji excitedly leads them to the internet cafe—and sure enough, the cafe is quite the scene. yuji managed to reserve a four people booth in one private room, one of the few rooms that are notoriously hard to book. at least, according to yuji's testimony. the room's setup is cool, maki had to admit. colorful CPUs, curved monitors—most likely 32 inches and 4k if maki dares to guess, gaming headphones with sophisticated mics built in, and ambient LED colored-lights to match the tone.
- mai was given her account by yuji, who is excitedly letting her know that he's already pre-built her avatar, but she's free to modify it to her tastes if she'd like. he helps her set up the account in the PC next to maki's. mai curiously asks him about the gameplay's mechanics, and cheekily hints if there are any cheats she could access. maki smiles softly; yuji is one of the rare people to bring out mai's true cheerful self, and it warms maki's heart. megumi nudges maki's side, turning to the spiky-haired boy who has a subtle smug on his face. maki kinks a brow at him. "what's with 'yer face?" maki asks. megumi shook his head. "nothing. let's set up your account." the fushiguro boy nods at maki's designated PC.
- after finishing their personal setups on their respective game's accounts—mai took the liberty to modify her pre-built avatar, whilst maki settled with default skin and features. megumi mutters under his breath how practical maki is, and pretends he doesn't see maki's deadly glare. yuji helps mai to adjust the chat's mic sensitivity and volume, so that it doesn't feedback their voices. the four of them logs in together to the same lobby in yuji's private server, greeted by todo's avatar and a booming, "welcome, my brother and gang!! let us conquer enemies and emerge victorious today!" in their ears. mai and megumi flinched, even maki had to yank off her earphones. yuji remains unfazed, as if used to such loudness from todo. maki mutes her mic to say, "...is he always this loud? it's not even five minutes yet, and my ears are already bleeding." to yuji and megumi. yuji looked apologetic as he replies, "yeah. that's why i always put his volume on lowest. he does make a good whistleblower in game, though.".
- maki gets used to the game's mechanics pretty easily—it was horror-themed survival fps game, quite similar to resident evil games, if maki had to deduce. there's a main storyline and a main quest they have to finish within seven days in-game. the game also offers a free-for-all lobby to combat other players, either in teams or individual fights. yuji offers to play team fight after they finish the first main quest, suggesting to team up with the person across each other for fun. mai squeals every now and then at jump scare scenes and the creepy build up, noticeably flinching beside maki. the older zenin twin handles the scares well, until she enters a particular room to retrieve clues. maki screamed when a creature with many holes and snake-like tendrils grabs at her avatar, firing her rifle almost aimlessly. mai jumps next to her, more scared by maki's screaming than the creepy situation in her game scene. "maki, what the hell?" mai squeaks at maki, hiding her character in a closet. maki's hand covers her eyes, shoulders rising and falling erratically. she lowers her hand over her mouth, breathlessly replying, "sorry. a creepy...thing jumped me earlier." she turns to megumi across of her to ask, "megumi, is there any ammo points in the fourth floor? i'm on my last mag, and it's almost out.". megumi searches his map quickly, before supplying, "there's one near the health ward. i'm closer to you, i can transfer a mag for you.". maki nods. "copy that.".
- the four of them managed to survive until day four—which took about three hours of playing. todo had logged off half an hour ago, leaving them to finish day four. maki threw her head back with a groan, pinching the bridge of her nose. her eyes are feeling the fatigue from staring at the monitor for hours straight, she's not used to this kind of lengthy gaming. yuji claps his hands. "we did good, guys! do we want a small snack break before 2v2 team combat?" he asks around to maki, mai, and megumi. mai stretches her arms, releasing the tension. "i don't mind jumping right in, itadori-kun. are you two okay?" mai turns to maki and megumi, in which the spiky-haired boy gives her a curt thumbs up. "i'm good. let's go for it." maki affirms, putting her glasses back on. yuji tells them to log off from his private server to join the public server to hop into a free-for-all lobby. yuji assigns mai as his teammate, and maki with megumi as the opposing team.
- "show me how good you are, megumi." maki says, mischievous glint in her eyes, which was returned with a confident, "after you, maki-san.". maki darts to her objective, chasing for either yuji or mai as she sprints to the first task. she makes her debut kill of yuji and mai's teammate, following with a long-range shootout. on top of her screen, a banner shows mai had just killed one of maki and megumi's teammate. yuji whoops, "yeah! nice job, zenin-senpai! oh, watch your six!". mai grins as she spins to shoot the enemy behind her, moving in closer to maki's territory. "i told you not to call me that, itadori-kun!". maki chuckles as yuji apologetically responds, "sorry! i meant, nice job mai-san.". megumi had killed another enemy, advancing his and maki's points further. surprisingly, maki encounters mai in her territory, who managed to deal noticeable damage to her health. mai coyly teases maki, "found you.".
- maki clicks her tongue as her avatar hid behind a crate, calculating her ammo and health kit. her bullets are only enough for one solid kill, and she doesn't have enough kit to heal and revive if mai manages to kill her. maki checks her inventory and weapon options—which there isn't much to choose from. she exhausted the ammo from her ar-15 earlier, and she's not very good with the AWP. her only options are her current ak-47 and a switch knife. maki juggles in her mind, flinching when mai showers the crate she's hiding behind with bullets again. in her headphones, mai's taunting voice crackles, "you're camping there forever, maki?". maki scoffs. "keep that up, and you'll die, you shit.". maki dashes from the crate, faster than mai anticipated, using sprints periodically to strike at mai using her knife. maki's strategic speed overwhelms mai, who managed to misfiring a couple of her bullets. maki receives minor damages from mai's bullets, but her health bar doesn't drop as drastically as mai's. mai cursed under her breath, "fucking hell, maki!". maki's avatar struck mai's with a combo move she built up earlier, knocking the younger zenin's health bar to near critical. maki swaps her weapon back to her ak-47, pointing it at mai's avatar. she leans back to throw mai a victorious grin. mai flips her middle finger at maki, and so maki lands the killing shot to mai's avatar.
- maki's screen lights up with a banner declaring she has killed mai, which leaves yuji as the final player. the older zenin smiles in satisfaction, about to use her health kit to heal her health bar, when her screen glows and a huge banner of "DEFEATED" in red. "what the hell?" maki frowns at her screen, reading the status box to notify her that... megumi had killed her? mai is hysterically laughing at the notification, which only aggravates maki's glare towards megumi. the spiky-haired boy is sweating profusely, avoiding maki's deadly eyes. "megumi." maki calls at megumi, a dark aura emitting strongly. megumi seems to have shrink further into his chair. "why the fuck did you kill me.". when megumi doesn't answer, maki stood to yank at the spiky-haired boy's slumped body. it's almost comical how megumi flap around like a dead fish under maki's grip. "answer me, idiot!! i had less than twenty percent health, three bullets left in my ak-47, and a near-death match with mai! just for you to kill me?! are you fucking serious?!". megumi weakly replies, "my bad... i wanted to transfer health kit to you, maki-san...". maki headbutts megumi's forehead. "then, why the fuck am i dead?!" she yells with gritted teeth. megumi admits, "...accidentally swapped it with my gun." which only fuels mai's laugh further. to spite maki, mai even adds, "thanks for the assist, megumi-kun!". yuji weakly reprimands the younger zenin, "mai-san... let's not sprinkle salt to fushiguro's wounds.". maki glares at both of them. "i'll bury him in salt for what he did to me!!".
- it was past midnight when they finished playing at the internet cafe, parting ways with yuji and megumi. mai had managed to exchange numbers with the two boys by the end of the night, which yuji tells her that if she ever wants to play with them again, she could just message the chat server or to yuji directly. unexpected to maki, mai gives megumi and yuji hugs before joining maki. maki smirks at a flustered megumi and dumbfounded yuji, waving at them as she walks mai back to her hotel. on their walk back, maki points, "i see you had fun, mai.". mai hums as she keeps her eyes at a distant point, her lips curled to small smile—the kind maki missed to see in years. mai then turns to maki and replies, "yeah. this...is the most fun i had in a while.".
- when they got back to mai's room, maki takes a quick hot shower to wash off the gaming sweat, whilst mai submerges her whole body in the still steaming ofuro, separated by an opaque curtain between them. "hey, maki?" maki hears mai calls just as she turns the tap off. "what?" shamelessly, maki swipes the curtain, jolting mai in the tub. maki isn't too sure if the flush on mai's cheeks are caused by the heat of the water, or something else, but she paid it no mind. mai had already threw her face away from maki. "h-hey! some privacy would be nice!" mai squeaks helplessly, waving at maki to shoo her away. "scoot." instead of leaving mai alone, maki steps into the other end of the tub, shoving mai's legs to make room for her. mai flinches, withdrawing her legs with a glare at maki. mai groans, defeated by maki's stubbornness. "god. i can't deal with you, sometimes." the younger zenin mutters. mai shoots her a smirk, which doesn't appease mai at all. "what did you wanna say, earlier?" maki nods at her younger sister. "oh, um... i just wanted to say thanks... for everything." when maki tilts her head in confusion, mai lowers her gaze to add, "i still don't quite trust you, maki. if i have to be honest. but, i do appreciate you for trying. i-i still don't understand why you had to leave; why you are so adamant in becoming clan head. we could've lived a normal life, doing chores.".
- maki hums. mai's tone wasn't hostile towards her, in fact she sounded so small. and vulnerable. probably the most vulnerable maki has ever seen her after all these years. maki opens her mouth, closing it again as she contemplates, before settling to unfold her truth: "i'm doing it all for you. this was all for you.". mai snaps her head to look at maki, whose eyes is the barest mai's ever seen. "i... thought this was the only way. i didn't think you'd be thrown into this mess. but, i still believed this is the only way i could carve a place in the zenin clan, where you belonged.". mai's lips trembled as she whispers, "maki... i...".
- "i want a place in the clan where you can and will be free to be who you are, mai." maki lastly adds. her gaze is soft, yet underneath, there's that unyielding determination that shines through; an unchanging feature of maki's that mai will always find. a tear falls, dripping into the bathtub water. mai wipes the tears in her eyes, smiling through her sniffles. "ah... you're still such a sap, maki. i can't believe you...at all.". maki doesn't say anything, flashing a small smile. all these years, she had been carrying a heavy weight of guilt of leaving mai behind and pain of never looking back at mai in her chest. to finally unveiling the truth mai deserved to hear, it's like that boulder has been lifted off. "maki?" mai softly calls, which maki hums in return. "thank you.". shaking her head with a smile, maki says, "anything for you, mai.".
- when they sleep that night, maki engulfs mai in her arms. mai slips into the calmest sleep she's ever had, burying her face into maki's neck.
- at the station, maki hands mai a custom-made omamori. it's green in color, with golden and violet floral embroidery. "i want you to keep it with you." maki says when mai appears confused at the sudden gift. mai's thumb traces at the flower embroidered on the fabric, trying to guess what they are. it's not uncommon for flowers to be sewn onto an omamori, but she doesn't think she's ever seen these flowers before. "are these osmanthus and wisteria?" mai points at the charm's patterns. maki nods. "yep. i had it custom made. you keep it well, yeah?". mai clasps her hand on the omamori, cherishing it. unexpected to maki, the younger zenin stepped towards her for a hug, catching maki by surprise. maki hesitates, but returns mai's hugs—savouring the feeling of her sister's embrace she hasn't felt since she was ten. mai's breath tickles the shell of maki's ears as she says, "of course, i will. thank you, nee-chan.". maki lets her go to hop onto the train with a wave, staying until the bullet trains dashes from the platform with a gust of wind. maki looks at the palm of her hand, a little seed of reed mai left for her. mai's hug lingers on her skin, smiling as she mutters, "nee-chan, huh?".
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mai calls maki "onee-chan" often when they were kids, clinging to her sister like her life depends on it. it slowly devolves to a more curt "nee-san" as they grew up and were pitted against each other, further detached to "maki-nee", and by the time maki departed from the zenin estate, mai calls her by name like it's a curse.
(maki hated the way mai calls her name; it always sounds so bitter)
maki hated being called "zenin-senpai" because she wants little to no relation to her clan; ironically, mai strictly wants to be referred to as "mai-senpai" instead because she'd always assumed maki is referred to as "zenin-senpai" in school.
(mai was appalled to hear that maki is called "maki-senpai" by her underclassmen in tokyo jujutsu high, but she couldn't hurt her pride anymore to ask her underclassmen in kyoto jujutsu high to call her "zenin-senpai". she absolutely loathes both options, but couldn't do anything about it at this point)
during the goodwill event of both sister schools, mai couldn't explain to herself why she feels that unfamiliar stinging in her chest whenever maki outright ignores her presence at the tokyo compound; choosing to delude herself with forced hatred to console herself.
maki, on the other hand, sees right past mai's mask; catching that flash of hurt in mai's eyes whenever she walks past her younger sister without acknowledging her. she hates that she could still easily read mai's emotions, wishing she'd never catch mai's glances at all.
the twins barely talked to each other during the goodwill event, safe for spitting sarcasm towards each other. maki wasn't too sure why mai's little "nice pitch, maki." during the baseball match warmed the part of her heart she thought had died, but she brushes it off as just another cheeky compliment from the other students for flattening todo's face.
the last night before the kyoto students leave, maki wandered around, sleepless, and found mai tucked alone in the compound's corner under a wisteria tree and seemingly staring at nothing. just as maki was about to leave her alone, mai called her out for snooping behind her. maki scoffs, but doesn't say anything else. mai reprimands her about miwa's katana that maki broke, maki annoyedly responded she'll exchange it with a better katana. mai hums, maki assumed in satisfaction.
"you do realize i don't have leprosy, right?" mai had said when silence fell between them and maki is still standing behind the wisteria tree. maki grunts in dissatisfaction, stomping loudly to stand beside mai. "here i am, you little shit. what do you want?" maki loudly declares in attempt to vex her younger sister. mai rolled her eyes, replying, "no need to be so damn loud, you oaf. you're disturbing the peace."
they didn't say anything else for the next couple of minutes, just sitting and standing in an oddly comfortable silence; something they hadn't had in years. mai left the corner first after momo called her phone and asks her to come back to their room, leaving maki alone.
during the shibuya incident's aftermath, maki awoke in the isolation ward after being put in a three days medically induced coma to heal the burn injuries caused by jogo. she wasn't expecting to see mai dozing off in a rickety chair in the corner of the ward, much less in an uncomfortable position. her younger sister stirs awake when maki rustle in her gurney to sit up and peeling off the gauze all over her body.
"maki, you shouldn't get up yet. i'll call ieri-san." mai reprimands her older sister, stumbling to the door to fetch the primary doctor in the school. her hand was already at the handle when maki strains to say, "mai. don't.", and mai doesn't have the heart to turn to see maki. the younger zenin twin grits her teeth, before sighing out shakily, "fine. can i at least get you water?".
mai eventually calls for shoko when one of maki's wound bled from overexerting herself, accepting the doctor's reprimand for not calling her as soon as maki gained consciousness outside of the isolation ward. maki took another day in the recovery ward to recuperate, mai finds out just before leaving tokyo. the younger zenin twin walked in on her older sister in the midst of hastily chopping a huge chunk of her burnt hair. her right eye is still patched, and her glasses are still sitting on the rickety chair beside her gurney. maki turns to mai with a lopsided smirk, "i looked good, don't i?".
(mai doesn't tell maki that her heart hurts looking at her injured older sister. maki doesn't deserve such pain; she never deserved to always be the one who is hurt, the one who always had to be pushed around like a stray dog. instead, mai helps maki tidy up the messy haircut)
the day after the kyoto students left tokyo, someone recounts to maki that mai had took part in the battle against kenjaku, assuming the sniper position in a rather dangerous range. maki had actually choked on the miso soup she was having for lunch, before dialling mai's line to yell, "you shot kenjaku?!"
(mai found it amusing that maki called her line just to yell her ears off for assuming such a dangerous role in a battle against kenjaku)
maki had never expected mai would call her "onee-chan" again. she certainly never wished it'd be when they're teetering on the edge of death, and mai asked her onee-chan to destroy everything as she gave her life for maki's survival.
mai's death continues to haunt maki for years; she would often be found sitting underneath that wisteria tree in the tokyo compound talking softly to the split soul katana mai left for her. many nights she tries to access the shared innate domain; that perpetually blue beach-side dreamscape, to find mai. to talk to her. to bring her back.
the innate domain never shows maki the other half of her soul; just waves and the geese migration above missing one.
maki once woke from a nightmare, yelling mai's name out loud in a panicked frenzy. mai groans beside her, cursing maki for being too loud in the middle of the night. maki froze upon seeing her dead sister next to her, messy bed head and annoyed face. when maki hugged mai, it had felt real, down to even mai's exasperated sigh and eventually hugging her back in confusion. "you're here... you're actually here..." maki had sobbed in mai's neck, her voice a mix of joy she hadn't felt in years and unexplained longing. mai chuckles incredulously, a hint of cheekiness and comfort as she replies, "of course i'm here, idiot. where else would i be?"
maki woke up for the second time that night with a sharp inhale, clutching the unsheathed split soul katana so tightly that she bled into the futon. mai's voice still rung loud in her ears whilst she screamed in agony the whole night. yuta had found her curled up in a pool of her own blood, sobbing and still clutching onto the katana while deliriously calling for mai's name.
each birthdays, maki would get another cake—mai's favourite, strawberry matcha—and lights up the candles for her in privacy. she would save a slice of her own birthday cake from her celebration, puts a single candle on that slice, and softly sings happy birthday to mai's cake. she doesn't dare to blow out the candles on the other cake, letting the fire melt away all the candle until it dies on its own. maki would leave her half eaten slice, swap it with mai's to eat some, and left both uneaten slices on mai's altar. she would light up incense, and leave a small branch of wisteria (mai's favourite).
after a lifetime of living with half of her soul missing, maki found herself in that beach-side dreamscape, the perpetual gloomy blue dissolved by bright and warm sun shining on her salt-brushed skin. in the water, she found herself standing with arms tucked behind her back.
except, it wasn't herself. mai is there, wading through the water towards maki. mai has that cheeky smirk on her lips, her voice is still as youthful as the day maki lost her when she spoke, "about damn time you're here, idiot.".
maki hadn't realized her face is already drowned in streams of tears, replying mai with, "yeah, yeah. missed you too, you little shit.".
somewhere in the southern horizon, a pair of geese migrates towards the sea, carrying stalks of reed in each their beaks.
