Chapter Text
Mai wakes to the gentle shaking of her body, a tickle of hair at her neck, and a familiar hand gripped in her own. It makes her feel like she's four years old again and unaware of the realities of her own situation again.
"Wake up, Mai." Hot air brushes against her ear, and Mai considers whether she can get away with rolling over and falling back asleep.
"Mai," her sibling tries again, more insistent this time, more urgent, "Get up. We're leaving."
Mai opens her eyes faster than she has ever before. With those words, she is more awake than if she had drunk coffee. "Don't even joke about that."
Instead of Maki's infuriating smirk, Mai is greeted by her sibling's unamused face.
"I would never joke about something like this," they chide shortly, before sighing and quietly settling in seiza on the floor. It's then that Mai realizes that Maki is already dressed with two packed bags at her feet. Her own hakamashita and hakama[1] are already laid out by her head. It is obvious that Maki had prepared everything as thoroughly as they always do.
"Mai," they say like a warning, snatching her attention once again, "You can decide what you want to do, but I've already made my decision."
Maki lets go of her hand, and in the brief moment of emptiness, Mai feels abandoned, has the fear of being alone shooting through her heart and spreading across her body. She's half-blind in a haze of panic when Maki's words cut through and reach her.
"I'm heading to the top," her face softens minutely, "but that doesn't mean you have to follow me."
Mai takes a fortifying breath. Now, Maki's made the decision easy on her. She reaches out and her hand is met with another, rougher one.
"You already know that as long as you don't leave me behind, I'll always follow you."
Maki smirks, and Mai feels like she's the most important person in the world. "Good," her sibling praises, "It's time to show our dear clan leader what we're capable of."
In the end, Maki confronts Naobito alone. There was never any world where Maki would put more danger on their sister than necessary, and confronting their uncle was certainly dangerous. Mai leans against the corner of the compound with the two bags sitting beside her as she waits for Maki to finish.
She closes her eyes and feels her heart pounding in her ears, but she dares not drift off for more than a second. This was important, and if Maki needed help somehow, for any reason, Mai needed to hear whatever signal they give off. Plus, Mai really wanted to hear Maki speak what's been on both their minds since they'd been relegated to servitude.
"Ah, you're here," she hears the coarse voice of Naobito disturb the tranquility of the morning. He takes a loud swig out of his gourd, sighing as he finishes the gulp. "Go refill this. Hurry, now."
There is no pattering of feet, no sound of Maki's compliance. It's a more real sign that Mai can hope now than the twins' earlier conversation and agreement.
"Unfortunately, you'll have to ask someone who cares about your orders—" Mai can practically see Maki's smirk despite not being in the room "—as I don't qualify anymore. I'm leaving."
"You're leaving the clan, Maki?" Mai shudders at how gross her sibling's name sounds coming from their hated clan leader's mouth. Her fists curl in her lap and a sense of relief that this will all soon be over warms Mai.
"You have plenty of servants … right? " Oh, Naobito can't hear—or, perhaps, refuses to acknowledge—the sarcasm in Maki's voice, the mocking of the 'Zenin way,' since he just snorts.
"Don't worry, though. I'll come back someday, Clan Leader. " And Maki is a stronger person than Mai will ever be. Had Mai been in her sibling's place, with freedom so close, she would not have been able to be so respectful, so mocking. She does not know how she'd act; all she knows is that Maki made the right call, refusing Mai's offer to confront Naobito together.
"Because I'm going to be the head of the Zenin clan! "
Mai barely registers Naobito's crass laughter over the cold feeling washing over her. That's what Maki meant by heading to the top. And Mai bites her bottom lip as she wonders what she signed herself up for—because the head of the Zenin? That might not be somewhere Mai can follow Maki to, might not be something Mai is strong enough to survive. It's unsettling, terrifying, and beautiful. Maki's ambition, her caring heart—it all makes Mai's own heart swell with admiration and love her sibling. She decides, right then, that she'll follow Maki on this path… even if that means her death. In a way, it's relieving, to know she's going to be working towards something from now on, something she chose for herself, something which can help Maki. Maki, who has ambitions larger than the bottomless shadows of the Ten Shadows Technique. Maki, who is everything to Mai. Maki, without whom, Mai would be nothing.
"Then I'll put you through ordeals befitting that! "
"Do as you please ," Maki retorts flippantly. They're walking towards the door now, the pattering of their unique gait comforting Mai.
"And Mai, as well ," Naobito threatens like it's a trump card. And, Mai realizes, it would've been—if Maki hadn't already thought to bring Mai with her. She wonders how much she could have come to hate Maki if she had been left behind, wonders how long she could even survive without her twin to anchor her. The answer is: she doesn't want to know, not even as a thought experiment.
The footsteps stop. "She has nothing to do with this [2]," Maki growls, and Mai can see—out of the corner of her eyes—Maki's body at the threshold between the room and the outdoor hallway. She sees the way her sibling turns around, body tensing protectively. "Besides, Mai's coming with me, and there's nothing you can do to stop us."
"Ha, and how are you going to do that? You'll barely be able to survive yourself out in this world without the Clan's backing; how do you expect to support deadweight too?"
"That's where you're wrong." Maki's voice is low and dangerous in a way Mai has never heard in all their lives. "Mai isn't deadweight, and we'll more than survive without the Clan—we'll thrive now that we're not shackled down by your inanity."
And with that final parting shot, Maki fully leaves the room, leaving behind nothing—no regret, no tears, no feelings.
Mai silently hands her sibling her pack. In return, Maki reaches out for Mai. Hand-in-hand, the twins leave behind the chains they had been restrained with since birth.