TO LOVE A MONSTER ❪ jujutsu kaisen ❫

xii: secrets exchanged over train rides.

SHINJUKU STATION, NOVEMBER 2016.

"That's your Cursed Technique?" Maki breaks the silence that has settled over them ever since they boarded the train. They probably cut imposing figures with the blood splattered over their bodies even though they've done their best to clean up at the train station's bathroom but nobody bothers them except for glancing at them warily every now and then. Kaori stirs from where she had been staring out at the passing scenery, turning to look at the girl. Maki's eyes bore into her's, her voice lowered as Inumaki sleeps on her shoulder, exhausted from the events of the day. Yuuta is similarly asleep on Kaori's shoulder, the gash on his side roughly bandaged by Kaori when they had stopped to load up on supplies for the train ride. She licks her dry lips before she answers.

"Yes,"

"It's powerful. How come you never use it?"

"It's a curse," Kaori snaps back before she reels herself back in at Maki's raised eyebrows. "No Face is a Curse that had been ruthlessly tamed into a Cursed Technique by my mother-" at least, that's what she assumes since she doesn't know which one of her parents it came from. Her knowledge of the Curse depends on the scriptures and passages Tooru relentlessly tore the world apart looking for, only knowing that 'No Face' ❪ called so because of its flickering faces that never seem to settle on one ❫ was once a devious Special Grade Curse on the levels of Ryomen Sukuna before it had been coiled and snapped into a vessel by a multitude of sorcerers. She doesn't know how it came to her, only knowing that Tooru was able to see it because of the close to heavenly blood that flooded his veins and that No Face was the only reason she and Haku got adopted in the first place. The creature swarms through her body constantly but is tightly sealed by the constricts of her mind and the Fujiwara seal over her heart. "It wants to destroy anything and everything. This is the second time I brought him out,"

"And the first time?" Maki's tone is purposefully light as if she is giving Kaori the chance to not answer if she does not want to but Kaori thinks back to the numerous training sessions that transpired between them after their first one, the shared smiles and the way the girl is similar to her like the others aren't. Maki is her friend and she trusts her. Kaori wants to honor the trust the Zen'in girl shows her every time she turns her back to Kaori during their missions, knowing and trusting that Kaori will have her back. That's why she opens her mouth and alters the truth that spills from her lips.

"I had a beloved one named Haku. We would both exorcise Curses together from a young age. I was too slow to save him and he died. I released No Face to destroy all of the Curses there," Maki looks surprised before sadness settles over her features.

"You were close to him," Kaori swallows, thinking back to Haku. Sweet, lovable Haku who had clung to her skirts at the orphanage and insisted that they get adopted together. Who grew like a bean sprout and called her 'onee-san' in his high, sweet voice. How his black hair would card over his eyes and he would huff impatiently and shoot a bright smile at her whenever she combed it out of his blue orbs. The way life had seeped out of him because he had refused to attack the Curses around them because it endangered the civilians around them, how he had reached out desperately as if to touch Kaori one last time before he died. His body had felt so cold in his arms and the rage that flooded her had made her scream the incantation to summon the monster Tooru tried to coax out. She remembered the mix of thrill and fear in Tooru's eyes as No Face's chuckle filled the street, as the beast had torn through the Curses like they were nothing but ants under its shoes.

"I loved him," she confesses. Maki looks away to give her some privacy as Kaori pushes her sorrow, digging her nails into her arms to make the emotion go away.

"You know, I have a twin sister," Maki says abruptly. "Her name's Mai. While I have no cursed energy, she has some of it. She went through a lot of trouble because she was related to me. The Zen'ins are cruel to women, but to a girl related to an atrocity like me? She went through shit because of them. They treated me like shit too, made sure I knew how much of a mistake I was," her words are almost apathetic if not for the current of bitterness lining them. "I promised her I would stay with her forever but I couldn't stand the Zen'ins. I left a year ago and she hasn't talked to me since then," a smirk crosses her lips, devoid of any humor. "I'm going to become a First Grade sorcerer and take the Zen'in Clan Head position by force. And then, I'm going to make the Zen'in Clan a place for Mai to live in happily," Maki finally looks back at Kaori and starts when she sees the admiring expression on the girl's face.

"Maki-kun, you're really cool," she expresses. "Despite being looked down on by people, you're still working hard to prove them all wrong. I know you'll be able to do it," she smiles encouragingly at Maki. "The Zen'in Clan would be much better under your leadership," Maki blinks at the girl's words before her head snaps to face the window, cheeks filling with color.

"I'm not the Clan Head now,"

"It doesn't matter. You're a thousand times better than any of them," Kaori says sincerely, making Maki grit her teeth. The mission seems to have reduced all the wariness Kaori interacts with them, replaced by a need to make sure the girl is aware of how much of a marvel she is.

"You'll be there by my side to cheer me on, won't you?" she questions, making Kaori's lips curve into an unconscious smile. It's pretty much Maki asking if they'll still be friends in her usual stilted way — the same way she grouches but lets down on Kaori during training when she gets tired, her huffs and rolls of eyes when Kaori gets injured but patiently bandaging her up — and Kaori feels her stomach settle with the warmth of the girl's tentative outstretched branch. She can't promise Maki anything, especially since her fate now might end in misfortune with Yuuta still alive and well, but she can say one thing for sure.

"I'll do my best to be,"