[a/n: Story is ahead by some chapters on the other side (link in bio). Will try to get it to 10 chapters ahead before the next chapter here. Consider this a bonus gift for being patient]
(Kaito's POV)
"Ara, Mai-chan~" Noya said as we sat down across from Mai and her friend, Miwa, "You seem to be in a foul mood. Did you not want to see your brother?"
Mai was scowling, "Shut up." She said, "Don't presume to know what I wanted or not."
We were in a hotel room that Naoya had booked prior to this. We invited the two, solely to speak to Mai, but her friend ended up tagging along. I hadn't seen her in a while, that Mai. She looked well, seemed to be doing good.
But there was that same look in her eye, similar to Maki. There was some animosity in her eyes every time she looked at me. It was a bit disheartening, seeing the way she looked at me.
Naoya chuckled, "Someone's snappy."
"I'm only here just so Kaito doesn't cry about it later." Mai said, "What do you want?"
"Geez." Naoya looked at me, "If we wanted to speak to a grumpy twin, we would have stayed home and dealt with Maki-chan. I thought you were the laid-back one, Mai-chan."
"Tch....." Mai looked away
I sighed, "Naoya, stop antagonizing her." I said, "There's a reason I invited her. I wanted to speak to my sister after not seeing her for so long."
"Well, talk." Mai muttered
Her friend cleared her throat, "K-Kaito-dono." She said, "I heard you fought one of the Disaster Curses!"
It was obvious that the girl wanted to change the topic in an attempt to lessen the tension in the room. It was a noble attempt; she was a good person. I did recognize her to be Kusakabe's student, back when I learned Simple Domain from him.
I nodded, "Indeed." I said, "Maki got injured, however. I suppose I got there too late, my sister suffered burns that left her permanently scarred."
"But you saved her." Mai muttered, still looking away
"He did." Naoya said, "When he heard that she could've been in trouble, Kaito-kun took with blinding speed. I've never seen him run out of the estate so fast, fufu~"
I nodded, "I was able to force the Curse to retreat, not before injuring it." I said, "If I had gotten there earlier, I probably would have been able to kill it and save Maki from being burned. But alas, that was not possible. She is doing well, our sister. She is currently recovering still, but she could leave the estates if she wanted to."
"Ah....." Miwa said, "Kaito-dono, I heard from Kusakabe-sensei that you were strong. And watching you exorcise those Cursed Spirits, that really confirmed it."
"Hm..." I said, "I am somewhat strong."
"Ara, my love is being humble." Naoya said with a chuckle, "He has two Cursed Techniques~ Blazing Courage, which is pretty strong and Construction~~"
"C-Construction???" Miwa leaned forward, genuine interest in her eyes, "Like Mai-chan???"
Mai scowled even more, "Tch....!"
"That's right." Naoya said, "But Kaito-kun's Construction is far superior. He is able to create multiple objects a day without issue. You see, due to his training with Blazing Courage, his Cursed Energy received a special trait; it is refined and sharp like a blade. This refinement allowed him to utilize his Construction far better than one would think. And he utilizes his refined cursed energy well, imbuing it into his blade, making his sword attacks far more dangerous."
"W-Whoa...." Miwa said, "A refined and sharp Cursed Energy Trait.....if he only uses his Sword Arts, he would still be formidable!"
"Yep~" Naoya said as she hugged my arm, "But combining that with Blazing Courage, his swordsmanship is inferior to nobody~~~"
"Good for him." Mai muttered
"Hm...." I said, "Mai. Have you kept up with your training?"
"Somewhat." She said, crossing her arms
"She's getting better with her sharpshooting skills." Miwa said, "Almost every day, she fires her rifle and sometimes her revolver!"
"Don't say that so casually." Mai said with an angry look
"Have you been able to improve your Construction?" I asked, raising my hand, "Last I checked, you were only able to create a single bullet a day."
Mai looked at me, "What does that matter to you-"
She widened her eyes to see that I had created around ten bullets imbued with cursed energy, floating slowly above my hand. I then let them plop down into the floor in front of me, seeing how she looked at me with shock and anger.
"W-Wow..." Miwa said, "And you don't feel tired at all from doing that?"
"No." I said, "One day, Mai could be able to do this."
"I told you, his refinement allowed him to utilize Construction better." Naoya said, "My husband is quite the prodigy."
"Tch, fuck this." Mai said as she stood up and stormed out of the room, "This was a waste of my time."
As she exited the room, Miwa stood up, "Mai-chan!"
She followed her out of the room, leaving us alone.
"I didn't mean to....." I started
"I know." Naoya said, "I might've gone overboard with complimenting you."
"You definitely did." I looked at her, "I think that's what ticked her off. I should go and apologize to her."
I noticed that Naoya was giving me a sly smile, blushing slightly. There was mischief in her eyes, something telling me that she had thought of something.
"What is it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow
"Miwa." She said, licking her lips, "How about her? She seems to be a fan, eh? I like her. I think I want her."
"No." I said, "She's Mai's friend, that's not right."
"I can convince her." Naoya said, "Let's give it a shot."
I stood up and walked over to the door, "Don't be ridiculous." I said, walking out of the room
I turned to the hallway, seeing that Miwa and Mai were a few meters away, talking.
"I'm done here!" Mai exclaimed, "Let's go back!"
"But Kaito-dono was just trying to be nice, he didn't mean to offend you!" Miwa said, "Mai, I don't understand why you hate him so much!"
"Shut up!" Mai shouted, "You don't need to unders-"
"Mai." I said, reaching them, "I am sorry."
Mai looked at me, an angry look on her face, "Sorry?" She said, "You're sorry???"
"I didn't meant to offend you." I said, "It's been a while since we've seen each other, I was interested in your progress. That is all."
"You know, that's always been your problem." Mai said as she took a step forward, "You were never interested in us specifically, Kaito. You were always interested in our progress."
"Mai..." Miwa grabbed her hand, "Don't say that."
Mai pulled away from her grasp, "You are just like father!" She exclaimed, jabbing her finger at my chest, "Never caring about us specifically, just what value we can bring to the clan."
I frowned, "Mai....." I said, "I'm not like him. Don't you ever say that to me again."
"Or what?!" She said, clearly enraged, "Kaito! You.....!!!"
"What?" I asked
"I fucking hate you!" She spat, glaring at me, "I've never loved you nor cared for you!"
"Mai!!" Miwa exclaimed
Mai turned around and stomped away, leaving us standing alone in the hallway.
Miwa looked at me with a sad frown, "K-Kaito-dono...." She said softly, "I am so sorry, Mai-chan does not me-"
"I know." I said, cutting her off, "I know she doesn't mean it."
"Ara...." Naoya appeared next to me, "Well, that went well."
"Hm." I looked at her
Miwa bowed slightly to us, "On behalf of her, I would like to apologize." She said, "Mai-chan has been rather stre-"
"I reject your apology." Naoya cut her off
Miwa looked at her, "W-What?"
"Unless....." Naoya said with a smirk
"Naoya, no." I said seriously
"Unless what?" Miwa asked
Naoya smirked even more, licking her lips, "Fufu~" She said,
"If you join us for sex~~"