Mai Zenin's face flushed red in an instant, and she wished she could crawl into a hole. What on earth did I just say? But she quickly realized something else.
"You were messing with me?"
"I admit I was teasing you, but it was also a test. Do you not want to beat your sister?"
His gaze was clear as he looked straight into Mai Zenin's eyes, making her feel uneasy. "I do want to beat her, but what does that have to do with you flirting with me?"
"A person's strength depends on both talent and mindset. To achieve great things, one needs not only ability but also unyielding resolve. If you cannot even muster the courage to say no to me, how are you going to win? If it were your sister, she would never be this weak."
Mai Zenin had no answer. As identical twins who grew up together, she knew exactly how strong her sister was in this regard. More than one person in the Zenin Clan had their bones broken by her.
Even when someone stronger came after her, she never gave up resisting. Even covered in wounds and blood, she would still bite a piece of flesh off her opponent. Those clan members with filthy thoughts would lose all interest in Maki Zenin, and they would not dare to have any either.
If you wanted to possess Maki Zenin, you would either get a mangled heap of flesh or be stabbed when you let your guard down. This was Maki Zenin, a woman who was always fighting. She was not born with thorns, but learned to grow them just to survive in a harsh environment.
"Enduring everything and drifting along, Mai Zenin, this is the biggest difference between you and your sister. If you do not change at the root, you will never beat her in your life."
"I… I…"
Mai Zenin wanted to argue and tell Akira it was not like that. But she knew just as well that this was exactly the kind of person she was, and anything she said would only be a lie. This man had never been looking at her body, but at the deeper core of her heart and nature.
This was her greatest secret, something even peers like Kasumi Miwa and Mechamaru did not know. Only Momo Nishimiya had sensed her pain and struggle through intuition. In the chaos of her thoughts, she met Akira's clear gaze once more.
She felt something in her mind snap, and the disguise she had worked so hard to maintain collapsed along with all her defenses. Long suppressed emotions surged up. "Is it wrong to just endure everything? Is what Maki Zenin does really always right?"
"What is so bad about drifting along? How many people live worse lives than we do?" As she spoke, her eyes reddened and large tears fell, soaking her chest and splashing onto the floor.
"Why does she have to leave home? Why does she have to oppose the family and push things this far? Why does she have to work so hard? Would it not be fine to be ordered around at home, do some odd jobs, and just scrape by?"
"I am sick of struggling, pain, and fear!" "Even if she succeeds, what does she really get?" "Did she ever think that if she fails, she will end up with nothing, like Makoto? Why will she not fall together with me…"
As if giving up completely, Mai Zenin, who always cared about her appearance, dropped down into the corner. She hugged her knees, buried her head in her arms, and curled up like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand.
"You, who have such great power… you would never understand, would you, how people without talent are supposed to live…"
Ah. It was said out loud.
Everything in her heart spilled out, and it looked ugly, weak, and even she felt ashamed of it. This was exactly why she never dared to be honest with her sister. She was afraid her sister would look down on her, afraid of being disliked, afraid that no matter how hard she tried, she could never catch up.
She wanted to follow her sister's footsteps, but found that no amount of effort closed the distance. No, even the word effort felt insulting when placed next to her sister. A capable older sister and a useless younger one would always be a joke to others.
Well, whatever. It was already said, and regret came too late.
Akira was so close with her sister. Before long, Tokyo Jujutsu High and Kyoto Jujutsu High would probably all know. What would everyone think of her then?
Her sister. Momo. Kasumi. Utahime Iori.
Maybe things would never go back to how they were before. Perhaps this was what people called social death.
Strangely, it did not hurt much. She even felt a little lighter. It had been a very long time since she had spoken her Makoto thoughts so openly.
Whatever happened was fine. There was nothing left to be afraid of.
As the tear marks slowly dried, her emotions settled down as well. The girl lifted her head again and stepped out of her closed-off state.
The first thing she saw was a tissue. Turning her eyes to the side, she saw Akira sitting on the ground just like her, holding the tissue in one hand and scrolling on his phone with the other.
"Is this really how you comfort a girl?" Mai Zenin felt conflicted. Anyone would think you lack sincerity when you are doing two things at once.
"That's because I don't know how long you're planning to shut yourself down."
Akira spoke honestly. Waiting was boring, and you're not my girlfriend, so there's no need to spoil you.
"I thought you had already left." Having shown her true self in front of Akira, Mai Zenin stopped pretending altogether.
"I was the one who made you cry, after all, and you're Maki Zenin's sister."
"Again with Maki Zenin. You know I don't like that answer."
"Can you stop being so sensitive? How long have we known each other, and how long have I known your sister? Relationships need time to build. Also, do you actually dislike your sister?"
Catching the half-smiling look from Akira, Mai Zenin fell silent once more.
This Boy always seemed able to see straight through her heart, leaving nowhere for her deepest thoughts to hide. Worse, he never cared whether she wanted to hear it or not.
"What you dislike is probably yourself, the version that got left behind by your sister and still can't catch up."
"Can't you leave a lady a bit of dignity? Now I finally know why you and Maki Zenin get along so well."
"Enough about dignity. What do you really think?"
"Why should I tell you? Who are you to me? My boyfriend, or my brother-in-law?" At this moment, Mai Zenin finally looked like a twin.
"You can think of me as nosy. Let's call it an exchange. About the question you asked me earlier, I actually thought about the answer. Do you want to hear it?"
"My mouth isn't on you, and I can't stop you anyway. Do whatever pleases Lord Akira. I'm just a weak little woman who goes along with whatever comes."
"It would be nice if you had this attitude toward your sister too."