Ren leaned his head back against the solid wood of his door.
Of course she knows Maki is gone, he thought. They might hate each other, but the Zen'in clan keeps tabs on everything.
"Okay," Ren prompted gently. "And?"
The line went dead silent, save for her shallow, anxious breathing. Finally, she forced the words out, sounding as if they physically pained her to say. "And... I was wondering if you wanted to hang out."
Ren blinked at the wall opposite him. "Hang out?" he repeated, making sure he had heard her correctly.
"Don't make me repeat myself," she muttered, sounding utterly mortified but refusing to back down. "There's a café in Shibuya. I want to check it out. You're going to come with me. Think of it as making up for... whatever happened at the Goodwill Event."
Ren rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "Tomorrow, huh?" he stalled, his mind rapidly calculating his next move as the System's passive charm continued to wreak havoc on the Kyoto sniper.
Ren sighed, staring up at the plain white ceiling of his dorm.
"Look, Mai," Ren said, his voice dropping a little as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You know I'm not looking my best right now, right? Honestly, I look pretty rough. I have all these burn marks from my last fight, and... well, it's not really a great look to walk around Shibuya with."
On the other end of the line, Mai inhaled sharply.
"I—" she began, her voice suddenly softening into something close to genuine concern.
But just as quickly as the vulnerability appeared, she choked it down. There was a brief silence as she caught herself, quickly burying the slip-up beneath her usual haughty defense mechanisms.
"What does that even matter?" she said, though she wasn't as mean as she usually was. "Did I say I wanted a model? I don't care if you have burns, idiot. It's just a coffee shop. What does feeling ugly have to do with getting coffee?"
Ren blinked, genuinely surprised by the swift and stubborn shutdown. He let out a defeated, quiet chuckle, realizing he had completely backed himself into a corner.
"Yeah," Ren conceded, a wry smile tugging at his lips despite his better judgment. "Yeah, you're right. Fair point."
"Exactly," Mai huffed, sounding incredibly relieved that he hadn't hung up on her. "So, don't try to weasel out of it. Meet me at the Hachiko statue tomorrow at noon. And don't be late."
^_____^
Ren swallowed hard. Does that permission apply to her twin sister?
Especially with the Shibuya Incident fast approaching. He knew exactly what kind of hell was going to break loose on October 31st. If he wanted to survive, every move he made from here on out needed to be calculated.
Then, a sudden thought hit him, making his eyes widen in the dark room.
In terms of cursed energy, identical twins were considered the exact same person. Maki's incredible physical strength—her Heavenly Restriction—was incomplete because Mai still had a tiny amount of cursed energy. They were two halves of the same soul, pulling each other down.
Could getting close to Mai actually fix that? With his System involved, was there a chance he could trigger a Full Heavenly Restriction? If he could figure out a way to bridge the gap between them, maybe he could help Maki reach her ultimate potential without Mai having to sacrifice herself.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
A small, hopeful smile slowly crossed Ren's face. If he played his cards perfectly, he might be able to save them both. If he could survive the nightmare in Shibuya and figure out this twin curse, maybe he could help them finally make peace.
Imagine that, he thought, leaning back on his pillows. Maki and Mai, putting all their baggage behind them and living together with me in one big house in the future.
No more fighting. No more clan politics. Just peace.
Suddenly, the awkward coffee date tomorrow didn't feel like a dangerous trap waiting to blow up in his face. It felt like the very first step of an incredibly important mission.
"Alright," Ren muttered to himself, reaching over to click off his bedside lamp. "I guess I'm going to Shibuya."
...
The next morning came quickly. Ren woke up feeling rested. He took a shower and picked out a simple outfit—a dark long-sleeve shirt and comfortable jeans.
The long sleeves hid most of his new burn scars, but a jagged line still peeked out near his collar. He didn't bother trying to cover it up. Mai already knew he was hurt anyway.
He caught the train to Shibuya. The city was packed, as usual. Ren stepped out of the station and walked over to the famous Hachiko statue. It was 11:45 AM. He was fifteen minutes early.
He leaned against a nearby wall and waited. A few girls walking by giggled and stared at him. But he ignored them. He only had one goal today.
Right at noon, Mai walked out of the crowd.
Ren blinked, genuinely surprised. She wasn't wearing her Kyoto Jujutsu uniform. Instead, she wore a stylish black turtleneck, a dark plaid skirt, and knee-high boots.
She looked great, and it was clear she had put effort into her outfit. But her face was tense. She looked like she was ready for a fight, not a date.
Ren smiled and pushed off the wall. "Hey."