(Pov 3rd)
The Zenin clan estate was the largest of the big three. Despite the power held by the Gojo clan when they produced a member with the Six Eyes and Limitless, when these unique individuals didn't exist, they were relatively weak, with their own inherited technique being extremely difficult to use without the Six Eyes. The Zenin, on the other hand, had multiple powerful inherited techniques that didn't require a secondary trait to be fully utilized. The two primary techniques are well known: the Ten Shadows and Projection Sorcery. Though there is currently no Ten Shadows user within the clan, they do contain two users of Projection Sorcery. This isn't even to mention the many other powerful techniques contained within their military unit, the Hei.
The Hei consisted of the most powerful members of the Zenin clan and was led by their current clan head, Zenin Naobito. Naobito was a rather abrasive man who preferred to drink, yet despite this, he was considered a powerful sorcerer and was at one point the fastest sorcerer alive until Gojo Satoru fully awakened his Limitless technique. Naobito had many children, but the most important one was his youngest son, Zenin Naoya, as he had also inherited his father's technique and had risen the ranks of the Hei to become its second strongest member.
The year was 2009, and on a day like most others, Naoya was engaging in his favorite activity, bullying small children. In January 2002, Zenin Ogi, the younger brother of Naobito, had twin girls, Zenin Maki and Zenin Mai. As twins, they were considered to be one person, but they had been split, meaning that Mai got some cursed energy and a cursed technique while Maki got almost no cursed energy and no technique, as she had a Heavenly Restriction. Despite this, Maki was determined to grow stronger and prove that she could become a powerful sorcerer too, while Mai was content to live under the clan's abusive attitudes. This meant that Naoya would often belittle and beat up the young Maki while Mai watched for his own amusement, but on this day, things were about to change in the Zenin clan, and the fate of the two twins would be forever altered by one man.
(Pov Maki)
I hate this clan so much. They all look down on my sister and mock us directly in our faces. Naoya, the big jerk, just couldn't leave me alone, always pushing me around and now literally stepping on me. One day, I swear I'll punch his stupid face right off.
"You're such trash, why do you even try?" He sneered above me, putting more pressure to keep me from moving, but I wasn't about to let him get his way.
"Jeez, Naoya, I guess it was too much to hope you'd listen to what I told you, huh?" A strange voice said one I didn't recognize at all. The next thing I knew, the weight on me was gone, and when I looked up, a strange man was holding Naoya by the arm. He was tall, even taller than Naoya. He was wearing a pair of white hakama pants, and on top he wore a simple black athletic shirt that was tucked into the pants. The strangest part of him, though, was his face, specifically his hair. It was entirely white despite not looking that old, even Uncle Naobito didn't have hair like that. His eyes were also strange as they were an extremely bright blue, and they held an intensity that didn't match how relaxed his face was.
Before Naoya could respond the lifted him and tossed his body across the yard and into one of the ponds nearby. Then he leaned down near me before he spoke again. "He really did a number on you, huh? What a jerk, but I guess one conversation thirteen years ago doesn't really count for much." He seemed to be talking to himself mostly, but then he looked over at Mai, who had been standing off to the side. He gestured for her to come closer. She seemed hesitant and looked to me, and although I didn't know who this was, if he was beating up Naoya, then he was good with me.
Once Mai got close enough, I pulled her into a hug while also trying to hide her from view. She had always been cautious, and I didn't want her to get hurt. "Who are you? And how did you even get in here?" I asked with suspicion, despite our seemingly mutual dislike of Naoya, I had no idea what this guy wanted. His eyes lit up as he seemed almost excited to see that I was willing to say anything.
"My name is Gojo Satoshi, Special Grade sorcerer. As for how I got in, well, let's just say they didn't even notice me on the way over." He said I felt like I had heard his name somewhere before, but it didn't sound like the right one. I thought the Gojo clan guy was named Satoru? Before I could ask, though, other members of the clan began showing up, including several members of the Hei and the uniformed Kukuru squad. They surrounded us, members of the Kukuru pointing their weapons while Hei members began to file out in front of him. The members present included a still rather wet Naoya, my father, my other cousin Jinichi, and Chojuro. Soon, even Uncle Naobito showed up, and he didn't even have his gourd with him. Was this guy really that serious to them?
"Gojo Satoshi, I hear you're causing trouble in my clan. You have one chance to tell me why you're here." Naobito said his voice was rough and tense; he seemed worried despite their numbers.
"Oh, that I was just messing around, I mean, clearly your son is clearly under-stimulated if he spends his free time beating up little girls, you should find him a hobby," Gojo said, his voice had an undercurrent of anger that hadn't been there when he was talking to me earlier.
"What happens within the walls of the Zenin clan is only the concern of the Zenin clan. You have no right to interfere."
"Well, I don't much care for these 'clan matters,' but I'll leave on one condition," as he said this, Gojo pointed at Mai. "I want you to release these two into my care."
There was a ripple of surprise through the crowd and through me as well. Why would he say that? What could he possibly want with two supposedly talentless girls?
"Despite their unfortunate condition, those two are still members of the Zenin clan. We can't possibly let you take them, especially since you're a Gojo." Naobito said in response that he didn't care about us, just how this would make the clan look.
Gojo, though, seemed almost excited at having been denied. "Oh, is that right? You know, maybe I don't much care about your clan pride and decide to kill you on my way out." After he said this, he opened his mouth really wide and pulled something out. I couldn't see what it was, but Mai, next to me, let out a gasp as whatever he had was revealed. Then he lifted his hand above his left shoulder, and from out of nowhere he pulled out a strange staff divided into three sections with a chain. The other Zenin clan members took a step back, and even Naobito and the other Hei members seemed shocked.
Before things could escalate, though, my father leaned over and whispered into Naobito's ear. Once he was done, Naobito had a tired look on his face. "Well, it's your lucky day, the girl's father has agreed to relinquish them into your care now leave." He said before turning and walking away, and slowly, the other members of the clan dispersed as well. The last to leave was Naoya, who looked especially angry.
Once the crowd left, Gojo returned the staff to the air he got it from before, then took out a pair of glasses and handed them over to me. "Here you'll need these for a bit." His voice was much more gentle now than before, and when I put the glasses on, I was shocked when I saw a weird purple worm wrapped around his upper body and hanging over his shoulder.
Mai was the first to speak up between us, as I was still in shock over seeing the strange creature. "Umm, Gojo-San, what's going on? Why are we going with you?" she asked, her voice small. She had always been more accepting of the clan's attitude towards us, and without their structure, she didn't know what would happen next.
"Don't worry, I knew your cousin, and I knew how badly your clan treats those who aren't considered strong enough, so I came by to help you guys out. From now on, I'll be the one helping you reach your full potentials also you can just call me Satoshi. Now, come on lets go." His answer was odd: Which cousin was he talking about, and how did he know about the two of us? He didn't leave much time to wonder, though, as he held his hand out to us. I had always hated this clan, but knowing I'd get to leave and take Mai with me was something I never thought possible. In the end, I knew we had to take the chance, so I took his hand and held onto Mai with the other as he led us out of the clan compound for the first time in our lives.
(Pov Satoshi)
Operation Rescue Maki and Mai was a success and now I had acquired a pupil. I had known for years that I would want to help Maki grow given how similar our restrictions were so when Satoru went out and picked up Megumi I figured it was time to do the same even if it was a little different given that Megumi had been living with hsi sister in the normal world and I had technically just kidnapped these two but thts just semantics. I had also wanted to save Mai as well, because despite her unwillingness to join the world of Jujutsu, her technique Construction could be powerful if she had the cursed energy she would have been born with.
For them to both reach their full potential, though their souls would have to be disentangled, and with my ability to view my own soul, coupled with the Soul Split Katana, I was confident I could separate the two of them. First, though, I needed to take them to Shoko to get them checked over and make sure any injuries could be fixed. I was honestly a little disappointed at them letting me leave, but I'm sure Naoya at least will try something later, given who he is, but I'm not worried about that bum.
After a short travel, we finally arrive back at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Things have changed quite a bit over the past three years. For one, I finally graduated. I had managed to do so earlier than usual due to my own restriction, and having already reached Special Grade, they decided I had nothing more to learn, so I left, though I did plan to stick around obviously. Satoru was sticking around to be an official teacher, and Suguru was nearby as well. He wasn't sure if he wanted to teach, and so was taking a few years to do his own thing with Riko. Those two had gotten especially close since the original mission. Shoko had stayed on with the school as their primary doctor due to her being the only one around who could perform RCT. Unfortunately, things couldn't all be good. Haibara and Nanami went out on a mission, but once there, the curse turned out to be too strong for them, and they were both injured. Nanami made a full recovery, but Haibara lost an arm, and he decided to retire from Jujutsu afterwards and go back to his family.
Entering the medical room, we found Shoko waiting with a rather angry look. I guess news travels fast when you threaten an entire clan. Still, she wouldn't stay mad at me, probably another change was that we had both grown closer over the years as well, and recently we had officially begun going out.
"Hey, Shoko, I was looking for you." I said, "These two are Maki and Mai. I was hoping you could make sure they aren't broken or anything, please."
She sighed before she stood up and walked over. As I had gotten taller recently, she was now shorter than I was. As she got closer, she took a peek at the twins who were hiding behind me.
"Satoshi, why did I hear that you went to the Zenin clan and stole two children?" She asked, looking back up at her with disappointment in her eyes.
"Oh, it's not like that, Shoko, they weren't treating them right, think of it like a rescue."
"Fine, but tell me next time you plan to kidnap random children, I'm not ready to be a mom." With that, she gestured to the nearby checkup tables and went to work using her RCT to fix up any scrapes or injuries, though most of those were on Maki from earlier. Once she was done, the twins were about to jump back down before I stopped them.
"Sorry, kiddos, but one more thing I want to try. I just need you two to hold very still and maybe close your eyes. This might be scary." I said and then pulled out the Soul Split Katana from the worm.
"What? Satoshi, no, this is a bad idea."
"Come on, trust me a little, I know what I'm doing."
"What if you miss?"
"Oh, you know me, I don't miss." With that, I brought the sword down between the two of them as it cut, I could feel the there between them that was holding both of the girls back, and using my own knowledge of the soul found which parts could be cut away and which couldn't. After what felt like an hour but was really just a few seconds, the sword finished its arc, and the twins both let out a gasp.
I had managed to do it; now Maki would have her full Heavenly Restriction, and Mai would have a much larger reserve of cursed energy. "So how do you feel?" I asked them
"I feel weird like something is gone, but it's good that it's gone." Maki said, looking at Mai.
"I feel like I got something that I hadn't realized I was missing." Mai said as she also looked at Maki.
They would both become great sorcerers, and now neither of them had to die for the other to reach their full power. That's one more thing down on my list now to get down with the training. There are still a few years left before Okkotsu Yuta will be found by the higher-ups, and after that, things are going to move fast. I need to find out what Kenjaku is planning before it happens, or else nothing I've changed will matter. Things are looking up, but for how long can that last?