Jujutsu Kaisen: Becoming the strongest as Yuji Itadori

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On that silent night, where the moonlight illuminated just enough to discern the surroundings, a faint rustle of the wind harmonized with the sounds of the small forest animals nearby.

Maki, standing under the moonlight, gazed at the landscape before her with indifferent eyes.

The village where she had spent much of her life was now nothing more than a heap of rubble—a mere ghost of the once-powerful clan that had resided there.

She could see the disheveled bodies of clan members scattered everywhere, but her detached demeanor made it clear she was not there for them.

Without so much as a second glance, she stepped over the bodies and entered the ruins, her eyes searching for something only she could know.

But no matter how much she wished otherwise, she couldn't stop the memories that flooded her mind as she continued on her path.

Memories of an unpleasant time, of days when she found herself oppressed by the very people she was supposed to protect.

"You need to learn how to behave properly for your future husband!"

"Learn to fight? Don't be ridiculous! Stop entertaining such ideas!"

"A useless girl like you wanting to join the Kukuru Unit? Don't make me laugh!"

Her lips tightened as she recalled those words. None of it was ever said to protect her from a harsh future—it was always a way to belittle her, as none of them ever took her seriously.

They all saw her as nothing more than a concubine meant to belong to a future clan member, someone to boost their numbers and, perhaps, give birth to a child with an interesting technique.

All of them were...

"A bunch of bastards!" With irritation crossing her face, she kicked the body of one of the fallen Kukuru Unit members, sending it flying into some debris. "..."

She watched the rubble fall over the deceased but merely shrugged, showing no sign of remorse.

Yet she wasn't there to dwell on those vexing memories. After all, the Zenin clan no longer existed for her to exact her revenge.

She was there for one person—someone who, unlike the others, had shown her a hint of affection and concern, at least as far as she could remember.

Her mother.

"Maki, your mother is alive."

She remembered Yuji's words, spoken when she sought to learn more about the massacre of the clan.

Initially, she truly didn't know how to feel about it. Her mother had never been that different from the others, often trying to force her down the path of a mere concubine.

"Maki, please come back."

But as much as she wanted to dismiss it, she couldn't forget the words her mother had spoken when she visited the Zenin clan to collect the cursed tools… It might have seemed like she was acting coldly, but Maki vividly remembered the instability in her mother's voice.

She was afraid.

And that was why Maki was here—searching for her mother.

She wanted to uncover the reason behind that fear.

"..."

Sshhh!

As she walked a little further, she immediately caught that faint sound, her attention snapping toward a small house that wasn't as destroyed as the others.

It was slightly farther from the main house, so it made sense that it had withstood the battle.

Even so, it was strange and convenient, because...

This was the house where she had spent much of her childhood.

"That smell..." She sniffed the air, her eyes lighting up with memories of her childhood she thought had been lost among the darker ones. "Her tea."

The scent of the tea her mother used to prepare for her and her sister—one of the few moments they could escape the clan's influence and enjoy a bit of peace.

It was nostalgic, and it only deepened her resolve to see her mother.

She wanted to know what she and Mai had meant to Mio Zenin.

Standing in front of the wooden door, Maki noticed the sounds of footsteps inside, her previously indifferent gaze faltering as she prepared to open it.

She hated her mother for allowing Ogi to hurt Mai, and she hated her for her passivity during the years of suffering they endured, but... She didn't want to make a mistake by refusing to listen to her.

Creak!

"..."

As soon as she opened the door, their gazes met almost instantly.

Lively black eyes locked onto tired black ones.

"..."

Silence lingered between them, and Mio, with her usual indifferent expression, simply turned to remove the whistling kettle from the fire. She carried it calmly to a table at the center of the house, placing it down with care.

Maki, her gaze softening, watched as memories came flooding back.

"Come in, it's tea time," Mio said in a serene voice.

Maki, observing her mother kneeling in front of the table, remained silent as she moved toward it, sitting down in her own careless manner.

"..."

The silence continued. Mio poured tea for them both as if nothing was out of the ordinary, her indifferent eyes watching her daughter pick up the teacup, sniff it, and take a sip.

That brought a faint smile to the older woman's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come, before Maki could notice.

"How is Mai?"

Maki seemed surprised by the question, but narrowing her eyes, she placed the cup back on the table and replied coldly, "She's fine, no thanks to you."

"..." Once again, silence dominated the room.

As much as Maki wanted to converse properly, it was impossible to forget that her mother had practically conspired to have the two of them killed.

The anger from almost losing Mai had left her unstable, making it difficult to keep her emotions in check.

"I see... It's good to hear that," Mio nodded, a faint hint of satisfaction crossing her features before vanishing again.

Maki noticed and her expression softened, her lips pressing together.

But those signs… those signs that her mother genuinely cared. Maki wanted to understand! Did she see them merely as outcasts or as her daughters?

'Mom, what do you feel for us?!'

"..."

As the two silently sipped their tea, Maki, lost in her inner turmoil, paused with a complicated expression, her eyes rising to meet her mother's cold gaze.

"Mom..."

She began, and Mio, setting down her tea, focused on her daughter.

"Why?"

That question might have seemed simple, but in that situation, it carried tremendous weight—a burden abruptly placed on the older woman's shoulders.

Why had she accepted all of this? Why hadn't she moved to save her daughters? Why had she remained silent in the face of the atrocities committed by that cursed clan? Why?

Why did she keep bowing her head?

"..."

The truth was simple.

Because she couldn't.

In the eyes of the Zenin clan, Mio was disposable—nothing more than the wife of Ogi Zenin, the patriarch's brother. If anything happened to her, Ogi would simply find another woman.

Her daughters? Complete failures who hadn't even been born with a decent amount of cursed energy, destined for nothing but ruin.

To the clan, or even this cruel world, none of them mattered.

Mio had grown up knowing that and bore two beautiful daughters with that knowledge ingrained in her mind.

That was why she had tried so hard to steer her daughters onto this path. It might have been cruel, but in a clan that would never let them truly be independent, it was the only path where she could at least watch over them… to ensure they were safe.

But when Ogi declared he would kill them both, Mio—completely devoted to the clan—felt cornered. Her principles, deeply rooted after a lifetime of serving the Zenin clan, clashed with the feelings that had arisen in her heart the day these two girls were born.

The feeling of love.

Mio loved Maki and Mai, but…

She lacked the strength to oppose those who sought to harm them.

That was why, even if it was futile, she had tried to stop them from moving forward. But proving her failure as a mother, they had ignored her words.

Mio, like the two of them, was a victim of the Zenin clan, but it was impossible to deny her own mistakes.

She had failed as a mother.

"Why?" Mio repeated the word, her eyes shifting to the empty teacup on the table, a spark of melancholy breaking through her stoic expression and becoming increasingly apparent.

Maki watched this and remained silent, focusing all her attention on the woman before her.

"It's… all because I'm weak."

And after a few more seconds, the tension dissolved as those words left the older woman's mouth.

"Maki, forgive me, but… I've always been weak."

Maki, startled by the regretful expression on her mother's face, stared with a touch of shock in her eyes.

It was the first time she had seen her mother look… vulnerable.

"Weak in standing up to the clan, weak in protecting you two from this world, and too weak to save you from your father!" Mio continued, her tone trembling, her usually cold eyes now moist as she lowered her head to her daughter. "I know, I know I don't deserve to be forgiven! But Maki…

I have always loved you two as my daughters and…"

Maki's gaze faltered, her lips pressing together as those almost-forgotten memories resurfaced—memories of Mio's loving smile as she watched her daughters play.

"I… I have always been proud of you two! I'm proud to have given birth to such wonderful girls!" Mio's nails dug into her palms, her tears dripping down as she kept her head lowered.

!

Maki abruptly stood, shaking her head as if trying to rid herself of the memories, and turned toward the exit. Behind her, her mother clutched the wood that cracked under her grip.

Her heart tightened.

Her senses, honed to an entirely new level, told her without a doubt that every word her mother had spoken… was filled with the purest sincerity.

But that left her conflicted. She had come to this place seeking answers, but this was not what she had expected.

'No...' And as sincere as Mio's words were, Maki didn't want to accept them. After everything, the anguish, the anger—these emotions refused to yield.

She wanted to leave this place and leave this woman behind, to let her be consumed by her regret for everything that had happened.

But the conflict within her held her back.

The conflict sparked by those memories and her mother's heartfelt remorse, now crying behind her.

Should she…

Should she give this woman a second chance? The woman who had allowed all these things to happen? Did she truly deserve…

Forgiveness?

"I don't deserve your forgiveness…" Mio didn't lift her head to look at her daughter, who had moved to the door. But in her broken tone, she pleaded. "But please, I want you both to know that I truly…

Love you very much."

Bam!

Mio, hearing her daughter suddenly turn and approach abruptly, closed her eyes in acceptance, believing Maki would do what she had come to do from the start.

And she wouldn't blame her for it. After all, seeking revenge was only natural.

At least she wouldn't die without letting them know how she truly felt.

'I have no regrets about raising them.' Mio thought with a sense of peace.

She wanted to see them safe, and with both of them alive, she could leave this world with a satisfied smile.

!

"..."

But as she waited for the pain that never came, Mio's eyes slowly opened when she felt something wrap around her body. Her lips trembled as she saw that black hair beside her face.

Instead of her death, Mio received something she had never thought possible from her daughters—something taken from her the moment she failed in her role as a mother…

"Maki…" Tears streamed down the older woman's face, her arms wrapping around her daughter's back as she began to sob.

A hug.

"..."

Maki hugged her mother, her lips trembling as she fought to hold back tears.

The conflict within her disappeared as her arms enveloped the woman who had raised her.

She had not entirely forgiven her mother yet, but…

She wanted to give herself the chance to do so in time.

"..."