---please read beginning author 's note----

A few weeks pass after Maki 's birthday, and they settle into some strange sense of normalcy. They 've got a schedule now, showing up at the old gray building every four days. Their banter gets smoother, more equal; she doesn 't make jabs at him as much, at least, not ones he can 't return. He still keeps up his shitty jobs, and his daughter still leaves him after every training session for a fake family who doesn 't care about her, but sometimes he almost feels what one could call...

happy.

The feeling is foreign, but far from unwelcome. Still, Toji 's got a weird premonition that admitting some part of him is happy will take it all away, and he stews in disquietude for a solid three days before he finally decides to do something about it.

Toji 's got some tough questions, and there 's only one person that can give him answers. He fishes out his hilariously ancient flip phone, given to him by someone he kind of regrets giving his number to, seeing as she sends him cat videos at 5 AM at least once a week. He punches in her number and puts the call on speakerphone.

'Oh? You 're actually calling me first? ' Yuki snorts. 'We better write down the date. '

'Ah, what day is it again? ' Toji says in lieu of a greeting, and he scratches his head. 'September 17th? '

'Toji, it 's February. '

Eh, close enough. 'Whatever. You wanna grab drinks tomorrow or something? I got a pretty big question for ya. '

'Sure, ' Yuki replies, and somewhere between the third and fourth time he held her hair back as she threw up in a dumpster after a night of drinking they must 've gone from researcher-and-subject to friends, because it 's only after she agrees that she asks, 'Is it something bad? '

'Too tough to explain over the phone. ' Or rather, he 's too lazy to try. 'That old bar with the retro music by your place. 8 PM. See ya tomorrow? '

Even over the phone, Toji can hear the smile in her voice. 'You got it, big guy. ' Then she hangs up the call.

The next evening, Toji hops on the train to head over to Yuki 's town. Her place is pretty far from his; unsurprisingly, no thanks to the difference in salary between a special-grade sorcerer and--whatever the hell he is. He got a bit side-tracked on his way over to the bar, so he 's almost an hour late -- in his defense, he was

this

close

to striking it big at the pachinko parlor today! -- but she must be used to that, because it seems like she just got here, too. It 's just like her to already account for his abysmal punctuality. Smart woman.

When he walks up to the bar, Yuki tosses him a lazy smile and a wave. 'Hey, hot stuff. '

' 'Sup, gorgeous? '

They do this a lot, this sort of half-flirting Toji doesn 't know if it's for real or not. He likes spending time with Yuki. She 's warm in her own brash way and she doesn 't do bullshit; which is refreshing, because sometimes it feels like bullshit is all he ever does.

In mock analysis, Yuki stares at him. 'Let me guess. Horse races today? '

'Ooh, so close. Pachinko. '

'Alright, let me guess again. Drinks are on me, aren 't they? '

Toji slides into the barstool next to her and pats his now-empty pockets. 'Ya got me there. '

Yuki barks out a laugh and flags down the bartender. When they 're together, he usually lets her order for him. She 's got a better handle on all the good stuff, and well--alcohol is alcohol, right?

'So what 's new with you? ' she asks as the bartender sets two glasses and a bottle in front of her. She picks the bottle up and pours them each a drink without even looking.

Well, he has a kid now and his life is no longer meaningless, but he 'll get to that in a minute. 'What 's new with

you? '

he returns.

'Just got back from Geneva, ' she tells him, and yeah, Toji doesn 't even know where that is. Canada, maybe? 'Met a few people there with interesting ideas about the origins of cursed energy, but nothing worth writing home about. At least the chocolate was good. ' She slaps a bar of chocolate onto the counter. 'For you, handsome. '

Heh. Toji can 't help but smirk at that. 'Got me a souvenir, huh? Couldn 't stop thinkin ' about me while you were away? '

She punches him in the arm playfully. 'Not a chance, jackass. I had extra, ' she says, but with a mischievous cadence to her voice that makes Toji jab her in the shoulder back. They both crack up at that, and knock back a very long sip of their drinks in perfect sync.

'Oi. We ever hang out like this back before-- ' Toji makes a vaguely circling gesture around the alphabet soup that is now his brain. 'Y 'know. '

'Nah, ' Yuki replies. 'I told ya, you always blew me off. '

'Well, I was missin ' out. '

'Oh stop it, you smooth-talker. I 'm swooning over here. '

Uh, Toji wasn 't really kidding, but he laughs anyway. 'Hey, Yuki, ' he starts, and there 's really no delicate way to ask this, is there? 'Did you know I have a kid? '

Yuki furrows her brows. 'I 'd heard about it, ' she begins. 'But the Zen 'in clan keeps a tight lid on their secrets,

especially

from someone like me. Still, I got my ways. ' Yuki throws him a wink. 'I figured your kid might be out there, but not much beyond that. Why do you ask? '

'Well, I think I found her, ' Toji states, and then-- 'Wait, the

who

clan? '

Yuki pales. 'Oh, shit. '

One thing he 's learned about her: Yuki is a talkative drunk. Although, tonight she hasn 't had very much to--wait, is this

tequila?

Okay, never mind.

'You wanna back up there a little bit? ' he chuckles.

Sighing, 'The Zen 'in clan is--where you came from, ' she explains, and

fuck,

Toji doesn 't think he 's ready for this. 'They 're one of the three great sorcerer clans, boasting immense power, influence, and resources. '

'Ooh, resources? ' Toji giggles. 'Lucky me. Guess I better run home to take some of those

resources

with me to the casino. '

'Slow down, tiger. You weren 't exactly popular with them, ' she replies, looking like she

really

doesn 't know if she should be saying any of this, but continues anyways. 'You know how everyone else in the world has cursed energy except you? Yeah, they weren 't really a fan of that, especially when you turned out stronger than any of their best sorcerers after they 'd already cast you aside. '

Toji laughs into his drink. 'Now why am I not surprised? '

But Yuki just frowns in response. 'This is why I told you to lay low, Toji. A lot of people would want you dead again if they knew you were alive and kickin ', and the Zen 'in clan is only the tip of the iceberg. There are a hell of a lot of others, especially...the man that did this to you in the first place. ' Yuki rubs her temples, but Toji would be willing to bet his last stack of cash that his headache is worse than hers right now. 'You know, I 'd intended to start working with him right before I saved you, but I 've had to keep a real distance from him this past year and a half. I like to think I can be hard to read-- ' and Toji

highly

doubts that, '--but those eyes of his could see right through me. '

'Hang on, ' Toji says, and he holds up a hand as if to stop both of their trains of thought. There isn 't

nearly

enough alcohol in his system right now for this. 'You

know

him? '

'Not well, ' Yuki sighs, 'but yes. '

Toji almost laughs. It 's meaningless information for someone who has zero context of the world around him, but he still can 't stop himself from asking, 'What 's his name? '

'His

name? '

Yuki repeats. 'Ruler of the Unlimited Void domain, heir to one of the three great sorcerer clans, wielder of both the Six-Eyes and Limitless jujutsu techniques, Special-Grade sorcerer Satoru Gojo. '

He feels like hearing that should stir up some deep hatred trapped inside him, but all it does is make the stitches on his arm and side itch a little more than usual. Toji sighs, and he whistles through his teeth. 'That 's a long fuckin ' name. '

'Hah! ' Yuki barks out a laugh. 'I guess. You know, in another life, I bet you two would 've been the best of friends. '

'With a cocky bastard like that? ' Toji snorts. 'No way in hell. '

She smiles and swirls her drink against the countertop, the nearly-melted ice clinking against the sides of the glass. After another minute of silence, she speaks up again. 'So...you think you found your daughter? '

'Yeah, ' he tells her. 'Her name is Maki, and she 's a goddamn angel. '

Yuki chuckles and waggles a finger. 'I always knew you were a softie. '

'Oi, watch it. '

'You 're not even denying it! '

'It wasn 't worth denying! ' Toji shoots back, but he 's laughing when he does it. 'She 's a lot like me. Almost no cursed energy, in comparison to my none. You know anything about that? '

'Come to think of it, I

did

hear of a child in the Zen 'in clan who was similar to you. ' She taps her chin in contemplation. 'It 's not...

entirely

impossible. '

That does little more to confirm what Toji already was sure of in the first place, but it 's still sort of comforting. 'Yeah, 'course it isn 't impossible, ' Toji replies. 'Knew it the second I saw her. We 've been trainin ' together, but that 's pretty much it so far. ' Well, unless you count the tree-climbing and the birthday thing, but he 'd gotten her to agree to both of those under the guise of training, too. 'I don't think she hates me, but I don't think she believes me, either. '

'Well, she 's probably been told something different her whole life. She 'll come around, ' Yuki says, and Toji truly,

truly

hopes that she will.

Toji shifts in his seat and drains his glass. It clinks against the granite with a hollow thunk. 'Oi, Yuki. One more thing, ' he says, and he only figures out that he doesn 't want to know the answer to this question until after it leaves his tongue. 'You know anything about Maki 's mom? '

The grin slips off Yuki 's face, and she shifts her gaze back to the drinks lining the shelves of the bar, swallowing thickly.

The silence speaks the words Yuki clearly can 't bring herself to say. Toji breaks it first.

'She 's dead, isn 't she? '

Yuki gulps. 'Yeah. '

For a while, Toji waits for the understanding to hit him like some sort of twisted epiphany, but the vacuum in his chest stays exactly the same. Instead, a bitter smile twitches at his lips, and he forces out a laugh that feels as hollow as he does. 'Why did I know you were gonna say that? ' he wavers. 'Why did I already know you were gonna tell me that my wife is dead? Is the cruelty of the universe that fuckin ' predictable? '

Yuki meets his eyes again, expression heavy with sympathy. 'Toji, I 'm so sorry. '

'Sorry? What for? ' he croaks. 'There 's nothing to even be sorry for. '

Dubious, Yuki 's brows knit with concern. 'Are you okay? '

'Huh? 'Course I 'm okay. Why wouldn 't I be okay? ' Distantly, he can hear the crazed edge to his voice that lacerates the air like a razor blade, his empty laugh tolling like a church bell at a funeral. Melancholy. Mournful. 'I don 't know anything about her. I can 't even remember what she looks like. I don 't remember her name, or her birthday, or what dress she was wearin ' on the day of our wedding, so why wouldn 't I be okay? ' He wraps a hand around his glass and squeezes it until it cracks, glass slicing at his fingers until he feels himself bleed. 'After all, what can a man with nothing left even

lose? '

'Toji, you--you don 't know

nothing

about her, ' Yuki whispers. 'Just listen to yourself. You called her your wife, right? I never told you that you two were married. '

Toji 's breath hitches. 'I--

fuck, '

he curses, scrubbing his hands over his tired features. He digs his nails into his thigh to drag himself back to reality by force. 'Sorry, Yuki. Gimme a minute. '

'The hell are you apologizing for? ' she says softly. 'Take your time, Toji. I 'm right here. '

Toji isn 't sure he deserves that kindness, but he doesn 't have nearly enough strength to argue. He waits for the roar in his brain to dull back to the white-noise television static that usually drowns out his thoughts. He doesn 't have five heightened senses for nothing, so he tries to use them to ground himself. He hones in on the ambient sounds of chatter between the customers in the bar. His tongue tastes heavy with alcohol and the air is tainted with the tang of copper. Something in the kitchen behind the bar smells like it 's just about to burn. He 's got one hand on his sweaty face and the other against his worn-out jeans, and when he opens up his eyes and blinks the blurriness out of his gaze, he discovers that Yuki has unwrapped the bar of chocolate and pushed it in front of him.

That 's actually kinda sweet. He manages a smile at that.

'Do you want me to walk you home? ' she offers.

He 's

not the one who 's hammered after a single glass. 'Shouldn 't that be the other way around? '

'We 're pretty far from your place, ' she notes. 'You wanna just crash on my couch or something? '

Wouldn 't be the first time. 'Yeah, yeah, fine. '

Yuki ditches her motorcycle at the bar -- she 'll pick it up tomorrow, she

swears

-- and they call a cab back to her place. Upon arriving, Yuki gives him a drunken wave and a slurred goodnight then stumbles back into her bedroom and shuts the door behind her. Toji topples back onto the couch in the living room.

He flops an arm over his face and lets his swimming thoughts drown him, grabbing a hold of his ankles and pulling him into the undertow. In the frigid depths of the water he opens his eyes, and unsurprisingly, he 's in the hospital again.

Toji, you 're spacing out again,

the woman says.

What should we name our baby?

There isn 't a face to the voice, just a feeling. He loved her, he knows he did. He wonders if he wept over her gravestone, or if he couldn 't bring himself to go to the funeral at all. He wouldn 't put it past himself. He 's always been a coward. In the dark he tries to picture what she looked like, cursing his stupid brain and wishing he could claw the memories out by force.

It 's a strange sensation, being told about his own life as if he were an outsider, like a parent reciting a story to a child who can 't yet read. It 's a distant, detached feeling, as he fills in his own life experiences with a stunted imagination.

Toji, you 're spacing out again.

He

wants

to remember her, but there 's a small sliver of himself he hates to his guts that hopes he never does.

The Zen 'in clan would just be the tip of the iceberg,

Yuki said. Fuck, who the hell

was

he in his past life to make

that

many people hate him? How long would he even have the chance to enjoy the happy memories before the dark truths poured into his consciousness like spilled ink and stained everything black?

Toji stumbles to the bathroom to splash his face with icy water, but makes the mistake of looking in the mirror.

His reflection glares at him with crimson smeared on his face and a maniacal grin across his mouth, banging his fist against the other side of the mirror until Toji swears he can hear it crack.

You already know what you are,

his reflection whispers with a bloodsoaked smile.

You don 't need any memories to know that, do you?

Fuck, maybe he 's drunker than he thought he was. He drags his feet back to the couch and flops back down.

Toji, you 're spacing out again.

Yeah, he really is spacing out, isn 't he? He wonders what she 'd think if she could see him now. Just a man who lives to cause pain to others, who had the audacity to get himself killed and leave their daughter behind. Maybe Yuki shouldn 't have saved him. He knows he deserves a slap across the face, if he thought he 'd be going to the same place she went when he finally kicks the bucket.

Toji, you 're spacing out again.

What should we name our baby?

'Maki, ' he replies into the darkness. 'We should name her Maki. '

Two days later, he meets up with Maki again. Toji knows he 's being weirdly quiet, and if Maki notices, she doesn 't comment; which is kinda surprising, since she usually doesn 't miss a chance to poke fun at him. He enjoys every second of that, and he 's beginning to think that she does, too.

How the hell is he even supposed to tell her something like this?

'Hey, kid. I know we just met like a month ago and you don 't even believe I 'm your real father, but I just wanted to let you know that your mom is dead. '

How could he burden her with that?

He wishes he knew if Maki looked anything like her.

So instead, he casts aside the wooden sword he 's using for practice today, and it clatters against the concrete with a reverberant crack. Maki turns her head to face him.

'Oi, Maki, ' he starts, and he

loves

that he even has to ask this, 'you got any weapons on you right now? '

Maki narrows her eyes suspiciously. 'I

might

be hiding a knife in my skirt. '

God, he 'd do anything for her. 'Awesome. Hey, don 't stab me for this. '

'Huh? What are you-- ' But she immediately cuts herself off when Toji crouches in front of her, wraps one hand behind her back and the other behind her tiny head, and draws her into a hug.

Maki freezes. She freezes, but she doesn 't push him away, so Toji pulls her closer. It 's a hug so tight with emotion it 's painful, cutting right through the loss and the sorrow and pushing back the curtains behind his empty heart. It fills the ever-constant hollowness in his chest with a warmth so bright it 's overflowing, spreading throughout the nexus of his veins like wildfire. He holds her for a long time like that, in silence without solitude, smooth and soothing like blue champagne.

He could 've stayed in that moment forever, but Maki starts to tremble, so Toji lets go.

'Thanks, ' he says as he shoves back to his feet. He ruffles her hair, and she doesn 't even try to stop him.

'For--for what? ' Maki stutters.

'For not stabbing me, ' Toji answers, but they both know it isn 't that. 'Now, c 'mon. Let 's get back to training. '

-----------------------

Ever since she ran into Toji at the weapons shop, Maki 's life has gotten really freakin ' strange.

For one, he 's patient with her, even if he barely knows how to show it. His words of encouragement are stumbling at best; but they 're

there,

directed at

her,

and she 's never heard anything like that from anyone else in her life. He 's not very bright, and he doesn 't really try to hide it. But there are other things he tries at,

really

hard. Chocolate is her favorite flavor of cake, and she wonders how the heck he knew that without her even telling him.

She could almost say he 's...

caring,

in his own gruff way, and it makes her question everything she 's ever known. She 's been called every insult in the dictionary and then some.

But Toji calls her his daughter. Maki 's beginning to think he truly believes that, but she can 't say she feels the same way.

Still, she 's not stupid enough to rule out the possibility that he 's a Zen 'in. They really are strikingly alike, and he almost seems like he would 've looked a bit like her cousin Naoya when he was younger; well, at least before her cousin hit his teenage years and decided to go emo, bleach his hair, and start wearing eyeliner.

What a jerk.

She 's not allowed in the Zen 'in family archives, and the one time she tried she felt it over the next four days. She only has one source that

might

listen to her questions, and it 's a long shot at best. She heads to the main training room in the left wing of the Zen 'in compound.

'Father, ' she says, and he looks up at her like the word disgusts him, and all Maki can think is how it 's everything Toji would ever want to hear. Naoya is tucked into the corner of the room in his training attire, looking bored with the whole world. He doesn 't make any movement to acknowledge her when she slips into the room, and she genuinely wouldn 't put it past him to not notice her at all.

'What do you want, child? ' her father spits, like giving her even a second of his time is far more than she deserves.

But Maki 's used to that. She clears her throat, if for no other reason than to show how unaffected she is. 'I was just wondering. Was there ever anyone else in the clan who was born like me? ' she asks. 'You know, with no cursed energy? '

Now

that

gets Naoya 's attention. He whips his head up so quickly he almost slams it into the crisp paper screen he 's leaning against, eyebrows shooting straight up into his crappy dye job.

But her father makes a motion to silence him before he even has a chance to open his mouth.

'Of course not, ' Ogi snaps, far too quickly. 'You alone are the most shameful curse this clan has ever had to bear. '

Naoya snorts. Ogi swats at him again.

Hm.

Maki folds her arms across her chest. She may only be seven, but she 's seen enough for someone ten times her age. It doesn 't take a genius to know that he 's lying.

'Really? ' she says incredulously. 'So there was no one else? No one born with less cursed energy in exchange for increased physical strength? '

Ogi 's expression is unreadable, but she can tell he 's trying to read her face, too. 'No, ' he repeats, in a rumble so low it shouldn 't be obtainable from a human throat.

'No one. '

Tension hangs heavy in the air, as if all the gravity throughout the compound has been pulled into the room like water down a storm drain. She 's not sure which of them will crack first: herself, or her father. They 've played this game many times. His victories were dominant in the beginning, but the scales are slowly starting to tip in the other direction.

Just a little longer.

One of the two of them will break.

But in the end, it 's Naoya.

He chuckles and leans forwards with a mischievous glint in his eyes, and instantly Maki regrets ever coming here in the first place.

'Oh? So you 're just gonna lie to her? ' Naoya mocks, as if this whole conversation is for his own entertainment. 'As always, you old cowards are too scared to even

talk

about your failures with Toji. '

Maki swears she can feel her heart literally stop. 'Toji? ' she squeaks.

'Yeah, Toji, ' he repeats, enunciating each syllable so that her father flinches with every letter. 'Don 't let this decrepit fool deceive you. He was the strongest man to ever come out of this clan. Other than me, of course. ' His lips curl into a devious sneer, and it 's a twisted, hideous little thing. 'Didn 't even have a shred of cursed energy, but they 're too chicken to admit he could 've torn them all to shreds. Too bad he had to run off and get himself killed. '

'Killed? ' Maki repeats, somehow in an even higher octave than before.

'Killed, '

he repeats with a lash of his tongue, cracking against the air like a whip. 'You know the Six-Eyes in the Gojo clan everyone 's always prattling on about? They fought, and he lost. ' Naoya tsks and shakes his head. 'What a shame. It wasn 't supposed to go like that. '

'Silence! ' her father commands, but Naoya just snickers.

'You fools wouldn 't even let him near me, because you were afraid I would find out the truth. But it was all too easy to slip through your fingers. I even got him to train with me a couple times, though he complained the whole time. ' Naoya waves a hand dismissively. 'I think he just wasn 't built to handle kids -- not that it mattered. He would 've made a terrible father. I still think it 's sickening that he went off and had a baby with some monkey trash. '

By now, Maki can barely find it within herself to speak. 'He had a

baby? '

'Supposedly, ' Naoya replies, and his expression turns sour. 'But we can 't be sure. If it exists, no one knows where that kid even is. ' He prods at her father with his toe. If Maki tried something like that, she 'd lose her leg. 'If you useless geezers hadn 't

refused

to keep track of him when he left the clan,

that

wouldn 't have happened. '

But Ogi 's face hardens, as if he knows something they both do not. 'An unfortunate oversight, ' he grouses. 'But Toji Zen 'in was an embarrassment to the family and a stain upon the clan. How many times do I have to tell you to give up that obsession of yours, boy? '

Casually, Naoya shrugs him off.

'Obsession

is a strong word, ' he drawls.

'Keen interest

is more like it. Unlike you and my father,

I

have no intention of ignoring real power once

I 'm

head of the clan. '

'Keep up this kind of behavior, and you will become no such thing, ' her father seethes, but Naoya just gives him a devilish smirk. They both know he can 't prevent that from happening, and as much as they try to shroud clan politics from her, Maki knows it too.

'Whatever, ' Naoya scoffs, then he turns his slimy gaze back towards Maki. 'By the way, don 't go thinking you 're

anything

like him. You 're nothing but a poor imitation cooked up by a man past his prime. ' Ogi looks about ready to kill him, and Maki wishes that he would. 'So don 't get the wrong idea. '

'As if I 'd listen to anything you said at all, ' Maki bites back, and Naoya just rolls his eyes disinterestedly. Ogi 's still glaring at her cousin, and Maki is too done with both of them to wait for him to stop. She swivels around on her heels and marches out of the room -- and stops just before she can cross the doorway.

'Father, ' she says quietly. 'I 'm

your

daughter, right? '

She doesn 't need to turn around to know that he 's fuming at her right now. She doesn 't even want to try to imagine the look on Naoya 's face.

'What? '

her father exhales. 'Of

course

you are my daughter. I watched as you were cut out of your mother 's womb, and she has not left this compound since the moment she became my bride. Do you have any idea what I have

lost

because of you? If I did not have such a

useless

heir,

I

would be head of the clan instead of my brother. ' Ogi leans forwards, and the pressure in the room drops like a rock to the bottom of a lake. 'You are my greatest regret, you miserable little girl. There is no child in the world with less potential than you. '

Maki lets out a long sigh. The first time he said something like that and she was old enough to understand him, she 'd cried her eyes out; the second, she got absolutely sick. Each time after that cut into her like a river to a mountain, until she was so worn down that she no longer felt anything at all.

'I thought so. '

Soon, Maki shuffles out of the room, eyes unconnected from the world around her. She 's about halfway down the hall to her room when she hears footsteps padding after her, and before she can react, Naoya is right behind her.

Thanks to Toji, Maki is

fast

-- but Naoya is still faster. He grabs the fabric of her collar from behind and wrenches her around to face him.

'Why would you ask something like that? ' he hisses, pupils shrinking into pinpricks as venom drips from his tongue.

Maki wriggles in his grasp, to no avail. 'Cut it out! I was just curious! '

But Naoya doesn 't look like he 's buying that at all. He cocks his head and surveys her expression, in the same way a lion would look at a gazelle. 'What do you know about him that you aren 't telling me? '

He's not even dead, you idiot!

But she'd never say that even if her life depended on it. 'N-nothing! I only know what my father just told me! ' she stammers, and she

hates

that her voice is wobbling like this, but he 's stomped her face into the dirt too many times to keep her words steady.

Naoya 's face twists into something that can only be described as monstrous. 'You will

never

be Toji-sama, ' he spits, and whoa,

who

doesn 't have an obsession? Then before she can stop it, he darts his other hand towards her, rips her glasses off her face, and throws them onto the ground.

He crushes them under his foot with a nauseating crunch, and her heart breaks along with them.

'Know your place,

trash. '

He walks away, and his cackles reverberate throughout the wooden halls of the compound even after Maki runs to her room, slams the door closed, and covers her ears.

After an impossibly long time, she finally draws in a shaky breath.

'You 're wrong, stupid Naoya, ' she whispers to her floor. 'Toji

wouldn 't

have made a terrible father. ' She draws her knees into her chest, and keeps her tears from falling out of sheer willpower. 'He wouldn 't have made a terrible father at

all. '

-----------------------

Toji and Maki have finally stopped trying to one-up each other with how early they can each be to their training sessions, and they both usually wind up meeting each other at the door at exactly ten o 'clock. Still, Toji felt strangely restless today, so he wandered over to the building a bit earlier than usual. It 's around 9:15, so he props himself up against the grainy concrete wall and closes his eyes as he waits for her.

Maki gets there a bit early, too. 9:45. Why is he not surprised?

He pushes to a standing position, bones cracking like popcorn -- fuck, he really needs to stretch. He lazily waves a hand to greet Maki, until something catches his eye.

Her face is bare. The signature red-rimmed glasses she keeps glued to her face are nowhere in sight.

'Oi, Maki, ' Toji calls. 'What happened to your glasses? '

'Someone-- ' Maki cuts herself off. 'They broke. '

Toji might be dumb, but he 's not stupid. He can finish a sentence when he needs to. He 'd ask her who did it, if he thought he 'd get an answer. She can 't even look at him right now. 'Don 't ya worry, kid. I 'll get you a new pair. '

'They were special, ' Maki mumbles, and they really were, weren 't they? How the hell is she supposed to see curses now?

'I know, ' Toji says softly. 'I 'll figure something out. '

They walk into the building, but Maki 's still staring off into the distance, eyes cloudy and glazed over as if she 's looking at something he 's totally blind to.

'You don 't have to, ' Maki replies. There 's something in her voice that sounds almost guilty.

'I know I don 't

have

to. ' Toji gently ruffles her hair. 'But I

want

to. '

But that just makes Maki 's face fall even further. She immediately changes the subject -- to something Toji can process even less than the discussion they 're having now. She sits down on the ground and crosses her legs, so Toji plops down beside her.

'Why don 't you ever talk about your past? ' she murmurs.

Fuck.

He knew they 'd have this conversation eventually, and he 's been dreading it to his core ever since. He knows he should make something up, but the words just don 't come. He can 't bring himself to lie. 'Because I don 't remember it, ' he finally whispers. 'I got into a big fight and I lost, real bad. Some kid blew a hole through my side and wiped my mind along with it. I got lucky enough to have someone pick me off the dirt and save me, but clearly, not quickly enough to save

all

of me. ' He heaves a long sigh. 'Fighting that guy is one of my only clear memories. '

'Was his name Six-Eyes? ' Maki asks.

What the hell did Yuki call him again? Ruler of the black hole domain? Heir to one of the four great sorcerer clans? Wielder of the infinite-- fucking--

whatever.

'Something like that. '

Maki blinks at him. 'Was he strong? '

Unfortunately. Toji sighs again.

'Really

strong. '

Maki furrows her brows. 'My creepy cousin thinks you shouldn 't have lost. '

'Yeah, well your cousin is wrong, ' Toji scoffs. 'Honestly? I had it coming. I think I was supposed to die. '

Eyes darting to the floor, Maki looks away at that. There 's a taut silence that tugs at the air, like surface tension on a cup of water about to spill over. Toji thinks for a while that she 's going to drop the subject, but before he can get back up and return to their training, Maki grabs hold of one of his pant legs with a tiny fist.

'No, ' she says, so quietly he might 've missed it if he 'd breathed a second sooner. 'You weren 't. '

A harsh pang slams into Toji 's chest, knocking the wind clear out of his lungs in a single smack. Whatever 's left of his brain short-circuits, each synapse frying one after another. He tries to catch his breath, but it 's a solid five minutes before he finally does.

'Maki? '

he chokes.

'Do you still think I 'm your daughter? '

Does she really have to phrase it like that? It 'd kill him if he weren 't already dead inside. 'Yeah, ' Toji sighs. 'I do. '

'Does it make you upset? ' Maki asks, finally turning towards him. 'Are you disappointed that it 's me? Because I can 't do anything special? '

'Wh-where the hell is this coming from? ' Toji stammers, and he never knew that heartbreak could be a physical thing until now. 'Of

course

I 'm not upset. If there 's anyone that should be upset, it 's you. I don 't know how a deadbeat guy like me deserves a kid as determined, strong, and resilient as you. ' He wraps an arm around her shoulders. 'I 'm not disappointed in the slightest, and don 't ya

dare

say that you 're not anything special. Maki, I 'm

proud

to call you my daughter. There 's no child in the world with more potential than you. '

Another moment, and Maki 's face just--it

crumples,

like the only thing that was holding that steel-jawed expression in place all this time were toothpicks and string, and Toji 's just cut some essential thread.

'I have to go, ' Maki sobs, fat tears rolling down her cheeks in little waterfalls as she stands up. 'Bye. '

Toji pushes to his feet. 'Maki? Hey, wait! '

But she scampers off, and Toji 's left all alone wondering what the hell he did wrong.