On January 20, 2006, when the New Year's mood had largely faded from the world.
On this day, having safely turned four years old, Maki and Mai enjoyed their birthday cake and were eyes aglow at the birthday gifts from their family and their master, Yuki.
First were the 'shoes', a present from their biological mother, Mari. Sent to the two of them after receiving Naoya's seal of approval that 'bags and shoes are not defined as clothing, so they do not conflict with Mai's Binding', they were well-tailored children's loafers. This choice was made in response to the fact that Maki and Mai had started wearing Western clothes—or rather, the Magical Mai-chan Dresses—as their main attire.
Accompanied by a brief note that read, 'Take care of your health and do your best in bridal training,' this gift was the first present Maki and Mai had ever received from a parent, and needless to say, the two were terribly happy.
Next was a present from Toji Fushiguro, who, although he didn't take much care of them, was technically acting as a guardian for the two and Naoya at the moment... To put it simply, this was a small set of cursed tools. However, the method of acquisition—'war booty stripped from a random curse user with a bounty that the intermediary Kong hunted down'—was kept a secret from the two.
The breakdown was a short sword for Maki with its strength and sharpness reinforced by cursed energy, and a necklace for Mai that slightly thinned her presence. Both were small items around the level of a Grade 3 cursed tool, but it was also a fact that the two fledgling sorcerers were quite excited by these unmistakably jujutsu-related items.
Furthermore, there was a very subtle consideration on Toji's part in giving Mai a 'cursed tool that can thin one's presence'. Years later, when Mai realized this, she would evaluate him by saying, "No wonder Toji-kun can survive as a gigolo," but that is a story for another time.
To return to the topic. Next, they received homemade cookies from Megumi and Tsumiki, who were by now practically siblings to Maki and Mai. These were made mainly by Tsumiki, who had recently been enthusiastic about cooking, while being taught by Naoya. Simple and plentiful in butter and sugar, that old-fashioned taste was quite delightful. Since the expiration date was within today or tomorrow, the two planned to eat them right away once they got tired of the cake.
And from Maki's master, Yuki Tsukumo, came a present that was surprisingly completely unrelated to jujutsu. It was SONY's latest large-scale bundle pack released with great anticipation during the Christmas sales battle of 2005: the 'PlayStation Portable Gigapack'. With four units sent along with a message card saying, "Play together nicely, everyone!", the Fushiguro household went into a bit of a festive uproar. If anything, Megumi was the happiest; was it because he had completely adopted the temperament of the youngest child over the past year? He fully intended to be allowed to play as well.
Incidentally, the software sent as a set included 'Monster Hunter Portable', 'Puyo Puyo Fever Chu!', and 'Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan Daijiten'. Since the selection was completely premised on everyone playing together happily, it seemed Megumi's wish would be safely granted.
And finally, the very last one. A present from Naoya Zen'in, whom the two rather innocently believed to be their future husband—
For some reason, Naoya had called the two, who had finished eating their cake, out to the garden where a barrier had been erected.
"A present for Maki-chan and Mai-chan—I'll teach ya a Special Move."
"Special Move? What's that? Not an object?"
"Wait, Maki, that's rude to Naoya."
"In just a year, you've really started speakin' your mind, haven't ya? ...Objects can't beat games, that's cheatin'. If anything, I want 'Zelda' too."
"That... might be true."
"We were super happy, right?"
"Right? That's why I thought I'd give ya somethin' useful instead of an object."
Naoya's expression as he said this was smiling mischievously, a rare look appropriate for his age. Because Naoya, who was unnecessarily good-looking, made such a childish expression, it gave the precocious twins quite a striking emotional impact, but Naoya himself seemed unexpectedly indifferent to his own face and didn't appear to notice.
"Then, first is Mai-chan, come here. I'm gonna touch your head, relax."
Saying that, when Naoya touched Mai's head, what flowed in was precise manipulation of the body via the Reverse Cursed Technique 'Record-Self Sorcery'. With this jujutsu, one could resist to some extent if they had the will to resist, but since Mai and Maki were subjected to it frequently and trusted Naoya, the current situation was that it took hold quite easily.
In response to this, thinking thoughts like 'She looks like she's about to meet a terrible, super erotic fate with hypnosis jujutsu' as if it were someone else's problem showed that Naoya's nature was as scummy as ever.
Now, as a result of that Record-Self Sorcery, Mai's body moved on its own to unleash the 'Special Move' Naoya had bestowed. With a truly magnificent 'Transformation Dance', she uttered the transformation line, "Turn everyone's feelings into power! Magical Mai-chan, Make-up!" and the dress, which had been changed to black, shifted back to its original vivid pink color through the transformation.
And then, what was produced on top of that was Mai's main weapon, the 'Magical Mai-chan Mace'. Pouring cursed energy into the heart-shaped jewel part at its tip, Mai's body shouted the name of the special move bestowed upon her this day.
"Put everyone's feelings into light! Hissatsu! Magical Mai-chan Vanish!"
Immediately after, what was released from the tip of the swung mace was Mai's cursed energy that had been accumulating until moments ago. The power of instantly releasing what had been stored over a set period of time was considerable, and at least as a technique unleashed by a child, it was exceptional. That power, which would likely blow away a Grade 2 cursed spirit in one hit, far exceeded that of an average shotgun.
Technically, this was the usage assumed for a special move when the mace's settings were configured, but the decision to unveil it this time was made taking Mai's mental and physical growth into account.
"Amazin'..."
"Amazin', right? It's a special move ya must not shoot at humans other than curse users. Just so ya know, the power is boosted by the cursed chant too. It can blow away somethin' like a car."
"That's awesome, Mai! It was like Precure Marble Screw!?"
"I don't know what that is, but sounds tough... Well, fine. Next is Maki-chan. I'm gonna touch your head, relax."
With that call, Naoya flowed 'movement' into Maki's body this time. Immediately after, what Maki's body performed was a sequence of movements: 'Sprint at high speed, tear the enemy in a cross shape with weapons in both arms, finish with a flying kick, and use the recoil of the kick to disengage from the opponent's range'.
—Fluctuations in the air... for example, unevenness in temperature or density. If you catch the 'surface' of that, you can move easily even in the air. Like your air walking, or that other thing. It's similar to running on water.
The combination constructed by somehow referencing that shitty advice from Toji was truly anime-like, abnormal movement.
Ultimately, it was a technique filled with quite a bit of effort, improved while casting the technique on Toji and receiving criticism. The most difficult part was the action of 'straining one's eyes to read the flow of air', but considering Naoya himself couldn't see anything at all even when he cast the same technique on himself, the Physical Gifted must truly exceed humans in terms of function.
And that model was the most powerful 'Toji Move' that Naoya had ever seen.
"It's like an arrangement of what Toji-kun was usin', done my way. Use the Mai-chan Mace and stuff for weapons."
"Did I just fly!? I flew, right!?"
"You were flying! What was that!? How did you do it, Maki!?"
"I dunno! Dammit, one more time! ...Ouch!?"
"Be careful, yeah? I'll keep ya company for practice as much as you want, so don't be reckless. Wanna do the model one more time? Both of ya."
"We'll do it!"
Exchanging such heartwarming conversation, the twin sisters piled up their training inside the barrier.
Watching their figures, Naoya realized he was feeling sentimental, thinking things like 'They've gotten big.' While he pondered thoughts unlike a 15-year-old like 'Did I get old?', their training continued for a while.
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