Zenin Sisters

"You are me, and I am you."

- Mai to Maki, Chapter 149

Zenin Sisters is the family ship between Maki Zenin and Mai Zenin from the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom.

Canon
Mai and Maki are twin-sister who were born into the Zenin family. Mai was a fearful child and used to depend on Maki, who was much braver as she doesn’t naturally see curses and needs special glasses to do so. After Maki left the clan to pursue her own path and come back stronger to take the position of the head of the family, Mai started resenting her sister, as she left her behind. Now they’re second-year students at sister colleges – Maki goes to Tokyo College, while Mai studies at Kyoto College.

The two reunite, when Mai comes to Tokyo with the rest of Kyoto students to participate in the Student Exchange Event. Mai, with her classmate Todo, ambush two first-year students, and Maki comes to their rescue. As Mai points her gun at Nobara Kugisaki, Maki uses her staff to push away her hand holding the gun. Maki and Mai, both smiling, exchange insults: Mai says that Maki is so insignificant, that she didn’t notice her, and Mai replies saying that they both are, since Mai doesn’t even have a cursed technique (or so she thinks). Mai says that it’s better than not having any cursed energy at all, and Maki proposes they stop bickering as they both are in a disadvantageous position anyway.

During the event, the sisters clash again, this time physically. Maki finds Mai, when the latter is hiding in ambush high on a tree, and jokingly offers her to call one of her classmates, so that they can fight two-on-one. Mai answers saying that she’d prefer not to share the pleasure of defeating Maki with anyone else. While Maki has a small smile on her face, Mai is gravely serious, when she starts firing at her sister. Maki is very quick and agile; she cuts the bullet using the stolen katana and then escapes jumping from tree to tree. She uses Miwa’s sword to cut the branch Mai is on, and when she falls, Maki delivers a spinning kick to the side. Mai suddenly remembers that Maki has a special talent that she doesn’t – Heavenly Restriction, that endues her with superhuman strength. She starts thinking about their childhood and recalls when Mai used to be so scared of curses that Maki would take her hand and ask her to close her eyes so she can safely lead her through all the dangers. Mai thinks about how she hated Maki for being so brave and fearless, when Mai, herself, wasn’t that strong. When Maki is shown leaving the Zenin family, Naobito, the head of the clan, says that he will put her through ordeals if she wants to challenge him and become the next head of the clan, to which Maki replies saying that he can do as he pleases. Naobito, then, adds that it will extend to Mai as well, which makes Maki stop in her tracks and tell him that Mai is not involved in this. Mai is shown eavesdropping that conversation sitting right behind the corner. She thinks that Maki is a liar.

Back in the present, the sisters continue to fight. Mai looses off all the six shots from her gun, and Maki charges at her victoriously. As Mai thinks about how she hates her sister and how she never even told her about her cursed technique or first love, she unexpectedly uses the Construction technique and creates a new bullet firing it right at Maki. Mai thinks she’s won, but shocked Maki stops the bullet with her bare hands before it hits her face. Mai doesn’t want to give up as she charges at Maki, who effortlessly overpowers her and sends her to the ground by hitting her with the blunt side of the katana. Defeated, Mai asks Maki why she left the clan, and Maki thinks it must be obvious since they’re both studying to become jujutsu sorcerers, but Mai admits she never wanted that and only went to Jujutsu High because Maki left, and she had to put effort, too. She adds that  she hates what she’s doing and she’s tired of all the dangerous things and pain she is forced to face. Mai says she thinks they should have stayed at home and lived a normal life, but Maki doesn’t agree – she would have hated herself for allowing others to keep mistreating and undervaluing her back there. Maki apologies. Mai remembers how she asked Maki to not let go of her hand and not to leave her, and Maki promised to never do that. Mai, now alone, is sitting under a tree, she curls in on herself and calls Maki a liar again.

When Tokyo and Kyoto colleges compete in a basketball game, Mai, along with the rest of the students, gives Maki words of encouragement, when she purposefully hits Todo with a ball. Later both Mai and Maki participate in the Shibuya incident, fighting on the same side. However they don’t meet as they both stay with their respective college teams.

After the events in Shibuya, Maki and Megumi discuss their position as the Zenin heirs. Megumi is reluctant, but Maki thinks he should remain the head of the clan, because Maki believes she is not strong enough yet. She says she cannot create the world where her sister could live safely at the moment. When Maki learns the rules of the Culling Game, she goes back to the Zenin household to retrieve cursed weapons. There she meets her father Ogi and seriously wounded Mai on the floor nearby. Apparently, their father is set to kill both of his daughter as they bring disgrace upon his name. Maki is shocked to see Mai hurt, and she calls for her. Mai raises her head to look at Maki and says she shouldn't have come.

After the two are defeated, they are taken to a room filled with curses, where Mai crouches over an unconscious Maki. When hearing her heart beat, she calls her sister tough, before pressing her face against Maki's. She wakes up on a beach, and looks at Mai sitting up, who asks if she understands her cursed technique. She mumbles to herself that if she creates this weapon, she'll die, and goes off into the sea, Maki yelling after her. She claims that she doesn't understand, telling her to come back, and Mai explains that they are monozygotic twins are considered as one person in the jujutsu world. Mai then says that she is Maki, and Maki is her, and that along that she's around, Maki'll always be half-assed. She then holds her wrist out for her, which she grabs, and looks down to see a blade of wheat. Then, the two are seen younger, while Mai tells Maki to destroy everything, before Maki wakes up and sees Mai's corpse on the ground. She tearfully cries her name, telling her to wake up before using the tool she made for her — she exorcises the curses and cuts off the top of Ogi's head killing him and making the first step in fulfilling Mai’s covenant.

Honoring Mai's last wish, Maki murders dozens of the Zenin clan members. When she faces her cousin Naoya, he comments on the atrocity of her actions and asks her if she has a heart. Maki says that Ogi took it away by killing Mai. When Maki kills Naoya in Sakurajima colony, Mai holds her hand and tells Maki she really was able to destroy it all.

Quotes
"As usual, you're tough."

- Mai to Maki (Chapter 149)

"Promise me one thing. Destroy everything. Everything, big sister."

- Mai to Maki (Chapter 149)

"Mai... let's start."

- Chapter 149

Fanon
The relationship between the twins is one of the few sibling dynamics in the story, alongside with the Fushiguro Siblings. It could be said that Maki and Mai are the most prominents siblings in the story.

Mai, after being introduced as an antagonistic character at the beginning, shows her softer side later when she interacts with Maki. It becomes obvious that the way she reacts to the outer world was caused by her trauma of abandonment after Maki left the family, and potential reconciliation with her sister could heal her wounds.

Jujutsu Kaisen fans were generally happy to see the sisters reunite after the events in Shibuya. Fans hoped that Maki and Mai might become more friendly towards one another, but the two didn't have much time after their reconciliation. However Maki and Mai managed to prove that there is a light of hope and familial love glimmering inside both of their hearts. Some speculate that Mai, after hearing how badly her sister was injured, could have visited Maki when she was being treated by Shoko Ieiri. After Maki discusses her clan position with Megumi, it becomes apparent, that Maki wants to be strong to take the position of the clan head not only for herself, but for Mai, too — to build the world where Mai could live safely. While not telling Mai about her true objective, Maki is trying her hardest for both of them. Maki's turn on the Zenin clan, the head of which she was aspiring to be, was, apparently, caused by the deep hurt Mai's death caused her. Mai's selfless sacrifice for the sake of her sister shows how close the twins really are despite all the quarrels and disagreements they had.

Fandom

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Trivia

 * Mai is younger than Maki.
 * According to the Official Fanbook, Mai and Maki's favorite food is junk food, and their least favorite is vegetarian cuisine. This is because the Zenin Clan is vegetarian.
 * They are Monochorionic-Monoamniotic twins, they share the same placenta and amniotic sac while in their mother's womb.
 * Maki's hair was cut short after the Shibuya Arc, this made the sisters look truly identical because of their short hairstyles in the Perfect Preparation arc.
 * Their respective abilities also balance each other, Mai is able to creates cursed tools using her Cursed Technique and Maki who has no technique wields them.
 * As both the sisters were only seen as untalented individuals by their clan, they failed to see that Mai and Maki together would have been a powerful pair if they used their abilities together.
 * Maki is an expert in close-ranged combat whereas Mai is an excellent long-ranged shooter.
 * Mai and Maki are always shown holding hands when they were younger, after Mai passed away and gifted her sister a sword using her Construction Technique, Maki holds the sword handle just as she used to hold Mai's hand.
 * Mai and Maki share a kiss in the manga, and Gege Akutami stated that Mai’s first love was possibly Megumi or Maki, but this isn’t said for sure. This led to some controversy towards Gege and proshippers, but it was later cleared up to be CPR.