The battlefield had finally stopped breaking itself apart.
The train-station illusion had fully collapsed. The pachinko lights were gone. Even the distorted "feel" of probability that Hakari's domain left behind had faded into something closer to normal air again.
What remained was just the underground fight club—
scarred, smoking, and eerily quiet.
Hakari stood there for a moment, rolling his shoulder like nothing unusual had just happened.
"…Man," he muttered. "…that was a good warm-up."
Yuji blinked. "…Warm-up?"
Nobara looked like she wanted to throw something. "…YOU CALL THAT A WARM-UP?!"
Megumi exhaled slowly, already tired in a way that had nothing to do with physical exhaustion.
"…Of course he does."
Takeru stepped forward.
Calm. Steady.
No hostility in his cursed energy anymore.
Just control.
Hakari glanced at him.
"…What? You still want round two?"
Takeru shook his head slightly.
"…No."
A pause.
Then Takeru walked over and extended a hand.
Hakari stared at it for a second.
"…Huh."
Yuji froze. "…Wait, is he—?"
Nobara leaned forward. "…No way."
Megumi's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't interrupt.
Hakari smirked faintly and grabbed Takeru's hand.
Takeru pulled.
Not forcefully.
Just enough to help him up properly from where he'd shifted his weight after the last exchange.
Hakari stood back on his feet.
"…You're weird, you know that?"
Takeru adjusted his sunglasses slightly.
"…So are you."
A beat.
Then Takeru spoke more clearly.
"…Thanks."
Hakari blinked once. "…For what?"
Takeru glanced briefly at the damaged arena around them.
"…The spar."
That made Hakari pause.
Just for a second.
Then he laughed.
Not loudly this time.
More real.
"…You're thanking me for trying to kill you for five minutes?"
Takeru nodded slightly.
"…Yeah."
Yuji burst out laughing. "THAT'S CRAZY—"
Nobara immediately followed. "THESE GUYS ARE INSANE—"
Megumi just sighed. "…I'm surrounded by idiots."
Hakari shook his head, still amused.
"…You first-years are something else."
Takeru turned slightly to leave, then stopped.
"…You're strong."
Hakari grinned again. "…Obviously."
"…But inconsistent."
Silence.
Then Hakari laughed harder."…That's fair."
Behind them, Yuji finally relaxed his shoulders. "…So it's over?"
Nobara stretched her arms. "…Thank God."
Megumi glanced between them. "…For now."
Hakari waved lazily."Gojo picked good ones."
Takeru gave a small nod.
Then turned back toward the others.
And just like that—
the fight wasn't a fight anymore.
Just a meeting that got too violent.
Sukuna's voice murmured faintly in Takeru's mind.
"…You humans are strange."
Takeru didn't respond.
But for once—
he didn't disagree.