The chaos from earlier had barely settled.
Barely.
The broken fight club was now "under inspection," which mostly meant Gojo had decided it was a good place to make people uncomfortable while smiling.
Yuji was sitting on a cracked bench.
Nobara was already complaining about everything again.
Hakari was somewhere nearby arguing with Kirara about "proper gambling etiquette," which didn't seem like a real thing but somehow was happening anyway.
Megumi stood slightly apart from everyone, arms crossed, expression flat as usual.
That's when Takeru walked up.
"…Megumi."
Megumi glanced at him. "…What."
Takeru paused.
Then—
"…Spar with me."
A beat.
Megumi blinked once. "…No."
Takeru didn't react.
"…One hour."
"…No."
Yuji immediately leaned forward. "WAIT, AN HOUR?! THAT'S CRAZY—"
Nobara pointed at Takeru. "YOU JUST GOT OUT OF A DEATH MATCH AND YOU WANT OVERTIME?!"
Takeru continued, unfazed.
"…I need consistency testing."
Megumi stared at him.
"…That sounds like something a machine would say."
Takeru nodded slightly.
"…It is."
Silence.
Then Megumi sighed.
"…Why me."
Takeru answered immediately.
"…You adapt."
That made Megumi pause.
Just slightly.
From the side, Satoru Gojo suddenly popped up between them again like he'd been there the whole time.
"Ohhh?" Gojo sang. "A one-hour spar request? That's kind of romantic."
Megumi immediately snapped. "…No it's not."
Yuji blinked. "…How is that romantic?"
Nobara groaned. "DON'T ENGAGE HIM."
Gojo leaned closer to Takeru.
"So what, you're trying to break Megumi in real time?"
Takeru shook his head slightly.
"…I want variability."
Megumi deadpanned. "…I'm a person, not a training dummy."
Gojo clapped his hands.
"Approved."
Megumi turned sharply. "…NO IT ISN'T."
Gojo ignored him completely.
"This is perfect! Megumi, you're doing the thing where you survive emotional damage anyway, so just treat it like exercise!"
Megumi looked like he regretted existing.
"…I hate you."
Yuji raised his hand again. "I think I wanna watch this—"
Nobara immediately smacked him. "YOU'RE NOT HELPING."
Hakari leaned over from across the room.
"…I'd watch that."
Kirara nodded slightly. "…It'd be educational."
Megumi slowly turned his head toward all of them.
"…Why is everyone against me right now."
Takeru stepped slightly forward.
"…We start?"
Megumi sighed heavily.
"…Fine."
Gojo clapped loudly. "YES! TEAM BUILDING!"
Megumi muttered. "…It's not team building."
Gojo ignored him again.
As they walked toward the open training area—
Yuji whispered to Nobara:
"…Do you think Megumi survives an hour?"
Nobara watched them go.
"…He always survives things he shouldn't."
Hakari stretched casually.
"…Depends how annoying Takeru gets."
Kirara added calmly:
"…Very."
And in the center of it all—
Megumi and Takeru stood opposite each other.
One already regretting everything.
The other completely calm.
"…Begin when ready," Takeru said.
Megumi sighed.
"…I hate this school."