The infirmary was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Takeru lay flat on the bed.
Completely wrapped.
Again.
Both arms—immobilized.
Both legs—stabilized.
Torso—re-wrapped even tighter than before.
At this point, he looked less like a student and more like a sealed artifact.
Shoko stood nearby, flipping through notes like this was just another Tuesday.
Takeru opened his eyes.
Paused.
Then—
"…Can I lea—"
"No."
A beat.
"…Pleeeaass—"
"No."
"…But why not!? Lemme ou—"
"No."
Silence.
Yuji, standing off to the side, tried not to laugh.
"…She's not even letting you finish the sentence…"
Nobara leaned against the wall.
"…Good."
Megumi stood quietly.
"…You shouldn't be speaking."
Takeru stared at the ceiling.
Processing.
"…Requesting clarification."
Shoko didn't even look up.
"…Denied."
"…Reason?"
"…You broke all four of your limbs in under thirty seconds."
A pause.
"…That was an outlier."
Shoko flipped a page.
"…That was a pattern."
Yuji covered his mouth, trying not to laugh again.
Nobara didn't even try.
"…She got you there."
Takeru shifted slightly—
immediately regretted it.
Bandages tightened.
"…Movement restricted…"
"…Good," Shoko said flatly.
"…Can I lea—"
"No."
"…What if I—"
"No."
"…Hypothetically—"
"No."
Yuji lost it.
"…HAHA—she's predicting you now!"
Megumi exhaled quietly.
"…She's optimizing denial."
Nobara smirked.
"…You trained her well."
Takeru stared at the ceiling again.
Long pause.
"…I am being contained."
Shoko finally looked up.
"…Yes."
"…Against my will."
"…Correct."
Another pause.
"…This is inefficient."
Shoko closed the file.
Walked over.
Lightly tapped one of the bandages.
A pulse of cursed energy locked everything tighter.
"…You are currently a liability with legs."
Yuji whispered.
"…Not anymore…"
Nobara snorted.
Takeru blinked slowly.
"…Revision."
A pause.
"…Liability without legs."
Megumi nodded slightly.
"…Accurate."
Takeru turned his head slightly toward the door.
"…If I remain here—"
Shoko cut him off immediately.
"…You will remain here."
"…For how long?"
Shoko didn't hesitate.
"…Until I say otherwise."
Silence.
Takeru stared at the ceiling again.
Then—
quietly:
"…Can I lea—"
"No."
Yuji leaned against the wall, laughing again.
"…You're stuck, man…"
Nobara crossed her arms.
"…Get comfortable."
Megumi added calmly.
"…You earned this."
Takeru exhaled slowly.
"…Understood."
A pause.
Then—
very quietly:
"…Attempting again later."
Shoko didn't even look at him.
"…I heard that."
"…No."
Silence.
And for once—
Takeru didn't move.
Didn't argue.
Didn't try again immediately.
He just lay there.
Wrapped.
Contained.
Denied.
…for now.