The hallway outside the classroom—
was already a bad situation.
Shoko had one hand on Takeru's shoulder.
Firm.
Unmoving.
"…You're coming back."
"…Negative."
And then—
he moved.
A sudden twist.
A step.
A burst of cursed energy—
He slipped out of her grip.
Yuji (inside the classroom):
"…Oh no."
Nobara:
"…OH NO."
Shoko didn't chase immediately.
She just lifted her hand again.
Tap.
The seals deactivated.
Again.
The bandages loosened.
But this time—
Takeru didn't panic.
"…Compensating."
Cursed energy surged—
not outward—
but inward.
The lower half of the wrappings—
tightened.
Held.
Stabilized purely by his own control.
Megumi's eyes widened slightly.
"…He's reinforcing them manually."
Yuji blinked.
"…Wait—he can do that?!"
Megumi nodded slowly.
"…Barely."
But—
the upper wrappings…
Slipped again.
Takeru didn't even look down.
"…Non-critical."
Nobara immediately turned away again.
"…IT IS VERY CRITICAL—?!"
Hakari laughed.
"…He picked a priority system!"
And then—
Takeru ran.
Straight into the classroom.
Door—
SLAM.
Lock—
CLICK.
He turned—
back against it—
And pressed his entire body against the door like a human barricade.
"…Position secured."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Panda blinked.
"…Did he just… become the door?"
Yuji nodded slowly.
"…Yeah…"
Nobara still wasn't looking.
"…I hate this so much…"
Megumi pinched the bridge of his nose.
"…This is beyond reasoning now."
Yuta, very carefully not looking directly at him:
"…Takeru… you can't stay like that…"
Takeru adjusted slightly—
keeping the lower wrappings intact—
upper half still… not cooperating.
"…Barricade effective."
Hakari clapped once.
"…I respect the commitment."
Kirara sighed quietly.
"…This is getting out of hand."
From the other side of the door—
Knock.
Shoko's voice.
Calm.
Flat.
"…Move."
Takeru didn't.
"…No."
A pause.
"…You are currently half-wrapped and entirely unreasonable."
"…Position maintained."
Another pause.
Then—
"…Fine."
Silence.
Yuji whispered.
"…That sounded… too easy…"
Megumi nodded.
"…Agreed."
Nobara peeked slightly—
then immediately looked away again.
"…I don't trust this…"
Takeru stayed pressed against the door.
Unmoving.
Focused.
"…Holding…"
Five seconds.
Ten.
Then—
The door slid open anyway.
Takeru—
still leaning—
lost his support instantly.
"…Oh."
And fell backward.
Right into the room.
Flat on his back.
Silence.
Then—
Nobara:
"…I'M DONE."
Yuji:
"…THIS IS A DISASTER—"
Panda:
"…THE BARRICADE FAILED—"
Hakari:
"…10/10 attempt though—"
Shoko stepped in.
Looked down at him.
"…Finished?"
Takeru stared at the ceiling.
A pause.
"…Barricade… unsuccessful."
Shoko nodded.
"…Correct."
She tapped the bandages again.
Everything snapped back into place.
Fully sealed.
No more slipping.
No more chances.
Then she grabbed him—
again—
"…We're done here."
This time—
Takeru didn't resist.
"…Understood."
As she dragged him out—
again—
the room stayed completely silent.
Then—
Hakari:
"…He almost had it."
Megumi:
"…No, he didn't."
Nobara:
"…I need a new school."
Yuji:
"…I need therapy."
And somewhere in the hallway—
Takeru muttered one last thing.
"…Attempt… recorded."