The silence in Jujutsu High didn't break.
It just… shifted.
Like everyone collectively decided that standing there pretending nothing was wrong wasn't working anymore.
Takeru exhaled slowly and walked toward an empty seat.
No drama.
No announcement.
Just movement.
Tiny Yuji followed.
Then Tiny Takeru.
Then, one by one—
the rest of the older group who had been standing at the edges of the classroom started sitting down too.
Hakari dropped into a seat like he'd been holding his breath for hours.
Kirara sat beside him without a word.
Nanami adjusted his posture and sat with quiet exhaustion.
Sukuna leaned back in the corner, arms crossed, refusing to look at anyone directly.
Shoko took a seat near the front, watching everything carefully.
It wasn't organized.
It wasn't planned.
It just… happened.
Like the room itself demanded stillness.
And as they all settled—
the younger students only got more confused.
Megumi glanced around.
"…Why is everyone acting like class already started?"
Yuta nodded slightly.
"…And why does it feel like we're late to something we didn't know about?"
Panda tilted his head.
"…Is this a surprise test?"
No one answered them.
Not because they didn't hear.
But because answering would make things worse.
At the front of the classroom, both Gojo stood behind the teacher's desk.
Younger Gojo and Older Gojo.
Side by side.
Still.
Neither of them smiling.
Neither of them joking.
Just watching the room like it was something fragile.
Then—
they sat down too.
That's when it changed.
Because once the strongest stopped standing—
the room stopped feeling like a classroom.
And started feeling like a waiting room for something inevitable.
Tiny Takeru leaned forward slightly in his seat.
"…This is uncomfortable."
Tiny Yuji nodded quickly.
"…Yeah. Like… stomach weird."
Takeru glanced at them.
Then back at the room.
"…Good instinct," he said quietly.
Tiny Takeru frowned.
"…Why?"
Takeru didn't answer immediately.
His eyes moved across the younger students again.
Still unaware.
Still normal.
Still before everything.
"…Because they don't know," he finally said.
Tiny Yuji blinked.
"…Don't know what?"
Takeru hesitated.
Then:
"…That something already happened."
The younger students shifted in their seats again.
Megumi frowned harder now.
"…That's not an answer."
Yuta nodded.
"…Yeah. That's just more confusing."
Hakari leaned back in his chair.
"…They're not wrong though."
Kirara shot him a look.
"…Don't start."
Even Sukuna clicked his tongue quietly.
"…Tch."
The room stayed like that.
Split.
Half aware.
Half blind.
All uncomfortable.
Takeru finally leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms.
"…We're not here to explain it."
Tiny Takeru looked up at him.
"…Then why are we here?"
A pause.
Takeru didn't smile.
Not this time.
"…Because we're all in the same room before the cracks show up again."
Silence followed that.
The younger students still didn't understand.
But they stopped asking as much.
Because even they could feel it now.
Something was off with time.
Even if they couldn't name it.
The bell still hadn't rung.
And nobody moved to fix that.
Because everyone knew—
once class officially started…
something would begin unfolding again.
And nobody was ready for it.