The classroom had been drowning in tension for what felt like forever.
Nobody wanted to move.
Nobody wanted to think too hard.
Nobody wanted to remember more than they already had.
Then Takeru suddenly clapped his hands once.
Loud.
Sharp.
"Well, anyway—"
The room flinched slightly.
"Time for the Sister Schools Goodwill Event soon!"
Silence.
Then—
both Gojos visibly snapped back to life.
Older Gojo straightened immediately.
"OH RIGHT!"
Younger Gojo slammed his hands on the desk dramatically.
"THE EVENT!"
The mood whiplash was so violent that Panda nearly fell out of his chair.
"…HOW ARE YOU TWO ABLE TO SWITCH EMOTIONS THAT FAST."
"Built different," both Gojos answered instantly.
Takeru pointed dramatically.
"See? That's professionalism."
Nanami stared at him.
"…That is not what professionalism means."
But thankfully—
the heavy atmosphere cracked just enough.
Not gone.
Never gone.
But lighter.
Enough for breathing.
Enough for movement.
The younger students looked confused again.
Megumi blinked.
"…The what event?"
Nobara immediately leaned forward.
"Wait hold on—event?"
Yuta looked nervous.
"…Is this dangerous?"
Older Gojo grinned now.
Not fully real.
But closer.
"Welcome to one of Jujutsu High's finest traditions!"
Younger Gojo pointed dramatically at the class.
"The Sister Schools Goodwill Event!"
Tiny Yuji gasped.
"…That sounds important."
Tiny Takeru nodded seriously.
"…Competitive arc."
Hakari immediately approved.
"Exactly."
The younger students slowly leaned in as the explanations started.
"It's basically a competition between the Tokyo and Kyoto schools," Takeru explained casually.
"Fights, teamwork, cursed spirits, chaos…"
A pause.
"…and probably property damage."
"LOTS of property damage," Hakari added proudly.
Kirara sighed.
"…Please stop encouraging that."
Nobara's eyes sparkled instantly.
"…We get to fight people?"
"YES," both Gojos answered proudly.
Megumi already looked tired somehow.
"…I can already tell this is going to become a disaster."
"You're learning," Nanami muttered.
Yuta raised a hand carefully.
"…Wait, why does it start so suddenly?"
Older Gojo smiled casually.
"Oh right!"
He checked an imaginary watch.
"You all need to get to the forest in…"
A pause.
"…five minutes."
Immediate chaos.
"FIVE MINUTES!?"
"WHY SO SOON?"
"WHAT FOREST?"
Tiny Yuji stood dramatically.
"…THE BATTLEFIELD."
Tiny Takeru nodded.
"…The arena of destiny."
"You two are way too into this," Megumi muttered.
Takeru stood up stretching casually.
"C'mon."
Then he grinned slightly.
The first real grin in a while.
"Let's go relive trauma competitively."
Yuji nearly choked laughing.
"…THAT IS A HORRIBLE WAY TO SAY THAT."
Even Sukuna let out the faintest snort from the back corner.
And just like that—
the room finally moved.
Chairs scraping.
People standing.
Energy returning.
The younger students still didn't fully understand why the older ones occasionally looked sad when they looked at them.
But for now—
they were distracted.
By competition.
By chaos.
By the coming event.
And maybe—
that was enough.
For now.