The forest had barely settled when the air… shifted again.
Not like a cursed energy surge.
More like reality misremembering itself.
A ripple formed between the trees.
Then—
someone stepped out.
It was Geto.
Suguru Geto
But not the version from the chaos timeline.
Not the fractured one.
Not the distorted memory echoes.
This one was clean.
Present.
Whole.
Takeru blinked.
Then immediately pointed.
"…Wait."
A pause.
"…In that memory you got hit by a car right?"
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Geto slowly turned his head.
"…What?"
Takeru nodded like it was obvious.
"Yeah yeah—timeline overlap stuff. You were gone, possessed, weird arc, emotional damage—"
He snapped his fingers.
"Ohhh. It was Younger Geto who is now possessed by Kenjaku."
Kenjaku
He nodded again.
"Nice to have you back, Bro-to!"
Geto just stood there.
Completely still.
Processing.
"…I was gone for what?"
Takeru waved it off.
"Like… two hours. Chill."
Yuji immediately leaned toward Megumi.
"…Two hours??"
Megumi muttered back:
"…I've stopped trying to understand his time math."
Older Gojo wiped his face, trying not to laugh.
"…That is the most disrespectful summary of tragedy I've ever heard."
Sukuna clicked his tongue.
"…Annoying, but accurate."
Then Takeru suddenly looked around.
"…Wait."
A pause.
"…Where is Haibara?"
Nanami visibly stiffened.
Just slightly.
Just enough for someone who knows him to notice.
"…Don't say that name so casually," Nanami muttered.
Then—
a familiar voice popped up behind him.
"Nanami!"
Nanami froze.
Slowly turned.
And there he was.
Yu Haibara
Young.
Alive.
Smiling.
Nanami didn't move for a second.
Just stared.
Like his brain refused to accept it.
"…Haibara."
Haibara grinned.
"Long time no see!"
Nanami looked away immediately.
Arms crossed.
Expression tightening.
"…This is unnecessary."
But his voice wasn't sharp.
It was… careful.
Like he didn't want the moment to break.
Takeru looked between them.
Then nodded slowly.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"…This is better."
Haibara tilted his head.
"Wait, what happened while I was gone?"
Yuji immediately whispered:
"…You do NOT want the summary."
Tiny Yuji nodded quickly.
"…It involves trauma math."
Megumi muttered:
"…That's not even the worst description."
Nanami exhaled slowly.
Then glanced at Haibara again.
Still here.
Still smiling.
Still alive.
"…Just don't leave again," he said quietly.
Haibara blinked.
Then smiled even wider.
"Of course!"
Takeru crossed his arms and nodded once.
"…Good."
A pause.
"…We're keeping people this time."
The forest stayed quiet for a moment.
Not tense.
Not broken.
Just… still.
Like even reality was choosing not to interrupt that.