The group moved fast.
City streets blurred past as they headed toward the factory.
The mood had shifted—less joking, more focus.
Even Hakari was quieter than usual.
Takeru was in the middle of the group.
Running… carefully.
Halfway there—
he slowed slightly.
"…Hold up."
Yuji glanced over.
"…What?"
Takeru stopped for a second, looking down.
His lower bandages had loosened again from movement.
"…One sec."
He tightened them with a quick pulse of cursed energy.
Megumi noticed immediately.
"…You're already losing stability."
Takeru shrugged.
"…It's fine."
Nobara crossed her arms.
"…That's what you said before breaking everything."
Takeru ignored that.
Finished adjusting—
stood back up—
"…Good."
Then started running again.
No one noticed—
except Yuji.
The top wrappings…
were slightly off again.
Yuji's eyes widened a bit.
"…Uh… Takeru—"
"…It's fine."
"…No, like—"
"…It's fine."
Yuji slowly looked away.
"…Okay man, that's on you…"
They kept moving.
A few more minutes passed.
The factory was getting closer now—visible in the distance.
Large.
Dark.
Wrong.
Then—
out of nowhere—
Takeru spoke.
"…By the way."
Everyone glanced over.
"…I forgot to mention something."
Nobara frowned.
"…That's never a good start."
Megumi kept his eyes forward.
"…Say it."
Takeru scratched the back of his head slightly.
Way more casual than usual.
"…Gojo's my brother."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Panda stopped walking.
"…What."
Hakari blinked.
"…No way."
Kirara tilted their head.
"…You're serious?"
Yuta looked genuinely shocked.
"…Wait—what?!"
Nobara pointed immediately.
"…YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT MID-MISSION?!"
Megumi finally stopped walking.
Slowly turned.
"…Explain."
Yuji raised both hands.
"…I knew already! I thought everyone else did too—"
Everyone turned to him.
"…YOU KNEW?!" Nobara snapped.
Yuji panicked.
"…I thought it was obvious—?!"
Takeru shrugged again.
"…We both have Six Eyes."
Another pause.
Hakari rubbed his face.
"…You're telling me the one-in-impossible chance actually happened…"
Panda nodded slowly.
"…That's like… cosmic-level coincidence."
Kirara looked between them.
"…Or not a coincidence."
Megumi's expression tightened slightly.
He was thinking.
Hard.
Nobara threw her hands up.
"…WHY ARE YOU SO CASUAL ABOUT THIS?!"
Takeru blinked.
"…I forgot."
Silence.
Hakari burst out laughing.
"…YOU FORGOT YOU'RE RELATED TO GOJO?!"
Yuji tried to defend him.
"…There was a lot going on—!"
Nobara groaned.
"…That is NOT something you forget!"
Megumi finally spoke again.
Quiet.
"…This changes things."
Takeru tilted his head.
"…How?"
Megumi looked at him directly.
"…It explains things."
A pause.
"…And makes them worse."
Before anyone could continue—
Gojo, walking ahead, called out without turning around:
"…You guys done gossiping back there?"
Nobara shouted immediately.
"…WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!"
Gojo waved a hand lazily.
"…I thought it was obvious."
The group collectively lost it.
"IT WAS NOT OBVIOUS!"
Takeru just stood there.
A little awkward now.
"…My bad."
Yuji sighed.
"…You really dropped that like it was nothing…"
Hakari grinned.
"…Nah, I like it. Mid-mission plot twist."
Panda nodded.
"…Keeps things interesting."
Megumi turned back toward the factory.
"…Focus."
The building loomed ahead now.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Full of something waiting.
Nobara cracked her knuckles.
Still annoyed.
"…We're not done talking about this."
Takeru nodded.
"…Okay."
A pause.
Then, casually:
"…After the mission."
And just like that—
they stepped into something far more dangerous than family drama.