The classroom didn't stay quiet for long.
It never did.
Within minutes of Gojo announcing training, everyone was already moving out to the yard.
Training dummies lined up in uneven rows, some already missing limbs from earlier sessions that nobody had bothered to repair properly.
Yuji cracked his knuckles.
"…Alright, let's do this properly."
Hakari grinned.
"…I like outdoor damage."
Maki rolled her shoulders once.
"…Try not to break everything immediately."
Nobara twirled a nail between her fingers.
"…No promises."
Takeru stood slightly behind them for a moment, watching.
Then looked down at himself.
"…Hm."
Yuji glanced over.
"…What?"
Takeru pointed at his stomach like it was a serious investigation.
"…Lack of structure."
Silence.
Hakari blinked.
"…Did he just diagnose himself?"
Gojo, already leaning against a post, perked up.
"…Oh this is going somewhere fun."
Takeru continued, completely serious.
"…I require abs."
Nobara froze.
"…That's your priority right now?!"
Yuji grabbed his head.
"…We are literally in a training session!"
Takeru nodded.
"…Training includes physical optimization."
Maki stared at him for a second.
"…You're not wrong."
Hakari immediately grinned.
"…I respect the commitment."
Gojo pointed toward the dummies.
"…Alright, then earn them."
Takeru nodded once.
"…Accepted."
He stepped forward.
And the yard shifted instantly into chaos.
Yuji went first—straight punches into a dummy, each hit cracking wood.
Nobara followed—precise strikes, nails embedding into weak points.
Maki moved like a blur—clean, controlled destruction.
Hakari laughed while breaking targets like they owed him money.
Gojo, of course, was casually making everything worse by demonstrating things nobody asked for.
Takeru joined in.
At first—simple strikes.
Measuring.
Adjusting.
Then faster.
More focused.
Less wasted motion.
"…Core engagement required."
Yuji shouted between hits:
"…Why does he sound like a workout app?!"
Hakari laughed mid-swing.
"…Because he is one right now!"
Takeru placed a hand on a dummy.
Paused.
"…Insufficient resistance."
Then hit it again.
Harder.
Cleaner.
The dummy didn't just break—
it collapsed.
Nobara whistled.
"…Okay, that one was kind of impressive."
Maki glanced over.
"…He's actually refining his form."
Gojo nodded approvingly.
"…He learns fast when it's for something stupid."
Takeru stepped back slightly, breathing steady.
Looked down again.
"…Progress: minimal."
Yuji pointed.
"…You destroyed three dummies in like ten seconds!"
Takeru tilted his head.
"…Still no abs."
Silence.
Hakari wiped a tear from laughing.
"…This is the funniest training arc I've ever seen."
Gojo clapped once.
"…Alright, bonus round."
Everyone groaned.
Takeru immediately looked up.
"…Efficiency increase?"
Gojo grinned.
"…Maximum resistance training."
Maki sighed.
"…This is going to get worse."
Yuji muttered:
"…It always does."
And as the training resumed—
the yard filled again with noise, impact, and chaos—
Takeru kept going.
Not because he had to.
But because for some reason—
having a goal as simple as that made everything else feel a little less heavy.