Takeru finally moved again.
Not fast.
Not dramatic.
Just a shift in posture, like something inside him had reached a point where silence wasn't enough anymore.
He looked up.
Directly at Gojo.
"…What happened between you and Geto?"
The air changed immediately.
Not outwardly.
But everyone who understood context felt it.
Hakari stopped talking mid-sentence.
Megumi's eyes sharpened slightly.
Yuji went quiet.
Even Choso's expression shifted—subtle, but attentive.
Gojo didn't react at first.
He just stood there.
Hands in his pockets.
Smile gone, but not replaced with anything sharp.
Just… still.
"…Why ask that now?"
Takeru didn't look away.
"…Because I keep seeing the aftermath of people I don't fully understand."
A pause.
"…And I don't want to misunderstand that one."
That landed differently.
Even Kirara looked up slightly.
Gojo exhaled slowly.
Then scratched the back of his neck, like he was choosing where to start without making it heavier than it already was.
"…Geto and I were idiots."
A small, humorless smile.
"…Strong ones. But still idiots."
He glanced away.
"…We wanted to change the world."
A pause.
"…He just stopped believing it could be done the same way I did."
Silence settled again.
Not uncomfortable.
Just heavy.
Gojo continued.
"…We didn't break because we stopped caring."
"…We broke because we both cared too much… in opposite directions."
Yuji's gaze lowered slightly.
Megumi stayed quiet.
Choso didn't move.
Takeru listened without interrupting.
Gojo let out a slow breath.
"…And I made a choice."
A pause.
"…And he made his."
He looked back at Takeru.
"…That's the simple version."
A faint shrug.
"…The rest is just pain that got complicated."
Takeru nodded once.
Slow.
"…So it wasn't hatred."
Gojo shook his head slightly.
"…No."
A pause.
Then—
"…It was worse."
Silence again.
Takeru looked down for a moment.
Processing it the same way he processed everything else—
without flinching away from it.
"…I see."
Gojo watched him for a second longer.
Then spoke a little softer.
"…Don't try to copy that story."
A pause.
"…Some things aren't meant to be repeated."
Takeru didn't argue.
Didn't agree either.
Just absorbed it.
"…Understood."
And for once—
there was no joke.
No interruption.
No shift back into action immediately.
Just understanding sitting in the space between them.