The courtyard was starting to accept that normal rules were no longer respected here.
People stopped reacting in full shock.
They just… waited to see what broke reality next.
Takeru crouched near the edge of the garden.
Picked something up from the soil.
A small mushroom.
He stared at it for a second like it held answers.
"…Alright."
He stood up.
Held it up casually.
"…Takaba, the funny…"
A pause.
He tilted his head slightly, thinking.
Then nodded as if satisfied with his own wording.
"…'Funguy' and dessert man. Arrive!"
Silence.
Gojo slowly turned his head.
"…You're just naming things now."
Hakari leaned forward.
"…I like this system."
Kirara muttered.
"…This is getting worse."
The air bent.
Not violently.
Not dramatically.
Like reality was sighing and complying anyway.
POP.
Two figures appeared in the courtyard.
Takaba.
Ryu.
Takaba landed first, immediately steadying himself like he'd been mid-performance elsewhere.
He looked around once.
Then his expression lit up instantly.
"…Oh! I got called FUNGUY!"
He pointed at Takeru.
"…That's funny! Funguy! Fun-guy! I get it!"
He laughed loudly, genuinely delighted.
Gojo blinked.
"…He's compatible with this system."
Hakari pointed.
"…That one's worse than us."
Takaba kept laughing, almost proud of the nickname.
"…I'm FUNGUY now!"
Takeru nodded seriously.
"…Confirmed."
Ryu stepped forward slowly, cracking his neck.
Then paused.
Looked around.
"…I'm here again."
A beat.
Then he smiled faintly.
"…Good."
Yuji raised a hand.
"…Hey, Ryu!"
Ryu looked at him.
"…Kid."
Panda tilted his head.
"…You know him?"
Megumi sighed.
"…Unfortunately, yes."
Ryu stretched his shoulders.
"…Dessert wasn't bad last time."
He glanced at Takeru.
"…You've got a habit of dragging me into weird places."
Takeru shrugged.
"…You keep showing up anyway."
Ryu chuckled.
"…Fair."
Takaba was still laughing nearby, now pointing at the mushroom in Takeru's hand.
"…That's the FUNGUY source! I love it!"
Hakari leaned toward Kirara.
"…This is a good recruit."
Kirara didn't answer.
She was still processing reality bending via wordplay.
Gojo clapped once.
"…Alright, we officially have no rules left."
Higuruma answered.
"…That may be correct."
Uro sighed heavily.
"…This timeline is degrading."
Kashimo, meanwhile, looked at Ryu and Takaba.
"…More opponents eventually."
He smiled.
"…Good."
Takeru looked at the group now expanded again.
Then at the mushroom in his hand.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"…This is working."
And somewhere between chaos and comedy—
reality kept accepting the invitations.