The night crept in soft and quiet, the whole mansion dim with the glow of lanterns.
Rei, Alya, Sera, Airi, Kezia, Sia, Souta, and Chris had all crammed into one of the wide guest rooms.
At first, it was calm. The kind of calm before trouble.
"Stay here tonight, Kezia," Alya said, tugging her sleeve.
Kezia hesitated, cheeks warm, but nodded. "…Alright..if you say so"
And so she slipped under the blankets with them, squeezed in tight.
The room went still. Drowsy. Almost peaceful.
Then Alya grinned. Picked up a pillow. Tossed it dramatically into the air like it was some holy relic.
"I present to you…" she announced, "THE PILLOW OF FATE!"
The pillow spun in the lantern light—then plopped right on Kezia's head.
"I never wanted to grab a knife..but you forced me"
Kezia said, throwing her pillow straight at alya,alya dodged
Pillow hit Sera,
Everyone froze. Then Sera cracked up.
And that's how it started.
Pillows flew like arrows.
Airi went absolutely feral, eyes blazing, swinging hers like it was a broadsword. "FOR HONOR!" she screamed.
Sera couldn't stop laughing as she ducked and counterattacked.
Kezia, wide-eyed, tried to defend herself but ended up joining in, her shy smile breaking into giggles.
Meanwhile, Rei didn't even fight.
He cocooned himself inside a blanket, peeking out just enough to narrate like a war historian.
"And thus… the battlefield descended into chaos. The innocent… became warriors. The quiet one…" (he pointed at Kezia) "…was chosen by fate itself!"
"Shut up and fight, Rei!" Airi hollered, hurling a pillow straight at him.
"GAH—hostile fire!" Rei rolled away, still refusing to actually fight.
"It's a intense fight, everyone is fighting for their life but Haruta is doing nothing but chilling" Rei said serious expression
Souta cracked his knuckles, dual-wielding pillows. "Alright… time to end this quick."
He leapt into the fray like some anime protagonist, pillows spinning like blades.
Sera screamed as he smacked both her and Alya in one swing.
"Mercy is for the weak!" he declared dramatically.
"Shut up!" Alya charged at him, hair flying, smacking him square in the chest.
Across the room, Sia had already armed herself and was fending off Airi like a knight blocking a raging barbarian.
"You fight like a wild boar!" Sia shouted, laughing.
"And you fight like a coward!" Airi shrieked, swinging harder.
Chris sat back against the wall at first, flipping open his book like he wasn't even part of this nonsense.
Then a stray pillow nailed him in the face.
Slowly, he closed the book.
"Oh. It's over for all of you."
"CHRIS IS IN THE WAR!" Rei yelled like a sports commentator.
Chris entered the fight, Swinging pillow while holding Airi's hand to stop her from going full viking mode.
The room descended into absolute madness.
Alya leading charges like a commander.
Sera crying from laughter, getting KO'd every five seconds.
Kezia trying to hide under the blankets only for Rei to yell, "ENEMY SPOTTED!" and expose her.
Souta and Chris clashing in the center like two rival champions, each swing of their pillows shaking the "battlefield."while chris was still holding Airi's hand
Feathers were already starting to leak from one ripped pillow.
The lantern light flickered like it was struggling to keep up with the chaos.
Then—fwump.
A single pillow soared across the room, hitting ALL of them in one perfect strike.
Silence.
Every head turned.
At the doorway stood Haruta, arms crossed, not looking at them
"Something wrong?" He asked with a faintest grin
Rei's jaw dropped. He scrambled to his knees, pointing dramatically.
"MASTER! PLEASE TEACH ME YOUR PILLOW JUTSU!!!"
The whole room erupted again, laughter shaking the mansion's old wooden walls.
"Guys, we should sleep. It's already 4 a.m.," Chris said, rubbing his eyes.
"Nope. We're watching a horror movie now," Kezia declared, already standing up.
"WHAAAAAAT?!" everyone groaned in unison.
"Well, what do you wanna watch? Some horror anime like Uzumaki… or a real horror movie?" Kezia asked, turning on the home theater.
"We should watch an actual movie," Rei suggested.
"I don't think that's a good idea…" Souta muttered, already looking nervous.
"HELL YES!" Sia and Airi said at the exact same time.
"Sounds fun," Sera added calmly.
"Well, well… if Airi's watching, then who am I to say no?" Chris teased with a grin.
Airi's face turned crimson. "D-Don't say stuff like that, it's embarrassing…" she mumbled, hiding her face.
"START ZA MOVIE ALREADY!" Alya yelled like a gremlin.
The lights went out. The room fell into shadows, the only glow coming from the TV.
Sera and Rei sat together. Haruta ended up next to Alya. Chris slid in beside Airi, and Sia sat with Souta. Kezia plopped down right next to Sera, hugging a pillow.
For a while, the room was quiet, everyone's eyes glued to the screen. Then Souta suddenly stood up.
"I'll… go get some fresh air," he muttered, already heading toward the balcony.
"Sure," Haruta said without looking away from the movie.
The door clicked softly behind Souta.
"He's scared of horror movies," Sia sighed, resting her hand on her forehead. "I'll go check on him."
"Yeah, it's alright," Kezia nodded.
Sia walked over and gently slid open the balcony door. Souta was leaning against the railing, staring out into the snow, the night air brushing his hair.
"Something wrong?" Sia asked softly.
"Nah, it's nothing," Souta said quickly. "…These kinds of movies just don't suit me."
Sia leaned on the railing beside him, her shoulder brushing his just slightly. "It's alright," she said, voice calm. "Not everyone has to like them."
For a moment, they just stood there in silence, snow falling quietly around them. The muffled laughter and screams from the horror movie drifted from inside, but out here—it was peaceful.
Souta let out a small breath, the cold air fogging up. "…Thanks for coming out here."
Sia smiled faintly. "Of course. Someone had to keep you company."
--to be continued
-~Rei