Part 8 — Ayame Wakes Up
General Kaito charged forward once again.
"For the nation!"
Haruto immediately grabbed another cushion.
"There is no nation!"
"There is if I say there is!"
The cushion flew.
Kaito ducked.
The cushion missed him completely and slammed into the side of the sofa.
A loud thud echoed through the house.
Both brothers froze.
Silence.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
Click.
The bedroom door opened.
Haruto and Kaito slowly turned toward the hallway.
Ayame stood there.
Her hair was slightly messy from sleep.
One hand rested against the doorframe.
For several moments, she simply stared.
At the cushions.
At the blanket fortress.
At the crooked border running through the hall.
At Kaito's blanket cape.
At Haruto holding a cushion like a weapon.
Silence.
A very long silence.
Kaito slowly lowered his cushion.
"...Good evening."
Haruto immediately pointed at him.
"This was his idea."
"I had support!"
"You declared war."
"You built a fortress!"
"You invaded first."
"You accepted the challenge!"
Ayame stared at both of them.
The argument died instantly.
Neither brother dared continue.
Ayame closed her eyes.
Took a slow breath.
Then opened them again.
"It's not even sunset yet."
Neither Haruto nor Kaito had a response.
Another silence followed.
Finally, Ayame pointed toward the hall.
"Clean it."
"Yes."
"Immediately."
"Yes."
"All of it."
"Yes."
Without another word, both brothers rushed into action.
The Great Hall War ended as quickly as it had begun.
The blanket cape disappeared.
The border was dismantled.
The fortresses were reduced to ordinary cushions once again.
Within minutes, the hall looked normal.
Almost.
Kaito placed the final cushion back onto the sofa and stepped away.
"There."
Haruto glanced around.
"Looks fine."
Ayame sat down nearby and took a sip of water.
The headache was better than before, but not completely gone.
For the first time since waking up, the house felt quiet again.
The three siblings remained in the hall as the afternoon slowly drifted toward evening.
Sunlight filtered through the windows, painting the room in warm orange colors.
Nobody spoke much.
The earlier energy had faded.
Kaito stretched his arms above his head.
"Bored."
"You were fighting a war five minutes ago."
"And now I'm bored."
"That's impressive."
"It takes talent."
Haruto shook his head.
Ayame let out a small sigh.
Somehow, despite everything that had happened recently, moments like this still existed.
Simple moments.
Normal moments.
The kind she wished would last forever.
Outside, the sun continued its slow descent.
And little by little, evening began to settle over the village.