Chapter 23 – The Fortress Against Nightmares – Bonus Chapter

The last slice of pizza was gone, and the apartment was filled with a comfortable, chaotic energy. After Hakuto left, the girls were still buzzing from the night's events. "It's a unbelievable!" Akane declared, slamming her hand on Chiyoko's coffee table so hard the empty pizza boxes jumped. "No, a crime against humanity!" Miki looked up from scrolling through her phone. "What is?" "Homu-chan!" Akane announced, pointing an accusatory finger at Homura, who was curled up quietly on an armchair. "She's never had a proper sleepover! Can you believe that? No junk food, no scary movies, no staying up all night talking about cute boys! We have to fix this. Immediately." Homura looked up, her eyes wide with a familiar deer-in-the-headlights panic. "A sleepover? But... I don't..." "Nonsense!" Akane steamrolled right over her. "It's decided! Tonight! Right here! You're all officially invited to the first-ever Fallen Stars Ultimate Sleepover Party! Attendance is mandatory!" Chiyoko smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I think that's a wonderful idea. I have plenty of blankets." Aoi, who had been quietly observing, gave a small nod. "An unscheduled team-building exercise. Logically sound, I will participate." The living room was transformed into a chaotic masterpiece. They pushed the furniture against the walls, creating a wide-open space. Blankets and pillows were piled in the center like a giant nest. The leftover sodas and a bag of chips became the official snack mountain. The evening began with Akane's "official sleepover training." First up: movies. Akane argued for a cheesy slasher flick, while Miki insisted on a sappy romance. "We need something that will make us cry and sob!" Miki insisted. "We need something with guts and explosions!" Akane shot back. They settled on a horror movie first, a cheesy one that was more funny than scary. Akane yelled at the screen, Miki hid behind a pillow during the jump scares, and Homura watched from the safety of her armchair, a small, fascinated smile on her face. Aoi provided deadpan commentary on the characters' poor tactical decisions, while Chiyoko just watched them all with a warm, maternal fondness. After the slasher movie, they put on Miki's romance. It was just as sappy as promised. Miki and Chiyoko cried. Akane pretended to gag. Aoi declared the male lead's grand romantic gesture to be "emotionally manipulative and financially irresponsible." And Homura, she was quiet, but she was smiling. A real, genuine smile. As the night wore on, a familiar anxiety began to creep back into Homura's heart. The fun part was over. Now came the scary part: sleeping in a new place, surrounded by people. Chiyoko and Aoi began laying out sleeping bags on the floor. "Alright, girls, time to get some rest," Chiyoko said with a soft yawn. Homura just sat there, clutching a pillow to her chest. "Akane-chan?" she asked, her voice a small whisper. "Yeah? What's up?" Akane asked, fluffing her own pillow. "I... I don't sleep well. In new places." Akane stopped what she was doing. She looked at Homura, really looked at her, and for once, she saw past the quiet exterior to the deep, genuine fear in her eyes. "You mean... because of the nightmares?" she asked, her voice surprisingly gentle. Homura flinched but nodded. The whole room went quiet. "I'm afraid," she whispered, her gaze fixed on the floor. "I'm afraid I'll lose control in my sleep." "My power killed my own family. I don't want to hurt anyone again." Akane was silent for a long moment. She wasn't a strategist like Aoi or a charmer like Miki. She didn't know the right words to say. So she did the only thing she knew how to do. She acted. "Right," she said, her voice full of a new, fierce determination. "Unacceptable. We're gonna need some reinforcements." For the next ten minutes, she worked with a manic energy. She grabbed every pillow, every blanket, every cushion in the apartment. Miki and Aoi, catching on, started helping her. They used the sofa as a base and chairs as support beams, creating a massive, sprawling, and structurally questionable fortress in the middle of the living room. It had walls, a roof, and even a small crawl-space entrance. Akane stood back, admiring their handiwork with her hands on her hips. "Behold!" she declared. "The Grade-A Anti-Nightmare Fortress! It's proven to repel all bad dreams and rogue cosmic energy blasts!" Homura just stared at the ridiculous, lopsided structure. A small, watery laugh escaped her lips. "C'mon," Akane said, crawling inside. "It's super safe in here." Homura hesitated for a moment. Chiyoko gave her an encouraging nod. She crawled in after Akane. It was cozy inside, a small, soft cave smelling of popcorn and friendship. Miki crawled in right after her, sandwiching Homura between them. Aoi, with a sigh that failed to hide a tiny smile, dragged her own sleeping bag to guard the entrance. Chiyoko dimmed the lights and settled onto the couch nearby, a silent, watchful guardian. "Hey, Homu-chan," Akane whispered in the dark. "Yes, Akane-chan?" "If you have a nightmare, you have a nightmare," Akane said, her voice serious. "I'll be right here." "Miki and Aoi are on the other side. If your powers go crazy, we'll take the hit. That's what sisters do. We're not scared of you." Homura was silent for a long time. Then, a small, quiet voice echoed in the pillow fort. "...Thank you." "No problem," Akane mumbled, already half-asleep. A few minutes later, Homura heard the soft, rhythmic sound of her friend's snoring. She lay there in the quiet darkness, cocooned between her two new, loud, ridiculous friends. She felt safe. Completely and utterly safe. For the first time in a very long time, Homura Saito fell asleep without being afraid of the dark.