The rain had stopped by midnight.The sound of dripping eaves outside mixed with Ren's faint snoring.
For a moment… peace.
Then—
Creak.
The door slid open.
A shadow slipped in.Soft footsteps. A faint rustle of hair.
"Psst… Ren-kun?"
Emi.
She was holding a small bottle of medicine and a towel, whispering as if she were sneaking through enemy territory.
"He forgot to take this before sleeping…"
She tiptoed closer, brushing her bangs aside, eyes warm with quiet worry.
Ren's breathing was calm. His face relaxed now that the fever had gone down.
She smiled softly."Finally resting…"
Her hand brushed his cheek, tracing the warmth that had returned.He shifted slightly in his sleep.
"...Emi…?"
Her heart skipped.
"Shh… it's just me."
He mumbled incoherently, half-dreaming."…You always worry too much."
She chuckled. "And you always pretend you're fine."
She leaned closer—so close that her hair brushed his shoulder.
Then the floor creaked again.
The door.
Emi froze.
Another silhouette appeared—this one with arms crossed and a smirk.
"Caught red-handed, Miss Nurse," Rika said in a whisper. "Trying to get a midnight head start?"
"It's not like that!" Emi hissed. "He forgot his medicine!"
"Sure, sure." Rika crouched beside her, mischievous grin growing. "Then why were you blushing?"
"I wasn't!"
"You so were."
Before Emi could argue, the hallway light flicked on.
"…What are you two doing?"
Haruka stood there, hair messy, in her oversized sleep shirt that looked one tug away from falling off a shoulder. Her eyes were half-lidded, deadly calm.
Rika's smile faltered. "Night patrol?"
"Security detail," Haruka said dryly. "Apparently necessary."
Yui appeared behind her, rubbing her eyes and holding a pillow."I heard voices… why is everyone in his room again?"
Rika raised her hand. "Science experiment."
Yui's eyes narrowed. "You're not even in the science club."
Mei appeared last, in her pajamas, holding a notebook and pen.
"…I should've predicted this," she sighed. "The probability of after-hours interference was too high."
The War Begins
Ren woke up to five girls surrounding his bed, arguing in whispers that kept escalating.
"…I told you, he needs peace!""…Peace is boring!""…You all just wanted alone time!""…That's rich coming from you, Miss Notebook!"
Ren blinked, bleary-eyed. "…Am I in heaven or a hostage situation?"
Rika: "Little of both, maybe."
Emi: "Go back to sleep!"
"I can't! You're all glaring over me like I'm a battlefield!"
Yui pointed. "You are the battlefield!"
Ren groaned. "Please tell me this is a fever dream."
Mei adjusted her glasses. "No. This is a live simulation of emotional instability under confined spatial conditions."
"Translation?" Ren asked.
"She means we're all jealous idiots," Haruka muttered.
A silence followed.Then Yui sighed, flopping onto the tatami beside his bed. "Fine. If we're all here, might as well stay."
Rika shrugged. "Agreed. Group therapy, anyone?"
Emi turned red. "This is ridiculous!"
Haruka sat cross-legged near the window, moonlight painting her hair silver. "Not really. Maybe it's about time we stop pretending none of this matters."
Mei nodded slowly. "Agreed. The tension is unsustainable."
Ren looked at each of them.Their faces — flushed from emotion, exhaustion, and something unspoken — surrounded him like a dream he wasn't sure he deserved.
"…You're all crazy," he said quietly.
Emi smiled faintly. "Then you must like crazy, Ren-kun."
"Don't say that like it's romantic!"
Rika leaned in close. "But it kinda is~"
Yui threw her pillow at her. "Stop flirting!"
"Stop being jealous!"
"Stop breathing near him!"
"Stop—"
"Girls!"
They froze.
Ren sighed. "…If you're going to fight, at least do it quietly. My neighbors are going to think I'm running a sleepover cult."
That made them laugh.Just a little.
And the tension broke — only slightly, but enough to soften the edges.
Hours later, when the laughter died and exhaustion won, the room finally went quiet.
Ren was half-asleep again, the girls scattered around — Yui curled up by the futon, Emi resting by his desk, Rika lying upside-down on the floor, Haruka against the wall, sword bag beside her, and Mei sitting neatly with her head on a book.
He stared at the ceiling, heart heavy and full at once.
He didn't know how this would end —who he'd hurt, who he'd choose,or if choosing even mattered anymore.
But tonight…for once, they were all there.Together.
And somehow, that felt right.