---
Chapter 11: "The Home We Built"
Rei sighs dreamily and floats upside-down above the group, arms behind her head.
> "After blood and battle…
Let's balance it with something pure.
Something… warm."
The next orb floats gently into Suzune #2's hands.
She holds it with a soft smile.
Her posture isn't rigid like the others. She radiates calmness.
The kind of woman who found peace with him, not despite him.
---
🏡 Memory Orb: The Quiet Life
Scene: A modest home.
Afternoon sunlight filters through gauzy curtains.
Ayanokoji sits at a kitchen table, sipping tea, watching quietly as Suzune hums and cooks.
---
Suzune (voiceover):
> "Our love wasn't born in a single moment.
It grew quietly.
Through shared meals. Long walks.
And the silence between words that never needed to be said."
---
Scene: A rainy night.
Ayanokoji comes home soaked. Tired. Eyes cold.
Suzune wraps a towel around him, hands trembling.
> "You don't have to fight anymore."
"Not here. Not with me."
He doesn't respond.
Just rests his head on her shoulder.
And stays.
---
Scene: Their wedding.
No audience. No grand ceremony.
Just two vows, two rings, and a kiss.
Simple. Honest. True.
---
☀️ Back to Present:
Suzune #2 clutches the orb to her chest.
> "I was never the strongest.
Never the smartest.
But I loved him for who he was, not what he could do."
She glances at the others.
> "He didn't need to prove anything to me.
And I never asked him to be someone he wasn't."
She looks at Ayanokoji now, eyes soft.
> "If your heart is tired…
mine is still open."
---
Ayanokoji stares at her for a long moment.
Then says, quietly:
> "You were… the first to ever make me feel safe."
---
Even Suzune #8 doesn't speak.
Even Suzune #1 lowers her head, fighting tears.
---
Rei wipes a fake tear from her eye with a handkerchief made of stars.
> "Beautiful. Simple. Healing.
I almost forgot how painful true love is…"
> "Half done. Four remain."
---
TO BE CONTINUED...
---