Dimensional Echoes

Morning Fractures

The morning sun sliced between buildings in sharp, bright bands, painting the neighborhood in a rhythm that should have felt familiar. Normal. Predictable.

But Aihana woke with the weight of a different world draped across her chest — a world that didn’t loosen its grip simply because the sky was blue and the alarm clock insisted she was human.

She blinked up at the ceiling, breath shallow.

The echoes of previous day hadn’t faded.

When she closed her eyes, she still felt the claws of shadow scraping at the edges of her dreams. She still heard the roaring pulse of light that had burst from somewhere deep inside her. She still felt the firm grasp of Akihiro’s arms anchoring her as her consciousness slipped.

And that was the part she couldn’t explain.

That warmth.
That safety.
That impossible, unshakable certainty.

She dressed slowly, each movement steady but heavy, like her body wasn’t entirely convinced which dimension it belonged in this morning. Her reflection looked pale, but the glint in her eyes — something new, something restless — was unmistakable.

When she stepped outside onto the front walkway, the world answered.

Air shifted around her.

Not with wind.
Not with temperature.
But with dimensional pressure — that subtle thinning of the veil she had only recently learned existed. A whisper of power brushing along her skin, familiar enough to send a flicker through her ribs.

And then she saw them.

Four figures stood in front of her house.

Miyu, bright and buzzing like she’d already had three breakfasts.
Rei, leaning on the fence with his hands in his pockets like gravity had given up trying to move him.
Ayame, sharp and elegant and quiet, tension coiled just under her calm.
And Akihiro—

Akihiro didn’t need wings to feel otherworldly.

Even in his human form, something around him bent.
Settled.
Shifted.

A soft, faint hum pressed against the air — a resonance Aihana didn’t understand how she sensed… but she did.

Her breath caught.

Nothing about him betrayed that he had been outside her room last night, perched unseen in the branches, vigilant until dawn. But the air around him held the imprint of it. A quiet warmth layered beneath the cold professionalism.

Their eyes met for a heartbeat.

Warmth pulsed against her ribs.
Steady.
Measured.
Familiar.

Before she could speak, Miyu looped her arm through Aihana’s and groaned dramatically.

“Finally! I thought I’d have to break in and drag you out of bed.”

Aihana managed a tiny smile, but her gaze drifted back to Akihiro on instinct.

He stood perfectly still, hands in his pockets, face unreadable — but the current around him flickered once. Barely. As if he was restraining an impulse to step closer.

They walked toward school.

And the city felt off.

The air hummed with layered sound — cars, voices, wind — but beneath it all was something else. A faint tremor in the metaphysical fabric. The kind she shouldn’t have been able to detect.

But she could.

At School

Class buzzed with the usual morning noise.

Rustling papers. Half-whispered jokes. Chair legs scraping tile.

Aihana barely had time to sit before the teacher started to talk.

“Aihana,” she said. “The principal would like to see you.”

Half the class gasped, scandalized.

“And Akihiro will accompany you.”

Silence detonated.
Whispers flooded the room.
Someone actually choked on their juice box.

Aihana stared at Akihiro.

He was calm.
Calm in a way that didn’t belong to mortals.
Calm in a way that made her pulse spike.

They walked out together.

And the hallway felt still — like every echo had paused to listen.

The Principal’s Office — The Offer

The principal’s office was dim, sunlight streaking dust into gold. A long official letter lay on the desk, sealed with the embossed crest of A-Academy.

Aihana stiffened.

The principal folded his hands.

“I received a notice from the A-Academy.”
A pause. Heavy. Intentional.
“They wish to enroll you.”

Aihana’s lips parted. “Me?”

“They say you possess exceptional artistic potential.”

A lie so polished she almost admired it.

The principal turned to Akihiro.
“And you’re confirming this?”

Akihiro stepped forward with the kind of composure no human teenager should carry.

“Aihana is exceptional,” he said. “Her abilities exceed what this school can offer. She belongs at the A-Academy.”

He looked at her then — really looked.

And in that moment, she felt the unspoken truth ripple underneath:

You’ll be safer there.
You’ll learn what you are.
You won’t be alone.
Not anymore.
Not while I’m here.

Her throat tightened.

The principal slid the letter toward her. “The decision is yours. If you agree, your parents must come tomorrow to finalize enrollment.”

Aihana lifted her gaze to Akihiro.

His face was calm.

But the air around him wasn’t.

Dimensional energy brushed her senses — soft, urgent, protective.

This wasn’t about art.
Or prestige.
Or opportunity.

This was survival.

“I…”
Her voice trembled.
“I’ll go.”

The world steadied around her.

Her fate didn’t.

Back in Class

The moment they returned, Miyu launched herself halfway over her desk like she had been waiting hours for this moment.

“What happened? And don’t even think about lying.”

“Miyu, no—” Aihana tried.

But Miyu’s detective senses were already activated.

“You have the face,” she hissed.
“The ‘my-life-just-shifted-ten-dimensions’ face.”

Aihana’s pulse stuttered.

“Miyu… it’s about a school.”

Miyu’s eyes widened with supernatural clarity.

“Which school?”

“…A-Academy.”

Five seconds.

Then:

Miyu slapped both hands on her desk so hard the entire row jumped.

“I knew it! I KNEW IT! And Akihiro was with you because he’s part of this—Aihana, this is insane!”

Aihana buried her face in her hands.

Akihiro, sitting beside her, shifted at his name — a tiny, controlled movement — and she felt his energy brush against her like a warm current.

Her heartbeat stuttered.

Because reality was shifting.
Because everything was shifting.

And none of it made sense anymore.

Ayame’s Moment — Cracks in the Angelic Calm

During break, before Akihiro could take three steps in the hallway, someone grabbed his wrist and yanked him between the lockers.

Ayame.

Her composure was perfect.
Almost.

But the air around her vibrated with restrained angelic pressure.

“Are you certain?” she whispered.
“Are you absolutely sure she’s the Guardian?”

She was professional.
Controlled.
Every word exactly measured.

But jealousy flickered beneath her tone like thin fractures in glass.

Akihiro’s voice remained level.
“Ayame. Do you doubt my assessment?”

Her lips parted, then closed.

The answer lived in her eyes.

Then—

“Am I interrupting?”

Rei appeared out of nowhere, smirk sharp enough to cut steel.

Ayame immediately stepped back.
Akihiro didn’t move at all.

“Our mission concludes tomorrow,” he said, voice like a blade.
“Aihana will join the A-Academy.”

Ayame’s shoulders flinched — barely — but enough.

Rei snorted. “Finally. If I hear one more student complain about homework, I swear—”

Akihiro gave him one look.

Rei shut up instantly.

Ayame watched them walk away, composure sliding back into place like a mask settling over her skin.

She whispered to the empty hallway:

“Duty above all.”

But the crack inside her didn’t fully close.

Not this time.