Revealed in Light

Aihana’s Parents’ House

Aihana sat on the balcony outside her room, knees pulled tight to her chest, notebooks and loose pages scattered around her like fallen feathers. The evening wind stirred them with lazy fingers. The city beneath her sank into soft gold, far too calm and ordinary to reflect the storm twisting inside her.

Words chased each other through her mind like birds that had forgotten how to land. Some tiny and fragile. Others sharp enough to cut.

I have to tell them. I have to tell them everything.

And I can’t run from it anymore.

A quiet shimmer flickered beside her, silver and soft, and Akihiro descended onto the balcony like a breath drawn in. His presence spread around her, warm and protective, focusing the world until only she remained in its center.

He didn’t speak at first. He simply sat beside her, close enough for their knees to touch, close enough for her to borrow his calm.

“I have to…” Her voice barely rose above the wind. “I have to tell them. The truth. About me. About everything.”

“You’re right,” he murmured, voice steady as bedrock. “They’ve loved you your whole life. They won’t stop now.”

“But what if they’re afraid?” She swallowed, her voice trembling. “What if I lose them?”

He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, gentle, certain. “Aihana… they didn’t choose you because of who you would become someday. They chose you for who you were then. For you.”

A faint smile. “And when you tell them… I’ll be there. Every second.”

Her breath steadied. She nodded. “Thank you.”

“And besides,” he sighed, “I still have to handle your transfer paperwork from your old school to the A-Academy. Again.”

A tired laugh escaped her. She leaned against his shoulder for the length of a heartbeat.

“I’ll see you at the door,” he said, rising. He stepped onto the railing and leapt into the night, leaving a wake of fading light behind him.

Aihana remained seated, heart pounding, resolve taking root. The city breathed around the house, warm and deceptively normal. But everything was already shifting.

Tonight she would speak the truth. About herself. About her blood. About Akihiro.

When she reached the front door, her hands were shaking. Every step felt like walking into magic with no path back. Then the doorbell rang. She raised her hand and opened the door.

Akihiro stood there. Still. Calm. His presence filled the entryway, as if he dimmed every other sound in the house.

“Mom… Dad,” Aihana said, her voice surprisingly steady. “I want you to meet someone. This is Akihiro.”

Her parents’ eyes shifted to him, confused at first, then caught by a strange, distant familiarity, like a memory buried under years of dust—but slightly altered, a future they hadn’t lived before. Their hearts skipped. Something was different. The world they thought they knew had subtly changed, and it was disorienting.

Akihiro inclined his head slightly. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

Then it happened. Barely noticeable, like a ripple of light gliding over water: a wave of his power, restrained, respectful… inevitable.

Aihana’s mother inhaled sharply. Her father gripped the doorframe. Memories long erased—or shifted—broke the surface: Aihana at the A-Academy. Akihiro at her side, always a shadow, always vigilant. Yet the details were slightly… off. The future had rewritten itself, leaving only fragments of certainty.

Her mother blinked… then stared even harder.

“I’ve seen you before,” she whispered. “You were at Aihana’s school. One day, when she wasn’t feeling well, you walked her home. And then you came by again, and I remember telling her that some fresh air would do her good… so she should go on a walk with you.”

Aihana’s face went crimson. “Mom.”

Aihana stepped forward.

“I know you’re not my biological parents.”

Her parents exchanged a startled glance.

Her mother whispered, “How?”

Her father exhaled and nodded. “Maybe… maybe we should tell her.”

Her mother closed her eyes for a moment. “We found you behind the house. We couldn’t have children. And we took you in.”

Tears slid down Aihana’s face, especially when she saw the grief in their eyes, the fear that they might lose her now.

She pulled them both into a tight embrace.

“You deserve the truth,” she said softly. “I’ll always be your daughter. Always. But I’m not just human.”

They looked at her, bracing.

She felt her own power rising, warm and familiar. “I’m a Guardian. I train. I fight. I protect the world.”

Her gaze flicked toward Akihiro. “And he… he’s an angel. My mentor.”

Her mother let out a strangled half-laugh, half-gasp. “You… you’re an angel?”

Then her eyes sparkled. “And you’re stunning!” She stepped forward, a little hesitant. “Can I… touch them?”

Akihiro’s composure flickered, but he nodded. “If you wish.”

Her mother brushed her fingers over his glowing feathers. “I knew it! I always wanted a son-in-law who was… this.”

Aihana sputtered. “Mom!”

Her father muttered, “Well… he’s better than anyone I expected her to date,” before pretending he hadn’t said it.

Aihana swallowed. She hadn’t planned to go further, but keeping secrets now felt wrong.

“There’s something else.”

She steadied herself. “I’m not just a Guardian. I’m a princess. My birth mother is the Sovereign who rules the angelic realms and protects the Earth.”

Her parents stared, stunned silent.

“And Akihiro…” Her breath trembled. “He’s the angelic Crown Prince. And yes, we’re… together.”

Silence stretched.

Then her mother let out a high-pitched squeal of delight. “I knew it! The way he looked at you, the way you looked at him… it wasn’t my imagination!”

Her father straightened, failing at looking stern. “As long as he treats you right. Even if he does glow.”

Akihiro’s voice was gentle. “I would give my life for her. And for both of you.”

Her mother clasped her hands to her chest. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

Aihana’s cheeks burned, but something deep inside her loosened. Freed.

She inhaled, and light spilled from her. Wings emerged behind her, white and soft, threaded with power. Their glow washed over the living room walls.

Beside her, Akihiro’s wings ignited in a blaze of energy, serene yet boundless.

Her mother reached out and brushed one of Aihana’s feathers with a teasing grin. “Soft… but insanely powerful. Just like my daughter.”

Her father covered his mouth, eyes wide in awe.

“Aihana…” her mother whispered, voice breaking with relief. “No matter what you are… you’re ours. And we’ll always love you.”

Tears blurred Aihana’s vision. The fear that had suffocated her for days finally loosened its grip.

Akihiro squeezed her hand, warm and steady, a silent I’m here.

When the room settled again, he spoke softly. “You did something incredibly brave tonight.”

His gaze held hers. “There’s one more thing I need to take care of.”

“What is it?” she asked.

That familiar, unreadable smile touched his lips. “You’ll see. I won’t be long.”

Her parents sank onto the couch, overwhelmed but trying to piece the world back together.

Light curled around Akihiro as he stepped toward the door.

Then he vanished, dissolving into the air.

Only a faint shimmer remained.

And in Aihana’s chest, a quiet certainty: whatever his “something” was, it would not be small.