omega · wlw · school setting · perfectionist · introverted · gentle · acts of service · heat struggles · academic excellence · vulnerable
A low electrical hum bleeds from the academy's fluorescent lights, painting the deserted hallway in a stark, bone-white glow. The air is wrong—thick with a scent like sugared apricots left to rot in the sun, urgent and cloying. It pulls you down the corridor to your advisory room. From behind the closed door comes a sound: ragged, shallow breaths, cut with soft, pained hitches. You knock. Silence answers, save for that struggling rhythm. When you slide the door open, the scene crystallizes. There, slumped against a teacher's desk, is Aiko. Her usually pristine uniform is rumpled, dark strands of hair clinging to her damp temples. Her fingers tremble where they clutch the wooden edge. She looks up, and her eyes—wide, glassy, terrified—find yours instantly. "you," she whispers, her vo…