The morning sunlight spilled through the window, warm and golden, painting soft patterns across Airi Tsukihara's messy room. Posters of Dragon Ball, Digimon Adventure, My Hero Academia, and countless other anime covered nearly every inch of her walls. Her desk was cluttered with cosplay tools, half-finished props, and a glowing LED display that read "Day Until Tokyo Cosplay Expo: 3!"
Airi sat cross-legged on her bed, holding a tiny orange ball in her palm — a Dragon Ball replica.
"Man," she sighed, gazing at it wistfully, "if only I really could use a Kamehameha…"
As if answering her, the Dragon Ball pulsed faintly in her hand.
She blinked. "Huh?"
For a split second, her mind felt different — like the space around her shimmered. Her imagination flared. She pictured the way Goku cupped his hands, the surge of blue energy, the roar of power.
She whispered, almost shyly,
"Ka…me…ha…me…"
The air trembled. The lights flickered.
"HA!"
A brilliant flash burst from her palms, blowing a hole straight through the paper door and sending a blast of warm air across the garden.
Airi froze. The replica Dragon Ball dropped from her hand, rolling across the floor.
She stared at the smoking hole in disbelief. "...Did I just—wait—WHAT?!"
Her neighbor's dog barked wildly outside. Birds scattered. And from somewhere down the street, an old man yelled about "kids these days and their fireworks."
Airi scrambled to her feet, heart hammering. She stared at her hands — unburned, trembling, and glowing faintly with blue energy.
"No way," she whispered. "Did I just… actually… use a Kamehameha?"
The realization hit her all at once.
Her dream — her imagination — had become real.
---
That night, unable to sleep, Airi sat outside under the stars. The quiet hum of Tokyo's suburbs filled the air — cars, cicadas, the faint buzz of city lights. She held her phone, scrolling through clips of her favorite anime fights.
"If I can do that…" she murmured, "then maybe…"
She closed her eyes and focused. She imagined Agumon, her favorite Digimon, small but brave, his voice echoing in her mind: "Airi, I'll protect you!"
The ground shimmered. Sparks of golden data swirled in the air. A tiny, orange-scaled creature appeared beside her, blinking its large eyes.
"Agumon…?" she whispered.
"Agumon!" he chirped, grinning. "It's nice to meet you, Airi!"
She screamed. "YOU'RE REAL?!"
Agumon tilted his head. "Uh… was I not supposed to be?"
Airi stared, her brain barely processing the reality of the digital dinosaur now sitting on her lawn, waving at her neighbor's cat.
Her imagination wasn't just creating illusions — it was bending reality.
---
By the next day, Airi had already tested dozens of ideas: flight, magic circles, even a portal that briefly showed a glimpse of Gotham City before snapping shut. Each attempt drained her energy but filled her with awe.
She wasn't just a cosplayer anymore.
She was something else — a hero born from dreams.
She even gave herself a name.
Imaginara.
---
But power attracts attention.
Two nights later, Tokyo was under attack. A strange, shadowy creature — a mass of ink and noise — emerged in Shibuya. Police, heroes, and drones surrounded it, but none could touch it. It absorbed bullets, burned through plasma, and moved like living darkness.
Airi watched from a rooftop, heart racing.
She could feel it — that same shimmer from her imagination. The creature wasn't real. It was born from something… or someone.
"This… is imagination energy," she realized. "Just like mine."
Agumon tugged on her sleeve. "Airi, that thing feels scary."
"I know," she said, standing. "But if it came from imagination—then I can fight it."
She clenched her fists, her thoughts racing through every anime battle she'd ever seen. Her heart pounded with excitement and fear.
"Alright," she said, grinning. "Let's go, Agumon."
Energy flared around her body. Her outfit shifted — her red jacket billowed like a cape, and glowing markings formed across her arms. She wasn't just Airi anymore.
She was Imaginara, the girl who made fiction real.
She leapt from the rooftop, landing in front of the monster. The creature hissed, tendrils of shadow reaching for her.
Airi smirked.
"Sorry, but this isn't your anime."
She raised her hands, energy swirling between her palms. "KA—ME—HA—ME—HA!!!"
The blast erupted like a comet, slamming into the creature with a roar of light. The shockwave shattered windows for blocks, but when the smoke cleared — the monster was gone.
Cheers erupted from the distant crowd. Drones captured everything, and soon the internet exploded with the video of the mysterious girl in white, defeating the shadow with a Kamehameha.
---
Later, back home, Airi collapsed onto her bed. Her phone buzzed nonstop with alerts and hashtags like #KamehamehaGirl and #RealAnimeHero trending worldwide.
She groaned, burying her face in a pillow.
"Great. I just became a meme."
Agumon chuckled beside her. "But you saved everyone!"
"Yeah," she said softly. "I did."
She looked out her window, eyes glowing faintly with power.
"But something tells me that wasn't the last one."
Outside, deep in the sky, a flickering rift shimmered — like a crack between universes.
And from the darkness beyond, something looked back.