The Conductor

For a moment, she felt light, almost happy. Then, the weight of the previous day hit her: Ren's look of pity, Kaito's panic when she touched him, the failure of her first spell.

But today was different.

She sat up in bed and stuck her hand under the pillow. The leather pencil case was there. When she touched it, the ring on her other finger gave a faint hum, an almost imperceptible vibration, like a cell phone on silent mode. The case was warm. Not fever-hot, but with a living, constant warmth.

The 24 hours had passed. It was "charged."

I wish for Kaito to have the courage to show his art. I wish for the right people to see how incredible he is.

She repeated the wish in her mind, pouring all the hope she could muster into the object. She placed it carefully in the inner pocket of her backpack, separate from her own books.

Breakfast was the usual silence, but Hina barely noticed. She was too focused on her plan. She had a mission.

The walk to school felt faster this time. She didn't look at the housewives or the old men; she looked straight ahead. Ren was at the school gate with his group, laughing loudly. Hina ignored him and walked right past, making no eye contact. She didn't hear if he called her "Ghost." She had more important things to do.

She found Kaito in his usual spot, in the empty classroom, fifteen minutes before the bell rang. He was hunched over his sketchbook, his hand flying across the paper.

Hina stopped beside his desk.

"Kaito?"

He jumped, nearly knocking over his chair, and snapped the sketchbook shut. "Ah! Hina-chan! S-sorry, I didn't see you."

"It's okay." Hina felt her face heat up. This was much harder in practice. "I just... Um. I wanted to give you something."

She took the leather case out of her backpack. The warmth was gone. It looked just like a normal pencil case now.

"What? For me?" Kaito's eyes widened.

"My grandmother gave it to me a while ago, but I never used it," Hina lied, grateful for the lie she had prepared. "I saw you drawing yesterday. You... you're really good. I thought you could get better use out of it than me."

She held it out.

Kaito looked at the case, then at her face, then back at the case. He looked completely confused.

"I... I can't accept this," he stammered. "It's... it's too nice."

"Please," Hina said, a little firmer than she intended. "I want you to have it. As a... a belated 'welcome back' for me."

Slowly, as if approaching a frightened animal, Kaito reached out and took the case. His fingers brushed hers.

The instant he took the object's weight, Hina felt it. The ring on her finger suddenly went cold, as if an electric current had been cut. The magic had been transferred. Conductor B had worked.

Kaito unzipped the case and looked inside. He touched the soft felt lining. A small, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Wow," he whispered. "It's perfect. My pencils are always breaking in my backpack."

"I'm glad you like it," Hina said, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief.

"Thank you, Hina-chan. Really." For the first time, Kaito looked directly into her eyes. "And... welcome back."

The bell rang, and other students began to file into the room, breaking the moment. Hina hurried to her seat, her heart pounding for a reason entirely different from anxiety.

She had done it. The spell was cast.

Now, she just had to wait.

The rest of the day was a torture of anticipation. Every time a teacher spoke to Kaito, Hina held her breath. But nothing happened. In history class, Kaito put his pencils in the new case but remained quiet. In science class, he answered a question and got it right, but that was it.

Maybe the wish was too vague? she thought, doubt beginning to eat at her confidence. Maybe "having courage" isn't something the ring can do?

At lunchtime, she sat with Mei. The morning's confidence had evaporated, leaving her back in her normal state of anxiety.

"You seem better today," Mei said, opening her bento. "More... present."

"I slept a little better," Hina lied.

"I'm glad. I was worried about you yesterday. Ren was an idiot."

"Is he always an idiot?"

Mei hesitated, pushing a piece of tamagoyaki with her chopsticks. "He... changed. Last year, he was just a fun basketball guy. But ever since he became team captain and started dating Akari... he thinks he's king of the school."

"And he picks on you?"

"Only when he wants to impress his friends," Mei said, shrugging. "He likes to feel big by making other people feel small. You know how it is."

Hina knew. She looked down at her own hands, the silver ring hidden under her sleeve. She remembered the notebook. Subject: Mr. Tanaka. Result: Success.

A familiar heat began to creep up her arm.

"Hi, girls."

Ren's voice made them both jump. He was standing next to their table, a mocking smile on his face. His team friends were right behind him, laughing.

"What do you want, Ren?" Mei asked, her voice firm, but Hina saw her hand tremble.

"Nothing. Just seeing if the Ghost here has disappeared yet," Ren said, looking at Hina's untouched food. "You don't eat? Oh, right. Ghosts don't eat."

"Leave her alone," Mei said.

"Or what?" Ren leaned over the table, his face close to Mei's. "What are you gonna do, Watanabe? Hit me with your math book? You only hang out with her because no one else wants to hang out with you."

Those words hit Mei hard. Hina saw her face turn pale, her eyes filling with tears.

That was it.

The anger Hina felt wasn't like the night before. It wasn't a sudden, scary heat. It was a cold fury, sharp as ice. Ren was hurting Mei on purpose. He was being cruel just for fun.

She remembered the notebook. He deserved it.

Hina began to slide her sleeve back. She could "accidentally" knock over her tray. She could "accidentally" touch his arm while standing up. Touch him. That's all she needed. I wish you would trip. I wish you would fall and drop that tray of food all over your stupid uniform in front of everyone.

The ring on her finger grew hot. Really hot.

"Ren! Leave them alone!"

Hina froze.

Kaito was standing a few feet away, clutching his sketchbook to his chest. He was pale and trembling, but he was staring directly at Ren.

The entire cafeteria went silent. Kaito, the quietest boy in school, was confronting Ren Ishida.

Ren looked as shocked as Hina. He laughed, a dry, incredulous sound. "What? Now the art freak is going to defend them too? What is this, the reject club?"

"I-I said... leave them alone," Kaito stammered, taking a step forward.

"Or what, Picasso?" Ren gave Kaito a mocking shove on the shoulder.

It was a light push, but Kaito was off-balance. He stumbled backward, his arms windmilling. And his sketchbook flew out of his hands.

It landed on the cafeteria floor, right in the middle of the main walkway, and fell open.

Not to just any page. To the centerfold. An incredible drawing of a mechanical dragon coiled around the Tokyo Tower.

"Whoa," someone whispered.

A teacher monitoring the lunch, Tanaka-sensei, the art teacher, walked over. He picked up the notebook.

"Kaito," the teacher said, his voice sounding strange. "Did you draw this?"

Kaito looked like he was going to be sick. He just nodded, unable to speak.

Tanaka-sensei flipped through a few more pages. His eyes widened. He turned to the packed cafeteria and held up the notebook, showing an incredibly realistic portrait of an old shopkeeper from town.

"This," Tanaka-sensei said, his voice resonating, "is talent. Kaito, why have you never shown me this?"

Ren stood there, forgotten. His face was red with anger at being ignored.

"I... I don't know," Kaito mumbled.

"The prefectural art competition," Tanaka-sensei said, closing the notebook and handing it back to Kaito as if it were a treasure. "The deadline is Friday. You're entering. No, I'm entering you. I need to talk to your parents."

Kaito took the notebook, staring at the teacher as if he had just started speaking an alien language.

Ren snorted, annoyed. "Whatever. Bunch of weirdos." He walked away, his friends following, but the arrogance was gone. He had lost.

Mei was staring at Hina, her eyes wide. "Hina... what was that?"

Hina looked at her own hands. The angry heat was gone. In its place was the same gentle hum from the morning, the warmth of good magic.

She looked at Kaito, who was being surrounded by a few curious students, all wanting to see his drawings. He looked terrified, but also... proud.

The notebook fell, Hina thought, a slow smile spreading across her face. It fell and opened to the right page. In front of the right person.

I wish for Kaito to have the courage to show his art.

The ring hadn't given him courage. It gave him a push.

"I don't know," Hina said to Mei, finally finding her voice. "I guess... it was just luck."