The Reject Club

Success was addictive.

In the days that followed, life at Nakamura Junior High changed. The miracle in the cafeteria became an instant legend. Kaito was no longer the "art weirdo"; he was "the guy who draws like a pro." Students who previously ignored him now stopped by his desk to see his sketches. The girls, who before only had eyes for Ren and the basketball team, now whispered that Kaito had "mysterious eyes."

The biggest change, however, was in Kaito himself. Tanaka-sensei, the art teacher, had taken him under his wing, calling his parents and ensuring he would not only enter the prefectural competition but have the best chance of winning. That constant terror in his eyes was replaced by a shy but real confidence.

And best of all: he, Hina, and Mei were now a unit.

They ate lunch together every day at the same table near the window. They became, as Ren had mocked, "The Reject Club." And they loved the name.

"They're looking again," Mei murmured, trying to hide her smile behind her juice cup.

Hina looked over her shoulder. Ren and his group were at their table on the other side of the cafeteria, and they didn't look happy. Ren was stabbing his fried chicken with his chopsticks.

"Let them look," Kaito said, without looking up from his new drawing. He was using the pencil case Hina had given him. "He's just mad because Tanaka-sensei said my drawings had more 'depth' than his jump shot."

Hina laughed. "Careful, Kaito. You're almost sounding arrogant."

"It's the influence of you two," he said, but he was smiling.

Hina leaned back, feeling a warmth that didn't come from the ring. It was pride. I did this, she thought. I fixed Kaito.

The ring on her finger was quiet. She hadn't used it since then. She was so focused on enjoying her new group of friends that she almost forgot about the power she held. Almost.

But as she watched Ren across the cafeteria, she noticed something. He wasn't looking at Kaito anymore. He was looking at Mei. And he didn't look annoyed. He looked... calculating.

"Hina?" Mei said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay? You look pale."

"I'm fine," Hina said, forcing a smile. "Just... tired."

It was a half-truth. She was exhausted. She hadn't realized it, but since giving the case to Kaito, she constantly felt like she had a mild cold. Haruto's notebook mentioned the fatigue. Using the ring drains... something, he had written in a note. It's not physical energy. It's something else. Need to be careful.

Using magic, even for good, had a cost.

That afternoon, the group split up. Kaito had to stay after school for an extra art session with Tanaka-sensei. Hina and Mei decided to walk home together.

As they walked down the main street, passing the candy store and the video rental shop, Hina noticed that Mei was too quiet. She was twisting her backpack strap so hard her knuckles were white.

"Hey," Hina said gently. "What's wrong?"

Mei jumped, as if snapping out of a trance. "Nothing! Why?"

"Mei. You've been panicked since lunch. It's Ren, isn't it? What did he do?"

Mei stopped walking, right in front of the bookstore. She looked down at her feet. "He... he hasn't done anything. Yet."

"What does that mean?"

"Hina, you can't tell anyone. Especially Kaito. Please?"

"I promise."

Mei took a deep breath. "I have... a diary. A real diary, with a lock. I write... things in it. Personal things."

"What kind of things?"

Mei's face turned beet red. "Stupid things... Poems. Thoughts. About... about people."

Hina waited.

"I lost it last week," Mei whispered. "It was in the locker room after gym class. I looked everywhere, but it was gone. I was panicking. Then, the next day, it appeared in my locker. The lock was broken."

A chill ran through Hina. "Who?"

"I didn't know, at first. But then, yesterday, Ren passed me in the hallway and said: 'Nice poem about the moon, Watanabe. Very deep.'"

"Oh, no," Hina breathed.

"Hina, he read it. He read everything." Mei was on the verge of tears. "There are things in there... things I wrote about... about Ren."

Hina froze. "You... you like Ren? After how he treats us?"

"I know it's stupid!" Mei whimpered, the tears finally falling. "I don't like him... I liked who he was. Last year, before he became 'King Ren.' He was nice. He helped me with math homework once. I... I guess I kept writing about the boy he used to be. Stupid things, like... how his smile is nice, or how focused he gets on basketball... oh God, Hina, it's so embarrassing. If anyone finds out, I'll have to move. I'll die."

Hina felt the anger return. That familiar heat in her finger. "Is he threatening you?"

"No. It's worse," Mei said. "He just smiles. He knows he has this power over me. Every time Kaito has a success, Ren looks at me and smiles. He's jealous of Kaito, but he's afraid to confront him because of the sensei. So... he's going to use this against me."

Hina grabbed Mei's arm. "Let's go."

"What? Where?"

"To the gym. The basketball team practices on Tuesdays. He's there now."

"Hina, no! What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have a chat with him," Hina said, her voice dangerously calm. The ring on her finger was humming, alive with her anger. Subject: Ren Ishida.

"Hina, please, don't! This will only make it worse!"

But Hina was already marching, dragging Mei with her. She wasn't the sick, scared girl anymore. She was the girl who could "fix" things. And Ren Ishida was about to be fixed.

They could hear the squeak of sneakers on the gym floor before they even opened the doors. The team was in the middle of a drill, running back and forth.

"Hina, please, let's go," Mei begged, trying to pull her arm away.

"Ishida!" Hina's voice cut through the gym.

The coach's whistle blew. The players stopped, panting, turning toward the door.

Ren was in the middle of the court, his chest heaving. When he saw Hina and Mei, his face closed into a scowl.

"What do you want, Ghost?" he shouted from across the court.

Hina let go of Mei's arm and walked to the center of the court, her school shoes making a soft sound on the varnished wood. The other players stepped back, sensing the tension.

"Give it back," Hina said.

"Give what back?"

"Mei's diary. The one you stole."

Ren's face turned red. Being called a thief in front of his team was a direct hit to his pride. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do," Hina said, stopping a few feet from him. "You read it. And you've been using it to intimidate her."

Ren laughed, an ugly, nervous sound. He looked at his teammates, then back at Hina. "You're crazy. I didn't read anything."

"Then how do you know about the poems?"

Ren's smile faltered.

"Give the diary back. And apologize to her."

Ren looked at Mei, who was huddled near the door, and then at Hina. He realized he was losing control of the situation. He needed a bomb. He needed to end this.

"Apologize?" he scoffed, and his voice rose, loud enough for the whole gym to hear. "Why would I apologize? It's not my fault she's obsessed with me!"

"Ren, no," Mei whispered, but it was too late.

"She's not a friend, Hina! She's a stalker!" Ren shouted, and the gym went deadly silent. He reached into his shorts pocket and pulled out a small pink notebook with a broken lock. "You guys want to hear?"

"Ren, please!" Mei sobbed.

"Let's see..." Ren opened the diary. "'Dear R...'" He mocked. "No, let's skip to the good part. Here!"

And he began to read.

"'... I know he acts like an idiot, but it's just pressure. Underneath it all, I know the kind boy is still there. I just wanted him to notice me.'"

Some players snickered nervously.

"'Today I saw him in the cafeteria. His smile when he made that basket... lit up the room. I wished he would smile like that at me.'"

Mei's face crumpled. She didn't cry. She just... broke. She let out a sound, a dry, choked sob, and turned and ran out of the gym. The doors slammed, leaving a devastating silence behind.

Ren was breathing hard, the diary in his hand, his chest puffed out. He had won. He had reestablished his dominance.

Hina stood still. She didn't look at Mei running away. She didn't look at the other players, who were now murmuring, shocked.

She looked at Ren.

The anger she felt wasn't cold. It wasn't a hum. It was a fire. It was the same poison she had tasted in Haruto's notebook. It was the same fury that almost killed a man over an EpiPen.

Ren had hurt Kaito. He had humiliated Mei. He had destroyed the only happy place she had built.

Haruto's notebook flashed in her mind. He deserved it.

"You..." Hina whispered.

Ren took a step back, the mocking smile vanishing, replaced by a pang of uncertainty. Hina didn't look like a fourteen-year-old girl anymore. She looked... scary.

"What is it, Ghost? Gonna cry?" he tried.

Hina took a step forward, her fists clenched.

"Get off my court," Ren growled, now genuinely irritated that she hadn't backed down. He took a step forward and shoved Hina's shoulder with the palm of his hand, hard. "Are you deaf, Ghost? I said, get out!"

The instant Ren's hot, sweaty hand made contact, pushing her back, Hina froze.

The ring on her finger exploded with heat.

A clear thought, like a voice in her head, cut through her anger. It was Haruto's note. The Tanaka case. He grabbed my arm. The ring got hot.

Ren was touching her. He initiated the contact.

The wish, sharp and cruel as a shard of glass, formed in her mind while his hand was still pushing her. A whisper that only Ren heard:

You will lose. The game on Saturday. You will have everything... and you will fail. You will be the reason.

The heat in the ring vanished, discharged instantly.

Ren pulled his hand back abruptly, as if he had been shocked. He looked at his own palm, and then at Hina, with a sudden, new uncertainty.

"What... what is wrong with you?" he stammered.

Before Hina could answer, a guttural voice exploded through the gym.

"ISHIDA! YAMADA! ENOUGH!"

Coach Kenta, a robust man with a permanent whistle around his neck, marched to the center of the court, his face red with fury. He seemed to have heard the shouting from the teachers' lounge. His eyes went from Ren (who quickly hid the diary behind his back) to Hina (who was trembling with rage).

"What the hell is going on in my practice?" he barked. "I heard yelling! Yamada-san, what are you doing here? And Ishida, what is this?"

Ren looked guilty for the first time. "Coach, she... she was just..."

"I don't want to hear it!" shouted the coach. "Whatever your problem is, solve it off my court time. Yamada-san, get out. Now. You are not a member of this club."

Hina stared at him, her face now empty. She didn't need to say anything else. The spell was sealed.

She gave one last look at Ren, who now had to face his coach's fury. Without saying a word, Hina turned and walked out of the gym in silence, leaving Ren alone in the middle of the court, with the coach yelling and Mei's diary still in his hands.