The Investigation

The cafeteria didn't stay silent. The second Kaito turned and walked out, the noise of normal life returned like a wave. People laughed. Trays clattered. The world continued, indifferent to the fact that Hina's had just fallen apart.

She sat there, paralyzed, for five more minutes. The brown leather pencil case Kaito had left behind felt like it weighed a ton, a monument to her failure.

She was a fraud. And she had turned her only friend into a fraud too.

Hina grabbed the case, shoved it into her backpack, took her untouched tray, and threw the food in the trash. She didn't go to her next class. She couldn't.

Instead, she went to the girls' bathroom, locked herself in a stall, and waited for the bell to ring. She didn't cry. She felt too hollow to cry. She just stood there, the silver ring cold on her finger, and listened to the muffled sounds of the school going on without her.

The walk home was long. She took the long way, skirting the park, going through streets she usually didn't use. She didn't want to run into her parents. She didn't want to answer the question: "How was school, dear?"

What would she say? It was great. I cursed a boy, destroyed his reputation, and my only two friends now think I'm a monster. How about you?

When she finally got home, she went straight to her room and locked the door. She threw her backpack on the floor. The pencil case fell out, sliding across the wooden floor.

She stared at it.

The "good" magic. Help Kaito. She helped him, and he hated her for it.

The "bad" magic. Make Ren fail. She did it, and Mei, the person she was trying to protect, was now terrified of her.

The ring wasn't good or bad. It was just a tool. And she was a terrible user.

Hina picked up the small black leather notebook. She opened it to the last pages she had read, the notes on "Bad Luck."

Test: Bad Luck. Subject: Mr. Tanaka. Result: Success. Fractured leg.

Test: Bad Luck. Subject: Koji Yamamoto. Result: Almost died.

He deserved it.

Hina shuddered. Haruto's handwriting looked so confident, so righteous. But Hina understood now. She had felt the same thing in the gym. That fire, that absolute certainty that Ren deserved what he was getting.

And now? She felt sick.

What did Haruto do after almost killing a man? The notebook didn't say. The following pages were torn out.

Hina closed the notebook. She couldn't blame her brother anymore. She couldn't hide behind his notes anymore. She had made her own choices.

Her phone buzzed on the desk. A glimmer of hope. Mei? Kaito?

It was just a weather notification.

With trembling hands, Hina picked up the phone. She had to try. She opened her chat with Mei.

I'm sorry, she typed. Mei, please listen to me. I'm not a witch. I just... I was so angry that he hurt you. Please talk to me.

She hit "send."

Three dots appeared. Mei was typing. Hina held her breath.

The dots disappeared.

And then, the word "Read" appeared. And nothing else.

Hina's heart sank. She switched to Kaito's chat.

Kaito, the pencil case didn't do anything. The magic was just to make the teacher see. The talent is all yours. You are the most talented person I know. Please don't give up on the contest. You're good. You're real.

She sent it.

The message was marked as delivered. A minute later, it was marked as "Read."

Just like Mei, he left her in silence.

The tears finally came. Hot and bitter. She was alone. She had used an incredible power to "fix" her world, and all she managed to do was break everything in a different way.

She cried for ten minutes, curled up on her bed, a miserable, silent sob.

Then, the anger returned. But it wasn't the hot anger against Ren. It was a cold anger against herself. And against the silence.

No.

She wiped her eyes. Sitting there crying wouldn't fix anything. Nicknames like "Ghost Girl" didn't bother her anymore; what terrified her was the real loneliness she had created.

Apologizing didn't work. Words were useless. She had to prove it.

Prove what?

Prove that she wasn't Haruto. Prove that she wasn't a monster.

How?

She couldn't simply "un-curse" Ren. The game was over. The humiliation was done. She couldn't go back in time. And she couldn't fix Kaito with more magic; it was magic that broke him.

I need to fix Kaito, she thought, the idea forming slowly. I need him to believe in his talent.

To do that, she needed him to forgive her. And he would only forgive her if she proved she wasn't evil.

And what would be the only way to prove she wasn't evil?

The idea was so scary, so impossible, that she almost discarded it.

She had to help Ren.

She had to use the ring one last time. Not out of anger, not for a simple favor. She had to use it for an act of redemption. She had to fix the boy she broke.

If Kaito and Mei saw that she used her power to save the person they both knew she hated... maybe, just maybe, they could forgive her.

But how? What could she do? Wish for him to win the next game? That was shallow. That wouldn't fix what she saw on Saturday.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to remember. The silent court. The coach yelling. And Ren's father.

"I took time off work to see this? You are a joke, Ren."

His voice was so cold. So... cruel. Crueler than anything Ren had ever said.

Ren was an idiot. But maybe... maybe he was just a reflection of something worse.

I need to know, she decided.

Haruto's anger in the notebook was blind. He punished people for the symptoms (a drunk neighbor, a rude executive). Hina realized that if she was different from him, she had to attack the disease.

And to do that, she needed to know where Ren lived.

She couldn't ask Mei. She couldn't ask Kaito.

She grabbed her backpack.

The school was already empty, club activities ending. It was almost six. Hina ran through the dark streets, the cold air cutting her face.

She entered the school, which was quiet and spooky. She went straight to the teachers' lounge. It was empty, except for Suzuki-sensei, who was packing her bag.

"Yamada-san?" The teacher looked surprised. "You haven't gone home? Are you okay? You looked pale today."

"I'm fine, sensei," Hina lied, her heart pounding. She needed an excuse. "I... I heard Ishida-kun wasn't here today. I have the math notes for him. I live near the basketball team, so I thought I'd... drop them off at his house."

It was a terrible lie, but Suzuki-sensei looked too tired to notice.

"That's very kind of you, Hina," the teacher said, smiling. "But don't worry about it. The Ishida family lives on the other side of town. It's too far for you to walk."

"Oh." Hina tried to sound disappointed. "That's too bad."

"Yes. They live in that new condo on the hill. You know, Nakamura Heights."

Bingo.

"Ah, right. Near the old station," Hina said, trying to sound casual. "Okay, then. Good night, sensei."

"Good night, Yamada-san. And... Hina?"

Hina stopped at the door.

"It's good to have you back with us," Suzuki-sensei said gently.

Hina gave a small smile and left.

She didn't go home. She went straight to the old station. Nakamura Heights wasn't a condo. It was luxury houses, walled off, with security cameras and perfect lawns. It was where the doctors and executives from Tokyo lived.

Hina stood across the street, hidden by the shadow of a tree. She could see the houses. They were huge, modern, made of glass and steel.

She didn't know which one was Ren's.

She waited. The air was cold, and she crossed her arms, shivering. What was she doing? This was crazy. Was she a stalker now?

Then, a sleek black car pulled up in front of one of the larger gates. A man in a suit—Ren's father—got out of the driver's seat. He didn't look happy.

He opened the back door and barked, "Get out."

Ren got out. He was wearing his school uniform, but he looked like he had slept in it for two days. He didn't look like a king. He looked like a prisoner.

"I told you to clean the garage. You didn't even do that?" Mr. Ishida shouted, his voice low and furious echoing in the quiet street.

"I... I was going to," Ren mumbled, looking at the ground.

"You are a disappointment. An embarrassment. You made a fool of me in front of those scouts. You may have given up on your future, but you're not going to live in my house for free. Now get inside and finish it."

"But I have a project..."

Mr. Ishida grabbed Ren's arm, hard. "I don't care. Get inside."

He pushed Ren through the gate and closed it, leaving Hina alone in the darkness, her heart beating like a drum.

She had seen it.

Ren wasn't the monster. He was just a reflection of one.

Hina stepped back, hiding in the shadows. She had her target. She knew what she had to do. She wasn't going to fix Ren.

She was going to fix his father.