The Plan and the Loss

"You are a joke, Ren."

It was no wonder Ren was a bully. He lived with one.

Hina sat at her desk before dawn, Haruto's small leather notebook open. She flipped through it, passing the "Bad Luck" pages that terrified her, looking for anything that might help. She didn't want to hurt Mr. Ishida. That wouldn't fix anything. It would just create another monster.

I need him to... stop, she thought. I need him to see what he's doing.

Did she need a "luck" spell for him? "I wish you were nice to your son"? It seemed weak. Useless. The ring's magic didn't change personalities; it created opportunities (like Kaito's notebook falling) or disasters (like Ren's game).

She needed something that would force him to see.

She found a note from Haruto on a page near the end of the notebook, written in tired handwriting, probably from shortly before he went into a coma.

Hypothesis D: The spell doesn't have to be "good" or "bad." Can it be "neutral"? Test: Subject (Myself). Failure. (Ring doesn't work on me). Test: Subject (Branch Manager). Wish: "That he remember his first failure." Method: Direct Touch (handshake). Result: The boss, who was about to fire me for a mistake, stopped. He looked at me for a long time. Said I reminded him of himself when he was young. Gave me only a warning. Conclusion: Success. The ring can influence memories/emotions. The cost is high. I feel exhausted.

Hina reread the note three times.

Method: Direct Touch (handshake).

That was it. It was perfect. Mr. Ishida was obsessed with success. If Hina could force him to remember what it was like to be young, to fail, and to be humiliated... maybe he would see what he was doing to Ren.

The plan formed in her mind. It was risky. She couldn't use "Conductor B" (the charged object). How would she give a gift to Mr. Ishida? And waiting 24 hours was too complicated.

It had to be "Direct Touch," like Haruto did with his boss. Instant and powerful.

But how would she touch him? She couldn't simply walk up to his house and shake his hand.

She needed an opportunity. A distraction.

Hina remembered hearing her mother and other neighborhood moms gossiping weeks ago about "the party" at the house on the hill.

She ran downstairs. Her mother was in the kitchen, drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

"Mom," Hina tried to sound casual. "That friend of yours, Mrs. Tanaka, doesn't her husband work for Ren Ishida's father?"

Her mother looked up from the paper, surprised. "Yes. Why?"

"I heard they're throwing a big party. Is it this weekend?"

"Yes, it's tomorrow. Saturday," her mother said, narrowing her eyes. "Why the sudden interest in Ren Ishida? I thought you didn't like him."

"I don't," Hina said. "The students were just commenting on how huge his house must be. Just curious."

"Well, try to stay away from that boy," her mother said, returning to the paper. "I heard he's trouble."

Hina went upstairs, her heart pounding.

Tomorrow. Saturday. The party.

The house would be full of people. Catering. Music. The gates would be open. No one would notice a fourteen-year-old girl. It would be perfect chaos. She could slip in, find Mr. Ishida in the crowd, "accidentally" bump into him, touch his arm or hand for a single second...

I wish you to remember your first failure.

It was a terrible plan. Risky. But it was the only one she had.

She just needed to get through Friday.

Friday. School was a torture of isolation. Hina went to class, sat in her seat. Kaito didn't look at her. Mei didn't show up at school.

Hina felt the stares. The "Reject Club" was dead, and everyone knew it. She was a pariah again.

She almost felt relieved. There was nothing left to lose. She could focus on her mission.

The afternoon class was Physical Education. The class she dreaded the most.

The gym teacher, Mitani-sensei, was a failed former Olympian who ran her class like a boot camp. She was obsessed with rules.

"Line up!" she barked as soon as the girls' locker room emptied. "Today we're playing dodgeball. And you know the rules. No jewelry! No earrings, no necklaces, no watches! I don't want anyone losing an eye because Akari-san forgot to take off her hoop earrings!"

Hina froze.

She hid her left hand, the hand with the ring, in the sleeve of her gym shirt. She couldn't take the ring off. It was part of her. Haruto had written about it. Can't take it off. The withdrawal was too strong. Hina had never taken it off for more than a minute.

"Let's go!" shouted Mitani-sensei, throwing a red ball into the center of the court.

The game began. It was chaotic. Hina did her best to stay in the back, to hide. But she was distracted, her focus entirely on hiding her hand.

Which, of course, made her an easy target.

"Yamada!"

Hina looked up too late. A ball came flying toward her. She threw her hands up reflexively to protect her face.

The ball hit her forearms and ricocheted off. The sleeve of her gym shirt slid down.

Under the fluorescent gym lights, the silver ring glinted.

Mitani-sensei's whistle was so sharp Hina flinched.

The game stopped. Everyone looked at her.

"Yamada," Mitani-sensei said, her voice dangerously calm. She marched over to Hina. "What is that on your finger?"

"It's... it's a family heirloom, sensei," Hina stammered. "I can't take it off."

"You can't take it off?" Mitani-sensei scoffed. "Don't give me that. You know the rules. Take it off."

"I can't."

"Take it off. Now."

With trembling hands, Hina tried to pull the ring. It didn't budge. She pulled harder. The skin turned red.

"It won't come off!" Hina said, panic rising in her voice.

"Nonsense." Mitani-sensei grabbed Hina's hand. "You're just being stubborn."

The teacher tried to twist the ring. Hina screamed. It didn't hurt, but it felt... wrong. A cold sensation shot up her arm, as if the teacher were trying to rip off her fingernail.

Mitani-sensei let go, looking shocked by Hina's reaction.

"Fine," the teacher said, her face hardening. "If you're going to be like that. You're out of the game. And this..."

She pointed at the ring.

"This is a safety violation. I am confiscating it."

"You can't!" Hina shouted, backing away.

"I am your teacher. I can, and I will," Mitani-sensei said. "Go to the locker room. Put soap on that finger. Bring it to me. Immediately."

"No!"

The defiance shocked the teacher. And it shocked Hina.

Mitani-sensei narrowed her eyes. "Right. Go to the principal's office."

Twenty minutes later, Hina was sitting outside the principal's office, humiliated. The principal had called her mother. Hina was forced to go to the bathroom with liquid soap and cold water and twist the ring until her skin was raw and it finally came off.

The sensation of taking it off was horrible.

The world seemed to tilt sideways. The air grew thin. The hum of the fluorescent lights became a scream. She felt naked, weak, and sick.

She handed the ring to the principal.

"I don't know what kind of rebellious game you're playing, Yamada-san," the principal said, placing the ring in a small brown envelope. "But this is unacceptable."

"Please," Hina whispered, her voice shaking from the withdrawal. "I need it back."

"You will get it back," the principal said, closing the envelope and locking it in a metal file cabinet. "On Monday morning. After I have a chat with your mother."

Monday.

Hina went pale.

"But... I need it... please..."

"The conversation is over. Go back to class."

Hina walked out of the office, her hands shaking. The party was tomorrow. Saturday. Her plan, the only chance to fix everything, was locked in a metal cabinet. And she wouldn't have it back until Monday.

She was powerless.

She went to her last class, her head spinning. The world seemed too bright, too loud. Every sound was like a needle. She felt weak, exactly like she felt before she got sick.

She realized she couldn't make it through the weekend like this. But more than that, she realized her redemption plan was ruined.

Unless...

She stopped in the hallway. The file cabinet. The principal's office.

I can't do this alone, she thought, panic rising. She didn't even know how to open a locked cabinet.

The final bell rang. Students poured out of the classrooms. Hina saw Kaito leaving the art room, his head down. She saw Mei on the other side of the hallway, running for the exit, trying to avoid everyone.

They hated her.

But they were the only ones who knew. Or, at least, the only ones who suspected.

She had to try.

Hina ran down the hallway, her legs weak. "Kaito! Mei! Wait!"

They stopped near the exit, turning to her with frightened expressions.

Hina stopped in front of them, panting, trembling. She wasn't a powerful witch anymore. She was just Hina. And she was terrified.

"You... you guys were right," she gasped. "It is magic. It's a ring. And the teacher took it."