The Reconciliation

But Hina barely noticed it. She was too busy feeling her legs shake.

Breaking into the school on Saturday had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, in the cold light of Monday morning, it seemed like the stupidest thing three teenagers had ever done.

"What if we get called over the loudspeaker?" Mei whispered, walking so close to Hina that their shoulders touched. "What if they're waiting for us at the gate?"

"They can't prove anything," Kaito said on Hina's other side. He was trying to sound brave, but Hina could see he was chewing on his thumb cuticle. "We didn't sign a guestbook."

The "Reject Club," the accomplices, walked to school together.

When they entered the administration building, Hina braced herself for the shouting, for the principal's hand on her shoulder.

Nothing.

Students were going to their lockers. Teachers were talking about the weekend. It was... normal.

Almost.

As they passed the principal's office, Hina saw it. The door was open. And a uniformed technician was installing a small white dome security camera in the corner of the hallway ceiling, right in front of the door.

Kaito saw it too and swallowed hard.

Hina had the grim and slightly hysterical thought that if they had waited one more day, their "heist" plan would have been impossible. The principal didn't know who picked her lock, but she was making sure it never happened again.

Luck—real luck—had been on their side.

"Let's go," Hina murmured, pulling them away.

The first half of the day passed in a tense blur. Mei kept her eyes on the door, waiting for the principal to appear. Kaito drew nervously in his notebook—not art, just lines and shadows, venting his anxiety onto the paper.

Ren Ishida was in class.

He wasn't absent. He was there, sitting in his seat, but he wasn't King Ren. He was silent. When the teacher called on him, he said "I don't know" instead of making a joke. He didn't look at Akari (who, rumor had it, had really broken up with him). He didn't look at Hina.

He didn't look at anyone. He just... existed.

Hina watched him. She was expecting something magical to happen. That he would suddenly stand up and be a better person. But he just looked... broken.

What did I do? she thought, panic returning. The "memory" spell she cast... what if she had broken him forever? What if, instead of fixing his father, she had just destroyed the son?

The doubt ate away at her until lunchtime.

In the cafeteria, the three sat at their usual table. The silence was tense.

"He looks worse," Mei said, looking over her shoulder at where Ren was sitting. Alone.

"I ruined everything," Hina whispered, dropping her head into her hands. "The spell didn't work. I just hurt him more. I'm no better than Haruto."

"Hina, no." Kaito awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. "What you did... was for the right reason. Maybe it just needs time."

"What about your contest, Kaito?" Hina asked, changing the subject, desperate to think about something else. "The deadline is today. are you going to enter?"

Kaito looked at his hands. He opened his backpack and took out the brown leather pencil case.

The case he had thrown on her desk last week.

"I... I took it back from your bag," he admitted, his face red. "I was angry. But what you said... that it was just an 'opportunity.' I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"Kaito..."

"I stayed up all night," he said, his voice gaining a little strength. "I tried drawing with it. And then I tried drawing without it. And you know what? My drawings were still mine. The case didn't hold the pencil. I did."

Hina felt a lump in her throat.

"But," he continued, "I still don't know. When I look at the dragon drawing that Tanaka-sensei loved... I don't know anymore what is mine and what is... 'magic'."

Hina stood up. She was tired of whispers and doubts. She grabbed Kaito's wrist.

"Come with me."

"What? Hina, where..."

She dragged him across the cafeteria, ignoring the stares. She took him to the art room, which was empty.

Tanaka-sensei was at his desk, eating an onigiri.

"Yamada-san? Kaito? What is it?"

Hina pushed Kaito forward. "Sensei. Tell him."

"Tell him what?" Tanaka-sensei looked confused.

"Tell him why you liked his drawing," Hina demanded.

The teacher looked at Kaito, who looked like he wanted to die. "Kaito... I liked it because... well, look at it. The composition, the linework, the perspective... it's college-level material. I haven't seen this kind of raw talent since..."

"Did you hear that?" Hina interrupted, shaking Kaito's arm. "The pencil case didn't do the composition! The pencil case doesn't understand perspective! That is you! That is all you!"

She turned to the teacher. "He's afraid to enter the contest because he thinks he's a fraud."

Tanaka-sensei stood up, his expression serious. He put his hands on Kaito's shoulders.

"Kaito. You are the most real thing I've seen in this school in ten years. The magic," he said, not knowing how literal the word was, "is in your hands, not your tools. Now. You are going to enter. Or I will enter you myself and fail you in my class for the rest of the year."

Kaito looked at his teacher, and then at Hina, whose eyes were full of angry tears.

A slow, trembling smile spread across Kaito's face.

"I... I'll enter myself, sensei," Kaito said. "Thank you."

Hina let out a breath, realizing she had been holding it. She had fixed one thing.

When they returned to the cafeteria, Hina felt lighter. But Mei was waiting for them, her face pale as a sheet.

"He's coming over here," she hissed.

Hina and Kaito turned.

Ren Ishida was walking across the cafeteria. Student by student, conversations stopped as he passed. He wasn't showing off. He was on a mission. And he was heading straight for their table.

Hina felt her heart race. He knows. He's going to expose us.

Ren stopped in front of the table. He didn't look at Hina. He didn't look at Kaito. He looked directly at Mei.

He looked terrible. There were dark circles under his eyes.

"Mei," he said, his voice hoarse.

He was holding something in his hands. The small pink diary with the broken lock.

"I..." he began, and his voice cracked. He cleared his throat, his face turning red. "I came... to return this."

He placed the diary on the table. Mei looked at it but didn't touch it.

"Mei, I..." Ren rubbed the back of his neck, looking like the opposite of the king he was. "What I did. In the gym. Reading your stuff... it was the grossest thing I've ever done. I don't... I don't have an excuse."

The cafeteria was deadly silent.

"I'm sorry," he said, and he seemed to really mean it. "I know this doesn't fix anything. But I'm sorry for hurting you."

Mei looked at the diary, then at him. "Why, Ren? Why did you do it?"

Ren looked at his feet. "I don't know. I was an idiot. I was jealous of Kaito, and you were defending Hina, and... when I read your diary, I... I panicked."

"Panicked?" Hina asked.

"I'm not going to ask you guys to be my friends," Ren said, ignoring Hina. "I just... wanted to return this. And apologize. I know I messed everything up."

He turned to leave.

"Wait." Mei's voice was small. Ren stopped.

"Thank you... for returning it," she said.

Ren nodded, still with his back turned. He was about to walk away, but he paused. He turned slightly, his face still red, and didn't look at her. He looked at a spot on the wall above her head.

"And... for the record..." he mumbled, so low Hina could barely hear. "What you wrote... wasn't stupid. Actually... it was... it was nice to know someone thought that."

Mei's face turned the color of her diary.

"I... I have to go," Ren stammered, and practically ran out of the cafeteria, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.

Mei slowly picked up the diary. She opened it, and a small piece of paper fell out. A note.

She read it, and a sound that was half-sob and half-laugh escaped her.

"He apologized again," she whispered, incredulous. "And he said... that I draw better than him."

Kaito smiled. "That is true."

Hina watched the scene, relieved. Ren was fixed. The spell had worked. Mr. Ishida must have had his epiphany.

She looked at the cafeteria door.

Ren had stopped there. He was looking back. Not at Mei.

He was looking directly at Hina.

There was no anger in his eyes. There was no fear. Just... understanding. He knew. He saw her at the party. He saw his father crumble. And he saw the result.

Hina met his gaze. She didn't look away.

Ren gave her a single, sharp nod. A nod of respect. A nod that said: I don't know how, but thank you.

And then he was gone.

Hina leaned back in her chair, the weight of the world lifting from her shoulders. She looked at her friends. Mei was reading her diary, smiling through tears. Kaito was pulling an entry form for the art contest out of his backpack.

Hina looked at the ring on her finger.

She had fixed it. For real.