People said it was an accident. They said she "just collapsed" during practice. No foul play. No evidence. Just… gone.
But I knew better.
Rina didn't just collapse. She was strong. Smart. Sharper than most of the guys in my neighborhood. She laughed at limits, dared the impossible, and carried herself like she could take on the world and win. She had dreams—big dreams. Dreams that sparkled like fire in her eyes. Dreams of becoming a top martial artist. Of winning championships. Of proving, to anyone who doubted, that she was untouchable.
She got accepted into the prestigious Fame Academy, the all-girls elite school known for producing athletes, bodyguards, and underground champions. A place where the strong thrived, where dreams became reality… and where something had stolen her from me.
Two weeks later, she was dead.
I remember that night clearly. The call came, and the world stopped spinning. The way my mother screamed. The way my father sank into silence, the kind of silence that speaks more than words ever could. I felt hollowed out from the inside, like the part of me that had always been tethered to her had been ripped away with surgical precision.
And then there was the anger.
The rage that burned through my chest hotter than any fire.
Because no one else seemed to care. Not really. People whispered condolences, but they didn't look at me—they looked past me. They said it was a tragedy. They said "she was young," "these things happen," "don't blame yourself." Like she was just a number in some ledger of unfortunate events. Like she didn't matter. Like she hadn't been my sister.
But I knew better.
She wasn't just gone. She had been erased.
And the world acted like it was nothing.
I tried everything. Every channel, every avenue, every scrap of influence I could muster. I emailed the school. Called. Begged. Pleaded with anyone who would answer. "Please, tell me what happened. Just tell me the truth."
Nothing.
They shut me out. Called it a tragedy. Moved on, as if Rina Gray had never existed. As if her dreams, her laughter, her spark, meant nothing. Like her life was disposable.
And that's when I made a choice.
If they wouldn't let Rin Gray in… maybe Kairi Lune had a shot.
---
I worked for days. I barely ate. I barely slept. My fingers ached from typing, coding, erasing, rewriting, forging. But every keystroke, every fabricated document, every manipulated file carried a purpose: justice. Or at least, revenge.
I erased Rin Gray from the internet. Gone. Vanished. Wiped from school records, legal documents, even public mentions. Every photograph. Every social media post. Every mention of her name. It felt wrong—sacrilegious, almost—but I had to. I had to create a new identity, one sharp enough to slice through the walls of Fame Academy, one clean enough to slip past their filters and their gates.
Then I crafted Kairi Lune: half-Japanese, top of her class in self-defense training, fencing prodigy, fluent in three languages, with a glowing digital footprint that would make any recruiter drool.
I used all the tech skills Rina had teased me about for years—"You spend too much time in the basement, Rin. Come out and live a little," she'd joke, rolling her eyes.
Yeah, well… look who's getting into the school now.
I faked her passport. Forged medical records. Rewrote transcripts. Even gave "Kairi" a neat little backstory: a quiet, shy girl who moved a lot due to her parents' diplomatic jobs. Clean. Tragic. Hard to track. Every detail meticulously designed to make her untouchable, every lie crafted to ensure she would survive where Rina didn't.
By the time I was done, I submitted the application and collapsed on my bed, dizzy from the lies. The weight of everything pressed down on me—the grief, the rage, the loneliness. And I let myself cry.
Not just the quiet tears, but the kind that leave you raw. The kind that make your chest hurt, make your hands shake, make you feel the depth of a loss that no one else seems to notice.
Rina. My sister. My constant. My friend. My rival. My heart.
Gone.
---
A week later, the email hit my inbox like a lightning bolt.
"Congratulations, Kairi Lune. You've been accepted into Fame Academy. Orientation begins next Monday. Uniforms will be shipped to your provided address."
My hands trembled. Not out of excitement. Not joy. But fear.
This wasn't just a prank anymore.
This was real.
This was my chance. My only chance to step into the place that had stolen Rina from me and demand answers.
And maybe, just maybe, to make them pay.
---
The night before departure, I stood in front of the mirror. The room was dark, save for the faint glow of the streetlight outside. I cut my hair shorter on the sides, added light makeup to soften my jawline, and tried on the uniform skirt for the first time. I adjusted the blazer, pressed down the fake chest pads, and stared at my reflection.
If I was going to pull this off, I had to become someone else entirely.
Not Rin Gray.
Not the mourning brother, broken and bitter.
Just a quiet, observant girl.
Kairi Lune.
I traced my fingers along my jawline in the mirror. I practiced the tilt of my head, the way my eyes could look distant without seeming cold. I had to believe it. I had to be her. Because if I wasn't convincing, they'd see through me, and I'd lose my one chance to uncover the truth.
Truth.
The word tasted bitter in my mouth. I wanted to scream it, shout it to the walls. What happened to her? Who looked at my sister as nothing? Who let her die?
I remembered her laugh. That sharp, teasing laugh that had always echoed in the corners of our apartment. I remembered how she'd push me to train harder, how she'd steal my snacks and claim she was "superior in every way." I remembered the night she hugged me tight, whispered, "I'll always be with you, no matter what," and I had laughed, thinking it was just her way of teasing.
I should have known. I should have known that when she said she'd always be there, the world might not be.
---
Tomorrow, I step into the place that stole my sister's life.
I'm not here to make friends. I'm not here to impress anyone. I'm not here to smile politely while they hand me achievements I didn't earn.
I'm here to find out what really happened.
And if someone killed her…
They'll wish I never found out.
Because they've underestimated the fire that grief can ignite.
The fire that transforms sorrow into obsession, heartbreak into determination, helplessness into cunning.
Rina was strong. Rina was sharp. Rina was untouchable. And though they think she's gone…
I'll make sure her death isn't meaningless.
Her fight isn't over.
Not while I breathe.
---
This is who I am now.
I am not Rin Gray, the brother who couldn't save her. I am Kairi Lune. Quiet. Observant. Unseen. And deadly, if I have to be.
The world might have taken my sister. But it hasn't taken me.
And tomorrow, they'll remember.