COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

Early morning on the deserted island, the fourth day of the special exam.

At the boundary where the cave campsite met the forest, Fuyuji Mikage tilted his head back and gazed at that plump white pigeon perched on the tree branch. He voiced his question.

"Where have you been these past few days? How did you lose so much weight?"

Ever since the first day, when he'd had it help search for the supplies at sea, this fat pigeon hadn't sought out Fuyuji even once. This had caused Fuyuji to worry, just a little, that it might have been out battling other Pokemon and ended up with swirls for eyes.

Wild Pigeon swiveled its neck and buried its head beneath its wing. Then it turned around and pointed its rear end squarely at Fuyuji.

"Coo coo..." (That kind of thing... far too embarrassing for a pigeon...)

"..."

Fuyuji's eye twitched violently as he stared at this pigeon, now noticeably thinner than it had been a few days ago. Suddenly, he recalled what Shiraishi Asuka had told him on the very first day.

A pigeon, on a deserted island... whoring itself into total disconnection?!

In a dazed, trance-like state, he actually felt a twinge of jealousy toward a pigeon.

How truly envi—how truly despicable!

No, wait! Now was not the time to be thinking about such things.

Fuyuji shook his head vigorously and refocused his attention on Fat Pigeon.

"Did you come back because you need something?" Living it up so freely and merrily out there, yet still thinking of returning home—this didn't match Fat Pigeon's usual behavior at all.

In an instant, Wild Pigeon seemed to recall something. It hastily spun its body around and flapped its wings at Fuyuji with desperate urgency. Indignant, grief-stricken sounds erupted ceaselessly from its pigeon beak.

"Coo coo! Coo coo coo! Coo coo..."

"?"

Fuyuji cupped his chin, his tone saturated with thick, heavy doubt.

"Are you saying... while you were out foraging for food, you were beaten up by a pigeon that can't fly... and walks on the ground? And because that pigeon was many times larger than you, you couldn't beat it, so you had no choice but to come back and bring reinforcements?"

"Coo coo..." (Yes! Help me get revenge!)

Hmm?!

In this world, there actually existed a pigeon that couldn't fly, could only walk on the ground, and was many times larger than it?!

The very next second, a shocked cry erupted through the silent, early-morning forest.

"What the—! A chicken!"

...

Having hastily scarfed down the rock-hard, jaw-aching compressed biscuits, and after reporting to the garrison personnel, fully geared up and armed to the teeth, the deserted island hunting squad marched with heads held high and chests puffed out toward the last known location where the target had appeared.

They swore a vehement oath—they absolutely had to eat that precious chicken—no! They absolutely had to help Wild Pigeon reclaim its honor!

Beneath the shade of the forest trees, the three of them stood shoulder to shoulder, strolling together across the grassy ground. The early morning sunlight slanted through the gaps in the leaves, striking the earth like columns of light rising from the ground. Within those pillars of light, countless fine particles of dust danced and swirled through the air.

Yamamura Miki seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this early morning moment. Both hands clasped behind her back, she wandered across the grass with slow, unhurried little steps.

Meanwhile, Morishita Ai, who had eaten nothing but compressed biscuits for three straight days—with the only alternatives being canned food and fish—was now scanning every single object appearing in their surroundings with eyes that blazed and sparkled. She chanted ceaselessly from her mouth.

"Chicken meat, chicken meat... Fuyuji Mikage, look carefully! Absolutely do not let it escape!"

"Rest assured. Do you think it can sprout wings and fly away?" Fuyuji declared with brimming confidence.

"But..." Yamamura slowly voiced her doubt. "Even if we know its location, it would still move around on its own, wouldn't it? Is it still there?"

Morishita & Fuyuji: "..."

Yamamura had killed the competition!

Twenty minutes later, the three of them, utterly empty-handed, gazed at the deep, dark forest around them. They lowered their heads and let out a sigh in unison.

"Fuyuji Mikage, are you sure you weren't lying to me? How could anyone possibly talk to a pigeon?" Morishita shot a sidelong glance at Fuyuji, her eyes brimming with suspicion.

"And didn't you claim you can converse with the forest? What's so strange about me being able to talk to a pigeon?" Fuyuji retorted with exasperation.

"If we haven't misidentified the location, it should be around this area." Yamamura offered her own insight.

"Then what do we do?"

"We can only keep searching. It shouldn't have run too far—"

Fuyuji, walking at the very front, suddenly halted in his tracks.

"What's wrong?"

Fuyuji placed a finger to his lips, signaling for them to prick up their ears.

The sea breeze swept through. The trees jostled and brushed against one another, continuously swaying, producing an unending, rustling whisper. Amidst it, there was also a faint, subtle, yet突兀 sound.

Following the sound, Fuyuji's pupils abruptly constricted.

"It's appeared! The chicken!"

"What 'chicken'—that's a hen! Hurry up and chase it!"

Before Fuyuji could even react, Morishita was already eagerly rolling up her sleeves and dashing off in that direction.

"Let's go!" Fuyuji looked at Yamamura.

"Mm."

The creature, shaped so much like a certain departed acquaintance, lingered within the gaps of the grass. Its head swiveled and twisted, bobbing forward and retracting back with each step, calmly and composedly observing its surroundings.

Three seconds later, as the three figures, eyes blazing with avarice, came pouncing over, the chicken brother, clad in its bib overalls, let out a violent, piercing series of clucks. Its wings flapped and beat ceaselessly as it suddenly launched itself high into the air.

For a time, within the originally tranquil forest, a scene of utter pandemonium—chickens squawking and dogs leaping—erupted.

"Cluck cluck cluck! Cluck—!"

"Morishita! It ran over to your side!"

"Witness Morishita-sama deliver a Rider Kick... Aiya! How is it so nimble?! Yamamura Miki, it's up to you now!"

"I-I'll do my best... Eek—Eep!"

"Wait, Yamamura—how come it's chasing you now?!"

"Fuyuji-kun, come help me, quick! It's so fierce!"

"It's fine, watch this! Witness the essential combat technique of ancient human hunters! Eat this javelin throw—Clang..."

"Fuyuji Mikage, were you aiming at me?! Even the chicken has better aim than you!"

"There's nothing wrong with my calculations. This must be a wind-speed issue."

...

After a dozen or so minutes of utter pandemonium, the three of them were now gasping for breath. Hands braced on their knees, they faced off against the chicken brother—who was also panting heavily—from across a shrub.

"Haah... haah... This chicken... how is it... so nimble!"

"I... told you! It's... a hen!"

Morishita weakly pounded a fist against Fuyuji's back and slumped her body against his.

"Haah... I... think it's also... about to reach its limit."

Yamamura leaned against Fuyuji's shoulder. Her rosy little mouth hung slightly open, unable to summon even a shred of strength left.

After catching their breath briefly, the craving for chicken meat once again overwhelmed their exhaustion.

"We've come this far—we can't give up!"

"Today, Morishita-sama absolutely must eat chicken meat!"

"M-Me too!"

The three of them clenched their fists and launched yet another wave of assault against the chicken brother.

Facts proved that there was, after all, a reason humanity had managed to rule the entire earth since ancient times.

After a series of arduous flanking maneuvers, twists and turns, and a pursuit of who-knows-how-far, the three of them successfully exhausted the chicken brother into collapsing on the ground.

Of course, Fuyuji's trio wasn't faring much better either.

"We won!"

Having bound the two chicken legs with a grass rope woven from roadside weeds, Fuyuji let out a long, skyward lament and then collapsed spread-eagled onto the ground, unable to muster another ounce of strength.

That "chicken brother," its feet bound by the grass rope and utterly exhausted beside them, merely flapped its wings feebly and powerlessly from time to time, emitting a few low, deep clucks...

The remaining two were in more or less the same state. No longer caring in the slightest about any maidenly image, they collapsed onto the ground, unwilling to so much as lift a single finger.

Within the artificially cultivated forest, a gentle, refreshing breeze blew, soothing the heart and lifting the spirit.

"Fuyuji Mikage, scoot over a bit. I'm so hot." Morishita, nestled beneath Fuyuji's shoulder, voiced her complaint.

"Then could your foot not be draped over my thigh?" Fuyuji slowly rolled his eyeballs.

"Um... Fuyuji-kun..." Yamamura, her little face flushed bright red, poked Fuyuji's waist.

"What is it?"

"You're pressing down on my hair."

"Oh. Just a moment."

Fuyuji flopped like a salted fish stranded on shore, allowing Yamamura to pull her hair free.

After adjusting their positions, the three of them lay quietly on the ground, panting heavily, recovering their strength.

On some man-made island in the Pacific Ocean, the sky was a pristine, azure blue, washed clean. A few wisps of thin, white clouds stretched and sprawled lazily. The late-morning sunlight, not as piercing and sharp as the midday sun, had become warm and generous. Filtered and sifted through the layered branches and leaves, it spread across the ground in patches of leaping, dancing golden light, gently swaying with every breeze that swept through the treetops.

None of the three spoke. They lay collapsed on the ground, breathing in the fragrance of the earth, breathing each other's air. Only the occasional rustling whisper of leaves as the wind blew past, as though murmuring in hushed tones.

Fuyuji lay on the grass, gazing through the gaps in the leaves at the pale blue, profound expanse of the sky.

His sweat-soaked clothes clung to his skin, bringing a faint trace of coolness. The deep, bone-weary exhaustion within his body was slowly being dispelled by the warmth of the sunlight and the deep, relaxing sense of ease spreading through both body and mind.

After resting for a while, Morishita rolled over. Tilting her head back, she blinked her eyes.

"The deserted island... as expected, it's very interesting."

"I also think it's pretty novel. A few people blundering and careening around an island with no clue what they're doing."

"Very fun. A very novel experience."

"Ne, ne, Fuyuji Mikage, Yamamura Miki. Someday, when we get the chance, let's come to a deserted island again." Morishita gazed at the vast, azure sky and spoke flatly.

"The school wouldn't be so idle as to set the exact same exam question every single year, would they?"

"Um... we could come again after graduation."

"Something after graduation, huh..." Fuyuji watched the wisps of clouds that had already drifted to the edge of the sky. "It feels so distant, yet also so close. It's as though we've done nothing at all, yet an entire semester has already passed."

"Fuyuji Mikage, who stole my seat on the very first day of school." The grudge-holding Morishita muttered with considerable resentment.

"It was Morishita-san who stole Fuyuji-kun's seat first." Yamamura dropped a bombshell.

"How do you know that?"

"I was on the bus." Yamamura covered her lips and spoke with a smile. "But at the time, neither of you seemed to have noticed me at all."

Fuyuji & Morishita: "A curious twist of fate..."

"Coo coo! Coo coo!"

Hmm?!

The three, still mid-conversation, propped up their upper bodies simultaneously and looked in another direction.

Yet another passing chicken was tilting its head, curiously scrutinizing these three unidentified creatures sprawled on the ground.

The three of them fell silent for a single instant, then spoke in perfect unison. "There's actually another one!!"

Morishita attempted to get up. After struggling for a while, she decisively gave up, yet still stubbornly refused to admit defeat.

"Because I ran two half-marathons around the deserted island this morning, Morishita-sama's physical strength has been completely exhausted."

"I've also run out of strength." Yamamura, whose stamina was even weaker than Morishita's, was also willing but powerless at this moment.

"Heh heh. At times like this, as expected, it's still up to me!"

Fuyuji struggled to climb up from the ground and stumbled and staggered his way forward.

At this moment, that seldom-used, but once activated, extraordinarily effective buff—rapid physical stamina recovery—began to gradually reveal its power.

Fuyuji, whose physical abilities originally only barely surpassed Morishita by a hair and ranked at a middling level within the class, was actually, even after a grueling, grinding battle lasting over half an hour, still able to chase after the chicken and run with a passable, decent appearance.

"Fuyuji Mikage! Left, left! It's about to get away!"

"Fuyuji-kun! It's circling around that rock with you—you can intercept it by going the opposite direction!"

The two idle good-for-nothings sat up from the grass and began spectating Fuyuji's operations while dispensing their expert strategic advice.

"I say, you two! If you've rested enough, come help me already, damn it!"

"No!" Morishita wagged her finger and corrected him with righteous confidence. "I have now discovered that everything the three of us did earlier was completely useless effort. Since the plan was always to exhaust it into collapsing anyway, having three people chase it versus one person chasing it—the end result is actually exactly the same! Therefore, as the sole male among us—please, don't hold back! Demonstrate your spirit of chivalry!"

"That... does seem to actually make sense." Yamamura, who had already half-risen, halted and sat back down. Hugging her knees, she watched Fuyuji's operations.

"You two... truly are my wonderful teammates." Fuyuji ground his teeth.

"Thank you for your praise."

...

In the end, amidst the cheers of Morishita and Yamamura, Fuyuji, having once again exhausted the chicken brother into collapsing, won the victory in this hunt.

"There was actually a bonus gift." Fuyuji weighed in his hand the several chicken eggs they had discovered near the spot where the chicken brother had appeared.

Turning his head, he looked at the two chicken brothers collapsed and sprawled on the ground.

Morishita poked her head out, her large eyes blinking and sparkling as she surveyed the fruit of their trio's entire morning of grueling, grinding battle.

"So... how do we deal with these two?"

As if sensing the malicious intent radiating from Morishita, the two chickens abruptly flapped and thrashed violently, emitting pitiful, agonized clucks.

Fuyuji calmly puffed out his chest. That strange, inexplicable confidence once again swelled up within him. "At a time like this, it is time for Chef Fuyuji, who has bitter-trained in the culinary arts for an entire semester, to make his move."

Morishita and Yamamura exchanged a glance and decisively ignored Fuyuji's words. They began discussing the matter on their own.

"Running that fast—it probably isn't very old. Let's roast it. Yamamura Miki, do you know how to slaughter a chicken?"

"Muri, muri, muri." Yamamura's head shook back and forth like a rattle-drum. "If it's pre-prepared chicken pieces, I can still cook them. But slaughtering a chicken... I can't do that."

"I've never slaughtered one either." Morishita rubbed her chin, her hand forming a knife shape. "Cut off the chicken's head in one blow?"

"..."

The two avian brothers clucked even louder.

"You need to first cut an opening in its neck and drain all the blood out." Fuyuji spoke, speechless.

Although Chef Fuyuji's practical execution was a disaster, having spent so much time as a cyber-chef, he had still accumulated a certain amount of theoretical experience.

But still...

Fuyuji and Morishita exchanged a glance.

Fuyuji: "But there is currently one problem."

Morishita: "We don't have any seasonings. We need to go back to camp to get them."

Fuyuji: "It's best to do it discreetly. Don't let the others find out."

Morishita: "After all, there are only two chickens. We can only first satisfy Morishita-sama, who has eaten nothing but biscuits for three days and has been kept awake at night by the discomfort."

The two of them paused simultaneously and turned their gazes toward Yamamura in unspoken, wordless unison. The meaning was self-evident...

-----------------------------------------------------------

If you want to Support me, you can Read 100+ Advanced Chapters on : [email protected]/Yuni_TL

50 [Power Stones] = Bonus Chapter!