COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

In the madder-red twilight, a young girl with her hands clasped behind her back, her eyes seemingly drained of all light, came walking toward him with a smiling face.

For some reason, this scene sent a chill of horror rising from the depths of Fuyuji's heart.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. He retreated half a step on instinct, his brain kicking into overdrive.

Calm down. Think about what you should be doing right now.

Right, first find a time machine— No, no, no! That's not it!

"Ara, isn't this Kushida-san?"

Within a few breaths, Fuyuji swiftly adjusted his mindset. Facing Cha-Cha, who was making a beeline straight for him, he pretended as if nothing had happened and greeted her with casual small talk.

"Found me? What do you need me for?"

Kushida Kikyo came to a stop just a step away. The sunset glow filtered through the gaps in her hair, casting flecks of light across her face. She spoke with meaningful deliberation.

"Why, to become true, genuine friends with Fuyuji-kun, of course."

As she spoke, she suddenly stepped forward half a pace. The drawstring tassels of her sun cardigan brushed against his arm, bringing a faint, ticklish itch.

Careless!

Fuyuji half-lowered his eyes and looked at the girl beside him—dressed in that sun cardigan, her eyes shimmering with an inexplicable light, carrying a faint, fragrant breeze as she drew near.

Cha-Cha must have been certain, since four days ago, that the suspect was on the deserted island and was one of the boys from Classes A, B, or C.

But don't forget—there were still three more days after that.

Given Cha-Cha's personality, she wouldn't have just sat around doing nothing, waiting for that suspect to reply to her messages.

She would have relied on her own social skills during those days to eliminate the vast majority of the boys from suspicion. What remained might only be a dozen, or even just a few. With patience, she could search them out one by one and eventually find him.

Come to think of it, among the first-year boys, the one whose personality and conduct most matched this style of doing things... was indeed himself, the Class A oddball. The suspicion on him was the greatest.

And Cha-Cha might very well have sensed, from his usual words and behavior in their chats, that he was quite familiar with her.

If so, it wasn't strange at all that she had locked her sights on him right from the start.

The question was... when had she pinpointed his location?

"Friends?" Fuyuji raised an eyebrow and feigned surprise. "Haven't I been good friends with Kikyo-chan for a long time now?"

"Enough!" Kushida rolled her eyes in a cute, exasperated manner and cut off the act Fuyuji was about to continue. "Spare me all that nonsense. You think I don't know what kind of person you are? Was it you or not?"

"Me? Me what? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Fuyuji feigned bewilderment once more.

Admitting it was absolutely out of the question.

Cha-Cha, don't think I don't know you're trying to bluff me. Your left hand has been hidden behind your back this whole time without coming out. You've definitely got some scheme!

Even if I'm currently the prime suspect, as long as I don't personally confess, you'll still have a sliver of doubt in your heart. There's no way you'd actually pull some scheme against m—

"Smack!"

A crisp sound rang out in the hidden corner of the deck.

The left hand Kushida had kept behind her back shot out with lightning speed and seized Fuyuji's wrist.

"Kikyo-chan," Fuyuji tried pulling free but found he couldn't. He turned his head and faced her with a smile. "What are you trying to do? This kind of tugging and pulling in broad daylight isn't very proper. It'll damage your image as the grade's renowned beautiful girl, you know."

"Fuyuji-kun~"

A coquettish, honeyed voice drifted out. Kushida smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm looking for someone right now, you see. I very~ very~ much want to meet him~ Who knows, maybe I even harbor some feelings for him~"

"And then?"

A sense of extremely ominous foreboding rose from the depths of Fuyuji's heart.

"And then~" The sweet voice became slightly troubled. "He's been avoiding me the whole time. So I could only think of another way to smoke him out."

"And what method did you use?" Fuyuji revealed a smile uglier than a grimace. He seemed to have already guessed what method Cha-Cha had employed.

"I often use alt accounts too~"

Like flipping a switch, those captivating eyes, originally glistening with moisture, were drained of color in an instant, turning dark and gray. Her voice became cold and emotionless.

Kushida enunciated each word with deliberate clarity. "So while I was chatting with him, I mass-sent greeting messages to all the boys I considered suspects. And you were the only one who didn't reply to me on time!"

Under the dark crimson sunset, seagulls cawed noisily. The great waves crashed and roared in Fuyuji's ears.

"..."

Fuyuji opened and closed his mouth. At this moment, he very much wanted to ask Kushida a question.

With an IQ like yours, how on earth are you being kept down by Horikita's little sister? This defies all logic.

Wouldn't this mean you have her completely and utterly outmatched?

Was this the power of the grade's social expert?

"Ahaha. But it's also possible that the person saw through Kushida-san's scheme and deliberately turned the tables by sending you a question-mark message, isn't it?" Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Fuyuji refused to admit defeat and swore to stubbornly deny it to the bitter end.

"Yes. That person is also extremely familiar with Horikita Suzune. And not long after ending the conversation, he got up from his rattan chair—and was caught red-handed by me." Kushida sneered.

"It wasn't me regardless!" Fuyuji defended himself weakly and feebly.

"Still won't admit it!" Kushida abruptly raised her head. Her heeled sandal came stomping down on Fuyuji's toes. Her voice, brimming with fury, suddenly spiked several degrees. "You actually thought you could keep hiding it from me!"

Her left hand abruptly exerted force, grabbing Fuyuji's hand as if to yank it toward her full, bulging chest—

The two hands froze stiff in midair, as if welded immovably in place.

Kushida pulled hard again. It still wouldn't budge a millimeter.

An awkward atmosphere permeated the air.

Fuyuji revealed a grin that said, "Just as I thought." He silently extracted his left foot from under her sandal and declared with immense self-satisfaction.

"We've known each other that long. You think I don't know what kind of personality Kikyo-chan has? Eight or nine out of ten, you were planning to threaten me into doing things for you—"

Her other hand shot out instantly and seized Fuyuji's right hand. With a swift yank, she pressed it firmly against her full bosom.

Kushida revealed a victorious smile. "That's right. We've known each other that long. You think I don't know what kind of personality you have?"

Immediately after, her expression darkened. She spoke with vicious ferocity. "Right now, your fingerprints have already been left on me. From now on, you'll follow my orders. Otherwise, I'll report you for sexual assault!"

"..." What a malicious woman!

Feeling the sensation in his hand—since Kushida was currently wearing a black bikini with underwire, those round, generous treasures felt hard to the touch, with no pleasant texture whatsoever.

No way. Wouldn't that mean I'm taking a huge loss?

The very next moment—

Kushida squeezed her eyes shut. Her breath caught in her throat. Her ferocious, vicious expression vanished without a trace in an instant. A deep crimson blush spread across that fair, tender face in the span of a single heartbeat.

"Eek! Fuyuji Mikage~ You damned bastard!" A suppressed voice spilled from her throat, tinged with several notes of trembling.

"You were going to frame me anyway. Is it wrong for me to collect a little interest?" Fuyuji declared with righteous confidence. For good measure, he increased the pressure by a few degrees, closing his five fingers. He could clearly feel the frantic heartbeat racing beneath his palm.

"That was... a bluff... I wasn't planning to... tell anyone... Take it out, now!"

Kushida staggered two steps, as if unable to bear it, and collapsed powerlessly sideways into Fuyuji's arms. One hand clutched the front of his shirt. Gritting her silver teeth, she trembled as she spoke.

The cream-white sun cardigan slid from her shoulders. The sea wind tangled her brown locks against the crooks of their pressed-together necks.

"If you weren't planning to tell anyone anyway, then I have to collect all the interest in one lump sum, don't I?" Fuyuji grinned smugly, indicating he intended to redouble his efforts.

At this moment, Kushida was wearing nothing more than that thin sun cardigan over her swimsuit. It completely failed to conceal the alluring curves of her body. As the sea breeze gently lifted the hem, it revealed a glimpse of the black bikini beneath.

The sea breeze, mingled with the girl's peculiar fragrance and her increasingly rapid, panting breaths, seeped bit by bit into Fuyuji's nostrils.

"Shameless... Peeping Tom... mn... you filthy gutter rat! Perverted scumbag— ngh..."

Kushida's eyes grew hazy and unfocused. Her small mouth opened and bit down on Fuyuji's shoulder.

The very next moment, in that hidden corner of the ship, faint, trembling sounds drifted into the distance, mingling with the crash of the great waves.

...

The clamor and light of the day quietly receded like the ebbing tide.

Near the western sky, the lava-colored sun, before sinking beneath the sea's surface, refined its final, fervent blaze into flowing liquid.

Above the cruise ship, gold and dark blue merged together. No scattered starlight could be seen above, nor any fiercely burning, churning clouds. Just the gold and red, fading bit by bit, with the dark blue filling in its wake.

Hardly any students remained on the deck now. A single glance revealed not a soul.

The parasols had been folded away. Kushida sat on a rattan chair, both legs drawn together, her toes curled. The flush on her face had yet to fade. She gazed up at the sky, her eyes vacant, and murmured.

"I'm... unclean now..."

"Drink something. It'll make you feel better." A glass of some unknown cold drink, a slice of lemon perched on its rim, was pushed beside Kushida.

Her hand shot out like lightning and seized Fuyuji by the collar, yanking him forcibly right in front of her.

Her Inner Kushida mode switched on in an instant. Her large eyes were dark and lightless. Her voice was as cold as a gale sweeping in from Siberia.

"The reason I'm this unhappy is because of exactly which perverted scumbag?!"

"..."

Fuyuji averted his head and guiltily evaded Kushida's murderous glare. Laughing sheepishly, he said, "This kind of thing—both sides share responsibility, you know. You have to understand, I'm a guy. Cha-Cha, you're so cute. I can't withstand that kind of test."

As he spoke, his gaze flicked toward those round, full treasures. A single droplet of water slowly traced its way down that smooth, fine skin, making him recall that incomparable sensation from earlier—smooth, tender, exquisitely fine, and indescribably soft.

You brought this to test me. Ask any cadre—who could withstand such a test?!

"Still looking! Keep looking and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

This attitude of "a dead pig doesn't fear boiling water" only made her already-full bosom rounder by another degree. The price was that her chest, already uncomfortable, grew even more tight and suffocated.

And yet, she truly couldn't do much to him. Options like reporting him to the school—from the very beginning, Kushida had never even considered them.

As for why... all she could say was that she'd been possessed by a ghost.

"Ahem, Kikyo-chan," Fuyuji, still held by the collar, cleared his throat. "If there's nothing else, I'll be off now."

Having already taken every advantage possible, he now wanted to vanish like smoke.

"You took advantage of me and now you want to run?" Kushida planted a foot squarely on Fuyuji's thigh and ground her teeth. "You think there's such a good deal in this world?"

"But I can't really help Kikyo-chan with anything. I've got the oddball persona—I have no voice in Class A." Fuyuji blinked and spoke with feigned earnestness.

See~ I've shed one layer of my mask, but I still have another. As long as I have no value, no one can use me.

Kushida yanked him forward again with both hands, pulling him right before her. Master Kushida stared straight into his eyes and, with the utmost seriousness, asked a single question.

"Me or Horikita Suzune—who are you going to help?"

"..." Why did this feel so much like a life-or-death question? Like "Which is more important, me or video games?" or "If your mother and I fell into a river, who would you save?"

After pondering for a moment, Fuyuji gave his answer.

"I'm not helping either of you. What I enjoy most is watching girls fight."

Kushida flew into a towering rage. "You've taken advantage of me to this degree and you're still not going to help me?! What exactly has that bitch Horikita given you?!"

Her brother gave me several million...

Fuyuji scratched his head and deliberately put on a troubled expression. "No benefits, actually. She still owes me money, in fact. If you got her expelled, I wouldn't even know who to go to for repayment."

"How much does she owe you? I'll give it to you."

"Not much. Just a few hundred thousand." Fuyuji extended his palm and held it before Kushida. "Kushida-san, would you prefer to pay in one lump sum, or in installments?"

Kushida, who had already gone several months without a single point of income, silently shut her mouth. She directed a look of utter contempt at Horikita Suzune for managing to owe someone several hundred thousand in just a single semester since enrollment.

"...Forget it then. That matter can be planned out slowly. But you have to help me with other things."

"That's doable."

"If you dare agree outwardly but defy me in secret, you're dead!"

"How could I possibly? Compared to Horikita's little sister, I actually prefer Kikyo-chan's personality."

"Really?" Kushida looked somewhat skeptical.

"Really."

"That's more like it..."

Kushida released the hand gripping his collar and collapsed backward into the rattan chair. The shoulder strap of her sun cardigan slipped from her elbow, revealing the bikini ties that had been wrinkled and crumpled earlier.

The twilight sank completely into inky blue. The deck lights flicked on one by one, casting fine shadows beneath Kushida's lowered lashes.

In the distance, the sound of the waves stretched long and lingering, cradling the cruise ship as it rocked gently in the moonlight, shattered like silver.

"If you dare breathe a word of what happened today, I'll kick you overboard!"

Kushida's muffled warning came from within her folded arms. Her entire face was buried between her crossed forearms, only the scarlet tips of her ears visible, trembling faintly with each breath. Her drawn-together toes quietly hooked the fallen sandal.

"Rest assured. Having taken advantage of the grade's renowned beautiful girl, I wouldn't dare blab about it recklessly."

Fuyuji smiled, then turned and walked into the corridor of the ship. His figure was gradually swallowed by the warm light of the passageway.

A long while later, she lifted her face and gazed in the direction where he had vanished. Subconsciously biting her flushed, crimson lips, her fingertips traced over the black fabric at her chest.

"Perverted scumbag. Gutter rat..."

The curse was as light as a sigh. The moment it drifted into the sea breeze, it shattered into flecks of foam. The moonlight cast her shadow upon the deck, flickering and swaying with the surge of the waves.

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