COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

Inside a girls' cabin on the luxury cruise ship.

"Hm? Morishita's not back yet?"

Fuyuji, who had just pushed the door open from outside, swept his gaze across the room and raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

"Wasn't she the one who said she wanted to go out for afternoon tea? How come she's nowhere to be seen?"

Yamamura Miki, sitting quietly in her chair and waiting, also found it a bit strange.

"I don't know either. I haven't seen her at all since she came back."

"Did you send her a text asking where she is?"

"I did. But she hasn't replied."

"She probably got drawn in by something on the way back, couldn't pull herself away, and lost track of time while looking at it." Fuyuji pressed a hand to his face and spoke helplessly.

Given Morishita's track record from the deserted island—where she'd led the way and wandered off to who-knows-where—there was absolutely no guarantee she wouldn't suddenly take an interest in something on a whim.

"That's probably it." Yamamura rested her hands properly on her soft thighs and covered her mouth with a light laugh. "After all, that's just who Morishita-san is."

"You spoil her too much, Miki." Fuyuji sat down close beside her and took out his phone.

"Not at all. It's clearly Fuyuji-kun who always lets Morishita-san run wild." Uncharacteristically, Yamamura refuted him with a straight face.

"In any case, we need to call her back first. Otherwise, knowing her personality, it wouldn't be strange if she stayed out until dark."

Fuyuji lowered his head and quickly moved his fingers, switching to Morishita's chat screen.

[Fuyuji Mikage: Did you run into something that caught your interest again?]

[Fuyuji Mikage: The agreed time is almost here. You should come back.]

[Fuyuji Mikage: Otherwise, this time you'll be the one standing us up.]

Ten minutes passed. There were still only two people in the room. Even his phone lay motionless, utterly silent. Morishita hadn't even replied to the text.

Only the air conditioner hummed lowly in the room, blowing cold air.

"Strange..." Yamamura lowered her head and pressed a hand to her chest, murmuring. "This isn't like Morishita-san at all."

Under normal circumstances, even if Morishita got held up by something, she would at least send a text to explain the situation. She wouldn't go completely silent like this.

"There shouldn't be any problem. The safety measures on this cruise ship are pretty thorough."

With that, Fuyuji stood up and took out his phone again, dialing Morishita's number directly.

"Du... du... du..."

The sound of the phone ringing was like a stone sinking into the ocean—utterly unresponsive. Only the echoing du-du-du came back.

Another moment passed.

Yamamura, who had begun pacing small steps around the room, finally couldn't hold back. "No, I have to go look for her. Staying out this long without a word isn't like Morishita-san at all!"

Fuyuji grabbed Yamamura, who was heading for the door, and furrowed his brow.

"No. You stay here. I'll go look. She might come back on her own any minute. If neither of us is here, it'll just turn into a mess."

"But..." Yamamura opened her mouth, wanting to say more.

"It's fine." Fuyuji reached out and gently stroked Yamamura's head, softly reassuring her. "Trust me."

"..."

"Mm!" Yamamura nodded firmly, her fingers clenching the hem of her clothes, then releasing.

"If she comes back, send me a message." Fuyuji strode out of the room and vanished at the end of the corridor moments later.

"You too—if you find her, let me know right away." Yamamura called after him.

"Got it!"

...

On the other side. The fourth basement deck of the cruise ship. The machinery room.

Morishita stared blankly at the door handle, which had come off entirely in her hand. Then she looked at the door to the machinery room, now completely devoid of any point of leverage. Expressionlessly, she uttered a single sentence.

"Can't get out..."

Utterly unlike the sun-drenched deck above, only the cold, harsh light of emergency lamps shone down from overhead. The air was thick with the mingled scents of heavy machine oil, rust, and stifling hot metal. The massive engines roared continuously, low and powerful, vibrating the metal floor beneath her feet until it trembled faintly.

The genius Morishita-sama had attempted to reattach the door handle. After fiddling with it for ages and discovering it was impossible, she had given up cheerfully, flung the door handle to the ground, stomped on it twice, and huffily walked off to sit down.

"It's all that detestable Fuyuji Mikage's fault!"

After leaving the second-floor room on the cruise ship, the great Morishita, who had declared she didn't care one bit, had come back to her senses to find herself in the very lowest electrical room of the ship.

In the spirit of "since I'm already here," the various strangely shaped machines in the electrical room had, unsurprisingly, piqued the great Morishita's interest.

And then, in one of the rooms, the all-powerful Morishita-sama had been outwitted by a cunning door handle and gotten herself trapped.

Legs bent, hugging her knees.

Sitting in the machinery room, Morishita wasn't actually panicked.

Equipment like this usually got patrolled by staff every few hours. And Fuyuji and Yamamura, upon realizing she hadn't returned by the agreed afternoon tea time, would surely come looking for her.

Morishita took out her phone and lit up the screen, preparing to send out a distress signal and summon her teammates for rescue.

[Yamamura Miki: Morishita-san, don't forget about afternoon tea later.]

Morishita nodded with satisfaction. Yamamura Miki was truly worthy of being Morishita Ai's friend. Always the first to remember the great Morishita.

At this thought, Morishita's finger slid downward. By now, Fuyuji should also—

"..."

In just a single moment, the sparkling light in her eyes went out. Morishita stared stiff-faced at the completely blank chat screen. In an instant, she flew into a towering rage and began furiously stabbing at the phone screen as if venting her frustration. The light from the screen illuminated her puffed-up, furious cheeks.

"Damn Fuyuji Mikage! He must've been led astray by some woman out there, thinking about doing shameless, lewd things with her! And he actually forgot about the great Morishita!"

"Bang—!"

The words had barely left her mouth when the door to the machinery room was flung open with a thunderous crash, sending a gust of wind sweeping through.

Fuyuji, his face dark, slightly out of breath, strode toward Morishita with heavy, pounding steps.

Morishita rose from her spot, the corner of her mouth quirking upward.

"Hmph hmph. Fuyuji Mikage—"

"You idiot!"

A voice—not loud, yet tinged with frustration—exploded through the machinery room. Fuyuji seized Morishita by the shoulders and pulled her tightly into his arms.

"No matter how much you love to play, you can't get so carried away that you forget the time! There are so many dangerous places on this ship, and you always zone out when you walk. What if you fell in somewhere? Is a place like this machinery room somewhere you should be? What if no one noticed you were missing? You didn't reply to my messages, didn't answer my calls! You love adventure, you love finding interesting things—but at least let me know! You dumbass!"

Suddenly held immobile in his arms, Morishita turned her head and stared blankly at Fuyuji, who had bent down to embrace her.

Fine beads of sweat slowly trickled down his forehead. His hair was a little damp. His breathing hadn't settled yet. His chest was rising and falling rapidly. And... his heart was beating so fast...

A long moment passed.

Fuyuji, who had stormed in, finally realized that this might not be entirely appropriate. Belatedly, he released her shoulders and turned toward the door.

"Sorry. Let's go. Miki must be getting worr—"

The very next second, his footsteps halted. His mind went completely blank.

The roar of the ship's engines and generators. The crashing of waves against the hull. The beeping of indicator lights. In that instant, all of it vanished.

The girl had thrown her arms around him from behind. Her cheek was pressed completely into the slightly damp fabric of his back, her forehead resting against him.

"I was jealous."

The ship rocked in the wind and waves. The creaking groan of stressed metal echoed through the cabin.

Fuyuji slowly turned around. His movements were so slow they almost seemed to catch. His fingertips brushed aside a strand of blue hair stuck to her cheek by sweat. Once again, gently, he gathered Morishita into his arms and spoke softly.

"Next time... don't do this."

"Mm." Pale, unadorned hands wrapped around Fuyuji's waist. The two of them drew closer by another fraction.

That familiar scent of peach once again lingered at the tip of Fuyuji's nose, reminding him of the very first time they had met.

Now, this girl was held in his arms. The fine skin of her cheeks, at such close distance, showed almost no imperfections—like warm, lustrous silk, tinged with a faint pink.

Her blue hair clung to her cheeks, feeling smooth and silky. The two small braids at her chest brushed against the nape of his neck from time to time, like a feather gently sweeping across the tip of his heart.

Neither of them spoke. Neither continued to dwell on who was right or wrong. They simply stood where they were, holding each other.

The roar of the surrounding machines, the groan of stressed metal—all of it rushed back into their ears, yet it seemed to fade into a distant, hazy background hum.

A long while passed.

Inside the quiet machinery room, Fuyuji broke the silence and spoke first.

"Hungry?"

"I'm hungry."

"Want to go to that restaurant?"

"I want to eat ice cream."

"Okay."

"I want you to carry me."

"Okay."

...

Inside the fourth basement deck of the luxury cruise ship, in a place students rarely ever visited, the dull, heavy thud of footsteps suddenly rang out.

Under the bright yellow lights, two shadows were cast against the cabin walls. A larger shadow carried a smaller, delicate silhouette, swaying along the walls with each step, stretching toward the faint glow of light at the end of the passage.

"Did you send a message to Miki yet?"

Fuyuji hoisted Morishita's small, pert bottom with one hand and slowly carried her toward the ice cream shop on the deck above.

With one arm wrapped around Fuyuji's neck, Morishita held her phone out in front of him with her other hand.

"No signal?!"

Fuyuji, still trudging forward, instantly pieced together the whole story. His face covered in black lines, he spoke.

"No wonder you didn't reply to my texts earlier."

Now that he thought about it, the lower decks were surrounded by metal walls. It would be far too normal for signals not to get through.

"Once we get out, you have to tell Miki right away. She's probably been waiting anxiously." Fuyuji instructed.

"The great Morishita naturally knows that." The arm wrapped around Fuyuji's neck tightened by a subconscious fraction. Her cheek nuzzled against his shoulder.

"Yes, yes. The great Morishita is the smartest."

"You don't need to tell me that. Hurry up and walk. Ice cream. I'm hungry."

"Let me state in advance: you can't eat too much."

"I want to, I want to!"

...

After buying their ice cream, the two of them randomly found a lounge on the cruise ship to sit down, planning to head back and find Yamamura once they'd finished eating.

And then...

Inside the observation lounge on the cruise ship's top deck, the warm, golden afternoon sunlight streamed in through the curved floor-to-ceiling windows, coating the sofas and decor in a soft, gilded edge.

Outside the window, the massive hull cut through the deep blue sea, dragging a long, shimmering white wake behind it.

Morishita was curled up on the dark green velvet sofa. Her blue hair spread out like an unfurled flower across the surface of Fuyuji's dark-colored uniform trousers. The two delicate braids draped over her chest, tied with mist-grey ribbons, rose and fell faintly with her long, steady breaths.

She'd fallen asleep...

Looking at the girl pillowed on his lap, Fuyuji raised a hand and gently wiped away the smear of ice cream at the corner of her mouth.

The girl's sleeping face was exposed before him without the slightest guard. She had curled up like a hamster, her profile sinking deep into the folds of the fabric at his knee. The warm puffs of her breath seeped through the material of his uniform trousers, spreading a small, damp patch of spring mist across his lap.

Her long lashes cast butterfly-wing shadows beneath her eyes. Her lips, squeezed slightly pouty by the soft flesh of her cheeks, glowed with a peach-like soft light.

Her legs, wrapped in sheer black tights, were curled up. The tips of her feet dangled half an inch above the sofa, the edge of the stocking cuffs pressing a faint line of pale skin. Yet she fidgeted restlessly even in sleep, so much so that the hem of her white pleated skirt had hiked up slightly despite itself.

Honestly... can't even stay still when she's asleep.

Fuyuji shook his head, a smile surfacing on his face.

Keeping his shoulders and back stiff, he bent down gently and adjusted the crooked hem of her skirt back into place. For good measure, he gave it a couple of light, self-comforting pats.

There, that's bet—

Before his hand could fully pull away, Morishita rolled over. The black tips of her stockings brushed against the leather of the sofa with a faint rustling sound.

Her cheek turned toward Fuyuji's lower abdomen. She shifted into a more comfortable position. And then it was crooked again.

"..."

What am I going to do with you...

Fuyuji let out a helpless sigh. He slowly raised his hand. After hovering for a long moment, it finally came to rest gently on the crown of her head, feeling the cool, silken smoothness of her hair.

The instant his fingertips touched her hair, the sunlight happened to skim across the tip of the girl's nose. The fine, downy hairs there floated in the warm halo of light. As if sensing something, she nuzzled against his palm. A murmur spilled from between her lips.

"Fuyuji Mikage..."

She's even talking in her sleep?!

Subconsciously, Fuyuji leaned in closer, bringing his ear near Morishita's mouth, trying to catch what she was saying.

"...is a coward."

His breath caught in his throat. Even his body stiffened for a moment. Fuyuji's gaze drifted evasively elsewhere—past the white clouds drifting lazily beyond the window, then back down to the unguarded sleeping face resting on his lap. His expression was somewhat unnatural. As if trying to redeem himself, he spoke quietly to the dreaming Morishita.

"It's not being a coward. That's... it's because, because—"

"Morishita Ai too..."

The hand gently stroking her hair came to an abrupt halt. The entire lounge fell into a strange, peculiar silence. All that remained was the low murmur of the waves lapping against the ship's hull outside the window, and the heartbeat pounding once more within his chest—each beat clearer than the last, echoing through the golden light that filled the room.

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