COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

After preliminary, brief negotiations and mutually confirming each side's willingness to cooperate, the flow of people began to file out of the gymnasium.

Katsuragi Kohei also led the Class A students out of the gymnasium. The afternoon's classes were not yet fully completed, and they needed to return to the classroom for lessons.

Yet, amidst the dense, weaving current of the crowd, one girl stood silently still among them. Arms folded, her purple half-ponytail swaying gently, she showed absolutely no intention of leaving.

"Bro, let's go." Fuyuji Mikage came up behind her and patted her shoulder.

Following her gaze, Sakayanagi Arisu was still seated in that chair the school had specially arranged for her, holding that slender cane. An unfamiliar girl stood beside her, likewise showing no intention of departing.

Probably because leaving at this moment—if she were accidentally jostled by the crowd—could lead to some rather dangerous situations.

After quietly watching for another moment.

A faint, almost imperceptible sigh of helplessness spilled from Kamuro Masumi's throat. She bit her lower lip and finally steeled her resolve.

"I'm going to go check on her..."

With that, she swung her long, fair legs forward and headed on her own toward where Sakayanagi sat.

"If you're going, at least wait for me!" Watching Kamuro's slender silhouette, Fuyuji hurriedly strode after her. "It's not like I'd stop you. As expected... Bro, your heart's way too soft. That scummy loli was incredibly arrogant back then, you know."

"Annoying..." A quiet mutter drifted back as Kamuro quickened her pace.

"I barely said two sentences and you're already calling me annoying!"

"If she keels over from rage in a minute, it'll be your fault."

"Ha? Blaming me again? How is that fair?!"

...

In the corner of the gymnasium, Matsushita Chiaki, having broken away from the girls' group, came to Sakayanagi Arisu's side. She gazed with a complicated expression at Sakayanagi, seated quietly in her chair.

After the crushing defeat Sakayanagi had suffered in the last special exam, those students who had been hoping she could lead Class D upward had, one after another, peeled away from her faction in disappointment.

Instead, it was Matsushita—who had from the very beginning taken a "getting into Class A would be nice, but if not, so be it" attitude—who had remained by Sakayanagi's side.

Sunlight streamed through the high windows, forming a column of light that enveloped Sakayanagi within it. Tiny dust motes danced around her. Her eyes were lowered, her long lashes quivering faintly like butterfly wings against her fair, almost translucent cheeks.

Matsushita opened her mouth, hesitating as if to speak.

"Um, Sakayanagi—"

"I'm fine, Matsushita-san."

Sakayanagi forcibly cut off Matsushita's words, donning her usual graceful smile. She raised her head and directly met the strange looks from those around her.

For someone as proud as she was, the charity-like pity of others was nothing short of an insult.

"I did indeed lose to him. But to lose to an opponent like that—I feel a genuine, heartfelt joy in that." Her melodious voice lingered beside Matsushita's ear. "As for the gazes of these people, there is no need to pay them any mind whatsoever."

As Sakayanagi, still smiling, squarely confronted those looks—whether curious, pitying, or carrying some other meaning—her pale violet eyes met them without a trace of evasion. Gradually, the passing students found themselves the ones feeling awkward, and one by one, they averted their eyes.

"You see..." Sakayanagi wore an expression of "just as I thought." "So long as one is sufficiently strong, those who cling to such tedious notions will skirt around you on their own. And then—"

Sakayanagi's voice, brimming with confidence, came to an abrupt halt. Her breath caught.

A girl with a purple half-ponytail had walked straight into her line of sight, meeting her eyes with the utmost naturalness.

Immediately after, a black-haired boy followed, also entering her field of vision.

"Ara~"

Her earlier dismissive attitude toward the other students instantly gone, Sakayanagi raised a hand to cover her mouth, masking her emotions.

"Good day, Masumi-san, Fuyuji-kun. It has been a while. Have you come to comfort me, or to mock me?" She paused briefly, her pace of speech quickening slightly. "If it is comfort, please allow me to express my thanks—but I do not need it. If it is mockery, I welcome it. After all, in that contest, I did indeed lose to that person from your class. Letting him have a laugh at my expense would not be unwarranted."

"Um, hello..." Matsushita hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to greet them. "I'm Matsushita Chiaki from first-year Class D."

Kamuro nodded and walked straight past Matsushita, coming to a stop directly before Sakayanagi. In a flat tone, she spoke.

"I don't have the free time to show concern or mockery toward someone like you. I just came to confirm you're not hiding here secretly crying your eyes out because you lost so badly. Some people act all composed and unflappable on the surface, but in reality can't even walk without a cane."

Fuyuji, following behind, raised a hand and pressed it to his forehead.

Oi, oi, Bro! You're still being this harsh with her at a time like this?! This isn't concern—you're twisting the knife! You were just saying it'd be my fault—if she dies now, it'll be yours!

Sakayanagi's fingers suddenly tightened around the cane resting on her white-stocking-clad thighs. Yet she lifted her chin with an even more radiant smile.

"What delightful concern, Masumi-san. However, crying in public—such childish behavior is not something befitting a proper young lady. I fear I must disappoint you."

Catching the movement of Sakayanagi's hand, Kamuro added stiffly, "Don't flatter yourself. Who would pity a loli who's still this arrogant even after losing?! I just... didn't want you suddenly fainting and causing trouble for the school. Since you can still run your mouth, it seems you won't be dying after all."

The graceful smile on her face stiffened. Sakayanagi defended herself without a change in expression. "Masumi-san, a reminder—this is not 'running my mouth.' This is the composure of the strong. And... I am not a loli."

"Right. The strong. The strong who got so worked up she ended up in the infirmary." Kamuro sneered coldly. "And just whose fault was it that I got turned away at the door?"

The day after Sakayanagi had been sent to the infirmary from sheer distress, Kamuro had paced outside the cruise ship's sickbay who knew how many times. In the end, she had finally convinced herself with "since that guy caused this mess, I share part of the responsibility," and knocked on the door.

Only to be told by the nurse at the entrance that Sakayanagi had refused all visitors.

According to the gossip she'd gleaned from the nurse, it was probably because, having lost the exam, she was currently in a state too embarrassed to show her face.

For the first time ever, a flush of pink—tinged with a hint of mortified irritation—surfaced on Sakayanagi's delicately elfin, refined features. She forced herself to straighten her chest and struggled to maintain her usual unhurried tone.

"Ara, so Masumi-san actually came to visit me? Why didn't you send me a message? If my father knew I had made such a caring friend at school, he would surely be overjoyed."

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, the thoroughly flustered Kamuro retreated two steps, her volume rising slightly.

"Who would care about a loli with a personality this impossibly rotten?! And one who hides away crying her eyes out every time she loses!"

"Is that not so? To think you actually chose to visit me in secret... Masumi-san truly is so gentle..."

"Eek—! I've got goosebumps! I told you, I only came to confirm you weren't dead yet."

"That, too, is a form of concern, you know..."

...

Was this how you two tsundere types showed concern for each other?

By prodding at each other's sore spots—that was how you comforted one another?

Standing off to the side watching the drama unfold, Matsushita and Fuyuji exchanged a glance and simultaneously shook their heads with a laugh.

After bickering with Sakayanagi for a while longer—automatically filtering out the stubborn, hard-mouthed denials—and seeing that she was still perfectly capable of energetically sparring with her, Kamuro inwardly let out a quiet breath of relief.

Seems she's fine after all...

By now, the flow of people in the gymnasium had largely dispersed. There were roughly fifteen minutes left until class.

Stuffing her phone back into her pocket and looking at Sakayanagi, whose tone had noticeably lightened, Kamuro spoke.

"Since you're fine, I'm heading off first."

"Mm." Sakayanagi also rose from her chair, leaning on her cane. She lowered her eyes, concealing the ripples within them. "Take care..."

"Um..." Kamuro averted her head, gazing toward the gymnasium exit. "If you really don't like the atmosphere of the Sports Festival, just take a leave of absence. Don't worry about those Class D idiots."

"..."

Sakayanagi suddenly let out a low laugh. "Masumi-san, has anyone ever told you your acting is terribly clumsy?"

"Tch... What's it to you?!"

Kamuro clicked her tongue and shot Sakayanagi a fierce glare. With that, she grabbed Fuyuji—who had been standing there like a Buddha statue watching the whole show—and without a backward glance, headed straight for the exit.

"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Sakayanagi-san, Matsushita-san."

Being pulled along, Fuyuji kept pace with Kamuro's strides while smiling and waving farewell to the two.

"Masumi-san!"

Leaning on her cane, Sakayanagi suddenly called out to Kamuro.

"Is there something else?" Kamuro's steps halted. She turned back with displeasure.

Sakayanagi raised her other hand and pressed it over her heart. Her doll-like eyes gazed intently at Kamuro.

"I admit I am still deeply vexed by my loss to that person from your class. Even now, I have yet to figure out exactly what method he used to lure me so flawlessly into that trap. But as for the matter of competing against him—I do not regret it in the slightest. Please convey that to him."

Fuyuji Mikage: "..."

Of course a sheltered young lady like you, who's always stayed at home, wouldn't be able to figure it out. You barely even have friends. Without a whole chain of coincidences—and without specifically paying attention—no one would ever notice the delayed-send mechanism for text messages when a phone is turned off.

"In return for your miserable state today giving me a good laugh." Kamuro waved a hand, signaling she'd received the message. "I'll tell him. Though... that guy's pretty damn petty."

Oi, oi, Bro, whose side are you on?!

Fuyuji's face was covered in black lines.

"Then I shall offer my thanks..." Sakayanagi covered her mouth with a light laugh.

"Well then, goodbye!"

Kamuro swung her legs forward once more and headed for the exit.

"Take care~"

That's more like it...

The corner of Kamuro's lips—still tugging Fuyuji by the wrist—curved up into a tiny arc.

After walking a short distance further.

Suddenly, Sakayanagi's melodious voice drifted over from behind.

"Oh, and by the way... the Sports Festival... I will be going. To cheer for you, Masumi-san..."

Her forward strides paused for an instant, then abruptly quickened.

"Do as you please..."

"W-wait, wait, Bro! You're walking too fast!"

"Tch... And with stamina like that, you think you can win those five million?!"

"For something like this, you've gotta at least give it a shot..."

...

Under Sakayanagi's watchful gaze, the bickering, noisy pair stepped through the gymnasium's main entrance, bathed in the white light streaming in from outside.

"I never imagined you actually knew Class A students, and that your relationship was this good." Matsushita walked over, a teasing lilt in her voice. "I thought someone like you—who only ever sees people as chess pieces—wouldn't have a single friend."

"On that subject," Sakayanagi's smile instantly cooled, "Chiaki-san, I did not acknowledge Masumi-san as a friend. She..." A moment of hesitation. "Is probably more of an... amusing chess piece that I've grown rather fond of..."

"Right, right." Matsushita beamed. "An amusing chess piece, totally."

"But still..."

Matsushita clasped her hands behind her back and stood in place, gazing out at the two departing figures. With a sigh of admiration, she remarked, "Those two really do have a good relationship..."

"Indeed," Sakayanagi nodded in agreement. "After all, Masumi-san is a gentle person. And Fuyuji-kun—though his behavior may seem somewhat erratic—unexpectedly fits well with Masumi-san."

"Eh?"

Matsushita turned toward Sakayanagi with a puzzled look. "You didn't notice? Those two... are probably a couple."

Sakayanagi's brow furrowed slightly. In a tone of refutation, she said, "Matsushita-san, judging that they are a couple based solely on the action of Masumi-san pulling Fuyuji-kun along—isn't that a bit too presumptuous?"

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Wagging her index finger at Sakayanagi, Matsushita closed her eyes and spoke with a hint of self-satisfaction. "It seems that no matter how much of a self-proclaimed genius Sakayanagi-san is, when it comes to romance and interpersonal relationships, she still only grasps the surface."

"What do you mean? Please explain yourself clearly." Sakayanagi's tone turned cold.

"Look..."

Matsushita turned her head and gazed in the direction of the gymnasium entrance.

Within her eyes, a slender yet strong hand was firmly gripping another's wrist. The voices of the two owners of those hands drifted over in a continuous, clamorous stream.

"Even though her relationship with you is clearly already very good, that Kamuro-san still acts so incredibly prickly and awkward around you. But in front of him, there's none of that prickly awkwardness at all, is there? Her tone is completely relaxed and natural."

"And also—this is probably something Sakayanagi-san wouldn't know, never having tried it herself—but if you have to drag a full-grown person along by one hand, it's actually very difficult. The fact that she made it look so effortless is probably because that Fuyuji-kun was going along with Kamuro-san's movements the entire time. That's why I said those two are a couple..."

Sakayanagi Arisu froze on the spot. In an instant, countless threads of thought surged into her mind. Her eyes widened to their absolute limit, her pupils trembling violently.

And then, as if suddenly recalling something, her expression shifted drastically. She whipped her head around, her hand unconsciously tightening around her cane. In utter disbelief, she stared in the direction the two had departed.

Within those dreamlike, violet-hued eyes was seared, with absolute clarity, the smiling face of Fuyuji Mikage—his head turned as he chatted with Kamuro Masumi.

So it was... you?!

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