COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

The third day of the new semester. Six-thirty in the morning, sharp.

The sky had already fully brightened, pale golden dawn light piercing through the clouds, dyeing the rubber track of the sports ground a honeyed amber.

At the western sports ground of Advanced Nurturing High School, a sea breeze suddenly swept through, carrying the salty, briny dampness as it surged past. Withered leaves spun and scraped across the ground, drifting over the empty field, finally lifting the bangs from Fuyuji Mikage's forehead.

Across the entire sports ground, apart from a scattered handful of students, only the sparrows on the bleachers hopped and chirped...

A fair, pale hand shot out abruptly and seized the front of Fuyuji's gym clothes, yanking him forward without the slightest mercy.

"Fuyuji-kun. Where is he?"

Her icy gaze stabbed straight at Fuyuji. Horikita Suzune's voice was cold enough to freeze the mosquitoes on the field dead.

"Cough, cough. Well, about that..."

Fuyuji turned his face aside, his Adam's apple bobbing unnaturally. His gaze drifted toward the clouds at the horizon, his tone airy and evasive.

"Probably, maybe, perhaps... Horikita Manabu was blocked on his way here by a black cat today, and then lost his way on the path of life. Or perhaps he had to help an old lady cross the street, which caused a delay—"

"Do you take me for an idiot?"

The fair hand tightened once more, pulling Fuyuji another fraction closer. Her cool, clear eyes reflected his taut, rigid face. The tips of their noses nearly touched. Their short, rapid breaths intertwined before dissipating into nothing.

"Suzune, the fact that he didn't come isn't something I can control. He only sent me a text this morning saying there was a sudden emergency at the Student Council to handle. That's why he couldn't make it." Fuyuji began his creative fabrication.

At any rate, the fidgety Horikita-girl didn't have the courage to go verify with Horikita Manabu. As long as he got through today, this matter would be dead with no evidence left, and he'd have gotten a free lap pillow out of it.

As for Horikita Manabu's side, he'd already had Blond Senpai send his regards ahead of time. He could only pray for the best.

"So... next time. There'll definitely be a chance next time."

Fuyuji silently extended a hand, attempting to pry away the fingers gripping his collar, only to find that her grip strength was unexpectedly formidable. Clearly, that third-degree Aikido foundation of hers hadn't been for nothing.

"A sudden emergency at the Student Council?"

Horikita's captivating fox-like eyes narrowed slightly. Her voice, like a blade quenched in ice, scraped across Fuyuji's eardrums neither fast nor slow.

"Yesterday I already found it strange. I clearly ran into you at the sports ground near the teaching building. So why did you tell me to come to this sports ground today instead?"

"..."

Faced with Horikita's interrogation, Fuyuji—as if fully prepared—drew closer without any sign of panic. His gaze swept over the delicate, refined face before him. With an air of genuine puzzlement, he said:

"In that case, since you already knew where Horikita Manabu was, why didn't you just go find him directly, instead of going through me? Suzune... you—"

"Shut up!"

Horikita's pupils abruptly constricted. As if scalded, the hand gripping his collar instinctively loosened by half. At a breakneck pace, she shot back, "Fuyuji-kun, has your brain been devoured by paramecium?! Why would I be afraid of spending time with my brother?!"

Fuyuji Mikage: "..."

You said that yourself. I didn't say a word. Don't splash blood all over me later.

Time seemed to freeze for a single second, and the moment the words left her mouth, Horikita's body stiffened as she belatedly realized what she had just said. Her fair cheeks flushed pink at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then, with a sharp whoosh, she whipped her head around and fixed her gaze on Fuyuji. Her fist clenched tight, a bone-chilling cold radiating outward.

What she intended to do next went without saying.

But against all expectation, a pair of utterly shameless hands boldly reached out. Palms pressed against her waist through her uniform, firmly locking around that slender waist.

"I knew you'd pull this move!" Feeling the soft body in his arms instantly turn to stone, Fuyuji smugly tightened his arms and drew her half a step closer. "As long as I'm close enough, you can't generate any force..."

A short, choked gasp spilled from Horikita's throat. Like a startled fledgling, she began struggling violently, her elbows jabbing haphazardly toward his ribs. "Let go of me, you shameless liar!" Yet the fingertips pushing against his chest grew weaker and weaker, like snow melting in early spring, finally curling softly into a fist resting against his heart.

A strand of black hair clung to her cheek. Fuyuji caught the faint scent of mint from her hair. "At worst, I'll return the lap pillow to you..." The warmth of the girl's body transmitted through the thin fabric of her uniform to his palms, her waist trembling faintly.

In the midst of the struggle, her shirt rode up slightly. Fuyuji's thumb inadvertently brushed past that exposed patch of her waist. The snow-white, exquisite sensation flashed and vanished in an instant.

The wind suddenly stopped. Across the entire sports ground, only the faint, interwoven sound of their breathing seemed to remain.

Horikita drew a deep breath, as if trying to forcibly suppress the stifling chill within her chest. Finally, biting her moist lips, after a few seconds of rigid stalemate, she slowly released her clenched fist. The flush on her face gradually receded, and she resumed that ice-cold, keep-everyone-at-arm's-length demeanor. Only deep within her eyes lingered a trace of helpless, defeated resignation.

"...No next time." She coldly spat out four words, her voice sounding as though it had been fished out of a polar glacier. "Let go of me right now."

"Alright."

Hearing that he wouldn't be getting beaten up, Fuyuji beamed with joy and released the girl in his arms at the speed of light, raising both hands and retreating three steps.

This outwardly ice-cold girl was actually surprisingly easy to coax!

Horikita shot him an icy sidelong glare and said nothing further. She merely tidied her disheveled hair slightly, then used those beautiful fox-like eyes to fiercely gouge Fuyuji one last time.

Abruptly spinning around, her waist-length black hair slashing a sharp arc through the air, she swung her long, straight legs—clad in gym pants—and began running on her own. Her footsteps pounded rhythmically against the rubber track, as if intending to stomp a certain someone to death in the very next second.

Seeing this, Fuyuji hastily strode forward and jogged to catch up.

"Suzune, as the leader of Class D, show a little magnanimity. It was just a lap pillow I swindled out of you, wasn't it?"

"Just you wait. I will definitely repay this debt with interest someday."

"Alright, alright. If you can't beat me now, you can just keep a tally and go settle accounts with my son in the future." Fuyuji amiably offered his suggestion.

"Fuyuji-kun, are you underestimating me? I mean what I say!"

"Mm, mm. In the future, even if you go settle accounts with him every day, I doubt I'd be able to do much about it."

...

At the same time, on the other sports ground.

Dressed in his gym clothes and fully prepared, Horikita Manabu stood alone on the field. Gazing into the distance at the head of blond hair fluttering wildly in the wind on the opposite side of the field, he sank into a prolonged silence.

The morning light pinned his long, solitary shadow onto the empty track, making him appear lonely and desolate.

The most outstanding Student Council President in Advanced Nurturing High School history, Horikita Manabu—victim of a ruthless scam...

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50 [Power Stones] = Bonus Chapter!