COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

The layered branches in the forest jostled and scraped against one another, producing a ceaseless rustling echo. Not far away, the ocean waves, driven by the wind, roared with a force far greater than before.

Mm... a little heavier than Morishita Ai. Though that might also be because she wasn't cooperating, requiring more effort than usual.

The curve of her waist pressed seamlessly against his back, calling to mind a willow branch swaying in the wind.

Her hip-length black hair swept back and forth across the back of his hand with every step, carrying a faint dampness from the dew caught in the forest, brushing against him like a feather.

The most tormenting part was the bend of her knees—his palms, supporting the crook of her legs, sank deep into flesh as smooth as congealed cream. The exquisite sensation seeped through the athletic fabric into his palms. Every jostle stirred a soft, pliant elasticity, as though gripping a piece of heated gold, warm and on the verge of spilling over.

Feeling the girl on his back, now quiet, draped over him like a broken marionette, Fuyuji Mikage sighed inwardly.

Horikita-san, have you really not considered it? A not-too-bright, aloof beauty is quite popular, you know. There'd definitely be plenty of people willing to become devotees of your physical form.

But... the girl on his back right now was probably in no mood to discuss this with him.

From just moments ago, he had felt a trace of dampness on his neck. Slowly, that dampness had spread across his back, and now he could clearly feel that a small circular patch had been soaked through.

"If you want to cry, just cry. I won't laugh at you."

"I'm not crying." A clear, cold voice sounded beside his ear, carrying a sense of detachment.

"It's really not that serious. At the very least, your brother has been fairly satisfied with your changes recently. Otherwise, he wouldn't have paid me so willingly."

"I said, I'm not crying!" The slightly weakened voice beside his ear rose another degree.

Ignoring Horikita Suzune's protest, Fuyuji shifted to another topic.

"Back at home, when your brother hit you, did you do the same thing—hide somewhere alone and cry? And after crying, you still didn't change, so you just kept getting hit."

Horikita fell silent.

"..."

Ah, this...

When he'd said before that these two frequently played out a domestic violence soap opera, Fuyuji had just been running his mouth. He'd never imagined that Horikita Manabu, with that perverted face of his, actually did frequently abuse his little sister at home.

"In fact..." Fuyuji stepped over the dry branches and fallen leaves underfoot and continued. "I was just thinking—should I follow your brother's example and just hit you once? Would you be a good girl and withdraw from the exam then?"

"Fuyuji-kun, I've studied karate and aikido." Horikita warned coldly.

"Don't worry. Not the rough kind where Horikita Manabu throws you to the ground."

A mere Horikita Suzune with her amateur skills—against an ordinary person, she might win easily. But against Fuyuji with his powers on and never off, it was nothing more than a thug's excitement fist.

"Mm..." After musing for a moment, Fuyuji watched the swaying branches in the distance. "Spanking, then. Disobedient children should be spanked."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Horikita gritted her teeth and subconsciously tightened her arms around Fuyuji's neck. Her icy voice was tinged with a note of humiliation and embarrassment.

"While you were unconscious, I thought it over. In the end, do as you please."

The casual words suddenly exploded beside Horikita's ear, making her whole body freeze. She subconsciously loosened her feverish arms.

"What do you mean?"

"A stubborn kid like you—even Horikita Manabu's methods couldn't straighten you out. That only proves his approach doesn't work. I don't have the energy or interest to devote myself specifically to handling your twisted personality. In the end, how you want to live is your own business. The world has never dictated which way of living is right or wrong."

"So?" Horikita asked quietly. For some reason, she suddenly felt a flicker of anticipation for Fuyuji's next answer.

But in the next second, the side of Fuyuji's face vanished from her field of vision, replaced by a swath of red. Then came a muffled thud.

"Oww~"

Accompanied by a mild pain, Horikita belatedly found herself sitting on the grass in a duck pose, having been dropped flat on her rear.

"What I mean is—" Fuyuji turned around and stared directly at Horikita, who sat on the grass, one hand rubbing her small, pert bottom. "Do whatever the hell you want, Horikita Suzune."

"If you want to stay on the deserted island, go ahead. I'll generously throw in two fever reducers—no more than that. If your brain cooks, you might even become a little cuter. That cold, icy personality of yours—I don't like it one bit."

"If you want to withdraw, that's also up to you. If you do, I won't have to feel guilty about that phone call that dragged you back here and caused your fever. As for your Class D, I'll strike without mercy. Given the quality of that bunch in your class, at most two or three people stayed behind on the island. I'll hunt them down one by one. The leader is among them."

"That's all. Horikita-san, make your choice!"

"..."

Horikita looked up at the boy gazing down at her. Her dry lips quivered a few times. The thing she had stubbornly clung to all this time had suddenly been laid wide open before her, and instead, it left her at a complete loss.

Before, she had stayed here for her brother's approval.

But would staying here truly earn her brother's approval? Or, if she didn't stay and couldn't get his approval, what would become of her after this?

Horikita didn't know the answer to that question.

"If you're choosing to stay, hurry up. I need to get back to the Class A camp for medicine. By the looks of this sky, it's going to rain soon." Fuyuji raised his head and squinted at the dark clouds already pressing in, urging her.

Horikita sat on the cool grass. The pain from the fall and the dizziness of the fever intertwined.

That line—"Do whatever the hell you want"—was still swirling in her head. Unexpectedly, it didn't provoke resistance. Instead, it brought a strange, almost debilitating sense of bewilderment.

Yeah. She had already messed up this exam. No matter what she did, no matter which option she chose, it seemed she could no longer earn her brother's approval.

Her goal had already been rendered utterly unattainable...

So which one should she choose?

"Horikita-san, make your choice!" Fuyuji's voice rang out again.

"No."

The voice was drier than she'd imagined. Horikita blurted it out subconsciously, then froze for a moment herself. Belatedly, she touched the corner of her own mouth.

Why?

After thinking for a moment, she shook her head slightly. Her gaze didn't focus on anything in particular, as though looking at the blades of grass beneath her feet, or as though looking straight through them.

"You were right earlier. No matter how you look at it, my withdrawal only brings benefits."

"Oh?" Fuyuji raised an eyebrow. "I also said earlier—if you leave, I will fill in your class leader's name. That way, your class won't get a single point."

"Then I also said this, Fuyuji-kun." Horikita slowly stood up, reverting to that cold beauty who kept everyone at arm's length. "I don't like owing people anything."

"Besides, the exam ends tomorrow. It's about to pour. There's no way you can find all the remaining Class D students in a single day in heavy rain."

"Ho~"

Fuyuji rubbed his chin and teased. "Now you suddenly get smart. Seems the earlier stupidity wasn't entirely due to the fever."

"That wasn't stupidity. I was just a little delirious at the time." Horikita retorted.

"Then let's go. Since you've made up your mind, I'll see you off the rest of the way."

Fuyuji was just about to lift his feet when he felt the hem of his jacket pinched by Horikita's hand.

"Is there something else?"

"I'll pay back the money I owe you. I'll keep cooking for you. The weekly phone calls won't stop either. So..."

"So?" This time, it was Fuyuji's turn to be puzzled.

Horikita extended her feverish, pale little hand. Her face flushed red, she spoke reluctantly in a small voice.

"Could you... not delete me as a friend?"

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