COTE but I'm a Horikita SIMP?!

"What?"

Kei looked at Yuto with a quizzical expression, trying to feign ignorance.

Yuto sighed as he took a spoonful of his ice cream. "Funny thing about loyalty, Kei. It doesn't always get rewarded," Yuto said casually, stirring his ice cream.

Kei frowned. "What are you getting at?"

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering if you've ever felt like a pawn in someone else's game."

Kei's face contorted into a confused expression as she stood up. "I'm leaving."

Yuto shivered, experiencing a brain freeze. "You might not be as safe as you think, you know." 

Kei froze, asking without looking back, "What do you mean?"

Yuto moaned as he took another bite of his ice cream. "Recently, Class C found all the traitors in their class. I planted three, but the number found was six. With a bit of investigation, I learned those additional three traitors were Manabe and her group."

Kei didn't respond, standing still.

"Kei, weren't those girls pestering you during the Zodiac Exam? I found it strange that they simply stopped. That could only mean one thing, no?" Yuto smirked. "Ayanokoji di—"

"All right, I got it! Stop! What do you want?!" Kei banged the table as Yuto flinched, causing everyone in the shop to stare at her.

"Umm... why don't you sit down first? I'll ask while you eat your ice cream."

Kei reluctantly took her ice cream and began eating while Yuto asked, "I heard from Sudou that you threw water on Kushida and offered to wash her clothes. Pretty weird behaviour, isn't it? Tell me, why did you do that?"

Kei glared at Yuto with a helpless sigh. "Kiyotaka wanted me to plant a sheet in Kushida's uniform for the exam. That's it."

Yuto observed her for a moment. 'Hmm... makes sense. After my fight with him, he probably doesn't trust me to provide evidence with the video. Kushida wouldn't dare wash that uniform. Since ANHS only provides two coats, she'll wear the one Kei washed on the exam day. But that's not all...'

He looked at Kei with pity. "Kei, you do realize Ayanokoji is manipulating you, right?"

Kei frowned heavily. "What? What do you mean by that?"

Yuto pointed his spoon at Kei as he explained. "By planting the chit in Kushida's uniform, you've exposed yourself to Ryuen. What do you think Ryuen will do next?"

Kei scoffed. "Kiyotaka said he'd protect me! Un!" she huffed.

Yuto's eyes narrowed. "And what if he abandons you at the last moment?"

Kei slammed the desk. This time, she was furious. Forcing a laugh, she said, "You don't know what you're talking about. Kiyotaka would never abandon me."

Yuto raised an eyebrow. "You sure? People like him don't form attachments." His gaze drifted solemnly to his ice cream. "I'd know that better than anyone."

Kei clenched her fists under the table. "You're wrong. He said he'd protect me." She got up and began walking off with her handbag, leaving Yuto with an extra pair of panda pyjamas and bunny slippers.

"All right. Just contact me when he does abandon you," Yuto said as he continued eating his ice cream.

Suddenly, he froze, the spoon still in his mouth as cold sweat dripped down his side. He looked around and gulped. "She didn't pay for anything..."

***

"Tsk... I think she's a scam artist. That woman sucked me dry!" Yuto muttered as he walked along the pavement, frowning heavily. The surroundings were quiet, and the wind was cold. A strong breeze blew past, making Yuto shiver. "Maybe I shouldn't have eaten so much..."

He sighed, briefly looking at the sky, where a glowing, luminous ball illuminated the night. He had come to detest the moon; just looking at it soured his mood. Suddenly, he heard footsteps.

Turning to his side, Yuto's frown turned into a grimace. "What are the chances..." Walking toward him were Kushida, Ayanokoji, and... Horikita.

Yuto realized his mistake in standing still as he promptly made eye contact with Horikita's vermillion eyes. He instantly looked away, biting his lip.

"Ah! Kazuki-kun! What a coincidence! Everyone I hate is here! How come?" Kushida said in her usual cheery voice.

'Ugh, this bitch is here too,' Yuto groaned internally. "Ah, yes. What an unpleasant coincidence," Yuto said with a twitching smile.

"I wonder, is it really a coincidence, or did you follow us here like last time?" Kushida narrowed her eyes at Yuto, her tone dark.

"No, no. It's just a coincidence. Like I'd want to follow a fucking unpleasant bitch like you!" Yuto replied, mimicking her cheerful tone. Finally, he looked at the group.

"How mean! I was about to boast about how a beautiful man started stalking me!" Kushida said. Yuto Ignored her as he looked at Ayanokji, who had his hands in his pockets. It was tempting to foil Ayanokoji's plans right now...

"Kazuki-kun, did you finish teaching Kaurizawa-san?" Horikita asked. Yuto cupped his fists. 'Class affairs is the only thing she asks me...' 

"No. I was going to her dorm right now to give her some study material. I trust you thought her enough for her to pass." Yuto said, his voice becoming a little rougher. Horikita looked at Yuto for a second, before nodding, "Yes, I did. She should have any trouble passing 60." Then looked at him, as if she wanted to add something else.

Yuto looked at her, waiting for her would say more, seeing she wasn't he walked towards the dorms when...

"Ha! I finally got it!" Kushida laughed, her grin turning malicious. "So, it's not just about the fight, is it? You two must have gotten so caught up in your little 'game' that she stopped playing along. Did she tell you to your face that you're just a pawn? Or maybe you realized you're nothing more than a distraction to her goals—just like everyone else who gets too close."

Yuto froze in his tracks. "Oh, little Kazuki~! It's fine, I can be your friend~" Kushida said in her cheery voice, clasping her hands together. "Well~ You would've had to come to terms with the fact that this bitch was never going to fall for you. It's fine! I'll expel her for you~" she said, her voice bubbly, as if mocking his distress.

"At the end of the day, this bitch can only use people and throw them away~"

Yuto's jaw tightened, a vein bursting on his temple while Horikita clenched her fists. Yuto at that moment turned to Kushida with an intense glare, his eyes narrowing hollow purple. "Kushida, enjoy the last few of your days in this school," he said, his tone dark. "I'll make sure you see your parents soon."

Kushida flinched before forcing a strained laugh, "I'd like to see what you would do now!" She was confident in her partnership with Ryuen. Yuto lost all his support and was too dumb to do anything to Kushida with Ryuen on her side.

Though she couldn't make Yuto a social outcast due to his popularity, she could very well spread nasty rumours about him. Even have him expelled when the moment presented itself. She wasn't afraid.

Yuto turned around and walked off into the chilling cold. After all, it was going to be winter soon.

**

Kei sat in her bed, knees pulled tightly to her chest, staring at the faint shadows dancing on the wall. Yuto's words replayed in her mind like a broken record, each one cutting deeper than the last. She bit her lip, trying to dismiss them, trying to convince herself that they weren't true. "He doesn't know what he's talking about," she whispered to herself. "He can't know…"

The soft chime of the doorbell shattered her thoughts. Kei blinked and sat up.

"What am I even doing?" she muttered, running her fingers through her hair. "I should be resting. Tomorrow's too important to waste time thinking about…" She shook her head and shuffled to the door, too drained to feel anything but exhaustion.

She called out, her voice heavy with disinterest, "Who is it?"

The silence that followed was almost louder than the question. Just as she turned to walk away, a voice finally responded. Soft, familiar, achingly familiar.

"Kei, it's me."

Her features turned into a grimace. She didn't need to ask who it was—she knew. That voice was the only voice she had been thinking of for the past few hours.

She leaned against the door, crossing her arms in defiance. "Go away, Yuto. I don't want to talk to you right now."

The silence returned. For a moment, Kei thought he might've left. Relief flickered in her chest, only to be doused when his voice came again, gentler this time.

"I brought you revision notes… and your pyjamas."

Kei froze. The mention of the notes hit her like a punch to the gut. She needed them, especially after barely keeping herself together all week. But… pyjamas? Her brows furrowed.

Yuto's tone wasn't teasing like it usually was. It was… worrying, in fact.

Her resolve cracked. She sighed and reached for the handle. "Fine, fine. I'm opening it. But don't think I'm—"

The bitter cold rushed in the moment she opened the door. Kei instinctively shivered and hugged herself, looking up at the person standing there.

Her breath caught in her throat.

There he was, Yuto, but not like she'd ever seen him before. His usually sharp features were softened, not by the cold but by something far heavier. His azure eyes, always so full of cheerfulness was now brimmed with unshed tears. His lips trembled, not from the chill, but from the weight of whatever he was holding inside.

Kei's voice wavered. "Yuto… are you crying?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't.

Instead, a single tear slipped down his cheek, cutting through the frost clinging to his skin.

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[A/N: guys, my preboards/boards are about to start so I won't have time for a few months but but, I will still upload chapter when I can so dont keep your hopes too high, and GOSH did I have fun writing this chapter. mI might upload the next chapter in this next few hours if I do complete writing it.]