Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 4 [Ryouta Rival]

- Part 3

Like yesterday, we gathered in the hall to hear the results of the challenge now that it was over. Between the four of us, we decided not to tell the rest of the group about the hair in the sauce in order to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Instead, we told Matsushita, Ikeda, and Machida that we were "anxiously optimistic" since the judges praised our food, but it wasn't a large reaction from them or anything.

"If you had to guess, who do you think is going to come in first place?" Matsushita said.

"...it's hard to say, but I think Mitsuba-san's group has a pretty good shot at stealing first place."

"I heard that as well from the others... apparently Nora-san is a really good cook, which I had no clue about. Did you know that?"

"Yeah. One time, when I went over to his place to visit, he cooked me a hamburg steak. It was really good..."

"I guess we aren't getting first from this challenge either after all."

"Well, there's always the possibility of getting second. If you take Nora-san's ability out of the equation, I'd say we're all pretty equal in terms of cooking ability."

"That doesn't reassure me."

This time, it was Hirose-sensei who was announcing the results. However, to add some suspense, he started announcing the group rankings from the bottom up.

"In ninth place, earning zero cumulative points, is Handa-san's group."

Once again, the group made up of leftovers came dead last. How dysfunctional were they? They had managed to consecutively lose both challenges twice in a row. Things weren't looking good for them, especially for the two C Class boys in that group.

"In eighth place, earning one cumulative point, is Koishi-san's group."

Considering their group was made up entirely of the tough guy type, it didn't surprise me that no one from Machida's former faction was good at cooking.

"In seventh place, earning two cumulative points, is Ishima-san's group."

At the very least, we had managed to clear the punishment of this challenge by not coming in the last three slots. I felt especially bad for Akihiro's group, since they also placed low last time.

"In sixth place, earning three cumulative points, is Ryouta-san's group."

Shock shot through the hall as everyone's eyes fell on us. Our group, stacked with all five class representatives, had dropped from second to sixth place in the span of a single challenge.

"What... how did this happen?!" Ikeda said.

Machida wasted no time glaring at Zyriot, who ignored his hard stare by looking away. Ryouta lowered his head in shame, his eyes unusually wide. Matsushita turned to me for answers, but I signalled that I'd explain later.

"In fifth place, earning four cumulative points, is Kirishima-san's group. In fourth place, earning five cumulative points, is Shigeru-san's group."

It looks like Ayano's and Masamoto's efforts paid off. They shared a high-five, managing to double their standing from last time.

"In third place, earning six cumulative points, is Yahagi-san's group."

This left two possible groups to be the victors. Mitsuba's group and Shimada's group. Hirose-sensei's next announcement would also inadvertently reveal who won this challenge.

The atmosphere became uncomfortably tense, and the hall fell deathly silent.

"In second place, earning seven cumulative points..."