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

- Part 2

In a separate room, me and Ryouta sat across from each other. He kept his hands clasped together in his lap, unable to look at me in the eye. It looked like he was still upset at me.

"Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to make you cry."

Ryouta shook his head. He lifted his head, finally looking at me in the eyes.

"No... it's okay, you don't have to apologise. It's my fault for reacting so viscerally like that..."

"That was the last thing I expected from you, to be honest."

"Ah... ha ha, I guess so, huh?"

Ryouta scratched his cheek, laughing awkwardly.

"You don't come across as the type to cry, is what I mean."

"Despite what my role in A Class may have you believe... I'm actually a really weak-hearted person. For as long as I can remember, I've always been scared of my surroundings and easily distressed by little things. I've only managed to make it this far in life thanks to what shishou taught me."

"Shishou?"

"Shishou... is the person who raised me. They were the one who encouraged me to be brave and face every challenge head on without holding back. I guess you could say they taught me everything I know? But sometimes... life becomes just too much to handle, and I end up going back to that place where I feel small, weak, and helpless. And before I know it... the loneliness catches up to me, and the tears have already fallen. It's really pathetic, isn't it?"

As Ryouta talked, I could feel an uncomfortable tingle run down my spine.

Within me, something stirred with jealousy.

I narrowed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

To think I was the exact same when I was little...

I sighed. The back of my head began pounding.

For some reason, it felt like I was looking at a mirror of myself.

I clenched my fists. The nails dug into my skin.

A mirror of what I could've become if it wasn't for him...

"...it sounds like you had a good shishou, Ryouta-san."

Ryouta's eyes widened, before shaking his head and frowning.

I'd never seen him make such a sad face before. It was almost enough to make me pity him.

Thinking back... the first place he visited today was the cemetery. It was a grim thought, but maybe his shishou is dead?

I raised an eyebrow to see if he'd continue talking, but it looks like he wasn't willing to divulge any further details.

I guess even he has his own secrets he wants to keep. I let bygones be bygones and continued with our conversation.

"Anyways... we don't have long until the trade window opens, so I'll make this quick. The reason why I betrayed you all and outed myself as the one behind it was so you'd trade me out of this group."

Ryouta furrowed his eyebrows.

"Your whole goal in this... was to leave our group and join another group?"

"Yeah. But not just any group... I want to be traded into Shimada-san's group."

"...eh?"

For a moment, Ryouta looked shocked, but just a second later, it looked like he had fully comprehended the situation.

"I get it now... you were working with Shimada-san to sabotage our group from the inside so his group can win. Now that the day of the trade window is here, you outed yourself in order to jump ship to the winning side. If you had intended to betray us from the very beginning, then that means you've been on his side from the moment this special exam was announced."