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

- Part 18

Since I had been passed out for such a long time, I first had to catch up with the situation to understand what I was dealing with.

While the school didn't explicitly tell us which groups were in or out, you could infer it based on which leaders you were allowed to call. Right now, there were eight leaders I could contact, meaning there were eight groups left in the challenge.

However, I suspect that once it becomes 7pm, two-thirds of the remaining groups will drop out through the give-up button. While I don't think it'd happen all at once, as the night goes on, more groups will slowly give up seeing the number of groups shrink.

Among these remaining groups was Mitsuba's group. When I called him to get an update on their situation, he told me that neither of their hiders have been found yet. Hopefully they'll be able to keep up this momentum until the very end.

The other thing I had to figure out was my own situation. I could recall punching Nakajima in the solar plexus, where Rinbayashi bruised him, but everything past that was a massive blur. I can't even be sure if what I saw at the end was real or not.

From what I know, along with the account Yukina told me, I was out for four hours total. At the very least, I can confirm that I spent the last thirty minutes with her, as that's how long she told me she spent with me in the hut.

That means... for the remaining three and a half hours, I was with him. I don't think it takes that long to bandage someone and fix their watch, let alone get a new shirt too. When I checked my physicals, it doesn't seem like my body was tampered with either.

So what was he doing to me for the rest of that time...?

In the first place, it doesn't make any sense why he's here. Was he silently watching us from afar? Or did he know something like that was going to happen?

There's no way he came all the way out here to save me. Knowing him, he's probably here to get a kick out of watching us flailing around the mountain while trying to escape the sick twisted game Nakajima set up for us.

But if what I saw earlier was true... it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that Akusa-sensei told him about it, which would prompt his arrival here. The question still remains the same though...

Why save me?

Even though I managed to suppress the memory that nearly shot through my brain, I was able to recall enough to know for sure what was about to happen.

It was him holding the gun.

It's clear he doesn't give a damn whether I live or die.

So then... what could be the reason?

As I thought about it, one answer surfaced to the top of my brain.

...it was to make mom happy.

My head started pounding.

Once again, these rotten memories were trying to claw their way back into my conscious.

...but I can't let them in.

If I do, I'll lose all my will to fight...

I can't have that happen here... not yet...

I can't break now... not when I've come so far... not when I've been given another chance to keep going...

Even if... it's by the person... I hate the most...

I can't deal with it...

Not that face...

Not the face mom made...