Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 1.5 [Dr Yukimura]

SS Ryouta Hane: The Grim Reaper of A Class

When we all received our reports, we were definitely shocked at who had gotten the highest grades.

Shimada Kuroshi. A Class's problem child.

While in class, he'd usually score abysmally... somehow, in the midterms, he turned it around and got 100% on everything. Every last paper. Every last subject.

Even though I ranked 2nd in our year group, I was beaten out by him due to one or two marks I missed. I didn't understand how Shimada could change from being the worst student in A Class to being the best. Everyone expected him to drop out of A Class and go plague another one. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.

He looked so conceited and cocky when he boasted about his scores in front of the entire class. I hated his vanity, but even I had to admit it was impressive the way he turned things around. As leader, I should come up with a way to deal with Shimada's troublesome personality, but I haven't come up with a good answer yet. There was a vague idea I had, though.

Regardless, thanks to everyone's hard work on the midterms, we managed to pull ourselves back to 1,000 class points. That much I was thankful for. We were back at the starting line, and could only go up from here.

After class, on a rare day Shimada attended school, I went over to talk to him. He was about to leave and go home, so I needed to secure this chance.

"Shimada-san! Can I have a moment of your time?"

"Oh, Hane. What's up man, what can I do for you?"

Shimada stopped at the doorway, smirking. I could feel everyone's attention shift on us. It was somewhat pressuring, but at least I got Shimada to talk.

"You wanna hang out?"

"Sure. Where do you wanna go?"

That was easier than expected. At least he agreed to my proposal.

"I don't mind."

"Hmm. Let's go to the school roof."

The school roof? That wasn't the first place I'd think he'd suggest, but I wasn't against it. Despite his twisted personality, Shimada was being oddly chill today. In the past, he might've turned down the request, but this time, he was open to conversation. As I followed him up to the school roof, I made some small talk with him.

"Congratulations on scoring 100% on all subjects in the midterms. You must've studied really hard for that."

"Studying isn't hard, just boring. I get sleepy reading through page after page, you know?"

"It does feel like that sometimes, but the way you do things must work, since it had clear results."

"Heh, same with you Hane. You're stupid smart, ya know that?"

"It's not like I try to be on purpose. I work hard for what I want."

"Seems like such a chore, grinding for so long."

Shimada kicked open the door and plopped down on a bench on the roof. I sat down next to him as he pulled out a cola flavoured lollipop from his pocket and began sucking on it.

"True, I've sacrificed so many nights going over notes... it's all about memory these days."

"Exactly. I don't think you can call it learning if all you need to do is memorise things."

"Do you disagree with the current school system?"

"You mean the one at GEN Academy, or one at a regular old high school?"

"Why not both?"

"Hmm. There's not much difference between the two though, is there? You still have to do boring tests. I thought GEN Academy would fix the school system, but all it does is obey the current laws and add some shiny extra gimmicks on top. Nothing at this school stimulates me. It's just too easy. I can't get a kick out of it at all."

It sounded like Shimada was the type of person who enjoyed getting a rush of adrenaline and overcoming difficult obstacles. His life was boring if he could cruise through things so easily.

"So, is that why you fake your scores in class?"

"You noticed that? Damn."

"I noticed it after you scored 100% on the midterms. You've built an image of being a rebel within the class, making everyone hate you since you don't fit in, but this entire time you hid your true abilities so you could shock us when it turned out you were a genius all along. Is that right?"

"Partially. You're right when it comes to me faking the scores I get in class. I find it amusing to see these "elites" get so pissy over me scoring worse than a Drachma dropout. However, you're sorely mistaken about why I scored so high on the midterms."

Shimada crushed the candy in his mouth, making the stick fall to the ground. He stamped on it, smothering it under his foot like it was a cigarette.

"At this school, I'm here to win."

He stood up, putting his hands into his pockets and looked down at me. His wine coloured, glossy, hollow eyes stared straight through me.

"I'm at this school for one reason. I'm going to crush everyone, no matter their class or year, to show how strong I truly am. And if someone stronger than me shows up, then I'll finally be able to break free from this mundane cycle of life. If you can make this dull world fun for me, Hane, then you would've achieved the impossible."

I slowly understood what type of man Shimada was. With abilities like his, he wanted to show off how much better he was to everyone else, and GEN Academy was the perfect playground for him to do so. However, this manipulative, toying personality of Shimada's meant he wasn't going to easily find someone, an adversary, that was capable to standing toe to toe with him and make it difficult for him to win. He found nothing in this world challenging, which was the root cause of his boredom.

Even though he tried to handicap himself, it didn't work. He still thoroughly defeated everyone in the midterms. Except, for me. I was the only person that came close to overtaking Shimada, and he recognises that. His explanation was also a threat. A challenge for me to become the adversary that would make his school life exhilarating. I could see it in his normally dead and empty eyes, a pale fire had been ignited.

"Is this a challenge, then?"

"Heh. I was planning on crushing everyone in this school anyways, starting from the bottom and working my way up. If you wanna get in my way, go ahead. Maybe then I'll find some joy in this boring life."

With those words, Shimada walked away. I watched as he grew more distant with each step; the clicking of his boots echoing in the silent air.

"Shimada-san. If I beat you, will you cooperate with A Class?"

He looked over his shoulder and smirked.

"Eh. Sure. If you have the balls to come for me, and actually win, I guess I deserve it. Though, don't be surprised if I beat you down to E Class, Hane."

"I wouldn't ever let that happen to me. On the finals, we'll have our first battle there."

"You're on. Come at me with all your strength then."

Unlike Shimada, I wasn't naturally blessed with amazing intelligence. I was a normal person who worked extraordinarily hard. I needed to pour everything into my first battle against the Grim Reaper.

However, Shimada isn't even the biggest threat at this school. There were students with even more power than him lurking in the shadows, refusing to come out. These mysterious students could even take down the entire school system if they wished. I could tell that much.

In this school full of gods and prodigies, I'm nothing but an average and plain person who somehow ended up in A Class. With people like Shimada in my class, I need to continue working hard to not fall behind. I can stand up to the greatest students too...

That's what I'm here to prove at this school. That even a mere human can surpass God.