Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 2 [Zyriot War]

Chapter 8: Winners and Losers

However, Akihiro's victory was short lived.

That was because I had severely mismanaged one of the most basic aspects of this war.

The time.

It was now 5pm.

The siren wailed, signalling the end of the war.

Akihiro might have killed Zyriot, but we weren't able to reap the benefits from it at all.

And now, in just a moment's notice, we were about to learn who won and who lost.

A sinking feeling, similar to the nightmare I woke up to today, weighed down on my body.

From the tannoy, a woman's voice made a single announcement in both the mall and the school.

"All students, war time is over. The winner of this war is 1st Year D Class Zoa Green."

I slumped in my seat.

"Please cease all fighting immediately and evacuate the premises."

Taking off my visor, I chucked it on the table.

"I repeat. All students, war time is over. The winner of this war is 1st Year D Class Zoa Green. Please cease all fighting immediately and evacuate the premises."

My chest felt numb.

"Takanori-san, Mitsuba-san, you two can leave now."

Chabashira-sensei dismissed us.

Mitsuba got up, uncharacteristically silent, and left the war preparation room. I guess he wasn't in a talking mood either.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. Before leaving, I looked at Chabashira-sensei, who was switching off the equipment.

There was no change in expression on her indefinitely robotic face. Either she was used to losing, or she had no faith in us from the very beginning. I hoped it was the latter, because if it was the former, then I'd have given her false hope for nothing.

To try and get her on my side, I talked big about how I was different from past leaders of E Class and how I'd be able to climb our class up the ranks. In order to prove that, I told her I'd win the war against D Class, but in the end, I failed.

The only thing I managed to do was show Chabashira-sensei how pathetically weak and overconfident I was.

Kaido was right... I am stupid.

I was in way over my head doing this. I overestimated myself, and this is the price I'm paying for it. Letting my ego swell my head, I truly thought I was qualified to be Commander.

As I passed Chabashira-sensei to leave, I apologised for my incompetence.

"Sorry."

She glanced at me over my shoulder.

"Don't be."

Like a donut, a hole opened up in the centre of my chest.

Filling that hole was guilt. A horrible, heavy, sinking guilt.

As I left the war preparation room, a thought - or a memory, I couldn't quite tell - resurfaced.

"This is all your fault."

I couldn't disagree. In fact, I agreed with it wholeheartedly.

I had to shoulder the responsibility for my selfish actions.