Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 3 [Alice Secret]

- Part 5

Tuesday, 16th June.

Today was the war between B Class and C Class. I would go to Suzune's class to check how she's doing, but after finding out about Oshita, I want to limit my contact with that class if possible.

Regardless, I was going to have to go meet her so I can hand over the exams me and Nora made. Before I headed to school, I went to Kouji's dorm to see if he was willing to talk.

"Kouji-san. It's me again, Takanori."

I knocked on his door, and after waiting for five minutes with no response, I decided to just leave it be. He's really become a shut-in... this is going to be troublesome.

If Kouji doesn't show up at all for the finals, our class is going to lose all of our Cl due to the 50 Cl penalty. Worst of all, it's going to give D Class another 30 Cl, widening the gap effectively by 80 Cl. We couldn't afford that when we were down so bad already.

I should probably change my method of how I should get Kouji to open up. Since I was stuck for ideas, I figured it was best to ask the man who's most familiar with dealing with shut-ins in our class.

Ayano Kanzaki.

During break time, I quietly followed Ayano as he left the class. Just as he was about to leave the special wing, he paused and looked at me over his shoulder.

"Takanori-san. You've been following me for quite awhile. Do you need anything?"

This was my first time having a proper one on one conversation with Ayano. The way he carried himself was unnerving, to say the least. It reminded me of how an A Class student would act.

"Just some advice."

"Sorry, unless it's about science, I don't think I'll be of much help."

Ayano began to walk away, trying to brush me off and evade answering.

"Actually, it's about Kouji-san."

"I'm not friends with him, so I won't be able to help you there."

Without looking back, Ayano continued to walk.

"Like Kita-san, Kouji-san has become a shut-in."

When I mentioned Kita's name, Ayano came to a halt.

"I know. Ever since my argument with Sakigamiya-san, he hasn't come to school at all."

"Yeah. It's getting worrying, so I tried to check up on him by going to his dorm, but every time I knocked on his door, he didn't respond."

"Seems par for the course."

"I was wondering if you had any advice on getting someone like him to open up. Since you're the only one in our class Kita-san talks to."

Ayano turned to look away from me.

"To be honest, in the case of Kouji-san, I'm not sure what to do either. I'm only able to talk to Hana-san because we were friends in middle school. If I was a stranger, she wouldn't open up for even me, much like how Kouji-san isn't opening up for you."

"I see. This is a difficult situation, then..."

"If there's one thing you can leverage, it's your status as a loner. An easy way to build trust is on shared experiences."

Ayano was thinking under the assumption we lived similar lives due to our personalities. However, the way we became loners was quite different.

While we were both products of our environment, Kouji chose to give up and become a loner on purpose, whereas I was forced into the role by the people around me ignoring my existence.

In that sense, I could never relate to Kouji. Ikesugi had better luck relating to him than I did.

"Maybe."

"Alternatively, you have to offer him something to build that trust. What does Kouji-san need? What does Kouji-san want? If you can somehow provide those things to him, he'll probably be more willing to talk."

As a man given up on life, Kouji should theoretically want or need nothing. However, there might be one thing he's interested in taking, if I put it on the table.

"Those are the only ideas I have."

"It's fine, you've done more than enough. Thanks for the help."

Ayano nodded, beginning to walk away before pausing again.

"One more thing."

"Hm?"

"If you really are going to try and help Kouji-san, commit to it. Getting someone to open up is a long and painful process that will show you the worst of humanity. If you run away half-heartedly... then you're just as bad as the people who hurt them."

Leaving me with that eery piece of advice, Ayano continued. It was the first time I heard real anger in his voice.

It was subtle, but it was there. It made me wonder what happened to Kita to make him feel the need to protect her.

One of these days, I'll have to ask.