Wew, here we go! Had this one lined up and decided I'd just put it up so I stop thinking about it during class (lol). Glad to see there was some response to the story! I'll be continuing it with a little more swing in my step then, as this is probably going to be my main project.

Alright, been a while since I was excited for this part so… REVIEW REPLY TIME, GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

BrokenLifeCycle: Mmm, yes. I believe I should have done a better job at explaining that something is off about how fast the AC was replaced. If you ask me, the AC would definitely be a lot better and harder to replace, but hopefully with my ninja edits and this chapter, it's a little more evident that something is working behind the scenes with the IS uprising. Thanks for reading!

Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: It's gooood to be back. Also while it's not necessary to know too much about the AC series, you probably could find enough on YouTube to understand what's going on. Also the AC isn't necessarily inferior (damn I really need to work on making it seem like the IS has some hidden backers). Also I was never really too much for originality, I just want to build a world and play around in my sandbox XD Thanks for reviewing!

Argorok: Thanks! I hope I can keep it interesting today.

Courier47: Hehe, yeah it's uh, probably not my usual work. I hope that today's chapter keeps that trend alive and that the story keeps going on strong. Thanks for stopping by!

Bleeegh, I really wish I had done a better job in describing that the IS' overtaking of the AC wasn't exactly "natural", as in, it should feel off and that feeling should be somewhat evident to the reader. If I still fail to do that by the end of this chapter, let me know.

Without further ado, here we go!

Chapter 2: Insertion Point

I sit calmly in the faculty office, reading a copy of the latest Famitsu issue as part of my "blending in" while waiting. I chose to also take in some grey-red clip-on earphones that I'm using to play music from my cellphone. My hair isn't as well combed as it usually is, and I've left the top two buttons of my shirt unbuttoned while also not bothering to button the school's jacket.

This uniform is quite gaudy, though. And the fabric is a little stiff. At least we're not mandated to wear a certain type of shoes, but in order to blend in I decided to wear black sneakers.

It seems pretty busy here this morning, as it's the first day of class. Between all three of the copiers, they've managed to jam five times in the last hour.

"Kazuma-kun?"

I look up and immediately take out my clip-ons. I stand-up straight and push down the urge to give a salute to the blue-black-ish-haired woman standing in front of me. It might just be the lighting in the room.

She's dressed in a grey pantsuit, a small red ribbon around her neck. Her hair is cut short, combed straight and coming down to just above the bottom of her collar. In her left hand is a tablet in a protective case. She brings it up and scrolls through it.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Awaiting your classroom assignment, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She puts the tablet down so I can look at her face. "I am your teacher, Yumemi Hakuno."

"Pleased to meet you, Yumemi-sensei." I say, offering a hand, which she takes with her free hand. "Operator Kazuma Weiss reporting for class."

"Good to have on board. Your record is very impressive. I hope you will continue to be as productive as you were at your previous post."

"I will do my best, ma—Yumemi-sensei."

She nods. "Please follow me, I will lead you to your classroom."

I put away my magazine into the suitcase-bag of sorts I was given for class, pick up the bag, and then nod before giving a bow. "Thank you very much, Yumemi-sensei."

The two of us begin walking, out of the faculty office and through the hallways. I definitely stir up plenty of whispers, as I doubt the entire academy was alerted to me. Of course, there is also the other boy.

Orimura Ichika. The single boy who can pilot the Infinite Stratos for unknown reasons. He's gotten a lot more attention and more of the girls are talking about him, it's just that I happen to pass by that grabs their attention.

"You were already given the basics, correct?"

"Yes, Yumemi-sensei." I say evenly. "I have also just received my room assignment this morning."

"You were also informed of any special cases?"

"Yes, I am well-informed of what facilities I am not allowed to enter and of the private changing rooms I am to utilize in order to preserve the public morality, Yumemi-sensei."

She gives a snort as we turn at a corner. "Heh, seems they were spot on. You shouldn't be a problem, then."

"I'll do my best not to be a nuisance."

She stops us in front of Class 1-D. "Wait here. Preferably out of sight."

I move over to where you can't see me from where I estimate the seats to be.

With that, she opens the door, calmly opening it before throwing the rest of the door to the side, causing a clatter. "Sit down, class is about to begin." Ten seconds go by. "No—"

She's interrupted by loud cries coming from what is probably Class 1-A, which I hear that Orimura Chifuyu, the legend herself, is teaching. I peek in, keeping out of sight, finding my teacher sighing.

"—NOW, I have an announcement. We will have a special student joining us. They have not joined this class right away due to special circumstances. Please, come in and introduce yourself."

I walk into the room, stepping up onto the small podium platform, going to the center. Miss Yumemi is standing at her desk which is against the wall on the far side of the room. I look into the windows, seeing the reflections in them, scanning the crowd. Roughly twenty three students. A familiar face, hm? Seems Mei's in my classroom.

I take one of the markers and begin writing my name horizontally. Kazuma is written with the characters 'kazu' meaning "harmony, peace, soften" and the other 'ma' meaning "real, true". I write 'Weiss' in katakana. After that, I set the chalk down and turn around on my heels.

"My name is Kazuma Weiss. I am here as a test student for the Infinite Stratos Academy's plan to introduce a curriculum strictly for raising Operators. I cannot pilot an Infinite Stratos unlike Orimura Ichika, so I will clarify that right away. I look forward to working with all of you."

With that, I give a deep bow. I am quite familiar with Japanese customs, I suppose, due to infiltrations and that before my kidnapping, I was born in Japan.

"Hmm… as for your seat, it seems there's a spot behind Cayden-san. Cayden, raise your han—"

"Here, here!" she says, raising her hand and waving it. "It looks like you kept your promise, Kazuma."

"Oh?" Miss Yumemi asks, getting up on the podium as I leave it.

"I served as Cayden's Operator for some time. My promise, as I made back when I first became her Operator, was to ensure she would not be left alone." I say evenly, sitting down. "For a pilot is never alone on the battlefield, so long as their Operator is there to back them up. Of course, I am no longer serving as an AC Operator, such duties would be conflicting with schooling."

"Cayden-san, you piloted an AC?!"

"Which one were you, which one were you?!" Ah, your first mistake was assuming she piloted a NEXT, but I suppose that's a reasonable assumption.

"What made you want to come here then?!"

"Quiet down, there will be time for this later!"

I give a small smile, as my new teacher reminds me of my drill instructor.

"Now that he has been introduced, let's begin class introductions. There is a lot to cover today, as we still also must go over the syllabus for this class. I am sure you are all well-informed of the curriculum, but we will be covering things that were not specified. We'll start at Seat One—" she points at the chair at the front of the room, on my left side. "—and go down by row, then shift a column over. You will have plenty of time to interact during breaks."

Yes, ma'am.

Introductions go by quickly. A few interesting names come up, but those might just be coincidence.

"Hi, hi! I'm Cayden Mei~" Mei says in a very excited tone, putting her hands together and easily garnering popularity with her charismatic smile when it's her time for introductions. Hmph, so is that the personality you're going with? I suppose you're not really off the mark, you are like that when it's not battle time.

The rest of introductions go quickly.

"There we go. Now, I'll distribute the syllabus and we'll go over it."

It's not very difficult. A heavy focus on IS classes. Combat practical exercise. Piloting. Some general education classes on the side. It seems we'll be dropping a focus on 'social studies' and condensing much of the sciences in order to have enough time.

"Kazuma-kun, you will have something else to do during practical exercises. Don't worry about it for now."

"Yes, ma'am."

"It's Yumemi-sensei."

"Yes, Yumemi-sensei!" I say, forcing some enthusiasm.

"Now then, let's begin the first lesson. We will be covering modern history up until today, so be ready."

Yumemi fires information at us rapid pace, but with enough time that we can quickly write down notes. We're very much ahead of schedule though, but no one seems to be questioning anything.

At least, up until we hit the "Beginning of the IS Era" section.

"Sensei?"

I turn my gaze over to the source of the voice. It's a student with dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, dressed in the standard IS Academy uniform. Hair roughly down to her shoulders.

"Yes…" Tsuketa then looks at the seating chart. "…Reinhardt-san?"

"The textbook neglects to mention what happened after the attempt to capture White Knight by what is cited as 'the world's response forces'. There's plenty of conflicting reports on what exactly it was, but there's plenty of evidence including several eyewitness reports that say there was an additional combatant that didn't belong to any nation."

Another student, black hair, brown eyes, raises her hand. "Sensei, we don't need to talk about this. The rumor known as Sea Glass is just that. Those men probably just made it up when they couldn't take down the Infinite Stratos."

"So you mean to say that there was suddenly a multi-national effort by four countries who contributed only a small expeditionary force, a far cry from the touted 'response force' when they fought an enemy that was unknown to all sides at the time?" The original girl snorts, running a hand through her hair which now that I look closer, has several braids with red bands tying them up. "Sensei, I just wanted to ask if you knew anything about Sea Glass and its claims."

Hm. She's dangerous. And has to have someone giving her insider info. That information… hmmm, I wonder what her sources are. But it looks like that there are those even here that smell something off about the entire response to the Sea Glass scenario.

"Other than what you've stated here along with the fact that it is rather controversial, not much." Our teacher replies. "Cayden-san, you were an Armored Core pilot. Do you know anything?"

"Ahaha, Kazuma, you'd know about that, right?"

I nod as all eyes turn on me. "Cayden was focused more on combat. I handled information. Sea Glass is not a topic many Armored Core pilots like to talk about, which greatly inhibits any further investigation into it. The fact the pilot was written off as a rumor as well didn't help—although really, it's far more stressing that a NEXT was able to deploy without being detected right out."

This entire situation is really stupid, though. Because of the fact Sea Glass was an undocumented pilot, it was hard to attribute. The entire Sea Glass thing was kept under wraps, too, mainly because no one wanted to talk about the dear God that thing outpaced White Knight and no one knew who it belonged to. Its timing was horrible, the investigation results came too late. The media, swooning over the IS, tried to write their narrative that Sea Glass was a rumor. Disgusting.

"Ahem, back on point. The reports that come in are conflicted, yes, but mainly deal with the fact the timing was just off. The entire AC investigation was kept under wraps because no one wanted to cause a panic. A panic that you know, this unmarked, unknown NEXT popped up in the middle of the ocean out nowhere, without any planes detected dropping it off, apparently shot past the ships, and fought White Knight. Hell some of the reports I read from expeditionary fleet said they more scared of Sea Glass because that thing was so insanely fast which is why it was the main target. And unlike the IS, who we know is behind all of it, to this day no one knows who is behind Sea Glass. Are there any further questions?"

The girl known as Reinhardt raises her hand.

"Kazuma-san, what are your sources?"

"I have my ears in the community and I was privy to some people. It also comes with studying AC law. Trust me, when it first got out, that entire Sea Glass incident a mess. Accusations thrown around everywhere. Also, I understand the time difference is off. Three, four years ago? I'd have to have been eleven or so? I was in training and my mentor kept me up to date on it. Learn fast or die fast, after all."

"We're straying a bit off topic. Kazuma-san, Reinhardt-san, the two you can continue discussion later, correct? We have yet to finish the lesson."

"Yes, Yumemi-sensei." We chime together.

She's a dangerous girl, definitely. I'm sure Mei is thinking the same thing.

Ha… dammit. It's still my fault, though. If I had won, I doubt there'd have been any doubt of Sea Glass' existence. But the investigation got bogged down, the fact it was kept under wraps… it's like someone was pulling the strings from behind to make sure the IS began its rise no matter how fast Hidden Hand worked.

Class goes on fairly well, although no other incidents pop up like that. Our first break comes up, with plenty of girls swarming Mei and quickly asking about why she calls me "Kazuma" (because you know, apparently teenage girls here never had a lot of interaction with boys in their life and Mei of course, has to explain the lack of honorific). There, I'm pretty sure my story as her Operator is revealed, which seems to put off a few girls.

"So treat him well, okay? He's my lifeblood. The only reason I'm alive is Wei—er, um, Kazuma."

Damn you, Mei, that slip up was intentional and you know it.

"Kazuma-san."

I nearly flinch as Reinhardt's voice knocks my attention away from Mei.

"Reinhardt-san. I see you're very well informed about the Sea Glass incident."

"My father served on one of the ships that engaged White Knight. He watched whatever that thing was fight it. He told me that whatever it was, no matter how bulky and huge it was, it had a beauty like no other."

"He did, huh… what ship was he on?"

"I probably shouldn't say for now. Oh, ah, where are my manners? While I gave my introduction, I'll say my name again. Ur—er, Reinhardt Ursula. It's a pleasure to meet you."

I scan her figure and then her desk without turning my head while shaking her given hand with a decently strong handshake, looking for a marker. Nothing.

"Well met, Reinhardt-san. Back on topic, could I know the nation he served?"

"Ah, well, the Royal Canadian Navy."

"I see. Sorry, I just like to know things like that. I was just wondering if I had read his report when I was still being mentored."

"Is there a chance I could talk with your mentor?"

"He passed away a while back. Sorry."

"N-no, it's fine. I'm sorry about that. Losing your mentor must've been rough. I've heard that being involved with the AC at all is dangerous business. My brother once tried to be an AC pilot, but he just wasn't good enough. Anyways, I thought I would invite you to lunch during the break later. There's a lot to discuss and I doubt a break period is enough to talk."

I would like to note that this invitation immediately caused quite a lot of distress in some of the other girls, such as: "EEEGH?!", "HAWAWAWA!", "R-REINHARDT-SAN'S SO SNEAKY!", and of course, the (goddammit Mei) classic…

"YOU CHEATING BASTARD!"

"Put a sock in it Cayden, and watch your mouth!" I yell back to Mei, who explodes in a fit of laughter.

"Couldn't help it, Ka~zu~ma ~ Besides, someone has to keep you in check."

"You don't get to make that statement when it was usually you in hot water for that sort of thing."

With a deep sigh, I turn back to Reinhardt. "That sounds fine to me. I suppose that it would be good to have an outsider's perspective on the whole situation. You are quite well educated on the matter, obviously."

She nods. "Thank you. If you'll excuse me."

With that, she leaves. Haaa… a dangerous girl. I've got to inform MT about her, need to throw her off my trail. If it ever got out I was Sea Glass, it'd be a horrible mess.

I find myself glancing at my watch constantly during the next lesson, my attention drifting. Being made to sit in a desk and pay attention to a lecture isn't my style. It's just not working out. But I have to persist, even if I'd rather be practicing with the latest parts and being sent on a mission and all of that…wow.

Ha… I've been writing down a parts list again. There really were a lot of rumored parts I was looking forward to using on Orbital Static in the next few weeks and of course, I was writing the current equipment set-up so I could think about the weight distribution. Ohoho, I was hoping the rumors of the Interior Union's HLC07-SIRIUS, because God I love those cannons on Orbital Static—oh, and there's the bell. I should have been taking notes.

"Kazuma, I'll be heading to the bathroom." Mei says, getting up from her seat.

"Understood." I say, slightly enjoying that we can still have some old habits without looking too odd. And with that, she leaves the roo—

"Ooh, an Interior Union rifle. Langley vs Germany. GA's bazooka, Kusoma vs United States."

"Two very famous cases involving those companies and parts. Both of those cases involve an Armored Core pilot who was unregistered and using a stolen one for their own ends. Rarely does something like that happen, or at least in developed countries. You' know your history." I say to the head of black hair with some pink highlights in it now looking over my paper.

"I keep my ears open. I see you've heard the rumors too, about Interior Union's Sirius cannons."

I look to my right look at the girl talking to me. She's leaning comfortably in her chair, posture clearly slouching. Her school jacket is opened up and the shirt underneath is only half-buttoned, exposing the fact that one, she's wearing only a tank-top without a bra underneath and two, that she's probably a B-C cup. She looks at me with a rather smug look in her blood red eyes.

"So, you think it's real?"

"Well first, I didn't think anyone with that much interest in IS parts'd be here."

"Mechanics and tech ran in the family before the IS was a thing. It's only 'cause it's the latest system I'm even here, otherwise I'd probably just be taking some classes at the community college." She says with an airy tone. "But what's your thoughts on the cannons?"

"I'm thinking they're just dumping what they have now. Might as well see if anyone buys them, they'll be able to keep a contract that way. But then again they'd be better off selling the design off and just trying to improve on it with another company for IS parts."

"The power supply'd be rough though, wouldn't it?"

"Downsize it, maybe. The AC has far stronger shields compared to an IS. Decrease its consumption and you'd still have a decent weapon for an IS."

"Heeeh, depends on how it's built though. Downsizing it might be hard. I'm guessing Cayden-san ran a pretty hefty AC?"

"Can't tell you that."

"Hehehe, I guess not."

"How rude of me." I turn around and put a hand forward. "You are…"

"Bl—oh right, Japanese, have to put last name first. Lisarene Blanc. Well met, Kazuma Weiss. A bit of an odd name combination, I have to say."

"Mom wanted to give me the name Weiss, but took my father's name."

"German descent?"

"Yeah, though I've got pretty much all of my father's genes in me."

"So what other parts have you heard about?"

"I hear BFF's releasing the 071ANNR in a month as well. It's a shame too, most of these companies are moving into IS tech, but I have a feeling that many of them are going to go out of business considering that IS units just aren't as versatile as an AC in armaments. I think their best move would be to partner with Dunoa Incorporated. The advanced tech could bridge the gap while the main company plays catchup to reach third generation units. Unfortunately, Interior Union is going to have it rough, as a Stratos can't match the energy output of an AC."

"It's a smaller system, after all."

"I guess, but that's still something against it. The AC still has its uses. I doubt even an IS could assault an Arms Fort. Even an AC will have trouble against all those weapons which a Quickboost is really your only hope. When an IS can reach nine-hundred kilometers per hour, maybe we'll see something like that."

"Heh, that is true. I doubt even White Knight could beat an Arms Fort. You two ever go up against one?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Aww, you're no fun."

"Hmph. Pester me all you want, I'm not giving in." I say, crossing my arms as Mei comes back in.

"Reporting back in, Kazuma."

"Welcome back, Cayden."

"Heeeeh, you two really are partners, eh?" Lisarene says as she prepares her materials for the next class. "Hey, if you two ever want to talk about parts or anything, just gimme a tap."

I only give a small snort, readying for the next class. So many difficult women here, it looks like I'll be right at home even without being on the base, it seems.

The next class begins with a blitz through the legal section. This one is much more bring because I'm familiar with more of this, having gone through a crash course and also the fact most of this really lines up with the Armored Core regulations. The stupidest thing though, is the Alaska Treaty, which prevents any IS units being used in war.

Yes, I'm not even kidding. The machine that is putting the AC out of business, the machine that was originally supposed to be a space-faring suit apparently, the machine that is now being loaded up with bunches and bunches of weapons, will never be used for war. I'm not even being sarcastic. The potential fallout for when someone finally breaks it is just ridiculous.

"Kazuma-san, do you have something to add or ask?"

Ah, it must be showing.

"I do not quite understand completely why the Alaska Treaty came to be the way that it is. Is it to prevent the usage of the Infinite Stratos in warfare, correct? Why then, did we continue development with weaponry in mind when its original purpose was space exploration?"

"Ah, I see. Most of the lawmakers attributed it to the unmarked unit, White Knight. Knowing the unit's potential, they wanted to try to enforce laws to prevent using it in armed military combat unlike the AC."

"Hmm. But due to the limited number cores, it would be difficult to reach the levels of production of NEXTs, even Normals."

"The numbers of cores is prompt to change, though. While no one else can make a core other than the creator of the IS, that might change in the future. That legislation then, will be the safeguard."

"Hm, I understand now. Thank you, Yumemi-sensei. I suppose that after Sea Glass a lot of regulations came into place, after all…"

"If you wish to talk further about it, there is another teacher who wrote her dissertation on the legislation. I'm sure she'd be willing to entertain a discussion, but for now we should finish class."

…so this is school, huh?

Another break swings around. I stand up, go in front of Cayden's desk, and stand up straight. "Cayden, I'm heading over to introduce myself to the other male student. I believe it would be good to open up communications."

"Alright, Kazuma. Take care."

I nod, turn on my heels, and walk out the door.

Armored Hearts

"Hey, hey, Cayden-san!"

Mei stretched, turning around to face the stranger calling for her. It was some redhaired girl who looked a little bit annoyed.

"Eh, ahhhh, oh, right. Notten-san, right? What did you want?"

"How'd you get Kazuma to be so subservient to you like that?"

"Hm?" she tilted her head. "He's not subservient to me? Or did you want to learn how to make say, your brother or boyfriend completely devoted to you?"

Mei gave a killer smile as she stood up, turning around to face the girl whose posture immediately began to shrink.

"Let me get one thing straight. Kazuma and I are equals. No, not even that. Without him, I am nothing."

"But he's just an Operator, he doesn't—"

"Notten-san, tell me something."

"E-eh?"

"What do you think a pilot has to keep track of on the battlefield?" she asked, trying not to let too smug of a look pass on her face.

"Um… ammo count, shields, the enemies and where they are, what time it is…"

"—new enemies and when they arrive. Mission parameters changing. Sudden changes in environment if you were fighting in an urban location or somewhere an earthquake might happen. Environmental interference. Allies incoming. Radio transmissions both from your allies and those intercepted from the enemy. Vital system information. I'll stop there."

Every word, with how sharply Mei had fired them, had made the girl feel as if she were being pounded into the ground with a hammer, every syllable smacking her down one more time.

"A pilot's duty is to eliminate the opponent completely and utterly. I cannot keep track of all of that all at once. Because my Operator is there, telling me what I need to know, being the intermediate, I can focus entirely on the high speed combat in front of me.

"He's like that because we respect each other. I need him there with me. He's free to go to any pilot he's hired for, but he always picks me because of that. I don't trash talk him, I don't try to make him bend to my will, when we're off the field. Because that's not what partners do. I got his back and he's got mine."

"U-um…"

"So, if I get word I hear you trying to talk down Kazuma just because he's a guy, Notten-san, I'll be glad to champion for him, if of course, he doesn't beat you down himself."

Mei smiled as she sat down again, proud of having recalled the words Weiss had shouted at another person in their earlier years about why he treated his Operator so lavishly.

"Without my Operator, I am nothing! I'm only good for pulling the trigger and being locked into that iron coffin, but do you know someone stronger than that? It's the person behind them, able to withstand watching this person they've seen go into combat over and over again, keeping relaxed as they potentially watch the last sortie, still assisting them to the bitter end!"

Armored Hearts

"Pardon the intrusion." I say as I open the door to the classroom marked 1-A. It slides open rather easily. Now, whe—

"A-A-ANOTHER G-GUY?!"

"SO IT WAS TRUE!"

"AAAAH I'M NOT READY, DON'T LET HIM SEE ME!"

"H-HE'S SO SUAVE LOOKING!"

Hmph. I'm not like that at all. Besides, Mei told me that I look too rigid with how I keep myself composed all the time.

"Excuse me, but is Orimura Ichika here?"

"R-right here!"

I see him clearly under duress, the source of said duress appearing to be a blonde, noble-esque girl standing above him. I simply decide to ignore her and march over to his desk, facing him and standing up straight.

"Excuse my intrusion. Good morning, Orimura Ichika, correct?" He nods. I extend a hand. "My name is Kazuma Weiss. I'm the other boy attending IS Academy, but I'm training to become an Operator rather than a pilot like you. Seeing you are the other male student, I thought I'd come and introduce myself."

Be professional, after all. Normally I'd be a little more sore about this sort of thing, but… well, I'm supposed to be selling the image of being rehabilitated.

He takes my hand and we shake. His handshake is a little light for my tastes. "Um… nice to meet you too, Kazuma-san."

"W-why you—!"

I turn to the blonde, who has quite a sour expression on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry for getting in your way. But perhaps, instead of just yelling 'why you', you could have just said 'excuse me'. Oh, Orimura-san, if you would ever like to talk, I am over in Class 1-D. Don't be a stranger."

With that, I walk over to the door.

"Y-you!" the blonde shouts again.

"Me?"

"Yes, you! Just who do you think you are, coming in and barging in like that?! You men need to wait your turn, just because you're some rare type of creature here and you're not even a pil—"

I've already tuned her out.

One of these 'IS Woman Superiority' types. I take it?

I close my eyes for a half second longer than blinking before falling back on those old times. While I can mostly hide my sort of 'killing intent', there are times where I can use it for intimidation. Well, killing intent is a bad way of putting it. Let's just say that I know how to intimidate.

I can feel the changes right away. My posture is a little different. My eyes narrow a little more. I seem a bit taller.

A few girls give breathless gasps and the blonde girl freezes in her tracks.

"I believe I am Kazuma Weiss, ex-AC Operator. Is there a problem? Have I possibly wronged you in the past, Miss Girl-I-Just-Met?"

"N-no."

I relax my guard and switch back to my normal ways. "I see. Well, it's quite rude to just shout at people like that. I'm sorry if I barged in, perhaps I should have been a little more cautious but it seems that your query with Orimura-san was able to wait. Thank you, and goodbye."

When I reach the classroom, Mei has a too-wide-for-my-own-good smile on her face. As I walk past her—

"You know, Kazuma, making people think you're a devil isn't a good thing."

"Sorry, but sometimes I like to be scary towards certain people."

"It's fine, just don't do that too often, m'kay?"

"Also, sorry. I forgot to report back as soon as I entered."

"It's fine, you returned back. The important thing is you came back home, right?"

"Of course."

I take my seat and prepare for the rest of the day. More lessons, again with the legal terms. After all, there's quite a lot to cover in depths regarding the Infinite Stratos. And while you can trust the students to read the books, it is best to have gone over it in the classroom so there is no excuse.

And then, it was lunch time.

Chrchk!

I look left. The girl named Reinhardt stands up. At the same time, Mei does the same.

…I've been dragged into watching enough movies by various people on base to know where this is going.

"Kaaaazuma, let's eat."

"Sorry Cayden, I made an appointment earlier."

"Muuuuu…"

"Though, this is important to you, too. If you'd like to come along, I'm sure you'll learn something."

"That's more of something you look into, right? Just tell me who I go after."

"Hmph. So simple, sometimes."

Mei knew beforehand I was coming (or so MT told me), so we were really able to settle into our predecided roles Acting, blending it, it's all second nature after having been an operative for so long.

With that, Reinhardt and I go out to lunch together, chatting the whole way about some details. I don't offer anything too concrete, but try to figure out how much she knows. Most of her information has come from her father and internet boards.

"What about you? Do you have any idea who Sea Glass could be?"

"That's dangerous talk, to be so straightforward. Calling out someone would… not pretty. I'd need a lot of concrete evidence. Which is the even scarier part of Sea Glass. An unknown, unmarked, unregulated NEXT, not just a Normal, is out there with enough resources and backing to sortie, and no one has any clue who they are."

"Ah…"

"I must compliment your information gathering, though. Not a lot of those outside the community could get this far. Although I must say… that one potential theory about some organization backing up Sea Glass is interesting, but um, is still rather farfetched. Well, proving-wise, anyways. There's no doubt in my head there are plenty of under the table deals around the world, but proving some organization was directly responsible, as in, they house this AC in general, is difficult to prove."

"Finding anything to back it up is tricky. They'd of course, be very careful to cover up their tracks."

"Indeed."

Like I said, a very dangerous girl.

Before we can continue, our attention is diverted by the loud yelling from across the room. It seems there's some fuss regarding Orimura and two girls, as he's quickly talking to the two of them.

"Oh, I suppose you won't be in the running for any piloting matches."

"Yes… although, I plan to do my part by acting as the standing Operator for our representative. What's with the commotion, anyways?"

"Um… Kazuma-san, behind you."

I look behind me and find a girl from the booth behind us. Brunette, long hair put into a side-tail, mustard yellow eyes.

"…Hello. Did you need something?"

"If you didn't have your ears in the rumor mill, as I thought you might, Operator-san, Orimura Ichika is apparently going to duel Britain's representative, Cecilia Alcott… erm, um, Alcott Cecilia… How do you do this for English names…"

"I get the gist of the situation. Thank you… Miss…"

"Uhhhh, Meghan. Meghan Stoneson. Or is it Stoneson Meghan? Sorry, I'm not too sure about that yet, er, well at least, since you seem like you come from the States or something like that so calling me Meghan is just fine. I'm in your class, actually."

"It's not a problem. Thank you then, and well met. I suppose that I'll have to keep up with the school's gossip, too… as unsavory as that seems. And if you're keeping up, are you too, going to be an Operator?"

"Mmm, I was planning on it, but I'm not quite sure if I want to take that path or be a pilot."

"That should be something you try to decide before you have specialized classes… ah! Is Alcott blonde, looks almost like a noble girl..."

"Yes, that would be her…"

"…Hmm." I put a hand on my chin and think. Well then.

"Is something wrong, Kazuma-san?" Reinhardt asks. "You look deep in thought."

"It seems I should offer my services to Orimura. I may have accidentally contributed to this situation and of course, I should see if I can at least try to help him."

"You look like someone just pissed in your soup." Mei says as I take my seat, the annoyance probably evident on my face.

"My services were denied." I mutter, slightly twitching in anger.

Orimura denied my services mainly on the grounds that this is something between him and Alcott. I argued that having an Operator of my skill would at least put him on somewhat even ground, as I could guide him to victory.

Honestly, how does he expect to win? I understand he is the younger brother of Orimura Chifuyu, but that alone will not save him. He doesn't seem to have any background in combat other than having taken kendo as a kid (MT gave me a dossier on him), so he wouldn't know how fight in an IS.

"What, did he slight your pride?"

"Hmph. No, it's partially that… but I'm more annoyed at the fact the kid doesn't seem to know what he's getting into. It's like he expects to have some way to win like he's a protagonist of some book. He seems unfamiliar with how to fight, doesn't understand the importance—hell, doesn't even know what an Operator is—and if you ask me, is just going to get shot down… if it wasn't for the fact that Alcott seems to be incredibly haughty and by the rumors I've dug up as per suggestion by Meghan, Alcott thinks he won't stand a chance. She'll use this as a chance to show off and possibly loosen her guard. Both of them… ugh."

"Heh. Hmmm, but I guess that means we need to decide our Representative for the class then, right?"

I immediately sit up. "Are you thinking of taking the position?"

"Well…"

"If you are, I'll support you."

She reaches over and pats my head, earning an eyeroll from me. That's a yes, then.

"Alright, as I'm all sure you've heard about class 1-A's representative choice, we'll be holding the same. You'll be in charge of both normal class representative duties alongside being the main fighter for this class in schoolwide battles. The rules are simple. You can nominate yourself or anyone else in the class, although obviously, we won't be nominating Kazuma-kun."

I raise my hand.

"Kazuma-kun."

"I would like to nominate myself as the Operator for our class representative."

"I see. Are there any challengers?"

It's quiet. Heh.

"I would also like to nominate Cayden Mei as our representative." I add on. Our teacher nods.

"Sensei." I look for the voice, finding it to be Reinhardt. "I would like to nominate myself."

I think about her tone and analyze it. It's not smug. It's confident, though. She knows she's up against a professional opponent, but yet I can feel some excitement in her. Yes… she seems like someone respectable. If anything, it seems she wants to see what Mei's capable of.

"Seeeensei!" Meghan? "I'd like to nominate Nomida Taigei!"

"C-can I decline, sensei?!" A clearly distressed voice yells out. I turn around just enough to face said voice. I find, at roughly the eight o'clock position and second to last row of the classroom, a girl with black hair and red-orange-ish eyes. Her hands are balled up, right in front of her chest, and she appears to be shaking.

"You may not, Nomida-san."

"Y… yes, sensei."

Rather dejected, the girl sits down. She's immediately comforted by her nominator. Hmph. I understand that rule is supposed to help nominate leaders, as most good leaders are the ones who are never going to want to lead, but it's not exactly kept too much in check this time if you want to put your friend up there. A bit frustrating, but oh well.

"Are there any other takers?"

The room goes quiet very quickly.

"Then, four days from now, we will have a three-way match to determine the class representative. I'm sure all of you can push papers around easily, but seeing as you'll represent this class in battle, this is the easiest way to do it." Our teacher says with a sigh. "Alright, let's continue with lessons."

Classes go by quickly after that. It seems most people don't have questions, so they simply keep their heads down and take notes.

As soon as class ends, I tap Mei on the shoulder. "Do you intend to win?"

"Hehe, but of course. That's why I volunteered, isn't it?" she says with a smile. "Gotta make sure my training wasn't for nothing, right?"

I trace our teacher's movement out of the classroom, waiting until she's out before standing up. "Of course. If you'll excuse me, I'll go secure the necessary resources to ensure your victory. It seems that while I am no longer your Operator for the Armored Core, I can't help but take up the same position for you and the IS."

"Mmm. Where are you going now?"

"Didn't I just say? If you'll excuse me."

I march straight down to the faculty office, finding Yumemi-sensei at her desk. I believe she was watching for when I entered, as she looks up and signals me over.

"What is it, Kazuma-kun?"

"I wanted to ask when I could secure a training IS for Cayden to use. While she has had training and I have my Operator training, we haven't had a joint training section yet."

"So I thought. It's the first day, Kazuma-kun. There's a lot of other early go-getters like you, so I'll inform you tomorrow if anything is open."

"Yes, ma—er, Yumemi-sensei."

She gives a small snort of amusement before I leave the room, noting that I still have my room assignment to get to. Room 305.

I leave the main school building and go to the dormitories, taking the elevator to the third floor. Room 305… Ah, here we go.

I reach into my suitcase of sorts and pull out the key I was given earlier, taking it from one of the inner pouches. I put it into the lock, turn the key, and hear the click of the unlocking. I take the key out, put it back into the suitcase, pick up said case, and then turn the knob, pushing in. Surely, the school couldn't have been so foolish as to—

"A… ah…"

I twitch, trying to figure out if this was MT's doing or if this was just because there weren't any additional rooms, which I highly doubt is the case.

"Kaaaaazumaaaa~"

Mei rushes towards me, arms outstretched. Her bathrobe isn't even completely tied up, exposing her entire frontside. And… wait for it…

My arm extends out, catching her right in the head, where I grab her face and keep her at a distance. I then take a step forward and give her a slight push.

"W-what the hell was that fooooor?!"

"Your overenthusastic schoolgirl persona, tone it down a bit. Seriously, making a heart with your hands in your introduction?" I mutter, closing the door and locking it behind my back. "I wasn't informed I was rooming with you beforehand. Did you have a roommate before this?"

"I was alone, actually. And I'll be as enthusiastic as I want, thank you very much."

"Strange. I'd have expected everything to be full and maybe have a room to myself. Public morality, my ass." I mutter, sitting down on the clearly unoccupied bed in the room. "…I didn't do anything too bad, did I?"

"Nope. I think you seemed like a pretty normal student."

"By the way, you know I have a fear of insects, so did you…"

"I already set up a few traps." Mei says, knowing what I was talking about. So she already swept for any bugs in the room. "After all, you are my support."

She leaned up next to me and then whispered. "It's okay, right?"

"If it's for you, then it's fine with me." I say, Mei leaning away now. "I talked with Yumemi-sensei. She'll get back to us tomorrow since there's a lot of upperclassmen ahead of us. How was your training?"

"It was good. Learned quite a bit. Converting from the AC to the Stratos is rough. There's a slight delay because of the computational power difference and it really bugs me. Those few seconds could save your life. Not to mention the fact weapons are far, far easier to swap and you can you know, actually be disarmed which is a pile of crap, it was far harder to actually disarm an AC. Drone weaponry, swords that while they have a feature to recover them, should never leave you… there's a lot to consider."

"Well, I'll be trusting you to win regardless."

"Of course."

"…although," I say, lowering my voice. "…if you're the representative and we are called away, how do you plan on working with that?"

"…Bleh. I knew I was supposed to fade in and wanted to see if I had done any better, but that slipped my mind. We weren't supposed to be called though."

"I know, but it's just a thought. I should have considered that before I leapt to the Operator position."

"We're not supposed to be called, Weiss, so it's fine. Besides, we'll be covered for. But, you usually take the lead. I'll follow you and trust your decisions with the next few days."

"Got it." I lie down on the bed, finding it's much, much softer than the cot we used to have. "…so this is what it's like to be a student."

"It's… kind of weird, huh?"

"Yeah. By the way…"

"Hm?"

"Go get changed. She'd yell at you for walking around like that, you know?"

"Awww, are you embarrassed?"

"I thought I was supposed to be an upstanding student, so I cannot stand for this display." I fire back. "Also, the door's unlocked, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone walked in on you pinning me down as I know you're wont to do, you damned nymphomaniac."

"T-that hurts, you know!" she yells, immediately run over to the door and making sure it's locked. "You liar!"

"Too easy." I chuckle, looking over the room. We do have our own laptops provided by the school, but I'd rather use the ones MT provided. Better specs, probably. That, and a connection to them if necessary. However, MT specified that my work phone should be the one used first. "You enjoy being like that, don't you?"

"Mmm. It's like being on base, but with less restrictions."

"You mean with less of our officers yelling at you for trying to get in my bed." I snort, looking around for my things. A backpack lies in the corner of the room, holding most of my belongings that I wanted to bring. Next to it is a laptop pack, which holds the work laptop. And next to that is a solid briefcase that holds several weapon pieces in the unlikely event we'll have to get moving. Not too much in the way of normal things.

However, at the behest of MT, I packed several casual pieces of clothing. There's also some magazines to further sell my 'casual student' image, and some camping supplies. I packed things to be able to not only blend in, but also in the event of sudden sortie, I won't be caught completely pants down.

"Not even one porn magazine? Come on."

"Hmph. I think it might be nice to fill the position of 'that not perverted guy' here. Besides, I know you'd hold it over my head."

"Awwwww."

"I know you far too well, Mei."

She hugs me from behind. "And I know you far too well, Weiss. It's… nice, isn't it?"

"…Maybe. But—"

"I know how you feel. But… maybe you can find something that'll make it worth it."

"…I hope." I mutter, Mei holding me close enough to the point I can her breasts pressing up against my back. "You still haven't put any clothes on."

"It's fine."

"Go put some damn clothes on."

"After a little bit, okay?"

"I guess it might be nice… knowing how you are when we're on the field." I mumble. "And I guess you'll really learn what it means to fight. The way I'll train you… it will not be to win battles in an arena, like these girls are thinking. I will train you… on how to survive that battlefield. By the way, do you think it's too early to call in?"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind. I'll go get changed."

I nod, taking out my work phone and dialing one of the few numbers on it, the one for MT.

"Hello, you've reached Matilda. Sorry, I'm not available right now, but please leave a message after the tone." I press 4-0-3-4 at the tone. Another ring tone.

"Didn't expect you to call so early, 4034."

"I need two dossiers." I say, knowing the authentication worked.

"Hm?"

"Two students stood out to me as potentially troublesome. One is the daughter of a man who served on one of the ships that was there with White Knight. The second recognized two very important cases in AC laws, one that was very obscure. I just want to know if she'll be too troublesome."

"I see. Their names?"

"Ursula Reinhardt for the first, father served in Canada to help you narrow your search down. Blanc Lisarene for the second, no idea where she's from though."

"Lisarene… that name rings a bell. I'll see what I can do. How was class?"

"It was all right. I'll have to get used to being in a classroom like this. It's a bit off, but I'll power through it."

"Gooooooo—" A yawn?

"—Hey, get some sleep."

"I will, just had some late night work. I'll get working on your documents later. For now, just keep at it."

"Understood. Get to sleep, MT."

"I would, but you just slapped some work on me." She says with a teasing tone. "Keep an eye out on Mei, got it?"

"Will do. Also, status update. Mei will be competing for the position of class representative. I've volunteered to be the class Operator, but nothing concrete yet. Advise on current situation."

"…It's up to you. We aren't intending to deploy you. Do as you think is fit."

"Understood. Good night, MT."

"MT out."

"Four oh three four, out."

I close the phone and put it away before looking for where I put my charger in the bags. I pull it out, plug it into the wall, and then plug my phone in before standing up and looking out the window. Not a bad view. I guess I should get ready to shower, though. I've got a lot ahead of me.

Looks like life certainly will be getting interesting.

WEW, done.

I thought it would be more fun to put everyone into a new classroom rather than with Ichika's class. As you can tell, there's several new characters and names to learn. I dunno, putting the OC in a different classroom seemed like it would be better. And using Ichika's class seems like an old hat. Of course, they'll interact, but I was hoping to present something different. Such as the Alcott and Weiss incident there. Weiss taps into his intimidation factor where he's fishing into his past as a soldier and killer to intimidate her, who's only recently began fighting, and defuses the situation between them. Alcott doesn't do much else with him, but it's evident that the two aren't going to really be crossing paths too often.

I tried to create something new for all the characters, not really basing them off anyone from the original characters of IS Academy, but let me know if anyone seems too similar. While I will agree that Yumemi and Chifuyu have a lot in common, I tried to show that they had some differences, even if they were subtle. Yumemi is seemingly more familiar with military types, as she doesn't act surprised to being called ma'am and also directs classroom discussion around the room. Reinhardt has a bit of similarity to Bodewig in their military background, but Reinhardt was raised with a military family and isn't the best of the best compared to her. I could make a few other comparisons but those would spoil my plans. Let me know if you have anything to say on that.

I don't have too much else to explain as I've just only now introduced them. But from me, I feel that there was a rather large focus on Reinhardt this chapter, although I would like to justify that as I've given her a very assertive and slightly aggressive personality and she also has the strongest link to Weiss as her father saw Sea Glass.

I'll probably get to more of the other characters later, but some of them were more on the fringe. I purposely kept Blanc distant and unable to be read, and Meghan hasn't been introduced very well. It's all a matter of who Weiss thinks he should be talking with. Reinhardt's an immediate focus, but I'd like to show off a few other characters later.

Let me know what you thought of who I've shown so far. I really do enjoy writing this project and I hope you enjoy reading it. Do leave a review if you have anything to tell me about this chapter!

Seeya next time!