A/N: Finally figured out how to pin tabs. Unfortunately, that realization came after I accidentally lost all my work to a misclick.
Chapter 18
Ichika awoke to the sound of his alarm clock beeping for the first time since the start or summer vacation. Groaning, his hand groped blindly until it found and squeezed something soft. The resulting giggle accomplished what his alarm clock could not, and immediately roused him to full wakefulness. Rapidly sitting up, his now-open eyes came to rest on a still-giggling Tatenashi, or more specifically, the hand that was clutching her cheek.
The thankfully fully-clothed Student Council President had clearly entered his room sometime in the middle of the night, and was now lying on top of his covers, her usual mirthful expression on her face.
"Good morning Ichika-kun! It's about time." The blue haired girl said as she stood up.
"When did you get in here?" Ichika replied. He knew how the girl had entered... Stupid master access key.
"About an hour ago." Tatenashi replied as Ichika got out of bed.
"Why?" He asked.
"Because I wanted to remind you to get down to Arena One on time. Speaking of which, you should get dressed soon. You're up in an hour." Tatenashi replied. For the benefit of the newly-arrived instructors, a small tournament was being held, with the various class representatives competing. In reality, it was little more than an excuse to send the entire student body to the arena for a while, so that final preparations could be made for the day's assembly.
"Did you have to put me down for such an early match?" Ichika complained.
"The entire event is early, and first years are fighting last. I brought up breakfast, if that helps." Tatenashi replied, gesturing back towards the room's table, where two breakfast trays were waiting.
"Thank you, Tatenashi-san." Ichika replied, quickly sitting down and starting to eat.
"You're welcome. So, are you ready for today's match?" Tatenashi asked, before taking a bite out of one of her pancakes.
"Of course. It's not like it's a real tournament or anything. What about you? You're the one giving a speech in front of the entire student body." Ichika replied.
"It's nothing I haven't done before. I've already done all the hard work matching up students over the summer, so now all that remains is breaking the news." Tatenashi answered.
"Speaking of which, can you finally tell me who I'm matched up with?" Tatenashi laughed at that.
"Afraid not. I only did the second and third year students. First years didn't have enough of a skill record for me to look through, so their teachers did the work for me." She replied.
"So, Chifuyu-nee was the one who matched me up?"
"No, Maya did the work. Chifuyu didn't want to be accused of favoritism."
"Sounds like her... Oh well, I'll know who I'm with soon enough." Ichika replied, finishing the last of his pancakes.
"Anyway, I should get going now. Better early than late, after all." He said, just as Tatenashi finished eating.
"Alright. I'll take these back to the cafeteria. Good luck, and hopefully the Orimura curse won't make itself known this time." The blue haired girl answered, collecting the two trays.
"Orimura curse?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah. Every major tournament you've participated in has had something happen while you were fighting. First the Golem, then the Valkyrie Trace system... Hopefully that list won't get bigger today. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it by now." Tatenashi replied. Ichika laughed a bit at that.
"Hopefully this little exhibition match won't trigger the curse. I would like to have a normal match for once." Ichika replied, grabbing his uniform as he did so.
"Same here. See you soon." Tatenashi replied, before walking out of the room. Ichika frowned as the door closed behind her. The student council president had been unusually serious over the past few days, probably due to stress. He knew that she had been receiving threats aimed both at her and her sister, courtesy of the various warlords of central Russia, but fortunately, none of them had the means to get at her yet. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before something happened, but neither he nor the student council president knew what that something would be.
Sighing, he changed into his school uniform, grabbed his belongings, and headed out the door. His opponent was already waiting for him in the Arena One pits.
"Finally! I was wondering if you'd ever show up!" Rin greeted him as he arrived. The Chinese girl was already wearing her new WSI-issued pilot suit, which clung to her petite frame.
"Why wouldn't I? I still owe you a rematch." Ichika replied, before heading into the changing room. He emerged a minute later, now wearing his own familiar pilot suit. His eyes were promptly drawn to the holographic screen on the wall, which showed the currently ongoing match between two third-year representative candidates. The two IS suits were hovering in the air of the arena, facing each other, as one of the pilots declared that she would finish the match with her next strike.
"She's said that three times already, and has yet to do any real damage." Rin commented as he watched, and surely enough, the girl's charge was anticipated, dodged, and countered, her opponent laughing and taunting her all the while.
"Is this really what's expected of us as IS pilots?" Rin asked a few minutes later, as the fight continued to be drawn out.
"What do you mean?" Ichika asked, although he already knew what his childhood friend was talking about.
"All this showing off. I mean, I know I do it too, but not to the point of drawing out a fight like this. Those new instructors must be bored out of their minds by now." Rin commented.
"Well, IS combat is officially classified as a sport, so there would be a fair amount of showmanship involved." Ichika answered.
"That isn't showmanship, that's two girls pretending to be anime protagonists." Rin scoffed, as the two IS suits faced each other again, for yet another anti-climactic charge.
"I'll agree with you on that. You'd think that third-years would be more focused on actually winning." Ichika replied, and Rin nodded. For a few minutes, the room was quiet, before Rin spoke up again.
"Say, Ichika?"
"Yeah?"
"Those new instructors are military, right?" She asked.
"Most of them are." Ichika replied.
"Then how about we give them an Organization-style training match. It would be a nice change of pace for them." Rin suggested. If there was one thing the girl had liked about the Organization, it was the style of the training matches. Rather than being oriented around giving the crowd a good show and demonstrating the full capabilities of the participants' IS suits, it was a simple fight. No holding back, no showing off, and ending with the simulated 'death' of one of the participants. Rin had taken to the dueling style like a fish to water, as she had never enjoyed holding back, and when she showed off, she preferred it to be with overwhelming firepower.
"It certainly would. Checkmate finish?" Ichika asked, and Rin smiled.
"Sounds good! Now we just have to wait for these two jokers to finally get out of the arena... And all the ones after them... This could take a while." Rin sighed, as the two IS suits on screen charged each other again. Evidently, the superior of the two pilots had finally gotten bored and decided to end the match there. The alarms blared, and the two pilots exited the arena. The next pair, also composed of third-years, took their place, and the fight began anew.
To their credit, these two new pilots were less showy than their predecessors, but Ichika soon noticed some very familiar aspects of their fighting style. Apparently, both of them were trying to emulate his older sister and finish the battle with a single blow. Fortunately, one of their strikes managed to land after a few minutes of intermittent combat and dialogue, and the next pair promptly entered.
After nearly an hour had passed, it was finally their turn.
"Let's give the crowd a real fight, shall we?" Rin said as the ShenLong took form around her.
"Roger that! Let's do this." Ichika replied, smiling at his childhood friend before the Infinite Arsenal's helmet covered his face. The two of them flew into the arena, circling it once before taking up positions on opposite ends.
"And now, representing Class 1-1, we have Orimura Ichika, flying the Infinite Arsenal as the representative candidate of White-Sakamoto Innovations, going up against Huang LingYin from Class 1-2, flying the ShenLong as the representative candidate of the Peoples' Republic of China!" The announcer spoke, as both Rin and Ichika lined up their weapons, preparing to open fire.
"Let the match begin in 3... 2... 1... BEGIN!" The alarm blared, and less than a second later, bright blue plasma and invisible Impact Cannon blasts flew through the arena air, as both contestants opened fire. Neither barrage hit, as both Ichika and Rin had performed evasive maneuvers even as they opened fire.
Then, six knife missiles and four spotting drones came into being around the Infinite Arsenal, as Ichika rapid-switched his railgun out for the Invisible Glare Mark II laser, with two more identical weapons appearing on shoulder mounts. He had improved the laser rifle's design over the summer, and while it still created the dense screen of vapor when it fired, it was now capable of projecting its beam continuously, as opposed to short bursts, and the distinctive glow of superheated components had been hidden.
Opening fire, Ichika quickly shrouded himself in mist, while his drones took up position above the arena, his four spotting drones mixed in among the knife missiles. All of the remote-controlled units were moving in randomized patterns, designed to make it difficult to track any single drone with the naked eye. However, that did not stop Rin from firing into the swarm as she evaded the Invisible Glare's beams, which quickly melted the sand of the arena floor into glass.
More drones rose to join the swarm, with cannon drones joining the camera and knife drones already in the air, while suicide drones pursued their quarry directly, forcing her to divert fire onto them. Soon, Rin was forced squarely on the defensive, dodging both Ichika's laser beam and drone-based plasma fire, while trying to clear her tail of agile, remote-controlled missiles. However, in spite of her evasive actions, occasional plasma bolts met their mark, and one of the three laser beams would periodically clip her IS, causing further damage. If things continued as they were, Rin would lose the match without scoring a single hit.
However, the Chinese representative candidate had no intentions of losing in such a humiliating manner. Suddenly, she stopped her evasive circling of the arena and activated her suit's Landslide module, overclocking her suit's engines, and shield resistance modules. Her vaguely circular flight path suddenly became a beeline towards the cloud of mist that contained her opponent, her overclocked shields absorbing the lasers with little damage taken. Seconds later, she vanished from view, disappearing into the cloud, leaving the audience with no way of knowing just what was going on. Loud clangs and crashes emanated from within as the two IS suits fought in melee. Then, the ShenLong's primary weapon, the Souten Gagetsu staff, came spinning out of the cloud, embedding itself into the arena floor. Seconds later, the Infinite Arsenal plummeted out of the cloud, its bulky ranged weapons swapped out for energy katars. Moments later, the ShenLong exited the now-dispersing cloud, a swarm of knife missiles hot on its tail. Several of the drones exploded as impact cannon rounds met their mark, the two Dragon cannons firing backwards into the swarm. To the crowd, it seemed as though Rin was able to perfectly split her focus between the drones behind her and her opponent in front, but both contestants knew that it was really the ShenLong's newly installed AI at the firing controls, while Rin was focused entirely on the Infinite Arsenal.
Closing with her opponent, Rin's opening punch was blocked by a shield drone, before Ichika countered. The two IS suits fought for a moment in a brutal display of IS-based martial arts, blocking each others' punches and kicks before replying with strikes of their own. Knowing that they would encumber him in close quarters, Ichika had rapid-switched away his shoulder-mounted lasers, exchanging them for unusually-positioned energy katars, one of which was quickly driven into the ShenLong's center, being halted by a shield mere inches away from Rin's face. However, the sight only caused Rin to smirk. Finally, she had Ichika in the perfect position, and with a quick activation of the weapon's magnetic recall system, the Souten Gagetsu was ripped out of the arena floor and sent spinning into the Infinite Arsenal's back. Rin was moving even before the weapon struck, and by the time the staff had connected she was already flying in an inverted position, her face mere inches away from Ichika's own helmeted head.
Once her weapon struck, a second application of the magnetic recall system sent it back to her hand. Splitting the weapon into its dual sword form, Rin prepared to strike, only for her eyes to widen as she saw the telltale-flash of Ichika rapid-switching one of his shoulder-mounted energy katars out for his dual-barreled plasma cannon. In retrieving her weapon, she had given him enough room to effectively deploy the weapon, and at this range, he could not miss. However, Ichika was still turning around to face her, and the mount still had a moment left to traverse before it could target her, giving Rin enough time for a single strike. Her right blade's edge glowed a bright pink as she activated the sub-atomic edge and prepared to strike a blow that would end the match. However, rather than allow the strike to impact the Infinite Arsenal's torso, where it would be counted as a killing blow, Ichika was ready. Suddenly, his suit's left arm rotated at the elbow in a manner impossible to duplicate with the human body. Rin's strike slammed into the limb, the brittle sub-atomic edge shattering prematurely, damaging the arm but not triggering the Infinite Arsenal's ADS. Before she could strike with her second blade, Ichika's shoulder-mounted gun finished traversing, and at point-blank range, it was impossible for him to miss.
A short burst of plasma fire slammed into Rin's shields, but before they could be fully dropped, her second blade connected with the weapon mount, its subatomic edge sending shrapnel into the weapon, disabling it before it could fire again.
At that moment, the Infinite Arsenal and the ShenLong were both left with severely depleted shields. One strike would end the match, and Rin leaped forward, her victory almost at hand. However, just as her blade was about to connect, something materialized in the space between her and Ichika. Her eyes widened as the knife missile came into being, its energy blade igniting just as her weapon made contact. However, just as her weakened shield ticked down to zero, an impact cannon blast destroyed the drone, preventing her ADS from triggering. A few feet away, Ichika's ADS triggered with a brief flash of light, and the alarm blared, signalling the end of the match.
"And the winner is... Huang LingYin, from Class 1-2! I don't know about you, but I certainly did not see this coming! Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear a round of applause for these two fine young pilots!" The announcer declared, and the arena burst into applause, just like it had with all the other fights. However, Ichika sensed that this time, the cheering was just a little more genuine than it was before, although that might be attributed to the fangirls more than anything.
Stowing away his IS suit, Ichika landed on a patch of un-glassed sand, watching as Rin did the same.
"Checkmate!" Rin declared as she walked up to him.
"I should have deployed a gun drone." Ichika grumbled good-naturedly as he shook hands with his friend.
"I've certainly gotten better, that's for sure!" Rin replied as the two of them made their way out of the arena.
"Definitely. Do you want to watch the last fight?" Ichika asked.
"Sure!" Rin replied as they exited their arena. They quickly made their way to the stands, not bothering to change out of their pilot suits, and sat down in an empty pair of seats.
"Hello there, Orimura. Fancy seeing you here." The familiar voice caused the pair of them to look behind them.
"Stukanov-san? What are you doing here?" Ichika spoke first.
"Yes. Although I believe the correct term would be 'Stukanov-sensei'." The ex-Spetsnaz replied.
"Wait, you're one of the new instructors?" Ichika exclaimed, shocked.
"That I am. I'd tell you more, but the next match is about to start, and I believe you wanted to watch. I would, however, like to talk to you later, after the match is over." Giorgi replied, gesturing down at the arena below, where Kanzashi was facing down a student from Class 1-3.
The ensuing match went as expected, with Kanzashi mopping the floor with her opponent. Scarcely five minutes after the first shots were fired, Kanzashi had stowed away her IS and walked out of the arena to polite, if slightly disappointed applause. Evidently, the crowd was expecting another spectacle like Ichika's match against Rin, rather than the one-sided battle that had taken place.
Giorgi waved him aside as the students began to file out of the stadium. There was still some time remaining before the assembly, which had been allocated to classes.
"So, why are you really here? It seems strange that the Organization would send an Operations commander to act as a teacher here." Ichika asked once he and Giorgi were alone.
"I take it you haven't heard?" Giorgi replied.
"Heard what?" Ichika asked.
"I'm getting old, Ichika, too old for combat duty, so I've been retired from active service as an Ops commander. I haven't been on a real mission for nearly a year now, and they finally made it official last month. I've been confined to the base for a while now, acting as a trainer for new recruits and prospective officers even before I was officially retired." Giorgi replied, sighing.
"Ah... That doesn't answer my question though. Why are you here, and not some IS instructor?" Ichika asked, curious.
"I couldn't take being confined to the base any more, so as soon as I heard about this job, I volunteered. Officially, I'm here as a martial arts and physical education instructor. The old 'IS is an extension of your body, so keep fit' saying rings true, after all. Unofficially, I am here to help safeguard the Organization's latest investment." The Russian man answered.
"What investment?" Ichika asked.
"Recruits. At the moment, we can produce IS suits faster than we can acquire pilots for them. We currently plan on expanding our recruitment pool with regards to IS Academy."
"How so? Don't most IS Academy graduates go on to enter their nation's military?"
"Most is not all. For all it's merits, IS Academy is an incredibly flawed institution that caters specifically to the top five percent of pilots that can call themselves Representative Candidates. Only they can truly make the most out of their time at IS Academy, with the training specifically oriented towards them."
"Really?"
"Yes. For example, I believe your older sister is teaching about the Rapid Switch maneuver today. Rapid Switch is a move where a pilot stows away their currently equipped weapon and quickly deploys another in its place. It is critical to the successful operation of a TIS, and completely useless for MPIS pilots, whose suits lack a true deployment system. However, that does not stop her from teaching it to a class of both representative candidates and normal students, although admittedly, her class does have a higher ratio of representatives to normal students... But that is besides the point. The issue is, only five percent of IS Academy's students truly benefit from all the courses here, and this five percent is composed entirely of representative candidates. This five percent will go on to almost certainly become world-famous IS pilots, represent their nations in the Mondo Grosso, get nice six-figure salaries and retire early on private islands with blackjack, hookers, secret volcano lairs, and whatever else suits their fancy."
"I see. What about the rest of the students?"
"The vast majority of them, say, eighty percent, go into their national IS corps and get quickly forgotten. No fame there, and chances of becoming rich and successful are slim, to say the least. However, they know that this is what they signed up for when they entered IS Academy. Then, there's the final fifteen percent, and that's where it gets messy."
"How so?"
"That last fifteen percent is composed of students who gambled solely on being made representative candidate during their stay at IS Academy and lost. These students are still hoping for fame and fortune, and know that they won't get it by serving in their nations' armed forces. Some go into the work force, but they are at a disadvantage, as the time they spent learning how to fly an IS was time not spent learning advanced mathematics and other such skills. Thus, they are generally unable to get into a good college, and once again disappear into society. Other such students know this, and instead attempt to seek success through less than scrupulous means. A skilled IS pilot can find a well-paying job in the employ of one of the many warlords in Africa and, as of late, Russia. If they manage to get their hands on an MPIS before finding such employment, the money they earn goes up exponentially. If they manage to somehow get access to a TIS, they don't have to find employment under a warlord, they can easily become one. Fortunately, that last category remains fully hypothetical, but the other two... A good portion of Central Russia's IS pilots fall into them. A few of these disgruntled IS Academy graduates fall into the grasp of Phantom Task, or manage to get the attention of our recruiters, like Wing Commander Fujimura."
"I see. So the current plan is to get to these graduates first?"
"Exactly. By stationing additional people at IS Academy, we can contact them for recruitment long before they can go mercenary or attract the attention of Phantom Task. That is why I am here, along with a few spooks from the intel division. Now, your next class starts right about now, so you are going to be late, especially if you plan on changing out of that pilot suit. As your new teacher, it is my solemn duty to provide you with an alibi. Now go get changed. I would rather not have your sister angry at me, so don't mention me by name if you can." Giorgi announced. It was as plain a dismissal as any, and after a quick look at the clock, Ichika saw that the older man was right.
"It was nice talking to you, Stukanov-san." Ichika said as he stood up.
"Likewise, Orimura. Oh, and I do hope that you have been continuing with the exercises I have assigned you. Otherwise I might have to take some rather unpleasant actions." Giorgi warned.
"Of course I have. I learned my lesson." Ichika replied, before leaving the room.
The male changing room was empty as usual when Ichika walked in. He quickly changed out of his pilot suit and back into his school uniform, but before he could leave, a pair of hands covered his eyes.
"Guess who?" Tatenashi sang out from behind him.
"What is it, Tatenashi?" Ichika replied.
"Nothing really. I was just bored." Tatenashi replied, removing her hands with a smirk.
"You know, you're running late to your sister's class." She commented.
"I know. I have an alibi, so I don't need to rush." Ichika replied.
"Oh really? I take it you were talking with one of the new so-called instructors?" Tatenashi asked with a knowing smile.
"Of course. I take it that you've already had a similar conversation?"
"I have, as well as a few others."
"I see. Is one of those conversations the reason you've infiltrated the male changing room like some kind of pervert?" That caused Tatenashi to giggle.
"You would be correct in thinking that, Ichika-kun. Rest assured that you will be seeing a lot of me in the near future. Now, I suggest you get to class. Your alibi will only hold you over for so long!" The blue-haired girl said, before turning and walking away. Ichika sighed, and headed out behind her, quickly making his way back to Class 1-1's homeroom.
He was met at the door by an irate Chifuyu.
"How kind of you to finally grace us with your presence, Orimura. Do you care to explain why you are late?" His older sister demanded, fixing him in her patented glare that was known to cause some of the less-courageous girls in her class to break down and beg for mercy with mere seconds of exposure.
Fortunately for him, Ichika was made of sterner stuff, and replied without missing a beat.
"One of the new instructors requested that I speak with him. He also requested that he remain anonymous, to avoid drawing your ire." Quirking an eyebrow at that, Chifuyu gave her response.
"Of the new instructors, only three were male, and only one would have any reason to speak with you. Rest assured that I will be paying Stukanov a visit very soon. Now, you are to demonstrate Rapid Switch to the rest of the class, as you seemed rather competent in its use during your recent match against Class 1-2's representative." Ichika nodded at that, and partially deployed his IS suit's undamaged right arm.
"Rapid Switch is a technique designed to quickly stow one weapon away and deploy another in its place." Ichika said, earning himself a whack on the head from his older sister.
"Do not lecture. Demonstrate." Chifuyu ordered.
"I will now demonstrate Rapid Switch by swapping out an energy katar for a railgun." Ichika continued, and in a flash of light, it was done. When Chifuyu nodded, he stowed away his partially deployed IS and returned to his seat, allowing Chifuyu to continue her lecture.
Class quickly ended, and the various students were ushered into the IS Academy auditorium, for the long-awaited assembly that would announce the most drastic changes to the IS Academy curriculum since its founding. While Ichika had a fair idea of what was going on, the rest of the students were chattering excitedly, wondering just what was going on.
Soon, the entire school was standing neatly inside the giant auditorium, at which point the PA spoke up.
"Now, the Student Council President will explain the details of this assembly. Please remain quiet for the duration of the announcement." As the woman on the PA was speaking, Ichika saw Tatenashi walk up to the podium, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. Clearing her throat, she leaned over to the microphone and addressed the assembled crowd.
"Hello everyone, and thank you for coming here today. I only wish that I had better news to announce than this." That opening certainly ended any whispered conversations that were taking place.
"Most of you may already know me as Sarashiki Tatenashi, head of the student council. It is a pleasure to meet you all." Tatenashi paused for a moment, before continuing.
"Normally, the purpose of this assembly is to simply announce the upcoming school festival, which incidentally, is coming up later this month. That being said, I wish you all luck in deciding what you will do as a class. The deadline is coming up soon, so don't take too long." At that, the excited whispering began again, but Tatenashi quickly cut it off.
"Now for the real purpose of this assembly. The recent tragedy that took place during the First Year end-of-semester field trip has led to a significant re-evaluation of our school curriculum. Previously, the purpose of this academy was to train students to become skilled individual IS pilots for the purpose of eventually participating in tournaments such as the Mondo Grosso." At that, Ichika heard a few older students scoff behind him.
"However, this recent tragedy has caused us to re-consider this focus. At the moment, you are being trained in a traditional classroom setting, where all non-representative candidates receive relatively little practical experience. I am happy to say that this will change. The purpose of this new curriculum is to ensure that every single student here is capable of defending themselves and those around them in the event of a similar attack occurring some time in the future. While we do not expect such an attack to occur again, I believe the saying is 'better safe than sorry.'" Tatenashi punctuated that statement by opening her fan, which had that exact same statement imprinted upon it.
"To accomplish the objective of safeguarding the academy, all representative candidates will now be placed onto the IS Academy secondary combat roster, rather than just the third year representatives. In addition, all other IS Academy students will be placed on the newly formed Tertiary combat roster. The details of this change will be explained in a guidebook distributed at the end of this assembly." That caused another wave of worried whispers to break out among the assembled students.
"Isn't this prohibited by the IS Academy Charter?" One of the girls next to him exclaimed.
"No, it is not. The IS Academy charter allows for any necessary and proper action to be taken in order to keep the students of this academy safe. Now that the worst news is out of the way, I would like to summarize the changes to the school curriculum. Firstly, the IS Academy IS Fleet has been expanded. Every single student shall be given their own personal IS-" Whatever Tatenashi was about to say was cut off as a massive cheer went up among the Second and Third year students. An amused smile on her face, Tatenashi allowed the cheering to go on for a moment, she spoke up again.
"Alright everyone, settle down. These new IS suits are specially built trainers, designated the 'Blank Slate' third-generation MPIS Trainer, was provided to us by several corporations, chief among them being White-Sakamoto Innovations, Aero Infini Industries, and the Alcott Foundation. As such, I would like to extend a personal thank-you to Orimura Ichika, Charlotte Dunois, and Cecilia Alcott for their assistance in negotiating favorable production contracts with these corporations. In addition, as per requests from certain upper-year students, Uchigane Type-T trainers and Raphael Revive BTC units are available." That revelation caused the girl beside him to turn to Ichika.
"Orimura-kun? You knew about this?" She asked.
"A little, yes." He replied, before Tatenashi continued.
"Secondly, after this assembly is over, you all will be divided into squadrons of five. These squadrons will optimally be composed of one TIS pilot and four MPIS pilots. Any leftover students will be assembled into squadrons of five MPIS pilots with an attached special instructor, so as not to give any squadron an unfair advantage. Tournaments will now be between squadrons, rather than between individuals. The general format of tournaments has also been re-evaluated to better imitate real-world conditions." Tatenashi announced to the now-attentive students.
"Finally, the format of classes has been changed. Previously, students would learn in a traditional homeroom-based classroom setting. This is no longer the case. Now, a significantly larger amount of courses are available thanks to the increased amount of instructors present. It will be up to each squadron to determine which classes to take. Each squadron will then be evaluated in a quarterly tournament, and be graded based upon those evaluations. All grades will be made public, and squadrons will be individually ranked. I believe that this is enough to inspire success in all squadrons, as a high-scoring squadron will not only be much more likely to catch the eye of a representative candidate recruiter, but can also mean better employment prospects outside of IS Academy. Finally, if you do not particularly care about your future, the incentive of putting your name at the top of the leaderboard is still there. Any questions?" A hand was raised from the back of the room.
"Are there going to be separate leaderboards for each grade of students?" The girl asked.
"No. Students will be graded independently of grade level. If you're a third year, and get beaten by a first year, tough luck, because that will be reflected in your evaluation." Tatenashi answered.
A few moments passed, before Tatenashi spoke up again.
"If there are no more questions, then please wait here until you are called, at which point you will exit the auditorium via the main doors. A reminder that Uchigane and Revive trainers will be distributed on a first-come first-serve basis unless otherwise reserved. First-year students will be called first, followed by second and third years." Tatenashi announced, before turning and walking off the stage.
"Alcott, Cecilia!" The PA crackled to life, and the girl in question walked out the door.
"Bodewig, Laura!" The silver-haired girl was next.
"Dunois, Charlotte!" It seemed as though they were calling representative candidates first, so as not to give away any information about squadron composition. That meant that, if they were also doing it by class, he was next.
"Orimura Ichika!" There it was. The girls around him made way as he left, heading back out the auditorium. Outside, he was met by two unfamiliar instructors, who ordered him to proceed to a pre-assigned meeting room. In his case, it was Room 441, a small room usually reserved for IS Maintenance courses. There was a manual on a table in the center of the room, labeled 'Squadron 007-1 Information'. Evidently, that was his squadron number. Opening it, he began to read.
"So, Ori, what do you think of this?" He asked after a few minutes, causing the AI's avatar to shimmer into being.
"I think that this new Squadron-based curriculum has the Organization's hands all over it. If they truly wanted self-defense, they would not have re-written the entire curriculum to focus on real-life combat. I believe that this is simply another ploy to get more skilled IS pilots inducted into the Organization." Ori replied.
"Figures. Maya and Tatenashi were probably responsible for most of it." Ichika replied.
"So what do you think about all of this?" Ori asked. Ichika considered his words for a moment before he replied.
"I think... Never mind. I hope that the Organization does not attempt to pressure students into joining, or otherwise attempt to induct unwilling members." Ichika replied.
"I see." Ori replied as Ichika turned to a page that contained a map of IS Academy and the surrounding waters. Large swathes of the surrounding area were marked green, which meant they were open to all students for training purposes at all times. Other areas were marked yellow, meaning that one had to get permission to use that airspace for private training, and finally, red denoted restricted airspace, where students were not allowed to fly.
A knock on the door caused Ori to shimmer away before she could comment.
"H-Hello? Is anyone in there?" A girl's voice asked.
"Come in." Ichika replied, and promptly heard a shocked gasp. When nobody opened the door, Ichika walked up and looked outside, only to come face to face with a blushing girl from his class.
"H-Hello..." The girl murmured.
"Hello. I take it you are in my squadron?" Ichika asked.
"Y-Yes..." The girl stammered.
"Good. Come inside. I'll wait until everyone is here before beginning introductions." Ichika replied, and the girl entered.
A few minutes later, a second knock came, with similar results when Ichika called for the girl to enter. The sequence repeated itself until finally Ichika found himself alone in the room with four nervous girls. Clearing his throat, he addressed the group.
"Hello everyone. Now, since we are apparently a squadron, I believe we should get to know each other. Do any of you want to start, or shall I go first?" Ichika asked, attempting to break the ice between himself and the girls in the room.
When no answer came, he sighed slightly, before speaking again.
"Very well. I am sure you all know my name by now, but if you don't, I am Orimura Ichika, representative candidate of WSI. I like building IS suits, cool new technology, and spy novels. I hope to someday graduate IS Academy and put my skills to use in some way other than pointless combat in the arena, and I believe this new curriculum is perfect for realizing that dream." He spoke rapidly.
"Now, who's next?" He asked. After a few moments, the girl sitting on his right, her glasses glinting in the dim light of the room, spoke up.
"Hello... My name is Miyuki Sakura. I... I like cookies, fluffy kittens, and things that go boom, like the Raphael Revive Mark-four modular rocket-propelled fully automatic cluster bomb launcher loaded with high-explosive-incendiary rounds! I... I hope to become a representative candidate one day!" While she had started out soft, her voice had risen to a fever pitch as she was describing her preferred weapon of choice, her brown eyes widening until she suddenly caught herself, and returned to her soft speech when describing her desire to become a representative candidate.
The next girl to speak was a redhead with bright blue eyes, her voice somewhat bolder than Sakura's, with a noticeable American accent to it.
"Okay... My name is Theresa Takahashi, and I like strategy games, Combat Stratos, and chess, because sometimes the classics are better. I dislike franchises that feel the need to re-release the same crap every damn year, World of IS, because Combat Stratos is clearly superior, and Checkers, because Chess is better. I someday hope to see my name at the top of the IS Academy leaderboard. Maybe then I'll finally get a cool TIS suit!" Theresa said.
Next up was a tall, black-haired girl, who had styled her hair in an attempt to emulate Chifuyu.
"Hello. My name is Tsukigami Ayane, and I like IS combat, Orimura-sensei, and watching the Mondo Grosso. I dislike insincere fangirls, and I someday hope to participate in the Mondo Grosso and earn the title of Brunhilde." The girl spoke, and Ichika groaned inwardly. A Chifuyu fangirl was not something he wanted to deal with.
The last girl to speak was also the first one he let in, a small, mousy-looking brunette.
"H-Hello, my name is Hayate Rei... I-I like anime, mecha, and Orimura-sensei... I someday hope to... I hope to... I want to be strong like Orimura-sensei!" Those last words were mumbled under her breath.
For a moment, the room was silent as Ichika took in what he had to work with. A calm girl who may or may not be repressing explosive insanity, a gamer, a Chifuyu fangirl, and a girl who apparently had some severe confidence issues.
"Alright." He began after a few moments.
"Now that we all know each other, let's head over to the IS bay. I want you all to get a feel for what you will be flying, as well as some ideas for how you want them customized." He said, standing up.
"Wait." Theresa spoke up before anyone else could stand.
"What is it?" Ichika asked.
"You think that just because you're the representative candidate, you're automatically the team leader?" She demanded, causing him to turn.
"I didn't say anything of the sort. However, I actually have an idea of what is going on, so I thought it best to at least get acquainted and ensure that you all get your new IS suits before picking a squadron leader. However, if you want to pick a leader now, be my guest. I assume you're running against me?" He challenged.
"As a matter of fact, I am. As for the rest of you, who do you think will make a better leader?" Theresa asked, turning to the rest of the room.
"Orimura-san, of course. Given how incredible his sister is, I believe her brother would be similarly effective." Ayane answered immediately.
"Well of course a fangirl like you would say that. What about you, Rei?" Theresa asked, turning to the small girl, who quivered slightly as she was fixed in her glare.
"I... I think Ichika-kun should be leader... A-At least until we know if he's good or not..." She murmured.
"Rei-chan is right. Whether you like it or not, Orimura-san is a representative candidate. That means he has specialized training to match his IS. Plus, he does have some experience with leadership. Remember when he and that Charlotte girl fought Laura and that other girl? From what I heard, he not only devised the strategy to defeat his opponent, but also built the equipment necessary for that plan to work. If he can apply the same amount of effort to making our squadron succeed, I have high hopes for our future." Sakura finished.
For a moment, Theresa was silent, before she sighed.
"Fine. Orimura Ichika, you have command of squadron... What is our squadron called again?"
"We're Squadron 007-1 for now, but we can rename it." Ichika replied.
"Yeah. You have command of Squadron 007-1... So long as you remain a competent leader. Any sign of incompetence and I will end you. Are we clear?" Theresa said, evidently deciding not to argue against the rest of her squadron.
"You would have to get in line." Ichika replied, causing Sakura to laugh.
"Anyway, let's go to the IS bays. I'd like to see how you girls fly before starting to work on your machines. One of the perks of negotiating a contract with WSI meant that I knew this was coming, so I designed a few MPIS-usable weapons over the summer. However, I'd like to get an idea of how you guys fly before making any modifications to your IS suits." Ichika continued, leading the way out the door.
The newly-assembled Squadron 007-1 quickly made their way to the IS storage hangars, the girls gasping slightly as the building came into view. Apparently, the school had enough IS suits that they could not all fit into the building, and hundreds of mass-produced mech suits were lined up outside.
Ichika did not pay much attention to the sight, instead walking up to a staff member who sat on a bench outside, working on a laptop.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
"Yeah? Oh joy, looks like my first customer is here. I'm afraid the Revives and Uchiganes are all reserved, so unless someone cancels you're going to have to stick with the Blank Slates." The man replied.
"Blank Slates would be perfect. I'll take four." Ichika replied.
"Very well. I need the number of your squadron and the names of all members acquiring an IS."
"I'm from Squadron 007-1. The members getting an IS are Miyuki Sakura, Takahashi Theresa, Tsukigami Ayane, and Hayate Rei." Ichika listed off, the staff member typing away for a few moments before replying.
"Looks like it all checks out. Your squadron has been assigned the following IS suits: BS-001, BS-002, BS-003, and BS-004. Those designations are painted on their left shoulders, so have fun looking for them. They're hot off the production line, so try not to mess them up. IS Academy isn't paying for replacements." He said.
"Sounds good. Thank you for your time." Ichika replied, before heading off to where his squadron stood a few feet away.
"Allright. Miyuki-san, your IS is the one with BS-001 painted on its left shoulder. Takahashi-san, yours is BS-002. Tsukigami-san, yours is BS-003. Hayate-san, you get BS-004. They are all identical, so feel free to switch out if you wish. Once you find your suits, I want you all to fly to IS Academy's East beach. I will see you there." Ichika said, and the four girls nodded, sprinting off every which way in search of their IS suits. Quickly deploying the Infinite Arsenal, Ichika flew off to the designated beach.
"Ori, can you pull up the data on the Blank Slate for me?" Ichika asked as he flew.
"Sure. Here it is." A holographic display shimmered into view as the AI spoke.
The Blank Slate was an IS designed and built in accordance to very specific blueprints provided by IS Academy. It really was a blank slate, as it had next to nothing on it. No weapons, basic impulse drives and control units, and rudimentary shielding. It was, of course, equipped with an ADS, and did possess one notable piece of equipment in the form of the One-Shot Remote Deployment unit. This device allowed the pilot to deploy the IS even outside the wireless power transmission range of IS Academy. However, the device could not stow the IS, and had to be recharged at a specialized station before it could be reused. Fortunately, it ran off a separate power supply, so the deployed IS did not have its flight time affected.
However, the Blank Slate was ultimately an IS designed to be built extremely cheaply en-masse, which allowed the various contracted corporations to meet IS Academy's order within the short timeframe they were allowed. In addition, its design allowed for total customization, without any restrictions. Even the Raphael Revive, a design renowned for its customizability and versatility, would be unable to compete with the Blank Slate in terms of sheer variety of possible modifications. Of course, the Revive was actually combat-ready when it came out of the box, giving it a significant advantage over the Blank Slate in terms of active-usage prospects, but as a trainer? The Blank Slate was perfect.
A few minutes later, he looked up to see four skeletal blank Slates descend from above. As soon as the rest of his squadron had landed, Theresa dismounted and stormed towards him, and enraged expression on her face.
"What kind of crap IS suit did you make us get? I thought we were going down early to get Revives, not... not these pieces of shit!" The girl raged.
"Of course the Blank Slate is crap right now, it's got nothing on it. Once I get an idea of how you girls fly and fight, I plan on tailoring these suits to match. Until then, take these. The Blank Slate should have a functional Equalizer system, so try these weapons out." Ichika materialized a dozen Equalizer units and handed them to the girl.
"These are a few projects I worked on over the summer. I say we go out and try them out. They're designed for mass production units linked to IS Academy's power grid, so as long as you're within wireless power range you should be able to stow and deploy them at will." Ichika continued as Theresa headed back to her IS, Equalizer units in hand.
Dividing them into four sets of three, she handed them to the rest of 007-1 squadron. Then, she clambered back into her IS suit.
"Alright, fine, we'll do it your way. How long is the range of IS Academy's power transmitter?" She asked.
"Far enough that we'll be in restricted airspace before we have to worry about our power supply." Ichika replied as he took flight, the four girls taking flight around him.
"Um... O-Orimura-san? H-How do I deploy my weapons?" Rei spoke up over the radio.
"Hmm, easiest way right now is to just say 'Deploy Equalizer Slot' followed by whatever number slot you put the weapon in. Eventually, I hope to have you all deploying without having to say anything, but for now that will have to do." Ichika replied over squadron-wide comms.
"Alright then... Deploy Equalizer Slot One!" Sakura declared, and with a flash of light, a large weapon took form in her arms, while an immense ammo drum appeared on her back.
"What's this?" Sakura asked as she inspected her new armament.
"Hmm, that looks like Project 8. Think eight twenty-five millimeter rotary cannons slaved to a single trigger and you'll have a good idea." Ichika replied. He had come up with that particular weapon one morning, and had it working by that same afternoon. It was quite literally eight 25mm three-barrel rotary cannons bolted together and fired with a single trigger. He figured that, with enough lead in the air, it could even pose a threat to a TIS.
A deafening roar interrupted his musings on the subject, as Sakura pulled the trigger and sprayed hot HVEI rounds into the air. However, as the Blank Slate lacked proper recoil bracing, the shots went wild. Down below, the surface of the Pacific ocean quickly became a mess of white foam as thousands of bullets hit the water.
Five seconds later, and weapon stopped firing, its ammunition stockpile exhausted, although Sakura's finger was still pushing down on the trigger, causing the barrels to keep on spinning.
"THAT! WAS! AWESOME! GIVE ME MORE AMMO!" Sakura screamed over squadron comms.
"We'll have to land to reload that gun. Glad you enjoyed it though." Ichika replied.
"WHAT?" Sakura asked. Evidently, she was still partially deafened by the gunfire.
"Nevermind. Anyone else want to give their guns a try? Every single one of those equalizers is unique, although I can't say they all have the same ridiculous fire rate as Project 8." Ichika replied.
"DEPLOY EQUALIZER SLOT TWO!" Sakura screamed out before he finished speaking, her voice loud enough to be heard even without the radio's assistance. Probably remembering the lesson from earlier that day, she was able to rapid-switch Project 8 away and exchange it for whatever weapon she had installed in her second equalizer slot.
"What's that?" Theresa asked, her voice almost fearful as she saw a giant cannon take form in Sakura's hands.
"Either Project 3 or Project-" Ichika's words were cut off by a loud 'BOOM!' as the weapon fired. Less than a second later, the weapon fired again, its user tumbling head over heels as her IS suit fought against recoil forces from a belt-fed, fully automatic 152 millimeter cannon.
"Definitely Project 3." Ichika commented at the sight.
"Are all the weapons you make like that?" Ayane spoke up, watching Sakura tumble through the air, still blazing away.
"I designed and built these in my spare time over the course of two weeks. I didn't really have enough time to make them practical." Ichika replied as Sakura stopped firing long enough to regain control of her spinning IS and pull up just before hitting the ocean.
"M-Maybe we can p-postpone the weapon testing..." Rei murmured, barely audible even over squadron comms.
"I agree. Maybe we can try out the rest of these after I've had the time to put in some proper recoil bracing..." Ichika trailed off.
"Yeah, that sounds reasonable." Theresa concluded.
"Allright, since these weapons are clearly impractical for use in an IS without proper recoil bracing, I'm going to have to postpone the tests until later. For now, I want the four of you to form up on me, five-ship wedge." Ichika ordered, now addressing his squadron.
"Aww..." Sakura reluctantly stowed away Project 3 and flew to join the rest of her squadron, taking up a position on the rear-left of Ayane. Once the squadron was in formation, Ichika continued his speech.
"My current plan is to divide you four into two elements of two pilots each, with one pilot being element lead, and the other being the wingman."
"So, like modern fighter pilots?" Theresa asked.
"Exactly. The element leader will be in command of their element, while the wingman covers the leader. In short, leader attacks, wingman covers the leader." Ichika replied.
"I see. What about you? You're not part of an element." Ayane asked.
"I will be flying independently, and acting in support of both elements." Ichika replied, glad that his squadron seemed to be understanding what they were supposed to do.
"Now, let's try some basic combat maneuvers. Theresa, you are in command of Element One. Rei is your wingman. Ayane, you are in command of Element Two. Sakura is your wingman."
"Roger!" The girls chorused.
"Alright, for the purposes of this exercise, I will be acting as an attacker. Element One, you're up first. Element Two, I want you to watch." Ichika replied, climbing up until he was about three kilometers above and behind the rest of his squadron.
"Allright Element One, I will dive on you from six o'clock high. I want to see how you two would counter such a move." He warned.
"But we don't have any weapons!" Theresa protested.
"I know. I just want to see how you would maneuver. You have fifteen seconds before I dive to come up with a plan, starting now!" Ichika replied, and started to count. At fifteen, he pitched down and dove on the two-IS formation below him, making sure that he kept his speed low. The last thing he wanted was to overshoot, but the Blank Slate was slow, which made keeping pace with one rather difficult.
As he closed with his targets, he deployed Ultramarine Storm, intending to use it to fire warning shots if one of the pair got into his sights. Then, at a distance of about one thousand meters, the two MPIS suits split up, forcing him to choose which one to pursue. After a moment of consideration, he went left, coming to rest about five hundred meters behind her. As soon as she noticed him, she began to jink wildly, making it hard for him to line her up in his sights, but still maintaining a general course towards her partner. His hyper-sensor enhanced hearing allowed him to pick out Theresa's voice shouting commands to her partner over a private channel. Then, Rei shot through the air behind him, quickly reversing direction to come up on his tail. Breaking off his attack on the Element One lead, he performed a variant of the Split-S maneuver, diving and reversing direction, while rolling onto his back and lining up a shot on Rei. To her credit, the girl broke off her pursuit and took evasive action, dodging the incoming shots despite her slow IS.
The mock dogfight continued for a few more minutes before Ichika called it quits. Evidently, Theresa did have some leadership skill to back up her talk from earlier that day, as she was able to talk Rei through an impressive series of defensive maneuvers, even while evading herself.
"So how did we do?" The girl in question asked as she flew up to him.
"Not bad at all. Hopefully, once your IS suits are all up to spec, we can try it again." Ichika replied, smiling.
"Yeah, then I'll be able to shoot back." Theresa replied.
"Hopefully I can get the Blank Slates up to spec by next week, although I don't guarantee anything. Now, let's see what Element Two can do. Ayane, Sakura, you're up!" Ichika replied, climbing back up to his starting position, while Element Two formed up below.
As he dove, and watched the two pilots scatter, he smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Ichika sighed as he sank into the hot water of the boys' large bath.
"So, how is the new curriculum working out for you?" Tatenashi asked, having a seat beside him.
"Half of my squadron seems to know what it's doing. The other half is too busy either being a fangirl or dreaming of explosions to realize that break left means that both pilots break left, not 'one pilot goes left and the other goes right'! Fortunately, the shields absorbed the collision, so I don't have to do any repair work." Ichika replied.
"I say! I know I can't expect too much of them thanks to them not having the same amount of training as me, but still, I expected them to display a little more competence!" Cecilia added from where she sat, legs in the water. The current members of STS-01 were all assembled in their usual meeting room. Officially, this meeting was to discuss the new curriculum, but apparently, it was just that much easier to complain about the trainees they were assigned.
"I'm not surprised. If anything, the group I got has exceeded my expectations." Laura countered from where she leaned against the wall.
"How so?" Charlotte asked her.
"From what they told me, they all had two years of basic IS flight school before coming here. Over the course of those two years, they got about seventy-two hours of practical flight experience. Total."
"What? While I was in the British Representative Candidate training program, I got over a hundred flight hours every month!" Cecilia exclaimed.
"Exactly. It's not just the equipment that sets apart representative candidates from the average student, it's the amount of training they have. As far as I know, every single one of us logged over one thousand hours in their IS before coming here, with the exception of you, Houki-san... No offense." Charlotte added.
"None taken." Houki replied, although her voice suggested otherwise.
"Dunois-san is right. All representative candidates spend thousands of hours training in basic and advanced maneuvers, taking part in mock duels, and in some cases, acting as test pilots. Compared to that, the seventy-two hours of basic maneuvering training that most non-representative students get is horribly inadequate." Kanzashi spoke up.
"True, true. I'm surprised that one of my assigned squadron-mates even knew what a Thach Weave was, much less managed to talk her partner through it in order to catch me in one." Ichika added.
"A Thach weave?" Rin asked.
"It's a co-operative defensive maneuver developed-" Laura began, before Rin cut her off.
"I know what it is. What about it?" The Chinese girl asked again.
"I split my squadron into two elements for maneuvering practice, and one of my element leads was able to talk her partner through the move while I was on her tail. She was dodging all the while, and yet was able to calmly explain what to do in spite of her situation. Impressive, to say the least." Ichika explained.
"Hmm... Maybe she was a washed-out member of a representative candidate training program, that didn't make the cut for national representative, and was passed over with regards to becoming a corporate representative." Cecilia mused.
"Yeah, that does make sense. She did seem significantly more skilled than the rest of my bunch." Ichika replied.
"Disparities in training aside, what do you all think of this new curriculum? I am sure that Tatenashi-san would like to hear some feedback with regards to her work." Cecilia cut in, changing the subject with a pointed look at the student council president. Tatenashi merely laughed in response.
"As much as I would like to take credit for this, the new curriculum was not my creation. All I did was relay information about it to the Organization." That revelation caused shocked gasps to ripple through the room.
"Wait, so if the Organization was not responsible for it's creation, then who was?" Laura was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind.
"The IS Academy Principal walked up to me one morning and dropped off a prototype syllabus along with instructions to begin matching up students. Over the next few weeks I was gradually inducted into a small cabal of teachers and staff members, whose numbers included both Maya and Chifuyu. Apparently, my status as one of the last members of the Sarashiki family organization was enough to warrant their attention." Tatenashi explained.
"Wait, does that mean-" Laura began, before Tatenashi cut her off with a smile.
"Yes, it does. There is another player on the board, using this new curriculum to train and evaluate potential recruits, and it is based within IS Academy itself." The student council president spoke, stunning the room into silence.
A/N: And here it is! Another new chapter in this totally gripping saga! I have been planning this out for a while now, although not for the reasons you might expect. It has a few rough spots here and there, but I like what I did with it regardless.
Now, on to my customary recap and opinion on the various events of the chapter. The first is the match against Rin, which I thoroughly enjoyed writing. It was a match that had very little impact on the plot in canon, so I was free to go and do what I want with it, leading to the finished product. Just as I was about to write up the battle's end, I flipped a coin to determine the winner. It landed on tails, so it ended up being Rin. I thought it fitting, all things considered, as Ichika no longer has the overwhelming advantage he had at the start of the fic. Rin's IS also contains an Organization AI now, and she is significantly more skilled and experienced than she was during her first fight against Ichika, so I would consider them evenly matched.
As for Stukanov, his inclusion was a spur-of-the-moment thing, born mostly of laziness than anything else. I didn't want to write up another OC, so I decided to retire Giorgi from active duty due to his age and send him to IS Academy instead. It was a perfectly logical thing to do, and it saved the the effort of creating a new personality.
As for the disparity between normal IS Academy students and Representative Candidates, it is very likely that this is the case in canon as well, although maybe in less grim terms. After all, IS Academy does seem to be tailored specifically to the special snowflake Representative Candidates, placing them into a more senior role, and teaching classes that cater more to them than anything. For example, early in Season One, you see Ichika and Cecilia demonstrating more advanced maneuvers to the rest of the class, namely how to reorient the IS into a standing position from a vertical dive and come to a hover right above the ground in a matter of seconds. However, immediately afterwards, we see a shot of a normal student using a training IS, and yet instead of practicing the maneuver, she is simply shown walking around. Cue romantic princess carry scene with Houki, end actual class snapshot. If Representative Candidates are taught advanced maneuvers, while the normal students are still learning how to walk, that is a huge disparity in skill, and it is one that grows wider with every year in IS Academy. Which begs the question: Why are representative candidates and normal students taught in mixed classrooms, rather than being separated into advanced and basic groups? Of course, we know the answer: So that Ichika and Houki can have their romance before Akatsubaki enters the equation, but a practical reason for such integration still eludes me. Is it an intentional snub, designed to boost the ego of representatives at the expense of other students? To drive home the point that 'You will never stand out?'
Regardless, that is a moot point, now that I have introduced my most major deviation from canon to date, namely the Squadron system.
I would be lying if I said it wasn't partially influenced by me re-reading Ender's Game during the planning period. I designed it to deliberately make it seem like the official purpose is just thinly veiled bullshit. After all, if they really wanted to just train students to defend themselves, they wouldn't be training people with the intent of making them act as offensive units, nor would they give everyone their own IS suit. What they're doing instead is more along the lines of creating an army hidden in plain sight, or at least, an army in training. Those that would go on to military careers would be better suited to them, while others are discreetly removed from the grid by the various secret organizations that have fingers in IS Academy... Phantom Task included.
However, you can expect the canon 1v1/2v2 tournament to vanish from the scene, and be replaced with 5v5/10v10/7-way free for alls, in a more objective-oriented context. I understand that many of you have been asking for a greater deviation from canon, so here it is. I hope you all enjoy.
EDIT: Just noticed that a small segment near the end got deleted. Just re-posted the chapter.