Bill walked through the campus until he got to his own dormitory not too far away from the main campus itself. He wondered if he was right in being selfish enough to take the lead of this party. He was no leader, and he held no special qualities that would make him a leader. He wasn't his grand father, or his cousin. He certainly wasn't no super star in his own right. Thrones, and the other crews were going to destroy him if he didn't get his act together. Masurao...no he needed to stop mixing the names Exalted was it's name now; was the machine that he had to rely on. Better than the normal gears here it could outperform most gears that weren't privately made. It's output was a danger to anyone it was put against. It's primary mode of attack was overwhelmingly devastating offense. It could attack in swift, and deadly barrages that could shatter enemy gears to pieces. But was he really good enough to use it? He didn't think so not yet. He needed to get better. He had to believe in himself more now than ever. If not for himself then for those around him who followed him.

He entered his own room after going through the crowded halls meeting some old faces, and new ones he wondered who exactly was going to be a big challenge. He hoped he could destroy the small fries first. If he was put against the big guns immediately he was worried he would be shoved into a corner and disregarded for the rest of the season. He had to consider all the variables...but there were too many to think for ahead of time. Best course of action was simple: plan as things came. No use over complicating things especially when his team was so basic. Bill had to find comfort in knowing Yasumi didn't abandon him. Maybe it was because he wouldn't be accepted by anyone else? Or was it because he wanted to be here?

Bill's room was simple it was lightly furnished, and had very few posters here and there. The posters were all of his cousin's team. All of them were from the older era meaning he was still a part of Team True Souls back before they were disbanded. It was like that because he wanted to believe he could match up to them one day. His older cousin was always a hot head, and a pain apparently according to their grand father. But he made it BIG he was a hot star in America right now with his professional debut in the big leagues. Bill would never raise that high but he wanted to make their grand father, and his own father proud. "I promise...I'll do better...I know I will." Bill said collapsing on the bed after pulling off his uniform shirt, and tie. "There is no doubt out there there is victory, or defeat..." Bill said mumbling the words his father told him once long ago as a kid. Cheesy? Yes. Inspiring to him? Yes. Those were the words that would keep him going.

====

Next day: 12:00 Lunch Time

The day had come to a start at Ace once again. The day was warm, and humid but otherwise it was a perfectly serviceable day. Many of the pilots were off with their teams, or going off to cafes in the city itself. As Ace Academy was a college it had no strict lunch period, and time schedule though very few students had night classes at the school due to their sparsity. Once more Bill sat by himself in the pilot lounge he had decided to eat here again due to the fact that other people may be interested in joining in with them, and because he didn't have the money for multiple trips to school and back this week with public transport. Besides he was a team captain now and he didn't have the time to do the things he wanted to. He had been working in class a lot today but he had a computer pad on his desk ready to search up all he could about prospective teams to learn from, and the ones they may fight in the finals.

Taking cues from professional pilots would help a lot but he couldn't depend on all of it. The others had their own styles to force them to adapt to a professional level would be stupid. He could only wonder if Yasumi was happy about playing back seat in this game. He would only go in if Bill, or anyone else was unable to. In doing so he had pretty much subjected himself to be on the back burner.

The pilot lounge was not as crowded as yesterday as people had classes, and or were already setting up for the piloting tests tomorrow. Bill ran his hand through is hair as he chewed on his food. He silently questioned why such a simple job was so much of a pain.

Rio lazily stared out the window of the Campus' local café, eyes scanning the courtyard and watching people interact with each other. Some people were spending their time talking, others were eating together on one of the benches or on the grass. Some were playing frisbee, but all of them weren't doing anything interesting. Still, Rio had nothing else to look at and it wasn't like there was anyone sitting at her table. Her roommate was out in town with a friend and she didn't know many other people here, so Rio was stuck on her own for the lunch break. Not that she minded, Rio didn't consider any of these faceless idiots worth her time anyway. She was already in a bad enough mood from class, which was just reviewing the material they had seen last year. She understood that they needed to blitz through it again to catch up any transfer students, but it was still highly annoying how the school didn't make any advancements in their lessons.

The clanging of a porcelain teacup caught Rio off-guard and she whipped her head back to see that the Chamomile tea she ordered was now on her table. Rio politely smiled at the waiter and made the quick credit transaction, then proceeded to stir the tea with the spoon she'd be given. Rio hadn't eaten yet, nor was she planning to. All she needed for now was a drink, she'd go grab a bite later. Her next class was cancelled anyway, apparently the teacher had to go somewhere and didn't have time to teach the class. So much for being a top-rated academy...

The girl took out her phone and swiped it a few times, thinking if she should bother someone but ultimately deciding against it. The boredom was really starting to settle in, but Rio didn't have anywhere in particular to go. She fiddled around with a game for a bit, completely forgetting about her tea.

The next day had been playing out like all of them used to. Ian slept until he absolutely had to leave, rushed to school, and continued to sleep in many of his classes. The only real difference so far was the need to prepare for the test later on. He wondered if it really was a good decision to join a team this year. All in all he'd likely be a hindrance to the more competent members like Rio and Bill. It was too late to take it back now though.

In the time between classes, he decided to hang around outside until it was time to go back. Of course he could just go to the pilot's lounge and get something to eat, but he didn't have much of an appetite.

Ian opted to simply play around on his phone and browse the internet for now.

The door of the Campus Cafe opened up, a small bell above the door chiming and letting those that cared to know that someone else had entered the quaint little eatery. The contemporary and classy wood and marble decor was largely lost on Sara as she entered the building, her arms wrapped around a large encylopedia of GEARs, and her eyes scanning the screen of a tablet that sat on top of it.

The morning for Sara had come and gone in what felt like the blink of an eye- she rarely had so much free time- with her classwork generally taking the lion's share of her time. Now that she was a competitive pilot to boot, her time was even more strained than usual, which was why she was happy for the brief reprieve of lunch, where she could prepare herself for classwork before she got too behind on her studies. Looking away from her tablet from a moment, Sara was surprised to see Rio sitting at a table, her eyes glued to her phone. Sara cocked her head to the side, not expecting to see her team-mate, despite the fact that this was a fairly high traffic area. It was probably because of her status and stature- Sara expected her to spend her time at more high end places.

"Hamasaki!" Sara called out in a soft voice, as she approached Rio's table. "I didn't expect to find you here."

Sara offered the tall girl a smile. "Mind if I sit?"

"Hamasaki!"

Rio flinched as she heard her name being called, whipping her head around to see her pink-haired teammate standing next to the table she was sitting at.

"...Hayakawa," Rio replied, a hint of delight hidden in her voice. Her face didn't show it, though. She pocketed her phone again to be polite and took a sip of her tea- luckily still lukewarm. The other girl asked to sit, which Rio quickly replied to with "not at all." She glanced outside the window again, spotting a familiar orange-haired boy. Hopefully he didn't notice the two of them as well, since Rio's perception of him is less than positive. She then remembered Hayakawa asked a question, calmly turning back to face her.

"Why is it so surprising, anyway? Everyone knows this place is a lot better than any other café you can find in this town. I'd be a fool to miss out," Rio joked with a wry smile, taking another sip of her tea. Rio glanced around, watching the waiters frantically serve drinks and clean up tables. It might take a while for Hayakawa to get something at this rate. Since she isn't terrible company, Rio might as well strike up a conversation.

"I've called off the meeting, by the way. I figured practicing with the team would be more important than fulfilling my father's ego. Say, speaking of teams... I noticed you're a second year. What team were you on last year?"

Rio wasn't on any team last year, so she hoped the question wouldn't be bounced back. It would be extremely embarrassing to admit she was a pilot that sparred with other pilots from every team and nothing else... it's a miracle they even let her pass. Still, it might be nice to get some insight on Sara. If she could learn about the team she was from, maybe they could get an edge if they happened to face them this year. Of course, with Hayakawa gone there would be no guarantee that the team is still the same as it was last year...

As Atlas looked over the schematics sent to him from the engineers who worked on his Gear he received a message from Kiril. It turns out he had found a team that his sponsors really wanted him to join, and despite the fact that he had hoped to stay with CS he had to leave. Bill sighed he wondered if Rio was going to ditch him next? Maybe Sarah? Was his dream going to die before it started? Would he need to crawl back to the Thrones and ask for a place there? He hoped not. Yasumi was counting on him. He was a slacker but he was a good man who stuck by Bill. As Bill sat on his hands and wondered what was next for him he couldn't help but feel like things were falling a apart. Tests were tomorrow. He needed to buck up and take his place as leader. As Bill sat alone by himself suddenly a team approached. Third Year Gear Pilot: Yoko Hasagawa. Yoko was known on the indie circuit as a BIG possible name for recruitment when she graduated. In her first year she not only beat the top pilot in the school...but she did it by herself. Sponsored by a big company from Germany she was vicious, and dangerous as an assault type pilot. Her team was Static Sequence known for their brutal offensive.

"What's up Billy Boy? Got a problem with your team or somethin'?" commented Yoko kindly as she flaunted gorgeous figure in front of Bill. He tried not to frown at her. She had crushed him the first time they met last year. But that was with his old gear Exalted was not his old gear by any means. She wasn't a complete asshole on purpose but her chipper happy go lucky attitude made him not like her as much as the other people did. Beautiful, talented, and a generally better gear pilot than he'd ever likely be he wondered if Yoko acted the way she did because she was pitying the others around her. "No I just wanted to get some paperwork out of the way, and do my studying. Knowing my enemies, and my tasks gives me an advantage I need to have." Bill commented as he stared up at Yoko trying his best not to let his gaze wander. "The other guys say they think CS is finished. I hope not that team has been around forever. Good on you for sticking with it. I can't wait to battle you in the tournament! You got MASURAO that machine is freaking nuts! I saw your cousin fight in that thing. He tore up his competition like Swiss cheese!" commented Yoko as Bill finally understood what was going on here he gave a mental resignation to this situation.

"I just figured you'd have more expensive tastes is all," Sara said with a noncommittal shrug. People in Hamasaki's position weren't exactly unheard of at the academy- there were plenty of kids whose parents owned major companies and manufacturers, a lot of them were in their own little rich-kids clique.

Sara watched Rio as she spoke- the tall girl was an interesting thing. She certainly looked the part of many of the rich kids on campus- many of which didn't spare Sara the time of day- scholarship kid and all. Sara waved away a waitress who came to take her order, the store looked busy enough that it'd be a while before she got any food, and she didn't feel particularly hungry. Sara tilted her head to the side in mild amusement as Rio asked Sara about what team she was on last year.

"I wasn't on a team last year." Sara explained, "I didn't have my own GEAR, so I couldn't be a part of the competitive scene even if I wanted to- they're not exactly affordable for someone of my economic status." she said with a sigh, looking out the window.

"I spent most of last year test piloting test models for different manufacturers. I think I did the trial runs for your family's 'PARA' line GEARs. I tested with Lockheed Martin last winter and over the summer they offered to lend me my Valkyrie for extended stress testing."

"I did watch a lot of the matches though- what about you?"

Hayakawa did bounce back the question. This meant that Rio was suddenly very interested in her chamomile tea as she took another delicate sip, her left eye briefly twitching from the drink having cooled down quite a bit. Luckily it seemed like the pink haired girl was too distracted by the outside to really notice, but Rio was still in another pickle. How was the woman going to answer? Laugh it off with a 'hey, me too'? No, that'd be embarrassing. Lie about it and pretend she had a team? No, that's a bad idea as well. She'd need to think up of a name, and if the other girl asked and snooped around Rio would be caught very quickly. Avoiding the issue was clearly the best option here...

"Ah, I see. As I recall, the PARA line came into production after my Union. Brawlers, right? That means you must pilot a lot of different types of GEARs. It's impressive you're able to handle your new one so well, then, even if you had some prior experience."

The compliments weren't entirely empty, as it was quite a feat to be able to switch GEARs at the drop of a hat, considering every single one has a bit of customization attached to it and weapons functioned slightly differently. Sara must be quite knowledgeable with how to utilize all kinds of GEARs, so she must also have an excellent idea on what to do if the team were to face them on the field... maybe Rio should bring that up with Atlas at some point. Though it left a bit of a sour taste in Rio's mouth- Hayakawa seemed to be able to do just about anything. She had arguably the best performance in the simulation with a relatively foreign GEAR and was able to give tactical insight to just about any team composition- although the latter of those was just Rio's assumption. Maybe she should just change the topic for now...

"It must be pretty odd to have not had a team last year, and then be thrown into this one... though I can't say I regret my choice just yet. We certainly have a very... interesting cast of characters, don't we?"

Rio didn't honestly want to think about how 'interesting' some of her companions were. Laudat and Atlas were tolerable, but Gurevich was absolutely insufferable. She hoped somewhere that he went ahead and joined another team. Sure, his replacement Yasumi looked to be just as bad as Laudat in the slacker department, but at least he didn't get on her nerves with every breath he took. Not yet, anyway.