“Ok, let's do this.” Nanashi said excited as he put his GP base and Gunpla into the system. “X Origin Gundam. Execute!”

The three practiced against simulation after simulation, all three pushing themselves just that little bit more thanks to the knowledge that they'd be fighting much more difficult enemies soon. Soon, the simulated Grand Canyon just looked like a pile of smoldering rock, clear evidence of their training.

“Well, I feel like that's enough training for today..” Nanashi says as he stretches his arms and legs, sore from standing in the same spot for so long. “Hm, let's end alittle early today, Sousuke wanted to show us something and I'd rather use the remaining daylight for that.” He said gesturing to the window, the sun beginning to fall.

Sousuke trained and practiced, even managing to keep the Crossbone Joker from getting too beat up in the process. Even so, something nagged at him in the back of his mind. He had a gut feeling that an actual battle against Team Chaser wouldn't be nearly this simple. There was also the fact that it had been a year since Sousuke had seen any of the members, and so there was always the possibility that his information was outdated - that Chaser had since tweaked or even changed their overall strategy. Not likely, but still possible at least.

Nanashi wanted to call it quits early so that they would have more time to accompany Sousuke. He silently returned the Joker to its Gunpla case and readjusted his hat. Only then did he finally speak, "It's not a something, but a someone." he replied to Nanashi with what was admittedly a cryptic explanation, "Right, looks like for today we have somewhere to be..."

That somewhere wasn't actually that far away. More specifically, a general hospital a few blocks away from the school. Sousuke led them inside and up a few floors. Eventually they reached a specific room from which a nurse emerged, "Ah, Sousuke!" she said with a greeting bow, "We just finished treatment for the day, so he's petty antsy to see you." with that she walked away to continue her duties elsewhere.

With a gesture to the others, Sousuke opened the door and led them inside. There they found a boy sitting upright in the hospital bed. There was a clear family resemblance between him and Sousuke. The boy also had a shaved head, a clothed wrapped gently around it. There was a nearby white board with some basic information about him written on it. Namely, it specified that he was currently undergoing treatment for Leukemia. His name was also written there, but Sousuke was quick to speak up.

"You wanted to meet them, Shouji, so here they are. Ichikawa High Gunpla Battle Club, Team..." he paused, then gave Nanashi a jab in the shoulder, "Hey, 2nd Year, you never gave us a name yet!"

"2nd Year?" asked the boy, Shouji, who suddenly gave a warm smile, "That must make you the infamous Nanashi Kanzen. Not many people can get under Sousuke's skin like you did you know."

Sousuke looked away a moment, then back at everyone, "That's Shouji Kikkawa, my kid brother... and the Crossbone Joker's chief builder and designer."

“Well obviously our team name is … huh, didn't really think about that. Meh whatever, we can make it later.” Nanashi said as he looked over to Shouji. “And I’ll take that as a compliment.” He said before raising an eyebrow “So your the builder eh? Beautiful work it's honestly a masterpiece in its own right.” He commented as he sat down on a chair on the side of the bed. “Each part of Joker is customized to perfectly work with your brothers style.”

"Shouji wanted to meet you guys... that's why I brought you." Sousuke said, sitting down in a chair of his own and setting his hat down on a nearby end table.

"Heh, thanks, Nanashi-san." said Shouji with a bit of a blush, "The Joker works with Sousuke because it has to. He trusts in me to make it just right, just like I trust in him to pilot it, to... steal the win, to borrow Onichan's phrase." that statement right there, whether Shouji realized it or not, would serve as the eye opener for yesterday's incident. Sousuke wasn't worked up because he was insulted... but because he thought that Shouji was the one being called into question.

"Ah..." said Sousuke with a dismissive wave, "...he's underplaying himself. Honestly, I end up breaking the Joker more often than he'd like. I'm sure he'd prefer it if I could battle without damaging it so much."

"Not true." Shouji shot back, shaking his head, "The more you make me fix the Joker, the more I can tweak it and find new ways to make it stronger. I have to admit though..." he scratched his head a bit, "...this hospital room doesn't afford me much space or time to really devote to updating the Joker. If I could work in my own room or in a real workshop, then we'd really be in business."

"Oi!" Sousuke blurted out, "None of that kind of talk, you do the best with what you have, I can't ask anymore than that of you."

It was becoming increasingly clear that Shouji's... circumstance prevented him from being able to build the Joker up to its best potential. Not only that, his health currently prevented him from being able to battle himself, which was one of the original reasons for Sousuke to get into the sport: so he could fight in Shouji's place.

"By the way, Shouji," Sousuke said, retrieving the Crossbone Joker and lightly tossing it to his little brother, "our next big fight is a practice tournament in preparation for the Under-19, and Team Chaser will be there."

"I think I remember them, yeah. The captain wanted a Police-type Gunpla right? Okay, I'll see if I can optimize Joker's speed to keep up with them. Actually, no, you'll be able to outrun them! That's my promise."

"Mmm." Sousuke replied with a nod and tired yawn, "I'm counting on you, Shouji." then he actually started nod off until he had drifted into a nap.

"Our dream is make it to the World Level..." Shouji said as he started cleaning the Crossbone Joker, "...Sousuke says not to worry about it, but I really do wish I had a full workshop to work with."

In the corner of his eye, Nanashi watches Natsu leave the room. ‘I should check on him later.’ He thought briefly before turning his attention back to Shouji. “Y’know Shouji, a builder as amazing as yourself DOES deserve to work in a full workshop. If you want, I can go bring some equipment here and set it up for you, although it won't be a full workshop better equipment would help you out. Or I can just call up my master, I'm sure he can work something out.” He said as he took out his phone, pressing a few buttons. “My masters a pretty great guy so I'm sure he can make this whole room a workshop!” He said while throwing his hands into the air and pretending to show the room, trying to emphasize his point of changing the room.

"That would be great!" said Shouji said with a big smile. Then he glanced over at the now-snoring Sousuke, "Just, um... don't tell Sousuke. He's always had trouble accepting things from others... maybe it's a pride thing, I'm not sure." that was when Shouji decided to take a break from working on the Joker. Instead he pulled out an entirely different carrying case from under the hospital bed. This wasn't portable, and opened up to reveal an incomplete Gunpla and its remaining parts. Nanashi would recognize it as the SD Master Gundam that Sousuke had tried to build before. But even in its incomplete form, this Gunpla completely trounced its earlier incarnation. Not only design, but in that Shouji was actually adding customizations to it. He had even repainted the parts. No longer were they black like the standard Master Gundam, but were a bright crimson as if invoking the spirit of the Red Comet himself.

"Er, don't tell Sousuke about this Gunpla either." asked Shouji with a polite bow, "I'm trying to surprise him, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to keep this thing hidden in here." then he laughed a bit, "It's nowhere near finished yet, but I have a good feeling about it. I think it might even surpass the Joker."

The week rolls by in the blink of an eye with a repetition of practice fights after practice fights against the CPU of the Battle Simulator until finally, Sunday. The day of the Practice tournament between Ichikawa, Hokuten, Nobuya and Karasato. The four (Mika following to watch) had to ride and switch trains twice before reaching Nobuya Private High School, where the tournament would take place.

The Ichikawa group all stood outside of the large school, the premise easily dwarfing Ichikawa High. Nanashi shivered a bit at the sight, "Man, I'm just getting shivers about this y'know." He said to the others "Well, I'll be relying on the both of you alot for today, so lets do our best and hopefully improve." He said with a fist pump.

Just as he finished, a van with the symbol of Karasato Academy (@Dezuel) stopped behind the group. "Oh? Seems like some of our competition arrived."

Sousuke probably seemed the least nervous of the three. To be fair, he essentially had more tournament experience than either Nanashi or Natsu. Didn't stop the feeling of staring up at what would become a battleground, especially if it were one's first visit to said location. Sousuke breathed deep, then quickly adjusted his hat, "These are real battles, 2nd Year, that means I'll be billing you for the rounds we compete in." he said, adding a sly smile that made it impossible to tell if he was just joking or being completely serious.

Almost immediately a van pulled up bearing the symbol of Karasato Academy. Another school that Sousuke had never been to nor interacted with, so both of these teams would be entirely new encounters for him. But sometimes, it was devil you knew that could be more intimidating than a perfect stranger. Speaking of which, another van came rolling to a stop. This one bore the all-too familiar symbol of Hokuten Academy. At this Sousuke tipped his hat downward a bit, "And here we go..." he muttered.

Two Days Earlier

"All right, Team Chaser! That should do for our regimen today!" said Keiichiro, almost shouting. He took command rather easily, and the fact that he had a voice that seemed perfectly suited for barking orders made it even easier for him to assume the role of Captain. The team had been training with their usual regimen that day. Simulations depicting reenactments of famous of battles during the One Year War. Sometimes Chaser would be on the Zeon side fighting the White Base, other times they would be on the Federation side fighting against various mobile suits flown by Char himself. It made for great discipline building and tactical training, giving the team an almost professional aura.

"We'll be using tomorrow to rest and mentally prepare ourselves, so use your time wisely so we can-"

"Um, Sempai?" asked Sakuya, who was rereading the invitation letter, "Seems there was a last minute change to the turnout."

"Don't interrupt me when I'm giving a speech Sakuya!" Keiichiro barked dismissively.

"It's just that, this new school... Ichikawa. Isn't that where Sousuke-san transferred to?"

That got Keiichiro to stop dead in his tracks, "Huh?" he said, almost comically loud before snatching the paper, "Let me see this! Ichikawa Batlte Club... no name... members... Kanzen, Nanashi... Saisei, Natsu... AAHHHHHH!!!" he suddenly yelled with an almost comical fire in his eyes, "Kikkawa SOUSUKE!!!"

"Ahem." Tsukasa coughed quietly, "I thought you were past that now?" she asked coldly.

"What? Of course I am! Keiichiro Asaka doesn't hold grudges. Do I look I'm holding a grudge?" he asked, making a pitiful attempt at hiding his feelings, "New plan Team Chaser, we're having an emergency practice tomorrow!" and then Keeichiro stormed off.

The very next day, Keiichiro put Team Chaser through different training simulations. This time they were all against the Crossbone Vanguard. Clearly he wanted them to be prepared to counter anything Sousuke throw at them.

They had finally arrived to the Nobuya high school grounds where the practice tournament would take place.

Kayl had kept reading through a magazine throughout most of the drive to the place, with every now and then the occasional comment regarding the subjects Syo were discussing with the driver of the van. Kayl was dressed in his school uniform with a broché attached to his chest, marking him as the leader of the Karasato gunpla club. The symbol itself seems to very much resemble the icon for ZAFT.

He had stored his gunpla safely away in a shoulder bag, a bag which most would consider to be a tad too feminine for a guy. It didn't seem to bother him the slightest though. It was the perfect way to carry both boxes containing his gunpla, books and other important things. Behind him in the van sat Ternal, wearing a vest and longsleeved white shirt. He had remained silent during most of the ride, listening to music and getting into the spirit of fighting.

His gunpla were carried in a more regal manner, in the form of a black suitcase which also contained spare parts, building tools and some other things which were connected to what they were going to do. In the front seat, next to the driver of the van sat Syo. Who looked out of place from the other two students, he looked very much like a delinquent. His school uniform jacket was opened and his shirt was slightly unbuttoned, he carried his own gunpla in a black backpack with a skull on it.

The first one to exit the van was Syo, his shoes hit the ground and he let out a loud whistle as he looked over the school building, his backpack swung casually over his shoulder.

"Sheesh. These guys are trying to act big. Time to put them into their place." He tilted his head to left and right, before setting his eyes on the students from Ichikawa. He allowed an amused smirk to form on his lips as he approached, Kayl and Ternal taking abit longer to get out of the van.

"Yo! So you are the sad lot we are going to wipe the floor with today? Good grief. I thought we would actually get some challenge. Not some kids with defective gunpla." Syo put his left hand at his waist and stood tall and with his chest puffed out, obviously trying to taunt his opposition. A mocking grin on his lips. If he could trigger some reaction out of them he might be able to disqualify them if they went physical. It was all too easy. A couple of moments passed before Kayl and Ternal caught up to him.

"Syo, stop that crap right now. I don't want you to badmouth our sparring partners." Kayl walked up and past Syo, giving the latter a look which would tell anyone present that he did not approve of it the slightest.

"Sorry about that. I'm Kayl Lanzer of the Karasato gunpla club. Pleased to meet you." He reached out his hand towards the Ichikawa school members. "Let's have some fine fights allright?" Syo on the other hand gave the Ichikawa students a glare each with obvious dislike, not interested at all in shaking anyones hand. "Tch.."

The third member of the group, Ternal had approached aswell and had set his gaze on Lisa. "My my, I did not expect the opposition to have such a beauty amongst them. If you fight as good as you look, then we are in for a treat indeed. I'm Ternal, Ternal Dawning." Ternal did a courteus bowing motion to Lisa, and gave her a wink which could very well be considered seductive, complete with a soft smile.

Nanashi chuckled as he walked up in between their two groups, smiling at all three of the Karasato high schoolers. “Hello, nice to meet you all. The names Nanashi Kanzen, president of the Ichikawa Gunpla Battle Club.”

Mika sweatdrops at Ternals comments towards her (I’m assuming). “The names Mika Ryuga, team manager.” She said with a small bow.

Sousuke pushed his hat up slightly, acknowledging the team from Karasato but only barely. One of the members tried trash talking. So that was how it was going to be? Sousuke decided to beat the guy at his own game, "You know, that's funny." he said with the smile of a sly fox, "I was just about to say the same thing to you guys." he offered, it was clear he planned to keep his cool no matter what today. No one, not even Nanashi, would get under his skin today, he'd make sure of it.

Of course, that was about when the fun got spoiled. First by Karasato's leader and then by Nanashi. Sousuke only offered a shrug, deciding not make a scene or pick any fights outside of the battle arena. And right about then was then the doors to the Hokuten Van burst open. Team Chaser exited their vehicles, silently shutting the doors and approaching Nobuya with an almost professional march. They all wore their school's uniform, with an added armband that marked them not only as Team Chaser but as their school's prefects. They stopped before the group, though. Keiichiro eyed everyone with almost comical scrutiny, "Ahem!" he coughed, then loudly announced, "Trash talking, Sousuke? And here I hoped your time with us improved that attitude problem of yours."

"Who's got an attitude problem?" Sousuke asked, stepping right up to Team Chaser's captain and showing him no fear whatsoever, "Was that your battle plan, Asaka? Lecture us into submission?" he asked with a wink. This got a chuckle from Sakuya, who had to fight the urge to burst out laughing. Even Tsukasa cracked a smile, if only slightly. Keiichiro looked like he was boiling, a vein even comically popping out of his forehead. Then all of a sudden, he instantly cooled off.

"You're taunting won't work on me, Kikkawa." he said, trying almost too hard to be as cool-headed as Sousuke, "But even if this isn't an actual Tournament, it's still a sanctioned event. I strongly suggest everyone conduct themselves accordingly." with that he decided to ignore Sousuke and instead address the other battlers, "Good morning! I'm Keiichiro Asaka, Captain of Team Chaser! My team and I look forward to battling you all." he said with a courteous bow. Keiichiro could be quite polite and courteous when addressing strangers, really it was only Sousuke who got under his skin.

"Ah, me too." Sakuya added with a friendly bow, "I'm Sakuya, by the way. Can't wait to see how my designs stack up against all of yours. And uh... long time no see, Sousuke-san!"

"Tsukasa." she said coldly, and nothing else. Tsukasa was a bit of an ice queen, usually caring more about perfecting her strategies than making small talk.

"Yeah, yeah..." Sousuke said casually to Sakuya, then approached Tsukasa and tipped his hat to her, "...been a while, Tsukasa. Don't suppose that icy heart of yours has melted any in the last year?" unfortunately all Sousuke got was an incredulous raised eyebrow from her. Apparently this wasn't the first time he tried flirting with her, and it was also apparent that the attempts all ended roughly like this.

Kayl nodded his head to Nanashi and Mika, and then to Keiichiro and anyone else close to him. "Looking forwards to seeing what beautiful gunpla you all have. Good luck in the practice to you all. Sieg Zeon!"

While Kayl was trying to greet and be friendly with the people, Syo had found himself a target for the upcoming fights.

Sousuke Kikkawa. I am going to tear his smug face and gunpla up. Syo's teeth began to grind against oneanother, he was thrilled and eager to get in there and beat the living hells out of all of them. He didn't need Kayl or Ternal for certain, that is what he was certain of. Sure Kayl had some knowledge of gunpla and how to do tactics. But he couldn't even assemble his own. That's something Syo could. As for Ternal? He didn't know what that guy was capable of. Though he was sure he was the team trumph card himself.

This team Chasers had shown up aswell. Whilst Syo found his remarks to Sousuke to be amusing, he did not like the face of that Keiichiro guy either.

I'll grind them all to dust. But I'll start with that Sousuke guy. He's mine. "Better watch yourself in there, bozo. Cause you are going down." He said in a hushed voice as he tried to pass by Sousuke.

Ternal turned his head briefly to Mika who was being courteus towards him. He had a blank expression for a moment before offering a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth and gave her a deep nod. "A pleasure, little lady." Ternal's eyes narrowed slightly in a seductive manner. Before his attention returned to Lisa. "That is a shame. Perhaps it is destiny at play. Looking forwards to seeing you in action when you finally get to it, golden princess. Thank you for the kind welcome." A soft smile forming on his lips and he tilted his head to the side with closed eyes before his attention turned to the others gathered, looking over each and everyone gathered. "Play well everyone. There is some really tough ones that will be out there."

Nanashi looked over the groups of people. All four teams Lined up together making a makeshift square. "This is pretty impressive, many of the top fighters in our area in the same place." He said with a chuckle.

A girl from Nobuya stepped forward, bowing, "Good afternoon to you all, my name is Chiaki Naomi the president of Nobuya Gunpla club and Team Fortress. If you'd all follow me we can get set up." She said as everyone began to follow her into the school, through the courtyard, and around the school to what looked like a gymnasium. The inside of the gym was big, with every corner of the gym having a couple of work stations for Gunpla maintenance. "How about each of us do final checks before we begin to battle." She asked the others.

"That'd be great, thanks." Nanashi said as he and the Ichikawa group moved to one of the stations. "So guys, thoughts?" He asked gesturing to the other teams.

"I think I remember some of Chaser's M.O.'s," offered Sousuke in a hushed tone. After his little conversation with Keiichiro and failed attempt to flirt with Tsukasa, he kept quiet while everyone entered the gymnasium. But now he was talkative again. He decided to explain as much as he could remember about Team Chaser's tactics, "If I know Asaka, he'll focus fire on me so you two should be able to ignore him and target his partners. Sakuya likes to fancy himself a pacifist, he'll spend most of the battle defending and only attacks if he's forced to. That also means he usually burns through his energy the slowest, so he'll almost certainly outlast us in a drawn out fight. You may want to do what you can to get him to attack and use up his energy faster. As for Tsukasa, I have to admit it's pretty much impossible to nail her style down. She's perfectly willing to change and alter her style to suit whatever opponent she's trying to take down. She's also very observant. The more time you give her to assess your skills, the harder it will be on you in the long run. But you can't just go rushing at her either, she pretty much always has some kind trap or plan in place for that sort of attack. And like I said, you can just leave Asaka to me." that was about all Sousuke could offer on them. But he did add one more thing, "I don't know if any of the information I just gave you still applies. Something may have changed with the team that I don't know about, so keep that in the back in your mind while you fight them."

Meanwhile, Team Chaser was waiting in their designated area, "So? What do you make of them?" Keiichiro asked Tsukasa. He knew she would have been making silent observations of everyone before they entered the building, and whatever she learned would likely be of use to them. Tsukasa closed her eyes in thoughtfulness, "Difficult to say. The boys from Karasato seem a bit mismatched, but nowhere near as much as Sousuke's new team. The home team from Nobuya are reserve battlers, not the regular team. So I'm afraid I can't offer much about them. But if they aren't the regular team, then that probably means that Karasato and Ichikawa are our biggest threats here."

"If Sousuke-san's new team is the most mismatched, doesn't that make them the most unpredictable?" asked Sakuya with a thoughtful nod.

"Tch, figures. Kikkawa always was a wild card, so I guess an eclectic wild card team is perfect for him, isn't it?" Keiichiro quipped. He gave a quick sidelong glance in Sousuke's direction.

"We may also want to assume he's told his team about our usual tactics." Tuskasa added with a blunt, matter-of-factly tone, "Which means we'll have to be doubly cautious. I won't be able to tell us much more until I've actually seen some of these people battle, though."