"Rampage-san, things have certainly... escalated, haven't they?"
"Suzuka-chan, the fact that you can summarize this chaos with 'escalated' proves you're actually a bit of a terrifying woman, you know that?"
The official announcement of Team Pleiades and the recruitment posters had been out for less than forty-eight hours. Rampage had intended to take a measured first step into team management, but before she could even lift her foot, the situation had exploded. She stared at the mountain of application forms piled on her desk.
"Let's see... one, two, three... there's easily over a hundred here, right?"
"It looks like there are many from our year," Suzuka noted, peering over her shoulder, "but there are even more seniors than I expected..."
"Yeah... I've never even heard of Team Rigil pulling these kinds of numbers for a tryout."
Rampage knew this was the price of her own name value. She had expected a crowd, but seeing the physical weight of a hundred girls' dreams on her desk was a different kind of pressure.
"Well—there's only one thing to do," Rampage said, leaning back. "We're holding a Selection Race."
It was the cleanest way to handle it. With a crowd this size, any decision she made needed to be backed by undeniable proof on the turf. Simply rejecting people on paper would lead to resentment—especially from proud girls like Air Groove or Mejiro Dober. She needed to give them a stage where they could accept their own results, and where she could judge their potential with her own eyes.
"I'll invite other trainers to watch, too. But the rules are clear: this is my team's tryout. I get first pick. Anyone I don't scout is fair game for the other trainers, and anyone left after that gets an invitation to join Team Nemesis."
Suzuka blinked. "Um... doesn't that mean everyone ends up under your wing in one way or another?"
Suzuka felt like this was incredibly lenient, but Rampage just smirked. While she was technically the one designing the training menus for Nemesis, the "drill instructor" on the ground was none other than Sunday Silence.
"I might write the workouts, but Sunday's the one actually out there. If they can survive her kicking their backsides every morning, then sure, they can stay. But 'lenient' is the last word they'll use to describe it."
"I see... either way, they'll be fighting against their own limits."
"Exactly."
Rampage's ultimate goal was to support girls who didn't have a dedicated trainer yet, so she saw no issue with the "all-encompassing" approach. Whether they succeeded in Nemesis or not was entirely up to them.
"I should probably look for a sub-trainer too... or is it too early?"
"Better early than late," Suzuka said firmly. "Much better."
"Logic checks out. Now I just have to find someone crazy enough to sign up."
Rampage began leafing through the forms. "So, are Air Groove and Dober actually among these applicants?"
It was a simple question. In the racing world, moving between teams wasn't unheard of, especially if a girl's style didn't mesh with her current trainer. As long as the current team lead gave the okay, a transfer was simple.
"If they want to be," Rampage said. "Though I think it'd be more interesting if they tried to stay where they are and take me down instead."
"It's alright. I'll just have to get faster so they can't catch us," Suzuka said, her chest puffed out with a rare, smug confidence.
Rampage laughed. For a freshman to talk so boldly about outrunning a powerhouse like Air Groove—it was pure pride, the kind of "first trainee" territorialism that Rampage found rather charming.
"Alright, let's see who we've got here..."
"Oh, I'll help!" Suzuka reached for a stack, then paused. Her eyes widened as she pulled out a specific form. "Wait... Stay Gold applied?"
"Ho? Stayo, huh?"
"I didn't think she was interested in teams... In the classroom, she's brilliant. She's usually sleeping during lectures, but if the teacher calls on her, she always has the perfect answer. Her test scores are near perfect, too."
"So she's a genius."
"A genius who skips every single practice session with the academy instructors," Suzuka sighed.
Just like her historical counterpart, this Stay Gold was a creature of extreme whims. If she didn't like something, she wouldn't do it, period. Apparently, she had a particular distaste for the "standardized" instruction of the academy coaches.
"She did mention once that she'd attend my classes," Rampage mused. "I guess she's putting her money where her mouth is. Does she realize she still has to run the Selection Race?"
"Honestly, that girl... Should I go talk to her?"
"Don't bother. She's not the type to listen to advice. If she wants in, she runs the race. If she passes, I'll take her. If not, she goes to Nemesis. Either way, she wins."
Stay Gold was often described as a girl who ran only for herself. Rampage felt a deep kinship with that attitude. If the girl was willing to show up, Rampage was willing to watch.
Selection Race Day
Rampage had made it clear: other trainers were welcome to scout, and Nemesis was the safety net. Some trainers had complained about "getting her leftovers," to which Rampage had simply replied:
"If you're unhappy, go scout them yourself before they get here. If you lose a talented girl because you were too lazy to look, that's on you."
She had then suggested that if they had a real problem, they could take it up with Minamisaka. That had shut them up instantly.
Eighty hopefuls stood at the starting line.
"Alright!" Rampage's voice boomed over the track. "We're starting the Team Pleiades Selection Race. Now that you're here, forget about everything else. Don't think about the crowd, don't think about the trainers. Just give me everything you've got. You came here to chase a dream, right? Then prove it on the turf. Group one, to the gates!"
She watched the girls closely. Among the nervous faces, she spotted one small girl yawning with an air of complete boredom. Rampage suppressed a grin and focused on the data.
It was a fascinating sight. She saw the raw potential of the freshmen, the emerging styles of the debut-bound girls, and the hardened determination of the seniors. It was a kaleidoscope of talent.
Finally, the races were over. Rampage stood before the finalists.
"My name is Mejiro Rampage. Welcome to Pleiades. We're a new team with zero history and zero trophies. But that's where the fun starts. I don't care if you have different goals. I don't care if you're all heading in different directions. A team doesn't have to be a monolith; there's beauty in being a collection of individuals. Don't try to fit in. Find your own strength, sharpen it, and make it yours. That is what we are."
Rampage looked down at her list and began to read the names.
"Silence Suzuka."
"Present!"
"Sunny Brian."
"Yes, Ma'am!!"
"Taiki Shuttle."
"YES!!"
"Mejiro Dober."
"H-Here!"
"Air Groove."
"Present."
"...And Stay Gold."
"...Yeah, yeah. I'm here."
Rampage tucked the list into her pocket and looked at the six girls who would define her new era.
"As of today, we are Team Pleiades!"
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