"It never gets dark...", Marth thought it was weird how he had worked up such an appetite while the sun was still in the sky. "Appetite?" Marth questioned himself. He hadn't eaten all day, and the feeling of hunger had only just met him once he sat down to relax.

Marth eagerly agreed he was ready to return, and Tsubasa-sensei initiated phase shift. The two faded out of the mine, and into the empty Administration building of the school. Marth's stomache growled.

"I apologize for not sending you with lunch. I admit my mind has been preoccupied lately.", Tsubasa-sensei expressed regret, avoiding eye contact and blushing a little. Seeing Tsubasa-sensei, built like a tank, and normally exceedingly confident, in an embarrased state, made Marth a little excited. Knowing Tsubasa was a teach at this school, Marth's sentiment quickly shifted to uneasy. He had to change the subject and break the silence of this awkward moment.

"Say, sensei, how come you didn't hallucinate when we got to the mines?", Marth asked in a hurry, blurting out the first thing he could think of.

Tsubasa-sensei took a moment to regain her composure, closing her eyes and easing her face.

"Let's walk to the cafeteria, I skipped lunch as well. I'll answer your question over dinner."

"Okay.", Marth replied, holding back his excitement once more as he took in this experience. This may have been the first time a mature woman had asked Marth to have dinner with her.

The two walked in silence to the mess hall. It was a short walk, thanks to the compact layout of the campus.

The two queued up to be served. Adish was in the background prepping the next meal, but he took the time to wave with a large smile to Marth and Sensei. The servers behind the counter did the same, scooping up large portions for each. Dinner tonight was a lentil salad with a side of steamed broccoli almondine, and a banana pastry. Marth and Tsubasa-sensei added their dishes to trays and sat across from each other at a table.

The salad was a deep green, with snippets of parsely, chunks of carrots and other garden vegetables, mixed with a curry-like sauce. Thankfully, no potatoes were there to remind Marth of that damn Kaito.

"Dammit, I was reminded anyway.", Marth mumbled with his mouth full. Marth thought of Kaito's non-existent face, with just those beaming fiery eyes. Kaito never did give Marth a full explanation of his lack of a body. Marth looked up and noticed Tsubasa-sensei chewing her food, curiously looking over at Marth.

"Why does Kaito have no body?", Marth figured Tsubasa-sensei would know.

Tsubasa-sensei closed her eyes, finished chewing her food, and swallowed.

"That's not my story to tell.", Tsubasa-sensei was a closed book; she returned to eating.

"Ok then, tell me about you.", Marth wanted to hear the answer Tsubasa had promised earlier.

Tsubasa-sensei's mouth was full of food, but she suddenly stopped chewing, turning red and staring at Marth. Her cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk's stuffed with nuts. Marth realized he didn't phrase his question very accurately.

"I mean, how were you able to not hallucinate like I did, when we arrived at the mines? I.. It's your Esper level, perhaps? You are after all the second pillar of St. Ezreal's.", Marth hurriedly clarified, stumbling over his words

"Oh, right", Tsubasa-sensei said with food in her mouth. Quickly realizing she talked with food in her mouth, she covered her mouth with her hand and looked away.

It wasn't like her to act like this. Marth wondered if she gets like this when she's hungry, so he took a moment to noisily shovel some food down his throat.

"Oh boy, this food is really tasty! Let's eat up while it's nice and hot!", Marth blurted, giving her a chance to do the same.

Still covering her mouth, Tsubasa-sensei looked up and laughed. The two nom'd their food for several minutes, washing it down with a large glass of water.

"Ahhh! That hit the spot!", Marth reported with a smile. It felt good to have food in his stomach after a long day of work.

Tsubasa-sensei seemed to have gathered herself. After wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin, she began to speak.

"Admirite. St. Ezreal's Catalog of the Elements number A.43.X20."

Marth knew of the Catalog. It's a standardized classification for all elements in the world, natural or Esper made. A for anatural (unnatural), 43 for it being cataloged as the 43rd unnatural element, and X meaning the effect level the element produced on Espers. The X level is a range from 0 to 50, signifying the strength of the element's effects on Espers. Theoretically, an X level 50 would explode your head just by thinking about the element. Luckily, the highest strength element cataloged so far was only X30. Such a level element can provide enough strength to an Esper to match the nuclear power of Plutonium. Naturally, anything 25 or above is tightly regulated.

Tsubasa-sensei continued speaking of Admirite.

"Astral Wavelength, 501 nanometers."

The waves of life. Everything from sound to sight, to electricity, thought, radar, and gamma radiation all exist as a wave on the cosmic stage. Astral creations are no different, they simply exist at a different level of consciousness. 501 nanometers is responsible for every aspect of Admirite, from the color to the effects it has on Espers.

"I'm immune to Admirite, because I carry it's inverse in my Astral realm."

"Brilliant!", Marth blurted out, before making sense of it. "I don't get it, but it's brilliant!"

Tsubasa-sensei smiled a bit, then went on with her explanation.

"Admirite in it's most basic form exists as a wave. That wave is what pulsates, sending out ripples which interfere with your consciousness. If say, another element was in the vicinity, sending out ripples which perfectly interfere with those of Admirite's, the effect of Admirite can be nullified because an equal yet inverted force is acting upon the waves, cancelling them out."

Marth's eyes lit up.

"Just like noise cancelling headphones!"

"That's right. I wear X cancelling Astralphones. It's a basic defense barrier required by all pillars.", Tsubasa-sensei finished, crossing her arms.

"Defense barrier", Marth was even more curious now. "Does that mean it protects you from other kind of Esper attacks?"

Tsubasa-sensei closed her eyes with her arms still crossed in front of her. She looked like she was done talking.

"Marth, that's all for today. Thanks for your hard work. I'll escort you back to your quarters, now."

Marth's expression went from impressed to upset. "What a bummer!", he said. He liked Tsubasa-sensei more when she was relaxed, but now all he could think of was holding back his desire to call Tsubasa a tight-ass.

Marth and Tsubasa returned their dishes to the kitchen and began their walk to the dormitory. Marth wondered why he was being escorted to his room tonight. He wondered if news gotten out about his mishap with Sato Hanna the night before. He was too embarrased to ask about that, so he broke the silence with something else on his mind.

"Tsubasa-sensei, have you ever explored your Astral Realm while under the influence of Admiriate?", Marth felt like a child asking if his big sister had ever gotten drunk.

"Yes, Marth.", Tsubasa-sensei kept her response short. Marth was surprised she answered at all. The lit stairway to the dormitory was just ahead and Marth wanted to know if what he had seen in his own Astral Realm was an oddity after all.

"Did you ever see anything strange there?"

Tsubasa-sensei kept her head forward, but turned her eyes to look at Marth. Her eyebrows lowered.

"What kind of strange things do you mean?"

Marth wondered if Tsubasa-sensei was getting the wrong idea. She had been blushing all evening at even the slightest potential of sexual innuendo. Just how dirty was her mind?

"I mean, Uhm, like, hidden caves and fancy household appliances", Marth made sure that his description was free of naughty implication as the two arrived at the steps.

Tsubasa-sensei picked up her pace, pulling up her long hakama as she bounded up the stairs leaving Marth behind.

"Hey!", Marth cried out, surprised at her actions once again. He matched her pace, skipping every other step of the stairs on his way up.

Tsubasa-sensei thrust open the outer door, walking quickly through. The door on it's pneumatic hinge started to swing, and Marth several steps behind Tsubasa just barely caught the door before it closed.

"Wait up!", Marth called out to Tsubasa who was power walking her way through the dormitory halls. She focused forward, not looking back or responding.

"What the hell is up with her tonight?", Marth wondered as he transitioned to a jog to keep up. Tsubasa-sensei got to Marth's door first, opening it for him as she stood in the hallway.

"Did I say something weired?", Marth asked as he stepped up to her, slowing his jog. He stopped before entering the door, facing Tsubasa.

Tsubasa-sensei didn't reply, instead she grabbed the back of Marth's shirt, pushing him through the open doorway.

"Hey!", Marth was surprised at Tsubasa's strength. She was tall, strong, but she really must be packing some guns beneath the long sleeves of her battle attire.

Marth got his footing as he decelerated from Tsubasa's throw. He turned back to her, upset.

"What gives, you old hag? You've been acting strange all night.", Marth had had enough and let the insult slip.

Tsubasa-sensei's expression didn't change. Marth expected her to leave him without an explanation, but she did the opposite, walking through the doorway and closing the door behind her. She turned to the door, locking it. Marth was speechless until Tsubasa-sensei walked straight towards Marth. Marth felt a punch coming and he reeled back, throwing up his arms in defense.

Tsubasa kept walking, pressing her metallic chestplate into Marth's outward arms. Tsubasa kept walking as Marth's demeaner switched from defensive to utterly dumbfounded. Tsubasa kept walking, as Marth stepped backwards until he was pinned against the back wall of his room. Marth let out a sound as the wind was knocked from him. Tsubasa stopped and her strong hands pressed against Marth's shoulders. Marth's arms were still stretched out, and now they were hovering on either side of Tsubasa's. Marth couldn't look her in the eyes, and stared down at the metal chestplate between their two bodies. Marth thought this might be hot if not for her metal armor, but quickly snapped back to reality.

"What are you doing, sensei?!"