"She must be onto me", Marth thought to himself. "Oh, this and that", he said aloud, dodging the question.

"This and that? What kind of answer is that?", Aoi grinced her teeth and clenched a fist. It looked like she was going to throw another fit, but she stopped herself after looking from left to right, not wanting to make a scene. Tanaka collected herself and decided to ask a different question.

"I wonder what it's like to work in the kitchen! Do the workers get free meals?", Tanaka asked the question looking at the ceiling, with one arm across her abdomen, her other hand grasping her chin.

"Free food? That would be so nice!" Shizuma Miyu's eyes lit up at the thought. Her hands joined together below her chin as she chuckled, lost in a daydream surrounded by brightly coloured pastries.

"Yeah! That would be the best!" Marth laughed uncomfortably, trying to dodge Aoi's question once more. Marth's mouth started to water as he thought of filling his empty stomache from the cafeteria's awesome selection.

Aoi tried to hide her irritance, but decided to back off for the moment.

"Well, aren't you going to ask your new classmate about herself?", she asked with her hands on her hips.

Marth was delighted at the chance to have a proper talk for once. Free from bickering, Esper fights, or deception. Well, this one could be deception free as long as Marth quickly changed the subject.

"What uh, do you do outside of school?" Marth asked the first thing he though of.

Aoi moved her hands from her hips, and she started to look a little insecure.

"I um, I like to collect...", She stopped herself. "Nevermind, it's not important.", she said bashfully. Just then, Shizuma stepped in.

"Aoi collects cute little stuffed aaaanimaaaals!", she joyfully held out her syllables, holding a small stuffed puppy above her head.

"Miyu!", Aoi loudly replied, embarassed as ever. She reached for the puppy and the two both held on, struggling for posession. Tanaka tried to pull it away. "Where did you get this?!", she demanded.

"It was in your baaaag!", Miyu reponded, refusing to let go.

The two tugged and pushed and contended for the stuffed toy, with Tanaka eventually winning control and hiding the faux creature in her bag. It was too late though, and a laughter broke out as much of the class had seen the event.

"Is she serious? Makeup is more important than toys", a pretentions twat spoke her view.

"Stuffed animals are for little girls!", an opinionated deuchebag chimed in.

"Well, so much for a peaceful dialogue.", Marth said with a drooped head.

Marth abruptly stood from his chair, still looking at the floor. He spoke up and adressed the room.

"I have been known for having some low-brow entertainments, but that doesn't stop me. If a stuffed animal is enough for you imbeciles to scoff at, allow me to introduce you to my hobbies."

The classroom stopped laughing, shifting their attention to this weired boii standing in the back near the window who was burning with a black aura.

"True love has no bounds when it comes to life's simple pleasures. My eternal delights are from Ecchi body pillows!", Marth confidently hollered, planting his foot on his chair. In his hand, stretched towards the ceiling, he held an open heart shaped locket which was around his neck. It contained a glossy picture of he and his waifu, 2D anime idol Tahou Mitsubashi. Portrayed, Marth's right arm wrapped around the high dots-per-inch printed girl, with his other arm obviously holding the camera for a selfie with his puffy spouse. The class looked on in silent disbelief.

Moments passed before the lot burst into a collective uproar.

"He's a pervert!"

"He's actually proud of that? What a freak!"

"Did he really take a selfie with his pillow?"

The classroom went on, questioning the behaviour of their peer. A student in an adjacent desk gathered their belongings and relocated to an empty seat further away.

Tanaka Aoi was no longer focused on being her embarrasement. Instead, she looked at Marth, showing a look of concern and bewinderment.

"I'm going to go back to my table, now", Tanaka said as she walked away from Marth. It was only Shizuma who seemed to grasp what Marth had really just done. She smiled largely at Marth, throwing a peace sign as her head tipped to the right. She followed after Tanaka.

The sensei stood up from their desk. "All right, that's enough for introductions. Please take a seat. I have some announcements from the administration."

The laughter and ridicule for Marth died down as the students took their seats. Marth held the locket in his hand as he sat, briefly closing his eyes before opening them to an empty hand.

Homeroom ended and Marth funneled through the door with the rest of the students. The session had been more eventful than he had hoped, and now he was sure that half the class would never talk to him again.

"Stay away from the pillow pervert!", A couple girls stared back at Marth as they escaped into the hallway.

Marth slowed his pace as he passed through the doorway into the hall.

"Where do I go now?" Marth wondered, his scheme to sneak into class hadn't been planned past homeroom.

Marth stood in the hallway next to the wall, watching as masses of well dressed students shuffled through the corridors, bags in hand.

"I can't use the same trick twice.", Marth thought about how he had used Shuu's name. "If I pose as an absent student again, I'll have to assume a new name. The chances that I get outed by a student with a common class go up exponentially every period!"

All the scheming made Marth feel drained. His stomached growled.

"Tea time?", Shizuma Miyu appeared frmo the crowd, inviting Marth. Unbeknownst to Marth, there was a twenty minute break before the next class.

The two left the Incorporeal Science building as Marth held the door open for Shizuma. She politely bowed and the two walked south towards the cafeteria. The sun was brightly shining down, casting short shadows from lamposts and students as they walked to their next appointments. The healthy green grass along either sides of the concrete walkways was cut short with care, edges trimmed neatly.

"Um, Mr...?", Shizuma wasn't sure which name to use in her address.

"It's Marth.", He set her straight, knowing she'd find ou when the real Matsumoto Shuu turned up for class tomorrow. Shizuma looked happy to know his real name.

"Marth-San, come this way!", She cheerfully spoke before turning and running in another direction.

"Oi!", Marth called out, "The cafeteria is that way!", Marth pointed to the shortest path which ran along the fountains in the yard. "A scenic route?"

Marth followed Shizuma along a walkway that ran between another building and the west edge of campus. A small recessed parking lot for maintenance vehicles was tucked into the building's exterior, and across from it was a rolling lawn with a large maple tree. Shizuma ran into the grassed area and up to a pillar at the brink of the school.

"St. Ezreal's Pilaaar!", Shizuma joyfully raised her arms in the air, her book bag dangling from her left hand. Reaching towards the pillar, she ran up and wrapped her arms around it's stone face.

Marth slowed his jog to a walk once he saw what Shizuma was up to. The pillar was important enough to her to hug.

"I used to dream about coming here.", Marth spoke, as Shizuma rubbed her cheek against the marble structure, grinning from ear to ear.

"Me too!", Shizuma said with a smile, still hugging the stone, her face resting against it.

"When I was young, my village was disorderly. My mother and I lived alone, I never knew my father. Every few months, bandits would come to our village, stealing whatever they wanted, and abusing the vulnerable. One night, bandits came to our home. My mother did her best to protect me, but was overpowered by the bandits. They might have got away with terrible things if an Esper hadn't shown up then." Shizuma spoke calmly as she looked up at the pillar with her arms wrapped around.

"That righteous Esper saved us. He was from this academy's defense force.", Shizuma rest her had aginst the pillar once more, pausing for a moment while she smiled. Finally she stepped away from the pillar to face Marth, clutching her hands against her chest.

"That's when I decided I would become an Esper too, so I could save those who are in need." Shizuma said it with a glow in her big green eyes. Marth looked at Shizum, able to relate her cause.

"Let's become great Espers, and make the world a better place!", Marth said, invigorated.

"Yes!", Shizuma said, smiling.

The two made their way to the cafeteria's western entrance. The campus's main parking lot was there, next to the bus stop which Marth had arrived at for the entrance exam several days before. A bus was pulling up to the stop.

"I could catch that bus and get out of here.", Marth thought to himself. The bus came to a stop, and two students exited through the rear doors.

"There's nothing stopping me. All I have to do is show my high school ID and I get a free ride home.", Marth continued his thought. He was a prisoner after all.

"Marth, we only have a few more minutes. Let's hurry!", Shizuma warned Marth as he stood and thought. She was holding the door open like he had done at the last portal. Marth politely nodded and the two entered the cafeteria as the bus drove off.

The air conditioned cafeteria created a refreshing feeling. The two enjoyed green tea and snacks from the drink bar as they sit under the elegant brick vaulted ceilings. Marth gobbled mini muffins as fast as he could, in order to sustain himself until lunch. Shizuma laughed and sipped tea.