Aldo sensei's eyes opened slowly, revealing the end of his hospital bed, long table with a sink, and storage cabinets full of supplies. He was tucked under a blanket, wearing a hospital gown.

His eyes widened, letting in the whole view of the room. To his left, Tsubasa-sensei sat in a chair next to the bed with her arms crossed and eyes closed. Her head was drooped and she was breathing lightly.

"A nap?", Aldo wondered quietly. "How long have I been out?"

Aldo sat up in his bed, and looked around the room. A fresh set of his clothes were neatly stacked on a shelf. Aldo pushed his covers down, swinging his legs out to the side of the bed. He paused to look down at the intraveinous needle in his arm.

Aldo removed the medical tape holding the tubes in place, and pulled out the needle. A pool of blood rose from the wound. He stood up and walked to the long desk, helping himself to a cotton swab and tape which he applied to his arm to stop the bleeding.

Aldo grabbed his clothes, putting on his pants before removing the hospital gown. After his shirt, Aldo sat on the end of the bed to put on his socks and shoes. As he lifted his first shoe to pull over his foot, he stared in horror at it's sight.

"Who scuffed my shoes!" Aldo cried, enraged at the numerous scrapes atop their refined brown pleather.

"You're awake." Tsubasa-sensei said, roused from her nap.

"Tsubasa-sama, nevermind me, my shoes are ruined!" Aldo held them up, their damaged surface in plain sight.

"Well, I see you're fine. I'll take my leave then." Tsubasa-sensei stood up.

Aldo dropped the shoes, standing and turning to face Tsubasa.

"Wait, what happened to me? How long was I out?" Aldo needed to know about that more than worry about his shoes.

"I placed an attack barrier on Watanabe, in order to catch the Nemesis of Time culprit. If you had exercised some restraint, you wouldn't have set it off and caused your latest coma." Tsubasa-sensei explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Aldo clenched his teeth.

"There was no need. The fewer who know about the barrier, the better."

"No need? Are you questioning my loyalty?"

"I'm questioning your environment." Tsubasa reasoned. "There's a possiblity that the culprit is among us. I'm merely keeping the chance of a leak to a minimum. You shouldn't have been fighting with a student anyway."

"A student?" Aldo's eyes widened at Tsubasa's mistake. "He failed the entrance exam, he's not a student!"

Tsubasa's mouth opened. Her little play thing had grown on her and she had begun to think of him as a member of the school.

"Right..." Tsubasa said, a little embarrassed.

Aldo stepped back.

"Well anyway, I'm not about to make a habit out of gettting put into a coma by you." Aldo spoke as he winced his forehead and putting a hand to his face.

"I'm glad you're Okay."

"Pfft, that was nothing. An attack like that isn't going to keep me down for long. After all, we still haven't had our rematch!"

"Hah!" Tsubasa laughed. "When that happens, don't think I'll go easy on you!"

Marth ran to the cafeteria, joining a flock of students as they queued for service. The cafeteria was lively as voices echoed through the styled brick ceilings. Marth stood in line and watched a pair of girls in short skirts lean over the salad bar to pour some dressing.

"Ooooh, stripes!" A voice behind Marth swooned.

Marth turned to see a messy haired girl staring in the direction of the salad bar using a pair of binoculars. A drop of drool was running from her mouth.

Marth wondered what was up with this girl. Her jet black, shoulder length hair was as if she just rolled out of bed. The sleeves on her school uniform seemed too long, and they covered much of her hands, only revealing her small fingers as they gripped the binoculars.

"Umm, those binoculars..." Marth wondered aloud.

"Lace!!" The girl called out as her cheeks went rosy beneath her military spec binoculars. Just then she noticed Marth staring intently. "Oh?"

The girl lowered her large optics to curiously look up at Marth. She glanced over to the girls at the salad bar, then back at Marth. She offered the binoculars to him, her long eye lashes coming together as she smiled.

"Schtinarr?" Marth read aloud the brand name on the top of the optics. "Holy shit, those are the real deal!" Marth hastily grabbed the set of eyes, forgetting about the girls. He brought them up to his face, looking through the apertures. "Which model is this? 7X? 8? Wooow, the objective size is incredible! It's even got Mil dots, so cool! Where did you get this?" Marth looked back and forth through the cafeteria, googling over the expensive piece of kit.

Another girl walked up to the salad bar, bending over to reach the dressing. A pair of white panties glistened through Marth's magnified view.

"White cotton!", Marth was captivated. His mouth hung open as a drop of blood ran from his nose. "Hey, this hobby of yours is not bad! Here, partner. Take a look!"

Marth pulled the binoculars from his face, handing them to the girl behind him, while keeping his eyes focused on the panty covered shapely derrier.

The messy haired girl didn't take the binoculars, and Marth turned to see why. She was gone. In her place, Sato Hanna stood staring at Marth with a menacing look of disappointment.

"You're the worst!" Sato shouted in disbelief before lifting her leg and dealing a powerful Kung Fu side kick to Marth's chest. Marth flew backwards into a brick column, shaking it and knocking a potted plant from it's perch above. The plant fell, ending in a crash as the ceramic pot shattered atop Marth's head. Battered and mind scattered, all Marth could see was a flock of chirping panties flying in circles above his head.

Marth cleaned up the mess and aquired his lunch. He carried the expensive binoculars on their sling around his neck with his lunch tray in his hands. He walked through the sea of tables, looking for a place to sit. Most of the other students had got ahead of him in line, so most of the seats were taken by now.

"What horrible timing." Marth thought about Sato Hanna. "And who was that short girl with the messy hair? I need to return her binoculars."

Marth stopped in the center of the cafeteria, scanning the room for an empty seat. Amung the mass of students, one stood to wave at Marth.

"Watanabe!" A smiling girl with a platinum blonde side tail was waving at Marth.

"Shizuma!"

Marth walked over to the table where she and Tanaka Aoi were sitting.

"Watanabe-san, please sit down!" Shizuma beckoned as she picked up her lunch tray, making room for Marth. She walked to the other side of the table and sat next to Tanaka.

"Thanks." Marth said as he took a seat.

"Miyu, don't you mean Matsumoto-san?" Tanaka set down her fork to tease.

Marth laughed uncomfortably. "It's really packed in here today."

"You haven't heard? There is supposed to be an announcement during lunch today. Normally lots of students eat outside." Shizuma told the news.

Tanaka continued to eat her lunch, avoiding eye contact with Marth. Marth dug in as well.

Minutes passed before a hushing clap was heard. "Everyone, please may I have a moment of your time?"

The students turned to the small stage at the side of the cafeteria, usually reserved for live music, where Tsubasa-sensei was standing. The idle chatter became silent as the students gave Tsubasa-sensei their ears.

"The yearly competition for induction to St. Ezreal's Esperly Order has been rescheduled. Teams of three must enter by the end of tomorrow, and the competition will take place two weeks from today. That is all." Tsubasa-sensei said, before she turned and walked off the stage.

The students in the cafeteria collectively worked themselves up to an outroar.

"What! Why is this happening?"

"No way, the semester just started!"

Shock and confusion spread like a wildfire. St. Ezreal's was known for it's Esper competition, a yearly event which pitted students against students in a simulated battle royale. The event consistently drew large crowds of spectators as the trial determined the highest skilled Esper teams in the school. The award for the top three teams was admittence to the Academy's secondmost prestigious group, the miliatarized St. Ezreal's Esperly Order.

The order was at the pinnacle of Marth's aspirations. In addition to the five pillars, they were the heroes of the school, carrying out humanitarian aid while promoting freedom and justice.

Tanaka's jaw dropped as she heard the news. She quickly regained composure, standing up and yelling after Tsubasa-sensei.

"How dare you change the schedule! I demand an explanation!"

Tsubasa-sensei continued walking with her back to the crowd.

"Miyu, Miyu! The competition is traditionally at the end of the semester. We first years won't stand a chance if it's only two weeks away!", Tanaka continued her concerned speech as Shizuma Miyu listened anxiously.

"Come on Miyu, we have to get more information. This will not stand!" Tanaka stood up, grabbing Shizuma by the arm.

"Aoi!" Shizuma called out, surprised by Tanaka's haste. The two left their lunch trays behind as they hurried after Tsubasa-sensei.

Marth sat behind, finishing the last of his meal. Many of the students in the cafeteria were outraged, but Marth chomped his dessert without issue.

"I picked the right year to cheat on the entrance exam!" Marth chuckled as he wiped his hands on his napkin.