To the Unplanner: I have but two (kinda weak) explanations for the Ursus deviant. The first is that I'm having a very unfortunate habit of telling and not showing the supposed brutishness of the Ursus and Unicornis rivalry. The second is that, in story, we really only follow those from the other houses, so we don't see what minor-ish crimes Ursus/Unicornis commit to each other (like trashing each other's rooms). I'm sure there are nice members in Ursus, we just haven't met them yet. (Again, owing to the way I've been 'sorting' the characters so far.) Also, something else of note is kinda revealed in this chapter, but without spoilers the long and short of it is that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. It was still bad, though. Aced is pissed.

Here we go, lucky number 13! xD

Also, I just now realized that we've been in February for the past 8 chapters. *nervously laughs* I think White Day might just happen in chapter 15 instead of chapter 20. As much as I'd like for this story to go on for awhile (covering about a year and half, in story), spending too much time in February sounds a bit excessive- especially since it's the shortest month!

But I digress, thank you for reading!

If you had to ask, Ephemer was having a pretty decent Saturday, thank you very much. The cafeteria had decided to serve pancakes (which he topped with a lot of whipped cream and maple syrup), all his homework had been caught up for the week, and a pretty good song was stuck in his head. As he made his way to the headmasters' offices, he rather decided to tempt fate with asking what could possibly go wrong?

What he didn't expect was a Moogle to fly past him as if it had been tossed like a ragdoll.

"WHY WOULD YOU SELL FIRECRACKERS TO CHILDREN?!"

Ephemer nearly jumped out of his skin in hearing Aced's screaming rage. Sure enough, the big, angry papa bear charged out of Invi's office to pick the Moogle up and slam it into the wall.

"I-i-it's honest business, k-kupo!"

"I'll show you honest!" Aced thundered as he started to raise his fist.

The Moogle flinched, ready for the impact, but the moment never came. Instead, it felt itself being dropped as Ira demanded, "That's enough, Aced. The idiot gets the message."

Aced growled, none too pleased that Ira held a firm grip on his shoulder. It took a lot in him not the kick the shriveling Moogle at his feet as well. In all, Aced thought he was holding himself together pretty well. He could be cursing. He could take the Moogle, shake it like a doll, then rip its stupid head off. He could even take Ira's hand and bend back the very fingers that were digging into his shoulder.

Watching the scene unfold in front of him, Ephemer could not will himself to move. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Aced this livid. Had he ever seen Aced this mad before?

"Ephemer, it's not safe for you to be here right now."

Ephemer jumped as he turned his attention back to Invi's office door. Standing there was Ava and Gula, having let Invi through to try to mediate between Aced and Ira, they were now looking right at him. The first thing Ephemer noticed was how pale Ava looked; her knuckles were just as white as she tightly knitted her fingers with each other. It was then that he realized something really, really bad must have gone down.

"What happened?" he asked, making the initiative to move closer to Invi's door. But the headmasters were not responding. They could easily hear as Invi tried to calm Aced, while also telling Ira to let go of the tallest headmaster.

"Just go to your room." Ava insisted.

"There's already been enough casualties today," Gula chimed in. "Aced might actually jump off a bridge if you're hurt too."

If this was supposed to assure him, it sure as heck didn't work. Before Ephemer could voice an objection, the undeniable sound of a fist hitting someone's jaw caused the three of them to immediately look at the others. What they saw of Ira's complete look of shock as he held a hand to his face. Aced's face was filled with unbridled rage- his fist still clenched. Invi only stood between them, quickly glancing from Aced, to Ira, and back again, in a paralyzing fear.

"Go." Ava hissed into Ephemer's ear, giving his shoulder a push. The boy didn't hesitate this time, starting to slowly walk away before going into a light sprint.

He didn't even register where he was going at this point. His mind was still trying to process what he had just seen. Aced had punched Ira in the jaw. He had never seen Aced hit anyone before. The wall? Sure, it was papa bear's telltale 'I'm irritated' move. One of the punch bags in the gym? Of course, who didn't mindlessly whack those things around when they were annoyed? But another person? And a fellow headmaster at that? It just didn't… compute, for lack of a better word.

Ephemer slowly stopped running as he started to feel his lungs burn in exhaustion. He blinked, looking around to figure out where he was. He was still on campus- good. Not that he would run off campus in a confused haze. Then again, it has been a weird afternoon…

"You alright there, bud?"

Ephemer looked up and saw a small group of students coming toward him. In front was a boy, almost completely dressed in black and donning a fedora. Behind him were two girls- one that Ephemer quickly realized was Anora, he then ventured to guess that the other girl was her friend. Ephemer straightened himself up a bit and then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Weird afternoon." he admitted.

"It just keeps on going, doesn't it?" the boy agreed with a side smile. "These kind ladies and I were going to get some ice cream; would you like to join us?"

For a moment, the only way Ephemer could react was with a blink. He glanced at Anora's friend- she was giving him a small smile, a small bit of nervousness etched into the corners. Then he looked over at Anora, herself- but there wasn't any expression on her face. She only looked at him with eyes that stared directly into his.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one that had witnessed something disturbing today.

"Sure." he agreed with a grin. "Why not?"

The other boy returned the smile as he gestured for Ephemer to join them. On their way to the cafeteria, the two boys started to make some light conversation. Apparently, the boy's name was Brain. Anora's friend even introduced herself, Pyra was her name. Ephemer and Anora were already acquainted, so the two just shared a welcome smile between themselves.

Brain insisted on paying for the ice cream, despite the other's protests. But he did it anyway. The four of them sat down at a spot Pyra insisted on- 'it's our usual spot' she claimed with a grin. Even Anora seemed a bit more relaxed in sitting at the 'usual spot' than thinking of somewhere else. As the four of them dug into their ice cream, they sat in a contemplative silence, allowing the events of the day to properly process.

After a few minutes, Brain turned to Ephemer. "Were you at the debate earlier?"

Considering the question, Ephemer started to chew a little bit slower. The debate? As in, the monthly debates held by Unicornis house? That was today?

"No." he admitted with a shake of his head. "What happened?"

Brain and the girls recoiled. The black haired boy took a pensive bite from his ice cream before saying, "We don't know all the details yet, but some dude set off some kind of minor explosive in the auditorium. Everyone made a beeline for the main door in the confusion. A lot of kids got hurt."

Ephemer gave a small nod as he thought it over. He remembered what Aced had yelled at the Moogle, and was now starting to see why the headmaster had been so livid. The Moogle must have sold some firecrackers to the wrong student, who then used it to cause panic during the debates.

"Hope they get expelled." he then mumbled, his voice sounding far darker than he intended. No one seemed to voice an objection, so they continued to enjoy their frozen desserts.

"Do you… mind if I sit with you four?"

The four of them immediately looked up to see Aced, sheepishly standing by them. Ephemer's jaw almost hit the ground in surprise, while his first instinct was to look at Aced's hand. His entire hand had been wrapped in a bandage.

"S-sure." Brain agreed, being the first to react despite looking just as astonished as the others.

Aced gave a weary smile as he sat down. He scanned across the table to note that they each had ice cream.

"What flavor is that?" the sullen teddy bear asked, pointing to the ice cream Pyra was holding.

"Sea salt." Pyra replied without a second thought. "Would you like me to get you some?"

"That would be nice of you." Aced agreed. With a nod, Pyra immediately got up and went to get an ice cream for the headmaster. But Ephemer still did not stop cautiously looking at Aced. Of all the headmasters, Aced was the last to be seen with other students. Of all the reasons why Aced was here, there was only one sentence bouncing on refrain in Ephemer's mind;

Something was still very, very wrong.