"And then... we found you." Minamo finished off the tale on that note. However, she had the foresight to leave out the Legend of Ragnarok. She felt that, considering the situation, and what happened to all the past Arbiters, that it would be best for the girls to hear it from someone who knew the whole story.

"Wow..." the girls said in unison.

"I would very much like to meet this Erika... she seems..." Sakaki seemed to trail off, and Kagura finished the thought for her.

"She seems awesome! Maybe we can learn some things from her!" Tomo laughed.

"Maybeyou could learn a few things. Ion the other hand, have no need for training. Hell, I could probably take her on with one arm tied behind my back." Minamo simply sighed, and put a hand on her forehead.

"Tomo, having met the woman myself, I can say that your head couldn't be further up your ass." Everyone was shocked at their usually calm P.E. teacher's choice of words. "In the short time that me and Yukari were taught by her, we couldn't once get a hit in. As far as we know, there isn't a single fighting style or weapon Erika hasn't mastered. On top of that, you remember how I said that all magic users are limited to a single element or field, with a few exceptions? Well, Erika happened to be one of those exceptions." Tomo was silent for a moment, before she rose to her feet.

"I guess I'll have to wait until I meet her then. But, I'm feeling energetic right now-"

"What else is new..." Yomi interjected.

"Hey! Anyway, I'd like to see these 'skills' of yours, Nyamo!"

"Tomo, don't be an idiot..." Yomi said.

"Yeah, now probably isn't-" Tomo cut off the warnings.

"No, you guys saw me back there! I kicked ass! I think these teachers here are yankin' our chains! Whaddaya say Nyamo? A spar, you and me?"

"Tomo, I wouldn't if I were you..." This time, it was Yukari that was warning her. The rest of the girls noticed Minamo was beginning to lose her cool, and the temperature of the clearing seemed to drop several degrees. They crawled back a bit, distancing themselves from their doomed classmate.

"Aw, come on... what's the matter? Think I'll embarrass you?" That was the last straw. Minamo looked up and stared Tomo in the eyes. She slowly got to her feet.

"Alright, Tomo. Give me your best shot. Hell, use your swords if you want, I don't mind." Minamo stood there casually. Tomo glanced around questioningly. Then she shrugged, whipped out her short swords, and dashed straight at her teacher.

No one was quite sure what happened next, but it went something like this. Tomo charged in, swords ready to strike. Minamo crouched low, and caugt Tomo's arm as she brought it down to attack. In a flash, she spun around and flipped Tomo over her shoulder, disarming the girl at the same time. Tomo landed on her back on the ground. As she struggled to get to her feet, Minamo shoved her onto the ground, in a sitting position. They locked eyes for a moment, and Tomo tried to rise again. However, her rear was frozen firmly to the ground. Tomo crossed her arms and pouted.

"Cheap..."

"Now that that's taken care of, you girls should get some sleep. We have a lot of traveling ahead of us," Minamo said. The girls obeyed, and shifted around so they would be more comfortable around the fire. All except Sakaki that is. She stood up and pulled Minamo off to the side.

"Kurosawa-sensei, I have a few questions."

"Go ahead."

"Well, first, I thought we were supposed to meet with a group of Resistance fighters? That was what Dedalus had said." Minamo frowned.

"It seems that the Resistance has its share of moles. There was a group of fighters, but they had been killed by the men who attacked you earlier," Sakaki suppressed her feelings of shock.

"Then... where will we go?"

"To Angenheim. Yukari and I stumbled upon the leader on the way to find you. He told us the way. We will go there and meet with him, and him alone. He knows of the moles, and would prefer to meet you girls in private."

"Why us, Kurosawa-sensei? Why are we so important?"

"That is something I can't tell you. All I know myself is that you have some role to play in aiding this world. A large one." She paused, before turning Sakaki back to the fire. "Get some sleep, you're tired."

The entire trip took nearly four days. The first day was relatively easy. The girls took their time walking along a weathered forest path, with their teachers leading the way. Tomo annoyed Yukari often, which led to Yukari nearly roasting her alive. Yomi, Chiyo, and Kagura questioned Minamo about all sorts of things, ranging from their knowledge of the world, to basic things like who they had met.

Ayumu concentrated on honing her telekinetic abilities, and often ended up accidentally hitting others in the head with rocks. No one could figure out why, but every single time it was always in the same place on the backs of their heads.

Sakaki was silent most of the time, content to simply enjoy the scenery. However, in her head, much more was going on. She had taken to questioning Ragnarok, or rather, its consciousness. Most of what she learned from it was more advanced combat techniques (defensive, mostly, as per her request), but she did also become fairly proficient in the Altairian language.

Kaori contented herself with walking at Sakaki's side, idly marveling at her beauty and the assertive aura that surrounded her. She noticed the far-off look in her tall friend's eyes and, while she did wonder what was going on in Sakaki's head, she largely left her to her own devices. Later on in the day, Kaori shifted to inspecting the bow and its arrows, getting to know them. At the same time, she mourned the death of Kaela Kotone, her short-lived mentor and protector.

On the second day of the journey, the road became a mountain path. Narrow and rocky, it made the going a lot slower and tougher. Sakaki, Yomi, Kagura, and the two teachers were fine, for the most part, but soon Chiyo, Tomo, and Ayumu found themselves running out of breath, and falling behind. Luckily though, the others weren't against to giving piggy-back rides.

On the last day, the girls were about to give up. While they were quite fit in their own right, they were all getting exhausted by the end of the trip, even Sakaki and Kagura. This was due in part to the teachers' unrelenting regiment of 6 hours of sleep, one of eating, and the rest hiking. However, despite all this, the girls eventually arrived at the spectacular fortress of Angenheim. Or at least, that's what it went by. They never actually got to see the entire thing from the outside, because they were stopped short by a very important person.

"Hold up, girls," Minamo said, holding up a hand. "We're being watched." On cue, a single man appeared from behind a boulder up ahead. He was clad in silver armor, with red lining and cloth underneath. At his side was a longsword, the hilt red as well, with gold inlays. He gave off an aura of authority, and rightly so, as they would soon find out.

"You have a good eye, miss. Might I ask who you are?"

"I am Minamo Kurosawa. We were looking for-"

"Angenheim, yes. And I assume the rest of you bear the names Tanizaki, Mizuhara, Mihama, Oaru, Takino, Kasuga, and Nogawa?" Everyone was shocked. He knew all of their names! "However, I count nine of you, yet I only know eight names. Could this last person be who I think they are?"

Sakaki stepped forward, She had not heard her name, and through an urging by Rangarok, she knew she could trust this man.

"I am Sakaki Reiko."

"May I see your sword, Miss Reiko?" Sakaki looked to the teachers. Minamo nodded, and Yukari shrugged. Sakaki reached back, and pulled Ragnarok out of its sheath. The sun glinted off the blade beautifully, and Sakaki noticed a distant sparkle in the man's eyes.

"It is an honor to finally meet you, Miss Sakaki Reiko. I am Connor Alamar, leader and founder of the Resistance."

Author's Notes: Just a short chapter to let you know I AM STILL ALIVE! I won't go into details, but to sum it all up: exams, essays, and work. That is all.

Anyway, I'll try to update Behind the Wheel soon too. It's good to be back, guys!