Aveline could not decide whether the lecturer was a genius or hideously inept instructor as the class was simultaneously boring and interesting. The subject matter, at least to Aveline who had not been immersed in the Soul Society culture and knowledge for the past hundred years, held some interest. However the lecturer Aragaki, Aveline remembered, made drying paint seem engaging.

Right now Aveline was leaning towards the hideously inept. She hoped her other classes would not be like this. Shinjui had said that there would be some classroom instruction, but there would also be a lot of practice and participation classes.

The dark redheaded girl next to her seemed to be even less fascinated by Aragaki then Aveline was. When Aveline had inadvertently made eye contact with her, she seemed to take that to mean Aveline wanted to talk to her as she soon said, "Could this lecture get any more boring? I should have just skipped this class."

Several other students were carrying on private conversations and Aveline was pretty far back so she decided it would be safe to talk a little bit, "Well, the subject matter could be important."

The girl sniffed, "Not likely. This is basic Soul Migration Theory. Everyone knows that."

Until about a month ago when she had stayed at the Squad Thirteen barracks Aveline hadn't known that. But she was probably a special case, "Well it COULD have been important."

The girl grinned, "You sure seem responsible. What's your name?"

"Aveline von Ravenstein," Aveline answered. She had almost started naming off her titles, but decided against it as the girl probably wouldn't care and it was rather long. "But please call me Avey."

"Strange name. Mine is Akane Kirishima," the girl said, "Where are you from Avey?"

"England."

"England? Where's that?"

"Earth."

"Oh, the real world. I see."

"And where are you from Akane?" Aveline asked.

"District Sixty-Seven of the Rukon. You know, not quite poor but just about there. I'm just glad I am not next to some hoity-toity noble," said Akane.

"Well…uhhh…I am," said Aveline, "I have titles to a Margravate, a Gravate, and a County in addition to Peerage."

"What the hell is a Margravate and all that other stuff?"

"Real world noble titles."

"Oh," said Akane, "But you're not some stuck up brat are you?"

"I am talking to you, from District Sixty-Seven."

"Good point. Oh well, I guess I can let you sit by me," said Akane jokingly, "But if I fall asleep it's your job to take notes for me."

Aveline smiled, "I will."

The guy behind her seemed a little perturbed by Akane's behavior, "What kind of girl do you think you are?"

"The kind that get's bored by old professors who think they know everything," said Akane, "And the type that gets mad at stuffy guys who listen in on girl talk."

"While I usually make it a point to NOT listen to the prattling of incompetents like yourself, you were whispering so loud I could not hear the lecture," he answered.

Akane smiled a vicious grin. Her green eyes seemed to flicker a little in the sunlight being let in by the large window. "And your point is?"

"Be quiet and listen to the lecture."

"And if I don't?" Akane goaded.

"Then I will…" said the boy, but a chime sounded through the lecture hall.

Akane shot up and said, "Well Avey, are you going to be rooming in the dorm?" The way she could ignore the guy behind her was somewhat remarkable.

"Uhhh, yes," said Avey.

"Good," said Akane, "see you there if not before."

"Okay, take care Akane."

"Whatever," said Akane dashing off.

Aveline turned to the guy behind her. "I would like to apologize on interrupting the lecture."

The guy shrugged, "Was boring anyway. Still no excuse for the girl to be so rude."

"Yeah, she was rather rude," said Aveline.

"And to think that her type is going to be a Soul Reaper someday," said the guy, "Name is Minato Okuzaki, by the way."

"Minato. Nice to meet you."

"You said your name is Aveline von Ravenstein, right?" said the guy. He was a little darkly complexioned and had dark brown hair and quiet eyes.

"Yes, but call me Avey."

"I will."

"What class do you have next Minato?" asked Aveline.

"Kido. My favorite."

"I have Kido next as well. Let's get going," Aveline suggested.

"Uhhh, yes," said Minato, somewhat taken aback by Aveline's directness.

"So you know your way around Kido? Good! Because I have been curious about Kido since I first heard of them," said Aveline.

"Well, they are not that hard. It's just like focusing your spirit energy except you do more with it as you focus it," said Minato.

"Put that way it seems almost trivial," said Aveline.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" chanted the student as a small ball of red flame puffed into existence for a moment before dissipating.

"Terrible," said the bearded instructor, "Absolutely terrible. No concentration at all."

"Sorry sensei," said the student.

"Return to your seat and pay attention. Next row get in firing positions," he said, "You are next." Aveline stepped forward. "Now as we practiced."

Aveline cleared her throat, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" Aveline recited, focusing her concentration on the ball of energy growing in her hand. She released it at the target where it barely missed and exploded in a brilliant flash of light and smoke.

"Not bad," the teacher said, "You are quite skilled with focusing you spiritual energies."

"Thank you, master," Aveline said.

"With some practice you may yet have a talent for kido," the instructor said, "Don't worry, you shall get plenty of that here."

Aveline returned to her seat as the next student approached.

"Not bad," said a hat sitting on top of a set of robes next to her, "Stubborn old mule doesn't often compliment people."

"I didn't hit the target," Aveline answered. Why was she talking with a hat?

The hat lifted up a bit, revealing some brown eyes underneath it. "He was just remarking that for your first try, that wasn't bad. One thing you will learn about these Soul Reapers is that they have egos bigger then blimps that bruise like babies. They whine like babies too, so they don't often say stuff like that."

"Well what about you. You are trying to become a Soul Reaper, right?"

"Kinda."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"My kind of answer."

"Not a very good one."

"You got that right. I am not a very good kind of guy. So like I said, my kind of answer."

Aveline glared at the hat, eyes, and robes. The hat was obviously well worn, slightly stained, and wrinkled.

"Name's Aki by the way," said the hat, "And you're Aveline, right?"

"Lady Aveline Wilhelmina von Ravenstein-Summersford, Margraven of Ravenstein…"

"A simple yes would suffice."

Aveline was getting annoying by this pile of clothes.

A bit more of a face appeared. It was the kind of face that seemed to always have a playful, mischievous grin plastered on it. Not a threatening grin, but one that made you always check if a whoopee cushion had been slipped into your seat.

"How did you know my name?"

"Same way I know everyone in our class's name. I took the class roster."

"You stole the teacher's roster?"

"No," said Aki, "I took it. I'll get it back to him before the end of class. Won't know a thing."

"How did someone like you get into the Soul Reaper Academy?"

"Boss Yamamoto caught me when I tried to cut off a couple of his hairs."

"…what?" asked Aveline. Even though she was new to the Seireitei, even she knew who Yamamoto was. He was the Captain of the First Squad, the Head Captain. "Why were you trying to give the Head Captain a haircut?"

"To prove I had snuck into the inner sanctums of the Seireitei."

Aveline began massaging her temple. "And why had you snuck into the inner sanctums of the Seireitei?"

"I don't know. Bored?"

"So you sneak into the Seireitei to give the Head Captain a haircut…" started Aveline, incredulously.

"While he was asleep," added Aki.

"…while he was asleep," continued Aveline, "One of the most powerful beings to exist. All because you were bored."

"Seems kinda stupid when you put it like that."

"Well how would you put it then?"

"Dashingly handsome rogue infiltrates the most secure fortress in the cosmos and returns with a lock of hair from one of the most powerful men in the world. Proving, for all time, that he is the greatest burglar that is, was, and ever will be," Aki said, "I like my description more."

"Still sounds stupid," said Aveline, "so what happened?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened'?" asked Aki, revealing his full face. Not that bad looking. He had wavy brown hair.

"Well from what you said, the Head Captain caught you."

"Yeah, he did. Was impressed by my spirit though. Suggested I try becoming a Soul Reaper to put my skills to better use."

"Suggested?"

"Okay, gave me the choice of me joining the Soul Reapers or killing me."

"So I take it you didn't want to be a Soul Reaper then?"

"Not my first choice, no. Ranks higher then dying."

"Well then, what did you want?"

Aki was silent for a while. Aveline thought she had shut him up or angered him when he suddenly said, "I want to see everything. I want to experience everything that the world has to offer."

"Not a bad goal," said Aveline, "Rather poetic actually."

"Nah. I stink at poetry. Well class is almost over. Gotta return the roster. I have sword practice next too."

"How did you…oh right. The roster."

"How many of you have trained with a sword before?" asked the combat instructor, a thickly built man with a shaved head. Several hands went up, Aveline's among them. "More then I expected," he grinned, "Now how many of you have actually fought with a sword before?" Two hands stayed up, Aveline's among them. The other one was a boy with grey hair near the front. "I knew you have Seito, I was seeing if anyone else here had. And it looks like we do. What is your name?"

Aveline stood. "Lady Aveline Wilhelmina von Ravenstein-Summersford, Margraven of Ravenstein, Graven of Ravenstein, and Countess of Summersford," she announced.

Akane was next to her and started laughing. Minato blinked a couple times. Aki remained asleep. Or maybe he was awake, pretending to be asleep. The rest of the students and the teacher blinked rather noisily.

The teacher recovered, "And that means…"

"That means that yes, I know how to fight with a sword," said Aveline.

"Well, why don't you come down here to demonstrate. I need to sort the class into skill levels and having two known sword users will speed that up," he said, "but first I need to see how your training stacks up to mine."

"What do you mean," asked Aveline when she arrived at the front of the class, "do I need to fight you?"

"No," he said, "but I trained the other swordsman in the class."

The grey haired boy stood and bowed, "Seito Sunohara."

"A pleasure to meet you Seito," said Aveline.

Seito scowled in return, "I have not given you permission to call me by that informal title."

"Well tell you what then, when I beat you, I get to call you that (you stuck up smeghead)?" said Aveline.

"When you beat me? HA! I have been training for the past three years with this sword. I am from a noble family. I will not be beaten by a common born woman like you!" He drew a wooden practice sword.

Aveline answered by drawing one of her own. She decided to put this arrogant blowhard in his place. After a couple of practice spars. "Three years? Don't make me laugh amateur. I have been using a sword for the past ten."

A flash of panic may have almost swept across Seito's face.

"The Ravensteins have been waging war in the name of God, King, and Honor for twelve hundred years," she continued, "And the Summersfords for seven hundred years." She whirling about blocking a down stroke and barely missing Sunohara on an upswing. Aveline quickly disengaged and swung about to Sunohara's right with a down stroke.

Sunohara parried the attack but that left him off balance. Aveline swung in from the left and below Sunohara, thrusting upward with her sword. Sunohara could not move his right handed sword down fast enough to block the thrust and found himself with a wooden sword jabbing his belly and a shocked expression on his face.

"Seito, wasn't it?" Aveline said with a grin, "Please call me Avey."

"How…" started Seito.

"Impressive," said the teacher, "Excellent footwork. Very aggressive. Who was your teacher?"

"Sir Everett White," Aveline answered.

"Hmmm, I have not heard of this person," the teacher answered.

"I expected as much," Aveline said.

"Anyway, let's get this class assessed and sorted," the instructor said, "Seito, you get over there and Avey you go over there. Boys line up in front of Seito and girls in front of Avey."

The class quickly sorted itself. The first girl approached Avey. She had reddish-brown hair, red eyes, and had a competent grip on her practice sword. "Hello, my name is Kimiko Tatsumi," she said.

"Pleased to meet you," Avey said, "Let's see, you have a good grip on your sword. Try swinging it a few times, let me see your stroke."

"Right," she said and Kimiko took a couple swings.

"Not bad," Aveline said, "It's kinda rough, but not bad. Where did you pick that up?"

"Well…I'm not sure just where," Kimiko said, "I guess my father showed me the basics like how to hold the sword before he died and the rest I just practiced when I could."

"Interesting, let's check your reflexes and dueling skills," Aveline said, "Take a few swings at me and then I will take a few swings at you and you try to block them."

"Sure," Kimiko said with a smile. She made an overhead swing at Aveline which she easily blocked. Kimiko then whirled around and tried for a diagonal slash, which was once again blocked. She then tried a thrust which Aveline deftly sidestepped. Aveline swung at Kimiko from the right and the girl barely dodged Aveline. Aveline followed up with a thrust which Kimiko remarkably parried. Aveline finished off with an upward swing which caught Kimiko off guard.

Aveline stopped just an inch from Kimiko. "Not bad," Aveline said, "You have some talent there. You just need more experience I think."

"You think so?" Kimiko asked excitedly.

"I don't lie," Aveline said, "I do strategically deceive, but lying is not part of my nature. What do you think, sir?"

The instructor regarded Kimiko, "She doesn't have any formal training. Her technique is very rough. But I do agree she has some natural talent and skill. Intermediate class."

"Take care, Kimiko," Aveline said.

"You too, senpai," Kimiko said.

The next girl had a nervous look to her. She had orange hair and purple eyes. She also had a rather buxom chest.

"Hello, I'm Aveline," Aveline said, hoping to calm the girl down.

"I'm Hikari…Hikari Ebihara," the girl said.

"Nice to meet you," Aveline said, "Relax a bit, you can't fight if you're all tense. You need to loosen the muscles up a bit. Shake your arms and legs out."

"Shake…them out?" Hikari asked.

"Like this," Aveline said as she shook her arm and wrist. Hikari mirrored Aveline.

"Good, now grab hold of the sword like this," Aveline said.

Hikari gripped the sword, "Like this?"

"Almost," Aveline said, "Move your hands apart some. And twist them some, you need to be able to move your grip on the sword to get a full range of motion.

"Sorry," Hikari said, "This is the first time I have held a sword."

"Well I can see that," Aveline said.

"First timer," said the teacher, "Beginning class."

"Oh well," Aveline said, "I will be glad to help you with your technique after classes."

"Really?" asked Hikari, "You would do that?"

"Sir Everett, my teacher, once told me that one does not really know a subject until one can teach it to another," Aveline said.

Hikari smiled a bashful smile, "That is so nice of you."

Aveline nodded and Hikari ran off to where the other beginners were gathering. Akane stepped up to Aveline.

"Hey Avey," Akane said, "Go easy on me."

"Not a chance," Avey said, "Now show me your grip."

Akane had a firm yet relaxed grip on her sword. "Sure. I saw enough macho guys holding one that I can do that, easy."

"Yeah, not a bad grip there," Aveline said, "Let's see some swings."

Akane made a few swings. They were lazy, but fluid and straight. "Now do we do the attack and defend?"

"Yeah," Aveline said, "Be on your guard, it seems like you know what you're doing."

Akane made a couple of swings at Aveline, one overhead straight down which Aveline blocked and the other upwards diagonal. Then she made a lazy horizontal swing that Aveline easily blocked. Aveline swung about and thrust her sword at Akane. Akane dodged the attack. Aveline quickly recovered and made a downward swing at Akane. Akane strategically moved into the blade and Avey barely caught it before she hit the girl.

"Well, you got me," Akane said, "Not bad for a beginner. Looks like I have some natural talent at this though."

"Quite," said the teacher, "Intermediate class."

As Akane walked away she said, "Bye Avey, see you at the dorm. Thanks for not hitting me with the sword."

Aveline was rather stunned. Akane had moved into her attack. She had started to dodge but then changed and moved into Aveline's attack. Aveline had a feeling that Akane was better then she seemed. She determined she would need to ask the redhead about that later.

The next student approached Aveline.

After the class had been sorted Aveline was taking a sip of water on the ground where the three 'advanced' students were gathered. Those were herself, Seito Sunohara, and a well toned guy with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail who was wearing his robe rather loose, showing off part of his chest. He and Seito seemed to know each other as they were chatting as Aveline sat down. The instructor was reviewing the other two classes.

"Hey gorgeous, my name is Itsuro Yamado, from the Yamado clan," he said, "You probably have heard of us."

Aveline regarded him. He looked like an idiot. "No, I haven't," Aveline answered.

Itsuro had a shocked look on his face, "Well, I find THAT hard to believe," he said, "The Yamado clan is a VERY wealthy family here in the Soul Society. Oh, and call me Itsuro. Or maybe even you can call me 'honey'."

Great, a rich kid with more money then brains.

"We are one of the richest families around here," he said, "So I find it hard to believe you haven't heard of us."

Aveline adjusted her glasses, "Well I don't really pay attention to who has the most money."

"Is that so?" Itsuro said, "Well just about everybody knows who I am. I'm the guy every girl wants and every guy wants to be. Rich, handsome, and strong. You can't find a better combination of manly traits then right here."

Aveline took another sip of water. She was wondering if she could join the intermediate class to get away from this guy.

"So what do ya say?" Itsuro said, "Wanna be my girlfriend. Pretty little thing like you would look great with a guy like me. And I could get you anythppp…"

Aveline shoved her cup into Itsuro's mouth. Then punched him. Twice. Itsuro skidded away comically.

"Sorry about him," Seito said, "Yamado comes from a rich family and he is used to getting what he wants. I actually think you are the first girl that has turned him down, though." Seito handed Aveline his cup of water.

"Thanks," Aveline said, "Friend of yours?"

"Not by choice," Seito said, "He was one of the only other nobles my age who wanted to become a Soul Reaper. So we often practiced together. He never did take it seriously though. He just wants to become a Soul Reaper so he can get all sorts of pretty girls."

"How about you?" Aveline asked, "Why are you here?"

"Because I can be," Seito said, "I'm strong enough and have enough spiritual energy to be a Soul Reaper. I want to hone that and become stronger. Becoming a Soul Reaper was the smart thing to do to accomplish that goal. Meanwhile I can use my strength to fight Hollows and protect people."

Aveline smiled, "How…noble of you."

"I answered your question, will you answer mine," Seito asked.

"Sure," Aveline said.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Seito asked.

"My teacher, Sir Everett, taught me many different fighting styles," Aveline said, "Melee, fencing, kendo, Flos Duellatorum, among others. These all combined into one personal and adaptive combat style, allowing me to switch between skills and stances at will as the situation changes."

"What happened to this Sir Everett?" Seito asked.

"I don't know," Aveline said, "He left one day. The day before he said he had taught me all he could and that the rest I would have to synthesize on my own. He also taught me unarmed combat, spear fighting, archery, and gunmanship."

"Quite the enigma," Seito said, "Sounds like a talented warrior."

"He kept saying he was born in the wrong time," Aveline said, "I hope that one day he find his right time."

"Any chance of me being able to train under him?" Seito asked.

"Some," Aveline said, "Just need to find him."

"So you are from a noble family," Seito asked, "Which one?"

"The Margraves of Ravenstein on my father's side and the Counts of Summersford on my mother's," Aveline said.

"What are Margraves?"

"A Margrave or Margraf is a border lord. They are responsible for defending the borders of a kingdom and so they have special military and combat duties," Aveline said, "So they have to be skilled fighters and maintain large numbers of household soldiers. Only a King has higher battlefield authority then a Margrave. Even in peacetime Margraves have considerably more authority then most other nobles."

"Oh, so a noble house of warriors," Seito said, "You don't strike me as a warrior from looking at you."

"Well then what do I look like?" Aveline asked.

"Like a librarian," Seito said, "I think it's the glasses."

"Well I can't get rid of them," Aveline said, "I need those to see what I am doing."

"Oh well, I guess you have to keep them then," Seito said, "So I guess since you are a noble I can let you call me Seito."

"How generous of you," Aveline said somewhat indignantly.

Lunchtime had arrived and Aveline was looking at the food offerings. She was disappointed by what she saw. Rice, ramen, and more rice with a few side dishes. She sighed. People should not have to live on such fare. Wait…if she was in the Soul Society, was she really living on such food…

Oh well, gotta make do with what I have on hand, Aveline thought. She grabbed a bowl of rice and poured some kind of brown sauce on it. It had what looked like bits of chicken and some nuts and vegetables in it. And of course, chopsticks. What she wouldn't do for a spoon or fork!

Aveline carried her tray into the eating area. "Over here," someone called. It was Kimiko from the sword class.

Aveline decided to take advantage of the invitation and took a seat next to Kimiko. There were three other girls at the table. Aveline recognized Hikari Ebihara there as well. The other two she didn't know. "Everyone, this is Aveline Ravenstein."

"But please, call me Avey," Aveline said.

"I think you already met Hikari," Kimiko said.

"Hello again, Avey," Hikari said.

"And these are my cousins Rei and Aya Shinsuke," Kimiko said. They had brown hair and looked very similar. Aveline guessed they were twins.

"Pleased to meet you," Aveline said.

"So Kimiko said you were a noble," Aya said.

"Yeah, and you were pretty good with a sword," Rei said.

"Oh well, I am a Margraven and I am pretty good with a sword," Aveline said.

"Yeah, she beat Seito Sunohara," Hikari said.

"No way," Rei said.

"YOU beat Seito Sunohara?" Aya said, "But that guy is amazing with a sword."

"Yeah, doesn't his family pay one of the teachers here to teach him to fight?" asked Rei.

"Well he likes wide open swings," Aveline said taking a bite of rice, "And he leaves himself completely open to thrusts. A good fencer knows how to take advantage of an opening like that."

"A good what?" asked Hikari.

"Fencer," Aveline said.

"What's a fencer?" asked Kimiko.

"Someone who is into fencing," Aveline said, "Fencing is a sword fighting style dominated by sword thrusts. Usually we use straight swords though; not the curving katana you guys use. Great for girls to learn as it is more based on speed and accuracy then physical strength. After all, a couple pounds of force is all it takes to penetrate a sharp sword point into a human body."

"Wow. Avey you seem like a really good swordsman," Hikari said, "Could you teach me to fence?"

"Sure," Aveline said, "We are all going to be Soul Reapers, right. So it would make sense if I helped you guys get as strong as possible."

Rei and Aya gave Aveline a weird glance. "What?" asked Aveline.

"Well…most Soul Reapers don't help anyone outside of their squad," said Aya.

"Yeah, the squads are always competing with each other," Rei added.

"Why is that?" asked Aveline, "Wouldn't it make more sense to cooperate to fight Hollows?"

"Some do cooperate," Kimiko said.

"But most won't even talk to people from other squads if they can help it," Hikari added.

Aveline sighed. That was a stupid way to run things. "Well I can tell you all now that is not how I am," Aveline said, "You all are my friends no matter what. And I will help you guys or any other Soul Reaper. Because I joined the Soul Reapers to help people."

Kimiko smiled, "Wow, that's nice."

"Yeah," Hikari said, "The same goes for me. No matter what, I will be your friend as well."

"Me too," Kimiko said.

"Yeah," said Rei.

"Me too," added Aya.

Aveline found her room. Room One hundred and sixty four. She was going to have a roommate. Her slip didn't have any last name listed, but her roommate's first name was Minako. Akane was next door in room One hundred sixty-two.

Aveline went inside and looked around. There were two beds, two small tables, and two footlockers. Not luxurious, but at least the beds looked comfortable. It appeared that Minako hadn't arrived yet. Aveline placed her bag next to the footlocker and began unpacking. She carefully arranged the contents of the locker for maximum ease of access and minimum wrinkles.

With everything stowed away, Aveline laid back on the bed and looked up. Looking down at her was a girl with short, light blue hair and a strange, barely lucid smile. She seemed to be crouching on the ceiling. "Hello," the girl said.

Aveline almost screamed. She was quite proud of herself for not screaming. She was sure the surprise was showing in her eyes. Minako seemed to not be paying attention to that though. "Uhhh, hello. My name is Aveline von Ravenstein, but call me Avey," Aveline said, "Are you Minako?"

"Hmmm, I am at the moment," the girl said.

"What do you mean at the moment?"

"Well, I don't really have a name," the girl said, "Where I am from I didn't need one. And it had been so long since I had come to this land, I had forgotten that people here used names so I forgot to get one. But a nice boy told me I could use his mother's name, Minako."

"Okay," Aveline said, "That is strange. Even for this place."

"Indeed it is," Minako said, "But I do my best to fit in here. And I fully intend to give the boy's mother her name back when I am done with it. People's names are very important to them, so I have to be careful with his mother's name while I borrow it."

Is this for real? Is this some kind of class to test if I am secretly insane?

"But you have such a pretty name," Minako said, "Daughter of Avalon. And Fortress of Wisdom for your family name."

"Uhhh, yes," Aveline said, "Wait, if you know that, does that mean you have met other Ravensteins?"

"No, I just know a lot of things. I don't know where I know them from, they just come to me."

Aveline sighed. This girl was crazy. "What are you doing hanging from the ceiling?"

"I was watching you," Minako said, "You remind me of my sister so much. You made sure everything went where you want it. My sister is like that too. I'm not. I just put things where it seems best to put them."

"I assume you are here to be a Soul Reaper too then?" Aveline asked.

"Not really," Minako answered.

"Huh?" Aveline asked.

"I am here because I need to be here," Minako answered.

"What does that mean?" Aveline asked.

Minako shrugged, "It means exactly what I said. I need to be here. I don't know why or how long, but once I am done here I will go somewhere else I am needed."

Aveline had a confused look on her face. "Did you hit your head or something?"

"Why do I have a lump?"

"No. Never mind."

"Oh, okay. Well it was glad to meet you, Aveline von Ravenstein," Minako said with a smile.