AN: So here is the next chapter for this story. I will be working on the main story for the next chapter so it may be some time before I come back to this one.

I do not own any of the H.O.T.D characters in this story. The OC's though...

...They're mine!

The next morning

The Busujima household woke up and its residents went through their usual morning routine. Kage had pulled Saeko to one side before James appeared for breakfast and questioned her regarding the days he was absent for. After noticing the look in his eyes, the purple haired girl assumed he knew from questioning James last night and admitted to everything that happened, including the night they spent at the festival with Saya.

Flashback

"Odd, James-chan never mentioned that particular event?" Kage rhetorically asked.

"He didn't?" Saeko questioned that comment herself.

"I asked him last night and he did not mention such a thing. I will let this slide though, I know Souchirou's daughter as I trained her father myself. A little stuck up for traditions but if his daughter is anything to go by then I can trust her. Plus it's nice to see you outside of the house Saeko-chan since its either school or in the dojo for you." Kage responded as the girl took in her father's words.

"In any case, it's time to handle your punishment. In the dojo after breakfast." Kage told her as the young man walked in. He nodded as well as he assumed this was for the both of them.

Flashback end

The punishment itself was not too severe. For Saeko it was 30 minutes of strike drills, something that only came natural to the young girl. For James it was the same length of time but in press ups and sit-ups at 10 minutes each with a few minutes of break in between the change of exercise. Kage wanted to catch a glimpse of the young man's stamina first hand considering what was told to him by both the younger members of the house. He was impressed when the young man finished that he looked like he could go for at least a little while longer.

What the elder man did not know was James was wearing his weighted clothes the entire exercise and at an additional 30kg of weight onto him, 20kg for the shirt and 5kg for each wrist thanks to the wrist blades, it meant the energy used for each press-up and sit-up was a lot more taxing then it would usually would be to the young man so once he finished he actually looked like he actually had a workout.

After they left the dojo, both James and Saeko had showers in their respective rooms to wash away the workout and returned to the living room to find Kage watching the news on TV. Saeko was wearing her usual purple kimono whilst James was wearing a long sleeved baggy green shirt and black trousers. Saeko sat down next to her father to join him watching TV until James started to speak.

"I need to head out for some errands today. I might as well get them done before my father turns up." James announced to the pair.

"I see. How long will you be James-chan?" Kage asked in return.

"Not very long, just a few items I need to get that my father wanted to take back home to the family. With the business he had to take care of whilst being over here, it has prevented him from collecting these himself." James explained.

Saeko looked at the young man as he was giving his response and when he finished she used that time to enter the conversation.

"What was he over in Japan for if I may ask?" Saeko jumped in.

James looked over at the young woman before giving his reply.

"I'm unsure myself but I suspect it may have something to do with that." James pointed to the TV which grabbed everyone's attention.

"Reports are coming in of a killer new disease sweeping through a neighborhood in the low class suburbs of Tokyo. We estimated the death toll to be around 5,000 but we can confirm that this was contained and suppressed before the disease could spread to the neighboring areas. Containment teams have now entered the area affected to begin wiping out all traces of the disease which may take several days to complete." came the news reporter who was reporting from what looks like from outside a hastily built checkpoint with a 3 meter high fence that was barricading outsiders from getting in.

"By the Gods." Kage admitted.

"Your father is amongst the relief efforts James-san?" Saeko asked once more.

"Dad's got connections with medical and disaster boards around the world. Hell if the world was in danger, he'd know well before it gets put out to the public." James explained.

"Sounds like a guy I shouldn't mess with then?" Kage laughed as he lightly slapped his knee.

"Nah, unless you plan to destroy the world. He won't do anything. Besides he could arrive at any time so I'd best get going." James laughed it off and turned to leave the room.

"Would you like me to come with you James-san?" Saeko asked with interest hoping to spend some time with the young man.

James waved his hand as if to say no but before the young man could say anything. Kage spoke first.

"I need you here Saeko-chan, I have a class to teach soon and I can't ask our maid to prepare the whole house on her own." Kage explained. This seemed to have brought Saeko down somewhat.

"As you wish Father." Saeko softly spoke with a hint of disappointment.

James took that moment to bid his goodbyes and leave the room and head out of the house. As he was heading to the front gate, he noticed a familiar feeling, something he only encounters whilst being at home in England.

'I just hope they're ready for when Dad gets here because after that, there will be no going back.' James thought as he pushed the gate open and made his way out of the estate.

An hour later.

A shadow appeared in the alleyways down a familiar neighborhood. The figure moved from alleyway to alleyway with quick precision, his movements were softer than the wind. He moved along the street until he reached a tree overlooking the road. After looking around to see if no-one was watching him, he took a run up he reached up and grabbed the lowest branch of that tree and proceeded to climb to the highest branch capable of supporting his weight.

Once he reached the highest possible point in the tree, the sun shone over him and revealed him to the world. He was a man who was wearing a fully black outfit consisting of an open black trench coat with a hood big enough to cover his face without compromising visibility, also the black shirt underneath hugged quite tight to his muscular figure as was the trousers. The man had a black katana scabbard on his back with said katana occupying it.

The man looked over the street into the compound and found another tree inside in what can be described to him as the courtyard leading from the main house to the dojo of the estate. He noticed the several vehicles littered around the street and assumed their owners would be in that dojo. He then took out a strange device from his coat and fired it over to the other tree and proceed to attach the line to the branch underneath him. Hanging from it facing upwards he slowly shimmied along the rope to the other tree after which he slowly climbed down being extra careful to avoid drawing the attention of a certain purple haired girl who walked around the courtyard a couple of times during his descent.

After he eventually reached the ground and moved into a nearby array of bushes effectively hiding him from sight. The figure took a moment to take in his surroundings and heard the students in the dojo class shouts and grunts as they took part in there lesson, he also noticed the purple haired girl once more talking with what seems like the family maid, both of which were carrying bags of waste to be disposed of.

"And now we wait…" the figure leant back and began to wait for the perfect moment to move.

Meanwhile

At Fujimi Academy

A certain young man had snuck onto campus and had made it to his equipment shed in the academy grounds. Once he got there, he noticed instantly that most of the contents were missing. All that was left was his sword, an western styled hoodie and a throwing knife, the sword of which had a yellow office sticky note attached to it.

'A quick test. You might want to head back as quick as you can… - CC'

James crunched the note as soon he read it, he quickly put the hoodie on and used the gap between the fabrics to place his scabbard, it was not big enough to hide it entirely as the material was not thick enough, but enough to keep it in place without people instantly recognising it for what it was. He took the single throwing knife and placed in his pocket.

'Dad must have come here earlier and moved my equipment. It's clear he wants to reveal me by testing me.' James thought.

The young man moved to the door of the shed and opened the door revealing himself to the outside world and locked the door behind him.

'Let's hope that the fight doesn't end before I can reach Saeko and her father in time.' James put a hood over his head and broke into a light run hoping he would return to the Busujima compound in time.

Twenty minutes later…

Kage was sat in the middle of the dojo quietly meditating with the Busujima family sword placed in front of him.

His class had finished ten minutes prior and they had filed out quietly, a couple of them had small discussions with the elder Busujima on improvements and even casual chat which he always responded in kind to some of his more regular students. Once they had left, he setup the current position he is in. The elder did this at the end of each lesson as a sort of pray to his ancestors.

*Tap*

Suddenly, he felt the wind hit his back from the entrance as well as the sound of the door being gently pushed open. He figured that his daughter Saeko had finished her duties and had come to join him as she had done on previous occasions. That was until…

*Click*

...he swiftly turned around to find a man dressed in all black with an open trench coat. He quickly scanned the man and saw that he could not get a reading on his face as the hood went over him enough to hide it. The elder rose slowly to his feet making sure to clutch the family sword in his right hand.

"Who are you?" Kage asked as he rose to his feet.

The figure moved his right arm out and Kage noticed the katana blade which was concealed at the back of the coat. The figure drew the sword out completely and took one step forward and pointed its blade towards the elder man.

"Someone who's blade knows no equal." the figure responded as he took a stance which Kage recognised but he could not remember where the stance had come from.

The stance itself consisted of holding the blade in the forward facing arm in a side facing stance, the legs were slightly bent as if to make quick movements if necessary with the man's left arm being kept close to his chest.

Kage responded by drawing his family's sword from its sheath and taking his preferred Kendo stance.

"So I suppose we can drop the formalities then." Kage replied as the two began their stare down.

The staring contest lasted for only a few seconds before the figure charged forward at a speed almost unseen by the elder Busujima who only just managed to block the incoming strike in time before being pushed back from constant attacks with such precision that every strike would have ended the fight there and then should they have made through the elder's defenses. In fact, the elder was pushed back so much he was almost against the back wall of the dojo still managing to block incoming attacks. Kage tried to sidestep to the figure's left but was forced back as the figure's left shoulder intercepted his movement and pushed him away.

"I can see why you claim you have no equal. Your technique is impressive." the elder managed to breathe in between words.

"But still, you have yet to defeat me." Kage resumed his stance in a half hearted attempt to goad the figure into attacking him once more.

However, this attempt ended in failure as the figure just stood there not even going back into his starting stance in disrespect to his opponent. Tutting at this, Kage decided to go on the offensive this time and strike first but the figure just parried the attack and sidestepped away. The elder turned and resumed his attack with multiple strikes but each attempt ended the same with simple parrys and sidesteps as the figure effortlessly moved around the dojo as if he was not even trying to give a proper match.

"Grr, fight back." Kage all but shouted.

"Your funeral…" was all the figure responded as on the next strike, instead of parrying it, he stepped forward knocking the strike away with a one-armed parry and drove his fist into the elder's abdomen causing him to gasp in pain as the figure took a step back to let his opponent fall to his knees to which the figure pointed his sword at his throat.

"For a supposed Master of the Sword and bodyguard to the Emperor. You disappoint me." the figure slowly spoke but their attention suddenly switched to the door of the dojo.

"Father…"

Five minutes previously

In the main house, Saeko was currently helping the maid clean the house so it can be ready for the arrival of their guest for the day. For Saeko, this meant finally getting to know her housemate a little better by going through a member of his family. She noticed that James did not mention his family much in their own conversations only going from his experiences alone rather than time spent with his own flesh and blood. In fact, earlier when the young man mentioned his father was the longest he'd mention a member of his family in one go aside from the odd sentences here or there.

She handed the maid some additional materials so that it can be used to decorate the living space better with clean materials rather than those in use for a few days now.

'When his Father gets here, I want to make an impression much like he has made one on mine.' the young girl thought.

As time has gone by since James' arrival, her father has become more and more warm to him, enjoying the stories she tells her Father of his actions at school, how they interacted whilst he was away as well as their own conversations together when Saeko was not there herself. They both knew that the young man was hiding some things from them which was likely why he was not completely open to joining their dojo sessions and training but it was something she was going to ask his Father regardless once he arrived.

The young woman stepped outside into the inner courtyard for a second to get some fresh air from helping with the chores and took a moment to take in her surroundings, that was when…

*Clang* *Clang*

...Came the sounds of swords clashing together, leaping over the railings onto the grass, she rushed towards the dojo door with her wooden bokken in hand and forcefully pushed the door open to reveal the sight before her.

"Father." Was she could gasp at the sight with her Father on his knees with a Katana sword laying across his neck.

Without a second thought she dashed forwards towards the figure hoping to save her father from certain doom.

"Saeko-chan…" Kage tried to stop his daughter but the sound fell on deaf ears.

The figure only stood there and before the bokken only even reach him, he parried it away with his empty palm and moved away from the elder before pushing the young woman into her father causing both of them to crash to the dojo floor in a heap. A couple of moans and wheezes could be heard as both of them hit the floor and took a moment before they both realised what had just happened.

"Father? Are you alright?" Saeko quickly asked with concern.

"I'm fine, but it seems we have other matters to focus with." Kage moved his daughter off of him and rose back to his feet to face his opponent who was still watching them both whilst they were on the floor.

The young woman also rose off her feet and stood next to her father but Kage held his arm out to block any advancement from her.

"This foe is beyond you. I suggest you stay back until you absolutely need to." Kage almost ordered his daughter to take a back seat in their situation.

"But Father…?" Saeko began to argue but the look of her father as he turned slightly towards the young woman told her that this was not up for debate. She moved back to the edge of the dojo, making sure to pick up one of the real swords that was stashed inside the dojo in case she needed to step in.

'I'll step in only if I need to.' Saeko thought to herself as she took her place to watch this fight.

Both men resumed their respective stances before taking the short period of nothingness before the figure launched himself at Kage throwing one-armed swings in quick fashion. Saeko quickly recognised the style similar to that of fencing however the way the figure was striking was far more aggressive.

As the figure kept up his barrage of attacks, he started to throw in openings in his movements, to bait Kage in to lower his defenses, he knew that if he kept giving the same openings without making them obvious that he was laying a trap for the elder then sooner or later an attack will be made on that opening.

Sure enough, after a couple of minutes of the figure literally moving the elder around the dojo floor, Kage took one of the openings the figure had left for him. The figure's opening allowed a quick forward strike to be attempted which the elder used a diagonal slash hoping to wound the figure across the chest. However the figure had other ideas, he dodged low and to his left avoiding the strike completely and launched his elbow into the exposed abdomen of the elder, just like he did earlier. This caused the same outcome once again with the elder man on one knee using his sword to keep himself up as he was breathing heavily.

The figure once again went to place his sword at the elder's throat but noticed for the second time, his opponents daughter come running in to her father's aid. Since she carried a real sword which was a 'nihontō' styled sword, he could not parry it with his limbs this time around so therefore he was forced to raise his sword to block the overhead strike instead before pushing the sword back and moving himself back a couple of meters as the father and daughter duo now stood side by side to face him.

"We fight together, Father?" Saeko took her stance next to him.

"Agreed, but be careful Saeko-chan, I believe we have yet to test the limits of our opponent." Kage managed to regain breath and resume his stance as well.

Both Father and Daughter now eyed the figure in front of them, they moved away from each other in a pincer movement, their pace quickened as they closed in on the figure who had not moved from his spot. The figure sighed as they approached. Noticing the elder man going for an overhead strike, the figure quickly deduced that the strike was going to force him to dodge or block it. Playing their game, the figure block the elder's strike with his own sword, he then overpowered the elder by moving his blade and his own to the left as he dodged an incoming strike to the mid section by Saeko as she hoped to pounce whilst the figure was vulnerable, the strike itself was dodged but Kage was still in its path, the elder was forced to barely parry his own daughters attack away which sent her arms upward. Taking advantage of this, the figure then kicked her in the back with enough force to send her tumbling to the floor a couple of feet away from them. The time allowed him to aim a strike at the elder which was blocked but that was what the figure wanted. He used the opening he created to aim a strike with his left leg at the back of the elder's right knee joint, this sent the man to his knee and the figure used his own strength to overpower the elder in time to push him to the floor to which he kicked his sword away before the elder could regain his senses.

Knowing one of them was out of the fight now, the figure turned his attention to the onrushing young woman as he simply dodged her attack and in the short space of time, he used his spare hand to jab her wrists making her lose grip in her sword, the figure then sent a powerful strike to send her blade flying out of her hands. Now defenseless, Saeko found her arm being forcibly grabbed and with an almost overwhelming force being almost thrown across the dojo floor sending her tumbling into her Father's arms.

The figure casually moved his way over to them and pointed his sword at them. With no options available to them, Kage moved in front of his daughter as if to act as her shield.

"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough, Saeko-chan." Kage apologised without looking into his daughter's eyes.

"Father no…" Saeko grabbed her Father's back.

As the figure raised his sword, he stopped….

*Whoosh*

The dojo door flew open and there was a glint of light to which the figure jumped back slightly.

*Thud*

Came the sound of metal hitting wood, both Kage and Saeko looked at what hit the wall on the other side of the dojo. They noticed what looked like a small knife sticking out of the wall, they quickly turned back to the dojo door and spotted a familiar figure in the doorway.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't kill them…"

AN: A shorter chapter than the ones I normally upload nowadays but my fight writing is still in development. As usual rate, review, all of that good stuff.

Until next time.