The whirl of blue faded away, and Danny found himself once again in the basement of his own house. Sam and Tucker stood beside him, and Katou was directly in front of him. Seeing them all back safe and sound gave Danny some comfort, but his brief solace was overwhelmed by the weight of what Clockwork had just said.

Why him?

Why did Clockwork decide to entrust him with preventing the end of the world?

He couldn't think of a single thing he had done to earn such trust. Earlier today, he might have said that stopping Pariah was a feat, but now he knew the truth. He had faced a Ghost King who was missing a large portion of energy. And, now that he thought about it, he had been fighting a weakened Plasmius every time that he had defeated Vlad. Be it a Spectre Deflector or a Vlad still fatigued from illness, he had never once faced Vlad at his full potential and won – at least, not all alone. And his battle with Aragon had nearly ended the "slow and painful way" until Dora had intervened. His Halloween duel with the Fright Knight would have been a disaster too, had Sam not found a way to defeat the knight.

And there was still the matter of this third ghost whom Pariah would enlist.

Why him?

"So…" Tucker coughed, breaking the silence. "The Ghost King's coming back, Plasmius is working for him, Aragon's his prince, they've got more leads on those old artefacts than we do, those things will give Pariah all his power back, and then he's gonna come and exact his unholy revenge on us. We're dead, aren't we?"

"Big help, Tuck," Danny grunted. He bent down to hold his knees in a vain effort to keep them from shaking as he continued to think the matter over. His legs soon buckled, and he fell to his knees.

They were dead. And it would be his fault.

"Danny, don't worry," Sam said as she walked over to put a hand on his shoulder. "We've got the pendant, and we've got someone who knows about all this. Besides, you've fought Pariah before."

"Sam, Pariah was weaker the last time I fought him!"

"Well, if we get all the artefacts, then he'll be the same as last time."

"I needed the Ecto-Skeleton last time, and it's gone now! Besides, it almost killed me! And Plasmius was weak the last time I really beat him by myself, and every other time, I had help from you guys, and…"

"Weren't you telling us before Katou showed up how you handled that all on your own?" Sam said coyly, smiling.

Danny grinned sadly, his stomach twisting into another not. He did say that, didn't he?

"We've got your back here too, dude," Tucker chimed in.

Danny allowed himself a small breath of relief. He was still terrified and unsure that anything could be done, but having his friends by his side was no small comfort.

"And besides," Tucker went on, "we've got a cool samurai master ghost to get you ready to kick The Ghost King's butt!"

"About that," Katou sighed, sitting down again. "Danny, Clockwork showed me all I need to know about you, and included in his vision was the knowledge that you are a boy in school who also has chores around the house. To truly benefit from training, you will need to work at it, and that will require time that will be taken away from other matters."

Danny groaned. He had forgotten all about that. How was he going to explain the homework he was sure to miss to Lancer? What excuse could he give his parents for his long hours away from home? He struggled for alibis for typical ghost matters.

This was all happening so fast. Couldn't things just slow down, just a little? He needed time to think.

"I was thinking that we could produce a cover for your training to reduce the trouble you may find yourself in," Katou finished.

"Like what?" Danny asked. His three companions sat down, and each began silently contemplating their options.

After a few moments, Sam snapped her fingers.

"I've got it."

---

"I already checked it out, Mom and Dad. You won't have to pay for a long time, it's in a good part of town, the guy we met was really friendly, and Jazz went over everything…"

It was the morning after Katou had arrived, with school less than an hour away. Danny was sitting at the kitchen table with his parents and Jazz. He had just presented them with a false advertisement that Sam and Tucker had thrown together last night. The paper promoted "The Sasaki School of Koryu."

"School of Koryu, huh?" Jack pondered. "What, that some kind of art class or something?"

"Dad," Jazz groaned. "Koryu is…"

"A Japanese word used in association with all ancient martial arts common in feudal Japan before the event of the Meji Restoration," Maddie finished in a simple tone. "I worked with them a bit before I got my first degree black belt. Though I don't know why you'd want to learn about these when you could learn gendai budo or the Chinese martial arts. And you don't need to sign up for a class, sweetie – I'd be more than happy to teach you." She rose to her feet and did a brief but impressive demonstration of her martial arts expertise – though it ended up costing her the chair she had been sitting on, as she demolished it with a sharp kick.

Danny gulped at the scene. "That would be great, Mom – and by great, I mean more dangerous than a stampede of wildebeest – but I couldn't ask you to put this hobby of mine above ghost hunting. Not with that Phantom kid on the loose, anyway." He and Jazz shared a sly wink that neither parent noticed.

"I suppose you're right," Maddie sighed. She looked the ad over again. "You're sure you checked it out?"

"Mom," Jazz interrupted. "I went with him, I checked everything out. It's fine."

Danny smiled. He had to admit – ever since he had found out that Jazz knew his secret, she had been a big help. And she was getting better at not meddling so much; when he had filled her in on Katou, Tá eagla orm, and their cover plan, she didn't try to talk him out of it or change the plan or anything. She just agreed to help.

"Well," Maddie smiled, "I suppose it's alright."

"This is perfect for you, Danny!" Jack said. "It'll build up your self-esteem, help your muscles, and get you ready to fight ghosts!"

"I know, Dad," Danny said, excitement and dread both lining his voice. "I know."

---

"…And I want it finished no later than Monday, with all requirements fulfilled," Lancer finished giving out that night's homework just as the bell rang. His seventh hour English class – his last course for the day –filed out of the room, leaving the out of shape teacher to his grading. Lancer soon became absorbed in this task, and hardly noticed when Danny and a stranger walked into the room.

"Yes, Danny, what is it?" he asked, not looking up.

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Lancer," Danny said. "But I have this after-school class now, and it goes pretty late, so…"

"School comes first, Danny," Lancer said simply, still not looking up from his work.

"I know, but it goes pretty late, and I might not have time for homework, so I was just wondering if I could have my schedule changed to have a study hall."

"What class are you taking after school, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer said as he finally looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"That is why I'm here, Mr. Lancer," the stranger finally spoke. He was a gaunt, pale man, with messy black hair streaked with grey, a scarred face, and a black suit with a gold-topped cane.

"And who might you be?" Lancer asked.

"I am owner and master of Sasaki's School of Koryu," the stranger said as he bowed. He produced a small pamphlet and set it down on Lancer's desk. The teacher looked it over.

"Martial arts…" he murmured. "I suppose you could do worse with a hobby. But why does it go so late?"

"Koryu is the Japanese term for the ancient martial arts," the stranger said. "For me, that means that moral and ethical behaviour is taught in addition to combat skills."

"Really?" Lancer said. He seemed to have lightened up considerably. "Well then, Mr. Fenton, I think I can find a place for you in third period."

---

Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Katou stood just outside one of the oldest townhouses in Amity Park. Once an Italian restaurant, it had closed up during the 1940s and had been abandoned for years. Had it not been for its location in a neighbourhood that was a historic landmark, it would have been demolished long ago. A Japanese family who had arranged to use it for an apartment had treated it to some restorations, but they had long since moved away. Now, the building was cleaned, refurbished, and the window read "Sasaki's School for Koryu."

Sam stood with a satisfied smile on her face. Katou, still in his disguise, looked mildly impressed. Danny and Tucker's mouths were hanging open.

"Sam, how'd you do all this?" Danny finally asked.

"Hey, my parents' money is good for something," she shrugged.

"Impressive," Katou mused. "Is the foundation arranged as I had asked?"

"Taken care of."

"Oh, great," Tucker said, rolling his eyes. "She probably worked the basement out so the samurai will tell her all about old Japan!" He turned to Danny. "You're never gonna get your training done."

"Not to worry, Tucker," Katou laughed. "Shall we go inside?"

---

The interior of the building had been lovingly decorated. Soft, earthy colours ordained the walls, and bamboo shafts were placed on all the edges of the walls. Two small Japanese cherry trees grew in pots set down on the floor, which had been covered in soft grass. Japanese writing hung on rice paper on the inside of the door, and Katou recognised it as the seven virtues attributed to bushido.

He smiled. "It's perfect."

"Yeah, Sam," Tucker said. "You really went all out on this."

"So, what's the deal with the basement?" Danny asked.

"Right this way," Sam said. They crossed the length of the room to a door on the far left. Behind it was a spiral staircase leading down to a very long room. In fact, it seemed larger than the room above. There was but one light hanging from the ceiling, and the floor was nothing but dirt.

Katou reached inside his jacket and drew out a small bottle. He motioned for everyone to stand back, and threw it down on the middle of the floor. A flash of light and a swirl of green flew by, and a long table filled with vases, bottles, and lamps filled the room.

"And that's that," he said simply.

"So, when do I start my training?" Danny asked, somewhat hesitantly.

Katou hesitated on his answer.

"Tomorrow," he answered, a bit stiffly. "Come by after school and we will begin."

"…Maybe we should go see Clockwork again," Danny stammered.

"He said that he would die sometime today," Katou said on an exhale. "His lair is too far away for us to arrive there in time."

Danny sighed. "I was afraid of that."

"Well, you kids had better be getting home," Katou said in a much lighter tone. "I will have everything ready for tomorrow."

"Later, dude," Tucker just let his words out before he was out of the room. Danny silently followed.

Sam stayed where she was.

"You coming, Sam?" Danny asked.

"I'll be up in a minute," Sam said.

She waited until Danny had left, then turned towards Katou as the samurai looked over his table. She didn't fear that Katou would turn traitor or become a threat. Clockwork had sent him, and that was enough insurance for her of the samurai's character. But there was something about him that didn't seem right. The story he had told about the Order felt incomplete. He hadn't been curious as to who Plasmius was, even though Clockwork had never explained about him.

And he just seemed too uncomfortable about the whole idea of training Danny.

Katou briefly looked up from his work, and caught sight of Sam standing around. "Do need something, Sam?" he asked.

"I just had a question," Sam said. "How come you had us use the name 'Sasaki' instead of just your own name?"

"The Order and Walker often clashed in olden times," Katou said as he continued to work. "I ended up in his prison for eight years before Clockwork came to me. I was the first prisoner to escape from his lower levels in…I believe I was the first to escape from there at all. He's likely searching for me. On the off-chance he comes here, now he won't hear about anyone named 'Katou.'"

"Good plan. Oh, and weren't you curious about who Vlad Plasmius was yesterday? Clockwork never explained who he was."

Katou stopped where he stood. He had not turned to face Sam, and was now grateful that he wasn't, for his face would surely have betrayed at least something of his past.

He knew Clockwork was right. It was a grave mistake to obsess over what had become of Vlad. With Tá eagla orm on the horizon and he and Danny paired together in trying to prevent it, keeping secrets wasn't a clever thing to be doing. And with both sides after the artefacts, it wouldn't be long before Vlad discovered that Katou was Danny's new master. It was far better for Katou to inform Danny of the past than for Vlad to twist it to his advantage.

He owed it to the boy and his friends to tell them the truth.

"…When Clockwork gave me the information I needed about Danny, Plasmius was included," he stammered out. He knew that wouldn't be convincing. He had waited too long and fumbled in his delivery of the lie.

Sam did not buy that explanation. She eyed the back of the samurai's head, her fingers drumming along her crossed arms. She intended to get to the bottom of this. But, for now, she felt it best not to press the matter.

"OK," she shrugged. "See you tomorrow."

"Good evening," Katou sighed, still not turning around. He listened as Sam's footsteps faded away, and he let himself fall off to the side, leaning against the wall.

He knew it was wrong to keep silent. It was foolish. It was just stupid. But if he talked of his ties to Vlad, then he feared that Danny would reject any training Katou could give.

"I know what I'm doing," he said aloud to himself, standing upright.

If only he could be sure he wasn't lying…