It would have been dificult to understand how Tekeshi moved. At one breath he was at the door, and the next he had his hand around Madonna's neck, her body roughly crushed against the stones of the wall behind her. It took all present seconds to realize what was happening.

"Mother Madonna! Please, don't harm her," one of the women said when the sight sank in.

Madonna held her hand against her captor's temple, "Sleep," and only succeeded in having the pressure increased on her throat.

"Release Utsuki. If you do not, then I will snap her neck like a twig. I won't ask twice," the threat was made in a language that he had never learned, but the women understood the words and gently lowered the unconscious girl to the floor.

Tekeshi released the woman, who was unable to understand why he was able to resist her spell. Going to Utsuki he picked her gently off the floor. Anger roiled off of his form as if it was a flame that could not be quenched.

"Wake, Utsuki," the words were soft, and the girl's eyes fluttered open.

"What the hell, Lovely Mistress," the fear and concern in the demon's voice seemed to shock the women who had been dragging her away.

"Great Mistress, please tell me you didn't try something this stupid," Rougar somehow was not impressed by his mistress.

Tekeshi handed over Utsuki to Deeseedra and stood. Again he seemed to just translocate without moving a muscle. Again he had Madonna by the neck and against the wall. Eyes the color of the fires of hell stared down hers. Fear plastered itself so fiercely across her face that she was afraid of tearing the muscles in her face.

"How are you resisting my spell? It shouldn't be possible, no one has ever resisted. And how are you speaking the language of the Demons? How," the woman couldn't understand what was happening.

"I should kill you for even considering harm to her. She is not yours, and you will not imprison her here. Should you try again I will slaughter every woman here, and shall hang their mangled corpses from the walls. NOW, you will tell us how to return home, or will return us yourself. I don't care which," the sheer animosity that was in his voice was sharper than any blade could have been.

"Great Mistress, I believe for the best interests of everyone you should do as he says. Before you say anything about me bringing him down, I am going to remind you that he only has to make one movement, and both of us are gone. I don't want to see you die," panic was present in the male demon's voice as he watched the manhandling of his mistress.

Utsuki spoke up, "Tekeshi, release her. Now."

His hand opened and the older woman slid to the ground. Rubbing her neck her expression showed fury. She was not used to being defied by anyone. Yet, she shouldn't have been. For him to be that powerful would mean that she had nothing that she coul... the girl had control of him. He spoke the language of the Demons. The only other person who had ever...

"I almost can't believe it. I have only seen a few, less than ten in millennia. Maybe, she will not need to stay here," she looked over at the demon that made up the other half of her, "Rougar, we will do as you say, and she will have a teacher. I won't make her stay."

"That is good to hear Great Mistress. If only you would use that kind of sense quicker, such as before your own attempted murder," Rougar approached and helped her to her feet.

Suddenly Tekeshi felt the blood drain from his face. Pain assailed him as he felt something start to constrict his heart. Sounds like jackhammers drove into his mind as he lost the ability to stand by himself. Breathing became a labor worthy of the Twelve Tasks of Hercules. He felt as if the apocalypse decided to say "screw that guy in particular" and fell upon him.

"Tekeshi, are you ok? Speak to me. Come on, stay with me Tekeshi," Utsuki's hands felt really good on his shoulders.

"Aren't you forgetting, you call me Tekeshi-kun now," the joke did not help the pain like he had hoped.

"Thank you Kami, thank you. Can you stand up, if you can't me and Deeseedra will help you."

"Just give me a moment. The pain is starting to recede, and everything looks normal now. I just need to get my breath back. That was a little intense wasn't it 'Suki. Way more exciting than my regular school fights, huh."

"You are completely incorrigible. I thought you were about to drop dead right there, and especially since you just spent the last three days in bed. I guess I need to learn how to be a nurse."

Madonna and Rougar watched the two, "Great Mistress, I don't quite understand it myself, given the lack of human emotions, but those two have no clue they are head over heels with each other? Do they," he asked in a language forgotten by all but a few, and that no longer had a name.

The woman replied in the same, "I did not see him being a heartsworn coming. I have never seen one as powerful as he is. My dear Arthur was the most powerful I had ever seen, yet even he wouldn't have been able to resist one of my spells. Maybe it is related to him not being a human like the others."

"That might be the case. I wonder how it occurred? From how I understand it, the contract between Little Doll and Deeddeors was a complete accident, so they wouldn't have even known to do such. So who will you be sending to teach her?"

Madonna looked over with a smile on her face, "Me."

"You have recovered? I am glad to see it, and I apologize for my actions earlier. I acted in what I thought was a necessary manner, for Miss 'Suki's sake. I never intended to cause you any pain, and had intended to send you, at least somewhere that you could have returned to your home," Madonna was kneeling by the bed that Tekeshi lay in recovering.

"As long as you understand that both of us will be returning home, then I will forgive you. I will not, however, forget what you have done. I am 'Suki's protector, and I take such very seriously. I have willingly put my life on the line for her multiple times, and I will do so again in the future. I believe you said that you would be sending a teacher for her, who will it be," Tekeshi was ready to leave.

"Yes, I will be sending the best teacher I have available, myself. Now I do have another question, and it is a very important one. Have you tasted even a drop of Miss 'Suki's blood? I need to know the answer truthfully."

"No, not that I can recall. I also won't deny I wouldn't mind a taste, but that would be a very intimate decision on 'Suki's part."

"Yes you have, remember when I cut my finger on your sword just before we left for the summer break? You licked it and I said you were like a living bottle of liquid bandage," Utsuki chimed in from where she sat on the foot of the bed, " Should he not have?"

Rougar answered from near the door, for some reason with Deeseedra hanging on his back, "He is now what is called a Heartsworn. He cannot avoid defending you for any reason, and will do so against any and all odds. I am not quite sure how to deal with how mindlessly blundered everything is with you children. The few heartsworn that have ever been were given the honor as they lay dying, as a second chance to live at the side of a witch. You are the single, solitary example in all of history, that became one due to a cut finger. Congratulations, you two have completely ignored the way things are meant to be done yet again."

"They really aren't that bad once you get to know them, Rouseals. I like them, even if I think Delicious Bloodsucker is a stuck up dick at times. Plus, all I ever have to do is lay around and not be at someone's beck and call. This is nicer than any other contract that I have ever held. Plus his mother is a really great cook, I mean I don't even miss the taste of human flesh anymore," Deeseedra had a dumb, satisfied smile on her face, and was the most relaxed that Tekeshi had ever seen.

"Wow Deeseedra, I don't think I have ever seen you this happy. Hey, if Miss Madonna is coming with us to teach me, then that means Rougar will be coming too. You get to have your best friend with us," Utsuki was at least excited.

"Yay, I get Rouseals. This is the best trip ever," the little female demon was happier than necessary.

"You are like a human child. Yet I can remember you tearing entire groups of Inquisitors limb from limb, and laughing like a maniac while doing it. Are you sure that you are under a slave contract? Because I am starting to have my doubts."

"I literally have no idea, mostly since I don't understand the concept of time, how long it has been since I have seen you. How can you blame me, plus this means I might get something I haven't had in a long time."

Tekeshi turned his attention back to Madonna, "You said that you will be returning with us? I guess that mean that you have somebody to take care of things. Understand this, I will be informing my parents of what you have done. They are much more powerful than I could ever hope to be, remember that. Also you will need to wear clothes, that isn't negotiable."

"We only go around as we do here to keep cool with how horribly humid it is here. In the winter months we actual do dress rather heavily. The only reason the other women haven't been all that shy is that you are the first non demon man to be in these walls in several hundred years. They don't understand that it is proper to cover their bodies anymore. Needless to say, I will act and behave with the highest dignity and propriety."

"Then I guess that I can't say anything against you. 'Suki does need somebody that can properly train her. Aunt Ruby is a very experienced and powerful witch, but even she had never heard of a "Witch of War" before. 'Suki, I would say the final decision would be up to you,"Tekeshi turned to her.

"I would be greatly pleased. I thank you for your willingness to train me yourself."

Madonna covered her mouth as she giggle slightly, "I have always loved how polite Japanese ladies are. Now if only your male companion here would be so."

Tekeshi ended up being down for a couple of days. During that time Utsuki only left his side to take care of personal needs. It felt really good to him, even though he knew it was mostly since she was so nervous in these kind of situations. In a way, he kinda wished it could be like this all the time, not that he was going to tell her about it.

Several women came to talk to him during the time. Some because him being a man was such a novelty, and most because he represented a fairly well rounded source of information on a world a few of them had not seen since a time when Hadrien's Wall still stood. In fact many of them ended up being fonts of interesting bits of history for him as well.

"So, Calico Jack Rackham, the dandiest pirate to ever sail the Caribbean Sea, was a little light in his boots," Tekeshi found the tidbit hilarious.

"Aye, I found him mo'e than once wearing me nicer blouses. 'E never let the men know, or they woul've mutinied on the spot. 'Ad I a couple o' more years, I might 'ave gotten some paint on his face," Anne Bonny, the Caribbean Pirate Queen, revealed with a smile on her face.

"Ok, I do love the accent, but it is a little much. Were the pregnancy claims true then?"

"Mary's was. God I miss her. She was like a sister to me, though I will save you more of that for your tender age. I, wasn't sure on my end, though I ended up miscarrying on ship headed to Ireland, so I knew then. Only man on that ship that ever touched me was Jack, and I wasn't too sorry that his blood didn't continue on. Though, I do grieve for me son. He never made it past a few weeks. Damn that dog, I curse the day I fell in love with him. Rogers got what he deserved though."

Tekeshi's interest was piqued, "Woodes Rogers. I heard that he most likely died due to the stresses that were placed upon him during his second term as Governor of the Bahamas."

"The stress didn't help things for sure. Nor did seeing a woman he knew to be in prison. Only, the woman that was in that prison wasn't me. You look hard enough, and you can find someone that when they are dirty, and wracked with louse and sores, resembles you enough to fool someone. I spent five years hiding away in Drogheda before I returned to become his nightmare. I never touched the man, but appearing at his bedside, weren't good for his heart. Me and Mrega here, we put him through a hell that he managed to hide from everyone so well. We were at his side when he woke just to die looking down the barrel of me pistol. Didnae even have the thing loaded. Around that time I managed to somehow trigger the power Mrega gave me, and I ended up here. Never left since. I kept away from trouble, so I never dealt with getting moist in me trousers from seeing a couple of nobheads go at it in a tavern," she finished her story there.

In a way, he sort of wanted to stay for much longer. He loved history, and here was literally history living and breathing around him in its birthday suits. Honestly, if he were willing to be that kind of asshole he could make a fortune off selling their real life stories as fiction novels. It was so amazing to be among them, even if it was morally hard for him to look at them.

There was one exception. His favorite, as she should have been, Tomoe Gozen. It was no surprise that an onna-musha would end up being a big attraction for a young Japanese warrior. Also the fact that she was the sole example of wearing clothes full time helped. He could have sat for days talking about sword work and battle.

"If you and Shiraisha-san were not before my eyes, I might not believe the things you say. I am not worthy of the praise that my nation has given to me. I was simply a humble general, not a great leader of a clan. Though the idea that there is an emperor who holds no power at all, even with the Fujiwara clan the emperor had power at the time I was still in Nippon. They just didn't have all that much power," her voice was soft, and so feminine that Tekeshi and Utsuki could have just listened to it for the rest of their lives.

"I suppose that the current state of the Imperial Family is simply a figurehead, though I think I have heard Tekeshi-kun refer to his family having contacts within them. Haven't you Tekeshi-kun," Utsuki was enjoying Tomoe as well.

Tekeshi nodded, "The Imperial Family nowadays is more behind the scenes of things, rather than the primary body of governance. They are aware that yokai exist, and our leaders within Japan communicate with them when there are issues of national importance that will affect both human and yokai."

"I must say, the idea that yokai truly exist shouldn't surprise me such, especially considering Yltoun. Even after being bound to him, it is an incredible revelation. Aono-san, you speak of carrying a sword, you have not mentioned the type. Is it something I may not have seen before?"

"Jakkasu, he is an odachi. When I was first introduced to him from impalement he was a gigantic European style great sword. When I took possession of him he changed to fit me the best. Admittedly, I am not the greatest with nihonto blades. I have much higher skill with knives and guns, and really I prefer to fight hand to hand if the situation would allow. My favorite of all is a hammer though."

The female samurai seemed to measure him with a discerning eye, "An odachi is a perfect fit for you. Your height and musculature lends well to fighting with one. That will improve as well since you might well grow a few more suns before you have finished. It is a shame that you could not be here as a student of the blade, I would relish teaching you quite greatly."

"Were it possible it would be an honor," Tekeshi bowed his head in thanks at the compliment.

The final preparations for the return to the Aono manor had been completed. Madonna had much to prepare, so even if he hadn't needed to recover, they would have still had to wait. Both mortals felt rather refreshed from their time there, though Tekeshi was not to sad to be leaving, being ready to not have trouble looking a woman in her eyes while trying to hold a conversation.

"Are you three ready?" Madonna asked as they entered a decent sized chamber that was devoid of furniture and decoration.

"As we could be. Is there anything special we have to do so that you get us back to the right place? I have only ever transported to a place I have either been, or seen the surroundings of," Tekeshi was rather nervous when it came to unknowns with magic.

"We won't be transporting. What we use is somewhat different, though it is basically the same effect. We have a method called locata. You will stand in the center of the circle with where you want to end up firmly in your mind. I will provide power to the circle, within if I am also going as I am now, or from the outside if we were to be sending or bringing someone. What are you three doing here," Madonna suddenly looked past the three outsiders.

Tekeshi turned to see Anne Bonny, Tomoe Gozen, and Dibea standing at the entrance to the chamber fully dressed and carrying small bags. He really hoped that what he thought was going on wasn't. He wanted to avoid anymore complications right then.

Anne was the one to speak up, "Well, Mother Madonna, it is like this; Us ladies unanimously decided that the Grand Mother of the Order Demona could nae properly spend time away from us long term without some form of an honor guard. Now, are you really going to ignore the decision of two hundred of us?"

"Also Great Mother Madonna, I have a desire to teach this young man proper swordsmanship. I believe that allowing me to go may help gain some forgiveness, and build some good will with his family. Selfishly, I wish to see my home country as it is now as well," Tomoe made a deep bow as she presented her reasoning.

"I'm jus' tired of spending me days here. I have nae to even seen the sky in over three hun'rd years. I am worth a brigantine full o' men in a fight, and I have taken a bit of a shine to the Lad and Lass. Plus, he has been tellin' me about the food they have in his country, and I want to taste it for meself. Dibea here just has a bit o' a childish crush on the Lad, but she is damn good at a spar, and I trust her with me life," Anne explained, also explaining for the girl hiding behind her.

Madonna wasn't impressed, "This isn't a fun trip. The last of you to even see the outside world hasn't seen it in over a century. It is nothing like what you remember. Do you really want to find yourself basically isolated from the inroads of society because you can't understand anything going on?"

"T'aint like we will be on our own. The Lad and Lass there will be able to help get us up to speed on the new world. Also, if I don' go, then Mistress Agrea said she is goin'. Do you really want to unleash that Roman tart upon the world again," Anne must have been quite the chess player.

"It looks like I can't win this one," the elder woman huffed, "The two of you that can't speak Japanese will have to learn it. No wandering around by yourselves. If you are going to act as an honor guard you will act it. Do not speak unless directly addressed and I have given you permission to answer. You do not under any circumstances reveal what you are, and when we are not in private your partners must remain hidden. Do not pick any fights, and if you think you are about to see one, walk away from it. The last thing we need is for one of you to start rutting in a crowd. Do I make my self clear?"

"Aye, Grand Mother Madonna."

"Yes, Great Mother."

"Yes, Mother Madonna."

Utsuki turned to Tekeshi, "I think Gustave-san may actually need to build those extra rooms."