Adopted Soldier

Alex who was following Kumiko and Joseph deeper into the house was studying the layout of the place. He couldn't help but notice the numerous ancient weaponry hanging on the walls. There were Spears, Halberds, Longswords, Katanas, Nodachis, Claymores, Bows, and many more. There were even armors of different countries and eras. Noticing Alex's attention was on the numerous articles of weapons and armors Kumiko smiled.

"These things are my husband's collection. The founder and creator of the Ultimate Dojo was my husband. He loved the ancient people's way of fighting so using his understanding of all the martial arts of the past created a modern-day martial art that can be used to fight people using modern-day weapons such as guns."

When Alex heard her introduction to how their martial art was made he smiled. The father of Rachel was really similar to his own unarmed combat master. The movements of their martial art were like an inferior version of his master, and even their gaudy naming sense was the same. When Alex was happily thinking of one of his masters the trio finally reached their destination.

"Behind this door is my husband, I hope you greet him properly." When Kumiko said those lines a trace of sadness was seen in her deep dark eyes, even the hearty Joseph looked a bit melancholic. Alex opened the sliding door when he entered he stood there speechless at what he saw.

There in front of him was an altar to honor the dead a bunch of candles were lit, though that by itself was shocking enough, but the thing that truly shocked Alex was the picture on the altar. In the picture was a man wearing the same Gi as Kumiko he was smiling while holding a trophy of an amateur martial arts contest. His distinctive dyed blond hair and deep blue eyes could have captivated any lady.

Alex was dumbfounded at the picture, wasn't the guy in the picture his unarmed combat master?! Alex immediately looked at Kumiko and asked as politely, and calmly as possible.

"Um, Kumiko what was the name of your husband?" Alex whose face which almost always showed a poker face looked a bit nervous right now. Not knowing the internal conflict happening inside of Alex, Kumiko answered.

"My husband's name is Dan Regius." When Alex heard Kumiko's answer he was trying very hard to suppress his trembling.

'What the hell isn't this one of my Masters?! Same name, same personality, same looks down to his very bone structure, wasn't this Instructor REGIUS!'

"What's the matter Alex? Are you that surprised that my husband has passed away?" Kumiko looked at Alex confused at his silently staring at her husband's picture.

Alex hearing that Kumiko thinks her husband is dead was screaming inside. 'What the hell! How did this happen? Should I report to dad? Should I tell them their dad/husband is alive? Maybe he just looks like master and just has the same name...' Alex knew how absurd his thinking was.

"Um, Kumiko this may sound rude but can you tell me how your husband died?"

"Oh that... It really is no problem telling my future son-in-law what happened to his father-in-law.

When my husband finally completed his martial art he wanted to prove to the world that his martial art can really fight effectively with modern weapons. So he decided to go to battlefields in different countries. As he expected he was able to defeat people with guns, he would show us pictures of piles of men beneath his feet. Then one day he wrote to me saying that it was not enough beating people with guns, he wanted to fight people riding tanks.

At first, I thought my husband had gone crazy, but a few weeks later he showed me a video of him fighting a tank. He was able to dodge the tank's shells, and once they were reloading he charged forward broke the entrance and proceeded to attack the people inside. The next letter... The final letter he sent was him saying he wanted to find a way to fight heavy weaponry more effectively. That was the last letter he sent, it has been ten years now and we haven't heard anything. The people of that particular battlefield had claimed the blond devil had died while gleefully fighting a tank."

Hearing Kumiko's explanation Alex was now a hundred percent sure that the blond devil Kumiko's husband was his Master. No one other than him could claim to beat a tank with his bare flesh.

"Sorry Kumiko for asking such a rude question. Can you please excuse me for a moment I need to make a phone call." Before Kumiko could respond Alex dashed off towards the exit.

Bewildered by the whole scene Kumiko and Joseph stood at their spots motionless for awhile. "Was that story too shocking?" Kumiko asked Joseph.

"Well I did tell my friends what happened to my father and they all laughed saying I was just joking. Still, after I showed them father's pictures and videos they would suddenly believe me and as you know they're now the disciples of our martial art. Still, this is the first time I saw someone react like that."

Kumiko nodded at Joseph's opinion. "Yeah, his reaction was a first. He didn't question the authenticity of the story, he reacted like he believed every word I said. If a normal person heard the story without seeing the pictures and the video they would react the same way as your friends... Yet Alex reacted differently..." While Kumiko and Joseph were analyzing Alex's bizarre reaction, Alex was making a phone call.

Of course, Alex was calling his dad. Carlo once again hearing his ringing phone and seeing Alex's name pop up on the screen sighed. "Hey, Alex did you greet the girl's parents properly?" Was the first thing Carlo said as he answered the phone. Alex without answering the question asked his own question.

"Dad did you know, Instructor Regius had a family?!"

"Yeah, I did... Why are you asking this now?"

"Well, Rachel's father is Instructor Regius!"