A warrior is born from a restlessness that runs through her like the rivers that cut across the land. Every woman has a warrior spirit inside. During times when she needs her warrior energy the most, it breaks through to aid her. Whether she is working to achieve a dream, building a future or going through a hard time, that warrior is always there for her.
She pushes her way through the cracks in the concrete, in one way or another; she demands her attention. No one taught her how to be a powerful woman, she was taught how to be pretty and smile when she wanted to scream; her power as a woman had been hidden within the shadows.
Her power didn’t look like the models of domination and control that were in her culture; it was very different. It was the look of sovereignty. It looked like a battle of purity and innocence, the fierce protection of life, love, body and soul.
Her call to justice comes from a deeply personal experience, and yet it serves the whole of others, not herself. Kami sat in the darkness, a dimly lit candle with the pundit aroma of chamomile was fading by the short stem of the wick that was left standing after many months of use. She was alone, the quiet echoes throughout the small kominka were the constant reminders that Hara had left her would reside. She was used to being alone, but for the past several months, his presence was a welcoming feeling she was slowly getting used to again.
His early morning shenanigans seemed to be the highlight of her days. However, giving in to the joy it brought to her was something she would refrain from expressing. Life turned its back on her, putting up walls of steel around her soft exterior to the existence of her hardened shell. It was easy to manipulate her soft side; her brother and JR had secured that. Everything she felt she had good in her life, was taken, stripped away; wiped out of existence. She felt she had nothing else left to give.
The place where she’s been broken in two, and then two again, is where her deep earthly mission lies. Being this feminine warrior isn’t assuming an immature attitude of going out into the world in search of domination and control, it’s been cracked open so deeply by the source of her pain that it had become her purpose.
She doesn’t need to pretend she’s perfect, she is done with that. She’s not afraid to own her human-ness, but she doesn’t allow it to leak either. She knows when to reveal and when to be discerning. That way she moves in alignment with what’s important to her. She’s in deep integrity with the truth of her soul and she moves in a world from that place. Fierce and soft; surrendered and focused. The pain, the only true feeling she has, to remind her of how strong she truly is.
She knows there is something more to life than the given stereotypes, and she’s done everything to unearth them. She’s gone down into the depths of the shadows to reclaim her Queendom. Deep down in the underworld, she met all the demons, she’s fought them tooth and nail and in doing so, she reclaimed the purity of power. She released the shame of her anger, the undeniable pain, the rage and learned how to conduct it in the service of others.
Because she is that warrior, she knows there is shit to do and she is damn sure going to do it. The Yakuza was responsible for her heartache. The depth of her feelings fueled the juice for her chariot; all the anger, rage, grief and heartache were the gas for her horse.
Somewhere along the line, she may have realized she was giving away her power to someone who didn’t deserve it. She came face to face with her own self-betrayal, and through the humiliation of her own mirror, she began to pick up the pieces. It was painful, but in doing so, she became whole. Never forgetting the power JR held over her. She vowed to never allow another man the chance at doing it again, until Hara.
She found herself holding the cellphone tightly in her hand, the urge to call; to text him was overwhelming, but she would not allow her ego to falter. It was 11am, the American’s flight would be landing soon. They were her guests for the duration of their stay and now with an empty dojo, it only seemed fitting for them.
Kami’s time was limited, she was not only facing the arrival of her American friends, but she was also arranging her brother’s funeral. This was not the death from the Yakuza, this was the death caused by the Yakuza. Hara did what he felt he had to do, protecting Kami at any cost, any cost.
Though, thankful, she was in no immediate danger from her brother. Taken off guard from behind, her brother’s attack could have been avoided, had she not been focused upon Hara. She faced many senseless battles with her brother; not normal of those by siblings. He was the younger of the two, brought up in the spotlight of the imperial palace; spoiled, entitled, easily influenced.
He was raised to be a prince, but the wealth, the dark side of Japan, the lifestyle of the Yakuza clan was what his heart desired. The thrill, the adrenaline, the women, the excitement, all at the touch of his fingertips. While Kami, raised strictly up in a military base, was fortunate enough to learn the life skills her brother had been denied, she grew up with the intelligence that would one day suit her to be a worthy ruler. The intel of her father; an American intelligence officer, was what led Kami to her current path.
Not only was Kami’s mind sharp, her stealth and martial arts intel would prove to be something feared amongst her peers. The name Nakada meant something back then; it stood for honor, respect and determination, all which was needed to become a successor of the crown. It was then, Kami realized that her true calling was not that of the crown, but that of an enforcer to the crown.
Her abilities surpassed those of her sensei; Kami would train intensely, proving herself to be amongst the swiftest of guards at the Imperial Palace. A young girl among the vast army of soldiers, Kami’s focus was on that of fighting, not of reigning. It would be the love of a handsome American male, that drove Kami’s attention from the palace. A dark web mastermind would pull her focus away, making the Palace an easy target for the Yakuza scum. Their primary attack was supposed to be upon her grandfather, the emperor of Japan, but it was by the hands of her brother, that would mistake the life of her true grandmother in his place.
It was with sheer guilt; Kami would fall into the darkness. It was later realized that her love interest in the American was what led the Yakuza’s influence on her brother, leading him in with the promise of power within their ranks. JR was the mastermind indeed, playing the strings to the fiddle of his young protégé’s heart was all he needed to get inside.
It was said his plot from the start would lead to Kami’s downfall to the Imperial Palace, having her stripped of her rightful placement as the next heir, she would be banished with a dishonor so terrible that it would be spoken of decades away. Once finding out the information, Kami was going to confront JR. Upon that evening, she walked into their kominka, only to find JR gone with no trace of his whereabouts. It was if he never existed. Kami was left with the evidence of the attempted assassination of her grandfather; however, it was set up to appear that she was the person responsible. Having to prove her innocence came at a price; though her family knew the truth, it was the Judicial police and the palace guards that would need convincing. All evidence left on JR’s computer would implicate Kami’s plot to assassinate her grandfather. Palace guards would ransack the kominka, seizing all of Kami’s belongings, computer’s, ect, never to be returned.
Heartbroken, Kami would only plot her revenge upon the Yakuza, her brother and the hand of the American man, she once loved; vowing to never again find herself in that weakened state of affection. Her only goal, to bring down the forces behind the Yakuza, and clear the Nakada name from the disease known as a uragirimono. (a traitor)
To this very day, that goal would rest heavy upon her shoulders as she continues her battle with the help of her American friends, the Hurst Family and her now estranged partner, Hara.
As time drew close, Kami would sigh, placing her phone down upon the table beside her and proceed to get ready for her brother’s final farewell. With little to no movement, Kami would wince in pain from the left side of her body, making it hard for her to get dressed.
The emperor’s driver would pick her American friends up from the airport and bring them to her kominka. It would not be long before they would arrive, the driver had text.
As Kami would now be suited for the funeral, she would sit quietly waiting her friends’ arrival. She was adorned in white diamonds around her neck with ruby stone centerpieces in her earrings. A pink satin kimono trimmed with fine lace and a fox fur fronting; Kami’s attire was well suited for a princess’s arrival. Her long hair was braided into a French roll, curled to perfection tapered with cherry blossoms and diamond stones, her makeup flawless, as any geisha’s would be.
The horn would blow as the American’s would now arrive. Kami’s sadden face had turned to excitement with the anticipation of her longtime friends, Cassie and Colton Hurst. It would be a joyful time, Cassie with her new, yet old love, William and Colton with his newly announced fiancé’, things would be perfect, except for no Hara.
Cassie, with her long locks of blonde hair, would be the first to greet Kami, she wears a long black and red dress and black thigh-high boots. She would reach Kami with an array of girlish hugs that would cause the pain in which Kami desperately hid from.
She would introduce both William, the tall, handsome brown-haired man in the blue suit and Lily, the lovely brunette in the low-cut black velvet dress, as Colton nodded his head in greeting, but looked around for his friend, Hara.
"Where is Hara?" Colton would ask.
Kami shrugs. "I don't know, everything was fine until I handed him a set of keys to my dojo to give him a gift of his own place, he basically threw them back into my face, dropped all the stuff I got him and left last night."
Looking surprised, Colton would sound a bit upset. "What the fuck? We ARE NOT PAYING him to walk away. We are paying him to make sure nothing happens to you while you are doing this job. That was our agreement. Why would he text me, wanting our help with the AAPW war with Ultimate Wrestling if he was just planning on jumping ship?”
Kami’s face would turn red, underneath all the makeup.
Cassie would look directly to Colton with stern, squinted eyes. "Colton!! Why did you have to say that?"
Kami, finally realizing she was right, that she was nothing more than just a job to Hara.
" I knew he would just leave sooner or later."
The look of disappointment and anger spread widely across Kami’s face. She was right to hide her feelings for Hara as they would only be an intrusion to his job. Cassie and Lily’s stern look to Colton made him shrug his shoulders in confusion. Cassie would walk over to Kami, who had just distanced herself from the bunch in hopes of not being noticed, would try to comfort her. She recognized the pain in her eyes. It was the same look she held the night JR left. Kami would control the tears, not allowing one to run down her cheek. She turned her pain to anger, a ruthless warrior’s anger. Cassie felt the mood shift, so she questioned her ensemble. Kami advised her of her brother’s funeral. Lily would step up to both girls as support while Colton and William would discuss a plan to go looking for Hara.
Kami walks over to the table, picking up the set of keys to the dojo. She tossed them to Colton and would stare blankly at the palm of his hand.
“Here are the keys to the dojo, there is plenty of room for all of you upstairs. Make yourselves at home, I have a funeral to attend.”
Kami would lower her head as she walked out of the door; her uncle waiting outside in the car.
Lily would walk over to Colton. “You did not have to make it sound like Kami was just a job for Hara. Did you see the look on her face, Colton?”
His eyes grew wide. How was he supposed to know these things. Women did not come with an instruction guide he thought to himself as he just shrugged his shoulders with their luggage in his hands. William would follow behind.
“You up for a little tour of Japan, Lily?”
Cassie would smile as she looked out of the front door. The two girls flagged Kami, as they would get into the car and ride off to the funeral. Cassie would text William their plans, in return, he would reply with Colton’s plan to find Hara.