Chapter One: The Invitation

An invitation arrived at the Wolf-Takahashi residence. It read; "Miss Jackie Wolf-Takahashi is cordially invited to attend the First Inter-Clan Women's Martial Arts Competition and Exhibition in Tokyo Japan as a representative of the Takahashi family. All expenses will be paid by the sponsors and housing/training will be provided by the sponsors. You will be staying at your family's ancestral estate. Upon your acceptance call, a package will be sent to you. It will contain all the necessary forms, ID badges, itinerary and plane tickets. As this is a time-sensitive matter, please respond immediately. Call to confirm at the number listed below."

Jackie and her family read over the information and discussed it in depth. Her decision was made after her family explained how it would be a great honor and once-in-a-lifetime experience to attend. Jackie called the number from the letter and spoke to a woman on the other end. They spoke in Japanese for several minutes before they ended the call. "The woman said that the package is being sent immediately. It will also contain directions to the estate and a list of local attractions with maps." Jackie was smiling, "I won't be alone. Mina and Komiko have received invitations and accepted too." She called them next and told them that she would see them in two weeks.

Almost a week later, the package arrived. It contained everything she would need for an extended stay in Japan. Besides the previously discussed items, there was also an application for a driver's license and detailed flight information with the boarding passes. Jackie was surprised by it all. She would be flying from Northern California, to Seattle then to Hawaii and finally to Tokyo Japan on a private charter plane. From there, a car would take them to the estate. The estate was close to Izu. Her flight was the following week and it was a flurry of activity getting her bags packed.

The day before her flight, she went to the hospital to visit her brother Jet. She told him about her upcoming trip to Japan. He just lay there unmoving. Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them away before they could spill down her cheeks. Jackie studied the face so much like hers. "I'll come see you as soon as I get back, Jet, I promise you" she said as she leaned over to place a goodbye kiss on his cheek. Jackie left the hospital and climbed on her bike. "It's not fair!" she yelled out loud as she started up her bike and rode away. Jet had only been trying to help an accident victim when he was run down by an impatient driver. Now he was the one laying in the hospital in a coma. Luckily he was breathing on his own now and his vitals were looking very good. There was even more hope as his latest brain scans were showing some activity. He just hadn't woken up yet.

The next morning, her family saw her off at the airport. When she had shown her ticket at the desk, she was ushered through security to a private lounge. There were only a few other people waiting as well. Jackie saw three families with children and a tall man, who appeared to be in his late twenties to early thirties sitting by himself. She sat down across from him and pulled out her pre-law study guide. Another much older man entered the lounge and looked around. He smiled when he saw her sitting by herself. The tall guy was watching intently as the older man approached her and sat down next to Jackie. He leaned close to whispered something to her which made her frown. Jackie slammed her book closed and glared at the old man. Then in a very loud voice said," Find your amusement elsewhere or you'll find your dick ripped off and shoved up your ass!" She had said it in perfect Japanese, which had the tall guy across from her smiling and nodding in approval. The old man, humiliated, apologized and hurried away. The tall guy had been pleased by how she had handled the situation. Jackie noticed him watching her so she buried her face in her book once again.

The boarding call came shortly thereafter. The tall guy grabbed his carry-on bags and headed to the gate, so did everyone else. Jackie was behind him and one of the families. She realized that the man was tall indeed. As she entered the plane her large weapons case was taken by a steward and placed into a secure storage cabinet. "Thank you" she said. A stewardess showed her to her seat. "Komiko is that you?" Jackie asked. The woman in the window seat looked up and smiled. She stood up and hugged her cousin. "Jackie, you made it. God, you've changed, you're more beautiful than I remember. Do you know if anyone else is coming besides Mina?" Komiko asked. Jackie had blushed at the compliment. "No, it's just Mina coming in from New York. She's going to meet up with us in Seattle. How's your baby brother doing? He must be getting big" Jackie said. Komiko laughed and replied, "He's not so little anymore. He started kindergarten this fall and Mom's expecting again." Jackie looked shocked for a moment then laughed. "What is your mom trying to do? Catch up to my family? Twenty kids can be fun, but they can be a pain in the ass at times" she said. Komiko shook her head, "No, mom says five is more than enough. How's Jet doing?" "He's improving slowly but still hasn't woken up yet" Jackie replied "Well any improvement is a good sign" Komiko stated the leaned close to whisper in Jackie's ear. "Who's the big guy across the aisle from us? Do you know him?" she asked. "No. Why?" Jackie whispered back. "Because he keeps looking over here" Komiko responded. "He was in the lounge when some old pervert tried to pick me up. I told the old perv off quite loudly and he left quickly. Maybe he's one of the sponsors because he looked like he wanted to do something until I handled it. So, how are your studies going?" Jackie asked, changing the subject. Jackie didn't want to discuss men or dating right now. Komiko blew out a frustrated breath and sat back in her seat. "Wow, where to begin. I'm having a little trouble in Biology and English Literature. Math is no sweat but Anthropology is killing me. How do you do it? You're twenty years old and hold three Doctorate's and four Master's Degrees"she stated Jackie smiled and replied, "I guess it's from having so many older siblings. They were a great help. While we're on the plane and in Japan, I'll help you by showing you some of the tricks to understanding the materials that I have learned." Jackie stated and shrugged her shoulders.

Komiko relaxed and the two women chatted about what they had been doing for the past couple of years. "So you quit the MMA circuits after Jet's accident?" Komiko asked. "Yeah, it wasn't the same. My heart wasn't in it anymore without Jet there by my side " Jackie said with a hint of sadness in her tone. They continued to talk until the plane landed in Seattle for the required layover. The man across the aisle from them had feigned sleep and had listened to their entire conversation. He knew of her days in the MMA, when she had gone by the name of Jackie Night Wolf, Queen of the Cage. It was why he had been in the States in the first place. Now he knew why she had quit the MMA circuit. He wasn't surprised by the strong attraction he felt for her.. She was wonderfully tall, feminine and absolutely beautiful. In the past six years that her family had been sending pictures and videos of their family for his family's archives, he had mostly watched the videos of her and studied her pictures but they hadn't done her justice. He had wanted to kill that man for bothering her. For a woman of her height, she was grace personified. She was very exotic looking. He guessed it was from her mixed heritage of Japanese and Native American. Silky blue/ black hair hung down past her hips in a thick braid. High cheeks and a small pert nose graced a heart-shaped face with full lush lips. Just thinking about her had his pulse quickening. He watched her as she exited the plane, he enjoyed the sway of her hips as she walked past him. He knew very well who her cousins were as he was the one whom had located them, studied them and sent them their invitations to the competition. He knew that Jackie would feel more comfortable with her cousins there. Jackie, Komiko and Mina are all distantly related to him, but for some reason he didn't want them to know who he was just yet. Let them think he was just a sponsor for now. Too bad he still had business to attend to in Tokyo. He would have loved to see their faces when they arrived at his home, the ancestral home of the Takahashi Clan. A car will be waiting to take them there when they arrived in Japan. He would be staying in the city for a couple of more days at the most he hoped. It would all depend on his mother's return from her trip.