Chapter Seven: Issues

"That is very commendable, young woman. Now it is time for these students to be on their way home. Say good bye" a man said from the back of the group of the kids. Sullenly, they did as the man said. "I'm glad you have encouraged my students but I don't think you are the proper role model for these kids. Just look at what you do, not to mention how you look" he sneered. Jackie looked down and stared him in the eyes. She ground out through clenched teeth, "You mean my tattoos. Each and everyone one of them has a story behind them. If you don't like them, don't look at them." She turned and walked away from the uptight, narrow minded man. Mina and Komiko caught up to her. Mina had been totally shocked by what the man had said. "What the hell crawled up his ass and died?" She asked to no one in particular. They had the the groceries in the small back packs so they started running again. They waved to the bus as it passed them.

They arrived back at the house and prepared the dinner with Saiya's help. When it was finished, they set the table and brought the food out. Saiya went and told everyone that dinner was ready. Everyone enjoyed it except just one person, Kirrin. She kept making snide comments about the meal. "If you don't like the meal, you can very well go hungry or leave this house. It's your choice" Uncle Shin said. He was getting really fed up with her constant criticism about everything around her. She shut up but continued to make faces throughout the meal. After dinner, the leftovers were put into containers and placed in the freezer for another meal. Uncle Shin washed all the dishes and the pots that were used to make the meal. They went into the living room and sat for a little while and watched some television before they decided to take showers and head to bed.

The three women wanted to turn in early after the long trip. Jackie and Komiko finished up first and left for their room. Mina was still getting dressed when she overheard the snobby Kirrin talking to the others, "I don't know why that big one had to come too, she's only part Japanese after all. Just because she's famous doesn't make her better than the rest of us. I don't think she's all that good. She's so big that she probably can't fight as well as I can." "Oh shut up Kirrin" Kiki said. Mina went back to the bedroom. As the three women settled in for the night, Mina told them what she had overheard. "Apparently she's been spoiled all her life, probably an only child. And do you notice how much she talks on her phone in private?" Mina asked. Komiko agreed, "Yeah, when her phone goes off she leaves the room so that no one can hear her conversations." Jackie was scowling. "I've noticed that and more. She doesn't seem to fit in. She doesn't resemble anyone in the family. I'm starting to wonder if she's even related to the family. Notice how everyone in this family is taller than the average height. She's short, very short, maybe what five feet tall at the most. I think we had best keep our eyes on her. She maybe a ringer from another clan, sent here to throw the competition" she said. The three women high-five each other then crawled into their beds.

During the night, a stormed rolled into the area and by very early in the morning it started to rain hard. The girls woke up to the fact that they were getting drenched. "Oh shi\\t, the roof's leaking!!" Mina yelled. They grabbed all their belongings and ran them into the living room. Jackie and Komiko ran to the bathroom and pulled out buckets, mops and rags from a closet. The three of them went back to the room and placed some large buckets under the leak. They started mopping and wiping up the rest of the water as best as they could. Then they went to the bathroom to shower and change into dry clothes. They put their wet things into the dryer. All this commotion brought Uncle Shin from his room. "What's happening?" he asked, still groggy from sleep. "It's raining in our room" Mina replied, rubbing her head with a towel. He looked into the room and up at the rafters. It was only a modestly sized leak but it was in the center of the room.

"Well, there is still room for two of you in the girls' room and Jackie can use my son's room until he returns. By then this room should be dry. The good thing about this storm is it should be gone in a couple of days, then I can get up there to fix the roof" Uncle Shin said scratching his head. Saiya took Mina and Komiko upstairs to get settled in while Uncle Shin showed Jackie to his son's room. He led her through the house and the dojo to another hallway. They went down the hallway to a door on the right. Uncle opened it and stepped back to allow Jackie to enter it. "Across the hall is two bathrooms and the laundry room. The left one is the men's bathroom and the right is the women's with dressing rooms. We use them mostly after work outs in the dojo. Good night Jackie" he said and left her to get settled in.

Jackie looked around the room. It had a long narrow bed, two dressers full of men's clothing, a closet that was half filled and a wall covered in shelves. The bottom three were empty so Jackie put her things there and her weapons case under the bed. She came out of the room to find Uncle Shin waiting. "I never heard of a bedroom placed beyond a dojo before. Is that common here?" she asked. Uncle Shin turned a little red in the face. "No, our ancestor was a bit of a dog. His wife and children resided in the front area of the house while his concubine resided in the back of the house. This bedroom was once his concubine's room." Jackie blushed at the thought of that concept. "It doesn't bother you, does it?" he asked her. " Oh, no, not at all. It's fine. I just have a lot to learn about the family history. It's just strange to learn that, as noble as our family was, they were still as human as everyone else"she responded. He said, "Good night" once again and left. Jackie re-entered the room.

Jackie stretched out on the bed. She found it quite comfortable and was soon fast asleep dreaming. She dreamed of a man taller than her, being in his arms, being kissed by him. The alarm went off four hours later. She woke up, disturbed by how fast one man's image had invaded her dreams. She rolled over and buried her face into the pillows. She sniffed and lifted her head. No wonder she had dreamed of him, the pillows smelled like his cologne. Jackie sat up and looked around the room. On the dresser, she saw what she was looking for, a black cologne bottle. She got up and went over to the dresser, read the label and then shipped it. Yes, it was the same but it was a very popular brand. Even her brothers had several bottles of the stuff. Jackie looked around some more. There were no photos in the room, just trophies, lots of them. They were for academics and sports. 'Interesting, Uncle Shin has a son with a mind as well as being athletic.' she thought.

Jackie got her ghee and went into the bathroom to use it. She finished up by brushing her hair, pulling it up into a ponytail and braiding it. She dinner her ghee and headed into the dojo. Mina and Komiko were already there and waiting for her. They warmed up by stretching and doing some cardio. But the time they had lined up and started doing their Kaya's, Uncle Shin had arrived with Kiki and Kaya. "Breakfast will be in one hour. Now, let me see what you know. Kiki will paid up with Komiko and Kaya respectfully. Jackie and I will paid up as we are closer in height. Begin"he commanded. Feet, fists and weapons flashed around the room. Kiki lost to a more flexible Komiko. Mins lost because she kept telegraphing her moves to Kaya. Jackie had an idea on how to solve Mina's problem but would wait on it a little bit. It was finally Jackie's turn. She countered every move Uncle did. He realized that she was using a mix of several different styles of Martial Arts. He was pleasantly surprised by her ability, intelligence, speed and power behind her moves. At one point, he landed a kick that knocked her back a couple of feet. As she came back at him, her arms were slightly back, so he thought she was setting up to use a flying kick attack. When he jumped up and she didn't he realized to late that she was in a position to strike him. He landed and she struck him with her whole body behind her two impact points. One fist hit his left hip and the other his right shoulder. Uncle fell back back hard and lay there gasping from the pain. His right arm went numb from the shoulder down and his left leg hurt like hell from the hip to his toes. "Poppa, are you okay?" Kiki asked in concern as her father continued to lay there.

"He will be alright in a few minutes. I hit the nerve centers in his shoulder and hip, causing temporary pain and numbness, making him temporarily disabled. It's a technique that I learned from my grandmother. It's called the 'Bear Paw Fist'. Used properly, it causes no lasting damage unless it is a matter of life or death. The amount of force I used will not cause lasting damage, just pain then numbness, pins and needles feeling and some minor bruising. Stronger force can shatter bone or cause death" Jackie explained. She knelt down alongside Kiki and Kaya. Uncle started to get the pins and needles feeling in his arm and leg. "That was a very devastating maneuver" he said when he was finally able to sit up. "I don't know if I'll be able to test your weapons skills until after breakfast, at least I'm hoping I can or you will have to wait until my son's get home" he said rubbing his hip. "As you wish, Uncle-sensei" Jackie said and bowed to him. He stood up slowly and returned her now. They all left the dojo, smiling and talking. "I have not seen my father taken off his feet since my oldest brother turned fifteen. Pop was hurting for a week. After that, he never challenged my brother again, he had our grandfather do it. My brother's could never defeat the old man, he's just too fast." Kaya said.

"You should try having your skills tested by a great grandfather, grandparents, father, mother, eight older siblings and eleven younger ones testing your skills every day as she had to do. It was a royal gauntlet to be standing after all that. Add to that, her numerous instructors and her time in the MMA circuit. It's the reason why she is so hard to beat" Mina explained. "MMA? Don't tell me she's The Jackie Night Wolf of the 'Queen of the Cage' fame?" Kiki asked, stunned as she put two and two together, "My God, my brothers and their friends were always watching and taping all your matches. They were always talking about you. You decimated every opponent you stepped into the cage with." Jackie turned red when Uncle Shin turned to study the young woman. He had seen those tapes, she was truly a force to contend with. He had even caught his oldest fondling himself while watching her compete. Now seeing her in person, he could see his son's strong attraction to this woman.

"Yes, that was me but it was almost a year since I last competed" she explained. "And why is that?" Uncle asked. Jackie looked a little sad before answering him, "Jet is my twin brother. He was my manager, trainer, bodyguard and a competitor in the men's division. One night after a match, we were on the way home. We witnessed an accident. I stopped traffic and called it in. Jet went to assist a woman and while he was helping her, he was run down by an impatient driver. The man raced up the side of the road, struck Jet and took off. Jet was in a coma for seven months. Good news is he woke up just after my plane took off for Seattle. Oh, I have to call them. I'll go and get my phone and I'll meet you all in the dining room."

She ran to grab her phone and went back to the dining room. She dialed Lea's number. "Hey girl, what's up? Did you guys get there okay?" Lea asked. "You tell me" she replied and switched the phone's camera to show the others in the room as well. Lea was able to see them and they saw a woman similar to Jackie with pink hair. "Hello everyone, glad to meet you all" Lea said as she was walking down a hallway. "Take good care of my sister and my cousins. Don't let Jackie beat you up too much. I'm on my way to meet up with Jet and I'm running late. Let me call you back when I get there, okay" she said, sounding slightly out of breath. "Okay, no problem" Jackie replied and hung up, "Lea can't walk and talk at the same time, she crashes into things." Jackie ate her breakfast as quickly as she could, she didn't want to get caught with her mouth full of food. Her phone rang and it was Lea calling her back. Lea whispered, "Hey get a load of this." She turned her phone around to show a younger man on an exercise bike and was peddling as fast as he could. He looked up smiling until he saw the phone was pointed at him, then frowned. Lea brought the phone closer. He smiled when he saw Jackie's face on the screen. "Hey there bro, looking good. How are you feeling?" Jackie asked. "Hi, Jackie, I'm feeling great. I'm still a bit shaky but I'm walking on my own. Pretty soon we'll be sparring again. I'm going to need you to whip me back into shape. So how are you guys doing out there? Are they treating you right?" he asked. "Oh, we're doing great. Made some new friends, met more family, shocked by the beauty of the house and town. I found out that our ancestor kept his mistress in the back of the house. We got rained on in our room and did some preliminary skills testing but that's on hold for now....." Jackie started telling him.

Jet interrupted her, "You didn't use the Bear Paw Fist, did you?" Jackie flushed. "On whom?" he asked. She turned the phone around and handed it to Uncle Shin. "What did you do to earn that? Jet asked after they had introduced themselves. Jet Wes studying the older man. "I used a spin kick on her. Jackie came back at me and the way she was positioned I thought she was coming at me with a flying side kick so I went to counter it. I realized my mistake as I landed. That was when she hit me. I'm still feeling it but I am very proud of her skills so far" Uncle said smiling. "Check for bruises in the morning, mine took three weeks to go away" Jet replied. "Yeah but I hit you much harder" Jackie smirked. "True and I guess I deserved it too. Well, I've got to go. It's massage time, then shower, tv time, dinner and off to lala land. See ya all tomorrow. Love Ya, Miss Ya, Wolf Pack Forever. I'll see you tomorrow." The phone suddenly swung back around to face Lea once again. "Before I let you go, I want to know how that hunky guy is doing? Did you two hook up yet and knock some boots?" Lea asked. Jackie's face was flaming. " I told you before there is nothing going on. He's just one of the sponsors for the Competition. Just drop it Lea. Listen Lea, I have to get going. Give everyone at home hugs and kisses from all of us. Bye Sis, Love Ya, Miss Ya" Jackie said and hung up.

Komiko elbowed Mina and she winked back. "Okay spill it. Did tall and gorgeous, Mr. Ichibana make a move on our dear cousin?" Mina said. "Oh, he must have. Look at how red she's turning" Komiko said smirking. Jackie rose up slowly to give them a head start. Mina and Komiko ran for it. Jackie chased them out of the house. They ran out the gate and on down the road. Uncle Shin laughed. Kirrin decided to put her two cents in, "Oh please, how juvenile can they be. As if any man would be attracted to someone like that." Uncle Shin had, had enough of her. "Enough. As of today you are on notice, Kirrin. You are now at the level of an alternate, and if you continue to treat the rest of the family the way you have, you will be asked to leave. Do I make myself clear?" he warned her. Kirrin dropped her head and answered, "Yes Uncle." Then she left the room.