Mai was born about 25 years ago. Although she does not know her exact birthday, she knows that when she was a month old her parents left her in a orphanage. Although the nuns in the orphanage were exceedingly nice, the children were often mean and cruel. Watching other kids be bullied around her, even as she was bullied, led her to the path of defending others. She made few friends, most of the kids were scared of her strength and speed, even those she helped. She blamed herself for being left in the orphanage, thinking that she must have been a horrible child to be left after only a month.
When she was 8 she was adopted by a rich couple, Emi and Noburo Nakamura. She also had a grandfather now, Gen Nakamura, who walked everyday to a dojo he ran for children out in the outskirts of town. Her parents were rather rich. Her mother, Emi, being a tinkerer, inventor, martial artist, and rare coin collector, while her father, Noburo, played the stock market, and was deep in big business and well. She was quite happy, although living in relative isolation with her grandfather in the mountains and hills of Japan's countryside.Although she knew they
weren't her real parent's, she considered them as such. She was also somewhat fascinated by her mother's previous path of Shintoism. (Her mother was trained as a Shih by her father, Gen, and learned mainly the related Qiao's.)
Her mother had quite a few little sheds around the world from her travels where she kept
her gadgetry and tinkering, as well as some of her melee weapons from her training. Her mother's coin collection was left at home, with Gen.
Mai made a close friend, Sugiko Ishiyama, when she was 10. However, Mai didn't tell Sugiko about her family, for fear of being rejected for being an Upper Class citizen.Indeed, as Mai grew she always took unnecessary hardship upon herself to prove to herself that she was strong enough to take it, despite being from a wealthy family and knew of hardship and suffering. She also didn't like the 'soft and easy life,' and preferred to live a lifestyle that used little money. She also lived off her grandfather's tales of the old times, when demonsand monsters roamed the land, being fought off by brave and noble warriors.
She also learned to speak english, a language that her parent's often had to useon business trips.
Then, during her first airplane ride with her parents when she was 11, the plane caught fire, and crashed, part of it exploding. Shesurvived, although her parent's did not, and her mind was scarred from the horror of seeing her parent's a little ways away explode into flame. This memory was erased from her memory by the trama and to this day she believes she merely heard of their deaths while with
her grandfather. (This has developed her fear of airplanes, which has expanded to include boats, trains, and fast automobiles.) Her grandfather took over raising her. He took the money they inherited and
sending most off into various charities, keeping a small portion to live off of. Then he began training
his adopted granddaughter, giving her the training of a Shih, although she did not realize this at the time.
She especially remembers her 'discomfort training' which she, during the entire process, vowed to kill
her grandfather. This training was everything from sleeping on sharp rocks to hard Martial arts routines. Often even meditating for days while her grandfather set out a hot meal and a fan in front of her, so she
could smell the tempting dishes the entire time. When the dish got cold, he replaced it with another, and gave the cold food to the homeless.
During this time she made a few more friends, many of these happening to be Sugiko's friends. Although she did not have much time to visit or socialize, they would sometimes visit her grandfather's home in the mountains. She even learned how to sing from one of them. Then, when she was 17, her friends learned of her inheritence, and were furious, some asking for at least a little money. Mai didn't feel right in touching her parent's money, especially her mother's coin collection, and didn't
give them anything.
Hurt, her friends, even Sugiko, left, and didn't return. Mai threw herself into her training, working harder than she probably should have, trying to extinguish her pain. With only her practices, meditation and the mountain as company, she also learned to appreciate the animals that lived in the mountains
and hills, and grew quite found of them. Even to approach them without startling them. When she was 20, her grandfather grew ill, and Mai did her best to run his dojo while he was sick. It was tough though, although she managed to teach the kids every day, she was far too exhausted to continue her own training by the time she was done. Soon though, her grandfather recovered, and Mai decided that for a while she should take a vacation.
She recieved a phone call from Sugiko, telling her that she was in Kansas, Missouri. Mai immediately told her that she was dropping by for a visit, and they arranged the exact day and time for Sugiko to come pick her up.
Mai had wanted to apologize for her mistakes earlier, and mend the old wound. Mai soon rediscovered her fear of flying, in addition to some horrible luck in the airport, on the plane, and afterwards. Her lugguage, containing a her money, clothes, and personal possessions was lost. She had literally nothing but the clothes on her back, and wasn't dressed to take on the cold of Kansas City.
Continued...