Chapter 2 - "The Monastery."
Mr. Dorian Cutler now belonged to the Japanese Organization called the Yakuza. The Yakuza were a strictly governed highly disciplined Japanese crime syndicate that in many ways resembled the Italian mafia. However, there are distinct differences between Japanese organized crime and that of the United States. The Yakuza had no need to exist in secrecy; its members flaunted their affiliation with distinctive tattoos which covered a large portion of the body along with a specific style of dress. They often displayed emblems on wooden boards which signified their office locations that showed how unafraid they were of law enforcement. The Yakuza had their hands into everything- stocks, protection rackets, entertainment districts, retail, prostitution, drugs, guns, etc. This organization also specializes in a certain variety of illegal activity. Yakuza frequently engage in a uniquely Japanese form of extortion, known as sōkaiya - a specialized form of protection racket. Instead of harassing small businesses, the Yakuza infiltrate stockholders' meetings of large corporations by purchasing the amount of stock required to grant them attendance. Sōkaiya agents then blackmail these companies with incriminating or embarrassing information about the company's leadership or business practices. Many times, to avoid the threat of public humiliation, the company agrees to pay the Sōkaiya. Some still include payoffs as part of their annual budget. In the beginning of Dorian’s affiliation with the group, this open display of illegal activity was quite surprising.
Dorian learned what his primary role in the organization would be quite quickly. The Kumicho (the overall leader of the Yakuza) wanted Dorian to be their prize fighter. Dorian was very opinionated and stubborn, which often earned him disdain from the elder Yakuza. Japanese culture demands respect and obedience from those of inferior status, unfortunately, Dorian believed otherwise. His abilities in the ring caused him to display overwhelming arrogance toward his Japanese affiliates. He felt he was in a position that labeled him untouchable. However, In the Yakuza…… no one was untouchable.
During the 40’s in Japan American Boxing was becoming a popular sport which began to draw attention from the rather reserved Japanese public. So many people started to learn the art of boxing as it grew throughout the east, therefore gambling and the potential for profit followed. Dorian was the token American fighter; he was exactly what the Yakuza wanted.
The young Irishman’s career was illustrious through the years, he boasted an undefeated streak in the Far East which garnered him admiration from the Japanese. He was much larger than his opponents and his skill set still remained superior. He fought for close to four years before the bosses wanted him to try a different type of opponent. He squashed every Asian boxer that climbed into the ring with him; he was just too much to handle in such a restrictive combat style. The many admirers also wanted a different kind of fight from the American. The Yakuza agents in Thailand lured highly skilled Muay Thai Fighters to challenge Dorian in the ring. These fights seemed to heighten the excitement and interests of the fans. Dorian spent the next year fighting nothing but Thai fighters; it took a toll on his body. All of the intense leg kicks, knees, and elbows that barraged his body took away his once agile mobility. He was no longer undefeated; he had lost a few fights due to not being able to defend very well in clinches which left him open for attacks that often cut him open. Dorian wasn’t a commodity anymore and he knew it. Pushing 30, he found that this kind of lifestyle he once loved began to disgust him, he wanted out, he wanted a family. There was one woman in particular he grew attached to. Her name was Silia Nasaki, she was a beautiful Japanese Italian woman who was kidnapped from Italy and forced into prostitution. Dorian paid the resident shateigashira (local Yakuza boss) for Silia’s services exclusively, no one else was to touch her. Dorian planned on leaving the Yakuza with Silia and fleeing back to the United States to live in Cleveland Ohio, he figured it was a low key city and he could open a gym there. Once he found out that he and Silia had a baby on the way, he knew he had to make a decision, his woman and unborn child needed to disappear immediately. If his bosses in the Yakuza found out she was pregnant, they would either kill her, or take the baby and raise it to be a worker for them. The baby could also be used as leverage for Dorian to stay with the Yakuza until they found no further use for him. Any way you look at it, this situation ended badly for the Irishman.
Silia ended up fleeing back to Italy with help from Dorian. She stayed with her sister and hid from the Yakuza agents. She knew that as long as she was with her baby and her family, they were in danger. Silia waited for Dorian to meet her in Italy for a few months. After awhile she knew he was not going to make it and it was a high probability he was dead, her heart was broken. Her assumption was correct. Two days after Silia left Japan, Dorian was called down to the loading docks along the bay, he was found with two rounds from a 9 millimeter in the back of his skull and floating face down in the water. They killed him because he was no longer making them any money.
After Silia gave birth to her baby, she named him Rixon Sole. She got his name after her father Rixon Nasaki who was a seasonal fisherman in Kyoto Japan, and her mother Sole Nasaki who was an Italian seamstress who was rescued by her father when she was on a commercial cargo ship in the Atlantic that hit a forgotten mine field left over from the First World War. She had very fond memories of the two and wanted Rixon to be just as blessed as they were. Eight months after Rixon was born, she left him to a trusted minister at local church, at least that’s what she thought. Silia was just not able to give him the care he deserved and be on the run. She disappeared shortly after.
The minister who promised to take care of Rixon was indeed a man of God, but not in the sense most people would recognize. He was part of an ancient religious based guild called the Death Angels Assassins. His specific purpose was to find infants and young children who were blessed with the gifts to become what the Monks who formed the Death Angels Assassin call a Sheppard. In laymans terms a Sheppard is defined as an assassin who kills in the name of god. The Monks have outposts all over the world, their existence is kept in total secrecy, and no one has broken the code of silence during its existence for over a thousand years. They have been molding civilization by eliminating global threats as well as those whom have caused great pain and suffering throughout the history of man. This minister Silia trusted delivered Rixon when he was 8 months old to a Monk who traveled from Mongolia to retrieve him. He was taking the young infant to an ancient facility known as the Monastery; this place is where the young children are acclimated and where the first phase of training the Monks refers to as “the foundation” take place. All of the Monks within the organization have their own specific duty; most live specifically for the purpose of mastering their task. This specific Monk who took custody of Rixon basically locates gifted bloodlines and helps them understand their talents so they can serve the purpose of cleansing society. Rixon had the physical attributes as well as the mental depth required for the complexity of the training and task of being a Death Angels Assassin. Being able to determine these abilities for a child at such a young age takes an incredible precision focused mind with spiritual awareness. Rixon was on course to fulfill his destiny.
The Monastery where Rixon was trained during his early years was a vast hidden temple that possessed an honored history by having the most influential figures in this world attain their knowledge within its walls. It is known as the Ji Chu Temple. Ji Chu when translated into English means “Foundation.” The Monastery was given the name by a Chinese General under the notorious warlord Liu Bei during the Eastern Han Dynasty. He had it built and hidden within the mountains for the Monks many centuries ago to train his son to be the greatest emperor of all Asia. He soon died and his son became a celebrated Sheppard within the Death Angels Assassin and is rumored to still be alive due to the regenerative abilities the monks have perfected to prolong their lives. This temple was hidden deep within the Tien Shan Mountain range located in North Western China near the Taklimakan Desert and border region of Kyrgyzstan. There are no roads or trails of any kind leading to the entrance of this training sanctuary. The locations of the temples and various training facilities of the secretive Death Angels Assassins Guild are concealed from civilization. Their existence is also masked from all technological means as well.
The Monks who have operated these temples have advanced greatly in fields such as human physiology, science and technology, philosophy, and most important they have mastered the art of combat in every form possible. They are far more advanced than any civilization on Earth. Through the centuries of human progression, they were a large portion of the driving factor. However, there is a code that no technology or science knowledge of any sort can be shared with any society. The Monks view mankind in general as God’s children, man as a race is irresponsible, arrogant, undisciplined, violent, and do not yet encompass the emotional depth in general to control the types of advancement the Monks have been able to reach through thousands of years of research and devotion. They believe they were blessed with the gift enlightenment. Their beliefs are simplistic in theory: monitor mankind, do not let them destroy themselves, it is in mans nature to do so. So they eliminate any and all threats that would steer humanity harmfully. Kings, dictators, emperors, warlords, even presidents have been marked by the Death Angels Assassins….and they never miss their mark. In their hearts they believe these deaths were for the greater good.
The young children brought to this temple are considered gifts and are treated accordingly. There were precise attributes and characteristics required to become a Death Angel Assassin, only about a dozen babies per generation meet these requirements. Rixon along with the other assassins to be were not trained like privates in a boot camp. The Monks believed every aspect of every training segment was to be learned to precision, so they developed highly involved processes to accomplish this education. All lessons were to become instinct, a second nature, an involuntary reflex brought on by a specific action. No Sheppard would ever be unprepared for any situation. The Ji Chu Monastery had one purpose; this was to build the foundation which would be the first phase and groundwork for becoming a master assassin.
Rixon soon met his mentor and Shidoin (sensei) Master Soonsiet. Shidoin Soonsiet was the most respected, honored, and talented warrior in all the history of the coveted Death Angels Assassins. He had no equal; there was an aura about him that commanded admiration. Young Rixon Sole would soon become Master Soonsiets prize pupil. His training was about to begin……
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