dis-claim'er, noun: a denial or disavowal of legal claim: relinquishment of or formal refusal to accept an interest or estate; b: a writing that embodies a legal disclaimer; c: a statement made to save one's own ass.

Chapter 5: Amaya

She didn't know what it was about coming to this place that made her so calm inside. It wasn't just her faith in God or that this was his house. Maybe it was the array of colors that reflected from the stained glass in the windows. Maybe it was the soothing hymns that constantly played in the background. Maybe it was the smell of candles and oils.

Despite not knowing, Amaya Blanchett always felt at home in church. It just wasn't a place of worship, but here she knew she was safe from the cruelty of the world. She had been unsure whether or not she would find a Catholic church in Japan. It was quite the drive to get there, but St. Ignatius Catholic Church was located in Tokyo and she felt a very warm connection to this place. It was almost as if God had wanted her to be there.

Stopping at the back of the church, she dipped her fingers into the anointing oil and made the sign of the cross before she went and took a seat in one of the pews. Listening to the melodic sound of the harpsichord, she dove into her own thoughts and revelations that had taken place since she was a child and up until this point.

She was born in Paris, France to Mary and Jean Blanchett. They moved to Nice, France when she was three to be closer to her father's mother, Francine. She has two older sisters, Michelle and Natalie, and a younger brother, Michael. Her mother opened up a small baker in Nice while her father was the manager of the local bank. Her oldest memories are of those in the bakery watching her mother bake assorted breads. She supposed this is probably what drew her to start baking and eventually cooking.

Her father was a devout Catholic. She and her family were in church every wednesday and sunday and attended any and all functions. Her mother closed the bakery on Sundays to distribute the waste from the end of the week to those less fortunate than her family. She was taught to believe in God and never forget that through Him any and all things are possible.

After trying to figure out why she would always get sick if she was around too many people at once or if someone who emotionally distraught, Amaya learned from Father Hernan that she was what people called an 'empath'. An empath is someone who is highly aware of the emotions of those around them, to the point of feeling those emotions themselves. Empaths also see the word differently than other people; they're keenly aware of others, their pain points, and what they need emotionally; but it isn't just emotions. Amaya could sometimes sense physical pain, too-and can often sense someone's intentions or where they're coming from.

She remembered crying when Father Hernan explained her supernatural ability; she thought it was a curse! But Father Hernan told her that it was God's will and to see it as a blessing instead. She should think of how her ability was like that of Jesus when he was crucified for everyone's sins. After a lengthy conversation, Father Hernan agreed to teach Amaya how to control her empathy and things she could do to help those around her and herself. Now, she was grateful for his teachings. Amaya harnessed her ability to the point where she could now faintly see someone's aura and could determine if their intentions were good or bad.

Amaya was thirteen when the police knocked on the door to her family home to inform the family that her eldest sister, Michelle, had been sexually assaulted after leaving one of her night classes. That was her first true experience of what evil looked like. She and her family were good, God loving people that gave to the community and helped everyone regardless of their beliefs. Her faith never wavered, but she couldn't seem to stop asking God why it happened to her sister.

She was a firm believer in pacifism, but she knew then that that wouldn't save her if she was to ever be attacked. Amaya saved her allowance for over a month to start taking some form of self defense and she chose Water Dragon Kung Fu. The fluidity of the movements made her feel like she was an ever flowing river. She excelled in her studies and rose ranks in no time.

When she was seventeen she had almost decided her calling in life. Feeling close to the church and close to God, she spoke to Father Hernan about joining a convent and taking vows to become a nun. Hernan told her that if she truly did believe it was God's will then to place her trust in Him. After debating with herself for two days, she brought it up at a family dinner. Everyone at the table gave their own opinion, but encouraged her to follow her heart.

"If the word of God speaks to your heart then that is what you do," her father said sweetly.

Amaya spent the next weeks until her graduation gathering her things and donating it to the homeless and what was left she gave to the church. She had a trust fund that her parents put money into every month, but wasn't accessible to anyone until she was eighteen. She gave her parents strict instructions that when the money matured it was to be donated to local charities and hospitals.

The day after she received her diploma happened to be her eighteenth birthday. Her family went with her to the Roman Catholice Diocese of Nice where Father Hernan was waiting for her. The family took a tour of the church and ate together before her family bid their farewells and left. When they were alone, Father Hernan asked her one last time if she was misplacing her truth. Amaya stood firm with her decision.

It was the first night in the covenant that it appeared to her.

Amaya pretended not to notice the small, glowing aqua aura in the corner of the room. The more she ignored it the closer it got. Sitting up, she stroked her rosary as the aqua aura started to shimmer and shine until it materialized into a beautiful armor the color of the ocean in direct sunlight.

The armor reached out to her. She tentatively touched her fingertips to those of the image. The armor disappeared in what looked like a burst of glitter and was absorbed into her body.

Trust.

She felt a power surge through her body and it was almost as if she was being pushed through time. She closed her eyes and opened them to find herself in a strange village. Is this real? She felt the grass beneath her toes, but her body seemed to be in an incorporeal form. She caught a movement out of her peripheral vision and turned towards the disturbance.

Amaya saw a strangely dressed man with long white hair standing in front nine unmanned armor. He was chanting in some sort of strange language. She watched as he took a bowl from an altar and walked up to the red armor. With immaculate precision he took out a small knife and scraped some of the armor into the brown dish. He placed it back on the altar, grabbed another dish, and repeated the process with the rest of the armors. Once he was done, he turned to face all nine of the dishes and started chanting in a language Amaya was unfamiliar with. His hands wove through the air as he made several symbols with them. The bowls started to glow; the air cracked with power and lightning. There was a loud boom and everything returned to normal.

The bowls were glowing several different colors. Amaya watched as the aura's floated away from the bowls and into the air. The auras moved around in a strange way before taking a shape and solidifying into nine armors that almost replicated the other ones. These new armors appeared more feminine than the others and had capes.

Amaya gasped when the man turned towards her. His eyes were the brightest blue she had ever seen. He gave her a teasing smirk before putting a finger to his lips as if telling her to be quiet. He moved his hand and waved at her as if he was dismissing a servant. The images swirled around her becoming one giant blob of colors and auras. She blinked and found herself back in the convent.

Amaya had a hard time taking it all in, but she knew at that moment this was what God had wanted her to do. She had been sent here to find her path, but it was up to her to walk it. She was a Guardian; a defender of the weak and protector of the innocent, but there was more. She was a Guardian of the universe and of someone she didn't know.

She left the convent the next day after apologizing to the Sister's and the Priest. She caught a bus back to Nice. Her family had been more than surprised to see her at home, but she told them that there was a different path that she needed to travel in order to do what God intended for her. She told them what happened that night in the convent. They had all been unwilling to believe her except for her younger brother, Michael. He thought it was "cool" his big sister got an out of this world armor.

Her mother came to her several days following her return and told her to go visit her maternal grandmother who lived on a beach house. Amaya had been confused, but when she got to her grandmother's she understood. Seashells and pictures of the ocean lined the home of the elderly woman. A particular picture of a mermaid had caught her attention. The mystical creature had blonde hair and blue eyes as she struck a pose in the ocean with fish swimming around her.

Her grandmother, Aline, was a petite woman with salt and pepper hair. She spoke with eloquence and poise. She sat and spoke with her grandmother for hours about her lineage. When it was all over, Amaya stood at the edge of the ocean, barefoot, and let the waves wash over her. While the talk had been confusing it somehow all made sense.

Mermaids.

Her grandmother told her of a tale that said that her ancestors were descendants of the sea. She didn't know how to take it, but it settled right in her heart. She had always had an affinity for the sea. Whenever the power of her empathy overwhelmed her, she would always go for a swim to "wash away" the emotions and the pain of the people she had taken in.

That was the first time she donned her armor. Armor of the Lady Torrent. She swam underneath the waves for hours. She mingled with the oceanic life and laughed as she watched schools of fish playing together. Amaya's soul sung with joy when a dolphin swam up to her. She didn't know whether to be shocked or normal when she could understand the dolphin. It swam around her in circles while singing its song. She decided to name the dolphin Ellie.

Amaya took daily trips to the sea after that. She played with the sea life and they helped her train with her armor. Lady Torrent was amazing. She drew power from the sea. She could breathe in the ocean. While underwater she could stop or start hurricanes. The sea was hers to control while in armor.

Six weeks later, she had been out on the streets of Nice passing out food to the homeless when she bumped into someone. She looked up to be greeted by a beautiful young woman with wavy, blonde hair and stunning midnight blue eyes. Before they even spoke, she felt her armor orb resonating in her pocket. She pulled it out and held it up just as the other female did the same thing.

The young woman introduced herself as Hana Utano, bearer of the Armor of the Lady Halo. Hana helped her distribute the food around before they sat down outside her mother's bakery to talk. They talked for hours about themselves then about their armors. Hana explained that she was on a mission to gather all of the Lady Guardians and go to Japan. Hana, however, was unsure of what was supposed to happen after that. Amaya pursed her lips together while listening to her. She gripped her rosary to pray. She felt a wave wash over her and a voice in her head told her to go.

Amaya invited Hana to dinner with her family that night. She broke the news to them, discussing what Hana and said and what she herself felt in her heart. With her family's blessing she planned to go to Japan in a month's time. During the waiting duration she withdrew her savings as well as her trust fund from the bank.

She arrived in Japan at the beginning of Spring. She was greeted at the airport by Hana and another young woman of Chinese descent. This one was rather tall for a female with short blue hair and dark blue eyes. She was built almost like a bodybuilder, but she kept her femininity. Her breasts were exceptionally large and her hips were close to being shaped like an hourglass. She introduced herself as Josephine Rei Faun, bearer of the Armor of the Lady Hardrock.

Hana had apparently had everything worked out. They arrived at a house just outside of the Shinjuku city limit. It was a two-story home that had apparently been bought and paid for with money from Hana, Josephine, herself, and two other people. It was a quaint little house that was secluded. Their closest neighbors were a couple miles away. The kitchen was big and would be adequate for large meals and get togethers. Amaya would have never guessed that it had a basement and an attic. The backyard was big as well with a porch that spanned the entire house.

After they had moved in was when she met Mia Koji, the bearer of the Armor of the Lady Strata. She was older than the rest of them and a teacher as well. She was petite with shoulder blade length brown hair. Amaya was shocked to know that Mia was of French ancestry. She was gentle, kind, and spoke with a kind of knowledge about the armors she was astounded to know she had.

It was during dinner one night that she met the final member of their "group". She, Josephine, and Mia had been dining on a roast duck she had made when Hana walked in with a ebon haired beauty. She was short with exceedingly long black and amethyst eyes that almost seemed like they were glowing. When she opened her mouth to introduce herself, Amaya almost chuckled. Her accent was absolutely adorable.

"I'm Rekino Sanada. It's nice to meet, y'all."

That was when Mia stood up almost in shock. They all found out then that Mia was engaged to Rekino's older brother, Ryo Sanada, who almost thought she was dead. It was quite a confusing situation. Just as soon as she thought that Rekino was absolutely adorable, the girl opened her mouth and spoke nothing but filth. While Josephine laughed, Amaya couldn't help but voice her opinion on how it was very unlady like for someone to speak the combination of words Rekino was speaking.

A high pitched pop had sounded in the room shortly after. A woman dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono with long purple hair wielding a staff stood in the middle of their kitchen. She introduced herself as Lady Kayura, the last living Ancient who was in charge of guiding and training the five young women. Mia and Kayura shared a quick, business like hug before they were transported to another dimension.

That was the first time they had all summoned their armor. A power had sung through Amaya's body like nothing before. Seeing the four other women in armor made her develop a bond she didn't think she could have. Knowing that she wasn't alone in bearing this burden of power made her sing praise to God.

They spent months after that training in the Nether Realm while they all found jobs or enrolled in school. Amaya had ended up finding a part time position at a local bakery in Shinjuku and enrolling at the local community college in Shinjuku. While they all took on jobs during the day as regular people, at night the five young women gathered together in the Nether Realm to train and learn to control their armored powers.

That was where they were now. Six months had passed since she had arrived in Japan. She missed home and her family dearly, but she knew that God had other plans for her. She was a protector; a Guardian.

A familiar aura pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned just as a young woman of Puerto Rican descent sat down next to her.

"It's not surprising that I would find you here."

Rubi Mercado. She was a local psychologist.

She was also an armor bearer. She was the Lady Guardian of the Armor of the Spider, the armor of summer. The opposite of Rajura. She was a mistress of illusions and used her powers to help those who suffered from extreme psychosis and other mental illnesses. She worked at a local clinic in Shinjuku with three other women who Rekino had dubbed "The Lady Seasonal Guardians".

"Rubi, it is good to see you. Come for prayer?"

Rubi came from a devout Catholic family just like her.

"Yes and no. I was actually looking for one of you girls. God just happened to send me here to you."

Intriguing. "Oh?"

"I had a patient today that I fear was in such a deep state of psychosis that he spoke of something foreboding. Will you come with me to the clinic?"

Amaya pursed her lips before nodding slowly, "Is this something I need to notify everyone else of?"

Rubi stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles of her scrubs, "I want to say no, but I'm afraid I have to say yes."

Amaya stood to follow her comrade while she got out her phone to alert her other friends.

Next:

Name: Josephine Rei Faun
Age: 18
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 1730lbs
Hair Color: Dark blue, crop cut
Eye Color: Dark granite
Ethnicity: Chinese
Birthdate: May 1
Birthplace: Shanghai
Astrological sign: Taurus
Blood Type: B
Favorite Sport: American Football, softball
Martial Art: Iron Body Kung Fu
Interests: Fighting, sports, eating
Dislikes: Leftovers, disloyalty
Language: Chinese, Japanese
Armor: Lady Kongo/Lady Hardrock
Virtue: Justice
Weapon: Usually a tetsbo, iron bo, ith a naginata blade on the end. It can also change into to a three-joined nunchuku.

Family:

● Li: Father. Restaurant owner.
● Mao: Mother. Interior decorator.
● Shao: Older sister. Fashion model
● Xin: Older brother. Chef.
● Grandfather: Leader of the clan.
● Kento: Cousin.
● Chan Ran: Uncle. Kento's father. Owns a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, Yokohama.
● Aunt: Kento's mother and a master of Chinese kung fu.
● Host of cousins, nieces, and nephews

She bears the Guardian Armor of Hardrock and her virtue is "Justice".

Josephine acquired her armor at fourteen. She saw someone steal a precious treasure from a temple when she was on vacation with her family. She walked away from her family and confronted the thief, who was secretly hired by her grandfather as a test, and recovered the stolen item. When she returned it to the temple, her spirit of "GI" was awoken in her heart and Lady Kongo, Lady Hardrock, appeared before her.

Jo's orange yoroi is Kongo, Hard Rock or Diamond. She has a weapon that is usually a tetsubo, iron bo, with a naginata blade on one end. It can also change to a three-jointed nunchuku. Her special attack is called "Iron Stone Kinesis". She focuses energy at the end of her bo-staff and uses it to dislodge large parts of Earth slings it at her enemies. She can control the size of the bolder making them as big as a house or a planet.

Notable facts:

1. She has a high metabolism.
2. She started lifting weights when she was 12.
3. She began her iron body training at 14.
4. She isn't afraid of anything except the dark.
5. Her least favorite food is Italian.
6. She has a big heart and will give you the shirt off her back if necessary.
7. She has an IQ of 120.
8. She has kept her hair short since she was nine because of a group of boys that held her down and cut her hair.
9. She hates underwire bras.
10. Family is very important to her and she holds loyalty and honor above all else.
11. She enjoys boxing in her spare time.