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─ IN WHICH SHE ARRIVES
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ON AUGUST 27TH, 2018 AT OKINAWA NAHA AIRPORT IN JAPAN, Keiko Miyagi stood at the gate for terminal B, a straight shot flight to Los Angeles International Airport. At her side were two jumbo blue suitcases ready to be handed over to customs, and on her back was a backpack that was visibly tilting her back from its weight.
As for the reason she was standing in the airport with enough luggage to last a century, it was the same thing that caused the extreme pout on her face.
Her parents, Yusuke and Homura Miyagi were the most successful real-estate brokers on the island of Okinawa, working alongside her (honorary) great-uncle Sato. As a result, they often had to make extended trips to the mainland for work-related meetings. For a time they had attempted to bring Keiko with them on these excursions, but after the time they left her alone in the hotel room for nearly a whole day at age 3, they promptly put a stop to dragging her along.
Instead as an alternative, they sent her to California for 2 weeks at a time to stay with her grandfather, the great Nariyoshi Miyagi. These trips were some of the happiest times of Keiko's childhood, as she absolutely adored her grandfather who would teach her karate. Sure she was also heavily trained by Sato since she could walk, but getting lessons from her grandfather meant a lot to her, seeing the way the moves blended together like a deadly dance. Not to mention his beautiful home with its flowing koi pond.
The second highlight of these trips though, were the days she would spend holed up in he LaRusso home. It was here after all that she made her oldest and dearest friend; Samantha LaRusso.
