A Brother's Secret

Chapter 1: Golden Days

"Alright!"

~Time Skip~
Edith PoV

"Mika!" I called waving to my Sakura haired cousin. Her hair was even longer than the last time I had seen her.

"It's been far too long," she said before leaning over in a bow. I groan and pull her up by the shoulders before wrapping her up in a hug.

"How many times do I have to tell you? There's no need to be so formal!" I scold with a small smile. Miyuki freezes briefly before returning my embrace gently. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing well! Ayu and Yayoi have helped me so much recently with my training." Mika glances back at her companions with a soft smile.

"Well, it's pretty fun living with a super good cook like Roya here," I say with a giggle. Shiroya's face turned pink, surprised by my sudden compliment.

"Oh..stop!" I giggled again.

"You've cut your hair since we last saw each other," Mika pointed out, flicking a stubborn strand that stood straight up. I groaned and pushed her hand away playfully.

"Yeah, long hair is a fire hazard. I learned that the hard way...Kaito tried to cut it for me, but I had to fix it so it ended up shorter than I originally planned." I said with a giggle. My teal colored hair barely passed the nape of my neck, but at least it was out of the way.

"It's cute! I think it suits you," Mika said.

"Thanks!"

"Hey, guys! It's been a while!" A voice calls from the front of the estate. I turn to see two white-haired men, both with smiled adorning their faces.

"Ran! Kiku! Good to see you guys!" I say with a wave.

"Hi Ran, Fuyukiku." Mika bows deeply again. I groan and smack her back to tell her to stand up straight. Ran chuckled wryly before Kiku takes a step forward.

"Same as always. Hard to change the village of tradition." Fuyukiku replied with a small smile.

"I'm surrounded by country-bred idiots. Fantastic." I hear someone scoff.

"If you don't like it, you can leave Yayoi." Kaito rebutted.

I turn around with a fake smile. "He's got a point you know. You didn't have to come." I said through my teeth. Yayoi and I didn't get along very well and we haven't for as long as I could remember. Our personalities conflicted as well as our views.

"Technically I did, seeing it was in the letter I received from you and Mikaela's uncle," Yayoi replied.

"Guys stop it," Mika says standing in between us.

"What's wrong with country-breds, huh?" Shiroya asks, ignoring Mika's order. Yayoi simply ignores him. Shiroya groans and crosses his arms.

"Maybe if city-breds like Yayoi and Kikyo weren't so arrogant we wouldn't have a problem." Kaito jabs. I snicker at his words, but what he said didn't make Yayoi too happy.

"What did you say?!" He asks stepping closer to Kaito before Ayu stood between them.

"Calm down. It isn't worth it." Ayu states.

"Heeeeeeey guys! The party has finally arrived!" Rindoh says with a grin. Kikyo follows behind him with a serious look on his face. "I know you guys missed me but there's no reason to fight over it." Rindoh goes to hug everyone he passes. 'He sure knows how to calm everyone down. "I missed you little ladies the most," he says ruffling my hair.

"Watch the hair, Rindoh!" I say pushing his hand off of me.

"Good, everyone is here now." I turn around to see a familiar smiling face.

"Uncle Klaus!" I say with a smile. Mika and I go forward to hug him and he laughs with arms around Mikaela and me.

"It's good to see you, girls! And of course all the ninja too." He said greeting everyone. Once the hellos were taken care of, everyone gathered into the main hall to talk.

"Alright. You all should be fairly aware of the situation by the letters you all received. The legend passed down through the Unmei family is coming to fruition. The descendants who can wield the Three Sacred Treasures must complete their 'mission' before their coming-of-age day in order to prevent the destruction of Yamato Island. We've been receiving reports of Ayakashis appearing in several areas. Also, Kuroko has recently informed me that the sacred symbols of the four villages are under convulsion. In other words, their original beauties have been ruined." Uncle Klaus explains, causing the room to turn grim. "Edith and Mikaela, your mission is to visit the four villages and together purify each polluted symbol. It is something only the two of you can do. The Stones of Gathering Clouds of Heaven are the key to the purifications." My hand traveled to my neck where my stone was embedded in a chocker. Mika keeps hers on a necklace under her robes. We were given these stones when we were born, given this mission is our destiny.

"The girls will need your help as the top ninja of your village. Half of you must accompany the girls on their journey, while the other half return home and do what they can in preparation for their arrival." Everyone glances around at each other almost as in competition.

"Lastly, each one of my nieces must select one ninja as their protector and travel companion. That ninja will have absolute responsibility for Mikaela or Edith's safety. I will be placing my precious nieces in your care, and I trust that they will choose wisely. I have some other manners to discuss with Kuroko. I'll leave you all to work out the mission plans and be sure to see you all off tomorrow." As soon as uncle Klaus is finished talking, he waves and disappears from the room leaving all of the ninja surrounding me and Mikaela in hopes we'd select them to join us on our journey.