-Prologue-

"Kanika, watch yourself! You almost ran into those children!" A boy exclaimed, yanking his sister to the side just in time to barely dodge a group of children running down the street, laughing and giggling amougst themselves as they went.

The boy turned to his sister and scowled, earning a nervous laugh from the girl. She had long midnight black hair that went way past her waist with the sides pulled up behind her head. She wore a bright blue kimono with a grey belt wrapped tightly around her waist and a new pair of sandals that were given to her as a gift by the town seamstress. "Sorry Shiro," she explained, "I thought I smelled a hotpot; you know I easily get distracted by the smell of food." The boy known as Shiro sighed in annoyance, "I would get you one, but you spent all of the money from the priest already!" The girl, Kanika, smiled sheepishly before continuing to walk, humming to herself. Shiro knew his sister was an airhead but he never thought it was this bad.

It was hotter today than he predicted it would be; his thick shirt given to him by the priest was beginning to make him sweat under the harsh sunlight. He sighed and followed shortly after, but accidently bumped into someone. "Ack!" The force was so hard it knocked them both back, causing them to land on the ground with a thump. "Ow." Shiro mumbled, rubbing his bottom.

He went to stand when he was grabbed roughly by the collar. "Watch where you're going!" A man yelled angrily, shaking Shiro violently. Shiro tried to get him to stop but it was to no avail. The man kept yelling horribly at Shiro, refusing to let go. Kanika heard the yelling and turned around in time to see her brothers hat fall to the ground, revealing his shoulder length hair. "Shiro!" Kanika ran franticly, running back to her sibling. The man heard Kanika's yell and went to turn around when he looked down at Shiro's chest, realizing a shocking piece of truth.

Kanika jumped onto the man's back and dug her nails into his face. He howled in pain and released Shiro, only to try and grab Kanika. However every time he even managed to get a hold on the girl, she dug her nails deeper, causing pain that made him cry even more. He flung around, trying to get the girl off but to no avail. As Shiro grabbed his hat and went to fix his shirt, he looked around and realized they were drawing a crowd. A crowd that spelled trouble. "Kanika, we need to go!" Shiro said loud enough to get her attention. However, when Kanika went to look at Shiro, the man grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled hard enough to fling her over his shoulder. She cried out in pain and collided painfully with the ground, the air instantly knocked from her lungs. She rolled onto her side, clutching her ribcage, not paying attention to the seething man standing over her. "You foolish girl!" he yelled, raising his foot above her head. From the height he was going, Shiro could sense he meant to crush her skull. He instantly made a move and went to run to his sister, but he knew he wouldn't make it. "Kanika!" Shiro screamed.

Right as his foot went down, someone ran up behind the man and shoved him so hard he went flying head first over Kanika, landing harshly in the hard dirt. Shiro came to a screeching stop as he stared at the man before him. A man with navy blue hair that barely went past his ears and was kept out his face by the metal headband wrapped to his forehead. he was clad in dark blue that was loose yet clung more to his body more than a normal person's attire. A sword was strapped to his back, weapons hung on his waist along with a pair of hand sized pouches. "Ninja..."Shiro whispered without thinking. The man looked over at Shiro, as if hearing his words, and smiled softly. Shiro covered his mouth and took a hesitant step back; he was so frightened he didnt even bother to put his hat back on to hide his hair.

"You needn't fear me." He spoke to Shiro. The man kneeled down before Kanika and helped her to her feet, dusting her back off. Kanika tensed awkwardly as she felt his hands brush against her back. her instincts screamed 'Enemy!', but his gentle gestures spoke otherwise. "Ah thank you." She spoke suddenly, turning and bowing slightly to the man before running over to Shiro. Kanika instantly covered Shiro's chest in attempt to hide their secret, but the man simply shook his head, "There's no need for that." Both siblings froze and slowly looked at the mysterious man, who wore a blank expression. When they made no intention to move, the man walked towards them and leaned close, "Girl, I know this one you call brother is no boy."

Shiro blushed furiously and held his top closed; in response, Kanika wrapped her arms protectively around Shiro, who was a good three inches shorter than her. "What about sir? Do you intend to run around the whole town shouting it aloud for everyone to hear?" Why Shiro was dressing as boy was their business and if this man threatened to ruin their privacy, it would lead to an endless list of problems for them and the temple. But the man simply shook his head, "I have no intention to cause you both any trouble, I simply ask that you accompany to the temple; your current home correct?" Before answering, Kanika looked around and saw everyone kept walking like nothing was wrong; as if the whole incident never happpened. No one was even looking in their direction .

Kanika looked back to the man and nodded, "Before we show you the way, your name would be nice to know." Despite her simply request, the girl had a serious tone with a dangerous edge. He nodded and got down on my knee, "Excuse my rudeness, my name is Hanzo." Kanika's protective grip tightened around Shiro unconciously before she replied, "I will take you to the temple, please follow us." With her arms still around Shiro, they both began to walk in the direction of their home. Hanzo stared after them for a moment before following. The girls tone was very cold and unfriendly, but the way she held unto her younger sibling stated she was very protective and didn't want either of them to get hurt. He could understand that and praised her for her unknown determination to protect what was precious to her. She truly was a Ninja Princess, but he was worried about his new predicament. There wasn't only one heir before him, there were two. What was he going to do with two heirs?

Hey you guys! Thank you for reading this story I'm writing! First let me clear up somethings:

is not a boy, but a girl dressing up as a boy. (I will explain in the next chapter or so)

2. Hanzo already knows that Shiro is a girl, but doesn't know why.

Thank you again for reading this and I hope it become's one of your favorites! Please Read and Review!