On a plane, a boy with black hair started to feel someone poking him. He opens his eyes to see his twin sister.
The girl had long silver hair pulled into a large bow held by a black ribbon with four, loose sections hanging loose and she wore a simple white dress with a pink layer and light red heeled shoes.
The girl was tapping on her brother's shoulder so they could get ready because they were going to land at the airport in three minutes.
After landing in the airport, the twins were walking down the escalators to pick up their luggage and meet their uncle outside.
Outside, the twins were waiting for their uncle like they needed to do, but he was taking too long to pick them up "Where is he?" The boy asks.
"I'm wondering the same thing myself." The girl said as she pulled out her phone and called her uncle.
"Hello?" A man answers.
"Uncle Arron… Me and my brother are at the airport and you're not here, so our question is… Where are you!?" Their uncle's eyes lit up, realizing they were coming to stay with them.
"Oh… I'm held up at work, I'm sorry. But you two have money, right? Can you guys get a taxi to take you two to my house." Aaron asks as he hears his niece's exhausted sigh.
"Yes, we have money for a taxi… But you better treat us to something good when you get home, got it!?" The girl said as she hung up.
"She definitely got that from my wife…" Aaron said as he went back to work.
The boy and his sister were trying to catch a Taxi but none of them stopped until after 5 minutes, a Taxi finally stopped for them but before they went inside they heard a man's voice "Wait!" The man with a woman walked up to them.
"Me and my husband are so sorry but do you mind if we take this Taxi? We just got back from a trip and I'm almost closed to my due date." The twins didn't get it at first but then saw the woman's bloated stomach.
"Well, me and my sister understand. But I think there might be enough room for the four of us." The boy said as he helped the man put their luggage in the taxi and the four of them entered the Taxi.
"I don't know how we can ever repay you. Not a lot of people would do that." The man said.
"It's nothing. I like to help people wherever I go." The boy said to the man.
"So where are you two from?" The woman asks.
"We're from Paris, France. We're going to live with our cousins until we graduate from college." The girl explained as she saw the town she and her brother will be staying at for a long time.
At an Elementary School, a boy and a girl with big black eyes and brown hair were running home because they were excited to see their cousins after two years.
The boy wore his hair with three large spikes that resemble cowlicks. A small amount of hair sticks down.
The girl wore her hair in a ponytail with her front hair drop down a little. She wears a short sleeve green shirt with a yellow dragon design on it and wore blue shorts and brown sandals. She also wears a blue and other color wristband on her right hand.
Her brother wears a red short sleeve shirt with a white rim on each sleeve, a blue-and-white design on his right arm and a white star in front of it. He also wears light-gray cargo pants and red, blue and white shoes matching with his shirt.
When the two opened the door they were greeted by the two teenagers, who were carrying their luggage. The boy and girl felt overwhelming joy and rushed towards them and rushed towards them and hugged them, to which the two teens accepted "We've missed you two." The teenage boy said as the little girl continued to cling to him.
"Come on Athena, didn't you say you weren't going to cry?" The woman asks as she sees their little reunion.
"Yeah, sis." The boy said.
"Sh-Shut up, Nate!" Athena retorted as she continued to hug the teenage boy I missed you Zack! You too, Twila!" Athena said as Zack pats her on the head.
The twins escorted their older cousins to their rooms which is where the older twins will be staying for a while. Zack's room was across from Nate's and Twila was next Zack's room and across from Athena's. The two twins were happy that they can finally spend more time together as they all went down for dinner to be ready and eaten.
After dinner, Zack returned to his room and was unpacking his clothes and was decorating his room with posters of Joan Of Arc and his favorite books and other things. After finishing unpacking, Zack went to bed.
Twila was also unpacking and was doing some cleaning and set up her books onto an unused bookshelf in order A to Z. After doing all of those things, The silver haired girl went to bed after looking at the time and realizing how late it was.
The next day, Nate and Athena went downstairs and saw their cousins helping their mother make breakfast, which was pancakes and orange juice. Nate and Athena were eating with their family until they heard a knock on the door and Nate went to check it out. When Nate opened the door he saw his crush.
She has black eyes and brown hair tied in a ponytail with a pink ribbon. She wears a white pullover over a collarless shirt with black and white stripes. A pink heart is on the right side of her pullover. She wears blue shorts. She wears dark gray socks and black tennis shoes with white soles and white shoelaces.
"Katie! Uh, What's up?" Nate asks as he starts to blush.
"Oh, well… uh… um… Eddie and Bear want the three of us to meet up at the park." Katie was going to say more until she noticed Zack and his sister.
"Who are they?" Nate turns around to see his cousins playfully smirking.
"So Nate, is this your girlfriend?" Zack teased causing Nate to lash at him and Katie to blush.
"D-Don't be ridiculous, we're just friends!" Nate said while blushing.
"Yeah, we're just best friends." Katie said as Twila smirks.
"Is that so…? Well you know what they say "Best friends turn into lovers"." Twila teased causing Nate and Katie to blush even harder than they were before.
"Twila. Stop!" Nate yelled as he turned back to Katie "I'm so sorry about my cousins, Katie." Katie was lost in thoughts and was snapped back to reality by Nate's voice.
"Ah, no problem. Well, i'll see you and Athena at the park." and with that, Katie left.
After breakfast, Nate and Athena left to go and meet their friends in the park, with Zack and Twila tagging along.
"Why are you following us?" Nate asks coldly, still angry from earlier.
"Well, we want to meet your friends." Twila said as Zack went in front of them.
"And to make sure you're not causing trouble at school." Zack teased as Nate continued to the park.
When they all got to the park, they saw Katie and two other boys.
One of the boys was wearing a short or long, green jacket with two orange patches on the sides of the sleeves. He wears a white collared shirt with a blue undershirt and rolled up capris. His shoes are plain blue with a white rim. On his head are orange headphones with the same coloring as the patches on his sleeves. His physical appearance includes "sleepy" eyes, high placed eyebrows and not-kept brown hair.
The other boy had a robust build, rings around his eyes, a black pointy hairstyle pointing upwards and a plaster on his left cheek of his face. He wears a blue varsity jacket with white sleeves and a white shirt with a triangular design on it along with brown shorts and white sneakers.
Nate and Athena walked up to them with Twila and Zack following them "Hey guys!" The boy with the headphones exclaimed.
"Hey, Eddie!" Athena greeted.
"Say, who are the older kids?" The boy with the blue clothing asks.
"These are our cousins, Twila and Zack. guys, these two are Eddie and Barnaby. But we call him Bear." Athena introduced.
"It's… wonderful to meet you two." Twila said as she bowed to them.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Nate asks as Eddie pulls out a box with bugs the group haven't seen before.
"Ta-daaa!" Eddie exclaimed.
"Whoaaa… Those are awesome!" Katie exclaimed with excitement.
"Did you catch all of them yourself?" Nate asks.
"Pretty rad, huh? Yeah, we've got a forest out behind our vacation house." Eddie said as Athena was still in awe.
"Man, i wish i could get bugs like this…" Athena sighed.
"Well, there are tons of bugs there, literally. I'm always finding rare ones back there." Eddie said triumphantly.
"I caught most of 'em, though! Eddie got squeamish a couple of times." Bear said, causing Eddie to blush.
"That's not true!" Eddie exclaimed but Bear ignored him.
"Hey, Nate and Athena, you're collecting bugs for your summer project too, right?" Bear asks as Athena laughed nervously while her brother simply frowned.
"Yeah, we're having a little trouble getting motivated is all…" Nate said but Bear scoffs.
"You haven't even started, have you? I bet you both don't even got a single bug yet! I bet you end up pulling legs off a spider and saying it's some rare insect!" After hearing that from Bear and even Eddie laughing, Katie, along with Twila and Zack, looked at them with a mixture of anger and disappointment.
"Come on. Leave them alone, Bear. Athena and Nate are just pacing themselves." Katie said.
"That's right. There's nothing wrong with pacing yourself." Twila said, agreeing with Katie.
"Yeah! And besides, me and Nate have already caught some. A bunch, as a matter of fact!" Athena exclaimed as Nate slaps his palm into his forehead.
"Ok then, prove it." Bear said.
"Yeah, where are these bunches and bunches of bugs you guys got?" Eddie asks as Athena looks at them with an amused face.
"Well, i don't have them with me. If I had one on us, I'd show you! Duh." Athena said, crossing her arms.
"Yeah? Bring 'em next time. I'd like to see your bucket of dried-up fruit flies." Bear taunted as he and Eddie turned to each other and laughed with each other for a bit.
"Let us know when we can see your "Collection" Athena." Eddie said as him and Bear walked away.
"Yeah! Well… I'll show you guys!" Athena shouted as Nate calms her down.
"Athena, they're only trying to get to you." Katie said as she also started to walk away.
"Well, that just happened." Twila sweated.
"Well, how about after lunch, we go bug hunting?" Athena's ears perk up to the as she smiles cheerfully from Nate's suggestion.
"Yeah! I'll show them!" Athena declares as she starts to run home in a rush.
Once home, the four went inside and announced "We're home!" Nate went upstairs to grab his and Athena's bug nets and bug case while Athena was thinking of some places where she and Nate can get some rare bugs "I'll show those guys! I'm gonna catch a ton of Super-rare bugs! Right. Now!" Athena declared as Nate came down with their stuff.
"Wait, Athena. Where are we going to get super-rare bugs from?" Nate questioned as his twin sister thought of it for a bit.
"Mmm… Maybe the park?" Athena suggested as everyone headed out again.
At the park, Nate and Athena went to two different trees and caught two different color cicadas "Good job, you two!" Zack said as Athena smiled.
"Thanks! I think we got everything here." Athena said triumphantly.
"But we got some bugs… but no rare ones." Nate said as he and the others noticed that one of the cicadas glowed a purple aura.
"Whoa! One of the bugs was glowing! That was cool!" Athena exclaimed.
"But maybe we were seeing things. Anyways, let's see… If I was a rare bug, where would I hang out?" Nate questioned as Athena had an idea.
"I know who might know!" Athena said as she rushed off in the direction of her school.
"Where is she going?" Twila asks as Nate figures out who his sister was talking about.
"Oh, I see! Athena's going to see the school janitor. He's always talking about his crazy bug collection!" Nate said as he, Zack, and Twila rushed off to catch up with Athena.
Once reaching the school gate, they saw that Athena was waiting for them "What took you so long?" Athena asks.
"Nathan was explaining to us who you were talking about." Twila explained as Athena started to walk towards the Janitor.
"Hey there, Athena!" The Janitor greeted.
"Hi, Mr. Kazan." Athena greeted back as Nate and the others walked up behind her.
"Oh, Hello Nate. Who are your new friends?" Mr. Kazan asks.
"My name's Zack. And this is my twin sister Twila." Zack introduced.
"We're Nathan's and Athena's cousins. It's a pleasure to meet you." Twila greeted him as Mr. Kazan shakes the twins' hands.
"Likewise. Anyways, I heard some of the kids talking… Sounds like you two could use my help." Mr. Kazan said to Nate and Athena.
"I was thinking about some good places to find rare bugs for your collection." Nate and Athena felt their hopes being renewed by the words the Janitor spoke "You two should check out Mount. Wildwood. You'll find some good stuff there." Athena was practically jumping with excitement.
"Thank you, Mr. Kazan!" Athena said as she hugs the man.
"You're welcome, Athena. And Nate…?" Nate turned to the janitor "Keep your sister out of trouble."
"I always do." Nate smiled at the janitor but he then remembered something.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Take these. My secret little pro tip for catching bugs." Mr. Kazan said as he threw 3 black syrup to Athena "If you head north, you'll run into the forest that leads to Mount Wildwood. Just don't get yourself lost going too far up that mountain, ok?" And with that, the four kids left and went up to Mount Wildwood.
At Mount Wildwood, Athena was smiling proudly "Wow, look at all these trees! I can practically smell the bugs." Athena said as her sibling sheepishly smiles at her.
"You sure we're going to find some super rare bugs here?" Nate asks.
"Of course! I bet all the good bugs like to hang out in the deep woods past the temple." Athena said as she ran up the steps to the temple, having her net in hand and going to the trees and quickly catching some red cicadas but was disappointed.
"What's wrong, sis?" Nate asks Athena in concern.
"Nothing. It's just… there's a lot of bugs but no rare ones." Athena said as a purple mist covers the gate and the gate disappears, leaving Nate and his cousins to be shocked.
"What?! Where'd the gate go?!" Zack exclaimed but Athena saw an opportunity.
"Well… the gate is gone soooo… why not check the place out?" Athena said as she entered the forest that was cut off by the gate before, with her brother and her cousins chasing after her.
At the end of the forest was a big tree with a big rope tied around it, with Athena being astounded "Wow! Look at that tree!" Athena said in awe.
"Yeah, yeah, it's nice sis, but let's get out of here!" Nate said with Twila raising an eyebrow.
"Why?" Twila asks.
"This is the sacred forest! No one's supposed to be here." Nate explains as Athena walks up to the tree and sees a capsule machine.
"Huh…? What's this doing here?" Athena asks as Nate runs up to her.
"Who cares? Let's go! I don't want to get in trouble."
"Oh, have a little faith." Athena said to Nate as the four heard someone saying something.
Feed me~! Feed me~!
"What in the-!" Zack exclaimed.
"Who's there?! Who said that?!" Twila asks.
Feed me~! Feed me~! Feed me, feed me right now~!
"Wh-Where's it coming from?!" Athena said as she looked at the capsule machine "Does it want me to feed it a coin?" Athena took out a coin from her pocket and placed it in the coin slot and backed away quickly and looked around the tree to make sure no one was there.
"I guess we turn the crank?" Zack suggested as Nate cranks the capsule machine and got a small toy capsule and opened it only to see a light coming out of the opened capsule and a strange creature was floating over the group of four kids.
The creature is a white ghost-like wisp who has eyes with a curved black mark connecting his eyes, resembling a mustache. It has blue lips that almost always smile at the cheeks, and teeth as well as a set of arms. It has a wisp on top of his head that resembles an ice cream swirl, as well as at the bottom that always moves whilst he floats.
"Hello, my friends! My name is Whisper! I am a Yokai! Pleasure to meet you all. Charmed!" Whisper said as he crosses his arms and smiles at the shocked kids.
"Y-Y-Youkai?!" Nate and Athena exclaimed, leaving Zack and Twila confused.
"What the heck is a Yokai?" Zack asks as Whisper floats down to Zack's level.
"We are sometimes known as ghosts, interdimensional beings, demons, or spirits." Whisper explains.
"I see…" Twila simply said as Zack looked at her in shock.
"That's all you have to say?! Just how high is your weirdness tolerance, sis?!" Zack yells in shock.
"Well, he greeted us and kindly explained what Yokai are. Besides, this isn't the weirdest thing in our lives." Zack was going to say something but instead sighs.
"Alright, you made your point." Zack said as Nate and Athena rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't hallucinating.
"So… Yokai are real?!" Nate exclaims.
"Of course we are! But I completely understand your disbelief. You may not know it, but Yokai are everywhere. From the bustling city to the quiet forest like this one." Whisper explains with Nate being a little worried while Athena was ecstatic.
"So Yokai really do exist! Yes!" Athena was happy and was practically jumping with joy.
"So what do we do?" Nate whispers to Zack and Twila.
"I feel like we should head back home… After an afternoon like this, I could use a little rest." Zack suggested.
"I agree. I think that should be wise." Twila said as they begin to head out of the forest.
"Hey, sis! We're heading home!" Nate tells his sister.
"Coming! It was nice meeting you Whisper!" Athena said as she ran to catch up with her brother and cousins, with Whisper following them.
After a few minutes, Nate was the one to turn around and look at Whisper "So, um… why are you following us home?" Nate asks.
"So it's easy for me to make sure i'll always be there for you!" Whisper said with a smile.
"Well that's nice of you but we don't need a chaperone." Twila said plainly, causing Whisper to be shocked but not swayed from leaving the two teens and the twins alone.
"I'm just saying, if you need to know anything, absolutely anything, just ask me! It's my job to make certain you four are well taken care of!" Whisper clarified.
"What?!" The group exclaimed.
"Why do we need to be taken care of? What's wrong with us?!" Nate asks.
"Well just look at yourselves! You're just children wandering around aimlessly. Without my help, how would you all make friends with the Yokai?" Whisper asks as the group sighs in defeat "Wonderful! I'm glad we're all on the same page! Let's go inside so i can see my new home!"
"Right, well… Ok. But you can only stay for a little bit." Nate said with a frightened face
Mom is so going to kill us… Nate and Athena thought as the group went inside the house.
"We're back!" The group announced as they saw the parents arguing.
"I'm just saying it doesn't hurt to do a few chores around here! I feel like I'm doing everything around here! What do you do all day!?" Ms. Adams asks in a harsh tone.
"You wanna know what I do?! I try to make money to support our family! I'm too busy to be doing chores around the house!" Aaron yells back and their argument goes back and forth.
"Mom and Dad are arguing again…" Athena said dejectedly as Whisper looked carefully at an outline of another Yokai.
"I see. It seems you have an uninvited houseguest my friends." Whisper said as the others looked around but saw nothing.
"What are you talking about? There's nobody else here." Nate said.
"Oh, that's right! Silly me, i forgot to give you this!" Nate said as Whisper gives Nate and Twila two watches.
The first one is a silver watch with button and a blue lamp and the watch face has a pink, light-blue, purple and green colored abstract wisps that revolve around a black background.
The second watch resembles the other watch but with a few differences. It is white in color all over, and has two hinges on each side. The inside has a working mechanical detail with a single red hand stuck at 12 o' clock, which only can be seen if the watch is opened. There's also a keyhole-like slot at the bottom of the watch.
"What are these?" Twila asks.
"Those are Yokai Watches! The first one is the first modern model ever created! While the other is more ancient. It's called the Yokai Watch Arcane!" Whisper said as he pointed to the buttons on the watches "Use those buttons to shine on the Yokai!" Nate and Twila did so and saw Nate's watch's blue lamb become a lens for him to see through and Twila raises her arm and presses the button on the watch and the two of them saw a purple Yokai standing right next to Nate's and Athena's parents.
"What the heck is that!?" Athena asks.
"That's Dismarelda." Whisper said as the others looked at her more.
Dismarelda has a blob/sludge-by appearance, for her body has the form of a jelly, purple in color, with her "hair" having a lighter tone, which is kept together by a hairband with a small bow on the left side to match. She has very short arms, slightly puffy lips and round eyes with the eyelashes pointing downwards.
"She's a Yokai who can make couples either depressed or make them end up having an argument." Whisper explains as Athena gasps.
"So she can make our parents have a divorce!" Athena then imagines a future without her mother or her father or Nate and then shook her head, denying it "We need her to get her out of our house!"
"Well, yeah but… how the hell are we gonna do that?" Zack asks as Twila walks up to her and pulls up a chair and sits down in front of Dismarelda.
"Good afternoon, Dismarelda." Twila greeted with a smile.
"Oh? You can see me?" Dismarelda asks.
"Yes. But I ask, why are you making my aunt and uncle fight?" Twila asks.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to inspirit them, but… I got into an argument with my husband and whenever I get angry or depressed, I end up inspiriting couples. Married or not…" Dismarelda explains as Twila placed a hand on her chin.
"I see… Have you tried to make up with your husband?" Twila asks again.
"I wanted to… but we got separated before i could…" Dismarelda explained as Nate and Athena walked up to her.
"I think we understand…" Nate said, showing sympathy.
"Yeah… Me and my brother don't get along sometimes. And I'm sure our parents are the same. But as long as we talk things out, then everything will turn out alright." Athena said as she glanced at a photo of her, her parents and her brother standing together and it made her smile.
"I see… Thank you, child. Maybe i should find my husband and talk with him." Dismarelda said.
"Don't bother! I found him for you!" Whisper said to Dismarelda as a floating yellow cloud-like yokai came in through the door.
The yokai has a yellow, gaseous-looking body, with diminutive arms. He sports squinty eyes, a wide mouth, and a green mustache, vaguely resembling a Dali style. His hair is green and styled to resemble a normal haircut, and has a daisy on the top.
"Dismarelda! I finally found you, mon Cher!"
"Happierre!" Dismarelda exclaimed as the two came close to each other.
"How were you able to find him so quickly?" Twila whispered to Whisper.
"Simple. I saw him outside." Whisper simply said.
"Seriously?" Zack asks, being suspicious.
"Are you really complaining about this?" Twila asks.
"No, of course not! I'm just saying that it's convenient timing." Zack explained.
"How can i repay you four!?" Happierre asks.
"Non. Vous n'avez pas à nous rembourser. Nous essayons seulement d'aider, bon monsieur. (No. You don't have to repay us. We were only trying to help, good sir.)" Twila ended up speaking French which made Happierre's smiles widened.
"Oh! Vous pouvez parler français? (Oh! You can speak french?)" Happierre asks
"Moi et mon frère. (Me and my brother.)" Twila explained as Nate and Athena were automatically lost in the conversation.
"Um… what are you guys saying?" Nate asks.
"We were speaking in French." Twila said with a smile as they saw Aaron and Ms. Adams talking.
"I'm sorry, Lilly… you're right. I should start helping out around the house more." Aaron said apologetically as Lilly shakes her head.
"No. I'm sorry for snapping at you. I just feel really lonely without you during times like this." Lilly explains as Aaron hugs her.
"I'm sorry… for making you feel so lonely." Aaron said as the two couples kiss.
"Ah! Another happy ending!" Happierre said as he and Dismarelda began to leave the house, with hand in hand.
"Well, i guess all our problems have been fixed." Zack said with a smile as the married couple turns to them.
"Kids… we're sorry you had to see us argue. To make it up, we're gonna have a huge spread for dinner!" Nate and the others smile.
"We'll help!" Nate said as Athena nods.
"Yeah! I'll even help with the dishes!" Athena said with a smile.
"I think this is a good opportunity for me to learn how to cook Japanese food." Twila said with a smile as Lilly nods.
"I couldn't agree with you, my dear niece!" Lilly said as she began to get the ingredients out but then stared at Whisper.
After a beautiful dinner, The group convene in Nate's room and Nate and Twila look at their Yokai watches "So yokai… really do exist…" Nate said as Twila nods.
"But I suppose seeing is believing." Twila said as Lilly walked into the room.
"Aunt Lilly?" Twila looked up to her aunt.
"I talked with Whisper and he can stay." the group stared at her.
"You can see him!?" Athena asks in shock.
"Yes. I could see Yokai for as long as i can remember. But I wanted you two to have a normal life. But i guess it can't be helped." Lilly said with a smile and left the room.
"Well, that was… something…" Zack said as Nate began to ponder in his mind.
What other family secrets is mom hiding?
