"Uhh, Konan-sama? You seemed startled when he asked for your opinion. Is everything okay with you guys?" Kenshin asked, although he already knew what the answer would be.
"It's nothing." Konan shrugged.
"Pain isn't the kind of person to make exceptions, even for me. And you know how he does things. But he agreed to hand you and Kana over to the leaf. I was just surprised."
"I see. I don't understand, why does he treat us differently?" Kenshin asked, genuinely curious since it's not in line with Pain's character.
"Because you're both Uzumaki." Konan blurted out, but immediately covered her mouth.
"Uzumaki? But he's....."
"Sorry, I'm not supposed to tell anyone. But just for you, his real name is Nagato Uzumaki. And I think that you guys being his clansmen played a part in this." Konan whispered in his ear, her voice so low that it was barely audible.
Kenshin nodded in understanding. "Let's go then."
"You go back to your mother, I need to send a messenger to the leaf." Konan headed off saying that.
'Still, I'm surprised that Nagato actually cares about us to some extent. Well I guess it's different when it's someone from the same clan.' Kenshin thought, heading back home with a pleased smile.
But just before he reached home, his smile faded. 'Mom still hasn't talked to me.' With a heavy heart, he went inside. "I'm back, mom."
But Kana didn't answer. Kenshin went to Kana's room to check on her and saw that she was sleeping.
'I guess it's stupid to expect her to ease up so quickly.' He thought as he very quietly went back to his room with a heavy heart.
But sometime later, Kana came to his room. "Uhh, Kenshin? Can we talk?"
Kenshin quickly turned to her and sat down on his knees. "Yes, mom."
"So, I.... how do I put this?.... Perhaps I was too harsh on you with this..... situation."
"Of course not. Your reaction was completely normal. Although the last punch did crack a few bones but nothing serious." Kenshin said, forcing a laugh.
"I've been thinking about it. And maybe there's a chance we can work something out." Kana said, finally looking him in the eye.
Kenshin's face lit up in joy and he immediately bowed. "Thank you! I can never make it up to for this! Thank you, mom!"
"Don't get your hopes up." Kana said sternly. "This all depends on what you say for the next few minutes."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Tell me this, even if I agree to it, people will inevitably find out. What will you do then?" Kana sat down, crossing her arms under her breasts. "Also, who else knows?"
"I may have a plan for that. As for who else... right now it's just Shizune-san and nee-san's teammate Maki. Both of them have agreed to trust us and will not mention it to anyone."
"And you trust them?"
"I do."
"So? What's this plan of yours?"
"I'm thinking of you adopting nee-san. Right now, only a small number of people know about her being your daughter.
The hokage, Kakashi-san, Shizune-san, Maki, and maybe a couple other high ranking leaf jonin.
But they're all trustworthy. So when we move to the leaf, you can adopt nee-san. Using the excuse that that will avoid the trouble of explaining everything to the citizens.
And that will change the public opinion since it's more understandable if it's between an adopted child and the son of that family.
As for the people that will know, we just have to trust them. It's a delicate situation so I believe that they will act in our favor.
I mean, the hokage even agreed to pay monetary compensation to the rain, however much 'he' asks for."
"I understand. It's a decent plan. Adopting your sister will change the public opinion. But I'm not sold on trusting those people. How can you know that it won't get out?" Kana asked, brows furrowed.
"Because I know how they are."
"What?! How the hell do you know them?!" Kana was very surprised at his statement since it implied that he knew them for a long time.
'Crap! I messed up!' Kenshin frantically thought of an excuse and finally found one. "I meant that nee-san knows how they are and she's the one that confirmed that those people won't let this secret out."
"I understand. But I still have doubts."
"Sure, tell me. I'll try to clear them up."
"First, there will still be people that will view this relationship unfavorably. What will you do about them? I don't want our relationship with them to be the same as with the rain citizens."
"The hokage personally requested us to move to the leaf. That alone is a good enough reason to mitigate the handful of negative opinions. We will also have the support of high ranking leaf jonin like Kakashi-san."
"Second, it's not realistic to keep a secret like this in the long run. Some people might find out."
"I don't think so. If it's a secret the hokage herself protects, I don't think people will bother with uncovering it. It's too much hassle for something like this.
Also, unlike this place, the leaf won't ostracize us, therefore we'll be able to make good relationships with the people.
If we do that, it'll decrease the backlash we might receive should we get exposed."
"Good point. But there's still one more problem."
"What is it?"
"Children. What about your children? How will you explain things to them?"
"Gosh, mom! We'll figure it out then. It's still a long time until that." Kenshin said, blushing slightly at the mention of children.
Kana nodded, smiling softly at his embarrassment. After a long pause, she spoke again. "I understand now. But remember this, I'm still not completely on board. But I'll trust you, like I always have."
Saying that, Kana hugged him. Kenshin leaned into her embrace, tears forming in his eyes in joy. Both of them stayed like this for a while, neither of them saying anything and simply enjoying each other's embrace.
"Am I interrupting something?" Konan said suddenly from behind.
Both of them got startled and quickly turned around to see who it was.
"Konan-sama?! How long have you been standing there?" Kana asked, trying to calm herself.
"I just got here. I sent a messenger to the leaf and came here to check on you guys. I didn't really want to interrupt this moment but you guys were going on forever." Konan said with an amused smile.
Kenshin noticed that her tone was different from before. Usually, her tone is more measured, composed and serious. But her tone right now was very casual and relaxed.
Both Kenshin and Kana were confused at her sudden change in tone and seeing their confused expressions, Konan decided to clarify.
"Don't worry, it's nothing." Konan said, waving her hand dismissively. "I speak to all villagers the same way but now that you're not citizens of the rain anymore, I can act casual with you. And also, drop the 'sama'."
Kana and Kenshin exchanged glances, still processing her sudden change. "B.. but it'll be weird if me and my son both address you the same way."
"Kana, we've been friends for decades now. I believe I deserve to be addressed casually. As for Kenshin, you're like a younger brother to me, so call me 'onee-san', or something like that? Okay?" Konan asked with a bright smile.
"O.. onee.. onee-san." Kenshin stuttered, feeling embarrassed addressing Konan as his sister, after a lifetime of addressing her formally. His cheeks were turning redder by the second.
Konan chuckled at his embarrassment, and patted him on the head. "That's better, it'll feel natural over time. It's your turn, Kana."
"Yeah, uh.... K.. Konan?" Kana said awkwardly. "It feels weird not adding the honorific."
"Not weirder than mine!" Kenshin muttered, although it did feel nice to call her onee-san. But it felt weird because of his 'actual' sister.
'Welp, it doesn't matter now.' He thought before speaking. "By the way, aren't you busy? Are you sure you have time to spare like this?"
"I asked him to let me stay with you guys. I've sent a clone to do my work. Since it'll be your last week in this village, I want to be with you. Is that okay?"
"Of course! It's natural to want to spend time with your friend." Kana shouted, standing up excitedly. "I'm gonna prepare a feast! Ken-chan picked up lots of good stuff from the leaf village."
But before Kana could get to the kitchen, Kenshin and Konan stopped her.
"Absolutely not! You haven't cooked for half a decade! Who knows what kind of monstrosity you'll make?!" Konan said, pulling her back.
"Kenshin, you do it. Kana, you just watch."
"Yes, onee-san." Kenshin went to the kitchen but before that, he took out the food ingredients he had stored in his storage scroll."
'This week is gonna be fun. I'll miss it.' He thought as he prepared to cook. 'I better make it as memorable as possible.'
A/N: in the anime Konan had little screen time and her character didn't have many interactions so I don't want to hear that she's not like that.
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Everyone, thanks for your continued support and power stones. As always, please give me your power stones and comment your opinions. They make a big difference and motivate me to write more.