Chapter 8:- Siblings

"You just had to say it right now." Kana said bitterly. "Well it's better to confirm it first. But...." Her gaze turned to Kenshin and then back to Akane. "Akane-chan, even if you're not my daughter, I'm fine with adopting you. You lost your parents anyway, right? So I'll be your mom, regardless of whether you're my daughter or not."

'Yeah well I doubt the rain will allow it.' Kenshin thought.

"Well, we can think about that later on. For now, you need to come with us to give a blood sample. You should get the results by the afternoon." Kakashi said, looking at Kenshin.

"I understand. Go on, Ken-chan, Akane-chan." Kana said but was interrupted by Kenshin.

"Yeah nice try, lady. I'm not going anywhere until you finish eating." Kenshin said, picking up the bowl.

"You're not cute at all, Ken-chan." Kana pouted as Kenshin began feeding her.

"Maybe I would be if my MOTHER didn't act like a 5 year old."

After Kana finished eating, Kenshin put her to sleep and then went out with Kakashi and Akane. After they gave their blood samples, Kakashi said that Kenshin could go outside if he wanted to but he would be watched by Kakashi's personally selected ANBU.

"Kakashi-sensei? Is it okay if I spend the day with him?" Akane asked, blushing softly.

"Go ahead." Kakashi said before leaving.

"So... where to?" Kenshin asked after Kakashi left.

"I dunno, maybe take a stroll around the village?"

"Oh okay."

And as they walked, their hands occasionally brushed together and they would immediately pull their hands away.

'Damm! Now that I look closely, she does resemble Mary but she isn't exactly like her. She's slightly different. If she really is a reincarnation of Mary, I might show her my journal. If she's Mary then she'll be able to read it. Otherwise, I get a cute big sister anyway. Akane is still extremely beautiful, she isn't the cute type like Hinata or the sexy type like Ino but rather a blend of both, just the way I like it most. Not to mention she isn't flat like Sakura.' Kenshin thought as he giggled internally. And as they walked through the streets of the village. Akane showed him around various key places like the academy, the chunin exam stadium, the former Uchiha clan compound, and the nearby apartment where she lived. Later they had lunch at ichiraku ramen.

"This is amazing!" Kenshin thought as he took his first bite of the Naruto's first love.

'No wonder Naruto grew up eating this. This is simply divine!'

"It seems that you like it, young man." Teuchi smiled as he watched Kenshin eat.

"It feels nice to see Akane-chan finally bring someone on a date." Ayame chimed in and hearing this, Kenshin and Akane both choked on their ramen.

'Ahhh kids, so shy.' Ayame thought as she handed them both water.

[Later that afternoon]

Kenshin and Akane were anxiously waiting in Kana's hospital room for the results of their DNA test. Suddenly, Kakashi and Shizune entered.

"Well, I have bad news." Kakashi said with a frown.

"Well I guess coincidences happen." Kenshin said, forcing a smile despite his disappointment. Akane was simply speechless.

"Yeah. You're right." Kakashi said, suddenly smiling.

"Yeah that smile isn't helping." Kenshin said bitterly.

"Come on, Kakashi-san! You shouldn't joke about stuff like that." Shizune said, poking him with her elbow. "Congratulations, you two. You're actually siblings. The result was a match."

"Really?!!!" Akane's face lit up with joy and was soon replaced by anger at Kakashi's joke. "Kakashi-sensei! You..... why did you have to joke about it?!"

"Well I just wanted to see how much you actually wanted this to be real. I'm sorry." Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

'Yeah this makes things more complicated between me and Akane though.' Kenshin thought. 'Well it's no use thinking about it now. I need to figure out how I'm supposed to explain to mom if she does end up being Mary's reincarnation.'

Suddenly, Kana hugged him and Akane from behind. "I'm so.... so happy right now! I have both my kids with me. I just wish Ichiro-san was here too." Kana said as tears of joy fell from her eyes. Akane and Kenshin both looked at each other and smiled, temporarily forgetting everything else and simply basking in their mother's embrace.

They spent the rest of the evening hearing from Akane about Ichiro and everything that happened in Akane's life. Kana in particular cried several times as Akane shared her times of loneliness and all the birthdays she had spent on her own.

"Don't worry, Akane-san. I mean..... erm..... well... nee-san." Kenshin reassured her as he blushed while calling her 'nee-san'. "Your next birthday is coming up in a couple of months, right? We'll celebrate it with you. All 3 of us, together." Kana nodded earnestly, assuring Akane that she wouldn't be alone anymore. Sometime within the next hour, Kenshin fed Kana again and put her to sleep. When Kana went to sleep, Kakashi, who was outside to keep an eye on Kenshin, came back in.

"By the way, Kakashi-san, where am I supposed to stay tonight?" Kenshin asked him but before Kakashi could reply, Akane interrupted.

"You can stay with me. Nee-san will take care of you." Akane smiled teasingly since Kenshin would blush every time Akane mentioned being his 'nee-san', even though he stayed calm.

"You sure about this?" Kakashi asked, his voice carrying a hint of concern.

"Of course I am, Kakashi-sensei. You know I'm a good judge of people. And Kenshin here isn't giving off the 'red flag' vibes. So I'm fine."

"Very well then. But remember, the ANBU I assigned will still keep an eye on you. Be careful not to do something that catches unnecessary attention." Kakashi said, turning to Kenshin.

'The cancer of the leaf, Danzo Shimura. I'm sure he's found out about me by now. He's probably going to come after my eyes. I need to be careful. Well I might be able to blackmail him or at the very least negotiate with him using my knowledge of his misdeeds.' Kenshin thought.

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