Toshiro reached down and picked the yellowing envelope from the floor and stood back up. On the front in black characters it said, "To Toshiro. Not to be opened until after my death."
She recognized her mother's handwriting and sat down on the couch. 'I suppose there's no harm in opening it now. It's been over fifteen years since then.'
Toshiro gently tore the side of the envelope open and pulled a yellow piece of paper out. She carefully unfolded the parchment and stared at the date. April 23, 2000. She blinked a couple of times in surprise. 'That's the day everything happened. This must've been the last thing she ever wrote.'
The letter was fancily written and the ink had faded to a dark gray over time. It was a little difficult to read, but Toshiro managed to read every word.
April 23, 2000
Dear Toshiro,
I suppose if you're reading this, I'm not around anymore. I suddenly had a feeling that I should write this down, just in case. When Izunami got up and left this morning, I can only imagine what she's going to do next. You just told me about how you were going to train today with Sasuke. If I embarrassed you, I'm sorry. But now, onto the point of this letter. I'm already going to tell you this when you turn twelve, but if something happens to me before then, this should explain everything.
This letter is a confession that you of all people need to know about. This digs into my past a little, so if I start rambling, please bear with me.
When I was younger, I didn't have the perfect childhood. Your grandparents divorced when I was about five. Life was rough after that. Your grandmother raised me herself and worked a lot. Things eventually got better as time went on. I became less secluded and friends found me. When I turned seventeen I found the boy who would stay with me and eventually became my husband. On the setting of my 21st birthday, he proposed to me. It was amazing. Something leapt within my soul and, of course, I accepted.
The wedding was held a few months later and Izunami came along about a year after. She was our little bundle of joy and was the friendliest child I'd ever seen. Everyone liked her for her personality and there wasn't a single person in the village that didn't know her name. Time continued onward and things seemed to change. The young man I had married before was gone and in his place remained someone who was emotionless and wasn't around when he was needed. I felt alone, and neglected.
It was one of those days when it was cold and overcast. I walked Izunami to the ninja academy and dropped her off. I stalled on my way back to the house and I literally ran into a member of the ANBU. It was embarrassing, don't think otherwise, and I looked up and took him in. He was somewhere around my age and taller. I'm not the best with describing, so, sorry again.
We became pretty good friends as time went on and we got closer. Even closer then the man I married and I had ever been. An awkward thought, isn't it? I regret it now, but… I…
…I had an affair.
Please, don't think of me any differently. I'm sorry. I… it just happened. And when I realized what was happening it was too late. The man you called father thought you were his, and I didn't have the heart to tell him that you belonged to someone else. His personality changed when he found out I was pregnant with you, and I was shocked. I guess you could say that when you came along, you saved us a divorce.
I'm terribly sorry about all this. I haven't told you at this point in time, but I hold every intention of doing so in four years. Unless, of course, something happens to me before that time. I promise. And I'm really lucky that you and your sisters all took your looks form me, because if you hadn't, I would've been figured out a long while ago. But, to end a bit of curiosity, your real father's name is Fukagu.
Oh, I can see Izunami coming up the path to the front door now. I've got to go se what's wrong with her. She doesn't look very happy. Well, I love you, Toshiro, and I'm sorry. About everything.
You're loving mother,
Yumashita Akiko
Toshiro looked up from the paper and stared at a picture of the family up on the wall. She stood and walked over to it slowly.
It was an old photograph of when she was around seven and every member of the family was there: both parents, all three sisters, and even the dog they had at the time. Toshiro quietly stared at who she had thought to be her father for many years. She slowly ran her index finger down over his face until she reached the old wooden frame. "It doesn't matter what it said," she whispered to the man in the photo. "You'll always be Father to me."
Sasuke walked in a little while later and he found Toshiro holding the picture in her hands. "What's wrong?"
She looked up at him and muttered, "My father never was my father. My mother had an affair. It said so in a letter she wrote to me years ago."
His eyes looked over to the papers on the couch and he asked, "Did it say who your real father was?"
Toshiro nodded. "Yes. Someone by the name of Fukagu." She watched his skin turn white as a sheet. "Is something the matter Sasuke?"
He stared at her with shock, sadness, and fear in his eyes as he said almost inaudibly, "…that's my father's name."
Toshiro stared laughing and shook her head. "Nice try Sasuke. You're such a good liar. As if I was truly your half-sister. I mean, we're married and having a kid together. It isn't probable."
Sasuke shook his head and picked up the letter. His black eyes quickly scanned over the gray characters and he looked up at her. "I promise you. I'm not lying. I'd never lie about something as serious as this."
Toshiro's smile suddenly vanished and she too turned pale. "You swear. You're not lying about this? His name really was… Fukagu?"
He slowly nodded. "And to think… we've…" He cut himself off and glanced down at her belly. His face went from white to red and he turned around. "Why us? Why must everything happen to us?"
Toshiro stared at him with wide eyes and she steadied herself with a hand on a chair. "I need a glass of water," she muttered as her shocked eyes went to the ground and he nodded. 'I feel sick,' she thought as she slid down the wall and to the floor and she put a hand on her forehead. 'This is all too stressful. I hope it doesn't do anything to the…' Toshiro cut herself off as something kicked inside of her and she turned even more pale. 'Oh please, not now. Anytime but now. Out of all the times you can come, you have to choose now?'
Sasuke came back in a minute or so later and he kneeled beside her as he handed her the glass. "Are you going to be alright?"
She swallowed a sip and she put it back on the ground so she wouldn't spill it. "Eventually, I'm sure, but not for awhile. And for more then one reason."
"I need some air," he muttered to himself a minute as he pushed himself back onto his feet. He was almost out of the room when a quiet and sudden sound reached his ears. He stopped in his tracks and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. "Toshiro," he quietly asked without turning around, "did… did you knock over the glass?"
She didn't answer him right away and her eyes found the glass; still right-side up, and full. "Uh…" she began with a shaky voice, "…how do you want me to answer that?"
"Honestly," he answered with a tense voice and he still remained put.
Toshiro was hesitant with her answer and she whispered, "…no…" She watched him go ridged and on any other occasion she might've laughed, but in her… their current predicament, all humor was gone from the atmosphere. "…Sasuke…" she softly began, "…I… I think I'm going into labor…"