I.

Tegami had fallen asleep in her bed when Anko arrived. She found Kitte holding his sister's hand and watching over her tenderly.

"Sorry to bother but Lady Tsunade is looking for you," she whispered in his ear.

Kitte looked troubled, "Why?"

"Just come!" she urged him.

He kissed his sister's forehead before letting go of her hand with utmost care. He then followed Anko outside.

"Listen, I probably shouldn't be telling you this," she began, "but I think you would have noticed it yourself later."

"What is it?" Kitte was not only curious, but also concerned. Anko's voice was foreboding.

"Lady Tsunade just had Tegami put under constant surveillance. It's because of some letters your mother sent."

Kitte didn't say anything. He was confused and felt offended. Tegami was one of the most righteous persons he knew and his mother was a naïve and innocent woman. He couldn't fathom such a situation.

Anko, too, wasn't in a good mood. She was Tegami's best female friend, due to the taste for sweets they shared, and she didn't like this unusual twist of events. What could possibly be the contents of those letters? The two women often hung out together, be it to the dango shop or some bar, and such times always asked for a chat. And even though Tegami was reserved in her speech, she relayed a lot to her fellow Tokubetsu Jonin friend, either cheered up by some dango or warmed up by a cup of saké.

Therefore, she was just as shocked and displeased by the Hokage's decision as Kitte and his father. But she didn't dare to protest just yet. She didn't know the reasons why Tsunade became suddenly wary of Tegami.

II.

My dear Tegami,

It's been a while but I hope you haven't forgotten me. I am now writing to you in a state of despair. I miss you so much, my darling. Please don't hate me for sending you this letter through your father. Worry not, I have not harmed him. He willingly complied to my request as he owes me a great favor.

You might be wondering what reason I have for suddenly contacting you like this. You see, I'm very troubled and I need to hear your advice as soon as possible. You know that assassination plot we've been planning? It finally came together and I will get to it early next month, more specifically on the 7th.

Now here comes my problem: one of our men got killed. I wouldn't be bothered that much, had that man not been an important piece to our puzzle. I'm talking about the carpenter who was helping us smuggle weapons. Unfortunately, some of your own—cursed Konoha shinobi—caught on to his object of trade and tried to apprehend him but Hisashi fortunately silenced him in time.

But that is not the end of it. Jun, who was in charge of meeting up with our northern allies, was caught while he was having tea at the carpenter's house. That bastard! Endangering our whole operation like that. Sadly, Hisashi couldn't kill him. His first strike got the ANBU on their toes and they efficiently protected Jun.

Now, what should I do? I'm certain they'll be questioning Jun in any way possible and that stupid weakling will definitely give in easily. Even though he doesn't know much, I'm still worried. Who knows what those damned shinobi are going to do.

Please look into the matter for me. I'm begging you, my sweet, sweet love. I need you. I'm not asking for too much, am I? I hope you understand.

Forever yours,

Shuryou.

III.

Kitte had to make use of all of his self-control not to tear the letter apart as he read it. "What kind of nonsense is this?" His voice was cold and even.

"It's a letter that was sent to your sister. Your father found in the envelope on which her name was written," Tsunade calmly explained. "Do you recognize the handwriting?"

"No, it doesn't belong to my mother, nor my step-father. You really believe that this is true?"

"Well, some of the information is accurate. Such as the carpenter's death and Jun's apprehension. Hisashi's name is also mentioned and now that we know of his existence, it's more likely than not that he was the one who killed that carpenter. It is also true that Jun almost died." The Hokage was still composed, although she was boiling on the inside.

"This," he shook the paper he was holding, "is nothing more than—than a fake meant to incriminate my sister and make things complicated. This makes it seem like my sister is—" He had to swallow a knot in his throat to be able to say the word. "Is that guy's lover. Which could never, ever happen. Tegami is…Tegami is a difficult woman."

Tsunade stood up and looked out the window, "I, too, have my suspicions regarding the authenticity of that letter but we will only be able to find out after conducting a proper investigation."

"You'll be wasting your time," Kitte protested, "my sister could never…She's innocent."

The Hokage turned around and glared at him, "If she is innocent, we'll know once we're done investigating."

He was clenching his fists so tightly that blood began dripping along his white knuckles.

"I'm doing you a favor, Kitte. I'll let you handle your step-father and his family but if you do anything unnecessary—"

"I'll behave, I promise," he cut her off.

"Good," she nodded, "now assemble your team and go get him."

"Yes, ma'am"

IV.

The following day, at about noon, the Miyamotos were all being interrogated at the same time, but separately. Ibiki was personally handling the head of the family, Miyamoto Ryuunosuke, Yoshie's husband and the twins' step-father.

"Miyamoto-san, will you please introduce yourself?" Ibiki began.

The questioned man was frowning, his forehead ridded. His ruffled brown hair had been carelessly cut while his face looked like he hadn't shaved in a while.

"Yeah, well, my name's Miyamoto Ryuunosuke, age 50, but I suppose you know all that very well already." He scratched his head nonchalantly, "I was born and grew in Fire Country, somewhere in a small village on the border with the Land of Hot Water. I own a restaurant which was handed down to me from my father. It's been around ever since my granddad built it up."

Ibiki wasn't very much interested in this trivial information but it was a routine start. Another shinobi next to him was checking with a file but Ibiki knew that Ryuunosuke wouldn't lie at the beginning. He looked like a man who had had to deal problematic matters before and had already got the hang of it. Ibiki was focused instead on his eyes and gestures, which gave away more than the mouth.

"Miyamoto-san, do you know that you're being called 'one hell of a businessman' by your fellow villagers?" the master interrogator asked.

Ryuunosuke grinned, "I had no idea."

"Why do you think they're calling you that?"

The man shrugged, "How should I know?"

"I'm sure you know but you don't realize that you know. Let's see…" Ibiki pondered on his choice of words. "Is there anything you've done that would give people such an impression of you?"

Ryuunosuke's grin faded. It was replaced by a frown, but different from before. This time, the man looked offended rather than thoughtful. "Again, how should I know what those bastards are thinking and how they are perceiving my work? I'm just doing anything I can for the sake of my restaurant and therefore, my and my family's survival."

It was Ibiki's turn to grin, "Specifically what, Miyamoto-san?"

"Anything!" the man avoided the question.

"If there's anything you think I should know, you'd better tell me now before things get dangerous," Ibiki insisted, "Care to share your business secrets with me or will I have to force it out?"

Ryuunosuke clenched his fists under the table. He was well aware that he shouldn't mess with shinobi but at the same time he was afraid of getting into trouble. All of a sudden, he burst, "My son! I want to see my son!"

"Your son is being questioned right now," Ibiki replied, "your whole family is."

"No, not that one! My step-son, Kitte, Miyamoto Kitte!" He leaned forward, his eyes wide. "He's a shinobi, right? I remember he's a big shot around here. I want to talk to him! Or are you interrogating him too?"

Ibiki slapped his hand on the table furiously, "Miyamoto Kitte is not your son, even though he bears your name. And we're not talking about him right now. We're talking about your business and the way you handle it!" His eyes were smoldering. "Now you'd better answer my questions when I ask them."

Ryuunosuke withdrew in his seat, in an attempt to get as far away as possible from his interlocutor. He gulped.

"Did you know that your restaurant is a rendezvous location for a criminal organization?" Ibiki's voice was calm again.

Ryuunosuke didn't reply but there was sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Did you, Miyamoto-san? Were you aware of that fact?"

The man gulped, "Not really. I don't care what my customers are doing in my restaurant, other than paying for their food. I do know that there are a lot of shinobi around. It'd be difficult to miss that."

"You'd better tell the truth, Miyamoto-san."

"I am telling the truth!" he exclaimed.

"Are you, really?" Ibiki took a paper from one of his comrades and pushed it across the table to Ryuunosuke. "Do you recognize the handwriting?"

The man shook his head, "It looks like a letter addressed to my step-daughter but it's not my wife's handwriting."

"Still," Ibiki intervened, "it was found in the envelope in which your wife's letter was."

"Then you should ask her about it." Ryuunosuke put down the letter with shaky hands.

"We did, just a minute ago. She has no idea who could have written it or sneakily put it in the envelope—she was 100% sure that she had put only one letter in." Ibiki's piercing gaze was becoming heavier and heavier. Ryuunosuke's troubled eyes kept switching from one thing to another but never fell on the jonin's face.

Ibiki sighed, "Why are you making things difficult for me, Miyamoto-san? I'm a busy man and I'd like to preserve my energy. But you don't really give me a choice." He stood up, sighing again, and motioned to a couple of jonin to tie Ryuunosuke up.

Once the shinobi ganged up on him, the man ran scared and was suddenly willing to talk, "Wait. Wait! I'll…I'll tell you, just…just…don't hurt me." He was sweating more than before and obviously swallowing his tears.

Ibiki sat back down with a nod, "Let me hear it."

Ryuunosuke was wringing his hands, "I…that letter…They told me to…"

"Who are 'they'?"

He briefly glanced at the scarred man and got even more frightened, "Loan sharks, I don't know. I borrowed some money from them when my restaurant was in trouble and they kept asking me for favors ever since."

"Like allowing them to hang around in your restaurant?"

The man nodded, "I was surprised to see that the number of clients suddenly increased. It was strange. The clients themselves were strange, too. Shuryou once came to me and—"

"Shuryou?" The name piqued Ibiki's interest.

"Yeah, the boss." Ryuunosuke licked his lips nervously.

"So you all just call him Shuryou?" The man nodded. "But that's not his real name?"

He shook his head, "I don't think anyone knows his real name, though. They all call him different things but the meaning is still 'boss'."

Ibiki looked disappointed. "So what's with the letter?"

Ryuunosuke wiped his ridded forehead with the back of his hand. "The letter…yeah. They asked me to put it in Tegami's envelope."

"Who did?"

"Some…some white-haired guy who's always around on some errand."

"Doesn't he have a name?" Ibiki could guess the guy's identity but he wanted to make sure.

"Hi…Hi-something. Ashi…Hiashi, maybe. Or something like that."

Ibiki was frowning as he intently stared at Ryuunosuke. Something was bothering him about the man's answers but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He'd have to wait for the investigation to progress before he could take anything else out of him—the easy way, that is. So far, Ibiki had successfully managed not to make Ryuunosuke suffer, just out of consideration for Tegami. Although she had become a suspect in the case, he was still not completely convinced of her guilt. He'd worked with her numerous times and he highly doubted that this situation was not merely orchestrated.

"All right. That's it for now. Take him away." He gathered up his papers and left the interrogation room. He had to wait for the other reports, regarding the remaining members of the Miyamoto family, before he could go talk to the Hokage.

V.

"Oh, Tegami, my daughter!" Yoshie cried as she fell on her knees by Tegami's bed.

Momoe, who had been helping Tegami with her dinner, stood up and questioningly stared at the woman. She wasn't quite pleased by her sudden appearance in her granddaughter's room, even though Yoshie was Tegami's mother.

"Mother? What are you doing here?" Tegami took her crying mother's hand. "What is the matter?"

Kitte was standing behind his mother. Tegami looked up at him confused. Momoe understood that something was wrong and took her grandson outside for a chat while Tegami kept comforting her mother.

"Mother, why are you here?"

Yoshie tried her best to hold back her tears but she barely managed to. "Ryuunosuke… he's been investigated by the Konoha shinobi because of some letter I sent you…but I didn't send you any suspicious letters!"

Tegami was suddenly worried. "Letters? To me?"

Her mother was still sobbing, "Masked shinobi brought us all the way here yesterday. I was so scared! They even insisted to take Kazue and Seiichi too!"

"Mother, please calm down," Tegami said but she herself was growing more and more anxious.

The woman sat on the bed next to daughter, caressing her cheek, "Tegami, my dear… What happened to you? You're all bandaged up."

Tegami smiled, "Don't worry about me, mother. I'm all right."

Yoshie wiped her eyes and pulled her daughter into a warm embrace. "You know I love you, right? I'd never do anything that would cause you harm."

"I know, mother, I know," she whispered softly as she was patting her mother's back. What kind of trouble had her family got into?

VI.

Kitte quickly cleared up the situation for his grandmother and went downstairs to his half-siblings. His brother, Seiichi, was more agitated than his younger sister. Kazue was, by nature, a strong woman and besides, she didn't mind spending some time with her older half-brother, Kitte, although she had no particular interest in his sister.

"Onii-chan!" she happily cheered when she saw Kitte descend with his grandmother. "Onii-chan, I'm a bit hungry. They kept us there for so long, asking us so many stupid questions! Ah, I'm tired."

She plopped down on a chair at the kitchen table, striking a dramatic pose with her hand to her forehead.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Kazue-chan," he tried to comfort her as kindly as possible although he wasn't in the mood. "I'll take you both out for some ramen, what about that?"

"No!" she shouted, standing up, "I mean, yes, I'd love to but Seiichi said he'd rather sleep for a while, right, Seiichi?"

"Eh?" The boy looked at his younger sister, dazed. Although he was a couple of years older than her, he was more sensitive and naïve, taking after his mother. He even had Yoshie's charming green eyes. Kazue, on the other hand, was her father's daughter. Smart and independent, she knew when to take advantage of the situation and she always did.

"Oh, yes, that's right. I'd like to rest for a while. And also," his green orbs darkened with sadness, "I heard that Tegami-oneechan is hurt so I want to go see her too…"

Kitte sighed, "Yeah, ok. Tegami's up in her room. Mom's there too. And you can sleep in dad's room, he's currently a bit busy. Grandma, will you please show him upstairs? Thank you. Kazue, let's go."

The girl ran up to him with a big smile on her face. They went together to Ichiraku, holding hands like a couple on a date. Kazue was ecstatic, she kept talking and laughing. Kitte only replied to her out of politeness—although he appeared to be smiling, his eyes were focused on something else.

When they arrived to their destination, they found Kakashi sitting on one of the stools. He was eating by himself—or rather, had just finished eating.

"Two bowls of miso ramen, please," Kitte ordered.

Kakashi glanced at him from the corner of his eye, "That's interesting."

"What is, senpai?" Kitte asked.

"Onii-chan, you know that guy?" Kazue curiously intervened.

"Ah, yes, of course. He's my senpai, Hatake Kakashi-san. Senpai, this is my younger sister, Kazue."

The girl bowed her head, muttering a shy 'hello'. Something about the masked figured was intimidating her. But then she received her bowl of ramen and forgot all about those around her.

"So what's interesting?" Kitte asked again, turning to his senpai while Kazue was distracted.

"Your twin sister isn't too fond of miso," Kakashi said, "But you always eat miso ramen."

"Well. My sister and I are very different," Kitte said in such a voice that left no room for Kakashi to reply, or at least not on the same topic.

"I hope things get sorted out soon." Because his words were met with silence, Kakashi turned to his companion. Kitte was gulping down the soup of his ramen and only replied after he wiped his mouth with the hem of his sleeve.

"Too bad that we can only hope," he snorted, "it'll be difficult for them to sort things out. It's Tegami we're talking about here."

"And your point is?"

"My sister…You forget what Tegami's job is."

Kakashi was confused for a moment. Then it hit him. Tegami was a master liar, she had quite a number of undercover missions under her belt, including some on which Konoha's peace depended. Her negotiation skills had often solved problems in ways that worked to her or her village's advantage.

It was obvious that even if she claimed to be innocent, she wouldn't be easily believed.