The elderly woman turned to him and smiled. “Oh Ken-chan. I wanted to add some new receipes to the menu for a while, so I took a break and let the girls run the shop while I bought a new cook book.” As she handed the book to Ken to take a look at a note fell from between the pages. Ken used his kugutsu strings to brink it up. It was in an envelop addressed to Kasumi. The paper was quite old and bown. Ken handed it to his elderly neighbor who looked at the back. There was no name on it. “It’s old and possibly forgotten, so I guess we can read it.
Opening the envelope, she unfolded the paper and started reading.
The Letter:The two looked at it and thought. Kasumi and Tora? Ken looked to her and raised an eyebrow. “You know someone named Tora or Kasumi?”
Dear Kasumi,
I am leaving this letter in the one place I know you will find it. I won’t to say I am sorry. I never meant to hurt you. It started out innocent and before I realized it it escalated into something more. I will be waiting at the bridge we were married on. I will be there for as long as it takes as punishment. Please forgive me.
Tora
Ichibashi just shook her head and refolded the letter. “I don’t know if she ever got this letter. But maybe we should check to see. Can I trust you to find out?” Ken nodded and took the letter from her placing it in his side pouch.
Turning the chair around he began to roll towards the one place that might know, but stopped after a foot. “Oh today’s lunch special my favorite?”
Ichibashi shook her head. “So. It’s tako ramen. “ Ken had a shiver run down his spin before heading off for the clinic. This was going to be an interesting bit of detective work for the puppeteer. The clinic was a busy hub of gossip. Even if they can’t talk directly about patient treatments or illnesses, it doesn’t stop them from spreading news and rumors. But could any of them have heard about this old of a rumor? It seemed like the two were married, by his estimation.
Approaching the ramp of the hospital, he rolled up and saw Ai walking out of the front doors. He waited for her to pass wanting to avoid any uncomfortable moments with psycho Katon combat nurse. Once she was down the steps, he rolled in through the door and right up to the desk. At the desk today was a 50 something woman with long grey ahir tied up into a bun. She was regularly on desk duty and loved to gossip with Ken about some of his agemates. “Hey did you hear about Rikkimaru?” She was also the biggest gossip of the hospital. The regulars always got an earful. “Heard he was so embarrassed by your little stunt, he sat in the bathroom for three hours crying.”
Ken was a little embarrassed by that. He was hoping just to treat his junior to a little bit of a show that he wouldn’t normally get. He had to wait until he was 15 to see his first panty shot. And here, he gave him the Harem Panty shot two years early. He shook his head and placed the letter on the desk. “ I found this letter from a Tora to a Kasumi. You wouldn’t happen to know of a couple named those do you?”
She took the letter reading it. “Oh dear. I do. It happened back when I was a genin. Tora and another woman were having an affair and Kasumi found out. While he was out on a mission, she sold all his stuff and locked him out. The day after he returned he started living at the bridge on the north side. No matter what happened he refused to move. We found him dead a week after he started to just sit out there.” She looked back to the letter. “I don’t think she ever found this letter because she would have went to him and had him come home. She was waiting for some apology.”
Ken was wide eyed at this, he literally waited there until he died. No one brought his food or water during that time. Must have been harsh. And the worst part was dieing feeling like he was not being forgiven. Ken took the letter back from her and placed it back in his pouch. “Is Kasumi still alive?”
She nodded. “Yeah, the Elder Kasumi lived on the north side of town about five blocks from the bridge. Just ask around you should be able to find her. “ Ken smiled to her and waved as he left the hospital