Little White Lines

Something is Afoot

A knock at the door pulled Aroka's attention away from the journal in her hands, she closed the pages and slid it in a drawer before slowly moving to answer the door.

"Hello?" she blinked at the unfamiliar Senju.

"Imada-san, a message has come for you," he handed over a neatly rolled length of paper held in place by a thin cord.

"Oh, thank you," Aroka took the scroll, glancing it over curiously. The man excused himself before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Immediately, she could tell it was from someone back home. The chakra-laced ink became more legible as she unfurled it carefully, smoothing it down onto the desk.

Aroka,

I hope all is well. According to your last letter, you should have arrived back earlier this week. You have already remained in Konoha nearly two weeks longer than expected, I hope you will not delay your return any longer. If this letter reaches you, please let us know you are safe as well as when to expect you. If you have already left Konoha and this is received by someone else, please disregard this letter.

Your friend,

Imada Toru

Aroka had nearly forgotten that her return was long overdue. This was now the third letter she had received regarding what was supposed to be just a week-long visit. She'd had to tell a little white lie in order to get him to agree to letting her go in the first place, after all if she had told him the truth about how long she planned to stay, there was simply no chance of getting his approval.

Aroka set aside the letter and stood up to stretch. Toru could wait a bit longer; he always did worry too much.

Noticing a familiar line approaching, she carefully shuffled over to the door and opened it with a bright smile.

"Hi Tobirama," she greeted with an excited hug before ushering him inside. The Senju always visited her whenever he was able to get away from work, though admittedly that wasn't very often.

"I heard you had news about the ambush," he started, taking a seat at the small glass table near the foot of the bed.

"Yes, I figured out the bandits' motive. They were working for someone in the Hoki clan and communicated through a third-party messenger, which was why I didn't see it at first. After the attack the bandits left a message for the envoy near the border of the Land of Wind, then envoy the relayed it back to some members of the Hoki clan."

"What was the message?"

"They carved something into large stone by a river but I couldn't tell what it was." She recalled the open field she had watched them cross, heading straight to a prominent, jagged rock that was half submerged in the river. One of the bandits carved something into the side facing the water before the group retreated back the way they came. Because she was only able to make out vague shapes and outlines through Detailing, she couldn't distinguish what exactly the marking was. Judging by the brevity of the action, though, she knew it had to be something relatively simple.

Tobirama nodded thoughtfully, a plan already forming in his mind, "Do you know who in the clan hired them?"

"I don't think it was one person, considering the envoy usually met with multiple Hoki clansmen. I can give you the names of the ones he encountered." Grabbing a pen from her desk, Aroka listed out each person that seemed to have interacted with the messenger: six members in total.

Tobirama glanced over the list and nodded, "I'll look into this. Thank you, Aroka."

"Happy to help," she grinned.