Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Rated R for: Graphic violence, adult language, adult situations, and sexual content.
* * * * * *
"Go on, how did you become a ninja?" Itachi prodded.
"After my sister died, Taro himself seemed to just get worse. He became a drunkard, and he and Toshio would stay up late making lots of noise and doing foolish things. I managed to elude them, so that I did not end up like Ren.
"One day, I was visiting the local wishing well to make my monthly wish, when I found a man inside the well. He was swimming in the water, and I found him only after I flung my coin in. I was suspicious when my coin didn't make a splash in the water. The man had caught it in his teeth, and was grinning devilishly up at me when I saw him.
"I helped him out of the well and offered to wash his clothes at my house, as he was soaking wet and looked hungry. Toshio and Taro were off at work, so I had the house basically to myself. The man said that his name was Jiraiya. He had a strange forehead protector made of bone with the symbol for 'oil' painted on it. His hair was wild and white, and he wore red. He was very outlandish, and I received many strange glances as I returned home.
"Itachi looked distinctly pissed at the mention of the name 'Jiraiya', but kept his mouth shut.
"He took a nice hot bath while I washed his clothes. He looked only about thirty years old, but I knew that he was older than that. I gladly cooked a large meal for him, as he had a huge appetite. He was a very entertaining person, and made me laugh a lot that day. Hence, he was good company and I invited him to stay for a few days. I was secure in my beliefs that I could hide him from Toshio, who hated visitors."
"Everything went vaguely smooth for the first two days, and Toshio didn't suspect a thing. Even the cleaning lady was smart enough to keep her mouth shut about Jiraiya. But everything was shot when Toshio came home angry again.
"Toshio yelled at me on the third day, and started to hit me and throw me against the wall. I was sure at one pint that I was going to die, but suddenly Jiraiya appeared from his room and ripped me away from Toshio, holding me carefully in one arm while punching and punishing Toshio with the other. It was a mess.
"Toshio was beaten soundly, and was too weak to argue when Jiraiya announced that he would be staying at our home until I was strong enough to defend myself from Toshio. When I asked him why he cared, he said that I was the best cook he had ever sampled from and didn't want my talent to go to waste on 'trash like Toshio and Taro'.
"So Jiraiya stayed. Toshio would only yell at me after that, and every time he raised a hand at me in anger, Jiraiya would show up and just glare at Toshio. Something about his eyes frightened Taro and Toshio, and he used that to his advantage. But Jiraiya, as much as I wanted to know about him, was a mystery. He would disappear into the forest near the house for hours at a time.
"One day, it was raining and I was worried about him being all alone in the woods. I was able to follow his trail, using some previously useless knowledge I had obtained, and found him in a clearing. It was amazing. The way that he moved, as smooth as water and strong as fire, amazed me. So I hid, but it was no good. Somehow, he knew that I was there.
"I asked him how he knew how to move like that, and that was when I learned about the Hidden Ninja Villages. I was amazed, and asked Jiraiya if he could teach me to be a ninja. It took a humiliating amount of begging, but after I threatened never to cook for him again, he gave in and let me become his pupil.
"So every day, when Taro and Toshio were away at work, we would train. The first week was the worst, my body not used to such exertion. But after about a month, I was improving at a rapid pace. Though Jiraiya had spoken of the four or five different levels of ninja ability, we never measured each other. I never took a Chuunin Exam, or a Jounin Exam, we just rated each other by our performances.
"During the five years as Jiraiyas's pupil, I learned more about him than I ever thought possible. He, though he hated to admit it, was about forty-five years old. He loved money, alcohol, and women, and was an outlandish pervert and gambler. At nights, when I would bring him a snack in his room, I would find him drawing filthy pictures for his 'super perverted series', adequately dubbed "Icha Icha Paradise". Despite all of his flaws, I loved him as a friend and a sensei.
"I only learned how strong I was when, one day, I beat Jiraiya in combat. I was absolutely enraged when he had suggested that I model for his series, though I knew that he was joking. I was thirteen at the time. He was as shocked as I was, and after I beat him, we both just stared at each other for a while. If you were to walk by our sparring grounds, you would have seen a man with wild white hair lying on his back on the ground with a girl in ripped clothing with mussed-up hair standing over him, a blade to his throat.
"His eyes were filled with something that I couldn't read, the only emotions that I could decipher were the slightest hints of pride and sorrow. I let him up, and he just smiled and turned away from me. He just walked away. I ran after him, asking where he was going. He only said that I was big enough to fend for myself, and that was it. he just walked away from me, and I have never seen him since.
"I was quite distressed when I went home, and was even more distressed to find Toshio already home. I went to the kitchen to cook for him, but he came up behind me and remarked about how tired I looked today. I ignored him, but grew angered when he started suggesting that Jiraiya and I had done more than just training, and that I was getting old enough to start bearing children. Toshio tried to rape me, but I killed him. Without any regret or second thought, I tore his throat out.
"That was when I realized how good killing felt. It was a new rush, hearing a pitiful scream and the warm feeling of blood on your skin. Maybe I was in too much distress over the lose of a teacher, or maybe the years of sorrow that had built up inside me were finally spilling out. That night, I killed Toshio and Taro, and ran away from the village.
"After I left, I fled to the forests and lived off the land. It was a pretty easy living, though I always made sure that I was far away from people. One day, I was exploring and came upon a village. It was called the Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I hid in the shadows for weeks, just watching how real ninjas trained and lived. It amazed me.
"One day, I let my guard down foolishly and a jounin found me. He tried to take me somewhere, to see some man named 'Hokage'. I, naturally, fought back.. I beat the man rather easily, and before I killed him, he said that I was even stronger than a jounin. I put Jiraiya's teachings and his words together- the only level above jounin was sage. Thus, here I am now, after Orochimaru found me and fought me, suggesting that I join the Akatsuki.
"That is my story, Itachi-sama," Tora sighed as she lay back on her bed. "The entirety and truth."
Rated R for: Graphic violence, adult language, adult situations, and sexual content.
* * * * * *
"Go on, how did you become a ninja?" Itachi prodded.
"After my sister died, Taro himself seemed to just get worse. He became a drunkard, and he and Toshio would stay up late making lots of noise and doing foolish things. I managed to elude them, so that I did not end up like Ren.
"One day, I was visiting the local wishing well to make my monthly wish, when I found a man inside the well. He was swimming in the water, and I found him only after I flung my coin in. I was suspicious when my coin didn't make a splash in the water. The man had caught it in his teeth, and was grinning devilishly up at me when I saw him.
"I helped him out of the well and offered to wash his clothes at my house, as he was soaking wet and looked hungry. Toshio and Taro were off at work, so I had the house basically to myself. The man said that his name was Jiraiya. He had a strange forehead protector made of bone with the symbol for 'oil' painted on it. His hair was wild and white, and he wore red. He was very outlandish, and I received many strange glances as I returned home.
"Itachi looked distinctly pissed at the mention of the name 'Jiraiya', but kept his mouth shut.
"He took a nice hot bath while I washed his clothes. He looked only about thirty years old, but I knew that he was older than that. I gladly cooked a large meal for him, as he had a huge appetite. He was a very entertaining person, and made me laugh a lot that day. Hence, he was good company and I invited him to stay for a few days. I was secure in my beliefs that I could hide him from Toshio, who hated visitors."
"Everything went vaguely smooth for the first two days, and Toshio didn't suspect a thing. Even the cleaning lady was smart enough to keep her mouth shut about Jiraiya. But everything was shot when Toshio came home angry again.
"Toshio yelled at me on the third day, and started to hit me and throw me against the wall. I was sure at one pint that I was going to die, but suddenly Jiraiya appeared from his room and ripped me away from Toshio, holding me carefully in one arm while punching and punishing Toshio with the other. It was a mess.
"Toshio was beaten soundly, and was too weak to argue when Jiraiya announced that he would be staying at our home until I was strong enough to defend myself from Toshio. When I asked him why he cared, he said that I was the best cook he had ever sampled from and didn't want my talent to go to waste on 'trash like Toshio and Taro'.
"So Jiraiya stayed. Toshio would only yell at me after that, and every time he raised a hand at me in anger, Jiraiya would show up and just glare at Toshio. Something about his eyes frightened Taro and Toshio, and he used that to his advantage. But Jiraiya, as much as I wanted to know about him, was a mystery. He would disappear into the forest near the house for hours at a time.
"One day, it was raining and I was worried about him being all alone in the woods. I was able to follow his trail, using some previously useless knowledge I had obtained, and found him in a clearing. It was amazing. The way that he moved, as smooth as water and strong as fire, amazed me. So I hid, but it was no good. Somehow, he knew that I was there.
"I asked him how he knew how to move like that, and that was when I learned about the Hidden Ninja Villages. I was amazed, and asked Jiraiya if he could teach me to be a ninja. It took a humiliating amount of begging, but after I threatened never to cook for him again, he gave in and let me become his pupil.
"So every day, when Taro and Toshio were away at work, we would train. The first week was the worst, my body not used to such exertion. But after about a month, I was improving at a rapid pace. Though Jiraiya had spoken of the four or five different levels of ninja ability, we never measured each other. I never took a Chuunin Exam, or a Jounin Exam, we just rated each other by our performances.
"During the five years as Jiraiyas's pupil, I learned more about him than I ever thought possible. He, though he hated to admit it, was about forty-five years old. He loved money, alcohol, and women, and was an outlandish pervert and gambler. At nights, when I would bring him a snack in his room, I would find him drawing filthy pictures for his 'super perverted series', adequately dubbed "Icha Icha Paradise". Despite all of his flaws, I loved him as a friend and a sensei.
"I only learned how strong I was when, one day, I beat Jiraiya in combat. I was absolutely enraged when he had suggested that I model for his series, though I knew that he was joking. I was thirteen at the time. He was as shocked as I was, and after I beat him, we both just stared at each other for a while. If you were to walk by our sparring grounds, you would have seen a man with wild white hair lying on his back on the ground with a girl in ripped clothing with mussed-up hair standing over him, a blade to his throat.
"His eyes were filled with something that I couldn't read, the only emotions that I could decipher were the slightest hints of pride and sorrow. I let him up, and he just smiled and turned away from me. He just walked away. I ran after him, asking where he was going. He only said that I was big enough to fend for myself, and that was it. he just walked away from me, and I have never seen him since.
"I was quite distressed when I went home, and was even more distressed to find Toshio already home. I went to the kitchen to cook for him, but he came up behind me and remarked about how tired I looked today. I ignored him, but grew angered when he started suggesting that Jiraiya and I had done more than just training, and that I was getting old enough to start bearing children. Toshio tried to rape me, but I killed him. Without any regret or second thought, I tore his throat out.
"That was when I realized how good killing felt. It was a new rush, hearing a pitiful scream and the warm feeling of blood on your skin. Maybe I was in too much distress over the lose of a teacher, or maybe the years of sorrow that had built up inside me were finally spilling out. That night, I killed Toshio and Taro, and ran away from the village.
"After I left, I fled to the forests and lived off the land. It was a pretty easy living, though I always made sure that I was far away from people. One day, I was exploring and came upon a village. It was called the Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I hid in the shadows for weeks, just watching how real ninjas trained and lived. It amazed me.
"One day, I let my guard down foolishly and a jounin found me. He tried to take me somewhere, to see some man named 'Hokage'. I, naturally, fought back.. I beat the man rather easily, and before I killed him, he said that I was even stronger than a jounin. I put Jiraiya's teachings and his words together- the only level above jounin was sage. Thus, here I am now, after Orochimaru found me and fought me, suggesting that I join the Akatsuki.
"That is my story, Itachi-sama," Tora sighed as she lay back on her bed. "The entirety and truth."