Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Written In Ink ❯ Chapter 8
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Desiree Dee 
Sumi's story.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Martial Arts / Drama / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.17.2006 | Pages: 6 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 460 | Status: Completed
Sumi's story.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Martial Arts / Drama / Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.17.2006 | Pages: 6 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 460 | Status: Completed
"Isn't this a lovely picture." A voice invaded Naruto's dream. He blinked away the darkness to see Jiraiya's face directly in his own.
Naruto tried to jump up but felt a strong grip holding him down.
"A little help?" He pleaded.
"No I think I'll let you stay there a minute." Jiraiya chuckled.
"This isn't funny." Naruto pleaded. "She's hurt, but I couldn't get her to let go of me last night. She's stronger than she looks." Jiraiya reached over to remove her arms when he saw the dark stains on the cloth around her hands. The edges where it had dried had more of a black color resembling ink instead of the brown on blood.
Upon the removing of her hands, Sumi cringed and jerked into a fetal position. The movement knocked Jiraiya off-balance. He grabbed Naruto in an attempt to catch himself, but only managed to bring the boy down with him.
"I don't want to go back!" Sumi screamed from her position on the bed. "I thought you were going to protect me!"
Naruto jumped up and began to gently shake her.
"Sumi! Wake up!" He yelled. She suddenly went still, then lifted her head and blinked her eyes.
"How did I get here?" Sumi asked. "Last thing I remember is Lee saying that training was done for the day, but I decided to practiced a little bit of what I learned before heading back. Everything after that is kind of a blank."
She sat up and looked at her hands.
"There's blood on my hands." Her eyes grew wide in terror. "Oh, God! What did I do?"
"You hurt yourself training." Naruto explained. "You didn't do anything. We went looking for you last night, and found you still kicking the log."
"Thank goodness." Sumi breathed. Jiraiya stood up and looked at her.
"Has something like this happened before?" The elder man asked.
"Yes," Sumi said. "A long time ago. I didn't think it would ever happen again, between the holy men, and the hypnotist...." She shook her head in aggravation. "No, it won't happen again. I won't go back."
"We are not going to send you back to the circus. I promise!" Naruto said. "Training takes time we all know that. By the end of the week, that circus will be gone. It's okay."
"I must go discuss things with Tsunade." Jiraiya said. "I will be back later."
"Okay." Naruto said. He turned to Sumi. "We need to clean those wounds, then you need to tell me exactly what's going on."
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"I wasn't originally in the circus taming the tiger." Sumi began. "I was actually the beast girl in the sideshow."
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"One of the reasons my mother gave me up." She looked off into the distance. "It wasn't like I was that way all the time. It would just happen randomly. Heck, I think she was able to handle that, but I think the day I got a paper cut and made the scribble ball come to life is what did it to her. That's all I remember before the circus.
I don't remember my father, my name, or if I had any brothers or sisters. I just remember the look of terror on her face as she hit me with the broom and chased me out of my home.
I wandered the streets for awhile, stealing when I needed to. Scaring people during the times I would go crazy. One time I woke up to find my hands and face covered in blood." Sumi hung her head in shame.
"I found the half-eaten rabbit lying next to me. I felt absolutely sick. I thought that I was complete trash for killing an innocent creature, so I decided to climb into a dumpster.
While I was looking for one, I came across a coloring book. I picked it up. When I opened it there was a picture of a puppy. I touched it, wishing it were real. There was still blood on my hands from the rabbit. As soon as it made contact the puppy jumped off the page and began running around my feet.
The ring master had been walking by and witnessed it. He offered me a bath and a meal, so I followed him."
"Wait a minute." Naruto interrupted. "Are you telling me you have to use blood to make ink come to life?"
"Yes," She answered. "It can be any type of blood, I just prefer to use mine because it lets me control it better."
"Ok, now I'm confused." Naruto said.
"Well, you haven't heard it all yet." Sumi continued. "It wasn't long after the ringmaster took me in that I had another episode. He decided that it was something he could use to get me out in front of crowds sooner.
"He brought me to the hypnotist that traveled around with our midway, and found out that he could trigger that reaction on command. I learned how to do other things at the circus, but one of the biggest draws was when I would act like a wild animal and a trainer would whip me into submission. It went on like that until I was a teenager. Then, he allowed me to showcase my ability to manipulate drawings.
"Still, he would hit me a lot and refuse to pay me for my performances. He said I barely pulled my own weight.
"So, when he announced that we were taking the show overseas, I saw it as my opportunity to escape and change my life. I had also heard that the land was full of great healers and mystic holy men. I thought they could make me normal.
"I emersed myself in this country's language and practices so that I could make it on my own. The first night after our boat landed, I snuck off into the woods.
"I traveled for weeks, keeping away from major towns. Stopping by farms only when I needed food. I would do some work in exchange for a meal.
"When I heard a rumor about a compound of monks, I took off in search of them. I had to fight off large animals, and climb at least two mountains.
"After about six months of travel, I came across the compound where the monks lived. I hit a little trouble getting in since I was a girl, but the head monk was just outside the gates, tending his garden.
"He said that I wasn't allowed inside of the walls, but he would do his best to help me. I explained my problem, but left out the part about running away from the circus.
"One of the things he said I needed was a spiritual cleansing. I had to bathe under a waterfall for seven days and seven nights. After that, he put the tattoo of the tiger on my back. It was a very painful experience, but I was willing to do anything to be normal.
"During the time I was there, I slept in the trees outside the compound. I had started doing that on my trek there to avoid being bothered by animals. Still, it didn't matter where I was sleeping when the thieves came.
"There were about ten of them, they were fairly noisy, but I didn't hear them soon enough to keep them from seeing me. They were shouting obscenities and threatening me. One of them started climbing the tree and began to grab at me.
"I panicked, and felt myself fall from the branch. Before I hit the ground, everything went black and I heard a loud growling noise followed by screams.
"When my vision came back, there was a large tiger rubbing its head on my lap, and one of the men were dead.
"The monks had come and found me sitting amongst the gore. The head monk had promised me that I would be safe. He said that I would be protected.
"There was one monk that didn't like me. I never learned any of their names since only the leader would speak with me, but there was one that looked at me with hatred every time I saw him.
"It was his face that I saw when the ring master came back for me. He was amused by the new trick. The traitorous holy man had informed them of the tiger, so there was a tamer there as well to hold it off.
"They took me away that night and beat me mercilessly. It was as I lie there in pain that the idea for the tattoos crept into my mind. If the tiger came to life, why wouldn't other things.
"I started off drawing different things on paper, then looked at some of the tattoos that other members of the circus had. There were plenty with rose vines and blades, so I decided to use them. There was nothing unusual about any of us doing our own tattoos. Everyone did it.
"The next time it seemed like I was going to be beaten I used the tattoos to defend myself, but someone came up and knocked me in the back of the head with a heavy object.
"They said if I tried it again, they would kill me." She hung her head. "I haven't tried to since."
"That's rough." Naruto said, then clenched his fist. "I should go over there and teach him a lesson right now!"
"No! Don't." Sumi pleaded. "I would rather they leave and never come back to bother me."
"Alright, but if they think they're taking you back when they leave, they have another thing coming." He succeeded.
A knock sounds at the door. Naruto got up to open it, and revealed Lee standing on the other side.
"Do you think you're up to training today?" Lee asked from his position in the door way.
A look of determination crossed her face, erasing the previous one of sadness.
"You bet I am!"
888888
Thank you to Rakio and Battosai25 for your continued support! Thanks to drago1456 for your comment, and I do plan on doing that, I'm just trying to set it up for that.
Naruto tried to jump up but felt a strong grip holding him down.
"A little help?" He pleaded.
"No I think I'll let you stay there a minute." Jiraiya chuckled.
"This isn't funny." Naruto pleaded. "She's hurt, but I couldn't get her to let go of me last night. She's stronger than she looks." Jiraiya reached over to remove her arms when he saw the dark stains on the cloth around her hands. The edges where it had dried had more of a black color resembling ink instead of the brown on blood.
Upon the removing of her hands, Sumi cringed and jerked into a fetal position. The movement knocked Jiraiya off-balance. He grabbed Naruto in an attempt to catch himself, but only managed to bring the boy down with him.
"I don't want to go back!" Sumi screamed from her position on the bed. "I thought you were going to protect me!"
Naruto jumped up and began to gently shake her.
"Sumi! Wake up!" He yelled. She suddenly went still, then lifted her head and blinked her eyes.
"How did I get here?" Sumi asked. "Last thing I remember is Lee saying that training was done for the day, but I decided to practiced a little bit of what I learned before heading back. Everything after that is kind of a blank."
She sat up and looked at her hands.
"There's blood on my hands." Her eyes grew wide in terror. "Oh, God! What did I do?"
"You hurt yourself training." Naruto explained. "You didn't do anything. We went looking for you last night, and found you still kicking the log."
"Thank goodness." Sumi breathed. Jiraiya stood up and looked at her.
"Has something like this happened before?" The elder man asked.
"Yes," Sumi said. "A long time ago. I didn't think it would ever happen again, between the holy men, and the hypnotist...." She shook her head in aggravation. "No, it won't happen again. I won't go back."
"We are not going to send you back to the circus. I promise!" Naruto said. "Training takes time we all know that. By the end of the week, that circus will be gone. It's okay."
"I must go discuss things with Tsunade." Jiraiya said. "I will be back later."
"Okay." Naruto said. He turned to Sumi. "We need to clean those wounds, then you need to tell me exactly what's going on."
8888
"I wasn't originally in the circus taming the tiger." Sumi began. "I was actually the beast girl in the sideshow."
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"One of the reasons my mother gave me up." She looked off into the distance. "It wasn't like I was that way all the time. It would just happen randomly. Heck, I think she was able to handle that, but I think the day I got a paper cut and made the scribble ball come to life is what did it to her. That's all I remember before the circus.
I don't remember my father, my name, or if I had any brothers or sisters. I just remember the look of terror on her face as she hit me with the broom and chased me out of my home.
I wandered the streets for awhile, stealing when I needed to. Scaring people during the times I would go crazy. One time I woke up to find my hands and face covered in blood." Sumi hung her head in shame.
"I found the half-eaten rabbit lying next to me. I felt absolutely sick. I thought that I was complete trash for killing an innocent creature, so I decided to climb into a dumpster.
While I was looking for one, I came across a coloring book. I picked it up. When I opened it there was a picture of a puppy. I touched it, wishing it were real. There was still blood on my hands from the rabbit. As soon as it made contact the puppy jumped off the page and began running around my feet.
The ring master had been walking by and witnessed it. He offered me a bath and a meal, so I followed him."
"Wait a minute." Naruto interrupted. "Are you telling me you have to use blood to make ink come to life?"
"Yes," She answered. "It can be any type of blood, I just prefer to use mine because it lets me control it better."
"Ok, now I'm confused." Naruto said.
"Well, you haven't heard it all yet." Sumi continued. "It wasn't long after the ringmaster took me in that I had another episode. He decided that it was something he could use to get me out in front of crowds sooner.
"He brought me to the hypnotist that traveled around with our midway, and found out that he could trigger that reaction on command. I learned how to do other things at the circus, but one of the biggest draws was when I would act like a wild animal and a trainer would whip me into submission. It went on like that until I was a teenager. Then, he allowed me to showcase my ability to manipulate drawings.
"Still, he would hit me a lot and refuse to pay me for my performances. He said I barely pulled my own weight.
"So, when he announced that we were taking the show overseas, I saw it as my opportunity to escape and change my life. I had also heard that the land was full of great healers and mystic holy men. I thought they could make me normal.
"I emersed myself in this country's language and practices so that I could make it on my own. The first night after our boat landed, I snuck off into the woods.
"I traveled for weeks, keeping away from major towns. Stopping by farms only when I needed food. I would do some work in exchange for a meal.
"When I heard a rumor about a compound of monks, I took off in search of them. I had to fight off large animals, and climb at least two mountains.
"After about six months of travel, I came across the compound where the monks lived. I hit a little trouble getting in since I was a girl, but the head monk was just outside the gates, tending his garden.
"He said that I wasn't allowed inside of the walls, but he would do his best to help me. I explained my problem, but left out the part about running away from the circus.
"One of the things he said I needed was a spiritual cleansing. I had to bathe under a waterfall for seven days and seven nights. After that, he put the tattoo of the tiger on my back. It was a very painful experience, but I was willing to do anything to be normal.
"During the time I was there, I slept in the trees outside the compound. I had started doing that on my trek there to avoid being bothered by animals. Still, it didn't matter where I was sleeping when the thieves came.
"There were about ten of them, they were fairly noisy, but I didn't hear them soon enough to keep them from seeing me. They were shouting obscenities and threatening me. One of them started climbing the tree and began to grab at me.
"I panicked, and felt myself fall from the branch. Before I hit the ground, everything went black and I heard a loud growling noise followed by screams.
"When my vision came back, there was a large tiger rubbing its head on my lap, and one of the men were dead.
"The monks had come and found me sitting amongst the gore. The head monk had promised me that I would be safe. He said that I would be protected.
"There was one monk that didn't like me. I never learned any of their names since only the leader would speak with me, but there was one that looked at me with hatred every time I saw him.
"It was his face that I saw when the ring master came back for me. He was amused by the new trick. The traitorous holy man had informed them of the tiger, so there was a tamer there as well to hold it off.
"They took me away that night and beat me mercilessly. It was as I lie there in pain that the idea for the tattoos crept into my mind. If the tiger came to life, why wouldn't other things.
"I started off drawing different things on paper, then looked at some of the tattoos that other members of the circus had. There were plenty with rose vines and blades, so I decided to use them. There was nothing unusual about any of us doing our own tattoos. Everyone did it.
"The next time it seemed like I was going to be beaten I used the tattoos to defend myself, but someone came up and knocked me in the back of the head with a heavy object.
"They said if I tried it again, they would kill me." She hung her head. "I haven't tried to since."
"That's rough." Naruto said, then clenched his fist. "I should go over there and teach him a lesson right now!"
"No! Don't." Sumi pleaded. "I would rather they leave and never come back to bother me."
"Alright, but if they think they're taking you back when they leave, they have another thing coming." He succeeded.
A knock sounds at the door. Naruto got up to open it, and revealed Lee standing on the other side.
"Do you think you're up to training today?" Lee asked from his position in the door way.
A look of determination crossed her face, erasing the previous one of sadness.
"You bet I am!"
888888
Thank you to Rakio and Battosai25 for your continued support! Thanks to drago1456 for your comment, and I do plan on doing that, I'm just trying to set it up for that.