Quell the Rogues [MISSION|SS|OKAMI|TRAINING-KENJUTSU]

0790#words
0730#chakra

#Jounin(A)


©2013 caliburn

Okami walked the lonely road of a shinobi, taking lives when he had to. It was an unsettlingly common occurrence these days. This wasn't even a time of war for the Villages. It was all assassinations, subterfuge, quelling rebellions. All things that Okami didn't want to have to do, but had to anyway. He was one of the best, and this mission was going to prove it. The Jounin Commander, Ramza, had given him the opportunity of a lifetime: An S-Rank classification. This was no mere feat that hard work and dedication could give. This was won through blood, rivers of it. To become an S-Rank was to become a living weapon, the embodiment of Death itself. It was an honor and a curse.

The mission was SS-Ranked, and simple enough. He was to quell an uprising of missing-nin. The trick was that their mole hadn't been seen in three months, and every single one of the bastards was a master in their chosen arts. S-Ranks. The thought of facing them sent thrills of excitement down Okami's spine. It was a chance to truly prove himself. The leader, Remiel, was nowhere to be found, but they had caught wind of one of the others in town nearby, a kunoichi swordswoman by the name of Lumia. His blade, Kusanagi, still wasn't complete, and would be presented to him after this mission, so he was stuck with a mere kunai blade against her infamous Executioner's Blade.

Striding towards her location, he heard Ochita growl in his mind. Something was off about this mission, and neither of them could figure it out. The dank streets of the Port of Dreams were eerie at night, giving off the appearance of dancing shadows on the walls. Finding the kunoichi was easy enough, as tracking her chakra was child's play. His eye made sure of that. She stood in a back alleyway, counting her winnings from a night of gambling. Walking up behind her, Okami drew his kunai blade, speaking to her back. "Lovely night for a stroll, isn't it?"

Spinning, she drew her massive blade with one hand while opening a scroll with the other. Okami didn't trust that thing as far as he could throw it, which, considering the size of it, wouldn't be too far. Getting into an aggressive stance, the shinobi lashed out with his blade, kunai striking sword loudly as crows flew from the rooftops. One of the two was going to die this night. She definitely had insane strength, and was bearing down on Okami as he tried to deflect it. Lolling his tongue, he moved his left hand to form a half-Tiger seal, breathing out gunpowder into her face and mouth before striking the flint he hid behind his molars. "Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning." Disengaging as the explosion rocked the buildings next to them, Okami watched with his Ryu no Me to discern what was happening. She was burnt a fair amount, but only 2nd Degree from what he could tell.

Bracing himself, he accepted the next blow with grace, blocking the overhead slash outright, muscles straining with the effort. In the background, he could see four other figures emerge from the smoke surrounding the scroll. Fuck. So, it was a summoning technique to bring in the rest of the team. Looking right at his informant with the slightest glance, Okami noticed that he was hesitant to do anything as he readied his yumi. That meant that he was still loyal. Good. Riku was an important and valuable spy. Watching as his opponent began to form a Tiger hand seal and mold chakra in her belly, the shinobi quickly realized what she was about to do. Settling down, he grunted as he pushed her off and slashed, straight through her sword and into her body as her eyes widened. Sheathing his blade quickly, he spoke one word, quiet enough that only she could hear before all went black. "Tenshisen"

Throwing her bleeding corpse at his opponents, he quickly spun his blade back out of the bindings on his back, glowing red as he formed another half-Tiger with his left hand. Flames began to shoot out and surround the blade as he swung. They all burst into action at once, besides Riku. The one who used Wind Style began to form a jutsu, but the flaming arc that was sent towards him fed off from the chakra, setting him on fire and giving him severe 3rd degree burns. The others hid behid the Water user as she spat out a small wall of her chakra to deflect the multiple arcs from Cloud Style: Flame Beheading. Breathing heavily, Okami settled into his stance, focusing on what was to come next.

0613#words
0685#chakra

#Jounin(A)


©2013 caliburn

Remiel, the leader of the group, stepped forward, grinding his fists together in an unmistakable manner. He was obviously a strong Taijutsu user, most likely using Earth Style Jutsu to round himself out. Launching himself forward, he would punch at Okami, first with a right hook, then a left jab before a right straight finished off the three-blow combo. Managing to block the first two blows, Okami took the third straight to the gut, coughing up blood onto his flak jacket as he was blasted into a wall. Luckily, it seemed that the others were happy to stay out of the leader's fight, as if he would have to fight them all separately. Rising to his feet, Okami used his chakra control to jump up horizontal to the wall, avoiding his next two strikes and an Earth-Style: Moving Earth Core. More luck, it would seem. Dodging the shafts of chakra-infused earth was simple, as he could see the chakra being used to make them move. However, striking the man was a different matter altogether, as the few times he closed with his sword Remiel would punch or kick at him, shaking his finger in a mocking manner.

Slashing at him was doing no good, so Okami decided to use up more of his chakra in a last ditch technique. Focusing it all in one single point I the blade, Okami slashed right through the earth with enough force to cut off the man's right arm with Kenatsu. It was a close thing, though, as Okami was struck with another pillar of earth that rose with Remiel's rage.

He must have cracked a rib or two at this point, and the Missing-nin seemed to not want to stop at all. How the hell did he keep going? Forming a quick Tiger seal, Okami blew out a more localized version of one of his favorite jutsu in order to minimize damage to the surrounding area. "Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction."

That seemed to do it, as the man finally, blessedly screamed in pain as his face began to melt from thousands of degrees of finely-controlled flame blasted him, though he kept on coming. Damn these guys, and their insane levels of endurance. He remembered King Minos, who had nearly killed him despite being gutted, fried, and basically beaten halfway back to Hell.

Slashing with his kunai blade, Okami tore out the man's eyes with a single stroke. He thrashed around blindly, blood and melted flesh spattering the battlefield as the earth raged underfoot. Running him through, Okami pushed sideways, nearly slicing the man in half as he littered the ground with his entrails. Breathing heavily, the shinobi flicked the blood off from his blade and motioned for the next opponent as the ground stilled.

Next was Tematsu, the crispy Wind and Genjutsu user. Dashing forward quickly before he could get a hand seal off, Okami made sure his head rolled on the ground. Genjutsu was the shinobi's least favorite thing to deal with, and getting that out of the way was a piece of cake, given that the man was frail in body. Until, of course, his eye told him otherwise. The chakra around him was distorted, wrong, where a moment ago it was natural. The frail Tematsu appeared again in front of him. Cursing, Okami sliced his palm on his blade, breaking the hold the Genjutsu had on him before closing his eyes and allowing himself to move off from muscle memory. He had made this slash a thousand thousand times, and it showed in every move he made as he beheaded the frail man a second time, without the nasty Genjutsu clouding his senses.

0618#words
0620#chakra

#Jounin(A)
#bgm

©2013 caliburn

Breathing outward, Okami turned to Sasha. She was a brutal Water and Sealing user, often sealing her opponents for their boss to wail on. However, since he wasn't there Okami wouldn't have to worry about getting sealed. Quickly forming the hand seal for Horse, he blasted outward with his most powerful Fire Style technique. "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation."

Quickly blocking it as best she could with her water-style jutsu, Sasha dashed forward with the speed of a snake, drawing a kunai from her hip pouch. She was fairly food, managing toget in a couple hits on Okami as they sparred. Parry. Slash. Counter. Stab. Parry. Counterstrike. It was a dance, a deadly one that had no end and no beginning. For minutes or for hours they fought, striking and parrying until Sasha finally dropped, exhaustion overtaking her as the minutes rolled by.

"Fine, you got me. Now what?! You gonna kill me, make me your pet bitch? I ain't doing you, if that's what you want." The kunoichi spat, venom in her words as she spoke. Okami wondered what his orders allowed for, making the decision quite difficult. If he followed his mission to the letter, he had already completed it. Eliminate the threat. She had surrendered to him, thereby eliminating the threat. He could see with his Ryu no Me that she was dangerously low on chakra, so she couldn't escape. Her vulgar attitude and her suggestions were out of the question, and to kill her outright would be cruel. So, what to do.

As Okami mulled this over, he saw motion out of the corner of his eye. It was Riku, drawing his bow, infusing the arrow with Lightning chakra as he began to let go. Something was wrong, Okami realized too late as the arrow struck him just 18 millimeters to the right of his heart, shocking him so that the pain was virtually nonexistent. However, the damage had been done, and cold, dead eyes stare out at the world as Sasha laughed her ass off. Okami's vision slowly faded to black as his muscles began to still. Why would he do this? Riku hadn't been in contact with the Hidden Heavens for three months, so could they have converted him? Apparently, Okami thought before the haze of death enveloped him, he should have listened to his Sensei when he said never to trust an informant.

Again, he felt that familiar surge of power, the one his dragon granted him on his last mission. It seemed that he could use it at will, for a few moments, if he wished. That damned dragon was really a kind being at heart, Okami laughed mentally before delving into the abyss that was that familiar, aching power. a silvery sheen crossed his newly restored vision as he stood up, ripping out the arrow and breaking it between his fingers. Dashing forward, he grabbed his blade and slashed Sasha down the middle before she could react, her mirthless face splitting as she fell to the ground. Such a waste. Riku, began blubbering and was about to run before a silver-cloaked fist gripped him by his collar, lifting him into the air as the kunai blade slashed his yumi in half before it could hit the ground. Burning red eyes looked at the man, pissing himself in fear. Snarling, Okami tore out his jugular with a flick of his blade, the coward's life's essence spilling over his sleeve. Dropping him, he used as much speed as he could muster in this form before he collapsed into someone's arms, chakra cloak gone as he coughed up his own blood. Funny, he thought. He seemed to be doing a lot of that recently.

0533#words
0800#chakra

#Jounin(A)


©2013 caliburn

Waking up in his designated hospital bed, Okami groaned as he felt his chest throb with a dull ache. He wouldn't have a scar, thanks to Medical Ninjutsu, but it sure hurt like HELL. He had definitely overdone it, and he was completely liable for all of his mistakes. A laughing sound rumbled through his head, a sign that Ochita agreed. That was both comforting and unsettling. Things between them had gotten better since the night 3 days ago, when Okami truly used his power willingly for the first time. It was mildly disturbing that one of his best friends turned out to be in his head all along, but hey? Who cares?

Stumbling to the food court, he ordered his favorite beef teriyaki yakisoba, which wasn't too much, given that he was a patient. The check he had received this time was enormous, dwarfing the other one, as there were extra boutnies on each of the Missing-nin's heads from the Bingo Book. It honestly made his head spin, and he was scheduled to go pick up Kusanagi today. Getting dressed, he made his way over to the lift to take him to the adjacent island. Why the hell was he always injured when he did things like this?

The mountain journey was arduous thanks to just having recovered from a sucking chest wound, and he was soon heaving and had to take a break halfway up. Getting to the top, the smith greeted him at the door, requesting a further story as he warmed up a cup of strong tea. As Okami told the parts of his story not covered in black ink, the man pulled a bundle out from behind him and handed it over to the young shinobi. Unravelling it, he looked in awe at the white ebony hilt and scabbard. The smith nodded sagely as he drew it, pitch-black flames rippling up his arm to form a sort of seal across it. "That blade is yours, and yours alone. It is my masterpiece, the sword I have waited my entire life to make. Use it well, S-Rank Jounin Okami."

Striding back down the mountain, Okami gripped Kusanagi for his life. Strapping it across his back lovingly, the entire trip home was easy as breathing. Well, as easy as breathing while recovering from a near-death experience. Getting back to the main island, Okami reported immediately to the Council of Elders. One of them, a greasy man in his forties, snapped at him for entering during a private meeting before realizing who the young man was. The entire council stood and bowed briefly before addressing him. "Okami, you have done us a great service in these past few weeks. Not only have you defeated King Minos on an SS-Rank mission that by all accounts you should have died on, you cheated death a second time in order to eliminate one of the greatest threats to the peace our Village has ever known. By the order of the Council of Elders and by the Jounin Commander who stands in for our Kage, we hereby bestow upon you the S-Rank. May you be our blade in the shadows for many moons to come."