Spoiler:

The missions Genin were given were often the centered around things suitable to children, as most genin were in fact children. Koryu did not count himself among their number. In fact he considered himself to be an adult. He was sixteen afterall, and furthermore he was the man of his own household after his father's death. This was a right given to him by his father weeks before the man’s actual demise. These things made him a man, his rank be damned. He deserved to be given missions that were more fitting of his maturity. Unfortunately he was relegated to a mere patrol mission tonight. Though, he could take solace in the fact that it wasn’t chasing down some old womans cats or worse; taking academy students to the pool. At least there was a possibility that his strength might be tested tonight. There had been reports of these and other such hoodlums and people of ill-repute about the village as of late. If he was lucky he just might run across one such person and be awarded a chance to test his mettle.

Koryu sighed heavily. Alas the night had been without incident for hours and his shift was all but over. Within a few hours the sun would rise and he’d pass the task of patrolling the village off to some other poor genin that probably hoped for more just as he did. The young man tilted his head back as he placed his canteen against his lips. A long swig was taken as if the liquid inside had been alcoholic in nature; it was only water. A moment later the the canteen was slipped quietly back into a pocket inside his alabaster gi.

The young shinobi stretched his arms out to either side and drew in a deep breath. Break time was over, it was time he made his rounds once again. Slowly he rose to his feet and peered out over the dark village from his perch atop one of the shops in the market district. He’d paused here hoping he might catch one of the thieves taking their shot at a local shop. That wasn’t the case. A moment passed and Koryu was off again. He leapt from one roof top to the next, his eyes scanning the area, searching for some sign of trouble, some sign of excitement. As he continued on he descended toward the street, leaping from roof to roof and then to oanings.

Finally when the teen reached the street he slowed his pace to a walk. His hinds slipped into the pockets of his pants as he sucked his teeth. It really seemed that his shift would end without a peep. How could he manage to build his legacy if there was no event to play upon? How could he become stronger if there were no foes to sharpen himself against? How could he live up to his father’s expectations in such an unfortunate time of peace? He kicked a small rock in frustration. The thing clacked off the side of a building. The sound echoed through the street for a moment before finally dying. It was the response that it had garned that brought a smile to Koryu’s face, however.

”What was that?’ Someone out of sight asked in a hushed tone.

”Don’t worry about it. Get the damn door open.” This voice was deep, far more sure of itself.

”Haha, did you crap yourself Mai?” The third voice chuckled something awful. He sounded like a hyena.

Like a bolt of lightning Koryu took off in the direction of the voices. Sound was a major factor in the abilities of a martial artist. They often listened for the movements of their opponents. Using both sound and sight to aid in their ability to react to attacks was a key part of the martial artist repertoire and that ability was coming in handy now as it enabled Koryu to pinpoint the sound of voices with fairly good accuracy. Much to the chagrin of the owners of those voices he happened to be spot on. Koryu rounded the corner of a building and was instantly met by three figures hidden in the shadow of an alleyway.

”Oh shit!” The one that had laughed like a hyena shouted. This prompted the deeper voiced leader to hush him.

”Shut the hell up, Lao” The deep voiced man commanded. ”Been watching this place for days.” He stepped forward, putting himself between the other two and Koryu. ”They’ve had Genin patrolling the area for the past week. He’s nothing to be worried about.”

”A Genin? Really, Ichi? A Genin?” That horrible hyena laugh followed. ”Kids gotta be every bit of sixteen or seventeen and he’s still a genin? Pfft, weak as hell then right?”

Koryu’s head tilted slightly to the right. Clearly they didn’t realize just what they were faced with. It was true he was just a genin and a relatively old one at that but he was also a Kaguya, and more importantly he was his father’s son. These men had no idea what they were in for. A smile crept across Koryu’s face. Finally he would get a chance to sharpen his skill and test his mettle and against three fighters at that. It turned out he was lucky after all. ”I’m going to tear your tongue out, hyena.” He said flatly.

”What?” Lao, or rather the Hyena, questioned as he stepped forward. Slowly the man moved in front of Ichi, the leader of the group. He couldn’t believe this lowly genin had threatened him like that. It was impossible. ”You two handle that. I’ll handle this.” That disgusting laugh followed once more and made Koryu’s face twist in disgust. ”You bite of more than you can chew kid. I’ll give you a chance to run though.”
Orders were to report any suspicious activity to the higher ups. The order most likely came with the purpose of protecting the young genin that might come across perpetrators they couldn’t handle. Perhaps, for situations such as this. Koryu never had any intention of reporting anything less than a successful mission and success meant dealing with whatever he came across. It was the job of a shinobi to adapt and overcome any situation, what good shinobi couldn’t? This left Koryu with only one option; kick the Hyena’s ass. Koryu’s lips curled into a wide smile.”Bring it.” He said as he slide his left foot back slightly, his right moved forward neither moving beyond the width of his shoulders. His hands were then raised to a position just beneath his eyes, the left a little lower than the right. His body twisted ever so slightly as he allowed his weight to favor his right foot. This was a basic boxing stance, one of many his father had taught him before he’d passed. It allowed for swift striking with the hands and would be more than enough to handle these scoundrels.

”Bad move. Lao, the Hyena chuckled as he took off in a sprint toward Koryu. The man was faster than Koryu expected but that was fine. It was nothing he couldn’t handle. Or at least that’s what he thought. The man suddenly dipped and in the time it took Koryu to blink he was standing to his right and swinging a left handed hook toward his body. The punch was moving at what seemed like a lightning pace, but still Koryu was ready for at least that. His father had done worse and definitely been far faster. Koryu dipped his left hand down to block the punch and instantly launched his counter attack; a right handed hook aimed at Lao’s cheek. While Lao’s punch was blocked Koryu’s punch landed squarely. This took Lao completely by surprise. Despite it didn’t phase him. Lao responded with a swift uppercut with his right hand. Koryu couldn’t block this, or rather chose not to. He wanted to feel the man’s strength, or maybe that was just what he told himself. The uppercut lifted Koryu’s chin but didn’t shift his gaze from his target. He was strong. Perhaps as strong as Koryu. That meant the youngster could beat him. Koryu responded with a quick left handed jab, that was followed by a right handed straight. Both punches connected but didn’t seem to phase Lao much. The criminal responded with a left handed body hook and a right handed jab. Both of his punches landed as well. The two were evenly matched and both more than willing to take a beating to prove their superiority to the other.

”Lao, quit playing around and finish the kid off, we’ve got shit to do!” Ichi shouted as their third compatriot Mai completed his lock picking. Mai opened the door to the shop and inside the pair were face with a myriad of valuable trinkets that they planned on stealing and selling elsewhere. The two entered and began bagging as much as they could. Ichi had actually taken the time to learn a sealing jutsu in order to make his chosen profession a little easier and thus they were going to be able to clean the store out completely. Meanwhile the battle between Koryu and Lao continued. Both men trading blows without care for defense. Unfortunately, it was Koryu who would have to give in first. He could already feel himself slowing down. The illness that plagued his family was beginning to cut into his stamina. Because of this Koryu sent a final right handed hook careening toward Lao’s jaw with all of his might. The punch was enough to send Lao stumbling back. This would give the youngster the moment he needed to focus, to take a deep breath and pull all the oxygen he could from it with the aid of his chakra.The technique was Battle Focus | 交戦焦 Kōsenshō, it would increase his ability to react to Lao’s movements. It was time to begin fighting smart rather than simply trading blows. The moment the technique was done Lao had already closed the distance between them once more and launched a strong kick for Koryu’s chest. Time seemed to slow slightly as Koryu watched the kick come toward him. It was simple enough to catch it. Koryu then slammed his right elbow down on Lao’s knee, forcing the thing to bend the opposite direction. Lao screamed in agony as he fell to the ground. He wasn’t prepared for such an attack and this would be the end of his fight.

Unfortunately for Koryu the scream drew the attention of Ichi. ”Really, Lao. On the ground. The kid beat you?” Ichi shook his head as he started toward Koryu. “I figured I shouldn’t have left him out here. You’re a Kaguya, yeah?” He continued as he pressed his index and middle finger against his forehead imitating the pair of dots on Koryu’s own forehead. ”I’ve heard stories. You’re supposed to be scary, huh?” Ichi activated a seal on his shoulder which glowed brightly and from it the hilt of a sword emerged. Things weren’t supposed to be this dangerous. This was supposed to be a low ranking mission. “Let’s see if you hold up to the hype.” Without another word Ichi darted toward Koryu the sword he’d pulled from his shoulder now fully brandished. Koryu panicked for the briefest of moments. Even this was nothing he’d not been through before. He came to thank his father for his often cruel training methods. Koryu lifted his arms as Ichi slashed diagonally toward him. In an instant bone burst from either of Koryu’s wrists and extended down along his effectively creating a pair of bone gauntlets. The sword clanged against them unable to do so much as leave a mark against the hard bone. The young shinobi’s father would be proud, or at least that’s what he told himself. ”Good. This is going to be fun.” Ichi said with a wide grin as he drew the weapon back for a second slash. Koryu blocked the second when it came, and then a third and a fourth as well. The flurry continued, each slash of the sword blocked as it came yet there was no opening for offense. Was this the extent of his strength? Even with his speed boosted beyond his normal limits he couldn’t find an opportunity to actually fight back. He needed to create some space, he needed to be on the offensive, but how? Even boosted Ichi was just enough faster that Koryu couldn’t do anything. He had to move faster, he had to get out of the way. Koryu forced his chakra to flow through his body. He needed more speed and this was going to be how he got it. With chakra now flowing to his limbs he swung his right arm at Ichi’s blade as it came toward him and used the resulting collision to push himself into a swift sprint. In a second he’d moved fifteen meters away and could regroup. Ichi simply smiled and yelled back at Mai to complete the job. He claimed that he’d handle the nuisance that had accosted them. But now, Koryu was had time. He could prepare for the next volley.

”You aren’t going to get away with this.” Koryu stated as bone began to grow from his spine. It spilt forth through his skin just beneath the base of his neck. The shinobi smiled as he reached back to grip the bit of spine and began to pull it from his body. The length of spine sharped even as he pulled it, the space between each vertebrae softening and becoming even more malleable. This was Dead Bone Pulse, Carpus Scourge | 死骨脈: 手根荊 Shikotsumtaku - Tekkonkke, his Whip Sword. Now they would be on a level playing field. Almost instantaneously both Koryu and Ichi darted toward one another. Their combined speed caused the two to meet rather quickly. The loud clang of their weapons colliding filled the street and the sound of battle drew more attention of those that dared be awake at these wee hours of the morning. Again and again their weapons collided, neither man gaining the advantage until finally Koryu snapped his whip sword causing the tip to whip around Ichi’s own sword and run along the side of his face. Finally first blood was drawn. Ichi didn’t grace the moment with words, only action. He could see that Koryu was fading, the battle had become one of attrition and he certainly had the greater endurance at this point. It wasn’t long before this fact came to fruition. Koryu’s speed slowed and Ichi took the advantage. Within moments Koryu was on the ground, Ichi standing over him his blade mere centimeters from the young shinobi’s throat.

”You should have run kid.” Ichi said with a wicked smile.

”Nah.” Koryu replied with an equally wide grin. He’d already planned for this moment and gotten lucky enough to be in the right position. Tekkonkke was in position. Koryu sent chakra into the bone whip causing it to shoot forth and in doing so the sharped vertebrae found their way into Ichi’s ribcage. Ichi’s eyes grew wide. How had this child defeated him? How had he been careless enough to let this happen? The thief stumbled backward, his grip on his weapon loosened and he dropped it, the blade of which ran along Koryu’s neck leaving a deep cut that might have been life threatening had it actually been aimed. A moment later the tables had turned and it was Koryu who stood over Ichi.

”It isn’t done.” Koryu said as he watched the life fade from Ichi’s eyes. A moment later he was standing in the threshold of the store Mai still was collecting valuables in. ”You can come with me or you can go the way your buddies did.” Outside Lao could be heard calling Ichi’s name, hoping against all hope that his brother wasn’t dead. That was enough to convince Mai that continuing on wasn’t worth the trouble.

It wasn’t long before Koryu was back at the administrative building reporting to one of those higher ups he was meant to report to before he’d even decided to engage the thieves. He was met with shock, disbelief, anger and pride. He’d handled the situation despite having disobeyed orders. It would be up to someone higher than even the shinobi that he spoke with if it would be acceptable or not but his ability to have come out of the ordeal alive was guaranteed to at least garner him a spot of praise, or at least thats what both he and the older shinobi hoped.

-end-

[Word Count 2835]
750 Mission Completion
- 750 D Rank Jutsu
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