S-Rank: What Happened?!

Spoiler:

A storm was brewing over the village of Kumogakure, which was not saying all that much as there seemed to always be storm clouds high above the god forsaken village. Ukita found himself returning home from his stay at the hospital. It had been a well...it had been an odd. He had met a man named Kuro and he had been offered an apprenticeship. Plus a chance to travel abroad. However, after checking out of the hospital and walking home in the static charged atmosphere of Kumogakure's streets he found himself rethinking everything. He could leave this life forever and start a brand new one, but it made him feel uneasy. Luckily upon arriving home he found that his grandfather had gone over to one of his old friend's houses to play some shogi and to reminisce about the old days. Ukita had once gone to one of these meetings and they were boring as hell. 

All the same he was pleased to have the house to himself as it gave him time to think. Closing the front door behind him he quickly strode to the living room and sat down in the large lounge chair that sat in one corner of the room. Alas, it seemed that the world did not want Ukita to have any rest as he now noticed a note on the small coffee table that sat in the middle of the room. Forcing himself to get up he grabbed the note and read it through carefully. He instantly recognized the messy handwriting of his grandfather. Well, it was not messy it was just...hard to read. Either way he tried to discern what exactly it said and after a considerable time he found out what the message said:

Dear Ukita,
I hoped you have recovered well from your injuries. I apologize once again as I was the one who pushed you that far. Despite that failure I do hope you will still push to open that seventh gate. Also do remember to never open the eighth gate as it would invariably spell your doom. Now, as you no doubt have guess I went over to Mikitzuki's to play some Shogi and catch up on old times. I know you are probably still recovering from the hospital, but I have a suggestion for you: why not head over to the mission command and pick up a mission? I think it would be a good opportunity for you to hone your skill and help better Kumogakure. And, yes, I will be checking if you complete one, so consider it part of your training.
Cheers,
Grandpa

Ukita just started at the letter for a bit. His grandfather had a cruel sense of training. Who would send someone off to take a mission when he just got out of the hospital? Apparently his own grandfather was that kind of person. Unfortunately Ukita knew it was a lot easier to simply listen to what his grandfather asked as the retribution if he did not would probably be much worse than the actual mission. So, with a rather downcast look Ukita went to go get ready for his intended mission. He did not know what it would be, but he felt like doing something a bit challenging-that would impress his grandfather, right? Donning his samurai armor and affixing his sword on his left hip Ukita sighed and put his hair into a quick braid, so that it would not get in his face. 

Finally ready to go kick some ass Ukita left the house and made his way to mission command.  As he walked he noted that the streets were abandoned-people must have been battening down the hatches for the coming storm. The dark grey clouds still churned over head like some mixing pot of the gods. Ignoring the deteriorating conditions he marched onward to the mission command. After a short five minute walk he arrived at the deserted mission command. Pulling open the door he strode in with a rather regal stride that he felt befit his rank of chuunin. There was only one jounin on duty and Ukita walked straight up to him, but was stopped when another jounin rushed in carrying a slim folder. 

The two jounins talked in hushed tones and then the one who had rushed into the room spoke up so Ukita could hear: "You there! You are a Chuunin, right?" Naturally Ukita simply nodded and the jounin continued: "Well, kid, we got a mission for you. Some documents were stolen by a group of five shinobi. They then ran off to the moauntains ...I assume you know what has to be done, correct? Leave none alive." Ukita did not have to say anything nor did the jounin. There was no questioning this order. So, the young chuunin turned on a dime and headed out to the village gates. He had no clue what lay ahead of him, but he knew he had to get those documents without fail.

As he yet again walked through the streets Ukita's mind raced. These shinobi had to be fairly skilled. If they were not then there was not way they would have escaped from Kumogakure unharmed. This would no doubt be an interesting mission. Perhaps he would actually get to fight them five on one. Now, that would be a feat that he could boast about, well, if Ukita was the boasting type that is. He is not, so this mission would turn into just another day and just another training exercise only the consequences of failure were far steeper than it would normally be. In fact it would probably be his life. Luckily before Ukita's thoughts got too morbid  he arrived at the gates. 

Quickly informing the guard of where he was going and what he was doing he went on his way. The guard only checked him out of the village and warned him of the coming storm-lot of good that would do him. He had a job to do storm or no storm. The guard had also pointed the direction he had seen five people running. The guard himself had been too slow to give chase, which Ukita to do the leg work-how nice of the guard. Either way Ukita took off at full tilt as he had some bandits to bag and tag.

As he ran a slight drizzle fell from the sky. That was never a good sign. The rain would make fighting in the mountains a slippery slope. However, on the bright side, that disadvantage worked both ways. Ukita's hoped his familiarity with the mountains would give him the edge and allow him to catch up with the five miscreants. Overhead lightning jumped from cloud to cloud, but did not yet venture to the ground. It was a almost surreal moment and he almost considered stopping and starting at the heavens. However, he knew that was not an option especially with the task he now had at hand. Over the sligh drizzle Ukita swore he could hear voices: he was getting closer and closer.

Upon hearing the voices a little voice in Ukita's head screamed for him to go into stealth mode. He was not one to ignore the weird stealth mode urge, so he activated his silent steps technique and continued onward. No longer were his footsteps heard echoing down the mountains much like the people he was pursuing now had working against them...how sad...for them. As he drew ever nearer to the voices grew louder. He was getting closer and closer soon all this running would build up to one truly epic battle. In the back of his mind Ukita was working the various outcomes of the battle ahead and it was looking grim too say the least. Five versus one was not looking as great as it did from the get go. 

All the same Ukita felt like he may have been psyching himself out. He made a personal promise that he would avoid using his sharingan until it became necessary. He truly hated using the cursed eyes that his parents had forced onto him at birth. Perhaps one day he would be able to surpass the the average Uchiha and never have to use the eyes again. As it were now he often had to rely on them, which saddened and maddened him. That was what he would do: fight these guys without using his sharingan. That was a good idea. This would be a good way to practice. After all, one could not call oneself a master of taijutsu if they relied on a stupid bloodline. Taijutsu was all about the raw strength of the body. That was why he could not keep using his sharingan as a crutch.

Finally it all came to head. Ukita climbed up to the top of a plateu and found himself face to face with all five of the bandits and, well, they did no look too happy to find that they had been followed. The only woman in the group spoke up to the others: "See? I told you we were being followed. My byakugan does not lie." Ukita took note that the woman mentioned the byakugan: a Hyuuga? This would be very interesting too say the least and a great chance to trump the great taijutsu clan. Ukita also noted that three of the five bandits did not look like much. They all wore sword on their hips, which they drew. The other two, presumably higher ranked backed up and seemed to allow the three to make a smei circle around Ukita. It was then that the Hyuuga woman spoke up again, this time directly to Ukita in a cold stern malicious voice: "So, who are you, boy? You must understand you have been sent to your doom. There is five of us and only one of you the odds are, well, strongly against you. In fact, if you surrender to us now we will only break your legs. You shinobi don't need those, do you?" The Hyuuga seemed unable to hold back the laugh that now rolled out of her mouth and it seemed the five were waiting for a response, which was something that struck him as odd, but he figured he would indulge them.

His mind worked quick...should he tell them his real name? Would it matter? He decided it would not as these people would not be around long enough to tell the tale: dead men tell no tales and all that jazz. So, Ukita spoke up in a clear confident voice that never once faltered: "My name? My name is Ukita. Ukita Hideyasu I am a chuunin of Kumogakure. And today, well I am sorry to tell you this, today I will be acting as your executioner. Unless of course you want to just hand over the documents you stole and come back with me to jail. I am sure we have plenty of cozy cells, sounds nice, right?" The Huuyga lady looked insulted and responded in an angry manner: "Well Ukita you have just gone and signed you own death warrant. There is no way in hell that we are giving these documents. We will however, give you a one way trip to see your ancestors. You three get rid of this petulant child. I won't even have to lift a finger."

At the last word the three grunts slowly moved in towards Ukita with swords drawn. These grunts were just that: grunts. Their footwork was sloppy...very sloppy. This was going to be very fun. The men were about five meters away from Ukita, which allowed the young chuunin plenty of time. His right hand dropped to his sword and he waited. He waited for one of them to make the wrong move. It would happen. UUkita knew it would happen. It was only a matter of time. As the men closed in Ukita was feeling the loss of his visual crutch. No longer could he track every moment down to the exact degree. Instead he was full of adrenaline and his eyes darted back and forth as he waited for the first one to come at him.

The swordsmen seemed to be a bit apprehensive. Perhaps Ukita was intimidating? Ukita never imagined himself being intimidating. In the academy he was the constant victim of bullies. Granted it was these bullies that made him strong. They forced him to grow fast and strong. In many ways it was all thanks to bullies that Ukita was so strong today. He had always trove to beat each bully that came after him. Sooner or later he finally became the biggest bully of them all. It was kind of ironic to say the least. Bullies had shaped and formed him into a bully himself. He half wondered if he had created any bullies by beating the bullies. It was like a viscous cycle. It would never end, but for now Ukita knew he had a job to do-it would be like beating up bullies in the old days.

At long last one of the men came at Ukita. He was very brash and he was about to see what kind of a mistake it was to rush at Ukita. In a flash the man's right arm was severed from his body. Ukita had used his quick draw technique and took an opening in the man's wild swing. The man instantly dropped to his knees screaming. For a second no one moved. It was as if everyone was shocked. Then all at once at the low rumble of thunder the remaining two swordsmen ran at Ukita with swords bared. Yet again he saw straight through their transparent movements. These people had no class in the least. Luckily the man who's arm he had lopped off was still sprawled out on the ground screaming. Otherwise it would have been a bit sticky.

Ukita blocked the first strike swiftly and pushed the man back with a swift stroke. He was indeed strong and pushing someone back with a single arm was simple. He then ducked the blade of the next man and slashed the man's gut wide open. Unfortunately the man gripped his gut and fell over. The man he had pushed back had recovered at this point and charged once again. With a small sigh Ukita twirled his sword around and simply caught the blade of the man's sword. It was, so...dull. Then in a heartbeat he smashed his own sword through the man's neck. His head severed and Ukita knew it was done. The remaining two "'higher ups" started to run. Ukita allowed them to run. Right now he had to clean up. 

Walking over to one of the men whose gut he had cut over him Ukitta grimaced. The man was suffering and he put an end to it with a swift blow of his sword. He then did the same to the man whose arm was lying on the ground next to him. With flecks of blood on Ukita's face smiled evilly to himself: Three down two to go. These three had been easy, but Ukita was pretty sure that they had been the least skilled of the group. The last two would probably be much more skilled. They, in all likelihood, were the masterminds behind this heist. That made it imperative that he catch up with them and grab the documents. Wasting no more time Ukita flicked his sword and removed the blood. He then sheathed and ran onward. 

After a a few minutes he was once again stopped in as the two remaining bandits had stopped it would seem this was their final stand. The first to step forward was a man that Ukita had not noticed before, but he was wearing samurai armor much like Ukita himself. This was going  to be very very...fun. Both the men drew their swords. This would be a fight to remember. The rain now fell steadily like it had been anticipating this awesome battle. In a heartbeat the other swordsman was on him. Ukita blocked the man's well timed swipe, but it was rather hard. The man was very very strong, but on the other hand as was Ukita. They matched each other perfectly.

For a good five minutes the two traded blows. By the end of the five minutes Ukita had a cut on his cheek and the bandit had a cut on his upper left arm. So, far it was a complete deadlock. Neither could make any headway either way. Ina  nutshell they were equally matched, but luckily for Ukita he still had his trump card. He had not yet activated any of his eight gates. Bretahing heavily he knew it was time. It was kinda sad really he had half hoped that he would be able to put this guy away without using his sharingan AND the eight gates. Well, he was mistaken and he could accept that. he would use the gates, but not his sharingan. So, sighing, the young chuunin went straight to the third gate.

After a few flurries of blocks and jabs Ukita knew it was almost time for a finishing move. He feinted right and then left and then left again until at last he found a hole in the man's defenses. Taking his chance Ukita stabbed inward and his sword found its target: the heart. Ukita's blade sliced through the armor the man wore with ease: shoddy worksmenship? Or was he just really strong? Ukita figured it was a bit of both, but he ran the man through and quickly withdrew his blade. The man quickly crumpled into a ball: dead. The last target, and holder of the documents, was the Hyuuga woman-this was no easy fight ahead of him. So, Ukita once again flicked his blade and removed the crimson blood. He was determined to win and he only had a small amount of time as he had activated the gates. Soon he would have to deactivate them and rest-there was always a price to pay for this power.

Wanting to get this over with Ukita taunted the woman with a bit of banter: "Well are you ready to die like your friends here? They were no match for me surely you should give up now, no?" The Huuyga looked like a confused animal, but her voice was feral and defiant: "Like hell! Those four were lightweights compared to me. You are now tired and I will finish you off without even lifting a finger. In fact, I will cut you down where you stand. Have you ever heard of the Hyuuga's prowess in taijutsu? Well if you haven't this will be your first and last lesson...and if you have well then you should be scared." With that the woman took on an odd stance. Ukita had heard of the hyuugas. They were one of the most skilled taijutsu clans in the entire shinobi realm. Ukita was no fool he knew that they had the power to shut down a persons body with just a few well placed strikes.

All Ukita knew for sure was that this would have to be a flawless fight. If he got hit once it could cripple him and spell his doom. Sheathing his sword he felt like it would be useless and merely slow him down. At this point he activated the sixth gate. This was going to fast. Hopefully too fast for the Hyuuga girl to even react to. The Hyuuga made a single movement and sent a vacuum palm blast at Ukita. Luckily the speed granted by the sixth gate allowed him to blur out of the way and right behind the Hyuuga girl. She had no time to react in the least. She was still recoiling from  the vacuum palm she had sent out-so much for their flaunted taijutsu skill. Her end came quickly as Ukita used the strength granted by the gates to fracture the spine and kill on impact. 

This mission was over. The girl crumpled like all the rest and like Ukita was bound to one day, but not this day. This day he had triumphed over the five missing ninja. Go figure. Five versus one was indeed possible. However, at this point Ukita felt the strain the fights had put on him up until this point. He was spent. Had he not won as quickly as he had then it would have been a uphill battle with no end in sight. Maybe luck was the greatest weapon in a shinobi's arsenal? It could be more deadly than a kunai and more versatile than a ball of ninja wire. And for a split second it had been on ukita's side. Now? Who knows where it was. Then again...Ukita could care less. He had won the day.

He now closed the sixth gate and felt weariness hit him like a falling tree. He dropped to his knees and went through the woman's stuff until at last he found the documents he had been looking for. They were all rolled up in a nice neat scroll in the woman's pack. Luckily it did not even seem to be tampered with. Putting it into his ninja pouch Ukita stood up slowly and felt as the rain went into a complete down pour. Thunder and lightning smashed through the heaves and down to earth. This was the Kumogakure Ukita loved. It was harsh. It was unforgiving. It was miserable. It was...home.

With those thoughts in mind he slowly started home. He passed the bodies of the fallen bandits. He saw no need to bury them. They were criminals. They did not deserve the honor of being put in the ground. Either way their corpses would be taken by wild animals by dusk. Animals were in many ways the body disposal team of the Kumogakure mountains. All the same Ukita could not help, but feel bad for the people he had killed. Their faces would be with him forever. He might forget this mission, but their faces would float in his head like a grim reminder of past deeds. It was unfortunate thing: memory. It made people recall things better left forgotten and forget thing better remembered.

It was these odd thoughts that filled and clouded Ukita's mind as he returned from the mountains. Checking back in with the gate guard Ukita sighed as the man congratulated him on a job well done. Was it well done? He did not know he had achieved his objective, but he still felt empty. Shrugging it off he walked to the mission command int he torrential down pour. It was not the most miserable walk he had taken down these streets. There had been plenty of those before, but this one felt almost peaceful? Ukita could not quite place his finger on what it was exactly, but he did not stop to ponder it lest he catch a cold.

After a few minutes of walking Ukita made it to the mission command and pushed open the door. The first words he heard from the lone jounin were: "You look like hell, kid." Ukita ignored him completely and simply walked up to the table at which the jounin sat and slammed the scroll with all the information down on the table. With that he turned around and went for home. He did not care what happened now. He needed some major rest. He had just gotten out of the hospital and he may need to go back. Well, maybe he was being melodramatic, but he did need a long hot shower and a bit of down time. That and he felt like he could eat a cow or three, but that sounded too hard as they might run. Instead he decided to eat whatever he could find at home-that worked for him: stale pantry food was always the best.

{4006/4000, +4000 ryo, +12JP, +10 stat points due to this being an S-rank. Conversion for stats in mission are 400 per stat point with a max of 10 for B-rank missions and above.}

Approved.