So... yeah. I don't really know how this came to my mind, but I found myself wanting to do something about MH4. Perhaps the sense of accomplishment I got from slaying the Shagaru Magala made me think about the story and the different monsters I had to hunt until that final confrontation.

Anyway, I ended up doing this, and I hope you will enjoy it!

And I obviously do not own Monster Hunter, otherwise I would have made the katana a weapon with an entire battoujutsu styled moveset.

This is it. I thought as I stopped before the open doors that led to the Sanctuary.

Beyond them, my nemesis awaited. The monster which I had clashed with in more than one occasion, without any of us coming out victorious. Not even when I thought I had defeated it, not even when I salvaged from its supposed corpse, had I truly killed it.

The Shagaru, formerly Gore, Magala. Heaven's Wheel. Calamity. Elder Dragon of Light and Shadow.

So were the many names which qualified it.

The Guild had asked me to slay the monster once and for all because of the danger it represented for both humans and monsters alike. But, truth be told, I couldn't care less about the Guild's reasons for hunting it. It wasn't duty that made me accept to hunt this monster. No, it was my selfish desire of being the one to slay it.

The monster and I had, for lack of a better term, acknowledged each other as a worthy foe. An opponent which neither of us feared or hated but, rather, respected for its strength and wanted to fight in the deadly dance that was the Hunt.

And to think I was but a newbie hunter fresh out of the examination a few months ago... From a green horn to a hunter that could do a better job alone than a whole team of Ace Hunters in such a short time... it was a bit scary.

Would I have become such a hunter if I hadn't the joined the Capital C? That was a good question, but one there was no point in answering.

I shook my head, banishing the unnecessary thoughts. As I did, I felt something nudge my leg. Looking down, I saw Fang, my faithful Palico, giving me a concerned glance from under his red hat. Smiling under my helmet, I shook my head slightly

"Just thinking about the past." I answered his silent question.

He nodded before snickering. "For a moment, I thought you were going to chicken out, nya."

I chuckled. "After everything we've gone through? I didn't climb this damn mountain and defeated an army of frenzied monsters just to give up now. I would have thought you knew me better than that."

Fang tipped his hat down, smirking. "I don't know, nya. Wouldn't be the first time you did something unexpected, nya."

My chuckle became a laugh. "True. But aren't we all a peculiar bunch in the Capital C?"

He nodded, still grinning. "Truer words have never been spoken, nya."

I shook my head at his antics before I looked back at the doors again, my face turning serious. "Well, there is no going back."

Humor deserted Fang's features as his head turned to face the doors too. "...You sure you want to do this alone?"

I nodded wordlessly.

He sighed. "I won't go against your wish, but do me a favor and try to get out of this in one piece, alright?"

I gave him a thumbs-up. "Watch me, Fang. I don't intend to bite the dust easily." I said before strolling past the doors.

It's time to finish this story.

-Scene Break-

Cathar.

The Caravaneer gazed out at Heaven's Mount for what seemed like the hundredth time since the kindred hunter had left. As he did, the eyes of his companions of the Capital C, along with the Ace Hunters, turned at the mountain where they knew their friend might already be fighting against the legendary Elder Dragon.

Even though they had given the hunter the best encouragements, most of them couldn't help but be worried about their friend. It wasn't that they doubted the kindred hunter's abilities, far from it (they had seen what their companion was capable of first hand when the Gore Magala had attacked the Arluq). But all of them knew that Elder Dragons were in a completely different league than other monsters. Few hunters had ever fought alone against an Elder Dragon, and even fewer had returned alive and in one piece from the fight, never mind victorious. Another cause of their worry was that the monsters of Heaven's Mount had all gone berserk in the past few days and it was most likely that their friend would have to go through a horde of frenzied monsters, including high ranked ones like Rathalos or Zinogres, in order to access the Sanctuary itself.

The Ace Hunters had offered to escort their fellow hunter to the Sanctuary but they had been politely rejected.

"The Hunt has already begun. If I cannot even reach my target by myself, then how can I hope to defeat it?" the kindred hunter had replied, to their astonishment, before leaving.

It had been an entire day since then.

"...Do you think Doodle will be alright?" the Guildmarm asked quietly.

Instantly, Miss Forge slammed her gloved hands on the table. "Of course! With the equipment Sensei and I forged, there is no way Hunter-san could loose!" she shouted. "Right?" she added hesitantly, seeing everyone silent.

"Oujou-chan..." the Caravaneer said, gathering everyone's attention. "No one here is questioning either your or your Master's skills. Neither are we questioning the kindred hunter's prowess. However... going alone against an Elder Dragon... more than a few would consider it suicide." he grimly said.

The Ace Leader nodded slowly. "I agree. Even though our companion prevailed alone where we, the Aces, couldn't, this is different from last time." he looked down. "Maybe I should have insisted..."

The Ace Lancer shook his head. "Our fellow hunter isn't the kind of person to hunt with a team. Besides, we're not fully healed yet. In our state we would only get in the way. Also, how can we coordinate with someone who has never hunted with us or with another hunter?"

Everyone nodded, recognizing that the Lancer had a point.

Silence fell once again and the Caraveneer could only sigh as his gaze returned to Heaven's Mount.

I should really try to remember other people's names. He thought.

-Scene Break-

Sanctuary

As soon as I was past the doors, my body tensed. There was an eerie atmosphere unlike anything I had ever felt before. It was, in a way, similar to what I felt the first time I went hunting the Gore Magala but still completely different.

The Sanctuary itself was an eerie place. The crackled ground, the rocky outcroppings and the wind that was characteristic of Heaven's Mount were present and yet, the long and dry grass around reminded me of the Ancestral Steppe. If it weren't for the man-made towers and statues, I would have thought this place to be more of a monster's lair/nest rather than a sanctuary.

Which was kind of true.

The weight of the Leumundslist on my back seemed to make itself more present and I could feel my kinsect twitch slightly in response to the tension of my body.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward, expending my senses to locate my nemesis as I went further in. Aside from the wind and the sound of my own footsteps, the Sanctuary was as silent as a grave.

And then, I saw it.

A mass of bubbling shadows, not unlike a cocoon waiting for its host to burst out and show the world its new form.

In a flap of wings, the darkness disappeared and I held in a gasp at my foe's new appearance.

Bright scales as if they were made of light covered the body of the Shagaru Magala and, in an instant, I knew that the Caravaneer's precious Article was, in fact, one of those scales. The familiar shape, black horns and claws were the only reminder that the monster in front of me was my nemesis.

If the Gore Magala was shadows personified, then the Shagaru Magala was light given form.

Fire colored eyes fixed their gaze on me and I instinctively shifted my posture to draw my weapon at a moment's notice. Slowly, the monster circled me, observed me, and my body turned to follow its movements.

Then, it stopped and made a massive leap straight into the air before diving for me.

Eyes widening at the unexpected -never mind fast- move, I rolled to the side as the dragon swept past me and quickly turned around to see it going back into the air. It turned, looking down at me, and I was blinded for an instant as it flared its massive wings.

So this is your true form… I thought, getting the message.

The Elder Dragon and I locked eyes for a moment before it dived once again, forcing me into another roll to dodge. It landed hard, shaking the ground as it turned to me and snarled.

Getting up, I exhaled slowly as I drew my weapon from my back and spun it above my head before dropping into my stance.

"Come at me." I said.

-Play "Reincarnation of Light and Darkness"-

Responding to my challenge, the Shagaru Magala roared and leaped forward as I charged with a war cry of my own.

Immediately, I sent my kinsect at the monster and used my weapon as a pole to jump into the air, avoiding the charge.

I felt a familiar rush of power as my kinsect returned to me and I twirled my weapon once more before running at my foe. The Shagaru Magala turned as I jumped and swung the Leumundslist in a front flip attack, followed by a double vertical slash aimed at its horns. But, clearly, the monster had learned from our previous encounters and leaped back to avoid the blade made of its former shell. Then, it inhaled and spat a ball of purple and white fire at me. Rolling to the side, I dodged the attack before dashing toward my nemesis.

It was only when I was a couple of feet away from the monster that I realized that I hadn't heard the fireball explode. Eyes widening, I quickly glanced behind me and I could only watch the purple and white sphere explode into three smaller ones before one hit home and sent me rolling to the ground.

Grunting as I felt the Frenzy Virus entering me, I jumped out of the way as the Shagaru Magala swung one of its wingclaws in an attempt to crush me and retaliated with a leaping roundhouse slash. Snarling, the monster swept its tail at me, forcing me to block the blow with the Leumundslist.

Gritting my teeth, I swung my weapon in a diagonal slash at the monster's flank before performing a back flipping slash in order to gain some distance, dodging a ball of purple fire as I did.

I exhaled heavily as I locked eyes with the Shagaru Magala.

The Dance had only just begun.

-Scene Break-

"So far, so good..." Fang muttered as his partner dodged yet another purple explosion before retaliating with a quick stab to the Shagaru Magala's wing.

Sticking to his promise, the Ace Palico was watching the fight from one of the many rocky outcroppings that surrounded the small arena-like place that was the Sanctuary. Though he wished his companion wasn't so stubborn to even refuse the boosting and healing he could give. Like it or not, Fang knew better than to betray a promise.

However, that didn't mean he wouldn't step in if the situation went FUBAR. Loosing his honor, he could live with. Loosing his partner to a monster while he was standing there watching, he would rather die a thousand times over.

Still, it seemed that he wouldn't have to resort to drastic measures... for now, at least.

The battle had been going for more than half a dozen minutes, and while the Shagaru Magala had managed to get a few hits on Fang's companion, it was nothing a potion couldn't heal. The monster's body, on the other hand, was already covered with scratches and cuts from the many blows it had suffered from the glaive. But while the Palico knew his friend could heal from most injuries, he also knew that the Shagaru Magala only needed one good hit to turn the fight into his favor, while Fang's partner needed to constantly control the pace of the battle.

All in all, both Hunter and Monster were already at the point where a single mistake from either part would most likely be fatal. This was, probably, the result of them having fought against each other several times.

Fang almost wished his partner would have chosen a different kind of weapon for this fight in order to be more unpredictable, but he knew that the insect glaive was the weapon his friend was the most proficient with.

An ear-splitting roar snapped him out of his musing and he could only watch as the Shagaru Magala spat a big sphere of purple and white fire into the air, where it proceeded to split into a dozen smaller fireballs that rained down the earth.

-Scene Break-

"Oh SHIT!" I shouted as I struggled to dodge the many fireballs that rained around me. It seemed that my nemesis still had some aces up his sleeves, if that new move was any indication.

While all monsters had a set of patterns that hunters could analyze and watch to the point they could predict what their target would do, it was impossible to predict random possibilities such as where and when the rain of fireballs would impact.

I have to get away from there or I'll just be as good as a sitting duck!

Using my staff as a jumping pole, I jumped backward in order to escape the danger zone I was in but I soon realized my mistake as I saw the Shagaru Magala leap into the air before it dived through the fireball rain and rammed into me.

I felt myself spitting blood right as I impacted the ground and was sent into a roll-out.

Coughing harshly, I slowly got on one knee and snatched a mega-potion from my belt before drinking its contents down in one gulp. I instantly felt the enhanced medicine work to heal the damage my body suffered and I sighed in relief.

Taking a deep breath, I got up and twirled my weapon as I saw the monster charge at me. Once more, I sent my kinsect ahead before I rolled away from my foe before spinning forward with the Leumundslist into a series of slashes aimed at its legs. Loosing its balance in the midst of his charge, the Shagaru Magala fell on his side with a startled snarl.

Not one to let the opportunity slip by, I jumped on the monster's back and started to hack its flesh with my knife. Thing is, a hunter's carving knife is made of one of the strongest metal in the world. That's why it can carve materials off monsters that easily.

Roaring in pain, my ride immediately got back up and thrashed around, trying to get me off its back. But I held on with all the strength my arms and legs could muster as I relentlessly continued to stab it.

Then, suddenly, it stopped and started to charge a fireball in its mouth.

"No you don't!" I shouted, realizing that it was going to use that rain move again. With a grunt, I jumped off its back and swung my weapon at its head.

With a loud *crack*, one of the Shagaru Magala's horns broke.

The monster reared in pain with a loud howl and I used that short time to gain some distance.

I felt a chill as it looked at me with furious eyes before it leaped into the air, flared his wings and roared, forcing me to cover my ears. I felt a rush of power as I felt the components of my armor react to the challenge but didn't have the time to dwell on it as I noticed the ground suddenly glow under me.

Diving to the side, I watched as a pulse of Frenzy Energy erupted from the spot I was standing on and cursed. The entire sanctuary itself must have absorbed frenzy crystals, and now those crystals were resonating with the Shagaru Magala.

In other words, the entire battlefield had just become a mine field.

I turned my gaze back to my nemesis as it landed and twirled my weapon. It was time to finish this fight.

With a war cry, I ran at my foe, who accepted the challenge and met me halfway. Claws and scales met blade as our own weapons clashed once, twice, and again, sending sparks flying.

Faster.

The Leumundslist became a blur as I swung it.

Stronger.

I started to push the monster back.

Without hesitation.

I became a whirlwind of blades which only purpose was to take down my opponent.

This is the Hunt!

The Shagaru Magala howled in pain as it reared back once more, a deep gash on its belly dripping dark blood on the ground.

This is what I do best!

I leaped into a roundhouse slash, breaking one of its wings.

This is what I live for!

I jumped into the air as the monster roared and brought my weapon down.

I. AM. A HUNTER!

-Scene Break-

Cathar

"Hey, look! The skies are clearing!"

It was the shout of one of the children that made everyone's gaze snap back to Heaven's Mount. Indeed, they could see the dark clouds that had formed around the mountain disappear from their observation spot.

For a moment, everyone was silent as their minds processed the implications of that event. Then,

"HUNTER-SAN DID IT!" Miss Forge shouted at the top of her lungs before she started jumping around in joy.

"I can barely believe it... is the Calamity truly over?" the grand Guru muttered in disbelief.

"It would seem that our fellow hunter has managed to beat the odds yet again." The Ace Leader said, a small smile on his lips as he shook his head.

As everyone rejoiced of the Hunter's victory over the elder dragon, the Caravaneer stayed silent as his eyes went from the Article in his hands to Heaven's Mount.

Then, he smiled before laughing loudly. "Har har! I don't know why did I even bothered to worry! It's the kindred hunter we're talking about, after all!" he said, to the others' amusement.

-Scene Break-

I stumbled slightly as I leaned against a stone, trying to catch my breath.

Beside me, Fang shook his head. "Geez... You really had to go overboard, didn't you, nya?"

I gave a tired chuckle at that. "Look on the bright side. At least I'm alive and still in one piece."

The Palico snorted. "Right, nya. Because the fact that you didn't even stop to rest even once since the battle is good for your health. Seriously, nya, you should have at least taken the time to heal some of your wounds. I know the journey back to Cathar is a couple hours long, but still..."

I sighed, smiling. "You know as much as I do that they are probably worrying sick about me right now. Besides, I think I'll take a long vacation after that."

Fang narrowed his eyes at me. "You'd better, nya. Else, I'll bind you with a rope and drag you to Sunsnug Isle myself."

I laughed, bringing my hands up. "All right, all right. But let's focus on going back to Cathar first, shall we?"

It took us three hours to go back to Cathar because of my exhaustion. But when we saw the smiling faces of everyone waiting for us at the end of the bridge, even Fang admitted that it was worth it (kind of).

As we slowly crossed the final steps of the bridge, the Caravaneer stepped forward and brought up his hand in a warrior's salute.

"Welcome back." he said.

I smiled, gripping his hand tightly.

"Good to be back."

A/N: 1: I let the name and gender of the Hunter remain unknown on purpose.

2: Yes, the Shagaru Magala went into the Pokemon Universe and learned Draco Meteor.

3: Insect Glaive is the best.

And that's it! A MH4U one-shot and I hope you enjoyed that!

Please review and give me your opinion!

This MidnightFenrir, author of "Heaven's Wheel", signing out.

PS: My others stories aren't dead! I'm just working on, like, 4 chapters at the same time. And I'm halfway done so I should update in the following weeks (I hope).