Chapter 2: Fighting For Fun?

Rayna climbed onto the airship just before it took off, tossing a pickaxe to Kimothy, who grunted in thanks. Hawk grinned. "I don't suppose you grabbed one for me, did you?" Rayna glared at him, and he shrugged. "I suppose that was too much to wish for. Ah well. Guess I'll have to beg. Oh look, I can see the island. Who's ready for a hunt?"

Kimothy narrowed his eyes at Hawk. "You haven't hunted before, tiny man. This won't be any different. It's a harvest tour."

"That may be, but apparently it's an unstable environment. They've sighted Arzuros in the area, so there may be a large monster after all." Rayna said, holding the job notice. "The question is, go on a hunt or just farm?"

"I don't know 'bout all of you, but I'm in the mood to take out a big one. Who'll join me?" Kimothy said, brandishing his hammer and stepping off the airship, which had just landed. "I'll be off." Hawk jumped over the side of the ship, following Kimothy and beckoning the other two.

"You gonna join us?" He called, jogging after the larger man. "Flak, at least serve me with some cover fire. It'll be just like old times!"

"You mean all the Jaggi? The ones you would hit once as a distraction then let me deal with them? Yeah, I bet it will be." Flak said. "I'm gonna stick with Rayna here and make sure she doesn't get surrounded. If you guys get in over your heads, just shout, and maybe we'll help you. If you're lucky."

"No, if they scream, we will go to help them. It may take a bit, but whatever." Rayna paused. "Did you hear something?"

"Sounded like a roar of some sort."


"Cripes, that's huge!" Hawk yelled, cowering as the Arzuros charged the pair. "I've never seen anything so big in my life!"

"Seriously? It's only six meters tall! Just wait till you see the Jhen Mohran! Now, shut up and let me concentrate." He pulled out his hammer. "I have to time this just right."

The Arzuros roared again and sped up, preparing to tackle Kimothy. As it came within range, Kimothy struck. He swung his hammer up, slamming into the beast's lower jaw and sending it reeling. It blinked and Kimothy hefted his hammer. "You get behind it and start slashing its back. I'll keep its attention here." Hawk stood, frozen in awe. "NOW!" Kimothy roared, taking a step forward and dealing another blow to the dazed Arzuros's skull. Hawk shook his head to clear it and ran behind the beast, drawing his swords. Hesitantly, he swung, slicing into its back.

The Arzuros turned to swat him, but Kimothy's next swing sent it rolling sideways, missing Hawk entirely. "If I have to keep protecting you, you're going to end up extremely sore 'cause you have my hammer lodged firmly in your rectum! Got it?"

"Crystal clear, captain. I'll be careful next LOOK OUT!" Kimothy dove sideways, narrowly dodging a paw swipe. Kimothy nodded and hefted his hammer again. "Let's take this thing down."


Rayna shrugged. "I'm sure they're fine. Let's head to the cave. You got a torch?" Flak nodded. "Alright, let's go. I need some iron." They started jogging to the cave. Along the way, they got in a minor scuffle with a small pack of Jaggi, but nothing they couldn't handle. Soon they arrived at the cave.

They scouted the area for a mining spot, then settled in to mine. As Rayna swung the pickaxe, they started talking.

"So, you went to school with Hawk?" Rayna asked.

"Yeah, but his name isn't really Hawk. He saw a hawk swoop down and steal the class pet, and decided the best way to become a hunter like a Hawk would be to call himself Hawk, and now that's what he goes by."

"So what's his real name?"

"Karl. Not quite as impressive, is it? Anyway... Ah, look, a Giggi. I've been waiting for one of those. Go ahead and keep going, I got this." He pulled out his Bowgun and took aim. "If only this came with a better sight. It's so difficult to shoot straight with this." He pulled the trigger and a puff of dirt rose to the left of the Giggi, who ignored it and kept crawling towards them. "See?" He re-aimed and took fire again, this time hitting the Giggi and killing it. "Ah, yes, that worked. Uh, you ok?"

Rayna looked up. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She looked down and saw the Giggi that had latched onto her leg. "Oh, alright. Here, hand me that torch." Flak handed her the torch and she smacked the Giggi with it, burning it and making it let go. She then stepped on the Giggi's head and drew her sword, stabbing down into its body and killing it. She withdrew her blade, wiped it clean, and sheathed it again. "Here, give me the first-aid kit, I'm still bleeding."

As she dressed her wound, Flak kept an eye out for anymore of the parasites. "So, when did you graduate?" He asked. She looked up. "Oh, right, hunting school. Never actually did go to school for training. My father actually taught me how to fight. This was actually a sword he made himself. It was the last thing he ever gave me." She went quiet. "He went off on a hunt and never returned. I think he said he was hunting a Nargacuga of some sort, some extremely rare subspecies. No one came back, and his party was the most well-known hunting group of all time. 'The Happy Hunters.' My mother never gave up hope though. She still keeps watch in case he comes back."

"Wow. That's quite a story. You know, I think we got to see The Happy Hunters in action once. We had a class field trip one day to watch them capture a Pink Rathian. Hawk actually missed that day. But watching them work together… Man that was amazing!" Rayna looked up at him, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "Oh, crap, I'm so sorry for your loss. I, well, I wasn't thinking all that hard. Uh… Let's go find the others. I wonder what they're up to."


"So you're telling me this is the first large monster you've ever seen at all?" Kimothy asked as his swing shattered the Arzuros's wrist brace. "Here, catch." He tossed one of the shards to Hawk, who caught it and dropped it in his pack. He drew his swords and slashed the beast's leg, sending it rolling again. It tried to stand, but Kimothy's hammer came down and knocked it down again. It groaned in pain. "Finish it off. Its bones are too thick for my hammer to break through. There are two spots, either right here," he poked at a spot on its ribs, "Or here." He pointed at its eye. It's too weak to fight back. Hurry up, it's in pain."

Hawk took a step toward the beast. He raised his sword. "I… I can't." He dropped his sword and fell to his knees, looking the fallen beast in the eye. "I know it's in pain, but I can't do it."

Kimothy stepped forward and scooped up the fallen sword. "You're weak. A monster hunter that can't kill. You make me sick." He drove the sword into the Arzuros's heart, killing it. "Here." He threw the bloody sword at Hawk. "Clean it, leave it bloody, I don't care. I can't work with you if you can't do the job you decided to do." He pulled out his knife and started skinning the Arzuros. "A hunter that can't make a kill… pfft." He muttered. He looked at Hawk. "I can't believe you. Top of your class and you can't kill anything? How did that happen?"

"Flak made all the kills and let me take credit. I knew all the book stuff, but I never had the stomach for it. I heard that we were going to watch a group hunt a Pink Rathian and I got physically sick. But I couldn't quit, I couldn't disappoint my father. So I stayed in the hunting school and passed. I was hoping that eventually I could overcome it, but now I don't know if it will happen before it's too late. That's why Flak is staying with me, he's here to make sure I survive. Will… Will you stick with me too?"

"Why should I? You can't hold up your end of the agreement. The swordsman is supposed to make all the kills. The hammer wielder keeps the monster out of it, and the gunner hits from afar. That's why every crew ends up with those three classes."

"I can still fight. Besides, we have two swordsmen, me and Rayna. Why can't she do it, and I just do damage?"

"Why can't I do what?" Rayna said, having arrived in time for Hawk's last comment.

"Hawk here can't kill." Kimothy said.

Rayna looked at him. "Are you kidding me? You can't kill?"

"No, it's true. I can't kill." Hawk said, hanging his head in shame.

Rayna shook her head. "A hunter who can't kill monsters… Can you at least wield your swords?"

Hawk nodded. "I can fight, but I can't strike the final blow. It's something I'm trying to get over."

Rayna sighed. "Alright, fine. You can stay, but if you're not over it by the time we reach Rank 2, you're out, got it?"

"Alright, fine. I'll work on it."

Flak stepped forward. "Can we do another Harvest tour after we finish here? I'll work with him while you guys gather. Don't worry, he'll be better in no time."

Kimothy stood up, his knife still in hand. In his other hand, he held the Arzuros's heart. "He'd better get better. Otherwise this'll be a waste." He cut the heart into four pieces. "Back where I come from, a group of hunters, upon making their first large monster kill, splits the beast heart and eat it. This seals them together forever. The only way to lose the support of their comrades is to die. So, if you partake, we're bound to help each other through thick and thin. We'll make sure Hawk becomes a great hunter, we'll help each other become the best that we can be. We will rise through the ranks and become the greatest hunters ever."

"We'll become the next Happy Hunters." Flak said, giving Rayna a look. She smiled and nodded.

"We'll follow in the footsteps of those who came before." She said.

They each took a piece of the heart. "We will become the ultimate monster hunters." Hawk said. Kimothy raised his heart chunk, the others following suit.

"To the future." He whispered, and they each took a bite,


So, that's their first mission for the guild. What'd you think? It was half past midnight when I finished, so if you see any errors go ahead and tell me, I'll fix it. Anyway, thanks for reading.

I'll be accepting OCs at any point in the story, and I'll definitely have an outline for what exactly I want for them by next chapter. 'Til then, just send me name, weapon type, and characteristics.

We'll get to find out more about all the characters in chapters to come, but 'til then, review with any questions or comments, and I'll respond to the first in story and the second before each chapter.