Chapter 7 Preparations and Goodbyes

It was three thirty in the morning and nothing was stirring in the village, except in a two story house where a large man was attempting to wake up another man, "Come on we need to get ready" the large man spoke as he nudged the blanket covering the sleeping one, in a split second a hand shot out from under the covers and grabbed the large man by the front of his shirt "If you don't go away Kiryu, I'm going to carve you like a bullfango!" came a groggy voice from under the blanket, belonging to one Rekka who was by no means a morning person.

Using his strength Kiryu pulled his shirt from the grip of his brother's hand and proceeded down the stairs in full knowledge that his brother would rise from his bed any second now. Back in the room the tired form of Rekka swung his legs off the bed and rose into a sitting position even though every fibre in his body protested, he placed his head into his palms and rubbed his eyes in a hope of removing the tiredness, once done he stood up and stretched his body to help awaken his muscles. Turning to face his bed he went down on one knee and then reached out towards his bedpost, he retrieved his link chain made from eltalite ore, from the chain hung a wood and metal cross, the wood at the centre of the cross was Yukumo oak and had the word 'GOD' engraved into it in dark red letters, while surrounding the wood was gracium ore which he mined in the tundra region and glows pure white in sunlight.

Rekka held the cross in his hand and against his chest and begun to pray. "Now I start my day of hunt, I pray the Lord my soul to watch, if I die before it's done, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen" standing up Rekka placed the cross around his neck; he then grabbed a sleeveless dark red shirt that was hanging over the bottom of his bed and put it on over his naked torso covering the few scars on his torso, received from some fierce hunts. Walking down the stairs he saw the trap door to the basement already open so he proceeded down the ladder to find his brother busy putting on his Rathalos S mail, his greaves and tasset already in place. Once Rekka's feet touched the floor he turned to his right and headed over to a small table against the wall with two small buckets, one with water and the other empty, Rekka splashed some of the cold water in his face before he picked up a small wooden red toothbrush and then grabbed a small flat stick and scraped some blue paste out of a wooden jar, then he wiped the paste onto the bristles of his brush and proceeded to brush his teeth.

Rekka now stood at the opposite end of the room from his brother, before him was a large chest with the symbol for Yukumo village and the kanji for Narugakuruga on either side of the symbol, on the wall above the chest hung weapons of all types, mainly longswords and under the weapons on either side of the chest were wooden mannequins covered in various helms and chest plates, below each one was a box containing the lower halve of the armour and the vambraces plus matching materials encase of repairs, Rekka walked up to the first armour on his right and bent down to retrieve the greaves of his Ceanataur S armour and pulled them on an tightened the straps, Once the greaves were secured he reached down and grabbed his tasset and strapped it into place, walking towards the wall he retrieved eight throwing knives all of which had their tips soaked in a concoction mixed from the poisons of a Yian Garuga and a Dosufurogi's sac, with all eight knives the poison could weaken a fully grown Tigrex. Rekka placed the knives into special slots on his greaves that Hoki the Blacksmith modified for him.

Once the knives were in place along his right thigh, Rekka grabbed his pre-packed hunting pouch that hung from the wall, the pouch was unusually bigger than the average hunters pouch due to the Gypceros hide sown into the lining for extra protection, inside the pouch was some basics; five mega potions, five power juices, one max potion, five flash bangs and ten sonic bombs plus ten herbal medicines and most importantly eight whetstones. Rekka strapped the pouch to the back of his tasset and adjusted it until he was comfortable, then he picked up his Ninja Blade and slid it in place. Rekka grabbed some black crepe bandages off a small shelf and began to wrap them tightly around his hand from the bottom of his fingers to a few centimetres from his elbow, then carefully he removed his Ceanataur S Mail from the mannequin and put it on, once in place he tightened the straps. Rekka picked up his vambraces from the box and slipped them on.

Rekka now stood almost fully clad in his Ceanataur S Armour, leaving the helm for the moment he walked back to the wall, there he placed his hands on one of his most favourite longswords, its beautiful midnight blue sheath with dark purple lace wrapped around, the masterfully crafted extendable handle and tsuba (Guard), while from the hilt hung a red talon attached to a small chain. Slowly he removed it from the wall and secured it to his back, the last thing Rekka put on before his helm was a red tenugui (bandana) made from Rathalos webbing which helps keep his head cool while wearing the helm. Turning Rekka watch as his brother lifted his Crimson Wall Greatsword with ease and strapped it to his back, "You say your morning prays?" Rekka asked in a serious tone "like I'd forget!" Kiryu answered irritably as he faced Rekka.

Kiryu turned and headed out their basement door which led to the garden, as he and his brother stepped through the door frames the morning air hit them, it was still very cool and crisp and the sun hadn't even started to rise in the morning sky, checking the time to find it a few minutes past four, they walked around the house remembering to lock the door behind them, they were headed to their parents' inn to meet up with the captain and his sergeant.

It was four thirty and most places were still shut, the only exception was the Thundering Jinouga Inn where the staff members were getting ready for the breakfast crowd, at the bar sat Capt. Ibiki and Sgt. Mel along with the rookie hunter, right now they were waiting for the brothers to arrive as well as the rest of the Guild Knights who had taken up residence at the gathering hall for the night. The Captain and sergeant were busy discussing the idea Rekka had brought forward, it was to detour to a small trade village on the border of the Sand Plains and Great Desert, while the town was in a different direction than Loc Lac City, if they got there they could catch a sand ship and arrive at Loc Lac two days earlier plus it saved everyone a walk through the burning furnace known as the Great Desert and any possible Jhen encounters, the only hiccup was the route took them along the edge of the Great Forest, an area known for Narugakuruga attacks.

As they came to a decision the brothers entered through the front doors "Morning captain, sergeant" Rekka and Kiryu announced their arrival, "WOW you guys are actually Greatsword users!" Sgt. Mel exclaimed without thinking, "Longsword! his is a Greatsword" said Rekka with mild irritation at having his fast and beautifully crafted longsword referred to as a slow and hulking Greatsword. "Long time since I've seen a Devil Slicer" Capt Ibiki spoke while admiring the brothers' weapons "True Devil Slicer!" Kiryu started "And mine is the Crimson Wall, ah the monsters me and this blade have brought down," "Also a gift and what's hanging off their hilts?" Sgt. Mel interrupted and instantly wished she hadn't "NO, we gathered the materials and hunted the monsters that make up these blades ourselves and the object hanging from the hilts is a Power Talon made from a Loa-Shan Lung claw, one we helped repel !" Rekka spoke with so much venom that Sgt. Mal had to take a step back, his blood and sweat went into gaining the necessary materials for his equipment, he wasn't some bloody guild member, most of whom received their equipment from the Guild. Who in turn made it from materials gathered through quests completed by hunters.

Before Rekka could say anymore a large hand landed on his shoulder, "Relax grumpy, I know you're not a morning person but still" came the jolly voice of his father which seemed to calm him down quite a bit. Sgt. Mel seemed to forget the elder brother as she now noticed something on the right shoulder of the father, just like his sons he had a tribal tattoo with kanji under it, only difference was that the image was of a Jinouga, deciding to find out what the purpose of the tattoos were, she started to speak "Sorry if I ma..." unfortunately she never got any further "Oh, your troops are standing outside like lost Popos Captain" Kiryu bellowed out drowning out the sergeant. The captain left and returned a few minutes later with his troops in tow, they all found a place to sit and order food while the brothers simply went to eat in the kitchen. As the troops neared the end of their meals and the breakfast crowed had started to fill up the inn, approaching the captain was a haggard looking huntress, when she arrived near the captain's table she spoke "Sorry to intrude, but I'd like to know how I can get my storage box" she asked quietly, "Well, I will have to speak with the chief and see what can be arranged" Capt. Ibiki replied unsure of how he would solve the problem.

Once the captain and his subordinates had finished eating they collected their equipment and headed for the door, behind them were Tatsuo and Tsuruko each carrying a large bag. As they all arrived in front of the Village Chief, they found the brothers standing next to four Felynes who in turn was holding onto a Felyne wagon with two storage chest fastened down, not far from them was four hunters, Sgt. Mel recognized one as Akodo. The sergeant walked towards him waving to catch his attention "Morning" she started "So is this your team?" she jested towards the three hunters next to him, Akodo smiled "Morning Sgt. Mel, yip these are my teammates, well except him" Akodo greeted and explained while pointing at a man in Hermitaur Armour, "His joining us on a routine patrol as a favour to Rekka and since his team is recovering from injures due to a failed quest to slay a Rathalos, but don't say anything" Akodo whispered so only Sgt. Mel could hear him and she nodded, "Yeah so the guy in Battle armour holding the Paladin Lance+ is Sean, the girl cleaning her Sandfall bowgun is Miyo and the guy with the Kut-Ku Jaw Hammer is Fredrick" Akodo announced and each one raised their hand when their name was spoken.

While Sgt. Mel was getting to know Akodo's team, Capt. Ibiki was listening to the chief "So as I have discussed with the brothers, the felynes are going to travel with you to drop off their storage chests and pick up the chests of the hunters you brought here, the team going with is a routine patrol and they are there mainly to protect the felynes on the way back" the lovely elder explained while the captain nodded thankfully, since his earlier problem was resolved for him, the captain bid the Chief farewell and a thank you for all her help, he looked around and saw the brothers speaking to their parents while receiving two large bags.

Kiryu had just received a large bag from his mother and was dying to see inside "So what's inside huh huh?" "Well the chefs made you two special bento boxes; we put in a few bottles of sake and a few bags of rice" Tsuruko explained "Now don't drink all the sake in one night, you hear me?" Tatsuo ordered, "Hai!" was the brothers' answer to the stupid order "Also remember to keep notes; I want to know all about the new monsters you encounter when you get back." "That's Rekka's deal, Otosan" Kiryu sighed as he answered his father, Rekka had heard his father's request and nodded before giving his mother a hug and wishing her well, he then turned to his father and they shook hands, but before he could release his father pulled him into a hug and patted him on the back telling him to be safe and to look out for his brother. Kiryu followed suite and hugged his mother, kissing her on the forehead and then went through the same process as his brother when he shook his father's hand.

As everybody bid farewell and headed towards the gate they started to notice a small crowd forming at the Village gates, as they started walking through the crowed people wished the brothers well and a safe return. Nearing the last of the crowed a little girl appeared in front of the group and the captain recognized her as the girl from yesterday, minus the pot on her head. The little girl ran up to Rekka, who went down on one knee as the little girl stopped in front of him, as she shuffled her feet she held out object wrapped in a brown cloth and Rekka accepted the gift with a small smile and slipped it into his pouch, the little girl stood on her tip toes and whispered something into Rekka's ears, once she stood down Rekka ruffled her hair and stood, but instead of walking to the gate he walked towards his chest, the felynes pulling the wagon stop and wait for Rekka to finish retrieving a largish package. Rekka returned to where the girl was standing, "Here you go Ayako-chan, I was going to give it to you on your birthday, but I don't know if I'll be back by then!" Rekka gentle explained to the girl who seemed slightly sad at the thought, "Go on, open it" Rekka encouraged the girl, Ayako smiled brightly before quickly unwrapping the cloth around the present.

Ayako felt like the happiest girl in the world, starring in wonder at the presents Rekka had given her, the first being a wooden helm which looked just like a Narga S helm and the best of all were the two wooden swords beautiful carved in the image of real Twin Dagger dual swords, Akyako instantly put the helm on and leaped at Rekka and hugged him as tight as she could, thanking him profusely with a wooden sword in each hand. Only a few steps away stood Sgt. Mel in full amazement at the sight before her as she never would have pegged the cold, monotone youth as someone that would be good with kids "Whoa never would have thought he had a heart" Sgt. Mel spoke softly to herself, "Yeah my brother has a soft spot when it comes to kids" was the reply from Kiryu causing the sergeant to cringe slightly and blush at having been heard.

The group had left the village gates and where now making their way down the path towards the convoy, they were making good time since there weren't any injured parties to worry about; the captain was in front of the group and was lost in thought, wondering how the convoy had fared over the past two nights. The group carried on walking mostly in silence only the hunters at the back would talk every now again. In the middle of the group Rekka and Kiryu walked just behind the rookie, "What's your name?" Kiryu asked since this hunter would be tagging along with them and most likely be fighting with them in the future, the hunter looked nervous "My name is Dan" he spoke with no sense of conviction at all, meanwhile Rekka had noticed how the rookie seemed to shake slightly every time something made a noise.

Dan was not in the best of places, no matter how hard he tried to control his fears. Every time something moved or made a noise his body shook and images of his friends getting injured played through his head and now that the light had started to fade and the vegetation around them seem to become darker his fears became worse. All of sudden a loud animalistic cry could be heard nearby, without thinking Dan grabbed his Serpent Bite SNS with his left hand and spun to his right, Rekka took action while in mid-step by adjusting his right foot's destination to step more right while leaning back at the same time, He watched as the blade sailed past his helm only centimetres away from his eyes before it came to a dead stop via the way of Kiryu's right hand grabbing Dan's left. Kiryu had watch the whole event take place in a matter of seconds and was not pleased as this rookie was more dangerous to the group than a wild beast, so he applied pressure to the man's hand causing him to drop his weapon.

Rekka was not pleased, but calmed himself before he reacted so he pulled off his helm and walked up to the rookie and spoke calmly "Listen to me and listen carefully, I understand your still shook up with what happen to your teammates, but you better pull it together because if this is how you're going to react when a Aptonoth makes a noise, then you're going to end up killing someone. You Understand?" the rookie nodded quickly realizing he was in the wrong and what could have happened if the two near him were as inexperienced as him. Kiryu let go of his hand and continued on his way, Rekka put his helm back on and followed his brother, the rest of the group remained silent and seemed to walk a distance behind the rookie, giving Dan the feeling that they were worried he might do something stupid again.