Yukari came through. In my hand I hold a sheet of paper detailing the weapon trees of the various weapons that are used to hunt the monsters of this land. So far I've managed to upgrade most of my weapons to the limits of what few beasts I managed to slay within the locations of the Snowy Mountains and the Jungle, and today will be my final hunt in the jungle before I attempt the harsh conditions of the Desert. My prey is a beast I have met many times before already, and today should be no different.
A Yian Kut-ku.
I go through a few of the katas Hong Meiling taught me, refreshing their movements in my memory, for the time I return to Gensokyo. So far I haven't had the need to use any of the really special skills I've picked up there, but once in a while I practice them so as to keep them polished. Then again, hitting something with a Ki-charged Hammer is rather impressive to see.
I've made enough money to buy just about everything I've needed, such as the Combo Books and Potions; I don't really get hurt much, but given the hostile environment, it's best to be on the safe side.
After eating a quick meal cooked by my Usagis, I check with Akyuu to make sure that no one has taken the quest before accepting it from her and heading off to the Jungle. I left Nerin behind this time.
Mushroom Tree and Trenya are doing well. Completed nearly all of the other quests except for those in the Desert so far... doing well, I'm like a prodigy, they say... I write in my journal, recording my adventure in this world. Starting to miss Gensokyo a lot more now...
"We're here!" The balloonist informs me.
I nod to him and close my journal. "Thanks."
Just as I get into line for the boats, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I see Reisen smiling at me. It reminds me of my own Reisen... damn, I miss her, but they aren't the same person, even if they look alike.
"What a coincidence, Ikuto! What are you hunting today?"
I flash my quest papers. "Another Yian Kut-ku. You?"
She shows me hers. "A Congalala. My first."
"Ah, be careful not to get hit by its poo, then."
"Wait, its POO?" She sounds revolted. I don't blame her.
"Nobody told you yet? One of the Congalala's attacks is to fling its own dung at its enemy."
"Ewwww... I wouldn't want to get hit by that. Not at all."
Yeah... this Reisen is different. Mine was a lot more timid... mainly because Eirin keeps drugging her while Tewi pranks her on a daily basis. I move up with the queue, and hand my papers to the maiden manning the counter. Berth Seven, huh?
"So where are you headed?" Reisen asks, after getting her own tag.
"Seven."
"Huh? Mine's Seven too." She holds up her tag to let me see.
"That's odd..." I glance in the direction we're supposed to go. "Let's go check at the berth."
The man there looks through our papers before handing them back to us and informing both of us that somehow our respective preys are in the same area. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen sometimes. In such cases, it becomes an unofficial group hunt. She can help me on mine, I can help her on hers, but if either one drops first, the hunter in charge of that beast will get retrieved.
I glance at Reisen out of the corner of my eye. "Work together?"
She shrugs and hops into the boat. "Sure. Let's go."
We talk more on our way to the place. Similar to my Reisen, she's often sent by her Eirin to gather materials for some kind of research the woman is carrying out. When I ask how they met, apparently Reisen was picked up one day when she ran away from her previous home. Eirin discovered her good eyesight and hand-eye coordination, and proceeded to train Reisen in ranged weaponry. However, Reisen lacked the strength to properly wield a Bow, so she picked up the Light Bowgun instead.
In return, I tell her my own 'history' here. I trained with a sword master (Youmu), and improved my physical abilities by training with a martial arts mistress (Meiling), until my handler (Yukari) sent me out to test my skills. Reisen is slightly jealous when she sees how much I've progressed since the last time we've seen each other, but I point out that I've only been working on improving my equipment, not taking on harder monsters.
When we reach the base camp, we gather our supply items and look at each other.
"Go together? Or move alone?" I ask.
"Alone would be better. We both aren't used to group hunting yet." Reisen taps her arm gear. "Signal me if you spot either one, okay?"
I give her a thumbs up. "Got it. I'll go this way." I point to the east.
"And I'll go that way." Reisen points to the west, towards the beach.
"Let's hunt!"
Part 4: Preys and Partners
I run through the brush, keeping my senses alert for any dangers. Nothing's up in the air, but I don't let my guard down. The smell of the forest fills my nose; chlorophyll and dirt. My ears pick up a buzzing over the rustling of the leaves; Vespoids in the area. Soft grass crunching... the cause is light in weight, probably Keibis. I peek around a particularly tall plant, and confirm my guess.
I'll pass on these today. Standing up, I run past them, heading for the route to the next area. If I'm right...
The moment I enter the next area, I quickly duck behind a bush. My suspicions are spot-on; the Yian Kut-ku is in this area.
A pelican-like beak, two long ears that will open up to show its aggressive nature, a shiny red carapace that covers its entire body from head to tail, and two wings with leathery webbing. That is how a Yian Kut-ku looks like.
Hasn't spotted me yet... I ready the Paintball in my pouch, and confirm the position of the Sonic Bomb. Come on, come a little closer...
The grass crunches beneath its feet as it steps closer towards my location, then it stops and looks around. The moment its head turns away, I make my move.
NOW! I dash out from my hiding spot and fling the tiny ball in my hand, just as it turns back. Yes, got it in the eye! My arm gear beeps, registering its marking on my radar. Moments later, it beeps again, as Reisen signals me back. Looks like she's coming here.
The wyvern tosses its head, screeching in discomfort as it hops up and down. I quickly pull my Hammer out from its holster, and start hitting its legs. The jumping makes it hard for my strikes to properly deal any damage, but that doesn't mean my strikes are useless. One particularly heavy hit makes it stagger, dipping slightly towards the side I'm attacking.
I can tell when it has managed to blink the paint out of its eye, when it suddenly flares its wings, cawing angrily. Then something impacts the side of its head, causing it to reel.
"Need a little help?" Reisen calls, at the far end of the area, right in front of the path to the area she came from.
"Not really! But I don't mind!" I call back. "Shoot again! At its head!"
I pull my weapon back, readying it for a heavy attack, and run around to the opposite side Reisen is on. Then I unleash my whirlwind swing on its legs, and again and again. Each blows makes the target foot scrape slightly across the earth, affecting its balance. At the same time, Reisen fires shot after shot, hitting the Yian Kut-ku in the head without fail. I catch sight of her reloading, and pause slightly.
I think I got the timing... she's pulling it, cocking the Bowgun... NOW! I swing, putting my body into it.
My Hammer lands the same time her bullet hits, and the opposing motion pushes it over the tipping point; I curse and roll out of the way just as the Kut-ku crashes to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Moving around to where its head is, I lift my Hammer up and slam it home on its head. Behind me, I can hear Reisen running up, probably to fire some point-blank shots as well.
It caws. I swing. It caws. I swing. It caws. I swing. This seems a bit cruel...
"Pellet shot, coming right up!"
"Need to move?" I call as I pound the head again.
"Nope!" Reisen replies cheerfully. "Just keep swinging that big stick of yours!"
"It's not a stick! It's a Hammer!" I protest.
"Just shut up and swing!"
"You shut up and shoot!"
The bullets pelt its body, and the note of pain in the Kut-ku's screeches increases. It's also starting to recover; the legs aren't shaking so much anymore, and the claws are getting more purchase. I hit it underneath the chin for a stunning blow, then back off.
Suddenly, my eyes widen, and I spin around to look at Reisen. She hasn't noticed!
I dash straight for her, and she jerks in surprise, wondering why I'm running towards her. "Wha-"
"Look out!" I tackle her, pushing her small body with mine.
"Ungh!" Reisen grunts when I hit her, and our bodies go flying to crash onto the ground painfully. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"
Her reply comes in the form of a loud boom, in the location she was standing in. I grimace and roll off her, checking that I still have my weapon close to me. This might be bad...
The Congalala has dropped in. And if I hadn't noticed, Reisen might be paste by now.
"Th-thanks..." Reisen says shakily, realizing the same thing.
"No time for that now." I mutter grimly, flicking a Paintball at the Congalala to mark it as well. "Run? Or you want to try taking on two at once?"
Reisen stares nervously at the two beasts. "I don't know..."
I notice the Yian Kut-ku hopping in fury, screeching angrily. Damn, it's enraged now. Sonic Bombs won't work.
The Congalala... at first glance, it's like a gorilla, except with pink fur. However, there are a few definite differences apart from that. First, it has a long prehensile tail, which in this case is holding a blue mushroom. Second is that tuft of green hair on top of its head, shaped into the form of a small pointed horn. Lastly... it has sharp-looking claws instead of fingers. And it stinks pretty bad as well.
It growls at us, just as the Kut-ku does the same, clawing the earth with one foot.
"Get ready, Reisen." I warn the girl next to me.
"You're crazy! There's no way you can take on both at the same time!" She protests.
"You just have to know what their patterns. Keep an eye out for the Congalala, that's the more troublesome one. SPLIT!" I suddenly yell out, dashing off to the side.
Both of the monsters suddenly started charging, but they're interfering with each other, giving us the chance to avoid the attack. The Yian Kut-ku crashes to the ground at the end, but the Congalala manages to retain enough control to remain on its feet. I seize the opportunity to dash in and lay a few good hits on the Kut-ku before it manages to get up again.
The Congalala moves to attack, but coincidentally, the Kut-ku attempts a tail whip, which catches the ape across the faces. Howling in pain, it clutches its face.
"What are you doing?" I snap at a frozen Reisen. "Shoot them! Shoot!"
"Ah, ye-yes!" She quickly switches out her shot for a different type and levels the Bowgun at the beasts.
First, target the tail... I run around the side of the Congalala, and smack the tail. Something strikes it in the face, and explodes. Crag Shot. Good. Saves me some trouble breaking the horn later.
The Kut-ku launches a fireball at Reisen, but she rolls out of the way and returns a shot of her own.
The pink gorilla turns around to swipe at me, but I dodge backwards, then run in to slam its face. Unexpectedly, it jumps up, trying to crush me under it. I dash towards it, passing safely underneath it while it crashes to the ground behind me. Taking advantage of the Kut-ku's focus on Reisen, I perform the ground-breaking strike at its feet, making it stagger.
It turns around quickly, and my instincts scream a warning. It suddenly bursts into a frenzied charge, and although I try to dodge, its left wing clips my shoulder, knocking me down onto my butt.
"Ikuto!" Reisen shouts, worried.
"I'm fine!" I yell back at her. "Focus on them!"
A bestial scream makes me turn around. The impact of the Kut-ku proved to be the push needed for the Congalala to let go of its treasure, and it looks pretty angry; its face has turned a bruise-like red, and it's snorting visible smoke.
It's turning to look, and its tail- Oh shit, RUN! "POO ATTACK!" I scream, and dive to the side.
The stink that hits my nose with the pulse of air makes my face screw up instinctively, and Reisen has her own look of revulsion. But I don't have any time to waste thinking about that, because the Congalala begins a series of swipes, and I quickly skip backwards to avoid the final overswing, which causes it to fall head over heels onto its back.
The position exposes a very unexpected weak point, which I go for without hesitation. Rather than a growl or a grunt, it lets out a particularly high pitched squeal when my blow lands. I think it might be a good idea to wash my weapon afterwards, though.
"Watch out for the Kut-ku!" Reisen calls.
Oh shit! I quickly turn my attention towards the wyvern, who is charging for me while spitting fire to its sides as it tosses its head around. Left, right, left, distance calculated... dodge to the left!
Unexpectedly, the Congalala's tail picks that moment to whip up as the beast rolls to its feet, and I trip over it. The resulting tumble deprives me of the opportunity for a free hit, and when I try my luck, the Congalala suddenly sits up and puffs up with air, hardening its belly to the level of a rock. My Hammer bounces off, and I stumble backwards. Moments later, its head explodes in a burst of fire as Reisen blasts it with another shot of Crag.
"I'm out of Crag!" She calls out.
I quickly spare one hand to flash a thumbs up, to show that I heard, and bring it back to grip my weapon for a horizontal swing at the Congalala's head. There's a small crack, and the horn shatters. It claws at its head, snorting in discomfort. Glancing at the Kut-ku, I realize it's no longer enraged.
Now's my chance! I run around the Congalala towards the Kut-ku, coincidentally avoiding another belly flop. Eat Sonic Bomb!
The small grey ball explodes in a metallic-sounding burst, causing the Kut-ku to screech and start shaking its head. The effect is apparently so great that it doesn't even realize I'm smacking its head. I notice after a few whacks that its ears have folded, showing that it's safe to capture it if I so choose. I hit it another two more times before going for the Congalala, who is trying to hit a dodging Reisen.
Since its attention is turned away from me, I charge up a powerful spinning strike, and begin flailing at its back. A small pinging on the side of my armor tells me that Reisen is using Pellet Shot, but in my current state, it doesn't do anything to affect me.
My final culminating strike takes out its left leg behind the heel, and it topples over backwards. I move around to the head and pound away on its face; it tries to block with its hands, but I just alternate a little to make it expose my real target, and that is it.
The next few minutes are harrowing, especially when the Kut-ku finally snaps out of its daze and gets angry again. I quickly toss out one of my Flash Bombs, aiming it carefully so both monsters are affected, and finally the Congalala falls to a headshot. The moment that happens, I throw down a Stun Trap, and proceed to carve the ape for its bounty. The Kut-ku awakens, and practically runs into the trap, allowing me to put it out with Tranquilizers.
I slump down onto the ground at the same time the wyvern does, exhaling explosively. Reisen staggers over and drops down next to me, leaning on my hammer.
"That was TOUGH!" She exclaims, quaffing a Potion.
"Two monsters are just that hard... It'll be good experience for the future." I tell her, drinking one of my own.
"Yeah..." Reisen sighs. "Thanks for all your help."
I chuckle. "You're welcome."
Returning to the outpost afterward seems peaceful by comparison, despite the rough waters we run into along the way. We shake hands before we part, silently agreeing to work together again in the future.
By the time I return back to Pokke, I'm so tired I almost fall asleep on the balloon, but once I hit the cold air, I feel slightly refreshed, and go about harvesting my farm. Organizing the rewards in my item chest is a bit troublesome, but I manage it fine. I take a quick bath, and turn in to bed.
"Piscine Livers! They're quite a delicacy, you know." Akyuu informs me when I pick my next quest. "But it's a long trip to that place, so be sure to pack some food, you hear?"
I nod. "Got it."
This time, I pick a Long Sword for my choice of weapon. I make sure to carry enough Sonic Bombs for this, even though there'll be some provided. You never know if some of those livers happen to come up after seven bad draws...
The balloonist fills me in on the Desert as we drift southwards over the forests.
"It's a place that keeps alternating between temperature extremes. During the day, you'll feel like you're being baked alive. During the night, it's almost as bad as being on the Snowy Mountains. I see you've brought Cold Drinks along. Smart thinking." He nods approvingly.
"Are you dropping me off directly?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "No. I only handle traveling between Pokke and outposts, so you're all the business I see. There's another outpost where you'll take a different balloon to the Desert Base Camp."
The trip goes on long into the afternoon, and by the time we reach the outpost, the sun is already on its way to setting. The place is rather big, and is set into the side of a mountain. I can count five different hangars and several waiting points, though none of the latter are in use at the moment. The place is much more packed compared to the Jungle outpost, I notice, and the balloonist explains it to me that some of the other villagers usually take too long to arrive, and so spend the night before attempting the quest the next day. It's an obvious fact that I belong in that group.
I show my papers to the staff, and receive a room key in exchange. According to them, food and lodging are free, and there's a gathering place for hunters like me to mingle around. The room itself isn't much to look at, just a bed and some racks to put my armor and weapons away on. It's a great load off my back to dump my stuff and head down to the bar for some food and drinks.
I spot another familiar face and venture over. "Mind if I sit here?" I ask.
The white-haired girl nods. I take my seat and order a meat dish. While waiting, I try to strike up a conversation with my table companion.
"It's my first time hunting in the Desert, got any tips?"
"Make sure to drink Cold Drinks, and keep your ears sharp." Her reply is short and curt.
"Thanks. Oh, by the way, my name's Ikuto. What's yours?"
"Youmu."
My Youmu's more of a gardener and servant than a monster hunter... wonder what's the difference with this one? "Is hunting for Piscine Livers hard?"
She snorts at that question. "Hard? No, no it's not. If anything, it's very easy. How do I know? Because I've been hunting them nearly every other day."
"Huh?"
"My mistress is a big fan of Piscine Livers." Youmu goes on, clearly complaining about her troubles. "She loves eating them, and always puts out a request for Piscine Livers, which I have no choice but to take. I've killed so many Cephalos I'm sure I could carve one up in my sleep!"
"Looks like it's tough for you..." I say sympathetically.
"Why? Why does she have to be such a glutton?" Youmu wails, before dropping her head down into her hands.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I scoot around the table and pat her back. "There, there..."
After several minutes, she recovers enough to look up. "Sorry about that. I just feel so stressed lately... thank you for your trouble."
I smile widely. "Hey, it's no problem. We hunters have to stick together, right?"
She returns a weak smile of her own. "I guess so."
With the ice broken between us, we begin talking a lot more. Compared to me, Youmu is slightly ahead, and she's a predominant Long Sword user. Most of her hunts are to gather various types of meat for her mistress to eat, or to upgrade her equipment to better levels. As such, she has traveled extensively, with the exception of the Volcano area, since her weapon isn't suited to penetrating the hide of the beasts that inhabit that place.
"I think I might have to change my weapon, or just resolve myself to chipping away at them." Youmu confides.
"Or you can go on a group hunt." I hand her my guild card. "Here, in case you feel like calling on someone."
My food comes shortly after that, and our conversation is put on hold while I eat. After that, we chat about random things until the time grows late, and I head back to my room to turn in.
When I get up the next morning, I find that Youmu has already left for her hunt. Since there isn't anything else left for me at the outpost, I go get the tag for my balloon to the Desert area, and set out.
Like Youmu said, the hunt was simple. I manage to time things well enough for me to score a stab on the Cephalos while it's swimming through the sand, but most of the time, I stick to the easy way of flinging a Sonic Bomb to knock them above the ground, where I proceed to cut them up with my blade until they're dead. After that, it's just a matter of cutting them open to retrieve the livers. The quest asks for three, but I manage to get five. The rest of the time, I kill Genpreys and mine whatever I can, and I get my first Dragonite Ore.
The trip back to Pokke is quite relaxing, and I fall asleep on the balloon. When we finally reach the village, I go through the motions of harvesting the bounties of my farm before going back to sleep.
I'm still missing Gensokyo, especially when I think of my own Youmu.
I know some people want me to return to writing for Keys to the Heart, but as of now, I still don't feel the muse for it. But it's charging up, yeah.
So Ikuto has finally reached the Desert. Some timeskipping will occur soon. What monster do you want him to fight against next? Or what Touhou counterpart do you want him to meet? Post in reviews!