Heroes to Hunters

by HanBaron

This is one I had thought about after playing Monster Hunter World. But I never really thought much of it until I saw the movie Monster Hunter. Now I think I can make something out of this. This will mostly be an adventure story and a bit of a growth one. For all those who want to call themselves heroes. Teen for language mostly.

18. Chapter 18

Heroes to Hunters

Chapter 18

This will be more of a chapter about everyone acclimating to the new world they are in. As well as the monsters and the ways to fight. So on with the show.

(No POV)

It had been a day or two since the Astrea hunters and UA group had arrived in Kamura village. So far none of the new hunters had had much luck with using the wirebugs and monster riding. Izuku was especially frustrated. 'If we ever do get back home, what I can learn from this could help me with using black whip. Sure, black whip may be connected to my body. But the application seems similar.' He thought while taking a break. So far all he and a few others had figured out how to do was to stab in wires and similar attacks to increase some damage.

Ryukyu had been especially intrigued by that application with her hunting horn. "So, I can send damaging shockwaves down the line when I play my hunting horn." "Its about how my quirk works ma'am. I'd already liked the hunting horn for the musical element, but this could help if we ever get back home." Jiro had said during a mutual break. The former dragon heroine was more than happy to listen to the suggestions from the UA group, as they had been here much longer. "If you like the music side, then this might be the weapon for you." Kuvna says bringing out her Vicello Nulo.

Upon seeing it, Jiro is even more interested. Kuvna lets her try it out for a bit before telling her about the parts to make it. Ryukyu though asks if there was a weapon that fit for her dragonic side. "There is. You'd be going along the bone blade path of weapons, and it would take a while to reach it. But the Wyvern Fang has a dragonic edge to it. Might be just what you are looking for." Amalee says walking up to meet the trainees.

Others were not able to adjust as easily. Mirko for example kept ending up on her back when she got too up close and didn't think to dodge away. Others like the villains are having trouble ingratiating themselves with the heroes. Even Hanai can't connect with them, despite being a former hero herself. Hawks had tried to talk to her but she kept brushing him off.

Han though sees how hard most of the hunters are working and some of the other issues and brings up an unusual suggestion for Utsushi. "Master. Maybe we don't need to rush the training with the wirebugs right away. How about we take a few of them out to hunt in field? Nothing big, just hunt down some Jagaras, and Izuchis. Might do them some good in the long run." Utsushi hums a bit before agreeing. But saying that Han has to take the first group out. "Also, you can take a weapon to defend but you shouldn't hunt. Take four of them and just act as a guide. Got it?" the master hunter tells Han with a strict gleam in his eye.

Han agrees and decides to take a specific set. "Izuku, Itsuka, Jiro and Hanai! Gear up. We're going on an expedition of the Shrine Ruins." All four are confused, especially the oldest amongst them. "I thought all of you were saying that I needed to train more." Hanai says after putting away her bowgun. Han snorts before explaining the details. "A walk around the ruins or in any of the regions might do you some good. Plus, I think it would help you three on learning how to use the wirebugs. And you (he says while looking at Hanai) can't run or walk away when the 'heroes' from your world are talking. Might do you some good in the long run." the hunter says with a smirk.

Hanai gets an annoyed looked on her face, clearly telegraphing that she doesn't want to be around the hero students. But Han isn't backing down, and she caves. "I've stared down a Teostra before. You really think I'm gonna buckle that easily?" Hanai growls before getting her gear. Han explains that he and his partners won't be directly helping them. With a whistle he calls over his palamute Riley and palico Willie. The former is a large tri color canyne wearing high grade Kamura gear with a red pigment instead of the usual blue. Willie on the other hand is wearing black dyed high Kamura gear. And Han has taken out his Kamura long sword and armor. He tells Izuku that Akatsuki had finished most of his training and would be coming along.

Izuku decides to gear up with the Kamura Glaive, while Itsuka gets a Kamura Cleaver to fight with. While Jiro and Hanai take the support role with the Kamura Chorus and Kamura Light Bowgun. "How come you and some of the others get nice gear and we just have the average stuff?" Hanai asks while fiddling with her armor. Izuku then speaks up and explains, "to make better gear, you need to hunt the monsters in the area. They use the parts to make armor and weapons. So, for now we're all stuck with the regular Kamura gear. Right?" Han nods with a chuckle and at Akatsuki shaking around in his new gear. The fallen hero sighs but sees the point before asking if they could just go already.

When they reach the Shrine Ruins, Hanai is quick to try and walk away. "Riley!" Han calls out and the palamute rushes in front of her stopping her escape. "Yeah, you don't leave your team behind. Besides, you are a support fighter not a frontliner. Izuku and Itsuka. You two…." "Need to take point and be ready just in case right?" Itsuka says with a confident smile, and Izuku standing beside her with a similar look. Han nods and says he'll stay in the middle while the other two have the rear guard. "The focus today is just on getting you used to the new gear and location. Also, most of you may not have noticed but your armors (and all the ones following) have kunai lining them. Aside from some protection, they can operate as handy throwing knives as needed. But for now, lets head out toward the wyvern nest." Han says and brings out a map to show they way and location.

With the plan set they head off before seeing the first obstacle: a huge cliff to drop down into a river. Han though confidently strides up, and steps right off. While the rest are freaking out a bit, Han quickly uses his wirebug to catch himself in the air. He then flips in the air before sling shooting himself across the river. He lands on his feet and spins to look back up at the others and not one drop on water on his armor. "Okay he's just showing off." Jiro says with a deadpan look. Hanai and Izuku though are very impressed, with the latter trying to come up with ways to apply what he saw to his black whip power. The former though, sees him as similar to some of the heroes from their own world. But also seeing that he had the skills and technique to back up the confidence.

None of the rest have the same amount of courage to try what Han did, so they settle for climbing down the roots and ivy along the cliff side. "That was so cool Han-san! How you used the wirebugs to stop yourself and then launch further! How did you know when to-" Izuku started, in after getting across the river. But Han quickly stopped him and said, "it's not so much knowing as it is practice. I've made that leap dozens of times. After a while it becomes natural. I'll show all of you a bit more as we're going." With a nod from the group they began their trek through the Ruins. As they are walking, Hanai is quick to note some odd-looking birds and animals floating around. The more experienced hunter tells them about each of the animals in question. "The birds are spiribirds. If you have a petalace, which none of you have yet, they'll boost your capabilities. From health to defense and strength. The other animals are Clothflies which boost defense with their dust clouds. Butterflames with attack boosting dust. Peepersects that amplify your stamina. And Cutterflies will increase your accuracy for your attacks."

Izuku and Jiro had started taking notes while Han was talking, which Itsuka was surprised by. Hanai though snorted at seeing the former hero student's enthusiasm. Han noticed this be didn't mention it for now. As they were walking the group came upon as pack of Izuchi. At seeing how they fought a group of Jagras, Hanai was curious on why they seemed like pack animals. Han put his hand on her shoulder and pointed to the reason. First comes the vanguard. Unstoppable tank. Then comes a second attacking the flank. Finally, the General. The highest in rank. A trio of blades swift as a gale. They cut to the bone and kill without fail. As Han quotes the poem, the group sees the Great Izuchi spin and slash through three Jagras. With two more from the sides spinning in and cutting down more. This makes the teens gulp and gives even the hardened Lady Nagant a shiver down her spine. "Don't underestimate the nature around here. Or that may end up being you." Han says with a warry look in his eyes as the Izuchi began eating the slain Jagras.

After the monsters had left, the group continued on uphill. At a slight summit they say part of why this region was called the Shrine Ruins, as the walls of a former manmade structure are still standing. "There's some buildings inside. Lets' take a quick break." Han says and guides them toward the building in question. Once there, he sets up his bbq spit and starts roasting some meat. "Sit down. Most of the monsters don't come here so we're fine. So, you can finally talk to these kids. And they in turn can ask you some questions." The experienced Kamura hunter says with sideways glance at Hanai. She is surprised that she fell into his trap so easy but can see she isn't getting out of it. With Riley at the doorway, she can't get out without going through him. And while he is cooking the meat, the fallen hero can see Han has a hand on a kunai if she tries to attack his dog.

So with a sigh she sits down and just says, "all right. Lets get this over with. What do you kids want to know?" Izuku is the first to come up and talk all about how she was an exceptional pro hero back in the day. "Even Snipe-sensei was jealous of your capabilities! Saying you were the greatest marksman hero, or I guess heroine, ever. How does your quirk work? What is the limit you can use? And…." While Izuku starts on some tangents, Itsuka decides to bring up a point that had been bothering her. "Why were you in prison?" The fallen hero's eyes widen, before sighing. "You kids had better get comfortable. Because this is not only a long story, but its also pretty dark." She says before accepting a well-done steak from Han. She then goes into how she began as hero, being recruited by the Public Hero Safety commission. And how they not only trained her to be an exceptional hero, but they also trained her to be their personal assassin. "I was tasked over and over again with eliminating terrorists, dirty heroes, etc…. It became hard to try and be a popular public hero. When my hands were so deeply stained with blood."

The hero students were all wide-eyed at what she had described, including the fact that Hawks more than likely had done much the same since he was working for the commission as well. She finally got to the point of what put her in prison: her murder of the former president of the commission. "And thus, I was imprisoned in Tartarus. The fact is the hero world we come from is far dirtier than any of you kids know. To keep the public trust in heroes, I had to eliminate dangerous elements to maintain that opinion." For once when it comes to heroes, Izuku is completely speechless. Jiro and Itsuka have no idea on what to say to the fallen hero.

But Han has his own opinion on the matter. "You mention that these quirk things are something almost everyone has? Wasn't part of what they wanted you to do was to keep people telling themselves that the powers were a good thing? Like they wanted people to see this change to your version of humanity as a good thing, and not just turning them into monsters. But the more people whose powers grow in potential, the more they want to use them. Maybe those weird powers or whatever are the problem. And the people who want to keep them."

Hanai doesn't know what to say to the hunter, and the students think back to some of what Jaeger had said during their training. How their mentality with their quirks had limited many of them, and that they were too dependent on thinking that they defined who they were. "I can't even imagine what it was like for you to have to do that Lady Nagant. But this is a new chance and start here. You don't have to be defined by what you went through and what your job was before. Now you can be a hunter or whatever you want to be." Izuku says with a small smile and a look of sympathy for the newest hero turning hunter. Jiro agrees with what him and asks if she could give her some pointers on how to use long ranged equipment better.

This whole matter surprises Hanai who was expecting to have them disagree with what she went through and saying she was lying. But now they are accepting and wanting to learn from her. "You saw the worst of humanity in the world you were from. But that shows you can help them from going down the wrong path." Han says with a smile and passing her a cup with some local wine in it. Hanai just chuckles before taking his offer and shooting back the drink. Once the group was done, they set out once again for the wyvern nest.

While that group is out getting acquainted and learning about the region they are hunting in, others are taking the time to learn a bit more about each other. Ochaco and Setsuna had been taken aside by Toga to talk a bit more about things from their old world. "I didn't know Izuku had such a history. Was it really bad? Has he told you anything about it?" She asked Izuku's girlfriends while he was out on the hunt. Setsuna looked down before explaining a bit about what he had said. About the beatings and verbal abuse, he endured for over a decade. "It only got slightly better when he was admitted to UA. But he still has to deal with one tormentor." Ochaco says thinking back to all the trouble Bakugo gave Izuku at the start and the crap that the boy she loved had to endure. Setsuna says with a smirk, "though we're giving him a real taste of some karma. If he thinks its fun to bully someone. Well lets just say he's gonna be in for a few rude awakenings."

(Cut back to Astrea)

Bakugo Katsuki could always be described as a very angry person. But lately he has been completely livid. And its all thanks to a set of little presents left behind by, as he puts it, 'Deku's bitches!' 'He must have told them some of what happened in the past. And as much as I want to blame him, I know I'm mostly in the wrong. But the fact they got others caught up in it pisses me off the most.' He fumes quietly to himself thinking back on the first prank they hit him with.

(Flashback)

A day or so after the group to head to Kamura left, Bakugo was prepping to go on a hunt for the biggest monsters in the Coral Highlands and Rotten Vale. He had put on his Odogaron armor and grabbed his Garon rod 2 to go engage the Legiana of the highlands first. As when before he went out though, he stopped at the canteen to eat before hand and talk with Kirishima. Which became his undoing.

"Hey man! You all set for your hunts today? I'm just got approved to go with Sig and hunt in the Elder's Recess. He said he'd help me hunt down the parts for the Dodogama armor. How about you?" Kirishima said with a big smile on his face, though it couldn't be seen behind his Diablos armor. Bakugo just gave a scoffing smirk before saying, "I'm going after the Legiana today. And then the Devilhijo. I'm not letting Deku get anymore ahead than he already was." With a little laugh from his new best friend, Bakugo wishes Kirishima luck and puts up his hand for a high five.

Kirishima though grabs his hand and pulls him into a bro hug, which sets off a little trap Ochaco and Setsuna had left in Bakugo's armor. All of the sudden a dung bomb goes off in the chest piece, coil, and greaves of Bakugo's armor. At first no one knows how to react. Then Bakugo lets off a quiet scream saying, "OH GOD! IT'S EVERYWHERE! IT'S IN PLACES IT NEVER SHOULD BE! OH MY GOD!" Kirishima isn't in a much better spot since he was right next to Bakugo when the dung bomb went off. And while Bakugo is silently, especially for him, freaking out Kirishima decides to grab him and drop both of themselves into the waterfall near the bridge. Neadless to say everyone still in the canteen had a big laugh at their expense.

(Flashback end)

"When those bitches get back, I'm definitely gonna pay them back!" Bakugo says after putting on his Rath Soul armor. But then he starts itching like crazy. And with the itch persisting he strips out of his armor and finds it full of ants from the Wildspire Wastes. So he jumps into his personal pond to try and get the bugs off. "GOD DAMNIT!" He shouts after finally getting the bugs off.

(Back to Kamura)

Toga chuckles a bit before feeling that she shouldn't cross the two girls. Ochaco though is more curious about the villain before her. "Why did you become a villain Toga?" Toga is surprised by this but explains some of her past. "When I was a child, I saw blood and its exposure as being pretty. It terrified my parents and they tried to push me to be more normal. I grew up trying to be more normal, but I eventually had a moment when I had to see more blood. That being of one of my classmates. I ran after I attacked him and drank some of his blood, and I'm guessing you've heard how I'm the suspect in a bunch of murders right? I think it's the fault of my quirk. It's like it compels me to need blood, and I'm betting there's quite a few like me." "Like most of the ones from the MLA right?" Setsuna says with a sympathetic look on her face.

Toga agrees and goes on to say that she can see more clearly in the world they are in now. "I still feel a slight urge, but most of that is probably due to suppressing my mentality for so long. It's nowhere near as strong as before. But I will admit, I never thought about anyone else when I was going through all of that. What I was doing to others. What would happen if everyone could do what I could or similar. I just didn't want to feel like I was supposed to fit in this little box anymore." The former villain vents to the two former hero students, before mentioning that Izuku reminded her of the first boy she fell for and drank the blood of. "Okay don't take this the wrong way, but we may want to keep Izuku away from you. Not because of the blood thing, but because we don't want you to try and seduce him." Ochaco says with a teasing smile. This gets a laugh out of all the girls as they enjoy some dango down by the river.

For Shuichi though, he has started to think more about why he joined up with the league itself. He had been oppressed in his hometown because of his appearance. But after hearing what Izuku went through, he was seeing that oppression takes multiple forms. "I had always looked at the fact that some people had better quirks or could be heroes because of them as a problem. But maybe the powers are the root problem itself. So many heroes exist now, but most can't use their quirks however they want. And now we have brutal and cruel discrimination against those who are unlucky to not be born with a quirk. That is worse."

"As much as we want it to be man things are never simple." Shuichi hears from behind his place sitting in the Gathering hub. The one who called out to him was Tetsutetsu, with a small toothy grin on his face. "A lot of us get lucky to have people who care about us. But for others, they don't get that luxury. Or like you they get pushed down or aside because their powers make them extra different. But maybe part of the problem is finding a way to work with the cards we've been dealt. But what the hell do I know. I'm just one of the resident hard heads of UA!" Tetsutetsu says with a growing grin. Before letting out a big laugh. Shuichi though can see what the former metal teen is getting at and thanks him.

With the successful expedition from Han's group, the other hunters gather up a few groups to take out and get them acquainted with their new protectorate region. After two more days, Ochaco and Itsuka are the first to properly wyvern ride a monster in the arena. The latter having gotten instruction from Han on, in his words, directing the aggression and chaos. Not controlling it. While Ochaco was intimidated by Tzaid, she gave her good pointers on how to treat the connection to the wyverns as extension of her body. Not just a puppet to control. With those two being successful, I wasn't long before a few of the other new arrivals to Kamura were able to use the wirebugs and wyvern ride. Now they were ready to start their own hunts and defend Kamura from the Rampage.

Okay, so the exposition crap was mostly to try and give a gentle change to Nagant. Rather than the huge breakout and breakdown of society that showed up later. Also I wanted to give some of the others things to think about when it came to what the MHA world is like. And yes the reason I used Ochaco and Itsuka figuring things out before Izuku was to show that they have just as much potential as anyone. That aside, I hope you found the prank bits with Katsuki funny. I might add more before I finish the story. Glad to be back, please review!