Monster Hunter: Rites of Passage

By: T.R. Fanatic

Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. That belongs to Capcom... But, I do own the main character: Takeshi Yuumura, and Garris (appears later on).

Chapter 1: Stranger

To say that this place is nothing more than a dream is only a trick that I'm playing with my mind. Let me explain, it was another beautiful day in the Shinjuku prefecture of Tokyo. And what, you may ask, is outside my window... A giant red and black scaled dragon... creature... spitting fire right at me!

That's about as much as I can remember from my last moments in my world. Here? I pretty much faded in and out after that. The pictures are still vivid in my mind. The deep forest, the thin blue dinosaur sniffing at my face... then, pitch black. I came to, laying on a bamboo-like stretcher that four of these cat-like creatures carried... pitch black, again... then, being carried by a man in armor...

Now, I've finally come to in what is now a one-room house with a large dresser, a huge treasure chest and the hard bed that I'm laying upon while the sunlight from the window above burns my eyes to oblivion! Crazy, isn't it?

"Where am I?" I asked to anyone that was there. I sat up on the bed and looked around. There was no one else there except for me. I turned my head and peeked outside of the thin window to my left... nothing but trees. Okay, I thought, calming myself down. You're in the middle of the forest. No big. You can find a town nearby and ask for directions home.

I turned my head to the window near the doorway on my right to see a beaten path and part of a small kiosk. Okay, so you're in town already. All you need to do now is get a bus and go back home.

Carefully, I got out of bed and walked to the door. I pushed the door open to find... that I was in a strange little village where everyone dressed in medieval clothing.

I slammed the door shut and hid in the house once more. Just calm down, I thought to my shocked self. There's a reason they're dressed like that. There's some sort of festival or anime convention that's going on... right?

"Well, come on out." I heard one of the villagers say. "Let's have a look at you."

I slowly opened the door once more and found a small group of people gathered by the entrance. Some gasped, others whispered remarks to the people next to them. Possibly because I dressed differently (in my black school uniform) than their norm. I swallowed and stared like an idiot.

After a half minute, I broke the silence. "Do you know which way it is to Tokyo?" I asked.

"Tokyo?" A villager asked. "Is that some sort ship?"

"It sounds more like a type of wyvern." Another asked. "Don't you think?"

"N-no, it's a city." I replied.

"A city?" Another villager asked. "Never heard of such a place."

"That's because he's not from around here." The voice of an old man piped up. The villagers opened up a path for the short and strange old man as though he was Moses parting the Red Sea. He slowly walked along the path and stood in front of me.

I gave off a nervous smile while the old man smiled back.

"Do not be afraid, child." the man calmly said. "It's only natural that you're confused about all of this."

"May I ask where I am and who you are?" I asked.

"Ahh," the old man smiled. "this place here is called Kokoto and I am the village chief. Come to my hut and I can tell you everything that you need to know."

"Um, thank you..."

A few minutes later...

"I should start by asking..." the chief said as we sat on the large rug of the chief's one room hut. "who you are."

"M-my name?" I asked dumbly. "Takeshi... Takeshi Yuumura."

"Ahh. Interesting name."

Silence fell between us until I asked, "What... exactly happened? How did I get here in the first place?"

"...From what I've been told, you were brought to this village two days ago by a man carrying a massive bowgun on his back, set you down in the middle of the road, turned around and left. Haven't heard from or of him ever since."

"Do you know who he is?"

The chief nodded. "Only by his appearence. He is obviously a hunter, those that take up missions from the locals to hunt and gather neccessaties for daily life. Other things, I've heard by the townspeople. Some say that it was the legendary gunner that disappeared a while back. Others say that it was the legendary gunner's student that also disappeared, but it was right after his teacher."

I've been awake for a couple hours now, and already I know a lot about the lifestyle here. Everyone has to depend on these "hunters" in order to continue on with their life and and the lives of others.

"Do you know anything else about that hunter?" I asked. "He could've been the one that brought me here to this world, and possibly saved me from that dragon."

"What dragon?"

"There was this red and black scaled dragon that stood outside my house before I was brought to this world."

"Hmmm..." The chief stood up and walked to a table full of scrolls, pulled one away, came back and showed the scroll to me. "Is this the dragon that you speak of?"

The picture was of a red and black scaled dragon in a simplified form.

I nodded. "Yeah. That's the one."

The chief rolled the scroll back. "It's called a Rathalos. It's quite a ferocious wyvern. But to see one in your world is well out of the ordinary, correct?"

"I have not seen an animal that big, ever!"

"Oh... I guess..."

"Guess what?"

"You were brought here for a reason. A reason that none of us know."

Great. He doesn't know. Neither do I.

"Do you think that the hunter that possibly brought me here might know something about this?" I asked.

"Who knows? But if you wish to go after him, he went towards the forest, north of here."

"Thank you."

"Uh, uh, uh, I'm not done yet. The forest is dangerous for a newcomer like yourself. You need to prepare yourself for encounters, especially if you want to take on a Rathalos."

"You mean become a hunter?" I asked.

"That's right." the chief smiled.

Five minutes later...

Sooner or later, I knew I was going to have an opportunity to leave this strange world and go back home... but, I never thought I had to fight my way back. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I was in the kendo club back in my high school. I know a thing or two about fighting... except about fighting monsters.

"Now, before I let you on your way," the chief said as we stood outside by the hut. "there are some things that you should be warned of aside from the Rathalos."

"What's that?" I asked.

"There is a guild called the Insectoid Army. They are a strange bunch -- praising the insects and all. But anyway, they do more than worship insects. It's been told that they kidnap villagers and turn them into their slaves if they do not conform to the Insectoid way."

"Great..."

"You seem to be a strong one, so confronting the so-called 'drones' won't be a difficult one. But, you shouldn't be worried about them. You should be more worried about their commander."

"Why is that?"

"He has a different way of conforming the ones he kidnaps."

"And this commander is..."

"He calls himself Vespoid, like the giant wasp, because he wears the armor made from the remains of Vespoids. He proclaims that the Vespoids sacrificed themselves to save him after an attack by another wyvern when he was young."

"He owes his life to overgrown killer bees..." As if the strangeness never stops... I thought.

"I'm going to have an escort show you the ropes of becoming a hunter. I'd show you the basics myself, but I'm getting too old..."

"I understand."

"Here he comes now. Hey, Garris!"

The tall light-armored hunter walked towards us and stood as though he was a soldier of an army. "Yes?" he asked.

"Could you take up a mission right now?" the chief asked.

"Of course. I'm not busy."

"I need you to be an escort for this young man and show him the basics of hunting."

"So, you want to become the Hero of Kokoto, huh?" Garris asked as he glared at me. "Just like the village chief here?"

"N-no," I stuttered. "I just want to get back home."

"Well, I'll make sure that gets done. You just watch, you're going to be home before dinner."

...Hope he's right about that...

To be continued...

Well, hopefully... Please review this fic and tell me if I should keep going. Thanks!

T.R. Fanatic