Monster Hunter Legends: The Tigrex Samurai

Monster Hunter Legends: The Tigrex Samurai

Author:TigrexJeff

Date Started: 13/4/2010

Date Finished: 19/4/2010

The Tigrex Samurai – Chapter 1
The Year 198, Modern Times, after the seperation of Monsters and Humans.

Up in the cold, unforgiving mountains of the Pokke region, lies the powerful temple of the Tigrex Samurai. For hundreds of years it has remained peaceful, training its Samurai from the day they reach thirteen years of age. It is not harsh in their eyes, as the journey to become a Tigrex Samurai is meant to test their strength and endurance. Depending on which outpost you are brought up in, you will fight your first Tigrex in that region. At thirteen, you are given ten quests to improve your hunting skills and weapons, then you must face the Tigrex. Most experienced hunters don't fight their first Tigrex until after many hunts, and the Guild strongly disagree with the Samurai giving children the incredible task.

And that is where Kai's story began. Brought up in the mountains, but had trained in the desert at points, Kai was one of the most adept children in his level of Samurai training. The elders knew it, and so did many of the great Tigrex Samurai who where off aiding the Guild. It was rumoured that he would surpass his father, which many deemed to ridiculous to contemplate. Kai's father, after all, was the Tigrex Warrior. He was the descendant of the first person to learn from the Tigrex and fight like them. But even though Kai was extremely adept at what he did, his father refused to teach him the secret of the Tigrex Warrior, through Kai's many protests.

He was strong for his age, and this gave him a great advantage when sparring with his classmates. His classmates had even drawn up a mock comparison between Kai and the Tigrex.

"What…? I don't look anything like a Tigrex!" Kai had said, to the laughter of his friends. His scruffy black hair and the fact that he was human more than separated him from the monster. But he had one similarity, which spooked even him. His green eyes resembled the exact colour of the Tigrex's.

"Class! Assemble!" yelled the instructor. The class sat down, their attention focused on the instructor. "As you know," he continued, "many of you have reached your thirteenth birthday. This means that soon, it will be time for you to fight the Tigrex. Once Jun returns from his last practice quest, I will be taking those of you who are not thirteen to the desert for training. While those who are thirteen, the head instructor will take you for your Tigrex quest." The instructor finished, letting the effect of his words sink in. "If you complete the quest, I will not be teaching you any more. So, I only have this to say: those who give in to the power of the Tigrex will never defeat it. Fight it with the same ferocity it will show you, and have no fear."

Kai waited impatiently with his friends that night. They didn't talk much, and Kai suspected everyone was nervous. Then Nami spoke up,

"Come on guys, you can't seriously be that nervous!" she joked. Nami had been Kai's friend since he began his training as a Samurai. She had always taken things lightly and with full confidence.

"I bet you're just as nervous to!" replied Makoto, another of Kai's old friends.

"I am, but I don't let it get me down. Besides, we'll be teaming up to take the Tigrex down anyway, so I figure, what's to worry?" Nami said. The talk stopped after that, and nothing happened until someone came around the corner to where they where standing.

"Ah. There you are. Come on, Jun returned from his quest and the instructor is waiting for you." The messenger motioned for them to follow him, and they headed towards the armoury.

Over Kai's few years of his Samurai training, he had managed to acquire an armour of reasonable respect. For his ten quests, he had made sure to hunt down enough of the local Blangonga's to forge their armour. Then from the minor monsters he had hunted over time, and some ores he had gathered at the last minute, he had created a katana of considerable strength. While he attached his armour, he watched his friends pick out their weapons and armour. Nami had immediately taken to the Hunting Horn as her favourite hunting weapon, and had used it to hunt down a few Basarios in the nearby swamp. Her armour wasn't complete, unlike Makoto's. He had taken the chance to go hunting in the Kokoto Desert, and acquired a full set of Cephalos armour which impressed even Kai. Makoto was mainly worried because he thought he would be a burden to the team, as he struggled to make successful dodges when he attacked with his Dual Blades.

"Well guys, lets go hunt the Tigrex!" The Head Instructor announced once everyone was ready.

The Tigrex Samurai – Chapter 2
The Head Instructor led the group down out of the temple, and into the cave that would take them into the mountains.

"I hope you packed well," muttered the Head Instructor, "there have been reports of unusually vicious Tigrex in the mountains…" Makoto began to shiver, and Kai realized he should have already drunk a hot drink to fight the cold. Pulling one out, he motioned to Makoto to do so as well. Just as he was about to drink though, Nami stopped him.

"Idiot," she sighed, "you didn't realize that the Blangonga armor you made cancels out the cold, did you?" Kai put the drink back in his pack, and shuffled about.

"Oh yeah…" he mumbled, smiling that he hadn't remembered. They were reaching the caves exit, and the Head Instructor stopped. He turned around to face the trio, and spoke, his voice muffled through his beard,

"When you leave this cave, there is no turning back until you have slain a Tigrex, you hear? You all chose this path, and you will follow it no matter what obstacles get in your way. I will return to this cave in roughly two hours. I will now leave you to your own devices to hunt the Tigrex." And with that, he gave a short bow, which the trio returned, and left back through the cave.

"Ok then, lets go…" said Makoto hesitantly, walking out into the cold wind.

The weather was not on their side today. As soon as they had walked a fair way out into the snow, the winds rose and snow began to fall in droves. The trio was quickly wading through waist high snow.

"If we come across the Tigrex now," Makoto was yelling over the wind, "were screwed!" The other two just nodded and kept on grimly trudging. Time passed, and the surroundings grew darker, with only the luminous light of the moon to guide them.

"Where are we Makoto?" Nami asked, with a hint of nervousness, Kai thought.

"We should be getting closer to the caverns-" Makoto began, but then stopped. He stopped moving as well, and Kai bumped into him. "Careful man, whatcha doin-"

"Sshhh!!" Makoto hissed urgently. The trio stood silent, the snow falling lightly now. The wind had also settled to a gentle breexe, and a faint sound could be heard… what was it? It was a sort of low rumbling, with what sounded like heavy breathing… close-ish, but not too close… Kai tensed, looking up slowly. Above, standing triumphantly on a ledge of ice, was the most vicious looking Tigrex he had ever seen. Luckily, it hadn't seen them yet, as they where positioned just underneath the ledge where it stood. Nami saw what Kai was looking at and froze, mechanically reaching for her weapon. Kai did the same, moving into an attacking stance. Makoto did to, but stumbled with his foot and cracked a fallen icicle. The crack resounded around in the silence like a boulder crashing into a wall. The Tigrex looked down, straight at Makoto. "Oops…" was all time Makoto had to say as the Tigrex leapt down on top of him.

Luckily, the Tigrex's main body missed crushing Makoto and simply threw him far in front it. Drawing their weapons, Kai and Nami readied to strike at the flustered Tigrex, but were to slow… the Tigrex span in a full circle and flung them rolling into a rock wall. Struggling to get back up, Kai saw the Tigrex ready for another attack, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Makoto run straight at the Tigrex, directing its attention towards him. The Tigrex began to charge, but this time Makoto was ready. He dived out of its way, and pulled out his Dual Blades as it rushed past. Stunned, Kai didn't see Nami head towards the Tigrex to aid Makoto. Coming back to his senses, he readied his katana and ran after Nami. Makoto was violently striking the sides of the Tigrex, in an effort to avoid any future attacks. It noticed Kai running, and turned to face him, Nami just out of its sight. Bringing its claw back, it pushing forward and sent three blocks of ice hurtling towards Kai. Dropping to the ground, Kai felt one of the blocks fly past over his head. The Tigrex was not expecting Kai to get up, and this is when Nami brought her Hunting Horn down on its head with full force, leaving it in a dazed condition. Kai recovered and joined his friends, slashing the Tigrex's arms. Something was up, Kai could feel it, a change in the Tigrex's mood… It came out of its daze, and its eyes turned a blood red. Just as Kai realized, he shouted, "Get away!" to his friends, and they dived away from the Tigrex as it reared up… and let out a powerful, terrifying roar that threw Kai back into the snow, his blade falling from his hands. He had been thrown back by the Tigrex's roar, but his friends had been hit by the shock of its sound. It had been enraged, and when a Tigrex gets enraged its veins stand out red on its arms, making it even more terrifying. Kai watched as it turned its head towards his friends, who were still getting over its ear-splitting roar. It began to charge, and Kai felt anger rising within him, a deep, primal anger, that had to be unleashed on the one who dared to hurt his friends…

Staggering to his feet, Kai picked up his sword, and, letting out the most menacing yell he could muster, charged at the Tigrex full-pelt. The Tigrex had just finished its charge at Nami and Makoto, who were both struggling to get up, and had no idea what lunatic was yelling at it. It turned, moving into a charging position, and saw Kai, still running madly through the snow. It began its charge, knowing full well it would wipe out the human that thougt it could charge through. But the Tigrex never saw the humans eye's, blood red, and intent not on the Tigrex, but on a point behind it… At the last second, Kai stopped his yell, and, still running, leaped OVER the charging Tigrex, and landed hard, rolling, and cutting off the Tigrex's tail in the process. The Tigrex gave one, final yelp, and crashed into the rock wall, dying with its veins still standing out and its crimson eyes in shock. Kai got up, looking at his friends as they stared at him in amazement, and then in surprise.

"Kai… your eyes…" Nami began, but trailed off.

"What?" Kai asked, not sure what Nami was saying.

"Man, you have Tigrex eyes." Makoto replied, a little uneasy.

"You mean…" Kai stopped, realizing the amazing feat he had accomplished. He had figured out, without even knowing it, the Tigrex Warrior's greatest power: The Tigrex's Rage.

The Tigrex Samurai – Chapter 3
The trio trudged wearily back to the cave, their heads held high in triumph, and the carved materials from the Tigrex in their packs. The Head Instructor was waiting for them, grinning and holding an hourglass.

"Hohoho… I haven't seen such a fast Tigrex hunt in years, especially from a bunch of beginners!" the Head Instructor remarked as the trio reached the cave.

"Who you calling beginners?" Makoto laughed.

"Heheh… you have a lot more training to do before you can say that Makoto, but yes, you have proven to be very good pupils. Come, let's get back to the temple." And with that, the Head Instructor turned and walked off, the trio in tow.

When they got back to the temple, the Head Instructor gave the young Samurai the privilege of running off and telling the temple thier story. Robert, the Head Instructor, sighed happily and walked off towards the elders hall. He had expected a good result out of Kai and his friends, but not in the space of under two hours! He suspected there was some part of the story he hadn't heard yet, but he hadn't really inquired much. That was what most of the Samurai respected Robert for – he let others have their privacy, when as the Head Instructor he had to know what went on in his dojo. Eh, he thought, I'll find out soon, news travels fast. He entered the glorious hall, and saw that many of the other head and senior Samurai where gathered.

"What's going on?" Robert asked, concern showing on his face.

"Rob! Over here!" one of the senior Samurai waved to Robert from a group of solemn faced Samurai. He walked over, low voices reaching his ears, "… the Nargacuga Clan, apparently…" Robert asked again, and a couple of heads turned his way.

"Ok, Robert, you're not going to like this. The Tigrex Warrior was assassinated, while hunting in the swamp. Apparently, the hunters he was with have reported the killer to be from the Nargacuga clan. They may be just jumping to conclusions, as it was nighttime, and the swamp area does have a Narga Clan outpost. We are trying to keep the issue down, if word gets round that a Narga Clan assassin killed our Tigrex Warrior, all hell could break loose."

Robert didn't like this at all. He sat down, thinking hard. His first thought was for the Tigrex Warrior, who he had trained with as a child. His next thought was directed at the Narga Clan, and what would prompt them to attack an ally. Then, his thoughts grew solemn, and he murmured, "What will we tell the boy?" The Samurai glanced nervously at each other. They had each thought about how Kai would handle his father's death.

"I will tell him." It was Kai's former instructor that spoke. "I have been the boys teacher for many years, and have watched him grow and praised him when his father was not there. He trusts me the most." The others nodded sadly, knowing that the instructor was going to break the boys spirit.

Kai grinned as his friends retold the story of their Tigrex hunt to another group of Samurai, and remembered the feeling of power and certainty he had felt when he leaped over the Tigrex. He turned to go back to his room in the temple, tired from the hunt. As he headed up the stairs, his old instructor called out to him. "Sensei?" Kai said, noticing the sad look on his teachers face.

"Kai, well done on your Tigrex hunt. I heard it was the fastest time in years! When you tell your children, say, "I hunted that Tigrex the fastest, because my teacher taught me how!" Eh, how about it?" the Instructor joked, but he could see Kai wasn't buying it.

"Sensei, has something gone wrong?" A look of pain crossed the Instructors face, as though he was torn between what he should say.

"Kai… there's no easy way to put this. But know I will help you through it, as your friend and mentor. An assassin from the Narga Clan killed your father a day ago, we believe." The Instructor finished, and Kai stood where he was, taking in what he had just heard. Kai clenched his fists suddenly, and his eyes flared into a deep crimson colour. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he fought the lump in his throat, and said,

"Sensei, I don't care how long it takes, or what I have to endure. I am going to become the Tigrex Warrior my father was, and I am going to find his killer. I swear on our ancestors, I will bring justice to his death!" Kai then broke out into a fit of sobbing, and his sensei and friends were there in a moment.

"Don't worry Kai. Where here." Nami reached out and hugged him, and Makoto awkwardly joined in as well. For them, they had no idea what the future held, whether it was good or bad, but only time could tell...

MHL Timeline
Year 1 - Fates Legend

Year 171 - Rathalos Red

Year 173 - Requiem of Fire

Year 183 - Knights of the Tundra

Year 198 - The Tigrex Samurai

Year 208 - The Tigrex's Rage

Year 210 - The Grand Trio