[center][color=black]▬▬ι[/color]═══════ﺤ[h2][color=darkslateblue][b]K A Z U K I[/b][/color][/h2]৴═══════[color=black]ι▬▬[/color]
[h3][i][b]Guild Hall[/b][/i][/h3][hr][/center]
Kazuki raised an eyebrow as Cyrus seemed to read his thoughts like an open book. Not only had he deduced his nervousness about taking people under his own wing, the elder had even concluded he was a former apprenticed Hunter rather than one trained by the Guild. Kazuki hadn't even mentioned his Master yet, so how...

[i]Ah. My clothes and behaviors are from Yukumo, but I'm not a native. I'm a two star hunter, but have never hunted with others. I bet Hunters that are formally trained by the Guild only use their local Guild Hall, rather than traveling to another village...and I bet they're trained in group tactics early on, since many Hunters prefer to hunt in four man cells. Therefore, I must have traveled and trained with a single Hunter, rather than in a Guild's classroom with other students.[/i]

He nodded to himself, cupping his chin in thought. This man was indeed a Veteran Hunter, to have such a sharp mind and eye for the smallest of details.

[@LeamonZest89]"My Master only ever told me one name, which was a nickname taken from his preferred weapon. Yukimonji. He wasn't a talkative sort, most of the time, so unfortunately I never learned a great deal about him, other than that he was a G-Rank Hunter but had gotten tired of...I suppose they must have been freelance groups, rather than close friends. He always called them 'randumbs.'" The swordsman sighed as he cast his mind back over those memories...

[i]A much younger Kazuki screamed a battle cry as he jumped off the ledge, before smacking firmly into the Aptonoth's broad, scaly side. His scrabbling hands failed to find purchase as the animal turned to look at him, chewing its cud slowly, then it simply shook him off with a toss of its rump and went back to eating.

"M-Master, what did I do wrong?" he asked, as he picked himself up out of the dirt. The taller Hunter, dressed as always in his [url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxWQBdrWQAA0lJQ.jpg]pristine white armor, coat[/url], and long scarf, put one hand on his disciple's head. Then his grip tightened with a notable popping sound, and Kazuki gulped as his Master leaned down to look him in the eye. Somehow, under that helmet, there was a glowing red light from the man's glare.

"JE SUIS MONTE, MOTHERFUCKER!" shouted the G-Rank Hunter, before literally lifting and hurling the child at the monster. Kazuki screamed again as he soared, but this time he landed on the monster's back and immediately tried to wrap his legs around its broad sides. The Aptonoth, stunned by the impact, let out a low pitched rumble of consternation...but this time it couldn't shake him off.

"Ah! Thank you Master, I understand now!" Kazuki said, waving with one hand even as the herbivore tried unsuccessfully to buck him off. His teacher merely crossed his arms and nodded with an over exaggerated bobbing of the head in an oddly precise rhythm.[/i]

Ah yes. Good times.

[@Renny]Another man, about Kazuki's age, emerged from one of the rooms and from the sweat on him Kazuki deduced he must have been training. The fellow waved half-heartedly before sating an itch beneath his shirt, and sat down to a hearty looking breakfast, though Kazuki hadn't noticed who had cooked it or brought it out. Perhaps the small Wyverian lady, though from the way she bustled about she seemed much more important than just a cook. Perhaps they had a Felyne kitchen somewhere in the back.

"Yo! Its nice to meet ya. Nice armor." said the newcomer, though really Kazuki supposed [i]he[/i] was the newcomer and this fellow was one of the rookie hunters the veteran had mentioned. The Long Swordsman looked down at his robes, then back at the other fellow.

"Ah, this isn't my armor, though it has a similar style." He said, waving one hand lightly. "Speaking of which, however, I should probably get changed so we can begin our questing."

"Clara could you help this hunter with his things, you got another team mate!" Kazuki looked back at the elder, and the person he had just called out to as she entered the lobby; she had an impressive, though perhaps a little less feminine, build and a distinguishing eye patch. Even if she were new to it, she would probably do well as a Hunter, given the required size and weight of most of their equipment...

"No problem!" she said cheerily, though Kazuki noticed she seemed to go out of her way to avoid looking at the other man seated at the table. She smiled as she started to help him with his things. "Hi, I'm Clara, I guess we're working together!"

"I am Kazuki Akibayashi. It is a pleasure to meet you both." he said with a short bow to each of them. Not one to let a lady do all of the hard work, he took his own share of his luggage to the lodging room Cyrus pointed out, following Clara's broad shouldered form. Afterwards, he stayed in the room but leaned out of the doorway.

"I shall just be a moment--If you haven't already, make sure you eat heartily, Miss Clara. Something with...meat and fish, or a dish with fish and bread, would probably be suitable for you." Never hunt on an empty stomach; that rule, much like not getting hit and hitting the monster until it died, had been iron-clad to his Master. With that, he closed the door and began changing into his armor.

Though it might look like cloth, the Yukumo style Dogi--a sleeveless shirt--and Hakama--the billowing pants--were actually made of thick plant fibers, specifically from Ivy vines and woven strips of Yukumo Wood so thin they were practically ribbon shavings. Still, this weave produced a tough material on par with leather for its protectiveness, yet much more flexible to allow freedom of movement. The belt, or Obi, and waistcloth were made from the same, but required buckles here and there made from plain Iron Ore and delicately hammered out by a proper Smith. The gauntlets, known as Kote, only came up just past the elbows, leaving Kazuki's upper arms exposed. The lack of large shoulder pads actually had a function, however--traditionally, the Yukumo people had a thing for Long Swords, which had a distinctive way of drawing and attacking at once like the Great Sword. If the Great Sword's forte was power, however, the Long Sword's was speed, and thus without anything in the way of an over-shoulder draw the blade could come to bear that much faster.

Kazuki put back on the white scarf, his momento of his Master, and its wide folds fell over his shoulders somewhat. Then he donned the last piece, the flat brimmed hat--Kasa--made from thicker overlapping strips of Yukumo Wood and finished off with a distinctive Gargwa feather.

From his luggage he grabbed a single pack that he had loaded beforehand--after each and every Hunt he always made sure it was stocked fully and well-organized. It contained ten Potions, the glass jars carefully inserted into a leather, box-like pouch with several slots before its front flap was buckled closed; a cloth sack with a lining made from an insulating monster's hide and filled with preserved, well done steaks before the drawstring was pulled tight and tied into a knot that, while it wouldn't come undone from any hustle or bustle, could easily be opened with a yank on one of the loops; a portable barbecue pit, currently folded down into a large metal disk with the spit and crank strapped to its back; a couple of sturdy iron pickaxes and bug nets, kept in separate leather tubes that looked a bit like the quiver for a bow; another small box filled with rectangular metallic plates, whetstones that could be used to sharpen a weapon; and finally, a smaller, regular cloth drawstring pouch with several small, almost egg-like shells filled with a pink liquid. These paintballs had a distinctive color and smell that allowed a Hunter to track a monster for miles before it wore off.

As he double checked that everything was in it place, he remembered that they would likely be hunting in the Magma Highlands near the village. Thus he searched through his luggage until he found one more addition, though he only had two of them at the moment: jars about the same size as the potions, but filled with a milky white liquid. They were cold to the touch, having been kept in a portable ice-box up until now. These cool drinks not only literally cooled the body down, but helped temporarily increase one's resistance to fire and heat, although they didn't last long.

Armed, armored, and prepared to the best of his current knowledge, Kazuki left his room and headed back into the main hall, sitting down at the table to eat with the others.

"So, what Quests are available, sir?" he called to Cyrus.