"Hey, wake up." a male voice called.

Yoru squirmed her eyes but refused to comply. "More 5 minutes Mom, please." she begged in a soft voice.

"Okay my dear, breakfast is going to be set soon." the voice replied.

"Thanks Mom…" the huntress mumbled.

(Flashback)

Yoru lazily opened her eyes, she sat down on her bed and rubbed her eyes. It was morning, the sunrays crept through the window at the other side of the small room. The place was rectangular, the walls and floor made of wood. There was a small wardrobe close to the window in front of the girl and a large wooden box on the left of the wardrobe. The girl jumped out of the bed, she wore simple white shirt with cotton pants.

"I´m so hungry…" the girl said dragging her feet to the door at her right.

When she opened the wooden door a tasty aroma filled her nose, it was sweet and not too strong. The red haired girl felt a wave of heat engulf her body, warming her and inviting her to come closer. A woman with her hair arranged into a bum was setting plates on a table in the middle of the room. Many counters were aligned around the wall with a set of windows over them. A stone structure was build amongst them with a burning fire inside.

"Good morning Mom!" the girl greeted.

"Good morning my dear." The woman smiled, "I hope you had sweet dreams." she added placing bread, butter and cups on the table.

"Not as sweet as your food." Yoru smiled taking a seat.

The mother laughed softly, "Is that so? Then it would be a sin to not eat it, right?" she teased as she passed the butter on the hot bread and offered to her daughter.

"Yes." the girl took a bite of the food. The girl´s form grew taller with each bite, her face became more elongated, her lips more filled and her arms longer until she was a young teenager.

"Mother." the teen called.

"Yes, my dear?" the matron asked.

"Father is taking too long." the red haired woman said concerned.

"He´s always late." the mother replied, bitterness slipping between her words.

"He´s later than usual." Yoru insisted.

"I´m sure he´s fine, if he doesn´t come back I´m going to make him. Don´t worry, there´s still time." the matron replied, her eye twitching once.

"I hope you´re right." Yoru sighed.

(Days later)

Yoru approached her home, it was late afternoon and soon the sun would fully disappear on the orange horizon. She was thankful that her mother allowed her to wander around the area, even though it was largely restricted, to pass time. But just to be sure she always had to carry her knife and a bow and arrow as precautions. She stood in front of the wooden door and was about to open the door but halted her hand.

"There´s still time, he will come before midnight." she sighed and then opened the door

"Happy Birthday!" a pair of voices said in unison.

Yoru´s face brightened, her lips quickly moved into a smile so great that it dared to engulf her face. Her parents, both of them, were by the table´s side with a cake and a wooden box on it. Losing no time the teen dashed towards her father and embraced him with all her might. Days of absence made their few encounters precious moments, it didn´t really matter to her anymore what they were going to do in these occasions, what she considered was how long and well their time was spent. To have her father present during her own birthday was a fulfilled wish and so she made sure to thank all the gods she knew on that moment.

"I thought you were going to miss it." Yoru said with a tear in her eye, "You´re always late." she added.

"I´m sorry, really." he finished the embrace and looked at his daughter´s face. "I´m always late because I´m a hunter, my dear." he stated putting his hands over her shoulders.

With these words the red haired teen froze, realization struck her like a battering ram. She noticed the cuts on her father´s face.

"What happened to you?! You´re hurt!" the teen panicked, "I´m going to get the remedy!" the girl tried to get past her parents but the strong hand of her father stopped her.

"There´s no need, these are only superficial." he said.

"Mother!" Yoru called turning to the matron of the house.

"I checked him, he´s fine." the mother dismissed while waving her hand. "Why don´t we all take seats and enjoy this day? I prepared a very special cake just for this occasion!" she gestured to the brown colored dessert on the table.

Too happy for her father´s presence the teen didn´t even bother to discuss his current status. She waited as her mother served the cake for each of them, her eyes glancing over the small wooden box only once. The father, however, noticed the glance at the box and was quick to answer:

"That´s my gift, we will open it later." He reassured even though his daughter didn´t care even a bit for it.

It was a joyful night, Yoru´s father asked how well she was doing and if her mother was still teaching her how to use a bow for self-defense. The red haired teen asking what in the world he was doing while he was away while thanking him for coming this time. They had already eaten their share of the cake but the conversation continued on until her father decided to drag the wooden box closer to him.

"So, since this is your 18th birthday I decided to bring something special. Took a while to find it, more bruises than I would like…" the man received a light punch in the shoulder from his wife. "But you deserve it." he pushed the box to his daughter.

Yoru gazed at the box and then at her father, "If this left you hurt you shouldn´t have done it. Just having you here with Mother is already a gift, one I have been wanting for years…" she whispered the last part.

"Believe me, you will like this one." the father said crossing his arms.

"Well…since you already got it…" Yoru said quite unsure as she slid open the lid of the box.

The candles´ light wasn´t enough to illuminate what was inside the box so Yoru had to take it off from the recipient to discover what it was. She placed her hand on the dark container and frowned when she felt a hard surface. It was irregular, cold, hard and a little bigger than her hand. When she tried to raise it she noticed it was also quite heavy. Lifting the object so the candles´ lights could reveal the gift the teen´s brows furrowed even further.

"A stone?" the red haired woman used the candles´ lights to inspect the object, the fiery light passed through the stone, revealing a deep red color. The stone hadn´t any refinement but its form was quite round for its nature with very few small protuberant tips.

"You gave her a ruby?" the mother looked disdainfully at her husband which was already waving his hand.

"Just because it is red? No, this is not a common ruby." he tried to explain but his daughter already had an idea for its use.

"We can sell it! And you won´t need to hunt for food for a while. You can stay at…" she stated, her eyes shining almost as brightly as the gem.

"This is not the reason I got this gem." Yoru´s father stated, his voice firm but devoid of anger.

Yoru looked at him confused, "But this is my gift…" she said bringing the jewel closer to her chest.

"Just hear me out." the father said in a softer tone. "This is not a common ruby. This is a Rathian Ruby" he said.

"A Rathian´s ruby? I didn´t know Rathians collected gems. That´s why you got the bruises?" she asked. Yoru only knew a handful about these creatures and she never saw one. Her father always said to sneak away if she ever saw a green monster but this never happened.

"A Rathian Ruby?!" the mother said in disbelief while covering her mouth. "How did you get such a thing?! Did you…"

"I´m a hunter, I got it the hard way." the father shook his head. "Listen Yoru, this is no simple gem. This is one of the rarest gems in the world, found only inside the bodies of the Rathians, only one per creature and only in select few monsters. In fact, there are only records of it being found on particularly dangerous individuals. Killing a Rathian is already a hard task, finding one with the gem inside is harder, killing said creature without damaging the stone is even harder." the father said. "I have been training to hunt a Rathian for the past years so I could give it to you today. That´s why I´m always late." he gestured to his scarred face.

Yoru looked at the stone in her hands, "So this is one rare stone! But if you don´t want me to sell it then why give it to me?" the teen asked.

"Rathians aren´t mindless rampaging creatures. A Rathian is always female and very territorial. They will protect their children with all their might until either the enemy gives up or they die. In legend the Rathian Ruby is a signal of good fortune for its owner since it is hard to acquire. Some say that it is proof of the strength and perseverance of the owner. That´s why I want you to have it." the patron told with a smile.

Yoru looked at the stone, "You´re telling me I´m protective, strong and perseverant and wish me good fortune?" she asked.

"No, you´re an idiot that never learns anything about your experiences and will never achieve anything if you continue like this." a male, younger voice said with disgust.

Yoru opened her eyes, a shadow loomed over her. She instinctively went for her longsword but stopped when she realized it was a person wearing armor. The man´s face was obscured by the shadows but the huntress could see that the armor was made of a dark material. The man snickered, his shoulders shaking up and down as he burst into a fit of laugher. The red haired woman knew that laugher, she knew it all too well. She tried to stand up to face this warrior but her legs faltered and she fell on her back again.

"Damn it!" Yoru cursed with her good eye closed.

"Easy there noob. You don´t want to die, do you? Well, since you simply SLEPT in a place where the sunrays would directly hit you once the Sun has risen I suppose you don´t care anymore." the warrior stated looking at his gauntlet.

"Ignavus…!" Yoru gritted her teeth, this was the last thing she wanted right now.

"The one and the same, Ignavus the great dragon hunter of Kokoto!" the hunter pointed his finger at his own chest.

"Dragon Hunter." the huntress rolled her eyes. "Yeah you freaking liar! Because five days ago I met Kushala Daora, again!" the red haired woman pointed to the left where she came from.

Ignavus raised a brow, "Oh really? Do you have any proof? Any witness? Because your friend over there is dead." the white haired man pointed at his side.

Yoru looked at her right and spotted a large pile of sand. She tried to stand up again but her legs failed and she fell on her knees. The huntress bit her lips as she mustered all her strength to not fall flat on the ground.

"What have you done to him?!" she shouted to the man, her voice hoarse and dry.

"Calm down noob, are you going to blame me for everything? He was already dead when I came, had to bury him to avoid attracting more monsters. You know, basic stuff we do on the village from time to time. Like when Rick…" Ignavus stopped when Yoru punched the sand, the grains splattering on the ground.

"SHUT UP! Don´t mention Rick like he´s nobody!" the huntress raised her head, her eyes filled with a killer´s instinct. "He´s a true hunter unlike you! You greedy and arrogant bastard!" she pointed her index finger at Ignavus but then coughed due to her dry throat.

"Touched a scar, didn´t I? My bad, sometimes I forget how sensitive you are. Always letting your feelings get the best of you, always jumping to conclusions, doing mistakes that you could prevent... I guess some people never learn to control their inner beasts." the hunter shrugged as he turned his back to the woman.

Yoru stared down at the ground, her eyes half open as she contemplated over the words, she touched her blind eye with her left hand and then closed the good one. After a deep breath she moved her hand away from her face and sat on the ground. The huntress averted her eyes from the older hunter and chose to look at the left.

"Why are you here?" she asked bitter.

"Saving you, that´s obvious." Ignavus replied.

"Why? I thought you hated me much as I hate you." she asked, memories of her departure resurfacing in her mind.

"I´m doing this so you don´t say anything like "Ignavus is lying! He didn´t kill the monster! I saw it yesterday." or "You´re the one responsible for ruining my quest!" or even "If you hadn´t done this I would still have my legs.". I will be able to hunt soon and I don´t want anybody, especially you, ruining my career again." he told.

"If you had killed the damn dragon I wouldn´t have complained and you would still have your rank." Yoru answered looking back at the man, her eyes piercing his soul like a lance. When the hunter remained quiet and unfazed the huntress decided to ask another question. "How did you find me?" she asked.

"I´m a professional hunter, The only thing I cannot track is a Chameleos." the hunter said with a hint of anger in his voice, the huntress noticed it but remained quiet.

A growling sound rumbled in the huntress´ stomach. "If you´re here to save me, did you bring food and water?" she asked.

"I told you many times, I´m an expert. Who goes to the desert without water and food? Actually, the grub is ready." Ignavus said looking at his left.

Yoru didn´t feel so hungry anymore, "Tell me it isn´t actually grubs." her shoulders fell at the idea.

"Have to deal with what you got." Ignavus said going for a small bonfire made of rocks and tiny pieces of wood. He got a wooden stick with assorted larvae impaled on it and offered it to the huntress.

"By Fatalis´ sake, first Cephalos blood, then those insects and now baby insects. When I get back home I will buy myself a nice meal in the bar." Yoru grabbed the stick, turning it around as she inspected the tiny corpses until she finally decided to take a bite. It wasn´t the first time she ate bugs and larvae and apparently it wouldn´t be the last.

Meanwhile Ignavus was about to eat his share of larvae when he heard the huntress´ comment. However, knowing that the huntress was starving he remained silent until she finished eating the last bug. "Did you actually drink Cephalos blood? How are you still alive?" he asked and then munched on a larva.

"What do you mean? I know it is horrible but it isn´t like I would die from it. Besides, I only drank it when there wasn´t any water." Yoru argued.

"Dude, a couple of glasses of blood can leave you ill, more will kill you." Ignavus said eating his share of bugs.

Yoru froze, her eyes staring at the rocks at the other side, her mind processing the words and trying to understand her current situation. "What?!" she shouted.

"Almost forgot, here." the hunter threw a canteen at the huntress, it landed on her chest causing a grunt from the weakened woman.

The white haired man exchanged looks with the huntress, the unspoken words clear and obvious. "Remember to drink it slowly." he advised pointing at the full canteen.

"I know, did you forget I´m 4 stars or you still think I´m a novice?" the huntress asked before drinking the holy liquid slowly and steady.

"You may not be a newbie anymore but you´re still a noob." Ignavus said shaking his head to the sides.

"There´s no freaking difference you idiot!" Yoru shouted while extending her arm forward and spilling some of the water of the canteen on the ground.

"You´re the idiot! You just wasted our water!" Ignavus pointed to the wet patch of sand by Yoru´s side. "This is the definitive proof you´re still a noob! Newbies don´t know, they´re novices! Noobs on the other hand don´t know and they REFUSE to learn." he pointed to the huntress.

The huntress mustered all her remaining might to stand up and punch her savior in the face but her body refused to budge. Her hand instinctively grabbed a bunch of sand and was about to throw it at him but then released it.

"You know what?! You tell me I never learn but your time as assistant didn´t help break your arrogance!" the huntress slammed both fists on the sand. "You didn´t even say sorry for my eye!" she pointed to her white eye.

Ignavus just stared at the huntress, "No matter how much you bend and hammer the metal it is still metal. You can change the shape, erase the imperfections but the basic material will still be the same." he said shaking his head to the sides. "Do you really think that if I apologize for those things I supposedly caused you months ago it will make your anger vanish? Easy as that?" the hunter snapped his fingers. "Apparently killing the wyvern wasn´t enough so what can possibly quench your wrath?" he asked while raising a brow.

"A good dose of justice." Yoru replied after taking another sip of the canteen.

"An endless stream of revenge, I say." Ignavus retorted.

"I lose my eye and you just smith iron for months. This is not fair!" Yoru argued.

"You have no trouble hunting with one eye, now if you had lost an arm or leg I would agree with you." the white haired man spoke.

"I lost HALF of my vision!" the huntress protested.

Ignavus gave a faint smile, "Fine, I never expected to reason with you to begin with. We do have one more thing to do before coming back to Kokoto, though." the hunter told.

Caught by surprise the huntress was confused, "What?" she asked.

"Well…" the hunter took a look at the woman´s body but averted his gaze just a moment later.

Yoru looked at herself but found nothing wrong. Of course, her armor was almost completely gone, only small pieces of iron covered her body allowing anyone to see her ripped and dirty white shirt and green shorts. "I´m not naked, what´s wrong with it?" she argued.

"Dude, you look more like a survivor than a hunter. Anyone would think that you fled from it." Ignavus grunted in annoyance as he placed his hand over his face. "And really? After everything that happened you didn´t even bother to get a bone as proof? You´re the biggest noob I have ever seen. I can´t overstate how dumb you are! My arms would have to be as long as Lao to even show a fraction of how stupid you are." he extended his arms to the sides to emphasize.

Yoru´s eyes widened when she realized what he meant, "I can´t prove my kill…which means they won´t believe me and this will cause fear! They will lose resources and time for an eventual attack that will never come!" she said looking at the West.

"Finally you realized! Took you long enough, noob!" the older hunter said.

"I must get back to the corpse before it decays!" Yoru stood up despite her current state.

"Easy there, idiot. You won´t last the trip, not even with what I got with me." Ignavus warned pointing to his huge backpack.

"I WILL survive and WILL return ALIVE to the village. I don´t care about what you say!" the huntress stomped the ground but gritted her teeth when pain spread across her leg.

"I never said I wouldn´t help you get there, I said you wouldn´t last with what I got on my back." the hunter grinned. "We gonna do this the easiest and most efficient way. Just get out of this fissure and you will see." Ignavus pointed to the East.

Yoru looked weirdly at the older hunter, "Don´t tell me…" she mumbled taking a hard step forward, "Ugh, I feel like my muscles are going to snap in half." the huntress used the wall as support as she limped to the end of the fissure.

"Wanna have some help?" Ignavus asked as he followed from behind.

"No." she answered.

"Kay then, the body is yours." the hunter said before drinking a flask of water.

"If you´re playing me, I´m going to break your leg." the huntress threatened.

"Yours are more likely to fall before that happens." the hunter answered indifferent.

"How did you find one just in time anyway?!" Yoru bragged as she approached the end of the wall.

"That, Nightfury, is a story to be told around nice bonfire." Ignavus spelled Nightfury as if mocking the title.

As they neared the end of the fissure Yoru started to hear something in the distance. Was it…murmurs? She stopped for a moment and closed her eyes to focus in the sound. The wind carried the noise until it hit her ears again. They were definitely voices, human voices! Opening her eyes again she looked back at her savior, he was dragging her longsword across the ground with one hand and he had the pink greatshield strapped around his left arm. She wondered how he was carrying so much weight and her sword at the same time. Judging by his face it was a hard task but far from the experience she had the first time she dragged it across this forsaken land.

"Thought you were the only one, didn´t ya? Smithing does wonders to your arms." Ignavus exclaimed with a smirk across his face.

"You…" was the only thing the huntress manage to say.

"I´m not that old, I´m 45. Could have stolen your blade? Yes, I could. Would I accomplish something doing it? Absolutely not. Now go." the hunter pointed forward.

The huntress kept looking at him despite the order, many questions emerged in her head but she couldn´t find a satisfactory answer to any of them. Deciding to keep them for later she continued going forward until her hand touched the border of the wall, even though she was already half expecting it she didn´t believe her eyes. Right in front of her was a very large wooden ship, the main mast standing firm and proud in the back of the transport and a second one in front of it, the sails lowered since it was immobile. On the board of the ship the huntress could see many men walking across the wooden structure, she made eye contact with one of them which prompted him to point at her as he shouted something to his comrades.

"Nice ship, don´t you think?" Ignavus asked by Yoru´s side.

"How did you find one?!" Yoru asked.

"By chance, to be honest with you. I got a lot of unpaid favors with many guys during my career. Helped them a couple of times and they decided to give me a free ride. Cool, right?" the white haired man said with a grin.

Notes:

It took too long, way too long to update this story but it is finally done. What is this? Berserk? Hahaha. Anyway, one more chapter for Yoru´s saga. If you don´t know or remember there is a type of ship in Monster Hunter Tri that is used to hunt in the desert. How it works? I don´t know, sometimes you don´t have these answers.

The Rathian Ruby was one of the rarest items back in Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (not so much in more recent games). Yoru´s father said it was only one per creature because no hunter was lucky to find two or more in the same monster (ironically I got two in the same mission during last year while playing Freedom Unite). Remember that in this story the hunters can´t farm monsters so it is extremely unlikely for one to find two rubies on the same Rathian. It is also only available in High and G-rank quests.