...

Jaeger

000

CHAPTER SIX

The next few days all continued along the same lines, in the morning he would be woken up by Minty, and get breakfast with Nile and Ann at Penny's mum's food stall, then Nile would take him out training on the outskirts until lunch time, after a quick meal, Naruto would then begin his Chakra lessons with the other hunters until dinner. After that he'd have the evening to himself, but usually end up either hanging around the Hunting Hall listening to stories from the various hunters, or having more ready and writing lessons with Ann. Then it would be bed, and begin again tomorrow.

One that was broken on the fifth day by the appearance of a messenger palico in blue bearing a missive for Nile from Dundorma.

His Eminence, the head of the Hunters' Guild, wanted to meet Naruto.

Naruto didn't get what the big deal was, but everyone in the 'Capitol C' (Rayleigh should never be allowed to name things ever) was freaking out over it, except for Mamoru. But Naruto didn't think he would freak out over anything less than a dragon landing on his forge. Ann had gone running to a friend of hers, and Naruto had to put up with being stood on a stool and measured like a piece of meat while Ann hovered nearby and asked about how long it would take her friend to make something suitable for him, Nile wouldn't need anything as he had his armour, but Naruto himself had nothing but the clothes on his back and his basic training equipment.

"I can get it done by tomorrow morning," the lady promised as she got to her feet, little wax tablet in a tight grip as she patted Naruto's shoulder, "What's your favourite colour?" she asked.

Naruto blinked, no one had actually asked him that before, "Orange, but darker than this, like a sunset," he explained feeling oddly embarrassed. He would have liked his jumpsuit to be a darker shade of orange, closer to the colour of tigers, or embers, but that particular shade of neon was all they had at the shop, it was typically meant for construction workers which was why Naruto chose it. It was tough, water proof, padded in the right areas, had deep pockets, internal and out, and clips and loops for tools, plus it had a detachable hood, and the sleeves could be pushed up and tightened in place to keep his hands free. It was a really good outfit. Plus, he knew, staring at orange for too long gave people a headache, so all those people who glared so hatefully at him would have to look away eventually or risk brain pain.

The lady smiled, "I can do that," she said cheerfully before nodding to Ann and bustling away from their little 'section' of Val Habar.

The genin frowned over at Ann who was just again fussing with several papers and a notebook, "What's going on, dattebayo?" he asked warily, "Whys it such a big deal if I see this emmy guy?"

Ann paused and straightened up, "Ah yes, I – I imagine this must be very confusing. Sorry Naruto," she apologised before running a hand through her hair, dislodging her hat briefly. She caught it and put it back before sitting herself down, "Well, to start... The Hunter's Guild is the largest organisation in the world, I'm sure you know by now. A great many villages, towns, and cities have all been built around various Hunting Halls and tailored to suit the needs of Hunters. Much like what you've explained to me about your Ninja villages. His Eminence is the leader of the Guild. He is... I guess you could say he is our Hokage, but while yours leads only the one village, his Eminence leads all of them, making him the highest authority in our society outside Royalty, and even then, I can't think of many who would put mere land owners above the being that ensures that land is kept safe," she explained with a small dismissive sniff. Clearly, much like Ninjas, Hunters did not think highly of nobility.

Naruto nodded slowly, "Okay, so your Kage wants to talk to me. Why all the fuss though?"

Ann pulled an odd face, "Naruto, his Eminence is the most powerful person in the world. He is a wyverian with hundreds of years hunting experience under his belt, and thousands of the Guild's most skilled and dedicated Hunters passing under his watchful eyes every day. It isn't fuss. It's respect," she explained firmly lifting a finger up to enforce her point. "His Eminence has protected Dundorma through countless Elder Dragon attacks and lead our people through numerous times of crisis. He is a great man, a very dignified, and proud one who cares greatly for his Hunters, and both Nile and I want you to make a good impression on him," she finished with a stern expression.

The blond nodded slowly, "Will you be coming with us?" he asked curiously.

She nodded with a smile, "Yes. You, me, and Nile will all be catching one of the airships to Dundorma tomorrow morning," she explained with a small chuckle, "I'd advise wrapping up warm as it can get chilly up there."

000

Airships were so cool!

Naruto whooped rushing from one end to the other, bouncing past the felyne crewmen, the support hunters manning the cannons and harpoon guns, and the ship's captain watching him with amused indulgence as Naruto practically half climbed out of the ship in order to get a better look at the world below.

The airships were just like actual real ships, just hoisted up on a big gas balloon that was about the size of one of the faces on the Hokage monument back in Konoha. At the nose of the ship was this massive harpoon about as thick as Naruto was tall at its widest point, and cruelly serrated. The captain called it a 'Dragonator' and was supposedly there just in case something a lot bigger than a Rathalos, the male variant of the green wyvern that first chased him, tried to take a swipe at the ship.

Thankfully for both Nile and Ann's blood pressure, nothing thought they looked particularly tasty as they flew towards Dundorma. Nile would often call Naruto over to watch something going on down below, be it a predator taking down its prey (he got to see the female green rathian take out one of those huge grey herbivores, Aptonoth Nile called it, and fly off with it), or a hunt currently in progress.

Dundorma was a city enclosed on a fifty foot stone wall, it bore signs of damage all across it, the people still rebuilding collapsed buildings, scorched earth being tilled and replanted with seeds and plants, small craters being carefully tended and turned into decorative ponds, and hunters everywhere carrying supplies and goods to those whom ordered them. He could see guards in heavy armour with huge halberds standing guard here, there, and everywhere, marching after hunters in blue and red uniforms in and out of the city.

"Guild Knights," Ann explained as she began to usher him to one side, "They are... law enforcement, you could say. They handle instances of rogue hunters, poaching, even murder," she explained quietly as she rummaged in her back for the neat little box that her friend rushed to her as they were leaving. "Here, get changed while I try to do something about your hair," she whispered, shifting so she was blocking him off from the rest of the town. Nile had told her that his people were somewhat more reserved when it came to baring themselves, hence why she had pulled him aside. It wasn't uncommon for a hunter to run through a town or a city naked to take a quest, some quests even requested hunters do it in their skivvies. Nile would forever curse the idiot who thought it would be funny to make 'Deviljho in the buff' an on-running quest. She had seen the lancer strip down at the forge to try on a new piece of armour, and she was guilty of doing so herself when a new uniform came in from the Guild. But she felt that Naruto would perhaps be a tad more restrained in his clothing habits.

The genin went red but did as she requested, pulling his jacket, T-shirt, and trousers off in short order as she handed him clothing. Ann had to approve of her friend's tailoring skills, she had rushed the order, but it certainly didn't show to her eyes. Black boots with sunset red-orange caps that went as high as Naruto's knees and folded over neatly, a pair of black trousers tucked into them, a white collared shirt, a sunset red-orange waistcoat, and a mantled jacket in that same sunset red-orange colour with golden coloured piping and trim, it was clenched at his waist by a black belt, and offset by a single splash of azure blue at his throat with a neck cloth that tucked into his waistcoat. It matched his eyes, Ann noted as she tried to tame his hair, but eventually gave it up as a bad job and merely neatened it as much as she could.

All in all, he looked almost like a miniature Guild Knight without armour, gloves, or adornments.

Nile nodded in approval, "Very nice," he declared, his golden armour catching the light as he loomed behind Ann with tower shield on one arm, and lance strapped to his back. Ann herself was in a freshly cleaned and pressed green uniform herself, her hair, usually loose, was pulled back tightly into a neat bun. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, looking at them both.

Ann nodded as she bundled Naruto's clothing into her back, "Yes, just give me a moment to leave these with Lorna," she said quickly as she jogged towards the young lady at the item stall. They exchanged a few words before Lorna nodded earnestly and waved a hand dismissively and rapidly, she took the bag and tucked it under some boxes in her stall before waving Ann away. The Guild Marm rushed back to them, nervously straightening her uniform as she did so, "She'll keep it safe and out of the way until we get back. Shall we?" the red head asked as she patted herself down and checked her small pouch for the sixth time in the last hour.

Nile nodded easily, and then lead them up the huge flight of stairs to the large dome building that seemed to have a near constant traffic of smaller airships coming and going. They were stopped briefly by the guards, but allowed to pass once Ann rummaged the letter from her pouch that invited them. Naruto couldn't help but stare around him in awe, he's never seen a place like this before. Konoha was all wood and rebuilt and clutter, all the buildings shoved together and built on top of each other with balconies, and awnings, and graffiti and seal tags in interesting places. Ninja were notorious for trying to fix things themselves because they couldn't be bothered, or were too paranoid, to order someone in to do it for them. Naruto had seen leaking water pipes patched up with dormant exploding tags before, and no one batted an eye at that sort of thing. But here? The buildings were all stone, and sturdy, they were high but they weren't cramped or cluttered, and they were clean. It wasn't perhaps as green or growing as Konoha where people had trees and plants growing in the most unexpected of locations, like guttering that had a small sapling growing out of it once on the flat just across from his.

The building they came to though... that was unlike anything he'd seen before in his life.

The huge flight of stairs had a few off-splits that Nile explained were for Guild Knights, and G-rank hunters, places for them to live and sleep when not on missions or quests. Up they went until they reached the G-rank Hunting Hall, where the floors were polished mosaics of elegant repeating patterns, knots and waves and designs, a slightly worn carpet lead straight up the stairs past a few more guards to a breezy open room with no walls, or windows, just wrought iron railings in beautiful patterns encircling a round room manned by three beautiful wyverian women, a small wyverian man shorter even than Naruto, and the biggest person he had ever seen.

His Eminence was a towering wyverian quite easily twelve times his size at least, and six times broader, clad in polished metal armour and purple fabric, he cut an impressive figure, perched at the head of the room, a sword of equal size in one hand, bracketed by braziers, and packed by a huge decorative stone circle and sheer yellow drapes hanging from the ceiling, drifting faintly on the slight breeze, Naruto could now understand why Ann was so insistent on his being presentable. The old geezer had presence. More so than Hokage-jiji, and his forehead wasn't nearly so tall, or his white beard so big.

Holy shit his eyebrows are long!

Naruto swallowed nervously as he trailed behind Nile and Ann, the two of them pacing towards the huge wyverian and bowing.

"Greetings old friends, fellow Hunters," the wyverian rumbled, inclining his head to them. "Naruto Uzumaki, of Fire Country's Konoha, step forward so I may see you clearly," the Guild Kage requested, peering down at him through the bushiest eyebrows Naruto had ever seen. Seriously, they put Lee's sensei to shame.

Naruto squared his shoulders and stepped between Nile and Ann, meeting him square on. Huge he may have been, but Naruto wasn't part of the Guild, and he wasn't a Hunter. He was a ninja. And he had been trained by the best.

The old wyverian stared long and hard at him before leaning back and nodding deeply, "You have good eyes," he suddenly declared. "Dedicated, and proud. There is strength in them. Strength and determination. They will serve you well, Naruto Uzumaki of Fire Country."

The blond stared at him, wide eyed. Just like that? Just by looking at him this old guy could make such a decision about his character?

"Ann Messenger, your papers, if I may purview them?" his Eminence rumbled, the tiny male wyverian bustling forward to collect them from the Guild Marm as she withdrew them from her pouch. They were presented without much ceremony to the Guild Kage who squinted down at them seriously for a time, leaving the three in awkward silence. Naruto glancing behind himself as he heard one of the guards quietly turning away a small trio of hunters as his Eminence was in a meeting. An older guy with dark hair and caramel coloured skin, a young man, probably about eighteen, with snow white hair and lightly tanned skin, and a pretty girl roughly the same age with ebony skin and dark braids in her hair.

"Nile Ludro, of my Knights, what say you of your Guild Marm's observations?" the Guild Kage asked, dragging Naruto's attention away from the three hunters who were just leaving.

Nile rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I think... That Naruto's methods of channelling energy could revolutionise the Hunter's Guild, but also make it exceptionally difficult for the Guild Knights to maintain order. It is... a double edged knife. One that from what Ann and I have observed, will be a long time coming. Undoubtedly it would save hundreds of lives, but his techniques seem to be learn-able only by the younger generation. But that is merely my theory. I am no scientist.

"Naruto himself is hard-working, dedicated, and amiable. A very cheerful young man with only the best of intentions. I have seen him frustrated and upset, but never furious to the point of violence. He is polite, and for all that he comes from a very different culture, and confesses to not being the best of students, I have received nothing but respect, curiosity, and complete dedication to any and all lessons and knowledge I have imparted upon him. If it pleases you, your Eminence, I would take him as my official apprentice at this time, until such point he can register officially for the Guild," Nile announced proudly, his chin lifting.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Your apprenticeship, I will allow. But young, Naruto Uzumaki of Fire Country, is. Upon the turning of his majority, I will allow this apprenticeship to be forged in iron and flame," he declared, lifting his sword and smacking the tip against the floor, Naruto swallowed, he could feel that through the soles of his new boots.

"He means once you turn fifteen, Nile can begin taking you out on hunts with him instead of just training you in weapons' handling," Ann bent down to whisper.

"My thanks, your Eminence," Nile said humbly with another deep bow. Ann following suit, and pinching Naruto's back until he did the same.

"I look forward to witnessing your future exploits, Naruto Uzumaki of Fire Country. I would have you all remain in Dundorma., and speak with me in the morrow, I have much to discuss with Tatsuki of my Ministers regarding your Chakra. A decision will be reached at the dawn of a new day," the wyverian declared, slamming his sword into the ground once again.

"Your rooms are still available downstairs, Nile, shall I prepare two extra beds, or merely the one?" one of the beautiful wyverian ladies asked in a smoky voice coloured with sly amusement.

Ann blushed a little, while Nile merely smirked at the woman, "Just the one will be fine," he told her benignly.

000

After the three bade his Eminence good-day, Ann took him down to collect his clothes, and then back up to Nile's rooms in the Guild Knight quarters. Which were swanky. Polished marble floors, balconies, fabric drapes, armour stands displaying fancy armours that looked like they would be rather a tight squeeze on the heavily muscular lancer now a days, and a huge double bed dominated the middle of the room against the wall. A second bed, somewhat smaller, with yellow and red blankets neatly arranged was set against one of the other walls, on top of the blankets was a small wooden box.

"Ah, I see Suiren took a shine to you," Nile observed as Naruto picked the box up.

"Eh?" the genin blurted, glancing over at him. Which one was Suiren? Had he spoken to them? Who was Suiren?

"The lady who waved on our way out of the hall, who arranged for a bed to be brought up? It seems as though she's arranged for a pass to typically Hunter only areas for you," Nile explained as Naruto opened the box and found a wooden token attached to a cord. "That will let you come and go from my quarters without the guards stopping you, and without Ann or I having to escort you. Meaning that if you want to go and explore Dundorma without us, or even go shopping, you won't have any trouble."

"Really?"

"Really, really. Just, when someone starts sounding the alarm, come back here, do you understand?" Nile asked seriously, placing both hands on Naruto's shoulders. "If the alarm sounds, it means there is an Elder Dragon attacking the city. It happens depressingly often, hence why the city is almost always half in ruins. However, it is a protective wall that shelters the smaller towns and villages from that same wrath. Elder Dragons are nothing like what you've seen before, Naruto. If the alarm sounds, you get back here as fast as you can."

The blond nodded solemnly, "I will." But he didn't promise. If one of those scaly bastards picked a fight with him, or someone else who couldn't fight back, then he'd kick their asses no matter what Nile told him to do!

The lancer nodded and then rummaged a small pouch from his pocket, "Here. Go out and get yourself something nice while I chat to Ann about her notes. Chances are we'll have to make a trip to the Observation Centre, or possibly the Wycademy. Explore the town, get something to eat, there's a nice little fishing spot not far from the wall, if you catch some golden fish you can trade 'em in for extra money," Nile added with a chuckle as he ruffled Naruto's blond hair back into disarray as he dropped the pouch into the preteen's hands.

Naruto weighed the back thoughtfully, "How much is in there?" he asked curiously.

"About seven hundred zenny. You can use all of it if you like, I don't mind. Just have some fun, tomorrow I doubt there will be much of a chance for it," he added with an apologetic smile.

Naruto grinned, "Thanks Nile!"

"No problem, Sunspire. Just be back before it gets dark," he said as Ann whipped her hat off and tossed it across the room as she flopped back on Nile's bed with a laugh.

"That went better than expected," Naruto heard her laugh as he rushed out of the room, shoving the money in the pocket of his new clothes, and the wooden token around his neck.

Dundorma was surprisingly quiet for such a bustling city. People seemed content to just get on with their day and their jobs, street vendors still called out but it was still a nice peaceful kind of atmosphere unlike Val Habar's mildly chaotic cheery one. Naruto found the little fishing spot that Nile told him about, and promptly went skinny dipping in order to catch near enough a whole shoal of coinperch in varying sizes, cathangea fish and fry, and a huge tuna that nearly dragged him out of the small protected underside of the dock and into the deeper river.

By the time Naruto was sitting down to eat at a small food stall, he'd made ten times the amount of zenny that was in the little pouch by selling the fish to Lorna at the item shop. She was happy to take them for a fair price, and point him to a few shops that might interest him. He ended up buying a few monster books, he wanted to buy some weapons but the armoury shop wouldn't let him as he was too young (and no amount of yelling or tantrum throwing got him anywhere with the unimpressed father of three manning the desk), so he ended up buying general knick-knacks and other useless trinkets that looked cool.

"-know you're wondering what the kid was doing there in the first place," a girl was saying as she passed behind him.

"We missed our quest window because of – hey!" a male voice began, only to yelp and make Naruto jump and turn, his mouth full of rice and some kind of super tasty meat and sauce.

It was the two teenagers from the Elder Hall, the dark skinned girl and the white haired boy. They were dressed in casual clothing instead of the armour from earlier, fresh faced, and just as startled to see him as he was to see them. Up close they were both very pretty, and probably only about eighteen or nineteen.

"Oh," the girl said, "You're that kid from the Elder Hall."

"Thanks to you we were late for our Quest!" the boy complained with a put-upon scowl. The girl nudged him sharply with her elbow.

"That's hardly his fault," she hissed angrily before turning to Naruto and smiling kindly, "I'm Persephone, this sour-puss here is Silas. Mind if we join you?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head, "More the merrier," he said as he shifted along his bench to give them some space. Persephone beamed at him and sat down next to him while Silas scowled and took the seat opposite on the bench, the two gave their orders to the felyne waiter and fell into an almost awkward silence that Naruto heroically ignored in favour of finishing up as much of his plate as he could. He was getting better, he noted as he sat back with a grimace, rubbing his stomach. Half the platter gone.

"Nya, is everything alright with the food?" the felyne waiter asked as he returned with the food and drink orders of the other two.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, it was great, I just can't eat any more. I'm super stuffed." He caught the almost doubtful look on the cat's face as he looked at the half-eaten platter. "No really, it's great! I – uh – never got to eat much growing up and this stuff is really, really rich so I can't stomach too much at one time," he explained rapidly, he didn't want them to think he didn't like their food. It was great really. He just literally couldn't eat much more.

"Then I'll leave it with you, purrhaps you'll feel hungry again later, nya," the waiter said before bustling off.

"So, I don't think I got your name earlier?" Persephone asked as she sipped her drink, she had some kind of big bowl of stew that was heaving with diced meat and thick cuts of vegetables in a dark tangy smelling gravy. Opposite her, Silas had a large meat shank smothered with sauce, and a fluffy looking dumpling on a bed of roasted vegetables.

"Oh, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Nice t'meet you, neechan," he declared with a wide toothy grin at the pretty teenager.

"Are you a trainee hunter, Naruto?" Silas asked curiously, apparently in a better mood with food on the table.

Naruto shook his head, "Not yet. I'm supposed to be apprenticing to Nile when I'm fifteen, but until then, I don't really know what's going to happen," he admitted with a grimace.

Persephone nodded, "That's pretty standard. Silas and I were apprenticed when we hit fifteen too. We aim to become Guild Knights once we turn twenty and can officially register for the Guild," she explained proudly, her face set into lines of determination.

"Cool. So, you guys go on Quests?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yes. Silas there likes to use dual blades, while I myself am partial to the bow, though heavy bowguns are just as useful," the girl mused thoughtfully. She then smiled down at him, "Is there any particular weapon you have your eye on?" she asked kindly.

They spent several hours at their table discussing weapons, items, armour, anything and everything. Silas loosened up considerably from his stiff unhappiness at losing their window of opportunity to take part in a particular quest, he was a pretty funny guy, always with a sassy quip on the tip of his tongue, meanwhile Persephone was down to earth and had a sense of humour dryer than a desert. The three of them discussed weapons and techniques at length, Naruto somehow ended up telling them about his mad-treetop dash away from the rathian when he first arrived, and how he ended up killing a genprey with his bare hands. The two teenagers had been a very appreciative audience until that point, Silas seemed to want to check his hand over immediately while Persephone was grinning from ear to ear, telling him that arm strength like that would take him far as a gunner or a bowman.

In all, he thought he could quite comfortably call the two friends.

And then the alarm began to sound.

000

DUN DUN DUN – ELDER DRAGON ATTACK INBOUND!

000

Character corner, as Jaeger is set ten years before the start of MH4U's storyline, some character descriptions might not be accurate enough for people to keep track of whom is whom, on top of the fact that very few characters in Monhun are actually named. This is a small key so that players and new readers know who is who.

Naruto Uzumaki – a character who needs no introduction.
Rayleigh Morris – the Caravaneer of the Capitol C in MH4U.
Mamoru – the Man, blacksmith of the Capitol C.
Penny – the young Guild Marm, I know her canon name is Sophia, but I began to write this before it was revealed, and Penny fits better in my head. As time progresses I might make Penny an OC and bring Sophia in another way, but for now, just assume Penny is the soon-to-be-Guild Marm.
Minty – your housekeeper felyne/chamberlyne.

Nile Ludro – Ace Lancer.
Silas – Ace Commander as a wet behind the ears rookie.
Persephone – Ace Gunner as a rookie apprentice.
Suiren – the Elder Hall's G-rank quest attendant.

Ann Messenger – Guild Marm OFC.
Autumn, Claire, Arsais, Dalagonash – Hunter OCs from my card list on MH4U.