Chapter Thirty-Six: Kuroyuri


Phoenix and RNJR walked down an old forest trail with an incapacitated Qrow. He was mumbling something about Ruby's father while Ruby and Jaune carried him on a makeshift stretcher. Phoenix was scribbling furiously into a notebook, still trying to come up with an antidote to the poison. He'd come up with multiple different ones, but none of them could be made with the resources they had.

"How much farther?" a concerned Ruby asked.

"We've gotta be close," Nora stated.

"Without the map there's no way of knowing," Ren pointed out. Phoenix was internally screaming upon being reminded of the fact that they'd lost yet another map. "But I feel like we're close to something," Ren continued. Just as he said this a sign came into view.

"Hey! Hey! Minstral! We're on the right path!" Nora cheered as she ran ahead. Her joy was short lived. She immediately quieted down when she saw the look on Ren's face. She took another look at the sign. "Oh…"

"Does it say how close?" Ruby asked as the others caught up.

"No… and it looks like the path takes us through the mountains."

"I don't think all of us can make that climb," Jaune looked at the injured Qrow.

"Well… uh… what about this place. Kuroyuri. Can we get help there?," Ruby asked desperately.

"The name is crossed out on the sign Ruby," Phoenix pointed out. "I don't think we'll find help there."

"He's right. That village was destroyed years ago," Ren explained.

"But if it takes us around the mountains, then it's the best bet we've got," Jaune replied.

"It will take too long!"

"The town would've had some sort of doctor. We can scavenge for medical supplies, and I might be able to find the resources to make an antidote."

"We're not going to find anything! We just need to press on!" Ren was desperate to avoid going into the town. That combined with Ren's knowledge of the surrounding area and the Grimm responsible for the destruction made the reason clear. Once again, however, the others didn't catch on.

"Ren, why're you acting this-?" Jaune's question was cut short by Nora.

"We split up," she suggested.

"What?!" everyone but Ren exclaimed. Nora ignored them and continued.

"Ren and I can go through the mountains while the three of you go around through the village."

"That's a terrible idea." Phoenix stated. "We're supposed to stick together. We have to keep each other safe."

"We don't have time for safe! If we make it to Minstral, then we can send back help. If we don't, we'll at least have a better view of the land. We might be able to find somewhere that can help us." Qrow started coughing, providing further evidence that this was their best option.

"Okay," Jaune agreed reluctantly. "Just take care of each other."

"We always have," Nora said. With that, the two groups went their separate ways.

"They're going to be fine," Ruby stated. She was trying to reassure herself as much as she was the others. Phoenix struggled to keep the same positivity. He'd already come up with countless scenarios where something would go wrong.

Jaune seemed to share share his pessimism. "We don't know that," he pointed out. The three of them were too lost in thought to notice that they were unwittingly following a Grimm.


"Well, this could prove problematic," Phoenix thought as they got a good look at the village, or rather what was left of it.

"Any of these places look like a pharmacy," Ruby asked as they entered.

"It's honestly hard to tell. This place is in worse shape than Oniyuri."

"Ren really didn't want to come here, did he?"

"It didn't seem like it," Jaune replied.

"Do you know why?"

A gust of wind blew over some derbies and revealed a banner with a symbol similar to Ren's on it. "I think I've got a pretty good idea."


"Any luck?" Jaune asked when Ruby and Phoenix returned from their search for medical supplies.

"Nothing we can use to make an antidote," Phoenix replied dejectedly. Qrow started to cough yet again as though he was reminding them that they had to make something soon. The situation felt even more dire when they heard the cries of Grimm in the distance. Both Jaune and Phoenix drew their weapons and turned to face the sound.

"It's far off," Ruby pointed out.

A blood curdling shriek that wasn't nearly as far off was heard. Ruby drew Crescent Rose as the three of them turned to faced where it came from. Before Phoenix could use tactical mode to locate the source of the sound, he heard two sets of footsteps approaching them. The three of them turned around to face the two newcomers.

"What're you two doing here Phoenix asked Ren and Nora. "Did something happen?"

Ren, however, had seemingly tuned everything out. He fell to his knees with a look of complete hopelessness on his face. "No… not again…" he muttered to himself. The reason for his behavior made itself known as it rounded a corner and let out a deafening shriek: a Nuckelavee.


Two chapters in one day?! What trickery is this?! I honestly was having so much trouble with the last chapter that I decided, "Screw it, I'm just working on the next chapter until I know what to do." And work I did.

On another note… BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Another cliffhanger. Thanks for reading!