Enter the Grave Village Kuroyuri
"Just hold on, Uncle Qrow." Ruby said looking worry at her Uncle.
Ruby and Jaune are carrying Qrow on a stretcher when the poison has started to consume Qrow's life, Ren is at the front leading the group to cover the front while Nora is at the rear with her hammer ready, Kimi is standing on the right to help cover the side with her katana ready.
"He's getting worse." Jaune alerted.
"How much farther?" Ruby asked Kimi who has the map in her hands.
"We've gotta be close." Nora hoped.
"We should be getting to the fork path that both will lead to Mistral." Kimi said looking at the map carefully.
"Does it say which one is closer?" Ruby asked.
"Hold on, we're here." Ren alerted the others about the fork road.
They stop at the fork road with a signpost between the two paths, there are four signs with names of certain places to go: three of them pointing toward the right are named Higanbana. Kuchinashi and Mistral while the single sign pointing to the left is Kuroyuri.
"Hey, hey! Mistral! We're on the right path! Oh..." Nora noticed one sign that makes her and Ren feel dark inside. A deep memory coming they hoped it would never come back.
"Kimi, how close are we?" Ruby asked again.
"I say about a few more hours." Kimi informed.
"And it looks like the path takes us up the mountains." Ren added.
Jaune and Ruby gentle sat Qrow down on the ground and walk over to Ren with Kimi.
"Guys, I don't know if all of us can make that climb." Jaune feared.
"Especially since we're carrying an injured man on foot." Kimi added.
"Okay. Well, what about this place? Kuro... Kuroyuri? Can we get help there?" Ruby asked as she really wants to hurry to Mistral hopefully to save Uncle Qrow in time.
"Kuroyuri, that name sounds very familiar." Kimi said as she tries to recall hearing that name before.
"That village was destroyed years ago." Ren mentioned.
"But if it takes us around the mountains, it's the best bet we've got." Jaune pointed out.
"It will take too long." Ren stated.
"The town would have had a doctor, right? Maybe we could scavenge for medicine!" Ruby hoped.
"Right, hopefully to prolong the poison inside Qrow." Jaune said.
"We're not going to find anything! We just have to press on!" Ren yelled a little as he lowers his head and clutched his fists.
"Oh dear…" Kimi surprised to see Ren snap like that.
"Ren, why are you acting" Jaune was about to ask, but Nora cut him off.
"We can split up." Nora suggested confusing Ruby and Kimi.
"Ren and I can cut through the mountains while you and Ruby take Qrow around through the village." Nora explained her plan.
"No, we're supposed to stick together! We keep each other safe!" Jaune reminded them of being a team.
"We don't have time for safe! If we make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help! If we don't, at least we'll have a better view of the land! Up there, we can see if there's somewhere else we can go!" Nora stated.
"I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Nora on this, at least one path will be faster that will get us help sooner." Kimi vouched for Nora.
Ren look at Nora with a smile as she returns the expression and mentally thank Kimi for agreeing to this, Ruby and Kimi look at Jaune telling him to go along with this, everyone became silent for a moment before Jaune broke the silent.
"Ok." Jaune nodded.
"Just take care of each other." Jaune said hugging Ren as he returns the hug.
"We always do." Nora smiled.
The group split into two as Ren and Nora went up to the mountain as they wave at the others before running up the path, Jaune and the two girls walk to the path heading toward the destroyed town while carrying Qrow again.
"They're gonna be fine, Jaune." Ruby said in confidence.
"You don't know that." Jaune exclaimed.
"But it doesn't hurt to have faith." Kimi pointed out.
The three Hunter teens walk over a big mark on the ground, the same mark that was in Shion as they are unknowingly walking into a danger zone.
They kept pressing forward through the destroyed ruin town hoping nothing spooky would come out on them since Kimi mentioned that she really doesn't like ghost.
"Any of these places look like a pharmacy?" Ruby asked as she looks around.
"It's... honestly hard to tell." Jaune said, not sure which buildings are which.
"It's like Ren said, we won't be able to find anything here." Kimi repeated and look to her right seen an old bicycle among the ruin.
"Ren really didn't want to come here, did he?" Ruby asked.
"I think I have a pretty good idea..." Jaune sighed.
"Me too, I remember hearing about this village. Back when it was still alive." Kimi said walking toward a large tree. Jaune and Ruby gentle sat Qrow on the tree taking a short break.
"It was peaceful, full of people living out their lives together. And I also believe this place used to Ren and Nora's home." Kimi revealed shocking Ruby.
"Oh, now I'm starting to see why Ren didn't want to be here. Having the home your grew up in destroyed right before your eyes will certainly give you nightmares together." Ruby said sadly, she can only imagine how Ren and Nora went through.
"Indeed, and the scary part is that this town was destroyed by a single Grimm." Kimi mentioned.
"One Grimm…? I remember you mentioned that before in Oniyuri." Jaune shocked.
"That's right, and I believe the Grimm that destroyed this village is the same one that destroyed Oniyuri." Kimi said with a slight serious expression on her face.
Suddenly they heard a loud noise from a far distance coming from the distraction of the mountain which Ren and Nora are at right now, this made Jaune worry though Kimi comfort him.
"It's far off." Ruby said.
"I know, but Ren and Nora are still out there." Jaune worried as he holds Kimi's hand back.
"Which is why we have to have faith in them, they have the strongest bond out of all of us since they grew up together." Kimi pointed out.
"I'm sorry." Ruby apologized making the Acr-Aoi couple look at her confuse.
"This is all my fault. I should have never dragged you guys into this." Ruby said believing this is her fault.
"You didn't drag us in. We wanted to come." Jaune stated.
"But you guys didn't know about Tyrian, about" Ruby's sentence was cut off when Kimi slapped her on the cheek which surprises the red hooded girl and Jaune.
"Stupid, are you trying to say you're the only one who suffered because in case you've forgotten, we have also suffered loses too." Kimi lectured.
"Kimi is right. We… We lost lost her, too. And Penny, and your team, and in a way... your sister. But you're still here, despite everything you've lost, everything you could still lose, you chose to come out here." Jaune said with a smile.
"Ruby, you out of all of us never gave up hope and continue to move forward with a strong spirit and courage in your heart." Kimi tapped on Ruby's chest where the heart is.
"And that courage is what have us follow you." Jaune added strongly as he and Kimi place their hands on Ruby's shoulder.
This made Ruby smile at them grateful, great to have friends like them to have by her side and can always feel stronger with them in her heart.
(With Ren and Nora)
Ren and Nora are walking up the mountain as they feel a strong wind blowing on them though they still press onward.
"We never get the easy path, do we?" Ren sighed.
"Easy is no fun anyway." Nora shrugged and dropped a hand on Ren's shoulder.
"You OK?" Nora asked, concern for Ren's feeling.
"Mmm. And you?" Ren asked her back with a nod.
"I've got you here, don't I?" Nora grinned making Ren blush and scratching the back of his head.
"Come on. There's more than one way up a mountain." Nora walked forward with a confident smile.
Ren heard thunder from the sky and look up seeing the dark clouds, thinking about his friends in the ruin city he grew up in and met Nora as well as helped escape from the Grimm attack thanks to unlocking his Semblance, hoping they're okay.
"Hey! There's wind blowing out of this cave!" Nora called out, pointing at the cave.
Ren jog his way up a path and stand next to Nora looking forward at the cave feeling the wind blowing from it.
"Think it might lead to the peak?" Nora asked.
"I suppose there's only one way to find ou—ah!" Ren's face was smacked by a flying piece of fabric on his face and Mora laughs from the scene.
"Yes, yes. Very funny." Ren laughed sarcastically, then he became shock upon seeing the flag with a very familiar symbol on it.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Nora asked as she looks at the flag.
"This is the symbol for Shion Village." Ren recognized shocking Nora.
"Shion? But that's... that's the village where we found the Huntsman. It's weeks away from here!" Nora remembered and worry of what this could mean.
Then Ren sprint on ahead into the cave to see what else is inside.
"Hey Ren, wait up!" Nora called out as she runs after him.
Ren ran a little further into the cave until he stop upon seeing the scene and Nora caught up to him wondering what got him in such a rush, until she look to where he is looking being shock and scared of what is in front of them.
Inside the spacious area of the cave, weapons are either laying or impale to the ground of all kind they can see everywhere like swords, spears, axes, and staffs as they must use to belong to Huntsmen and Huntresses before and can probably guess what happened to them. And they found a very large hoofprint on the ground, one that Ren recognize and saw it is pointing at the opening in the opposite side of the cave.
Ren ran again to the opening and saw several trees pushing away as if they are being knocked down by someone or something strong going through the forest, and heading toward Kuroyuri where the others are.
"No…" Ren feared.
Nora took his hand into hers, he squeeze it a little tight as fear start to form in his mind.
"We have to go back to them, now!" Ren said worry and instantly carry Nora in a bridely style.
"H-Hey, Ren…!" Nora was gonna tell him that he didn't need to carry her like this, but he didn't listen and ran forward back to the abandoned Kuroyuri as fast as he could.
Ren didn't want to believe that whatever is out there in the forest is the same one that destroyed his home when he was a little boy, but he feared there might be a chance that it is still around and it's probably going to hurt his friends at any second now. Which is why he has to hurry back to them hoping it's not too late, not like how he lost his parents before his eyes at a young age.
Ren ran a little faster and arrive in the abandoned town going through a few blocks until he finally arrives at the center seeing his friends there as they notices Ren and Nora.
"What are you guys doing here?" Ruby confused, thought that Ren didn't want to come to this town because of his past.
"Did you hear that noise? What was that?!" Jaune asked, very worry of this.
Ren let out a sigh of relief to see that his friends are okay and the Grimm he thought it was didn't come here.
"Oh my, it would seem you and Nora have been some naughty things together up on that mountain!" Kimi gasped smiling.
"Huh?" Ren confused.
"Who would have thought that you finally let out your lust and love for Nora, and now perhaps you two are going to marry each other too!" Kimi believed pointing at the confused Ren.
Ren is still confuse of what Kimi is talking about until he looks at Nora and down seeing her being carried in his arms as the pink thunder girl is blushing like crazy, and also realizes that his left hand is touching her butt unconsciously giving it a little squeeze. The realization hit him hard in the head causing his face to turn red like Ruby's cape as Nora is also blushing of embarrassment from the experience, though deep down she didn't mind doing something like this with him.
"Sheesh, and I thought you two were the couple that shows off your affection." Ruby exclaimed.
"Hey, we don't do that… much." Jaune said.
"Huh, I… I'm sorry." Ren apologized as he quickly put Nora down.
"It's okay, you were just worry about our friends and was in a hurry." Nora said as she looks away to hide her blushing cheeks.
The awkward moment was cut off when they heard the same dangerous noise from before and Ren's eyes widen upon hearing it as Nora clinches onto him as Jaune, Kimi, and Ruby look around wondering where the noise is coming from.
"No…" Ren said with his eyes shaking in fear.
"Ren! What is it?!" Ruby asked, but she soon realizes from the look in Ren's face must mean it's something he knows from what Kimi told her and Jaune earlier.
Then they heard plodding footsteps and it sounds like it is getting closer making the teen very worry.
"Wait, didn't you mention something like a dangerous Grimm?" Jaune asked as he brought out his sword.
"Indeed, I did, and I fear we might not live long enough to tell the tale." Kimi glared in the direction the footsteps are coming from as she brings out her sword.
"No…" Ren said in a weaker tone.
"Ren?" Nora feared of what's about to happen next.
The footsteps stop and Ren look up seeing that very thing he had hope to never see it again for as long as he lives, but it looks like fate has decided to make a cruel joke on him.
"Kimi…?" Jaune gulped and Ruby took out her Crescent Rose in scythe mode.
"Yes, Jaune… that's the Grimm one of the Huntsmen surviving describe its appearance. The horseman Grimm, Nuckelavee." Kimi revealed the name of the Grimm.
The Nuckelavee is a horse-like creature with an equine main body and a skinless humanoid creature that is fused with it. Its forelegs are shaped like claws and it has hooved hind legs that leave a characteristic hoofprint. The humanoid body has long curved horns on its head, a mouth that looks almost sewn shut, and two long elastic arms each with two clawed fingers. On the back of the human torso are boney spikes along its spine and a variety of weapons from previous battles stuck in it.
"So, that's the monster that destroyed Ren and Nora's home." Ruby said while her legs are shaking in roar as her body is screaming to run away, but she refuses to listen and stand strong.
Jaune looks back at the groaning in pain Qrow leaning on the tree, knowing that the older Huntsman is in no condition to fight like this and will have to move him to a safer location though facing this Grimm may not be easy as it seems.
The Nuckelavee twitches its head looking at the humans as the bones, mouth, and eyes glow red is fierce destruction and roars in the screechy eerie sound.
The battle in the abandoned and former hometown of Ren has begun!
KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!
Well, it looks like the teen Hunters are going to have to face a very dangerous Grimm that has been destroying small towns including Ren's home as the green lotus ninja boy will have to face his past and hope to make it out alive with his friends. This will be the ultimate test for Ren to let go of the past if he wants to move on to a bright future with his friends, or else the past will be his downfall.
KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!