Blades Of A Rose

Chapter 42: Tipping Point

On a path through the woods, You were watching Team RNJR move forward with Ruby looking at a map.

"Come on, guys! If we pick up the pace, we can hit the next town before sunset!" Ruby said

"Assuming it's still there." Jaune said depressed

"Of course it'll be there. This one's supposed to be pretty big! Hee-gan...bayn-a." Ruby said trying to pronounce the name

"Higanbana. It's a well-protected village with a popular inn." Ren said, correcting her.

"Which means, no camping in the rain!" Nora said making a gesture above her head

"See? Everything's going to be fine!" Ruby said

"You know, we have had a lot of ups and downs, but things could be a lot worse. I really thought we would see more Grimm." Pyrrha said

"As did I." Ren said

"I guess our luck is finally turning around!" Nora said

"To Higanbana!" Nora said

"To Higanbana!" Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren said in unison

"To Higanban... ban-a!" Ruby said, still mispronouncing the name

When they got there, it was raining on the village of Higanbana. Through the window of an inn, the five of them kids discuss with the proprietor.

[TimeSkip-The Next Day]

It was a cloudy day, and RNJR was following a mossy stone tile path through the wilderness. While walking, Nora stretches her arms up wide.

"Another day, another adventure!" Nora said, enthusiastically

Beside her, Jaune reads a map while Ruby and Ren continue alongside them.

"What's on the agenda today?" Ruby asked

"Walking!" Jaune said

"With a side of...?" Nora said

"Walking." Pyrrha said calmly

Ruby sighed and said "Haven is a lot farther away than I thought."

"Ruby? How long did you think this journey was going to take?" Pyrrha asked

"I don't know! I grew up in a small area; I've never been this far away from home!" Ruby said

"Right but... how long?" Jaune said

"Maybe like, uh... two weeks?" Ruby said

'She thought it was going to be two weeks?!' You thought 'It would take three to four months.'

"What?!" Jaune yelled, looking up from the map to glare at her

"Okay, fine! Three or something!" She looks away from "Look, whatever."

Ruby looks up again after half a second and notices something ahead.

"Hey, what's that?" Ruby asked

Nora jumps onto a slightly fallen post of a fence to get a closer look at a wall and building ahead.

"That's... strange." Jaune said, checking the map "I didn't think we'd be hitting another village for a few days."

"Are those buildings... damaged?" Nora said

"We should search for survivors!" Jaune said

Jaune drops the map and all five of them go running into the village, with Nora leaping onto the wall and to a rooftop from there. They discover the town to be empty. Ruby lifts a fallen plank of wood to find only plant outgrowth underneath.

"Anything?" Ruby asked

"Nothing over here!" Nora said, jumping down

"No one over here, either!" Jaune said

"It almost seems like... the town was abandoned."

Ruby looks around while the others go offscreen, feeling unease in the wind.

"Hey, I think I found something!" Nora said

Ruby turns and rushes over. Nora, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren are looking at a town sign. Nora moves the ivy growing over it to the side to read what it says.

"Oniyuri? Never heard of it." Nora said

"Me neither." Jaune

"I have." REn said

The other four look at him, surprise on Nora and Ruby's faces.

"You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the Kingdom was being run." Ren said

As Ren speaks, You look around the village. You saw various unfinished buildings, disrepair, and neglect of it.

"Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city, with their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own Kingdom. Many thought it would be the future." Ren said

Ren walks away from them.

"I know my parents did." Ren said

"What happened?" Pyrrha asked

He brushes some dirt off of the stone border of a low wall to reveal claw marks.

"What always happens." Ren said

"The Grimm." Jaune said

Ren tightens his hands into fists.

"Not just any, one." He said

Ruby briefly faces Nora in confusion, but Nora doesn't move her concerned gaze away from Ren. Ruby turns back to him.

"One?" Ruby said

"Come on. Let's just get through here. This place gives me the creeps." Jaune said

He turns and leaves, soon followed by Nora. Ren lingers for a moment for a few moments, seemingly in thought, then follows along with Pyrrha. Ruby is the last to move as she looks over the empty village. Leaves blow through behind her after she follows her friends. As the five members of Team RNJR continue out of Oniyuri, Ren suddenly senses something. He puts out his hand to stop the other three, eyes closing as he focuses. Somewhere close by you can hear running. Ren draws his weapon. Ruby, Nora, Pyrrha, and Jaune immediately follow suit. Someone or something soon leaps high over the wall to engage them in combat.