Breaded with love
The sun was high in the sky, no clouds blocking it's magnificent rays of light as it shone down onto Beacon Academy. The weather was perfect for walks, and if one was to look outside they would see many of the students partaking in this wonderful day. It was a Saturday, which to all the students currently outside made the weather ten times more perfect than it would've been otherwise. In the garden just outside the dorms, a bird with sky blue feathers gave a chirp, and fluttered about for a second before taking off. It flapped its wings in a pacey rhythm as it went to land on the windowsill of a nearby open window, which was on the second floor of the dormitory. The bird sat there and preened for a second, lifting its wings up one after the other to put its beak under them. Some female students passing nearby stopped to watch for a small while, enraptured by the adorableness and beauty before moving on.
Before the bird could finish, the door to the room was abruptly kicked open, startling the bird and causing it to let out a panic tweet as blue feathers were scattered about. As the bird flew away as quick as it could, a certain orange haired girl walked into the room with a spring in her step, her pink skirt bouncing along with every step she took.
Nora Valkyrie skipped into team JNPR's room with a big smile on her face, rolling up to the window before leaning heavily out of it and taking a big breath before releasing a sigh. It was such a nice day! Nora just wanted to go outside and run about, maybe make some new friends along the way. Oooooh maybe the new friends were taking their dogs out to walk! Dogs were so cute, with their fluffy tails and ears. Nora just wanted to hug them all to death! Well, not literally to death, but...
Nora's eyes, which had been previously roaming around the gardens with eagerness, fell upon something on the windowsill. A bright blue bird feather. Picking the feather up and holding it to the light, Nora's eyes sparkled in amazement, and she let out a "Woooooow,". So caught up in her brand new trinket, she almost fell fully out of the window. People down below let out gasps as she flailed her arms about, before getting a hold of the frame of the window and pulling herself back in.
Nora stood up straight, meeting eyes with some of the people looking up with concern.
"I'm ok!" She let out with slightly red cheeks.
The people down below exchanged looks, some exasperated, some amused, before going back about their business. Nora took another look at her bluebird feather, and a plan formed in her mind. She would go collect them, ones of all different colours and sizes, and start a collection! Quickly, Nora tore open her door and dashed down the hallway, but stopped as she passed the dorm's communal kitchen. Sniffing, Nora's nose caught a familiar and delicious scent. And almost as if it was a finger beckoning her, she followed it without question.
When Nora entered the kitchen in a trance, the first thing she saw was someone leaning down next to the oven, before she saw them lift their head up, and she could see a familiar mop of blonde hair. Jaune Arc, her fearless leader, lifted something out of the oven with a smile on his face, taking a whiff of whatever was there before letting out a sigh. Nora's curiosity and her hungry stomach made for a fierce combination, as she quickly made her way up behind her leader. Somehow he hadn't noticed her yet.
"JAUNEY!"
"OH MONTY!"
Jaune startled like a bunny being snuck up on by a fox, jumping and causing what was on his tray to fly up in the air. Nora looked up and saw two fresh loaves of bread fly through the air, and she licked her lips. Jaune then did something miraculous, he positioned his tray in the perfect position to have them both land perfectly, not letting them hit the floor. Nora was impressed. Even as much as she loved her leader, he was more clumsy than her sometimes, and she expressed this by giving a small round of applause, but stopped when Jaune gave her a small glare.
"Whatcha doin'?'" Nora asked with an innocent look, hands behind her back.
Jaune kept his glare up for a second before he let it fall and let out a sigh, putting his tray of bread on the table before turning back to Nora,"Nothing much, just baking some bread."
"You can bake!?" Nora gasped.
Jaune puffed out his chest slightly at the reaction, "Yep, learned it at home. One of my older sisters owns her own bakery, and she taught me how." Jaune let out a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm no expert though, I can only bake bread. And you don't wanna know how long it took me to get it right consistently," Jaune let out another chuckle.
"Wooooow," Nora said, her eyes sparkling.
"So, what are you doing Nora?" At this question, Nora took another look at the bird feather in her hand, before throwing it over her shoulder without a second thought.
"Nothing that important. Now common, I wanna sample some Arc brand bread!" Nora quickly zoomed over to the nearest table and sat down in a flash, her elbows on the table and hands on her cheeks. Jaune shook his head with a fond smile. She was certainly eager, though he guessed that way just Nora though. Jaune grabbed two plates out of the nearest cupboard, and set one loaf on each. Not that Nora would use it, but it would help with the inevitable mess somewhat.
Nora was bouncing on her seat as Jaune set the plate down in front of her, and she dug into the golden loaf before her leader even sat down. When Nora took her first bite, she let out a half-moan, half-hum of content as she chewed. The fluffiness, texture, taste, everything was just so so so good! The last time she had had bread this good was... was...
Jaune was enjoying his own handiwork with glee, chewing with a pleased look on his face."Wow, I think I did pretty good on this batch, what do you think Nora?" Jaune looked to the side where he saw Nora sitting static but for her mouth keeping up her chewing, he looked closer and he could see a somewhat glazed look in her eyes. A look of worry came upon Jaune's face.
"Nora?"
Kuroyuri – 10 years ago
There was a little shop in the middle of a small settlement that was known for making the most high quality bread, the shop grew the wheat themselves, and as far as anyone knew the owner didn't do anything too special. Though even if he did he wouldn't tell anyone his secrets. The bread was said to be lighter than air, made with a golden brown complexion, and it carries a certain sweetness that was irresistible.
The shop wasn't anything special looks wise, it was a small wooden building with a small wooden roof. It had steps leading to the wooden door, and a wooden sign stuck outside hanging from a wooden pole. The only part that wasn't wooden was the glass display, which the baker used to display his assortment of baked goods to the rest of the settlement. It was this glass display that a 7 year old ginger girl was currently stuck up against, gazing at the delicious treats that lay beyond. This small girl was none other than a 7 year old Nora Valkyrie, or just Nora.
Nora's mouth watered as she looked at the treats through the glass, her eyes trailing over each baked good individually. Her eyes then went from the baked good itself, to the price tag attached to each one. This caused Nora to frown as she pried herself from the glass, leaving both some of her saliva and dirt from her face remaining on the glass. Her stomach grumbled, and she looked down and lifted her dirty white shirt up, revealing her somewhat visible ribs, before she put her shirt back down silently. Nora went back to staring at the food, before she heard something and her head snapped towards the door.
The door had been opened by the owner, who was a middle-aged man dressed in all white wielding a broom like a spear. "Go away, you little street rat," he yelled " stop dirtying up my glass and get the hell out of here!" Nora didn't have to be told twice. Jumping down the steps, tripping and scraping her knee but getting back up quickly, she bolted down the Main Street and into an alleyway.
"Damn street rats, always coming 'round here..." The man mumbled, inspecting his glass before going back inside to fetch a cloth.
Nora sat down in one of the many parks of the settlement, tears in her eyes. She was so hungry. Nora couldn't even remember the last time she had had something as delicious as that bread looked to be. To be honest she couldn't remember what fresh bread tasted like. Nora sighed as she hopped off the bench she was sitting on, wincing at the scrape on her knee. There was no time to sit and mope, not when she needed to find her next meal.
The young soon to be Valkyrie hobbled her way past the many beautiful streams, ones that contained many equally as beautiful flowers. Nora didn't have time to stop and look at those though, especially when she had seen them so many times before. Nora made her way down the street, hiding behind trash cans and signs to avoid the people walking by, as well as ducking into alleyways with a grace that only came with experience. Down certain alleyways, the ones next to restaurants and by food stands, where massive waste bins that were used to dispose of stale and unfinished food. Nora waited until she saw someone with a big black bag come, before making her move as he tossed it inside.
Quickly, Nora hopped up and halted the lid of the bin from closing with her arm, using her upwards momentum to push the lid all the way back so it would stay open. Nora pulled herself up on the edge and observed the multitude of black bags. The one on top was the freshest, so she went for that one, she had learned the hard way that going for any other was not a good idea. Nora shivered at the thought, she had thrown up all day.
Using her nails, Nora ripped the bag open at the side and started sifting through it.
Rotten.
Rotten.
Smells funny.
Ok, she didn't even wanna know what was wrong with that one.
Jackpot.
Nora couldn't believe her luck, there under all of this garbage, was half of a pre-packaged sandwich, untouched by the rest of the 'food' in the bag. Nora grabbed it in a heartbeat. Clutching her newly acquired meal in her hand, the young girl leapt back over the bin, winced as the landing jarred her knee and bolted from the scene.
Back in her favourite park, Nora sat down on her favourite bench and went to town on her meal, tearing it apart like the hungry child she was. After the sandwich was gone, Nora went to the nearest stream and stuck her face in the cool, clear water. This was why this place was her favourite spot; it was secluded enough, and there was a convenient stream right next to it. After taking big gulps, Nora pulled her head out to catch her breath, and took a second to look at her newly washed face, before going back to sitting in her favourite spot.
The ginger girl then proceeded to partake in one of her favourite, and only, pastimes; people watching. It was so interesting to her, other people's lives. Sometimes she would look at the children skipping along, clutching their parents, brothers, sisters' hands, and imagine herself in their shoes. She wanted to be as happy as they were. As the tears started to come, Nora saw something new. Off in the distance, down one of the main paths, was a scruffy looking man sitting down next to a hat. Nora wiped her eyes to rid herself of the tears and to get a better look. She could see some sought of sign behind the hat, though she couldn't read it, due to both the distance and her own inability. And then she realised something that made her eyes widen.
People were putting money in the hat.
She could barely believe it, but every few minutes, someone would drop some money into the hat. Why? Did something on the sign convince them? Nora's head was all spun about in confusion, before she eventually calmed down and thought about it. A bright smile formed on her face.
She had an idea.
Surprisingly, finding some cardboard, a pen, and an old hat, was not that difficult. Nora had been around the block before, and she knew all the right dumpsters to check. The hard part was what to write, both because she couldn't write at all well, as no one had ever formerly taught her, and that she had no idea what would make people give her money. Eventually, she just decided to be honest; she wasn't the most patient child.
What she had wanted to write was 'Need money for food'
What she actually wrote was 'need mohnay 4 foods'
Nora gave a satisfied nod, proud of herself, as she threw the pen away and grabbed the cardboard under her arm, and the kept the hat on her head. She walked into her favourite park along the main road, saw the scruffy man with the hat, and judged a good distance from him to set up shop.
Nora chose a spot next to a tree a good ways away from the man; she set down her hat and cardboard against the tree, and sat and waited.
Nora started getting donations in the first few minutes, people of all ages walking past and dropping coins in, sometimes even multiple! After the first few times, she noticed that if she gave of a mewling "Thank you" the people would be more inclined to give her more money, so she started doing that every time. She had started late, with the sun way past the high point in the sky, but by sunset she already had 20 lien! Sure, it was all in coins and not in actual solid card form, which would make it somewhat annoying to carry around, but she didn't care.
At the end of the day, Nora packed her equipment away, the hat now jingling merrily. With a certain spring in her step that she would become known for later on in life, she walked down the street and towards the alleyway she usually slept in. Nora used to sleep in the park, however she learned quickly that it was too open, more than one time she had woken up to find what little belongings she had gone. So, she switched to an alleyway at the end of her favourite street to get food from. It wasn't open ended, so it was a lot safer than the other alleyways.
On the way back to her sleeping spot, Nora started daydreaming about all the things that she would buy with her money tomorrow. The bread, the cakes, the pancakes. A pleased shiver went up her spine as she turned into her alleyway, only to stop as she saw someone standing at the end of it, leaning against the wall. The stranger was tall enough that Nora could tell that he was a fully grown man, as well as the scraggly beard on his face. For a second, Nora thought she recognised him, only when she saw the bottle of liquor in his hand did she remember.
The guy in the park.
The man stood up from the wall, stumbling in an obviously drunk state. Every move he made, Nora watched like a hawk. The drunken man swung his bottle up into his mouth, holding it above him afterwards to get the last few drops out. Once he was finished, he put his head back down and looked Nora straight in the eye.
"Hey kidsh," he slurred, stumbling forward, the drunken manor in which he seemed to talk lowered Nora's guard a bit. "I shee you're getting' into da beggin' buishnesh. Good for yoush." He stumbled forward again, this time holding himself up on a nearby trash can. "I remembers when I shtarted, I thought it wash a gold mine." Nora didn't exactly know what he was talking about, and her confusion was visible on her face." You shee kid, when you're young, this shit ish easy, people cant stand sheeing a kid bein' homeless. You got a good thing going for ya, kid. But.."
Hearing the drunken man talk gibberish had made Nora lower her guard subconsciously, so when the guy leaned forward so much, she thought he was going to fall.
Instead the man used his momentum to rush forward, smash his bottle on the trash can and have it up against Nora's throat in a second.
Nora was so surprised she couldn't even cry out in alarm, the man had a sharp glass bottle right underneath her chin. Her breaths were laboured and she could feel herself drop her earnings. Nora looked up directly into the man's eyes, and the drunken haziness she saw in them before was mostly gone.
"But... Ya came to my turf kid, big mistake. Though I guess it's ya first one so imma let you off easy," The hobo picked up Nora's hat and held it in her line of sight. "First, imma take ya earnings, seem fair enough?" Nora couldn't even nod "Good, now you're just a kid, so I'm not gonna tell ya ta neva come to the park again, I just don't wanna see ya beggin', capiche?" This time he let the bottle down enough so that Nora could nod. She did. "Great," he pulled the bottle away, allowing Nora to breathe properly again," don't worry about it, kid. Cute girl like you could beg anywhere, and you'd probably get loadsa cash." And with that, he grabbed the hat and left with a drunken swagger.
Nora stood in the same place for a while, staring at the floor with a blank expression in her eyes. Eventually, she slid down the wall and drew her legs up to her chest, burying her head in them. The tears started flowing, she couldn't control them. Nora let out a sob and buried her face deeper still, feeling the tears roll down her dirty knees and legs. She didn't know how long she cried, but it felt like hours; hours of sniffling, sobbing, and tears flowing down her face.
Inevitably, she passed out.
Nora was woken up by the sound of mewling, and the sensation of something rough going over her cheek. Cracking one sore eye open, it caught a pair big black eyes. Sitting up with a start, Nora looked down and saw a small black cat staring back up at her. Giving another mewl, the cat walked up and rubbed itself against her leg. Nora didn't know what to do. Should she touch it? With last night's events in the back of her mind, she reached a hand forward and ran it across it's back, the cat let out a purr as it turned around and pushed it's head into her hand. Despite herself, Nora began to smile. When she lifted her hand, the cat would jump up to headbutt it. When she got up and walked up and down the alleyway, the cat would follow and rub up against her leg. Nora kneeled down and rubbed the cat's back again this time causing it to lye on its back and bat at her hand.
And for the first time in a while, Nora laughed.
She didn't know how long she spent playing with that cat, but it went by too fast in her opinion. Nora was just watching the cat play with a pen she had found, when she heard something.
"Oscar! Oscar, where are you?" She heard a distinctly female voice call. Nora watched the cat perk up, look in the direction of the voice, mewl, and toddle off. Not wanting her new friend to leave so soon, Nora quickly got up and followed the small cat out of the alleyway. Standing in the middle of the path was a lady in a white sundress and sunhat combo, her hands were around her mouth and she was obviously the one that Nora had heard earlier.
The cat, now presumably Oscar, ran forward with Nora close behind, it's mewling causing the woman to turn around, letting Nora see her green eyes and pleasantly surprised expression.
"Oscar!" The woman cried in delight, opening up her arms so the cat could jump into them. Nora watched as the woman then proceeded to bathe the cat in kisses. Nora shifted awkwardly at the oddly affectionate display, realising that she had probably just lost her newest, and only, friend, Nora let out a sigh and started walking back to her alley.
"Wait!" Nora heard the woman behind her call, causing her to turn around in alarm. The woman was looking at Nora with a kind smile that put her on edge, "Did you find my little Oscar?" Scenes of last night played in Nora's mind at that question, causing Nora to nod on reflex.
The woman, Oscar still in her arms, shifted the cat onto one shoulder, and then started reaching into a purse that Nora hadn't noticed she had on her arm. Nora took a step back as the woman rummaged around in her bag, ready to run at any moment. The woman stopped rummaging and then reached out her hand, causing Nora to flinch before she opened it, and revealed a rectangular card.
"A reward." The woman said with a smile. Nora hesitated, an apprehensive look on her face, "Please, take it." Nora slowly reached out her hand and took the card from the woman, and before she could examine it, the woman spoke again,"Well, thank you so much, but me and Oscar must be going now. Isn't that right baby?" Oscar let out a soft mewl, "Ta ta now!" And then the women was off down the path, her cat on her shoulder.
Nora stood in the same spot for about fifteen seconds, before finally getting around to inspecting what the women had given her. She held the card up to the light, and her eyes widened. On the front of the rectangular card, where the words 'Ten lien'. Nora blinked a few times in disbelief. Ten lien? Just for returning a cat that probably would've come back on it's own?
It was during this line of thought that Nora's stomach chose to announce it's presence. Nora's still wide eyes went from her stomach, to the money, to her stomach again, then back to the money. And before anyone else on the path could even blink, she was on her way towards her favourite park. Nora knew she couldn't go straight through the main path, given that the drunk hobo was probably there still. So instead she entered the park and went down side paths and through bushes that normal people wouldn't bother with.
Coming out the other side of the park, Nora kept running at full speed down the path until she spotted a sign up ahead.
'Breaded with love'
Nora skidded to a halt at the steps leading up to the door, her breath laboured and her stomach grumbling, she quickly leapt up the steps two at a time, before stopping at the glass and staring at the baked goods. Licking her lips, Nora pushed the door open.
The owner of Breaded with love heard the bell on his door ring, purely out of reflex he turned around from his sweeping and gave a happy "Welcome!" to his new customer, only to see no one at the door. The middle aged man looked around for a few seconds, wondering what just happened before he heard a cough coming from below. Looking down, he caught the eyes of a small ginger girl, not recognising her instantly. Eventually he remembered, and a look of exasperation mixed with disdain appeared on his face "What are you doing here?" He asked with a glare.
The girl trembled a small bit before looking up with defiance in her eyes, holding her hand forward and opening it to reveal a lien card In her hand "W-what can I get for this?"She stuttered out.
The shopkeeper took the card out of the girls hand 'Ten lien?' He thought 'She came into this shop with only ten lien, when my cheapest loaf is twelve.' He was just about to shove the lien back into her hand and kick her out, when an idea struck him. 'I have a lot of old off bread that would be a waste to get rid of, he schemed with a hand to his chin, before breaking out into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Ok, young lady, one of our finest loafs coming right up." He said in a tone with far too much sweetness. The shopkeeper then disappeared into the back for a few minutes, before coming out with a small loaf of bread. The colour of the bread was more brown then golden, and there were green patches at one end. And yet the kid still looked at it like it was Christmas.
"Here you go," He said "don't eat it all at once now." The kid's eyes lit up, before grabbing the loaf and walking out, staring at it the whole time. "Heh, stupid kids these days."
Nora exited the shop in a trance, she was mesmerised by the shape of the bread, by the colour, by the smell. The three lines through the middle helped form golden mountains, and Nora swallowed at the sheer thought of taking a bit. She had always dreamed of this. So entranced was she by the bread itself, that she bumped into someone on the way back. Nora flinched back and cradled her bread to her chest to protect it.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" She heard and she looked up to see three boys staring down at her with spiteful expression. The middle boy looked her up and down before a smirk came to his face "Ever heard of baths, dirtball?" This caused the other two boys to laugh and the middle one joined them.
The middle boy looked down at her bread "Where'd you get that bread?" He mocked, "I didn't see you pay for it, thief!"
"No, look, it's all mouldy!" The shortest boy joined in.
"I think she got it from the trash!"
"Lemme see!" The darker skinned boy said, reaching his hand out towards her bread, as he got closer, Nora reacted on instinct and clamped her teeth down on his hand, causing him to cry out in pain, "Ah! She bit me!"
The other two boys looked on in surprise, before the boy she bit pushed her over, causing her bread to fly out of her hands and across the floor. Nora clenched her teeth, instantly got back up and rushed to her bread, picking it up and cradling it to her chest again.
"Where'd she come from? She's dressed all weird." The shortest boy asked.
"I bet she's abandoned! Like a dog or something!" The tallest one sneered.
"Does that mean I have rabies?" The one she bit mocked, causing them all to break out into laughter. Nora held the bread close, watching for her chance to escape with a fearful look in her eye, before she saw them all turn to look behind them, following their gaze she saw a scared looking boy, and as he was about to run away, he bumped into a very tall man who just seemed to appear behind him.
"Father?" She heard the small boy ask.
The tall man took a look at all of them and boomed "What is happening here?"
Nora looked to the three boys in front of her, they all looked stunned and intimidated. This was her chance! Nora stood up with some effort and bolted in the opposite direction, not stopping to look back for anything. As she kept running, she swerved down the nearest alleyway, stopping to see if anyone had followed her whilst breathing heavy breaths. Nora leaned against the way and slid down the way. She looked to the bread in her hand, held it to her mouth and then took a bite. As she chewed, tears started to flow freely from her eyes, slightly soaking the bread.
It was good. It was so so good.
Back in the kitchen at Beacon, Jaune watched as tears slowly started to trickle out of Nora's eyes. Panicking, Jaune started to flounder about and try to think of something to say "Oh Oum, oh jeez. Nora, I'm so sorry if it's bad. I really really didn't mean to make it bad. Oh I'm such an idiot." Jaune was obviously blaming himself for making Nora cry.
"No."
Jaune looked at Nora again, and she looked him in the eyes. "It's good. It's really good." She then proceeded to devour it with a fever she usually only reserved for Ren's pancakes. And as Jaune was about to ask more questions, she wrapped him in a hug and buried her face in his chest.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Jaune just gave an awkward but genuine smile, as he returned the hug "Anytime, Nora."
The End
*Pokes head up* Hey, you guys remember me? *Crickets chirp* Ok, thought so.
To those of you that do remember, hey hows it going? I just wanna say that this is not a JaunexNora story in my head, but it could be in yours and that's fine. I also wanted to say thanks to anyone who reads this all, cause this was a long one for me. Again, writers who do this regularly on this sight are tremendous and I respect them so much for it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, if you didn't, you can express that as well. I don't mind, just keep it constructive, eh? I was sitting on this for a while – as you can probs tell from the date of my last story – but I like this one. Again, you don't have to, just keep it constructive. I love you all.
Your author, Zakku