WOW! I seriously wasn't expecting this many people in the fan base to like and follow it this much! Also, is my story really the only one out there that ships these two? Because when I did a search for these two lovable characters being paired together, the results that I received were shocking!
...There's only one story.
...Just one story?! How is that physically possible?! Yeah sure there are a few stories that show hints of them being shipped together (With one of them being smut), but is mine really the only one that centre's around the two of them?! There's got to be more of them! Though I will assure you that this story will be great! And with that in mind, enjoy the second chapter of Nora's Arc!
Secrets and Snow Angels...
"It's this way! No wait- it's definitely that way." Weiss directed with mild uncertainty. Five minutes had already passed since they had realized that they were walking in circles with the young heiress attempting to lead them towards their destination with little results. While this was happening, Ruby was seated cross-legged on the grassy ground waiting impatiently for her partner to finalize her decision. "… Alright it's official. We passed it."
"Do you even know where we're going?" Ruby asked with a huff as she flopped onto her back staring into the pale blue eyes of her partner.
"Of course I know where we're going!" Weiss verified with fake confidence. "We're going... to the... Forest... Temple!" Ruby was not impressed with what was being displayed before her and gave the white fencer a dead-panned stare for stating the obvious. "Oh don't give me that look! You don't exactly know where we are either."
"At least I don't pretend that I know everything!" The red huntress grumbled as she pulled herself off the ground.
Weiss scoffed at what her 'supposed' partner had suggested. "What's that's supposed to mean?!"
"It means that you're a big, stupid jerk and I HATE YOU!" Ruby argued angrily.
"Then stop acting like a childish buffoon!" Weiss yelled back with equal volume.
"And you stop acting like your miss perfect know-it-all!" Ruby countered.
"I'm. Not. Perfect!" Weiss admitted vehemently. "Not yet... but I'm still leagues better than you!" She then turned around and began to walk towards the dense tree line.
Ruby frowned at the response she was given and could only puff her cheeks in frustration. Why did she have to partner up with this …PARTY-POOPER?! She should have just partnered up with Jaune or something when she had the chance, at least he was nicer.
As the two little huntresses finished their heated argument in the small clearing, Ruby heard a twig *Snap!* and a bush rustle behind her. That was when she realized something rather frightening...
They were being followed...
Ruby stood at the centre of the small clearing carefully examining the trees, searching for signs of the intruder. Weiss then realized that her partner was no longer following her and turned around only to see her standing in place. "What are you doing now you dunce?!" She asked loudly while walking back to Ruby's location.
"*Shh!*" Ruby commanded as she quickly silence the loud heiress with her finger placed on her lips. "We're being followed!"
Weiss was about to make yet another rude comment until she too heard the sound of something growling viciously nearby. Then, with their backs turned, something black and hairy jumped from its hiding place behind the bushy foliage and charged towards Weiss's blind spot.
Ruby spotted the impending threat and quickly unfurled her precious weapon Crescent Rose and fired an accurate shot towards Grimm threat. The bullet connected with its target flawlessly and created a rather large hole through its chest causing it crash into the dirt with a loud *Thud!* which caught the attention of the white fencer as she saw its black blood litter the grassy ground. The fallen Beowolf mustered its remaining strength into one last ferocious howl into the Emerald Forest until it went limp and died from its fatal wound. Just then, several red, glowing pairs of eyes appeared within the shadows of the trees revealing multiple furious Beowolves that wished to avenge their fallen comrade, their claws and fangs long, sharp, and ready to kill their prey.
With the hordes of Grimm now circling around them, the two little hunters were now back to back, their weapons drawn ready to deliver some hunter-like justice towards the vile darkness. "Well this day just keeps getting better!" Weiss stated sarcastically as she spun the chamber of her rapier Myternaster.
"… Really? In my opinion, I think today kind of sucks." Ruby admitted truthfully with a shrug of her shoulders.
"I was being sarcastic you dolt!" The heiress hissed. "How can today get any better than this?!" She rhetorically asked.
Just when the Beowolves were about to pounce, a rambunctious feminine voice cried out, "YEEEEEE-HAAAAW!" which in turn, successfully interrupted Grimm's assault. As both Grimm and huntress alike turned towards this odd battle cry, they were greeted with the sight of an Ursa bursting into the clearing while toppling over two tall trees from their roots directly onto several of the startled Beowolves nearby. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw this Bear-like Grimm rebel against its own kind but were more shocked once they saw who was riding it. On top of this monstrosity were two fellow hunters, one being a grinning, pink girl wielding a grenade launcher while the other one at the front was none other than-
"JAUNE?!" Two huntresses exclaimed in unison.
"NORA! How do you drive this thing?!" Jaune wailed as he tugged the reins that was tied around the Ursa's mouth in several odd directions.
"I have no idea Jaune-Jaune!" Nora called back with a smile on her face. "But whatever you're doing right now, it's working! So keep driving!" She then activated her weapon and began peppering the entire Grimm threat with her pink, custom-made pipe bombs.
"B-but I shouldn't even be doing this!" Jaune cried out. "I don't even have my drivers lic-*BOOOM!*"
"What was that?!" Nora shouted loudly. "I can't hear you over all of these explosions that are happening!" She quickly fired another barrage of pipe bombs toward another approaching crowd of Beowolves.
"I SAID-" As Jaune repeated his sentence, he was cut off by multiple explosions followed by many Beowolves yelping in pain.
"Why yes Jaune-Jaune! I do like pancakes!" Nora answered back randomly as she mecha-shifted her weapon into a war hammer. "Now stop chatting and more blasting!" The Ursa growled angrily as it began to thrash around stomping and swiping at any soul-less Grimm that dared to stand in its destructive path.
The red and white huntresses, who were in amidst the crossfire, shook themselves from their surprised state and decided to assist the Ursa riders in their battle against the darkness. With their weapons Myternaster and Crescent Rose now added to the fight, the Beowulf pack crumbled at the destructive might of the four hunters and Ursa.
When the last Beowulf had fallen, the Noramobile began to wobble and soon had finally gave in and promptly passed out from exhaustion while unloading its two passengers ungracefully onto the ground. "Wow! That was so much fun!" Nora cheered with her arms high in the air from experiencing such an exciting ride. "I can't believe that you were actually a professional Ursa Driver! The way how you were able to make it move all over the place so gracefully was just like riding on a roller coaster! And while we were on our quest to find my friend Renny, we heard the sounds of someone shouting really loudly! I said we should check it out because it could have been Ren! And then when we arrived, there were Beowolves EVERYWHERE! I must have blown up like a bazillion of them while you squashed them right Jaune-Jaune?" She waited for a response to come, but for some reason, it never came. "...Jaune-Jaune?" She turned her head left and right until her turquoise gaze stumbled upon the two other huntresses. "Oh hello! I'm Nora! Have you girls seen my partner Jaune-Jaune?"
Ruby and Weiss turned towards one another, then back towards the happy bomber. "Uh... You may want to look down." Ruby pointed out as she continued to stare at the sight before her. Did they just ride an Ursa all the way here? More importantly... where did they get that rope lead?
Nora blinked her eyes and finally looked down. "Oh there you are Jaune-Jaune!" She stated while patting his natural blond mop of hair. Said individual was currently squashed with his back providing incredible comfort to Nora's rump while his face was buried in the grassy ground.
"Please... Nora... Get off... back..." Jaune groaned in a muffled tone.
Nora picked up on her partner's plea and promptly hopped off. "Whoopsie! Sorry Jaune-Jaune..." She apologized as she offered her hand towards her flattened partner. "Your back is really comfy!"
When Jaune was finally grabbed hold of Nora's hand, he pulled himself up from the ground. "Man, I hope these grass stain on my pants are washable. These are like my favorite pair!" Jaune grumbled as he patted away the grass and dirt from his clothes. That was when his ocean blue eyes made contact with surprised light-blue ones. "Why fancy meeting you here Snow Angel!" He called out rather seductively striking a handsome pose beside the downed Noramobile.
Weiss backed away from the blond boy with a huff on annoyance while Nora jerked her head towards the blond knight. "Snow angels? WHERE?!" She cried out. After a minute of fruitlessly searching the small clearing, realization struck. "I don't see any snow angels around here Jaune-Jaune, let alone any snow... But if there isn't any snow... *GASP!* Then how are we supposed to make snow angels without any snow?! This is terrible! Hmm, oh I know! What if we made a snow angel right here on the ground! But if you think about it, that wouldn't be considered a snow angel since it wasn't made on snow. So would that make it a dirt angel or a grass angel? Or maybe a leaf angel? I don't know..."
"...Nora." Jaune called out disappointingly, his tan-gloved hand rubbing his forehead for being interrupted of trying to capture his beloved snow angel's heart.
"Yes Jaune-Jaune?" Nora said while tilting her head. Her train of thought completely halted.
"Snow Angel is just a nickname I call her." Jaune stated as he jerked his hand towards the huntress in white.
Weiss then unsheathed her rapier and held it a few inches from his throat. "And if you call me that insufferable nickname one more time Arc, I will castrate you and turn you into a woman! Do you understand me?!"
Jaune could feel the heat escape from his body as he held up his hand innocently. "C-crystal clear!" He called out in fright. Once the message was sent across, the heiress lowered her rapier before sheathing it slowly.
While that was happening, the bubbly bomber was trying to wrack her brain in whom the white lady had called her partner. "...Who's Arc?" Nora asked out loud with her head tilted the other way.
"It's your partner's last name." Ruby clarified from nearby as she sat on nearby rock.
"But Jaune-Jaune said that his last name was Jaune though!" Nora pointed out.
"I've never said that though!" Jaune argued. "I try to keep telling you that my last name is-"
"Jaune! Which makes your full name to be Jaune-Jaune!" Nora announced completely interrupting her partner once again. "But why would you have two last names anyway? Isn't it way easier to have just one? Unless... You use that last name as one of your secret identities! Now that I think about it, being a detective is a dangerous job after all and what better way than to stay hidden than to have a secret identity!"
Before Jaune could interject, Nora cut him off once more. "Don't worry Jaune-Jaune! Your secret is safe with me!" She then gestured her right hand close to her mouth and pretended to zip them shut.
"...Wait, did you say that Jaune here is a detective?" Ruby inquired curiously. She never heard of this before, though that was understandable since it was supposed to be secret after all.
Nora unzipped her lips to answer the question of the red-clad huntress. "Yep, yep! Jaune-Jaune here is an amazing detective! He was able to figure out my name as well as find you two in the nick of time!" There was a short pause until Nora realized something. "By the way, have either of you two seen my friend Ren?"
"...Who?" the two huntresses asked at the same time.
"You know, Ren! Tall, Asian, male, handsome, has a long black ponytail." Nora stated.
"He's also wearing a green tailcoat and has a pink lock of hair." Jaune pitched in.
The two girls stopped to think back and remember the man of that description. "Was he the guy that also wore white pants?" Ruby asked out loud.
"And the magenta coloured irises?" Weiss added.
The bubbly bomber nodded her head in quickly once she had realized that they might have a clue as to where her childhood friend may possibly be. "Yep that's him alright! Have you two seen him anywhere?"
They had thought about for a moment before shaking their heads from side-to-side. "... No, sorry. We've been trying to find the Forest Temple." Ruby answered back. "You can see how well that turned out." The young scythe wielder pointed at the flattened grass circle around them.
"Well... why don't you guys join me and Nora then?" Jaune requested. The two girls looked at him sceptically and gestured him to continue. Nora had a look of excitement when she heard this. "W-what I'm trying to say is that, if you guys join us, we could find the Forest Temple more easily since four pairs of eyes are better than two. And since we're all supposed to meet at the temple anyway, we'll likely be able to spot your friend Ren there anyway!"
The three girls paused for a moment to think this through. Nora was the first to speak. "That... is... The BEST PLAN I'VE EVER HEARD!" Nora exclaimed loudly while giving her Jaune-Jaune a big bear hug. "You're so clever Jaune-Jaune! It's a good thing I partnered up with you!"
"Nora! You're crushing... my ribs!" Jaune cried out as the air was squeezed out from his lungs.
The heiress was originally in denial of accompanying the blond boy and his... unique companion. Truth be told, she had no clue where the Forest Temple was and the sooner she could complete this blasted initiation, the better! "That's... actually not a bad idea." Weiss admitted quietly.
"Soo... Are we going with them then?" Ruby asked excitedly like a puppy going out for a walk.
She then gazed upon the blond knight who was slowly turning blue from his partner's powerful embrace. "So long as tall, blond and scraggy doesn't flirt with me, than I suppose we could... accompany them."
"Yay!" Ruby cheered.
Nora suddenly dropped Jaune once again and turned towards the young heiress. "Is tall, blond and scraggy another one of Jaune's secret identities?!"
Ruby and Weiss blinked in confusion before requesting some clarification. "Uh, what are you ta-"
"Wow Jaune-Jaune! How many identities do you have?!" The boy in question was still on the ground trying to get precious air back into his lungs.
"That's... what I... want to... know... myself." He wheezed out as his skin colour was no longer blue.
"You're so mysterious Jaune-Jaune! Is one of your secret identities a secret agent? Oh! Or maybe even a baker! What about a-"
"Nora..." Jaune interrupted quietly.
"Oh! Sorry! I keep forgetting that these secret identities are supposed to be secret after all." Nora apologized as she pulled her partner up from the grassy ground. Once he was his own two feet, she announced, "So without further ado, lead the way Jaune-Jaune!"
A look of astonishment consumed the heiress and the wannabe detective when they heard who was officially in charge of their little group. "Wait a minute, why does he get be the leader of this group now!?" Weiss sneered angrily.
"That's because Jaune-Jaune is a detective and detectives know where they're going!" Nora answered back matter 'o' factly with her hands placed firmly on her hips.
The blond knight thought otherwise. "B-but I never said th-"
"And you guys..." A long pause consumed the bubbly bomber as she forgot to ask for their names. She should really remember to do so before they are so deep into their discussions. "...Who are you guys again?"
"I'm Ruby!"
"Weiss Schnee."
"Why nice to meet you two!" She then shook both their hands rather quickly with so much force that she had almost dislocating their arms in the process. "Now with introductions out of the way, let us ride! To the Noramobile!" She then jumped onto her Ursa vehicle and waited patiently for it to respond.
It didn't move a muscle... Even when she poked its bone-coated back, it still didn't even move an inch. "Aw, it's broken..." Nora complained.
The three remaining hunters sweat dropped at the sight displayed before them.
"So that's your partner huh?" Ruby asked.
He could only sigh sadly at that response. "Yep..." Jaune answered while slowly shaking his head in agreement.
The black-haired girl with red highlights at the tips of her hair gave her friend a comforting pat on his back. "Look on the bright side Jaune; at least you're not partnered up with Weiss..."
The heiress was less than impressed from that response. "...Hey!"
Author's Notes!
And that's the end of the second chapter of Nora's Arc! I want to do a quick shout out to AnimeGirl 144 with her fantastic story "For the Love of Jaune" which inspired me to create this wonderful story as well as my many pictures (Well, six pictures at the moment on Deviantart) to becoming a reality! Also, we need some more Nora's Arc ships right now since there are so few right now! So let's get to it! And don't forget that any review as well as feedback will help in improving this story for (Hopefully,) the many chapters in the future! Now with that finally out of the way, this is Nutshop saying: Stay Handsome, and have a Nice Day! :D
