AN. Hi guys and girls it's Cr00cy with my first story. If you come here from epilogue to Fighting Mean - you can skip to the bottom, this is the same text you read there. If you never read FM and just come here at random - welcome, and i hope you will enjoy this short preview/prologue/intro (and do yourself a favor and go read Fighting Mean by Jiu-jitsu dude)

I do not own RWBY. If I did Jaune would know how to fight from start.

Also, big thanks to JJD - who not only convinced me to write it, but also works as beta-reader and co-author for this story.

JJD: What's going on everybody? First off, Cr00cy is being waaayyy too generous with that co-author bit, this has been his baby and I'm excited to be a part of it. Hopefully some of you have made the journey over from Fighting Mean and will enjoy this story (with its snark, violence, and humor). Here we go!

Jaune let out a pleased sigh. The weather was nice, despite it being September. The Arc family was visiting one of many small villages on the outskirts of Vale. Officially, it was in celebration of whole family gathering - his father just come back from a near nine months long mission. Unofficially, it was to cheer up Jaune after his rejection from the local combat prep school.

He had tried to convince them he wasn't upset about it anymore, but they had insisted.

Well, it's not like a family holiday is bad thing. Thought Jaune.

Plus, for once it's Dad who gets to help Mom with girls. I can finally have some time for myself…

He was shaken from his thoughts by an accusation. "You're late!" The eleven years-old red-haired, green-eyed girl in front of him shouted. She wore a simple white dress, a straw hat with a wide rim, and some flowers stuck into it, and was currently pointing a finger at him, condemningly.

...and her.

Jaune sighed again, but smiled nonetheless.

"Hi Samantha. Sorry about that, Rubin didn't want to let me go."

She tapped her mouth with one finger a few times, stopped, and looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"I shall forgive you this once… for two ice creams." Was her gracious offer.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I saw stall over there, let's go."

She nodded, smiled, and took his hand.

Samantha was the daughter of some of his Dad's oldest friends. They first met around three years ago - when her parents came to visit their old friend. At first, Jaune thought she was just another young girl he would have to take care of. She proved him wrong almost instantly. She and Jaune had become fast friends - which of course prompted tons of teasing from his sisters, and both of their parents.

Samantha was an only child, and her parents spoiled her whenever they could. He wouldn't say she was arrogant - but she was very strong-willed. All this seemed set to breed conflict between the two of them, but somehow, it had just...worked out.

Jaune appreciated Samantha's blunt honesty, and her strong drive and determination in reaching whatever goal she set for herself.

She in turn respected Jaune for his non-intrusive caring, and dedication to taking care of his sisters. He wasn't dotting on them, could put on a hard stance when needed, or let them make they own mistakes when he deemed it safe enough.

Jaune bought Samantha the promised ice creams - vanilla, and strawberry - and spent the next hour or so just wandering around the small village with her.

"So, what are you going to do now?" She asked.

They leaned on the wooden handrail of the small bridge on the outskirts of village. The river that flowed beneath wasn't too deep, but its current was strong. The two of them were throwing pieces of bread, and watching fishes below trying to catch the easy food.

"Not sure. But, I can kiss a Hunter carrier goodbye, that's for sure." He said wistfully.

She looked at him, her eyes narrowing.

"You're going to give up? Just like that?" She accused.

Jaune smiled.

Giving up was one of two things Samantha hated most. The other was coming late to a set meeting - something Jaune unfortunately had a habit of doing. But hey - if he didn't HAVE to hurry, he liked to take it easy. Afterall, taking care of six younger (and sometime one older) sisters was very taxing on a man.

"It's not giving up when there are no options left. I might try again next year - but it's even harder to get in late. You would have to be at least at the same level as the average student. I haven't had enough time to train up till now, and now there is even more girls I have to take care of."

"So what are you going to do now?" She repeated her previous question.

"Probably help Mom with her medicines. Turns out I'm pretty good at it. Even made few things myself."

"Where did you bury the bodies? I haven't heard of a mass murder in Silver Lake, so there couldn't have been too many victims." She teased.

Jaune just shook his head. Why an eleven year old girl had such a sharp tongue, and such morbid sense of humor - was beyond him.

"Well, you can ask your our dads. They're both been taking my motion sickness medicine for a few weeks now." He answered.

The look of surprise on her face was priceless.

"Hmph. Then maybe you have some uses other than childcare… or as my wallet."

"Sure. I guess that means you don't want a piece of this chocolate cake I made…" he said, looking away from her.

The sudden gasp from her was something he had expected - Samantha had sweet tooth rivaled by no one. And he WAS good at making sweets - he had to survive with so many sisters somehow.

What he didn't expect was the sound of cracking wood, and a loud splash.

When he looked back, Samantha, and the section of railing she was leaning on, were gone. He ran to other side of bridge - just in time to see her being carried away by the strong current.

Later, when he was recalling these events, he could never remember exactly how he got into water. One moment he was staring at Samantha's white dress drifting further, and further away, the next he was in water, desperately trying to catch up to her.

By some miracle, he managed to reach her - and then the fight to keep both of their heads above water began. Jaune didn't know how long it lasted - but when current slowed enough for him to swim to shore, he had never been so exhausted and ached all over. His vision was swimming, his lungs burned, and each breath was painful. The trip in the river was rough one - he had earned quite a few close encounters with the rocks. The only saving grace was that Samantha had calmed down at some point, and stopped struggling.

But she could help now.

Thought Jaune after he dragged both of them to the shore. He laid on his back, next to his friend, desperately trying to caught his breath.

"Hey Samantha, you ok?" he asked, turning towards the girl.

There were no response.

"Samantha?"

The only sound was that of flowing water and wind in the leaves.

Jaune pushed himself up and looked at his friend - she laid in the same position he left her, eyes open wide, not moving.

Jaune gulped, dragging himself to her, and put his ear close to her mouth.

He neither felt nor heard anything.

The sudden cold he felt had nothing to do with fact he was completely drenched.

Calm down. Mom and Dad taught you first aid. You know what to do, just stay calm.

He took deep breath, held it, and let it go.

Step one: check if the victim is breathing. She wasn't.

Step two - call help. I can't - I don't have scroll, and there is no one around. But, there were a few people around - I remember them screaming. Someone is bound to call for help.

Step three - start CPR.

He moved over to his motionless friend and started to press on her chest. His mind raced.

What was the routine? 2 breaths for every 20 pushes? 10? How fast should I do it? Damn, I can't remember!

He could feel his eyes began to sting.

Am I pushing hard enough? Or maybe too hard? Am I even doing it in the right place? The heart was on the left side, right? But was it there? Or maybe higher? Does it even matter? Shit, I don't know!

His arms were aching, and his breath was coming in labored gasps.

I can't stop. I absolutely can't stop - not until help arrives.

A rustle of leaves, and the sound of breaking branches filled him with hope.

Someone's coming!

The low growling that followed killed the hope instantly.

Something. Something has come.

Several more rustles, and growls sounded.

Something's. Shit! What do I do? I could try to drag the Grimm away… but she'll die if I stop! But if I don't do something she'll die too! What can I do? My arms hurt, I can't keep this up for long.

Tears were streaming down his face.

Someone help.. Please, someone, anyone…

He heard heavy steps coming closer.

Don't look up. If you see them you'll panic. They still haven't attacked, maybe they won't if you don't do anything to tick them off. Just don't look up.

He looked up.

Just in time to see the Beowolf jump at them, maw wide open.

What he didn't see is whatever cut said Beowolf in two.

All he noticed was the blurry shape that ran past the beast. All he heard was "keep it up, kid!" Screamed by said blurr. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Jaune had been too focused on the motionless girl under him.

Breath! Please breath Sam! You can't leave me! Who's going to tell me not to give up if you're not here?!

He couldn't feel his arms anymore, just a vague pressure, and jolts of pain.

"Switch, kid." A calm voice sounded, and pair of arms appeared in Jaune vision. He vaguely recalled a feeling that he shouldn't let this stranger place his hands on his friend, his Samantha, but couldn't remember why. So instead he collapsed on his back, taking gulps of air, and wondering if he really needed lungs to live.

The last thing he heard before passing out was more rustling and more voices - thankfully human this time.

He awoke slowly. First his sense of feeling returned, then hearing, and then he realized he had been staring at the ceiling for few moments. An unfamiliar ceiling.

He looked around the room. All the walls were wooden, and covered in animal pelts. There were a few covering the floor too. The room itself wasn't large - in fact it could be considered rather small. The bed he was lying on, covered most of the length of one wall. There was a nightstand next to him with his belongings laid out on it.

"Finally awake kid?"

He looked to his left. There, sitting at small desk, under the only window in the room, was man Jaune vaguely recognized. Armor, swords, hair so pale that it looked grey… or maybe white? Then he recalled their meeting just few weeks ago - just after he failed his entrance exam to the local combat prep school.

"You're the Hunter with motion sickness."

"And you're the kid that runs around city serving medicine to strangers."

"What's your name anyway?" Jaune asked.

The older man seemed to consider for a second before answering. "Call me Leon."

"I'm Jaune." The boy reached his hand out instinctually, before wincing and clutching his side.

"Easy there kid. You have two cracked ribs. Nothing too serious, but it'll be annoying for few weeks."

Jaune looked at older man and opened his mouth to ask a question.

"We're at the Hunter's Rest. It's a pub in a small settlement about an hour walk from Vale's west gate. Brought you here around twenty hours ago - you slept the whole time. Girl that was with you is fine - she was taken to the clinic, and woke up about six hours ago. Doctor said there is no reason to worry, and they signed her out on her parents' wish. Anything else you want to know?"

Jaune blinked few times then said.

"My family…"

"Downstairs. With all your sisters, your friend, and her parents. Looks like they're getting along with Mei and Tob - they own this place"

Jaune's stomach growled loudly. "Can I get something to eat?"

His companion laughed, but it sounded a bit nervous.

"Considering the last I saw your mom and Mei they were in the kitchen, I would say that yes, you will get 'something' to eat."

Jaune gulped. This might be… bad.

"Could you… like, not tell them I'm awake?

"I could… but I think it's a bit too late for that." He said pointing at the door.

And the small brown-haired, girl that stood there, green eyes wide open.

Rubin… no.

"Rub…" Was all he managed to say before she ran away screaming "Jaune is awake" at the top of her lungs.

"Any last wishes?" The man next to him asked with a serious voice.

"Bury me under the big chestnut tree on the northside of Silver Lake"

"Will do." The man shook his head. "Before we get swamped, let's get down to business kid. I have an offer for you."

"An offer?"

"Yeah. You wanted to be a Huntsman right?" He waited for Jaune to nod. "Well, you might have failed that entrance exam, but out there with that girl? The way you jumped after her? Well, that's about the most Huntsman thing I've ever seen. You still wanna to be one, kid?"

"More than anything." Jaune whispered.

"Then how about becoming my student?" Jaune stared at man, mouth wide open. "Don't think it will be easy. You will suffer under my tutelage. You will know the true meaning of hardship. You may not even survive. You will gain something, but you will unquestionably lose something of yourself as well." He stared into Jaune's eyes. "What say you boy?"

He stared back. "I belong to my family first. If they can spare me, I'm yours."

The old Huntsman grinned. "Well, I think we won't have to wait long."

Seconds later, a tide of very concerned women washed over the small room.

Jaune's recovery took about a week. During this time, the Arcs and Samantha's family become fast friends with Mei and Tob. Now they were all sitting in Hunter's Rest main hall.

Everyone was staring at Jaune - most of them excited.

Jaune was staring back - not sure if he heard right.

"Come again?" he asked dumbly.

"Oh come on! What there is to not understand?" This was Samantha - she looked irritated, but he could still see how the tips of her mouth curled up.

"We thought about it a lot, and decided we owe you at least this much. I couldn't give all help I could've - and should've. And with all the contracts I have, there is no guarantee I will be able in the future. As hard as it is for me to say - this is all I can do for you." Said his father.

"But..the girls.."

"They're growing up, honey. Cere can help.." a loud 'hey' interrupted his mother's speech.

"Cere and Rubin can help with taking care of rest." She amended.

"But they're too young…"

A gentle hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up, to his father smiling face.

"They are much older than you were, when you started helping with raising your sisters. It's time for you to follow your dreams, not push them aside for family's sake."

"So…" Jaune gulped "So, I can become Hunter?"

"Depends on you, kiddo. You have guts to jump in to help others. Even if this means you lose something important, like your dream - or your life. So you have right attitude. What you lack is skill, and experience. Fortunately for you, both can be gained - if you're willing to work for it."

He was. He was willing to work harder than anyone.

He looked at his family - all of them were giving him supporting smiles, few of them gave him reassuring nods.

He looked to Samantha - she gave him thumbs-up and mouthed "go for it."

Finally, he looked at man who offered him chance to achieve his dream.

Jaune took deep breath and gave his answer.

The man nodded.

And to think I considered refusing.

Jaune Arc smiled at the memory.

Can't believe almost four years have passed.

He looked around. It was dark, but he could make out small patches of upturned earth. He closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the night forest.

It was so peaceful.

Won't be for long…

He thought, hearing the heavy footsteps approach.

Jaune Arc smiled.

His prey had come.

AN. Well hello folks to my first story. It was in my head for a year now - and thanks to JJD's encuragment i decided to finally write it. There are few things that i know people will ask in reviews, so I answer few of this questions now:

1)This is slight AU. Not by much, and it will follow cannon storyline, but i added few things.

2)This will be slight crossover-ish story. With what you ask? Well, try to guess. I'll throw few hints here and there, and make it clear in ch 3.

3) About chapters - this is just prologue. Official first chapter will go out this Monday. Ever next chapter will be going on Monday too. How often? I can't say for sure - i will aim for weekly updates, but I won't rush chapters. Quality over quantatity, and all this stuff.

4)Paring - undecided. I'm not sure if I include romance at all. We will see.

5)Rated T for violence, swearing and puns. My change later.

6)Jaune will be experienced and well trained in this story - but not Op. He already activated his semblance, and its pretty much the same thing he has in cannon. I just took a … creative approach to what it might be able to do.

7)Oc's - there will be few, but they won't be too important for plot. They will pop from time to time to explain few AU elements, or as comedic relief. Main focus will be Jaune and rest of RWBy main cast.

Ok that is for now. Please like, suscribe, and all that jazz.