Jaune stumbled over another twig. This sent him tumbling and flying down the hill. He let out a scream as he crashed and rolled down. He was eight years old. He was scrawny, and pale. He wore a simple outfit for a boy his age. He slowly got back up, shaking his head. He sniffed as he looked around. Off in the distance, he saw his destination.

He stood and broke into a sprint, "I can make it!" He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. It wasn't long before he bursted through the back door and skidded across the floor. Jaune shook his head as he stood up, "O-Ow…"

Jaune shook his head and sat up. Then he saw a metal beam and heard a loud snap, he flinched and let out a yelp.

He could hear someone speaking, "Come on." A hand hit the floor, "Come on! I'm so close!" The lights of the kitchen were flicked on.

The man, who was speaking, was in a giant mouse trap. He had tanned skin, a wagging monkey tail, and a lean build. He had black hair and eyes. He wore a white shirt, a black vest, jean shorts, and black sandals.

And there was the man who turned on the lights. He was very tall, mostly because of his long legs. He had fair skin and a lean build. He had blond hair, which covered one eye, and blue-colored eyes. He wore a blue dress shirt with a black tie, a black vest, black gloves, navy slacks, and black shoes. And he was currently puffing a cigarette in his mouth.

The man who turned on the lights raised his leg and axe-kicked the struggling man's head. "When will you ever stop trying to steal my food, you, shitty monkey!"

Jaune spoke up without thinking, "Why don't you just give him some?"

The man raised his leg again, "I did. That's why he keeps coming back." He stopped, keeping his foot in the air while the shitty monkey went silent before both men looked at the boy.

Jaune froze before blinking.

The man, who had turned on the lights, was named Roy Copper, and the monkey Faunus was named Deacon Flamel. They were all sat in the dinner area of Roy's restaurant. Now, Deacon was chowing down on recently cooked food at a table with Roy and Jaune. Jaune was enjoying his plate as Roy passed his to Deacon, who took it welcomingly.

Roy flicked his cigarette, looking at Jaune. "He's smiling… That's good…" He looked Jaune over. He noted his bruises and scars that were still visible. "He's been fed but not a lot and not often…. Kid's been starving…" Roy lowered his head, shaking it, "What the fuck is wrong with some people? This isn't just abuse, it's neglect…" Roy straightened, "Listen, kid. Why don't we just go to social-"

Jaune's eyes widened, "No!" He shook his head, "If you go to them, they'll split my sisters up and toss them into foster homes!" He lowered his head, "And they don't hate my sisters like they hate me… They love my sisters."

Deacon cleaned one plate, moving on to the next, "Kid's pretty knowledgeable for… well… a kid."

Roy made a face at Deacon before sighing, turning back to Jaune, "So, that's why you ran away on your lonesome."

Jaune didn't raise his head, nodding, "Yeah…"

Roy took a puff from his cigarette, "So, let me get this straight." He gestured to Jaune, "Your parents… disappear. You and your sisters are given to your next and only extended family—your uncle, aunt, and cousin on your mother's side. They…" he trailed off for a moment, "-don't like you, but love your sisters. They pamper them and take them to fancy restaurants while you are bullied by your cousin and eat bread mixed with water for dinner."

Jaune nodded.

Roy leaned back in his chair, "So, you want me to take care of you."

Jaune nodded, "I've seen your shows… from my room." He began to grip his knees to the point where his knuckles turn white, "You are kind to those who need it. You're mean to idiots and bullies. You don't let anyone demean you or… hurt you…"

Roy made a face as his mind raced about his decision, considering the moral and logical applications. "Fuck…" Morality won, "Fine." He let out a breath, "I'll take care of you. I'll… try and raise you."

Deacon smiled, raising his hand into the air, "I'll help!"

Roy pointed at Deacon, scowling, "We are not gonna be dads. You're like the godfather or uncle. You are not gonna be a dad while I'm a dad. And while I say that, I will explain that I mean with this kid in particular. We are not his dads. If anything, I'll be his dad. You're gonna be that freeloading neighbor that only comes over during barbeques and for some reason, everyone calls him 'uncle'."

Deacon looked upset, "What do you have against being the kid's dad while I'm his dad? Don't like the idea of same-sex parents?"

Roy gave him an incredulous look, "What?! No! I just don't like being coupled with you."

Deacon's eyes went wide, "We're best friends!"

Roy put his hands on the table, "Are we? Recently, the only time you ever talk to me is after I catch you trying to steal my shit."

Deacon sighed, "It's just that… I'm being held out on my paycheck due to some ass pretending to be me and causing trouble."

Roy leaned back in his seat, "You mean that 'Demaro' guy? Why didn't you tell me? I would've helped!"

Deacon leaned back in his chair, "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to bother you."

Roy looked at him incredulously once again, "And you thought that stealing from me, wouldn't bother me?"

Deacon lowered his head, "I'm sorry."

Roy's look softened, "It's fine. We'll handle it tomorrow." Roy then turned back to Jaune, who was smiling with happiness and relief at the two, even giggling at their antics. He blinked before realizing he didn't ask a very important question. He asked Jaune, "What's your name?"

XXX

Roy chuckled, smiling reminiscently, "Can you believe that was nine years ago?" He was in his late thirty's and was in a similar outfit to the one nine years ago. Jaune was next to him, vomiting into a bin on the airship they were riding. Roy patted Jaune's back, "Let it out." They were on the airship, heading to Beacon. It slowed and hover next to the edge of the cliff-edge.

Deacon called out from the cockpit, "We're here!"

Jaune stepped out of the airship, coughing. He had a muscular yet lean build. His blond hair was neatly slicked-back, and he had light stubble along his jawline and across his upper lip. He wore an orange, loosely-buttoned, short-sleeved dress shirt with a black tie; a black hoodie with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows; black gloves; a black belt with a gold buckle; cargo jeans, and black dress shoes which was armored-up with gold-colored metal.

Roy walked up to Jaune, "Hey, Jaune."

Jaune turned, "Yeah?"

Roy put his hands on Jaune's shoulders, "Be careful, alright?" He sighed, "I understand the rule that I beat into your head about 'sacred hands', but please, if you need to, use your hands. You can start using them now if you'd like."

Jaune smiled confidently, "I'll be fine."

Roy removed his hands, "I know. I'm just… worried."

Jaune chuckled, "Well, don't. I'll be fine."

Roy chuckled back, "You're my son, I can't stop myself from worrying, but make it easier on me and stay safe."

Jaune nodded, "Promise."

Roy made his way back onto the airship, "Goodbye, Jaune."

Jaune waved, "See you around, dad."

Roy waved back as the airship took off.

Jaune turned to Beacon, smiling triumphantly. "This is the it… The beginning of my story… Wonder what crazy things I'll get into…" He then heard a sudden explosion which shook the ground he stood on. "Okay, that was fast."

He ran forward and down the Main Avenue of Beacon. He spotted Weiss Schnee, he recognized her from the news, yelling at a younger girl in a red cape. He watched on, considering whether he should join the fray, but then a girl in, mostly, black walked up. She said something that offended Weiss. She stormed off in response. The younger girl yelled something and turned to see the girl in black walking away. She slid to her knees before falling to her back. He quickly made his way over to her.

Jaune extended a hand to her, "Hey. Rough day?"

She smiled, "Yeah…" He helped her up, "Thanks."

He nodded, "The name's Jaune."

She nodded back, "I'm Ruby." She looked at his face before tilting her head, "I didn't see you on the airbus…"

He explained, "My dad and my uncle flew me."

"Oh, that's nice of them."

"So, do you know where we're supposed to go?"

She fidgeted with a nervous chuckle, "Uh… no."

He smiled reassuringly, "Well, I'm sure we'll find where supposed to be." He turned, "Let's just head down to… that's probably the main building, right?" He shrugged, "I'm sure there's a directory in there."

She nodded, "Alright."

They began to walk forward. Jaune looked over his shoulder, "So, you okay? Kinda saw what happened there."

Ruby nodded, "I'm fine. I just… I didn't want to make an enemy on my first day here."

He smiled, "Well, you got a friend right here."

She smiled back, "Thanks."

"No problem."

They walked forward in silence before Ruby broke it by whipping out her weapon, "So, I got this," and stabbing it into the ground.

He blinked for a moment, looking at the weapon, "That is… like twice your size. Well, your size and a half."

She grinned brightly, "It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle."

He tilted his head, "It's also a gun."

She nodded, holstering her weapon, "Yeah… I think I might've gone a bit overboard when designing it."

"Well, if hunter work doesn't pan out you could always be a weapons designer."

She nodded, holstering her weapon, "Heh-heh, yeah…" She tilted her head, "So, what do you have?"

He reached into the pocket on the inside of his hoodie, "I work with Dust." He pulled out what seemed to be a cigarette box. He opened it, revealing the cigarette-shaped, multi-colored, condensed Dust crystals.

She made a face, "They look like cigarettes."

He shrugged, "Yeah, it's like an homage to my dad. He's a bit of a smoker, 'quit' recently."

Her face shifted to a smile, "Oh, that's nice." She raised a brow, "So, how does it work exactly?"

He explained, "I absorb the Dust's elemental energy with my aura and pumped it into any part of my body. This uses up the crystal's physical form and when it's rendered to a stub I can pump my aura into it and use it as a makeshift explosive of elemental energy."

Her eyes glittered, "Whoa!" She smiled, "That's so cool!"

He closed the box and tucked it away, "Thanks." He tucked his hands into his pockets. "We should try and catch up with the others."

Ruby simply nodded in response.

Jaune and Ruby entered a giant auditorium, which was filled to the brim with people. Ruby and Jaune were talking before she heard a familiar voice, "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!"

Ruby waved back to the source, "Okay!" She turned to Jaune, "Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!"

She turned and left Jaune to his own devices. "Oh… uh…" She was already out of earshot, "Alright then." He looked around, "What am I supposed to do now?" He wandered through the crowd before finding a free space for himself. He tucked his hands into his pockets, looking around. He took notice of Ruby and her sister, "Ah, she's being yelled at again…" He scratched the back oh his head, shaking his head, "Rough day for her…" Weiss jerked her thumb towards him. His brow twitched, "She insulted me, didn't she? God, I hate the pampered sometimes… Insulting me without knowing me… Real classy, Schnee…" He blinked before sighing, "Calm down, Jaune… I'm sure you're just letting past encounters get to you… I'm sure she's perfectly nice… I hope she's nice…"

"I'll… keep this brief."

The Headmaster began to talk about the "Next Step". He seemed off, but then again, with a job like this, it makes sense. "He has to teach kids how to fight merciless monsters and sometimes… I'm sure, that some don't learn… Wonder if that attendance list will shorten over the year…" He then shook his head, "Don't think like that…" He took a moment to think, "I won't be able to protect everyone I meet… But, I'm sure as hell going to try… I know that, at least, I'll be able to protect my friends…" He blinked before shrugging and looking off to the side, "If I get any friends that is…" He shook his head, "I'm sure with my knowledge I could get anyone to be my friend…"

He sighed. During a good portion of his life, he was a cook. He lived a life of servitude to the customer. While every now and again, he had the pleasure of kicking someone's ass out of the restaurant, there were times where he had to be someone else. He had to learn how to act around certain people; to size them up and act a certain way to get on their good side. Like Schnee, one conversation and he and her could be friends. With a few more, she may be putty in his hands, but he'd have to act like a completely different person and quite frankly, he was tired of that. He was tired of being someone he wasn't, it was the reason why he left the restaurant. He didn't have his father's respect in the community. He couldn't express his opinions without worrying about the backlash on the restaurant's reputation and his future. Here, he had a clean slate. Sure, his father's name could get him into certain places, like the kitchen, but otherwise, he was free from advantages and unwanted judgements. He could say what he wanted and act like himself. He was going to do that, even if that put him at odds with one of the most powerful people in Remnant.

The Headmaster's speech ended and someone else stepped up to the mic, Professor Goodwitch. "You will all be sleeping in the ball room tonight."

Jaune turned and made his way over to Ruby, "Sup, Ruby."

Ruby turned to him, "Hey, Jaune."

He turned to Weiss, "Ms. Schnee." He walked past her and up to Ruby and the blond next to her, smiling, "I didn't know there were two blonds in your life. Care to introduce me?"

She did so, "Oh, this is my sister, Yang." As the blonds shook hands, she pouted, "She ditched me as soon as we landed!"

Yang chuckled at that before asking, "So, how do you know Jaune?"

Jaune shrugged, "I just gave a helping hand to her while she was in distress. We met only moments before now."

Yang nodded, "I see, thanks for helping out my sister."

Jaune nodded, "No problem." He smiled, "And while you are thankful, your sister is still upset."

Ruby stomped, "Darn right! I can't believe you ditched me!"

Yang shank back slightly, "It was for your own good."

Ruby put her hands on her hips, "How so?"

Yang turned to her new male friend, "Jaune, you get it right? Helping out my sister by forcing her to act on her own."

Jaune held up his hands, "No comment. I'm not taking sides in this."

Yang sarcastic replied, "Thanks." She pointed at him, "I'll remember this."

He performed a mock bow, "At least, I'll be engraved in your memory." With that, the trio left the amphitheater along with most of the crowd, leaving the Schnee to herself—completely forgotten about.

XXX

AN: Howdy! This rewrite is more focused on Jaune's character and how he acts. His fighting still has more flare to it. His personality is goofy and light-hearted like the original Jaune while having a lot more confidence. This Jaune's personal problem belongs to the fact that he may slip into his previous actions and stop being himself. He's also worried that people wouldn't accept as the person he is. So, that's that. (The name change is meant to revolve around the more light-hearted tone of this rewrite) So, criticize away and leave any words of wisdom in a review. Thanks for reading!