I am a Hunter

This will be a relatively short series. This chapter is much shorter than my usual because it is an intro. But I may just keep it this short to update faster. I planned a couple things for it, but nothing epic. Pairing will not be the focus of the story, and I hope to create a complex and interesting storyline. Also, To truly get the main premise, I suggest you read to the end.

There are no OC protagonists in this story.

Here we go!

It only took a swift blow to the back of the head. The guard was out like a light. He grabbed him carefully, gently dragging the man backward around the corner of the warehouse. He set the guard down the ground, as quietly as he could. He didn't want to alert the others. He was sure no one had seen or heard him, but he still kept his breath low. His mask heated slightly from his breath. Checking through the man's pockets he found his objective, keys and a scroll. He reached into his pockets and grabbed out a couple of prepared items. He zip-tied the man's legs and arms, while putting duck tape on his mouth. He was sure the man would be out longer than he needed, but he knew better to be safe than sorry.

Taking out this guard had been relatively easy, he was in the corner and had been smoking. But it wouldn't be so easy for the next few. Security was heavy here, so he wouldn't have time to knock them out cleanly. Pushing his back against the wall, he crept forward one step at a time. The guard was slouching, looking forward, unaware. Quietly step. Inch by Inch. Readied his arms.

'Now.'

Grasping around the man's throat and pulling upwards. Leaning backwards, so they would both move backwards together, but putting a foot backwards so that they would not fall. Wrapping his elbow around the man's throat. Squeeze carefully, enough to choke but not to crush. Press body against the back, making sure there was no escape. A small struggle. Arms flailing slightly. Slowly stops. The body sags.

He put the body gently down on the ground and checked the pulse, still breathing. He moved forward again, back to the corner. The holster for his gun tapped lightly against his side. His blade, seemingly a short sword, strapped neatly on his back. His footsteps were silent, calculated. Listening with every breathe he took. He looked across to the other side. Another body, on the opposite side, laid on the ground. Well, it wasn't a unconscious body, rather a corpse.

'Damn' He stood up now, there was no need to hide. They had taken care of the cameras long ago. If that guard was down, then the rest of the guards were already taken care off.

He walked forward towards the body and sighed. He watched the blood pool slightly out. Dead, cold eyes stared back at him. He felt his stomach fall and shoulders drop. The man would not go back to his family. Friends. Life. A pity. "I thought we agreed to not kill" He said.

"We have no time for pity" His partner replied, walking around the corner. "Jaguar."

Jaguar watched as his partner sheathe his katana. "Sometimes, I wish we did, Adam."

Adam paused, staring at him for a moment. Words stopped in his mouth, instead he shook his head ."Don't you go turning on me too." A light tone, but tightness under the skin.

Jaguar stepped out of Adam's way. Jaguar knew that Adam was still reeling from the betrayal. Well, it wasn't much of a betrayal, more like an eventuality. They had both worked with Blake. Adam more so than Jaguar. Adam was her official partner after all. And there was a reason why no one went after Blake. 'He always had a soft spot for her' Jaguar sighed. Reaching into his back holster, he whipped out short sword. 'Though, he's been more ruthless recently' Jaguar shook his head as he clicked a small latch on the hilt. Spinning the blade once, the short sword split into two warped daggers. "I'll take the top floor" Jaguar said, as he scaled the wall.

His blades sliced into the wall like butter, easily and efficiently, he climbed the building. Entering one of the many second story window, Jaguar scanned the inner room. In the center of the warehouse were stacks of boxes. All of them had a white snowflake, the symbol of the Schnee.

Jaguar had nothing personal against the Schnee. They were just some rich family who owned a powerful company. But, that company started stepping on Faunus, and that would not do. Jaguar stalked the guards below him, only three of them. They were playing cards, waiting for a delivery truck to arrive. 'I'll take them out before they end up dead' Jaguar leaned against the railing. 'Adam's especially blood thirsty today'

Jaguar let his body flip over the side and fall down towards the three guards. He crashed into the table in a loud crunch. The guards screamed profanities, as the rushed back. He didn't let them recover. He charged at one guard, slashing the man's wrist and kicking the man in the stomach. The guard to his left fired at him. Jaguar dove to the side, rolling as he did so. He closed the distance and stabbed upwards. His two daggers stabbing into the man's shoulders. The guard screamed in pain. Jaguar pulled forward with his daggers and rammed his head into the man's face. The guard was unconscious before he hit the ground. The final guard roared as he brought his assault rifle to bear. But, the man didn't even have time to fire a bullet, as he was katana sliced his back.

'Dammit' Jaguar winced as the man fell forward, the large wound spilling blood over the floor.

"You should be more-" Adam started to say.

A gunfire rang out. Jaguar leaned to the side, hoping to dodge any fire. But, he felt a bullet pierce his shoulder. Jaguar grunted as he looked back. The first guard he had tried to knock out, was standing, firing with his other hand. Jaguar crouched, ready to dodge the next bullet. A small swish pierced the air. The man froze, stopped in time. And then he fell to the ground, headless.

"You should be more careful" Adam finished. The red haired faunus looked at Jaguar. "Do we need to take the bullet out."

Reaching into his armor, Jaguar felt the wound. The bullet was outside his body, but just barely. "It's a through and through." He grunted. "Let's burn the crates and get out."

Adam nodded, swiftly taking out red dust. Jaguar waited as Adam sprinkled dust over the crates. When he had finished, Adam took out a small lighter and lit dust. Instantaneously, the crates were engulfed in flame. Nothing would be left of them in a few minutes.

"Let's go." Adam murmured.

Jaguar nodded, looking back at the bodies on the ground. He reached over and grabbed the only living member.

"You're saving him?" Adam asked.

"Doesn't hurt me." Jaguar shrugged as he dragged the unconscious man outside.

"Says the guy who just got shot" Adam snorted as he started to head towards the exit. "And, It will in the long run."

"Who knows" Jaguar huffed, as he dragged the guy.

Fire was now spreading to the whole building. Jaguar dropped the body off to the side, next to another unconscious guard. Adam waited patiently to the side, as Jaguar finished.

Adam nodded towards the wound. "we should take care of that, before you change into civvies."

"Yea." Jaguar sighed.

Adam dash forward, leading them. Jaguar followed close behind. The winded through the industrial area of Vale at a quick pace. Left, right left, over a wall, and continuing on. Adam stopped about two miles away at a small shack, on the outskirts of the industrial area. It was small, seemingly abandoned. Jaguar waited patiently as Adam checked their surroundings. Adam quietly stepped forward, looking around slowly, checking for any stray police cars or civilians.

Jaguar grunted as he saw Adam give the all clear sign. The wound had opened up as they were running. Jogging towards the shack, he gripped his shoulder, trying to keep the blood from pouring out. Adam had already slipped inside. Jaguar entered, closing the door behind him. The shack was a small one. Designed more to be a supply store than an actual safe house. There was a small table and chair, with boxes all around. These boxes weren't labeled, so you had to know what you were looking for. Jaguar sat down on the chair and took off his armor. He let the black, lightly plated armor drop to the ground. He gently took off his white fang mask and put it to the side. It was a mask of well... a Jaguar. He traced the designs on the mask. Supposedly, there was a type of grimm that had it. He didn't really care. It just gave him a name. Adam carried a large box and shifted it onto the table. He opened it and grabbed bandages and gauze.

"Oum" Adam cursed as he saw the wound bleeding. "What caliber bullets were they using."

Jaguar shrugged as he took the bullet out of shoulder and dropped it on the table. It was a large slug, if these had hit anywhere in his chest, he would probably be dead. Adam bent down and packed the gauze to cover the wound. Jaguar gritted his teeth, trying to block out the pain. Adam wrapped bandages tightly over the wound and taped it up.

"It'll hold for a day, but you should get to T-"

"Can't" Jaguar cut Adam off. "Need to go get groceries from the store."

"Seriously" Adam sounded exasperated. "Groceries. Of all the things."

"Hey. We've been out for half a week. I don't want to eat pizza again." Jaguar gave a small chuckle, but winced as he shook his wound. "got any pain killers?"

"Yea." Adam ruffled through the box. "here." He tossed the bottle to his partner. Jaguar popped it open and dry swallowed two.

"Well, I'm off." Jaguar eased off the chair and gingerly headed towards the door. Police cars were now swarming the center of the industrial area. Which mean only a few would be on the outskirts.

"Alright" Adam said.

Jaguar reached for the door, about to leave.

"Hey Jaguar."

"Yea?"

"You think..." Adam sighed. "she's happy?"

"Knowing Blake." Jaguar shrugged. He had only worked with her a couple times. On very few minor operations, when they were both starting out. She seemed like a capable girl, with a bleeding heart of course. "She probably is brooding somewhere."

Adam chuckled and nodded. "Sounds like her."

Jaguar pushed through the door and entered central Vale.

He strolled down the street, whistling a small tune. He was in his civvies, simple blue jeans, black jacket and a gray v-neck. He had left his gear in the shack. Adam, who was the 'squad leader,' would report in for the both of them. The chain of command in the White fang was obscure, at best. Adam, to all, was an extremely high ranker. But, even he had to report to someone. Mostly it was to say the job was done or if he had noticed any complications. But, to Jaguar, it just meant he didn't have to do the busy work.

Jaguar walked down the streets, the denizens of Vale bustling about. All smiles and all. News of a fire in industrial part of Vale was on the news, and the fire was being contained. Jaguar settled next to the street light and waved his hand over the sensor to go across. The pain in his shoulder was now down to a dull throb. As long as he didn't move a lot, the bandages would hold.

"Mom?" a voice from behind him. It sounded young, female.

'ignore it.' Jaguar told himself. He had to get food. Nearest grocery store to home was about eight blocks from here. He wanted to get back at a reasonable time.

"Mom where are you" The voice continued to call out. It sounded desperate, alone, quiet, hopeful.

familiar.

'Just ignore it-' Jaguar stopped as he realized he had turned around and was already walking towards the girl. She had brown hair and a small frame, probably only 6 years old. She was also a faunus, obvious from cat ears on her head. 'Oh dammit.' Jaguar sighed as he walked over to the young faunus.

She looked over, wide eyed and mouth slightly open. Her face was a bit streaked from tears, and a little dribble ran from her nose.

"Do you need some help?"

"Are you lost?"

Jaguar blinked as he realized someone else was here. He turned slightly to his right and saw a girl in a red cloak smile at the girl. She gave a quick wink to him and looked back down to the girl. Jaguar looked over her once. He could smell dust from her. She had bullets. Also, she had muscle and her hands had callouses. Hunter? No, too young. Hunter in training. Silver eyes. Black hair. Younger than him. 'I guess I can leave it to her.' Jaguar sighed as he started to step back. He was never good with kids.

Before he could make a quiet escape, the young faunus grabbed, with sticky hands, Jaguar's shirt.

'Oh Oum' Jaguar cursed as the little girl squeezed. She looked over to the other girl and whimpered. "Please help. I'm lost."

"Ok, ok" The silver eyed girl smiled sweetly. Her voice was light, tone soft.

'one of those good Samaritans.' Jaguar sighed as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. People always though lesser of Faunus. And some people, who wanted to help, always thought of them helping the 'little' people. The White Fang didn't want that, they wanted equality.

"My name is Ruby, what's yours." Ruby asked the girl.

"M-Matilda" She whispered back. The small girl looked back up at Jaguar with wide eyes. Her eyes were less watery, but she seemed a bit jittery.

'Oh man' Jaguar grumbled in his head. "You can call me..." Dammit. He had burned a couple of his aliases already. He didn't set up his new one just yet. "J."

"J?" Ruby blinked. She tilted her head quizzically. "As in the letter?"

"yep. Parents weren't great in the naming department?" Jaguar gave a wink.

Ruby giggled and nodded. "Well, Matilda." She bent down, putting her hand on her knees. "Let J and I stay with you till we find your parents."

"O-ok." Matilda nodded. "I was supposed to meet them at the bakery. I don't know where that is."

'Bakery...' Jaguar winced. There were at least six near here. And he didn't even know the actual number for all of vale.

"Well." Ruby sighed. She probably realized the difficulty of the task. "Let's get to searching, yeah?"

Ruby gently took one of the girl's hand started down the street. Jaguar sighed, shaking his head, and grabbed the other girl's hand.

"So..." Ruby started off. "What school do you go to?" the girl looked at Jaguar, a nervous smile on her face.

"Drop out." Jaguar shrugged. "I'm a … clerk at a bookstore."

"Oh." Ruby bit her lip and looked away slightly. There was a bit of red on the girl's face. Jaguar resisted the urge to laugh. 'Must have been awkward for her' Jaguar reasoned. 'but at least she's cute.'

"I don't go to school yet." Matilda answered, she frowned slightly. "Mommy says we don't have enough money."

"Oh.." Ruby's face became reserved. Jaguar felt his gut wrenched. And that was reality for Faunus. The general populace, even if they didn't actively do it, looked down of Faunus. People discriminated against them, gave them the lower jobs. It was a natural thing to do. And it irritated Jaguar.

"Don't worry." Jaguar said. "If you work hard. You can get anywhere you want!" He forced his voice to be chipper. It wasn't the first time he had to act.

Matlida nodded, a smile back on her face.

"S-so" Ruby continued. They had passed by one of the bakeries, and Matlida didn't see anyone she knew. "What do they look like."

"Well." Matlida started. "Daddy is really, really big. And Mommy is really pretty."

"That's nice..." Jaguar silently groaned. If this took all day, he would cry.

"What's the color of their hair?" Ruby asked.

"Mommy has brown hair. And daddy is bald, so he had no hair." the small faunus giggled out.

"And do they both have ears like you?" Ruby continued to ask.

Matlida shook her head. "mommy has ears like me. But daddy isn't a Faunus. He's a human!" She smiled wide, proud of the fact.

"Oh that's so cool." Ruby chatted happily. Jaguar had to admit, he was a bit … surprised by her reaction. Half-breeds were an awkward topic, among both sides. No one really liked them or hated them. They were just different. Humans called faunus disgusting, dirty. Faunus called humans pretentious, arrogant.

Didn't matter what side you were on, everyone had bad apples. It just so happened that humans had bad apples with more money.

"So where to?" Ruby asked him, snapping out of him out of his thoughts. Jaguar coughed, trying to recollect himself.

'Right, searching for parents. ' Jaguar took a breathe and thought about the closest baker. "Alright follow me."

"Sweet!" Ruby cheered happily with Matlida.

The trio walked around the blocks in search. At first, Jaguar regretted tagging along. He almost wanted to make an excuse to dash out, and just leave. Helping a girl was fine, but being dragged around for over two hours was a bit excessive. Even still, he actually enjoyed the walk. Ruby was interesting company to keep around. She chatted about what she did at school, her 'baby', Crescent Rose. Jaguar had to admit, it was cool. Though he preferred to keep his gun and blade separate. His gun was a .47 cal double-action revolver, Angau Coch. And his blade was a trick weapon he designed. Mercies was a one-handed short sword that transformed into two warped daggers. But, he didn't tell this to Ruby. For all she knew, he was just a random guy on the street.

"Mommy, Daddy!" Matilda shouted as she broke away from Ruby and Jaguar and ran towards two worried parents.

"Oh Thank Oum" Two voices said at once. Ruby and Jaguar looked at each other and flushed, neither one of them wanted to claim the jinx.

"Well, I'll go talk to them." Ruby said. "I'll... see you around. J."

"Sure. I'll see you around" Jaguar nodded with a smile. "Maybe next time I'll get your last name."

Ruby clasped her arms behind her back and looked thought. A playful smile appeared on her lips. "Maybe, you'll give me your real name next time too!"

Jaguar snorted as he watched the girl ran off to go talk to the parents. Jaguar simply turned and headed down the street. He really needed to go get the groceries now.

Jaguar sighed as he shuffled through his pocket for the key. "Damn thing." He grumbled as he tried to reach for it. But, as he did so, the wound on his shoulder kept stinging.

"You're late." A large Faunus stood at, the now, open door. He had pale white skin, brown hair, and long sideburns.

Jaguar sighed as he lifted up the groceries with his uninjured arm. "Groceries. Kitchen was out. Or did you forget, Tuskan?"

Tuskan growled, but Jaguar didn't mind. Tuskan sighed, shaking his head. "You should've come back first. I heard from Adam you were injured."

Jaguar rolled his eyes as he stepped past Tuskan. "It's fine. It was a Through and Through. Bandaged the wound afterward."

"I'll be the judge of that." Tuskan huffed, as he closed the door. "Set the bags on the counter and take a seat."

Jaguar sighed as he entered the back room of Tuskon's Book Trade. It was a front for some White Fang Operations in Vale. It also served as the home for Jaguar and Tuskan. The backroom was small, consisting of a counter, stove and fridge. Not very fancy, but for only the two of them, it served them just fine. Plus, Jaguar didn't mind, he had grown up in this dingy, small store.

Jaguar placed the groceries on the counter and dropped his jacket on the ground. The groceries rustled against a pile of files. He caught a glimpse of the title, Operation Match.

"Match, Huh? New mission?" Jaguar asked, while sitting down.

"Yea." Tuskan said. "That human girl. Cinder. She sent it to Adam. Adam forwarded it to me. Shift off."

Jaguar huffed as he took his shirt off. The bandage he had put over the wound was stained red. Apparently, he took too long coming back. It couldn't be helped though, he needed to find the girl's parents.

"It's fine, huh?" Tuskan rolled his eyes as he reached on top of the refrigerator and grabbed the first aid kit. The kit was more like a hard case containing a mini-hospital storage room. It had everything from surgical equipment to a blood transfusion kit. Tuskan constantly updated the case.

"Oh, shut up." Jaguar huffed as he ripped off the bandages. Red liquid dripped down his arm slowly.

"Dammit kid." Tuskan quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped around wound. "You'll get blood over my nice floors."

"And I'll have to clean them." Jaguar rolled his eyes and grasped the towel, to keep it in place. "Like always."

"Damn straight." Tuskan said. He reached into the kit and grabbed the surgical suture and disinfectant.

Jaguar winced as Tuskan dabbed alcohol on the wound. They were silent as Tuskan worked. It wasn't he first time, Jaguar had come back with wounds. Hell, this was a tiny wound compared to his old one. Jaguar still remembered Tuskan screaming himself hoarse after Adam had dragged him back with bullets in his stomach.

Tuskan put away the alcohol and started sowing the wound close. "How did it happen?"

"Didn't Adam tell you?" Jaguar asked. Usually, Adam would debrief with Tuskan.

"I want to hear it from you." Tuskan cut the first suture and moved around to Jaguar's back.

Jaguar let out a slow sigh, as Tuskan worked on the back wound. "One of the guards I knocked out. He woke up and fired a shot at me. Didn't see it in time, so I couldn't block it."

"Adam did say you were sloppy." Tuskan said.

"Oh." Jaguar said, wincing slightly as Tuskan finished. "for what? For not killing?"

Tuskan was silent. They had argued about the subject many times. Well, argued against Adam.

"You should at least be more aware." Tuskan sighed, putting away the medical supplies.

"When are you going to say, just kill them?"

"Whenever you drop your morals and your balls." Tuskan shrugged. "Killing isn't you. And you'd be a coward to choose the easy way out."

Jaguar snorted. He put his shirt back on and started to reach for the groceries.

"Wait just a second. I need to talk to you about, Match." Tuskan stored the kit back on top of the fridge. He paused as he looked back down at the files.

Jaguar waited for Tuskan to continue. He knew Tuskan's ticks. It came with the training and being raised by the man. Tuskan had found him when he was a street rat, making a living off of stealing. Tuskan had beaten the living shit out of him for trying to steal from him. Gave him a job at the bookstore, and then Jaguar simply learned about the White Fang from there. He didn't have anything better to do, so he joined.

"What is it? Special mission?" Jaguar asked, after Tuskan didn't speak. Tuskan was hesitant, that mean two things. The mission was hard and risky. Tuskan knew Jaguar's abilities better than anyone else, if he thought it was dangerous, Jaguar believed him.

"A Skin mission." Tuskan pushed forward the pile.

Jagaur held down a grunt. A skin mission. An infiltration mission. A deep cover mission. He would have to go undercover, again. He had done them before, successfully, but they were all easy jobs. Low level civilian works, where no one would think about background checks or have suspicions.

"Location? Target?"

"Here's the location." Tuskan pushed forward a folder. "The Target is information, as well as, some systems. We'll go through the details later. The location is... a hot spot."

"So," Jaguar hummed as he looked at the pile in front of him. There were numerous files on background of some people, different objectives and targets, and even planned escape strategies. But, they weren't what he was interested in. "Beacon Academy, huh?"

"Yea." Tuskan grabbed a beer from the fridge. Beacon academy, A hub for Hunters and Huntresses. The exact opposite of where a spy should go. If he was caught here, he would be killed without a doubt. But, Tuskan had actually presented it to him. That meant it was important. That meant it was necessary. Jaguar knew that Tuskan would reject missions on his behalf. As his handler, Tuskan never put Jaguar in impossible situations. Tuskan sighed as he pulled out another file. He opened it and slid it forward towards Jaguar.

The younger White Fang member grabbed it and silently opened it. Scanning through the contents silently, he froze as he read the top. Jaguar rubbed the mug shot of him. It was recent. They constantly updated his photos, just in case he needed to go undercover quickly. His talent and disposition allowed him to get into areas other members of the White Fang couldn't.

"Not a bad background. I can run it." Jaguar murmured, continuing to read the file. This was his background, his life now. Jaguar would be pushed in the back of his head, still there, but just as a specter.

"Good." Tuskan sighed as he leaned back in his chest. "We'll need to start emotional conditioning and habit training, immediately. We've only got two months."

"Ahh, not a lot of time." Jaguar chuckled. Emotional and Habit training. They allowed him to get into his new skin and act like it. Personality wasn't built in a day. Which was why Tuskan had him act as his persona for at least four months. Removing any suspicious activity was necessary. Lying to people was an art. Subtle hints of movements, smiling to people, as well as getting angry. You weren't putting on a mask, you were putting on skin. You needed to have goals, dreams, and feelings like any other person. If you acted too happy, you would be pressured. If you were too reserved, no one would trust you. Even if you were perfectly balanced, people would be jealous. You needed to mold a new body, a new personality, and smooth it into shape. And that took awhile.

"It was a rushed job." Tuskan shrugged. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. Tuskan took a deep breathe as he looked at the ceiling. Probably trying to organize everything in his head. Jaguar knew that Tuskan was a stickler for a information, and a damn nagger too. "Alright, let's start. First off, Name and what you are."

Jaguar... no.

No, he wasn't Jaguar any more.

"My name is Jaune Arc." Jaune put on a wide smile. "I am a Hunter."

Hope you liked this plot intro. Please drop a review!

Angau Coch – Red Death. Think Black Cat "Hades"

Mercies- Think Bloodbourne Blade of Mercy