This tale does not follow the Four Kingdoms, nor anyone from them. Instead, this is a tale of the Refuges; the places, hidden from most eyes, where neither the youngest nor most foolhardy of Grimm, nor the oldest and most powerful, dare tread heavily. As the Four Great Kingdoms of Remnant grew in strength and power, becoming a beacon of hope to those too weak to hold it themselves, so did the Two Refuges, in shadow and obscurity, doing what must be done to ensure all life, Human and Faunus alike, could continue to live and thrive. Kakurega, the Safe House; the originator of the Asashi, the deadliest assassins in all the six realms – and Toride, the Citadel; the creators of the Hogo-Sha, stalwart and brave Guardians, said to be on par with even the Huntsmen and Huntresses of the Four Great Kingdoms, if not stronger.

Specifically, this is the story of a young boy, who would grow to take up the mantle of the Hogo-Sha, and go beyond to become that which most have - a story, a legend, a myth. But not all myths detail good triumphing over evil. Not all legends are heroes, and only time will tell whether this boy becomes a savior, or a destroyer.

Chapter 1

Today started out like most days. I woke up in the ancient cot the Toride Refugee Services gave me to use, then wandered down to the mess hall while only half-awake. As I opened the door, my eyes landed upon a familiar sight. A wolf Faunus, with white hair cut short and golden eyes, in addition to the obvious wolf ears sticking up from the top of his head. My Dad, Lupus. He was waiting in the mess hall, cooking apron on, with a bowl of what passed for food in this place in his hand.

"Good morning, Haiiro," Lupus said when I opened the door.

"Morning pops," I said as I sat down at the table. I eyed the bowl of grey sludge warily, "I don't suppose we were able to get real food today?"

"Better. We got protein porridge. We've got chicken flavored sludge, we've got beef flavored sludge, and we've got lamb flavored sludge. Which will ya have?"

I sighed "I'll take the lamb," I don't know why I always had to ask. It was the same thing every time. Just chunks of protein blocks soaked in nutrient paste. Better than starving to death, I suppose.

"So, today's the day, huh?"

I knew exactly what dad was talking about. Today was the day that I took my fate into my own hands. Today was the day that I took the first step on a long journey. One that would, if everything went well, end with me as a Hogo-Sha; A Guardian of Toride.

Dad walked around the counter and pulled me into a hug. I don't know why. He knows I hate them. Today was the start of a new life, though, so I tolerated it.

"Good luck, kiddo, I'm proud of you"

"Thanks, dad. But I don't need luck,"

I finished off the last of my breakfast, and walked back to the public bathrooms to clean myself up for the long day ahead. As I finished brushing my teeth, I looked into the mirror. My own faded gold eyes gazed back. I gave myself a look over, to make sure everything was in order.

The scar on the right side of my bottom lip was still there. It wasn't as prominent as it had been in the past, but it was still noticeable to a sharp eye. Time can't heal everything, I guess. I brushed my short, silver hair into spikes flowing towards the back of my head – my favorite hairstyle, and changed into the standard attire for the 'prospects' –those that wished to seek entrance into the Hogo-Sha. The black pants came first, followed by the white shirt, and the black robe went on top of all of it. For a second I considered putting a hat on, but quickly squashed that thought. I've dealt with bullies my whole life. What's one more day compared to that?

I only noticed that dad had entered the room when he asked,

"Second thoughts son?"

Proud of myself for not jumping in the slightest, I quickly made sure everything was in place.

"No, just tidying myself up," I noticed that dad had a bundle in his hands, but didn't acknowledge it until he held it out to me. "This belonged to my father. He passed it down to me, when he considered me a man, and had it passed down to him from his father," He handed me the bundle, "I think it's time for you to have it,"

I unwrapped the bundle and hidden inside was a katana. The sheath was nearly black, with greenish-blue wisps running along it and pooling at the bottom. The katana itself, though heavily worn, was a beautiful weapon. Near-perfectly balanced, with a blade of gunmetal grey tainted slightly by rust, dark blue characters etched into the sides, and a silver tsuba in the shape of a crescent moon, it was truly a sight to behold.

"It's been sitting around for a while, so it's probably very fragile, you may need to have it sharpened and polished, worst case scenario it'll need to be reforged, but it's a weapon, and you at least won't have to buy or build one,"

Admiring the blade, I read out the characters on the side, "Hosha Tsuki… Radiant Moon,"

I looked my father in the eye. "Thank you, father,"

My dad pulled me into another hug. As the enormity of what just happened sank in, I felt myself returning the hug gratefully.

"The first day of the rest of my life…"

As I was walking to the public gymnasium where the entrance exams would take place, I caught a scent that was both familiar and unpleasant. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Does it have to be today, of all days? I just can't catch a break. A quartet of humans crept out of an alleyway behind me and commenced with their daily ritual of heckling and throwing pet food at any Faunus that passed by. They would go after any Faunus, but they seemed to enjoy antagonizing me the most.

"Hey there, little puppy! Does the little doggy want a treat?" One of the idiots emphasized that last word with a thrown dog biscuit in the shape of a bone that missed by a mile.

"Yeah! How about we adopt it? Give it all the food it needs!"

"Or we could take it out to the pound! It looks like a stray to me!"

Just ignore them, Haiiro, I thought to myself. No need to give them any ammunition. It went on like this through the entire Refugee District of Toride. This didn't make them go away, unfortunately. It never did. If I didn't ignore them, though, it would lead to a fight. I got into a lot of fights growing up.

I was determined, however, and made it most of the way without even acknowledging their existence, save for sidestepping the rare thrown pellet that got too close. Unfortunately, today was one of the days when they didn't take no for an answer, and ignoring them only seemed to enhance their rage. As the faded browns and greys of the Refugee District were slowly replaced by the brick reds and cobblestone roads of the Commoner's District, I heard the footsteps change from walking to an all-out run. I spun around, and barely dodged a fist that would have broken my jaw.

"Where do you think you're going, mutt?!" The one who had thrown the punch roared, "We ain't done with you!" At this, he signaled to his friends, who started to surround me. "We're gonna show you just what happens to animals that pretend to be people in this neighborhood!"

Shit! I could have just run away when they were throwing biscuits, but no, I had to just ignore them. Ignore them and they'll go away. Idiot. I don't think I'll be able to fight them all off… but I can't run away, either. Fuck, what now?!

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rubber scraping stone. I sidestepped, but wasn't quick enough to fully dodge the kick that slammed into my ribs. The force of the blow spun me around, but I added that momentum to an elbow strike at the guys face. It connected, but as he staggered back, another one grabbed me from behind and hurled me to the ground. Stunned, I was unable to react as a booted foot hit me in the face, cutting my lip and flipping me onto my back.

"Poor little puppy! Is that all you got?!"

I rolled backwards onto my feet, wiped my mouth off, and smirked.

"I could do this all day,"

Well, well, well. What do we have here?

A shadowed individual stood atop a rooftop as he watched four kids beat on a single Faunus child. Children can be so cruel. That thought was promptly emphasized when the leader of the four hit the Faunus in the side with a pipe, which caused him to yelp in pain and drop to the ground.

Hmph. Too weak. But even as the thought formed, the Faunus got up. Slowly, yes, and unsteadily, but he got up. Once he had steadied himself, the Faunus child really showed what he was made of. He redirected their blows into each other and punished their mistakes. Whenever the attackers had managed to get a hold of him and knock him down, he always got back up. For a moment, it seemed like the kid would actually be able to push them back.

Huh. Maybe he does have what it takes…

That's when the pipe hit the back of the kid's head, and he slumped back to the ground. He looked dazed, and the man was sure that the kid would have a concussion for the next few weeks, but he seemed mostly okay. Once again, he picked himself off the ground, though he stumbled a bit. Definitely a concussion. Maybe even a skull fracture.

The kid wasn't going down without a fight, though. He reached for something at his side. Seeming to find it, he pulled it out. Is that… A katana, though rusted, glinted hungrily in the morning light. Well, then. Better get down there before it goes too much farther.

"Are you pullin' a blade on us, mutt? That rusted knife couldn't cut paper, even if it weren't rusted to hell!"

"Lookit the lil doggie playin' at bein' a Hogo! Ain't it cute?"

"I'll kill you!" I roared, rushing at the one with the pipe, and swung Hosha Tsuki at his head. Damn it! Why couldn't you have just gotten scared and ran off?! He swung his pipe, and as the two weapons collided. For a blade that was in bad condition, it was holding up surprisingly well against the heavy lead pipe, though with how hard he's swinging, I was sure that wouldn't be the case for very long. After blocking a few of his attacks, I began to notice the cracks starting to form in the blade. I had to stop blocking his attacks and start evading them. I kept myself positioned so the rest of the goon squad were always behind the guy with the pipe and took swipes them when they got too close and nicking the leader when he had left himself open.

"Hold still damn it, AND LET ME HIT YOU!" the Goon leader bellowed raising his pipe above his head.

At the same time one of his lackeys had rushed forward and tried to attack me but received the my swords pommel square in his face. Unfortunately the lead pipe was bearing down on me. I instinctively swung my sword to deflect it, hoping for the best as Hosha Tsuki, seemingly glowing in the day light collided with the pipe.

I was showered by pieces of shattered metal. I looked down, and perhaps the worst thing that could have happened, had happened. Hosha Tsuki was broken. It had snapped in half, and the rest of the blade was resting on the ground not three feet away. I looked over at the guy with the pipe, and the pipe had been sliced in two. At least I have that going for me…

All of a sudden, everything seemed to catch up to me. So much pain, and it was getting hard to keep my eyes open. I had put up a good fight. Well, I think I did. It hurt to breathe, my lip was busted, and I'm pretty sure I was concussed. I tried to fall on my face, but the ringleader hauled me up by my shirt.

"Who's the tough guy now, mutt?"

I was thrown against the wall, and two of the flunkies pinned me to it as the ringleader threw punch after punch into my face. I need to do something… but what? What can I do? After the third or fourth hit, his cronies dropped me, only for him to lift me up by my throat.

"I think it's time to end this one. What do you think, boys?"

His goon squad whooped with approval. He held his hand out to one of them, and a large serrated knife was put in his hand. Oh crap… I struggled, but the grip on my throat was too tight, and the edges of my vision were starting to blur.

"I got dibs on the ears!"

"Fine, but I got his teeth!"

The boss held the knife up to my throat. "Any last words, mutt?"

I didn't get the chance to reply, as suddenly the pressure on my neck was removed, and a spray of something warm hit my face. I fell to the ground, but my vision was still getting blurrier. Strange… It doesn't hurt as bad as before… Am I… dying? The last things I remembered before I passed out were the terrified screams of what sounded like the attackers and a faded blue glow enveloping me…

'I don't need luck'. Heh. Dad's never gonna let me live that one down…

"I think he's waking up."

"Leave us, I need a few moments alone with him"

The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't move. That was either a good thing, or a very bad thing. The next thing was the steady beeping, almost like… A heart monitor? Why would… A feeling of pressure coming from inside my left arm, just under the skin. Great, I'm in the hospital…

I opened my eyes, and immediately closed them again as a searing light blazed in front of them. A good-natured laugh rang throughout the room.

"Careful! You've been out for most of the day. Even, I'm surprised that it hasn't been longer, what with the beating you took,"

I slowly opened my eyes just enough to see out of and turned my head to where the voice came from. An unfamiliar face was in the chair to the right of me. He grinned through his long strands of dark hair that fell carelessly over his face. He appeared to have not shaven in several days, due to the heavy stubble coating his jaw. His eyes were dark brown, very nearly black. However, the most eye-catching feature about him was the scar that ran diagonally across his face, starting halfway up the right side of his forehead, and running down to end just beneath his left eye. Despite all of this, he seemed so full of life, so cheerful, that it brightened my mood just by looking at him.

"What happened?" I managed to croak out

"Well kid, put simply, you got your ass handed to you"

"After that" I asked, slightly embarrassed "What happened to those guys that attacked me?"

The stranger chuckled "Let's just say that I made sure that they'll think twice before bothering anyone else and leave it at that"

"Thanks for that," I said as I moved to sit up before descending into a coughing fit.

"Here, have some water,"

I took the proffered glass of water and gratefully gulped it down.

We were quiet for a little while before he said, "What I don't understand is what drives a Faunus refugee to walk around a district crawling with some particularly xenophobic humans without a hat, or something to cover up his ears,"

I pondered the question for a bit before answering. "I was going to the Academy, to hopefully be accepted into the Hogo-Sha. I didn't want to pretend to be something I wasn't,"

"Good. Dishonesty is frowned upon in the Hogo-Sha, especially to oneself,"

"You speak as if you know from experience,"

"I've had to carry out a few punishments in my time,"

"So, wait, you're a Guardian?" At his nod to the affirmative, I continued. "Why aren't you at the tournament?"

"We were waiting for everyone to show up. You didn't show up, so they sent me out to get you. You're lucky I found you when I did. Those thugs were about to kill you,"

"Guess I didn't get in, then,"

"What makes you say that?"

"Not only did I not show up, but I couldn't even beat some lowly street thugs. And my sword… My sword was broken. Isn't that one of the worst things that could happen?"

"Your tardiness has been overlooked, given the circumstances. A weapon breaking can happen to anyone, so it won't hold that against you. I recovered the pieces, it looks as if it can be repaired, though you'd have to take it to a blacksmith to know for sure."

After hearing that good news, I breathed a sigh of relief, then I realized that it'd probably cost a month's salary to get it looked at, probably even more to fix it.

"I also watched you fight for a bit, and I must say that you have talent. Even without your Aura, you were able to survive a four-on-one fight for quite a while," He looked at me appraisingly. "If it weren't for you getting hit in the head with that pipe, you might have actually fought them off. You also managed to awaken your Aura, and honestly that's what saved your life, not me,"

My surprise must have shown through on my face, because he laughed. "Several broken ribs, a nasty concussion, torn stomach lining, and a busted lip, among other things. You don't think you'd only be asleep for a day if your Aura hadn't fixed it up, do you?"

"I guess not…"

"Anyways, you don't necessarily need to win an arbitrary tournament to be a Guardian, the most important qualities we look for is potential and skill. If one fights to the best of their abilities, and leave a lasting impression, be it in the tournament, against a couple of thugs, or against The Creatures of Grimm, I see no reason a prospect should be judged any differently" The Guardian explained.

I wasn't exactly sure how to respond at first, then it dawned on me what he was implying.

"W-Wait, does that mean...?"

A grin spread across The Guardian's face "Therefore, It has been decided that you will accepted as a pupil at The Watchtower, once the tournament has concluded, you will begin your new life as a Guardian of Toride." He pulled a white rectangular object out of his bag and placed it in my hand which I recognized as a scroll. I looked quizzically at The Guardian, still grinning warmly. "Welcome to the Hogo-Sha, Haiiro"

Thanks for reading, and welcome to the first chapter of what I hope will be a long and prosperous series. Hopefully I will be able to upload a new chapter somewhat regularly, but that depends on my free time. Anyways, I would appreciate some constructive feedback as to improve the series as it goes on. Thanks again for reading, you are awesome. NOTE: There were some issues with the first upload, I won't go into details, but I had to take it down then put it back up. I also tried to make the fight a bit more interesting. Did it work out? I sure hope so, I'd love to hear some feed back