Chapter 0: The Koi and the Waterfall

In a village in the continent of Anima, there is a legend passed down from generation to generation.

A pale golden-haired figure ran across the village, seeming to be in a hurry, for what, almost no one knew.

If one looked at the figure, judging by the lithe frame, feminine features, and slightly short stature, they would have figured that whoever was running was a teenage girl hurrying to wherever she needed to go.

They would be nearly correct, were it not for the fact that the running figure was a boy. Almost no one believed him, but he was a boy, dammit! He ran through the village, headed for a hill just on the edge of the outskirts.

"Come on, Fish Boy! We don't have all day!"

Kin Sakana huffed and puffed as he ran up the hill, where his friends lounged on top, waiting impatiently for him. An extremely rare Golden Koi Faunus, a kind of Faunus nearly non-existent in the world of Remnant, he was more inclined to things like swimming and diving, not running up hills at full speed. "I-" he wheezed a bit, before continuing, "I'm here! I- oh god my lungs, I'm here!"

"About time you got here!" A tall, black-haired boy grumbled. Roland Onyx was a lean, athletic-looking young man with a bad attitude, and a penchant for trouble. He had been smoking cigarettes with Fire Dust in them when he had been caught by Kin, who had swore not to tell others. This, and the fact that Kin seemed like an easy target, eventually led to them becoming friends...somehow. His parents were hunters, leading to Roland knowing quite a few survival tips, which he shared with the few friends he knew were interested.

"Come on, Kin! We've been waiting for almost an hour now! Seriously, what were you so busy with?" Opal and Coral Guinness were blue-haired dainty Cat Faunus twins, who wore dresses and frolicked in spring and fulfilled almost every female stereotype out there. They also controlled the village teenage population with iron fists, and pulled the strings behind every rumor, gossip, and story in the village. You couldn't so much as whisper without them knowing.

"I'm sorry, guys! Dad had me working overtime at the bakery because of the tourist influx, you gotta believe me! Come on, Lapis, Beryl, you saw how many people were there, back me up here!" Kin whined, turning pleading amber eyes at the girls in question.

"You had your chance, Kin~ Not our fault that you're late~" Lapis LaBleu and Beryl Vermillion were originally the only children who had unlocked their Aura in the village, before they unlocked their friend's Auras as well. While Lapis was thin and fit, Beryl looked like he had a few too many fries while eating. The two were Faunus, Mongoose and Snake respectively, yet got along most of the time. Their parents being Hunters, they knew combat and swordplay like the back of their hands. They were also the only ones in their group with Semblances. Lapis with her limited hydrokinesis, and Beryl with his extremely limited crystal creation.

Kin just pouted, before turning his puppy eyes at the last three of his friends for support.

"Those puppy eyes won't work on us, Kin. You of all people should know that." Jasper Green, Lilith Peridot, and Don Obsidian were the cliché group of the nerd, the jock, and the antisocial guy. Jasper was a star athlete, considered the best rugby player in the school, while Lilith was the valedictorian on their grade, and a prodigy with all things math. Don was a loner, preferring to sit alone and read, when he had the chance. The three were the virtual opposites of each other on both instances, yet got along like chicken, pasta, and tomatoes. Kin had asked himself how they became friends with him. To this day, he still didn't know.

"C-Come on, guys! I was super busy! You saw how many people were swarming the bakery!" Kin vainly pleaded, to no effect. They just stared at him with cold eyes, before Jasper smirked.

"When we get back, you're going in the dress." Kin paled at what Coral had said, staring at the evil expression on her face.

"N-Not the dress! I'm begging you! I've already got enough guys trying to pick me up, I don't need them to see me in that...monstrosity!" Unmoved, the others just began to smirk at the thought of the pretty boy in a dress, shyly walking through the village square.

Roland's nose began to bleed.

"Hey! Roland, don't you dare think weird thoughts, you damn pervert! Whatever you're thinking of, it's not happening!" Kin squeaked, his dignity crumbling before him. Well, there went his reputation as an average person who everyone should ignore. And he had spent so long building it too...

"Quit sulking, man. We need to go gather some wood for the celebration tomorrow! I heard the adults are gonna let us help them gather supplies!" Kin raised an eyebrow at Opal's excited tone.

"Opal, we're eleven and twelve-year old kids, and most of the adults are horrific in a fight. How are we gonna survive gathering supplies in the forest?!" He asked.

"Lapis and Beryl's parents are coming. I think they called for backup as well. We should have Hunters from the mainland coming soon."

"Oh." He didn't have a response to that.

"Anyways, we're leaving soon. They said we should pack some stuff in case the weather turns bad and we have to camp. A knife, some rations, the basics. Maybe a book. Kin, yor parents are from Mistral, you got any good folk stories to tell us later?" Roland tilted his head at Kin, an inquisitive expression on his face. Kin shrugged.

"Maybe one or two, if I can remember any. Now come on, clock's ticking."

The legend says that there was once a group of koi fish who swam down a river during the summer, to where and for what, it is never specified.

They had gone down a nearby cliff into the edge of the forest to scavenge for supplies. The Hunters had took turns standing guard while a single Hunter would escort up to three kids into the forest to collect supplies for the festival. The day was slowly going into sunset, and many were prepping a campsite.

"Hey, guys! I found some firewood!" Kin called as he walked to the campsite, a Huntress walking besides him. With him, his friends, and a handful of Hunters supervising them, the group was mostly safe from any Grimm, and the large number of foragers had managed to gather quite a few supplies for the festival. At the rate they were going, they should have been able to finish before nightfall. The clouds did seem to be darkening, though...

"Good work, Sakana. The clouds are getting darker, and there's been thunder in the distance. Considering the distance we are from the village, we may need to camp for the night before heading back tomorrow. The others are setting up tents as we speak, and we have some meat cooking by a fire, if you want some." Kin nodded. He could see the logic behind the choice. Waving at the Hunter (she was from the Kingdoms and he couldn't remember her name for the life of him.), he headed towards the partially set-up tents, where he could see Roland and Don struggling with a pole. Walking over, he waved and looked at them trying to fit the pole through the tent hole.

"Need a hand?" He asked.

"Nah, we-son of a bitch-we got this. Go get something to-go in, dammit!-go get something to eat, man." Shrugging, Kin just nodded before leaving to get some food. Roland sounded fine, apart from the angry mumbling. Besides, he was starving, and the roasting meat smelled delicious. Heading over to the fire, he sat down and watched the underdone beef cut slowly roast, barely stopping himself from drooling.

"You hungry, little lady?" A scruffy man plopped next to him, his cloak floating down as he drank what smelled like bourbon from a hip flask. He wore a red, tattered cloak, a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. There was a ring on his right index finger, two rings on his right ring finger, and a more visible tilted cross necklace on his neck. Kin bristled at being called a girl, but was too tired and hungry to correct him right now.

"Been gathering firewood and skinning animals for almost the whole afternoon now. I'm getting really hungry after all that work." The man chuckled.

"At your age, girls like you should be worrying about the new fashion trends and who to date, not skinning cows and hunting for supplies," He grumbled, taking a swig from the flask, "The Kingdoms don't send many supplies to villages, but they usually send enough for everyone."

"Yeah, well, the village is pretty far from any of the Kingdoms. By the time the supplies get here, they're usually crushed, expired, or completely destroyed. It's either forage or starve," Kin's expression turns somber for a few seconds, as if remembering some painful memory that he wanted to stay buried, "And I don't think anyone here wants to starve."

"...Welcome to Remnant. Everyone grows up too fast in this world..." The man, noticing Kin's sorrow, held out his flask to him, and winked, "Wanna drink, little lady? It'll be our little secret. You know, to try out the wonderful world of alcohol." Kin scoffed.

"Pass it here, old man. I could use a little sip right now." Ignoring the indignant squawk from the Hunter, he took the flask and downed a swig of bourbon, sighing at the burn of high-quality liquor running down his throat, passing the flask back, "That's some good stuff to drink. Vacuo Silver Tongue?"

"How'd you know?" The man rasped, looking at him suspiciously.

"My father drinks a bit every now and then. Sometimes he forgets to put the good stuff away. Don't worry, he doesn't beat me, and he's not an alcoholic." Kin reassured the man, who was looking at him suspiciously, but nodded and turned to take a swig. "Oh, and I'm a boy, you know."

The man did a perfect spit-take into the fire, quickening the roasting process as he sputtered.

"Y-You're-" He coughed a bit, "You're joking." He choked out. Kin raised an eyebrow at him.

"You sure?" His smile turned flirtatious as an utterly evil idea crossed his mind, "I can take off my pants and show you if you want~" The man just sputtered some more as Kin smiled at him innocently, trying not to break down into laughter, "Did I say something wrong?~"

Ah, the perks of being underage with a mature mind. Nobody expected him to be like that. Nobody.

Suckers.

As they swam downstream, they encountered a giant waterfall blocking their path, with no way around it.

The foragers had long since eaten their meals and put out the fire, retreating into their tents for the night. Outside, it began to pour, as the weather worsened. No doubt that if they hadn't secured what they had collected, they would have to look for supplies all over again.

Thunder crackled, and the winds blew on the tent, almost pushing them off of their support poles. A howl or a snarl came from outside every now and then. The storm must have forced some Grimm to migrate through the campsite in search of shelter. Here was to hoping they didn't get into any of the tents.

Trying to ignore the (admittedly terrifying) combination of a thunderstorm and a swarm of Grimm wandering outside their flimsy tents, Kin closed his eyes, and tried to go to sleep, wondering how the hell the others could sleep past this.

Outside, the storm struck near the top of the cliff, and a tiny spout of water began to pour from the hole created by it.

Of course, no one would know this. They wouldn't know until morning, when the water spout would have blocked off their only exit.

Undeterred, the school of koi swam towards the waterfall, leaping up the waterfall in an attempt to climb it.

When Kin woke up that day, he was feeling surprisingly well-rested. He sat up and stretched, yawning as he walked out of the tent...and all his good feelings proceeded to shoot themselves in the nuts and be whisked away to God-knows-where as he beheld the sight before him.

There was a waterfall blocking the exit.

There was a fucking waterfall blocking the exit.

There was a fucking giant waterfall blocking the only exit they had.

"You've got to be shitting me." Kin eloquently grumbled. Behind him, the other foragers had began to exit their tents and were now openly staring at the waterfall. The waterfall had been stopping others from moving through a pathway leading up a cliff without getting soaked. Not only that, but the path, which was a dirt and stone pathway, had become unstable from the storm, and was barely usable without the waterfall. With the waterfall in the way, no one would be able to safely get up the cliff.

"I...How did that even get there?!" Beryl screamed, similar questions coming from behind him. The Hunters had taken one glance at the spontaneous waterfall and tried to locate what had caused it.

"Hey, look!" A Huntsman pointed upwards, where the water was coming from. There was a large hole in the cliff, where water seemed to pour from. "The lightning from the storm must have struck there while we were asleep!"

"What kind of namby-pamby bad luck bullshit is this?!" Another cried in frustration.

"Watch your language, we have children here!"

"SON OF A FUCKING PIECE OF DRIED UP SHIT COVERED IN MAGGOTS AND ROADKILL I'M GOING TO FUCKING-" Roland's voice came from behind Kin, and the Hunters just stared at him.

"...Watch my language, huh?"

"...Just...just shut up."

Kin stared at the massive hole in the cliff, an expression of disbelief as he stood there. The village had been sitting next to an underground freshwater spring, and nobody knew. Now, the only way to leave without ruining everything they had collected was to either destroy the spring or get help. Either option seemed to be impossible right now, because of the waterfall.

Well, at least they had a backup water supply for now.

"Damn, kid. Looks like real bad luck." The slightly familiar voice caused Kin to turn, where the same Huntsman who had offered him a drink stood, looking guiltily at the psuedo-waterfall. "How the hell are we gonna get back now?"

"I don't know. The cliff should have footholds, so one of us ca climb it and get others to help us." Kin muttered.

"Oh really? And where are those footholds?" Kin pointed at the waterfall, "...Oh shit."

"Yup."

The Hunter groaned, "Well, how the hell are we going to get up there now? None of the Hunters can leave because of the Grimm being close by, and I don't think you kids could possibly climb a cliff with the way you are!"

"I...might have an idea." The Hunter looked up, desperation painted all over his face.

"Come on, kid, tell me."

"You're not gonna like it."

"Try me."

Kin told the Hunter. He didn't like it.

Day after day, the school of koi relentlessly swam, trying to climb the waterfall, drawing the attention of demons who roamed the forest where the waterfall resided. As the number of koi lessened with every day, and every death from straining their hearts , the demons mocked the koi, jeering and howling at their futile determination.

And still, they swam.

"I don't like it, kid."

"I know."

"This is a horrible idea."

"I know."

"You could get yourself killed falling from that height."

"I have Aura to protect me, but I know."

"...Be careful, alright? I don't want to explain to your parents why I have to carry your corpse back to the village."

Kin looked at the Hunter, and who looked back, obviously worried for his well-being.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd fallen for me, old man." Kin snickered, before unsheathing a primitive blade. The thing couldn't even be called a knife, seeing as it was just a blade with linen wrapped around two pieces of wood as a makeshift hilt. There were three odd needle-like protrusions coming out of the other end of the blade. "Don't worry. I'll get help soon."

A growl came from nearby, and the Hunter's expression turned serious.

"Be quick. We're about to have company." Nodding, Kin walked towards the waterfall. He took off his shirt, revealing a feminine figure, slender yet sturdy arms, and lean muscle...and golden koi scales lining parts of his upper arms, and down his sides. His scales glittered and shone in the sunlight, giving his a slight golden aura of radiance surrounding him as he walked towards the cliff. He was aware of the others staring at how feminine he looked, to the point where he could feel their gazes burning a hole onto his back, but he pushed that thought to the side as he stretched to prepare. Taking a deep breath, he leaped into the waterfall, and felt around for a foothold.

Upon feeling one, he grabbed it, and began to climb up a waterfall.

The school of koi swam to the jeers of the demons, their numbers dwindling and dwindling, until only one remained. The koi had witnessed his fellow koi die from exhaustion, had felt the weight trying and trying and failing and failing over and over within his heart.

And still, he swam.

The moment Kin leaped into the waterfall, the sheer pressure damn near pushed him to the ground. Struggling to stay upright, he covered his eyes with his arms and walked forward towards the cliff wall. Upon seeing a foothold, he slid his fingers into it. Finding another, he slid his other hand's fingers into the groove, pulling himself upwards, as he began to climb the cliff.

The water was cold, and pressed down on him like liquid cement. Every movement made him want to give up and let go. Every time he let go of a foothold to move to a higher one, he was nearly pushed off by the flow of water. Every time his foot pushed him upwards, he nearly slipped from the pressure bearing down on him. His eyes couldn't open for fear of getting water into his eyes, which would cause him to let go of the cliff to rub his eyes. His ears could only hear the roar of the pouring water. His hands had nearly gone numb, and his mind blank as he scaled the cliff. Occasionally, he poked his head out to take a breath before diving back in, giving the impression that he was actually climbing the waterfall, to the amazement of the Hunters and kids.

Below, everyone watched the boy (or girl, they still couldn't tell) do the impossible and scale a damn waterfall, before someone cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Alright, people!" The voice of Qrow Branwen rang out, as he took out Harbinger, a grim look on his face, "We have Grimm inbound. Our jobs are to protect the children and supplies while the little la-while the kid gets help. Every Hunter take your weapons out now." Nodding their heads, various weapons were unsheathed and mecha-shifted into gun forms. Behind him, Qrow noticed that a few kids had unsheathed their hunting knives and fallen into combat positions, "The hell are you kids doing?"

"We have Aura and combat training." Two of the kids said, a blue-haired girl and redhead boy respectively, "We can put up a fight if we want to. We also unlocked our friends' Auras in case something like this happens."

"I have Fire Dust and knife skills. I should be fine for a while." The third said, a cigarette clenched between his teeth. Upon looking closely, Qrow saw the glow of Fire Dust in in it, and was about to retort, but upon seeing the serious expressions on their faces, shrugged. To each their own. It wasn't like they would actually listen to him if he told them to get back.

"Alright. Keep yourselves and the others out of trouble. Take down any Grimm as fast as possible. No flashy tricks or showing off, that could end up with you dead." The three nodded before looking around.

As if on cue, nearby bushes began to rustle, and red glowing eyes glared at them in mindless hatred.

"Look alive, people. We have company," Qrow called, just as the first Beowulf lunged at him.

The koi swam faster and faster, leaping up the waterfall in an impossible display of determination and power. The demons' jeers slowly ebbed away as they watched the koi defy the laws of the world, the laws of the gods, the laws that had made him so very weak, and climbed the waterfall.

The koi seemed exhausted, his scales growing dull and his eyes losing focus. It seemed that should he stop, he would die from exhaustion, a painless, merciful death compared to the trial up continuing his vain mission.

And still, he swam.

Kin had lost track of how long he had been climbing. His limbs burned, his eyes ached, and his ears were pounding from the water pressure. Dimly, he heard the sounds of combat below him, and quickened the pace.

"Hey! Where are they! They should have been back by now!"

Wait...he recognized that voice. Yeah, he knew that voice!

That voice belonged to the village baker. His dad. He climbed faster.

"C'mon, Seido. The others have looked everywhere, and are gonna go down to the forest after we all meet up here." His mother. His mother was here, "The storm must have stopped them from coming back, I'm sure they're fine."

He climbed even faster.

As he climbed, he heard more voices joining his parents. The librarian, the shop owners, the damn teachers. Everyone in the village who could was looking for them.

He had to get up the cliff.

He had to help them.

Ignoring the screams of pain his body sent him, he climbed faster and faster, nearing the top of the waterfall as below, the Grimm were eradicated.

The koi swam up the waterfall, nearing the top, to the shock of the demons. His golden scales having dulled, and his eyes unfocused as he swam up the current. This was impossible. It was unachievable, it was simply unheard of.

And yet, it was happening right before them.

Before the demons' eyes, the koi leaped out one last time...and landed at the very top of the waterfall he had sought to climb for so very long.

Kin's thoughts were a jumble of climbing, surviving, and not fucking up. Literally. He coul not afford to think of anything else but scaling the cliff.

'Climbfasterclimbfastergethelpclimbtothetopclimbfaster-'

This train of thought was all that remained in Kin's head as he neared the top, to the point where he noticed a ray of sunlight pierce through the water.

He was close.

He was close.

He reached out, and with the very last strength he had, threw himself upwards, and over the waterfall. His hand slipped, and he began to fall, his eyes widening...before, in a quick, and fluid movement, he unsheathed his blade and buried it into the dirt on top of the cliff, dragging himself up and flopping his near-unresponsive body on solid land.

His lungs burned, his muscles screamed at him, and yet, he knew that there was one last thing he had to do.

Ignoring every nerve telling him to shut up and rest, he opened his mouth and took in a deep breath.

The moment the koi landed, he began to change. The gods had witnessed the sheer defiance and determination the koi had displayed, and, impressed, rewarded the koi with a gift of their own.

The koi elongated, growing sharp teeth and claws,their scales growing more brilliant with every passing second. A golden flash pierced the sky, and as the light ebbed away, a glorious golden dragon rose from the water where the koi once was, letting loose a mighty roar.

"HEEEEEEEY! OVER HEEEEEEEERE!" Kin screamed at the top of his lungs, flaring his Aura as a visual guide or the search party. Turning in shock, they ran to him, helping him up as he gasped for air, "The...the others...they're at the bottom of the cliff..." He wheezed.

"Are they OK?" His father asked, and Kin nodded.

"Beowulf pack...attacked us, but...we're fine...Hunters killing them now." Kin rasped out. Nodding, his father and mother turned around, supporting him as they explained what he had said.

At the bottom of the cliff, the Beowulf pack had been mercilessly crushed, and Qrow had been surprised, yet pleased, to see that the three kids had held true to their word and killed any Grimm that attempted to attack the kids. He had began to ponder what had caused the Beowulf pack to notice them when they were out of hearing range, when he was pulled from his thoughts as a golden flash of light shone from atop the cliff behind him. Turning, he saw that the others, who had been resting, were also looking up in shock, and he couldn't help but laugh when he saw what they were really looking at.

"He did it!" He cried, "The kid actually did it!"

That day, after everyone had been safely extracted from the forest, the festival the village held celebrated two things. The first was to celebrate the village's founding from when explorers had mapped this place as an area rich with fertile soil and access to nearby cities. Without those explorers, the idea of traveling here would have never existed on other people's minds.

The second was to celebrate the day a young boy, frail and weak, yet defiant and powerful in his own way, did the impossible...and climbed up a waterfall to call for help.

The dragon soon left the river and forest, traveling to places unknown. But the demons and humans who had witnessed the miraculous feat, would forever remember what the koi had done, and what he had become. And the dragon, thought nobody knows how, will always return to where he had conquered what was thought to be impossible, and would return to the same waterfall every year, should he have the chance.

It had been a week after the incident. Kin had become a bit of a local celebrity, and was more well-known due to his feat. Almost everything had gone back to normal. In fact, not much really happened afterwards. The only thing that happened after that was when he had to barricade himself in the house to keep his friends from stuffing him into a dress and making him walk across the town square. Eventually, they gave up, but Kin could still see them plotting.

As the days passed, a thought began to gnaw at Kin, he began to think about what he had done. As he thought, he began to ponder a decision he knew would change his life. It wasn't an easy decision, either. It was the type of decision that wouldn't seem to leave you until you reached the answer you truly wanted, and he knew it. After a full day of thinking, Kin reached his answer, and decided that he would tell his parents what he wanted the next day, during breakfast.

At breakfast, when Kin plopped onto a chair next to his mother, who was reading the paper, and his father, who sipped a homemade espresso, he opened his mouth, and blurted out what he wanted.

"Mom, Dad, I want to become a Hunter."

Seido Sakana choked on his espresso, and Ginsei Sakana nee Ryuna accidentally ripped the newspaper in half as both of them stared at their son in shock.

"You what?!"

"I want to become a Hunter." Kin was undeterred, and continued eating his pancakes as if he was discussing the weather and not the fact that he wanted to go into a life-threatening career for the rest of his teenage and adult life.

His parents gawked at how flippant he was being, and tried to stutter responses.

"B-B-But it's dangerous!"

"So many Grimm out there that you'll have to fight!"

"And the racism from some of the humans!"

"And the White Fang trying to recruit you!"

"Kin, are you-"

"I'm sure, Dad. I really want to be a Hunter." Kin replied, drinking a glass of milk after finishing his pancakes. He didn't even seem bothered or nervous at what he had said.

"...Can you at least tell me why?" Kin paused at this.

"I...want to help others. I want to show that I, a Fish Faunus, considered one of the weakest kinds of Faunus in Remnant, was able to help others. I want to grow stronger, and help the village whenever I get the chance if I ever come back."

"...And the real reason?" Kin tensed up, but sighed, as if expecting the question.

"...Strength in weakness. Power though fraility. I want to show the world that by being very weak, people can be very strong." The conviction, the determination in his voice made Seido pause. Somehow, he knew that his son would become a Hunter whether Seido liked it or not, and that he was just asking him for permission. Turning to his wife, he saw that Ginsei had also reached the same comclusion.

Kin was going to become a Hunter, and there was nothing that would stop him.

"I'm assuming that you got an offer already?" Kin opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, there was a knock on the door. Seido got up, and walked over, opening the door.

There was a tanned blonde standing at the door. He wore brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. A metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove adorned his right arm, which he was rubbing nervously.

"Hello, my name's Taiyang Xiao Long, and I'm a professor at Signal Academy. Can I speak with Kin Sakana, please?"

And that is the legend of the Koi and the Waterfall.

A/N: I have so many plot bunnies that it's fucking ridiculous. Send help. Please.

Anyways, I'm deleting my previous two stories, because until I can get my shit together, I'm not going to be able to continue them. Maybe I'll restart them one day, but it won't be anytime soon. I'm so sorry, I really am.

Anyways, welcome to my latest mistake. Here's to hoping I can fucking finish it. But yeah, new OC, new scenario, and new fandom. I hope it meshes well.

If there are any people looking to be a beta reader, you know people who will be beta readers, send them here. I'm desperate.

If you have any questions, then ask me in the reviews, or PM me.

I'll be changing my name soon, so if you see a notification from Fanfiction about someone you don't know, it might be me.

Anyways, that is all I have to say. Without further ado, this is Evil Odium, name to changed changed in the future, signing out. Peace!