IV.

The First Year (END)

For a moment, Summer couldn't believe what she was seeing. She actually had to rub her eyes a bit, just to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating. For the first time, since she had met him all those months ago, Kirei Kotomine had actually smiled.

It wasn't one of those fake ones that he put on for show either, it was a genuine, honest-to-god smile.

"This… Is simply incredible." Kirei all but breathed out, before he brought another spoonful of tofu into his mouth.

And then another. And another. Everyone else at the table had stopped eating as well and simply stared at the odd spectacle. Summer had tried for weeks just to get an actual smile from the boy. She had asked everybody she could think of for advice, even Glynda of all people, and in the end, all it took for Kirei to smile was some cheap take-out from a Mistral themed restaurant?

Summer wasn't sure what to think anymore.

Apparently, she wasn't alone in the matter, because her entire family seemed to share in her disbelief. Even Ruby had stopped nibbling on her cookies as she watched on with her eyes wide in surprise. For her daughter, a sight like that was probably equivalent to seeing a unicorn in person.

Kirei seemed to have finally noticed the sudden attention and stopped eating in response.

"Is there something wrong…?" He asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"W-what? N-no nothing's wrong!" Summer quickly stammered out. "I just spaced out a bit that's all. By all means, keep eating!"

Kirei raised a tentative eyebrow, but resumed eating with the same fervor nonetheless.

Everyone else at the table went back to their meals as well, although with a lot less intensity than Kirei did. Tai shared a brief look with her and just chuckled. Summer couldn't help but grin as well.

She'd have to ask that restaurant for their recipes if their food managed to make Kirei of all people crack a smile.

"Hey, Kirei." Yang said, as she brought a steamed dumpling towards her mouth. "Can you help me with my homework later?"

Kirei simply nodded in response as he kept shoveling spoonful after spoonful of tofu into his mouth.

"Kirei, don't just give her the answers, alright?" Taiyang asked, with a bit of a frown. "Make sure she does it on her own."

The boy only nodded once again, too focused on his meal to bother responding with words.

"Aw come on dad, it's just math." Yang pouted, "I'm not even gonna need to use that stuff as a huntress anyway."

As Summer was about to tell Yang that she would need to know at least a little math when she applied for Beacon, her scroll started ringing. Seeing that the call came from Ozpin, she excused herself from the table and stepped outside before answering the call.

"Hey Ozpin." She happily greeted, "How've you and Glynda been doing?"

"Hello Summer." The voice on the other side replied in that calm tone that he always used. "Glynda's still getting used to her new position, but she's been adapting fairly well. She's already quite famous among the student body for being the 'strict' one."

Summer laughed at that.

"Yeah, I can definitely picture that." She said with a smile, "But, I'm sure that's not the only reason why you called me, right?"

Ozpin let out a small sigh.

"Indeed… I know that you're still on leave, and I don't want to tear you apart from your family so soon…" Ozpin began in a solemn tone, "However, I have need for somebody with your abilities. Qrow has discovered something of interest recently and you are the only person that I can trust with this."

If Ozpin had called a few months before, Summer would've taken the job without any second thought. However, with how she was now, she was hesitant to so eagerly accept such a task. After having so much time off to stay with her family for once, she found that it wasn't so easy to just leave anymore.

Especially now that they had a new member of the family that needed her help.

"I… I don't know Ozpin..." Summer softly trailed off. "I'd need to think about it."

The voice on the other line was quiet for a moment.

"I understand how you feel Summer, however this is something that involves the Red Queen. I'm sure you know what that entails."

Summer bit her lower lip.

The Red Queen, was a subject that she was indeed very familiar with. She and Qrow had been trying to find leads on the Red Queen for years now. The Red Queen was a danger to humanity itself. It wasn't something that she could just let go, not when she still dreamed of becoming a hero, even after all these years.

Even if it meant that she would have to leave her family behind again. A bitter chuckle left her lips as nothing more than a whisper in the cold winter air.

She really was a terrible parent.

Kirei had always found it strange that the two sisters were so different from each other.

It was why it didn't come as a surprise to him when he found out that they both had different biological mothers. It wasn't as if he was particularly interested in the subject, he had found out by pure chance when he was helping Summer clean up the house. The woman had found him staring at a dusty old picture frame that he had found hidden inside a cabinet.

It was an old photograph that showed a younger Taiyang and his daughter, along with another woman that he wasn't familiar with. That woman also happened to bear a striking resemblance to some of Yang's features. Kirei could still remember Summer asking him if her eldest daughter and that woman looked similar. For one reason or another, she had told him that the woman was Yang's biological mother not too long afterwards.

Kirei had put away the photograph after that, not wanting to pry any further.

He wasn't sure what exactly had compelled him to tell Yang about it. Perhaps it was just a whim, or perhaps he had thought that the girl simply had a right to know.

When he saw the myriad of emotions that flashed over the girl's face however, he finally realized just why exactly he had told her.

And he hated it.

Kirei despised that part of himself. He hated how his heart would jump in excitement when he saw the shock in Yang's eyes, how alive he would feel when he saw the brief flashes of emotions dancing in her eyes, threatening to all spill out as she realized that her biological mother had left her behind. No matter how hard he tried to bury those feelings away, to change himself…

A deep voice chuckled beside him.

"How foolish, for a man to try to deny his very own self."

It was an apparition, nothing more than a shadow, a figment of his imagination, and yet, it unnerved him. Kirei clenched his fists and refused to meet it's gaze. He focused on Yang instead, watching intently as she held onto the old photograph of her mother so tightly that the very photo frame itself threatened to crack.

The ghost simply smirked.

"... Hey, Kirei." Yang eventually all but whispered, "Thanks for telling me."

Kirei only nodded in response, too caught up within his own thoughts to trust his voice.

"To think that she trusts someone like you so earnestly. I do look forward to her reaction when she finds how how you truly are."

Kirei could feel his teeth clench as they grinded against one another. He was sorely tempted to simply lob a Black Key at the shadow, even if it was only a figment of his imagination. The despicable creature's smirk only seemed to grow wider along with his anger.

It knew that it was getting under his skin.

And why would it not? After all, the ghost that continued to haunt him was none other than an image of himself. It wore his face along with that sickening smirk that aggravated him to no end. The shadow was Kirei Kotomine, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

"-rei? Hey Kirei, you there?"

A hand found itself and his shoulder and he flinched.

"Kirei?" Yang had a troubled look on her face. "Something wrong?"

The shadow only continued to watch on in amusement as he steeled himself and took a deep breath.

"I-I'm fine." He managed to mutter out, "I should go help Summer with preparing dinner."

Kirei didn't give Yang a chance to protest before he turned and walked away. He wasn't sure what compelled him to look back, but when he saw the face that Yang was making as she stared at the old photograph, he clenched his fists and picked up his pace. The infuriating chuckle that the shadow let out seemed to follow not too far behind, no matter how fast he walked.

It was just a phantom and nothing more. He was not like that, and he never would be. Risei Kotomine had not sired a monster.

Kirei would find his salvation, surely he would.

He had to.

Ruby was sad.

She knew that she was a big girl and shouldn't cry about something like this anymore, but the tears just came out on their own. Mom was going away again.

She was going away to be a hero! Ruby should've been happy that her mom was going to be out there saving people from the Grimm, just like the heroes in her storybooks. Her mom was doing a good thing, but deep down, she couldn't help but wish that her mom stayed home instead. It was a selfish thought to have, especially for someone that wanted to be a hero just like her mom in the future.

But still, she just couldn't help it…

There was going to a big a dinner party later that night, as a send-off for mom. Uncle Qrow was going to come over later for it as well. Everyone was busy getting ready for the party. Yang and Kirei were helping dad in the kitchen while mom was packing her things. She wanted to help, but they simply said that she was still too 'little' to be helping out.

Ruby didn't have much else to do, so she simply started drawing instead.

She liked drawing, it was fun. She also liked imagining herself as a famous hero that always saved people from the Grimm. It was one of the reasons she liked to draw, because she could draw herself just like how she was in her dreams.

Of course, drawing could only entertain her for so long. After a few doodles here and there, Ruby grew bored of the activity pretty quickly. Dad wasn't going to let her into the kitchen either, and Uncle Qrow still wasn't here yet, so she soon found herself standing in front of her parents room. Slowly prying the door open, she peeked inside.

Mom was still packing when she briefly raised an eyebrow before settling into an easygoing smile.

"Bored, Ruby?"

"Yeah. Dad won't let me help in the kitchen."

Her mom chuckled at that.

"Do you want to help me pack then?"

Ruby only nodded in response.

"Alright, get over here then." Summer said as she folded up a shirt. "You can help me with folding up my clothes."

"Okay!" Ruby happily chirped, "I'll do the pants."

It wasn't as if Ruby enjoyed folding clothes, because she didn't. But, she did enjoy spending time with her mom, especially when mom was going to be leaving for a while. So, even if folding clothes wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, folding them with her mom made it a lot more enjoyable.

"Mommy?" Ruby eventually began, "How long are you going to be away for?"

"I don't know Ruby." Summer replied as she folded another shirt. "I have a really important job to do this time, so it might be for a few months."

"Oh…" Ruby replied, as she tried her very best to keep the disappointment from her voice.

Summer just gave her a knowing smile.

"I know it's a long time Ruby, but I have to go." Summer said as she patted her head and tousled her hair, "It won't be as lonely this time though, right? Since we have a new member of the family now."

Ruby sniffed, but nodded her head anyway, enjoying the feeling of her mother's touch on her head.

"You'll do your best to look after Tai and everyone while I'm gone right?" Summer asked with a soft smile. "You know how lazy your father can get with the chores."

Ruby giggled at that.

"Yang and I'll make sure he does them mom."

"Make sure to look after Kirei too, Ruby. I know he can be a bit cold at times but…"

"It's okay mom, I know." Ruby replied with a sad nod.

She knew that Kirei was hurting inside. He always seemed to have this pained look in his eyes. Kirei mostly kept to himself, and had never accepted her invitations to play, but she never faulted him for it. Uncle Qrow had been that way for a while as well, until she had gotten him to open up.

It would just take some time.

The going-away party was a happy event.

Or at least, it was supposed to be. Kirei didn't miss the heavy aura that seemed to hang in the air. The fact that Summer was going to be leaving on a dangerous mission for a long time was still on the back of everybody's minds. No amount of food and drink was going to change that fact.

Pleasantries were exchanged and small talk was made as the hours passed. Eventually, the time for departure finally came and a more solemn tone filled the room. Summer and Qrow each took their time to say their parting words with everyone as he watched from the corner of the room.

"Hey brat." Qrow greeted as per usual, "Try not to cause too much of a ruckus while we're gone."

Kirei simply nodded in response.

"I will do my best."

Qrow just gave him a satisfied nod as well before he stepped away.

"Look after the kids and Tai for me, won't you Kirei?" Summer asked with a soft smile as she gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Of course."

Summer opened her mouth, but hesitated for a brief moment before she continued.

"Kirei… It wouldn't hurt to try and socialize with everyone else a bit more you know." The woman finally said, "I think that it would do you some good."

Kirei blinked at that, before he simply nodded once again.

"I'll see you soon then, Kirei." She said with a smile.

"Take care and have a safe journey."

And with that, Summer and Qrow left the house.

Had Kirei known that that would've been the last time he would ever see Summer again, he would've confessed to her how twisted his mind truly was. He would've told her how much he yearned for fulfillment without sin, for happiness without having to become a monster. He would've asked her that simple question that had been burning away at the back of his mind for so very long.

"Could someone as twisted as me ever find happiness just like you?"

It was a pity that he would never get the chance.

The funeral was a quiet affair.

Kirei had been to a funeral once in the past. His father had been the pastor at the time, and Kirei could still vividly remember the looks of grief and distraught on the faces of the families that had just lost a loved one. It had been the first time that Kirei Kotomine realized that there might have been something fundamentally wrong with him.

Kirei had made sure to never attend a funeral again after that.

In spite of his hesitation, he still felt an obligation to attend Summer's funeral. The event itself was a simply a small gathering on the outskirts of town. Aside from the family, a few individuals that he assumed were close friends of Summer attended the event as well. It was different from the funerals that he was familiar with.

There weren't any prayers or eulogies given for the deceased. The entire event itself was a quiet affair where everyone had a chance to walk up to the casket for their own moment of peace. The casket itself was sealed shut, and from what he had heard about how Summer had met her end, there wasn't much of a body left to show anyway.

The Grimm were merciless creatures that way.

Taiyang was the next person up, and for a brief moment, Kirei thought that the man was going to break down on the very spot. There was a haggard look in his eyes, his beard was uneven, and his hair was a tangled mess, mattered and filthy. Taiyang looked like a broken man that simply stumbled over towards the casket in a daze.

As he watched the sorry sight, a shudder ran through his body like lightning.

Kirei had to strain his eyes to look away, focusing on the snow-covered trees on the horizon instead. Qrow had been next, and for once, the man wasn't actually drunk. The man's eyes were bloodshot enough that he had probably missed a few days of sleep. He looked a little better than Taiyang, but not by much as he made his way over towards the casket.

Kirei recited a short prayer under his breath and hoped that the woman's soul would find salvation. He felt that it was the correct thing to do, the right line of thought. But still, he couldn't help but feel that something truly was wrong with him, when he couldn't even find it in himself to shed a single tear for a woman that was as kind and genuine as Summer Rose. Summer's death hadn't affected him in the slightest, and that alone bothered him a great deal.

Another small sniffle by his side caught his attention.

Her bangs covered over her eyes as Ruby wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Yang held her other hand in a tight hold. The blonde had a strange look in her eyes, one that he was not used to seeing. There was no fire behind those lilac orbs anymore, and even though she tried to play the part of the big sister, it was apparent to him that she was ready to break down into tears just as much as the little sister was.

It was as if he was simply staring at a shell of her old self.

For someone as bright and cheerful as her to end up in such a state… He found that he couldn't tear his eyes away this time. It was even worse than the time when he had told her about her biological mother. When it was finally Yang's turn to say goodbye to her mother, he watched as she hesitantly untangled her fingers from Ruby's own smaller digits and slowly made her way towards the casket.

"Kirei…?" Ruby's voice came out in a soft whisper.

Teary silver eyes bore into his own hazel orbs.

"Why are you smiling…?"

He froze.

Time seemed to have stood still for a moment as the gears in his brain stopped functioning. Ever so slowly, his hands reached up towards his very own face. And then he felt it, his lips curved ever so slightly into an expression that was unmistakably a smile.

"Why do you act as if you are surprised? This is who you truly are."

The apparition simply stared at him, as if it were taking a glimpse into his very soul, all while wearing that god forsaken-smirk on his face. Kirei could feel his breath hitch as he bit down on his tongue. He welcomed the pain, anything to get his mind away from all of this.

"Still trying to the part of a good child? How completely and utterly foolish."

"Kirei…?" Ruby's concerned voice managed to tear him away from the apparition. "Are you okay…?"

He wanted to say something, but he found that no words would come out. The apparition only continued to smirk at him. And he could still feel that damned smile on his face all the while.

"Why not simply tell her what you truly are?"

The apparition laughed.

"You cannot deny your true self."

It was just too much.

So he left.

Kirei quietly ran away in a hurry, as to avoid catching anyone's attention. Ruby had reached out to grab his arm but he was too fast for her and easily slipped out of her grasp. He wasn't sure where he was going, only that he needed to get away from the funeral, away from Ruby, and most importantly of all, get away from that thing that wore his face. He wasn't sure when he had started running, but he kept at it until he reached a dead-end at a nearby lake.

As Kirei gazed into the water, he saw his own reflection stare back.

He could still see that damn smile plastered on his face and the apparition smirking behind him all the while. Before he even knew it, he had pulled out one of his Black Keys and lobbed into the water in a bout of frustration.

As the water's ripples soon stilled, that god-forsaken smile simply stared back at him, as if mocking him.

"You cannot deny what you truly are."

Kirei couldn't help but let out a choked laugh.

Nobody had noticed Kirei leave, since they were all focused on the funeral or with their own different stages of grief. That was why nobody had noticed when Ruby ran off after Kirei as well. Her dad had always told her to not wander off alone in Patch, because the Grimm were always waiting on the outskirts of the town.

She couldn't just leave Kirei though, not when he had such a pained look in his eyes. And that smile as well… It was a bit unnerving, and that frightened her.

Ruby eventually found the boy standing in front of the large lake by the town. She was about to call out to him when suddenly, in a flash, he pulled out one of those long daggers he always carried around and tossed it straight into the lake. The blade created a splash of water as it disappeared into the depths of the lake.

Ruby found herself frozen as she simply stood and watched on silently.

She watched as Kirei's shoulders slumped and he all but fell to his knees in a heap. Another dagger was gripped firmly in his other hand for a while before he simply let it fall harmlessly into the snow. A choked laugh that bordered along the edges of insanity was the only sound that the boy made.

Was Kirei…?

"Kirei…?" Ruby's hesitantly voiced out.

The boy's body suddenly went rigid. And then, ever so slowly, he stood back up and mechanically turned around, almost as if he were a machine. There was a blank expression on his face, but Ruby could still see that his eyes were a little bit more red than usual.

Had Kirei been crying…?

The boy simply stared at her and Ruby found herself staring back in silence.

"Are you okay…?" She soon found herself asking out of concern.

Kirei turned away, no longer meeting her eyes.

"No, I'm not."

Before she knew it, Ruby found herself walking forward and grabbing Kirei's hand into her own two smaller palms. His hand felt cold to the touch. If Kirei was surprised, he didn't show it on his face. He just had that same blank expression that he always wore when he wasn't with mom. The Kirei that was with mom always seemed a bit more... Normal, than when he was with anybody else.

"It'll get better." Ruby said in the most cheerful tone she could muster, given the circumstances.

It was a lie, and she knew it. She didn't doubt that Kirei knew it as well. Uncle Qrow had told her the same thing when he broke the news about her mom. But still, it was the right thing to say…

And even so, her mom had always said that if she believed in something hard enough, it would come true. So, even if it was a lie, even if it still hurt, as long as she believed that things would get better, than they would. They had to.

"You're crying, Ruby."

She blinked, and suddenly she could feel the wet sensation in her eyes. With a small sniffle, she wiped away her tears with her sleeve. She didn't let go of his hand as they stood there in silence, with the occasional sniffle coming from herself.

A low growl soon caught her attention and her breath hitched.

A Grimm stalked out from the bushes and snarled at her. Her eyes widened in fear and she stood frozen in place. Ruby could feel Kirei's hand free itself from her grasp. She wanted to protest but all of a sudden, couldn't find her voice.

Kirei simply took out another one of his daggers and stood in front of her, in between the Grimm.

Everything else that happened after was nothing but a blur. Kirei had killed the Grimm without much of an issue. He had been fast, much faster than he had been in the spars that she had seen with her sister. A Black Key through the skull and the Grimm hadn't stood a chance. Ruby couldn't help but feel a twisted sense of satisfaction when Kirei had killed one of the creatures that took her mom away from them.

Ruby had been afraid. That Grimm had frightened her worse than any scary movie Yang could show her and if it weren't for Kirei, she wasn't sure if she would have even survived the encounter.

And then Uncle Qrow and her dad had found them not too long after.

Dad had let out a choked sob as he pulled her into the tightest hug she had ever gotten. There were worried voices all around and everything that happened next was simply a whirl of emotion. Ruby felt bad for making her dad worry, especially during a tough time like this, but she still thought that she had made the right choice. Dad had given her and Kirei a long lecture about wandering off into the forest alone, but Ruby had mostly tuned it out.

Instead, she had been thinking about Kirei.

She had always known that Kirei was in pain, that he was a bit different from everyone else. Her mother had at least hinted at that much. But, now? She had a feeling that it was something that went even deeper than that. That there was something truly wrong with Kirei.

Kirei Kotomine was broken.

Like one of her old toys that just couldn't quite function normally anymore. But that was alright, because she would fix him. Things were going to get better, and she would make sure of it. She was going to be the hero that everyone needed, the hero that her mother had always wanted to become.

And she would save Kirei, just like how her mother had always wanted to do.

Author's Notes- And here we have the end... of Act I anyway. This was originally supposed to be a two-part chapter, but I felt as if the length would've been too short so I decided to merge them together. There's going to be a bit of a time-skip in Act II, to end up more in line with the start of season one. I'm not sure when I'm going to start on Act II, but most of my readers know how I am. My updates can be quite... Sporadic to say the least.

I'm quite satisfied at where I managed to end things off on though. This was originally just a bit of a spur of the moment type of story, that ended up becoming something more. Anyway, it was a fun piece to write, and I only hope that I did Kirei's character right.