A slam echoed from the wooden door, the abused entryway squealing in pain as a brutal force crashed into it; testing its durability to its upper limits. Such an abruptly loud noise pierced straight through the calm air of the morning, and forced a young man to sit bolt upright; the many comfortable sheets and linens flying off of him as he glanced around the room with wild terror.

Bed-frazzled blonde locks drifted over his forehead as he took in his relatively normal room. From the cabinets, to the soft carpeted floor, to the many toys and odd baubles strewn about that most certainly did not belong to him. Then he flinched back again, when another slightly more brutal crash shook the door at its hinges.

For a moment, one awful moment, he was worried that the lock would give way.

"Yin! Wake up already! You're gonna miss breakfast if you laze about you… lazyhead!"

The young man's heart eased, and his eyes closed with a sigh of annoyance. Glancing over, he looked at the clock situated on the table beside his small bed. 6:30… A whole half hour before he meticulously set his alarm to awaken himself. Damn it… She knew that he hated it when he was woken up before his alarm. Not as much as he hated waking up after it, but still.

Yin looked back over again when he saw the knob of his door jiggle for a moment, an exasperated groan coming from the other side of the door. "Ughh… Why do you keep locking your door?!"

Because if he didn't then he would never get a moment of peace. It wasn't that he sealed himself up at all times like she was implying, but sometimes he just wanted to be alone and not have to worry about calamatic unwanted guests that liked to make a mess of his room.

The door banged again, and this time a more distant and more mature voice called out, distinctly male, "Yang! Will you give it a rest? If you break down that door again I'll make you fix it!"

"Agh…! Fine, fine! Hurry up and get down here, Yin!"

With that, light footsteps rang out as he was finally left in peace. Yin stared at the door for a moment longer before letting out another weary sigh. With no small amount of reluctance, he pushed himself up further and smoothly swung his legs over the side of his bed.

He didn't get off just yet though. With smooth movements of his fair-skinned fingers, Yin reached up and gently took hold of the topmost button of his sleeping wear. Smoothly, firmly, he fixed it through the hole of his sleeping shirt, fixing his silken shirt back into the way he always wore it at nights and early mornings. Next, he firmly took hold of his errant hair with the palms of his hand and sweeped it backwards; pressing the blonde mess back into a more presentable state- still rough, but more refined.

Within a matter of moments, and with only the bare minimum amount of movements possible, his appearance was rectified into the state that he always preferred it to be. With that accomplished, Yin pushed himself off his bed- his relatively small form dropping down where he easily slipped his feet into a pair of slippers that he always left just beside his bed.

Muted steps accompanied his journey over to the bathroom where he swiftly handled his business, brushed his teeth (1 minute for the top row, and another for the bottom), and thoroughly washed his hands. An observer of this morning ritual may note that even with a time limit hanging over his head, the young man never increased his pace; he simply handled each task with the same precise process that he always had.

That wasn't to say that he was ignoring the situation at hand. Internally, he was counting off on an imaginary clock. A timer for how much longer he could get away with staying cooped up in his room. While Yang was unpredictable at best, he still knew what to expect after all these years. At his guess, he expected he only had another ten seconds before she would come back to wreak havoc on his door.

Luckily, he had long since perfected his morning ritual. With one last swipe of his hand on a hanging towel, he was finished and smoothly striding toward his door.

Though… he paused. Looking over his shoulder, he met his own blue eyes in the small mirror near his bed. For a small moment, he was overcome with an overwhelming sense of deja vu. A feeling that he had been experiencing more and more lately.

He held his gaze for a moment longer before shrugging his shoulders and exiting his room.

Yin kept close to the wall as he descended the stairs, to limit the amount the worn wooden steps groaned under his feet. As he stepped down, he was greeted to the lit kitchen and homely dining room of his home. Fine lights with a natural glow, a single table that could seat five people easily along with the cushioned wooden chairs to boot, and a kitchenette pressed into the corner for any purpose. Maybe cooking, but not always- Yin shuddered momentarily as he stepped off the last step.

In the area, he saw the various members of his family milling about. At the far corner, slaving away cheerily in the kitchen, was a much taller blonde man. Flitting about near him was girl that was even smaller than he was; a petite thing, with hair that walked the tenuous border between red and black. A welcome change to the sea of blonde.

Then of course there was her. The smug long blond haired girl at the table who grinned at him when he appeared.

"Well there you are! I thought I was gonna have to sneak in through your window and wake you up!"

Knowing her, she really meant that.

"Yang…" He muttered in that young, faintly serious voice he had. He stepped toward her and into the room, crossing his arms irritably. "I thought I told you that I don't want to be woken up early again. Did you forget?"

She blew a raspberry at him, "Oh c'mon! Who cares if you wake up a little early! What does it matter if you lose a couple minutes of sleep!"

No matter how many times he explained, she just never understood. "Yang. I make sure that I get eight hours of sleep, no matter what. I could easily sleep until morning, and just like a baby I wake up without any fatigue or drowsiness . I really don't appreciate having that interrupted."

"Yeah yeah… You've said that about a million times." Yang scoffed nudging his cheek to his faint annoyance, "Its weird. Not even dad does stuff like that. You're weird." Her words were punctuated by the further warping of his cheek.

In one ear, out the other. He wasn't sure why he even bothered.

Yin rolled his eyes and pushed her finger away from him, "You should give it a try sometime, sister. You always wake up grouchy and sleepy. Maybe you'll actually enjoy mornings."

"Nuh-uh! No way! I'm not becoming a weirdo like you!"

It was always like this. Yang took any chance to poke and prod at him for his habits. From the ritualistic stretching he did before bedtime to his tendency to always have lunch around the same time each day. She called it 'weird' or 'creepy' and took great pleasure in teasing him whenever possible. The teasing slipped off him like water. What was wrong with wanting to do things a certain way?

It was a peaceful way to live life, and he took great pleasure in following through with it. But peace was a bit of a non-goal. Living in this house, peace was about as rare as a blue moon. There were moments where he could be alone and luxure in his own hobbies, but most of the time the other members of this family were hard at play. And with Yang, she never failed to drag him into whatever she wanted; and he was powerless to stop her. Yes, there was never a day where he wasn't caused at least a little stress by his twin sister. And from the looks of this very early morning conversation, this day would be no different.

Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to hate her for it. Sure, being constantly interrupted by his lively sister could be an annoyance at times- but it was just her way of showing her love. Either way, he was partly to blame. He never truly tried to tell her off or weasel his way out of any of the games she had planned; a part of him surely enjoyed the chaos his sister caused.

It made his days more interesting, regardless of how much he stood by his preference for a linear day. Yang was… like spice added to an already perfect dish.

No… that sounded all wrong. He really should brush up on that book of similes, he had no idea what he was talking about now. The point still stood- apart from his father, he couldnt imagine being closer to anyone but his sister. Being twins just had that effect. Despite their different preferences and personalities, they shared many common interests and knew exactly how to waste time together. Off to the side, Yin heard a gleeful giggle and glanced over to see the other girl staring at them with bright eyes.

His left eye twitched.

"Yang. Ease up on your older brother. He's just looking out for you." The much taller blonde in the kitchen called to them, though whatever scolding he was doing was mitigated by the amused grin on his face.

Yin walked past his sister even as she muttered something about 'older' and 'seconds' under her breath. Gingerly, he took the plate his father offered him.

"I know your sister can be difficult, Yin." Taiyang began.

"Hey!"

"-But she means well. There's nothing wrong with eating breakfast together."

Yin nodded. Of course he understood. And he no problem with actually joining them. Despite how he acted, he would never just skip out on a family meal. That was blasphemy.

As the patriarch went back to fixing more plates, the younger man glanced down at his own. Bacon, eggs, and toast. Relief flooded him. An actual breakfast, instead of a bowl of overly sugary cereal. Miracles really did happen. His father wasn't the best chef around, that title went to his mother, but he would take just about anything over that cereal his sister had stashed away.

More steps followed his seating at the table, and he watched as the final member of this oversized family came down the stairway. Much like the other girl, she had that red and black hair that so easily attracted attention. Only, she was significantly more mature and taller; and married to his father. His mother, Summer. Much like Yang, she was not a great morning person either- her half-lidded eyes and muted yawn making that clear as she entered.

"Good morning you all…" She mumbled, taking care to pull her robe tighter around her self. "Good morning Yin." She ruffled her hand through his hair, ruining its appearance in an instant. Yin scowled then fixed it back once she walked past him.

"Good morning Hon, sleep well?" Taiyang said as he set the last plate down, a smirk pulling at his mouth.

"Like a baby…" Summer giggled, greeting her husband in a way that Yin had no interest in watching.

Yang grumbled next to him, already digging into her food. "I'm getting tired of hearing that… 'Like a baby'. Bleh…"

Yin pointedled ignored her grumbling and went at his own food. With markedly more grace than his sister. Soon the rest of the family joined the table, and the peacefully silent spell of the morning was broken. Eager conversation broke out, mother and father discussing the plans for the week or their thoughts on yesterday, while the young chirped in with their own scatterbrained thoughts or their interests.

Yin answered when necessary and made sure to always keep an ear open, but mostly stuck to finishing his meal. With how slowly he ate, he could still be at the table another minute longer after the rest had finished- especially with their pace.

"Ooh ooh! How about a campfire! That would be awesome…!"

Yin rolled his eyes, "Yang. Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Yeah? Or what?" Yang smirked at him before opening her mouth wide, showing off the half-chewed food to him to his disgust. "Blehh-!"

Yin took his chance and flicked a peppercorn into her mouth.

Her mouth promptly clamped closed and she covered it with her hands, her face aghast. "Wah-! Hey! You jerk!"

…

"Yin. What kind of weapon are you going to get dad to train you with?" Yin paused in wiping his mouth to look across the table at the shortest of the family. Ruby Rose. His other, much younger sister.

He barely bit back his frown. He felt his metaphorical hackles raise, and his fingers clench under the table.

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it."

Immediately her eyes fell as she grew downcast, his dismissive tone not at all lost on her. "Oh… O-Okay…"

Taiyang shot him a look, and immediately he winced. Damn. While he wasn't fond of Ruby, for reasons that not even he could quite understand, that didn't mean he could just be so flippantly rude to her. Damage control.

"...What weapon do you think I should start using then?"

That set her off. Immediately the girl brightened up and launched into a long spiel, he only half listening and nodding along. His father was still shooting him that look every now and then, but at least he had avoided an actual scolding.

Snap

The nail clippers in his hand were a comforting weight. Each snap of its clips on his nails was music to his ears. His movements were practiced and filled with finesse, two clips to one finger, all with one full crescent moon lazily clattering down by the table in the living room.

Snap

A weight appeared on the couch, depressing the cushions ever so slightly. Yin glanced over to Yang as she looked at him curiously.

"...Are you doing that again?" She deadpanned, "Ever since mom taught you how to cut your nails yourself, you've been doing it like… all the time."

"Once a day isn't 'all the time'."

Snap

Yang rolled her eyes, "It's still too much."

"Hmm… You'll understand when you're older." as he said that, he patted her head demeaningly. Immediately Yang glared at him with pure fire, and he yanked his hand back and went back to what he was doing- Yang had a bad record of biting him when he teased her too much.

Though, she wasn't exactly wrong. He had been cutting his nails more and more often lately. It was strange no matter how he looked at it. Things had been strange for a long time these days.

"Whatever, you weirdo. When you're done get dressed and come outside. It started snowing this morning and me and rubes are gonna make an awesome snowman."

Yin blinked and looked up and out one of the windows. Snowflakes lazily drifted past, some clinging to webs of frost on the window. Patch, his home, was about as temperate as climates come. It was hot in the summer, and cold in the winter. A much more bearable system than that of, say, Atlas- which was cold at all times, or Vacuo- which was hot at all times.

Snap

"A snowman…? Really? I dont think theres enough snow right now to do that."

"Don't be such a downer!" Yang sighed, pushing him, something that didn't even disturb him anymore. "It'll work, trust me."

The last time he trusted her he ended up covered from head to toe in baking powder and a half-baked cookie in each hand. Trust was a little hard to come by these days.

Besides, he was hoping to make some more progress on that book up in his room. The idea of parading about in the cold for the next hours was not at all enticing, "I dont know…"

Yang sent him that look. That look that was basically the bane of his existence. A cruel mixture of disappointment, sadness, and resignement. "Come on… Please? We hardly ever get to do anything fun together."

A bold-faced lie. A stronger man would have called her out on it. That man was not him.

"...Alright, alright. I'll be out in a minute. Tell dad not to take my scarf this time."

The sadness evaporated in an instant, and Yin was suddenly crushed into an overwhelming side hug.

"Gah!"

"Thanks Yin! Don't make me wait!"

And with that, she was gone. Yin rubbed his shoulder exasperatedly, already feeling himself become sore. Yang, his sister in duality, was about as brutishly strong as her tomboy personality suggested. She had no trouble being overly physical with him because she knew that he could take it. He may appear lithe and fragile, but years of keeping up with her had made him more durable than such a young kid really should be.

*Sigh…* Snap

With turtleneck, beige jacket, wintery jeans, and pink scarf adorned; Yin was ready to push through the back door of their home and out into the light snow drifting down. It crunched under his boots, and drifted into his blonde hair. Snow was a fine weather- so long as it wasn't so heavy that it made leaving the house a chore.

Out there in the thick of the lightly laid snow, Yin saw Yang and Ruby roughing about with a few collected mounds of snow. Yang giving the younger girl a rundown on how exactly to construct their snow leviathan.

Yin pressed his boot into the snow before pulling back and examining the line of frozen water forming a ring about his shoe. Hardly half an inch…

"Come on~! Why isnt it working?" Yang cried out as she gave a push to the ball of snow she had been rolling. Though, to call it snow was a little bit generous. It was more mud, snow, and clumps of grass.

"Told you so. There's not enough snow to make a snowman, Yang. Unless you're looking to make a mudman." He said smoothly, the frigid air carrying his words on breaths of visible moisture, "For that, you're on your own."

"Shut it, Yin! It'll work!" Yang barked at him, "Ruby! Gimme a hand so we can prove this loser wrong!"

"Okay!"

Immediately the two got to work rolling up another ball of snow. Yin merely watched at a distance, his arms crossed as he observed their struggle. When they finished, another unpleasant mud ball sat in Yang's annoyed hands. If Yin knew any better, and he did, then this ball was worse than the last.

"S-shut up!" Yang barked at him again, looking embarrassed. Ruby was still grinning, regardless of the state of the snowballs.

"I didn't even say anything yet."

"You were gonna!"

Yin chuckled, a rare smile appearing on his face. "Yeah. I was."

Yang growled, his smugness getting to her again. "That's it…" She gripped the mudball tighter before whipping her hand back and throwing it with as much strength as her small body could muster. "Eat that!"

Yin didn't even move. He simply shifted his torso ever so slightly, his head cocking just a bit. With that faint movement, the ball whizzed past him easily- crashing somewhere behind him without even getting a speck of dirt on him.

That just made Yang angrier. Quickly she bent low and scraped together another ball of snow and mud in record time. When she threw it this time, Yin bent backwards like he were playing a game of limbo, and let it pass by harmlessly.

That was the last straw. With a furious yell, Yang reached over and grabbed the first snowball she had attempted to make. This one noticeably larger than the rest. Hefting it up, she stood and raised it high above her head and stomped toward him with a wicked grin on her face.

"Better start running, Yin!"

Yin rolled his eyes and remained where he stood, unimpressed. Yang's eye glinted, taking that as a direct challenge and speeding up her pace. No matter how cool headed Yin acted, she knew he hated to get dirty. She was going to get back at him for his smugness.

Which was why she was overwhelmed with shock when the world suddenly gave way. She felt it more than saw it when her legs suddenly gave out beneath her. Her vision shifted as she suddenly pitched forward and landed face first in the snow with a muted sound. The pound of snow in her hands crashed to the ground as well, dispersing into a useless mound.

"Oops~" Yin sarcastically said, his eyes glinting with mischief. "I guess I forgot I dug that pitfall there yesterday. And it looks like the snow completely hid it too. Who could have seen that coming?"

Yang pushed herself up on her elbows, glaring at him with a look of betrayal for falling for yet another one of his traps. "You-"

Yin swung his hand forward, sending the perfect snowball he had behind his back straight into her face. The snow exploded, completely covering her face and hair with the cold powder. Her muffled shout of shock made him smirk.

"That was for waking me up early."

Despite how he carried himself, Yin was more than capable of being vindictive and crafty. If Yang pranked him, she could definitely expect to be pranked back at a later date. He did not forget, and to this day she had not avoided a single one of his pranks.

Though, he was always careful not to actually hurt her. Or to mess up her hair. That was one mistake he would never make again.

He would have basked in his victory for longer, but his smug satisfaction was immediately broken when he felt something crash into the side of his head. Cold ice exploded against his head, covering him with the stuff and even getting into the neck of his shirt a bit. The attack was so sudden that he could do little more than blink in shock.

Slowly, he turned his head in the direction of the assault and his eyes landed on Ruby. She had thrown a snowball at him right when she knew he was distracted. It was a smart move.

The little girl's smile slowly faded when she saw the annoyance in his eyes. It took her off guard, and momentarily she was overcome with the desire to apologize. Or… run away.

That feeling immediately faded when Yin was tackled to the ground.

"Thanks for the help Rubes!" Yang chuckled, shoving a struggling Yin further into the snow to restrain him, her superior strength making short work of his resistance. "Time for a little payback!"

"Wait wait!" His yelps fell on deaf ears he was bombarded with snowball after snowball.

"...Yang is gonna kill that boy one of these days."

Summer chuckled as she watched the two eldest children roughhousing, the younger sister obviously winning- especially with the assistance of the red and black blur that was Ruby. "I think Yin is partly to blame. He knows exactly how to rile her up."

"Being vaguely annoying is just part of the Xiao Long charm." Tai chuckled, his eyes locked on them as well, "Though I do wish he had my sense of humor too… Little guy cant pun to save his life."

"Most people would consider that a good thing."

"Yeah well most people are boring."

Summer didn't laugh at that like she usually would. In fact, as Taiyang watched her, she seemed especially down at the moment. Summer got anxious at times, she got nervous and apprehensive, but rarely did she ever get sad.

That wouldn't stand. "Did something happen during your mission? You seem down..."

"...I can't hide anything from you can I?" Summer smiled and stared at him, "Nothing bad happened, I've just been… thinking, I guess."

"About?"

"Yin. Don't you think he's been acting… strange, lately?" She looked to him, making her feelings clear.

"Strange…?" Tai thought on that for a moment. "Not any stranger than usual, I think."

His first born had always been a bit of a strange kid, at least by his understanding of how children should be. Quiet- but not reserved. More mature than his sisters, more thoughtful at times and verbose. Yes, mature was a good way to describe it. Kind of like a mini-Ozpin. Huh… that was a very unsettling comparison.

An oddity for someone so young. Especially when he took into account Yin's tendency to lose himself in thought or to follow those strange evening and morning rituals of his. But some kids were just like that- so he never let it detract from his love for the kid.

Well… there was also his weak relationship with Ruby. But he couldn't even guess what was happening there. The two just never seemed to click… It really made him sad to see those two so far apart.

"Yes, Yin's always been a bit of an oddball, but I think its getting worse these days." Summer muttered uneasily, "He's been alone more and more often and he pretty much never asks for anything from either of us."

"Plus… I can't even remember the last time he called me 'mom'..."

That… was serious. And it had awful connotation that he wasn't sure he was ready to face just yet.

Summer was of like mind. "Do you… think he knows?"

That was the question wasn't it? "No...No I don't think so. Yin is smarter than he looks, and he doesn't miss things, but I don't think he figured it out. We've been careful about this. At worst, hes suspicious."

Tai paused and sighed as he scratched at his hair, a few thoughts coming to rest on the tip of his tongue. This idea had been brewing in his mind a good bit lately, but he had been hesitating to actually speak to his wife about it.

"Tai… What is it?"

"Well it's just…" Tai grunted and resigned himself, "I think Yin is getting a bit antsy. I'm usually always around for him, but you've been off on missions more and more lately. You're hardly home anymore."

"The stories you tell are enough for Yang and Ruby, so they're okay. But… Yin was never that interested in your stories. That whole 'hero' thing never stuck with him like it did Ruby."

Summer gasped as what he said hit home, making her look back on the past few weeks with guilt. "You think he's feeling neglected?"

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I think all this is making him a bit more… self-sufficient. He's growing up way too fast."

Silence fell. The two turned to watch solemnly as Yang challenged Yin and Ruby to a handstand contest, promptly lost fantastically, and then proceeded to chase him. Despite the tension, Summer still found the will to giggle at the sight. Silly girl… She was going to have to take her aside and teach her how to get one up on her brother. She was physically stronger than he was, if she started using that noggin of hers she could avoid all those pranks of his and teach him a lesson or two.

"I'll need a little more time, but I promise I'm going to quit the huntress business soon, Tai. You're right. I really do need to settle down and be a mother for them."

Tai smiled and patted her shoulder caringly, "I know you'll do what's right, Hon. I'll be right there for you, no matter what you do. The kids feel the same way- no matter how they act."

"Hey! Where are you going?" Yang called out to him, busily getting to work on fashioning another snowman now that she had found a rather thick patch of snow.

Yin waved back but still hurried on, "Bathroom- I'll be back in a bit."

"Kay!"

Yin continued to walk away, the snow crunching and leaving imprints beneath his boots. He kept his eyes locked forward but his ears open, always alert. His path led him toward the back of their home, where very few windows looked outward and trees shielded him for the most part. It was a quiet place, filled with flowers during spring, and shade during summer. Right now, it was rife with snow and frozen ponds of water just waiting to be broken open.

He kept close to the walls of the house, tracing along it until he was situated well out of sight of his family. He paused for a moment, his breath visibly pushing past his teeth. Then he collapsed.

The young man barely caught himself on the wall, his head pressed into his forearm as he heaved for breath like a cancer patient. His right hand came up to viciously clutch at his chest, warping his clothing as veins peaked out along his neck and hand. His eyes dilated, staring into nothingness as his face contorted with unimaginable pain.

"Damn… it…" He wheezed, finding every word was a monumental effort to speak. "Not… Again…"

The pain was in a class of its own. It felt like something had just punched a hole straight through his chest- an awful, sharp pain that continued to wrack his body and refuse to dull or abate. It spread from his chest all the way to his extremities like the hot rolling of magma, filling his world with nothing but suffering. Though even that felt like it didn't do justice in describing it. The agony came from nowhere; one moment he was fine, the next he barely managed to bite back a scream that threatened to leave him.

It came just when he agreed to help Yang with her snowman, nearly sending him toppling over into his sister as his consciousness faded in a moment of weakness. He had managed to keep a cool face, but there was no way he could grin and bear it in front of his sister and parent's searching eyes. It was a miracle that he held himself together long enough to stagger all the way around to the back of the house.

"What is… happening…?"

This wasn't the first episode he'd been put through. Lately, these flashes of terrible pain had been occuring more and more often in varying levels of intensity. Not weekly or anything insane like that- but enough that he began to notice, and worry. It couldn't be natural- there was no way such pain could be.

Yet… He still hasn't told his family about it. Surely, if something was wrong with him then he should be taken to the hospital as soon as possible. If his parents knew that he was in such pain then it would be a moot point- they were so overprotective of him that it was almost worrying. But not a one of them knew of his continued bouts of seizing pain. He would cover it up with lies of using the bathroom, or turning in early, or going for a walk- anything to get a couple moments alone.

He didn't know why he hid it. Maybe it was to not worry them, or maybe he was just afraid of what the doctors would find. Mostly, he just didn't want to see the look of terror and worry on his sister's face when whatever was wrong with him came out. It would pass on its own. It had to.

Yin bent lower, and loosed a set of awful coughs that rattled his ribcage. When he peeled his eyes open, he only felt his heart drop when he saw blots of blood staining the snow at his feet. Spilling his own vitality so easily sent his head spinning, his fingers only tightening harder. Was he…?

"Yin?"

Immediately the young man's eyes blew wide open, and his foot flashed out to throw fresh snow over his spilled blood. There was no possible way he could push himself away from the wall or make it look like he wasn't in pain, but he could not let the blood be seen. Yin shakily looked over and watched as Ruby Rose stepped out past the corner of the house, her eyes locking on him immediately.

He scowled slightly, though it was weak- what with him leaning onto the building for support, and his fingers pressed against his chest. "W-..." He swallowed thickly, grimacing at the wash of metal over his taste buds, "What do you want."

"Are you okay…?" She said softly, taking a small step toward him. Her eyes glittered with worry. Even as young as she was, she could tell that something was wrong with him. She could tell that he was in pain. Despite how overzealous and excitable his sisters were, he knew they were just as observant as he was at times. It took extra work on his part to keep them in the dark, especially with how often they wanted to spend their time with him.

Internally, he growled. This was just what he needed- his little sister and her damn hero complex. All that talk of doing good and going out of the way to help people never ceased to grate on his nerves. It was only made all the worse now because if she continued to press him then she would uncover the secret he was desperately trying to keep in.

"I'm fine." He was proud that he managed to make that sound normal. "Just… peachy. Is there something you wanted?"

Ruby frowned, that stern side of her mother showing as she found a kernel of annoyance at his brush-off. "Yang wanted to know what was taking you so long. She wanted to borrow your scarf for the snowman…"

Grudgingly, he unfurled his scarf and handed it to the girl. He was hesitant to do so, but he would do just about anything to get her away from him right now.

Ruby gingerly took it, but she was still staring at him. "Are you sure you're alright? You don't look so good…"

He recalled a couple poems in his head to calm himself down. Snapping at her wouldn't solve anything and would likely just make the situation worse. "Yes. It's just a little… Stomach ache…"

"Oh! Do you want me to get dad? He can-"

"No!" Yin turned on her with a glare, though quickly fizzled it out when he saw the kicked expression she had. Damn it all… She really was just trying to help him. "I mean… No. I'm fine. It will… It will pass. Tell Yang I'll be out in a minute."

The girl looked at him for a moment longer before vanishing with that speed of hers, leaving him alone once more.

Yin sighed and collapsed to his knees, feeling the still prominent pain in chest. His fingers pressed harder, and he found himself just focusing on breathing. It was so… annoying. He was having fun with his sister, truly enjoying his day, only for it to be ruined by… whatever this was. It just wasn't fair. It was so… stressful.

At least he finally knew what he could describe the pain as. It felt like there was a hole in his chest. As if he were missing something. Something important.

He felt empty.

A/N:

Heres the next chapter, just so you know what exactly im even doing here. Family interactions are HARD, especially when you're trying to mitigate how cringey it can be. I'd much rather just write action, but for the sake of the points I'm trying to push here, its necessary.

Is it obvious that the only knowledge I have of RWBY comes from fanfiction?

Draw your own conclusions. I've got two more chapters already prewritten that'll come out in the next few weeks. Despite how unpolished this story is, I'm actually having a lot of fun writing it. Its a good challenge.