How long has it been since he's been this world? Years. After all, in this world right now, he's the age of seventeen, roughly around the age when he joined that group. The group were good people, friends and family, even. The things they did weren't good, but it was all for the sake of ushering in a new world.

What was the reason again? It's been so long he had forgotten. Though he remembered his and everyone's names there.

The icy blue-eyed teen smiled, remembering such fond memories. However, that smile soon faded when he heard the sound of something being cut behind him. He turned his head around with a glare, clenching his fists tightly as his hands began to emanate that familiar chill.

Behind him, a red slash had appeared just before it opened, revealing a dark red portal. Out came out a woman with raven black hair and red eyes, her face hidden behind a white mask with red markings all over it. A scabbard was at her side, filled with different multicolored blades that could be switched and interchangeable, a hand on the sword's pommel. Her attire was that of a dark red and black, almost to that of a samurai's.

The woman then reached up and took off her mask, sighing as she shook her head to move some of the bangs out of her face. She soon stared at the boy with a neutral expression.

"...Son."

"...Mother."

I | Parental Bonding

The boy stared at the woman with caution, but stood still. He made no move, or action whatsoever. It was like he already knew the woman's skill and saw her as an obstacle that held no problem to be taken down.

The woman with red eyes simply sighed, soon resting a hand on her hip.

"So... How have you been?" He scoffed, saying nothing. "What? Spending time with them has gotten you soft? Disappointing."

"If you were trying to make me act irrationally, stop it. You know it's useless," he coolly remarks, attempting to walk past her.

With a sigh, she put a hand on her sword's handle. The gears of the scabbard began to whir, turning and shifting as it equipped itself with a red blade. Drawing it quickly, she swung it toward him. But the boy reacted quickly, his hand soon conjuring an ice blade as he parries it. The two jump back, coming to a halt just at the edge, both the edges of the back of their shoes just near the edge of the sides of the cliff.

And in a few mere seconds, they rushed at each other again. Striking at each other, ice blades shattering as the small shards and crystals fell to the grassy floor. The black-haired woman scoffed as she dragged the blade's tip along the grass.

"You've gotten sloppy. I trained you to be better than that."

"'Training'? That's what you called it?" He yelled, soon rushing down at her. "That was nothing compared to the hell I've been through!"

She blocked a strike of his. "Oh? And pray tell, what is this 'hell' you're talking about?"

"Like I have any obligation to tell you."

The woman groaned. From his strikes alone, she could feel the power coming off of it... Along with his hate and rage. Was it directed at her?

Some of it, at least. Was it because of her parenting? Maybe, is what she thought. But she told herself it was the sake of his and the tribe's revival, knowing it would need a strong leader when she came to pass. And yet, when she first trained the boy that was her son, she noticed something different. When they first clashed, she could tell that his strength was nothing like she'd ever seen. And the ice powers he had, she had already thought she had unlocked that natural ability of his that usually everyone has at a young age. And yet, it wasn't that at all. It was like, that ability was apart of him from the get go. Not only that, he never unlocked the so-called thing known as Aura, in simplest terms, a forcefield that's able to protect them from attacks and heal minor injuries.

He was able to get by without it. So clearly, she could tell he was a strong candidate to lead her tribe in the future. And yet, every time she would try to get him to listen, he'd refuse. She had no control over him where it got to the point she dropped him off here to be with his father and family. And here she thought that him spending time with them would make him grow soft, but for the last ten years he had spent there with them, he hadn't changed at all. His movements were just as quick and his strength was just as it was before, maybe even a little bit stronger. However, she had kept watch over him for such a while during his stay with them and not even once had she seen him train. Or else he does, just away from the eyes of anyone. The black-haired woman's red blade then shatters, making her click her tongue in annoyance as she jumps back, quickly sheathing the handle before hearing the gears of her scabbard whir around. Swapping the broken blade with a new one, she would lunge forward again.

But each time she does so, her blade would shatter. Again, and again, and again, the grass around them being littered with ice shards and fragments of different colored blades.

Soon after a few more minutes of clashing their blades, the black-haired woman sheathed her blade. She attempted to put in another, only for her to hear the whirring of the gears in the scabbard to stop. With a gasp, she looked, her eyes widening slightly to see that she had no more blades to interchange.

She then looked to the boy she calls "son," seeing him hold another ice blade in his hands, a chill leaving his mouth as he simply held it to his side. He then pointed it at her.

"What, is that all?"

She gained a slight grin, "I'm impressed. Not many are able to last that long against me. You are my son after all."

"Shut up."

"You look at me with scorn and hate. Why is that?" She asked.

"You really want to know, huh?"

He dragged the blade along the grasp before he rushed forward, the woman dodging his thrust as she steps to the side. Steeling his ice sword once more, he raises it up to the side of his face as he gave the woman an emotionless glare, his eyes dull as he stares at her with nothing but bloodlust, oozing intent to kill her.

"I'll kill you. Gozuki," he muttered.

Her eyes widen slightly before they relaxed. Gozuki? She had never heard of a name like that, nor does she know someone with that name. Was this Gozuki the reason why he looks at her with scorn and hate? She wondered.

The boy, on the other hand wasn't seeing the woman in his vision at all. As they battled, the surrounding area had changed, instead of it being a cliffside being surrounded by water, he instead found himself in a grassy plain, with a bit rocks around. Standing in front of him was a man in a rugged outfit, a distinct katana at his side, long blonde hair with green eyes, along with a small blonde beard, and a red scarf around his neck.

"Is that the best you can do? Come on, you can do better than that," the blonde man said with a grin.

The boy grinded his teeth. "Shut up... It's all your fault..."

"My fault? Please, tell me. How is it," he taunted, his grin only growing wider. "I only gave you the strength, the abilities you need to bring happiness to the Empire."

"If it weren't for you... Then..." He gritted his teeth while gripping his ice blade tightly. "You bastard! Die!"

'Shit...!'

The woman had nothing left to use to defend herself against, barely reacting as the boy had lunged forward. His ice sword changed morphing into something different. The woman's red eyes widened as she gazes upon the weapon, it having a long handle and a large blade that was curved at the end, it being swiveled toward her, aiming to lop her head off. It was a scythe.

She didn't remember training him in using a scythe, nor did she remember her brother train him in the ways of it either. In fact, the only ones she is aware of using a scythe were her brother and one other, someone she knows that is long gone.

Just before the ice weapon could make contact with her neck, the blade just nearly there, something had stopped it. It was a large broadsword, a familiar man with black hair and red eyes stepping in as he panted. The boy holding the scythe blinks a few times, soon realizing what he was just doing.

"Easy there, kiddo," Qrow chuckled nervously. "You know, for someone who hates fighting and training, you're pretty good with a scythe there. Where'd you learn how to do that?"

The boy blinked a few times before he clicked his tongue and scoffed. He then dispelled his weapon, the ice weapon turning into small ice pixies before they faded away. The icy blue-eyed teen then turned around and heads back into the direction of the house, the man sighing as he put his blade away and turned to the woman with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing here, Raven?"

The woman, now known as Raven, rolls her eyes. "What? Can't a girl visit her family?"

"If you were going to visit, then how about you drop by the house instead." Qrow scoffs. "So what, it's okay to visit your son, but it isn't okay to visit your daughter at all?"

"More importantly, when did you start training him Qrow?"

He looks at her flabbergasted. "Training him? Nice joke, sis, but no, I haven't been training him. Hell, the kid hates training."

"What?" She looks at him in slight disbelief. "Then where did he learn to do that with a scythe?"

"I don't know," Qrow says with a shrug, taking his flask for a quick swig. "But the kid's always had his secrets and always plays them close to the chest."

"And you don't find that strange at all?" She crossed her arms.

"Everyone has their own secrets to keep, Raven. And some of them are sometimes left under the rug and never to be told. But... I won't lie and say I am curious about what he's hiding."

"Then why don't you find out about it?"

"And tell you about it?" Qrow scoffs as he took another swig. "One, I'm not gonna force the kid to tell me something he doesn't want to. And secondly, find it out yourself. He's YOUR son, after all."

Raven scoffs herself. "Don't lecture me on how to parent, Qrow."

"Well, if you made an effort to actually being there for the family, maybe I wouldn't have to," he says while glaring at her.

"The tribe is OUR family." Raven returns the glare.

"Then what are they to you, huh?" Qrow shoves her back a little. "Just a bunch of nobodies? Is that it? What are they to you then, Raven..." She said nothing, biting her lip while she held her tongue. Qrow scoffs again, "At least I'm actually making an effort to being there for my nieces and nephew. Unlike the tribe, they're my real family. Not them."

Raven rolled her eyes at her brother's response. Seeing as the conversation was getting nowhere, Qrow turned around, fishing his flask out of his pocket and took another swig, beginning to walk away.

"You know, Raven... It'd be better if you were actually there for them."

He heard nothing. Turning around, he then hears the slightest sound of a bird flapping their wings, then spotting a single raven feather falling in where the spot she was. Qrow then sighed, taking another swig from his flask before he headed down the path back to the house.

If he were to be honest, he often wondered how his sister could still consider THAT tribe as their family still. Considering what they've done and how they were raised. But enough of all that, Qrow shook his head as he continued making his way down the path and entered the house. Right now, it was only Taiyang in the kitchen, fixing everything up as he was doing the dishes. However, when he heard the door being opened, the blonde man turned his head to see Qrow walking in.

"Oh, hey, Qrow. I just sent Yang and Ruby off to school. But what's wrong with--"

"The kid?" He sighed as he sat down at the table. "Take a guess. He's usually pissed off at one person."

Tai frowned. "...It was Raven, wasn't it?"

"Yeeep," she said, saying the 'p' with a pop. "She must've really pissed the kid off if he was able to last long enough against her and broke all her swords."

"He did what!?" Tai's eyes shot wide. "He fought!? Qrow, I thought--"

"Didn't like fighting? Yeah, he doesn't. But when I watched from the distance, it was surprising. Surprising to see he had skills like that."

Taiyang narrowed his eyes. "Skills like what?"

Qrow furrowed his brow. "The skills of a killer."

"...What? I'm sorry, what?" Taiyang chuckled nervously as he looks at Qrow in disbelief. "No offense, Qrow, but do you mean to say that my son's a killer? I mean, with you and your sister's background and all, but I don't believe that one--"

"Tai." Qrow looks at the blonde man with a serious expression. "I'm not lying about what I saw. Those skills... The way he fought... He was fighting with the intent of killing her. And some of those were none like I've ever seen."

"Just because you saw that, doesn't mean that I'm believing that my own son is a killer!"

"Tai... Don't tell me you haven't came to the conclusion yet."

He crossed his arms. "What conclusion are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Tai. You know how the kid acts. He rarely talks or speaks to any of us. He's quiet about a lot of things. You know he's hiding something."

"Okay, I may have came to that conclusion more, but that doesn't mean I'll force him--"

"I'm not saying we have to force it out of him," Qrow says, speaking with truth in his voice. "All I'm saying is, we have to at least try. Try to get him to talk at least."

The blonde man stared at the black-haired man for what seemed like an hour, but really it was about ten minutes. Ultimately, he sighed before nodding. He won't lie, he had been interested in what the boy had been hiding. It was just like Qrow said, he rarely ever spoke to them, only really answering back if it was about something important. But aside from that, nothing else. He never made any idle conversation or any sort of small chatter.

It really looked like he preferred to be alone. Although, Tai and Qrow did note that there were times that whenever they looked into his eyes, they would notice a different expression that was shown instead of what was appearing on his face. His face usually wore a cold, emotionless, and stoic look, and his responses to them would be curt and quick. But they did see that expression in his eyes whenever he spoke to them.

The expression of sadness.

---

They attempted to speak with him. But it ended and failed as he had shut his door and only gave curt responses to them.

So with that as a bust, they continued on with the day. However, Qrow ended up leaving later on in the afternoon, tending to a Hunstman mission apparently. And when Yang and Ruby came back, it was only them that ate dinner, Ruby being saddened that her big brother hadn't exited his room to come eat. Yang, on the other hand, didn't really care. In fact, she held a bit of spite for him, mostly due to him having spent with their mother longer than herself. And he never spoke anything about her, not even as to a clue on where to find her.

With dinner now finished, Taiyang instructs for his daughters to head to bed, despite their minor protests. But they did so anyway, leaving the blonde man to deal with the clean up in the kitchen again. Once he washed all the dishes and put them on a drying rack, he went under the counter and pulled out a small wine bottle and a small glass and poured himself a drink at the table. But he was soon caught off guard when he heard a door in the hallway open, jumping slightly as he looks to it. But he soon relaxes, seeing it was him, his blue eyes looking at him before he dismissed it, heading to a nearby cupboard and grabbing a cup. He soon heads for the fridge to get himself a drink of water from the dispenser. 

Tai went to open his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. He soon held his head down with a small sigh. He heard his footsteps being shuffled, expecting for the boy to go back to his room. But much to his surprise, he heard him pull back the chair in front of him and sat down, Taiyang looking up at him with surprise. The boy kept his gaze away, taking a drink out of his cup before he set it on the table. With a small sigh, the boy looked over at his father with a neutral gaze.

"I thought about what you said..." He began, soon giving a deep sigh. "It's a long story if you truly want to know. ...And it's not sunshine and rainbows."

Taiyang simply smiled. "Take all the time you need, son."

"This is your last warning, by the way. What I'm about to say depends on whether you'll believe me or not," he said, his tone being sincere with answer he had given.

Taiyang still didn't falter. "Like I said. Take all the time you need."

"Okay..." He said with a sigh. "Then... It all began when..."

His voice was then drowned out, the many memories filling his head and mind again. He began to recount his tale.

The tale of the Ice Cold Reaper.