The Ace of Spades: A RWBY Story

Chapter five: To remember the past

[Clarence's location, near midnight]

Nihil was sitting on the bed of a hotel room, humming a tune with the bodies of Clarence and his girlfriend laying before him, their blood soaking into the dirty carpet floor as his twin katanas could be seen impaled through their bodies. He let out a sigh, gazing down at the corpses of the young couple. For some odd reason, this brought back an old memory of the only time he ever spared a person's life...

[Eight years ago, gas station in Vacuo, twilight]

The infamous assassin could be driving into a gas station as he parked his car right beside a pump, by the look of his face he was clearly right at 20. He walked into the gas station and quickly grabbed a bag of cashews before going to the counter, with a man in his late 40s writing on a notepad. "How much?" He merely asked, referring to the cashews in his left hand. "Sixty-nine cent." The old man replied. "This...and the gas." He then said, looking out the window. "Y'all getting any rain up your way?" The man asked, causing Nihil to turn his head away from the window and look down at the counter. "What way would that be?" He asked in return, before looking up at the man. "I seen you was from Vale." The man replied, as the faunus opened the bag of cashews and puts a few in his palm, eating one.

"What business is it of yours where I'm from, friend?" He asked coldly, eating another cashew. The man looked up from his notepad in slight alarm as he gazed at the young assassin. "I didn't mean nothing by it." He said, believing he offended him. "Didn't mean nothing." He merely repeated, calmly eating another cashew as he stared at the man. The man began getting a little uneasy from the stare as he shuffled a bit in place. "I was just passin' the time." He replied. There was a brief moment of silence, before the man spoke again. "Well sir I apologize. If you don't wanna accept that I don't know what else I can do for you." He said, the silence unnerving him as he worked on the register and put the change in the drawer, all while Nihil stared him as he continued eating the cashews.

"....Will there be something else?" The shopkeeper asked, as the assassin tilted his head slightly. "I don't know. Will there?" He asked in return, popping a cashew into his mouth as another brief moment of silence passed. The old man turned his head and coughed, before turning back to him, all while Nihil kept staring at him. "Is something wrong?" The old man asked, turning his gaze away from Nihil for a brief moment. "With what?" The faunus asked in return. "With anything?" The man replied. "Is that what you are asking me? Is there something wrong with anything?" Nihil asked in turn with a small smile that put the old man on edge as he looked away again, clearly uncomfortable. "Will there be anything else?" He asked, as Nihil ate another cashew. "You already asked me that." He pointed out.

The old man seemed dazed for a moment before looking down as he made like he was about to walk away. "Well, I need to see about closin'." He said, indirectly saying he wanted Nihil to leave. "See about closing." He simply repeated. "Yessir." The old man replied. "What time do you close?" Nihil questioned him, forcing the man to stay and answer his question. "Now. We close now." He told him, as he simply ate another cashew. "Now isn't a time. What time do you close?" He asked again. "Generally around dark. At dark." The old man told him, as he continued to stare and slowly chew. "You don't know what you are talking about, do you?" Nihil asked. "Sir?" The old man inquired in turn. "I said...you don't know what you are talking about." The assassin repeated, chewing even slower now.

"...What time do you go to bed?" Nihil asked softly. "Sir?" The old man asked in return. "You're a bit deaf, aren't you? I said what time do you go to bed." He repeated. "Well...." The old man paused, not sure how to respond to the question. "I'd say around nine-thirty. Somewhere around nine-thirty." He finally answered. "I could come back then." Nihil told him. "Why would you be comin' back? We'd be closed." The shopkeeper asked quietly. "You said that." The assassin merely replied, eating another cashew as he continued staring. "Well...I need to close now-" The old man said, before Nihil fired off another question. "You live in that house behind the shop?" He asked. "Yes, I do." The man answered. "You've lived here all your life?" Nihil asked, causing another moment of tense silence.