[hider=Robert's Biggest Regret]
[i]Several Years Ago[/i]

Robert was hungry. No, he was starving. It had been almost a week now since he had lost his family and began living on the streets of Vale and he had barely eaten since. He had been lucky enough for it to rain the past couple days, so using a handleless pot that he'd found in the trash he was able to create a makeshift rain catcher. Food was another story though. Other than some thrown out leftovers, the young boy hadn't had much.

Next to the boy, a rat approached and let out a high pitched squeak.

"Sorry, boy. I don't even have anything for myself today," he told it.

The rat squeaked again before scurrying off to try somewhere else.

"Well there goes my only company," Robert said with a sigh, just before the sky cracked with thunder. "Though at least I'll have something to drink."

Getting up from his seat in the alley, the boy pulled his hood over his head to try and keep his small body as dry as possible before walking out onto the sidewalk. He'd had enough of just sitting and listening to his empty stomach growl. If food wouldn't come to him, his only option was to go out and find it.

Hours would pass. The pouring rain would intensify and leave nothing dry. Robert would try to stay positive though, thinking about how he would at least have plenty of water to drink when he got back.

Just then, the neon lights of a nearby convenience store would suddenly turn on, beckoning to those walking through the slick streets to find shelter inside among its halls of snacks and sweets. Like a moth to a flame, the redhead walked inside, despite his lack of finances to purchase anything.

[i]Ring.[/i]

As the bell above the door rang to announce his entrance, the man at the counter politely greeted him with a friendly, "Hello." The boy said nothing back though, lowering his head and avoiding eye contact so all the man could see was the top of his hood. If he put a face to the clerk running the store, it would make what he was planning to do so much harder.

Heading to the far corner of the convenience store, Robert began to eye the various food on display, none of which was meant to be eaten as a night's meal as he intended to do, but he was desperate. Looking over his shoulder to make sure he couldn't be seen, the bespectacled redhead grabbed a single small bag of chips.

[i]Ring[/i]

Suddenly, the bell rang again as someone else entered the store. Robert expected hear the same "Hello" as before, but instead he heard the customer speak first. "Don't fuck with me! Open the register and give me everything in there!" the new voice shouted, causing our protagonist to freeze. The shelves and his short height had allowed him to remain unseen, but the knowledge that he was now present during a robbery had caused his blood to run cold.

Peeking out from behind his cover, the small child's eyes widened as he looked at the gun in the robber's hand. His whole being quivered with fright. He didn't want to be here. He just wanted to eat. For a split second though, the thought of trying to save the clerk crossed his mind. The robber didn't know Robert was here and he still had his father's weapons that were recovered from the fire. He could save the day and prevent anyone from getting hurt. Robert could be a hero.

"Come on! Hurry up!" the gunman shouted again, moving his finger over the trigger. This immediately brought the young child's thoughts of daring crashing to the ground. He was but an eight year old kid and this was a fully grown and armed man. There was nothing that could be done, except escape. Turning to the door, the future hunter would head back out the front door and return to his alley.

[i]Ring.[/i]

[i]Bang![/i]

Surprised by the sounds of the bell ringing behind him, the robber panicked and fired the pistol he had aimed at the clerk. The bullet ripped through flesh and bone before embedding itself into the opposite wall, ending the innocent man's life. As the gunshot rang through the small building and echoed out in the city streets, Robert would begin sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him. His brain seemed to shut itself off completely as his body was flooded with adrenaline. The only thing he could of was that he needed to get away.

Upon returning to his hidden alley, the redhead checked his rain collector first, only to find the rat from earlier had returned with friends to turn the pot into their personal watering hole. He sighed at his misfortune and sat back down, only to hear the crunch of the chips he had hidden in his back pocket. He pulled them out and stared at the packaging, remembering the blood which was still flowing onto the tile floor of the convenience store. The guilt of the man's death weighed on his mind, causing Robert to discard hus ill-gotten gains.

It wasn't worth it.
[/hider]