"Ah~ your first kill~" the small mask on Ace's waist chimed happily. Ace rolled his eyes and clutched the hilt of his sword at his hip intently. "You're growing up so fast. I'm so proud." Ace sneered at the little mask but said nothing. "Now, you know your objective and you know your target. Get it done." And with a little click, the Joker's voice was gone. Ace sighed slightly before glancing through the crowd. His target was here, somewhere in this town. However, the man he was tracking was elusive.

"Where are you…?" Ace asked under his breath, his fingers gently petting the hilt of his sword waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He scanned the crowd once more in search of his target. His efforts turned up empty. He growled impatiently before walking into the faceless crowd to search. This place was busy. Extremely busy. He scanned the crowd and paused for a moment. There was a shadow in the alley way. It shifted slightly and the Executioner's eyes narrowed. He smiled slightly before making his way to the alley.

He could see the man's features better as he drew closer. Six foot two, dark blue hair, yellow eyes, and the black lizard tattoo along his neck. The man was quickly able to sense Ace's interest in him and attempted to flee. The Executioner darted after him into the long, dark alley. He came to a cross-section of two alleyways and cursed. He had lost sight of his target.

Fwoop!

Ace was barely able to dodge the knife that flew right at him. He glanced from the knife to the source. His target was on the roof of one of the buildings. He hissed out a sigh and jumped for the fire escape to scale the building. By the time he reached the top, the man was at the other edge, looking down as if to jump.

"GET BACK HERE!" the Executioner growled, running at the man. He dropped down and Ace glanced down over the ledge of the building. He was then grabbed and pulled down to yet another fire escape, a knife held to his throat.

"For a rival assassin you aren't very good." The man said calmly. His knife pressed against Ace's skin.

"I am not an assassin!" Ace roared, trying to break free. "L-let me go!"

"If you're not an assassin sent to kill me then perhaps a helpless boy searching for revenge?" he asked. "I have killed many people."

"I am the Executioner!" Ace growled, struggling against the man. The knife dripped with blood as he struggled. "I have been sent to kill you." The man froze for a moment before throwing Ace over the fire escape and down into the street. Ace called out in pain when he hit the cold stone. Then the man jumped down and gracefully landed on his feet. He glared at the young man's body as he writhed in pain.

"I don't have time for your games, kid." The man said, stabbing his knife into Ace's leg. "If you survive, we can play later." He then stood and turned before disappearing into the alleys yet again. Ace was unable to follow as he grasped the knife that had torn into his leg and pulled it out. Blood began to pool at his leg and he cursed under his breath. He attempted to stand to chase down his target but was unable to. His legs couldn't hold him.

"Nice try, Ace." The Joker mocked.

"Shut up." The young man growled, attempting to bandage the wound with some torn cloth.

"No, it was really a nice try." The mask said again, "You passed the test."

"Test?"

"The black lizard is a skilled assassin. I didn't expect you to even survive the encounter. You are stronger than I thought!" the mask laughed.

"So you were expecting me to die?" he asked, somewhat annoyed.

"I needed to test your strength as my Executioner," the mask replied. "And to test your loyalty to me. You should jump when I tell you to jump."

"So you sent me here to die?!" Ace growled, getting angrier at the man. With a slight click, the Joker was gone. Ace once again cursed under his breath and gripped his leg in pain. He bit his lip to keep from shouting out.

"Are you alright, mister?" a voice asked. The Executioner quickly looked about to find the source. A small faceless girl with purple curls stood there, watching him bleed out.

"I'm… fine," he said, avoiding eye contact with the girl.

"Are you sure? You seem pretty hurt." she insisted, taking a step closer to get a better look.

"I said I'm fine!"

"My daddy is a doctor," she added, trying to entice him.

"What do you even want?" Ace sighed, confused as to why the young faceless girl would even talk to a role holder.

"I… Well…" she frowned and kicked at the paved road under her. "I-I got separated from my family and… being lost is really lonely."

"Eh?" Ace's eyes grew wide in confusion. Lost? Lonely?

"I…" she paused for a moment, still frowning. In the not-so-far distance, there was a loud explosion. Ace could hear people shouting and screaming. The purple haired girl before him spun around in fear. "W-what was that!?"

"Get down!" the Executioner called out, pulling at the girls arm. He pressed her into his chest and embraced her just in time as a nearby building burst into flames with a bang. He held her against the ground, protecting her from flying shards of glass. She was screaming, but she was not alone. Half the town was bombed. Although his ears were ringing loudly, Ace could still hear more explosions and people screaming in the distance.

"What just happened?!" they would call out.

"H-help!" others would scream.

The girl in his arms was shaking violently as he sat up, pulling the girl up. She was alright; however, he could feel shards of glass that were stuck within his own body.

"Urgh…" he moaned in pain as he pulled at the larger pieces of glass that stuck out from his flesh. The girl couldn't help but cry as the man bled out.

"Vivaldi?!" a man cried out, not far from them. "Vivaldi, where are you?!"

"D-d-daddy?!" the girl sniffled, "D-daddy! I'm here!"

"Oh, I am so glad you are alright!" the faceless man sighed in relief, embracing the girl. It took him a moment to realize there was another person there. "Who… is this?"

"Ah!" she turned to the man who was bleeding out on the cold ground. "This man saved me, daddy! You need to help him, please!"

"But Vivaldi, dear, he is a role holder."

"I-I don't care if he is a role holder or not!" the girl snapped, stomping her foot. "He is my knight in shining armor!"

Ace could no longer hold onto his consciousness. The crimson liquid continued to seep through his wounds and soak his clothes. He had lost too much as the darkness overtook him.

~x~x~x~

It surprised the young man when he woke up again. He was sure he was going to die but when he awoke inside the clinic, he felt a wave of relief. How close he was to never seeing his beloved caretaker ever again... He tried to sit up but flinched as pain filled his body. His injuries were still healing. He cursed under his breathe.

"You're lucky to have saved my little daughter, young man," the doctor said bitterly as he watched the Executioner struggle to sit up. "She is my little princess after all. If anything had happened to her…"

Ace could only remain silent as he put his clothes back on. The doctor, feeling ignored, turned on his heel and left. Once Ace touched his belt, the mask attached came to life.

"Well, it seems you're still alive~" the Joker chirped through the mask.

"No thanks to you," the Executioner growled.

"Well just get your lazy butt back here and we can talk about your real first kill." The Joker said this with a click at the end as the line went dead. Ace nodded. He was as ready as he will ever be.