[Fluff]

"Watch where the hell you're going, bitch!"

Those were the words that caused Alice Grimwald's heart to skip a beat. Well, it wasn't exactly the words as much as it was the sight of the young and messy blonde that used them. It was a girl around her age, one that she had never seen before. And true, she had accidently bumped into her to prompt that insult... But how was she supposed to react when the girl's looks were so dazzling and captivating?

Even as that girl growled at her, even scoffing and calling her disgusting for looking like she was fantasizing... The sheer aura that the girl gave off, at least in Alice's eyes, was so sweet and overwhelming that she couldn't help herself from blushing and giggling a little, uncharacteristically so, when she finally got far enough away.

Who was that girl? Why did she make her feel this way? How could they meet again? How would she react to her apology? Should she apologize or beckon more insults being slung her way? There were so many questions rushing around inside Alice's head that needed an answer. Which was why she actually ignored her Brother for once in her life as she got home, heading straight for the computer in her room.

It didn't take long to get ahold of everything she needed to know. Rumi Kitahara was her name, and the reason why she hadn't been seeing her around the school could be chalked up to the simple fact that she was a delinquent. She never showed up on time, and barely even showed up at all. She preferred to put her body through its paces, which usually resulted in her getting into a lot of fights against the gangs that dotted the city. Which would certainly explain why Alice's former delinquent friend didn't hear as much trouble from her former life...

Still, it helped her figure out what she needed to know. With a name and a regular routine in her hands, it was possible for her to show up just where she needed to be. And if everything she read was right, then she should be just in time to see Rumi when she needed help the most.

Helping her out should make it easy for them to bond...

---

Alice twitched a little as she came upon the scene that she had expected. Based on everything she had read up on, it made sense that she'd see a bit of carnage.

Except it was a lot more brutal than she could've expected. Streets dotted with pools of blood and several knocked out delinquents, all while that blonde-haired girl rested against one of the walls, groaning and aching as a bit of blood poured down her face as well.

"Damnit, they really went overboard this time..." Rumi muttered as she slowly grasped her shoulder, wincing. A lucky punch by one of those bastards had managed to dislocate the joint. Just moving that limb would make things worse for her. If she didn't get that fixed sometime soon, the bastards' shitty friends would find her, and then she'd be in more trouble than she could handle. Damnit, they just had to get in that lucky hit...

As she continued to ruminate on her own mistake, her eyes darted towards the sound of footsteps, only for those very same eyes to widen as she laid her eyes upon a familiar pink-haired girl. "The hell are you doing here?! Did you follow me!?" She shouted, immediately recognizing the girl as the one that had bumped into her earlier today. And considering her current physical state, she had very good reason to believe that the girl had a hand in bringing those bastards here.

"No, but I would've if I knew who you were." Alice said with a soft tone, kneeling down as she unpacked a bag that she had brought with her. "Sit still. I only have some experience with regards to first aid. The less you move, the better." She explained, all while pulling out the relevant tools and supplies that she'd need. All while smiling.

She was practically admitting that she wanted to follow her! Even if she wasn't with those bastards, she was a damn stalker instead! "Piss off, I don't want your help!" Rumi shouted, only for her body to scream out in pain the moment she tried to kick that bag. As it turned out, her body was in even worse condition than she originally thought. Which just caused her to fume and groan.

"Come on, Rumi. Sit still." Alice scolded her a little as the delinquent struggled against her helping hand, before carefully lining up the tools on the ground. "Well, maybe I should help you with your limbs first. They're probably causing you way more pain..."

Even though Rumi very clearly didn't want her to touch her, Alice grabbed ahold of her arm, and in response to the way she carefully turned it around, shoved hard to fix the dislocated joint. She then did the same for the leg, leaving the delinquent with a few bouts of pain that would give way to quick and steady recovery.

"D-Don't you... D-Don't you dare do that ever again..." Rumi muttered as sweat poured down her body. Sweat that had only started pouring due to the warmth that poured across her thanks to the intense pain. "Y-You're just here to get me into more trouble..."

Alice chuckled a little. She really was a paranoid young lady. That would explain why she got into so many fights and why she decided to avoid heading to school. "Apologies, Rumi, but I'm going to have to dare. You won't get better if I don't." She said as she picked up the various tools one by one, putting them to good use to make sure that the young lady's various wounds got closed up or otherwise blocked so they wouldn't cause any more bleeding.

All while Rumi did her very best to avoid squirming. Not because she actually wanted the help, it was more because she damn well knew what could happen if she moved during a procedure. Hatred was spilling through her entire body thanks to the help she was getting, but she wasn't about to cause more problems when she could avoid it.

"There." Alice said as she stuffed a cotton ball down into her neat little bag of waste. "You should be ready to go fight again if you really want to. But I'd recommend that you don't. That gang that you fought must've heard about their pals getting into trouble. If they're anything like the gangs that I've had to fight, they'll want vengeance. And as strong as you are, even you can't handle those kinds of numbers."

Rumi glared at the pink-haired girl as she slowly got up. As she had said, most of her injuries were either healed or at the very least patched up. Even her joints weren't screaming in pain any more. "Who the hell are you anyway..?" She muttered. First that girl bumped into her like it was nothing special during the day, and now that it was about to be night, she was suddenly an expert at taking care of somebody's injuries?! The hell did she do that for, was she planning to have her under her thumb with blackmail or something?!

"Alice Grimwald. It really is a pleasure to meet you, Rumi Kitahara. Now, you'll want to run. They're here very soon." Alice said, quietly pulling a phone out of her pocket, frowning a little. "Or they're behind. Because my tracker's saying they haven't gone far yet..."

There were way too many questions and frustrations that were flooding Rumi's head, so instead of bothering to get an answer, she just grabbed Alice by the collar and glared into her eyes. "I don't owe you for any of this, alright!? You did this because you wanted to, I could've recovered on my own, so don't even try to think that I'll owe you or anything!" She shouted right at the pink-haired girl before running off, determined to just get home and relax...

Alice sighed sweetly before pocketing the phone, right as she heard engines revving in the distance. Even if she was going to have a tough time, she couldn't back down now. Even if she'd have to get Sachi's help...

She had taken the first few steps in this new relationship. And that meant committing to it!

---

A few days later, Rumi was slowly biking through the city. One of the activities that she did for leisure whenever she didn't need to do anything else. Since she frequently skipped class since she didn't see a point in getting educated if it just led to getting consumed by one's work, this was how she spent her time. Getting fit. Getting strong. And just enjoying the air around her...

It was refreshing. It was relaxing. The feeling of the wind blowing against her messy hair. The feeling of the pedals trying to resist her legs. The feeling of everything melding together. This was bliss itself.

Which was why her anger quickly arose once more as she was forced to come to an abrupt stop, glaring straight at the pink-haired girl that happened to be sitting on a nearby bench, who currently looked like she had seen better days. Whether it was due to all the bandages covering her, or the fact that she clearly picked that bench as if she knew that the girl would bike right by it.

"What the hell are you trying to do, Alice?! I was just enjoying my bike ride, and you show up like you've been in a fight with fifty hundred men to the point of brutalizing you!" Rumi shouted straight at the bandaged and definitely recovering girl as she glared into her currently exposed eye...

Alice just giggled in response. "Well, I did have to fight against the gang that you escaped from. They needed somebody to blow their steam on, and I obliged them. I also sent a good seventy five percent of their total forces to the hospital, so getting treatment for my injuries took a while." She chimed, playing off her injuries like they were nothing special. Even though she had to pull a lot of strings and also get bailed out by a certain few friends of hers including the former delinquent she helped in the first place.

"YOU KNOW THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER, RIGHT?!" Rumi shouted as she grabbed the injured girl by her collar, shaking her back and forth a bit. "YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET HURT JUST BECAUSE YOU SEE ME HURT, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE BESIDES A GIRL WHO BUMPED INTO ME AND A GIRL WHO STALKED ME! YOU THINK I'LL TALK TO YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU HELPED ME OUT AND TREAT YOU LIKE A FRIEND!?" To say that she was a little agitated at all these insinuations would be an understatement.

Alice let out a mild groan from all the shaking, before chuckling and giggling a little more. "Well, of course. But that's not why I did it." She said, finally being let down as Rumi started running out of steam, prompting another groan as she hit the bench. "I did it because I thought you'd need the help. And I fought all of them because it's not like they were going to calm down without a fight." She explained, still just playing it all off.

Rumi didn't know how to precisely articulate her feelings about all of this in any way besides a frustrated scream. Only to then collapse on the bench and just rest there. Unmoving, as she didn't want this stalker to get another chance to tempt her into doing something that she didn't want. That bitch would probably just use all of this to blackmail her too...

Alice just sighed sweetly as her new friend got so overly heated and animated. Part of why she had grown to like her in an instant. Yes, they were meant for one another. At least, that's what her heart was telling her. "Are you hungry, Rumi?" Alice asked as she opened the bag sitting beside her. It was full of small treats and drinks, something to cool one's head with.

Rumi didn't respond initially. She wanted to think about anything but that pink-haired harpy. But eventually her body reacted for her, causing her to slowly pull herself out of her slump as she glared at the girl that had bothered to get so hurt just for her. "...Shouldn't you be in class? That uniform you're wearing's from the same school I'm from." She muttered, all while leering towards the bag and idly drooling ever so slightly.

"I made some arrangements. Besides, you want me to show up like this?" Alice chuckled, lifting up her bandaged arm and wincing a little in the process. "Don't worry about me. I'll worry about myself for you." She chimed, all while picking out a sandwich from her bag and offering it to her new friend. "Just like I'll worry about you and get you the right kind of meal when you need it."

Rumi immediately started glaring as she grabbed the sandwich out of her hands. It wasn't much, it was really just meat and bread. But she still chewed into it without hesitation, finishing it in a few seconds. And then she immediately took the next one that Alice handed her. "Don't think this means I owe you anything. Don't even start thinking about it! Just don't!"

Alice nodded and giggled as she rested her head on her fully healed hand, sighing sweetly as she looked at the girl eating away at her hand-made sandwiches. "You really are cute when you're like this. Of course I don't want you to owe me anything. I did it all because I wanted to. Not because I wanted you to be in my debt."

"Don't you dare think about using it for anything else then!" Rumi shouted in between sandwiches, while also downing a full soda that Alice handed her in the middle of her frenzied feeding. She wasn't going to ease up her guard around this girl. If she did, she'd find a way to undermine her. Or she'd find a way to obsess over her more. Or anything like it. She didn't want to give her that chance. Even if it looked like she was taking advantage of her generosity!

Alice just sighed the longer she looked at that girl. She could feel her heart growing a few sizes every time she drew breath. Helping her made her feel alive. Almost as alive as whenever Albert smiled at her. Though it was different. But that different sensation wasn't bad at all. She really did like it. Just like she really did like her. Why was that, anyway? She wasn't sure how to put it, but it was like she sensed a kindred spirit inside her. Even if she was crude and abrasive and didn't want her near...

By the time that she ran out of goodies to hand her, Rumi started getting back up from the bench, her cheeks flushed bright red due to the sheer amount of food she had downed in such a short time. "Are you sure you'll be alright, Rumi? You look like you've eaten so much that you're about to burst." Alice put her worries front and center, even if she was the one with the arm and the leg and everything else that still needed to recover.

"I'll be fine. I was fine before you came around, and I'll be fine when you disappear. Don't think about me. It's not worth it." Rumi muttered, narrowing her eyes into a glare before she departed just like that. She couldn't stand being near her for too long. If she did, then she'd probably end up even more frustrated than she already was. Best to just leave her be and hope that she'd catch onto the fact that she really didn't like her.

Alice took a deep breath and let out a satisfied sounding giggle. Being so close to her had been so much fun. Sure, she got yelled at and she got shaken around when she was still in pain and she definitely needed to lie down and not worry about her body trying to tear itself apart, but she was having a lot of fun. It was so different from helping Sachi or getting in the way of her Brother and his girlfriend's relationship. It was just... It was fun.

As she slowly let everything wash over her, she slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone, speed-typing to her gyaru friend to give her an update.

"Looks like she noticed me."

"With how much you got fucked up by that gang, it's impossible to notice you. Seriously, why'd you go and fight? Don't think we can come save you every time."

"I didn't ask to be saved. But you came anyway. Thanks, Sachi."

"I don't know what you're thinking half the time, but hearing you thank me like this still gives me the creeps. You sure you love her?"

"Are you sure you love my Brother?"

"Oi, you promised not to say that."

"I promised, just like you promised to do your best. And you've been doing that every single day. It brings a smile to my face, you know."

"Now I'm not sure if I want the creepy Alice back or if I should like what you're saying."

"That's for you to figure out, Sachi. But thanks. Sincerely."

"Thanks. And grats on finding somebody that you love too, Alice. Don't mess it up."

Alice nodded and held her phone close to her heart, sighing sweetly before pocketing it and carefully lifting herself off the bench. Even if she was in pain, she'd have to get back to her room so she could continue recovering.

Rumi hadn't seen the last of her... And some day, she'd find that her love was entirely genuine.