'Just how many hundreds matches of matches have they had?'

'It's been two years since the first match… and it's finally here!'

'IT'S HIS FIRST WIN!'

Ryou stood frozen in shock, two years… ever since his first defeat to Alice a new fire had lit. Losing to a sheltered bossy little girl had really taken a bite out of his ego, it was the beginning of a new battle. Being top chef from a small port town seemed insignificant if a foreign child could effortlessly beat him. This day had seemed slightly farfetched, despite having no doubts in his own capabilities Ryou couldn't help but be slightly bewildered at the vast amount of knowledge Alice possessed when it came to molecular gastronomy.

The cheers of his old customers faded into background noises after seeing the expression on Alice's face… Not once in these two years had he seen tears in her eyes. Slamming her hands down on the table she stormed up to the bewildered victor her face flushed red with shame, embarrassment and anger.

"WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER MATCH TOMORROW! OK?! RYOU-KUN." She shouted a slight edge of desperation crept into her voice. Ryou said nothing staring at the girl in front of him with wide eyes. He didn't want to admit how disturbing her distress made him feel. Despite this, not once did he break eye contact with his rival such weakness would never be forgiven, by either of them.

"…Alright… Milady." Ryou managed to say with a steady voice, his harsh upbringing had helped in masking his emotions such as trepidation and fear from his voice as Alice's red eyes continued to challenge him intensely. Her brows lifted in surprise and her blush faded as she slowly took in his words. Ryou turned not knowing how long he'd be able to keep up his indifferent stoic persona whilst watching her face. "I'll face you as many times as you want." He continued, retying his bandana to his wrist.

The noises of the room had either faded after Alice's outburst or was simply blocked out by both young chefs as Alice continued to stare blankly at the boy she had tried so hard to make as her aide. Slowly Alice let herself believe the meaning behind his words… up until now she had no solid reason to be certain of his loyalty to her, Ryou viewed her as more of a challenge than a companion… by telling her he would continue their cooking contests he was practically vowing his allegiance. A nagging fear had settled itself in the back of her mind on what Ryou's imminent victory, 'For what reason should I continue to follow someone whose skills are inferior to my own?' in her mind those words could have easily come from Ryou's mouth. Finally Alice could put her mind at ease, she couldn't help but beam, working hard and being persistent had payed off in the end.

"Then if I win next time, you have to speak politely to me! Ok?" sang Alice, back to her cheerful, effervescent self.

"Don't screw with me… like I can talk like that with a woman!" Ryou shot back, glad of the distance he had put between them. It scared him how relieved he felt… she was just a woman… no a girl, how could the maintenance of one smile mean so much to him?

Ryou stalked back to his old room, it had been a while since he'd slept on his hammock… The room had a musky, stale smell to it along with the usual damp fishy stench. Alice had literally turned his life upside down, two years before he'd never even notice the damp smell of wood or the crudely cheap alcohol with seemingly had soaked itself into the floorboards along with the bile of vomit. Not that it really bothered him now… he was used to it… the smells just seemed that much stronger now that he was used to freshly laundered bed sheets after staying at five star hotels on their travels around the world. Alice's smiling face re-entered his thoughts, that smile… his victory of this contest had threatened its existence. No, he'd have to ensure that Alice continued to smile… and punish anything which caused her to frown. He wasn't sure what this feeling was… it felt like he needed to protect her, it was strange… Ryou managed to convince himself these irrational feelings were due to his new position which actually allowed him to watch out for others and not need to constantly think of his own day to day survival… surely that's all he felt towards the girl… He simply felt grateful for the opportunity she had given him… nothing more…

"Ryou! Come on! You proooomise me you'd show me around the best fish market! I'm definitely going to beat you tomorrow. Also, you'd better not get a big head for winning to me ONCE!" called Alice boldly waltzing into the male sleeping quarters. Ryou heard a few gasps of shock from the room next door, females let alone young girls never walked in on their own accord. There was a strictly no women policy behind the pub, typical that Alice would ignore the unspoken rule. If there was one thing he'd learnt about Alice, it was her non-existent perception of fear. Truth be told, Ryou wasn't all that comfortable with Alice's natural male attraction. For one thing, she was so pale along with her red eyes albinos were already conspicuous she was also deemed to be beautiful (not that he'd admit it to her… ever), such a combination evoked lust in some unsavoury characters… whether they be pirates or some corporate businessman their gazes made him more uncomfortable than her.

"Yes, yes I just needed to sort some things out." He replied glumly, meeting Alice in the dimly lit hallway. She beamed at him once more.

"Good! LET'S GO!" She cheered, grabbing his arm and half dragging him outside. People from the town cringed at the way she treated him, knowing all too well how foolish it was to cross Kurokiba Ryou… however Nakiri Alice was immune to fear… that or she knew the hold she had over him…

Hallo! Thanks for reading! I've slightly edited this story and decided to make this a series of oneshots featuring Alice and Ryou.