Alice won a majority of their duels when she and Ryo were young. Due to this, she has racked up a list of things she wanted Ryo to do. "Talk to me politely!" "Use more formal speech from now on, Ryo!" "If I win, you'll move in and live with us!" "Ryo, if I win you'll play with me!" The list went on and on.

It took another six months before Ryo got his second win after his first one. They dueled in Alice's kitchen now, and today Leonora was the one called upon to do the judging, and she declared Ryo the winner.

Like her first loss, Alice didn't take it well, going red in the face and quite teary eyed. However, she didn't contest the decision, accepting that it was fair.

She stomped her feet in indignation as soon as her mother left them alone. "We're going to battle again tomorrow, okay?!"

"Anytime you want, hon-Miss Alice," Ryou said, catching himself just in time. Alice nags him whenever he stops addressing her as 'miss'. He regrets even doing it once now.

Alice wiped away her tears and was smiling again, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Ok then! There's no way I'm going to lose next time!"

As Ryo pulled off the bandana from his hair, a realization dawned on him. "Hey. How come I never got anything out of winning a match?"

"Huh?" Alice looked genuinely confused. "Well, you don't ask for anything, that's why."

"That's not a fair wager, ain't it?" Ryo said. "It's no fun if I get nothing."

"Hmm, you're not wrong I guess. What is it you want anyway?"

Ryo looked deep in thought for a while, and then lit up, as if remembering something.

"Alright then. Get on all fours and bark for me."

"W-What?!" Alice looked completely shocked. "You can't ask me to do such a ridiculous thing!"

"Then why in the hell did you ask me to do it when we first met?!"

"Nu-uh! I'm not doing that! Better ask for something else!"

"You're no fair, honey!"

Alice didn't budge, and refused to do it. Arguing, yelling, and crying followed, until Ryo just threw his hands up in frustration and said, "Fine! Forget about it! Have it your way then!"

Alice, who had been pouting and upset a second ago, quickly smiled and gave Ryo a little hug. "Yay! You're so nice, Ryo! Maybe you're finally becoming a proper gentleman, hmm?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Ryo mumbled, distracted by Alice's hug. He hadn't received many hugs as a child, if any. The interaction was a bit foreign to him. He stood there awkwardly as Alice hugged him tightly, as if he'd just saved her life. "...Uhm, hey, Miss Alice."

"Hmm? What is it, Ryo?"

"Coz I won this time… Promise me something instead?" he asked. "Promise me you'll battle with me as much as I want, too. Like I promised to you."

"Of course, Ryo!" Alice said, smiling sweetly at him. "I'll take you on anytime you want as well! We can pinky swear on it."

"Pink… what?" Ryo looked confused.

Alice held out her pinky finger, and finally Ryo seemed to realize what she meant. He had seen some other kids do it, and always thought it was ridiculous. "That's so pathetic, that stuff's for babies-"

He quickly stopped when he noticed little Alice pouting at him, looking like she was about to start throwing a tantrum and crying again. "Fine, fine!" He entwined his pinky finger with hers.

"Yay! It's a promise, then!"

A/N: *In the English dub, Ryo calls Alice "Miss Alice". Young Ryo has also called Alice "honey" when they met at the pub.