Chapter Text
A cute pampered rich girl. That was the initial opinion Crow had of Alisa when Angelica introduced her to him. It seemed as though her status as the daughter of the head of the Reinford company was supposed to be a secret Angelica immediately failed to hide from him, Towa and George. However, Crow was no stranger to secrets.
Their meeting was brief and short, so for some time Crow's opinion of her did not change.
He would occasionally spot her on the field cleaning by herself. A form of bullying? Perhaps, since that should have been a club activity. Approaching her, Crow wondered if she would try to get him to help, but instead all she did was glance at him before continuing her work.
That particular reaction caught his attention and was the first thing to make him have some form of interest in Alisa Reinford. With a new intrigue, Crow walked closer to the girl and smiled at her.
"Need help, princess?"
His greeting earned him a glare. In hindsight, he wondered if this was the reason she acted the way she did with him later. "DON'T call me that. Anyway, thanks but I can do this on my own."
Despite saying that there was clearly still more things that needed cleaning, so Crow immediately went to help her, ignoring her statement of not needing him. He doubted she would actually try to stop him anyway - which she didn't. Instead, she gaped at him, blushed, and made a groan before apparently deciding not to say anything. Crow found the reaction to be awfully cute.
When they finished cleaning she folded her arms. "Thanks for the help, but I really don't have anything to give you."
"Didn't really do it for a reward," he answered, which seemed to surprise her for some reason. Had she been that used to people only helping her for the sake of getting something out of her?
"Oh… well um… okay. Thank you again, Armbrust."
He felt a bit awkward being referred to in such a way but it also had a charm to it. "Hey no problem."
After that she fled to what he assumed was her dorm. As he watched her run up the hill he enjoyed the view. Even with tights under that short skirt it was still a nice sight.
The following day Crow didn't expect to encounter Alisa again, but as he failed to pay for lunch she appeared and immediately paid for his food. He looked at her in curious confusion as she averted her eyes.
"You helped me yesterday, so this is my way of repaying you," she explained as she refused to make eye contact with him.
"Oh… You really didn't have to, but thanks."
She stood there, as if waiting for something until a girl called her name. "Alisa?" He looked in the direction to see a girl wearing the same uniform with long pink hair done in a braid. He had seen her around the school library a few times.
Apparently, having briefly forgotten she had came with someone, Alisa jolted then quickly turned to her friend. "Co-coming!" She briefly looked towards Crow. "See you around, Armbrust," she said before going to join her friend. Crow waved and smiled to himself.
Alisa seemed like a nice girl. Too nice to involve herself with someone like him.
Time passed, and his interactions with her lessened though they shared an occasional greeting here and there.
However, he got the pleasure of being 'graced' by her presence while playing with kids inside of Kirsche’s Cafe. She looked to be buying something when she noticed him.
After buying whatever it was she came there for, Alisa made a sharp turn in his direction and approached the table he was seated at. She looked at the cards in his hand, then she looked at the table.
"It's those things Rean is always playing with…" She mumbled mostly to herself it seemed.
"You know how to play?" Crow asked curiously with a Blade deck in hand.
She nodded her head, and Crow grinned in response. He gestured for the child sitting across from him to leave the chair, and he did so. Crow was not about to give up this opportunity.
"Want to play a game?"
For a moment Alisa looked skeptical before she eventually apparently decided it was harmless and sat down across from him. Crow shuffled the cards, and then they started to have a match. Crow couldn't deny feeling a little excited about dueling someone he never played before.
Initially, Crow expected Alisa to be bad at the game, but instead their first match ended in a tie. He blinked in surprise as such results took him off guard. He had underestimated her.
A confident smile appeared on her face that was more than a little charming. Crow returned the smile with his own, and they started to have another game. As much as Crow focused on the match, he couldn't help but be distracted by the children intensely watching them.
They narrated it enthusiastically, calling off each card that was played and trying to guess what Crow or Alisa would do next. It was both amusing and adorable.
Alisa played a Mirror card while he was in the lead, and Crow immediately responded by doing the same. "Mirror!" He exclaimed excitedly.
"What!?" Alisa yelled in surprise. She clearly hadn't expected such a counter. After a moment she pouted and grumbled in disappointment before laying down her cards. "My loss…"
Crow merrily chuckled. Because Blade matches were always heavily reliant on luck, Crow always felt happy after a victory. It was thrilling to win in a game where one wrong move could lead to defeat. Of course, in a way his actual life was already like that.
Blade didn't have life ruining risks though, so whether he won or lost he could still breathe easily, and so could his opponent. Although Alisa still seemed a bit pouty about her defeat.
After speaking to the kids for a bit, Alisa stood out of her seat. "That was fun, but next time I'll definitely beat you, Armbrust."
A wry smile came to Crow's face. He really didn't like the formalities. "You don't have to be so formal you know."
"Huh? Oh… but you're my upperclassman, so..." She fidgeted then averted her eyes. "A...Anyway, it was nice seeing you. I have to go!" She quickly turned on her heel and ran out of the cafe.
Crow watched her leave and wondered if perhaps being on a first name basis was too intimate for her? Considering who she was, such a thing was probably uncommon.