'Our first teacher is our own heart.'

~ Cheyenne Proverb

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After her last strange encounter with the masked man known as Rorschach, he had simply vanished for about a month. Perhaps now he was out of her life for good so that Alice could go back to seemingly boring and normal life. A part of her was saddened by the sudden absence of the vigilante, but it was for the best that he stayed away.

But with Valentines Day rapidly approaching, Rorschach had other things on his mind besides Alice or their small blow up a month ago. Now was the time for him to catch the drug dealers in action.

The vigilante scouted the area the night before Valentines Day, walking about with his sign and trying to appear as casual as possible. He saw some goons standing by a small boat house, watching and waiting for anyone that might appear suspicious. When they saw him, they told him to get lost or he'd get his head blown off. That's when Walter knew he had hit the jackpot and went to change into costume and have a stake out.

Rorschach was hidden amongst the shadows and behind stacks of crates. The masked vigilante waited, listening for approaching cars or people, but none could be heard. It was nearing midnight when he finally heard something and he got closer in to investigate.

Several large men stepped out of a limo that had just pulled up and were greeted by the men who had been guarding the dock for sometime. The men assured the sharply dressed men that the docks were free and clear of any people.

Rorschach watched for a while, watching the men as they went to begin their transaction, but something seemed off about one of the men. As Rorschach got closer to examine the faces, he did a double take as he saw Jack RedBow pacing with the men, smoking a cigar. He felt his fists clench and he snarled slightly. He was hoping Alice knew nothing about this, or if she did, she was hiding it from him. He would have to investigate further.

He leaned in, listening to the group of men chatting and laughing. He was going in for the kill when he stopped at the mention of his name.

"So, what happened to Cyril?" One man said, tapping his cigar, ashes falling onto the dock.

"Apparently Rorschach got to him. Heard Cyril's dead." He smirked and called out. "Hear that, Rorschach?"

The vigilante was in a set up. He panicked and began looking for a way of escape, but he nearly collided with a large brute. The man reached for him, but he kicked over some crates, sending them falling on top of the man.

Rorschach made his way out into the open and he stood there, open for anything to happen to him, but the head man walked over and he pulled his fur lined coat around his shoulders. "Rorschach, alive still?" He shook his old head. "It appears you have a guardian angel with you."

"You're not getting away with this." He snarled, standing in a fight pose.

"Oh relax." The man said, taking a long drag off his cigar. "Figured you had some way of coming back from the dead."

Rorschach clenched his fists and he waited.

"You got nothing on us, Rorschach. No proof we did anything. We're standing here, having a chat and sharing a few Cuban cigars." The oldest man said, holding his cigar close to his mouth.

Rorschach was duped and they must've changed the times on him without knowing and killed Cyril for squealing. "You won't get away with this." He snarled again.

"Honestly, Rorschach. That line is getting old." He said, turning to his men and motioning them to head back towards the limo.

Jack RedBow turned and looked at Rorschach, who was watching him go.

Rorschach felt the anger rise up as the man that was supposed to be Alice's friend turned with the group of mobsters and all got into the limo, leaving Rorschach in their wake. But when the men looked back, Rorschach was gone and out on the prowl.

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Alice was walking quietly through the cold streets back home for a double shift. Her eyes heavy from exhaustion, but she paused as she noticed her door was open ajar. She took a few steps down and she touched the handle and the door opened a bit more. She peered in and she spotted Rorschach sitting at her dining table and sifting through her mail.

The woman stormed in and tried to shut the door, but the lock was so badly damaged, she couldn't shut it properly. "What are you doing?!" She nearly shrieked.

"Looking for evidence." He said shortly, tossing the pile of bills down on the table. "Got a bit of information on your friend Jack." He growled.

"What information?" She snapped, looking slightly annoyed.

"You know!" He held out a hand and grabbed at her throat, pinning her against the wall. "Went out with him last month, whore!"

Alice's face turned a nice shade of white as he held her against the wall. She knew he wouldn't let her go. "Rorschach, please…" She pleaded.

"You lied to me!" Rorschach tightened his grip. "You knew that Jack was part of a drug smuggling scheme!"

"NO!" She paled more. She felt his grip tighten around her thin neck and she began to cough. Her nails clawing at his hand.

"Lying whore!" He slammed her back into the wall. It was the first time Alice saw stars before her eyes.

Alice's hands soon stopped clawing at Rorschach's hand and she felt herself getting light headed from the lack of oxygen. She dropped her hands to her sides and soon her eyes began to close.

Rorschach didn't cease, but he slapped her face several times to 'rouse her, but she was still lulling her head from side to side. "Wake up!" He snapped, but she was unresponsive.

Panic set in and he let her go, holding her and slapping her face gently now. "Alice?" He hadn't realized what he had done.

Alice's lips were a slight shade of blue, but she soon took in a deep breath and began coughing and holding her throat, taking in large gasps of air. She clutched to Rorschach's coat and she was coughing loudly, just holding onto the vigilante for dear life.
"Sorry. Sorry." He said, holding her and allowing her to catch her breath.

Alice felt out of it for a few minutes, the lack of oxygen to her brain had been a major scare. She soon felt the tears come and she clutched to Rorschach like he was her life support and she sobbed into his smelly trench coat, ignoring the stench that was gripping her nostrils.

Rorschach slowly put one arm around her shoulders and held her close for a bit, trying to soothe her sobs. He hadn't meant to scare her so much. She obviously knew nothing about Jack's second life.

Slowly, he felt her arms around his neck and she clung to him, holding onto him for a while. Rorschach put his other arm around her and stiffly hugged her.

Several moments passed and the sobs slowly subsided to small whimpers. She removed her arms and gave Rorschach the hardest slug to the face she could. "You jerk!" She stood, but staggered and leaned against the table. "How could you?"

Rorschach didn't explain himself, but stayed crouched and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Just leave!" She pointed with one hand and holding her throat with the other. She was near tears again.

Rorschach stood and he went over, trying to touch her face, but she turned away. "You didn't trust me."

He moved his hand away from her face and he looked at her. "Hard to trust in this world…"

"Stop it!" She argued, wiping at her eyes. "I wish you never came into my life!"

Rorschach felt the sting of her words hit his hard heart. He hadn't realized he had hurt her so badly. Not only physically, but emotionally as well. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked around her.

Alice leaned against the kitchen table, sobbing loudly and shaking her head. She wiped at her runny nose and turned to the front door, which was pulled shut, but it creaked open again.

Inky began weaving around her legs, trying to calm down his mistress' tears and heartache.

Alice slowly bent down and scooped the kitten into her arms and cradled him, sobbing into the kittens fur and cuddling him like he was a security blanket.

Rorschach wandered for a long while through winding alleyways and streets, his mind a flurry of thoughts and jumbled emotions. He finally stopped at the Brooklyn Bridge and looked over the waters, watching the patches of ice break and move along the icy East river. He pulled out the journal that Alice had given him at Christmas and he held it up to the dim city lights. A few moments past and he was about to toss it into the water when he heard something flutter out from the book. Something he hadn't noticed before.

He knelt down slowly and picked up the paper and unfolded it, reading the scribble of foreign words. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, but he read the bottom portion, which read: "Yours truly, Alice".

He growled in anger and tossed the journal onto the pavement and he knelt down, curling up and growling in frustration. Little did the city know, that the most feared vigilante in all of New York shed several tears.