* * *
Tea felt a shiver running down her spine. Disturbed dead leaves cackled behind her. She sharply turned her head. No one. Pulling up the furred collar her winter coat, she hurried down the soggy sidewalk, pausing momentarily every few blocks to stare at the empty darkness behind her.
A cold gusty wind caressed her cherry colored strands across her cool, pale face. She ran her tongue across her dry lips as her pace began to rapidly increase. Her dangly earrings bounced with each stride as her legs pumped up and down continuously.
She stopped at the curb, breathing heavily and instinctively rubbed her sore legs with her shaking hands, wet with cold perspiration.
Tea produced small spouts of wispy clouds with each breath. Her chest rose up and down slightly under her thick padded coat. She tightened her draping scarf until her throat disappeared under the lengthy woolen sash; the ends falling down her back.
Someone suddenly yanked the tips of her scarf hard, binding her. Tea gave a strangled cry, struggling against her captor. The iron grip loosened and Tea spun around.
Duke grinned. He pulled back a strand of hair from his sweating face. "Gotcha!" he whispered.
Tea uttered an exasperated moan. "That wasn't funny," she growled turning.
He laughed. "You should've seen the look on your face when I pulled on your shawl! What are you doing here anyway?"
"I-I was just leaving Kaiba's house," she muttered.
"I thought you hated that guy," Duke said.
"I don't hate anyone," Tea answered abruptly. "Mokuba invited everyone over. Kaiba left for a business meeting and he got lonely." She looked at her digital watch. "I better leave before I'm later for dinner. Bye."
"Til' next time!" joked Duke, followed by sarcastic spooky laughter.
* * *
'Almost there . . ." she thought, jogging faster. Her quaint little house was brightly lit; and she felt enormously relieved just seeing it. Her mother was probably taking the finished chicken into the dining room that moment and her father was probably taking out the silverware.
A dry, dead wind rustled the groping branches, waving merrily at her. Their curled fingers scratched the windows of nearby windows.
Her heart thumped loudly, nearly jumping out of her chest. She tried desperately to forget what she saw in the Kaiba manor.
Mokuba had called Yugi earlier, while herself, Joey, and Tristan were hanging around at his grandfather's game shop. He had begged for them to come over to play and without the heart to refuse, Yugi had agreed and they set off for his home.
The afternoon was just as dark and dreary as the night with blustery winds and shadowy figures. She felt safe then because she was surround b her friends and knew that if any harm would come to her, they would gladly save her.
The mansion was just as creepy and solemn in the night as to the day. Tea knew how Mokuba felt then. They settled in the living quarters and amused themselves with board games, videos, and video games. That was when the lights were cut off. They were left in complete darkness.
Tea would not have been in her situation if Joey hadn't proposed a game of hide-and-go-seek with a flashlight for the seeker. Everyone thought that it was an awesome idea except for her. She hated that silly game terribly. The thoughts of wandering down endless, unrecognizable corridors with only a small flashlight for a guide sent gooseflesh crawling over her skin.
The worst thing the seeker had to do, though, was peeking through strange nooks and crannies, anywhere someone could hide. The fear of an unexpected person popping out sent ice water down her veins. Through a game of rock- paper-scissors, Tea was chosen to be the seek-ess.
She had tried to make them reconsider her fate, but they boldly stood firm. While she counted to one hundred, she felt bitter towards paper.
Tea gritted her teeth as she walked down the hallways, her footsteps' thuds echoing in the silent house. The flashlight was dim. Joey probably put dying ones in to give her a scare.
She stopped at the library. A perfect place to sneak about. She opened the heavy oak door and shone in the flahslight's weak beam to investigate. She was amazed. Kaiba's library was bigger than the community Domino one.
She saw a cart up to the brim with books. A tricky, yet obvious hiding place. Slowly, she began to sift through the book one by one, glancing at their titles. Nothing interesting enough. She pulled out another book, a thinner and older one.
It's pages were yellowed with age and it showed in the worn, poor cover. It was plain blue, nothing special about it. A black leather strap hung on it's hinge, swinging as Tea opened the book. In bold, black print with a few squiggles, was the name Seto Kaiba. It was written in the top right hand corner. Underneath, written as neat as possible for someone who was as young, he wrote his age (six) where he lived. It was boxed in, the sides dropping a bit, but nevertheless impressive for a child of six. Centered was 'My Journal'. It was Kaiba's journal when he was young!
Curiosity got the better of her. She lifted the first, crumbly sheet of paper and gasped.
* * *
Tea felt a shiver running down her spine. Disturbed dead leaves cackled behind her. She sharply turned her head. No one. Pulling up the furred collar her winter coat, she hurried down the soggy sidewalk, pausing momentarily every few blocks to stare at the empty darkness behind her.
A cold gusty wind caressed her cherry colored strands across her cool, pale face. She ran her tongue across her dry lips as her pace began to rapidly increase. Her dangly earrings bounced with each stride as her legs pumped up and down continuously.
She stopped at the curb, breathing heavily and instinctively rubbed her sore legs with her shaking hands, wet with cold perspiration.
Tea produced small spouts of wispy clouds with each breath. Her chest rose up and down slightly under her thick padded coat. She tightened her draping scarf until her throat disappeared under the lengthy woolen sash; the ends falling down her back.
Someone suddenly yanked the tips of her scarf hard, binding her. Tea gave a strangled cry, struggling against her captor. The iron grip loosened and Tea spun around.
Duke grinned. He pulled back a strand of hair from his sweating face. "Gotcha!" he whispered.
Tea uttered an exasperated moan. "That wasn't funny," she growled turning.
He laughed. "You should've seen the look on your face when I pulled on your shawl! What are you doing here anyway?"
"I-I was just leaving Kaiba's house," she muttered.
"I thought you hated that guy," Duke said.
"I don't hate anyone," Tea answered abruptly. "Mokuba invited everyone over. Kaiba left for a business meeting and he got lonely." She looked at her digital watch. "I better leave before I'm later for dinner. Bye."
"Til' next time!" joked Duke, followed by sarcastic spooky laughter.
* * *
'Almost there . . ." she thought, jogging faster. Her quaint little house was brightly lit; and she felt enormously relieved just seeing it. Her mother was probably taking the finished chicken into the dining room that moment and her father was probably taking out the silverware.
A dry, dead wind rustled the groping branches, waving merrily at her. Their curled fingers scratched the windows of nearby windows.
Her heart thumped loudly, nearly jumping out of her chest. She tried desperately to forget what she saw in the Kaiba manor.
Mokuba had called Yugi earlier, while herself, Joey, and Tristan were hanging around at his grandfather's game shop. He had begged for them to come over to play and without the heart to refuse, Yugi had agreed and they set off for his home.
The afternoon was just as dark and dreary as the night with blustery winds and shadowy figures. She felt safe then because she was surround b her friends and knew that if any harm would come to her, they would gladly save her.
The mansion was just as creepy and solemn in the night as to the day. Tea knew how Mokuba felt then. They settled in the living quarters and amused themselves with board games, videos, and video games. That was when the lights were cut off. They were left in complete darkness.
Tea would not have been in her situation if Joey hadn't proposed a game of hide-and-go-seek with a flashlight for the seeker. Everyone thought that it was an awesome idea except for her. She hated that silly game terribly. The thoughts of wandering down endless, unrecognizable corridors with only a small flashlight for a guide sent gooseflesh crawling over her skin.
The worst thing the seeker had to do, though, was peeking through strange nooks and crannies, anywhere someone could hide. The fear of an unexpected person popping out sent ice water down her veins. Through a game of rock- paper-scissors, Tea was chosen to be the seek-ess.
She had tried to make them reconsider her fate, but they boldly stood firm. While she counted to one hundred, she felt bitter towards paper.
Tea gritted her teeth as she walked down the hallways, her footsteps' thuds echoing in the silent house. The flashlight was dim. Joey probably put dying ones in to give her a scare.
She stopped at the library. A perfect place to sneak about. She opened the heavy oak door and shone in the flahslight's weak beam to investigate. She was amazed. Kaiba's library was bigger than the community Domino one.
She saw a cart up to the brim with books. A tricky, yet obvious hiding place. Slowly, she began to sift through the book one by one, glancing at their titles. Nothing interesting enough. She pulled out another book, a thinner and older one.
It's pages were yellowed with age and it showed in the worn, poor cover. It was plain blue, nothing special about it. A black leather strap hung on it's hinge, swinging as Tea opened the book. In bold, black print with a few squiggles, was the name Seto Kaiba. It was written in the top right hand corner. Underneath, written as neat as possible for someone who was as young, he wrote his age (six) where he lived. It was boxed in, the sides dropping a bit, but nevertheless impressive for a child of six. Centered was 'My Journal'. It was Kaiba's journal when he was young!
Curiosity got the better of her. She lifted the first, crumbly sheet of paper and gasped.
* * *