Title: Heart of the Card

Author: littleshinobifox

Rating: PG

Series: Yu-Gi-Oh!

Charaters: Tea, Yami, and the two Dark Magician's

Summary: Tea has started to learn about the heart of the card's when after a battloe she is tending to Yami a cold dieing heart calls out to her, the result? Rebirth!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my name.

It had been a hard duel, even from the sidelines so it didn't surprise Tea that Yugi Motou had fell unconsciousness where he stood. Smiling as she watched Joey and Tristan carefully gather up their sleeping friend and had their way back to her. Nodding she turned back to the hotel where they been assigned rooms. Reaching in to Yugi's pocket she found his key card and let the other two slip their friend onto the bed.

"I will stay, you two go grab some rest and food," she whispered, she barely noticed Joey's nod and Tristan's shrug. True it had been almost twenty four hours since she last slept but this was her place in their group. The caring and fretting was her part of the deal, its what she did best. Sighing she set out to unlace her childhood friend's battered shoe's and softly lift his head and shoulder's so she could remove his jacket. Before she laid his head back down she gently slipped off the chained puzzle that graced his neck.

Smiling she sat the puzzle next to him on the bed, and laughed softly when he immediately reached for it. Watching as he warped his hand around the chain and brought his up against his chest she briefly wondered if Yami felt the slight moment of separation? Did it bother him and it did her counterpart? She believed it did, because to her they were one and the same.

Setting herself back to her task at hand she unbuckled his belt, careful to remove his deck before pulling the belt itself free from under his sleeping form. Sitting it aside to rest on top of his jacket she silently moved to the other edge of the bed and sat down. Watching him inhale and exhale for a few minutes she found herself looking at his deck. It had been a year since Yugi and Yami had started to really teach her how to construct a semi workable deck for herself. She had voiced her displeasure about always being on the sidelines. When Yami, not Yugi, had asked if she had meant her question, she had truly became a student of the "King of Game's."

It was his deck that pushed her forward, the power she had felt from it had made her grasp in delight. She had tried to pinpoint the source of the power she felt but never had any luck. She now, for now she was a duelist, she felt the great and sometimes horrible power of the three Egyptian God cards. Though Yami had never used them against her she found herself trying to think of different ways to beat them and yet as far as she had came she admitted she still had trouble with his Dark Magician. The purple cad monster haunted her during their duels.

It had only been a mere month ago that Yami had voiced that her deck had recently became a spell caster's deck like his, she remembered the surprised she had felt and later without Yami over looking her ever move she had inspected every card in her deck. It was as he stated, and at the same time she knew there was a difference. She, Tea Gardner had no Dark Magician in her fold nor did she have a true deck master for herself.

Sighing she pushed away the many flaws of her own deck and shifted through Yami's deck. Only three or four cards from the top laid the deck master of his deck, on the image was the purple dressed Dark Magician. Smiling she softly ran a finger over his image, shriving slight when she thought the card glossed alittle at her touch. It was important though, she controlled herself and slowly brought the card up to her lips. Gently she pressed her lips to the image of the deck master and whispered a heart felt thank you for protecting her friend one more time. Feeling gooseflesh over her arms she hurried and put the card back into the deck, scanning to mine the one card that simply followed the Magician everywhere. Smiling at the Dark Magician Girl Tea repeated the same gesture and found that it caused on react to herself this time.

She sat there, and rummage through his deck knowing instantly when seeing a card how it would serve Yami in a duel. That was until she came to the second to the last card, there in her hand her breath hitched and her heart faster. "You look so lonely, so cold and unused that it makes you look horrible," Yami had and she suspected always would use each and every card in his deck but this card looked so foreign…..so….

You have no idea… I am in hell … favor me and destroy me. If your heart is strong enough?

Shaking she blinked at the cold some what evil image on the card and she did the only thing that came to mind, she cried. Softly the sob's rack her body and she found herself bring the card to her chest, placing it against the beat of her heart. Letting her heart answer the strange question.

My heart is strong, that's why I cry for you.

There was a moment of nothing more than the sound of her sob's before a soft whispered ask,

He once asked me to believe in the heart of the cards, can you see where that got me? I am no longer in play, no longer useful to anyone or anything. Now destroy me…

She didn't meant to do it but it was instant, the scream resounded in the quiet room brought awake the only other human. She was breathing hard and staring at the face of Yami, she knew, all of this was his fault. His eyes swept the room in one quick glance then settled back onto her, and then flinched. She found herself demanding,

"Your killing him, his heart is dieing. So if you are just going to watch him die than I will take him," she was panting as she finished.

His eyes dropped down to the cards she held and she heard him ask," Is that my deck?", than as he finished he felt for his belt then dropped his gaze back to her. She swallowed and nodded and with great courage she flipped the card she had placed against her heart over so she could show him. She watched as his eyes when wide and he licked his lips as he reached out for the card she held.

"No, you can't have him back. He wont serve you, his heart aint your's to command," She was standing now, reaching out to lay the other card's on the bed and watch her friend's reaction. She knew instantly that he was displeased.

It matter's not, I will not obey anyone.

She smiled as she watched Yami's eyes narrow and then whisper, "Don't you see Tea that's why he has stay hidden, he has no trust or loyalty." She spoke, staring Yami in the eyes and petting the card at the same time. "I don't want his trust or loyalty yet, all I want his is friendship. Then the rest will come.

Think it will be that easy girl?

Smiling Tea Gardner nodded to her opponent and found that in the last four year's Yami hadn't forgave her for taking that card in the hotel room on that cold night.

"I will not hold back Tea," it was his most serious voice.

She laughed in response, she had grew in the last couple of year's and so had her deck. It was late into the duel she knew but she smiled when she drew her deck master and called out.

"Yami perhaps now you will see the power of my deck, behold my deck master…" and so she placed her master in attack mode and cried out,

"Dark Magic Attack!"

Laughing as the crimson cad Magician raised his staf and fired her attack..

"We may not win Mistress but it will be a great battle, a great battle indeed!"