Authors notes:
Hello, readers!
This is my first fanfiction. I absolutely adore Azureshipping and while watching a scene of the anime, thought it could use a lot more Kaiba and Téa interaction. So this is basically a rewrite of the scene during Joey and Yugi's duel while Joey is under Marik's mind control and Téa is locked up to make sure Yugi duels. Kaiba saves her, of course, and yet, in the anime, she never even said thank you? That just had to change!
Please review if you like, but please be nice. This is my first time attempting to write fanfiction! Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh definitely doesn't belong to me, and thank you, Kazuki Takahashi, for making it so good!
Téa. Kaiba couldn't take his eyes off her.
So what if Yugi was duelling the mutt. She's in danger.
Kaiba cursed himself for allowing such a situation to occur in the first place. If only he were a better brother. Then Mokuba would never have gotten kidnapped and Téa wouldn't have tried to protect him.
But why was he thinking about Téa this way? She was a part of the dweeb squad; Yugi's cheerleader. He only wanted to pay back the favour of saving Mokuba. That was it.
But there was something about the way she would always stand up to him for her friends that stood out to him. And the way her chestnut hair blew softly in the wind, highlighting her sparkling azure eyes.
Téa Gardner was somehow very appealing to Seto Kaiba.
What the hell do I do?
Kaiba glanced at the timer on the bomb. Thirty seconds remained. He could feel her terror as he looked back to her face. Twenty-nine seconds.
WHIIRRRRR.
"It's one of Kaiba's choppers!" exclaimed Tristan as everyone turned from the duel to look to the warehouses behind them. A Kaiba Corp helicopter rose from behind them and flew towards the crane that was holding the crate and bomb above Téa's head. Twenty-six seconds. This was his chance.
It was now or never.
Goddess of Dueling, please let this be a common card.
Kaiba was never the spiritual type, but he did not want to ruin a rare card in this way. He drew a card from his deck and whipped it towards the rare hunter holding the detonation switch. It was a perfect shot, stabbing into the hand that held the switch. The rare hunter grasped his hand in pain as Kaiba ran towards Téa. Kaiba kneed the man in the chest as he reached once more for the switch.
"I won't let you!" yelled Kaiba, with determination in his eyes. He would protect Téa, no matter what. Screw the card.
The chopper drew closer, its landing skid hooking onto the whip line holding the bomb, sending the helicopter and crane both crashing into the ocean. Kaiba stepped closer to Téa, stopping a metre away as her friends ran up to her. Mokuba released her bonds.
"Thank you, Mokuba," she smiled, "now let's go help Yugi and Joey!"
They ran off, leaving Kaiba to stare longingly at her back.
Not even a thank you. Not that I've done much in the past to deserve it.
Kaiba shook his head, clearing such thoughts from his mind.
He bent down to pick up his card, still stuck in the rare hunter's hand. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon stared at him. Unfortunately, I'm too good a drawer. He was not pleased about his favourite card getting bloodied over an ungrateful girl.
And yet, he wasn't angry.
He turned to walk back to the others when he froze.
Téa.
She stood directly in front of him. Their eyes met, blue on blue. Her unshed tears glistened.
"Thank you, Kaiba. You saved my life," she whispered, "I never thought you'd be the one to rescue me. But you did, and I can never thank you enough."
She looked down, and Kaiba reached out, thinking she was going to cry. Instead, when she looked back up, her smile broke through, vibrant and full of life.
"Plus, you sure know how to do things in style."
She turned back to her friends with a soft laugh. A smile and a laugh for him. Kaiba's chest swelled with pride, with something else underneath. These were all unfamiliar feelings; he wasn't sure what to make of them. He was almost, dare he think it, happy.