First meeting

About two years later, Seto Kaiba was on a brief business trip to New York.

Late at night, Seto Kaiba was on his way home to the hotel after a long meeting. It was already autumn and pretty cold outside, so he quickened his pace. Suddenly he saw a convoluted shape in a dark and dirty side street.

'Probably just a dosser. I should get back to my hotel, quickly.', he thought bored. But then there was something which attracted his interest. If somebody would ask him later he couldn't say why he turned back and went to this narrow street, but there was something weird about it. With slow, cautious steps he went towards the person who was laying bent on the wet, cold floor.

After a while, he noticed a whimper from the other person, which he identified as a woman. What was that? "Hey!" Kaiba hunkered down and touched the foreign woman softly. "What's going on?" But he didn't get an answer. Just another snobbing. He shook the girl cautiously. She winced and lifted her head hesitatingly.

By now he recognized her. "Tea? Is that you? What are you doing here in New York?" "Kk…kaiba? Is that you?"

"Who else should I be? Don't say that you can't remember me?", the CEO answered. Tea shook her head and fumbled with her hands through the empty air to locate Kaiba. When she felt a resistance, she swiped her fingers in his coat.

"Everything okay? You're totally peaked.", established Kaiba amazed.

"I… I… I am… I… I have…", Tea stuttered trembling.

"Probably it's better if you attend me to my hotel room to tell me the whole story in privacy." Kaiba suggested.

"You're looking like somebody who's starving." Steady he felt charity for her.

At the hotel, Kaiba firstly forced Tea to shower, because she was hypothermic. In the meantime, he ordered dinner for both of them at the reception. When Tea went out of the bathroom, the food was being served. They both ate a certain time without saying a word, 'till Kaiba broke the silence.

"Okay, now tell me: What happened to you during the last two years?"

"Well, it's a long story…", Tea said stagnantly.

"I have enough time.", Kaiba answered promptly.

"Looks like I have no other choice.", she sighed.

"Well, how should I start…? After the whole pharaoh thing was set and done… I went to New York to visit a dance school. Dancing was my dream since I was a child… Do you have a dream?", she asked Kaiba inquisitively.

"To be the best.", it occurred almost immediately on the part of the elder.

"Of course." Tea breathes in loudly.

"Continue.", the millionaire invited her.

"Ok, so I went to New York to be a professional dancer. I think, every little girl has that dream: Dancing someday on the Broadway. And I tried to make this dream come true. Believe me; I had no illusions, that it would be easy. I knew, that I have to work hard to accomplish it and to be one of the best. But I was actually pretty confident to reach my goal…", said Tea meditatively.

"And what happened then?", pressed Kaiba, because Tea didn't continue.

"They didn't wanted me. They said, I'm not good enough and I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure. I told them when they would give me a second chance I would do better. But they still said 'no'. Do you know how it feels like when your dream bursts like a soap bubble?", Tea asked with tears in her eyes.

"Probably not because you get everything you want.", she answered her own question. "You're wrong.", Kaiba disagreed. "I also had to work hard, to be where and what I am today. I had to go through hell to be achieved. I was thinking it was my duty to be strong in order to protect my little brother.", he said thoughtfully.

"Anyhow, now I was standing on one of the streets in New York with nothing else than what I had in my pockets", Tea grabbing the tread, "and I had no idea what I should do now.

I couldn't go back to Domino because I was so embarrassed and afraid to be marked as a loser by my friends. Eventually I was always the one to encourage them if things didn't go the way we planned. I fell into a dark hole and got depressions and bulimia. But since I was running out of money I took a job as a dancer in a night club. However, I didn't earn enough to pay my rent. Even though my flat wasn't that big the lease was hilarious. Little by little I went deeper into the red-light district." Tea stumbled.

"In other words you made your living as a whore." Kaiba butted in.

"Yes, though I'm not proud of it. But I had no other choice". Teas voice was only a whisper. "And what happened then?" asked the CEO.

"It was going quite smoothly for a while. Then I got pregnant from one of my suitors. Of course I didn't know his name or anything else. In our business sector the clients prefer to stay anonymous. Well, now I was pregnant and poor. Not a good combination, huh?"

"What happened to your baby then? You didn't had one with you when I found you earlier. Did you gave it away?"

"Easy, I was just about to tell you. So I didn't had much opportunities but this problem was literally solved by itself. Eight months later I got into a car accident. The unborn child died and …"

"I am sorry". Said Kaiba honestly. "Excuse me I didn't meant to interrupt you again. What happened afterwards?"

"Well, I was having a still birth and in addition I lost my eye light due to the accident." Tea told depressed.

"I was actually assuming that when I saw you walking to the bathroom and back." Said Kaiba. "But apart from that it is hard to recognize. Especially in the dark street I didn't noticed it. Respect."

"Oh, as time goes your getting better by hiding your weaknesses!" Tea laughed wintry.

"Sorry, that was indelicate of me." The company boss replied.

"That's fine. I'm used to this response. But that's not the end of the story. After I got blind I was of course not able to carry on with my job as a dancer, that's why I started to take drugs."

"Where did you get the money from if you didn't had a job anymore?" Kaiba interjected.

"Hah, I still got a few regular clients left who weren't paying that bad…"

"Have you been on a trip when I found you earlier?"

"Yeah, I was knocked down I just couldn't stand it anymore. Besides it was just one injection." Tea replied.

"It seems like you're getting sober now, aren't you?" the CEO detected dryly.

"You're right. The heroin is starting to lose its effect."

Suddenly an idea crossed Kaibas mind. This way he could help Tea get out of this vicious circle and at the same time he could benefit from her situation by enhancing his own image.