CRUEL INTENTIONS:
In the game of seduction, there is only one rule. Never fall in love.

Chapter Four

As Seto drove over to Alistair's house that night, he couldn't help but reflect that maybe Tea really didn't like him. Since the pool incident an hour and a half before, she had not talked to him, refusing him entrance to her room where he had planned to apologize.

Seto shrugged and parked his car, turning off the engine. Oh well, why should he care about whether Tea really liked him or not? She was just his toy in the game of seduction – a game he intended to win, no matter what the cost.

The tall brunette climbed out of his car and walked to the door of Alistair's two story townhouse. He smirked. This was going to be a lot of fun.

Opening the door, Seto quietly slipped in, careful not to close the door on his navy blue trench coat he had decided to wear along with a pair of navy blue pants and a black t-long sleeved shirt. Climbing the stairs, he walked quietly around the hallway and stopped at a room where he could hear quite interesting things.

Through the door, he could hear a male with an Australian accent moan loudly, "Oh baby…oh baby…"

Seto quirked a brow. "Baby?"

He lifted his watch to his face and checked the time with a smirk. "Right on time."

oOoOoOo

Inside of Alistair's bedroom, Valon, an Australian football player who had been living in the States and just recently moved down to Japan, was laying on the bed moaning lightly. Alistair was hiding underneath the covers.

Valon moaned aloud. "Oh God…Oh God…I'm gonna cum. I'm gonna cum…I'm gonna…"

At that moment, the door swung open and in sauntered Seto.

"Hey Alistair, did I leave my…" Seto turned his glance to the bed. "Holy shit!" Quickly he spun around to face the wall.

"Jesus!" Valon yelled, pulling the blankets over his face.

Seto smirked before turning back to the bed and leaned against the desk. There was no movement from under the covers. He could wait. He had time.

"Valon? Is that you under the covers?"

From under the covers, Valon's Australian accent could be heard. "Get out of here."

Seto walked over to the bed and grabbed the blankets, yanking them off the bed, revealing Valon and Alistair.

Seto's eyes widened. "Whoa!" A look of genuine surprise seemed to cross his face.

Valon turned to Alistair. "I told you to lock the door."

Alistair shrugged and in an innocent tone of voice, he replied. "I thought I did."

Valon turned to Seto and a look of nervousness crossed his face. "Look Kaiba. This is the first time I've ever done something like this. I was –"

"— really drunk and blah blah blah blah blah." Seto finished in an apathetic tone of voice.

Valon sighed and looked up pleadingly at Seto. "Please don't tell anyone. This could ruin my career."

Seto took a double-take. "Your career? What about your family? Can you imagine the humiliation your father's going to feel when he finds out his pride and joy is a fudge-packer?"

Alistair frowned. "Hey, hey, hey. Careful Kaiba. He's not a fudge packer. Cum chugger, yes,

but not a fudge packer."

To Seto, Valon pleaded once again. "Please! I'm begging you! I'll do anything! Let's just forget the whole thing."

"Hmmmmm…" Seto hummed, rubbing his chin for a moment. He shook his head. "Nah."

He smirked at Valon's sadness and continued. "I can't help you there. It's too good to pass up."

Valon lowered his gaze to the bed and gripped the sheets tightly.

"After all," Seto continued, beginning to pace around the bedroom. "It's you who's bad-mouthing me to Tea Gardner."

Valon raised his head and blinked in confusion. "Tea Gardner? I don't know what you're talking about."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Come on Valon. You're the only one who knows her."

He smirked, his blue eyes gleaming. "The truth will save you."

Valon shook his head. "I swear on my life, I never said a word to her about you."

Alistair watched the conversation for a moment with a twisted smile. "I think he's telling the truth Kaiba. Valon couldn't write a grocery list, let alone a letter."

Seto sighed, rolling his eyes. "Alright, I believe you. Your secret's safe with me."

Valon smiled slightly, but Seto wasn't done.

"However, this whole incident's kind of turned me on." Seto reached down and unzipped the fly on his pants. "You get my point?"

Completely defeated, Valon sighed and crawled off the bed and over to Seto. Alistair shook his head, exchanging a smirk with Seto. Valon sighed and placed a hand on Seto's thigh when Seto pulled away laughing.

"Jesus Christ, I was only kidding!" Seto laughed harder. "What do you think? I'm gay? My God, haven't you had enough for tonight?"

"Our boy," Alistair piped up. "just can't get enough dick."

Valon growled and stood up, curling his hand into a fist. "You sick son of a bitch."

Seto and Alistair both laughed hard for a moment before Seto stopped.

"I'll leave you guys alone." Seto waved before adding, in a macho voice, "Score one for the team Valon."

Seto turned and left the room, only to re-enter it a moment later. "Come to think of it, there is something you can do for me."

oOoOoOo

The next morning, as Tea jogged along a dirt road on her morning run, a golf cart drove up to her, Seto Kaiba at the wheel. Tea looked to the cart, which was closing in on her, and scowled.

Sneering, Seto turned his glance to Tea and asked, "Need a lift?"

"No, thank you." Tea replied in an irritated voice.

Seto chuckled lightly. "How are you today?"

"Give it up." Tea answered, rolling her eyes.

Seto blinked, feigning confusion before speaking. "Oh! Oh right, last night."

He lifted a hand to his head, and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I guess I owe you an apology."

Tea growled and panted lightly, stopping her running. She turned to Seto as he stopped the golf cart.

Seto smiled at Tea, watching the young girl. Her hair had been pulled into a ponytail and her bangs were sticking to her sweaty face. Seto studied Tea, who was only dressed in a pair of tight black track pants and a dark green sleeveless shirt.

Tea frowned at Seto. "I'm not going to speak to you till you realize that you can't intimidate me."

"I said I was sorry." Seto snapped back. He sighed and tried to make civil conversation with the teenage girl. "Have a nice sleep last night?"

Tea rolled her eyes and walked off. Seto climbed out of the golf cart and hurried to catch up with Tea.

Noticing he wasn't going to leave her alone, Tea frowned and replied in a hard voice, "It was fine."

"I wish I could say the same for myself." Seto turned to Tea and watched her as they walked along the path together. "I was up thinking about you all night."

Tea blinked in confusion, quirking a brow before turning to face him, wiping her sweaty face with her shirt. "I thought we agreed that we were going to be friends."

"Yes," Seto started. "Well, unfortunately I can't just switch the "on" button to "off." The sad fact of the matter is that you've unintentionally rubbed off on me."

"And that's a bad thing?"

Seto closed his eyes, his hands curling into fists. "I'm trying to better myself…"

He opened his eyes, and Tea could see a bit of pain evident in them. She watched him for a moment. Seto brushed off the glance and continued. "…but the one person who can help me…is the same one pushing me away."

Tea frowned. She knew he was trying to get her to pity him. Well, Seto Kaiba had another thing coming.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not here to be your savior."

Seto frowned in reply and extended a hand to her, the other in his pocket. He pointed at Tea with his extended hand. "Well, try this on for size."

Tea blinked and felt her whole world stop at what Seto said next.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

Tea watched him for a moment, and panted. She couldn't move, she couldn't run. Her whole world had stopped. After a few moments of silence, Tea shook her head.

"You don't even know me." Her reply came as a whisper.

"Don't you believe in love at first sight?" Seto questioned.

"Yes!" Tea snapped out angrily. She didn't even know why she was angry at him. How dare he tell her he loved her when he knew nothing about her! Tea shook her head once more and continued. "But only when it's mutual. And this is far from mutual!"

"Ouch." Seto winced. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Do you think…we could spend some time…together, this morning?"

Tea shook her head. "I can't. I'm meeting a friend."

"Who?" Seto questioned, a disbelieving look crossing his face.

Tea's eyes flashed with anger. Why was she getting so mad at him all of a sudden?

"That's none of your business." She replied in a cold tone.

Seto rubbed his chin in thought. "How about tonight?"

"I'm busy."

"Doing what?"

"That's also none of your business." Tea grumbled back.

Seto growled, grabbing Tea by her arms and pulling her into him. "Tell me what to do Tea!"

Tea studied the angry facial expression of Seto. His blue eyes were cold and hard, a look of frustration evident in them Her bottom lip trembled as she continued to study him. She could practically feel how angry and frustrated he was with her. She was scared of him, and yet, Seto seemed to ignore the fear he was causing.

"How can I win your heart? I'll do anything! I can't get you out of my mind!"

Tea closed her eyes, her hands curled into fists. After a moment, in a whisper, she asked, "You truly want to do something to make me happy?"

"Yes." Came the short reply.

"And you promise to abide by it?" Tea asked, opening her eyes.

"Without question."

"Alright." Tea raised her eyes and locked her blue orbs with Seto's. "I want you to leave and go back to Domino City."

Seto couldn't believe his ears. What had she just asked of him? He allowed his arms to drop to his side, and they hung there lifelessly. "What?"

"If that's a problem," Tea crossed her arms over her chest. "Then I'll make arrangements to stay with some friends."

Seto quieted down for a moment, angry at what Tea had asked him. He couldn't very well leave or else he would never seduce her and he'd lose the bet. But, deep down inside of him, he wanted her to be happy. Shaking his head to get rid of the foreign thoughts, he nodded slowly.

"I'll leave this afternoon. Happy?"

Seto backed up and Tea felt a pang strike her heart, but she replied anyways. "It's not about being happy. You and I can't—"

Seto turned back to Tea, his glare telling her to save whatever she was going to say. Tea closed her eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek. She hadn't meant to be mean and hurt him, but she opened her eyes and watched the tall brunette walk off.

oOoOoOo

That afternoon, Tea and Valon walked along the beach. Tea, dressed in nothing but a pink sundress, wrapped her arms around her body. The heavy wind was making her cold.

Valon watched his friend, he himself feeling cold even though he was dressed in a light sweatshirt and jeans.

Valon turned to the water, his brown bangs flipping wildly due to the wind. "He told you he's falling in love with you?"

Tea nodded. Valon rubbed his chin and added, "I've never known him to say those words before."

Tea looked over to her old friend and blinked. "Really? I thought he said it all the time."

Valon shook his head. "That's not his style. One thing I can say about Kaiba is he always speaks the truth."

Tea tossed the Australian a lost look. Valon turned to Tea and blinked.

"What's wrong?"

Tea shook her head for the umpteenth time that day. "Nothing."

Valon quirked a brow. "Is there a mutual feeling between you two?"

"No!" Tea replied a little too quickly before sighing. "I mean, I don't know."

There was a beat of silence while Tea played with her pink bracelet. "What else do you know about him?"

"Not a whole lot." Valon admitted. "We take some classes together. He's got a bad rep, but it's mostly bullshit."

"What do you mean?" Tea inquired, confused.

"Well," Valon started, stopping at the dock where a row of shops and whatnot were. He walked over to the snack bar and ordered himself a coffee. He turned back to Tea as he waited for his drink. "A lot of people are jealous 'cause he's loaded."

Tea sighed. "I don't know. I've been hearing some awful things about him."

Valon thanked the cashier as she returned with his drink and paid her. "From who?"

"I can't tell you," Tea muttered, wringing her hands. "I'm sworn to secrecy."

Valon rested his coffee on the counter of the snack bar and reached over, taking Tea's hand. "Tea, how long have we known each other?"

"Forever."

Valon smiled at the brunette. "Now, it's my job to look out for you. You're like a kid sister to me. Do I look like some kind of gossip queen?"

Tea giggled for a moment, reaching over and taking a sip of Valon's coffee. She swallowed the hot liquid. "You promise not to say anything?"

"On my duel disk." Valon promised, holding up a hand in honor.

There was a moment of silence while Tea considered the offer.

"Okay…"

oOoOoOo

Later that afternoon, as Seto drove down the highway to Domino City, he laughed into his cell phone.

"That nosey bitch. Are you sure?"

Valon sighed into the pay phone he was using on the boardwalk. Tea had slipped off to use the washroom so it was safe for Valon to make the call to Seto. "Positive."

"Did you do everything I asked you to?" Seto asked, speeding up to pass another car.

He smirked lightly as Valon responded with "Yes."

"You told her I never said I love you before?" Seto questioned. He heard a loud smack in the background on Valon's end and assumed Valon had smacked something in frustration. He grinned, loving the feeling of getting to him like this.

"Yes!"

"You told her that people are jealous 'cause I'm loaded?"

"Yes!" came Valon's frustrated reply.

"And you think she bought it?"

"I'm pretty sure she did."

Seto blinked. "Pretty sure or sure sure?"

He could tell the Australian was rolling his eyes on the other end by the slight pause.

"She bought it."

Seto smirked. Perfect. "I'll be in touch."

Seto flipped his phone closed and tossed it onto the seat beside him as he entered Domino City.

oOoOoOo

At the Kaiba mansion, Mai sat in front of a television, scowling. On the TV, Mai watched Joey and Ishizu by means of a hidden video camera she had put there earlier.

In the living room, Joey was playing some song or other for Ishizu, who listened and swayed to the music slightly.

Mai growled in frustration.

"Enough with the music!" Mai screamed at the TV. "Fuck her already!"

Turning to the table beside her, Mai picked up a magazine and hurled it at the television.

At that moment, Seto burst into the drawing room, talking at once. "You would not believe what –"

Mai turned to her step-brother and put a finger to her lips. "Shhh!"

Seto blinked and turned to the television. On the TV, Joey had just finished the song and Ishizu applauded. Joey grinned and mocked a bow.

"That was beautiful." Ishizu commented. Joey smirked and took her hand in his.

"Almost as beautiful as you."

Ishizu blushed and Joey lifted his wrist to see the time.

"Well, I guess it's getting late." Joey replied. "Please thank Mai for the use of her room."

Ishizu nodded with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Joey's brown eyes gleamed. "Absolutely."

He awkwardly approached her and shook her hand.

"Idiot!" Mai screamed at the TV again, throwing a book this time at the TV. Growling, she freeze framed the image and turned to Seto, a frustrated look crossing her face. Hearing what her step-brother had to say was the last she wanted.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You ready for this?" Seto's blue eyes danced and resembled what looked like a little boy at Christmas, ready to tear into their presents. "I've recently discovered that our good friend Mrs. Ishtar is the one who sent the letter to Tea, urging her to stay away from me."

Mai yawned boredly. "Interesting."

Seto posed for a brief moment. "I now plan to devote all my energies to destroying the douche bag. Any luck corrupting her daughter?"

Mai's eye twitched in irritation. "No!"

Seto smirked. "Call Ishizu up and get her to come here. I'll bust that cherry in a heartbeat."

Mai stood up and walked over to the TV, switching it off angrily. "The plot thickens. It appears that Ishizu has fallen for her music teacher."

"Ooo!" Seto grinned, his eyes dancing. Mai looked to her step-brother, just a little freaked out at how happy he was. "I'm sure Mrs. Ishtar will love that!"

Mai smirked. "Not to mention Yugi Motou. Unfortunately, Joey's moving with the speed of a Special Olympic Bobsledder."

Seto quirked a brow. "What's your plan of attack?"

Mai's smirk grew colder, her violet orbs dancing with excitement. "I rat Ishizu out to Mommy. Mommy goes ballistic and ends their relationship."

She pouted. "…Boo hoo."

Seto plopped down on the couch. "But, who will they turn to for help?"

Mai smiled and plopped down on Seto's lap. "Ishizu is planning to go away with Yugi next week. I'll need you to speed up her sexual awakenings."

Seto rubbed Mai's shoulders, licking the back of her neck. He paused in his licking to whisper, "I'm at your service."

"Thank you." Mai closed her eyes slowly. "Mmmm, that feels good."

Seto smirked. "Oh sis. You're so tense."

Seto moved his hand down her shirt and rested his hands on her breast, meeting no resistance.

Mai pouted. "I hate when things don't go my way. It makes me so horny."

Seto nodded as he moved his hand from her breast to her skirt, rubbing his hand up her thigh. "I hate it too."

"Oh baby, you're soaking." Seto muttered. Mai nodded and added, "I know."

Mai let her hand slide up Seto's leg, stopping at his crotch. She unzipped the fly on his jeans as she talked to him in a seductive voice. "Any luck with your girl?"

Seto raised his eyebrows, grinning. "Moving along quite well."

Mai opened her eyes, turning her head to the side slightly. "Have you succeeded in your task?"

"Any day now."

Mai hummed, rubbing Seto's manhood lightly, noting of the fact that it was stiffening. "Well, let me know when you do. Until then –"

Mai removed her hand and stood up, fixing her skirt lightly. "No pootie."

Mai smiled and walked off, leaving Seto blinking.

"Oh come on!

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