Chapter Eight: Machiavellian Plotting and Intolerable Cruelty.



"It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both."
- Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), The Prince



Seto sat in his office, mind intent on the state of Kaiba Corp's profit margins. They were good, true, but fell short of his expectations. Something was needed to raise them before April's new financial year, and the next model of duel disks were nowhere near completion. Perhaps some sort of Publicity stunt? Expensive, but possible. A new competition? Not quite enough time to set up an International level tournament, but perhaps a new battle, aimed at the acquisition of a new title? 'Four-Star Card-Master' or something along those lines, challenging people to learn how to win using brains instead of force..?

He glanced at the clock, and, as always, before going to bed, checked his inbox for any urgent requests. There was nothing that couldn't be dealt with first thing tomorrow. Then, a small light-bulb clicked on in the darkness of Seto's subconscious, and he looked at the clock again. 1. 30 Am. Not the latest he had stayed up, but Mokuba usually came to say goodnight before he headed to bed, and he hardly ever stayed up past midnight. Why hadn't he come in tonight? Had the excitement of a guest (and a female one, at that) been so great that Mokuba had forgotten him? The thought hurt more than he'd like to acknowledge.

Sighing inwardly, and with a regretful look at the book he usually treated himself to a few pages of before sleep, he switched off the lamp, and set the computer to its 'safety' mode. The lights were dimmed around the mansion, but brightened as he walked, to allow him to watch his footing. There was noise coming from the small living room, and a lamp near the door gave off extra light. Seto pushed the door fully open, and looked in.

Tea Gardener was curled up in the armchair opposite the sofa, fast asleep, with a rather vacant smile teasing at the corner of her mouth. Mokuba was sprawled across the large leather sofa, covered by his jumper, which Tea had worn earlier, snoring slightly. The jumper had looked good on her, he had to admit, but then, cashmere looked good on most people, right? He wanted the jumper back. It was…a favourite. On the other hand, every time he wore it, he would be reminded of the looks on their faces. Huh. As if he never made jokes! He was always laughing at other people's expense…The other day; he had laughed his head off at the former Financial Officer for Egypt. He should have known better than to call, begging for his job back. Who cared if he had debts? It wasn't his problem. Fool.

But why was his sweater on Mokuba? Why had Gardener covered him up? Obviously, she didn't want him to be cold, but why? They weren't related, or anything. She had lots of friends; didn't need any more…He suppressed a shudder at the thought of his little brother being corrupted by Yugi and the Geek Squad, then tried not to smirk at the vindictiveness of the thought.

Did Gardener care for Mokuba? Obviously. More importantly, why did Mokuba seem to care for her? He had been noticeably perky during dinner, and the two had been watching… (He checked the DVD case by his brother's feet) 'The Italian Job' together. It didn't seem like a 'distant acquaintance' kind of film to pick. But hell, what did he know? Perhaps he should join in the brief 'friends' act, in case Mokuba got in too deep, and needed him? He definitely couldn't leave her here.

He crossed the room in two swift strides, noted Gardener was shivering, and removed his own sweater. That was two she owed him now, stupid girl. He threw it lightly over her, just to stop the annoying chatter of her teeth, and went to collect Mokuba. He carried the mostly asleep boy up to his room, moved his shoes, and tucked him in, placing a brotherly hand on his shoulder, and causing Mokuba to smile in his sleep. As he went back downstairs, he wondered if Gardeners stupidity would cause her to catch a cold. The window in that room had a slight draft, and the door had been ajar, allowing any heat to escape into the empty house. She hadn't known about the blankets folded up behind the DVD shelves. Idiot girl, to fall asleep with nothing to cover her- he was NOT going to be responsible for her health…Seto sighed. The Geek Squad would never leave him alone if he abandoned her when she was ill. On the other hand, he didn't want them to take any assistance on his part as some sort of peace offering.

He had known it was a bad idea to get involved with women. Devious, manipulative little creatures. They had men acting like robotic zombies with a crook of a finger; the slide sideways of a made-up eye, the baring of a little skin. He wasn't sure who deserved the more contempt; women for using such unsubtle lures, or men for falling for them! The day he fell for such a transparent power bid, was the day Kaiba Corp was doomed, and he would admit the possibility that his need to beat Motou was, in fact, bordering psychotic compulsion. (1)


In the kitchen, he gathered a few things, patted Ariadne on the head (who yawned, stretched, fell off her blanket, and mewed in protest as he caught her before she hit the hard tiled floor;- as if he hadn't been helping her!), and went to propel Gardener to her room. Not a chance he was carrying her. He stifled an amusing thought (vaguely involving Gardener waking up, discovering he was carrying her, shouting at him to put her down, effectively allowing him to drop her like a rock), put it aside, and poked her gently in the side.

"Gardener."

"Mmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnnooo…"

Seto suppressed a curse of annoyance. Did she think he had all night?

"Gardener. If you don't wake up right now, I'll kill the mutt."

"'kay…."

He raised an eyebrow. He wouldn't forget he had her permission for a little mutt-torture…

"Gardener!"

Poke. Poke. He thought for a moment.

"Tea!"

Nothing. No wonder she slept through the noise of the DVD. This called for a cunning plan…

He calmly walked around to the back of the chair, bent down, and picked up the back legs.

"Gardener. I'm warning you…Wake up! Now!"

Nada. Zilch.So he tipped.

Tea fell heavily onto the thick carpet with a surprised 'Oof!' Seto put the chair down quickly, and moved away, in case of wrath-evasion.

"Wha…? Oh, hey Kaiba. What's up?"

How the hell could she be so cheerful at this time of night, when he had awoken her in such a manner? He himself would have arranged for an 'acquaintance' to take anyone who dared wake him in such a manner, on a short detour down a nice, dark, quiet alley late at night. Hehheh...Well maybe not. But it would have been a first thought, followed by a particularly excellent death stare, and their speedy exit…

"You fell asleep downstairs. It is time for you to go to bed."

She yawned, and sleepily followed him upstairs. He walked her to her room, placed the objects on the table just within her door, pushed her inside, turned off the light, and shut the door.

A few seconds were all he needed.

"Hey! Kaiba….I can't see!"

He smirked, hearing a crash as she tripped over something,and cursed imaginatively,and walked away, the lights fading behind him along the corridor.


The next morning, Kaiba was first up. The snow was still high, and there were no signs of a thaw. Dressed all in black, with his warmest turtleneck on, he padded around the kitchen, reading a news report (which he had faxed to him every day at 5am), drinking coffee, and making a mess with the blender.

"Did Mokuba eat all the strawberries again? Hmm…Blueberries…" He murmured irritably under his breath, as Ariadne made a spirited attempt at killing the laces on his slippers. She seemed to have grown particularly attached to them; stalking and murdering them was way more fun than batting a ball around all by herself. He reached down patiently- for the fifth time- and disentangled her, walked to the other end of the kitchen, put her down, and went back to the fridge. Ten seconds later, he felt a weight on his foot.

He looked down. Yep, sure as buttered toast lands face down, the animal was eating his slippers again. Time to do what he did best.


Tea felt rotten, but was dying of thirst. She had dragged her sorry behind out of bed, found the aspirin, tissue,mintsand water Kaiba had left her last night (which hadn't been destroyed, luckily), showered and dressed, and applied all the make-up she could find to make herself look less dead. She definitely had a nasty cold.

Making her way down to the kitchen, she had to quash several waspish comments about needing instructions with this house, and stop herselfplotting the architect's imminent demise, as she took several wrong turns, and had to be redirected twice, and led the rest of the way by Jennifer. But when they reached the kitchen, the girls heard Kaiba's voice, low and serious, seemingly talking to himself. Jennifer attempted to enter, but Tea grabbed her hand, and shook her head. Quietly, she pushed the connecting window+ ajar, and both girls listened intently to what was going on.

"You want a shoelace? And a biscuit? You are a fool to bargain so low."

"Mrow?"

"Fine. Three biscuits, and we'll play with the lace for five minutes. Ok? Now can I eat?"

A low purring.

"Will you quit pestering me? Or I'll blend you in with the fruit…"

"Mrow…"

"Look- I've thrown the ball. I've put food and water down. I've petted you. What more do you want from me, animal?"

Kaiba sounded exasperated, Tea thought, with surprise- but not angry? Plus…He had petted Ariadne? Thrown the ball? This was most un-Kaiba like…

"Ok. We'll play now. Look! Catch it! Where's it going? Huh? Can you get it? Ha ha! No! I'm too fast for you…Look, its there! Here! There! Come on, Ari!"


Jennifer and Tea raised stunned eyes at each other. Jennifer broke first, into a huge beaming smile.

"I haven't seen him like this since his father took his dog away…"

Tea smiled softly, her eyes melting, and for a moment, Jennifer saw vast seas ofgentleness in her blue eyes.

"I always knew he had it in him. Come on; let's give him a chance to save his reputation."

They snuck back through to the stairs, and started a loud conversation, walking slowly towards the kitchen.

"I'm so glad you found me, Jennifer! I could have been lost for hours!" Tea teased lightly.

"It's no trouble, Miss Tea, not at all! You must be hungry! Let me show you to the kitchen- I think Mr. Kaiba is awake!"

Jennifer was less natural, and she shouted a little, raising her voice at the end of each sentence, and making Tea giggle, and hush her. If Kaiba guessed they had overheard him, and knew the rush of pity and kindness that had rushed through Tea…It would be cruel to him.


"Morning, Kaiba! Thanks for telling me about the clap- activated lighting in my room last night…" Tea breezed in, seeing Ariadne parked by her food dish (and not in the blender, thankfully...), looking bemusedly at Kaiba, and the man himself at the table with a large glass of smoothie and several sheets of paper covered in important looking writing.

He looked good this morning, she had to admit, his hair damp from the shower, and the hint of his cologne spicing the air of the kitchen pleasantly. She went over to the kitten, and grinned at the speed with which the small amount of food had vanished. Ariadne was looking much better, still skinny, but her attitude was quickly changing- she was skittish until she smelt Tea's hand, then the tiny body vibrated with comically loud purring as she rubbed against Tea's hands.

"There is strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and banana smoothie, or toast for breakfast- if you want anything more, tell Jennifer, and she'll fetch it for you from the kitchen." Kaiba intoned monotonously, not even looking up from his report.

"Thank you, Kaiba- kun. I'll have some toast- that's a rather peculiarly colored smoothie for a healthy breakfast…" Tea grinned at him, and received a slightly affronted grunt for her efforts. A moment later, she processed his exact words.

"What do you mean; she'll get it from the kitchen? We're in the kitchen, aren't we?" She enquired, teasing, sure that Kaiba was so involved in his report he had forgotten their location.

Kaiba glanced up. "This is my kitchen. The meals are made in the second kitchen, when Mokuba and I are in here." He scanned her face, watching scathingly for a comment upon 'spoiled rich kids', but Tea met his gaze evenly.

Jennifer, sensing the tension, looked to Tea, and then Kaiba- seeing they wanted nothing, she left unobtrusively. Tea hummed as she learned her way around Kaiba's kitchen. A moment later, she brought her toast to the table, and sat next to Kaiba, peering at his report.

"Anything interesting?" She enquired easily, trying to recreate the atmosphere at dinner the previous night. Seto grunted in an unfriendly manner, she took to mean 'not to you, dumb little girl'. She tried again.

"Did you sleep well? I was hoping you'd come play the games with Mokuba and I…"

This time, the grunt was relatively aggressive for a single syllable.

"I almost got lost, this morning, but thank you for the aspirin; it was really nice of you…"

"STOP IT!"

Kaiba had shot up from his seat, and his half-shout had scared Tea, so she leaned away from him, looking up at his flashing eyes, and wanting to cower from the heat in his voice.

"Kaiba, I..."

"I. Do. Not. Want. To. Be. Your. Friend. Gardener, do you understand?"

"But…"

"NO! Just stop it! I don't understand it…."

The last four words were barely whispered, and Kaiba looked as shocked as Tea was. Silence reigned in the kitchen, until Kaiba turned on his heel, and practically ran from the room.


+ Connecting Window- a sort of serving hatch, very popular in large homes of a certain period, as they sped up the rate at which the food was conveyed the (sometimes ridiculously) large distance from the kitchen to the dining room, and allowed food to stay hotter.

(1) This is, of course, highly untrue, guys. Girls...Don't tell 'em anything!

A/N: Review, guys! 4264 hits, and counting, but I need to know your thoughts! It's a give/give sitch!