Tea awoke the following morning feeling exhilarated but irritated. She had awoken in the middle of a really good dream. Even as she strained her mind to remember the intricacies, she could feel the dream slipping from her memory, leaving only the feeling of warmth juxtaposed with the colour of azure blue…

It took some time for Tea's sleep-muddled brain to remember where she was and what had happened. Suddenly, the events came back to her all at once and she sat bolt upright, all sleepiness gone, and urgently looked around the cave. To her relief, she found the object of her concerns; Kaiba was sitting against the opposite wall, clearly having found his way back safely. Fighting the wave of guilt that threatened to take her over she cast her eye on Yami sitting close to her. Very close. Quietly, moving carefully so that she wouldn't wake him up, Tea creeped across to the opposite side of the cave where her brown-haired companion lay.

Intrigued, she knelt down next to the sleeping man and studied his face carefully. It was as if his mask had been wiped away. Kaiba looked calm, serene, contented. Not the guarded, hostile boy she usually saw. On an impulse she reached out and brushed aside a strand of his brown hair that threatened to fall into his closed eyes. The edges of Kaiba's mouth, in response to her touch, upturned. A hint of a smile. A blush creeped over Tea's face at the thought of Kaiba waking up to her find her so close to him so, quietly, she stood up and turned back to Yami was sleeping. Or where he had been sleeping. She stifled a small yelp as she found her blonde friend standing right behind her. She hadn't heard him wake.

"Tea, I'm going to go to find us some food." He said regretfully, "It is only fair seeing as Kaiba found the firewood last night." Yami nodded towards Kaiba. Tea turned slightly to look towards Kaiba and found that he too was awake. Her blush deepened at the thought that Kaiba might have been awake when she was playing with his hair. His expression was cool and calculated. Ever the poker face. "But don't worry," Yami continued, drawing her attention back to him. "I won't be gone long." Yami said. He gave her a small smile then swept out of the cave without a second glance at Kaiba.

Kaiba's dreams had not been so pleasant. He dreamt of traitors and people chasing him. A particularly vivid dream had woken him in a cold sweat. Finding the cave lit but hearing no movement from the slumbering figures opposite him he had closed his eyes and started to come up with a plan of action for getting Tea alone and telling her about Yami. He hadn't got very far with his plan before hearing some soft footsteps walking towards him. Keeping his eyes closed and his face impassive he knew at once that it was Tea - not Yami - who was approaching him. Yet still he kept his eyes closed trying to keep his breathing even. What does she think she's doing? He thought to himself as her smell - a mixture of strawberries and lilies - surrounded him. That smell… he'd smelt it before on the cheerleader and it surprised him at how good it was. He tried to keep his breathing steady as he felt her lean over him and touch his hair that had fallen into his eye. Her fingers on his skin felt soft and smooth and a warm feeling flooded through him. Involuntarily he felt his lips quirk and he realised he was smiling. What the… he thought, but before he could think about what just happened he heard Yugi's voice and his eyes shot open.

Tea, I'm going to go to find us some food. It is only fair seeing as Kaiba found the firewood last night." Yami nodded towards Kaiba. The girl standing between them glanced back and Kaiba saw a faint blush on her cheeks that deepened when they made eye contact. She looks attractive with that colour. He caught himself thinking. What the… he thought again. What was happening to him?! Luckily he had kept his face impassive and in any case the girl had turned back to Yami before his thought process had ended.

"I won't be gone long." Yami said before leaving the cave. Kaiba watched him go all the way out of the cave before sitting up and looking towards Tea. She too was watching Yugi leave with a small frown on her face. As if shaking herself she glanced at Kaiba once again before heading to the other side of the cave and moving some rocks awkwardly around the edges, as if trying to busy herself.

Kaiba stood up and walked to her side of the cave, standing behind her watching her tidy.

"We need to talk about Yugi, or whoever that pointy haired freak friend of yours that was." He almost winced at the harsh words leaving his mouth.

Tea bristled, wheeling around to face him. "He is not a freak." She said irritated that he was insulting her friends already. "And what do we need to talk about?" She asked harshly.

"He isn't who you think he is. He is another part of this game." Tea narrowed her eyes at the boy next to her, but he kept his gaze fixed on her eyes, his expression emotionless.

"How do you know?" She asked,

"What he said yesterday, he's here to-" torment me he finished in his head, realising this was a challenge for both of them. But he wouldn't admit that to Tea.

"Go on." Tea said, encouraging Kaiba to continue,

"What does it matter?" Kaiba snapped.

"It matters because we are supposed to be working as a team." Tea snapped back suddenly angry, "Teams work together, there is no 'I' in team."

But there is a 'me' Kaiba thought to himself.. "I am not going to tell you Gardener so drop it. Besides remember all those other times you've been tricked since we've have been in this god forsaken place. Your friends, your father and now Yugi-"

"SETO KAIBA!" Tea shouted loudly, getting to her feet. "You are the most ignorant, arrogant, mean and conceited person I have ever met." She clenched her fists, "Why the HELL would you bring up MY MISTAKES again. Don't you think I feel foolish? Don't you think I feel stupid for falling for those tricks? If you KNEW how much those things have affected me, you would NEVER have said that." She sneered, and Kaiba flinched imperceptively - he'd never seen that expression on her face. "Or perhaps the great Seto Kaiba is jealous, that I now have one of my ACTUAL friends to rely on rather than on you."

It was remarkably easy to ignore her cruel words as Kaiba laughed coldly. "And why, may I ask should I be jealous?" He asked scornfully, "I should be grateful for Yugi for diverting your whining, snivelling attentions away from me. Perhaps you can cry all over him instead of me in the future."

Silence.

Time to watch a whole wealth of emotions cross Tea's face. The hurt, the anger, the crushing sadness.

"Seto Kaiba, you are a complete and utter bastard." She said quietly, turning her back on him.

"Tea, I-" Kaiba said, instantly regretting his cruel words, reaching to touch her shoulder.

"Don't you dare touch me." She wheeled around to face him, tears filling her eyes. He backed away from the raw emotions leaking from Tea, retreating to the other side of the cave, keeping his eyes on the girl in front of him. The girl he had unintentionally and perhaps irrevocably hurt. She would never believe him now. He had ruined everything. And with those thoughts piercing his brain, without caring if she saw, he buried his head in his hands.

"I am not going to tell you Gardener so drop it." Kaiba's voice rang loudly around the cave. Tea clenched her draw in irritation. Was he purposely using her last name to annoy her? Even after their scuffles she had been sincere about him calling her Tea. But no, stubborn Kaiba did what he pleased and it seemed to please him to irritate her by calling her by her last name. "Besides remember all those other times you've been tricked since we've have been in this god forsaken place. Your friends, your father and now Yugi-"

That was enough. "SETO KAIBA!" She shouted as loud as her voice could and whilst doing this, standing up to look down at the boy. It was as if a volcano was erupting from Tea as she spouted her next words with no hesitation "You are the most ignorant, arrogant, mean and conceited person I have ever met." She shuddered in her anger, 'Remember those other times you've been tricked. She clenched her fists at the remembered words, "Why the HELL would you bring up MY MISTAKES again. Don't you think I feel foolish? Don't you think I feel stupid for falling for those tricks? If you KNEW how much those things have affected me, you would NEVER have said that." She shook and then laughed, an absurd thought popping into her head "Or perhaps the great Seto Kaiba is jealous, that I now have one of my ACTUAL friends to rely on rather than on you." She shook a shaky breath as Kaiba laughed coldly and began to walk slowly towards her and she had to move backwards to keep away from him.

"And why, may I ask should I be jealous?" He asked scornfully, "I should be grateful for Yugi for diverting your whining, snivelling attentions away from me. Perhaps you can cry all over him instead of me in the future."

That was it. Any connection, any feelings that may or may not have been developing towards the CEO vanished. Were thrust to one side. How could he say those things afte reverything they'd been through. She felt tears prick in her eyes and for a sudden moment felt as though Kaiba was looking at her with a pained expression in his eyes, but almost as soon as she noticed it, the expression was gone.

"Seto Kaiba, you are a complete and utter bastard." She managed to utter quietly, her voice hoarse from her shouting and the emotion she had put into her previous speech.

"Tea, I-" she heard Kaiba say from behind her, feeling his fingers graze her shoulder. "Don't you dare touch me." She wheeled around to face him, tears of anger filling her eyes. She watched him flinch back, withdrawing his arm as if from an electric shock and walk away from her. She herself turned her back on him, finding a small nook behind a jutting rock and curled behind it, pulling her legs into her chest and rocking to and fro, oblivious to the fact that Kaiba was doing much the same.

It could have been minutes, hours or days before Tea felt a warm hand, graze her arm, and looked up to see Yami's concerned face. Although, for an instant, she could have sworn she had seen the boy in front of her smirk in the direction of Kaiba.

"Hey Tea, what's up? I got breakfast,"

"Oh, hi Yami." Tea smiled weakly, forgetting to use Yugi's name as she ordinarily would in front of people who didn't know his secret. She continued, trying to assume her normal chirpy persona. "That's great, I'm starving!"

After breakfast the trio set down the mountain and began to walk in a random direction. They had no idea which way to go but thought it best to keep moving rather than stay in one place. Perhaps they would find more special items that could help them through the virtual world? All Tea knew was that she didn't want to remain cooped up in a cave with Seto Kaiba.

Throughout the day, Tea noticed Yami kept bumping into her. She thought it was by accident the first few times, but then when it kept happening she looked at his face. He grinned back at her, and she hesitantly smiled back with less enthusiasm, shooting a glance over her shoulder to where she knew Kaiba was. Yami was acting very strangely; it was almost like he was flirting with her. She pinched her nose in distaste. 'Flirting' and 'Yami' would never go together. But she couldn't think of any explanation. What puzzled her even further was when they sat down for rests Yami would always sit so close to her, their legs would brush and they were always in body contact. She began feeling slightly uncomfortable. Sure, it had been nice that Yami was giving her attention, but something just felt wrong about it all, really wrong. Further to this, as she spoke to Yami she would frequently see his eyes shooting towards Kaiba with some sort of gleam in his eyes. If Tea hadn't thought better she would have thought it was gloating, but after all, she asked herself, what on earth could he be gloating about?

The end of the day drew closer and closer and the group decided it would be best if they rested in a sheltered location. As if by magic, and who knows, it may have been, a pile of rocks appeared near the horizon and they headed for that, assuming there would be some sort of sheltered place to sleep. Kaiba broke off from the other two muttering about collecting more firewood. Tea turned to watch Kaiba walk away and did not budge until Yami slinked his arm around her waist and guided her towards a cave he had found.

It was the first time Kaiba had left Tea alone with an imposter of one of her friends. He hadn't wanted to, not after the happenings of the day, but he couldn't see any other practical way forward. He had noticed Tea slowing and at their last rest stop she had looked exhausted; there was no way she could accompany him, even if she wanted to. And someone had to get firewood so they wouldn't freeze. He grumbled as he wrapped his coast around him even more. This new world was chillier than the others; too uncomfortable to just put up with. He imagined Tea in her short skirt and thin jacket. He would have to hurry. And not just for that. Kaiba thought, gritting his teeth.

Throughout the day he had watched every move that Yami made and every successive moment had made Kaiba's tension increase. Yami had been gloating, wordlessly, gloating over the fact that he had Tea's complete attention. It's not as if I even care that much about her, it's just she's being fooled. This is one of her flaws. One of the very few... his brain added, but he shook his head. I don't like seeing people being tricked. That's why I care. Nothing else. I just don't like it. He kept repeating that over and over in his head, but somewhere deep down he knew this wasn't the case. It was this part that made him hurry to pick up the rest of the wood and hurry quickly back to the two, hoping he hadn't left them for too long.

As Kaiba walked away Tea felt fingers grasp her waist lightly and began to turn towards Yami, who looked slightly irritated.

"Come on," he said softly, no trace of the irritation in his voice. "You need to sit down."

He led her slowly into the cave they had spotted to begin with. They walked slowly, not talking. Tea suddenly felt self conscious, shifted under Yami's grip. However, instead of loosening his hold, he tightened it. She froze.

"Yami, can you-" but she was cut off with lips pressing onto hers. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Yami pressing his body to hers, against the stone of the cave wall. His lips released her's, his eyes dancing with triumph.

"Yami. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Tea asked, struggling against him, but he was too strong for him to move.

"Oh come now Tea," He said in a silky voice. It was Yami's voice but there was something very off about it. Kaiba was right; this wasn't her friend. "We both know how you have always wanted me like this? Surely you knew that I must have noticed. And now you're wish is coming true."

"No-" Tea began but she was cut off as her lips were once again assaulted by Yami's, this time with more force. She felt his tongue probing at her lips, which she kept firmly shut. But his hands, his wandering hands, carressed her waist, her hips, her thighs and her - she baulked at the feeling of his fingers inside her shorts, reaching upwards…

"Please Tea," He said his voice silky and seductive whilst trying to keep her still "I've always liked you too. I've never been able to show you how I truly feel because I've been sharing Yugi's body. But now may be the only chance we can be together." Despite herself and her misgivings, Tea's body responded slightly to this. He's right. This is probably my only chance. But now that it's happening. It feels wrong. This isn't love.

"No." She said firmly, again trying to push herself away from him. "I don't want this. Leave me alone." All she received was a menacing growl from Yami and he leant forward again, however as Tea prepared for another assault she heard an even more menacing voice reverberate around the cave.

"I suggest you leave her alone." Kaiba said standing at the entrance of the cave. Tea's heart gave a giant jolt as she saw him. He had dropped the firewood and was now looking at Yami with a stare that could probably freeze fire. Yami looked back at Tea and then at Kaiba. Seeing the girl's reaction he relaxed and stood away.

"You prefer him over me? I am shocked and hurt that you can change allegiance so quickly. Very well. I will leave." At this point Tea noticed that his eyes were not their usual colour; they were jet black. How she felt about this could wait as the imposter Yami left the cave, laughing, leaving the other two alone together. After the laughing had gone Tea slumped down the wall into a sitting position, her arms holding her knees to her chest. A rush of emotions hit her and she was silent for a while.

Kaiba watched frozen at the girl in front of him. Some part of him triggered and he walked towards her sinking against the wall as she had done. They sat in silence before Tea spoke, all animosity between them forgotten.

"I should have known it wasn't him. Everything that happened... It wasn't like him at all."

There was a pause before Kaiba said what he had been itching to say.

"I did try and warn you, but you are as stubborn as a-"

"I warn you Kaiba, don't push me." Tea warned, half-serious.

Another pause ensued. "Seto." Kaiba replied quietly.

"Excuse me?" Tea asked, unsure if she heard correctly.

"I said, call me Seto, Tea." He said, a ghost of a smile forming on his lips.

Tea bit her lip, trying to hold back the beam that was threatening to appear on her face. "Thank you, Seto." She reached out and took one of his free hands in hers and gave it a small squeeze. To her astonishment, after a short pause the once chilly CEO squeezed it in reply. They sat like that for the majority of the evening before Seto stood up to set the fire going, as he had noticed the girl's shivering. Soon they were both warm. They were no longer holding hands, but lay close to one other to share body heat.

"G'night Seto." Tea said sleepily.

"Goodnight Tea." He replied, the smile returning to his lips.

A/N: Aaaaand I'm back! I'm SO SORRY for the delay - I've been in hospital for the last 5 months (long story). Not sure how quickly the rest of this story will come out (I intend to add an extra level of the Virtual World in between the others I've already written). But hope this satisfies you for the moment! Plan on publishing a different fanfic I've been working on that may (or may not) be a Yu Gi Oh version of Pride and Prejudice... (just saying).

As ever, let me know what you think of this chapter - please be nice, I know I'm out of the game! xoxo