A/N: hello all! thanks so much for the reviews and all (: and yes, to compensate for my lack of activity for months, i'll try to craft up as many chapters as i can this month.

anw, this chapter is slightly longer, and i think all of you deserved more of this story since the past few chapters were kinda short. and please, welcome back Tea into the story! will things get more complicated or is the resolution down the road? hmm.. i shall leave it to you guys.

so hope you guys have fun with this chapter (as much as i feel like slapping Seto in in the second half of this chapter) , and don't forget to review!

love, fika1603

With murmurs of thanks, his executives filed out of the room, leaving only Misa and Mischa in the conference room with their half-irritated employer. The last-minute meeting was held to wrap up several aspects of the KCTP project, as well as for Seto to deliver his promotional idea to the rest of the board. Delivered, and not suggested, since they more or less have to accept what he had mapped out for them. Still, it was quite a surprise for them when they heard their employer's plan.

"Leather pants?" Mischa asked aloud, her pen already scribbling messy words onto her notepad.

Seto looked at her incredulously. "No."

"You wore that for Battle City, remember? And besides, that was leather skinnys," Mischa pointed out stubbornly.

It was Misa's turn to be confused. "I thought it was PVC?"

"And I spent 1K on PVC?" her boss snorted. "Anyway, Mischa. No leather. It gets disgusting when I perspire."

Mischa feigned surprise. "You're capable of perspiring in an air-con environment all the time?" Seto shot her a murderous glare, and she immediately lowered her gaze as she continued to scribble on her notepad. "Okay, no leather. Noted. But leather is nice!"

Seto went on as if he had not heard her. "You can stick to the belts and studs if you want. No chains. Try to keep it to simple colours."

"Pink?"

"I'll kill you," Seto replied simply. He peered at her notepad. "Are you jotting all of this down?"

"Yes, Mr Boss," Mischa grumbled. "Let me guess. Do you want your coat to be… let me see my checklist… water-proof, fire-proof, rip-proof, bullet-proof and dirt-proof?" Without waiting for her boss's answer, she just added it on to her list. "You sound like Batman, Mr Boss."

"Do I get a free mask?" Seto shot back sardonically. Beside him, Misa had to cough back her laugh.

"Okay, last question before I hightail it out of here," with her free hand, Mischa had already started to pack up her stuffs. "Smart, or flashy?"

Seto leaned back and smirked as he answered in an almost arrogant tone, "I like people to remember me, Mischa. I've been off the Duel Monsters scene for far too long. It's time to remind all those morons that I'm back."

XO XO XO XO

Tea glanced around the park, her cerulean eyes searching carefully. Even amongst the cherry blossoms sprinkling down on her, all she could see were other couples strolling along the paths, basking in the romantic environment the cherry blossoms seem to create.

She sighed as she wrapped her jacket tighter around her body to stave off the evening chill. She spotted an empty bench and made her way there. Guess I'll have to wait for His Majesty to arrive, she thought glumly as she sat down, still searching for any sign of his presence.

"If he doesn't turn up, or cancel at the last minute, I'll kill him," she muttered in annoyance.

"If he does?"

Tea whirled around and could barely contain her delight when she finally saw him standing behind her. "Seto!" she exclaimed, as she got up to hug him.

However, he held his palm out, signaling her to stop. "Not here. Have you been waiting long?"

His girlfriend tried her best to hide her hurt and disappointment at his sudden iciness. "N-not really. Long day at work?"

Seto nodded as he signaled for her to follow him. "Yeah," he replied coolly. "Have you eaten?"

"Just lunch, but I'm not hungry," she reassured him quickly. She quickened her pace to catch up with him. "Seto, are you… okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Tea shrugged. "It's just that.. you're suddenly very cold today. It's a bit unlike you."

His simple reply cut her heart. "We're in a public place, Tea. People know who I am." He held open his limousine's door for her. "Get in."

Still confused and slightly terrified of her boyfriend's sudden change in attitude, Tea complied and waited until Seto got into the limousine from the other side. As the driver manoeuvred the car towards the designated destination, Tea turned her attention back to her fiancé.

"What's wrong with you, Seto?" there was no mistaking the anger in her voice. "One moment you're Dr Jekyll, the next you're Mr Hyde!"

"Like I said, Tea, we were in a public place," Seto answered coolly.

"Are you saying that I cannot be seen with you in public?" Tea asked him in disbelief.

"I never said that," Seto still seemed unaffected that he had upset his fiancée. "I'm not an advocate of public display of affection, unless you're Mokuba or Seth." He turned to her and spoke in as soothing a manner as he could muster (which is to say, not much). "Listen, Tea. I want today to be special for both of us. So can we not have such small spats ruin our day?"

It's already ruined, anyway, Tea harrumphed in her mind.

"I hope you're not going to give me the silent treatment," Seto went on softly, peering out of the limousine window. "I know I act like a jerk sometimes, but Tea, try to understand me. Sometimes I don't have a choice, or I can't help it. I planned out this last-minute date because I probably won't get to see you much after today."

That finally caught Tea's attention. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I'm going to be doing something I should have carried on from long ago: dueling." At Tea's surprised expression, he snorted. "Unlike the KC Grand Championship, this time round, I'm competing in my own competition. And this time round, I'm going to win. Make sure you tell Yugi that."

Although Seto mentioned his nemesis's name, the image of another person flitted into Tea's head. "I was actually thinking of another person that'll probably not be too happy about you beating Yugi, or even competing."

Seto rolled his eyes. "And tell Wheeler, he's banned. Don't even dream about sneaking in his participation this time round. Unless he wants to offer his jester and punching bag services for free."

"Again?! Honestly, what is it between you two?"

"I don't like him. So I don't need an amateur like him to be polluting my competition." At Tea's glare, Seto added on, "What? He hates me as well. It's mutual hatred."

"But Joey only dislikes you because you're… well…" Tea attempted to defend her friend but could not bring herself to criticize her fiancé head-on.

"Better than him in every way?" Seto finished for her. Tea just nodded, despite the fact that the word she was gunning for was 'snobbish' , which clearly described his attitude now. "It's an old fact that'll remain until he dies."

Tea flinched at his words. "You do know he's my friend, Seto. You guys don't have to be in love with each other, but for one moment can you two be cordial about each other?"

Her fiancé sighed. "Why are we talking about that mutt?"

"Seto…"

"Fine, Wheeler. Why are we talking about him?" Seto began to sound cross with the entire situation.

Didn't you raise the issue? Tea shot back in her mind, but outwardly she simply shook her head and placed a hand on his cheek. "I don't want to fight with you."

"Me either," Seto answered back quietly. He peered out of his limousine window. "We're here." As if on cue, his driver hurriedly opened the door. Seto stepped out and adjusted his suit. Normally, Tea would have grumbled that she had to get out of a vehicle unassisted, but she was starting to get used to her fiancé's rather self-centred ways.

"Eh, we're at your house?" Tea asked rather stupidly as she hurried after Seto to enter the manor. She glanced around the household; it was uncharacteristically dark, and quiet. "Where's everyone? Isn't it a bit too early for everyone to turn in?"

Seto ushered her to the dining hall. "I gave everyone a day off," he muttered. "And I made Mokuba stay over at his friend's house."

"You what?!"

Seto shrugged as he sauntered over to switch on the chandelier lights. "I needed to do that for this."

Tea's eyes widened when the light came into view. The soft sunset yellow light perfectly illuminated the silverware laid on the table, and to complement that sparkling view was the spread of food on the table. It was not a lot, but the way it had been arranged made it seem such. Yet there was something peculiar about the food – it was not in the way Nana would have prepared it. Tea whirled around to be face-to-face with her fiancé, who had already diverted his attention to a painting on the wall.

Smiling inwardly, she carefully approached him and placed a hand on his arm. "You prepared all of this, didn't you?"

Seto still did not look at her as he answered, "I know, it's nice. Naturally."

Tea laughed as she tip-toed to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you." She eyed the food cautiously. "Are you sure the food's edible?"

Her fiancé snorted in ridicule. "What are you talking about? Of course it is. I had Nana taste them before I let her go off." Suddenly, a stricken look crossed his expression, as if he had let slip something he should not had. Lowering his voice to a mutter, he gently steered Tea towards the dining table, "Come on. You're hungry, I think."

"What happens if I'm not?"

"Then at least have the courtesy to sample what your host has prepared for you," Seto smirked as he pulled out a chair for her. "What would you like to drink?"

The brown-haired girl shook her head as she laughed uncontrollably. "Seto, politeness on you equals to dripping sarcasm. Still, plain water will do, thank you."

"For the first time, I'm not hearing things like Coke." Seto commented as he poured out the drinks for them before taking his seat next to Tea. He gestured to her to have the first bite of the steak, which she promptly did. While she was chewing, he eyed her carefully. "Is it cooked?"

She nodded as she continued to munch. "Yeah, but I think next time round you can build up the taste a bit more."

"More black pepper and more sauce," Seto said matter-of-factly.

As they carried on with their dinner, Tea could not help but blurt out, "I never knew you could cook. I always thought you'd leave cooking to the cooks in the kitchen."

Seto carefully sliced his steak as he replied contritely after a few seconds of silence, "I never knew I could do a lot of things." He paused, as if unsure to carry on. Yet eventually, he said, "Like having a son."

Those four words stopped Tea from even putting her utensils down on her plate. Instead, she simply stared hard at Seto in shock. Seto barely seemed to register her stare as he continued to slice his steak and eat it as if he was in an automated mode. Eventually Tea did snap out of her funk.

"What are you saying, Seto?" she tried to hold back the urge to smack his head. "You regret having Seth in your life?" When Seto still did not react to her words, she grabbed his hand and shook it. "Look at me, Seto. You regret having Seth?"

Seto's head snapped to glare at her, and it was then she finally understood what he felt. She gently placed a hand on his cheek and spoke as she peered deep into his pained azure eyes, "You're scared about something, aren't you? What is it, Seto? Tell me, please. Don't hide things from me anymore."

Seto averted his gaze downwards to the edge of the dining table. Yet when he spoke, his cold tone cleverly concealed his fear, "How am I going to present Seth to the world, Tea? As an illegitimate child?" Tea moved to caress his face reassuringly, but Seto pushed her hand away. "I led a hard childhood, Ti. I don't need my son to endure the same thing."

"Seto…"

"And my reputation, Ti. If the world knows I have an illegitimate son, their entire perception about me will change. And then when it comes to the law… I don't want Seth to be denied anything that he deserves to get. Right now, even if I want to place him as my heir, I can't."

"Seto…" Tea tried again.

This time round, Seto stood up from his seat and dragged Tea up along with him. "Go home," he told her harshly, turning his face away from her. When Tea still did not budge, he cleared his throat and said more firmly, "Go home, Tea."

Tea clutched his arm and shook it hard. "Seto, I'm your fiancée. It's alright if you need to share – "

"There's no need to," he shot back in an icy cold tone, freezing Tea momentarily. "Go home."

In one last attempt before she fled his manor, Tea said softly, "You don't have to bear the burden of your life alone, you know, Seto. I love you, so please, stop pushing me out."