"Mr. Kaiba! Mr. Kaiba!"

The shouts in the distance made both of their eyes widen. What were his men doing here? Why had they followed in after him? We're they trying to rescue him from Tea's mind?

Tea leaned into Kaiba a little more and whispered in his ear, "What're your Kaiba Corp. goons doing here?"

He whispered back, "I don't know."

"We can't just leave them in here or they'll be trapped in my mind. We've gotta get them out."

Kaiba gnawed on her words. She was right, they would be trapped here, but what if they weren't real after all?

"I think they're virtual manifestations."

She wrinkled her nose and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I don't think they're real people at all."

She waited for him to continue. Kaiba could feel her heart beat as their chests were squished together.

"Before I entered the virtual world, I was designing virtual people for you to interact with. These virtual people were going to try and persuade you to wake up."

"So then why did you come in after me?"

Because I couldn't stand the thought of watching your lifeless body anymore.

Of course, he couldn't tell her the real reason, instead he gave her a standard response, "The process was coming along too slowly and your body was already beginning to fail."

The footsteps were now closer and definitely on the second floor. They shuffled around, rummaging through racks and articles of clothing to try and find them.

"Over here!" One of them shouted.

Kaiba glanced down. Tea's old clothes had been discarded all over the dressing room floor and his men could see underneath. Why didn't he think to move them? Dammit….

"They've spotted us," he murmured.

"Now what?" Concern was spread across her face.

He leaned into her ear, his lips grazing her earlobe, and Kaiba could feel her heart beginning to beat faster. "You wanna have some fun?"

"What?" She gasped, almost breaking their whispered tone.

He grabbed her hand, interlacing his fingers into hers. The feeling felt so new to both of them and Kaiba almost let a blush escape from his cheeks. "We run. Let them chase us."

"You're crazy!"

"I thought you were more adventurous than this, Gardner?" He teased.

She ignored his teasing. "But, what if they're real? What if people are watching us in the real world?"

"They're not," he assured, "Trust me. I made this technology. I know everything about it."

"But-" The dressing room door flew open.

"I found them!" A man in a white lab coat was standing in the doorway, about to approach the couple.

"Run!" Kaiba shouted as he jumped off the chair, tugging on Tea's arm, forcing her to follow him.

Kaiba pushed the man over, letting him fall to the floor. He noticed several other men begin to sprint after them and he bolted for the escalator, taking two stairs at a time.

"Hurry men, hurry! They're getting away!" Their shouts were close by, too close for Kaiba's comfort.

Jumping off the escalator, they made their way through the different areas of Barneys, seeking an exit. The floor beneath them was slick and covered in watery footprints from the melted snow. Landing on their sides, they slid across the floor, gaining a few yards.

"Whoa!" Tea squealed as she bumped into Kaiba. He chuckled as he made his way to his feet and helped Tea to hers. He grinned, almost letting go of a full-blown laugh.

Tea giggled when she finally gained composure. "This is crazy, Kaiba!"

"I know!" He chuckled once again, this time gracing her with a smile, "I told you it'd be fun."

"I thought you never had fun," she teased.

He laughed, "I don't!" The honesty that tumbled out of his mouth was unbelievable, especially to him. Why was Tea making him let loose? He didn't know, but at this point, he didn't really care.

"There they are!" The men were across the room, pointing, shouting, and running after them.

"Shit!" Kaiba cursed as he grabbed Tea's hand once again and bee-lined for the exit.

"Get them men! Get them!" The shouts echoed in the distance as Tea and Kaiba quickened the pace, dodging the floor displays, racks of clothing and mannequins.

Kaiba pushed over a few mannequins, letting their bulkiness block the pathway they were forming. They laughed as they glanced back and spotted three of the men trip and fall over the mannequins.

"Kaiba you're a badass!" Tea laughed as she saw the men trying their best to regain their composure. "I would've never thought of doing that!"

Kaiba simply chuckled, his face brightening at Tea's compliment. It was a strange but attractive thing to receive a compliment like that from a woman. Even more so, a woman that Kaiba always seemed to acknowledge as enchanting and somewhat enticing. These feelings toward Tea felt odd, but after watching her lifeless body for almost two years, what he felt really didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was he was given these private moments to see her laugh and smile again. He realized that's all he ever wanted for her.

He continued to lead the way out of the store, forging a path toward the back and bolting through an exit door. They were brought into an alley way and Kaiba stopped to take a quick glimpse of the area. There was a door located near a dumpster just about thirty yards away. It had to be a back door into a tavern or something. Hearing the shouts of his men coming from the inside of Barneys, Kaiba knew he had to act fast if they were going to keep up this running act.

He dragged Tea along as he sprinted for the tavern door, glancing back a few times to see if his men had followed them outside yet or not. Thankfully, they were still inside Barneys.

They made it without being chased, and Kaiba whipped open the door, pushing Tea inside. He slammed the door shut just as he heard the shouts of the men break out into the alley.

Phew, just in the nick of time. He clicked the latch to lock the door, ensuring they wouldn't be followed inside.

"Tea, go lock the front door," he demanded, "then hide."

She nodded and ran toward the front. In the distance, Kaiba could hear a click, indicating she had done what he told her to do.

They waited, kneeling on the floor of the tavern to avoid being seen. The lights were off and Kaiba hoped it was too dark for the men to see them.

The back door of the tavern jerked and Kaiba almost jumped out of his skin. The door rattled but remained closed.

"It's locked."

"Are you sure they went in there?"

"They had to! What other way could they have gone?"

"The alley opens up on 60th street."

"Let's go men!"

Kaiba heard their feet rustle as they ran the opposite way. When he no longer heard their clatter, he stood and grazed his hand over the wall to find a light switch.

Tea made her way over to him, looking around as the lights came on. "That was a close one," she exhaled deeply, "I'm so out of breath…"

"I thought you were a dancer, Gardner? You should be in better shape."

"Shut up Kaiba, it's from all the adrenaline," she joked, sending him a friendly smile to show she wasn't mad. She changed the topic as she took another look at the tavern they were in, which really wasn't much of a tavern at all; it was more of a casual bar/nightclub. The bar held a wide arrangement of alcohols and the place had plenty of seating space. There was a mixture of yellow neon and classic lighting. Near the back wall was a small stage and dance floor area. Overall, for finding the place on a whim, it was attractive and welcoming.

Kaiba climbed behind the bar and began examining the selection of alcohols. He grabbed a few bottles from the shelf and began rummaging around for mixing materials.

"Are you actually making yourself a drink?" Tea asked.

"Why not?"

"Oh, I don't know, because you were so desperate to get out of this virtual world I thought that maybe you'd like to leave."

He began mixing his drink, "Now look at who's desperate to leave."

Tea sighed, "I'm not. I just thought you were."

"You thought wrong, Gardner." He slid over a small glass of brownish, reddish liquid. "Drink up."

She looked down at the drink Kaiba had made for her, "Are you saying you don't want to leave?"

"No, I do, I just need a moment to take the tension off." He began mixing another drink, this time for himself. It was the same beverage he had just given to Tea. Within seconds his drink was ready and he held it up to her.

She grabbed her drink and held it to her face, raising an eyebrow in curiosity, "What is it?"

"A Manhattan. I figured since we are in Manhattan, we mine as well enjoy one."

"Where did you learn to make this?"

"Same way you learned to make coffee beverages. I taught myself."

She smirked, "Are you confessing to being an alcoholic, Kaiba? Teaching yourself to make drinks and all?"

He frowned, "No, I'm just talented. Besides, alcoholics don't take the time to make drinks. They just drink everything straight. Now shut your damn mouth and toast."

She obeyed, clinking her glass with Kaiba's. He watched as she took a small sip of the liquid and quickly swallowed. Her eyebrows lifted as the alcohol burned the back of her throat.

"Wow, Kaiba! This is strong, but damn it's good."

He took another sip; not allowing the stinging power of the alcohol to distort his facial features like it did with Tea's. "Looks like someone hasn't had a drink in a while. Have you forgotten how this stuff burns?"

She laughed, "A little bit," taking another sip, this time her facial features didn't drastically change.

"I'm surprised you can actually handle a drink like this, Gardner."

She sent him a quizzical look, "And why's that?"

"I used the best and strongest bourbon I could find."

"So? What's your point?"

He chuckled, "You don't seem like the type that can handle strong liquor."

She rolled her eyes and sent him an audacious look, "I need something this strong if I'm going to being around you." She took a long sip just to prove she could handle it.

He laughed, "Why do you think I needed a drink in the first place?" He took a swig, leaving his glass less than half full. "When you're the cause of all my tension, I need something to take the edge off."

She glared at him but saw that flirtatious smirk hidden in his eyes. What game was he trying to play?

"Yeah," her tone was laced with sarcasm, "I guess you could harbor a lot of tension from hanging around an actually person for once, especially when you're so antisocial..."

This time he rolled his eyes, "Oh please, Gardner, the only reason you think I'm antisocial is because you never shut up."

She almost spit out her drink at his remark, "Are you kidding? Kaiba, you're about as social as a brick wall."

"Interesting…. I didn't know you went around talking to brick walls?"

Her blue eyes flared, "I don't, it was a metaphor, Kaiba."

"Actually, that was a simile. Damn Gardner, for all the English you speak, you'd think you'd know the difference in terminology…."

She growled at him, lifted her glass and chugged the remaining three-fourths of her Manhattan, slamming the glass down onto the bar. Her eyes were lit with a blue blaze and Kaiba enjoyed watching her frustration, knowing he had completely gained the upper hand in their verbal confrontation.

She swallowed hard, not caring that her throat felt as though it was literally on fire. She poked his chest from across the bar, stabbing at his sternum with every sentence she spoke, "I. Can. Out. Drink. You."

Was she actually trying to prove she could out-drink him? Was painfully finishing off the last of her Manhattan to drive focus away from his words really her way of out-drinking him? He took his drink and swiftly finished it off, setting his glass down lightly.

"You want this to be a game, Gardner?" He grasped her pointed finger and gently set it down.

Her eyes narrowed and a devilish smile graced itself upon her face, "Yes."

"Are you prepared to suffer from the consequences of your actions?"

She hoisted herself almost completely over the bar so she was face-to-face with him.

Her answer was like the strike of a match, "Yes!"

He licked his lips and smirked. Their faces were almost touching and Kaiba could practically taste the alcohol falling out of her breath.

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."


A/N: We all know how Kaiba is with games. Do you think Tea can take on his challenge? Let me know what you think! Drop a review and give me all of your predictions for what you think will happen next.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! You've all been so supportive and I truly appreciate it. I want to apologize for the shortness of this chapter. School has begun and I've been busier than ever. I wanted to post a new chapter before falling too far behind. More to come soon! Thanks everyone!