His head was pounding. His vision was blurry. Nothing felt right.

Kaiba's bones cracked and creaked as he slowly, limb by painful limb, peeled himself from the ground. He groaned as his muscles worked to bring him to an upright position. He gritted his teeth and moaned in anguish as he cracked his neck back into place. He was surprised his neck wasn't broken. In fact, he was surprised he wasn't dead.

But he couldn't die, at least not here.

His vision came in and out but from what he could tell, he seemed to be in a familiar place. That's odd… It almost seems like I'm back at…

He got to his feet in no time and twisted around, getting a good look at his surroundings.

Home…

Sure enough, Kaiba had fallen right into his living room, however, this wasn't his living room at the Kaiba Mansion, this was his living room from when he was a child. This was his parents' house.

How could Tea have transported me here? She doesn't know about this place. Maybe I am dead?

Kaiba hesitantly walked over to where his parents had kept a shelf of decorations and pictures. Gently, Kaiba picked up a photo in a small wooden frame and daintily blew on the glass to rid of the thin layer of dust that had built up on it. Kaiba carefully examined the photo, doubting that it could even come close to the real photo he remembered from when he was a child.

The photograph was of his parents when they had gotten married. His mother was smiling brightly at the camera, her blue eyes matching the color of her bouquet. Her brown hair was elegantly curled and draped over her shoulder while his father pleasantly grinned down at her. Kaiba smiled at the photograph, taking in the look of love in his father's gray eyes.

Kaiba sighed and set the picture back down on the shelf. He needed to focus. He couldn't get lost in nostalgia now, not when he was so close to getting out of this virtual nightmare.

Or was he still in the virtual world?

"Seto!"

The shout sent a flood of tremors through him. That wasn't Tea's voice, it was…

"Mokuba!" Kaiba ran out of the living room and into the hall. "Mokuba, where are you?"

"Seto," Mokuba repeated. There was still no sign of him, however the tone of Mokuba's voice threw Kaiba off. It was higher pitched than usual, as if he were a young child once again.

Kaiba heard another voice, one much older.

"I found him, Mokuba!"

That voice. That sounds like….

"Coming Dad!"

"Dad?" Kaiba mumbled. He was in complete shock. He was hearing the voice of his dead father.

This can't be real…. I must be dead…. Am I in heaven?

Kaiba sped down the hall, racing to reach the source of his father's voice. It had been over a decade since he had heard his father speak, but the voice was exactly how he remembered it. Kaiba quickly turned a corner stopping abruptly the moment he laid eyes on his father.

Tears involuntarily welled up within Kaiba's eyes as he forgot his surroundings. His breath became deep and fast-paced as his heart started to race. He just couldn't believe his father was standing before him. He looked exactly how Kaiba remembered him, tall with bushy dark hair, just like Mokuba's, and light gray eyes, so kind and welcoming.

"D-dad?" Kaiba heisted, but eventual took a step toward his father. Then another. And another until Kaiba was sprinting toward his father.

"Dad!" He shouted, and his father looked up, staring into Kaiba's eyes. Kaiba smiled broadly, it was one of those rare smiles he'd never show to anyone but Mokuba. This time, he couldn't control his joy and let the feeling overtake him.

His father smiled right back at him; a sweet sincerity glistened in his eyes, a smile that Kaiba was so used to seeing only in his dreams and memories. "Dad, you have no idea how much I've missed y—"

The world stopped.

There he was, standing face to face with his father only to have the reality of his situation come crashing down on him.

A younger version of himself crawled out of a nearby linen closet.

No… This can't be happening!

Unexpectedly, a younger version of Mokuba ran straight through Kaiba's body, as if he were merely a ghost.

The world had stopped. Kaiba wasn't dead. He hadn't found heaven. He was just a fly on the wall watching a moment in time unfold once again.

"Way to go Dad! You found him!" Little Mokuba ran up to their father and the younger version of Kaiba. "Nice hiding spot, Seto! You're the best at hide-n-seek!"

"But I always know where to find you," His father ruffled up young Seto's hair, "isn't that right, Seto?"

"That's right!"

Kaiba glanced over his shoulder at the sound of a new voice, but one he could never forget.

"You may be the best hider, Seto, but your father is definitely the best seeker," she laughed and it brought more tears to Kaiba's eyes as he saw and heard his mother for the first time in such a long time. She walked right past him and Kaiba banished his attempt to reach out and touch her. He knew his action would inevitably fail.

Observing his family happily interact for the first time in over a decade and knowing he could only watch from the sidelines made Kaiba feel more defeated than he ever felt in his entire life. Not only did he come to conclude that he was still stuck in the virtual world, but he cursed himself for creating such technology that could ignite his senses in such a way.

Seeing his mother hug a younger version of himself was the icing on the cake to Kaiba's breakdown. Having no control over the situation, Kaiba fell to his knees. Feeling the hot tears stream down his face was enough to put Kaiba over the edge as he slammed fist onto the hardwood floor in pitiful frustration.

All he ever wanted since the death of his parents was for his family to be reunited again. And if he didn't know it before, he definitely knew it now. Just to have a family would make things better, but this world was too cruel, and nothing could bring back what was tragically lost. Even though he had Mokuba, their family was still broken… forever incomplete…

Where he was didn't matter anymore. Kaiba released his repressed sobs. He leaned forward, touching his forehead to the hardwood floor, and watched through blurred, watery vision, as his tears splashed against it. He didn't care if anyone saw him like this, no one could feel the pain he was feeling right now.

Their cheerful laughter. Their voices. It all began to fade away as quickly as it came until Kaiba was left with nothing. He felt naked, as if his entire world had been stripped away. All he ever wanted was now gone, and the painful silence overwhelmed him, so he filled the void with his cries.

Out of nowhere, a soft hand caressed his shoulder. His body involuntarily tensed at the surprise touch, and he looked up, praying it was his mother. To his dismay, it wasn't, but damn did she look just like her. How come he had never noticed before? Probably because it had been so long since he had seen his mother that he had almost forgotten what she looked like.

At this point Kaiba didn't care about anything besides the aching and the desire to make it disappear. He let himself fall into Tea's open arms, not caring what she thought of him. She didn't say anything. She just let him cry as she lightly stroked his hair to calm him down. Kaiba didn't care when or how she got here, but he was thankful she was here. And right now, that's all that mattered.


A high-pitch squealing woke Kaiba from his slumber. For a moment he had forgotten where he was, but he soon recognized his childhood home and the couch in the living room he was resting on.

Stupid virtual world… How dare it bring me here…. He grumbled as he rose from the couch to see where the noise was coming from. The high-pitched squealing sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. Kaiba decided to followed the sound. As he entered the kitchen he saw Tea taking a teapot off of the stove and pouring tea into two mugs. Kaiba recognized the teapot she was using right away; it had belonged to his mother.

Tea spun around and jumped at the sight of him. "Goodness, Kaiba!" She placed a hand over her heart in shock, "How long have you been standing there?"

He approached her, sitting on one of the barstools across the counter from her. "Not long. I just woke up." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Crying had always made him feel even more tired the moment he woke up, and he let out a large yawn.

"I've made some oolong tea." She handed him a mug, "I hope you like it."

He smiled at her, "A beverage from you? I'm sure I'll love it."

Tea smiled at the compliment, knowing it wasn't Kaiba's usual sarcasm but rather a genuine notion. She was beginning to enjoy the flow of praises she was receiving from him. No one ever got this much attention from Kaiba, except for maybe Mokuba. Tea liked seeing the softer side of Kaiba. It was his true self and she yearned for more of it.

Tea watched him blow the steam away from his drink before taking a minuscule sip. His eyes skimmed over her. "You changed clothes." The way he said it was almost a combination of a statement and a question, and Tea couldn't help but answer right away.

"Uh, yeah, we seem to be back in Japan, so I thought the clothing I was wearing would be too warm."

"You're wearing my mother's clothes."

She blushed instantaneously. He wasn't wrong. While Kaiba was sleeping she had dug through the closets upstairs to see what would fit her, finding a casual white tee along with a blue bubble skirt that hugged her waist perfectly. The moment she had chosen to change clothes she knew that they must've been Kaiba's mother's. But how? Could the virtual world have the capacity to hold onto every small detail within a person's memory, including clothing?

"I-I-I'm sorry," she stammered out of embarrassment, "I'll go change back."

She made a move to leave but Kaiba grabbed her by the wrist. "No, you look nice in them."

She blushed, "Oh, uh, thank you."

Kaiba took another small sip from his tea. "I want to apologize for the way I acted before."

Tea just stared at him, not knowing what to say. Kaiba never apologized. Not that she could remember anyway.

"My behavior was out of line. I shouldn't have forced you into that kind of mental stress."

"It's fine, Kaiba."

His blue eyes pierced through her, "No, it's not."

Tea didn't know what to say, so she let her eyes dart away from his. His gaze was so strong for some reason. Was it because of his crying? Did this sudden urge to apologize come from seeing his family?

Tea laughed uncomfortably, trying to shrug herself from his piercing eyes, "Really, Kaiba, it's okay."

He set his cup down and stood up. "No," reaching for the cup in her hand, he plucked it from her grasp and set it down on the counter, "my actions were unacceptable." Out of nowhere, he placed her hand within his. "I want to fix this."

Dumbfounded, Tea peered down at her hand being gently taken into Kaiba's. What was he thinking? This was so unlike him. Maybe he truly did care for her? Was this his way of showing it? She just had to find out.

"What are you trying to fix, Kaiba? Nothing is broken."

Moving around the counter and taking a step closer to her, he lifted her hand and began rubbing the back of it with his thumb. He gazed at their hands, letting almost a minute pass without words, until he said, "I want to fix us."

Tea swallowed the lump that had gathered in her throat. "Us?"

He nodded.

"I-I'm not sure what you mean?" He had her stuttering. She could hardly believe it. She felt her cheeks glow red as a hot rush of blood pooled in her face.

He let out a smooth, deep sigh, "Tea, you were right."

"When?"

"On top of the Empire State Building. You were right."

"About what?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Oh, come on, do you always have to be this stupid?"

She narrowed her eyes right back at him, tempted to yank her hand away from his gentle clutch, "I don't know what you're referring to, Kaiba."

"Do I have to spell it out for you?"

She almost ripped her hand away, but decided to grasp his hand tightly instead. "Yes, Kaiba, please do, because you obviously aren't great at referencing things."

He rolled his eyes and gripped her hand with equal tightness, "when you asked me if I liked you."

"Yeah, and what? You do like me? Is that what you're going to say?"

The same old Kaiba glare had returned. "Don't be such a brat, Gardner."

She chuckled, "I still can't believe you admitted I was right about something."

At this he violently pulled his hand away. Tea saw the small, tired wrinkles under his eyes from crying. She instantly felt stupid for being so insensitive. He had opened up to her for the first time, and this is how she treated him, with disrespect and mockery? She was disgusted with herself.

He turned his back to her and peered over his shoulder, "look, if you aren't willing to work this out then I have better things to deal with."

Kaiba began walking away when Tea reached out and stopped him, whipping him around so he faced her once again. They shared a momentary gaze before Tea replied, "you win."

He cocked his head to the side in confusion, "what do you mean?"

"The wager. You win. I've forgotten about Yugi already." She smirked up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and sending him a sultry gaze, while she honed in on him, pushing her body tightly to his. She had made her first move, praying Kaiba wouldn't revolt.

All Kaiba wanted was to take action, to prove himself to her, that he was better than Yugi, and that she deserved so much more. Her stare had sent a surge of desire through him and he wanted to take her right here and now on the kitchen counter. But something deep down inside told him no, and Kaiba couldn't quite figure out why? Was she lying to him? She couldn't have possibly forgotten about Yugi so soon, could she? As his yearning for her lingered, he knew he needed to get his emotions in check, to let her make the first move. If she truly cared for him, she'd show it, without restraint.

He smirked back at her, but the grin was a test, "Prove it, Gardner."

"How?"

A low, needy groan freed itself from the deepest part of his throat, "You know how."

Indeed, she knew. Moving onto her tip-toes, she lightly brushed his lips with hers. Kaiba was puzzled as to why she didn't dive right into the kiss. Was she cautious as well, worried about what could happen if they crossed the line?

He slightly backed away, breaking up their light kiss. He needed to be sure. He needed to trust her. During their entire excursion through the virtual world, Kaiba had been hesitant to trust her, but over the course of their journey, Tea had proven to be genuine. In fact, she was sincere enough not to mention anything about his meltdown over seeing his family. She simply let him sob in her arms. That is why this time had to be different, or they weren't going to move forward, and their feelings for each other would be lost in string of virtual memories, never to be spoken of ever again. Kaiba wasn't ready to let her go. No, he couldn't let her go. It was now or never.

"Tea…" The use of her first name changed her sultry stare into a softer, more concerned look.

"Yes…?"

He stared through her with a gaze more serious than Tea had ever seen before. He swallowed anxiously before he spoke, "you know if we do this, if we take the next step, there's no turning back."

She matched his seriousness, "yes. I know."

"So, for the last time, are you willing to accept the consequences of your actions?"

Determination overtook her facial features and she smiled, "yes."

Kaiba stayed serious, "you know there's no way I'll be able to give you up after this, right?"

"I know," she confirmed.

They stared at each other for what felt like hours before Kaiba gently lifted her chin, bringing her lips closer to his. Delicately, he grazed her mouth, giving her just another moment to change her mind.

She didn't.

And in that instant, neither one of them could turn back.


A/N: Ah, yes, a new chapter. I want to apologize for the long delay. The past few weeks have been some of the craziest of my life, and I'm in anticipation as to where God will take me next! Anyway, please bear with me as I will try to update as frequently as possible. I promise you I will not give up on this story, and I will be writing it to the end. You have the right to find me and chase me down with pitchforks if I ever break that promise.

Now, as you can see, this story is heading toward the rated M division, so I just want to give a heads up for the upcoming chapter. This story has always been M rated, but if some of you aren't comfortable with sexual content, then here's your heads up. Anyway, please let me know how I did by dropping a review! Thanks for reading and sticking with me.