The air around them burned. Tea was glaring so intensely at Kaiba that it created a tense haze around them. It stifled Kaiba's holding cell and escaped into the room outside. Kaiba's eyes reflected hers. He wasn't backing down to her— no, not this time.
"Dammit, Kaiba!" She was seething, ready to spew more obscenities at him, but his eyes were unforgiving and she decided she needed to deal with Kaiba later. Yugi was her problem now.
Sending Kaiba one last glare, she wheeled herself from the cell, handing the officer the small device that resembled a remote control. Feeling his eyes shoot daggers at her, she decided not to look back as the door slowly shut behind her, locking Kaiba back up.
Thankfully, Mokuba and Roland were silent, giving her the respect and space she needed, but Joey and Tristen were quite the opposite.
"What the hell, Tea?" Joey spat, still fuming from Tea's previous words. "You put him through three years of hell just to end it with that!?"
Tristen jumped to conclusions, "I knew something was going on between you and Kaiba. Why didn't you tell us?"
Tea continued her path toward the back door, ignoring her friends who chose to follow.
"Tea!" They shouted in unison.
She halted, furiously whipping her body around in her chair, "I've had it with you two!" They stopped in their tracks, shocked by Tea's fierce reaction. Did they expect her to just let them rip her apart? "Please, for God's sake, just give me some space!"
And luckily, they did.
Unluckily, the moment she wheeled herself out of the police station's backdoor, it began to rain. Fortunately, the rain chased away the swarms of people gathered around the facility, giving Tea a moment of privacy with Yugi… if she could find him. She sighed, she had to take the good with the bad she supposed…
Thankfully, it didn't take her long to spot his tri-colored hair, even if it was soaking wet. She veered around newly formed puddles to meet him by a nearby picnic table he was sitting at. His back was facing her, and she approached slowly as to not frighten him.
"What do you want, Tea?" She expected his tone to be angrier, but instead it was like hearing a child talk about his favorite toy he'd just lost. There wasn't any malice, just pain.
"How did you know it was me?" Her voice was soft. She tried to sound comforting but it just came out as unsure.
"Your wheels. They make a hissing sound when wet." He stated it so matter-of-factly that Tea couldn't even read his emotions anymore. How was she going to apologize with him like this?
"Oh," she wheeled herself closer to him so that their shoulders were almost touching, "I guess I didn't realize."
"No, I didn't realize."
She knew what he meant, but she had to ask anyways, just be sure she knew where he was going with this. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean, Tea…" He sulked. His bangs were now so drenched that water was trickling down into his eyes, and she couldn't tell if he was crying or if it was just rainwater.
Tea let out an uneasy sigh, "I do… I'm so sorry."
"I should've known when you said no. I should've known…" It was like he was talking to himself. "I should've known you coming back wouldn't change things."
Tea extended her hand, "Yugi, I'm sorry."
He swiped her hand away. "Stop! I don't need your apologies, okay?" He folded his arms across the table and sunk his head onto them, shielding his face from her. He was crying now, his breath shaky and visible from the jerkiness of his back. He mumbled into his arms, "I should've known…"
Tea wasn't quite sure how to console him. He didn't want to be touched and he didn't want her apologies. What was she to do?
After a minute of listening to only the rain, Yugi mumbled incoherently, his body still slouched over the table. "…Phone… I… I just knew…"
"My phone?" She couldn't make out his words.
He picked his head up, wiping his entire face on his sodden sleeve. The action was useless. "I saw his number on your phone when I called your mother to come pick you up from my place." His voice changed and he was suddenly more put-together and stern, "You've been seeing him for a while, haven't you? That's why he insisted on helping you get out of your coma. That's why he jumped into the virtual reality after you."
Frankly, Tea was shocked. She never thought Yugi would jump to such conclusions. Heck, she didn't even think to link Kaiba's motives together. She supposed from an outsider's point of view, the pair seemed suspicious.
"Answer me, Tea." Yugi's eyes were burning red from crying, but the meaning behind them held a different type of burning, one of passion and betrayal, and Tea wasn't quite sure how she would get out of this.
"No…" She tried to speak calmly without raising her defenses, "I swear on my life it's not like that, Yugi."
"You swear on your life?"
"Yes."
"The life you so carelessly jeopardized when you told me no and drove away to be with Kaiba?"
"What!?" Her defenses spiked, only heightening Yugi's hurt and frustration. Tea had never known Yugi to be so jealous, but she supposed this was all so new to him and he needed to release his anger.
He shook his head and Tea was finally able to distinguish his tears from the rain. "Don't you get it, Tea!?" The hurt in his eyes revealed his shattered heart. "I poured out my heart in front of you— in front of all our friends and family… I waited nearly three years for you to come back… I should've known the moment you left that you'd never truly come back."
"Yugi…" Tears began involuntarily streaming down her slick cheeks, "That's not—"
"— Save it. You'd rather be with Kaiba. I get it."
Tea couldn't argue him on that point. She would rather be with Kaiba, even if he pissed her off beyond belief, but the future seemed grim since Kaiba could be put behind bars for a long time.
Tea also wasn't sure how to tell Yugi the truth. Would it be better for her to mention her affair with Kaiba was all virtual, or was it be best to just let Yugi live with his false accusations?
"I…" She lost her train of thought. What was she going to say? Nothing was going to make it better besides the truth, and out of anyone, Yugi deserved to know.
"It's not what you think, Yugi. I just wasn't ready to commit long-term. Your proposal had nothing to do with Kaiba."
She grew irritated that he didn't respond right away. What was she expecting? An applause? "In typical Kaiba fashion," she continued, "he told me he used my comatose condition to test out his virtual world. I was nothing but a means to an end with him…"
Dissing Kaiba may have made Yugi feel a bit better about the situation, but it caused a lump to form in the back of Tea's throat, almost as if she regretted hearing the truth more than Yugi.
"Typical…" His tone was monotonous. Yugi didn't care about Kaiba right now, his heart was just plain broken.
With a lack of regard to his boundaries, Tea placed her hand on her best friend's shoulder. She was thankful he didn't slap her hand away this time. "I'm sorry… I do love you… just not like that."
Yugi sighed, finally beginning to accept the truth, "I know, Tea…. I guess I always have."
Meekly, she asked, "Can you forgive me?"
A small smile crept up the corners of his lips. Despite his hurt, he couldn't hold back on her. "Of course."
She inched closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. It was her turn to cry, and as always, she leaned on Yugi for support. Even though this was what she wanted, closing the door on a great portion of her life always made her feel sad.
They stayed this way for as long as they could, letting the rain wash away their tears and their past.
Two weeks had passed since Seto's arrest and Mokuba was beyond burnt out. In fact, Roland had insisted Mokuba take a day off to simply rest. From running Kaiba Corp., dodging the press, and getting booted from the mansion when the police acquired their warrant, Mokuba could barely get a moment to himself. Even if he got a moment, he'd give it up to visit his brother.
Seto had a busy two weeks as well. Between police interrogations, court hearings, and feeling like OJ Simpson due to the amount of buzz from the media, Mokuba knew his brother was equally as exhausted. Unfortunately, things had just taken a turn for the worse….
"Mr. Kaiba," Chief Lemm approached Mokuba, who was standing outside on the well-manicured front lawn of the Kaiba mansion. The police department wouldn't allow him access to his own home due to risk of tampering with evidence.
Chief Lemm instructed a subordinate officer to hold up a gallon size plastic bag for Mokuba to observe. "Mr. Kaiba, after thorough investigation of the premises, these items seem to be the only cause of concern as far as evidence. I wanted to run them by you before we take them back to the lab."
The subordinate officer handed the bag to Mokuba and instructed him not to open it. Mokuba rolled the clear plastic bag back and forth between his hands, trying to discern what the items were. The bag contained large tattered chunks of gauze. The gauze had traces of what appeared to be black soot, stained yellow and red, almost as if someone tried to heal a burn.
"Where did you find these?"
"In the upstairs bathroom near the farthest end of the west wing," Chief Lemm replied. "We'll run tests of these items and of the burnt black clothing that was discovered near the weapon."
Mokuba clenched his jaw. It was only a matter of time before the police pieced things together. Even he was beginning to believe his brother was guilty…
"Is there anything I can do?" Mokuba's words came out shaky.
"I'm assuming your brother has the best lawyer money can buy. Other than that, I'd say gather some people who'd want to testify for him."
It had been a lonely and physically exhausting past couple of weeks for Tea. After her official break up with Yugi, she decided she needed some time alone to recover. Removing herself from her group of friends left her alone, but wasn't the cause of her loneliness. Her family had been by her side, assisting in her physical therapy treatments, making sure she was eating and staying healthy. Joey and Tristen even called to check up on her. Despite all this, she was still lonely, but this time she knew exactly why.
Practically every waking moment was spent thinking about Kaiba, and Tea couldn't get the image of him sitting there, chained up in a jail cell, out of her head. The visual was just too much. She missed him. She missed him so bad, and the last thing she wanted was for him to rot away in prison.
Of course, Tea kept up with the media, following his story every chance she got. She wanted to make time to see him, but felt uneasy about it. She needed to give him space until she got the chance to reconnect with him once again.
And luckily, opportunity had knocked— literally.
"Coming! Hold on!" Tea wheeled herself as quickly as she could to her front door. The sight of two police officers caught her off guard.
"Miss Gardner?" One of the officer's asked.
"Uh, y-yes?" Her reply was hesitant, and she glanced over the two fellows with panicky eyes.
"We would like to ask you a few questions about the case involving Seto Kaiba. Would you be willing to come with us?"
Despite what the police officers had told her, Tea had been placed in some type of interrogation room. She instantly felt like a criminal and sympathized with Kaiba. The officers indicated it was only for recording purposes since the footage could be used in court. Apparently, Kaiba's lawyer wanted her to testify, but at this point she didn't care what she had to do. She just wanted Kaiba home.
The room was cold and Tea swore she saw frost forming on the corners of the one-way window. Maybe this was how the police got their answers, they froze them out of people.
The door to the interrogation room shot open and a tall, dark man came through. He was wearing multiple gold badges. Some were embroidered onto his navy-blue blazer, while others appeared to be pinned on. Either way, he looked exceedingly official and Tea bit her bottom lip. She was so afraid of incriminating Kaiba that she was beginning to regret ever agreeing to this.
"Miss Gardner," the man held out his hand for her to shake and she robotically did so, "Lemm, Chief of Police. We brought you in today at the request of Mokuba Kaiba and Mr. Kaiba's lawyer to testify in favor of Mr. Kaiba. Do you agree to this?"
She gave him a slow, petrified nod.
"Now, feel free to speak as you wish. Just because you were summoned to speak in support of Mr. Kaiba does not mean you must. If you know the truth, by law, you are required to tell it, understood?"
Again, she nodded nervously, like a grade-schooler in the principal's office.
Chief Lemm pulled out the metal chair from across the table and sat down, slapping a manila folder between them. "I'm not going to waste your time like a lawyer would and ask you round-about questions. I'm just here for the truth, and nothing but. So, tell me, Miss Gardner, did Seto Kaiba set his own building on fire?"
Wide-eyed and terrified, Tea swallowed hard before speaking, "I-I don't know, sir. I wasn't a witness."
"I understand, but do you believe he would have rightful cause to commit a crime such as this?"
"No, sir."
Chief Lemm flipped through a few sheets of paper and read from one. "According to my timeline, you and Mr. Kaiba were stuck in a virtual reality for roughly six months, and that virtual reality system was being contained inside the building, correct?"
"Yes and no."
"Explain."
Tea couldn't tell if she was about to break a sweat or shiver, regardless, she was extremely uncomfortable. "I was trapped in the virtual reality for much longer, almost three years. Kaiba came into the virtual reality to save me from the coma I had been in."
"So, you and Mr. Kaiba were close?"
"I…" She was making the question more complicated than it needed to be. Quit overthinking and just answer him, dammit!
"We were acquaintances before the virtual reality, then we became… friends afterwards."
Chief Lemm read for a moment, flipping back and forth between a few pages. "And because of Mr. Kaiba's virtual technology, you ended up in a wheelchair?"
"That would be correct."
"And you don't think that fact alone would give Mr. Kaiba rightful cause to burn down his project— which happens to be named after you."
Bile crept up Tea's esophagus, and she had to swallow a few times to get the feeling to disappear. She was so anxious she thought she was going to cough up everything— her lunch and Kaiba's truth.
But arguably, she didn't know the truth. Kaiba never admitted to her what he'd done. She was telling Chief Lemm the only truth she knew.
"No." Her answer felt weak.
"And why is that?"
"Seto Kaiba would never destroy what he loves."
Chief Lemm eyed her curiously, squinting to see if he could get a read from her. "And he loved Tea?"
She jumped in her chair, "Excuse me!?"
"I'm sorry, Project Tea. He loved Project Tea."
With strange relief, she let out an audible sigh, "Yes. I believe so."
From the corner of her eye, Tea could have sworn she saw the man smile slightly. Like he was intentionally trying to trip her up. "I see…" He moved onto his next question, "Tell me, Miss Gardner, since you're his friend, does Mr. Kaiba smoke cigarettes?"
Puzzled by the change in subject, she knit her eyebrows together and answered as if he were asking if the sky was blue. "Yes."
"Interesting."
"Why do you say that?" She inquired.
"His assistant, his closest employees, and even his own brother insisted that he doesn't smoke." He handed her a few photographs and gave her a few moments to look through them.
It was hard to tell the subject of the photos, since only small patches of skin were shown. Tea eventually landed on a wide-shot and saw that the subject was indeed, Kaiba. Tiny burn marks were seared across his left arm and upper shoulder. Some were in odd shapes and colors, while others appeared small and circular.
"According to Mr. Kaiba, these wounds are self-inflicted cigarette burns. Since you're the only person to confirm his smoking habit, can you tell me if you knew about this?"
Tea swallowed nervously, taking a few moments to glance at the photos one last time before handing them back to Chief Lemm. These burns were obviously not from a cigarette, and anyone who smoked would know what a cigarette burn looked like. But, if somebody didn't know what a cigarette burn looked like, they might just question it… Was Kaiba onto something?
Burns? Cigarettes? There was something about the combination that seemed familiar to her, but something wasn't quite right.
Burns…Cigarettes… They both needed… Fire!
And that's when it struck her. That bizarre feeling returned. She had felt it when she was near fire in the virtual world. The gorgeous, blazing sunset, and the random lighter she had found in her pocket right before Kaiba jumped from the Empire State Building. Those things lead straight to him while they were in the virtual world. It was the only time they got to share a cigarette together. No wonder Kaiba was fabricating such a ridiculous story— it was all for her! Only she would know of his cigarette habit, and only she would know about the burns being from the fire and stilltestify for him.
He had both confessed and pleaded not guilty at the same time, something only he could manage to do. Now all Tea had to do was not fuck up her testimony. It felt like Kaiba's life was in her hands once again, just like that day on top of the Empire State Building, only this time she wouldn't accidently let go.
"Yes," she began, making up Kaiba's alibi as she went along, "I did know about his habit." She paused, trying to come up with something believable. "He and I were— are smoking buddies."
Chief Lemm raised an eyebrow sky-high. "Smoking buddies?"
"Uh, yes, sir."
"You mean to tell me Seto Kaiba has a smoking buddy?" His question seemed slightly more judgmental than Tea thought was appropriate, but she continued.
"Yes. That is correct."
"Why?"
"Because we don't want our friends and families to know we smoke." It surprised Tea how naturally the truth could come out. Even though she smoked with Kaiba only once—
and it was completely virtual— she'd assumed Kaiba didn't want anyone else to know about it. According to Lemm, not even Mokuba knew of his habit.
"So, Miss Gardner, can you explain to me why Mr. Kaiba would brand himself?"
She tried to swallow but her throat was as dry as a desert. "Uh… Because he didn't have an ash tray?" It came out more like a question than a response, and Tea cursed herself for being so nervous. She tried to cover up her little slip, "Kaiba's a perfectionist, and he really doesn't want anyone to know he smokes, so owning an ash tray would be counterproductive, don't you think?"
"I suppose it would be…." The chief stopped to eye her up, almost as if he were suspecting her fib. "Tell me why he didn't just use his shoe or the floor to put out his cigarette?"
Shit. This was the deal-breaker. If Tea couldn't answer this part correctly in accordance to the story Kaiba told the officers, he was sure to be locked up, and it would be all her fault.
She thought about Kaiba's home or office. It's obvious why someone wouldn't want to put out their cigarette on their shoe or the floor because the ashes would get everywhere, especially if Kaiba's home or office had—
"Carpet, of course!" She said it proudly and confidently. "The ashes would get everywhere."
"Why not go outside then?"
"He's a well-known man. Word might get around."
"Then why his own body?" Chief Lemm was challenging her. It was like playing devil's advocate, and something about their exchange excited Tea. At this point, defending Kaiba was her top priority.
"What better place to hide your habit? You can attend to the wounds later. Most of them would heal overtime, or at least I would assume."
This comment made Chief Lemm tense up and he became a bit less forceful in his demeanor. "Do you know if Mr. Kaiba attends to his wounds?"
Was this a trick question? "I don't know. I would assume so. I mean, if it were me I—"
Chief Lemm stood up, abruptly interrupting her, "Thank you, Mrs. Gardner. I appreciate your time."
"W-wait? We're done?"
He nodded, holding open the door for her.
Before Tea left the room, she wanted to make sure she could see Kaiba for one last time before their worlds were split in two. "Can I see him?"
Chief Lemm gave her a tiny half smile, "I'll escort you to his cell."
A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I seriously cannot believe that my last update was in August. I'm shocked none of you came looking for me with flaming pitchforks at the ready.
In all seriousness, I do apologize for the delay. Three months is a bit ridiculous. I do have a million and one excuses, but I'll spare you the details at this point. I would, however, like to make a quick shout out to those who 'checked in' on me while I was away. Thank you jace0024blue and Liwliwa-Janoah for sending me some sweet messages that I never got the chance to reply to. I do read every message, review, and comment that all of you leave and I just want to reiterate on how important and meaningful they are to me, so thank you. I apologize for not replying to everyone's reviews last time around. I'll be replying going forward.
'Cause now I'm back!
(Reference, anyone?)
