((Oh, this just hit me. But if any of you people are offended by all the
blonde jokes I use on Joey, don't be. I'm blondeish myself ^_^ And all of
us blonde people know that we really aren't stupid. So ANYway, just had to
say that. Enjoy!))
Seto finally sat down on a bench. It was night two. Time? 3:01. Was he tired? Yes. Did he want to go to sleep? Yes. Was he going to be able to? No.
'So should I.? I don't know. It seems like the thing to do, but I would be putting everything on the line. Am I willing to make myself a vulnerable target just over some one person? But it's Tea. She hates me. But I don't hate her for hating me. How can she ever forgive me?' He smacked himself on the forehead. 'Stupid Kaiba! Stupid stupid stupid Kaiba! How could you do that?' Sighing he shook his head. 'Well, I don't know. I just don't know. I'm just so confused. I really want to get back with her, but at the very exact same moment I don't. So which one do I pick? Or should I just let things happen and allow my actions to take over my thoughts? So far the only time things bad have been going on, it's when I'm thinking. Why do I have to think so much?!'
He stood up again and made his weary limbs trudge on further. 'I have to think of something though. If it eventually comes to that, then so be it, but until that becomes my final decision. I'm going to try and solve this in some sort of logical way.'
*******************
"Tuesdays should die. Why do we always have to have a history test on Tuesdays? I didn't even get a chance to study. Why can't we just not have history tests? I think all the tests in the world should get sucked into some sort of black hole or something."
Joey was grumbling on his way home with the hated paper in his hand. "I can't believe I got a D. Heh, D for how dead I'm gonna be. I got some history for ya, me, cause that's what I'm going to be when I get home."
Tristan smiled and patted his back. "Hey, it's not your fault man. blonde's are naturally dumb."
"Shut up Trist."
"No I'm serious! Just blame your parents for giving you blonde hair. Then they can't get mad at you. It's their fault you're just so stupid."
"Shut up Trist."
"I don't get a great excuse like that. If I get a bad grade I have to face the music. I don't have a blonde mess on my head that's sucking out my brain cells."
Joey stomped down hard on Tristan's toes and watched his friend dance around in pain before starting to walk again. "I told ya to shut up."
Tea and Yugi were walking up behind them. Seeing the hopping Tristan, Tea smiled and giggled. "Maybe Joey's not the only blonde one."
After recovering from his injured foot Tristan hung back with Tea and stared at Joey's back up ahead. "Oh are you talking about Yugi, Tea? I guess you're right, he does have some blondeness to him."
Yugi rolled his eyes and stopped at the corner. "I have to go pick up Mokuba. You guys wanna come?"
Joey was deaf and kept grumbling to himself ahead of the gang, but Tristan stared down at his short friend. "Why are you picking up Mokuba?"
Tea answered for him. "Mokuba's staying at Yugi's. Same with me."
He raised an eyebrow. "Is he running some sort of a hotel or something?"
"No, no. Tea's parents said she could stay at my place until they move back so that she can get back into school earlier. Mokuba's staying just because he was all by himself in the mansion." Yugi smiled and started heading towards the elementary school.
"Yeah, okay, I'm not even gonna ask why. Later Yugi." He waved and then ran off after Joey.
"I'm gonna go back to the shop. See you in a bit." Tea kept walked off in that direction as the happy crew split up for the afternoon.
**********************
Night three and he was still walking. There had been some brief stops to get food, but other than that nothing. By this time his clothes had that old clammy feeling that started clinging to him even though he'd only slept one of those three nights. He'd tried to sleep the others. but he couldn't. Too much was going through his head for him to sleep. Too many questions were tormenting him for him to relax even a little.
Seto was plodding along the side of the road. The sidewalk had disappeared, possibly twenty miles back, but that was fine, it didn't matter anyway. 'So I've resolved that. It's not Seto, it's not Kaiba, it's Seto Kaiba. I care for Mokuba; I care for Tea, the list of people that are even remotely close to me amounts to five. The two mentioned before, and also Yugi, Joey, and Tristan. I do have emotions, and I do care for people. So I'm slightly closed off and like to keep to myself, but that's okay. I am fairly intelligent, possibly a little arrogant, I tend to ignore the opinions of others and to push them away even if I inwardly want them to help. I'm not really insane, and I'm not really homicidal. I do tend to loose my temper every so often, but if I can manage to control that from now on it should fix some problems.' A light mist slowly began to set in as he continued forward. 'Now that I've done a basic analysis it's time to start thinking of what I'm going to do to continue on in that state without altering it as best I can. Maybe the only way is to stop thinking and let things just happen. No, there has to be something that I can plan, something that I can control and know what the outcome is going to be.'
**********************
Mokuba was sleeping on the couch and it wasn't very comfortable. After an hour or so of tossing and turning he finally decided to get up and go get a late night snack.
Pulling his head out of the fridge with two bottles of soda in his arms and a packet of pepperoni held in his mouth he went over to the table and dumped the stuff down. Then he ran over and grabbed a glass. While he was on his way back to the table the phone started ringing.
'Who could be calling this late at night?'
He went and picked it up.
"Motou residence. Who is it please."
".Hey kid."
"Seto?!" Mokuba's face exploded into a smile. "Hi Seto, how are you? I missed you. Are you coming home? Is everything okay now? Are we going back to the mansion? Are you coming over right now to pick me up?"
There was a slight chuckle from the other end. "Sorry Mokuba. Not just yet. I'm fine, thanks. How are things working out over there?"
Mokuba's heart sank a little, but he remained cheerful all the same. "Oh, it's fine. Yugi's making me feel really at home. Tea's over here too. Did you know she's moving back? Isn't that great?"
"Yeah Mokuba. It really is."
He noted the decrease in Seto's tone. "You okay?"
"Yes, yes. I'm fine."
"When do you think you're going to come home?"
"Probably not for a while yet."
"Awe."
"Just hang in there for a bit kiddo. I'll come back as soon as I'm sure of what to do." There was a slight pause. "Be patient. Good things come to those who wait."
Mokuba gave a little smile. "Okay. Are you going to call again tomorrow?"
"Most likely."
"Great! I'll talk to ya then."
"Yup, bye Mokuba."
"Bye." He hung up the phone with a new bounce to his step. Seto was back on his way to being the normal big brother he'd loved all these years. Taking a small case out of his pocket he clicked it open and stared at the smiling face of his brother when he was little. "G'night Seto."
***********************
Tea was twiddling with the food on her plate at lunch as she listened to Joey and Tristan insulting each other, as usual. She didn't know why she was depressed, even if it was just a little. She should have been the happiest person on earth. Her parents had finally decided to move back, she was getting to stay at her friend's house until then, and everything was going back to being normal and peachy.
'But then what's missing?' She sighed and stabbed a piece of fruit. Picking it up off the plate she stared at it. 'Maybe I'm just a little homesick. That'll all be better by Saturday.' Tea then slid the fruit off the fork and into her mouth as she chewed it slowly. 'Why do I think that that somehow isn't it.'
******************
Tea was sitting up in the guestroom doing her homework methodically. The math problems in front of her just seemed to drawl on and on, and she sighed as she leaned over onto the desk.
Just then the phone started ringing and she jerked up with a smile. 'Sanctuary!' With a happy smile she ran down the stairs and picked up the phone.
"Hello? Who is it?"
"Hello dear, how are things going?"
"Oh, just fine Mom. How is the packing?"
"Hectic as usual, but what would you expect? Anyway, that's not why I called. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind giving your grandmother a visit tomorrow. It's been so long since any of us stopped by, and your father and I can't do it since we're obviously busy with the move. So would you mind honey?"
Tea shrugged. "Sure, okay. I'll make sure to tell her that you guys said hi."
"Thanks. We'll see you on Friday then?"
"Okay Mom, bye."
Hanging up the phone Tea shrugged with a slight smile. 'Well, at least it will give me something else to do tomorrow. I'll have to ask if I can borrow the car.'
*********************
Now it was night four. Walking, Seto was still walking, still thinking, still trying to find some way to get his life back into one piece.
'I should never have done that. Maybe if I had believed in myself more things would've turned out differently.' He sighed and stared down at the ground in front of him. 'Maybe I should have run away. No, that would've left Mokuba. I'm sure Gozaburo would've started sinking his teeth into Mokuba if I had left. So I did do the right thing, it was the right thing to stay and go through it. Did I give up hope? Was that what made it all so bad? That I gave up hope that it would all get better?' A few blurred images passed through his mind of those years of training. 'I did. I did give up hope. But Mokuba never did. Every time I came out of that accursed office Mokuba would be standing there, waiting for me.' He gave a brief smile. 'Mokuba knew, Mokuba trusted me to hold on. That's why I kept going. for Mokuba. The kid's always been there for me, even if he never said anything. I think he knew what was going on. That's why he was always waiting for me. He wanted to make sure I was okay, just to make sure that I hadn't given up yet, just to check that I was still hanging in there.'
Still with the slight smile he shook his head. 'If only I had trusted others like that. I should have trusted others to take care of me, just like Mokuba. That's what got me into this whole mess in the first place. I never trusted anyone, so maybe if I put myself into someone else's hands for a change. I'll learn. I'll learn to trust them just like Mokuba trusts me.'
*******************
Tomorrow had come and Tea was walking in the door with Yugi and Mokuba after another average day of school. As she was heading on her way upstairs the thought of what her mom had asked her to do popped into her mind. Turning back to face Yugi who was getting something out of the fridge she asked, "Hey Yugi, can I borrow the car for the afternoon? My mom asked me to visit my grandmother's, and it's like two hours away, so could I?"
Walking over with a can of soda he shrugged. "I don't know. You'll have to ask Grandpa. He's in charge of the keys."
She nodded. "Oh, okay. Where is he?"
Another shrug and he started heading for the living room as he opened the can. "He had to go pick up a shipment. He'll probably be back in an hour or something."
"Okay." With that she ran upstairs and pulled her stuff out of her bag. 'At least I'll have time to do my homework then.'
********************
Tea heard the door slam just as she finished putting away her now finished schoolwork. With a little smile she ran down the stairs and waited patiently at the base of them as she watched Yugi's Grandpa walk in with a box and put it down on the counter. Just when he opened it and was about to start putting whatever was inside away she piped up.
"Could I borrow the car please?"
He turned to face her. "What do you need the car for?"
"My mom asked me to visit my grandmother today. I don't want to bother you to take me, and I know the way. So could I please use it?"
He smiled and reached into his pocket. "Alright, just make sure you get back at a reasonable hour. I don't want your parents on me about how I let their daughter run around all night." Chucking the keys over in her direction he smiled again and went back to what he had been doing.
"Thank you." With a little perk she headed out the door and jumped into the car and headed on her way towards her grandma's place.
*******************
"Um. maybe I went the wrong way."
Tea glanced from side to side in the car. Her little two-hour trip had grown into a lengthy five hour one. and now it was getting dark.
She pulled off to the side of the road for a minute and reached into the glove compartment. Fiddling her hand around in there for a while she pulled out some gum, tissues, cards, CDs. 'Don't they have enough room for a few maps?' Giving a frustrated sigh she closed the compartment again. 'Now what am I gonna do?'
Staring down the road and watching the cars go by for a couple of minutes she then noticed a figure walking past her window and continuing on from there. With a little hope Tea pulled up next to them.
"Excuse me."
The person just kept walking with their hands shoved into their pockets and staring at the ground.
Pulling forward a little more she tried again.
"Um, excuse me. Could you please tell me where I am?"
The person stopped and they raised their head, obviously hearing her for the first time. Then turning to face her with the hand on the back of their neck he responded.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't live around here I'm just passing." His eyes grew wide as he stared at her mouth agape. "Tea?"
She blinked a couple of times just as surprised as he seemed to be.
Kaiba stepped forward and stared down at her face in the window. "Tea? What are you doing here?"
"Um, I, um. Wait, what are YOU doing here?"
Getting that stern look on his face he crossed his arms. "If you must know, I was taking a little walk."
Tea's eyes spread. "Out HERE? How long have you been walking for?"
He shrugged, "About five days."
"Five days?!"
The expression remained blank. "Yes, five days. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to continue." Turning away he started again as Tea followed him in her car slowly. Stopping again he stared at her. "Why are you following me?"
She tapped her finger on the steering wheel. "Get in the car Seto. You're gonna get like mugged or something if you keep going."
"No, I won't, I'll be fine." Walking again he got a couple feet away before his weary legs gave way underneath him so that he was forced into a kneel.
Seeing this, Tea stopped the car and got out. As she stepped up beside Kaiba she grabbed onto his arm and helped him up. "Seto, you're falling over, just get in the car. Trust me, you'll feel a lot better once you get home."
He stopped and halted, not allowing her to help him another inch as he stared straight into her face. 'Trust her? Of all the people to come and find me, Tea does. and now, of all the things to say, she asks me to trust her.? Why is she still trying to help me? Why, after everything. Why is she trying to help me after what I've done to her?' "Tea?"
"Um, yeah Seto?"
"Let's try this." Taking her arm away from him he took a step back. "Let's start over, so. Hello, I'm Seto Kaiba, a normal teenage guy who doesn't have any issues. Who are you?"
Her eyebrow raised and she crossed her arms. "What?"
"I'm Seto Kaiba, a normal teenage guy who doesn't have any issues and would like to know who you may be."
Tea gave a slight roll of the eyes and sighed. "Okay, I'll bite. I'm Tea Gardner. Would you like me to take you home Seto?"
Kaiba gave a small smile and headed over to the passengers side and got in. "I would appreciate that. Thank you very much Tea."
*****************
Tea helped Seto into the mansion, as much as he would let her anyway, and walked over to the couch with him. "I have to give some people a call, okay?"
He nodded.
Heading back into the kitchen she picked the phone off the wall and dialed Yugi's number. Then placing the phone to her ear she waited until there was an answer.
"Turtle game shop, who is it please?"
"Hey Yugi, it's Tea. I just called to tell you-"
"Where have you been all this time? We were calling around to see what had happened to you. I was really worried."
"Yugi, I-"
"Are you okay? Did something happen?"
"No, I'm fine. I got a little lost, that's all."
"So everything is okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. I'll be over in a like ten minutes or something."
"Okay, see ya then."
"Yup. Bye." She hung up the phone and then walked back into the living room where Kaiba was sitting on the couch staring at the wall. "So? Are you gonna tell me what happened?"
Avoiding eye contact he sent his gaze at the floor. "Oh, that. I was just thinking. I sort of needed to get my head together." Looking up he flashed a brief smile with a shrug. "Lost myself for a while there, but we all go through something of the sort eventually. Life goes on."
Tea stared over at him. "Are you okay? You're acting sort of, how do I put this. different."
He smiled again. "Nothing's wrong. Really, and I'm going to be just fine. The world will keep spinning without me being depressed all the time I figure."
"Are you sure you're okay?" A skeptic glance was sent his way. "This isn't just some little phase or anything?"
Seto crossed his arms and leaned back into the cushions as he looked over at her in the chair across from him. "Nope. It's all okay, unless you have a problem with that." A little smirked played on his face. "Or do you not like guys without mental issues?"
"I don't get how you can go from being totally ballistic, to totally normal in a few days."
"You want me to explain?"
"Um. do I?" She bit her lip a little nervously.
With a chuckle he shook his head. "Let's just say that I've figured a couple things out that I didn't know before. Which reminds me-" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Punching in a number another small smile appeared on his face.
"Hey Yugi, is Mokuba there? . Okay. ... Hey Mokuba. . Yeah, it's me. Guess what? . No, it's not that. . Not that either. . Do you really want to know? . Okay, well figure this out; What's small, hyper, and going to be coming home in a few minutes? . Right on the head kiddo. I'll be over in a few, get your stuff together." Hanging up the phone he stood up and started heading for the door but stopped and sent a backwards glance at Tea. "Are you coming? I know you have to go to Yugi's too."
Getting up herself she walked over and looked at him curiously. "How'd you know I was staying at Yugi's?"
"Mokuba told me, and it makes sense since you're moving back this Saturday."
She gave him another curios look as she followed him out the door. "Did Mokuba tell you that too?"
Kaiba just shook his head.
"Then how did you-"
"Let's just say I'm helping a little. Forget about it." Without another word he climbed into his own car and started it as Tea climbed into the one she was driving and followed him back to Yugi's place.
*******************
Mokuba had firmly latched himself onto his brother's leg as they walked back into the mansion later that night. Seto was back! Seto was home! Seto was back and all was good! Seto was back again! Seto was here to take care of him!
He gave another squeeze to the leg with a huge grin planted on his features and heard the chuckle from above as the purple hat was pulled over his eyes by his big brother. Seto was home!!!!!!!!!!!
Seto finally sat down on a bench. It was night two. Time? 3:01. Was he tired? Yes. Did he want to go to sleep? Yes. Was he going to be able to? No.
'So should I.? I don't know. It seems like the thing to do, but I would be putting everything on the line. Am I willing to make myself a vulnerable target just over some one person? But it's Tea. She hates me. But I don't hate her for hating me. How can she ever forgive me?' He smacked himself on the forehead. 'Stupid Kaiba! Stupid stupid stupid Kaiba! How could you do that?' Sighing he shook his head. 'Well, I don't know. I just don't know. I'm just so confused. I really want to get back with her, but at the very exact same moment I don't. So which one do I pick? Or should I just let things happen and allow my actions to take over my thoughts? So far the only time things bad have been going on, it's when I'm thinking. Why do I have to think so much?!'
He stood up again and made his weary limbs trudge on further. 'I have to think of something though. If it eventually comes to that, then so be it, but until that becomes my final decision. I'm going to try and solve this in some sort of logical way.'
*******************
"Tuesdays should die. Why do we always have to have a history test on Tuesdays? I didn't even get a chance to study. Why can't we just not have history tests? I think all the tests in the world should get sucked into some sort of black hole or something."
Joey was grumbling on his way home with the hated paper in his hand. "I can't believe I got a D. Heh, D for how dead I'm gonna be. I got some history for ya, me, cause that's what I'm going to be when I get home."
Tristan smiled and patted his back. "Hey, it's not your fault man. blonde's are naturally dumb."
"Shut up Trist."
"No I'm serious! Just blame your parents for giving you blonde hair. Then they can't get mad at you. It's their fault you're just so stupid."
"Shut up Trist."
"I don't get a great excuse like that. If I get a bad grade I have to face the music. I don't have a blonde mess on my head that's sucking out my brain cells."
Joey stomped down hard on Tristan's toes and watched his friend dance around in pain before starting to walk again. "I told ya to shut up."
Tea and Yugi were walking up behind them. Seeing the hopping Tristan, Tea smiled and giggled. "Maybe Joey's not the only blonde one."
After recovering from his injured foot Tristan hung back with Tea and stared at Joey's back up ahead. "Oh are you talking about Yugi, Tea? I guess you're right, he does have some blondeness to him."
Yugi rolled his eyes and stopped at the corner. "I have to go pick up Mokuba. You guys wanna come?"
Joey was deaf and kept grumbling to himself ahead of the gang, but Tristan stared down at his short friend. "Why are you picking up Mokuba?"
Tea answered for him. "Mokuba's staying at Yugi's. Same with me."
He raised an eyebrow. "Is he running some sort of a hotel or something?"
"No, no. Tea's parents said she could stay at my place until they move back so that she can get back into school earlier. Mokuba's staying just because he was all by himself in the mansion." Yugi smiled and started heading towards the elementary school.
"Yeah, okay, I'm not even gonna ask why. Later Yugi." He waved and then ran off after Joey.
"I'm gonna go back to the shop. See you in a bit." Tea kept walked off in that direction as the happy crew split up for the afternoon.
**********************
Night three and he was still walking. There had been some brief stops to get food, but other than that nothing. By this time his clothes had that old clammy feeling that started clinging to him even though he'd only slept one of those three nights. He'd tried to sleep the others. but he couldn't. Too much was going through his head for him to sleep. Too many questions were tormenting him for him to relax even a little.
Seto was plodding along the side of the road. The sidewalk had disappeared, possibly twenty miles back, but that was fine, it didn't matter anyway. 'So I've resolved that. It's not Seto, it's not Kaiba, it's Seto Kaiba. I care for Mokuba; I care for Tea, the list of people that are even remotely close to me amounts to five. The two mentioned before, and also Yugi, Joey, and Tristan. I do have emotions, and I do care for people. So I'm slightly closed off and like to keep to myself, but that's okay. I am fairly intelligent, possibly a little arrogant, I tend to ignore the opinions of others and to push them away even if I inwardly want them to help. I'm not really insane, and I'm not really homicidal. I do tend to loose my temper every so often, but if I can manage to control that from now on it should fix some problems.' A light mist slowly began to set in as he continued forward. 'Now that I've done a basic analysis it's time to start thinking of what I'm going to do to continue on in that state without altering it as best I can. Maybe the only way is to stop thinking and let things just happen. No, there has to be something that I can plan, something that I can control and know what the outcome is going to be.'
**********************
Mokuba was sleeping on the couch and it wasn't very comfortable. After an hour or so of tossing and turning he finally decided to get up and go get a late night snack.
Pulling his head out of the fridge with two bottles of soda in his arms and a packet of pepperoni held in his mouth he went over to the table and dumped the stuff down. Then he ran over and grabbed a glass. While he was on his way back to the table the phone started ringing.
'Who could be calling this late at night?'
He went and picked it up.
"Motou residence. Who is it please."
".Hey kid."
"Seto?!" Mokuba's face exploded into a smile. "Hi Seto, how are you? I missed you. Are you coming home? Is everything okay now? Are we going back to the mansion? Are you coming over right now to pick me up?"
There was a slight chuckle from the other end. "Sorry Mokuba. Not just yet. I'm fine, thanks. How are things working out over there?"
Mokuba's heart sank a little, but he remained cheerful all the same. "Oh, it's fine. Yugi's making me feel really at home. Tea's over here too. Did you know she's moving back? Isn't that great?"
"Yeah Mokuba. It really is."
He noted the decrease in Seto's tone. "You okay?"
"Yes, yes. I'm fine."
"When do you think you're going to come home?"
"Probably not for a while yet."
"Awe."
"Just hang in there for a bit kiddo. I'll come back as soon as I'm sure of what to do." There was a slight pause. "Be patient. Good things come to those who wait."
Mokuba gave a little smile. "Okay. Are you going to call again tomorrow?"
"Most likely."
"Great! I'll talk to ya then."
"Yup, bye Mokuba."
"Bye." He hung up the phone with a new bounce to his step. Seto was back on his way to being the normal big brother he'd loved all these years. Taking a small case out of his pocket he clicked it open and stared at the smiling face of his brother when he was little. "G'night Seto."
***********************
Tea was twiddling with the food on her plate at lunch as she listened to Joey and Tristan insulting each other, as usual. She didn't know why she was depressed, even if it was just a little. She should have been the happiest person on earth. Her parents had finally decided to move back, she was getting to stay at her friend's house until then, and everything was going back to being normal and peachy.
'But then what's missing?' She sighed and stabbed a piece of fruit. Picking it up off the plate she stared at it. 'Maybe I'm just a little homesick. That'll all be better by Saturday.' Tea then slid the fruit off the fork and into her mouth as she chewed it slowly. 'Why do I think that that somehow isn't it.'
******************
Tea was sitting up in the guestroom doing her homework methodically. The math problems in front of her just seemed to drawl on and on, and she sighed as she leaned over onto the desk.
Just then the phone started ringing and she jerked up with a smile. 'Sanctuary!' With a happy smile she ran down the stairs and picked up the phone.
"Hello? Who is it?"
"Hello dear, how are things going?"
"Oh, just fine Mom. How is the packing?"
"Hectic as usual, but what would you expect? Anyway, that's not why I called. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind giving your grandmother a visit tomorrow. It's been so long since any of us stopped by, and your father and I can't do it since we're obviously busy with the move. So would you mind honey?"
Tea shrugged. "Sure, okay. I'll make sure to tell her that you guys said hi."
"Thanks. We'll see you on Friday then?"
"Okay Mom, bye."
Hanging up the phone Tea shrugged with a slight smile. 'Well, at least it will give me something else to do tomorrow. I'll have to ask if I can borrow the car.'
*********************
Now it was night four. Walking, Seto was still walking, still thinking, still trying to find some way to get his life back into one piece.
'I should never have done that. Maybe if I had believed in myself more things would've turned out differently.' He sighed and stared down at the ground in front of him. 'Maybe I should have run away. No, that would've left Mokuba. I'm sure Gozaburo would've started sinking his teeth into Mokuba if I had left. So I did do the right thing, it was the right thing to stay and go through it. Did I give up hope? Was that what made it all so bad? That I gave up hope that it would all get better?' A few blurred images passed through his mind of those years of training. 'I did. I did give up hope. But Mokuba never did. Every time I came out of that accursed office Mokuba would be standing there, waiting for me.' He gave a brief smile. 'Mokuba knew, Mokuba trusted me to hold on. That's why I kept going. for Mokuba. The kid's always been there for me, even if he never said anything. I think he knew what was going on. That's why he was always waiting for me. He wanted to make sure I was okay, just to make sure that I hadn't given up yet, just to check that I was still hanging in there.'
Still with the slight smile he shook his head. 'If only I had trusted others like that. I should have trusted others to take care of me, just like Mokuba. That's what got me into this whole mess in the first place. I never trusted anyone, so maybe if I put myself into someone else's hands for a change. I'll learn. I'll learn to trust them just like Mokuba trusts me.'
*******************
Tomorrow had come and Tea was walking in the door with Yugi and Mokuba after another average day of school. As she was heading on her way upstairs the thought of what her mom had asked her to do popped into her mind. Turning back to face Yugi who was getting something out of the fridge she asked, "Hey Yugi, can I borrow the car for the afternoon? My mom asked me to visit my grandmother's, and it's like two hours away, so could I?"
Walking over with a can of soda he shrugged. "I don't know. You'll have to ask Grandpa. He's in charge of the keys."
She nodded. "Oh, okay. Where is he?"
Another shrug and he started heading for the living room as he opened the can. "He had to go pick up a shipment. He'll probably be back in an hour or something."
"Okay." With that she ran upstairs and pulled her stuff out of her bag. 'At least I'll have time to do my homework then.'
********************
Tea heard the door slam just as she finished putting away her now finished schoolwork. With a little smile she ran down the stairs and waited patiently at the base of them as she watched Yugi's Grandpa walk in with a box and put it down on the counter. Just when he opened it and was about to start putting whatever was inside away she piped up.
"Could I borrow the car please?"
He turned to face her. "What do you need the car for?"
"My mom asked me to visit my grandmother today. I don't want to bother you to take me, and I know the way. So could I please use it?"
He smiled and reached into his pocket. "Alright, just make sure you get back at a reasonable hour. I don't want your parents on me about how I let their daughter run around all night." Chucking the keys over in her direction he smiled again and went back to what he had been doing.
"Thank you." With a little perk she headed out the door and jumped into the car and headed on her way towards her grandma's place.
*******************
"Um. maybe I went the wrong way."
Tea glanced from side to side in the car. Her little two-hour trip had grown into a lengthy five hour one. and now it was getting dark.
She pulled off to the side of the road for a minute and reached into the glove compartment. Fiddling her hand around in there for a while she pulled out some gum, tissues, cards, CDs. 'Don't they have enough room for a few maps?' Giving a frustrated sigh she closed the compartment again. 'Now what am I gonna do?'
Staring down the road and watching the cars go by for a couple of minutes she then noticed a figure walking past her window and continuing on from there. With a little hope Tea pulled up next to them.
"Excuse me."
The person just kept walking with their hands shoved into their pockets and staring at the ground.
Pulling forward a little more she tried again.
"Um, excuse me. Could you please tell me where I am?"
The person stopped and they raised their head, obviously hearing her for the first time. Then turning to face her with the hand on the back of their neck he responded.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't live around here I'm just passing." His eyes grew wide as he stared at her mouth agape. "Tea?"
She blinked a couple of times just as surprised as he seemed to be.
Kaiba stepped forward and stared down at her face in the window. "Tea? What are you doing here?"
"Um, I, um. Wait, what are YOU doing here?"
Getting that stern look on his face he crossed his arms. "If you must know, I was taking a little walk."
Tea's eyes spread. "Out HERE? How long have you been walking for?"
He shrugged, "About five days."
"Five days?!"
The expression remained blank. "Yes, five days. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to continue." Turning away he started again as Tea followed him in her car slowly. Stopping again he stared at her. "Why are you following me?"
She tapped her finger on the steering wheel. "Get in the car Seto. You're gonna get like mugged or something if you keep going."
"No, I won't, I'll be fine." Walking again he got a couple feet away before his weary legs gave way underneath him so that he was forced into a kneel.
Seeing this, Tea stopped the car and got out. As she stepped up beside Kaiba she grabbed onto his arm and helped him up. "Seto, you're falling over, just get in the car. Trust me, you'll feel a lot better once you get home."
He stopped and halted, not allowing her to help him another inch as he stared straight into her face. 'Trust her? Of all the people to come and find me, Tea does. and now, of all the things to say, she asks me to trust her.? Why is she still trying to help me? Why, after everything. Why is she trying to help me after what I've done to her?' "Tea?"
"Um, yeah Seto?"
"Let's try this." Taking her arm away from him he took a step back. "Let's start over, so. Hello, I'm Seto Kaiba, a normal teenage guy who doesn't have any issues. Who are you?"
Her eyebrow raised and she crossed her arms. "What?"
"I'm Seto Kaiba, a normal teenage guy who doesn't have any issues and would like to know who you may be."
Tea gave a slight roll of the eyes and sighed. "Okay, I'll bite. I'm Tea Gardner. Would you like me to take you home Seto?"
Kaiba gave a small smile and headed over to the passengers side and got in. "I would appreciate that. Thank you very much Tea."
*****************
Tea helped Seto into the mansion, as much as he would let her anyway, and walked over to the couch with him. "I have to give some people a call, okay?"
He nodded.
Heading back into the kitchen she picked the phone off the wall and dialed Yugi's number. Then placing the phone to her ear she waited until there was an answer.
"Turtle game shop, who is it please?"
"Hey Yugi, it's Tea. I just called to tell you-"
"Where have you been all this time? We were calling around to see what had happened to you. I was really worried."
"Yugi, I-"
"Are you okay? Did something happen?"
"No, I'm fine. I got a little lost, that's all."
"So everything is okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. I'll be over in a like ten minutes or something."
"Okay, see ya then."
"Yup. Bye." She hung up the phone and then walked back into the living room where Kaiba was sitting on the couch staring at the wall. "So? Are you gonna tell me what happened?"
Avoiding eye contact he sent his gaze at the floor. "Oh, that. I was just thinking. I sort of needed to get my head together." Looking up he flashed a brief smile with a shrug. "Lost myself for a while there, but we all go through something of the sort eventually. Life goes on."
Tea stared over at him. "Are you okay? You're acting sort of, how do I put this. different."
He smiled again. "Nothing's wrong. Really, and I'm going to be just fine. The world will keep spinning without me being depressed all the time I figure."
"Are you sure you're okay?" A skeptic glance was sent his way. "This isn't just some little phase or anything?"
Seto crossed his arms and leaned back into the cushions as he looked over at her in the chair across from him. "Nope. It's all okay, unless you have a problem with that." A little smirked played on his face. "Or do you not like guys without mental issues?"
"I don't get how you can go from being totally ballistic, to totally normal in a few days."
"You want me to explain?"
"Um. do I?" She bit her lip a little nervously.
With a chuckle he shook his head. "Let's just say that I've figured a couple things out that I didn't know before. Which reminds me-" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Punching in a number another small smile appeared on his face.
"Hey Yugi, is Mokuba there? . Okay. ... Hey Mokuba. . Yeah, it's me. Guess what? . No, it's not that. . Not that either. . Do you really want to know? . Okay, well figure this out; What's small, hyper, and going to be coming home in a few minutes? . Right on the head kiddo. I'll be over in a few, get your stuff together." Hanging up the phone he stood up and started heading for the door but stopped and sent a backwards glance at Tea. "Are you coming? I know you have to go to Yugi's too."
Getting up herself she walked over and looked at him curiously. "How'd you know I was staying at Yugi's?"
"Mokuba told me, and it makes sense since you're moving back this Saturday."
She gave him another curios look as she followed him out the door. "Did Mokuba tell you that too?"
Kaiba just shook his head.
"Then how did you-"
"Let's just say I'm helping a little. Forget about it." Without another word he climbed into his own car and started it as Tea climbed into the one she was driving and followed him back to Yugi's place.
*******************
Mokuba had firmly latched himself onto his brother's leg as they walked back into the mansion later that night. Seto was back! Seto was home! Seto was back and all was good! Seto was back again! Seto was here to take care of him!
He gave another squeeze to the leg with a huge grin planted on his features and heard the chuckle from above as the purple hat was pulled over his eyes by his big brother. Seto was home!!!!!!!!!!!