Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh!

Yay! I'm back! Without further adieu, on with the next chapter! Oh by the way, au revoir...maitenant is french. I think that's the only question I remember. I'm so sleepy right now...

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The rain hit the glass window with a soft sound. Tea looked out the window, toward Kaiba's garden. She watched the droplets of rain land on the petals of vibrant flowers in the very center of the enclosed plot. Everything seemed to be in a dreamland. The blood on her shirt...no, wait...she had washed...the blood was gone. Her hands that grasped the windowsill clenched. 'How did I come to this?' she thought sadly. 'How did I slip and fall? (that line comes from a song in Aida).' It had seemed so easy to pull the trigger in the midst of the battle, but now....

A soft knock sounded on her door. "Come in," Tea said woodenly, without looking away from the glass pane. Shalanelle silently entered the darkened room. She gently touched Tea on the shoulder. "Want to talk about it?" she suggested. "It usually helps for the first timers."

Tea turned her head. "How...how could you do it? This...all seemed like a game. A dangerous game, albeit, but so far no one had been killed...until today..."

Shalanelle looked at her, eyes full of understanding. "It was kill or be killed, Tea. But I can understand your position. Everything is piled up on you. Just a few days ago, you were a normal girl. And now...you have just killed someone. But as I said before, when I first met you, this gift comes with consequences." She sat down on the bed, drawing Tea to sit next to her.

"Because of this gift, you now have to fight for your friend's life and yours as well. But you choose your path. I can only guide and mentor you. Your friends can only instill hope and determination...but you have to work for it. As fate landed upon me to do what I had to do, fate has landed upon you.....whether you like it or not."

"Okay, okay," said Tea with a half-hearted smile. "I think I've heard this conversation before. I just need....to be alone right now."

S stood up. "I understand," she replied. "Call me if you need me."

The door closed behind S. Tea retreated back to the window and gazed at the falling rain. A footstep was heard behind her. She whirled and crouched, ready to do battle.

"Whoa," said Bakura, holding up his hands. "It's just me."

"Oh," Tea said, feeling foolish. "Sorry, I'm...a little uptight right now." She eyed him speculatively. "Have...What did you think of my action today?"

Bakura looked at her for a long moment. "Raleth was evil, you did what you had to do."

"That's what everyone has been saying!" cried Tea frustratingly. "But I want to know what you really think of me now.....now that I've been changed so much..." she ended softly.

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Flashback

Tea stared at the growing puddle of blood that seeped beneath the downed Raleth. 'I actually killed him,' thought a shocked Tea. She looked toward the figure in white robes. The woman lifted her right arm straight in the air, and said "Raleth is defeated. Tea has defeated the challenger!" to a silent crowd.

Tea stumbled toward Shalanelle and her friends. "He...he was a traitor....he-" Tea said, her mind still reeling over the fact that she had just killed a man. "It's alright," S said quickly, "We know. Once he started that mind spell, all the spirits realized what spell he was doing." She hugged Tea fiercely. "You actually did it!" she crowed. S's elation faded away when she saw Tea's expression. "Oh Tea, you did what you had to do," she said grasping her shoulder. Tea looked toward her friend's faces. Everyone except Marik and Bakura was looking at her with shock or utter disbelief. She stared at their faces with growing anger mingled with frustration. "I almost get killed and all you do is condone me for trying to survive?! Would you have been happier that I got killed instead??" she said, voice cracking.

"No!" the gang cried. "It's just....it was just a shock.....of course we're happy you're okay. Better him than you," said Yugi with a concerned expression.

"It's alright, I understand," Tea said angrily. "It was okay when I saved your lives back at school, but once I kill someone, I've crossed the line. I guess now you've seen what I've become. A monster." With that she turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving her friends behind.

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After a pause, he said to her, "I don't think anything different about you, in fact, I think even higher of you. All this coming down upon you and yet you still fight on."

Tea stared at Bakura. "Why, thank you Bakura......That really means a lot to me," she said with a smile. "I guess I overreacted to the gang, I should apologize. It was just that I was afraid of losing myself into this fighting machine."

Bakura gazed at Tea and realized just how beautiful she was, leaning against the rain splattered window.

Just outside the door, Marik was passing by. Suddenly he thought he heard Bakura's voice inside Tea's door. 'What?' he said to himself. 'I must be imagining things.'

He walked a few steps further. His curiosity got the better of him. He tiptoed to her door and peered through the crack. Inside, Bakura was seated on the floor, talking to Tea. 'What the hell is Bakura doing inside Tea's room?!' As he leaned closer to hear their conversation, the door gave under his weight, making him land face first inside Tea's room.

Tea: o__O

Bakura: O__O

Marik: x__x "You know, the door really needs to be fixed," Marik said, lifting his head off of the carpet. "It squeaks whenever someone closes it, I was just trying to fix it when......what do you know......I fell and yes, here I am. You can continue with your conversation now."

Tea turned purple. "Marik, Yami of Ryou! Were you eavesdropping?!"

"Ummm...why would I try to listen when you're talking? I mean," he said hastily, seeing flames shoot from Tea's eyes, "yes I was and I, for once, agree with Bakura. It was just that we both have made choices that was similar to yours today. That's why we could accept this gift and the choices you made more readily than the others." 'Ugh,' he thought, 'I can't believe I said that about Bakura of all people!'

Suddenly Tea grabbed the two of them into a hug. "Thanks, you guys!" she said squeezing them tight. "You're the greatest."

Bakura and Marik: Gaaugh.....gughhh....can you let....us bweathe....need air...

"Sorry, I forget my own strength."

'We know!' they both thought.

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Yeah, it's short. But I had trouble writing this chapter. Before it was zoom, voom, because I was writing a chapter almost every day. But then I took that break off and now I'm tryin' to whip myself back to this story. I kinda forgot what I wrote in the earlier chapters so I was like.....whaaa? when trying to write this chapter. And also I had a writer's block, but that was most likely because I hadn't been writing this story for about a week and a half. But the next one will be longer, hopefully, and maybe some action. Thanx u guys for reviewing!