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

Okay soooo, so far most ppl want Light in the Dark, I'm still taking in votes of which two u want me to update. (see prev. chapt for info) Right now I'm going to try to update one chapter of all of my stories and then once I do that, I'll narrow it down to (most likely) two stories that I will update and complete. So sorry for the late update and I want to give thanks to my reviewers for all their support and advice! (sighs) You guys' were all so sweet to me…sniff…and everything's okay now! ^^

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Tea woke up to the muted sounds of birds chirping. Slowly she opened her bleary eyes as she winced, her body felt as if it had been run over. She could see a canopy swath of red velvet above her. Her hands shifted on the white silk sheets to clench the bedspread.

The injured girl smiled mockingly to herself, out of all the places she could be, she was at the Kaiba's residence. Gently, Tea turned her head to the side and saw the perfect picture of innocence in front of her.

Snoring softly, head lolled back, eyes closed on a chair next to the bed, slept the powerful CEO of KaibaCorp. His face had a weary look, dark bags under his eyelashes while faint lines were etched in the corner of his eyes. But he appeared more gentle…he looked like the boyish young man that had teased her in what seemed like a few hours ago, except this time, there was an aura of peacefulness around his face, a kind of naivité mixed in with a tinge of sadness.

She could almost forgive him…almost.

She needed to get out of here, just seeing him made her hurt inside even more. Struggling, Tea gradually managed to slip out of the bed without making a sound. She shuffled to the heavily draped window and pulled it back for a crack. Light blazed through the dim room as Tea squinted and shielded her eyes with an arm. It was almost midday.

As Tea let the thick curtains fall back, Kaiba silently stood up. The sudden brightness of the room had woken him up and he had opened narrowed eyes to see a forlorn girl standing near the window. Tea. Her left shoulder was heavily bandaged while her mussed up hair curled around the starch white night gown that the maid had dressed her in. Blue bruises was visible around her legs and arms.

Tea turned around and gasped. There was Kaiba staring at her with an intent expression, his blue eyes burning into her. It was surreal of how he could discard one mask for another. She lifted up her chin and steadily gazed back into his eyes, daring him to say something. Anything.

Something shifted in his eyes, and they became stormy, specks of dark Mediterranean blue washed in.

No, in fact it would be better for her if he didn't even speak at all.

"I suppose you didn't get any information," Tea said, averting her face. The dusky brown walls suddenly held an avid interest for her.

"Actually I did," Kaiba said, his voice blandly neutral. "After you fainted, they told me an interesting bit of info."

And interesting it was…

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The sound reverberated in the room as the man pitched forward, a pool of blood steadily growing larger underneath him. Tea, her face ghastly white, clutched her shoulder as a large red stain appeared underneath her fingers, rivulets of the crimson blood running over her pale hand. It seemed like one second lasted an eternity. Her mouth opened in shock and disbelief, empty eyes staring at Kaiba as ever so slowly, she fell. Her hair ruffled upward as the ground tilted underneath Tea and met her falling body. Then her eyes, awash with glittering teardrops, sluggishly closed as her body sagged.

The other men stared at their dead companion and the still form of the girl. They backed uneasily away, they had never thought that they would court death in dealing with Kaiba.

Kaiba trained his gun on the men, his hand moving back and forth over the cringing men. "Tell me everything you know," he said, voice hard, "Or else you'll end up like your dead companion."

Their voices cracked and stumbling, the men had told them that they had been hired to meet the CEO of KaibaCorp. They were supposed to give him another message to meet at another place since the boss knew that the girl was a classmate of Kaiba's. But what had made Kaiba almost pull the trigger on them was that the boss had told them that he had never planned to give back Mokuba. It would be a perfect blackmail, the thing that would finally control the arrogant Seto Kaiba. His every little move would reflect on whether his brother would die at his enemy's hands.

The men had been sent scurrying of but Kaiba knew that they would be executed by their boss. Whoever this mastermind was, knew that Kaiba had interrogated his men and could take no chances.

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"Then," her voice detached, "I have fulfilled my promise and I hold you to your promise you made earlier. Nothing will be spoken of about me."

As she turned to leave, her pace absurdly slow, Kaiba caught the sleeve of her gown.

"You can't leave…you've lost to much blood, my doctor says at least a few days of rest for you."

Tea looked straight ahead, her face calm. Eventually his hand dropped.

"Just bring me to my house with your transportation, I'll rest at my place…and don't bother in changing my clothes. I want to go home as soon as possible," she said, arms listless at her side.

"Fine," he said finally and he walked out the door to arrange the limo.

The moment he left, Tea closed her eyes as she raised a trembling hand to her forehead. She had wanted to ask him why? Why did it seem that her father haunted her even now? The very own words that Kaiba had said had been almost exactly what her father had said during one of his rages. And when she had faded into darkness, did he really mean what he had said?

All she could remember was an immense pain flaring in her shoulder as she fell, fell…onto the hard floor. And she had heard Kaiba say…say…"Tea, Tea, did you actually believe what I said?" …Did he mean that?

Tea chuckled softly as unbidden tears streaked down her face. Just when she thought that her previous life was just a distant memory, she had to be involved with the Kaiba's and then all her memories had come rushing back. She could never escape from her past. Hastily, Tea wiped her face, she could hear his footsteps coming back.

Kaiba entered the room and stopped short at the sight of Tea dabbing her cheeks with a hand.

Embarrassed, Tea dropped her hand back to her side.

"Your ride awaits," was all he said, "Follow me."

"Wait," Tea said in a low voice, almost inaudible to his ears. "Did you mean what you said at the very end? That you didn't mean what you said?"

Now it was Kaiba's turn to look away.

"I suppose so. If you had actually died, then I might have lost an advantage I had over the kidnappers. So far, you're the only one who was there at Mokuba's kidnapping."

Tea's heartbeat sped up as outwardly she composed herself and schooled her face into a grim smile. Of course, that was why he had said that. She should have known, after all, this was Seto Kaiba. He only loved his brother Mokuba and she was just another person he was using to get Mokuba back.

Then, a revelation. Tea bit back a gasp that almost escaped from her throat. Did she love him? This cold man that had said he would not care if she had died, if that meant saving his brother? No, this was not possible! It was too soon! She had sworn all emotions away and thrown herself in supporting her friends in their dueling games. Had been the caring friend who everyone went to when they were down. She was not to have succumbed to this deadly emotion.

Roughly, Tea threw this thought, sealing it away. Never. Never. This confusion that she was feeling this way was just from her remembrances of her dead father. Yes, that was it. Even as the thought was banished, an uneasy doubt swirled in her head. But then why act this way if you don't care about him? Why would you care if he had said those words that were so similar to her father?

Tea clenched her fists tightly, just forget about this place and the Kaiba's.

Smoothing her face, she said impassively, "I see. You said the limo was ready?"

And that would be the end of that discussion.

The ride back to her house was deathly quiet. As Tea tottered out of the sleek black limo, her friends ran up from her porch. They had become worried after Tea's seat was absent at school.

They gasped in horror, taking in her night clothing, swelling bruises on her arms and legs, bandaged shoulder, and cuts on her face.

Gently, Yami, Yugi, and Ryou took her by the arms and led her into her house. Joey and Tristan met the icy of Kaiba's belligerently. "What the hell did you do to her?" Joey said, his voice flat, and for once, extremely angry. Tristan snarled in agreement, he was furious. Mai had one hand on her hip as she waited for his answer.

"We broke-up," Kaiba said calmly, "But during the ride back to her house, yesterday, we had an accident."

Malik narrowed his eyes. "You're lying." The rest nodded in unison.

"Believe what you will," his voice suddenly tired. The door closed and the limo smoothly moved away.

Kaiba slumped on his seat. Mokuba…he would never see his brother again. His solid walls of defense had cracked after Mokuba's disappearance. And now they were fully breached with Mokuba now being the hanging threat over his head. His company would be controlled by another…his life controlled by that same man. And Tea…Tea…what did he really feel about her? She was just another of Yugi's friend, another of his hated enemies…but her accusing eyes right before she had fallen from the lack of blood. And he had said nothing to redeem himself in her eyes.

"Only another girl," he breathed softly to himself as the car carried him out of Tea Gardener's neighborhood and back to his mansion that was bereft of his brother.

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Okay, tell me what you think, okay? It's a little slow here but I purposefully slowed the pace down. And thanks again for all your words of comfort! I love you guys all!!!