I own nothing in this universe.

Lost and Found – Chapter One

"Tea come home." Tea Gardiner reread the last lines of the message. It found her days ago in the deepest part of the jungle. She had no idea how long ago it had been written.

"We miss you." And she missed them – more than she thought imaginable. It was enough to make her chest ache.

"Love, Yugi." She folded the already crumpled note and shoved it back into her permanently damp pocket. The paper was already showing signs of mildew.

The truck bounced on the muddy road, and Tea was jolted back into reality. "It is good to see you smile, Senora. It is rare."

Tea leaned back against the inside of the truck. "There's not a lot to smile about, Rico."

The young guerilla grinned. "But you are wrong here. With you around, we always have something to smile about."

The rest of the goons in the back of the transport laughed with him. Tea turned away. How long had it been since she'd been home? A silly question. She knew the answer down to the second. One day she knew she would have to return, but in the meantime, life had gotten in the way. Poor, sweet Yong had introduced her to a hidden world overpopulated by people desperately needing the skills of a young Japanese-born, British-trained doctor. Rain droplets found their way through the torn canvas roof, and she brushed the moisture off her face. Only the rain, she thought.


It had been five years since Kisara died. Seto Kaiba marked the anniversary alone in the darkness of his office. He glared at the dueling deck stacked neatly in front of him. With a violent sweep of his arm, the cards went fluttering wildly to the floor. All the time and effort wasted trying to create the perfect dueling system when it could have been used for more important gains. Maybe if he'd used his five-year head start he could have found the cure for her cancer. Perhaps before she'd ever known she was ill. And now his beautiful Dragon lay rotting in the ground. Along with his hopes and his dreams.

A glint caught his eye. He leaned forward to see what it was. A card. A Blue Eyes White Dragon. His breath caught. Yugi – or whoever had masqueraded as Yugi- had long ago preached about a hidden past - one in which he had been a High Priest and Kisara, the incarnation of his great Blue Eyes. He bent over and picked the card up off of the ground. He felt the sudden inexplicable urge to tear it in two. Then, lovingly, he laid it back down on his desk. After staring at it for what seemed like an eternity, he put his head in his hands and wept.


The DC-10 completed a flawless landing at Tokyo's Narita International Airport and rolled uneventfully to its gate. Tea gathered her things and made for the exit. She had packed a simple rucksack, as she didn't plan on staying long. The people under her care couldn't spare her.

The immigration official flipped through her passport searching for an open space to stamp her re-entry into her home nation. He gave her an appraising look. She seemed too young for having traveled so extensively. Tea shrugged.

Once through the security checkpoint she was tackled and almost brought down to the ground by the enthusiastic reception she received.

"Easy there, Joey, Tristan!" she choked out, extricating herself from their smothering grips.

"Sorry there, Tea. It's just been so long!" Joey put her in a headlock and rubbed her hair. She punched him lightly in the side to make him let go. "Damn! Let me take a good look at you."

Tea stood up and unconsciously straightened her one remaining set of good clothes. She knew she was almost unrecognizable. Her hair was long and braided in random places. Her once sleek dancer's physique had hardened into a wiry muscular frame. Her breasts, mostly fat, had shrunk to almost nothing. But her eyes were the most changed. The sparkle had deepened into a womanly empathy that spoke of warmth and of pain.

"You look, uh, you look," Tristan stammered.

"Different," a deep voice said behind her.

Tea spun around and almost fainted. A pair of strong arms held her up. "You – you," she whispered.

"Grew up. It's me, Tea. Yugi." He smiled, and Tea felt again a pull towards unconsciousness. "I guess you think I resemble – him."

"My God... it's like seeing a ghost," she said as she traced a finger on his face.

Yugi caught her hand and cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, we better, ah, get going. I've got a car parked illegally outside. Um, do you have everything?"

Tea nodded dazedly and followed the rest of the crowd out through the doors.


"Hail! Hail! The gang's all here!" Tristan and Joey raucously sang in the cramped backseat of Yugi's tiny car.

Tea winced. Yugi leaned over and sympathetically patted her hand.

"Hey! Will you guys knock it off?!" Yugi thundered at the occupants of the backseat. Immediately, there was silence. Tea noticed Yugi had the same authority in his voice that 'he' had demonstrated.

"So, Tea," Joey began. "Tell us what you've been up to in the years you've been away."

Tea turned from staring at Yugi. She realized with a shock that he and Tristan looked exactly the same. Even their hairstyles remained unchanged. "It's a long story, guys."

"We've got time. We won't be at Yugi's place for at least another hour," Tristan replied.

"Probably longer with the way traffic is today," Yugi grumbled.

Tea smiled. "Okay, I'll let you in on the secret that's been my life. Well, you know after high school I went to England to study to become a doctor..."


"Seto! What on Earth on you doing here?!" Mokuba shot up excitedly from his station in the busy development lab in the heart of the Kaiba Corporation. It had been ages since his beloved big brother had set foot in his once familiar domain.

Seto slowed slightly so his brother could catch up. It didn't take long. Having grown almost a foot in the last year, Mokuba was almost as tall as he was. He ignored the startled looks his employees gave him. After such a long absence, he hardly recognized anyone nor did he care if he had. Seto palmed open the special lock on the door at the far end of the lab. As the long dimmed lights flared to life, he finally replied, "I've got some unfinished business to take care of."

Mokuba stared slack-jawed as his brother slipped the VR lenses into his eyes and inserted his duel deck into the virtual holder just large enough to hold it. Mokuba snapped back into action and started for the control panels a flight above. "Okay, guys, let's move it! My brother's back, and it looks like he means business!"


"So while interning in Korea, I met Yong. He was the most caring, loving person I met over there. One night after shooting my mouth off about how Korea wasn't as bad as I had thought it might be, he offered to show me something that might change my mind. I accepted." Tea paused. A moment passed before she continued. "It was awful, guys. The people were too poor to go to a real hospital. A lot of what they did was based on superstition. There were some real bad things going on."

Everyone remained silent when her voice trailed off. When she began again, her voice brightened. "So, I spent my down time helping whoever I could. I never charged anything, but they found ways to pay me anyway. A few items of food here, a pretty trinket there. They had nothing, but they were generous whenever they could. When my internship ended, I promised I would return. Almost a year passed and I did return. Yong was waiting for me when I did."

Something about the tone in her voice made Yugi ask, "You loved him, didn't you?"

Tea looked at him sharply, then cast her eyes downward. "Yeah, I guess. I mean we became, um, lovers. But it wasn't at all the way I felt about – "

"Him." Yugi finished sadly.

Joey and Tristan looked at the two of them uncomfortably. When Tea didn't continue, Joey prompted her by saying, "What happened then?"

Tea sighed. "Yong died. We left Korea shortly after my return. We traveled everywhere, helping the poor, going to refugee camps. He was shot at one trying to smuggle some antibiotics in. There was a flu epidemic. A lot of people were dying, and Yong discovered the colonel in charge of the camp was withholding some of the drugs and selling them off. We were in Indonesia by that time. After that, I left the camp. I wandered around a bit, kinda aimlessly, and ended up in Egypt."

"Egypt!" They all three cried.

Tea smiled. "It's not what you think. Quite by accident, I assure you. Although I did manage to visit Marik and Ishizu while I was there. Even Shadi stopped by to say hi."

"They never told me they saw you there," Yugi said, questioningly.

"That's because I asked them not to. I arrived not too long after your second visit. They said I just missed you. I was gone by the time you returned," she answered. "Anyway, after a time, Marik offered to take me to him, but I wasn't ready. At the last moment, I chickened out. And I've spent the last two years in the rain forest since then. Well, until I received your note, Yugi. How did you find me, by the way?" Tea took out the crumpled note in her pocket.

"Lucky guess," he mumbled, his eyes suddenly focused completely on the road in front of him."

"Yug, come on!" Tristan said. "Tell her the truth."

"He dreamed it. He dreamed you were there," Joey informed her.

Tea stared at Yugi. Was it still possible?