Mamono: *cackles* I have completed this chapter!
Seto: Took you long enough.
Mamono: . I know, I know...but I made this chapter really good to make up for it!
Seto: *rolls eyes* Mm-hmm...
Mamono: *sighs* ...Anyway, I'd like to thank my Beta/co-writer/helper/cool person DarkShadowFlame for getting my butt into gear on this chapter! You rock! Now! Onward!!
Seto: -__-U
~In the Sands of Egypt~
Chapter 6
Be On Your Guard
Téa remained quiet as she followed Seto through the dusty halls of the Tomb Keepers' abode; their footsteps were the only source of sound as they traveled. Their silent journey ended when they came to the large room that Téa had explained her story in the day before. Ishizu was sitting on a hard stone bench; she looked up at them and frowned at the crimson stain cast on Seto's cloak. Téa stopped and waved nervously over at Marik, who had been sneering at her ever since she walked in.
"Um, good morning everyone," she chirped, trying to lighten the stoic mood that filled the room.
Marik scoffed and walked to the corner of the room; he flopped down onto the stone floor and proceeded to rub his arms broodingly, every now and then casting a dark glare in Téa's direction. Téa quickly looked away from the sulking teen and over to Ishizu; the tranquil woman smiled faintly as she spoke:
"Good morning, Téa," she started, then looked over to Seto; a nip of disapproval could be detected as she continued: "It seems you've gotten in another fight this morning hasn't it, Kaiba?"
"What's your point?" Seto replied; his lips curled into an uncaring scowl and he let his arms fold across one another in an aloof fashion.
"How are we supposed to protect the Pharaoh's tomb from the bandits if we destroy ourselves?" she scolded, causing Seto to roll his eyes.
"I couldn't care less about the Pharaoh," Seto snapped; this time it was Ishizu's turn to roll her eyes.
"In any event, Marik told me about your wound, so I sent Odion to get some bandages and..." she began.
"I don't need your help," Seto interrupted; he brushed past Téa and walked out of the room.
Téa frowned as Seto left the room; he was sure cold sometimes... Well most of the time, actually. As she pondered, she could see the soft eyes of the priest looking back at her in her mind. Kaiba couldn't possibly be the priest from her dreams! True, they looked alike and had the same name; they even acted alike sometimes! But the priest seemed to have a warmth about him, a special quality that Téa couldn't quite place her finger on...
"Téa?" Ishizu called, jolting the brunette back to reality.
"Yes?" Téa answered, blushing slightly.
"I asked if you were all right," Ishizu repeated; she gave Téa a quizzical look. "Something seemed to be troubling you."
"Oh," Téa said nervously. "I'm fine."
Ishizu gave her one last unconvinced look before dropping the subject. She turned around and began paging through a book that was lying on a nearby shelf. Téa sighed and dropped her head in relief; her chocolate bangs fell across her face and tickled her nose softly.
'I probably shouldn't tell anyone about my dreams,' she thought to herself. 'It would probably only cause more confusion...'
Téa raised her head up; she didn't dare look over at Marik, he was probably glaring at her anyway. She didn't know why, but she decided that she would rather not know. A silence fell over the room, one that seemed like it would last forever; that is, until Téa spoke up once more.
"I wanted to thank you," she started. "You rescued me, and I don't know how to repay you..."
"Don't thank us," came the deep voice of Odion, who had just entered the room. He was holding a long tray that held bandages and other medicinal items. "It was Mr. Kaiba who rescued you from the desert and brought you here."
Téa whirled around and faced Odion. He was right; Kaiba was the one who saved her. She watched as the tall man gently placed the tray in her hands and smiled down at her.
"He's the one you should be thanking."
Téa looked blankly up at Odion. Why was he giving the tray to her? As if he could read her mind, Odion smiled and sighed tiredly.
"I tried to clean up his wound, but he wouldn't let me get near him. Perhaps you could do it as a thank you?"
Téa's jaw dropped and for some reason she could feel the tickles of a blush creeping up on her face, painting her cheeks a pinkish hue. The brunette whipped around; the contents on her tray nearly flew off its edges, but slid to a halt right before they toppled over.
"M-Me?" she stammered.
Odion chuckled; he put his hand on Téa's shoulder and led her to the room's exit. Téa, who was too lost in her own thought to object, walked towards the door; her eyes focused on the tray in her hands. She looked up when Odion raised a finger and pointed down the hall.
"Mr. Kaiba is in the third door on the right," he informed.
"Oh and, Téa," Ishizu called. "Tell Kaiba to come in here when you're done, I need to speak with him."
Téa nodded and started down the hall. She sighed inwardly and made her way into the room that held Kaiba.
'I guess I do owe it to him for saving me...' she thought to herself.
Odion chuckled as he watched the brunette girl stumble out of the room. He looked over to Ishizu; the usually stoic woman gave a slight grin before returning to her book.
"May she have the Gods' luck..."
* * * * *
When Téa entered the room the brunette couldn't help but giggle. For there lay the infamous Seto Kaiba, huddled up in a corner, like a cat licking its wounds. Upon seeing Téa, the "cat" gave its most annoyed glare, but the girl brushed it aside and sat down next to him. She set the tray down beside her and reached for the boy's arm. Seto quickly drew his arm back defensively and if he had spoken, you know he would have said something like, "What do you think you're doing?!"
"C'mon, give me your arm," she instructed.
Seto replied with a blank stare, looking at her as if she were out to get him. Téa sighed and reached for his arm again, but only managed to swipe at the air. For someone as mature as Kaiba, he sure was acting childish. Téa grumbled and fixed the injured brunette with a cold stare, one that could rival that of Seto Kaiba's himself.
"I'm only trying to help you," Téa said in a growl. "Or are you too good for that?"
A sigh came from the brunette teen and Téa watched as he slowly extended his hand out for her. Grinning, she grabbed onto Seto's arm and examined his injury. He must have tried to clean it because the cut on his arm wasn't nearly as bloody and dirty as she thought it would be. She reached for a cloth that was resting on the tray and dipped it into a clear liquid that was also on the tray. She brought the damp cloth to her nose and a bitter smell filled her senses. She quickly lowered the cloth and crinkled her nose.
"I think this must be rubbing alcohol of some sort," she said mostly to herself.
The color in Seto's face began to fade as he watched Téa dip the cloth into the rubbing alcohol until the rag was dripping with the pungent fluid. He tensed as the drenched cloth hovered over his arm; little droplets would drip off of it, piercing his skin with a burning sensation. Without warning, the brunette girl dropped the cloth straight onto his cut and held it down – hard.
* * * * *
Ishizu was carefully flipping through the pages of an old worn book; she had looked through these books countless times, trying to find some sort of clue about the past, but in every place she looked she couldn't find any thing that would be of use. All she knew about the past were the stories her father had told her as a child and she was sure that those hardly explained the true story of what happened to the Nameless Pharaoh...
A loud yelp echoed through the halls, startling the raven-haired woman. She looked up to meet the sage-green eyes of Odion; the tall tombkeeper chuckled softly and looked down the hall. Ishizu sighed and resumed her search as Marik snickered quietly.
* * * * *
Téa gaped in shock; her sapphire eyes watched surprisingly as Seto whipped his arm from her grasp and brought up to his chest distrustfully. He quickly grabbed the cloth and threw it into the air where it fluttered through the door before dropping to the ground. After wiping his arm furiously he set his icy eyes on Téa.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to do that?" he snapped.
"Um...you felt that?" was all Téa could say in response.
Seto looked at her as if he were talking to an idiot. He decided to choose his words carefully, making sure that Téa would be able to understand them. Finally, after a slight pause, he took in a deep breath and answered her.
"Yes."
Seto watched in disbelief; he could practically see the cogs ticking inside the brunette girl's head. Slowly a genuine smile crept across her features. He raised an eyebrow at this; why in the world was she smiling?
"What?" he questioned.
"Well, I had my doubts, but..." she said slyly. "I discovered that Seto Kaiba is, indeed, human."
Seto was somewhat taken aback by this comment. For once, he didn't know how to respond. So, the icy-eyed teen remained silent and he watched as Téa continued cleaning his wound. She carefully held his arm in her hand and proceeded to wrap it up in the soft bandages. He was amazed by how gentle she was; he could barely feel the silky bandage wrap swiftly around his arm and before he knew it, she was tying the last of the bandages in place.
"There," she said as she gave his arm a slight pat. "All done."
Téa stood up, taking the tray with her and flashed a proud smile back at her "patient." She was surprised to see that Seto was smiling back at her; an awkward smile, but a smile nonetheless. For that one moment, Téa could feel that special quality, that softness that she felt in the priest.
"Thanks," Seto said softly.
Téa twirled around quickly in order to hide the blush that was making its way to her cheeks. She trotted nervously to the exit before she remembered what she had been told. She turned around slightly and reported Ishizu's message to Seto.
"Ishizu wants you to come out here; she needs to talk to you."
With that, she stepped out of the room and walked into the hall. It felt cooler in the dark corridors, something that she was grateful for. She found her way into the room where Ishizu was sitting and made her way to the nearest place to sit where she set down the tray and let out a huge sigh.
Soon after, Seto appeared through the entryway. The gentle smile that had adorned his face earlier was wiped clean, leaving a blank expression on the brunette's face.
"You wanted to see me?" he announced haughtily.
Ishizu looked up from her book; even though she was solemn and quiet most the time, you could feel that what she had to say was important. She grasped the edges of the worn book and snapped it shut; a small dust cloud emitted from its pages and the usually normal sound of pages hitting pages echoed gravely throughout the room.
"The Uraeus are coming."
The atmosphere in the room seemed to have dissipated at her words; it felt as if a cruel demon had entered the room and stolen the very breaths of its inhabitants. Seto glanced quickly over at Téa before looking over at Ishizu expectantly.
"Marik had told me after he came in," she continued. "While he was in Alakai, he had heard rumors of Uraeus influence and decided to check it out."
"What I found out wasn't exactly pleasurable," Marik started. "They had gotten orders from their leader to dispose of the Tomb Keepers. I don't know exactly why, but that's their plan. After I heard that I left for home right away, so I don't know if they have even left or are on their way as we speak."
Téa's throat was dry with fear - the Uraeus were coming here? She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, each one pounding at her insides trying to escape. She swallowed hard - what were they going to do?
"Be on your guard," came the powerful voice of Odion. "We don't have anyone to help us now."
A hiss came from Marik who had been sulking in the corner; he gave an angry glare to the opposite end of the room. "It's quite convenient that those fools we had hired to help us decided to run off... Like whimpering dogs with their tails between their legs," he added with a growl. "Pathetic."
Seto couldn't help but scoff; he turned toward Marik and gave him an icy smirk. You could practically see the tension between the two as he spoke. "Yes, it seems even the Pharaoh's gold wasn't enough incentive to risk their lives."
Marik, who still had mixed feelings concerning the Pharaoh, flashed a devilish grin in response, but he withdrew at his sister's growl. Ishizu glared at Marik and then fixed her stare onto Seto. "I don't know what grudge you hold against the Pharaoh, Kaiba, but right our lives are in danger. Let's try to put our differences aside, shall we?"
Seto gave the raven-haired woman an uncaring look and merely folded his arms together. Odion then stood up and walked into the center of the room. "I think it best that we stay in groups," he said. "Miss Téa and Miss Ishizu, I will accompany you for the time being."
Téa nodded; Odion was a big guy, she was sure he could protect them if anyone tried to attack them. That thought made her relax a bit. She looked over at Ishizu, who was smiling calmly back at her, as if to reassure her that everything would be fine - she still wasn't so sure.
"It looks like Marik and Kaiba will have to protect each other," Ishizu started. Marik and Seto gave each other cold glares. "That is if they don't kill each other first."
* * * * * * *
"Goodnight, Miss Ishizu," Odion said politely.
Ishizu nodded and smiled; she then entered her room quietly. Night had come, and so far nothing had happened. This fact made Téa feel a bit calmer - maybe they wouldn't attack them after all? The brunette girl followed Odion through the dark halls; shadows danced across the walls created by the torch burning in the tall man's hand. They quietly made their way to Téa's room. When they got there Odion tipped the torch onto an unlit holder, lighting it up and filling her room with a gentle glow.
"You should be all right in here for the night," he said kindly. "They wouldn't dare come in here in the night."
With that he bid her good night and exited quietly. Téa watched as the faint glow of his torch glided across the walls until it flickered out of sight. Téa sighed and leaned up against the wall. Today had been for the most part uneventful, but she still felt worn out. She didn't know how Kaiba put up with this every day. Ishizu, Marik, and Odion lived here almost every day of their lives - of course they could handle it. But Kaiba hadn't been there all that long; it must have been hard the first couple of days...
"I never did thank him, did I?" she suddenly questioned.
She felt bad for not thanking him, he probably thought she was ungrateful to him for saving her life... She contemplated whether or not he really cared that she thanked him or not, anyway. "Well, even if he doesn't, I'm going to anyway," she concluded. She started for the hall, but stopped and turned around; the glint of a small dagger caught her eye. It must have been the one that woman had given her in Mastaba. She quickly picked it up, concealed it in the folds of her robes, and headed out of the room.
* * * * * *
Seto wandered through the quiet halls of the Tomb Keepers abode; the walls, which were covered in hieroglyphs, seemed to whisper secrets to him; secrets that he couldn't understand - didn't want to understand. He cast his eyes down to his hand; he could see the crimson trails that dripped from his fingertips, but when he looked again it was gone.
"Nonsense," he muttered and quickened his pace.
An iridescent shadow cascaded across his face as he entered a lit room. His calculating-blue eyes scanned the room, but grew wider as he found nothing inside the room. He whirled around and headed back into the darkness of the hallways.
* * * * *
Téa shivered; it was surprisingly cold in the hallway. She carefully peered into each room that she passed, but to her dismay, none contained Seto Kaiba. She sighed and was starting to regret venturing out of her room. She hadn't a clue where she was and she didn't know if she would be able to get back.
"Why am I so nice?" she said to herself; the anxiety was starting to get to her. At any moment some creepy Uraeus guy could sneak up on her. They could kill her at any time of the day! What if they were here now? These thoughts raced through Téa's mind and she started backing away from the dark corridor ahead of her.
That is until she couldn't back up anymore...
Téa's blood ran cold as she backed into something or more horribly - someone. She gave a loud shriek and whipped herself around, raising a hand up with her; a loud smack echoed through the halls. Téa cringed; she tentatively opened one eye; the sapphire orb gazed into a pair of navy blue ones. She gasped and opened both of her eyes to find her hand placed neatly across Kaiba's left cheek; the boy looked utterly shocked.
"I'm so sorry, Kaiba! I...ah..." she blurted out, pulling her hand back from his face.
"What are you doing out here?" he questioned.
"I well, um, actually," she replied, calming down. "I wanted to thank you for saving me."
Seto raised an eyebrow at the girl. She got herself lost just to thank him? He sighed; he would never understand the logic that this girl possessed. He turned around and replied, "You're welcome."
Téa beamed; so her venture hadn't been in vain. She looked at Seto, watching the light from the small torch she carried skip across his strong, powerful shoulders... 'What am I thinking?!' she mentally scolded herself.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her mind from wandering.
"I..." Seto started, but paused. His voice became unsure; even he didn't know the true answer. "I walked past your room and saw that you weren't there so..."
Téa's smile became wider; he was worried about her! She couldn't believe it, but Seto Kaiba, Prince of Ice, Master of the Cold Shoulder, had been worried about her! She giggled and walked past him, before turning around and facing him.
"Sorry," she said. "I'll go back to my room now."
With that, she gave a slight wink and walked off leaving the azure-eyed boy to his thoughts. Seto sighed and drifted back into the hallways with his fears dispelled.
* * * * * *
Téa let out a small whimper as she wandered back through the hallways; she had a problem - How was she supposed to get back to her room if she didn't know where it was?
"Well, I guess I could wait for Kaiba to find me again," she mused aloud.
As if born from the shadows, a silent figure crept along the halls unnoticed. It sidled
up behind the chocolate-haired girl, extending its hands maliciously. Suddenly it wrapped its arms around the unsuspecting girl, causing her to throw the torch she held into the air. The flaming wood hit the ground just as the figures had disappeared from sight.
* * * * * *
Seto glided through the halls quietly. He brought his hand up to his cheek and rubbed it softly; the tender flesh still stung from the slap he had received. He stopped; he could faintly hear footsteps from behind him. He slowly reached down for the dagger at his side when he heard a loud scream.
"Seto! Help me!"
* * * * * * *
Mamono: Bwuhahahhaha! I am so evil... *cackles*
Seto: ...
Mamono: Anyway, yep that's the chapter! Now for review response(there's so many! T-T Thank you!) and some notices!
Review Responses:
dragontamer101: Sorry, Priest Seto wasn't in this chapter, but I haven't forgotten about him! *cackles* Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I hope you aren't mad that I cut it off where I did... I'm evil like that... Lol
Chaotic Freakatroid: *watches and chuckles* Well, I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Heh, sorry Marik wasn't in this one too much, but he'll be in it later...*cackles* And... *summons BEWD* Bring it on! (Seto: She's nuts...you must know that already...)
Nari-chan SND: Quick? Me? ^^; *looks at update thing* Heh... I don't think as quick as lighting... Maybe a sloth who got poked with a needle... Anyway, thanks for reviewing!!
tea/anzufan: *counting* Wow, that's 27... *claps* Go you! ^___^ I'm uber-glad you're enjoying this! I hope you liked this update!!
Azurite: *tries to steal a page, but gets a paper cut* . Ow! Heh, okay so this chatper is a *little* longer...but I couldn't help but be even more evil.... *cackles* I hope this'll keep you thinking... *cackles some more before dodging random projectile objects*
Candace: Heh, thanks a lot! I hope you enjoyed this one!
Just this once: Well, first off, thanks for the review! And as for a love triangle? *cackles* Maybe... you'll have to find out, eh? *another wave of projectiles come here way* O.o
Im Evil: Heh, yes, Priest Seto is the coolest! *glomps Seto for lack of knowing priests whereabouts* Yes, I have seen Lion King 1.5! It's awesome! Thanks for reviewing!
Lynderia: Thanks for reviewing! Heh, yes, that scene was pretty intense, I surprised myself with it...as with this chapter! Some Seto/Téa goodness!!
Hioga-chan: Yes, swords are cool, aren't they? I'm glad you're still interested! I hope this chapter is interesting too! Thanks!
Ana: Yes, the flashbacks are awesome, aren't they? I love writing them...mainly because I know what's going to happen! Lol Unfortunately there weren't any in this chapter...*cackles* I'm saving them up! Thanks!
Estelgirl: Hoo! I'm glad you're enjoying this! I'm trying to keep the suspense on for everyone! You know, that was my first real fight scene...well sorta... Anyway, thanks for the review!!
elsiey: Seto: *takes bandages* Um, thanks. Mamono: ^___^ I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reviewing!
Yami's wife Ryoko: Thank you, thank you! As you can see - an update!
Mamono: Wow...*tears* That took a while! I'm so happy! Thank you everyone!!! And thank you to everyone who have reviewed past chapters!! Okay, now for some announcements!
Announcements:
Blue Eyes & Apricots: Hey! It's the first Seto/Tea fanlisting! Isn't that awesome! It was created by Azurite!*applauds* So if you want to join, you can go to my bio or Azurite's bio!! Join join!!
SetoxAnzu Live Journal Community: Anyone use livejournal? A fan of Seto/Tea? Well here's a Lj community just for you! (A link will be on my bio soon.)
Mamono: Okay I think that's it... I think... Anyway, if I've forgotten something...um... Then I have, but don't worry, I'll remember it in the next chapter! ^^; So, thank you all for reading, I hope you liked this chapter! I know I'm evil! And review!