Chapter XII: Tea's Realization, Kaiba's Pride
Tea awoke to the sound of Kaiba knocking at her door, well, more like pounding rather than knocking. She got up with a start, and heard his voice just outside her room.
" You have an hour before we have to go to school. The twentieth floor is a cafeteria for the executives, tell them to but your bill on my tab. I'll meet you outside of the building at six AM."
After that, the total presence of life at the other side of the door disappeared. Tea got out of bed, and took care of her morning duties; she noticed how well the room was made for the first time since last night, seeing as she was too tired to notice much of anything the other night. She put her dress back on, and noticed something really bad. She was still wearing that dress from the dinner!
If she were to go to school in that, there was no hiding where she had been, Joey wouldn't let her be until she spilled, and Yugi would most definitely be there to hear it all. She really wasn't ready for her friends, especially Yugi, to know about this quite yet, and she hated having to blatantly lie to them either. She would have to tell the truth if they ever asked, so she hoped that they wouldn't.
It wasn't because she hated Kaiba either, she had actually grown to like him whenever he acted gentlemanly, but she would hate to have to tell her friends that she was off going to dinners with the "enemy". She sighed, she would have to eventually tell them, but before then, she would have to warm them up to the idea of Kaiba joining their group. Heck, never mind that, she would have to warm Kaiba up to joining their group.
The whole situation gave her a headache, so she decided to just let the day come as it may, and she would start out right! She was going to get the best possible breakfast she could get on Kaiba's credit, and enjoy that first. Hopefully in the car ride over to the school, she could parlay with Kaiba about warming up to Yugi and the gang. Hopeful thinking maybe, but it would be great if she could.
She walked out of the room, and climbed into the elevator. She pressed the button for the twentieth floor, and braced herself for the descent. In a few seconds the door opened into the executive cafeteria. Her sight embraced the warm colours, and her nose embraced the good smells of well-prepared food. The mixture of Western and Japanese food was a new sensation, and just by judging by the smells, Tea didn't know quite what to eat. Should she have pancakes, or rice and miso?
She eventually decided to have something she had never had before, and ordered a Western food. Her pancakes were brought to her quickly, and she told the waiter to charge it to Kaiba. He was surprised to say the least, seeing as the last person that was foolish enough to charge to Kaiba was fired immediately, but after some goading on by the fearless Tea, he obliged.
The pancakes tasted great! They were made fresh for her, and sported powder sugar and sweet syrup to sweeten the hot cake. She finished her breakfast in peace, and checked the time. With little time left to get to the first floor, Tea hurried off to the elevator. She pressed the button, and climbed in. During the short descent, Tea realized another flaw to staying at Kaiba Corp Headquarters. She didn't have any of her books!
" Oh this is just great!" Tea exclaimed, " Just great! What am I gonna do now?"
Understandably, Tea wasn't in the best of moods when she got to the car waiting for her just outside the Kaiba Corp. Headquarters. She managed a smile at the driver who opened the door for her, and sat down inside the black vehicle. Suddenly she realized another presence in the car, and oddly enough, she was able to guess who it was within one try.
" Hello Kaiba." She said without even looking at him.
It really wasn't that big of a deal, after all, Kaiba was going to school with her, but it still surprised her that she could just feel him there. Kaiba picked up on it as if he were used to it. It was a new experience for the two of them, but they still had a sense of deja vu as they picked off on each other's aura.
" You're late." He responded coolly.
" Well sorry Kaiba," Tea said sarcastically, " It's really hard to prepare for school when you've got nothing to prepare!" She added just as coolly as Kaiba.
" If its book you're worried about, don't worry." Kaiba said with his traditional sneer/laugh that he does often, " I've had some people bring them to me."
This wasn't good, now her parents probably knew that she spent the night at Kaiba Corp. Headquarters with Kaiba, that would most definitely be embarrassing to come home to, though she really should have expected that anyway. On the note of embarrassing things; she still wore that beautiful dress Kaiba had bought her just yesterday. Now, that really wouldn't be such a bad thing if she could have an alibi for wearing it to school that day, but no matter what direction she went, it all ended the same way: her eventually telling her friends all about last night. She really didn't want to do that, but she saw no other alternative. But there might have been still hope left, and she clung to it for all it was worth.
She still needed to test her hope with this next question, " Kaiba…you didn't happen to get my clothes did you?"
" Hm? No, there's no way you would be able to change in time anyway." He said, and upon noticing the slight physical grief this seemed to cause her he added, " But don't worry about the uniform code, I'll personally make sure that you will be permitted to wear whatever you want for today. Besides, I'm not in uniform anyway." He said as a means to comfort her.
" Wait a minute, did I just console her? What am I becoming?" Kaiba thinks immediately after his last statement.
" Ah, thanks Kaiba." Tea said to appease Kaiba, however his comment didn't comfort her.
It wasn't the uniform code that bothered her, as a matter of fact, that was indeed the last thing on her mind. But she also didn't want to tell him her real reason for her concern, as she didn't want to insult him. She wasn't sure why, but her feelings towards Kaiba had changed ever since that dinner, and changed for the better. She saw a different Kaiba that night, a Kaiba that she was certain even Mokuba was rare to see. She…liked it!
The ride went by with no other words expressed, this reminded Tea about how the Unhappy Wife and the High Priest that she saw several days ago. Were she and Kaiba turning into them? She didn't want that; she didn't want a loveless marriage! She looks over to Kaiba, who didn't seem to see her; he seemed too deep in thought to notice her looking at him. Tea's frustration returned, and even though the other night was a nice break, it still caused even more conflicting emotions.
The same old question came back to haunt her: Did she love Kaiba? And another one came in its wake: If she did, would she wind up like her past self? She wanted nothing more than to be happy, no matter what came, but was it to be with Kaiba? Of all people, was Seto Kaiba destined to be that one to make her happy? Here she is at sixteen years of age, and she's already making one of the biggest decisions of her life. What should she do?
Seto Kaiba was also in the midst of making up his mind. The very same questions that Tea was asking herself, he was asking himself. Even his logical mind knew it; he loved her. He loved it when she fought with him. He loved it when she was laughing with him. He even loved it, just very little however, when she ragged on him about that forbidden word "friendship". Now he had reached that one hard decision: how to tell her. He was afraid that if he didn't tell her, then he would never be with her, or in the worst case scenario she would wind up with Yugi. He had already lost too much to that kid and he'd be dammed if he let Yugi take the woman that had made him feel comfortable for the first time in his adolescent life away from him. Next questions on his mind were when and how? He had already played the dinner and virtual reality pod cards, what was left that he could do to woo her? The road to his happiness was not paved with gold, like it had appeared to him once he had taken full control of Kaiba Corp., but like that of a labyrinth. He could get lost so many ways, and there was only one way out. If he was making this decision as a businessman; the answer was to not even take the risk of not getting his love returned, but then again, this is not a business decision, this is love.
The half-hour trip went by very quickly; at least it seemed that way to the two introspective teens. When it came time to get out of the car, Tea almost shouted for joy, the air inside seemed to be getting thicker. It was kind of uncomfortable sitting next to a man she was uncertain of her feelings for, and with his overbearing aura, the tension was just that much more.
She entered the school, and like Kaiba said, a hallway monitor caught her and Kaiba out of uniform. Also like Kaiba said; he took care of it. No one dared to go against Kaiba; he was just too powerful. So, for the most part, the school just let Kaiba do what he wanted, and hoped that he wouldn't do anything to hurt the school. Tea smiled for the first time since her breakfast that morning, it may not have been the nicest time to smile, but she couldn't help but feel good that Kaiba was fighting for her.
They had to go separate ways for their first period class, and Tea headed straight for her first class. She knew that her friends would all be there today, and she also knew that they would notice her difference in clothes. It also went without saying that they might say something about it during lunch when they could talk, and she also knew that she would have to tell the truth. She really didn't want to tell her friends about the dinner, but there was no way around it. If she tried, she would only be making herself a hypocrite.
She sat down in her seat, and prepared herself for the hardest day of school of her life. Like any other day, Yugi would come in a minute or two before the bell, and Joey and Tristian would be five to ten minutes late. Tick, tock, tick, tock, Tea felt the seconds pass as she waited for Yugi. Little did she know that the most frustrating day of her life would begin with his arrival.
When the young King of Games and World Champion of Duel Monsters entered the classroom, he looked for Tea, and when his eyes met her, they widened twice that his normal size. He had never seen Tea in a dress before, and the shock nearly blew him back five feet out of the door! He took a quick moment to right himself, and he took his seat next to her. Tea knew the obvious questions were coming.
" So, uh, Tea…what's with the new dress?" Yugi asked innocently.
" Oh, this thing?" Tea replied quickly, laughing nervously, " It was just a present."
" Quite a present I'd say Tea. Who could have given you that?" Yugi prodded, though he both knew and feared the answer.
Tea hesitated, she knew that the answer could set her apart from one of her best friends, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to her childhood friend, " Uh, it was Kaiba."
If Yugi weren't afraid of making an image at the moment, his head would have drooped. This could have meant that he was too late to woo Tea, the woman whom he had secretly loved for such a long time. His childhood friend, and secret love. He was depressed that his rival was able to steal her away from him, but what Tea said next managed to revive his competitive spirit.
" It's nothing Yugi, he just wanted me to make an image to the shareholders. I was only doing it so poor Mokuba wouldn't have to stay up for it!" Tea said to try and keep Yugi from thinking that she and Kaiba were a couple.
It wasn't official anyway, Tea and the arrogant CEO of Kaiba Corp. being a couple that is. The dinner seemed to mean little to Kaiba, at least from Tea's point of view. Also she didn't think much of it anyway, she was just doing a favor for Kaiba after all. She had not attachment to him just because she went to some big dinner with him, mentally helped him with his presentation, went to a virtual cabin in the woods, and then stayed overnight at his company's headquarters. This was what she continued to tell herself anyway, but the reality is quite different. Despite her own allegations, Tea was slowly falling in love with the side of Kaiba she wanted to call Seto. Seto, free of his stepfather's last name, free of his hatred and evil, and free to express his overshadowed kindness and love.
And then it clicked. A spark flew through her brain as the connection fell into place; she had found something out, which she was trying to figure out ever since she met Mokuba. What it was that made him so devoted to his brother, she had found out something that must have been a safely guarded secret for the elder Kaiba brother. The one thing that only Mokuba could see, until now.
She had discovered Seto.
Like usual Joey and Tristian came to class late, and luckily so Tea wouldn't have to deal with their two cents on her being with Kaiba all night on Sunday. Of course Yugi spilled the beans to his best friend, and Joey, of course, made her promise to tell everything come lunchtime. At lunchtime Tea would tell all about the dinner, but she would try not to talk about the rendezvous in the virtual cabin. No need to get that mistaken as some sort of advance on Kaiba's part, that would just create an awkward situation.
And for the sake of the posterity of a certain CEO, she would make no mention of Seto, what Tea had come to call his kind side.
Author's Note: This chapter took much longer than I hoped, so sorry for this. But you have my solemn oath that The Most Unlikely Love Tale of all Time will be a complete work, so don't worry about a thing!
Describe the next chapter in one word, you ask? How about "conflict"? I'll let you stew on that, while I write the next chapter.