I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 2 – Chances Thrown, Nothing's Free

Tea was led to a tall room on the same floor, and she walked through the large set of doors cautiously. The walls were sleek and dark, a shiny metal only illuminated by a few dim lights.

Kaiba set himself up at the opposite end of the room.

She went up to her side of the platform, and the floor glowed as her feet touched it.

Usually it was Yugi up on a platform like this, not her. She was usually – she looked around and saw a small walkway on either side—yeah, right there, on the sidelines.

She felt a sudden chill of cold feet.

"Let's start this." Kaiba said, and took out his card from his briefcase and set them on the platform's console, after he had shuffled them skillfully fast. He watched as she still fumbled her cards in her hands, and finally managed to put them on her console. He chuckled. "Are you sure you're up to this? Maybe I should call Yugi over to duel for you."

She frowned, getting angry. "I can handle this myself, Kaiba!" She screamed from her end.

Kaiba made a grunt of amusement, and hit a button on his console. "Let's begin. I draw." He said and pulled six cards from his deck. He emmediate placed three down on the field, placing a high four-level monster card face up in attack position. "I end my turn."

Tea: 4000, Kaiba: 4000

Tea frowned, and pulled six cards from her deck as well, and looked at them. It was pitiful. He had a high level monster on the field already, and all of hers in her hand were weak.

She had no choice but to place one in face down defense position. She placed a pretty sad magic card on the field, and ended her turn with a quiet voice.

"You were never so quiet when you were yelling from the sidelines." He said smugly. "You give yourself away too much. Is your hand really that pathetic?" He mocked her, and she fisted her hand.

Damn him. He always was a jerk, wasn't he? It was like he took that more seriously than running his company! She almost growled in frustration, and said, "Maybe I'm just bluffing to throw you off!" She exclaimed, and he scoffed.

"Please, you're easier to read than a 'Where's Poochie' book!" He drew a card, and couldn't hold back a devilish grin. A blue eyes white dragon. It was getting good already.

He placed a monster from his hand face down on the field and he then threw out his arm and called the attack from his monster card already on the field. It crushed her face down card, and her monster was destroyed. But her life points were still the same, since it was in defense mode. "I end my turn. Your move."

She drew a card. Ah! Finally something good! "I play graceful charity, and I get to draw more cards!" She said happily, and did so. Finally, a flip effect monster. She put it on the field in face down defense mode, and placed the two other magic cards on the field. "I end my turn."

"Great, at this rate, we'll never be finished. You play with all the wrong principles." He said plainly.

'what in the hell does that mean!' she thought angrily. She thought she was playing safely, but somehow Kaiba saw it differently.

He sighed with a bored tone, and drew a card. Another good trap card. He placed this face down on the field and threw down another monster on the field face down in defense mode.

She was so naïve! She was letting him put down all his monster cards so he could sacrifice to bring out something stronger! Didn't she even notice that was what he was doing! This was all too easy.

If she had just attacked his face down cards with a high enough monster, she would have stopped him from sacrificing! This was becoming a waste of time. He was itching to play his blue eyes white dragon next turn and obliterate her!

Tea looked over at Kaiba and huffed loudly. What was that smug look on his face for? She drew a card, kind of worried that Kaiba hadn't attacked her with his monster card already in attack position. He was planning something. The card she drew was useless, so she opted to put another monster in defense mode.

Kaiba drew a card hastily, and then emmediately laughed in amusement. "You fool! Why didn't you attack when you had the chance? Now, I'm going to destroy you with my Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

He sacrificed his other monsters and brought out his mightly beast. Tea couldn't help but feel intimidated from the giant silver dragon projected in front of her. Somehow it looked a lot scarier now that she was the one facing it!

"White lightning attack!" He exclaimed, and it hit her effect monster, and she grinned just as evily as he did before.

Both monsters shattered into nothing. Kaiba couldn't help but be stunned.

"That was man eater bug! And he destroyed your blue eyes along with him!" She exclaimed, and gave out her best evil cackle. She had heard enough evil laughs in her time with Yugi and the gang to warrant her plenty of references. "It's now my turn!" She said and pulled a card from her deck. Hmm, this might come in handy. "I sacrifice my face down card to summon Airknight Parshath! I attack you, Kaiba!"

Tea: 4000, Kaiba: 2100

Kaiba growled as he watched his lifepoints drop. He scowled. She actually did damage to his lifepoints. He would not let her get away with that so easily.

No more mister semi-nice guy. He drew a card and smirked with confidence. This would all go down with one hit, if he could play his cards just right.

"You make things too easy, Gardner. Did you really think you were going to beat me? Someone like you, a mindless cheerleader, trying to live up to Yugi's stature? That's funny!" He laughed, a low murmur, and threw down a monster card in face up attack position, although it was clearly lower than herAirknight.

He then filled up his magic and trap card field and ended his turn.

Tea felt her boost of confidence fade as she saw the line of cards he had lying in wait for her. She drew a card and called an attack, unsure of what else to do. Her Airknight attacked his face up card, and he took damage.

Tea: 4000, Kaiba: 1900

Kaiba just chuckled, and the field glowed as his card took on it's special effect. "As you are unaware, that card was a special effect monster. When it is sent to the graveyard as a result of battle, I get to automatically special summon four seiryu-soldiers from my deck!" He exclaimed, and four soldiers appeared on the field.

They only had 100 attack and defense points, though. Kaiba drew a card. He nearly lost control of his normally calm face. It was now perfect!

Tea saw by the look in his eyes that he was about to finish her.

"I sacrifice my three soldiers to summon my other Blue Eyes White Dragon! But wait, there's more. I use my monster reborn card to bring back my old Blue Eyes, and then I play the magic cards magical duster, and trap duster, and rid both sides of the field of all magic and trap cards. But I won't need mine anyway, because I'm about to destroy you with one single blow! My soldier, and my two blue eyes, attack her Airknight and destroy her lifepoints with dual-white-lightning-attack!"

Her Airknight shattered.

Tea: 3100, Kaiba: 1900

His soldier attacked her lifepoints.

Tea: 3000, Kaiba: 1900

His blue eyes delivered the final blow. Tea gripped the sides of her platform, to brace herself from the strong wind of the effects. She was beaten. She could heard Kaiba laughing in amusement.

Tea: 0, Kaiba: 1900

She looked up and saw Kaiba walk down his platform, still chuckling over her defeat. "That was the shortest duel I've ever had! You really are pathetic, you airheaded fool." He said and walked by her platform, where she hunched, her arms shivering. "Next time, why don't you bring Yugi over so I can have a proper duel, and you can be in your usual spot on the ground, where you belong. Thanks for wasting my time." He left out the door, but heard footsteps behind him.

She was in front of him, and he could almost see her eyes quivering, tears just waiting to fall down her cheeks. "At least I accepted your challenge! You have to give me some credit for that!"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! You should be thankful I even considered dueling you! You should feel grateful you even got the chance, even though you blew it. It's just a shame your idiotic friends weren't here to see you fail."

Tea fisted her hands. Sometimes she felt like she really needed to punch him!

"So consider your sponsorship denied, and get the hell out of my building." He growled, and watched as she quivered in anger. This really was a waste of time. Why did he even think of dueling her. Well, he had expected her to refuse and chicken out of it.

Tea felt a single tear fall down her face. Damn him! damn him! damn him! Why did she let him get to her like this?

She twirled on her heel and walked to the elevator and punched the button. The damn thing was taking forever! And he was still standing there, waiting for her to leave, a burning look of distain in his eyes.

She huffed, only thinking of getting out of this place before she destroyed something –or someone— and turned to the stairs instead.

She wasn't even thinking as she ran down the large flight of stairs. She only pictured Kaiba and his smug face, and his cold blue eyes, and his really annoying laugh. Her foot slipped. She tried to catch herself, but she was already falling face first.

She stumbled and rolled down the stairs heavily, her limbs flailing, the world spinning in her confused and stunned eyes. She fell with a dead thud at the bottom of the stairs on the hard marble floor.

She didn't move. There was blood.

A/N: Wow -just a few changes, sorry if this is boring to some of you -who have already read this, but to anyone who is new to this -please enjoy! i again ask everyone to bear with me, since this story already had 7 chapters, and now i've hacked it down! But i promise it will be so much better and you'll all be happier! thankyou!