Chapter Three: Tea's confession, Yami's rejection.

"Okay, here he comes. I have to tell him today." Tea said as she waited by the street corner for Yami. She'd called him up that morning after hours of agonizing thought. Finally though, she had decided. Yugi had been her best friend since elementary school. She didn't want to ruin that pure love and respect that only friends feel for each other. Yami was the one who she was attracted to and he was the one she had lusted after since the first time he'd shown himself as Yugi's alter ego. Now she would tell him all that she had been feeling for him, and then, she thought, then they would finally be able to be together.

Transition

Yami came around the corner and saw Tea standing there blushing, obviously in deep thought. He waited for a moment, cowardly, for Tea to notice him. He was a little uncomfortable being out in public still but she had said that she wanted to meet him today and so he came. For what reason he had only imagined and that was what he dreaded most of all.

"Ahem." He coughed after a moment. Tea came back down to earth and saw Yami standing there next to her then she blushed brighter and remembered herself.

"Sorry." She said, "I was just thinking."

"I understand, there's a lot to think about these days." Yami replied. "I've been thinking too and I think that we both should be honest with one another." He had so been dreading this conversation but he had known it was coming for a long time.

"Just what I was thinking about." Tea said. "I have something to tell you, Yami."

"I have something that I need to tell you too." He told her sheepishly. "Tea, I care for you a great deal."

"You do?" She asked, her heart rising. Maybe she would have to be the first one to say "I love you" after all.

"Yes, you've been there for me through a great deal, and there is no one I have more respect for than you, my dearest friend. But…" And this is where Tea's heart began to sink along with Yami's.

"But…?" She asked him.

"But I can't be with you in the way you've obviously come here to tell me that you want to." He finally got around to saying. Tea's eyes widened and her heart shattered.

"What?" She asked him, knowing full well what he meant.

"I know that you came here to tell me that you love me." Yami said. "I figured it out by the way you seemed to act during our phone conversation. Believe me if I felt the same way then things would be different. However…"

"You mean that you don't love me the way that I love you." Tea hung her head and started to cry.

"Tea, please forgive me, I have to be true to my feelings, and I think that it's better this way." Yami told her. "I don't want to loose you as a friend, but I can not be your lover." Tea's tears fell like rain over her red cheeks. "Tea, are you alright, should I call you a cab?" Yami asked.

"No, it's fine." She said after a moment. "I can get home on my own."

"Please Tea, I only…"

"It's okay Yami, you were true to you heart, and that's what matters. I only wish that I had your courage." She said and then ran off down the street.

"Wait Tea!" Yami cried and dashed off after her but as he rounded the corner he bumped into a into an unexpected predicament. Yami had run head long into Bast in her human disguise. Not that it matters but Yami has never actually met Bast to begin with. He'd only heard tale of her and in her human form, she did not look a bit at all like she had been described.

"Hey watch where your going." Bast said as she recovered from the full on body slam.

"Pardon me miss," Yami began to say then he remembered Tea and looked for her, but she was gone. "Blast it, why did I have to be so blunt with her?"

"Blunt with who?" Bast asked.

"My friend." He said. "She came here to tell me that she loved me but I just don't feel the same way." Bast looked shocked and dismayed at him.

"You told her that you don't feel the same way?" She asked Yami. "That's terrible. Pal, you need to learn some tact."

"Excuse me?" Yami asked, wondering who this person was to be butting into his and Tea's personal business.

"When a girl says that she loves someone, the last thing that she needs to hear from that someone is that they don't feel the same way." Bast stated. "You could have let her down a little easier is all I'm saying."

"You're probably right." Yami sighed. "It's just that I do care for her as a friend and that's something that I'm not willing to risk loosing to my inner desires. Not that I have any for Tea, it's just that I do get so lonely sometimes, but there's no one out there for me."

"How sad." Bast thought out loud. "What are you talking about, there's someone out there for everyone, and you just need to keep looking pal, after all, as Aphrodite once said, the road to love is a long one but when you have the right partner, the miles just seem to fly by."

"Huh?" Yami asked.

"You need to keep looking for your partner, your soul mate, your one and only! Come on!" Bast said taking Yami's hand. "We're going to help find that one person out there for you."

"Wait, I don't even know who you are." Yami said as Bast drug him along.

"I'm B." She told him.

"Bea?" Yami asked.

"No just B."

"That's an interesting name. I'm Yami." He told her. Bast smiled and put her hand on her hip.

"That's a nice name, it sounds so Kingly. You won't have happened to been a King in a past life?" She asked Yami.

"It's odd that you should mention that." He said as they walked arm in arm down the street. By now, for some reason, Yami had forgotten all about Tea, and the more that he talked with Bast, the more he fell under her enchantment.

Transition

Tea ran down the street as hard and as fast as she could, running to where, she still didn't know. Her heart was still breaking over what Yami had told her and like a frightened little girl, unsure of what to do, she ran until eventually she found herself back at the Little Turtle Game Shop. What was she doing here, she thought, of all places? Then she looked inside and saw Yugi standing in the door flipping he closed sign. That's right, they close early today, she remembered. Clouds were gathering in the sky now as she stood on the outside looking in, and then finally, Yugi noticed her standing there.

"Tea, what are you doing here, Yami said he was meeting you." He asked letting her in.

"Oh Yugi!' She cried and then wrapped her arms close around him. She was crying and Yugi didn't know why.

"Tea, what's wrong, what happened? Did Yami do something, say something, or…Oh." He realized. "Tea it's okay, come up stairs with me, I'll put on some tea and we'll talk." He said leading her upstairs to his room. Yugi didn't know what exactly had gone on between Tea and Yami but he had a pretty good idea and right now he felt so mad at his counterpart that he could have strangled him. Tea was their best friend. They had known her longer than anyone and cared for her more than anyone. How Yami could have done, or said anything to hurt Tea, Yugi didn't know for sure.

"Here." He said handing Tea a cup of hot tea with lemon and honey, just the way she liked it. "Now tell me what happened."

"Yugi…"Tea said. "Remember when we first met?"

"Yeah, I do." He replied, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"You were always such a good friend to me, I was afraid to loose that, and I think I know now what Yami meant when he said he couldn't be with me." She cried into her tea.

"Oh Tea." Yugi sat down beside her on his bed and put his hand on her shoulder. Then Tea did something totally unexpected. She turned to Yugi and kissed him on the lips. Yugi didn't know what to make of it, but he knew that he didn't want to take advantage of Tea while she was like this so he pulled away. "Tea…I…"

"Please Yugi, don't turn me down." She pleaded with him. "Not now, not after he did, I just need someone Yugi. I need someone to hold me and love me." Yugi blushed and wondered just what to do then Tea kissed him again and he knew what she meant. The way her body turned to put her arms around him, the way that she seemed to be letting go of everything, and the way that he felt now too. He'd been so afraid before but now that Yugi had Tea here, like this, the way he'd always wanted her… He knew what was right and what was in their hearts.

"Make love to me, Yugi." Tea said as they began undressing each other.

"Tea, I love you." Yugi finally admitted after such a long time of wanting her. Such a long, long time, and as they lay under the sheets in each other's arms, the pains of that want seemed fall away. Maybe it was because she was with Yugi, or maybe it was because she was with a friend, that Tea suddenly realized that this was right. The way they fit together was right, the way they moved was right, and the way that they held each other was right. This was right, and they both knew it.

Transition

Rin came home from shopping at the mall with her friends and flopped down on the couch like a normal teenage girl. It felt so good to have a normal day, as normal as things were in the modern age, and it was good to see her friends again. After being gone for so long in America, learning to play her flute while Lord Sesshomaru conducted business for Kaiba Corp, she had missed them all. Especially Shippo. He was her first crush and now being with them all again brought back memories of the days when they were still pre-teens and they had just met. Those were some strange but happy times. Now they were all teenagers and growing up had brought many changes.

At that moment, the front door opened, and In walked Sesshoamru, followed by a wary looking young woman with long red hair, and dressed in Ninja clothing.

"Lord Sesshomaru! You're home!" Rin cheered, jumping up and hugging her guardian.

"Rin, we have a guest," he said somberly.

"I thought you were taking care of a kid," the woman said, looking at Rin. "How old is she?"

Rin giggled, "That's the second time today. I am thirteen winters old."

"Pegasus wasn't kidding when he said you weren't from around here, was he?" the woman asked Sesshomaru.

"Quite the contrary, we are, only 500 years in what you call the past," Sesshomaru answered. "Rin, this is Felicia… Keep her amused while I prepare dinner."

"Hey, wait! I'm not a babysitter!" Felicia objected.

"I wasn't talking to you," Sesshomaru remarked.

"Come with me," Rin said, tugging on her arm, "Would you like to look at my cards?"

"No thanks, kid, I've seen enough of those Duel Monsters cards to last a lifetime."

"Aww, please?" Rin asked her sweetly.

Felicia sighed, and said, "Fine, but I'm not playing. Pegasus made me play that game constantly, and I got sick of it."

"You're just afraid I will defeat you," Rin giggled, "But that is perfectly fine."

"What'd you say, kid?" Felicia demanded.

"I said being afraid of losing a game is alright."

"I'll show you whose afraid!" Felicia said, taking out her duel disk.

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru doesn't allow those to be used in the house," Rin told her, "But we can go to the roof."

"Fine by me, kid," Felicia said. Rin opened the door, and led her down the hall, to the elevators. Soon, they were on the roof, and by now Felicia was ticked off. Why did this kid smile all the time? Why was she so cheerful? And why the heck did she care? "Hurry up and start the game," Felicia said, annoyed.

"Oh, please, you are Lord Sesshomaru's guest. You must begin the duel," Rin said politely.

"Uh, whatever," Felicia said, a little surprised. "I'll take this kid out in a few moves. I play Mataza The Zapper (atk 1300, def 800), in attack mode," And the green armored samurai appeared in the field. "Now I play the magic card Attack Strategy. This lets me attack on my first turn. Go Mataza!"the samurai drew his sword, and with great speed, it charged and slashed at Rin, she winced in pain, but she smiled anyway.

"That was a good move," Rin said, recovering, "I play Mystical Shine Ball (atk 500, def 500) in defense mode, and lay two cards face down."

"That's it?" Felicia asked. "Whatever. I'm drawing, and now I play a card face down, and summon Getsu Fuma (atk 1700, def 1200) to the field," beside the green samurai, a woman in samurai armor appeared.

"Oh she's so pretty!" Rin said, "and she looks like you, Miss Felicia."

"Of course, kid, I modeled for this card," Felicia said, "Pegasus gave it to me as a gift for all my services. Now, if you're done admiring it, get ready to have the Shine Ball destroyed by it. Getsu, attack!"

As the red haired samurai woman started her charge, Rin said, "Revealing face down cards, Solar Ray, and Snatch Steal," the cards flipped face up, and Rin said, "With Solar Ray, you lose 600 life points for every Light Monster on my side of the field. And with Snatch Steal, I can take control of one of your monsters, and I choose Getsu Fuma." as Felicia's signature card advanced across the field, she suddenly turned an came to a halt. Then, Felicia felt a sting of pain as 600 of her life points were taken away.

"Nice strategy, kid, but on my next turn I get 1000 life points during my standby phases." Felicia said. "Your move."

(Rin: 2700, Felicia: 3400)

"Thanks you," Rin said, drawing another card, "I lay this face down and play Venus, The Agent of Creation (atk 1600, def 0)," A winged woman dressed in earthy green and beige appeared, and with her came two more Mystical Shine Balls.

"Where did those come from? What's going on?" Felicia demanded.

"Venus lets me summon up to three Mystic Shine Balls per turn. Since I already had one, I summoned two more. And do not forget my trap." Felicia's points went down another 1800 points. "You may take your turn."

"I don't need your permission!" Felicia said, "Stupid kid, she didn't even attack me," she mumbled. "I draw, and here come the life points."

"Activate face down card," Rin said, the card flipped up, "Bad Reaction to Simochie!"

"What?" Felicia yelled.

"Now you lose 1000 points," Rin said. And Felicia's points dropped drastically.

"It doesn't matter," Felicia said, "Mataza! Attack!" the green samurai jumped into the air, and came down hard on a Shine Ball, shattering it. "Now I play Remove Trap, and get rid of that Solar Ray."

(Rin: 1900, Felicia: 600)

"That was good," Rin said, drawing a card, "But I'm afraid you're going to lose, for I play Monster Reborn." as the card evaporated, the Mystic Shine Ball that had been destroyed returned. Then, the three Shine Balls started circling around Venus.

"What's it doing now?" Felicia asked.

"When three Shine Balls and Venus are all on the field, they increase her power," Rin explained. "Now, Venus, attack Mataza!" Venus held out her hands, then the Shine Balls shot past her, and barreled into the samurai, destroying him, and the rest of Felicia's life points.

(Rin: 1900, Felicia: 0)

Felicia stood there, stunned. She had been trained by the game's creator! How could she lose to a overly developed teenage girl? Then, Rin walked over to her and held out her hand.

"I don't give away my rarest cards, kid, no matter what other people do when they play." Felicia said.

"Uh, uh, that's not what I mean," Rin said. "It's almost dinner time. We should go in," then she took Felicia's hand and led her back inside.

Later, as they were sitting at the table, Felicia stared at her plate.

"The food is edible. I have not poisoned it, if that is your concern," Sesshoamru said to her.

"How come you're not eating?" Felicia asked, suspiciously.

"I do not eat human food. I do not require it." he answered. "And if there was something wrong with this, would I serve it to Rin?" Rin sat happily chomping down on the rice and squid.

"Uh… I'm from LA, we don't eat things with eight legs," Felicia said, disgusted.

"They're not legs," Rin said, "They're tentacles. And they're good! Here, try some," Rin scooped some on her chopstick and shoved them in Felicia's mouth. In shock, she swallowed them. "Would you also like some Wasabe?" Rin asked her.

"No thanks," Felicia said, turning green, "I'm fine with what I have."

"Look, Lord Sesshomaru, her face is green," Rin said, "Just like Master Jaken."

"Indeed," Sesshoamru said, "Here, take the Wasabe. It is actually very good for the human body." and he dumped a generous portion on Felicia's plate. As she was looking at it, feeling sicker than ever, she happened to glance at her 'host', and was surprised yet again. He was smiling. It… wasn't a bad smile.

"What's so funny?" she mumbled, blushing.

"The green color of your face does indeed remind me of a servant I once had." he said.

"Really?" she said, scooting her chair further away. "What happened to him? You didn't eat him did you?"

Rin erupted into a fit of laughing as Sesshomaru answered, "No. He works for my brother now. Tending to his children. Besides, Jaken would not have tasted very pleasing."