Book Dragon:blinks "This is awkward. Or at least I feel that way…er, stupid emotions. Thank you for the reviews, I appreciate them."

Chapter 14: Mind over Body?

Fully submerged in a steaming bath filled to the brim with a cover of white foamy suds, with the tub curtain pulled, with the door locked firmly, a chair probed up under the knob, Kaede finally let herself relax. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in the room. Why, she wasn't sure, but she had a sneaking feeling that Javas would 'happen' upon her while she was bathing or something just as stupid. Say, she'd go out into her room for a change of clothes and he'd be there smiling at her on the bed. Something that irrational and dense would come creeping into her head. Hell, this was bothering her so much that she could swear she could hear movement from the bedroom.

After an hour soak she washed up and climbed out of the tub carefully and took the robe off the doorknob. She ignored the mirror as she shoved her arm in one sleeve and covered herself as fast as she could. She had found whenever she looked at herself, actually studied her features, she found herself lacking in everyway. She was a lanky, pale skinned teen with no shape, a witch's broom bleached of all color for hair, and two mud-splat stained eyes. She did eye the Ring nervously as she dressed. Despite the locks and the suds, she still felt like she was being watched, and wished nothing more to throttle it. Tying the band on the white robe did the trick. She picked up the brush and busily yanked and tore at the snarls in her hair while staring herself in the face, wondering why she was so paranoid as she smoothed out the mess on her head and put the ring on around her neck with a jingle. When she removed the chair, and opened the door she figured out why.

The white haired teen stared for a few blank moments, blinked brown orbs, and looked jadedly at his fingernails. Kaede felt a tense knot tie under her stomach, an ache that felt far stranger than anything she had ever felt, and curled her toes in the blue carpet and just started at him and felt her hands form fists a couple of times. After a few escaped moments that she had let him explain why he was in here, she found he wasn't going to talk. She twiddled her fingers a moment and shifted her jaw.

"What are you doing in here?" He looked up from his nails.

"I wanted to be clean, if you had to know." He replied. T.R rose from off of the bed headed to the door.

"What's wrong with the other one?"

"Javas is using it."

"Ah…and what do you suppose I do like this?" she asked him. He froze and the blank look flashed on his face a moment.

"…You can finish."

"Thank you." She opened the trunk at the end of her bed, searched a couple of moments for a pair of pants and shirt pajamas, but where only finding silk night shirts and…underwear. She ignored his blank stare over her shoulder and closed her eyes angrily. This was ridiculous. Completely and utterly unworldly. Why in the hell-

She opened her eyes in a flash; eyes wide in fright. She hurriedly stepped away from the chest, like it had changed into a dangerous animal and bit her lip.

Javas had said his father had come to retire here when things were hot. For him? The room was clearly meant for a woman… perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Kaiba retired here together? If this were true than that meant these were her…things. Which also meant that…

Her face turned very waxy as her stomach soured.

She turned to T.R worriedly. His down-cast eyes quickly looked up into her face and blinked once, shaking off the blank look quickly with an irritated one.

"What?"

"…nothing. Just nothing." She muttered, and brightened quickly. "I'm alright." She was past worrying and gingerly took out the first silk shirt and panties she could find, trying not to think what kind of acts could have been committed. But if anything like that occurred it would come off…right? She tried to shove that thought away. She debated the closet. After a few moments she shook her head, it was a no go. She had checked it earlier and found only things like evening gowns, stuff she'd never get to sleep in. Not that this course was any better. She walked into the bathroom, holding the garments out in front of her, listening to T.R's muffled chuckling as she disappeared into the bathroom. She had considered changing into her old underwear, but that wasn't going to happen. For one, wearing the same thing for two days was sick. And two her own clothes were outside. These were at least clean. She wondered what force in the universe wanted to see her squirm for the past two days and cursed it with everything she had.

T.R paced the room with large strides, biting his lip hard enough to make it bleed, only moments after she had shut the door. He should leave the room. That was what the very last of his rational chords were saying. The rest of him…he wasn't sure what had happened in that two minute encounter. He brushed down his hair roughly and eyed the door knob for the fifth time in twenty seconds, trying to make up his mind. He had been sure, after about 4,000 years of 'imprisonment' that he could handle this sort of situation with anyone. He was now raging at himself. Just one look at her in a bathrobe unwinds him. Part of him, the calculating devious nature, was saying in a calm voice to leave the room now, before everything was ruined. The other piece, however…

The doorknob turned. In the two seconds it took for the door to open, the spirit stopped pacing, was standing in front of the door out into the hall, and forced his passive mask into use.

Kaede shut the door. She felt nervous, a gurgling anxious uneasy feeling in her gut. Not because of T.R's presence. She had figured out quickly from the rapid thoughts that his nature didn't suggest any interest, or from her basic knowledge of every single meeting she remembered her sister talking about the third she had been present for, some of which would've been nice to burn out of her mind. He wasn't overly nice, he wasn't giving gifts, he never tried to touch her, no attempt to kiss, or hug, or snuggle, or cuddle, or to even be near her. Actually, she was pretty sure he hated her with all his mind and heart and thought her to be nothing at all. She had no problem walking over to her clothes dressed as she was, picked them up, and headed toward him at the door. She was sick with worry that Javas would come across her. He had already been generous and was being overly nice. He was something to be worried about.

She found it surprising, how a little uneasiness can start your mind working in millions of different paths, making thousands of theories and solving them. The answer to avoiding any bad situations in the next couple of days was to make sure she was never in the same room alone with Javas. Simple.

The reason she was uncomfortable right now was the fact that she had to get her clothes wasted immediately. Get them wasted tonight, she could wear them tomorrow and not have to wear any revealing dresses. That meant of course, she'd have to walk out now, in this equally revealing night shirt with no pants on, for about five minutes, so she could be somewhat comfortable tomorrow. It was that, or be jumpy in a tight fitting black silk with a low cut neck and exposing a lot more leg than she'd like for a couple of hours waiting for the clothes to wash and dry. In those five minutes Javas would have less of a chance of seeing her than three hours tomorrow. Also simple.

"Where are you going?" T.R asked her in an irritated voice, a vague look covering his face.

"To find the washing machine and clean my clothes…why?"

"…Little reason." He muttered, the look deepening. Kaede puzzled about it. In thirteen years of watching television and watching the whole world around her, she had never before seen such a look. She had seen something similar, but not the same. He was wearing an expression very close to the turban man painting hanging in her living room, but there was a key difference. His eyes weren't vague at all. His eyes looked twisted with a miscellaneous of emotions; so many that you couldn't tell what was being felt. All negative emotions swimming in shady brown orbs. Hate, pain, rage, sorrow, frustration… they flashed darkly. Actually, you could say his eyes were the opposite of the painting.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked carefully, the apprehension growing larger in her gut.

T.R blinked his eyes, washing out the other emotions except anger and let out all the air in his lungs. She could see his mouth twitching and waited for him to answer. His face slowly turned a deep red and started to shake. Apprehension turned aghast as red slowly changed to blue and she wondered why he wasn't breathing. When she started to consider running and locking herself in the bathroom he did something she wouldn't forget for a long time.

He took a huge breath, opened his mouth, and before he could even utter a word his fist had been shoved into his mouth. Kaede widened her eyes in shock as he grabbed her dirty clothes and violently threw the door open. He made a lot of noises that could have been words if his tongue wasn't blocked and ran out slamming the door shut, leaving Kaede wide-eyed and baffled. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about her clothing...

T.R snarled angrily as he emerged from the bathroom, hair straggled and tamed due to the extra weight of water, clothed in a large black cotton robe. It didn't actually come out as snarl, really an angry gurgle, since his fist was still jammed in his mouth. He had waited behind the safety of a closed and locked door away from her for about four hours in the bathroom, until it was dark enough for the two to sleep so he could move about without any question. He couldn't force the horrible taste out of his mouth. When his eyes started watering and the metallic taste of blood tickled his taste buds, he still hadn't dared remove his fist in fear that he'd start talking all over again nor left the room, even though the his mouth stopped hours ago. Now, feeling safer, he slowly stretched his jaw to the widest he could and removed his clenched bone-white fingers.

He silently cursed at the deep teeth marks cutting into his skin right above the knuckles, flexing them, checking the self inflicted wounds carefully with cold eyes. The pain was a dull throb, now and much easier to cut off from her senses. Then again, this was mere child's play to when Marik had sent his rare hunters to beat him. Though, not the most difficult time.

He blew air quietly from his nostrils as the stubborn knot tied under his stomach finally melted away. The tension flowed out of him as he walked to the kitchen and silently searched the cabinets. When he finally found the medical ointment, he was completely calm. He had completely tucked the little episode away into a dark corner of his mind where it wouldn't see the light of day unless searched for. That he would not be doing in the near future. Maybe in not in any future, he reflected. Never in those moments had he ever felt so weak in his life. He hated to feel weak. Long ago, he had vowed never to be weak again. He could force himself to do anything and not care for the harm of the body.

Even now, as he bandaged his hand, he was taking care of the tool given to him, not really caring for it. The fading memory now sleeping and being forgotten, however, was changing his thinking, making him afraid of it. Change comes hard to one that has lived for thousands of years. By forgetting he could hide from the fear that he, the sadistic thief that robbed the Pharaoh's treasure chamber again and again that refused any weakness of himself, could have actually felt and maybe have even liked to feel weak in the presence of this young female. That was against everything, and his mind would not, could not, allow it.

It is unfortunate for him, by hiding the knowledge away in his head, it could work undetected and change what he was struggling not to accept. Subconsciously, his own mind was working against itself, under his very nose.

Book Dragon: "Please review."