Disclaimer: "I do not own yugioh."

"talk"

'thoughts'

...

Tea looked around to see if any of her "friends" were there. She was in school, walking towards her locker. She always walked with them to school, but after what happened at the game shop yesterday, she decided not to see them today. She was angry at them and wanted them to apologize. If they didn't, then she would ignore them. They would be like everyone else; a familiar face and nothing more. She stood in front of her locker and opened it. Many smiling faces greeted her; faces of her friends, sticking in her locker, in form of pictures. But to her, it seemed like they were laughing at her and mocking her. The conversation from yesterday replayed in her mind and her hand unconsciously touched her cheek where Yami had slapped her. Anger coursed through her and she slammed her locker shut, not wanting to see those horrible faces anymore. While she was trying to control herself from bursting, she heard a voice.

"Hey Tea. How was your day yesterday?" The voice was dripping with sarcasm, and it belonged to Serenity. Tea turned around to glare at the girl.

"What the hell are you talking about? You were there. You saw what happened." Tea fumed. "Why didn't you tell them that truth?"

"Because if I did, then I would have had to explain why I lied to them in the first place." Serenity replied cooly.

"So it was you who told them all those lies." Tea said, not believing her ears.

"Yes. And they believed me." Serenity smirked.

"WHY?" Tea nearly screamed. She was having trouble controlling herself from strangling the girl who she thought of as a friend.

"I was sick of you getting all the attention. You stole my brother from me, so I stole your friends." Serenity replied with same anger.

"What are you talking about? I didn't steal Joey from you." Tea defended herself.

"Oh yeah? Then how come he always tells you everything and hides it from me? How come he trusts you more? He spends more time with you then me." Serenity asked with jealousy.

"Because I have been with him for a long time, much longer then you have. You were with your mom and I was with him. He trusts me. Besides, the reason he tells me everything and not you is because he doesn't want you to get worried." Tea replied.

"Shut up. I am not gonna listen to your hollow excuses any more." Serenity said. "Joey is my brother. He loves me and should trust me. But because of you, he ignores me. You probably filled his head with words against me so he wouldn't trust me. And you thought I was too dumb to figure it out or do something about it. Well, I showed you, didn't I? Now all your friends like me and trust me over you." Serenity finished triumphantly.

"You are delusional and need help." Tea said, staring at Serenity. "I don't know how you got those ideas in your head but they are wrong. And I will tell the guys the truth. I will tell them what you told me right now."

"Good luck doing that. After you left, I just made up more lies about you. You would be lucky to get out of school unharmed today." Serenity said with a sickening smile. "So take my advice and leave now. You know them and you know how they can be when angered. And I made sure I made them angry enough that they won't listen to a word you will say. Just walk out of our lives quietly and you will be fine. It's for your own good."

"How dare you act all superior you bitch? You are nothing but an insecure liar. I hate you for what you have done, and I won't forget this. I will make you pay for what you did to me. You just watch." Tea threatened in a loud voice, fists clenched at her sides, but Serenity only laughed mockingly and left. Everyone in the hallways was looking at Tea, not knowing what got into her to make her react that way. She was always so calm, so nice. This was definitely weird. Tea glared at them and walked towards her class.

Serenity on the other hand had another brilliant idea. She ran towards Joey and the others, crying again.

"What happened Serenity?" Joey asked her as she sobbed into his chest.

"I was walking in the hallways when Tea saw me and started yelling at me, for telling you guys everything. She called me a bitch and said that she would do something to me, something bad. Joey, I am scared. What if she and Kaiba hurt me?." Serenity lied, yet again.

"They won't do anything." Yugi tried to assure her.

"Because we will take care of them today." Tristen said, exchanging a look with Joey and Duke.

"I think we should deal with them one at a time. If they are together, it may be difficult to give them the treatment they deserve." Duke suggested.

"You are right Duke. We will." Joey said, rubbing Serenity's shaking shoulders to calm her.

Tea couldn't believe it. All of her friends had ignored her all day. She was so pissed at them. Many times, she thought of going to them and telling them that Serenity was lying to all of them. But she didn't. she wanted them to come to her. She wanted them to realize what they had done and apologize. She was fuming when she walked out of the school. But her expression changed when she saw her friends standing besides an alley. Joey walked towards her. She thought he was gonna say something, but he roughly grabbed her arm and dragged her into the alley with him.

Tea tried to scream as he dragged her but he placed a hand on her mouth, preventing her from doing so. Once deep inside, he pushed her towards Yami and tristen. Duke was standing on her left. She just stared at them, not sure what they were gonna do.

"What do you want? Haven't you done enough already?" Tea sked them, eyes fixed on Yami. Just looking at him reminded her of the slap she received from him and her blood boiled in rage.

"Apparently, we haven't. You threatened Serenity so we are gonna make sure you never threaten her or anyone else again." Joey said.

"We are gonna teach you a lesson." Duke said, and before she could react, Tristen punched her in the stomach. She grabbed her stomach and fell on the ground. A scream escaped from her lips. But they weren't done yet. Joey pulled her hair, bringing her head back and slapped her. With every slap, Tea screamed louder, begging them to stop. But they didn't. They continued beating her. She was too weak to defend herself against all of them. All she could do was hope that someone would hear her screams and save her.

Seto kaiba was sitting in his limo, working on his laptop. Mokuba was staring out of the open window when he heard screams. He quickly told Seto to listen but the limo had already passed the location. Seto went back to his work, telling Mokuba he must have imagined it but the kid was insistent. Sighing, Seto told the driver to go back, and as they neared a small alley, Seto also heard muffled screams and realized that mokuba wasn't imagining stuff.

"Seto, it's a girl. We have to help her." Mokuba said insistently. Seto, however, was still listening. After a few seconds, he again turned to his laptop.

"I know who the girl is Mokuba. It's Gardner." Seto replied.

"Then we absolutely have to help her." Mokuba said worriedly, imagining her to be in trouble.

"She has the geek squad to protect her Mokuba. They follow her like flies follow sweets. And besides, I don't think she is in any trouble." Seto said.

'Yugi is probably fucking her brains out so she is screaming in pleasure. Maybe, that dog is there too.' Seto thought with disgust. He had heard male voice straining as well, and could only imagine what must be going on.

"Seto, I heard her say help when we passed here earlier. Please Seto, go and at least see if she is okay." Mokuba begged. Seto sighed and got out of the limo.

'Mokuba, you better hope she is not naked, fucking those geeks, or I will cut your allowance in half. That is, if I survive such a horrible sight.' Seto thought.

As he neared her, he noticed that the screams were from extreme pain and not pleasure. Now he started running, thinking that she may really be in trouble. He heard her scream louder then ever before and then, silence occupied the air.

'Am I too late?' He stared running and reached the end of the alley, where he figured the screams were coming from. What he saw horrified him. Tristen and Duke were holding the arms of a limp body; Tea's body. Her uniform was ripped in many places and covered in blood. There was blood on her arms, legs and face. Even her hair were dripping with blood.

He thought she was dead because she wasn't moving at all. She was sitting on her knees, but only because Tristen and Duke were holding her arms or she would be on the ground. He saw her spit some blood as Joey punched her in the gut again, indicating that she was still alive. But for how long? It seemed that her "friends" either didn't notice that or didn't care. Yugi, or his spirit, kept slapping her. He had to do something and now. What was going on? The situation was too bizzare for Seto to comprehend. It seemed like he was in some alternate universe. But he didn't have time to dwell on the absurdity of the situation.

"What the hell are you doing? Leave her." Seto said, approaching them.

"Oh look, it's… her little… boyfriend." Joey said. He was out of breath, probably from beating her, Seto concluded.

"Boyfriend?" seto was confused but it was no time to figure out what went on in Wheelers pea-sized brain. So he continued. "Are you all insane? Why are you beating her?"

"Because a bitch like her deserves to be beaten." Tristen said.

"She deserves this." Duke spoke.

"That's enough. I'll ask you one last time to let her go. She is badly hurt and needs to go to a hospital." Seto said with an expressionless face.

"What will you do if we don't do that Kaiba?" Yami asked. He pulled Tea's hair, jerking her head up. Seto saw that she was unconscious. Seeing her bloody and bruised face angered Seto to no extent. His jaw clenched as he tried to remain calm and collected. He would need his senses to deal with these animals.

"Then I will have to make you." He answered.

"So you wanna fight for your bitch. Fine with us. Bring it one rich boy." Joey said.

Seto didn't really understand what Joey meant but he knew what he had to do. He attacked Joey. Joey, expecting a blow at his face, ducked but Seto was one step ahead of him. Instead of punching Joey in the face, he thrust his knee in his gut, knocking him over, while his extended fist connected with Tristen's face. Tristen immediately let go of Tea and grabbed his face. Seto then attacked Duke, elbowing him in the stomach. He proceeded towards Yami but Joey kicked him in the back. Seto turned around, eyes flaming with anger. Joey actually backed away from him, but Seto kicked him in the face, breaking his nose.

The other saw what Seto did to Joey and seemed hesitant to approach him. They grabbed a groaning Joey and quickly walked away, leaving Tea and seto. Seto quickly went to Tea, holding her limp body in his arms. He checked her pulse to see if she was still alive, and was relieved to know that she was. He picked her up and ran towards the limo. Mokuba saw them approaching and opened the door, letting them in. He screamed when he saw Tea.

"Oh my God Seto. What happened? Who did this to her?" He asked, horror evident on his face.

"Her so called friends." Seto spat with disgust.

"How could they? Seto, we have to take her to the hospital, now."

"No Mokuba. I can't take her to the hospital. This will draw too much attention and it will become a scandal before we can control it. And that's just what the press is looking for, a scandal involving me."

"Then what do you suggest we do? She can die."

"We will take her to our mansion. I will call our personal physician right now. She will get better treatment there. And it will be quiet. We don't know what happened between her and her friends, and she might not want the world to know about this." Mokuba didn't argue with that and told the driver to drive towards the mansion while Seto made the call to their doctor.

As soon as the limo stopped inside the gates of the humongous mansion, Mokuba got out and held the door open for Seto, who held Tea in his arms. They hurried into the mansion. Mokuba ran away to call a maid while seto carried Tea up stairs. He wanted to take her to a guest room, but the maids had the keys and he didn't have enough time to wait for them so he took her to his room and gently placed her on his bed. By that time, Mokuba returned with a maid. The maid carried some of mokuba's clothes in her hands.

"I asked her to change Tea's clothes and clean her up a bit. They are covered in blood and dirt." Mokuba said. Seto nodded and left the room with Mokuba.

They waited downstairs as the maid changed Tea's clothes. The doorbell rang, announcing the doctor's arrival. Mokuba ran to open the door. The kid was worried sick. It was Dr. John, their family doctor.

"What seems to be the problem Mr. Kaiba? You and Mokuba seem to be in perfect health." The doctor asked.

"it's not us. It's our friend. She is in Seto's room right now. Please, hurry up." Mokuba said. He grabbed the doctor's arm and practically dragged him upstairs. The doctor didn't protest. The maid was just coming out of the room when they entered. The doctor gasped when he saw Tea. Even though the maid had changed her clothes, the new clothes had spots of blood already.

"Oh my. This is very bad. How did this happen? Did she have an accident?" The doctor said, noticing her bruised form. Mokuba opened his mouth to say something but Seto quickly answered.

"We don't know. We found her like this." Mokuba looked at Seto in question but Seto's glare silenced him.

"Okay. She is badly injured. Broken jaw, broken arm and some broken ribs are just a few." The doctor said.

"Is she gonna be okay Dr. John?" Mokuba asked in a small voice.

"Oh yes. Don't worry about that Mokuba. I'll take good care of your friend." Dr. John assured Mokuba with a comforting smile. "Now I want you to stop worrying and go outside to play. Okay."

"But…" Mokuba started to protest. He wanted to stay with Tea but Seto's eyes told him otherwise. Sighing loudly to the let the others know he was not happy, he left nonetheless. When he left, the doctor turned to Seto.

"Can you help me with these wounds Mr. Kaiba?" The doctor asked. Seto obliged, without saying a word. First, Dr. John gently took her clothes off to reveal the wounds. That was when Seto saw the true extent of the damage her friends had done. Her whole body had bruises and purple marks. He felt blinding anger towards Yugi and the others. Many questions occupied his head. 'Why did they do this? What did she do to make them so angry? Why did Joey call her my bitch? Didn't Yugi or his stupid spirit love her? But he was beating her with them. This is so confusing.'

After cleaning her wonds and body, the doctor slowly started to wrap the bandages around her. It took a significant amount of time.

"Okay. We are done." The doctor finally said. Seto snapped out of his thoughts and stared at a body wrapped in bandages. She had bandages around her head, around her arms, around her waist and around her legs. He felt sympathy for the girl.

"Can I see you outside for a minute Mr. Kaiba?"

"Sure." They exited the room and spotted Mokuba pacing outside.

"Is she okay? Can I go in now to see her?" Mokuba asked.

"She must be really special to you Mokuba. Well, you can go in now." The doctor said kindly. Mokuba didn't even wait for a second and ran inside the room. When he was out of sight, Seto turned to the doctor.

"What is wrong with her?" He asked.

"I have taken care of her external injuries but you have to take care of the internal ones. She has been hit in the stomach many times, damaging her digestive system. She can't be allowed to move, so I have given her sleeping pills, along with some other pills. You will need to give her one in the morning and one at night, to keep her asleep for twenty-four hours until her internal injuries are sufficiently healed. Also, she can't digest any solid food. So you will have to feed her soup and other liquid foods. She will need a lot of care to heal." The doctor replied sadly.

"For how long do we need to give her the sleeping pills?" Seto questioned.

"For at least a week. By then, she will be in a better shape. She won't miss any school because spring break is starting in a few days." Seto nodded, so the doctor continued. "I will check on her every day. If there is any change in her condition in my absence, good or bad, please notify me right away. Good day Mr. Kaiba." He then left. Seto walked towards his room, ready to tell Mokuba that it was time for him to do his homework. But he stopped outside his room, surprised at what he saw.

Mokuba was sitting besides Tea, holding her pale hand. Tears were forming in his eyes, but he was being strong and refusing to let them fall. As Seto saw them, memories flashed in his mind. Gozoburo beating him and pushing him beyond his limit. Every time Gozoburo "taught" Seto personally, he was left a bloody mess at the end of the lesson. Some maid or servant would carry him into his room. A doctor would tend to his wounds and then Mokuba would sit beside him, encouraging him to not give up.

Now, as he watched them, he felt images flash before his eyes. Suddenly, Tea's face morphed into his. Instead of Tea, he stared into a younger version of him, covered in bandages, and a very young Mokuba trying to hold back his tears, whispering, "you will be okay. I will take care of you Seto. Don't worry. We will make him pay for what he has done to you, I promise." Mokuba's voice shook him out of his thoughts. Mokuba was talking to Tea now.

"You will be okay. I will take care of you Tea. We will make them pay for what they did to you, I promise." Seto couldn't take it anymore.

"Mokuba… you should go now. Do your homework." Seto said. He had to try very hard to keep his voice from shaking.

"But Seto, what about her?" Mokuba asked, looking worriedly at Tea.

"I will have a maid stay with her." Mokuba nodded., He took one last look at Tea and then left, leaving Seto and Tea alone.

Seto stared at Tea. The bandage around her head now restrained her hair that framed her beautiful face. Her eyes that shone with excitement and joy were now closed. The same eyes that that flashed in anger when he insulted her or her friends but had also shown concern for him on several occassions. Her rosy lips that were graced with the most radiant smiles were sealed tightly, threatening to never move again.

Seto sighed and sat on the bed beside her. He brushed some bangs from her forehead and whispered to her sleeping form. "Get well soon… Tea."

...

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