Disclaimer: "I do not own Yugioh."
"talk"
'thoughts'
...
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong
The lyrics of Linkin Park's song, 'Somewhere I Belong' rang through the air of the gym. Eyes closed, Tea let the music flow through her as he body danced to the music. From far, one may think her mind was empty with nothing but the music and the song lyrics on the mind. But in reality, the situation was very different. She was thinking about her old friends. Their faces kept appearing in her mind. Their past, their present and their possible future added weight on her mind. What was she to do?
Will never know myself until I do this on my own
And I will never feel anything else, until my wounds are healed
I will never be anything till I break away from me
I will break away, I'll find myself today
Should she go to them and talk to them? But that would mean she forgave them. Didn't she? She wanted to, but a part of her refused to. She was torn between her heart and mind. Her heart cried at their present state and wanted to reach out to them. But her mind refused to help those who caused her so much pain and suffering. What to do? What to do? Ever since she saw them that day, she couldn't concentrate on anything. She felt that if she let this continue, she'd be somehow responsible for their downfall. This guilt was beginning to ruin her life.
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong
Wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong
somewhere I belong
Seto heard music coming from the gym and knew who was in there. He slowly walked in and peeked from the door. Inside, Tea danced like an angel, carefree and pure. She was so engrossed in her dancing that she didn't seem to notice that the song ended and another one started. Infact, she seemed like she was in a different world. He slowly crept behind her and watched her sway her hips to the music. She was beautiful. She was something he never thought he would have but he did. He had her for a long time, and now was the time to make her officially his.
Tea felt a presence behind her and opened her eyes. An arm snaked around her waist and a whisper urged her to continue dancing. Them familiar touch and the husky voice gave away the identity of the person. She relaxed and continued dancing. She was surprised when she felt him join her. She had never seen him dance before. She wanted to turn around and see his face, but his arms stopped her. She figured her didn't want her to see him just yet so she continued dancing.
Seto knew she wanted to face him and see him. And he wanted nothing more than to see her beautiful face too. But not yet. He wanted to feel her in his arms before he claimed her. He wanted to make sure she was there and not just a fragment of his imagination. But she really was there, with him, in his arms. They stopped dancing as the song finished. She turned around to face him.
"I didn't know you danced so well." She said smiling at him.
"I had great inspiration." He said and Tea blushed.
"I see you're all dressed up and ready to go to Kaiba corp." She said with a hint of concern in her voice. It was saturday but he was still going to work. He smiled at her concern.
"Yeah. I came here to tell you that I'm leaving." He said staring at her lips.
"Is… is that all?" She whispered, lost in his eyes.
"No. There's one more thing." He said brushing her lips with his thumb before covering them with his.
She gasped when his lips descended upon hers but quickly melted by his warm touch. The kiss was gentle, as if he was afraid he might break her. When she slowly responded to his kiss, that's when he unleashed the true passion he held in him. His lips hungrily devoured hers. He snaked an arm around her waist and crushed her body against his. Tea unconsciously leaned into him and kissed him back with the same passion.
She had been waiting so long for this day, this moment, to finally come and it had come today. All worries of her friends disappeared from her mind and the only thing she could think of were his lips and the fire he had ignited in her. He sucked on her bottom lip, asking for entrance and she quickly parted her lips to grant him. His tongue came darting in her mouth and coaxed her insides. Her own shy tongue joined his, making him growl with pleasure.
When they pulled back for breath, which they so desperately needed, their faces were flushed.
"That's all." Seto whispered in her ear before giving her a devilish smirk and exiting the gym, leaving her to catch her breath.
Tea hesitantly entered the game shop and spotted grandpa working silently. His shoulders were slumped and there were dark circles under his eyes. He really must be worried about Yugi and the others. She walked up to him.
"H… hi gramps." She said. His head snapped up.
"Tea. Is that really you?" He asked with shocked tone. "My God. I haven't seen you in ages."
"Yeah." She nervously replied. "I've been busy."
"Oh thank God you're here. You have to help me. I don't know what's wrong with Yugi or the others. They have been acting like zombies. They don't eat, sleep, or talk. They just sit. Maybe you can help them and see what is wrong with them. Talk to them. I know they'll listen to you." Grandpa urgently said.
"That's why I'm here, to talk to them." Tea said with a comforting smile.
"Oh thank you Tea. Come, I'll take you to them. They're in the back." Grandpa said and led her to the back room.
"Thanks grandpa. I'll take it from here. You can go back to the front." Tea said. Grandpa smiled and left, a look of relief and hope evident on his face. Tea took a deep breath and entered the room. They seemed to be in the same state and in the same clothes as well since the last time she saw them, and that was two days ago. But there was a new addition, Duke.
"Umm, guys." She hesitantly said. Joey and Tristen's head snapped in her direction as quick as lightening and their eyes widened.
"Tea?" Joey whispered in disbelief.
"Yeah, it's me." She said and walked up to them.
"Tea, look, we're really sorry and-." Tristen started but Tea raised her hand, stopping him.
"Stop it Tristen. I don't want to listen to anything." She said.
"But Tea, we really are sorry for what we did." Duke said, guilt showing on his handsome face.
"Like I said, I'm not here to listen to anything you have to say." Tea repeated. She had to stay strong. She would not succumb to emotion. She would do what she had planned.
"Then why are you here?" Joey asked. He was not meeting her eyes, she noticed.
"I… I saw you guys two days ago and… I was just really shocked." She said. "You guys are throwing your life away like this." She pointed at the empty beer bottles.
"It's better then taking a life." Tristen said, also looking away from her.
"But you are taking lives. Have you seen grandpa? He's worried sick because of you. He's an old man and this will cause him to die early and sad. And what about Mai? She was crying for you guys. And you, you don't care at all." She said.
"Grandpa… and Mai. Are they that worried?" Joey asked hesitantly, as if he was not ready to believe that.
"Yes they are. And if you care a little bit about them, you'd stop hurting them and yourself." Tea said. Then she walked up to Yugi, who hadn't moved from his spot, or looked at her.
"Yugi." She softly called out to her former best friend. He didn't respond. She sat before him and noticed the empty look in his eyes, the same look that was present when he had lost his star chips to Seto in Duelist Kingdom.
"I couldn't stop him." Yugi whispered. "I tried, I really did. But I couldn't. And he hurt you." Tears streamed down his face as he spoke.
"Oh Yugi, I don't blame you." Tea quickly said, watching the pain in his eyes. "I know you must have tried and I don't have anything against you. It was him who hurt me." She meant what she had said. She knew Yugi would not lift a finger to hurt her even if he was angry with her. It was Yami who was to blame.
"Tea, please forgive me. I'm sorry." Yugi broke down in sobs. Tea collected the broken boy in her arms, trying to stop his shaking. She knew how much Yugi must be hurting. This had happened once before during Duelist Kingdom, when Yami had refused to listen to Yugi and tried to attack Seto on top of a tower. The attack would have knocked Seto off the edge, killing him, but despite knowing that, Yami had gone forward with the attack. Yugi had been devastated at Yami's cold-hearted actions, and his refusal to listen to him. Yugi had started distrusting and fearing the spirit, and lost faith in his own strength to control him. Tea knew Yugi must be feeling something similar now as well.
"Yugi, don't cry. Please don't cry." Tears began forming in her eyes as well.
"We never meant to do it. None of us did. We were blinded by rage. We were stupid." Yugi kept on saying.
"I know. I know." Tea whispered, rubbing his back comfortingly.
"Tea, come back. We all miss you and we want things to be back to normal." Yugi said and Tea pulled back.
"I want things to go to normal too yugi. But…" She hesitated.
"But what Tea?" Joey asked. "What do you want from us? What do you want us to do? We are willing to take any punishment. We deserve it."
"I don't think I'm ready to be friends with you just yet. I don't know if I have completely forgiven you." Tea admitted.
"Oh." Tristen said lowering his head.
"I am trying. I really am trying, but it's hard." She said.
"Don't trouble yourself Tea." Duke said. "It's understandable. We don't want to force you or rush you. We just want you to know that we are all extremely sorry and ashamed of what we did."
"Take as much time as you need." Joey said.
"I don't know how long is it going to take, but I'm trying to forget it. Hopefully, I'll forget it soon and find the strength to forgive you." She said and got up.
"You're leaving?" Yugi said, desperately looking at her.
"Yeah. But please, stop all this. You're hurting a lot of people, including me. So, stop." She said and quickly walked out of the room. Grandpa saw her and spoke.
"How did it go Tea?"
"It was okay grandpa. I talked to them. Hopefully, they'd snap out of the trance." She said smiling at the old man's hopeful face.
"Aren't you going stay here? I haven't seen you in ages."
"Sorry but I can't. I have to meet someone. Bye grandpa." She said and left. She did have to meet someone, and that someone was up on the 101st floor of the biggest and tallest building of city, Kaiba Corp.
Serenity entered the Kaiba Corp. lobby with a racing heart. Should she really do this? Yes, she had to. That was her only choice. She took a deep breath and walked up to the receptionist.
"Hi." She said cheerfully to the receptionist.
"Can I help you?" The woman asked, scrutinizing Serenity with her cold eyes.
"Yeah. I'm here to meet Seto Saiba." Serenity said.
"Do you have an appointment?" The receptionist said in a bored tone.
"No, but I don't need one. You see, he knows me. I am Joey Wheeler's sister, Serenity Wheeler. I was at the Battle City blimp too and I spoke with Kaiba. He knows who I am." Serenity said and the receptionist's eyes widened ever so slightly.
"Really. Then you must know Yugi Motou as well. My son is a big fan of Yugi and Joey. He is crazy about dueling too. Can you get their autographs for him?" She asked excitedly.
"Sure. I can do that. In fact, I'll have them meet your son." Serenity said with a sweet smile. "Here is my number. You can give me a call when your son wants to meet them and I'll have it arranged." She wrote her number on a paper and handed it to the receptionist.
"Oh thank you so much." The woman said happily.
"So can I go see Kaiba now?" Serenity asked coyly.
"Why certainly. I know Mr. Kaiba knows Yugi and Joey so he most certainly should know you as well. Go right ahead. It's the third door to your left on the top floor."
"Thanks." Serenity said and walked towards the lift.
Seto was sitting in his office, when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in." He said, ready to yell at the person for disturbing him. It was the weekend, and very few employees were working today. He had specifically told them not to bother him, but obviously someone didn't value their job. He looked up, ready to fire the ignorant idiot, but was shocked to see Serenity's face.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He nearly yelled. He hated her with a passion, especially after what she had done to Tea.
"I'm here to see you." She replied.
"But I don't want to see you. How dare you even show your face after what you did to Tea?" He tried not to jump and strangle her.
"I did nothing. And why are you so angry? It's not like she's your girlfriend." Serenity teased.
"Shut up and get out before I have security throw you out." Seto said.
"Come on Kaiba. It's not my fault. They did it to her. You should be mad at them." She had the nerve to defend herself and blame everything on others.
"And who caused all that to happen in the first place? You did. So don't even try to fool me." Seto sneered.
"I know you can't be fooled. But I hate to tell you that Tea is fooling you. She's in love with Yami; she loved him and still does. So you're wasting your affection on her." Serenity's words caused his blood to boil. He moved forward and grabbed her throat in a tight grip. He lowered his face to speak to her.
"I have tolerated your pathetic existence in my space long enough. I'll let you know that I can hurt you in the worst way imaginable. I can have you killed. I can have you disappeared from the face of the earth and no one will ever find you. I can even erase the proof of your pitiful existence and you'll be nothing." Seto said in a dangerous tone, which removed the color from her face.
Tea walked towards the seto's office with the receptionist high on her heels, yelling at her to stop.
"You can't go in there. Mr. Kaiba is in an important meeting." She yelled, but Tea ignored her. She had told the woman that she was Seto's friend, but the woman didn't believe her. And since Tea didn't have an appointment, she was forced to argue and then sourly wait as the woman told her that Seto was in a meeting, and she would speak with him as soon as he was done. But that had been 20 minute ago, and from what Tea said, the receptionist hadn't made any move to see if Seto was free. Tea couldn't wait any longer. She wanted to talk to Seto and he had told her she was free to come any time she wished. And she wished to go now. She ran forward, leaving the receptionist behind, since she was wearing heals and couldn't run very fast. Tea could hear her threatening to call security, and she almost laughed. Let security come. It would be funny when Seto told them to leave her alone.
Tea took a deep breath and calmed down as she neared his office door. Surprisingly, it was slightly open. Seto always closed the door when he was working. What if Seto really was in a meeting and she barged in there? So she peeked through the small opening to see. What she saw shocked her. Seto was lip locked with Serenity. Tea quickly turned her head away, not wanting to see anything any more. So this was his important meeting. Tears fell from her eyes as she slowly sank to her knees, whispering to herself.
"He lied. He lied to me. He tricked me."
...
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