Chapter 9 – Sickness
Mokuba had just finished his press statement. It was hard trying to calm both the public, the news, and the stockholders that he had everything under control, even in his brother's absence. They all seemed so angry.
He leaned back into the leather seat of the limo. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes as the car began to make its way back to Kaiba Corp. It was quiet.
It was so quiet.
He opened his eyes and looked over at the other seat in front of him. He suddenly noticed that he had sat in his usual spot, leaving the very back seat empty, where a normal passenger would sit. His eyes got sad. That was where Seto usually sat... that's why he didn't sit there. It was just instinct.
He stared out the tinted window and to the streets and buildings of Domino.
Too quiet.
He missed the sound of typing keys from his brother's fingers against a laptop. He even missed that certain cologne he wore. The smell lingered like a ghost in the limo.
This was hard for him, but he kept telling himself he had to be strong; he had to show Seto, even if it was in death, that he was capable and willing to continue their legacy. If it even meant he had to learn and master duel monsters and beat Yugi so a Kaiba would be the King of Games, then he would.
He rubbed his temple and sighed again.
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Joey let out a loud huff and sat back into the couch at Yugi's place. They had just watched the press conference on the news with Mokuba ebing grilled about the recent attacks. Yugi sat in the chair next to the couch, lost in his own thoughts. Tristan was in the back, leaning against the back of the couch, along with Duke and Mai.
"I can understand da city bein' a little mad about all the missiles an all, but this is just a kid, fer cryin out loud." Joey said and folded his arms. "It would be one thing if it was Kaiba up there, but Mokuba... he's just a kid." He muttered again.
Serenity bowed her head. She was sitting next to Joey on the couch in front of the TV. She wiped a single tear from her eye. "He lost his brother, and all they can do is blame him." Serenity said and a long silence wavered in the air. "If I ever lost Joey, I'd probably..." she trailed off, and leaned into Joey's shoulder.
Yugi was the one to break the silence. "They aren't dead, Serenity. They aren't. I know it." He replied.
"How do you know!" Serenity exploded. She sniffled. "I'm sorry, Yugi." She said immediately before anyone else said anything.
Joey stood, and held Serenity by the arm in a protective sort of way. "We'd better go. See ya, Yuge." Joey replied and they walked out of the room. Tristan and Mai followed silently behind; especially Mai, since she was their ride home.
Duke looked over at Yugi. They were now alone. "Everyone's taking this pretty roughly, aren't they?" Duke asked solemly.
Yugi just nodded. "I don't think we realized it, but I think Tea somehow held us all together. The gods know she was always there to whip us back into shape if we ever felt down about ourselves or eachother. She even would scold Kaiba if he showed it." Yugi remembered the past. "And Mokuba... without Kaiba around, everyone thinks the backbone of Kaiba Corp. is gone. This is a lot of responsibility that has been thrown at him. It's not like he asked for it, and yet he takes it on... just like his brother."
Duke nodded. "I think that both of their presences are being missed. And the fact that Kaiba Corp. is under attack -literally, is another problem." Duke rubbed his neck. "I'm gonna go for a little while, Yugi. I won't be here in Domino."
"What? Where are you going Duke?" Yugi asked.
"I'm going to see if I can find out who's doing this to Kaiba Corp."
Yugi frowned. Duke could almost read his mind.
"I don't know why, Yugi, I just have to. You guys are going back into school, Kaiba and Tea are both still missing, Mokuba's trying to run an entire company... Serenity's sad... I just have to do something." He replied and grabbed his jacket and began to head out the door.
"Wait, Duke!" Yugi said and ran to a side table and reached into a drawer.
Duke turned and caught the object Yugi had thrown at him. Duke looked down into his hand to see a golden dice piece. It was marked elegantly and the 1 was in the shape of an eye, much like the Egyptian eye that was on Yugi's millennium puzzle.
"We were gonna give this to you on your birthday." Yugi said, and Duke frowned. His birthday wasn't for another few weeks. Now it was Yugi's turn to read Duke's mind. "If you're going to be away, then I thought you'd need it a bit early... to bring you luck."
Duke smiled and nodded. "Thanks Yugi. Say bye to the gang for me." He said and gripped the dice in his hand and left Yugi's place to head towards his new motorcycle. He got on and then slipped the golden dice into his vest's pocket. He revved the engine and took off towards the outskirts of the town.
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Kaiba awoke to a truly shocking sight. Tea was leaning over him, obviously trying to reach for something over his head, and he was practically face to face with her scantily-clad chest. His head throbbed and his whole body ached. He didn't have time to be forced to 'oggle' Tea's perfectly proportioned, revealing chest.
He tried to sit up, and the movement scared her enough to jerk back in surprise and then accidentally spill water all over him. He cursed and tried to stand up, but he only got to his elbows before he was forced back down by Tea's surprisingly strong arms.
"You stupid idiot! Why'd you have to do that, now you made me spill your water!" She growled, but he pushed up against her hands and sat up finally. She watched him as he swayed a little as he sat up fully.
For some reason, he felt groggy and out of place. "Why the hell are you getting me water, why would I want water from you?" he hissed, but even as he did, his head felt light and he gripped his head with one hand. But in doing so, his body lost support with the ground and he fell back into the sand.
Now the world really was spinning. He couldn't help but close his eyes to try and fight the dizziness.
"I was trying to cool you down. You're running a fever." She replied and sighed as she dusted off the wet piece of shirt she was using as a washcloth. Good thing she had hefted two sacks of water. "Now, don't move Kaiba, I'm leaning over you again." She said and he made a small grunt and she leaned over and grabbed the other sack and dipped the cloth in.
She rung it out slightly and patted his forehead with it again.
He had to admit, the cool water cloth felt nice. He did indeed feel hot, but he blamed it on the account he was sitting so close to the fire. Well, it felt like he was near the fire. Was he near the fire?
He forced his eyes open and he saw a darkening sky. Wait. The last thing he remembered it was still night time. Had he been asleep a whole day? He turned his head and saw they were a little ways away from the fire. He scowled, and the fabric began to slide off his head.
Tea caught it before it hit the sand again and dipped it in the water again. His head went back to its normal position, but it turned slightly to look at her. He frowned. What in the... the fabric she was using...
His eyes focused enough for him to recognize the dark fabric. He again, propped himself up on his elbows and looked down. She had ripped a few inches from the bottom of his shirt. No his dark shirt was just barely showing his navel.
He sat up fully, ignoring the slightly dizzying effect it gave him.
She froze upon feeling the piercing gaze he was obviously giving her. Uhoh. He figured out what the fabric was. She tried to hide a self-satisfied smirk. "Two can play at that game, Kaiba. Besides, my clothes are already ripped to shreds, thanks to you."
He made a noise. Was it a growl? She didn't dare look him in the eyes.
"It's bad enough you used my coat, and now you use my shirt without my permission-"
She finally faced him and looked into his blue eyes. "Excuse me! Who's the one who practically ripped off half my clothes for their own greedy purposes!"
"Greedy isn't the word, because I only used your clothes to help you." He sneered. His head was getting dizzy again, but he didn't care. He never backed down from an argument.
"Yeah, so I was using your clothes to help you, so I wasn't being greedy either! I was merely trying to help you, you stubborn, sick jerk!"
"I'm not sick, so stop treating me like I'm dying!" He said angrily and pushed aside the water and cloth roughly. "I don't need your sympathy! I never get sick!" he exclaimed, a little harsher than his usual degrading tone was. His headache was coming back, and he was feeling even more dizzy by the second; and he felt so hot for some reason. He blamed it on his temper going crazy because of this stupid girl.
"Y-you..." She stammered and tried to grab his shoulders to push him back down, determined to get him to rest, but he resisted and grabbed onto her wrists and pushed her to the side and pinned her down under himself.
She struggled slightly, but then noticed he was panting heavily and blinking a lot. Sweat dripped down his cheek and forehead. He really was sick, and he was over-exerting himself.
He was dizzy again, and his face felt like it was burning up. He could hardly tell what was going on. Was he pinning Gardner down? Were they even on the ground? He felt like he was in the air it seemed. Really hot air it was too. Why was he so hot?
His grip tightened against her wrists so that he could somehow keep his bearings straight. But her hands were so cold. They felt so good against his hot skin. Barely conscious he was doing it, his hands slid down her wrists and down her smooth, cool arms; then they went back up to find her cold hands and lead them to his face to rub the coolness over his heated skin.
Tea was frozen as Kaiba used her hands against his face. What in the hell was he doing! One minute he was yelling at her, the next he was rubbing against her. The poor bastard definitely was sick if he didn't even realize what he was doing. He must have been delusional at the moment.
He then ran his forehead down her slender arm and rested against her collarbone and shoulder.
Tea shuddered. Gross. He was all sweaty and sick... ugh... and now...
He began to breathe heavily, and -was he snoring?
Great. The rich and famous Seto Kaiba was now passed out on top of her. Great. She must be the luckiest girl in the world! She grit her teeth together and rolled her eyes.
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Serentiy was up early in the morning, unable to sleep all night. She worried about Kaiba and Tea a lot, but for some reason she kept thinking about Mokuba and that press conference. The press had been so brutal with the questions and allegations. They even referenced Kaiba as being deceased.
But Mokuba seemed perfectly calm about everything.
She looked out her window from her bed at the dawn of Domino. The reddish orange glow was disappearing as a storm rumbled in.
She understood better than the others what it was like to be separated from their brother. She had missed Joey everyday, every minute, and every second until they were reunited.
She wiped a tear from her face. Mokuba had to be hurting. He was obviously hiding his pain. Hiding pain was never good. It only ate away at one's insides; she knew that. And what made it worse for Mokuba was that he was alone... no family at all or even friends, other than them.
Her heart felt for the guy. She wanted to give him a hug.
Serenity reached to her nightstand and picked up her cell phone and dialed Mai's number.
A long string or rings, and then: "H-hello?" came a groggy voice.
"Mai. It's Serenity." She whispered.
"Serenity? What are you doing calling me this early? Is something wrong? Is Joey alright?" Mai asked frantically, and Serenity felt a little twinge of happiness that Mai showed interest in her brother's well being. But she had other thigns to accomplish.
"Everythings fine. I need a ride, Mai. Can you help me?"
"S-sure sweetie. Just give me a few minutes, okay?" Mai hung up.
Serenity smiled. Mai was such a good friend. Maybe one day she'd marry Joey, and they'd become sisters. She got out of bed and began to get dressed. She was determined and fully awake.
She was going to Kaiba Corp. and she was going to give Mokuba that hug!
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The next morning, Kaiba was still passed out on the sandy beach, breathing heavily. She had managed to worm her way out the night before, and now she was sitting by the fire, away from him, but close enough to check his temperature with her hand.
He was still hot, and he was breathing rapidly. She was beginning to get really worried.
She glanced over the ocean but then froze.
Was that...?
Was that a...?
It was a boat!
A/N: sorry about yet another cliffhanger! I'm really bad about that, huh? Sorry it took so long to update. I'll try to update sooner this next time. don't be too fooled into thinking this is nearing the end, because I have a lot planned for this couple and this island, so just stick around! Sorry to the people who don't like mokuba/serenity pairings... personally I think it's cute! Plus, anyway, it won't be too big of a part in this fic, as the main pairing is with seto and tea. oh and I hope no one was weirded out by Duke's weird behavior, but I have stuff planned for him that will work out towards the end of the fic, so just bear with me if you don't like Duke (personally I think he's the second hottest guy on the show – next to Kaiba being number one, of course) anyway, please review and wait a little while longer for my next update! Bye!