Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh doesn't belong to me, neither do the main characters, but the story is mine, the minor characters are mine and the accounted actions are mine. Hey... even they way the feel is my doing. Hee hee... nice to know I have some doing in the major characters! So lets continue with Chapter 15... and please be kind, I was busy playing Shadow Hearts II yesterday... and lets all be glad I did... I beat it! And Now I get to see Alice and Yuri together again and again! Whoo Hoo! I love Alice... she's so cute... now I want Shadow Hearts I and I want Jack and Daxter 3! It's gonna be so good, I always loved the Jack and Daxter commercial, they're so funny!

Nightfall2525: No, I always just got a little queasy when the stories involved Ryou and Tea as a couple... blah.

Estelle Stafford: Isn't love grand? Especially when it's suppose to happen... when will Kazuki Takahashi catch up? Not—not that I doubt or have any complaints about the powerful creator... hee hee.

Lady Moofin: They'll be doing more then holding hands if you catch my drift... huh? Huh? Huh? (Nudge, nudge) oh.... Maybe I shouldn't say it like that, I'm not implying--I'll just hang my head in shame now.

Mokuba's Offcial Glomper: Please always have something to say, I can't get enough of your reviews, I just always laugh when I read them and I'm pleased to see them up. (Bows deep) Thank you and yeah! Thanks for my huggling plushi I shall huggle it always.

yoursolastsummer: Thank you. I'll do my very best to keep up the... cuteness?

She walked into the mansion and was suddenly colliding with Mokuba; he was holding her around the waist. She looked down at his smiling face. "I was really worried about you, Téa." He told her.

"You were?"

"Yeah, you being in the hospital was really scary. I prayed you would be okay."

"We'll it worked, Mokuba." She told him with a smile, brushing back his hair. She could see the light of the gold brush over his face as she pulled away; she pressed her fingers against the heart-shaped locket.

"Do you want something to eat?" Mokuba asked, taking her by the hand and leading her towards the kitchen. She pulled her hand free and he turned to face her.

Smiling down at him, she asked, "Do you mind if I just go to bed?" Fearing that she was seconds from crying in front of an eleven-year-old boy. She watched him nod and ask if she needed any help, she told him she didn't and she made her way up the stairs. Mokuba watched her till she reached the last step then turn and disappeared around the corner, the door opened then. Seto was holding his laptop and briefcase.

"Is Téa going to be all right, big brother?" Seto looked down at Mokuba and nodded, setting his things down, one on the desk, one on the ground.

"Sure, she was just in the hospital, she may still be a little sick, we'll keep an eye on her."

"That's good."

- - -

"Hell! Why is Téa so into this stuff? It's expensive."

"That's why Téa had that job before Joey, it's expensive."

"Yeah... but she was planning to go to America." Joey looked at the membership card and sighed. "There goes my chance to buy another card for my deck." He tapped his heel against the sidewalk. Yugi seemed very quite. The three of them glance at him and he just kept walking, hands in his pocket. "What's da matter, Yugi?"

Yugi stopped walking and turned around and looked at his friends. "Just worried about, Téa." He said, shrugging carelessly. They walked over to him and Joey pulled him against him.

"Hey, we all are." They continued walking down the street and Joey shoved Yugi away. It was a little weird, instead of Téa they were walking with Ryou, it wasn't like they hated Ryou or preferred him to go away; it was just, why was Téa avoiding them? She avoided them by the time school was over and she hardly wanted to go out with them, it seemed like yesterday would be the last day they all hung out, but he was being ridiculous, they would see her at school tomorrow.

They were about to cross the street and Yugi froze. Across the way he could see Ueda, his arm around a girl with blond curls and wearing a blouse and denim jeans. She was hugging him and he had an arm wound around her waist, he bent down and kissed the top of her head, pushing back the colorful beanie she was wearing. She looked up at him and hooked a finger in the collar of his shirt and brought him down for a deep kiss. Yugi frowned. This was the guy that broke the real Téa and left this... shell of herwith nothing inside except secrets. Yugi rolled up his sleeves. He may not be very big, but boy if he needed to protect his friends, especially Téa... he would over look his fluke of height.

"Yuge! Where ya going?"

- - -

For the first time, in his entire existence, he felt like a jerk. The feelings that were escalating from the core of his being just seemed to be taking his entire system, overriding every thing he stood for and for what... some girl? Well... not just any girl... the girl that meant something to his kid brother, the girl that's smile tended to bring down his protective wall. He sat in his office chair and looked up when the door opened. A young woman with a pixie cut of auburn hair bowed. He nodded at her and she pushed the door open wider. "Mr. Yukita is here for his follow-up interview." Seto Kaiba thanked his secretary and she bowed again before leaving. A young man with dark hair and eyes in a nice outfit walked over to the chair and bowed.

"Please, take a seat." Mr. Yukita did just that. They went through the entire interview and Seto decided that he could and would hire this man, he told him so and the man seemed relieved, like he desperately need this job. "Don't let me down." Seto said as he stood.

"I'll do my very best." Mr. Yukita said with a bow, he made a move for the door when Seto began speaking again.

"Have you ever been in love, Mr Yukita? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up these defenses, you build this whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life. You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They do something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own any more.
"Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, slowly working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain... I hate love." Mr. Yukita stuttered something, but couldn't quite get the words out, in fact he had no idea what Mr. Kaiba was talking about, it just sounded very strange to him. Seto waved a hand at the young man and he left quickly. Seto looked out his window. He just couldn't get Téa out from inside his head; she seemed to be nagging at the back corner of his mind. He sat down at his desk and buried his face in his arms. "Téa.... have you always been inside? Waiting to breath?" he muttered to himself, he felt completely defenseless when it came to that... beautiful girl who was going through the most important time of her life, virtually alone in the matter. The father of her child abandoned her... he didn't know why nor did he care, all he cared about... which was bad enough... was the health of Téa and her unborn child. He never knew pregnancy took so long and came with consent waking in the morning followed by illness. He sighed and sat up. Rubbing his hands over his face he grabbed his suitcase and prepared to leave for the day. If there was anywhere he wanted to be it was the office, his employees could do nothing right without him. It was pathetic that they always seemed to mess things up. He grunted as he locked his door.

"Good night, sir." He nodded at her and went on his way, towards the elevator. As the twin metal doors shut he pressed his back against the wall. His cell phone suddenly rang and he grabbed it, flipping it open he pressed the button and pressed the phone to his ear.

"What is it?"

"Where are you?" Mokuba... Always Mokuba. To always check up on him.

"I'm heading home now. How... how's T—Gardner?" he wondered, rubbing fingers to his forehead. He almost said her first name... he almost exposed himself for what his brother always believed him to be... a real human with emotions that just needed nudging. These emotions, this real him... just made him feel weak. He was strong.

"She's sleeping. How about you... are you all right?" Mokuba's voice over the line began to static. Seto tapped the back of the phone with his forefinger. It was the elevator, suddenly the lights blinked out and Seto was stuck in the elevator. He cursed and Mokuba called over the line.

"The elevator just stopped...."

- - -

"Are you going so soon?" she asked, blond wisp of hair falling over her bare shoulders. He closed the suitcase and turned violet eyes towards her, a small smile spread across his lips.

"Yes. I have somewhere to be, there are friends waiting for me around the world." She drew in a breath and walked over to him, her arms wrapped around his arm and she pressed her cheek against his shoulder.

"Will you come back?"

"Sure, Zahra. In fact it's a promise." He turned just enough to get his free arm around her waist. "But right now... I'm going home."