Heart of the Blue-Eyes

by Azure Eyes Silver Dragon

When tragedy strikes at KaibaCorp, Téa and the gang rush to the aid of an old acquaintance. Set approximately three to four years after the events of Dark Side of Dimensions.

3. A Walk To Remember

A thin, sickly man sat at a table lit only by a single candle, placing Duel Monsters cards face-down on its surface. A knock came on the door, and a gnarled hand reached over and pressed a button on a raised console, activating the door behind him and admitting a younger man dressed in a poorly fitted tuxedo. "Master Ghedsu." he said. "I've returned from the KaibaCorp charity event. I'm afraid the rumors were wrong, sir. Seto Kaiba did not choose an heir."

The older man grumbled in annoyance, saying, "So no getting to him that way, it seems. I trust you scoped the place out while you were there to see if we could exploit a weakness?"

"I did, sir, however there is none to exploit." replied the younger man. "KaibaCorp is crawling with security, both plainclothes and military special forces. It appears Kaiba has also gone to great lengths to make his network security stronger as well. We were unable to hack into his computer mainframes. We won't be able to force his hand that way, either."

"Indeed, Kaiba has made himself an impregnable fortress..." said Ghedsu, flipping over a card on the table to reveal Castle of Dragon Souls. "...and so long as he remains the sole proprietor of KaibaCorp, his lackeys will never take their eyes off him for even a second." He flipped over five other cards, all of them a Guard Dog.

"Master Ghedsu, if I may be so bold as to ask..." started the man cautiously. "...why are we even bothering with trying to take over KaibaCorp when so many before have failed, including those who once had insider access to the company?"

"Why?" replied Ghedsu. "I'll tell you why, Mateo. KaibaCorp's reach has extended far beyond the simple corner of entertainment. They are producers of technology, education, energy, food, transportation, communication, manufacturing, even space exploration. Seto Kaiba buys out an industry and stamps his seal of ownership upon it. KaibaCorp is the ultimate monopoly. The competition is obsolete. Even the political figureheads make way to the supreme command of the company's CEO. Seto Kaiba's power and influence knows no bounds."

"But how can we take the company from him, sir?" asked Mateo. "Especially now that Mokuba Kaiba is dead? With his brother gone, there is no leverage left to hold over him."

"We'll just have to change tactics, is all." said Ghedsu, flipping over a press picture of Kaiba amidst the surrounding Guard Dogs. "True, there is no one left to dangle over Seto Kaiba, but who needs to attack him indirectly when we can go straight to the source?" He flipped over another card on the table, revealing Warrior Elimination.

Mateo noted the card, a thin smile creeping across his face as he said, "You mean take out Seto Kaiba himself."

"What better way to gain command of KaibaCorp than to remove the last living Kaiba heir from the picture?" asked Ghedsu, as nonchalantly as if he were talking about the weather. "Seto Kaiba has far too much pride to change the by-laws. He trusts no one but himself to take the helm of his mighty empire. And that..." Ghedsu picked up the picture of Kaiba and held it to the candle flame, where it slowly burned away to ashes. "...will be his down-fall."

---

"Is everything okay, Mr. Kaiba?"

Kaiba blinked out of his trance and looked up at the sound of Fuguta's voice cutting through his thoughts. "What? Yes, I'm fine." he said quickly.

"I meant with the stock report, sir." said Fuguta, his stern brow furrowing further and giving away his puzzled look behind the dark shades. "You've been staring at the same page for the last ten minutes."

"Oh. Yes, everything looks good." said Kaiba as he snapped his laptop shut, leaning his elbows on the desk before running his fingers through his hair.

"Another headache, sir?" asked Fuguta.

"I said I'm fine." said Kaiba, getting irritated. Although he did indeed get tension headaches and even migraines quite often, it was never anything he couldn't shake off with simple pain meds and a hot shower, or a nap if it was really bad.

"Yes sir." said Fuguta, unfazed as he bowed. "I'll leave you to your work, then."

Kaiba waited a little while after the guard left before he sighed and rose from his desk. He did have a headache brewing, but Kaiba wasn't about to let his staff see that, so he retreated to his private rooms. His headache would most likely go away after a hot shower. He pulled off his tie and threw it on the coat hanger, looping it perfectly around the peg without looking, and kicked off his black dress shoes. He shrugged out of his collared shirt and laid the rest of his clothes on the bed before heading to the bathroom that connected to his bedroom.

Kaiba stood under the steaming hot water and let the jet-head massage the back of his neck, easing the tension in his shoulders and back. It had been a week since the charity ball...seven long, work-filled days riddled with distractions. Kaiba allowed a sigh to escape out his nose and leaned his head against the limestone shower wall, his nostrils flaring slightly as he inhaled deeply, letting the steam clear his head. He repeated this a few times, letting his vagus nerve do the rest of the work to calm his suddenly rapid heartbeat.

No matter how many times he tried to take his mind off of it, the events of the charity ball replayed over and over in his head. Kaiba shook his head to clear it and let out a noise of frustration, moving his hand to the back of his neck and squeezing to relieve more of the tension. This was ridiculous! Since when did he allow Téa Gardner to occupy his thoughts?

Hadn't she from the very beginning, though? Her words in Duelist Kingdom at the top of Pegasus' castle still haunted him to this day.

He spared you! Kaiba, he showed you compassion, which is more than you deserve!

He lost the game. he had said, trying to re-center the topic.

The game!? Yugi may have lost one lousy Duel Monsters game, but at least he hasn't lost his heart! Not like you, Seto Kaiba! You've spent so much time with your machines you forgot what being human is about!

That was the part that had cut him deep. He had spent far more of his time working on his virtual reality simulators, holographic projectors, and forever-upgrading Duel Disk technology, and not with more important things. Like his little brother.

Yugi has a heart, Kaiba. Yugi has us, friends that will stand with him 'til the end, no matter whether he wins or loses some lousy game. And what do you have, Seto Kaiba? What do you have at the end of the day? Tell me! TELL ME!

Kaiba gritted his teeth at the memory. I have all that I need! he had responded, a perfect comeback at the time. But now he didn't have everything; he had lost his brother, and Mokuba had been his everything. And that made the memory all the more bitter.

But then he was reminded of the night of the charity ball again, when he had almost turned the corner and ran into her and Mai Valentine. Even after he had heard what transpired in the girl's restroom and had ordered Roland to remove the despicable brat from his property, Kaiba couldn't help but overhear the rest of the conversation between the two of them, Téa's words keeping him rooted to the spot.

Unlike the rest of these people...Kaiba actually has a heart.

...where did all that come from? ...I thought you always said he was a big jerk? What changed?

He did, Mai.

Kaiba closed his eyes, Téa's words echoing in his mind.

I just hope it's enough to keep him going.

Wow, Téa! I had no idea you cared so much about Seto Kaiba!

He's still a human being, Mai. Far more human than most of the uppity folk attending this party.

Kaiba held his hand to his chest as his already pounding heart suddenly beat faster.

What you said to Mai...did you mean that?

Every word.

A trickle of water ran down the side of his face, and Kaiba's hand raised to touch the spot where Téa's soft lips had made contact with his skin.

What was happening to him?

---

"Feeling better, Mr. Kaiba?" came Roland's voice as Kaiba walked back into the office, fully dressed again, and Kaiba had to stop himself from startling.

"I was fine to begin with." grumbled Kaiba, dropping into his desk chair again.

If Roland noticed Kaiba's wet hair, he didn't comment on it, instead saying, "Fuguta tells me you seemed concerned with the stock report..."

"There's nothing wrong with the stock report or me." said Kaiba with a pointed look at his chief of security. Kaiba knew all too well that his staff was still keeping a sharp eye on him, making certain that their CEO didn't off himself as the last one had.

"Understood, sir." said Roland, who seemed unconvinced.

"Is it actually?" growled Kaiba.

Roland was silent for a moment before saying, "We're simply looking out for you, Mr. Kaiba."

"I don't need looking after. I'm not a child." snapped Kaiba, opening his laptop and returning to his work again. "And I'm most certainly not the low-life that Gozaburo was."

Roland inclined his head. "I'm merely reminding you that you have plenty of advisors should you require it, Mr. Kaiba." he said.

Kaiba typed furiously into the stock report, ignoring his security chief. He didn't need a therapist or anyone else to hold his hand and pretend they knew what he was going through.

Roland's brow furrowed suddenly as he glanced over at Kaiba's work, asking, "Sir, is there a reason you're inputting notes for the stock report into the network analysis log?"

Kaiba blinked and ceased typing, realizing that he was, in fact, typing into the wrong file. He let out an irritated grumble and began copying and pasting the notes before deleting them from the network analysis log.

Roland paused for a moment, watching Kaiba more closely, and cleared his throat before saying, "Your pardon, Mr. Kaiba, but Fuguta and I have noticed that you seem to be...distracted lately."

"I made one mistake." said Kaiba, sounding annoyed.

"Which is highly unlike you, sir." Roland pointed out. "I've seen you fire people on the spot for such an offense."

Kaiba had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, saying, "I'm fine."

"Yes sir, you've been adamant about that for the past week." said Roland carefully. "Which, if I may, is about how long you've been distracted. Has that girl given you any trouble?"

"Why would Téa give me any trouble?" asked Kaiba, getting irritated again.

"Miss Téa?" asked Roland, sounding confused. "I was talking about Heather, the one who made the scene in the ballroom."

Kaiba froze, his typing halting abruptly as he realized his major slip-up with a jolt. He felt the color drain from his face, his throat all of a sudden strangely dry. "Right." he said, feeling his insides squirm. "Of course. No, she hasn't given us any trouble. She tried to, but the legal team shut her down hard and fast."

Why did he sound so flustered?! Gozaburo had literally beat it into Kaiba during his public speaking lessons that he was never to falter or rush his speech if he was to persuade or influence a person or a crowd. Roland also knew that all too well, which probably explained his baffled look as he asked, "Are you sure you're alright, Mr. Kaiba?"

"For the last time, I said I'm fine!" growled Kaiba, snapping his laptop shut and pushing himself up a little too quickly, making his head swim before he stormed back into his living quarters and slammed the door behind him, receiving a further baffled stare from Roland.

Kaiba walked out onto a balcony that opened from his living room, leaning over the metal railing and letting out a soft noise of frustration. He felt like he was going to be sick, and he steadied himself against the balcony, his head suddenly feeling like it was going to float away from the rest of him. His forehead still felt hot, too, so he must have stayed in the shower for too long and become light-headed. That was the reason for his muddled thoughts, he rationalized to himself. Kaiba put his head in his hands, raking his fingers through his hair and massaging his scalp from front to back, the bobbing of his head making him dizzier. Maybe he shouldn't be standing over a balcony five hundred feet in the air while he felt like this. He allowed a sigh to escape his mouth as his lungs suddenly felt like they would burst out of his rib cage along with his rapidly beating heart. Why, why was he feeling this way?! Seto Kaiba never let his emotions get the better of him like this. He had never allowed himself to slip out of his cool and collected facade, especially in front of his staff. Had Mokuba's parting really broken him that badly?

Kaiba raised his head slowly and stared down at the city below him, watching the cars and bicycles drive by and the people walking along the sidewalks going about their business. He made every effort to hide his personal life from the public and pretty much everyone, including his staff. Kaiba had barely even let his own brother know the inner workings of his mind most times, even if asked directly. He was never one to talk to anyone about anything going on in his life, and most especially not his thoughts and feelings. It had been drilled into him by Gozaburo. Never let anyone know what you're thinking, his step-father had said, most especially not the competition. They'll always take full advantage of it. You have to learn that you can trust no one at all, including me! It was why Kaiba had practiced his most infamous stoic facade until it had become natural to him: he didn't even let his face betray his inner thoughts.

But somehow this was different. Somehow this strange new emotion overtook every fiber of his being and manifested itself with his bodily functions: his quickened heartbeat, his trembling limbs, his disorganized thoughts. It was as if his fight or flight response was kicked in to full gear, yet his mind told him all was well. To make matters worse, Kaiba had absolutely no idea where it came from. Usually he could psycho-analyze himself easily and find the source of his distress, and thus get it under his control. But Kaiba had never experienced anything like this in his entire life and therefore had absolutely no idea how to get a rein on it, and he wasn't about to ask anyone about it, even his most trusted advisor. Kaiba refused to make himself so vulnerable, to lose the power and influence he had worked so hard his entire life to attain.

The wind blew his high collar against his cheek, and Kaiba's hand raised to touch the spot on his face, his mind once again wandering to the night of the charity ball. He recalled the dance he shared with Téa, and the relief that had washed over him like a wave when she had stumbled out of the crowd of screeching fan-girls. It was as if the universe had finally heard his chagrin over the dreaded social interaction and had presented Kaiba with someone he could feel comfortable being that close with. Kaiba never thought he would experience anything like that with Téa Gardner, but then again he had known her for long enough, and she had been there every time he was dragged into saving the world with Yugi and the rest of the geek squad. Kaiba remembered how Téa had quickly picked up on the intrusive media attention on them and followed his lead in being subtle with their private conversation, helping it to flow easily and unrestrained. Kaiba had never experienced that with any of the previous dances, as the girls that usually frequented such events made every effort to draw attention to themselves in the most irritating ways possible, drinking in the press cameras and desperately hoping for much further speculations in the tabloids from their fleeting interactions with the rich and powerful CEO of KaibaCorp. Kaiba had always thought Téa was equally as obnoxious, with her stereotypical cheerleader behavior and her sappy speeches about the bonds of friendship, but compared to his fan club of spoiled screech-bags, the reserved dancer was a welcome respite at his charity ball. Kaiba recalled how graceful she was, too. He knew Téa had gone off to America after high school and studied abroad, but he didn't know it was to become a professional dancer. Gozaburo had forced his corporate heir to take dance lessons during his etiquette classes, and the instructor had taught Kaiba all those silent tricks along with the different dances, and it had all made twelve-year-old Kaiba's head spin at the time. What had taken him months to a year to master came as naturally as breathing to Téa. He remembered how effortlessly she had twirled under his arm in one fluid movement, never stumbling, her dress swirling around her and hugging her perfectly sculpted hourglass waist...

Kaiba shook his head aggressively, jarring himself back to reality. Why on earth was he thinking about that of all things?! Sure he had seen girls in midriff tops and short skirts before, and it always caught his attention for the first fleeting second, but Kaiba would never linger on such distracting thoughts and most especially would never let people catch him staring. That was a lawsuit waiting to happen, another thing Gozaburo had drilled into him. The only thing his step-father had taught Kaiba about relationships was that he should avoid them at all costs. How did that man manage to have a child with someone? Kaiba had never seen Gozaburo with a wife and the picture he had seen with him and Noah didn't include a mother figure. Maybe his step-father had been the unfortunate recipient of one of those lawsuits after having too much brandy at one of his parties. It certainly sounded like the kind of stupid thing his step-father would have gotten himself into before he learned the hard way and made sure to never let it happen again.

Kaiba took a deep breath through his nose and sighed through his mouth. The fresh air really was helping. Maybe he just needed to get out more...

Yes, that was it: he should go for a walk to clear his head.

Kaiba walked back into his living space. He grabbed a coat from his hanger, a discreet black one with a hood. He removed his KC belt, too. Everyone in Domino City knew who he was, and normally he would just walk around in the open and most people didn't bother him anyway, but he didn't want to be noticed. That and Roland had insisted upon Kaiba's increased security now that Mokuba was gone. All of his brother's personal security had now become his, essentially doubling it. If anything happened to Kaiba now, his company was done for. He wasn't going to take that risk. Kaiba threw the black coat on, buttoning it halfway up. All of his coats and most of his shirts and undershirts were made with bulletproof material, and this one also had a high collar and a long trench to protect his neck and legs. This coat also had the benefit of not having a receiver in the lapel so Roland couldn't pester him. Kaiba knew both Roland and Fuguta could both track him via the receiver, but this time he didn't want them to know of his whereabouts.

Kaiba slipped out a door that led into a side hallway, away from the office where Roland would expect him to exit. He headed straight for the service elevator, knowing none of his staff would suspect him to use that one. He hit the down button, standing impatiently as he waited for the elevator to rise up to his floor. The elevator dinged and slid open, and Kaiba entered it and mashed the lobby floor button, scanning the hidden chip in his shirt cuff so he could bypass all the floors. The door closed, and the elevator plummeted all the way down to the lobby with no interruptions. He pulled the hood over his head before the elevator doors opened, and Kaiba slipped out of the elevator and down a side hallway far from the main entrance-way before making his way out of a side door.

He walked through the courtyard on the opposite side of where his brother's monument was, where the events of the charity ball happened. He approached the side gate and saw the two guards standing stalwartly on either side of it, making sure no one climbed in from the outside. Kaiba slid the lock open, and the guards looked up and snapped to attention.

"Mr. Kaiba!" said one of them, bowing deeply as Kaiba exited the gate, which was always held open for him. "Our most sincere apologies, sir! Roland didn't inform us that you were leaving!"

"That's because he doesn't know that I'm leaving." said Kaiba simply, giving them a pointed look as he added, "...and it had better stay that way."

"Your pardon, sir..." said the other guard. "...but Roland says-..."

"I don't recall dying and making Roland the CEO of KaibaCorp." snapped Kaiba, and the guard wilted under the dangerous dark-blue glare. Kaiba knew Roland had told all of the security staff to inform the chief if Kaiba ever left the building, and he didn't want to be followed.

"We won't say a word, sir!" said the first guard, giving his partner a hard sideways glance.

"Good." said Kaiba curtly, giving a similar look to the opposite guard. "You should listen to your comrade. He knows how to keep a job around here."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." said the other guard, bowing as he conceded.

Kaiba let out a "hmph" and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked briskly into the streets of Domino City, keeping his head down.

---

"Serenity!" called Téa, waving above the crowds in the subway as Joey's little sister stepped off the train. Though she really couldn't be called little anymore, being 17 now. It was hard for Téa to believe that Serenity Wheeler was in senior high school now when Téa herself had been there not even four years ago. She caught sight of Téa and Mai and let out her beautiful cheerful laugh, waving back at them as she ran through the crowds to embrace her old friends.

"Téa! Mai! It's been so long!" said Serenity, hugging them both. "How have you been?"

"Great! And you?" asked Téa.

"Wonderful!" said Serenity. "I'm so glad to be back in Domino City. Where's my brother?"

"Pigging out at the snack bar, as usual." said Mai, rolling her eyes, and Serenity giggled. It was just like her brother to get distracted by food.

They walked up the stairs and into the open air and found Joey sitting on a tall stool at the snack bar, chowing down on a chili dog with cheese fries and chugging down his second bottle of soda, receiving baffled stares from his small crowd of on-lookers. Téa sighed and put her face in her hand, shaking her head. Joey Wheeler had made a name for himself not only in his regional tournament Duels, but also with his unending appetite when he frequented food establishments.

"Big brother!" called Serenity, and Joey jumped up, shoving the rest of the chili dog and what remained of his cheese fries into his mouth and washing down everything with his soda before running forward with a big smile on his face. He scooped Serenity up and gave her a bear hug, making her giggle like a nut.

"Serenityyyyy!" he said. "How ya been, sis? An' what is dis?" He put her down and tugged gently at a thick strand of long hair, adding, "Did ya put highlights in yer hair? I love it!"

"You noticed!" said Serenity, burying her face in her brother's chest. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed ya too, sis!" said Joey, patting her head, receiving a collective noise of adoration from his on-lookers. "So, what'chya wanna go to first? De arcade? Da mall? A restaurant, maybe?"

"Seriously, Joey? More food?" asked Mai incredulously, and Téa giggled at Joey's look.

"The arcade sounds fun!" said Serenity excitedly. "Are the others gonna be there?"

"Sure, we can get da whole gang togetha! It'll be more fun dat way." said Joey. "Téa, you call Yuge an' Bakura. I got Tristan an' Duke. Tell 'em to meet at da park."

After calling the rest of the guys and letting them know where to meet up, Joey and the girls made their way to the park, catching up on what happened in the last few months. The charity ball came up, and Serenity suddenly looked solemn, asking, "Is it true what I heard on the news? Is Mokuba really gone?"

"He is." affirmed Téa sadly. "We were even allowed to go pay our respects to him at KaibaCorp before he was laid to rest."

"That's so tragic." said Serenity, her brown eyes shimmering sadly as she held her hand to her heart. "I'm gonna miss Mokuba. I remember how he tried so hard to get help for Joey on the Battle City blimp. He was such a kind boy."

"He sure was, sis." said Joey, patting her shoulder soothingly. "Can't say I cared much fer his olda brutha in comparison, but Mokuba was a cool li'l guy."

As they chatted, the rest of the group joined them, Yugi first, then Bakura. Tristan and Duke barreled past each other, pushing and shoving, trying to be the first to get to Serenity. A vein ticked in Joey's forehead, he stuck out his leg at the last second, tripping both of them, and the two guys landed flat on their faces. "Kill da motor, will ya, guys?" said Joey irritably. Tristan and Duke looked up with innocent grins on their faces, waving to his sister.

"Good to see you again, Serenity!" said Tristan, pleased that he got the first word in.

"Been a while, Serenity! You're looking ravishing as ever!" said Duke, trying to one-up Tristan.

"I said cool it wit' my sista!" said Joey, stomping on Duke's head, and the Dungeon Dice owner had tears streaming down his face as he apologized profusely and begged to be let up. Serenity giggled, Téa sighed and put her face in her hand again, and Mai rolled her eyes and shook her head. The guys hadn't changed at all, as usual.

"Alright, who's ready for some fun at the arcade?" asked Yugi excitedly.

"You bet we are! Let's go!" said Tristan, linking an arm around Serenity's and leading her forward before Duke could regain his footing. The vein in Joey's forehead ticked again, but he merely grumbled as he walked close behind his sister, keeping an eye on her and Tristan's arms.

"So did you tell her about the camping trip yet, Joey?" asked Tristan as they all made their way to the arcade.

"Camping trip!?" inquired Duke, leaning into the conversation. "What camping trip?"

"The one we've gone on every summer since graduation that you never attend, knucklehead!" said Tristan with an annoyed look over his shoulder.

Duke ignored him. "I haven't been camping in forever! Mind if I crash the party and tag along?" he asked, as if Tristan's prior comment never happened.

"Sure! Like Tristan said, the more the merrier!" replied Yugi cheerfully, while both Joey and Tristan growled at Duke, both for drastically different reasons.

"Oh sure! You'll go this year now that Serenity's going! I didn't hear you volunteer the other years when we brought it up to you!" said Tristan accusatorily to the Dungeon Dice owner.

"Did you ever bring it up?" asked Duke innocently, rubbing the back of his head. "I must have been busy getting the shop back up and running. I'll definitely block off the calendar this year!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you will." muttered Tristan under his breath.

"Alright you guys, am I gonna hafta make some ground rules wit' my sista comin' or what?" asked Joey, his ire rising as Serenity giggled.

The guys went back and forth for a bit, and suddenly Bakura stopped dead in his tracks, creating a domino effect as all of the guys bumped into him. Téa danced out of the way before she was crushed between Yugi and Tristan, and Mai managed to pull Serenity out of Tristan's arm-link before the five guys toppled over in a heap on the ground.

"Hey Bakura! What gives?" asked Joey, sitting up and rubbing his nose, which had smacked into the back of Tristan's head, which Tristan was in turn rubbing with an arm over his shoulder.

"Look over there!" said Bakura, pointing up ahead. "Is that Kaiba?"

"Huh?" the group made a collective noise and followed Bakura's pointing finger. Sure enough, a tall figure was leaning against one of the brick pillars topped with hanging greenery that circled the park's fountain. His head was covered with a hood, but Téa could see the brown hair framing the hard, dark blue eyes that stared absent-mindedly at the fountain. The way he had his arms crossed and one knee bent with his foot up against the pillar was also very Kaiba-esque. He was wearing the long-sleeve, high-neck black shirt he usually wore under an unadorned black coat, with black slacks and dress shoes shined to a military-style perfect polish; not the usual attire of someone going for a stroll in the park in the summertime.

"Yo, Kaiba!" shouted Joey, and the figure blinked and looked up at them just as Tristan brought a fist down on Joey's head.

"Keep it down, dimwit, he's wearing a hood!" said Tristan as Joey rubbed the spot on his head with a whimper. "Don't you think he might want to be a little more incognito?!"

Téa saw one side of his mouth lift for a split second in amusement before resuming its usual neutral line, and she knew with certainty that unmistakable half-smirk followed by the stoic facade couldn't belong to anyone else besides Seto Kaiba.

"Good to see you out and about!" said Yugi as they all approached Kaiba, being careful to avoid using the young CEO's name as he spotted people approaching.

Kaiba gave a deep rumble of acknowledgement as he looked in the opposite direction, scanning the area to make sure no one heard Wheeler's outburst.

"So what brings you all the way out here, big guy?" asked Mai.

"I went for a walk." answered Kaiba simply as the group of people passed by, chatting away and not paying them any heed.

"I can see that much, Captain Obvious." retorted the blonde beauty. "I meant more like, do you have any big plans in the big city?"

"Nothing in particular." said Kaiba, unmoving.

"We're all about to go hang out at the arcade!" said Serenity. "Would you like to come along?"

Everyone stared at Serenity, including Kaiba, who seemed put off by her perpetually cheerful nature. "Well, just extend de invitation to everyone, why don'tchya!" said Joey sarcastically.

"I don't believe arcades are Kaiba's thing, Serenity." said Bakura, a little more neutrally.

"Says who? The guy makes gaming tech. We're just going a bit old school, is all!" said Duke.

"I think it's a great idea!" said Yugi, voicing support for Serenity. "I bet he could use a break!"

"Well, I for one don't have a problem with you tagging along if you feel up to it, man." Tristan said to Kaiba. "You're the boss, boss man."

"Yeah, if Yugi's okay with it, then so am I." agreed Bakura cheerfully.

Kaiba stared at them all. Even after all his biting remarks over the years about them being an irritating group of dorks and a constant thorn in his side, they still wanted to include him in their ridiculous, time-wasting escapades and welcomed him with encouragement and even eagerness. Were they mocking him, or were they really just that clueless?

"Oh come on, Kaiba! When's the last time you gave yourself a real day off and had any fun?" asked Téa when the young CEO seemed to remain silent, laying both of her hands on one of Kaiba's crossed arms as if about to pull him along. Kaiba's eyes lowered to the gesture, but he made no move to pull away, nor did he say anything about it.

"Yeah, come with us!" insisted Serenity. "You don't even have to play anything if you don't feel up to it. You can just sit back and watch the hilarity ensue!"

"For real though, you ought to see these two when they get competitive." said Mai with a thumb over her shoulder at Tristan and Duke as she winked broadly. Serenity giggled as the vein in Joey's forehead ticked again while Tristan and Duke laughed nervously.

"What do you say, Kaiba?" asked Yugi, turning back to him. "Are you gonna tag along?"

Kaiba gaze lowered to Téa again, who watched him carefully. Her blue eyes were shining like aquamarine crystals, and Kaiba could swear they almost looked pleading. Did she actually want him to go? He could feel the warmth from Téa's hands through his coat sleeve, and Kaiba felt a strange swelling sensation in his chest accompanied by a curious and compelling urge to just go along with it, to actually hang out with the dweeb patrol. What was wrong with him? He had to be ill. There was no other logical explanation for this madness.

Not until his brother's words came back to him in a rush.

Try new things, be bold, go have fun. Maybe even crack a real smile for once...

Promise me, big bro.

Kaiba sighed. "Fine. I've got nothing better to do anyway." he said, finally conceding.

"Great! Then let's get going!" said Téa, and Kaiba allowed her to pull his arms out of their crossed position and drag him along.

"He'll not be able to wear his hood in the arcade though, if he was really concerned about being incognito." Bakura pointed out as they all started for the arcade, Kaiba following towards the middle with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"He'll be fine." assured Joey. "It's dark in de arcade, an' he ain't wearin' any o' his flashy corporate logo stuff. No one'll even notice him. He looks like a regular ol' nobody like us."

"Funny hearing that come out of your mouth, Wheeler." said Kaiba.

"Watch it, wise guy!" snapped Joey, his ire suddenly rising out of his previously lax composure, and Kaiba smirked at how easily Wheeler could still be riled up even after all these years. "Just cuz it comes outta my mouth don't mean ya gotta agree wit' it!"

"No problems there." retorted Kaiba coolly.

"Keep it up, hotshot! We'll see if yer as good at pool as ye are at Duel Monstas!" warned Joey.

"Please. I can beat anyone at a simple game of pool." replied Kaiba.

"Is dat right?" asked Joey, a sly grin creeping across his face. "Weeeeell den, how 'bout a li'l challenge, eh? You n' Duke at da pool table. How 'bout it, Dukey?"

"Please don't call me Dukey." said the Dungeon Dice master flatly, and Tristan pressed his lips together as he suppressed a snorting laugh, Mai groaning at their immature humor.

"I thought you were over having someone else fight your battles for you, Wheeler?" asked Kaiba with his signature half-smirk, and Joey shot him a look over his shoulder.

"Sure I am!" said Joey. "But Duke's da trick-shot o' da group, an' I know ya like a challenge. An' I got a good feelin' Dice Boy'll be da one ta brush da felt wit'chya!"

"We'll see about that." said Kaiba, locking eyes with Devlin, who shot him a grin.

They arrived at the arcade, a flashy two-story building with a giant spider solitaire logo carved into stone. Kaiba could see people on the upper deck area chatting as they dined on burgers and fries and other arcade cuisine. Yugi and Bakura held the doors open for everyone, and upon closing the door, the light from the outside was shut out and they were left in the dark ambiance of the arcade. Kaiba removed his hood, looking around. On one side were the arcade games, rows of machines of all different sizes and flashing colors lining the walls and standing scattered throughout the floor. On the other side, there was a bowling alley with pool tables front and center and slot machines lining those walls. Behind a sound barrier in front of them, go-carts raced around a winding track, engines roaring as they whizzed by. A ropes course ran the entire length of the building overhead, and there was a rock wall on the farthest wall of the arcade. Kaiba noticed a dark door glowing with black-lights on the opposite wall, and knew that must be a laser tag room. Upstairs was a whole restaurant and dining area where they had seen the people on the upper deck outside, enjoying the summer weather and the fresh air.

"Alriiiiight, game time!" said Joey, clapping his hands together and rubbing them excitedly. "Let's go, Kaiba! Let's get dis show on da road!"

Kaiba looked around, but between the go-carts roaring, the noises of the arcade and slot machines, bowling balls hitting their mark and people talking and laughing loudly, none of the arcade occupants seemed to hear the mention of his name, and weren't paying any attention to anything except the games they were playing. He followed the group to the pool table, where Joey was inserting arcade coins into the side slots to release the balls. A push and a metal clunk, and out they rolled into the crevice, the automatic glass barrier lifting to allow them access.

"Here ya go." said Duke, tossing Kaiba a pole and a chalk cube one at a time. He caught the pole neatly and snatched the cube out of the air, twisting it lightly around the tip once.

"This ought to be good." said Tristan, leaning against a nearby high bar table, the girls jumping up to sit on the swiveling stools. Yugi and Bakura pulled over two chairs from another lower table and took their spots next to the girls.

"So what are we doing?" asked Duke, leaning on his pool stick. "8-ball, 9-ball, or cut-throat?"

"Keep it simple, Duke. 8-ball." said Joey, assembling the balls in the proper order in the wooden triangle and rolling them back and forth twice. "Although now dat ya mention it, let's make dis interestin', shall we? I vote fer a stakes game!"

"Oh dear, we all know what that means." said Bakura worriedly, and Kaiba glanced at Bakura before looking back at Joey.

"What kind of stakes?" asked Kaiba cautiously.

"Just a li'l sumthin' we like to do. Add to de excitement, if ya will." said Joey with a wide grin on his face. "Since yer so confident ya can beat Duke afta all. Here's da deal: whicheva one o' yas loses dis game gotta buy everyone a round o' drinks upstairs. Capiche?"

"Sounds fair." agreed the Dungeon Dice owner.

"Whatever." said Kaiba.

Joey stared at Kaiba, catching the remark, and Kaiba swore he could hear the slow creak of the empty hamster wheel turning in Wheeler's head. "Waaaiiit a minute!" he said. "Dat ain't nuthin' to rich boy here. I think we need sumthin' a bit more embarassin' fer dis wise guy! Sumthin' more..." A mischievous, toothy grin spread slowly across Joey's face. "...humblin'."

"Wheeler..." warned Kaiba dangerously. "Don't get any funny ideas!"

"Oh, he's getting them, alright." said Tristan knowingly as Joey started rubbing his hands together, a sly glint in his brown eyes as his already wide, gleeful grin got wider.

"Heh-heh...I know!" said Joey finally. "If you lose, Kaiba, den ya gotta play de dance game...to whateva song I pick fer ya!"

Kaiba followed Joey's pointing finger over to a giant flashy stage where two small girls hopped on light-up foot pads and mimicked the arm motions of the dancing anime avatar on a gigantic screen, a pop song blasting to the beat. "You're joking." said Kaiba incredulously.

"No joke!" said Joey with a shake of his head. "Ya think yer so good? Ya think ya got dis in da bag? Well, if dat turns out ta be all talk, den ya gotta walk da walk! Or in dis case, dance! An' no rematches!" he added quickly, giving Kaiba a pointed look. "Dis is a one an' done deal!"

Kaiba gritted his teeth, making a noise of frustration. "Fine." he said. "I only have to beat him once. I just have a stronger conviction to win now. Let's go, Devlin!"

"You got it." said Duke. "Let's see your break, bud."

Kaiba walked to the end of the pool table and leaned forward, forming a closed bridge with his hand. His pole shot forward, and the cue ball fired into the triangle, the balls bouncing off all the rails. Two solid balls and one striped dropped into the pockets.

"Whoa, nice break!" said Tristan, Mai clapping the back of her hand while Téa, Serenity and Bakura watched in awe. Yugi leaned forward with anticipation in his chair.

Kaiba's amused half-smirk appeared again. "Solids." he declared, and shot another solid ball into a middle pocket. He circled the table and aimed towards a line of two solid balls, smacking them both into the pocket. His next shot broke apart a smaller cluster, but missed the mark, and Kaiba scratched on the cue ball. "Your move, Devlin." he said, backing out of the way and setting his pole upright in front of him, interlocking his fingers around it as he watched Duke approach the table, plucking the cue ball out of the pocket and placing it near a line of striped balls.

"You got dis, Duke!" said Joey, cheering him on. "Show him one o' yer trick shots!"

"Sure." said Duke, and Kaiba watched as Duke knelt and angled the pole over his shoulders, using a rail bridge for a ball close to the side. He squinted his eyes, measuring the angle, and fired his pole, the cue ball smacking into the stripe ball, which in turn bounced off the rail and ricocheted into two other stripe balls that were lined up together. All three stripe balls followed each other in a line into the pocket on the opposite end of the table.

"Alriiiiight! Go Duke!" said Joey, looking excited.

"Hmph, so you're good at geometry." said Kaiba. "Big deal. It'll take more than a few flashy moves to beat me."

"You're right, it takes skill, too!" said Duke, using a raised bridge to bounce the cue ball over one of Kaiba's solid balls and knock one of his striped ones into a side pocket. Kaiba was careful not to let himself look worried. Duke now also had two of his stripes and the 8-ball left. It looked like this was going to be a short game. Thankfully Duke's next shot missed its mark, and he accidentally sunk one of Kaiba's solid balls into the pocket instead.

"Gee, thanks." said Kaiba, walking around the table and shooting his lone solid ball into a corner pocket. The cue ball landed against the rail on one end, the 8-ball towards the center of the table blocked by one of Duke's striped balls. He smacked the cue-ball into Duke's striped ball, which ricocheted off the 8-ball into the side pocket, and the 8-ball rolled towards the end pocket. But it just barely missed its mark, bouncing slowly off the two sides of the rails before halting right on the edge of the pocket.

"Oof. Tough luck, bud." said Duke, and Kaiba watched, stunned, as Duke sunk his lone stripe ball followed by the 8-ball, the cue ball bouncing backwards a bit from the force of his shot.

"YEEEAAAH!" cried Joey, jumping up and pumping his fists into the air. "Dat's a win fer da Dice Boy! Way to show him, Duke!"

Kaiba snarled. "I would have won if the 8-ball didn't bounce!" he said.

"Yeah well, it did." said Duke, grinning at him as he took the poles and put them back in the holder. "Hope for your sake Joey doesn't pick "Baby Got Back" for you to dance to."

"Don't give him any more ideas! He'll do it!" warned Tristan. Kaiba felt a bead of sweat on his forehead as the group made their way over to the arcade, and he felt like a dead man walking.

"Lemme see here, what should we make Kaiba shake his booty to...?" mused Joey, using a giant colorful roller-ball to scroll through the lists of songs on the dance machine.

"Don't get carried away, Wheeler. I don't know how this thing works." said Kaiba, watching him scroll into the 4-star difficulty songs, the colors changing from easy and intermediate greens and blues to the hard and difficult yellows and oranges.

"Alright, we'll stick to da beginner-level stuff!" said Joey, rolling the ball with flourish, and the screen jumped all the way down to the bottom of the green list, where the 1-star songs were. "Hmmm...here we go! Dis one'll do!" Joey slammed his hand down on the roller-ball, and the selection box flashed around the song "Domino" by Jessie J.

"How fitting." joked Duke as one platform on the stage lit up with blue lights, circling the dance pad before flashing twice to indicate it was now active.

"I'll make it even more easy on ya, Kaiba! Ya can watch da preview." said Joey, selecting a side box on the start screen that said, "Show me the moves!"

Kaiba watched as a smaller screen above the roller ball popped up with a preview of the avatar demonstrating the dance moves as the song played. "You have got to be kidding me." he said as he read the first part of the lyrics that flashed along the bottom of the screen.

Joey laughed, saying, "Ya did dis to yerself, Kaiba! A deal's a deal! Time ta take yer dignity down a few notches an' see how ya fare against a dancin' avatar!"

Kaiba grumbled. Ballroom dancing was one thing, but he had never danced like this in his life. He looked up at the dance stage, trying not to swallow and betray his sudden nervousness. Even though he had been center stage at myriads of other venues including his own stadium during public speaking and other unveiling events, this stage in particular suddenly seemed looming and daunting to Kaiba. He was a man of his word, though, and Kaiba wouldn't allow himself to compromise his honor even if it meant making a fool of himself with a silly arcade game. Plus he had made that promise to Mokuba that he would try new things. He just wished he didn't have to do so all by himself...

As if sensing his unease and reading his mind, his previous dance partner walked forward, saying, "If you want, Kaiba, I can dance with you up there!"

Kaiba blinked and looked down at Téa. Strangely, he felt some of his discomfort lifting as she said, "Come on, Joey, make it two-player! He's never done this before!"

Once again, Kaiba felt the strange feeling of relief wash over him like a wave as Joey complied, saying, "Oh alright, Téa. Fair enough." He used the roller-ball to change the player count from one to two. On the stage, the second platform lit up with purple lights next to the blue one.

"Let's go, Kaiba! We got this!" said Téa, grabbing his hand, and Kaiba wasn't given long to stare at the gesture before he was pulled up onto the stage.

"Yeah! You've got the dancer of the group helping you out!" assured Yugi.

"You're in good hands, man!" called Tristan as Téa settled Kaiba on the blue platform. He was looking down at the dance pads, suddenly nervous. His etiquette tutor had spent almost half a year helping him perfect ballroom dancing, but no one had ever taught him how to do this kind of dancing. How was he supposed to make sure he was stepping on the right pads and copy the arm movements of the avatar?

"It's just hand-eye coordination, but with feet." whispered Téa, as if reading his thoughts again. "Just focus on the avatar and your feet will follow. Don't worry if you mess up. And have fun with it!" She winked at him before turning and taking her spot on the purple platform, and Kaiba stared after her, his stomach suddenly feeling like it was doing flips.

"Ready guys?" asked Joey.

"Ready!" called Téa, and Kaiba nodded, breathing slowly to control his pounding heart.

"Alright den, let's dance!" said Joey, and he brought his hand down on the roller-ball again, this time the selection box flashing the giant "START!"

Two avatars popped up on the screen, flashing them a thumbs up with a wink. "You got this!" said the screen encouragingly. The avatars positioned themselves with their feet apart and hands by their sides as the screen flashed.

"Let's dance! 3! 2! 1! GO!"

Kaiba was suddenly glad to have seen the preview and given the chance to memorize as much as he could. He moved his hips with the avatars as the song started, then jumped right into the dance moves, literally. The avatars had them bouncing back and forth on the foot pads, pumping fists in the air, leaning back and forth and side to side, kicking feet, and spinning around. Kaiba felt a bit dizzy after a few bouts of this; it was much faster than ballroom dancing. On the next spin, Kaiba got to catch a glimpse of Téa rolling her hips and shoulders with ease and grace. She was absolutely mesmerizing, so much so that the screen buzzed loudly when Kaiba missed a step, emphasizing his distraction and startling him back to the present. He focused his attention back on the screen, earning the different encouraging adjectives as he fell back into step.

Suddenly the avatars stopped at the crescendo of the chorus, and the word "FREESTYLE!" popped up on the screen. Kaiba froze. With no prompts to tell him what to do, he was completely helpless. He felt Téa grab his hands and pull him to the center between their two platforms. "What do I do?" he whispered to her frantically.

"Anything! Just move something!" Téa replied, her bracelets jingling as she moved her arms.

Kaiba recalled some of the dance moves his avatar had prompted them to do and just repeated those, not necessarily in order. "There you go!" said Téa encouragingly, and suddenly she grabbed one of his hands again and twirled under his arm. Kaiba held onto her hand as she leaned backwards, kicking a leg backwards and leaning her head back before spinning towards him, stopping with her back against his chest. Without warning, Téa wrapped an arm around his shoulder and leaned against him, her hips swaying and her bottom brushing against his thigh. Kaiba felt a strange tension in his groin, and this time he couldn't keep himself from swallowing to moisten his suddenly dry throat. He could have swore he heard a whistle, hoot and holler from Duke, Tristan and Joey respectively, but Kaiba didn't have time to shoot them a glare as Téa suddenly pushed him back to his platform, and the avatars sprung to life again. He hurriedly jumped back into the guided movements, grateful for the relief from the freestyle. With a flourish and a stomp, the avatars ended the song, and the music stopped.

The group broke out in cheers and applause, Tristan whistling his accolades loudly. Kaiba felt Téa plow into his side, throwing her arms around him and laughing merrily, and he grabbed her elbows and spread his feet apart to stop himself from falling over. The sound of her laughter and her smile lighting up the dark arcade made Kaiba's heart soar strangely.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Téa asked him, but Kaiba couldn't answer, his mouth hanging slightly agape as he tried to catch his breath.

"Excellent dancing, you two! That was fantastic!" said Bakura as they descended the platform.

"Yeah, I hafta admit, Kaiba, dat wasn't too shabby fer yer first time at arcade dancin'!" said Joey.

"You two make a great dance team!" said Mai, winking at Téa, who blushed.

"I share the sentiments: you rocked that dance machine like a pro, Kaiba! Nicely done!" said Tristan, clapping Kaiba on the shoulder.

"That was beginner?!" asked Kaiba, still trying to catch his breath as he allowed himself to drop into a nearby chair. His legs needed a rest after that and there was no denying it.

"Sure was!" said Yugi. "That was easy mode! You should see Téa do the harder stuff!"

"Yeah, she's a bombshell!" said Duke, and Téa colored at the compliments.

"Can you do a harder one, Téa?" asked Serenity, her big brown eyes pleading as she leaned towards Téa eagerly. "I've never seen you dance before! I'd love to see what you can do!"

"Aw, how can I say no to you, Serenity?" said Téa, and Kaiba stared in a mixture of amazement and disbelief as she walked right back up the stage once more.

"Seriously? She's doing it again?!" Kaiba said to Tristan.

"She can do this in her sleep, dude." Tristan replied. "Just watch her. She rocks!"

Joey reset the player count to one, saying, "Alright, Téa! Show rich boy how it's done!" He rolled the roller-ball with a flourish again, and Kaiba watched the selection box as it shot all the way up to the top of the list. The 5-star "insane" song, highlighted in red, was "Pon de Replay" by Rihanna. Joey slammed a fist on the roller-ball, starting the game.

Kaiba watched as this time the screen lit up with a bunch of faces in the shadow of a mosh pit, waving and cheering towards the stage. A bass beat started playing, and Téa moved her legs back and forth, pausing up on her toes between beats, then moved again, bouncing her hips as the beat picked up. She looked like a robot at first, the intro warming up before the song burst into the chorus, and suddenly she was swinging her arms, twisting her torso, and rolling her hips as she stomped, kicked and turned her feet to the music, stepping on the foot pads in perfect timing.Téa dipped into a low straddle before rolling her body upright again, reaching for the ceiling. She wound her chest and her hips while making a spinning motion with a pointed finger, then reversed the action. She imitated a running man, then jumped into a shimmy, then a slap step, her body curving and rocking side to side like a gentle pendulum. Kaiba blinked and stared, his mouth becoming dry as Téa suddenly turned and pointed to him with one hand and gestured with a wave of her fingers with the other, popping her hips and mouthing the words to the song with a coy smile on her face.

Well, I'm ready for ya

Come, lemme show ya,

You want to groove?

Imma show you how to move.

Kaiba watched as she jumped into the chorus of the song, completely transfixed. Téa was like one of her fairy and elven Duel Monsters, small and slender, nimble in her movements, light on her feet and spell-bindingly beautiful as she followed the rhythm flawlessly.

"She's good, isn't she?" he heard Mai whisper to him, and Kaiba jolted out of his trance as the tall blonde reached over and snapped his jaw closed. He hadn't even realized his mouth had dropped open, and Kaiba cleared his throat and nodded his agreement with Mai, careful to keep his teeth locked together inside his closed mouth this time. A small crowd had formed, the masses also attracted to Téa's awe-inducing dance skills, and she even got them to dance along when the song encouraged them to. A nearby group of guys wolf-whistled and cat-called Téa as she started belly-dancing while running her fingers through her hair, and Kaiba gritted his teeth even harder, clenching a fist in his lap as he glared at the group, who were paying far too much attention to Téa to notice him. The song ended, and the crowd cheered as Téa gave a flourishing bow and descended the stage again.

"Wow, Téa! That was amazing!" exclaimed Serenity adoringly, and Téa beamed with pride.

"Yeah, even Kaiba thought so, right big guy?" asked Mai with a broad wink at him. Kaiba felt his mouth become dry again, so he simply inclined his head wordlessly, receiving a warm smile from Téa.

"Alright, enough dancing! Who wants to play laser tag?" asked Duke.

"Yeah!" the group simultaneously agreed, so Kaiba just went along with it. He followed everyone to the laser tag room, where the attendants greeted them.

"Well! We've got a good group today!" said one of the laser tag attendants, a scrawny guy with mousy brown hair. "Everyone pick a vest and I'll show you how it's done!" His partner, another scrawny guy with blond hair, demonstrated how to don the vest and buckle and tighten the straps, then how to activate the laser guns.

Kaiba crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching as everyone else strapped on vests and activated their laser guns. Mai noticed his apparent disinterest and said, "What's wrong, big guy? You never played laser tag before, either?"

"It's a lot of fun! You should join us!" encouraged Bakura.

Kaiba merely shook his head wordlessly, and Tristan shrugged, saying, "Suit yourself then."

"Alright everyone, you can either do free-for-all, or I can split everyone into teams." said the attendant. "What'll it be?"

"Girls against guys!" cried Serenity.

"No way, they out-number us by two. That's hardly fair." said Téa.

"How about we pick a guy, then? Who wants to join the lovely ladies?" asked Mai. Before the guys could answer, the door to the laser tag room opened again. Kaiba became suddenly tense; it was the group of guys that had been making inappropriate calls at Téa while she danced.

"Mind if we crash the party?" asked the tallest of the bunch, a hulking body-builder type with a leather jacket. There were five others with him, all decently built. They snickered like school boys and whispered amongst themselves, their eyes fixed on the girls like they were pieces of meat as they tightened the straps of their vests around their relatively small frames.

"Certainly!" said the attendant before the others could answer. "There's enough vests and guns for fifteen players! You can play against this group here and make my job easier!"

"Sure thing, boss." sneered the gang leader. He walked past Téa, and Kaiba noticed his hand brush against Téa's backside before she gasped and jumped out of the way. His fist clenched as his temper flared, and Kaiba pushed himself off the wall and snatched up the vest the leader reached for, meeting his eyes coolly.

"Hey, I thought ya said ya weren't playin'?" asked Joey, blinking at Kaiba.

"I changed my mind." said Kaiba simply as he made quick work of his vest and pulled the trigger on his laser gun, giving the gang leader a dangerous glare as he did so. Téa glanced up at Kaiba as he walked over to her side, his eyes never leaving the group, and she realized what he was doing and stood closer to him. Tristan caught Kaiba's eye and nodded understandably, and Kaiba watched as Tristan nudged Joey, then stood next to Serenity and held his gun with both hands like a shield. Joey seemed to catch on, and he nodded affirmatively, side-stepping closer to Mai, who gave them a look as though she didn't need anyone to protect her. Yugi, Bakura and Duke also appeared to realize what was going on and joined one of the three groups as well.

"Now let's everyone have a clean game!" said the attendant, who seemed to notice the sudden tension in the room. "No pushing or shoving, and no hitting people with the guns! And no climbing on anything that isn't less than three feet off the ground! Have fun!" he added as he opened the room to the dark, foggy, black-lit laser tag arena. The group of guys entered first, immediately splitting up and running to different areas of the room. The rest of them entered in their groups of three, the guys flanking the girls as they stood back to back, aiming their guns down the hallways and ducking around corners.

Kaiba immediately spotted a glowing red exit sign to the side, and knew there were at least three other emergency exits that led outside of the building. He also noticed the cameras that were supposed to be watching those doors were shoved to the side, and he didn't know if the arcade management and their lax security was smart enough to put cameras outside, too. Kaiba wasn't going to risk it. He stayed close to Téa, making sure she was within an arm's reach if needed.

Suddenly Yugi started shooting rapidly down the hall as two of the guys in the other group ganged up on them, his vest lighting up with blue light as it indicated that he was hit. Téa pointed her own gun and fired as she ran with Kaiba and Yugi in the opposite direction, making the other players' vests light up with red light as everyone weaved through the maze of barriers. The three of them passed by Tristan, Bakura and Serenity, who were staying stationary on a raised platform surrounded by metal barrels and painted boxes that said TNT, obviously fake. Tristan was laying across the boxes, shooting through a peephole, while Bakura and Serenity were ducked behind the barrels, shooting in opposite directions. Kaiba rounded a bend, then skidded to a halt and pulled Téa into a corner as they almost ran into the second pair of guys. They both ran by, chasing Yugi, who almost bumped into Joey, Mai and Duke as they rounded the corner, then backtracked as they saw the joined groups.

Téa glanced up at Kaiba, his outline barely lit by the dim glow of the neon purple black-lights. She felt a warmth in her face and the butterflies in her stomach as she watched his chest heave slightly in the darkness. She had never stood so close to Kaiba that she could actually see his heartbeat, let alone hear his breathing. His human aspect became much more apparent in that regard, and Téa felt herself shift ever so slightly closer to him.

Kaiba shook Téa out of her trance by taking her arm with a surprisingly gentle touch and running out of the corner, trying to chase down the group. Kaiba and Téa were in the center of the maze now; they had ran down different hallways than the others. Kaiba led her towards the sound of shooting laser guns, hoping it was Joey's group. They came to a clearing with metal towers weaving towards the ceiling. Téa screamed as the leader of the group dropped down from a metal tower, and Kaiba pulled her away from the leader as he snatched a hand towards her. Her scream had attracted the two other groups, who surrounded them on all sides.

"Hey there, tiny dancer, why don't you come with us?" suggested the gang leader, his followers snickering as they inched closer. There was an emergency exit only a few feet behind them, and there was a goon next to it, ready to fling the door open and hold it.

Kaiba pulled Téa against him, his arm wrapping protectively around her small waist, and shot the leader dead-center with his laser gun. His vest lit up, and he stared down at the red lights before glaring back up at Kaiba and letting out a snarl, crying, "Get 'em!"

At that moment, Kaiba heard Joey's battle cry as the Brooklyn blond came charging into the fray, Tristan and Duke barreling through and firing at will. Yugi and Bakura stood by the girls, and Mai was leaning her back protectively against Serenity's as they fired into the crowd. Vests lit up everywhere, bathing the center of the room in blue and red glow. The guys in the other group started knocking their guns against Joey and Tristan's, shoving them away. One guy shoved the butt of his gun up at Kaiba's face, but he bent backwards out of the way and slammed an elbow down on the back of the guy's neck, dropping him. Téa danced out of the way, shooting the guy that was down once, lighting up his red vest again, before she huffed and turned her gun to the rest of them, standing close to Kaiba.

The lights came on, signaling the end of the game, just as the gang leader landed a punch across Tristan's jaw, spinning his head around and showering the floor with droplets of blood.

"FOUL!" came a voice over the intercom. "Everyone out!"

The group of guys ripped off their vests and threw them to the floor before making a run for it out the emergency exits. The guys picked up a vest each and carried them back to the front, where the attendants let them back in.

"Sir, I am so sorry! Are you alright?" asked the blond attendant, rushing to Tristan with an ice pack wrapped in a paper towel.

"I'll be fine." said Tristan, accepting the compress and pressing it to his bottom lip.

"You really should fix your security in that room. The door cameras aren't even facing where they're supposed to be!" said Kaiba sternly.

"Yes sir! I'll get my manager on it right away!" said the other attendant without looking up as he dialed a phone on the wall, all the better so he didn't recognize who was talking to him.

They replaced their guns and vests and exited the room. "Is it bad, Tristan?" asked Serenity, a look of concern washed over her pretty features.

"Nah, it's just a scratch." he replied, swelling up his chest. "I'm good. Honest!"

"You were so brave, warding off those guys!" she said, and Tristan beamed.

Duke grumbled something that sounded like, "I helped, too!"

"An' lookit dat! We even beat d'ose goons!" added Joey, pointing up to a TV screen near the laser tag door, which displayed the scores of each player and showed that their team won.

"Wow, Tristan! You made the top of the list!" said Mai, her eyes wide at Tristan's high score.

"Heh, I'm quite the sharp-shooter, if I do say so myself!" said Tristan proudly.

"So is Joey, apparently." said Duke, noticing Joey's second-place score. "Color me impressed!"

"Not really surprising from an ex-street kid." said Yugi, grinning at his buddy.

"Listen, I neva sunk so low as ta pull a gun on anyone, alright? I fight wit' my fists!" said Joey, punching one into his palm as if to emphasize his point.

"In any case, let's find something a little less violent, shall we?" said Mai. "How about bowling? Or maybe the race track?"

"Ooh ooh! Race track!" said Serenity, jumping up and down excitedly. "Come on, big brother! I'll race you!"

Kaiba heard those words, and suddenly his mind drifted back to a time long ago, when he and Mokuba were still in the orphanage.

"Come on, big brother! I'll race you!" called Mokuba as they ran from the mess hall to the playground, and the young Seto, as he had always done every single time, let his baby brother beat him to the top of the monkey bars.

Kaiba shook away the thought and took a deep breath in through his mouth, steadying his nerves. Téa saw the movement and looked up at him, and Kaiba averted his blue eyes away from hers.

The group entered the race track area, and the attendant announced that only five people were allowed on the track at once. Serenity and Joey walked forward, and Tristan, Duke and Mai joined them. Yugi, Bakura, and Téa sat in the spectator's bench, Kaiba leaning against the wall beside it and crossing his arms.

The girls were instructed to tie their hair in a braid and keep it in front of their shoulders so it wouldn't get caught in the motor behind their heads. After everyone was fitted with a helmet, the attendant helped everyone strap into the cars, making sure their harnesses were secured and tightened. Mai snapped down the visor of her helmet, looking over at the others and shouting, "I hope you guys don't think you're in for an easy win against us girls, right Serenity?"

"Right!" called Serenity, flashing her a thumbs up. "Let's show them, Mai!"

"You're going down, Dice Boy!" Tristan called to him. "I was born for the fast lane!"

"We'll see about that, hotshot!" Duke shot back at him, revving his engine.

"Everyone remember to keep your hands, feet and other appendages inside the car at all times, no ramming into each other, and no trying to drive through the barricades! Trust me, they are completely immovable!" called the attendant. "If at any point you need to use the emergency brake, just lift the red handle to the right of your legs! Are you all ready?" Everyone nodded, and the attendant pushed a button on the console, and a traffic light overhead went from red to green. The five drivers put the pedal to the metal and flew out of the starting area, and Yugi, Bakura, Téa and Kaiba watched as they shot past each other on the winding track.

"My bet's on Mai!" said Téa, leaning forward with anxious excitement. "Normally I'd give Serenity a vote of confidence, too, but then again she's only had her license for a year."

"I dunno, Tristan's pretty fast on his motorbike, too." said Yugi, who had been a passenger to Tristan's erratic driving before.

"Yeah, but I bet there's a good reason he drives a motorcycle and not a car like Mai." Bakura pointed out. "...and I bet it's not just the gas mileage."

"Not to mention Tristan would probably let Serenity win at least, same with Duke." added Téa. "It's Joey who's got the competitive streak here. He doesn't always let his sister have an easy win, and you know he wouldn't take losing to Mai sitting down."

"Weeeeell...Joey's not exactly the best driver, either..." said Yugi with a nervous chuckle, and Téa saw Kaiba's amused half-smirk flash before resuming his normal stoic facade.

Mai took the lead with Serenity hot on her tail, Joey slowly catching up behind them, not wanting to bump into his sister in case she lost control. Tristan and Duke were neck and neck as they trailed behind everyone, trading the lead as they careened around corners trying to get ahead of the other. The five racers passed the starting line again, and Téa cheered as Mai sped past everyone else, focused on the win.

"Go, Mai! Beat those boys!" called Téa, and Yugi and Bakura laughed nervously. Kaiba watched her, his amused smile slowly appearing again. Even after all these years, Téa was still the cheer captain of the geek squad.

Perhaps Tristan and Duke had heard Téa's words, because they suddenly split apart and passed Joey on either end, receiving a startled response from Joey as they flew by him with a wave. Tristan managed to get up on Serenity's side first, calling, "Yo, Serenity! Having fun?"

"I sure am!" Serenity responded cheerfully, and Duke flanked her opposite side.

"Hey, Serenity! How ya doing?! Long time no see!" called Duke, and Tristan growled at him.

"Hey up dere! Quit crowdin' my sista, you two!" called Joey, and Tristan grinned.

"Sure thing, bud!" Tristan shouted back. "Hey Duke! Eat my exhaust!" Tristan's car made a revving noise before flying past them, and Duke's mouth fell open as he watched Tristan barrel into second place.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Duke, and he revved his own engine and fired after him, Serenity giggling as she watched them go.

Mai glanced in her side-view mirror as she saw Tristan gaining on her, and she revved her own engine to stay ahead of him. Duke zoomed forward, flooring the pedal and going full speed ahead towards Tristan. Tristan heard him approaching and moved his car so he blocked Duke's path, and Duke let off on the gas, trying to go around him, but Tristan moved in front of him every time. Finally Mai passed the finish line and let her car slow to a halt at the starting podium, followed by Tristan, Duke and Serenity, with Joey coming in last.

"Alright, Mai! Way to show the guys!" cheered Téa as Mai took off her helmet and gave her a thumbs up with a broad wink.

"Aw man!" said Joey as he watched the results pop up on the TV overhead.

"Hey, you know what they say, Joey. The nice guy always finishes last!" said Duke, and Joey shot him a look as Serenity giggled.

"Or in third place!" Tristan jeered at Duke, who growled at him.

"That was fun!" said Serenity, taking off her helmet. "I don't even care what place I came in! That was so invigorating! Like nothing I've ever done before!"

"Was that your first time on a race track, Serenity?" asked Tristan, looking surprised.

"It sure was!" said Serenity as the attendant helped her out of her harness. "I guess I can scratch that off the bucket list now!"

"Alright, you four are next!" said Mai, waving her finger at Yugi, Bakura, Téa and Kaiba. "And since I won this race, I'll hop in this one, too. We'll see if anyone can beat the reigning champ!"

"I'll pass." said Kaiba, his arms still crossed as he remained leaning against the sound barrier.

"Oh come on, Kaiba! It's a lot of fun!" said Yugi as he took the helmet from Joey.

"I'm good." insisted Kaiba, staying in place.

"Really? I thought this would be right up your alley." said Bakura, accepting Duke's helmet. "You can fly a jet and a helicopter, after all. What's a race car to you?"

"Oh trust me, hun. He's fine with driving a car." said Mai, a mischievous glint appearing in her violet eyes. "He's just got too much pride to risk losing to a girl."

Joey, Tristan and Duke turned to look at Kaiba, and they softly jeered a slow and simultaneous, "Ooooooooooh."

"Uh-oh, here comes the trash talk..." said Yugi, and Bakura nodded knowingly.

"What's the matter, big guy?" Mai asked Kaiba. "Afraid we might actually win against you?"

"Ooooooooooh!" came the jeer again, starting to crescendo slightly, but Kaiba didn't budge. He knew Mai was egging on his infamous proclivity to never back down from a challenge, but Kaiba wasn't going to crack that easily.

"I don't blame him." said Téa suddenly, joining in Mai's assault, and Kaiba's gaze turned to her. "I'd be about that confident, too, if I were him!"

"OOOOOOOOOOH!" the trio practically shouted, and Kaiba's fists clenched slowly, his smoldering blue eyes staring intensely at Téa. He knew it was useless, though; Téa had stared him down on more than a few occasions before and was the only one Kaiba had ever met that didn't cower in the wake of his very presence.

"I mean, just look at us!" continued Téa, smiling triumphantly as she watched Kaiba slowly but surely coming undone. "Two strong, stylish, beautiful ladies. So graceful..." Téa lifted a leg into the air behind her and spread her arms out, striking a ballerina pose. "So feminine..." She put her leg back down, crossing her ankles and bending her hips sideways, accentuating the curves of her waist, which Kaiba's eyes flitted to before raising to stare her down again. Téa held her hands under her chin, framing her face, and fluttered her eyelashes at him to build on her emphasis. "What chance would the great Seto Kaiba possibly have against us?"

"Aw man, come on, Kaiba! Don't let these girls walk all over you!" said Duke, looking as though the insults that were meant for Kaiba were actually affecting his own psyche. "At least beat Mai for us! We'll never hear the end of it!"

"Hah! Fat chance!" said Mai, her violet eyes glinting. "If I were Kaiba, I'd stay right where he is. He's smart to turn down such a challenge; even the almighty Seto Kaiba never had the gall to go two against one."

There's a first time for everything. Kaiba thought, his jaw starting to flex. Téa noticed the ever so subtle shift in Kaiba's facial structure and capitalized on it.

"Yeah, and let's not forget what happens if we dare tarnish his precious reputation." said Téa with heavy emphasis.

Everyone's mouths dropped open, and Kaiba's attention suddenly shot back to Téa as he felt an actual jabbing sensation in his chest at her comment. "What did you say?!" he said dangerously.

Téa smiled triumphantly. Mai's insults may be shallow, but Téa knew all too well Kaiba's deeply ingrained weak spot...and she was about to hit it with the force of Horakhty.

"Uh-oh!" said Tristan knowingly, seeing the glimmer in Téa's eyes. "Téa, don't do it!"

"Oh dear! She's going there, isn't she?" asked Bakura as Yugi's eyes became huge.

Téa's smile widened slowly. "That would make him so..." started Téa, taking a long step towards Kaiba, emphasizing her words with her footfalls. "...eternally..." She stepped closer to him, her blue eyes glinting mischief. "...irrevocably..." She took one more step before leaning forward, Kaiba's eyes widening as she whispered close to his face. "...indignant."

She popped the T on the roof of her mouth, smiling coyly at Kaiba as he stared back at Téa, his blue eyes locked on to hers. Kaiba felt his blood boiling, felt his face and ears becoming hot, and his high-necked shirt felt like it was choking him as his pulse pounded in his neck to the tune of his rapidly beating heart. Téa had not only gotten under his skin; she had pulled out all the stops and managed to rile Kaiba up from somewhere deep within his very soul. And she was doing so with that ire-inducing, yet stunningly perfect smile plastered across her flawless face.

"Egyptian Gods help me, she's gonna say it." said Yugi, taking a deep breath and holding it as his eyes screwed shut tight, visibly bracing himself for what he knew was coming next.

Téa made a show of leaning sideways and turning on her foot to look over her shoulder, dealing the finishing blow to Kaiba's delicate ego. "Isn't that right, Yugi?" she asked sweetly.

"OH!" shouted Joey, his already boisterous voice echoing over the tracks.

"Aaaaand straight to the pride." said Tristan, cringing.

Kaiba's knuckles cracked along with his stoic facade as a scowl split his face. Kaiba uncrossed his arms and shoved himself off the sound barrier,taking a stance, his fists clenched to his sides as his dark blue eyes glared challenge at Téa. She smiled up at him and said in her sweetest voice, "I knew you had it in you. Now let's see if you're a sore loser or not these days."

"Dude. Are you gonna let her talk to you like that?!" asked Duke, his green eyes huge as he stared at Téa like she was completely insane.

Kaiba snatched Tristan's helmet out of his hand and shoved it onto his head, and Tristan stared at his suddenly empty hand and said, "I'm gonna take that as a no."

"You want a race!?" demanded Kaiba, glaring at Téa. "Fine! I'll give you a race! And don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a girl!You asked for it!"

"See, Mai? That's how it's done." said Téa, winking at her. "Just like a businessman. Make him an offer he can't refuse!"

Kaiba snarled at her, and Téa smiled sweetly at him. Tristan leaned against the sound barrier and crossed his arms, saying, "Oh boy, I can't wait to see this!"

Kaiba jumped into one of the race cars, strapping himself in as the others took their positions as well. After the attendant made sure everyone was strapped in correctly and went through the safety precautions again, he pressed the button on the console to start the race. As soon as the traffic light turned green, Kaiba and Téa both took off so fast that Mai gasped before taking off herself. Yugi and Bakura sat there blinking for a moment before they snapped out of it and also fired out of the starting line.

Bakura was right; Kaiba was quite the professional driver, making the turns a few moments before the curves so his race car glided smoothly into the corners without bouncing off the barricades or making the tires screech. Téa watched him for the entire first run around the track before she too caught on to this trick, and was soon shooting up beside him.

"Hi Kaiba! Bye Kaiba!" she shouted as she flew past him, and Kaiba looked momentarily stunned before he regained his composure and floored the pedal, catching up to her again.

"I don't think so!" he called back as he started to gain the forward lead.

"Hey! Didn't anyone ever tell you ladies first!?" said Téa as she fought with him for the lead.

"I must have missed the memo!" he retorted as he fired forward, cutting in front of her. His sudden sideways movement made his car bounce off the concrete barricade, and Kaiba struggled to regain control of the car for a moment, allowing Téa to pass him again. Téa floored the pedal to fly past Kaiba, and she looked over her shoulder and stuck out her tongue at him with a wink. That was her big mistake. Téa turned just in time to see the barricade wall jutting out before she screamed and jerked the wheel, trying to veer around it. But having floored her pedal to get past Kaiba, she had reached top speed, and the sudden jerk of the wheel caused the car to flip over. She barely had enough time to take her hands off the wheel, grasp the harness, and duck under the roll bars before Téa suddenly found herself in a flying car.

Kaiba's competitive streak was lost in an instant as he watched Téa's car crash sideways into the barrier and go airborne, rolling over once in the air before crashing on the other side of the barrier, where he heard it continue to flip several times. He felt his stomach plummet before he grabbed the E-brake and yanked it upwards, his car screeching to a halt before the barricade. Yugi, Mai and Bakura, who had also seen Téa's car go flying, also engaged their E-brakes, stopping on either side of each other so they didn't run into the other cars.

"Sir please! Stay in your harness!" came the voice of the attendant over the intercom as Kaiba pulled off his restraints, but he ignored the attendant and jumped out of the car, sprinting over to the barricade.

"Téa!" he called, receiving no answer.

Yugi stood up in his race car, trying to see over the barricade, and called, "Téa, are you alright!?"

"Can you hear us!?" cried Mai. "Téa! Say something!"

Kaiba jumped the barrier and saw Téa's car completely upside-down on the opposite side of the track, rocking slightly on the roll bars. At the sound of what he thought was sobbing, Kaiba raced over to the car, his heart in his throat. As he got closer, Kaiba noticed that Téa was holding her mouth, and he felt his insides grow cold. Did she cut her lip? Lose a tooth? Break her entire jaw? Kaiba approached the race car and stopped dead in his tracks, staring down at Téa. To his utter disbelief, she was not crying. Instead, Téa was laughing like a complete nutcase, her hand covering her mouth trying to stifle her outbursts.

"Oh my gosh, Kaiba! Did you see that!? That was so wild! Ahahahahahah!" Now Téa was crying, but they were tears of mirth from laughing too hard.

Kaiba growled and ran his hand through his hair. Now that he knew she was okay, his temper returned. "You're crazy!" said Kaiba as Téa continued to laugh and wipe tears from her eyes. "Why on earth are you laughing?! You could have been seriously hurt! Or worse!"

"Aaaw, were you worried about me?" asked Téa as she stopped laughing and smiled up at him, looking all the more like a deranged owl as she hung upside down in her harness. "How sweet of you! I had no idea you cared so much!" she teased.

Kaiba felt his face grow hot, both from his temper and embarrassment. The attendants rushed over, one with a med kit and one with an electric extinguisher in case the motor shorted out and caused an electrical fire. "Ma'am, are you alright?" asked the one with the med kit.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly okay!" said Téa, sliding carefully out of her harness and crawling along the floor out from under her racecar so the attendants could set it upright again. Kaiba reached a hand down to her and pulled Téa to her feet again, then grabbed her swiftly as she stumbled and fell against his chest. Kaiba suddenly felt as if his heart flew up to his throat and stayed there, pounding in his neck and making his head spin. Kaiba couldn't stop himself from swallowing to try to ease the sensation in his throat.

"Woops, sorry!" said Téa, giggling like a nut as she pushed herself away from him, and Kaiba seized her arm to stop her from wobbling to the side and toppling over. "Whoa! I must still be dizzy from the flip. My legs feel like jello."

"Téa! Are you okay!?" called Mai as she, Yugi and Bakura ran over and joined them while the attendants flipped the car upright and rolled it away for maintenance.

"I'm totally fine, you guys." said Téa cheerfully, bracing herself with a hand on Kaiba's elbow as he hovered his other arm near her waist in case she fell again. "Sorry if I made you worry."

"You certainly did. That was wild!" said Bakura, his hand to his chest.

"I'm glad you're okay. It's a miracle you escaped completely unharmed." said Yugi.

"Yeah, no more repeats of that anytime soon." said Mai. "I thought you were a goner!"

More attendants came out onto the race track, and one of them turned to the group and said, "Go ahead and go back to the starting platform. We'll take care of the cars. And we have to fix the track up. Ma'am, we're so sorry this happened, and it's good to see you're okay."

"Aw, it was totally my fault. I should be the one apologizing." said Téa with a cheerful smile as she waved away Kaiba, who tried to steady her with a hand on her upper arm as she walked. "Kaiba, I'm fine, really. I can walk by myself."

"No you can't! You're not even walking in a straight line!" he snapped as Téa wobbled side to side like she was miserably failing a field sobriety test, and his grip on her upper arm tightened as she almost fell sideways again.

"Yeah Téa, are you sure you don't have a concussion?" asked Bakura as he watched Téa with a worried look on his face.

"No, I'm just dizzy, I swear!" assured Téa as Kaiba pulled her arm towards him to straighten her again. "It'll wear off in a minute. Don't worry about me, you guys."

"Well, if it doesn't wear off, then you're going to a hospital if I have to drive you there myself." said Mai, keeping a watchful eye on Kaiba's hand.

"I won't need a hospital." said Téa definitively. "I just need to sit for a few minutes."

"Has she always been this stubborn?" Kaiba muttered to Yugi.

"Trust me, you never even scratched the surface in comparison." said Yugi with a broad grin, and Kaiba couldn't help but smirk at the back-handed remark.

"I heard that!" said Téa, glaring at them both.

The five of them made their way back to the platform, where Joey, Serenity, Tristan and Duke were waiting for them. "Holy crap, Téa! That was insane!" said Tristan as they approached, and Kaiba lowered Téa gently into the spectator's bench next to Serenity, remaining stalwartly by Téa's side as Serenity turned to peer at Téa's face with a concerned expression.

"Yeah! What's da big deal, scarin' us like dat!?" said Joey, looking both worried and agitated. "Didn't yer driva's ed teacha tell ya neva to take yer eyes off da road!? Don't eva do dat to us again! Ya scared da bajeebahs outta us!"

"Aaaw, I'm sorry, Joey!" said Téa, allowing Serenity to hold her arm and hand on one side as she swayed slightly on the bench. She rolled her head to look up at Kaiba and smiled sweetly at him, saying, "I guess I scared everyone, huh?"

"Hmph! I was not scared!" said Kaiba, crossing his arms.

"Come on, Kaiba." said Serenity, glancing up at him with a mix of sincere doubt and careful scrutinization. "You can't say you weren't at all concerned for Téa's safety."

"I didn't say that! I just said I wasn't scared!" he said defensively, looking off to the side and avoiding Serenity's piercing gaze.

"Oh yes you were, dude." said Tristan, grinning at him. "You should've seen your face when she went airborne. You looked like you had passed a bowling ball in your drawers."

Kaiba scowled as the others laughed, but he gave no retort.

"Speakin' o' bowlin' balls, let's go do dat now." said Joey. "I've had my fill o' excitement afta dis an' laser tag. Time fer something far less adrenaline-inducin'."

"I agree. Let's go enjoy some bowling!" said Bakura.

"What do you say, Téa? You up for it or you need to rest some more?" asked Duke as Téa took a deep breath and slowly rose from the bench again.

"I'm up for it!" she said, doing a few stretches and still-position dance moves to test her balance. Kaiba watched her feet as Téa sprung lightly up on the very tips of her toes. How did she do that?! Kaiba's toes would probably snap under his weight if he attempted it, but Téa did it with nary a wince or stumble.

"Wow, you recover fast, Téa!" said Mai, her eyes wide.

"See? I told you I just needed a few minutes!" said Téa, smiling beautifully, and Kaiba felt his heart skip a beat again.

"Alrighty then, let's go do some bowling!" said Tristan, clapping his hands together and rubbing them excitedly, and they all exited the track and made their way back to the bowling alley area.

Téa fell to the back of the group, walking next to Kaiba. He blinked as she linked her pinky finger around his and leaned into him playfully, whispering, "You know, Kaiba...all jokes aside, between laser tag and now this, it is sweet of you to be so protective."

Kaiba felt the strange swelling sensation in his chest again and tried to ignore it. Was he being protective? It's just how he'd always been, hadn't it? Maybe with Mokuba, but now you're extending that to Téa for some reason.

"Please. Like I was gonna let those thugs try anything." he answered Téa, ignoring the thought. "As for the car crashing, of course I'd make sure you were okay."

"So you were worried about me." said Téa with a twinkle in her eye. She saw his jaw flex, and Téa nudged him again, her voice singing as she teased, "Come ooon, admit it! You were at least a little concerned."

Kaiba pulled his hand away from Téa's so she wouldn't feel that it was suddenly becoming damp. "Yes, I was concerned. I was not scared." said Kaiba with an air of finality.

Téa smiled, pleased with the answer. "I knew it!" she said before suddenly turning in front of Kaiba, blocking his path. He halted abruptly so he didn't run right into her and stared down at Téa as she added, "Oh, and there's something you should know, something you probably don't want me to say in front of the others..."

Kaiba noted the mischievous twinkle in Téa's blue eyes and said, "What's that?"

Téa made a show of glancing over her shoulder at the others, who were already a ways ahead without even noticing that the two of them had fallen behind and were out of earshot. Despite that, Téa still stood up on the tips of her toes ballerina-style so she was almost level with Kaiba's ears, and Kaiba's eyes widened as she leaned forward and whispered near the side of his head, "My car was ahead of yours when it crashed, before and after, so I beat you. Deal with it." Kaiba blinked as Téa spun around and skipped back to the group, giggling like a nut again.

Kaiba stared after her for a moment, his heart racing as he suddenly felt the tickle in his jaw again, before making a noise of aggravation and running a hand through his hair as he followed her back to the rest of the group. Téa really had a way of getting into his head, whether Kaiba liked it or not, although he was currently still in the process of battling with that confliction. He wanted desperately to be angry with Téa, to snap back at her for daring to intrude on his personal space the way she had on now two occasions, not to mention for both times she had landed a blow to his pride before and after the race. The tingling sensation near Kaiba's ear and the strange warmth he felt in his chest, however, were both telling him a completely different story.

"Hello and welcome!" said the bowling alley attendant. "What size shoe can I get everyone?"

"Aw come on, Kaiba, you aren't going to play?" asked Yugi as Kaiba took a seat at one of the high booths and watched the others slip into rental shoes.

"You could offer me your championship title and I still wouldn't stick my foot in a shoe millions of other people have worn, Yugi." said Kaiba. "I am not budging on that one."

"Yikes. You know he's serious if he turns that down." said Tristan, hopping on one foot as he slipped into a pair of rental shoes.

The bowling attendant heard the conversation and looked over the counter at Kaiba's feet, saying, "Sir, could you show me the underside of your shoes?"

Kaiba stared at him, but picked up a foot to show the underside of his dress shoes, the entirety of which was made of real polished black leather, including the soles.

"Those are perfect. No need for you to get rental shoes." said the attendant. "As long as the soles aren't made of rubber or synthetic, you're good! Just wipe them off before you step up to the lane, please!"

"Ugh, I wish I had known that." said Mai with a disgusted look at the thread-bare purple and grey rental shoes she hung by the crook of the heels in her fingertips.

Téa sat near a touch-screen on a table. "Alright, we got three lanes, so there's three people on each lane." she said. "Are we doing the girls on one and the guys on the other two, or should we make it easy for you guys and have a girl on each team?"

"Hey! We guys can handle ourselves, thanks!" said Joey.

"Aw come on, Joey, let's do a game with the girls!" said Tristan. "We'll pick Serenity!"

"I agree!" said Duke, a little too quickly and with a grin on his face.

"Aw no ya don't! I see wha'chyer up to!" said Joey, glaring at them both. "Serenity's wit' me! Come on, Yuge! We've got our team!"

"Fine. If you get the King of Games on your team, then I want Mr. Trick-Shot on mine." said Mai, walking up beside Duke and shoving Tristan away as she added, "But don't think for a second that I'm babysitting these two together. Bakura, come over here, hun."

"Oh! Alright then." said Bakura, joining Mai and Duke.

"I guess that leaves us three." said Tristan, looking around at Téa and Kaiba.

"Fine by me! Let's show the others we're the best team out of them all!" said Téa excitedly, grabbing a pink seven pound ball from a nearby rack.

Everyone input their info into the touch-screens, and the three lanes lit up and lowered the pins onto the marks at the ends of the lanes. "Ladies first!" said Joey. Téa, Mai and Serenity all stepped up to the lanes. Téa pulled her arm back and released her ball, crossing her ankle behind the other, and her ball flew down the lane and smacked into the middle of the pins, earning her the first strike. She cheered and jumped up and down for a bit before high-fiving Tristan. Kaiba raised a clenched hand from his crossed arms and permitted Téa to give him a fist-bump, and his knuckles tickled strangely at her touch.

Mai and Serenity released their balls at the same time, and Serenity's pink ball knocked down half the pins while Mai's purple 8 pound ball left all but two on one side. Mai knocked down the rest of her pins and Serenity left one pin before letting the guys go next.

"Come on, Trick-Shot! We need a comeback!" said Mai as Duke walked up to the lane, holding a red ball. Tristan held a green ball while Joey walked up with a yellow ball. The guys made eye contact before releasing their balls at the same time. All three of them got a strike, Duke's red ball curving into the pins.

"Yeeeaaah! Dat's how ya do it!" said Joey, high-fiving his sister and Yugi at the same time.

"Alright Duke!" cheered Bakura, applauding as Duke took a bow. Tristan flashed a thumbs up with a big grin.

"Alright Kaiba, you're up! Let's see your bowling arm!" he said, and Kaiba uncrossed his arms and pushed off from the table he was leaning against. He grabbed a 14 pound blue ball with one hand as Yugi approached, holding his orange ball in both hands. Bakura walked up holding a pearl white ball with black swirls. Kaiba lifted his ball to eye height, eyeing the third pin, then pumped his ball in the air before swinging it as far back as he could go and releasing his thumb from the hole, his fingers propelling the ball down the lane. At first Téa thought it was going to roll right into the gutter, but the ball suddenly hooked at the last second and slammed into the pins, sending all of them flying and bouncing off the walls in the ball pit.

"Wow! Sweet hook, man!" said Tristan, and Kaiba let him and Téa bump both his fists at the same time, watching with satisfaction as Yugi and Bakura both had to bowl twice to knock down all their pins. He was given a second chance to redeem himself from the game of pool and show off his minor gaming skills once more, and this time Kaiba was determined not to make a fool of himself again. The game went on for the next nine frames, and the touch-screens tallied up the points before displaying them all on the TV screens overhead. Kaiba and Duke were the only ones to score strikes on all their shots, while Tristan had scored quite a few himself. Their team took the lead, Duke's in the middle, and Yugi's team came in last.

"Wow, look at us beating Yugi and Joey together! Are we awesome or what?" said Tristan, and Kaiba startled a bit as Téa cheered and group-hugged them both, but he was still pleased with the results and silently shared Tristan's sentiment.

"Listen you! If dis were Duel Monstas, we'd wipe da floor wit'chya, so don't get too cocky, y'hear?!" said Joey as they changed out of the rental shoes and back into their own.

"Remind me again what your win ratio is against me, Joey?" asked Téa innocently, rubbing her nails against her chest and glancing at them before turning and smiling at him sweetly, adding in a sing-song voice, "Oooh, that's riiight! You don't have one, do you?"

The others snickered while Joey scowled at her, and Kaiba blinked and looked between the two, saying, "That's a joke, right?"

"No, that's actually true." replied Yugi with a grin. "Téa's beaten Joey at Duel Monsters several times. Fives times in a row, to be exact."

"Dat was way before I became da regional champ!" countered Joey, the vein ticking in his forehead. "Heck, dat was before Duelist Kingdom! I was still learnin'!"

"So was Téa, and lo, she still kicked your sorry behind." said Bakura with a cheerful expression, and Joey glared daggers at him.

"Yeah, at least she actually knew what Spell and Trap cards were, Mr. I Packed My Deck With Every Butt-Kickin' Monster I Could Find!" added Tristan, and Yugi laughed knowingly while Joey gave them both a withering look.

"Well then, I guess that makes two of us that you could never beat at Duel Monsters, Wheeler." said Kaiba, still silently surprised at Téa's prowess, and she flashed him a smile.

"Watch it, rich boy! Yer way overdue for a rematch wit' me, too!" quipped Joey.

Kaiba's mouth became a thin line, but before he could explain why that would never happen, Bakura cut across them, saying, "What should we do now? The ropes course, perhaps?"

"Yeah! It looks like so much fun!" agreed Serenity, and she ran to the start of the course, leading the group. The attendants for the ropes course fitted everyone with a safety harness and the one above demonstrated that if they did fall, the bungee cord would suspend them in the air before they were lifted back up, assuring them of their safety.

"We're currently having a promotion going right now, seeing as this is the newest addition to the arcade." explained the attendant, and everyone looked up, their interests piqued. "If anyone makes it all the way to the end with no falls, we have a special prize for you! We haven't had anyone do so yet, so you can be assured it'll be an awesome gift!"

"Sweet! Count me into da competition!" said Joey, and he immediately plowed forward over first rope bridge. He jumped off the mesh trampoline at the end, making a grab for the rope he was supposed to use to swing to the next platform. But his foot caught at the end of the mesh trampoline, and he missed his target by a few inches, his hands grabbing at thin air. He flailed in the air and yelped as he dropped down, the bungee cord breaking his fall and springing him back up. "Dang it. I almost had it." he said, waving his legs in the air until they caught the first platform and lifting himself up again.

"Let me try!" said Serenity, and she readied herself on the platform, twisting her foot to warm herself up. She took off like a runner and flew across the ropes bridge. She bounced into the mesh trampoline, curling her legs behind her so they wouldn't get caught, and propelled herself forward. She grabbed the rope and swung herself to the next platform, landing neatly on her feet and leaning against the fake tree trunk to support herself.

"Alright sis!" said Joey, cheering his sister on.

"You go, girl! Show these boys how it's done!" called Mai as Bakura was the next brave one to try the first obstacle. He made it across his first time, too, followed by Yugi, who just barely got ahold of the end of the rope and climbed back up it, swinging to regain his momentum and joining them on the next platform.

Serenity was already conquering the next course, a simple ladder with the occasional broken rope that she had to carefully place her hands and her feet so she wouldn't fall. The third course consisted of a line of ropes, where they had to swing to and fro from one to the next. Tristan was halfway through this course before his sweaty palms slipped down the rope, and his harness caught him before he sprung back up.

"Aw man, me and my butterfingers." he said sullenly.

"Right behind you, Serenity!" Duke called cheerfully after Joey's sister as he navigated around the net that was attached to a gigantic tree trunk, climbing up over the square hole in the next wooden platform above, and Tristan glared up at him.

"Fall! Fall! Fall!" he chanted softly, and as if the gods had heard him, Duke jumped for one of the spinning rope loops attached to a rotating tower, and he missed and plummeted into thin air.

"Aaaaaw!" came Duke's noise of frustration as he spun in his harness. The loop tower proved to be the challenge as Yugi and Bakura missed this one, too, but Kaiba's height aided him easily with this one, and he held on tight to a loop as the tower spun him around to the next platform. Téa followed behind him, her limber dancer's legs springing her up to the loops as she joined him on the other side. Mai, who was already wearing chunky high-heeled boots to add to her height, easily made it as well.

"Come on, Kaiba! We need a guy to win it for us!" called Tristan. Kaiba stood on the last platform with the girls as Serenity faced the final obstacle: a single tight-rope. Serenity held out her arms beside her, putting one foot carefully in front of the other. She managed to take five steps before she wobbled, her arms waving wildly before she lost her balance and fell sideways off of the rope.

"Aaaw, man!" cried Joey, looking sullen. "She was winnin'!"

"It's okay, Joey! It's an obstacle after all!" said Serenity cheerfully as she rose back up to the platform. "Be careful Mai!"

"I got this." said Mai, and she stepped carefully onto the rope, her slender feet balancing along the line. But she had taken less steps than Serenity before her chunky heel caught on the rope, and she let out a shriek before toppling over and plummeting. "Dangitdangitdangit! I just had to wear heels today!" said Mai, flailing in frustration in her harness.

"I gotcha, Mai!" said Téa, and she leaped across the rope, nimble as a sprite. Kaiba watched as she stood up on her toes like a ballerina and tip-toed across the rope.

"Show-off!" called Tristan.

"No, this is showing off." said Téa, and she leaped into the air, doing a perfect pirouette before landing neatly on one foot, still on her toes, striking a pose with her back in a perfect arc, one hand held straight out while the other reached over her head with a curve in her hand. Kaiba's eyes were huge, and he watched the rope bounce slightly underneath her toes, but she never stumbled. Serenity was also in awe of Téa, her mouth dropped open in adoration.

"Oh, that is so not cool!" said Duke as Téa did a split, her foot and leg sliding backwards straight down the length of the rope. Kaiba watched as she leaned backwards, her arms straight over her head, and grabbed the rope, then proceeded to pull herself into a handstand.

"Aw c'mon, Téa! Quit rubbin' salt in an open wound, already!" cried Joey.

Téa giggled, then cart-wheeled onto her feet again, tip-toeing backwards until she made it all the way to the end. She whooped and jumped up and down on the final platform.

"I did it!" she cried cheerfully, dancing victoriously.

"Alright! Go Téa!" said Mai, pumping a fist into the air.

"You rock, Téa!" said Serenity, clapping.

"Aaaaaw, the girls got to the finish first!" said Duke, mussing up his hair.

"Kaiba can still get it!" assured Yugi.

"Yeah, come on, man! Tie it up for us!" cheered Tristan.

"You can do it!" cried Bakura.

Kaiba smirked, for once amused by the cheer squad, and stepped carefully across the rope. His long legs helped him here, too, but being taller meant having less of a center of gravity. He swayed on the rope, steadying himself. His foot was just slightly too big for it.

"Careful!" called Yugi.

"He got dis! Go, Kaiba!" said Joey, his fists clenched in anticipation.

Kaiba breathed out slowly through his mouth, concentrating on the rope, and continued his slow and steady step across. He made it to the end and sprang forward to the platform where Téa was standing. She yelped and grabbed the front of his shirt as he stumbled forward, catching them both before they tripped over each other.

"YEAH! HE DID IT!" said Joey, jumping up and pumping his fists into the air.

The platform suddenly started lowering, and Téa let out a small noise of surprise and moved closer to Kaiba, her hands still fisted into his shirt. She was so close Kaiba could smell her shampoo in her hair, and he felt his face growing hot.

"Congratulations!" said the ropes course attendant. "Two winners at once! Here's your prizes!"

Téa was handed a paracord bracelet, complete with a built-in compass, whistle and fire starter. Kaiba was given a grappling hook.

"Whoa cool!" said Joey, tapping a finger gingerly to the grappling hook's sharp prongs.

"Dude, check out that paracord!" said Tristan, inspecting it and turning it this way and that to make sure the compass worked. "Looks like a 550! This is perfect for our camping trip!"

Kaiba's amused smile flashed momentarily. He placed the grappling hook into Téa's hand, saying, "Sounds like you'll need this more than me."

Téa blinked, looking from the grappling hook to the paracord bracelet to Kaiba. An idea was forming in her head.

"Hey guys." she said suddenly. "How about we bring Kaiba on the camping trip?"

---

Kaiba blinked, wondering if he had heard correctly. Everyone was staring at Téa now, and they were the living portrait of disbelief.

"Did I hear that right?" asked Mai, echoing Kaiba's thoughts.

"Seriously?! Ya want Kaiba to go campin' wit' us?!" asked Joey, staring at Téa as if she had sprouted five heads. "Ya realize yer talkin' about Seto Kaiba, right? Tell me yer jokin'!"

"I'm not joking!" cried Téa, and everyone blinked simultaneously.

"Arcade is one thing, but camping?" said Duke with a raised eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure Kaiba's never been to a campground before, let alone a real hike."

"So? He's never danced at an arcade before, but here he is!" said Téa defensively.

"Of course I've been camping before!" snapped Kaiba, and everyone's looks of disbelief turned to him. "Contrary to popular belief, I had a life before KaibaCorp!"

"Yeah guys, cut him some slack." said Tristan. "Even Seto Kaiba used to be a kid."

"I don't see the harm in it." said Bakura. "If Kaiba's okay with it, that is."

"Of course Kaiba can go with us on the camping trip if he wants, Téa!" said Yugi encouragingly, and Téa beamed at him.

"Yeah!" said Serenity, suddenly cheerful again. "Come with us, Kaiba! It'll be fun!"

"I agree. Take a little vacation, big guy. It'll do you some good." said Mai.

Kaiba looked down at Téa as he felt her giant pleading eyes of sparkling blue on him once more, and he felt a weird pang in his chest at her expression as he was reminded of similar looks his younger brother had given him when he wanted something. Téa wasn't seriously trying to use that look on him, was she?

It's working, isn't it?

Kaiba made a noise of frustration at his inner dialogue and ran a hand through his hair as he couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. "Alright, fine! I'll go!" he said. That was it, he had truly lost it. Camping with the dweeb patrol. What was he thinking? Mokuba couldn't possibly want him to stoop to that level.

Of course he would.

Joey still looked to be in complete and utter disbelief. "I can't believe what I'm hearin'." he said, echoing Kaiba's own thoughts. "Ya sure yer up fer dis, Kaiba? It's a long hike an' we do it de ol' fashioned way, wit' tents an' river baths an' roastin' our food over a firepit..."

"I think I can handle it, Wheeler." said Kaiba, getting irritated.

"Alright, if ya say so." was the doubtful response from Joey. "Nobody's carryin' ya."

"I can carry myself, thanks." Kaiba shot back.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but after all that fun, I'm famished." said Tristan. "Let's go grab a bite to eat upstairs, shall we?"

"Awyeah! Chow time!" said Joey, his eyes lighting up as a huge grin crossed his face, suddenly distracted from the previous conversation as he plowed up the stairs ahead of everyone else.

"If he ever gives you a hard time on the trip, just mention food. He'll shut up." muttered Tristan to Kaiba, who smirked. He withheld his remark about why that makes Wheeler similar to a dog, knowing Tristan was still best buds with the boisterous Brooklyn blond.

The restaurant had cleared out a bit as people returned to the arcade or left to go home for the night. They seated themselves around the biggest table on the balcony, and Kaiba pulled out Téa's chair for her before he even realized he had done so without thinking about it. She gave him a momentarily surprised look and a warm smile before seating herself. Kaiba was shocked to realize the sun was already starting to go down, casting an orange glow across the sky. He seated himself between Téa and Tristan, keeping his back against the wall and his eyes on the door and the area around the balcony.

"Hey guys, I know I still won the pool game, but shots on me the first round!" said Duke, and everyone cheered and thanked him, and Kaiba blinked, hiding his surprise. Of course they were all legal age now, but he couldn't imagine the dorks partying in such a manner. How stranger could they get when alcohol was involved? Kaiba had a feeling he was about to find out and was both wildly curious and hesitant at the same time.

"Aw, I wish I was old enough to drink." said Serenity, looking down sullenly at the table.

"You'll get dere, sis!" said Joey as the waiter approached. "Tequila shots fer everyone! An' a virgin Shirley Temple fer da little lady!"

"You remembered my favorite drink!" said Serenity with a huge smile.

"O' course I know yer favorites, sis!" said Joey, ruffling her hair, and Kaiba felt a twinge of guilt as he recalled his own younger sibling. Did he even know what Mokuba's favorite drink was? Soda, obviously; that kid brother of his inhaled it like it was the fountain of youth, which is probably where he had gotten all his energy from. But did he have a favorite, or was he like Kaiba in that he didn't really put much sentiment into mundane things? Kaiba really had no idea, and he felt a strange pang in his chest and tried to ignore it as he wondered what else he didn't know about his late brother. Had he ever even cared to ask, or had Kaiba always been too busy?

"Tequila, huh?" said Duke with a sly grin, snapping Kaiba out of his memories and negative inner thoughts. "It's not gonna make our clothes fall off, is it?"

"Hey! Watch it wit' da lewd jokes in front o' my sista, would'jya?!" shot Joey, Serenity giggling.

The waiter checked everyone's IDs, and when he got to Kaiba, he stared at the ID, then looked up at him in surprise and said, "Oh! You're-...!"

"Gonna give you the best tip of your lifetime if you keep your trap shut." Kaiba cut over him, and the waiter snapped his mouth shut, nodding furiously before scurrying away with the order.

"That must be frustrating." said Bakura, propping his head up with an arm on the table. "Having to bribe wait staff just for a bit of privacy."

"Probably why he just stays cooped up in his office." said Mai. "I'd hate to be swarmed by press and fans when I'm just trying to get my lunch."

"Man, dat's da pits." said Joey, suddenly sullen. "I'm sorry, pal. I didn't even think o' all dat."

Kaiba shrugged. "I'm used to it." he said, although they had all spoken the truth, even Wheeler.

"Used to it irritating you, maybe." said Tristan knowingly, and Kaiba looked over and gave Tristan an amused half-smile and inclination of his head.

"Here you are!" said the waiter, distributing the drinks.

"Bring us all the appetizers on your menu, too." said Kaiba, and the waiter's eyes were huge.

"Yes sir!" he said, and scurried away again.

"Wow Kaiba! You didn't have to do that!" said Serenity, shocked.

"Duke's got the drinks. I got the food." said Kaiba simply.

"Sweet! Thanks man!" said Duke, and everyone echoed his sentiment.

"A toast to friendship!" said Yugi, and everyone replied, "To friendship!" before clinking their glasses together in the middle of the table and throwing back their glasses. Kaiba stayed silent, but emptied his glass with the rest of them, suppressing a shudder at the taste. He had never liked alcohol. Gozeburo served it at all of his events, and had even allowed Kaiba to try a few flutes of champagne, a rocks glass of whiskey, or a snifter of brandy at business celebrations, but Kaiba had always hated the taste and never became much of a drinker himself. He also couldn't stand cigars, which his step-father had been especially fond of. Kaiba supposed he could thank his step-father for teaching him that one thing at the very least: Gozaburo made sure Kaiba would never become a smoker or alcoholic. Not to mention a child abuser. It was why Kaiba had allowed himself to be bombarded by the children at the charity ball, humoring them with his deck. If Kaiba ever did have kids of his own, he would make absolute certain that they would never have to feel the torment, despair and psychological abuse Gozaburo had put him through.

Joey slammed his glass on the table, startling Kaiba out of his inner thoughts again. Joey shook his head vigorously as he shuddered, saying, "Wow, dat's a strong one!"

"What's wrong, Joey? Can't hold your liquor?" said Mai, winking at him.

"Sure I can! I just said it was a bit strong, is all!" said Joey defensively.

"Don't get him started." said Tristan. "One minute he'll be guzzling everything in sight and the next, he'll be picking a fight with someone twice his size."

"I do not!" said Joey, bristling.

"You do to! Especially if they take your food." said Téa, giggling.

"JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!" shouted the Brooklyn blond, and everyone laughed, Kaiba shaking his head. Typical mutt.

Right on cue, the waiter returned with a giant tray over his shoulders, another one following suit, and a third with pitchers of water and soda. They dished out mozzarella sticks with marinara, boneless and bone-in chicken wings of various flavors, potato skins with sour cream, spring rolls, teriyaki beef skewers, French fries, chicken and steak quesadillas, fish tacos, carrots and celery, garlic bread knots, and nacho chips with queso, salsa and spinach dip. "Oh boy! Dis looks good!" said Joey as he scooped a quesadilla into the sour cream and salsa before stuffing it into his mouth.

"Hey, no double dipping!" said Mai, sinking her teeth into a carrot stick with a loud snap.

"Mmmm, delicious!" said Téa, trying a spring roll and a fish taco.

Bakura popped a boneless chicken wing into his mouth and started chewing, then stopped abruptly, his eyes flying wide open. He swallowed loudly, fanning his open mouth. "Ow hot! Ow hot!" he cried, reaching for his glass of soda and gulping it down.

"Careful! Some of those are jalapeno poppers!" said Yugi, fanning his potato skin.

"Aw yeah! Right up my alley!" said Duke, popping two in his mouth and savoring them.

"Dude, how can you stand those?! My nose would be running like a faucet." said Tristan, ripping off a hunk of skewered beef with his teeth.

"Yeah, I'll only touch the buffalo ones, and still I usually eat them with ranch to neutralize the heat." added Serenity, her eyes wide as she watched Duke pop three more jalapeno poppers into his mouth.

"Dey can't be dat bad!" said Joey, grabbing a handful of them.

"Wait, Joey, don't just-...!" started Yugi, but Joey already stuffed his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a chipmunk as he chewed.

"Uuuuh, Joe?" said Duke uneasily. "Those red-sauced ones are probably ghost pepper."

Right on cue, Joey clapped his hands to his mouth, both in pain and to muffle the loud scream that threatened to burst forth, tears pouring down his face. He reached across the table and grabbed a whole pitcher of soda, up-ending it and swiftly chugging down the entire thing.

Kaiba smirked, his water glass halfway to his mouth. "Would you look at that, I got us food and entertainment." he said, and the others laughed while Joey glared daggers at Kaiba, growling at him through a mouthful of ice he held to his burning tongue.

"You might wanna stick to the mild stuff, Joe." said Duke, popping a single ghost pepper bite into his mouth. "These ones are for the pros."

Téa dipped a French fry in queso and popped it into her mouth. "Oops!" she said as it dripped on her chin, and she used her thumb to push it in her mouth, sucking it clean. Kaiba felt the same tension in his groin that he had felt earlier when Téa had rubbed her bottom against his thigh on the arcade dance machine, and he quickly rubbed a hand over his leg, massaging it away.

"You got it on your collarbone, too." said Mai, pointing.

"Aw." said Téa, and she suddenly offered her collarbone to Mai. "Aren't you gonna get it off?" she asked jokingly. Kaiba felt his heart skip a beat at her subtle offer.

Mai's eyes glinted, and Kaiba's eyes widened along with everyone else's as she leaned forward and stuck out her tongue, running it along Téa's collarbone. Duke burst into hysterical laughter, Tristan snorting into his drink and grabbing his nose quickly, and Yugi, Bakura, and Joey could only stare with petrified expressions as Serenity burst into a fit of giggles.

Téa sat there, her eyes huge and her mouth hanging open as a pinched noise escaped it, her shocked scream stuck in her throat. "I didn't think you were actually gonna do it!" she finally exclaimed after a moment. She grabbed a napkin and dipped it in her water glass before wiping her collarbone with it quickly, as if she suddenly felt soiled and her water was blessed with the power to remove the unholy stain of sin.

"I don't know what you were expecting." said Mai with a victorious smile at Joey's fixed attention on her. The mutt was practically drooling, his mouth still hanging open in shock.

"I didn't expect our relationship to be so intimate!" retorted Téa, and Duke howled with laughter again, Serenity clapping her hands to her mouth in a fresh fit of giggles. Tristan was also in a fit of coughing, pressing his lips tight together so he didn't spew any liquid on the table before he managed to swallow and cough loudly, laughing at the same time.

"Hey! I said no lewd jokes!" said Joey, shifting in his seat, and Mai stuck out her tongue at him with a wink. Duke wiped tears of mirth from his face, shaking his head.

"Oh boy." said Bakura, scratching the side of his nose nervously as a bead of sweat hung on his cheek. "The camping trip is going to be interesting, isn't it?"

"'Fraid so." agreed Yugi, his face in his hand as he blushed beet red.

Kaiba shook his head. "You really are a bunch of dorks." he said, and Téa noticed there was a twinkle in his dark blue eyes as he said it. She giggled, and Kaiba glanced at Téa and down at her collarbone before looking away quickly. Téa noticed the fleeting glance and felt herself turn pink in the cheeks, and she moved her chair closer to the table, using it an excuse to inch ever so slightly closer to Kaiba.

They talked, joked and laughed into the night until the arcade started closing. The waiter brought Duke and Kaiba the checks, Duke scribbling his credit card signature and Kaiba discreetly slipping two large denomination bills into the black leather folder and telling the waiter to keep the change. Téa could tell by the wide-eyed look on the waiter's face and his excessive thanks and bowing that it was probably far more than just slightly generous. Joey emptied the last of his soda and burped loudly, saying, "Dat was da best! Thanks guys!"

"No problem!" said Duke, and Kaiba nodded as everyone else gave their thanks. They made their way back downstairs, and the staff held open the doors for them and bid them a good night before closing and locking the doors behind them.

"What a night! I'm beat!" said Tristan. "See you guys later! I gotta help my dad at the factory tomorrow morning."

"And I gotta do some things in the shop with grandpa." said Yugi.

"Same with mine." said Duke. "See you guys later!"

"G'night guys!" said Joey as they all split up and went their separate ways. "Let's go home, Serenity. I'm wit' Tristan. I need my shut-eye."

"Okay!" said Serenity. "Thanks for taking me here! I had a blast!"

"Goodnight Serenity! Bye Joey!" called Téa, and Serenity waved behind her.

"Well, I need to get my car from the station." said Mai, turning to Bakura and Kaiba. "You two be gentlemen and escort us ladies back there and I'll give you a ride home."

"Sounds like a deal to me." said Bakura.

Kaiba shrugged and followed close behind as they all started walking back to the station. They hadn't walked but three blocks before Mai suddenly looked behind them, her danger sense tingling. "Guys, we've got company!" she said.

The others wheeled around as the sound of snickering reached their ears, and Kaiba recognized the gang of trouble-makers from the laser tag game. The leader of the group stepped forward, saying, "We've got a bone to pick with you lot."

"Then why don't you go find a nice dumpster heap to pick bones out of, you sleazy mongrels!" snapped Mai, her hand going to her thigh holster. "Now get lost!"

"Oooh, a feisty one!" said another goon, licking his lips. "I likes 'em feisty, I do!"

"You heard the lady, move it along or I'll move you myself!" warned Kaiba, throwing off his hood, and some of the guys took a step back, their eyes huge.

"Boss, that's Seto Kaiba!" exclaimed a third grunt.

"I don't care who he is." snapped the leader. "I'll break his pretty face all the same, and then I'll have me a celebratory dance with the other blue-eyed brunette."

Téa let out a noise of disgust and backed away a step, and Kaiba stepped protectively in front of her, glaring daggers at the gang leader. Bakura walked forward as well, saying, "You'll have to get through us first!"

"Hah! Look at this, fellas! The Duchess of Canterbury here thinks he's a knight in shining armor!" laughed the gang leader, and the others guffawed stupidly.

"Well, since you think I'm so dainty, I'm sure you'll have no trouble defeating me in a Duel." said Bakura, yanking up his baggy sweater sleeve to reveal his white-glowing Duel Disk attached to his arm. Kaiba gave an approving smile at his latest design, which he had programmed to allow Duelists to choose their own color.

"And why would I want to duel you, princess?" sneered the gang leader.

"Well, you most certainly can't duel Seto Kaiba. You'd just be a waste of his time." said Bakura, and Kaiba smirked and nodded agreement, making the gang leader scowl deeper. "I thought I might make it a bit easier on you. Unless of course dueling requires too much thinking for a Neanderthal such as yourself!"

"Alright, runt, you asked for it!" snarled the gang leader, tearing at his sleeve, and the snap-buttons on his leather jacket popped off to reveal a red-glowing Duel Disk. "I hope you got the big skills to back up those big words!"

"I suppose you'll have to find that out the hard way." retorted Bakura, flinging his arm out to the side and activating his Duel Disk in a flash of white light. "Let's duel!"

"Ladies first!" sneered the leader, flexing his arm forth in a blaze of red light.

"If you insist." said Bakura, unfazed. He pulled out a card from his deck and glanced at his hand, picking out three cards and saying, "First, I play the Spell Card, Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw three cards, as long as I discard two from my hand." He did so, then said, "Then I place a card face-down and summon The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams in defense mode."

White light flashed before a bed appeared, out of which the skeletal apparition twisted into the air and brandished its scimitar and shield in an X before itself, the purple wispy hair standing on end as it emitted a screech like nails on a chalkboard. The holographic box displaying its attack of 1300 and defense of 1800 appeared in the air next to it.

"Ugh! Even with the spirit of the Ring gone, Bakura is still using that creepy Occult deck!" said Mai with a disgusted look at the monster.

"So what? He'll give those goons nightmares for weeks with it!" said Téa before raising her voice and crying, "Go Bakura! You got this!"

Bakura looked over his shoulder and gave her a smile and a nod before turning his attention back to the gang leader, saying, "I end my turn."

"Hah! Is your little monster under the bed supposed to scare me?" asked the leader, drawing a card and slapping it down on his Duel Disk. "I summon Megalosmasher X in attack mode!"

The white light revealed a gigantic prehistoric fish with a gaping maw, hissing sharply as it showed off its rows of needle-sharp teeth. A holographic box with 2000 attack and 0 defense appeared next to it.

"Alright, boss!" cried one of the grunts. "2000 attack points! Beat that, princess!"

"He ain't gonna, cuz I attack his Gross Ghost with Megalosmasher X!" said the leader, pointing towards his monster, which charged forth and snapped its jaws onto the bed, breaking it in half before the Gross Ghost shattered into white light with a piercing shriek. "And that's all for now!" added the leader.

"Very well, I draw." said Bakura, pulling another card from his deck. "I use the Spell card Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards." Bakura did so, then put one card on his Duel Disk, saying, "Then I place a monster face-down on the field and end my turn."

"Hah, you think that'll save you?" asked the leader, drawing another card. "I summon Enraged Battle Ox in attack mode and attack your face-down monster!"

The monster appeared in a flash of light before roaring and jumping forward, slashing its huge axe down on the card, which revealed Doomdog Octhros before it shattered away.

"A monster that can inflict piercing damage...clever." said Bakura as his life point counter went down by 900 points. "However, since you sent Doomdog Octhros to the Graveyard, his special effect lets me add a level 8 Fiend monster from my Deck to my hand, so thank you for that."

"Hmph, whatever." said the leader as Bakura picked a monster from his deck and shuffled it before returning it to his Duel Disk. "You can't summon it if I keep destroying your Tributes. Or better yet, your Life Points! Now Megalosmasher X, attack his Life Points directly!"

The gigantic fish monster charged forward, and Bakura threw up the arm that held his Duel Disk to shield himself. Megalosmasher X's jaws chomped down on it and subtracted 2000 Life Points from Bakura's counter, bringing his total down to 1100.

"Oh no, be careful, Bakura!" cried Téa, looking worried.

"Guess his face-down card didn't help him there, either." said Mai.

"Relax, the Duel's not done until the Life Points hit zero." said Kaiba, who appeared not the least bit concerned, and Téa took comfort in his calm and assured demeanor.

"Make your next move, princess." sneered the gang leader as his monster returned to his side of the field. "It'll probably be your last."

"Don't mind if I do." said Bakura, drawing a card. "By the way, you know how you said I can't summon my level 8 Fiend Monster without Tributes? Well, it turns out I can!"

"What?!" cried the gang leader. "You can't summon an 8-star monster without two Tributes, and you've got no monsters on the field!"

"That's true, but I do have three Fiend monsters in my Graveyard that you were so helpful in putting there, along with one I discarded with Graceful Charity..." said Bakura with a sly grin.

"Oh no, is he going to summon what I think he is?" asked Mai, the memory of the Battle City Finals rushing back to her.

"...and by banishing all three of them, I get to summon my level 8 Fiend monster..." continued Bakura, slapping it onto the Duel Disk. "...Dark Necrofear!"

Everyone let out noises of surprise as the tall blue fiend appeared from within the black flames, holding the limp baby doll with a smashed open head in its arms.

"Oh, I hate that thing! It's hideous!" shuddered Téa, rubbing her arms and turning her eyes away from the doll. Dark Necrofear's 2200 attack and 2800 defense box appeared.

Bakura took three cards from his hand and held them up, saying, "Then I use Polymerization to merge my Headless Knight with The Earl of Demise. I Fusion Summon Duke of Demise!"

The one-eyed goblin swordsman appeared along with its holographic box that showed 2000 attack and 1700 defense.

"Now I use my face-down card, Double Summon!" said Bakura, raising the card. "It allows me to Normal Summon not one, but two monsters this turn! And I'm afraid both Dark Necrofear and Duke of Demise were Special Summons, so that means I get to bring two more monsters to the field! Come forth, Doomcaliber Knight and Gernia!"

The gang leader's eyes became huge as he stared down Bakura's four monsters, crying, "Oh no!"

"Oh yes!" laughed Bakura. "But don't think I'm done yet! Finally, I use the Spell Card Monster Reborn! Return to the field, Earl of Demise!"

The others let out noises of surprise as Bakura's Earl of Demise rose out of the ground in a shower of white light, and the thugs cowered at the wall of five Fiend Monsters. "Looks like you were right, thug!" said Bakura. "This is my last turn, because I'm about to defeat you! First, I'll attack your Megalosmasher X with Dark Necrofear!"

Dark Necrofear let out an echoing cackle before enveloping the huge fish monster in its black fire, destroying it and subtracting 200 Life Points from the gang leader.

"Then you can say goodbye to your Enraged Battle Ox!" said Bakura, flinging forth his hand as he cried, "Doomcaliber Knight, attack!"

The Fiend monster's horse whinnied and reared before Doomcaliber Knight charged forward and slashed down upon Enraged Battle Ox, shattering it into light shards and reducing the gang leader's Life Points by another 200 points.

"Then I'll attack your Life Points directly with my other monsters." said Bakura. "And in case you're too nimble-minded to do the math, allow me. That's 2000 from Duke of Demise plus 2000 from Earl of Demise plus 1200 from Gernia. Which equals...your defeat!"

The leader let out a terrified scream as the three Fiends ganged up on him, sending him flying backwards into the brick wall before he slid to the ground, his Life Point counter dropping to 0.

"Right then. Who's next?" asked Bakura cheerfully, smiling and looking around at the other gang members, who cringed away from him before turning tail and disappearing into the night.

"Yeah, that's right, you whimpering mongrels! Go slink off to the dumpsters you crawled out of with your tails between your legs!" called Mai.

"Alright Bakura!" cheered Téa, leaping into the air.

The gang leader scowled as he stumbled back to his feet, yelling after the others, "Get back here, you idiots! They're just holograms!"

"Holograms that just kicked your sorry behind, I might add." said Bakura with a grin.

"Big deal!" growled the gang leader, turning his attention from his fleeing comrades and back to Bakura. "Now let's see how well you duel my way, princess!"

The girls gasped, Bakura's eyes becoming huge as the gang leader whipped his hand downwards, drawing a switchblade before charging towards him. Bakura threw up the arm that held his Duel Disk to block the switchblade, a sound like nails on a chalkboard screeching as metal scraped against metal. The gang leader took that chance to back-hand Bakura with his own Duel Disk, a metallic sound resounding as it made contact with his skull.

"Bakura!" cried Téa as he dropped to the ground, clutching the side of his head.

The gang leader laughed like a madman as he grabbed Bakura by the shirt collar, raising him into the air. Before he could execute another move, a tall figure appeared before him. Téa and Mai watched as Kaiba landed a punch square into the gang leader's nose with a loud crunch. Bakura dropped to the ground again as the gang leader stumbled backwards, clutching his bloodied nose.

Kaiba's blue eyes flashed like hard steel as he took a stance before the gang leader, who snarled and lunged at him. Kaiba side-stepped and grabbed the wrist that held the knife, twisting until he heard a crack, and the gang leader yowled in pain, the blade dropping from his broken hand. The thug swung his other fist in an uppercut, and Kaiba managed to move his head out of the way just in time, grabbing the gang leader's other wrist in the process. He brought his knee up and slammed it into the thug's stomach, and the others winced as they heard the crackling noise of ribs breaking. Kaiba moved away as the gang leader dropped to the ground, then grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look him in the eyes, asking, "Had enough yet?"

"Screw you, rich boy!" spat the gang leader, seizing the switchblade from the ground with his one good hand, and Téa screamed as he drove it up into Kaiba's ribs. The others watched in amazement as the knife glanced right off Kaiba's shirt without so much as a cut to the fabric. The gang leader appeared equally astounded before Kaiba grabbed the knife and slammed the butt of the hilt right into the gang leader's temple, finally knocking him unconscious.

Kaiba threw the blade into a nearby waste receptacle and let out a "Hmph." before turning his attention to Bakura. "Are you alright?" he asked as he helped Bakura to his feet again.

"Yes, thank you!" said Bakura, brushing himself off. "I'd have been a goner without you here."

"What about you, Kaiba? Are you hurt?" asked Téa, turning her concerned gaze to him.

"I'm fine. He didn't land a single hit on me." said Kaiba, glaring down at the unconscious thug.

"I think she was talking about the knife, actually." said Bakura, his gaze suddenly awed. "How on earth did you not get shanked?!"

"Yeah, I saw that, too!" said Mai, glancing at Kaiba's shirt. "You got a matching cuirass under there to go with those gauntlets and knee guards of yours?"

Kaiba's amused half-smirk flashed, saying, "Not quite. All of my clothing is made of bullet-proof matieral. A cheap little knife does nothing against it."

"Geez, over-kill much?" asked Mai, cocking an eyebrow.

"Not in this case. It saved his life." said Téa, looking relieved.

"Fair enough." said Mai, linking an arm around Bakura's. "Now where were we? Oh yes, I remember. The knight in shining armor was escorting us to my car."

"Whatever happened to you can take care of yourself, Mai?" teased Téa.

"Of course I don't need a man to defend me, but wait til Joey hears that these guys got a chance to do so! He'll be bursting at the seams with jealousy!" said Mai with a broad wink at Bakura.

"Oh, please don't invoke the Brooklyn Rage." said Bakura, and the girls giggled, Kaiba flashing his half-smirk. The four of them set off down the street once more, leaving the unconscious gang leader in the middle of the sidewalk.

They finally arrived at the station, and Mai clicked her fob to unlock her car. Kaiba saw the headlights and tail-lights of the amethyst convertible light up. "Téa, you ride shot-gun with me. You probably want to be behind her, Kaiba; more room for those legs of yours." she added.

"You're not implying that I'm short, are you, Mai?" asked Téa, a vein ticking in her forehead.

"You are short." said Kaiba, and he watched in amusement as Téa turned and punched him in the stomach, completely unfazing him. Téa rubbed her knuckles, coloring a bit as she felt the rock of muscle underneath Kaiba's tight shirt.

"Everyone is short to you, daddy long-legs!" Téa quipped, and she was shocked to see both sides of Kaiba's mouth upturn into a smile as he made a throaty rumble of amusement. It was the first time he had made something other than his half-smirk, and Téa liked his rare smile a lot more. It made Kaiba look even more devilishly handsome. She got into the car to avoid his piercing blue gaze, her legs shifting as she felt Kaiba's looming presence take his place behind her.

They dropped Bakura at his apartment building first, waving him goodnight as he punched some numbers into a keypad and walked through the gated complex, exchanging a wave over his shoulder before turning and letting the gate slid shut behind him.

"Where to, big guy?" asked Mai. "Home or the office?"

"The office." said Kaiba.

"You got it." said Mai, taking off towards KaibaCorp.

The car pulled up to the side gate, and the two security guards laid their hands on their weapons at the sight of the strange car, but Kaiba quickly opened the door and stuck his head out. The guards both had looks of surprise on their faces before they snapped back to attention.

"You train your guard hounds well." said Mai, and Kaiba smirked. "See you next weekend."

Kaiba let out an inquisitive hum, looking confused. "The camping trip." said Téa. "We meet at the clock tower Friday at noon to catch the bus."

"Oh, right." said Kaiba, still surprised at himself that he had agreed to such a thing.

"Dress appropriately for a hike, and don't forget a bathing suit." chided Mai. "And unless you want to share a tent with the guys, I'd highly suggest you bring your own."

"Got it." said Kaiba, standing up out of the car.

"Goodnight, Kaiba!" said Téa as Kaiba closed the door. He raised a hand in farewell at them before turning, the guards opening the gate and admitting him as the girls drove off. Téa watched him in the side view mirror, smiling as she recalled the events of the day.

"So tell me, Téa." said Mai suddenly. "What possessed you to invite Seto Kaiba on a camping trip with us? Shared two dances with him and now you want to share a tent?"

"Wha-...?! No, of course not!" said Téa, her eyes wide. "What gave you that idea?"

"Oh, I dunno." said Mai, the sly glint appearing in her violet eyes. "Call it a hunch I had during the dance game when you were shaking what your momma gave you against his leg."

"I did not!" said Téa defensively, shifting awkwardly in her seat.

"Did to." said Mai, grinning. "And let's not forget your solo when you gave him the most come hither look you could muster."

"Mai!" cried Téa, feeling herself flush from head to toe.

"Hey, I'm just saying what I saw..." said Mai innocently. "...and I saw an awful lot of touchy-feely going on with you two. Not to mention when you got up in his face on the race track. Had you gotten any closer, I would have told you two to get a room."

"Okay, I get it already!" said Téa, tapping her foot impatiently. "Maybe I was a bit too close for comfort, but I didn't mean anything by it. Kaiba's just a friend."

"Yeah, okay." said Mai disbelievingly, but dropped the subject after that. Téa huffed and crossed her arms, staring out the window. Mai really had some nerve sometimes.

---

Kaiba strode across the lawn, making his way back to the side entrance. He paused and turned, watching Mai's car drive away into the night, and Kaiba felt a strange sense of longing wash over him. He hadn't wanted the day to end, but it had come and gone so quickly and he had been enjoying himself throughout it that Kaiba didn't even realize the passing of the time. When was the last time he had allowed himself that long of leisure? Even Battle City wasn't really a break for him, as Kaiba still had to work to supervise the tournament and the championship duels. Kaiba reached the side door and paused with his hand on the push-bar, releasing a sigh before entering the building. He made his way to the service elevator and smacked the top floor button, scanning his shirt cuff again to shoot his way to the top. He flexed his jaw as his ears popped, though he was more than used to the sensation. The elevator dinged overhead, and Kaiba had to keep himself from startling as the door opened to reveal Roland standing right in front of it.

"The technician assures me the main elevator is working just fine, Mr. Kaiba." he said simply.

Kaiba snarled, saying, "Did the gate guards tell you that I left?!"

"No, Ivan did." replied Roland calmly. "He saw you leave and followed you, and it's a good thing he did because we had no other way of knowing where you went."

Kaiba clenched his fist. Ivan was one of his five special ops guards, and the most stalwart of them all, but he didn't really expect him to be actively monitoring his every move. He let out a "hmph" and pushed by Roland, heading for his chambers.

"It's not my place to tell you where you should and shouldn't go, Mr. Kaiba..." said Roland as he followed Kaiba closely.

"Good, because you're not going to." said Kaiba curtly.

"I was just going to say if you feel the need to leave the premises, you really should wear your receiver, in case the need arises to defend you." said Roland. "Without it, all I have to go on concerning your whereabouts is if you pass by a street camera."

"You and your guard hounds don't need to watch me twenty-four seven. I can take care of myself!" snapped Kaiba, getting irritated at Roland's reprimand.

"Forgive me, sir, but we really can't take any chances with your safety." insisted Roland. "You still haven't named a successor in your brother's place, and if anything happens to you-..."

"That's enough, Roland!" warned Kaiba, wheeling around to face his security chief. "I'm your boss, not the other way around! I will go wherever I want whenever I want, and I will go alone if I feel so inclined! If you've got a problem with that, then you'd best get over it or I'll find someone else to fill your position as security chief! Is that clear?!"

Roland sighed, saying, "Yes sir. I'll leave you til the morning, then. Good night, Mr. Kaiba."

He walked off down the hallway towards the elevator, and Kaiba entered through the door to his private rooms, making a bee-line for the shower to wash the day's grime off of him. He hadn't realized he had sweat so much at the arcade. The dance game and ropes course really took the perspiration out of him. The water ran down Kaiba's leg, once again reminding him of Téa's touch, and he scrubbed away the strange feeling in his groin. Where did that keep coming from?

You know precisely where it's coming from.

Kaiba cut the shower off and grabbed the towel from a nearby rack, shaking away the thought as he dried his hair vigorously. He brushed his teeth and gargled with mouthwash, cleaning his mouth of the sub-par arcade food, and headed to bed. He yanked the thin sheet and blanket aside and flopped down into his bed, staring at the ceiling. Soon his eyes were closing on him as he let his weariness overtake him, and he drifted off into slumber.

---

** Note from the author:

Yes, there was a Friends reference in this chapter, in case I needed to disclaim that along with the 4Kids dialogue. It was just too easy. =)