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.

6. Far Too Much Excitement For One Trip

The birds chirping their morning song woke Téa, and she hummed sleepily before blinking awake. She furrowed her brow and looked down, realizing she was in her sleeping bag in the girls' tent. Had she just dreamt it? Téa sat up and realized there was a fresh towel wrapped around her under the sleeping bag, protecting it from her damp bathing suit, which she was still wearing. So it wasn't a dream. Kaiba must have carried her back to the campsite and placed her in the girls' tent. She looked over at Mai and Serenity, who was still asleep in her sleeping bag while Mai was missing. Téa unzipped her sleeping bag and folded it neatly aside, discarding the towel and quietly changing out of her bathing suit into real clothes before exiting the tent.

Mai was perched on a rock at the campfire, roasting a cinnamon apple wrapped in foil while she munched on a granola bar. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a messy up-do to keep it out of the fire. She looked up at Téa's approach and swallowed, giving her a broad wink before saying, "Well good morning, princess! How was your night?"

"Uh, good?" said Téa, bracing for the incoming onslaught of twenty questions. "And yours?"

"Oh it was alright." said Mai as her token mischievous glint appeared in her violet eyes. "I didn't sleep quite as soundly as I would have liked, but I can forgive you two for that."

"I don't know what you're talking about." said Téa, feeling her face growing hot as she lowered herself onto the log opposite from Mai.

"I'm sure you don't, seeing as you were fast asleep when your boyfriend brought you back, carrying you in his arms." said Mai, her smile finally breaking across her face.

"Will you be quiet?!" hissed Téa, looking up at Kaiba's lean-to, but he was no-where to be seen. He must have gone off into the woods. "Kaiba is not my boyfriend!"

"Oh, so you do remember who you were with last night." said Mai, and Téa made a noise of frustration as she felt her face grow hotter.

"I went for a swim at midnight like I usually do on this trip, and he followed me to make sure I didn't drown. Happy?" asked Téa, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Well yes, actually, I am happy that Kaiba was so considerate of your safety." said Mai, sounding sincerely surprised. "I certainly wouldn't have expected that from him."

"What do you mean?" asked Téa, looking back at her. "Kaiba saved me from that shipping container Marik and his Rare Hunters were gonna drop on my head in Battle City, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but only because you had rescued his precious baby brother from them first, so he felt the need to repay the favor so he wouldn't be in debt to somebody." said Mai, taking another bite of her granola bar. "He certainly didn't do it out of charity to Yugi and Joey."

"Come on, Mai, you make it sound like Kaiba doesn't care about human life." said Téa. "He might have said all of that at the time, but deep down Kaiba did want to help. And he was worried about me and Yugi and Joey."

"Is that what he told you last night?" asked Mai, peering out the corner of her eyes.

"As a matter of fact, he did." said Téa stubbornly.

"I see. So what else transpired last night?" asked Mai, the glint returning in her eyes.

Téa shrugged, saying, "We were just talking."

"Just talking?" reiterated Mai, a smile playing at her lips. "Nothing else?"

Téa's blush returned. "Nothing else." she repeated affirmatively.

"Riiight." said Mai disbelievingly, removing her roasting stick from the fire and carefully sliding off her cinnamon apple using the edge of her mess kit, which protected her lap from the hot food.

"Nothing happened! Honest!" said Téa, tapping her foot impatiently. "We just talked and swam and then we looked at the stars for a bit before I fell asleep."

"A midnight swim and star-gazing with Seto Kaiba, huh? How romantic." said Mai, watching with satisfaction as Téa squirmed. "...and then you fell asleep in his arms."

Téa felt her entire body flush. "No." she said, her voice pitching a bit too high.

"Yes." said Mai, boring her violet gaze into Téa's blue one.

Téa shifted in her seat, saying, "Maybe. I might have. It's possible."

"Wow, triple double-speaks! That's even worse than double negatives! So that's a most definite yes." Téa made a noise of frustration, and Mai smiled triumphantly. "So nothing else happened while you were cuddling with Kaiba?"

Téa felt a vein tick in her forehead, but at that point Serenity popped her head out of the tent, looking around to see who was there before exiting the tent completely.

"Good morning, ladies! I hope you slept as well as I did." said Serenity as she plopped down on a rock next to Mai.

"Not as well as I would have liked." said Mai, eyeing Téa with a grin. "But Téa slept quite soundly, didn't you, hun?"

Téa glared daggers at Mai as she used her nails to gingerly peel apart the foil around her cinnamon apple, blowing on it to cool it down as she took the fork and knife out of her mess kit to eat it with. Serenity opened the cooler and took out a bottled water, shaking the ice and excess water off, and asked, "So, what did I miss?"

"Oh, you missed quite a lot, Serenity." said Mai, winking broadly at Téa. "Care to fill her in, Téa, or should I do the honors?"

Téa growled. "Mai, I swear on all the Egyptian Gods I will-..."

"Good morning, Kaiba!" said Serenity sweetly, and Téa stopped abruptly as a large shadow came into view from behind her. Kaiba made a sleepy rumble in response as he stepped over the log and seated himself right next to Téa, stretching his long legs towards the fire as he ran a hand through his hair. He was dressed in his black shirt and pants once again, along with his black long-coat. Téa felt her face warming as she remembered being wrapped in it and nestled against Kaiba, and she felt herself inch closer to him, excusing the movement by pretending to shift legs.

"Sleep well, big guy?" asked Mai with a broad wink to Téa, who glared back at her even though Kaiba had his eyes closed and couldn't see either gesture.

"I'm not much of a sleeper." Kaiba responded, his eyes still closed as he said those words.

"Well, maybe you wouldn't be such a grump all the time if you were." chided Mai. "You of all people should getting the most shut-eye with how hard you work. I bet you get headaches all the time, being an insomniac."

"Hmph." was the response from Kaiba, but secretly he was amazed at the god-like intuition of the female mind. Or maybe it was simply common sense, but for Kaiba to admit that would be to admit that he was often lacking it, and he wasn't about to go there.

"I really wish we could have stayed longer." said Serenity, looking around. "This is such a peaceful place. I could build a summer home here."

"No need to ruin the tranquility with a modern design." said Kaiba.

"You're right. It would ruin the secrecy of the place." said Serenity with a grin. "I like that we're the only ones who know about it. It adds to the fun!"

"I never would have thought you would pass up a chance to expand your empire, Kaiba." said Mai, amazed that Kaiba was the one to mention it first.

"I can appreciate natural beauty when I see it." said Kaiba, and Téa's breath caught in her throat as his gaze flitted over to her for a split second. Serenity caught her eye and smiled knowingly, and Téa had a feeling her inner dialogue was something along the lines of, "Told you so!"

Mai looked between Serenity and Téa, her brow furrowed in confusion, and Téa realized that Mai didn't seem to catch Kaiba's fleeting glance at her. It seemed Kaiba was unreadable to most people who didn't know what to look for.

At that moment, Joey threw open the flap to the guys' tent, yawning loudly while stretching his arms over his head. "Mornin' ladies." he said, flopping down on a rock between Mai and Téa.

"...and Kaiba?" asked Serenity, giving her brother a pointed look.

"Yeah, what did I say?" asked Joey sleepily, reaching into his bag without looking and stuffing a pear into his mouth.

"I think you said you wanted me to get satellite images of your pastel get-up last night, Wheeler." said Kaiba with a smirk, and Joey's eyes flew wide open as he swallowed loudly.

"Wha-...?! Hey! I said no cameras! What's da big idea, settin' yer Big Bruthah binoculars on us?!" growled Joey.

"I neither brought it nor set it upon us. It's been up there for years." said Kaiba.

"Don't even think about it, rich boy!" warned Joey, glaring at him. "Unless you wanna tell us how de ocean feels on yer twins in da winta!"

"It's not telling anyone about the hideout if the images are only for our viewing pleasure." said Kaiba. "Loopholes, Wheeler."

"I'm gonna loophole my foot up yer keista, wise guy!" snapped Joey, and a laugh busted out of Kaiba's mouth, surprising the girls.

"Well, would you look at that! Joey made Kaiba laugh without looking stupid." said Duke as he and Tristan popped out of the guys' tent. "Must be a cold day in Hades."

"You think dats funny, eh?" asked Joey, glaring at Kaiba. "I know where you sleep, Kaiba!"

"Good luck getting past Roland and my security team." said Kaiba.

"I mean, we kinda already did that, didn't we?" asked Téa, and Joey let out a loud "hah!" as Kaiba sighed and rubbed his brow.

"Fair enough." he said as Yugi approached, followed by Bakura.

"You got past Roland, Téa. We had to fight off the goons at the side gate." said Tristan.

"What can I say? Roland's too much of a gentleman to grab at a lady." said Téa, fluffing her hair dramatically. "My charms were just too much for him."

"Sure, let's go with that." muttered Kaiba, and Téa giggled.

"So what do we do today?" asked Mai as she finished her cinnamon apple and crumpled up the aluminum foil, tossing it into the fire where it made pretty colors.

"Pack up and ship out." said Yugi. "We usually just relax on the last day. Do whatever."

"Fine by me. I could use a nice sunbathe." said Mai.

"I may just join ya. Dat corset o' yours nearly crushed me ta death an' I gotta stretch out before we hike back!" said Joey, rubbing his ribcage.

"I wanna go for a walk, see more of the perimeter!" said Serenity, turning her pleading brown eyes onto her brother. "Can Tristan take me around, big brother?"

"Argh, alright, but take someone else wit'chya!" said Joey.

"How about it, Duke? Wanna come with?" asked Tristan.

"Uh...that's alright. I'll just stay here and help Yugi pack." said Duke uneasily at Joey's look.

"I'll go." said Bakura. "I could do with a stretch for my legs."

"Okay, great!" said Serenity, and she jumped up and skipped along the sand, Tristan and Bakura walking briskly in her wake.

Mai stood and stretched, saying, "Alright, Joey, let's go catnap in the sun."

"You got it!" said Joey, jumping up a little too eagerly and following her.

Téa looked up at Kaiba, who was leaning his cheek onto his fist with his eyes closed, and said, "You look like you could use one of those, too."

Kaiba startled out of his doze, rubbing his eyes. "I'm fine." he said, standing up quickly.

"You're really bad at lying." said Téa with a teasing smile up at him.

"You're worse." Kaiba retorted before walking away into the woods.

Téa sighed and shook her head after him, the smile still on her lips.

"He's not wrong." said Yugi as he started packing away the tarp that covered the remainder of the firewood. "That's why I had to jump in and save you last night."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Yugi." said Téa with a smile.

"Hey, no problem!" he said cheerfully. "Just trying to look out for you two!"

Téa's eyes were huge. "How did you-...?!" she started.

Yugi laughed. "I knew it!" he said. "You really are bad at keeping secrets!"

"We didn't-...it was just-..." started Téa, sounding flustered.

"I know." said Yugi with a grin. "Your hair comb was missing after you went to the bathroom the second time at the charity ball, and the maids had put it back in your hair when they fixed you up, so that's not what you left in the bathroom before you stepped outside for air."

Téa groaned, her face in her hands as her cheeks burned. "You're way too good at reading people, Yugi." she muttered into her hands.

"It's what I do." said Yugi, shrugging. "You've always been pretty readable to me, Téa."

"Well, thanks for not telling everyone." she said. "Kaiba probably appreciates it, too."

"Of course." said Yugi. "It's good that you brought him along. Kaiba needs this right now, even if he doesn't think so himself."

"Yeah, he does." agreed Téa, looking off into the woods where Kaiba had disappeared again.

Yugi watched her for a moment longer, then said, "Why don't you go see what he's up to? Me and Duke got the campsite."

"You sure?" asked Téa, looking around.

"Absolutely!" said Yugi. "Go on! We got this!"

"Okay. Thanks Yugi." she said, and Yugi nodded and got back to cleaning up the campsite as Téa made her way into the woods.

Téa jumped up on the fallen log in the middle of the woods and made her way across it, holding her arms out to her sides for balance as she stepped one foot in front of the other. She came to the other end of it and jumped down into the soft sand of the opposite side of the beach, but Kaiba was nowhere in sight. Where had he gone? He was quick on those long legs of his. Téa walked the length of the beach until she circumnavigated around to the rocky area she had almost run to when being chased by Kaiba, and there he stood.

Téa watched from afar as Kaiba bent over and plucked a smooth, flat stone from amongst the mess of rocks at his feet, swinging his arm backwards before flinging it with surprising speed and strength. Téa watched as the rock skipped perfectly over the water, bouncing at least three feet into the air on each hop, and was amazed at Kaiba's arm. She walked slowly forward, being careful not to startle him, and watched him throw a few more stones in a similar manner. Kaiba bent over to pick up a third rock, pausing halfway through straightening as he caught sight of Téa, and she met his gaze for a brief moment. She smiled shyly at him, and Kaiba looked down at the rock in his hands, turning the flat stone over in his palm a few times before murmuring, "I haven't done this since I was a kid."

Téa made a hum of amusement at Kaiba's rationalization to her catching him in an innocent light and said, "I've never been able to skip rocks myself. Never got the hang of it, I guess." She glanced over at the lake, where the ripples from Kaiba's last rock were still rolling across the surface, and added, "You've been long over-due for this entire trip, you know. Mokuba always said you needed to have more real fun in your life and take time to enjoy the small things."

Kaiba made his own rumble of amusement. "I guess he was right." he said softly, and Téa watched as he curled his arm backwards, then slammed the rock sideways into the water. Téa's eyes became huge as she watched the rock skitter on the water, creating multiple ripples before dropping into the sand only a few feet out. She had never seen anything like that before.

"How did you do that?!" she asked, watching as the surface of the waves still danced with the ripple effect of the pebble.

Kaiba chuckled, saying, "It took some practice."

Téa smiled at him, saying, "You know, this isn't fair."

"What isn't?" asked Kaiba, staring at her.

"I'm the one who made you laugh the most, but you're never around the others when you do, so it doesn't count for the competition." said Téa.

Kaiba actually cracked a handsome smile as he laughed aloud this time, and Téa's eyes widened in shock for a moment before her expression relaxed, and she smiled warmly at him. She could feel her heart fluttering at the sound of Kaiba's even rarer, real laugh.

"So you feel cheated out of the prize, do you?" Kaiba asked as he regained his composure again.

"Maybe..." said Téa. "...but then again, I get the spoils of knowing I'm the true victor."

"I always did say boasting is the privilege of winners." said Kaiba as he tossed the rock in his hand up in the air before flinging it across the surface of the ocean, where it skipped out of sight.

"Yeah, but I try not to boast too much." said Téa, and she peered up at him through her lashes, adding, "I'd hate for my head to get full of hot air and fly away."

"Are you insulting me, Miss Gardner?" asked Kaiba, meeting her gaze with his intense dark blue eyes, and Téa giggled at the formality.

"Maybe, what's it to you?" she teased him, nudging sideways against him.

"I don't usually allow people to get away with insulting me, either." replied Kaiba, his eyes twinkling at their shared joke.

"Well, you'd better get used to it, nerd." quipped Téa, and Kaiba flashed an amused half smirk.

"You know, Miss Gardner, you're the only person who's ever had the nerve to talk to me like that and get away with it." said Kaiba, scooping another rock from the ground and quickly throwing it across the lake, his leg swinging around with his arm. "Not even Roland has the gall that you do. He'd probably love to know your secret."

Téa giggled, stepping closer to him. "I can tell you if you like." she said.

"Hm?" Kaiba looked over at her again while picking up another rock.

"My secret...of how I can get away with it." said Téa with a smile. "...but you have to promise not to share it with anyone, even Roland."

"I don't make promises, but regardless, I think you can trust me to be proprietary about such intel." said Kaiba, his smirk reaching his eyes this time as he straightened again.

Téa took another step and stood up on her toes ballerina-style, whispering towards Kaiba's ear, "...because you can't fire me. You have absolutely no power over me." Téa smiled triumphantly as Kaiba turned his head to look at her, adding, "...and I bet it drives you up the wall."

"I choose not to comment at this time." replied Kaiba.

"You mean you don't want to admit I'm right." corrected Téa with a knowing smile.

"I don't need to admit anything to you, Miss Gardner." retorted Kaiba, his amused half-smirk threatening to crack his facade again. "...and you certainly can't make me."

"Are you sure? I can be very persuasive, too, in case you forgot." she said teasingly, popping the T on the roof of her mouth in imitation of the time she roped him into racing at the arcade.

Oh, she's good at this.

"I will admit that was a lapse in my composure, but I assure you it won't happen again." said Kaiba. "You can't persuade me that easily. You forget I do this for a living. It'll take more than a few quips and a pretty face to knock down this Tower."

"I'm an excellent Trebuchet myself, so we'll see about that." she retorted, refusing to back down from Kaiba's intense gaze as she raised a hand and slid her finger down the length of Kaiba's torso. "I'm sure you just look like a strong, towering battlement, but you've been weathering the elements for a very long time, and I know a lot of your weak spots." She giggled as he stopped her hand from going towards his abdomen, where she knew he was ticklish.

Kaiba watched her carefully. Téa's euphemism was right on the mark, but instead of admitting it out loud, he simply replied, "You think so?"

"I know so." said Téa confidently. "In fact, if I really put my mind and effort to it, I bet I could get you to cave to more than just a simple race."

"You want to bet against me?" asked Kaiba, his smirk breaking through again. "You realize I have far more to bet with than you do."

"I know, which is why you can't afford to lose it all." said Téa with a smile of her own.

"You're that confident, are you?" asked Kaiba, silently amazed at her tenacity. "We'll just have to see about that, indeed. I hope you have the walk behind those words of yours, Miss Gardner."

"As a matter of fact, I have the dance to them." said Téa with a knowing twinkle in her blue eyes as she subtly reminded him of Joey's fighting words the day Kaiba lost the pool game to Duke. Téa smiled triumphantly as she noticed Kaiba's jaw flex, and she reached up her hand and traced a finger gently down the length of his jaw this time, saying, "Now now, Mr. Kaiba, I thought you said you don't crack that easily?"

Kaiba moved his face away from her hand so Téa wouldn't feel his sudden pulse pounding in his neck, careful to hide his reaction behind his stoic facade as he replied, "I don't."

"Are you sure? Your pride sits at the seat of your soul, after all." said Téa with a teasing smile.

"You don't know what sits at the seat of my soul." retorted Kaiba. "I don't wear my heart on my sleeve like you do."

"Maybe not, but since you hide it so often, I'm good at noticing when it rises to the surface from the deep, dark depths below." said Téa with a pointed look at his jaw again.

She was way too good at reading him, but Kaiba steeled his resolve and said, "Well, since you wear yours like a badge of honor, Miss Gardner, you're exceedingly predictable to me, and I can make you crack far easier."

"You think so?" asked Téa, her eyebrow raising.

"I know so." said Kaiba, his intense dark gaze boring into her beautiful blue eyes again.

Téa stood there a moment, meeting Kaiba's eyes with no hint of backing down, before breaking the silence. "Why are you calling me Miss Gardner all of a sudden?" she asked him.

Kaiba finally blinked, losing the staring contest. It was a question that came completely out of the blue, and he wasn't expecting it in the least, so he didn't immediately have an answer. He wasn't even sure he knew himself. Why was he being so formal with her all of a sudden? Kaiba realized he had indeed been using a formality that was normally extended to himself by his staff. Did he really have that much respect for Téa all of a sudden? Or was it something much deeper, something like Kaiba being secretly afraid of that kind of familiarity between the two of them? He felt his heartbeat quicken and his hand clench slowly around the stone in his hand, using it to stop the sudden trembling and the wetness of his palms.

Téa watched Kaiba's face carefully as he seemed to not respond, looking for a tell-tale break in his expression or composure, but his blink had been normal and even enough with how long they had stared each other down. And since she was focusing all her attention on his eyes and face, where his facade often cracked, Téa didn't notice Kaiba's sudden change in grip on the rock in his hand that would have betrayed his inner dialogue to her. Since Kaiba still didn't respond after such a long pause, Téa decided to break the silence with, "You know you can call me Téa. You don't have to address me like all of us do with you. We know only your brother called you by your first name, and we're not expecting you to be that comfortable with us yet."

Kaiba blinked again, breaking him out of his stunned trance. Somehow Téa's use of pronouns made him relax, yet Kaiba was still surprised that Téa had recognized his unspoken insecurity, at least partially. He was silently grateful that Téa didn't know what he was actually thinking; or, if she did, that she had covered it by using the notion of the entire group sharing the thought.

"I appreciate it." he finally responded with sincerity. "All of you, I mean...for not pushing that on me. Especially Serenity; she threw me off guard with her curiosity that time."

"She knows not to push anything that makes people uncomfortable." agreed Téa with a nod and a smile. "Joey's sister is a lot more...aware...than he is."

Kaiba's amused half-smirk flashed. "You mean smarter." he said, and his sudden nervousness disappeared in an instant as he was given an open invitation to insult the mutt again. He skipped the rock in his hand across the water, as if to punctuate his sentence.

Téa sighed and put a hand to her face, shaking her head to and fro and making her lob hairstyle sway mesmerizingly as it swept her delicate shoulders, catching Kaiba's attention. "I was trying to be polite about it." she said, sounding mildly annoyed as she tried to remain serious.

"I think we can spare the etiquette when speaking of Wheeler, don't you think?" asked Kaiba, recalling Wheeler's proclivity to inhale food and his serious lack of table manners at the arcade, something Gozaburo would have beaten the living daylights out of Kaiba if he had dared display such behavior in front of him in the privacy of his own home or otherwise.

"I just mean you could try being at least a little bit nicer with Joey." said Téa, taking her face out of her hands and meeting Kaiba's eyes again. "I know you get some sadistic enjoyment out of invoking an emotional response from him because he's so easy to rile up, but sometimes you take it a step too far. You forget he's the one that extended the hand of friendship first before you started insulting him."

Kaiba stared at her as he realized Téa was actually being serious, and he felt a strange twinge of guilt for not realizing that Wheeler was still her friend (even if he was the dumbest and most quick-tempered out of the lot), and she probably cared very deeply about him. Téa was all about friendship, after all, as her gag-inducing spiels over the years had always indicated. And she was right; Wheeler had tried inviting Kaiba to play Duel Monsters together when he was just starting out all those years ago, and Kaiba's ego had gotten the better of him. Kaiba could never forget that day, after all; it was the day he lost his number one Duelist title to Yugi, who was also a nobody out of Domino High School. He wasn't superstitious in the least, but to this day, Kaiba wondered if that had been his punishment for all those years of being an arrogant jerk.

"I'll try." he finally said after a pause, and Kaiba made sure his suddenly gentle voice was filled with sincerity to let Téa know that he truly meant it.

"No promises?" asked Téa, as if filling in the rest of his unspoken sentence.

Kaiba's amused half-smile flashed. "I told you, I don't make promises." he said, turning his attention back to skipping rocks before adding, "Not to living people anyway."

Téa watched him pick up more rocks and skip them across the water again, asking, "Is that why you went on this trip with us, and to the arcade? Did you promise Mokuba you would do as he's always wanted you to and smile more and have fun for once?"

Kaiba froze mid-throw, his arm stuck behind him, and stared over at Téa, his eyes wide.

"You told me last night that you tried to bring him back..." said Téa, looking solemn as her eyes lowered to the ground. "I know even if you weren't successful in doing so that you wanted some sort of closure from him, and I know Mokuba well enough to know he always wanted you to be happy in life." Téa glanced back up at Kaiba, adding, "You just said you don't make promises to living people, and as much as it pains me to remind us both, Mokuba isn't living anymore."

Kaiba's eyes were riveted on Téa's, and for a frightening moment, Téa thought Kaiba was going to lose his composure along with his facade, that his infamous temper would come out at her for daring to remind him so bluntly of his brother's passing. To her shock, Téa watched as Kaiba slowly lowered his hand to his side, his eyes still on hers, and finally answered, "Yes, I did."

Kaiba watched as Téa nodded solemnly. Normally he would have never confessed something so personal, but it gave Kaiba the excuse he needed to prove it wasn't Téa that had made him crack all those times. It was exactly what Kaiba needed to convince both Téa and himself that he had a deeply ingrained reasoning for going against his usual character, a perfect rationalization.

"Well, I'm glad you did." said Téa, bringing Kaiba out of his thoughts again. "You needed this, even if you never thought so yourself..." She smiled, adding, "...or denied it, whichever it was."

Kaiba let out an amused rumble, his half-smirk reappearing again. "It was probably a mix of both." he admitted before throwing the rock and watching it skip along the waves. He bent to pick up another one, about to throw it when he paused, then looked over at Téa. He held out his hand to her suddenly, saying, "Come here."

Téa let out an inquisitive hum, but Kaiba merely beckoned with his hand, so Téa stepped forward and reached out her own hand, taking his and allowing him to pull her forward until she stood in front of him. He placed the rock between her thumb and forefinger, closing them gently with his other hand, then laid his hand over hers. Téa watched as Kaiba brought her arm backwards, then slowly moved it towards the water, curling her hand slowly as he did so and keeping the flat rock even with the horizon. He repeated this two more times before flinging her hand forward, and Téa gasped as the rock flew out of her hands and skipped perfectly across the water. Kaiba picked up another rock and placed it in her hands, saying, "Now try without me."

Téa squinted her eyes as she focused on the water, biting her bottom lip as she slowly curved her arm backwards, then flung the rock forward, and she whooped excitedly as it bounced across the water three times. "I did it!" she cheered, jumping up and pumping a fist in the air triumphantly.

Kaiba chuckled at her enthusiasm, saying, "You're a quick learner, Miss Gardner."

"What did I tell you about using formalities with me?" said Téa, tossing a rock at his chest, and he let out a rumble of amusement and caught it before it hit him.

"My bad." said Kaiba, meeting her blue eyes with his own. "You're a quick learner, Miss Téa."

Téa sighed, but smiled and peered up at him through her lashes, saying, "I had a good teacher."

Kaiba's amused half-smile flashed, and Téa held up a rock, saying, "I bet with a little bit more practice, I can skip mine farther than you."

"That sounds like an awful lot of hot air in your head for a beginner." said Kaiba, his eyes twinkling at their shared joke, and Téa giggled and proceeded to throw her rock. It bounced seven times before sinking. Kaiba tossed his rock into the air and caught it before flinging it forward, and Téa's eyes were huge as she watched his skip twice as far.

"Okay, maybe I need to practice for a while..." she admitted before proceeding to pick up five rocks, and Kaiba's amused half-smile flashed again as he watched her throw them one by one.

"I warned you about betting against me." he reminded her. "It's very dangerous territory for you to be flirting with."

"Maybe I like flirting with danger." said Téa, giving him a pointed look and a coy smile before flipping her hair and throwing another rock.

Damn, she's really good at this.

Out of nowhere, a sonorous, tenor yodel reached their ears, and Téa burst into giggles at Kaiba's confused and baffled look, saying, "That's Tristan. He's calling everyone back to camp."

"I see." said Kaiba as Tristan's voice echoed over the area. "He's got a good set of lungs."

"He works as a foreman in a loud factory with an almost completely deaf father, so he has to." explained Téa. "Let's go see what they want. It's still too early than when we usually head out."

Téa threw the last two rocks into the lake, where they plopped into the shallows, and Kaiba followed as Téa jumped back over the rocks and skipped along the beach, allowing her to get a good lead as they made their way back to the campsite. As they approached, Kaiba noted that Yugi and Duke had already lowered and packed away both the guys' and the girls' tents, and Bakura was finishing up rolling up his. Joey was also cleaning out the pans with sand in the lake, hooking them to his huge bag and hanging that on the stump to dry.

"Alright, everyone's here now, Serenity." said Mai with a pointed look at Téa and Kaiba as they approached together, and Téa gave her a look of her own, her cheeks pink. "So what's up?"

"I got to see all of the surroundings with Tristan and Bakura, and it's a pretty big and spread-out area!" said Serenity excitedly. "So I vote for one more game before we have to leave! How about we all play Hide and Seek?"

"That's a great idea, Serenity!" said Yugi, voicing his support.

"I dunno, Yuge. Dat'd be cuttin' it close." said Joey, glancing at his watch. "We gotta leave before noon at least ta get back ta Domino before dinna-time, an' we still gotta eat lunch."

"You sound more concerned about the food than the time." said Mai flatly.

"Of course he is." agreed Téa, and Joey gave them both a look.

"Oh please, big brother?" begged Serenity, clasping her hands pleadingly before her, her brown eyes sad and sparkling. "Just one round! Please please pleeeaaase!"

"Aw man, how can you say no to that face, Joe?!" said Tristan, Serenity's kitten eyes hitting him square in the heart.

"Yeah, come on, Joey! We've already got the campsite all packed up. We have time for one round!" insisted Duke, who was also affected by Serenity's adorable pleading.

Joey let out a noise of frustration and rustled his hair. "Oh, alright." he said, caving to his sister's pleas. "But we'll hafta adjust da rules ta save some time, so whoeva gets found gotta help da Seeker find everyone else. Sound fair?"

"Sounds fair." said Yugi, his eyes glinting with mischief as he spotted Bakura taking a bottled water out of the cooler. He waited until Bakura started taking a sip before saying, "And on that note, onetwothreefour-...!"

Kaiba heard Yugi's rushing rant, and his childhood memories kicked in quick enough for him to shout "NOT IT." along with the others.

Bakura winced and took the bottle away from his mouth, saying, "Oh drat! I should've known!"

"Come on, Bakura! You've been on this trip long enough to know the guys always pull that trick!" said Téa, smiling at Yugi as Joey and Tristan fist-bumped him.

"Alright new-comers, you've got until the count of a hundred before Bakura comes searching, so find a good spot and stay there!" said Tristan, throwing Bakura's hood over his mess of pale locks. "Whenever you're ready, Bakura. No peeking!"

Bakura sighed and put his head in his lap, holding his hood over his head as he counted aloud, "One...two...three..."

Everyone took off in all different directions. Téa immediately sprinted into the forest, heading for the fallen tree. Before she could reach it, Duke appeared through the brush and dived into the hollowed out trunk like a baseball player sliding into home base, crying, "Dibs!"

Téa let out a huff, saying, "Fine! There's probably termites in there anyway!" She sprinted off to find another spot, Duke wincing and reaching around to scratch his shoulder, rubbing his back against the inside of the log as he felt the bugs starting to bite.

Téa ran through the forest, almost tripping over Mai as she hid in a row of large yellow fern bushes, her long hair blending in perfectly with them. Téa exited the forest and made her way along the beach, catching sight of Yugi as he buried himself in the sand under a shady overhang. She also passed by Joey entombing himself with a bunch of large rocks. Téa looked around, trying to find a good hiding spot. She ran until she came to the river, and her eyes fell on the waterfall just as she heard Bakura's echoing voice yell, "Ready or not, here I come!"

She ran towards the waterfall and ducked behind it, and Téa was immediately plunged into almost total darkness. She smiled to herself, pleased that she had found the perfect hiding spot right before Bakura came searching for everyone. Téa took a few more steps, watching her feet and stepping carefully along the wet and slippery rocks as she hid further around the corner. She was watching the entrance to make sure she was hidden out of sight when she suddenly bumped into something tall and warm. She clapped her hand to her mouth to stifle her startled scream as she almost slipped and fell into the waterfall, feeling a strong hand catch her by the waist.

"Why hello again." came a familiar voice.

"Kaiba!" cried Téa, and she was glad that the dark grotto hid her blush as Kaiba pulled her away from the waterfall and closer to him. She felt her back lean against his chest and his arm hold her securely, barring her from the waterfall. "Sorry, I didn't know you were here."

"I'm noticing a trend." he said, and Téa swore she could hear the amused half-smirk in his voice.

"Oh, aren't you cute!" huffed Téa, and she felt her face grow hotter as Kaiba made a throaty rumble of amusement. "I just thought this would be a good place to hide, too."

"Great minds think alike." said Kaiba. "At least it's you and not any of the others."

Téa couldn't help but smile as she leaned heavily against him, emphasizing her upcoming joke. "What? You wouldn't want to be this close with any of the guys?" she teased.

"Not particularly." responded Kaiba flatly. "Or either of the other girls, for that matter."

"I get Mai, but what's wrong with Serenity?" asked Téa sincerely.

"Underage girls aren't my thing." said Kaiba flatly.

"Oh..." said Téa, suddenly relieved at his response. "...right."

"Not to mention she's Wheeler's sister. Hard pass." replied Kaiba.

"Bro code?" asked Téa with a smile, remembering similar conversations between the guys.

"More like hell no code." retorted Kaiba, and Téa clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle her fit of giggles. "Shh!"

Téa pressed her lips together as she heard someone approach, her heart pounding in her chest as the sound of someone moving branches aside nearby reached her ears.

"Found you!" cried Bakura, making Téa's heart leap in her chest.

"Aw man." came Tristan's voice followed by a heavy thud, as if he had jumped out of a tree. "I knew I should've climbed higher."

"I don't suppose you noticed where anyone else hid away?" asked Bakura.

"I think I saw Joey heading towards the rock pit." answered Tristan. "This way!"

Téa waited until she heard their footfalls disappear before breathing a sigh of relief, saying, "That was a close one."

"Good thing for you Bakura and Tristan don't have good ears." said Kaiba.

"Hey, you're the one who made me laugh!" retorted Téa, elbowing him in the stomach.

"Touché." he responded. "I'll try my best not to repeat. I'd hate for you to blow our cover."

"Well, maybe you should find a different cover if you're so concerned." quipped Téa.

"I was here first." Kaiba reminded her.

"I'm the lady!" said Téa.

"And that matters because...?" Kaiba asked slowly.

"Because the gentleman always gives up his spot for a lady." said Téa affirmatively.

"This is true, but I think you'd agree that I wasn't a gentleman for a long time." said Kaiba.

"Well, it's never too late to make up for lost time." said Téa, smiling.

Kaiba stayed silent, and Téa had a feeling she had inadvertently hit a sensitive spot. "You're not leaving, are you?" she asked quickly.

"Nope." said Kaiba.

"Well, neither am I." said Téa affirmatively, twisting around to get a better hold on his arm. "And you can't make me!"

"Sure I could. All I have to do is let go." said Kaiba simply.

"You wouldn't dare!" cried Téa.

"As a matter of fact, I was a participant in many dares last night." Kaiba reminded her, and Téa could hear the amused smirk in his voice again.

"I dare you to try it, then. See what happens!" Téa retorted boldly.

"Is that a challenge?" asked Kaiba. "You ought to know I never back down from a challenge."

"Kaiba!" warned Téa as she felt him slowly raise his fingers off her waist one by one.

"You're not sounding very confident anymore, Miss Téa." he teased as he started to lift his hand slowly, teasingly, away from her waist.

"I'm confident that I'll take you with me if you let me fall!" exclaimed Téa, clinging to his shirt front as she moved closer against him. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt her forehead touch the base of Kaiba's neck and the reverberation of his amused rumble against it.

"I'm just kidding." he said, and Téa felt his whole hand on her waist again, his arm holding her securely away from the waterfall. "I'm not that mean."

Téa eased her hold on his shirt, smoothing away the creases she made in it. She could feel the groove in Kaiba's chest beneath the fabric. "You were never mean..." she murmured.

"Never, huh?" Kaiba murmured softly, and Téa's heart fluttered at his surprisingly gentle tone. "I seem to remember differently."

"Okay, you weren't as bad as you were before the Mind Crush." amended Téa quickly.

"That, I'll accept." said Kaiba.

Téa bit her lip, tracing her fingers along Kaiba's collar-bone as she continued to smooth his shirt. "You were a different person before then. You really have changed."

"I've matured?" asked Kaiba, and Téa heard the teasing smile in his voice.

Téa let out an amused hum at their shared joke. "A lot." she agreed.

"Oh, it's a lot now, is it? What happened to maybe a little?" he asked, and Téa let out a squeak and a giggle as Kaiba suddenly curled his fingers into her waist, tickling her side.

"Kaiba!" she exclaimed, surprised at his bold move.

"Payback." he said, the smile in his voice again.

She heard a twig snap nearby, and Téa took in a sharp breath, falling immediately silent.

"You find anyone, Joe?" she heard Tristan call.

"Coulda swore I heard one o' da girls." answered Joey. "C'mon! Let's check da forest! Dere's gotta be a few hidin' in da bushes an' stuff!"

Téa waited until the sound of diminishing footsteps disappeared before she slapped Kaiba in the chest. "You did it again!" she whispered to him. "Stop making me laugh!"

"Not my fault you're ticklish." Kaiba murmured back.

"Well, maybe I should tickle you again, and when you blow our cover it'll be your fault for being ticklish." teased Téa, and she felt Kaiba seize both her hands in one of his before they could move down to his stomach.

"Or maybe we'll both fall into the river, and then I can blame you for making me lose my grip since you tickled me." said Kaiba.

Téa giggled, saying, "Touché." She was quiet for a moment, smiling to herself, before saying, "I still think it's cute that you're ticklish."

"Back at you." said Kaiba, and Téa clapped her hand to her mouth to muffle another squealing giggle as he curled his fingers into her waist again.

"Hey! No fair! I can't retaliate." giggled Téa, pushing his hand away.

"You could. We'd just get soaked." said Kaiba simply.

"My point exactly." said Téa. "And you wouldn't want that to happen."

"I don't mind at all. I'll dry eventually." said Kaiba. "It's you who doesn't want to get wet."

"Nice bluff, but I called your last one." quipped Téa.

"And what bluff was that?" asked Kaiba.

"You said you weren't mean enough to drop a lady into the river..." said Téa. "...which, to your credit, is probably true. But I also threatened to pull you into it with me. You were saving your own hide as well, under the clever guise of chivalry."

"You think so?" said Kaiba.

"I know so." retorted Téa confidently. "Admit it."

"Make me." challenged Kaiba.

"I will." said Téa, slipping her hands up Kaiba's untucked shirt and grazing the very tips of her fingers along his skin with a feather-light touch. Even before his stomach contracted, she could feel the rock of muscle.

"Stop that." said Kaiba, shifting away from her hands.

"Make me." Téa whispered close to his face, sliding her fingers sideways and tracing the grooves and ridges of his abdomen. A large, strong hand stopped both of hers from going any further.

"I'll take that to mean you're calling off the truce." warned Kaiba.

"Maybe I am." teased Téa.

"Still your confidence, Miss Téa." whispered Kaiba. "I said I wouldn't drop you into the river. I said nothing about, say, giving you a waterfall baptism."

"You would not!" said Téa, her eyes wide.

"Wanna bet?" asked Kaiba, and she could hear the smirk creeping into his voice again.

"Kaiba, I swear on all the Gods of Egypt I will-..." started Téa, and she let out a shriek as Kaiba leaned her backwards into the waterfall, dousing her hair before pulling her back against him. Téa scoffed and flipped her head sideways, smacking Kaiba in the face with her short, wet hair. "Payback!" she cried as Kaiba spit her hair out of his mouth. To her surprise, Kaiba started outright laughing. Téa's heart soared strangely at the sound of his deep, handsome laugh before she joined in Kaiba's amusement, bursting into giggles herself.

"Okay, I definitely heard someone dat time!"

Téa inhaled sharply, and she heard the sound of someone crashing through the underbrush of the woods getting louder and louder. She pressed herself against Kaiba as he grabbed the hem of his black coat and covered her with it, ducking behind it just as Joey's face appeared just outside the waterfall. He looked around the embankment, then peered into the already pitch-black grotto, but Téa and Kaiba were just around the bend, Kaiba's black coat aiding in hiding them even more out of sight. Joey shrugged to himself and walked off. Téa felt her rapid heartbeat again, but this time because her face was right up against Kaiba's. She could feel the fine sandpaper of his five o'clock shadow, his warm breath on her neck, and the slow rise and fall of his chest beneath her hands as his ribcage expanded with every breath.

"Nothing?" she heard Tristan call.

"Nuthin' an' no one!" answered Joey. "I didn't realize my sista was so good at Hide n' Seek!"

"So is Kaiba, apparently." came Duke's voice. "Not to mention Yugi. You'd think he'd stick out like a sore thumb!"

"They've got to be around here somewhere." said Bakura. "I heard that shriek, too, so it had to be either Téa or Serenity!"

"Hey Mai! Didjya find any o' da girls yet?" called Joey.

"Not yet!" came Mai's reply. "Did you check the campsite? I bet someone's being slick and moving around, maybe hiding in the pile of tents and tarps!"

"Good idea, Mai! They'd probably think we'd never look there!" said Tristan.

They heard the sound of someone splashing through the river along with a heavy thud like someone had jumped over it before the footfalls went off into the distance again. Kaiba peered over his coat, and Téa smiled, whispering, "You look like Vampire Lord."

"Ah-ah-aaah!" came Kaiba's staccato mock laughter, his Transylvanian accent perfect, and Téa had to stifle her mouth with her hand as she burst into a fit of giggles. She felt him shift into a sitting position, seating himself on a ledge in the rock, and he added in a normal voice again, "Apparently we'll be here for a while. Wheeler's not just unobservant, he's also blind."

"I mean, it is pretty dark in here." said Téa, groping in the darkness for his shoulder to hang on to. She also felt for Kaiba's leg and lowered herself onto it.

She heard the smirk in Kaiba's voice as he said, "Make yourself comfortable, Miss Téa."

"Don't mind if I do." she replied. "...and don't worry, I won't give you a lap dance."

Kaiba let out an amused rumble. "I'll try not to be disappointed." he quipped sarcastically.

"As long as Vampire Lord doesn't baptize me in the waterfall again, that is." added Téa.

"Lucky for you, vampires don't like holy rituals or water." replied Kaiba.

"Nerd." quipped Téa.

"Watch it. Vampires also bite pretty ladies." countered Kaiba, and Téa heard the sound of his teeth snapping together, and she giggled again.

"If Vampire Lord doesn't bite my neck, then I won't retaliate with the water." teased Téa.

"Deal." came Kaiba's reply, and Téa could hear the amused half-smirk in his voice.

"Good." said Téa. "For a second there, I thought you were going to say no promises."

Kaiba let out another deep rumble of amusement. She felt his leg shift beneath her, Téa bit her lip, thankful that the dark grotto hid her blush, and said, "I can move if it's uncomfortable..."

"It's not." said Kaiba.

"You don't have to be a gentleman at the expense of your comfort." insisted Téa.

"You don't make me uncomfortable in the slightest, Téa." Kaiba responded.

Téa felt her heart flutter as his gentle tone returned. "Okay." she said softly.

She paused for a moment, then shifted a bit and leaned her back against Kaiba's chest; she could feel its slow rise and fall as he breathed softly. She felt him move his arm to secure her from falling sideways. Téa felt a slight hesitation, and in the scant light she could see Kaiba's hand hovering to the side, unsure of where to rest it. She moved the back of her hand against his palm, entwining their fingers before bringing their hands to rest on her thigh, keeping his hand from touching her leg. She felt Kaiba's hand relax over hers now that she silently assured him that he wasn't crossing a line. She brought her other hand over to stroke Kaiba's fingers softly.

"How long do you think it'll take them to find us?" she asked suddenly, breaking the silence as she continued to play with his hand.

"Considering Wheeler already looked and didn't see us, probably a while." said Kaiba. "Unless someone else checks again just to make sure."

"We should have declared a prize for the winner of this game, we'd probably win it." said Téa, and she heard Kaiba's amused rumble.

"So who's winning the one over making me laugh the most?" asked Kaiba.

"Besides me?" joked Téa. "Probably Tristan. Or Joey, depending on how you look at it."

She heard Kaiba's deep rumble again before he said, "Still feel cheated, do you?"

"I think I at least deserve a consolation prize." said Téa affirmatively.

"Would my gratitude be sufficient?" asked Kaiba.

Téa blinked, asking, "What are you grateful to me for?"

"It's quite a list at this point." said Kaiba, and she felt his fingers tap against hers in turn as he rattled it off. "Stopping me from destroying my office, saving me from my fangirls at the charity ball, sharing in my defeat at the arcade, inviting me on this trip, faking a kiss..."

Téa felt her heart skip at the last one, saying, "It meant that much to you?"

"I prefer doing such things under my own power." explained Kaiba. "Or did you forget how much I despise the ridiculous notion of destiny? Or chance, in this case."

Téa hummed in amusement, saying, "You believe in magic, but not destiny, huh?"

"If you're talking about the Plana Cube, that's less magic and more relative state formulation and quantum displacement-..."

"Okay, now you really sound like a nerd." said Téa, cutting across him.

Kaiba had to stop himself from laughing outright at her comment. "...and I'm able to control it myself." he finished. "Just like I control the Plana Cube, I control my own destiny."

"Sounds like you're a control freak." teased Téa.

"Is there a problem with me wanting some control over my own life after everything that's happened in it?" asked Kaiba defensively. Apparently she had hit a nerve.

Téa shrugged. "Not really, I just think it's easier to believe there's a reason for everything when life doesn't go the way you wanted it to." she said apologetically.

"Is that the logic behind it?" asked Kaiba flatly.

"Joey once said there are just too many things that can't be explained with logic." said Téa.

"He would know best, I imagine." retorted Kaiba, his voice dripping sarcasm.

Téa rolled her eyes, but asked, "So what's your logical explanation for the Millennium Items?"

"That I can't say. I never actually used one myself before the Plana Cube, so I don't know how they all work." he said.

"So do you think it's fair to substitute philosophy, be that magic, Fate, or whatever higher powers may be, when there's no logical explanation for things?" asked Téa.

Kaiba was quiet for a moment before he finally said, "I suppose."

"See? I knew you had faith buried in there somewhere." teased Téa, nudging back against him.

"I usually put my faith in things that have scientific or technological application." said Kaiba.

"But faith is defined as a feeling you have when you can't prove something with scientific or technological application." said Téa. "It's really no different from hypotheses."

"So what you're saying is, in the absence of logic and reasoning, I'm just supposed to feel that something is right?" asked Kaiba incredulously.

"Exactly." said Téa. "I did say there's a reason for everything, but sometimes you need faith when you don't know what that reason is. That's all Fate is: when something happens or you feel something that you can't explain, but you know there's a reason for it even if you can't prove it."

Kaiba contemplated her words as he once again became aware of his rapid heartbeat and the warmth he felt at the points of contact between him and Téa, and simply said, "I see."

They were quiet for a while, the only sound coming from the rush of the waterfall.

"They're taking a while to find us..." said Téa suddenly. "...and they usually shout 'Come out come out, wherever you are' if they gave up."

"Maybe we didn't hear it over the waterfall." suggested Kaiba.

"In case you didn't notice, both Tristan and Joey have an excellent set of lungs." said Téa. "And so does Serenity, for that matter."

"Runs in the family, does it?" Kaiba quipped.

Téa sighed, but said, "Probably. Did you forget she burps almost as loud as him?"

"I wasn't particularly trying to remember it." retorted Kaiba flatly.

Téa giggled. She paused for a moment, then said, "I guess you really did pick a good hiding spot. We might have actually won."

"And since I didn't evict you, now you've shared in my victory. Don't say I never did anything for you." joked Kaiba.

"Aw, you did a lot for us, you know." said Téa, smiling as she added, "I can name a few times you helped us out with your aircraft specifically."

Kaiba felt his heartbeat quickening. He was sure Téa meant the various instances where they caught a lift in his helicopters, but he had a nagging suspicion the instance with the crane and the shipping container during Battle City was still stamped into her memory just as it was in his. "Specifically?" he reiterated.

"We may not have said it at the time..." said Téa carefully, and Kaiba felt her fingers play with his hand again. "...but we were always grateful to you for it."

Kaiba moved his head to glance over at her in the darkness, saying, "All of you, huh?"

"Well, of course." said Téa. "You helped the guys out, too."

Kaiba masked his disappointment behind his even tone as he said, "Of course."

Téa nudged him teasingly, saying, "After all, they would have been really put out if you hadn't saved my life." Kaiba blinked and looked over at her again, and she added softly, "In complete seriousness, I really owe you a lot for that."

Kaiba felt the strange swelling sensation in his chest again, and he shoved it aside as he answered Téa, saying, "You don't owe me anything."

"I at least owe you a thank you." she said, stroking his hand. "You did a lot more than Mokuba."

Kaiba let out a noise of amusement at the memory, saying, "We wouldn't have known where to find you and Wheeler if it wasn't for Mokuba. You saved his life, so he returned the favor."

"I suppose." said Téa.

Kaiba was quiet for a moment, carefully choosing his words. "I may not have said it at the time..." he said, and he felt Téa look over at him as he reiterated her words. "...but that was my way of thanking you for putting my little brother's life before yours."

Téa smiled to herself, saying, "Let me guess: actions speak louder than words?"

"Exactly." came the soft reply.

Téa looked down, her smile lingering as she traced Kaiba's veins with her finger. "I still wish I could return the favor with you." she said softly.

"You already have." said Kaiba.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I've never saved you."

"Trust me, you have." said Kaiba affirmatively. "Just recently, in fact."

"I hardly think saving you from dancing with one of your over-zealous fangirls compares to saving a life." said Téa.

Kaiba let out a soft chuckle, saying, "That's not what I was referring to."

"What are you referring to, then?" asked Téa.

"When you barged into my office after running through the pouring rain the day my brother left me." said Kaiba, and Téa's eyes widened slightly. "I'm assuming you didn't do that just to stop me from throwing a tree through my window."

A sad smile flitted across Téa's face. "I was worried about you." she admitted.

"And I did absolutely nothing to deserve that from you." said Kaiba softly. "Not ever before and most especially not in that moment."

"Kaiba..." said Téa sadly.

"I know, I wasn't in my right mind." said Kaiba before she could say anything more. "I was drowned in my anguish over losing my brother, consumed by my rage at my staff for letting him go, and I almost took it all out on you. Despite that, you said you would be there for me if I needed it. I thought it was just another empty promise until the charity ball, where you proved it not once, but twice."

Téa's breath hitched softly in her throat as she suddenly felt Kaiba's fingers intertwine with hers.

"That's how you saved me, Téa." he continued. "You were there for me in my darkest hour when I thought there was no one left, no one that actually cared. I didn't know it at the time, but I needed to hear someone say it, and you did. You cannot fathom how much that meant to me, even if I did a poor job of showing it."

Téa felt a warmth in her chest, her heart and stomach fluttering, and she was at a complete loss for words at Kaiba's honest confession. In lieu of a verbal reply, she raised her free hand and found the side of Kaiba's face, leaning her forehead against his jaw as she held his head against hers and raised their clasped hands to her heart. She felt Kaiba wrap his other arm around her, returning her gentle embrace. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his head dip, his face grazing down the side of hers.

"COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!"

The two of them startled as the piercing shout cut through the fog in their minds, and they pulled their faces away quickly as they realized how dangerously close they were. Téa took her hand away from Kaiba's face and released his other one, clasping them in her lap as they trembled slightly. She cleared her throat softly before she said, "We should go back to camp..."

"Yeah." agreed Kaiba, his heart still pounding as Téa raised herself slowly, reluctantly, off of his leg, allowing him to stand again. She started to sidle carefully back towards the entrance, Kaiba close behind as he followed her out of the waterfall grotto.

"There they are!" said Bakura as Kaiba and Téa entered the camp. "We looked all over the place and couldn't find you two or Serenity!"

"Yeah, the only reason we found Yugi is because I tripped over him." said Duke, who was sitting on a rock and rubbing his knee as if nursing it. "He buried himself in the sand near the rock pit."

Téa noticed Serenity, who was soaking wet, and asked, "Where were you hiding, Serenity?"

"Would ya believe my sista? She took a reed from da rivah banks and submerged herself in it, hiding in da seaweed an' breathin' through dat thin little reed da whole time!" said Joey, beaming with pride at his little sister. "We musta passed by her a dozen times an' we neva saw her once!"

"Yeah, it's a good thing she kept her bathing suit on overnight." said Tristan. "I should've caught on when I saw her from up in the tree, taking off all her clothes near the tent before running off."

"You were watchin' my sista strip?!" barked Joey, grabbing him by the collar. "Why you li'l-...!"

Serenity giggled, and Mai stepped between the two of them before anything could start, clearing her throat loudly. Joey grumbled and released Tristan's collar. "So Téa, Kaiba, tell us." said Mai, peering through her eyelashes at them. "Where were you two hiding all this time?"

"Behind the waterfall." said Kaiba simply.

"What?!" cried Joey, receiving looks from the others. "I checked dere!"

"So you did. Apparently your low-light vision is terrible, Wheeler." said Kaiba, smirking. "You know what else has really terrible low-light vision?"

"Kaiba, I swear if you say a dog...!" growled Joey warningly.

"I was actually going to say a bat." said Kaiba, his amused half-smirk flashing. "Dogs can see in the dark, Wheeler. I guess you failed biology."

Téa sighed as the others snickered, but said, "He did."

"Hah! So Joey's blind as a bat? Nice." laughed Tristan, receiving a withering look from Joey.

"Alright already, now dat da game's done, we gotta eat an' head out." said Joey, plopping onto the log and digging into the cooler. "Time ta get rid o' da hamburgers and hot dogs. Who's grillin' wit' me?"

"I will!" said Yugi excitedly, kneeling in front of the grill. "There's an art to the perfect burger!"

"Heh, you'd know best, Yugi." said Tristan as everyone else seated themselves around the fire pit one last time.

They finished their meal and disassembled the firepit, throwing sand over the remnants of the smoldering charcoal. As everyone hoisted their packs and started making their way back, Kaiba paused and turned, looking upon the site one last time. His eyes lingered on the watering hole and the waterfall, and he let out a content hum before turning and following the rest of the group.

---

"Man, I hate ta leave so soon, but I can't wait ta get back ta Domino and have some real grub again!" said Joey as they all waited at the bus stop at the top of the mountain.

"Not to mention a shower." added Mai. "I miss my hot water."

Kaiba hummed in agreement. They had made their way through the forest and back down the cliffs, and Kaiba had even helped both Téa and Serenity down the grappling hook this time, and had offered the same courtesy to Mai, who had vehemently refused, citing her usual spiel about how she didn't need a man to help her do anything. Ironically, she stumbled on the very bottom step of the cliff, and thankfully Joey had been standing right underneath for her to break her fall, inciting a laugh from everyone including Kaiba. He stood with the others as they waited for the bus, standing close to Téa. Kaiba's guard was up again as he scanned the area, knowing that he was out in the open once more. His sharp ears caught the sound of the bus revving over the cliff, and he watched as it came into view, halting at the stop with a squeaky groan of gears.

The door slid open, and everyone piled onto the bus in single file, Kaiba taking up the rear. He glanced at the bus driver, a scrawny man with a reddish-brown beard popping over a checkered scarf, wearing a hat and sunglasses to block out the glare of the summer sun. If he recognized Seto Kaiba, he didn't say a word. Kaiba noted that their group was the only passengers on the bus and took his place under an overhead loop as he had done last time, standing over Téa as she sat in the seat beside him. With a puff of exhaust, the bus took off towards the city.

"We could always stop for dinner somewhere." suggested Tristan, adding on to Joey's previous comment. "I'm also in the mood for something not campfire food."

"Yeah, and we'll arrive in the city sometime around dinner, so that'll be perfect!" agreed Yugi.

"What shall we stop for? Sushi maybe?" asked Téa excitedly.

"It's always sushi an' ramen wit' you, Téa." said Joey. "Ya should try a good bowl o' curry rice sometime; cleans yer sinuses out good!"

"You mean like the ghost pepper poppers at the arcade?" asked Duke, and Joey shot him a glare as the others laughed at the memory.

"Hey, I didn't think dey were dat bad compared ta curry rice, alright? Gimme a break already!" he snapped. "D'ose things were more heat dan actual flavor anyway!"

"Like you actually care about flavor or nutritional value when you stuff your face." said Mai. "I've seen the things you put in your mouth and sometimes it's not pretty."

"Aw come on, Mai! I got taste, too, ya know!" said Joey, winking at her. "...an' not just in food, I might add!"

"Alright, get a room, you two!" said Duke, making Mai blush beet red. Téa and Serenity giggled at Mai's unease, and the blonde beauty shot them both a look.

The bus shook, and Kaiba braced his legs as he swayed a bit, holding tight to the overhead loop. He had a strange feeling that the bus driver was going way too fast down the hill, and Kaiba looked over his shoulder towards the driver's seat. His stomach immediately plummeted.

"Uh, guys? Where did the driver go?" asked Bakura suddenly, echoing Kaiba's thoughts.

"Oh, what the-...?!" cried Duke, and the girls screamed as the bus careened sideways into the cliff face, scraping against the rock and throwing sparks.

"Everybody hold on!" yelled Tristan as he stumbled to the front of the bus, tripping a few times before he managed to dive into the driver's seat.

"Hit the brake, Tristan!" shouted Joey, who held Serenity in their seat.

"It's not working!" Tristan called as he slammed his foot repeatedly on the brake while trying to steer the bus, which was rapidly accelerating.

"Try the E-brake!" called Yugi as he clung to the front of his seat.

"I'm trying!" called Tristan as he yanked on the long central lever. "It's not working either! The whole system's locked up!"

"Everyone get out the back!" shouted Kaiba, using the overhead loops to pull himself quickly towards the rear emergency exit as the bus flew downhill at a sharp angle. Kaiba lifted the red handle, triggering the alarm, and kicked the door open, breaking it off its hinges.

"Hurry! We're going too fast! I can't stop it!" cried Tristan as Joey grabbed Serenity and jumped out with her first, having her break her fall with his gigantic pack as he rolled on the ground.

"Forget it, Tristan! Let's go!" called Duke before he jumped out the rear after Mai, who grabbed Tristan's equally huge bundle of tents and tarps and cushioned her fall with it.

Bakura and Téa leapt from the bus next, stumbling on their feet. Tristan barreled out of the driver's seat and used the passenger seats and the overhead loops to pull him towards the rear. Yugi leapt out of the bus next, landing on his hands and knees, and Joey ran forward to help him up. He looked up ahead, his eyes becoming huge, and the Brooklyn blond's voice screamed towards the bus, "GUYS, LOOK OUT!"

Kaiba turned his head, catching sight of the guard rail up ahead, the only thing blocking the bus from running right off the edge of a cliff.

"Aw crap!" cried Tristan, who hauled himself forward faster. "Go Kaiba! Forget about me!"

"Like hell I will!" shouted Kaiba, reaching forward and seizing Tristan by the forearm, pulling him forward the rest of the way.

The bus plowed into the guard rail, shattering the windshield and the headlights before the rail snapped with a loud groan and sharp twang of metal. Kaiba managed to shove Tristan out of the rear of the bus before falling sideways into a seat from the impact. The bus tipped over the edge of the cliff, taking Kaiba with it as he grabbed the sides of the door.

"Kaiba!" screamed Téa as everyone sprinted down the hill.

Tristan lifted his face from the road, holding his jaw, which had road-burn on it. He looked over the cliff just in time to see Kaiba fling something up towards him, and a metallic shine flashed in the air over what was left of the guard rail.

"The grappling hook! Grab it!" cried Tristan as he made a lunge for it and missed. It bounced off the road away from him, skittering along the asphalt, but couldn't find a place to hook on to. Duke sprinted forward, assisted by the downhill momentum, and dived, seizing the claw of the grapple hook right before it slipped over the edge. Joey dived and grabbed hold of Duke's ankles as he went over the cliff, and Yugi and Bakura dove onto each of Joey's legs and halted his skid before he went over the edge with Duke. Tristan grabbed an ankle on each of them as Mai and Téa also dived onto Tristan at the same time, Serenity joining the heap last. Their combined weights halted Kaiba's fall, and he hit the cliff face below, wincing as his shoulder hit the rock.

"We gotcha, Kaiba! Hang on!" called Tristan as Kaiba spun on the rope below.

"Everyone pull!" cried Bakura, and the group got to their feet and heaved in unison.

"Don't let go o' dat hook, Duke!" cried Joey as they pulled Duke back over the top of the cliff.

"I got it! Just don't let go of me!" said Duke through gritted teeth, who held tight to the metal prongs of the grappling hook with both hands even though they were digging into his palms as Joey squeezed his ankles in a death grip.

"Come on, guys, heave!" cried Yugi, and the group tugged with all their might, the rope sliding slowly along the road as they lifted Kaiba back to it. They all collapsed into a heap on the road when Kaiba finally crawled over the edge of the cliff, safely on flat ground again.

Kaiba got to his feet and stumbled away from the cliff edge, rubbing his hands to relieve them of rope burn. "Kaiba!" he heard Téa cry, and he looked up to see her extricate herself from the heap and run towards him. He startled as she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his shoulder. "Thank heavens you're safe. Are you alright?!" asked Téa.

"I'm fine." said Kaiba, pushing her gently away from him. "What about everyone else?"

"Shaken, but no injuries." said Yugi as everyone separated.

"I beg to differ!" said Mai, pointing at Duke. Everyone let out a collective gasp at the blood-stained head of the grappling hook as Duke dropped it onto the road with a loud metallic clatter. He upturned his ripped palms and fingers, his hands trembling.

"Holy mother of-...!" said Tristan, his eyes huge.

"Whoa, geez! Get da med kit quick, sis!" said Joey, and Serenity reached into her bag and pulled out a white plastic box with a red plus sign on it.

"Oh no, Duke! Can you move them?" asked Bakura as Serenity sprayed an anti-septic wash over Duke's hands, rinsing away most of the blood.

"Barely. I can't feel my fingers. Argh!" winced Duke as the anti-septic stung his hands.

"Hold still!" said Serenity as she pressed layers of gauze with clear antibiotic cream into Duke's palms, the blood soaking through them.

Kaiba ran his hand through his hair as he watched, saying, "Devlin...I'm sorry!"

"Don't be, dude! I wasn't gonna let you fall if it killed me!" said Duke reassuringly as Serenity started wrapping his hands quickly with a roll of bandage.

"This shouldn't have happened..." muttered Kaiba, half to himself and half to Duke, and Téa watched as Kaiba paced the road, looking around as if he thought someone was watching them.

"Kaiba? What's wrong?" asked Yugi, echoing Téa's thoughts.

Kaiba looked down over the cliff, the bus wreckage smoking in the tree line below, and remained silent, his fist clenched to his side.

"Something on your mind, man?" asked Tristan suspiciously, following Téa and Yugi's gaze.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, that was weird." said Bakura pensively. "How did the bus driver just disappear out of the blue?"

"I think the better question would be why did the bus driver disappear out of the blue." said Mai with a pointed look at Kaiba. "Care to fill us in, big guy?"

Téa saw Kaiba visibly stiffen.

"What do you mean, Mai?" asked Serenity as she looked around at everyone, whose attentions were riveted on Kaiba.

"I think what Mai means, sis, is dat we got da most world-renown business tycoon wit' us, an' our bus just so happened ta conveniently lose its driva an' both brakes while he was on it." said Joey, now giving his own pointed look at Kaiba. "Dat sound about right, Kaiba? Got a few more enemies ya forgot ta mention, by any chance?"

"I'm sorry, okay?!" snapped Kaiba, wheeling around to look at everyone. "I didn't think anyone followed me or knew where I was except my own personal security team."

"You're telling us Roland and Fuguta had eyes on your location the whole time?!" asked Yugi.

"Welp, someone's taking a naked swim in the ocean this winter." joked Duke, trying to lighten the mood, and everyone gave him a look. "What? Come on, guys. We're all okay! This is just a bad scratch, really! What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that Kaiba failed to mention that he's apparently a walking, breathing target and we almost went down with him!" said Mai, her hands on her hips as she glared at Kaiba.

"And now you know why I didn't want any friends!" yelled Kaiba, his temper flaring, and everyone stared at him in shock and realization. "I'm either an antagonistic, self-centered jerk or I'm a danger to everyone else! Welcome to my life! Isn't it just the greatest?!"

"Hey! No need to get uppity, Kaiba! We're just sayin' ya coulda given us a warnin', dats all!" Joey snapped back.

"Oh, as if you didn't already know that KaibaCorp's the global leader in tech that goes far beyond the gaming stuff now!" Tristan butt in, jumping to Kaiba's defense. "Maybe you didn't notice, but Kaiba practically owns the world at this point!"

"Yeah, news flash, buddy! He probably has a few greedy rivals that would love to put the bullet in him and take over his company for themselves!" added Duke with a glare at Joey. "You don't need to be a genius to figure that out!"

"Why you li'l-..." growled Joey, his fists clenched.

"Alright, stop it! Everyone just calm down!" exclaimed Téa suddenly, and everyone turned to look at her, Joey cowering at Téa's blazing blue eyes as she glared around at them. "Why are all of you acting so shocked? This has happened before! Remember Pegasus? Both instances with the virtual world and the Big Five? Alistair taking Kaiba's plane down? Dartz? Von Schroeder? Any of that ringing any bells for anyone?"

"In case you forgot, I was blissfully unaware of that whole fiasco during Battle City and so was Bakura!" retorted Mai. Bakura rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he was forced to nod agreement. "And as far as the virtual world the first go around, I was just getting paid to test it out and would have never jumped in if I had known beforehand that Kaiba's white-collar rejects would try to oust us!"

"My point is, this is not a new occurrence and we're most certainly not blaming Kaiba for it!" snapped Téa, and Kaiba's gaze riveted onto her, a strange look in his blue eyes. "We're not going to stop being his friend just because somewhere a group of psychos wants his head on a platter and his company at their helm! That's never how we've been!"

"That's right, Téa!" agreed Yugi. "We've always stuck together through thick and thin, no matter what, and we're not going to stop now!"

"Yeah, so what if being around Kaiba is a bit of an occupational hazard?" said Tristan, clapping him on the shoulder, and Kaiba blinked and looked over at him. "We just got to make sure we're always wearing our hard hats, that's all!"

Joey squeezed the bridge of his nose and shook his head, saying, "You n' yer factory worker analogies, Tristan." He sighed and picked his head up, suddenly looking guilty. "Alright, fine. I'm sorry, Kaiba. Téa's right, dis ain't nuthin' new."

"I am, too, big guy." said Mai, finally conceding along with Joey and giving Kaiba an apologetic look as she rubbed her arms. "That was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me since my duel with Marik and the Orichalcos nightmare. We all almost died today."

Kaiba inclined his head, glancing over at Téa. "Thank you." he said, looking around at everyone. "All of you. You saved my life even after I put yours in danger."

"Kaiba, of course we'd save you." said Téa, giving him a solemn glance.

"We always have whether you liked it or not, right guys?" said Tristan with a wink at Yugi, Joey and Téa, who had answered Mokuba's distress call to help his brother the first time.

"Dat's right! We've always had yer back, Kaiba! An' dat ain't gonna change, so yer jus' gonna hafta deal wit' it!" agreed Joey, clenching a fist of solidarity before him.

"You said it, Joey!" said Yugi, nodding his affirmation.

Kaiba's amused grimace flashed, but he said nothing else.

"Alrighty, now that the adrenaline's worn off, what do we do?" asked Duke, standing again after Serenity finished bandaging his hands and packed away the med kit. "We're kind of stranded up here and it's a long walk down. Should we hitch-hike the next car that comes around?"

"You really want to risk that after what just happened?" asked Tristan, staring at Duke.

"Do you think whoever hijacked the bus is still around, Kaiba?" asked Bakura as Kaiba scanned the area.

"Not likely." he replied. "They always try to make it look like an accident before anything else. It would draw too much attention if anything else happened now."

"Well, dat's prob'ly why dey made sure it was only us on da bus, too." Joey pointed out. "Less witnesses in case dey need a back-up plan."

"Easy there, bud. Your street smarts are showing." said Tristan uneasily.

"The only back-up plan they would have now is to set sights on me now that I'm out in the open, and everything I wear is made of the highest-grade bulletproof material, so fat chance." said Kaiba, throwing his hood over his head to cover it now that he reminded himself of his vulnerability. "They don't care about the rest of you. It's me they want."

"Can't you just call Roland with your walky-talky lapel to come get us?" asked Mai.

"This one doesn't have a receiver in it." said Kaiba.

"Well shoot. Guess we're walking." said Duke.

"I dunno 'bout you, Duke, but afta dat excitement, I'm perfectly okay wit' walkin'." said Joey, hoisting his pack again. "I ain't too keen about anythin' wit' wheels when we're still uphill quite a ways. It won't take dat long ta get back to da city. It'll jus' be late at night instead o' around dinner, dats all."

"Yeah, and then you'll be famished and eat the whole kitchen on Serenity." said Tristan, and Joey gave him a look as everyone started down the road.

"He's not wrong." said Serenity with a cheerful smile.

"Thanks a lot, sis." said Joey, and the others laughed.

"At least it's all downhill from here. I think Kaiba and I have both had our fair share of falling down cliffs on this trip." said Téa, and Kaiba made a rumble of amusement.

"Yeah, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I think we should invest in actual climbing gear for everyone for the next trip." said Yugi.

"...and you didn't do that before because...?" asked Kaiba slowly.

"Listen, rich boy, not all o' us are trust-fund multi-millionaires wit' endless coffahs, capiche?" said Joey. "Some o' us work fer our hourly pittance!"

"I'd like to see you try being CEO of KaibaCorp for an hour." challenged Kaiba.

"Wow, not even giving him a whole day, huh? Ouch." said Tristan with a grin.

Joey growled at them both. "Fine! I betchya gotta whole team o' people helpin' ya!" said Joey.

"If you trust them not to screw anything up either, then sure." Kaiba retorted. "You saw how well my medical team did recently."

Joey winced and was smart enough not to give a comeback, and Duke quickly changed the subject before everyone else could linger on that thought. "Well, I'm sure Joey won't be the only one wanting to eat the kitchen when we get back, so how about we stop to eat somewhere? I'm with Tristan; I could also do with something other than campfire food."

"Are you sure your hands are up for it? Shouldn't we get you to a hospital first?" asked Bakura.

"Oh no, I'm fine, really!" said Duke, pumping his bandaged fingers. "I can feel them now and move my fingers, and they don't look swollen so I don't think anything's broken!"

"Alright, but you really should get those checked out by a doctor to make sure nothing gets infected!" said Yugi with a nervous glance at Duke's hands.

"You got it! First thing tomorrow morning, I swear!" said Duke.

They continued their trek down the road, talking and laughing as if nothing had happened, and Kaiba was truly amazed at how they could all just go right back to being carefree after all that. His guard was still up as they got closer to the city and the cars started passing them, expecting any one of them to suddenly halt and the occupants jump out at them. They finally made it into downtown as the last light of the sun fell over the horizon and the evening darkened the sky.

"This looks like a good place to stop." said Tristan, steering everyone into a bar and grill restaurant, where everyone seated themselves around a table outside, dropping their packs against the black metal gate. A waitress walked out and greeted everyone to take their drinks.

"How about it, guys? Another round of shots after all the fun we had?" asked Duke.

"Might needta make it a double dis go 'round." said Joey.

"I second that notion." said Tristan, and Duke nodded agreement as he ordered two rounds of rum shots and Serenity's virgin Shirley Temples. The waitress checked IDs, doing a double-take at Kaiba's and peering at him under his hood, which he was still wearing. Kaiba made a zipping motion across his lips, and the waitress flashed him a thumbs up before walking off.

"That must get really old really fast." said Serenity.

"Nah, what gets old is when the ladies start flirting with you." said Duke, and Kaiba rolled his eyes and nodded agreement, Bakura sighing and adding his affirmation with his face in his hand.

"Speak fer yerself, Duke. Ya had yer own cheer squad ooglin' ov'a ya fer a bit dere." said Joey.

"Yeah, but they got really old really fast." said Duke with a grin at Mai. "I've set my bar way higher these days."

"You can set your bar and your sights somewhere else, Dice Boy!" said Mai with a pointed look, and Joey snickered as Duke grumbled and turned his eyes back to the table.

The waitress returned with the shots, and Téa noticed that her apron was lowered and fit more snugly about her tiny waist, and her blouse was also unbuttoned at the top. She made a show of leaning over the table as she distributed the drinks, trying to give Kaiba a coy smile along with the incredible view as she peered at him through her lashes. Téa was pleased to see Kaiba kept his gaze on his fingernails, pretending to fix a hangnail even though his nails were mostly perfectly manicured even after the trip, and completely ignored the waitress. She walked off after taking everyone's orders, and Kaiba lifted his gaze again when he finally heard the door of the restaurant shut behind her.

"Maybe you can set your sights on her, eh Duke?" asked Tristan as he and Joey snickered.

Yugi raised his glass, saying, "A toast to the heroes of today!"

"Hear hear." agreed Kaiba this time as he clinked his glass with the others before they all upended their shots in unison.

"And another toast especially to Duke!" added Bakura, raising his second shot glass. "He'll have some real battle scars after this one!"

"Yeah, you can show d'ose off to da ladies afta dis, Duke!" said Joey as everyone raised their glasses towards Duke and emptied their second rounds.

"Heh, yeah. Maybe it'll actually help my chances." said Duke, looking suddenly sullen after he emptied his glass. "Nobody ever gives me a second glance when they check my ID."

"Sure they do, Duke." said Yugi, noticing Duke's look and trying to cheer him up. "You always have the ladies crawling all over you."

"Yeah, but I'm a wallflower sitting next to Seto Kaiba." said Duke, and Kaiba smirked.

"To be fair, most people are wallflowers next to the big guy." said Mai. "I'm pretty well-known, too, and I don't have quite as many people drooling over me."

"You obviously don't pay much attention to your mutt." said Kaiba, and Joey and Téa both glared at him. He caught Téa's look and said, "Oh come on, it was too easy!"

"I'll have ya know dis mutt made a name fer himself, too, in case ya forgot!" said Joey, glancing at Téa and probably wondering what the added comment was all about.

"Yugi and I made a bigger name than you ever could, Wheeler." retorted Kaiba.

"Says da guy who could neva beat him in a duel wit'out threatenin' to jump off a castle!" Joey shot back, and everyone who was present at that time winced at the memory.

"I could never beat Atem at a duel." said Kaiba, and Yugi's eyes widened at the mention of his old alter ego's name. "...and the one time I almost beat Yugi was interrupted by Diva."

"Well, yer overdue fer a rematch wit' da both o' us, right Yuge?" said Joey, grinning at Yugi.

"Right!" agreed Yugi.

"I hate to break it to you guys..." said Kaiba. "...but you'll never get your chance at redemption. I've officially retired from Dueling."

Tristan and Duke choked into their drinks. Téa and Serenity clapped their hands to their mouths, their eyes huge. Yugi, Joey, Mai, and Bakura simultaneously cried, "YOU DID WHAT?!"

"You heard me." said Kaiba, crossing his arms. "I hung up my Duel Disk weeks ago."

"You're kidding!" cried Mai.

"Is dis a joke, Kaiba?!" exclaimed Joey. "Cuz it ain't funny!"

"Am I laughing?" asked Kaiba with a pointed look at Joey, who turned a sickly shade of pale.

"You're serious!" said Bakura, his eyes wide. "Kaiba, why? Because Atem's no longer here and there's no one else to give you a challenge?"

Kaiba averted his gaze, remaining silent.

"No, I don't think that's quite it." said Yugi knowingly. "Kaiba already admitted that I was the better duelist, the real King of Games. I matched his strength and then some at the new Duel Disk exhibition. I gave him a challenge. Still..." Yugi looked over at Kaiba, saying, "...he was dead-set on dueling Atem again..."

"That's enough, Yugi!" snapped Kaiba. "I simply said I'm no longer a Duelist. End of story."

Téa gave him a solemn look, and Kaiba avoided her gaze. Yugi caught Téa's eye and nodded understandably. Joey scowled and mussed up his blond hair in aggravation, saying, "Well geez, we're sorry you dropped de atom bomb on us wit'out any warnin', Kaiba!"

"Alright Joey, tone down the testosterone or you're being put in time out!" snapped Mai, who seemed to also catch on.

The waitress returned with everyone's orders, two other waitresses helping her distribute the food and clean up the shot glasses as they all made eyes at Kaiba.

"Do we need anything else?" asked one of them, laying a hand on Kaiba's shoulder.

Kaiba visibly stiffened, saying, "Besides for you to get your hand off me?"

Tristan and Duke let out a unanimous "pfft!", and Téa also had to bite back the laugh that threatened to bust out of her as the waitress quickly took her hand away from Kaiba's shoulder and shot them a glare before walking away with a "humph!" Their main waitress bowed deeply and apologized profusely before running after her colleague with an angry look in her eyes.

"Oh dear, cat fight." said Bakura knowingly, watching them go.

"Way to kill them with the honesty, Kaiba." said Tristan, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, and Kaiba smirked in response, lifting the mood a bit.

"Seriously though, that's some nerve." said Mai as she picked up her fork to eat her pasta salad. "Kaiba could just as easily drop a lawsuit for invading his personal space."

"That's giving them more of my attention than I care to spare." said Kaiba, and Téa giggled.

They chatted and laughed until everyone was done eating, and the waitress returned here and there to clean away everyone's dishes. "How are we splitting the bill today?" she asked.

"We're not." said Kaiba, handing her a credit card from his wallet for her to swipe into her handheld reader.

"Kaiba!" cried Yugi in surprise as the waitress handed Kaiba a pen and the receipt that printed out of her reader so he could sign it. Téa watched as Kaiba also handed her a large denomination bill folded in quarters for her tip, and the waitress's eyes lit up with delight as she thanked him profusely and bowed. "We really appreciate it, but you don't have to pay for all of us every time we go out to eat!" added Yugi.

"I owe you all more than just dinner after today, Yugi." said Kaiba as the waitress walked off with a disappointed look at the unreadable scribble he put on the receipt, probably hoping for a proper autograph to show off.

"You don't owe us anything, bud." assured Tristan, punching Kaiba lightly in the shoulder, and Kaiba blinked at the gesture, but said nothing. "And even if it doesn't put a dent in your coffers, you still don't have to foot the bill every time."

"Yeah, we certainly don't want to make you feel like you're just a wallet with legs, big guy. We can take care of ourselves." said Mai with a broad wink at Kaiba.

Kaiba gave Mai and Tristan an appreciative smile, saying, "Thanks, that means a lot."

"I know the feeling; that's why I ditched my old lifestyle in favor of this one." said Mai.

Kaiba hummed acknowledgement. He wasn't quite ready to admit out loud that sometimes he wished he could do the same.

"Alright, I'm beat. Let's go home sweet home." said Duke, raising from his chair. "I don't suppose you parked your car somewhere close to the bus stop, Mai?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. It should be in the overnight lot a few blocks from here." said Mai. "If anyone wants to walk me to it, I'll take them home."

"Dibs!" cried Joey and Serenity at the same time, and Tristan joined in with Duke as well.

"Oh alright, you guys have the heaviest packs after all." said Téa.

"Will you guys be alright?" asked Tristan, looking at Yugi, Bakura, Téa and Kaiba.

"I'm perfectly fine. My home is close by." said Bakura with a cheerful smile.

"Same. The Game Shop isn't too far from here, and Téa's right up the road from that!" said Yugi with a wink at Téa.

"Alright, see you around then!" said Duke, waving as the group split up.

"Don't be strangers!" called Mai.

"Bye guys!" called Téa as she followed Yugi and Bakura, Kaiba walking behind her.

"See yas around!" replied Joey.

"Goodnight everyone!" called Yugi as their group finally rounded the corner out of sight. Their group walked two blocks before Bakura continued on down the road, bidding them goodnight as he made his way to his apartment complex. They walked yet another five blocks before they came to the double intersection of the Game Shop. "I bet grandpa will be happy to have me home! It's a good thing he closes up shop on weekends." said Yugi as he turned on the doorstep. "Wanna come in for a while, you two?"

"I probably shouldn't." said Kaiba, glancing at the Game Shop windows as if he could see the old man through them.

"Oh, right." said Yugi, laughing nervously. "Téa?"

"Um...I think I'll just head home. I'm tired, too." said Téa, glancing at Kaiba.

"Okay. See you around!" said Yugi, unlocking the Game Shop door and entering.

"Good night, Yugi!" called Téa, and Yugi waved at them before closing the door. Téa started off towards her house, Kaiba following close by her side. "Not gonna call one of your chauffeurs?" she asked him after a while.

"Did you want me to?" he asked.

"Oh no! I just meant for you, to take yourself home. I only live right up those stairs and down the road a bit." said Téa, pointing to the stone stairs a few blocks down.

"I can walk." said Kaiba. "I prefer being by myself these days." Téa glanced over at him, and Kaiba caught her look and quickly added, "I meant away from my employees. It's nice to get away from work sometimes."

"Yeah, I bet you liked that about the trip." said Téa with a smile.

"I did." Kaiba agreed. "Roland will probably have a conniption if he hears about the bus incident, but I really enjoyed not having him in my collar or watching me like a hawk for once."

"He watches you?" asked Téa, glancing over at him. "How?"

"The receiver is also a satellite GPS." explained Kaiba. "He sees a blinking dot on a radar map that, if he feels so inclined, he can zoom in on with the satellite and see exactly where I am."

"Oh wow, I bet that's annoying sometimes." said Téa.

"You have no idea." muttered Kaiba irritably.

"Is that why you said you had to sneak away from security when we left?" asked Téa.

"That was more because my security team likes to follow me around, too." said Kaiba. "I had to throw them off my trail. Duck into subway stations, circumnavigate different streets without vendor cameras nearby, that sort of thing."

"Geez, you don't get any privacy, do you?" asked Téa, her eyes wide.

"Welcome to my life. Doesn't it sound fantastic?" asked Kaiba, his voice dripping sarcasm.

"How long have they been doing that? Or has it always been like that?" asked Téa, now curious.

"It started soon after the Big Five tried to oust me under my own roof." said Kaiba, making a face at the memory. "That's why Roland and Fuguta were with us during Battle City. They've more than doubled my security now. They're not taking any chances now that it's just me."

Téa hummed solemn understanding, then furrowed her brow as she recalled his words from earlier, after the bus had crashed. "So wait, if you don't have the receiver...I thought you said Roland and Fuguta knew where you were?" she asked as they reached the stairs.

"I told them I'd be going away for the weekend with you lot; I didn't tell them where we were going." said Kaiba.

"Oh." said Téa. "I guess you don't have to go skinny-dipping in the ocean during winter."

Kaiba smirked, saying, "You sound disappointed."

"That I don't get to see the high and mighty Seto Kaiba squirm in freezing water, maybe." teased Téa, nudging sideways against him.

"Sure, that's it." said Kaiba, his amused half-smirk lingering.

"Hey, you're the one who was pretending not to notice when Mai made me sit in my underwear!" retorted Téa, turning to face him boldly mid-way up the stairs.

"That's not much to see compared to being naked." replied Kaiba, halting before her.

Téa leaned forward so that she was mere inches from his face, a sly twinkle in her blue eyes as she whispered, "Well, maybe I won't see much if you're naked, either."

"Oh, hitting below the belt now, are we?" Kaiba murmured back, and Téa could see him fighting to maintain a serious expression. "That's hardly fair. You know I can't retaliate against a lady."

"I know..." said Téa, smiling sweetly. "...and you can't prove me wrong either."

"I could if I didn't have a public image to upkeep." retorted Kaiba, the amused half-smirk tugging at one side of his mouth as he reiterated Mai's words from the charity ball.

"You would not!" said Téa, giggling at his audacity.

"You never know. Guys do stupid things that get them in trouble all the time, as I'm sure you know from hanging around them." said Kaiba.

"Yes, but you're not a stupid guy or a trouble-maker." Téa pointed out.

"I appreciate the former sentiment, but you obviously don't know where my little brother got the latter from." replied Kaiba, and Téa could indeed see the Mokuba-esque twinkle in his blue eyes.

"You, a trouble-maker?" said Téa with a smile. "Now that I'd like to see."

"I'd gladly remind you, but we're not anywhere near a waterfall." retorted Kaiba, and Téa let out a mock scoff and flipped her hair at him as she turned and swept up the stairs the rest of the way. Kaiba let out an amused rumble and followed her. They got to the top of the stairs and started down the road. Kaiba watched as Téa leapt lightly up a bench and then onto the stone wall that connected to the stairs they had just come up, walking along it on the tips of her toes, and he all of a sudden felt his stomach twist into knots. "Be careful!" he called.

"Kaiba, I do this all the time. I'm a dancer, remember?" said Téa, and she leapt into the air, kicking her legs behind her before landing with her feet crossed, her arm held straight above her head with a curve of her hand. Kaiba ran forward until he was right up next to her, keeping close to the side of the wall in case he had to make a grab for her.

"After what we both just went through with cliffs, how can you still want to do that?" he asked, glancing nervously over the edge, which was a good fifty foot drop, more than enough for Téa to break a limb or smash her head.

"Because I love dancing." Téa said as she started to do piques along the wall, and Kaiba took two long steps to keep pace with her. "I'm not gonna stop just because I might fall."

"I meant there are safer places to do so." said Kaiba uneasily, and his heart flew to his throat as Téa did a full pirouette before landing on her toes. He scowled, saying, "Are you trying to give me a coronary?! Cut that out!"

Téa giggled at Kaiba's distress, walking backwards without even looking, and said, "You need to have a little more faith in me, Kaiba. I've been dancing since I was eight years old."

"Faith doesn't stop you from landing on that thick head of yours!" snapped Kaiba as he walked quickly beside her, keeping his eyes riveted on her.

"No?" asked Téa, and she stood up on one foot, balancing on her toes, before falling sideways. Kaiba's eyes widened before he lunged forward and caught her out of the air.

"What was that?!" he asked, glaring at Téa as she giggled in his arms.

"That's called faith, Kaiba." she said with a smile. "I knew you wouldn't let me fall. You should learn to have that kind of trust in people."

Kaiba blinked as Téa wrapped her arms around his shoulders and swung herself back down to the ground, slipping out of his arms and skipping down the road once again. He stared after her, making a noise of frustration and running a hand through his hair before he followed her.

They approached a stand-alone apartment home, a small loft balcony nestled on the second story. Téa turned and said, "This is my home."

Kaiba's eyes roved up the small building, saying, "It looks tiny. You live with your parents?"

"Nope, just me." said Téa with a cheerful smile. "I don't take up much space."

Kaiba turned his gaze back to her again, a strange look in his eyes. Téa lowered her eyes to their hands and linked her pinky finger around his, peering up at him through her lashes and saying, "Come inside for a minute."

Kaiba felt his heart skip a beat. "That's okay. I don't want to impose." he said.

"You're not imposing, I'm inviting you." said Téa gently. She saw him glance nervously at her door, and added, "If you're not comfortable going inside, we could always sit on the balcony."

Kaiba looked up at the balcony loft and seemed to relax, saying, "That I can do."

"Great! Follow me!" said Téa, and Kaiba allowed her to pull him up the porch. He noticed a metal ladder built into the side of the apartment, leading up through a large square hole in the deck above. Téa climbed the ladder quickly, and Kaiba followed her. He popped his head over and saw a decent-sized patio area with a glass table in front of a three-seater porch swing. There were various herb plants and flowers hanging over the railing in shelf boxes, and he saw Téa pushing her finger into the potting soil of each one to check the moisture levels. "Oh good, the rain watered my garden for me." she said happily.

Kaiba's amused half-smirk flashed. Téa reached into her pack and pulled out her keys, unlocking the sliding glass door and pushing it aside. Kaiba noticed a bed and a closet inside and realized that it was Téa's bedroom. She turned and said, "I'll be right back. Make yourself at home."

She disappeared into the apartment, and Kaiba set his bag on the glass coffee table and made his way over to the swing, lowering himself into it and stretching out his legs. He waited for only a minute before Téa returned with two small bottles in one hand and a round pillow in her other. "Here you go." she said, holding out her hand that held the bottles, and Kaiba took one from her. "That's all I have for portable drinks, I'm afraid."

Kaiba tore off the wrapper, then startled a bit before snatching the green plastic plug that fell out of the top. His brow furrowed slightly as he stared at the glass marble blocking the opening, and Téa blinked. "You've never had ramune before?" she asked him, her surprise evident.

"I'm not a big soda drinker." explained Kaiba.

"Well, this is a little lighter than soda. It's more like flavored seltzer water that actually tastes good." said Téa, and Kaiba let out a rumble of amusement, watching as she took the plastic plug from him. She put it on the marble, then moved his thumb over it and pushed down, and Kaiba stared as the plug forced the marble into the bottle with a pop and a small fizz.

"That's different." he said, watching the glass marble roll around in the top of the bottle, blocked from going any deeper by a thin groove.

"See those two bumps on this side?" said Téa, pointing. "They stop the marble from blocking the hole again when you drink, so hold it like this..." She twisted the bottle in his hand before proceeding to open hers, and she held her bottle towards his, saying, "To trying new things."

"Hear hear." said Kaiba, clinking their bottles together and taking a sip along with her. The fizzy drink was just the right amount of sweet, and Kaiba let out a hum of approval and took the bottle away from his lips, saying, "It tastes a bit like sangria."

"That's the flavor of this one." said Téa. "Don't worry, it's alcohol-free. I wouldn't spike your drink on your first time visiting my home."

"So I should be worried you'll do so the next time, is what you're saying?" asked Kaiba with an amused half-smirk, and Téa giggled.

"Maybe." she joked, leaning against his arm. "If you want a next time."

"Oh, well, you're making me think really hard about it." teased Kaiba with a soft smile, receiving another giggle from Téa. He lifted his arm and allowed her to nestle against his side, resting his arm around her shoulders, and started pushing the swing gently with his legs.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, sipping at their drinks and listening to the sounds of the city at night. Kaiba looked around and couldn't help but wonder when was the last time he visited a residence so quaint. Téa's little apartment was a stark contrast to his mansion or the KaibaCorp tower, but a welcoming one nonetheless. It reminded him of his home with his parents, especially the garden. He was suddenly recalling a memory from so long ago, when his mother was still alive. He remembered her tending lovingly to a vegetable garden, singing softly to the plants as if they were her own children.

Kaiba shook himself out of his past memories and glanced down at Téa. He realized what he had thought was a round pillow she had carried out earlier was actually a Kuribohrn plush doll. He watched as she made patterns in the white fur before smoothing it down again, and Kaiba noticed the KC logo on the tag, saying, "I see you won something from my amusement park."

"Actually Mokuba did." said Téa, stroking the doll. "He gave this to me."

Kaiba looked back down at the plush doll with a new appreciation for it. "I see." he said softly. "When was this?"

"Earlier this year. It was the first time he had seen me since I went off to college, and he wanted to take us to Kaiba Land...me, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Bakura." said Téa. "He took us around to all the attractions, rode all the rides with us, played all the games. I remember watching him eat all the junk food...cotton candy, popcorn, giant pretzels, funnel cake, slushies and so much soda. I wondered how he never got sick every time he got on a roller coaster."

Kaiba let out a soft rumble of amusement, his smile appearing as he looked down at his own bottle of ramune. "That sounds like my little brother, alright." he agreed before taking a sip.

"We stayed until the park closed, and he told me it was one of the happiest day of his life, and it was all thanks to his big brother." said Téa. Kaiba watched as she took his hand in hers, adding, "He also said he wished you could have been there with us."

Kaiba inclined his head. "I was always too busy trying to maintain that life for my little brother, I never even stopped to share in the spoils with him." he said.

Téa hummed understandably, saying, "Mokuba said you never allowed yourself to have any fun. He told us even when you were dueling, it was still work-related."

Kaiba felt his heart become a lead brick as he remembered his brother's biting words from the afterlife dimension. You'll probably just work, like you always do! You never did anything else if it didn't have something to do with Duel Monsters!

"He was right." he said. "During Battle City, I was testing out the redesigned Duel Disk after the prototype, and then when I invented Solid Vision, Crystal Cloud and the third generation Duel Disk, I was testing those out, too. It was always working and testing the work. Same with Kaiba Land. Mokuba and I built it together, but the only time I ever actually went there was during the grand opening tournament. I never once went with my brother just to have fun, even after I said we would back when we were kids and just coming up with the idea."

Téa leaned against his shoulder, saying, "Is that why you don't make promises?"

Kaiba let out a sigh from his nose, saying, "Among other personal reasons, yes."

Téa was quiet for a moment before she asked, "Is that also why you suddenly stopped Dueling?"

She waited, but there was no answer. Téa blinked and looked up at Kaiba inquisitively. He was staring wordlessly at nothing in particular. "Kaiba?" she asked.

Kaiba blinked out of his trance before looking away quickly. "Yeah." he replied simply.

Téa noted his averted gaze and knew immediately that something was off. She remembered Yugi's words from the restaurant and the knowing look in his eyes. Téa sat up and turned to face Kaiba, watching him carefully. "Kaiba, I have to ask you something." she said. "What were you doing with the Plana Cube in the first place?"

She saw him stiffen, but Kaiba kept his eyes turned away and didn't respond to her question.

"You told me last night that you used it to try to revive Mokuba." continued Téa. "Were you trying to do that with someone else first? Like maybe a certain five thousand year old pharaoh you could never beat in a duel?"

"Téa, please don't..." whispered Kaiba, clenching a trembling hand as his voice cracked a bit.

Téa's mouth parted, her blue eyes widening a bit as realization hit her. "Kaiba..." she said, laying her hand over his. "You don't think it's your fault Mokuba died, do you?"

Kaiba closed his eyes and said nothing.

"Kaiba, I know you well enough to know you put protecting your little brother above everything else." persisted Téa. "I know what you were going to say yesterday morning at the fire-pit. You were about to tell me that the one time you didn't put Mokuba before yourself, he died."

"Téa, you don't understand..." started Kaiba softly.

"Yes I do understand." said Téa firmly. "You have every power in this world conceivable, and you thought you could have saved him if your attention hadn't been focused elsewhere. Kaiba, you can't blame yourself for what happened. Even you can't stop death."

"I was being a hypocrite, Téa!" snapped Kaiba suddenly, and Téa had to stop herself from startling. "I always preached about how I don't waste my time focusing on the past, and yet there I was, too busy chasing it with a magic I never believed in to even notice the only family I had left was deathly ill! You can say it wasn't my fault that my brother died all you want, but I still have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life!"

Téa watched as Kaiba let out a sharp exhale, and she saw the pained look in his eyes before he closed them and bowed his head, as if ashamed of his outburst. She felt tears welling up in her own eyes, and Téa leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in Kaiba's shoulder. "I'm sorry." she whispered softly, her voice cracking as the tears fell from her eyes. "I know it doesn't take the pain away. I wish I knew how to."

Kaiba felt the pang in his chest as he felt Téa's tears on his neck. He exhaled softly through his nose and lifted his hand to stroke her hair. "It doesn't ever go away." he replied gently. "It just gets easier to deal with over time. Trust me, I already know."

Téa's heart ached for him, and she reached up and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently as she whispered, "You don't have to deal with it alone."

Kaiba felt the pang in his chest disappear, replaced with a warmth at her words. He turned to look at her, his blue eyes reflecting that gentle shimmer. "Thank you, Téa." he said sincerely.

"I told you I'd be there for you if you need it, Kaiba." said Téa, running a hand along one eye to clear away her tears. "I may not always know what to say, but I'll always listen."

Kaiba's smile appeared. "Sometimes that's all I need." he said.

Téa gave him a warm smile before leaning her head on his shoulder and hugging him again, and Kaiba returned her embrace by wrapping his arm around her again. She was quiet for a moment, then couldn't help but giggle, saying, "...and you thought therapists were quacks."

Kaiba let out a rumble of amusement, saying, "To be fair, you're not an actual therapist."

"I could be, though. Dance therapy is a thing." replied Téa.

"Yeah, sorry, that's not my thing." said Kaiba slowly. "The only dance I do is the waltz."

"Funny, I don't recall Domino being a waltzy tune." teased Téa, nudging against him.

"You know what I mean." said Kaiba flatly.

"Oh, you mean when you're not forced to dance because you were a sore loser." teased Téa, leaning into him this time.

"I do believe you're insulting me again, Miss Téa." Kaiba pointed out, trying desperately not to let his amused half-smirk crack his stoic facade.

"And I do believe I told you to get used to it, Mr. Kaiba." giggled Téa, and he let out another amused rumble in response. She paused for moment before curling her lips into a smile, adding, "I still think you should dance like that more often."

"I think otherwise." retorted Kaiba.

"What if I asked nicely?" teased Téa, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Then I would politely decline." replied Kaiba, flashing an amused half-smirk.

"Oh come on, it's fun!" said Téa, and she suddenly sat up and tugged at his hands. "Let's do it."

"Let's not and say we did." said Kaiba, and Téa giggled.

"Come on, just one dance!" pleaded Téa, standing up and leaning her weight back. "Please?"

"No thank you." said Kaiba, resisting her pull with minimal effort.

"Pretty please?" persisted Téa.

"No." laughed Kaiba. "Not right here."

"Oh, so you'll do it elsewhere?" asked Téa eagerly.

Kaiba paused, noting the excited sparkle in Téa's eyes. "Maybe." he said at last. "Not in public."

"So you will do it?" she asked again, kneeling on the swing next to him again.

"I said maybe." reiterated Kaiba. "No promises."

"Oh, I get it now." teased Téa, leaning into him. "You don't want to lose the bet."

Kaiba scoffed in amusement. "Oh-ho, so that's how it's gonna be, is it?" he said, and he suddenly reached out and dug his fingers into her side, tickling her. Téa shrieked in surprise and clapped a hand to her mouth as it echoed in the night, her eyes huge. Kaiba tried to hold in his laugh, but it busted out of him. Téa slapped him in the chest, and that only made him laugh harder. "Sorry." he wheezed, hiding his face in his hand as he tried to regain his composure.

"No you're not!" said Téa, trying desperately not to join in.

"You're right, I'm not. That was funny." said Kaiba. "Do it again."

"No!" squealed Téa, batting his hand away as he moved it towards her stomach again. She made to reach for his stomach in retaliation, but Kaiba caught her hand and entwined their fingers so she couldn't use that one. She moved her other hand, but he did the same thing. He held her hands out to the side, keeping them out of range of his abdomen. Téa sat up and leaned all her weight against him, trying to push towards his stomach. Kaiba's amused smile lingered as he easily resisted her. "Oh...come...on..." huffed Téa, pushing with all her might. "I'm not even in the water anymore!"

"As if that matters." said Kaiba. "I can dead-lift twice your weight."

"Show-off." quipped Téa, trying to move their hands.

"And what exactly were you doing on the ropes course at the arcade, little pot?" asked Kaiba, his eyes twinkling at their shared joke as he moved his hands with hers.

"Bite me, you big kettle." retorted Téa with a smile, and she let out a surprised shriek as Kaiba suddenly leaned forward and snapped his teeth near her face. "Kaiba!" she cried, giggling.

"Careful how you word things, Miss Téa." he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Vampire Lord might take it as permission."

Téa couldn't hold it in any longer and finally burst into giggles, and she pulled her hands out of his and shoved him, saying, "I think you did get a spiked ramune. You're a lot more bold when you're drunk."

"I've actually never been drunk before, so you might be right." said Kaiba.

"Don't let the guys hear you say that." warned Téa. "They'll take it as a challenge."

Kaiba chuckled, and Téa let out the last of her giggle in a sigh, a smile on her face. She looked over at Kaiba just as he turned to look at her as well. Their eyes met for a moment, and Téa swore she saw Kaiba's eyes flit down to her mouth for a fleeting second before he turned his gaze away, then looked up at the sky to excuse the sudden movement. Téa followed his gaze, realizing that the moon was directly overhead now. "I should go. It's getting late." murmured Kaiba, and Téa thought she heard a hint of regret in his voice. "Roland will be sending out the search party soon if he hasn't already."

Téa hummed in amusement, smiling at his light-hearted remark. "Okay." she replied softly, reaching for her ramune to finish it off, and Kaiba did the same. They emptied their bottles and set them down on the glass table, and Téa quickly put the Kuribohrn doll back in her room as Kaiba stood and shouldered his bag. She followed him back down the ladder to the porch, and he turned before the first step and gazed down at her. Téa waited, but Kaiba said nothing. She blinked at him, murmuring a soft, "What?"

"Thank you." Kaiba said at last. "For what you said after the bus incident."

Téa's expression softened into a warm smile, and she reached out and took one of his hands in both of hers, saying, "I can't speak for the others, but I'll always stick with you, Kaiba, no matter what." A knowing twinkle appeared in her eye as added, "Whether you like it or not."

Kaiba met her gaze evenly, a strange look in his eyes as he replied, "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I can keep this one." said Téa affirmatively, squeezing his hand. "Or did you forget I'm the one that makes all the sappy friendship speeches?"

Kaiba's amused half-smirk flashed, saying, "No, I didn't forget. But you should know people have attempted worse than trying to crash a bus with me in it."

"I do know, as a matter of fact." said Téa. "We've all been through worse than that, haven't we? Our group had an uncanny knack for attracting danger."

Kaiba let out a rumble of amusement, saying, "Isn't that the truth."

"In fact, as I recall, we were sucked into a submarine aircraft carrier and forced to duel for our lives in a virtual world..." said Téa, swaying side to side as she reiterated the memory. "...where a certain step-brother you didn't know you had tried leaving you and Mokuba there, forever immobilized as stone statues while he and his father made off in your bodies to try and take over KaibaCorp and the rest of the world. I think that one still takes the cake before a simple little failed bus accident, don't you think? I don't recall screaming to get off your blimp and saying I'll never go anywhere near you again after that little side quest."

The corners of Kaiba's mouth lifted as he watched Téa's slow swaying dance in front of him. She was still holding his hand, swinging it in rhythm with her movements. "No, you didn't." he replied softly.

"Then you should know that's a promise that I can keep." said Téa, lifting his hand and twirling underneath it, and Kaiba automatically held out his other hand to catch her by the waist as Téa came to a halt with her back against his chest, their clasped hands going to her opposite waist. She looked up at him, and she saw Kaiba swallow nervously before he quickly turned his face away and released her from his hold. He ran a hand through his hair, and Téa had to stop herself from smiling. She had never seen Seto Kaiba flustered before. It was kind of cute. "I guess I'll see you around, then?" she asked.

"Maybe." said Kaiba.

Téa paused for a moment before putting a hand on his arm. "I mean it." she said. "I hope you'll come out with us more often."

Kaiba's eyes flitted to the movement before going back to her face, saying, "I'll try."

Téa smiled knowingly. She stepped a bit closer and lowered her voice. "Do more than try..." she murmured, her hand sliding down his arm, and she slipped her pinky around his. "...keep your promise to Mokuba."

Kaiba's eyes widened slightly before he caught himself. "I will." he responded sincerely.

Téa smiled contently at his answer. "Good, then see you around." she said, definitively this time.

"Yeah..." said Kaiba, watching as her pinky slid out of his. "...see you around." He turned and walked down the stairs. Kaiba hadn't taken but two steps away from the bottom step when he slowed to a stop, a nagging feeling in his gut that he couldn't ignore. Suddenly the voice that was usually a nuisance to him hit him like a sack of bricks.

Ask her.

Kaiba took a deep breath, steadying his sudden nerves, before turning back around to face Téa, who was still standing on the porch watching him go. "When are you free next?" he asked.

Téa blinked, her heart suddenly fluttering.

"To visit the space station." Kaiba added quickly. "I told you I'd take you up there."

Téa's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in a delighted smile, and Kaiba felt his stomach doing flips at her excited expression and the sparkle in her eyes. "I'm free all week!" she said eagerly. "When's a good day for you?"

Kaiba's amused half-smirk appeared as he said, "I'm the CEO, Téa. I make my own schedule."

"Right. I knew that." said Téa, rubbing her arm nervously. "Um...is Tuesday okay?"

"Of course." said Kaiba. "Is noon too early?"

"Not at all! Unlike the guys, I'm an early riser." said Téa with a cheerful smile.

Kaiba made a hum of amusement, secretly pleased at the response. "Then I'll see you Tuesday at noon." he said affirmatively, adding, "So yes, you'll see me around."

Téa giggled. "I can't wait! Thank you, Kaiba!" she said, and Kaiba startled and threw out his arms to catch her as Téa suddenly sprung off the small porch and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him. His heart soared strangely in his chest as he held her suspended in the air for that fleeting second.

"You're welcome, but please stop doing that." said Kaiba, swallowing quickly as his voice almost dried up along with his mouth.

"What? Trust-falling?" asked Téa with a giggle as she slid out of his arms. "You don't want me to have faith in you?"

"I want you to stop giving me a heart attack every time you put yourself in a situation where you could get seriously injured." retorted Kaiba.

"So you finally admit it." Téa said, her eyes sparkling with some hidden joke.

"Admit what?" demanded Kaiba, noting the mirthful twinkle that made his heart flutter strangely despite his ire at Téa.

"That you were scared." said Téa with a triumphant smile at Kaiba's wide-eyed look before he glared at her again. "Don't give me that look! You just said it! You can't deny it now!"

"It was a figure of speech..." he muttered, glancing away and running his hand through his hair.

"Really? You're gonna try playing rhetorics now?" asked Téa, and she saw Kaiba fighting not to let his amused half-smirk flash across his face.

"I'm not playing anything with you." he said, trying to remain serious, but somehow it came out as a teasing statement, and Téa's giggle certainly didn't help. "I'm just reminding you that you can't make me admit anything."

"I beg to differ. Even you admitted that you've been wrong before." said Téa with a sweet smile.

"I am getting better at admitting my own faults." agreed Kaiba with a knowing half-smirk. "But that still doesn't mean you have that power over me. You're not that persuasive."

"You think so?" asked Téa, stepping closer to him again.

"I know so." answered Kaiba, his eyes meeting hers boldly at their shared joke.

Téa's rosy lips curled into a soft smile as she met his gaze unflinchingly. She leaned towards his face, just as she had done at the arcade, but this time Kaiba didn't lean away. Instead he felt her warm breath again and caught a whiff of peppermint lip balm as she whispered, "I guess we'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

Kaiba blinked as Téa suddenly turned, her hair flipping in front of his face as she swept up the stairs before he was given a chance to respond. She unlocked her door swiftly and stepped inside, peering out and meeting Kaiba's eyes as he watched her go. "Goodnight, Kaiba." she sung softly with a playful ring in her voice.

Kaiba let out a rumble of amusement, replying, "Goodnight, Téa."

Téa closed the door, peering out the eye hole. Kaiba stood there for a moment longer, and Téa's heart skipped a beat as she thought he could see her through the eye hole, but then Kaiba turned his attention back to the road in front of him and walked off into the night. Téa leaned against the door, exhaling slowly through her lips as she felt the butterflies in her stomach once again before making her way up to her bedroom. She flopped into her bed, not even bothering to undress, and Téa fell asleep almost instantaneously, completely worn out from the day's events.

---

From under the yellow glow of the streetlights outside, Kaiba walked until he was quite a ways down the road before he took a hand out of his pocket and rubbed the spot on his chest where Téa had made contact with it, deep in thought as he made his way slowly back to KaibaCorp. His mind started to drift back to the waterfall grotto. He had surprised himself with how he had flagrantly ignored everything that Gozaburo had warned him about allowing anyone to become too close. And Kaiba had definitely allowed Téa to become close to him, both then and now. He was once again reminded of the sensation of their warm breaths mingling. A strange craving flooded his mind, and Kaiba was shocked to feel his mouth become wet this time instead of dry. Now he was salivating like Wheeler the mutt had been over Mai? Kaiba shook away the thought, refusing to believe he was succumbing to such primitive instincts, but still his mind lingered on how close his lips had been to Téa's and the curiosity of whether they truly tasted like peppermint and how he had wanted so badly to silence her smart mouth with his...

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice when he finally made it back to the side entrance, and he had to suppress a startle when the two guards shouted at him to halt. All they saw was a hooded figure in black. Kaiba quickly took off his hood, throwing up his practiced stoic facade, and the guards immediately took their hands off their weapons and apologized profusely before letting him through the gate, bowing deeply as he passed. Kaiba walked a few paces past them and let out a sigh. Back to business as usual.

Kaiba walked through the courtyard slowly, begrudgingly, not wanting to enter the prison that was KaibaCorp just yet. He wanted to sit outside for just a little bit longer, admire the great outdoors and the full moon while it still shone in the sky for one more night. His legs carried him over to the opposite courtyard until he stood in front of Mokuba's stone pillar. Kaiba lowered himself onto the stone monument and stretched out his long legs before him, closing his eyes and breathing in the night air slowly through his nose. Kaiba's eyes lowered to Téa's hair comb, still laying on the base. He also noticed a cluster of carnations of different colors and a few smooth, flat pebbles. Kaiba's rare, real smile emerged at those, remembering how he had skipped rocks on the water with Téa on the camping trip. He knew Mokuba did the same on the pond within KaibaCorp's courtyards, often with the children of his staff. "Looks like the shoe's on the other foot these days, little brother." said Kaiba aloud, amazed at himself that he felt compelled to speak to Mokuba as if he was still alive and standing right before him. "I'm learning things from you now. Imagine that."

The moon emerged from behind a swath of thin clouds, and the blue gems on Téa's hair comb caught the light and twinkled in response. Kaiba smiled again. "I kept my promise to you." he said. "I'm trying new things and I'm smiling for once. Even laughed a few times. I know, shocker. The geek squad even made a game out of it with money for the winner. I think Tristan was the victor...or maybe it was Wheeler, whichever way you look at it. I bet you never thought I'd hang out with Yugi's lot. I surprise even myself these days. But you told me you wanted me to have fun, and I'm a man of my word."

The wind blew gently, rustling Kaiba's hair, and he had a feeling that was Mokuba's way of messing up his hair, which he had loved doing to tease Kaiba and invoke an angry response from him before he ran off cackling like a nutcase. Kaiba swallowed a lump in his throat at those memories, wishing he had spoken a little gentler to his little brother in those moments, among others. He remembered Tristan's words from the camping trip, and Kaiba's heart ached as he realized he didn't even know what was the last thing he had said to Mokuba while he was living. He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear away the intrusive thoughts that threatened to bring wetness to those hard, dark blue eyes of his. He didn't need to think about that. Kaiba had gone to the dimension of the afterlife for that very reason. He had said his apologies for not spending enough time with Mokuba while he was alive, so he was given closure on that.

What he was unable to ask his brother, he realized, was who was responsible for his death. Kaiba's fist clenched at his side. He would find out who was responsible for killing his brother one way or the other. He couldn't trust a medical team with his own health if they had let Mokuba slip away so easily. Roland was right, KaibaCorp could fall into the wrong hands if anything happened to Kaiba now.

Right on cue, he heard a familiar voice say, "Good to have you back again, Mr. Kaiba."

He startled out of his thoughts and looked around to see both Roland and Ivan standing a good ten feet away. "I saw your return and notified the chief." explained Ivan, staying in place, and Kaiba's stomach twisted into knots as he heard the vagueties in those words.

"How was your trip, sir?" asked Roland.

"Short." said Kaiba curtly, immediately throwing up his stoic facade again before standing and marching past his private eye and the security chief. Roland and Ivan gave Mokuba's monument a deep bow before following Kaiba, matching his pace. The three of them said nothing as they entered the building and walked towards the elevator. Kaiba mashed the Up button, waiting impatiently for it to lower and ding open before entering it, his two guards following. It was just the three of them as the doors closed and started bringing them back up to the top floor.

"I did see the return incident, sir." said Roland suddenly.

"What are you talking about?" said Kaiba impatiently. There was no need for any of them to talk in vagueties when no one else was around.

"The bus hijacking, Mr. Kaiba." responded Ivan.

Kaiba's stomach plummeted, and Roland quickly added, "...and I'm glad to see you unscathed."

That didn't stop Kaiba's temper from flaring. He rounded on Ivan, his voice raising as he said, "I told you not to follow me!"

"I didn't." said Ivan, standing unfazed. "Not until after the crash, anyway."

"Then how did you know about it?!" demanded Kaiba.

"Apparently Ivan placed a geo-tracker in your cuff before you left for your trip, Mr. Kaiba." replied Roland, giving Ivan a hard sideways glance. "Without my approval, I might add."

"I figured you'd try wearing the same coat on such an outing." said Ivan.

Kaiba grabbed his cuff and indeed felt a small, hard chip next to the one for the elevator. He became livid. "I didn't authorize that!" he spat.

"Apparently in order to assure your safety, we need to take measures without your authorization, sir." replied Ivan calmly, giving Roland a pointed sideways glance of his own.

"Some safety assurance you took!" snapped Kaiba. "The bus still crashed! I almost fell over the cliff, and Duke shredded his hands to save my life! The only thing that saved my hide was that grappling hook and the others! You and the other guards were nowhere to be seen!"

"We attempted to over-ride the cruise control module of the bus, sir. Unfortunately it would seem the culprit knew what he was doing; the entire system was disabled." explained Roland calmly as he pulled out a tablet to show Kaiba. "He also had no location devices with which we could track his disappearance, and the satellite network didn't catch much, I'm afraid."

Kaiba watched as Roland pulled up satellite images with the timestamps from the afternoon and the location of the bus accident. The tablet replayed a live feed that Roland had honed in on with the satellite using Kaiba's geo-tracker in his coat, and Kaiba watched the moment when the bus driver jumped out of the driver's seat and rolled into the woods beneath the guard-rail, covering the bottom half of his face with the scarf he had been wearing and holding the hat onto his head. Kaiba watched as the bus rolled perfectly straight on the flat road, slowing to a halt, which is what he thought had been a stop sign, before it inched over the edge of the hill and started taking off downhill. The bus hit a pothole, throwing the bus off-kilter. That was probably what had grabbed Kaiba's attention at the time, and shortly after was when it careened into the cliff face, scraping the side of the bus and halting the speed only a little before Tristan had taken control. Kaiba saw himself kick open the emergency door and move out of the way to allow Joey and Serenity to jump out, followed by Mai and Duke. It was still strange to Kaiba to relive the moment from a different perspective, and he was amazed that everyone including himself had gone that long without noticing the bus driver's disappearance. Those two minutes between the bus driver jumping out and Kaiba kicking open the door to get everyone to safety might have made the difference between Kaiba getting himself out on time and Duke not destroying his hands to save him. The elevator finally dinged and opened to the top floor, and the three of them walked briskly down the hallway and into Kaiba's office before continuing the conversation.

"The satellite's camera couldn't see through the foliage of the forest, and there was a river nearby, so Ivan suspects they used the waterways to cover their tracks." explained Roland.

"No heat-signatures detected, either, so they must've had an infrared-blocking suit under that get-up." added Ivan. "They could have used the underbrush and possibly the peat in the forest for extra cover as well, just for good measure."

"We honed in on all the vehicles nearby including ships out in the ocean, but we didn't see where they made their getaway." said Roland. "This is the best image we got of the perpetrator..." Roland made one of the camera shots bigger, covering the live feed just as the bus plowed into the guard rail, zooming in several times on the bus driver as he rolled under the guard-rail into the forest, and Kaiba saw the large sunglasses over the scarf staring straight up at the sky. "Not much to go by for us, I'm afraid." said Roland. "We were hoping you noticed anything more when you got on the bus, Mr. Kaiba."

"It was definitely a man. He had a reddish-brown beard." said Kaiba, forgetting his temper.

"That could very well have been a costume prop." Roland pointed out.

"Maybe, but he looked built, too." replied Kaiba. "If he used the water-ways as an escape, especially out to the ocean, he would have to be in more than decent shape to survive. Maybe even military trained, high-tier. You don't see that often from a woman."

"It's never outside the realm of possibility, but you may be right, Mr. Kaiba." responded Ivan.

"So there was no one else afterwards?" asked Kaiba.

"Not that we saw. I had Ivan's group scan the area for accomplices, too, but it appeared as though the bus incident was their only plan." said Roland. "Still, I had him follow you and the others to make sure no one else tried anything else after that."

Kaiba felt the rest of his temper simmer away, only to be replaced by unease as he wondered if Ivan had seen him and Téa on her balcony. Roland's next words seemed to confirm just that.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to extend the security coverage to the others." said Roland.

Kaiba looked up at him, asking, "Do you think I'd need to?"

"I think I don't need to remind you how your enemies tried to get to you via your brother, sir." said Roland, looking him dead in the eye. "It's not outside the realm of possibility that they would target your friends now."

If he had been the Kaiba he was before, he would have gave a snarky response about how he didn't need friends. But after seeing them all in such a different light, Kaiba felt his stomach curdling at the thought of anything happening to any of them. Especially Téa. It was why Kaiba had avoided such relationships in the first place. Gozaburo had not been wrong about that part.

"I will say that Yugi Muto, Joey Wheeler, Duke Devlin and Mai Valentine are way too high-profile of targets, and probably so is Bakura Ryou since he was a finalist in Battle City." advised Roland, noting the pause. "Joey's sister likely wouldn't be a target because of him, either, but then again she was out of the spotlight. Same with Tristan and Téa."

"I'm not too worried about Tristan; he's proven time and again that he can take care of himself as well as the others." said Kaiba.

"So just Téa, then?" asked Roland, watching Kaiba carefully.

Kaiba inhaled through his nose, thinking. If he just kept tabs on Téa only, the opposition might pick up on it, and then she'd become an obvious target. Even if they didn't have anything one hundred percent conclusive concerning a relationship, it was too risky to have his security eyes on her exclusively. Besides, Kaiba didn't like the way both Roland and Ivan were eyeing him suspiciously behind those shades. They could guess all they wanted, but even his most trusted advisor didn't need to know anything, let alone one of his regular guards.

"Might as well add Serenity Wheeler to the watch list, too." said Kaiba finally, shutting down any suspicions Roland and Ivan may have. "She'll be going out of town soon, and her brother won't be there to keep an eye on her, just their mother. I want to say Tristan, too, but what do you think, Roland? Is that too much of a stretch for comfort?"

"The three of them should be fine, Mr. Kaiba." answered Roland. "We can always remove eyes from Serenity if she isn't targeted after she leaves or anytime before, and Tristan and Téa will probably cover the rest of the group since they're around each other a lot."

"Good. Make it happen." said Kaiba.

"One pair of eyes per person, rotating watch?" asked Roland. "I'm assuming you don't want to draw too much attention to them."

"Correct." said Kaiba.

"Tier four?" asked Roland.

Kaiba thought for a moment again. "Make it three." he said.

"Understood, sir." said Roland.

Tier three security at KaibaCorp was just the private eyes keeping active 24/7 direct visual watch, with defense only as needed in case of an incident, without phone or internet recordings and without the three of them knowing about their new shadows. Kaiba wasn't about to risk the earful he'd get from any of them if they found out he was actively monitoring their every movement and communication, and of course the special ops guards were reserved for himself only. The competition would definitely make them an active target if Kaiba cared enough to pull out all the stops over three seemingly meaningless people. Especially since one of those three in particular was the most meaningful since Mokuba...

Oh, so we're finally starting to admit it, are we?

Kaiba shook the thought out of his head.

"Was there anything else, sir?" asked Roland, noting Kaiba's unrestrained gesture.

"No, that's all. I just need to sleep. It's been a long and eventful day." said Kaiba, allowing himself to rub his forehead. The alcohol was starting to give him a headache, and the steak fajita he had eaten wasn't enough to absorb two rum shots, apparently. Damn his hyper-metabolism. Why didn't it work on getting alcohol out of his system before it reached his brain?

"Of course, sir." said Roland. "And I'll get you a personal hazard scanner in case you have other outings. You took serious risks with the food and drink at the arcade and the grille, not to mention during your trip. You should have refused the gin."

"We all drank out of that, so all of us would've be poisoned or dead if they tried something with it." scowled Kaiba. "That's far too many notable deaths at once to draw no suspicions."

"Not when you're that far away from the public eye in an unknown location, sir." said Ivan. "...and I'm sure we don't need to tell you how alcohol impedes your...reflexes...should something have happened; especially how much you imbibed in that first night."

Kaiba noted the pause and glared at Ivan. "My reflexes are just fine, thanks." he snapped, knowing Ivan was double-speaking and meant something more along the lines of judgment.

"In any case, you ought to be more careful on your outings, sir." said Ivan. "Especially if you keep insisting on sneaking away from our security protection."

"Watch it, Ivan." warned Roland, seeing Kaiba stiffen. "You're over-stepping your bounds."

"I'm over-stepping nothing, sir. I'm doing the job for which Mr. Kaiba hired me." replied Ivan coolly. "He's had two attempts on his life so far. Perhaps you gave in to his whims so easily, but I'll not have the same said of me."

It was as if a fuse was lit on a stick of dynamite. Kaiba felt his hair stand on end as he snapped, "I will not tolerate you talking to Roland like that, Ivan! You may be the most elite guard I have, but don't think for a second I won't replace you if you're insubordinate to your superiors! Roland is your chief and you will respect him, and that goes for me as well!"

Kaiba wrenched open the door to his living quarters and walked in, about to close it when Ivan suddenly slammed his fist on the door, blocking him from closing it.

"Ivan!" cried Roland, his shock evident, and Kaiba also stared at the private eye, shocked into silence at the sudden audacity.

"Forgive me, sir, for reminding you that you are the last living heir to KaibaCorp..." said Ivan, his tone quite blunt now. "...and you have yet to change the by-laws regarding inheritance of it. All that you wear may be bullet-proof, but you are not, Mr. Kaiba. I implore you to stop being so reckless with your life whilst you have no back-up plan."

"That's enough, Ivan!" barked Roland.

Kaiba felt his blood boiling, his fist clenching by his side as he tried desperately not to throw it at Ivan. "Is that all?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"That is all." said Ivan, removing his fist from the door. "Goodnight, sir."

He turned and swept past Roland, exiting the office. Roland glared after the private eye before turning to Kaiba, saying, "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Kaiba. Please allow me to handle this so you can get some rest."

"Fine. Do what you will with him." said Kaiba, still seething, and Roland bowed to him before striding out of the office after Ivan. Kaiba waited until he heard the elevator close before he slammed the door and let his fist fly into it at last, letting out a loud noise of frustration. Kaiba ran both his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath through his nose to try and calm his temper before walking into his bedroom.

The special ops guard hadn't lied one bit. Since his brother's passing, Kaiba hadn't re-drawn his will to pass on ownership to anyone else, even after the heavy insistence of his business advisors and asset managers. Only he had been given the rigorous training from Gozaburo, and Mokuba had only just been learning the basics before he passed on. Kaiba had also not changed the by-laws that had been laid down since Gozaburo's father had owned the company, and Gozaburo had not changed them during his time either. Even if the old man hadn't intended to adopt him and Mokuba that day, Gozaburo was probably also aware that he would have to find a suitable heir after Noah became incapacitated.

And now that Mokuba was gone, Kaiba was stuck with the same exact problem. If he didn't name a successor, he would either have to adopt an heir or have one by natural means, both of which were the furthest things from Kaiba's mind right now. He knew he was not ready to take on that kind of responsibility, even if he had plenty of people to help and advise him. Kaiba refused to allow himself to become a negligent parent like his step-father. If he was going to be a parent, he would be a proper one like his own parents had been.

Kaiba shook himself out of his thoughts before they could pull him back to the past and forced himself to relax. He dropped his bag at the base of his coat rack, where he hung up his black coat and stripped out of the rest of his clothes, dropping them into the laundry bin before greeting his shower. It had been far too long. Maybe he should have asked one of the ladies if he could borrow their personal care items to shower himself on the trip (Mai at the very least probably had professional grade hair and body products), but then again Kaiba hadn't wanted them to giggle about him smelling like a flower or some fruity food item. He wasn't ready to stoop to that level of vulnerability just yet. Although as he recalled the scent of Téa's shampoo from their close encounter in the arcade, he didn't think that was too bad...

Yeah, I'm sure you'd love nothing more than to have her scent all over your body. Okay, that's quite enough out of you for tonight.

Kaiba cut off the shower and dried himself vigorously before taking himself to bed. He pulled on a clean pair of boxer-briefs before slipping under the covers. He yawned, the fatigue finally getting to him after the long and eventful day, and closed his eyes. The warmth returned to his chest, and Kaiba rested his hand on it, feeling his heartbeat once more before he drifted off into slumber. His dreams were filled with gentle touches, soft giggles, and the scent of peppermint as he leaned closer in the dark under a roaring waterfall.