In the Eye of the Hurricane

Kaiba sat in his suite on the dirigible. Obelisk lay in his cupped palm, and his Blue Eyes White Dragons lay on his thighs.

He touched the tip of his finger to Obelisk's face. Such power. Still, Obelisk was not his favorite card. The Blue Eyes could never be replaced.

He looked at the Blue Eyes cards that lay on his lap, neatly placed on each thigh. With a shudder, he thought of the girl in his dreams, that angel with the long white hair. Obelisk was simply a way of getting closer to her. With each god card, he got closer. He didn't know how he knew this.

He was so hard it hurt. It was the sweetest, loveliest pain.

Tea Gardner. She was on the blimp. Fuck, she had begged to be there. And he knew why. He had saved her life. She couldn't deny him anything now. Plus, he had a god card. He was unstoppable. She knew it. If she would give it to Yugi, why wouldn't she give it to him? He shuddered again. He had no choice now. He knew he would have a public victory over Yugi. He had to have a private victory.

He gently lifted each Blue Eyes from his lap and stacked them neatly with Obelisk. He placed the Blue Eyes cards and Obelisk on top of his deck, and then stood. He stooped and felt along the wall until he found what he was looking for. A perfect square opened in the wall with soft pop. He swiftly swung the lock, opened the safe, and lovingly placed the deck inside. He gave it a final stroke, as if telling it he would be back soon.

He closed the safe and the hidden panel, then stood. As he left his room and walked down the hall, he thought of the white haired angel, and asked for forgiveness for what he was going to do.

**********

Tea woke up disoriented, sore, and goose-pimpled. She heard someone breathing softly next to her. For a moment, the breathing frightened her. She could only imagine who it could be—Marik? Bakura? Kaib—she jolted awake.

Her butt was numb and her neck was stiff from sleeping upright in a wooden chair. In front of her, lying in a bed, was Mai Valentine. Yes. Tea knew what was going on now. Marik had sent Mai's mind to the Shadow Realm.

Tea shuddered and reached out to pat Mai's shoulder through the sheet, wincing at the dull pain in her back. She gazed at her friend's face. She thought about the time they were on Pegasus's island, and Mai had guarded her while she changed her clothes. "We gotta stick together," Mai had told her.

She wished that Mai was her sister. They could always protect each other, that way, just like Joey and Serenity protected each other. In a perfect world, Mai would be her sister, and Yami would be her husband, and they would live together, with Joey and Tristan, and maybe even Duke and Bakura, alongside the Nile River. Joey would marry Mai, and Tristan would marry Serenity. Duke would find a beautiful girl (Ishizu, perhaps?), and Bakura would finally be purged of the Spirit of the Ring, free and happy. As long as Mai was still breathing, there was still hope for that.

Tea had to get up and stretch. She had to rinse off the goosepimples with nice, warm water. Mostly, she had to empty her aching bladder, which felt stretched so thin that she swore it was springing little pin-prick leaks. Before she could attend to her own comfort, however, she had to ensure Mai's safety. She had to find someone to watch Mai.

She stood slowly, easing her breath through her pursed lips as her cold muscles unkinked. Her left butt-cheek and right shoulder wouldn't cooperate, and she had to do a few loose swings of her arm and from her hip to get the blood flowing and loosen the socket. She walked slowly to the door and unlocked it, moving slightly sideways so she could keep an eye on Mai's sleeping form. She tried to be as quiet as possible when sliding the lock back. She knew she wasn't doing it to keep from disturbing Mai. She just knew that the way things were now, she didn't want to draw any attention to herself.

Even though she was trying desperately to convince herself that the worst was over, she knew that when the sun rose, something else would be there to confront her and her friends. This calm was an illusion.

As she suspected, a guard had been stationed outside Mai's door. The guard leaned against the wall, relaxed but alert in his stiff pressed navy suit. He glanced at her as she stepped through the door.

"I would like to wash up," she whispered. "I'll be right back. Could you go in with Mai? She'll be safer if someone were in the room with her, and she won't be afraid if she wakes up."

"Yes, ma'am, but let me check your room first. Which one is it?"

"Last one at the end of the hall."

Tea waited by the door as the guard went down the hall and entered her room. He was gone less than a minute.

"All clear. When you come back, knock five times, two seconds between each knock. That way I'll know it's you."

"I'll do that," Tea assured him as he closed the door behind him. She slipped down the hallway and went into her room, locking herself inside.

She leaned her head against the wall while she went to the bathroom, letting her muscles relax. She listened to the hum of the dirigible's engine, letting her mind and bladder empty. She didn't remember much of what had happened down at the pier, and didn't particularly want to. All she knew and wanted to know was she had encountered Marik, but she was okay. It was Mai that needed attention, not her, so she wasn't going to worry about herself.

Her shoes felt like they were about as stable as toothpicks and her stockings felt like they were made of wool. She bent over and kicked and yanked until they were both off. She stood up, pulled her underpants up, and stepped out of her shorts. She ran a hand through her hair. It still felt clean and smooth. She had washed it that morning. Her armpits, groin, feet, and face, however, could use a little soap and water.

She flicked on the lights, smacking her hands to her smarting eyeballs. As dim as they were, they felt like they were a thousand kilowatts. When her vision returned to normal, she looked around the room, peering into every corner and standing on tiptoe to peer on every shelf, looking for any hidden cameras or peepholes. When she was sure she was safe, she turned off all the lights except the one over the bed, tucking the room back into darkened relief, and unbuttoned her blouse.

Wearing only her underwear, she found a washcloth and wet it. She scrubbed her face and wiped her armpits. She propped each foot on the lip of the sink and lathered the bottoms and between each toe. She pulled her underwear down slightly to clean between her legs. To her joy, she found a small toothbrush and some toothpaste. She draped her blouse over her shoulders, washed her hands, and brushed her teeth.

As she cleaned up, she thought about Mai and Joey. Why wasn't Joey sitting with Mai, too? Tea knew he really liked her, and was maybe even in love with her. Mai probably felt the same way about Joey. Mai was more likely to come out of her coma with Joey encouraging her.

She thought about Yugi and Yami, how Yami had saved Joey and Mai by blocking Marik's blast with his body. She felt a bursting in her heart, thinking about Yami, how he was willing to endanger himself over and over for his friends and coming out alive every time. He was so strong, so loving, and so brave. He made her feel small and young, but those feelings felt right with him. After all, he was probably thousands of years old. She trusted him with her life. She could give herself to him, curl up in his hands, with absolutely no hesitation.

And yet, on their date, while they sipped sodas, she couldn't bring herself to tell him about Kaiba and the closet, or Kaiba in the bathroom. Her body wanted to tell him—her tongue and lips flexed to form the words, but the dominant part of her brain forced her jaw to clench. How could she even think of telling him about it? What could he possibly do? What could the information possibly do to him, and his opinion of her?

Tea would smile through excruciating pain, and trudge through the greatest indignities, no matter how unjust, in silence before risking her friendships.

She heard the doorknob turn and click against the lock.

Her heart froze.

The doorknob rattled.

Tea clutched her blouse to her body, clenching it tight over her breasts. She couldn't fit under the bed.

Silence.

Tea started to shake. She couldn't move. There was nowhere to move.

A key entered the lock. With a click, the lock retreated back into its chamber.

The door opened, and Kaiba stepped in.