A blast of warm putrid air hit the trio as their surroundings materialised. Unlike the previous worlds they had occupied, this one had no grass, no trees and no buildings. Instead dotted here and there upon an expanse of red sand were tall hills made of craggy rocks. However, what the new world lacked in scenery it gained in weather. Almost as soon as the trio had fully materialised they were buffeted by a high wind which brought sand and other debris into the air; in unison, the trio raised their hands over their eyes to shield their eyes.

"We need to get out of this wind." Yami shouted over the gale. He clumsily grabbed Tea's hand and began to lead her towards the nearest rock hill. Tea could just make out a small crevice embedded in the middle of the hill, which she (and she supposed Yami too) thought might offer some shelter. As such, she let Yami lead her towards the shelter, focussing on the destination ahead, forgetting the companion she was leaving behind.


Kaiba hadn't moved an inch except to shield his eyes from the flying sand. He scanned the area, analysing every feature of this new world, trying to look for something that would give him an edge. Once again, he wondered at the identity of the man who was holding him captive in this Virtual World. And what he possibly could want. Kaiba chuckled dryly. This man could want anything: money, power, influence. Seto had them all. But clearly this madman had done his research; he had known where to find Kaiba, and how to trick him into this damn situation. That made him dangerous. The man had also known about Kaiba's business, his contacts, his brother… Kaiba's heart dropped a little. He hadn't protected his brother the way he had wanted. He had always tried to shield Mokuba from the business world and his enemies within it. Mokuba was his vulnerability. But perhaps not his only vulnerability anymore...

Kaiba looked ahead of him towards Tea and Yugi. The pair had made progress whilst Kaiba had been occupied with his thoughts; they were now quite close to a rock hill which Kaiba assumed was their ultimate destination.

It would be easy for him to catch up. A few quick strides of his powerful legs and he would draw alongside them. But then what? He frowned. Seto was no fool. Even before Yugi, or Yami, or whoever the damn boy was, had appeared in the Virtual World, he knew Tea felt a connection with him. They had always seemed close at school and during duelling competitions. But then, when Yugi duelled, he seemed almost to become someone else. He became more confident, took risks, and even sounded and looked slightly different. And equally, he thought, Tea would act differently around this duelling version of Yugi. She'd blush, she'd look at him more, she'd say different things. Memories flooded back through Kaiba, thinking of everything he noticed and noted, everything his analytical brain had picked up consciously and subconsciously. Yes there was something very different about this other Yugi. And yet…

Yami, as if sensing Kaiba's eyes boring into his back twisted his body around to see where Kaiba was. Seeing the boy frozen behind him, he grinned, and put his arm around his companion's narrow waist, pulling her closer to him.

That was it. The final straw. Kaiba turned his back on the pair and walked swiftly in the other direction. His sensible mind guiding him to areas of debris, picking up wood he could use to create a fire. Meanwhile, his heart pound painfully as he left Tea in the arms of another man.


Tea felt a shiver run up her spine as Yami rested his arm around her waist. This was what she had always hoped for. Dreamed about. Being in Yami's arms. And yet… Where was Kaiba? She stopped suddenly, realising he wasn't beside them and turned abruptly backwards. Not for the first time, she saw the tall brunette walking away from them. Away from her. She felt her heart drop but continued to watch the retreating boy. After a while she realised that Yami was still with her. She looked at him questioningly, knowing she would be unable to make her voice heard over the roaring wind.

Yami shrugged at her unspoken question. "He'll find us later I'm sure." Not entirely convinced, but knowing they needed to take shelter, Tea let herself be lead to the rock hill and began to climb towards the crevice. Always the gentleman, Yami waited, assisted and carried Tea as required and after a lot of painstaking effort, the two reached crevice just as a clap of thunder shattered the silence and rain began to fall.

Tea looked outside at the torrential storm that had just begun and bit her lip. Kaiba was out there. Alone. She couldn't see him anywhere through the gloom. What happened if he got hurt? What happened if he was attacked? They wouldn't know. She wouldn't know. In her anxiety she had got to her feet and had begun moving towards the opening of the cave, but she felt a strong hand on her arm. She looked back to see Yami looking at her, his face etched with worry.

"Tea, you can't go back out there. It's dangerous." He said in his deep self-assured voice.

"But Kaiba-"

"Kaiba is a grown man Tea. He can look after himself." Tea's face obviously showed that she didn't believe him. "Trying to make your way down those rocks when they're wet is going to put you in danger." Yami said seriously. "Getting yourself hurt isn't going to help Kaiba, is it?" Tea shook her head. Yami's voice softened. "Come and sit over here," he said gently patting the space of ground next to him. Reluctantly Tea walked towards Yami and sat where he had indicated.

"Close your eyes," He said soothingly. "If Kaiba isn't back in an hour or two I'll go and look for him. But you should rest now."

Feeling more reassured Tea settled down next to Yami, leaning against the boulder behind them. As she closed her eyes she realised how mentally and physically exhausted she was. Before long she could feel the familiar blackness surrounding her, her mind starting to go blank. Sleep took her. Little did she know that as she fell deeper into her sleep, her neck relaxed, her head slipping slowly till it came to a halt on Yami's shoulder.

As he felt the pressure, he moved his head slightly, being careful not to wake the sleeping girl next to him. He gave a small smile and relaxed, his eyes focussed on the entrance to the cave, waiting. Waiting for the confrontation he knew would happen. Waiting for Kaiba to arrive.

"Annoying dweeb."

Kaiba muttered as he collected firewood.

"Idiot boy. Who does he think he is?" He growled lifting some broken trees from the ground and moodily stuffing them under his other arm. It was so obvious now to him that Tea had had feelings for Yugi or this apparent alter-ego; the way her eyebrows knitted in concern when he duelled, the way she shouted words of encouragement, the way she fiercely protected him from any insults that Kaiba sent his way. That hadn't bothered Kaiba at the time, but now seeing the colour rise in Tea's cheeks as Yugi smiled at her... even thinking about it made Kaiba's anger surge. He had opened up to this girl, intended to reveal more of himself than he had ever revealed to any girl in the past. And Yugi had gone and ruined it.

A clap of thunder sounded and rain began to beat on Kaiba's head. Typical, he thought as he quickly gathered a few final logs before hurrying towards the rock mountain. The thought of Tea and Yugi alone in a cave made Kaiba climb up the wet rocks faster, barely noticing the scratches and slips he was suffering as he ascended.

He finally made it up to the crevice he assumed the pair had taken shelter in. Relieved he watched his feet carefully as he ascended the final few steps. When he looked up, he froze at the scene that greeted him. Firstly he saw Tea. She had fallen asleep; peace wiping away the events of the day that had just passed. The second and almost immediate subsequent observation was that her head was resting on Yugi's shoulder. A wave of anger rippled through Kaiba as he saw Yugi smirk at him. Not only that but Yugi's eyes were full of an emotion Kaiba had never seen before: malice and conceit.

An expression of glee flitted across Yugi's face as he saw the anger in Kaiba's face. He moved his arm from by his side to behind Tea, caressing her waist lightly. Forgetting his burden, Kaiba clenched his fists at his sides, dropping the logs that clattered to the ground. Tea was in too deep a slumber to wake up and instead snuggled closer into Yugi.

Kaiba took a few breaths to calm him down. The supercilious smirk of Yugi was getting to him. He set about creating a huge pile of logs which after a couple of attempts was soon a huge blazing fire. Kaiba sat opposite from the couple keeping his eyes fixed on the fire, trying not to look up. It bothered him more than he liked seeing the two together. As if reading his mind, Yami broke the silence.

"It bothers you, doesn't it, seeing her with me."

Kaiba did not reply but kept looking into the fire. Yami laughed coldly.

"Yes, yes I can see it does doesn't it." He continued with a smirk, "But I am the King of Games, I win everything. You should know this by now."

Kaiba's expression became more and more steely at Yami's words. He clenched his fists by his sides, trying not to rise to Yami's baiting.

"I win your pathetic competitions, I win the duels we have and I win the girl." This made Kaiba look up. "I win everything Kaiba. I have everything and you, well, you have nothing."

A sudden flashback interrupted Kaiba's thoughts. Something Tea had said when they had found Mokuba.

"The computer told me there were three current users in the virtual world"

"Computer," Kaiba said quietly and impulsively, "How many current users are there in the virtual world?" Yami stopped smirking at his words.

The cool female voice replied, "There are two current users of the Virtual World."

The two males froze, looking at one another. Yami's face screwed up into a feral snarl.

"Computer." He spat out, "Don't obey any further instructions from either of the users of the Virtual World from now on." He turned to Kaiba in triumph. "Tea will never believe you. She'll just think you're jealous or its part of the stupid rivalry you have with me. She will pick me. It's always me."

"We'll see about that." Kaiba said in a quiet yet deadly menacing voice. Kaiba swept away and settled himself as far away from the pair as possible whilst remaining under cover. He knew it was a risk sleeping in front of an enemy but he needed rest. And time to compose a plan. He was quite sure Yugi was right; it wouldn't be easy to convince Tea her friend wasn't real. Not after he had helped her when she was in trouble and not after Kaiba had been so cruel to her the previous day. Why do I have to be so god damn mean to her all the time? Kaiba asked himself. In truth, he enjoyed their arguments; everyone was scared to talk back to him, except this girl. But it wasn't just that he enjoyed her feistiness. He felt somehow responsible for the girl; it was his fault that she had been swept up in this. The world had been cruel on Tea, and Kaiba had learnt some very personal things about her. No longer did he consider her as the bimbo head cheerleader; she was much, much more. And he wanted to keep learning. But, he inwardly groaned, he was going to have to warn her about her imposter of a best friend. And he could guarantee that that would not go down well. Nevertheless, it had to happen and Kaiba could only hope it would not damage their relationship beyond repair.


A/N: And I'm back! I hope this chapter is OK. I've spent so long looking and editting it I can see the wood through the trees anymore. R&R and please be nice!