"Hey, Téa!" said Aurus, as he greeted her. "How were the ruins?"
"You know, I decided not to go after all," she lied, in case Keith's informer was close by. "I ended up doing a bit more window shopping."
"Window shopping? You need to go ahead and buy something," said Caerii. "Just follow your heart… and your credit score."
"Oh, sure," said Hesper, sarcastically. "Then we'd end up with another you; that's the last thing we need."
Aurus rolled his eyes as the comment ignited a sibling spat. Téa watched them for a moment; they truly reminded her so much of the friends from back home. She knew that her Domino friends were loyal to her and to each other until the end; sure these three were like that, too. As the dancers of fire, they were almost like a family, as Kayser had said.
They couldn't possibly be the informers. But she had to figure out which of the other dancers was the culprit, and why. Was she under suspicion because she was new?
Retreating to her room, she once again pulled out her handheld and proceeded to tell her Domino friends everything, already predicting their reactions.
But she wasn't the only one informing people of Vulsor; Seto Kaiba was telling his brother the same thing. Mokuba was stunned to hear about Vulsor being affiliated with the Rare Hunters.
"I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I am," he said in his reply. "But you don't have to worry about me; I've been keeping a close eye on everything, and so has Roland. We haven't seen anyone contacting Vulsor yet, but we'll let you know. I hope you've been talking to Téa, and not in your usual way…"
"Don't worry, Mokuba; I've been talking to her…" he said aloud, with a sigh. "More than I expected to, even…"
Her willingness to trust her fellow dancers was frustrating; here he was, actually showing shreds of concern, and she was insisting that she knew better. If she kept this up, she would need his help more than she thought.
"Priorities, Kaiba," his pride ordered him. "Remember, you're here for Kaiba Corporation first. You can't be responsible for what happens to Gardner, especially if she isn't going to listen."
And yet… supposing she did get captured by the Rare Hunters; what would he do? He wasn't too familiar with Arkana, but it was clear that the Rare Hunters were a bunch of dangerously mad lunatics. No one deserved to be their captive.
She was counting on him, he realized. She was investing all of her confused feelings in him; she was trusting him to keep her safe.
"What do I look like—a knight in shining armor?" he muttered to himself.
Apparently, Téa thought so. She was so blinded by her feelings that she was beginning to see him as a person he was not. And yet she seemed convinced that this other person existed.
So why wasn't he trying to prove her wrong?
When the troupe had arrived in Sydney a few days later, the elder Kayser once again gave them an entire day to do all of the sightseeing that they wanted. Téa decided to stay with the rest of the dancers of fire this time; regardless of where the Rare Hunters showed up, she would have an alibi so that Keith's informer wouldn't be able to pinpoint her as the spy.
Their outing took the four dancers to the famous harbor of the city. Téa had brought a sandwich with her, but she was generous enough to throw a few pieces of bread crust for some of the seagulls wandering nearby.
"So, are we planning to stay here long?" asked Aurus, who wasn't too fond of standing around and doing nothing. "Or are we going to stick around for a little bit and watch the water like that guy over there?"
Téa glanced in the direction that Aurus was indicating. A young man was standing on the edge of the harbor, watching the ocean as Aurus had observed. But something about the young man's indigo hair seemed very familiar to Téa.
"Téa?" asked Aurus, as she approached the water-watcher. "Where are you going?"
"Hold on!" she called to her colleagues. "I think I know him! Mako, is that you? Mako?"
And the young fisherman turned upon hearing his name.
"Téa Gardner!" Mako exclaimed. "Imagine meeting you here, after so long… How long ago was Battle City, anyway?"
"Too long," Téa replied, with a grin.
"And I see you've brought the rest of the crew with you… Hold on; that isn't the old crowd," the boy went on, noticing Aurus and the Tessurcas. "Who are they? What happened to the others?"
Téa launched into a quick explanation of how she had joined the Dancers of the Elements.
"And that's why I'm here," she said. "What brings you to Sydney?"
Mako took another glance out at the ocean before turning back to Téa.
"My father," he replied. "I have reason to believe that he was seen here a few months ago."
"A few months ago?" Téa repeated, in disbelief. "But isn't he… I mean, wasn't he lost at sea?"
"That's what I thought," said Mako, unable to suppress the emotion in his voice. "I won't deny that I had given up on him. But I was in San Francisco about a week ago, and I met up with someone—a man with wild brown hair. He said he was in Adelaide some months ago, and he happened to cross paths with another man who supposedly looked a lot like me and said that he was looking for his son. The brown-haired man I met said that the person he came across was heading to Sydney."
"Oh, Mako…" Téa said, feeling empathy for the young fisherman.
"I'm certain that it was my father, Téa," he went on. "I know that he was seen here months ago, and that his trail has gone cold… but knowing that he's out there somewhere, alive…" He trailed off.
"You have to keep looking," Téa finished for him, softly.
Mako nodded.
"But are you looking for someone, too?" the fisherman asked her.
"Why do you ask?"
"That look in your eyes is just like mine; I'd know it anywhere," said Mako. "You're searching for someone… someone whom you know is out there, but you don't know where exactly…"
And then she realized it; her heart was still looking to find Seto Kaiba's hidden soul—the one that knew how to care, but was overshadowed constantly by his darker, aloof persona.
She smiled, wistfully in reply before saying, "I hope you find your father, Mako."
"And I hope you find the one you're searching for, too," he replied.
Téa started to leave, but stopped as she was hit with a sudden realization.
"Mako…" she said. "That man with the wild brown hair you met in San Francisco… Did you get his name, by any chance?"
"I think he might have mentioned it, but I was too focused on the prospect that my father was alive to register it," he answered, with an apologetic shrug. "But he wasn't alone; he was traveling with two other people. I don't have the slightest idea as to who he was."
"I think I might have an idea," Téa replied. "But never mind; it doesn't matter now. I was thinking, though… Would you like to come to our dance show the night after tomorrow?"
Mako shrugged.
"It's not really my thing, but sure," he said. "Though you'll forgive me if I cheer more for the water dancers?"
"Sure," she replied, with a grin. "Well, I hope you enjoy the show!"
"Oh, and before I forget," added Mako, glancing at the other dancers and lowering his voice so that only Téa could hear. "Kaiba was here, not too long ago; he was looking for you."
"Kaiba was looking for me?" she asked in a soft voice, wondering what on earth he could've found out this time.
"Yes; he says it's important, and that you need to meet him in the gardens near the Opera House as soon as possible," he replied, with a shrug. "I don't know what this is all about, but I told him that I'd tell you if I saw you; I think he knows that I know you and the others."
"Look, Téa, if you're going to be chatting with him some more, how about we meet you at the hotel?" called Aurus, impatiently.
"Sorry about that," Téa called back. "You guys go on ahead, then; I'll probably try some more window shopping later!"
She waited until they had gone before speaking to Mako again.
"Something's up, isn't it?" asked the indigo-haired youth. "The man in San Francisco mentioned that my father was looking for me, saying that he had to find me before the Rare Hunters do."
Téa's head snapped to attention, and Mako's eyes widened.
"So they are back!?" he asked. His look of surprise changed to one of suspicion and concern. "But… why would they be after me? And what will happen to my father if they find him first…?"
"Please don't worry, Mako," said Téa. "Kaiba is trying to stop them, and I'm doing the best I can to help. I don't know why they'd be after you, unless you have something they need in the way of rare cards, but be careful all the same."
"You, too," the fisherman replied. "They're not to be taken lightly."
Seto waited in silence as he stood with folded arms. He didn't have time to waste; he couldn't afford standing around to wait for Téa to show up. And she wouldn't be able to afford it, either, based on what Mokuba had just discovered.
"Kaiba?" asked a familiar voice.
"Took you long enough to get here," he said, upon her arrival. "It would benefit you to remind yourself every once in a while that keeping you informed is not a required task on my part."
"What's the message?" she asked, deciding to ignore his brusqueness.
"Mokuba has been doing some investigating at the Domino end of this case ever since I told him about the Rare Hunters' meeting," Seto replied, scanning over his own handheld computer. "I think that you should read this."
She read the message from Mokuba.
"You need to tell Téa that she's in danger, Seto," the boy had said in the message. "Vulsor has figured out that she isn't in Domino, and that she's part of that dance troupe. If Bandit Keith hears about this, he might remember her, and even if he doesn't, the other Rare Hunters are definitely going to remember after they had trapped the two of us in that warehouse back in Battle City. And please, actually tell her, Seto; you owe her that much to speak to her in person."
Téa cleared her throat at this point, and Seto withdrew the computer.
"If it was really that much trouble, you could've forwarded the message to me; I don't think that this is what Mokuba had in mind…"
"This isn't about that!" Seto retorted. "This is about you falling into the hands of those Rare Hunters. Look; I suggest that you get back to the hotel, gather all of your possessions, and I can take you back to Domino, where you'll be safe."
"Back to Domino?" repeated Téa. "Impossible; I have a performance the night after tomorrow; I was just telling Mako about it."
"Have you lost what little sense you have!?" Seto asked, upon hearing her reply.
"Of course not!" she retorted. "How else are you going to find out how the informer is sending information to the Rare Hunters? Face it, Kaiba; unless you can dance and find a way into the troupe, I'm your only inside contact. And there's no way I can leave until I figure out who is behind it, how they're doing it, and why they're doing it."
"And have you considered that you might end up getting yourself captured, especially since the Rare Hunters are soon going to know who you are!?" the CEO asked, barely restraining himself from trying to shake some sense into her.
"Kaiba, you won't be able to solve this mystery without me," she replied. "I'll see you at the performance." Her voice softened slightly. "But thanks for caring; I know I won't be able to solve it without you, either."
Seto said nothing; he just gritted his teeth in frustration as she walked away. Without a doubt, Téa Gardner was one of the most difficult people in the world.
So why was he allowing himself to be concerned over her?