Peneia Teke: WOOT! I updated-FINALLY! Ah, sorry that took so long everyone, but I won't give you an excuse 'cause it'll always be the same. 'Twas school that did it (points an accusing finger at all her homework giving teachers), so don't blame me! Oh yeah, and I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.
Kaiba: ... I think she's finally lost it.
PT: Righto! Now, onto chapter four...with a new twist. Mwahahaha!
Chapter Four
"... And so class, this is why we learn about these atrocious cruelties, so the events won't repeat themselves again. Only by learning from our mistakes can we prevent them from reoccurring in the future." Mr. Mason, the period three history teacher droned to his drowsy class. They were learning about the European Holocaust during World War II, and in any other circumstance it would have been an interesting subject, but Mr. Mason was the dullest teacher in the entire school. "Do you have any questions? Good. Then we can get ahead on the topic for next class."
It was looking up to be the start of an agonizingly boring day.
Suddenly, a sharp rap on the door brought them out of their somnolent states. The teacher peered at the visitor over his wire rimmed glasses. "Come in."
The door opened and a blonde haired girl walked in, completely unfazed by the pairs of eyes following her as she strode across the room and handedhim a small note. She turned and disappeared back out the door without a word. Mr. Mason glanced down at the note for a moment and cleared his throat loudly. "Seto Kaiba, your councilor wishes to speak with you about a matter concerning your graduation this year."
A chorus of sniggers tittered throughout the room, most noticeably in Joey and Tristan's corner but after a cold glare from Kaiba, the class quieted again and refocused its attention back to the board. Kaiba gathered his things slowly and packed his laptop carefully away in his briefcase. He mentally cursed the teacher as he made his way down the isle toward the door, ignoring the curious stares from his peers. What business did he have blurting out his personal business to the entire class? He glared in his direction again before exiting the room, but he'd already started writing more notes on the board and didn't notice, or else he was very good at tuning him out.
On the other side of the room, Tea pretended to be interested in fiddling with a piece of scrap paper. It took all her will power to keep from catching Kaiba's eye and grinning.
Maybe this day wouldn't be so boring after all.
Kaiba sat down gracefully in the chair offered to him by his councilor and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting impatiently for the man to begin. "This had better be important."
"Mr. Kaiba," the man began, seriously, "you were informed at the beginning of your freshman year that you needed to complete at least ten hours of community service to graduate from high school, correct?"
Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "What's your point?"
"Well, according to my files, you haven't done any community service whatsoever, and we only have a few weeks of school remaining."
Kaiba shrugged indifferently. "My donations to the local charities should be sufficient enough."
"Yes, well, you see Mr. Kaiba, although I'm sure the charities appreciate your generous donations, they don't technically qualify as charity work. Work meaning you do it with your hands."
Kaiba's lips turned down into a frown. "Listen to me, you senile old fool," he snapped impatiently, "I have a company to run and a brother to look after. My schedule allows no room for that kind of nonsense."
The councilor caught his eye and stared back evenly, not at all intimidated by Kaiba's foul temper. "Well, Mr. Kaiba, I'm sorry you feel that way, but it's either fulfill the requirement or repeat your senior year. The choice is up to you."
Kaiba's eyes widened slightly. The man couldn't be serious. There was no way he was going to let a little charity work, or lack thereof, hold him back from escaping this prison. He'd put up with it for four years too long, and he'd be damned if he stayed one year more than necessary. "What do I need to do?" he spat.
The man smiled and replied, "I'm glad you asked. I took the liberty of finding a suitable volunteer service for you, and the best part is you can start right after school-today, if you'd like."
Tea walked happily down the school steps and stretched her arms contentedly. Today had been one of those rare kinds of days you think back to when life isn't exactly going smoothly. She had no homework, she'd aced her Spanish exam, her mom had packed her favorite food for lunch, and she'd witnessed Kaiba get in trouble with the councilor or something of that sort. Could this day get any better?
"Hey Tea! Wait for us!"
Oh yeah, it could!
She slowed and waited for her friends to catch up. "Hey guys, what's going on?"
"Nothin' much," Joey replied.
"Yeah, we were wondering if you wanted to go to the arcade?" Yugi asked hopefully.
Tea's smile fell slightly. "Ah, sorry guys, but I have to work today. Gotta pay for those dance lessons you know," she said, trying to stay cheerful. The ones my parents won't pay for. "Maybe next time, though." Her pack was hanging carelessly from her shoulder and lightly bumped against her side. She shifted the weight to the other shoulder and glanced quickly at her watch. She'd better hurry if she didn't want to be late.
"Oh, ok." Yugi looked slightly down but perked up almost instantly. That was one of the things Tea liked about Yugi-always the optimistic one. "How about we all go to a movie after your shift ends?" He hesitated. "Or do you have something else you have to do?"
"Nope!" Tea responded cheerfully. "That sounds great."
"Awesome." He gave her a large grin. "Then we'll meet you in front of the game shop at eight.
After a fifteen minute walk through downtown Domino, Tea cut through an ally and then sighed with relief when a large, brick building came into view; she wasn't late after all. A sign by the entrance of the property read: Domino Humane Society, though it was often called 'The Big Red Building' by her peers.
Tea had only been working at the humane society for a few months, but she enjoyed it. Next to dancing and hanging out with her friends, animals were one of her biggest passions. Something about them could calm her even when she was having a bad day.
Since she was still new, she didn't do much with the animals but spent her time answering phone calls, restocking equipment, cleaning cages, running errands, and doing any other miscellaneous tasks her boss asked of her. She didn't mind since the work was generally easy and the pay wasn't bad, and she figured that once she proved herself as a hard worker, he'd let her do more with the animals.
Tea opened the door and was about to head to the bathroom to change into her uniform when a voice caught her attention. She whirled around and smiled when her eyes landed on her newest friend, Marissa. "Hey, Tea!" the curly haired girl greeted happily, "You still coming to the beach cleanup?" Marissa's mom had a friend who owned a bait shop, and he took charge of annual environmental programs and charities. Mr. Rigby, Tea's boss and owner of the Domino Humane Society, often encouraged his volunteers and employees to help out at the events.
"Yup. It's this Saturday, right?" Marissa nodded. "Would you mind if I brought some friends?"
Marissa shook her head. "Not at all! Anyone's welcome."
Tea barely had time to smile thanks and excuse herself before she saw her boss striding toward her. "Tea, why aren't you wearing your uniform?"
Tea flinched. Mr. Rigby was a great employer, but he was very strict about the rules. "Sorry, sir. I just arrived, and I haven't had time to change."
Mr. Rigby nodded. "Fine. As soon as you do that, I'd like you to move these bags of pet food into the storage room, ok?" He waved an arm behind him at the stacks of dry dog and cat food lining the far wall. Tea nodded and hurried off to do as he bid.
"Tea? Mr. Rigby wants to see you in his office," Marissa said, walking up behind the brunette. Tea nodded. She'd just gotten finished moving all the bags and needed to go see what else she had to do, anyway. She walked slowly to his office, deep in thought about things other than her work.
She opened the door and walked in. "Mr. Rigby, did you need someth-" She froze when her eyes landed on a figure standing next to her boss, making him appear very short, and Mr. Rigby was by no means a short man. "What are you doing here?" she asked in shock.
Kaiba's eyes widened slightly, and his jaw clenched, but he covered his emotions easily. "I'm sure it's not hard to figure out," he replied coldly.
Mr. Rigby looked surprised. "Well, it appears you two already know each other. Good. It will make this easier. Tea, this is Seto Kaiba. He's going to be volunteering here for a few weeks. I want you to watch out for him, help him when he needs it. I know you'll make a fine example of how things are run."
Tea nodded meekly. There was no way she could disappoint him. "Yes, Mr. Rigby."
"I don't need help from her," Kaiba spat out. "I'm more than capable of handling myself on my own."
"I'm sure you are, Mr. Kaiba," the owner replied, raising an eyebrow, "but that's just the way it's done around here. Volunteers always shadow the employees." Tea and Kaiba glared daggers at each other. Mr. Rigby's eyebrow went higher, and he quirked his lips in amusement. "I'd like you to show Mr. Kaiba around, and then I want you to complete these tasks before you leave today." He handed Tea a list of chores.
Tea nodded, and he dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "I'll be in here if you need me."
Kaiba nodded curtly and left the room with Tea reluctantly in tow. "I thought I was supposed to be giving you the tour, not vice versa," she mumbled to Kaiba's back. He heard every word.
"Perhaps you didn't hear me when I said I don't need your help, Gardner," he said coldly. "Or maybe it was too much information for your flaky brain to grasp at one time."
"You heard, Mr. Rigby," Tea hissed through clenched teeth. Kaiba ignored her. "Look, Kaiba,"she finally muttered reluctantly, "Since we're going to be working together for a while, don't you think we should just start over and at least try to get along?"
He appeared surprised for an instant, but then his eyes hardened, and he glared at her. "What is it with you people and always trying to be my friend? Why won't you just give it up and leave me alone?"
"I didn't mean we should be friends, Kaiba," Tea protested, her voice rising in volume. "I merely suggested we make a truce and stop trying to get at each other's throats all the time! It's getting old."
"Fine, whatever," he growled and turned away from her.
Tea huffed and stalked off to the storage room, deciding that rearranging the boxes and bags on the far shelf would be the best way to vent her anger at the moment. Besides, that was one of the first things on her list. She'd completely forgotten about the tour.
After a few minutes Kaiba joined her. He stood awkwardly to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. "Well, are you going to help me?" Tea demanded, turning her head to look at him. "Or are you just going to stand there like an idiot for the next two hours?"
Kaiba glared at her. He wasn't used to being ordered around, but he'd do anything if it involved getting him out of Domino High Hell. He decided to put his dignity aside and hissed through gritted teeth, "What do you want me to do?" Tea looked at him in surprise, amazed that he seemed willing to take orders from her. "Come on, Gardner. I haven't got all day," he snapped.
"Uh, can you finish stacking these, and I'll clean out the cages over there?" she asked ushering to the cages lining the wall on the other side of the room.
"Fine."
Tea hurried off and Kaiba began stacking, still seething over having to work here. Stupid school trying to waste my time. I should be at KaibaCorp setting up preparations for the new Kaiba Land in England, not here in this dump doing pointless charity work.
He felt a light tap on his shoulder and spun around to glare at a nervous looking girl with dark, curly hair. She cowered in fear when his eyes fell on her andbacked away a few inches-or maybe it was a few feet. "Yes?" he asked with no hint of friendliness in his tone.
"Um, Mr. Kaiba, sir? Would you mind very much handing me one of those bags? I kind of ran out of dog food."
Kaiba snorted. "How do you kind of run out of anything? You either did or you didn't." The girl looked like she wasn't sure weather to laugh or run away in terror. Kaiba sighed and hauled one of the bags off the shelf and into the girl's arms. She held it awkwardly and glanced timidly up at him. "What? Now I'm supposed to carry it for you, is that it?" he barked in annoyance. The girl gave a startled yelp and hurried from the room.
"Kaiba, that was really mean you know," Tea said, startling him with her sudden presence. "You should really go apologize to Marissa. You probably scared her out of her wits."
"That was the point," he muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"I said, don't be a moron, Gardner. Now get you little ass back over there and start working." There. Now, he was back in control. Tea rolled her eyes but did what he complied-much to both of their amazement.
The rest of the day went by relatively smoothly, or at least as smoothly as it could with both Kaiba and Tea in the same room, and before either really realized it, their time had ended. Mr. Rigby came to meet them at the door on their way out. "Mr. Kaiba, I must say I had my doubts, but I'm very pleased with the amount of work you put in today." Kaiba nodded and shifted his weight, impatient to leave. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in helping with the beach clean up this Saturday. It starts at 9:00 AM and ends at 3:00 PM." He ignored Tea's horrific expression and wildly waving arms. "Of course, you wouldn't have to stay the whole time if you didn't want to, but any help is appreciated."
Kaiba opened his mouth to turn the offer down, but Mr. Rigby put a hand up to silence him. "It will count toward your community service hours." That was all that was needed to be said.
"Very well," Kaiba agreed. "I'll be there by 11:30."
Mr. Rigby smiled. "Excellent. We'll be meeting at the Domino Pier."
Tea watched Kaiba leave with a strange expression on her face. "Why'd you have to do that, Mr. Rigby?" she complained. "I thought I was going to have fun on Saturday..."
Mr. Rigby grinned mischievously. "Well, we'll just have to wait and see won't we?"
PT: Well, there ya have it. Chapter four done. The beach clean up will be next. Hehe.
One more thing; if anyone wants to join my C2 staff for Dancers and Dragons (Seto x Tea of course) feel free to email me, or tell me in your review. My email address is in my bio. I guess I'll just take the first few people who answer back. Now, don't forget to review on your way out please! Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.