A/N: Sorry if this is a little messy but I'm in a hurry to get off to work today and I really do want to try to keep up with my Sunday posting schedule otherwise I might let this poor story fall through the cracks again. As always this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are my own but if anyone wants to become my beta that would be awesome. Also, please take the time to review because I need to know if people really do like this story and if I should keep up with writing it.
Disclaimer: Last time I checked I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or anyone from it. I can only lay claim to my original characters.
A/N 2: Sorry if the duel between Lily and Kaiba kinda sucks. It's been a while since I've wrote this and am not really in the mood to rewrite that scene.
Chapter Four
*Three Weeks Later*
*Lily's POV*
"I can't believe you're really gonna do this, Lil." Duke said as he watched me pack a few of my cd binders in my bag.
"Why not? It solves a couple of problems, like where I was going to live while I was in England for the surgery."
"I know, Angel it's just...."
I stop packing for a second and turn to look at him, "It's just what, Devlin?"
"It's bad enough that you're working for that ass now during the day but living with him over the summer? What if he tries something?"
"In the past two weeks that I've worked for him, Duke the only thing Seto Kaiba has tried has been my patience. So don't worry about it, nothings gonna happen. And I'm not living with him.....I'll be staying with them in the capacity of Mokuba's teacher. The most time I'll probably be spending with Kaiba is the on the jet to and from England."
"I still don't like it, Lil. You can afford to find a place to stay on your own after selling your deck. You don't need to stay with Kaiba."
I go over and give Duke a hug. He rests his chin on the top of my head as he wraps his arms around me, "It's kinda nice that you're so worried about me Duke but you really don't have to. And yes, I could afford to stay on my own but I don't want to. I enjoy Mokuba's company too much, ok? It makes the fact that I haven't seen Evie for a while hurt a tiny bit less."
He sighs, "No luck contacting your Uncle?"
"He refuses to take my calls. I have no idea what to do, it's not like I can storm into his office and demand my sister back."
"Why not?"
"Because according to my mothers will Tao Technologies Inc. belongs to him until I'm 21 so he'll have every right to kick me out. Also according to dear old mothers will he is to have custody of us until we each turn 18."
"But Adam won the lawsuit gaining custody of you and Evie."
"Yeah, amazingly we got a judge Jean-Paul couldn't buy off and it was...easier... to prove his...abuse then."
"God, Lily when I think of what you've been through I can't help but worry about you and be completely amazed at your strength."
"Stubbornness is more like it, actually."
Duke laughs softly and tightens his arms around me, "You're like a little sister to me, Angel. I'm just afraid that Kaiba will take his head out of his ass long enough to truly see how wonderful and beautiful you are."
"You're weird Duke but you don't have to worry.......I'm immune to Kaiba's charms."
I feel Duke grinning into my hair, "You are, huh?"
"Yep, not only do I have the benefit of years of experience of dealing with the rich and the methods that they employ to get what they want there's the added bonus that Kaiba and I can't be in the same room together for longer then 27 and a half minutes without it turning into WW3."
"27 and a half minutes?"
"I may have timed it a few times......"
"And she calls me weird."
I laugh and pull out of his arms, "Yes, I do Mr. Devlin and if you'll excuse me I do have to finish packing because I do leave in a few hours."
*Later At The Airport*
The gang had surprised me by meeting Duke and I at the airport to say goodbye. After the rounds of hugs, good lucks and promises to write or e-mail from everybody Joey pulls me aside and hands me a small box.
"I know things haven't been the same since that day at the beach and I'm really sorry about that, Lily but I'd like to know why you've been avoiding me since you got out of the hospital?"
"I haven't been avoiding you Joey it's just things have been really hectic for me with my new job, school and getting ready to leave for England for the surgery."
"So you haven't been avoiding me because of what happened?"
I sigh and fiddle with the curled ribbon hanging from the box, "It's not you Joey, really it's not. It's like I told you though I'm not interested in starting a relationship with anyone right now....You just kinda took me by surprise when you said what you did."
"You mean that I'm starting to fall in love with you?"
I feel the rush of blood to my face as I blush and lower my eyes to the box while slowly nodding my head.
"Open the box."
I raises my eyes and look at Joey oddly, "What?"
"I said open the box, Lilith." He grinned at me.
"Ouch...Lilith." I smile back at him as I lift the lid of the box and see a duel monsters card.
"Change of Heart?" I ask confused.
"Something I hope you'll have in England."
"Joey....."
"Hear me out, Lily. All I ask is that you'll think about what we talked about and if after the whole summer away you still feel the same way I'll respect your decision, ok?"
"I'm not going to change my mind."
"Lily, I'm not gonna leave you like you feel everyone else has. I love you...Just think about things ok?"
I was about to ask what he meant by what he said when he leaned down and brushed his lips over mine, "Goodbye, beautiful." he whispers before walking over to the rest of the gang.
I stand there for a few minutes trying to sort out what Joey meant by that when I feel a pair of arms around my waist and feel someone place their chin on the top of my head.
"You are coming back in three months, right? It's not gonna be like last time where I don't see or hear from you for a few years is it?"
"I'll be back being a pain in your ass at the end of summer, I promise."
"You better mean that, Angel."
"I do. Duke, I got a weird question for you."
"Mmm?"
"Joey said something about not leaving me like I feel everyone else has. Do you know what he means by that?"
Duke was really quiet for a few moments before answering, "Joey can be really perceptive when he wants to be, Lil."
"Oh?" I asked a suspicion starting to nag at the back of my mind, "Does this new- found perception of his happen to go by the name of Duke Devlin?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because you sometimes seem to think you know what's best for me when you really don't and you seem to think that I should give a relationship with Joey a shot."
"I never said that; even though the two of you would be perfect together."
"No we wouldn't."
"And why not?"
"Because I'm an old cranky bitch who is destined to end up a bitter spinster with 57 cats."
"Fifty seven cats? Where do you get that number from?"
"First one that popped into my head. Seriously though, Duke, have you been telling Joey anything about my past?"
"Just that you tend to be a little gun shy about romance."
"Ok....you didn't tell him why though?"
I feel him shake his head, "I'm really gonna miss you."
"I'm gonna miss you too, Duke." I sigh dropping the subject for now.
We stood like that for a few minutes until one of Kaiba's assistants, Roland came over and told me that the jet was ready to board. After another round of hugs and goodbye's I follow Roland to where the jet was boarding. A few minutes later I as settled in on the plane talking to Mokuba while Kaiba typed away on his laptop. Mokuba was in the middle of a sketch when he suddenly jumped up and ran towards a cabin at the back of the plane.
After a few moments he comes running back towards us carrying a box.
"I almost forgot this, Seto. Can I give it to Lily now?"
Kaiba pauses in his typing long enough to look up at Mokuba and nod before lowering his eyes to the screen again.
Mokuba hands me the box, "Open it please, Lily."
I take it from him, "What is it?"
"Open it and you'll see."
"Ok...Ok." I lift the lid off of the box to reveal the laptop computer that's lying inside. "A laptop?"
"It's something I require all my personal employees to have."
"Thank you, Mr. Kaiba." I smile at him before going back to study the sleek black and silver case emblazoned with the Kaiba Corp. Logo.
"There's a surprise in there when you turn it on." Mokuba grins at me.
"Oh really? It makes coffee too?" I tease opening the computer and pushing the power button. It booted to the desktop almost instantly, "Nice....no lag or anything."
"Seto programmed it and everything." Mokuba said sitting next to me while I started exploring the system.
"He did an amazing job from what I can see." I say as I click on the My documents folder and am shocked when I see the list of files that pops up. I click on first one and then another and another. I look from the screen to Kaiba and then back again. "You put my old hard drive in here?"
Kaiba shrugs never taking his eyes from the computer screen, "It was easy."
"Th...Thank you but how did you get my old hard drive?"
"At the hospital. I forgot to put it down after removing it."
"Oh"
"What, Lily?" Mokuba asks concerned.
I click on a folder simply titled "The Beach" and smile at the thumbnails of the photo's that popped up. "Nothing, Mokuba. It's just I had some stuff on here I couldn't replace and I really do appreciate what your brother did. It was very kind of him."
"Is that your brother and sister?"
I nod my head and double click on a photo to enlarge it, "This is one of my favorites. It was taken right before my 14th birthday."
"When's your birthday?"
"July 11th"
"Mines July 7th" Mokuba replies.
"Four days before mine? That's cool. Maybe we'll go do something special if I can get away from the rehabilitation center for a few days."
"That would be great, Lily." Mokuba said before picking up his sketchbook and going back to work on his drawing.
I was in the middle of a exploring the computer a bit better when the clicking of Kaiba's keyboard stopped.
"The woman who is supposed to be looking after Mokuba while we're in London won't be able to join us right away due to a family emergency so I was wondering if you would be able to keep an eye on him until she arrives."
"It shouldn't be a problem. In fact it sounds like it would be fun." I answer grinning at Mokuba who returned my grin before going back to work on his drawing.
"Good. She should be arriving in about 2 weeks so it shouldn't interfere with either your surgery or your follow up care."
"That's fine." I say before looking back over at Mokuba who was starting to look a little tired. "Mokuba, why don't you try and catch a bit of a rest before we get to London? You look wiped." I suggest to him.
He shakes his head, "I'll be fine. I just wanna try and get this part right."
"You sure?"
He nods his head and goes back to his drawing. After a few minutes I look back over towards him and laugh softly, Mokuba had fallen asleep sitting up with the pencil just barely touching the paper. I put the laptop on the seat next to me and gently remove the pencil and pad from him, I put them down and was just about to move him into a more comfortable position when his brother stood up and whispered, "I'll put him in one of the cabins."
"You really do have an amazing little brother, Kaiba." I say once he comes back as I reach into my bag for a book to read until we got to London. I was really expecting a response so I was quite surprised when Kaiba sat down and didn't automatically pick up his computer again.
"Thank you, Tao. Mokuba speaks quite highly of you as well."
I grin slightly at Kaiba, "Once he has his mind set on something he doesn't let go of it that easily, does he?"
"That's a trait he and I share, Tao. Why do you ask?"
"Because I don't think he's gotten it through his head that you and I are not going to start dating."
"Oh?" Kaiba asks settling in and looking at me.
"Let's just say that while I'm instructing Mokuba about drawing and various other art techniques he's instructing me about you."
A rare genuine smile briefly crosses his face, "Your favorite color is purple, you hate pink. Your favorite flower is the calla lily and your favorite scent to wear is Sandalwood."
I start laughing softly, "You have a weakness for chocolate and can reprogram an entire computer system in under 15 minutes. Your favorite color is blue and you abhor ties of any kind."
"It looks like my brother has been busy working on both of us."
"I think it's sweet."
"You do?"
"Uh huh. It just goes to show how much he cares about you. It kinda reminds my of how Adam and I used to be." I say a little shocked with myself that I would even bring up my brother to Kaiba voluntary.
"It does?" he asked snapping closed his laptop and now giving me his complete and total attention. "How is that, Miss. Tao?"
I was quiet for a few minutes before I slowly started talking, "I practically worshiped the ground my brother walked on, Kaiba. Everything he was into I felt the need to take an interest in. Martial Arts, Computers, Music.....Everything that he was a part of I wanted to be a part of....I think you get my point."
"Mmm."
I continued, "When I was about 13 I got it into my head that Adam needed a girlfriend and I knew somebody who would be absolutely perfect for him. Because of course I thought I knew my bother so well that I would be the best one qualified to find the perfect woman for him, so I did just what Mokuba's doing......Talking about one to the other all the time, playing up all there good points, neglecting to reveal some of their more unattractive qualities to the other. You know things like that."
"Did they go out at all?"
"Yes, they did and it was a complete and total disaster."
"Oh?"
"I was more than a little bit wrong about my bothers type and he didn't get along with this girl at all. In fact he compared his date with this girl to oral surgery and made me promise to never set him up with another girl as long as I lived."
"Did you keep your promise?"
"Until he begged me to break it." I grinned.
"He did? Why?"
"A red haired green eyed spitfire by the name of Ariah in my one sculpting class. She was about a year younger then Adam but I think he fell in love with her the first time he laid eyes on her." I can't help but smile as I talk, "They met the one day when he came to pick me up from class.....As soon as he saw her he turned on the charm and started telling her how beautiful she was. Smart girl that she was she saw right through all of my brothers bull right down to who he really was and turned him down but what she didn't realize was that when Adam wanted something he just about always got it."
"Did they ever go out?"
"Eventually after quite a few fights and screaming matches."
"What happened?"
"They ended up engaged actually."
"What?" Kaiba looks genuinely surprised.
"Once they both learned to put their stubbornness aside and talk to each other instead of yelling they ended up falling madly in love with one another. In fact the wedding was set for Christmas of last year but Adam was hospitalized not long after they announced their engagement." I take a slow deep breath and start looking in my bag for my MP3 player.
"Tao, what happened to your brother?"
"You mean your high priced investigators didn't tell you? I'm shocked."
"The hospital refused to release any information on how he came to be admitted."
"Good for the hospital." I say before looking into his cobalt eyes for a minute. And another.....And another and yet another until at least 20 minutes must have passed before I decided to tell him the truth.
The truth that I had kept from everybody else except Duke for the past three years.
"You see, Kaiba my brother was also completely obsessed with the game Duel Monsters. So much that he was in every tournament that he could gain admittance too and he won just about every duel he had ever been in.....In all honesty he was one of the best duelist's that America had to offer, until a duelist simply known as Siren came onto the scene. After she started competing Adam started taking second place in most tournaments that he competed in and believe me he wasn't happy about it." I pause to take a sip of the soda that the flight hostess had put in front of me a few minutes ago.
"I remember seeing Siren duel once...She was a truly amazing talent." Kaiba said softly.
"Yes, she was......You see, Kaiba my brother loved duel monsters to the point that he would do just about anything for the game.......Including giving up his soul to it." Once I finished I moved my gaze from his and turned my head to stare out of the window next to me.
"How did it happen?"
"Adam and Siren were dueling together against two other duelists's named Alastair and Raphael. Things were going great at first for Adam and Siren but then towards the end of the duel the tables were turned on them when Alastair played a card that no body had ever seen or heard of before; The Seal Oricaltross. Neither of them had ever heard of it before and didn't take Raphael and Alastair's warnings about the power of the seal quite as seriously as they should have. Not one of them seriously believed that duel monsters card could trap your soul.....At least they didn't until Adam lost the rest of his life points that it. I turn back to Kaiba and very calmly say, "And that Mr. Kaiba is the story of how my brother became hospitalized."
*Seto's POV*
I watch Lily looking out the window of the plane and am at a loss for words.
"I didn't know."
"The only ones who ever knew were Duke, Siren, Ariah and my Uncle." She says softly.
"So, that's why at Kaiba Corp that day–"
"I broke down and made a total fool of myself." She interrupts looking back at me with a sardonic grin. "I'm normally a very level headed person, Kaiba."
"I hadn't noticed. I guess I was distracted by the fact that we're almost always fighting."
"We do that quite a lot, don't we? I guess our personalities are a bit to volatile together."
"I guess you could say that, Tao." I say and pick my computer back up again. I am soon lost in business completely forgetting that Lily was even there.
"Kaiba?"
"Mmm?"
"I was curious about something."
"Yes, Tao?" I say without even looking up from my keyboard.
"Just why was Kaiba Corp. looking for an artist anyway? I mean you specialize in gaming technologies and in all honesty I really can't see why you would need an artist."
I look up from what I'm doing and watch her for a few seconds before answering, "Normally I wouldn't need an artist but for a new division of KC to be opened I found myself in desperate need of one."
"Yes, some new top secret project that is supposed to put the gaming world on it's ear was the buzz going around the art community where I was a few months ago. I tried researching the rumor better but came up empty handed in my search."
"The content of the new division of KC is highly classified and the few people who know about it are on a strict need to know basis." I cross my arms and legs watching the expression on Lily's face.
"I'd be lying if I said you haven't piqued my curiosity, Kaiba but I have an idea of the need to keep things secret in the world of business but I do have one question I'd appreciate being answered."
"And that is?"
"Why my work? What was it about it that stood out among everyone else's?"
I think for a moment formulating the answer in my mind before speaking, "Your work holds an element of realism that I appreciate very much and is crucial to the new division. Your work would translate well into holograms and that is what I need right now."
She raises an eyebrow, "You need an artist whose work translates well into holograms? Why? Unless you're going to start designing your own duel monster cards."
I can't help but be impressed at the way her mind worked, she had assembled all the facts she had been given and had come up with the most obvious answer in a short amount of time.
"And that would be surprising to you because......?"
"Not surprising just a little unexpected that it took you so long to come up with the idea yourself."
"Oh?"
"It's the next logical step for your company, Kaiba. I mean with the advent of KC duel disk's and there holographic gaming systems you've already taken the game of duel monsters past anything that Pegasus could have possibly dreamed up when he invented the game. So why not cut out the middle man of Industrial Illusions and make Kaiba Corp the premier name in not only holographic gaming technologies but in innovative card design as well."
"Do you play duel Monsters, Tao?" I ask slightly taken aback by the intelligence of her answer.
"Why?"
"Because you talk like a business woman or a duel monsters player. And last I checked you weren't a business woman."
She chuckles slightly, "As I said before, Kaiba whenever my brother was interested in something I learned all about it as well."
"So you do play."
"I never said that, Kaiba. All I said was that I learned about it because of Adam's interest in the game." She looked me in the eyes and smiled, "I can honestly say that as of this moment in time I don't play duel monsters."
"Would you like to?" I ask catching both of us by surprise.
"What?"
"I mean now? Would you like to try your hand at the game now? To help pass the time."
"I thought you had work to do, Kaiba."
"I do. Never mind." I say going back to my laptop. After a few minutes I feel a light touch on my shoulder, I look up to see Lily smiling a lop-sided grin down at me. "Yes, Tao?"
"I don't have a deck."
"What?"
"It's a little tough to try my hand at a game that I don't have a deck for, Kaiba." She said slowly removing her hand.
"Give me a few minutes to finish this and I can fix that."
"Alright."
I watch her for a moment as she goes back to her seat and pulls a book out of her bag, she opened the book and started reading, I couldn't help but continue to watch her a while longer as her hair fell forward and obscured her face. I tore my eyes from her and looked back at the report I was writing for an upcoming meeting in England.
I have to concentrate on this, not playing games with her I thought to myself.
What's the harm in playing a round of Duel Monsters with her? The voice in the back of my brain asked.
I don't even know why I brought it up, I have work to do.
You're enjoying the fact that the two of you aren't fighting. And she actually opened up to you without you having to push her for information.
It is...pleasant to not be fighting with her for once. I conceded to my more irrational self.
More then pleasant I would think, now why don't you put down the computer and interact with the pretty girl?
This report is too important to put off. I still don't know why I even mentioned playing the game with her.
The report can wait a while and you asked her because you want to get to know her better. You also want to see how quickly she catches onto the game.
And I would want to know that about her because? I ask.
You want to see if she's worth your time.
I couldn't argue with that I thought as I saved my work and put aside the computer. I stand up and head into my private cabin, I return shortly to find Lily had put her book down and was watching me as I went over to the doorway that led to the conference area.
"Coming?" I look over my shoulder and ask.
"Where are we going?" She asks standing up and coming towards me. I hand her a duel monsters deck along with a duel disk and smirk.
"To pass the time."
*Some Time Later*
"Are you sure you don't play Duel Monsters, Tao?" I ask looking at the life point counter. She had 2500 points left where I only had 1900 left.
She chuckles slightly as she plays a card face down and ends her turn. "And why do you ask that, Kaiba?"
"Because you're not that bad at the game." I say looking at the cards in my hand, "I place Blue Eye's White Dragon in defense mode and place one card face down ending my turn."
"A complement from the great Seto Kaiba, I'm honored. I use monster reborn to bring back Koumori Dragon from your graveyard in attack mode and then give it Sword of Dark Destruction adding an extra 400 attack points to it thus ending my turn."
My eye's widen I had only ever seen that strategy played once before and that had been when Siren was playing. Why was Lily using Siren's strategies? I asked myself as I placed another BEWD on the field in defense mode, "Interesting move, Tao. Where did you learn it?"
"I watched Adam and Siren duel a lot." She said studying the cards in her hand and started biting her bottom lip.
I smirk slightly as I watch her, she had nothing in her hand that would help her right now. Anytime that she had nothing in her hand she started biting her lip, it was a dead giveaway, "I play two cards face down and end my turn, Tao."
"I place Ansatsu and Doma The Angel of Silence in attack mode and end my turn."
"I activate the trap card Just Desserts which allows me to inflict 500 points of damage for every monster you have on your side of the field. And since you have three monsters that would be 1500 life points, Tao." I look at the LP counter expecting it to take her down to 1000 life points but it stops at 1500.
"Thank you, Kaiba. You just activated my Seven Tools of the Bandit trap card. I give 1000 of my life points to negate the activation of your Just Desserts card and destroy it."
"Nicely played but it won't do you any good."
"Oh?"
"You forgot about my face down card, Tao." I say flipping it over, "Ookazi magic card."
"Inflicts 800 points of damage to your opponents's life points." She says as her life points drop down to 700. "Not bad at all, Kaiba."
"And I'm still not done, I play my final BEWD in attack mode and with that I end my turn."
"Koumori Dragon attack his BEWD."
I smirk to myself as I watch her Koumori dragon's attack bounce's harmlessly of my BEWD. It was the desperate move of someone who knew that they were going to lose, "And what did you expect to accomplish by that move, Tao? A more humiliating defeat?"
"I'm not done, Kaiba. I play the magic card, Dark Hole and end my turn. And in case you forget Dark Hole destroy's ALL monsters on the field...Regardless of whose they are."
Again I couldn't help but be a little bit impressed with the way her mind worked as I watched all the holograms on the field disappear. I was also starting to a get a little bit angry that some relative nobody that had never played the game was giving me a run for my money. "I play the magic card Graceful Charity allowing me to draw three cards from my deck if I discard two from my hand." I grin at the cards I draw, "I then play Hyozanryu and Luster Dragon #2 both in attack mode ending my turn."
"I play Mr. Volcano in defense mode and Succubus Knight in attack mode but I'll equip it with the Black Pendent magic card which increases it's attack by 500 points. I end my turn."
"Luster Dragon #2 attack her Mr. Volcano." I call out and watch her monsters disappear right before her life points drop to 0.
I watch her slip the duel disk off her left arm and smile at me, "That was....interesting."
"Interesting?" I ask walking over towards her.
"When I watched my brother play the game it was before the invention of the duel disk launcher and your hologram's. It adds a whole other dimension of play to the game."
I was standing in front of her before I spoke next, I looked down at her since the top of her head only reached my chin. "You did very well for your first time, Tao."
"I did, huh?" she asked tilting her head up. "I bet you say that to all the girls, Kaiba."
"Do you always make smart ass comments when someone tries to give you a complement, Tao?"
"Only 99.9999999 % of the time." She quips handing me back the duel disk, I take it and put both her's and mine on the conference table.
"I don't give complements often, Tao. Remember that." I snap turning around to walk away when I felt a soft touch on my hand, I look down and see Lily's hand covering mine in an effort to stop me.
"I'm sorry, Kaiba and...thank you."
I couldn't say anything all I could do was just stare at her hand on mine and marvel at how right it felt. I turn my hand so our hands are touching palm to palm, I fight the urge to curl my fingers around hers as I look into her eyes, "I wonder about you, Tao."
"Wonder what?" She asked leaving her hand where it was.
"Just who the hell you really are?"
"I'm the girl that you see standing here, Kaiba. Too stubborn and opinionated for her own good sometimes....I'm too proud and I hate compromise. I'm loyal to those I care about and if you hurt someone I love I won't rest until you suffer like they did. Family means everything to me and...."
"And what?" I ask letting my fingers curl tightly around hers and let my other hand travel to her face and rest lightly on her cheek.
"I hate feeling like I'm alone in a room full of people just because I've yet to find the one other person in this world that...It's silly and hard to explain." She blushed lightly as her left arm made it's way around my neck with her hand resting lightly on my hair.
"Understands you?"
"Can put up with me is more like it."
"People have a hard time putting up with you? I never would have guessed that in a million years." I can't help but tease her slightly as I start lowering my head closer to hers. I shouldn't even be thinking about kissing her, I should be getting the hell away from Lilith Tao but I couldn't help myself. I had to taste her lips again. "Lily...tell me to stop."
"Stop what, Seto?" she whispers back leaning her face up towards mine.
I stop and let my lips hover an inch or so away from hers, "Unless you tell me to stop...I'm going to kiss you like you've never been kissed before."
"Good to know." she says before closing the distance before us and pressing her lips against mine.
