Chapter 8 – Exhaustion

Tea smiled as the bell rang, signaling the end of class as well as the beginning of lunch. Grabbing her things, she quickly walked out of the classroom and down the hallway to her locker, where she placed her morning books and took out her packed lunch. She never enjoyed eating the school's choice of food and preferred waking up an extra five minutes earlier to pack her own. Shutting her locker door, she walked down to the cafeteria and smiled at her group of friends that were in line. All of them bought the same food every day, and she couldn't understand how they did it.

As she scanned the room looking for their normal table, Tea's eyes landed on Kaiba. She blinked in surprise and watched him as he walked out of the cafeteria towards the courtyard and frowned. Yesterday her visit at the orphanage had gone extremely well, and Tea had learned more about each of the kids at dinner. But after dinner…Jade had given her her first assignment, which was to talk to Kaiba about the Lilith girl. Jade obviously wanted the two to start getting along, and she figured having Tea do this would be a good start.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Tea followed Kaiba outside and saw him sitting under a different cherry blossom tree, his eyes closed and body relaxing. For a second, it didn't even look like him. She was so used to seeing him tense, cold, and hateful. Peaceful didn't fall under any of those. The sun was shining brightly outside as the flowers started to fall off the tree, one landing in Kaiba's lap. He seemed to ignore it, however, for his hand merely brushed it off before lying limply next to him. She shook her head and began to walk towards him when she heard him say, "You're so predictable, Gardner."

Gasping, she asked, "How did you know it was me?"

"Because I saw you enter the cafeteria and decided to leave. I knew you would follow me; you were staring at me all morning, so something is wrong, and if it's about the orphanage I don't need others listening to our conversation. What is it that you want?"

"You really are too perceptive for your own good," she remarked as she sat down next to him, hearing him grunt in reply.

"I have to be. If I am to read my opponents before they can take advantage of a situation, I have to be able to read them beforehand. It's merely something I was taught."

"The only problem is, Kaiba, that I'm not an enemy. I'm a co-worker at this point, and I would appreciate it if you started treating me like one."

"Not this again, Gardner. I'm not in the mood."

That's when Tea noticed it. Kaiba didn't look peaceful; he looked dead tired. There was the slightest hint of bags under his eyes, and as he opened his eyes, she saw a dullness that had never been associated with his blue eyes. He looked… "Exhausted?" It was more a statement than a question.

He waved his hand as if to dismiss the comment and shook his head, sitting up straighter in order to look more alive. "I'm just not in the mood for arguments today."

"That's a first."

"Actually, it's not."

"Well, it's a first for me to witness."

"What is it that you want, Gardner?" he asked, his voice strained. Frowning at this, Tea placed a hand on his back and began to move it around slowly in circles. She watched the CEO's eyes close, most likely involuntarily, and he leaned forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. Placing his head in his hand, he whispered a small 'thanks' before opening his eyes back up.

"What happened last night to make you so tired?"

"I just had a report to write that I forgot about. It took me an hour longer than I had scheduled, so I didn't get home until about two in the morning."

"You only got four hours of sleep last night? Kaiba, that's unhealthy."

"I'm used to it, though. It's just…" Chuckling, he shook his head and closed his eyes once more. "What's the use of complaining about it? I can't change it, so why bother? Now what did you want to talk to me about?"

"But…Kaiba…"

"What did you want, Tea?" he repeated, his voice becoming strained once again. Sighing in defeat, Tea shook her head, realizing that she was still rubbing the CEO's back. Not that she minded. He looked way too tired to argue at this point, and no comments of complaint had risen out of him yet.

"It's about Lilith," she stated, her voice becoming quiet to make sure nobody overheard the conversation.

"What about her?" he asked, his eyes opening widely in surprise.

"Well… Jade is becoming a little bit concerned about her," she began to explain. "She still isn't talking to any of the kids, and I began talking with her about some things. She says that she just doesn't want to interact with the others. I don't know how to fix it since I've honestly never been around orphans, but Jade thinks you can talk to her about it. She wants to know if you're willing to visit tonight or tomorrow and discuss it with Lilith."

"You can't 'fix' it. You can only help her out. What did you talk to her about?"

"I just asked her a little about her interests. She really likes that book you bought her. While the kids were watching television, she just wanted to read her book." Tea saw the hint of a smile appear on Kaiba's face before it vanished just as fast.

"What else did you talk to her about?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Nothing."

"You asked her about me, didn't you?"

"N-No, of course not."

"Don't lie. I just asked to see what your reaction was. I didn't think you actually did talk to her about me, but apparently you did." Chuckling at his trickery, Kaiba shrugged his shoulders. "What did you ask about me?"

Realizing she was trapped, Tea sighed and answered, "Just about your visits there. You seem to mean an awful lot to those kids. She was telling me how you bring them presents every so often and give them video games. She also told me how you visit weekly just to check up on them."

Smirking, Kaiba stated, "The video games were Mokuba's idea. He knows I often make just small video games in my spare time, just to keep him occupied one day if he's bored or something, and he brought up the idea of giving them to the kids. It's nothing special, but I guess it's just something different."

"I talked to Jade a bit as well. She told me about how it's so hard to keep workers around. I was surprised that she 'welcomed me back' when it was only my first day on the job."

"Yeah. That place has a difficult time keeping workers around. Not only because it's depressing to see these kids live without parents, but because the area is pretty bad."

"What does that mean?"

"There's a lot of mob activity in that part of town," Kaiba answered. "Though the mob leaves the orphanage alone since there's nothing to gain from attacking it, people tend to think that they may be targeted or something stupid along those lines. It's really a ridiculous concept."

"Why is there an orphanage in an area of mob activity?"

"Because it was there before the mob. But enough about that…I am appreciative for you working there, even if all you're doing is asking about me."

"I'm sorry. It's just…I was curious, was all. Besides, I think Jade wants the two of us to begin getting along and must have thought it was okay to speak briefly about you."

"She's always tried to have me gain friends as a kid, and I guess that's still a part of her. Although I'll admit she never talked about me to the past workers. She must have high hopes for you and me."

Tea chuckled at this and shook her head. "Well, she didn't tell me much about you, so you don't have to worry about that."

"I don't." He blinked as if he was shocked by what he just said before shrugging his shoulders, his eyes suddenly downcast. "I…I don't care. But do me a favor. Don't ask the kids about me anymore. They don't like it when I'm talked about like a celebrity or the CEO I am. They like me just being a worker there. You asking questions about me is okay with Lilith since she hasn't been there that long, but it's a little awkward for the others. I'd appreciate it if you just asked me the questions you have on your mind. In fact… I want you to ask me the questions, and me only. Not even Jade. She has enough on her mind. She doesn't have to play friendship-maker when she's got ten kids to take care of."

Tea nodded her head in understanding, receiving a small smile from Kaiba, when the two heard a familiar voice shout behind them. "Hey Tea, what the hell are you doing?!" Both glanced back to see Joey and Yugi at the entranceway to the school, the two boys staring in confusion at the two. Realizing that her hand was still rubbing his back, she quickly took it back and stood up, brushing herself off, before smiling over at the two.

"I'll be over in a sec, guys!" she called back, smiling as the two walked back inside. Looking down at Kaiba, she kneeled down and said, "Were you going to visit the orphanage today or tomorrow? I guess we got a little side-tracked from the question."

"Yeah, I'll visit later tonight." Nodding her head once more, she went to stand up when she heard him say, "On second thought, I'll probably go right after school. But…I know you still have questions you want to ask me about." He looked up at her, and Tea saw his eyes staring intently into her own. A flood of emotions could be seen behind that cold, blue exterior, and it made Tea take a slight step back out of shock. "Why don't you and I… Why don't we go to a coffee shop or someplace small for a snack before we head over to the orphanage? I'll meet you outside school, and you can ask whatever questions you have on your mind. How does that sound?"

Tea could only stare in awe at him. "Is Kaiba…asking me to go out to eat with him?" she thought. "He looks so uncomfortable asking this…does he even want to share what I want to know? Is he asking me this because he's so exhausted that he just doesn't care at this point, or does he really want to answer my questions? I mean, of course I want him to answer my questions, but not if it's just a spur of the moment decision because he's tired out. Only one way to find out, though…" Smiling, she said, "Sure, we can do that."

"Alright. We'll meet here after school. I know of a coffee shop that's on the way there we can go to."

"It doesn't happen to be Tulip Coffees, does it?" she asked, a smirk appearing on her face. His eyes blinked in surprise, and she chuckled. "Mai and I always go there. But yes, that sounds like a good place. I'll meet you then."

He nodded his head, though his eyes were still downcast and his expression grave. "You better get back to your friends," he finally said after a moment of silence passed between the two. Remembering Yugi and Joey, she nodded her head and patted his shoulder before walking back into the school building.