Chapter 9 – Educational Trip

"Where is he?" she thought bitterly as she looked down at her watch. It had been five minutes since school let out, yet there was still no sign of the CEO. "If he got in trouble for falling asleep or something stupid like that, I'm going to-" Her thoughts were interrupted as a limo slowly pulled up to the school and stopped. She watched as the door opened and Kaiba walked out, spotted her, and waved her over. "What are you doing?" she asked as she walked over. Wasn't he supposed to be in school with everyone else?

"I went home after I fell asleep," he explained, entering his limo and taking the seat that faced backwards. She followed suit, taking the opposite seat so that she could face him, and shut the door behind her. "To the orphanage," he demanded to his driver before pressing a nearby button. The black divider slowly went up, and as it did so, he handed her a drink and said, "I decided we could drink them on the way over. I didn't know what you liked, so I just ordered two iced cappuccinos."

"Oh, uh…thanks," she stated, slowly reaching out and grabbing it.

"What? Don't you like it?"

"No, it's just…you…" How could she explain it?

"What about me?"

"Your attire…" He wasn't wearing his usual outfit. Instead, he wore his black, leather pants and boots, a red v-neck t-shirt, and a pair of aviator sunglasses. A simple, black watch was on his left wrist, and unless her eyes deceived her, there was a red post in his right ear.

"I don't like wearing my school uniform or my trenchcoat outfit to the orphanage," he stated, sipping his own iced cappuccino. "The only reason I did last time was because I was running short on time that day and decided to just wear it. Like I said, the kids don't like seeing me as the big, bad CEO of KaibaCorp, so I try not to wear my more flashy attire since it reminds them of it."

"I must say, you seem much more awake than when you did during lunch," Tea observed as she sipped her drink. She blinked in surprise; how did he know what her favorite drink was? Lucky guess?

"I slept during fourth block and went home fifth."

"You went home during fifth block?"

"It's not that big of a deal. I do it more than the teacher would usually allow, but I have a 100 in the class, so there's not much she can do. Besides, it's technology class, and I know more about technology than her."

"Why are you taking technology class?"

"Requirement to graduate, remember?"

"Oh, right. I did that last year."

"I've put it off all these years and decided it would be a good senior year class to just sleep in. So far, it's worked out."

Tea chuckled and smirked at the fact that the two were actually holding a decent conversation. "Maybe Jade was right after all. Asking him about Lilith is turning into a good experience. Speaking of which…"

"Hey Kaiba…what do you plan to do in order to help Lilith out?"

"I'll just talk to her. There's not much I can do other than that. In the end, it's her that has to put herself out there. A talk with her may be good for her, though. I always talk to the newcomers one-on-one, and I haven't really gotten the chance to do that. I had hoped to do it the day I gave her that birthday present, but you were there, which led to me having a rather large discussion with Jade."

"About me, right?"

"No, the other person signing up for the job."

"Hey, if you can ask questions about me, I can ask questions about you!"

"I know. I just like giving you a hard time about it. Isn't that why you're here now?"

Tea stopped drinking her iced cappuccino and blushed slightly, realizing that what he had said was indeed true. The whole reason he was now driving her over to the orphanage was for her to ask questions. "I guess so. Still…I like having conversations with you."

"Why?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow and sipping his cappuccino.

"I don't know. You're just…somebody different from the gang."

"Whatever. Now what questions do you have?"

"Oh, hold on a sec. I made up a list in here somewhere…" Opening her brown bag, she began to look through it, hearing Kaiba's laughter at her as she sifted through her folders and papers, eventually coming across it.

"You took the time out to make a list?"

"Well, it's not everyday somebody has the opportunity to ask the CEO of KaibaCorp questions. I figured I'd make sure I knew exactly what to ask instead of wasting time trying to think up of questions. You're not the only one with a boring fifth block."

"Wow, you actually did something intelligent with your time. I'm impressed."

Rolling her eyes at his remark, she pulled the piece of paper out and held it in front of her, taking a large sip of her drink before reading the first question. "Okay, obvious question: why are you working at an orphanage?"

"It's the orphanage I went to as a kid," Kaiba answered, sipping his drink as well. "I had promised Jade I would come back and help her run it when we were kids, and I don't break promises to friends."

"Does Mokuba know about it?"

"Of course. He's the one that recommended the video games, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"Glad you wasted your fifth block for that…"

"How long have you been helping Jade run the place?"

"If we knew each other for five years…" He sighed and said, "About a year and a half now."

"Random question. How old is Jade?"

"Can't you ask her that?" Rolling his eyes, he said, "23."

"Have you always helped out with the kids, or did you used to do other things?"

"What's that any business of yours?" he asked, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"I'm just curious." He sighed and rolled his eyes again.

"I used to help Jade cook them meals. Mostly I just go over now to be a visitor. Anything else?"

"Not really, although another question just popped into my head. If you knew Jade for five years, did you help her when she first took over? She only briefly mentioned that she took over once her father moved away."

"No, I didn't help her at first. She took over maybe…three years ago."

"Why didn't you help her at first?"

"None of your business," he suddenly snapped, his eyes returning to its signature glare and his voice going cold. Tea was taken aback by this sudden change and watched as he looked outside to avoid eye contact with her, sipping his drink once more. An awkward silence fell between the two.

"Sorry…" she whispered. "I didn't realize it was because of…something bad."

"No, it's not…" Growling in frustration, he shook his head and said, "Let's just drop it. I think we're almost there anyway."

Nodding in agreement, Tea finished her drink and put her list back in her bag. "One last question, though," she said. "It's nothing personal, just… How important are these kids to you?"

"You don't think that's a personal question?" he asked, chuckling at her and closing his eyes. "If they weren't important to me, I wouldn't spend my time visiting them and buying them things."

"Do you think of them as your own kids?"

"That's two questions."

"Oh, come on."

Chuckling once more, he shrugged his shoulders. "I know I can never take the place of their lost parents, but if I can make them happier… I don't think of them as my own kids, but I care about them just as much as a decent parent would." Feeling the limo come to a stop, she heard the driver tell them that they had arrived before Kaiba opened the door. The two walked out of the limo, and as the car began to drive away, he began walking toward the orphanage.

"Thanks for that, by the way," she stated, making him stop and turn to face her.

"It's really not that big of a deal, Gardner. This just saves us some trouble."

"Yeah. I guess…" Shrugging his shoulders, Kaiba turned and continued advancing towards the orphanage, Tea following behind. "But still…thanks."

"Whatever. Oh, and by the way..." Pausing, she watched his shoulders relax slightly and his head hang. "Call me Seto around these kids, okay? But no where else."

Nodding in understanding, Tea watched him walk into the orphanage and wandered how difficult it was for him to actually say that.