Chapter 25 – Good Times

"Where are we going?" she asked as the two quickly rounded a corner on the dirt pathway leading almost dangerously downhill. They had been walking for the past ten minutes in the pitch darkness known as night, and Tea began to worry about whether or not Seto really knew where he was going. She could hear the waves of the ocean becoming distinctly louder, yet she couldn't really see anything except Seto and what the moon permitted her.

"You'll see in a second," he answered in a strained voice, tired of her questions. "I thought you said you trusted me on this."

"I do, but…"

"Whatever. Just keep following me." Tea did as she was told as they turned another corner and began walking even more downhill.

"How did you find this place?"

"Mokuba and I always ran away from the orphanage to do things. He was always picked on by the idiots there, so I took the blame for getting him away from those kids. We used to do all sorts of adventures. The area around here used to be perfect for it, but now if those kids escape, we go batshit over their disappearance."

"Because of the mob…?"

"Yeah."

"So you've always taken the blame for things your brother did?"

"Not really. I just took the blame for this because I felt it was the right thing to do at the time. Mokuba shouldn't be punished just to get away from bratty kids. That just didn't sound right, and it still doesn't." Tea nodded her head in understanding when she suddenly felt him grasp her hand. She heard him say, "It's probably slippery here, especially from the rain earlier. Here, hold my hand." Feeling him lead her forward, he pushed away a few bushes, revealing a protruding rock, before he let her go. "Walk slowly, and you should be fine," he instructed. She nodded her head again, climbed up onto the large, jutting rock, and walked forward before letting out a large gasp in surprise.

The entire ocean seemed to be before her on this very rock, yet there was probably still about a quarter of a mile from where she was standing to the actual water. The entire 'beach', if it could be called such a thing, was full of rocks, leaving only the slightest hints of sand between them. The moon glistened above the water as it came towards to rocks, splashed against them, and then returned to the ocean from whence it came, only to repeat its cycle. Yet the rocks and water looked almost peaceful rather than violent. It was truly a magnificent sight.

"Seto, this is…beautiful," she whispered, turning around only to find the CEO absent. She blinked in surprise and turned back around only to see him walking from one rock to the other in a careful manner towards the ocean until he reached halfway. He then spun around, and she saw a small smile on his face.

"Do you like it?" he called back to her.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, carefully jumping from one rock to the other to catch up with him. The rocks weren't as slippery as she would have expected, yet she was one who would fall on a dry rock, so she wasn't taking any chances. Years of dancing lessons didn't teach her to jump rocks. Once she caught up with him, she smiled widely and said, "It's very beautiful here."

"We found the entrance there one night when we were setting off fireworks," Seto explained, now looking out at the ocean. "Sophie had gone out and bought maybe a dozen or so fireworks, and not the small ones either. We had really big ones, yet she was the only one who knew how to set them off. You could say that she was kind of a daredevil in some aspects, always trying out new things. We found this place and thought it would be the best to set them off here." Chuckling, he closed his eyes and shook his head before slowly reopening his eyes. "We got in so much trouble. The teacher almost kicked us out for that."

"I couldn't imagine why," Tea replied sarcastically. "It's a wonder you didn't kill yourselves."

"I know. But it was fun. Those were…good times."

Looking over, she watched as Seto began walking forward again, making it look as though walking on rocks was all he did in life. "Good times…" she repeated softly, letting the phrase stick in her head. "When you had friends, when you were kind, when you had fun… Seto… Are those what you consider good times?"

"We almost thought we would live here, you know?" he called back to her after he finished his way towards the sea. He was now on a large, flat rock that looked big enough to seat five people on it, and she watched him slowly sit down to face her, making sure it was dry beforehand. "There's a cave nearby that we found, and we thought we could run away and live together there. We had plans and everything set up. But then… That was when Gozaburo came along, so we couldn't exactly continue with those plans. It took a lot of persuasion to explain to Sophie why I did what I did, but I think she understood after awhile."

Tea walked forward until she reached the large rock and sat down next to him, letting her legs dangle off the side. "I wish I had adventures like that as a kid," she commented.

"Didn't you have friends you did stuff with when you were little?" he asked, turning around and letting his legs dangle off the rock as well. Never in a million years could Tea have predicted the two would be sitting here now, just talking about good pastimes as if they had been friends for years. And if anyone would have told her such a thing was going to occur, she would have laughed and easily brushed them off.

"Yeah, I had a few good friends when I was little. I only saw them every so often, though, since my parents were always arguing. I went to their houses most of the times, and we'd only play with dolls or do something like that. Nothing along the lines of adventure was included with dolls."

"I see…" Not knowing what else to say, Tea just sat silently beside Seto, letting the ocean waves cause enough noise for the two of them. It was actually quite peaceful, listening to the water crash against the rocks.

"You know, you're talking a lot about Sophie," she stated after awhile. "I'm honestly thankful since I know you don't like talking about your past at all." There was no reply, yet she didn't exactly expect one either. "Is there anything you want to ask me about my past? I mean, you've shared some of yours, so—"

"I trust that you won't tell anyone about my past," Seto interrupted, looking over at her. "For some reason, I know you wouldn't go and rat out my past to any of your friends or the press. That's why I feel okay talking to you. But don't feel as though you have to share your past just because I'm sharing a piece of mine. I'm not going to open up to you that easily."

"Sorry… I was just trying to be nice."

"You're always trying to be nice."

"It's something I'm good at."

He chuckled and said, "Yes. Yes you are."

"And you're good at being nice too. You just don't show it as often."

"I don't like being nice to others."

"Then why are you being nice to me?"

He blinked several times before letting out a sigh and looking back out at the ocean. "I…I don't know," he answered. "I guess because, as I just said, I can trust you not to tell anyone else. Besides, I consider you a friend now, don't I? Aren't friends nice to each other?"

"Well, yes, but if you had more friends—"

"Don't you dare even go there tonight, Tea. I was nice enough to bring you out here, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were. And I'm very appreciative of it. This place is stunning."

"I knew you would like it." Smirking, he asked, "It wasn't a bad decision to trust me, now was it?"

"I never thought it would be." She smiled and placed her hand on top of his, feeling it suddenly stiffen along with the rest of his body. She slowly brushed her fingers along his before setting them between his before looking him up in the eyes. "I knew I could trust you, Seto. After all, what reason would you have to lie to me?"

He eyed her suspiciously, looking down at his hand and back up at her, before he let out a sigh and looked back out at the ocean. "You said…before we left the orphanage…that dreams are always important, no matter how old or how new. I always dreamed about having friends, having a family…yet that all meant nothing to me. I'm happy to have you, along with Jade and that crazy Lucy, as friends. That's why I'm not friendly towards everyone, Tea. Friends are very important to me. They're basically family. I've learned over time not to trust others, so having a friend is often difficult for me. But…when I know that I can honestly trust someone…that's when I'm nice to them." Smiling over at her, he said, "You've proven to me that you're trustworthy, so I guess that's why I'm nice to you."

And then, there it was. The boy that was left behind at the orphanage so long ago was now staring at her, a small smile across his face. There was a sudden glint in those usually cold, demeaning, blue eyes that shunned away any and all contact. That little sparkle of hope, of trust, of care, was all that was needed. It was what the wall he built kept hidden from the general public. She realized that she was truly seeing Seto Kaiba, not as the CEO of KaibaCorp, but as a friend, a man who was friendly to those who he truly cared about and ruthless towards others, others he considered to be 'enemies'. In a split second, she had figured out Seto Kaiba's philosophy on life. Kind to the deserving, anger and rage towards the rest of the world. And even if she had known this to be his philosophy in the first place, it hadn't sunk in until just now what it honestly meant. You had to earn his kindness.

"Thank you for trusting me," she said after awhile when she felt movement underneath her hand. Looking down, she realized her hand was still on top of his, and she quickly took her hand back. He lifted his hand up and covered the one side of his face, and that was when she realized he was shaking slightly. "A-Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, he stood up and began heading back towards the pathway, hopping from one rock to the other. She brushed herself off and quickly followed him, praying that she wouldn't trip as she rushed to catch up with him. When the two finally made it back, she ran ahead of him, as he had already begun walking back up the path, until she held out her hands and blocked his path. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, looking at him with genuine concern.

"I just wanted to leave," he answered, though his tone was rather unconvincing. Realizing this, he added, "It's getting pretty late, and we have school tomorrow. I don't want to be the reason you sleep during first period."

"I don't think that's it," she stated slyly, strolling up to him before wrapping her arms around his waist. She felt him immediately stiffen but ignored it. "I think you're remembering things you don't want to share with me. Is that it?"

Letting out a defeated sigh, he placed his hands on her shoulders as if to push her away but made no such move. "What if it is?" he asked after a moment passed between the two.

"Just know that, if you ever need somebody to vent to or to tell something to, I'm here. I know you have Jade and Mokuba, but I'm here as well. Okay?"

"Are you going to become my guidance counselor now?"

"No… I just don't like seeing you upset."

"I just…want to stop remembering the past. The more we talk about it, the more I remember."

"But Seto…we only talked about what you thought were good times. What is so bad about that?"

"All the good times, Tea…they lead to bad times. I don't want to remember that part of my life. I don't want to remember…" Feeling him begin to shake, she tightened her grasp around him and placed her head on his chest.

"Shhh… It's okay, Seto. It's the past. It's done now. Isn't that your motto?"

"Wasn't it you who said you couldn't erase those kinds of memories?" Realizing she was stuck, she merely let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Now can we leave?"

"Yeah…" She slowly released her grip around his waist, and he instantly began walking back up the pathway. She followed behind him, not saying a single word, but wondering what events were playing over in the CEO's mind.

"It doesn't matter; I've learned enough for right now. Just the fact that he took me here…that he told me about the fun times he had with Sophie… He obviously treasured this Sophie girl. Maybe something like a break-up could honestly have hurt him this badly. But I guess I'll save that for another time." Smiling, she thought, "I got to spend time with a man who I'm falling in love with. I had fun, and I think in the end he did too. After all, he didn't have to take me here. We both had…fun…"

"Will tonight go under the 'good times' category?" Tea asked playfully, figuring she would get a sarcastic remark in response. Instead, she watched Seto stop dead in his tracks before turning around and tilting his head to the side.

"Perhaps…" he answered, turning back around and continuing his walk. "They generally are related to being with friends. You would know that out of anybody."

"Yes… I guess I would."

"Now come on. Let's hurry back. I don't need Jade realizing my car is still there and wondering what the hell happened to the two of us." Tea chuckled and rolled her eyes before following the CEO back to civilization, back to society… "Where he can once again hide under a mask of anger…"