Okay, so first of all, I owe a huge apology to each and every one of you guys for suddenly quitting the concept of updating. Between band and school, I did not have the time or the energy to focus on this story. I know I have updated my other stories, but this story is drawing to its end, and I wanted to make sure that I produced only the best quality to my abilities. I knew that with the time crunch I was given, this story would not turn out the way I wanted it to.

So I apologize to all my fans out there who have been waiting patiently for an update that was never given. Hopefully these updates to come, leading up to the eventual conclusion, will satisfy you all. I can't say I'm sorry enough, but just know that I WILL finish this story for you all! I won't let you down!!

And now, onto the chapter that you all have been waiting for!


Chapter 47 – It Hits Home

Tea watched the children playing outside through the window, smiling as they chased each other around and played childish games that most, if not all, adults remember playing at some point. She was sitting on the couch, one of the only pieces of furniture left in the orphanage, leaning against it so that she could see them clearly without having to stretch out too much. Seto and Jade were packing away the remainder of the furniture pieces and toys, for in two days Jade planned on taking the children to the new orphanage, so Tea was in charge of making sure the kids behaved. It was pretty simple, really. All of the toys and entertainment devices had been packed away, anything from books to video games to movies, so the kids had little to do inside. Jade told them all to go out and play, and despite what Tea first thought would happen, the kids had remained entertained for three hours running outside. Chuckling, she thought, "And they don't look like they'll be tired or bored anytime soon."

Watching them all run around, Tea smiled at the sight of Lilith hanging around the other girls as they swung back and forth on the swings. "She's finally starting to make friends with the other kids. Maybe Seto was right about keeping her around them for awhile longer. I was a little skeptical at first, but I can see that the social environment is really doing her some good. I guess he wants her to have friends before going to school, knowing nobody there. It's going to be so tough for her…"

Hearing the door open, Tea spun around to see Seto and Jade walk in, Jade carrying two small boxes with Seto pushing a large one in behind her. She had to chuckle at the sight of him; nobody would have recognized him to be the CEO of KaibaCorp. He was wearing black jeans, sneakers, and a red t-shirt. His facial expression showed not the coldness or the usual angry demeanor, but kindness and passion for what he was doing. Watching him pack these boxes over the past couple of days allowed her to truly see Seto. Not Seto Kaiba, the CEO of KaibaCorp. Seto, the older brother of a kid he adored and an employee at an orphanage that he once lived in and whose kids he cared whole-heartedly about. Anybody who thought he was heartless would have gasped as the scales fell from their eyes at this sight.

"Well, that should be about it!" Jade exclaimed victoriously, slapping her hands together and grinning widely. "About one or two more boxes, and we should be good to go!"

"You excited?" Tea asked, smiling over the two as she peeked outside, making sure the kids were still behaving.

"Hell yes, I am," Jade stated as she plopped down onto the nearby recliner. Seto silently walked across the room and sat down next to Tea, winking at her before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.

"Aww, is the businessman tired out from all the physical labor?" Tea jokingly asked, sticking her tongue out when Seto opened and rolled his eyes at her.

"Hey, I can't even bust on him for this like I normally would," Jade defended, smiling over at the couple. "Moving boxes all day can get pretty rough."

"Yeah. I'm happy you guys gave me this tough job. These kids are so horrible."

Jade chuckled and sarcastically said, "Yeah, I know. They don't know any of the rules around here. I don't know how I keep them in line."

Smirking, Tea glimpsed outside to see Steven chasing Harem around in a circle. "Those kids have so much energy…"

"It's good for them," Seto stated. "At least they have some creativity to keep themselves occupied."

Tea smiled and watched as he slowly closed his eyes. "You look dead tired," she thought aloud.

"I am dead tired."

"So what are your guys' plans for the rest of the day? You gonna keep packing things up?"

Seto let out a long sigh and opened his eyes, rolling his head over to see Jade, who was staring back at him. "Whatever you need to get done, I'm free to do," he stated, though the tone in his voice mimicked that of a child who didn't want to do anymore chores.

"We're both tired," Jade said. "Let's take a break. Besides, we still have another whole day to work. We don't need to push ourselves this hard for nothing, especially since we're almost done."

"Sounds good to me," Seto replied, leaning back more into the couch and smiling.

"Wow. I think this is the first time I've ever seen you being lazy. Even as a kid you were always doing something."

"I wasn't moving boxes around day and night as a kid either."

"Point taken." Letting out a yawn, Jade slowly stood up and asked, "Do you guys want something to drink? I'm going to go out and get us something to eat. These kids can have leftovers for dinner; we deserve something special."

"I'll have a soda and something small to eat," Tea stated. "Doesn't matter. If they have any good appetizers, just order one for me."

"Alrighty then. And you, Seto?"

"Where are you going?"

"I dunno."

Seto smirked. "Way to go. I don't care. Just get me something good to eat."

"Alright. A pile of shit for Seto, and something good for Tea. Got it." Seto growled as she walked out the front door, and Tea watched as she strolled through the group of kids, stopping to presumably tell them that she and Seto were still watching them from the window. Well, she was anyways. Seto looked like he was about to pass out. Waving goodbye to the kids, Jade got into her car and drove out.

"You're going to sleep good tonight," Tea noted, placing her hand on top of his and noticing the smile that slowly began to form.

"Yeah, but I'm happy I helped her out. I would have felt bad if I hadn't helped her pack at least a couple of things."

"I hope you know she's really appreciative of everything you've done."

"I know. And I'm happy she is, but she deserves this new place. The kids do too. They've lived here all their lives; a change in environment will hopefully be something good for them."

"They seem to be really excited about it. They're all so anxious about moving."

"That's just natural. I'd actually be scared if they weren't the slightest bit phased by moving to a new location."

Tea placed her arm on the back of the couch and laid her head down, her other hand still grasping Seto's hand. "What was it like…moving out of the orphanage and into Gozaburo's house?" she whispered as she scanned the playground for all the kids.

"I didn't really think about it, to be perfectly honest," he answered, glancing over at her. "I was just thinking about getting Mokuba a new home. When we first arrived, I could tell I wouldn't like the place, but he was so excited about how big the mansion was…" A small smile crossed her boyfriend's lips, and she briefly wondered whether he had done it voluntarily or not. "I guess, looking back on it now, I was kind of happy to get out of the orphanage. The kids weren't a large group of friends like they are now. We had our own cliques, and each clique treated the other cliques like dirt. It was a horrible place to grow up…that's why I worked so hard to get Mokuba out. I—"

A sudden noise interrupted the two, and Seto frowned as he took out his cell phone and looked at the caller ID. Answering it, he held the phone up to his ear and said, "What's the matter?"

"'What's the matter?'" Tea thought, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "Is it Mokuba? Jade?"

"I see. I'll be on the lookout. Thanks for the update." Closing his phone up, she watched him let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noting the tenseness in his hand.

"Oh, there's a car chase going on," Seto stated as he quickly stood up. "She says that the car is heading in this direction, but she isn't sure whether they'll pass by or not. Still, we want to be safe, so—" Once again, Seto was interrupted by a noise, though this one was much more unnerving. It was the sound of police cars.

It was distant, but enough to make Tea and Seto jump and run outside. "Kids, it's time to come inside!" Seto shouted as he ran out into the main area. "Come on, let's go!" Several of the kids immediately dropped what they were doing and ran inside, while others began placing their things back from where they got them. "You'll be outside later, don't worry about it," he assured them. Tea stood next to the doorway, hurrying them inside without acting as though there was something going on.

"The last thing we need to do is upset or scare them," she thought as Steven and Harem ran inside, smiles on their faces.

"Caterina, Lilith, come on!" Seto shouted, waving over at the two. Caterina jumped off the swing and began heading towards her, while Lilith came to a slow stop and began walking quickly, trying to catch up to Caterina. Tea watched the two eagerly, wishing them telepathically to hurry, when she saw the police sirens extremely close by.

"Which means…"

Suddenly, a familiar, red car passed by, slowing down as the window went down. "Caterina, run over here now!" Tea screamed, not caring whether or not the other kids were scared at this point. Caterina looked back, gasped, and began running towards her, and Lilith did the same. But as Lilith began running, Caterina already making her way inside, Tea heard the sudden sound that penetrated through the tension only to create absolute dread. A gunshot.

Eyes as wide as saucers, Tea slammed the door shut and ran over to the window, gasping in surprise as she watched, almost in slow motion in seemed, though it probably happened in a few seconds, as Seto ran towards Lilith and quickly kneeled down to embrace her, his back towards the red car. Gunshots fired at the ground all outside the orphanage, and Tea ignored the other childrens' screams as she watched in horror Seto be shot at by the driver in the red car, the ground around him covered in bullets. A police car rammed into the back of the red car just in time, it seemed, and flipped the car over, ending the shooting. Policemen quickly surrounded the car, and Tea turned around to face all the children. "Don't come outside!" she exclaimed over the screaming, silencing the entire room. "Everything will be under control. Just don't leave this building – in fact, don't leave this room. Just stay here, and we'll be okay in no time."

Even though her tone hinted a sense of security, her heart was racing so fast that she was certain it would fly out of her chest. Turning back around, she ran outside, slammed the door behind her, and sprinted over to the two. Lilith slowly backed away in shock as Seto's arms fell by her side, his body falling over until he was lying on his back. "SETO!" Tea cried out, kneeling down next to him and pulling him up. Turning back to Lilith, she asked, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah….I'm okay," she slowly whispered. "Is…Big Brother okay?"

Looking back at Seto, tears formed in her eyes as she felt blood from his back seep onto her hand. "He'll be fine," she whispered back, though she wasn't sure whether that was true or not. "Just go back inside with the other kids. You'll be okay."

Lilith numbly nodded and sprinted back towards the orphanage, and Tea could see the kids crowding the window, all looking outside at the scene. She returned her attention to Seto, whose eyes were slowly opening. "S-S-Seto," she stuttered. "Seto, you'll be okay."

"Is…Lilith safe?" he asked with a raspy voice.

"Yes, Seto, she's okay," Tea whispered back, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. "And you're going to be okay too. I-I'm going to call the hospital r-right now, and y-you'll be okay."

Another small smile formed on his face as his eyes slowly closed, his hand reaching up and grasping hers. "I'm sorry. I should have—"

"Seto, be quiet!" she whispered harshly. "You're bleeding…badly. Save your strength. Just hold on…" Seeing a policeman in the corner of her eye, she turned to see a middle-aged officer running towards her, phone in hand.

"Is this man alright?" he asked harshly, eyeing the two as he closed his phone.

"No; he was shot," Tea stated, letting the policeman hold onto him, kneeling on the opposite side of her. Blood was covering her hands, but she barely noticed it.

"How many times?" he asked, placing a hand around his neck.

"I'm not sure. T-They opened f-fire at us, and he p-protected one of the c-children w-who is now i-inside." The words were starting to sink in; the situation itself was now sinking in for Tea. Seto had been shot. He was bleeding. He looked unconscious. He might die.

"An ambulance is coming by now," he stated, looking up at her. "Are you injured, ma'am?"

"No, I—"

"Tea!" a familiar voice shouted, and Tea merely stared at Seto as she heard footsteps rush up to her, her body becoming numb. "Oh my God…what the fuck happened?!"

"He…was protecting…Lilith, and…." She couldn't finish. She just couldn't. The tears came out in full force, and sobs racked her entire body. Feeling a pair of hands on her shoulders, she felt Jade's body shaking as well.

"I'll take care of the kids," she stated in a wavy voice. "You go to the hospital with him. Call me immediately once this is done with." Tea nodded her head and heard her as she walked away, her focus back on the limp form of her boyfriend.

"Was anyone else hurt?" the policeman asked as he scanned Seto.

"No. We're all fine." Just as she said this, a siren caught her attention, and she spun around to see an ambulance driving slowly around the car crash, which was now littered with other policeman and two more police cars.

"Ma'am, I'm going to ask you to come with us," he stated, lifting Seto up. Tea nearly puked; blood covered the ground where Seto had been lying. "We need to know exactly what happened."

"I…I understand," she choked out, following the policeman as he ran over to the ambulance. Jumping into the back, she watched as they strapped him onto the stretcher and began working. She sat down to get out of the way and merely grabbed onto Seto's limp hand, tears continuing their flow down her cheeks. She couldn't think; she couldn't speak; she couldn't even register that the ambulance had begun moving. All she could think about was the body now lying in front of her, lifeless and pale, that had been protecting a child not five minutes ago. A body that had cuddled up to her nights ago, who had held her warmly, who had protected her and taken care of her…a body that now showed no signs of life as the doctors placed a breathing mask on his face.