Chapter seven:

A rainy invitation.

The rest of the week went by comparatively slow.

Tea was a little reluctant to face Kaiba after what had happened between them on Tuesday night but fortunately he didn't appear to be affected by it too much. In fact, he acted as though nothing happened at all. A reaction Tea was more than grateful for.

Actually, Kaiba was barely even in his office for the rest of the week, being occupied with quite a few business deals and corporate ventures.

Luckily she didn't have to tag along with him every where he went, she much preferred being swamped with paper work safe and sound behind her desk than to have to be left alone with Kaiba all day. She was still confused as to why he had been so nice to her but for whatever reason, she had a strong feeling that his curiosity about her life, in particular Yami, would somehow resurface.

Friday 5:30 pm

It was raining buckets and Tea had been practically stranded at Kaiba Corp. headquarters for more than half an hour. She looked at her watch and sighed. Typical that Kaiba would pick a day like this one to be out of office, she definitely wouldn't have objected to getting a ride to her apartment today. As she stood at the front entrance of the building, she peered out into the heavy curtain of rain looking for any sign of hope.

Just then she managed to make out a very familiar black Limo pulling to a stop directly in front of the steps before her. What? Is that Kaiba's limo? I thought he was at a meeting.

She squinted her eyes to peer through the torrent and to her pleasant surprise, saw Mokuba waving at her from behind the window. She heard him shouting over the heavy down pour.

"Hey Tea, looks like you could use a ride."

She couldn't have been happier to see him. She smiled appreciatively, but hesitated before heading out.

She heard his voice pierce through the rain again.

"Come on, you'll have to make a run for it"

She looked down at her shoes with a slightly worried expression. Great day to be wearing heels Tea.

After a few more seconds of hesitation she braced herself and rushed out into the rain. She was a little careful running down the steps however; deciding that getting soaked was much better than twisting her ankle.

When she made it to the limo Mokuba hastily opened the door to let her in. She was soaking wet and freezing by the time she sat down.

As they drove off she started to recover some of her composure. Mokuba offered her a blanket from one of the compartments for her to dry herself off. She took it from him feeling extremely grateful.

"Thanks Mokuba, you're a life saver."

"No problem Tea."

"So did you come to see your brother?"

"Yeah, I didn't know he was at another meeting."

"Well he has been pretty busy these days."

"Tell me about it, I hardly even see him anymore; and when I do see him he's got his face stuck behind a laptop."

"Well that's Kaiba for you."

"I guess so."

Mokuba sighed and looked out the window. He looked like he was pondering a math problem. After a few seconds of silence he turned to look at her, a sparkle in his eyes.

"So Tea, are you busy right now?"

"..No not really. Why?"

"Well I was just going to get a bite to eat; and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?"

Tea considered his invitation for a minute. She didn't really have anything to do for the rest of the evening and she really could've used a chance to unwind.

"You know what Mokuba that sounds like fun."

"Really?"

"Sure why not."

Mokuba's face lit up.

"Alright then it's my treat."

6:00pm

Tea watched as Mokuba took a big bite out of his slice of pepperoni pizza. He had taken her to one of the nicest pizza joints in the city.

The rain was still falling outside but it had slowed up a bit. Tea was already full by the time she had finished her third slice of pizza. She slurped down the remainder of her milkshake as she waited for Mokuba to finish his last slice.

She smiled as he slouched back against the chair patting his stomach as if he had just eaten a whale.

Tea put her cup back on the table.

"Well looks like you were hungry."

"A growing boy needs his nourishment."

She smiled warmly at him. He was so sweet and so easy to talk to; it was hard to believe that he and Kaiba actually shared the same bloodlines.

"So Tea..."

He sat back up as if he were ready to clench a business deal.

"...I need your opinion on something."

"My opinion?"

He nodded courteously.

"Ok, sure"

"K…. well you know that Seto's always busy right."

"How could I not know, I work for the guy now."

"Exactly, so you know as well as I do that he seriously needs a break from his work right."

"Well I guess so, but I think he actually enjoys being a workaholic."

"Come on Tea no one likes to be overworked, even Seto, that's why I want to try to convince him to take a vacation."

"A vacation? I'm not an expert on your brother Mokuba but I don't think that Kaiba's into relaxing."

"I know he'll be tough to convince but I have to try. He needs a break but he's too stubborn to realize it."

Mokuba stared at her as if he wanted to know what she was thinking. She could see that he was really concerned about his brother.

" You know what Mokuba I think that's a great idea, Kaiba definitely needs a vacation and you should try your best to convince him."

"You think so."

"Sure"

Mokuba smiled; apparently quite satisfied that she agreed with him.

"Thanks Tea, I really needed a second opinion."

" No problem, Glad I could help; besides, while your brother's away I wouldn't have to go to any of his business meets, so it'll work out good for everyone."

"Well Um actually Tea, that brings me to my next question."

She noticed that he looked a little reluctant to ask.

"Oh ok what is it?"

"Well... I was kinda hoping that...uh...maybe you could ...come with us."

Tea almost fell off her chair.

"What? You can't be serious."

"Actually I am, I wouldn't feel right leaving you here alone while me and Seto are lounging on a beach somewhere."

Tea suddenly felt a sinking feeling creep into her stomach.

"Mokuba, you and Kaiba are family, I wouldn't feel right...I'd feel like I was Intruding or something."

"Tea you're like a big sister to me there's no way you'd be intruding."

"But what about your brother, how will he feel about me going with you guys."

"Oh he wouldn't mind, besides I think he likes you."

Tea felt an instant rush of heat rise to her cheeks.

"Likes me?"

"Yep, I know my brother Tea."

"Mokuba, that's insane, Kaiba does not like me."

"Ok, if you say so."

Mokuba didn't say anything further about it, but he knew that his brother always had a soft spot for Tea, even if he wouldn't be caught dead admitting it to any one.

"Any way Mokuba, I still don't think I should go with you guys."

"Come on Tea, It'll be fun."

Tea sighed as she looked at Mokuba not knowing what to do. A vacation didn't sound half bad, her only discouragement was Kaiba.

"Tell you what, why don't you talk to your brother and see what he has to say about it first okay?"

"Well okay, but if I talk to him and he agrees, do you promise to come with us?"

Tea wasn't sure if she should agree but one look at Mokuba's innocent face sent her hesitation crashing helplessly to the floor.

"…Okay, I promise."

Tea left the pizza parlour with Mokuba feeling a little bit uneasy, what had she gotten herself into? Obviously she should have given the situation a little more thought before promising anything. But it couldn't be helped now, she already made her promise and there was no way that she was going to break it. Hopefully

It was already 7:30pm when she opened the door to her apartment. She had gotten drenched all over again running from the limo to her apartment building. She needed to dry herself off and get out of her working clothes if she wanted to avoid catching a fever. Although she knew it might already be too late for that.

As she walked into her bedroom she put her keys and her purse onto the dresser. She stepped out of her shoes and started fiddling with her wet hair. As she did her mind suddenly wandered back to what Mokuba had said during their little talk.

For some reason that simple statement he had made about Kaiba liking her kept popping into her head.

The very idea of Kaiba liking her was absolutely ridiculous... Wasn't it?

She knew he had always acted a little differently with her compared to the way he acted around Yugi and the others; he had even saved her life once but that didn't mean anything; it can't, he's Seto Kaiba.

But her memory kept floating back to the night in the car, where he had touched her and made her heart leap. Where he seemed so different, so gentle and somehow caring. But before letting her mind slip away she reminded herself that he was only doing what anyone would have done in a situation like that. She was upset and his guilt had gotten the better of him, that's all it was, that's all it could've been.

What was the matter with her? She was confused; did it really matter that much how Kaiba felt about her?

Damn it, she was driving herself insane; you'd think she had a crush on him or something.

She sighed as she sat down on the bed, finalizing her thoughts as she unbuttoned her jacket.

(Kaiba Mansion) 8:30pm

Kaiba took a sip of his coffee as he concentrated on the computer screen in front of him. As usual he was trying to get an early start on his workload for the following week.

Despite his strong focus however his mind suddenly started drifting toward Tea. He wondered if she was alright and if that son of a bitch Yami was still bothering her. It worried him that she had gotten so upset the other night and he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since; much to his aggravation. He had scolded himself more times than he could count for letting her see just how concerned he was about her but for some reason he felt as though he had done the right thing. She was obviously going through a difficult time.

Feeling extremely annoyed with himself for being so easily distracted he dove back into his work determined to drive her out of his mind.

He was Seto Kaiba and he couldn't and wouldn't allow himself to fall into such a petty state.

Just then he heard a light knock on his door. He looked up and saw Mokuba standing in the doorway.

"Hey Seto, can I come in?"

"Sure kiddo."

Mokuba walked into the room looking a bit nervous. Kaiba knew his brother well enough to know that something was up.

"Is something wrong?"
Mokuba stopped directly in front of Kaiba's desk.

"Well not exactly, I just have something I want to ask you."

Kaiba leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, a bit curious as to why Mokuba was so uneasy.

"I'm listening."

"Well you see Seto…. I was wondering, since the summer's almost over…... if we could go on a real vacation before school starts."

"…a vacation?"

"Yeah, I know you're busy but can't you just take a break from all your work for just a week or two?"

Kaiba sighed as he stared at Mokuba, not knowing what to do.

"Mokuba you know how I feel about vacations."

"I know but can't you make an exception just this once…please… besides big brother; you look like you could use a break from all your work anyway."

Kaiba didn't want to admit it but he knew his brother was right; he had been working extra hard for the past few days. The only problem was that he hated vacations, especially at this time of year.

But then again he loved his brother and they hadn't been on a real vacation in years. Maybe he should make an exception and give the kid a break this time.

He sighed in defeat as he looked at Mokuba's eager face.

"...Okay, fine, I'll take you."

Mokuba smiled in surprise.

"Really Seto?"

"Sure, why not."

"Awesome!"

Kaiba resumed his work on the computer.

"So where exactly do you want to go?"

"…hmm I was thinking, maybe a beach resort?"

A beach resort? Great.

Kaiba hated the beach but he didn't want to say anything to put a damper on Mokuba's mood.

"Ok if that's what you want."

Mokuba took a silent breath and gathered himself for the second faze of his request.

"Uh Seto, I have another question I'd like to ask you."

Kaiba pulled his eyes away from the computer screen and looked at Mokuba.

"…Another question?"

"...Yeah."

"...Okay, what is it?"

"Um, I was just wondering if...uh...

Mokuba braced himself before saying the rest.

"…if Tea could come with us?"

Kaiba's fingers slipped over the keys.

"What? Did you just say TEA?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Mokuba, are you out of your mind? And what makes you think Gardner would even want to come with us?"

"Well, I kinda sorta asked her already and..."

"You asked her?"

"Yeah I did and she said she would come with us but only if it was okay with you."

Kaiba felt obliged to simply refuse all together; but there was something rather alluring about the idea of having Tea practically all to himself for the rest of the summer. Damn it, get a grip!

"Well Seto, can she come with us?"

Kaiba looked at his brother's innocent face, feeling a bit indecisive. He thought about it for a few seconds. Maybe he should take her with them, at least then he wouldn't have to worry about that spiky haired asshole causing her any more trouble for the time being. Crap, he was definitely getting too soft for his own good. He folded his arms and stared thoughtfully at his brother.

"Humph, I think I'll just have to pay Gardner a little visit tomorrow."

Mokuba gulped.

"You really think that's necessary?"

"Sure it is; I need to hear what she has to say about all this."

"Ok big brother."

Kaiba switched his attention back to the screen in front of him already searching for a suitable five star beach resort. He wanted to get this vacation thing over and done with as soon as possible. When he found what he was looking for he flipped out his cell phone and dialed the number for the Oceanview Hotel and Beach Resort.

Mokuba watched as Kaiba made their reservations feeling a bit apprehensive.

"Uh Seto don't you think you should wait until Tea actually agrees to come along with us before making reservations for three?"

Kaiba snapped his cell phone shut and looked at his brother, a mischievous smirk pulling over his lips.

"Don't worry Mokuba I'll make sure she doesn't go back on her word."