Recap: Seto Kaiba was celebrating his new job with Tea and her friends. The phone rang and it was Mokuba. He was alive! He was calling from a phone booth for help. Kaiba and the gang drove to the location and found that Mokuba and Marik were already gone. All that was left was a computer and a trap. Kaiba saves Tea and they return home to search for more clues to Mokuba's disappearance.

DEAR READERS: ALTHOUGH, THE STORY IS GOING TO BE VERY SIMILAR, I EDITED OUT ONE MAJOR PART. FROM THIS CHAPTER ON, YOU MAY WANT TO REREAD IT!

Kaiba searched the computer as best he could, but he couldn't find any clues as to where Mokuba might be now. Tea called her mother and told her that she was spending the night at a friend's house. She was worried about Kaiba's mental state after all that occurred and wanted to spend the night with him to be sure he was going to be okay. She had fallen asleep on Kaiba's lap while Kaiba searched through the files of the computer.

After he gave up, he looked down at her tiny form and smiled. Although he never showed it, he had always liked Tea. Her beauty and kindness reminded him of his mother. Now that he had gotten to know her better, she became flawless in his eyes.

Suddenly, her face crunched up and her breathing quickened. She started to whimper in her sleep and Kaiba gently shook her to try to wake her from her nightmare. When that didn't work her breathing became harsh gasps and sobs. She trembled and called out for help. He shook her harder, now desperate to wake her up. "Please, don't hurt him," she screamed as she finally awoken.

She looked up in his eyes when he asked, "Don't hurt who?" Tea was still petrified and still shaking. Instead of answering him, she wrapped her arms neck and pulled him into a kiss. Kaiba's eyes got wide as her arms traveled slowly back down and she slowly started to unbutton his shirt. Taking the hint, Kaiba picked her up bridal and carried her to the bedroom. Tonight would be a night he would never forget.

…

Marik received a call from Bandit Keith and was informed that he found someone in the joint, who was willing to give him directions to a decaying corpse. Marik asked, "Does it fit the age and height description?"

Bandit Keith replied, "Of course."

Marik continued his questioning, "How did he die?"

"Well, let's just say he lost his head over things. The guy who killed him was arrested yesterday for selling hallucinogens. As far as I know, no one knows about the boy's death, he is just considered a missing person's case. I agreed to exchange the bail money he needs, which you are going to pay, for the body," Keith explained.

"Very well," Marik agreed he looked down at Mokuba, who was now wearing a fresh set of clothing and continued, "Dress the corpse in Mokuba's clothes and make sure you put his necklace on it. That is going to be the piece that throws Kaiba overboard. While you prepare that, I am going to try one last thing to get rid of the girl.

…

Still very worried about Kaiba, she visited him after school every day that week and on Sunday she went there early to surprise him. She wanted to spend the whole day as a day to cheer him up.

Kaiba woke up to the smell of biscuits in the oven. Tea was sitting on the kitchen counter with a pot of coffee freshly made. "Good Morning, Kaiba. Would you like some eggs?" she asked. Kaiba was thankfully wearing his pajamas that day, so there was no awkward underwear encounters… Not that she didn't already see everything the other night. He looked her over and noticed she was wearing a sweater and scarf, a sure sign of winter. He frowned in realization that this was going to be his first holiday without his little brother.

"What are you doing here this early?" he asked. By now he had gotten used to her coming over here unannounced and appreciated her visits. Though he would never admit it out loud, her visits are what helped him get through the day. Without Mokuba, he was left completely alone and it was just too quiet.

She shrugged and replied, "I just figured we could go out and watch a movie or something. I want to do something to make you feel better. Dress warm though, I thought I saw a penguin buying a sweater on the way over here."

He smirked and joked, "We could just do what we did the other night. That would certainly make me feel better." She shot him a dirty look and he began to snicker. He grabbed a cup of coffee and the plate of eggs and biscuits she was now handing him. He was amazed she could balance both of them while she was struggling with only one crutch. But at the same time, seeing how well their night of passion went, he wasn't surprise at all.

They ate breakfast together and talked about the movies in the theatres. While he listened to her describe the movies playing he watched her facial expressions and picked the one he knew she wanted to see the most. It was a Historical Fiction called, "Marie Antoinette." Although it was definitely a girl's movie, he definitely was able to appreciate the costumes, set designs, and more importantly the look in her eyes seeing something she truly enjoyed.

On the way back from the movie theatre, Tea walked with him through the park and stopped by a bench near a small lake. They sat together and she leaned her head on his shoulder. She then asked him the thing that had been lingering on her mind all day, "Kaiba?" He grunted to show he was listening and she continued, "My mother holds this big Thanksgiving dinner every year and I wanted to know if you would like to come?"

He looked over to her and said, "I don't think your father would approve of me, 'the serpent' as he called me, being at his dinner table."

She rolled her eyes and replied, "Please, he thinks every single one of my friends are demons." She smirked and joked, "You will fit right in."

He still looked hesitant to answer so she finished, "Look, I wouldn't be able to enjoy thanksgiving, knowing that you don't have anyone would share it with. And, I want to share it with you."

The air was growing colder so Kaiba wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. He rested his chin on her head and replied, "You know there are times when you annoy me to know end…but, there are moments like this that make you realize, I quite fancy you from time to time." He gently kissed her forehead and handed her the crutch. He said, "It's getting late, I am going to walk you home."

…

The next day, as Tea got dressed for school she had an unexplainable ominous feeling come over her. Part of her wanted to stay home that day, but she knew her father wouldn't allow her to miss a day.

As she walked closer and closer to school, the feeling of dread of followed her and grew. Her paranoia prompted her to try to take a short cut, but that turned out to be a big mistake. She turned into an alley and was instantly grabbed and callously thrown into the wall of a brick building. Suddenly she felt someone squeeze at her throat. She tried to push him away, but couldn't. She looked up at his face and realized, it was Marik. "Get off of me…What did you do to Mo…kuba?" she struggled to say.

Marik smiled and replied, "You will find out soon enough my dear. I think thanksgiving will be the perfect day to return Mokuba to his family."

Tea looked at him confused and asked, "You are… going to give… us back Moku…ba?"

He nodded and smiled sadistically, "Yes, but let's get this out of the way first. He grabbed a revolver out of his pocked and hit her in the back of the head. Immediately she fell unconscious.

…

Kaiba sat in the classroom nervously. Tea was over 20 minutes late and that was unusual for her. She was normally persnickety about arriving early to school. He waited about 10 minutes more and walked right out the door. Something wasn't right…he could sense it. Kaiba walked down her normal route she walked to school on and immediately sensed danger. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, nothing seemed out of ordinary but something just didn't feel right. That's when out of the corner of his eye he saw someone running out of an alley down the road.

Kaiba swiftly but cautiously walked down the road to see what the man was running from in the alley. He looked down the alley and didn't see anything at first. But as he was about to turn around to leave he heard a cough. He looked again and saw a hand sticking out from behind one of the boxes. He walked over to the boxes and found Tea barely breathing and beaten to a pulp. He instantly called an ambulance.

…

When the ambulance arrived, he rode in the back with her to the hospital. They rushed her into the emergency room and waited. When the nurse finally came out she said, "Ms. Gardener gave me permission to tell you of her condition but asks that you not tell her friends or parents. I am sure you figured out what happened to her."

Kaiba nodded and she continued "We ran some test and took pictures of her injuries. They will be filed away just in case she wants to pursue the perpetrator. She is pretty bruised up and it did a number on her already injured leg, but she will be okay…physically. Mentally this tends to be rough on our patients, so I ask you to keep an eye out for her."

"Can I see her yet?" Kaiba asked. The nurse nodded and he followed her to the room.

Tea was sitting in the bed with her knees pulled into her chest. She was staring at the wall and didn't even notice their arrival. Kaiba walked over to the side of the bed and reached for her hand, "Tea."

She pulled her hand back as if she had just been burnt. Her head turned to him and he could see the look of horror on her face. Once she realized it was him, she relaxed slightly and asked, "You didn't tell the guys or my parents anything, right?"

Kaiba shook his head no and replied, "I didn't but don't you think you should at least tell your mom. After all, how else are you going to be able to treat your injuries?"

She looked back down and replied, "They took pictures so they have what they need to prosecute him. I can't tell my mother because if my father were to find out he would kill me."

"You are my concern right now, not your father. There are several foundations that protect victims of violent attacks and that will help you with the cost." He replied. He knew about the funds because he used to be one of its donors.

Tea remained silent and started to tremble. Kaiba pulled off his school jacket and placed it over her to keep her warm. He then asked, "Do you know who did this?"

She nodded and replied, "Marik."

It took everything in his power to not lose it and start breaking things in the hospital room. Tea didn't need to be scared any further today. He was furious! His breathing became heavy and his vision became cloudy he was going to pass out if he didn't calm down.

Tea saw the look on his face and assumed Kaiba was mad at her for letting it happen. Tears rolled down her face and she reached out to hold his hand. The touch of her hand pulled him out of his fury for a moment and when he saw her tears, it changed to a look of concern. "What's wrong Tea?" he asked.

"Please don't be mad at me Kaiba. I couldn't bare it if you hated me too," she replied sincerely.

Kaiba was surprised by her response and replied, "I could never hate you Tea and I am certainly not angry at you for this. I am angry at Marik. He couldn't just deal with me face to face…he has to go around hurting the ones I care about."

At that moment Tea realized, he had been calling her by her first name throughout this whole conversation. "Since when did you start using my first name," she asked.

He smiled and replied, "It was the night that you slept over at my house because you were worried about me. You had no alternate motive for choosing to do so, other than my wellbeing. That was the day I truly started to trust you and began to consider you as a friend. Are you ready to go home now?"

Her heart sunk. After the night they had she would have thought that she would be more than just a friend… But, maybe that was just too much to hope for. She nodded and he called the nurse for her discharge papers.

…

Mokuba had woken up and realized his clothing had been replaced and his locket was gone. He looked around frantically for it until Marik spoke, "You wouldn't happen to be looking for this?"

Mokuba looked up and saw him holding his locket from the other side of the bars. He went up to the door of the closed cell and said, "Give it back! That's sentimental to my brother and me."

Marik smiled and replied, "I know, that is why it will be the perfect thing to trick your brother into thinking you're dead. It would be just enough finally break your brother. Then I can have my peace."

Mokuba looked at the screen and saw his older brother carrying Tea home in what looked like a hospital gown. He gasped and asked, "What did you do to her?"

Marik walked away, ignoring his question. It would only be a few more days till he led Kaiba to the brink of his sanity. He couldn't wait to watch him fall.