Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Tesseract ❯ Explanations ( Chapter 5 )

R_S: I'm back, and you should all be very happy. Not only is this chapter longer than the last, but I'm updating earlier than I planned to. You see, I was hoping to update this while I updated Unexpected Feelings/Love, but I have nothing to do, so I'm updating now.

 

Zander: Why do you people even care what happens?

 

R_S: You know, I wonder that too… apparently, this story and I rock. Anyway, time for shout-outs:

 

Bradybunch4529: Yeah, love triangles are awesome. I love a good BakuraxTéaxKaiba triangle, but I decided to use Marik instead. Of course she kept her spunk, her attitude never wavered on the episodes of the show I've seen. Besides, that's part of what makes her cool. Thank you for the great review!

 

Veronica: Wow, thank you so much! Sweet, my fic and I rock! Yay! Some things are explained in this chapter, but not everything. If I said everything it wouldn't be interesting… I just explained most of what's going on. Thanks for the review.

 

yami1: I know, ain't he adorable? I think this is good, but you'll have to be the judge of that. Thanks for the awesome review!

 

Sarah1281: Yup, `A Wrinkle in Time': great book, bad movie. I could just kind of see Isis explaining the whole tesseract thing. Um… I'll decide why people are obsessed with her soon; I just have to come up with a reason. If you have any suggestions that you think may improve the story don't hesitate to let me know. Thanks for the review, here's the chapter you wanted!

 

Azurite: Wow, thanks. All that praise means a lot coming from you, since I love your stories. I'm really not sure how many chapters this is going to be, I only have a basic outline of what I want to happen in my story. I've never seen Dragonball Z… It just doesn't peak my interest. Thank you very much for the review!

 

yingfacherryblossom: Yeah, they probably are. Although, I wouldn't worry if Seto liked me… oh well! Thanks for the great review.

 

R_S: Thank you everyone for the great feedback. Here's the next chapter.

 

 

Chapter 5

Explanations

 

Yugi stood, unconsciously wiping the exact same spot on the counter, contemplating. He wondered if Téa, his longtime friend and past crush, was all right.

 

He had harbored a crush on the cheerful girl for ten long years, since they were six. He had only just gotten over her when he realized two things. First of all, any of Téa's romantic feelings had been aimed towards Yami; he himself was just considered a friend to her. He came to his second realization when having a discussion with Joey. His best friend had been painfully aware of Yugi's crush, and of Téa's. After a long discussion, they came to the conclusion that the brunette was certainly over Yami. While it hurt to accept this fact, it had allowed the young boy to overcome his feelings for her and move on.

 

One thing the two boys never told anyone, not even Tristan, was that they had also come to a speculation as well: perhaps Téa had moved on to someone else? She had suddenly grown extremely uncomfortable when sitting in class, as if she wanted a specific pair of eyes to like what they saw. At first, they tried narrowing down suspects, or it could be called Joey obsessing while Yugi tried to convince him that whomever Téa had a crush on was none of their business. Either way, Joey was soon convinced that they had nothing to worry about after figuring out that if she did have a crush, the boy resided in the back of the room, around the area where Kaiba sat. So, it was either Seto Kaiba or an empty desk.

 

Yugi chuckled out loud at the memory. `I remember how choked I was after hearing Joey say that,' the boy mused, `only to become completely shocked at his calmness. Then he so nonchalantly explained how she couldn't have a crush because it would have to have been on Kaiba. “But Joey, what if her crush is Kaiba?!” We looked at each other and laughed for, literally, ten minutes straight. Téa have a crush on Kaiba, yeah right!' He stopped wiping and cracked up at the thought, before being snapped back to reality.

 

“Dude, quit it!”

 

“Yeah, c'mon Yug', Tristan's right!”

 

“Sorry, Joey, Tristan, Duke. I was just laughing at the whole `Téa's crush' thing Joey and I went through.” Yugi explained. However, none of the boys' realized that Yugi's laughter had drowned out the sound of the door and that Kaiba, Mai, Mokuba, Serenity, Marik, Ryou, and Isis were quietly standing away from them.

 

“What `Téa's crush' thing?” Tristan asked.

 

“Well,” began Joey, “remembuh how Yug' used ta have a crush on Téa?”

 

“Yeah…” answered Duke in a confused fashion.

 

`Who doesn't.' thought Bakura, who was listening in on the conversation through Ryou and their mind link.

 

“N', ya know how Téa used to like Yami?”

 

`That guy is toast.' Marik had found a new hatred towards Yami.

 

“Yes. Is that all this is about?” Tristan prodded.

 

“No,” spoke Yugi, “but we figured out about two months ago that Téa was definitely and completely over Yami. But, Joey thought that she might've gotten a crush on someone else…”

 

“So, Yug n' I figyuhed out what direction in class `er crush'd have ta sit in. But, pretty soon we luhned dat we wuh wrong.” Joey closed his eyes, turned his head, and waved his hand to emphasize his point.

 

“Oh? And how can you be so sure?” Duke asked amusedly.

 

“Simple, `cause she'd have ta like moneybags.” All four boys' eyes met for about five seconds… before they were rolling on the floor, howling with laughter.

 

“T-T-Téa like Kaiba! Hahahahahahaha!” Duke moaned.

 

“Like some blond bimbo! Heheheh!” Tristan continued.

 

“Mrs. Téa Kaiba! Hahahaha! Heheheh!” Joey screamed and the boys laughed even harder.

 

`So your lame friends can be amusing, hikari.' Bakura mocked, but Ryou chose not to dignify him with an answer. He did, however, start to lose the ability to hide his mirth.

 

“Better shut-it before you mutts have a seizure.” The four alarmingly red faces quickly faded to stark white as they turned to the six-foot owner of the ice-cold voice.

 

“Kaiba?” Duke squeaked. But, the multimillionaire only sneered in a disgusted fashion and stormed out of the shop.

 

“Jeez,” Joey asked, “what's with him?”

 

“Honestly, you boys are unbelievable sometimes!” Mai chastised angrily. No one missed the distasteful look on Serenity and Isis's faces either. “How could you do that?”

 

“What'd we do?!” Duke shouted, thoroughly confused.

 

“How could you have missed that hurt look in his eye?” Serenity continued coldly.

 

“Hurt?” Tristan ventured.

 

“You were laughing at him!” Mai screamed, “And, what's more is you rubbed his face in the idea that there was no way in hell he could ever get the one girl he really wa-… uh-oh.”

 

“Mai!” Serenity screeched, “No one was supposed to know that we knew! In fact, I don't think anyone here knew what they now know we knew!” Ten seconds of silence followed her statement.

 

“What?” Yugi asked.

 

“Ugh! Be quiet, this doesn't concern you.” Who knew Serenity could be so vicious.

 

“Come on girls, we have to get him.” Isis spoke coolly.

 

“Look, we didn't know!” Duke called out as the three girls exited the shop. The entire room was quiet for a few seconds, before Ryou perked up.

 

“What's wrong, Marik?” All eyes shifted to the Egyptian, who was seething. Serenity chose that moment to desperately run in. Coincidently, the girls had just realized that they left a boy who not only had just heard about the girl he liked having other options, but was in a room full of people, most of which, if not all, he despised.

 

“Oh gosh, you guys know about Marik.” Serenity breathed out.

 

“Well, after seeing how angry he is, it's kinda hard not to figure out.” Mokuba piped.

 

“Oh… even Téa doesn't know about this. Um, ok, this is gonna sound weird, but, can you guys wait just a couple more minutes before saying anything? Once Mai and Isis come back with Kaiba” Marik's fists tightened at the name, “we will take care of everything. I promise!”

 

“Serenity's right you guys.” Tristan agreed, “We should hear the whole story before we take any actions we may regret later.”

 

“Thanks Tristan.” Serenity blushed. Few people noticed, but a couple did. Fortunately, the boys with the biggest mouths weren't included, so no one commented.

 

Meanwhile

 

“Kaiba, wait,” Isis called out while running as fast as possible in her Egyptian attire, “please!”

 

“What?” He inquired coolly.

 

“Everything's going to be alright. You have to forget what happened and come back.” Mai called out, catching up to them.

 

“Why?” Kaiba croaked, noticeably upset for the first time since he met Gozaburo. The girls were slightly taken aback, at first, but soon snapped out of their stupor.

 

“Because, right now, Téa needs you.” Mai spoke slowly, words sliding off of her tongue.

 

“You heard them. She doesn't need me. Anyway, she has you.”

 

“Forget about them! This whole thing is about Téa, not those jerks back there. Help her! At least for Mokuba?”

 

“Mokuba…”

 

“You don't want him to be sad, do you? Do you really want something to happen to Téa?” Kaiba didn't answer, only turned around and headed back the way he came, two girls in tow.

 

The bell jingled as the three beings stepped inside and all eyes focused on them. Yugi, Tristan, Duke, and Joey were stilling on the floor with Serenity towering over them. Everyone else had spread out and Bakura, who had replaced Ryou, was smirking while overlooking everything with an amused expression.

 

“I suppose this would be a good time to explain everything. We shall give everyone in here a break and start with who abducted Téa.” As Isis spoke the group stepped closer, listening intently. Bakura even had the decency to open a mind link so Ryou could listen. Yami did the same for Yugi, after the two boys switched places. The Egyptian, however, seemed hesitant to start.

 

“Well, Isis?” Yami pushed.

 

“Let me begin by assuring you that Téa is currently in no fatal danger.” She observed the group relaxing before she continued, “Her captor is a man who goes by the name Azumamaro. He rules another world.”

 

“The place where that creepy portal leads?” Mokuba asked. Isis seemed shocked, having obviously forgotten that the juvenile was there.

 

“Y-yes.” Her words shook slightly, “shouldn't you be at home?” she shot a meaningful glance at Kaiba, which clearly read `this-is-not-meant-for-a-child's-ears'.

 

“Isis is right, Mokuba. The limo is right outside, go. I'll be back soon.” Kaiba hugged his brother and pulled him out the door. After one final hug the car door shut and the vehicle drove off. The young CEO's actions left no room for protest, let alone enough time for Mokuba to say anything. Kaiba returned and Isis continued.

 

“The portal leads to a world called Wandaarando, the land Azumamaro rules. He has been watching Téa for two years. Wh-”

 

“Hold on!” Tristan interrupted, “You knew about this, but never told anyone?”

 

“No. I had only learned of this today, hence the urgency when I called this group. I actually called others as well, but they seemed… uninterested.”

 

“Others?”

 

“I must regretfully admit that I was forced to invite `Bandit' Keith, Rex Raptor, Weevil Underwood, and Maximillion Pegasus, but they all refused.”

 

“What'd ya call dem fo'? N' I thought Pegasus was dead!” Joey wasn't what you could call happy.

 

“I'm not surprised, Pegasus was always like a termite: annoying and impossible to kill. And, she invited those imbeciles because, mutt, right now isn't the time to think of past grudges.”

 

“Stop it, you guys. Kaiba's right, we need to think of Téa. Go on, Isis.”

 

“Thank you, Serenity. As I was saying, when Téa was fourteen he first attacked her. After an unsuccessful attempt he decided to use tactic while attaining her, and has been observing her, and all of us, ever since. We are closest to her, that's why we're so important. He was going to take her tomorrow, but he found out about my vision and kidnapped her early. Now she is at his castle, through the tesseract.”

 

“But why does he want Téa? Is he after Yami?”

 

“No Tristan, he just wants Téa.”

 

“But, how come?” Isis only looked up solemnly.

 

“Oh.” muttered Duke, “That's why you sent away Mokuba, huh?”

 

“Yes, and I fear that getting Téa back is of the utmost importance, if only for her sake.”

 

“What are we waitin' fo'?” Joey spoke aggressively, rage radiating from him, soon spreading to most of the other men inhabiting the room. “Let's go get back our friend!”

 

“First,” pointed out Serenity, “We have to contact her parents.”

 

“Has anyone thought of what to tell them?” Isis asked.

 

“Actually, my mother thinks I'm staying at a friend's house while her parents are in Peru. We could tell them she's staying too.”

 

“I suppose that will have to do. When I was in high school I always said something along those lines, though, so her parents have probably already heard that excuse.” Isis admitted. She received stares from every occupant in the room, especially her brother.

 

“You lied?” Duke sputtered incredulously. Isis merely shrugged.

 

“Every teen and preteen has done so at one point or another, haven't they? Now, Serenity should probably be the one to call Mr. and Mrs. Gardner. Call your mother as well and tell her that the three of you will be staying with me. It's a safer cover-up, she knows me, and she won't be as suspicious if she can't contact you.” She ordered.

 

“You know our mother?”

 

“We've met briefly. Now, please, call her.” Serenity picked up the game shop's phone and dialed the number.

 

“Hey mom… well, there's been a change of plans… I'm staying with Isis Ishtar… Yes, mom, everything's been taken care of… Yes, Is- Ms. Ishtar has said it's ok… alright, love you too… bye.” She hung up.

 

“Ms. Ishtar?” Marik quirked an eyebrow, grinning.

 

“My mom's big on respect.” She shrugged.

 

“That's not important.” Isis intervened, “Call the Gardners.” Serenity picked the phone in the shop back up and dialed the number; only to have one of the boys put it on speakerphone. No one got the chance to object before someone picked up.

 

“Hello?” A rushed female voice answered.

 

“Hi, Mrs. Gardner.” The young girl greeted kindly, “It's Serenity Wheeler, Téa's friend.”

 

“Oh, hello. Téa isn't here right now; she'll have to contact you later. I'll tell her you called, good-bye.”

 

“Wait! I know she isn't, I called to tell you that Téa will be staying with me at a friend's house, Isis Ishtar. Is that all right?”

 

“Yes, fine, whatever. Look, I have to go. Be a sweetheart and tell Téa that her father and I will be in Switzerland for the next four months, will you? Thanks, good bye.”

 

“Wait, don't you-” click. “… Want to know anything else? Jeez, nice parenting. You're leaving for four months and don't even care where your kid is.”

 

“You'd think they'd just put her up for adoption.” All eyes turned toward the speaker.

 

“What do you mean, Tristan?” Serenity asked, almost fearfully.

 

“Well… see, Téa never told anyone this. I kind of… found out by accident. Anyway, Téa was sort of a mistake. Her parents never wanted her and were going to put her up for adoption, but for some reason didn't. The only time they ever really want her is when her father has some kind of business party and they can use her as an asset. Heh, n' you know what the saddest part is?” Tristan was really deep right then.

 

“What?” Yami asked.

 

`How dare they?' Kaiba ranted, `An `asset' at a business party! I'm probably one of the only ones here who understands what that really means. She's a toy. How can her own biological father use Téa that way? It's disgusting… at least Gozaburo wasn't my actual father, but these are her parents! I always imagined Téa coming from a perfect home. A dad with a decent job, a house mother who's pleasant looking, cooks, and cleans, and the lot of them feeling unconditional love for one another. Guess I was wrong…' (An: That's what I really think her family's like but, hey, creative licensing.)

 

“Despite all of that, Téa loves them more than anything. She's so scared of the thought of being alone that she looks past how much they hate her and is completely blind towards the fact.” Tristan took a deep breath before giving a half grin, “You do realize that now I'll have to kill you?” Most of the room gave lighthearted chuckles.

 

`Well,' Kaiba continued, `I wasn't completely wrong. Téa loves them because she's Téa: incapable of feeling hatred. That's why I lo-… like her so much.' He decided to stop thinking and return to earth.

 

“So, now on to da next orduh o' business,” Joey spoke up “Let's establish who does and does not like Téa.” The room quieted slightly.

 

“It's just Kaiba and Marik, if you don't count him.” Serenity knew that her friends would understand that `him' was Azumamaro.

 

“A'ight, den I just got one more question: what makes you two t'ink dat yo' good enough fo' Téa? I gotta warn ya, da girl's like a sistuh ta us.” He motioned towards himself, Tristan, and Yami, “She is ta Yugi n' Ryou too.”

 

“Thanks for the pointless banter, mutt. Is that all?” the stoic boy seemed unamused. (An: I could've sworn `unamused' was a word…)

 

“No,” Tristan interrupted, “that's not all!” he suddenly softened. “Listen, Kaiba, dude, we're sorry about before.” Kaiba rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Really, we are. Téa might like you; we just didn't think that there was anyway she'd like someone who had no chance of liking her back. But, now that we know you like her, I'm not so sure our past assumptions were true.” He gave a hopeful smile, “We cool?”

 

“Taylor, we were never `cool' and we never will be. Look, let's just get this over with.” He turned on his heel and exited the shop. The others slowly followed, except for Tristan who ran up ahead to Kaiba.

 

“Kaiba, we have to be cool now.” He only received silence. “Ok, fine. If you really want the truth I'll tell you.” This time Tristan got a glance and a quirk of the brow. “Téa is either going with you, Marik, or Azumamaro. And, frankly, I would happiest to see her end up with you, given the choices.” Kaiba quickly spewed a sarcastic remark.

 

“How touching, Taylor.”

 

“Ok, so maybe I'm not happiest to see her with you, but I've got to make an effort.”

 

“You do realize she doesn't even know I like her yet but in your mind we're already dating.”

 

“Yeah, well, wishful thinking.” He received a strange look. “Yes, Kaiba, you heard me right. I may actually want to see you with Téa.”

 

`Maybe Taylor isn't quite as bad as the rest of those geeks…'

 

Unfortunately for the two of them, Kaiba wasn't the only one who heard Tristan correctly. `How dare he!?!? Téa is mine! How can he parade around promoting the idea of Kaiba getting her?! I need to put an end to things with him, once and for all. Now, what to do?'

 

“Marik?” Serenity whispered, to sufficiently stopping his plotting.

 

“Yes?” He answered back, unsure what to make of her tone.

 

“I'm sorry.” She continued in a normal tone.

 

“Tch, for what?” Marik gave her an incredulous look.

 

“Well, even though they know you like Téa, everyone's going to be more enthusiastic about her getting together with Kaiba than with you. Especially since it's common knowledge that she isn't crushing on you but she may have feelings for Mr. Antisocial… Are you going to be ok?” He sneered at her and walked away.

 

“Don't waste you're time on him, Serenity.” Mai said, strolling up next to the girl, “The ungrateful loser is so not worth your time.”

 

“But Mai,” Serenity pleaded, “he seems so upset.”

 

“And Marik has a right to be. Téa is much more likely to choose Kaiba than my younger brother. Actually, that's why I'm worried…”

 

“What do you mean, Isis?” Serenity inquired innocently.

 

“I talked to him earlier and now \his feelings for Téa are scaring me.” The older woman responded sorrowfully.

 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Mai raised her eyebrows.

 

“I'm afraid of what his feelings for her have become. Are they just a crush, or is it love, or…”

 

“Or what?” Mai seemed slightly intrigued. Isis lowered her voice so that no one other than the other two girls would be able to hear her.

 

“I'm afraid he may be obsessed with Téa. I think he might get… possessive.”

 

“Oh… maybe he needs a guy to talk to. Someone he doesn't have a negative history with, but he'll still feel comfortable confiding in and knows well.” Serenity suggested.

 

“And, hun,” Mai added, “I've already got two or three guys in mind. I'll even get started… but later. We're here.” The group stopped in front of the swirling black and purple whirlpool that had miraculously gone unnoticed.

 

“So, Isis… do we just walk through it?” Tristan asked.

 

“Yes, but not yet. I should warn you, this will be very dangerous.”

 

“What's Wandaarando like?” Duke wondered.

 

“I… don't know.”

 

“Shouldn't we get going?” pushed Bakura.

 

“You're going to help us?” Serenity smiled.

 

“If I send in my hikari, he'll never survive.”

 

“Suuuuure…” Mai drawled.

 

“Grr…” Ryou now stood in his place.

 

“I think you annoyed him.” Ryou pointed out.

 

“No shit Sherlock…” Tristan whispered.

 

“Huh? What's that from?” Duke inquired.

 

“Téa used to say it whenever Joey or Tristan stated the obvious.” Yami clarified, “She told us she got it from some kind of entertainment.”

 

“It was a musical” Ryou explained, “called `Little Shop of Horrors'. It was about a man-eating plant. It's rather good.”

 

“As fascinating as this all is,” interjected Kaiba, “shouldn't we get going?”

 

“Kaiba's right. Everyone should enter the tesseract one at a time.” Isis ordered.

 

“I shall go first.” Yami volunteered, before stepping through the vortex. However, as soon as he did, it began to waver and shrink.

 

Meanwhile

 

Sighing, Téa stared out her window. She had gotten her clothes back and was now just sitting around. She put her hand up to her stinging, red cheek. It still hurt. She wanted to get out so bad…

 

/Flashback/

 

“Hands. Off.” I spat. He seemed shocked that I would have the audacity to speak with that tone. I used this to my advantage and shoved him hard in the chest. I tried to run, but he grabbed my ankle and pulled me down.

 

“Calm down!” He yelled, pinning my arms above my head with one hand.

 

“Let go!” I remember starting to flail in desperation. My knee collided with his stomach. He winced but his grip did not waver. Switching his grip on my wrists so both were in his left hand, he leaned forward, breath tickling my ear.

 

“This will teach you.” He whispered softly. I shut my eyes tightly as his lips lightly brushed mine, almost not touching them. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from the side of my face. I cried out and whimpered as he did the same thing two more times. He sat still for a moment before getting up.

 

Walking over to the other side of the room, he took out a key from a pocket in his boxers. Opening the armoire in front of him, he pulled out my uniform and tossed it to me. He exited, slamming the door and locking it.

 

/End Flashback/

 

`I've got to get out of here…' There was a sharp rapping sound on the door.

 

End Chapter

 

R_S: Well, there you go. Chapter 5 ended with two cliffhangers… kind of.

 

Zander: Those are cliffhangers?

 

R_S: Hey! I just said that they were cliffhangers; I never said that they were good ones.

 

Zander: Whatever. Hey, didn't you want to ask your reviewers about something?

 

R_S: Yes Zander, I had almost forgotten. Thank you!

 

Zander: Feh, whatever.

 

R_S: Don't say `whatever', only girls can say that.

 

Zander: Why?

 

R_S: `Cause it makes guys sound kind of gay. No offense to anyone who is, all my friends and I think is that it just is the stereotypical thing to say when you're gay. And, yes, we know that we shouldn't judge on stereotypes, but old habits die hard.

 

Zander: Whatev- Grr… just ask them already!

 

R_S: All right, all right, don't get your panties in a twist. IMPORTANT: I need your help. Right now Marik is in control. Should Malik be in this story? Please tell me!

 

Zander: `s that it?

 

R_S: Yupperz, leave a review!