Folgen Sie Ihrem Traum Chapter 16 (Yu-Gi-Oh, Seto/Téa, #20)
Title: Folgen Sie Ihrem Traum (Follow Your Dream); Chapter 16: The Second Meeting
Author: Crystal Rose of Pollux (rose_of_pollux)
Pairing: Seto Kaiba/Téa Gardner
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Theme: 20; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (except for the OC dancers) and the story is
Warnings: none
Rating: PG13
This chapter will be cross-posted to 30_nights, 20_heartbeats, and http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4336463/16/
Seto was half-heartedly berating himself for deciding to come; after all, it would give Téa a chance to try to change him again. Nevertheless, he found himself following the troupe to Pennsylvania-specifically, to their upcoming show in the heart of Philadelphia.
This time, however, Kayser was trying something different. Rather than give them the day off and then begin practice as he had normally done for all of the previous shows, he told them that they would have to begin practice immediately, and that they would have their day off after the performance.
“Now why would he go and do that!?” Aurus fumed. “We’re going to be all tired and jet lagged--”
“We only flew in from Chicago, Dummy,” said Caerii, with a roll of her eyes. “If you’re jet-lagged from that, I’m surprised that you haven’t been kicked out of the troupe for messing up already.”
“Even if I do mess up, he can’t kick me out; I’m his cousin!” Aurus informed her (in a rather Joey Wheeler-esque tone), his pride slightly wounded.
“Yeah, and that’s the only job security you have,” smirked Hesper, drawing an angry glare from Aurus.
Téa’s mind was on other things, so she didn’t bother about trying to keep an eye on the impending brawl. One thing was for certain; Aurus seemed genuinely surprised at the deviation from the norm.
“That must mean that he’s innocent, but Kaiba will be furious if I bring anyone else into the case right now,” she thought. “I already sent him packing once before without even meaning to; I don’t want to do that a second time; he might not come back…”
She pushed the thought from her mind and proceeded to pay attention to her steps as they were taught to her. Once again, the entire message was not revealed, but she understood something about Chicago and the meet-and-greet being discussed. Kayser must have had something important come up there… something that needed to be relayed to the Rare Hunters as soon as possible… but what?
She relayed her fragments of message to Seto. He couldn’t piece together a meaning, either, but he would be keeping close attention to the entire message on the night of the show.
“It still doesn’t prove that Kayser is behind it,” he had written back. “The way I see it, the only way to gather the evidence we need is to search his hotel room and find whatever evidence he’s left in there.”
“Is he seriously suggesting that we try breaking and entering!?” she thought, reading the message. “Terrific; we get Kayser arrested, and then we get arrested for trespassing, too… Unless he has some other plan in mind… and knowing Kaiba, he’s probably come up with more than a dozen during the time it’s taken me to read this message.”
***********************************
For the first time in weeks, she was not worried when she ascended the stage the night of the performance. She didn’t have to worry about trying to decode the message; Seto would be able to figure it out. She didn’t have to worry about the Rare Hunters in the audience; he would keep an eye on them (and she had been worried during the Chicago performance, thinking that she had been up against the Rare Hunters all alone; she had felt pure relief when she had realized that Seto Kaiba had, in fact, been at the meet-and-greet and was now working with her once again).
All Téa had to do now was to close her eyes and immerse herself in the dance. And if it weren’t for the fact that she was unintentionally aiding the Rare Hunters, she would have been having the time of her life upon that stage, her heart as afire as the element she was portraying. Within those flames of her heart shone her hopes and dreams, along with the rage she felt with the knowledge of how she was being used as a pawn in the Rare Hunters’ twisted game.
But it would be alright. Once they had enough evidence, Kayser would be put away. Perhaps the troupe would continue to travel. Would Seto still follow if it did, even though the case would be closed? She would like to think so, even though she knew it wasn’t likely. But there was also the possibility that the troupe would disband after Kayser’s arrest, especially after the scandal was brought into the light. If that was the case, it would be back to Domino for her, but Madame Mystica would have been right; Téa would have found something precious: the chance to have called herself a professional dancer (albeit for only a couple months). And that almost made the whole fiasco seem worthwhile.
“Glad to see you aren’t nervous,” Aurus whispered out of the corner of his mouth as she passed him. “Especially since Broadway’s next…”
Ah, yes… the Great White Way… Even if that was where this mystery was to end, and if that was to be where the troupe was doomed to disband, it would mean so much to have danced on one of those famous stages. No, she wasn’t nervous; if anything, she was looking forward to it.
Téa allowed herself to temporarily forget about the case, focusing her thoughts on the upcoming performance.
“I probably should be a bit more concerned,” she said to herself. “But Kaiba’s keeping an eye on things. I know I can count on him.”
Although it was foolish, she was not worried in the slightest. Her eyes found Seto in the audience, and her fears seemed to go even further away.
“He does care,” she realized. “It doesn’t matter what he said; he wouldn’t have come back if he didn’t care. I just wish he’d let that caring side of himself out more often.”
That, however, was a dream that was beyond her reach.
Seto, of course, wasn’t bothering with pondering over much, since his attention was being focused on the incoming message. The dancers moved quickly; he only had time to scribble down the letters as they were danced out. He would have to read the actual message later.
“I hate having to give credit to my enemies, but they have a pretty good set-up with this thing,” he admitted to himself. “But that doesn’t mean that they’re going to get away from me.”
At this point in time, Téa was a necessary ally. Although unnerved by her feelings (not to mention the hug she had given him on the night of the meet-and-greet), he was forcing himself not to think about it.
**********************************
Téa retreated to her room that night, checking her email. As she had expected, Seto had emailed her the decoded message:
“‘I don’t know how significant Kaiba’s arrival in Chicago is. It seems more than a coincidence, given how Arkana’s cover was blown in the meeting. As for the girl, I am reluctant to lose so talented a dancer; she hasn’t done anything suspicious, as far as I can tell, and she doesn’t seem to be affiliated with Kaiba Corporation in any way, given how formal her introduction to Kaiba was. Requesting meeting tomorrow at location Z to discuss plans all the same; flight leaves tomorrow morning and the meeting to be held at location M.’”
“Well, that’s some good news. They think that I don’t know Kaiba… and, in a way, they’re right…” she thought, once again recalling how he had ditched her in San Francisco. She quickly pushed these thought away; she had more important things to worry about.
Seto had gone on to say in the message that he would be following Kayser. And since it was her day off, Téa sent a reply message, asking if she could go with him. Several minutes went by without a reply. Was he not online? No-Seto Kaiba was always online; he was probably just ignoring her request.
Téa sighed. She was about to log off herself when his reply finally came, consisting of directions and a rather sardonic postscript:
“We’re leaving at 9. If you’re late, I’m leaving without you.”
“He’s all heart, isn’t he…?” she thought, with a roll of her eyes.
Needless to say, she was up early the next morning to meet him at the location. She was astounded to see that it was a small airfield, and he was waiting beside his dragon-shaped jet.
“We’re going… in that!?” she asked, causing Seto to cast an annoyed glance her way.
“If you’d rather stay here, be my guest,” he said.
“No, no; it’s okay…” she insisted, getting into the seat beside him. “I’ll come quietly. But… do you know where we’re going?”
“Actually, I do,” he replied, as he began to start up the craft. “When this fiasco first started, Mokuba managed to track the cell phone signal of the fraud who had called me. That was what had led me to Tokyo. I asked Mokuba to re-track the same signal last night, and, as I suspected, it was coming from somewhere here in Philadelphia. And now, it’s traveling at a quick rate of speed to the west. Clearly, the Rare Hunters have their own plane.”
“Do you think we can catch up to them?” asked Téa, as the jet began to rise.
With a smirk, Seto activated the jet’s thrusters, sending them forward with such a force that Téa slammed back into her seat.
“On second thoughts, never mind…”
**********************************************
When the jet landed in a small airfield a half hour later, Seto once again tracked the signal. A satisfied expression crossed his face.
“For your information, Gardner, the signal happens to be only a mile away,” he informed her. “If we hurry, we can make it there before they get down to discussing important details of the case.”
“Where are we, anyway?” asked Téa. “It looks like a quiet little town; why would the Rare Hunters come here?”
“I don’t know any more than you do, Gardner,” he reminded her. “Here we are…”
The trail led the duo to a large building made of aged brick. The old door opened with a slight squeak, revealing a corridor with old tiles. However, the tiles and walls were clean and well-kept.
“Someone must still use this old place,” said Téa, pulling a flyer from the bulletin board. “‘New student lounge opened on the second floor…’ …That’s strange; this place must be part of some sort of campus.”
“It’s summer,” Seto reminded her. “I, for one, couldn’t think of a better place to hold a meeting than an old building that wouldn’t be used during this time of year.”
“But the door was unlocked…”
“And just how difficult is it to pick a lock open?” Seto asked her, unable to resist rolling his eyes. “I would think that your experience with Vulsor and the dance hall fiasco taught you that much. Now follow me, and, whatever you do, don’t make a sound.”
Slowly, so as not to make too much noise, Seto ascended the stairwell by the door, with Téa close behind. The stairs led them to the second floor; the corridor, devoid of windows, was dark, save for a light coming from somewhere in the L-bend of the hall. The lights were on in one of the conference rooms.
“There they are…” whispered Téa, looking through the glass in the door.
“Get back,” Seto warned her. Slowly, he turned the door handle, opening the door slightly ajar, so as to hear them better. Eyebrows arched slightly, he beckoned her to the door. “They’re talking about you.”
It was difficult to discern exactly what they were saying, but it was clear that Keith was proving Kayser wrong, informing him that she was affiliated with Kaiba Corporation (however distantly).
“All the same, I don’t see why a change in plans is required,” said Kayser. “She doesn’t seem to be on close terms with Seto Kaiba--”
“No one is on close terms with Seto Kaiba,” sneered Umbra.
“And she hasn’t done anything suspicious,” Kayser went on.
“And you’re waiting for her to do something suspicious?” asked Keith, derisively. “Vulsor said that Gardner was one of the first people to go snooping around in the performing arts center’s cellars when she took over that computer chip shipment a few months ago.”
“I will not lose so talented a dancer,” insisted Kayser. “After all, the spy could be one of the other overly-curious girls; why blame this one, just because of her history? She may have learned her lesson.”
“This isn’t the time to get sentimental over your little troupe,” snarled Keith. “You’re working for us, so…” He trailed off. “Strings? Where do you think you’re going!?”
There was no time for Seto and Téa to retreat; String’s sunken eyes appeared behind the glass pane in the door, leering at them.
With a shriek, Téa kicked the door, smacking Strings in the face. Dazed, the silent Rare Hunter fell out of view. Seto had to admit that he was partly satisfied with finally seeing Strings on the receiving end of a blow, but this wasn’t the time to bother with it; the other Hunters were getting to their feet.
Téa, on the other hand, hadn’t even bothered to wait and see; she had already taken off down the corridor at the orders of her intuition.
“Gardner!” Seto hissed after her, as he ducked into another room. “Gardner, get back here!”
Too late; she was out of earshot, and had vanished somewhere into the shadows of the hall.
Author: Crystal Rose of Pollux (rose_of_pollux)
Pairing: Seto Kaiba/Téa Gardner
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Theme: 20; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (except for the OC dancers) and the story is
Warnings: none
Rating: PG13
This chapter will be cross-posted to 30_nights, 20_heartbeats, and http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4336463/16/
Seto was half-heartedly berating himself for deciding to come; after all, it would give Téa a chance to try to change him again. Nevertheless, he found himself following the troupe to Pennsylvania-specifically, to their upcoming show in the heart of Philadelphia.
This time, however, Kayser was trying something different. Rather than give them the day off and then begin practice as he had normally done for all of the previous shows, he told them that they would have to begin practice immediately, and that they would have their day off after the performance.
“Now why would he go and do that!?” Aurus fumed. “We’re going to be all tired and jet lagged--”
“We only flew in from Chicago, Dummy,” said Caerii, with a roll of her eyes. “If you’re jet-lagged from that, I’m surprised that you haven’t been kicked out of the troupe for messing up already.”
“Even if I do mess up, he can’t kick me out; I’m his cousin!” Aurus informed her (in a rather Joey Wheeler-esque tone), his pride slightly wounded.
“Yeah, and that’s the only job security you have,” smirked Hesper, drawing an angry glare from Aurus.
Téa’s mind was on other things, so she didn’t bother about trying to keep an eye on the impending brawl. One thing was for certain; Aurus seemed genuinely surprised at the deviation from the norm.
“That must mean that he’s innocent, but Kaiba will be furious if I bring anyone else into the case right now,” she thought. “I already sent him packing once before without even meaning to; I don’t want to do that a second time; he might not come back…”
She pushed the thought from her mind and proceeded to pay attention to her steps as they were taught to her. Once again, the entire message was not revealed, but she understood something about Chicago and the meet-and-greet being discussed. Kayser must have had something important come up there… something that needed to be relayed to the Rare Hunters as soon as possible… but what?
She relayed her fragments of message to Seto. He couldn’t piece together a meaning, either, but he would be keeping close attention to the entire message on the night of the show.
“It still doesn’t prove that Kayser is behind it,” he had written back. “The way I see it, the only way to gather the evidence we need is to search his hotel room and find whatever evidence he’s left in there.”
“Is he seriously suggesting that we try breaking and entering!?” she thought, reading the message. “Terrific; we get Kayser arrested, and then we get arrested for trespassing, too… Unless he has some other plan in mind… and knowing Kaiba, he’s probably come up with more than a dozen during the time it’s taken me to read this message.”
***********************************
For the first time in weeks, she was not worried when she ascended the stage the night of the performance. She didn’t have to worry about trying to decode the message; Seto would be able to figure it out. She didn’t have to worry about the Rare Hunters in the audience; he would keep an eye on them (and she had been worried during the Chicago performance, thinking that she had been up against the Rare Hunters all alone; she had felt pure relief when she had realized that Seto Kaiba had, in fact, been at the meet-and-greet and was now working with her once again).
All Téa had to do now was to close her eyes and immerse herself in the dance. And if it weren’t for the fact that she was unintentionally aiding the Rare Hunters, she would have been having the time of her life upon that stage, her heart as afire as the element she was portraying. Within those flames of her heart shone her hopes and dreams, along with the rage she felt with the knowledge of how she was being used as a pawn in the Rare Hunters’ twisted game.
But it would be alright. Once they had enough evidence, Kayser would be put away. Perhaps the troupe would continue to travel. Would Seto still follow if it did, even though the case would be closed? She would like to think so, even though she knew it wasn’t likely. But there was also the possibility that the troupe would disband after Kayser’s arrest, especially after the scandal was brought into the light. If that was the case, it would be back to Domino for her, but Madame Mystica would have been right; Téa would have found something precious: the chance to have called herself a professional dancer (albeit for only a couple months). And that almost made the whole fiasco seem worthwhile.
“Glad to see you aren’t nervous,” Aurus whispered out of the corner of his mouth as she passed him. “Especially since Broadway’s next…”
Ah, yes… the Great White Way… Even if that was where this mystery was to end, and if that was to be where the troupe was doomed to disband, it would mean so much to have danced on one of those famous stages. No, she wasn’t nervous; if anything, she was looking forward to it.
Téa allowed herself to temporarily forget about the case, focusing her thoughts on the upcoming performance.
“I probably should be a bit more concerned,” she said to herself. “But Kaiba’s keeping an eye on things. I know I can count on him.”
Although it was foolish, she was not worried in the slightest. Her eyes found Seto in the audience, and her fears seemed to go even further away.
“He does care,” she realized. “It doesn’t matter what he said; he wouldn’t have come back if he didn’t care. I just wish he’d let that caring side of himself out more often.”
That, however, was a dream that was beyond her reach.
Seto, of course, wasn’t bothering with pondering over much, since his attention was being focused on the incoming message. The dancers moved quickly; he only had time to scribble down the letters as they were danced out. He would have to read the actual message later.
“I hate having to give credit to my enemies, but they have a pretty good set-up with this thing,” he admitted to himself. “But that doesn’t mean that they’re going to get away from me.”
At this point in time, Téa was a necessary ally. Although unnerved by her feelings (not to mention the hug she had given him on the night of the meet-and-greet), he was forcing himself not to think about it.
**********************************
Téa retreated to her room that night, checking her email. As she had expected, Seto had emailed her the decoded message:
“‘I don’t know how significant Kaiba’s arrival in Chicago is. It seems more than a coincidence, given how Arkana’s cover was blown in the meeting. As for the girl, I am reluctant to lose so talented a dancer; she hasn’t done anything suspicious, as far as I can tell, and she doesn’t seem to be affiliated with Kaiba Corporation in any way, given how formal her introduction to Kaiba was. Requesting meeting tomorrow at location Z to discuss plans all the same; flight leaves tomorrow morning and the meeting to be held at location M.’”
“Well, that’s some good news. They think that I don’t know Kaiba… and, in a way, they’re right…” she thought, once again recalling how he had ditched her in San Francisco. She quickly pushed these thought away; she had more important things to worry about.
Seto had gone on to say in the message that he would be following Kayser. And since it was her day off, Téa sent a reply message, asking if she could go with him. Several minutes went by without a reply. Was he not online? No-Seto Kaiba was always online; he was probably just ignoring her request.
Téa sighed. She was about to log off herself when his reply finally came, consisting of directions and a rather sardonic postscript:
“We’re leaving at 9. If you’re late, I’m leaving without you.”
“He’s all heart, isn’t he…?” she thought, with a roll of her eyes.
Needless to say, she was up early the next morning to meet him at the location. She was astounded to see that it was a small airfield, and he was waiting beside his dragon-shaped jet.
“We’re going… in that!?” she asked, causing Seto to cast an annoyed glance her way.
“If you’d rather stay here, be my guest,” he said.
“No, no; it’s okay…” she insisted, getting into the seat beside him. “I’ll come quietly. But… do you know where we’re going?”
“Actually, I do,” he replied, as he began to start up the craft. “When this fiasco first started, Mokuba managed to track the cell phone signal of the fraud who had called me. That was what had led me to Tokyo. I asked Mokuba to re-track the same signal last night, and, as I suspected, it was coming from somewhere here in Philadelphia. And now, it’s traveling at a quick rate of speed to the west. Clearly, the Rare Hunters have their own plane.”
“Do you think we can catch up to them?” asked Téa, as the jet began to rise.
With a smirk, Seto activated the jet’s thrusters, sending them forward with such a force that Téa slammed back into her seat.
“On second thoughts, never mind…”
**********************************************
When the jet landed in a small airfield a half hour later, Seto once again tracked the signal. A satisfied expression crossed his face.
“For your information, Gardner, the signal happens to be only a mile away,” he informed her. “If we hurry, we can make it there before they get down to discussing important details of the case.”
“Where are we, anyway?” asked Téa. “It looks like a quiet little town; why would the Rare Hunters come here?”
“I don’t know any more than you do, Gardner,” he reminded her. “Here we are…”
The trail led the duo to a large building made of aged brick. The old door opened with a slight squeak, revealing a corridor with old tiles. However, the tiles and walls were clean and well-kept.
“Someone must still use this old place,” said Téa, pulling a flyer from the bulletin board. “‘New student lounge opened on the second floor…’ …That’s strange; this place must be part of some sort of campus.”
“It’s summer,” Seto reminded her. “I, for one, couldn’t think of a better place to hold a meeting than an old building that wouldn’t be used during this time of year.”
“But the door was unlocked…”
“And just how difficult is it to pick a lock open?” Seto asked her, unable to resist rolling his eyes. “I would think that your experience with Vulsor and the dance hall fiasco taught you that much. Now follow me, and, whatever you do, don’t make a sound.”
Slowly, so as not to make too much noise, Seto ascended the stairwell by the door, with Téa close behind. The stairs led them to the second floor; the corridor, devoid of windows, was dark, save for a light coming from somewhere in the L-bend of the hall. The lights were on in one of the conference rooms.
“There they are…” whispered Téa, looking through the glass in the door.
“Get back,” Seto warned her. Slowly, he turned the door handle, opening the door slightly ajar, so as to hear them better. Eyebrows arched slightly, he beckoned her to the door. “They’re talking about you.”
It was difficult to discern exactly what they were saying, but it was clear that Keith was proving Kayser wrong, informing him that she was affiliated with Kaiba Corporation (however distantly).
“All the same, I don’t see why a change in plans is required,” said Kayser. “She doesn’t seem to be on close terms with Seto Kaiba--”
“No one is on close terms with Seto Kaiba,” sneered Umbra.
“And she hasn’t done anything suspicious,” Kayser went on.
“And you’re waiting for her to do something suspicious?” asked Keith, derisively. “Vulsor said that Gardner was one of the first people to go snooping around in the performing arts center’s cellars when she took over that computer chip shipment a few months ago.”
“I will not lose so talented a dancer,” insisted Kayser. “After all, the spy could be one of the other overly-curious girls; why blame this one, just because of her history? She may have learned her lesson.”
“This isn’t the time to get sentimental over your little troupe,” snarled Keith. “You’re working for us, so…” He trailed off. “Strings? Where do you think you’re going!?”
There was no time for Seto and Téa to retreat; String’s sunken eyes appeared behind the glass pane in the door, leering at them.
With a shriek, Téa kicked the door, smacking Strings in the face. Dazed, the silent Rare Hunter fell out of view. Seto had to admit that he was partly satisfied with finally seeing Strings on the receiving end of a blow, but this wasn’t the time to bother with it; the other Hunters were getting to their feet.
Téa, on the other hand, hadn’t even bothered to wait and see; she had already taken off down the corridor at the orders of her intuition.
“Gardner!” Seto hissed after her, as he ducked into another room. “Gardner, get back here!”
Too late; she was out of earshot, and had vanished somewhere into the shadows of the hall.