Folgen Sie Ihrem Traum Chapter 12 (Seto/Téa, #04)
Title: Folgen Sie Ihrem Traum (Follow Your Dream); Chapter 12: A Misunderstanding?
Author: Crystal Rose of Pollux (rose_of_pollux)
Claim: Seto Kaiba/Téa Gardner (non-Kingdom Hearts claim)
Prompt: 04; Create
Warnings: PG13
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, and the story is
This chapter will be cross-posted to setoanzulove, 30_nights, and http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4336463/12/
Will also be cross-posted to 20_cities in two parts.
The performance that following night, as with all of the other ones, went as perfect as Téa had hoped. In spite of the frequently changing steps, she was more than able to keep up.
She hadn’t received any further messages from Seto; clearly, he thought that she was being foolish to stay with the troupe. She had, however, received a message from Mako.
“It was very well done; you danced well,” he had said. “However, the water dancers weren’t as water-like as I had hoped. I don’t know; maybe it’s just me, but they didn’t seem to have steps that suggested the ebb and flow of real water. Of course, I’m probably taking this too far; maybe it’s just some kind of stylized dancing that I’m not familiar with. At any rate, you were great. My search for my father hasn’t been going that well; as I suspected, the trail has gone cold. All the same, I think I’ll go north and visit the Great Barrier Reef before I leave. It was very nice to see you again, Téa; I hope it won’t be the last time, either.”
Téa hadn’t really bothered to pay attention to the dance steps of the other elements; she was more concerned with learning those of the fires. She made a mental note to take a look at them the next performance, which would be at San Francisco; and they were already on their way.
But Seto moved faster than the whirlwind traveling of the Dancers of the Elements; he had arrived in San Francisco a few hours ahead of the troupe, determined to keep his tabs on Keith and the Rare Hunters.
But he had beaten them to the city, too. With a sigh, he proceeded to email his brother, who was rather irked to hear about how Seto had delivered the message to Téa in Sydney.
“Seto, would it hurt you to actually say something to her!?” He could almost hear the boy’s exasperated voice. “Listen, Seto; I’ve been talking about the case with Yugi and the others. They’re very worried for Téa, but, apparently, she says that she has to keep working on the case. Everyone here is worried about her; please tell me that you are, too. She’s worried about you, too, you know; she’s been in touch with me. I know that our company’s reputation is important… but isn’t she important, too? I know you, Seto; you wouldn’t bother to help her out if you didn’t care. You owe it to her to tell her how you really feel.”
If it wasn’t for the fact that mind reading didn’t exist, Seto would have sworn that Mokuba had managed such a feat; he certainly hadn’t said a word to the boy of what he had thought of Téa. How could he have said anything, when he wasn’t even sure of his own thoughts in the first place?
He pondered for a moment, trying to figure out a reply to send to his brother. He was distracted, however, by the call of his name.
“Kaiba!?” a voice asked.
The CEO turned to see familiar faces depart from a passing cable car. There were three of them: a wild-haired brunet whom he didn’t recognize at all, a tall blond man whom he knew by sight, and an all-too-familiar redhead, who had been the one addressing him.
Seto acknowledged the red-haired man’s presence with a nod. He hadn’t expected to meet the three former employees of Paradias again, let alone here in San Francisco.
“It’s been quite a while, Kaiba,” said Alister, without giving any indication that he was speaking to the man he had once loathed above all others.
“I suppose it has,” the CEO replied, in his usual level of aloofness. It was a long shot to say that he had forgiven Alister; although Seto knew that the redhead had been terribly misguided and lost after the loss of his brother, it still didn’t excuse what he had done to ruin Kaiba Corporation. How ironic that Seto would come across him now, when his company was in trouble again…
“How’s Mokuba?” asked Alister.
“He’s fine,” Seto replied. “He’s looking after Kaiba Corporation while I’m here--”
Seto was cut off by a sudden outburst of laughter from Alister’s brunet companion. Seto, Alister, and the blond man all glared at him.
“What’s the joke, Valon?” asked the blond.
“Sorry, Raph!” he replied, trying not to laugh. “It… it’s just that I happened to have a glance at that…” Valon pointed to the screen of Seto’s handheld computer. “I never would’ve guessed in a million years that Seto Kaiba and that brunet dancer were together!”
“WHAT!?” Seto roared, hastily placing the computer back in his trenchcoat before anything else was divulged.
“I’ve heard of the odd couple, but this isn’t quite what I had in mind!” Valon added, finding the whole scenario amusing.
“Let me make one fact very clear,” said the CEO, through gritted teeth. “Gardner and I are not together--”
“Kaiba!” a familiar female voice called out; Seto’s subsequent expression prompted Valon to go into a new fit of laughter as Téa herself arrived on the scene. “We just flew in; Kayser gave us today off, like he usually does, so I thought we could come up with a plan to…” She trailed off as she noticed the bikers. “Oh, hello,” she added, greeting them.
“You don’t have to worry about her now, Kaiba,” said Valon, not even bothering to cover up his snickering (Alister was staring determinedly at his watch, while Raphael remained as stern and expressionless as usual, save for a slight twitch at his mouth, which indicated a suppressed smile of amusement). “I’m sure she’ll be safe with you here to look after her.”
“Oh, have you told them about the case?” Téa asked, confused at Valon’s outburst.
“What case?” asked Alister, glancing back at them.
“Didn’t he tell you?” asked Téa. “Somehow, the Rare Hunters are connected to the Dancers of the Elements troupe, of which I’m a part of. I’m trying to find out their inside contact, and Kaiba is trying to figure out their master plan.”
A black limousine pulled up beside them as Téa spoke.
“Welcome to San Francisco, Kaiba-boy,” said Pegasus, giving the exasperated Seto a cheery wave. “But did my ears deceive me, or did your lovely companion just mention the Rare Hunters?”
“She’s not my companion,” Seto replied, a little too quickly, which prompted everyone around him to raise their eyebrows (Téa included). “She’s just working on this case.”
“As you say,” said Pegasus. “But it’s interesting that she was mentioning something about the Rare Hunters; as I told these three gentlemen the other day, they seem to be active as of late.”
“Since when did you three work for Industrial Illusions?” asked Seto, glancing back to Alister.
“We’re not employees per se,” Alister explained. “He asked for a bit of help once, and we gave it to him.”
“And on the subject of Rare Hunters,” Pegasus went on. “It seems that we intercepted a message between them. Bandit Keith is heading to a meeting in Reno even as we speak.” He smirked, clearly remembering the time that he had sent Keith falling through a trapdoor back in Duelist Kingdom. “I’m heading to Reno now for a little bit of investigation. If you five would wish to be of service in this investigation, feel free to join me.”
“I don’t know about ‘being of service,’ but I need to know what Keith is up to,” said Seto.
“And so do I,” agreed Téa. “I don’t have rehearsals today, so I can go with you.”
Valon smirked again as he saw the expression on Seto’s face.
********************************************
Within the first five minutes, Seto was beginning to regret going along with everyone. He was willing to put up with Téa Gardner, though if Valon kept accusing them of bring a couple, there was a very good chance that Seto would just forget about the whole ordeal of keeping an eye out for her. After all, he had offered her the chance to go home, but she had insisted on staying. If anything happened to her now, it was not his responsibility.
And he was certainly in no mood to contend with the others. Pegasus was being especially annoying, trying to read too much into Seto’s concern for Téa.
“And here I was, thinking that you arrived for the business meeting in Detroit, next week,” said Pegasus.
“Business meeting?” Seto repeated. And that was when he recalled that he had made an appointment to attend the meeting, weeks and weeks ago.
“But, Kaiba, next week is our performance in Portland,” Téa reminded him. “How are you going to be in two places at once?”
“We’ll work that out later,” Seto replied. And he was amazed and annoyed with himself now; ordinarily, this wouldn’t even have been an issue. He would have gladly chosen the business meeting over chasing after Téa Gardner.
“Of course; you don’t want to see her fall into the hands of the Rare Hunters, even though it would be entirely her fault if she did,” he reminded himself.
He pondered over these thoughts in silence all throughout the long drive to Reno, wishing frequently that he had taken his jet.
They finally did arrive in Reno a few hours later; Pegasus ordered his driver to stop as he noticed Bandit Keith turn a corner, walking towards a rather crowded open café.
“He must be having another one of his meetings,” said Téa, as they watched Keith take a seat amongst several of the other Rare Hunters.
“Or lunch,” Valon said, with a grin.
They got as close to Keith as they could, hiding their faces behind menus as they hung on to every word.
“According to Vulsor, one of the members of the dance troupe is none other than a close friend of Yugi Muto,” they heard Keith say. “I don’t know if this automatically makes her the spy, but it certainly places her under the greatest suspicion. Her name is Téa Gardner.”
“I remember her,” sneered the green-haired Rare Hunter. “Ishtar ordered me to capture her when I was working for him.”
“What about our inside contact?” asked Umbra. “Do they know her current whereabouts?”
“She’s a tough one to keep track of, according to them,” said Keith.
“If she’s a friend of Yugi Muto, then there’s no point in asking her to join us,” said Arkana, malice in his voice. “Excellent; it looks as though I’ll have my new assistant, after all…”
“We don’t know if she is the spy,” Keith reminded him. “However… even if she isn’t, she might be useful as a bargaining chip for dealing with Muto, at least. If he knows that we know where she is, we can ensure that he stays in line; he’d do anything to ensure her safety.”
“What about Kaiba?” asked Lumis. “That won’t work with him; he doesn’t care about Gardner at all.”
“Really?” asked the green-haired man. “Then why did he clobber me back in Battle City when I had her locked up in that chair?”
“I doubt that Kaiba is even aware that Gardner is a member of the troupe,” said Keith. “And even if he did know, he couldn’t be bothered with her. I’ll have our insiders keep closer tabs on her. If she is the spy, or if Muto starts to interfere with our plans, then Arkana can have his new assistant.”
The mad illusionist chuckled, sending a chill down Téa’s spine.
“You’re a fool if you go through with staying in the troupe,” Seto muttered to her under his breath.
“Then I’m a fool,” she whispered back, trying to stop the menu from trembling in her hands. She was considering pulling out. And yet, she didn’t want to think about what would happen if Seto faced the Rare Hunters on his own. No, she would have to stay-for him and for the mystery.
“Your bravery is admirable,” said Pegasus. “But I shouldn’t be surprised; it must be second nature to you after being with Yugi for so long.”
“Good on ya, Téa,” Valon agreed.
“Well, if it’s any consolation, at least I know that I’m doing the right thing,” she said to herself. She cast a glance at Seto, who was keeping an eye on the meeting out of the corner of one of his blue eyes.
He met her gaze for a fraction of a second, and then proceeded to observe the meeting some more. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was impressed by her courage. True, she was trembling in fear, but she was refusing to let the fear control her decisions.
But Seto was also forcefully reminded of Mokuba’s recent message. And he had to wonder if there was something that he, too, was fearing.
Author: Crystal Rose of Pollux (rose_of_pollux)
Claim: Seto Kaiba/Téa Gardner (non-Kingdom Hearts claim)
Prompt: 04; Create
Warnings: PG13
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, and the story is
This chapter will be cross-posted to setoanzulove, 30_nights, and http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4336463/12/
Will also be cross-posted to 20_cities in two parts.
The performance that following night, as with all of the other ones, went as perfect as Téa had hoped. In spite of the frequently changing steps, she was more than able to keep up.
She hadn’t received any further messages from Seto; clearly, he thought that she was being foolish to stay with the troupe. She had, however, received a message from Mako.
“It was very well done; you danced well,” he had said. “However, the water dancers weren’t as water-like as I had hoped. I don’t know; maybe it’s just me, but they didn’t seem to have steps that suggested the ebb and flow of real water. Of course, I’m probably taking this too far; maybe it’s just some kind of stylized dancing that I’m not familiar with. At any rate, you were great. My search for my father hasn’t been going that well; as I suspected, the trail has gone cold. All the same, I think I’ll go north and visit the Great Barrier Reef before I leave. It was very nice to see you again, Téa; I hope it won’t be the last time, either.”
Téa hadn’t really bothered to pay attention to the dance steps of the other elements; she was more concerned with learning those of the fires. She made a mental note to take a look at them the next performance, which would be at San Francisco; and they were already on their way.
But Seto moved faster than the whirlwind traveling of the Dancers of the Elements; he had arrived in San Francisco a few hours ahead of the troupe, determined to keep his tabs on Keith and the Rare Hunters.
But he had beaten them to the city, too. With a sigh, he proceeded to email his brother, who was rather irked to hear about how Seto had delivered the message to Téa in Sydney.
“Seto, would it hurt you to actually say something to her!?” He could almost hear the boy’s exasperated voice. “Listen, Seto; I’ve been talking about the case with Yugi and the others. They’re very worried for Téa, but, apparently, she says that she has to keep working on the case. Everyone here is worried about her; please tell me that you are, too. She’s worried about you, too, you know; she’s been in touch with me. I know that our company’s reputation is important… but isn’t she important, too? I know you, Seto; you wouldn’t bother to help her out if you didn’t care. You owe it to her to tell her how you really feel.”
If it wasn’t for the fact that mind reading didn’t exist, Seto would have sworn that Mokuba had managed such a feat; he certainly hadn’t said a word to the boy of what he had thought of Téa. How could he have said anything, when he wasn’t even sure of his own thoughts in the first place?
He pondered for a moment, trying to figure out a reply to send to his brother. He was distracted, however, by the call of his name.
“Kaiba!?” a voice asked.
The CEO turned to see familiar faces depart from a passing cable car. There were three of them: a wild-haired brunet whom he didn’t recognize at all, a tall blond man whom he knew by sight, and an all-too-familiar redhead, who had been the one addressing him.
Seto acknowledged the red-haired man’s presence with a nod. He hadn’t expected to meet the three former employees of Paradias again, let alone here in San Francisco.
“It’s been quite a while, Kaiba,” said Alister, without giving any indication that he was speaking to the man he had once loathed above all others.
“I suppose it has,” the CEO replied, in his usual level of aloofness. It was a long shot to say that he had forgiven Alister; although Seto knew that the redhead had been terribly misguided and lost after the loss of his brother, it still didn’t excuse what he had done to ruin Kaiba Corporation. How ironic that Seto would come across him now, when his company was in trouble again…
“How’s Mokuba?” asked Alister.
“He’s fine,” Seto replied. “He’s looking after Kaiba Corporation while I’m here--”
Seto was cut off by a sudden outburst of laughter from Alister’s brunet companion. Seto, Alister, and the blond man all glared at him.
“What’s the joke, Valon?” asked the blond.
“Sorry, Raph!” he replied, trying not to laugh. “It… it’s just that I happened to have a glance at that…” Valon pointed to the screen of Seto’s handheld computer. “I never would’ve guessed in a million years that Seto Kaiba and that brunet dancer were together!”
“WHAT!?” Seto roared, hastily placing the computer back in his trenchcoat before anything else was divulged.
“I’ve heard of the odd couple, but this isn’t quite what I had in mind!” Valon added, finding the whole scenario amusing.
“Let me make one fact very clear,” said the CEO, through gritted teeth. “Gardner and I are not together--”
“Kaiba!” a familiar female voice called out; Seto’s subsequent expression prompted Valon to go into a new fit of laughter as Téa herself arrived on the scene. “We just flew in; Kayser gave us today off, like he usually does, so I thought we could come up with a plan to…” She trailed off as she noticed the bikers. “Oh, hello,” she added, greeting them.
“You don’t have to worry about her now, Kaiba,” said Valon, not even bothering to cover up his snickering (Alister was staring determinedly at his watch, while Raphael remained as stern and expressionless as usual, save for a slight twitch at his mouth, which indicated a suppressed smile of amusement). “I’m sure she’ll be safe with you here to look after her.”
“Oh, have you told them about the case?” Téa asked, confused at Valon’s outburst.
“What case?” asked Alister, glancing back at them.
“Didn’t he tell you?” asked Téa. “Somehow, the Rare Hunters are connected to the Dancers of the Elements troupe, of which I’m a part of. I’m trying to find out their inside contact, and Kaiba is trying to figure out their master plan.”
A black limousine pulled up beside them as Téa spoke.
“Welcome to San Francisco, Kaiba-boy,” said Pegasus, giving the exasperated Seto a cheery wave. “But did my ears deceive me, or did your lovely companion just mention the Rare Hunters?”
“She’s not my companion,” Seto replied, a little too quickly, which prompted everyone around him to raise their eyebrows (Téa included). “She’s just working on this case.”
“As you say,” said Pegasus. “But it’s interesting that she was mentioning something about the Rare Hunters; as I told these three gentlemen the other day, they seem to be active as of late.”
“Since when did you three work for Industrial Illusions?” asked Seto, glancing back to Alister.
“We’re not employees per se,” Alister explained. “He asked for a bit of help once, and we gave it to him.”
“And on the subject of Rare Hunters,” Pegasus went on. “It seems that we intercepted a message between them. Bandit Keith is heading to a meeting in Reno even as we speak.” He smirked, clearly remembering the time that he had sent Keith falling through a trapdoor back in Duelist Kingdom. “I’m heading to Reno now for a little bit of investigation. If you five would wish to be of service in this investigation, feel free to join me.”
“I don’t know about ‘being of service,’ but I need to know what Keith is up to,” said Seto.
“And so do I,” agreed Téa. “I don’t have rehearsals today, so I can go with you.”
Valon smirked again as he saw the expression on Seto’s face.
********************************************
Within the first five minutes, Seto was beginning to regret going along with everyone. He was willing to put up with Téa Gardner, though if Valon kept accusing them of bring a couple, there was a very good chance that Seto would just forget about the whole ordeal of keeping an eye out for her. After all, he had offered her the chance to go home, but she had insisted on staying. If anything happened to her now, it was not his responsibility.
And he was certainly in no mood to contend with the others. Pegasus was being especially annoying, trying to read too much into Seto’s concern for Téa.
“And here I was, thinking that you arrived for the business meeting in Detroit, next week,” said Pegasus.
“Business meeting?” Seto repeated. And that was when he recalled that he had made an appointment to attend the meeting, weeks and weeks ago.
“But, Kaiba, next week is our performance in Portland,” Téa reminded him. “How are you going to be in two places at once?”
“We’ll work that out later,” Seto replied. And he was amazed and annoyed with himself now; ordinarily, this wouldn’t even have been an issue. He would have gladly chosen the business meeting over chasing after Téa Gardner.
“Of course; you don’t want to see her fall into the hands of the Rare Hunters, even though it would be entirely her fault if she did,” he reminded himself.
He pondered over these thoughts in silence all throughout the long drive to Reno, wishing frequently that he had taken his jet.
They finally did arrive in Reno a few hours later; Pegasus ordered his driver to stop as he noticed Bandit Keith turn a corner, walking towards a rather crowded open café.
“He must be having another one of his meetings,” said Téa, as they watched Keith take a seat amongst several of the other Rare Hunters.
“Or lunch,” Valon said, with a grin.
They got as close to Keith as they could, hiding their faces behind menus as they hung on to every word.
“According to Vulsor, one of the members of the dance troupe is none other than a close friend of Yugi Muto,” they heard Keith say. “I don’t know if this automatically makes her the spy, but it certainly places her under the greatest suspicion. Her name is Téa Gardner.”
“I remember her,” sneered the green-haired Rare Hunter. “Ishtar ordered me to capture her when I was working for him.”
“What about our inside contact?” asked Umbra. “Do they know her current whereabouts?”
“She’s a tough one to keep track of, according to them,” said Keith.
“If she’s a friend of Yugi Muto, then there’s no point in asking her to join us,” said Arkana, malice in his voice. “Excellent; it looks as though I’ll have my new assistant, after all…”
“We don’t know if she is the spy,” Keith reminded him. “However… even if she isn’t, she might be useful as a bargaining chip for dealing with Muto, at least. If he knows that we know where she is, we can ensure that he stays in line; he’d do anything to ensure her safety.”
“What about Kaiba?” asked Lumis. “That won’t work with him; he doesn’t care about Gardner at all.”
“Really?” asked the green-haired man. “Then why did he clobber me back in Battle City when I had her locked up in that chair?”
“I doubt that Kaiba is even aware that Gardner is a member of the troupe,” said Keith. “And even if he did know, he couldn’t be bothered with her. I’ll have our insiders keep closer tabs on her. If she is the spy, or if Muto starts to interfere with our plans, then Arkana can have his new assistant.”
The mad illusionist chuckled, sending a chill down Téa’s spine.
“You’re a fool if you go through with staying in the troupe,” Seto muttered to her under his breath.
“Then I’m a fool,” she whispered back, trying to stop the menu from trembling in her hands. She was considering pulling out. And yet, she didn’t want to think about what would happen if Seto faced the Rare Hunters on his own. No, she would have to stay-for him and for the mystery.
“Your bravery is admirable,” said Pegasus. “But I shouldn’t be surprised; it must be second nature to you after being with Yugi for so long.”
“Good on ya, Téa,” Valon agreed.
“Well, if it’s any consolation, at least I know that I’m doing the right thing,” she said to herself. She cast a glance at Seto, who was keeping an eye on the meeting out of the corner of one of his blue eyes.
He met her gaze for a fraction of a second, and then proceeded to observe the meeting some more. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was impressed by her courage. True, she was trembling in fear, but she was refusing to let the fear control her decisions.
But Seto was also forcefully reminded of Mokuba’s recent message. And he had to wonder if there was something that he, too, was fearing.