Special thanks to those that reviewed last chapter - ChibiGirlXD, Anshu, Blackeyeball, Arethahiwatari, Jocasta Silver and anon. reviewer, maridalia1962.

Confrontations

Previously: Yugi &co. Went to the beach with the Kaiba brothers where Seto was on surprisingly good behaviour. There, Téa revealed she had a date the following day. After returning home from the beach, Seto told Mokuba that he had discovered they had another sibling, and that it was Téa Gardner...

"So, w-what is our sister's name?"

"Téa Gardner."

Mokuba's jaw went slack. His brows furrowed. His eyes searched his older brother's face for signs of a lie.

"No way... That's... that's messed up." Seto could only nod in agreement. "Does... does she know?"

Seto shifted in his seat. "Yes. I wanted to check if she was a liability to u-"

"If she was a liability!" Mokuba exploded. "The fuck, Seto!"

Seto was stunned. And angry. "Language, Mokuba!"

"Who gives a crap? Seto, did you ever think we would be the liability for her?" Well, no... "And you guys kept this secret for how long? How long has she known that I'm her little brother?"

Seto decided the best way to placate an angry Mokuba was to answer his questions. "T- Gardner has known for a while now. I suppose it would have been the start of the holidays. I asked her not to tell you until I had evaluated her, and once I had confirmed she wanted you to know you were related to her."

Mokuba looked wounded. In a small voice, he asked, "why would she not want to be related to me?" A look of realisation grew on his face. "Wait... when I confided in her about my argument with you... she KNEW what was going on! She knew what you were keeping from me-"

"Mokuba-" Seto started, uncomfortable with the path Mokuba's train of thought was taking. "She did what was best-"

He stopped upon seeing his brother's shoulders shake.

"You guys lied to me..."

"Moku-"

"Guess we are related."

"Mokie!" Seto was a little desperate now. He had never seen his brother so upset and with a face etched with betrayal. "I'm sorry - genuinely. I may not have confided in you, and Gardner may not have told you either, but I was looking for a way that would cause the least bit of disruption."

"Téa."

"What?"

"Her name is Téa. Not Gardner. She is family." Mokuba finally looked up at him. His eyes were watering in anger. "Is she ashamed to be related to us? Is that why she didn't tell me?"

Seto couldn't really answer that one. "I – I don't think so. But Mokuba, keep this to yourself. Keep in mind, that Téa is an illegitimate child. She might see herself as the product of a potential... home wrecking. She could find it awkward."

"And I suppose you've done little to assure her otherwise." Mokuba's tone was like acid. Seto was actually stung by his words.

"Mokuba, it is not fair of you to treat me like this."

"Well, was it fair that you kept all this from me?!" Mokuba yelled, squeezing his eyes shut as he did. "No, it's not! Is there anything else you're keeping from me? A secret girlfriend? Gozaburo's wife in a closest? Are you even my brother?!"

"Of course I'm your brother!" Seto snapped.

Mokuba looked up at his brother who was finally angry. Mokuba was a little surprised – he had thought Seto would keep his cool no matter what.

"Could have fooled me," Mokuba said. "You still didn't answer me – any other problems that you should share with me?"

Seto sighed. He was fighting a losing battle with an angry teen. "The only thing I can think of is the security breach we had, and the fact that someone is looking for Seto and Mokuba Seguchi."

"Wha-? You didn't tell me something so important either!"

"Mokuba, it just happened the other day, we had just made up-"

"Well, if they're smart enough to hack in to our system without being caught, maybe it's some more relatives that you can sneak around with behind my back," Mokuba mumbled unhappily. After all they had been through, Seto was now keeping secrets. He could understand not telling him about Téa – getting her consent to share the information was the right thing to do, and it's what he himself would have done. But for Seto to keep another big secret... it hurt. After Gozaburo, Seto had always shared his plans with Mokuba – to get the BEWD cards, to challenge Yugi to a duel, to approach Pegasus about the holographic technology, plans for Battle City – and yet now, he was being kept in the dark. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't understand what he had done wrong, or for what reason his brother suddenly deemed him untrustworthy.

Standing up, Seto's hand slammed onto the table. "Mokuba, you are behaving inappropriately. I never would have thought you capable of such childish behaviour." That was like a slug to the gut for Mokuba. "And you wonder why I didn't confide in you?" Seto sneered.

Mokuba's eyes actually welled up. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not perfect like you, Seto," he spat out angrily and sarcastically. "I thought that since you suddenly started treating me like a child, I may as well act like one – not like I had the chance before. Between worrying about you living up to Gozaburo's standards, you taking over the company, you moving it from weapons manufacturing to technology, I haven't had too much fucking opportunity!"

A heavy silence hung between the two brothers. Mokuba was breathing heavily; trying to regain all the breath he had used shouting and trying not to cry. Seto's lips were pursed together, stopping himself from saying anything more that he would regret.

After a minute of silence, Seto exhaled a weary breath. "Moku- Mokie, I did treat you badly, didn't I? I haven't been very consistent."

You can say that again.

"It's just that recently, I have realised... I kept you from having a nice childhood. The whole point of having Gozaburo adopt us was so that you could have a bette-"

"Shut up! Don't! Don't make me feel guilty for what you went through!" Mokuba was sobbing now. He didn't care much for his image at this point, and let the tears flow freely. He didn't think Seto would do something so underhanded to him.

"No, that's not what I was trying to say." Seto clarified. "Even after him, I didn't allow you to just have fun. I involved you in things I shouldn't have. I-"

He looked down on his miserable little brother that he was lording over. 'I think this is a case of actions speak louder than words'- wasn't that what he had said to Gardner?

He bent at the knees beside Mokuba's seat, and wrapped his arms around his younger brother. "I just regret that I put you through so much crap," he admitted finally.

They stayed like that for a moment, with only Mokuba's occasional sniffle. Seto could only relax when Mokuba folded his arms around Seto's neck.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "For being such a colossal ass."

"Hn. 's fine."

"Would it... Would it be okay if I went and talked to Téa about this... situation?"

"You can, yes. Do you want me there?"

"Nah," Mokuba lifted his head back from his brother and looked directly at him. "I should be okay."

"You know you're going to have to wait until after her date, right?"

"Yeah. She's meeting him at noon... who knows how long she'll take. I'll just text her tomorrow and see what happens."

"I hope I didn't ruin your day today with the news." Seto's eyes watched his brother for a reaction.

"Weeell. Not really." Mokuba replied, a reflective look on his face. "Y'know, this is the first big fight we had where we made up straight afterwards. It's... nice."

With all the tension drained out of their bodies and due to the busy day at the beach, the two headed up to their own bedrooms, and fell sound asleep.

(88888888)

"Sssh! Keep it down, guys, we don' wanna get caught," Joey quietly berated his two friends. Yugi and Tristan finally settled into a crouch alongside Joey, despite some reservations.

"Look, Joey, this doesn't feel right," Yugi piped up. "We're spying on one of our friends – again."

"But Yug, we gotta keep an eye out for her. No offence, but Téa usually sees the best in people before looking at their worst. She's not naturally suspicious of them, y'know?"

"Joey, I agree with you there," Tristan said. "However, I'm not really into sitting in some plastic bushes while Téa is munching on some cheesy croissant – let's go to Burger World and quiz her later. Hell, we could even convince her to bring the guy along, and observe him then."

"Look, guys, don't you know that when the observed knows he is being observed he, um..." Joey paused to think. "Yeah, it changes his behaviour – as opposed to when don't know it."

He was about to shuffle off to get into hearing range of the couple, but Tristan yanked his leg back, causing Joey to fall on his front to the floor – from there, Yugi sat on his back.

"No offence, man," Tristan started, "it's one thing to spy on them, and another to eavesdrop."

Yugi nodded. "Sorry, Joey, it's not going to happen. Now just sit here quietly, or else we'll get caught."

The trio settled down to watch Téa stand up to meet a tall tanned man who greeted her with a kiss on both cheeks.

"Smooth bastard," Joey mumbled.

The two settled down, and it was easy to see how the man put Téa at ease – he sat up straight, and when she was talking (they assumed it to be some anecdote by her animated guestures), the guy leaned forward on his left elbow, maintaining eye contact.

Once the couple had finished their light lunches, the man offered his arm to Téa and she linked hers through his as they stepped into the art gallery. This was a painful moment for Tristan and Yugi, the legs of whom had become tired from remaining in a constricted position for so long. Joey, who had been lying on his stomach on the ground, was perfectly fine, and shuffled forward on his elbows after the young duo.

Tristan and Yugi eventually found Joey, who had stuck a big blue billed hat on his head and had his head burrowed in an information brochure, with only his eyes peaking out over it at a weird angle.

"Totally inconspicuous," Yugi grumbled to Tristan, who merely sighed. They kept a safe distance from Joey who was keeping a safe distance from Téa and her date. While the art gallery was relatively large, the three boys still had to stay on their toes lest they incurred the wrath of their friend.

It looked like the afternoon was going to pass without incident. Téa and her date stood on the steps of the art gallery saying their goodbyes to one another. Yugi and Tristan had rejoined Joey and were hidden behind the cement pillar watching the two.

The man pecked both of Téa's cheeks as he had greeted her earlier on, and then to the boys' surprise, and from the widening of her eyes, Téa too, he kissed her soundly on the mouth. He pulled away from a blushing Téa and waved goodbye as he headed downtown, not knowing how close he had been to a beating from Joey. Tristan and Yugi has pounced like wildcats to restrict their friend. They thought they had done a good job until a shadow fell over them.

"What," Téa snapped out crisply, "are you three doing here?"

"Uh... enjoying the beautiful abstract art?" Joey offered.

Téa's eyes narrowed. "Strange, I thought it was landscape."

"Uh, that's what he meant," Tristan replied eagerly. "Y'know Joey, he ain't all that bright."

Joey nodded emphatically.

"I lied, it was mixed."

"Hey! That's just setting a trap for us!" Joey shouted.

"For you to confess to spying on me!" Téa yelled back.

"Guys!" Yugi stood between the two, his short frame doing nothing to keep their angry faces from one another. "Calm down." He turned to Téa. "Sorry for following you. Joey was kind of worried about you, and we figured this was the best way for him to put his mind at ease without ruining your date.

Téa's gaze softened. "Look, thanks for worrying and all, but I'm a big girl, and can take care of myself. Don't worry, if something's wrong, I'll let you know."

"'Cept you don't," Tristan muttered.

"What?"

"Well, you don't confide in us. You were going through a rough patch a while ago, and it had to do with your mom, we know. But you didn't say anything to us, though you were miserable as hell." His brown eyes stared directly into her face, not breaking eye contact once. "We were really worried about you, Téa."

Honestly, Téa had not expected them to notice. She thought that they were busy enough with their own lives – upcoming tournaments, part-time jobs, school work and exams – so she didn't think they'd even notice her being upset. She had thought that even if they did notice, they'd put it down to 'woman problems'.

She smiled brightly. "Well, there's no need to be. It was something I had to do myself. I talked with my aunt about it, which is why I didn't bother you guys with it. "

All three of the boys felt that her smile was a little forced, but giving one another a silent nod, they conceded.

"Just to let you know, Téa, we wouldn't feel it would be a bother," Yugi smiled comfortingly up at her. "We're your friends, and we are there for you through thick and thin, like you've been there for us."

"Yug's right," Joey chimed in. "We'll always be here to listen to you."

"Thanks, you guys," Téa smiled genuinely. Her smile turned mischievous. "So, does that mean I can tell you aaaall about how cute and sexy Carl is?"

"Who?"

Téa gave Joey a light thwack on his head. "The guy I was on the date with."

"Oh. Ew, no thanks!"

Laughter rang throughout street.

(88888888)

'Hey, can I meet with u and urs today? I can meet any time that suits u.'

Téa read the text from Mokuba as she walked down the crowded shopping district, trying to determine what Mokuba could want to meet up for. Did he and Seto fight again, or did Seto tell him?

She glanced at her watch, and and saw that it was half past two. Her shift at Burger World was later than usual (she had swapped shifts with Laura for the night), starting at six-thirty.

'Sure. Meet 3? But have work 630 – that enuf time?'She replied.

Thirty seconds later, her phone pinged and lit up. 'K, fine. C u then.'

(88888888)

Mokuba was sitting outside of Téa's apartment door when arrived home. She opened the door quickly, and told him to make himself comfortable while she got them some drinks and snacks.

Mokuba had settled himself in the deep, brown armchair that was perpendicular to the sofa. Téa placed her tray of glasses and plates onto the coffee table and sat on the two-seater sofa.

"So, what's up?" She said cheerily, placing a slice of raspberry log in front of the young teen. She took no notice of the fact he hadn't met her eyes since she entered the room.

"Uhh, not much. How was your date?" His tone was less than curious.

"It went really well, thanks for asking. Carl is interesting. But... I get the feeling that isn't why you are here," she said softly. "Is there something... you wanna talk about?"

"Uhm. Seto... told me."

Téa raised a brow. "About... your dad?"

"Our dad," Mokuba corrected.

"Oh," she replied. She smiled weakly. "That. Small world, huh?

"Yeah," he said softly. "What are the chances?"

Téa laughed a little. "No idea. But uhm... how are you with all of this?"

Mokuba finally looked her in the eyes. "I'm... a lot of things. Initially, I was angry, shocked, of course, and disbelieving. I was really angry with Seto and you for keeping it from me-"

"Mokuba," she interrupted. "I'm really sorry about that, but Seto-"

"Wanted to 'evaluate' you, I know," Mokuba rolled his eyes. "We got in a big fight. More of a screaming match this time-"

"Oh, Mokuba! I'm sorry, honestly!"

"Téa," he spoke calmly. "Stop apologising. You didn't have a whole pile of options. Granted, you could have told me that you were the secret Seto was keeping from me," she cringed slightly at this, "but I guess... you felt it wasn't really your place...?"

She nodded. "The whole thing kind of came as a shock, like it did for you. I mean, I've never known my father, and then to suddenly learn that I have two sib- well, two half-siblings is unexpected, to say the least."

Mokuba saw the painful cringe in her eyes. All of a sudden, it hit him how hard the entire situation must have been. Did she feel guilty for her mother having an affair with his father? He couldn't tell for sure, but he was pretty sure he was close to the mark.

"Have... have you and Seto discussed this much?"

"Not really." Téa said slowly. "Just that our... father was an economic scientist, and not to tell anyone."

Mokuba let out a little grunt of frustration – trust Seto to have everything on his terms. "So, you haven't even told Yugi?"

"Ah, no, I haven't." She saw his angry scowl. "It's not just about abiding to what your brother asked, it's... It's embarrassing," she whispered.

He watched sadly as she kept twisting her hands in one another. "It's not that I'm embarrassed by you or your brother. It's more about... the circumstances of my birth, and stuff. My mom... gawd, she's one huge source of it..."

When he saw the tears fall from their barriers, Mokuba got off the armchair and sat beside Téa, giving her an awkward one-armed hug. She leant in easily and started to work on controlling her breathing.

"Sorry for bringing all of this up," he said. "I didn't mean-"

"'S okay."

"Can we still be friends? Even if we can't act like family?" He asked in a small voice.

"Of course!" she said, and enveloped him in a proper hug.

(88888888)

'Hey, just wanted 2 say I had a great time 2day. Wud love 2 meet up again – is Tue good 4 u? 2? Let me kno. Sweet dreams ;)'

Téa couldn't help the mushy smile that spread over her face with great ease. He's so thoughtful... and wants to meet up again! Eeeeek! I can't wait to tell Laura next time I see her! It took quite a while for the storm of happy butterflies in her stomach to die down.

(88888888)

"Summer holidays end in six weeks," a deep voice spoke up. "We probably should wait until he's back in school again before we strike – juggling school work, KaibaCorp. and raising his brother will mean he's too busy to interfere in our plans."

"Hmm... Not a bad point," a feminine yet nasal voice agreed. "However, it will also mean less of his time for us to exploit. I say we make a move within three weeks. Holidays will still be far enough away that we can get to know and manipulate him, but close enough that we can execute our plan when he is more preoccupied."

"Then, it's settled," the deep voice stated. "We will confront Seto Kaiba in three weeks time. Get planning!"

(88888888)

A bit of an OOC fight between the Kaiba brothers, ne? And it fluctuated a bit as well... Well, li'l Mokie is going through puberty (he would have been the perfect energy source for Kyubey).

Téa also had a bit of a confrontation with her friends... I thought that this was was fairly IC (correct me if I'm wrong). I did tone down on the friendshippy tone that 4kids likes to use.

Hope that the Téa and Mokuba confrontation wasn't too angsty. Or bipolar. Let me know!

I want to change the summary/blurb - should I, and are there any suggestions?

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Thanks for reading and please review.