I do not own Yu-gi-oh, yu-gi-oh, yu-gi-oh, I do not own yu-gi-oh, come sing along with me! La la la..................

Meaningful Simplicity

By Sakura Takanouchi

Prologue

Joey can no longer stand in the way

No one knows the sad but true cause of his death

And Seto did say that Joey would pay

For hurting Duke, now he's breathed his last breath.

Serenity, after hearing of her brother's state,

Has taken a turn for the worse, she's frightfully ill

What now turns are the wheels of fate

As they try not to get caught in their company's evil.

For these Two rival companies have an heir on each side

Poor Seto and Serenity, their love they must hide

With no one in to confide

And so, for now, their time they must bide.

Leave a comment or two, perhaps a review

And I'll put up a new chapter for you.

ACT FOUR

SCENE ONE

"Oh, good. You're here," Mai welcomed Seto into Serenity's room. He stood uncomfortably, taking in the room he was in. It was large and the furniture was antique and wooden not unlike his own. But the walls were covered with posters and pictures, and a fluffy rug decorated the floor space he was standing on. The lighting was plentiful, and so even though it was nearing dinnertime, he could well make out the form of Serenity lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully for the moment.

"How is she," Seto said, rushing to the side of the bed. "Is she okay?"

"She's better than several hours ago," Mai said. Worry was apparent on her face and Seto could detect it in her voice. "Her fever's currently at 104.5. It's serious, but not critical if treated. She's on medicine and she should wake up soon."

"Do you know how her condition got like this? The last time I saw her, she was energetic and now..." His voice trailed off, and they both stared in silence at the sleeping Serenity.

"She was fine, only complaining to me once about a headache. Then, her parents told her about her brother, and she fainted. Her temperature soared, and we think she may have some virus inside of her, making her like this." At this, Seto shifted his feet uncomfortably and stared out of the window. Mai turned towards him suspiciously. "Do you know something about Joey? Please, tell me if you know the killer. You don't know...how we're suffering." Mai broke down into tears and Seto tried to comfort her.

"Why did he have to die?" Mai sobbed. Seto said nothing, just held Mai's shoulder with one hand and rubbed her back with another. "Dammit, that blockhead!"

Suddenly the figure on the bed rose. Serenity blinked slowly and looked around. "Mai, what's wrong? Seto? How...why...?"

"Serenity, don't you remember? Joey...got killed in that fight. And then, you fainted. I called Seto when you called out for him in your sleep. What's the story between you two?"

Serenity tried to speak, but couldn't make a sound. Tears streamed from her face. "J…Joey?" She said softly. She leaned forward and threw her arms around Seto and started crying on his shoulder. Seto didn't flinch, or complain about the tears on his jacket. He stroked her hair gently, until Serenity pulled away. "Seto is my boyfriend, Mai. And I love him."

Mai stared at Seto, then at Serenity. "You two..." She smiled at them. Seto stared at Serenity, and then swallowed hard.

"Serenity, I have something to tell you."

SCENE 2

"What is it, Seto?" Serenity stared at Seto with curious liquid eyes. She sat up fully in bed and took Seto's hand.

"I…was there when your brother died." Seto could hear himself talking, but his voice was far away in his consciousness.

"You…were there?" Serenity blinked back tears. Mai watched on, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

"I was the one who called the ambulance in an attempt to save him. But he died before reaching the hospital. I tried to save him, because, Serenity..." He paused and took a deep breath, "I am the one responsible for taking his life."

Serenity sat, shocked and speechless. Her gaze was past Seto and into a mirror on the other wall. "He led you on, didn't he? Joey was always like that. He loved a good challenge, but he went about it the wrong way. I'm sorry he's dead, but that can't be helped. You're alive, and you're here." Serenity attempted a weak smile towards Seto. He smiled back, and they shared a kiss.

Pulling apart, Serenity noticed Mai, whose eyes were wide and she couldn't take her eyes off Seto. She took a step back, and then another. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Mai? Mai, are you all right? Mai!" Serenity started to get up, but Seto motioned for her to stay in bed.

"Mai, I had no choice. He forced me to fight. He put my best friend in a coma." Seto's tone was desperate.

"So it's alright to put mine in a coffin?" Mai's voice quivered. She reached out a tentative hand for the doorknob, and then paused.

"Don't do it, Mai!" Serenity said. "Don't go. People will come, and Seto can't go anywhere. Please don't, Mai!"

Mai turned towards her. "You may have chosen Seto over your brother, but I can't do that." She flung open the door, just as Tristan poked his head in.

"Serenity, I came to see you---" He stopped as he came face-to-face with Seto Kaiba. His eyes narrowed. "Why you!" He turns towards the door, where a crying Mai had just left, and then turns back to Serenity's tear-streaked face.

"SECURITY! WE HAVE A KAIBACORP EMPLOYEE ON THE GROUNDS! SECURITY!" Tristan yelled. Serenity gasped.

"Seto, run!" She yelled. Seto nodded, and then darted quickly out on the balcony, climbed down the trellis and fled the Wheeler Mansion.

Serenity was crying and sobbing. Tristan stood there, dumbfounded, not sure whether to comfort Serenity or chase after Kaiba.

"Serenity, why are you crying? What did that creep do to you and Mai?" Tristan put a hand on Serenity's shoulder, but she shrugged it off and continued crying loudly.

"Joey's dead!!!" She wailed, and Tristan said or did nothing until the Security guards came in.

"What seems to be the problem here?" One of them asked. "We heard someone yell that there was a KaibaCorp employee in here."

The security guards looked at Tristan, then at Serenity, who was still crying and yelling, "Joey!"

"Yeah, there was a KaibaCorp employee here," Tristan said, turning to face the guards with a serious expression on his face. "Patch me through to Gozaburo Kaiba, will you? We need to have a chat about what his employees do with their free time."

SCENE 3

Seto Kaiba jumped over the fence separating the Wheeler Mansion and the CyberDyne district. He ran nonstop until he was safe in KaibaCorp territory. 'Now it's out...I shouldn't even go by the CyberDyne area in awhile. I'll go back home, get some of my stuff, and then go over to Yugi's house. He should be able to help me with all of this.'

He arrived at the Kaiba Mansion and sneaked in through the kitchen. He reached his room without running into any of the staff or Gozaburo, which he was thankful for. But he wanted to see Mokuba before he left. He quickly shoved some clothes in a duffel bag and added all of the money he had. "Goodbye, room." He said quietly. Then a voice from behind him made him freeze.

"Going anywhere, Kaiba?"

SCENE 4

Seto turned around to see the red-suited figure and arrogant smile of Gozaburo Kaiba. "I said, where are you going?"

"None of your business." Seto flung his duffel over his shoulder and glared at Gozaburo.

"I just got off the phone with someone from CyberDyne. It was a very interesting conversation, actually. They wanted to know why my son was seen in the Wheeler Mansion. Of course, you could imagine my surprise when I found out where you spent the last half-hour. Would you like to know what I told them?" Gozaburo's voice was calm, but slightly mocking. This made Seto angry, but he refused to show it.

"Not particularly, but could I stop you?" He answered.

"I told them that, since you were only my son by adoption, that there would be plenty of other places for you to go. That's right. You don't have to run away. I'm throwing you out. Why the surprise?" He laughed at the shocked expression on Seto's face. "I still have Mokuba. He's young enough to not have learned disobedience from you. He'll bend to my will. You wouldn't, so now you're gone. You will be gone from his life, you hear me? I'll have Mokuba monitored for the rest of his life, and if you should even appear in the same room as him, I'll have you taken care of." He threw back his head and laughed. It was a cold, sinister laugh that sent chills running down Seto's spine. But if Seto had learned anything from Gozaburo, it was that same ruthless attitude. Seto did not flinch.

"Here's a twenty. No, take a hundred. The more money I give you, the more satisfactory the feeling when I watch the news and see your dead body in an alley somewhere. Now get out of my sight."

Seto said nothing, and he didn't even take the money that Gozaburo offered him. He walked down the stairs, his duffel swinging behind him. Mokuba appeared out of nowhere, and walked up the stairs. "Big brother!" he called happily. But Seto said nothing, just stared straight ahead. He didn't even look at him. As he left the stairs into the entry hall, he could hear Gozaburo's voice, telling Mokuba that "he's going somewhere, to a place where you can't follow. Be good and you won't end up like him." Seto clenched his fists as he took one last look around the huge entry hall.

'Yes, Mokuba, Be good. Be a robot for Gozaburo, but be sure to keep that fire alive in your heart. I'll come back for you, I promise. But for now, this place makes me sick. I'm better off far away from here.' He then flung open the doors to the mansion and took the long walk to the front gates, not bothering to take a car. They all had KaibaCorp flags, so what was the use?

SCENE 5

Serenity leaned back in bed and stared at the ceiling. 'How am I ever going to see Seto again?' She thought. 'I'll probably be under constant surveilance as the new heir to CyberDyne. I don't want to be responsible for a company. I want to be free of all this.'

A knock on her door sent her thoughts scattering. "It's me, Tristan," he said.

"Come in," She called. He opened the door and walked in, carrying a small bouquet of daisies. He set them down on Serenity's nightstand and smiled at her. "Can we talk?" He asked.

"Sure," She answered. She sat up in bed and swung her legs around, making room for Tristan to sit next to her.

"I know you've been through a lot today, but I don't think I can wait any longer," Tristan's expressions were confident but serious, and Serenity was dreading what he might say next.

"Serenity, I want you to be my girlfriend. I've liked you for years, but I never got the courage to say anything. I was going to tell you at the party, but we had to leave before I got the chance. I love you, Serenity—please say you'll be my girlfriend!"

Tristan's confession was pure love, and Serenity couldn't help but smile. "Tristan, that's so sweet," She started.

"Really? I mean, yeah, of course." Serenity laughed, but then her smile faded.

"I'm sorry, but I can't be your girlfriend." She said. Tristan tried not to look depressed, but he couldn't help it.

"Is it me? I'll change, if that will make you want to be with me. I promise, what is it?" Tristan jumped on himself as the excuse, but he stopped talking when Serenity put a hand on his shoulder.

"I like you, too, but as a friend. But I could never be your girlfriend."

Realization dawned on Tristan. "So there's someone else, isn't there?"

"Yeah, there is."

"I'll bet he's tall, charming, and handsome, and doesn't have a dorky haircut like mine," Tristan said, now being able to accept that he was going to lose her.

"Well, I think he is. And Tristan, your hair isn't dorky." Serenity answered.

"It's that Kaiba kid, isn't it? I thought something was up, when you called him by his first name." Tristan looked at his feet, dejectedly. "I'm sorry I had to come in and ruin it for you."

"Don't be, Tristan. You were concerned about me, and I couldn't be happier that I have such a caring friend." Serenity's words made Tristan smile, and he looked more like his old self.

"Thanks, Serenity." He reached out and gave her a quick hug, and then pulled away. "I won't do that again," he said quietly. He jumped off the bed and walked towards the door. "I'll stop chasing after you too."

After he left, Serenity leaned back in bed with a long sigh. 'I'm sorry, Tristan,' she thought. 'If only you would have asked me at the party. But I still would have chosen Seto over you.'

Tristan reached his own room and paced. 'What I didn't tell you was that Gozaburo knows, and he'll throw Seto out, so he'll never be able to see you again. And then, I'll make my move,' he thought with a smile.

Notes on ACT 4: Sorry to say, but this next chapter might be the last. And I say might. I had intended for this to be only five acts long, but if anyone can give me suggestions in how to keep this fic going, I may use them. But be prepared for act five to be the last. I was also planning on doing an "outtakes" act, which shows several scenes from this fic where things don't go exactly as planned. These would be funny things, mind you, and would serve as comic relief between all of the sadness and drama of this fic. That might come before act 5, or after. I'm not sure.

Notes on the Wheeler and Kaiba Mansions: Whenever I wrote about the Kaiba Manion, I imagined a massive old-southern kind of brick building. (Or an English Castle!) The Kaiba Mansion has huge lawns and orchards, and only the Kaiba Family lives there, although there would be room for many more. (Estimation: 4 stories high)

The Wheeler Mansion is right in the heart of the CyberDyne district, so as their mansion is huge, it doesn't have the lawns and gates that the Kaiba Mansion has. I also envisioned a sort of Modern-styled outside, with stucco and tan brick. Although they do have a fair-sized backyard, which Serenity's room faces, hence the balcony. Also, the Wheeler family does live in the mansion, but so do some of their friends and co-workers and staff. Tristan and Mai live in the Wheeler Mansion, even though Mai doesn't work there. (Estimation: 3 stories high, but longer than the Kaiba Mansion)

These are notes to avoid confusion, for example: "Tristan reached his own room and paced." Don't be Confucius. He lives there.

So send me a review and tell me what you think of this act, of any random thought that enters your head, I want to know about it! If you have any questions, I will also answer them. I want to hear more than, "Update, I love it!" Those make me feel happy, don't get me wrong, but they are so uninformative. The more reviews=the faster I put up the next chapter!

I'll get ACT 5 up in a jiffy-pop!

Sakura Takanouchi