Pas de Deux

Summary: 'Her plié's were beautiful, her battements were perfect, her jeté's were exquisite and her pirouettes were flawless. She was the most graceful ballerina he had ever seen.' Seto Kaiba had not expected to see a dancer of her level at a high school talent show. He had also not expected her to be the most wonderful woman he had ever met. A Silentshipping request.

Disclaimer: I'm in the middle of changing my name to Takahashi Kazuki. Until that procedure is complete, Yu-Gi-Oh! is not mine.

Author's note: Happy new year to all of you! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a splendid New Year's Eve! This chapter has taken me a bit longer than I would've liked, thanks to some unfortunate family issues, but nevertheless, I am actually very pleased with it. Thanks to some suggestion from my awesome beta Hug-The-Antihero, I think this chapter might be the best one yet. Ah, but of course, you shouldn't just take my word for it. Please enjoy reading!


Chapter 4: Coppélia


"No, no, put those lights over there! Over there! No, not… Oh, just give them here!"

Serenity couldn't help but crack a smile as the director all but chased the stagehand away from the tall spotlights and tried to heave them to their rightful position all by himself. After a while, another stagehand took pity on him and went to help, and together they managed to get the lights exactly where the director wanted them to be.

She sighed as she watched people left and right preparing the stage for the first performance that evening. She had wanted to help herself, but the director had forbidden her to lift even a finger, scared that she would break so much as a nail, let alone a limb. He seemed terrified that his new leading lady would suffer the same fate as his former one, and seeing as it was opening night, the director was determined to keep Serenity out of harm's way at any cost.

The only other person not allowed to help was the dancer cast as Franz, the male lead. Unlike Serenity, however, he seemed perfectly content staying on the sidelines, lounging comfortably in one of the theatre's front-row seats and occasionally shouting orders at one of the stagehands.

Despite her kind nature, Serenity couldn't say she liked her male counterpart very much. He was two years younger than she was, and unlike her, he had been accepted into one of the country's most prestigious ballet companies not too long ago. She would have been happy for him, if he didn't constantly remind her and all the other dancers that his talents far outshone theirs, and that he had only agreed to star in this 'mediocre' production of Coppélia because it would look good on his résumé. Unfortunately, he was, as he said ever so often, an excellent dancer, and the production was indeed very lucky to have him.

Luckily, most of the other dancers didn't share his attitude, and Serenity had been able to make quite a few friends over the past month. The others had taken her replacement of the leading lady very well, and a lot of them had tried to help her with her training the best they could in order to make the production a success.

Even with their help, however, learning to dance an entire ballet in such a short time had not been easy for Serenity. Though she had studied Coppélia in her ballet classes and had learned the steps to some of the most important scenes, she had never danced the ballet in its entirety, so she had been training vigorously the past month, sometimes hours and hours on end. Together with her job at the bakery, she had barely been able to do anything but eat, sleep, train and work. Joey had found her collapsed from exhaustion on the couch four times now, and his concern for her had nearly made her want to tell him just what she was really doing at the Domino Theatre.

But she had been able to hold back, reminding herself of the reasons she hadn't told him in the first place over and over again. Despite her gruelling schedule, she was enjoying herself immensely, and she had to tell herself repeatedly that no matter how much fun she was having, no matter how well she got along with the other dancers, no matter how much she loved to be a ballerina, she would never be able to make a career out of dancing ballet, and that was final.

"Alright everyone, gather 'round!" the voice of the director snapped Serenity out of her thoughts. She and the other dancers formed a circle around him on the stage.

"This will be our final rehearsal before our very first show tonight!" he cried enthusiastically. "The stage has been set for you, and I expect nothing but your very best performance. I want that crowd to be dazzled tonight, so take this last opportunity to kick it up a notch! Dance as if your life depends on it!"

He was met with approving shouts from his dancers, and they all ran back backstage, determined to make this final rehearsal their very best one.


"Thank you very much, sir," the lady at the ticket counter smiled brightly at him. "Here's your ticket. Have a good show!"

Taking the ticket and grunting his thanks, Kaiba pulled his baseball cap further down as he made his way inside the theatre as quickly as he could. So far, no one had recognized him, but a woman had been giving him quite a few suspicious looks as he waited in line to buy his ticket, and he didn't really feel like explaining what the great Seto Kaiba was doing at Domino City's dingy theatre.

Frankly, he still didn't even fully understand why he was at the theatre himself. He had tried to convince himself he was here to check the standard of the productions the theatre put on display because he supported the place financially, but subconsciously, he knew very well he was here to see Serenity Wheeler dance ballet. When he had come to that realization, he had reasoned that he only wanted to see her dance to determine whether or not her performance at the talent show hadn't just been one of those strokes of luck that seemed to run so deep within the Wheeler family. Deep down he knew that wasn't true either.

No, Seto Kaiba was at the Domino Theatre to see Serenity Wheeler dance ballet because he had enjoyed watching her at the talent show more than he would ever admit, even to himself, and he subconsciously wanted nothing more than to see her dance again.

Kaiba took a seat at the first empty row he came across, which was further to the front than he had expected. The turnout so far was disappointing, to say the least, and it wasn't very long until curtains either. It wasn't very surprising, though. The Domino Theatre had been struggling financially for a while now, even with Kaiba's help, and it often showed in their productions. Most of Domino's residents preferred the theatre in the adjoining town, knowing the quality of the performance made up for the longer journey. This, in turn, had led to the Domino Theatre selling fewer tickets and losing even more money, thus creating an infinite loop.

Kaiba couldn't say this didn't worry him. The theatre was already almost fully dependant on him as it was, and if they lost even more money, he wasn't sure if even his fortune could keep on supporting it.

What the theatre really needed was a good show, just one quality performance people would love to see, to regain its popularity among the residents of Domino. And if any of the other dancers had a fraction of the talent Serenity Wheeler had, Kaiba thought that one great show could well be this very production of Coppélia.

A few minutes after Kaiba had taken his seat, the theatre's lights were dimmed, and the first piece of music began to play. The curtains were drawn back, revealing the décor of a cozy town square. Unconsciously, Kaiba sat up a little straighter. If he recalled the ballet correctly, which he was quite sure he did, it wouldn't be long before the character Swanhilde would enter the stage from the house on the left.

Of course, he was right. After a short first appearance of Dr. Coppélius, the ballet's main villain, the makeshift door of the house on the left opened. Out stepped Swanhilde, wearing a dress of white, blue, red and yellow, her auburn hair flowing behind her as she all but glided across the stage.

Kaiba watched her critically, eying her every move, hoping to find a flaw in her beautiful routine. It simply was not possible for someone to be this graceful, this focused, this perfect, after barely a month of preparation. Something had to be wrong.

But the longer he watched her, the more it became evident that she was not about to make a mistake, and Kaiba found himself relax, captured by the beauty of her dancing, and he sunk back in his chair to enjoy the show.

For the next hour and a half, Kaiba's mind was fully focused on the story of Swanhilde, a young maiden whose fiancé, Franz, finds himself attracted to a mysterious woman named Coppélia, who spends her days reading on her balcony. Not realizing Coppélia is merely a life-like doll created by the mad Dr. Coppélius, Franz is nearly killed when Dr. Coppélius attempts to use the young swain's life-force to bring his beloved doll to life. However, Franz is saved by Swanhilde, who disguises herself as Coppélia and pretends to come to life at Dr. Coppélius' request, enabling her and Franz to escape. In the end, Franz realizes he has loved Swanhilde all along, and asks her to forgive him for his stupidity. She does so, and the two are married at the town festival.

It wasn't until the curtains had shut and the crowd had nearly stopped applauding that Kaiba came back to reality. In hindsight, he could name many aspects of the performance that had irked his inner art critic, such as the amateur setup of Dr. Coppélius' workshop, the pale colours of the costumes and the lazy mistakes by the male lead, but during the show, Kaiba hadn't been bothered by these flaws at all. He had allowed his normally razor sharp mind to drift, for he had been completely and utterly mesmerized by the beautiful movements of Serenity Wheeler.

Watching her dance had made him more relaxed than he had been in months, possibly even years, and it confused Kaiba to the core. How could a person be this graceful, this mesmerizing, this captivating? It was impossible, unjust and absolutely infuriating.

A bout of laughter pulled Kaiba out of his thoughts, and it was only then when he realized the spectators had all already left, and the laughter had come from the dancers and crewmembers leaving the stage.

"Are you sure you can't join us for just one drink, Serenity?" he heard a girl ask.

"Oh no, I couldn't," Serenity's voice filled Kaiba's ears. "I think my brother will call the police and report me missing if don't get home soon."

"That's too bad," a guy's voice said solemnly. "Well, we'll see you at tomorrow's show then!"

They exchanged a brief goodbye with their leading lady before the group headed out the theatre's backdoor, leaving Serenity seemingly by herself in the large room.

Kaiba remained in his seat, quite invisible in the dark row of velvet chairs, not very keen on showing himself and having to explain to her why he had come to see the show. He expected her to hurry home to her brother by what she had told her fellow dancers, but for a while, Serenity didn't move at all. Then, she slowly sank into one of the seats in the front row, buried her face in her hands and started to sob.

Kaiba sat frozen, watching her shaking form with mixed feelings of pity and annoyance. Great, now what was he supposed to do? He didn't have time to keep sitting there until she used up all her tears, and sneaking out without her noticing was simply impossible, but he really didn't want to confront the crying girl. Knowing his own level of empathy and tact, he'd probably just make everything worse.

However, as it didn't seem she'd stop crying anytime soon, and as he had explicitly promised his brother he'd be home in time to watch his favourite show with him, Kaiba knew he had no choice but to make his presence known.

Slowly and soundlessly, Kaiba rose from his seat and descended down the carpeted stairs. He stopped right behind the chair Serenity was sitting in and took off his baseball cap to ensure she wouldn't mistake him for a criminal. Then he cleared his throat.

The unexpected sound made Serenity shriek so loudly it echoed throughout the empty theatre. Whipping her head around to find the source of the disturbance, her teary eyes soon met a pair of very displeased blue ones.

"For heaven's sake, woman," Kaiba grumbled as rubbed his ear, "keep it down, will you."

"I'm sorry," Serenity squeaked, shrinking back into her chair, "but you scared me!"

"Yeah, I figured as much when you shattered my eardrums," Kaiba replied dryly. Before Serenity had a chance to apologize again, Kaiba seated himself in the chair next to hers. "So, why are you here?"

Serenity gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?" she asked shakily. "You know why I'm here. I'm part of the cast for Coppélia."

To her surprise, Kaiba shook his head. "I didn't ask why you were up there," he said, gesturing towards the stage. "I'm asking you why you're crying your eyes out right here."

She stared at him for a few seconds. Then, she sighed heavily and let her eyes fall on the stage. "I just… realized it, I guess," she said, her voice still thick with emotion.

"Realized what?"

Serenity shook her head, choking back a fresh wave of tears. "I loved being up there tonight," she sniffed, her efforts to keep in more tears failing. "Dancing like nothing else matters, losing myself in a world that's not my own… That's what I want to do with the rest of my life. But I can't, and I know I can't, but… well, when the performance was over, and we received our applause, I realized that after these few shows of Coppélia, I'd probably never get the chance to dance ballet on stage again. And that… hurt."

She sniffed again and rubbed her cheeks, trying to wipe the tears from them. The sight of it was pitiful, and Kaiba wracked his brain for something to comfort her with, but he came up with nothing. How did he used to calm down Mokuba when he was upset?

Luckily, Serenity was ahead of him. Once she had more or less stopped crying, she flashed Kaiba a watery smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you with all that," she apologized softly. "Normally I would've talked to Joey, but… well, you understand."

And Kaiba did understand her reasons for not wanting to talk to her brother. But that didn't mean he agreed. "You shouldn't try to do everything by yourself," he told her earnestly. "It'll destroy you from the inside."

"I know," Serenity sighed, wiping away some stray tears, "but I don't have anyone to talk to."

For a few seconds, Kaiba eyed her as she wiped at her blotchy eyes. Then, he heaved a sigh and whipped a notebook and a pen from his pocket. Swiftly, he scribbled something onto the first blank paper he came across, ripped said paper from the notebook and held it out for Serenity to take. "Here."

Stunned, Serenity stared at Kaiba for a few moments before taking the paper from him. "A phone number?"

"My phone number," he corrected her in his usual better-than-you tone of voice, though he was refusing to look her in the eye as he spoke. "If you're ever on the verge of a mental breakdown again… you'll have someone to talk to."

Serenity's jaw had dropped while he spoke. "You… You're giving me your phone number?"

"Yes," Kaiba confirmed, "but if you ever give that number to the media, I swear I will make you regret you were ever born."

He had barely finished his sentence, however, when he felt a pair of slender arms wrap around his neck, squeezing gently. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Her auburn hair was obscuring her vision, and his neck was getting wet from her tears, but for some reason, Kaiba couldn't say he minded. He was no fan of physical contact in any shape or form, but he knew this was simply her way of expressing her gratitude.

Nevertheless, hugs had become a rarity for Kaiba since Mokuba had entered adolescence, and so he had absolutely no idea how to respond to the unexpected affection. Eventually, he settled for patting her on the back, though he hit quite a bit harder than should. "It's fine," he assured her, "as long as you don't resort to calling me because there's a spider in your bedroom."

At his words, Serenity let out a sound between a giggle and hiccup before she released Kaiba and pulled back. "I won't," she said sincerely as she carefully tucked away the note with the number inside her pocket. "I promise."

Once she was sure she wouldn't lose the paper, Serenity rose from her seat. "I should be getting home, or Joey will start to worry," she told Kaiba. "But… thank you for this. If I hadn't met you here tonight, I don't know what I would've done with myself."

Kaiba nearly snorted. Usually when he talked to people, they left feeling worse rather than better. This… was a nice change. "You're welcome."

She smiled and said her goodbyes to him before she headed home, hoping furiously that her prediction about Joey calling the cops about her hadn't come true.

Kaiba was left sitting there, staring at the exit through which she had left for a few moments longer, until he suddenly realized he had completely forgotten about his promise to be home in time to watch the favourite show of his little brother.

Pulling his baseball cap back over his hair as he hurried out of the theatre, Kaiba checked his watch and groaned. Mokuba was going to kill him.


And that concludes this chapter of Pas de Deux! I should admit, Coppélia is one my favourite ballets of all time, mostly because it is one of the few which doesn't end in just about everyone being murdered and/or dramatically killing themselves. Personally, I think the best performance of Coppélia is that of the Bolshoi Ballet, starring Maria Alexandrova as Swanhilde. If you enjoy ballet, you should definitely watch it! As for the next chapter, I'm afraid it may take me while, because I have some exams coming up soon and I have a special project going on right now - but I should at least be able to start writing chapter five in early February, and I'm hoping to get it out before March. Until that time, I salute you, my dear readers!