A/N: Here's another chaper. Added Seto and Serenity as the characters featured in the story, something that completely slipped my mind for some reason.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-gi-oh! But I do own quite a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh! decks. In fact, I once built a deck from scratch by buying individual cards online. It's kind of a mix of Bakura's and Marik's deck. Pretty good to wreck some noobs.
Cheer up, Mr. Kaiba!
-By Alena S. Anigor-
Chapter IV: The meeting
It was a nice sunny day, warm and without a cloud in the sky, but when Mokuba Kaiba answered his cell phone and heard the thundering voice of Seto Kaiba on the other side, he had a sudden feeling the sky has darkened drastically.
A few of his schoolmates turned their heads curiously when they heard someone yelling madly from the near distance. They turned their heads around; expecting to see someone, but when they saw Mokuba walking out of the school building, holding his cell phone a hand - length away, things became clearer.
"Have you lost your mind?!" Echoed on the other line and Mokuba cringed. He thought something like that might happen, but he also thought his brother wouldn't really call him and lash his fury out on him...Big mistake. Mokuba made a mental note to himself to check who's calling first before actually answering the phone.
When the raging voice of Seto Kaiba finally died down and silence followed, Mokuba thought it was finally safe to put the phone back to his ear.
"Mokuba?! Are you listening to me?!"
Mokuba grimaced when the amount of decibels almost pierced and completely damaged his hearing. He made another mental note to himself – never answer your brother's phone call after screwing something up. He swallowed hard and decided to say something, still holding the phone at a safe distance away from his ear.
"Yeah, I heard you," he mumbled, "as well as the rest of the Domino City, probably..."
"Well?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
Mokuba sighed inwardly and redirected his eyes skyward. What could he say, really? That he thought spending a few hours out of his office would make him feel better...or that he could actually talk him into spending those few hours with the sister of the guy he hated the most in this world and thought he had no brains at all?
And on top of it all – he already called Serenity and told her to meet Kaiba at the main square at 2 o'clock...he couldn't really call her back now and tell her his brother had no intentions to even see her and let alone spend some time with her.
"What were you thinking?! Mokuba?!"
Mokuba sighed out loud this time, waiting for his ride back home at the school entrance. He spotted the black limo approaching and waved happily to the driver.
"I'm here, Seto," he replied despairingly, climbing in the limo to take a seat. He greeted the driver politely, ignoring his brother's yelling on the phone for a moment. When he nestled comfortably in his seat, he put the phone back to his ear to try and at least calm him down.
"Well, then explain me why have you done that?!" Came the screaming question again. Mokuba rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively at the driver who cocked his eyebrows questioningly at him, hearing the noise from the back of the limo.
Mokuba's eyes saddened, the glow in violet orbs disappearing slightly. And there he was, actually thinking how his brother would listen to him and take his advice...and now he would have to call Serenity and tell her not to come because his brother hated everything that had a name Wheeler tagged to it. He sighed dejectedly, lowering his head and letting his bangs shading his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Seto," he said quietly, making his brother sigh in irritation on the other side, "I just...wanted to help you."
Seto Kaiba took a few moments to breathe in some air. All the yelling caused a lack of oxygen in his lungs and he realized that yelling like that wasn't healthy and that he maybe overreacted a bit. Mokuba's solemn voice managed to make him calm down slightly, although he was still mad at him for pulling a stunt like that.
"That's nice, Mokuba but I really don't have the time for things like that and I don't see the point in it," he replied steadily, trying to control his, slightly cracking voice and his breathing. The line was silent for a while, before the tiny, sad voice of Mokuba spoke again.
"You've never even tried, you know."
Kaiba sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. He glared at the paper the secretary left after practically running out of his office; his eyes glued to the paragraph where it was written Meeting with Serenity Wheeler at 2 pm at the main square. He could sense the sadness and disappointment in his voice, and somehow that made him feel even worse than loosing a duel against Yuugi. He looked at the card - looking pendant around his neck, the one where the picture of young Mokuba was hidden in.
"Mokuba..." He sighed dejectedly, his eyes closed and his brows furrowed in deep thoughts. He could hear a faint sniffle on the other side and he growled mentally for making the most important person in his life cry.
"Why, Seto? Why can't you listen to me...just for once?" Asked the soft, now almost broken voice of the younger Kaiba across the line, "And you promised me...you never break your promises, Seto..."
Kaiba let out a tortured sigh again and leaned back in his chair, the phone cord stretching slightly over the desk.
"You used a trick on me, Mokuba," he replied stubbornly, still not willing to give in. Silence followed again and Kaiba wondered for a brief moment if Mokuba hadn't hung up on him...but then he would hear a clicking sound, so he presumed he was still there. What if he was crying now...?
"Mokuba, are you-"
"I'm sorry, Seto, but then...would you do it if I asked you now? If I asked you to promise me you'd do it now?" Kaiba smacked himself mentally. He should've seen this coming – now Mokuba had him trapped again and he was completely and utterly helpless and powerless against him. How could he say no to Mokuba? To his own brother? The only thing he had in this world except his company...
Kaiba gritted his teeth, regretting his decision and hating himself for having a conscience. He let out a sigh and lowered his head in defeat. Silence followed again in which no one said a word, until Mokuba's meek and sorrowful voice broke the almost dead atmosphere.
"Seto?"
"Why her of all the people?" Kaiba asked grimly, his face darkening from the memory of Joey Wheeler and his previous stunts that sometimes managed to prove that he indeed lacked common sense. He could hear his brother shifting slightly on the other line. "You know I'm not too...fond of that mutt."
A small giggle escaped Mokuba's lips after he heard his brother's comment. He was sitting in the limo, waiting for the driver to finally reach the mansion. Secretly, he was hoping to hear his brother's agreement and now he had a feeling he was on a good way to achieve that. He sighed somewhat tiredly and raised his head to reveal a pair of hopeful eyes.
"I know you don't like Joey much, but...Serenity is really nice and I think you'd like her," he replied, a small note of enthusiasm creeping in his voice, "She's really...kind and I think she could cheer you up a bit."
Kaiba cocked one cynical eyebrow. "Cheer me up? Mokuba..."
"Okay, okay, I know...but...just this week and-"
"This week?!" Kaiba screeched into the phone, perplexed and baffled with his words. He thought he'd have to endure her for just one day. No one said anything about a whole week with a Wheeler! Mokuba drew the phone away slightly again, cringing.
"All right, all right, then...for three days! And if you won't like it, then I won't ask you to do it ever again! I promise!" Mokuba blurted out quickly, afraid of making his brother loose that little piece of sanity he got left. He heard a thumping sound on the other side and wondered for a brief moment what happened.
"Seto? Are you...still there?"
Kaiba slowly raised his head after banging it against his desk firmly. He rubbed his forehead vigorously; trying to soothe the sharp pain...he sensed a headache coming on. He glared at the paper once again and sighed, defeated. Three days...he would have to go out of his office, leave his job and go socialize with no one else then a Wheeler. He remembered briefly the girl Mokuba dragged in yesterday – she did seem smart enough to apologize and leave. Perhaps, those three days won't end up being so excruciating like they were when Joey Wheeler was around.
"Fine," he muttered, almost spitting those words out and when Mokuba opened his mouth to squeal a 'thank you', he interrupted him sharply. "But only for three days, Mokuba. And that's it."
Mokuba raised his fist in the air victoriously, grinning from ear to ear. He gave the driver a thumbs up who was observing the whole scene intently and waiting for the older Kaiba to give in...After all, it was only a matter of time.
"Thanks, Seto!" Mokuba beamed at the driver and practically radiated happiness. The driver smiled back at him and almost lost the control over the vehicle due to the constant peeping at the mirror. Mokuba heard a grumbling sound on the other line but it didn't really matter. His brother finally listened to him for once and decided to spend a few days out of his office for a couple of hours. True – it was only for three days, but it was only if he didn't like Serenity's company which was doubtable. Who on earth wouldn't like Serenity?
"I'll see you at home then! Bye and have fun!" He said happily and broke the line. Then, he jumped once in his seat and smiled contently. Finally, he reached his goal...The only problem was – he didn't know if Serenity would still like to meet his brother after meeting his gloomy and broody personality. Not to mention all the bashing Seto always had in store when it came to Joey...Mokuba's happy expression faded away slowly and he stared at the driver in worry.
"Uh – oh...I just hope Seto will behave properly..."
Serenity was becoming nervous.
When Mokuba called her this morning and asked her to meet his brother at the main square, she was slightly apprehensive. Further more, because Mokuba sounded edgy himself. She remembered the conversation they had and wondered briefly if she was perhaps standing in the middle of the main square for nothing...After all, after she witnessed the CEO's outburst and after he told her to leave, she doubted he would agree to meet her just like that. He didn't seem like the apologizing type very much and she already had a weird feeling Mokuba was the main responsible for the whole arrangement. She even wondered if his brother knew about the whole mess after he sounded so nervous over the phone...
"Are you sure about this, Mokuba?"
"Yeah, yeah – why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know...I mean – he doesn't seem to like me very much..."
"Of course he does! Don't you worry – just be there at 2 o'clock and you'll see it will turn out fine!"
"But, Mokuba, what if-"
Click.
And so, there she was – dressed in a nice pair of shorts and a t-shirt, waiting for the mighty CEO of Kaiba Corporation to show up. And there was still no sign of him, whatsoever. She looked around the square, hoping to see his tall figure somewhere, but couldn't spot anyone who even resembled him in any way. The way he looked, dressed and behaved was always so different and unique and she really couldn't remember knowing anyone whom she could identify him with.
Glancing at her watch, she saw it was 2:06 which indicated that he was late...Well, she mused – he wasn't really that late, but knowing his reputation, he was always punctual, demanding and somehow managed to preserve an air of mystery around him.
She had to admit that, that same air of elusiveness and the fact that he looked so untouchable intrigued her and made her wonder what was really underneath. She still believed no one was without a heart and she wondered for a moment what kind of heart he had, what lied beneath his cold and icy surface...
Being deep in her thoughts, she didn't register the shadow creeping slowly over her until she felt a presence of someone behind her and turned around quickly, startled.
She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw it was Seto Kaiba who finally showed up, but that relief slowly subsided when she saw an irritated look on his face, his demeanor rigid and cold and his hands crossed over his chest.
She was at a loss of words for a while before he gave her a stoic glare and she almost flinched. She had a sudden impression he would start yelling at her like that day in his office, but he simply stared at her calmly, not saying a word.
She shifted uneasily and reverted her eyes from his icy ones to look around. When she wanted to say hello, she had to look at him and that sent a wave of uneasiness over her again. She managed to smile slightly and bow.
"H-hello," she said softly, glancing at him before bowing respectfully.
Kaiba cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. She was, indeed different, although she shared a bloodline with Joey Wheeler. She at least had something he didn't have – she had manners.
Uncrossing his hands, he sighed inwardly and decided to finally say what he intended. And that, he thought, might save him the trouble.
"I'm doing this for Mokuba, just to notify you," he said flatly, looking at her sharply and sending shivers down her spine, "and I will spend three days with you for his sake and because I...promised, so don't get any illusions."
He was quiet again and Serenity blinked. After the shock subsided a bit, she nodded slowly. She understood; in fact – she already thought it would sound too good to be true. So, he as well as she made promises to Mokuba and she intended to keep her part of the deal - even if that meant walking around with a rock and talking to herself for the most of the time.
"I understand," she replied softly and smiled, despite the chilly sensation in the pit of her stomach. Kaiba looked at her, somewhat surprised by her answer but kept his mask on.
"Good," he said nonchalantly and they stood like that for a few moments, both lost and confused. Kaiba would've never admitted it, but he felt...odd and uncomfortable around the girl, and standing like an idiot in the middle of the square wasn't helping either. He crossed his hands again in annoyance, already regretting his words and dreading the next two hours with the sister of Joey Wheeler.
Serenity was equally lost and confused. She didn't know what to say, what to do, and where to go. She knew they were standing in the middle of the main square and doing nothing. People were staring to stare at them oddly and she had a feeling she was becoming a statue. Deciding to break the charade, she glanced at the taller boy and saw he looked bored and annoyed.
"Uhm, hey," she started, feeling so stupid and lame for her choice of words. When he reverted his attention back to her, she smiled slightly, deciding to behave as normal as possible. "Would you like to...go somewhere for a drink or something? I know a nice place Mokuba and I went to the other day..."
She halted, shuddering slightly just by looking in his eyes. Something about them made her shiver and she could feel her heart race suddenly. She just didn't know why...he wouldn't hurt her, would he?
Kaiba suppressed the urge to snort when he heard her suggestion. He could sense she was feeling equally lost and baffled like he was, but since he was stuck with her for two hours and for the upcoming three days, what else could they do...
"I suppose," he replied slowly, glaring at the fountain and feeling incredibly idiotic. Serenity nodded and stood in front of him for a good few seconds until she realized she should probably lead the way and smiled at him awkwardly. Turning around she started walking towards a café on the other side of the square and turned her head to see him standing in the same spot. He was looking at her strangely and she stopped.
"Uhm," she started, pointing at the café across the square, "It's this way." She added, turning around again and started walking. She grimaced slightly, wishing for him to stop looking at her with those sharp eyes of his. She had a feeling like they were trying to rip through her and she definitely didn't like the feeling.
Kaiba growled mentally and went after the girl, walking steadily and letting his white trench coat billow behind him. He prepared himself mentally for very long, two hours and sighed dejectedly.
"The things I do for Mokuba..."
A/N: More chapters soon!
