(A/n: Thanks for the reviews everybody. I really appreciate them. I never really responded to the reviews but I think I will from now on.

Starwolf4: You think she's in character? Huh...I thought I was making her out of character by making her like so undependable and mean-ish. Thanks for reviewing!

Enjie YekcamReally, you like her this way. I thought people would flame me for making her so out of character. –Grins- Thanx! I so appreciate your review.

Xxtainedcv: Thanks for the review, I didn't made it unique, I just wanted it to be different and not have same plot as some other stories. Thanx again!

Moses-the-little-gurl: I sorta intended Mai to be engaged to Joey. I didn't want her to be pregnant cause that would complicate things and it would mess it up of what I thought of. I wanted Mai to get away, to make Serenity think that's she's all alone and that Mai doesn't care for her. I know…I'm so cruel to her! Making her feel pain, grief, depression and-

Serenity: Don't you think that's enough? –Pouts- Your making me feel bad since Joey's not in the story.

Joey: Yeah! How cum I'm not in your story-Glares at sxs4ever-

Seto: Because mutts are not allowed.

Joey: Why you little! –Try's to jump on Kaiba, but misses when Kaiba merely steps aside.

SxS4ever: Actually Kaiba, there will-Serenity puts a hand over Sxs4ever's mouth-

Serenity: You're spoiling the story!

SxS4ever: Right, right…phew, I almost gave away a part to the story. Not really important part but-

Serenity: There you go again!

SxS4ever: Sorry. I'll shut up now. –Sits in corner-

Thanx for the suggestion though, it was a good one.

Newblue2: Thanks for you review!

Revan Starr: Yah…bitchy.I don't want to make her so…innocent and naïve in this story. More like tough…but no sooooooo bitchy, a little. Thanks for your review.

Nina: I'll try but I can't guarantee. If you live with parents of mine…you will NEVER ever get the chance to update stories. So freaking nosy. Asking me this and that "what are you writing? Show me! You write something bad since you don't show me…" UGH! And school has been bugging me…especially my history teacher. I hate him! Every month he gives project. But I'm working on it, I write them down during class.

On to story!
Path towards Depression

Chapter Four: Sighs and Frowns

The next day…afternoon…

"Okay, here we go…" the instructor instructed. "Right punch! Left kick. Good!"

Doing so Serenity kicked and punched as hard as she could. She gave a smile of content as she continued kicking and punching. Just by smacking Kabuki upside on the head, she felt a jolt of content surge through her veins in that exact moment.

By joining this class, she could legally hit someone. The kickboxing class was in her campus and it fit her schedule. There were other classes, but she didn't like the requirements; uniform. She scowled at uniforms. She liked wearing ordinary sweats and tank tops, it expressed herself.

Right now she was wearing black sweats with white strips along the side. A white spaghetti strap top was worn, followed by a black sport shirt, and also lined with white strips by the sides of her arms. The black represented her mourning but the white represented…hope.

The classroom was an ordinary one excluding the tables and furniture. The only furniture there was two shelves located beside Serenity. It held all the students belongings. The walls were covered with beige and the mats underneath were blue, supporting them if they fell.

A good hour had passed by and the instructor came to a halt. She turned around and greeted them with a smile.

"Okay girls…that's it for today!" she said, smiling widely.

Everyone took this as cue to get their belongings and wash up. Serenity followed the others, wiping the beads of sweat lined up against her forehead. She breathed deeply and gave another smile, knowing that she was getting closer to happiness, step by step.

"Serenity, that was good for your first day!" the instructor said, adding a smile.

She was known as Ayana Johnson. She was around Serenity's age except she was a year older. Blond curls fell all the way down to her shoulder blades, with dim highlights swimming in it. Her emerald eyes held spark and perkiness and they looked even more beautiful with her peach complexion. She stood at about a height of 5'6" and had a slim body, thanks to the boxing class…and some other exercises.

"Thanks…" Serenity replied blankly. "…bye." She grabbed her gym bag and headed to the locker room. She quickly freshened herself up and put on her clothes; a black tank top with a white long sleeve shirt on top, followed by a dark navy jeans and some white and black sneakers. She sighed as she picked up her gym bag, walking out the locker room doors. She knew she had to go back to that vile owner's restaurant to pick up her two weeks paycheck. She didn't want to go back there and confront her but she told herself that money is money and she needed that since she was jobless…for the time being.

Rich scenes of houses and mansions passed by her, as she drove her black Mercedes. Joey had given it to her for a present last year. How he managed to pull it off, who knows. Pulling to a stop, she got out. She looked at the restaurant and walked in.

Soft, quiet, barely audible murmurs filled her ears. No clatter of plates or utensils filled her ears. No scurrying waiters flew by her. No cries of orders filled her ears.

She furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity and walked on. All of the tables were empty except one; a couple occupied it. A waitress walked in with their order. Serenity continued to look at the waiter and then at the couple. The couple took a bite out of their salad and immediately pushed it away. She raised a brow at this. She turned away and walked to the kitchen, only to see that one person was cooking, Ms. Keiko.

Keiko quickly turned around as she heard the soft footsteps. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she saw Serenity. She glared venomously at her.

"What are you doing here? Come back to work…" she said, the glare suddenly gone replaced with a small smirk curving upwards.

"No…I came here for my check" Serenity replied smugly.

Keiko scowled inwardly at her and walked over to the counter. She pulled out a small drawer and pulled out a small envelope. She thrust it out to her and Serenity snatched it. She opened it, just to make sure Keiko wrote the right amount of money. Satisfied, Serenity gave a smug smile.

"So…business dropped. Where's Kabuki?" Serenity asked, taunting with her.

"None of your business! Now get out!" Keiko snapped.

'I'm not working here if Serenity's not here…'

Stupid fool, Keiko thought.

Serenity turned on her heel and started walking out the restaurant. She looked back at it and smirked. She loved seeing the place go into ruins. But how it managed to go to ruins so quickly, who knows. As she turned around to walk towards her car, she bumped into something hard.

Really hard…

'What hit me…?'

She rubbed her forehead and groaned slightly. The impact of the hard object made her tumble to the ground. She then felt a soft kick tap her on her leg.

"Ouch…" she managed to mutter. Her eyes were shut tight.

"I suggest you get up to save yourself from further humiliation…" a cold, ruthless voice sneered. He referred to the passing people who looked at her with concern as well as them thinking how stupid she was.

She immediately looked up and frowned. A hand then took her by surprise. She gratefully accepted it.

"Thank you…Mokuba…" she said as he pulled her up.

"No problem"

Serenity dusted herself while Mokuba suddenly shoved an elbow to his brother's stomach. Kaiba felt the pain but didn't flinch.

"What was that for…" he growled.

"Show some compassion! She just lost her brother!" Mokuba hissed back, quiet enough for Serenity not to be aware of what they were talking about.

"The mutt? Ha! He was a waste to human nature" Kaiba stated simply. Unfortunately for them, Serenity had heard this. She perked up her head and sent him the vilest glare she had. But Kaiba didn't flinch…as usual.

"What…" she snarled tightly. Mokuba hadn't seen this kind of anger from her and was surprised actually. Kaiba on the other hand, didn't care.

"You heard me…" Kaiba sneered.

'I'm dead and he still taks shit 'bout me! Son of a bitch!'

Suddenly, Serenity's glare slowly disappeared replace with a confuse look. Kaiba saw this and just stared at her blankly. She slowly turned her head, as if expecting something…or someone. That someone sounded a lot like Joey, she thought. It's as if his presence was here. "Joey…"she softly mumbled.

"Hmm…?" Kaiba said. He shook his head at her. "…You've finally cracked…" he said, almost feeling pity for her.

Almost.

She looked at him and furrowed her eyebrows. Once again, this earned another shove from Mokuba to Kaiba. As much as Serenity loved seeing Mokuba hurt Kaiba, she wanted no help.

"Leave her alone…!" Mokuba hissed turning to look at his brother.

"I can defend myself Mokuba" she said bitterly, yet a little fondness and gratefulness was in her voice. She turned to leave; a single tear falling. She gasped slightly; she hadn't expected it. Wiping the tear off hastily, she walked back to her car.

"Suck it up Wheeler" Kaiba said coldly. He had noticed the tear. "…emotions are weak. They make you weak. The past is gone…" he stated.

Serenity didn't say anything and continued walking. Both brothers were silent. Mokuba stared at the ground, thinking of what his brother had just said. He hated those three words. Gozuburo Kaiba engraved his brother with those three words. Those words took great effect on Kaiba. They made him cold, ruthless, and cruel…to other people and not Mokuba. Their life was scarred when Gozuburo Kaiba took them in. The orphanage but have been horrible, but at least there…Kaiba actually smiled, grinned, and laughed in a hearty way and not in a wicked way.

"No…" Mokuba said quietly, breaking the silence.

"What?"

Mokuba said nothing and silently headed over to Serenity's way.

"Mokuba? Where are you going? Get back here!" Kaiba shouted but Mokuba took of no heed to what he was shouting and continued walking over to Serenity, rapidly. Kaiba huffed and folded his arms. He leaned back against the brick wall, staring onto the ground. He fumed silently, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

What was Mokuba up to?

He closed his eyes, trying to control his anger. When he reopened them, something caught his eyes, something he hadn't seen before when he first stared into the ground.

"Serenity!" Mokuba said breathlessly. He then fell into step with her. "I'm sorry about my brother-"

"You don't have to be sorry on your brother's behalf…" she said emotionlessly.

Mokuba said nothing and neither did she. Both of them walked in silence, between them that is. City cars and shouts were isolated from them. Serenity thought back of when that single tear fell. She didn't have an exclamation for it. It just…happened. And that voice..., she thought. It sounded so much like…Joey's. Is what Kaiba said true? Am I going crazy?

"Let it out…"Mokuba mumbled.

"What out?"

"I mean…don't hold your emotions in" Mokuba replied, staring at the ground.

"Oh…I see…" Serenity said slowly, seeing of where this was coming from. "…I wasn't going too"

"Oh, then that's…good"

"I have…to go now. Bye" she said, walking to her car.

"Bye…" he replied, waving her off. He sighed and walked back, kicking a stone across the sidewalk in the process. He looked up, seeing his brother still waiting for him. In a way, he regretted that he left his brother. He had to admit, they had gotten so far ahead then other companies because of that phrase…emotions are weak.

"I'm…sorry…" Mokuba began when he caught up.

"It's…alright…" Kaiba said, not looking at him. He looked as if he were straining for some words to come out since he hardly said them to anyone. "I'm…I'm…sorry" he said, swallowing his pride, literally and figuratively.

Mokuba stared at him, his mouth slightly open.

"Who…are…you?" Mokuba replied sarcastically. Kaiba turned to look at him and frowned. "I was being serious" Kaiba said, frown still intact. This was one of the reasons of why he never really apologized to anyone. Kaiba started walking off, Mokuba catching on to him.

"I'm sorry too" Mokuba said, with less strain. Unlike his brother, he could sometimes swallow his pride.

"Puppy dropped this…" he mumbled changing the subject. This situation was becoming too mushy for him. Taking the envelope out of his coat, he handed it to Mokuba. Mokuba stared at it curiously.

"What should I do?"

"I say we chuck down the trash can…" Kaiba stated, a smirk appearing on his face. Mokuba sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'll give it back to her…" he mumbled.

Wheeler Residence…

"Oh…my…!" Serenity yelled. "Where the hell is it?" She cried out, frustrated with her current situation.

"I can't believe it…" she said sulking down on what was left of her couch. She had turned her whole apartment upside just to find an envelope. Trash can was down, sofa cushions were scattered across the living room floor, purse items were scattered across the coffee table. She sighed, now aggravated because of the trash that she made. She closed here eyes, still frowning and rubbed her eyes.

'Where…is the stupid envelope...'

She sighed, leaning even more down the couch, letting exhaustion and weariness overcome her, making her fall asleep.

'She's asleep!'

"Serenity…"

"Huh…Joey?" Serenity replied, disbelief falling over her face. "What- Am I dreaming?"

"Sorta…"

"Right…" she said laughing lightly at her stupidity. She sighed and groaned softly.

"What's wrong" he asked coming over to her.

"Go away…" she said shoving his aside, moving away from him. "I…don't want to see you!" she mumbled. Joey could feel pain coming out of her in waves. He came over to her once more, putting a hand on her shoulder. She sniffed and turned around.

"Ren…In…a way…this is real"

Serenity frowned and crossed her arms. "What?"

"That I'm actually talking to you…"

"That's impossible. You're nothing but memory…" she said turning away.

He sighed and came over to her once again. "If you just let me explain-"

"NO! Go away! Get away from my dreams!" she yelled out. But he wouldn't let her get away that easily. He came over and gripped her shoulders. Tears emerged from her eyes and she could do nothing but just stand there.

"Listen…" he said in a tone that Serenity never heard from him before. "See… I'm in this world with ya but as a ghost and I'm always gonna be aroun' people but dey will neva see me but ta see me I can appear in your dreams…" he said taking a breath. "…but dey can always sense me if I share the same attitude as them like today with you an' moneybags…I was mad an' so were you so you sense me…right?"

She blinked away the tears and wiped them away, a confused look crossing her features once more. "What…" she stated. Sighing she shook her head pushing him away in the process." This is just a dream…" she muttered, consoling herself.

"But…But…you did feel me today…right? Right!" he said gripping her shoulders, shaking them softly. He stopped shaking her. "You heard me!"

"I…don't…know what you're talking about" she said the stubbornness returning. She turned his back on him and crossed her arms.

"ARGH! Serenity!...you do know! You…You're just afraid ta admit it!"

"SO! Even if I did hear you will that bring you back? NO!"

"Aha! So you did feel my presence!" Joey exclaimed happily.

"So…what's that going to do…?"

"You have to believe me Ren…I am real. But you can't see me. I just appear in your dreams, that's all"

"Listen you-"

"You got visitors…" he said interrupting her. Her anger faded.

"What?" she said, furrowing her eyebrows. Suddenly a vision of the apartment came to view. It was left as it was, sofa cushions, trash, purse items scattered. It was true; the doorbell was ringing continually.

"See ya later. Oh and…dun tries to be a slob like me…" he said smirking. He gave a small kiss on her cheek and just disappeared.

"Huh." The confused look was still plastered over her face.

Before she knew it, she was sitting up on the couch, breathing hard. She touched her cheek softly; the warmth of his kiss was still there. The tight grip on her shoulders still lingered.

'Was...that real?'

She shut her eyes, blocking the bright images of her apartment, pondering about what happened. There has to be a logical explanation, she thought. The shrill ring of the doorbell broke her thoughts.

She frowned as she looked at the door, growling slowly. She got up, feeling the weight of ache upon her. She groaned. Sighing, she walked over to the door, tensely.

"Hey Serenity!" Duke and Tristan greeted. She looked at them, the frown still intact.

"We just came here to check-" Duke began but shut up immediately when he felt a hard blow on his stomach. "Ouch…" he muttered glaring at Tristan.

"What duke means is…" Tristan explained."…Is that you weren't home yesterday so we…uh….well you…know" Tristan finished, smiling at her. This made Serenity fume even further.

"I can take care of myself" she said, gritting her teeth. "I'm not going to commit suicide…" she spat.

"Of course not…we just want to-"

"Oh save it" she yelled, slamming the door. She leaned against the door and rubbed her head. It ached,. Stress was getting to her. She just wanted to go to sleep, isolated from people outside; she wanted quiet. Her headache was getting worse.

The doorbell was heard again, leaving a big impact on her head. She cringed as it sounded out to the hallways. She let out a shriek as it continued ringing. She thrust the door open, gripping the doorknob very hard. She found no one.

"Huh…"

"Down here…"

"What…"

"What do you mean what?" Yugi asked innocently.

"What are you doing here!" she shouted.

"Just…here…you want to go somewhere?"

"No!" Serenity yelled as she slammed the door onto poor Yugi's face. He sighed and retreated with Duke and Tristan. She sat down on the sofa and buried her head in her hands. She sighed and decided to forget about what just happened today; the dreams, the intrusions, Kaiba.

On the coffee table was her purse belongings and a newspaper. She picked it up and started scanning through articles that might help her get a job in her current field. Nothing. Frowning she crumpled it up throwing it aside. She didn't care if she was adding to the mess.

'Stupid Aimee…'

She screamed mentally . She wanted to hit someone, anyone. She wanted to go back to the kickboxing class. Sighing heavily, she got up and picked up the crumpled newspaper. She needed a job fast or else she would be broke. She scanned through the same articles before she came upon on job offering. It was to be a secretary at Kaiba Corp. She leaned back against her sofa and thought about it.

'No…I'll get fired easily and he'll continue to taunt me about Joey's death…'

She reminisced the events that happened today. He kicked her, insulted Joey, and implied that she was weak. She closed her eyes and curled her fingers to a fist.

"Forget that shit!" she uttered aloud, dismissing the thought quickly. None of the jobs suited her. They were the kind of jobs were you needed to be special in that field, like a doctor or a nurse.

'Maybe tomorrow's section will have something for me…'

The doorbell rang once more, disturbing her thoughts. What were they doing here? Sighing, she grumpily stood up and headed to the door once more. She thrust it open to find Mokuba standing there. Her gaze softened slightly.

"Mokuba? What do you…I mean…what are you doing here?"

"You…dropped something" he replied, taking the envelope out. Her face brightened up little by little as he handed it to her.

"Thanks…"

"What's inside it?" he asked, looking at the envelope.

"Oh…uh…just my pay…"

"Where do you work?"

"To rung…"

"Really? We ate there yesterday. It was my birthday"

"Oh…I see. Happy, late birthday?"

"So…uh…bye?" she mumbled.

Mokuba didn't hear her and continued pressing on. "Did you work there as a waitress or something?"

"No…a cook"

"Really! So you cooked our food?"

"I…guess…so?"

"You're a good cook…"

"Uh…thanks…"

"To Rungs lucky then. We lost our cook and we're looking for one…"

"I see. Well nice chatting with you Mokuba and thanks for returning the envelope back to me. Bye!" she said quickly as she closed the door. Mokuba was too nosy but she couldn't help smile at that. It was a cute characteristic but sometimes, it could get annoying. She plopped herself down on the couch, thinking about what Mokuba said.

'We lost our cook and we're looking for one…'

It would almost the same as working as his secretary but she could make Kaiba sick. He'll kill me, she thought. Then again I could quickly poison him before he kills me. She laughed lightly. Quickly dismissing the thought she sighed and started cleaning up the mess she made.

(A/n: Just gotta work on secret of blues eyes and nine years. I'm started working on them both. –smiles- hopefully I'll update soon. Please review!)