Late that Friday Joey received a call on his cell phone. He noticed it vibrating as he sat down at Kaiba's desk and saw that someone from his house was calling. He knew that it was probably Kaiba, which meant either the news was really good or really bad. Joey immediately answered it, hoping the news was good.
"Hello?"
"I went to the museum today, and I've got Ishizu working on getting me some scrolls," Kaiba spoke.
Even though it had been several days it was still weird for Joey to be hearing his rival talk to him with his voice. He figured it was probably even weirder for Kaiba.
"That's great!" Joey exclaimed. "Hopefully this mess will be over with soon. Did she say how long it'd be?"
"It'll be at least a week."
Joey groaned and slouched in his chair.
"Well, dat's better than nothing."
A knock interrupted him at the office door.
"Seto, it's me!" Mokuba announced from the outside.
"Come on in!" Joey called.
Kaiba began talking again as Mokuba entered the room.
"How's he doing?" he asked.
"Oh, he's doing great. He's really bringing his grades up…how's Serenity?...That's good. Okay, I'm gonna let you go…bye."
"Who was that?" Mokuba asked as Joey hung up.
"Oh…uh…wrong number."
The younger Kaiba brother raised an eyebrow but decided to let the incident go.
"Hey, I signed up for basketball today, and we're having our first game Friday!"
"Really, you got picked—I meant that's great!"
Mokuba cocked his head, but yet again decided to let that comment go.
"So do you think you can make it?"
"As long as nothing comes up," Joey answered.
Mokuba sighed and looked down at the floor.
"Oh, of course," he muttered.
Joey groaned inwardly. Even though he and Mokuba weren't what you'd call 'best friends' he still hated the see the look of disappointment on his face.
"Tell you what; I'll book my schedule for your game Friday. If something else comes up, I'll just put those things off."
The younger Kaiba gasped and twinkles filled his eyes.
"You really mean that?"
"Of course I do. Now, it's almost your bed time. Go brush your teeth."
"Thanks big brother! You're the best!"
Joey grinned to himself as he watched the raven haired boy leave the room.
"A business deal and a sibling deal in one night. I'm on a roll!"
…
The following day Kaiba sat around in the living room of his rival's apartment. He'd set his laptop on the coffee table and was about the check stocks when he heard a high pitched shriek coming from the bathroom. Kaiba instinctively shot up and rushed to the door, knocking.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" he demanded.
"Joey, I'm…um…" Serenity drawled.
"You're what? Are you injured?"
"I'm uh…out of tampons."
"Oh…OH!"
Even though he'd never lived with a female (aside from maids, but they didn't count) he'd taken health class the previous year. Even though he'd cut out of the sex education day early by getting into a fist fight with Tea he had learned a little bit about the female body. He was grateful that he didn't have a sister growing up with him.
"Joey, can you run to the store and get me some?"
"Uh…sure. I'll be back as soon as I can."
So he grabbed his wallet and bolted out the door, heading for the nearest store.
…
Five minutes had passed and Kaiba stood in the aisle of a small grocery store. Aside from himself the only people inside were the clerk and a biker guy looking at soda. Considering that Kaiba was standing before the feminine products he was grateful that there weren't a lot of people around. Even though he wasn't even in his own body he still couldn't help but feel awkward.
"Hm, let's see…this one says 'super' so it must be really good…I'll just go with that one."
Kaiba quickly grabbed the box and headed to the register. The biker guy cut in front of him and whipped out a gun. The clerk screeched and raised his hands into the air.
"GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!"
"O-Okay, just t-take it easy!" the clerk stuttered.
Kaiba looked out the window and saw a cop standing across the street. The cop was talking to someone and laughing, being completely oblivious to what was going on across from him. Kaiba rolled his eyes and set the tampons aside.
"I don't have time for this," he grumbled.
He picked up a nearby hotdog rotary case and slammed it against the man's head. The man dropped his gun and fell onto his side, becoming unresponsive. The clerk looked down at the man and then back up at Kaiba, who merely grumbled and picked up the box of tampons.
"This will be it," he stated, putting them on the counter.
"Y-You saved my life!"
"Yes, now could you please ring these up so I can go?"
"Hold on."
The clerk picked up the phone and began dialing.
"Yes, a man just tried robbing my store again…yes, the 24/7 Mart on Brooklyn Street. He's unconscious on the floor. A brave young man knocked him out and saved my life…alright, thank you!"
The clerk hung up and looked back up at Kaiba.
"You can have those on the house, and a free Slurpie!"
The cop from across the street entered the shop. He looked at the two men and then at the ground where the would-be thief was lying unconscious. He raised a finger at Kaiba.
"Are you the one who stopped him?" he asked.
"Yes, now I have to get going."
"Hold on young man; I'll need you to make a statement so we can lock this guy up."
Kaiba groaned and looked at his watch.
"Serenity's not going to like this."
…
Joey went downstairs into the living room where Mokuba sat on the couch watching TV. As he turned to go into the kitchen the young Kaiba spoke up and pointed at the TV screen.
"Seto, Joey's on the news!"
He stopped dead in his tracks. Joey looked towards the TV in complete and utter shock. He saw the image of himself standing in front of a small shop next to a man wearing a nametag. There were several cop cars in the background as well as reporter vans. The blond boy gripped a box of tampons as he stared into the camera.
"Tampons? Oh Lord!" Joey exclaimed.
A reporter stood beside the blond with a microphone in hand.
"Just several minutes ago this store was almost robbed by an armed and dangerous man. These two were the only ones present at the time and this young man stopped the robber and saved the clerk's life. Mr. Wheeler, were you scared of what possible outcomes there might have been?"
"Not really," 'Joey' stated. "I've taken on bigger guys."
Joey turned red and clenched his fists while Mokuba continued watching the news in awe.
"An armed guy? Dat idiot could've gotten killed!"
Mokuba took his eyes off the TV to face him.
"I know! Joey was so lucky!" he agreed. "But, I still don't understand why he's holding tampons."
Joey growled and stomped back towards the stairs.
"I'm gonna call him up!" he growled.
"Geez Seto, why are you taking this so personally? I mean, you don't even like Joey."
Joey stopped halfway up the stairs, clenching the railings. He tried to think up an excuse—something that Kaiba would say in a situation like this.
"Because Mokuba, somebody has to put that mutt in line."
Hairs stood up on the back of Joey's neck. He was used to hearing that particular phrase in that particular voice, but hearing it pass through his own lips was unsettling. With that in mind and with what could've happened at the store Joey hoped more than ever that the situation could soon be fixed.
…
Kaiba arrived back at the apartment about an hour after he'd left. The apartment was pitch black when he entered, which was odd because he'd left the lights on. He grumbled and flipped the switch by the door.
"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."
Kaiba looked over at the couch where Serenity was sitting with her arms crossed.
"Do you know how long I waited?" she asked.
"Uh…"
"An hour! I asked you to do something important for me and you kept me waiting; just like with the train station and just like with my eye surgery!"
"I'm sorry, but I have them now."
With that Kaiba tossed the box towards her. She caught it and examined them with a frown.
"Um, Joey, these are way too big for me."
"Do you have any idea what I went through to get those?" Kaiba snapped. "I had to stand around in a filthy store and witnessed an attempted robbery! I could've gotten shot by that maniac all because you forgot to buy some tampons! And now when I bring you what you need you decide it's not good enough for you?"
Tears swelled up in Serenity's eyes.
"Joey…I…I…"
"I'm sick of listening to your whining! It's time for you to grow up and take responsibility!"
The yelling was interrupted by the phone. Kaiba growled and picked it up off the hook.
"Wheeler residence," Kaiba said.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Joey screamed on the other line, causing Kaiba to hold the phone away from his ear. "YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN KILLED! NEXT TIME YOU PULL A STUPID STUNT LIKE THAT YOU SHOULD DO IT IN YOUR OWN BODY!"
Kaiba growled and brought the phone back up to him, ignoring Serenity's sobbing.
"What was I supposed to do? Was I just supposed to stand around and give him the chance to come after me? I did the best I could out of a bad situation."
"…Kaiba, why do I hear crying?"
The boy's eyes widened as he turned to look at Serenity. Tears streamed down her face and she got off the couch and ran into the bathroom, letting the door slam behind her.
"It's nothing, your sister and I just had a small spat."
"WHAT? DID YOU MAKE HER CRY? I SWEAR IF I-"
"Hey, she snapped at me first! Okay, so it might've taken me an hour to get her some tampons, but I tried!"
"YOU BETTER APOLOGIZE TO HER OR I'LL COME DOWN THERE MYSELF AND PUT YOU IN DA HOSPITAL!"
"You'd really ruin your own body like that?"
"It doesn't matter, cuz if I do injure my body I'm not the one that's going to be feeling it Kaiba!"
Kaiba took a deep breath and thought.
"Okay, I'll apologize, but once we get back in our own bodies you really need to put her in counseling or something. It would benefit everyone."
Kaiba hung up on the phone and sighed. He took a few steps towards the bathroom and knocked on the door.
"Go away Joey!"
"So stubborn," Kaiba thought. "Must be a Wheeler trait."
"Hey, listen, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. We were both in a bad mood and just lost it. I'll try to control my temper from now on, alright?"
Kaiba heard sniffles through the door. Seconds later the door opened and Serenity wrapped her arms around him. Kaiba stiffened and reluctantly returned a very brief hug.
"I'm sorry too Joey."
Kaiba let go of her and gently pushed her away.
"Good. Now, let's watch TV."
Serenity smiled and nodded. She sat down on the couch as Kaiba got out his laptop. After yet another hectic day there was finally a moment of peace.
A/N: Oh Kaiba, always attacking armed men. One of these days he's going to get himself killed. Let me know what you think so far.