R.J: Thanks to all who reviewed, I really appreciate it.
Yami: Can I be in this chapter?
R.J: But you usually are...
Bakura: Yeah but he's complaining about how he's only a spirit, hehehe....
Yami: You would be saying that too, I mean at least you-
Kaiba: Alright we get it already.
R.J: You'll be in this chapter, the way you like it, I promise.
Yami: Really? Thanks.
R.J: Who wants to do the disclaimer?
Ryou: I do!
R.J: Alright, but first I'd like to do some thank yous. I'd like to thank my best friend C.T. for being there to make me smile, I'd like to thank myself, my fingers for typing, my brain for thinking, I'd like to thank you guys for providing...uh....
Yugi: Pre and post story entertainment?
R.J: Guess you could call it that. Ryou, do the disclaimer.
Ryou: YGO and anything related does not belong to her. On with the fic.
**************************************************************************** ***************
Ayane and Kaiba spent the longest time in the library, funny though, they were hardly speaking to one another. Though both looked like they were focusing solely on the science report sometimes their mind would wonder elsewhere.
When the time came that the library needed to close, the Librarian rang the bell. Both of the teens, finished up whatever they were doing and headed out the door. Eventually they got to the gates of the school where they had to go opposite ways.
"Bye Kaiba, see you tomorrow." Ayane waved, a smile on her face.
Kaiba looked at her and just turned around. He gave an inaudible goodbye and left. Ayane just tilted her head to the side and sighed. Her green eyes followed Kaiba until he disappeared. She then shook her head as if to shake away a wondering thought.
**************************************************************************** *********************
"Hiya Big brother, how come you came home so late?" Mokuba asked as he meted Kaiba in the door.
"Oh, Mokuba, I just had to do some homework in the Library." Kaiba said while ruffling the little boys' hair.
"Are you hungry?"
"No, I'm fine." Kaiba smiled.
"Well, could we play duel monsters? Please big brother?" Mokuba said, giving Kaiba a puppy dog face.
"Alright you win." Kaiba laughed.
**************************************************************************** ***********
Joey walked to his house, hands in pockets and staring at the sky. He was thinking about dinner, and how he was really hungry. When he got home, he was surprised to see some mail.
"Hey, it's from Serenity!" He said.
Dear Joey,
Hi big brother! I'm going to be visiting you sometime next year, a bit before the last month of school and I'll be coming home for Christmas too. I'm looking forward to seeing you and everybody else again. Please write back because you didn't write to me at all during the summer! Anyway, I'll see you then, bye!
-Serenity
P.S.: How is Tristan doing?
Joey smiled; it would be nice to see his little sister again. He took the letter inside and sat down on the couch. He took some paper from his school bag and began to write.
Serenity,
Wow, it'll be great to see you again! Sorry I couldn't write that often. Hehe, well anyway Tristan is doing fine, why'd you ask? There is a new girl in school; she's very nice, a bit too sensitive for my taste though. Other than that, everything's still the same. Glad you can make it for Christmas!
-Joey
Joey put the pen to his mouth and started to re-read the letter. He then decided to send it first thing after school tomorrow. He was curious why Serenity had asked about Tristan.......
**************************************************************************** *************
"Ahhh! I don't have anything to wear!" Tea moaned as she threw the 10th piece of clothing she had pulled out of her closet on to the bed.
She plopped down on her bed, not knowing what to do. She pulled her knee to her chest while her eyes stared at the white ceiling of her room. Not conscious of it, she began to talk to herself.
"C'mon get a hold of yourself Tea! Yugi'll like you the way you are!" Tea scolded herself, but then another thought occurred to her.
"But I do want to look nice!"
"Then again I should be who I am."
"Tea, why are you talking to yourself?" Tea yelled to no one.
Tea calmed down and let go of her knee.
"I need sleep."
**************************************************************************** *********************
The week whizzed by, soon it was Friday, lunch time and everyone in Domino High was eager to get to the weekends, each with their own reason, and since they only had 1 period left after lunch every Friday.....
"Ahh, I can't wait to be dismissed." Joey said, stretching his arms.
"Really Joey, you just got back from summer vacation," Tea said, inside though she was very eager too. She would be going on her date this weekend.
"It doesn't matter, a weekend is a weekend." Tristan said, while stuffing his mouth with food.
Joey was about to do the same when he remembered something.
"Oh yeah, have I told you guys yet? Serenity's coming."
"That's great Joey, when?" Yugi asked, right before Tristan almost spitted out all the food back on his plate.
"Yeah, when?!" Tristan, who now looked like a hyperventilating kid, asked.
"Oh, some time on Christmas." Joey replied.
Tristan's face fell. He then began to pick on his food, grumbling about how Christmas was too far away for him too wait.
"Who's Serenity?" Ayane asked.
"She's Joey's sister, she goes to another school though." Yugi said, while giving Tristan a strange look.
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be nice to meet her." Ayane smiled.
"Oh yeah. She's real nice." Tea said.
"And Pretty...." Tristan trailed off, no one heard him though since he was pretty much talking to himself.
"So anyway, do you guys wanna go anywhere this weekend?" Ryou asked, sipping some of his soda.
"Uhm, I sort of had plans." Ayane said, giving him an apologetic look.
Tea looked at Yugi, who was just poking at his food. She wondered if he was going to say anything. When nothing came, she decided to speak.
"I have plans too."
"So do I." Yugi said, in a quiet tone almost no one could hear.
"Oh, well I guess see you all on Monday." Ryou said, and with that, the earsplitting sound of the school bell sounded.
Everyone started to head for their classrooms, eager to get the last period over with. Ryou and Ayane proceeded to the UPL, Yugi, to the science lab, Tristan and Joey to room 203 and Tea to room 207.
While the two upper level students were heading on to the 4th floor, Ryou asked Ayane about what plans she had for the weekend.
"Oh, nothing much, it's just the amount of homework we have and I'm going somewhere to drop off something." Ayane shrugged.
"Oh, well I guess that makes sense." Ryou said, there was a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Is something wrong Ryou?"
"No, it's nothing." He said smiling at Ayane.
"Hey Ryou, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure." Ryou said, perking up a bit.
"It's about-"
Ayane was cut off when someone bumped into her. It was Andrea (again.). She looked at Ayane like she was a piece of dirt. She crossed her arms.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our resident looser and her British pet." She said, a smirk appearing on her face.
"Hi Andrea, you give Kaiba another present?" Ayane asked.
"None of your business, you little snake. You know for an upper level student, you sure are stupid, didn't I tell you to stay away from Kaiba, you wench. Is that too much for your little brain to understand?" Andrea asked haughtily.
"Andrea, I'm so sorry you feel that way, honestly I don't think you should." Ayane said, her tone was unfazed, but inside Ryou could see her tone could crack at any minute.
"You're an idiot and you know it, the only reason you're here is because you're Mom probably paid the school. You probably couldn't do anything by yourself if you're life depended on it and I bet you're just a sorry little outcast." Andrea lashed out.
"Stop it Andrea!" Ryou said.
"Andrea, sorry to disappoint you but my Mom is dead and if you'd like to see my report cards I'll show them to you and you'll see I'm not an idiot (like you), and as for being an outcast, if being "in" means being like you, I'd rather be an outcast then." Ayane said, her fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
Andrea just turned in her heel and walked away. As soon as she was gone Ryou came up to Ayane.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said quietly. "I hate her, does she have to make life miserable?" Ayane asked, her tone suddenly livening up.
"She makes fun of whoever she wants, she used to make fun of my um....accent." Ryou said, as he scratched his head.
"Oh well, she'll get what's coming to her." Ayane shrugged and headed off to their classrooms. Her face seemed to have lost a bit of its cheery glow though.
**************************************************************************** *********************
In class, Ayane was not surprised to see Kaiba throwing a box in the trash can. She smiled a bit and took her seat. Kaiba soon joined her. He didn't look at her, but he didn't need to, to be able to notice she wasn't as cheery as usual.
"What's wrong with you?"
Ayane looked up from her desk. "Nothing." Was her simple reply.
Kaiba raised his eyebrow. He knew she was hiding something; he never liked it when people did that. Curiosity got the best of him so he tried to force the answer out.
"Tell me." He said.
Ayane looked up once more, her expression a bit different because she didn't expect Kaiba to be interested.
"Nothing, leave me alone." She said.
Kaiba, looked at her, his eyes examining her face. He didn't know this girl was capable of saying those words to someone. He knew something was wrong, very wrong and as much as he hated himself for doing it, he replaced his curiosity for concern.
"Tell me what's wrong Ayane." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
Ayane looked at him. His blue eyes weren't their normal cold icy and uncaring ones. Kaiba looked at her; her green eyes weren't their usual thoughtful, deep and happy ones. Ayane looked away.
"Why would you care?" She asked, in a hoarse tone.
(Amazing.)
(What is it Bakura.)
(You're friend and that Kaiba seemed to have switched roles or something.)
(Why?)
(It just looks that way, that girl just drew a wall around herself or something.)
(Leave them alone Bakura.)
(Yeah, sure, whatever you say.)
Back in her desk Ayane was thinking. Andrea had hit her where it hurts the most. She didn't know where that actually was but what matters was that it had been hit. Was she really a person someone could despise that much? Did everyone think she was stupid and that she only got in because of money? Her Mom was dead; did she really leave behind a daughter who was that low of a person?
Ayane buried her head in her hands. She had always tried her best, always tried to prove that she was more than just that girl from that family. Maybe it was time to give it up. Maybe she should just resign to the fact that there would always be people like Andrea, who lived to make life miserable.
Then again though, she was happy she found someone, who understood her, someone who she could open up to and not be criticized about it. She made a note to thank Ryou later.
**************************************************************************** *****************
Tea's eyes looked at the clock, slowly ticking on its way to dismissal time. The clock was going too slow, maybe its battery was dying out. The second hand seemed to take 3 seconds to tick.
"This day will never end." She thought.
She rested her head on her hands, trying to focus her attention to the teacher. It was no use though, her mind always wondered off to tomorrow, the big day. She sighed, she wondered what would happen.......
**************************************************************************** *******************
"Hey Joey."
"What?"
"Do you think I could get Serenity's e-mail?"
"Why?"
"Just want to write."
"I guess so."
Tristan grinned to himself. Silently, he thanked Joey for not suspecting anything yet. Finally, he would be able to talk to Serenity without the others interrupting. He smiled to himself, praising himself for being such a genius.
"I wonder why Tristan wants Serenity's e-mail." Joey thought.
**************************************************************************** ******************
After class, Ayane stood up and exited the classroom. She waited for Ryou, who headed over to her as soon as he was out of the classroom. They walked down the stairs and through the halls before Ryou decided to say anything.
"Ayane?"
"Hmm?"
"Is everything alright?"
Silence.
Silence.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Ayane said, smiling.
"Is there anything you wanna talk about?"
"No, don't worry Ryou, it's nothing." Ayane smiled.
Ryou smiled back, this was the Ayane he knew. He was about to offer to walk her home when he remembered something.
"Drat, I almost forgot!"
"What is it?"
"I have to go to the Library, meet up with my partner for the research." Ryou explained.
Ayane waved goodbye as she watched Ryou head in another direction, finally disappearing behind a corridor. Ayane sighed, she continued on her way down. When she reached the outside, she decided to rest a bit and reflect on some stuff. She found a large tree to sit behind, away from all the other people.
Ayane sat down and slowly closed her eyes. She breathed in the cool fresh air. The birds were singing in the background. Her hair was tucked behind her ear, the gentle breeze blowing it away from her face. Footsteps were coming towards her. Wait, footsteps?
Ayane frowned. She wanted to be alone right now, unless it was Ryou. She decided to ignore the footsteps, maybe they would go away. After a while the footsteps stopped. Ayane could feel the person standing behind her.
"So what's wrong with you today?" Kaiba asked.
She opened her eyes and stood up to come face to face with the blue-eyed wonder boy himself. Ayane smiled a little, she looked down.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
"You should be, but I'd appreciate it more if you answered my question." Kaiba stated plainly.
Ayane looked at him, her eyes examining his face. For a minute, she just stared, then gave up on trying to read the CEO's expression, he was too good at hiding it.
"It's nothing." She finally said, turning away.
She heard a frustrated sigh come from behind her.
"Ayane don't drive my patience."
"Why are you so curious anyway?" She asked, turning to him. "Did you make it your job to know?"
"I want to know, you better tell me." Kaiba said, his tone getting colder.
"It's nothing,"
"It's something, don't lie."
"Fine, but I don't want to tell you." She said coldly.
"Well you're going to." He said.
"Why do you care anyway? I'm probably just another waste of your time right? Everyday, I know it, everyone would rather be somewhere else than with me, so stop acting like you care!" Ayane exclaimed, her eyes threatening to spill with tears.
Kaiba was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Ayane sat down and pulled her knees to her chest. Her eyes were glaring at the ground, trying to keep tears from escaping. Kaiba didn't know how to react. If it were anybody else, he would have just walked away, but something was different.
Kaiba knelt down beside Ayane. He then sat and looked in another direction. He thought about what to say then said a quick "Nothing to lose anyway." To himself.
"Don't be like this, it's not you."
Silence.
Kaiba sighed, trying to swallow his pride. "Remember, that time you told me you didn't know I cared so much?"
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
"Maybe, I care....not that much, but I guess, a little." He said, feeling awkward.
Silence.
Silence.
"So, you're not going to tell me right? Well, I'll wait." He said.
Silence.
Silence.
"K-Kaiba?"
Kaiba turned to her but didn't say a word.
"Well, it's all because........
**************************************************************************** ********************
Ryou was sitting on his couch in the house. He looked to be in deep thought. Bakura materialized before him but he didn't notice. Bakura sat beside him but he didn't notice. Bakura waved his hand in front of his face repeatedly but he didn't notice. Bakura was about to punch him in the face, and that's when he noticed.
"Gyah! Bakura!"
"What? Just trying to get your attention."
Ryou gave his Yami a look and turned to him. "What about?"
"Well first of all, why are you so miserable?" Bakura inquired.
"I'm not."
"You've been thinking about what happened today."
"Yeah...."
"Why didn't you just let me send that conceited girl to the shadow realm?"
"I honestly don't think anybody would take it that far." "Want to try?"
Silence.
"Well, anyway, I have to commend you on at least trying to stop the woman." Bakura said.
"I wanted to protect Ayane." Ryou said in dismay.
"Ryou, that girl trusts you more than anyone else, I can sense it."
"Yeah right."
"No, she does, and you have to stop beating yourself up for what you couldn't do for her." Bakura said, taking sympathy for his light.
**************************************************************************** ********************
"So, it was that idiot?" Kaiba asked as Ayane finished talking.
Ayane just nodded. She was quiet and she didn't feel like moving. The wind blew, rustling a few leaves before a noise disturbed them. A cellphone ringing was heard and both picked up their own.
"Hello?" Both said at the same time.
Ayane looked at Kaiba and smiled as she talked into the receiver. Kaiba put his own cellphone down and leaned on the tree. Not really meaning too, he listened in on her phone conversation.
(This is going to be one sided, you won't hear the other person. Assume that after every line the person replies.)
"Hello?"
"I'm in school."
"I'll be home later, I-"
"You're waiting for me?"
"You don't need to worry you know."
"I know that but-"
"Fine, fine."
"Bye, love you too."
Kaiba's eyes widened. The person on the other end had a guy's voice,
Ayane pressed a few buttons on the phone before turning back to him. Kaiba quickly hid his expression with a look of curiosity.
"Who was that?"
Ayane eyed him. "My brother." She laughed.
**************************************************************************** *******************
Yugi stood in front of the mirror. What did Yami have that he didn't? He puffed out his chest and stood straight. Yeah, what did Yami-..
"Ouch!" Yugi yelped as he fell onto the floor. He had tried to step on tip toes to seem taller but sadly enough he couldn't keep his balance.
"Forget it, who am I trying to fool?" He asked himself. He sat on his bed and breathed a loud sigh.
Yami was taller. His facial features were much more appealing. Heck, he couldn't blame Tea. Yugi sat down and stared at the wall, pondering on what to do.
**************************************************************************** ******************
The air was silent again. Everything was silent. Kaiba and Ayane sat under the tree facing opposite directions. Ayane then decided to speak.
"Well, there I told you what was wrong." She said.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
"Kaiba?" "What?"
"Did you really mean what you said?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The one where you said, you cared?"
"Don't get your hopes up, I cared enough to want to know what happened didn't I?"
Ayane nodded. "Hmm, yeah, well, thanks"
Kaiba smiled to himself. He looked at his watch.
"Well, you've already wasted a lot of my time, I'm going now." He stated. He got up and walked away from her.
Ayane's eyes followed him. Slowly, he disappeared from sight. She sighed; it would take a lot of time before she could understand who Kaiba really was.
**************************************************************************** ************************
R.J: Aww , just when you thought Kaiba was about to care.
Joey: Kaiba's not capable of caring about anyone or anything else but himself, the company and Mokuba!
Kaiba: I care about how I'm going to cause you the most pain. (Clenches his fist.)
R.J: Okay......back to the fic.
**************************************************************************** ***************************
A night holds many stories in it. Tonight was not any different. Night in Domino, not everyone was sleeping. Somewhere a young girl was tearing her closet apart, looking for clothes to wear for a special occasion, a distance from that, another girl was on her computer, doing research for a science report. Somewhere a young boy was worrying about something he shouldn't be worrying about while on the other hand, another teen was on his computer, reading e- mail from his best friend's sister.
**************************************************************************** *********************
"Okay here goes nothing." Tea breathed. She took one last look at herself in the mirror before grabbing her bag and walking out the door.
She and Yugi had decided on meeting up in the park, it wasn't a long walk from both of their houses so she had no problem getting there. All the while, Tea tried to calm herself down. She kept grabbing the edge of her jacket and squeezing it. When she got to the park, Yugi wasn't there yet. She looked at her watch,
"Okay, so I'm a little early." She told herself.
On the other hand, Yugi was just getting dressed while Tea was already at the park. He straightened out his pants with his hand for the umpteenth time. Yami didn't know what his Hikari was up to so he decided to find out.
"What's the big occasion Yugi?" Yami's deep voice asked while he materialized beside Yugi.
"I'm just going out." Yugi said nervously.
"Then why are you so nervous?"
"Because,...I'm not nervous."
"Oh, I get it now, you're going somewhere with someone?" Yami asked.
"Yeah, and I need to impress her." Yugi said.
Yami gave a sly grin. "Who is the mystery girl?"
"It's Tea." Yugi said.
"Then why are you so nervous? I mean, I would understand if it were that other girl-"
"Ayane?" Yugi cut in a bit too quickly.
"Yes but since it's Tea. Yugi, she's your best friend. You've known her long enough to stop being nervous around her." Yami said.
"Yami, this is different."
"How so?"
"I don't know, it just is."
"I see."
Yami returned to the puzzle, just as Yugi was putting it on. Yugi walked out of his room and out onto the street. Slowly, he made his way to the park, making sure everything was in the right place. Shoes on feet, watch on wrist, eyes in face. He knew it was sort of silly to wonder about these things, but he couldn't help it.
He saw Tea sitting on a park bench. Excited, he ran to her, not looking where he was going.
(Yugi, watch out!)
Yami's warning was too late though. Yugi had run straight into a tree, knocking himself out in the process. He fell down onto the grass.
"Yugi wake up!" Yami called out desperately to his light.
Silence.
Silence.
Yami went into Yugi's soul room to find the boy lying down unconscious, (I don't know how the soul rooms work, bear with me.) He rean to his light and shook him vigorously.
"Yugi, wake up!"
The boy didn't stir. He was still knocked out cold. Yami panicked. What was he going to do to help his Hikari? He knew Yugi wanted to impress Tea, but he couldn't do this if he didn't show up.
"Yugi!"
Yugi stirred a bit. He opened his eyes, he had a weird smile on his face. He faced Yami.
"I want Tea to have a good time." He said like a little kid, the boy then proceeded to laugh, then went back to his unconscious state.
Not knowing what else to do, Yami switched places with Yugi. He stood up from the position Yugi was in and brushed himself of. He breathed a sigh and looked for Tea. He spotted her sitting on a park bench and then proceeded to walk over to her.
Tea looked up to see someone walking towards her. At first she thought it was Yugi but when the person came closer, she realized the person was much taller.
"Yami?" She asked herself. Yami got to her and she stood up.
"Hi Yami, uh, where's Yugi?" She asked, uncertainly.
"Well, he uhm...." Yami said, scratching the back f his head. "He got very sick, so he decided to make me go instead. He said he wanted you to have a good time even if he was really sick." Yami said remembering Yugi's words and, coming up with the best explanation he could make. He couldn't tell Tea Yugi had run into a tree and knocked himself out!
"Oh, is he alright?" Tea asked.
"Yes, he is." Yami said. "I believe you and Yugi were planning to see a movie?"
"Yeah, we were."
"Shall we go then?" Yami asked, offering his hand to Tea, who took it.
Yami lead the way to the theatre. Tea was blushing madly. She didn't know what to think. On one hand, she thought her crush was coming back, she was going to the movies with Yami. On the other hand, she was worried about Yugi.
**************************************************************************** *******************
Ayane got out of her brother's car. She waved goodbye as he dropped her off across the street from her destination. She picked up a white file case.
"Okay just call me if you need a ride home sis." Her brother said and with that he drove away.
Ayane watched as the car drove away. She then focused on the huge mansion just across the street. She saw a little boy playing just outside the gate, he had long black hair, she walked over.
"Hi, does Kaiba live here?" She asked.
The boy gave a big smile and nodded. "Yup, he's my brother, are you Seto's girlfriend?" He asked innocently.
Ayane raised her eyebrow and smiled. "No, but I'm his classmate, and I need to give him something." She said.
"Okay!" The boy said. "By the way, my name's Mokuba." The little boy smiled.
Mokuba led the way into the mansion. When they got in, he motioned to the huge staircase and started to run up it. Ayane followed and soon, she was following him as he walked through a hall and stopped at a door.
"This is where my brother does all his homework." Mokuba said. He opened the door and peeked in.
"Big brother, someone's here to see you." Mokuba said. There was a reply and Mokuba closed the door.
"You can go in now." He said, smiling.
"Thanks Mokuba." Ayane smiled. Mokuba smiled back and ran of somewhere else.
Ayane stood outside the door for a moment. She slowly opened it and peeked in. She saw Kaiba typing furiously on a computer. She closed the door and walked in. The room was long and the walls were covered by book shelves. There was a long polished wooden desk on the end of the room with a computer on it. She closed the door and walked over to Kaiba, who didn't notice her.
"Kaiba?"
Kaiba looked up. "Oh, it's you. Did you bring the research?" He asked, focusing on his computer once more.
"Nice to see you too." Ayane said. She opened her file case and pulled out a diskette. "Here, I saved it in this." She said.
Kaiba took it, and then dropped it on the desk. He then started typing again. He could feel Ayane peer over his shoulder, but gave no second though about it. After a while she spoke.
(Author's note: Just imagine whatever he's doing on the computer, I can't think of anything right now.)
"You know, I think you could do the work faster if you did this." She said, and then she proceeded to type something on the computer, which made the computer work twice as fast.
Kaiba looked at her. "How'd you know that?"
"I see my brother and sister do it all the time." Ayane shrugged. "Eventually, I tried it and I figured out how it worked."
Kaiba raised his eyebrow. He asked, (more like told.) Ayane to explain and he was surprised to see she had as much tech skills as he did. She helped him with the work and together they got it done quicker. He had underestimated what the girl was capable off.
"Thanks." He said, his tone still cold. He looked over to the diskette she had given earlier. He took it and put it into the drive. He opened the research and read it over.
"So you think that's enough?" She asked, looking at the screen.
"It'll do." He said curtly. He then opened up the internet. "I'll start on my part, I've already read some books but I need more data."
"Okay, well, bye." Ayane said. She started to walk away when Kaiba called out to her.
"Hey, Ayane."
"Hmm?"
"There are a lot of books here on your topics, if you want to, you could try and research...." Kaiba trailed off.
Ayane smiled. "Sure, okay."
Kaiba thought while he was clicking on the computer. He always felt different when she was around. He didn't find he could talk to her about anything else but school, although there were times when he wanted too, until yesterday. Ayane, he didn't know.....made him feel human. Why was she so different? Why did he not feel like being as cold and mean to her as he usually was to people. He looked to where she was sitting on one of the couches, reading a book and taking down notes in a notebook. He smiled, then shook his head and frowned again.
**************************************************************************** *************************
Yami and Tea got to the movie theatre about 30 minutes before the movie was scheduled to start. They bought tickets and then went to the snack counter.
"Would you like something Tea?" Yami asked.
"Uh sure," Both walked over. "Just some popcorn, and a soda." Tea said.
"Okay," Yami nodded. He gave the order along with what he wanted. When they were about to pay for the food, Tea took out her wallet but Yami stopped her.
"No, I'll take care of this Tea." He said as he took out Yugi's wallet and fiddled through it. Unfortunately, he wasn't familiar with the money.
"Uhm, er...uh?" Yami muttered to himself. People who were in line and the people passing buy stared at him, thinking, how can a teenager not know how to count money? Tea laughed a bit before taking the wallet.
"Here, let me." She said. They paid for the food and went into the movie theatre. The place was dark but still fairly empty because the movie would start 30 minutes from now.
Both sat down. They were silent. Tea thanked god that it was dark so Yami couldn't see her blushing. She kept fiddling with her jacket. Yami on the other hand was watching Tea curiously. He took of his own Jacket and handed it to her.
"Here."
"Huh?" She asked taking it.
"Is there something wrong with yours? Because it seems like you can't keep your hands off it, and you keep fidgeting."
Tea smiled. "Uh, no, I'm just e-excited, yeah, I'm excited, can't wait for the movie to start." She said.
"Nice going Tea, you've practically convinced Yami that you have epilepsy!" She thought to herself. She tried to give Yami back his jacket but unfortunately, she had bumped his hand while he was getting the soda, causing him to let go off the soda and spill it on her.
"Eeek!" Tea squealed, loud enough for the whole theatre to hear. She was wearing a skirt (you know, like the one she wears during the first episodes.) and the soda was ice cold. She stood up and hopped up and down, the soda, including a few ice cubes had spilled onto her legs and had spilled onto her sandals.
"Tea, I am sorry!" Yami exclaimed as he tried to calm Tea down, unfortunately he slipped on some of the soda and fell down, dragging Tea with him.
They stayed in that position, staring at each others eyes, not knowing what to think. Some people started giving them looks so both scrambled to their feet. They got out of the movie house and sat down on a bench outside.
"Forgive me Tea, I must've ruined your whole day." Yami said.
"Actually..... I've never had so much fun before!" Tea laughed.
**************************************************************************** **********************
"Kaiba, I have to go now." Ayane said, as she returned a book to the shelf.
"Whatever, don't let the door hit you on the way out." He smirked.
Ayane smiled at him. "See you on Monday."
Ayane went out and closed the door. She found Mokuba playing with a yoyo just a few feet from the door. He looked up and smiled.
"What did you and Seto do?" He asks innocently.
"Well, we had to look for lots of information, because we have a report to do." Ayane smiled.
"That sounds boring." He said. "Hey, want to see me do a trick?" He asked as Ayane followed him down the stairs.
"Sure." She smiled.
Mokuba began to roll his Yoyo up and down and then started to roll it away from him. He then tried to do a trick, but the yoyo didn't follow and it hit the wall and stopped spinning.
"Aww, I need more practice." He said. Ayane looked at him and smiled.
"Do you want me to show you a trick?" She asked.
Mokuba smiled and handed her the yoyo. She then proceeded to wind it back up. After which she rolled it up and down, just to get the feel of it, then she did a trick called "walking the dog", she then brought the Yoyo back up and pulled different parts of the string to make a cat's cradle. (That is what they're called right, you know, when the yoyo is swinging in the middle of a triangle?)
"Wow, you're really good!" Mokuba said as his eyes lit up.
"I used to play with these things when I was a little kid." She said and handed back the yoyo.
"Could you teach me the last one you did?" He asked.
"Well, sure, now?"
"Yup, please?" "Okay, do you have an extra Yoyo?"
"Yup." Mokuba answered as he pulled out another Yoyo from his pocket.
**************************************************************************** ***************************
Kaiba stopped typing on his computer and looked around the room. It was empty except for him. The way it usually was, but knowing that someone had actually been here keeping him company made him want to be with someone, anyone. Mokuba never came in the study. It was the one place in the mansion he had never set foot in. He said he didn't like to see his big brother so serious and stressed while he was working, and he said that his big brother never smiled when he was in the study.
Kaiba smiled to himself and stood up. He thought he might see where Mokuba was, probably playing. He opened the door, a bit surprised to see Mokuba wasn't waiting where he usually did. He looked down the first floor where he saw Mokuba playing wit his yoyos with some one else.
Kaiba looked closer and saw it was Ayane. He leaned on the railing and watched as she taught Mokuba how to do different tricks on the yoyo. He listened as Mokuba gave off some "wows" and "cools!" as he watched her. He liked the sight he was watching. He liked to see Mokuba laugh, he liked too see him so happy. His cold blue eyes softened. He watched for a while.
**************************************************************************** **************************
Ayane gave the Yoyo back to Mokuba and smiled at the boy.
"Here, I better get going now" She said.
"Aww...." Mokuba pouted, then smiled. "Thanks for showing me all those neat tricks!" He said.
Ayane smiled at him and waved goodbye. Mokuba waved and watched as Ayane walked out the door. He closed the door and started to run up the staircase. He wanted to tell Seto that he wanted him to keep this friend.
"Big brother?" Mokuba called out.
Kaiba straightened up from his position on the railing and faced his little brother.
"Yes Mokuba?"
"I like your friend, she's very nice." Mokuba smiled.
"She's my classmate, not my friend." He said, but smiled all the same.
"Why? Don't you like her? Seto, she's very nice and funny, she's fun and I think she makes you feel Happy, I know it." He said.
Seto smiled at his brother. "Happy? Well, okay, but I still don't think she's my friend."
"But if someone makes you happy, they're your friend right? Big brother, it doesn't hurt to have one friend." The little boy said innocently.
"I know that Mokuba." Kaiba said.
"She likes you, I can tell." Mokuba said. Kaiba's eyes widened. "I know it, I can tell by the way she can stand around you and continue smiling." Mokuba continued.
Kaiba smiled. Mokuba always said those lines. "I know it big brother, there's a monster in there!" or, "I just know it Seto!" or anything of the like. Sometimes he had been right, sometimes he had been completely wrong. He didn't know about this one.
"Mokuba, it's dangerous to say those things." Kaiba said in a false angry tone.
"Seto, don't you like her?" Mokuba asked innocently.
Kaiba knelt down and ruffled his brother's air. "Okay, I like her a little, now don't tell anyone okay?"
His little brother smiled and ran off somewhere. Kaiba didn't know about what he said. Was it the truth? Kaiba didn't know, all he had in his head were misguided and confused thoughts. Maybe though, Mokuba had helped him clear it all up.
Kaiba walked back into the study. He looked to where Ayane was sitting just a few moments ago. He sat there and tried to think. Meanwhile Mokuba went into his room and walked up to his pet goldfish and started to talk to it.
"Hey, Sammy, guess what?" The little boy asked the fish. The fish just bubbled in reply.
"I think Big brother found himself a girlfriend! He doesn't want to admit it yet but I know he likes her. I'm glad cause you know she's very nice and she can do a lot of yoyo tricks. I think she likes big brother too. I can tell by the way she looks at him, or the way she says his name. I hope big brother doesn't loose her, I want to see him happy with something besides winning for once." Mokuba sighed.
The fish just bubbled in reply.
**************************************************************************** *********************** R.J: Well that's was certainly fun.
Yami: Yeah, I was in this chapter!
R.J: Okay so to all you guys leave a review.
Yami: Yeah, all of you can tell her how great I was and-
Bakura: Shut up Pharaoh! You've been at it for hours!
Yami: Got something to say tomb robber?
Bakura: Yeah, I got something to say right here. (shows fist.)
Yami: Yeah, well (both gets into a fist fight.)
Yugi: Yami stop it.
R.J: Ouch this is giving me a headache.
Kaiba: Alright, we'll leave the two dogs to their fighting, leave a review.
R.J: And to everyone, I wish you all a very merry Christmas!
Yami: Can I be in this chapter?
R.J: But you usually are...
Bakura: Yeah but he's complaining about how he's only a spirit, hehehe....
Yami: You would be saying that too, I mean at least you-
Kaiba: Alright we get it already.
R.J: You'll be in this chapter, the way you like it, I promise.
Yami: Really? Thanks.
R.J: Who wants to do the disclaimer?
Ryou: I do!
R.J: Alright, but first I'd like to do some thank yous. I'd like to thank my best friend C.T. for being there to make me smile, I'd like to thank myself, my fingers for typing, my brain for thinking, I'd like to thank you guys for providing...uh....
Yugi: Pre and post story entertainment?
R.J: Guess you could call it that. Ryou, do the disclaimer.
Ryou: YGO and anything related does not belong to her. On with the fic.
**************************************************************************** ***************
Ayane and Kaiba spent the longest time in the library, funny though, they were hardly speaking to one another. Though both looked like they were focusing solely on the science report sometimes their mind would wonder elsewhere.
When the time came that the library needed to close, the Librarian rang the bell. Both of the teens, finished up whatever they were doing and headed out the door. Eventually they got to the gates of the school where they had to go opposite ways.
"Bye Kaiba, see you tomorrow." Ayane waved, a smile on her face.
Kaiba looked at her and just turned around. He gave an inaudible goodbye and left. Ayane just tilted her head to the side and sighed. Her green eyes followed Kaiba until he disappeared. She then shook her head as if to shake away a wondering thought.
**************************************************************************** *********************
"Hiya Big brother, how come you came home so late?" Mokuba asked as he meted Kaiba in the door.
"Oh, Mokuba, I just had to do some homework in the Library." Kaiba said while ruffling the little boys' hair.
"Are you hungry?"
"No, I'm fine." Kaiba smiled.
"Well, could we play duel monsters? Please big brother?" Mokuba said, giving Kaiba a puppy dog face.
"Alright you win." Kaiba laughed.
**************************************************************************** ***********
Joey walked to his house, hands in pockets and staring at the sky. He was thinking about dinner, and how he was really hungry. When he got home, he was surprised to see some mail.
"Hey, it's from Serenity!" He said.
Dear Joey,
Hi big brother! I'm going to be visiting you sometime next year, a bit before the last month of school and I'll be coming home for Christmas too. I'm looking forward to seeing you and everybody else again. Please write back because you didn't write to me at all during the summer! Anyway, I'll see you then, bye!
-Serenity
P.S.: How is Tristan doing?
Joey smiled; it would be nice to see his little sister again. He took the letter inside and sat down on the couch. He took some paper from his school bag and began to write.
Serenity,
Wow, it'll be great to see you again! Sorry I couldn't write that often. Hehe, well anyway Tristan is doing fine, why'd you ask? There is a new girl in school; she's very nice, a bit too sensitive for my taste though. Other than that, everything's still the same. Glad you can make it for Christmas!
-Joey
Joey put the pen to his mouth and started to re-read the letter. He then decided to send it first thing after school tomorrow. He was curious why Serenity had asked about Tristan.......
**************************************************************************** *************
"Ahhh! I don't have anything to wear!" Tea moaned as she threw the 10th piece of clothing she had pulled out of her closet on to the bed.
She plopped down on her bed, not knowing what to do. She pulled her knee to her chest while her eyes stared at the white ceiling of her room. Not conscious of it, she began to talk to herself.
"C'mon get a hold of yourself Tea! Yugi'll like you the way you are!" Tea scolded herself, but then another thought occurred to her.
"But I do want to look nice!"
"Then again I should be who I am."
"Tea, why are you talking to yourself?" Tea yelled to no one.
Tea calmed down and let go of her knee.
"I need sleep."
**************************************************************************** *********************
The week whizzed by, soon it was Friday, lunch time and everyone in Domino High was eager to get to the weekends, each with their own reason, and since they only had 1 period left after lunch every Friday.....
"Ahh, I can't wait to be dismissed." Joey said, stretching his arms.
"Really Joey, you just got back from summer vacation," Tea said, inside though she was very eager too. She would be going on her date this weekend.
"It doesn't matter, a weekend is a weekend." Tristan said, while stuffing his mouth with food.
Joey was about to do the same when he remembered something.
"Oh yeah, have I told you guys yet? Serenity's coming."
"That's great Joey, when?" Yugi asked, right before Tristan almost spitted out all the food back on his plate.
"Yeah, when?!" Tristan, who now looked like a hyperventilating kid, asked.
"Oh, some time on Christmas." Joey replied.
Tristan's face fell. He then began to pick on his food, grumbling about how Christmas was too far away for him too wait.
"Who's Serenity?" Ayane asked.
"She's Joey's sister, she goes to another school though." Yugi said, while giving Tristan a strange look.
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be nice to meet her." Ayane smiled.
"Oh yeah. She's real nice." Tea said.
"And Pretty...." Tristan trailed off, no one heard him though since he was pretty much talking to himself.
"So anyway, do you guys wanna go anywhere this weekend?" Ryou asked, sipping some of his soda.
"Uhm, I sort of had plans." Ayane said, giving him an apologetic look.
Tea looked at Yugi, who was just poking at his food. She wondered if he was going to say anything. When nothing came, she decided to speak.
"I have plans too."
"So do I." Yugi said, in a quiet tone almost no one could hear.
"Oh, well I guess see you all on Monday." Ryou said, and with that, the earsplitting sound of the school bell sounded.
Everyone started to head for their classrooms, eager to get the last period over with. Ryou and Ayane proceeded to the UPL, Yugi, to the science lab, Tristan and Joey to room 203 and Tea to room 207.
While the two upper level students were heading on to the 4th floor, Ryou asked Ayane about what plans she had for the weekend.
"Oh, nothing much, it's just the amount of homework we have and I'm going somewhere to drop off something." Ayane shrugged.
"Oh, well I guess that makes sense." Ryou said, there was a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Is something wrong Ryou?"
"No, it's nothing." He said smiling at Ayane.
"Hey Ryou, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure." Ryou said, perking up a bit.
"It's about-"
Ayane was cut off when someone bumped into her. It was Andrea (again.). She looked at Ayane like she was a piece of dirt. She crossed her arms.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our resident looser and her British pet." She said, a smirk appearing on her face.
"Hi Andrea, you give Kaiba another present?" Ayane asked.
"None of your business, you little snake. You know for an upper level student, you sure are stupid, didn't I tell you to stay away from Kaiba, you wench. Is that too much for your little brain to understand?" Andrea asked haughtily.
"Andrea, I'm so sorry you feel that way, honestly I don't think you should." Ayane said, her tone was unfazed, but inside Ryou could see her tone could crack at any minute.
"You're an idiot and you know it, the only reason you're here is because you're Mom probably paid the school. You probably couldn't do anything by yourself if you're life depended on it and I bet you're just a sorry little outcast." Andrea lashed out.
"Stop it Andrea!" Ryou said.
"Andrea, sorry to disappoint you but my Mom is dead and if you'd like to see my report cards I'll show them to you and you'll see I'm not an idiot (like you), and as for being an outcast, if being "in" means being like you, I'd rather be an outcast then." Ayane said, her fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
Andrea just turned in her heel and walked away. As soon as she was gone Ryou came up to Ayane.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said quietly. "I hate her, does she have to make life miserable?" Ayane asked, her tone suddenly livening up.
"She makes fun of whoever she wants, she used to make fun of my um....accent." Ryou said, as he scratched his head.
"Oh well, she'll get what's coming to her." Ayane shrugged and headed off to their classrooms. Her face seemed to have lost a bit of its cheery glow though.
**************************************************************************** *********************
In class, Ayane was not surprised to see Kaiba throwing a box in the trash can. She smiled a bit and took her seat. Kaiba soon joined her. He didn't look at her, but he didn't need to, to be able to notice she wasn't as cheery as usual.
"What's wrong with you?"
Ayane looked up from her desk. "Nothing." Was her simple reply.
Kaiba raised his eyebrow. He knew she was hiding something; he never liked it when people did that. Curiosity got the best of him so he tried to force the answer out.
"Tell me." He said.
Ayane looked up once more, her expression a bit different because she didn't expect Kaiba to be interested.
"Nothing, leave me alone." She said.
Kaiba, looked at her, his eyes examining her face. He didn't know this girl was capable of saying those words to someone. He knew something was wrong, very wrong and as much as he hated himself for doing it, he replaced his curiosity for concern.
"Tell me what's wrong Ayane." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
Ayane looked at him. His blue eyes weren't their normal cold icy and uncaring ones. Kaiba looked at her; her green eyes weren't their usual thoughtful, deep and happy ones. Ayane looked away.
"Why would you care?" She asked, in a hoarse tone.
(Amazing.)
(What is it Bakura.)
(You're friend and that Kaiba seemed to have switched roles or something.)
(Why?)
(It just looks that way, that girl just drew a wall around herself or something.)
(Leave them alone Bakura.)
(Yeah, sure, whatever you say.)
Back in her desk Ayane was thinking. Andrea had hit her where it hurts the most. She didn't know where that actually was but what matters was that it had been hit. Was she really a person someone could despise that much? Did everyone think she was stupid and that she only got in because of money? Her Mom was dead; did she really leave behind a daughter who was that low of a person?
Ayane buried her head in her hands. She had always tried her best, always tried to prove that she was more than just that girl from that family. Maybe it was time to give it up. Maybe she should just resign to the fact that there would always be people like Andrea, who lived to make life miserable.
Then again though, she was happy she found someone, who understood her, someone who she could open up to and not be criticized about it. She made a note to thank Ryou later.
**************************************************************************** *****************
Tea's eyes looked at the clock, slowly ticking on its way to dismissal time. The clock was going too slow, maybe its battery was dying out. The second hand seemed to take 3 seconds to tick.
"This day will never end." She thought.
She rested her head on her hands, trying to focus her attention to the teacher. It was no use though, her mind always wondered off to tomorrow, the big day. She sighed, she wondered what would happen.......
**************************************************************************** *******************
"Hey Joey."
"What?"
"Do you think I could get Serenity's e-mail?"
"Why?"
"Just want to write."
"I guess so."
Tristan grinned to himself. Silently, he thanked Joey for not suspecting anything yet. Finally, he would be able to talk to Serenity without the others interrupting. He smiled to himself, praising himself for being such a genius.
"I wonder why Tristan wants Serenity's e-mail." Joey thought.
**************************************************************************** ******************
After class, Ayane stood up and exited the classroom. She waited for Ryou, who headed over to her as soon as he was out of the classroom. They walked down the stairs and through the halls before Ryou decided to say anything.
"Ayane?"
"Hmm?"
"Is everything alright?"
Silence.
Silence.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Ayane said, smiling.
"Is there anything you wanna talk about?"
"No, don't worry Ryou, it's nothing." Ayane smiled.
Ryou smiled back, this was the Ayane he knew. He was about to offer to walk her home when he remembered something.
"Drat, I almost forgot!"
"What is it?"
"I have to go to the Library, meet up with my partner for the research." Ryou explained.
Ayane waved goodbye as she watched Ryou head in another direction, finally disappearing behind a corridor. Ayane sighed, she continued on her way down. When she reached the outside, she decided to rest a bit and reflect on some stuff. She found a large tree to sit behind, away from all the other people.
Ayane sat down and slowly closed her eyes. She breathed in the cool fresh air. The birds were singing in the background. Her hair was tucked behind her ear, the gentle breeze blowing it away from her face. Footsteps were coming towards her. Wait, footsteps?
Ayane frowned. She wanted to be alone right now, unless it was Ryou. She decided to ignore the footsteps, maybe they would go away. After a while the footsteps stopped. Ayane could feel the person standing behind her.
"So what's wrong with you today?" Kaiba asked.
She opened her eyes and stood up to come face to face with the blue-eyed wonder boy himself. Ayane smiled a little, she looked down.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
"You should be, but I'd appreciate it more if you answered my question." Kaiba stated plainly.
Ayane looked at him, her eyes examining his face. For a minute, she just stared, then gave up on trying to read the CEO's expression, he was too good at hiding it.
"It's nothing." She finally said, turning away.
She heard a frustrated sigh come from behind her.
"Ayane don't drive my patience."
"Why are you so curious anyway?" She asked, turning to him. "Did you make it your job to know?"
"I want to know, you better tell me." Kaiba said, his tone getting colder.
"It's nothing,"
"It's something, don't lie."
"Fine, but I don't want to tell you." She said coldly.
"Well you're going to." He said.
"Why do you care anyway? I'm probably just another waste of your time right? Everyday, I know it, everyone would rather be somewhere else than with me, so stop acting like you care!" Ayane exclaimed, her eyes threatening to spill with tears.
Kaiba was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Ayane sat down and pulled her knees to her chest. Her eyes were glaring at the ground, trying to keep tears from escaping. Kaiba didn't know how to react. If it were anybody else, he would have just walked away, but something was different.
Kaiba knelt down beside Ayane. He then sat and looked in another direction. He thought about what to say then said a quick "Nothing to lose anyway." To himself.
"Don't be like this, it's not you."
Silence.
Kaiba sighed, trying to swallow his pride. "Remember, that time you told me you didn't know I cared so much?"
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
"Maybe, I care....not that much, but I guess, a little." He said, feeling awkward.
Silence.
Silence.
"So, you're not going to tell me right? Well, I'll wait." He said.
Silence.
Silence.
"K-Kaiba?"
Kaiba turned to her but didn't say a word.
"Well, it's all because........
**************************************************************************** ********************
Ryou was sitting on his couch in the house. He looked to be in deep thought. Bakura materialized before him but he didn't notice. Bakura sat beside him but he didn't notice. Bakura waved his hand in front of his face repeatedly but he didn't notice. Bakura was about to punch him in the face, and that's when he noticed.
"Gyah! Bakura!"
"What? Just trying to get your attention."
Ryou gave his Yami a look and turned to him. "What about?"
"Well first of all, why are you so miserable?" Bakura inquired.
"I'm not."
"You've been thinking about what happened today."
"Yeah...."
"Why didn't you just let me send that conceited girl to the shadow realm?"
"I honestly don't think anybody would take it that far." "Want to try?"
Silence.
"Well, anyway, I have to commend you on at least trying to stop the woman." Bakura said.
"I wanted to protect Ayane." Ryou said in dismay.
"Ryou, that girl trusts you more than anyone else, I can sense it."
"Yeah right."
"No, she does, and you have to stop beating yourself up for what you couldn't do for her." Bakura said, taking sympathy for his light.
**************************************************************************** ********************
"So, it was that idiot?" Kaiba asked as Ayane finished talking.
Ayane just nodded. She was quiet and she didn't feel like moving. The wind blew, rustling a few leaves before a noise disturbed them. A cellphone ringing was heard and both picked up their own.
"Hello?" Both said at the same time.
Ayane looked at Kaiba and smiled as she talked into the receiver. Kaiba put his own cellphone down and leaned on the tree. Not really meaning too, he listened in on her phone conversation.
(This is going to be one sided, you won't hear the other person. Assume that after every line the person replies.)
"Hello?"
"I'm in school."
"I'll be home later, I-"
"You're waiting for me?"
"You don't need to worry you know."
"I know that but-"
"Fine, fine."
"Bye, love you too."
Kaiba's eyes widened. The person on the other end had a guy's voice,
Ayane pressed a few buttons on the phone before turning back to him. Kaiba quickly hid his expression with a look of curiosity.
"Who was that?"
Ayane eyed him. "My brother." She laughed.
**************************************************************************** *******************
Yugi stood in front of the mirror. What did Yami have that he didn't? He puffed out his chest and stood straight. Yeah, what did Yami-..
"Ouch!" Yugi yelped as he fell onto the floor. He had tried to step on tip toes to seem taller but sadly enough he couldn't keep his balance.
"Forget it, who am I trying to fool?" He asked himself. He sat on his bed and breathed a loud sigh.
Yami was taller. His facial features were much more appealing. Heck, he couldn't blame Tea. Yugi sat down and stared at the wall, pondering on what to do.
**************************************************************************** ******************
The air was silent again. Everything was silent. Kaiba and Ayane sat under the tree facing opposite directions. Ayane then decided to speak.
"Well, there I told you what was wrong." She said.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
"Kaiba?" "What?"
"Did you really mean what you said?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The one where you said, you cared?"
"Don't get your hopes up, I cared enough to want to know what happened didn't I?"
Ayane nodded. "Hmm, yeah, well, thanks"
Kaiba smiled to himself. He looked at his watch.
"Well, you've already wasted a lot of my time, I'm going now." He stated. He got up and walked away from her.
Ayane's eyes followed him. Slowly, he disappeared from sight. She sighed; it would take a lot of time before she could understand who Kaiba really was.
**************************************************************************** ************************
R.J: Aww , just when you thought Kaiba was about to care.
Joey: Kaiba's not capable of caring about anyone or anything else but himself, the company and Mokuba!
Kaiba: I care about how I'm going to cause you the most pain. (Clenches his fist.)
R.J: Okay......back to the fic.
**************************************************************************** ***************************
A night holds many stories in it. Tonight was not any different. Night in Domino, not everyone was sleeping. Somewhere a young girl was tearing her closet apart, looking for clothes to wear for a special occasion, a distance from that, another girl was on her computer, doing research for a science report. Somewhere a young boy was worrying about something he shouldn't be worrying about while on the other hand, another teen was on his computer, reading e- mail from his best friend's sister.
**************************************************************************** *********************
"Okay here goes nothing." Tea breathed. She took one last look at herself in the mirror before grabbing her bag and walking out the door.
She and Yugi had decided on meeting up in the park, it wasn't a long walk from both of their houses so she had no problem getting there. All the while, Tea tried to calm herself down. She kept grabbing the edge of her jacket and squeezing it. When she got to the park, Yugi wasn't there yet. She looked at her watch,
"Okay, so I'm a little early." She told herself.
On the other hand, Yugi was just getting dressed while Tea was already at the park. He straightened out his pants with his hand for the umpteenth time. Yami didn't know what his Hikari was up to so he decided to find out.
"What's the big occasion Yugi?" Yami's deep voice asked while he materialized beside Yugi.
"I'm just going out." Yugi said nervously.
"Then why are you so nervous?"
"Because,...I'm not nervous."
"Oh, I get it now, you're going somewhere with someone?" Yami asked.
"Yeah, and I need to impress her." Yugi said.
Yami gave a sly grin. "Who is the mystery girl?"
"It's Tea." Yugi said.
"Then why are you so nervous? I mean, I would understand if it were that other girl-"
"Ayane?" Yugi cut in a bit too quickly.
"Yes but since it's Tea. Yugi, she's your best friend. You've known her long enough to stop being nervous around her." Yami said.
"Yami, this is different."
"How so?"
"I don't know, it just is."
"I see."
Yami returned to the puzzle, just as Yugi was putting it on. Yugi walked out of his room and out onto the street. Slowly, he made his way to the park, making sure everything was in the right place. Shoes on feet, watch on wrist, eyes in face. He knew it was sort of silly to wonder about these things, but he couldn't help it.
He saw Tea sitting on a park bench. Excited, he ran to her, not looking where he was going.
(Yugi, watch out!)
Yami's warning was too late though. Yugi had run straight into a tree, knocking himself out in the process. He fell down onto the grass.
"Yugi wake up!" Yami called out desperately to his light.
Silence.
Silence.
Yami went into Yugi's soul room to find the boy lying down unconscious, (I don't know how the soul rooms work, bear with me.) He rean to his light and shook him vigorously.
"Yugi, wake up!"
The boy didn't stir. He was still knocked out cold. Yami panicked. What was he going to do to help his Hikari? He knew Yugi wanted to impress Tea, but he couldn't do this if he didn't show up.
"Yugi!"
Yugi stirred a bit. He opened his eyes, he had a weird smile on his face. He faced Yami.
"I want Tea to have a good time." He said like a little kid, the boy then proceeded to laugh, then went back to his unconscious state.
Not knowing what else to do, Yami switched places with Yugi. He stood up from the position Yugi was in and brushed himself of. He breathed a sigh and looked for Tea. He spotted her sitting on a park bench and then proceeded to walk over to her.
Tea looked up to see someone walking towards her. At first she thought it was Yugi but when the person came closer, she realized the person was much taller.
"Yami?" She asked herself. Yami got to her and she stood up.
"Hi Yami, uh, where's Yugi?" She asked, uncertainly.
"Well, he uhm...." Yami said, scratching the back f his head. "He got very sick, so he decided to make me go instead. He said he wanted you to have a good time even if he was really sick." Yami said remembering Yugi's words and, coming up with the best explanation he could make. He couldn't tell Tea Yugi had run into a tree and knocked himself out!
"Oh, is he alright?" Tea asked.
"Yes, he is." Yami said. "I believe you and Yugi were planning to see a movie?"
"Yeah, we were."
"Shall we go then?" Yami asked, offering his hand to Tea, who took it.
Yami lead the way to the theatre. Tea was blushing madly. She didn't know what to think. On one hand, she thought her crush was coming back, she was going to the movies with Yami. On the other hand, she was worried about Yugi.
**************************************************************************** *******************
Ayane got out of her brother's car. She waved goodbye as he dropped her off across the street from her destination. She picked up a white file case.
"Okay just call me if you need a ride home sis." Her brother said and with that he drove away.
Ayane watched as the car drove away. She then focused on the huge mansion just across the street. She saw a little boy playing just outside the gate, he had long black hair, she walked over.
"Hi, does Kaiba live here?" She asked.
The boy gave a big smile and nodded. "Yup, he's my brother, are you Seto's girlfriend?" He asked innocently.
Ayane raised her eyebrow and smiled. "No, but I'm his classmate, and I need to give him something." She said.
"Okay!" The boy said. "By the way, my name's Mokuba." The little boy smiled.
Mokuba led the way into the mansion. When they got in, he motioned to the huge staircase and started to run up it. Ayane followed and soon, she was following him as he walked through a hall and stopped at a door.
"This is where my brother does all his homework." Mokuba said. He opened the door and peeked in.
"Big brother, someone's here to see you." Mokuba said. There was a reply and Mokuba closed the door.
"You can go in now." He said, smiling.
"Thanks Mokuba." Ayane smiled. Mokuba smiled back and ran of somewhere else.
Ayane stood outside the door for a moment. She slowly opened it and peeked in. She saw Kaiba typing furiously on a computer. She closed the door and walked in. The room was long and the walls were covered by book shelves. There was a long polished wooden desk on the end of the room with a computer on it. She closed the door and walked over to Kaiba, who didn't notice her.
"Kaiba?"
Kaiba looked up. "Oh, it's you. Did you bring the research?" He asked, focusing on his computer once more.
"Nice to see you too." Ayane said. She opened her file case and pulled out a diskette. "Here, I saved it in this." She said.
Kaiba took it, and then dropped it on the desk. He then started typing again. He could feel Ayane peer over his shoulder, but gave no second though about it. After a while she spoke.
(Author's note: Just imagine whatever he's doing on the computer, I can't think of anything right now.)
"You know, I think you could do the work faster if you did this." She said, and then she proceeded to type something on the computer, which made the computer work twice as fast.
Kaiba looked at her. "How'd you know that?"
"I see my brother and sister do it all the time." Ayane shrugged. "Eventually, I tried it and I figured out how it worked."
Kaiba raised his eyebrow. He asked, (more like told.) Ayane to explain and he was surprised to see she had as much tech skills as he did. She helped him with the work and together they got it done quicker. He had underestimated what the girl was capable off.
"Thanks." He said, his tone still cold. He looked over to the diskette she had given earlier. He took it and put it into the drive. He opened the research and read it over.
"So you think that's enough?" She asked, looking at the screen.
"It'll do." He said curtly. He then opened up the internet. "I'll start on my part, I've already read some books but I need more data."
"Okay, well, bye." Ayane said. She started to walk away when Kaiba called out to her.
"Hey, Ayane."
"Hmm?"
"There are a lot of books here on your topics, if you want to, you could try and research...." Kaiba trailed off.
Ayane smiled. "Sure, okay."
Kaiba thought while he was clicking on the computer. He always felt different when she was around. He didn't find he could talk to her about anything else but school, although there were times when he wanted too, until yesterday. Ayane, he didn't know.....made him feel human. Why was she so different? Why did he not feel like being as cold and mean to her as he usually was to people. He looked to where she was sitting on one of the couches, reading a book and taking down notes in a notebook. He smiled, then shook his head and frowned again.
**************************************************************************** *************************
Yami and Tea got to the movie theatre about 30 minutes before the movie was scheduled to start. They bought tickets and then went to the snack counter.
"Would you like something Tea?" Yami asked.
"Uh sure," Both walked over. "Just some popcorn, and a soda." Tea said.
"Okay," Yami nodded. He gave the order along with what he wanted. When they were about to pay for the food, Tea took out her wallet but Yami stopped her.
"No, I'll take care of this Tea." He said as he took out Yugi's wallet and fiddled through it. Unfortunately, he wasn't familiar with the money.
"Uhm, er...uh?" Yami muttered to himself. People who were in line and the people passing buy stared at him, thinking, how can a teenager not know how to count money? Tea laughed a bit before taking the wallet.
"Here, let me." She said. They paid for the food and went into the movie theatre. The place was dark but still fairly empty because the movie would start 30 minutes from now.
Both sat down. They were silent. Tea thanked god that it was dark so Yami couldn't see her blushing. She kept fiddling with her jacket. Yami on the other hand was watching Tea curiously. He took of his own Jacket and handed it to her.
"Here."
"Huh?" She asked taking it.
"Is there something wrong with yours? Because it seems like you can't keep your hands off it, and you keep fidgeting."
Tea smiled. "Uh, no, I'm just e-excited, yeah, I'm excited, can't wait for the movie to start." She said.
"Nice going Tea, you've practically convinced Yami that you have epilepsy!" She thought to herself. She tried to give Yami back his jacket but unfortunately, she had bumped his hand while he was getting the soda, causing him to let go off the soda and spill it on her.
"Eeek!" Tea squealed, loud enough for the whole theatre to hear. She was wearing a skirt (you know, like the one she wears during the first episodes.) and the soda was ice cold. She stood up and hopped up and down, the soda, including a few ice cubes had spilled onto her legs and had spilled onto her sandals.
"Tea, I am sorry!" Yami exclaimed as he tried to calm Tea down, unfortunately he slipped on some of the soda and fell down, dragging Tea with him.
They stayed in that position, staring at each others eyes, not knowing what to think. Some people started giving them looks so both scrambled to their feet. They got out of the movie house and sat down on a bench outside.
"Forgive me Tea, I must've ruined your whole day." Yami said.
"Actually..... I've never had so much fun before!" Tea laughed.
**************************************************************************** **********************
"Kaiba, I have to go now." Ayane said, as she returned a book to the shelf.
"Whatever, don't let the door hit you on the way out." He smirked.
Ayane smiled at him. "See you on Monday."
Ayane went out and closed the door. She found Mokuba playing with a yoyo just a few feet from the door. He looked up and smiled.
"What did you and Seto do?" He asks innocently.
"Well, we had to look for lots of information, because we have a report to do." Ayane smiled.
"That sounds boring." He said. "Hey, want to see me do a trick?" He asked as Ayane followed him down the stairs.
"Sure." She smiled.
Mokuba began to roll his Yoyo up and down and then started to roll it away from him. He then tried to do a trick, but the yoyo didn't follow and it hit the wall and stopped spinning.
"Aww, I need more practice." He said. Ayane looked at him and smiled.
"Do you want me to show you a trick?" She asked.
Mokuba smiled and handed her the yoyo. She then proceeded to wind it back up. After which she rolled it up and down, just to get the feel of it, then she did a trick called "walking the dog", she then brought the Yoyo back up and pulled different parts of the string to make a cat's cradle. (That is what they're called right, you know, when the yoyo is swinging in the middle of a triangle?)
"Wow, you're really good!" Mokuba said as his eyes lit up.
"I used to play with these things when I was a little kid." She said and handed back the yoyo.
"Could you teach me the last one you did?" He asked.
"Well, sure, now?"
"Yup, please?" "Okay, do you have an extra Yoyo?"
"Yup." Mokuba answered as he pulled out another Yoyo from his pocket.
**************************************************************************** ***************************
Kaiba stopped typing on his computer and looked around the room. It was empty except for him. The way it usually was, but knowing that someone had actually been here keeping him company made him want to be with someone, anyone. Mokuba never came in the study. It was the one place in the mansion he had never set foot in. He said he didn't like to see his big brother so serious and stressed while he was working, and he said that his big brother never smiled when he was in the study.
Kaiba smiled to himself and stood up. He thought he might see where Mokuba was, probably playing. He opened the door, a bit surprised to see Mokuba wasn't waiting where he usually did. He looked down the first floor where he saw Mokuba playing wit his yoyos with some one else.
Kaiba looked closer and saw it was Ayane. He leaned on the railing and watched as she taught Mokuba how to do different tricks on the yoyo. He listened as Mokuba gave off some "wows" and "cools!" as he watched her. He liked the sight he was watching. He liked to see Mokuba laugh, he liked too see him so happy. His cold blue eyes softened. He watched for a while.
**************************************************************************** **************************
Ayane gave the Yoyo back to Mokuba and smiled at the boy.
"Here, I better get going now" She said.
"Aww...." Mokuba pouted, then smiled. "Thanks for showing me all those neat tricks!" He said.
Ayane smiled at him and waved goodbye. Mokuba waved and watched as Ayane walked out the door. He closed the door and started to run up the staircase. He wanted to tell Seto that he wanted him to keep this friend.
"Big brother?" Mokuba called out.
Kaiba straightened up from his position on the railing and faced his little brother.
"Yes Mokuba?"
"I like your friend, she's very nice." Mokuba smiled.
"She's my classmate, not my friend." He said, but smiled all the same.
"Why? Don't you like her? Seto, she's very nice and funny, she's fun and I think she makes you feel Happy, I know it." He said.
Seto smiled at his brother. "Happy? Well, okay, but I still don't think she's my friend."
"But if someone makes you happy, they're your friend right? Big brother, it doesn't hurt to have one friend." The little boy said innocently.
"I know that Mokuba." Kaiba said.
"She likes you, I can tell." Mokuba said. Kaiba's eyes widened. "I know it, I can tell by the way she can stand around you and continue smiling." Mokuba continued.
Kaiba smiled. Mokuba always said those lines. "I know it big brother, there's a monster in there!" or, "I just know it Seto!" or anything of the like. Sometimes he had been right, sometimes he had been completely wrong. He didn't know about this one.
"Mokuba, it's dangerous to say those things." Kaiba said in a false angry tone.
"Seto, don't you like her?" Mokuba asked innocently.
Kaiba knelt down and ruffled his brother's air. "Okay, I like her a little, now don't tell anyone okay?"
His little brother smiled and ran off somewhere. Kaiba didn't know about what he said. Was it the truth? Kaiba didn't know, all he had in his head were misguided and confused thoughts. Maybe though, Mokuba had helped him clear it all up.
Kaiba walked back into the study. He looked to where Ayane was sitting just a few moments ago. He sat there and tried to think. Meanwhile Mokuba went into his room and walked up to his pet goldfish and started to talk to it.
"Hey, Sammy, guess what?" The little boy asked the fish. The fish just bubbled in reply.
"I think Big brother found himself a girlfriend! He doesn't want to admit it yet but I know he likes her. I'm glad cause you know she's very nice and she can do a lot of yoyo tricks. I think she likes big brother too. I can tell by the way she looks at him, or the way she says his name. I hope big brother doesn't loose her, I want to see him happy with something besides winning for once." Mokuba sighed.
The fish just bubbled in reply.
**************************************************************************** *********************** R.J: Well that's was certainly fun.
Yami: Yeah, I was in this chapter!
R.J: Okay so to all you guys leave a review.
Yami: Yeah, all of you can tell her how great I was and-
Bakura: Shut up Pharaoh! You've been at it for hours!
Yami: Got something to say tomb robber?
Bakura: Yeah, I got something to say right here. (shows fist.)
Yami: Yeah, well (both gets into a fist fight.)
Yugi: Yami stop it.
R.J: Ouch this is giving me a headache.
Kaiba: Alright, we'll leave the two dogs to their fighting, leave a review.
R.J: And to everyone, I wish you all a very merry Christmas!