Whoa...48 reviews...I don't know what to say. Well, actually, I do. Here's
another chapter! Sorry it took me a while, my internet hasn't been working
lately. To those of you hoping this wouldn't turn into a romance, sorry,
but I don't think the romance part of the story is very prominent. It's a
small factor that I felt had to take place (you'll notice the genre for
this story is still angst, and that's how it will stay). In any case, I
hope you still like the story, regardless of this. Keep reading, and keep
reviewing.
***
"So, how come you can't attack with that monster?" Serenity asked, looking at the card Yugi had put down.
"That's one of the rules. If you use Polymerization to fuse two monsters together and summon a fusion monster, you have to wait a turn before you can attack with it."
"Oh..."
"Damn..." Joey muttered. "2600 attack...when'd you get a Skull Knight, anyways?"
Yugi and Joey had been playing a Magic & Wizards match for the past half hour, teaching Serenity the rules as they went along. Serenity learned quickly, and Yugi was sure that she'd make a great player, with some practice.
Joey frowned. It all depended on this last move...if he couldn't find a way to beat Yugi in this turn, he'd lose. He studied the cards in his hand intently.
After about two or three minutes of careful contemplation, Joey was about to set a card down when a deep voice said "Did you remember to draw, Wheeler?"
With a jolt, Joey realized he hadn't. Quickly, he drew a card from the top of his deck. He threw it down with a laugh. "I'll use Change of Heart on your Skull Knight!"
"What's that do?" Serenity asked.
"It lets Joey take control of my monster for one turn."
Joey took Yugi's card and put it onto his own side of the playing field.
"Next, I'll sacrifice your Skull Knight to summon Fiend Megacyber!"
He replaced Yugi's card with one from his hand.
Yugi sighed. He drew a card, shook his head, and waved his hand. "I can't do anything. You win, Joey."
Joey stared at his friend in shock for a moment, then threw up his fists in triumph "Alright! I beat Yugi!"
"Good work," Yugi said with a smile.
Joey grinned, then realized something. With another jolt, he whirled around.
Seto Kaiba stood behind him, arms crossed, a slightly amused smile on his face. "Who would have thought...Yugi Motou lost in a Magic & Wizards match..." he murmured softly.
"K-Kaiba! When'd you get here?"
"In time to save you from losing."
Serenity smiled. "Hello."
Kaiba inclined his head. "Hello, Serenity."
Yugi smiled at his classmate. "How are you doing, Kaiba?" he asked gently.
"Better...I think," Kaiba said. "It feels like he's at a friend's house, and any minute he'll call me for a ride home...The thought that that call will never come is what still gets to me."
The friends noticed that he was, indeed, better. His eyes were clear, but not mirrors. He looked at peace with himself. Yugi felt vast relief.
"Ya know," Joey said, "I think we need to do somethin'. Serenity just got here. I think we should celebrate."
All eyes turned to the blond. Tristan asked "What do we do, then, Joe?"
"I say...we take a trip to the beach. It's only..." he glanced at his watch, "Three-thirty on a Saturday. Whaddaya say?"
"I like that idea!" Serenity said. She loved the ocean.
"Sounds good to me," Yugi said. Tristan, Tèa, and Ryou agreed.
"Wanna come wit', Kaiba?" Joey asked
Kaiba surprised them all – except Serenity – by saying "I'll have Charles drive us."
He took out his cell phone, turned it on, punched in a number. After a few words, he closed the phone and put it into his pocket. "Limo will be here in a few minutes."
"A limo! How exciting!" Serenity said.
Joey chuckled, ruffled his sister's hair. "You act like a five-year-old sometimes, sis," he said.
Kaiba smiled at the two of them, reached up to his neck as if to grab something. He looked surprised to find nothing there, then turned to Yugi. "Yugi...do you still...?"
Yugi smiled, reached into his pocket, and handed the rectangular locket to Kaiba. "I've kept it for you. I knew you'd want it back at some point."
Kaiba looked at the chain. Seeing it was broken, he simply placed the locket into his breast pocket. "Thank you, Yugi."
"No problem."
***
Domino Beach was an extremely popular spot, but since it was the end of October there weren't many people there. Kaiba sat down on the sand and looked out at the sparkling water.
Tristan and Joey set up a net they'd brought with them, and they began playing volleyball. Tristan, Yugi, and Tèa were on one team, while Joey, Serenity and Ryou – who they'd picked up on the way to the beach – were on the other.
Kaiba eventually tired of watching the water and turned to the game. Joey was dominating. Tristan's team had no chance against him. Yugi was a decent player, but since he was only five feet tall, he wasn't much of an asset. Tèa and Tristan were good, but Joey was still the best player in the game.
Joey spiked the ball, and it bounced out of the court – which had been drawn out with a stick – and rolled over to Kaiba. He picked up the ball, about to throw it back to them.
"C'mon, Kaiba!" Tristan called. "Joey's killin' us! We need ya!"
"Hey!" Joey called. "Four 'gainst three ain't fair!"
"What's the matter?" Yugi asked. "Scared you'll lose?"
"What?! No way! Bring it on!"
Kaiba rolled the ball in his hands, considering.
'I wish he'd have some fun...'
Mokuba's letter jumped into his mind with a jolt. Kaiba sighed, looked once more at the ball, then up at Joey, who had his arms crossed, a challenging smirk on his face.
Kaiba mirrored the smirk. "You're going down, Wheeler."
***
As it turned out, Kaiba won the game for Tristan's team, which surprised them all. None of them had expected the teen businessman to be athletic. But what surprised them most of all was the fact that he had played in the first place. They could all see that he was in a better mood, but they hadn't expected him to actually play a game.
At about six o' clock, they left the beach. Joey suggested giving Serenity a tour, and Kaiba agreed. As Yugi and the others pointed out the various "hot spots" of Domino City, Kaiba leaned back and let his mind drift.
He felt as if the weight he had been holding on his shoulders since Mokuba's death were slowly being lifted. The pain was still there, but he found that it was only a slight, dull ache, as opposed to the gaping wound that it had been before.
He found it strange that Serenity, a girl he'd never met before and certainly hadn't planned on meeting at all, had helped him. Just by those simple words she had given him...those simple words that had shown him she cared.
Now, as he watched Serenity laughing with her brother and his friends, Kaiba felt an urge to be near her, to put an arm around her. Not in a romantic sense, no, of course not, just as a silent 'thank you.'
At least, that was what he told himself.
But as he studied her easy smile, her sparkling eyes, her shining red hair...he began to wonder...
***
"Wow..." Yugi said, looking at his watch, "it's almost eight-thirty. We ought to be going home, don't you think, guys?"
"Aw, c'mon!" Joey said, grinning. "It's the night 'fore Halloween, man!"
"Be that as it may," Kaiba said softly, "I'd like to send my driver home. He has a family of his own, and I'm sure he'd rather be there."
Crestfallen, Joey's grin faded. "Aw..."
"It would be quite tedious to drop you all off at your own homes...and I'm not sure where you all live, anyway. What I suggest is that you stay at my home for the night, and head home in the morning."
"Mansion party?" Joey asked, his eyebrows rising. His grin returned. "Mansion party!"
Kaiba chuckled, shook his head. "Very well, Joey..."
"Yeah!" he cried, throwing his fist in the air.
Serenity smiled at him. "Thank you, Kaiba. That's very nice of you."
Kaiba shrugged. "It's nothing."
He looked at the group of friends, saw each of them smiling at him, and finally understood why being nice paid off more often than not. These people – unlike those he dealt with at work – weren't out to get him.
But, though he felt good after having been nice, he wondered just what he'd gotten himself into, agreeing to have a party. Five teenagers – normal teenagers – having a party in his home? A recipe for trouble if ever there was one...
***
The party wasn't as bad as Kaiba had figured it would be. They were all awed by the sheer size of the mansion. Yugi claimed that just the front parlor was larger than his entire house. He wasn't exaggerating, either. The Kaiba Mansion was huge.
Kaiba put on some loud music so they could dance. He occupied himself by changing the songs every once in a while, getting drinks and such from the kitchen, and watching the others.
"Hey, Kaiba!" Joey said at around 9:45. "Why don't ya dance, too, man?"
"I already played volleyball today, Wheeler. Don't push it."
The blond laughed, shrugged, and went back to dancing. Kaiba wasn't surprised that Joey could dance. Athletic, energetic people like him usually could. He was surprised, however, at how good a dancer Tèa was. He remembered hearing that she wanted to be a professional dancer on Broadway or some such place, but he hadn't known she was that good. She seemed to be a spirit, gliding among her friends like a soft wind through trees.
But despite that fact, most of the night Kaiba was watching Serenity. He liked her. And that was a hard thing for him to admit. She seemed to be all a person should be: Kind, compassionate, intelligent. And, though he would dye his hair bright green before admitting it out loud, she was attractive.
She didn't notice Kaiba watching her. Yugi did, but he said nothing. He just smiled.
By eleven o' clock they were all ready to go to bed. Kaiba showed them to the guest bedrooms on the second floor. Serenity was delighted by the room he let her stay in. A large, elegant bed with a down comforter and flannel sheets and oversized pillows. Bookshelves lined one wall, and there was a large window overlooking the back of the estate. When she looked out, she could just make out in the darkness the angel statue that signified Mokuba's resting place.
She turned from the window, and went straight over to the books. She had always loved to read. She picked one out, a fantasy novel, and lay down on the bed. Flipping on a lamp on the end table to her right, she began to read. She thanked Kaiba over and over for paying for her operation. It felt wonderful to be able to see clearly again.
Close to midnight, she grew tired. She placed the book onto the table, turned off the light, slipped under the covers and fell asleep.
***
"So, how come you can't attack with that monster?" Serenity asked, looking at the card Yugi had put down.
"That's one of the rules. If you use Polymerization to fuse two monsters together and summon a fusion monster, you have to wait a turn before you can attack with it."
"Oh..."
"Damn..." Joey muttered. "2600 attack...when'd you get a Skull Knight, anyways?"
Yugi and Joey had been playing a Magic & Wizards match for the past half hour, teaching Serenity the rules as they went along. Serenity learned quickly, and Yugi was sure that she'd make a great player, with some practice.
Joey frowned. It all depended on this last move...if he couldn't find a way to beat Yugi in this turn, he'd lose. He studied the cards in his hand intently.
After about two or three minutes of careful contemplation, Joey was about to set a card down when a deep voice said "Did you remember to draw, Wheeler?"
With a jolt, Joey realized he hadn't. Quickly, he drew a card from the top of his deck. He threw it down with a laugh. "I'll use Change of Heart on your Skull Knight!"
"What's that do?" Serenity asked.
"It lets Joey take control of my monster for one turn."
Joey took Yugi's card and put it onto his own side of the playing field.
"Next, I'll sacrifice your Skull Knight to summon Fiend Megacyber!"
He replaced Yugi's card with one from his hand.
Yugi sighed. He drew a card, shook his head, and waved his hand. "I can't do anything. You win, Joey."
Joey stared at his friend in shock for a moment, then threw up his fists in triumph "Alright! I beat Yugi!"
"Good work," Yugi said with a smile.
Joey grinned, then realized something. With another jolt, he whirled around.
Seto Kaiba stood behind him, arms crossed, a slightly amused smile on his face. "Who would have thought...Yugi Motou lost in a Magic & Wizards match..." he murmured softly.
"K-Kaiba! When'd you get here?"
"In time to save you from losing."
Serenity smiled. "Hello."
Kaiba inclined his head. "Hello, Serenity."
Yugi smiled at his classmate. "How are you doing, Kaiba?" he asked gently.
"Better...I think," Kaiba said. "It feels like he's at a friend's house, and any minute he'll call me for a ride home...The thought that that call will never come is what still gets to me."
The friends noticed that he was, indeed, better. His eyes were clear, but not mirrors. He looked at peace with himself. Yugi felt vast relief.
"Ya know," Joey said, "I think we need to do somethin'. Serenity just got here. I think we should celebrate."
All eyes turned to the blond. Tristan asked "What do we do, then, Joe?"
"I say...we take a trip to the beach. It's only..." he glanced at his watch, "Three-thirty on a Saturday. Whaddaya say?"
"I like that idea!" Serenity said. She loved the ocean.
"Sounds good to me," Yugi said. Tristan, Tèa, and Ryou agreed.
"Wanna come wit', Kaiba?" Joey asked
Kaiba surprised them all – except Serenity – by saying "I'll have Charles drive us."
He took out his cell phone, turned it on, punched in a number. After a few words, he closed the phone and put it into his pocket. "Limo will be here in a few minutes."
"A limo! How exciting!" Serenity said.
Joey chuckled, ruffled his sister's hair. "You act like a five-year-old sometimes, sis," he said.
Kaiba smiled at the two of them, reached up to his neck as if to grab something. He looked surprised to find nothing there, then turned to Yugi. "Yugi...do you still...?"
Yugi smiled, reached into his pocket, and handed the rectangular locket to Kaiba. "I've kept it for you. I knew you'd want it back at some point."
Kaiba looked at the chain. Seeing it was broken, he simply placed the locket into his breast pocket. "Thank you, Yugi."
"No problem."
***
Domino Beach was an extremely popular spot, but since it was the end of October there weren't many people there. Kaiba sat down on the sand and looked out at the sparkling water.
Tristan and Joey set up a net they'd brought with them, and they began playing volleyball. Tristan, Yugi, and Tèa were on one team, while Joey, Serenity and Ryou – who they'd picked up on the way to the beach – were on the other.
Kaiba eventually tired of watching the water and turned to the game. Joey was dominating. Tristan's team had no chance against him. Yugi was a decent player, but since he was only five feet tall, he wasn't much of an asset. Tèa and Tristan were good, but Joey was still the best player in the game.
Joey spiked the ball, and it bounced out of the court – which had been drawn out with a stick – and rolled over to Kaiba. He picked up the ball, about to throw it back to them.
"C'mon, Kaiba!" Tristan called. "Joey's killin' us! We need ya!"
"Hey!" Joey called. "Four 'gainst three ain't fair!"
"What's the matter?" Yugi asked. "Scared you'll lose?"
"What?! No way! Bring it on!"
Kaiba rolled the ball in his hands, considering.
'I wish he'd have some fun...'
Mokuba's letter jumped into his mind with a jolt. Kaiba sighed, looked once more at the ball, then up at Joey, who had his arms crossed, a challenging smirk on his face.
Kaiba mirrored the smirk. "You're going down, Wheeler."
***
As it turned out, Kaiba won the game for Tristan's team, which surprised them all. None of them had expected the teen businessman to be athletic. But what surprised them most of all was the fact that he had played in the first place. They could all see that he was in a better mood, but they hadn't expected him to actually play a game.
At about six o' clock, they left the beach. Joey suggested giving Serenity a tour, and Kaiba agreed. As Yugi and the others pointed out the various "hot spots" of Domino City, Kaiba leaned back and let his mind drift.
He felt as if the weight he had been holding on his shoulders since Mokuba's death were slowly being lifted. The pain was still there, but he found that it was only a slight, dull ache, as opposed to the gaping wound that it had been before.
He found it strange that Serenity, a girl he'd never met before and certainly hadn't planned on meeting at all, had helped him. Just by those simple words she had given him...those simple words that had shown him she cared.
Now, as he watched Serenity laughing with her brother and his friends, Kaiba felt an urge to be near her, to put an arm around her. Not in a romantic sense, no, of course not, just as a silent 'thank you.'
At least, that was what he told himself.
But as he studied her easy smile, her sparkling eyes, her shining red hair...he began to wonder...
***
"Wow..." Yugi said, looking at his watch, "it's almost eight-thirty. We ought to be going home, don't you think, guys?"
"Aw, c'mon!" Joey said, grinning. "It's the night 'fore Halloween, man!"
"Be that as it may," Kaiba said softly, "I'd like to send my driver home. He has a family of his own, and I'm sure he'd rather be there."
Crestfallen, Joey's grin faded. "Aw..."
"It would be quite tedious to drop you all off at your own homes...and I'm not sure where you all live, anyway. What I suggest is that you stay at my home for the night, and head home in the morning."
"Mansion party?" Joey asked, his eyebrows rising. His grin returned. "Mansion party!"
Kaiba chuckled, shook his head. "Very well, Joey..."
"Yeah!" he cried, throwing his fist in the air.
Serenity smiled at him. "Thank you, Kaiba. That's very nice of you."
Kaiba shrugged. "It's nothing."
He looked at the group of friends, saw each of them smiling at him, and finally understood why being nice paid off more often than not. These people – unlike those he dealt with at work – weren't out to get him.
But, though he felt good after having been nice, he wondered just what he'd gotten himself into, agreeing to have a party. Five teenagers – normal teenagers – having a party in his home? A recipe for trouble if ever there was one...
***
The party wasn't as bad as Kaiba had figured it would be. They were all awed by the sheer size of the mansion. Yugi claimed that just the front parlor was larger than his entire house. He wasn't exaggerating, either. The Kaiba Mansion was huge.
Kaiba put on some loud music so they could dance. He occupied himself by changing the songs every once in a while, getting drinks and such from the kitchen, and watching the others.
"Hey, Kaiba!" Joey said at around 9:45. "Why don't ya dance, too, man?"
"I already played volleyball today, Wheeler. Don't push it."
The blond laughed, shrugged, and went back to dancing. Kaiba wasn't surprised that Joey could dance. Athletic, energetic people like him usually could. He was surprised, however, at how good a dancer Tèa was. He remembered hearing that she wanted to be a professional dancer on Broadway or some such place, but he hadn't known she was that good. She seemed to be a spirit, gliding among her friends like a soft wind through trees.
But despite that fact, most of the night Kaiba was watching Serenity. He liked her. And that was a hard thing for him to admit. She seemed to be all a person should be: Kind, compassionate, intelligent. And, though he would dye his hair bright green before admitting it out loud, she was attractive.
She didn't notice Kaiba watching her. Yugi did, but he said nothing. He just smiled.
By eleven o' clock they were all ready to go to bed. Kaiba showed them to the guest bedrooms on the second floor. Serenity was delighted by the room he let her stay in. A large, elegant bed with a down comforter and flannel sheets and oversized pillows. Bookshelves lined one wall, and there was a large window overlooking the back of the estate. When she looked out, she could just make out in the darkness the angel statue that signified Mokuba's resting place.
She turned from the window, and went straight over to the books. She had always loved to read. She picked one out, a fantasy novel, and lay down on the bed. Flipping on a lamp on the end table to her right, she began to read. She thanked Kaiba over and over for paying for her operation. It felt wonderful to be able to see clearly again.
Close to midnight, she grew tired. She placed the book onto the table, turned off the light, slipped under the covers and fell asleep.