Alright everyone, here I present to you chapter 11! Yey! ~bows~ At least it's a quicker update! Not nearly as long as the last! So hope you enjoy and please leave a review. (By the way, I don't own YGO, so don't ask, thanks!)

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11. Love, Life, & Chess

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Three days had passed before Serenity found herself returning to the hospital to check on Kaiba's condition. It was now the weekend and she had nothing to do. There was nothing left that could keep her mind off of Kaiba now. For the past few days, after the scene between her and Kaiba at the hospital had unfolded, she had found herself busy every second of the day. She had caught up on and was even ahead on schoolwork, had prepared huge meals for Joey, had even cleaned their whole apartment, anything to keep her mind busy and off of him. Seto Kaiba. And yet her mind wandered back to him every spare second she had. So, when Saturday came around and there was nothing left for her to do, she found herself once again at the hospital's entrance.

'I am not going to visit him, I'm merely checking on his condition, that's all.' Serenity glared against the afternoon sunlight that reflected off of the hospital windows. 'I'll just stop in really quick, that's all…'

Once inside, she made her way up to the second floor lobby in order to inquire about his status. Shying her eyes away from the direction that his room lay in, she began to approach the main desk, only to find…no one there.

'Hmm that's strange…' she thought. 'I wonder where the receptionist has disappeared to…?'

Looking around in all directions, she still failed to notice anyone. The hallways remained quiet in the late afternoon haze. Serenity's eyes once again drifted to the doorway of Kaiba's room. 'That's weird,' she thought, 'his door is actually…open?' All of a sudden a voice was heard coming from out of that very room.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHO THE HELL YOU ARE OR WHO GAVE YOU YOUR ORDERS! I WANT YOU TO GIVE ME MY FUCKING COMPUTER BACK ALREADY! YOU GOT THAT? OR ARE YOU TOO STUPID TO KNOW WHO I AM? I'M SETO FUCKING KAIBA AND I COULD HAVE YOUR ASS FIRED ANYTIME I DAMN WELL PLEASE SO YOU BETTER DO WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU AND GIVE IT BACK LIKE A GOOD LITTLE GIRL!"

Serenity paled. 'Oh no…that's Seto…'

Another voice drifted out of the open door, this time the voice of a woman. "I'm sorry Sir but I just can't do that! The doctor ordered that you not be placed under any unnecessary stress! I'm sure you're company will do just fine! Now please, Sir, CALM DOWN!"

Serenity watched as a young, dark-haired woman exited his room, pulling the door shut on a ranting Kaiba behind her. She let out an exasperated sigh as she headed towards Serenity.

"I'm sorry, Miss," she said to Serenity as she neared her, "He's been one of our more unruly patients." She nodded her head towards Kaiba's now-closed door. "He's recovering from a surgery and won't listen to what's good for him." She shook her head. "It's been hell for me, though."

Serenity tried to smile while the woman talked. "Are you the receptionist?" she asked the woman.

The woman nodded. "Yes, I am. And I'm sorry that you had to hear that. But now that everything is a bit calmer, how can I help you?"

A blush started to find its way up Serenity's cheeks. "Well…actually…I came to inquire about…him." She pointed towards Seto's door.

"Oh." replied the receptionist, "I see. Well…he's…quite "energetic" I guess you could say…"

Serenity nodded in response as the woman went on.

"Ummmm…it's true that he's been a real pain, but I guess he's bored to death in there." She smiled. "At least that's what he says. But he could really use a visitor right about now; I bet that would cheer him up. So far I've only seen his younger brother come to visit…no one else has been here at all."

"Oh, I see." Serenity responded quietly, her cheeks still aflame. 'Maybe…he could use a visitor…' she thought, 'Maybe…I should try to cheer him up, once again? I mean, he has a reason for being so mean right now, right? He's probably in a lot of pain…and the things he said the other day…I can't just leave that between us, right? He saves me, and then I abandon him?' Serenity groaned mentally. 'Why does he have to make showing gratitude so hard?'

"Ok then…" she heard herself say, "I'll see what he's up to…"

"Thank you, Miss." the receptionist replied. "Hopefully…he won't yell at you…he's been in quite a bad mood lately, the last few days in particular." She shook her head. "I just don't know what's wrong with him." She looked up and smiled cheerily at Serenity. "Mentally that is."

Serenity smiled back. "I don't know either." As the receptionist walked past her and towards the main desk again, Serenity remained stationary, her body not yet ready to move towards the door. 'I don't know about this…'

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'Damn it!' Kaiba swore mentally, still angry at the fact that they had his laptop and refused to give it back. 'This is all such shit.'

Sitting at the table in his room in his usual trenchcoat attire, Kaiba still fumed mentally. He had gotten his way with almost everything, including a ban on all hospital food as well as that stupid gown they had made him wear…but he still couldn't get back his laptop, no matter how loud he had yelled. And he had yelled loud.

"Why don't they just give it up already…" he muttered, "I'll be out of here in a few days anyway…" Sitting with his arms crossed, he frowned and looked at what lay upon the table. A glass chessboard was set up on it, the pieces all in line.

"Stupid girl…" he muttered, and then reached out and picked up the Knight piece on the board. He felt his anger start to die down as he gazed at the glass crystal piece in his hand. The Knight had always been his favorite piece for some reason, and lately he had found himself studying it more often and thinking about where it had come from. The girl. Serenity. 'I really must be bored out of my mind…' he thought.

His mind flashed back to when Mokuba had found the bag that had contained the game board. It was the day after he had last seen her, and right away he had recognized that she had been the one to leave it.

"We should really play it!" Mokuba had told him, "It will be fun! Then you can play Serenity too when she comes back, she's really sweet, I like her a –"

"Mokuba, that's enough. I don't want to talk about her so just stop. And I don't feel like playing right now."

Mokuba had simply set the box back down on the table without another word. 'That was strange of him…' thought Seto, 'usually he's so…persistent.'

As Seto slowly turned the glass piece in his hand, light coming from the window reflected off of it and made it shine like a light in his hand. "Stupid girl…" he muttered again.

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Her hand resting lightly on the doorknob, Serenity forced herself to take a deep breath and calm her beating heart. 'This has gotta be a mistake…' she thought, but her hand didn't move from where it was. She laughed mentally. 'Come on, Serenity, don't be a big chicken. Just go in and face him! Show him he doesn't scare you and that you won't take any more verbal abuse from him! Show him what a Wheeler is made of…' She gently turned the doorknob and walked into the room.

'Oh…,' she thought, upon entrance to his room. Her resolve died down instantly as soon as she has spotted Kaiba. There he sat, near the window. There was something in his hand, but she couldn't tell what it was from the distance where she stood. 'He looks…so handsome…' The light from the window behind him caught his brown hair and made it light up, giving him a quality that seemed almost…saintly. 'That's crazy' she thought, 'him, a saint.' But that's the way he looked. His face glowed golden and his white trenchcoat only added to the appearance. He looked up at her, his eyes shockingly blue, and his expression did not change. He merely waited for her to say something, anything.

'I can't believe she came back…' he thought. 'After all that I said…what could she have been thinking? But…I'm glad…'

"Seto…" she found herself whispering. She paused to swallow, and then continued. "How…how are you?"

He placed the chess piece back on the board and answered, "I'm fine. I'll be out in a few days…" he looked back up at her. "It's about time too, I might add."

Serenity nodded and closed the door behind her. "Well, I'm glad to hear it." She looked towards where the chess board was set up. "So…do you like it?"

Kaiba looked at her questioningly and then glanced at the board. "What? This?" He motioned towards it. "Yeah, it's fine."

Serenity nodded again. "I'm glad." An awkward silence passed before Kaiba asked her what she was doing there.

"Well…" she answered, "I wanted to say that I'm…I'm sorry for the other day. I really shouldn't have acted that way, I mean, I understand that you are in pain and all…" Kaiba snorted at this but Serenity chose to ignore him and went on. "so I guess…" she shrugged, "I don't know…"

Kaiba nodded but didn't respond.

Serenity looked around nervously, and then started walking over to where he sat. She sat down in the chair across from him, her eyes looking down at her hands that rested in her lap and her mind trying to come up with something to say that would break the silence. Kaiba broke it first.

"So…do you know how to play chess?" He looked at the board she had brought. "Like I said…it is quite boring in here…" His eyes flared back up at her in question. 'What am I doing?' he thought, 'This will only encourage her…' Despite what he was thinking he still waited for an answer from her. 'This isn't like me…'

"Well, haha, actually…" Serenity laughed nervously, "…no." She looked back up to see how Kaiba would respond to her, now that she had revealed her ignorance of the game. 'Does he think I'm retarded now?'

A bemused smirk made its way onto Kaiba's lips. "Oh, I see." Still staring at her, he once again crossed his arms. "In that case…"

"Yes?" interjected Serenity, hoping that he wouldn't tell her to get lost now.

"Well…" resumed Kaiba, "…are you willing to learn?"

Serenity's eyes opened wide in surprise at his proposition; this was one thing that she had never expected. "Does this mean…that you're willing to teach me?" she asked, hesitantly. 'What's he up to…' she thought to herself, 'Is this some kind of trick to make me look stupid…?'

"Well that's what it looks like." he answered, "I'll teach you if you want to learn." His smirk widened. "After all…you bought the game."

Serenity averted her gaze to her lap once again as she felt her cheeks go aflame. 'Stupid, stupid,' she scolded herself in her mind, 'look what you've gone and done…this is so humiliating…'

"Hey, it's really not that bad." Kaiba's voice caused her to look up from her hands. "With me teaching you you'll get the hang of it very quickly, I assure you." He pushed one side of the board towards her and scooted himself opposite her. "It only took a few times before I got the hang of it too, of course my father was teaching me and he was a master at it…" He started moving his pieces so that they were in perfect alignment with one another. Staring at the board in what seemed deep thought, he said quietly, "…but, of course,…he died a long time ago."

Watching this quiet transformation after he spoke about his father, Serenity felt in her heart a twinge of sadness for him. 'I don't think…he was talking to me just now…he looks so different…from before…'

"I'm sorry." she said quietly, her voice filled with feeling. "It sounds like he meant a lot to you…"

Kaiba looked up suddenly, as if for the first time realizing that he had spoken his emotion aloud along with his words. "Oh, it's nothing," he countered back, his shield up once more. "That was many years ago, long before Gozoburo adopted me and I became what I am today. There's no room for unpleasant memories in today's world."

"Yeah…I guess you're right…" Serenity quietly responded. Now she was the one lost in thought.

'Geez, this is great,' thought Kaiba sarcastically, 'now she'll never get off my back. Damn it! If only she would have known how to play the stupid game none of this would have come up…now she probably thinks I had a traumatized childhood or something…'

Serenity's gaze refocused as she looked up into Kaiba's face. His countenance had turned cold and he once again seemed as aloof as before. 'Guess he doesn't like thinking about his past…'

"Hey," she said to him aloud, "so what does this piece do?" She picked up the glass horse-shaped piece that was on her side of the playing board. "I think I like this piece the best; it's really pretty." She glanced back over at Kaiba again. The same bemused smirk as before was now back on his face.

"Yeah…" he replied, "I guess that's one thing you could call it." He picked up the same piece on his side of the field. "This one was always my favorite piece too, though I don't know why…" He looked up at Serenity. 'She's very…amusing…' he thought. Focusing back on her question, he began to explain. "This piece is called the Knight. It is able to move across the board in an "L"-shaped manner." He looked down and demonstrated on the board. "You are able to move it any way, forwards, backwards, to the side, it doesn't matter. As long as it follows the path of the L." He looked up at her. "Do you understand?"

Serenity nodded, feeling her cheeks heat up again. 'Kind of, anyway…' she thought to herself.

"Good." responded Kaiba, placing the Knight back in its original position. "The pieces on the end are called the Rooks. They are able to move horizontally or vertically in any direction." He glanced back up at her to make sure she was getting it, and then went on.

"The Knight then goes next to the Rook as you make your way into the center of your row."

'Geez…he's so technical.' Serenity thought. 'He acts as if this is a matter of life or death…it's just a game.'

"Next to the Knight rests the Bishop, which is able to move diagonally in any direction. The last two pieces in the middle are your Queen and King, the Queen being able to move any way at all, in any direction, while the King being able to move only one space at a time in any direction." He lifted his finger off of the King and then motioned to the pieces that stood in the row before the ones that he had just named. "And this row…all of these pieces are your pawns. They are only able to move forward, and only one space at that. There is an exception, however. The first time that they are moved they are able to advance two spaces instead of one." He stopped in his speech and glanced up at Serenity. "I guess that's enough rules for now. I'm sure you won't remember them all right away, but if you get stuck you can just ask me." He sat back with a smug look on his face.

'He really thinks he's all that now doesn't he?' Serenity thought, a bit annoyed by him taking her so lightly. 'Well, he may think he knows everything, but I'll show him that I'm not just some dumb girl who he has to spell everything out for…now which piece was the Rook again?' Serenity looked at all of the pieces that were on her side of the board. 'Then again…maybe my plan won't work out as well as I had hoped…'

Waiting as Serenity tried to make sense of all of his instructions, Kaiba laughed mentally. 'I bet she doesn't even know which piece is which…'

"Here." he said, "I'll start and then you try to follow. If it gets too hard then just tell me and I'll tell you what to do."

"Ok." Serenity replied, as he made his opening move. Although she eventually did lose the game, she was surprised by how Kaiba patiently helped her out every time that she blundered or made a wrong move…which, considering that it was her first game, was a lot. 'He really does seem to be enjoying himself…' she thought. 'He must love chess.'

Three games and three victories for Kaiba later, Serenity was ready to give up.

"So, you've had enough?" asked Kaiba, triumphant in his wins.

Serenity laughed lightly. "Yeah, I think I have." she smiled at him, "Thanks for teaching me, you were a wonderful teacher, but who ever knew that a game of chess could tire someone out so quickly?"

"Yeah…" Kaiba replied, "That's why I like it." He looked at her for a moment longer with an almost amused look on his face. 'She's…interesting…'

Feeling embarrassed under his gaze, Serenity busied herself by straightening up the pieces on the board.

"So…what do you usually like to do in your free time?" she asked him.

"Free time?" Kaiba repeated incredulously, and then snorted. "There's no such thing as free time for me. You know what they say, no rest for the wicked."

"I thought that was "weary"," replied Serenity, looking up at him.

"Yeah," said Kaiba, "That too." He glanced sideways at her and then looked away towards the rest of the room. "No…I really don't do much in my spare time…but maybe that's because I don't have any." He let out a sigh and then looked at her again. "Between school and running my own company, well…it doesn't leave much "free" time."

Serenity nodded again. She was proud of both of them at the moment, him for not getting mad and running her out and herself for actually coming in here. She smiled to herself. 'I think…this will work.' she thought, 'I think…we can become friends. He's really not as tough as he puts on to be.' She studied his face as he looked out the window. 'No…I really wouldn't mind getting to know him better at all…and maybe I can even get him to lighten up a bit…show him that he does have some "free" time…maybe…'

As the last rays of sunshine fell across Seto's face as he gazed out of the window, Serenity felt her own ray of sunshine fall onto her heart…and the source was Seto Kaiba.

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Ok everyone, that's the end of chapter 11! Wooo that was at least quicker now wasn't it? See, I told you guys I'd have this chapter up faster then the last! For awhile there I was really behind on schoolwork, but now that I'm all caught up and…well, it's time for more writing! Yey! So…how was this chapter anyway? Leave me a review and let me know please! Hmmm….so let's see what presents are in store for you this chapter…hmmm…well it seems to me that you all like Seto Kaiba, so I can't go wrong with gifts about/from him, right? So let me see…~rummages around~...ah, here it is! ~holds up key to Kaiba's mansion~ Let's see what I can find! ~Goes to Kaiba's mansion and rummages around in his stuff~ hmmmm…well lookie here! ~hold up BEWD pajamas~ I think these belong to none other then Mr. CEO himself! See, he tries to hide his cute, sweet side but he just can't! ~grins mischievously~ …at least not while I'm around! So anyway, that's the gift for this chapter, and, oh, here, I'll throw in this huge YGO Easter basket for all of you! (Yes I realize that it's a bit after Easter but oh well, it's still full of yummy chocolate and YGO!) So enjoy and please, in return, leave me a review! Comments, suggestions, criticisms, whatever, just please leave a review! Thanks a lot, you guys are great!

~Seren147