--Chapter 9--
Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.
A/N: Hi! I'm back… with another chapter! In the last chapter… it was like… "How could Kaiba do that to Serenity? That was so mean!" but he's remembered to stick to the plan this time and he forced himself to dump her. So… to continue with Chapter 9, where the drama continues…
But before that, here are some answers to those who have been reviewing, and to those I am most grateful:
KatrinaKaiba and RoseGoddess874: that was pretty sad, Kaiba dumping her like that. But he tried to do something for his brother, although it was pretty unfair to Serenity... :( Thanks for the reviews and here's the next update!
Starwolf4: yeah, it should really hurt if you're dumped by someone. so i guess Kaiba does deserve getting water thrown on him. Thanks for the review!
svakee2000: ok! glad that u think there's nothing wrong with the story... thanks for the review!
yami and setos babe: aw! That's so sad... :( i wonder why Tori thought that it was getting weird. Well, what my friend said sure is true: Getting dumped is worse than being told that a person doesn't like you, or something like that. 'Cause getting dumped really, really hurts (Especially since you are close to the person.) Although one day I think your friend Jesse has to face Tori, when he's ready, cos he can't hide from her forever... :( I hope they get to solve the problem. You know what, it's a good thing that I was able to finish this today... I still have to work on my other stories, too, but according to your request... I'm gonna post this, cos tomorrow I'm not going to be homeso I can't post up anything. So I hope you like this chapter, and thanks for the review!
Once again, the Kaiba Mansion, Domino City…
This chapter begins with the two Kaiba brothers as they sit down in the lounge, Seto typing on his laptop and Mokuba was reading a thick sci-fi novel.
It was Mokuba who started the conversation. "Hey, Seto… do you know what?"
"What?" The older Kaiba asked, annoyed that he was disturbed from his work.
"I have a new girl. I met her 3 days ago, and she's everything you would want in a girl." Mokuba said dreamily.
The older sibling was shocked from what he heard. Did that mean… that his efforts to get rid of Serenity were useless? He felt guilty that he had dumped Serenity days before. He had done it without thinking. Deep inside, it was just the instinct to protect his brother that made him dump Serenity.
"Who-who is she?" Seto asked his younger sibling incredulously, hoping that what Mokuba was saying was a joke.
"Her name is Vanessa." Mokuba smiled. "You know what, Seto, I thought I liked Serenity Wheeler… you know, the sister of Joey Wheeler… but it turns out that I just like her as a friend. Though I haven't seen her for quite a long time."
'Of course you haven't,' Kaiba thought, 'because she was busy spending time with me.'
Deep inside, even though the older Kaiba brother didn't want to admit it, he had feelings for Serenity that was enough to make him clamor for her. He also resented the fact that Mokuba had gotten over Serenity and had chosen a different girl, while he couldn't move on.
'This must be some sort of karma after I sent her away. What the hell was I thinking? I can't let go of her… how could I have missed all the signs? We were meant to be… but I blew it.' He fingered the piece of paper that was tucked inside his pocket. That day, Seto Kaiba was deep in regret.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to pick out the outfits, of course. Don't tell me you forgot, Seto." Ellie reminded him sternly.
"Oh… the engagement."
Seto Kaiba sighed. He wished that he would just be engaged to Serenity and not Ellie, because no matter how beautiful Ellie was, she could never replace Serenity.
"Ellie… what would you do… if I met someone else and I fell in love with her?" he asked his fiancée, veering close to the truth.
Ellie gave the matter some considerable thought. "Well… you would have to tell me, because I don't want to marry someone who's evidently in love with someone else." Ellie answered. Then she raised her eyebrow. "Why are you suddenly asking me this?" she asked suspiciously.
Kaiba shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I was just… thinking, that's all."
"Okay. Then don't think like that anymore, okay? I don't think it's going to happen between us, because we love each other." She leaned over to give him a kiss on the lips.
Kaiba nearly flinched. There were no sparks, no electricity and he couldn't feel anything at all except discomfort, unlike with Serenity.
Ellie pulled back from the kiss. "By the way, where were you these past few days? I haven't seen you." She said, her face creased with concern.
"Um… I just… visited an old friend. And I was pretty busy." He fibbed.
If Ellie had doubted his answer, she surely did not show it. The two didn't hold any conversation until they reached the outfits shop.
Mokuba Kaiba paced around his room. He thought vaguely about the past events. It was true that he hadn't seen Serenity Wheeler for days. But what would he care? He met someone he finally liked, and who liked him back: Vanessa Kimagura.
She was sweet, sensitive and beautiful just like Serenity. She was quite similar to the Wheeler sister. Mokuba reminisced on their first meeting.
Flashback
"Damn, I'm late," Mokuba swore, looking at his watch. He had needed to get to Yugi's house before 4:00 P.M. It was already 3:50 P.M., and he was running out of time.
'Man! That line was really slow.' He thought. It was typical that the librarian, who had poor eyesight, was stuck with a long line of college students waiting to register the books they intended to borrow. Mokuba was one of those students, and he had to wait for a long time before he could check out his book.
Now he was running along the sidewalk. 'Thank goodness Yugi's house is close by.' He thought gratefully. The shop of Yugi's grandpa closed at 4:00 P.M. If he got there in time, he would still have time to look at the Mutou's Duel Monsters card collection. The Kaiba family owned an extensive collection of cards, too, but the Mutou's shop had many valuable cards in store.
"Ouch!" He heard someone yell as both their bodies collided at the corner of the sidewalk. Both teenagers fell to the ground and Mokuba looked at the person he ran into.
She was a dark-haired, beautiful girl who was probably 17, judging by her looks. Her curly locks flew past her shoulders, and sky-blue eyes stared back into his. Mokuba recovered from the transfixed moment and picked himself up, offering his hand to the girl. She took it and stood up, brushing dust off her skirt.
"I'm sorry for hitting you back there," Mokuba apologized. He felt very embarrassed in front of the other teenager.
"Me too." She said quietly in a very sweet voice. "I'm Vanessa. What's your name?"
"Mokuba. Mokuba Kaiba." He introduced himself hurriedly.
"Oh! Kaiba… as in the owner of Kaiba Corporation?" Vanessa asked, stunned by what she heard.
"Yeah. That's my brother, Seto Kaiba. I'm his younger brother… unfortunately, still too young to handle the corporation. Although I think Seto's gonna pass it down to me someday." He smiled.
Vanessa laughed shortly and said, "Nice to meet you, Mokuba. Or should I say, Mr. Kaiba?"
"No, just call me Mokuba. Hey, listen, you want to come with me? I'm going to the Mutou's shop. They sell Duel Monsters cards there." Mokuba offered.
"Sure."
End of flashback
Mokuba sighed aloud at the thought of Vanessa.
He wondered where Serenity was now, and if she was okay. He hoped she was. 'Hey, wait a second… Carlo said that Seto was with a brown-haired girl with brown eyes, too. Maybe it's Serenity he was with! I don't think he's ever met someone with that description before…' Mokuba realized but he didn't care anymore on whom his brother dated.
But in the meantime, Serenity was out of his life. It was now Vanessa who filled that empty space in his heart.
Seto Kaiba's bedroom, Kaiba Mansion, Domino City.
Ellie Hiragamo collapsed on the bed with the freshly washed Blue-Eyes White Dragon bed sheets. "That was tiring, Seto… come on over here." She beckoned to him, smiling.
Seto Kaiba followed his fiancée and dropped the shopping bag he was carrying on the floor. He joined Ellie and to his surprise, she locked him in a large hug.
"Seto, I missed you. You know that, don't you?" Ellie murmured, raining kisses on her fiancé's forehead gently.
Unfortunately for Kaiba, her kisses fell cold. He acted as if he didn't feel them. Which was half true for him.
"Listen, Ellie," he said, as soon as she had stopped kissing him, "I'm sorry. I can't get married with you."
He waited for the words to sink in. Ellie tried to respond to his statement after a few minutes of evident shock. But once she opened her mouth, he spoke again. "I know you're asking all these questions, like why do I want to do this and all that. But the truth is… I don't think that we're meant to be. You know, we're better off with someone else. Seriously."
"Are you saying this… because you found another girl?" Ellie asked, the hurt showing on her face.
Kaiba looked away. He chose to ignore her question. "You see, Ellie, to tell you the truth… I didn't know how this engagement started in the first place." He continued.
"You still didn't answer my question." Ellie murmured stubbornly. She was crying right now.
"Don't cry, Ellie, please. You're going to make this hard for me." Seto remarked, brushing off her tears. But she stopped him. "Don't, okay?" she practically whispered.
"I just want to tell you this… I know it's going to be hard for the both of us, but…" he paused. "…but I just don't love you." He was feeling guilty because now he was hurting Ellie.
"Will you tell me who you've fallen in love with?" Ellie said, after a few moments of tears.
"I feel sick, Ellie." Kaiba told her, ignoring her question once more. "I can't eat, sleep, and I feel so guilty." In another minute, he told his fiancée about the girl his love truly belonged to. Ellie stopped crying and actually considered what he was saying.
"You're in love with this girl, Seto. You can't deny it anymore. And it is painful for me… but I have to let you go." She burst into a fresh round of tears. "You love her, Seto…" she murmured as she buried her face in her hands.
Seto Kaiba was silent for a few moments. Was this true? Did he actually love Serenity? But if he did… why on earth did he send her away? This was all a big mistake.
Meanwhile Ellie was thinking, 'If only he knew how I felt… it truly hurts to love someone when that person doesn't love you back…'
This continued on for a few more minutes, until Ellie had dried her tears. Kaiba was looking at the floor. "I'm so sorry, Ellie… I didn't mean for any of these to happen." He muttered.
"Don't worry, Seto, it's not your fault," Ellie said soothingly. "I understand how you feel. Just go… and pursue your dreams, wherever they may take you. Follow your heart…"
Kaiba sighed as Ellie picked up her purse. "Is it okay if you returned all of these? I'll be the one to tell everyone that our engagement is cancelled. If that's alright with you?" Ellie asked, blinking.
"Yes, it's alright. But… can we still be friends, Ellie?"
"Yes. We can." She softened. "I'm sorry, Seto. Just… love this girl, okay? Don't hurt her, if it's true that you do love her. Okay?"
"I promise." And without another word, Vince Hiragamo's daughter strode out of the room.
A/N: The sad ending of Chapter 9. Chapter 10 is coming up… Stay tuned and please review!