Disclaimer: Why should I own it? bling bling baby! (snatches all M.Items)
%Chapter Ten: Sweet Memories and Choices%
"Yugi," said Tea conversationally, as she wiped her hands and handed him a sandwich and tea.picked up the dirty dishes and put them neatly in the dishwasher. I think I'll take a break from cleaning. "You wouldn't believe what Mokuba said to me the other day. He said he was planning to do something to Kaiba. His own brother. Get revenge! Isn't that ridiculous?"
Yugi didn't look surprised at all. He looked up as she approached by the sleeting window, where he always sat staring out, and reluctantly took the offered vittles. Out of politeness more than hunger. "Ummmm . . . not really."
"What do you mean?" Tea wanted to know, fixing him with a stare, still wiping her hands with the dishtowel that used to be his grandfather's after fixing a cheery fire in the hearth. "How long have they been having problems?"
"For a while." Yugi poked dubiously at his sandwich, even sniffed it, cautiously.
Tea pointed out, dryly, that she was sure it wasn't poisoned.
"I know . . . I, uh.....just saw....." he explained, , "an epidemic lately in the news . . . something about deadly bacteria....... in the wheat bread."
Since he wasn't looking at her, Tea took the time to roll her eyes, smile, and shake her head. Yugi and his new hypochondria . . . . best change the subject, or he'll start again. She sat in a comfy old armchair in the Moto's living room and propped her head in her hands. "What do you mean, 'a while?' What happened? Tell me, since I was away."
There was a silence as he considered her question, looking at the plate of untouched food and shifted this way and that in his black mourning clothes he still wore. "Lots of things . . . . But about the Kaibas. They've been having problems, that's for sure. . . . I guess it started when Joey hatched this plot about a year ago---"
"Uh oh," Tea muttered under her breath. She knew about about his infamously known schemes.
"Yeah, they tend to backfire, yeah." He nodded, smiling at the memories. "Anyway, when Joey and Mai had a one of their spats about a year ago---"
"About what?" she interrupted.
"Oh, it was when she wanted to go to the States, and she went anyway, and Joey was feeling mean." Tea shook her head, then, again. "Yeah, I know. Stupid thing. Well, how he did it was . . . um . . . ." Yugi scratched his head, trying to remember. "Oh yeah! He barged inside Kaiba Corp in their most important meeting of the year! And then he tried to make friends."
"Oh . . . ." That didn't sound very horrible." That's nice."
"No it wasn't. He put on rags, so he looked like a homeless man, in front of the other business men, when he went to see him."
"Uh oh. I bet Kaiba was furious."
"I'm sure he was." There was a slight smile on his face.
"What?" Tea said, feeling one of her own. "What?"
"Well, Joey had brought a recorder, thinking that Kaiba would scream and shout for him to get out, but he didn't. . Too embarrassed, I suppose. Anyway, Joey finally gave up and went home, and ...... then Kaiba started to rant."
"How do you know?" Tea asked curiously.
"Mo--that is, Mokuba saw it. Kaiba was really mad at him, because he was the one who let Joey in, and he shouted and threw things, saying it was all his fault of messing up the merger with Illusions Industrial. He didn't get the deal because of it."
"Yow. That's too bad." said Tea with no sympathy at all.
Yugi gave her a strange look
"I mean, too bad he didn't get the business merger thing, I mean." She added hurriedly. "So . . . . Mokuba must've been really hurt, since it really wasn't his fault." She supposed Joey had told him a lie to get in the meeting.
"Yeah, Joey told him a lie. But Serenity found about what he had done, eventually, and was REALLY mad at him. For a time. But they made up. Kaiba and Mokuba didn't."
He doesn't seem that sad about it, wondered Tea. Just like . . . he just accepted that's the way things are. That that's the way things go. Smiling a little cynically, she took a sip of her steaming hot chocolate mug, glancing at the window, where it was softly sleeting outside. "Were there other instances when the brother fought?" she encouraged.
"Well . . . . yeah, there was . . . there was this--actually, really funny one. D'you want to hear about it?"
"Sure." They settled back a bit.
"Before that one, maybe a previous two months, when Serenity started learning to drive, and nobody would teach her because--"
Tea nodded before he could say why. Serenity was a sweet girl, but when she gets nervous or upset . . . "She tends to be an emotional basket case. . . ?"
"Well, yeah. And Kaiba was saying that the brother should be the one to teach her, and Joey was saying that her boyfriend should . . . eventually she got angry at being passed over and started asking me, Ryou, and Tristan and Duke to, and of course, they said yes, but Kaiba would rather take suicide the old fashioned way than to let Duke teach her anything----so he teach her."
"Really? What did you say when she asked you?" Tea said nonchalantly..
"Me? Well, I said, uh . . . . no, of course. Kaiba would've killed me." They both nodded with wholehearted agreement. "Anyhoo, everything was going rather well, Serenity was making all of the turns okay, and they were heading home when---"
"Wait, how do you know this, Yugi?" Tea inquired, hoisting herself up to see what she was sitting on: an old photo album.
"Mokuba went along with them to the driving lesson, and he told me all about it. Anyway," he said, sitting up straighter, his eyes starting to sparkle the telling of the story, "He said they all were driving along a deserted highway, and Kaiba said, 'Okay, turn here SLOWLY,' and she said, 'Okay,' and did so, but then there was a bump and Kaiba said, 'Never mind it; just keep going!' "
"What was it?" Tea asked, reverent.
"A turtle. She had drove over a turtle," he said and Tea groaned in agony for the animal. "And then, Mokuba stood over the backseat, and said, ' Poor turtle! It looks..... like a Mexican pizza!' "
Tea laughed at that, and waited, waiting for him to continue.
"And when Serenity heard that, she starting sobbing hysterically, and covered her face with her hands. The car started going awry, nearly into a ditch, if Kaiba hadn't grabbed the steering wheel and hit the brake."
"They weren't hurt? That's good."
"And then Serenity immediately dashed out to where the turtle was lying, crying hysterically at the smashed sight of it, and Mokuba suggested they ought to bury it, to make her feel better."
"Mokuba suggested that?"
"Yeah, he and Kaiba were on good terms back then. Anyway, " Yugi took a deep breath from all the telling, " Kaiba didn't want to bury anything, and stalled, 'we don't have anything to scrape it up with.' And Mokuba ran right back and grabbed those snow scrapers for the windows and said, 'Oh yes we do, big brother!' "
He paused to let Tea laugh.
"Kaiba was none too pleased about scraping roadkill in public, mind you, more less burying it. And it's hard to bury something that was flatter than a pizza pan, I tell you---"
Tea let out a laugh at that funny thought, getting up and taking her plate to wash. "Looks like I missed a lot," she called from the small, quaint kitchen. "Kaiba must've really let him have it when they went back home."
"Yeah. Kaiba doesn't let him come with him anymore, and that really hurt his feelings. He was just trying to help, he said." It was still sleeting outside, but it had slowed down to a mist, except with no fog. For once, he felt like it was two years back again, when Grandpa was alive, and he was telling the same story to him . . . . Grandpa. . .
"Yugi?" Said Tea, coming back. "What is it?" she questioned.
"Um, nothing. Ummmm . . . Tea?" he ventured, looking to her and then back to the window.
"Yeah?"
"What, what .....were you going to say.at the gravesite of my grandpa? You know, before Joey interrupted us?" He started to fidget nervously with his necklace, even though there was no longer any necklace there.
"Oh!" She was taken aback by the sudden change in subject. "Oh . . . nothing important, really," she said with a strangled laugh. "Just something that . . . that silly Mai said . . . . " she started getting up and backing away again as he stared at her curiously.She remembered that Mai had dared her to go out with him. "I'll tell you later. Let's get to work now, okay?"
"Okay. If you say so....." Dubious, they headed for the kitchen.
%%%%%%
"What?! Absolutely not, Daddy," Mai protested at her father and smirking mother. "I've already TOLD you---"
"Ah, 's okay. Let's just do it and get it over with." Joey went to one end of the stadium while she stared incredulous. "C'mon!"
He gave her encouraging wink, and she thought he was up to something. And usually his plans tended to go awry. Unsure, she stepped up to the other platform, which rose with a whoosh. He'd better have thought of something to get out of this, she thought. We can't fight in front of my parents! Which we're bound to do. Sighing, Mai looked to her dad. "Okay."
Mr. Valentine pressed a button on his gold tipped cane, and Mai shot her mother a glare as the room changed and it went dark. The new and improved dueling stadiums were designed to take thing to even realer level, where the player become the monsters themselves, could attack and defend.
Through the magic of holograms, of course. The game was set with Deck Master rules.
What is he thinking? If he wins, we'll argue. If I win, we'll argue.....it was inevitable. Still....he's got something up his sleeve to convince my parents.....I hope it works !
%%%%
In hospital, Domino Memorial, Serenity woke up with a pounding head that slowly receded as she sat up in a dotted hospital gown. Her fingertips turned into ice as her eyes surveyed cold metal bins, sterilize gauges, machines that beeped. The room was empty, small, cramped . . . . breathing heavily, claustrophobically, I hate hospitals I hate hospitals, her head pounded over and over again. She forced calmness and swung her legs over the too-high bed, clutching her gown behind her. Hate them, hate them . . . .H--
Hustle and bustle sounded outside the open door, and she considered making a run for it, when a small, yellow manila folder caught her eye: Wheeler, Serenity.
Serenity bit the inside of her cheek, took it up quickly, before her conscience said not to, though her hands trembled so violently that she'd dropped it a couple of times. Finally getting it open, she peered inside to see a form . . . no, a chart with "Test Results" written across in bold.
. . . . . . Do you REALLY want to see what's wrong with you?
The folder slipped. Yes, I do, she told herself sternly. She scanned it quickly, hoping, praying everything was all right.
Name: Serenity Wheeler
Age: 17
City of Birth: Domino City
Weight: 120
Height: 5' 5"
Meningitis: Negative
Hepatitis B: Negative
Hepatitis A: Negative
Herpes: Negative
Immune Deficiency Syndrome: Negative
Phew! That's a....reli---
Pregnancy: Pos--
Serenity shut her eyes tightly closed, then. Not wanting to read the rest. The paper started to rattle, as if demanding to be read, but then she saw it was only because her hands were shaking so bad. Oh, no! I looked at it! That means.....it must be tru-ooh....
The paper made a crunching, crumpling sound as her fist clenched, as she sagged to the floor. Breathing hard, she clutched her stomach, staring at the speckled pattern of the linoleum. The ground was cold and hard on her knees, yet still she stayed there, unmoving. Outside, people hustled and bustled by, unaware, busy with their own lives.
"Miss Wheeler."
"H-hello!" She quickly got up for the snow haired doctor, as he came into the room. Briefly embarrassed to be caught peeking, she quickly stuffed to paper behind her back. "I, uh, w-was just curious...."
He smiled, briefly. "I see you got your test results, so you know." He had delivered her and been her pediatrician, so he'd known her for a long time.
"Yes." That was the only thing she could think of, an ashamed 'yes.'
"You are close to term, so I will prescribe you some vitamins." He jotted down a note. "I assume you haven't seen a doctor until now?"
Shaking her head, she stuttered, "H-h-how close....?"
"Close enough to have something to worry about."
Like I'm not worried already.....she took the note; stared at it miserably. Though, like I should talk....I'm the one who was stupid enough to get herself p-p-p....
The doctor put on Warm Comforting Grip on the Shoulder he'd learned from medical school. I can't even THINK it! "No offense, but is your boyfriend the father?" Everyone knew about her boyfriend, now. "Does he know?"
She nodded yes. "No.....and please....don't tell him---"
Just then, the door burst open at gale force winds. "This hospital is like a maze!" A tall, blue suited man spat, sweeping around the office with a single glance.
That's his apology for taking me here.....
"Ah, Mr. Kaiba." The doctor inclined his head respectfully. "We were just talking about you." He didn't like the rich CEO, but he was one of their biggest donators. Here, he paused.
"So? What's wrong with her?" Kaiba fixed him with a steely glare, turning his back on Serenity, who was pleading the doctor with her eyes and shaking her head hard from behind him.
"Um." Darting back and forth from her, the old doctor stuttered as she continued to shake her head, hair flying about. "uh--"
Stupid old man! "Well?! Will someone tell me what's going on?!" Kaiba looked from the doctor back to Serenity, who immediately stopped, then continue, when he looked back at the man.
"Ah....Miss Wheeler will tell you," the doctor said, throwing her a meaningful look at said girl, who continued to shake her head no, furiously. He left and shut the door tight, with a click of finality. "Make sure to take your vitamins!"
" 'Vitamins?' " Kaiba repeated, turning back to her downcast head. "Why'd he prescribe that to you....." he trailed off, and then, "What are you hiding...... behind your back?"
" Nothing.....! I'm just.....holding this....darned hospital gown...shut...." Serenity said with a laugh, and she winced at how forced it sounded. That was bad. He could tell when she was lying in a instant. "It's really drafty.....you know....you know how these gowns are!"
"Not really." He said shortly, trying to reach around her to see. " 'Drafty.' Riiiight. Then why did he tell you to take some vitamins if there's nothing wrong?"
"That's 'cause there is!" she said, jumping away on the cot. "Stomach....flu.Vitamin E is sure to help." Though it won't cure THIS 'stomach flu'! " She put on most innocent smile on, to mask the anxiety of that thought.
He stared up at her, both concerned of her fainting spell she'd had earlier and the way she was acting right now. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong? You're acting.....little jumpy."
"No, really. I'm fine. Just....peachy!" Loud crunching sounds from the crumpling of the test results. Serenity figured he might come back later if he wasn't convinced. It all depended on his reaction.....she held her breath, waiting.
" 'Peachy.' " He half turned around to let her jump off the bed again. "You've been hanging around that nerd herd waay too long."
Yes! That statement was as good as his saying, "I'm convinced." I'm in the clear! It was a sad victory. Seeing he was giving her puzzled looks as her pumped fist in the air, she quickly fixed her expression into an insulted one. "And don't call my friends all nerds!" And added a whack for good measure on the arm, a bit too hard, since he stumbled a bit..
Even though she still looked nervously upset, he knew she wouldn't lie to him. "Come on. I still have to pick up my brother. Let's go eat something before."
"Yes! That's a good idea!" The change of the subject, that is....
"You'd better change first, unless you'd like to dine here." He smirked. "Anyway, where do you want to go? Serenity?" he said at her vaguely unfocused gaze. "Hell lo."
"Huh?"
"What do you want to eat, love?"
"Oh..." She said, still distracted, "Pickles and onions, mayo....mmm....." Still drooling at that scrumptious thought, she moved towards the small bathroom to change. Maybe we won't go to a restaurant....He just lost his appetite.
TBC
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A/n: Okies, Kaiba's really stupid, i know! Love must be blinding, I guess! Lolz.Also, I think that driving lesson would make a really funny fic. How SErenity hit all the animals and them funeralizing each one. lmao! (hums super serentiy song) dum da dum.....Anyhoo, R&R