A/N: I was really worried about this chapter, but it came together really well (I think). Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, I really appreciate it! Nothing negative so far, so I guess I'm doing alright.
Disclaimer: I own nothing! I do, however, wish I owned one of the BMW Z4 roadsters that Kaiba drives in this chapter. HOT!
Chapter Three: Understanding
"They have to go, Mokuba. Today. I'm fine, and they're becoming a nuisance. It's getting difficult to work with them here." Kaiba stated matter-of-factly.
"But I like them. It's fun having them here!" Mokuba whined to his brother.
"Mokuba, I've made up my mind. It's useless to try to dissuade me."
Mokuba pouted and stormed out of his brother's office. He had known they'd have to leave, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. Nevertheless, Kaiba was resolute about returning to his anti-social routine. Mokuba shuffled downstairs and into the living room, lost in thought about how to tell them Kaiba was giving them the boot. He'd wait till the evening. After all, Seto had only said they had to go 'today'.
As usual, they were assembled in the living room. Tristan and Duke were engaged in another contest for Serenity's attention. This time the game was Katamari Damacy, one of Mokuba's picks. Serenity could barely contain her laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of the challenge. Yugi was at Kaiba's pinball game, Joey and Tea cheering him on as he approached Kaiba's high score. Mokuba walked in distractedly, making his way to his favourite arcade game to play a round.
Serenity noticed Mokuba enter the room, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. She tore herself away from the spectacle of Tristan and Duke competing over who could roll up the most cows to make her way over to Mokuba, mindlessly firing his light pistol at terrorists.
"Something the matter, Mokuba?" She asked tentatively.
"Nah." He said, firing again and loading quickly. "I'm okay. I'm just bummed Seto's going to kick you guys out soon."
"Thought so." Serenity said simply, "It's too bad really. I think he was starting to enjoy having us around. After all, he was playing video games with Joey yesterday."
"He's probably having a good time," Mokuba said with a chuckle, "Not that he'd ever admit that. Especially to himself."
"He does seem pretty set against being happy." She muttered, not wanting to render a snap judgement but using what she'd seen of Kaiba.
"No, not really." Mokuba replied, loading again and prepping himself for the next round of terrorists, "He just doesn't really like people. Thinks they're inconsistent. Unreliable I guess." He glanced over his shoulder at Serenity. A friend like her would be good for Seto. Maybe I'll have to give them both a bump in the right direction, "He's not a bad guy once you get to know him."
"Few people are, I find," she said with a smile and skipped out of the room. She was going to have a talk with Kaiba.
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"Hi, Mr. Kaiba!" Serenity chirped as she stood in the doorway of Kaiba's home office.
He looked up at her irritably and waited. Lack of sleep combined with his injuries had made him particularly irate. When she didn't say anything, he gruffly asked, "What?" They should have been out of his house already.
"I understand you want us to leave the house today?" She asked, deciding it was the correct place to start.
"No," he said, annoyance clear in his voice, "I never wanted you here to begin with. I'll settle for you leaving today."
"Y'know," she said slyly, tilting her head as she leaned against the wall, "If you want us to stay we can. We don't mind."
"What on earth would give you the impression I was enjoying having you here?" He snapped, now thoroughly tired of the conversation.
"I don't know," she smirked, "You seemed enjoy playing video games with Joey yesterday. And you also seemed to enjoy having the extra excitement around the house. I'd imagine it gets pretty lonely around here. Big house, just the two of you."
"I have twenty-one permanent staff members, Wheeler, and I don't enjoy company to begin with. Now, if you don't mind," he sneered as he added 'if you don't mind', clearly intending the words to be ironic, "leave me alone so I can get some work done."
"I do mind. We don't always have to be your brother's friends and your enemies, Kaiba. We're not bad people once you get to know us." She said, honestly hoping he'd at least take her up on that offer.
Kaiba's patience finally wore out; he slammed the top of his laptop down and glared daggers at the younger Wheeler. "Listen. I don't want you here. I don't want your friendship. I want some peace and quiet so I can finally get some goddamn work done! Now, your highness, would you get your royal ass the hell out of my office and the hell off of my property?"
Serenity flushed red in the face, "You are an asshole, you know that? I'm trying to be nice to you and you act like I'm tormenting you. Fine. I'll leave. But don't expect us to leap at the opportunity to help you again."
Blue-eyes grunted and opened his laptop again as she moved for the door. "You'll be compensated for your trouble." He said in a flat monotone.
Serenity turned around, determined to have the last words, "You know, Kaiba. You can't pay us to not be your friends." With that she stormed out.
At least that one has a backbone, Kaiba thought to himself as he returned to his work; Still, she's a bit too stubborn for my tastes. Perhaps the half-wit Taylor would be a better selection for the position.
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The gang was standing in the foyer of the mansion, saying their farewells to Mokuba and Cecil. Kaiba had chosen not to join them for supper, but had asked Cecil to inform him when the group was leaving. Having left his office, Kaiba navigated his way to the main stairwell, inwardly grimacing at the coming encounter. Finally, he found his way to the first floor.
"Hey Kaiba!" Yugi called, waving as Kaiba made his way down the stairs. "Come to see us off?"
A look passed between Duke and Tristan. The dice master elbowed Tristan in the stomach, and finally Tristan turned toward the elder Kaiba. "Kaiba! You're looking very pretty today!" He blurted, and then winced in anticipation.
Kaiba looked dumbfounded and simply stared in disbelief at Tristan. After an extremely uncomfortable silence, he finally managed to find the words, "What the hell was that, Taylor?"
A large sweatdrop formed on the back of Tristan's head and he bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry, I lost a bet and… and Duke made me say it!"
Duke flicked Tristan's ear, "You're not supposed to tell him¸ retard!" He complained.
Looking very uncomfortable, Kaiba turned toward Serenity. "Wheeler, I want to talk to you in private."
A grin found it's way to Serenity's face. Maybe she'd actually gotten through to the abrasive stoic. "Sure. Living room?" She asked.
Kaiba nodded. "Fine." He strode into the living room, glancing over his shoulder to shoot a disgusted look at the humiliated Tristan.
As soon as Kaiba had left the room it erupted in laughter. "I can't believe you actually did it!" Duke managed, holding his sides in pain.
"Oh God!" Tea chortled, nearly crying from the tears, "The look on his face was priceless!"
Even Mokuba couldn't keep a straight face. "Oh man… Seto's going to be pissed for days about that one! You've got guts Tristan, I'll give you that."
Tristan simply scratched the back of his head and blushed. "Aw man… that was so humiliating…"
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"What did you want to see me about, Kaiba?" Serenity asked, trying to hold back an I-told-you-so tone.
"Listen, the fact of the matter is that I'm still not back to perfect shape yet. I'm going to be spending a lot of time going back and forth from Kaiba Corp headquarters and Mokuba still hasn't calmed down since the incident." He stated, monotone, as he bridged his fingers together and looked over at the short girl where she was seated across the card table from him. The card table had seemed the logical choice to him at the time, now it seemed rather ridiculous. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair, trying to phrase his offer correctly.
"Alright." She said in a 'get-on-with-it' tone as she tried to hold back a smirk. He was going to ask them to stay, she knew it.
"Since I can't be here to assuage his fears, it's then necessary for me to ensure that there is someone who can. If you're interested, I'd like to hire you part time as a sort of nanny to look after him while I'm away. I understand that the two of you are…" he hated the next word, "friends, and I felt that connection would further comfort him in my absence. It would be fairly short term, but I'd be willing to pay you one thousand dollars a week for the duration of the position."
Now Serenity was confused. He wanted to hire her to do what she'd been doing for the last three days for free? The man was unbelievable. He seemed to be back to the remote, untouchable Kaiba she'd seen before. But, no, she'd made too much progress to be repelled so easily. But first, she wanted to know one thing.
"Why me?" She asked casually.
"You're the most tolerable of the particular group Mokuba has taken a liking to. I had thought to ask Taylor, but since that incident just now, I think I'd have to install shower locks and hire someone to supervise him around my brother. Besides, Mokuba likes you. Will you take the position?"
She smiled slightly at the backhanded compliment she'd received from Kaiba, and chuckled inwardly at the thought of the incident in the foyer. A great sense of humour was one of Duke's best attributes, and that had been some of his best work. "I'll do the job pending one condition." She stated simply.
"Being?" The professional setting made Kaiba more comfortable. Things were easier when they could be handled in a professional manner.
Serenity smirked. This would either make or break the budding friendship between her and the social midget known as Seto Kaiba, "That you don't pay me for the service, and accept it as a personal favour from a friend."
A look of startled confusion crossed Kaiba's face, followed by one of frustrated fury. Searching for the words to voice his frustration, annoyance and wrath, he opened his mouth and then closed it wordlessly several times. Serenity grinned mischievously, "I'll take that as a yes. When should I be here tomorrow?"
By this point, Seto had realized the girl had him stuck. He had no way out of the situation without sacrificing something. Finally, he decided he'd settle for her terms, but never voice that he was admitting to them. He'd save some measure of dignity, and still get what he needed from her. "I leave for work at eight. Be here by then."
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Serenity showed up in a bright mood five minutes before eight. She skipped into the main foyer and found Cecil waiting for her.
"Good morning, Miss Serenity. Master Kaiba told me you'd be stopping by. He also told me he wishes to speak with you before he leaves. He's in the kitchen now. Can you find it yourself?" The butler asked in his usual formal tone.
"Yeah, sure can. Thanks." She said and gave the butler a slight hug. Everyone had gotten to know Cecil over their time in the mansion and Serenity especially had developed a soft spot for the aging servant.
The entire kitchen smelt of coffee, she noted as she walked into the room. Kaiba was standing at the counter by his espresso machine, grumbling to himself as he fumbled with the mechanisms.
"Uhm, Kaiba?" Serenity asked in a cautious tone.
"Just a minute. This damn contraption's gone haywire again." He grumbled. Groaning in annoyance, he smacked the side of the machine with his flat hand. Instantly, it started giving off a dull mechanical hum. Kaiba gave an exasperated sigh, "Why does that always work?" he asked rhetorically. He knew almost everything there was to know about conventional mechanics, and yet the 'hit it' tactic always seemed to work for some reason. He turned to Serenity. "Good. You're here."
"Yeah…" Serenity said, leaning to get a glance at the machine behind Kaiba. It had malfunctioned that morning, resulting in the head chef Derek getting a particularly hot shower that morning, and giving him an odour of strong coffee that would take a week to get rid of. Kaiba had spent the better part of his breakfast time taking apart, repairing and reassembling the machine only for it to not work once it had been reconstructed. "You wanted to talk to me about something?" she asked, shifting her focus back to Kaiba.
Kaiba nodded, finally pouring his first cup of espresso for the morning, "I forgot to mention yesterday the other reason why I hired-"
"Asked." Serenity corrected. The nature of this transaction was very important to her.
"Yes," Kaiba said, clearing his throat, "Asked you to do this job-"
"Favour." Serenity corrected again, a smirk playing at her face.
"-for me." Kaiba finished, refusing to use that word. "We still haven't found who was responsible for the attack. Obviously, someone has some kind of vendetta against me, and until I've gotten to the bottom of it, I want Mokuba to stay within the mansion. So, in addition to looking after my brother and keeping him company, I'd like you to see to it that he remains on the premise. I don't want to put him at any risk. Do you understand?"
Serenity nodded. "Sure thing, Kaiba. Anything else."
"That's all." Kaiba said, brushing past Serenity and striding to the door. Upon reaching it, he paused. He hated what he was about to say, but he supposed he owed it to her and her attempts to be his friend. "You can use my first name if you please." He added, and, not waiting to hear her reply, he walked off to find his limo.
At this point, Serenity was smiling broadly. Kaiba… Seto was finally coming around. Well, she supposed she'd better find Mokuba. She was glad Kaiba was becoming more comfortable, but she was starting to regret turning down the one-grand-a-week job offer. She could really use the money.
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Joey Wheeler wrinkled his nose as he walked through the alleyway behind a rather questionable Chinese restaurant. He took this route home every time he walked to Yugi's house, but the alley was always repugnant. Still, it cut fifteen minutes off of the walk home, and his mother always scolded him when he was late. Yugi had seemed distracted this time, though. He knew that something was wearing on Yugi's mind. Keeping secrets was Yugi's style, though. He'd tell Joey when he was good and ready.
Suddenly, Joey noticed movement in the alley ahead of him. Cautiously, he proceeded forward. "Hello?" he called nervously, "Anybody out there?"
Joey was answered, with a rough laugh, and saw a cloaked man step out of the shadows in front of him. The tactic was familiar, to him, he'd been a bully himself, and he already knew that someone was behind him. Rolling up his sleeves, Joey glowered at the Ghoul in front of him, "You looking for a fight?"
"No." The Ghoul said, looking up and Joey with a sneer on his face, "I've already found one."
Instinctively, Joey dropped to a knee and the ghoul from behind barrelled over Joey. He rose and delivered an elbow blow to the Ghoul's back, sending him down on his knees. Suddenly, Joey felt himself lurch forward. There had been two behind him, and the second had hamfisted him in the neck. Joey wheeled around on this second attack and drove a punch at his face. Expecting the attack, the second Ghoul easily blocked and drove his own punch at Joey, catching him on the jaw.
As he staggered backward, Joey realized the third was closing in on him, probably at a run. Joey shifted right and held out his arm, clotheslining the third attacker, who fell to the ground where the first had lay a second earlier. Hearing him hit hard concrete instead of soft flesh, Joey knew the third was up again.
Clearly outnumbered, Joey knew when to retreat. He leapt atop a nearby trashcan and used that to vault onto the fire escape of the restaurant. It took a scramble to get his legs up, but once onto the fire escape Joey scrambled to the roof of the building. Unsure of where to go from there, Joey took a cursory scan of the rooftop. His heart sank.
There was another Ghoul waiting for him atop the rooftop. This one appeared to be in better shape than the three he had left in the alley. Easily six and a half feet tall, the Ghoul's robe barely came down to his ankles. Draped off of his broad shoulders, the robe obscured any visual glance at the Ghoul, and obscured any details besides his obvious physical prowess.
"A daring escape, Joey Wheeler." The Ghoul said, his voice dripping with venom.
"It will be!" Joey yelled, and charged the Ghoul. Leaping into the air, Joey aimed to deliver a driving dropkick to his antagonist. Grabbing Joey's legs, the Ghoul used Joey's forward momentum to twist and drive Joey into the wall. Dazed, Joey collapsed to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. The Ghoul triumphantly towered over the downed Joey.
"If you come to," the Ghoul said, emphasizing the 'if' in his sentence, "let your friend Yugi know that the Ghouls have returned, and we're out for blood."
The last thing Joey saw was the Ghoul draw back his fist.
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Serenity had spent the better part of her day goofing around with Mokuba in the mansion. He was a particularly energetic kid, even for his age, and was particularly fond of practical jokes. She'd had to learn to take anything he said with a grain of salt. Finally, he'd talked her into a game of tag. Serenity had been ambushed by Mokuba, most likely because Mokuba knew his way around so much better, and was in a dead run to escape the boy. They'd whipped around the corner and up the stairs, ignoring a shouted 'Don't run indoors!' from Cecil as they'd passed him. Serenity ran to the top of the stairs, giggling fiercely the whole time, and darted to the left. Mokuba, laughing a boyish laugh, chased in a dead heat. It was decision time, and Serenity picked the door at the end of the hall, diving through the door and hoping that it had another exit.
Barrelling through the door, Serenity stopped dead in her tracks. She was in Kaiba's office, and so was he. Not expecting her to stop, Mokuba ploughed into Serenity's back and the two of them collapsed in a heap on the floor. Serenity, blushed in embarrassment, thinking that now Kaiba was really going to let her have it.
Looking at the spectacle from behind his desk, Kaiba merely cracked a smile. "Good, Mokuba, you're here. There's something I want to ask you about."
Mokuba rose nonchalantly to his feet and dusted himself off. "Uh, sure Seto. What's up?"
Kaiba glanced from Mokuba to the still floored Serenity, "She okay?" He asked casually.
"Fine!" Serenity called as she pried herself off of the floor. "Fine."
Nodding, Kaiba hit a few keys on his laptop then glanced back at Mokuba. "I've been working on the visual component of the latest Kaiba Land motion simulator, as you know…"
"We use motion simulators instead of roller coasters in Kaiba Land because Japanese land is limited, and also really expensive." Mokuba explained to Serenity, who nodded in understanding. "So, which is this one?" Mokuba asked, turning back to Kaiba.
"It narrated by the Celtic Guardian, it's a trip through the card graveyard from a card's perspective, being chased by the Reaper of the Cards. I've got it programmed up until the end. I can't make up my mind how to end it." Kaiba admitted.
Mokuba shrugged, stepping behind the desk to watch the wire-frame simulation of the ride holograms thus far. "What are your choices?" Mokuba asked, leaning in to watch the laptop. Kaiba stood up and walked to the window.
"Either they make it or they don't." He said simply, "From a motion simulation perspective, it's more fun to have them head upward and break out of the graveyard just as, for whatever reason, someone brings the Celtic Guardian back from the grave. On the other hand, the effect of having the reaper catch them would be unparalleled. So I'm back where I started."
"That is a tough one." Mokuba said, settling into Kaiba's office chair. "What do you think, Serenity?"
"Hm?" Serenity asked, startled. "Oh… why not… both?"
"Both?" Kaiba asked, glancing back at her over his shoulder.
"Sure." Serenity said, "Make it somewhat interactive. Make it so that they try to resurrect the Celtic Guardian, and if the audience does something correctly, something simple, like leaning forward in their seats or something, then they do. Otherwise," she grinned and made a throat cutting motion.
"Wow." Kaiba said in a sarcastic tone. Serenity winced, now he was going to berate her, "That's not a stupid idea, Wheeler." He walked over to his desk and calculated the increase in price of adding some kind of sensor to the chairs. Mokuba vacated his seat, making his way over to Serenity.
"I think that was a compliment." He whispered to her with a sly smirk on his face.
"Marginal extra cost. Hmm… not bad at all. Nice work, Wheeler." He said and sat down at his desk again.
"That one definitely was a compliment." Mokuba muttered and Serenity chuckled lightly.
Kaiba's phone started ringing and Mokuba and Serenity made for the door. Kaiba picked up the phone and answered, "Kaiba." He raised his hand to Mokuba and Serenity, signalling them to wait. "Mhm… Yes… Right away… I understand."
Both Mokuba and Serenity looked up at Kaiba expectantly. Kaiba stood and put on his trench coat, which had been draped over the back of his chair. "Your brother has been assaulted. He's in the hospital. I'll take you there now." He stated matter-of-factly.
"You're going to see Joey?" Mokuba asked, shocked.
"Kent's dead and Edmund's on his day off. I have to drive her." Kaiba stated bluntly, and then, catching the look Mokuba was giving him he added, "You're staying here. This only further proves the Ghouls are active again. I'm not putting you in any danger."
"But you'll put yourself in that danger?" Mokuba shot back.
Kaiba had reached the door and ushered Serenity out, "That's different. You're staying, Mokuba, and that's not subject to debate. I'll be back soon." He said and closed the door as he left.
Hurrying down the stairs, Kaiba lead Serenity into his garage. It was larger than her apartment, she thought to herself, with more than half a dozen cars and a dozen motorcycles parked throughout. Apparently, Kaiba already knew which one he was taking. He strode purposefully toward a silver convertible, a BMW Z4 Roadster. Opening her door, Kaiba ushered Serenity in quickly and hopped into his side. As he popped the keys into the ignition, he turned to Serenity, "I'm going to drive fast." Serenity dreaded what that meant. As the car sprang to life, she soon found out.
Flying down the freeway, Kaiba zig-zagged through traffic. At 120mph, the wind roared past Serenity's ears as Kaiba navigated his way to Domino hospital. A sign marked the appropriate exit, and Kaiba slammed down a gear as he flew into the exit. He slowed momentarily, then accelerated past 120 as they hit an abandoned straightway.
Suddenly, both of them noticed a truck coming out of a back road. There was no way to stop in time, Kaiba was going to hit it. Pressing a small black button on the steering wheel, the car suddenly gained a huge boost of speed, pulling past the truck with mere inches to spare. "Nitrous!" Serenity yelled to be heard over the wind, "You put nitrous in your car!"
"I told you I was going to drive fast!" Kaiba yelled back as he whipped around the corner and onto the street the hospital was on, cutting the gas, Kaiba began to ride the brake as they came to a fairly abrupt stop in front of the hospital. Mentally wincing as he looked at the hospital, Kaiba motioned with his head toward the imposing structure. "You should run along. You don't want to keep the vet waiting."
Serenity stepped out of the vehicle and made it to the door, before looking back. This was going to be hard, she wanted someone there with her. She glanced back over her shoulder, "Would you come in with me?" She asked sweetly.
Kaiba paused, then got out of the car. Why couldn't he just say no to the girl? It was the pleading look in her eyes, he decided, and the thought that Mokuba would give him the same eyes in the situation. Stepping out of his car, he pressed the digital look and then ran up the steps to catch up with Serenity. This was going to be uncomfortable, he thought to himself.
A/N: That's it for this chapter. Just a taste of the action to come. Next chapter should have at least one good action sequence, and we get a glimpse at who's behind the attacks on our dear Kaiba and that other guy… Joey.