july 07, 2004
-V-
chapter 08
i n t e r l u d e
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
The heavy knocks on the door jolted Serenity out of her peaceful sleep. She opened her eyes and gazed blearily at her alarm clock. 6:50 am
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
With a groan, Serenity pushed herself out of her bed, and staggered out into the living room, to the front door. Looking out through the peephole (one could never be too cautious in this neighborhood), she opened the door to Kaiba.
"Kaiba, don't you think it's a bit early for an excursion?" she whined, irritated. Usually their Saturday excursions started at a more reasonable time of day.
"We have a long way to go before we get there," he replied. "I don't want to spend most of the day in the helicopter."
Serenity raised her eyebrows. The helicopter? The only vehicle they ever took was Kaiba's limo. Why would a helicopter be needed to get where they were going?
"So don't take forever getting ready, or we won't get there," finished Kaiba. He stood there, impatiently, as if expecting her to instantly comply with his command.
"Kaiba, you know that I have to have my coffee and read the paper before I do anything else," said Serenity.
"I have coffee and the paper in the limo, now hurry up," said Kaiba impatiently. He had been aware of this annoying morning routine of Serenity's, and had come prepared to ensure a quick departure.
Finding nothing she could argue with, Serenity went to her room to get ready. Twenty minutes later she reappeared, carrying Rei in the backpack-style baby carrier. Rei gurgled happily upon seeing Kaiba standing in the doorway. Then, after leaving a note for Joey (who could and would sleep through nearly anything), the three exited the building and hopped into Kaiba's limo, which would take them to the Mansion.
"Mmm," said Serenity after taking a sip of the fine imported coffee. This is so much better than the usual coffee, but I would never tell Kaiba that. Though he has seemed to tone the insults down in the past few weeks, but there's no sense in giving out material for him to use. She took another sip of the coffee, and read the headline of the paper.
BREAK IN AT DOMINO MUSEUM. Several valuable artifacts stolen. Culprit remains at-large. The headline looked interesting enough, so Serenity read that article, and then several other articles as well.
While Serenity read, Kaiba played with Rei, who was getting bigger and livelier. One of her favorite activities was 'story time', so Kaiba always had a book tucked into a pocket of his trench coat.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of reason, it was the age of madness…" he read to her. Though Rei didn't understand a word of the book (and even Kaiba had to admit that he was somewhat confused), she still sat quietly and attentively as Kaiba read in his gruff tone.
"Sir, we have arrived at the mansion," said the driver as he pulled up to the front door. He was the same driver whom Kaiba had questioned weeks earlier, and now that he saw the tenderness Kaiba had towards the small girl, he understood what had been going through Kaiba's head.
Kaiba stuck the book back in his pocket, and scooped up Rei and the carrier, leaving Serenity to catch up.
-V-
"So, Kaiba, now that you have whisked the two of us away at the crack of dawn without so much as a word of explanation, would you like to finally tell me where it is we're going?"
"We're going to a remote, uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean to have that picnic lunch you wanted."
"Oh, I was just kidding about the picnic. I didn't think you would actually agree to it."
"I had always wanted to take Mokuba on a picnic. I thought it would be something he would enjoy. But, well, we never got around to it…"
A profound silence descended on them. Serenity wondered what Kaiba was thinking about. He hardly mentioned Mokuba, and when he did, he would always go quiet afterwards.
Except for the whirring of the helicopter blades, it was rather silent in the cabin. Serenity yawned loudly as she stared out the window. They were currently flying over the ocean, as they had been for hours. As majestic as it was, the wide expanse of nothing but water as far as the eye could see was boring.
She looked over Rei to see Kaiba leaning against the other window, soundly asleep. Well well well, so the inhuman Seto Kaiba needs sleep like the rest of us mortals. She actually felt some sympathy for the young man. She had the feeling that things were not going smoothly at Kaiba Corp, and she had assumed that Kaiba was staying up late to rectify the situation.
Looking closer, she spotted the book Kaiba had been reading. The corner was sticking out of his far pocket, and Serenity saw it as a shining solution to her boredom. She reached across Kaiba's lap, brushing against him as she attempted to grab the book.
When Kaiba grabbed her wrist, Serenity realised that he may not have been as asleep as he appeared. He stared at her out of the corner of his eye, smirked, and said, "If you wanted the book, Serenity, you could have asked. You didn't have to grope me for it."
Serenity turned bright red, and hastily pulled her hand back. She muttered, "Well, I was trying to be courteous and let you get your beauty sleep. Heaven knows you need it."
Kaiba let out an amused chuckle, and handed her the book. "Knock yourself out," he said, and closed his eyes in his imitation of sleep.
-V-
"Oh, Kaiba," breathed Serenity, "this is beautiful."
"But of course. I wouldn't own anything ugly or disgusting, would I?"
"Nothing but your personality," she responded. They both knew that her reply was nothing more than good-natured joking. "But seriously, you own this island? It seems like an un-Kaiba-like place."
"Investment purposes," he replied. "Purely investment purposes." He too sounded more lighthearted and carefree, and very much un-Kaiba-like himself.
There was something soothing and relaxing about the picturesque island, something that made Kaiba and Serenity forget their troubles, and they both stood there for a moment, basking in the sunshine and gentle sea breeze.
"Granted," said Kaiba, "it's not a very big island, but it's big enough for a few hours of exploration."
"Must you always be on the go?" asked Serenity. "Can't you just stop and smell the flowers for a while?" To illustrate her point, she flopped down on the lush grass and proceeded to smell and exotic-looking large purple flower.
"We have all day to smell the flowers," replied Kaiba. "Let's go. This, here, is the ugly part of the island. I want to show Rei the pretty part."
Serenity took not of the way Kaiba said 'Rei' and not 'Rei and you.' He's afraid to open up to anyone older than 11. I'll need to get him to stop that. She wasn't sure why she wanted to help Kaiba with his abominable personal relations. Perhaps it was a side effect of being on this dreamlike island.
Before long, Serenity had shed her shoes, and was walking along beside the more uptight Kaiba. He had been right: as they got farther from the helicopter landing site, the island just got more breathtaking. Rei had acquired, from who knows where, a large pink flower, and was waving it happily around.
"Oh gosh," said Serenity, seeing the picnic sight, complete with wicker basket and red-and-white checkered blanket spread out on the ground. He sure knows how to have a picnic.
She looked up at the canopy of leaves above, swaying in the breeze and letting in little rays of golden sunlight to shine down upon them. Then, looking off beyond the tranquil glade, she could see the clear blue ocean waves lapping gently along the shore.
"Ooh, a beach! C'mon Seto, let's go!" She sprinted eagerly for the beach, and the inviting water beyond.
Kaiba smiled, amused at Serenity's eagerness. He followed her out of the glade, and emerged just in time to see a large splash as Serenity jumped happily into the water. As she emerged, he noticed, with mild consternation, her clothes piled on the ground. "What the hell…?" he said.
"Oh, don't be such a prude, Seto," she said. "Anyway, I'm wearing a bathing suit." She showed him her conservative one-piece navy blue bathing suit, now drenched from being submerged in the ocean.
"What are you thinking? It's much too cold to go swimming!"
"Who are you, my grandmother?"
"You know, Rei is acting less childlike than you are."
"Lighten up," she replied, sending a small splash of water towards Kaiba, making him quickly retreat a few feet. "I'm not even out of school yet. I'm still allowed to act silly and childlike." She twirled in a goofy circle, as if to illustrate her point. "Why don't you bring Rei into the water? I'm sure she'd love it."
"Are you joking?! She could catch hypothermia! Not to mention all the bacteria that live in unfiltered sea water, and all the sharks and pirhanas…"
She sent a much larger splash in his direction, and then looked up sweetly as water dripped down his face. He looked dumbfounded for a moment, then said, in a peculiar tone, "NO ONE splashes Seto Kaiba! Those that do will quickly find themselves in want of a picnic lunch!"
He flounced away, carrying Rei, and leaving Serenity standing in the ocean, an amused look on her face. Was he trying to tell a joke?!
-V-
The lunch hour came, and Serenity walked back to the picnic site with a little apprehension. Suppose Kaiba had been telling the truth when he said that she wouldn't get any lunch. Her stomach rumbled, and she sincerely hoped that this wasn't the case.
Upon walking back into the glade, the sight she saw was rather surprising. Kaiba had shed his black trench coat, and was clad in a casual black tee shirt and loose-fitting black jeans (an ensemble completely different from his usual skintight garments buckled to his arms and legs). Both he and Rei were lying in the grass, and again he was reading to her from the book.
"Ahem," coughed Serenity. She didn't want to interrupt the moment, but she felt as though her stomach had begun to eat itself.
Kaiba looked at her with contempt. "I thought I told you, Serenity, that you aren't welcome here." Rei frowned, which made Kaiba smile. "But I guess that you may be forgiven this time. Have a seat."
As Serenity sat, she wondered who this pleasant young man was, and what he had done with the real Seto Kaiba. She had never, NEVER seen Kaiba acting… nice to others. I bet his normal clothes are too tight. Probably choke all the niceness out of him. This outfit is much more appealing than the usual…
Serenity actually laughed out loud when she realised that she had subconsciously been checking Kaiba out. This is Kaiba we're talking about. Kaiba, the impersonal, unemotional facsimile of a human being. But, actually, the past few weekends had shown Serenity that there was more to Kaiba than she originally thought, and she likened him to an onion: lots of layers. The thought of an onion Kaiba made her laugh again.
"What's so funny?" he asked, confused by her sudden outbursts of laughter for no apparent reason. She only shook her head, and said, "Just thinking about something funny, that's all."
-V-
If anyone had told Seto Kaiba that he would be lying on a sunny, sandy beach, shoeless, wearing jeans and a tee shirt, while his baby daughter and her mother played in the sparkling blue water a few feet away, he would have sued that blasphemous individual.
Yet Serenity had convinced him to habitate the beach, and now he surprised himself by enjoying an activity that was neither work nor Duel Monsters, a rare occurrence indeed.
"Seto," shouted Serenity, "you keep that up and you're going to fry your lily-white skin. I think you need some sunblock."
Kaiba looked down at his arms. Even if they were rather pale, he still took offense at being called "lily-white". But he saw the wisdom in her words, and decided that maybe sunblock would be prudent.
With a regretful sigh, he heaved himself off the comfortable sand, and padded back to the glade. He was rifling through the picnic basket, in search of the skin care product, when his cell phone rang from his trench coat pocket.
He was tempted to just let it ring, but then he thought that if he did that, someone would assume he had come to harm, and was unable to answer the phone. Then they would show up in the helicopter, and ruin the rest of the day. He retrieved the phone, and said, "Hello? Kaiba speaking."
"Mr. Kaiba? This is Kurakane, from the finances department. I was going over some of the documents this afternoon, and I noticed something unusual. Do you have some time so I can ask you some questions about recent finances—"
"Kurakane, I have only one day a week to escape from that vortex I call a company. I have neither the time nor the patience today to wrack my brain for the solution to one of Kaiba Corp's many problems. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow." With that, Kaiba terminated the conversation. Then he proceeded to slather the gooey sunblock all over, because he really did not wish to get burned.
-V-
"Serenity. Serenity?" He addressed the girl who was, at present, sleeping soundly on the beach, wrapped in the picnic blanket. The balmy breeze and the gentle lapping of the waves had lulled her to sleep (and it hadn't helped that she had been woken too early by a certain someone).
"Serenity, you must get up. The helicopter will be arriving soon. It is a long way back to Domino."
Serenity opened her eyes reluctantly, and unfurled from the blanket, stretching like a lazy cat who has just had a long nap in the sun. Sitting up, she was surprised to see the sun setting. "How long have I been asleep?"
"A good two hours, I'd say."
"Oh." There was quite a pregnant pause, as Serenity was struggling with something in her mind. Finally, and with a bit of difficulty, she said, "I just wanted to say thank you for the lovely day. This island is gorgeous, and even you seem less aloof and surly than usual.'
"Don't expect it to be that way once we get back to Domino. I have an important reputation I need to uphold. Here on this island, I have only you and the baby I need to impress."
Rei looked up, taking a quick break from demolishing the sand castle she and Daddy had built earlier. She looked up to see Mommy and Daddy talking. Though she didn't understand what they were saying, she could tell that something was a little different than usual. They normally spoke in unfriendly tones towards each other, which made Rei a little sad. Right now, though, they looked like they were being quite nice to each other. Rei was ecstatic to see Mommy and Daddy getting along for once, and she voiced this happiness with a loud screech of delight.
Serenity looked to see Rei screeching happily amidst the remains of a rather large sand castle. She looked over to Kaiba, who was watching his daughter with a tender glance, his hair windswept and sandy, and his eyes reflecting the setting sun glittering off the calm water. There was a look of peace, and tranquility, on his face, which was so often stressed and arrogant. This island truly brings happiness, Serenity thought. I'm glad Seto finally got the day off that he needed to have.
But alas, all good things must come to an end, and the sound of the helicopter brought the marvelous day to a disappointing close. The three, totally at ease, walked slowly back to the chopper, and as they stepped off the lush tropical island, into the grey, steel machine, they once more returned to the lives they were accustomed to.