Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.
A/N: Hey! Thanks for those who reviewed. I really appreciate it!
Replies to reviews:
Lilxangelxsweetz: yeah, she fainted… you'll see why in here… although I'm sure you have a fairly good guess about it. Thanks for the review, and here's the update. :)
ObsessedWithYugiOh: Oh no, guess I'd better watch out! Haha. Yup, here's the chapter, thank goodness I didn't take forever to update this. :)
Midnight: hahaha, yup, go Seto, we're all rooting for you! Thanks for the review, and here's the update :)
Luna Princess of the Shadows: Hey! I'm not getting along to reviewing your latest fics, although I will do so in due time… sorry for late reviews and stuff. You'll find out why Serenity fainted here, hehehe. Hope you like it:)
KiWingz: Hello, thanks so much for the review per chapter, it was quite interesting to read your reviews and hear out your opinions. :) haha! So many people hate Tea, it's probably a phenomenon by now. :) That was a pretty cool prediction, you got it right! And here's the next update, I hope you like it :)
Cute Peridot816: haha! Here's the update :) Thanks so much for reviewing my fics all the way, even if I know school's really tough, we just made it through the first quarter! At least one fourth of the year's done. Oh well! God bless you on your studies! See ya at school :)
Two male teenagers were standing outside the emergency rooms, pacing. There were benches provided for them to sit on, but obviously they weren't using it. The tense atmosphere was quite keeping up between them.
"She wasn't feeling alright… why didn't she tell me? Why did she have to go to the dance?" Joey groaned, burying his face in his hands. Regret was getting the better of him.
Kaiba, meanwhile, was rather calmer than Joey Wheeler, but he was feeling tense inside. 'This is all my fault… I should have known better…' He had never felt this regretful and desperate in his entire life. He had to admit that in his past, he felt miserable. But all that changed. Whether he was ready to admit it or not, his view towards life was slowly changing ever since Serenity Wheeler came into his life.
The nurse in charge of the ward came out to inform them that she may have a family visitor. To this Joey Wheeler eagerly consented and he rushed into the room to visit his sister.
Kaiba stopped pacing and sat down on the bench. Now he had to wait until her brother was finished so that he can tell her everything…
He opened the silver briefcase he carried with him everywhere, and entered the address of Yuki Kanegeshi's website. After some quick downloading, he was again facing the bright picture of himself with Serenity Wheeler. He had never gotten a good second look at the darned thing, but he found himself gazing at Serenity's face, analyzing what she had felt when she saw him that day. An ethereal blush was upon her cheeks, as it was clearly seen in those megabytes. Did she, somehow… feel something for him?
It had seemed like an hour that he sat there waiting, but after a few minutes Joey came out and told him stiffly that if he wanted to see Serenity, he could go in. Kaiba accepted the invitation and entered the ward.
Serenity was lying on the bed, unconscious. She had bandages over her eyes. Kaiba maintained his composure and strode over to the edge of her bed. He kissed her on the forehead, brushing away the few strands of shiny brown hair aside. He pulled the stool near Serenity, and started whispering to her.
"Serenity… where do I begin? I know I've been stupid and arrogant all these years, but I'm still the friend you had in both our childhoods. Do you remember? The last day of school? I think you do remember. But I just want you to know… I really care about you, like I never cared about anyone else. My only consolation for these past years was Mokuba. I know you won't hear this, and I'd be staking my reputation if anyone saw me doing this. But I realize that… you melted my heart, Serenity. You melted this heart of cold ice."
He stood up, satisfied with everything that he said. But he added one more thing. "Serenity… I was the one who brought you to the hospital, that day when you fell asleep on that bench… I guess that will have to remain a secret for a long while, then." He straightened up once more, and nodded to the nurse in charge. She batted her eyes coyly and returned to her job.
Kaiba, with nothing else left to do, called the florist's to send a bouquet of chrysanthemums for Serenity, though he specified that he didn't want her to know that he had had it delivered. After the arrangements were made, he climbed into his limousine. It was 11:00, and if he were on his usual working day, he would be at home by now, sleeping.
Turning his key in the ignition, he started the car. He was ready to go home and dream about Serenity.
Serenity stayed in the hospital for another day. Joey was not satisfied with what happened to her, when he realized that she was having relapses of her former ailment, blindness.
It was not easy for her to cope up with her new eyesight, according to the doctor. She needed adequate rest and proper health adjustments. He had argued with that, saying that he had kept his sister in good health. The doctor was able to reply, just as coolly, that she was stressing herself somehow with some of her school activities.
But Joey felt that it had something to do with Kaiba. He was acting strangely, anyhow. Not like his usual arrogant self. He had never seen a guy so out of character. And he had hung out with Serenity during that dance, that he was sure of.
'He was with her during the dance. I should confront him about it, demand what he did to make Serenity feel so stressed out.' He thought angrily.
He had never stepped inside Kaiba Corporation until that day. "Where's your boss? I need to speak with him."
"He's out, Mr. Wheeler. I'm sorry." His secretary answered.
'Where can he be? He can't still be at the hospital?' He thought, even more puzzled at Kaiba's behavior. He had always known his mortal enemy to be a workaholic. Seto Kaiba had never missed a day of his precious work whenever he was free. And now he was—it was a weekend. A long weekend, due to Monday's no classes because of clean-up. This was really getting strange.
With an air of confidence, Joey stepped out of Kaiba Corp. and made his way to the hospital.
A devastating disadvantage to Seto Kaiba was that he couldn't know when Serenity was going to wake up because of the bandages now covering her eyes. He had indeed heard about her past blindness, and how Joey used the money Yugi gave him just to pay for her operation. Now he was sitting there, worried about her while the nurses giggled all around him, and were quite envious that he was staying in this particular ward.
No doubt, they thought, that Seto Kaiba, the rich CEO of Kaiba Corp, cared about someone else aside from his own brother.
It was true, indeed, that he was at the hospital that day when Serenity finally opened her eyes.
He was just sitting calmly, one leg crossed over the other, when he heard a small yawn from behind the bed sheets. "Is someone there?" said that familiar, sweet voice that he had not yet grown accustomed to.
He paused for a moment, hardly moving. What if she discovered that he was here, beside her? Would she want him to stay with her?
But he answered her question in a stiff voice. "Yes, there is someone."
"Oh." She said, touching the bandages now covering her eyes. "Who are you? Are you the one who sent me the flowers the day before?" she inquired, definitely not recognizing his voice.
Kaiba gladly answered her question. "Yes."
"Thank you," she said gratefully. "That was really sweet. But the nurse never mentioned your name." She waited expectantly for him to identify himself.
"My name's not important," he said gruffly. "I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."
"Oh, I see. Thank you for your concern." She paused again. "Are you sure that we don't know each other? I think I heard your voice before. I just can't place it."
Kaiba thought before answering. "Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. But in any case, I have to get going. I think your brother is on his way here." He stood up, trying to believe his own alibi. If he were Joey at any chance, he would be in the hospital day and night. He wondered why his enemy had left this morning.
He left the thought hanging, and with decision, he walked to the door.
"Goodbye," Serenity called behind him.
Joey had just arrived at the hospital when the nurse told him that his sister was awake. "Thank goodness," he said breathlessly. He had stopped by the florist's before going to Kaiba Corp. He laid the small bouquet on the table beside her, and he found that there was already a vase of beautiful chrysanthemums decorating the dull white table.
He wondered who had given them, but before he could resume his thoughts, Serenity had butted in. "Hi, Joey."
"Serenity! The nurse told me you were awake. How are you?"
"I'm fine, Joey, don't worry. At the dance the other night, I… fainted, somehow."
"Yes. Someone told me about that. Listen, Serenity—were you with Kaiba that night?"
She paused before answering. "Um, yes."
"That guy's bad news, Serenity! Why were you with him?"
"He's just a former friend of mine, and I thought he had changed. But I'm not so sure now."
"He's a jerk, Serenity. And he shall forever be one. Don't hang around him. Okay? I'm not saying this to force you, but I'm saying this 'cause it's for your own good. I don't mess with that guy as much as I have to." Joey explained to his sister.
"I guess so." She answered. "Was… he the one who told you that I fainted?"
"Yeah. He was. He seemed pretty calm about it, though. He doesn't care about you, Serenity, believe me. The sister of his own enemy? He wouldn't give a damn."
"But he helped you get me to the hospital, didn't he?"
"How did you know that?" Joey demanded. He had made sure that no one knew about that.
"I thought it was just a dream, but I opened my eyes and I thought that I was in his fancy car. If he didn't care, Joey… why did he drive us to the hospital?"
"I don't know and I don't care." Joey answered. "I just want to make sure you're safe and sound." He bent closer to his sister and hugged her. "I'd kill myself if anything happened to you, Serenity."
Serenity didn't reply, but thoughts were racing in her head. 'Does Kaiba… truly care about me?' she thought over and over again as she lost herself in Joey's brotherly embrace.
A/N: There ends Chapter 11. Sorry if it was a bore, but Chapter 12 is coming up… stay tuned. And please leave a review before leaving this web page, thank you SO much. Any kind of review is welcome.