Another chapter before school starts…originally, I was at a loss at how to write this chapter. But with a bit of help from my sister, I got an idea, and it really grew into something…this is my longest chapter yet. And just to think that I had no idea what content exactly I would put in this chapter…

Thanks to my reviewers!

lilxangelxsweetz: Yep, definitely…Or is it? I'm can't tell anyone that yet…

bingbing: Thanks for the two reviews! You know, you could of just read both chapters and then reviewed on the last…but anyway. Haha, I love reading your reviews! The comments strike me as funny, i.e. the memory chip being the bomb. No, you're not crazy for any of your thoughts. You know how you said some parts were a bit long? Well, I wanted it to be tedious because, well, I always think Kaiba's that way and I wanted it to seem like he met his match out there. Maybe I did it wrong…Oh yeah, and here's the update you're bothering me about.

So, other than the fact that I don't own Yugioh or the characters, enjoy the story! Well, I do own the tissues and the garbage bin and the note and the pajamas…technically….well, you get the point.

Serenity let her head drop onto her arms, sprawled across her desk at home. She closed her eyes. Why do I have to suffer a cold now? she thought. Why now, when I have so much homework to do and so much to learn at school? By the time I get back, I'll be way behind everyone else. It'll take me forever to catch up!

Sniffing, she let a hand wander to find the tissue box sitting conveniently to one side of the desk. She reached inside, only to find it empty, and sighed. Why was the only box of tissues left at home filled one fourth of the way with tissues? She pushed herself out of her chair, still not looking up, stumbling on one of the legs, and dropped the empty box into the small trash bin in her room on the way out to get more. It seemed a long way to the closet and the small travel packs that were behind that door. When Joey came home, the first thing she would do would be to ask him to buy some more boxes of the precious paper cloths.

Just as she plopped back into her chair to get more of her report done, the phone rang. This time, she groaned. A day at home was supposed to be more peaceful than this. Walking to the living room, she picked up the phone and plopped onto the couch. "Hello?" she asked tiredly.

"What are you doing at home? It's a Tuesday. There was school today."

She closed her eyes and repressed the sigh coming up her throat. That sarcastic, arrogant, and…irritating voice could belong to none other than Kaiba. She really didn't feel like dealing with him for right now. "Because I don't feel well. I caught the cold yesterday."

"Is it really that bad? I'm sure you could still go to school and do a bit of work. Or is what Mokuba told me about your dedication to school a lie?"

"It isn't! But—but—but I just don't feel comfortable going to school like this…"

A sigh came from over the line. "Anyway, so I suppose you're not going to do any work today?"

"At your office? Probably not…"

A low muttering was heard over the phone. "So I…all this…to…" She could guess easily that he was saying something about wasting his time going there. "What about tomorrow? Are you going to stay at home again?"

"No…staying at home for one day is fine, but staying for more will make me fall behind too much."

"Okay then. I'll meet you at the same place in the parking lot tomorrow." There was a pause. "And I hope you feel better soon."

Serenity was hesitant for a second, not sure what to say to those words from a man like him. "Th—Thank you. See you tomorrow."

There was no reply. She put the phone back down and rubbed her eyes. She was so tired…taking a nap right now couldn't hurt. After all, she had finished her homework and done the school assignments that she had called a friend for except for the huge project that had another week yet. She was farther ahead in the project than anyone else in her class, anyway…

She walked into her room once more, but didn't bother to stop at her desk. She went to the other side of her room instead, where her bed was waiting, comfortable and warm. Not even bothering to lift up the covers and slip under them, she simply fell on top of it all. She closed her eyes and fell asleep in an instant.

An hour later, Serenity woke up to the sound of something clanging. She lay motionless, unsure of what it was. When she didn't hear it again, she closed her eyes again, thinking it was her imagination. But looking at the clock, she saw it was four thirty, and immediately knew what it was. The sound she had heard was the mailbox outside the front door opening and closing.

She yawned tiredly as she sat up, her right hand coming up to cover her mouth, then swung her legs over the side of her bed. Her feet took awhile trying to find her slippers, but found the warmth easily enough. She took her sweater from the closet and put it on as she shuffled to the front door. She was still so tired…

Unlocking the front door, she turned the knob and walked outside to the mailbox on the wall. She pulled open the lid and reached inside without looking. Her hand only found one envelope. She was about to check with her eyes this time for anything she had missed when she heard a voice behind her. "Hey, Serenity, what are you doing out here with just your pajamas on?"

She gasped in fright, turning behind her with the envelope clutched close to her. "Joey! I—I—I was just getting the mail…"

Puzzlement was written on his features. "Why are you still in your pajamas, though? It's past four thirty already."

She looked down at herself and finally realized the truth in his words, seeing her pink pants and fuzzy slippers. "I took a nap and…um…forgot that I was still in them?" She smiled sheepishly, hoping Joey wouldn't comment about it.

He looked at her with the same expression for awhile longer, then said, "Whatever you say. But let's go inside. It's not good to stay out in the cold while you're sick."

Serenity followed him obediently and closed the door behind her. Joey continued walking into the kitchen. "Oh, by the way," he called over his shoulder. "What's in the mail?"

She looked down at the piece of mail that had been forgotten in her hand. Serenity Wheeler was written on the front of the envelope. "Oh, it's nothing. Just something for me."

"Okay then." She could hear Joey digging through the refrigerator for a snack. Looking at the envelope again, she walked back to her room, opening it as she walked.

She plopped on her desk, about to read the letter. Suddenly, she realized that she didn't even know whom it was from. She turned the envelope around to see the front, but there was nothing but her name and address on it. There was no return address, or even a stamp. It struck her as suspicious, but barely. She didn't contemplate on it. Instead, she opened the letter and started reading.

Dear Serenity Wheeler,

I will give you ten days to persuade Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corperations, to hand over his company. If you complete the job successfully, you will be awarded with a large sum of money. If you fail to do so, you put your life and the two Kaiba brothers' on the line. You will have no need to tell us what your choice is; I have eyes everywhere to do that for me. I'll make sure this task is completed, one way or the other, so do not think you can get away with foolery. And don't think of showing this to anybody else, either, because you don't want to know what will happen to you and everyone else you care about. The sooner you do this, the better. I'll be waiting.

There was no name of the sender anywhere on the letter, either, but she didn't need a name to know who it was. She turned pale and let the letter fall to her desk.

"Hey, Serenity, you okay in there?"

She immediately jumped out of her seat and backed into the wall opposite the door. Her eyes were wide and terrified.

"Serenity? Are you in there? Can I come in?"

It took another few moments for her to recognize the voice as her brother's. Letting out a shaky breath that she hadn't even noticed that she had been holding, she ran across the room and threw open the door. "S—So—Sorry—" she stuttered, still trying to calm herself down.

Joey simply looked at her for a moment, then walked into her room. "What's wrong with you, Serenity? You seem way out of it…" He looked back at her. "And why are you so pale?"

"Nothing…" she said as she closed the door, her eyes on the floor.

"I don't believe you."

She stayed silent. Knowing that he wouldn't get an answer, he walked over to her desk and picked up the letter, curious as to what was on it. "Who's it from?" he asked as he opened it.

"No!" Serenity cried. She ran towards her brother and snatched the letter out of his hand. Joey was so surprised that he didn't even try to take it back. "It's just from…a…a friend…"

"Then why can't I read it? Come on, let me see…"

"Because…! Because there's stuff in it that I don't want you to see!"

"Sure, sis, sure. Come on, hand it over…" He tried to snatch it out of her hand, but Serenity pulled her hand back just enough that he missed it by an inch. He tried again, and got it the second time.

His sister immediately lunged for it, jumping into the air. "Give it back, Joey!" He held it up in the air, above her reach.

"Not until you let me read it." He waved it above her head and pulled his hand back as she jumped for it again and again. "After I'm done, you can have it back, I promise." He then resumed to turn his back to her and read it against one corner of her bedroom.

Serenity watched with a wide eyed gaze, knowing that things would turn bad after he finished that short letter. She was right. At first, he simply stared at it, then his eyes moved once more as he read it again. For one more second, the room was quiet, then Joey exploded, "What? This is from a friend? It's a threat letter!"

Tears welled up behind his sister's eyes. "I know…" she said quietly. "I…just didn't want you to read the letter…I thought that…that…" She gave up explaining. Instead, she fell onto her bed in a sitting position and let her head drop down to face the floor.

Joey quietly walked over to sit beside her, his goofy mood disappearing. He put his arm around her. "Who is it really from?" he asked gently.

"I—I—I don't know…"

"It does with Kaiba, doesn't it? And Mokuba?" She nodded, not trusting herself to talk.

They sat there for a while in silence, one trying to put herself back together, the other trying to comfort her and figure out how to fix the problem that the letter had caused.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Joey asked softly. "I want to ask Kaiba what he's up to, involving you in something like this."

Serenity looked up at her brother, the tears stopped but still on her cheeks. "Okay…But there's one thing." She rubbed at the water left on her skin.

"What is it?" he said, getting up and pulling her with him.

"Just promise that you won't be mean to him, Joey. I was the one who wanted to help; he didn't make me. So don't blame it all on him, okay?"

"Fine then," he muttered, back to his old temper. "Just let me bother him a little bit, though. He deserves it."

"Well…"

"I promise I won't do anything terrible."

"Okay."

"Wheeler, I thought you said you weren't coming because you felt sick." Kaiba addressed her without looking away from his computer screen. His hands continued to tap the keys of the keyboard.

"Well…" Serenity looked at Joey helplessly, who was standing by her side. "I got something that I thought you would want to see…"

The words got his attention. He looked up sharply and sent his piercing blue gaze at her, sweeping over her brother. They came back just for an instant to glance at him. "So you brought your brother here too. Great." He turned his gaze back to her. "What is it you wanted to show me? It better be good. I don't have time to waste sitting here and spending my time looking at some petty thing."

She took the letter out of a small bag hanging off her shoulder, the heat rising to her face. She should have waited until tomorrow to do this. She should have known he would be annoyed with her for coming after saying she wasn't going to. He probably thought she was a waste of time, now. He didn't even address her by her first name anymore.

"Here," she said, walking up to him and handing him the letter. She kept her eyes on the ground.

"What? A piece of mail? What does paper addressed to you have anything to do with me?"

Joey stepped up and put himself between his sister and the CEO. "Why don't you read it, huh? Maybe you'll understand then."

Kaiba simply put the envelope on the surface of his desk and crossed his arms, leaning against the table. "I will. Once you get yourself out of my face. And this doesn't concern you. Didn't your sister just say that she got something she wanted to show me? I don't recall her ever saying something about you."

"Kaiba…" Joey growled.

Serenity quickly interrupted. "Joey, it's okay. He just doesn't understand, that's all." Turning to Kaiba, she found it a bit harder to say the right thing. "The message written inside is…is…" She looked down again, not quite able to say what was inside for the fear of crying again.

He scrutinized her for a moment, wondering if she was hiding something that even the mail wouldn't reveal. But instead of saying anything, he picked up the envelope and took out the paper inside, unfolding it and reading the message that had been read many times by at least three pairs of eyes already—the Wheelers, the sender, and whoever else had taken over writing it. His eyes took in the message quickly.

When he was done, he put it back on the desk, saying nothing, as if there had been nothing unusual written in it. It was enough to set Joey off again. "So what do you think now? I still don't have anything to do with me, even when my sister's life is in danger all because of you? Let's see you think of a way to get her out of this, smart ass."

Kaiba looked mildly at him. "All because of me? Wheeler, you—"

"Joey, I told you not to do that…" Serenity mumbled beside him.

"Even your sister knows the truth. It's not my fault that she's in this mess."

"So you're just going to let her get hurt out there?" Joey exploded. "She's my sister! I'm not going to stand helpless out there and watch her—" He hesitated for a second. "I'm not just going to leave her out there all alone in harm's way! And neither should you!"

Kaiba gave him the mild look once again. "Who said I was going to? All I said was that it wasn't my fault. That in no way relates to leaving her in danger. You're too quick to make assumptions, Wheeler."

"Yeah, and you're not? Who was the one that said mail wouldn't concern you just because your name wasn't one the envelope?" Joey unconsciously crouched down slightly into a fighting stance, challenging Kaiba with his eyes.

However, he didn't care for it. Instead, Kaiba walked behind his desk and looked out the window. "I never said that. That's another assumption you made." He abruptly turned back before Joey could say anything else. "Enough talk about you and your weaknesses. I don't have time for it." His gaze, now sharp and piercing instead of mild, turned to the girl. "What made you show me the letter?"

Serenity kept her eyes on her shoes. "Well…I don't know. Joey just told me to, I guess."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He just…he just wanted to talk to you about it and know what was happening, so I came along."

Kaiba leaned against his desk again and sighed. "Wheeler, if you want me to help you, I told you already, stop being so embarrassed and just say it. No one cares how stupid a remark is if it makes any sense, or if it's the truth to a question."

Serenity looked up at him uncomprehendingly. Didn't she just answer the question he asked?

He sighed again. "Alright, I'll ask my question with a simpler idea. You saw all of the threats on the letter. You could have easily chosen to hide the letter and at least have tried to persuade me to do something about the company, even though you wouldn't succeed anyway. At least you'd have better chances of being safe. Why risk everything by telling me instead?"

"I don't know…I never really thought about that…I just did." When she saw the look on Kaiba's face, she hurried on and said, "I never really thought about the consequences…I guess I just trusted you enough," she said softly.

The two men simply stood there looking at her, one in shock and disbelief, the other with mixed emotions. Joey could barely bear the silence that hung there as he heard the words. His sister, trusting a man like Kaiba? What was she thinking? If it weren't for him, she wouldn't even be in this danger right now!

Kaiba's thoughts ran in the exact same direction, yet they ran in the total opposite direction, too. How could a girl like her actually trust a man like him? Only Mokuba had in his whole life…what exactly was it that he did so she also confided in him? She had her brother to keep trust with. Somehow, the thought made him a bit angry. Did she see him as someone just like that fool mutt not five feet away from him? But it made him feel calm, too. It made him feel as if he was in control of the situation, and made the task suddenly seem a bit easier to handle.

"I'm sorry if I said something wrong…" Serenity said hesitantly.

"Of course you did!" her brother exploded. Hurt showed on his face. "You said you trusted him! That's what's wrong about what you said!"

Kaiba had control of his temper and, amazingly, could still act calm. "No, she just said the truth. There's nothing wrong with that. Maybe you don't like it, but it doesn't mean it's wrong." He focused back on the younger Wheeler sibling. "You did the right thing to show this to me this quick. There is a small chance that they don't think you got the letter this quick, and they might not be watching you yet. Of course, the chance is just a big as the chance of a camera being in this room that is controlled by the enemy that I don't know of. I can't turn around the risk you put on yourself coming here with this letter, Serenity, but I'll try my best to keep it at a minimum." He turned away and walked behind his desk, looking out the window to sort his thoughts.

Joey took the chance to talk with his sister. "Serenity, why him?" The hurt now went into his voice, seeing that Kaiba had accepted the trust. With the use of her name, it had only made it worse.

"Joey, I trust you, too. I'll never be as close to anyone as much as I am to you. But I have to take some chances now. Please, understand?"

Her brother took a step closer and put his hands on her shoulders. He took a deep breath. "I know you have to. But promise me one thing. If anything ever happens, don't ever, ever, hesitate to come to me. Okay? I'll always be there for you."

"I promise." She hugged him tightly, letting a few tears gather in her eyes. She knew he understood it, had always understood it all. He had just been too reluctant to let it go without a fight. It had taken him this much to do so.

Kaiba stepped back beside them. "Wheeler, I have a proposal." Joey turned to glare at him, knowing it was him who was being addressed and not his sister. "Keep your insults to the minimum and act a bit more respectful, and I'll do the same for you." He didn't stop talking as Joey opened his mouth to protest. "I'm not saying for us to become friends, I'm just saying that we could try to be a little more civilized. In truth, I'm sick of having to throw insults every time I see you. We know what we both want to say, so why don't we just keep our mouths shut?"

Serenity stared at him with wide eyes, the tears forgotten and beginning to dry still in her eyes. "You'd really do that?"

"Hey, I never said I agreed here," Joey said.

She immediately turned to him. "Please, Joey? Please? You can still argue if you want, but just not about…this. Please? You can still act the same way you did before, buy just don't bring up this in the middle."

He looked down at his little sister and couldn't help but melt a bit. "Alright, Serenity. For you."

"So it's still going to be the same, but this issue won't be pulled into the arguments anymore. Do you agree, Wheeler?" The mocking was back in his voice.

"You bet!" Joey said, coming back to his old temper too. "I've never backed away from a challenge, and don't plan to do so now!"

Before either of them could say any more, Serenity stood between them and faced Kaiba, smiling at him. For what was probably the first time. "Thank you so much, Kaiba! You have no idea how much it means to me!" She then turned around and hugged her brother, making him stagger backwards a bit. "Thanks to you, too, big brother!"

The CEO stepped towards his desk, hiding a small smile. "If you're done, you can get out. I have work to do." He smoothed his face back to its usual cold look before sitting in his chair and handing the letter to Serenity. "And you'll want this too."

"Thank you," she answered, still smiling.

"Make sure you're careful out there, Serenity," he said, his tone so serious that it brought the smile off her face and Joey's attitude down to a rare seriousness. "If there's anything suspicious, tell your brother or me or some one else you trust immediately. What you got today makes everything different. Keep your senses sharp. Don't dismiss anything as coincidence. The smallest mistake can put your life at forfeit. This advice is the best I can give you right now. I hope you take it."

"I—I will," she said softly. He didn't answer. "Thank you again, Kaiba."

As Joey led her out, she heard him say, "You can call me Seto. That's what you wanted, isn't it?" She turned around at the doorway with Joey outside. "Just not in public. If it's just me and you, fine. Anything else can still put your life on the line, because it'll confirm how valuable you are in helping me keep this company and getting Mokuba back. That information in the hands of the enemy is the same as just giving up. Address me as Seto or Kaiba, it doesn't matter, but just remember to be careful."

Serenity turned back to Joey and said, "Wait here for a second." He didn't argue, so she went back inside the room to Kaiba—Seto's—desk. "Thank you again, Seto Kaiba. I'll promise to heed every word you said."

She had no idea how much of a burden she had just promised to, but he didn't say anything as she walked out the door and to an elevator with her brother. A promise like that was impossible to keep. No one could follow every word anyone ever said; it just wasn't possible. She would make a slip some day. But, in some way, it had been the best thing she could have said. She could have just heeded the advice and kept silent, but it wouldn't have been the same. Saying that had made it seem more meaningful, somehow. Truer and more valuable. It had just sealed a deep contract between them, one that he would hold close to him and work hard not to break. Her promise would be hard on her, and he had to take his share.

Ahhh…done with another chapter. I finally got to the part that did with the letter about the, "P.S. Can I call you Seto?" part…did you like it? Review, please!