Okay, I've got another chapter up! Sometimes, I wonder if I update faster when I have more to do, because of all the pressure to finish everything else…maybe it's just my personality, though.

This chapter is longer than the last two chapters. So for those of you that are picky about that—I won't mention who—hope you're happy! Of course, I'm just joking around…

Anyway. I don't own Yugioh, it characters, or anything of the sort. You know what I mean…

On with Chapter XVI!

Serenity was waiting worriedly at the window of Joey's house for Kaiba's car to come by. Often, she wished she had never gotten into that argument with him. They would at least be talking instead of just barely able to tolerate each other's presence, and she never would have figured out about that email and wouldn't have made herself participate.

But now she had, so she had no choice but to watch the snow drifting lightly down outside and watch for a pair of headlights coming from the left. She was happy Joey was gone with his friends right now. If he was home, she might have had to explain where she was going. Just the sound of that made her feel at ends. She still didn't feel like explaining things to him. She was on her own now.

There were two specks of lights coming in her direction down the road. She pressed her face closer to the window, hoping that it was Kaiba, but it wasn't. Just before the car reached her block, it turned down another street to disappear.

She gave up standing by the window—it was cold, anyway—and went to sit on the couch instead. However, she did nothing else, not even getting the remote control to turn on the TV and see what was on that would pass the time. Instead, she simply fussed with the ends of her scarf, looped around her neck. It was warm in here, even without her sweater on, but outside, it would be freezing. Watching the clock, she began to tie knots and untie them in an unconscious fashion, simply letting her eyes wander around the room every once in a while.

After five minutes, though, she stood back up to walk to the window once more. Pulling the curtain open a crack, she peered out. Still no car.

It wasn't that she was anxious to get out of the house. The room was pretty warm and cozy, and she'd rather stay inside. Rather, she was worried about her friend, and wanted to make sure he was still okay, or, at least, in no worse condition than he was the last time she had seen him. It was highly unlikely, but it would be better to see him alive than never see him again. She shuddered at the thought and quickly pushed it away.

Another pair of headlights scattered the rest of her dark thoughts. Squinting, she watched as it stopped a block away. It continued forward. It looked slightly like Kaiba's car…yes, it was. Quickly, she gathered her small bag that contained her house keys and other small details, and put on a pair of mittens. Grabbing the keys out of the bag, she walked out the door and locked it.

Kaiba was already waiting for her in his car by the time she made it to the sidewalk. "Do you have what you need?" he asked her as soon as she opened the door.

"Yeah," she answered, carefully getting in so she wouldn't get her scarf caught between the door. He watched her for a moment, then started the motor once more and headed in the direction of the city hall.

The streets were unimaginably crowded, even for Christmas Eve. Every once in a while, Kaiba would have to stop his car in the middle of the street for some crazy person that would run across the street to get to another store on the other side. Even then, though, all of the people looked so happy. To Serenity, who was in a gloom, all of it seemed so—

"They seem so mocking, don't they?"

Serenity jumped in her seat, startled. "Yeah, they do," she answered quietly. How had he known that was what she had been thinking about?

She heard a click, then rustling and turned around to see him unfolding a piece of paper, a ray of light shining on it. Leaning a bit closer, she peered over his shoulder and looked. It was a copy of the email. "What's that for?"

"Proof. I've kept a copy of everything so far. If they don't keep their word, they're off to court."

"But shouldn't you already be…?"

A bitter grin crossed his lips. "As of now, I have no one to charge, and even if I did, it wouldn't help anyway. Nothing can happen until we get our hands on whoever is behind this." His eyes flickered her way for a brief moment as she opened her mouth and started to say something, then focused on the busy road once more. "What?" he asked bluntly.

"Shouldn't you get help, then?" she asked timidly.

"I have. Last time, at the park, was an example. The only problem is, that doesn't mean we can catch them. They still got away."

A horn honked behind them. Kaiba peered through his rearview mirror, then ignored it. If that was directed towards him, they obviously didn't have their eyes open. "Anyway," he said, continuing, "it's really up to us. Others can only do so much to help, without the resources that we have."

"What resources do you mean?"

"Anything, really. KaibaCorp being my company and not anyone else's. Mokuba, who is my brother. My email, which only I have access to. There's more. But other people can't know enough to help because they aren't a victim."

Serenity didn't say anything. She hadn't really thought of it that way before. Of course, he was right. The only person who could really know anything about what was happening would be him. Even she knew very little. Even if he told her all that he knew, it wouldn't help much. Because she hadn't gotten the information firsthand, she might be receiving it wrong. Intentions always read differently in everyone, unless you specialized in doing so. It was for him to decipher.

There was one thing she felt that he was wrong about, though. "You aren't the victim, Seto. It's everyone around you."

He was quiet for a moment, then said, "No, you're wrong. Why else would they be taking my brother?"

"Even though it's your company, it's not completely directed at you. Everything that they've done has hurt others, which in turn hurts you. Mokuba, your employees, me, and even Joey and his friends," she said softly. "You may not realize it, but I can see it."

"That's enough," he answered curtly. "I don't need you to tell me what to do. You're going too far." She opened her mouth. "Enough, I said."

She closed it and turned to look out the passenger window once more. It wasn't until he said so that she knew she had overstepped her boundaries. But she didn't dwell on it for long. There was no use in doing so. Instead, she let herself get lost in the view outside, where all the lights, people, and glowing decorations were.

Watching the Christmas shoppers, she yearned to be one of them. Over there, a child was begging for something from his mother, probably to get something as a gift. A few stores over, a happy couple was peering in through the window and gazing at a Christmas item on display. On the next block, a river of people were walking in and out of a huge store, over half of them carrying bags full of presents for relatives. Even though she had done her shopping already, it had been done alone. It made her a bit sad to see all of these people so joyful about theirs.

They drove past a park, usually empty, now full of Christmas shoppers taking a break. Young kids ran around in the playground, laughing and enjoying themselves. Their parents sat on the benches, watching carefully to make sure they were safe, bags piled around their feet. Tourists gazed at the bows on the green lit lamp posts, the tinsel hung between them, and the shiny decorated tree in the middle. A small line was gathered beside a small glowing booth—probably for coffee and hot chocolate to chase away the cold.

But as suddenly as she saw the sight, it disappeared. It was replaced by a huge building, rising above them. Few people cared for it, and only came near to walk past it. Even less went in or out. Pillars of cold stone stood like sentries, barring the way. Only the small amount of decorated streetlamps on the sidewalk before it brought any life, and the lights inside the door were somewhat jolly. Serenity looked up to see the words "City Hall" inscribed at the top.

She abruptly realized that the car had stopped. Clambering out, she quickly closed the door behind her and ran after Kaiba. She barely kept up with his brisk steps.

"No, stay in," he commanded with a low voice. "I don't want them to know you're still involved. I'd rather they think you an innocent girl who doesn't know what's going on anymore."

She opened her mouth with a reply to it, but realized what she took as an insult wasn't that bad of a disguise. Turning around, she walked the few steps back to the car.

As soon as she got in, Serenity pressed her face against the windows. There was no problem with that, since it was now dark and the windows were tinted, except she would probably get fingerprints on the glass. She withdrew from the pane temporarily, then wrapped the ends of her scarf around her hands. She resumed her watching once more.

Kaiba was walking up the steps and headed towards the door of the city hall, looking as if he was heading for a business errand there and nothing else. However, when the man dressed in black came out from behind a pillar, the indifference changed. He barely changed his course to head towards the stranger.

Standing quite a distance apart, close enough to talk in low tones but far enough so they could be as far away from each other as they could, they exchanged a few words. Serenity thought of rolling down the window and seeing if she could catch some words—her hearing was still extremely good from the times when her eyes had been all but unusable—but thought better of it; someone might see. Instead, she settled to just watching.

The man smiled behind his shades, but Kaiba didn't react, other than to answer something in reply. It must have stung, because the other man had his mouth open for awhile before answering with an angry look. One hand ventured out of his pocket and made a gesture that looked as if he were trying to gather air in his hand. Kaiba answered again.

The stranger put his hand in the coat pocket once more, only to take it out for the second time. This time, it contained something small and white. He stepped closer held it before the CEO's face, saying something, a sneer on his face. As Kaiba tried to snatch it from him, he pulled it back like a snake, and his foe was unable to grab it.

A few more words were exchanged. The content sneer slowly turned to a look of fustration and anger. Kaiba's face was still stoic and unchanged. Finally, it seemed that the man could not hold it back any longer. He ripped the object in his hands and set it sailing out into the winds. The sneer came back, full of hatred instead of taunt.

The CEO did not chase after it, but Serenity saw his eyes flicker after it, and saw his expression change for just a moment. She followed his gaze and watched the three pieces drifted her way on the chilly winter wind. She watched them fly high into the sky, almost high enough to become no more than mere specks, but they came back down again. One was caught underneath the windshield wipers, while the others floated down underneath the car and made their way to another place on Earth. However, one of them had stuck to the window before it disappeared around the side of the car. She caught a glimpse of what was written on it.

"Mokuba is…the place wh….him. Me…"

Serenity was desperate to grab the paper still stuck under the wiper, but knew she would be seen if she did. Instead, she committed to memory what she had just seen, and turned her gaze back to the exchange of words happening mere yards before her. Kaiba's gaze caught hers, and she knew he had been watching the scraps, too. His eyes then turned back to the man before him, and he gave no indication he knew she was there.

A few more words were exchanged, but Serenity did not watch them anymore. Instead, she fixed her gaze on the one scrap of paper before her. It wasn't for a while unto she realized that the wind had firmly lodged it under the wiper, and it would not be able to escape unless an unusually strong wind blew under it.

She pulled open the glove compartment and dug inside for a blank piece of paper and a pen. She found the writing device in a few seconds, as it was put in front of everything else inside, but it took a little longer to find something she knew she wouldn't get in trouble for writing on. It was a small notepad with lined paper. Tearing a piece off, she used the pad as a surface and copied down the words she had seen as close to exactly the same as she had observed it as possible. She even drew a jagged line down the page, indicating where the paper had been torn. She checked it once, making sure she didn't forget anything. At least she wouldn't have to worry about forgetting it now.

Footsteps coming towards her made her look up. It was Kaiba. She quickly put the cap back on the pen and dropped it and the notepad back where she had found them. A shadow momentarily fell over her—he was picking up the paper on his windshield—and disappeared as she closed the compartment once more. She looked up just as the door opened.

"What are you doing digging through my stuff?" he asked, not bothering to look at her as he closed the door and took out his keys.

"I was getting a piece of paper and a pen," she answered.

She expected him to start the engine, but he simply sat there with the keys cradled limply in his hands. He jingled them in his hands a few times, then glanced down at them. Serenity followed his gaze to see the paper he had picked up. "What's written on there?" she questioned.

He smoothed out the wrinkles and creases from the paper, and turned it around so he could read it. Serenity peered over his shoulder. "I don't know. A part of a message, perhaps."

She offered her small slip of paper to him. "One that would be connected to this?"

He looked at it for a merest second, then put his piece on top of hers, where the lines seemed to match up. They fit. "Mokuba is at…something…the place where we…something…him. Meet me at…something," he read. He simply considered it for a moment, then turned to her. "Where did you get that from?"

"The paper got caught on the window for a moment, when the wind was pushing it against the window. This was what I was able to read before it disappeared."

"Nothing else?"

She shook her head. He put the paper in her hands, and put his keys to use. "Well, keep them for now. We'll discuss this somewhere else."

Serenity glanced at the numbers that had popped up on the small screen between them, where she had once made a fuss about the radio. It was nearing 9:30. "Today?"

"I don't know," he said, preoccupied with driving. "Do you want to discuss this today, or some other day?"

He left the words hanging in the air. She knew what was unspoken was reference to her uneasy terms with her brother. She hesitated.

"Well?" he asked.

"Um…well, Joey said he wouldn't get back until really late, around eleven or so, but…I think it's best for me to go home now." Her eyes made her way to her hands clasped on her lap before her.

"Do you really still let him control your life like that? I thought you had let that go."

The remark stung. "He's still my brother," she said stiffly.

"So?"

She chose not to answer. He wouldn't understand, even if he was her closest friend now.

She was almost asleep by the time they made it to her home. She didn't even realize that the car had stopped until the small light overhead brightened when Kaiba opened the door. Yawning, she made her way out, still holding the paper.

"I'll take that," he said, reaching for them.

She handed them over. They were of no use to her, anyway, for now. Digging through her small bag for her keys, she made her way to the door. It wasn't until she had put the key in the lock when she remembered something.

Quickly looking behind her, she saw Kaiba getting into his car. Not even bothering to take the key out of the doorknob, she ran over to the car. She knocked on the passenger's window a few times.

The window rolled down. "What?" he asked.

"Can—Can you wait a minute? I forgot before, but I wanted to give you something." She felt her face heat up in embarrassment.

He nodded. Not waiting a second more, Serenity raced to the door and quickly unlocked it. Taking the key with her this time, she left the door ajar and made her way to her bedroom as fast as she could. She didn't bother to turn on the lights or take off her shoes, but simply ran to her closet and opened it, blindly reaching inside for something inside. Her hands felt jackets and hangers, and finally felt a bundle wrapped in paper. Pulling it out, she closed the closet and made her way back outside once more.

His window was still open, letting in some of the snow that had started to drift down. "Here," she said, maneuvering it inside the car.

He didn't take it. However, he asked, "What is it?"

That was a pretty reasonable question to ask. In the poor light, it looked like a bundle of paper from a previous Christmas gift event, left as trash, but smoothed out to be reused. However, a pretty ribbon had been tied around and made into a decent bow. A tag hung off it.

"It's for you. Open it," she said, smiling shyly.

He stared at it for a moment longer, then gave in and took it. With more light shining on it, it looked more like a bundle was hidden inside, and not anywhere as sloppy. "Now?" he asked. She nodded, putting her hands on the top of the window and sticking her head in.

Slowly pulling the ends of the ribbon, he untied it and set it aside, on the seat where Serenity had just been sitting in a few minutes ago. He turned it around, looking for a place to open the wrapping paper. She laughed softly. "You don't have to save the wrapping paper," she said. "Just rip it."

However, he didn't. He slid a hand under the wrapping paper and slowly pulled off the tape, one piece at a time. There was not one tear in the paper that hadn't been there before. The paper fell on his lap.

The surprise was evident on his face when he unraveled his gift. White cascaded down from his hands to form a curtain that fell on his knees in a pile. A deep maroon was in the shadows, visible through a slit between the two layers that had been formed as he held it up. Tears and holes were all over it, making it look as if it had seen terrible things.

Indeed, it had. It was his trenchcoat, from the day of the accident so long ago.

"Why do you give this back to me?" he asked softly, lightly smoothing away a crease on the logo KC.

Serenity smiled. "It's not mine. I couldn't keep it. Anyway, I didn't know what else I could possibly give you for the holidays. You probably have all that you want. All that can be bought with money, that is," she added softly, her expression becoming more reserved.

He stared at it a moment longer, then proceeded to fold it neatly to fit on the seat beside him. "I never really thought I would see that old thing again," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, the best gifts are surprises, right?" The smile lit up her face once more. Her infectious mood spread to him, and he couldn't help but laugh at her. She could just imagine how she looked, with the snow that had slowly collected in her hair and on her clothes, making damp patches all over her. Her laughter soon joined his.

The flickering of the streetlight above them made her look up, and as she did, she suddenly noticed how cold she was getting standing outside in near-freezing weather. "I should make my way home soon," Serenity said, straightening up and facing her front door. The door was still open, and snow had made a small, thin carpet inside.

"And clean up a bit," Seto's voice added. She turned back to face him.

"I'm sorry, Serenity, that I didn't get you a gift," he said awkwardly after a bit of silence.

She shook her head in reply. "No, it's fine. Your kindness has been enough."

"If you say." He glanced at the trenchcoat once more, then back at her. "Good night, Serenity," he said softly.

"Good night, Seto," she said in reply. She stayed there until he had disappeared into the black of the night.

As always, reviews are welcome!