When vengeance goes too far
Chapter 10: The hardest part
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Yu-Gi-Oh. They are the property of Kazuki Takahashi, Shonen Jump, Konami and Shueisha comics.
Kaiba had just saved Serenity from killing herself and had just opened up to her and much to Kaiba's surprise, Serenity had not only forgiven him, but also admitted that she loved him as well. The two on them embraced each other and Kaiba smiled. A week ago, he would've never have even dreamed of doing this. Back then, he would've seen this as weakness. However, he didn't feel weak. In fact, he felt stronger. He still didn't believe that what happened in his head was real, but he realised that regardless of whether he believed it was real or not, it was his determination to get to Serenity and apologise to her that overcame that impostor.
"Hey you two," came an unfamiliar voice, "What the heck are you doing up here? This area is off limits to the public."
They both spun round and saw a workman standing at the door.
"Well," he said, "I'm waiting. What's your excuse for being up here and it better not be that you were looking for a private place to…"
He stopped as soon as he noticed Kaiba's glare.
"It's not what you think," Kaiba, said, "This girl's only thirteen going on fourteen for crying out loud. If you must know, I was saving her from making a mistake."
The workman gulped and Serenity said, "It's true. I wanted to take my own life."
The workman then nodded in understanding.
"Okay, I'll take your word for it," he said, "Now get inside."
Kaiba led Serenity inside and down the stairs. He knew that although he may have saved Serenity and earned her forgiveness, he knew that he wasn't out of the woods yet. He still had to see Joey and Mrs Wheeler, not to mention Mokuba. Mokuba would probably forgive him and go back with him instantly, but Joey and his mother were another story. He knew that Joey didn't like him and he had no idea the kind of person Mrs Wheeler was. Sure, he had overheard Joey telling the others about how viewed his mother in school, but that was just his opinion of her. Kaiba just hoped that his newfound love for Serenity wouldn't break up the Wheeler Family any more that it already had been.
Back down in the lobby, Tristen was caressing his face, which had just been punched. Kaiba had barged passed him and shoved him into a big muscular guy and Tristen made the mistake of yelling at him.
"Man when I get hold of that Kaiba, he's a dead man," he complained.
"Quit complaining," Tea, said, "I'm worried about where Serenity is."
"She's fine. Probably went to see her brother or something," Tristen replied.
Tea was on her last nerve. She had put up with Tristen's pacing and complaining ever since they arrived at the hospital and truth be told, she was about ready to deck him one. She wouldn't normally do something like that, but after hours of nothing but annoying pacing and complaining, Tea was at breaking point.
"Here comes Serenity now," Yugi said, unknowingly preventing the situation between Tristen and Tea from getting worse.
Tristen was about to go over to Serenity, but then he noticed Kaiba with his arm slung round her back.
"Hey rich-boy," he said angrily, "Get yer disgusting mitts offa her."
Kaiba only glared at him.
"What happened?" Tea said. Either she understood what Kaiba had done or she chose to ignore him. Kaiba decided that the latter was probably correct since he got the message that Tea didn't like him that much.
"I was going to kill myself," Serenity, admitted, "But Kaiba here stopped me."
"Why?" Tristen asked Kaiba suspiciously, "So you can emotionally torture her some more?"
"I was apologising," Kaiba said, obviously annoyed with Tristen. Out of all the "geeks", Tristen was the one that had tried to get off with Serenity the most. Duke Devlin also had tried, but he was mostly away on business, usually business related to his game, Dungeon Dice Monsters.
"Yeah right," Tristen, said, "Since when have you ever apologised and really meant it?"
"It's true," Serenity, said, "He did apologise to me."
Tristen was shocked. Was Serenity defending him? Nah, why would she defend a heartless ass like Kaiba?
"Believe what you want to Tristen," Kaiba, said, "Because to be honest, I could care less what you think."
Tristen was left in shock, much to Serenity's pleasure. It was about time someone put Tristen in his place. Serenity felt that Tristen was only interested in her because of her beauty. She remembered all the lies he told her about how he was the one that taught Joey how to play Duel Monsters, taking credit from Yugi's grandpa. Sure after he lost to Nezbitt, he came clean, but that was only because, at least to Serenity he had no other choice. If he hadn't have lost, he probably would've kept on lying to her just to get her to like him.
"Later," Kaiba, said, "We're off to finish what I came here for."
"He Seto, wait up!" Mokuba yelled chasing after his brother and Serenity who were heading towards Joey and Mrs Wheeler's rooms.
"Wow," Tea, said, "That was weird."
"I only hope Kaiba's newfound kindness lasts," Yugi said.
Yami appeared next to him and nodded.
"I don't believe it," Tristen, said, "Why'd Serenity forgive him?"
"Maybe it's because this time, Kaiba really meant it," Tea replied in a half-angry tone.
"Yeah right," Tristen, said, "He'll probably dump her, the first chance he gets."
"Maybe you're right," Tea, said, "Maybe not. However, as much as it's hard to believe, Kaiba is human after all. He does have feelings like everyone else, though he tends to keep them bottled up."
Tristen growled. As much as he wanted to disagree, Tea did have a point. At the end of the day, Kaiba was only human. True he preferred to keep himself to himself, but that didn't mean to say that he didn't have a conscience. Perhaps after so many years, Kaiba's conscience had finally caught up with him. What angered Tristen was the fact that he had lost Serenity to the last person he thought he'd ever lose her to. If there was anyone that he expected to win Serenity over him, it was Duke Devlin, but he was away and Tristen had been caught off guard.
Yugi said, "Tea, I think we need to give Tristen some alone time."
Tea nodded, but Tristen said, "Thanks guys, but I'll go elsewhere. A hospital lobby isn't the appropriate place for me to think."
Tristen then left and Tea said, "Do you think he'll be okay Yugi?"
"I hope so," Yugi said.
Kaiba, Serenity and Mokuba came to the door of Joey's room. They decided to tell Mrs Wheeler last since she was the mother and the one that would ultimately have to approve of their relationship. Serenity was nervous. She knew that because Kaiba had Joey beaten up that Joey's hatred towards Kaiba probably would've increased a hundred fold. What she feared was her brother despising her because of her love for Kaiba, his rival.
Kaiba knocked on the door.
"Come in," Joey's voice came, "Door's open."
Kaiba walked in with Mokuba and Serenity nervously bringing up the rear.
Joey glared at Kaiba, not realising that his sister was with him.
"What're ya doin' here Moneybags?" he said, "Come to boast at me some more?"
"No," Kaiba, said, "As strange as this sounds, even to me, I just want to say that I'm… sorry."
As much as Kaiba had changed, he still had difficulty letting go of his pride and his pride was telling him what it always told him about Joey; that Joey was nothing but a worthless mutt and a low-class duellist that only got where he was today through sheer luck and Yugi's coaching.
Joey said, "You're sorry, after what ya did ta me and my ma. I may not like my ma, but even I wouldn't go as far as to have her beaten up."
"I don't expect your forgiveness," Kaiba, said, "All I expect from you is to know that I'm sorry. Call me a liar if you want, but can you look me in the eye and say it?"
Joey, always being one to what to show Kaiba up, decided to take him up on that offer. However, when he saw Kaiba's eyes, he just couldn't. Joey could see that behind Kaiba's façade, he genuinely was sorry for what he did.
"Okay, so what if I believe ya?" he said, "It doesn't mean that I'll forgive ya."
"Like I said before Joseph, I don't expect forgive, just you knowing that I'm sorry."
"I'm not a dog!" Joey yelled, but then realised what Kaiba had said.
Kaiba chuckled.
"Nobody calls me Joseph except my ma," Joey, said, "I may not like her, but for some reason, I'm comfortable with her called me dat."
"By the way Wheeler," Kaiba, said, "You should thank me because I just saved your sister from killing herself."
Joey was surprised and he then noticed Serenity in a corner. Kaiba went outside to wait on Serenity.
"Is this true Serenity?" he said.
Serenity just nodded.
Joey said, "Serenity, why'd you want to kill yerself?" However, he already knew the answer.
"I was selfish," Serenity, said, "I thought that my life was ruined. After what Kaiba did, I thought that I was a lost cause. My career plans were squashed and you and mom were in the hospital."
"It's okay," Joey, said, "Da doctor said that we'll be outta here in a few days."
"But I thought that Kaiba crippled you," Serenity, said, "I…"
"Don't worry sis," Joey, interrupted, "However, ya gotta learn that things aren't as bad as they first appear. I'm not saying that yer stupid or anythin'. However, ya tend to overreact and over exaggerate things."
Serenity held her head down.
"Anyway," Joey, said, "What were ya doing with Kaiba?"
"He saved me," Serenity, said, "He saved me from jumping off the roof."
Joey said, "I see. Anything else you want ta tell me."
Serenity gulped. This would be the hardest part of all and to make matters worse, she had her mother to go through as well and although she was aware that their was a small chance that Joey would accept her relationship with Kaiba, as grudgingly as he could, Mrs Wheeler probably wouldn't be so considerate. She'd probably see Kaiba as the man that had her beaten and would probably yell at Serenity and abandon her for even thinking of going out with the man responsible for her pain.
"I… I, I… love him," she said nervously.
She closed her eyes and prepared for Joey's verbal lashing, but it never came. Serenity opened her eyes to look at Joey.
"You love him," was all he said.
"I'm sorry Joey," Serenity, replied, "But that's how I feel. I know that you hate him, but I can't help it. He saved my life and told me that he was sorry and I know he meant it."
She went up to Joey and prepared for him to berate her, but to her surprise, all Joey did was hug her.
"I'll be honest Serenity," he said, "I don't agree with this, but I'll put up with it so long as you're happy with it."
"You mean it Joey," Serenity said.
"Yeah," Joey, said, "You've been through enough devastation already and I'm yer big bro. I will support ya regardless of how I feel towards Kaiba. Not for him, but for you."
"Thanks Joey," Serenity said.
Joey smiled as Serenity left.
"Only for you," he thought, "If Kaiba breaks yer heart; I swear I'll kill 'im."
Outside, Serenity met Kaiba.
"That went better than I expected," Kaiba said.
"Joey's not doing this for you. He's doing it for me."
"That's all I ask," Kaiba, said, "Now let's go and see your mother."
Kaiba was sounding like his old self again, but Serenity could tell that most if not all of the coldness he once harboured in his heart was gone.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Serenity, thought, "I'd be worried if Kaiba had became a "Mr Nice Guy" overnight. No one changes that quickly,"
They came to Mrs Wheeler's room and Serenity tensed up. She was nervous about facing her mother. Whenever her mother had made her mind up about someone, it was almost impossible to change it. She had made her mind up about Joey and nothing seemed to convince her that she was wrong, though Serenity had to admit that her mother now had a more open mind about Joey. Serenity loved her mother, that much was true, but she didn't like the way she berated Joey. In Serenity's opinion, the reason why her mother saw her brother as a younger version of her ex was because he was a boy. Normally in divorce cases involving children, the children were kept together, but Mrs Wheeler had a friend who was a high-ranking lawyer and she had approached him and had him arrange the whole thing. The only thing that Serenity was thankful for was that her mother chose not to remarry. The lawyer that had helped her separate Joey and Serenity had been the son of one of Mrs Wheeler's father's friends.
"Don't worry about it," Kaiba, said, "At least you've got your brother's support."
Serenity flashed a weak smile. True, even if her mother wanted nothing to do with her afterwards, at least she still had Joey to count on. He may not like Kaiba, but she knew that he was willing to tolerate him for her. She knocked on the door.
"Come in," came Mrs Wheeler's voice.
Kaiba walked in first. Serenity waited for Mokuba, who had remained quiet to follow, but he just motioned for Serenity to go in.
"I'll wait out here," he said.
Serenity nodded and went in.
Mrs Wheeler said, "Excuse me, but who are you?"
"Seto Kaiba," Kaiba, said, "I'm the guy that had you beaten up and my conscience has caught up me. Now I'm here to apologise."
"You're the boy that Joseph hates so much?" Mrs Wheeler, said, "You have a lot of nerve doing what you did to my daughter."
"I know," Kaiba, said, "And I'm sorry."
Mrs Wheeler said, "Sorry doesn't cut it."
"I don't expect forgiveness," Kaiba, said, "All I expect is for you to know that I'm sorry. I saved your daughter from killing herself, so perhaps you can at least understand me."
Mrs Wheeler turned to Serenity and said, "Is this true, did you really try to kill yourself?"
Serenity nodded.
"You poor dear," she said, "You've been through enough."
She then turned to Kaiba, who was holding her hand.
"I believe thanks are in order," she said, "Just why did you save my daughter?"
"Like I said before, my conscience caught up with me and I realised that I love her."
Mrs Wheeler closed her eyes and Serenity feared that she'd lash out at them both.
"I see," she said, "And how do you feel about that Serenity?"
"I feel the same way mom. Please try to understand. I know what he did to me was wrong, but when he saved me, he apologised and I could tell that he really meant it."
Mrs Wheeler looked at Kaiba once again. Though he looked uncaring, his eyes gave it all away. Kaiba's pride was still evident, but Mrs Wheeler saw something else. It was a kind and caring heart.
"Serenity," Mrs Wheeler, said, "You do realise that you're only thirteen?"
"We realise our age difference," Kaiba, said, "But we're not planning on marriage or anything. If there is any advantage to your daughter being underage, it's that it gives us the perfect opportunity to take each step at a time and not rush into things."
Mrs Wheeler smiled and said, "Then you have my blessing as they say."
Serenity was surprised.
"What?" Mrs Wheeler, said, "You thought I would react differently? I'll admit that I do feel the way you expected me to react, but if I've learned anything from Joseph, it's to keep an open mind. I once thought that he was just like my ex, but when he went to that Duel Monsters tournament to get the prize money for your eye operation, I started to think that maybe I was wrong him. I still don't completely trust him, but I trust him enough to leave you with him."
Serenity smiled. From what she heard, Joey and his mother may not have made up, but at least they'd reached an understanding because Serenity knew that Joey would rather have Serenity staying with their mother than with there sorry excuse for a father. Serenity hated her father. In the divorce proceedings, he had been very uncaring. If he had had his way, he probably would've left Joey to die. Joey felt that his mother was the reason for the divorce, but that wasn't true. It was actually their father. He had been an abusive drunk and Mrs Wheeler had basically said that enough was enough and in her angered state, she felt that Joey was just like his old man just because he was a boy.
"Thank you mother," Serenity said.
"Serenity," Mrs Wheeler, said, "You'll always be my daughter and my sweet little girl. The reason I never remarried was because I knew what it would've done to you. I guess I can see now that I was wrong about Joseph. When it comes to you, he's a nice boy."
Kaiba smiled. He was happy that he'd been forgiven or if not forgiven, then tolerated. He knew that Joey still didn't like him, but for his sister's sake, he was willing to tolerate him and Kaiba in turn vowed to make an effort to tolerate Joey no matter what for Serenity's sake.
Mrs Wheeler said, "Kaiba, please take good care of my daughter and know that…"
"I know, I know," Kaiba, interrupted, "Hurt her and I'm a dead man."
Mrs Wheeler nodded and they both exited the room.
Outside, Mokuba said, "Hey guys, can we go now?"
"Of course Mokie," Kaiba said.
Mokuba looked up at his brother. Ever since he saw him with Serenity, he knew that his brother had managed to pull off the impossible, but he never expected him to go back to calling him Mokie. Now it had been a name reserved only for his school friends.
Serenity said, "Thank you Kaiba."
Kaiba said, "Serenity, I'd appreciate it if you called me Seto. You are the only other person other than Mokuba that can address me by my first name."
Serenity gasped with happiness and said, "I'm honoured Kai… Seto. Gee, that'll take a little getting used to."
Kaiba just smiled and said, "I'll take you to my home."
Serenity said, "Lead the way."
Author's Notes: Great chapter huh? So now that everything's said and done, there's not much more to do other than the aftermath. Kaiba may have changed somewhat, but some of his old personality is still there and don't worry about Tristen. He'll be fine and he'll learn to get over it. Next chapter will be the Grand Finale of this fic in which Kisara returns to see how Kaiba's getting on and she tells him more about her past. Not that he'll believe her, but Kisara feels that Kaiba must hear what she has to say. Anyway, till next time