Author's Notes:
I'm sitting among friends watching Fruits Basket and writing this. I suppose there's something funny in that. We're watching the first episode with Ayame, and I've taken a poll. Of those who are familiar with both Fruits Basket and Yu-Gi-Oh, the unanimous consent is that Ayame Sohma is very reminiscent of Maximillion Pegasus. It's pretty funny.

The story continues on toward something resembling a conclusion. At this point, I'm really just trying to figure out how to get there. I do know where I'm headed. I know what needs to be done between here and there. It's just a matter of the weaving in between! Perhaps I just need to lay out what loose ends need tying up. I think too many of them center around Tristan at this point.

I do have one more little bit of fun I want to abuse Mokuba for, too. Guess I have some work to do!

Chapter 17

"Hey, Serenity, you should come to the arcade with me today!" The girl startled at Mokuba's energetic invitation.

"Um...I'll...I'll think about it, okay, Mokuba?" Serenity fidgeted with her napkin.

The boy smiled, his gray eyes sparkling. "And then tonight, we can all have dinner together!"

A tug at the edge of Serenity's mind told her she had somewhere to be that evening, but for the life of her, sitting at Kaiba's dining room table, she couldn't remember where. Mokuba's chipper mood was threatening to envelop her and drag her along, anyway. Whatever it was, it wasn't important.

"I don't know when I'll be home, Mokuba." The boy pouted as his older brother reminded him of how things normally ran in the Kaiba household.

"But...but...you wouldn't want me to have dinnner all alone with Serenity...would you?" Mokuba's practiced puppy dog stare failed to affect his brother. Serenity, on the other hand, was trying to hide her blushing cheeks, although the boy was uncertain if it was because of the innocently suggestive tone in his voice, or at the thought that perhaps her presence could sway the elder Kaiba into being home for dinner.

Kaiba snorted and left the table. Mokuba watched him, a disappointed look clouding his face.

One way or the other, I'll make him see he likes her!

Serenity finally relented and let Mokuba drag her along to the arcade. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gone out just for fun, or the last time she'd had such a hyper companion.

The younger Kaiba dragged her all over, challenging her to various games. He won most of them, but she got lucky and managed to push him off the road in a racing game, allowing her to get enough of a lead to defeat him. Both had a good laugh. As he started to tire, she suggested they head back home to start getting dinner ready.

Mokuba yawned. "What should we make for dinner?"

Serenity thought about it for a moment. Still certain she was supposed to be somewhere that evening, she really hadn't given dinner with the Kaibas much thought. "I don't know. What does your brother like?"

A playful smirk crossed the boy's face. This is almost too easy. "Seto will pretty much eat whatever I put in front of him. What do you like, Serenity?"

Feeling like she was back at square one, the girl tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. "Hmm...maybe we should see what's around the house and go from there."

He didn't really care that she seemed to be stalling. He was just excited that she would be joining them for dinner that evening. He loved having her around. Somehow, her presence made his brother more...he wasn't sure if human was the right term, but Seto seemed softer when Serenity was around.

The pair headed back to prepare for the evening.

Kaiba kept finding himself distracted at work. Why did Mokuba have to invite Serenity to dinner? Why did he even care that his brother had done that? He actually enjoyed the girl's presence, finding that she lived up to her name.

His mind ran over the past couple of weeks. Every incident. Every conversation. Every argument. To think, the girl he wanted to have close by was the one he initially sought out only to torment, to assert his power over her horrid brother. One particular argument with the mutt came to mind, one that took place in the schoolyard of their high school. It had been a pointless argument, but Serenity had come running to her brother's defense. That was perhaps the first time he really took notice of her. No fear, only concern for her worthless brother.

Something else from that afternoon stuck out in his mind. Someone had tripped him. Someone who had, up until this moment, escaped notice. Kaiba settled back in his chair and thought back over the afternoon. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but the scene played out in his perfect memory. He was arguing with Joey. Serenity ran up and stood between them, yelling at him. At the edge of the scene, he could see Yugi Moto and Tristan Taylor running up to join their friend. He remembered walking up to Serenity, Yugi passing out of his peripheral vision. Taylor, however, never made it out of sight.

It became clear what had happened. Taylor probably thought he was protecting Serenity from the big, bad Seto Kaiba. The teen CEO nearly laughed. He thought to make me look like a fool that day. Now, I'll make him look like a fool tonight.

Pleased with himself for realizing how simple and enjoyable his revenge would be, Kaiba checked the clock. If his guess was correct, Mokuba and Serenity would be sitting down to dinner soon, provided she hadn't left to go meet Taylor yet.

He shut his laptop, and headed for home.

Mokuba pulled Serenity's seat out for her as she approached the table. She smiled graciously at him, "If only your brother had your manners, Mokuba."

The raven-haired boy giggled, "Seto's not that bad. He even thinks manners are a necessity, but only for the right people." He then moved to his own seat and uncovered the dish in the middle of the table, "Dinner is served!" She applauded.

Quiet applause from the room's entrance startled both. They turned to see Kaiba walking into the room.

"Seto! You're home!" the younger Kaiba excalimed. He'd hoped against all hope that his brother would actually be home for dinner, but he'd never expected to see him. Serenity seemed similarly amazed to see him.

The lanky teen calmly made his way across the room to his seat. He was pleased to see her still in the mansion, although he was surprised to find that much of his feeling stemmed from Serenity herself instead of his grudge against Tristan. He sat and looked at the presented dish, something resembling a casserole. He'd have to remember to get his brother some Japanese cookbooks.

Unable to contain himself, Mokuba started serving dinner, Serenity first, then his brother, then himself. The three enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner, Serenity's feeling that she needed to be elsewhere vanished for the evening.

After dinner, Mokuba retired to the game room. After a day at the arcade, Serenity thought he would have tired of it. Kaiba, on the other hand, was completely unsurprised by his brother.

Serenity decided to find her phone, to once again let Joey know where she was. She had forgotten her phone when they'd left for the arcade, and preparations for dinner had kept her busy most of the afternoon.

She quickly fished the phone out of her purse. The message light was blinking. Probably just Joey, she thought as she started checking her messages. One of the messages was indeed her brother looking for her. The other four made her heart sink. She had completely forgotten that she had agreed to go to a movie with Tristan. He had been looking for her, hoping she hadn't forgotten. His last message had been so heartbreaking.

She stared at the phone. How could she have been so thoughtless? All day, she'd had this feeling that she had something to do, and she'd managed to completely forget what it was. She debated listening to the messages again, but she knew she didn't have the heart. Tristan was probably not happy with her at the moment.

Reluctantly, she called her brother to let her know she would probably be out all evening. Then, she tried to call Tristan, but he never answered his phone.

On his way to his office, Kaiba peeked in on Serenity. She was sitting on the bed, her chin rested on her knees as she hugged them to her chest. He'd gotten revenge on Taylor, but he could now see the price. He could only assume, as he noticed her cell phone sitting a few inches from her, that she now remembered that she had plans with Taylor. Like him, Serenity hated breaking plans, and he could see that she was just beside herself.

In his office, the door closed securely behind him, he tried to shake the image of the upset girl out of his head. By the end of the day, he was certain she'd forget about her broken date with Taylor and would return to her down-to-earth, optimistic self.

If you haven't already, you should check out GenericHero's story Virtually Perfect! You should also shower him with cookies for all the great work he does on this story!