Title: Stranger things have happened

Author: Sakura Takanouchi

Summary: "It's not acting- I really do hate you," she spat. "We have to follow the script," Seto reminded her. "Eventually, your character falls in love with me." He smirked at her shocked expression. "I wonder, will you be acting then?" Setoxwho?

Disclaimer: Insert clever funny awe-inspiring probably ripped-off disclaimer here

Chapter Eight: Down to Business, Up in Flames

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With a scowl, Seto set the offending DVD case in one of the many drawers in the media cabinet. He took a moment to stretch his sore muscles and trudged upstairs to get some sleep. His head was killing him.

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"S…is for the way you scowl at me…"

"E…is for the eyes that could cut through me…"

"T…is terribly, hard to rhyme something with…"

"O…is for oh this seemed like such a good idea before it actually happened."

And thus Mokuba abandoned his meter as he left his older brother's bedroom before he got up and caused some permanent damage.

Seto arrived in the kitchen minutes later, glaring at his bushy-eyed brother who was sipping orange juice through a straw. "Glad to see you're up," he quipped.

"Yeah…I thought I had a nightmare—something about a black-haired banshee singing to wake me up," Seto countered, taking a muffin with him to the table where his customary black coffee was waiting.

"Charming, Seto," Mokuba answered. "Just letting you know that you need to be at the studio this afternoon to put in a few hours of work. We're going to shoot some of the preliminary scenes, you know—get our soundstage stuff out of the way before we have to go on location."

Seto Kaiba was not the sort of person who spits out his coffee, but this information pushed those boundaries. "Does that mean what I'm afraid that means?" Mokuba nodded happily.

"Vacation!!"

Seto groaned as Mokuba jumped up from his chair. "Don't forget—this afternoon!" Mulling it over, Seto decided that Mokuba should never be put in the position to make decisions again. How on Earth was he going to spare the time to go to whatever faraway locale Mokuba had picked out? And he didn't want to spend any more time in the company of the, uh… company than he absolutely had to. Grabbing his briefcase, Seto went to his limo, already convinced that there was no merit left in the day.

Serenity had received a package the previous night when she had returned to her apartment; a brown-papered package, hand-delivered. Assuming it was from Mokuba, she discovered a spiral-bound copy of several scenes from the earlier portion of the movie, complete with dialogue and some notes scribbled in the margins. A post-it note attached to the front gave a cheerful reminder to have the first scene ready for a run-through the next morning. Sighing, she kicked off her shoes and collapsed on her futon, reading the words with a smile.

And that was where she remained the next morning. The rays of the early morning sun were a welcome reminder that she had places to be that day. The pages were strewn about her half-awake form; her arm had been her pillow; and as a yawn escaped her, she wondered how on Earth she had been able to fall asleep here in the first place.

"Coffee…" the auburn haired woman staggered around the tiny apartment, turning on machines and showers. 15 minutes later, she was coherent enough to remember to check her answering machine to see if Mokuba had left any form of instructions for when to report for duty. She had taken a sip of the miracle beverage when three loud raps sounded on her door. Not bothering to check the identity of her visitor, she opened the door, shocked to find Mokuba at her doorstep.

"I thought you were my morning newspaper!" She exclaimed as he ducked under her arm that was forming a barrier of sorts into her apartment.

"And aren't you glad it's me?" He questioned cheekily, immediately making himself at home in her living room. "This is great—can we shoot in here?" He looked around interestedly, taking everything in.

Serenity couldn't believe what was happening right in front of her eyes. She bent over backwards to keep people from her apartment, and he slips in easily. She looked around, nervously noting dust on the bookshelves and books and clothing strewn about. Not to mention the painting supplies that graced the room with their omnipresence. "Not that I don't appreciate your company, Mokuba—it's just that I don't have many visitors. Actually, I don't have any visitors. Ever." Mokuba ignored the hint.

"And why not? I think this place fits you perfectly. Wow, what a view," he smiled, his black bangs flopping around his face.

"Really? I mean…you're the first person to say things like that." Against all her better judgment, she joined him on the futon.

"And why shouldn't I? It seems like you are exactly the type of person you want to be right now. You seem content and happy. If anyone else has a problem with that, then that's their problem. Hey— the view outside is great, too." Mokuba left Serenity sitting there, feeling slightly confused. With a call of 

"1:00—be there!" and the sound of the door clicking closed, he was gone, and Serenity was wondering if this endeavor was going to be much more than she bargained for. She glanced up at the spot where Mokuba was and smiled thinly, scratching her head. Breakfast was salvageable. Her sanity was not.

Serenity arrived right on time for her; in reality she was fifteen minutes early. Reiko pointed her to the elevators with a knowing smile; the lobby was still full of people mingling and chatting, their identities unknown probably to Mokuba himself. After arriving on the right floor, Serenity proceeded to "turn left at the painting" with a smile, wandering through the corridor, all the while wishing MKE had maps.

It was the sounds of voices and music that drew Serenity to the familiar soundstage. Her shoes clacked on the cement floors, drawing the attention of a familiar face. Kako looked up from the table with a smile and a wave, drawing Serenity into this new world. "I'm glad you're here, Serenity! Mokuba told me he gave you quite a scare this morning." A quick smile and a change of topic brought them walking to the apartment set where Serenity had done her audition. They could see Mokuba, looking very official in a black polo with MKE embroidered in white, talking with Yami, Duke, and Isis. A push on the shoulder and Serenity was thrust towards them, Kako gone from her side. The trio of actors greeted her, Yami explaining that they were going to do a run-through of the opening scene from the movie.

"No pressure, Serenity, just a bunch of friends hanging out at your place. I'm sure it's something you can relate to easily." Even his reassuring hand on her shoulder did little to calm her, wondering if there was any ulterior motive to her boss' earlier visit. He guided her over to the worn futon, where they both rested, Serenity drawing up her knees onto the cushion. "Relax, okay?"

She was Shizuka Kawai…

The lighting in the set made it seem like it was early evening, and Serenity focused her attention on Yami, getting strength from him as they discussed their plans. He had poked his head through the door only minutes earlier, as he did every day. They say that neighbors can become friends, but in this case, best friends had become neighbors. The calendar pinned to the wall was opened to the month of April, and Serenity found it easy to talk to Yami, as if they truly had known each other for years. "Graduate school, huh? I'm not surprised that they wanted you for their program," Yami's mellow voice brought Serenity back to that morning, relaxing her. The cameras didn't exist.

"But you know, Yugi that it all hinges on my senior portfolio. I can't believe you, going to America for business school! You'll have to let me know how it goes, promise?" They smiled at each other, full of promise for the future. Their moment was interrupted by three sharp raps at the door. A joint call of "it's open" prompted the entrance of Duke and Isis, the former carrying several shopping bags. "Ryuji! You know better than to go shopping with Ishizu! Your arms are going to be sore for days!" Serenity chastised. Duke dropped the bags at their feet, wincing when his arms rose up to the armrest of the chair automatically.

"Shizuka, you know I can handle it…besides, it's my weekly workout!" He winced again as his hand flexed, hiding his pain from his friend .Yami chuckled at them. If Duke had it bad for her, Ryuji had it worse. "I heard about the art program, Shizuka, congratulations!"

She blushed at the praise. "I haven't heard what you're doing after graduation, Ryuji. How did your interviews go?"

His pride swelled with the question. His friends should be the first to know. "Industrial Illusions sent me their answer yesterday. They want to hire me on a fast-track program, so I'll be rising through the ranks in no time!"

"My cousin's in something like that," Yami said softly, almost too quiet to be heard.

Shizuka took over for him. "I'm so happy for you! That was your first choice, right? And you'll be staying right here in Domino—the only one of us who is, actually."

Isis, always one to observe, was the last one to speak. "She's right. I'm leaving a few weeks after graduation to travel and start my work in the Middle East." Serenity looked at her friend with admiration. She was going to rebuild her roots and the lives of many people.

"So once we graduate… do we just go our separate ways, then? We'll all be thrown across the globe, waiting for our 5-year reunion? We have some time left until then, so let's make the most of it!"

"Hear Hear!" Duke chorused, always the first to agree with Serenity.

In the small apartment living room, they decided to go on one last trip, to celebrate four years well spent and the future which looked so bright to each of them. In two weeks they would pack their bags and head to the beach, for an experience that none of them would ever forget.

"Aaand…cut!" Mokuba motioned for the cameras to stop rolling and called over Isis to discuss some things. Yami stretched but stayed in his chair.

"A good take," he commented to Serenity. "I think Mokuba's going to keep it."

"What do you mean keep it? I thought this was a run-through," Serenity corrected him.

"You did think it was." Yami watched her out of the corner of his eyes, waiting for the explosion.

"I DID WHAT!?" In an instant, Serenity was out of her futon and marching towards her boss, about ready to shake him by his popped collar. "Mokuba Kaiba, why did you see fit to keep me in the dark like that?"

He paled at the angry woman about to throttle him and he could see Kako hiding her face behind her clipboard. "We thought that it would give a more realistic performance if there was less pressure; less buildup. And it worked, so no big deal, right?" He attempted a smile at Serenity, whose mood rivaled the color of her hair.

"We? So everyone was in on it?"She glared murderously at her trio of co-stars; each shifted their gaze, unable to directly look her in the eye. "I can't believe any of you!" Serenity turned sharply and tore out of the room, leaving its occupants very bewildered.

"Your idea," Duke huffed, as the door swung several times with Serenity's dramatic exit.

"But where can she go?" Mokuba wondered aloud, turning back to Isis, talking in hushed tones. It didn't really matter to him where she went. If Serenity could find her way out of his building, he'd let her leave—for now.

Seto Kaiba was having one of those days. But as he was far above the average Joe; one of those days meant that if looks could kill, the lobby of MKE would be empty. His 'wake-up call' was a bad omen for a terrible day at work—he was working like mad to reserve enough spare time for the filming, while overseeing new product design and advertising because "the Christmas season would start extra-early this year!" He controlled his reaction to a gruff snarl at Reiko's smile and wave, and set to glaring murderously at the camera in the elevator. He strode briskly out of the elevator and at the end of the hallway promptly knocked over an equally angry Serenity Wheeler.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She shrieked, adjusting her hair and clothing, before realizing who she had ran into. "Oh, it's just you."

"I'm 'turning left' at the damn painting!" He growled, getting to his feet quickly, not bothering to offer a hand to help her up as well.

"Well, I'm sorry I got in your way!" She shot back, scrambling awkwardly to stand opposite him. She refused to move around him, he seemed unwilling to walk except in a straight line. "Wait…what did you say about the painting?"

It registered faintly in the recesses of Seto's mind that she was unnaturally worked up about a lousy painting, but they were both too angry, everything was just boiling over. "It's a stupid painting; why is that the landmark everyone uses in this place?"

They were both practically shouting by now. Serenity was shocked. Although she didn't value the opinion of Seto Kaiba very highly (try at all), how dare he insult her work! Let him try to work out his frustrations through painting—he could probably use the therapy. She couldn't believe he could be that cruel. "This is the metaphorical freaking straw that breaks the proverbial freaking camel's back! Seto Kaiba, you are an insensitive jerk! Don't you dare say anything when you don't know what you're talking about!"

This specimen of a female was more confusing to him than any other he'd met. Her shouting was starting to grate on his already worn nerves. And he couldn't take any more Advil for an hour and a half. "What the hell are you talking about, Wheeler?"

Their argument paused when the door closest to them burst open and Mokuba came out looking extremely annoyed. Kako followed him out until realizing who was in the hallway—she quickly ducked back through the alcove and disappeared.

"Where did you come from?" Serenity couldn't help but wonder.

"Side door to the soundstage," Mokuba motioned, noticing that this newfound knowledge did little to assuage either's voracious tempers. "Architect probably thought it was a practical joke."

"You mean we don't have to get lost to get to our set?" Serenity couldn't believe that no one had told her this! "What else are you hiding from me, Mokuba? Is my apartment repossessed? Am I somehow married to him?" The sharp glance of the elder Kaiba afforded her a mean laugh. "Sorry, I couldn't think of anything more unpleasant."

Mokuba turned to Serenity, addressing her first. "Really, if we had known how you were going to react, we never would have filmed it that way. Now I want you to just hang out for the rest of the day; you won't be in any scenes. I'll send you more lines later on tonight. Serenity, I'm sorry."

Both men received an angry glare before she turned on her heel and vanished into the elevator. "You're forgiven," floated back towards them, leaving a relieved Mokuba and a still very disgruntled Seto.

"What did you do to make her so mad at you?" Mokuba asked after the elevator doors had visibly moved and the carriage had begun its descent.

"Why are you assuming it was my fault?" They were brothers; Mokuba wasn't supposed to take her side! "I merely said something about that painting and she exploded at me!" A string of invectives followed, barely audible to Mokuba—something about 'painting', 'women', and 'not allowed in public.'

Mokuba groaned, fitting the pieces together. "Seto, you idiot." Dragging his brother by the creased cuff of his sleeve, they stood in front of the painting. Mokuba pointed to the messily scrawled signature in the corner. "Serenity painted this, Seto. She's a professional artist—that's why we hired her for this role. Shizuka's an artist too." He let his brother sort out everything, leaving him to stare at the painting of the defiant little sunflower, the only thing on the canvas besides the great blue expanse of the sky. He grudgingly understood why she was so angry. He had openly insulted her whole reason for being, and he had done so ignorantly. That in itself irritated him about as much as anything had. And he had to admit, that after awhile, the little sunflower started to grow on him. A little. The only problem was, she didn't know that.

Serenity was curled up in a comfy chair in the recesses of the soundstage watching the scene before her with interest, an empty star bucks cup in her hands. She wasn't even sure if they knew she was lurking in the room, but it was nice to watch Yami talking with Seto on the other soundstage making up Yugi's apartment. They did seem like estranged cousins; Yami was politely distant while Seto was holding on to his anger from the afternoon. Their voices echoed around the large room; Serenity could hear them clearly.

"This is your mother's fault," Seto began, pacing a little in the small space. He looked defiantly uncomfortable with the situation, his eyes everywhere but the camera lens.

"For what? Having me?" The sarcasm was not lost on the older man, who continued pacing. "I know Domino feels like exile compared to Kyoto, but it's only for a summer. You should get to know the city, the people—that's what this whole thing is about!"

A silence followed the outburst; Seto looked at his cousin like he was possessed. "I don't need to 'know' anything, Yugi. Don't think you're trying to help me. I'm only here because I have to be."

Yami looked disappointed. But then, his cousin had always been independent, aggressively so. But this did give him an opening. "Well, since you have to be with me, and I'm going to the beach… that means that you have to come to the beach with me."

Seto looked stunned, clearly not expecting this turn of events. "I...you… what!?"

Yami let the triumphant smirk slide easily across his features. "It's a win-win situation, Seto. You get to meet my friends, go on a relaxing vacation, and you never have to admit that it may be exactly what you want." It would have been too corny to wink, so Yami just let his cousin stew in his surprise.

"I don't want to meet your lame friends," Seto scoffed petulantly, a clear sign he was acceding. "I will go on this stupid vacation of yours, but I don't have to enjoy a second of it or be responsible for babysitting any of your geek squad, got it?"

"Exceptionally loud and clear," Yami quipped, taking Seto's suitcase in hand and motioning to leave to another room. "How long until your house gets furnished?"

Seto gave an unintelligible grunt as a response; the two left the main room and continued their conversation off-screen. Serenity could almost hear the cheesy friendship music weaving in the background. Aww, they had a moment! Let's celebrate it in song! Serenity watched Mokuba cut the scene and spoke with the two actors, motioning with his hands as he talked. They resumed their places to run more takes of the scene.

"I don't want to meet your lame friends."

"I don't want to meet your lame friends."

It droned on and on in Serenity's head, always delivered in that same fashion. Seto probably has plenty of practice delivering this line in real life. It twisted around in the pit of her stomach strangely, like the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. It irritated her even more that she was getting so worked up over lines. So what if he recited words on paper? He didn't have to do it so convincingly. So why did it bother her? Was she striving for his good opinion or something? The thought almost made her laugh. So why did she cover it up? Was she afraid of being seen? She wasn't sure, and didn't want to admit anything to herself just yet. Serenity leaned back into her comfortable chair and waited for what was to come with breathless anticipation.

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A/N: So sorry for the long wait, but I decided to put out this and Synergy at the same time; a double treat for you readers! As always, muchas gracias to Yami no Game (Yep…Kaiba's gonna be a painkiller junkie by the time I'm through with him), guardian of vampires (glad you thought so!), Kako (you don't get a response, sorry xD), Storm 38 (Last chapter was kinda filler…hope you liked this one!), UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary (Yeah…I will be attending a wedding before I write the one here, hopefully I won't have to make things up!), Blueshadows2010 (I agree, the Mokuba/Kaiba moments make this story), Unique Art (I think everyone liked that part best haha), Tie4 (I'm happy you like the story), Sakurelle (I will soon, don't worry!), Shadows.Dance (glad you like it!), Angel of Darkness231 (That was a superfast update, huh?), and karategirl666 (yay movie vernacular! Thanks). I'm glad I can make you guys laugh and you found it entertaining!

My anniversary of birth is arriving this Sunday, another reason I wanted to get new chapters out quickly. Reviews would be the best birthday present ever!

Thanks for Reading!

Sakura Takanouchi