Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Joey's Big Brother ❯ Serenity Visits ( Chapter 13 )

LusciousDragon: OK, I'm looking for a Beta Reader, if you're interested, please e-mail me…

A great thing to read about Beta Readers…is… http://www.mediaminer.org/forum/index.php?t=msg&th=7955&start=0& ;rid=0

Basically a Beta Reader is an editor, but they also make comments on plot and characters…

Disclaimer-don't own Yu-gi-oh…

Thanks to ALL my reviewers

And the most recent

waterrain

Mary Ann

crazygirlfromla

Malik's Girl

Malik's Girl's Yami

~*~and~*~

bakura tomb robber

Keep in mind- All spelling mistakes and or slang used by the characters, is purely intentional.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Serenity Visits ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*Ding-dong, ding-dong*

"It's her," Joey cried, springing from his spot on the couch where he had recently been driving Kaiba nuts with his incessant babbling. Joey rushed to the door, skidding on the recently cleaned tile, and barely able to keep from falling over and impaling himself on the umbrella stand. He managed to get to the door, unmarred, and let his hand rest on the doorknob. Before opening the door, Joey took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air, and letting it out slowly. He turned the knob, and pulled the door open.

"Serenity," he exclaimed joyously, surprising her with an over-enthusiastic hug.

"Um…Big Brother," she said, clearly overwhelmed by her brother's zealous greeting. She tried to subtly remove herself from her brother's clasp, failing miserably. At last Joey let go, and stood, beaming at his little sister. For once, Kaiba said nothing, witnessing the reunion in silence.

"Serenity, I'm sure you've heard of Seto Kaiba, well, this," he said, gesturing at the aloof figure, watching them with an unreadable expression on his face, "is...the one, the only…Seto Kaiba…and his little brother, Mokuba."

"Mmmm…" She said clearly uninterested.

Kaiba's brow furrowed, trying to understand this girl. The way Joey described her; she was an affectionate and loving little sister. This girl seemed to be cold and distant from her brother.

"Well…Kaiba, he's…staying with me for a while, but don't worry, I asked Yugi if he would allow you to stay at his house for the night. He said yes."

"Ummm… That's sweet," she said, in an indifferent tone, "but I already had plans to stay with someone else."

Ever suspicious, Joey enquired as to whom she was going to stay with.

"Tristan graciously offered me a room for the night. I'm only staying one night you know. He also had reservations for this new restaurant that's opening in town, and he asked me to go with him. He also offered to drive me back home. I just stopped by to say hello."

"Grrrrrr… TRISTAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Joey yelled, fuming.

However Serenity's mind was made up, and after 15 minutes of chatting, she left. Joey just stood leaning against the door, and staring at Kaiba. He seemed to be at a loss for words. He sunk to the ground, still leaning against the door, as if for support. When he finally found his voice he whispered, "Did you see that?"

Unsure of what he was supposed to do, Kaiba merely nodded, showing that yes, he had in fact witnessed the rather frosty reunion.

"She…just stopped in…said `Hello'…and left…"

Kaiba said nothing.

"I…can't believe this is happening. I just can't believe she can brush me off like that…" Joey was on the verge of tears, his voice cracking with raw emotions. "She was my whole world. I'd do anything…anything for her."

Kaiba nodded, he knew how Joey must have felt. Joey's lashes glittered with unshed tears. Unexpectedly, a new feeling flooded Kaiba… it was sympathy. A feeling which unites people, which bridges gaps like race, age, and sex. A feeling of common unity, which can draw close even strangers, and people of different walks of life. This new feeling entered Kaiba, and without realizing it, he crossed the threshold, and in a few steps, was next to Joey. He said nothing, only stretched out on hand to lay it on Joey's shoulder. This simple unexpected act of kindness was too much for Joey, his eyes overfilled with tears. They trickled down his cheeks, streaking down his face, creating blotches on his smooth skin. With one hand he reached up, and angrily brushed away the hot tears that fell.

"Aw Geez…" he muttered, more to himself than anything. "I just can't believe she doesn't need me anymore."

"Maybe she never needed you more than you needed her." Kaiba murmured softly.

"What do ya mean by that?" Joey said indignantly. "Of course she needed me, and I was always there when she needed me…well I mean I was there for the majority of the time she needed me."

"True, she might have needed you then, but she grew out of the helpless stage. You just never grew out of the stage where you were the one helping her."

"WHAT? Speak English why don't you?"

Kaiba sighed visibly. "Ok…When she was younger, Serenity depended on you to help her, most older siblings are relieved when their younger brother or sister grows out of this stage, and learns to begin to do stuff on their own…to rely on themselves for a change. Others enjoy the sense of responsibility and the feeling of being needed. The younger siblings either continue to be dependent upon their older brother or sister," here Kaiba broke off to glance at Mokuba before continuing. "Or, they gradually develop a state of independence, where they can rely upon themselves to meet their own needs."

Joey still looked a little confused, so Kaiba continued.

"The fact is, you and me, we're really not all that different, you know…its true," he added, seeing the shocked expression on Joey's face. "I was an orphan, my only family being a younger brother. I automatically began to take care of my little brother. I knew that he needed me that made me feel important; I had a cause in life-to take care of my little brother. You, your parents were going through a rough time, a divorce was inevitable, growing up in such an environment, you grew wary of others- people couldn't be trusted, promises meant nothing. The most important person in your life was your little sister. You took it upon yourself to look after her. You were determined to provide a sheltered life for her, to protect her from the harsh world around her. The chance to live the kind of life you never got to live."

Joey's head was between his knees. Kaiba's words brought back painful memories that he wanted to forget.

Kaiba suddenly realized exactly what he had just said; he opened his mouth to tell Joey that he hadn't been thinking when he was speaking, that he didn't mean anything that he'd just said. Strangely enough, his mouth seemed to be unable to form the letters and words, and he struggled, trying to speak.

Joey lifted his head up, eyes read from crying, and asked, "Didja really mean that?" Much to his surprise, Kaiba found himself nodding.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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