Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ My Project: Jounouchi Katsuya ❯ Part 5 ( Chapter 5 )

My Project: Jounouchi Katsuya

Sam: *reading review by Felidae5* ~I don't know how to tell you this without hurting you feelings, but, please, for the love of God, my sanity and your own story-GET A BETA!!! Why pour cheap vinegar over a perfect Caesar's salad? Or bake a boysenberry pie with rotten fruits? ~

Joey: *Singsong* Ha, ha you got told.

Sam: I sowwy… *crying* I shall dig my grave, crawl in and die now…

Seto: YAY!!!! No more humiliation!!!

Sam: But first I'll need to advertise for a beta reader. Anyone that's willing to take up the job please e-mail me: madyamisam@hotmail.com. I went to reread this chapter and also my previous ones. I've had a try to make some sense of my crap and on this chapter and will eventually be making some alterations here and there…. Right, where's my shovel?

LS: Sam doesn't own YGO or the song `Never Gonna Leave Your Side' which is by David Bedingfield

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The great taste test was about to begin as Seto stared expectantly at the panel of judges before him. They consisted of a fourteen-year-old girl playing with a chicken named Sir Edmund Hillary or for short Eddie (who had the tendency to defy the laws of physics and biology), a classmate from school and finally his little brother who was at the moment dressed in a black tuxedo humming the Death March.

The cream puffs were laid out neatly in a row whilst the judges were assessing the presentation. Serenity chirped tickling the chick's beak. "The presentations really good isn't it big brother?"

"Nghn "was the reply.

Mokuba looked suspiciously at the innocent little dessert whilst Eddie finally got his butt of Joey's head to peck the stray crumbs that were outside the baking tray.

"Um… Mokuba you can try the chocolate and caramel, I'll try the fruit puree and big brother can have the lemon custard" Serenity chirped again before picking up a fruit puree and bit into it without hesitation. Mokuba sighed.

"Please let the death be quick… Amen" Mokuba closed his eyes, popped the whole puff into his mouth, and chewed. Seto then looked at Joey who was staring meekly at the table, the custard puff untouched. Joey caught his glance and looked away. Seto was confused but dismissed the sudden shyness and concentrated on the assessment to his cooking.

"Hmm… It's definitely not what Joey and Grandma use to make, that's for sure" Serenity mused as she swallowed but she smiled in appreciation. "But it's not bad. You get my passing vote" Seto blinked in shock that she hadn't keeled over from food poisoning. In fact, he would have fainted with relief if he hadn't felt so firmly attached to what's left of his dignity.

"So um… what do you think Mokuba?" Seto asked tentatively. Mokuba held up a finger telling him to wait a moment after he finished eating and swallowed. He then pressed two fingers to his wrist.

"I still feel a pulse" he replied before slapping himself across the face "and I'm not dreaming" Suddenly he's face seemed to light up with joy "Oh my God. YOU CAN COOK!!!!" Mokuba bounced up and down and hugged him. "I WON'T HAVE HEART ATTACKS WHEN YOU'RE NEAR THE KITCHEN ANYMORE!!!!!!!!" Joey was just silent in his attempt to just blend in with the room, however it didn't work.

"Well come on big brother two out of three so far. It's your turn to try the lemon custard" Joey glanced at her before staring at the innocent looking pastry filled with lemon custard goodness. He swallowed staring at Seto briefly before taking a bite.

"It's… edible" Joey whispered. At that said, Serenity and Mokuba whooped with joy whilst Seto smiled smugly. He frowned though when Joey looked away. Was he angry? Joey looked at the watch. "Sis it's getting late I think we should go," he said dryly

"Oh…" Serenity pouted. Mokuba looked up at the clock. It was indeed getting late. "See ya Seto"

"Wheeler" Joey turned towards Kaiba. "I'll be coming down to the café tomorrow" he said. Joey swallowed and nodded hesitantly before going out. As soon as the Wheeler siblings were gone, the mansion was silent as it was before.

"You're not gonna help out at the kitchen too are you?" Mokuba asked tentatively.

"No but I have plans there. Anyway, I thought you said I could cook…"

"Yeah well… better safe than sorry…" Mokuba said handing a tray of the cream puffs to his older brother. "Have one"

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"Damn… Annie's gonna freak out that you're not around… "Joey muttered as they reach the door of the apartment.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault… I shouldn't have-"he ducked Serenity's head as a bottle flew its way at the door smashing into pieces. Joey's eyes grew dark with fury as he glared at the drunken figure sprawled on the floor.

"'Bout time you came home you freakin' brat…" the slurred voice of Malcolm Wheeler growled under his breath as he took a swig of whisky. He looked up noticing Serenity clutching onto his arm fearfully. "Hey… whosss your girlfriend Joseph"

"It's Serenity you idiot…"

"Don' you call me idiot… you sssh… you shoul' have resspect for your father" Joey strode to the cupboard for a cloth.

"You want respect old man? Why don't you do something decent with your life? Like get a job or at least cleaning up the puke of my floor" Joey rasped throwing the cloth at Malcolm and making him lose balance off his chair. He came down hard onto the floor. Serenity, who had been busy sweeping up the glass gone to help her father,

"Daddy? Are you ok?" she was answered with a slap across the face.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT!!! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT YOU LITTLE BITCH!!! YOU AND YOUR STUPID OPERATIONS AND EYE THERAPIES!!!" the man roared ready to hit her again. He was stopped in mid air as Joey grabbed tightly him by the wrist and had used his weight to pin the man to the floor.

"That's it" Joey growled as he got up dragged the drunkard to his feet and led him towards the door throwing him outside. "You want a drink?" he asked mockingly grabbing the bag full of beer cans Malcolm had bought with him.

"HERE!!! HERE'S YOUR DRINK!!!! AND ANOTHER ONE!!!! IN FACT TAKE THE WHOLE LOT AND DRINK UNTIL YOU DIE FOR ALL I CARE, IT MEANS I'LL HAVE ONE LESS MOUTH TO FEED!!!" he slammed the door so hard the whole apartment shook. Some of the paint near the walls of the door cracked as the only sound heard afterwards was Malcolm's stumbling footsteps going downstairs and out onto the open streets and Serenity sniffling whilst trying to hide the red mark on her face.

Joey took a moment to breathe before he went to grab some towels from the closet. He made Serenity look up and bit his lip at the red mark on her face "Serenity go take a shower and I'll clean up here…" he said calmly. Serenity sniffed and took the towels before heading towards the bathroom to shut and lock the door. Joey cleaned up quickly, made the bed in his room, and then went to the phone.

"You're call cannot be taken right now… Please leave a message after the beep" Joey rolled his eyes as Annie's voice message had taken over.

"Yo, it's me… Serenity's at my apartment just in case you get worried where she is" was all he said as he hung up. He sighed as he lay on the leather couch.

/I feel like a song without the words/

/A man without a soul/

/A bird without its wings/

/A heart without a home/

/I feel like a knight without a sword/

/the sky without the sun/

/Cos you are the one/

He stared at the door listening to the beating of water before he got up again and slipped into the kitchen. He brought out some chocolate from the cupboard and melted it on the stove then grabbed the milk that was in the fridge. He watched as the milk and chocolate marbled and began to thicken as he added some extra cocoa powder and cream. He whisked it gently before pouring it into two cappuccino mugs. Reaching for some tiny marshmallows in the cupboard he popped them generously on top of the hot chocolate before going downstairs to his café next door to grab a few of the batten berg cakes and cookies on the shelf then he went about fixing a quick chicken stir fry wrapped in tortillas. The midnight feast was set and his brown eyes twinkled with anticipation.

/I feel like a ship beneath the waves/

/A child that lost its way/

/A door without a key/

/A face without a name/

/I feel like a breath without the air/

/and every day's the same/

/since you've gone away/

Five minutes later, the door opened and Serenity was out rubbing her wet hair with a towel. Joey came towards her with the huge mugs of hot chocolate.

"Hey…" Joey said showing off his goofy grin. Serenity smiled lovingly as she took her mug and sat down. Her eyes sparkled at the wonderful meal before her.

"Oh big brother…" she whispered appreciatively as the two tucked into their meal. They talked and laughed like they had when they were together, at a time when the family had been together.

/I gotta have a reason to wake up in the morning/

/You used to be the one that put a smile on my face/

/There are no words that could describe how I miss you/

/And I miss you everyday/

/Yeah/

"Oh yeah… how could I forget?" Joey recalled one their favourite memories of all. "I had that killer stomach ache that left me bed ridden for days"

"Well it was your own fault you know? Trying to eat that much ice cream all in one go?" Serenity giggled. She stared at her cup of chocolate. "Oh these marshmallows are so kawaii!!!!!" she squealed.

"Kawaii?"

"It means `cute' in Japanese"

"Let me guess you got that from reading all that stuff on that site fanstories.com?"

"Fanfiction.net" she corrected, "Anyway… these marshmallows are so kawaii" Joey stared at her for a bit before he pulled her into a bear hug.

"Serenity is kawaii!!!!" Joey squealed

"CHUU!!!!" They laughed cuddling each other before eventually calming down.

"Oh that reminds me I don't need to go to school tomorrow cos the teachers are holding this Staff Training day (1) So… this calls for us to have fun day out" Joey bowing down at her feet.

"I don't know big brother… that banquet fest is only a couple of days away plus the party order for that huge cake. Shouldn't you spend tomorrow preparing for that?" Serenity pointed.

"Oh come on… I have this rare opportunity to spend some time with little sister. I can afford to put everything in the backburner"

"But Joe-"

"I can handle it…" Serenity pouted stirring her cup of cocoa goodness a bit for a moment. She glanced at her brother munching on the profiterole before she spoke up again.

"You sure?"

"Yes…"

"You really sure?"

"Yes"

"You really sure, sure?" Joey chuckled.

"Surely as sure as a sure, sure man can be" Serenity giggled.

/And I'm never gonna leave your side/

/And I'm never gonna leave your side again/

/Still holding on girl/

/I won't let you go/

/Cos when I'm lying in your arms/

/I know I'm home/

Seto had been watching as the two engaged in a pillow fight in their father's bedroom, which was clean because Malcolm had seldom slept in his bedroom. He usually ended up sleeping on the floor or the couch. The night drew late until one in the morning when they finally decided to stop and turn in for the night. Serenity had taken her father's bedroom considering he wasn't going to come back anytime soon.

"Night big brother…" she whispered tugging at the large shirt Joey had lent her

"Good night…" he said as he closed the door. He yawned as he went back to the kitchen to wash up the remains of the midnight feast then started preparing the dough and fillings for the cakes to be made for the next day. He set on a bit of work with the homework he received from school then to chide at the sculpture of Dark Magician icing sugar sculpture for the special order birthday cake on Friday. It was two thirty in the morning when he decided enough was enough and he turned in for the night. Seto noticed as the blonde was looking at some letters and bills for the rent. Joey rubbed the bridge of his nose as he stared at the figures before brushing his hair back stressfully. He sighed before placing the statements on his nightstand and switched off the lamp.

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Like clockwork Joey got up at 4.30 rushed his daily duties as newspaper boy, janitor and chef whilst putting Denny and Martha in charge once more. Serenity had been out of bed shortly after her brother had just left. On the table was a freshly made stack of pancakes with a knob of butter and syrup draped lovingly over them. Shortly after eating as much as she could Joey had come through the door.

"Ready?"

"Uh huh" she replied as she got up and followed him out of the apartment. Seto had arrived at the café as Mokuba, Martha and Denny went about their work selling the cakes. The business had flourished most during the late evenings and the weekend. Whilst it had a fair share of customers during the day most of the customers came for cakes.

There were the occasional lunch specials, which Martha could handle whilst cocktails, smoothies and such were done by Denny. Mokuba helped with Martha generally and as for Seto? He was told to keep his fingers to his laptop. So, he did by starting to type up his report whilst watching the recorded scenes from his camera deciding which parts to edit out. He went to help his brother who had yelped after cutting himself with a knife

"Oh don't worry Mokuba it's just a little cut"

"Little or not it's still a cut and it's all your fault big brother," he cried. Seto went to get the first aid kit not noticing the interesting scene of two boys locked in a passionate kiss. "You and your clumsiness have made a bad influence on me" Seto frowned, after a time he decided to head out and follow the two Wheeler siblings with his camera.

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/They tell me that a man can lose his mind/

/Living in the pain/

/The call in times gone by/

/The crying in the rain/

/You know I've wasted half the time/

/And I'm on my knees again/

/till you come to me/

/yeah/

"Where are we going Joey?" Serenity asked as they got up off the bus.

"Doesn't it seem familiar to you?" Serenity frowned staring at the surroundings before something dawned in her eyes. They ran ahead and there it was. Nothing had changed since the day they first came. "See? I told you I'd keep my promise" Serenity beamed at the gentle waves and the beautiful lighthouse. She remembered that day so clearly. Without warning, she leapt onto her brother squealing before they started built sand castles splashed water at each other like they did when they were kids. When they took a break, they found further up the beach beautiful dune flowers. Joey plucked one and started weaving it into a crown then placing it on Serenity's head

"I look like a princess… Oh let me do you one," she said.

"Oh am I going to be the prince?" Joey smirked when Serenity shoved her flower chain into his mouth.

"Nope you're going to be my horse. Now GIDDY UP!!!!" she replied as she jumped onto her brother's back then shaking the flower chain like a rein and smacking him with a flower chain whip. Seto blinked a good few times at how carefree they both seemed.

"Kaiba!!! What are you doing here?" Joey yelled spitting out the flower chain. Seto jumped in surprise. He didn't realise he had stepped out of his hiding place and now he had been seen by the two. Serenity giggled.

"I often walk here on the beach mutt is that illegal?" Joey narrowed his eyes whilst Serenity grabbed Seto by the hand.

"Not at all Seto the more the merrier" Serenity sat the CEO down next to Joey before going into a bag she had been carrying. "Look it, Look it I brought kebabs!!!" she squealed sharing a stick of chicken, peppers skewed onto wooden sticks. Joey shifted uncomfortably as Serenity handed the two boys a skewer each before snacking on her own. Serenity poked Joey out of his thoughts. "Hey Tristan eats like this doesn't he?" she said as she crammed a good half of her kebab into her mouth. Joey coughed at the imitation of his best friend forcing himself to keep a straight face.

"No… Tristan eats like this" Joey corrected as he crammed the other half of Serenity's kebab before stuffing his mouth with his own.

"HEY!!!" Serenity cried tackling her older brother in futile attempt to get her kebab back. Seto blinked whilst the two were now throwing sand at each other. The blonde was chuckling as he tried to shield himself from a shower of sand. Seto had never heard the guy laugh like that before. It seemed so warm and mellow compared to the idiotic and unnatural cackle he usually heard at school.

"Ok, I think it's time we get going" Joey said looking at the time on his watch. "See ya later Kaiba"

"If you're going to the café I'll drive you. I said I'd take Mokuba out to the cinema when he was done in your kitchen" Joey sighed before he nodded before following Seto to his car. They walked slowly away from the beach staring at the sun setting.

"Thank you so much. You always keep your promises for me and I feel selfish that I've never really done something for you" Serenity said sadly.

"Hey, you've done plenty for me sis"

"No I haven't. Please Joey, I want to make a promise to you. What do you want?"

/I gotta have a reason to wake up in the morning/

/You used to be the one that put a smile on my face/

/There are no words that could describe how I miss you/

/And I miss you everyday/

/yeah/

Joey pursed his lips whilst Seto listened intently since he was a good few metres away from them.

"Kaiba change of plan, you go on ahead to the café and get Mokuba. I'm taking Serenity some place else"

"The movie is not for another hour. If it's not going to take long I'll drive"

Joey was taken by surprise from the show of generosity but smiled gratefully. Seto Kaiba was being helpful and without even Mokuba egging him to do it either. In most circumstances Joey would figure that Seto had ulterior motives but considering the fact Joey had seen him in a new light, he decided he would risk it this time.

"Ok… We're going to Macul Cemetery," he said.

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/And I'm never gonna leave your side/

/And I'm never gonna leave your side again/

/Still holding on girl/

/I won't let you go/

/I lay my head against your heart/

/I know I'm home/

They bought a nice bouquet of flowers before Joey led the way to a grassy knoll passing crumbling tombstones. The one they had approached was only a few years old.

"Grandma…" Serenity whispered as she stroked the marbled tomb. "I never got to visit her very much because of my eyesight. I never even got to see her when she went to the hospital" Joey remained silent briefly before Serenity had spoken again. "Why did you bring me here though big brother?"

Joey glanced at her before he crouched to the floor laying the flowers at the foot of the tombstone. "It takes a pretty decent person to show kindness to others no matter how heartless they seem. It takes a very special person to say that no one could ever be truly heartless and they'd strive to find true good in others. I'm glad to say I've met two people like that. One was grandma… the other one was you"

"Me?"

/I know I'm home/

"Uh huh. So, if there is a promise that I'll ever want to you to keep… is to just be yourself. Can you do that?" Joey held out his little finger the same way that Serenity once did a long time ago.

/I know I'm home/

Serenity stared at her brother before smiling then wrapping her own pinkie finger around his.

"Yeah…"

/And I'm never gonna leave your side/

/And I'm never gonna leave your side again/

/Still holding on girl/

/I won't let you go/

"I promise"

/Cos when I'm lying in your arms/

/I know I'm home/

Seto remained silent throughout the interactions between the Wheeler siblings and the car drive back to the café. However, the sense of a wonderfully carefree day was immediately shattered by an unexpected arrival.

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"Well come on. I want to try out this café's reputation!!!" Tristan yelled pointing at the Nénharma café. "I mean we only want good quality food for our buddy's birthday, right?"

"Funny, I'd have thought any food would be good quality to Joey" Téa said as they entered the packed café. They were lucky enough to just walk in as a few customers were paying the bill and about to leave. With a quick change of cloth, they were seated.

"Welcome to Nénharma café." What would you like to order?" a teenage girl with flaming red hair and cerulean eyes chirped.

"Oh I don't know even know where to start" Ryou whispered looking at the menu. Suddenly his voice deepened. "So we'll have every single dish that's on the menu" Bakura grinned maliciously. Martha smiled.

"Idiot… how do you expect for the four of us to pay for all of that?" The smallest of the quartet looked venomously at the white headed boy.

"Well you're not the first person to ask for something like that" Martha replied. "So many customers had wanted to try everything available we decided to make a special deal out of it called the Pyramid Platter and at a manageable price too"

"Pyramid Platter?"

"Yep, all the dishes are in smaller portions would go on the levels of the pyramid, starters and soups at the lower levels, then main courses then desserts and finally at the top is our one off special of the day"

"Wow you can do that?"

"Of course we can. The only risk is our chef suffering from a mental breakdown" Martha chirped whilst the four friends looked at her wondering if it was a joke or not. "So Pyramid Platter?" They nodded and she wrote it down. "You can also try our range of cocktails, smoothies and milkshakes available at the bar over there" It was a moment when she went through the steel doors which was the kitchen when Yami who had taken over to scowled at the tomb robber noticed the mop of black hair and grey eyes.

"Something wrong?" Téa asked.

"Nothing, I just thought I saw. Never mind" Yami said as he let Yugi take over again. Yugi blinked confused for a moment and wondering where the waitress had gone before he had ordered anything. Ryou also looked bemused.

"POSTS EVERYONE PLEASE!!!" they heard Martha shriek behind the steel doors.

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"JoeyJoeyJoeyJoeyJoeyJoey!!!!" Mokuba cried flapping his arms about like wings. Eddie the chick had decided to loiter about upon the worse places ever imagined. The stove. (A/N: I feel like chicken tonight… like chicken tonight!!!)

"What is it?"

"Little hobbites and friends have come to taste you puurrrecious food" Mokuba grinned.

"Hobbits and friends hav- Yugi and the others are here?"

"Yep and they want everything on the menu"

"Everything?" Joey squeaked as he peeped out of the window where his friends were chattering and laughing away. He let out an undignified squeak and everyone except Seto realised what that meant.

"Uh oh…" Mokuba whispered

"Panic attack" Denny added.

"POSTS, EVERYONE PLEASE!!!" Martha shrieked as the three of them ran around. Denny had ducked back to his bar, Martha had locked herself in a closet round the back and Mokuba had crawled into a near empty cupboard. Seto who was oblivious to the affects of Joey's predicament had gone in to calm him down like any other conventional panic attack calming procedures.

"Alright Wheeler just relax and breathe sl-" he was shoved out of the way as Joey's had went into hyper mode scanning the orders taken by Martha and went straight to frying potato fritters, grilling pork chops and generally cooking at the speed of light. Finished dishes were being laid in every nook and cranny of the kitchen. Joey would go to the cupboard now and then where Mokuba would hand him a jar of pickle or other. Seto stared incredulously. There was no one he had ever knew suffering from a panic attack would be so productive.

"Orders, orders….ordersordersordersorders" Joey whispered staring at the long list of orders whilst holding two dishes in each hand because there was no space for the food to go.

"You've cooked them all big brother, you just need to serve them"

"I'll do it" Martha yelped as she slipped out of the closet grabbed some plates and hurried out of room to serve the dishes to the customers. Mokuba and Denny were still in hiding in the bar and cupboard, Serenity stood smiling understandingly at her brother whilst Seto just stood watching the blonde pace back and forth in the closest expression of bewilderment. Meanwhile Sir Edmund Hillary (or for short: Eddie) had accomplished another gravity-defying feat of managing to climb the 6 foot 1 brunette.

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They're eyes grew 10 times wider (in Yugi's case you would have thought it would be impossible for that to happen but it did). Martha had rolled it in a tray then slid the huge replica of the Giza pyramid littered with portions of every dish on the menu. The step levels were cleverly dipped sections where each step would hold a dish. Martha gave the four each a plate.

"This exceeds even my expectations" Yami mused inside Yugi's head as Tristan had taken the liberty to stop staring and start eating.

"Tristan's going like a lawn mower" Mokuba remarked as he peeped through the crack of the doorway. Yugi's huge eyes sparkled like a kid staring at the dream present he had wanted for Christmas whilst Téa and Ryou were squealing with every mouthful they took.

//Um… Yugi? // Yami had asked cautiously as he felt the link being flooded with overwhelming exhilaration. Bewildered by what was causing it Yami peeped into his partner's soul room that was connected to his and the number of toys that were inside had tripled showing the change over Yugi's soul. Yugi was literally swimming in fluff.

"YAMI!!!" he squealed and charged his way towards him through the mountain toys like a scene from Jaws. Yami's eyes widened before he dashed back into his own soul room and slammed the door only to find that it collapsed under a wave of stuffed toys that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Joey will love this" Tristan said as he leaned back with a very full stomach

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Joey had finally started to calm down from his hyperactive cooking mode and having nothing to do in the café he continued the long project of preparations for the huge banquet coming up on Friday.

"Well I guess I was a little silly to worry about you being behind on your work" Serenity remarked staring at the chocolate sculpture of Judge Man. Joey sighed as he neatly covered the small Dark Magician girl figurine with blue icing sugar. He stretched allowing his aching joints to pop.

The sun was starting to set leaving a cosy orange glow to filter through the windows of the café as he neatly placed the sculptures aside allowing them to set before going out of the kitchen and into the dining area. Yugi and the others had left a while ago and the café was now almost empty. A couch and a few armchairs were near the front as a waiting area whilst a small water feature shimmered under the light of an orange sun that had poured through a large window. Joey leaned back against the couch whilst Serenity curled next to him as they watched the cars passing by outside.

Their moments of peace and quiet however were disrupted as another customer came in.

"Mama…" Serenity whispered. Annie and Asato had come in holding hands when she noticed her son and daughter sitting at the waiting area.

"There you are. I've been worried about you Serenity where have you been? Joseph, why didn't you call me that she was with you?" Joey rolled his eyes but didn't comment whilst Asato was uneasy as if he had something to say that might upset him. He leaned back into the sofa whilst mother and daughter went about exchanging stories of their day. Feeling bored he had got out his Duel Monsters deck idly shuffling them. He had been staring at his cards when something in their conversation had caught his attention.

"It's… nice Mama…" Serenity said hesitantly staring at the diamond ring on her finger. Asato smiled sheepishly.

"I hope you don't mind do you?" he asked. Serenity brightened.

"I don't… it'll be great to have a family again huh Joey?" Joey never spoke but merely concentrated at staring at the water feature in front of him. Asato was saddened by his reaction to his proposal. He knew he would get acceptance from Serenity but he had been anxious of Joey's acceptance of him, especially due to the stunt Kuro had pulled to upset the boy that day. The act certainly wouldn't have put him as Kuro's father in a good light. Annie could tell of the disappointment and her hot temper was quickly aroused.

"Can I have a word with you outside?" she rasped at the blonde. Seto who had been eavesdropping went round the back to the alleyway. Asato and Serenity looked on worriedly whilst Martha, Denny and Mokuba went about to quell their feelings of anxiety by getting them to try out the selection of freshly baked cakes and pastries.

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"What the hell is your problem?"

Joey didn't respond but merely turned his back on her as his response. This merely fuelled the rage building inside her as she was reminded of the stubbornness that her son had inherited from her bastard of a husband.

"Asato has been trying so hard to get to know you. He has treated you with the utmost respect and you just spat it back at him by just storming out with your childish tantrum" Still no response and Annie growled. "TALK TO ME!!!" As if waiting for so long for her to say those words he turned around to face her.

"He's a decent guy and he'd make a great dad for Serenity" he replied calmly. "…even with his brat of a son" Annie looked confused.

"Then why…"

"The problem is not with them. It's just you. I do severely hope that you're marrying this guy because you love him and not because he conveniently has a son to play `big brother' for Serenity" Annie narrowed her eyes as he said this.

"You-"

"I may not have seen you for years but I do know what you're like `mother'" he had spat the word in revulsion. "I mean six years and not even a phone call? Then when I finally get to spend time with her after so long you suddenly have a boyfriend who has a son. A perfect `son' my age but with a flawless track record of straights A's and what not"

"Well what have you got to compare with? A small part time job delivering newspapers and failing grades?" Joey tensed keeping his anger down.

Neither of his parents knew about his work with the café. Malcolm was nearly always drunk, so much, so that he never really questioned how they managed to get the money to rent another apartment. Joey used to keep telling him but none of it really registered in his intoxicated state. As for Annie, she had been too wrapped up with her boyfriend to question who was paying the family income. She automatically assumed it was Asato lending a hand. Joey chuckled wearily whilst rubbing the tension of his temples.

"You still think I'm just delivering newspapers… Peachy, that's just peachy" he remarked sarcastically laughing. Annie was glaring at her son and the apparent madness that was in his eyes. But slowly it began to soften to guilt. Her fiery fury had all but died down as she went back into the café to rejoin her fiancé leaving Joey outside in the dark. Seto stood there silently, the camera resting by his side, staring at the blonde who was lost in thought.

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Sam: *busy digging the hole to her grave to provide any last comments on chapter*

(1) I don't know about the US or Japan but schools in UK occasionally have a staff-training day where the students get a day off school…