Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Orphan ❯ The Morning After ( Chapter 7 )

Here's Chapter Seven! Please R&R!!

 

I do not own Yugioh... just Jenna.

 

*****

 

Kaiba woke, first being aware of something soft and warm pressed up against him. He then became aware of the fact that he was sitting up. He experienced a momentary sensation of displacement that one had when waking up in an unfamiliar place, and then slowly opened his eyes. He almost started when he looked down and saw the young woman sleeping against his chest before the memories of what had happened the night before replayed in his mind.

The girl let out a little moan and nestled in closer, still sleeping soundly. Kaiba carefully looked at his watch and saw that it was seven thirty in the morning. Time for him to get up and take care of some of his business. He carefully moved over, laying the woman down on the couch and removed his jacket, draping it over her as a makeshift blanket. After the night she'd had last night, he'd let her rest for another hour or so.

Remembering the branch, he examined her ankles, saw the left one was slightly swollen, but otherwise they seemed to be fine. Her crutches were still up in her room, if they hadn't been too damaged by the rain. If they had been, he'd simply have a new set brought over from his medical wing.

As this thought entered his mind, the girl opened her eyes sleepily and looked up at him. “... Mr. Kaiba...?”

“Sh. It's still early. Go back to sleep.”

She didn't argue. Her eyes slid shut immediately and she was out once more.

Kaiba sighed. Time to get to work. He had to assess what damage had been done to his mansion and company buildings and set about getting the repairs underway. He wanted everything up and running smoothly by Monday. On top of that, he had his usual business to take care of, and later he and Jenna had to finish their project for School.

He took one last look at her to make sure she was all right, and then turned and left the room.

 

*****

 

When Jenna opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on the couch alone, Kaiba's white jacket draped over her. She remembered what had happened last night and felt a shiver race up her spine. When that window had shattered, she had let out a scream that could have woken up half of Domino City. Then she remembered Kaiba, and she immediately turned red.

She had slept right up against him all night. He had held her and let her snuggle up to him... something that seemed very unlike him from what Yugi and his friends had told her.

But something else also occurred to her.

She hadn't had a nightmare last night. Her sleep had been deep and dreamless right from the get go. Unbidden, a small smile crept across her face as she slowly sat up.

She found a new set of crutches leaning against the couch, along with her knapsack which seemed to be perfectly fine, thankfully. Upon inspection, her books and deck were all nice and dry, completely unharmed from the night of cold and wetness they must have had in her room upstairs.

She went to look at her watch, only to remember that she had taken it off and set it on the dresser beside her bed last night. Jenna let out a sigh. Terrific. Her $80 watch wasn't waterproof. Looked like she was going to have to get a new one.

“Hey, you're up!” Said Mokuba, entering the room. He raced up to her, his eyes wide with concern. “I heard what happened last night! Are you okay?”

Jenna smiled at him. “I think so. My ankles are aching a little, but other than that, I'm fine. Your brother was a big help.”

The boy breathed a sigh of relief and returned her smile. “That's good! I heard the scream and ran into Roland last night as he was carrying out Seto's orders. He told me that a branch had busted through your window and landed right on your ankles.”

She nodded. “Yeah. I'm just lucky nothing was broken. I'm dying to get rid of these things as soon as I can.” She said, holding up one of the crutches.

Mokuba grinned. “You hungry? I can have the chef prepare you a great meal in no time flat!”

“Sounds great. By the way, what time is it? I left my watch in my room.”

Mokuba blinked and looked at his own watch. “It's nine thirty. What do you think about waffles?”

She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “I think I should have something a little easier on the stomach. I have a hard time holding things down these days... Maybe some Eggs with Hash browns?”

Mokuba blinked. “What're hash browns?”

She grinned at him. “I'll explain on the way. Let's go.”

 

*****

 

After they had had breakfast, Jenna was surprised to see Roland walk in with Yugi and Tea right behind him. “Miss Shoka. Yugi Moto and Tea Gardener are here to see you.”

Jenna turned bright red immediately. “Please, don't address me so formally. I'm so not used to it. But thankyou.”

The man nodded and left the room.

Yugi came up to her, his face filled with concern. “I would have just given you a call, but most of the phone lines in the city are down right now. How are you today? Roland told us about what happened last night. Are you okay?”

Jenna gave him a smile and a nod. “I'm doing all right. My ankles might be a little sore for a couple days, but the doctor said nothing was broken, so I'm no worse than I was before.”

Mokuba got up from the table, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Hey, there, Yugi! Hi Tea! I'd stay and chat, but I'm gonna see if I can't hunt down Seto!”

Yugi and Tea gave him a friendly smile. “All right, Mokuba. We'll talk with you later.” Then he turned his attention back to Jenna as Mokuba left the room. “But did you sleep okay?”

Jenna gave him a smile. “Actually, I haven't slept that good in a while. I didn't have any nightmares last night.”

Yugi smiled broadly. “That's great!”

Tea blinked in surprise. “Even with the hurricane and what happened? Wow!”

“I think I would have been screaming my head off if it hadn't been for Kaiba.” She said, and then went into more detail of what had happened last night.

By the time she was finished, the Pharaoh was out of the puzzle in spirit form, staring at her in shock. “Kaiba... did that?” Yugi said in total shock.

She nodded. “Yeah. I was surprised too, but that's how it went. I mean, he said a few things that were a little cold and somewhat biting, but overall, he made me feel much better.”

Tea blinked. “Wow... I can't believe this is Kaiba we're talking about...”

Jenna nodded. “Anyway, how's the house and shop? I hope it wasn't badly damaged...”

Yugi smiled at her. “Just the usual. Our basement has about a foot of water in it, there's three broken windows, and half the shingles are missing on the roof. Other than that, the sign out front just needs to be repaired. Pretty minor. We lucked out.”

She smiled. “That's so good to hear. I was worried about you guys.”

The Pharaoh noticed something and brought it to Yugi's attention. 'Yugi! Look! Jenna ate everything that was on her plate!'

Yugi smiled broadly. “Jenna! You finished your breakfast!”

She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Yeah. There wasn't that much on there. I only asked for a little, but I didn't think I'd finish it.”

Yugi was filled with relief. “Well, we just thought we'd drop in to check how you were doing. Since you've probably got to finish that project, we'll be headed back to get those repairs done. Joey's helping Grandpa right now. Since we know you're okay, I guess we'll be seeing you tonight.”

She nodded. “Alright. Thank you for dropping by to check up on me. I really appreciate it.”

He nodded. “No problem. See you, Jenna.” He said. He and Tea both gave her a wave as they exited the room.

Jenna sat at the table for a few more minutes, finishing off her glass of Apple Juice, and then she got to her feet, making her way back to the sitting room.

She saw Kaiba's jacket was still lying where she had left it and she sat down beside it. She thought about it for a moment, and then decided to see if she couldn't track him down. She was sure it wouldn't be that difficult. If she ran into one of his maids in the hall, she was sure they'd know where to find him. She folded the jacket and held it in the nook of her arm as she got back to her feet.

One of the maids led her to a room filled with electronic gadgetry and computers that she couldn't begin to figure out, Kaiba sitting in a chair and hard at work. Mokuba was at his side. They both look up when she entered.

“Hey there, Jenna!” Mokuba said, a smile on his face immediately. “Did Yugi and Tea take off?”

She nodded. “Yeah. They said they were just here to check up on me. They had to head back to help with repairs.” She held up Kaiba's jacket. “Thank you.”

Kaiba got to his feet wordlessly and accepted his jacket back, slipping it on. “Don't look too much into it.”

“I hope I didn't keep you up last night. If I did, I'm...”

His eyes narrowed. “If you say 'I'm sorry,' I'll make sure you regret it one way or another...”

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Then she smirked. “Okay, then. I won't. Instead, I apologize.”

Kaiba's own expression turned surprised, and then he smirked right back at her. “You're stubborn.”

She smiled. “People say it's one of my better qualities.”

He chuckled, Mokuba looking at him in surprise. “Alright. I'll let you off this time. But this is your only warning. Are we clear?”

Jenna nodded. “Deal.” Then she blinked, taking a quick look around the room. “Well, since it looks like you're busy, I guess I'll lounge around somewhere... if you don't mind, that is...”

Kaiba shrugged. “Whatever. I'll be done in here in a few hours. Then we can finish off our project.” He looked down at his little brother. “Mokuba. Stay with her.”

The youth nodded, a smile coming into place. “Alright, Bro!” He turned his attention to her again. “Wanna try dueling again? Or maybe playing some video games?”

She smiled gently. “Let's try dueling. I want to get better. I still royally suck...”

Mokuba grinned broadly. “The hardest part is keeping the rules straight. Once you've gotten past that, it's pretty simple actually. All a matter of strategy.” He opened the door for her and the two of them stepped out, leaving Kaiba alone with his work.

 

*****

 

In the middle of one of their duels, Mokuba looked up at Jenna with a smile. “I really like having you around. It's nice to play with someone, even if you are older than me.”

Jenna blushed a little. “Thank you, Mokuba. That's really sweet of you to say.”

He nodded. “It's the truth. Not to mention that Seto's different when you're around him.”

This made her blink and she looked at him. “What do you mean?”

Mokuba blinked back and looked at her. “Well, normally, Seto's much colder. Even I have a hard time getting a smile out of him sometimes. But you even got him to laugh... non sadistically. He usually only laughs if he thinks up some way that might defeat Yugi in a duel. But just having you around him seems to make him much more... relaxed, somehow.”

She blushed. “Wow... I had no idea. Your brother was always nice to me. I've never known him to act any differently than he does when I see him.” She looked down, her expression turning a little perplexed. “Do you think it might just be out of sympathy?”

Mokuba shrugged. “I don't have a clue. It might be that. But I like him better this way.” He smiled at her. “He smiles when you're around him. He doesn't take everything so seriously.”

Jenna turned bright red hearing this. Especially when she thought back on what had transpired last night. The way Kaiba had snatched her out of her bed and carried her all the way down to the sitting room, holding her on his lap and comforting her. Then she thought back to the other acts he had done for her.

“Your brother is very considerate and kind.” she said, a small smile on her face.

Mokuba looked at her, eyes enormous now. “Wow... I never thought I'd hear anyone but me say that about Seto...”

Jenna shrugged, managing to fight off her blush. “I call it like I see it. Why should I have anything bad to say about your brother when he's been treating me as good as he has? Even if what people say about your brother is true, people can change. Including your brother.”

Mokuba smiled at her. “I think if anyone can change him, it would be either you or Yugi.”

She just smiled, and then blinked, a thought coming to her. “Um... Mokuba... this might be a little off topic, but I was wondering...”

The boy blinked and looked at her. “What is it?”

She smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. “Well, after we finish having this duel, do you think there's any way I can get a shower in? I have a set of clean clothes in my bag in case of emergencies.”

Mokuba chuckled. “Of course!” He smirked, looking at the playing field. “This shouldn't take much longer.”

In only three more moves, Mokuba succeeded in defeating her. Then, carrying her bag for her, he led her to a washroom so she could get cleaned up. The shower was installed with bars for disabled persons. After asking her a half dozen times if she would be okay on her own, she finally convinced him that she'd done this before and she'd be all right. Mokuba left the room, and waited out in the hall patiently, pulling out a game boy and fiddling with it until she came out a half hour later.

She was now out of her uniform and dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a skintight halter top shirt that had “I Love Canada” written over the chest. Mokuba just glanced at the writing and quickly turned away, turning red.

He led her back to the gaming room where they had a few more duels until Kaiba stepped in. He allowed them to finish their duel (This time Jenna actually came close to beating Mokuba, but he got her in the end, with only 200 life points to spare), and then he approached them both and asked if Jenna was ready to finish their project.

She smiled. “Sure.” She got to her feet, gave Mokuba a smile, and followed Kaiba out of the room, and back to the private study they had been working in before.

In the middle of working on their project, Kaiba surprised her with a question.

“Would you like to stay for dinner tonight, or would you rather go straight back to Yugi's after we're finished our project?”

She blinked in surprise and looked at him. A small smile came formed on her lips. “I think I could stand having another high class meal before heading back to the commoners...”

Kaiba chuckled again. “Alright. After we've eaten, I'll have Roland bring you home. I'd go with you, but some of the damage done by the hurricane was worse than I thought and I have to make sure the repairs are well underway.”

She smiled. “I understand.”

“Roland also informed me that the school is probably going to be closed for the next week. Mokuba's probably bouncing off the walls with that one.”

Jenna breathed an immense sigh of relief. “Good. That means I'll be done with these damned crutches by then.” And she wouldn't have to put up with another week of stares and whispers. It was like a vacation for her.

An hour later they had finished their project and they headed to the dining hall for dinner. After managing to fumble through dinner once more with only minimal embarrassment, and eating half of her meal, which Kaiba was satisfied with even though he said nothing, Kaiba led her out to the limo, where Roland was waiting for them.

Jenna looked up at the CEO hesitantly. “Thankyou, Kaiba. For everything.”

He blinked, a little surprised at these words, and then he shrugged. “Don't worry about it. I'll see you whenever school happens to start up again.”

She let a small smile come to her face. “Yeah. I'll see you then.”

Roland helped her into the limo, and then they drove off.

 

*****

 

R&R please!!