A/N: I wrote a Joey and Serenity piece a few months ago, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. And so, I've decided to write another one. This was also a request from one Autobot00001. That said, enjoy and no flaming.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters, Kazuki Takahashi does.

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Joey Wheeler smiled down at the auburn-haired girl clad in a sailor fuku in the picture that he had placed in his wallet. The smiling girl was none other than his precious younger sister Serenity. Every bit as calming as her name, the picture of her alone was enough to calm the blond teen's anger. His father had once again disappeared and would more than likely not be back until the rest of the morning.

If there was anything that Joey was grateful for, it would be that his fragile sister was nowhere near their violent drunkard of a father. He only wished he weren't either.

The boy rubbed his back, knowing there was a nasty boot-shaped bruise there. The man had kicked him the night before for a supposed offence he had already forgotten. Things had been this way for several years now, ever since his mother had left his father, he alone had been the focus of the man's wrath.

Sometimes, Joey didn't know if he hated his father more or his mother. He knew there were two kinds of wrongdoing in the world; those that did horrible things, much like his father's severe addiction to alcohol and equally severe addiction to gambling with money he really didn't have, and those that saw those things being done and just stood by and allowed them to happen, like his mother abandoning him and leaving him to fend for himself.

Joey was barely seventeen but found himself caring for himself, and by extension his father, as if he were already an adult.

One of the few things that made his life bearable were the occasional letters from Serenity. She had even called him the week before. She hadn't told their mother of course. Joey didn't blame her though, he knew his mother would scold Serenity, telling her that she didn't want his father knowing their new phone number, that she had left him for a reason, and a number of other complaints that he neither wanted to hear nor force Serenity to endure.

"I'm glad you're still going to school, big brother," Serenity had said and Joey could practically hear her smile. "I don't know how I'll do it, but the day you graduate, I'll find a way to be there even if I have to sneak out when Mom's not home."

He couldn't tell her that he was involved in gang activity or that he had once considered dropping out. He didn't want to shatter that image of the perfect big brother that Serenity saw him as. It would break her heart.

"I'll do it for you, Serenity," he smiled at the picture and held it close to his chest, wishing the real thing were there. "I'll do whatever I have to to make it...for you..."

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Well, I hope everyone enjoyed that. Feel free to let me know.

Also, a little announcement: I will be updating or publishing at least one story every day in July. It may be for any of the fandoms I write for, but rest assured each day there will be a story or chapter out every day this month. That's all for now. Kaiba-Girl out.