Chapter 40

Guilt

"You really don't have to keep driving me to and from school each day. I'm getting along better on the crutches now." Anzu said to Anna who was sitting next to her on the couch.

"It's the least I can do." Anna said in between sips of her tea. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't taken you out to that club this would have never happened."

"But driving me everyday for six weeks?"

"I've got nothing better to do with my time." Anna joked. "I guess I should be planning the wedding, but I just can't seem to get motivated. But then again, I like to do things at last minute. I get my best ideas that way."

"So when is it?" Anzu wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Late next year. Maybe that's why I'm not as enthusiastic. It still seems to far off. And then there's Yugi..."

"What about Yugi?"

"What little I've discussed with him...well, let's just say, we're not seeing eye to eye. Like I want to wear my grandmother's wedding kimono, and he doesn't particularly like that. I want something small, he wants big. I want indoor, he wants outdoor. The way things are going I'll end up with duel monsters as bride's maids."

"No two people agree all the time. I'm sure it will all work out."

"I hope it does. I can't image going through our marriage like this."

Anzu hesitated a moment before asking, "Are you going to invite him to the wedding?"

Anna knew who she was talking about. "He'll be invited, but whether or not he will come is another matter."

"You think he hates Yugi so much that he'll not come to his friend's wedding?"

"It depends on how mad his is. And let me tell you, he has a temper." Anna put down her teacup and thought for a second. "Maybe if he finds out sooner rather than later he'll have time to cool off."

"Perhaps it would be better to tell him before the invitation arrives in the mail." Anzu joked.

Anna gave her a smile. "I'm so glad you're here. I can't image what life would have been like if you weren't friends with Yugi."

"You're just lucky I guess." Anzu teased as she threw Anna's own words back at her.

Later that afternoon Anna stood outside the door and dialed a number.

"Well, are you going to let me in?" Anna asked as the person on the other end answered. She got a quick response and clicked her cell phone off.

Seto opened the door and let her in.

"I'm surprised security didn't tell you I was coming." Anna said with a smile, but didn't get one in return.

"They're training new people on this shift. They don't know all the procedures yet." Seto said bluntly as he walked back into the living room.

"I need some kind of secret knock so you'll know it's me and not some door to door salesman." Anna thought that would amuse him, but it didn't. "I can't keep calling you every time I'm standing at your door."

"Why bother. You don't return my phone calls."

"What phone call?"

"I called you yesterday and left a message."

"I didn't get any message." Anna was telling the truth but Seto threw her a suspicious look. "I swear. I didn't get any message. You know I would have called back. When have I not?"

"Hey Anna!" Mokuba yelled as he came bounding into the room. They wrapped their arms around each other in a bear hug. "I'm glad to see you. I want to show you the new game I got." Mokuba tugged on Anna's shoulder to lure her down the hall.

"No games until you've finished your homework!" Seto scolded

Mokuba gave out a disappointed moan.

"Your brother is right, homework comes first." Anna backed up Seto's decision.

"But it's so boring," complained Mokuba.

"Tell you what," Anna decided to tempt him. "You get started and I'll come by in a few minutes and help. Deal?"

"Deal." With this agreement on the table, Mokuba was more willing to do his work. He went back down the hallway to start.

"You shouldn't be helping him. He needs to learn to do things on his own." Seto was still grouchy.

"He's smart, like his brother, but sometimes you just need the right motivation." Anna said as she sat on the couch next to Seto.

"Motivation?"

"You don't do the work for them; you just make it fun so they'll want to do it themselves."

"And when did you become a motivational speaker?"

"I've been doing a little tutoring lately. I guess I've learned some things."

For once Seto wasn't at all interested in anything she had to say, he was distracted by something else. At first glance Anna thought he was staring at her chest. That disturbed her. He had never done that before, nor did she want him to. She apparently found his motivation.

"What?" She gave him a wicked glare.

"You're bleeding." He pointed to the spot on her shirt.

"Cripes!" She said as she looked down at her shirt. She pressed her hand to the spot. She didn't care that it would cause the blood to soak deeper into the cloth, her shirt was already stained. "The damn thing just won't stop bleeding."

"Let me take a look." Seto gestured.

The strange thing was that Anna had no hesitation. She undid the top two buttons and pulled the collar down to reveal the puncture. She wasn't shy about it, or felt ashamed to expose herself to him. He had always taken care of her and she trusted him.

Seto gave it a quick look, mumbled something, and then went off to get provisions. He came back with a first aid kit and proceeded to properly patch up the wound. Apparently he wasn't satisfied with the band-aid that Anna had placed there.

"When did this happen?" He asked as he worked.

"Yesterday." Anna winced a little from the pain he had unintentionally caused. "And I know what you're thinking, but this really was an accident. I ran into the corner of a...well, I guess you could call it a box. It's really tough to explain. No foul play was involved."

"So this is what happened?" Seto said in an almost relieved voice.

"What do you mean?"

"That's the reason I called. I was afraid you had been hurt, and apparently I was right."

"What made you think that I was hurt?"

Seto stopped what he was doing and looked Anna in the eyes. "I had this feeling, deep down in my gut. It said that something happened and you needed help."

"Really?"

Seto nodded his response and went back to treating the wound.

"Then that proves it. You are my personal protector." Anna smiled even though he probably didn't see it. "It must be fate."

Seto didn't respond. He hated that word, fate. He preferred to make his own future. He didn't like the idea that it was all preplanned and he had no control in it. But he did have to admit that he had been experiencing some strange phenomenon since Anna came into his life. His dreams had almost mirrored his life, and some dreams showed events that had yet to come true. He hoped that some of his dreams were wrong. He couldn't bare it if something happened to her.

"And this also proves my friend wrong." Anna added. "She said that you were the kind of person that would use me for your own purposes. She doesn't have a high opinion of you. She seems to think that you'll lie and cheat, even spy on me if it accomplishes your goals. But I told her that wasn't true. I know you better than anyone else and you wouldn't do that to me."

Seto was shocked. He couldn't believe she said that. Did she know he had hired a private investigator? Or was she guessing? Perhaps it was just a friendly warning to him not to try. He wasn't sure.

"That should hold you." Seto announced. "Try not to move your arm around too much. Every time you stretch it the wound reopens."

Anna buttoned her shirt and gave the patched wound a quick pat. "That's great, thank you. Now I know if I ever need help I can go to good old Dr. Kaiba." She saw the look in his eyes, he was still angry about the phone call. "I really didn't get that message. But I have a pretty good idea what happened." That still didn't make his expression change. "I better got check on Mokuba." Anna thought it would be best to let him be for a while. She got up and walked toward the hallway, he didn't even look in her direction as she did. Anna couldn't take the silence so she turned around and hugged him over the back of the couch.

"Thank you for checking on me. You know, I'm lost without you."

Seto reached up and touched her arm, but just as quickly as they came into contact it was broken. She slipped her arms away and walked down the hall toward Mokuba's room. This time he did watch her as she vanished down the hall. He didn't doubt her sincerity, but he still had this nagging feeling that she was hiding something from him. And he knew the answers were in that envelope. It was a fluke that he hadn't opened it already, he had been too busy. But she somehow knew he had it. They always joked that they could read each other's minds. Perhaps the link was stronger than either of them thought. How else could he know she had been hurt? But he didn't believe in the supernatural. So it all must be coincidence. Whether ESP or coincidence, the damage had been done. She had thrown him a major guilt trip, and now he wasn't going to open that envelope. If he wanted answers, he'd have to get them from her.

The next morning the chatter in the car on the way to school was about upcoming festivities.

"Ah, man! I can't believe that my dad has to work on Christmas again. I can't remember the last time he had a holiday off." Joey complained from the back seat.

"That's because your dad wants the extra hours and overtime so he can afford the holidays." Anzu commented.

"I'll ask my parents if you can come over to my house for diner." Honda offered. "I sure there won't be a problem."

"Ooo, is your mom going to make that great stuffing of hers?" Joey was practically drooling over the thought.

"It wouldn't be Christmas without mom's turkey stuffing."

"So what are you going to do Anna?" Anzu asked. "Are you going to spend time with your uncle?"

Anna thought that question was ridiculous, but then again, they didn't know Seto's suspicions about her uncle. "No, he's not interested in seeing me."

"That's too bad. I know he's your only family." Anzu consoled her.

"That's why I'm spending time with my new family." Anna announced. "I'm going over to Yugi's."

"Oh, that reminds me." Yugi cut in. "Grandpa wants to go over the menu with you. He needs to know what kind of groceries to buy. Can you come by this afternoon?"

"Not today, I've got to go shopping."

"More Christmas shopping?" Anzu asked.

"No, I need to buy a new answering machine. Mine's been acting up and I've lost some messages. I think it's broken."

Yugi sunk down into the chair trying to hide.

"But I'll come by tomorrow." Anna said letting Yugi off the hook. She was pretty certain what happened and in a way she couldn't blame him. He and Seto didn't get along, so it would have been natural for him to not want her to hear his concerned message. "Okay, we're here." Anna announced as she pulled up in front of the school.

Everyone exited. "Thanks again for the ride," Honda said as he helped Anzu onto her crutches.

"I couldn't just leave you all out in the cold, now could I?" Anna joked. "I'll see you after school."

Everyone waved as Anna drove away.

Author's note: Okay, it was a cheesy filler chapter, but it had to be done. Everything from here on in gets more intense so hold on to your pantyhose. I also wanted to do a quick census. How many of you want to see Anna and Yugi end up together? And how many want to see Anna and Seto get together? I'm just curious. I've already predetermined how this will end and I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint someone. Please submit your answer in a review or feel free to e-mail me. And thanks again for all the great reviews. I didn't think anyone other than my neighbor Tym would want to read this story, so I'm ecstatic that so many people like it. And just to wet your taste buds, I'm working on a sequel. But I don't think it's going to be what you expect. Thanks!