Chapter 13

Visitor and Career Choices

Ana yawned as she stared out the window, waiting for class to start. The seat behind her was empty that morning. Goda had apparently excused Seto for his class to visit the university. At least that better be the case. The ass better not skip class.

"Ana-chan, are you feeling better?" Sanae walked up to her and scanned her up and down, a frown on her face.

She smiled at her friend. "Yeah, I'm good now. No more cold."

Sanae's eyes narrowed, and she glanced back at the empty seat. "And…?"

"And what?" Ana wondered what was on her friend's mind now.

She huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Did he do anything inappropriate to you when he went to drop off the hand outs yesterday? I tried to get Goda to let me take the papers, but…"

"Don't worry about it. I know the swim meet's important to you. And no, he did nothing inappropriate. He came, gave me my papers, we talked for a bit and then he went home. That's all." Ana leaned back in her chair and watched her friend's reaction. Sanae's brow furrowed, and she pursed her lips as she eyed Ana.

Her friend eventually sighed and sat down in her seat. "What did you talk about with him? I can't imagine he's good at casual chats."

Ana hesitated. "That's not something I can disclose."

"What? Why not?" Sanae sat up a little straighter.

"It's personal."

Her friend seemed rather irritated that she was keeping secrets, but this was something that wasn't any of her business. She had no reason to go spreading what Seto had told her to the rest of the class. Someone slipped into the chair behind them, Ana turned expecting Seto, but then remembered that he should be at the university right now. Instead, there was an adolescent boy with black hair, gray eyes wearing a yellow vest and a blue-striped shirt. The boy grinned at her. Ana looked over to Sanae who was staring at this person opened mouthed. She turned back to the kid.

"Hiya." The boy spoke up first. "I'm Kaiba Mokuba."

Multiple students had been watching the boy, and when he introduced himself, the room exploded in excitement. A few of the teens approached him and introduced themselves. The kid politely listened to them as people bombarded him with questions. The stark difference in treatment to when Seto showed up was rather drastic. Before he could answer any of them, Goda entered the room and told everyone to return to their seats. His eyes landed on Mokuba, who quietly got up and handed him a note. Goda read it and closed his eyes, let out a heavy sigh, then opened them again.

"A little early to be observing high schools, isn't it?" Goda's eyes narrowed at the kid.

"It's never to early to start planning," He replied smoothly.

Goda pursed his lips before telling him to go sit back down. The kid almost skipped to the seat and when he passed by Ana, he flashed her a mischievous grin that only she could see. Oh, great. Amin-chan mini. Mokuba however was quiet throughout the class. When it ended Ana looked back and much to her surprise found that the kid had fallen asleep during the lesson.

The door to the classroom opened, and Seto entered. Oh, he did remember his promise to come after visiting Hikari. I just hope Onii-san wasn't being too troublesome, and they actually got work done. Seto's eyes shifted to her then fell on his brother who was napping in his seat. The look on Seto's face was priceless, Ana held in her laughter, but couldn't hold back her smile.

Seto stormed to the back of the room and grabbed his brother by his collar. He jerked the kid out of the seat, Mokuba toppled over and woke up looking very surprised. When he looked up at Seto, who was glaring down at him, the kid gave him an embarrassed smile.

"Hey, Nii-san, fancy seeing you here." Mokuba joked, but his brother didn't seem in the mood. Seto picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. Mokuba struggled, but to no avail as Seto exited the classroom while hauling his little brother.

Most of the students rushed to the door and to watch, but Seto was apparently too fast for them. Disappointed, they returned to their seats and Ana returned to looking out the window. Outside she saw Seto, still hauling Mokuba over his shoulder, heading to the front gate. Seto set Mokuba down at the gate, Ana leaned over to watch. She couldn't hear anything but it looked as if Seto was yelling at Mokuba who was pouting. Mokuba said something to Seto, who turned red in the face. He turned around and stormed away from his little brother, who stuck out his tongue at him. Ah, siblings.

It wasn't long before Seto reentered the classroom. He glanced at her as he came in, but said nothing as he took his seat. He took out his tablet and immediately got to work.

Ana turned around and asked, "Did Hikari help?"

Seto nodded slowly. "Surprisingly."

"Hikari?" Sanae turned to them and frowned. "Why would Hikari be helping Kaiba-san?"

Ana turned to her friend and hesitated. "That's…"

"Private?" Sanae finished for her.

Her friend frowned and turned back to her desk, looking hurt. Ana didn't keep much from Sanae because she'd never needed to before. It was hard to do so now. If I don't explain something to her soon, this will get out of hand. The rest of the classes when by pretty normally, except when Goda came back in at the end of the day to give them their career aspiration work sheets. The class groaned as the papers were passed out.

"Now, now, this is something important to think about. Make sure to think about it tonight and turn it in tomorrow." Goda smiled at them, but there was a hint of humor in his eyes at their reactions.

Ana stared at the paper and frowned. She knew what she wanted to do, but she also knew that her family wouldn't be happy about it. Seto quickly jotted something down and as he left put it on Godas desk. Goda looked surprised as he picked it up and read it, but his look quickly turned to anger.

"Kaiba-san! KAIBA-SAN!" He shouted after Seto, who didn't turn back around.

Sanae was quiet as she stood up to go to practice. Ana stood and followed her into the hallway.

"Sanae, wait. Please." Ana tugged on her friend's shirt to get her to stop.

Sanae turned around and crossed her arms. Her eyes were shiny from holding back tears. Ana grabbed her arm and pulled her into a secluded part of the stairwell.

Sanae's voice quivered, "What?"

Ana took a deep breath then said, "I'm sorry that I've not been very open with you lately about stuff. I'm not trying to hide anything from you, but I can't tell you what's going on. I promised I wouldn't."

"Tell me the truth, are you really dating Kaiba-san?" Sanae kept her voice low.

Ana sighed. This much should be ok to reveal. "For show."

"I knew it. You've never kept secrets from me before." Sanae swiped at her eyes. "I thought it was suspicious that you'd keep secrets for some guy you only met a short while ago."

She grabbed her friends' hand. "Yes, I know. And I do have my reasons for this. Please believe me, I'm not in any danger and Amin-chan's not going to put me in any danger. I'll explain once everything is over with."

Sanae's sniffled. "Amin-chan?"

"Oh," Ana's ears grew warm. The nickname had slipped out without her realizing it. "It's just something I call Kaiba-san."

"That's a very cutesy name for the CEO of Kaiba Corp." Sanae narrowed her eyes at her. "How did you come up with this nickname?"

Ana didn't really want to tell her, though she didn't know why. It was like her own inside joke to make fun of Seto with. She didn't want others to use it too. "Does it matter? I just called him that to mess with him. It just sort of stuck."

Her friend paused, then stepped closer to her. "Ana-chan, do you actually like Kaiba-san?"

"What? No! Of course not."

Sanae stared at her doubtfully.

Ana didn't like what her friend was implying. "I don't like Amin-chan. I like to mess with him and that's it."

Sanae didn't seem convinced. "I hope so because your way out of that pricks league. Well… Alright, I'll trust you for now, just please be careful. I don't trust that guy."

Ana smiled at her friend and gave her a hug, before Sanae went off to practice. Sighing, she made her way to the front of the school. As she was passing by, she found Goda talking to Yato Arata, a friendly redheaded boy that had been trying to get Seto to fit in with the class.

"Oh, Sakurai-san, perfect timing. Tomorrow, you and Yato-san will need to see a tutor for math." Goda grinned at them. Arata looked at the ground, defeated. Ana tried not to groan; all this training lately had been hard on her grades.

"Um, tomorrow. With whom?" Ana asked, feeling a strange sense of uncertainty.

Goda's smiled widened, but he looked irritated. "Kaiba-san."

Oh, so this is what he had to agree to do to get Goda's help. Eh, more nap times gone with the wintery wind.

Arata turned to her and scratched the back of his head. "Let's do our best."

"Right…" Ever since Arata had transferred in freshman year, she'd had a hard time dealing with him. Even for her, he was a little too peppy. It was almost like he was trying too hard.

After Goda gave them the details, he dismissed them. Ana sighed and headed outside. She'd long since missed the last bus and was forced to walk home again. Much to her surprise, when she rounded the corner of the school entrance, she saw Seto just ahead of her.

"Amin-chan," she instinctively called out to him. To her surprise he stopped, turned to her and waited for her to catch up.

"What?" He asked when she made it to him.

"I thought you went home a while ago." She fell in line with him as they walked, and he kept pace with her.

"I was in the library."

"Why?" Ana asked curiously what a CEO would need with their school library.

Seto rolled his eyes. "I was doing homework. If these annoying easy assignments can be called work."

She felt her eye twitch in irritation. "Genius problems are such a pain."

"Jealous?" Seto smirked at her.

"Yes." She answered honestly.

His eyebrows flew up, and he opened his mouth, but closed it again. His brow furrowed, but he said nothing.

"That reminds me, Goda-sensei said you'd be tutoring Arata-kun and I tomorrow." Ana felt even more irritated at the idea and wondered if Seto could even teach other people.

"Who's Arata?" He looked down at her confused.

She stopped in her tracks. He stopped with her and raised an eyebrow at her waiting for her to answer. "Amin-chan, how many of your classmate's names do you know?"

"Yours and your friend. Why do I need to know anyone else?" Seto crossed his arms, his tone dead serious.

Ana groaned. Forever and always an Amin-chan. "He's the redheaded boy who keeps inviting you to stuff."

Seto put his fist on top of his palm, realization on his face. "Oooh, knock-off Yugi?"

"So, you know some people's names at least, just not your classmates. I'm honestly surprised you even paid enough attention to learn my name… You do remember my name, right?" Ana looked at him doubtfully.

"Sakurai Ana." He responded, looking annoyed that she doubted him.

"What were you calling me in your head before you learned my name?" She asked curiously.

Seto thought about it for a second. "Obnoxious girl."

"That's a long nickname and not a very good one." Ana felt a little disappointed as she continued to walk. "No creativity what so ever."

He seemed irritated by what she said and fell into silence. He gets competitive about the weirdest things.

Seto muttered to himself. "Chibi-san, no, that's too hard to say. Ah, Chi-san."

"Is that supposed to be a play on chisai (small) and chibi at the same time?" Ana frowned. "I'm not that short."

"You're pretty short." Seto smirked down at her.

Ana's eye twitched. "I don't like it. Think of something else."

This was the wrong thing to say because his eyes lit up and he grinned evilly. "Chi-san."

"No!" Ana snapped at him, but he didn't change it.

"Chi-san, Chi-san, Chi-san," He taunted her.

"Are you five!" Ana whacked him with her bag, but he just laughed. When he wasn't smirking but just smiling, he was rather handsome. No. She stopped that line of thought. "What did you write on your career form that annoyed Goda-sensei so much?"

"Emperor of the World." Seto snorted at the thought.

Ana stared at him blankly and wondered if she should do something if he was actually serious. "Do you really want that?"

"What? No! You think I want more work? The assignment was a joke, I already have a career." He pursed his lips, then eyed her. "What did you put on yours?"

Ana batted her eyelashes and smiled at him. "Why do you want to know? Have you fallen for me?"

"No. Forget it. I don't give a shit what you want to be." He shut down her teasing immediately.

She sighed. "Learn sarcasm already. I… want to be a preschool teacher."

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her like she'd said the most awful thing in the world. Ana sighed and smiled awkwardly.

"Well, that's what I want, but who knows what the future holds." She tried to change the subject. "So, if you ruled the world, would you make Domino city it's capital?"

She tried to walk on, but realized Seto wasn't following. She turned back to him. His eyes focused on nothing in particular as he mused over something.

"Is it that hard of a question?" She teased, but when he looked at her his demeanor was serious.

"I don't know why in the world you would want to teach little snot-nosed demons, but what's stopping you?" He tilted his head and crossed his arms.

Does he actually want to know? He stood there waiting for her answer.

"Well… I don't think my family—"

"Great, that shitty nonsense." He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Ana's hands gripped the handle of her bag tightly. "Some people have good relationships with their family and want their support."

"I know. But you want something and haven't even told them what you want, have you?" Seto's eyes were hard.

She bit her lip. She'd never told her family that she wanted to be a teacher. Grandfather had always had different plans for her. He'd told her when she was young that she needed to become a well-rounded young woman so she could be an exemplary wife one day. It was an old mindset, but her mother and father had never said any different.

"I know what they want for me. What I want and what they want don't match up. What's the point of telling them?" Ana couldn't look him in the eyes, so she focused on a crack in the ground. Why was she even telling him this? Why was he even asking her?

"Coward," His tone was harsh.

She looked up at him and glared. "What does this even matter to you?"

He seemed a little surprised by her question, but brushed it off. "It doesn't, it's just that people who pretend to be strong, but then become cowards when it matters most pisses me off."

She lost it.

"Oh, shut up Amin-chan. Not everyone can do what you can. Yes, I'm afraid of my family. I love them and want their acceptance. So, yes, it's hard to tell them my dream. Stop preaching at me. Not everyone can just plow through other people to get whatever they want like you can." Ana's breaths came in gasps after she finished shouting at him.

He stood there quietly and smiled at her. It was a frigid smile. "There are plenty of things I want that I can never have and no amount of trying will get them for me. What you want though is something you could have, but are to afraid to even try."

When he finished talking, he walked around her and left her behind. She didn't watch him go. The cars zipped by as she stood there looking up at the sky. Taking out the career aspirations paper, she frowned. Gripping the paper, she headed home. When she got there, she didn't go in the main entrance. Instead, she walked around to the back where a separate dojo was. Taking off her shoes, she entered the dojo. Standing in front of a shrine was an older man, his face full of wrinkles, but his body strongly built. When she entered, he turned his sharp black eyes on her, his angular face framed by neat white hair.

"Ana-chan." His voice was powerful and deep. Sakurai Dai, her grandfather.

"Grandpa, um, there's something I want to talk to you about…" Her voice caught in her throat and she held out her career aspirations paper.

"Ah, that time of the year already. Well, that works out perfectly then." He walked over to her and took the paper.

"What do you mean?" Ana asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I have chosen your fiancé. You'll be meeting him this weekend." He handed her back the paper.

The room seemed to spin. "What? No, no, I want to be—"

"Hurry and get changed, so we can start practice." He commanded and began his warm-ups.

"Grandpa, I want to be a—"

"Hurry now!"

She jumped. He wasn't listening to her, Ana looked down at the paper. She wanted to cry, but she put the paper away and started her warm-ups.