Chapter 16

Clash

"Now remember, no slouching, grandpa hates that. Also, mind the way you speak, be polite—" Hikari ranted.

Seto interrupted him, "I get it. You've gone over this multiple times."

Hikari straightened his shirt and smoothed down his hair as he looked to the front of his house. Hikari tried to brush lint off Seto's suit, but he smacked his hand away. Hikari snapped at him, "This isn't a business deal. You can't just over power my grandpa. So really, please, mind your manners."

I don't overpower my deals either… well not all of them. Seto gave up on saying anymore and let Hikari lead the way to the house. Timidly Hikari unlocked the door and let Seto in. He led the way to the dining room where he could hear voices. He recognized one as Ana's father. When they entered the dining room, he took in the situation. Ana's mother and father were sitting on one side, her sister was sitting at the head and an old stiff man was sitting at the other end. His eyes fell onto Ana who was sitting next to a young man in a business suit with well-kept hair, a tiny mouth too small for his own face and dark brown eyes. He seemed to converse with Ana's parents freely. Ana had her head bowed, her hands in her lap and looked a little queasy.

It took everything he had not to walk over there, grab the man by the collar and chuck him out of his seat. Ana's mother noticed them and gasped when she saw Seto. Her sister's mouth also dropped open.

"Kaiba-san?" Ana's father stood looking confused and walked over to him. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I didn't know that you and Hikari knew each other? What's the reason for your sudden visit?"

"O-o-oh, um, well…" Hikari stuttered and Seto noticed Ana shot him a glare when no one was looking her way.

"Ana introduced us. It's good to see you again, Sakurai-san." Kaiba put on his best businessman smile and bowed politely.

Ana's father's eyes lit up. "Oh, how wonderful! It's good that you and Ana have become friends."

"Friends?" Seto kept his smile fixed on his face. "We're dating."

The room grew quiet and Hikari looked ready to pass out. Ana's father' seemed to choke on nothing and he shot a concerned glance at the young man who looked surprised and amused. Slowly, her father turned to the old man at the head of the table who was scrutinizing him. Seto could tell that he was looking at his body, and it took everything he had not to lose his businessman smile. He's not going to demand I take off my clothes too, is he? He seemed satisfied with his inspection though and stood up.

The old man walked around the table and pushed Ana's father out of the way. Even though Seto towered over the man, he could still feel the power emanating from him.

"I'm Sakurai Dai, you'll call me Dai," he forcefully introduced himself.

The young man stood up from the table looking a little uncomfortable, but Dai ignored him and turned to Ana. He asked, "Is it true that you two have been dating?"

Ana nodded slowly. He turned back to Kaiba and eyed his face this time. "Hmm."

"Dai-sama," the young man interjected, smiling nervously. He glanced at Seto and shot him a dirty look. "May I ask what's going on?"

"No, you may not. Come with me, boy." Dai demanded of Seto and headed out a glass sliding door that led outside.

Seto glanced at Hikari, who nodded. He held back a sigh and followed the old man. There were out door sandals outside the door. He slipped those on and followed the old man up to a dojo. He removed the sandals at the entrance and walked in. The polished wooden floor shined spotlessly and a alter with an old woman's portrait at the head of the dojo gave the place a more somber feeling. So, this is where Ana practices.

No one else followed them. The old man when to the alter and kneeled to pay his respects. Seto watched him and didn't approach. Dai turned to him and eyed him.

"Do you have issues with paying respects to the dead?" Dai asked, his eyes hard.

Seto kept his face neutral and his voice level, but he was already feeling irked talking to Ana's Grandfather. "I wasn't acquainted with the lady, so I thought it would be rude to do so without permission."

Dai stared at him for a moment before nodding and pointing to the cushion next to him. Seto took his seat and payed his respects, though he found it odd. He'd never even paid respects to his father, either of them. After they were quiet for some time, Dai turned to face him and Seto did the same.

"So, your dating Ana." The old man's voice was steady and his eyes sharp. "How long has this been going on?"

"Not long. A few weeks," Seto answered, not releasing eye contact and keeping his posture straight. It wasn't hard. He was used to it, slouching during business deals was one way to lose points.

Dai frowned at him. "So, this has been going on since before this week?"

"Yes."

The old man stroked his chin. "And what do you like about Ana?"

This question threw him. In all the prep the two siblings had given him, this question hadn't come up. He said the first thing that came to mind.

"Her temperament."

Dai raised an eyebrow at him. "Specifically?"

What? Specifically what? What do you want from me, you old coot? Do you want me to say that she's cute and funny and makes fun of me all the time? Wait…

"Your slow to answer," the old man snapped. "Is it that hard of a question to answer?"

"You're wanting me to specifically tell you what I like about her temperament, but there's a lot of different things that make up—"

Dai held up his hand to him. "I can tell speaking formally isn't in your nature. I could tell that the moment you walked in the door. Stop with the fake polite speech and tell me in your words what you like about Ana."

He's pissing me off.

"She's annoying," the answer slipped out before he could stop himself.

Strangely enough, a small smile tugged at the corner of the old man's mouth. "You like that she's annoying?"

"You're not denying that she's annoying?" Seto's legs were going numb from sitting in the formal position for so long, but he would not lose out to this old geezer.

"She's my granddaughter and I know her well." The old man chuckled.

This statement flipped some switch in him, and he openly glared at the old man. "I find that hard to believe. If you know her so well, why didn't you notice that she didn't want to be within ten feet of that so-called fiancé you've picked out for her?"

Dai's face fell. "I noticed. I was hoping it was just nerves and that she would get over it."

"Nerves? I thought you said you knew your granddaughter. Apparently not. The only thing I've ever seen her nervous about is disappointing her family. How old is that guy, anyway? He looked to be in his later twenties. You sure thought hard about what she wanted when picking him out." Seto's polite demeanor flew out the window.

Oh well, so much for the plan. I'm at least going to say what I want to this geezer before he kicks me out.

"Didn't take you long to lose that formality, did it? Ren's twenty-four. In a few years that difference wouldn't matter." Dai's seemed to recover from whatever disappointment he'd felt, and he was returning Seto's glare openly. "Perhaps it would be best if you returned to speaking formally."

"Ha! You're the one who told me to drop that act. Don't go changing your mind now just because you can't handle the battle." Seto's mouth twitched and Dai growled in his throat. "Maybe in a few years his age wouldn't matter, but it seems to matter a lot to her now. You say you know your granddaughter, old man, but you don't even seem to know what she wants for her life. Or maybe you just don't care if she's happy or not, so long as it fulfills your legacy?"

The temperature in the room rose as they silently glared at one another.

"What do you know about what she wants? You've only known her for a few weeks. You even called her annoying!" Dai barked at him.

"She is annoying and headstrong. She always thinks she's right and gets on my last nerve all the time when she challenges me or teases me. She pretends to be lazy, but she's secretly working herself to the bone to keep up with your training while maintaining her grades, all so she doesn't disappoint you. Though I doubt you even noticed. If I barely know her, then you two are nothing more than strangers."

His breath came out in pants when he finished his rant, and his face boiled with rage. The old man was looking at him with sorrow in his eyes. Crap. He'd screwed up big time. Without asking to be excused, he stood up and left the old man sitting in the dojo. Shoving the outdoor shoes back on, he stormed back to the main house and entered. There was no going back. He'd messed up. Ana's family was sitting in the dining room, but Ana wasn't there. Neither was her fiancé.

"Oh, Kaiba-san—" Her father stood up to welcome him back in.

Seto growled. "Don't talk to me, you pathetic piece of human trash. No, you're lower than trash. You're the rotting dirt underneath the dump. Is your daughter nothing to you but something to use and throw away. Guess family bonds really don't mean much."

The man's mouth gaped open, but Seto didn't give him time to recover. He headed out into the hall, looking for Ana. He could hear clapping coming from inside the dining room.

"Hikari stop clapping!" Ana's mother shouted.

"What? He's right."

Seto threw open the front door and found Ana and her fiancé on the front porch. Ana was holding her arm and looking at the ground as the man talked nonstop about his hobby, which just so happened to be duel monsters. He burst out laughing and they both turned to him, looking surprised.

"She hates duel monsters, you walking piece of shit, and she hates you." Seto grabbed Ana's arm and dragged her down the pathway of her house.

"Wait, where do you think you're going with my fiancé!" The man shouted and tried to follow.

Seto released Ana and turned back around. He gave him his businessman smile. This cause the fellow to pause and look confused. Seto used his hesitation to let loose his fist. His knuckles connected with Ana's fiancé's tiny mouth and knocked him flat on his ass. The man's nose dripped blood onto his suit. He looked up at Seto, terrified.

"She's not your fiancé. She's my girlfriend." He turned around and grabbed her hand, this time to drag her away.

"Wait, Kaiba-san. Kaiba-san!" Ana tried to get him to stop, but he kept dragging her along behind him. "AMIN-CHAN!"

He stopped and looked down at her. They were both breathing hard. Her hair had partially fallen out of its ponytail and was hanging limply on her shoulders. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold air. She shivered in her light purple pastel dress with short sleeves. Oh, no. His eyes dropped to her curves and her legs, which were slender and appealing. No, no, no.

"Amin-chan. What the heck happened?" Small puffs of white air came out of her light pink lips.

No, no, no.

"What happened?" Her creamy brown eyes lifted to the sky as white flakes started falling in front of them.

Silently, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I messed up."

Her mouth opened slightly and closed again as she looked to the ground. "I see."

The disappointment in her voice stung. No, no, no, no!

"Well, thanks for trying." She smiled up at him.

Seto shrugged. "I still might be able to use my connections to chase him away."

She didn't seem hopeful. "Thanks for trying. I think I better get back before they come looking for me."

"Alright."

"I'll see you at school Monday, Amin-chan, and I'll try to convince my brother to still help you, thanks again." Ana turned and headed back down the street.

Her empty thanks stung. Her disappointment in him hurt. Crap. He looked down and noticed he was still wearing the outdoor shoes. Glancing up at her small defeated shoulders as he watched her go, he sighed. Shit, I like her.