Chapter 17:

Equals

Ana made her way back to her house and paused at the door. She took a deep breath before she entered the front door. Her mother stood inside the entrance hall waiting for her with her "fiancé".

Ren turned to her when she entered, he'd been holding a bag of ice to his nose. He pulled it down, and she saw his nostrils were red and swollen. He was blushing fiercely while frowning, Ana assumed from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Ana-chan, I understand that you're nervous about marrying me, but really? That's the trash you fool around with?"

"Pardon?" Ana's shoulders tightened as she looked to her mother. Her mother's eyes narrowed a little at his statement.

"I understand you're nervous, who wouldn't be? Don't worry though you'll be properly trained as a bride before the wedding, so you can stand next to me. I understand you're still young, and need to get it out of your system before the wedding, so I won't say anything about who you fool around with before the wedding. Just remember that none of the things you mess around with can stand up to my credentials." Ren shook his head then looked down at her condescendingly. "However, I think it best if you end your association with that one. Really, what were you thinking?"

Ana's mouth tightened as she listened to his backhanded insults to both her and Seto. This man is the worst piece of shit. Why did Grandpa pick him? When he'd first shown up, he'd introduced himself as Kinoshita Ren. After that it was all downhill. Everything that came out of his mouth had been about him and only him. He'd bragged about his wealth, his hobby, and he'd even fished for compliments about his own looks. The only two people he'd listened to during dinner had been her grandpa and her father. At one point her mother commented on a part of the conversation, but instead of answering her, he'd looked at Ana's father and continued the conversation with him. Even Amin-chan talks about other things and listens when I speak.

Ren pointed to her. "Also, burn that."

"What?" Ana looked down and realized she was still wearing Seto's coat.

"I say we should burn you." Hikari appeared in the hallway.

"Hikari!" Her mother snapped at him, but Ren held up his hand to her.

Ren smirked at Hikari. "A person who can't even inherit their own family's title doesn't have the right to say that to me."

Hikari's cheeks turned cherry red and his hands curled into fists as he glared openly at the man. The hate visible on his face. Even with Seto, she'd never seen so much rage from her big brother before. A door slid open from the dining room and her father popped his head into the hallway.

"Ana, your grandfather wants to speak with you."

Ana clutched Seto's coat around her and quickly sidestepped around the people blocking the hall. She went out to the dojo and knocked. A loud "Enter" from her grandpa made her flinch. She slid open the door and found him sitting in front of the shrine with her grandmother's photo.

"Sit." He didn't even look at her.

Her heart beat loudly and she shivered as she approached. Removing Seto's coat, she sat down and neatly folded it before placing it next to her. Placing her hands in her lap, she kept her head bowed and waited for the judgment. A heavy sigh caught her attention, and she peaked up. Her grandpa was frowning, his eyes crinkled with sorrow. She'd never seen her grandpa looking so tired and worn.

"Today was a mess," he mumbled.

Ana bowed her head again and held her breath as she waited for the scolding to follow. There was only silence. After a while she looked up and found her grandpa looking at her almost guiltily.

"I'm sorry."

"Grandpa?" Not once in her life had she ever heard her grandpa say those words.

He rubbed his eyes before bowing to her. She sat there stunned and felt tears coming to her eyes.

When he straightened up, he spoke quietly, "When I interview Kinoshita-san, he passed with flying colors. I didn't realize he would treat you, your sister or mother, like you all were less than him."

Her grandpa turned to the alter and looked at his wife's picture. "True partnerships only work if you're on equal footing."

Ana's eyebrows flew up. She hadn't known her grandpa felt that way. He turned back to her and smiled.

"I'm going to cancel the engagement," Ana's heart soared, "since it seems you found a better partner for yourself."

She almost choked, but tried her best to keep her face neutral. "Grandpa?"

The old man laughed. "Though I didn't think you liked mouthy prideful brats like that, but he sees you as an equal, so it's fine."

What? What! Amin-chan doesn't see me as an equal. He tried to bully me before. Though he found out quickly, that wouldn't work and instead tried to negotiate with me. Either way, we're not really dating! She felt bad for lying, but if she told her grandfather now, then he might change his mind about canceling the engagement. How was she supposed to tell him she wanted to be a teacher?

"Next weekend, bring him to dinner. This time I'd like to get to know the man you've picked without all the drama." Grandpa stood up and patted his back. "Now then, time to take care of the trash."

Her mind was fuzzy. What did Amin-chan say to him that made grandpa think this way? Ana picked up Seto's coat and draped it over her arm as she followed her grandfather in a daze back to the main house. Ren was in the dining room talking with her father. Calling it talking though was a stretch. Her father was standing there nodding his head and listening to Ren rant about the expectations he had for Ana's social life.

When they entered Ren turned to her grandpa and said, "Excellent. I hope that's all taken care of now."

"It is," her grandpa replied. "And with that you can leave."

Ren froze, his eyebrows shooting up in confusion. "Parden. Dai-san—"

"You don't get to call me that anymore. I'm calling off the engagement. You can leave," her grandpa let what he said sink in. "Now."

Ren huffed and looked appalled. "Why the sudden change?"

"I've decided that you're not suitable," Hikari grinned at this and her parents exchanged looks, "There's a better candidate now. Also, your horribly sexist and have insulted my family multiple times throughout the night. Get out."

Ren didn't seem to like this explanation. "A better candidate! Are you talking about that obnoxious prick—"

Grandpa gracefully moved forward and with a swift movement shoved the man off balance and right onto his hind end. Ren stared up at him, shocked.

"I do believe I said to get out right now, didn't I?"

Ren's face turned bright red, and he stood up, brushing himself off. Ana couldn't help but smile, satisfied with his humiliation. This was probably one of the most humiliating days of this man's life. He grumbled under his breath, something like "ridiculous" and "you'll be sorry." Grandpa and her dad made sure he left the premises. Ana sat down on the couch and heaved a sigh of relief. Her sister frowned at her and left the room, but her mom stood next to her bubbling excitedly.

"This is wonderful, dear. You must invite Kaiba-san over for dinner now." Her mother's eyes sparkled excitedly. "I'm sure he's better company than that bug that kept buzzing around my table tonight."

Her mom hummed to herself as she left the room. Hikari bent next to her ear and whispered, "Grandpa really thinks you two are dating? What miracle did you work in there?"

Ana shrugged. "Apparently, it was something Amin-chan said. Except the problem is he thinks we're really dating, so…"

Hikari sighed. "Fine, I'll help you keep up the charade a little longer."

"Thanks, did you know you're the best brother I have?" Ana grinned at him.

He frowned. "I'm your only brother."

Ana stood up and stretched. "I guess I have to go inform Amin-chan. After that, I'm going to take a nap."

Hikari shook his head and sighed. "You and your naps."

Ana went to her room and dialed Seto's number. It rang three times before he picked up.

"Hello?" Seto's voice sounded a little strained.

"Amin-chan, I have some good news and bad news. Grandpa's canceling my engagement. Except, he thinks we're actually in a serious relationship, sooo, I'll need you to keep up the act a little longer and come to dinner next weekend." Ana had spoken quickly so he wouldn't comment until she was done. She sat on the edge of her bed and listened to the silence on the other end.

"Ok," was the only reply she received.

Confused, Ana pulled her phone back and double checked who she was speaking with. The caller Id was listed as Amin-chan, so she had the right number. She put the phone back up to her ear. "I was expecting more resistance to the idea, or at least a snarky comment."

There was a pause. When Seto spoke again, there was a humorous tone in his voice, "Dinner with your family sounds like self-inflicted torture."

Ana laughed involuntarily. She put her hand over her mouth; her face a little warm. Sometimes, Seto had his moments and his sense of humor got to her. Taking her hand off her mouth, she asked, "What did you say to my grandpa? For some reason he thinks you think I'm an equal."

There was another pause. "I don't remember. I just yelled."

"Right… Do you think I'm your equal?" Ana asked in a teasing voice, but she was curious.

"You're not my subordinate if that's what you're asking."

"I'm sorry. That question was over your head. Let me rephrase. Do you see me as someone on the same standing as you?" Ana swung her feet back and forth.

"I can treat you like a maggot instead if you didn't get enough of that today?"

Ana sighed and decided that was probably the best answer she was going to get. "Amin-chan."

"Yes, Chi-san?"

There was an almost flirtatious tone in his voice that made her pause. She pushed it out of her head and decided she imagined it.

"You can be such an ass sometimes." Ana rolled her eyes.

"Why thank you."

She blushed at the gentleness in his tone. A shiver ran down her spine. This was becoming a very weird conversation.

"Anyway, I wanted to say thank you—"

"For what? Being an ass?" Seto chuckled.

Ana puffed up her cheeks, debating on whether to finish her thank you. For some reason this conversation fills one sided. An idea came to mind on how to annoy him back. She cleared her throat and in her best flirtatious voice said, "I just wanted to say thank you for protecting me today, you were so cool. Like a knight in shining armor. It was kind of hot. I loved it."

There was a loud crash and Ana jerked the phone away from her ear. When she looked at the screen, she saw the call had ended. She stared at the screen and felt confused. What just happened?