Chapter 19:
Test of Courage
Ana stood with Sanae at the park entrance and waited for everyone to arrive. The sun had set an hour ago, so it was a little chilly, but she'd come prepared and had dressed in a warm coat and long pants. Since there wasn't tutoring today, she'd gone straight home and taken a nap. It had been a long time since she felt rested and awake at night time. It really was nice not having to wake up at four in the morning to train. Well, at least I have Amin-chan and Hikari to thank for that.
"Ana-chan, did you invite him?" Sanae was looking over at the park entrance, dumbfounded.
"What are you talking about?" Ana followed her friend's gaze. Her mouth dropped when Seto strolled into the park as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be there. He stopped short of the group though and leaned against a wall looking bored. Why? Why is he here?
The other student's cast glances at Seto, but he didn't return any of them. Instead, he stood there messing with his phone while they waited. After a while, the rest of the students who said they'd be taking part in the trial showed up. There were even some students from other classes. The students who weren't from their class were extra interested in Seto, though Ana felt their interest was misplaced. Arata stood at the front of the group and held up a box.
"Today we'll be doing a test of courage! Who's brave and who'll run away screaming? There's a shrine at the farthest end of this park. You'll be walking in the dark with just a flashlight to get there. Some say it's haunted. Some say there's a murderer's ghost that stalks this forest at night looking for his next victim." Arata paused, and the students whispered amongst themselves. "We'll be drawing numbers to determine our partner for the test. Once you've partnered up stand to the side and one by one, we'll enter the trail at different times."
Most of the students lined up and got their numbers, Ana walked up with Sanae and drew out a number. Her card read 5 and Sanae's was 8. They weren't partners. Well, that's depressing, I was really looking forward to hanging out with her tonight. Seto was the only one who didn't line up. Arata had to walk the box over to him to get him to draw. To Ana's surprise, he drew one.
"Alright, pair up with the person who has the same number!" Arata waved his paper around. As he passed by Ana, he gave her a sly wink.
What was that about? Ana looked around and most of the pairs had already formed. Sanae ended up paired with Arata.
"Who has five?" She called out. No one seemed to answer, but someone lightly tapped on the top of her head and she looked up at Seto. His face was blank as he held up a paper with the number five on it. Seriously? Wait… Did Arata rig this?
No one else seemed to complain about their partners, though Sanae was giving Seto an annoyed look. I guess I can't say I don't want to pair with him since we're supposed to be fake dating. But seriously, why did he have to come? He's just going to make fun of me when I scream.
"All right then!" Arata shouted. "The pairs will go in order of their numbers they received. Number one, you're first."
Ana stood off to the side with Seto as the first pair of students entered the forest path. They waited five minutes before the next pair left.
"What are you doing here, Amin-chan? This doesn't seem like your thing," Ana whispered so only Seto could hear.
"It's not," he admitted.
"Then why?" She glanced up at him, unable to hide the annoyed look on her face.
He didn't look at her, but his brow furrowed and he seemed almost confused. "That's…"
They lapsed into silence, and Ana felt her patience growing thin. He doesn't do things unless there's something in it for him. So what is he playing at? I haven't gotten to spend time with Sanae outside of school since all this has been happening. I was really hoping to remedy that today. She crossed her arms and glared at the ground.
"You know, I wish you hadn't come. I wanted to hang out with my friends." Ana grumbled under her breath.
When he said nothing, she looked up at him. He was staring at her, his mouth tight and brow knit together. Her stomach tightened at his look. Is he actually hurt by what I said? Before she could ask, Arata called out their number. Seto walked ahead of her and took a small flashlight from a box that Arata had brought. He didn't turn around to her or slow down to her pace as they entered the forest path. She walked behind him down the dirt trail and looked at the back of his head as they went. They walked for a way in silence. There was a scream down the path and she flinched. Silence once more fell on the forest.
"Wh-why are you here?" Ana asked again. Maybe it was the looming trees around or the moonless night with only a tiny flashlight to lead the way, but it was unsettling to walk in silence. Ana bumped into Seto's back. He'd stopped. "Ow, what are you doing?"
Seto shined the flashlight at the ground, and Ana's eyes followed its beam. There was a deep red spot on the dirt path. A chill went down her back and she instinctively grabbed the sleeve of Seto's coat. He shook her off and bent down, swiping his finger in the dirt and smelled it.
"It's just paint." He wiped his finger off in the grass.
Ana let out an annoyed sigh and crossed her arms. "Part of the fun of a test of courage is the unknown. Thanks for ruining that. Seriously, Amin-chan, why are you here?"
"That's illogical. If things can be explained then they should." He started walking on, but Ana stayed where she was at.
"You didn't answer me. Why did you come?" Ana shouted after him.
"That's none of your business. Keep up if you don't want to be left behind." Seto kept walking down the trail.
This isn't fun. I want to go home. Noticing a fallen log on the side of the trail, she sat down on it and looked up at the night sky. It was cloudy, so she couldn't see any stars. She shivered and pulled her coat around her tighter. The light from the flashlight bobbed down the trail and then stopped. It grew brighter again until she could make out Seto's shape. He stopped and stood next to her. He'd come back for her, but he was looking down at her angrily.
"Don't mind me." Ana placed her elbows on her knees and put her chin in her hands. "I'll just wait here until the next group comes along and go with them."
"Are you pouting because I exposed the trick?"
"I'm upset because this was the first time in three months, I got to do something other than study, and train. I was looking forward to it, but instead of getting to enjoy it with my friends, I'm stuck with you because I have to keep up the dating charade. And worse yet, you'll probably expose every trick on the way to the shrine. Plus, you keep ignoring my questions and it's getting irritating." Ana chewed on her lip as she sat. She knew she was pouting and being childish, but this wasn't fun at all and she'd been really looking forward to it.
Seto let out a small sigh. "I have a deal with knock—Arata. It doesn't concern you. He coaxed me into coming."
Ana glared up at him. "Did he rig the drawing?"
"I don't know."
She stared at him hard in the ambient light. He seemed to be telling the truth. "Fine."
He scratched the back of his head before holding out his hand to her. "How about this? I'll keep my mouth shut the entire walk there, so you can be as tricked as you want to be by these poorly set up traps."
She stared at his hand and pouted. "If you're not tricked by them, then you're just going to laugh at me the entire time."
"I won't. I'll hold that back."
Glaring up at him, she found him smiling at her rather softly. It made her pause, but she quickly snapped at him, "What's in it for you."
"You're friends with Arata, right?"
"Yeah. I suppose."
Seto's eye twitched, and his smile seemed strained. "Get him to leave me the frick' alone."
Ana laughed at him. "You really can't handle overly friendly people, can you?"
His mouth tightened into a line, but he kept his hand out. Ana sighed and nodded, giving her consent before taking his hand. He helped her up, and they started down the trail, still holding hands.
"Um, Amin-chan. You can let go now." She tried to pull her hand out of his, but he held fast.
"You stalled so long, the group behind us might catch up."
"What does that have to do with anything." She tried pulling away again, but he didn't let go.
Seto's voice sounded a little odd when he said, "Well, we're supposed to be dating. Don't couples normally hold hands during these kinds of things?"
Her face grew warm. He wasn't wrong, and it would seem a little odd to others if they came up to find them feet apart in the dark. Still, it didn't help calm her nerves. They walked silently, but she couldn't help but look down at their hands. His hand was much larger than hers and rather warm. He had long thin fingers like a pianist and his hold was firm, but his touch was gentle. She was suddenly nervous about how sweaty her hand felt. The poorly lit trail and the chance someone might jump out and scare her only made her take notice of how close Seto's shoulder was to touching hers. Oh, is this why girls always fall for guys after these tests? Not that this is enough to make me like Amin-chan.
Looking away from their hands, she tried to focus on the path. Something came flying out of the trees and she let out a scream. She grabbed the closest thing to her. When the object stopped swinging, she realized it was just a doll tied on a rope and let out a sigh of relief until she realized she'd grabbed Seto's arm. Her face grew warm as she looked up at him. He was biting his lip and shaking as he held back laughter. Growling, she let him go. He still wouldn't release her hand. They continued their way through the forest. Nothing happened for a while until Ana felt something crunch underneath her and looked down at a severed hand oozing blood. Her heart nearly stopped.
Her stomach dropped as something else came flying out of the woods and splattered against the tree behind them. Another hand rolled across the ground, blood trickling from the cuts. Ana ran, pulling Seto with her, but stopped when she felt something squish underneath her foot. Looking down, she pulled up her foot to find the crunched remains of an eyeball. She jerked back and bumped into Seto, whose mouth was twitching as he held back his smile. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute and her eyes stung. She turned and kept walking, feeling irritated. Splat! Something hit the tree right next to her, and she froze. Her heart stopped along with her feet and she turned to look at another eyeball rolling across the forest floor. Rustling in the bushes caught her attention as someone ran away from them. She slowly turned to Seto, only to find him with the back of his hand that was holding the flashlight over his mouth. It was so obvious he was laughing. It hurt to see him laughing at her, and more than anything it made her furious. This isn't fun at all. No, don't get mad right now. Don't! She turned and continued to walk, but tears welled up in her eyes and she started silently bawling. Ugh, stupid angry tears!
"Hey, I held back the laughter. I never said I wouldn't laugh." Seto joked, but she didn't turn to him. She didn't want him to see she was crying. They walked some, and this time Ana led. His voice was irritated when he spoke, "Stop leading me."
He pulled her back, glanced over at her and saw her crying. His eyebrows flew up. They came to a dead stop, and he asked, "What's wrong?"
"S-stop laughing at me. Th-his is why I wanted to come with Sanae. W-we always scream and run away together, then laugh about it later." Ana sobbed and jerked her hand out of his. This time he let go.
Much to her surprise, he looked guilty and looked around nervously. Taking his sleeve, he gently wiped the tears away from her cheeks. "I'm sorry, ok? Please stop crying."
His sudden gentleness surprised her, but Ana couldn't stop easily once she started. "You're making fun of me."
He didn't refute her statement. "Sorry. How can I get you to stop crying?"
He looked at her, panicked and sincere. Ana sniffed and her bottom lip quivered. "Make me laugh, tell me a joke."
The look of confusion and horror on his face was pretty funny, but not enough to produce a laugh. I guess telling jokes is a little hard for "The Kaiba Seto" to pull off. Whatever, I only demanded that to make him feel weird. She furiously wiped away at her tears.
Seto shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat before asking, "Why shouldn't you let advance math intimidate you?"
Ana looked up at him, confused at his sudden question. She took deep breaths, getting most of her emotions back under control. "Why?"
"It's easy as pie."
They stared at one another in the half light. Seto looked at her nervously as he waited for her reaction.
"Pff haha." She laughed.
Seto seemed surprised. "You thought that was funny?"
"No! But it was funny to see Kaiba Seto tell a silly joke and about math at that. I was expecting a duel monster joke, but you went with math." Ana laughed, and finally her tears subsided.
Even in the partial darkness, she could see how red in the face Seto was. He turned, grabbed her hand again, and pulled her behind him down the trail.
"Come on. Based on the signs I saw the shrine should be a head," he grumbled.
Ana sped up to his pace and chuckled. "Do you know any duel monster jokes?"
"I'm not telling anymore jokes. Ever again," he hissed.
She laughed, which earned her a glare. As they walked, she calmed down. They must have been past the trick area because nothing else happened. The shrine soon appeared ahead. The students were gathering and many were sharing their experience about what they saw on the path. Seto thankfully kept his mouth shut. They stood some ways away from the group, but he still wouldn't let go of her hand. This earned them a few glances from their classmates. Ana's heart wouldn't stop beating from embarrassment. Eventually Sanae and Arata showed up. Sanae's eyes first went to their hands before she frowned. She ran over to Ana and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of Seto's grasp and across the shrine's courtyard. Her friend took one look at her face and her expression turned sour.
"Ana, did he make you cry?" Sanae asked so only Ana could hear.
"What? Oh, well, I guess I did some, but it was more out of frustration than anything else," Ana admitted. "He kept laughing at my fear and then I got mad and yeah... You know how I can get when I'm scared. It was funny though seeing him try to cheer me up."
Sanae's eyes opened wide in disbelief. "Cheer you up, Kaiba Seto did?"
"Yup. Hey, Sanae, why shouldn't you let advance math intimidate you?" Ana grinned as she retold Seto's cheesy joke.
Her friend sighed, but humored her. "Why?"
"It's easy as pie."
They stood there looking at one another awkwardly. Sanae wasn't impressed.
"Now imagine Amin-chan telling that joke in a very panicked tone," Ana instructed.
Sanae's eyes roamed up to the right as she tried to imagine it, then she burst into laughter. "Did he really?"
They both laughed together, and Ana noticed Seto gazing at them from the other side of the shrine grounds. He stood with his arms crossed, and he seemed irritated. He didn't hear us, did he? Finally, the last group of students showed up, and they headed back down a separate trail. When they got to the end, they started heading their separate ways. Ana walked Sanae home since she lived near the park. Glancing over at Seto, it surprised her to find that he was giving her friend a rather irked look. What's up with that?
They left and chatted as they walked to her house. Before they reached it Sanae asked, "Why were you holding hands?"
"Oh, um, appearances," Ana muttered.
Her friend stopped at the gate to her house and put her hands on her hips. "It seemed more like he was trying to claim you."
"I mean, we're supposed to be dating."
"Oh, then why didn't he do it before?" Sanae's eyes narrowed.
Ana didn't understand what her friend was getting at. "Alright, spit it out. What's on your mind?"
Her friend hesitated but answered, "He comes to an event he doesn't need to come to, holds your hand in the dark and even tries to be considerate in what I guess is Kaiba Seto's way by telling you a joke so cheesy you could smell the Swiss in the air. I don't know Ana, but it seems like he's either fallen for you or is falling for you. He was giving me an intense jealous glare when I pulled you away from him and when you walked home with me."
Ana stood there for a moment and let her friend's words sink in. "Sanae, that's silly. This is Kaiba Seto we're talking about."
"He's still an adolescent teen boy, and he's human. I imagine he has some human emotions. You've been forced to spend a lot of time together lately. He might have realized that you're a fun person to be around and fallen for you," her friend countered and crossed her arms.
"That's—" Ana paused as her thoughts went back to her grandfather. What had he said to convince him? Had he really developed feelings for her? Sanae tapped her finger on her arm, waiting for her to finish her sentence. "That's silly. Even if he has, I don't feel that way about him."
"Even if you don't feel that way, be careful around him. I don't trust him. Everything he does is super assholish and I'm afraid he'll hurt you," Sanae warned.
Not everything. Ana kept this thought to herself.
Ana chuckled. "He is an asshole, but I'm sure I could take him if he attacked me."
"I don't necessarily mean physical. He might hurt you emotionally."
Ana decided Sanae was being overprotective. She had ever since the incident that required her to learn judo. "I'll be fine since I don't see him that way. Goodnight, Sanae."
She hurried away before she could try to convince her that Seto had fallen for her. As she passed by the park, she heard someone walking up behind her. She waited a minute to see if the footsteps were following her. Her heart beat loudly as the footsteps got a little closer. Spinning around, she found Seto standing a few feet behind.
"Amin-chan? What are you doing?" Ana let out a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.
Seto approached her and they fell into step next to each other. "I hadn't left yet. Arata and I talked."
"Have you made a friend?" She teased, but only received a disgusted look as her answer. "Ok, so why were you following me from a distance?"
"I thought you might throw me if I got too close too quickly. You did almost whack me in the face that one time."
Ana laughed, embarrassed. She couldn't deny his claim. They walked in silence, and occasionally she cast a glance up at him. He doesn't really like me, does he? In the dim light, the curve of his facial features was more pronounced. Her eyes roamed over his face, down to his neck and shoulders. They were broad and muscular. Ana quickly looked away and shook her head, but her heart was still racing. This has been a weird night.
"O-oh, right," Ana couldn't bear the silence anymore. "What happened yesterday when you hung up suddenly."
"I… dropped my phone, and it broke."
She looked up at him, but he had his head turned. As they crossed under a streetlight, she noticed his ears were red.
"Oh, maybe you should get insurance on all your tech. You seem to break it a lot."
Seto turned to her and frowned. "Why would I get insurance on my phone? I can just buy a new one."
She laughed. "That's an Amin-chan thing to say."
"I have money, it's mine. I can use it as I please. What's so wrong with that?"
"As long as you're not using it to hurt people then nothing really, I guess…"
He looked a little guilty when she said that, but didn't comment. They lapsed into silence again. As they passed the turn for Seto's apartment she expected him to head that way but he kept walking with her.
"Amin-chan, your apartment is back that way, or did you forget?"
"I'm seeing you home," was his blunt answer.
Her heart skipped a beat. No, silly heart. Calm down.
"Because it would look weird for you to come to an event late at night and not walk me home since we're supposed to be dating?" Ana conjured up what she expected to be the excuse.
Seto remained quiet, so she could only assume that was his reason. Sanae's being over protective. Ana glanced up at him again and bit her lip. Right? Her house was soon insight, but she stopped short so that no one would see he'd walked her home. She didn't need the flak from Hikari.
"Thanks, I guess. Though I could have beaten up any random guy that attacked me," Ana joked.
Seto sighed, then smirked at her. "Chi-san, there's power in numbers."
Ana rolled her eyes. "I suppose. Goodnight, Amin-chan."
"Goodnight, Chi-san."
She dashed the rest of the way to her house, glance back down the street and found Seto waiting for her to get inside. Rushing inside, she went upstairs and passed Hikari on her way.
"Hey Ana, how was the test of courage?" Hikari grinned at her.
"F-fine." She skirted around her confused brother and went to her room. Stripping off her coat, she let it fall to the ground and fell into bed. Hugging her pillow, she tried to calm down. He can't like me. Right?