Chapter 41:

Desire

Ana sat at lunch eating with Sanae as usual while Seto went off to eat alone.

"Hey, Ana-chan. Are you dating Kaiba-san for real this time?" Jerico asked, looking at her intensely. Jerico and Umiko had joined them for lunch today.

She sighed at the girl's question. Many had asked her this question already, especially after her declaration at the beach.

"Yes, for real this time," Ana answered as she ate her bento.

Umiko looked at her with large eyes and put her hand on her cheek. "Is it going well? You two never eat lunch together."

"I need time to see my friends too. So, I told him I'd eat lunch with Sanae. I see him plenty after school," Ana explained.

Jerico flicked a piece of her light blue hair over her shoulder and sighed. "Well, I guess that makes sense. Truly healthy relationships only last because you can balance time for all of them."

The three stared at the love obsessed girl who blushed when she noticed.

"W-what. It's just what my mom said when she explained why she and my dad have set nights out with their friends." The girl pouted.

Sanae grabbed Ana and grinned. "I suppose that's true. I certainly don't want Ana spending all of her time with her new boyfriend. A healthy balance is a good thing."

Ana laughed and went back to eating her lunch. I do spend a lot of time with Amin-chan, but it's mostly to study. I don't really think we've had a proper date since the park. Doesn't he want to do anything else? Ana mulled over the thought the rest of the day until it was time to leave. Per the current usual, she left school with Seto to head to his apartment to study. He usually waited until they were out of sight of the school, but would take her hand without asking anymore. She looked at their fingers and resisted sighing. Doesn't he want to do anything more? Are we even really dating right now?

"Hey Amin-chan, let's go on a date this weekend." Ana decided she'd just state what she wanted.

Seto didn't look at her as he seemed to mull over her statement. "The history report is due Monday and there's a test tomorrow. You need to study for that test today and then spend the weekend finishing the report. Plus, finals are at the end of next week. You need to do well on those to get your grades back up. I don't think there will be time for much else."

Ana bit back her anger at how easily he'd shot her down. It's true that he's been helping me study by keeping me on a tight schedule to catch up, but that took a lot of courage to ask!

"I see." She pulled her hand out of his and held onto her bag with both.

Seto seemed surprised by her reaction. "What? Why do you seem upset?"

"You shot me down so easily," Ana grumbled.

He stared at her, baffled. "Summer break isn't far off. You need to pass finals first…. Ana-chan, I'm not a mind reader. Why are you mad?"

Ana sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I just wanted to spend some time with you outside of studying. I know I need to prepare for the exams, but you shot me down so quickly that it makes it seem like you don't want to go on a date at all."

Seto groaned. "You think I'd rather be studying instead of going somewhere fun with you?"

Ana blushed and turned away. Seto said nothing, and when she looked up at him, she found him in deep thought. Finally, he seemed to come to some conclusion.

"You're on track to pass your finals, but only if you stay on this pace—"

"Amin-chan—"

He didn't let her interrupt. "This Saturday if you do well on your test tomorrow, then we could go out for lunch before getting back to studying. After finals, we can go where ever you want. Does that work for you?"

Ana couldn't help but laugh. "I hope all our dates don't end up needing negotiation."

"That's the best I can do for now." Seto looked annoyed.

She smiled. "Alright, but you're buying."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Only if you get an A on the test tomorrow."

Ana gave him her best pumped-up face. "Free food here I come."

She studied the rest of the time at his apartment until time for her to go home. The next day during the test, she felt like she breezed through the questions. She went to Goda to check the results before he posted them. He'd been nice enough to accommodate her since she was trying hard to catch up. Much to her excitement, she passed with flying colors. She met Seto at the school gate after she received her results.

"How did you do?"

Ana grinned. "Free food!"

He paused, then snorted at her reaction. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't loose focus. Finals are next week."

Ana practically skipped to his apartment to study that day.

She double checked that her hair clip was in place to keep her bangs out of her eyes before grabbing her bag and heading outside to meet Seto. His eyes went to her pink sparkly hair pin almost immediately. She couldn't read his expression.

"What?" Ana checked that the pin was in place. "Do I look weird?"

"You mean more than normal?" He smirked, and she pinched his hand.

It didn't take them long to reach his apartment and for them to start studying. About an hour into the study session, Ana found her eyes wondering over to Seto. Why do I feel weird today? Is it because we haven't had a date in a while? Her eyes kept flicking from the paper to Seto and back again.

"Ana-chan, you need to focus if you're going to finish in time."

She flinched at his comment and tried to focus. It didn't last more than fifteen minutes before her eyes wandered again. Frustrated, she stood up and told Seto she was going to take a quick walk around the building. He handed over the key card to the building so she could get back in without having to call him. She took the elevator down, waved as she passed Tachibana, and headed out into the warm summer air. The heat made her feel sleepy. Ugh, all this studying. I miss my nap time.

She stood outside for a moment before walking around the building. Her nerves were a little jumpy, but she was fine to be alone this long now. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She went over to the wall to investigate, but no one was there. Did I imagine that? She quickly went back inside, a little wound up. When she got back to Seto's apartment, he noticed her look.

"Did something happen?"

"No, I don't think so. I guess I'm still a little jumpy." Ana sat down and went back to work. Seto didn't seem convinced, but didn't press her.

Time passed, and eventually Seto looked at the clock and stood up.

"Lunch."

"That's a very blunt and unromantic way to say its time for our date." Ana teased and Seto rolled his eyes.

She got her stuff ready, and they headed out. "So, where are we going?"

"This way." He started walking toward the bus stop.

Ana followed, and they took the bus into town. "Where are we eating at?"

"Over there." He roughly gestured in a direction.

He's not going to tell me, is he? Ana gave up on asking him and followed. They went to a part of town that she'd never ventured to before. The restaurants and shops disappeared as they went into a more residential area.

"Um, Amin-chan…"

He just kept going like he knew what he was doing, so she followed quietly. Eventually, he stopped in front of a house and headed for the front door. Now that she took a closer look, she found it was actually a café. He opened the sliding door and peeked in but didn't go in. She heard someone say something, and he closed the door again.

"This way." He walked around the house and to the back where a small enclosed garden was. There was a private table under a white pavilion.

Ana looked around at the summer flowers in bloom. Vines crawled up the walls and a tiny garden fountain in the corner trickled pleasantly. It was quiet and secluded.

"I had no idea this place was here." Ana looked around as Seto walked over to the table and pulled out the seat for her. She sat down and he took the seat across from her. A middle-aged man came out from the back of the café and brought them a menu. He took their drink orders and then left them to themselves. Anna looked over the menu and paused. The names of the menu items were interesting, to say the least.

"Berry Bubbles Banana Bash, Hangry Hamburger Handle… Well, it seems someone likes alliteration," Ana commented as she read over the menu. "What kind of place is this?"

"A quiet one," he answered as he frowned at the menu, "but not the best at naming, apparently."

The server came back out and looked at Ana. "Are you ready?"

Ana smiled awkwardly as she read out what she wanted. "I'll take a Sally's Serious Sunday Salad and Fred's Ferocious French Fries with a side of King Ketchup."

The server nodded then looked at Seto, who was obviously not happy to say the names. Instead, he pointed to what he wanted on the menu. The server left them alone again.

"What did you order?" Ana asked, fully ready to mess with him.

"Food." He apparently wasn't going to budge.

"What kind of food?" She grinned.

He frowned at her. "Steak."

"What was the name of the dish?"

He really wouldn't budge. "No."

"Pff. No fun." Ana leaned back in her chair and looked around at the garden again. "This really is a pretty place…. Amin-chan, you're kind of confusing."

"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, you have no dating experience, but you seem to come up with romantic date ideas just fine." She gestured to the garden with her hand.

Seto's mouth tightened ever so slightly. "I didn't think of this."

"Oh? Did you look it up like that first time at the park?" Ana felt slightly disappointed that he'd internet searched the idea.

"No, I'm copying someone," he replied calmly.

This surprised her more than if he'd looked it up. I find it odd that he would willingly copy anyone.

"Who did you copy? I should at least thank them for giving you the idea." She teased.

"You can't, they're dead."

Ana paused as she took in his expression. "Oh, sorry."

He seemed confused by her apology, but neither had time to say anything as the server came out. The food despite its odd naming looked delicious. Ana tucked in and found the cheesy loaded fries and the crunchy salad delicious. Even Seto seemed please with his steak. The food gave them the opportunity not to talk as they ate. Though the silence didn't feel that uncomfortable. It didn't take them that long to finish. They went back to his apartment to study, and she finished up her paper that weekend.

On Monday she headed to school as usual with Seto walking her, but when she got there something was off. Students were glancing their way more than usual. Before they could get inside, Arata dashed up to them and blocked the door.

"Don't go in there." He panted, out of breath.

Seto glared at him, but it was Ana who pushed past. When she made it to the hallway, she met with multiple pictures of her entering Seto's building. Someone had shopped them so it looked like it was nighttime. Whoever posted them had written the word slut, whore, and many other horrible things on them. Ana stared at the pictures and then remembered her feeling of someone near her when she was at Seto's studying. What in the world? She glanced up at Seto and could practically see steam pouring out his ears. Arata looked at her guiltily.

"I didn't know. Someone new must have followed you." Arata fidgeted.

"Sneaking into a guy's apartment at night. How shameful."

Ana turned around to find Minami and her group of friends in the hall. A few other students were gathering too. The last bit of patience she had when up in flames.

"Amin-chan, hold my bag."