Warning: This chapter is going to discuss childhood trauma and abuse.

Chapter 53:

Park Date

Ana took deep breaths as they walked around the park. She'd asked Seto if he was going to change first into something less conspicuous, but he just laughed and said nope. To her surprise, most of the people kept their distance from them, though quite a few eagerly pointed at Seto as they walked thru the park.

"I figured your fans would have come up to you, or are you just that unapproachable?" Ana laughed. Her voice was still a little shaky. She'd honestly been terrified out of her mind when those men had burst through the door and gone straight for Mokuba's guard. Ana probably would have run, but when she saw the look of terror on the twelve-year-old's face, she forced herself to pull out the taser Seto had given to her earlier. She lightly touched her bag where she'd returned the taser and could feel the lump of the rod. It made her feel a little better knowing she had some sort of weapon on her.

Seto was eyeing her with concern. "Most don't approach me during tournaments."

"I guess you really are that unapproachable." Ana chuckled.

"Are you alright?" Seto was watching her carefully as they walked.

Ana sighed. "No. I'm definitely going to have to talk to my therapist about this."

"I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened at my event." He growled and glanced at a group of guards, who flinched at his look.

Ana wrapped her arm around his, drawing his attention away from the guards. "It does sound like you should reevaluate security, since those two guys made it up to a private booth. What did they want from you, anyway?"

"Reevaluate is a gentle way of putting it. I'm going to have it ripped apart and I don't know what those men wanted. I'll have it looked into…" He stopped talking when she leaned her head onto his arm. "You're being rather clingy and in public."

Ana glanced over at a group of girls that obviously recognized Seto and were excitedly pointing their way. "Do you want me to stop?"

"Frick' no." Seto looked at her and frowned.

Ana smiled. She was feeling unstable and Seto's presence was comforting, but there was another reason she was clinging to him. She let out a sigh and looked up at him, feeling guilty.

"Who's Okamoto Sakado?"

Seto stopped in his tracks, forcing Ana to stop as well. His eyes narrowed and she could see his mouth twitching. She expected him to pull out of her grasp, but he didn't.

"You were eves dropping." His blue eyes flashed with anger, and Ana felt a twinge of guilt.

"Not… intentionally." Ana hadn't meant to eves drop. It was Mokuba who'd gone over to the door and cracked it to listen to his brother's conversation. She just happened to hear it as well.

Seto took a deep breath. She could see he was holding back his anger. "How do you unintentionally eves drop when I closed the door?"

Ana hesitated. She didn't want to rat on Mokuba, and she had listened in when the kid cracked the door. She decided not to say anything. "I'm sorry."

Seto frowned at her. "I didn't take you to be one to eves drop."

"It just sort of happened." Ana laughed nervously.

Seto looked tired. "Mokuba started it, didn't he?"

Ana looked away from him and heard him sigh. She looked back at him and found him rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Amin-chan, you did say you'd tell me about your stalkers—"

"It's none of your business!" He snapped. Ana flinched and pulled away from him. A couple of people glanced their way. He looked regretful. Taking a deep breath, he looked around. He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him toward a giant Ferris wheel.

"Amin-chan?"

He said nothing. Most people were at the tournament and not on the rides, so the line wasn't long. When it was their turn to board, the attended looked rather nervous as he let them into the ride. Ana quietly climbed into the ride and looked out the window. The attendant closed the door and the Ferris wheel started to turn.

"I didn't think you'd want to ride something this slow." Ana joked, but felt awkward.

"It's private, and no one can overhear our conversation. I'm sorry I yelled." He seemed calmer.

She looked at him and found him giving her a guilty look. "You sure are saying sorry a lot today. So, Okamoto Sakado…"

He sighed. "I told you about it once before. About the women who made advances toward me when I was younger?"

Ana felt sick and angry all at the same time. "I remember."

"Well, she was a particularly annoying one. She broke into my room once when I was sleeping about six years ago." Seto fist clenched, and he turned to glare out the window.

Ana's mouth tightened and her jaw hurt from how hard she was clamping it together. She heard something pop and there was a ringing sound in her ears. It was true that some men had made rather inappropriate comments, and a couple even tried to get physically close to her at parties, but her parents had protected her. None of them had ever tried to sneak into her room when she was eleven. This woman. I'm going to hurt her.

Ana asked quietly, "What did you do?"

"I chucked a vase at her head and ran away."

"Did your adoptive…" She trailed off because she felt she knew the answer.

"He did nothing. When I took over the company, I ran her husbands' company into the ground, evicted her from her house, and had it burned down in front of her. She vanished from society after that. I hadn't heard anything about her until I came back to set up the tournament two weeks ago. It was just a rumor until Inu-san confirmed her return for me today," Seto said calmly. His eyes were frigid as he recounted his experience.

"That's not enough. You should have driven her out of Japan." Ana was doing her best to contain her rage.

Seto looked a bit surprised, then grinned at her. "I tell you about burning someone's house down and taking away their livelihood, yet you say it's not enough?"

Ana's eyes narrowed. "A married woman forced her way into a sleeping child's room, intending to take advantage of him. No, I don't think you made her suffer enough. So, she's come back? Is she stalking you?"

"She's not directly stalking me, but she has shown up in high society again. The most she can do is spread baseless rumors. You don't need to worry about it. I'll take care of it." Seto looked out the window, dark circles under his eyes.

Ana took a deep breath. So will I. She was already planning on how to make the woman suffer. "Thank you for telling me and… I'm sorry I eves dropped."

Seto smirked at her. "I'll forgive you if you give me a kiss."

Ana paused, and even Seto seemed a little surprised at what he'd said. "I don't think I'm the only one being odd today."

"Lack of sleep removes the filters in my brain." Seto rubbed his nose, looking embarrassed.

Ana stood up, and the gondola rocked some as she leaned over and kissed him lightly on his lips. She plopped back down and enjoyed the pink color on his cheeks. "You have filters?"

"Only for you."

"You should remove them more often." She teased and earned herself a scowl. His ears were turning pink.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, what attractions did you want to do?" Seto asked as they were reaching the top of the Ferris wheel.

Dang, this really is a giant wheel. It took like ten minutes to get to the top. "The water park?"

Seto glared at her. "Did you even bring a bathing suit? What is it with you and swimming? Do you like it that much?"

Ana felt her cheeks getting warm and her heart beating faster. Should I tell him? Oh, what the heck. Why not? "No… I just want to see you with your shirt off."

The look of surprise on his face was hilarious. Well, I guess I finally admitted that. He probably things I'm a pervert now. Much to her surprise, his look didn't morph to embarrassment or anger, but panic and sadness.

"W-what?" Ana didn't understand what his reaction meant.

He looked even more tired as he sighed. "I will never swim with my shirt off."

Ana fidgeted. "I-I didn't mean to make this uncomfortable."

He let out an almost defeated sigh. "You didn't and honestly, I'm… flattered."

"That's not really the reaction of someone who's flattered." Seto seemed conflicted. He bit his lip as he stared at her, then let out a tired sigh.

He took his coat off and shifted so that his back was to her before lifting his shirt. What's he doing! It was then that she saw the multitude of scars. They were red and puckered on his skin. It looked like the pictures she'd seen in class of when slaves had been whipped. He pulled his shirt down, turned around, and pulled up one of his sleeves. There were burn marks from cigars and other scars up and down his arm. He quietly pulled his sleeve down, then pulled down the collar of his turtleneck. There was a scar around his neck. It was like someone had put him into a tight collar that had chafed until it scarred his skin. He put his collar back into place. When he finally looked at her, he seemed taken aback. Gently, he reached over and wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

"Stop crying. This is why I didn't want to show you." Seto growled, but it wasn't really an angry growl, just frustrated. He gently placed his thumbs over her eyes so she couldn't open them.

"I'm not pitying you." Ana sobbed. "I'm just sad."

"I know. Thank you."

She felt his lips lightly touch hers.

"Please stop crying. The rides almost over and people are going to think I was bullying you."

She laughed and took his hands off her face. He was looking at her, concerned. She pulled out a blue handkerchief. She'd bought it when she couldn't find the yellow one that she'd embroidered when she was little. "I'm fine… Have you talk to anyone about…?"

He sat back down and crossed his arms. "I don't need a therapist."

"You got your brother a therapist." Ana countered and frowned at him.

Seto looked angry. "I said I don't… I'll think about it, just stop crying."

Ana dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief and noticed Seto staring at it. "What?"

"Nothing." He looked away, his ears turning pink.

Ana looked at the cloth in her hand and frowned. "You made fun of my last one. This one is plain blue. What's wrong with… Wait."

It dawned on her that she'd lent her yellow handkerchief to him a while back. Wait, did he ever give that back? The ride finally ended, and they got off. The attendant looked from Seto to Ana, who was sure her eyes were puffy. She ignored the attendant, and they walked away.

"What do you want to ride next?" Seto asked, not looking at her.

"Amin-chan, do you remember my handkerchief?"

"Handkerchief? The one you were just using?" Seto wouldn't look her in the eyes.

"No, my yellow one with lace and had embroidery on it? You made fun of me for it months ago?"

"I make fun of you for a lot of things."

"Yeeess, but do you remember it?"

Seto looked over at a roller coaster. "I guess. Do you want to ride that?"

Ana grabbed his arm, smiling angrily. "I let you borrow it once. Did you ever give it back?"

"Or we could go to the building center, that's always fun. You can make your own duel monsters." Seto looked over at a different attraction, but not at her.

This was before we were dating, so I bet he threw it away, and doesn't want to admit it. Ana stopped in her tracks and held out her hand. "Give me back my handkerchief."

She was mostly teasing him. Seto groaned. Much to her surprise, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out her handkerchief, then placed it into her hand. It had been well taken care of. Ana's mouth dropped open. She looked at Seto, who wouldn't meet her eyes. His ears and neck were turning a deep shade of red. Her face grew warm as well.

"Y-you kept it! All this time? And you've been carrying it around in your pocket?" Ana didn't know whether to feel creeped out or flattered.

"I don't always carry it around in my pocket! I was just carrying it for the tournament…." Seto looked ready to die of embarrassment.

"Where do you keep it normally?"

He hesitated. "In a box…"

Ana eyed him suspiciously. "What kind of box?"

"A velvet-lined box."

"Do you keep other things in that box?" Ana asked, but the look on his face told her that he didn't. "Were you ever going to give it back?"

"No." He looked at her, a little annoyed. "Why did you have to ask?"

Ana's heart was beating loudly. "Seriously? Seto you're weird!"

He looked rather taken aback. "That's how you manage to say my name for the first time without stuttering? You insult me?"

"Yes!" Ana was so embarrassed. "And I'll say it again. Seto you're weird!"

She could tell that he was getting more annoyed. "Give it back. You forgot about it, so it's mine now."

Ana pulled it close to her and took a step back. "No! Seriously, a velvet-lined box?"

"Give it back!"

"No!" She turned and ran. Much to her surprise, Seto gave chase and quickly caught her by grabbing her around the middle.

"Give it back!"

Ana shouted. "No! It's mine you werido!"

By the time she realized it, a small crowd had gathered, and was watching them tussle. A couple of people were pulling out their cameras and film them. While Ana was distracted, Seto got the handkerchief out of her hand. He held it in his fist high above his head.

"Chi-san." He grinned down at her and she glared at him.

He turned and walked away calmly, with it still above his head.

"Give it back!" Ana shouted at him and followed.

"No!"

Ana looked around at the people who were watching them and was feeling very uncomfortable. Seto didn't seem to notice them at all as he walked. Ana caught up to him and walked beside him.

"People are staring."

Seto ignored her comment. He switched the handkerchief to the hand on the side that she wasn't on and held it away from her. "You're not getting it back."

"It's mine!" Ana glared at him. He just smirked at her.

A guard walked up to them, and when he noticed Seto, he panicked. "I-Is something wrong, sir?"

"My girlfriend is being stingy," Seto answered bluntly. The guard looked shocked, and Ana could feel her face growing warm.

"It's my handkerchief! I made that with my mom when I was six. Give it back!" Ana shouted and held out her hand to him.

Seto looked a little upset by her statement. The guard looked uncomfortably at Ana and Seto.

"S-sir, um, perhaps you could discuss this elsewhere?" The guard glanced around at the crowd.

Seto finally seemed to notice the crowd and sighed. He handed Ana back her handkerchief and walked away. Ana followed, feeling annoyed that people were staring. Before she realized it, Seto had walked into an attraction.

"Amin-chan?" Ana followed him in and found herself in a room full of machines and kids playing on them. Seto headed for the back. She quickly hurried up to him. "Are you trying to leave me behind?"

He said nothing as he entered a side room with a platform in it and a terminal. Ana sighed. Is he really pouting over this? Seto turned around and grabbed her shoulders. He propelled her to a red spot on the platform.

"Stand here." He demanded. Quickly, he went over to the terminal and pressed a few buttons. She heard some sort of zipp zipp zoom sound and then the sound of a printer. Seto smirked as he pressed a few more buttons, then walked over to a shoot in the wall. Something slid down it and landed in the bin at the bottom. Seto picked it up and grinned.

Ana walked over to him, sensing something unsettling. "Amin-chan?"

"You can keep the handkerchief. I'll keep this." He was holding a duel monster card in his hand. He turned it around and showed her the card. It was of a ninja girl. Half her face was covered, but the eyes and hair, plus the body type, matched hers. It was labeled: "The Obnoxious Ninja Girl." A real growl escaped her lips, and Seto gave her a very playful grin.

"No! Who said you could make me into a duel monster card? Get rid of it." Ana glared at him.

"Nope. This is now my new treasure since you took my old one back. I'm not getting rid of it. I'm going to submit it and get it made into an official card." His eyes glinted with enjoyment.

"You 're such an ass!"

"I have a very nice ass," Seto said it so casually that it took Ana a moment to react. She blushed.

"Fix your filters! Go take a nap."

Seto laughed maniacally. "No. I'm rather enjoying myself."

Ana went to kick his leg, and he dodged. He just smiled down at her teasingly.

"Why do I like you again?" Ana glared at him.

Seto smirked. "I'm pretty sure you said you like my face."

"Your face is annoying!" She tried to make a grab for the card. Seto didn't dodge, instead he moved forward and pulled her into a hug. Her heart was racing as he lightly kissed her. Annoyed and wanting to mess with him, she wormed her arms up, and grabbed his head, pulling him into a deeper kiss. They stood there in the room. Lip locked while the machines whirled in the background. The sound of a couple of kids heading their way made them pull away from each other.

Two young boys came into the room and saw them. The kid who had brown hair let out a squeak. "It's Kaiba Seto!"

The other boy, who had gray hair, looked at Seto and frowned. "No way, he's at the tournament right now. It has to be a cosplayer. There's no way he'd miss out on a rematch with the King of Games."

Ah, now I know why people weren't really approaching us. Ana glanced up at Seto, whose face was still a little flushed from the kiss. When he noticed her staring, he just shrugged. The brown-haired boy who'd shouted first ran up to Seto.

"Hey, hey, are you the real Kaiba Seto?" The kid asked.

"Yup," Seto answered bluntly, and the kid grinned.

The other boy ran up and frowned at him. "If you're the real Kaiba Seto, why aren't you at the tournament?"

"Priorities." Seto pointed at Ana with his thumb. "I'm on a date."

The boys looked at Ana, who blushed, then back at Seto doubtfully.

"You skipped out on dueling for a date?" The kid who identified him first looked like he was doubting now that he was really Seto.

"Yeah… I guess I did." Seto was also looking like he was doubtful of this.

The skeptical gray-haired boy turned to his friend and huffed. "There's no way he's the real one. Kaiba Seto would never miss a tournament."

"First time for everything. Besides, Mokuba is enough to beat Wheeler. I didn't even want to duel the dweeb." Seto rolled his eyes. The kids looked surprised, then excited.

"You are the real Kaiba Seto!" they said in unison.

Ana held back a laugh. So, when he acts like an ass, they can finally tell it's him. Seto looked exasperated. The brown-haired boy pulled out a notebook from his backpack excitedly.

"C-can I have you autograph?"

Seto took the notebook and signed it. When he gave it back, the kid was shaking so badly Ana thought he might pee his pants. The boys ran off shouting that they'd met Kaiba Seto. Ana looked over at him and laughed.

"What?" Seto frowned at her.

"So, you do have fans that like you."

"I am pretty awesome."

Ana didn't like how he'd turned it around to stroke his ego. "Well, I guess you have at least two fans."

Seto glared at her and held up the card. "I'm definitely getting this turned into a real card now."

She scowled at him. "Jerk."

"Yup, where do you want to go next? It's your turn to pick." Seto pocketed the card.

"You're letting me pick? Are you sure you're really the real Kaiba Seto?" Ana teased.

He grinned at her, making her blush. "This side of Kaiba Seto is reserved only for you. If you don't pick, I'm going to choose something like the haunted house."

"Oh, that sounds fun. Let's do that," Ana replied excitedly.

Seto paused and looked at her blankly, then chuckled. "Alright. Let's go."

Ana grabbed onto his arm again. He paused but said nothing as they walked arm and arm to the next attraction.