Chapter 69:

Song and Festival

It was only a week away from the festival, so they'd had to stay behind after class to help. Ana was finishing cleaning up for the day when the band came back from practice. Seto wasn't with them. Erika seemed to notice that Ana was looking for Seto.

"He's still in the music room. Erika told her quietly.

Mikato was already over near his group of friends, complaining loudly. "How many times is he going to change the song? There's only a week left. Sheesh. We should have just picked something else and stuck with it."

Ana rolled her eyes at the complaint and ducked out of the room without anyone seeing her. She headed to the music room and found Seto staring at a notebook while chewing on the end of a pencil. It wasn't the fact that she'd never seen him chewing on a pencil that made her stop in the doorway, but the frustrated and sad look on his face. He looks deep in thought. Maybe I should come back later.

Seto didn't look up from his notebook but said, "What do you want?"

Ana sighed and walked over to him. His tone had been snappy, but she was going to ignore it since they were under a lot of pressure right now. "Amin-chan… Is something wrong?"

He looked up at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Well… You look sad."

Seto's eyes widened for a moment, then he looked down. He squinted at his notebook and shook his head. "I'm fine."

Ana almost rolled her eyes at his obvious lie. "You should take a break. Everyone is going home for the day."

"I don't need a break." He quickly erased something from his notebook, jotted something down, then frowned at it only to erase it again. He angrily rubbed the back of his neck. She noticed his shoulders were slumped down and his neck bent.

How long has he been sitting like that? Ana walked around behind him and lightly patted his shoulders with her hands. He straightened up and looked at her over his shoulder, confused.

"What are you doing?"

"Head forward." She gently turned his head forward with her hands and started massaging his shoulders. She felt him tense under her hands. "Geez, Seto. Your shoulders are all knotted. You really don't know how to relax."

"Uhhh." was the only thing that came out of his mouth. She focused on the massage. There was a large knot under his shoulder blades that made him tense even more when she pressed them.

"Was that too hard?" She paused when she noticed his hand gripping his pencil tightly. He lightly shook his head, but didn't look at her. Why's he—she noticed that the tips of his ears were turning pink. Ana's face grew warm from embarrassment, but it felt awkward to stop now, so she continued the massage. There was something else she noticed. "You have more muscle than before. Must be nice. It doesn't take guys hardly any time to build muscle."

Seto laughed. "What? Are you wanting to become a bodybuilder?"

Ana paused in her massage and thought about being that buff. "That would be neat."

"You already have an iron grip. Do you need to get any stronger?"

Ana used her "iron grip" to press hard into one of his knots and made him flinch.

"Of course, the stronger I am, the better I can protect myself."

There was a moment of silence, then Seto mumbled. "You don't need to get any stronger. I can just protect you."

Ana stopped massaging again. Her face was on fire. "Um, Amin-chan. That was really cheesy—"

"I know. Please shut up." She could see that back of his neck turning red and resisted laughing.

"Thank you though, I appreciate the sentiment."

Seto put his hand on his face and groaned. "It wasn't a sentiment. I was serious."

Ana patted his back, signaling that she was done. "Good to know. Don't work too long."

She bolted out of the room quickly. Her heart was racing. Damn it. When did Seto get so cheesy?

The rest of the week flew by as they all stayed insanely busy until it was finally the day of the festival. They all arrived early to do last-minute preparations. Their class had booked the auditorium for their performance at 3'o'clock. Until then, the band members were getting one last rehearsal in, and the stagehands were double checking the props. They were taking turns going around to see different classes booths before their performance. Ana had just finished changing into her costume. Umiko had thankfully made the all-black suit not as tight as the illustration. Ana's face was covered with a half mask and her hair had been put back into a bun with a long sharp silver needle holding it in place. A red sash was tied around her waist and fluttered behind her when she walked. A pouch on the back held some cheap plastic ninja tools one guy in class had let her borrow.

Umiko came over to check her outfit and gave her a thumbs up. "Fits perfectly. Go me."

"Haha." Ana tried not to sigh.

"Oh, it will be your turn to go around soon," Umiko commented. "Why don't you go get Kaiba-san and take him with you? The band members should be done rehearsing now."

"You just want Seto to see me in the outfit." Ana let out a sigh this time and Umiko giggled guilty.

"Well, have fun!" She ran off to check other people's costumes.

Ana shook her head but headed to the music room. She stopped before she got there because Seto was already out in the hallway. No, that wasn't right. Kaibaman was out in the hallway. Ana held back a laugh as she looked at Seto, who was wearing a long flowing white coat with studs in the shoulders and a bule eyes white dragon helmet. He was also wearing the tight red shirt and black pants with a card locket hanging from his neck. He even had the dual disk on his arm. The outfit was too spot on. She was wondering if he'd had it specially made or if Umiko really was that good.

He turned to her. Though she couldn't see his eyes, only his mouth, she could tell he'd spotted her. There was a slight smirk on his mouth as he walked over to her.

Ana gave him an evil smile. "I wouldn't be making fun of me. I'm not the one wearing a dragon head."

"Dragons are cool." Seto crossed his arms and smiled.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Have you finished rehearsal?"

"Yeah. Knock-off Yugi wants the band members to walk around in costume and gather interest for the concert." Seto shrugged.

"You know, nicknaming Arata-kun makes it sound like you really do think of him as a friend." Ana teased.

"I'm just going to ignore how ridiculous that statement sounds. Are you busy, or do you want to walk around together?" Seto quickly changed the subject.

"No, I'm ok to walk around." Ana reached into her little ninja pouch and pulled out the event map that Sanae had given her at the start of the day.

Click. Ana looked up and found Seto had taken a picture of her.

"Amin-chan, I'm the one in a ninja outfit. I could kick your ass right now for harassing me." Ana glared at the phone in his hand.

"A ninja can't beat a dragon." Seto sneered at her.

"I feel like there's some dirty joke in that. Are you sure you're not compensating?" Ana was feeling more annoyed than usual.

Seto paused at her question, and she realized just how dirty she'd sounded. Her face grew warm under the mask.

"I'm not." He left it at that and took her hand. "Where too?"

Ana was glad her face was covered. She led the way to the other classrooms. The one with the longest line was a butler café. They skipped that one and went on to the next. One class had set up a haunted house.

"Did you want to do that?" He pointed to the haunted house.

"I'll pass. You can't resist laughing every time I'm scared."

"But it's funny." Seto gave her a half smirk, and she pinched his arm.

They walked around the school grounds, looking at the different booths. When it was lunchtime Seto bought them a few of the skewers one class was grilling. As they were walking around, Ana could feel a lot of girls looking over at Seto. They can't think he looks hot in this outfit, can they? Ana looked at him again, a little more closely. Well, the leather pants definitely are eye-catching. She was feeling a little annoyed when she heard someone shouting at them.

"Nii-san! Onee-chan!"

They turned and found Mokuba waving at them. Inu-san and one other guard was with him. Mokuba paused when he got to them.

"I figured it was you. No one else can pull off Kaibaman the same way." Mokuba grinned widely, and Ana had to hold back a laugh at his comment. "I came to check out the only festival you've ever participated in. Why are you dressed like Kaibaman, though? Did you bring the costume with you?"

"No, a classmate made it," Seto answered.

Ana was surprised. "Umiko-san did?"

Seto nodded and looked down at his coat. "Yeah. She did a better job than some of Kaibaland's designers. I'm considering hiring her after she graduates."

"So, what's your class doing that you have to dress up like duel monsters? Is it a café?" Mokuba asked excitedly.

"No, a concert," Ana answered.

"Oh, cool! So, are you all dressed up like duel monsters then? Wouldn't they just have the band members dress up?" Mokuba looked confused.

"Seto blackmailed them into all dressing up if they wanted him to sing for them." Ana explained, and Mokuba stared at them blankly.

"Sing for them? Who?"

"Your brother."

Mokuba blinked, then his eyes went wide. "Wait, Nii-san, you're singing? I didn't know you could sing!"

Since Ana couldn't see Seto's face, she couldn't tell, but he flinched a little and his mouth opened slightly. His surprised tone confirmed his shock. "What do you mean you didn't know I could sing?"

"I've never heard you sing!" Mokuba shouted. "Where did you learn to sing?"

Seto's tone rose a little. "Where did I learn? How do you not remember… Never mind. It doesn't matter."

Mokuba looked a little uneasy at his brother's reaction. "Nii-san?"

"We need to head back." Seto ended the conversation quickly and pulled Ana along with him.

"Oh, ok. Good luck with the concert, Nii-san!"

Seto didn't respond to his brother's well wishes. Ana could see that Seto's mouth was clamped tightly. He was pulling on her arm so hard that it hurt as they headed inside.

"Seto, stop!" Ana yanked her wrist out of his grasp and rubbed it. He stopped and seemed to realize what he'd been doing. He turned away from her and mumbled an apology. "Amin-chan, what was that about?"

"Nothing."

Ana frowned. She didn't like the way he was acting. Looking around, she pushed him off into a side stairwell where there weren't people around. She pulled down her mask and looked up at him, concerned.

"That wasn't nothing. You seemed panicked." Ana lightly touched his arm. He flinched but didn't pull away. His frown was deep, and she imagined his eyes were scrunched. Still, he wouldn't say anything. "It's fine if you don't want to talk about it, but take a few deep breaths. You're scaring me a little."

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Taking her advice, he breathed slowly. Slowly, he put his hand over her wrist. "I'm… fine. Let's head back."

"Alright." Ana put her mask back on and they went back to the group to give other people a chance to see the festival. Eventually, it was time for the concert to start. I haven't heard Seto practicing with the band at all. I've only heard the instrumental. I wonder how it's going to go? Ana was a part of the stage crew. A play had taken place right before their concert, so they were working furiously to set up the lights and the stage pieces. Thankfully, they got it together in time for curtain call.

When the curtain raised, and the lights light up the stage. Ana could hear a few giggles in the crowd.

Sanae who was standing next to her, cringed. "I guess the theme is a little—"

"Silence." Seto's voice came out powerfully over the speakers and the room grew dead silent. Ana, who was side stage, saw Mokuba near the front. He face palmed at Seto's command. Before the crowd could recover, the band started playing a popular, heavy, and intense song that got the heart pounding. Seto's voice was so powerful that Ana felt a shiver down her spine. He's gotten better. Eirka was singing the female back up notes while Mikato and Ginta had improved so much that Ana couldn't believe this was the band they threw together just a little month ago. As the first song finished, the crowd stared in shock. Eventually, they erupted into cheers.

Seto didn't give them time to recover. He started singing the next song.

"Holy crap, Ana." Sanae was staring at Seto as he sang. He was a natural performer. Ana had known that since his duel were basically performances, but when he was singing, he was on a different level. The crowd had abandoned their seats and were standing, clapping along with the beat of the drums. Ana's heart was racing as she watched. As the song ended, the crowd cheered so loudly that Ana could feel the stage vibrating. People were looking into the auditorium and more people were streaming in as they started the next song. This one brought the beat down and slowed it down. The crowd quieted down and listened intently to the song. It was still an intense song, but not nearly as heart pounding. Ana was rooted to the ground as she watched.

"Whoa…"

Seto's range of vocals was insane and extremely sexy. She glanced out to the audience and notice quiet a few girls and guys were practically drooling. Maybe this was a bad idea. The auditorium went quiet. Seto paused before the start of the next song. The next song sounded like a lullaby, but not a childish one. Ana felt like her breath was disappearing. There was something about the song as Seto sang that was sad and full of longing, but also full of love. It was more of a familial love than a romantic one. Tears fell out of her eyes as she listened to the song. Ana felt Sanae tug on her sleeve. She looked over at her friend and found she was also silently crying. Glancing out at the crowd, she saw Mokuba's look. It was like he'd remembered something and was silently bawling. She heard a lot of sniffling in the crowd. Amin-chan…

There was a moment of pause as Seto glanced back at the bandmembers. Mikato did a thumbs up and Seto nodded. The next song was happy and bright and a love song! EHHH! Ana glanced over at the rest of her classmates. They all seemed as shocked. That little, little, Amin-chan! It was an upbeat, gushy, cheesy love song. During the performance, Ana was sure Seto glanced over at her and smirked. She felt like her face was going to melt off from embarrassment. That Ass! Her heart felt like it was about to jump right out of her mouth. When the song ended, everyone cheered, and the curtain fell. Ana glanced over at Sanae who was smirking. Ana rushed out into the hall and to the bathroom. She just knew if she stayed there, she was going to get teased. Locking herself in the bathroom, she silently screamed. After ten minutes, she came out and went back to their classroom. Arata was already there with a few of the other members.

"Hey, Sakurai-san?" Arata gave her a teasing grin.

She sighed. "Where's Seto?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know. I don't remember seeing him leave the auditorium."

Ana frowned but headed back to the auditorium. I wonder if he was talking to Mokuba? She glanced in, but the auditorium was empty. Odd. She headed backstage behind the curtain, just in case he was there.

"Ana?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning around, she found Seto leaning against a wall near the back of the stage. He had his helmet lifted slightly, and he looked dazed.

"Oh, you surprised me. What are you doing back here?" She walked over to him. When she got close to him, he reached out to her and quickly pulled her close. "W-what are you-?"

He pulled her mask down and kissed her deeply. Huh, huh? EHHHHHH!