Corporate Prince

Chapter 44: Nerves

It had been three days since school got out and Ana hadn't contacted him. The first two days he was buried in work he was behind on, but by the third day he started to get edgy. She hasn't messaged me about where she wants to go... She wasn't that upset about me refusing to go to the pool or karaoke, was she? Seto kept glancing at his phone every couple minutes. Annoyed, he took a break and organized his deck for the first time in a while. I'm experiencing duel withdraw. When was the last time I had a decent challenge? Seto glanced over at his phone, then looked at his blue-eye's dragon card. I wish understanding Ana was like duel monsters. It would be nice if there was a card that could tell me everything about her... An Ana card, hmmm.

His phone rang and he picked it up before the first ring finished. "Hello?"

"Uh, um, Nii-san, you sound kind of tense. Is everything alright?" Mokuba asked over the phone.

Seto let out a groan at how desperate he'd sounded. "I'm fine. What's up?"

"Well, now that it's summer, I wanted to discuss the summer duel monsters tournament with you that we hold at Kaiba land—"

"Did you get Yugi to participate?" Seto wanted a challenge.

"Well... No. He never willingly takes part in the tournaments. I have invited him, but he turned me down." His brother sounded defeated. "Does that mean you won't participate this year either?"

"There's really not anyone else that is even worth dueling. There's no way to get Yugi to willingly participate. It seems like he only participates in tournaments if one of his friends or family is abducted... Or the world's being threatened. No. I won't participate either."

Mokuba let out a sigh. "I really wish you would, though. Without any big names in the tournament, our views drop. Maybe if you changed it up and offered a duel with you as a reward for the tournament. Then we could still use your name."

"Look at you, taking advantage of others to make more money. I have raised you well."

"Nii-san, I'm making a face at you... We could threaten to get Yugi in the tournament, but if your girlfriend found out, then she might think less of you."

"Th-that's..."

"Hehe, Nii-san's a pushover for his girlfriend! I can't wait to tell—"

Seto hung up on his brother and frowned at his phone. Little mink... Would Ana-chan be mad if I manipulated Yugi into a tournament? It's not like she doesn't manipulate people, though it seems to be on the more passive and to protect herself side.... Ugh. People are hard. Seto decided to take a change of pace and walked to the local convenience store to buy something sweet. Half way there he groaned when he felt someone behind him. He turned and found Arata a few paces behind. Arata jumped when Seto turned.

"Get up here and stop being creepy." Seto growled at him.

Arata rolled his eyes, but sped up so that he was walking with him. "Does this make us friends?"

"It means I tolerate your presence as one of my girlfriend's friends." Seto rolled his eyes.

Arata grinned. "I can work with that. How is Sakurai-san? Have you two been having any saucy fun now that summer's started?"

Seto looked down at the young teen who was giving him a teasing grin. He's known Ana longer.... Maybe he'd know why she hasn't contacted me yet.

"If you didn't agree to do something for someone, would they not contact you after that?" Seto asked.

Arata made a choking noise and put his hands on his face. "Are you two fighting already? Really? After all the work I did to help make your relationship smoother?"