Bonds
After Yuugi got them both wet with the exploding ball of water, Set said, "All right, it's almost time for the midday meal, so let's stop here. I've never seen someone blow up their water ball before, so that was a new one for me, too. I had no idea there was a 'halfway' in this task. Anyway, you've done remarkably well for one morning's lessons, so I have no complaints, and we should go find Prince Atem before he worries about you." The High Priest paused there, then gave Yuugi a wry grin and said, "He and you may both claim you aren't Lovers, but there are times where he behaves like you are."
Yuugi turned bright red and said, "That's not possible. And I wouldn't want to be... 'like that' with him, anyway."
"Does the Prince know that?" Set asked with a raised brow, rising and motioning the smaller boy to follow him.
"Yes. As far as I know, he feels the same way," Yuugi replied, falling in with the High Priest. "It's just...I'm not good at physical things, so he always had to protect me when someone tried to hurt me. It's the one thing I can't do. That's why he comes across as obsessive sometimes—he's the darkness protecting the light."
"Hence the validity of the analogy Prince Atem gave Mana," Set mused thoughtfully.
"...Why are you and Atem so formal with one another?" Yuugi asked suddenly.
The taller teen glanced down at Yuugi in mild surprise, then said, "I serve him, so I have to be formal with him."
"All the other Priests serve him, too, and they aren't so formal with him. And he isn't with them, either. For some reason, it's only you, Set. I mean, you only just met me and you're already completely informal with me, and letting me be informal with you."
"Prince Atem and I...don't exactly get along. Not that we hate each other, but...he focuses on bonds and working together, while I seek the strength to be able to keep those I care about safe. Our ideals are different, maybe too different."
"No, your ideals are exactly the same. It's only your methods which are different," Yuugi answered, sounding completely amused.
"What?" the older teen asked with a puzzled frown, looking down at Yuugi again.
"Seriously, you and Atem are both seeking power, strength with which to protect those you care about. Atem does it by drawing on everyone's strength and pooling it, while you look for a way to do it all yourself. Why do you think you need to carry the burden alone, Set?"
To the smaller teen's surprise, Set froze, his whole body rigid as he stared down at Yuugi in something like fear and amazement.
"What?" Yuugi asked in concern. "Did I say something wrong?"
Slowly, Set shook his head, then asked quietly, "How can you just...reach into my soul like that?"
Before the younger teen could answer, Mahad cut in frantically with, "Yuugi, there you are! Atem asked me to find you and show you to the Great Hall for the midday meal, but no one was in the High Priest's chambers."
Shaking off his shock, Set looked at Mahad and said, "The Prince implied I was to show Yuugi back to his chambers once the lesson was over, so that's what I was doing."
The older man released a breath and nodded, saying, "All right, then let's head for the Great Hall. I'm puzzled by why Atem would say two different things to us, though..."
"He doesn't trust me," Set replied simply as the two Priests turned towards the Hall.
"I don't think it's that, either," Yuugi put in, sounding amused. "I know this from him, he does trust you, a whole lot more than you think. Something else made him do that, and it probably has to do with him not being able to get away from something."
"Why would that matter in a place as safe as the Palace?" Mahad asked in surprise.
"'Safe'? When at least four people want to kill me?" the boy asked dryly. The other two looked back at him in surprise, so he added, "I'm not able to fight physically to protect myself, and yes, I have Kuribo to help me, but he's not taking any chances. I think he sent you here, not to find me, Mahad, but to be here to help Set and Kuribo keep me safe."
Both their eyes widened as they looked at each other—then Set abruptly jumped behind Yuugi, catching a man's arm. The man had come from behind a pillar, and was dressed in shapeless, undyed cloth, his face something like a drunken thug's. Mahad hissed as two more came from in front, ones who shared the looks of the first one, and Set's eyes went to them in concern. Before anything else could happen, another man joined the one on Set's side, but this fourth man didn't have the looks of a drunk, not by his eyes, which was all they could see of him with the cloth wrapped around his face. That fourth man also carried a sword to the daggers of the other three.
"See?" Yuugi asked Set and Mahad, making a face. "This was it."
"Where are the Guards?" Set suddenly bellowed at the top of his lungs, dodging back as the swordsman jumped at him, his gaze alarmed. "Guards!" Set yelled again, the sound like a roar.
The men all jumped forward, dodging around the two Priests—and Yuugi cried, "Kuribo, multiply!"
In moments, the outer hall they were in was filled with Kuribos, preventing the men from being able to reach Yuugi and making them start hacking at and killing the little creatures. Said little creatures got mad and began launching themselves at the attackers to hit them while a few even exploded, even as Set was able to knock one out and Mahad bound another with his power.
The swordsman jumped back suddenly and said, "Magic Negate!" The binding Mahad had cast broke apart, allowing the now-free man to trip the Priest, and the extra Kuribos began fading out with the casting. The swordsman then jumped at Set to unbalance him, and quickly turned to attack Yuugi, whose eyes widened.
"Spellbinding Circle!" Set yelled—and the swordsman was forced to stop, bound by a magic circle.
Another voice added, "Trap Hole!" and the man who was about to use his dagger on Mahad fell into a pit with a yelp.
As soon as Mahad saw that, he faced the last man, who was about to bring his dagger down on Yuugi, and called, "Magical Thorn!" Vines full of thorns wrapped around the last man, who was forced to freeze where he was.
Yuugi stared, then turned to look at Mahad. "I thought Magical Thorn damaged the enemy even more when something they were using deactivated?" It was as close as he could come to 'damaging the opponent when cards were sent to the graveyard.'
The Priest gave him a lop-sided smile and said, "It does that, too, but it has to anchor itself somewhere." The boy grinned at that.
"Priests!" several guards cried in horror as they ran up.
"Are you okay, Master?" a female voice asked them from outside the hall. They looked as Mana jumped down into the hall—and realized she'd been the one to cast the Trap Hole.
"Yes, thank you, Mana," Mahad smiled at her.
Set went to Yuugi and turned the boy to face him. "Are you all right, Yuugi?"
"Yes, thank you," the boy smiled. "And this was what Atem intended when he sent Mahad to supposedly 'find' me."
When the four got to the Great Hall, Atem rose and motioned them over to his seat, where they informed him of what had happened. He was grateful and thankful they were all well, even as they took seats by the Prince and began eating. He also asked after Yuugi's lessons, and Set replied they had gone remarkably well so far, but he'd allow the smaller boy to explain later. It seemed that was a code to not talk about it anymore, since Atem changed the subject rather than prying.
In his personal chambers that afternoon, Atem asked Yuugi, "So what happened in your lesson that we couldn't talk about it openly?"
"Set was really surprised I could lift the water and shape it into a ball in one lesson, since I'd never done it before," Yuugi replied in wry amusement. "He told me he'd been expecting it to take a few days, at least, for me to get far enough just to start affecting the water when he heard I literally had no training."
"Then, are the lessons even necessary?" the Prince asked with a frown.
"Yes," the smaller boy answered simply in a dry tone.
"In what way?" the taller teen asked, frown deepening.
"The first time I got control enough to form the ball, my energy shot out at a random angle—and took the ball with it. I pretty much washed Set's floor by the time we were done, and I even managed to soak the two of us before he called the lesson quits. He has a valid concern, and if I used that power for something like Mirror Force, only for it to go out of my control...That's too dangerous to risk, Atem. I need training."
After a silence where they stared evenly at each other, it was Atem who looked away with a sigh. "All right, I see your point, and the High Priest isn't just paranoid."
"Do you really think he ever was?" Yuugi asked dryly. "Even Kaiba-kun doesn't just react to rumors or whatever, and any time he suspected something, it was based on tangible facts—and he was always right. I could see why he was concerned with it as soon as he explained, exactly because he only reacts to a real threat." When the other teen gave a small nod of acknowledgment at the words, Yuugi asked, "Anyway, why are you so formal with him?"
"We're rivals, and our ideals are different," the Prince replied without thinking.
"What a well-rehearsed lie," the smaller teen sighed. When Atem looked at him in surprise, he added, "Atem, I know you better than that, and I know you also see your ideals the same way he sees his, just with a different method of achieving them."
At that, the taller teen looked away again, hesitated, then said, "My feelings for him are...romantic, but there's too much of a gap in social status for it to work...and that's besides his lack of similar feelings for me. I have to force myself to stay distant so I don't make a mistake and ruin both our lives."
"You know as well as I do that he's Akhenaten's son and your cousin, so don't try to pull that 'social status' idiocy on me," Yuugi shot back in a perfectly flat tone. When Atem looked up at him, the smaller boy went on, "You've never allowed yourself to get close enough to him to find out if he returns the feelings, so you can't say he doesn't return them, and—"
"But that woman, Kisara—"
"Is tied to his soul, like karma, but is not his Lover."
Atem's eyes widened, then he asked tentatively, "She's not?"
"They barely know each other, from what Kaiba-kun told me," Yuugi replied dryly. "It's true they're tied together for each other's safety, but not because they're in love."
"And that's why he's obsessed with the Blue Eyes White Dragon?"
"That's because of what Akhenaten and Zorc forced on them, where he couldn't save her, and she did for him what Mahad and Mana did for you. And, I mean, you are pretty obsessed with the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl, so you have no right to complain about them."
"...It doesn't change our rivalry."
"No, only getting to know each other will do that."
"Yuugi!" Atem cried, looking a bit flustered. "Don't disrupt the flow!"
"Sure, Atem," Yuugi replied in a dryly amused tone. "And what else am I not supposed to disturb, considering I'm living here for the next who knows how long?"
A silence fell, and was only broken when a splash and several frantic calls of 'kuri' came from the room behind the wall hanging, making both teens jump for the room in a panic. What they found in the bathroom—was a thoroughly soaked Kuribo stuck in the filled, stone, tub-like indentation in one corner of the room. Yuugi lifted the soaked ball of fur out of the tub as both he and Atem laughed at it and it pouted, then, since they were there and the water was still warm, the two teens had a bath, themselves.
For the next three days, most of what Yuugi saw was Set's chambers and Atem's chambers, with nothing but the path between the two to offset it. On the first of the three days, while Set was walking Yuugi back to the Prince's room after the lesson, a voice called, "Yuugi, High Priest Set!"
Turning to scan the area above the half-wall on the outdoor walkway, they found themselves looking at one of the training yards as Atem rapidly approached the wall. Yuugi grinned and waved while Set called back, "Good day, Your Highness. How was your practice?"
"Good—much better than last time," Atem replied as he got to the half-wall and vaulted over it to land on the sheltered walkway. "And your lesson?"
"Better—though Yuugi was kind enough to—er—shower us both enough for us to not need baths this evening," Set replied in dry amusement, making Yuugi blush and Atem laugh.
"Other than that, High Priest?" the Prince replied cordially.
"His abilities improve well beyond the expected rate, My Prince," Set told him.
"God, stop being so formal with each other already!" Yuugi cut in as he almost killed himself laughing. "You sound silly talking to each other like that out here!"
"But the High Priest and—" Atem began.
"Set," Yuugi cut him off.
"...What?" the Prince blinked as Set looked down at Yuugi in surprise.
"Come on, Atem, Set. Neither of you hates the other, and the first step to getting to know each other properly—to being friends—is to start calling each other by your names, not your titles," Yuugi pointed out dryly. "And there's nothing wrong with the Prince and the High Priest being friends, right? Also, it'll be good for both of you to be able to confide in each other, since that'll foster understanding and trust, too."
A long silence followed the words as the two stared at Yuugi, but then their eyes met. After pause, both grinned in wry amusement as Set commented, "He has a point."
Finally, after another long silence, Atem sighed, then walked over to Set and held his hand out, even as he met the taller man's gaze evenly. "Then, is it all right for me to call you by your name alone...Set?"
For a moment, the High Priest paused, then reached out to clasp—not Atem's hand, but his forearm, just below the elbow. Atem returned the grip as Set answered, "I have no objection, as long as the favor is returned...Atem."
"And it is. Thank you," the Prince replied, his expression becoming grateful.
Set nodded. "And thank you," he said, reaching up to cover Atem's hand on his arm with his free hand—and Atem returned the gesture similarly with Set's hand on his arm.
Atem then looked at the smaller boy, who was grinning widely beside them while Kuribo cheered from the boy's shoulder. "Thank you, Yuugi," the Prince told him.
"Of course," the smaller boy just grinned as Set also sent him a thankful look.
The Prince and High Priest then released each other's arms as Set asked, "So, were you finished with your martial training, Atem?"
"I was just handing my things to Taopo so he could put them away," Atem informed them. "We can head for the Great Hall now if you have nothing else to do before the midday meal, Set."
"Then let's go," the High Priest agreed, and Yuugi just followed quietly behind them as they led the way, already deep in conversation together.
A few days later, when Yuugi got hungry and wanted to find the kitchens to ask for something to snack on, he soon found himself completely lost, and finally just sat down on the floor in one of the halls, completely dejected. Eventually, someone would find him, for better or for worse, and to make matters worse still, even Kuribo didn't know his way around yet.
It turned out he only had to wait a couple minutes, until the door almost right beside him opened—and a woman who looked like a carbon copy of his own modern Ishizu stood there! He stared at her in surprise as she blinked at him in puzzlement—then smiled as his stomach grumbled and he blushed.
"Sorry," he said. "I was trying to find my way to the kitchens, but I got lost."
"I see," she answered, motioning him to rise. "You are...Yuugi, the Prince's new friend, yes?"
He got up and let her lead him down the hall as he answered, "Yes, I am. Are you one of the Priests?"
"Yes. My name is Isis." She then paused and pointed up at the ceiling, so Yuugi looked up—and saw a series of letters there, Ancient Egyptian ones. "Next time you find yourself lost, just look up at the ceiling, as most of the main areas have such signs to inform you of where you are. This one is the one for the kitchens, and there are indicators for outdoor and indoor training yards, the stables, the forges, and other areas. The living area has no such luxury, so once you have something to eat, I'll show you back to the Prince's chambers. He must be worried about you by now."
"Probably not. He has a lesson to attend and pretty much ordered me not to join him, so...he probably hasn't gotten back yet," Yuugi answered wryly.
"A pity, that," she admitted. "You must be bored while the Prince is busy."
"Normally, it isn't so bad—I'm good at keeping myself busy," the boy told her. "It's just...I think I've been practicing Set's lessons a bit too hard, and got hungry."
She laughed outright at his words, then pushed a door open, revealing the kitchen. It was bustling, and one of the women working there looked up from the far side of the room to see them. Isis called to the woman who'd looked up, "Have you got some fruit or bread for the Prince's friend to eat?"
For a moment, the woman looked off into space, then called back, "I think we have some in the storage room yet, Priestess. Wait a moment and I'll see." When Isis gave a nod in reply, the woman headed into a room off to one side, then came back a couple minutes later with some bread and cheese, and even a small branch of grapes. "I hope this will do for the Prince's honored guest."
"Ah, this is great, thanks," Yuugi answered as he took it and began devouring it.
With a chuckle, Isis said, "Thank you, Danea. We'll let you get back to work now." With that, she gave a wave to the woman and led Yuugi from the room and back in the direction of Atem's room.
"Thank you, Priestess Isis," Yuugi told her when she stopped at Atem's door.
"Of course. I've been able to see you are important to the Palace since you came, so it would hardly do for you to be harmed—or to get lost in the Palace," she chuckled.
Yuugi blinked and asked, "How am I so important? It seems more like I'm just getting lessons or sponging off you than like I'm being useful somehow."
"...Sponging...?" Isis asked him, obviously puzzled by the word.
"Ah...Sorry, 'sponging off' someone is a way in my land of saying a person is a freeloader, someone who's getting food and shelter for nothing," the boy explained.
The woman smiled then, and told him, "Everything you learn here will make it easier for you to help us when the fog I see in the future clarifies. Learn well, and never think you are a mere 'freeloader' here, since you're working as hard as any Priest, in your own way." She then left him there.
He'd already finished eating, so just went back inside the room as he thought about her words.
Later that evening, while Atem and he were playing an early version of a board game the Prince had taught him, Yuugi said tentatively, "You know, Atem...I can't read or write your language, and I'm not so sure that's a good thing. I'd like to learn."
"Why do you need to know?" the Prince asked with a raised brow.
"Because I can't find my way around without knowing," Yuugi replied.
"You can't just memorize the signs? You're very good at that."
"That doesn't help me if I haven't gone into the area before to know what's there."
"Then don't."
"You know, if I could have read your language, I could have just told you your name and not had to worry about trying to figure out how to write it."
"You couldn't have known it then, anyway, since this is after then in your timeline."
At that point, Yuugi sighed as he realized Atem wasn't going to take the issue seriously, so just said, "Never mind, then," and finished the game by losing on purpose so he could go to bed early.
"Yuugi, did you seriously just lose on purpose?" the Prince asked in surprise as he watched the smaller boy curl up on the large cushion which served as his actual 'mattress' of sorts.
As the boy pulled the blanket over him and pulled one of the other cushions into his arms, he replied, "Since you were away nearly the whole day, I was practicing Set's lessons, and actually used up so much energy I had to go get something to eat. Thank God for Isis, though, or I'd still be hopelessly lost in the Palace. I'm tired tonight, so I want to sleep early."
"All right, good night...and next time, just tell me you're tired." Yuugi agreed with a hum, and Atem added, "I'll thank Isis, too." Another agreeing hum came from the boy.