Conflict

After a couple of days, Yuugi had gotten to feel safe, especially in his lesson with Set, so had released Kuribo. The little ball of fur deserved a break, after all, and he was sure Set could protect him just fine, not unlike Kaiba could. He was also adapting to effectively wearing a skirt, but since all the guys around him also did, it wasn't so bad, and he had to admit it was easier to handle the heat in the light-weight, white cloth. His finely-woven, straw sandals also kept his feet cool, but he wasn't allowed to wear either the cloak or headdress Atem wore—for which he was grateful.

The morning after he'd had the conversation with Atem about reading and writing lessons, as he was finishing his lesson with Set and the older teen was rising, Yuugi asked, "Can I talk with you about something, Set?"

"What's that?" the High Priest asked as he sat down again.

"Atem doesn't seem to think it's important, but I have a problem—I can't read or write in your language. My home has its own language, and it's got similarities to this one, but not nearly enough for me to understand it. If the Priestess hadn't found me yesterday, I would probably have been lost in the Palace for a long time, so I already know this is something I need to know to live here, even just for a bit," Yuugi explained.

"...How do you mean, Atem 'doesn't seem to think it's important'?" Set asked with a puzzled frown.

"He basically just told me to stay locked in his room rather than learning it," the boy sighed, then blinked as Set's eyes went wide.

"Is he trying to make you completely dependent on him?" the older teen asked.

Yuugi shrugged. "I don't know, but he was being unusually stubborn about it. I mean, it's possible he thinks I'll be safe if I just stay in his room, but to me, that just makes me a sitting duck, waiting for someone to hunt me."

Set chuckled at the analogy, but nodded and rose, "I agree with you, on both points. I don't have the time to teach you personally, but I can introduce you to someone who probably does—he usually has his afternoons free. Shall we?"

"Yes, thanks, Set," Yuugi grinned as he rose—then blinked as the young man's expression changed for a moment. The change was gone too fast for Yuugi to pin-point it, so he just put it out of his mind. "So, who is this person?"

"You've met him once, though it was fairly brief," Set replied, leading the way—to another, nearby Temple which was across a courtyard from a dark, descending stair which made Yuugi shiver slightly. He knocked on a door deep in the living area of that Temple, the Temple of Anubis, but it didn't open it right away.

There was a clatter, an 'ouch', and the sound of breaking glass, then the door opened—to reveal Shada. The other Priest who had watched the duel was the teacher Set had in mind? "Oh, High Priest, what can I do for you?"

"Ah, your hand!" Yuugi gasped, pointing at the bloody cut down the side of his palm. "Are you okay?"

Both Set and Shada chuckled, then the Priest said, "I'm fine, Yuugi. It's just a minor wound, a bare scratch. And besides...watch." Shada lifted his wounded hand and held it so the boy could clearly see the wound, then placed two fingers of his opposite hand at the top edge of the mark. As he dragged his fingers down over the cut, the wound sealed and vanished, making Yuugi's eyes widen in amazement.

"Teach me that!" he stated, making both men chuckle again.

"We didn't come here to ask Shada to teach you the minor healing all Priests know, Yuugi," Set told him dryly, making Yuugi blush. "If you want, I'll teach you how to do some things like that, but what you came here for is going to take more work for you than magic does. That being the case, it's better for me to give you additional magic lessons."

"...So...What is it you did come here to ask me to teach you, Yuugi?" Shada asked in puzzlement.

"Atem doesn't think I should learn to read and write your language, and Set said you would be the best person to teach me," Yuugi explained.

"Not Mahad?" Shada asked of Set in surprise.

"He has more than enough work with Mana and the Prince to take care of," the High Priest replied. "I could ask Isis if you don't have the time."

"No, I don't mind. I was just somewhat surprised, since you would usually go to him for something like this. Though...why would Atem ignore such an obvious problem?" Shada asked with a puzzled frown.

"Like usual, Yuugi thinks it's Atem's way of protecting him, but I'm more likely to call it an issue of 'control'. That, in turn, would mean he doesn't like the time Yuugi's away from the room," Set told the older man with a sigh. "Either way, once Yuugi leaves the room in the morning, he doesn't have to go back until he wants to. What's a good time for Yuugi to be with you for lessons? Was I right to say afternoons?"

"Yes, that's fine," Shada agreed, then opened the door wide and motioned them inside. "Usually, I eat my midday meal here, and I noticed you're uncomfortable with crowds, so you might like to eat with me before we start the lessons, Yuugi."

"Well, sometimes, Atem will still want me to eat with him, or in the Great Hall, but I'd prefer to be here more often than not for meals," Yuugi agreed, stepping inside and seeing a room similar to Set's, but oriented differently.

For example, while Set's table was in the middle of his main room, more or less, Shada's was to one side of the room, lined up with and right in front of the corner window. The stools he or others would sit on were in front of the wall between the corner window and the next one over, but light shone directly on the table for much of the day, and he had papers scattered across said table. There was also more than one ink pot, and even a few dozen brushes for writing with, at least three of each size in a rack beside the ink pots. A pail of water was sitting beside the table, and a shallow, small bowl filled with water sat beside the brushes, while the bookshelf immediately beside the table had a shelf with a whole stack of similar bowls on it. In the middle of the pile of cushions he had in his room, there was a raised slab of stone, something like Yuugi would associate with a coffee table in the present day.

"What did you break, anyway?" Set asked the older man in puzzlement, making Shada point at a collection of glass shards and green moisture in front of a shelf with magical objects on it. "Is that...the herbal vial from Bastet's Temple?" the High Priest asked, eyes going wide.

"Unfortunately," Shada replied in wry amusement. "Pity, that."

"'Pity' doesn't cover it," Set answered in concern. "Bastet will be furious with you!"

"I doubt that," Yuugi commented as he looked at the papers on Shada's table. "If it's herbs, humans cultivate and produce the vials, not Bastet. All it's going to do is prevent Priest Shada from doing the things he needed to use it for until he can get more, but I would be surprised if Bastet even knows about the vials, or cares what humans do with them if she does. It's got no relevance to her. The most I can see her doing is maybe shaking her head in amazement at human stupidity and clumsiness."

Shada chuckled as the High Priest gaped at the boy for a moment, then turned to glare at the chuckling Shada. The older Priest held his hands up in surrender, then told Set, "My answer is the same as Yuugi's. These mixtures of herbs are ones we can replicate, since they aren't made with herbs found only in the Realm of the Gods, High Priest. They weren't given as gifts by Bastet, and the only thing special about them is the particular refining they use at Bastet's Temple."

After a silence, the younger man sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll leave you for lunch, since someone has to tell His Highness about the change in Yuugi's schedule. And Yuugi, I'll see you in the morning."

"Sure, thanks, Set," Yuugi agreed as Shada moved over to the glass shards to begin collecting them. Once Set was gone, Yuugi moved over to help Shada. "I can help, too."

The Priest looked up with a smile, saying, "You're a guest here, so you don't have to do anything like this."

"Maybe, but I like helping people," Yuugi answered.

A rapid knock came on the door, then it was thrown open to reveal a man Yuugi had never seen before. He dressed like a Priest, but with his chest mostly bare and his hair falling roughly to his shoulders. And when he saw the mess, he rolled his eyes and said, "If you keep breaking the vials, we'll stop giving them to you, Shada."

"Yes, thank you for the assistance, Karim," Shada replied in a sarcastic tone. Yuugi chuckled at the words, drawing Karim's eyes to him.

"Is this the boy the Prince has been favoring for the last few days?" the man, who seemed a bit older than Shada, asked.

"Yes, this is Yuugi," Shada said as he rose and put the glass shards he carried on a blank spot on the shelf in front of him. "Though whether the Prince is 'favoring' him or making him into a captive is another question entirely, since Set had to bring Yuugi to me for lessons on reading and writing. Apparently, Atem doesn't think he should know."

Karim frowned in puzzlement and said, "That would be odd for His Highness, though. Such possessiveness is outside his character."

"You think?" Yuugi asked dryly, making both look at him in surprise. "He's always scariest when he's protecting me, or thinks he's protecting me, even to the point where he nearly killed one of my friends when they were forced to fight each other. That's exactly why he's 'the darkness' and I'm 'the light'. He's capable of doing some very horrible things, especially where I'm concerned, and the only thing keeping him in check in those cases—is me."

After over a minute of a stunned silence, Shada finally asked, "Why did you come here in such a hurry, Karim?"

Giving himself a shake, the other man said, "I have a text I need to give to Isis, but I ran out of ink, and I have only until the end of the midday meal to get it to her."

Shada gave him some ink and he left, then the two sat down while Shada cleared off his desk to prepare for the meal and the lessons after it.

When Yuugi finished his first lesson in reading and writing, he found his way back to Set's room, then headed down the familiar path back to Atem's room. When he got there, the Prince was sitting at his table, pouting.

As soon as he saw Yuugi, he pounced on the smaller boy and demanded, "Where were you all afternoon, Yuugi?"

"Didn't Set tell you?" the smaller boy asked dryly, not trying to escape Atem's grip.

"He said you were getting reading and writing lessons—which I don't think you need, regardless—but he didn't tell me where on the pretext that I'd go get you instead of letting you have the lesson," Atem replied sharply.

"Would you have come to get me?" Yuugi asked quietly.

"No," the Prince answered instantly—only to see his smaller lookalike frown at him in disapproval. After a pause, he sighed and admitted, "Probably."

"Why? You're busy most of the day, so I'd be here alone. What protection is that?" Yuugi asked pointedly.

"But you're my other half! I need to know where you are!" Atem cried.

The smaller boy crossed his arms and said, "You're not a spirit, and you're not tied in to the Puzzle or me yet. We don't have to be glued together, and I'm not a fixture in your room." Atem's eyes went huge at the words, so Yuugi sighed and went on, "You know all of that already, so why are you doing this? What's this really about?"

Letting go of the smaller boy, Atem sighed and went back to sit on the seat at his table. "It's...You're with the High Priest...with Set...right?"

"For part of the time," Yuugi agreed. "Why?"

"...He doesn't...want to be with me."

"...What do you mean?"

A long silence followed, then the Prince sighed. "I'm sure he doesn't have any such feelings for me, so it's a lost cause, even with your help. I guess...I'm a little jealous you're spending so much time with him, since he's spent more time with you in the last few days than he has with me in the whole time we've known each other..."

Yuugi paused, then asked, "And what else, Other Me?"

"...I'm worried he'll start liking you, or that you'll start liking him..."

"Why would he like me, and why would I start liking Set when I have Kaiba-kun to worry about in my own time?"

Atem gave his head a shake as he smiled in amusement. "It's me being paranoid, that's all. If he were to fall for you, I'd have no chance."

"When Anzu picked you over me, why would you think that?" Yuugi stared. "You're strong, you can fight for yourself. That's why everyone in my time likes you, Atem. I'm weak and need to be protected—something most of the people I know don't like. Set included, Atem."

"Then why is he taking so much time to help you?"

"Because all the Priests, not just him, are worried about you not letting me learn to read and write—they consider it a control issue, not your—rather illogical—way of protecting me."

When Atem made a face, Yuugi suddenly got a bad feeling. "Sorry." Atem didn't sound sorry at all, and Yuugi wondered if something actually was wrong with his dark half. His current behavior wasn't encouraging...

"It's not Set teaching me to read and write, so is that okay?" the smaller boy asked, hoping it would be easier for the other teen to handle if he knew that fact.

"...I guess I can live with it," the Prince agreed. "Just be careful."

"I will," Yuugi agreed.

A number of weeks passed like that, except that Yuugi kept seeing the odd look in Set's eyes when they were together. It was really starting to make him nervous—until Set did something which caused everything to start unraveling. Maybe, if Atem hadn't seen it, things would have been fine, but Atem did see it.

After Yuugi's lesson with Set, the older teen was escorting him to the Great Hall, since Atem had asked the smaller boy to join him for the meal that day. They were walking leisurely, since there was still time until the meal, and the area seemed to be deserted—then again, they were on one of the outdoor halls, which normally were deserted during the hottest part of the day.

"How was your lesson with Shada yesterday?" the older teen asked curiously.

"Fine. I'm getting used to writing your characters, and my spelling isn't that bad now that I know the written characters. Though, he did say I had a lot to learn, since all he'd shown me so far was just the basic commoner's alphabet and some of the characters nobles and priests have to know, not all of them—not even close," Yuugi explained.

"Yes, that's a lot to learn. It's good if you're able to work with the basic alphabet, though, so keep working on it," the High Priest encouraged.

"I will," the smaller boy agreed.

"Then there's no problem."

Once again, Yuugi saw that expression in Set's eyes, so asked, "Why do you keep looking at me like that, Set?"

The older teen blinked, then became wryly amused as he said, "I thought I was hiding it well enough you wouldn't notice, but since you did—"

He stopped speaking abruptly and swooped down to wrap his arms around Yuugi, pulling him close and—kissing him deeply on the lips.

Yuugi was too stunned to move at first, both by the suddenness and by the action itself, so just froze for the first few moments. His next reaction was to struggle to get away, but Set's arms were wrapped too tightly around him, and he was no match for the other's strength. Finally, the actual sensation of the kiss penetrated his shock—and he moaned faintly as he gave in and relaxed into the kiss.

When Set pulled back, Yuugi opened his eyes to stare up at him, then pushed back again, trying to break free, but Set wouldn't let him go. "You can't do this, Set!" the smaller boy cried softly, finally just giving up and dropping his head onto the older's chest. He felt like he would cry. It seemed Atem's paranoia had been legitimate.

"Why? You seemed to enjoy it, too," the High Priest replied in amusement.

Yuugi shook his head. "You don't understand! Atem...this will hurt him!"

"Why would it have any relevance to him when you two aren't romantic?" Set asked with a puzzled frown.

"It isn't because of him and me, it's because of you and him. I can't just..." the smaller boy began, then drifted off. "Just, please stop...This can't happen..."

"Why can't it? As far as I know, Atem and I are barely friends, so there's nothing wrong with this," the older of the two said in a pointed tone.

"There's something 'wrong' with it right from the start, an—"

Yuugi was cut off as Set's lips came down on his again, this time with a much stronger, heavier heat than the last. His insistence and force in the kiss seemed desperate, and his hands moved down to the smaller boy's back and rear. As the taller cupped Yuugi's rear, his grip tightened and he pulled the boy flush against his body, where Yuugi could feel his throbbing length through the cloth they wore. Again, the boy tried to pull away, but Set was much too strong for him. There was no way he could break the other's hold.

Finally, the High Priest stopped kissing him, letting the smaller boy draw in deep breaths of much-needed air, then whispered to Yuugi, "I want you in my bed, Yuugi."

"No, no you don't!" Yuugi cried in sudden alarm, trying to push away. "It's not me, and I'm weak and can't even protect myself, and—"

Set cut him off with an amused sigh and the words, "You're far from weak, and by your summoning skills, you're fully capable of protecting yourself and anyone else nearby. Don't belittle yourself."

"...Stop, please...Atem will..."

"And stop making this about Atem."

"Then what about me liking someone else already, not you or Atem?"

"Now that's starting to sound like you're just making excuses when it's clear you very much enjoy my touch," Set said in amusement, voice low.

"Yuugi..." a familiar voice cut in, a voice holding barely-contained rage. Yuugi went tense as Set looked over to see Atem balancing on the ledge looking out over the training yard.

"Atem, what brings you here at the moment?" Set asked carefully, also sensing the rage, but knowing it was directed, somehow, at Yuugi.

"That was an interesting scene to come across when I finished putting my training gear away, High Priest Set," Atem replied acidly. Both Yuugi and Set noticed the formality the Prince was using.

Immediately, the High Priest shoved Yuugi behind him, feeling the threat, and said, "Then you should have seen I pretty much forced the kiss on him, Atem." The High Priest wasn't going to go backwards and become formal again, however, so wouldn't reply in kind to the words. Atem, as furious as he was, could be understood, but Set wasn't angry, so he had no reason to go backwards in their progress.

"And you saying such a thing to me gives me the right to have you executed for touching what's mine," Atem replied, tone not changing, and Yuugi just shook his head. "Come here, Yuugi."

"No," the smaller boy answered, and both realized his skin was pale, ashen. He was terrified.

"Oh, so you wanted him to kiss you, after all?" the Prince asked, still furious and acidic. "On second thought, I think I will have him executed."

"Atem, don't!" Yuugi cried. "You're too angry, you're going to do something you'll regret if you can't calm down!"

"What am I going to do? Punish someone who took advantage of you, that's it," the taller of the two glared at the smaller.

"No, you're going to hurt someone," Yuugi answered quietly. "Just like you did when you had that pendant and let yourself be consumed by rage. You stop thinking when you get like this...And you scare me when you're like this."

Rather than answer, Atem jumped down from the ledge and headed for Yuugi, but Set put his arm in the way. "He's right, and this isn't like you—this is down-right frightening, Atem. Please take some time to calm down, and one of the other Guardian-Priests, not either of us, can take care of him for the afternoon."

"Yuugi," Atem began coldly. "Is mine." After a momentary silence, he added, "And I really will have you executed if you get in my way for claiming and protecting what's mine ever again, commoner."

"Atem, I'm not an object, and don't say things about Set which you know aren't true!" Yuugi cried. "That's not—ow!" He was cut off as Atem dragged him away—painfully—in the direction of his room.