A/N: Welcome to chapter 9 of Overcoming Differences!

I'm back from my holiday! I pretty much had three weeks worth of crappy weather, but it's still nice to be away for a while. I also got to write a lot too. Not just on this story, but on stories I want to post in the future as well. So I guess the crappy weather was good for something :).

Now I'm back to my regular routine. I'll be studying journalism, creative writing and will be taking a course in Japanese to keep myself busy while I'm searching for a new job. I'm not interested in being a teacher anymore, but I'd like to turn writing into my career, hence the journalism. Wish me luck everyone!

But in the meanwhile I'd like to improve my creative writing skills and continue writing stories for you to enjoy. The Japanese course is just for the lolz and giggles, since I've wanted to learn more than just the phrases I've picked up over the years while watching Japanime.

Without further ado, I'll let you get to reading this new chapter. Remember that I don't own Yu-gi-oh! or any of its characters, that mobiumshipping rocks, and that I love reviews.

Enjoy!

0o0o0

Getting to know you

Yami had to admit it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, but because of the gentle breeze it wasn't too hot out. It was the kind of day that people used to get out and enjoy themselves outside, and Yami had chosen an excellent spot to do so. Across from his current hotel was a nice little café with a terrace outside, granting him a view over a large lake. There was a small beach, on which children were playing under the watchful eyes of their sunbathing parents. Others were swimming in the lake, or venturing further in rowing boats or pedalos. The view, along with the cool drinks he was having, made Yami relax and sag into his chair a bit.

After having worked so hard for the past few weeks Dartz had finally granted him a day off. A day during which he could finally do what he wanted and relax a little bit. However, there was just one thing that Yami missed. His boyfriends. Thinking of them brought back a plethora of fond memories, of which one was particularly persistent.

It was the first day of school. For Yami it wasn't only that though. It was also the first day at his new school, just like his classmates. They had evolved in the pecking order by going from primary school kids to secondary school teenagers. For Yami this felt like a huge step. All of his former friends had either gone to different schools or wound up in another class. Yami was completely alone for now, but he was confident that he would be able to make new friends.

He just wished he'd been a little bit earlier though. He hadn't been a little bit late that morning. Not enough to be too late, but late enough that all of his classmates had found their seats already by the time he had showed up. Yami was forced to sit alone at the front of the classroom. It sucked in his opinion. It wasn't like he was a trouble maker or had anything to fear from the teachers by sitting so close to them, but if he had a choice he would rather sit just a little bit more to the back. In that he guessed was just like any other teen.

Luckily they weren't going to be doing much this first day. It served as a means to get to know their class tutor and fellow classmates. They would stay in school during the morning, getting to know each other and familiarising themselves with the school rules before going to the local beach in the afternoon. His tutor, miss Chono, began with roll call, welcoming every student individually with a smile as she did so. It turned out there was one student missing. One Yugi Muto. Yami had never heard of him, and silently wondered why he wasn't there. Even though they wouldn't be doing much today, he would have liked to get to know everyone. It was the day where friends would be made and groups would be formed. If you weren't there chances were that you would be forced to spend most of your time on your own, unless he of course already knew some of the other kids in this class. However, when Yami looked around the classroom he noticed that many of the other kids were as confused as he was. Some were whispering amongst one another. Yami was certain it was about Yugi, but he could not hear whether they knew about him or not. In the end he still knew nothing, but he supposed he would find out eventually, and shrugged it off.

After the roll call was done miss Chono was about to set up an introductory round when there was a knock on the door and a boy in a wheelchair rolled inside with the principal following him. All eyes were glued to the pair, anxiously waiting to know more.

"Good morning miss Chono." The principal greeted pleasantly, "I'm sorry for the interruption, but I had a few things to discuss with Yugi here before the start of school."

"Ah yes." Miss Chono replied with a smile, "I was told I would be having a disabled student. It's nice to meet you Yugi."

Yugi nodded and greeted her back before the principal started talking again, "Now if you don't mind miss Chono, Yugi has indicated that he would like to talk about his condition to the class, seeing as how most students probably have no experience with how to act around him."

"Of course." Miss Chono nodded in approval, "I think that would be very sensible. We were just about to start with a round of proper introductions, so perhaps Yugi could start."

Yugi smiled, "I'd like that miss Chono, thanks."

The principal nodded as well and left the classroom shortly after wishing Yugi and the rest of the class good luck this year, confident that everything would be all right. Yami was very curious about this boy. He had never met someone in a wheelchair before and was really curious. At the same time he was slightly uncomfortable. He couldn't just start to ask questions right off the bat now, could he? In any case he was curious about what Yugi was going to tell them.

Yugi turned his wheelchair around so he was facing his classmates, and put on a slightly nervous smile, "Hi, I'm Yugi Muto, and I'm going to be your classmate for this year. As you can see I'm in a wheelchair. I have paresis, meaning that I'm mostly paralysed from the waist down, though I have some feeling left in my legs. I can support my weight a little bit, but I can't walk." He explained to the attentively listening classmates. Some of the girls voiced their pitying responses, which caused Yugi to shake his head in disagreement, "I have been this way since I was two years old, so I'm used to moving around like this. Please, I ask you not to pity me, but to act like you would to any other person. True, I do need some help sometimes, but there's also a lot I can do myself."

"Perhaps Yugi." Miss Chono started to suggest, drawing everyone's attention back to her, "You could tell us what we should help you with, and what you can do for yourself."

"Well, it would be nice if I could have a spot at the front of the classroom so I don't have to navigate through rows of tables." He started, receiving nods of understanding from his classmates, "Also, if I have to go to the bathroom it usually takes a while. I would appreciate it if you could tell the teacher I'm coming if I'm not done in time. That's pretty much the most important stuff. Don't worry about carrying my books or anything. I can do that myself, just like most other stuff. If you're not sure then please just ask me. Also if you have any questions about me or my disability I don't mind you asking them."

"I think that sounds clear enough." Miss Chono commented, "Now perhaps there are people who have any questions right now?" She asked as she turned her attention back to the other students.

Immediately several hands shot up. Questions were asked, mostly about his disability, and Yugi answered them as best as he could. Yami watched and listened intently. He was intrigued by how his fellow student could be so confident about talking about his disability and how certain things worked for him. He always thought it was better to avoid the subject, but instead Yugi stressed that it was important for them to know more about him, so he would become less of an oddity. He wanted them to treat him like any other person, and that was impossible if they would sweep the issue under the rug and avoid understanding him. Yami secretly admired him for that.

But then a thought struck him. They had planned to go to the beach this afternoon, and he suddenly wondered whether Yugi was able to come along. Just a moment ago he had informed the class that he was exempted from PE classes, but instead would be doing other activities to make up for the credits lost. This trip wasn't a part of PE, but it reminded Yami of how things like this just weren't as obvious for him to do as they were for walking people. Yugi probably wouldn't be able to go on the sand, let alone in the sea, so would he be able to enjoy himself at the beach?

In order to get an answer Yami tentatively raised his hand. Yugi turned his attention to him and granted him a turn, "What about our trip to the beach Yugi?" Yami asked him, hoping that he wouldn't get mad or sad over the issue, "Will you be able to come along?"

Yami instantly felt bad for asking when Yugi scratched the back of his head, looking a little bit uncomfortable. He answered the question nonetheless, "Well, I planned to not come along. I can actually swim, but I can't move my chair across the sand, and I don't expect you to carry me."

"What if I stay with you?" Yami found himself offering before he realised what he had said. He blushed a bit as his classmates looked at him in slight confusion, so he decided to elaborate, "I mean it would be nice if you could be there, and there is a boulevard along the beach. I'm willing to hang around with you there. I'm not too fond of the beach anyway."

Yugi practically lit up at the suggestion, sporting a huge smile that was instantly branded as cute by the girls. Miss Chono noticed this and gave a pleased nod, "I think that's a very nice offer of you Yami. Glad to see that you're already trying to integrate Yugi into this group. I have no objections if Yugi agrees."

"Thank you Yami." Yugi said with gratitude, "I'd love to come along then."

"Then it's settled." Miss Chono said with a smile, "And I think that's enough questions for now, otherwise we don't even have enough time to go. But first we need to find you a seat."

Yugi nodded and instantly looked at the empty space next to Yami. It was at the front of the classroom, which was convenient for him, but so were two other seats. However, it was mostly the fact that Yami had offered to spend some time with him also drew him to that spot, so he rolled his wheelchair over there, "Would you mind removing that chair for me so I can sit at this table?" Yugi asked Yami politely.

"Uhm, sure." Yami said a bit uncertainly. He knew he had offered the teen to spend some time with him while they were at the beach, but now that he was close he suddenly felt a wave of nerves; as if he was afraid to hurt him in any way. It was silly, since all he needed to do was move the empty chair next to him out of the way so Yugi could roll his wheelchair in place, but he still felt it nonetheless. He stood up and took the chair. Miss Chono instructed him to place it against the front wall. If he squeezed a little bit he would be able to move through the gap between Yugi and the next row of seats, but Yami opted to go around this row so he wouldn't end up doing something wrong. Yugi looked like he was stifling a giggle, but he didn't comment when Yami returned.

"Is this all right?" Yami asked nervously.

"It's fine." Yugi commented with a reassuring smile, "If you'll sit down on your own seat then I can move in next to you."

Yami nodded, feeling reassured, and followed Yugi's instructions by sitting down. Yugi deftly manoeuvred his wheelchair to his table, making it seem as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Again a wave of nerves hit Yami. Despite all of Yugi's reassurances he was still a bit dubious about what he could or could not do or ask. At first he opted to not do or ask much then, and only reacted to what Yugi prompted, but as the day progressed and he spent some time with Yugi along the boulevard he slowly started to get to know Yugi better. He eventually relaxed, talking and laughing with Yugi as they observed their classmates goofing around of the beach. Occasionally another classmate would briefly join them, but they never stuck around for long, wanting to go back to their own friends. Both Yami and Yugi didn't mind though. They were having fun together. Yami suddenly didn't mind he had been forced to sit in the front row, since he now had the opportunity to become friends with him.

Yami smiled. He deeply cherished the memory of meeting Yugi for the first time. There had been no romantic feelings involved at the time, they were simply friends. Yami became Yugi's 'buddy' as miss Chono affectionately came to call him. He would always get a seat ready for him when they entered the classroom, and tell teachers if Yugi would be running a little late for some reason, or anything else that was necessary. He was basically the go-between in a sense. It was often just little things, but they made such a huge difference to the disabled teen. More than once Yami did something Yugi wouldn't appreciate, just like he sometimes still would today, but they never really fought about it. Yugi would be displeased yes, but even then he was strong enough to voice his displeasure instead of keeping it in. In short, Yami had learned a lot, and their relationship grew a little bit every day until it eventually crossed the boundary between friendship and love interest several years later, and they got together.

And now he was here, observing people on the beach, but this time without Yugi. He would have to remember taking both him and Atem to this place some day. They would be satisfied with just taking a drink on a terrace like he was now, but with the two of them Atem and Yami could let Yugi do so much more. He could imagine them hiring a pedalo, and have himself and Atem paddle Yugi across the lake. Atem would probably challenge Yami to see how fast they could go. Yugi would tease them by splashing water at them until Atem would threaten to push him overboard. And Yami would relish in the happy expression Yugi would have for being able to do such things thanks to his two loves. The thought brought a smile to his lips. If he closed his eyes he could even imagine both of them being there right now, having a drink with him at this beautiful location.

But asides from the happiness, the thought also made him sad. It just made the fact that his two loves weren't here all the more painful. He missed them both greatly, and it was still a while before he would see them again. Unless Atem decided to just show up of course, but he doubted that. The circumstances had been just right that time in Tokyo, but now that he was touring through the main continent of Asia there was no hope for that.

Sometimes he wished that they were able to come along with him on his tour, or at least visit him more often. Money wasn't the problem. Between the three of them they made more than enough to finance such an enterprise. Making sure Yugi had the proper facilities also wasn't an issue. They all knew exactly what he would need and could make the proper arrangements if they knew it in advance. The main reason why they didn't was because of Dartz. The manager had gone through extensive length to keep Yami's identity a secret because he feared the effects on both Yami's and Atlantis's reputation if the fans found out about Yugi and Atem. In particular the young men's relationship to their idol. If they would be around a lot while Yami was on tour it would certainly raise suspicion, and questions would be asked that Dartz didn't want to be asked. And so Yami was forced to live in solitude during his tours. He didn't even call or mail his lovers for Dartz's fear that the communications were somehow intercepted.

Yami made a wry expression at that particular thought. When Dartz had first put up that argument Yami had frowned as deeply as he could possibly frown. The notion was absurd to him, bordering on paranoia of not crossing it. But Dartz had argued that fans were very resourceful. It was inevitable that people could start to suspect him of being Pharaoh while he was just ordinary Yami Sennen walking down the street, and Dartz knew that if they did they would follow his every move to find out everything about him. The fact that they kept a lot of information from the fans only fuelled this curiosity. It was simply better to prevent rather than cure such a possible situation, and keep Pharaoh's life strictly separated from Yami's life. Yami was still convinced that Dartz was too worried, but trusted that his manager knew best. He had more experience with such situations from managing other artists in the first place and knew better than anyone what fans would and would not do. He had Yami's best interests at heart, even if they were intertwined with those of Atlantis. In the end, Yami just bore with it, essentially living a double life for the sake of being able to follow his dream in the first place.

It was both a blessing and a curse. His covert identity as Pharaoh assured him that he actually could just go out and have a drink somewhere without being hounded down by rabid fans, but at the same time it left a gaping hole that could only be filled up by the two most important people in his life. Yami sometimes wondered what would be the best decision. He would love to have Yugi and Atem around. To call them on stage at the end of a show, showing them to the entire world. He wanted his fans to witness his happiness, both for his music and his boyfriends. In his ideal world the fans would be less curious because they knew more about him. They would be accepting of his choices and situation. Maybe they would even respect his need for privacy, so he could still go out and be just ordinary Yami Sennen.

He had heard of other artists that had accomplished just that, but there was generally a huge difference between him and them. Fans could certainly accept their idol having a relationship with someone of the opposite sex. Fans could likely accept their idol having a relationship with someone of the same sex. But could fans accept their idol having a relationship with two people of the same sex? That is what Dartz feared, for the answer to that question was shrouded in mystery that he did not want to lift for fear of the negative answer. And truthfully Yami also wasn't sure of the answer. So he was forced to bear being away and cut off from his boyfriends for the remainder of his tour. It wasn't Yami's optimal situations, but at least it was second best.

0o0o0

"Hey Yug'! Look what I've got!" Joey called out to his colleague as he approached his booth two days later.

The blonde was carrying a box wrapped in Kaiba Corp wrapping paper with him. Yugi instantly knew where it came from. Seto had been overjoyed when he had heard about Joey's willingness to forgive him if given the right incentive, and had apparently jumped right to the occasion. He was a bit worried about the gift's contents however, since he feared that Seto would shower him with expensive stuff and that Joey would be swayed that way. But at the same time he was relieved that Joey decided to share it with him. At least he could attempt to steer his best friend's thoughts upon its revelation if necessary.

Joey set the box down with a grin, leaning on top of it at waving an envelope in front of Yugi's nose, "Let's see what moneybags has to say for himself, all right?"

Yugi nodded, eagerly wanting to know the very same thing. Joey roughly ripped the envelope open to reveal a small note in neat handwriting. Yugi surprisingly didn't recognise it as Seto's, so he wondered whether he had even penned it himself.

"Dear mister Wheeler." Joey started reading aloud,

Mister Kaiba wishes to offer you this gift in order to obtain your forgiveness for his actions last Sunday evening. He has learned that you favour KC gaming systems and hopes this gift will suit your tastes. He would furthermore like to express his sincere apologies, and hopes that you will consider meeting with him at your soonest convenience.

Yours faithfully,

Ryo Bakura.

Personal assistant and secretary of S. Kaiba.

Both young men didn't comment on the letter once Joey had finished reading it. Instead, Joey unwrapped the box to reveal the latest edition of Kaiba Corp's duel disk. Being a fan of the franchise Joey knew that this particular edition wasn't supposed to come to the market for another week. Any duellist would kill to have this thing ahead of time. Yugi worried that Joey would react the same way, but the blonde was surprisingly composed, staring at both the gift and the letter unemotionally. Yugi tried to read his best friend's expression, but could make nothing of it.

"So, what do you think Joey?" Yugi eventually prompted.

Joey looked at the letter again before turning his attention back to his best friend, "He's not scoring any points here Yug'. I had expected he would be giving me expensive KC stuff, but that's not going to make me forgive him." He replied, making Yugi feel relieved that he truly wasn't planning on extorting Atem's cousin in any way. But Joey wasn't finished yet, and continued, "He doesn't even have the decency to write me a note on his own. It's from his friggin' secretary." He let the note fall to the ground and leaned back on Yugi's desk, "He's going to have to do better than that."

"So what are you going to do now?"

Joey briefly thought about the question, humming as he did so. Suddenly his face lightened up as an idea came to mind, "How about I send him a note back, but instead of me sending the note I'm going to let you write it?"

Yugi frowned at first, but soon caught on to Joey's plan, "You want to give him a taste of his own medicine?"

"Exactly bud." Joey said proudly, "Hopefully he will not like it that I'm not personally sending him a reply, and will realise that he has actually done the same thing to me. Do you think he could learn that way?"

Now it was Yugi's turn to think about the question. He didn't know Seto that well, so he wasn't sure. But he was sure that if Seto didn't come up with that himself Atem could surely push him in the right direction. All in all, it could work, "I think it just might Joey."

"Good. Then I'll leave you to writing that reply. Make sure to use lots of expensive words like rich boy's secretary did."

"I'll get right on it as soon as I get home today."

Joey nodded with a grin and turned around and started walking away, leaving the duel disk on Yugi's desk and the note on the floor, "Joey!" Yugi called, making the blonde turn his head to him, "You're forgetting your duel disk."

"You keep it Yug'. I don't want it." He replied and continued to walk away to his own booth so he could continue his own work.

Yugi looked at the box again with an awed expression. He couldn't believe that Joey wouldn't want it. Under any other circumstance he probably would have been overjoyed with the item and showed it off to everyone, challenging them to a duel if possible. For him to leave it there without even a second glance showed how serious he was about wanting to challenge Seto to grow and learn socially. Though he was now left with something that he also didn't particularly want – he could probably get one himself through Atem if he did anyways - the fact that it was still sitting there and was not with its intended owner brought a smile to his face. He was now confident that Joey was going to handle this well.

0o0o0

A/N: Whee! More Yami! And with a scene that connects to what Yugi and Atem were thinking in the previous chapter. Also, I've been wanting to write that scene where Yami and Yugi meet since the beginning of this story now, and now I finally had an opportunity to do so.

I know that this story is set in Japan, but I don't know much about Japanese schools other than from I've seen in anime (shame on me…). For this story I have incorporated some stuff from Dutch schools, of which I'm not sure whether it also applies to Japanese schools or any other schools in general. Please don't send the Winged Dragon of Ra after me.

And thus Seto's challenge for Joey's heart begins! Though it doesn't start out very favourable for our favourite arrogant rich boy. Will Joey's strategy help him learn? Stay tuned!

Yeah, I've chosen Ryo for the secretary. He was available…so sue me…

Next chapter: The puppyshipping continues! And we must not forget about Yugi's challenge to find a nickname for Atem.