Author's Note: Sorry for being tardy… Again.

Wonder what Seto did to distract Yami? Well, wonder no longer! Here it is!

Chapter 20

Seto searched the palace grounds for Yami. But, somehow, he couldn't seem to locate the slippery young man. Seto verified Yami's absence in both the garden and the courtyard, which meant he was most likely in his assigned chambers. In accordance with this, ever so slowly, the priest began to make his way to the furthest wing, where the older Motou laid dormant.

Seto's gaze rested on the floor as he went. He thought as he walked, Am I hallucinating? Or are the shadows actually scattering?

Yes, shadows raced this way and that as Seto avoided stepping on their slender, formless bodies. These shadows had no master to lead them; they seemed to move and slide around on their own account. Seto only knew of one person to yield shadows… But these couldn't be his, surely? Whatever the case, these shadows were not to be trifled with, for they seemed to actually hiss at Seto as he passed.

The shadows darted out of sight as Seto reached the entrance to Yami's lair. The door was slightly ajar, reminding Seto too much of a crocodile's jaws, ready to snap on its next victim.

Nonetheless, Seto mustered up his fortitude and knocked gently on the exterior of the door, despite the fact that the chambers seemed open to anyone who would happen to stumble upon it.

"Priest Seto," Yami guessed from inside the crocodile's eager mouth.

"Yes." Seto didn't bother denying fact. "Do you mind if I come in?"

There was a lull of silence before:

"I suppose not."

That was the total extent of any invitation Seto was going to get, so he ceased the opportunity and let himself in. As he walked in, the priest assessed the wing.

Yami's chambers consisted of three main rooms: A bedroom, a lounging area, a relatively small room with an open skylight in the center, welcoming in the golden evening light. And that was the room in which Yami sat, one leg crossed over another as he stared up at the setting sun.

Seto approached and hesitated before inquiring, "What are you doing?"

"Sitting," Yami answered as it was the most obvious thing in the world and that Seto was an idiot for not seeing it himself.

"Yes…" Seto resisted the desire to roll his eyes. "… Could you elaborate?"

Yami's expression shifted to one that Seto could barely recognize. The brunette couldn't describe it as "curious", because that term was reserved for kittens and innocent children. But a better term for the expression could be "interested", which was rare for that certain Motou. But, besides that, Yami almost looked pensive… far away… melancholy… sad? It was always hard to tell with Yami.

"Have you ever had someone question you about the sun, Priest Seto?"

Seto froze. This question was so random not to mention unnatural in Yami's deep tone.

"No." It was all Seto could think of to answer with.

"Well, I have." Yami's eyes narrowed at the skylight above. "The sun is such a horrid thing. It sends down violent rays that destroy everything in its path. I just don't understand… Why is it that someone who has never seen the sun wants to see it though they have been told it brings nothing but destruction?" It was obvious to whom he was referring to.

"The sun isn't just destruction," Seto argued, "It brings life as well."

"Lies," Yami scoffed, "All of it."

Seto shook his head. "Without the sun, life would never experience warmth… In fact, we wouldn't even know of its existence. I'd just be a dream of sorts, a dream that would only be dwelled on for a minimal time before being pushed aside to come back to reality- a reality of nothing but cold. It is the polar opposite of warmth, yes? So, it wouldn't have a name. Because it wouldn't exist. It'd be forgotten, and we'd be back where we started."

"Yes," Yami agreed but then added, "But if the person in question didn't know any different, we'd be content. We wouldn't wish for any more, because its very existence would be covered in a veil."

"That's not true!" Seto insisted, his voice rising in the heat of the argument, "Cold is still cold. Even if we didn't know of warmth, we'd still strive for it. It's human nature. Throughout history, the world has thrived without much else because of our common goal- the goal to move forward and improve."

Yami had stood in the middle of Seto's little speech. Though their gazes were conflicting because of their heights, they both harbored the same amount of passion for the subject at hand.

"You do realize we're not talking about an anonymous person or the sun anymore, correct?" Yami questioned, his icy stare drilling into Seto.

"I know." Seto closed his eyes tiredly. "We're talking about Lady Yugi."

Yami nodded. "She never needed to know anything but me- that I was her loving brother there to protect and provide for her. But then people like our parents and the Prince and you got into her head. And now she's become accustomed to the figurative warmth. It didn't need to be that way."

"You're insane!" Seto hissed, his eyes snapping open and narrowing dangerously. "Lady Yugi isn't meant to be a pawn in your bloody war! She didn't ask for any of this! How can you just stand there and pretend that she belongs to you when she clearly has a mind of her own that she is fully capable of using?"

"We've always had conflicting opinions, haven't we, Priest Seto?" Yami almost sung as he wrapped one of his blonde bangs around his finger, his eyes adopting his usual uninterested poker face.

Seto felt the urge to punch a wall. That condescending expression of his… It haunted his nightmares. He had seen this look of Yami's so many times… But one memory stood out from the rest:

The day Seto left.

-transition-

"Yami-" Said boy looked up at a younger Seto. "- I need to tell you something."

"What about?" Yami questioned suspiciously, examining the brunette's guilty expression.

"I…" Seto's mouth was dry. The words he reached for seemed to be escaping his grasp, his mouth refusing to form them. Finally, he forced out, "… I don't want to do this anymore."

"Do what?" Yami inquired almost innocently. His eyes wandered towards the sky as he recalled, "That reminds me; we should probably go visit Bakura again." He took Seto's hand as though he didn't trust the boy to follow him on his own and told him, "We should leave now before it becomes dark."

"No!" Seto retrieved his hand from Yami, his arm snapping back to his side almost mechanically. He knew his outburst was just adding to Yami's suspicion, but the boy continued, "That's what I mean, Yami! I don't want to go to that Thief King, Bakura's hideout of thieves anymore!"

Yami simply glared at him. "What are you saying, Seto? Are you declaring that you don't appreciate all that I've done for you?"

"Stop it!" Seto shook his head, trying to rid Yami's perplexing words away from the purpose of this confrontation. He insisted, "You've done nothing for me! You may think that getting on Bakura's good side will help me achieve my goal, but in reality, it's only corrupting my mind!"

Yami blinked, his eyes adjusting to this new insight into his friend, Seto's thoughts. He looked puzzled, something Yami rarely let show on his face, let alone actually felt.

"But, you want to be the High Priest, yes? How do you suppose to get there without other's assistance?"

"I don't know!" Seto ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know… But I don't want to get there if I have to associate myself with people like the Thief King!"

Yami took a stand of blonde hair in his grip and examined it as he whispered, "I was only trying to help you…"

"You're not helping! You're taking control! I didn't ask you to do all this! I only wanted your support!" Seto felt his throat constrict, frustrated tears beginning to well up in his sapphire irises.

Yami released his captured strand of hair and set his gaze firmly on Seto. The ferocity of the stare made Seto stumble back a few paces.

"Then, leave."

Seto blinked, some tears escaping only to be quickly eliminated by the flick of his hand. "What?"

"I said, leave."

Yami's words- more like command- didn't seem to register in Seto's mind.

"What?"

"Go!" Yami pointed at the door, his tone now enraged. "Go find your own damn way! You've refused my help, so leave!"

Seto was frozen. Was it by fear? Loyalty? Respect? Fear was one thing, but loyalty and respect? Yami didn't deserve it. At least not at that moment.

"Fine."

And, with that, Seto left.

-transition-

Seto looked up, preparing himself to meet that patronizing smirk. No doubt Yami would not miss the opportunity to tease Seto about his daydreaming. But, when Seto looked up-

Yami was gone.

Seto was suddenly aware that he was all alone in a dark room. It was the same room as before, and yet it looked so different. Somehow, enough time had passed that the sun had set. Had several hours gone by? Or only a few minutes? But that was unimportant at the moment. The real problem was:

Where did Yami go?

Seto sprinted out of the room.

He thought as he ran down the palace hall, a pang of guilt knotting in his stomach, I had one simple task. One simple task! Distract Yami. For an hour! How could I be so dense as to let that snake out of my sight for even a second? He could be anywhere by now! Not to mention with anyone… I have to find him! Seto added in his mind, For Lady Yugi!

Author's Note: Side romance? Haha, you wish! ;D

Again, sorry it's late. Blame school.

Have a super fantabulous rest of the weekend! And please review!