Chapter Eleven

"Thanks Malik." He paused at the soft sound of Yugi's voice. Yugi hadn't spoken the entire way back to his house aside from the directions that he gave. And that had worried Malik because Yugi had seemed like an energetic dog from the one time that he had met him. Malik sighed and turned around, sitting on the ground and staring at Yugi.

"You're welcome." He got a nod as a response, watching as Yugi moved slightly and winced. The little dog still looked like he was in a lot of pain from whatever had been done to him. The only clue was the neat line of stitches on his stomach, and that didn't tell Malik anything. He shook his head, glancing in the direction of his home before looking back at Yugi. "Should I-"

"Do you think he's alright?" Yugi's eyes widened as he spoke, the Shiba Inu looking down at the sidewalk under his paws. Malik tilted his head to the side, lowering himself slightly so he could be at eye level with Yugi. The little dog blinked at him before ducking his head again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Go ahead."

"Do you think that Atemu is alright? Do you think he's…" Yugi choked on the word, shaking his head before looking up at Malik. "Do you think that I'm wrong?"

"What?"

"I'm wrong because I-I might love Atemu." He looked away from Malik, the dog huffing and scrambling around to meet Yugi's gaze again. The Shiba Inu swallowed nervously. "But he's a guy and…and it's not right for us. Right?"

"Yugi, I don't think the normal rules apply here." Malik tipped his head. "We're not exactly normal ourselves. Just worry about if you are happy, that's the only thing that you can do." He ignored the tiny voice in his mind that was whispering that he should follow his own advice. "The rest of the world will just have to deal with it."

"Thanks Malik." Yugi's smile was back, Malik finding himself returning it. He wagged his tail for a moment before going to scratch at the door, waiting a moment before giving a loud bark, chuckling to himself as he heard someone shout from inside. Malik nodded to himself before turning back to look at Yugi.

"You'll be fine, Yugi and so will Atemu. He's got you to come back to after all." Malik was sure that, if Yugi was human, he would have blushed at that statement. Malik chuckled to himself before turning to look at the door, stepping back as Solomon opened it. He slunk back to the shadows as the elderly man gasped and knelt on the ground. Yugi ambled over to him, cuddling up to his owner. Malik caught a nod of thanks from the small dog before Solomon shut the door.

He sighed before turning back for his home, jogging easily down the sidewalk, tuning out the sound of his jingling collar. Mentally, he reminded himself to check up on Yugi more, already liking the little dog. Yugi was refreshing, someone that he didn't have to protect, someone that he could just talk to. Someone, who wasn't Marik, in the same situation that he was in. Malik flinched at the thought of Marik, not knowing what else to do

Marik was annoying, persistent and not entirely sane. But, he was good company, in his own strange way. Malik sighed and rolled his eyes. He knew he had gotten lonely around the house while Ishizu and Mahad were out at work, but he had never thought that it would be lonely enough to be calling an insane dog good company. Still, the talks were interesting to say the least and not a bit informative, they had never talked about themselves. And this was the dog that Ishizu wanted to invite in.

He huffed in annoyance, not understanding the logic of his owner. Of course, he would trust her, a throwback from the days that she was the only one that he could trust, but that didn't mean that he understood her logic. Why would he want to invite Marik to basically live with them when all they were doing was talking on the front porch? Malik suddenly stopped, his eyes widening as he realized something.

Ishizu and Mahad had spent hours talking when they first met, even before they got married. So had all the other couples that Ishizu knew, meaning that this was a normal thing. Malik flinched at the idea, shaking his head. He didn't want whatever he and Marik did to be normal because it didn't feel normal. It was strange and confusing. It left him both wishing that he had never agreed to talk to Marik and looking forward to their sessions.

He groaned and dropped his head, giving himself a harsh shake before beginning to sprint. But, he could still think and run. He just wanted to stop the thoughts and where they were pointing. He didn't want that. Or, that's what he kept telling himself. Malik snarled, turning a corner almost too fast, stumbling to an awkward stop to keep from running into a mailbox. Malik glared at the metal box before slinking away, grumbling under his breath.

He didn't want to be thinking about this right now, he just wanted to get home and rest. He didn't want to have to think about where his loyalties lay or how he thought about Marik, even though one worry had been pushed away. He no longer had to care if he was the only one who looked at other males like that, there was Yugi. Perhaps they could talk about it and figure out what was going on; or not. Yugi seemed perfectly content to love Atemu.

Malik stopped long enough to look back towards Yugi's house before sighing. If he promised Yugi that he didn't think that the dog was wrong because he loved Atemu, he couldn't consider himself wrong for liking Marik. And that got rid of part of his problem. Malik huffed and glared at the sidewalk. He didn't want to admit that, more comfortable with not knowing how to deal with Marik than thinking that he liked the other dog.

Still, they were always together. And Marik probably would…

He whimpered, the sound slipping out before he could stop it. Marik was going back to where he had come from, leaving him for good. Now he couldn't pretend to be annoyed with the dog or any of the other tricks he had used, more to keep himself from thinking than anything else. Malik heaved a sigh, glancing up to check the direction that he was heading in before adjusting his way slightly before ducking his head again.


"Mana?" The teenager glanced up as her father called for her, sighing as she stripped off her coat and hung it up. Mana stared at the coat before wiping her eyes, trying to get all the traces of tears from her face. Akhnamkanon would ask about it if he saw it, and Mana didn't want to have to explain to her father why she had been crying. She just didn't want to speak about it right now, wrapping her arms around herself.

He had promised her that he wouldn't leave. He had promised her that. And then Atemu had just left. And it hurt.

Mana sighed and trudged towards the stairs, freezing at the base of the stairwell as she heard her father walk out of the kitchen, staring at Akhnamkanon as he looked at her. In that moment, she knew that she wouldn't get to escape, her hand dropping from the banister. Mana stared at the floor, turning around to face her father despite the fact that he had not called her yet. "Mana?"

"I was out…looking for Atemu, with Solomon. We couldn't find him." Mana shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "I'm tired, Dad. I just want to go to bed."

"Mana, Yakou came by." She paused as she went to climb the stairs again, frowning as she tried to remember the man. At a loss, Mana turned around to look at her father, raising an eyebrow when he didn't answer. Akhnamkanon looked at her before cursing and leaning against the nearest wall, looking completely defeated. "He tricked us, Mana."

"What?"

"Those papers, somewhere on there, was a loophole. He came by the house earlier saying that he had Atemu and that it was his right to take Atemu back whenever he wanted."

"No! He's ours!" Mana took a step forward, gasping a clamping a hand over her mouth and shaking her head. She hadn't meant for it to come out like that, like Atemu was just a thing. But it wasn't fair. Mana sighed, dropping her hand from her mouth. "He's a part of this family! He belongs here! He's ours."

She was pulled into a hug, Akhnamkanon sighing and holding her close. "I know, sweatheart, I know."

"It's not fair. He was happy here. I was…I was happy." Mana broke down into sobs, clinging to her father. Akhnamkanon continued to hold her, rocking slightly as Mana cried against him. She kept repeating herself, finding that she couldn't stop herself. There was some drive to explain why she felt like this, that she had to explain herself to her father because Atemu wasn't around.

Atemu had listened to her when she had finally broken down one day, he had been there for her when the world had become too much. Atemu had been the one to hold her when she cried and just listen, the only one that had ever just listened and not tried to convince her otherwise. After years of listening to people interrupt her and tell her that it wasn't her fault that her mother had left, it had been good to have one person just accept her side of the story. Honestly, Mana had felt better after that, better than she had in years.

Of course that she didn't believe that, but there would always be this tiny doubt in her mind, the one doubt that would keep plaguing her for the rest of her life. It was stupid and annoying, but Mana had lived with it all her life. It was something that she was used to, although that she didn't have to be.

"It's not your fault, Mana." She looked up at her father as he spoke, realizing that she had been voicing her thoughts. Akhnamkanon smiled before wiping the tears from her cheeks and leading her over to the couch. Mana immediately curled up against him as he sat down. "None of it was ever your fault."

"I know but…" Mana brushed her hair out of her eyes, trying to wipe away more tears. "She still wouldn't have left if-"

"Stop it." Her father's stern voice startled her, Mana jumping and looking back up at him. Akhnamkanon sighed and pulled her into a hug, remaining silent for a long while. Mana swallowed and stared at the wall, her eyes automatically moving to the pictures that hung there. There were only two faces smiling back at her, her father's and her own. Nothing of her mother was left in the house, not after the woman had left. She swallowed and looked down at the ground, not wanting that reminder.

After a long while, Akhnamkanon spoke again. "It was not your fault that your mother left. If anything, it was mine. She didn't want to move here, didn't want to give up her old life and I made her."

"That's no reason to leave."

"It was enough for her."

Mana sighed, sniffling as she calmed down. She found herself staring at the pictures again, wondering why they had never bothered to bring out the camera when Atemu had been around. He had been a part of their family and they had just let him pass by without anything to remember him by. Mana guessed that they had thought that they would have had more time with him.

"Did Yakou take Atemu away?" Mana looked back at her father. "Is that why he was missing earlier today?"

Akhnamkanon frowned. "He said he already had Atemu."

"But it isn't fair!" She pouted for a moment before looking up at him, a crazy plan forming. "We could steal him back."

"Mana."

"It's perfect! He'll never know!" She smiled. "We'll just sneak in, grab him and go."

"Mana." She turned to look back at her father, slumping as Akhnamkanon shook his head. "We can't. He probably has legal teams and we can't afford to get into that kind of fight."

She stared at her father for a moment before slumping. "So what do we do?"

"I still have those papers." Akhnamkanon ran a hand through his hair, tipping his head back to look at the ceiling. "While I'm sure that they were completely legal, I'll look over them. Maybe there is something that I missed that we can use to get Atemu back."

Mana smiled, Akhnamkanon glancing back at her and making a shooing motion. "Off to bed with you, young lady. You have school tomorrow."

She laughed and bounded up the stairs, pausing as she spotted the door to Atemu's room slightly open. The good mood that had started to form disappeared, Mana biting her lip before quickly moving into her room. It seemed that all she could do now was wait. Mana groaned and flopped backward onto her bed, peeling off her socks before rolling herself into her blanket, not bothering to change out of her clothes. She glanced back towards her door, staring down the hall to where Atemu's room would be.

"Stay safe, Atemu."


Gekkou stared at the smoldering remains of his lab, glancing towards the main space of the park before looking back at the rubble. He knew that all the dogs had gotten out, he had seen them as they had rushed away. So that was one thing off his conscious.

He ran a hand through his hair, not caring that the move streaked ash through his hair. He didn't understand how this could have happened. Everything that could have started a fire had always been checked over by him personally, there were some things that he didn't trust his volunteer security with, and there had been nothing wrong with them. Besides, the very act of checking over things had been just before the fire started. The lab had gone up in flames while he was visiting the garage/storage room, which meant that it had been set purposefully.

Gekkou's hand dropped to his side as he stared at what had once been his pride and joy. There was only one person who would want to do this to him, Yakou. He cursed and began to pace up the side of the rubble. Why did his brother hate him so much? Didn't he see that what he was doing was important to the world, important to him? They had once been close, the best of friends. What had happened to that?

He let out another string of curses before slumping to the ground with a long sigh. He could always rebuild and begin his calculations again, it was just a matter of working hard. But what was the point if Yakou would just do this to him again? This was the second time he had been expelled from his lab, and it probably wouldn't be the last, not unless he figured out a better place to hide. And he, more that anyone knew that it was nearly impossible to hide from Yakou.

Besides, Yakou had the dogs on his side.

That thought encouraged another curse from Gekkou. Those dogs would be able to find him, they could track him through scent and the talk of the people, but he would never be able to find them. He knew what they looked like as canines, but never as humans, they were too careful for that. He had thought that taking in some volunteers as his security staff would help with that, but they had turned out to be grossly incompetent.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, pondering what to do. He stopped as his fingers brushed over something metal, blinking in confusion before he pulled out two collars, staring at them as the metal glinted in the moonlight. Gekkou absently ran his fingers over the leather bands before examining the tags. Aside from the bright orange tag, designating that the two dogs were part of the experimental group, there were the usual tags denoting that they had gotten their shots.

Gekkou frowned at that. Valon had been carrying around these collars soon after the two volunteers had shown up. While Gekkou was willing to give Valon the benefit of the doubt, the recent arson of his lab left him feeling suspicious. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to entertain another theory. And, it might lead to him getting the small Shiba Inu back. He wanted to keep that dog under surveillance until the puppies were ready to be born, just for the safety of the parent.

But that was all in the future. For now, he was entertaining theories.

First of all, the smallest collar had to have come from the Shiba Inu which meant, if the theory was correct, that he could just follow the address on the collar to the dog. The same idea applied to the second collar, which meant that he could find the father of the puppies in the same manner. Gekkou frowned as he came to his second conclusion, that neither of the dogs had escaped from Yakou. They might have before, but certainly not when Raphael and Valon had brought them in. The collars suggested that they had lived with families for a while and that did not explain why they had come to him to volunteer. Most of the dogs that escaped Yakou and were brought to him were looking for new homes in exchange for their support.

All of this led to one thing, that he had been lied to. Either someone had heard that he was looking for dogs to volunteer for his experiments and had tricked Raphael and Valon into believing that these two dogs had escaped or he had been tricked by his security staff. The latter one was something that he didn't want to contemplate, but he knew that there was no one who would steal dogs just to offer them to him, he didn't pay anyone money for their services and the authorities knew all about him. It was the money from his clients who wanted his research that kept him afloat and barely hidden. With his lab burnt down, it was likely that his support from that end would fail quickly.

Gekkou stood up, tucking the collars in his pocket and walking away from his lab. He had stayed here too long already, the police were likely to come after him. He glanced over his shoulder with a long sigh before stepping into the trees, freezing when he realized something. He hadn't seen his security staff since Valon had left the surgery room and that was highly suspicious. His hand went back into his pocket to play with the collars in there before he came to a decision.

Even if it was just a theory, it wouldn't hurt to look in on it, not with circumstances being what they were. Gekkou scratched his chin and pulled out one of the collars, staring at the one that he assumed had gone with the Pharaoh Hound. He would start there. Maybe the owners would have something to tell him about their dog and what had happened to him. He turned away, walking deeper into the woods as he played with the collar in one hand.

Gekkou slowed down as he heard the sound of something moving through the undergrowth, his hand tightening around the collar as he stared into the dark trees. He relaxed a moment later as an Australian Shepherd bounded into sight, the white fur on its front the only thing visible in the dark. "Valon?"

"Yes." The dog panted for a moment before sitting down, absently scratching at his ear.

"Where are the others?" The movement stopped, Gekkou narrowing his eyes as he watched Valon slowly place his hind foot on the ground. It was looking like the idea he had entertained as theory only was very likely to be true. He glared at the dog before kneeling in front of him, Valon pressing himself to the ground with a whimper. "Where are they?"

"Ran off!" Valon yelped the words out, trying to scramble backwards. "They've done their part and run off."

"Done their part?"

Valon looked uncomfortable for a moment before looking up at Gekkou. "I could have gone too, but I stayed behind. But…if I show you this, then I can't go back." He growled and stood up. "You have to promise me that I'll be safe."

"Sure."

"And I won't do it for free."

"Valon…"

"I won't. I want what they've got, 'cause this is nothing like it sounded." Gekkou stared at the dog, wondering if they were even talking about the same thing. Valon returned his stare before giving an annoyed sigh. "I want a place to live, even if it's in some back alleyway, doing this job isn't worth my time."

"I'll do you one better, I'll take you in."

"What?" Valon jerked his head up to look at the scientist, looking Gekkou up and down for a moment. "You'll do what?"

"You'll be my dog and I'll keep you safe." Gekkou paused for a moment, watching as Valon seemed to consider the deal. He wanted to shout at the dog, but kept his temper in check. "You know I don't experiment on sentient beings without their permission and only when it is safe."

"Yeah?" Valon scratched at his ear again, seeming to consider the idea for a moment before nodding. "I don't see the harm in it. Come on." The dog stood up, glancing over his shoulder before jerking his head. "Follow me."

Gekkou stood up and followed Valon through the forest, tucking the two collars further into his pocket and listening to the dog as he continued to speak in a low voice. "They haven't gotten to this place yet, have too much on their hands. Besides, Dartz is in charge of getting us back, and they'll be too busy fighting among themselves to notice that I'm gone. Raphael is probably going to get a talking to for shooting Atemu, and that will keep them away from this place for a while."

"What do you mean shooting Atemu?" He scrambled to pull the collar out of his pocket, checking the name on the tag before resting a hand on Valon's back to keep the dog from moving, showing him the collar. "This Atemu?"

Valon glanced at the collar, squinting at the tag momentarily before shaking his head. "I'll tell you when we get there."

Gekkou shoved the collar back into his pocket and scrambled to catch up with the dog, tensing the further they went into the small forest. He knew that they couldn't go far without leaving the trees, but he wondering just what Valon was leading him into, or if the dog was leading him into a trap. He cursed his trust of the dog for a moment, the notion to run dying as Valon came to a stop, the dog pawing at a place in the ground before looking back up at Gekkou. "It's here."

Deciding that his questions could wait for a while, Gekkou walked over to the patch of ground that Valon had indicated, finding a rope there and tugging at it. His eyes widened as a piece of ground lifted, tipping his head to the side before slipping into the space, clambering down the ladder and reaching for the lights. Gekkou closed his eyes as the lights flickered on, opening them a moment later and staring at the long hall. He glanced up at Valon before beginning to walk down the hall, aware of how much trust he was putting in the dog.

He heard scrambling from behind him and a muffled curse before the sound of claws against tile echoed in the small hallway, Gekkou reaching out to open the door at the end of the hallway. He peered in cautiously at first before opening the door completely and walking into what looked like a control booth, his mouth dropping open as he recognized what he was seeing.

Beyond the control room, accessible by a small door, was an empty room with a post in the middle, a length of chain attached to it. He scowled and scanned the controls, recognizing them immediately, he had manned them enough to know. But this place was impossible, it wasn't supposed to exist anymore. There had been orders that all of these places were to be found and demolished. Apparently, it had just been rebuilt again, and so close to his lab. He cursed and pushed away from the bank of controls, shaking his head.

Now that he had seen the radiation chamber, it was so obvious. There had been dogs, all of them able to change shape, and he had just assumed that they had escaped. Apparently, it had been too much of a coincidence. He heaved a sigh and flopped down in the chair that was there, noting the tracks of mud on the floor and the dog hair that was scattered around. He frowned and slipped out of the chair, staring at the hair on the ground.

"I told Raphael not to go back in but, apparently, Atemu had annoyed him for too long." Gekkou turned his head slightly to look at the dog that was sitting just inside the room. "To tell the truth, all of them were annoying. But Raphael wanted to get Atemu badly; said it was for betraying his kind by being with that other dog. Still, it was no reason for doing that, we had our orders."

"What orders?"

Valon shifted nervously, glancing back out into the hallway. "We were told to keep you safe and to keep them busy while they were here. Then, we were told to head out as soon as possible. Raphael didn't have to shoot Atemu to get out of there, it was petty revenge; a human thing."

"You are part human."

Valon swallowed nervously. "Well…we were told that it was bad to act like humans, that it would corrupt us or something." Valon gave himself a shake. "I guess I don't have to listen to that nonsense anymore since I'm defecting."

"What?" Gekkou absently reached under the console for something that he had spotted, his hands closing over a tuft of hair and pulling it out as Valon spoke. "I thought you already did."

"Well…not as such." The scientist glanced back at the Australian Shepherd, Valon looking sheepishly at the floor before he glanced back at the fur in his hand. He recognized the color, glaring at it before throwing it to the side. Raphael had been here, and he could see evidence that Alastair and Dartz was here, which meant that Valon had been in here too at one point.

Gekkou stood up and brushed the dirt off the knees of his pants, pulling out the collar to study the address on it. He squinted at the small writing before holding out the collar to Valon. "Can you help me track him down?"

"Well, I'm no hunting dog, but I could try." Valon sniffed at the collar. "I could probably get you to the right neighborhood, but that's all I could promise."

"That will be enough." Gekkou got to his feet, allowing Valon to go first and tear off down the corridor, the dog shifting into a human form to climb up the ladder before shifting back. The scientist followed him, carefully shutting the trapdoor before looking at the space on the ground. "We'll need this for evidence."

"There's no guarantee that it can be guarded." Valon tipped his head to the side.

"I'll get pictures, just in case my brother decides to move." The Australian Shepherd gave a nod before trotting off in one direction, Gekkou shoving the collar back into his pocket and walking quickly to catch up. Hopefully, they could get to the bottom of this soon. The sooner this was done, the sooner he could focus on his experiments, especially the one that was germinating inside that Shiba Inu.


Akhnamkanon looked up from the stack of papers at the sound of a knock on the font door. He hesitated for a moment before standing up, pushing the papers to one side and walking down the hall. It was a welcome break from searching over the papers that he had been given when they had first adopted Atemu to find a way to bring him back without expensive legal action. So far, he had no luck, just heart breaking disappointments. He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes before opening the door, his mouth dropping open as he stared at the man at the door.

At first glance, he thought this man to be Yakou Tenma, the one who had taken Atemu away from them, but the longer he stared at the person, the more he was sure that this was not Yakou. For one, this one seemed saner. Akhnamkanon shook his head. "Yes?"

"I have come to return something to you." There was a soft jingle as the man produced a familiar collar, Atemu's collar. Akhnamkanon's eyes went wide as he stared at it, automatically reaching out to take it. The man dropped the collar into his hands, nervously tucking his own back into his pockets. "And to apologize for what my brother has done. If there is any way to help…"

"I want Atemu back."

The man slumped at that, rubbing the back of his neck. He glanced to the side before giving a long sigh. "I'm looking into it, but I can't promise results. I'm sorry."

Akhnamkanon forced himself to shrug, put it off as something that wasn't of importance. "At least that is something."

"I have to make up for my presence in this city first and what it has done accidentally, but I will not forget about you." The man nodded, tapping his chin and walking away. He abruptly turned back, the white coat that he wore billowing around him. "If there is any news, I will tell you. Come Valon."

Akhnamkanon blinked as a red and white dog bounded out of the shadows and fell into step beside the man, the two of them seeming to talk for a moment before they turned the corner. Akhnamkanon leaned out of the door to watch them before shaking his head and closing the door. While it wasn't a definite source of help, it was someone who cared, which was better than just him and Mana stumbling along and trying to figure this out on their own.


Solomon forced himself not to pace the floor of the vet's office, suddenly full of nervous energy. He had brought Yugi in about two hours ago, just as the office was opening up. But he had spent the night watching his dog, staring at the row of stitches on Yugi's stomach. They were new, he knew that much, and the skin around them was still tender to the touch. There had been a couple of times during the night that Yugi had twitched in his sleep, Solomon reaching down to touch him only to have Yugi's skin hot to the touch. He had done the best he could with cold towels, but he was forced to just wait until the vet's office had opened. That hadn't stopped him from setting up an appointment early in the morning, Solomon hating himself now for the delay.

Any time during the night he could have lost Yugi completely. He had spent a few hours looking over websites, trying to find out what had happened to his dog, and he had scared himself with that. There were so many diseases that could kill Yugi in a matter of hours, and he would never know before it was far too late. Solomon felt his hand twitch on his lap at the thought. The nearest emergency veterinary center was four hours away, too far away when he had called his usual vet at seven in the morning. They had even let him in an hour early to figure out what was wrong with his dog.

"Solomon Mutou?" He looked up as his name was called, standing up and venturing towards the vet tech that had called him, noticing the confused look on the woman's face. He was motioned into the room, glancing over at Yugi. The Shiba Inu looked up sleepily, wagging his tail before resting his head on his paws and dozing off again, Solomon moving over to pet Yugi. The vet tech turned around to look at them, giving Solomon a calming smile. "We just used a mild sedative on him, just to be sure that he wouldn't do anything. We know it's Yugi, but it's standard procedure."

He nodded, glancing at his dog before looking at the vet tech, about to speak when the vet himself walked in, looking equally as confused and troubled. He glanced up at Solomon and gave a wave, staring at the papers in his hand and shaking his head, shifting through them. The vet seemed to take his time, shifting through the papers before finally tucking the clipboard under his arm and looking at Solomon, shifting nervously. "I don't know how to say this…"

Solomon's eyes widened and he leaned on the table for support. He knew how news that started out like this turned out. It would always end in death and he wasn't ready to lose Yugi. The little dog was all he had, the only one who brightened up his life. And he was so young… "H-how long?"

"Hm?" The vet looked up from his papers again, staring at Solomon before shaking his head and placing the clipboard on the nearest flat surface. "Oh no, nothing that bad…or it might be, depends on how you want to take it."

He stared at the vet as the man leaned against the counter and stared up at the ceiling, obviously trying to piece something together. "We've tested and retested and done everything imaginable, but I'm afraid we're right about this. There's no other option to explain what's going on." The vet ran a hand over his face before looking at Solomon. "Yugi is pregnant."

"What?" Solomon glanced back at his dozing dog before looking back at the vet. "But…but Yugi is a boy. I have his papers…This isn't possible!"

"It…it is." The vet mouthed something before shaking his head, finally staring at the papers. "To put it simply, someone put a uterus in him, a fully functional one. It's doing its job and the puppies are developing normally from what we can tell in these early stages. If it wasn't for the fact that Yugi is a male, it would be normal."

That explained the row of stitches on Yugi's stomach, but Solomon was unable to think beyond that, his thoughts rushing around in the same circle. Someone had stolen his dog and experimented on him again, and it was just as bad as the last time. He wanted to reach out and hold Yugi close, in case Yugi would disappear from him again, crossing his arms to hold back that urge. "So…what do I do now?"

The vet sighed again, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before speaking slowly. "I don't want to have to remove the uterus, not without knowing how it would affect him. It was risky enough putting it in there in the first place. If you want, we could try to remove it-"

"But that would kill the puppies."

"Yes." The word was spoken after a pause, the vet looking back at him. "And the second option is to just let him come to term. From what we could see of it, there would be no other way for the puppies to actually be born without removing them via the stomach…like a C-section. And for that, he'll have to be in here." The vet shrugged. "It's up to you, Solomon."

He bit his lip and turned to look at Yugi, gently rubbing behind one of the Shiba Inu's ears. Deep down, he knew he couldn't live with the knowledge that he had killed the puppies and the surgery to remove the uterus was risky enough…He didn't want to lose Yugi, that was the biggest factor in his decision. And, the safest way was to let Yugi carry the puppies to term. He would figure out what to do with the puppies after they were born, although he had the sneaking suspicion that he would end up keeping most or all of them.

Solomon sighed and nodded. "Second option."

The vet sighed, seeming to relax with his choice. "Alright, Solomon, we'll keep in touch. Keep a close watch on Yugi and call if you need anything."

"Thank you." Solomon gathered up Yugi, watching as the little dog shifted in the blankets. He gave a nod to the vet and vet tech before walking out of the room and back towards his shop. It was only a few blocks away, a nice walk if he didn't have to worry about Yugi the entire time. And the little dog was the only thing in his thoughts.

"What's wrong with me?" He started slightly at the sleepy question from the dog in his arms, watching as Yugi blinked up at him. Solomon smiled and stroked Yugi.

"Somehow, you're pregnant."

"Hm?"

"You're going to have puppies."

Yugi's eyes widened at that and he tried to growl, managing only to yawn. "Gekkou. He got us somehow."

"Us?"

"Atemu and me." Yugi yawned again. "Did something to us."

Solomon frowned at that, shifting Yugi in his arms. This madman had to be stopped before more dogs were harmed, and he would keep Yugi inside in case Gekkou came after him. Atemu and the others had probably freed Yugi and brought him back, but that wouldn't stop Gekkou from trying again.

"Atemu's the father."

"Hm?"

Yugi looked up at him with a happy smile. "I know Atemu is the father. Gekkou did something to him before me and we were kept together. It makes sense." The Shiba Inu yawned again, falling asleep this time, lulled by the walk back to his home, Solomon smiling down at his dog.

The phone was ringing when he walked into the shop, Solomon frowning and setting Yugi down on the ground, the Shiba Inu just finding a more comfortable place in the blankets before drifting off to sleep again, Solomon keeping a careful eye on his dog. "Hello, Kame Game Shop."

"Solomon!"

"Mana?"

"I've been trying to get you all morning." Mana gave a breathless laugh. "Where were you?"

"At the vet's office."

"Is something wrong with Yugi?"

Solomon looked back at the sleeping dog, tilting his head to the side. "That's a story."

"I see." He heard Mana's voice tremble as she spoke, Solomon looking away from Yugi.

"What's wrong?"

"What's... Everything." He heard her sigh from the other end of the line. "Yakou took Atemu away from us. He came by and said that he wasn't ours anymore and took him away. The bastard even had him before he told us."

Solomon blinked at that, glancing back at Yugi. "But Yugi said that he and Atemu were together. Gekkou had them."

"Gekkou stopped by last night and said that he would help find Atemu...Solomon, who do we believe?"

He didn't answer, staring at the blank wall of his kitchen.


"Atemu?" He groaned at the load voice, trying to turn his head to find a quieter place, but the motion made his chest hurt. He whimpered, baring his teeth for a moment before relaxing. Something hurt, a lot, and his head was too fuzzy for him to remember what it was. He shifted slightly, finding a comfortable spot that didn't stretch the wound and settled down, panting a bit with the move. Whatever he did, it was still painful.

And then, there was that voice again. "Atemu?"

"Go away."

"Oh, he's fine." Atemu smiled at the sound of Joey's voice, frowning a moment later. The last thing that he remembered was cuddling with Yugi, although it was hazy whether they were in the warehouse or in the kennel. If he was still at the former, then he should be angry at Joey for interrupting him; but something told him that he wasn't there. Atemu grunted and tried to push himself up from his position on the ground, feeling a paw land on his back.

"Atemu- pack leader should stay down, yes? Was slow. Got hit." Atemu blinked open his eyes, staring at the two who were looking down at him before looking out to where Seto was standing, the husky pretending to be uninterested.

"I can move, Marik."

"Marik thinks Atemu-pack leader should stay down. Rest. Needs rest." Atemu growled at the Vizla before sitting up, but making no move other than that. He was willing to compromise on this. He saw Marik hesitate before nodding, reluctantly accepting the choice that Atemu had made. The Pharaoh Hound sighed and looked over at Seto again.

"Where am I?"

"Back at Yakou's base." It was Joey that answered, Seto just nodding and continuing to stare off into the distance. Atemu frowned at the motion, but turned his attention back to Joey as the golden retriever spoke. "We took you here as fast as possible. They rushed ya through surgery to get that bullet out and to stop the bleeding. They say that you'll be fine, but you'll have to stay here with the other injured dogs."

"Fine. Where's Yugi?"

"Malik-pretty got him back home." Marik nodded, looking pleased with himself.

"Bakura?"

"Deserter." Seto growled out the word, glancing back at Atemu. "He decided to side with Ryou after all, the scum. The two of them are still in Domino. Probably helping Gekkou by now to save themselves."

"Don't mind him, Atemu, he's just mad that we haven't been sent out to drag them back for punishment." Joey chuckled, although the sound seemed hollow. "Besides, Yakou is having a bit of trouble with the notes that you brought, just the calculations and stuff like that. But it's taking longer than Seto wants."

"How long?"

"You know Seto. He wants something instantly. And you've been in and out for about three or four days." Joey rolled his eyes before glancing at Seto again, ducking when the husky shot a glare at him. Joey mumbled some apology about needing to go and stood up with the husky, the two of them leaving the room.

Atemu watched them go, shaking his head before he finally gave into the trembling of his legs and slid back to the floor, Marik helping him down. The Vizla smiled at him before ducking his head and whispering, glancing up at Seto every once and a while. "Listen, Bakura and Ryou are there in case we need to get back to Domino and need a place to stay. I don't trust this place."

"Marik!" The Vizla flinched at the call from Seto, glancing up at the husky before looking down at Atemu.

"We need you here to figure out what is going on. Besides, Atemu-pack leader needs to be strong." Marik winked at him before racing after Seto and Joey, Atemu watching him go before turning back to look at the others in the room, slowly drifting to sleep.


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