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*Thud*
I spun and pointed my gun at the new arrival, barley managing to stop before I shot Joey. He bolted over to us and crouched down behind the cage Duke had overturned for protection.
"What the heck are you three doing here? And with my guns?" He realized what we were holding and his eyes went wide.
"I'm sorry, Joey," Tea said, peeking around the corner, trying to locate the werewolf guard we had accidently alerted. The apparently armed werewolf guard. "It was my idea."
"Regardless," Duke spoke up, "We need to get everyone out of here." He grabbed Tea around the waist and looked at me. "Yami, get on Joey's back." I obeyed and grasped the blonde fur. From my new vantage point, I was able to look down and see Tristan's head. "I'll be right back for you, alright?" Duke turned to him. He nodded.
"You'll be exposed as soon as you try to make it out. I'll cover you." Tristan saluted and, before we could stop him, bolted in the direction of the guard.
"Tristan!" Duke shouted, and then growled. "Let's go. We need to hurry." He leapt into the air and soared out the skylight.
I had just enough time to brace myself before Joey followed, much less gracefully. I was lying flat on his back, arms clutching him as tight as possible, fisting clumps of fur. Wind and gravity tried to pull me off and I squeezed my eyes shut. All I was aware of was the loud pounding in my ears, and my heart shaking my chest with each beat.
"Yami," I pressed closer to him, holding tighter. "Yami, get off. I can't breathe." I opened one eye. We were outside. The early morning sun lit the rooftop we were on. I opened the other eye and sat up. Yes, this was defiantly outside. I heaved a sigh of relief and slid off of Joey's back.
"Tha-thank you." I managed. He nodded, and then glanced behind me pointedly. I turned and gasped. Yugi was seated against an air vent, huddled under Duke's coat. "Yugi." I hurried over and bent down in front of him. He avoided my eyes. I gently turned his head so he was facing me, wincing in sympathy when I saw his cheek. "Are you alright?" His ears twitched.
"I-I'm fine." He shook. I was about to respond when a gunshot rang out from inside, then another, followed by a scream.
"No!" I spun just in time to see Duke and Joey jump once again to the ground below. I quickly wrapped my arm around Yugi's back, my other arm under his knees, avoiding his tail, and lifted him. He wrapped his arms around my chest and huddled closer, still under the jacket. I ran over to Tea. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," she kept her gaze down, trying to see through the inky blackness below. Sounds of a fight broke out. "I think somethings happened to Tristan."
We could hear snarls, growls, shouts, swears, even teeth gnashing together, but we couldn't see anything. Suddenly, there was a loud crash, followed by Joey's enraged shout of, "Get back here, ya coward!" He was panting hard, and snarling. At that moment, he actually sounded deadly.
"What's going on down there?" Tea called. No response. "Guys? Answer me!"
Suddenly, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Someone was staring at me. I whirled around. Nobody was there. Tea continued to call down, but I was no longer paying attention. Something had been watching me. I was certain of that. Yugi glanced at me curiously as I eyed the surrounding rooftops suspiciously.
"Yami? What's-"
"Oh, my God!" Tea exclaimed.
I spun around; expecting an attack, but what I saw nearly stopped my heart. Duke was landing by Tea, and in his arms was a very pale, very bloody, Tristan.
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Joey paced the living room like a caged animal. With little option but to find a place to hide, and with Tristan's apartment wreaked and several miles away, we had decided to go to the next best place. My place. Duke, Tristan, and Tea were currently upstairs in my bedroom. Joey, Yugi and I were downstairs.
"Joey, sit down. We're all worried, but wearing a hole in the carpet won't help anyone." Joey gave no sign that he'd heard me. He just kept pacing, occasionally glancing upstairs. "Joey," I grabbed his hand as he walked by. The next thing I knew, I couldn't breathe. In the course of the instant it had taken to gain Joey's attention, he'd shifted partway, lifting me off the couch by my throat. I clawed at his paws, but they didn't budge. He was snarling, barely an inch from my face, eyes that of a killer. My heart was trying to pound out of my chest and the edges of my vision blurred.
Suddenly, Yugi was on Joey's back, wrapping his arms around his neck and sinking his teeth into one of his furry blonde ears. I saw Joey wince in pain, and then he seemed to realize what he was doing. His eyes widened and he dropped me, shakily taking a step back.
I lay on the carpet, choking and gasping for air, dimly aware of a small hand rubbing circles on my back. After a minute, I was able to breathe normally again, and looked up. Yugi had positioned himself next to me, directly between me and Joey. Joey. He looked horrified as he stared at his shaking hands.
"Y-Yami," he stuttered.
"This is why you need to control you emotions." Duke stood at the bottom of the stairwell, blood still visible on his shirt. I rose and sat back on the couch, Yugi following. "Your wolf instincts will take control of you if you let them." As Duke spoke, I felt Yugi lay his head on my shoulder. He was still getting over our being separated for so long. And to tell the truth, I was feeling pretty tired as well.
Silence filled the living room, and nobody voiced what we all wanted to know. Finally, Joey spoke up. "How is he?"
Duke looked away. "Not good. That's why I came down to talk to you. There's only one way we could think of to save him, but I need to know if he'd be alright with it."
Joey stared, unbelieving. "Yeah." He managed, "Yeah. Do it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. We've talked it over before. I'm sure. Just do it."
Duke closed his eyes and nodded. Silently, he returned upstairs.
"Joey? What was he talking about?" I asked. Joey just shook his head. Since he didn't seem to want to talk, I turned my attention back to Yugi. He leaned against my shoulder, eyelids apparently heavy. Gently, I moved my arm behind his back and laid him down so that his head was on my leg. He protested briefly, but a soft, "Go to sleep, Yugi." Quieted him down. He dropped off almost instantly.
"Are you both alright?" Joey asked after a minute.
I looked down at Yugi. No wounds that I could see. "We're fine." I told him. His expression was a mix of relief and guilt. We heard the bedroom door open and close, and then footsteps on the stairs. Tea appeared in the doorway.
"Duke says to not go up there no matter what." She wearily reported.
Joey nodded, seemingly deep in thought, then he looked at me. "Yami. Do you know where the butcher shop is?"
"Yeah, right by the supermarket. Why?"
Tea and Joey glanced at each other. "You need to go buy some raw meat."
"Raw meat? What for?"
"Just trust me. We'll need it." Joey didn't look happy at all. That's when it hit me.
"Duke's turning him, isn't he?" I asked. He didn't speak. He just nodded.
"I would send Tea, but she's needed here in case something happens."
"Yeah. And Joey's still not fully, well, in control of his emotions yet."
"Alright. But, what about Yugi?" I looked down, gently rubbing his ear.
"He'll be fine. Your presence is all over this place. And you'll be gone ten minutes, tops. Besides, I'll look after him for you." Joey volunteered.
I hesitated briefly, and then nodded. I had no idea what was going to happen once Tristan was turned, but I'd heard that vampires needed blood. I didn't want to risk him going after anyone, so I stood up, carefully placing a pillow under Yugi's head, and checked my pocket for my wallet. "How much should I get?"
Joey dug in his pocket and handed me a twenty dollar bill. "As much as this will buy. That should be enough."
"Okay." I glanced back at Yugi. The bruise on his cheek had grown darker.
"I'll take care of him, Yami. Just go."
I nodded. "I'll be right back." I said softly. Yugi's ear twitched faintly.
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Joey could tell when Yami had gotten too far away for Yugi to sense him. He could tell because Yugi started to wake up. "Mm. Yami?" He asked, his voice still thick with sleep. Joey watched as he blinked blearily and looked around.
"He'll be back in just a minute, Yug'. Go back to sleep." He tried, but to no avail. Yugi shot up, eyes wide.
"B-back? From where? Where'd he go?"
"He just had to go into town for a minute. Tristan's getting turned, and a new vampire's going to need blood. He'll be back before you know it."
Yugi looked out the window, then settled back down on the couch, but refused to close his eyes. Tea excused herself to the kitchen, leaving the two alone in silence.
"Hey, Joey?" Yugi whispered. Joey glanced at him.
"Yeah?" he responded, keeping his voice level with the neko's.
"Back . . . in Boss's warehouse," he trailed off, refusing to look up, "I'm really sorry. I wasn't afraid of you. Well, I mean, I was, but not of you, exactly." He sighed and his eyes misted. "I thought you were Atem for a moment. I thought I was back then."
Joey blinked in surprise. He remembered what Duke had told him, about Atem being Yugi's best friend, then killing him the night he'd first turned. Yugi had thought he was going to die. Again. "Yugi," he began, and then stopped. What does someone say to that? Instead, he spotted Yami's jacket on the table and picked it up. Gently, he draped it over Yugi's shoulders, then sat on the couch and pulled him into his lap.
Yugi didn't move, just sat in confusion, curled up in Joey's lap, leaning against his chest. "You're here now, Yug'. Boss isn't going to lock you up, and neither will Yami. And I'll make sure that Atem never comes near you again."
Silence. For a moment, Joey was afraid he'd done something wrong. After all, Yugi was skittish around werewolves. It probably wasn't too comfortable to be sitting in one's lap.
Just as he was about to move, to place Yugi back on the couch and leave, he felt the small body relax. "Thank you, Joey. For everything. And I'm sorry you got turned into a werewolf. And that you were kidnapped."
"Don't apologize, Yug'. It isn't your fault. Not to mention, you're my friend. I'm not about to let any of those freaks get a hold of you."
"Thank you, Joey."
"Anytime, pal."
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I was on my way back home, a plastic bag hanging from my wrist, when it happened. I was just passing an alley, admittedly not paying as much attention to my surroundings as I should have been, or else I would have heard the sounds of a fight. A sudden crash made me turn my head.
A rather large man had pinned someone to the ground, and was now holding them there. I couldn't see what the person looked like, though, as there was a dumpster in my way, but I could tell that they were much smaller then their opponent.
"I told you to give me your wallet, runt. Now you got one last chance to hand it over before I really get rough."
He hadn't seen me yet, so I stepped back behind the wall and pulled out my cell to call the police. I had dialed the first two digits when the building I was hiding behind shook and a loud thud echoed through the empty street. I looked around the corner, and froze, shocked. Ryou stood in the middle of the alley, fist still raised, facing a hole in the wall where the man used to be. I gasped and he whirled around, paling when he saw me.
"Ryou?"
"Yami . . . I don't suppose there's anyway you can pretend you didn't see that?" he asked nervously.
I sighed and shook my head. "You know, Ryou, you were the last normal person in my life."
He blinked and straightened up, confusion clear on his face. "What?"
"Let's just say that its been a crazy past few weeks."
"You-you know about us? How?"
"Do you remember my cat?"
"You mean you have a neko?!" he stared, wide-eyed.
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NEXT CHAPTER: Does it count as keeping secrets if she didn't even know?