Shadows That Bleed

by YamiYugiPuzzleshipper

Pure-Bloods are said to be myths, not even well-known within stories. "A specialized genetic coding of the moon and the dire," their spoken lore proclaims. They are creatures beyond the power of mortality, gifted by the gods themselves. Known as the Eternal Ones, their existence once extinguished, resurrection foretells a powerful omen.

7. Collisions

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Every other day (no update on June 2nd)

Chapter warning: Slight blood, Animal-car collision, Yugi being cynical

So Yugi being cynical mostly entails his attitude towards the possibility of being enlisted in a mental hospital (insane asylum, because he's extreme). He's extremely negative towards it because he's scared. But I figured I would put a warning in because it's kind of offensive.

Chapter VII: Collisions

Work Log Entry VII: July, 1994

July 16

The female still does not seem to display any signs of a heat cycle. Multiple tests have been run and she seems capable of bearing pups.

Regardless, the she-wolf and her newest mate seem to be getting along better now.

He shifted his grip to balance the math worksheet in his lap, his backpack rest against his hip comfortably. The park bench was cold as it dug into his skin through his clothing. The air bit at his flesh and his hand felt cramped and almost numb as it bore down on him. He was humming a nearly inaudible tune under his breath which misted nicely in front of his face where weak sunlight touched the crystalline exhale. He bit his lip, looking his work over, and reached over to dig into his bag for his calculator. It was always more challenging to work on a problem without the calculator and then check it afterwards.

And Yugi needed a challenge.

A movement caught his eye as he began to type the numbers in. His head turned almost before he fully thought it through. For a moment the source of his distraction was nothing he could detect. His mind was slowly but surely scrambling to a focus.

Yugi froze in place, eyes widening drastically as he finally noticed it there. The canine was barrel-chested, with a broad, almost box-shaped muzzle akin a rottweiler or mastiff. Its eyes were a pale almost incandescent green that bordered on both aquamarine and teal. Its pelt was long and almost shaggy but the strength it possessed was obvious. Its ears were softly rounded as the hybrid's had been but its tail was slightly curled upwards like a common housedog's rather than having that same perfectly straight one. The legs were long and lithe but, as Yugi truly looked at the canine, the glossy coat was more of a solid dark gray that was close to but not quite black.

Yugi blinked curiously at the sight of the animal. The dog had turned its head to look at him. The pale green stare that met his eyes seemed almost transparent in how light the shade was. The pupils looked bottomless and so dark that someone could get lost upon staring into them. He opened his mouth though he was unsure of what he might say or even if he could get a word out.

The canine blinked and bristled, head snapping around as someone whistled loudly. Its tail was rising in warning as they whistled again. The ears pricked forward and its lips pulled back to expose healthy pink gums. White teeth flashed in the sunlight and its breath came in a rugged puff of white in front of its large jaws. A child around ten years old was running towards the dog. She had obviously missed the aggression it displayed and the canine would have none of it. Yugi felt his heart race as he watched her quickly clearing the distance between them. Its shoulders were square and rising.

"Shit!"

The noise was enough to make the dog stop shot and turn towards him. The hair along its spine fell back into place. Its ears flattened against its skull. It whined loudly and its tail fell immediately. Its pupils seemed to have swallowed its irises completely but it was not shaking and Yugi considered that a small mercy.

"Go, get out of here," he hissed in a voice that was nearly inaudible. The dog heard him clearly even as the little girl began to close in on it. Abruptly Yugi thought of will-o-wisps and lightning bugs in the dark. And for a moment his mouth was dry as he stared into the massive animal's eyes. They flickered and burned with an intensity that made Yugi's stomach twist. The small teen was held rigid as the iridescence of the canine's eyes seemed to blaze through him. The mist around it, coming from its sharp breaths, glowed faintly with the eerie green shade. Its pupils looked nonexistent when it turned its head sharply.

The girl was no longer running towards it and Yugi thought momentarily that the dog's snarling might have stopped her. But the idea left his head immediately as he watched the canine. Its head was angled towards the ground. Its ears were pricked forward. Its fur was flat. Its tail was curled upwards, hanging at its hocks. Its eyes still possessed that gleam like glowing Christmas lights in the dark. But its fur looked straight, lighter still in shade, and something about it made the small teen's entire body tense.

It was only when it moved that Yugi recognized what it was. When the dog began a brisk walk forward, its swinging stride was enough to make him look at where its pelt should have been rippling over its well-defined muscle. Rather, what he saw was something like a shadow passing over the grass. The cropped blades were completely white due to the cold and the unspoken promise of snow. It did not crackle or break when the dog stepped on it. Instead there seemed to be a whisper like wind stirring leaves but it was secluded to one small area and the nose appeared nearly nonexistent.

He could see the fur like light brushstrokes over the stems of white. He could see the immense shape like a soft shade of gray film gliding noiselessly over the grass. But, as he looked, he saw those paws touch the grass and the blades retain their shape from underfoot. The girl was letting out a confused call of "Doggy?" that made Yugi's breath rush outwards in a weak whimper. The canine's ears flickered and its head turned. Bright green eyes glowed like lanterns, peering at him as if they saw straight through him as he realized he could it.

It was nothing more than a mere transparent shadow passing over the ground. It was almost like a simple mirage.

Yugi felt his stomach clench violently. The dog had to be something like a ghost or poltergeist. But why an animal shape? And how would it have been solid mere moments before that? Was it corporeal and then became noncorporeal at will? Was that even possible?

What kind of species was it? There was no way that it was a werewolf when it could do that of all things.

Unless all werewolves could somehow do that, though he failed to see how. He also couldn't understand how a dog could do that as it was. How or why they managed such a feat was something that he could not fully consider. An animal becoming a specter? That sounded like a horror movie or something stupid along those lines. He could just imagine trying to put such things into words or attempting to explain. He would be in a mental asylum before he even managed to tell the whole story.

Yugi nibbled his lip until it bled. The canine was still watching him, standing where the park became a narrow strip of dead grass next to the sidewalk. No one else seemed to notice it as they walked by and his stomach twisted once more. If no one else could see it, was it only the infection that allowed him to? And if that was what had caused him to see it in the first place, what else was he going to see?

Ghosts? Banshees? Fairies? Demons? Angels? Brownies? Sprites?

He nearly burst into laughter as he continued looking at the canine. Next he would find unicorns and wardrobes that led to magical dimensions. A small giggle left him then and Yugi swallowed the next as a new and sudden realization swept over him. Every hair on his skin was rising in a bristle and his stomach had dropped violently. When he finally drew his eyes away, his lips twitched though he was unsure of whether it was towards a smile or a frown.

Just as his senses had warned him they were all watching him. All of them were staring with a range of expressions. His lips twitched again in that unfamiliar way. Yugi swallowed almost painfully. Some of them were curious, watching with wide eyes, but others had hard stares that made him think immediately that they assumed he was crazy. He probably would have wondered the same but he would have at least attempted to keep his face neutral. It would have been his eyes that would have given him away. But these faces were twisted in obvious, pointed ways that made him bristle slightly. It was more suspicion than it was curiosity in their faces, he realized. Maybe they thought he was on drugs.

Yugi glanced down at his homework unhappily, blue-violet eyes widening. He really wished the medication he took was the answer. That would have been the easiest excuse he had ever been able to offer. He wished he could have said he had hallucinated it all, right down to Tomoya and Ushio's fight in the alley or Kokurano's spasm in the school library. That would have been so much easier, better even.

Maybe he would have been able to put away his healing that same way as well.

His hands were shaking as he shoved his calculator back into his bag and slipped the worksheet into the seam of the textbook, slamming it shut. They were still watching him closely, curious or almost ashamed to breathed the same air as him.

Imagine if they actually knew, he thought wryly, lips pulling back into a wide smirk.

Werewolves—and not even the regular mental disorder they had pegged them as. He wasn't violent and bloodthirsty. He didn't look into a mirror and see a wolf where his reflection was meant to be. There was no idea that he was more animal than human. Unless the clinical condition involved seeing others turn into wolves and being killing by other wolves then he was relatively sure he wasn't suffering from it.

Yugi slipped the book into his bag, putting it behind his chemistry which he had already finished. He zipped it, hands still shaking as a giggle burst forth, and quickly got to his feet. The straps felt weak when he snatched one to toss over his shoulder. It hung haphazardly on his back, lopsided and seemingly weighted, as he scrambled towards the sidewalk. The dog watched him curiously, ears flattening against its skull as it tipped its head to the side. He stared at it for a moment and it slowly turned away to trot off in the opposite direction.

It took the small teen a moment to truly recognize the expression with which it had stared at him was shock. Yugi knew he was not meant to be able to see it and so it must have surprised it just as much as it had him. Maybe it knew and recognized the meaning behind it to be his infection. Maybe that was what had scared it off like that. That fear was probably the only reason it had listened to him in the first place and so left the girl alone despite the obvious fact that he had been nothing more than a noisy nuisance otherwise.

But what about being bitten had scared away an animal that could turn noncorporeal at will? With that much raw power and power naturally on display and just its size, it should have been impossible to scare it away. Surely it had no natural predator of any kind with all of that taken into account, so why should he have been the one thing to scare it away?

He was relatively sure it would have been turned around and attacked that girl without pause. It would have fled immediately after, but he had no doubt it would have happily spilled her blood.

Yugi shook his head violently at his own thoughts. Why should he have been wasting time wondering? He thought for sure that with the rate at which his life seemed to be changing that he would find out without truly searching.

He must have looked increasingly unhappy and crazy, he knew, and his stomach ached violently with the idea. If his mother saw him such a state he thought for sure that he would be trapped within an asylum before he could blink. He rushed forward another step, mouth growing dry as his mind pictured padded walls or even being forced to speak in front of a circle of other mental cases. He blinked and his mouth let out a loud laugh before he could quell the urge. His lips pulled into a stupid, cynical smile.

Gathering in a circle to share stories was a rehabilitation exercise, not something that mental patients indulged in. they would all probably wind up killing each other before anyone fully finished their story. There was always at least one murderer in every group, two if you were truly lucky enough.

He ground his teeth together and rolled his eyes in annoyance. Now was hardly the time for his inner cynic to raise his head and make jokes. He needed to get home and maybe he would be able to come up with some way to distract himself. That might be enough to eventually calm his nerves and allow him to begin finishing his homework once more. Then perhaps he could lie down and go to sleep because he suddenly felt inexplicably drained and exhausted.

Yugi narrowed his eyes as he hurried down the sidewalk towards the intersection that was notorious for its animal-car collisions. As disgusting and spiteful as it was, he almost wished he could witness something so regular and familiar. His stomach immediately twisted with guilt and he swallowed hard. No animal deserved to get hit by a car. Especially not for someone's cheap entertainment to ensure that their life was still theirs.

That was such a startling idea that he actually stopped short in the middle of the sidewalk, mouth growing dry with shock. What was he going to do if it turned out that his life was no longer his? What if he found that the wolf took over gradually and would eventually consume his life? Was that possible or was that simply something out of a horror story?

A small tremor ran down his spine, chilling him to his very marrow. His nerves were shot as he tried in vain to make his mind work again. His stomach ached and his vision seemed to blur for a split second, a throbbing beginning to form behind his temple.

He was standing there frozen and yet he had no way to shake off any of the ideas that were forming. He hardly wanted to look any worse than he already did and have someone brand him as insane more than they already had. It was bad enough just to be considered a nut in life, but the murders made him want to vomit. What happened when they finally figured out he was with Kokurano or that it was his blood in the alleyway with Tomoya's broken body?

Then again, they had declared it an animal attack, just as they had Ushio. But Kokurano's was far from the same and Yugi thought it would have had to have either been poison in his meals or the infection having somehow turned his immune system in on itself. But why had he not appeared in the papers? Why did no one mention him or anything about it? Were they still running an autopsy or was it something else entirely?

He needed to talk to Anzu and find out what it was that the police knew about it all. He wanted to know what had killed him, if they had placed him at the scene as of yet. But how was he truly meant to ask such a thing of her without looking suspicious or as if he were using her just for the sake of his own curiosity? Was there such a way for him to do that or was he going to be incapable of handling such seemingly fragile truths? Would he even be able to handle them when it came down to it?

And how was he meant to be able to contain his excitement or anxiety with such possibilities? Yugi shuddered and tossed his head so that his eyes focused on the street once more. What was that soft, rapid clicking and wheezing noise in his ears? Was someone using a skateboard and panting?

He wanted to smile at the thought. Jonouchi had been desperate to show off his skateboarding skills when he had first gotten one. He had insisted on riding it everywhere he had gone that day. To mess with him and because the wheels grating against the pavement had annoyed him, Honda had convinced them to go a way that the blond couldn't follow without ditching his latest toy. He had led them to cut through a path that involved climbing a fence and halving the time needed to get to the mall. Jonouchi had caught up with them twenty minutes later, wheezing and hunched over while the wheels continued to click sloppily over the asphalt.

The noise was oddly familiar as he looked for the source, eyes widening as he considered the direction. But it almost seemed to be coming from every side of him, though generally angled towards the area towards his front.

He struggled to place it, an alarm seeming to slowly gain volume within his skull. He stiffened, pushing at his mind to hurry, a growing confusion and tension rising into his system. His bones felt as if they were on fire and his lungs strained and ached within his chest.

The wheezing noise became more concentrated. He recognized the tightness that came with the draw of breath those lungs were struggling with and the way they slid from the person's mouth in anxious pants. They came in harsh and quick succession, winded but refusing to quit entirely. The clicking was amplifying and he realized there was a softer, almost inaudible edge of a thud that came with each. He thought immediately of bare feet running on hardwood flooring and his mouth grew dry as his stomach flipped violently.

That was not a person, he realized with sudden and intense clarity. His head turned sharply. Pain surged through his neck with the movement. His eyes focused effortlessly now.

A small black and white dog was running forward. It was headed straight into the incoming traffic of a green light. The short legs were moving with such speed Yugi thought momentarily of cheetahs. But this dog was not chasing after prey. Rather, he recognized that it was the prey. Its tail was between its legs. It was trembling as it pushed itself. It was beyond its own physical limitations.

His eyes flickered towards the animal chasing it. He expected it to be one of the feral cats. He even expected a wild boar that sometimes drifted in from the forest border. But rather, a large shape followed it. He was startled and horrified. His mouth dried out. His tongue was glued to his palate. His eyes grew wide. His stomach tossed sideways.

Long, lithe legs propelled a massive form after this tiny dog. It was steps behind. But it was rapidly closing distance. The speed it displayed was nothing Yugi had ever thought a large breed canine capable of.

Even as the two animals came close to traffic, neither slowed. If anything they seemed to go faster. The small teen was frozen, staring blankly. His mind was racing for information.

The smaller dog was ragged looking. Its side was caked with mud. Bones were visible in their entirety beneath its short fur. It was limping. Its left back leg was bloodied. A wound wrapped around the entire limb, almost as if it had been hamstrung. Its hock was entirely slicked with bright red. Its paws were caked with dirt.

The larger dog was immense in shape. Its pelt glimmered with a glossy sheen. The sun hit the pitch black strands and came off almost blue. Its muscles were smooth and rippled like water beneath its fur. All four legs were stretching to their fullest. It held its weight in a way that almost made its speed seem as if it were flying. Its tail was parallel to its spine. A light bristle was faintly visible as Yugi continued to process the sight before him.

The smaller dog's ears were floppy and turned outwards so that the muscles were exposed. The larger canine's were pricked forward and curled softly at the top. The slope of them was gentle rather than sudden. The smaller dog's ribcage made a harsh upwards curve that made its back legs look almost as if they were no longer attached. The larger had a frame that supported an upwards sloping ascend, which moved almost perfectly with its quick movements.

"Hey!" he found himself crying out in horror. He ran forward quickly, calling out again, but the driver paid him no attention. Yugi knew he wouldn't be able to catch up to warn them. The vehicle hadn't slowed in the slightest. The driver wasn't even paying attention to the road. Yugi tried once more, cupping his hands around his mouth. He was screaming for them to stop now.

But all it seemed to do was startle them.

Yugi felt dizzy. The driver jerked to attention. But they did not hit the brake. The car shot forward faster. Yugi raced. The dogs were getting closer.

The dark gray car missed the smaller by a mere inch. It struck the large one.

His heart was in his ears. Yugi nearly screamed in despair at himself. His shoes were the only things he could hear. The driver spat out a horrified curse. The car swerved drastically, spinning. It was almost as if they had hit another car instead of a dog. He stopped, breathing raggedly. His stomach churned. His arm was aching. His ribs hurt. Yugi nearly stumbled over his own two feet.

A scream reached his ears.

It rose and fell in a swift, terrible abruptness that made him choke. Oh gods…

Oh gods…the car had killed it—

The car sped forward again. His head was spinning as he watched. Had they been too afraid to get out and check on the animal? Perhaps they were too afraid of the broken body they might find. But maybe they didn't care to check either…

"Oh gods," he managed to choke out, blinking. Disgust and horror and growing hatred formed a ball of ice within his stomach. Bile burned a path up the back of his throat. His eyes ached, prickling, as he started shakily forward.

He had not been the one to hit the dog. And yet he felt he might as well have been. He should never have followed that impulse to shout. He should never have spitefully thought about wanting to see one of the infamous accidents. Oh gods, the poor thing was probably the most mangled piece of roadkill in all of Japan because of him. Yugi whimpered low in his throat. His head was spinning again, faster than ever.

He had the impulse to call his mom. There could have been the smallest of chances… But there was also fear that crept through him. Maybe it was the same dog from the clinic. Then there came a realization that he might have just witnessed a murder if it was really a werewolf. Finally, he realized, heart seeming to climb in his throat, that he could hear something tickling at his ears. It got through all of the painful throbbing that had overcome his senses.

His blood burned. His bones took on a vibrating ache. His stomach knotted. His mouth felt pasty. His mind was racing.

A small, faint twitch of a noise seemed to push through his ears. It rattled and echoed in his skull. A watery, sloshing edge defined it. It danced at the beginning and shattered towards the end. A weak twisting pump came next. The twitch became immense louder. It was more vibrant than ever in his ears. A low, strained wheeze crept into existence. It was followed immediately by a longer, louder one quickly after. The twisting noise became a shuddering and let wet sound that reminded him of water droplets.

Yugi blinked stupidly as his mind tried to truly grasp at this new development. Nothing about this situation made sense. He struggled to comprehend the noise he was hearing. He recognized it from his night terrors and the hallucination in the alley when Ushio had chased him. It had been in reverse from this. But it was still the same haunting sound that he had always dreaded upon closing his eyes.

He raised his head slowly, tilting his right ear slowly towards the ground and straining his senses. There had to be a mistake. His mind had to be playing tricks on him. His fear and guilt must have been drawing it out of him. It must have been trying to make him feel worse.

Breathing slowly and straining his ears to catch the sound again, Yugi found that he almost could not hear himself. He imagined for a moment that the air had seeped through his skin and into his bones and frozen the marrow there. His nerves were tingling with some kind of horrifying mixture of exhilarations and terror.

The impact had sent the canine's body straight through the air at least twenty feet away. It had to be dead, the impact probably breaking its neck if not every bone in its massive body. He had seen when it had been tossed forward, the car speeding faster and swerving to the side to avoid hitting it again. Its entire body had become one massive lump of black fur in the middle of the asphalt, the road rapidly becoming stained with a shower of bright red blood.

He didn't know how it had landed but he imagined it was likely a hit to the skull. The momentum had been devastating to send that animal flying as it had. And with the way that he now noticed that most cars were pulled over and some of the drivers were freaking out and cursing he knew it had been far from unnoticed. He wondered where the dog had even landed at that point. Others seemed to be searching for it—and he could not understand why.

Surely none of them expected it to be alive, right?

Vaguely, almost unaware that he had even moved, Yugi came forward in short shuffling movements along the sidewalk. Head spinning and senses seemingly locked upon the simple but somehow empowering pulse that burned in his ears, Yugi found himself picking his way mindlessly through a thick throng of people. They were all panicked as he moved along, some of them even beginning to pray that its end had not been painful. A couple of teenagers from a neighboring café were looking with horrified expressions while others held their phones up, having clearly recorded the collision.

He ignored them steadily, unwilling to let his mind wander for even a moment. The organ in his ears was growing stronger, the pulse of blood becoming rapid and echoing harshly in his skull. The shaky breaths were gaining consistency, becoming deeper and regulated.

Unsure of what more to do, the boy continued forward. A pain settled weakly in his chest and made his bones burn. He swallowed and ignored the impulse to curse at someone else for the lifeless and dazed giggle of shock that left their mouth. He kept his head tilted the smallest fraction of a degree, listening to see if the animal had finally moved.

Oddly, as if the thought had crossed into its mind as well, he caught a smooth shifting rustle of noise. A faint but well-defined scraping made his skin tingle and his nerves burn. The breath that left it was weak but harsh in its determination as another rustling noise met his ears. A loud cracking pop split the air and another followed in rapid succession, so profuse that Yugi feared for a moment that it was someone putting the animal out of its misery. Or perhaps, in a less melodramatic thought, that it would be heard by others and he would not be the only one to find it.

He heard the dog's heart grow firm in its pace, seemingly infinitely faster than his own, and the breaths leaving it grew deeper and softer once more. The scraping noise grew more noticeable, followed by a hard click that was immediately trailed by the softness of its calloused toes on the pavement. A gentle hissing noise made his head swim as the popping became nothing more than a whisper.

Yugi got within sight of the dead-ended alleyway just in time to see it stagger forward. Its massive head was angled too far downwards to see its eyes, but it gave a vivid sight to the torn flesh of its large forehead. Bone was visible in a small speck but he could already see the exposed flesh pulling together rapidly before his eyes. Its left ear was torn and bleeding profusely but when it tossed its head to the side, the gash seemed to become nothing more than a simple bald spot painted bright red. The skin along its nose was scraped raw, blood evident along the soft muscle but it merely looked sore and painful.

Its jaws opened briefly and he could see the healthy bright pink of its tongue and gums where its lips folded back just enough to spot them. Each tooth glittered with saliva but none were specked with blood or even seemed injured or loosened. When it shook its coat back and forth as if it were wet, chunks of black fur slicked with blood were flung through the air. He could see where the shoulder had been split and broken, a hairline fracture all that remained of a once gruesome wound. With another shake of its immense body, the muscle was slowly binding and forming weak layers of thin skin over it.

It sniffed once, a low drawn out breath, and a bristle rose along its spine for a split second before its ears flicked. It turned away suddenly, not even glancing at him, and its spine seemed to twitch and coil beneath its skin like a snake before it hurried forward.

Yugi remained frozen, watching it with a horrified expression. The healing had been so rapid that it did not even sport a limp as it trotted forward. The only sign that it had even been wounded was the tufts of fur missing and the wound that he could see on its back leg. He could see a narrow red crack of split skin in the calloused pad, bright blood coming forth.

It was not a serious wound, almost like a simple scrape of skin that needed nothing but a single inspection to heal properly. The wound looked so superficial that the small teen wanted both to laugh and to puke. Canines bled horribly when their paws, ears or nose were hurt, just like a human tended to lose mass amounts when they hit their heads.

It had healed so quickly, however. Did it take the infection being within the body for long amounts of time for such a rapid pace to become a normal occurrence? He wouldn't have minded that ability the first night that he had been attacked. He also couldn't find himself minding it later, especially if something similar decided to occur.

But how had it survived? Its heart had even stopped and that head wound had to have killed it. Yet it was right in front of him, trotting swiftly down the street without a glance around, either uncaring or too determined to find a meal to waste time on basic safety. It was moving so quickly that it seemed almost as if it might round the corner in only a moment where it took about ten minutes even in a car.

Obviously the werewolf was fine. But that still did not make sense to him. Its heart had stopped. Unless it was a false and usual falter in the muscle then it should not have occurred. Yet they had not even stopped to look at their own wounds, as if they were so mild that none of them mattered.

Did that make werewolves immortal then? Or was it simply that this one was more durable than the rest? Or…perhaps this was the Beast of Gevaudan, the very same that had attacked and killed through head wounds rather than regular hunting techniques like bloodletting or suffocation. Maybe this was the same wolf that had killed Ushio and left his corpse as a present.

Yugi found himself giggling stupidly at the idea, mouth dry as bile trailed a path of fire along the back of his throat. His blood burned and his former wounds pulsed, tingling as if struck by lightning. He bit back a vicious hysterical burst of laughter and blood soaked his tongue as his lip was split wide open by his canines.

---

The small teen was frozen in his seat as he picked through another article, feeling sick to his stomach. He was unsure whether it was the internet failing to translate the page properly or if it was really written that way to begin with. A small dog or wolf would not have survived a twenty-foot hurl through the air let alone gotten up so easily. All in all, that had not truly mattered to him. What had mattered was that, three hours after the collision, he had not been able to fully shake the lingering fear in his system that the stupid infection truly would make him immortal. Then, gradually, he had found his mind focused more fully on the fact that he needed to pull together as many resources as he possibly could and find out about the Beast of Gevaudan.

Thankfully, despite the kill patterns sharing such similarities, each website said that it had been hunted down. But they also spoke of silver bullets and a second killing spree. He had yet to go fully in depth with the numerous theories they had come up with to explain its unnatural existence, but he was not sure he cared that much. He was more concerned with whether it was possible it could still exist, if it was truly immortal.

But each story ended with its carcass being taken to the king for a reward only to have the hunter dismissed and the only evidence buried somewhere.

The wolf's heart had stopped and then began again. Was it possible of the animal in the legend as well? But they had all claimed the hunter had brought a rotting corpse to the king and the smell had been so terrible that he had dismissed them. Unless the Beast had been like the wolf-dog it would not have smelled that way—and he still had yet to figure out if that was like a skunk perfume or not. He did know that it had taken little time for its wounds to heal as efficiently as it had and unless the Beast had somehow maintained that mortal wound until it was buried and then somehow dug itself out, then this wolf and it were not the same.

Besides, the Beast of Gevaudan had been some terrible predator, never mentioned as a human in any way. The only connection it had with the werewolf was silver bullets, and he was almost certain that was a Hollywood addition to a terror that had seemed extremely real to people in Europe during medieval times.

Yugi shook his head at himself. Maybe he was wrong and his mind had simply fabricated the whole thing—Kokurano, Ushio, Tomoya, this wolf. No one was even saying anything about Kokurano—not the news, not the police—and while Ushio and Tomoya were still dead, no one had put up a video of the wolf being hit by that car. Maybe Kokurano had gone on vacation and no one was talking about him because they didn't need to.

Maybe the fight between Ushio and Tomoya had been a simple beating gone too far when Tomoya refused to back down. Maybe those snarls had been their voices but maybe they had lowered their voices or he had run so far that he hadn't caught the words and so they sounded dull and almost listless. Maybe Tomoya had been killed by an animal while Ushio had chased him. And maybe that animal had killed Ushio—

But why wait? He flinched as his own thoughts betrayed him. He tried for a moment to come up with something but there were still several obvious, hideous, gaping black holes that stunted each budding explanation, squashing any bit of hope he had. Who—or what—had dragged him home that night? How had they known where he lived? Why save him if they were going to kill Tomoya and Ushio like that?

Yugi sighed and fell back against the mattress. He remembered that night more vividly than he did most things. The images still sometimes played behind his eyelids when he closed them at night. But a disturbingly large amount of time drew at a massive blank whenever he tried to think of all that night. He supposed he must have blacked out, but wouldn't he have still managed to hear the fighting as it was happening?

Hearing was supposed to be the last sense to leave the body, sight the first.

So how was it that he had not even heard the snarls and screaming that he knew would have occurred? Had he been revived somehow? Had the wolf maybe somehow seen something in him to make it save him? But he would have been dead too long for a revival to be possible, wouldn't he have? He might have been unsure of the amount of time he would have technically been dead, but he did know that the alleyway was at least twenty minutes from his house. And the wolf did not seem to have dragged him to the front door like that. So, was it possible that it had become human again and carried him?

But why such effort put into saving him? Unless it had a hero complex and so had killed Ushio in retaliation on his behalf, he couldn't understand. He did realize that it had to have been human at some point or other, in order to toss that rock and break the streetlight so that it could get him to his house without getting caught.

Yugi shook his head again in frustration. He had no answers when it came down to it. He didn't even have any idea why the wolf would kill in the first place if it had such a complex. Was that not something that completely defeated the purpose of what they thought they should be doing?

He shook his head once more and then turned towards the door. His mom was home and he could hear her swapping her shoes out on the top step of the little staircase. If he asked her about the likelihood of a dog getting up after an impact like that, maybe he could try to gauge how strong and resilient the wolves were. Maybe he could find out what it was that had saved the one in the alley, why it had seemingly protected him when he should have been buried in a casket by now. Then perhaps he could find a time frame of when he had been bitten, if it had been Ushio or Tomoya to do it.

The small teen wandered out of his room only when his mom had been seated at the table for about ten minutes. He needed to think of a way to phrase it before he attempted to put it into a conversation between them. Especially because he couldn't risk having her suspicion raised that he was not doing well on his medication, or that he was building up a tolerance for it.

She would either want to raise the dosage or put him on something else entirely and Yugi thought he would rather have Ushio return and rip his throat out like he had originally tried to do. He wondered vaguely if maybe Ushio would have simply dropped him if he had just remained limp as he had originally planned. If he had not moved, maybe Tomoya would still be alive.

Or maybe he wouldn't. Why had he been in the alleyway in the first place? Had he been waiting there for Ushio or something? Had he been protecting some kind of kill he had made before Ushio had caught him?

;Yugi shuddered. He couldn't picture someone as sweet as Tomoya being capable of killing, human or otherwise. He remembered once he had seen him pick a spider out of its web to place out of range of the faucet's spray when its head had been misplaced. He couldn't equate a wolf, a predator, with that shy blond like his mind was attempting to make him. He couldn't put those together and not want to shake his head in denial at the very idea.

Then again…hadn't he been bitten? Hadn't he always been much of the same way as Tomoya growing up? He might not have saved spiders as he had, but that was not too immense a difference. Their personalities had been a lot alike, one of the reasons Yugi had enjoyed his company so much. Yet, as he thought and considered it all, he may have been scared—terrified, even—of turning into a werewolf, but he had no true difficulty comparing himself with a wolf. The idea didn't even manage to startle him as he drifted through his mind.

Perhaps it was all the fear he had been drowning beneath or the fact that he had always liked werewolves more but he wasn't exactly unable to compare the two. And still his mind halted when he compared Tomoya to the large canines. He guessed he had always seen him as something small but steady and strong. The image that came to mind immediately was a squirrel, able to defend itself but more likely to flee when confronted.

When he thought of an animal to equate with himself it was normally, more often than not, either a cat or a small dog. Never had he pictured himself as a piece of prey or a large and powerful predator. Before it was simply that he thought his personalities matched them better, although now he found himself feeling weak and small, almost like a bunny. His guilt on top of that only managed to make him feel so much worse, so weak that it was a wonder he could still stand anymore. The assessment nearly made him laugh, because he most certainly thought of himself as a prey animal now.

And so had Ushio.

The thought was sobering but not enough to make his snickering quiet. Maybe Jonouchi and Honda had, too, and that was why they had picked on him before. Maybe he had always been a scared little rabbit and nothing else. He wouldn't have truly been surprised. After all, he had taken things for granted and found that a lot of them were wrong in only a matter of days.

"Yugi?"

He blinked, the harsh sardonic amusement leaving his system immediately as he looked at his mom. She was twisted around in her seat, blue eyes wide as she tilted her head and watched him. He had the split second impulse to simply smile at her and say he had just seen something funny before ducking away to grab some food from the fridge while making mild conversation when she started talking.

"Oh, hi, Mom," he announced cheerily though his stomach coiled uncomfortably at the thought of lying.

"What was so funny?"

She was simply curious but he felt suddenly sick with nerves, as if he might be on stage for the whole world to see. He managed a small, almost schoolboy-like grin and then shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just thinking about something Jonouchi was telling me at school," he murmured, not at all surprised when she nodded but did not press for details. The blond was notorious for making crude remarks and jokes and his mom had learned quickly that she never wanted to ask what would make him laugh whenever Jonouchi was mentioned.

"Hey, so, um…has there been any news about another dog getting hit?"

She blinked, curiosity turning quickly into puzzlement. "Accidents? No, I haven't heard of anything recently. The last time someone called one in was when that black one got hit," she replied quietly, frowning momentarily. "Since then I haven't heard anything…why?"

Yugi fought off a cringe when he saw how her eyes flashed briefly. He could see her mind working furiously to come up with a time and place where one might have occurred based on where she knew he had been all day. For a split second he almost considered telling her that they might find the dog if they went right then, before curfew. But doing so meant potentially having this new wolf set its eyes on her too or mark her the target of others. It was possible to walk straight into another's territory without realizing and without being able to change. Unless that wolf was about howling then he was very clearly screwed.

"I was just wondering…" He chewed his lip for a moment, picking his words carefully to avoid phrasing it all stupidly. She would become suspicious of his medication's effectiveness if he failed to seem casual and borderline curious. "Do you have any idea how fast the car that hit him was going?"

She paused for a moment, considering what the officer at the scene had said. "I was told," she said softly, reluctantly, "that the officer's gun read fifty miles per hours. But he also told me that it had been acting strangely recently in the area anyways. He said something about all the electricity used over there causing its circuits to short. He mentioned that the rate of power outages were high there too and said that it was most likely the gun misreading so it's entirely possible it simply said twenty-five or thirty."

Yugi nodded, mind racing. The crash he had witnessed earlier had been rather harsh due to the speed. The wolf would not have been catapulted so high or far as it had otherwise. It had to have been flung over the roof of the small bakery next to the alley, which meant it had gone about twelve feet in the air and twenty across in order to clear the building entirely as it had. He knew it hadn't landed anywhere on the road around the alley because the bystanders would have seen it immediately.

No, it had landed at the very end of the alley, out of sight enough that no one would have spotted it. There had been no blood on the asphalt where Yugi had approached from, indicating that it had not landed anywhere near the entrance.

But the car had swerved in order to keep from hitting it a second time, hadn't it? Perhaps the driver had been so horrified that they had been unable to drive straight for a moment. But hadn't he seen a dog there as well, right in front of it?

The small teen narrowed his eyes faintly, searching his mind frantically and barely resisting the urge to nod at himself. It had been large and black, with a smooth and glossy winter coat with a long, barely-curled tail. He had not seen its eyes but he was willing to bet that they had been that same strange, glowing teal. It had to have been that dog from the park. But why had it been there, of all places?

"Which one was he more likely to survive?"

The wolf must have been hit with at least forty, maybe even fifty. And it had gotten up so easily. Who was to say the hybrid hadn't had such endurance?

"Well, no dog could survive a collision at fifty miles per hour," she murmured, sounding slightly frustrated, almost as if she could read the thoughts behind his eyes. "Thankfully he was a large dog and he didn't end up dead like a small one would have. Considering he only had lacerations and no broken bones I'd have to say he was extremely lucky the car was only going twenty-five to thirty."

Yugi chewed his cheek thoughtfully, considering her words in comparison to the questions forming on his tongue. "Is it possible for a car to just graze a dog and not kill it…even if it was going at a high speed?"

"Yes, but it would depend on where it got struck. If it got hit in the face its skull would break and its head might even come off. If it was in the rear area it would definitely break bones, possibly any in the car's path. Internal bleeding would be another concern and hardly something that they would heal from without medical attention." His mom fell silent for a long minute and then shook her head slowly. "You know these things, Yugi."

He didn't bother to so much as blink. She was right, of course. He did know these things. She had quizzed him on them long ago the first time that he had ever been allowed to witness her working on a dog that had gotten hit. Still, even with that surface knowledge, he didn't think he knew enough to assess the differences between a normal dog and the hybrid and the werewolf in question.

The hybrid had healed quickly but they had still had to give it medical attention. The werewolf, however, had begun to heal only moments after, even being revived as it had. And it had even just gotten up and trotted away without a limp. He had heard it healing, of course, but it had not even been slightly stalled or mildly dazed.

They had both had rather similar builds but the hybrid had to have been an inch smaller at the shoulders, if not less. The hybrid had had a slight, almost unnoticeably smaller build. Yugi chewed his cheek for a moment, narrowing his eyes faintly as he pictured the two of them side by side. In his mind's eye the slope of the hybrid's belly was very nearly nonexistent but there was a gentle tuck upwards towards the back legs. The wolf's was far less obvious, with a ribcage and slope that fell in almost entirely straight line; only when it moved did there seem to be anything more. Both had long, skinny legs and broad jaws, large heads, softly rounded ears instead of sharp triangular like a shepherd's.

He glanced at his mom's slightly puzzled expression. "Well, yeah, but let's say that dog got hit and was flung through the air but still managed to get up."

"They wouldn't. Being 'flung through the air' would kill it. Even if they somehow survived at first, even managed to drag themselves a few feet, they would not live through it," she said with a firm shake of her head. "Large or not, their organs would most likely be crushed and every bone broken from the impact, not even considering the landing. Even if it was soft and cushioned by grass or loose sand or something like that, the internal damage would be too great for a recovery. I don't even know if veterinary assistance would be able to stop it or slow it at any rate."

She sounded so certain that Yugi almost wished it were that simple. For a split second he almost wanted to believe in her logic. Life would have been so much easier if he really could.

Being blind was always something he wished he shared with his mom.

But he had always been open-minded, even if he did wish for most things to be rooted in science. Some things could not be explained away, however, and so Yugi did not bother to try. But the disease was based in biology, just like every virus that had ever come into existence. He doubted he would ever be capable of reversing it, but he did want to learn about its infectious makeup.

It wouldn't truly change anything but maybe it would help to calm him. Maybe if he could understand it he might be able to calm himself. He might be able to see it as something other than an inconvenience that could very well rule his life.

"What about shock?" he asked curiously, watching with studious eyes, every nerve in his body burning. That hauntingly healthy, bright pink shade of its tongue and gums made his head swim. He thought of how powerful the wolf was, how it had simply gotten up. How strong and unnatural did one's mind and body truly need to be in order to avoid even shock? With that immense head wound he should never have avoided such a basic response.

"That would most likely be instantaneous. And he would probably die due to that as well."

She was becoming dismissive now, unconsciously projecting to him how little she wished to speak of this. Yugi nodded, not surprised but still somehow wishing he might be able to explain and know she would believe him. He turned and headed for the fridge as if it would make an adequate excuse for his reason to be there. But he knew from the way her eyes narrowed in his peripheral that she did not believe for even a moment that his reasoning was so simple. But she didn't question him and he avoided his potential answers as if they might suffocate him.

---

He picked at his bento distractedly, his hand trembling briefly with the task of keeping the chopsticks from dropping his next bite. He felt as if he might be sick as he tried to raise his food to his mouth and his skin seemed to burn. The hairs on the back of his neck were rising to an intense, tingling bristle. His nerves were on the highest of alerts. Despite how he tried to turn his mind away from the sensation, even imagining what Anzu might look like naked, nothing had the necessary capability to distract from the ache that seemed to be making itself the very structure of his bones. His skin was burning and tightening, his stomach twisting and sending bile upwards to scorch his throat. The heat within his muscles was growing and he wished that he had not decided to wear his uniform. He wished he had chosen something lighter and less weight as he wanted to do nothing more in that moment than tear the jackeet off in sheer exasperation.

Yugi swallowed and narrowed his eyes faintly as his mouth grew disgustingly dry. He had thought maybe getting out of the house and meeting with his friends would be enjoyable and help clear his head. He had decided to grab lunch before they all got together again but the tension in his bones made him reluctant to even consider being around them. They would ask him if something was wrong and he would have to lie. He hated lying—especially to them.

Abandoning his meal in frustration, the small teen made his way onto the sidewalk without a second glance. He had paid for his food ahead of time, deciding quickly upon arrival that staying there long enough for his bill might not be within his capabilities. His scalp itched and burned as he started walking again and his eyes widened as he glanced over his shoulder in confusion.

Was the wolf hunting him now? Was it creeping after him in the darkness somewhere? Maybe it blamed him for the impact with the car. Or maybe it knew he had seen it.

He fought off a tremble and then swallowed thickly before hurrying forward, pulse jumping violently. His tongue felt plastered to his palate and his mouth tingled as if he had sampled a food he was allergic to. His teeth ground together as he started walking faster but when he turned back, Yugi found himself abruptly stopping. His mind was racing for answers, so startled by the sight before him that he was unable to properly process it all. Blinking stupidly and staring in open confusion and something akin wondering bewilderment, he watched as the figure approached him slowly.

He tilted his head to the side, studying him, and straightened his back some. The footsteps were off and nearly nonexistent as the older male approached him, but he thought his heart mimicked them in the way it beat with each step he took. His eyes were focused on the glare of the light reflected form his glasses and the way the rims of them were too large to sit properly. His mouth was drawn into a tight but noticeably pained frown and his appearance looked slovenly in comparison to his usual state of dress.

Yugi watched him silently, his mind working quickly to give him details on the other's appearance without his own effort put into looking him over. He was wearing brown suit pants with pockets and black dress shoes topped by a beige v-cut sweater and a white collared shirt beneath it. When he focused on him completely, he thought he saw frayed threads at the end of the right sleeve, as if he had picked at it desperately for whatever reason.

Yugi cringed. He knew the reason.

"I've been looking for you everywhere." His voice was soft and small, but somehow smooth all the same, and Yugi's mouth dried further at the sound of it. He had never known this man to be anything but gentle and kind, his voice friendly even when he'd been so worried about his son that he'd begged them to remain friends with him.

"Me?" Yugi commented quietly, biting his lip at the stupidity of his inquiry. He swallowed and a lump formed like hard ice in his stomach, taunting him with the need to puke. He pressed his weight more fully into his right foot, moving to attempt to push himself onto his tiptoes. He felt dizzy and small as those light brown eyes bore into his so desperately.

Had he come just to blame him? Was that why he was standing before him with such a terrible heartbroken expression?

Yugi closed his eyes briefly. Was he the one that had saved him in the alley? Had he finished what his son had tried to himself? Had he come, finally tired of this game of hunting him, to kill him? Was he there to avenge him?

There was so much sorrow and intelligence in those light brown eyes. He saw the one who had passed the gene to Tomoya. He must have. It was so terribly apparent in his eyes.

"I know you know what happened to him, Yugi."

His eyes snapped open, wide in shock as he fell immediately silent, merely staring as his response seemed to shake his resolve. He didn't know? But then…why had he come to speak to him otherwise? He'd thought…

"I just want to know."

He sounded utterly broken, completely shattered, and Yugi flinched back a step, choking on a breath. His head pounded, dizzy as it spun and danced, his thoughts knotted jumbles that pricked him like thorns.

"I don't know. I'm sorry…"

He shook his head sharply and the platinum blond hair seemed to burn briefly with sunlight. "You do," he pressed desperately, eyes large as they glittered shakily behind his glasses. "Yugi, please…I need to know—I could smell your blood in the alleyway when his…"

He choked and Yugi flinched, lowering his eyes to the ground. His throat felt too tight to speak for a moment and the lump in his stomach twisted and ground against him violently.

"You were there when he…I just…I need to know what happened…"

"I don't know," he croaked, bowing his head fully as pain made every part of his body ache and his chest tight. "I'm so sorry."

"Please, Yugi, I've been trying to find you since that day!" He could hear the tears in his voice and his ears pounded as he gulped to fight them away again. "I just wanted to know. I don't understand…"

"I don't know. And I don't understand why it happened any more than you do," he pleaded pitifully, wanting to sob in despair before raising his eyes to the other's. The least he could do was speak to his face and not his own feet. "You're asking the wrong person. I don't know what happened or why. I was knocked out. The blood loss…"

He trailed off. He sounded as if he were talking about someone else, his sense of reality becoming jumbled. His voice sounded so weak and almost cold in how it spoke such a powerful, crushing statement.

"Try to remember then," he pressed urgently, voice bordering on anger as he ground his teeth together and shook his head sharply in response. "Yugi—"

"I don't want to!" he spat, unable to stop himself. Despite his grief and sympathy for the man in front of him, he was not ready to attempt that. He was well aware of the fact that he needed to. He knew it more than he did anything else, it seemed, and he could not stand to as of yet. He would rather die. There was just so much of a gaping black hole, such immense darkness in the night and everything it represented and he could not find it in him to truly face it as of yet. "I don't want to remember. I'm so sorry about Tomoya, Mr. Hanasaki! I'm so sorry that this had to happen but I—"

"Place yourself in my shoes, Yugi."

His head swam with the words and his own came out in a choked breath, breaking and cracking like splintering ice. "I won't," he whispered pathetically. "I can't! I know that you're hurting but I—I can't help you, okay? I really can't, okay? I just…please, no. I'm so sorry…"

His head pounded, drowning his thoughts. There were violent snarls echoing in his skull, burning him, and there was that terrible clicking of their nails on the asphalt. There were teeth that chomped and made the air vibrate. There was his own cry of pain—

"No!"

The onslaught of noise was growing louder as he whimpered and stepped back quickly. Tomoya's father watched him with a somewhat detached expression that still managed to show his remorse and growing confusion. The air felt too thick as it tried to force its way into his lungs when he gasped. Everything was spinning again and the noises were becoming a steady, horrifying roar in his skull. He was screaming again, the sound making each nerve in his body tease and burn violently. Had he truly cried out so loudly and for so terribly long or was his mind simply torturing him?

Maybe he had subconsciously blocked it but the presence of Tomoya's father had brought it to the surface and—

He shuddered and shook his head as the muscles coiled beneath his skin. His mind was splintering and fracturing and he thought of the crackling of ice as it broke. He wasn't aware he was moving until the scream of his name made him run faster. People around them had turned to see what it was that was happening. He heard them rather than saw them—the rustle of clothing, the twitch of muscles beneath the skin, the grating of their bones. His name was called again and it sounded so far aware that he almost wanted to turn his head and see the distance put between them.

But he wasn't willing to be put through the danger of not paying attention to the things in front of him. He could end up getting hit by a car himself or run into someone else. If he collided with one of the werewolves he thought he might have his throat torn out.

He slipped on a puddle, the water spraying the air as he skidded. The movement sent him straight into the wall of the bakery in front of him. Yugi hissed as his head seemed to burst with pain. He scrambled for his footing again. He tried to listen for anyone following him. But his blood pounding in his ears was deafening. His body had grown immensely hot, boiling to the point that his blood burned like fire beneath his skin. He was shaking. He was unable to hear over the war drums echoing in his skull. Peeling himself from the wall with reluctance, the small teen took off in a run again.

A new noise had begun in his head. He could feel bile rising in the back of his throat. The clicking was rushed, like someone pushing on the end of their pen impatiently. Snarls sounded like the trickle of muddy water, growing into the steady volume of a car's engine as it roared to life. There was a uniform softness that accompanied each click, the sound of their paw pads touching the ground. A violent collision like blades slamming into each other made up the sound of their teeth chomping. Whimpers gurgled upwards like the drifting notes of a howl. A swift but terrible tearing sound reminded him of the threads in his uniform being torn.

He let out a whimper of his own, almost as animalistic as the others resounding in his ears, and swallowed thickly. His arm and throat burned with a phantom sensation. He hissed and jerked so violently that he lost balance.

He crashed into the animal before he could think straight. An entire array of glittering white teeth aimed for his throat. He jerked instinctively backwards. A harsh chomping noise echoed in the dead winter air. The teeth were a mere inch from his jugular, bared and clamped together. Hot, burning exhales left its jaws and his throat tingled as they bathed his skin.

Yugi swallowed hard, eyes wide as he started at the massive canine. Its eyes seemed to glow, a harsh burning gold that seemed to see through him. For a moment it stared blankly, furious about their collision. Then its gaze grew wide. Its ears pressed back against its head. It recoiled.

The small teen was already pressed completely against the wall. But he would have done the same if he could. He realized slowly that he could feel his heart as it hammered violently in his chest. It was shifting and pulsing. It threatened to leap into his throat. He could feel panic rising with his adrenaline rush. He could taste the sharp iron of his blood in his mouth. It was like bile and burned his tongue.

Those black ears flicked in every direction for a moment. Then his head tipped to the side as if in thought. Its long, glossy fur moved in a twitching ripple over its muscles. Its mouth opened to show its teeth. Yugi flinched, trying unsuccessfully to flatten further against the wall. But the canine did not once make another move to attack again. Instead it remained completely still and watched him.

Inquiry gleamed in those keen golden eyes but Yugi had no answers. It watched him for a moment longer, as if peering inside of him and searching but finding nothing. It seemed to understand his inability to answer and even accept it. It raised its head after a moment, its eyes still locked with his, and its mouth opened more fully. He could see each tooth that made up its bottom jaw and realized as its tongue lolled over its incisors that it was grinning at him playfully. A long black tail flicked slowly back and forth from one side to the other. A soft breath left its mouth in a bright white puff with a soft snort that seemed almost like laughter.

Yugi blinked in curiosity as he regarded the canine before him. Its jaw was so large but a little narrower than that of the wolf that had been hit the day before. The teeth were bigger than what he remembered of Tomoya and Ushio and the Burger World employee. The chest was larger, a small bit rounder. Its build was extremely muscular, long and robust. The head was in good proportion with the body and moderately wide between the eyes with a slightly rounded forehead and cheeks that didn't look too full as they curved slightly when its lowered its head to regard him more pointedly. Yugi blinked and glanced at the feathered design of its long tail, the way it hung almost perfectly straight at its hocks. Its paws were large and rounded with a well-closed arch, with long and sharp thick black nails. The dewclaws were longer than he recognized on most breeds, curved beautifully like crescent moons.

When he raised his gaze again, the almond-shaped eyes were curious but his own fell suddenly on the ears. When they flicked to the side the fur protecting the cartilage made it seem thick and firm in their medium size, moderately wide at the base but slightly rounded at the top in a way that made them appear more wolf-like. The dog wagged its tail a bit more and then bowed in front of him, panting happily in front of him.

Yugi was still too unsure and alarmed to do much more than focus on breathing and watching it closely and carefully. His mouth still tasted of his blood, strong and burning, and he found it hard to even swallow as the canine remained standing in front of him. That long tail continued waving back and forth before it straightened to its full height and huffed once more. The sound was of something like extreme disappointment. Its ears flattened for a moment and its mouth closed as it turned away abruptly.

There was not a glance spared in his direction as it began to trot away. Yugi watched its tail bounce lightly with each swift step. Sitting up a little more and unable to look away, he watched the large body as the canine continued briskly. Its pelt looked like the gentle shadow of water stirred by the wind, unnaturally beautiful and gentle. Yet, it was possibly the most unnerving thing Yugi had thought of in what seemed like years.

It took what seemed like hours for the residual fear to leave him and allow his spine to release its stored tension. Every inch of his body was cold and numb where the air touched it and his lungs felt shaky as he drew in a breath. The wall felt jagged like broken glass as his right hand reached back to grip it for support. Weakly he straightened his legs out, the nerves tingling from their former disuse. He pressed his palm firmly against the concrete, the edges digging into his skin harshly. His breaths came out in ragged white puffs as he straightened his legs and pushed himself unsteadily to his feet.

His skin felt raw and almost blistered as he stumbled forward twice and looked around once more. His stomach flipped lightly, his mind dizzy as he considered the way to go home. He did not want to risk running into Tomoya's father again. He didn't want to see his friends either when they tried to meet up with him as they had all planned. And he had no desire to run into any more of the wolves—hybrids or otherwise.

Going back routes would most likely ensure no potential of running into the three of them. However, he was well aware that it left far more room for one of the wolves to find him. He recognized the case with which such an event could happen considering. He wasn't stupid enough to consider that it wouldn't happen even without his horrible luck at the moment.

Dismissing that altogether, when he considered it all, he had no idea how to tell a werewolf from an average person. And he had no idea how many existed in Japan, let alone Domino. How many of his schoolmates were infected like he was now? Kokurano and Tomoya had shown no signs of being different, nor had Ushio for that matter. Kokurano had been an average, attention-starved pervert, Tomoya a shy and friendly boy, and Ushio the usual everyday bully. There had been no true signs of such a disease in any of them—or at least Yugi could not think of any.

Then again…was Yugi himself showing any obvious signs? Was he acting unusual and different?

He considered it for a moment, wondering and curious. Besides being more fearful and a bit more restless he did not think so. But he had never been one for self-analysis and trying to think back to before the attack seemed almost impossible. The weight with which the infection pressed upon his life made an almost impenetrable wall in which it all seemed to become a jumbled, knotted mess with a clear line drawn between then and now. He did not even fathom that he might be able to scratch the surface of such an obstacle. With such a foreboding thought, Yugi was not even willing to attempt it. Just as he would not think back to that night either.

There had to be a limit, he realized, as he began to move forward and turn on his heel to take the longer way home, to just how much one could learn and deal with later, whatever that truly entitled anyways. He wasn't entirely sure what there was that he could deal with and not end up having something like a mental breakdown. He had never had a full one before but he thought—as he had several times growing up—that he had had a handful of smaller ones. He thought parts of him had broken away, weathered like rock when buffeted by wind and water. It was almost like watching ice splintered by water or a glass cup shattering on the floor. He thought sometimes that he could physically feel where they were missing, almost like he imagined a phantom limb might.

The thought brought to mind his wounds and his stomach twisted. With all of these recent scares and his awkward fumbling to deal with it all, would his wounds be better or worse? Had any of the adrenaline rushes amassed enough endorphins to help ease the process or had it made them considerably worse?

He needed to check when he was home again. If they needed to be dressed again he would have to find a time when his family wasn't home. If he could do that, he imagined the whole thing would be much easier. Maybe then even his paranoia would calm enough that he wouldn't have to constantly look over his shoulder with the idea that his mom or grandpa would suddenly appear. Then perhaps he could even heal it enough that this would be the last.

He wished he had been clever enough to try to breathe in Tomoya's father's scent. He knew it, of course, from the short intervals of exposure to him while at his home. His mind would recognize and identify it immediately if it passed though the air near him, but he could not actively recall it to use for something like tracking. He also wouldn't have been able to use it as a way of scoping out his location so that he could flee if he approached again.

Yugi groaned under his breath at the thought but still made his way home.

---

He almost hoped it was all a simple trick of the light as he looked down at his skin. His head was spinning as he licked his lips and swallowed back the impulse to whimper under his breath. His mouth was steadily growing dry, his saliva thick and pasty as it glued his tongue to his palate. Someone else would have been relieved to see what he was looking at but all he could grasp at was another cold fear licking at his insides.

Contrary to what one might think, Yugi had no true problem with believing it all. He had found himself trusting his senses over his mind when he had first realized what Ushio and Tomoya had been. He had not really been narrow-minded while growing up and so he had had no reason to ignore what his told him he had seen. He could wrap his mind around it despite his initial reluctance to do so. Truly and completely accepting all of these things and where they impacted him was something else entirely.

He had hoped, however, that maybe his idea that he'd been infected was wrong. But now, looking at his former wounds, he knew there was no chance by any means. The punctures had become nothing more than closed skin. There was not even the light, pinkish scar tissue flesh that should have been there. When he bent and stretched his arm and fully over his head, there was not even a tiny sting of pain. Before he had been unable to extend it fully and especially angle it over his head but now he had regained full mobility.

When he undid the clasp of his choker and pulled it off to look his neck over, he was both relieved and horrified. There was not even a trace of blue or yellow bruising. The hideous-looking wound that he had thought of so many times fleetingly as a chunk of his flesh missing had healed perfectly. When he angled his chin and watched his reflection, there was not even the slightest pull of skin and muscle and it was all the same uniform pale creamy tone as the rest. There was no evidence that spoke of his arm nearly torn from its socket or his crushed collarbone or broken ribs.

He flinched as he recalled the violent popping and the pain when his bones had mended themselves after that dream.

Yugi blinked and chewed his lip, wondering at the idea for a moment. What had he been dreaming of when he had woken up? All he really remembered beyond the noise was his tongue tasting of bright red blood. He had been unable to forget that by any means as he had spent over an hour checking his mouth for the source of it. He still had no explanation of where it had come from but he no longer wanted to dwell on it. He was praying that it was not linked into his night terrors and he wasn't stupidly sleepwalking. With this infection and how little he truly knew about it, he had no idea what might happen.

He could bite someone—maybe even kill them. That was hardly something he wanted to happen.

The thought made his skin crawl and his mouth feel dry again, but the accompanying one that chased it immediately made him tilt his head. A childish sensation of wonder and curiosity mixed with a scientific desire to find the answer. For a moment he fathomed it was somehow something like a string tugging at him, like a puppet made to dance by its master. The infection was somehow growing even more consuming and he thought for a brief moment how easily it could. All it would take, it seemed to him, was his curiosity pulling ahead of him and his inability to accept possible flukes in any answers he gathered. He could become so easily obsessed and consumed with it, just as he was with his video games.

He reached up to run his fingers over his throat. Maybe it had lost its wounded appearance but there would still be a small hinting reminder there regardless. He touched it hesitantly at first, thinking for a split fleeting second that maybe he was hallucinating and the tissue would be open and sore and bleeding when he did touch it. He exhaled sharply, deeply, when the skin quivered but remained smooth and warm beneath his fingertips. He cupped his hand, moving them to rest his palm over his pulse. The heat on his neck was constant and he realized it must have been a while ago that it healed and he had failed to notice.

His hand fell away to rest on his shoulder, running the length of his right arm where the gashes were formerly. It was all the same temperature. His entire body was the same in temperature and that meant the process had to have happened hours or so ago. But how had he failed to notice? His body healing itself would have produced an immense amount of heat.

Energy produced heat rather than disappearing altogether. It would have cooled down again, of course, but how could it be possible in any way that he had not known it was happening? Had it been while he was sleeping? Had he simply tossed his sheets off without waking?

He did not think it was possible that it had happened within the brief ten minutes he had been unconsciously reacting to Tomoya's father's presence. His wounds might not have been as bad as they were originally but it still would have been noticeable. It would have been focused in those two spots and it would have been impossible to ignore.

He also figured it might be better for the process to go unnoticed during sleep when it was deep enough that one wouldn't stir awake from it. That way maybe it would release the endorphins through the nerves already giving one dreams, almost like a second wave of pleasure.

It also made sense that it would not stress the host and cause it to reverse as he imagined it partially had while he was awake and watching his collarbone fix itself. And, perhaps more importantly, it did nothing to delay immediate healing later, as he had witnessed with the wolf before. Did it work both ways somehow? Or was he reading too far into it?

He would hardly have been surprised if it was the latter. He felt that it was probably entirely too accurate an idea to discount.

Yugi shook his head slightly and moved to gather the rest of the bandages he'd pulled away. With a dismissive glance at the mirror he hurried to drop the gauze and tape in the trashcan. He'd empty it out later that week but for now he had to stash it beneath the numerous crumpled up balls of paper. And then he would have to find a way to stash the notebook he had been thinking about most of the walk home.

He had needed something to distract him from the idea of Tomoya's dad finding him and so he had chosen a less than pleasant idea to focus on. He had made up plans to grab a new spiral notebook and list the results of his bleeding time tests. He would do one every hour, as closely in time as possible, and then worry about the rest later. He needed to find a hiding place for it, however, and be careful about anyone finding it. And he wasn't sure if he could take it from the house because, if he lost it, someone would be looking at a list of dates, bleeding time numbers, notes, times inflicted, times healed, and any other small things he put. It would not take a rocket scientist to recognize that there was something severely wrong with such contents. They would assume he was doing something either illegal or unsafe and maybe even call the police on him.

And he highly doubted it would be hard for them to match his handwriting. He had been complimented on its neatness too many times to assume it was entirely generic. So he had no idea when and how he would begin or even if it was truly safe to do so. And he knew he wouldn't be able to keep track of it all in his head. His thoughts were always too scattered about and the numbers would all eventually become one big mess.

He almost wanted to smile at that thought but focused instead on the idea he had been fussing over while on his way home. He didn't have a blood pressure cuff to maintain the venous pressure as opposed to an official hospital test. And he had always been rather bad with lengths which made him hesitant. The whole point of a bleeding time test was to have a cut of standardized length and depth while the pressure remained constant. The incision was made by an automatic device in a hospital, yet another drawback.

He wasn't beyond what his initial idea had been, however. In place of the cuff, he could use a belt with just enough pressure that it made his veins show. He might feel like a drug addict while doing it but there wasn't much more of an option. He didn't want to risk using one of the cuffs in the clinic downstairs and spending money on one was hardly something he cared for. And how was he meant to explain it to his mom if he came home with one seemingly without reason like that?

But then, if he did not do as medically as he had originally imagined, the duke method was easy enough while at home. The only issue with that was an inability to judge longer and deeper wounds. The duke method was limited and only used a pricked finger rather than a real cut. And he had to wonder if the healing properties for a werewolf changed or varied depending on the wound that was inflicted. Smaller cuts were probably a lot easier to heal than something like the hybrid or wolf had been given. And, on that train of thought, was it not better to have an idea of what emotional states might do for a clotting factor as well? Surely being in a state of relaxation each time would give the same results and nothing would truly change within that.

Yugi pursed his lips and sighed in an uneasy frustration. He didn't trust himself to accurately follow instructions when he was anything but levelheaded. He could very easily hurt himself more than he meant to or just miss the thirty second intervals altogether by way of distracted thoughts and the lack of a clear head. He slid his canines against one another, listening to the grinding to help calm his irritation.

A bleeding time test—unless he could manipulate his mood completely or find another way to work the duke method—was going to have to wait.

---

The selection of books on wolves at the library was an extremely poor amount of only three references. One of them was all about Domino City and its connection with the wolves before their extinction. When he flipped through the pages to check all of the information for something useful, he found that much of it was legends and only one of them even partially alluded to the existence of werewolves. The other two books were focused around their extinction and how a couple of teams of researchers believed that they were still there, hiding in the mountains and would maybe one day show themselves again.

Yugi found himself biting his lip at such a thought. It was no secret that many people believed that about the Honshu wolves. There were still sightings and pictures taken that were claimed to be of the small wolves. There was seemingly no such support for their larger brethren who so closely resembled the North American gray wolf, the Ezo wolf. The size difference between the two was rather amazing from what he had seen of them in the museum, and the werewolves were definitely like those of the Ezo bloodline. But he fathomed still that they were a bit larger than the Japanese wolf and he had the impulse to groan in irritation.

He was running on estimations rather than having the ability to truly compare and, while his mind was photogenic and he had an almost perfect recall for such things, he had been six when he had last gone to the exhibit. He didn't trust the accuracy of a ten-year-old memory.

The small teen pushed the book back into place on the shelf, chewing his lip. There was nothing in any of them about the physiology of wolves or anything similar. And werewolves were not terribly popular in Japan but then, neither were vampires. Kitsune, ancient fox spirits with otherworldly powers, were. And with their extinction now, there was no research to be conducted on the wolves. But he thought if he looked, he might find a million and one things about the kitsune.

It didn't truly matter, however, because fables about werewolves and things of that nature were not going to help him. He knew of Hollywood werewolves from books and movies and TV shows. He didn't need to know more about them. He needed to know more about the wolves themselves. The werewolves he had been exposed to were nothing like the man-wolves and beasts people so often seemed to love. They were, more or less, natural wolves safe for their human personalities if they actually did dictate anything concerning them.

He tapped a finger against the pages with narrowed eyes. Maybe he could order some books or download videos or something of that nature. He'd place a couple of holds on any books from neighboring libraries. They were bound to have more selection, seeing as the Domino City Public Library was admittedly rather tiny. But his best bet was an American book, because they still had wolves, no matter how limited their range. They were always battling politically to show their positive impact on the ecosystem and keep them from being hunted to extinction.

He could easily order them. He could read English, after all, due to his dad's job and his own private classes when he was younger and he'd asked to be taught. He could only speak a few admittedly messy sentences, but he had no difficulty reading it.

Or maybe he would just go to Tokyo. It did, after all, have the largest library in Japan known as the National Diet Library. It had a massive collection of 41.88 million books, and maybe one of them would actually help him.

He let out a small sigh and pulled his hand away, turning towards the computers. Unlike the larger libraries, there were only two in use for catalogue searches and a large room of over thirty for students working on exams. The one nearest to him sat in between two shelves, on a tiny desk in the way that a store would set up sale items at the end of each aisle to get more attention. When he glanced aside to see if anyone else was headed the way so he could allow them to go before him, there was not a person in sight.

The realization was somehow incredibly depressing. He felt inexplicably lonely as he cast one last glance and made his way to the computer.

He placed about fifteen books on hold and debated once more whether to order some online. His dad always put money every month in his bank account and he could easily order them using his debit card. His dad had several online accounts just for these kinds of things so that his mom could order new tools and the expedited shipping would more or less be free.

He cast one more small glance around, once again finding his insides twisting as he realized no one had come around. Regardless, he straightened to his full height and turned on his heel to start for the door again. A few small kids were messing with the picture books in the corner and the computers were all in use. A couple of elderly citizens were reading the newspapers and the staff was having a small conversation behind their desks.

He went unnoticed as he left the building and his mouth felt mildly dry. He'd have to use his laptop to find out more information and lists of books. He would look up a few things but he was well aware that sometimes books had more information than websites and vice versa. But researching online was not really one of his favorite options, if only because his mom would use it and find what he was looking up. She would be far from happy with his choice to read about them when it would taken time from his studies and helping her in the clinic. The fact that they were not an immediate thing in life would make it seem rather useless to her.

She was all about utilizing time and making sure his future was bright. Reading up on an animal that no longer existed in Japan and had no bearing on his life would merely frustrate her. And she would never believe him if he mentioned werewolves. If she didn't consider him insane and have him carted off, she would blame her father for telling him stories growing up. She would even blame Anzu for her paranormal romance stories because of their fictional existence. She had never been big on such things and she would rather keep it from him as well.

Using his phone would only get him so far. Some sites wouldn't open properly and, if they did, they would work for only a minute and then try to convince him his phone was infected with an annoying pop-up window. For his own sanity he did not truly consider it an option.

She could find out about it later when she used it to look up new techniques and order tools. He had decided he didn't care halfway home and that feeling had not changed whatsoever. He had to at least have a miniscule speck of understanding of the animal he would soon be changing into. It didn't matter that the whole thing would be different and no internet article would prepare him. It only mattered that he at least knew something about the wolf even with how limited it might be.

His mom and grandpa were gone, most likely at the main clinic, when he came inside. He listened for only a moment, catching the hum of the fridge and the tick of the clock on the bathroom wall. He wasn't entirely sure when but the animals had been moved out at some point and he techs had gone with them. He guessed that was even better for him when it came down to it. Maybe he wouldn't jump every thirty seconds with the idea that they were behind him.

He spent an hour reading an article on the gray wolf, canis lupus, and had found himself more focused on the images for the majority of it. When he studied them, none of them looked much like the black one but entirely like Tomoya and Ushio had. Scrolling further down again, he'd found a list of subspecies and the hybrid had immediately come to mind when he'd come across a family tree and clicked on it. He picked his way to the list of dog breeds. He had to scroll near the end of the list of pure breeds that led to a massive chart of over four hundred.

He considered the hybrid to have shepherd qualities and so had chosen it as the way of finding what the hybrid might have been mixed with. He was not disappointed when he found a list of breeds that originated from it. The first, the Czechoslovakian wolf-dog, was a far cry from what he had been looking for. It was far too lean, the weight too small, and the coat type was miles from a match.

The second, however, was a perfect match.

It was called a king shepherd. It was a cross between a German shepherd, Newfoundland, and a Shiloh. It was robust and solid, with a long tail, almond-shaped eyes, and longer fur. And its weight seemed to fall into the right category of seventy to one hundred and ten pounds. He knew that wolves were relatively large weight and it could have easily influenced its build but after looking at all of those pictures, he thought it looked much more dog than wolf.

It seemed ironic to think such a thing when both breeds were considered wolf-dogs.

Yugi ran a hand through his hair and fell back against his seat with a sigh. The Newfoundland genes explained the wideness of the cheeks. Larger breeds had massive jaws and they could gather a lot more in their mouths that way. No wonder Ushio's killer had been able to crush his skull with that bite. No wonder it had been able to drag his entire body there using that same killing wound. From what he knew its cheeks had expanded enough for it to comfortably grip him there and pull him along without much issue.

Yugi burst out laughing at the realization.

He was turning into one of those.

Next couple of chapters will probably be late. My work schedule is a lot of days without break.