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.

10. Red

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

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

Chapter Warnings: COPIOUS Amounts of BLOOD AND VIOLENCE, Wolves Fighting, Character Deaths, AWKWARD Teenagers (Yugi and Anzu are idiots, just saying), Potentially Confusing Dream Sequences

Okay, so I got seriously distracted by real life. And let me tell you, FUCK real life. I really hate real life right now. Anyways, so I'm super late with my update but here it is. I have no idea when I'll get eleven up either. It's a long chapter and I'm short on time more often than not. So I can't make any promises. But I SHOULD be able to get it done either Tuesday or Wednesday.

This is the first fight you're going to see in the story. I'm not sure that it's all clear what's going on at all times. For me it is because I'm the author but for readers I don't know if you'll picture it as easily. So tell me if you do or don't. Please~ It'll help me out a lot to get better at writing them later on (and since there are going to be a LOT I could definitely use the help. Please and thank you~). Apologies to anyone in advance if it is confusing.

I'm so tired I can't tell the difference between confusing and straightforward at this point. Which is why, if you think the ending kind of falls flat, I won't be offended because I kind of stopped editing at one point because I'd already gone over that part a day or two ago and never got back to it in time to actually try posting or anything like that before now. So, yeah, my bad.

Chapter X: Red

Work Log Entry X: April, 1996

April 26

The she-wolf, assumed barren formerly, has officially become impregnated but is no longer able to change to take on her human skin anymore.

According to the ultrasounds we have managed to complete, she has all of six wolf cubs in her womb now.

Now all we must do is make sure that she remains healthy throughout the gestation period and those six cubs will be born perfectly.

We will finally have our Pure-Bloods.

He groaned, rolling over and bunching his limbs together in a vain attempt to make the pounding in his head cease. The pain spiked and throbbed with the movement and he ground his teeth together, clenching his jaw tightly to prevent himself from crying out. He moved to rub at his face, palms slick and sweaty. They itched, tingling, and burned as they made his cheeks respond similarly. His flesh felt as if it was burning but only his hands had broken into perspiration. His initial impulse was to pull his hands away immediately, but another instinct made itself known with the caution of moving too swiftly.

Yugi had no doubt that it was possible to feel worse than he did at that moment, though he truly wished it wasn't. He had no desire to test such a theory, however, and instead kept his eyes clenched tightly. He drew in deep breaths, his ribs aching for a moment as they flared with heat, and finally opened his gaze into thin slits. The light almost burned his retinas, causing a groan to rip out of his throat as his head throbbed harder. The noise made his ears ache as if sizzling and it echoed within his skull like wind in a tunnel, causing him to bite his tongue harshly. A disgustingly bitter, sour taste had come over his tongue, as if the muscle had grown swollen and thick where it was pressed against the roof of his mouth. His teeth hurt with the force of which he clamped them together. The shadows cast by his eyelashes did nothing to stop the burn of the sunlight that came through his skylight.

His fingers twitched and the need to start moving around, despite the ache in his muscles, made him prop himself onto his right elbow. His head spun momentarily when he twisted his upper body so that his stomach was almost parallel with mattress. He scrunched his eyes up further but the light burned them and his teeth ground together as he angled himself.

The noise ricocheted and bounced within his ears, stunning him for a moment, and he nearly whimpered but swallowed it at the last second. He breathed out roughly, his skin beginning to itch and burn as it had the day before, and pushed himself onto his knees, twisting to gather his legs beneath him. Each new movement brought a deafening roar of noise to his ears and pain across his skin, as if he were being poked by needles or cut with knives.

He would have rearranged his limbs had it not been for the pain in his skull and the way everything in his bloodstream seemed to rebel against him. He shifted slowly only in order to move his arms beneath his chest, a painful task as they rubbed against the fabric of the sheets. It took him what felt like days just to pull himself above the mattress with his arms propped by the elbows again, but it was beneficial to the torture of his heightened senses.

He pressed his forehead against the sheets, shoulders raised and back arched almost unnaturally. He almost groaned in discomfort as he realized the sheets were soaked in sweat, as if he had poured cold water across the bed the night before. He bunched his muscles together further, feeling them roll beneath his skin as his nerve endings pulsed with a miserable throb.

His abdomen stung and his insides twisted as he drew in a long, deep breath that made his head spin further. Yugi pressed his jaw together until his teeth began to ache from the tension. His head spun from the pressure and he realized with startling clarity that he was close to the edge of the bed. One small movement would send him over the side and crashing to the floor.

He opened his eyes, raising his head slowly as the muscles in his neck took on a steady ache which felt like flares of heat beneath his skin. He strained the muscles with the effort of movement and his arms dragged themselves forward so that he could grasp the sheets in tight fists.

Blue-violet eyes squeezed shut immediately again. A ragged breath left his mouth as he moved his tongue to slip between his teeth. He struggled not to cry out, hissing unhappily. For a moment the world spun and he could not tell which direction was which. The room swayed gently and the air seemed to bring back a small bite of pain to the bridge of his nose. The smell of sweat, strong but so absorbed by the cotton and polyester blend that it came out somehow weaker, greeted him as he raised his head.

He did not open his eyes again as he reached up to rub at his throbbing temples now. Rather, he shifted down and attempted to ignore the new rush through his skin, his veins pulsing with heat once more, and moved to drape his legs over the side of the bed. The muscles protested, sending pinpricks of electricity through his limbs, his bones somehow so pressured by his slight weight that they almost seemed to snap.

He did not think it had ever taken him so long to get out of bed or walk a mere ten feet in his life. Most mornings he did not bother to turn on the bathroom light because of the sunbeam that filtered through the glass of the window which managed to fill the room enough that it was unnecessary. But this time, he paused in the doorway and thought briefly of what his eyes had looked like the day before.

Though, as he looked at the shadow his reflection cast on the mirror, he remembered that his grandfather knew and thus there was no reason to hide it from him. But his mother would sooner think he was not taking his medicine and was now suffering than believe in something that was considered myth.

He reached his hand out to the side, the cold touch of the plastic making his head spin for a moment. It was as harsh as dumping his hand into the depths of a bowl of icy water. He nearly recoiled but instead flipped the light. He had learned to deal with it—though only slightly—the day before as the hours had passed by and he had been unable to rid of the new sensation.

The bulbs flashed once as his fingers lingered too long, but he didn't think to do much more than squeeze his eyes shut once more. The light burned his lids in bright red, with small touches of darker, almost black forks of color which highlighted his veins. A small but harsh buzzing made its way into his skull without effort. His teeth ground harder together and the sound of them gliding over each other was enough to make him cringe in mounting pain. The muscles bunched with such force that it sounded almost as if the bones were breaking in his jaw, his ears ringing violently. His head was pounding now.

He decided that he did not want to look at himself again when he finally drew his eyes open. He squinted for what felt like an eternity, struggling with the way the light seemed to grow to the same blinding intensity it had days before. A pressure formed behind his eyes, as if the muscles were bunching there and refused to unknot themselves. He furrowed his brows, squinting further, and his jaw clicked as he tried to pull it from its clenched position.

The smell of mint brushed against his nose and he frowned at the harshness that began to burn at his skin there. It felt like daggers digging into his flesh, drawing lines across the vessels, and he fought the urge to groan in dismay at the sensation. In the small room he could almost hear nothing, as if the stale air had dulled the space of the area altogether. There was a soft, repetitive thumping with the complementary wet twisting that followed it, and the steadiness of it was alarming but somehow beautiful and relaxing all the same. There was a metallic, savory smell radiating from his own skin as he lowered his eyes to the faucet, and another, smaller hint of the buttery undercurrent came with it almost immediately.

He blinked and then drew in another deep breath. There was a faint hint of something like sea salt and it grew as he attempted to focus on it solely. Then there was a single touch of what he realized curiously was that of his own body wash. It was a woodsy, earthen scent, a mixture of citrus and cypress with a small trace of mint which heightened its appeal even further.

The amount of adjustment he was still suffering through did not allow him much room to do more than blink and open his eyes to splinters of color again. The air was still heavy with the smell of his toiletries, but the light that splashed across the mirror's surface in single beams of bright white was blinding. They glinted as if daggers in design, splintering and hitting his eyes with enough force to make him hiss in displeasure.

The curl of the noise as it left his mouth was far from as simple as it should have been. He could hear it even as the small bits of spittle were expelled from his mouth. He heard the wave of noise as it grew louder and faltered in quick intervals, fading away immediately as he fell silent.

He turned the knob after a moment, leaning forward against the counter. The metal grated and screeched so loudly that it made him flinch. The jerk of action made the pain behind his eyes heighten. He yelped and blood splashed across his teeth as his tongue was punctured. He blinked and kept his eyes on the knobs in front of him, the water from the faucet dribbling slightly from the bottom of the metal mouth. A small groan made its way up the back of his throat but disappeared again as he looked away. The gathering of water within the pipes gained his sole attention so abruptly that it nearly took his breath in surprise.

His pupils were enlarged as he slowly turned his sight on the glass, unable to fight away his curiosity. His stomach twisted as he took note of just how much of the blue of his irises had been eaten away by the black. But the sensation did not last long as he leaned forward to take them in a small bit further. Were his eyes darker than they should have been or was it simply that his pupils expanded to give it that illusion?

He stretched his eyes as wide as he could. He went as far as to reach up and pull his lids away to expose the red of the flesh beneath. He peered at them and felt his insides twist and grate against each other with the realization. They were darker, yes, but the specks immediately around his pupils were drained even more then they had been before. It was an off-silver tint where it should have been dark blue rather than the periwinkle shade they had been before.

He dragged in a harsh swallow and closed his eyes tightly. He opened them in a flash, focused on his reflection completely, and found himself disappointed. The size of his pupils was consistent, regardless of the addition of darkness or light as he had just attempted to test.

Yugi forced himself to slowly shuffle back to the bed, taking a seat with his head down and his eyes closed. He drew in a few small, even breaths and felt the headache lift only infinitesimally, but even that brought him strong relief. It felt as if there were a haze, a blanket, some kind of fog that clouded his mind. His focus was splintered, making his thoughts feel as if they were coming from miles away and thus drifting as if carried by mist.

He was not unaware of the ringing in his ears but it seemed dulled now. The pain flared every time he shifted and brought movement to his head in time with the new spikes that drifted through his arm. His collarbone ached, burning, and pulsated as if his marrow had been set alight. It resonated there, growing rhythmic in its rate, and the small teen struggled to keep from whining pitifully at the sensation. He recognized his wounds from the attack, and the pain of it almost caused him to shudder.

His ribcage felt as if it were breaking and splintering as the pain spread downwards from his collarbones. The arches of his bones there throbbed and his head seemed full now, as if stuffed once more with a ball of cotton, but his hearing still caught his heartbeat and his other senses were not clouded. When he opened his eye only slightly the light seemed to incinerate it, and he swore the beams must have passed all the way into the very back of his retinas.

It was only about ten minutes later that the fever got the point that he could not bear to remain within his room any longer. Exercising his sore muscles did nothing to calm it, however, making him feel dizzier even as he tried to make his way to the kitchen. The heat caused his skin to feel as if it might begin to peel away, blistering and flaking, and his forehead grew soaked. Sweat came in large droplets, stinking of salt and heat, and he felt them trail down his skin as if he had decided to take a shower and the water were falling directly on his head. His eyes had grown glassy, something he had noticed upon looking at his reflection in his phone's screen.

His movements were painstakingly slow, to the point that he almost wondered if he was even making his way to the kitchen. He wanted water, cold with ice cubes, but it did not stop him from feeling sick to his stomach even as he got close enough to get it.

The cabinets squeaked when he opened them and the flinch that he couldn't hold back sent him reeling. He reached his left hand up to press his index and middle fingers into his temple, the touch only making him want to flinch once more. His arm burned as if his blood had been replaced with lava threatening to ooze out of his skin at any moment.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, licking his chapped lips with a dry tongue. He reached up and felt for the glass as opening his eyes seemed to take too much energy. His fingers touched the cup's rounded surface, the cold icy touch of it making his skin burst with sparks of lightning across his nerve endings. The small teen plucked it, ignoring the way all of it seemed to multiply drastically as his hand encircled the cup entirely.

Yugi thought momentarily of using a cold compress to help break the fever but his hesitation was heavily influenced by this disease, which he still knew so little about. He did not know if a simple compress might send him into his shock or even what his temperature was.

He had no idea if possibly his usual temperature range was changing and that was why this heat was smoldering him like this. Wasn't raised body heat something that the wolf had hinted towards at the park? He blinked at the memory and he swore a drop of sweat hurried along the trail of his eyelid, desperate to wet his right eye like medicated droplets.

As he reached the fridge door, the plastic-lined metal was intensely cold beneath his touch, like ice water, and it burst along his nerves with such power he nearly moaned. It was a sense that was oddly like that of ecstasy, a rapture that he had never truly experienced before. Yugi blinked against the wonderment of the sensation, curious and almost wishing to experience more of the same thing. It contrasted so sharply with his own body temperature moments before that he had actually assumed it to be acute pain before it had settled somewhat.

He pulled it open and the sound of the springs, of the heavy door moving, of the plastic releasing its hold, made his head spin for a split second. The noise echoed and rattled within his head, threatening to burst through his temples and carve its way through his skull. The air bathed his face, biting at his skin with playful nips like a small puppy might.

Yugi moved forward and pressed himself onto his tiptoes despite not needing to, and angled his head further inside to lay his chin across the smooth plastic of the freezer.

The sensation of the cold air was almost painful as it touched his skin with such intensity that he thought momentarily of fingers ghosting over his flesh. It fanned over him, pushing lightly in an almost playful fashion, never quite stopping and leaving small pins and needles of pleasure bleeding through his focus.

His eyes slid shut. He breathed calmly, the noise soothing his own ears. His arms reached upward to fold in front of his chin. The cup slipped through his fingers easily. The noise of it crashing to the floor and shattering made his ears ring. But it could not take his attention away. He pushed his chin a little further inside, breathing in deeply and comfortably.

The hum of the fridge was gentle, so soft that he almost missed it. He felt it rather than heard it, and the soft vibrations of it made his lips curve into the slightest of smiles. Pleasure coiled in his veins and his voice threatened to break into a satisfied purr but the noise died in his throat. He did not even shift his weight for a split second, unwilling to leave the beautiful chill whatsoever.

He kept his face pressed there for what he thought was days. The minutes seemed to bleed into years. The pleasure in his system made him almost doze away into nothingness. But he only recognized the amount of time passing by the arrival of his mother returning for lunch. He used her return as a marker for the two-hour interval he knew had passed. He heard her start into the house by the jingle of her keys. He heard her twist the knob, her wedding ring hitting the bronze and scraping gently.

But it was not enough to make him move. He merely kept his eyes closed and his face pressed firmly into the freezer as far as he could go. He heard her on the stairs, soft steps due to her light weight, but did not bother to greet her as the door opened. She froze, no doubt startled by the scene in front of her, but Yugi did not care. He could not find it in himself to give it much thought, the cool air so inviting that he wanted to sob with pleasure.

He felt it was more pleasurable than anything else he had ever experienced in his sixteen-year-old life. He debated for a moment declaring it even better than sex could ever be—a disillusioned thought probably—but he could not find it in himself to care. For a virgin and someone who felt his skin might melt from his bones, the bliss of the freezer's air was more than enough to make him want to say those words despite the lack of evidence.

"Yugi…"

He struggled not to whine at the sound of his name. It was spoken so quietly and full of concern that it made his spine twitch beneath his skin for a moment. His eyelids fluttered but did not open.

He did not want to open them again.

He did not want to face his mother.

He did not even want to bother with the glass at his feet.

He did not even care to think about the idea of having to pull away.

His hearing took in her movements, and the sound of her slippers against the tile was almost swallowed away by the hum of the fridge. He caught her opening a cabinet, the squeak searing through his skull with enough force to make his head ring again. Her fingers touching the glass made him want to cringe but he fought the impulse away and pressed his chin further against the plastic in desperation to make it stop. The pills rattled in the bottle when she pulled them out and the echo they left made his hands clench into fists.

He wanted to jerk away from her immediately when he felt that gentle warmth against his cheek. His entire left side began to burn and tingle, her body heat ghosting over his skin. He did not turn but he could imagine her standing next to him, watching him with a concerned expression. He stepped aside only when she got close enough to brush against him. The sound of the ice cubes being moved when she went to grab some made him fight away a flinch. He still refused to open his eyes, or turn his head, to look at her. The sound of ice colliding as she picked out some and dropped them into the glass made him wince painfully.

"Here, maybe this will help," she muttered softly, next to his ear, voice sounding uncomfortable and clearly concerned. Yugi hesitated opening his eyes as he knew she was holding out a bottle of Advil around pushing the lever on the fridge door to get ice water into the cup.

For a moment he pretended not to hear but thought better of it. Maybe the painkillers would actually help him. Maybe it would break the fever and his headache might begin to go away as well. He doubted the second half of it, but he was hopeful for the first. His mind raced with desperation to stay where he was, but his eyes provided him the detail that his mother was not about to let him keep his head in the freezer all day.

Painfully he wished he could argue with the thought. He fought back the impulse to pitifully whine and beg her to let him stay as he was, collecting the bottle and cup from her. For a moment his fingers flared with a gentle, icy pain that shot through each of his nerves, but then it passed just as abruptly.

He listened to the door close and almost whined in dismay at the reality of it. The cold air was gone from his reach now and something in the back of his mind seemed to wail at the very thought of such a thing. It seemed hideous and wrong to have it taken from him so easily. His own relief was so effortlessly snatched away and he was reminded of the very fact that it had come about so simply from a bite.

He heard her shuffling about even as he began to start towards the living room to grab a seat on the couch. The cushions seemed to expel a faint, artificial current of lavender from the air freshener that had been sprayed the day before. The soft addition of his weight sent a gentle rustling noise through his ears, almost inaudible as it whispered through his senses. The broom's bristles when he brushed against it made soft scratching noises which pushed through the ball of cotton like claws running over his skin.

He moved slowly, tipping his head back and raising the glass to his mouth. The water was so cold it seemed to numb his taste buds. His empty stomach swelled with the rush of ice that met it. The water seemed to make the muscles in his throat grow cold and nearly numb, so chilled that it pushed towards a gentle ache as if his nerves were smothered.

His head continued throbbing even as he pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and leaned back into the cushions to lie on his back. He twisted, pulling his legs into a bent position as he drew his arms closer to himself to get comfortable. The throbbing intensified to the point that he wanted to wail again. The sweat was falling in sheets of water once more and thought of faucets and rivers, of downpours and monsoons. His stomach seemed to coil and grow emptier as the seconds passed.

He thought, as his heart echoed in his skull and his breaths came out in gentle wisps, that he could not understand how he had managed to survive this long. It had only been hours since he had first woken up and only days since his senses had changed, and yet, he could not help but wonder. The pain was too intense in his system to give him relief and the heat was returning to his throat with such harsh streams of fire that it made his mind shriek.

His arms began to take on a more constant pulse of pain now rather than being in time with his heart and head. It became a violent sting, from the very tips of his fingers to his collarbones where it seemed to pool and circulate as if by a pump. When he looked at his fingers, they shook violently with the pain, so harsh he nearly screamed.

The emptiness of his belly gurgled with need and he thought vaguely of eating but the task seemed too demanding. It would take so long to pick himself from the couch's cushions. It would be a struggle to make his way into the kitchen for a snack. And it would be far too much work to deal with the presence of his mother there. He didn't want to try to speak to her. But he doubted even if he could manage to talk to her long enough to get food, he would end up having to actually eat it. And he didn't think he could force himself to chew and then swallow it and let his stomach work on digesting it comfortably.

He wanted to rub his temples for a moment but feared the way his skin might feel beneath his fingers. He didn't want to experience that anymore and he thought that the flesh might be more tender than usual. He was not willing to test that theory by any means. He would wait it out and see if the fever broke or the headache finally managed to leave him as he begged so desperately.

---

"How do you feel now?"

It was the first time Yugi had moved in a handful of hours. He had fallen asleep on the couch, Kasumi knew, as she had checked on him several times and found him so still that she had almost assumed he'd died somehow. But she had watched his chest as he breathed, frowning as she took in the sight of the blanket pulled over his shoulders. She had thought to take it off him, considering how much he had been sweating before, but she'd also feared it would wake him. It was obvious that he needed his sleep.

The bags beneath his eyes were oddly emphasized, deep and dark. And it had not gone unnoticed the new patterns of behavior he'd begun to exhibit.

He was sitting there with his shoulders hunched and back slouched forward. His head was down as if it was too heavy for his neck, and sweat had gathered on his forehead. His bangs were drenched and plastered to his skin with perspiration. His cheek was reddened where he had kept it pressed against the cushion for so long. Knots were visible in the base of his disheveled hair, the thin strands caught and held together. When he moved a certain way it looked as if his skin were trembling and Kasumi could see small hints of gooseflesh perking upon his arms.

He had been awake for several minutes and had not moved from this spot. She had listened to him breathing, a shallow and harsh noise, and the reality of this seemingly desperate scene in front of her made her feel sick. She had no idea if there was a chance of easing the pain that was so blatantly painted upon his body, the tremors that forced his shoulders to rise and fall as if he were sobbing.

The only difference within the living room that had come about at any time now was that of the television playing. The volume was extremely low, almost to the point that it was mute, but she could hear the program faintly. They were but mere whispers and the music came in soft hints. He was immobile beyond it, and did not so much as look interested in whatever was playing on the screen in front of him.

Yugi, listening to her voice and the gentle noises of the television, felt sick to his stomach. He wanted to lean forward, to press his face into the table. He wanted to fold his arms and push his cheeks into it until the chill crept through his face all the way to his bloodstream and outwards with each pump of his heart. His muscles ached and twisted in knots beneath his skin, focused especially along the back of his shoulder blades. His head was throbbing, his skin still alight with fire. Nothing seemed to have changed within the time of his nap safe for his strange new tolerance for background noise that had somehow developed. The television dialogue was oddly comforting, lulling him towards a blissful unawareness, but it did nothing to stop the rest of his pain.

"My head still hurts," he murmured, just loud enough for his mom to hear. He shifted slightly, drawing his right leg closer to his chest while his left remained folded beneath him. His muscles bunched hideously again, striking him painfully as they formed a hard knot along his shoulder blades once more. Pulses of pain came forward, shifting through his system violently, and his right arm began to throb again.

"Do you want to go to the doctor?" she asked, frowning at him as she thought to attempt persuasion. Yugi raised his head only enough for her to see his eyes, which looked so pale at the moment that she thought they were turning pale almost as if he had developed cataracts. He shifted forward, pressing his chin to his kneecaps, and watched her for a moment as he forced a small smile to his face.

"No, I'm okay, Mom," he mumbled, "I don't think I need to go to the doctor."

Immediately Kasumi thought to argue with him, opening her mouth to press the issue, but stopped short. He had such a concentrated look upon his face that it halted the words where they lingered in her throat. His eyes, pale and nearly lifeless, were filled with an intensity that made her mouth grow dry. He seemed to be staring at her and through her all at once. But the determination within them made them look almost lively, as if it might be so powerful as to fill them with color once more. He would fight her, tooth and nail, and would not give in until she forced him to go there.

"All right." She wouldn't force him, if only for the pain Kasumi knew it would cause him. His headache was painted so clearly upon his face that it was impossible to miss the etchings of emotion there. He seemed almost to wince as they looked at each other, and abruptly his attention turned towards the screen behind her. The quaking did not stop and she wanted to try again but she feared hurting him rather than helping should she argue. "I'm going to get some more Advil from the store. Is there anything else you might want?"

Yugi blinked and then shook his head slowly. "No, thank you."

He only moved to get more comfortable after she went back downstairs. He stretched himself out on his side again, wincing as pain shot through him like a rush of adrenaline. His muscles knotted harshly once more, drawing a long line across the vertebrae of his spine. He could not move, ceasing anything further than breathing, and closed his eyes as he rested his head against the cushions. His breaths steadied into a soft rhythm of noise, gentle and light, and its tranquility managed quickly to put him to sleep once more.

The soft rhythm of his breaths grew quicker, his heart becoming louder. His lungs swept air in calmly but so sufficiently that it pushed such energy through him that it made him lightheaded for a split second.

The whisper of the noise in his ears was as light as the wind as he moved. He was running faster than he had ever before assumed possible, legs pumping and ears pricked. The wind passed over his skin in slithers like knife blades, pulsing through his nerves with such power he felt he was flying. The sensation which pushed him forward and danced within him gave the illusion of something beautiful and wondrous, terrible and great in its brilliance.

Muscles coiled and released beneath his skin like working springs. His leaps came with such strength he felt he would never again have need to touch the ground. He propelled himself faster, angling his ears to take in all the noises around him. His muscles bunched and his shoulders rolled as he challenged this speed.

A low, beautiful song of harmonious melody swept through the air he slowed slightly, ears pricking, and tilted his head only a faction at the new curling of its rolling call. He fell into a brisk trot, eyes widening as his tail began to wag in rapid succession at the wondrous song. His body moved with such a swift determination that he nearly shook with surprise, the sensation coming in the gentle touch of the wind which came through his fur.

He found his tail wagging harder as the air stilled and grew silent for a moment before throwing his head back. The immensity of the noise with which his breath burst forward, vibrant and beautiful and terribly foreign, brought him to rear back on his hind legs. He leaped as the noise faded, his lungs seemingly collapsing upon themselves with the force of his enthusiasm, landing so lightly he felt as if he might be suspended in the air.

Soft, friendly calls traveled the air with beautiful and wondrous strength and clarity. They whipped through the wind as his ears flicked about him once, tail wagging. A few of the shadows surrounding him lit with specks of color, glowing like fireflies and drawing his attention to his surroundings for the first time.

Trees were thick, reaching high into the sky with branches which threatened to block out the moon but only succeeded in allowing the silver light passage as if translucent. The top of each branch glittered and shone like crystals within sunlight, as if rippling upon the surface of water. Small ribbons of mist glowed bright silver like webs with sparks of gold and blue with the keenness of stars against the night sky. Some of the tree trunks, he noticed, gave off a bluish glow rather than glistening silver, and seemed to illuminate around the edges with such brightness as to rival the sun.

The leaves which clung to the branches glittered with a brighter hue, giving the mist soft touches of color like the galaxies within the sky overhead. The frost which weighed upon the ferns and ground beneath his paws was bathed a brilliant white with undertones of gray and just the tiniest hints of the beautiful shade the trees bore. Small, glistening dots of white glittered and flickered at the base of each tree, with golden cores which seemed brilliant enough to give the large plants life.

As his eyes rose further upwards he found the sky a brilliant and deep purple with the richest of hues he had ever seen. Hints of blue swirled within the royal color, thick ribbons of bright red-violet mist tinting the sky with soft touches of silver starlight which danced like birds within the air.

The full moon was shaded upon the right side, with crevices as deep as mountain valleys, glowing purple, surrounded by a ring of bright red-violet which spilled into silver and white. Behind it, the stars glittered and shifted as if stirred by the wind, sparkling like jewels with such strength it hurt his eyes.

To his left came forth the softest of gurgles and, as he looked at it, the river was painted blue, with ribbons of silver and white from the moon. The reflective surface danced as it continued its journey downwards, giving off a beautiful and strange glow where the light touched it. Smooth stones gave the appearance of natural roughness and jagged form, littering the shore where he saw smoother, softer pebbles which breached the surface. Painted bright silver and cobalt, the outer surfaces were almost black where the water touched them and the smaller stones peeked from beneath them. Soft sand glittered with a similar glow, the color of basking silver with gentle touches of gold which looked like glossy brushstrokes of sunlight.

The forest shared one internal glow, though it seemed to branch off into multitudes of color so brilliant they brought wonder and beauty like nothing else. The sand shifted beneath his paws as he stepped forward, with such gentle warmth that it was almost like the swift comfort that came with affection. He leaned forward to peer at the water, the way the surface flickered and moved with such softness that it appeared almost still with mere whispers to its travel. Its trickle was almost nonexistent, the roar of it almost entirely abandoned somewhere within the darkness. The stones which littered the inside of the river, he realized, were large and smooth enough that he could jump from one to the next and cross at any moment should he wish it.

A swift howl, followed by one loud bark, claimed the air with such authority it jolted his attention. He turned his head, pricking his ears as his tail wagged slowly from side to side. He tilted his head, eyes widening faintly, and he imagined the forest's beautiful natural glow was reflected there like firelight. The tranquility of the glowing woodland was enough to make him feel warm, with such soft joy that it seemed to replace his blood.

He wagged his tail again, tilting his head back, raising both front feet in rapid succession for a moment in a dance of impatience. For a moment he did nothing but look at the sky where there seemed to be no clouds to block the brilliance of the night overhead. Then he reared back again, standing on his hind legs once more, and let out a howl to release some of the glorious tension growing in his body.

He dropped back again, landing with a thud that made the sand crunch under his paws. His tail wagged furiously once more, almost like a flag dancing in the wind, and he looked about him as the specks of color seemed to grow more immense. There were newcomers, he realized, some of teal and dark blue, others of amber and ice, another pair of bright golden. He recognized them as eyes as he looked upon them more fully, so excited by this newfound knowledge that his body went through a gentle quiver of anxious and tense exhilaration.

He wished to pounce forward but a noise, loud and foreign but familiar all the same, caught his attention. His head snapped around, eyes startled, just as his body jerked in its former restful state, thrown into a tense and mounting confusion. He scrambled to attention, sitting up so quickly that he felt his eyes might pop out of his skull with the pain that burst forth behind them. He panted for breath, lungs demanding compensation, and his chest seemed to ache and creak beneath his skin with each touch of air.

The sound of the wolves echoed within his head for a moment died away slowly, the reminiscence of excitement in his being cut away like shredded paper. He weakly shook his head, trying his hardest to calm his breathing some. His throat was sore and raw, as if he had been screaming in his sleep, and his muscles had grown weary and exhausted.

He did not get up to move even as the door opened and closed on the bottom floor. He moved only to sit further upright, bracing his shoulders against the soft backrest of the couch. His mother had returned, and the crinkling of the paper bag she carried told him she had gotten more than just Advil. Yugi closed his eyes tightly, feeling anxious as he struggled to steady his breathing. Her steps were light and soft on the stairs and the small teen tilted his head further back against the cushions.

When she entered the kitchen she made no move towards him. He listened to her as her house slippers touched the tiles. His sense of hearing perked further as she seemed to move towards the fridge or possibility the counters. He pictured her, momentarily debating grabbing him a new cup of water, but did not look towards her. He could smell her, however, the blood in her veins heated further and traced with a light hint of something spicy and earthen, like cinnamon. It made the softer buttery smell beneath it slightly stronger and the blend of them was a beautiful perfume that made his head spin for a split second. But, despite the assault on his nose, he found himself unnerved as his mind tried desperately to decipher the new undercurrent to her blood.

For a moment he was lost and then it occurred to him. Her heart was beating a little faster, racing as if with desperation. He tipped his head to the side minimally, breathing in roughly once more, and then dug the fingers of his right hand into his thigh. Exhausted, his mind drifted and pushed at his senses, drawing to a conclusion that made him feel sick for a split second. He could smell her anxiety towards his condition, brought on by the rise of body temperature from her quickened heart, the hint of cinnamon coming forth from the new heat.

---

'Yugi groaned as the phone rang next to his ear. The bell-like jingle curled at the end and he thought it echoed violently even within the recording, regardless of his own intensified sense of hearing. The dull throbbing came tenfold and he felt his shoulders strain and ache as he forced himself to reach outwards and pluck it from the table. Where it vibrated against the wood it sounded so painful it made his skull pound heavily. He wanted to turn it off and lie back down, or smother his hearing with the pillow beneath his head, but obligation pushed at his senses as well. As his fingers touched it, a chill ran through him, his bones cold from the touch of air conditioning, and the table seemed to vibrate and roll.

He hesitated briefly, palm aching as it came into contact, but slowly pulled it towards him. His mouth was dry and his tongue heavy in his mouth from the dream he'd had moments before, though he no longer remembered it. His fingers trembled even as he began to sit up somewhat and look at the screen where the light seemed to burn his eyes. He thought momentarily that he needed to dull the brightness there, though he was frustrated by the very idea of it. Yugi tossed his head slightly, swallowing, and blinked several times as he took the name in.

"Hey, Jonouchi," he greeted, forcing his voice to come out stronger and more even, casual in demeanor. For a moment he heard only soft rustling and then he thought he caught Honda's voice saying something to Anzu who giggled in response. The small teen shook his head, stomach twisting as a realization came over him slowly, and he wanted nothing more than to hang up and lay back down again.

"Hey, Yug!" His best friend sounded jovial and eager, making guilt flare in his insides immediately as he swallowed hard and refused to speak again. "We decided that we were going to hang out at the arcade today—"

"I can't."

For a second he thought Jonouchi might begin talking again, maybe ignore his statement and start on something else. Yugi reached up to rub at his eyes with a lazy swipe of his right hand, hoping he wouldn't press too hard at the issue. He was exhausted and every part of his body thrummed with that hideous pain.

"Oh, come on, Yugi. We haven't hung out in days!" he wheedled, and Yugi flinched but could hear Honda and Anzu growing quiet now. Gaming music drifted forward, though it was muffled and static, and he flinched again as he shook his head and tried his hardest to ignore the sound of it. "The festival is still a day away! We figured we would all hang out before then."

Yugi felt terrible for his attitude towards the invitation but he would not change his stance on this. "Jonouchi, I really can't," he replied, voice coming out somewhat tired as he reached up to rub at his forehead for a moment. He shook his head, frustrated, and swallowed away a whimper that threatened to bubble upwards.

"But—"

"No…I have to help my mom with a surgery," he bit out, voice somewhat harsh and his mouth feeling dry and pasty. He thought it sounded almost like a snarl or maybe a hiss, perhaps even a weak growl of confusion. His mouth tasted metallic, as if he had touched his tongue to a penny or some other change from his pocket. The small teen swallowed, choking on the taste, and cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling sick. "There's an amputation for this dog we need to do. Its foot is practically rotting off…"

He rubbed his forehead again and his shoulders bunched up. The muscles rolled along the blades of bone and his arm jerked faintly as if someone had struck it with their hand in an attempt to knock away his phone. His fingers locked and shook, his hand aching, and his mouth grew even further metallic in taste. He shook his head sloppily, the pain pulsing through it violently, and blinked at the heaviness his limbs seemed to have accumulated so suddenly.

"Oh…well…can't you bail?" Jonouchi tried, a last ditch effort that they both recognized as only halfhearted. The blond had already given up, he knew, and he felt bad for it, but it did nothing to make him stop from speaking once more as he shook his head as if he might see through the screen. "I mean…you always help out with them. She could ask one of her techs…"

"I can't just not help out," he argued, forcing it to come out in something of a soft laugh, but his exhaustion was nipping at his insides and he felt sick to his stomach again. The room seemed to lurch the more he stared at the room's corner nearest the television. He tilted his head only slightly to the side, blinking at the junction blankly as he thought to lie back down again. But he felt had he done so he would start to fall asleep swiftly, if not immediately. "You know I can't say no to an animal."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the blond grumbled, at first with a sigh and then with a cheerier response. "But there's always the festival. You're not going to get out of that one with a surgery."

He blinked at the statement and frowned minutely. "No way. I wouldn't miss the festival for the world," he responded a little too quickly. It came out miserable in his own ears but with that music playing over the line he realized Jonouchi probably did not catch such an emotion in it. He cleared his throat and forced his voice to come out chipper as his mind began to turn in a new direction. "I'll be there. Don't worry. Mom even knows not to ask me for help when it comes around."

"Great!"

Yugi wanted to cringe at the very thought of the festival. He was changing on that day, there was no mistake. It was only one day before and already his body was so foreign he thought it alien and unnatural to any creature known. He could not do much more than simply stare at the calendar he had on his wall and feel sickness creeping through him with every second he had been within his room. Now, lying on the couch in the living room and staring at the television blankly, he had no reason to count the seconds but rather found himself wishing it was over already.

If he killed everyone at the festival, he would not care. He needed to get rid of this terrible pain. If the pain went away, he would allow himself to lose his mind and do whatever was necessary to cut it out of him completely. He would care only afterwards, he supposed, when the reality of it set in completely. He did not think he would waste a breath for their families or friends when their blood seemed to quell the pain that threatened to swallow him so absolutely. He thought he might bathe in their blood and dance in a field of severed flesh should he kill that night.

If he had no control, that made it even better. If he had control and that put the pain away, he doubted he would find it as terrible in that moment. It was not even a true question of morals or compassion, just survival which seemed to be in its simplest of forms.

"Well, I guess I'll see you then," the blond commented.

"Absolutely," Yugi agreed, blinking and scrunching his eyes up as the television's light flashed and flared in several neon colors. "I'll meet up with you guys ahead of time and we'll all go together. There's still the plan, right?"

"Hell yeah it is."

"Okay." He drew in a deep breath, nearly swallowing to push away some of the ache in his stomach. "I'll see you there."

"See you."

He let the blond hang up but looked at his phone for a long moment as his skin jerked along his bones once more. He decided, staring down at it with worried eyes, that if he would be given that strange, wondrous effect his dream had allowed him, then he would not question his skin splitting. He would not question even the roll of his muscles beneath his skin or the ache with which his body burned at that moment.

That euphoric sensation, he thought faintly, was worth this hideous pain. He didn't know how long either would last or if it was worth it to question, but he did know that his dream was something to cherish. That beautiful speed and the sensation of never touching the ground, the joy with which it came, was a gift that he wished to have forever. He lowered his phone to the table again, watching the tendons in his fingers bulge and then seemingly pulse. Then he lay back against the cushions a third time, looking at the television again with a lazy blink.

He hoped desperately for his dreams to take him back to that, though they had not formerly and he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that they would fail now as well. Rather than the euphoria he had been granted hours before, several hours later, Yugi found himself sweating violently but without the heat in his veins. When he sat up, the world tilted and seemed to swirl like flakes of snow pushed by the wind, but the small teen was unsurprised. The rest of him seemed mildly okay, though his skull throbbed and his body felt colder than it ever had before.

It was as if ice had replaced his blood and his bones felt hollow and frozen beneath his skin. It was as if frostbite had set into his body under his muscles and it was oddly both painful and rejuvenating in sensation. He reveled in it even as they felt as if they might fall from his palms at any moment. The small teen looked his hands over, watching them shake in harsh jerks of pain.

He blinked slowly, feeling something curling inside of his blood, and his lips pulled downwards into a grimace of frustration. His stomach twisted painfully and his mouth tasted even more harshly of metal and iron, his tongue growing warmer and heating that disgusting odorous flavor. Yugi raised his eyes to the screen in front of him and then back down to his hands where he thought perhaps he should attempt to quell the shaking.

The heat came with such intensity that he nearly snarled in discomfort. The collision of the two drastic temperatures was that of sweltering summer sunshine and frostbitten winter snow. He felt them sweeping through his insides in such a rush that he thought it akin the river he head often seen within the woods upon going up into the foothills of the mountains.

He flinched and gripped his head, groaning softly as his eyes clenched tightly. He tossed his head slowly back and forth, the groan becoming louder, and tipped his chin downwards to press it against the center of his collarbones. It was a slightly uncomfortable position but it helped to make him feel better, if only mildly. It was if the new touch of gravity somehow managed to make his head's violent pounding lessen.

White hot pain came forth with each heartbeat and the frozen sensation was now growing furiously undone, thawing and pulsating. It spread through him in place of his blood and his muscles contracted to lock in place. Sweat began to pour down his forehead once more, spine growing rigid as his body jerked and trembled violently. He could not move himself from the ball of limbs he curled into a moment later.

---

Her hand skated over his forehead, painful but not hideously so. The sweat from her palm did him wonders to bring down some of the heat boiling beneath his skin. He wondered if she thought he was as hot as he felt, if she thought it akin putting her hand in the middle of a flame.

He blinked several times, opening his eyes into mere slits. The air smelled salty and somehow still hotter than his own body. Little hints of that metallic scent were coming forth now and he wrinkled his nose faintly at the way it carried his senses. He blinked, attempting to focus on her. But his eyes burned and his mouth felt dry and pasty.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the doctor?"

Yugi closed his eyes again tightly for a split second and shook his head slowly. The doctor was the last thing he had any desire to deal with. They'd take his temperature and then put him on so many drugs he wouldn't wake up for the next week. He would never make it out of there before the Change happened. And then what would he do? They'd put him on television and make him into an attraction for a freak show and people would never leave him alone—if he survived for long. Or he would be contained by the Japanese government and experimented on.

And then, of course, one of the wolves would probably put an end to him completely. They would get him when finally no one was around to see it happen and he'd only be able to blink before they killed him violently. He imagined his larynx torn out and the room bathed in blood. It would not have surprised him for it to all happen before anyone so much as though to truly consider it. If he had been able to blend in so well, then more experienced wolves most certainly could. He thought they might even kill a crowd within the room if they were brave enough. No one would have the means to stop them because no one would expect them to do it.

It occurred to him immediately as that thought crossed his mind that he would never see his friends again. It was horrifying enough to make his head spin and his heart pound. Unless he saw them in the massive crowd that would swarm his room, he would never see them again. But, even without the hospital involved, something else might prevent it. He felt his stomach grow cold and empty.

Should he bail out on the festival, would they still want to ever speak to him again?

The reality of the situation was that he, like the others, recognized the strain that was coming over their small group. It had grown more pronounced over that phone call hours before but it had been there the entire time, festering like a hideous wound, and he feared the worst. There was no way they would forgive him so easily for that—especially not Jonouchi.

He felt sick to his stomach at that realization.

The blond was far too loyal to allow him to slip between the cracks with such an incident. He would do as he did with the Burger World employee and Ushio's death, attempting to force him into a corner. He was more likely now than ever to push him too far. And there was no telling what might leave their mouths if they started arguing. They could end up saying things they could never take back and who would ever want to risk that?

"Yes, I'm sure," he managed to say, though his voice came out scratchy and weak and he thought for a moment that it sounded as if he were croaking on his death bed. He was unsure how she might take it when his voice normally seemed so lively. He thought perhaps she might grow even unhappier with this whole situation and that made his stomach twist even harder. The few times he had been sick she had forced him to go to the hospital or their usual doctor for a regular checkup. He could, however, argue and refuse treatment if she forced him to go.

He was sixteen. At twenty-one, living with parents, she still had the ability to fight him on that decision. She could try to persuade the doctors regardless. But Yugi was considered an adult at sixteen due to the legal age within Domino City as a prefecture. Because of that he was able to veto any and every decision she attempted to make where it came in regards to his own physical body.

He was still under her roof, and she was still his mom.

But, at the end of the day, his word became law in regards to himself.

The thought was incredibly comforting.

The second to come was not.

If she thought he was unable to make the proper decision, couldn't she force the doctors to rule otherwise? And then, what would he do after that?

But he felt bad for even considering the argument of telling her no and refusing her alleviation towards her growing worries. He would feel terrible for not listening and she, like any mother, knew exactly how to manipulate his guilt.

"But your fever hasn't broken—"

"It did earlier," he argued weakly, reaching up to move her hand away and nearly cringing. Every muscle in his body rebelled against him even more with the simplicity of the reflexive movement. Heat and pain flared through his entire nervous system and his stomach ached violently as it heaved faintly and twisted viciously moments later.

"But it's worse now, Yugi. It came back worse. You need to—"

"I'm not going to the doctor, Mom," he huffed, opening his eyes and struggling to focus on her. He imagined he looked much too small, too tired, ashen and completely shaken. He thought he might have looked like a soaked rat, his entire body perspiring in buckets. His stomach twisted, his mouth growing drier somehow. "It's going to pass. I'll be fine by tomorrow."

"And if you're not?"

"Then I'll go to the doctor," he snapped, his tone surprising them both, "but not until I've tried sleeping it off."

Kasumi frowned at him, annoyed and undone by his stubbornness. It was distressing the state he was in, the way that he had appeared almost lifeless and long dead before she had managed to wake him. She had the impulse to reach forward and feel his forehead again, but she did not think it would be appreciated. She also knew he would grow even further agitated if she suggested he use a thermometer. So her hand remained at her side and her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth. But it was impossible to look away from him and she almost feared that if she so much as blinked she might open her eyes to her son's corpse.

"Yugi," she stressed softly before her eyes finally seemed able to pull away despite that hideous fear. "I am taking you to the doctor first thing in the morning if you aren't better tomorrow, understand?"

"Yes," Yugi agreed, voice growing steadily annoyed and bordering hateful. He didn't want to hear anymore about it. There was no need to rehash her concern or his reluctance. She knew he hated being dragged around as he had as a child. And they both knew pressing it was hardly necessary after they had both aired out their grievances of the situation. "First thing in the morning."

But agreeing to it seemed unnecessary now. He would sleep it off. He knew that somehow with absolute certainty. It could have been the belief that the disease would not kill him for risk of destroying itself. But he knew it one way or another. This fever would not last until the morning.

He watched her go as she nodded again but ignored her as she added, "I really wish you would listen to me and go now instead, but fine. It's your choice."

Was it? Somehow he found that to be highly doubtful. It seemed more that she was consenting in order to simply have relief of mind. But there was nothing left to say and he had no reason to question her easy agreement any longer.

He turned to look over his shoulder as she walked out of the living room and through the kitchen, most likely headed for her room. His body ached and pulsed with pain but he had no power to do anything more than stare after her. Yugi settled back into the couch immediately after, clothes sticking to his body and far too heavy for him to attempt pulling off his skin. The air seemed too thick, his hair almost weighing his head down, and as he pressed his cheek into the pillow he thought himself exhausted and sick to his stomach.

The pain drifted in gentle waves as the darkness became more pronounced, and it was long gone when he opened his eyes again. When he looked around the room it was brightened by the sunlight to the point that it was hard not to recoil. He was amazed once more by the fact alone that he was not rendered blind. He thought it a miracle that his eyes adjusted even faintly. The intensity of the sunbeams made him squint for only a long minute.

He blinked a couple of times, relieved that he no longer heard the strange clap of his lids closing together. His stomach did not even twist as he looked at the carpet where the deep red strands of the fibers glittered momentarily before it dulled once more. The television's gentle glare was cast a bright white but eventually became nothing more than a touch of yellow and gray. Dust particles drifting through the air became invisible once more. The heavy, roaring pulse of the air conditioning as it trailed through the vents was reduced to a gentle, rattling buzz of white noise. He could no longer hear the ticking form the clock on the bathroom wall. His heart no longer pounded in his ears and his head did not pulse violently with pain. Instead everything seemed to be muffled, swallowed away gently. It was so relieving to him that he nearly sobbed with happiness.

Yugi realized as well that, though his senses were still the smallest degree keener, it was not so hideous as it could have been. All of what had happened formerly with his senses had prepared him for so much worse. This mild, almost unnoticeable addition to his being was almost beautiful in its simplicity. It seemed almost sensual in how light and gorgeous it was, like a small hand resting on his back to guide him. He could almost equate it to the euphoria from his dreams in only the lightest degree.

He got up, kicking the heavy blanket away and staggering forward a step. Exhaustion continued to tug at his muscles and his legs responded with heavy stiffness. His limbs ached but with a lighter prickling rather than the intense burn he'd suffered throughout the week. He stumbled but regained his balance easily, relieved with this recovery and the very fact that it was possible to. The lycanthropy had inflicted it and then allowed him the ability to fight it off as if it were nothing more than the most common of headaches. It was somehow wondrous the fact that the virus could fall back into an almost dormant state after such a vicious attack in the first place

He blinked at the thought and a new idea came to focus in his mind. How much of his DNA structure had changed? Was it all of it? Had all of his cells become alien? Were none of them the same? If he looked at his blood under a microscope would it be a strange combination of disease, wolf and human? Would everything be tainted?

And…did that mean that perhaps whatever DNA they might have found around Kokurano's body would no longer match? Was that possible? If they tested his DNA in a spit swab or a hair follicle, would it still match? Or had it changed completely to the point that nothing was recognizable? The possibility was almost horrifying but somehow also hilarious and disgusting in its satisfying reality. If no one matched the profile for the last person around him before he died, did that mean he was off the hook?

But then how could anyone match his DNA in the first place? No one had ever even asked to take his blood before. Because of his medication simply being for night terrors and his lack of injuries growing up, he'd never truly had any application of DNA applied to him. Or, if he had and he did not remember it, perhaps it wouldn't match anymore and he'd be free to go…

Yugi blinked at the realization. Why had he never thought of all that before? It would have saved him a lot of stress.

"Yugi?"

He looked up, surprised, and his head turned before he could truly think it through. "Hi, Mom," he greeted with a small grin, watching her as she came towards the kitchen. He tilted his head at her curious and shocked expression before smiling a small degree wider. He paused, almost questioning himself, and then murmured, "I slept it off."

Her eyes widened briefly, lighting with obvious relief, and her mouth curved into the softest of smiles. Yugi waggled his brows playfully as her nose wrinkled in amusement. "It only took twenty-four hours, not counting the other five days you acted so strange," she said sardonically, though it did nothing to smother her amusement and relief. In all actuality it managed somehow to lighten the atmosphere further.

"My body works miracles," he announced lazily, winking at her even as she did her usual to scrutinize him with keen eyes to make sure he truly was okay. But it was as if the sickness had been wiped away completely. The color had returned to his face, with even the smallest amount of red to dust his cheeks. His hair was ruffled, completely disheveled, and greasy and plastered to his forehead where his bangs pressed against his skin, but he looked happier than the day before. He tilted his head, smiled a little more, and she almost cried out with the absolute joy that came through her system at the sight. His eyes, just yesterday drained to silver and periwinkle, were back to their gorgeous vibrancy, deep violet and vivid, glowing sapphire blue. The light glittered where it touched them and they looked like lapis-lazuli gems as they always had, bursting with life and affection.

Kasumi had the impulse to reach up and cover her mouth, gasping, and then hug him tightly. It was so far out of her comfort zone with such a display, so terribly emotional that it was almost overwhelming. She had never been one for such displays, as it always seemed to push at the very edges of her constraints. And she hated not having control where it concerned herself. It made her feel weak, without composure, and that was something that she had never wanted.

Going into the veterinary field had been exhausting by all means of the word. So many coworkers had thought her inferior due to her gender. She had been forced to work so much harder than the rest and fantasy and emotions had never had a place there. Being looked down on for crying had hardened her to the point that she could take a great many things in stride without letting many of her emotions show on her face.

And, despite herself, she could not manage to grow past her impulse and need to shield herself even around her own family. After only crying in front of her father during college she had not done so again. She had not allowed herself to cry in front of him or Yugi even once when he was born. The only one she had ever cried in front of more than once had been his father, at the college, when Yugi was conceived, when he was born, when the night terrors had scared him so much he couldn't sleep without screaming, and perhaps twice on the phone. He had comforted her, made her feel safe enough to show him her more human side, and yet, despite her knowledge that her son and father would never judge her for it, she could not bear to show them the same.

So now Kasumi merely smiled more, eyes soft, watching him as the joy threatened to overwhelm her, and knew that he would not judge her for this either. He simply raised his head a little higher and winked before heading for the fridge, hungry as he always was upon waking.

"So…what do you think it was?" She asked it as gently as she could, in order to keep him from growing annoyed with the direction of their conversation. She hardly wanted to upset him, especially when something so wonderful had just happened. He'd recovered and looked healthy again, almost as if he had never been sick in the first place, and looking such a gift horse in the mouth was a hideous thing, but she had to know. If it was something that might spring up on him again, she needed to know. She had to have some kind of plan to prevent it getting somehow worse.

"Honestly? I think it was just stress," Yugi replied easily, though he seemed partially distracted by the idea of breakfast. He gave her a small shrug and for a moment she thought his eyes flickered with a self-conscious light, but it was gone just as fast and so she did not think about it further. "I have midterms coming up after the festival. And then there's…everything going on…"

Kasumi blinked at him, at first confused by the vague statement. "Everything going on" seemed to hint more towards something consisting of his group of friends more than anything else. She almost asked, but then fell quiet again.

Yugi was looking at her now, his brows furrowed. His eyes seemed a little darker, almost as if his lashes had cast immense black shadows, and his head tilted to the side. His lips tugged downwards slightly and she realized immediately he was already taking on his shoulders the burden of distracting her from his recent sickness.

"I…I meant with Ushio and Kokurano," he admitted softly, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck uncomfortably as if the very mention of their names made him want to flinch.

She blinked and then cringed. Right, Kokurano had been mentioned only the week before by Anzu's father, the detective in charge. Thankfully Ushio's death had been ruled as a rabid animal attack, which some insisted was canine while others argued ursidae. She didn't think it was a dog or a bear, especially considering the killing so close to their house, but she had not bothered to say anything.

"Do you…?"

She frowned at him in puzzlement, sole attention on him once more. "Do I what?"

He opened and closed his mouth twice and then ducked and shook his head uncomfortably. "Never mind."

"Go ahead and ask," she urged, watching him with curious but intense eyes. "It's clearly bothering you, Yugi. You can ask me whatever it is on your mind."

He hesitated, frowning, and then swallowed hard before looking up at her through his lashes. "Did you hear anything about Kokurano?" he finally asked softly, blinking at her and swallowing hard once more. "I mean…"

She stayed quiet for a moment, frowning, and then sighed softly. "Anzu's father called a couple of days after his body was found," she admitted reluctantly, feeling somehow small as his eyes widened and glittered with something akin desperation for answers. "He wanted to know if I knew of a drug that might…have extremely potent side effects…"

"A drug? They think it was a drug?" Yugi whispered, blinking at her slowly and frowning deeply. "What kind of side effects?"

Kasumi opened and closed her mouth and then sighed softly, looking away for a moment with a deep grimace. She reached up, running a hand through her brownish-red hair and shaking her head. "We met up for coffee a few days ago to look at it again, see if maybe there was some way we could match it all with a drug with deadly side effects," she explaining, sighing again and shaking her head once more as disgust began to paint her features. "When he showed me the x-rays they were horrifying, Yugi. There was nothing but withered bones and chewed away muscles."

"W-what?"

"There was a big gaping hole where his heart was meant to be. Many of the organs, arteries, and almost all of his blood had been stripped away with it. He was left with slight bone structure and very little muscles."

"Oh my gods…"

Yugi shook his head slowly several times, horrified, and blinked stupidly in shock. How was that possible? He had watched him die. He'd been foaming at the mouth and gurgling blood but how did that become the equivalent of being disemboweled? Was it possible that the Change had somehow forced his body to begin deteriorating? Or was it really a drug of some kind that the lycanthropy had attacked and the side effects had been dire because of it?

Or…had another wolf come along after his death and eaten most of his carcass? Wild animals went for the organs because they were the healthiest, besides the bone marrow. Was it a possibility that he had just barely escaped only to run into Ushio in the alley and nearly get killed? Was it possible that Ushio had done both? But then, how could he have gotten all the blood off his face and clothes before attacking him? There was a possibility that he had, somehow, but he doubted the massive teen had the intelligence to do it or would have cared to.

And, why do that when he would use the blood as an intimidation tactic to instill more fear?

Yugi blinked and shook his head again slowly. "Are they still…looking for a suspect?"

"Not really. They're all more convinced it's drugs over someone killing him," she replied with a shake of her head. "Everyone is relatively sure it's nothing to do with foul play and more with drug use. And it's apparently not a stretch to think that about him. He's been getting drugs for years—since he was about fourteen actually. They wouldn't be surprised if the side effects of this one were what did it."

"He was doing drugs?"

"And apparently vandalizing property. He was thought to be the one who set that hospital on fire a few months ago," she mumbled, looking at him closely for a moment. "They didn't prove it yet but he was the number one suspect. He was supposedly seen there the night it happened. And you mentioned he said it was going to happen beforehand and that's how he became 'psychic' at the school, right?"

"Yeah," he answered distractedly, mind racing. They weren't looking for a suspect anymore. They were convinced it was drugs that had done it. He'd been disemboweled and left with merely a hollow body shape. "He started asking for payment to have fortunes told."

Probably to pay for the drugs, Yugi realized now.

It was hideously relieving, however, and he almost wanted to laugh hysterically at the thought. How much time had he spent worrying about him being the number one suspect and eventually getting arrested? How many times had he been scared he'd come home to the police waiting, his mom and grandpa watching as he was cuffed and put in the back of a cruiser?

It was wasted time, but what else would he have done with it otherwise? All he had been able to focus on in the first place was more things to worry about. The Change first and foremost, the lycanthropy itself a close second, the idea of what and who his alpha might be third, and so many other things that needed closure as well. He had no other thing that his time could be spent on ever since the disease had truly begun to flare up.

"And Ushio was, of course, ruled an animal attack," his mom continued, watching him for a moment and then shrugging when he frowned at her. "They say canine or ursidae."

"You disagree," he assumed. He would have too, considering the attack pattern, if not for the fact that he knew what it was that had killed him. Lone wolves' attack patterns caused trauma to the head and neck areas and then hands and arms. Ushio had had his entire skull crushed inward by teeth and terrible bite pressure. And a wolf wouldn't have been able to drag a carcass that size alone. That was also an impossibility considering the only wolf with even the slightest chance of survival was the smaller one. And, beyond that, wolves had a healthy hatred for people and would hardly come out in the open like that.

A bear could do it, but the attack pattern didn't match. It would have crushed his entire body, as it was an inefficient hunter. They tried to kill through sheer force, unlike canines which used cunning cooperation and cats which utilized stealth. For that reason really no natural animal fit the profile. He knew that, his mom knew that, anyone with knowledge of animals would know that if they thought it through. But most people didn't care for the facts, just that someone or something was put to blame. In this case it was the animals, because no one wanted to believe another person would do it.

"It doesn't matter," Kasumi announced with a small shrug and shake of her head. The sooner they got past this conversation, the better. She hardly wanted to think on the subject any longer. She'd racked her brain plenty in an attempt to understand it all and it was still too far out of her reach, even after long, sleepless nights. Why Ushio was left at their doorstep for Yugi to find was something that she might never get the answer to, nor what had inflicted such tremendous damage. "It's over and done with. People will think what they want."

Yugi wanted to argue but then nodded faintly and turned back to the fridge instead. There wasn't a reason to talk about it anymore. The most she needed to worry about as far as that went was if it had scared people away. But his mom's reputation had exceeded most of the fear that had been instilled, though not completely. Several families had turned away, even pulling out their pets from the boarding in the back of the main clinic and taking them elsewhere.

"So, what are your plans for the day? Are you going to be with the others before the festival or are you meeting there?" his mom murmured, voice somewhat distracted and her eyes slightly distant. She blinked and then focused on him again, frowning, and he wondered for a moment if the idea of leaving the house after his fever the day before was what made her so visibly upset about this.

"We're meeting up early," he replied, watching her closely for any sign of argument so that he could get it out of the way immediately if necessary. "I was going to tutor Jonouchi some, but, of course, he decided not to because it's the day of the festival. But Honda texted me last night to ask if I could check on Blankey for him before we all meet up. Apparently she's limping a little and he wanted to make sure it isn't anything bad."

She nodded almost dismissively, but he could see the faintest hint of pride in her eyes at the idea of him examining Blankey. It often went unsaid but Yugi knew she was aware of how grateful he truly was to have her teaching him, even if she sometimes pushed him so hard he feared he might crack under the pressure.

"And I'm guessing you'll meet Anzu and Jonouchi at the festival then?"

"Probably, unless they have plans to meet up early too," he said with a shrug, though he didn't miss the slight hint of frost in her eyes at the mention of the brunette's name. She liked her well enough, but there had always been something that set her on alert and seemed to annoy her about the girl as well. Yugi had never been able to figure it out, but he hadn't tried very hard either. In all reality he had merely been curious once upon a time but never fully brought it up again. "I don't think we will though, to be honest."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just because. Anzu will probably spend time with her parents until then, celebrate a little with them, and then Jonouchi will probably just be lazy and sleep until we have to meet up."

"Ah."

"Yeah, it's going to be just me and Honda, probably."

"That's not bad."

"No, of course not."

"Are you and Sugoroku going to celebrate before you go to see Honda?"

Yugi paused at the use of his grandpa's name but did not comment. "No," he said almost sharply, surprising them both with the firmness of his voice. But he didn't want to spend more time than necessary with him. All that time with him did was make him remember that he had known and not told him despite realizing what was happening. And he couldn't seem to forgive him that yet.

His mom did not celebrate the festivals often. When he was younger, he remembered her showing him proper offerings for different gods by means of lighting candles of certain colors and burning a plant or two. She had taught him because she did not want him to think that he shouldn't worship simply because she didn't and so often scoffed when her father made mention of them. She had wanted him to grow up with an open mind despite her own growing closed over time.

"Okay."

He almost wanted to laugh. Her voice had come out an odd combination of surprise and smugness. He knew she was still bitter about their argument before, when she'd accused him of allowing Yugi to waste away while she was with his dad.

"I think I'm actually going to text Honda early and tell him I'm coming over after I eat," he continued, watching her face for any disagreement once more. "Then we can look at Blankey." And I can avoid Grandpa, because I know he'll want to ask if I'm going to change today. He'll probably even want to watch…

"That's fine. Text me when you two leave his house, okay?"

"Of course. What are you going to do today then?"

"Clean, maybe nap, enjoy my day off, and be ready for the overflow tomorrow."

"Do you want some help before I go?"

"No, you're fine, go ahead and eat and see Honda." She gave him a knowing look with a tilt of her head and Yugi wished for only a split second that he could argue that he wasn't trying to avoid his grandfather. "Text me if you decide to spend the night or anything."

"Of course." He paused for only a moment and then turned back to the fridge, grabbing some left over dinner and looking it over. He loved salmon and vegetables, especially when they were glazed over with marinade. And salmon seemed to be something that he was able to enjoy despite his disease and how strange his taste buds had seemingly grown. That might or might not have had to do with the fact that salmon was part of a wolf's diet in the wild, he realized after a moment. "I'll text you if anything changes or goes wrong or something. Don't worry. I remember the rules."

Kasumi rolled her eyes at his sarcastic tone but smiled all the same before heading into the living room. He glanced at her curiously as she stripped the cushions of the blanket he'd slept under and headed for the laundry room. He tilted his head but didn't question her and instead dug around for the tools to eat his chosen breakfast.

He finished before his grandfather woke up, even taking a shower and managing to get dressed and ready before he even heard a sound from his room. He slipped into the kitchen just long enough to kiss his mom's cheek, murmuring, "I love you, see you later, maybe tomorrow". She nodded, giving him a similar farewell, but both of them paused as the doorknob twisted down the hall. Yugi blinked at the sight and then bolted down the stairs, not wanting to explain himself or have to see his hurt expression. But it was so hard to get over the fact that he had pretended so plainly not to know what was happening and ignoring his need for answers. Every time he so much as crossed Yugi's mind all he could think was of the sting such hideous knowledge brought him. His insides ached, quaking, each time he even considered him. And it was so powerful that Yugi was too wounded and somehow terrified to be able to force himself to stay within close proximity of him. His very scent in the house made him want to sob in despair.

He didn't glance back as he threw the front door open, though he could hear even through the blocked staircase just how surprised his grandfather was. He shut the door behind him, breathing out roughly as guilt bit harshly at his insides. He did not want to think about it, but he forced himself to believe that surprise was all he would feel. There would be no hurt at his clear rejection.

He hurried down the sidewalk, careful to keep off of the street, eyes sharp and alert. He really hoped there were no other wolves around at the moment, that they wouldn't come after him. He didn't want to unwittingly lead them to his friends, though he doubted he would even notice their presence until it was far too late.

Honda met him at the door, sitting on the porch while Blankey retrieved a tennis ball and quickly trotted back to him. Her legs were long, tan, and her saddle lighter rather than heavier, with a beautiful tawny undercoat that shone interspersed with the black guard hairs. Her brown eyes were unusually outlined with black fur, making them appear almost as if they were drawn with kohl. She strode swiftly, tag jingling against her collar with the movements, and her waist was clear in its elegant curve.

Her dark brown ears flicked towards him as he approached but he realized she recognized his footsteps and so did not pay him any attention. He doubted it would be as simple when she actually smelled him, especially because he thought he could almost taste the Change on his tongue each time he had breathed in before leaving the house. He smelled a lot like Valon, with an obvious chemical imbalance, and he thought if Blankey just sniffed a little she would catch it as well.

"Hey, Yugi," Honda greeted immediately, giving him that familiar lopsided grin he always did. He got up as the German shepherd dropped the ball in his hand and the small teen held his hands out in response.

What better way to gauge her reaction to him than to have one of her toys in his possession? She was already proving herself not to be a highly aggressive, territorial dog, but neither had that mother in the kennel when he had first gotten bitten. So he expected her to react in a similar way to his unnatural scent, his disturbing presence.

"Is she still limping?" he asked, catching the ball and watching Blankey start towards him. The shepherd panted, moving swiftly, and got within a foot of him before the caution made her fur twitch along her spine. She stopped, staring up at him keenly, and her head tilted to the side in wonder. She recognized his scent beneath the strange new quality. She knew his face as well. But she did not seem to know how to react.

"She was earlier," the brunet replied, coming over after a moment of watching his dog in concern. Why had she stopped? Why was she just staring at him like that? Was it a small breeze he had just seen or had she begun to bristle just a second ago?

"Which leg?"

"I'm actually not sure. I thought it was the back left a couple of days ago but it looks like the front right today."

Yugi hummed, still watching Blankey curiously. She didn't appear ready to attack over the tennis ball. Her eyes were nothing more than inquisitive and confused. Her ears were pricked but not angled back, she was not bristling, and her lips were not pulled to show her teeth. She was not even wagging her tail. She was just staring.

"She's only eight months," the smaller boy commented, watching the German shepherd and smiling briefly at her as she tilted her head to the other side. "I'm thinking panosteitis, honestly. It's called long bone disease, pretty common in large breed dogs when they're puppies. There's a predisposition for males because they're heavier set. The lameness shifts from leg to leg, toe to toe, kneecap to kneecap; really to any bone. It's sometimes accompanied by a fever, other times not so much. They last about one to three weeks typically but recur, often changing legs. But puppies outgrow the condition eventually. It's an extremely limited disease, honestly."

"That simple? I could have googled that," the brunet grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Don't self-diagnose," Yugi snorted, tossing the ball up into the air and watching Blankey begin to move from foot to foot as if dancing with excitement, never taking her eyes from her toy. "But, anyways, if you want, I can ask my mom to get a radiograph to make sure. It usually comes up with cloudiness in the marrow cavities. She'd be the one to find it even if the lesions aren't really all that visible."

"Your mom is a fucking medical goddess, dude," Honda snickered, smiling widely. He had always said that and still stuck by his opinion. She was amazing and knew what seemed like every trick in the book for diagnosis and treatments. "I'm definitely asking her to do that."

"It's expensive."

"Doesn't matter. My mom just got her inheritance after my grandma passed. She can definitely afford it even without a discount."

"Oh," Yugi muttered, faltering visibly as he looked at him with a frown. "I'm sorry about your grandmother…"

"It happens." He shrugged dismissively and the smaller teen realized with startling clarity that Honda had most likely never known her. His hazel eyes were still caught on Blankey as she raced forward to jump up and snatch the ball out of the air when Yugi tossed it forward some. She landed easily enough, wagging her tail happily, and turned to Honda to toss it again.

"She's going to probably recommend that you don't exercise her as much so that it isn't painful and passes easier."

"Oh." He rolled his eyes. "Well, she hasn't been outside for more than an hour at a time anyways. I mean, I thought it might be a sprained muscle so I've kept her in her kennel most of the time. Then I bring her out every day for an hour in the morning and then at night. She's not getting nearly as much exercise as usual."

Yugi nodded, humming again. "Blankey, come here little girl," he called softly, smiling when she turned to him and wagged her tail the smallest degree slower. She lowered her head somewhat, moving forward slowly, but deposited the ball in his hand after a moment of staring up at him.

"Should I take her in or—?"

He had drifted too close, and Yugi realized too late. The moment Honda got to his side, Blankey lunged. Her eyes were wide, the whites showing. Her entire body was bristling. Her teeth clamped into his arm. But the technique was sloppy. Her grip was too loose to be of a damaging caliber. Her tail was tucked between her legs. She nearly fell over herself, she was trembling so hard.

"Holy shit! Blankey, release! Bad girl!" Honda burst out, so shocked by the display that he made no move to grab her.

"Relax, she hasn't even broken skin," Yugi murmured, watching her. She shifted her balance on her back legs awkwardly. Her tail stayed tucked. Her ears were pressed firmly against her head. "She just reacted like she should have. She thought I was a threat when you got closer. She's fine."

"Why would she think that? She's never done this before," the brunet stressed, eyes widening drastically. "She's met you! She knows you're not going to do anything!"

"I smell a lot like chemicals right now," he said with a shrug. He refused to laugh at the irony of the statement and then focused more fully on the puppy again. "I spilled some rubbing alcohol and medication on my sleeve earlier. She's probably just confused by the new smell."

He frowned, blinking, but regained his wits enough to reach over and grab her collar. She whined but released when he tugged slightly. She fell back on all fours and stared at him again. She was still for a moment. Then she let out an immense, booming bark of warning. She reared up just slightly. The barking was louder. Then she dropped back again. Yugi waited. But the shepherd did not lunge again.

"Are you sure she didn't break skin?" Honda demanded, frowning at him with an expression that seemed both suspicious and concerned but also as if he were somehow seeing him for the first time.

Yugi nodded again but rolled up the sleeve of his jacket to show off his arm. There were punctures where her teeth had pressed, looking a nasty, bruised gray and purple, but the skin was not torn. There was no blood to be seen. He gave him a small grin. "She's got good instincts but she was more scared than anything else. If she really thought I was a threat, she would have done much worse."

"I guess," he muttered uneasily, shaking his head in puzzlement. "I'll go ahead and put her inside and then we can hang out."

He nodded distractedly, watching him leave with the shepherd puppy. Her tail began wagging again several feet away, though it still seemed rather nervous in expression. He looked at his arm again, running his fingers over the little indents, and smiled faintly. Blankey would make a good security dog if they taught her properly. She just needed training and more commands, and she'd be able to chase and subdue burglars like a champ. The crime rate in Japan was, in all actuality, almost nonexistent, but it was always nice to think that his friend would have protection either way. She would definitely keep other wolves out of the way when she got old enough and was given training.

She would eat up training without an issue. She was already smart enough to understand and perform several complicated tricks as it was. And she often stole food when no one was looking. She was almost too intelligent, knowing exactly when and how to manipulate and learn and even make games of it all.

He smoothed his sleeve back down, blinking at the odd tingling that accompanied the movement. He had the impulse to check on it again but realized it would look bad after telling Honda it was nothing to be worried about. Instead he shot his friend a smile when he returned, though the brunet still looked somewhat puzzled and suspicious.

"Seriously, Yugi, I'm sorry about that. Like I said, she's never—"

"I promise, it's fine. She was just trying to protect you because I smelled strange," he said dismissively. "She's a good dog. She did what she should have."

His expression did not change, his lips still pulled somewhat downwards, his brows slightly furrowed, his hazel eyes glittering for a moment with something almost akin annoyance. "I guess," he grumbled, sighing. "Is she going to be okay to go to the clinic then? I mean, if she bit you…"

"She'll be fine. You won't be in the room with her when Mom does it and she might get scared but she won't bite. She only did it because she thought I might hurt you."

Honda frowned further but eventually shrugged. "You're the dog expert, so I guess I'll just have to believe you."

"Yep, I'm like the miniature version of Caesar Milan."

"Oh, please."

"What? I totally am. I'm an expert."

"You're full of shit, more like it."

He flashed him a wide grin. "I get it from Jonouchi."

"Yeah, he corrupts everyone eventually," Honda agreed. "So what did you want to do? The festival isn't for another few hours—"

"Well, we definitely can't go back to my house. My mom is cleaning and Grandpa is probably still asleep," he replied with a glance down the street. "We could go to the park and rate girls until we all have to meet up."

The brunet burst out laughing. "Jonouchi really did get to you, didn't he?"

"Oh, please, don't lie. We all know it was you who came up with it."

He smirked widely, eyes smug as he raised a brow. "I'm not even going to deny it," he announced, snickering when Yugi shook his head with a roll of his eyes. "Let's go."

---

"Yugi, hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

The small teen took a moment, mind scrambling to recognize the words she had spoken even as his thoughts splintered with the urge to run for the forest. How easy it would be… "Sure, Anzu," he stated softly, turning to her with a gentle smile even as the words tasted of absolute bitterness.

He could not ignore the fact that he had felt well all day, even to the point of strange elation, but he also could not turn his back on the reason his body was so energized and comfortable. He felt it beneath his skin, begging to come forth, but it lacked the strength to do so at the moment and its tugs were soft, with such gentleness that had it not been forefront in his mind he would have never noticed it.

Warm red and orange with the faintest traces of purple and blue had begun to decorate the sky as the sun began to descend. The moon was still too pale an outline in the sky, nearly blocked away by the clouds, for him to truly see, but it did not halt his mounting apprehension. He was not sure what it was truly dictated a full moon, if it meant the moment it was highest in the sky or if it was the moment the sunlight was completely drained away. He did not know if this little bit of light would stop him from changing or if it might spur it or what might happen.

His stomach twisted, heat pulsing against the sides of it, and he fought away a wince. He had not considered that his sense of touch might be compromised inside of him now as well. It was horrifying to put to mind, to the point of insidious disgust, but it was testament to what power this disease truly possessed. He had filled his stomach to the point of near retching, shoveling food until he felt he might explode, and it had seemingly held him at bay until now.

He realized, however, that he could feel it as the fullness began to recede in his stomach, and the attempt to perhaps keep himself stuffed, so as not to grow hungry when he did change, was a clear failure. It held no ground in this moment, and his stomach tossed its contents sloppily, the heat pooling and sloshing, lapping at his insides until his blood felt too hot beneath his skin.

He swallowed hard, mouth tasting dry and his tongue heavier than ever. He wanted to whimper and curl up on the ground, growing fearful but also feeling as if his body were going to incinerate.

"What's up?" He was startled by how casual he sounded, though he supposed the fact that he was walking helped to keep his newly developing panic from his tone. His mind was caught, slipping away from the thought of the restlessness growing beneath his skin to that of the possibility of desertion chatting with his friend.

"I…just wanted to ask how you were," she finally replied after a moment. Yugi turned his head, surprised by the statement, and almost wanted to ask what kind of question that was in the first place. But she didn't know and she was just a worried spectator without the slightest clue. "We haven't had much time to hang out, you know?"

He frowned faintly. "I know. I'm sorry. I guess I've just gotten busy and been stressed out lately," he answered, favoring her with a half-truth and feeling almost sick with satisfaction at the idea of not truly lying. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

If it was fine, why did she look so sad? He wanted to question the way her eyes had crinkled in the very corners or why they looked a little darker, maybe shinier, as if she might cry. He shifted his weight, the idea of her emotions explained to him seeming suddenly burdensome and frustrating. It was too much, he realized belatedly, to worry about someone else when all of this seemed to weigh upon him like a boulder. No wonder he head not found himself tempted to spend time with the others, wishing to recede into himself.

"Are you okay?"

The smaller teen wondered for a moment if his irritation was visible. He blinked, widening his eyes, and whatever of his expression that might have hinted at his displeasure slipped away immediately. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" he asked with a tilted head.

"Because you just looked over your shoulder like you were planning to run."

Had he?

Yugi blinked again and felt his lips draw downwards in puzzlement. He had not even noticed it. "I'm not going anywhere," he attempted to reassure her, his frown deepening as his insides twisted painfully.

How long would he be able to remain there and keep up this charade of pleasant conversation? He wanted to vomit more than he wanted to stand there. He wanted to run off for the woods more than he desired to celebrate. He did not want to waste time with conversation when he needed to get as far away from the festival when the Change came. There was no better time to gather information on the matter than while it was happening if his mind didn't break and splinter as he had worried had happened with Kokurano.

He still had no idea if any of the death he had witnessed was truly caused by the possibility of some terrible drugs or his lycanthropy. Had the drugs made the disease react violently? He had never herd of such extreme side effects, and hadn't he been told it looked as if something had chewed—?

"Okay." She was muttering, making him strain his hearing, but her voice, so calm yet unhappy, focused his racing mind once more. The doubtful undertone seemed to fester beneath his skin for a moment, bubbling upwards like a disease, and he fought away another deep frown. "So how do you think you did on that test last week?"

Tests? She wanted to talk about tests? Yugi bit back a sigh of disappointment, realizing his initial enthusiasm to talk was not anywhere near her reasoning.

"I don't know," he admitted, fighting to keep his voice from showing his disdain towards the subject, "but I don't think I did well."

"You always do well on tests," she stated, teasing. He blinked at her and wondered for a moment, if perhaps that would change soon. What if the Change was taxing upon his brain to the point that it began to destroy his memory or personality? If this was the only conversation he remembered afterwards, he hoped this teasing tone would be the one forever in his mind. "I'm sure you passed."

He didn't bother to comment that he was sure he had too. It was hard to focus on his former academic triumphs at a moment like this. His mind had grown a little distant, as if distractedly, eyes flickering away towards the sky where the ribbons of sunset were disappearing altogether. He could faintly see the stars, pinpricks of white with little halos of gold that made his stomach quiver and skin spike with nervousness.

Abruptly his attention shot to her once more, watching her closely. There was a shadow in her eyes that unnerved him, as if she almost did not recognize him in that moment, and his spine tensed violently at the thought. Did she know who he was anymore? She seemed as if she had no idea how to approach him, her blue eyes almost sad, as if she were looking at a stranger demanding sympathy on the streets. But it had only been a week since they had all hung out together at school, right? It had not been too terribly long. Surely a week was too soon for someone to make such drastic changes?

But…hadn't he wondered if he even knew himself more than once before?

Yugi almost spat out a curse but felt panic curling through him more vibrantly than his frustration. What if they were already sure that he was not their friend anymore? His stomach twisted and his heart hurt. How was he going to survive if that was true?

The bite of panic came in a throbbing pain in the center of his chest, pulsating in his chest like waves of fire that nearly made his knees buckle. It came for three heartbeats but faded again as he forced himself to calm down, to not show his intense fear as he truly wished to.

"Are you okay? You look like you're in pain," Anzu demanded worriedly, eyes wide as her frown grew more pronounced. She looked almost as if she might stretch her arms out to touch him, to check and make sure he would not collapse, but the moment passed immediately.

"My head," he lied simply, forcing a small smile onto his face as his stomach twisted so violently he nearly stumbled with the impact. He took a step back, however, to discourage her reaching out for him if something did happen. "It just hurts a little."

The dubious undertone to her voice now stained her eyes like ink and his skin crawled painfully. His heart was pounding now, resounding painfully in his ears, and he swore his entire body had grown to ache in hideous throbs. Was it the panic growing in his system or something else? He could no longer tell the difference, but the fog that he felt had been invading his thoughts was slowly pushing forward.

"If you're sure…"

"I am. I'm fine. I promise."

She stared at him blankly, frowning, but nodded slowly as if there were reason to believe his words. He remembered she disliked direct confrontation with him, however, and it was the only thing saving him from a flurry of questions. Anzu would not push him, though that was more because of their friendship and growing up together than it was anything else. She knew he would tell her what he wanted to later, if ever at all. Had he been Jonouchi or Honda, she would not have held back, demanding answers and snapping at them until he gave in.

"Okay."

"I'm sorry. I know I've been…acting a little weird lately," he muttered, swallowing hard. His eyes shot back to the sky, where the stars had become fuller and their cores glowed almost brilliantly though they would pale like a droplet exposed to the sea when the moon came forward completely. "I just…I've been stressed lately. I'm sorry. I know I…kind of shut you guys out by accident, but I wouldn't have if I wasn't…"

"Stressed," she supplied simply, though her undertone of dryness made his eyes fall on her again. He blinked and narrowed his gaze minutely as they looked at each other, the heat flaring in his body with such suddenness he nearly gasped. "It's okay. I can understand that."

Could she?

"It doesn't mean I was mad at you or anything," he blurted out without thought, feeling a deepening desperation crawl through him. He wanted her to feel better but he also realized somewhere beneath the fog filtering through his mind that he did not have to work so hard for it, if at all. Anzu would have already forgiven him, though her tone suggested differently due to her inability to gather answers. But he had always been one to give more than necessary, especially where she and the others were concerned, and now he had no actual words to explain what he wished to. "I just…I don't know. I guess I just let the stress get to me."

"Yugi, it's okay," she replied softly, smiling at him in a manner that suggested he simply accept any words she had to say to him. He forced himself to return the gesture, hoping fervently that his eyes might light up, but everything inside of him recoiled at the very idea. Why was he wasting his time with attempting to reassure someone else when there was so much going on already? He felt his stomach heave, forcing itself upwards with such pain he nearly doubled over. It was mere shock of the painful blow that kept him from falling to his knees. "I just wanted to know if you were okay."

He nearly ground his teeth together. Had they not just gone over this?

"Yeah, I am. I'm okay." He breathed in heavily but doubted she could see the effort he put into it with the distance between them and the lanterns. How had they gotten so far away in the first place? His eyes flickered to the trees. They were so close now. He could make a break for it— "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"You're my best friend. It's kind of my job to worry about you."

She waited for him to tease her but his eyes grew widened, intensified. His pupils quivered as if they might roll upwards within his head. His breath came out sharply in such a large puff of white air and harsh noise that she flinched. His mouth opened, and a strange and almost primal noise that bordered on guttural in design leaving his lungs. His eyes grew dilated, the pupils swallowing away all of the purple of his eyes and leaving only the outer ring of deep blue. His body grew tight, to the point he looked almost statuesque, and, if not for the ragged breaths that left him, she might have thought him nothing more than intricately carved stone.

"Yugi?"

His head tossed violently from side to side. He backed up a step, jaw clenching shut harshly. His eyelids squeezed together tightly. He let out a ragged breath. His legs trembled under his weight. "Anzu, I…I have to…I have to go…"

"But you're—"

He shook his head again. His skin quivered. His mouth opened in a breathless scream. The muscles in the back of his hand coiled. His nails curved inwards, fingers clenching. His shoulders rose to block away his neck. His jaw ticked and his brows scrunched together. His lips curled back faintly, pulling upwards. The pulse on his neck throbbed visibly. When his eyes snapped open, they flashed like fire. The festival lights looked dull and lifeless in comparison to such brilliant pain.
Yugi backed up again. A tremor shot through him. He looked as if he had been shocked by electricity. He let out a hoarse noise almost akin a whimper. His chest heaved. His lungs buckled for a split second. He opened his mouth. Then he doubled over. She watched him, terrified. His stomach spat forward large chunks of food.

Yugi swallowed so hard he threatened to consume his own tongue. For a split second he was frozen. His stomach was still heaving. Then his attention turned away. Instinct pushed at his insides. His mind focused on only one thing. He needed to get to the woods—as quickly as possible. He breathed in roughly. His body felt weak and laden now. For a moment he could not make himself move. Pain caused his spine to quiver. The heat pulsed through him again. With the temperature can a furious energy he could not ignore. It sent another spasm through his muscles. But it also allowed him to make a run for it.

"Yugi!" she cried out in horror, the small teen disappearing from her sight almost immediately. Bystanders looked over, confused by her stricken state, but did not offer help. It could have easily just been best friends fighting or a lovers' quarrel before it might be anything else. Maybe they had left her there and she was still fighting to make them stay. The emotion in her voice was clear and powerful to anyone listening, and it was easily mistaken for either scenario.

"Anzu, what's wrong?" Jonouchi demanded, breaking through a small gap in the crowd to get to her side. She was still staring off into the vast expanse of the woods, eyes wide and clearly concerned. He slowed, Honda only a step behind him. Both of them glanced around and then the brunet nudged him, tilting his head towards the vomit in the grass.

"I don't know." She spun to face them, expression growing more distressed by the second. "He just…he ran off."

"Huh? Who ran off?"

He was so surprised by the sight of the throw up that he had not considered the reason he had reacted up to his best friend's name being shouted in such tangible panic. He looked at her in confusion, furrowing his brows, but his attention was still caught stupidly on the pile of vomit and just how out of place it seemed.

"Yugi," Honda answered for her, rolling his eyes at his friend. Momentarily he had the urge to remind him that there was a fourth member of their group before shaking his head to himself. It wasn't worth the effort. "Any idea why?"

"Who the hell threw up?"

"That was Yugi," Anzu stated, rolling her eyes as well when Jonouchi looked at her slowly in puzzlement. She was tempted to snarl at him whether or not he was high but then huffed angrily instead, fighting the urge away. Her hands were wringing themselves together, Honda noticed despite himself as he glanced over towards the trees. Had Yugi run off that way? She had been watching him run off, hadn't she? "He started to look sick and then he puked and ran off. I don't know where he—"

"He's been looking really sick and miserable since about an hour or two after he came to see Blankey," the brunet admitted reluctantly, frowning. He had been unable to wipe the expression from his mind no matter how hard he'd tried. He'd looked ready to keel over so much of the time; it had been horrifying and impossible to stay around him without constant sideways glances to make sure he was okay. He blinked hard several times to make the image disappear. "He was acting kind of…off when he was checking on her limp earlier. I don't think he's been feeling okay at all."

"You think he didn't want to come?" Jonouchi asked incredulously, raising a brow and frowning. "But he's the one who said we should all meet up early so that we could be some of the first to get here."

"Yeah, but maybe something came up?" Honda tried, though he and the blond swapped a single glance that clearly said otherwise. The two of them had been certain the reason he had wanted to meet up with them so early was because he'd been planning to ask Anzu out. "I mean, he's…he has been acting pretty strange for a while now…"

"You don't think he planned to ditch us earlier, do you? I mean…he was constantly looking over his shoulder. And when he lagged behind so much, I honestly thought we would turn around and find he had snuck off," the brunette whispered, biting her lip and looking at the two boys with a distressed expression once more. Her eyes shot towards the direction Yugi had fled and her stomach twisted with nerves. Would he be okay?

The curfew had only been lifted for the festival and, even with so many people there, he could still wind up like Ushio. If he had been planning to run off all day, it would have been safer for him to do so while it was light out.

Guilt was almost enough to make her cringe. If he had been attempting that, she had ruined his chances repeatedly by checking on him so often, and especially when she had asked to speak to him. And now she could understand those clear inflictions of frustration which bordered so precariously on momentary resentment.

But how could she be sure she had not simply misread his expression? Maybe he had simply been flustered and felt ill and had not wanted to talk in the first place and had merely followed her lead out of obligation…

Yugi had always been one to do the polite thing rather than what he felt he wanted the most at any given moment. If he was feeling upset but someone wanted something from him, he would try to give them what it was they asked for. Mild conversation with his best friend was the least surprising thing that he would do for someone else when it was asked of him.

"I don't know," Honda sighed finally, looking away and reaching up to run a hand through his hair. When both Jonouchi and Anzu turned to look at him incredulously, he scratched the back of his neck nervously and shrugged his shoulders.

He didn't want to make Yugi seem like the bad guy, trying to avoid them and running off when he got the first real chance. He knew his blond best friend would jump to such a conclusion in light of his train of thought, but there was not much else to explain his strange behavior the entire week.

He had remained locked up in his house each day, claiming something or other the reason for his solitude. He had cancelled plans numerous times, even when it was Anzu to ask for his company. It seemed almost impossible to ignore the possibility that he might have been planning this same thing though the festival had been his idea to begin with.

"He could have been."

"I don't believe that," Anzu said firmly, shaking her head and glaring at him. "I don't think he would have run off without a reason. Or without even trying to explain. That's not like Yugi at all!"

None of them thought it to be like him, but he had never been someone to decline plans all the time either. He had said he was busy all that week, that he wouldn't have to hang out. He had said he was tired, he was helping out with surgeries. He had claimed he was running errands with his mom or grandpa. He had claimed once that he just wanted to relax and stay at home all day. He had been almost unable to speak at one point, practically choking out the words to say he didn't want to hang out before ending the call immediately after. Something had obviously been going on to make him decline so many times, especially to the point that he had run off from Anzu of all people.

But hadn't Jonouchi been worried beforehand that something was going on? Hadn't he been concerned when Ushio's body had wound up on his doorstep? Wasn't that why he had asked him about the Burger World employee? Hadn't they looked up both incidents several times to see what might have made Yugi the prime connection between the two of them? Hadn't they even gone so far as to try to find the dog in the alleyway to find out more somehow?

Had things truly been in such clear disarray since before the festival? Honda cringed faintly, desperate not to let the other two see the growing realization in his eyes, and turned quickly back to the woods.

"We need to go after him—"

"No, we don't," he cut in firmly, glancing at Jonouchi and narrowing his hazel eyes. "Yugi isn't two years old. He puked and ran off. It's not like he's dying. He'll find his way back here later, Anzu. We don't need to go after him."

"Dude, those are the mountains—" the blond started.

"And Yugi likes the mountains, remember? He said he used to run around in the woods when he was younger, that he liked hiking sometimes. He's fine. He'll figure out what he's doing and where he's going."

The real question was whether he would bother to come up to the festival or not. And all three of them highly doubted it even as they shot each other glares of frustration and then made their way back into the crowd to find some new attraction to take their mind off of their friend.

Yugi had not made it too far from the festival grounds. He had been forced to stop within a handful of miles of the area. His skin had become too itchy, beginning to feel stretched out. And he wondered if he was going to burst out of it at any moment. His temperature had spiked and his breathing was ragged. He'd pressed his forehead against the chilled bark of a tree as his body shook with painful jerks and tremors. His shoulders shook, heat surging through them, and his organs burned. His throat was beginning to feel swollen. A dryness had come through it and the center of it burned and seemed itchy.

A gentle breeze brushed through the trees, cooling his skin with gossamer affection before tracing its way seemingly through him.

His body was racked with pain again. He stumbled forward a step, then forced himself to move a little more. If he could make it a little further, then maybe—

He nearly hit the ground when his left arm jerked. Sporadically, the muscles twitched and burst beneath his skin. And he panted as he pressed himself firmly into another tree trunk. He struggled to peel his jacket off. His teeth ground together and he panted harder. His skin prickled and itched. The fabric was almost torturous against his flesh.

He slipped his arm out after a long struggle, then did the same with his right. The jacket touched the forest floor with a whispering rustle of noise. Yugi nearly panted with relief, a smile threatening only momentarily to come over his face. It felt almost amazing to finally have his burning skin free of it.

Now if only he could get his shirt and—

A low noise made him stop short. A trickle of sweat trailed down his spine. His skin crawled. The heat dissipated only minutely. Yugi blinked slowly. His hands ached where he clenched his fingers. His nails dug into the tree. His shoulders rose to shield his neck, fearful of what made the air vibrate like this. Then, slowly, Yugi forced himself to turn his head.

His eyes were burning. But he caught the two shapes regardless. At first there were two pairs of glinting color that met his sight. Then there was movement. It was jerky, fast and harsh. His mind rapidly translated the bobbing of the lights in his vision—it was a trot. Something was trotting towards him.

He blinked. His eyes narrowed. He bore his teeth behind his lips. He strained his vision, but it did not take much time for it to adjust. The fur rolled over a pair of twin bodies like water. A flash of white pronounced two sets of white incisors. Black noses came a second later. They were wrinkled back and the lips pulled hideously away from their gums. Tongues came out one after the other. They flashed over the brilliance of their white teeth. They splayed over the black calloused skin of their noses.

And then the two wolves passed into the moonlight. The speed beguiled their heavily built bodies.

Yugi swallowed hard. But he could not force himself to back up. His spine had pulled taut. He was exhausted by the hideous ache there. He could not move at all. The very concept was too foreign to contemplate. The air seemed to weigh his muscles. His nerves burst with pain. His bones felt cold. His blood was pounding. His veins burned. His stomach tossed. He nearly retched again.

The snarling was twice as loud now. There was a watery bubbling at the edge of both of their hideous warning cries. His spine ached. His skin tingled. His head began to pound and rattle. The sound echoed in his ears. His pulse roared dully in the back of his skull.

A violent shiver made his body jerk. Bile surged up the back of his throat. His tongue burned. His fingers grasped harder at the bark. Pain shot through his right ring finger. His mind processed the pain. The nail had broken past the quick. His stomach heaved again. His breathing strained. He nearly stumbled backward. He opened his mouth. A slimy trail of bile and saliva fell in a sloppy thud against the grass. Billowing waves of white steam seeped upwards. It burned his tingling cheeks.

He jerked back a step, startled. His feet tangled pathetically. He almost fell backwards again. He grasped the tree harder. He stumbled but his balance remained. His eyes were on them still. He had been unable to look away from them altogether.

The snarls were so much louder now. He wanted to stuff plugs in his ears. He wanted to curl up into a tight ball on the ground. A spasm racked his body violently. His mind raced. The wolves weren't as big as Valon or the one that had been struck by the car. But their teeth still glimmered like razors.

And he thought the canines had to be the length of half of his index finger. The incisors had to be the size of his nail beds. The surface of each shone like shards of ice. Tendrils of froth fell like drool from both corners of their mouths. The lips pulled somehow further back. The wrinkles pushed at the edges of their eyes. The brows came forward. The ears were angled similarly.

Their pace quickened. The fur along their spines lifted. Their tails rose straight like swords. Their steps left harsh thuds in his ears. The grass crackled and shattered in the cold beneath their weight. Their gums were slimy, like black splotches of oil. Their tongues ran over their noses again,

A smell like acid met his nose now. He flinched at the bitter sting of it. His legs wobbled. But his fingers refused to release. His back remained too rigid to curve. His body trembled and ached. The sweat was blooming on his back now. Currents of perspiration flowed down his skin. He hacked. His breath was smothered by the intense smell. He could not tear his eyes away.

Terror lodged itself so fully within his system that he could do no more than stare. The two wolves' eyes had glossed over. They looked as if they were blinded by cataracts. The foam splattered. It fell in waves. It dripped onto their chest. But neither canine noticed. Their legs shot forward unnaturally. The toes of each pad were splayed too far apart. The nails were broken, blood oozing from each.

Their limbs were too straight. When they bent there was a loud snapping noise. Something harsh and metallic glinted in the center of both throats. A strand of something shiny but woven caught his eye. The fur parted unnaturally as they continued forward. It was flattened at the base of their necks close to the shoulders.

But the smell which came from them was overpowering, all-consuming. It was hideous and terrible. It burned at his insides. It made his body jerk. Pain lanced through him. It was sour. It was sweet. It had a strange undercurrent of metal and butter. He struggled to recognize it. His mind spiraled and danced.

He couldn't focus on anything. The pain was pressing hard upon him. His heart hammered and shook. His mouth grew drier. He tried to swallow. But his throat merely constricted.

Were they rabid? Yugi felt a new drop of cold fear cross his senses.

Rabid wolves were one of the most dangerous creatures to run across. They went for the throat and never anything else. If they got their teeth into the skin, it was almost impossible to cure. They aimed too close to the brain.

But that didn't make sense. Rabid wolves did not suffer through disorientation. And these two seemed to be going through such a step. The canines usually fell into almost immediate rages.

A loud chomping noise made him flinch. His head snapped around. His body grew impossibly tense. His legs quaked. His fingers pulsed with pain. He pressed backwards into the bark again. It scratched at him. It clawed at him. The fabric of his shirt was laden with soft broken pieces.

The third wolf was a great deal bigger than the other two. It was so large that it had to be at least a couple of inches taller than even Valon. It had to be taller, with greater muscle and even longer fur and a broader jaw, a somewhat lengthier muzzle. He was panting but the wolf did not glance at him. His fear at the sight of it spiked further but the creature showed him no interest. Instead its head rose, sleek and black, with such fluid power it was like watching shadows lengthen during the day. Its ears pricked forward. Its fur glittered, glossy and beautiful beneath the spare beams of moonlight.

Its eyes glimmered. But the glow cast by them was something of intense amber. The wolf came forward in a swift bound. Yugi thought it looked like a cannonball, brilliant muscle and terrible blackness. But it possessed a healthy, lazy lope. Its long legs propelled it forwards without burden. There was no cracking sound to meet its movements.

Its back paws fell to rest in the place of its front. He watched the fur ripple and twitch. The silver moonlight touched the strands, turning them almost bluish. Its head rose further and its ears pricked a little more. The brows pulled forward. The lips peeled back. Its tail rose slowly and the fur along its entire back rose. Its shoulders squared. Muscles bunched along its haunches. The snarl that left it made the air quake.

Yugi's insides quivered.

The two wolves flinched back for a split second. They whined. Their tails and heads dropped. The fur fell along their bodies. Their legs trembled for a moment. Then, as if possessed, they straightened abruptly once more. Their tails came up instantly. Their ears pricked forward. Their teeth flashed in the moonlight. Their eyes glowed furiously, appearing almost filmy in their pupils.

One looked milky in complexion, creamy and pale in the moonlight. The second was darker, a tan shadow like sand. Yugi blinked as their eyes glowed. The paler one had brown eyes. The darker had bright blue. The sight of them made his stomach coil with tension.

This newcomer, inky black and solid, did not blink. In mere seconds its tail moved side to side. Its teeth were showing bright white in the dark, like brilliant stars. Its head lowered only faintly. The glare in its eyes was hideous, vicious. Yugi could not decide the bigger threat between the three of them.

But the small teen wished the earth could open and swallow him whole. The snarl that left this huge wolf made his heart quiver. His insides trembled. His heart skipped beats. His tongue dried out. His lungs collapsed and spiked with hideous pain. He gasped and struggled. His legs shook. His entire body nearly fell back. He couldn't think straight. His focus shattered. The intensity of the noise was like thunder rolling.

It was a great and terrible—hideous—force of nature.

It reverberated deep, deep within him somewhere.

And Yugi felt it as if he had known it forever. He could not name its significance, but it swelled inside of him and threatened to burst. Then it fell away. And the two lighter-furred wolves seemed to react similarly. They flinched again. Their eyes seemed to roll backwards, the whites showing brilliantly. Their heads snapped down and they whimpered collectively.

A sharp buzzing noise made Yugi blink. The wolves snarled. Then the creamy-furred one sprang forward. The force of its leap kicked earth away with all four paws. Its eyes were dark and milky now. And they looked both blind and coherent all at once.

The black wolf did not flinch. It did not blink. It simply waited. When the other got close enough, it reared back onto its hind legs. The two clashed with their teeth bared, tails held to their highest. Their legs were braced harshly in the dirt. The straw littered about the forest floor slicked their weight if only slightly. But the black wolf did not give ground. And they held firm. The darker wolf's height allowed it to wrap its front limbs around the other in a pseudo hug. Claws dug into skin beneath the fur. Teeth aimed for its throat.

The second wolf came from the side. Its teeth snapped into the black wolf's shoulder. The sudden puncture made the newcomer lose focus. Immediately it spun to face the other wolf. Its jaws opened wider, fully, closing in on its head. The brown wolf was faster, however, and recoiled back. The tan wolf twisted away. And the black canine snarled as its balance was lost. Its teeth chomped upon cold night air a millimeter away.

But, despite its lack of speed seconds before, the dark wolf managed to make up for it.

In a split second, the canine turned its head. Its mouth opened again. The muscular neck turned. Its head tilted. And its jaws snapped forcefully shut. Teeth missed its throat by a mere millimeter. The lighter wolf screamed and struggled. The movement pulled both almost off balance.

Yugi could barely think straight, heart in his throat. It was two against one. His head was too light to move. The snarling was so loud it made his body ache. And spots began to form in his eyes. He panted. His vision cleared again.

The tan wolf came at the black one. Teeth caught the black fur there. It tugged. Yugi watched with horror. He'd expected blood and the wolf to release. Instead the black wolf seemed almost confused. The tan wolf looked equally shocked. A huge tuft of fur had come off. It clung to its mouth. The tan wolf struggled to shake it, tossing its head.

In another moment the small teen might have burst out laughing. Instead he struggled to steady himself. His fingers braced the tree more purposefully. Maybe if he kept his head on straight enough, he could help out. Or he might be able to fight off the Change somehow. By the gods, he hoped the Change was something he could prevent…

The tan wolf clawed at its face. Then it snapped its teeth. The fur was almost as persistent as its owner. The black wolf jerked backwards. The tan wolf flailed and was thrown sideways. In a single second, the darker canine let go. Its teeth opened wider. Its muzzle aimed for its skull.

The scream split the air. The tan wolf flailed harder. The brown wolf lunged forward. A swift bite was delivered to the black lycanthrope's left leg. The attack ceased. In a rage, the wolf spun on it as well. It snarled and chomped its teeth. The air seemed to crack with the furious noise. The brown wolf danced out of reach, tail between its legs.

Immediately the tan wolf sprang to its feet again. Yugi blinked, horrified. The black wolf turned its head and bore its teeth. The two of them collided as they had before, on their back legs. The snarling was hideous. The small teen cringed at the sheer magnitude of the volume it possessed.

Teeth tore at fur. Tufts of it flew. Then blood sprayed the air. They were writhing, twisting and snarling. The black wolf was forcing it backwards. The brown wolf was hesitantly looking for an opening. But the tan wolf was not screaming as of yet. And the black wolf seemed to be holding its own well enough.

Yugi took the opportunity to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment. The noise was hideous. And his mind rapidly translated for him. The black wolf had caught the tan by the cheek. It was pushing forward, forcing the lighter-furred canine backwards. It was only when the third wolf moved that the small teen opened his eyes again. The pressure in his eyes had alleviated slightly, his head no longer pounding. The bursts of color were not as heavy, nor as frequent now.

The brown wolf hit it from the side. But the black wolf shifted its weight. And the movement threw the two lighter lycanthropes into each other. The force of it seemed to cause the ground to shake for a moment. He swore he felt it in his bones. But it passed immediately again. The tan wolf landed on the ground, scrabbling and spitting. The foam clung to its cheeks. It dripped from its jaws. It was smeared across it face. It slicked its chest. The ground was soaked in it, it seemed for a moment. But he realized that it was blood which made the straw squelch beneath their weight.

Both wolves could not force the black one down. The larger merely shifted its weight. And it twisted its neck. It rose further onto its back legs. It braced its shoulders. It shrugged the brown wolf off twice. And then, finally, it slipped.

Yugi let out a strangled noise, heart in his throat. The straw was too slick. The black wolf had moved too far. It realized it a second too late as well. Its eyes grew wide, horrified. The grip on the brown wolf released with the collision of its chin with the ground. The breath left its lungs in a bright white puff. It quivered and trembled. Then the two leaped upon it.

"No…"

The wolf struggled to throw them off. Its teeth snapped and caught at fur. Blood dripped from a gash to the shoulder. Both wolves grabbed at its legs. They tugged. The black canine kicked and clawed at the nearest belly. Teeth dug into its muzzle. The other mouth caught his foreleg, tugging harshly.

Yugi flinched. The black wolf was struggling for breath. Its panic was visible now. The two lighter-furred wolves were circling now. They traced a circle around it. Then they leaped again. The brown wolf caught it by the throat. The amber of the black wolf's eyes glowed a hideous red in the shadows. It panted and kicked harder, scrambling to get to its feet again.

The tan wolf moved too close. The black wolf twisted. Its right forelimb caught its eye. The shriek was hideous. It jerked to the side. The two wolves clashed into each other. The brown wolf let go and snarled. Teeth snapped at the other's muzzle. The black wolf scrambled for its feet. But the two were not distracted long enough. They barreled into the side.

He yelped. The noise twisted hideously in Yugi's ears. The two sprang upon it again. Their teeth snapped and bore down. And the black wolf let out a cry so loud it could only be a scream. The noise was so agonized that he trembled. The other two canines seemed to take pleasure in it, however. They tossed their heads back and forth, eliciting a second one.

Something had splintered, popping. A bone had broken. Yugi felt his eyes widen. Terror and sympathy swelled in the pit of his stomach. And he grasped at the tree tighter, until his fingers began to bleed from the force. He made his legs move. His body ached and pulsed. The snarls sent shivers down his spine. And yet, he could not find it in himself to care.

His fear didn't exist for them.

Blood oozed in a set of large gashes. Creamy fur rose and fell in bristles. He watched. The tan wolf had pulled away, but its entire muzzle was bleeding, soaked. And the nose seemed almost nonexistent. The entirety of its shape was concaved along the sides. The black wolf had to have shattered the bone completely. And the brown wolf was panting around its grip on the larger canine's leg.

The black wolf twisted its neck. And its neck stretched. The teeth caught its chest, puncturing it. Blood sprayed across the straw. The brown wolf screamed. Yugi could see the red flare in those amber eyes now. It was not wavering in the slightest, instead glowing all the more intensely.

The black jaws opened wider. Blood splattered its teeth. Its tongue curled upwards and wrinkled. The nose was smeared with moonlight and crimson. Yugi shivered at the sight. Pain shot through his heart. His body shook hideously. His mouth grew dry. White-hot heat pulsed through him once more.

He had fallen to his knees from the force moments before. His spine was jutting from beneath his skin. Yet, despite the sudden desire to hide away, he could not tear his eyes from the fight. The black wolf was attempting to regain its footing. It had forced the brown wolf back. But it was lying there, trying to tip its weight to the side enough to roll over. The movements were shaky at best, awkward and hideous.

But then the tan wolf came again. The hit threw the black wolf backwards. It rolled a good handful of inches. But it landed on its side, winded again. But the lighter-furred canines did not move fast enough. The tan had paused to lick at its muzzle again. The brown one was panting and struggling for breath.

The black wolf managed to get to its feet. But its limbs shook. Its right back leg was held gingerly for a moment. Then it pressed its weight fully into the limb. A cracking noise echoed and popped in the air. And the right left leg shook beneath its weight. Both limbs were slicked with blood, soaked and glistening. In the dark it looked as if he had gotten from a pool of water with black oil slipping from its fur.

They collided again. This time the black wolf caught and held its weight completely as it had the first. They skidded only slightly with the collision. Then the dark canine pushed harder. The brown one's legs buckled. A hideous popping noise ending in splintering. Yugi gaped, horror swelling through him. He recognized the sound, the way it seemed to rapidly swell to a crescendo and disappear into the darkness. The brown lycanthrope screamed so loudly he thought the entire mountain heard it. Its body flailed. The black wolf dropped to all fours again.

It landed hard on its side. The darker wolf stared. Then it blinked slowly. It took the moment for a reprieve, licking its lips. The canine on the ground could not get to its feet. Its spine had broken. The vertebrae had split in half from the pressure. The wolf had survived as it'd intended, moving to brace itself for the impact. But it had not been saved the full momentum of the black wolf's attack.

The black wolf was panting now. The white puffs of mist were short and quick. Its body quivered. Its right leg shook. It remained still, sides heaving as it tried to catch its breath. And then the tan wolf sprang forward. The darker-furred canine realized a second too late. Its head snapped around but it could not react fast enough. The realization was clear in its gaze, a hideous crystalline fear of bright red.

The smaller animal launched itself. It caught it by the shoulder. Blood burst into the air, onto the ground. The larger kicked and flailed but could not dislodge it. The canines caught its limb and tugged. When the black wolf hit the ground, it went immediately for the throat.

The scream was guttural and low. Yugi had never heard such a noise before in his life. It was both loud and low and somehow high and quivering as well. His ears rang. His body burned with the call. His head turned, heart pounding harder. The other's muzzle had caught its skull. And he could see that the wolf was struggling more so than ever. It was panicked and he realized, horrified, that the teeth were mere centimeters from its eye.

It kicked and scrambled. The toss of its weight sent the tan wolf back a step. It was enough to shake them. The black wolf got to its feet. A long, angry ring of dark red and vibrant pink circled the canine's eye. Yugi flinched and swallowed hard. His mouth dropped a second later. His stomach heaved.

The wolf stumbled. Its right leg quivered. The left buckled for a brief second. Then it straightened. It opened its mouth by an inch. The noise was furious, hateful, and so deep that it made the air quiver.

He could see the other wounds now. The black canine's muzzle was bleeding, its nose split. A long, hideous line of stringy sinew and muscle dangled from the left side. The entire wound was colored bright pink, the blood seemingly clotted. But the wound was clearly painful as the other kept licking at it, running its tongue over it constantly. Where it exposed only muscle, the tan wolf's shone bright bone. Both of them stared at one another, panting viciously.

Its tail rose again, a dark flag as it stared down at the other. The fur rose in a hideous bristle as well. The tan wolf mirrored the aggressive stance and backed away a step. Then it snarled fiercely and lunged violently. The snarling grew to the point it seemed impossible no one else heard. The brown wolf was crawling forward, its hindquarters rendered completely useless. It panted loudly around its snarls, sides quaking with the force of it. Its mouth foamed more profusely than ever before.

They collided in a tangle of limbs. They snarled, tearing into each other's faces. They reared back, attempting to push the other over. The brown wolf dragged itself closer. And, though it could not leap, its aim was impeccable. As the immense canine's leg buckled and it stumbled, the brown wolf attacked. Its teeth punctured the dark wolf's throat. The impact threw them both, and all three of them flailed as they hit the ground. A scream tore through the air once more. It was as unnatural as the first, and it resonated so deeply within him that he nearly quaked.

He was not sure when he had gotten up again. But his legs shook and attempted to buckle beneath him. His head told him to simply lie back down. He wanted to curl up into a ball. His eyes burned. He didn't know what he could use to help out. He sought out a weapon but the forest was surprisingly free of them at first. Then his hand reached out. His arms burned and tingled. His palms itched.

He shook. His mouth was too dry. His skin quivered. He trembled again his spine tensed and arched beneath his skin. His vertebrae pulled outwards and then pushed in. His muscles bunched and convulsed beneath his flesh.

His fingers grasped for something blindly. The three wolves were all struggling now. The black one kicked, flailing. The tan snarled and tossed its head about. The brown refused to relinquish its hold on the huge canine's throat. The black wolf did not relent in its movements. Yugi breathed in roughly, panting almost pathetically. His fingers enclosed around the item awaiting him. It was thick, somewhat heavy—water-logged, he realized belatedly. He pulled it towards him, panting, and squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment.

He looked over the large branch, breathing hard, and swallowed thickly once more. He could do damage with it. He could possibly even kill if he could put enough strength into it. He stared for a moment, wanting to laugh bitterly, and then struggled to his feet. His legs quaked and his knees almost folded in on themselves. He breathed in hard, panting, and swallowed thickly again.

He could do it, because he had to. The wolf was getting mauled, he knew. It was trapped, caught between the two, and they were clearly winning. Yugi couldn't just stand there and watch. He could not just ignore it or its pained cries. It had come there to protect him. It must have. And now they were gaining the upper hand purely because there were two of them and only one of the black wolf.

He stumbled a step, then braced himself for the pain. He did not fall, but held his weight precariously somehow. He breathed in roughly, swallowing. Then, hefting the branch upwards, he tested it for a moment. The wolves were so caught in their own fight that none noticed him. The kicking and flailing, the hideous snarls and cries, drowned out his approach. The branch felt a little awkward, shaking within his palm. The sweat from his palms made it harder to grasp than it already was. His palm itched and tingled harder. He hesitated only a moment, blocking away the reality of his actions, and closed his eyes. His grip tightened, and he secured his grasp so firmly he thought perhaps the wood had dug itself completely into his skin.

The swing had enough force to make the air whip loudly. He hit the brown wolf hard enough to send its half-broken body into its companion. The branch clipped and broke against the tan wolf's skull. Both of them screamed as they went tumbling in a haphazard fashion. In a heap, the two trembled and panted. The tan wolf moved to throw the other off without trying. The brown wolf snarled in pain, shaking like a leaf. Its jaws foamed like rivulets of forth and blood. The black wolf was on its paws immediately as the tan struggled to gain its footing. The dark tail rose instantaneously, but its eyes were wide with shock upon its sudden rescue.

The tan wolf came from its stupor quickly. Its teeth flashed in the moonlight. A snarl bubbled up and out. The air vibrated with it. Yugi breathed hard and braced for a better grip on the branch. He went to swing again but a horrible pain struck him. He dropped it, crying out. The noise distracted the darker canine, and its head snapped towards him in clear shock. The tan wolf did not pause and so hit him immediately. Paws slammed into his chest. Claws pressed harshly into his skin. He toppled backwards, too weak to even scream. He hit the ground so hard he thought he felt his heart leap into his throat. In his peripheral the black wolf came forward, racing to rescue him. His pulse pounded in his throat with such force he nearly shook.

Teeth dug into his throat and tore upwards. Skin ripped as easily as paper, strips of it flying into the air like strings of confetti. Blood sprayed upwards like mist, burning the air with a sweet scent. The sickeningly familiar aroma of his own blood made his head spin. The lightheadedness grew tenfold, racing and swirling within his mind like wind painted red. His hands weakly raised upwards, he found them far too heavy and weighted to hold. He did not think he had even managed to touch the wolf. But he heard a soft whining breath gush forth from behind his own teeth. Incisors dug further into him, bones cracking beneath his throat. His collarbone split, he realized even as he felt his body growing heavier, weaker.

The black wolf slammed into it. The force sent it rolling onto the ground with a cry. The canine leaped over the fallen boy. It landed in front of the other lycanthrope. Its jaws opened and then slammed shut. The tan wolf screamed and struggled, flailing weakly. A toss of its head caused its neck to pop and crackle. A piercing splintering noise came through the air and its body fell immediately limp. Yugi could not see too well, but he recognized the sight before him. The black canine spent only a moment looking at the fallen animal before spinning around to face him.

When its eyes fell on him, Yugi found his failing heart pounding impossibly faster. There was no amber in its gaze. The moonlight had fooled him somehow. The immense black wolf's eyes were a brilliant red. He thought of the blood dripping from its fangs and crushed rubies as the darkness swept away his consciousness.

Kudos to anyone who can properly guess who the two wolves are that got killed in this chapter. Any guesses at who the wolf is that came to save Yugi?