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.

30. Loneliness

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

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

Chapter Warnings: MILD Self-Loathing, Mentions of Murders, Mentions of Dead Bodies, Accusations, Slight Anxiety Attack/Emotional Breakdown, Mentions of Loneliness, Hints of Depression, PUZZLESHIPPING~, Hints of Bangshipping (Yugi x Mai)

Okay, so, you can look at the Puzzleshipping as a joke between them as in Yugi taking it too far or as more serious. It depends basically on how you want to see their relationship at this point (though it's still pretty platonic, I think). Also, Yugi does kind of react badly to it afterwards. That's because he's still a little confused about possibly having feelings for another guy, just saying.

I'm trying to take it slowly, with small moments between them that make Yugi question himself rather than him immediately wanting to jump his bones. That's because Yugi IS still confused and attracted to Anzu, after all, and he's still trying to figure it all out at his own pace. Which does mean he has small moments where he thinks about it, almost does it, and then kind of processes it after the moment passes. I don't want it to seem like it came out of nowhere that he's okay with his feelings for Yami and wanting to take it beyond what he or Yami would be comfortable with. I'm hoping it actually DOES seem more organic than Yugi just thinking he's hot and trying to seduce him when he's an awkward sixteen-year-old who doesn't even have experience dating anyone either and considers himself straight for the most part.

Anyways, beyond that, as mentioned in my first note, the Puzzleshipping IS going to be depicted as one-sided for a good majority of the story. Besides that, the Peachshipping will continue for a while longer. But scenes like this (mild almost-kisses, innuendos and jokes) are going to be few and far between. And, odds are, you guys probably won't like how some of the Puzzleshipping plays out at times.

Also, it might seem like Yami is overreacting, but the jacket is extremely important to him and a plot point later in the story. It's further along in this story, but it'll come up eventually.

Chapter XXX: Loneliness

Work Log Entry XXX: November, 1998

November 8

The boss has begun a series of tests, but they are not on the wolves themselves.

It has come to my attention that he has begun drinking the Pure-Blood's father's blood.

It has done miraculous things to heal him of former wounds.

But it is unknown as to why he has failed to try the blood of his prize.

He claims that it is "insufficient as of yet".

November 16

The father's health has begun to crash. No one can identify what has happened.

It has been suggested that perhaps too much blood has been taken and his body cannot produce it as quickly due to the degeneration performed on him before now.

November 20

He has begun to have seizures.

It turned him human long enough to puke blood but caused him to change immediately again.

We have no idea what has caused this sudden decline.

X equaled…

When was this ever going to be applicable to a werewolf of all things? He sighed softly and his eyes flickered to the corner of the room. Yami was still seated there, silent as the grave, with eyes open into slits of gleaming blood and darkened pupils. His expression was of indifference, but he knew from the way his shoulders rested with slight strain across the right that he was more tense than anything. He didn't think he had gotten over their conversation about the pack in the mountains. He had a feeling that Yami knew a bit more about them than just the idea that they were unstable.

Surely saying that they were unstable would hint at the idea that perhaps he knew a bit more than he was leading on, right?

No one just said something of that nature without some kind of insight to the situation.

Or perhaps he was making a judgment of some kind.

But he had sounded so terribly sure. And to make such judgment seemed out of character for Yami. He tended to see things in ways that were overly simplistic and easy enough for him to point out the success or failure of.

He glanced at him more fully. The other wolf failed to respond at first, then slowly raised his eyes and looked at him. For the first few seconds he did not even open his eyes fully, then a hint of surprise made him frown. Puzzlement made him raise his head further. Then he blinked his eyes open to their greatest and raised a brow in question.

Yugi would have teased that he wanted to know if he knew how to get the answer. But it seemed almost unintentionally cruel seeing as Yami had never been schooled. And it would be humiliating to them both if he had turned around and asked, realized himself, and come to find that Yami was still smart enough to answer it without prior practice.

He was almost flustered by such a thought. If Yami proved himself to be that smart and Yugi himself was not, was that just natural or was it the wolf? He hated himself for thinking it, but he had always been a little competitive about his grades. And the idea that a person who had seemingly grown up in the mountains knowing more than him by nature was daunting and something bordering shameful.

Yet, somehow it would not have surprised him in the least should he have been capable. Yami was, after all, by far one of the most intelligent people he'd ever spoken to. It seemed insane to him that something as small as a math equation would even slow him down. And, who knew, maybe being a wolf for as long as he had made him somehow even smarter.

"How long were you a wolf before you became human?" Yugi asked quietly, debating how stupid he must truly sound. Yami paused for a long moment, visibly startled by his question and then more than slightly flustered as his shoulders rose into a light bristle.

"Why do you ask?" he inquired instead, eyes sharpening with caution.

But Yugi was already aware of the thin ice he was walking upon and his expression did nothing to deter him.

"I'm curious. Am I not allowed to ask about you?"

Yami narrowed his gaze and studied him for so long Yugi found himself finally fidgeting and shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"My parents died when I was about six. So, since then, I suppose?"

He found it strange he phrased it that way, yet he could not call him out on it. In all actually, it was very possible that his time as a wolf had become blurred together into nothing but the biggest events which thus still demanded his attention.

"Oh, okay."

They looked at each other, a sense of familiarity and disbelief sweeping through them both. Yugi ran a hand through his hair and Yami moved to scratch lightly at his wrist. They both looked away swiftly, a disconnect coming between them in a hideous chill which drenched the room. The small teen turned back to his homework with a sick feeling clenching his gut.

He had done that.

He had caused that disconnection between them.

His decision to throw Yami's jacket into the washer had destroyed much of their tenuous friendship. It had frayed it drastically, leaving it wounded and jagged, bleeding and raw.

He swallowed hard, feeling as if blood were choking him, and then twitched as he flipped his pencil between his fingers.

"Do you remember much of your childhood?"

The question startled him audibly. Yugi heard him jerk, his bones crunching with the harshness of the movement. He blinked and turned his head immediately, startled himself to find that Yami was on his feet. His eyes were blown, pupils engulfing his irises for a split second, and then he closed his eyes tightly. But Yugi could hear the effects of his words even if he could no longer see them there on his face.

His heart had picked up and his lungs were straining. There was something raspy in his throat, like a snarl that refused to come forth. Then the lycanthrope shook his head sloppily and moved to take a seat again.

But the air smelled oddly rancid, strong and bitter. He thought of decaying leaves and crushed straw, of burning bark and smoke too thick within the room. Yugi stiffened and looked at him, because it did not smell like those things. But the hideous quality of them was similar.

But what he smelled was the acidic touch of bile that threatened to spill, and the much harsher scent of pine and moonlight and snow, all encompassed by something almost akin sweat.

It was a strangely alluring scent, sweeping into his head and making it spin.

His heart was racing in response and a sense of something unfamiliar swept through him. But when he blinked and breathed again, the air seemed abruptly clear of it.

And, just like that, his heart slowed again. The speed of his thoughts and the swirling rhythm of blood pounding in his ears was gone. He blinked slowly, frowning, and tipped his head to the side. What was that? Yami had sprung to his feet moments before. And his eyes had been dilated—

He cursed mentally.

He'd triggered something.

He'd made Yami think of something he hadn't in a long time.

And it had swallowed him for just long enough that his fear had drenched the room.

"I…I'm sorry, I didn't—"

The red-eyed wolf shook his head again, snapping, "It does not matter. To answer your question, however, yes, I do remember. And I'll tell you that each werewolf in existence has perfect recollection of the events within their lives. They remember words, colors, tastes, smells, anything. They can recall anything and everything."

Yugi shivered, opening and closing his mouth once, and then glanced away quickly. "Oh…" He faltered, then looked back at him. "My memory is splotchy in several areas. I mean, I don't… I think, honestly, that I've lost years of memory."

Yami scoffed quietly, "Well, aren't you just lucky?"

The silence threatened to swallow them both for a moment. Then the taller lycanthrope shifted his weight and drew his legs towards himself, crossing them. He sat there, legs open, the soles of his feet hidden beneath the opposite thigh, and lowered his hands to dig his fingers into his calves. He hummed softly, a hideous and disdainful noise, then ran his nails along the material of his jeans. The scratching noise made Yugi shiver for a moment.

"I would assume it to be the drugs and the experiments done to you to cause such a problem. But I would thank the gods for black spots within my memory."

"Is it so bad?"

He angled his head for a moment, then closed his eyes tightly before drumming his fingers. "Yes. Some of them are that bad."

Yugi thought of Yami's earlier anger towards people, his bitterness. He considered the way that he had snapped he had grown up with the wrong type. It made his head spin for a moment, as he once again considered the other words he had spoken later. He had claimed to grow up alone in the tunnels when his parents were killed by hunters.

Yugi nearly groaned, but instead reached up to tug on his bangs with a soft sigh. Yami had lied. And he had done it twice. He had literally looked him dead in the eyes and spoken two different stories of vastly opposing circumstances.

It was odd to consider it as he looked at him, but it struck him as well that Yami obviously had something traumatic buried in his memories. And that was nothing he wanted to think of, let alone speak of. Considering that, Yugi did not truly think he could fault him.

He shivered. His fear scent was still terribly fresh within his mind as well. And that alone was enough to make him back up and reconsider what he should broach as topics of conversation with him. He sighed softly, swallowing, and then looked at his nails for a split second.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? It's over and done with."

Neither mentioned the unspoken warning of, It's only that way as long as it is not spoken about. It was clear enough within the small room, a weight which neither was willing to even consider lifting.

"You didn't deserve whatever it is."

"You don't know what I deserve."

Yugi gave him a startled look, eyes growing wide. The despair and hatred in his tone made his spine cold and rigid beneath his skin. He was watching him, red eyes dark and sharp, burning into his. They looked at each silently for another moment. The room felt heavier than ever, and the way it weighed upon them made both feel smaller.

But Yami looked damaged and hollowed out, as if his eyes were dead with his pained thoughts. He appeared to be miniscule in size, as if he were dwarfed by his memories. It made his heart ache to see him like this, the way he shivered and bunched his limbs further together.

He looked away a minute later, the bitterness changing to absolute misery upon his features. He reached over and pulled his jacket into his lap, eyes pained and face crestfallen. He was nearly trembling as he stared at the dark teal color, his fingers stroking lightly at the material. If it were possible, his expression grew further unhappy, until he seemed heartbroken and utterly agonized.

The lycanthrope blinked, looked up at him, and then allowed his eyes to drift towards the window. The expression within them was far away, with a distance so beyond them that it made Yugi stiffen. He could not fully understand what it was that he saw, or whether he was capable of sight any longer. He wondered if grief—of whatever kind Yami suffered—could possibly blind a person to the things happening around them. But the shadow in his gaze passed and his eyes seemed to clear, his mind coming to the forefront of a distance he had been unable to name formerly.

"You're not a bad person."

Yami blinked at the words, eyes flashing, and then his attention flickered to his face with as much interest as a wolf might show a leaf drifting in the wind. His eyes were cunning, dark, and the way he stared made Yugi's heart climb into his throat. They stared at one another for a moment. His lips pulled into a slight smile, his voice low and bitter, "If I am not being paid my dues, I'll be very surprised. Tell me, Yugi, weren't you just calling me something similar upon my killing of Yoshimori?"

He stiffened, and he was not entirely sure why it was that those words scared him more than anything else. The small teen dropped his hands into his lap, eyes dropping because his face seemed almost venomous, monstrous, with gleaming red depths of blood dripping from long fangs. He tapped his nails against his knees for a moment, then bunched his shoulders up as he bit his lip harshly.

"I didn't…" He trailed off for a moment. "That's not what I meant and you know that, Yami. Don't…don't try to twist everything around like this."

"You would rather trust two wolves whose names are the most you know over me. Please, explain to me what it is that makes you speak such desires when you clearly do not think me a bad person."

"You had your reasons for killing him, right?"

Yami blinked, his words confusing him as he studied the frustrated look which crossed the other's face upon looking up at him again. "Yes," he said slowly, eyes narrowing as he tilted his head in bewilderment. This was hardly the direction he had assumed this argument would go.

Yugi exhaled softly, then looked away. "Then I'll just have to trust that," he muttered in a quiet, somewhat distant tone. He glanced at his worksheet to attempt calming the way the words made his stomach twist and his heart ache more.

Did Yami not trust him to take care of himself?

Or was this some kind of display of the lengths that the other lycanthropes would go in order to please the Pure-Bloods?

Yami felt his eyes widen, his mouth threatening to fall open for a split second. But his cynical nature was by far a hard one to dismiss upon looking at the way the smaller boy refused to glance at him any longer. He bore his teeth and fought the urge to snarl in bitter discontent. He lowered his gaze, because looking at Yugi any longer made him want to pull his hair from his scalp in anger.

The smaller teen turned around only when he thought he felt the room grow a degree hotter, as if the walls were encompassing something he did not fully understand. He looked quickly over his shoulder, finding the red-eyed teen staring at the ground with a hideously disgusted face.

He tilted his head, then drew in a deep breath. "I know that's not entirely comforting, but I… Yami, if you said you had a reason to do it, then I believe you."

"Now."

No? Yugi furrowed his brows. "What?"

"I said 'now'. You believe me now, but you did not before. And now you expect me to believe in the sincerity you think to display. Yugi, you are a fool if you think I do not know such things as cynicism and disbelief. I know more than you do, when it comes to truth. What you think you know is nothing of consequence to the things that I do. Now, whether you should feel you must believe in my reasoning simply because you do not wish to fight and argue with me anymore is your own doing. But I have never truly killed another without the motive of survival for myself or another."

He shook his head. "I k—"

"You do not know!" Yami spat, eyes gleaming like poisonous gemstones. He bore his teeth in a hideous snarl and his body was rigid with disgust and mounting hatred. "You do not know me! What you know of me is what I allow you to see. I barely scrape the surface with you, for more reasons than I care to explain to you. And I might be your alpha, but you are a fool if you think I will do for you what I would not another."

"You mean saving me? I didn't think—"

"You look at me like it sometimes. You look at me as if you see something there that is not. If I were unable to save you and had only the choice of doing so to help myself, I would. I am not a creature capable of putting away my own survival for the help of another. You are foolish to assume otherwise."

Yugi blinked, then furrowed his brows. "I wouldn't want you to save me if it meant your life. Save yourself before you try to do anything for someone else, Yami." He shook his head, swallowing hard, lightheaded and bewildered as he stared into those hardened eyes. "I wouldn't expect anyone to do that for me."

Yami watched him for a moment, then looked away again quickly. "Those wolves within that pack… They will only see you as one thing. You will only be Code Name Atem to them, never Yugi. And when you come face to face with that reality, you will realize that it is not truly me you will have to worry about."

Yugi blinked, startled, and then frowned as he looked him over more fully. Yami appeared almost dead as he said the words, disgusted and disturbed, and it made his stomach drop. His heart was still in his throat and it made the task of breathing so much harder as he looked him over for a moment. He lowered his eyes to the floor.

"I don't know what I plan to do as far as they go. I never said I was going to join them or something."

Yami barked out a laugh, hideous and angry. "You will not have a choice. They have come to know your scent. Eventually one of them will come to retrieve you. Perhaps they will negotiate with you. Perhaps they will not. You are a god to them, not some common teen with a lack of common sense. They will come to you if you do not go to them. Remember that, for you have stepped into a world beyond the darkness of your humanity. Loyalty and survival are key to them. And that comes to them in the form of you."

Yugi opened and closed his mouth, horrified, and then felt as if the room were swaying for a split second. He nearly groaned, then turned away to focus on the sheet displayed on the desk in front of him.

Would they come for him?

Would they attack his family or Yami in order to get to him?

What about his friends?

What if they attacked them as well?

What would he do then?

His head was spinning faster. A queasiness had settled into his stomach and he closed his eyes tightly in distress. He shook his head slightly, then spun around to face the other wolf again. There was no smugness to be seen upon his face, nor the slightest hint of wonderment towards his anxiety. But there was something he had never truly seen there before, sharp and dark, and it made his insides twist harder.

"Yami, what…what did you see in me?"

He blinked, his expression confused, and then furrowed his brows as he shook his head wordlessly.

"That night in the alleyway, when Ushio nearly killed me and Tomoya tried to fight him off—what did you see in me? What was it?"

Yami was silent for a long minute. Then he sat up a little more, remembering his own words which he had said within the greenhouse. Yes, he had seen something, and he had sought to save it.

But to put it to words felt disturbing, as if it might cheapen it.

So he remained quiet a heartbeat longer, then he raised his fallen eyes from the floor to the other boy's wild blue-violet gaze.

"I saw potential."

He blinked, his eyes widening at first, then crinkling at the edges with his growing puzzlement as his lips tugged into a full grimace. He was visibly bewildered by the statement, but he did not ask any further. He had the idea that Yami would repeat himself should he do so.

---

"Dude, Yug, you okay?"

He nearly jolted in his seat, spinning around to face Jonouchi with wide, startled eyes. He blinked, then offered him a small smile which he knew looked as plastic as it felt. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just really tired," he lied. The lack of sleep was not what had done him in, rendering him all but lifeless within the classroom.

He tapped a nail against the wood of his desk and closed his eyes tightly for a moment. The sound was hypnotizing, like that of claws clicking on hardwood or a reptile slithering across stone. He shivered at the idea, but it did nothing to make him turn back around and engage in further conversation.

"Are you sure? You look almost ill…"

Yugi blinked, then turned his head towards Anzu with an almost sickened feeling. How long had it been since he had last spoken to her or spent time with her? He felt dirty for not realizing the length of time which had passed since their last true interaction.

If the others had not been around them, he had not bothered to converse with her. He wondered what it was that she could possibly see in him. He wondered if she truly knew just how messed up he was, if she still had any thoughts about them getting together.

He wondered how it was that he could say he was too screwed up in the head, his life far too complicated, and his world too asunder, to truly try his hand at dating. He wondered how it was that he could say he would never have the opportunity to truly date anyone.

If Yami was right, and the wolves truly came to get him rather than waited for him to go to then, he was sure that he would never bother to look at another girl again. He did not want to risk another's life just for the sake of his own loneliness. Surely she would be able to understand that if he could only find the words to explain the situation without sounding like an absolute idiot.

He offered her a gentle smile, however, warmed by her concern despite himself. "I'm okay. I just really haven't been sleeping well the last couple of nights," he fibbed, tilting his head a fraction and pulling his lips up into a more uneven schoolboy grin. She blushed faintly, her eyes brightening the smallest degree, and he turned away again almost immediately.

"Well, if that's the case, then I have something that will definitely help you sleep well again," Jonouchi announced, and when Yugi turned around, he burst out laughing at the exaggerated waggle of his brows and the saucy wink he threw at him. He shook his head, grinning easily, but the blond simply ignored his bewilderment. "Come by my locker after class."

He snorted and Honda covered his face with his palm as Yugi chuckled, "I don't think extracurricular activities are going to help me."

"Then you've been doing them wrong."

The three of them were laughing now as Anzu gave a long-suffering roll of her eyes but smiled slightly at their antics. Yugi leaned back onto Jonouchi's desk, putting his elbows on the surface of wood and then raising a brow. "I don't think there's a way to do that wrong."

"Sure there is. There's a wrong way to do anything, Yugi."

"Oh, yeah? Then tell me, what's the wrong way to do it?" he teased, raising a brow and smirking at him.

"Alone."

Both Yugi and Honda stopped short. The small teen leaned away from the desk, frowning at his friend. The brunet beside Jonouchi gave him a slightly horrified, confused expression. They both swapped looks, and their bewilderment was second only to the disgust on Anzu's face as she turned to glance at them.

"Not with me, you morons," he scoffed, rolling his eyes and blushing faintly when he glanced at Anzu and then quickly away again. The brunette was still disgusted enough to grimace at him but the other two frowned and swapped looks. Then, as if in unison, they scratched the backs of their heads and waited for him to continue. "I meant with a girl."

Honda burst out laughing a second later, covering his mouth with his hands. "You did not just say that," he chuckled, "because that would mean that you might actually know how to get with one."

Yugi snorted and then covered his mouth, quickly clearing his throat to keep from howling with laughter. He lowered his eyes to study his friend's desk, forcing himself to swallow the guffaws which made his shoulders shake briefly. He bit his bottom lip as hard as he could, clenching it between his incisors, and struggled not to laugh again.

"I'll have you know that there are plenty of girls asking for Jonouchi Katsuya, thank you very much." He declared it with a loud sniff of disdain towards Yugi's second snort and the small teen turned quickly away. "Just because you two can't get any—"

"Okay, you stud, let's talk about how drugging a girl is not considered legal." He was swatted upside the head for the quip and Honda burst out laughing at him as he spun around to face the blond again. Jonouchi gave the small teen a slightly annoyed look, shaking his head and pursing his lips. "I'm just throwing it out there."

"I'm going to end up throwing you out this classroom."

"Honda, protect me," Yugi wheedled in mock distress. The brunet puffed his chest out, then deflated almost immediately. They each turned back towards the front as the teacher strode into the room.

The silence that fell over the room was instantaneous and harsh.

Both Yugi and Anzu swapped looks, unused to the bewildering quiet. Normally their teacher would allow them to chatter until the bell rang for class to begin. But she looked oddly distressed and frustrated more than anything.

"Another student has turned up dead," she announced softly, eyes dark and shiny with unshed tears. Her brown hair looked greasy, stringy from where she had run her fingers through it too often. Her brown eyes were dulled, almost lifeless. "This time it was Kaoruko. Her body was found heavily mutilated in the middle of the street leading towards the nature preserve."

Anzu blinked and her head turned slowly towards Yugi. The small teen was frozen in place, eyes wide and startled. He was sitting a little taller, his fingers gripping the sides of his desk with white knuckles. He blinked and his expression looked sickened as he stared at their teacher in obvious alarm. The way the small teen peered at her made Anzu's heart skip, pounding rapidly in her chest.

A couple of other students had made a similar connection, heads turning slowly to look at the smaller teen. His face grew paler, eyes dilated with confusion and stark terror for a split second. The teacher furrowed her brows and regarded him for a moment.

"He lives right on that street…"

"Yeah, but Yugi is a wimp…"

"Ushio's body was found on his doorstep."

"Tomoya used to be his friend."

"Yugi is too soft to do something like that."

"Evidence is evidence, man."

Yugi groaned deep in his throat, then grabbed at his notebooks. "Fuck," he grumbled under his breath, ignoring the way the others stared at him with wide eyes.

"Look, he's about to run for it."

"If you think he's so guilty, why don't you go call it in anonymously?"

"Because I need more solid proof."

"Like what, another dead body?"

He was out the door before he heard the teacher gain enough control of her surprise to tell him to sit back down. His friends each stayed where they were, looking at one another with bewildered and confused expressions.

"He's fleeing because he's guilty."

"Oh, shove it," Jonouchi spat at the boy beside him. He jumped and spun on him with wide, fearful eyes. The blond rolled his eyes at him and turned away again to look at desk in boredom. "Yugi wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I bet he's just smart enough to make everyone think that," someone else crowed, making the small trio look up in surprise at a boy with dirty blond hair. "He's probably got a huge IQ and is psychotic. He's probably a psychopath."

"No, a sociopath," someone disagreed, a girl with bright pink-streaked hair. Her blue eyes were shining with laughter, cruel and overpowering. "Psychopaths are the ones who want you to know they did it. Sociopaths are the ones that just pretend to feel emotions."

"He didn't look like he was faking that," someone else argued. The way the class turned on the small girl made Anzu nearly cringe. It was like a bunch of vultures turning on a piece of fresh road kill.

"You can fake something realistically," a boy sneered at her. "That's what actors do, stupid."

"You can't honestly believe that Yugi, the smallest, quietest person in this school, was capable of killing Ushio or Kokurano or Tomoya or Miho or Kaoruko." The girl shook her head with a roll of her eyes, sneering at them. "There's no way. Just because he's more secluded doesn't make him a murderer. Besides that, he's like the nicest person in this school. He wouldn't hurt anyone—let alone kill and mutilate them. Close your mouth before you sound any stupider."

Anzu almost laughed with how fast the class shut down the conversation at her retort. They all shot her flustered looks but turned back to the teacher without any further argument. But the moment class was over and they began to go to their next period, the chatter started up again.

Jonouchi was stunned to see the way the argument grew in his literature class. Yugi's absence was regarded as all but an admission of guilt. The outbursts grew spectacularly, vicious as they declared him the murderer somehow.

But it was silenced abruptly when another student he only vaguely recognized turned around to face one of the kids shouting at his friend over it. His voice was low, calm, and his eyes were bored as he said, "Are you sure it wasn't me? I mean, if we're going by circumstance, you can pinpoint me in all of those locations at one time or another around the times of the murders happening."

The teacher, sitting there and listening to them all snarl at each other with amusement, shook his head slightly. His expression grew bewildered as he looked at the brunet who tilted his head at the other boy, their eyes boring into each other.

"Let's see. I was walking my dog near where they theorize Miho was actually killed. I went to the nature reserve just yesterday, using the road that leads to Yugi's house and the shortcut through the woods. I was at school late the day Kokurano's body was supposed to have dropped dead." He tilted his head a little further. "And I used the alley Tomoya was found in. I'm actually almost a hundred percent sure I used it that night too. As for Ushio's body, I don't recall if I was that way that night, but it's entirely possible too. I often go that way. And I know I was at the reserve yesterday until I walked home later that night."

"You've been ignoring curfew!" someone declared in a shocked tone.

The boy raised a brow, snorting in amusement. "Are you honestly telling me that you follow it every night? I know how to protect myself. No one is going to murder me," he scoffed, turning away dismissively and looking at the clock on the wall before turning back with a smirk. "Now, would you like to try to declare me the murderer or not?"

"Okay, so, if you were the murderer, why dump his body on Yugi's doorstep?" someone else asked, voice oddly high-pitched with nerves, eyes wide and fearful.

The boy grinned and his teeth were a perfect display of bright white enamel. He had straighter teeth than Jonouchi had ever even seen on movie stars and it was almost dazzling. "That's easy. It makes me look less suspicious."

All of them froze at the statement.

He shrugged and gestured around. "And that's exactly what it's done, right? It's pointed you in the direction of Yugi." He scoffed loudly. "And now you're all wondering if it's possible I did it. See that? It's called mob mentality. No leads, no clues, and you're all willing to point your fingers at coincidence and bullshit that comes out of someone else's mouth. You're all misled far too easily. Yugi didn't do anything. I didn't do anything."

The entire school was buzzing with the news that Valon had defended Yugi. It was the single most spoken of thing within the building. Honda was amazed by how quickly it picked up after Jonouchi told him after class. Within several hours of the day being over, everyone was joking and relaxing, reading that maybe Yugi and Valon were pulling a murder scandal like out of that American horror movie Scream.

Honda was amazed when he found Valon standing at his locker, snickering as someone asked him how he could gut someone else. He turned to them, smirking, and purred, "A hunter's knife and a crock pot."

"A crock pot?"

"To make the stew. Didn't you know that the organs are the most nutritious part?"

"Oh, gross, dude!"

Valon snorted at him, smirking, and the kid ran off to go see his friends at the end of the hall. The werewolf was not oblivious to the way Honda was watching him and the other brunet knew it. As he came a few steps closer, he could see the way Valon seemed to angle his head towards the ground almost as if listening to his footsteps.

Honda was unnerved when he came closer and the other boy still failed to acknowledge him. The silence was too thick for him to truly fail to feel the weight of it. He swallowed thickly, head spinning, and licked his lips as he bit his cheek for a moment.

"Valon."

He didn't look up from flipping to a page in one of his notebooks. "Honda," he acknowledged in a low voice. He closed the spiral and placed it back in his locker without a second glance. Only then did he raise his head and turn to him.

Honda startled at the golden shade of his eyes. He stepped back visibly, then opened and closed his mouth, furrowing his brows, and found himself blinking rapidly. But the luminescent tone of the color did not change, and the keenness, the utter secrecy, within them did not change in the slightest. His gaze was all but glowing and his lips pulled into a slight grin as he studied the other teen.

He stood a few inches shorter than him, but the golden-eyed boy almost seemed to tower over him with the weight of his gaze alone. To take in the straightness of his back and the regal strength with which he held himself seemed to only further enlarge him. It seemed almost suicidal to take in all of these things at one time because the power of such observation was enough to make the bravest person back down.

Honda may have been far from the bravest person, but he also was not a coward. But before Valon, he felt small and almost weak. There was something eerie and great, beyond his grasp of knowledge, which made him imposing and powerful. He blinked, then backed up another step.

"Come now, tell me you aren't afraid of me," the other brunet teased, winking at him playfully. He remembered that motion, and something startling clicked in his head. Bewildered, Honda tilted his head and frowned at him.

"Your eyes used to be blue."

"Baby blue, yes," he drawled as if it were the most normal thing in the world that his eyes were no longer such a shade. With disinterest the golden-eyed boy glanced away and picked at another notebook. "They changed a couple of years ago."

"What…?"

"Why would I know what made them do that? All I know is that it happened. They changed colors." He shrugged and glanced at him. "I suppose it runs in the family."

Honda shook his head slightly, furrowing his brows and frowning more pointedly. "I remember when you were in my class in middle school. When we had to share facts about ourselves, you said you were adopted."

Valon raised a brow. "What's your point? I never said which family it ran in." He hummed and flipped through another notebook, then pushed it back into place before closing his locker and turning to him fully. "Truly, Honda, what is your point? You act like me telling everyone I was adopted is news or something."

"Well, that's not normally what people say when they're told to…share something with the class."

"I'm not normal, but that's rude of you to point out."

His cheeks flushed, eyes widening. "I didn't mean—"

He was smirking when he shook his head. "You and Yugi both end up apologizing prematurely when it comes to thinking someone is offended. I'm just pulling your leg. I don't care if you say something like that. It's true enough." He turned and started to walk towards the exit, backpack resting on his shoulders. He hummed once, then turned back to look at him over his shoulder. The question was clear enough that Honda hurried to get to his side before he began walking again. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I… What you said earlier…"

He frowned at him, tilting his head. "I don't remember talking to you earlier," he said in a puzzled tone. The brunet beside him halted, confused, and Valon smirked with a roll of his eyes. His amusement made Honda blush faintly with frustration. He was messing with him; why couldn't he tell he was messing with him? "You mean about Yugi. What about it?"

"I, uh…I just think it's nice that you did that."

Valon faltered and turned his head to look at him more closely.

Honda didn't know about Yugi being a werewolf.

Good; he didn't need to.

But it still struck him as strange that his loyalty to his friend, who so obviously was lying to him, extended so far as to awkwardly commit himself to an attempt at thanking him for doing so. He frowned, then shook his head slightly and turned away.

"Yugi is a good kid. Awkward, yes, but a killer? Definitely not." Although, his alpha was another question altogether. He knew his capabilities far exceeded Yugi's at the moment. But, if what he had heard come out of Yugi's mouth in the woods days before was even slightly true, then perhaps it was the smaller boy whom he should be more concerned about. If Yugi truly was Code Name Atem, then he was far more dangerous than the wolf who had bitten him. "Besides, they were cutting into my education."

"You don't seem the scholarly type."

"And how well do you know me, Honda?"

The question made him pause. Valon turned to him, brow raised, expression unimpressed and cynical. He frowned at him, because he did not know him at all, but what did that truly have to do with anything?

"I'm here to get a scholarship to go to the states," he said in a dull tone. "That's why my marks are always at their highest."

Honda could not tell if he was joking or trying to make a point that he truly knew virtually nothing about him. He frowned and shook his head and the other boy turned back away again.

"I'm not here for a scholarship and I don't plan to go to the states." He rolled gleaming golden eyes. "I was just making a point. Regardless, I did it because I don't care for what they were saying about him. He's not a murderer. He's more like a lost puppy than someone who would ever attack or hurt someone else."

Yet, he had smelled Yugi's saliva on that lycanthrope whose head had been torn from its body. It had smelled much more of him around the neck than of his beta. What was his name? Yugi had called him something that day…

"I'm not sure about a lost puppy but I do know he's too kind to want to hurt anyone."

Valon nodded, listening only halfway as his mind circulated with the idea of what it was his name might be. He had all but pushed the memory out of his mind, and listening to Honda around attempting to recall it to the surface was hardly easy.

In his mind's eye his memory was flitting rapidly by. His main focus was upon it, but it was also prodded at in a halfhearted manner by the idea that Honda might speak again. Days flickered by, dialogue and images, so fast that it would have dazed if it were on video.

Then it slowed abruptly.

And, finally, it stumbled to a halt.

Yami.

He had called him Yami.

Yami was the second one. Or perhaps the first.

Their scents were so erratic and his understanding of Yugi and Yami both so limited. He could not tell who had come before the other. He could not tell who it was that had come first. Yami may have bitten him but it was possible that Yugi was infected prior through bloodline. He seemed to have been, but he could not properly tell. He'd smelled it on him before but it was also questionable that he had not simply caught the scent on his clothes from another wolf passing by.

But Yami smelled unnaturally strong as a wolf. He smelled unnaturally powerful, as if he were wolf and not human. He smelled as if the human were but a shell for a wolf powerful enough to force the world to its knees.

"So, anyways, thank you, a lot for doing that. I don't know how he would have reacted if he had come back tomorrow and they were still talking about it…"

Valon nodded easily, giving him a small smile. "It's okay. As I said, I don't care for what it was they were saying." After a moment he glanced over the other boy's shoulder. "Anzu and Jonouchi are looking for you."

Honda looked back, then turned to say a farewell. But the golden-eyed boy was gone, seeming almost to melt into the shadows as he disappeared around the corner. He shivered.

---

Yami shifted closer towards the bed, his muscles strained with the thought of moving away again. When Yugi had come back, he'd been panting and shaking and all but sobbing. But he'd settled on the bed silently over an hour ago. Only now had the taller teen considered drifting closer to him, stirred both by his anger to avoid him and his unfamiliarity to resist offering comfort. He was still struggling with such a task, as his own mind told him to flee as quickly as was physically possible. Very slowly he crept closer to the bed.

Yugi did not even seem to notice him. He had not said a word to him upon the two of them crossing paths again either. He had simply dumped his bag and scattered books across the floor, then thrown himself onto the bed. He was still shaking finely, though it was far more controlled than it had been before. But he was no longer breathing heavily and Yami wondered if perhaps he should simply back up and leave him to recover on his own. He hesitated only for a moment, then pressed his hand into the bed.

The slight dip of his weight jostled the smaller boy who spun immediately with a confused and dazed expression. At first he peered at Yami as if he did not see him properly. The way his eyes bore into his was like teeth ripping and shredding at skin. He shivered and the smaller boy blinked at the movement.

Yami withdrew his hand because he could not think to do anything further. His own lungs felt tight and his ribs were aching with the need to draw in breath. Fight or flight was flush against his instinct to stand completely still and potentially thwart a common predator by way of feigning death. He had done so often enough to realize that while it might not work with a clear-minded human, it could very well do so with Yugi. He looked almost catatonic from his mental exhaustion, pupils constricted, irises seeming almost to vibrate within his sockets.

Then, very slowly, moving with deliberate sluggishness, the small teen opened his arms. Yami nearly flinched at the inclination of the wordless plea. He hesitated, his fingers twitching, his heart lurching and pounding in his throat, his head spinning. He nearly groaned, then swallowed back a hideous growl of discomfort. For a moment he could do no more than stare at him.

His lack of movement did nothing to deter the small teen. Yami shifted his weight. In all truth, the idea of getting onto the bed and sitting beside him again seemed the biggest obstacle. This, placed on top of that, seemed overwhelming. He choked on a breath, then forced himself to inhale once more. What more was there that he could truly do?

He hesitated again. He had hoped not even to touch him. He had hoped to simply get close enough that Yugi might draw some kind of sense of comfort from his presence. The idea of willingly placing himself within someone's arms after all of the things such actions had formerly led him to made Yami want to puke.

He thought of bright green eyes, with depths of the ocean, and the kindest gleam he had ever seen. He choked again, distress coating his insides.

He had not physically embraced someone since then. He had not allowed anyone to do the same since so long before Yugi had done so with his wolf skin in the woods. He drew in a breath and his throat seized painfully. His lungs were burning and his throat ached. He could feel the muscles closing, tightening, and he felt as if the world were swaying about him.

Those eyes stared back at him, set against Yugi's pleading gaze, and it made his heart shudder. The pain made his stomach clench and his insides melt. He felt weak, distress swallowing his common sense. The impulse to collapse pushed away his fight or flight. His heart was shaking within his throat. He shivered and the tremble turned into a fine quake until he thought he might collapse forcefully.

Yugi watched him, saw the way a shadow passed upon his face. He was wheezing now, as if something were triggered within his memories. He was shaking and his fingers were twitching sporadically. He was gasping and hissing. Then, very slowly, the darkness seemed to swamp his gaze altogether. There was something disconnected, disassociated, within his eyes, making the red of them almost gray in shade. He looked overwhelmed, dulled by the weight of that which filled his mind.

Yugi felt as if he had opened a chasm between them miles long and mountains deep. He almost lowered his arms, but something stubborn borne within him made him keep them up. He held them in the exact position he had moments before. And Yami continued to stare, wild-eyed, body trembling, his breath coming in low wheezes of pain. Then, abruptly, choking and wheezing, the small boy felt his body nearly fall backwards.

Yami had hurled himself. He had thrown himself straight into his arms. And there he was, quaking and sobbing silently. His pain was enough to make them both shake as if caught within the throes of heavy wind. Yugi tightened his grip around him, shifting to attempt to ease him more comfortably into his embrace.

The movement finally brought sound from the other teen. He was keening again, the noise high in pitch and making his entire body shake with each exhale. He shuddered and moved closer, desperate in the way he tried to bury himself within the smaller boy.

Yugi held him there, frozen but for his arms around him. He thought he heard him whimpering a name, but his voice was so distressed and choked and the keen pitch of his whimpers tossed it away. The small teen rubbed gently at his back and gasped. Yami had clutched at his back with his nails and shifted forcefully forward again. He was pressed so tightly it caused the air to leave him painfully. He could not move.

His fingers seemed almost to curl into his skin, threatening to shred through his clothes and into his muscle. He shivered and Yami let out a noise that was not simply choked or pained. Rather it sounded aggressive as well, a snarl of a whimper, the noises bleeding together agonizingly. But it died away in the stale air and Yami abruptly shifted to bury his face in the hollow of his throat.

Even if he could not feel his dry cheeks, he would have known he had failed to cry by the lack of salt in the air. Yugi rubbed at his back once more, running his fingers along the knobs of his spines. They felt like the buttons of a trumpet, harsh and jagged, like the vertebrae of a lizard. He pulled at the taller teen, for a moment thinking that perhaps he could meld him into his flesh, instinctively wishing to shelter him from such pain. But he was pressed so completely against him that it was impossible.

He pressed his chin into his shoulder, looking towards the wall as Yami continued to tremble finely against him.

When Yami finally drew away from him, it was hours later. Yugi was exhausted by the very task of remaining in place for so long. His legs were cramped. His arms hurt. The shuddering had worn his body through and through. He allowed him to pull away, at first unsure and then with certainty. The taller wolf crept back only a couple of inches, refusing to look at him, blinking at the comforter. He looked exhausted, and his bones looked jagged, as if the muscle had wasted away from such grief.

Yugi had the impulse both to reach out and touch him and to shift away while asking if he was okay. But neither thing happened. He could not force the words out nor dismiss common sense that it would further upset Yami. And to touch him seemed almost as if he were mocking him and his pain.

So he simply leaned a little closer. The other wolf did not move away and he knew Yami felt him there, almost like a second skin. They stayed still, the red eyes on the yellow comforter, his own on the sky blue of the wall. The minutes passed.

Then Yami shifted closer to him. Their shoulders brushed and the taller boy trembled slightly. Yugi bit the inside of his cheek until it bled, then began to dig at the severed flesh with frenzy. He feared moving too closely to him and speaking would surely send Yami running.

Yami eventually turned to him, slow and weary, and the look in his eyes made Yugi's heart hurt more. He blinked, looking away, then shifted closer to him. Their legs pressed into each other and Yugi looked at him as he moved to press their cheeks together for a split second.

His left hand was clenching at the fabric of his uniform shirt and Yugi closed his eyes as the other wolf tightened the grip. He twisted it until it felt that his skin would pinch off with the pain of the shirt clenching upon it. But the smaller werewolf was more distinctly aware of the sensation of the other's gentle body heat and the smoothness of his skin.

Yami's other hand drifted towards his shoulder, clasping there lightly. He shivered and the red-eyed teen moved again to press his cheek into his throat. His pulse was warm and steady in his ear, though the skin shuddered when he swallowed thickly. Yugi reached out to touch his flank for a moment, gently drifting his finger over it before cupping just beneath his ribs.

He had forgotten physical affection.

The embrace made Yami remember those longer nights, the gentle heat and the way those green eyes would watch him through the terrors. He shook it off, then blinked and forced himself to push away the thought. This hug was much different than any he had ever experienced before. The grief was so much more than he had ever felt prior. His frame was still somewhat shaken by it as well.

It had been so terribly constant since he had come to know solidarity. He shivered and looked at Yugi, pulling away when he remembered how close they were. His movement didn't jar the smaller boy enough to release his flank and the consistency of the touch made him tremble gently again. He looked away, glancing at his fingers, and licked his lips to keep from whining low under his breath.

Yugi hummed softly, then risked the chance of whispering, "I think I'm going to get something to eat in a few minutes, okay?"

Yami paused, then nodded slightly. His own belly was empty despite the tossing of the clenched organ. He licked his lips again, then nodded again, unable at first to say a word. Finally he glanced at him sideways, beneath his irises, and muttered, "Protein shake?"

His voice was raspy, breaking and crackling painfully. The way it burst from his lungs made the small teen's heart ache. He tilted his head, then smiled gently, and nodded. His thumb was tracing gossamer circles upon his flank, soft and warm, and the red-eyed lycanthrope shivered faintly. But he also melted into such sensation, leaning his side slightly towards his touch.

---

Yugi picked at the spiral ring of his notebook for a long minute, then narrowed his eyes at Yami curiously. The other boy had been relatively silent since the time they had wound up tangled together hours before. The small teen scribbled his pen along his paper for a long moment, then smiled faintly as he glanced at him once more.

Yami had drank his protein shake and eaten the sandwiches he had made for them both. Then he had kept his seat on the bed close to him, he was sure, because he was too exhausted to bother moving away. He had taken the spot close enough that they could touch if one of them shifted a little, but far enough that they were not yet touching.

It was strange to him, to desire so strongly to touch the other boy after having only done so a handful of times. But the way he had cracked and seemingly fallen to pieces within his arms made him that much more desperate to do so a third time. He shook the stupid thought off, feeling foolish and childish, and then looked towards him once more, peering at him sideways.

Yami glanced at him after a moment. His voice was still rough and scratchy even as he mumbled, "What?"

"I was just… Can I ask you something?"

If it was about what had happened, he couldn't promise not to lash out, but still the taller teen nodded slowly. His expression was slightly bewildered and he looked mildly sick to his stomach as they locked eyes for a moment. "What is it?" he asked quietly.

Yugi hesitated for a moment, picking at his nails before frowning at him. "I wanted to ask you about this really weird dream that I had," he admitted, licking his lips. The other wolf blinked at him curiously for a split second, then nodded in encouragement. "The other night after I saw the pack, I had this dream about a she-wolf. She said her name was Ra. And she offered me some…"

At the mention of her name Yami had grown still, eyes wide and startled. He blinked at him and Yugi furrowed his brows, but the red-eyed lycanthrope simply shook his head after a moment.

"She, um, offered me guidance, to help me find some of the answers…?" He hesitated, because Yami's eyes flashed with something harsh and otherworldly. "She said that I need to…look to the wolf? How does that…? I mean, I'm the wolf and the human, right? They're both…part of me. So why would she…? Do you think she means someone else?"

Yami blinked at him, then narrowed his eyes. "You think she means me," he said in a low voice, his tone quiet enough to make Yugi feel almost childish. When he nodded, the other wolf sighed. "Because I've been a wolf longer than you."

"Yeah…"

For a few long heartbeats neither spoke. Yami reached over to take his notebook from him, his nails clicking against the metal spirals. Yugi shivered, looking towards him for a moment, and then murmured, "Do you want to wait? Or should I get you a notebook? Do you want to write instead?"

His nails clicked again, then he narrowed his eyes. For a moment neither of them moved. Then he slowly shook his head, pushing the notebook onto the desk. But the pen was in his hands and his nails dug into the plastic as he twisted the cap gently between his fingers.

"Ask me a question if that's what you want to do."

The smaller teen hesitated for a moment, then offered him a small smile that he knew Yami caught from the corner of his eye. The red-eyed lycanthrope did nothing to acknowledge his attempt at easing his discomfort beyond swallowing. Yugi picked at his uniform pants with a nail, then looked down at his comforter.

"Can you tell me something about the way you're my alpha and I'm your beta?"

"It's the ranking system for wolves who are bitten. Because it spreads the disease between the two of them and binds them in ways that we're still all unsure of, the alpha is the one to bite and the beta is the bitten." He paused. "Have we not spoken about this before? I feel that we have…"

"Yeah, you mentioned it once. But I was…" More concerned about what happened to Tomoya, why you killed him, why he wound up with his heart eaten like that… "We got distracted. The conversation went elsewhere, remember?"

Yami hummed low under his breath, then turned to him slowly with a frown. "I remember," he said quietly, nodding slightly before looking at the pen in his hand again. Focusing was by far easier when it meant you did not have to face the person requesting it. His exhaustion was eating at his insides again. He drew in a breath, then exhaled long and slow. "It's just a ranking system. It also helps wolves to know which is in charge between the two of them, in case something happens. Like, say a beta was to lose their mind because of something, the alpha could subdue them through their ranking commands, but someone else would fail."

"Ranking commands?"

"It's called the alpha command. It allows the alpha in a pair to use a certain tone in their voice which activates a certain trigger within their beta. When that happens, their word becomes law and they are bound by their genetic coding to listen completely to their alpha. It could be completely out of their nature, beyond any semblance of their personality, and the authority created by the lycanthropy spread between them will cause them to do it."

"…So…you could technically make me do anything you wanted?" he asked slowly, eyes wide and horrified.

Yami glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "I've used it twice in order to save you, but never beyond that."

Yugi shivered. "What happens if I bite someone? Does that tie them to you too?"

"Yes, but not as strongly. Once you bite someone, you are the one connected to them, not me. My connection with them would be tenuous at best. I could only truly attempt to use my command if I were able to find them in a completely feral state."

"Feral?"

"Animalistic, where their thoughts and personality would be shut away in their brains. It would be more like an overwhelming state of panic or anger. That would be the only true opening I would have."

"Oh…" Yugi hesitated, then shifted his weight slightly, and turned to him with furrowed brows. "What about what happened in the woods that day? When we ended up fighting, you acted like you were hurt too…"

Yami shivered slightly, then looked away from him completely once more. "I should have called it gene expression. The alpha command is basically a forced gene expression. And the gene expression exists naturally between alpha and beta at all times. That's why, when an alpha turns on its beta, it triggers as well. It allows the beta to survive any attack which might truly disable or kill them when the alpha turns on them. It causes phantom pains and sensations to mirror the beta. The gene expression triggers in both of them because of that."

"So you…you really did feel like you were bleeding and had blood in your eye…"

Yami nodded slightly. "I did."

He shivered. "Does it happen when we're like this too?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never truly gotten into a physical spat with you like this."

He hoped that they never did. He looked at the pen in Yami's hands for a moment, licking his lips. "Do alphas turn on their betas often?"

"There is always going to be some kind of discord between any alpha and beta. Discipline is fine, because it's not truly ever a painful matter. It's when the alpha is angry enough to wish to inflict true wounds that it triggers." He frowned at him slightly. "The pain is said to amplify when it's ignored during an outright attack. I've never seen it, but I have heard rumors that when an alpha is determined to kill their beta, the trigger will kill them both. But the pain would be excruciating for the alpha to force themselves through regardless."

"Why would anyone want to bite someone if they're going to be so tied to them and risk killing themselves if they got into a fight?"

He frowned. "I saw a potential in you that made me want to save you. But, even without that, most wolves will bite the one that they determine to be their mate."

Yugi raised a brow. "Their mate?"

"Their partner. They either sense it through body chemicals and pheromones in the air, or they allow themselves to fall in love with someone else. Their bond doesn't make their relationship perfect or peaceful or easy, but it gives them completeness and guarantees absolute loyalty. Either way, it's something that is not predetermined, but relies on chemistry between the two. And when they find them, most often they'll ask them if they want to be bitten. If they say yes, then they do it. It helps to keep their fights from getting out of hand as well. Quarreling mates can be a hideous thing to watch."

"You say that it protects the beta…"

"The alpha command protects us. We can demand the fight cease as soon as it begins. The beta is protected by the phantom pain."

Yugi shivered, voice coming out slightly playful when he commented, "Must make sex between them very fun."

Yami snorted, somewhere between horror and avid amusement. "Um, yes, I suppose so."

The smaller teen blinked and tilted his head. "So, then, does that mean if an alpha was to bite a bunch of people, they'd be able to control each of them?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I was just asking." He was tempted to knock the pen from between his fingers now. He just wanted to see what kind of expression he would wear if he did. The thought made him smile faintly. "But it becomes strained the further down the line it is."

"Yes."

"That makes sense."

He hummed, then flipped the pen around in his fingers a few times. "Yes. It's a rather complex connection between any wolves involved."

"I can tell." Now he truly did pop the writing utensil out of his hand. But, where he expected it to hit the comforter, Yami caught it with his other hand lazily. He barely even glanced at it before smirking at Yugi's surprised expression. "That's just not even fair."

"I knew you were going to do it. I was waiting."

"That's still not fair at all."

He gave him a small amused grin, then turned away again. "It happens like that, I suppose."

"That pack alpha in the woods… She called me the one with blood of the gods in his veins. What, um…? And then, Ra, she called me her 'dear child'."

Yami looked at him for a moment. "Ra…called you her dear child? And the alpha of the wolves in the woods called you a demigod…?"

"Yeah. What, um…what is that supposed to…?"

"That Ra sees you as important and that we were right when we assumed that you were born with the lycanthropy even though it was dormant until I bit you." He shrugged slightly at his stunned expression, voice growing somewhat cold. "It just means that you were born a lycanthrope and that's why the alpha assumed you to be born of the gods. Because Code Name Atem is meant to be a god to them."

"Ra sees me as important…because of my being Code Name Atem."

"Everything stems upon that one thing, yes."

He frowned at him. "How lonely."

Yami looked at him, eyes darkened with thoughts Yugi could not fathom. They looked at each other for a few long moments. Then they both turned away, feeling in their guts the singularity of their joint discontent in the realization.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, because he had looked at the corner and he saw the bunched material of the teal jacket lying there where Yami had formerly been. "I'm so sorry about your jacket. I didn't think about it when I put it in. I should have asked you before I ever even considered…"

Yami shook his head at him, jaw clenching in clear warning. Yugi fell immediately silent. Both of them remained drenched in the quiet for what felt an eternity. The air vent vibrated as the heat came on. The clock in his bathroom ticked loudly. The wet twists of their hearts were deafening. Their breathing was the heaviest thing within the room.

"Why do you hate talking about this?"

He was quiet for a moment. "Because, being a lycanthrope, it's not all fun and games. And I don't enjoy remembering my many shortcomings or the fact that your questions always hit too close to home for me."

"They…? How? I don't…? I just want to know more. And it isn't like you were bitten…r-right? You said before that you were born a werewolf."

"Born and raised one. I was born a wolf pup, changed at some point, and I still do it every full moon." He hummed for a moment, then turned to look at him. "My parents were killed by werewolves."

Yugi tilted his head. He was feeding him another lie, something to further disconnect the conversation. But it was not because he purposely cared for the sake of secrecy. He could see it in his eyes.

He was desperate.

And the only way to alleviate the pain which he so clearly felt at the moment, at the mere mention of things he was not ready to face, was to disassociate himself from it. He was trying to both outrun it and face it in a way that a half-truth served to ease some of the ache in his chest.

"What happened?"

His eyes flashed with a brightness Yugi knew to be gratitude at the moment. Then, with a struggle regain his usual ease, the wolf said, in a smaller voice than usual, "There was another pack that came within our territory. I was the only one of six to survive, because the winter was so bad that they just couldn't make it. When it came to fighting, my parents told me to run. I hid away, then came back. But all I found was a bunch of blood everywhere. They took their bodies."

Yugi attempted to dissect the story to find what he could admit the truth of his words. But all he could think might be true was his siblings dying. He frowned, biting his lip. "How old were your siblings?"

His eyes flashed. A small smirk threatened to tug at the edge of his lips. "I'm not sure. I was still deaf and blind when they passed."

Yugi himself thought of darkness, of the sudden and rapid loss of what had formerly been a mass of hearts dissolving into one. And that had been thunderous but so terribly weak and strained as well, burdened with loss and physical pain. He shifted his weight and their legs brushed. He blinked, Yami did not. "I'm sorry."

"It happens."

"It shouldn't have to."

"But sometimes it must. Survival would not be a game of wits and strength if it did not."

"Surviving is fine, but what about living?"

Yami very slowly raised his head, then turned to him. His eyes were harsh, burning, as he smirked faintly. "I do that when I am a wolf. I do not do it as a human."

The clear line between them was so keenly cut that the idea made Yugi nearly flinch.

What if he himself became that way?

What if he could only find it in himself to enjoy his life through his human form and never his wolf?

Living half a life and neglecting the other made him feel sick and stupid. He felt like a little kid with no chance of ever growing beyond himself. His mental state might very well remain small and meek and never mature.

Yugi shook his head, slightly flustered, and then lowered his eyes. "Okay," he murmured, voice soft and gentle because he was not sure what else he could do. The small teen looked down for a moment, picking at the comforter again. "Do you think you'll ever…?"

Yami closed his eyes with a small shake of his head. "No, I don't. I don't think that I will ever truly consider myself to be able to enjoy my life within my human form as well."

He shivered. "That sounds…almost lonely."

He didn't blink. "A lot of things are lonely, Yugi."

The small teen looked at him for a long moment, then glanced away again. The matter-of-fact tone of his voice made him feel slightly dizzy with the way the words filled his ears. He suppressed another small shiver, then shook his head and looked at the pen in his fingers again.

"But it is not loneliness. I do not think of it as such, at least. I feel that it is more caution that makes it such."

"But why would you want to be cautious all of the time? Yami, that's tiring. I mean, be cautious when you need to, but relax when it's unnecessary."

He tilted his head. "And how should one come to know when it is safe enough not to be wary, Yugi?"

"When you're in a place that you absolutely know you're safe in," he stated, smiling at him faintly and gesturing around. "Like the house. You know you're safe here, right?"

Yami narrowed his eyes slightly. "Safe enough. But you forget that when you are not home, I am not quite. If your mother or grandfather happens to be within the house at the same time as me, the safety is inevitably lessened."

Yugi blinked, then frowned. "That's true," he admitted unhappily. "But the solution to that is letting you meet them."

He curled his lip, though it was not in offense and rather disbelief. "To meet them is your proposed solution? Yugi, the much simpler way to go about it would be the task of me leaving. Is that not correct?"

The smaller teen stiffened, eyes widening and his stomach sinking with the very thought. He opened and closed his mouth, then swallowed thickly with disappointment. "Do you want to leave?"

Yami hesitated for a moment, opening and closing his mouth in repetition of Yugi, bewildered by the very concept, and then looked quickly away again. His eyes were on the pen in his fingers as he found himself growing still. "No, I do not think it would be very wise of me. And I enjoy your company. But how long is this meant to truly last, Yugi? How long am I meant to be welcome here?"

He shook his head, frowning. "I told you before that you're welcome as long as you want to stay here."

Their eyes locked for a brief second. Yugi felt dizzy and sick as Yami regarded him for a long moment and the red gaze glittered like brilliant liquid gems.

"That has not been revoked," he muttered, the tone so quiet and confused that Yugi faltered for a moment and wondered if perhaps he was asking. But the uncertainty and vulnerability was raw on his face and the small teen was almost dizzy with growing shock.

He could not find it in himself to think to speak any words. He swallowed hard, watching him uncomfortably, and then looked down again. He ran a hand through his hair and Yami watched him with darkened, bewildered eyes. Both of them remained silent for a moment, then the taller teen looked at the pen again.

"Then I suppose you would be correct. The easiest choice we could make regarding this would be to meet them."

The small teen looked up after a moment, then smiled slightly before shaking his head. "I think we need to stop talking about all of this. It's kind of depressing."

Yugi expected a chuckle but the other wolf had shifted closer to him. He startled, eyes widening drastically, as a tongue gently traced his cheek. Yami looked relieved beyond himself, and terribly grateful, so much so that he was almost overwhelmed by it. He blinked at him, noticing that Yami did not exactly draw away, and his heart was hammering when he leaned forward and tilted his head.

"You know, humans tend to kiss with their mouths." He was surprised by the warmth and affection within his tone, the strength of it mildly seductive. He felt a shiver trail along his spine due to it, but he could not stop himself from feeling slightly flushed as well.

Yami stiffened in surprise at the words, then the way Yugi further leaned. His face was angled and his own was still turned towards his. If Yugi just tipped his head a fraction—

He turned his head immediately to the side. The smaller teen very nearly touched his lips to his cheek but pulled back just in time. The rejection was something that at first stunned him, then made him snicker. Yami looked at him sideways, eyes sharp and burning as they flickered to his quickly.

"Oh, come on, Yami, if you're going to kiss me, at least do it right."

He shivered because the tone made his skin crawl, heating with something almost akin desire. But the green of the jacket flashed in his peripheral and he drew his lips back in clear distaste. Yugi leaned towards him again and he dodged away from the possible touch.

The small teen was still snickering when he tried it the third time, the fourth, and then finally he sighed in exasperation the fifth. He gave him a lazy smile, then bumped his shoulder enough to jostle him gently. Yugi smiled a little wider and Yami tilted his head curiously.

"I'm sorry. I was just teasing."

He looked at him for a long moment, then frowned faintly before shaking his head. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

Yugi hesitated, because he had to wonder.

Had he meant something?

Had he wanted to kiss him?

He tilted his head and bit the inside of his cheek painfully. Had he truly wanted to kiss him? It seemed like it, considering how instinctively he had gone about teasing him before leaning forward. He had never been so bold before, in any way. And it made his skin feel clammy as he looked at him.

He knew Yami was one of the most handsome guys he'd ever seen before in his life. And his personality was something that could have put so many to shame, regardless of his caution and instinctive disregard at times. He was powerful, beautiful, and his heart only seemed that much warmer when he had reason to show it.

So why wouldn't he honestly have a desire to kiss him? Gender aside, he seemed almost like Anzu in that regard. But Yami was stronger and ready to lash out if he saw it necessary. Anzu would never do that unless she felt there was no other way around it. She was like Yugi in that way.

He shivered and Yami looked away from him altogether once more. His red eyes were focused, unsurprisingly, upon the jacket which lay in the corner. He shook the impulse to perhaps apologize again or maybe ask if he was okay. Another part of him begged to say he would buy him a new one.

It was desperation for them to mend this gaping hole—which he knew, somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind, would never truly be bridged—which made these words continue to rise within his lungs. But that wound would remain open between them forever, great and terrible and raw around the edges.

Even if Yami should find it in himself to forgive him, to move past it, the distance would not be lost. It would never be shaken between them.

Yugi sighed softly. He wondered if this would be another thing that they could never fully shake. What if his teasing and his attempts to kiss him had damaged them somewhere deep down that Yami refused to acknowledge? What if he had truly screwed them up further than he could repair them? He shivered.

But, if it had truly been so undesirable, why had Yami waited so long before turning away? Why had they nearly kissed more than once? Despite himself he had to wonder, even if he failed to understand his own desire to tease him or attempt to do so in the first place. He licked his lips, the inside of his cheek bleeding slightly, and then narrowed his eyes faintly.

He only noticed then that he was staring so intently at the other's face, struggling to come up with some kind of reading of his emotions there, that he had never truly felt the other wolf's aura as he always seemed to other's.

At the mall he had not felt it.

Now he did not feel it.

He had not felt it before then either.

He still could not do it as they looked at each other. He could not feel a single thing of the magnitude which he had when he was around others in the arcade or the mall.

Had he ever felt his emotions before?

Had he ever experienced even the smallest sliver of it before?

He shivered. Had he ever felt anything in terms of the other boy?

Was there even the slightest hint of which he felt his emotions?

Yugi frowned.

Yami felt his.

He knew that.

He sensed them without any issue.

He was able to take one look at him or tilt his head in Yugi's direction and know something was off in his head.

Yami would know his distress with the simplest of soft inhales.

Yugi's cheeks felt flushed with shame for the smallest of seconds. Then he sighed quietly, shaking his head as if to make the words disappear from his mind. His head was spinning faintly as he thought of how easily one-sided the connection between them was times. He wondered if it had to do with Yami being the alpha. Perhaps it gave him an easier sense of being able to read him and his emotions. Or maybe he was just more in tune with everything and that was why. Perhaps, even simpler, it was just the fact that he was gifted at reading people.

Yugi had never truly been particularly successful at doing the same. He was one to be read, not to truly read someone else. His ability, at best, was completely half and half. He did, however, find that his lycanthropy brought forth more comfortably the idea of being able to read those around him.

---

He leaned over curiously. Yami was on his back, his legs twisted away from him towards the wall. He was fast asleep, his belly exposed faintly by the way his shirt had ridden up in his sleep. He had been twisting and turning some since he had decided to take a nap. And Yugi had been grateful to see that he refused to move away to the corner as he would have formerly. But he had also shifted away from him slightly and he knew the close proximity had not done him well for rest.

The small expanse of skin made him raise a brow, slightly curious as to if it felt as soft as his cheek has before. He wondered, as well, if it was possible that his skin felt as silky and satin-like as the downy fluff of his undercoat. His cheeks heated, the idea of being a pervert flashing through his mind, but he ignored it for a moment. It wasn't as if he was going to attempt to molest him in his sleep, after all.

His only thought upon leaning over him was for the very purpose of checking his emotional state. Despite everything, the small teen was curious about whether he could sense them now. He was asleep and visibly distressed, which should have made it easy enough for him to be able to sense them. It should have made Yami an open book.

Yugi leaned further forward, tilting his head. He was not entirely sure how it was that he was meant to do this. It seemed childish and unusual for him to attempt this now. He had no experience and no concept of action. He frowned and tried harder to think of something, to listen for some kind of clue somehow. His cheeks heated again. He felt ridiculous.

But he must have been too close.

Yami shifted slightly and his eyes snapped open with a snarl on his face. Yugi barely recoiled in time to avoid being slashed in the face by his hand when he curled his fingers and aimed. He breathed out roughly and the taller teen blinked at him in shock before slowly sitting up. When he faced him again, his expression was one of absolute confusion and bewilderment.

"What? What happened?" he muttered, blinking at him again and tilting his head. "Did I move too much?"

Yugi let out an awkward, choked laugh, then shook his head slowly. "No, not at all," he replied, cheeks still dusted with soft pink. He let out another breath, forcing himself to relax further. "I just…um…"

His brow rose and then he smirked slightly, but the edges of it were wry and his eyes were darkened by cynicism. "You were just leaning over me, seeing if I wouldn't notice you trying to molest me?" he supplied.

Yugi's face turned bright red and he opened and closed his mouth before punching him lightly in the arm. His lips were thin with his grimace, his eyes wide, and he bit his cheek harshly. "I was not! That never even crossed my mind!"

Just because he had tried to kiss him—and he still had no idea how it was that he had wound up attempting such—did not mean he planned to hold him at night or touch him under his clothes. His cheeks heated further with the thought and Yami watched him with that same wry expression, not the least bit amused. Yugi shook his head rapidly, flushing deeper somehow, and then grumbled as he lowered his head.

"If you want to get molested, go find Mai."

"I have no plans whatsoever to do such a thing."

"Well, that's the only way it's going to happen, so I guess you'll have to miss out on it then."

"Oh, how ever will I live without such a thing happening to me?" Yami drawled with a roll of his eyes, turning away again and baring his teeth slightly. "I'm sure my heart will surely stop."

"Okay, jackass. I'm just saying, if that's what you want, you should go to her. She seemed very handsy and in love with the idea of corrupting people's innocence."

He chuckled in amusement, tilting his head to the side and smirking devilishly. "That she did," he agreed playfully. "She was very excited about trying to sleep with one of us."

He grinned in response, but his body was tingling with the idea. The blonde flashed in his head and he thought of her hair tousled by his fingers or knotted by the pillow. He thought of her cheeks flushed and the softest gleam of sweat upon her face. He pictured her breasts and the angle of her collarbones and his stomach twisted, heat blooming inside of him. He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled it between his teeth.

Yami eyed him for a moment, both suspicious and curious. His brow rose slowly, but thankfully he did not comment on the arousal Yugi knew he scented. He looked away quickly, then turned towards the window with a backwards glance.

"I…I don't think I can keep this up any longer."

Yami stiffened, eyes wide, back rigid. He stared at him almost blindly, head spinning. Yugi frowned at himself from the reflection in the window, then turned to him again. The blind, vivid panic within his eyes made his body grow rigid as well. Then he blinked, his words catching up to him, and froze in place, galled by his own stupidity.

"I didn't mean like that," he said quickly. "I just meant that we really need to figure out some way to talk to my mom and grandpa about you. If she were to walk in at some point and you were medicated, I think she would easily pick up on the fact that you are not me. We look close enough alike at first glance but that would never work."

He exhaled slightly and the faintest of trembles was detectable to his eyes. Yugi licked his lips, smiling at him slightly, and then Yami rolled his eyes as he looked away. "I would never attempt to second guess a mother's instinct concerning her child," he said quietly. "She would know the moment she entered the room, perhaps even before."

He smirked, nodding slightly. "That's true."

"But how do you plan to pull it off? What words do you plan to say to her? Do you have a plan or will you simply run on instinct, Yugi?"

Yugi's expression fell completely. He blinked at him, long and slow, and felt the softest of aches in his skull as he looked at him. He shook his head, frowning, and then turned away for the smallest of seconds. "I plan to wing it. As long as I can get her at least interested in meeting you without making it seem unnatural and forced, my mom won't notice or suspect a thing. And if I tell her in a couple of weeks afterwards that you need a place to stay for a little while, she should be fine with it."

"Do you truly believe that?"

"If you're as well-behaved as you are now and you act as friendly as possible, she'll love you. She'll let you stay as long as you want or as long as you 'need' without any trouble."

Yami tilted his head. "I feel like it'll be more work than that, Yugi."

"Maybe a little bit," he said with a shrug, "but you'll manage. We'll manage. Just be the way you always are and try to remember that she won't have any idea about what we've talked about. So she might ask about your parents and family members."

He frowned, biting his lip. And, if she did? What was he meant to do then? He shook his head slightly in growing bewilderment.

"We'll come up with something to explain it away," Yugi reassured him, raising his brow slightly and smiling at him gently. "It'll be okay, no worries."

Okay, so, updates are definitely going to slow down for a little while. I'll spare you the boring details, but either way, my time is going to be rather tight for (hopefully just) a couple of weeks. I have various real life issues to take care of more than anything.