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.

31. Tunnels

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

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

Chapter Warnings: COPIOUS Amounts of Blood, Character Deaths, Dog Deaths, Yugi Being Kind of Badass, Mild Hints of PERCEIVED Fragileshipping (Yami x Ryou), Heavily Implied Tendershipping (Ryou x Bakura), Hints of Implied Heartshipping (Yugi [Atem] x Ryou), Implied Puzzleshipping, Slight Flashback, Mentions of Torture/Experiments

So I listed it as Heartshipping because TECHNICALLY with Yugi being Atem and the implication that Ryou is in love with Atem kind of equals Heartshipping? So I'm going to list it as that and put Atem in brackets cause that's basically how everyone knows Yugi besides his friends and family. So, yep, that's why it's not labeled as whatever Atem x Ryou is (besides Fragile).

Guys, just so you know, STATISTICALLY the American pit bull dog IS considered the most dangerous. But as far as that goes, all anyone has to do is TRAIN them properly. I don't believe for a second that ANY breed of dog is considered a "monster", as some people so often refer to them as. I LOVE pits, I LOVE rottwielers, I LOVE chows, I LOVE shepherds. But the pit IS considered the most dangerous in the US and that's why I decided to use them in this chapter. I don't think they would fair as well in the terrain and everything as the Hokkaido wolfdog that lives there, but for the story, the lab has dogs that are of a more intimidating stature than them.

Okay, so, just to be clear about something? You should NEVER do what Yugi did with the dogs to induce vomiting. Not only is it dangerous to do as the dog might bite, it's also probably more likely to kill them if you press too hard and you can't get your hand out in time. Besides that, though, from what I was reading, a few vets don't think that dogs have the same kind of gag reflex as us so it might very well be extremely ineffective. Anyways, there are tricks all across the internet on how to induce vomiting in dogs if you ever need to. This is definitely NOT the method to do it though, just saying.

ALSO! NEVER put your laptop on your laps. The thing is, when the fan comes on, it's going to be blowing a bunch of fur and dust into the computer. Or you'll be blocking the vents off and it'll cause the computer to overheat. Speaking from experience, guys.

And, last but not least, I swear I spent like three hours looking up Yami's skin tone for this story. The search results mentioned in the chapter? Totally all I could find to match it. I was laughing way too hard about it when I first searched.

That aside, SO SORRY for the SUPER SUPER late update. Without boring anyone to tears, my work life was frantic, my home life got really messed up for a moment there, and I'm working on rectifying both of them. I'm not sure that I'll manage to keep up with my usual schedule, but I should be able to get ahead with some edits even if I can't post the exact day. Hopefully I can get back on track though so whoo, wish me luck!

Chapter XXXI: Tunnels

Work Log Entry XXXI Part I: December, 2000

December 10

A.T.E.M. has spent his time sitting with and watching after another ailing wolf for the last twenty-four hours of his release to be among the pack once more. He has even fended off the wandering noses of several others.

But he must know that the other is dying. Any wolf could smell the decaying flesh that refuses to heal from the experiments done to him. The boss is speculating that he may well be fighting them off for the sole purpose of feasting on him later.

December 14

We have begun transfusions on the father. The wolves do not seem to have direct blood types like A or O or AB. Depending on the blood-rank, however, the body can forcefully expel it.

Such has happened twice with another Half-Blood's being put into him.

December 20

After numerous transplants, his father's decline in health has somehow stabilized.

It turns out that the Pure-Blood's blood mixed with a lower blood-rank can heal wounds and ailments.

But the boss is skeptical that it will last.

Yugi plopped down on the mattress, tossing away his backpack, and crossed his legs thoughtfully as he laid his head back against his pillow. Yami glanced up from his book, yawning with clear disinterest towards the storyline, and then put it aside on the desk. Yugi was surprised upon glancing over and seeing how close he truly was; he had barely looked into the room when he'd taken his seat. But Yami was mere inches and his fingers were long and slender and only centimeters from his shoulder closest him. The small teen grinned slightly, then moved to sit up. Thank the gods that he had seemingly begun to close some of the distance between them enough to wish to be closer to him.

"So, I was thinking that we would rehearse some of what you might say to my mom and grandpa. I'll go ahead and mention you at dinner later today. And I'll keep weaseling you into the conversation until I think she's ready to meet you," Yugi said with a small, slight nod. His mom would be easy to sway as long as Yami treated her as he did him. His gentler nature and quietness were easily seen as the qualities of a kind introvert. It was the caution with which he often regarded the things and people around him that might be more likely to gain their suspicion. "But we need to figure out some kind of answers for the questions that she'll probably ask you."

Yami bit his cheek before tilting his head and nodding slightly. "Okay, what do you have in mind? Should I perhaps attempt to answer them truthfully or would you rather I came up with something?"

"You're worrying too much," he said gently, shaking his head. He gave him another soft grin and raised a brow. "No, what we'll do is come up with false answers. That way there's really no pressure for you."

He frowned but nodded again. "Okay."

"So, probably, the first thing I need to know before I even start on all of those questions is what we're going to say your last name is."

There was a long minute of silence. Not once did Yami open his mouth to answer. Yugi pursed his lips at him, frowning and furrowing his brows. The next minute passed similarly. And then the taller teen shook his head in amusement.

He sighed softly, shaking his head. "Well, you definitely can't use Motou, since that's mine. And if you said Hiroto or Jonouchi or Mazaki they would think that you're related to my friends. So, I guess we could look things up and see which works well with Yami…?"

He looked up and then down slightly, making it a clear almost unnoticeable nod. "Yes, I suppose that will be how we go about it."

Yugi got up and moved to grab his laptop from where it sat in the desk drawer. The other boy watched as he laid it on his lap and started it up again. The two of them sat close to each other, the computer humming where it rested on his legs. Yami shifted close enough that their elbows touched when he leaned forward. Yugi gave him a small smile when the other glanced at where their clothes brushed.

Quickly he turned back to the screen, starting the search engine in order to begin typing. Off the top of his head were only names that he knew from school—and all basically those of only his friends. His mom would immediately latch upon them and ask until he felt he might cave.

"Mm… Okay, so what do you think of Kobayashi?"

Yami tilted his head, tasting the word for a moment. "Small forest," he translated quietly, nodding slightly before smirking with a tilt of his head. "Small forest of darkness; darkness of small forest."

Yugi snorted and nudged him with his elbow. "Shut up. Okay, so what about Sato?" This time he turned away to look at Yami, to see the way his red eyes narrowed faintly and his head tilted as he sorted this word out as well.

"To assist…"

"You seem totally enthused," he scoffed, rolling his eyes before turning away again. "Takahashi?"

"Tall or high bridge."

Yugi startled slightly at how quickly he translated this word. He sorted desperately through his memory. Had he already asked him about that name before? Had he tried using it for his first name at some point? He frowned slightly, then tilted his head.

Yami blinked, then curled his lip back into a sly smirk that tugged only the right side of his mouth. "Lycanthropes tend to be able to translate faster when more and more words are used in a context that requires that sense of knowledge," he explained. "It's like how amnesiacs don't remember that they can speak a certain language but their brain understands it and if they tried, they would get it perfect their first time."

"Well, what do you think then?"

"Kobayashi Yami…"

Yugi blinked, surprised by the quickness of the choice, then grinned happily. "I think it suits you a lot better anyways," he announced, nodding. "Sato and Takahashi don't really seem to work all that well with your name."

Yami smiled faintly, then looked away. The smaller teen clicked off the search engine, then turned the laptop off again, closing it. But he did not remove it from his legs, instead holding it tightly along the back. He raised a brow slightly, then looked towards him with his teeth digging into his bottom lip.

"What is your last name, Yami?"

He turned to him, shaking his head. His eyes were tired, chilled, and he curled his lip faintly as he muttered, "I don't have one."

He opened and closed his mouth, eyes widening.

"I don't have a given either."

Yugi's eyes widened further and he shook his head slowly, stunned. "Your parents didn't…?" he muttered, confused as his eyes bore into Yami's. "Why would they not have…? That doesn't…"

"Please," the other boy cut in, baring his teeth to make him fall silent. His eyes were wild, his pupils enlarged once more. He was distressed and fearful. The smaller teen immediately looked away again, cheeks hot, and nodded once more.

"Okay."

Yami opened his mouth to speak, but instead leaned forward again. His cheek brushed his lightly, so softly that he almost could not fathom the sensation of such a gentle touch. Yugi felt a cold flash creep upon his spine but it was gone again moments later. He looked at him, for a moment wondering why he had not licked his cheek as he had earlier. But then he realized, startlingly, that he was cautious of his former reaction.

"So, Kobayashi Yami," he announced, smiling faintly, "what about your parents? Are they moving around elsewhere, traveling around the world perhaps? Or are they just not really in your life? Maybe you're here living with a cousin instead of your parents being here?"

"I think it would be easy enough to say that they were traveling instead. I don't think living with a relative here would truly help the situation of my necessity to be at your home for a few days."

Yugi nodded slightly, tilting his head curiously for a moment. "Oh yeah, that's definitely true. We're going to need something convincing to get that past my mom."

Yami frowned and bit his cheek until it bled. "What would be the most suitable solution? I would be suspicious if someone told me that their parents were leaving to go around the world and left their son in a place without them. I mean, if you consider it, a parent cannot just leave their child like they would a dog they no longer want."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "If that was truly legal, I think it would be far more common than any animal-related abandonment." He blushed when Yami studied him in surprise, then rolled his eyes and shrugged self-consciously. "And no, I don't think my mom would take that idea too well."

The other boy smirked, then turned away. They fell silent for a few long minutes. Yugi tapped his nails along the top of his laptop, thoughtful and a little tired. He frowned and tilted his head and the rhythmic noise of his nails sounded like a canine's claws on tile flooring.

"Maybe what we should say is that your parents had planned a shorter trip to Japan but you seemed to have gotten a better education here than elsewhere. Or your parents are coming to Japan from elsewhere when they get enough money but you're an exchange student and it was decided to send you ahead of them for educational purposes. My mom would definitely see that as more admirable."

"The latter sounds more reasonable, does it not? It would also give us room to say that I do not have money to stay in a hotel or to get food on my own any longer. And, if I remember correctly, at some point you mentioned to me that it is illegal to work while in school in this area…"

"You would have to be enrolled in the school and that would be a bunch of paperwork and resources that I just…I don't have. We can't risk that being the fundamental reason that you aren't working."

He frowned. "And, if I were to say that, the only logical school I might attend would be your own, yes?"

"Yeah. Domino High is the only high school in this city. And there are only Domino Elementary and Middle besides that. We don't have any private schools or anything either…" He hesitated for a moment, then picked at his nails as he considered his next words. "Okay, so, then what about you being home-schooled? We can say you're finishing up this semester online and next you'll be in school with me. We can say I met you during a tour of the school and you hung out with us at lunch."

Yami frowned slightly but nodded. "Yes, that's…far more conceivable, I suppose."

"Yeah, I think so too," he announced, nodding and looking at him for a long moment. "It seems the smartest idea we can come up with. She'll accept that more easily. If we went with your parents traveling she'd pry until you ended up fidgeting under all the pressure."

"I hold up better under pressure than you might think. It is when another werewolf attempts to pressure me that I lose my patience." Yami was watching his fingers, eyes on Yugi's nails, studying them as if they might be sharp enough to puncture the plastic case. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, the red gaze locked on the beds of his nails. He hummed under his breath, a low and dark noise, and then blinked and looked away. "I only ever have issues with the wolves which challenge me."

Yugi chewed his lip. In his mind's eye flashed the sight of Yami standing so tall, snarling under his breath. He was the one who had stood so great and enormous, boring down on him forcefully as his low snarl made him want to cower. He had been standing in front of him, both facing each other, angry, furious. He remembered it and it made his heart race for a split second.

"Do they challenge you often?"

The seconds passed and the ticking from his nails blended with the clock's second hand from the bathroom. He narrowed his gaze, considering his response, and then slowly shook his head. "No, most wolves do not do anything of the matter where I am concerned," he replied quietly. "And I don't often interact with other wolves as it is."

Yugi blinked and tilted his head, then nodded as he realized it was possibly one of the most truthful things he had told him in a long while. Yes, he realized, Yami did not interact with other wolves often. He did not have a reason or motivation, and the opportunity while he was within his house did not truly do anything to allow him room to do so.

Yugi was quiet for a moment and the way his nails clicked drove his head into a rapid spiral of throbbing ache. He blinked and shook his head, then looked at him for a long moment, studying his face. But the other wolf refused to look up at him again and it made him pause as he swallowed thickly and then pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth.

"You know, when I was younger, I used to panic and have this really bad fear of thunderstorms. So whenever a storm would come, I would duck under the bed and hide there until it would pass. Sometimes my mom would make little pillow forts with me when I was scared enough and I couldn't settle or the storm would last too long. We would sit under a blanket and talk until either the storm passed or I fell asleep."

He blinked and then smiled faintly. "She sounds like a good mom," he said softly. "She sounds like she loves you a lot."

Yugi nodded, grinning, and reached up to scratch at his cheek for a moment. "Yeah, she does. She's a little strict, but I know she loves me a lot. That's why I never complained, even when things got a little…hard."

"I don't see you as one to complain excessively."

"I try not to." He hesitated, then swallowed hard as he looked at him curiously. "But you don't complain at all either."

Yami shook his head. "No, wolves don't complain. Dogs complain. People complain. Wolves do not complain."

Eyes wide, Yugi furrowed his brows for a moment and then shrugged lightly. "That's true," he muttered, though he studied him a moment longer. "Wolves don't complain. But, I still don't think you would be someone to complain even if you weren't a wolf."

He shrugged in response, looking away. "Perhaps not," he said dismissively, yet he wondered. Was it possible that he was wrong? If he was not a wolf, would he truly be as quiet and unlikely to whine about anything that discomforted him? Or would he be one of those weaklings who whined and complained about anything and everything?

They fell into quiet again.

"Where did you grow up?"

Yami blinked and frowned, shaking his head slightly as he muttered, "I… Oh, yes, you mean what to tell your family. I suppose I could say from… Or, no, to do that would ruin our cover story. But, what would be the best place to come from?"

"I don't… Shit, we might need to pick another last name…"

"Can't I be Japanese but have grown up elsewhere?"

Yugi puffed his cheeks out for a moment, then nodded and let out a small sigh. "Yeah, that's right, that's plausible. But I'm not sure where we could even go with being your birthplace…"

The red-eyed boy frowned at him. He tilted his head and studied him. They looked at each other, eyes scrutinizing. What place could they confidently say he had come from?

"Perhaps Egypt? Or the states? Maybe Canada? Or South America? What about Italy? Do you think you could pull off an Italian accent?"

Yami froze for a moment, then shook his head with a bewildered look. All of those places? He could hardly imagine most of them, if any at all. What kind of places were they? He had barely heard of anything beyond the states.

"Your skin tone kind of suggests a warmer climate because you've got a light tan. The fashion says similarly since you like tank tops so much, although the jeans don't really match up with that. But, anyways, your tan could be Italian or Egyptian."

"Should we check…online or…?"

Yugi looked at where his nails were drumming against the plastic, then turned back. He drew the machine closer, opening it, and turned the laptop on a second time. Both of them moved closer until Yami was all but pressed into his side as the search engine came up again. The first couple of images to be shone were all but beyond any semblance of the tan Yami possessed, far too dark. He pursed his lips, then put in the next search term.

His lips tugged up into a grin. "Girls are apparently the only ones with that skin tone," he teased playfully, winking at him with brilliantly shining eyes. The other boy blinked stupidly at him, startled, and then both smiled at each other, Yugi's cheeky and Yami's amused. "You're apparently an Italian female trapped in a Japanese male's body."

Yami raised a brow. "So, not only am I apparently feminine in skin tone, but now I'm also an entirely different race?"

Yugi burst out laughing, covering his mouth, and then shook his head as he bit the skin on the inside of his palm. He was guffawing, choking on the noise, and the other boy stared at him with a shocked expression.

"Sorry, I just—that's hilarious! That's amazing."

He gave him a wry smirk, then moved to jostle his shoulder with his. They both watched each other for a moment, then turned away again. He closed the laptop and stretched his arms out. Yami took it after witnessing his struggling attempt to reach the desk and placed it there himself.

"Thanks."

"As long as I don't find out that you've been talking to the other wolves about my girly Italian skin tone and get them confused about my apparent difference in race, then I think we'll be fine."

"Deal."

Yami turned away again after a moment, smirking and shaking his head. He and Yugi glanced at each other sideways, then turned from the other's gaze. The large teen leaned forward slightly, tilting his head curiously. "When you tell them about me…?"

"I'll say only good things, scout's honor," Yugi teased, although he could see by the way Yami frowned at him that his humor was lost on him. He was distinctly unsettled but he had also fallen silent again. "What is it?"

He opened his mouth, then shook his head. "Never mind. I am sure it will be fine."

Yugi stared at him but the other boy refused to meet his eye. So the small teen threw himself backwards again into his pillow and lay his hands on his stomach as he looked up at the ceiling. "Well, since I'm going to be doing this, just…remember that your name is going to pop up during the conversation. So don't be alarmed when you hear it, okay?"

He nodded with a distracted gleam to his eyes. "Yes." The tension was still clear in his shoulders but he did not respond beyond saying this single word. His gaze was on the window and his body looked taut with a sense of anticipation that made Yugi shiver. His fingers tapped unevenly along his thigh for a moment and then the wolf was on his feet with a huff. "I am going to go hunt."

"I didn't realize this was going to make you so anxious."

He looked at him, flustered, eyes wide, but did not argue. Instead he turned away again almost immediately and moved straight towards the pane of glass. Yugi opened his mouth, then fell silent as he watched him flip the locks and throw the window open. The rush of cold air which hit him made him stiffen, startled. When had it gotten so freezing cold? He frowned. It was almost like a blanket of ice coaxing its way within the room.

His thoughts distracted him long enough for Yami to disappear before he could even blink. The small teen frowned, tilting his head. The window had been left open in silent invitation, but the teen hardly felt that it was necessary he chased him. What was the point of doing so? Yami just wanted to hunt, to blow off some steam, right?

He glanced at the jacket in the corner. Who was it that was tied to the article of clothing that made Yami react so violently over it? Was it a lover? Perhaps it was a family member of some kind? Maybe it was his father's—because the design was certainly not that of a woman's—and that was what made him so attached to it. He had said his parents were dead—that he knew wasn't a lie, even if Yami did not tell the truth of why—and his siblings had passed long before he had even opened his eyes. If that was true, then he could see it being something from his family.

Yugi sighed quietly. He was tempted to turn around and attempt to speak to his mom or his grandpa. He didn't think he had any true words to say, a subject to broach, but he was oddly desperate for company.

He shivered.

He didn't want to risk upsetting Yami any further than he already had. But he was also tired and something about the idea of being left behind within the room as he was made him feel small and weak. He bit his lip, chewing the inside of his cheek until he thought it felt like bleeding hamburger meat, and then got to his feet. He paced a step, cursed under his breath, sighed softly, and made his way towards the window.

Was it instinctive that Yami guessed he would follow him? Or was it just laziness on his behalf that he had not closed the window? Yugi wondered at this for a moment. Had Yami truly known, that would mean he knew his emotions beyond just what he felt at the moment. Was it possible to sense the tiniest, thinnest thread of emotion and plan upon its possible maturity?

He felt as if his skin were crawling.

Was he over thinking it?

He hoped to the gods that he was.

He didn't want that possibility, for it to be used against him or for himself to experience it either. It seemed sickening, how easily the disease had altered so many things and possibly mutated and twisted away all of what he found to make his life understandable. Now it just seemed to burn and writhe with a million new different possibilities and realities of which he had no comprehension nor cared to think of.

He pressed his feet firmly into the cushion of snow which lay upon the slope of his roof. He was slowly walking, taking small steps to avoid losing his balance. His hand moved along the edge to grip at the outside of the house to make his way towards the gutter to jump. He crouched for a moment, chewing his cheek, and then sprang forward. The landing was soft and cold, like chilled down upon his sneakers, the snow billowing upwards faintly to touch his arms and hands where he was crouched.

The gentle touch was nothing akin the harsh flash of cold from the temperature itself, however, and he hardly noticed it. He wandered forward a few more small steps, looking at the fresh prints he still saw there in front of him. He moved alongside them as he had the others formerly.

His footsteps were soft and shattered, like crunching small splinters of glass beneath his shoes. And it was only as he got into the trees across the street from his house and wandered a few more feet in that he noticed the silence. The forest was devoid of any noise but the natural stirring of cold air where it drifted through the trees. There was not a hint of footsteps beyond the prints he was still following. There was no touch of breathing or even bugs moving about. His peripheral was blank with snow. His forward vision was white with only those small marks to be shown in gray and silver shadows.

He slowed immediately, a sense of uneasiness coming upon him.

It was startling to him at that moment that he even fully noticed such a thing. It felt instinctive to him to stop in place as he did. But he also wondered, feeling sick, if he would have ever considered it without his heightened senses. The silence would not have truly alarmed someone following a trail of footprints as he was in the middle of the afternoon. As it was, the quiet was reminiscent of most winter days, because of the absence of life. None of the predators truly moved about and the herbivores normally tried to race away from the area to find food.

So the fact that he paused and looked about him, alarmed as his skin crawled and his spine tightened painfully, was something he thought had to be attributed to the lycanthropy. Regardless he started to move again, glancing about himself slowly. Something was definitely amiss.

He debated that it was only an hour, maybe with the addition of half of that, before the sun went down completely. Then he would have to rely more on his lupine senses to get through the trees and find Yami. The thought pushed a sigh from between his lips but he shrugged it off in order to continue forward.

The shadows were long, stretched like bones and curled viciously where the thin ends faded into nothingness. The footprints were still cushions of black and gray in the growing darkness, the soles of his sneakers heavier than his paws ever had been. The sky was a silky silver-gray against the growing darkness, the once snowy expanse of them shaded with the setting sun. The silence was hard enough to make his ears ring with the only available sources of noise which accompanied his walk.

His heart was heavy, its thudding and twisting hideous within his skull. His breathing was whistling and harsh, weighted upon the edges, and his lips felt cold, his nose aching with the frost biting against his nasal passages. His footsteps were loud, harsh, and it made the air seem heavier, darker, and the crunching set his heart to a quicker pace.

The air was too stale to truly catch a scent, stagnant and cold enough to bear upon him, and he felt almost blind and deaf as he continued. He could not hear beyond his heartbeat and breathing, he could smell nothing, and the fading light might not have blinded him but his perception was still being tampered with. And such knowledge made his skin crawl even as he continued to track the other lycanthrope.

He spotted him in the trees about twenty yards away from where he had first noticed the blanket to cover his senses. As he continued forward, the other was still and cautious within the shadows, his eyes the only true hint of his existence there. They glittered like gems and flashed like fire. His features were too enshrouded to see his expression and the distance made him look somehow impossibly casual. But his inaction was the silent statement that he knew and was aware of something being wrong.

Yugi opened his mouth, planning to speak all but under his breath, sure that he would hear, but then froze. Something moved in his peripheral. His head turned immediately, lips pulling back, eyes wide as his shoulders rose. But the shape moved past him through the thinner expanse of trees as if Yugi were but a piece of scenery. He stiffened.

The snow was crunching impossibly loud again. And the form staggered and nearly fell more than once. The small teen paced a step, falling immediately still again a moment later.

Yami had turned toward the noise. His eyes were burning and his body was crouched. He could tell he was more likely to lash out than run, however. His hand was braced against the tree beside him and his head was tilted slightly to the side.

The seconds passed. The shape staggered again, then let out a low noise. Something about it stirred Yami. His expression immediately grew disbelieving. His eyes widened, his mouth opened slightly, but he crouched somehow further to the ground.

Yugi frowned, a strange knot beginning to form in his belly. He could not tell if it was suspicion, anticipation, or bewilderment and confusion. But he could not move as he watched Yami closely.

Normally the other wolf would have noticed him by then. His eyes would have locked with his. They would have been watching each other. But he was oddly fixated on this newcomer. And he did not so much as fully glance in Yugi's general direction. The small teen was slightly shaken by such a thought, eyes widening further.

Was he okay?

The newcomer stumbled again. Something was said but the words were too low to carry to Yugi in the stale air. Yet the softer tone of his voice made him stiffen, as it did Yami who crouched further and looked distinctly fearful and confused.

Very slowly, with another distant grumble of their soft voice, Yami began to lean forward. Yugi was seized by the impulse to hiss at him not to. But the way his eyes had grown so wide and his face seemed to have brightened with hope made him clench his jaw. He stared, unable to do anything more. The way he looked towards the newcomer made his stomach drop.

He knew them.

He knew them well.

He flinched.

Yami jumped to his feet. The human spun on him. Both were frozen for a moment. Neither of them spoke. Then the taller form shifted, a weak and staggering movement. The lycanthrope hesitated only a moment longer.

Yugi felt his heart clench.

Yami had barreled straight into the other's arms. He had thrown himself without a second thought. The man stumbled and cursed. But he held his weight somehow. It was apparent that Yami was the one hugging. The other had failed to move beyond his stumble.

The small teen doubled over, knocked breathless. Something inside of him was burning. His heart was aching. And his lungs felt too tight. He heaved and warm, frothy bile fell to the snow. He groaned under his breath. Still, somehow, his distress did not break this moment of reunion. When he looked at them in his peripheral, Yami had not released him. And the other still had not fully responded to his touch.

The red-eyed teen had struggled so hard just the day prior to give him a hug. Yet this one skinny, lanky human was enough to make him rush forward to embrace? He felt somewhat cold, numbed along his fingers. How was that even possible? How could Yami possibly say that he didn't want to leave, that he enjoyed his company, when he could not even hug him properly as he could this person?

Yugi shook his head, bile flooding his mouth again. He spat it out and wiped at his lips. The heat made him flinch. His eyes flickered up again. Neither of them had noticed him. And Yami was the one facing him.

Was he so caught up in his happiness upon seeing this boy that he was unable to realize he had an audience? Yugi shook his head. Yami should have known. He should have seen him. He should have been alert enough to realize.

"Let go."

He stiffened and blinked. Had he spoken out loud? He frowned but Yami did not look at him. And the human didn't move. It was the red-eyed lycanthrope which finally backed up a step. The man now clasped his hands on his shoulders. He was weak with exhaustion, Yugi could see even by looking at him from behind, and he swayed slightly when he began to speak. His tone was hushed but incredibly urgent, and Yugi noticed more keenly the way that Yami stiffened rather than the way the statement reached his ears in low rasping grunts.

"No, please, please, you have to run. You have to do it. You have to go—now!"

Yami blinked. His eyes were already flickering around. His shoulders had risen faintly. His attention was only half on the figure he had formerly been so relieved to see.

"They're here for you. They came to catch—"

His voice was low, hideous, distorted and guttural. "Who? Who are they?"

"The psychic one. A-and the… Panik—his name is Panik!"

For a moment he was quiet. "Ryou… How many dogs?"

"I only saw about eight of them. They're all American breeds. They're supposed to be the most dangerous—"

"American pit bull." He shook his head. Yugi could see him doing the calculations, the shadows stirring in his eyes. He could fight them off, maybe even win against eight. But he could not do it with the humans there. Unlike Pegasus, these hunters would not want him alive. The shot wouldn't be a tranquilizer or a tracker. It would be a bullet meant to kill him. "How many guns?"

"Two rifles, one shotgun. That's all I saw…"

"How far were they last?"

"They were only a mile back. They know you're here. They've been watching. They would have seen us."

"Shit."

"You have to run. Try to get ahead of them. They're going to chase you before they try to send the dogs after you. So you have to run now, before—"

Yami ducked. The bark on the tree nearest him exploded. Yugi gaped, eyes wide and body rigid with shock. The other lycanthrope snarled low in his throat and the figure in front of him shoved at his shoulder.

"If you don't go now you won't get another chance. He missed you on purpose. He's playing a game with you."

Yami glanced at him only slightly, then turned and took off before he could even blink. The figure still in front of Yugi stood there, frozen for a moment. Then he turned away as a voice snickered, "About time your little lover boy ran, Ryou. I was almost beginning to think he would stay here. That would make the whole thing so…anticlimactic."

"Fuck you, Panik."

"You won't be around long enough for that."

Ryou shot him a furious look and in the corner of his eye he saw the tiniest speck of purple and blue, the colors blurted together into a gentle blur of soft violet. He blinked, heart racing, and felt his skin grow cold. Someone had followed Yami. Another werewolf had…

He turned back to the bulking shape in front of him. "Do you really think you will be the one to catch Atem? You're a fool."

"I have the perfect bait and a psychic on my side, Ryou. That wolf is going to be the easiest catch I'll ever make."

"You forget how the lycanthropes work. If they sense him in danger—"

"Spare me the children's story. We all know that they won't come here. We all have seen him nearly killed and not a single wolf went to help him then. So, remind me again, why should I fear a myth?"

Ryou nearly burst out laughing. There was always at least one other wolf when they messed with Atem. There was always at least one other lycanthrope which mucked things up for them. And now, there was this wolf in the pines, watching them so silently, so still, like a little statue among the trees.

"Because all myths have some touch of truth to them."

"They aren't bees. There is nothing in their genetic coding which requires they come running to his rescue. If there was, he would never have been nearly caught those few times already. Pegasus would never have been able to syringe him."

Ryou ground his teeth together. "Atem killed Bakura, you idiot. He tore Bakura's head off—"

"No, you moron, that was Pegasus. He didn't make sure that Bakura wouldn't ruin his chances of a clear shot. And he never bothered to check to make sure the wolf beside him was really dead. They play dead so well. Bakura was killed by the wolf he was fighting and then Pegasus was knocked down by it. Then it dragged the other wolf through the woods." He chuckled, watching him with small beady eyes that glittered like diamonds. His smirk was a terrible and cruel twist of his lips. "After all, he had to replace you eventually, didn't he? He had to take up another piece of ass—"

"You're an idiot. You're just as stupid as your brother. Remind me, who was it that authorized the Paradox Twins to be sent after him in the first place? And then your brother, the original Paradox, tell me again, Panik, who decided that he was necessary alive?"

Yugi flinched when the smaller figure was thrown backwards in the snow. He shifted his weight, pressing lower into the dead undergrowth. His eyes flickered about rapidly, watching intently as the smaller man—Ryou, they had called him—got to his feet again and backed up a step.

"If you've done a damn thing to him—"

"It won't matter if I have. You won't find out until after this. And by then you probably won't survive. I have a feeling Atem will kill you before you have a chance to get back."

Yugi shifted his weight.

"But good luck figuring out which one is really Atem. Pegasus mentioned two of them. A pure white wolf and a pure black one. We all know his coat used to be solid gray."

"Bullshit."

"How would you know? You've never met him."

"I may not have, but to trust a traitor like you? You are a fool if you think I would ever consider you a reliable source. You poisoned the twins and then those brats that we kidnapped from the high school. All of the possible threats to Atem, you've gone ahead and all but put down."

"And it took you all this long to figure it out."

Yugi stiffened. The twins? Did they mean the wolves who had come after him in the woods the night of his first Change? And the high school students—were those Haga, Ryuzaki and Ryota? Or…did they mean others entirely?

"The only one you didn't decide to poison was Bakura. What an interesting little decision you made. Although, I'm not sure I should be surprised considering you two often screwed around together." He snorted, laughing when he saw the way Ryou's face twisted briefly with pain. "Did you not realize we all knew about it?"

"No, I knew you did," the other sneered with a shake of his head. "Bakura did too. He didn't care enough to stop though. So why should I have?"

"Our most efficient killer and you let him out on his own without modifications to his genetics. You didn't poison him to give Atem a head start that time. I suppose that goes to show that you loved him more."

"No." Ryou shook his head, face twisting into a sneering smirk of amusement as he watched him. "You're a fool. I cared enough about Atem to help him escape and then to poison the wolves sent after him. But Bakura was another story. He knew he wasn't coming back. He knew Atem would kill him. He accepted that. He was devoted to saving Atem. Pegasus would have wound up having to kill him before he would get his hands on Atem. I trusted him to do what he had to."

"You trusted him?" The man's laugh reminded Yugi of a hyena. "You trusted the most ruthless killer we had to protect your little infatuation."

"The lycanthropes that aren't created know the loyalty of their entire species. They know the love and devotion that is so often coveted by people. Each of them would lay their lives down for Atem out of pure love before they would let us get our hands on them! Bakura was one of them!"

A gunshot echoed through the forest. Panik looked up and Yugi stiffened in his spot. A barking noise crawled through the air. Then it was followed by four more. The cries were loud and dangerous, booming within the darkness. He pressed himself further into the snow.

"Looks like Espa found your runt."

"Then good luck to him in his efforts of hunting him. Atem will lay waste to both of you."

"You're a fool, Ryou. You always have been."

Yugi remained where he was even as the looming figure took off into the woods. Ryou stood, staring in the direction he had headed, and then looked slowly towards him. The small teen did not bother to hide himself. Instead he got to his feet and made a slow pace towards him, circling him with easy steps.

"You know Yami?"

Ryou blinked. "Is that his name?"

"Yes."

He glanced over his shoulder, craning his neck. He was thin and malnourished, visibly weakened. And when he turned back Yugi thought he looked like a lost drifting snowflake. His skin was too pale and his hair too white. His face was marred by a hideous scar running down the right side. And his eyes were wide, almost like the shape of a doe's, with bright brown which flickered amber in the darkness.

"He was one of the lab wolves. He escaped with Atem." He hesitated, then shivered as he looked him over slowly. "He escaped with you."

Yugi stiffened for a moment, then brushed his foot against the snow uncomfortably. "Yes," he muttered quietly, "he escaped when I did."

"You two look a lot alike. I almost thought… But your eyes are so different. I guess the drugs finally did something to your systems…"

Yugi hesitated. "I don't remember much of it, if anything at all."

"Then you're lucky." He exhaled and turned his head. Another dog had begun howling. But it was cut off violently, with such abruptness that the entire world seemed to fall silent. Then a gunshot sounded again. The dogs began to bay once more. Ryou turned back to him. "Yami is yours, right?"

He blinked at him slowly. His? He searched his face for a moment, then nodded slowly. If it meant that Ryou would help him, then he would claim Yami was his. He bit his cheek, wondering if Ryou knew how much he owned Yami rather than he ever could. He drew in a deep breath and his voice came in a low growl of disdain.

"He's my pack mate, if that's what you mean."

Ryou shot him a wry look but did not comment before glancing over his shoulder again. "Espa is near the dogs right now. He's not going to go after Yami until he's sure that Panik is close enough to him to take a shot. Then he'll let the other dogs out to hunt him. We need to make sure that that doesn't happen."

Yugi nearly huffed. No shit they needed to make sure that didn't happen. He chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment, then turned to him with glowing silver-lit eyes. "Where are the dogs? I'll kill Espa and Panik after. But where are the dogs?"

His brown eyes widened at the cold note in his tone. His head snapped back to him with a stunned expression. Whatever he saw in his face, however, made him duck his head away. He tilted his shoulder downwards subtly but Yugi felt his head race with the movement. He recognized it somehow, a harsh and hideous reality within his mind. He was submitting to him, showing his throat.

Yugi growled low in his chest, the noise surging upwards furiously. "Where are the dogs, Ryou?" he spat. "Take me to them."

"Are you…?"

Yugi shook his head. "I'll change when it's necessary. Let's go."

The clearing in which the dogs were enclosed were a good mile further into the woods. As Ryou led him faithfully through the trees, Yugi had the uneasy sensation that perhaps it was a trap. But the way the other remained so quiet and had done so much to distract Panik from Yami as it was said otherwise. He felt the forest heavy and cold against him as if it were breathing death upon his shoulders. The small teen did not glance back even once, nor did he flinch when another gunshot went off. Yami would be okay. He had dealt with similar situations before. He had killed those dogs and the hunter in the same woods before…

"Stay here."

Ryou blinked at him stupidly at the idea. But Yugi was already cleaning the metal chain link fence they'd set up. The dogs inside were all caught on heavy tie-out chains. Each of them spun on him, forgetting the glee of their former barking to see this intruder. Their faces were scarred, hideously deformed, and the wrinkles of their muzzles were large and disgusting. Their eyes were small and beady in the darkness, glowing faintly with the dim moonlight.

Yugi did not let the muscle mass of each of them intimidate him. Yami was larger. And it might have been the connection between them that had saved him in the woods before, but he had still held him back somewhat. He had still succeeded in keeping Yami's snarling jaws a few inches away from his own. He drew in a breath, then paced a step. He knew enough about dog fights and breaking them up to know exactly what he was meant to do. But it was also instinct which reared its head to warn him that his wolf shape was heavier, stronger, would hold up against them better.

He shook the thought off, then came forward again. The dog nearest snarled and chomped its teeth. It sprang forward at the end of its chain. The heavy rattling made Yugi stiffen slightly. Ryou, behind him, hissed a breath, then began to pace at the edge of the fence. His anxiety was growing and bearing on him but Yugi ignored him pointedly.

He moved closer. The dog lunged for his arm and missed. The lycanthrope tilted his head. When he came closer, the dogs bayed and the one in front of him lunged again. He straightened his fingers, drew his arm back. The dog opened its jaws wide. He shoved his hand forward. The dog yelped and scrambled, trying to bite down and failing. He could feel the teeth puncture his skin and his blood was warm. But the impact was small and weak.

The dog thrashed. He shifted his weight. The dog thrashed again. It was choking on his hand. Yugi pushed further. The dog began to move in a rapid spasm. Its eyes were rolling back. Its breathing was heavy and desperate. The wolf, however, simply stood there. The dog scrambled and huffed. Then it began to jerk and fall in sporadic twitches. Finally it ceased. Yugi pushed his fingers into its tongue harder. The body convulsed once. Then it choked, hacking. And grew completely limp.

Yugi drew his hand away. The animal collapsed to the ground, dead. He glanced at Ryou over his shoulder. His eyes were wide, glinting amber, and he looked sick to his stomach. The smaller male turned to him with a hiss, spitting, "Do you think you can do that? I need to find Yami. And I can't do that if I'm killing these dogs."

He hesitated but then gripped at the chain links of the fence. He came over the top with much less grace than Yugi had. He fell into the snow, groaning with pain. Then he slowly got to his feet and moved towards him with a visible limp.

"Straighten your fingers, throw your hand up to the wrist in their mouth, then press on their tongues. It makes them—"

"It triggers the urge to vomit and our hands would be blocking the airways. They choke on their own puke. And they can't pull their teeth out of your arm because of how far back it is and the inability to close their mouths," Ryou said quietly, swallowing hard and shivering as he looked at him. "Where did you learn that?"

"A veterinary clinic."

He searched his face for a minute. "You learned to make dogs puke at a clinic…"

"And realized that they can't properly do so with your hands in their mouth all the way." He shrugged and turned away, eyes falling on the dog nearest him. It snapped its jaws and bristled, its tail wagging like a flag of bright russet. He would have cared a month ago, but now he approached it as he had the other. The saliva on his hand was frozen and frosted, his wrist still warmed slightly with the blood. But his skin was also beginning to tingle lightly and he could feel the swell of energy which would stitch his skin back together.

The second dog dropped a little faster than the first. It went for his arm in the same manner. And in slipped his hand in the same way. His fingers pressed roughly on its tongue. It convulsed, jerked, and dropped. He stepped away from it and moved to the next.

Standing a few feet away, tossing a stone up and down in his hand, was Atem. His eyes were glowing an unholy shade of silver. His right hand was slicked with white snow and frosted saliva. He was barely moving his wrist as he caught and released the rock. And his stance was so relaxed it was almost terrifying to behold.

Then the boy lunged for the gun. Yugi curled his lip back. He aimed. Ryou let out a small choking noise. And the rock pelted through the air. The impact with the boy's skull made the bone shatter. The body fell harshly to the ground. Blood and bone sprayed the air. The snow was flecked black in the moonlight. Ryou choked again. Yugi barely glanced at him.

"Y-you just…"

He blinked at him dismissively. "What?" he spat. "I did what I had to. It was that or let them kill you. And then what? They would come after me. And I have to help Yami. I did what I needed to."

Yugi paused and then strode towards the gun. For a moment he looked sickened by the sight. Then he leaned over and took it into his hand. It glinted brightly in the moonlight, like the surface of a shallow pool. Ryou was frozen in place. For a moment he imagined that he would turn the pistol on him. But the small boy merely turned the safety on. Then he stuck it into his jacket pocket as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He turned to him now, attention undivided and acute. His lips curled back. "I'm going after Yami now. Stay here or go. I don't know which is the better option." But you won't get far. Not with that limp. And I can't help you. I've already wasted too much time. He drew in a deep breath. "In case I never see you again, thank you for this, Ryou."

He turned and ran off before the other could answer him. He got to a point in the woods where he could hear the two dogs snarling and snapping. Then he caught the sound of Panik's voice. Then he noticed the call of another voice. He looked around for a single moment, began to tear at his clothes frantically, and tossed them up into the tree closest him without a second glance.

The Change was a flash of heat and pain which made his spine buckle beneath his flesh. He twisted and writhed and swallowed a hideous scream. Then his body convulsed and began to jerk violently. Abruptly it stilled. The world was brighter than he had known it to be at night. The air was cold but drenched in the smell of life and dead growth. Heavy metallic undertones made his head spin. Then the flood of heated metal and blood and touches of saliva came to him. He shifted and rolled onto his belly. His skin was feverish beneath his fur. His blood was too hot against his muscles.

He ignored it and got to his feet. They were sturdy and powerful beneath him. He growled softly as he shook the pain from his muscles. Then he took off, pelting through the snow. His ears were flicking every which way. He needed to pinpoint Yami before he did anything else. He had to find him and then he could fix this. They could get out of there—

The gunshot made contact this time. Yugi heard the distant cry of pain. He heard the dogs baying. Yami fell, staggering, into the snow. But he was on his feet again immediately. His shoulder was hot, sticky. His bones were grinding against each other beneath raw muscle. He ducked his head lower to the ground. Then he forced his legs to move faster.

The bullet grazed him again. He stumbled, falling. The black wolf drew in a deep breath, snarling. Then he rolled onto his feet again. The blood loss was minimal, however. The droplets which flecked the snow were a misguided map. He snarled again. His legs were pulsing with pain. He felt slightly dizzy. But it did nothing to make him stop.

The dogs were a couple of yards behind him. But he smelled them. Their breath was rancid. Their gasps were hideous booming huffs of noise. They were choking on air. They were pushed beyond their limits of speed. Their sprints would end soon. He was still far below his top speed. But he doubted he would achieve it now.

He was growing tired and the blood loss, as slight as it was, weighed on him. He snarled again. Another bullet came towards him. But it missed him now. He pushed faster. The pain made his body convulse but he ignored it. His legs were straining with effort.

The dogs were becoming a distant noise. The gunshots were beginning to lose their closeness. He panted and moved faster still. And then he heard it. A noise came from his side. He blinked and instinctively pushed to go faster. It was the saving grace of his species. Speed and instinct gave him a strength unfathomable to the human mind. He thought to duck and weave away along the cliffs he was nearing.

But then he caught a snarl. The tone was enough to make him falter slightly. And it gave the other an opportunity it had not formerly had. He yelped. His legs collapsed beneath him. He scrambled for his footing. And a body slammed into his side. He rolled with the impact. The black wolf snarled, lain on his back for a split second. He clawed at the air, snapping his jaws. Then he twisted like a snake to find his belly. He was on his feet again immediately. His teeth were bared. He pressed himself down.

Yugi tossed his teeth at him. They chomped shut near his ear. Then he lowered his muzzle. Their eyes caught. His tail was held high, wagging slightly. Yami stared up at him with wide red eyes. The way they glittered in the dimness of the mountain's immense shadow made his heart skip a beat. The white wolf flicked an ear. Then he leaned forward, licked his forehead, and growled, Find one of the dens. I'll lead them off.

Yami craned his neck back for a moment. He blinked and looked upwards. He knew the mountain's cliff face to be littered with pockets of earth. He trembled briefly, then turned back to him. Are you sure?

The white wolf snorted loudly. His ears flicked. His fur shuddered along his muscles. Then he turned back to him. His tail wagged. I'm sure, he assured him simply. I'll lead them off. Find shelter.

He nodded and then moved to sit up. He inched his shoulder along the length of the stone and Yugi watched him for a moment. Then he licked his cheek and turned away again. He sprang out the direction he had come. He snarled and wagged his tail like a war flag. A dog barked and chased. Yugi turned tail and pelted across the snow.

Yami was a shadow across the snowy stone, head lowered, ears tucked. His tail lay straight between his hocks. His fur shuddered. The dogs pelted beyond him and his hiding spot. He remained until he heard the roar of one of the hunters race by on their snowmobile. He turned on his heel immediately after. He scrambled along the edge of stone and the path opened into a clear summit of ice and earth. He kept low to the ground, ignoring the pain of his shoulder where it grazed the wall.

A gunshot made him flinch but Yugi did not falter. The humans were too far back. They had aimed and fired but missed by several feet. He snorted and led them further into the trees. The earth was winding downwards into a clearing of flat ground. The trees were beginning to thin out. He put on more speed, until it felt he barely touched the snow and the world were a blur beside him. The dogs bayed and continued their race. But they were slowing as well. He could hear the coughs that erupted within their lungs with each inhale. He snorted again.

He felt the snow begin to grow harder beneath him. He sprang forward, throwing himself onto the flat ice. He knew the lake from childhood. He had done this many times upon being in the woods during winter. He skidded. The ice was slick and smooth, the surface of it coated in snow. It slid around him, scattering like disturbed winter leaves of brilliant white.

The dogs came moments later. They pelted onto the ice, skidding and sliding. Yugi glanced at them only once to gauge their distance. The two of them were mirror images of himself and Yami, black and white. But their faces were marred with scars. Their eyes were murderous and bloodthirsty. Their tails were wagging with the thought of a fresh kill. They were the canine embodiments of their humans.

He bore his teeth at the thought. Then he began to slide his feet backwards. He was slow, meticulous in movement. The dogs slipped and scrabbled. Their haste caused them to fall. Their dew claws snagged and worked to keep their balance. He hummed and pressed lower to the ground. He backed up further. His movements were sure of themselves. His actions were calm. He tested behind him until the ice felt wobbly and weak. Immediately he began to press his paw into it. The force of it was not enough to make it crack. But it wavered faintly. He backed up further. The ice splintered as his front right paw pressed against it.

It was so soft a split that the noise was almost inaudible. The dogs, in their hateful haze, did not notice it. They bore their teeth and tried harder to navigate. He backed up further. Then he tested the ice again. The place he stood was shaky, ready to collapse. He waited there for them. Any further and he would miss the opportunity. But he did not move. Instead he pressed himself into the snow. He curled his lips back and snarled.

The dogs barked and tried to rush forward. But the snow was loose. And the ice was thick. They slid again. The hunters were coming on them, however. Yugi bristled and bore his teeth in distaste. Only then did he truly notice that it had seemed to take them longer than necessary to find their way there. Fear gripped the inside of his belly. Had they gotten to Yami first? Had they gone back and found him?

He chomped his teeth angrily at the thought. The ice shook with the force of his ferocity. He stiffened. The dogs pressed forward. Then the ice wavered as one of them leaped. Their impact made the sheets of ice burst. Yugi snarled and drew in the deepest breath he could manage. The water was cold enough that the dogs seemed almost to die upon touch. He himself flailed, stunned by the force of its icy grip. His skin tugged and burned. His body jerked with the violent draw of ice poking at his skin.

He instinctively kicked his legs. But his mind was spiraling. The darkness was unholy and powerful. Currents of white touched upon his face. The water was cold enough to send him into shock. But the muscles in his body responded by sending waves of heat. His heart was beating and racing. His paws were moving and kicking.

"Excellent," a voice hissed from further above. They sounded delighted, gleeful. He kicked towards it, struggling. "Thirty minutes beneath the water. He's retained his breath. He's still swimming…"

The words made his lungs burst. A pitiful swallowing cry crept to the surface in a bubble. He flailed and kicked. The ice slashed into his skin like glass. He tossed and twisted. He could not see the bottom from the top. His directions were gone. He kicked and struggled. His front legs breached. Claws folded against ice. He struggled. His nose pulled, strained, above the water.

The air threatened to freeze him. His body heated feverishly. He choked on air. He gasped and sputtered. But his lungs felt empty. He did not taste water within his throat or his aching jaws. He breathed harder. Then he sunk his claws into the thick sheet of ice.

It bobbed from the force, shattering at an already broken edge. He spat as he fell into the water again. His body writhed with pain and heat. He thought his skin might burst from his body. He snarled and grabbed at the ice again. This time he sank his claws in and heaved. The ice held. He pulled himself forward onto the white surface. His body shuddered uncontrollably.

He pressed his face into the snow. Everything burned and stung. He twitched and burned. He swallowed a wail of pain. He felt his legs twitch pathetically. He heaved and choked, breathing hard. Then he clenched his eyes shut for a moment.

"He always seems to improve upon being drowned. His body is marvelous." He bore his teeth in disdain towards the voice in his head. "He is, truly, a degree of perfection."

He struggled to his feet again. He had to find Yami. He needed to find him and they needed to… They had to go back. He had to find him. He was limping when he walked, legs shaky and threatening to collapse beneath him. With a tremor, the wolf moved along the hard ice towards the banks. He shook himself out. His body was raw with feverish energy. He felt as if he might burn away into nonexistence. He panted, then moved quickly to a trot.

He could not manage a run. His body was pricked by needles and pins. And his paws felt as if they might rot away beneath him. He shuddered. Then he pushed himself to climb the hill he had once raced down while ahead of the dogs. He paced and sped himself up, but still he could not sprint. He felt as if he were running upon the surface of broken glass. The snow was a desolate wasteland of shards awaiting a taste of his blood.

Yami? he called only as he neared the cliffs. He knew the humans could not hear him. Yet something held him there, compelled him not to speak until then. He shivered and shook himself out again. The water froze before it touched the ground. He could feel the crystallized beads clumping his fur together along his throat and underbelly. Where his guard hairs were longer, slicked with water, it had not gotten even a flicker of the heat his body so expertly expelled. Yami?

There was a sharp scrabbling noise. A hissing shudder met his ears. He blinked and raised his head. The night did nothing but make the colors a shade darker than usual. He felt as if he were staring into a camera with altered color. On the cliff face high above him, a small stone began its descent downwards. He did not blink at it.

Long black claws were first to appear. Then came his face, a wet, twitching nose and the set of black lips. Then his muzzle stretched outwards and over the edge. His eyes were wide, startled, and vaguely disbelieving. His ears flicked about, soft and rounded and perfectly unharmed. He whined and his fur rolled along his body in a shudder.

Yugi, he muttered, the relief palpable as he began to straighten to his full height. Then he faltered and bore his teeth. They're too close by. If I come down they're going to shoot.

Yugi turned his head. Then why hadn't they aimed at him yet? He shivered and looked about himself slowly. He did not see anyone. And all he scented was that of gas and exhaust from the snowmobiles. He turned back, unnerved. Do you think I can come to you? he demanded softly. Or is there a way you can…slither down on your stomach?

Yami considered this for a moment. If he braced his paws in front of him, he might be able to simply do that. He tilted his head, looking at the distance. The snow would cushion his pads. But he did not know that he would be able to keep himself from breaking his neck if he landed the wrong way. It was, after all, a twenty foot drop. He hesitated, listening to the silence of the forest beyond them, and then turned to him pointedly. I will attempt to come down to you, he answered slowly.

Yugi nodded slightly. Okay, he agreed, shifting his feet with an impatient need. His skin crawled and his heart was beating too quickly. His tail wagged with anxiety, for he could not bear to tuck it beneath his belly. He shivered and fought the impulse to shake himself out again. His fur broke into a bristle as he watched him.

Yami pressed his forelimbs forward, paws barely touching the earth. The snow pushed away in soft clumps as he began his descent. His head was raised well above his feet, as if watching the world around him as he attempted such a maneuver. Then he began to slide. He picked up speed as the seconds passed.

Yugi nearly cried out as he hit a ledge too hard. Yami spiraled and rolled.

Shit!

Yami landed in the snow in a heap of black fur. His limbs shook for a moment. Snow fell on him in a soft heap. Yugi shivered and trembled, eyes wide. Then he leaned forward to breathe in his scent. Yami lay there motionlessly for a moment. Then, as Yugi drew in a frantic breath, the black wolf jumped to his feet. He landed on all four with his tail wagging and his jaws open in a soft grin.

Yugi blinked, then trembled. You asshole! he crowed angrily. You fucking asshole!

He wagged his tail again. Sorry, he lied, and he knew he didn't sound it at all. He tilted his head and his eyes were slightly soft. I couldn't help it.

This isn't even the time to be pulling pranks like that! he spat furiously, though his eyes widened when he realized he had yet to hear a single thing within the trees. Where were they? Didn't you say the hunters were close by?

Yami blinked. Yes.

Then where are they?

He stiffened and looked about them as well now. He could not hear anything either. His ears flattened against his skull. Yugi felt dizzy for a moment. If this were one of those horror movies Honda so often loved to watch, he knew this would be the moment that Yami told him some great plot twist and revealed himself to be the one helping the hunters. He would say it was all a great big game and a joke that he was trying to save him. And that would be the end of it. He would be skinned and sold on the black market.

I'm not sure, Yami finally whispered, fur beginning to bristle faintly. I have no idea. I thought they were right there…

Wouldn't they have shot at us by now?

Yes, but it's not as if they've given up. Just because two of their dogs are gone… He faltered. Ryou said there were more…

Yugi felt his stomach drop. Oh no… He spun on Yami with a horrified expression, paws scratching at the snow with panic. How was he meant to tell Yami that he had left his mate to die after they had both gotten rid of the dogs and the two humans?

What? What happened?

He felt his jaws open and close and he shuddered before tossing his head back and forth. His pelt rolled upon his body with a heavy painful sigh. He stared at him, then trembled, and his voice was choked with a sense of immeasurable grief. Ryou—they're back there with Ryou. We—we killed the dogs. And two other hunters came out and I killed them. I left him there with the bodies…

Yami stiffened for a moment, then he slowly looked towards the trees. But he did not speak for a long minute. Then he closed his eyes tightly and raised a paw to rub at his muzzle. He wrinkled his nose, turned to him, and blinked his eyes open again. He helped you to find me?

His tone was not that of an anguished lover. He sounded more like a curious bystander to an event far removed from him. Yet his eyes were sad, but not even near the grief that he had witnessed upon his realization that he had washed his jacket. He did not puke and tremble and burst into dry sobs.

Yugi stared at him in open bewilderment. He did not look even slightly as if he were troubled by the idea of Ryou having died. He did not look at him as a lover would had their lost their partner. He looked so simply removed and laid back about it that it was unnerving.

Yeah… He…

Yami nodded slightly, then flicked an ear. Okay, he said simply. He did not sound aggrieved at all. Yet Yugi had seen how easily he had thrown himself into his arms and hugged him so tightly. He had watched him do so. He had witnessed it. And yet… Yami was just…? He shook his head, bewildered. The other wolf blinked at him, then tilted his head curiously to the side. We need to get a move on.

But Ryou is…

Dead and we are not. Let's go.

But wasn't he…? I thought…

Yami shook his head. I will answer your questions when we get back. But for now we need to leave, Yugi. He did not offer him a second glance. Instead he began to move forward, limping slightly but without much difficulty. His shoulder was slicked with dried blood, caked into rough patches of dark brown. The white wolf briefly glanced around, then moved to take his side.

Do you even think that they realize there are two of us? he asked softly, flattening his ears against his skull uncomfortably.

Yami flicked an ear. I do not know. I cannot be sure. I know that the dogs chased you because you were there. And so they followed the dogs in turn. He glanced at him sideways. But if they have realized we are both here, I am sure they will have something else up their sleeves to torture us with. I have dealt with Panik before. He is not easily deterred.

Ryou said you were in the labs…

Yami flicked an ear. Only for a few days. I was brought in too close to the time of the escape to make a difference. I was not even experimented on. He pulled shiny black lips back into something of a grimace and tipped his head toward him. But I remember the screaming from others who had been. And I remember hearing whispers that Code Name Atem truly had come into existence.

Yugi looked at him for a long moment. Oh, he muttered, so you've been out here for a few months then.

Yes, as had Shizuka and whoever else had managed to escape. We all separated upon being released. And no one knew who Atem was, so there was no real reason for us to attempt to find them.

He nodded again slightly, then turned away. Okay. He moved alongside him at his pace, both of them at a slow trot, and Yugi felt sick to his stomach. Ryou recognized me.

Yami did not look or sound surprised. Yes. I remember hearing that he was very close to Atem.

He said he was the one who let him escape.

He must have helped the other wolves then.

Yugi hesitated for a moment. But you hugged him. And he seemed to recognize you.

Yes, because he often visited my cage to feed me. I bonded with him. Yami did not pause. I was simply glad to see him. Why are you so concerned about this?

Yugi couldn't bring himself to admit that he had assumed them to be lovers. It made his stomach crawl too much to force the words into the air between them. So he instead shook his head. I just… I don't remember anything about the lab—or at least not completely. And, if I'm going to act as Atem, I need to try to recall some things, right?

Yami stiffened. I do not imagine that you should truly wish to. I would go by word of mouth, by what others say happened with you in the lab. Then, perhaps, your memories will not come to the surface.

I understand that it was traumatic, but if I do not fully remember, how I am supposed to be the leader that the entire race of lycanthropes apparently thinks me to be? Yami, if I don't remember, I can't understand it all. And what happens then?

Then you thank Lupa for the mercy she has bestowed upon you and do not ask further questions, he snarled, spinning on him angrily. The white wolf paused as well now and they both curled their lips back to show off their teeth. You do not want to remember all of those things which happened back there, okay? Believe me!

Yugi growled low in his throat. Yet, as you said a moment ago, you did not suffer at their hands. He raised his tail when Yami did the same. But his mind flashed with previous conversation. He thought of the gene expression. He thought of the way he had seen Yami react to the wounds he had inflicted and he backed up a step. Yami blinked and then lowered his tail when he did the same. Look, I just…I have to know more about it. What did you hear about what happened with Atem?

He faltered a step, then shook his head sharply. Now is not the time to discuss this, Yugi. We—

They both sprang apart, eyes widening as their heads snapped toward the noise. Something had been tossed towards them.

Even from the distance Yami could tell what it was. In the shadows of a large tree, half covered in its shade and half beneath the weak moonlight, was a sprawled form. It was slick with black like oil along the hands, smeared across the stomach and throat. The head was twisted back almost until the neck had snapped. The hair was matted and bloodied. The limbs were spread about the snow in a disturbing mockery of an angel. He bore his teeth and snarled low in his throat.

Is that…?

They slit his throat. Let's go.

He looked at him sideways. Yami—

Let's go, Yugi!

Go where?! Don't you smell it? he snapped back desperately. They're burning the woods. They're setting the trees on fire to draw us out. They're going to be waiting on the other side to shoot us.
Yami hesitated for a moment, then tipped his head up to scent the air. The smoke came in small coils of drifting black. The scent was harsh, burning like death itself, and he flicked an ear. Low were the popping noises of bark bursting beneath the pressure and heat. He flicked an ear again. They will have to figure out a way to herd us the way they wish us to go.

Yugi turned his head to look about them uncomfortably. That was true. Something was wrong with this plan they had set. This trap did not truly make any sense. And where did the body play a hand in this scheme? Was it a distraction or meant to be the reason they ran into the trap? He stiffened. It didn't make sense…

I don't understand…

As long as I am not the only one…

Yugi almost wanted to laugh but instead shook his head. And then, with startling clarity, he realized the simplicity and complexity of this trap. It was something he himself had used often in chess. They put him here as a distraction. And if we go to investigate, one of them will shoot us. But the other is setting the trees on fire and calling for backup.

Yami turned to him, frozen in place. How…?

You remember that first time we played chess? I used a similar technique. I made you focus on my knight when I was really using the bishop. It's similar. The fire is going to be the ultimate part of the plan. They think if they burn us out we'll run into one of the other hunters that will surely respond. But in the meantime, if we go near Ryou or attempt to use the woods there as a way through, they'll shoot us from the spot they're hiding in.

He frowned and tilted his head. Okay, so then what do you think we should do?

Yugi turned to him fully. We head for the flames. Because they expect us to go the other way. We head through there, double back, and then run home. He paused and then looked to him. And we pray for more snow. We pray to Lupa that we get cover for our tracks.

And what if you are wrong?

He looked at him slowly. And what if I'm not?

Yami nodded after a moment. The odds were terrible on either end. He knew it as well as Yugi. And their chances of survival were sleek the longer they waited. Then let's go. He was trotting before Yugi could blink and both of them began to run the moment they entered further into the tree line. They bypassed Ryou's body by a mile to the west.

Neither glanced back even once.

The smoke was heavy, black and suffocating, even yards away from the actual flame. They danced beneath the thick blanket like unholy ghosts of vibrant red and drifting orange and the intensity of the ocean. The noise was a hideous roar, causing their hearts to pound with the crackling just beneath. The white wolf was colored orange and charcoal gray and the black smeared with flickers of displaced silver. The billows of smoke made them both squint and the choking aroma of burning trees made it impossible for them to scent anything around them. On his tongue was the taste of charcoal, thick and overpowering, and the smallest underlying touch of the very essence of the trees.
Yugi stepped forward before Yami did. The other wolf hesitated for a moment, then slowly came to his side again. The smoke thickened until they could no longer see the flames birthing it. He pressed low to the ground now, finding the air easier to breathe and was relieved when Yami did the same beside him.

The trees slightly glowed from down here, in a florescent orange border, and Yugi imagined he saw shapes within the source of colors. He thought the red sparks looked like ghosts, restless spirits which wailed in an unearthly groan.

Fuck, Yami hissed in his head, a low and uncomfortable; nearly panicked tone. Yugi was fascinated by the sight of which the flames granted him, faces unearthly and beautiful against trees swallowed in the lick of orange. He was not looking at the white wolf as he flattened himself against the snow. He was shaking, heart racing in his chest. He could not move beyond this point. He would rather die by bullet than have to go anywhere closer. The heat made the air distort and his body felt too hot to fathom movement any longer.

Yugi looked at him only when his trembles grew so pronounced that his entire body seemed to be personally assaulted by an earthquake. His head turned, ears flicking, and the burn of smoke in his lungs was an unpleasant tickle that he had not realized the existence of before. He blinked, then moved closer to his side.

Yami?

The black wolf shook harder. He was fixated, staring at the blaze which made his eyes hollow and glassy, like films of red against a golden bulb. He was pressed completely into the snow, yet he tried harder to make himself sink into the white powder. He pushed at the snow with his chin and tried to burrow into hardened earth which refused to give way.

Yami, he tried again, this time with a firmer tone. The wolf did not blink. And the glow to his eyes was dead, artificial. He turned to face him more fully, then pressed his nose into his paw. The other immediately jerked his leg away, folding his paw beneath it and flicked an ear as he turned his face towards him. However his eyes were still caught on the flames and his face was colored halfway orange then black and gray as the smoke billowed outwards faster. Yami, do you hear me?

He flicked an ear. I can't…

Yugi leaned forward and then crawled a little closer to him. You can, he argued, pressing his nose into his cheek to make him pay attention. Yami blinked and his eyes slithered over, but the shine in them was still alien and desolate. He breathed harshly against his cheek and the way his fur moved made him think of blistering winds and dark nights void of star and moon. You can. Just focus on me, okay? We'll be fine.

Yami blinked and then trembled harder. I can't, he insisted, quaking as he flattened himself further. You go, Yugi. Perhaps I can—

He bristled, baring his teeth. You've never left me before. And I won't do that to you either, he spat, shaking his head and then glancing at the flames. They were mesmerizing, but now he could feel that tickle in his throat becoming a long and disturbing scratch and above the scent of smoke was Yami's terror. He shifted his weight, uneasy as he turned back to him. Now, here's what's going to happen, okay? We're both going to get out of here. Or neither of us is going.

In his fear and the deafening roar where his heartbeat met the harsh call of the fire he almost did not hear him. Then he blinked and slowly turned his head to look at him. His ears pricked and he curled his lip back, but his anger was far beneath the tremors of his panic. That's ridiculous! Stop being an ass and go—

Yugi chomped his teeth next to his eye. The other wolf immediately stiffened, silent, and sunk his claws into the snow. The heat was blistering as they looked at one another. Yami, a while back you asked me if I trust you. I do. Now, the question is whether you trust me. Do you or not?

He trembled and then glanced slowly at the fire again. The whites of his eyes were showing, glowing a pale yellow and orange. His ears flicked. Yes, I do, but—

Then prove it, he demanded. The other wolf turned his head towards him slowly, eyes wide and unsure. Yugi forced away the urge to simply try to make him feel more comfortable instead of trying to coax him to action. Instead he moved until their noses were basically pressed together from proximity. He bristled a bit more, then shifted his weight again. Listen to me. I promise we'll get out of it. I give my word. Just listen to me, Yami. We'll be okay.

Yami bristled further. Yugi, that's not…

He bore his teeth. If you trust me, then allow me to do this. We'll get out of here okay and go right back to the house. He paused. I swear to you we'll be okay. Now just…just trust me.

He flicked an ear. Then he tilted his head away. His tail twitched. His mouth opened, then closed again. He curled his lip back slightly. Then he turned away again. Very well.

Yugi almost trembled with relief, though the resigned note in his voice made him falter. He met his eye, at first afraid to find a sense of defeat and resignation that might bank on his will to live, but instead Yami looked back at him with an expression which harbored the smallest amount of determination. His ears flicked and the fear was constant, pressing on him frantically, but he still looked as if he was willing to try at the very least. The smaller canine was so relieved he nearly forgot himself for a moment. Then he felt the heat lashing more forcefully as the flames began to lick at the air closer to them like an overzealous dog. He bristled, shivering.

He turned to the flames, where they danced and flickered and reminded him of brilliant shows of light and cunning darkness from the smoke. His eyes were caught on the shifting sheets of black merging with the brightness and it made his stomach coil painfully. He crouched lower, pressing his chin to the ground forcefully. Then he forced his paws to inch forward. The time was ticking away in his head. He needed to move faster. They had to get out of there and run.

If he was right, one of them was calling for help. And if they were doing that, there was only so much time before more people arrived to hunt them as well. And what would they do then?

He did not think there was a way to truly outwit more experienced people. He had won against the dogs because he knew the forest well enough and had spent so much time on the ice formerly. But against seasoned hunters in a mass amount? He did not think he could survive it.

He glanced at Yami sideways. The black wolf was watching the flames. He barely even seemed to notice him any longer. Yugi exhaled softly, his body jerking in a gentle spasm, and then whispered, Yami?

The black wolf turned his head but his eyes were still on the flames. He flicked an ear, pressed lower to the snow, and then tilted his muzzle towards him in question.

You still with me?

Yes. He was shaken in tone and visibly looked ready to turn tail at any moment. But he held himself there and Yugi felt the smallest sense of elation at such a fact.

Then…on the count of three… We'll both leap and run, okay?

Yami cast him a long, doubtful and sardonic look. And then what, Yugi? What if he is behind the flames waiting for us?

Then at least we can say we tried, okay?

He shook his muzzle at him, but then turned away. His muscles bunched along his shoulders and haunches. He curled his lips back and his tail began to shake with fearful tension. Yugi would have smiled had he been human, but instead he turned towards the trees uneasily.

One…

Yami sank his claws into the snow.

Two…

Yugi flattened his ears against his skull.

Three.

Both of them sprang. The flames blinded them and the smoke burned their eyes. The heat flashed through their fur and tore through their skin. Their paws burned and tingled. The air wreathed with black smoke within their aching lungs. The flames were embodiments of discolored lightning.

Yugi choked as the flames tore upon his fur. He cried out, a screaming call of pain. Yami landed a couple of inches behind him, his body streaked with embers caught upon his fur. His jaws were wide open, gaping, and he was gasping rather than crying. He stared at him, the red of his irises long ago swallowed by his pupils and encircled by the white of his eyes. He panted and choked and stared at him. His fur crackled with smoke, sizzling loudly.

Yugi was still yelping, crying in pain, and then stared at him with a mirroring expression of panic. He was trembling with pain and fear and both looked at each other blankly. The black wolf glanced about but the woods were still too dark. The white wolf blinked as his eyes burned harshly and his body began to ache more than ever. He gasped for breath and strained his eyes to see him.

The red-eyed lycanthrope abruptly dropped to the snow, writhing and twisting. The snow crackled and sizzled. He wheezed and panted, stretching out until his body felt it might snap from pressure. Then he rolled upon his other side and did the same. Yugi stared at him, shocked and mesmerized, his mind struggling to comprehend.

The flames were still bursting with noise within his ears. He was amazed he could even hear anything beyond them. His mouth was still open and the little cries had faltered and become pathetic, gasping whimpers. He gaped at the other wolf but Yami did not seem to even truly see him. When he got to his feet again, he was whimpering and staring about them as if he might see through the sheets of black smoke.

It only occurred to him in the very back of his mind that perhaps he should be more cautious. But his instincts pressed more with the need to extinguish the pain which gripped his body. And he didn't know how, so he whined and cried as if it might save him. He closed his jaws, tongue flicking towards his nose. He blinked rapidly. His nose was burned, singed. He didn't even think he could feel whiskers when he licked his jaws in a miserable attempt to alleviate some of the pain.

Yami was the one to slowly drag himself to a state of comprehension. His eyes were closed and his ears pressed hard against his skull. He had fallen to his side at some point, but now he lay there breathing through bared teeth. We have to move.

His voice did a strange thing to the smaller wolf. His head snapped towards him. His ears pricked. The whine trickled away within his throat. His eyes, blinded with smoke, strained to see him. His lungs clenched and twisted. His heart began to race somehow faster. He stared towards what he thought to be the source of the statement. His warring instincts to flee, to simply lie down, and to press himself into the snow completely, began to silence themselves. He ran his tongue along his lips again.

Where? His mouth was burning. His tongue ached and felt swollen. The gentle touch was violent against his skin. The fur was singed away and the air nipped at the raw flesh exposed there. He whimpered again, softly, and wondered if he had any fur to boast of.

Yami couldn't tell him where. He had no idea where they were meant to go. It was the fact that they were resting and Yugi's crying that made him anxious. Away from here. We'll… He forced his eyes open but the darkness was as prominent there as it was behind his eyelids. He forced himself to roll onto his belly. In his peripheral a stain of bright red marked the spot his shoulder had once lay. We'll head east and try to find…

Was there a river to the east? He could not remember. What if it was behind them, before the flames? He trembled, then struggled to his feet. The pain threatened to make his legs buckle. His shoulders flared and cried with protests of pain.

Yugi still could not see him fully through the smoke. But he could make out the faintest of his outline. He was inches away yet it seemed a chasm had come between them.

We need shelter before we do anything. But what he needed most was for his shoulder to heal. It was bleeding profusely, the wound enlarged and irritated. The fire had burst vessels further beneath his skin. It had charred and inflamed. If he didn't move now, he was not sure he would be able to later. But they had to have heard Yugi's earlier scream. They had to have been coming for them. We'll move east.

He could not fathom what was to the east. And, when it came down to it, neither could Yami. But he thought doubling back slightly might be helpful. He needed to find something…a way to pull back and take moments to rest. He needed to figure out how to get them to safety long enough for that…

He turned and trotted, limping heavily, and Yugi faltered as he rushed to his side. He winced with each step, but swallowed the cries threatening to expel from his jaws. Yugi panted and his legs shook with each step. It occurred to him that when the other crossed in front of him for a moment, his fur was slicked with blood and his paw print was bright red. The fur was nearly nonexistent along the wound, the flesh blackened along the opening but pale pink beyond. He flinched at the sight of it and looked quickly down.

Their tracks would get them killed.

Do you think you can run?

Yami faltered at the question. Truthfully? No. He glanced at him sideways, his body feeling broken and battered. But I can try.

And get yourself killed for it, Yugi thought with his ears flicking about. The nerves were raw and blistering. He curled his lips back at the sensation but did not cry out again. His lungs felt tight with the urge to cough, smothering it forcefully as he could see Yami himself doing. His sides would collapse and then enlarge again, somehow failing to expel the noise even as he shook from the force of it. If we keep this direction, we'll end up on a slope. It's a steeper formation, and it has lots of pockets in the dirt. If we can find one, we can attempt to cover our tracks and hide.

The black canine's eyes were distant, looking at him but not fully seeing him. How?

Yugi drew in a deep breath and his legs nearly buckled. The constant speed was bearing down upon his fractured muscles. I think I can make it look as if you fell over the side of the hill, tripped and bled all over the snow. But it's going to be where the tracks end and how I'd get back that would be the issue.

Yami shook his head, ears flicking, eyes further distanced. The dogs chased me up that slope…if it's the same slope you are talking about. Their prints are everywhere. The snow is crushed and looks as if it's been run over by a stampede of animals. The snowmobiles went through it as well…

Yugi felt his stomach tingle and his heart begin to skip, swelling with the thought. The hunters had overestimated their own ability… Then I should be okay…I think I can manage it.

The black wolf stared at him, a long and silent entreaty. Then Yami looked away from the smaller wolf, eyes upon the trees. Very well. But how are we meant to hide there? I do not have the same camouflage as you…

The smaller canine shook his head. No, and that's why we're going to have to bury ourselves.

The casual declaration made Yami stop short. He stumbled, staggered, then hit the snow. Yugi looked at him, startled, but the other was on his feet again immediately. They looked at each other for a single second, then began to move again.

Bury ourselves within the snow…

I remember watching a documentary about sled dogs in Alaska. The huskies were oftentimes left outside of the tents because of the lack of room and insulation. So the dogs, in order to retain their body heat, would curl up in the snow. They'd cover their nose with their tail and bunch up completely. And when the snow covered them, they'd wake up completely fine. He glanced over his shoulder and his eyes felt glassy and watery. And wolves do that. They do it in the wild. Instead of waiting for the snow to cover us, however…

We're going to have to bury ourselves… Yami nodded slightly and his step was sloppy with pain. He glanced at him sideways. I don't know that I would have come up with that idea on my own.

Yugi had no doubt that Yami's plan, had he not been there, would have been much more involved and difficult, complicated beyond measure, but it would have worked. He shook his head to dismiss the idea. Where on the slope…?

Yami barely seemed to hear him for a moment. Then he veered sharply to the right. There, in the darkness, despite the lack of moonlight, the prints were smeared by dark blue and gray shadows. It looked as if the earth had been trampled by a herd of deer. The thought made his skin crawl as he looked upon it. Then he turned to the black wolf again and exhaled.

Follow them to the edge. Your prints are larger than mine. But I doubt they will think to notice when I go down there.

Yami flinched. I do not believe they know you're here, he murmured, his realization coming rather belatedly. You got away from the cliffs before they noticed you when you led the dogs away…

He nodded slightly. Although, I'm sure they have an idea by now. They threw Ryou's body at us, remember? I'm sure they were somewhere in the trees watching us…

The black wolf shivered, then moved closer until he was at the edge. His blood splattered and fell in rivulets now that he was still. The cold air was making the wound inflame further. Yugi swallowed hard. The residual pain from the flames would do it no good either.

Okay, you're going to have to leap for me. Find the nearest ledge and I'll do the rest, he promised gently. Yami glanced at him for a moment, his left leg quivering with the tension of his weight. Then he turned away again. When he leaped, the smaller wolf nearly cried out. The black wolf hit the snow-covered stone, rolled down to the second one, and landed heavily enough that the blood pooled hideously around him.

Yami!

He remained still for a moment. Then he flexed his shoulders. His tail moved to curl around his back left leg. Then he slowly stumbled to his feet. He gasped out and his breath was a bright white burst against the shadows. Yugi nearly howled with elation at the sight. He was okay.

Yami craned his head back to look at him. Now what? he asked, but he sounded weak despite his determination. The smaller canine glanced beyond them for a moment. Then he threw himself down the slope as well. The rocky outcrop above Yami was so thin he was truly amazed he did not slip. He gave him a small glance of fear and distress, then shifted forward an inch. His side was pressed against the side of the ledge and Yami thought he looked ethereal and ghostly within the darkness.

Now we try to stop the bleeding in your shoulder long enough to get you further along the slope and then I'll double back for you.

How do we do that, Yugi? He was exhausted. The thought of trying to stop the bleeding just sounded like a torture in which to waste the last of his energy.

Yugi moved carefully to jump down beside him. We pack the wound, he stated simply. He watched him with troubled blue-violet eyes and he was sure he saw the lack of energy within his own gaze. The smaller wolf stepped close enough to press his nose to his ear, straining his neck up to do so.

He would have buckled beneath the weight of the relief of such a familiar sensation. But instead he shook his head slowly. Pack the wound?

Yugi turned away from him, backed up several steps, and then dropped his muzzle to the snow. He brushed against it twice, picking at the softer spots he knew to exist there, and then opened his jaws to grab mouthfuls. Yami was frozen in place, stunned, and flattened his ears against his head in bewilderment. The smaller wolf circled to his other side, then spat the snow onto the wound. It was a miniscule amount and the way it bit the inflamed flesh made Yami nearly collapse. But the cold air held it. And the flesh around the incision itself was frozen as it was, the chill causing the skin to turn black with deceased muscle.

He repeated the laborious task for a few more minutes, then pressed his muzzle harshly into his shoulder. He molded it as he would a cast for a broken foot, compacting it until he thought Yami would buckle beneath the pressure. Then he stepped back, breathing hard.

You're going to have to move as quickly as you can. When you move that shoulder, the ice is going to break away quickly. He looked him in the eye. When you get to the wall and find a den you can dig into, you'll have to rush yourself. I'll cover you immediately after.

Yami flicked an ear. Yugi tilted his head up to listen. The silence beyond the distant popping and crackling of the flames made the smaller wolf feel surprisingly overpowered and yet somehow weak all the same. But the other seemed not to experience the same sensation. Instead he was studying the wall of the slope. And he moved in a leap, a quick and painful bound. He crashed into the snow but got up again, turning quickly towards the stone.

The smaller canine opened his jaws and breathed in. His tongue was blistered faintly and ached with each inhale. He shifted forward as Yami clawed at the snow, digging at it as quickly as he could with one paw. The landings had both screwed up the use of his hurt limb. Yugi paced about for a moment, remembered himself, and then listened as hard as he could.

Yami pressed into the soft crevice of stone and snow, curling up with his bleeding shoulder pressed into the frozen earth behind him. The other lycanthrope backed up several steps, then jumped the red scar of the other's blood within the snow. He came to his side, listening again for noise, and then began to shovel snow back onto the red-eyed wolf. Yami shuddered and tucked himself tighter into the den he'd dug. Yugi shoveled until he could no longer see him. Then he turned away from the entrance, trotted a step, leaped the blood, and turned his teeth onto his paw.

The pads cracked without effort, swollen and aching from the pain of the flames and constant pressure of the snow moments before. The skin split in large gaping scars of muscle. He moved forward, limping, and thanked the gods for the tracks previously pressed into the snow. He moved in a weak trot, though he counted the seconds in his head and wished for nothing more than to flee as quickly as he could. He panted heavily and then looked back. His bloody prints were the single most visible things amidst the grooves of disturbed snow.

But they were also fading as he knew they would. Being forced into the snow as they were, the cold touch of ice was forcing it to stem. The wound would close soon enough. And he would have to dig a den himself as Yami had and curl up. He would have to hope that his fur was bright enough to allow him to blend in as effortlessly as possible. He wouldn't be able to cover himself up as he had Yami. He'd have to make a wall of snow outside and huddle between it and the stone.

He waited until the paw prints were clear. Then he doubled back, effectively maneuvering to avoid stepping on any of the blood he'd spilled by way of following what little paw prints remained of the dogs that had chased Yami formerly. Then he hurried to the slope and wove his way to some of the patches of snow. He himself had not truly been in this area of the woods in a while. But he knew Yami must have. And he had to have remembered from warmer months before which spot would be a crevice large enough for him to seek shelter within.

The first he tried was a dead end. The second was only a small puncture within the stone. And the third was so slim he could not stick his nose in. The fourth was just wide enough and dipped deeply. It was almost like the cavern he had chosen to hide in when he had first assumed he would change. But the location was wrong.

He scooped the snow out gently with his paws, digging as easily as he could without disturbing it too terribly. Then he allowed it to pile up until it ran the length of the earth to his belly. The wall could not be any higher without looking unnaturally tampered with when he stepped over it. So he moved into the den he'd uncovered, curled up as tightly as he could, squeezed his eyes shut, and lay there.

The hours passed in a haze of darkness. Yugi's body was so weighted and pained that he could not keep a grasp upon consciousness for more than mere split seconds at a time. But when he did wake, most often it was to noises. They were either loud, like the roar of snowmobiles, or the hushed tone of furious whispers. He understood no words and held no true recollection of the engines. But he also did not bother to open his eyes, nor to raise his head and look out over the wall.

When he finally did decide to venture out again, it was dawn. And he knew the hunters were long gone by the way that he had rested undisturbed for the amount of time he had. He was shaky and stiff and his body threatened to fall beneath him. But he crept outwards, keeping low to the ground, and dragged his belly across the snow as he weaved a path near the puddle of blood. He shivered, for it looked as bright red as it would have had there been sunlight when the wound originally shed as it had.

Yami?

There was a long minute of silence. Then he heard the slightest of stirrings. Yugi? the other wolf whispered softly. He sounded almost like he was dazed, dragged into groggy incomprehension.

Yeah, hey, Yami, he replied quietly.

For a moment he was silent again. Then the snow began to shift and push outward until a tiny gleaming speck of black showed. He would have laughed if he were human, because the way his nose began to twitch as he scented the air was adorable, but it also broke his heart.

The snow began to falter and shift in chunks, then fell outwards like shed fur. Yami poked his muzzle out completely until one of his eyes was visible, scanning the area until it caught sight of him. The larger wolf tilted his muzzle, then his bones popped loudly as he pushed himself out of the den. He shook himself, looking towards him with a slightly flustered and distressed gleam to his eyes.

How's your shoulder?

He took a faltering step forward. Numb, but it's still throbbing every now and then, he answered with a glance towards it before quickly looking back. It looks like charred hamburger meat.

Yugi refrained from mentioning that most of his face had that look to it too. The black fur existed only in patches and his skin was still bright pink and shiny. He shivered. He probably looked similar. He dipped his head towards the snow, eyes on the blood splatter that he'd overlooked the night before. Thank the gods the hunters had not noticed it. They would have surely attempted to get to Yami had they.

We need to go towards where they set up the dogs. My clothes are there. I have to get something from my jacket.

Yami tipped his head up and peered at the sloping hill beside them, the frozen stone and beds of snow inches deep. He watched the way it began to light gently beneath the touch of the sun, gentle in its warming embrace. He opened his mouth just enough to breathe from between his teeth, then glanced back towards him uncomfortably.

Is it truly so important?

Yugi looked at him for a moment, then felt his pelt roll painfully. It was my school uniform. So even if there wasn't anything in there, we need to get it before they figure that out, he mumbled.

And what if they've already seen it?

The smaller wolf tilted his head. Then I'll be amazed that they aren't at the school in a few days, he grumbled before sighing softly. Did they see your eyes?

I would not know. They often have other ways of finding such details. He hesitated and then flicked an ear sideways. But I do not think that I ever truly faced them more than a moment.

And your eyes appear amber in the moonlight, Yugi thought with slight relief. They could have seen it and simply thought his eyes were brown and the color distorted by his ability to see in the dark. He'd forgotten the technical name for the lens that covered the eye and allowed night vision but he was incredibly grateful for it all the same. His fur was ribbed with black and gray soot as he began to pace forward. For a moment Yami did not follow and then he began a more arduous limp behind him.

He glanced at him over his shoulder. He expected him to have his head raised as he normally would. But his nose was towards the ground and his chin inches from the snow. He was clearly exhausted and his limping did him no good for gaining strength. The smaller wolf turned back again when he saw his eyes flicker towards him.

You could wait here if you wanted…

If I stop now, I will not try again later, he said in a tone drenched in calm certainty. He shook his fur out for a moment and Yugi was amazed that his wound did not open again. He looked away again quickly before he could be caught staring at the blistered cuts and exposed skin of the other wolf's face. He flicked an ear uneasily as they continued slowly through the trees.

It took about an hour before Yugi managed to spot the chain link fence in front of him. He was exhausted by the time they reached it and he'd made a point of glancing back at Yami in order to check on him more than once. The black wolf had slowed to several feet behind him once or twice but he'd never truly strayed. The smaller lycanthrope turned to him as he came along the edges of the metal.

Do you want to catch your breath here while I—?

No. I'll follow you.

He wanted for a moment to plead with him to wait there, but then he remembered his former words and nodded slightly. He couldn't ask him to potentially give up when they had come so far already. He turned to the right and began to move into more of the trees.

The dogs… What did you do to them?

Yugi glanced at him over his shoulder slightly. I shoved my hand down their throat. They couldn't close their mouths and when they gagged their windpipes were too tightly clogged so they choked. He vaguely remembered them thrashing and his skin twisted as his fur jerked in disgust.

Oh. Yami did not comment on them any further. But he could not remove his eyes from their prone forms. They lay mostly on their sides, jaws wide open with their tongue stretched out. Some of their mouths were flecked with bile but others were clean. One or two had blood across their cheeks and teeth. He watched them as he would have any carnage from a fight, with sorrow and the racing ache of relief that it was he who had survived.

The humans, on the other hand, were bloodied along the heads and their skulls were concaved from the impact with whatever weapon had been used. They looked grizzled, with dried brown blood across their broken skin and bone fragments. Yami studied them for only a moment, then turned and moved along behind Yugi.

What is so important inside your jacket?

The smaller wolf paused at the tree he had thrown it into the branches of. His eyes shot to him for a moment and he tilted his head for a single second. I stole one of their guns, he replied nonchalantly, though his blue-violet eyes were troubled. I figured, one less weapon for them since firearms are illegal in Japan. And besides, who knows if we're ever going to need it?

Yami bristled and stared at him incredulously. A gun? You stole a gun? He could not name all of the reasons why that was foolish of him. It's probably filled with silver bullets and you stole it!

Yugi flicked an ear. He remembered Pegasus lacing the wolfsbane with liquid silver that day. His skin crawled and his fur rose in a slight bristle before dropping again. He licked his lips awkwardly and peered at him for a moment. Even more reason to take it. It's hard to find pure silver these days. Most of it is substituted partially with iron or nickel. And, contrary to popular belief, I am pretty sure that you can't just go into a store and have someone melt silver jewelry or silverware into bullets. Especially not here in Japan.

The black wolf folded his ears back, staring at him uncomfortably for a long moment. I concede to your point, Yugi, but this is still rather dangerous…

He shot him a slightly disdainful glance. Since I've been infected, Yami, everything has become dangerous.

He looked away from the other lycanthrope, guilty and slightly ashamed, but Yugi merely sighed at his own brusque response, leaned over to press his nose into his ear, and turned back to the tree. How do I climb this?

Yami craned his head back. Yugi had tossed the jacket several feet into the tree branches. He assumed that was truly the weight of the gun which had propelled it so high up as the rest of his clothes were very near the ground for the most part. You might need a running start. But it is easy. Your claws are made for it. And if you let your instincts guide you, then you'll be fine.

He shuddered, then shook himself. He backed up several feet, looked to the black wolf who nodded distractedly, and then ran. When he leaped, his claws latched onto the bark like hooks. He blinked stupidly at such a sensation, then looked at Yami slowly in confusion.

The black wolf snorted at his inability, his eyes amused but cautious as his ears flicked about as well. You just have to climb like you would if you were human. One foot after the other. It truly is not that hard.

He curled his lip back in disdain. Says the one who's more wolf than me.

Yami faltered faintly at the retort, then shook his head. That has nothing to do with anything and you know that. He flicked an ear. Now move. We don't have all the time in the world.

Yes, because this would be what I choose to do with it, he spat back angrily. I'd love to spend all my time in life just throwing myself at trees and attempting to climb them as a large dog.

He huffed loudly. Fine, then I will hold your hand and instruct you, he snapped in annoyance. Place both back paws flat against the trunk, fold your legs until your haunches are completely tense. Move your forelimbs so that your legs are parallel to the trunk and your dew claws grip the bark. Then you will sink your back claws into the trunk, push upwards in a leap, and catch yourself as you were originally positioned.

Yugi peered at him in surprise for a moment, then shifted his paws to scrape his dew claws along the side. The noise of the bark scratching beneath him made him bristle faintly, his tail rising in a rigid stance for a split second. Then he shifted his back legs, bunching them beneath his haunches and pressing his hocks almost completely against the trunk.

Am I doing it correctly?

Yami shifted his weight and took a step, as he knew his stiff limbs might grow too hard to move if he waited any longer. He paced twice around the tree, too ashamed to admit his own weakness and thus pretending to assess his technique before murmuring, Yes, perfectly. Now try to leap upwards and continue until you get to the height of the branch and grab the jacket.

Yugi nodded and pushed off with his back legs. He yelped as he hooked his claws again. His body jolted along his hindquarters when he hit the trunk. Then he positioned them again, bunching the muscles together and jumping again. He was not sure how high he was going along each of these leaps, but he did not bother to look down. Instead he continued until he was almost level with the branch. He supposed Yami had seen the angle of which it hung as he was able now to crane his neck out to snatch at the sleeve nearest him.

He struggled with the attempt to stretch himself out enough to open his jaws those couple of inches. When he caught the material in his mouth, he tugged hard. The jacket came down with a heavy thud, hitting the first floor inches from Yami who sprang backwards in surprise. Then came his pants and boxers, drifting lazily in the still air from branches farther below, shifting towards the black canine beneath him.

Do you know how to get down?

Yugi shot him something of a panicked and furious look. Obviously not, Yami! he spat softly. I have no idea how to get down!

He curled his lips back completely to bare his teeth, ears pricked forward. Then he began to pace back and forth, movements sloppy and somewhat disoriented. You'll have to back up as you would a ladder. Simple steps, don't drag your claws, just move downwards. If you drag your claws you're going to break one and then you will surely regret it.

Yugi trembled faintly before beginning to move his back paw downwards in order to press his claws into the bark. Then he did the same with his other paw. Then he clenched his claws further into the bark and released his right paw to shift it down to sink into the trunk further down. He hung there, eyes wide and startled, and looked at Yami with a startled expression.

You are doing well. Continue as slowly as you need to, but do not stop moving.

Yami was circling around him again but did not appear to look at him even slightly. He was limping harder, his limbs painfully stiff and frozen, and he felt as if he might collapse at any moment. His fur was bristling and his head racing with a rapid ache. His body hurt as he began to trot in quick movements to get back the feeling in his long limbs. He shivered and shook himself out as he stumbled a step and nearly fell to the ground.

The smaller canine could sense his growing weakness. It was like a plague had settled upon his skin as he began to lower himself down once more. He was going to have to hurry down or Yami was going to collapse and he was not sure he could help him if he did. His heart was racing as he forced himself further down the trunk until his back legs touched the ground. He backed up, dropped to the snow, panted, and then snatched his clothes up into his jaws. Let's go, he whispered softly, glancing at the other wolf.

Yami nodded and hurried after him as he began to move in as quick a trot as he dared. Yugi didn't bother to pause as they started back towards the slope. Maybe in a handful of hours they could get back to the house and he could take a look at Yami's burns.

Yugi stumbled over the side of the tree's roots. He was exhausted and the two hour long trek was wearing upon him heavily. Yami was steps behind him when he yelped upon impact. He slammed downwards, expecting the ground to rise up as it usually did when he fell. But this time the air seemed to open further and he dropped as if the earth were vacuuming him within its grasp.

He cried out, a whimpering scream which burst through his throat, and Yami snatched at his leg too late to stop the fall. The tangle of brambles of which the white wolf had collided with shook and shed its snowy cover. Yami stiffened and flicked an ear. The gaping hole of a tunnel entrance shone back at him, black and dark, formerly completely covered by snow and bramble. He shifted closer, pressing his nose to the entrance, and drew in a deep breath.

Yugi?

The sound of shuffling met his ears. He had not fully heard the thud of the other canine due to his attention being so caught on the bramble thicket itself. He licked his lips as he heard the smaller wolf moving about somewhere beneath the darkness in the earthen tunnel.

I'm okay, Yami, he assured him gently. But I can't get back out. The tunnel walls are too smooth for me to get a grip. It's stone, not dirt, and the snow has slicked it…

Yami peered into the darkness for a long moment. Then he crept to the edge and pressed a paw into the blackness. Beneath his toes, as he moved it towards himself, he encountered a hideous chill that was too slick to allow him to claim a grasp. He swallowed hard, then very slowly pressed his weight into the wall. He leaned forward still, then allowed his other paw to dip into the shadows until he pressed both into the slick stone.

You can still head back to the house if that's what you want to do, he called softly. I can figure out a way back later—

Yami tipped his weight and slid straight into the darkness. He yelped as his heart leaped in his chest, threatening to break through the cage of his ribs. He panted as his feet connected with solid ground. But his body tumbled straight into the other wolf. Yugi cried out and their limbs tangled harshly up impact. The small wolf shuddered beneath him from the hit and both of them struggled to pull away from each other.

Damn it, Yami…

He shifted to roll himself over onto his side and struggle to drag his weight upon his limbs. His shoulder was bleeding, bursting with pain, and the collective drip of it as he shook himself out made Yugi whimper low in his throat.

Now where are we to go?

He nearly wailed with dismay. He had no idea what direction they had to go. He had no idea even where exactly they were in the woods. He sighed softly and shook his head. His eyes were burning from the chill in the air, but it was somehow much less frigid than it had been above ground. He shook himself out as Yami was doing.

In the darkness, the shapes were smears of endless black rather than grays and silvers. He strained his eyes where they burned and tingle but he caught nothing beyond the bleakness of the darkness around them. He could only vaguely make out the shadows about them, thin strips of colors in different shades which made Yugi shiver.

I guess we'll have to figure out which way we go by following the path we're on. There's nowhere else to go…

Yami sighed softly, shifting away from him in order to lick at the blood on his shoulder. The wound pulsated with pain and made him nearly cry out. The edges tasted of soot and blood and charred flesh and burned fur. He whimpered as he ran his tongue along the bloodied cut.

Can you still walk?

Yes. He forced himself to his feet, then moved past him in a painful limp. The blue-violet-eyed wolf watched and tilted his head, flicking his ear, and both began to move quietly amidst the darkness. Their claws were clicking hideously upon the stone ground and Yugi felt sick as they continued. If he had been paying more attention, perhaps they wouldn't be down there. And then maybe Yami wouldn't be bleeding again…

You shouldn't have followed me, Yami...

I would not let you get lost in here if I could prevent it.

He sighed softly, then breathed in deeply, drawing in the scents of the tunnel around them. It was earthen, heavy, and pressed too heavily within his lungs to give him enough of an idea of where they were going. His stomach dropped and his heart began to pound harder.

We could lay down, Yugi suggested. Just for a moment or two. You could see about cleaning your wound some…

Yami hesitated for a moment. He was darker than the rest of the blackness around them, a pitch black void in the shape of a canine. The wolf turned to him after a split second, the red of his eyes glowing like Christmas lights and embers beneath dying flames. He stared at him for a long time, then nodded his head slowly.

Please, he whispered quietly, feeling weak and tired, exhausted.

Yugi nodded and moved to his side, coming closer to him to lick his forehead. The black wolf lay down slowly beside him, the red eyes flickering with pain as he began to twist around to lick at his open wound. The taste was grimy and disgusted but he settled for the task as comfortably as he could. The white canine hesitated for a moment, then shifted to take the spot beside him, and began to lick at the wound as well where the blood was still seeping through. He shuddered at the disgusting taste and more so at the realization of his own actions.

He had never really considered the way he had fallen into the habit of licking Yami as if he were some kind of affectionate partner. He gave him those little strokes upon his forehead, his muzzle, his ears, and never truly even considered it before. He stiffened slightly from the idea, feeling sick and briefly embarrassed, and then moved to nip at the skin of his shoulder. He could taste the dirt and stone and soot which rested upon it in the form of black residue, clumped upon his pale, bleeding flesh.

Don't… Don't pull, Yami pleaded, sounding almost panicked. His voice was weak, desperate, and when he met his eyes they appeared almost glassy with growing terror and pain. It hurts.

Yugi hesitated, then gently tilted his muzzle to press his nose into his cheek. Okay, I won't do anything else, he promised gently, running his tongue over his shoulder again as softly as he could. He shifted closer to him, however, enough that they could press their hindquarters together but spare contact towards the front. We'll rest until you feel that you can move again, okay?

Yami blinked at him for a moment, then dipped his head slightly. Yes, he whispered quietly, relieved and pained. Thank you.

He paused, startled by the gratitude in his voice, and tilted his head in confusion. Had he ever given him the idea that he would not help him should he need it? Yugi struggled to think of an instance but could find nothing. He felt slightly sickened, disturbed by the thought, and lowered his eyes back to his wound to begin licking again.

Yami turned his attention back to it as well, running his tongue along the top half while Yugi groomed the bottom. The underground tunnel seemed to amplify the noise of the pink muscles running over his flesh and the larger wolf flicked his ears constantly in order to hear around it.

Finally, his tongue sore and feeling scraped from all of the attempts to dispatch the hardened layers of disgusting debris which caked it, Yami shifted away from him. Yugi pulled away, eyes wide in the dark, a solid indigo shade within the limited light, and watched as he rose slowly to his feet. The white wolf flicked his ears, then flattened them against his skull, and got up as well.

His nose pressed into his cheek before he could think straight. When he exhaled, Yugi quivered gently at the soft touch. He blinked several times, then felt his tongue rasp over the blistered wounds upon his muzzle. We should get a move on, he said softly, running his tongue over his nose a moment later. Yugi blinked and then wagged his tail in the dark, pleased with the soft affection. Your mother and grandfather must be panicked upon seeing your absence…

Yugi stiffened. A sense of shame and embarrassment, coupled with absolute shock, made its way through his system. Oh gods, he had forgotten all about his family, how they might react to his absence. His heart hammered and he flattened his ears against his head in disdain towards himself. He felt stupid and small as he looked at the darker wolf within the shadows.

They might have called the cops by now, he choked in a small voice, feeling sick and weakened as he looked at him. I can't imagine my mom wouldn't have by now…

Yami was silent for a moment. Cops, he echoed softly, flicking his ears before shaking the thought off. He turned away and Yugi came closer to his side, nearly brushing against his flank before maneuvering away enough to avoid his shoulder.

They're basically the authority. They hold up the laws and they go around and search for kids that have gone missing or run away or something of that matter.

He blinked and his ears pricked further forward. Were they the ones to investigate the death of that mammoth student and your friend—Ushio and Tomoya, I mean?

He felt cold at the mention of Tomoya. He still could not understand how he could see Yugi's life as worth more than his own. How was it that he had come to the decision that he was to save him at the cost of his own life? He could not understand such mentality. It was true that he would go to any lengths imaginable to help his friends should they be in trouble, but he had never truly been in danger of his life then. When he helped Anzu stand up to Chono or got Ushio to leave Jonouchi and Honda alone, no situation had been life threatening.

Yet Tomoya had thrown himself into that fight with Ushio readily. And he'd… Well, according to the newspapers, it seemed as if he had not fought Yami when he went to attack him. They had found no wounds along his hands and legs that suggested he had attempted to defend himself…

He faltered a step. Yami?

The questioning, unsure tone of his voice made the other wolf turn to him with a confused expression. His eyes, glowing faintly, seemed to light the edges of his fur closest to his gaze. His brows twitched slightly in the darkness. He tilted his head and studied him for a moment.

Yes?

He hesitated for a split second, then drew in a deep breath. At first he could not find the words and it frustrated him, but slowly he asked, Did Tomoya fight back? Against you, I mean? I know he…fought Ushio…but did he fight against you?

Yami blinked. No, he admitted softly. I feel that he knew what I was there for. I think he realized I would not harm you.

But you tore his throat out… Why wouldn't he…?

The black wolf considered him silently for a long minute. I cut his jugular. I did not rip his throat out. I did not kill him violently as I did Ushio. And he did not fight me perhaps because he realized I could protect you better than he could. Maybe he refrained from attacking me because he knew who you were.

Yugi shook his head. But he… He knew me as Yugi. He couldn't have had any idea that I was Code Name Atem…

He could sense it. You can normally sense a lot about wolves before you even come into contact with them. Their scents will give you a million and one details that you would never know otherwise. Perhaps he smelled it in your blood.

And you? Why would he spare you?

Yami was silent for a moment, then shook his head. Yugi, he would not have been able to fight me and win as it was. I was enraged when I saw what Ushio had done although I had assumed it was Tomoya who had done it. And I was so hungry regardless that I would have fought him off even if he had managed to prove himself a worthy adversary. But he was also wounded badly. He was growing exhausted. I think he just…kind of gave up.

Yugi faltered. Hungry? You planned to eat me?!

He snorted loudly. Don't be ridiculous, Yugi. I would never eat you. He angled his head to lick at his shoulder. You're too thin and gangly.

Yugi's eyes nearly popped out of his head. What?! Yami!

When he turned back, his red eyes were glittering with laughter. What? The smaller wolf glared at him for a moment, then relaxed when he pressed his nose into his ear for a split second before turning away. I just remember being hungry making me a lot more vicious. I wouldn't eat you. And I wouldn't have eaten anyone else. I might have left someone else there to die but I wouldn't have eaten them.

Yugi tilted his head. And what made him different for Yami? He had said he had potential and that was why he had been willing to save him. But what kind of potential? He didn't understand why he would use such a word to describe him or his choice.

He studied him for a moment. Do you remember getting hit by a car? he asked suddenly, eyes widening as he himself recalled a dark black wolf of large size getting to its feet and limping away from him.

Yami tilted his head. Being hit by a car, he considered for a moment, flicking his ears and then nodding, yes, I recall that. I got thrown a considerable distance with the impact.

He hesitated. Did you see me that day?

Yami paused, growing still. He blinked at him in confusion for a moment, then shook his head slowly. No. Not at all. Or at least, I do not think I did… He picked at his memories further but they were fuzzy from the pain. I do not recall. It's…hard to grasp at.

Yugi blinked at him unhappily. The impact should have killed you. Your skull was fractured and everything.

He stared at him for a long time. Yet here I am. He turned away and began walking again. Regardless, no, I wasn't going to eat you. I just remember being hungry that day. And when I saw what Ushio had done I was furious. Being hungry gave me an edge though. It normally does most wolves. It makes us less likely to back off and far more dangerous because of it.

Yugi sighed softly. It also makes you more likely to get yourself killed because you won't know when to back down.

He paused a step. Quite likely, yes. I wouldn't be surprised. In fact, I'm sure it has happened many times. But you have to remember that a starving werewolf is a natural disaster in the works. Their inhibitions are lessened, they are far more dangerous, and they are more than likely going to try anything they can in order to win. And I'm sure many of them have died from wounds and other things. A starving werewolf can't heal.

Yugi remembered Yami's wrists, how when he was first bandaging them they seemed to do nothing. He remembered drugging him and making more and more food for the other. He remembered the way his wrists had begun to mend after his body weight had grown. But he also remembered his wrists from days before, how they had only just begun to heal.

How are your wrists?

Yami stopped short and then rushed to regain his unsteady footing. They…ache.

Yugi lowered his head, feeling exhausted by the very idea. He should have been more vigilant where they were involved. But what was he meant to do with his shoulder and those burns he was sure he'd retain? What then? He'd be the living example of why fire and guns were not toys to play with.

I'm sorry.

Yami ignored him, then faltered and began to rapidly pick up speed. Do you hear that? he demanded in an exuberant tone, gaining speed as the seconds passed.

The smaller wolf raced to keep up at his side. Hear what? He strained his ears but all he caught was the heavy clicking of their claws and the sound of their paw pads disturbing the ground in the softest of touches. Then he caught a whisper of movement, soft and sure, and it made his skin tingle. It grew slowly, building into a gentle trickling which caused his heart to pound. Water?!

Yami didn't answer him, but instead continued quickly forward before halting. Yugi slammed into his side at the suddenness. The other wolf spun on him, eyes flashing, teeth bared, ears pricked and body rigid. For a moment Yugi feared he might sink his teeth into him. His body reacted instantly, his back hunching, his ears folding back, muzzle tipped towards his chin, tail dropping to wag between his legs.

The larger wolf stared at him for a moment, almost dazed in his expression, and then turned away with a flick of his ear. Yugi remained as he was for a few long seconds, then relaxed until he was standing beside him again.

Do you smell it?

He didn't want to try breathing exercises. No, he lied, flustered. If he could avoid having to play at the scent games as his grandpa always tried to put him through he would be incredibly happy. What is it?

Yami took a long pause, then began to slowly creep forward, breathing in roughly and scenting the air until his body began to quiver with the force of it. He bristled faintly but continued forward after a few heartbeats that seemed strangely elongated.

When they got several feet ahead Yugi could not help but smell it. At first it had been a mindless trickle of a scent. But now it bore on him violently. He shuddered. What is that?

Death. He picked up his pace almost as if he might be able to outrun the word. The white wolf felt small and shaky as he trailed a step behind him. His ears were flat and his tail was down. Death? Yami did not slow his steps until they could see the faintest sliver of sunlight from somewhere further within the tunnel. The optimistic part of Yugi crowed with triumph that they had found the exit but it was the intelligence of his lupine form which challenged this idea, relaying the fact that it was impossible as the sunbeams came downwards and not inwards.

The blue-violet-eyed wolf hesitated a few steps behind him, slowing drastically. What do we do now?

Yami glanced at him over his shoulder. We continue until we find the exit. The river has to have a way into the forest somewhere. There have to be branches throughout and somewhere has to have an area to get out to the surface again…

Yugi hesitated, wondering, and then froze in place as he tilted his head. Are these the tunnels? he asked quietly.

As he'd expected, Yami did not bother to beat around the bush. Disdainfully, curling his lip back slightly in distaste, he murmured, Yes, these are them.

Yugi stared at him silently for a moment, then shook his head and began to move again slowly. His paw brushed against something and it rattled as it skipped softly across the floor. But the noise echoed loudly and Yami curled his lips back completely at the way it reverberated in his ears.

What was that? Yugi snapped, fur bristling. It wasn't solid like a pebble or a stone and instead sounded strangely hollow. He turned to the other wolf with a frantic expression.

He flicked an ear. The smell of death and decaying flesh was a burning encroachment in his nose. It made his skin crawl as he shifted forward a step. The darker wolf ignored him again as he began to pad forward. He touched the object with his paw, then kicked it forward with a small movement. It rolled and rattled as it pushed further towards the lone source of light.

He tilted his head. He knew the sound somewhere in the back of his mind. With a glance at the other, wondering at the noise, Yami found himself nearly laughing. He recognized it. It was similar to the way his skull had sounded when he hit the brick wall after the car collided with him.

It's a bone.

Yugi bristled. He sounded so casual about it.

Yami abruptly stiffened, spinning around with a growl. The smaller wolf strained his ears, listening for whatever might have caused his alarm. For a moment there was only silence but for the soft trickling of the water further ahead. And when he scented the air the fresh decay and wet stone curled within his lungs painfully.

He felt a small tremble coming over him, his spine aching and itching beneath his skin. There was something unnatural about the smell and something even further overwhelming about the small space. Something was wrong…

Yami…?

The black canine glanced at him sideways. Keep your ears pricked and your eyes open. I don't think we're alone, he growled softly, turning away and striding forward again. Yugi hesitated and then hurried to his side. The bone scuttled across the stone of the floor and he bristled faintly as he looked at him.

But Yami paid him no mind and continued quickly forward. It was only as they began to near that source of light that he began to slow and glanced at him with an unreadable expression. Both of them stared at each other, long and slow, and then bristled faintly as they looked forward again. Their steps were slower and more pronounced as the chamber opened beneath them. The water sound was much louder, though nowhere near the roar of a river. The scent of decay was suffocating.

Below them a drop of about twenty feet was a round dip in the earth, almost perfectly circular, with a rather large stone of granite which protruded upwards almost like an altar. Around this stone, in a faint trickle, was a small stream shallow enough to see the bottom in clear specks of shimmering water above dark limestone with the faintest of shadows, about the width of his entire body. The glow of sunlight made the stone look almost ethereal, shimmering with strips of black and blue and specks of golden discoloration. Around the walls, however, were shadowy forms of thin structure, frail and fragile in design. The stone made it almost impossible to see them clearly but he could picture their shapes faintly, light shadows and hideous indefinite forms.

What are those?

Yami didn't answer him. Rather he peered over the edge of the dip in front of him, eyes sharp. The path is clear down here. We'll have to move down there to get through to the exit. He pricked his ears again and tilted his head slightly as he started to peer across the small cavern. His eyes flickered when they glanced at Yugi and seemed to glow a bit more when he turned away again. The light had made his pupils mere pinpricks and the smaller wolf shivered as he followed him.

The black wolf was light on his feet, as easily stealthy as he had been the night Yugi had run across him at the dumpsters behind the Burger World restaurant. He was a near-silent shadow, drifting across the stone floor easily, lazily, as if he had never possessed a limp in the first place or his shoulder was completely unharmed. He paused as he lowered himself from one ledge to the next in easy movements, walking like a cat balanced on a fence post. He glanced up at him as Yugi began to place his paws properly upon the floor to start his path to follow him slowly towards the glittering stream further into the cavern.

Yami watched him, then turned and began to work his way to the ledge beneath. It was much narrower and he scrabbled. Yugi stopped short and looked down at him, eyes sharp and alarmed. He stiffened but did nothing more than glance back up at him. I'm okay, he assured quietly, aware of the fact that the small teen looked ready to risk leaning over the edge to grab his scruff. He would take them both down if Yugi was foolish enough to do such a thing.

Yugi nodded and began to work his way back along the ledge he was balanced on. His stomach tossed and he tried to sink his claws in to grip at the slippery surface of the smooth stone. But it was useless and his calloused pads did well to keep him balanced but the very possibility made him extremely nervous. He could drop at any time if he we not careful.

Yami watched him for a few moments, then leaped across to the third ledge. The jump was miscalculated and his back leg nearly collapsed beneath him. His left shoulder throbbed with pain and he felt his head burning as it pulsated through his blood. He would have to lie down again soon. He would need to rest and lay down, to eventually eat and then sleep as long as he could without interruption. He nearly swallowed a groan as he pulled himself to his feet, unable to hold back the slight whimper that left his mouth.

The movement behind him stopped and Yami stiffened as he turned his head to look back at him, eyes sharp. I'm fine. Watch your steps, Yugi. Do not mind mine, he growled quietly, shaking himself out. As expected, blood sloshed and hit the wall of the stone beside him. In the sunlight it was too light, so thin that it spilled downwards in rivulets like rainwater. He nearly cursed. He was extremely unhealthy…

Is your shoulder bleeding again?

Yami hesitated. Yes, he admitted after a long moment, then forced himself to begin moving again. He was exhausted beyond his former limitations and his body felt more worn than he had ever known it to be. He paced forward a few small steps, then glanced up and felt the fur along his spine rise in a bristle. His mouth fell open, his eyes widening in pure horror and shock. His ears flattened and he barely resisted the urge to snarl in distress.

Lining the walls, shadowed deeply from the upper sunlight, was row upon row of skeletons. Their bones were bleached and pale, so white as to compare to snow. Several others still had some decomposing, yellow and greenish or blackened flesh which was quickly becoming destroyed within the limited sunlight, watery and stuffy air, and the harshness of the cold winter. They lined ledges as if they were but amiable Halloween decorations.

Yugi stood at the edge of his own, eyes locked on Yami rather than looking the direction he was. Fearfully he wondered what might have made him bristle so harshly or stand so rigidly with such a scent of horror and terror. He kept his eyes on him because he was a safety net in an area which promised him nothing but panic.

Yami?

He blinked and then turned his head. In doing so the entire expanse of this collection of death came to his eyes. He shivered and quaked, then turned his attention to him. Their gazes locked almost immediately, boring unto each other, and Yugi watched him, anxious and bewildered.

Just…follow me, he muttered, turning away again, and struggled to force himself to move. His legs were shaky and the exhaustion bore so heavily that he was tempted to simply turn and leap. He was able to do such a thing without a hint of damage to himself when he was healthy. But now…? He could not even fathom pretending to think himself able. We'll be okay.

Yugi kept his eyes glued to him, watching his slow progress until the larger wolf turned and dropped to the ledge beneath. He landed awkwardly, foot nearly slipping, but held his ground with his nails and pads keeping his weight pinned effectively there. He drew in a deep breath as he sprang, landing on the thin shelve of stone, and glanced unconsciously towards the blood on the wall. If he only brushed closer it would color his fur.

He hurried to scale this ledge, to catch up with the other wolf. His stomach was growling as he stepped a little behind him and the noise echoed viciously throughout the chamber. He almost ducked his head in shame but Yami reacted violently to the noise. He spun, snarling and snapping his jaws. The ledge was just wide enough that he did not topple over, though his blood streaked the stone there as well. He stared at him as he stood there, fur in a bristle, tail raised, ears pricked and eyes locked on him.

But when he spoke, his voice seemed to boom outwards, no longer confined between the two of them.

Come out, she-wolf! I know you are here!

He stiffened and his head snapped around. Did he mean the alpha from the pack in the woods? Did he mean another wolf down there with them? What if she was the one who had made the cavern smell so terrible of rotting flesh? What if they were her old kills, left there to be baked in the sun but kept somewhat frozen by the status of the world around them?

The shadows were long and stretched at the ledge he stood on. Even as he craned his head and looked about them, he could not fully see the end of the cavern. It was too deep and the light was unbalanced by the addition of that raised stone within its center, shadowing a good portion of the area in front of him. He strained his eyes, however, and felt his body grow further rigid as he was rewarded for his efforts.

Yami snapped his jaws as she approached, a lighter shadow than the rest, at first blending in seamlessly with the surrounding darkness and then growing more defined as she came into the light. Both lycanthropes were frozen, almost as if bound by the sight of her.

She had the frame of a large gray wolf but her ribs and legs were thinner, her limbs longer, her paws larger. Her face was full of more fur and her cheeks larger. Her almond-shaped eyes were a glowing, ethereal golden, framed brilliantly by her longer muzzle. Her ears were smaller, softer in design, and her gait was elegant as she passed into the light completely. She was thin, lean, with a gorgeous coat of light cinnamon red, her entire body a solid shade of the soft color.

Yami was still, his harsher features falling into one of something almost akin wonderment. He tilted his head after a moment, then began to pick his way along the ledge again, closer to Yugi. She was large enough to be a very capable threat. And she seemed likely to possess the speed that Yugi did. She was somewhat smaller than him, her shoulders leaner and her height an inch shorter. Yet she stood with such regal an air that it made him bristle faintly.

Yugi could not take his eyes off her, even as he too began to move closer to Yami. He was wounded; he might not be capable of fighting her away on his own. Yugi's heart was hammering in his chest as he considered them both.

The pool rippled where she touched it and her paws sank only low enough that it covered half of her toes. She peered at them, eyes cool and mesmerizing, beyond the mortality that even their own uniquely colored gazes offered.

She stopped beneath the rock and took a seat at its base. Her eyes were still locked on them. But her demeanor was soft and simple, friendly even. Yugi watched her, unnerved by the silence she offered, and his ears flicked towards Yami.

What do we do?

The black wolf hesitated for a moment, then forced his fur to lie flat. He drew in a breath, at first attempting to gauge her scent, but the air was too heavy with death. He forced himself to shift a step closer to Yugi, considering her from his perch. We seek Lupa's Blessing, he announced in a loud, firm tone.

The she-wolf turned her attention solely upon him. My mother's blessing, child? she whispered, her voice soft and gentle like a drifting wind or the trickle of the water around her. She tipped her head to the side, studying him. Then so it is granted, Yami.

He bristled and his teeth chomped immediately at the air. Yugi was frozen in place, staring in shock at the idea of hearing the other's name upon her foreign tongue. How…?

She blinked and glanced to Yugi. Code Name Atem, was it? Or perhaps I should call you Motou Yugi? she inquired gently.

Yugi pressed back, throwing himself unconsciously into the stone. His side ached from the force of it and he stared at her with wide, bewildered eyes. H-how…?

She raised her head, looking to Yami who was eyeing her suspiciously, and moved a long tail to wrap around her paws. I have watched you both from the time of your birth, she said simply, and Yugi swore her lips pulled back at the edges into a gentle smile. I have seen your first breath, your first wound, your first meeting. I have witnessed every moment of your life.

Yugi bristled. Are you psychic?

Yami shook his head slowly. No, Yugi, she is the goddess, Slifer, the Guardian of the Dead.

He spun on him, startled by the shaken note in his voice. W-what? he spat out, eyes wide as his fur began to rise once more. That's impossible—

Clever, Yami. Yes, I am Slifer.

Yugi felt his head snap towards her before he could stop himself. He blinked, unsure of what more to do, and then folded his ears back against his head again.

I am the Guardian of the Dead, the goddess of those who have passed among the lycanthropes. I know every moment of every wolf's life, the moment Ra grants them life to the seconds their hearts begin to lose their rhythm. I share with them their experiences through my connection. For once one is born their life will eventually lead them to death.

Yami was shaking slightly. You can't…

She looked at him, long and slow, and then tilted her head. I would never think to harm you, child. You and Yugi are as much my own as you are Ra's as you will one day come to be known as Obelisk's as well.

Yugi glanced at Yami sideways. She…? Who is…?

He's the god of war, he answered distractedly. Slifer, what is…? Why do you have…?

She glanced around them as if she had never seen the chamber in its entirety, looking about herself as if with wonderment. I am meant to protect them, as they have surely entered my domain. But death comes too swiftly now. I am unable to bury them properly and offer their physical bodies refuge within the earth. She looked back at them. The humans have overrun this world with a great many bodies. The tortures they wrought upon them surpass my abilities.

Yugi shivered. The experiments…

She gave him a dry, distasteful glance. Yes, if that is what you truly wish to call them. I see them as hideous tortures, but perhaps in your young years your memory is cleaned of your own experiences there, she sneered softly, though her eyes glittered with a cautious familiarity which made his stomach drop painfully.

I…I don't recall much of anything, he admitted quietly. As Code Name Atem, I don't seem to have many memories, if any at all.

Yami bristled faintly but did not respond. Instead he began to turn and pick his way along the ledge once more. Yugi hesitated, watching him with the widest of eyes, and then began to take immediate action to follow. They both reached the ground a few minutes later, the task of walking hard and laborious for their weakened forms.

The water was cold and soothing and Yugi wanted nothing more than to lay in it and perhaps sleep until he could no longer. Yami, on the other hand, felt slightly sickened by its touch yet overwhelmed by the gentleness of it. He kept himself upright, however, despite the longing he too felt to lay down and rest.

Do you wish to know more, Yugi?

Yami flattened his ears against his head. Yugi, count it as a blessing that you do not remember and stop while you still have the chance, he pleaded softly. The things I heard were done to you were horrendous. You don't want to know.

Yugi looked at him for a long time, staring at the way his eyes were glazed with slight panic and avid disgust. He blinked at him, then glanced towards the she-wolf again. Tell me what happened to the other wolves… How did they end up down here? What killed them?

She stared at him for a long minute, though at first her eyes were caught solely on Yami. Many of them died from all of the experiments done to them. Others from forced breeding. She glanced at them almost dismissively, yet somehow with the faintest hint of affection as well. I go above ground to retrieve them when I am given the opportunity.

Yugi flicked an ear. What was done to them?

Yami shot him an annoyed look. You are not the least bit clever, he snapped disdainfully. The smaller wolf gave him a flustered glance. Not the least bit sneaky, Yugi.

I wasn't really trying to be.

If he were human he would have rolled his eyes and scowled at him. As a wolf he flattened his ears, pulled his brows forward, curled the left side of his lips back from his incisors, and stared at him in something almost akin distaste.

Yugi wanted to laugh at it. He looked so much like his human self at the moment. He wagged his tail slightly at the sight, eyes bright as he looked at him. His ears flicked and he nearly opened his mouth to pant with exuberance.

There are tests done to measure healing capabilities, Slifer cut in suddenly, making them both immediately turn back with startled expressions. She sat neatly there, not a single hair out of place, her eyes glacial with disgust and hatred. They cut the skin, measuring the time it takes to mend. They do it with healthy wolves and starved ones. They force them to breed or attempt to artificially do so. They often cut into their brains while they are still alive and without anesthesia.

Yugi felt his fur rising into a bristle.

They pit them against other apex predators, often brought from other areas of the world illegally. They are subjected to various poisons, with tests run upon them to insure the dosages will not kill them but that that the toxins are effective. They burn them, scold them, brand them. They put them in tanks and test how long they can swim, when they'll drown and how long it takes to revive them.

His eyes were glazed as he looked at her.

They give them adrenaline rushes which spur on changes or transfusions of blood to see if their types will destroy each other. They inflict various diseases to attempt to see if they will die from them. They mutilate their features to see if they will heal. They break and mend bones improperly to see if they will break and attempt to reshape themselves correctly on their own. They will tear teeth out to see if they will grow back.

At this point Yugi had swayed and nearly fallen. He was hacking and choking and his entire body was shaking as he vomited bright yellow bile into the crystal water. His eyes were dilated, nearly completely black, his ears pricked and his tail between his legs. Yami, beside him, merely looked at him with an expression that showed only clear annoyance towards the fact that he had still pushed to hear such things.

Yugi was shuddering when he vomited again. He should have been dead. The experiments should have killed him.

The work log entry for the month of December is broken into two parts because, like another couple of entries, it got way too long to put before the chapter because it was almost long enough to be its own separate chapter with the details and events that happened in them.

I'm going to admit that I'm not one hundred percent satisfied with this chapter. But it sets up a few huge plot points later, including some revelations, new characters coming on scene, and some elaborate traps that come up. So, overall, I'm going to say about ninety percent happy and satisfied with it. Anyways, there are some parts of it (i.e. the lack of attention the fire gained, the fact that the hunters didn't seem to find Yugi's school uniform, etc) that play much larger events within the storyline.