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.

36. Disorders

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Every other day

Chapter Warnings: Perverse Thoughts/Ideas, Sexual Frustrations, HEAVY Hints of Puzzleshipping, Yugi Struggling with Sexuality, Discussion of Murders, Mentions of Cannibalism, Mentions of Animal Kills, Slight Hints of Anzu x Valon [Celesteshipping], Hints of Anzu x Fuwa, Mentions of Mental Disorders (Sociopaths, Schizoid Personality Disorder, Narcissism), Mentions of Grief, Symptoms of Suppressed Grief and Emotional Distress, Mentions of Kidnappings, Mentions of Experiments

I have no idea if there's a ship name for Anzu and Fuwa, but either way, I decided not to waste time searching for this when I had a bunch more writing to do instead (cause, oh my gods, have I been slacking, holy fucking shit!).

Obviously I'm not a psychiatrist or anything of that manner. But I did some research on all three of the mental illnesses mentioned above. And I did try to match them up accordingly, but I could very easily have gotten something wrong. In which case, if I did, I apologize but again, I'm doing research and I'm not going to be an expert on it by any means. From what I could understand of it, a sociopath feels basically nothing but does like an adrenaline rush in which they love to disobey the law and get in trouble later. But they aren't as likely to be as boastful as psychopaths, who tend to snap more violently and like the idea of having everyone KNOW what they've done (minor law breaking, murders, etc). And those with schizoid personality tend to hate their parents and family, do not feel emotions in much of any capacity, and often disobey and break rules for the fun of it. All three of them tend to not care for the others that get involved in their issues, not limited to friends or family. They also tend to have trouble maintaining relationships with any romantic interests they might have at that time. They bounce from one partner to the next and often manipulate them until they tend to emotionally destroy them and then bounce to the next. They all also tend to be abusive to animals (although I could be wrong about the schizoid personality disorder because it's been a while since I researched them for the chapter). Narcissists, from what I remember, are a branch of sociopathic disorder? I believe they basically feel only emotion branching from approval of themselves and basically preen beneath appraisal? If I remember right. No one quote me on that!

So, the rabies comment about it being scarce in Japan is true. They have not had an outbreak since the 1950s. That aside, most of the animal facts are correct when Yugi mentions them. Bears aren't known for really having a killing technique. They simply barrel their prey and try to use their weight to pin them while they start biting and slashing at them. Cats kill by bites mostly to the back of the throat. Wolves usually go for hamstringing and biting into the windpipe. The saltwater crocodile DOES have a psi of 3000 and they do use the water to loosen their prey's meat to eat in gulps and do use the death roll as a means of tearing off chunks of food as well.

So, new information on the past of the experiments, new information on the cases and their definitions for the police. You also get a hint of some of the things that Yami has been bottling up and hiding, though not much. Also, Yami's friend mentioned in this chapter is NOT named until later in the story (though I have no idea just yet when it'll actually be).

Chapter XXXVI: Disorders

Work Log Entry XXXVI: October, 2002

October 11

The boss has finally come to the conclusion that we are to test A.T.E.M. in every way imaginable.

He was removed from his cage for hours on end and later returned to be restrained within another room within the labs. I do not know which tests have been performed, but the pup looks ragged and exhausted now.

But, judging by the look on the boss's face, it must have been a success.

October 12

We were not told the rogue experiment's purpose until today. A.T.E.M. was sent out to with express commands to hunt and kill several animals yesterday.

He did so without a blink.

When he returned they ran tests on his blood pressure and various smaller tests to assume his health after each attempt.

No signs of fatigue show in his systems.

Yugi unlatched the lock to the window, sliding it open after a minute of being in the room. It was frosty outside but, when the air pressed against him, his body seemed to swell with heat to combat it then lower to a more comfortable standard. The feverish sensation was gone instantly and his body felt surprisingly content and not the least bit undone. He narrowed his eyes, straining his vision against the harsh glare of the streetlight, and poked his head out when his room remained occupied by only him. He almost opened his mouth to question his companion, then jumped backwards with wide eyes, blushing furiously as Yami appeared mere inches from him. He backed up, gesturing him in, but it seemed more that he was waving awkwardly.

The taller boy blinked, then shrugged and came over the sill and into the room again. He yawned and Yugi was somehow incredibly relieved not to see blood on his face. But he could not recall him ever having come back from a hunt with blood anywhere. Beyond the time he had brought the rabbit into the room with him, he could not think of a single instance.

"Was it a good hunt?"

Yami wrinkled his nose and raised a brow, an elegant and lazy maneuver on his own behalf. "I caught a rabbit," he said in a voice that lilted with slight laughter, studying him pointedly to see if he might flinch. Yugi wrinkled his nose but did nothing more. "And I took down a serow when I was still hungry. So I should say yes, it was a very good, highly enjoyable hunt."

Yugi nodded distractedly. "Good." His voice was sincere enough but his eyes were slightly clouded with other thoughts. "I started talking to my mom about you. My grandpa was more excited about meeting you than she was."

He tilted his head. "Was she upset?"

"No, I think she was more tired than anything. I think she was more surprised that I was mentioning someone else like that. She was interested enough to ask about you but not to extend an invitation to meet you." He paused, eyes flickering between his as he bit his lip. "I think she's more likely to do that when she hears a bit more about you."

Yami blinked. "And your grandfather?"

He was troubled when he muttered, "He seemed incredibly excited about the idea of meeting someone new that I might be making friends with."

He furrowed his brows. "Why should he be so excited about that?" He paused when Yugi grimaced and then dipped his head slightly in a curt nod. "You suspect he realizes that someone is helping you as a wolf."

"No, I know he does. He's been watching me too often and closely for it to be anything else." He shook his head, flustered. "He's well aware that someone is helping me now. He's noticed that I'm handling the entire thing better than ever before."

He nodded slightly. "Yes, I see. I can understand such a concept." He glanced around for a moment, then moved toward the bed with a glance at Yugi for permission. The action made the smaller boy stiffen in shock, eyes widening before he immediately nodded and gestured. Yami did not give him a chance to change his mind, taking a seat and then curling up on his side. His eyes were glossed with exhaustion from his exertion but clear with excitement as well. "I would come to such a conclusion…"

Yugi almost groaned at the realization of how tired Yami truly appeared now. If he was so exhausted then why would he have bothered to answer him? Was it fear of coming off as rude or the idea that he had answers to questions Yugi wanted to ask him?

"Here, let me get your blanket and—"

The taller teen shifted his weight, then sat up. "I am still awake. I might be tired, but I am still awake, Yugi." There was a single moment of hesitation now. "And I am capable of grabbing the blanket for myself…"

"I know, I just want something to do," he muttered, feeling flushed. He shouldn't have said anything. Yami looked incredibly unsettled now. He looked like he might flee at any given second, if only to prove that he was not defenseless and still very much alert. He stared at him and both of them studied each other for a moment before he lowered his eyes. He really should never have said anything. "I mean, after tonight and thinking about what Fuwa might do…"

"I do not know for certain that he would harm them, however. You must remember that I am not an expert on humans—"

Yugi shot him an annoyed glance. "But how often are you truly wrong?" he snapped. "You knew well enough to bank on the idea that I would not end up going rabid or something from the lycanthropy. You knew well enough to come to ask me for help, that I wouldn't just turn you away. You knew well enough that the drugs I was giving you wouldn't hurt you."

"I trusted you," Yami spat in response, shoulders rising in a bristle. "I was desperate and I remembered what I saw in you that night when you were attacked and I came to the decision that if I were to ask you to trust me, why should I not attempt the same? And I figured, should things turn for the worst, I would kill you and move on."

Yugi stared at him. He was lying. Something in his words was wrong. It was a blanketed statement somewhere within the rest of his words. But it was there and he recognized it. He could not fully place it, but something was wrong with it.

He shook his head slightly, unnerved by the intensity in the other boy's gaze. He was pleading with him. He didn't know what about but he did recognize that much at least. He let out a small, deep breath.

"Fine, whatever. So you decided you would trust me because I would need to do that with you. That's just great." He shook his head, flustered. "But you have a better intuition than I do, don't you?"

Yami studied him a moment. "I do not know. I have not tested my intuition against yours." He tilted his head. "Based on logic and reason, however, I think that Fuwa would turn on your friends in a heartbeat if he's truly fixated on you. And I feel you would have come to that conclusion on your own…"

He bit his lip. "When it was too late."

"You aren't as suspicious as I am," Yami attempted to mollify him. "You're not as bitter or resentful. I, however, am. I am much more likely to bite someone than I am to welcome them as a friend. I do not know altruism and optimism as strong as yours. I am not the same person as you."

He huffed. "No one is asking you to be, Yami. I just—"

"I merely suggest that you watch him. You should keep an eye on him. I do not suppose it will truly matter to him how noticeable you are, just that he has your attention. That will be all he will care about."

"Why do you think that?"

"All human hunters wish that their prey know of their presence. They are too proud a species not to."

Yugi flushed faintly. "Can we not take digs at my species like that?" he muttered uncomfortably. "I mean, I get that I'm a lycanthrope too, but…"

The taller teen turned his face away but his eyes were flashing. His jaw twitched visibly, his teeth glinting with moonlight when he curled his lip slightly. First Yugi said not to hold back when he spoke about his former species and now he pleaded otherwise. He would get whiplash before he died, he was sure. "My apologies," he commented wryly, "although I seem to be biased in the idea that perhaps you are more like a wolf than a human now."

He licked his lips. "I could be, but I don't see myself as one," he muttered, feeling slightly sick. The other boy did not raise his head, however, and the burden of those words felt lighter than ever. He drew in a deep breath, letting it out in something almost like a contented sigh. "Do you know anything about Fuwa?"

"I have no recollection of him."

Something about the words made Yugi stiffen in something almost akin confusion before he frowned and bit his lip until it bled. He tilted his head, watching the other wolf, and forced himself moments later to simply shake it off.

"Okay." He closed his eyes. That should have been somewhat comforting, right? The truth of it was that Yami seemed to know of the more experienced hunters than the wannabes. The fact that Fuwa did not immediately alarm him had to mean that he was relatively new and unknown as a hunter, right?

But Yami had foggy memory. Some of it was blocked out, completely unreachable. He had said so himself, had he not? So did that not mean that perhaps they had once crossed paths but Yami could simply not remember it?

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. The noise caused the alpha to look up with confused eyes. Yugi shook his head, glancing at the window sideways, and then sighed quietly.

"I am sorry…"

"It's not your fault," he objected immediately, giving him a small, weak, ghost of a smile. He shook his head again when Yami went to object, and instead reached for the blanket on the back of the desk chair. "I'm just…frustrated."

Yami hesitated, and both of them were startled by the way the words rolled from his tongue in his next statement. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

The words and the intent behind them were clearly innocent. But Yugi stiffened as he considered them and his stance caused Yami to hear the words in a similar manner. His eyes widened and his mouth opened once, then twice, but he did not attempt to negate the effect of them. And the smaller teen felt oddly lightheaded and powerful at the thought of the words that had left his friend's mouth. He lowered his eyes, however, and his cheeks continued to burn.

The minutes passed. An image was burned fiercely in Yugi's mind, immense and powerful. Yami was glistening with a sheen of sweat. His eyes were hooded. His mouth was open partially. He was breathing heavily, nearly rasping. His hair was in beautiful, knotted disarray. And his lips looked somehow swollen.

Yami did not harbor such thoughts. His own mind was incredibly blank. Some kind of line had been crossed. He could sense it. He could almost taste something electric in the air. It made him nervous.

But he was frozen in place. And his stomach was growing knotted. He had not meant the words as they had come out. He had merely meant to offer support. But it was obvious that he had stated it in the wrong manner.

Finally Yugi raised his head. It felt like an hour had passed. He opened and closed his mouth. His eyes looked bright and feverish for a moment. Then they seemed to clear as he bit his lip. He shook his head, offered him a small smile, and murmured, "I think I can figure it out on my own…"

Yami almost objected. Then his statement resounded in his ears and his cheeks became flushed. He cursed mentally, snarling at himself. Then he turned away again and shook his head. He didn't need to sound any more foolish than he already had. Nor did he need to proceed to alienate himself any further.

"Thank you though."

Yami snorted softly. He shouldn't have been thanking him for such a stupid thing. It was not as if they were laughing about it either. If they were joking around he could have understood the concept. But now he was simply frozen and staring at the comforter.

"I'm going to call it a night. You can stay up if you want to…" Yugi hesitated for a moment, glancing at the television in the corner. "I think I'm going to have that turned on and set to go off in a couple of hours. Is that going to keep you awake?"

Yami shook his head soundlessly.

The smaller teen hummed, reaching over to grab the remote from the top of the desk, and turned the screen on. He was shaking slightly, his fingers trembling, but he did not bother to hesitate in setting the timer and going to lie down next to the other boy. He put the blanket beside him, lightly touching Yami on the side with it, and then turned to face the other wall. The volume was so low that the static of its speakers pushing forth the noise was louder by far.

"Goodnight, Yami."

There was the briefest pause to consider, then he hummed softly. "Goodnight, Yugi."

It was within twenty minutes that Yami fell fast asleep. The run had exhausted him and his wrists felt heavy with new growth and healing. He was curled up tightly, the blanket thrown over himself lazily. His head against the pillow and his gentle breathing did well to soothe the shame that burned in Yugi's veins.

He had not fallen asleep.

And that image was racing through his head again.

He could not tell the position. In all actuality the background was but a blur of silver. His eyes were hooded and burning. His cheeks were flushed. His forehead was shiny. His skin was pulled tight over powerful muscle. His mouth was open in that small formation to pant. His heart was a hammer in Yugi's ears. And the disarray of his hair was either from the pillows or his fingers having clutched it tightly.

He hissed in annoyance at himself. But another part of him wondered.

What would it be like?

If he tried to pursue that image, where would it lead him?

If Yami reciprocated, would it be like that?

In his mind the image was almost silken, spun like gold, its importance immense and great. It shook him to his core. Formerly it had been Anzu who played such a role in his mind.

Her hair would be upon his pillow, spread out and knotted faintly. She would be gasping. Sometimes she would whisper his name—though it always sounded somehow wrong, like that wouldn't be how she would say it—and other times not. She would writhe and wiggle.

And he would struggle to maintain that image, guilt ridden and flustered that he was using his childhood best friend, until he could finish. It was always so hard to focus and keep it in his mind as long as it took.

And yet, for whatever reason, this picture was burned there, branded and somehow absolute. His head swam for a long minute. He drew in a deep breath. Then he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He almost considered it. Then he fought it off.

Yami was not Jonouchi.

Yami was not Honda.

Neither of them were a lycanthrope.

And neither of them possessed their senses.

Unlike them, Yami would awaken and look for the source of the noise or the movement or the smell. He would know immediately and he'd grow further unnerved. He would probably flee.

Who wouldn't? If he had said something like that to a friend, they had gotten an erection and had beaten it off beside him in the same bed, he would freak out. He'd try not to, but he knew he would.

Especially when it was clear he was not interested.

Especially when he had already had a mate and watched them die.

Especially when he had tried several times already to avoid unwanted kisses.

Yami had tolerated a lot of his crap.

And, besides that, his sense of manners refused such an idea.

He would not do that when anyone was present.

And he wouldn't do it when he knew damn well that the object of his need was uninterested in him whatsoever.

He swallowed thickly, glancing over his shoulder. Yami was still fast asleep. His flank rose and fell. He twitched and breathed evenly in his dreams.

Yugi sat up. He had never been attracted to a guy before now. The idea made him nervous. It was dumbfounding to him that he might want to be with a person of the same gender more than a girl he had been attracted to for so much longer. And it was horrifying to assume that he had no experience with any of it regardless.

But he considered the idea for a moment. He thought of how much the idea of his lips so swollen and his skin so lightly glistening made his heart hammer. He thought of how often he'd leaned forward, teasing or maybe trying to tempt the other wolf. And the seconds trailed past him in rapid succession.

Yet it came to him as well.

What if there was no true attraction?

What if it was somehow a combination of their connection as alpha and beta and the lycanthropy itself?

What if it made him more attractive to Yugi because he sensed the wolf in him?

What if it was because he sensed something in his body chemistry that drew him closer?

What if that was what he was suffering?

What if it was never and would never be a true crush?

His head spun and his stomach knotted. His heart ached violently. He was overwhelmed with the urge to puke. Was it possible that his entire draw to someone could be changed by the disease in his veins?

He nearly groaned in desperation.

If only someone would give him answers…

---

Yugi glanced over his shoulder as he pulled at the strap of his backpack. His stomach tossed, their eyes locking for a moment. Yami was watching him, gaze sharp and curious. It was almost as if he sensed his frustration again. He'd spent more than half of the night struggling with the idea of being attracted to the other wolf. And now he was half-asleep and almost stumbling through his morning routine in order to make it to school on time. He was honestly tempted to simply drop his bag, curl up into a ball, and fall back asleep.

But the way Yami stared at him unnerved him. Did he know? Did he know he'd stayed up so late, disgusted with himself for his sudden disloyalty to his best friend? Did he know that he had been watching him, minutes from simply breaking down and exhausting himself, when he had finally slipped into sleep? Did he know about the way he had woken up a few minutes before the alarm, sat up, and blinked drearily when he smelled Yami so close to him? Did he know he had almost scooted closer until they were touching, until he could almost simply reach out and pull him closer?

His heart was racing. His head was spinning. He felt sick. He wanted to bury his face in his hands. He wanted to tell Yami everything. He wanted to hide. He wanted to throw himself at the other boy. He wanted to pursue the idea. He wanted to lie down and sleep forever.

"I'll make a shake after school," he muttered, the words tasting funny in his mouth. He felt dizzy and confused and swore he might sway on his feet. "I don't have time now."

This time Yami did not argue. He nodded lazily, as if he had already considered such an idea. Then he tilted his head and watched him for a moment. "Do you sense the snowstorm that's building up?"

Yugi blinked, head snapping to his again, eyes wide and curious. "Snowstorm?" he whispered curiously. "What do you mean a snowstorm?"

"You don't feel it? The air is colder and thicker. And the pressure in the atmosphere has grown twice as powerful…" He tilted his head, studying him for a moment. His eyes grew considerate, watching him keenly. Had Yugi truly failed to notice? But even as human as he wanted to be, he should have been able to smell and sense the coming storm, right? Or was he so afraid of being a wolf that he truly would not listen to his senses? How could he fear something so…normal as that?

"I didn't notice it."

Yami merely stared at him for a moment. Then he nodded and looked away. "Well, it's coming. It'll be either tonight or early tomorrow morning when it begins to fall."

Yugi nodded slightly, unable to do much more than stare at him in silence. His cheeks felt slightly flushed for a split second before he smiled faintly. This was incredibly awkward. How had he wound up in this position?

You're the one with the raging hormones, not him, he thought, annoyed with himself. He ran a hand through his hair. "Thanks for telling me. I'll have to check the weather when I'm at school and see when they think it'll fall."

Yami regarded him for a moment. He should not have needed a weather announcement. He was a wolf. He should have been able to realize it for himself what pattern of weather there was. It almost disgusted him how naked and lost humans seemed. He shook his head slightly.

"I'll see you when you get home."

He felt like something inside of him was sore, almost bleeding, and the pain seemed raw and chafing. He nodded slightly and turned away, walking back towards the hallway. He hesitated, then turned to look at him over his shoulder again.

"I'm sorry."

He opened his mouth to object, eyes startled, but Yugi had turned tail. He was racing down the stairs before Yami could even truly blink. His stomach tossed as he listened to the front door open and shut quickly. He turned around and moved to the window; even from a distance he could see that Yugi looked incredibly small and shaky.

He had read something on his face. The taller teen must have been displaying something he should not have. Had his disgust shown? Or was it something bigger than that? Was it something worse? Oh gods, Yugi could have easily taken the disgust for something more than what it was. He had not meant for the small teen to consider that he was disgusted with him for his apparent attraction to him. It was his dislike of the wolf that turned his nose up at him.

But that was nothing to apologize for, either, he supposed. It was not as if he had asked Yami to bite him and then turned around and said he didn't want it any longer. It was not like Yugi was some kind of ungrateful brat. He had shown plenty of times that he was happy to still be alive.

He may not have been happy about the circumstances that had allowed him to live, but he did not wish to be dead.

Yami had seen that with his own eyes, let alone heard it when he spoke about the war and Atem. He shivered, leaning against the glass. Yugi was picking his way across the sidewalk at a lazy pace, fingers working at his phone screen. He stopped at the edge of the street, looking back and forth across the asphalt as if he expected a car. Then he scuffed his shoe as he turned around, eyes instantly locking on him.

The seconds passed in which Yami struggled to think of something to do. Would a smile and a wave make up for the instance just minutes before? Or was that too seemingly condescending?

Thankfully it was Yugi who finally smiled at him. His eyes looked bright even from the distance, and his entire face lit up. The effect of it was instantaneous and Yami's lips curled into a mirroring grin. The small teen waved, studying him for only a moment longer. Then he turned and started off in a jog for the school.

Anzu was already there at the gates. Honda and Jonouchi had yet to show and the brunette looked oddly uncomfortable, possibly slightly troubled. Yugi hesitated as he looked at her. Was she hoping he would come early enough that she could talk to him? He felt sick for a moment. The thought made him slow drastically. After what had happened last night, he hardly wanted to have to deal with the thought of explaining that they probably could never work out…

He sucked in a breath between his teeth. Maybe he could turn around and walk back, wait a while before he came to her side. But the seconds passed and the escape route was quickly becoming foggy. He breathed in deeper, then swallowed harder. No. He couldn't do that…

"Anzu," a new voice purred, deeper than his own and content as a cat. Yugi blinked, startled, and his lips curled faintly with annoyance. In front of him, Fuwa was making his way towards the brunette. He was walking as if he owned the world, with such arrogance and a straight back too ramrod to make him appear regal as Yami's did.

"Oh, hi, Fuwa," the girl greeted him in a somewhat quiet tone. She glanced around quickly and Yugi felt sure she knew he was there, but turned to face the redhead with an awkward smile. If Anzu had turned just a degree further to the right she would have caught sight of him. He thanked the gods that she had not noticed him yet.

"So?"

Yugi glanced over his shoulder, then hurried forward. Yami had said he was likely to use his friends against him if he was simply given the momentum. He sped towards them, jogging in what he hoped seemed a carefree manner despite how hard his heart was beating in his chest.

"Hey, Anzu, Fuwa," he greeted in a lazy manner, giving them both grins that he desperately hoped were friendly enough. "You guys are early."

His best friend shot him what appeared to be a grateful glance. "Yeah, I wanted to leave the house early." She paused, then bit the inside of her cheek and considered her next words for a long moment. "My dad was talking about something I didn't want to hear anymore about."

Yugi glanced at her, blue-violet eyes puzzled for a moment. She had never been one to shy away from subjects of conversation. That was hardly something she ever did. He blinked at her, then felt his eyes grow wide.

Her dad, the leading investigator in those murders, had been talking about one of the bodies. He had to have been. Nothing else really made Anzu flinch back more than corpses and the technical side of conversation that came with discussions about them. She hated to hear about someone who had died. And her father was one of the best investigators in Japan. He was always the first on cases such as the mutilations that had happened.

He thought of Tomoya for a moment and his stomach knotted bitterly. He should never have run from Ushio. He should have pretended to never have noticed him. He should have stayed in the school. He should have hid somewhere…

His eyes flickered away. Tomoya's dad had found him that day. He wondered if Hanasaki was still looking for answers. That would be the least he could give him, wouldn't it? He could tell him finally what had happened, possibly put his mind at ease if only slightly. He nearly groaned in the back of his throat. He doubted it would do him any good.

But he knew Yugi was involved. And he knew Ushio had been involved. He probably wondered more about Yami than he did anything else. He could never have recognized his scent. Perhaps if he went to him, explained…

"What did he do? Talk about the murders?" Fuwa asked with a raised brow, voice cloaked in amusement. The statement made both Anzu and Yugi stiffen and stare at him in something almost like alarm. "I mean, you seem like a strong girl. I can't imagine it was anything else to scare you away."

Yugi felt his skin grow cold and clammy in the center of his palms. Unnerved, he glanced at his friend and felt his stomach clench tightly for a split second. He drew in a deep breath, swallowing hard.

So he had not been the only one that Fuwa had researched. He had to have known that her father was involved in the case. And he had to have dug around at the arcades he played games at in order to have asked around. Because the king of games title was simply a running gag in Domino, a little joke that they had made. He had been proclaimed the king of games for beating high scores around Domino and almost everyone knew his initials at the arcades.

Which meant Fuwa had done some deeper study to find out more about him, to find the information he had been looking for. And any of those people at the arcades could have named Jonouchi or Honda or Anzu as his friends, described them down to minute details…

With that realization, Yugi felt winded.

Fuwa had barely had to put any effort in if he had followed that trail.

"They're not murders," Anzu said sharply, shaking her head. "They're animal attacks. No person could ever possibly do that."

"Animal attacks?" the redhead scoffed. "No way. No animal kills as violently as that. Not even lions or bears."

"Bears don't have a definitive pattern of attack," Yugi objected quietly, frowning. "They charge their prey and try to crush them using their weight. And they maul them. They don't know how to properly kill so they use brute force. From what I understand they would have to measure bite marks against common predators in the area and go from there."

"Okay, but what animal knows to go for a girl's stomach like that? They left the babies there to rot in the snow." The redhead shook his head, eyeing the smaller teen with a sharp look that bordered amusement. "A predator would have eaten them first. It's the most nutritious part."

Anzu scowled at him furiously. "There was only one baby and it was torn to shreds."

Yugi felt sick. Had something else come about to eat the other fetuses that had been there? Or had her father simply said that there was only one baby in order to protect her from the idea of how much worse the reality of it had been?

"The placenta is more nutritious than the actual fetus would have been." The smaller teen shied away from the stunned, disbelieving expression on Anzu's face. "It's an organ that would be highly nutritional because of the fact that it encompasses the baby and feeds them nutrients. So an animal like a bear could have done that. It could have easily simply eaten that and run off…"

"And what animal do you know that would do that?"

None. Not any wild predator I know of. Wolves would never do it, big cats would never do it. Bears would eat then turn back around and go for more. He nearly groaned, then shook his head, snapping, "How would I know?"

Was it a hellhound? Would a hellhound do that?

"Well, you were just educating us on bears. So why not tell us about all the predators, Yugi? You seem to be the biologist of the group."

"His mom runs a veterinary clinic, you ass."

The sheer disdain in her tone was enough to make Fuwa stop short. His eyes flickered to hers, catching there, and he nearly curled his lip slightly in annoyance. Then he shook it off and said, very softly, "I'm sorry if I sound arrogant. I do not mean to antagonize you. I thought maybe you were just a hobbyist."

"And if I was?" he asked in a somewhat flustered tone. "Then what?"

"I still should not have sneered. I am sorry." His eyes looked like razors. Yugi felt sick to his stomach as they bore into his. "I am not used to being around average people anymore. I have always been around stage hands and hosts for interviews."

The lycanthrope stared at him blankly. "That's fine," he said finally, his lips threatening to fold back into a snarl. "I don't mind."

"Are you sure? You sounded upset for a moment, Yugi."

"I just don't think that hobbyists should be looked down on simply because they want to narrow their research and activities to certain things. You shouldn't speak ill of them," he snapped before he could stop himself, adding spitefully, "especially when so many people assume that's all you are."

The words struck the cord just as he had expected them to. His eyes narrowed and his teeth ground together, his voice flat as he hissed, "Hobbyists are people who simply have idle time and so waste it on things that they can never accomplish further—"

Yugi shut him down as quickly as he could, sensing something dark and hideous in those eyes. He felt as if he were looking at Yami in the woods that day, when he had just killed Ryuzaki, moments before he attacked him in retribution for the hit he had inflicted to his head. He was a cornered animal, vicious and wild and ready to inflict as much pain as necessary to protect himself and scare away the threat.

"Either way, I don't know of any animal that would kill like that, eat only the placenta and a few other organs, and leave the fetus in torn chunks like that. That isn't normal predatory behavior. Bears don't do it. They would go for all of the organs and especially the baby. There's no way it would have left the body in that condition."

For a minute they were all quiet, then a new voice murmured, "But it is unwise to assume it was human either."

The small teen spun around, startled, and flushed when he saw Valon standing a few steps away. His head was down, his phone flashing against his eyes in a way that made his heart pound. There was something dark and hideous within his gaze as well, but his angled head made it all the worse. He looked as if he might snap and the curve of his head turning back to face them would be the only acknowledgment they would receive.

Yugi swallowed thickly. His eyes were like two flat golden coins…

"Yeah, but then what else could it be?" Fuwa baited him in annoyance, smirking in amusement. "Are you really going to say an opportunistic predator would ignore that kind of meal? That leaves only a human."

"But why kill the baby? Why not steal it? Most women who do such things do it for the child they are unable to have." He did not look up from his phone but Yugi felt his eyes on him, harsh and burning. He thought he felt a warning there, branding itself against his skin desperately. "And unless we are looking at a cannibal of some kind, the organ removal makes no sense. The dismemberment of the child makes no sense. And the kill patterns are almost random and unconnected. There would have to be some kind of connection. Killers do not work at random. There is always something. They leave their own fingerprint biologically. It gives them away."

"What about the fact that they're all students who went here?" the redhead sneered, smirking as if he had just caught a silver fox when he was looking for a possum. His eyes were glittering and the flatness of them matched Valon's as the hellhound raised his head and looked towards him slowly.

"I was not aware that the owner of the Junky Scorpion was a student here," he said slowly, the curve of his mouth subtle in its display of his canines. He smiled smoothly, fluidly. "He had nothing to do with anything. And what about the man at the museum? In broad daylight, he was killed within his office."

"Yoshimori," Yugi whispered quietly. All three of them glanced at him for explanation and he felt sick again. "His name was Yoshimori. He was a friend of the family."

"Regardless, explain him then," Valon said, turning on Fuwa with a glittering violence within his eyes. The other boy backed up a step, eyes widening in response to such open aggression. "He had nothing to do with anything. He was simply there. And someone killed him."

"You forget the girl in the hospital." He was sneering and Yugi felt like he might sob brokenly. Shizuka… And, oh gods, Jonouchi was going to be here soon. He'd hear them talking and he'd hate Yugi forever. "She had her head taken off."

"And no organs taken."

"That doesn't mean they couldn't have a vendetta against them."

"And what would tie them together? There is no reasonable thread. Serial killers are never truly random."

"How the fuck would I know?" Fuwa ground his teeth together, the urge to snap at him overwhelming. He breathed in deeply between his incisors, struggling to fight away his hateful scowl. "That's a job for the police."

Valon snorted loudly. "And a lot of good that they are doing." He glanced at Anzu and offered a sly grin. "No offense, Mazaki. I just do not think they have gotten very far. And what use is the police force when they cannot help the innocent from more deaths?"

Anzu flushed and the color was oddly attractive for a split second. Yugi bit his lip and Valon tilted his head as the scent of blood swelled in his nose. He could almost taste it for a split second. His eyes flickered to Yugi and he knew the smaller boy felt it as well. But his reasons seemed less innocent than snacking. His lips threatened to pull into an amused smirk. The boy looked so confused and lost.

He'd leave that to Yami to teach him, however. He nearly snorted out loud at the thought.

"Well, they have to…catch someone before they can protect anyone," she said, clearly flustered by the deep golden eyes on hers. They had brightened, seemingly springing to life upon seeing her blush. The thought made her cheeks redden further. It wasn't her fault that Valon truly appeared handsome and otherworldly more often than not. And he'd grown so much more beautiful as the years had passed. If she had gotten classes with him beyond their math and homeroom she thought Valon would have been more of a focus of get affections as he had been when they were in middle school. "It's kind of hard to prevent deaths when no one has any idea who might be causing them."

"A truthful statement." The brunet glanced at the street and then turned back to Fuwa with something cold and distinctly vicious. "I am getting to class."

Yugi startled when he saw those harsh eyes flicker to his. He nearly squeaked, his entire body caught with the tension between the two males and Anzu's sudden sexual peak. He could smell it, like he did the blood, and it made him dizzy.

"Tell Jonouchi and Honda I said hello." He smirked slightly and the edges of his lips teased so brilliantly that Yugi nearly groaned in his mounting confusion. "I'll speak to you later."

He nodded, focusing on these words as if they were straws he had to grasp tightly as they were the only things capable of keeping him upright. "Okay," he agreed. He sounded so eager he thought of an excitable dog.

The hellhound tilted his head only slightly, then turned to his phone again. He walked without once glancing up, then headed straight through the doors of the school without a second look. The moment he was gone, Yugi found himself surrounded by Jonouchi and Honda who stopped at his side. He felt flushed because Anzu was still watching Valon and that scent was still there and his head was burning with desire and, by the gods, he needed a grip.

Yugi nearly laughed at the thought. His cheeks heated furiously. He nearly cursed under his breath in frustration. Damn it. He clenched his hand around his backpack strap, hoping to relieve some of the tension before either could notice. But Jonouchi was giggling and it was pretty clear he knew what was going on.

The blond snatched him around the shoulders, drawing him into his side, and rubbed his knuckles against his scalp, laughing. "How's my little buddy?"

Wilting and extremely glad for it. He grinned widely and squirmed in his grip, struggling playfully. "I'm tired. I want to go home and sleep some more."

"You're speaking my language," he snickered, scuffing him a little harder. "Bed is where I want to be."

"Too bad we all know sleeping isn't what you would be doing in it," Tristan snorted, rolling his eyes. Yugi laughed loudly and Jonouchi released him to scowl at the brunet. "What? I can't help that I'm telling the truth. You never sleep."

Yugi shook his head, holding his hands up. "I'm not getting involved in this." He grinned when the blond shot him a playful glare. "I am not involved in this at all."

"That's not what you said…"

"Are they always like this?"

Anzu startled violently, jumping and looking at him with wide eyes. She hadn't realized he had moved at any rate. She drew in a deep breath, feeling indignant and small for a split second. Then she shrugged it off. "Well, yeah, they're best friends."

Fuwa hummed slightly. His eyes looked anything but amused as he smiled and nodded. Anzu shivered slightly. They looked almost dead, but there was something in them that seemed cruel and cunning as well.

"That's nice."

"Yeah, it is."

"We need to get to class soon." But his head turned to her and she felt sick as their eyes locked. Had she been imagining it? Fuwa's gaze was far warmer and gentler than it had been moments before. Had she simply been seeing things? But hadn't Valon's looked the same before? "So what did you decide?"

"I'll give you an answer tomorrow," she sidestepped, feeling oddly shaken and somewhat stupid for a moment. "I need a little more time to think it over."

He nodded, even if his expression seemed to have darkened slightly. She suppressed a shiver and her eyes snapped towards Yugi and the other two as they began squabbling again. The smaller teen seemed to be arguing that he didn't want to be involved at all and Jonouchi and Honda still seemed to be baiting him to get into their game. The courtyard was filling with students now, however, and it was clear that Yugi seemed to have noticed it. They glanced at each other, their eyes catching for only a moment. Then they looked away again.

"We should get to homeroom."

Jonouchi and Honda both swapped looks, shouting, "Race you!" and took off without a second glance. Yugi rolled his eyes, smiling, and then shook his head as he looked at them both curiously for a moment. Anzu and Fuwa both glanced at each other and away again. It almost looked like some kind of cutesy, embarrassed scene, and it made Yugi bristle only faintly before he shrugged it off almost immediately again.

He got to her side, though he did not overstep. It was not that he was worried about offending her. It was the fact that when he looked at her and thought of going faster, it occurred to him that Fuwa would still be there. And he could not willingly allow her to be beside him alone if he could help it.

Fuwa glanced at him as if he knew his line of thought. But he did not comment and turned away again as if he had never considered anything in those regards. His interest seemed to have dwindled at some point and it made Yugi's stomach toss and turn for a split second.

"I wonder who won."

The statement startled him after the long minute of silence. Yugi blinked, turning his head, but something swept over his senses. It was oddly sweet, with a somewhat bitter edge. He blinked again, nearly stumbling over his feet. A harsher tone of butter and then heavy metals began to coat his nose. He faltered completely for a moment. His eyes stretched wide and his mouth felt dry.

That was blood.

Quickly he glanced over at first Anzu and then Fuwa. But neither of them seemed to be bleeding and now the brunette was watching him with an extremely concerned look. The redhead, however, paused a second later only when he realized they both had stopped. Then he turned his head, eyes wide, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Was it him? Was he bleeding?

He couldn't remember having a cut or anything.

"Nothing."

Was it Yami's blood?

No, it did not smell like it. The metallic undertone was too harsh. Yami did not have that much iron. He also did not catch even the slightest hint of moonlight and stars against clean, crisp winter air or snow beneath the branches of a pine tree. There was no touch of such things now. And the smell would have come beneath the blood. It would have been the undercurrent of the metallic scent.

But then…what was it?

Yugi shook his head. "I have to go pee," he announced, voice startled, the edges of his words nearly causing him to blush. He sounded so crass. He felt flushed as he turned and trotted around the corner to make his way into one of the rooms. Immediately he ducked into the stall. His stomach dropped and he felt dizzy again.

He pulled his shirt up, glancing at his side first. Then he looked over his stomach. He pulled the sleeve down, taking in the flesh of his shoulder. He felt sick for a moment. But he seemed okay. There did not seem to be the slightest blemish upon his skin anywhere. And there was no pain in his limbs anywhere. He considered himself for a moment longer. Then he shook his head.

He could check himself everywhere. But the smell was gone. It was long gone. He had just panicked for no reason. He was perfectly fine. He had no reason to worry whatsoever. Yet, that smell burned his nose still, branded in his thoughts. What was it that had happened? He couldn't figure out where it had come from. And when he had turned towards Anzu, it had seemed to waver almost completely. But when he had looked at Fuwa…

He curled his lip back. Fuck.

---

"So what's your problem with him?"

Valon didn't bother to look up from his notebook. "I don't like him." The hellhound tilted his head and narrowed his eyes into slits. He flipped his notebook open to another page, dog-earing it, and the dropped it into the locker with a lazy movement. He faced him now, tilting his head again. Yugi was agitated beyond belief. He was fidgeting terribly.

"It's more than that."

The brunet paused for a moment, considering him again, and then drew in a deep breath. "It is. But I cannot tell you what." He paused again, tilting his head. "You will see for yourself…"

"I know he's got to be a hunter."

Valon smirked faintly. "Very astute."

"Thanks. I try to keep my detective skills sharp."

He chuckled. "That's a nice philosophy to have," he teased before falling silent for a moment. His lips tugged into something of a grimace. Then he shook his head and watched him more pointedly. "I do not know what he's here for. It's highly possible that he was contacted to get you."

Yugi drew in a breath. "Yami said something similar."

"I would not put it past him." He paused. "He knows I'm not human but he also seems to realize I'm not a lycanthrope. Something about the situation is keeping him from coming after me as well."

"Valon, I don't… I can't sense anything from him."

The hellhound shook his head. "I don't think he feels anything," he admitted after a moment. "I think he either has a very tight control over his emotions and expressions or he does not feel anything and is a sociopath. It would do well for him to be the latter. He would never feel anything. And most sociopaths are very clever."

"You almost sound wistful."

His teeth were razors when he grinned. "I am one," he purred, shaking his head.

Yugi stiffened. "Huh?"

Valon tilted his head. "You didn't realize? Yugi, have you ever truly sensed anything in me that isn't what a wolf might feel?"

Yugi blinked. He struggled to think back. He'd seen him unnerved. He'd sensed his tension. He'd noticed when he was annoyed. He'd seen him spin around and snap at Fuwa. He'd seen him threaten the other boy.

He swallowed hard. "No…"

The hellhound nodded. "Animals aren't sociopaths. There's no genetic coding in them able to twist like it does for humans to make them unable to feel. I, at most, experience what my canine side does."

Yugi blinked and his eyes stretched wide. "Were you always like that or…?"

"Let me put it this way." Valon closed the door of his locker. "I used to like to find animals that the stray cats living in my yard had attacked and left for dead. And I would cut them open and stick them in the intestines to keep them pinned. Then I would sit for hours and watch them as they finally began to die."

He flinched violently. "Oh my gods…"

"But it is a good thing I am not a psychopath. As strong as I am, with as much of the disease in my veins as there is, I wouldn't be able to keep myself from killing and mutilating almost everything in sight." His grin was feral again, eyes dancing. "I think that is what makes Fuwa nervous. That is what most likely holds him at bay now."

"He doesn't hunt hellhounds…?"

"We're a lot less stable than you lycanthropes. You aren't as willing to kill yourself to kill an enemy as we are." He shrugged and then glanced over his shoulder slightly before turning back. "Psychopath hellhounds are the most volatile, reckless, creatures ever to exist."

"W-when did you change?"

He tilted his head. "When did my eyes turn gold?"

Yugi shivered and bit his lip hard. "Were you still torturing animals then?" he asked softly.

Valon considered him for a long moment. Then he leaned forward. "Do you want to ask me your real question or are you going to keep going with this stupid line of inquiries, Yugi?"

He flushed bright red. "I…"

"I haven't killed anyone. But I did kill someone's pet dog. They were abusing it and starving it. And it would not allow me close enough to release it from the chain it was tied to. So I tore its throat out and left it there." He shrugged lazily and looked at his nails. "The owner hardly cared. He cursed, blamed it on some teenagers, and left it to rot. I turned around and buried it."

Yugi shivered. "But you have to eat human flesh in order to become incorporeal, right?" he asked slowly, swallowing hard.

Valon snorted. "I do. But it's never been a fresh kill. It's hard to cover your tracks when the people you want dead are the ones who take care of you," he spat. There was a surge of energy, harsh and whipping, which slammed into Yugi's senses. But it was so abrupt and dangerous that he could not pretend even slightly that it was human. "I'd be the first suspect, after all. And then what? They prod me until I become mad and attack them as a dog? Ha. I don't think so."

"You don't…seem like a sociopath though…"

He grinned. "I'm neutral more often than not, completely bored and disinterested in everything. I lash out when I'm mad though. And, actually, I say it's me being a sociopath, but it's more like schizoid personality disorder, actually." He tilted his head, studying him. "I still haven't broken the law in any way. Or put anyone in reckless danger of any kind."

"What's schizoid…?"

"Lacking empathy, being more or less completely uninterested in other people. I care nothing for most people or anyone around me, in fact. But the wolf causes me to feel what others feel at times. And that makes me react in turn. But I could care less all the same." He paused. "I experience what a wolf feels when presented with certain things. Otherwise I do not and will never come to care for anything."

Yugi ran a hand through his hair in surprise. "Oh." How had he never noticed? His cheeks heated faintly with discomfort. Fuck, wow, how had he missed that before?

Valon smirked easily, then bumped shoulders with him in a way that was mockingly playful. "You weren't meant to know. I didn't want you to. Therefore you had no idea."

He blushed a little harder. "That makes a lot of sense now that I think about it… You've never been that social. And you've always kept to yourself. I never considered it before, I guess…"

"I'm not surprised." Valon chewed on his pinkie nail and Yugi swore his blood looked black and thick when it pooled beneath his nail and spread outwards along his cuticle. It was almost like sludge for a split second. "The only time I feel anything is when I'm on four legs. And that's because animals aren't born sociopaths."

"Then…do you fake your emotions?"

The hellhound's lips twitched. "All but my anger. Which, when I'm mad, it tends to become instantly calm again moments later. It makes me more vicious and likely to attack."

Yugi nodded slightly. That also explained his lack of relationships. He simply didn't care for them. Everyone had wondered why, when every girl seemed willing to date him, he simply turned away from them without a glance. Jonouchi had labeled him as gay. Yet whenever a guy showed interest in him Valon also seemed to look through them and ignore them just as well. Honda had said he must have been asexual then.

Those seemed so innocent compared.

"Then…do you think that's what Fuwa is?"

Valon snorted. "Schizoid or sociopath? No. I think he's an egotistical brat who thinks too highly of himself. I think he's a narcissist and someone ought to destroy him." His lips pulled back again and the smile was so feral it made Yugi's heart quiver and race. He looked as if he might just leap forward and go for his face at any moment. "I want to kill him myself. But he's got his eyes on you."

Yugi froze. "You won't help me?"

He studied him, this time frowning as he considered him. "I am not allowed to." He shrugged. "Atem is a creature meant to be among the lycanthropes. He is not to have a paw within a world of scepters and spirits such as mine. But listen to me, Yugi. I do like you. It's a surprising sensation."

Yugi felt shaky but something in his head seemingly rejoiced at the thought. His eyes stretched wide and he felt almost breathless as Valon reached out and ruffled his hair awkwardly as a sibling might. He could see something in his eyes, deep and gorgeous, swirling like leaves adrift in summer winds, and his heart pounded.

It was the wolf. The wolf felt something for him, a sense of companionship and loyalty. For Valon's golden eyes beyond this swirl of color were flat and dark and not the least bit amused. They were cold, deathly, and it shook him to the bone.

His lips twitched. "But I cannot interfere when my gods and yours have made such a thing clear."

His eyes widened further. "Your gods?"

Valon sneered, but it was somehow playful all at once. "Do not attempt to play me for a fool, Yugi. I know that my mother has made contact with you. Eventually my father will as well." His smirk was all canine, cunning and deceitful. "Wait patiently and do not do anything stupid."

He opened his mouth but the hellhound merely shut his locker, turned his eyes on something beyond his shoulder, and wandered off. He did not glance back and Yugi felt sick to his stomach. His head turned and his eyes fell on Fuwa down the hall. He spotted Jonouchi and Honda with him, Anzu a few feet further from them.

Yugi glanced over his shoulder. Valon had disappeared as if he were nothing more than a figment of his imagination. A sociopath…

It explained so much. Yet it left him feeling oddly shaken and broken from the truth of it all. He had not even fathomed the idea before. And the schizoid personality disorder he had mentioned did not explain it all. He was a sociopath. He'd said that first. And from what he remembered from his classes, sociopath fit the bill better.

He had witnessed him manipulating a teacher before when he had forgotten his homework assignment. He had blamed it on a traumatic experience back at his home, one which Yugi was sure Valon had forgotten just as he had himself. He had seen him flirt with a girl in order to get answers on a test but he had also seen him feign interest in another not hours later in middle school. He nearly groaned. Everything seemed to make sense now.

Yet he was still reeling.

How had he managed to hide it so well?

Was it by efforts of the wolf?

Or had Valon used his solitary nature to build up an understanding of what he needed in order to manipulate and twist the truth to his desire?

Had he people-watched and experimented on certain targets he'd chosen in order to get his way?

Yugi shivered. His eyes fell on Fuwa. Was it possible that he was the same? Or was he a narcissist as Valon had suggested? He didn't remember enough about them. Maybe he could use the time he'd spend at the arcade for that instead. He and Yami could talk and he could search some information on that again.

"Hey, so, you ready for the arcade?"

Yugi shook his head. "My mom needs help with another surgery," he lied, shrugging lazily. "Apparently it's one of those fluffy American dogs. I think they're called Pomeranians or something? She said the little guy had gotten stomped on by a horse but was still alive."

"Seriously? That's insane," Honda muttered, eyes widening drastically. "What's the survival rate?"

"They're mostly internal bleeding so I'd say about ten to twenty percent maybe?" He tried not to notice the way Fuwa all but narrowed his eyes into a sharp glare to watch him angrily. "I'll go with you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure, no problem, Yug."

---

"Okay, so, here," he muttered, stretching his arms out to hold the protein shake within the other boy's range. Yami hesitated for only a moment, then took the cup from him, tilting his head. Yugi quickly tossed his bag to the ground, locked his door, and headed over to his desk to start up the laptop. He was ready when the search engine loaded, scanning rapidly for signs of narcissism and the personality disorder.

He searched a few links but the idea of self entitlement did nothing for him. Everyone felt entitled to something. He supposed maybe he could even apply it to his demand for Anzu's affection after agreeing to the bet. He also thought perhaps the idea of appraisal came in his need to prove that he could win those games…

He shook his head. His eyes flickered away from the screen. His cheeks heated when he realized Yami was leaning over his shoulder. His cheek was inches from his face. His red eyes were glued to the screen. His head was tilted. Yugi drew in a deep breath, looking quickly away again.

"Is this about Fuwa?"

Yugi halted, eyes widening, and spun in his chair to face him. Yami reacted accordingly, moving back before his chair could swing into his stomach. He sat up a little straighter, eyes wide and confused. "Yeah. How did you…?"

Yami shook his head. "Valon does not have an immense ego."

He hesitated. "Valon doesn't seem to have an ego at all, actually."

He snorted loudly. "No, Yugi, he has one. It might be small and mild, but it is there."

"He's a sociopath…"

Yami faltered, eyes widening in immense confusion. When he shook his head, Yugi blushed faintly.

"He doesn't feel anything. The only emotions he experiences are because they're what the wolf feels. He doesn't really have an ego. But he's manipulative and smart."

The other wolf nodded, then smirked faintly. "That explains a lot then," he commented before shrugging and turning back to his laptop screen. "Now, as for Fuwa, what is your plan?"

He shook his head. "I don't have one. I don't know what to do, honestly."

Yami raised a brow, studying him. "None at all?"

Yugi shook his head again. "I don't want to get the others hurt. And if I challenge him outright, that's all I'm going to end up doing."

"But you have to take risks to save yourself and others at times." He fell silent for a moment. Then he leaned away from the screen, backed up several steps, and considered him closely for a few long minutes. "He is highly unlikely to care for any consequences that come about. He's probably been hunting for a while and that means he'll come to the decision to kill all of you one way or the other."

Yugi felt sick as he shook his head again. "I know, Yami. But I…I don't want to endanger them anymore than I already have!"

"Life is a game of danger regardless of species or outside influence. You cannot protect everyone, no matter how much you may wish otherwise, Yugi."

"But my friends? I should be able to protect them at least!"

Yami shook his head roughly. "A mother cannot always protect her child. Why should you be given such privileges when she is not?" His eyes narrowed into slits. "Your friends may be important to you, but they are not to others. Remember that. It's something you'll need to know later."

Yugi felt his cheeks heat before scowling at him angrily. "You could be nicer about it! I would try just as hard to save you if the situation was reversed."

"And I you. But I simply mean to say that you cannot always save the ones you love. The world does not work that way. Not everyone will always make it out alive, Yugi."

"But I can try to make it happen!"

"Then give it your all and do not look back. Either decide to do it and stick to it or face the fact that you could have tried harder and failed to. That's how things work." He looked exhausted and withdrawn now, eyes gleaming dully like a worn penny. Abruptly his gaze lowered to the ground and his lids became hooded as he looked at the carpet fibers.

Yugi felt a chill run down his back. "Who, um… Who told you that, Yami?"

He drew in a deep breath, which shuddered and rattled his veins. Then he looked up, voice cautious as he murmured, "My closest friend. A month before he died."

He flinched. "I'm sorry."

Yami shook his head. "Don't be. He got what he wanted…" He paused and shrugged after a moment. "I'm alive. He wanted me to stay alive. And here I am…"

"He must have loved you a lot."

The taller boy flinched violently, stepping back and shaking his head. Something in his eyes was dark and shadowed and the dullness had become uniform, until his gaze was all but dead. "He…" He tossed his head again and drew in a rough breath. "It doesn't matter."

Yugi frowned, leaning forward slightly. He was tempted to reach out and touch him, to maybe put a hand on his shoulder or possibly pull him into a hug. Maybe he would just touch his wrist and feel secure in doing so. But he knew to do so would be fatal. Yami would most likely turn tail.

"It's okay to mourn."

He bore his teeth, though Yugi could see that it was not because he was angry, but rather that he was trying not to run. "I've done enough of that already."

"Yami, it's okay—"

"I mourned the first twenty times! I don't want to anymore! I want it to be over with!" he spat, tossing his head again and chomping his teeth.

Yugi swallowed hard. "Grieving doesn't work like that."

"But it should!"

He looked so fragile that the smaller teen felt shaky just upon keeping his eyes on him. Yami had begun to shake finely now as well, eyes gleaming. But he kept his head down and his fingers were flexing, twitching, at his sides.

"It should," he agreed, "but it doesn't."

The other boy shook his head again, a tired and sloppy movement that highlighted his distress.

It was cruel, but the smaller teen bit his lip, hesitating for only a moment, and then asked, in a soft and coaxing tone, "What happened?"

He bristled, his lips curling back. His shoulders rose. His hands flexed and his fingers curved. He was shaking harder. A low snarl rose from his throat. "He…" He opened and closed his mouth. For a moment he struggled. Then he learned forward. He doubled over, folding.

Yugi heard the impact before he saw it. He flinched, at first gaping at the other lycanthrope. Then his eyes lowered. Yami stared at the floor. Both of them blinked at the frothy edges for a moment. The bile was bright white. When the other boy raised his head, his mouth was flecked. And his eyes looked completely lost for a moment.

When he wiped at his mouth his hand was shaking violently. He blinked, looked at it, then dropped it back to his side. Voice hollow, he grumbled, "I can't even puke without making an ass of myself."

The smaller teen startled, eyes widening. "What? You didn't make an ass of yourself—"

Yami scowled at him. "I just vomited on your floor. Again. I couldn't even make it to the bathroom. That's not exactly the best way to do things," he spat, shaking his head and baring his teeth. Yugi felt sick. His gums were bright white. He felt dizzy for a moment. Dogs got white gums when they were in shock. Yami had not been wounded, however. So why would his gums have turned white like that? Was it some kind of trauma? Maybe it was like phantom pain. "Fuck. I should wear a bucket around my neck."

Yugi shook his head immediately. "No. That's not your fault." He narrowed his eyes, glaring at him. "It's not your fault that you got stressed out. If it's anyone's, it's mine. I pushed."

"And I puked on your carpet because I'm too weak to talk about it."

"Losing someone and reacting badly doesn't make you weak!" he snapped. "How long has it been anyways? I bet it hasn't been long enough to warrant you saying that!"He fell quiet for a moment. "Six months."

"I couldn't even face my grandmother's grave for four years! Six months is like a blink compared to that, Yami."

Yami shook his head roughly again. "That's stupid. You're trying to comfort me and I don't need it," he growled after a moment. "And six months is plenty of time to—"

"So, say I die today," Yugi cut in, blushing as he immediately knocked on the desk and hoped that metal worked just as well as wood, "you wouldn't miss me six months from now?"

Yami startled, then blinked. "I… Of course I… But…"

"Then why can't you mourn him any longer?"

He curled his lips back. The gums were bright red. "It isn't the same situation. You don't understand—"

Yugi shook his head. "No, I don't. And I won't pretend I do. But I…I don't think that you should set a limit on how much time you can spend missing someone. That's not how grief works, Yami." He paused, watching him. And I don't think you've ever had the chance to properly grieve him, have you? You've been too caught up in staying alive. You haven't found the time to do it…

"Six months…should be the blink of an eye to a werewolf."

"And I suppose pain should be that same way?"

Yami faltered. "I… It would be easier if it was."

He nodded slightly. "It would. But it's not. And I'm sorry…for making you remember what happened. I didn't mean to make you feel that again."

He shook his head, then cleared his throat in discomfort. "I didn't."

Yugi gave him a soft look, then smiled faintly when Yami glanced at him almost timidly. "You did. I saw your gums turn bright white," he muttered quietly. He had the impulse to reach out again, to touch his wrists or pull him into a gentle hug. Or perhaps he would hold him a moment and then let go when he felt Yami was stable enough to stand without quivering like he was now.

Yami flashed his teeth in distaste. "I forgot that happens…"

"I've never seen that except on dogs who have been physically injured to the point of shock…"

"Hellhounds' gums turn bright red and sometimes bleed. Ours turn white and our saliva glands start to instinctively open further. It makes us more dangerous. The lycanthropy comes to the surface like venom and the hellhounds release a chemical odor that's almost like skunks when they spray…"

"I thought you didn't know much about hellhounds."

Yami gave him a slightly flustered look, then smiled faintly. "I don't. I just remember overhearing it. I found it kind of fascinating. It's similar but the hellhounds' blood is given an odor that tends to petrify potential threats…"

Yugi smiled a little wider. "That's pretty cool."

He nodded, then grimaced. "It won't help with Fuwa, however. He probably wants you salivating and freaking out. I bet he takes enjoyment in seeing white gums on wolves. Just makes the kill more thrilling."

"He probably gets off on it," he snapped bitterly, blushing at his tone, and then ducked his head as his eyes turned towards the laptop briefly.

"I wouldn't be surprised." His snort was self-derisive and his face had become twisted with frustration. "Although I've always heard that hunters have to have some kind of a hard on to do it like that. Some of them hunt them while they're still human. I think that's actually because it's easier more than anything though."

"You don't think they just do it because they can?"

"Perhaps that as well."

Yugi bit his lip. People did a lot of things for no other reason than that they could. He fidgeted and Yami glanced at his awkward, nervous movements with something predatory in his eyes.

"Valon thinks Fuwa is a narcissist." He tilted his head, then scowled uncomfortably. "I can't get a read on him. You know how we normally pick up on emotions? It's like he doesn't have any."

"Narcissists only feel approval towards themselves, yes? Is that not the general gist of their range of emotion?"

"Yeah…"

Yami considered him a moment. "Then why not flatter him? You might sense something then."

"Or piss him off further."

"And the harm in that would be what? Your friends might see his reaction and think it's odd. Or tease you as if you have a crush." They both felt the smallest twinge of warmth flood their cheeks beneath their eyes. The dusting of pink was light and merciful. "Or they may very well find it funny. Does it truly matter? He will go about his plans one way or another regardless."

Yugi shook his head. "It would be easier to think that way if I wasn't scared of what might happen to them," he snapped, blushing furiously at Yami's surprised expression. He ducked his head. "You can keep a level head because you aren't attached to them."

"You're right. They are merely names to me."

He fidgeted again.

"If you mean to ask me to tell you how to hide away from your emotions, I will not help you," Yami said in a cold voice, his eyes narrowing and lips pulling back. "Shutting off emotions is dangerous for a werewolf. It makes them unstable. That's why even sociopaths are able to feel something as a wolf. It may vary from shallow to deep, but it is there. The emotions not having a way out is dangerous beyond understanding. It makes them more likely to lose their mind."

"Speaking from experience?"

Yami blinked, then snarled, "Of course not. I am not a fool. As hard as it is, I find other things to focus on. It gives me more time that way. I don't end up being a mess." He faltered, eyes falling on the carpet. "Although, apparently that does not mean that I won't puke on your floor… Where is the cleaner?"

Yugi shook his head, getting up. "I'll get it."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's my mess. I'll clean it."

"That would work out. If you weren't a guest." He stretched his arms, glanced down, and then stepped around the frothy pile.

"Being a guest does not exclude the ability to clean when a mess is made," he argued, annoyed. "I am capable of—"

Yugi faltered, stopping a step away, and then turned around. Yami was glaring at him, eyes sharp and angry, his lip twitching with anger. He hesitated, then offered him a small, gentle smile. "You don't need to get offended. I don't think you're incapable of anything, Yami. I just… I like doing things for other people."

"No, you simply blame yourself for my mess up."

"I don't blame anyone for anything. It happened. So you puked on the floor. It's hardly anything worth being angry over. Do you remember me being upset the first time?"

Yami chomped his teeth angrily. "You were in shock because of my behavior. That hardly counts for anything."

Yugi stopped and stared at him completely now, frozen as he considered him. His stomach knotted and his heart skipped a beat, nervous and increasingly anxious.

"I get that you're upset. I understand that you're pissed. And I'm pretty sure it's because I'm an idiot. But I promise you that it's okay and I don't mind doing this. Besides, it's my room and that makes it my responsibility."

The other wolf curled his lip back in annoyance. "I do not think you an idiot," he snapped. "I never have. But I do wish that you would not attempt to treat me as if I am incapable. I can clean up after myself—"

"I told you. I don't think you're incapable. In fact, you're probably the most capable person I've ever known. But I can clean up a mess just as easily as you can. And I don't want you to have to do it."

"But why not?"

Yugi shook his head slowly. "Why would I want you to? Yami, that's not… I would do this for any of my friends. Why is this upsetting you so much?"

He bore his teeth, breathing roughly through his nose. "Because. You. Do. Everything!"

The smaller teen froze, startled. "I don't…" He opened and closed his mouth. He made Yami feel useless, didn't he? His cheeks heated and his eyes flickered away. "If you really want to, the cleaning supplies are under the sink…"

Yami was still bristling before stopping short and studying him for a moment. Then he found himself staring at the carpet as well, the huge splotch of foaming white and yellow. He swallowed hard. By the gods….

"I'm…sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that…"

Yugi considered him for a moment, then shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You're just restless. I get that way sometimes too. You didn't spend nearly enough time outside in the woods hunting last night did you?"

He furrowed his brows. "I thought I heard someone so I ran," he admitted. "I was already waiting near the tree line for about thirty minutes when you opened the window again."

He stiffened. "Who do you think it was?"

"I don't think it was a hunter. But I thought maybe they had a dog. So I turned tail. I hate dealing with dogs." He looked at him uncomfortably. "You always wanted a dog though, haven't you?"

Yugi have him a wry smile. "Yeah, but it's not like that's the most important thing in the world."

"I really did ruin a lot of things you had set in motion for your life, didn't I?" He looked at the carpet. "I'm sorry."

The smaller teen felt sick for only a moment. Then he shook his head and looked away. "You didn't ruin anything, Yami. You saved my life. Even if you had been a human instead, it'd still be a lot of changes to happen. I'd need help to do everything. I'd be crippled. And I'm not sure that physical therapy would do me any good."

Yami considered him. "I don't think you would have survived."

He smiled faintly and shrugged. "You're right though. I probably wouldn't have," he admitted. "But, I mean, here I am, alive and healthy. So…let's just move on from that."

He shot him an annoyed look, but the edges of his lips threatened to pull into a grin. "I suppose that's all we truly can do, yes?" he commented quietly. He looked at the laptop for a moment, then turned back. "We can discuss things further when the floor is clean, right?"

Yugi grinned at him widely. "Yep."

But when he returned he knew they weren't going to have that conversation. Something had closed in Yami's expression and his eyes had grown shadowed. He was not the least bit happy to deal with any of it. And so he gave him only a mild look of warning before he wandered away to take a seat on the bed as Yugi began to clean the floor. Every time Yugi glanced up in his peripheral the other boy looked ready to spring up and help him. But he also looked considerably lost and confused. If he didn't know how to do it, there were no means by which he could.

"This day…is getting worse and worse."

He paused in scrubbing the carpet and looked up in confusion. "Why do you say that?" he asked, frowning.

"I…" He fell silent, then pressed his mouth into his right hand, long fingers curling to claw slightly at his lips. His eyes were forlorn and miserable for only a second, then abruptly cleared. "Everything is just…wrong."

"Like what?"

Yami shook his head and his nails sunk into his skin. "Life," he muttered in dismissal, "and everything involved in it."

Yugi sat up a little more, frowning. "But your life isn't so bad now…right?"

The taller teen blinked. "No, it is not so bad now," he said quietly. "Or, at least…not where you are involved. There are just some things that…have always been and will always be miserable and not worth a damn."

"Well, yeah, that's kind of how life works." Yugi got up, looking the spot over. It looked as if it had never seen the light of a day of vomit before. He nearly grinned and congratulated himself. "Do you want to tell me?"

Yami stiffened considerably. His head turned and he looked at him for a long moment. His expression was cynical, altogether incredulous as well. "No."

The smaller teen tilted his head. "It might help."

He shook his head roughly. "I do not want help. I will deal with it on my own."

"That's kind of lonely, don't you think?"

Yami hesitated, then offered him a weak smile, turning his eyes onto the floor. "Maybe, but I never really tried to exist any other way."

He hummed, then turned away and started towards the bathroom again. "If that's how you want to live, then that's how it goes," he said almost carelessly, though the glance he cast at him was full of amiable concern and friendly affection. "But it wouldn't always hurt you to let someone else in."

The red-eyed teen considered him, then moved his foot to brace against the side of his bed. His eyes narrowed and his lips tugged downwards. "Do not think me ungrateful, Yugi. And do not think I do not value your friendship or respect you. But I have no desire to bring you any further into my life than is necessary for us both."

Yugi froze for a moment. "Is it so bad?"

Yami bristled faintly, then looked more keenly, searching his eyes. "I think the misery of it might destroy you," he said eventually. "The desolation of it would make your world a very bleak one at that."

The smaller teen swallowed hard, then looked away. "This entire world is pretty bleak…"

"Yet you always manage to smile."

Yugi hesitated, then turned to face him more completely. He bit at the inside of his cheek and offered him a cautious grin. "When I was growing up, my mom told me that smiling would help make things less stressful. She said something about endorphins or something or other. I smile because it's easier for me to do than wallow." He opened and closed his mouth. "If I wallow, I tend to become extremely overwhelmed. And when I get overwhelmed, it makes me…break."

Yami blinked. "Break?"

He chewed his lip and ran a hand through his hair. "I…start bawling and I have no idea how to stop. And it goes on for hours and hours, until I can't breathe or cry anymore. I always feel numb afterwards. And it tends to wear on me more when I try to crawl out of the emptiness again." He hesitated, then tilted his head. "I used to have really bad days. And they were frequent. It was…terrible."

He shook his head. "We don't need to talk about it."

"No, it's fine," Yugi objected softly. "I don't actually mind talking about it. It isn't something I want to talk about all the time. But I can sometimes. It's… I mean, I've learned to deal with it, Yami."

The taller teen bristled faintly. "I don't deal with things well."

"You're a lot more…passionate than me, I think. It makes it harder for you. I'm more optimistic and can roll with punches. You tend to be more pessimistic and stubborn." He paused for a moment, flashing him a wider grin. "You roll with the punches well enough. You adapt to changes really well. The only issue is that I think that you're so unlikely to try to find the silver lining that it makes it harder for you."

"Perhaps." He paused and tilted his head curiously. "I mean, it is possible, yes, but…"

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter, honestly. We all deal with things in different ways. It'll work out as things go on."

"You are very…relaxed about things…"

Yugi glanced at him as he deposited the cleaning supplies, confused and curious. "Yeah, I guess so?" He has never really considered that he appeared that way. More often than not he was more upset inwardly than anything else.

"I envy your optimism. It is yet another thing which makes you better than me." He fell silent again, then shook his head, a shallow smirk on his face. "Your mother is coming."

He shut the bathroom door and Yami slid off the bed, dropping along the side of the piece of furniture. True to word, his mother came up the stairs only moments later. She knocked twice and he called a quiet, "It's open" as he wandered over to close the laptop down. He watched Yami in his peripheral but the red-eyed lycanthrope hardly seemed alarmed by any means.

Kasumi stepped into the room after a moment. "You want to help me make dinner?" she asked quietly, glancing around the room briefly. It was always somehow surprising to see his room so clean and nice when she had heard horror stories about other teenage boys' rooms beforehand. She still remembered the first time she had stepped into her husband's room. He'd cleaned it up mildly but things had still been scattered around the room, sheets of paper and books and things of that nature.

"Sure, what are we making?" He didn't glance at Yami to ensure she didn't look either, but moved around the bed to take a seat at the end. He'd do homework later. How late was it anyways? He almost dug his phone out of his pocket but it seemed incredibly rude at the moment.

"I was thinking chicken donburi."

Yugi blinked, eyes widening, and grinned excitedly. "Yum! Yeah, let's do that!" He was on his feet before she even registered that he'd moved again. Then he seemed to almost bounce away and out of the room. She blinked a few times, unsure, and then smiled as she came out after him.

Yugi had always loved chicken donburi. Behind hamburgers, it was his favorite food. She remembered bribing him with it for information on his grades and how his friends were doing when he was particularly upset or closed up. She supposed she truly shouldn't have been so surprised to see that it hadn't changed.

"So, how was school?" she asked, moving around him to grab a pot to boil some water. Her son glanced to, blue-violet eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Pretty good. I'm getting better with some of the math equations, so that's always good." His smile felt fake as he cut the package of chicken and prepared a skillet with oil.

"You didn't go the arcade with your friends?"

He almost paused, but shrugged it off. "I wanted to study instead," he murmured, feeling pleased that it wasn't entirely a lie. "Besides, I figured the earlier I got home the better. I didn't want to end up missing curfew."

"They've started to shut everything down an hour before curfew," she said quietly, biting the inside of her cheek. Her eyes flickered to his uncomfortably. "That gives everyone an hour to get home. Then the police can still patrol and avoid having any issues with regular civilians."

Yugi frowned, furrowing his brows before blinking at her curiously. "You talked to Anzu's dad," he realized quietly.

Her nod was short at best. She put the pot of water on the stove and turned the dial. The blue flame looked bright, glittering where it touched her son's eyes. "Yeah," she sighed, and the noise made Yugi think momentarily of the fact that he had never gotten to know what it was Anzu wanted to tell him that morning. "He said that the attacks are being ruled as animal but that the closest suspect, when the bite marks were measured, was a canine."

He frowned at her. "Like a stray? Or a pack of dogs that were trained?" he asked slowly, narrowing his gaze. "Does he think it's something gang related?"

Kasumi shook her head and turned to face him completely. "No, he thinks it could be a rabies epidemic, but we haven't had issues with rabies in a long time." She paused. "And the bite patterns, when measured, do not match up with any breed in Japan."

He tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

"They match the bite patterns of canis lupus."

Yugi pretended to consider the statement for a moment, then raised a brow. "No way. Wolves couldn't do that kind of damage," he snorted, though his palms felt hot, sweaty. "Besides, what wolf decapitates prey? And the coroner said that Ushio's entire skull was crushed from whatever attacked. And that the angle suggested that they came from the front left and sprang that way. That's feline."

"The bite force of a gray wolf shatters bone but it doesn't decapitate," she muttered quietly. "It's in the low thousands. The damage this 'canine' did was about three times that."

He blinked. "Siberian tigers don't even have that kind of power." But apparently werewolves did. He supposed it had to be when the adrenaline rush came through. Because he did not think he was capable of decapitating another animal or person as he had Bakura without its aid. He did not even think Yami could.

"I know." She paused. "The only animal with that type of jaw strength is the saltwater crocodile."

Yugi froze, eyes widening. "But they don't decapitate…"

"No, they use that little death roll technique of theirs and leave the bodies in the water to rot so that the meat softens enough to tear off in chunks," she agreed. "He thinks that someone might have imported wolfdogs from the states somehow. That maybe they've bred them for this kind of use…"

"They couldn't maintain that jaw strength though, not unless they were constantly testing them. And their teeth would break from doing it. They'd be all but defenseless." He paused, thinking it over. "And what about Ushio? Wolves can jump high and they're good at opening their mouths all of the way, but he would have been able to throw them off."

Unless they were possibly two hundred pounds, with a wider jaw than usual, a high-functioning human brain, and cunning and stealth beyond your wildest imagination.

"So they've ruled out it being people?"

"Unless, like you said, they're releasing the dogs after killing them, then yeah, there's no way. Besides, there are no traces of metal or anything to indicate a human weapon of any kind."

"So then wolfdogs from the states…" He shook his head. "That would have taken years to get that kind of trait bred into them."

"Yes, but…" She shook her head. "There have been rumors about someone experimenting on dogs and importing all kinds of illegal animals from different parts of the world. They can't find traces of it to lead to any particular name, but they think it's a lot like poaching and sex trafficking in how they hide it."

He was staring at her, eyes faraway, a shadow crossing his gaze, his teeth digging at his lip, the fingers of his right hand curled to dig his nails into his thigh. "Experiments on dogs?" he asked, voice seemingly miles away.

"That's the rumor. Apparently they're attempting to breed some kind of superior canine. No one actually knows anything about it, though. And no one even talks about it anymore."

Yugi almost laughed. That's because they're not dogs and they're probably hiding around as wolves in human skin, he thought, cheeks feeling flushed for a moment. He could tell that his face had drained of color, however, that his body was cold and shaky more than anything else.

He licked his lips. "When did you first hear about it?"

She blinked and studied him for a moment. Something had changed in his expression. Something had changed in the way he was holding himself as well. Something about his eyes or perhaps the tilt of his chin. She wasn't sure what it was exactly but she saw the change in him and it made him seem almost empowered, stronger than ever before. It was almost strengthening just to look at him.

"A few years before you were born."

His eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed. Blinking, horrified, the small teen felt his gut twisting painfully. That long? he thought desperately. They've been experimenting that long?

She bit her lip. "From what I remember, that was also the same year that tourists were reported as kidnapped and high school students seemed to disappear almost without a trace."

He grimaced. "Kidnappings?"

Why teenagers? Why would they go for teenagers? If they were in high school they were at least sixteen…but why teenagers? What was so special about teenagers?

"That's the rumor. But it could have been that they got lost or decided not to go home. The teenagers were all clearly marked as kidnapped, though. There was usually someone who might have seen it happen somewhere at some point."

A few years before he was born, his mom was eleven. The only reason they hadn't kidnapped her was because she had been too young. He felt sick and dizzy. But what about Shizuka? Had they grown bolder as time passed or had they simply decided they no longer cared not to?

Had they slowed down their activities at some point? Or was there someone in the force who also helped them remain secret? Had the kidnappings been covered up?

"And what happened to them?"

"They usually reported that there was some kind of large dog with them to keep them from stopping the kidnapping. They all said it wasn't any breed they had ever seen before. But they always had a shock collar and the dogs were always pretty vicious and responded to commands in different languages…"

Yugi stiffened. "Any idea which?"

"Someone reported English. I think an exchange student mentioned Russian. They don't know." Kasumi hesitated for a moment. "But they definitely think that they're connected to what is happening now. They all think that this is the same organization, especially with the dog breed and the bite prints matching wolves."

He shuddered slightly. "But the bite pressure still wouldn't match up. They'd have to have really large jaws and cheeks. And the size of the head would have to be huge to support it."

"That's why everyone is skeptical. They're checking on the wolves in the zoos, just to make sure that none of them could have gotten loose."

"Asahiyama is the only one with wolves and the glass tunnels would make it impossible for them to get loose." He shook his head. "What about a narrow-mouthed feline of some kind?"

"The only feline I know of with a jaw that's narrow is a cheetah and that's nothing compared to a canine's in length." She sighed softly and shook her head. "The whole thing doesn't make sense."

It makes plenty of sense, but for all the wrong reasons, he argued mentally. It all made absolute, perfect sense, in a way that felt disgustingly fairytale rather than horrifying. "Yami said earlier that he thought maybe someone had been using wild animals to make the dogs more vicious and ready to kill…"

She blinked. "Yami knows about it?"

Yugi carefully picked at his words, thinking for a moment to backtrack before shrugging slightly. "I mentioned it to him in passing. He was kind of curious about what I think about it."

"And? What did you say?"

"That I think it's a cat and not a dog. I didn't know about the bite patterns though." He shook his head. "But that doesn't really change anything. There's no way it's canine."

"What did he think of the idea of someone killing and then sending the dogs afterwards?"

He shook his head. "He said it's more believable than someone managing to actually train a large, wild cat to do something like that." Then he paused, pretending to consider his new statement a moment longer. But in his head the words were already a finely spun web of silk, just awaiting her acknowledgment. "Yami thinks a large part of it could be to cover something up. The bodies showing up and some of them being dug up in graveyards…"

Kasumi was nothing if not shrewd, something that she'd passed to her son in abundance, yet even she was thrown by the idea. She furrowed her brows and tilted her head, confused and thoughtful.

"What kind of cover up?"

Yugi felt like his teeth had become daggers, sharpened with his satisfaction. If he could get her curious about his ideas and the way his mind worked, she'd become far more perceptive to his name. And if she was so far gone as to be intensely aware of each time he was brought up, Yami would have an invitation to the house very soon.

The only hard part of maintaining it was how many lies he spun and how much he put behind each of them. If he could keep them minimal, then he'd be able to explain them to Yami who in turn would know them when he met his family. If he was just listening in on it each time, it would be much easier for them both.

But he didn't even know if he was still in that room, waiting and listening. He could have wandered off at any moment and Yugi would never have known.

---

He heard her footsteps before he recognized them. They were approaching the little home and it made him freeze in place. His hands tightened on his backpack straps. His fingers ached, growing white with tension. His eyes widened and his breath stopped.

Yami, behind him on the bed, angled his head towards the floor. Then, as one, they both straightened, though for different reasons. Yugi was relieved, the definitive rhythm of step recognizable in his ears. Yami was rigid, both with disbelief and open confusion.

"Anzu!"

The ecstatic tone made the taller teen lose his frustration. When Yugi turned to him, face alight with a grin, the other offered a small mirror of one. Their gazes locked, the red-eyed lycanthrope tilted his head and tried for a kinder expression. But his mind was racing and his stomach had become mildly knotted.

He had assumed it to be Fuwa, as had Yugi initially. He had thought, for a split second, that the hunter had found his home, was now going to lure him out to kill. He'd been ready to change, to race after Yugi when he went out there…

How had he not recognized her footsteps?

Yami barely resisted the urge to curl his lip.

Because he'd only heard her approach once in his human form. And, as a wolf, he had never heard her walk but for in the group with Yugi and the two males. He'd never heard her singular step before. He needed to listen now, memorize it, so that he did not cause error the next time she should arrive.

"You are excited," he teased, raising a brow. It was a vain effort to make himself appear more relaxed. But his tone was edged with frustration and his lack of enthusiasm made it seem almost threatening.

Yugi faltered, stumbling upon hearing the bite of the statement. When he turned around, his eyes were wide and confused. The taller boy struggled to reign in his temper, his self-directed anger merely simmering beneath the surface. He wondered if it showed in his eyes. Did it make his gaze harsh and dangerous, unfriendly and hateful?

"Is she the girl?"

Yugi blinked, then blushed bright red in surprise. His face felt hot but his mouth didn't stretch into a grin as it had formerly. In fact, the delight of seeing her and being alone with her for a few minutes before they got to the school was overthrown by the mere ferocity that colored the other boy's expression.

"Yami…?"

The red-eyed teen blinked. The spiral of anger seemed to dissipate along the edges, becoming laced with guilt. He nearly groaned with disappointment. He was always doing something or other to ruin the other's good mood.

"It's okay, Yugi. I just…" He opened and closed his mouth, then shook his head and offered him a more encouraging smile. "I didn't think. But, anyways, have fun, okay? Don't waste your time beating around the bush."

The way he said it was genuinely comforting to the smaller teen. The strength it gave him made his cheeks heat faintly once more. He blinked, then grinned a little.

Yugi had not forgotten the anger on the other boy's face mere moments before, however. He saw it still, crystalline in his mind, and it seemed stunning, vivid and powerful. But he could play and pretend that he wasn't as upset by it as he truly was. If for no other purpose than sparing Yami of his embarrassment, he could do that.

"I hope it goes well for you."

And if there wasn't something odd and powerful and strangely, almost wistful, within his tone…

He wondered if he was thinking about his mate who he had never really gotten the chance to know or the friend who had sacrificed himself to get him out of the lab. Both thoughts made his stomach churn and he quickly turned away again.

"I'll see you after school, okay?"

"I will be here."

Yugi sensed the distraction in his tone but did not bother to say anything about it. He frowned and raised a brow, blinking, but did not turn around to face him again. Yami deserved some time alone and the chance to deal with emotions he might not have formerly.

He was downstairs and out the door before she had the chance to knock. "Hi, Anzu," he greeted happily, moving to close the door behind him and step around her towards the street. "What's up?"

She glanced at the door and then at him. How had he known she was there? He hadn't even paused when he saw her there or anything. She blinked, eyes wide, and then shook her head. When he glanced over his shoulder at her in, puzzlement, she forced herself to smile.

"I thought we could talk while we're walking to school," she admitted. He blinked at her, at first curiously, and then with a sense of nervousness that made his eyes widen briefly.

He couldn't escape her when he was walking at her side. And it would be impossible for him to shy away if she was watching him. Yugi drew in a deep breath, fought the urge to groan in growing distress, and then forced himself to a calmer state. "Oh okay. What about?"

The brunette frowned, biting her lip. "I don't know how else I'm supposed to say this, Yugi…" Anzu hesitated and Yugi looked over at her rather pointedly. He knew what she was about to say, she realized, and it made her heart ache at the flat distance between them.

When had it become so apparent that he was no longer interested? Had she overlooked it at some point? Had she been so hopeful that she'd been blind to it?

Her face collapsed, so crestfallen that Yugi nearly flinched. Then he shook his head slightly and offered her a grimace. "I don't know where your mind just went, but I don't think it's right," he finally muttered, turning away and kicking at a light coat of ice on the sidewalk. He wondered if it would snow today…

"Huh?"

He drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I haven't exactly been the best person recently. And I wouldn't blame you if you were mad at me. I led you on without really meaning to. But the time isn't…right for me to date. I have…other obligations that came up. And I haven't found a way to actually balance them all out yet."

Anzu blinked and sighed softly. She felt like she should have seen this coming miles back.

"I'm still trying to figure out a way to make it all work in harmony. Then I could…" He blinked and then turned his head to look at her. "I won't blame you if you're tired of waiting on me to get my shit together, Anzu. And who knows? Maybe Fuwa would treat you better than I can anyways…"

She grimaced. "I highly doubt it," she grumbled under her breath. "I…I don't mean to rush you or anything, Yugi—and I feel like I've been pretty patient for the most part—but it's kind of hard. You haven't told any of us anything for a while now. It's starting to seem like you're closing yourself off."

He stiffened, eyes growing wide. "I-I'm not," he stammered before he could think straight. "I just…there's a lot happening right now. And I can't really…work out much of anything with it all."

"You know you can tell us anything…"

Could he? If he turned around and told them he was a wolf, he doubted they'd be very receptive to it. And he didn't think they'd care to stick around for something as gross as the Change was. He bit his lip and fought the urge to growl in distress. Besides that, he already had so many issues with trying to get his body to go through it without as much trouble. Yami had said it would get easier but it hardly seemed to be.

And it was not as if he could ask Yami to do it. He could, but the other wolf would most likely grow further upset than he already was. And his hatred for people was enough to make him cower at times. He nearly sighed but fought it off at the last second.

"I know. But if I was going to tell you guys, I'd need to find out the best way to do it. I can't just explain it right off the bat. It's…a lot harder to work out than that."

And wasn't that the truth? Fuck if he wasn't aware of how hard it was to actually keep up with it on a regular basis, let alone with the thought of telling someone. He sighed loudly, annoyed, and then shook his head sharply again.

"But, I promise, when I figure it out, I'll tell you guys." Maybe. I might not be able to. I wonder… Would Yami object? Would he kill them? Would he try to kill me?

Anzu nodded. "Okay."

The simplicity of the response made him bristle faintly. He turned his head, confused. "You don't sound surprised…" he realized slowly.

"I saw your grandpa last week. I asked how he was and he said he was feeling the best he has in years. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. But now I have the chance to actually find out what four is instead of constantly guessing."

He flushed. "O-oh. I…I'm sorry, Anzu. I would never have—"

"I know you'd never lie to us unless it was important. That's why I never said anything to Jonouchi or Honda about it." She paused after a moment. "Although, I'm not going to lie. I was seriously hoping that you would say yes so that I could avoid my half of the deal with Fuwa."

She was laughing but Yugi stiffened considerably. "You don't like him?"

"He…kind of makes me nervous."

The smaller teen felt sick as he considered the words. "Nervous? Really?"

"Yeah, he's… There's just something about him. I don't think I like the way he acts. Or maybe it's the way he says things. He kind of seems to think he knows more than everyone else…"

"Well, he is a celebrity…" He was relieved that she didn't like him, but to say so, he'd have to let her know more than he was willing. He wondered, however. Would Yami kill them if they found out about his lycanthropy?

"Yeah, I guess."

"He probably isn't used to people being smarter than him or anything like that. I think it probably just gets on his nerves." Yugi paused and wondered, the thought making his skin crawl. His lips threatened to curl back. "I don't know why he's here though. Aren't celebrities normally homeschooled?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Yugi ignored the considerate glance she cast in his direction. She didn't know where he was going with this topic. In all actuality, neither did he. He shook his head and dug his hands into his pockets. "Kind of makes you wonder why he's actually here," he mumbled. "Why would he come to Domino? He said it was something about the best school curriculum but that doesn't make any sense to me. He doesn't need to have any real education anyways. He's a celebrity. He'll get around things with the money he gets from the game shows he wins and the amount they pay for him to make appearances."

"Maybe he just wanted to be a normal kid for a little while?" she suggested. They both glanced at each other. Then they burst out laughing at the concept. Someone as pampered as Fuwa would never come to a school for a chance at education or being around regular peers.

But was it just Yugi he was after? That hardly made any sense whatsoever. What it came down to was a question of whether he had been following him for a while or if someone had led him to believe that Yugi was in that school. Then, barring his fascination with Yugi, was it possible that he had been sent by the human organization that was breeding the Pure-Bloods in order to capture more wolves? Were they just setting up a plan to kidnap more people? Was Fuwa meant to be some kind of distraction?

"I think he'd rather have a baby puke on him."

"So then why is he here?"

Yugi shook his head.

---

"How about dinner, on me? To celebrate my new friends?"

The small teen had been staring at him pointedly for the last ten minutes. Since the moment that he had grabbed Anzu by the hand, announcing they were a couple, and seemed to flaunt the new development. Every time he kissed her cheek or said something moderately flirtatious, Fuwa was watching him. His eyes were sharp and cunning, daring him to say something to challenge him. It was almost as if, as he watched him, he thought it would provoke Yugi to change. He acted as if the smaller teen might suddenly lunge forward, fangs and teeth and glowing eyes.

Was that something that triggered the Change? Was emotion something that made it happen? He remembered that Yami had been changed that day he came home from the woods. His late arrival had been pronounced by Yami throwing him to the floor and sniffing him. He wondered now if he thought his lateness was because the hunters had caught him. Was it possible that the red-eyed lycanthrope had changed by accident, by pure distress and confusion?

"Dinner?" Jonouchi asked with wide eyes, gaze flickering between the group of them in obvious confusion. "What kind of dinner?"

"I was thinking Bonnokazi. They remodeled an older restaurant into a new Bonnokazi a couple of months ago. It's just on the outskirts of Domino, right before you'd get to Obihiro."

Yugi froze in place. What was it about Bonnokazi? The food was amazing, yes, but it could not be a coincidence that both Yoshimori and Fuwa had a desire to take him there. Yoshimori had wanted him to go to Sapporo, however, and Fuwa to the edge of Domino. But it was the same restaurant…

He felt extremely unnerved, more than a little sick. Had Fuwa known Yoshimori? Was that why Yami had killed him? Had he known something about it and gone to stop him before he could manage anything? He knew he'd done it to protect him, but from what? Certainly death, but what about the restaurant? What was wrong with the restaurant?

"Yeah, let's do that," he agreed quietly when he realized they were facing him, awaiting an answer. Fuwa grinned in an expression that was almost feral, devilish, disastrous. Yugi blinked and for a moment something primeval and powerful surged through him. His lips threatened to curl back and his body grew hot with feverish anger. His mind was caught beneath one concept, which pushed away any others to cross its path.

He had to protect them.

They were his friends, his family.

His pack.

The thought threw him only minutely. Most of his mind was still caught upon the intensity of his growing anger. Fuwa was a threat. He was a huge, immense threat.

Every other insecurity or vague fear was nothing in comparison. And Jonouchi, Honda and Anzu hardly had any impact beyond his mounting frustration. How could none of them feel it? How could none of them tell?

He nearly bore his teeth but pressed the urge away. He needed to find out what was so important about Bonnokazi. He needed to see why it was that two hunters had wished to lure him there. Two different spots but the same menu served and the same specialty food…

And, as he sat there, the others chatting around him so loudly that their voices became a monotonous blur, he found the answer.

A soft, woodsy, slightly spicy undertone came from the food. It swelled up and billowed until his nose burned.

His eyes shot to Fuwa's.

"You fucker," he spat, the tone making the others fall completely silent. "You absolute fucker."

Jonouchi sat up a little bit, his fork in one hand, his soda in the other. He had been preparing to take a sip, then to dig in. But he froze as his best friend slammed a hand into the table and snapped, "Don't eat or drink anything."

"Normally they don't smell it," the redhead snarled in distaste before grinning viciously, expression feral. His eyes glinted hideously with laughter. "Kudos to you, dear Motou Yugi. I applaud you."