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.

58. Genesis

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Every other day

Chapter Warnings: COPIOUS Amounts of Blood, Mentions of Anxiety, Mentions of Self-Harm, Hallucinations, Fighting, Bloodshed, Mentions of Skin Walking, Mentions of Bestiality, Symptoms of Poisoning, Gunshots, Character Death

1-1-9 is the emergency number in Japan, which is why it's written like that for the story.

Also, so I've thankfully NEVER had a concussion before in my life. Or at least none that I remember. But I will say I've taken some blows to the head before as a kid lmfao Anyways, my point being, I'm not a nurse and I don't have any actual experience with concussions. So if the representation here is wrong, feel free to tell me. I did it off research basis alone and sometimes that doesn't always work out one hundred percent when you're writing a scene so yeah…

The bear trap would be around 25 to 50 pounds. From what I understand of bear traps is if you apply enough pressure on both sides of the trap, where the legs are, it will eventually snap open again.

When a dog ends up hypothermic, the recommended treatment is to use heated blankets, warm water bottles, and warm liquids to help raise their core body temperature to at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Yugi uses the water in the tub to slowly raise Yami's body temperature but I'm not sure that would really be recommended for your dog.

I'm SO sorry about the late update. I'm hoping I can get this ALL figured out again by the time that Thanksgiving rolls around (which thankfully I'm off for the weekend after so YAY thank the gods I can get more writing and editing done) and I SHOULD be able to start posting regularly again. Until then, I'm going to try my HARDEST to get all of this figured out for my update schedule to go back to normal. If nothing else, I'll change the update schedule to once a week until I can get everything back on track again.

Chapter LVIII: Genesis

Work Log Entry LI: July, 2005 (Part III)

July 26

Atem shows absolutely no signs of changing again.

The boss is becoming extremely furious with the wolf's inabilities.

But there is no amount of testing which can change this.

He is nine years old and his body is unable to shed his human skin in favor of that of his wolf. Even with daily shocks of two million volts, Atem will not trigger the Change. Even with constant mutilation of his skin, he shows no signs.

There is no way for us to coax his true form out.

But perhaps that is for the best in all reality.

None of us know if his changing will trigger some mental disorder or cause him to turn feral as some of the other wolves have.

None of us have any idea if he will kill us all should he change into a wolf again.

"Yugi? Yugi? Shit, Dad, call 1-1-9—"

He grunted and screwed his eyes as tightly shut as he could. His mouth felt pasty and his stomach was rolling with pain. The small teen ignored the pain spiraling in his head, the way it seemed to bite into his skull like teeth. He grunted again when he heard others breathing and his head seemed to burn, the sensation of needles and pins digging through his brain. He huffed a breath, snorted the exhale, and coughed when he shook his head.

Hands were touching his arms, though it quickly slipped behind his shoulders and helped to raise him up. He shivered and leaned forward, raising his own hands to press against his face. He was exhausted as he licked his lips with a dry tongue. He was amazed it didn't cut his skin, the sensation much like sandpaper passing over his flesh. He shivered and shook his head, face still cupped with his hands.

Fuck, what was…? Yugi shook his head again.

"Yugi…"

They sounded so terribly hesitant. He blinked against his palms, pain flickering through his nerves at such a touch. Then he blinked again, furrowed his brows, and raised his head to look towards the source in confusion.

What had happened?

Yugi could not think straight as he faced the other two in the room. It took him a long minute to recognize the fact that he was looking at his mother and grandfather in front of him. They were both terrified, considering him with shocked expressions.

He blinked up at them, confused and bewildered as the seconds passed. "What…?" He could barely recognize his own voice; it was so scratchy and stuck to his throat as it scraped its way through his lungs. He swallowed hard, blinking, and then scrunched his eyes shut tightly again. He tried for his voice a second time, croaking pathetically. "What… What happened…?"

His mom was staring at him with a more cautious, but still terrified look on her face. She blinked at him, drew him closer to her in a fashion that almost stunned the small teen. Then he felt her fingers, shifting and sorting themselves through his long hair. He could feel the skin on his scalp pulsating with pain under each soft shift of her nails. And it made him dizzy as he shook his head slowly and peered at the carpet through his lashes.

He didn't remember when he had lowered his hands completely. But they were in his lap. He could feel the fibers of his jeans there, soft and cotton. He shivered and swallowed hard, confused by the sensation.

"Jesus," his mom hissed, a sharp noise which made his head throb as he closed his eyes again. He shook his head but the pressure on his neck made his bones ache. And so he swallowed thickly and shivered as she continued to move her fingers through his long hair. His scalp ached where she brushed against the back of his head near the nape of his neck. He cringed at the sensation, a full-bodied flinch which nearly threw him out of her arms altogether.

She had tightened her grip on him instinctively, however. And so she'd managed to bring him closer to her rather than allow him to fall altogether. And so Yugi was pressed almost entirely into her chest, his head drooping and eyes clenched shut.

"There's dried blood all over his scalp," she was saying, but Yugi couldn't think who she was talking to at the moment. It took him a few seconds to truly open his eyes, head turning slightly towards his grandpa where he stood a handful of steps away. The small teen grimaced when she prodded again, reaching a hand up to push at hers uncomfortably. "Stop moving."

He biased. "It hurts."

"That's because it was bleeding," she snapped at him. She swatted his hands away when he tried again. He squirmed with a yelp that he swore sounded like a dog before trying to move away from her entirely. His heart was in his throat and his mouth was still so terribly dry… "I can't find the wound under all the dried blood."

"Do you still want me to call 1-1-9?"

Yugi whined, but his voice came out firmer than he'd initially suspected it might. "No," he argued. "You don't need to call an ambulance. I'm okay."

But his voice was sluggish leaving his mouth and he was so tired it made him want to puke. He swallowed hard, shaking his head, but his mom tightened her grip and held him in place once more. He grimaced and reached for her wrists again, but she swatted his hands aside and frowned at him pointedly though he did not see it.

"Yes, I think we should call them."

"No."

"Let's at least clean the wound before we call an ambulance, okay?" Sugoroku suggested after a long moment of quiet between them all. Yugi struggled in her grip again, sluggish but quickly regaining a sense of wits as the seconds passed. It occurred to him rather abruptly that his mom could not find the wound because the cut had closed already. And his grandfather was watching him with a similar expression of awareness and shock now as well. "We can at least see if it's as bad as you think."

"Dad, look at the floor. Do you not see this? Do you not see how much fucking blood there is? It's soaked! You can't honestly believe that the wound is superficial!"

"Head wounds tend to bleed a lot—"

"Are you really telling me this right now?"

Yugi scoffed at the annoyed twinge to her voice. Her fingers continued to press on the tender flesh of his head and Yugi felt sick to his stomach as he considered the truth of the statement. If she truly noticed that the wound was already shut, he was not sure what he might do. He was not sure of how much blood he might have lost and what lay on the floor. He had not had the chance to look. And Yugi did not believe for even a moment that a mild hit would have knocked him cold as he had seemed formerly.

Perhaps he could claim he'd gotten a concussion. But then he did not think he'd have to claim it. It was more likely that he truly suffered from one, considering how long it had taken him to regain his sense of surroundings to begin with. There was nothing natural about that. He did not think he'd ever had such a sensation before, even amidst growing up…

"All right," his mom said quietly. "I'll wash your hair and see if I can find the wound…"

Yugi felt his breath quickening at the thought. Was there a way to cut himself there to match the potential blow? He shuddered, heart in his ears and mouth drier than he'd ever assumed it capable of becoming. He felt small and sick and incredibly weak for a split second, the world seemingly crashing down around him.

"I can do it," his grandfather stated after a few long heartbeats. Yugi felt as if he might choke as he glanced between the two of them. His mom paused and turned to look at him with sharpened blue eyes, assessing her father. "I mean it. It's not like I couldn't—"

"And why am I going to have you do it when I can instead? There's no reason for you to do it when I can." Kasumi was speaking through her teeth now, eyes sharp as she turned briefly back to Yugi. Her son was awkwardly looking between them, eyes wide and concerned about the tension he must have sensed in the air. "Besides, I have the medical experience—"

"You're just washing his hair. After that you'd be looking for the wound to find where he'd gotten hurt. You said that you had to clean his head first, right? So why don't I do it and then you can check when I'm done?"

Yugi was silent as they looked at each other, unsure of what more to do with himself than simply sit there and watch. His mother and grandfather considered each other for a long minute and a half. He felt that speaking would be a damning idea considering her attitude towards the situation. And so he kept his mouth shut as his two guardians stared at one another and seemed to speak without words. Finally, reluctantly, his mom turned to him, considering his face for a long minute or so. Then she ran her fingers over his head again, his features flinching beneath the touch, and the two of them stared at one another blankly.

"Fine," she commented after a long minute of reluctance. She sighed softly and shook her head. Then she got to her feet, giving her father an annoyed glance. "I'm going to check the moment you're done cleaning his hair."

It sounded more like a threat than a simple statement and the quick glance she cast towards Yugi cemented that idea for him. The small teen grimaced, ignoring the way his scalp seemed to twitch beneath his fingers as he looked away and ran a hand through his hair. His mom exited the room, no doubt lurking just outside the door though Yugi was too exhausted to try to listen for her there, and his grandpa moved a little closer to him, sighing softly.

"Okay, Yugi, let's do this, okay?" He said quietly, in a tone that was more flustered than frustrated by any means. Yugi had the abrupt thought that perhaps his grandpa was somewhat unnerved by the idea of what this task might entail. He wondered if perhaps he assumed he might lash out, some kind of feverish werewolf reaction that would leave him wounded. The small teen moved to stumble to his feet and, for the first time since he'd become infected, the severity of his disorientation caused him to hold an arm out to retain his balance. He stumbled, caught himself uneasily, and thought briefly towards what it was that had caused him to faint.

His grandpa frowned faintly, sighing and reaching up to rub at the back of his own head uncomfortably. "Well, this is going to be a fun thing to do for the day, huh?" he commented in an almost lazy manner. Yugi blinked at him, shook his head, and then ignored the spike of pain which came into his neck. He knew better than to show such a weakness, if only for the sake of not being subjected to more worry on his mother's behalf. He didn't want to go to the hospital. He didn't want to have to deal with finding a way to explain what he'd done.

He suppressed a shiver, biting his cheek hard to keep from thinking too hard about such a thing. But it came in a mental flash, the harsh tugging of the choker around his neck, pulling it taut until it pressed hard on the nape of his neck and then his fingers had twisted and he'd choked himself harder than ever, attempting perhaps to collapse his own windpipe. Yugi felt sick for a moment as he looked down again. There was a pretty large puddle of blood where he'd been lying formerly, which alarmed him only briefly. The werewolf gene would have allowed him to survive the blood loss even if it had been significant.

He didn't think for a moment that it was from this that had caused his dizziness. Maybe it was the asphyxiation rather than the blood loss itself. And it had to be whatever it was that he must have hit his head on that had caused him to stumble and brought such disorientation to his senses. But he figured that it was easier to deal with this than it was to truly consider the fact that somehow, in some way, his lycanthropy might have failed him in rejuvenating his broken senses.

"So…I guess now you're going to have to actually clean my hair and then Mom will check for any wound," he stated, reaching up to bite at his nails. In his state of unconsciousness, his nails had failed to heal and he nearly hissed in pain from the touch of his teeth to the bed of them. He wished for a moment that he had never been so foolish as to try to open his mouth and do such a thing to begin with. He licked his lips, glanced at the bathroom briefly, and then towards the pool of blood once more. "I don't think she's going to find anything though."

"You heal that quickly?"

He grunted, at first confused by the question. And he felt wary as he turned back to him with a grimace and considered how he was truly meant to answer him in the first place. Yugi tilted his head, then looked at Sugoroku from the corner of his eye. "It depends on how deep the wound was in the first place. But I don't think this was a big wound to begin with, so it healed a lot faster than it would have otherwise."

The elderly Motou blinked wide eyes, a sense of shock and then something akin amazement coming through his features. He smiled slightly, that combination of emotions dancing for a brief moment throughout his dark plum gaze. "That's…amazing."

"It's also a pain in the ass in a situation like this," he snorted in dismissal, slightly scornful of his brief excitement before shaking his head in near annoyance. He wanted, for the smallest of seconds, to reach up and tug on his choker in a nervous fidget. But the thought made him almost recoil and so he simply dug what remained of his broken nails into his palm and licked his lips. "Mom is going to freak out if she can't find something there."

His grandpa was silent for a long minute and a half, then awkwardly scratched at his jaw. The movements in the corner of his eye made Yugi turn his attention back before crossing his arms and facing the puddle again. His mind was racing and his grandfather remained quiet behind him for a long moment. The unspoken answer lingered between them for a handful of minutes and then Yugi glanced at him with a shake of his head.

"I don't think it'll work," he finally answered. "I think it'll heal basically right after it's done."

Sugoroku blinked wide eyes, surprised by the statement. "You think so?"

Yugi shrugged. "It would make sense for it to heal that quickly. I mean, thinking about it, what kind of healing ability would it be if it didn't defend against deep head wounds?" he snorted. He hesitated for a moment, bit his lip, and then turned away again. "It wouldn't make any sense for me to have healing capabilities if it had such weak points like that. Besides, I don't know how long it took to heal the first time."

There was a long minute of silence, then his grandfather sighed and shook his head. "You weren't answering the door when your mom knocked on it. She freaked out when you didn't answer when she called your name and so then she came in here. And she found you on the floor with the blood like that. I don't know what happened, but she'd been trying to get you to answer the door for at least ten minutes before I came to see what was going on."

He blinked. "You weren't with her when she first knocked?"

"I was still asleep before I heard her calling for you."

There was a brief moment of quiet, in which Yugi blinked and lowered his eyes to take in his grandfather's attire. He grimaced immediately after, feeling sick to his stomach. His grandpa was dressed in thermal pajamas, blue and black plaid. Yugi wondered how long he'd slept, if perhaps he had woken so soon only because of what had happened. He frowned and tilted his head, then turned to look over his shoulder at the bathroom for a moment.

"I'm sorry…" He couldn't think of anything else to say, then shrugged haphazardly and fought the impulse to wrap his arms around himself and close his eyes tightly. He felt as if he were much younger, maybe less than half his own age, being scorned by a parent for taking one cookie too many or perhaps acting out in public. He frowned, nibbled his lip, and dug his fingers into his arm where it was not visible to his grandpa when he crossed them.

"What happened?"

"I think I hit my head," Yugi answered with a small shrug, feeling self-conscious and unbelievably small for a brief moment. He had to fight from digging his fingers further into his pajama sleeves and leaving bruises on his skin. Instead he chewed the inside of his cheek. "I guess I fainted or something."

"Fainted?" Sugoroku repeated incredulously. Yet, when he looked at Yugi, somehow he found himself believing in such a statement. His grandson refused to meet his eyes and the alarms were going off in his head as he considered him curiously now. The elderly Motou drew in a deep breath. "Why do you think you fainted?"

Yugi shrugged and gestured. "You guys found me on the ground. I had a head wound at some point. And my head still hurts. I'm going to say it was from fainting."

"Okay, so why do you think you fainted? What caused it?"

The small teen still would not look at him. He tilted his head away, frowned briefly, and refused to raise his eyes from the carpet. But Sugoroku could not tell where he was looking, at the blood stain itself or the carpet fibers.

"I don't know."

His grandfather fell silent for a long time, staring at him. "You don't know?" he echoed, his voice deliberately slow and stretched out, drawing at Yugi's nerves as he knew it would. "Why wouldn't you know? How wouldn't you know?"

Yugi shot him an annoyed look from the corner of his eye. And for once, as Sugoroku looked at him, he swore he saw a stranger staring back at him. It was an intense, almost hateful expression, his eyes glinting with anger and a harsh disinterest which made them darker than he'd ever seen. But he could see as well the brightness of knowledge he should never have owned. He could see it as if it were a deep gleaming center within his darkened eyes, something that looked unnatural and ethereal and perhaps immortal as well. He was winded at the sight, instinctively forcing away a flinch.

And then the teenage boy looked away. His expression was still sour, however. His jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed faintly. He kept his eyes on the carpet and he looked more annoyed than anything else for the moment. Then he snorted, shook his head, and glanced away from the fibers and towards the door. Sugoroku could see the way the thoughts danced behind his eyes, shadows moving instinctively as the cogs turned there in the dark. Then he blinked, raised his head slightly, and faced him with a slightly flustered expression.

"Mom is trying to listen at the door now," he mumbled so softly that Sugoroku almost did not hear him. The elderly Motou instinctively turned his head to look over his shoulder. He couldn't hear his daughter moving about behind the heavy frame of wood but he did not have Yugi's keen senses either. Even in his youth Sugoroku had never known such incredible height to such a thing. He'd been able to hear more than some others were capable of catching, but at times he was deaf to their words as well.

"Well, then I guess it's time you got in the tub, huh?"

Yugi grimaced, glanced at the door again, took a small look at the blood on the floor, sighed, and then turned to make his way into his bathroom. He was exhausted by the effort, however, and when he got to the door his head felt light and heavy somehow all at once. He felt sick and small for a brief moment, shaking his head and frowning briefly. Then he turned the knob, stepped inside, and glanced about himself for a moment.

His grandpa was quiet, considering him with a puzzled expression as the teenager looked over his shoulder. "Aren't you going to get a change of clothes?" he asked quietly. He frowned, arching a brow, and Yugi blinked as the words connected in his head.

They stared at each other for a moment. Yugi swore he could count the wrinkles and lines he'd brought on his face in just this handful of minutes. He sighed loudly and shook his head in annoyance. He didn't have the energy to bother with the task of dragging himself out to the bedroom again and digging through drawers for his clothes. So he grumbled, "No, I'm just going to jump in the tub, you're going to clean my hair, and then I'll change into dry clothes afterwards."

The effort to move about was too exhausting to bother with.

And Yugi didn't want to see how his grandfather might react to his stumbling, hesitating stupidity at the moment. So he simply shook his head and moved to turn on the faucet. The knobs squeaked. Pinpricks formed behind his eyes, sharp and painful. Little splinters of light flickered across the backs of his eyelids. He hissed at such a sensation, shook his head, and adjusted the temperature once more. The heat made him feel dizzy so he made it colder. But then his fingers felt almost numb due to the touch of ice water to his skin and so he fumbled with the knobs once more.

He was flustered and annoyed by then, shaking his head in frustration. And, fed up, he finally simply plugged the drain and waited for it to fill. His grandpa had finally drifted into the room and was hesitantly standing near the edge of the sink. Yugi didn't bother to glance at him. His head was throbbing too hard to do so. He felt tired as he leaned forward, moving to take a seat in the water. When he initially touched it he nearly puked at such a sensation, the water almost frigid and yet somehow too hot against his nerves. The small teen shook it off, huffed in frustration, and ignored the way his pajamas felt far too heavy against his frame.

"You look really uncomfortable."

"I don't like wet clothes."

"So then why don't you take them off? You know I've seen it all at one point or another. I used to change your diapers every now and then when you were younger, you know."

"And?" Yugi shot him a flustered, annoyed look as his cheeks heated faintly and he scowled at him briefly with a shake of his head. "I don't want to take my clothes off. I want this over with as soon as possible. Then I'll change my clothes and it'll be done."

Sugoroku stared at him for a long moment. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Yugi didn't have the heart to snap at him that he didn't think "okay" defined how he felt at the moment. And, instinctively, he felt the impulse instead to sneer at him bitterly that he'd never claimed to be such in the first place. Rather he nodded curtly, drew in a deep breath, and sighed out his nose.

"I'm fine. I'm just…tired, I guess."

"Fine" seemed an easier term to fall upon rather than "okay". He was not sure honestly how the two terms might differ in his emotional definitions. But he did not want to bother with exploring them either. It was not worth it and he was too tired to truly care. He shook his head, flustered, and flexed his fingers where they rested under the water. They felt oddly detached from himself, as if his nerves were cut off entirely and he had no idea when or why it had ever come to happen in the first place.

"Maybe when your mother is done checking if you've got a concussion you should lay down and rest for a while," his grandpa said after a long moment. He went about moving around to find a container to grab some water and seemingly found himself at a loss. Yugi blinked, stared at him for a moment, and then shrugged slightly as he turned away.

"You can just dump the toothbrush and unscrew the top." He felt sick for a moment as he remembered instructing Yami to do the same and quickly pushed the thought away before he could dwell on the realization. If he thought too hard about it, he might spark a response again and he did not want to have to deal with the aftermath so soon. It wasn't worth it in the slightest, especially when his grandfather might see as well. He was not in the mood to have to try to dodge away from the panic he'd felt the night before. And he had no idea how he might react to it again when he had so clearly done such a drastic thing in order to end it the night before. The very thought of choking himself was horrifying, something that he had never considered or suffered through before. The realization made him feel sick and small for a brief moment and he shook his head to brush it away.

He could hold off if he was just careful enough. If he didn't focus on those thoughts, he could…

Yugi drew in a breath through his nose, counting off a handful of seconds. Then he fought off a somewhat estranged urge to nod at himself and exhaled through his mouth. He could get through this if he did not focus on anything more than a few moments at a time. And, when he was done, he could run to the woods and investigate and check on Yami again.

He turned to his grandpa as the elderly Motou began to lay his toothbrush on the rim of the sink and put aside the lid of the small plastic unit as well. The older male finally came to his side after what felt like hours, quiet but with that same familiar tiny whistle to each breath he inhaled. Yugi knew and recognized this and the steady intake of air did well to calm his nerves. The small teen could have trembled with relief at the thought before he shrugged it off again.

"Let's go ahead and get this done as soon as possible. Mom is going to get suspicious otherwise."

The hair washing took over thirty minutes. Yugi cringed and flinched each time his grandpa touched too close to the knot that was forming in the back of his head, along the bottom of his skull. It was an annoying, painful sensation, and he nearly snarled each time. And his grandfather would pause, hesitate, mumble an apology, and try again. But even the slightest touch made him flinch away and the mildest hint of pressure caused him to want to vomit.

His grandpa had done well enough to clean his scalp, even with his constant action of recoiling from his touch, and had sighed uncomfortably upon seeing very clearly that the wound had healed itself. The dried blood was long gone and the skin was healed, but the flesh was raw and red and there was a nasty bump that remained there. It was disturbing to see it and he was sure his daughter would not be thrilled to see it. He wondered briefly if she would test him for a concussion, realized immediately that she would, and frowned as he looked at his grandson.

Yugi was not paying him any attention anymore. He'd gotten changed into a different set of clothes, as if he were about to leave the house rather than stand around and listen or try to recover from a possible ailment. Instead he toweled his hair, flinched at each tug of his scalp, and hissed long and slowly from between his teeth. Then he would visibly rally himself up again, ignoring the pain any longer, and set about doing something or other that he deemed worthy of his attention.

They both knew the game he was playing, how Yugi meant to procrastinate until Sugoroku would not say anything else to him about it. He didn't want to talk about the flinching. He didn't want to have to deal with him when his mother would be the real battle he'd have to face in only a handful of minutes to begin with.

The small teen wandered out of the room after a few long minutes, dizzy and tired and on slightly shaky legs. When he stepped into the kitchen, his mom stood up from the table immediately. The speed unnerved him and his stomach knotted painfully at the realization. She truly wasn't going to give him any time to gather his bearings before she investigated for herself.

"Ow, easy," he snapped before he could stop himself. But he realized that she had barely touched him the moment her lips fell into a tight line and her eyes narrowed as they regarded his for a brief moment. They looked at each other for a handful of seconds, Yugi feeling incredibly stupid now for protesting like that. He should have just let her check and kept his mouth shut.

But he couldn't stop flinching either. And he was sure that was a red flag in her mind as well. So he kept his mouth shut, ignored the impulse to flinch away again, and pressed his tongue into the roof of his mouth. The action was forceful enough to make his head throb even harder. And he tried not to cringe and pull away again.

He could sense it, the way she was taking note of every little thing in his behavior now. It was amazing to him, terrible and horrifying, that he could tell this with such little difficulty to begin with. He felt sick for a moment, tired and somewhat anxious. He needed to leave. He had to go and see Yami—

"You head is swollen but I can't find a cut."

Yugi shrugged slightly as she sorted through his hair some more to see the wound and clear away some of the strands for a more proper sighting of it. She frowned and he anxiously resisted biting his already broken nails until they bled once more.

"That doesn't worry you at all?"

"It does, but it's already happened. I can't do anymore than that as it is." Yugi nearly shrugged again but instead closed his eyes to prevent the way the light burned his retinas and his stomach knotted furiously. His nerves seemed to be burning away beneath his skin and the way his head felt was too light to remain attached to his neck properly.

"You've got a concussion," his mom stated with no uncertainty in her voice. She sounded almost smug with this assessment and Yugi blinked in confusion before slowly turning his head and forcing his eyes open again.

"Huh?"

"You can't even keep your eyes open because the light hurts them too much. And you're exhausted and your coordination is terrible right now." Yugi blinked at her again, wishing briefly that he could deny that statement to begin with, but then Kasumi watched him with darkened blue eyes and shook her head. And he was well aware that she knew, that she was simply assessing it and announcing her findings for the sake of telling him that she knew. He frowned at her. She watched him with a cool gaze. "You have to at least stay home for a couple of hours."

Yugi blinked. "Huh?"

Kasumi sighed loudly and took a seat at the table again, not bothering to look at him now. "I already know you're going to try to run off the second you get the chance. But you need to stay here for at least two hours. I need to make sure it doesn't get any worse." She turned her head now, eyeing him from her peripheral and narrowing her gaze in annoyance. "You can't go rushing off with a concussion like that. It could kill you."

The small teen stared at him for a long minute and a half. Then he frowned and tilted his head with a somewhat dismissive expression upon his face. He grunted, conceding to her statement, and moved to take a seat across from her. Then he folded his arms on the table and closed his eyes as he put his chin down on them. There was a sharp prickle of pain in the back of his neck but it was not enough to concern him in any manner. So he ignored it and licked his lips, watching her for a long moment.

"So, do you want to tell us what happened or is that just going to be a mystery?"

He smirked slightly at her condescending tone, shaking his head briefly. "I think I got overwhelmed." That seemed the simplest way to say it, right? He didn't open his eyes, breathing easy but his body exhausted beyond the tightened strain of his lungs. "It became a panic attack and I guess I fainted during it. I don't know past that."

"A panic attack?" Her voice had grown a little sharper. "About what?"

The small teen fought off the urge to blurt out, "Yami" and instead drew in a deep breath and shook his head. "Yami came back. And we met up for a few minutes. I guess I got overwhelmed after I saw him and came home. It made me really anxious because he won't tell me where he is right now or where he went before when he left Japan. He wouldn't tell me anything so I guess it finally got to me."

Yugi nearly shivered. It wasn't that Yami wouldn't tell him, but far more that he couldn't.

"Yami is back?" It was said slowly, in a tone that was neither happy nor friendly. Yugi opened an eye now, tension building in his shoulders at the idea of such a thing. He swallowed hard, feeling sick to his stomach at the moment. Why did she sound so upset? It was not as if Yami had caused any of his depression through his own means. He hadn't meant to make anything happen like that.

"Yeah, he came back yesterday."

"And he won't tell you where he was before?"

"No."

"And you didn't think to tell us that he was back beforehand? You honestly didn't even consider texting your grandfather or me to tell us that? You realize that Mazaki is still looking for a way to find info on what happened during the arson—"

"Yami won't talk to the police."

"What?" She narrowed her eyes at him harshly now. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm not going to ask him to." Yugi drew in a deep breath, a light feeling burrowing beneath his skull at the idea. He licked his lips, frowned faintly, and then narrowed his eyes briefly. "There's no way I'm going to ask him to talk to the police."

"Really, Yugi? You're not going to ask your only alibi about speaking to the police in order to clear your name? Are you really telling me this right now? You realize that if you're arrested—"

"He can't make an arrest until he has evidence to prove my being there or anything of that nature." He said it firmly but there was an undertone of slight anxiety which crept beneath the words as well. He felt small and weak and sick for a moment, thinking briefly of the way that he had been in that restaurant. He had attacked Fuwa there. He had caught his crotch on fire. He had burned him with candle flame and his own alcohol. And it was amazing to him that it dragged him down now as he considered such a thing. It was enough to make him dizzy and his breathing tighter than ever. "And Yami is already really freaked out about whatever was going on when he left the first time. I don't have enough details to even try to ask him in the first place. And I don't want to scare him off again. Mom, if he runs—"

"If he runs, then he runs again. You don't seem to understand the situation right now, Yugi! He's the only thing that's standing between you and possibly being sent to jail—"

"I understand that!"

"Then act like it," she spat. Her hand had slammed into the table and Yugi grimaced at the way the impact rang in his ears for a long minute. He suppressed a shiver, undone by the sensation of the furniture trembling beneath his weight as well. Then he grimaced and shook his head, watching her. She was scowling at him, unable to do more than seethe for a brief moment. Then, hissing from behind her teeth, she snapped, "You're acting like Yami is worth more than your freedom, Yugi."

He didn't respond, heart in his throat for a brief moment. He had a sudden thought, one that drifted in and out of his head in a split second. And it was enough to leave him feeling cold and hollow, but he could not focus on it more than for that brief second or two. There was a dangerous realization that had crept through him, one that he could not face without trembling before it. And so he forced it back, away into the darkest recesses of his thoughts for the moment. Then he drew in a breath, narrowed his eyes, and shook his head.

"Mom, I won't pressure him to do that."

"Why not? He's a friend of yours, right? So then why wouldn't he want to keep you out of jail?"

The small teen kept quiet for a long time, then shook his head and closed his eyes again. The pain was sparking in his head, the devastating thought lingering there at the edges of his subconscious and trying its hardest to burrow into the forefront. He suppressed it again, feeling sickly and small.

"He would, but I think I can handle it even without his help."

"Oh yeah? You really think so? You really think for even a moment that you'll be able to do that?" Kasumi sneered, hateful of his dismissive statement. His eyes were squeezed shut, his cheek pressed forcefully into his arm where they were both folded tightly atop the table. The small teen shook his head and didn't respond for a long minute and she almost wondered if perhaps he would not say anything for as long as it took for her to drop the subject.

But then, as she was tempted to snap at him once more, to truly try to get him to understand, Yugi mumbled, "I think so, yes. I think I can figure out a way to prove it without having to deal with dragging Yami into the situation. Besides, there's no proof and he can't do much of anything without it. He has no proof whatsoever that I've done anything. And, if I really need to, I'll get Yami to do it. But until I'm forced to do that, I have no plans at all to even tell him that. I don't want to make him feel pressured to do something like that for my own sake."

She frowned and tilted her head, then sighed roughly through her teeth. "Yugi," she stressed, exhausted by the weakness he seemed to display at the moment, "you don't seem to be taking this seriously at all."

"I don't want to think about it."

It had to be the most truthful thing he'd said in what felt like months. Kasumi could sense it and it shook her mildly as she stared back at him in surprise. The small teen had opened his eyes but had not lifted his cheek from his arm. He looked devastated, tired, as if he might puke altogether. He looked too young, too weak and perhaps even smaller than she'd ever seen him. She had never seen the lost expression he wore before now and it made her hesitate to even face him for more than a handful of moments.

She swallowed hard, staring at him curiously, and then shook her head and bit the inside of her cheek. It was already ravaged and sore, the skin torn drastically. And she almost flinched at the simple touch of her molars there. It was enough to make her hesitate and look briefly towards the doorway where her father was standing watching them both.

"What if Mazaki sets his sights on Yami?" she finally asked, turning to look at her son. Yugi blinked and raised his gaze to stare at her with something much stronger than he'd previously possessed a second ago. His eyes had hardened drastically, harsh enough to make her nearly shiver. "What do you plan to do if he does find Yami on his own and tries to talk to him?"

"He's not going to find Yami," he stated simply, in a tone that left no room for discussion. "Because, as far as Anzu's dad is concerned, he doesn't exist. I didn't tell him a name. I told him that he ran away. I told him that he was on the run from a jaded ex-partner. As far as I'm concerned, it's enough to say that he shouldn't be suspicious of any friends that I have around me that aren't Anzu, Honda or Jonouchi."

"All you have to do is have him say that he was there, with you, at the damn motel down the street. It's not a big deal, Yugi. That's all you have to do in order to fix the entire situation! You won't even have to worry if you just do that—"

"That's too bad. It's not happening." He closed his eyes tightly again, ignoring her for a moment. Then he sighed loudly, shivered, and shook his head slightly. "I think I need something to drink."

"Are you going to puke?"

"No." He scrunched his eyes shut tighter. "I just want some water."

When Kasumi made no move to grab him some, Sugoroku found his stomach churning with despair. Yugi had not opened his eyes and his mother looked beyond annoyed with the request, as if she would rather he keep talking than give him a cup of water. He realized abruptly that she was considering the idea that she was trying rather stupidly to keep him from having other means of fidgeting and hiding away from answering questions.

So he moved around her and headed for the cabinets. His daughter shot him a slightly flustered look, then turned back to Yugi with a shake of her head. "How does your head feel?" she inquired after a long moment, cutting through the silence that was pounding within the teen's skull. She frowned, tilting her head, and watched as his lip twitched as if to snarl like a dog might.

"Here."

Yugi grunted when he shifted his position to sit up, the action slow and prolonged for the briefest of moments. Then he reached for the cup his grandfather had provided him and took a small sip. He looked exhausted more than anything, as if he were dying of thirst and frustration as well. It was amazing to Kasumi how sickly he looked now when he had not quite achieved that feat formerly.

Had speaking about Yami done that to him?

Was that truly a possibility?

Did Yami truly have such a grip on him like that?

Did he truly have such a hold of him?

The thought was terrifying to her.

When had Yugi become so dependent upon someone else like that? She'd raised him to know when to depend on someone else and work well on his own beyond that. It horrified her to think that perhaps all of this had gone down the drain in the time he'd spent with Yami.

Or perhaps he had feigned being independent before then in order to keep her from noticing a potential problem he'd never tried to acknowledge. It was a startling clarity that had struck her—that perhaps Yugi had simply hidden away his codependent nature before. Had he been able to hide it behind his friendship with Anzu? Had that been what had hidden it from her sight before now?

Because, surely, one person was not capable of changing such a thing in her son, right? Surely that was not enough to completely alter his personality. Surely that couldn't have been enough to make him dodge away and hide as he seemed to now. Because that made no sense to her otherwise. One couldn't become so attached to a single person and change so completely—right?

Kasumi nearly sobbed with growing dismay, but forced herself to suppress it in an effort to pay more attention to the way Yugi cradled the cup in his hands and looked too exhausted to do more than stare. "Does your head still hurt?"

"My head is throbbing," Yugi admitted, raising his eyes briefly with a shake of his head before licking his lips and taking another sip of water. He glanced at his grandfather and then back to her again, sighing quietly so that his breath misted against the clear glass. "I kind of want to sleep."

"You can sleep after the two hours are up. Until then, you have to stay awake." She narrowed her eyes. "I need to know if it's something that you need to go to the hospital for. If you're not okay to stand and move around after the next couple of hours, you're going to have to go."

Yugi nodded slightly and his eyes became hooded with exhaustion. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he grumbled. He'd never had a concussion before. But, once, a few days after he'd been in school and they'd spoken about concussions and head trauma, he'd panicked upon hitting his head. He'd thought of brain bleed and grown nearly hysterical, then read up quickly about concussions and things like it. He still remembered the smallest details—two hours to observe, throbbing pain, nausea, momentary memory loss and things of that nature. It made him somewhat dizzy to consider as he drew in a deep breath and then exhaled loudly. "I'm well aware."

"At least you seem to understand something."

Sugoroku snorted at the snide remark. Yugi rolled his eyes spitefully.

---

Yugi found that his head was throbbing again as he padded through the snow. He'd taken a quick hour-long nap after the two hours had passed. His mom had checked on him before he'd left and the pain from the initial bump had faded. But his headache was still there, though he'd managed to suppress the reaction of closing his eyes tightly and pressing his palms into his face to hide behind the shadows of his own skin. Yugi had been forced to breathe through the thinnest slit of an opening between his lips. He was exhausted and tired and his belly ached as he continued forward.

He could not pick up speed for the sake of his limbs aching and his head throbbing harder. He hissed between his incisors and flicked his ears as he tried to think straight for a moment. His movements were sloppy. He could feel himself stumbling each time he paced forward. He could feel it every time he nearly collapsed after another step. And, at times, he moved so far sideways in his limp that he nearly zigzagged in a new direction. Yugi pricked his ears forward, flicked them back, and lowered his head. He breathed out roughly, closed his eyes for a moment, and then stumbled forward once more.

He shivered, dizzy, and for a brief second he wondered at the direction he was headed. His head was throbbing so hard and his paws felt incredibly heavy as he panted. He wondered if he was going the right direction, if he was truly headed towards the mountain and its cavern. He could not hear Yami moving about nor did he detect even the slightest hint of Ishizu nearby. So he wondered if perhaps he had gone the wrong way entirely.

He caught the vaguest sense of movement from the corner of his eye. Immediately he turned towards it. It had looked black from his peripheral. And, as he sought its source, he found almost nothing. Yugi pricked and flicked his ears, then tilted his head and curled his lips briefly. What the hell was that noise? He heard it vaguely, an intense and harsh sound like water being forced to sizzle within a skillet on the stove. He bristled at the sound, narrowed his eyes, and sought to listen once more for it.

A sense of fear crept through him, harsh and vibrant, and it cut through him as he shivered. His fur rose into a higher bristle, his ears pricking forward once more. He shivered, his shoulders rising and squaring themselves. His lips curled back. He stumbled forward a step, claws braced in the snow for a brief second or two. Then he snarled softly, flattening his ears back against his skull.

Then he wondered if perhaps he knew the sound in the snow. He wondered if perhaps he knew the source of the sizzling noise and it made him bristle further. Had he ever heard it before? He did not recall it in the slightest, he knew, but it still made him wonder. Was it possible that some part of him knew it? Or was it an impossibility that he was simply curious about it? Yugi bristled further, nearly snarled, and then forced himself to pick up his pace slightly.

The stumbling was almost enough to make him trip over himself. He felt his chin touch the snow with the way his legs collapsed beneath him for a brief moment. Yugi pricked his ears forward again. Then he pressed himself lower into the ice. The sizzling noise had picked up speed. He could hear it hissing like steam rising from a pot and it made his skin crawl for a brief moment. He looked around himself, alarmed and unable to stop himself from quivering. He shook himself out after a long minute of silence. Whatever had been causing the snow to heat up as it had had stopped its movements altogether.

Yugi bristled, flicked his ears, and then tried again for his feet. A brief feeling of fear became a heavy rush through his blood. His throbbing head was pricked with painful and insistence spears of aching urgency. He bristled further, squared his shoulders even as he dashed forward on stumbling legs, and then shook himself out again.

He thought vaguely of rushing home again. It would not be too much a stretch. But he had the harsh realization that they would simply follow him there. He bristled again, as he knew that his family would be gone, but he did not know that he could defend himself properly in the first place. Being at the house might give him the home advantage, but he doubted that it truly counted for anything. It came down to the fact that with his head as it was, he did not think for even a moment that he would manage to keep himself from falling over and getting hurt rather drastically.

Yugi faltered, stumbling once more. Then he struggled to his feet and ran as quickly as he could on wobbling paws and sloppy balance. He fell over himself on the edge of an incline, dropping head over paws. He rolled and rolled for a few minutes, then landed harshly on his belly. He stumbled to his feet, brought himself slowly to his fully height, and limped forward a few steps.

And, as he realized the instinct which burned beneath his skin was a drastic flaring burst of panic, Yugi felt his head snap around. His lips curled back drastically, his face hideously disfigured as he showed off each of his long sharp teeth. He bristled furiously, feeling his shoulders square and his tail tucking itself beneath his legs. He did not know that he could fight properly and win. He did not know that he would survive if it was a wolf of any kind coming at him from the trees now.

He snarled furiously.

Bright green, aquamarine almost, glinted at him against a dark gray and black face. Yugi bristled furiously, turning more pointedly towards it. The animal was almost cat-like in the way it bounded forward. For a brief moment Yugi was stunned by the sight. It truly looked like a large black and gray cat, perhaps a mountain lion or a puma or something of that nature. It had the rounded ears. It had the shortened muzzle, a nose gleaming black. It had the huge paws, which acted much like his own in their efforts to keep the animal from sinking in the snow. A long tail trailed after huge, bunched muscles.

Yugi pricked his ears forward, deciding now more than ever that he could not make a run for it again. The reality of it had come in a brief second of truth. He had come then and there to the truth of it all—the cavern was nearby. The den was close by. And he could not allow this animal to come closer to it by any means. He bristled, opened his jaws as wide as they could go, and bore each tooth in hideous disdain. The gray and black cat—for yes, he realized, it was in fact a feline of some kind—launched itself.

The coloring was completely wrong for any cat naturally born. And the way the ice sizzled beneath its paws was far from normal in any sense. He'd never seen it before in his life. But he remembered the way blood had steamed within the cold air as well. And he wondered briefly how much body heat this animal possessed. But then he thought abruptly of Morrigan, of the way she had seemingly shed her skin of another animal entirely and become born anew beneath the form of another creature altogether. He thought of the way Yami had overheated at the warehouse.

And he wondered if perhaps the hellhound could change as Morrigan could, if perhaps the wolf had shed his skin and become a cat like this. He bristled furiously for a moment, then lunged forward as well. He did not catch the animal in front of him at all. Instead they both landed heavily in a heap. He was thrown beneath the weight. The cat was huge, several times his own body mass, he felt. But his muscles had steeled themselves instinctively. And so he did not falter beneath the impact for more than a second. But he was terribly winded by the blow that was tossed upon his shoulder.

He rolled a few feet. Then he stumbled for his feet, catching his balance once more. Then he stood again. His legs felt weak for a brief moment. The pain in his head was enough to make him dizzy. He shuddered. Snow fell in clumps from his fur. He shivered and bristled furiously. Then he bore his teeth and snarled furiously, bristling. He pricked his ears forward. Then he backed up a step. He pressed his weight forward and squared his shoulders for a moment. His haunches bunched beneath him. His eyes flashed viciously.

The cat came running at him again. Yugi struck out with his teeth. His jaws snapped shut on soft flesh. The cat hit him harder on the other side. He nearly stumbled but his body held somehow. He kept his balance, kept the position. The claws tugged at his fur, pulling it out in tufts. He flinched, then dug his teeth in harder. The pain in his head was spiraling deeper. He felt as if his nerve endings might burst. Another hit to his side caused his shoulder to burn.

Yugi released, backing up several steps. He bristled and bore his teeth again, then backed up once more. The cat in front of him tilted its head, snarled, and then backed up as well. He expected it to pounce forward. Rather, to his shock, it began to steam. The entire body was shaking. The fur was sweating with steam. The entire body shook harder. Then it seemed to all but waste away. Blood splattered to the ground in harsh droplets of bright red. The fur seemed to split away, the coat breaking in shuddering heaves. The snow quivered with the addition of heat.

Then Yugi found himself horrified and staring at what seemed like a fur coat atop an unidentifiable shape. Before his eyes, the animal began to quiver again, then to move forward in shaky steps. From beneath the cat's horrendously misshapen body came a new form. It was a black and gray wolf, with gleaming green eyes. Yugi shivered, backed up, and bit at the air.

It's only so much fun playing as a cat when another wolf can't bother to match it, the wolfdog sneered, stepping forward and sniffing at the air. The ears, sharper and larger than his own, pricked forward. Yugi snarled and opened his jaws wide to show off each tooth once more. But my human partner loves to see me use my jaguar form. She's loved it since I fought it in that damn lab and ate it alive.

Yugi bristled and raised his tail, backing up a step. Who the fuck are you? he demanded. He thought briefly of the brown pup that had been killed, of the she-wolf that had been recaptured before his eyes. Then he thought of Bakura, his head lying disconnected from his body in the snow. He thought of the blood and all of the red against the straw and fresh ice. And then he remembered the way Yami had collapsed upon being forced away by Obelisk. He remembered the shaky limbs and the way he'd struggled to his feet and tried his hardest to find some kind of meaning behind which he could gain strength and understanding of his situation.

I was named Noah at birth, the hellhound said simply. He stalked closer, eyes glinting brilliantly. His tail wagged, curved and bushy like that of a husky's. His ears pricked forward. His teeth glinted when he lolled his tongue and panted. Then he snorted softly, raised his head a little more, and considered him with dark eyes. But I was renamed as Project Genesis when they began to bring back the Harbingers.

Yugi stepped back again, ignoring the urge to turn tail. Project Genesis? he sneered. Because you were the first?

I was the first to survive. And because of that, now they have a bunch of Harbingers in existence. I can change shapes and my poison might be dormant, but thanks to me, the others have had theirs triggered. Unfortunately, I know of only one who has been able to utilize more than simply one ability the Ancient Ones had. He trotted forward a step, then slowed. His lips pulled back into a predatory expression much alike a sneering person. Project Resurrection, I think her name is. I don't know. I hardly care.

The wolf backed up again. Are they all named that? Projects?

The lycanthropes are considered Code Names, the hellhounds Projects. He shrugged dismissively, a heavy toss of his sharp shoulders which rolled beneath his skin like snakes. I don't question it. It is not worth wasting my precious time assuming to know what it is that the humans truly care to do.

They're going against the gods and you don't care?

I have survived. I can hardly find it in myself to bother with much more concern towards such things.

And what would you do if you were to go face to face with Code Name Atem?

Against him? He is a myth. The lycanthropes are such fools. They have rambled and rambled about this creature for decades. He pricked his ears forward. Yet not a single one of them has ever bothered to attempt to save the creature should it be alive.

The hellhounds don't believe in him then?

I believe in Morrigan and Hati and Skoll. I believe in Fenrir. Curious tales for lycanthropes spoken by pathetic souls that will soon be killed off and allow the rise of the hellhounds? I could not care less. I do not chase myths. He sneered at him, all white teeth bared like those of a shark's. Whatever the lycanthropes fancy will save them from extinction by their sister species is beyond me. But it is time that it ended. I am ready for them to be wiped from the earth.

Why? What have they ever done to the hellhounds?

You are not honestly so stupid, are you? You are not young enough to be so incredibly foolish. You must know the lore, how the lycanthropes hunt the hellhounds. Surely you understand why they cannot exist around each other for long periods of time. The lycanthropes are too likely to kill their siblings without reason. It is truly pathetic.

That makes no sense.

Hadn't Yami said that the hellhounds were unpredictable and likely to kill without reason? Hadn't he said that they had killed many times more than the lycanthropes had? Had he said so in order to make Yugi more cautious or had there truly been meaning behind those words?

The war wasn't simply over the humans, you stupid boy, the wolfdog spat at him. The war was because the lycanthropes could not stop from trying to proclaim themselves the most powerful of the werewolves. And, the many times our species have clashed throughout history, it is has nothing to do with anything more than the lycanthropes lusting for power.

Lusting for power? Yugi snapped.

Don't you know that the world runs upon the reality of power and raw strength and survival? Do you not understand how the reality of war exists? The strong who won wrote the history for future generations. But the truth is always buried away in the darkness. You cannot claim that the Lunar Ascension happened simply by the way of the gods wishing to stop the fighting amongst the wolves. That is a ridiculous notion altogether. There is no reason that the gods, who so often ignore the pleas of their subjects at times like now and back then as well, should listen and wish to protect them.

And yet Slifer and Obelisk obey me.

The words seemed to infuriate the wolfdog, making the green-eyed canine leap forward. He lunged with his teeth bared. Yugi dodged away, his head spinning with pain. His skull was full of pins and needles and throbbing, vivid pain. The sensation made his belly hurt and his lungs grow tight within his chest. The wolf pricked his ears forward and bore his teeth in a snarl before he snapped his jaws at him as well.

If the gods care for you so much, why aren't they here now to defend you?

I don't need anyone to defend me. I can defend myself.

No, you clearly can't. I have never seen such an unstable wolf before in my life. I have never witnessed such shaky limbs on a healthy werewolf, yet I cannot detect sickness in you. I suppose I could change that when I rip your face off for all the others to see. He wagged his tail. Maybe Catherine will also take a liking to your face and wear it as a mask. She does tend to like masks. I have yet to see her truest face, after all. And gods forbid a werewolf should not be powerful enough to see through such petty illusions.

Yugi bristled. She wears masks?

She likes to wear the skin of other people.

He nearly vomited, shocked by the realization. He bristled and stumbled a step before biting at the air once more. Other people?

It's a hobby. Perhaps she's a skinwalker. Who knows?

Then Noah lunged forward. The instant he caught Yugi's teeth in his fur, the white wolf jerked free again. He stumbled several steps back. Then he opened his jaws wide and snatched at his face as well. Dark fur was torn away and scattered about on the snow. Yugi bristled and backed away quickly. He doubted that he could keep up a full on assault with the hellhound for long. It was hard to consider it, but he doubted that he could possibly stop himself from getting knocked about and killed himself.

The two of them clashed again. Yugi struggled for his footing, head throbbing and heart in his throat. Noah tore at his scruff. He struggled not to lose his balance. He tried to keep from being thrown off his paws. But the hellhound shook his head hard. And Yugi saw stars exploding beyond his eyes. And he couldn't breathe as the air seemed to become too cold. The snow seemed to rise and then fall away. He gasped and panted. Then he hit the ground painfully.

His teeth sunk into his fur again. You're hardly as tough as I thought you would be.

Yugi was tossed sideways when Noah released him. He rolled a few feet. Then he tried for his paws and somehow seemed to miss. He landed hard, panting. Then he tried again to roll to his paws. His heart was shaky and his ears were ringing. The lights behind his eyes were dancing furiously. He gasped and bit at the air. Then he struggled again. His legs were kicking but the ground seemed to have somehow fallen away beneath him. Or perhaps he was too dizzy to breathe. And maybe he was just sickened and unable to move. Maybe he wasn't even actually flailing like he thought.

Maybe his paws were stuck in the snow.

Who knew at this point?

He was so tired. And the throbbing in his head wouldn't cease. The pain was terrible enough to make him want to vomit. He shouldn't have changed. He should have simply stayed home. He shouldn't have risked coming out this way. He should have—

Noah had grabbed him by the throat again, was shaking him violently. His neck popped and ached. But the bones did not break. It was stress more than true pain. And Yugi flailed again. His claws dug into Noah's chest, his body growing almost slack from the impact. The wolfdog threw him and Yugi rolled once more. He landed on his belly, snow in his lungs when he gasped for air. Then he tried to regain his footing. And the darker-furred canine simply pushed upon his side with his paw.

In an instant Yugi found himself rolling again. He kept his eyes shut, the pain roaring in his ears. The pulsing ache was like pins and needles. He gasped and choked. Then he snapped his jaws. He could not open his eyes for fear of blindness. And so he tried for his feet again, struggling for air. Claws struck at his shoulder, teeth caught his scruff. When Noah tugged, he thought his neck might snap beneath the pressure.

You are so boring, the wolfdog sneered. His ears had pricked forward again. He tugged away fur along his neck. Then he stripped it further and bit upon the skin beneath. Yugi flailed, the pressure causing his eyes to snap open. The pain was blinding. The ache was terrible. His skull was resounding with his own terror. His heart was beating too quickly. His vision was splotchy with light and shadow. He opened and closed his jaws. Then he tried to think straight for a moment. But the constant pressure on his neck was too much. The pain made him tremble. His limbs shook. He could not try to find his paws.

You can't even truly fight me, can you? This was a waste. Catherine said she'd found a wolf at the high school and it turns out to be you? he scoffed furiously. He tugged fur away again. Blood dripped onto the snow from various holes in his skin. The white wolf snarled and struggled. His heart was in his throat. Yugi sputtered for air. Blood seemed to seep into the surface of his tongue. He shuddered and shook. And then he lay gasping for air. She said that you were stronger than she'd initially thought, that it would be worth the time it would take to get you alone. But you're weaker than a newborn. And I can't find any strength in you at all. Not even your instincts seem to wish to save you in any manner. It's disgusting.

Yugi sputtered and choked as he shook his head and snarled furiously. School? he managed to spit out. What are you talking about? How did she find me?

She played the part of the nurse at your school. She's very good at drugging and chipping the wolves she encounters. We've been tracking you for a few days now. Initially she thought were part of a pack. But I suppose not. She hasn't seen another wolf near you in a while.

She hadn't found Yami. Good.

She hasn't seen Obelisk or Slifer yet, then? he asked slowly. He gasped for air as Noah moved aside to allow him to stumble to his feet. The wolfdog circled about him, examining his muscular body and tilting his head. The disbelief was clear in his eyes. Is she stupid?

The hellhound snorted loudly. Very. She thinks she's in control of our relationship. I kill for her and she keeps me from being punished in the lab. She's a fool. She has no idea what destruction I plan to wreak upon that place when I get my chance. If not for the constant observation of myself and Resurrection, I would have done so a long time ago. I would have killed many of their lycanthropes on top of it.

Yugi turned his head to face him, breathing hard. His head was spinning. His vision was cloudy. His ears were still ringing. His mouth felt dry. His eyes were burning. He could not think straight. He gasped and sputtered and snarled. So you're going to kill me first? And then later you can do the same to those other wolves in the lab? Is that your plan?

I have a lot of plans. If I were to explain to you the many different layers to each of them, we would be here all night, he teased. He pressed forward, took a swipe at him with a paw that boxed him upon the ears. Yugi stumbled pitifully, nearly collapsing. Noah wrinkled his nose back contemptuously. By Fenrir, you're a disgusting little mess. I do not know why she thought for even a moment that someone such as you were powerful.

Yugi was swatted aside, rolling with the impact once more. He landed on his side atop the hard-packed snow. Then he struggled for his feet again. And, as he moved his back leg, something snapped. He screamed. His limb was burning, seemingly severed in half from the pressure. Yugi tried to catch himself. He was rolling on his back, fighting to kick and struggle away. He could feel the weight of the pressure, the force of which the blood flowed from his wound. He screamed again. He kicked and struggled. He rolled. He tried to lift himself. His body flailed and struggled again.

But then he ran out of breath. He collapsed on his side, struggling for air.

A few feet away, Noah had taken to standing about and watching him dismissively. His green eyes, burning into his, were full of disdain as he came forward a single step. Did you truly just fall for a bear trap? That's so pitiful. How the hell could you have ever been so terribly foolish? he snorted. He stood a few feet away from him, lips curled back to show his brilliant teeth. That was so much easier than it should have been. How disgusting.

Yugi nearly puked. His heart was in his throat. Blood coated his tongue. He struggled again. But he could not find his feet. And he was too tired to think straight. He gasped and sputtered. And then he tried to roll to his feet again. His shoulders were bruised, he felt, because the force of his constant movements made him topple over once more. He bore his teeth at him, hateful and despaired.

The nurse? he hissed. The nurse who has pictures of cats hanging around the office of her damn clinic…

Noah blinked and tilted his head, flicking an ear. Does she have pictures? She is a feline fanatic. She loves cats far too much. I swear, if it were legal or possible, she probably would have fucked one by now.

Yugi shivered, disgust at war with a helpless desire to try to flee somehow, despite the hopeless feeling which crept through him. You're disgusting.

Are my words too much for your prude mentality? he sneered. Then he stepped forward again, lowering his head. His lips were pulled back, his teeth shown in a smirk. He looked like a shark. Yugi trembled and snapped his jaws at him. But there was no momentum and he could do nothing more than curse as the pain came through him once more. Are bad words too much for you?

You seem to find it amusing to think of her fucking an animal.

Noah snorted loudly. Why not? Many of the humans in the labs are willing to get their fix there with the wolves during late nights. He chuckled when Yugi stared at him with a horrified expression. Then he crept closer still, opening his jaws wider. He looked much like the shark in movies just before they swallowed the camera and forced the scene to fade to black. And then he snapped them shut again a millimeter from his nose. Yugi barely resisted the urge to flinch violently. You cannot truly think that those humans are not disgusting enough to indulge in such things. Why, I'm sure if Atem were a real creature, they would have done the same with him at some point as well.

You're disgusting. He snapped his teeth against his muzzle, clipping him. Noah blinked, then slowly raised his head and stared down at him with darkened eyes. Yugi struggled to roll over, wrenching his leg further. And then he stumbled to his paws. The pain could be ignored, he decided. If he was careful, he would be okay despite the broken bone and the blood loss. If he was fast enough, he could knock Noah aside long enough to pack ice into the wound and manage to slow the blood altogether. Maybe he could even cut it away entirely. But that burning edge to it… That was far more troublesome than anything else.

Does reality scare you so much, little wolf? he sneered. I was under the assumption that if the gods were to obey you, you would be more than a simple half-drowned rat with fur the shade of winter. I was told that you would be a challenge. I shall punish Catherine for this incredible mistake.

Yugi bore his teeth, snarling at him. Where is she? he demanded.

The ledge up above. I believe she's wearing her truest skin right now. I do not believe she has one of her victim's masks on just yet. He looked over and upwards. Yugi raised and turned his head as well, surprised when he spotted her there as well. She had the rifle aimed for his head, but she was merely watching rather than taking her shot. When she noticed their eyes on her, she raised her fingers from the trigger and wiggled them at him. Yugi trembled and stared back at her, horrified. Her face was not the same as what he had seen at the clinic. And she did not have that bright turquoise hair either. In fact, now that he looked at her, she had strange platinum blonde hair and he could see cat ears poking above the line of her messy bangs. He shivered. Then he looked back at Noah to find the wolfdog still watching her. I think I'll simply kill her this time. She disappoints me so damn often, after all.

Yugi bristled. You don't think she'll shoot you first?

Noah was silent for a moment. Then his lips drew back to show off his teeth again and he slowly turned back to Yugi. No, I don't think so at all, little lycanthrope. She's going to die in a moment, after all. I do not think she'll manage to raise that gun and take a shot in time.

The blue-violet eyes widened and his head snapped around, heart clenching. He searched for the definitive answer that Noah had gotten. And his ears pricked forward as he heard a sloppy thumping noise. But it was not that of blood spilling. There was no hiss of heat against the ice. He bristled and stared, confused and horrified. What the hell had—?

It took only a glance a few inches towards the right.

Before his eyes, shockingly, was a wolf.

They were flattened against the snow. The ears were pressed back against their head. The shoulders were sharp and taut. The fur was dark as night. Their breaths were slow and even, steady. They simply lay there, eyes wide open and boring into her skin. Not once did they so much as breathe or move forward a step. It had crept forward along the ledges almost silently.

Or perhaps Catherine had been so excited about Yugi himself that she had failed to hear its approach. Yugi shivered, then trembled violently. He tried to think, struggling for a moment. He could not find the words he wanted. And so, in a panic, he sputtered and yelped, No, no—Yami, no!

Noah snorted, eyes full of delight. Catherine blinked in clear confusion. The wolf blinked and his red eyes shot to Yugi for a split second. The white wolf trembled harder. Then, in an instant, two things happened. Yugi could hardly see them in a definitive order.

Catherine turned her head. Yami turned his head.

Their eyes locked.

She moved to cock the rifle. Yami sprang.

Yugi waited for the explosion of the gunshot.

Instead she screamed. Yugi bristled. Yami slammed into her. The gun rattled, her grip on it lost. It fell across the stone cliff. And then, to Yugi's horror, it went off. Yami screamed in surprise, recoiling violently. Blood fell in a thick river from his shoulder. His head snapped towards the wound, teeth digging into his own flesh. Yugi whined pathetically, straining at the end of the trap.

But, as the woman moved, something seemed to stir in the black wolf. Yugi saw something in his eyes seem to dim. The distance made it hard to know exactly. But he swore it had been as if a switch had gone off in his head. For, abruptly, teeth bloodied, Yami turned back to her. It was a slow and methodical turn of his head. The woman was struggling for her feet. Her neck was bloodied. Her face was scratched with random tooth marks.

Catherine was cursing. Yugi could hear it if only faintly. But the black wolf was simply staring. And he hated the fact that he had not moved. Noah seemed to be watching with intense interest now as well. His head was tilted and his tail was wagging slightly in his peripheral. Yugi hated him for that more than anything…

The white wolf was shaking. Yami, don't! he cried pathetically. He could not even tell if the other male heard him. He was not sure that he had spoken in the first place. His only confirmation was when Noah bit at him in reprimand, though he missed by several inches. And, as with Obelisk before, Yami simply set his sights upon her.

He could see the shakiness in the black wolf's limbs. He could see the way he strained to keep his balance. He could see the way his bones buckled for a brief second. And he could see the way his breathing had grown rougher. But the wolf ignored him entirely. Yugi might as well have ceased existence altogether at that moment. Yami simply stalked forward a step, opened his jaws wide, and sprang again.

This time they went over the edge of the cliff face. Her hands were tangled in the fur along his neck. His teeth were buried in her throat. His muzzle was soaked. His eyes were all but glowing with hatred.

Yugi saw it in slow motion when they hit the ice.

And Yami realized it a moment too late.

They hit the ground hard enough to make the ice break. And, as Yami released her, his eyes grew wide. His ears pricked up and his eyes focused on the fractures.

But the impact seemed to make time freeze. Yugi struggled to get to him. And the black wolf was frozen upon the ice. His paws were just barely steady. His eyes were wide and horrified. His fur was in a steady bristle.

For a single second he stared. And then he tried to bunch his muscles and spring.

Yugi saw this all in one heartbeat.

And the ice split immediately after. Yami had not managed to lift his paws from the snow. Instead it broke in a harsh roar and plunged downward. The red eyes shot to Yugi just before they, too, vanished beneath the water. There were fine cracks beneath the snow. The crevices seemed to tear apart further and drift, crystals falling through. And then Yugi found himself screaming.

Noah simply blinked and tilted his head. The black wolf had disappeared beneath the water. And he did not think that he would reappear. And, should he, it would be when he was frozen. The hellhound snorted. All of the exciting things always happened when he was unprepared. Had he been able to, he would have simply sat about to watch the events unfold. Now he was left with a lamed lycanthrope that was crying beside him. And the stupid creature had begun to strain as if he might somehow reach the ice through his own will.

It had begun crying louder, raising a paw and stretching it. He would try to move forward, then get pulled back by the trap. And then he would bay again, a pathetic little cry like one a puppy might release. He shook his head, spiteful, but did not bother to shut him up just yet.

There was some kind of strange scratching noise. It was coming from the water, but it was not something he recognized. Noah turned his head slowly, tilting it. He pricked his ears forward, straining them. And then he saw the rapid bob of a sheet of ice pushed upward. For a moment there was no reason for the disruption. And then he spotted the black head that followed, appearing in the place the ice had been laying. The other lycanthrope was flailing in the water.

Each movement was met with slight resistance from the ice surrounding it. But the wolf hardly seemed to notice. He pressed forward and towards the largest sheet it could find. But the ice was not enough to hold its weight. Noah snickered at the thought. The wolf hardly seemed to weigh a thing. He looked almost like a rat after he'd resurfaced from the water.

The wolf grasped at the ice with his long, sharp claws. He dug into the sheet with the deadly keratin. And then he tried to heave. But the ice flipped and slapped into formation upon the water again. The wolf was gone beneath the surface as he had been before.

Noah wagged his tail in delight. Truly? Are all of you so terribly weak as this? he crowed. He wagged his tail harder. And he nearly missed it. The white wolf had turned his sights on him. He noticed this only because of the abrupt silence he was greeted with. Noah turned his head just as Yugi turned on him. His teeth were gaping in the winter air. And when the wolf leaped now, the hellhound had no time to escape.

The white male caught him in a stranglehold. His cuts cut swiftly into his jugular. The wolfdog snarled and shook himself harshly. The wolf held on easily. He did not budge in the slightest. Noah bore his teeth and snarled low in his throat. The wolf had clamped his jaws and refused to release. He could feel the pressure of his teeth too close to his spine as well. The sideways angle had done well to give him nearly enough access to kill him in a single bite…

But he also left himself wide open.

Noah shook himself again, then lunged forward. He caught the long white limb in his mouth hard. The bone snapped. The wolf released him with a snarl. The hellhound scrambled back a few paces, snarling. And the white canine stared back at him, blue-violet eyes glazed with pure hatred. His ears were flattened against his skull almost playfully. But his tail had come up in a long, straight formation. And it was wagging slowly back and forth like that of a true predator's.

His expression was nothing short of absolute disgust. And he was wagging his tail even as he licked the blood from his muzzle. Noah snarled low in his throat again. But the white-furred male hardly seemed to care. He seemed ready to lunge forward and rip his jugular out if he was only given the chance. His mouth was smeared red. Dark gray and black fur hung from his jaws on either side. And he stared back at him with a blank, maniacal expression which was steady and hateful.

Noah backed up a step, startled and uncertain. No would had ever truly faced him in such a manner before. None of them had ever looked back at him with such blank hatred before. He had never been able to so clearly read a goal to put an end to him as he did now. And, as he stared back, he could not help it when he backed up a step.

The white tail continued to wag, long and slow. The hellhound pulled his lips back to snarl, but the noise never left his throat. Instead, as he considered leaping at him, the ice near him broke. It flipped and water droplets hit his ear. He flicked it, spinning around, but the wolf was gone again. He'd disappeared beneath the water. Noah turned his head, surprised, and the wolf resurfaced again.

He looked exhausted. His paws were flailing for a moment. And then his eyes seemed to lock on the hellhound again. Noah blinked once, backed up yet again, and then glanced at the white wolf. But the canine beside him was no longer paying him any attention, however. His eyes were on the other wolf. He was visibly distraught, trembling, and his tail had gone down. He strained at the edge of the reach of the bear trap, whining loudly.

The black wolf pulled himself from the water after a moment or so. Blood and water had slicked him down to the point of looking as if he were not a wolf at all. He was so thin that he truly did appear more rat-like. And Noah could see and count every ridge in his spine and every rib of his chest. He snorted at the thought, smirking in amusement. This wolf was nothing he had to fear, after all.

Now Yami drew himself to his paws again. His red eyes were glued to the snow for a moment. When he shook himself out, it was simply a light movement. He was no longer dripping wet, but he was still soaked. His fur was clumped awkwardly in various ways, knotted from the water. But it was only when he raised his eyes to the hellhound that Noah stiffened and bristled in shock. His glinting red eyes were unnatural, estranged to anything that a lycanthrope should ever have possessed. The hellhound faltered, eyes wide. His ears pricked forward. His fur rose into a mild bristle. He backed up several steps. Then he drew his lips back and bore his teeth.

You run with lycanthropes?

Yami flicked his ears and then tilted his head slowly. Noah blinked back at him, then snarled low in his throat. He backed up and the emaciated canine stared boldly into his eyes in return.

You are a hellhound.

The words were enraging, it seemed. Noah barely avoided the bite aimed at his hip. When he spun on the white wolf, it was snarling and shaking. The hellhound had not realized he had been shocked into turning so completely towards Yami to begin with. But he'd just barely reacted in time to avoid the white wolf's teeth. His ears pricked forward. His fur rose into a mild bristle. He backed up several steps. Then he drew his lips back further to show his teeth.

The white wolf snapped his teeth at him, wagging his tail again. He's a lycanthrope, you fucking idiot, he sneered. His eyes were sharp and glittering, blue-specked and violet.

No lycanthrope has eyes like that.

You sound like Yoshimori did when I killed him, came a calm baritone voice, one which startled Yugi. The white wolf lost his aggressive stance, head snapping around and eyes wide with shock. The black wolf ignored him, however. When he moved, his attention was focused solely on Noah. He told me that no lycanthropes could ever have eyes like mine. I think others have said that to me before. A great many others…

Yugi stiffened, unsure of that distant and bewildering note in his voice. Noah, however, snorted and blinked, sneering, Oh, is that so? What a revelation. You have red eyes. That's so terribly amazing.

Yami shook himself out again. He took a single step forward. His ears pricked forward. His eyes glinted. His tail rose slowly, wagging. And then he lowered his head and bore his teeth. Yes, I have heard that before. I remember now. So many different people have said that. I have forgotten the names and the voices. But I remember the words, Yami said slowly, coldly. He stalked forward another step as the hellhound paced back once more. They always said it when they first saw me. And then they would not come back to see me again. They claimed I was cursed.

Humans are so superstitious, wouldn't you agree? Noah launched himself forward. He aimed for the wolf's throat. But Yami simply dodged aside and spun on him. They circled each other once. Yugi strained at the edge of his reach, shivering. He whimpered softly and flattened his ears against his skull. There was something slithering within the ice, heavy and dull, and Yugi froze.

His heart pounded in his throat for a moment.

He had not noticed that Yami still had his collar and a large segment of chain around his neck. It was rattling when he turned sharply. But it simply slithered as a snake might when he paced.

They believe in such stupid things, don't you think? Perhaps you have recessive genes and one of them is your eyes.

Yami did nothing more than flick an ear. Perhaps, he drawled, the word stretched out into a hiss. Then he lunged forward and opened his jaws. Noah dodged away, though he did not move away from the water. The black wolf wagged his tail. I do not suppose it matters.

It'll matter when you are being tortured within the labs, Noah sneered. His large tail wagged now as well. His eyes were glittering and he opened his jaws to show his tongue in a lolling fashion. I am sure that it will matter when they capture you. As, once that happens, they will treat you as a hellhound rather than a lycanthrope.

The wolf shook his head slowly, advancing on him steadily. No, they would never.

No? the hellhound snorted, eyes sharp and glinting. Why would you believe that?

Yami turned the opposition direction, pacing to cut Noah away from his initial circling movement. The action drove him back towards the ice. The hellhound snarled, bristling, and stepped back to regain some ground. They know me too well, he finally commented quietly, tone more tired than he cared to acknowledge. They have always known me. They could never come to forget me.

Are you truly so special?

The black wolf chuckled, voice a sneer as he paced to cut him off once more. Oh yes, I am. I am perhaps even the most special… He flicked his ears. Yugi could not see any tension in his muscles, but the black wolf lunged regardless. Noah tried to dodge. But Yami had closed him into a corner. And so he went the wrong way in order to counter him. He leaped to the side, closest to the water. His paws flailed as he nearly collapsed into the lake beneath the ice.

Yami lunged again. His teeth snapped on thin air. Noah had ducked away. And now he aimed upward for Yugi's throat. The lycanthrope twisted his shoulders and turned hard. The movement allowed him to miss Noah's teeth. But he caught his elbow. And Yami pressed his weight down hard. Both of them slammed into the ice. The combined weight made the already fragile ice break beneath them. And they both disappeared beneath the water again.

Yugi panicked, snarling and pacing about himself. He spat and bit at the air. Then he bristled and shook himself out. He bit at the air again, stumbled a step, and turned towards the bear trap slowly. He looked his foot over. The blood was bright red but scarred with white snowflakes and blackened frost. He bristled, looking down at it once more.

The springing action had done well to break its cover from the snow. The metal glinted back at him furiously in the dim light. And the heavy springs on either side were almost collapsed within each other. The chain looked long and thick where it was anchored in the ground further away. It was only partially hidden now, visible enough that he could not stop staring.

And now he could see the two tabs which would serve as the release mechanism.

But he was not sure that it would open so simply…

He had only watched videos a handful of times. He knew well enough how to do it, but the human body was different from the lupine form. He was not sure he could truly…

He had to try.

His head turned back to the water. Neither Noah nor Yami had reappeared and he felt a steady wave of panic ripping through his insides. He shivered, shaking pitifully. Then he forced himself to turn back. Even if he was a wolf now, perhaps he could still…

He doubted it but he was not entirely sure. The trap itself had to be one of the smaller ones. It did not look like it could possibly weight a quarter of what he himself did. And so he bristled as he looked it over some more. It was not impossible to trigger it with his own weight, he knew that much. He had seen it in videos before. They would place both feet on the sides of it, pressing down forcefully on the springs there. They would apply as much pressure as they could until it would open.

But normally someone else was helping to pull the trap's teeth apart…

But he had no one else to help.

And he had to get it done as quickly as he could.

He moved into a seated position, then set his paws upon either side of the trap. He threw his weight as violently as he could. He leaped, then landed. The impacted only served to wind him, however. He stumbled for a brief moment, gasping for air. His head was throbbing again. The trap jiggled beneath him. It nearly flipped with the momentum, but he managed to steady himself again. He did not fall over onto his shoulders and struggle for his paws again.

Instead he tried again, panting. The pain in his head had grown tenfold. The fear made him tremble. He leaped and landed hard again. The action nearly sent him falling over again. But he saw it now. The trap was open just enough that he could have slipped his leg free. But he did not think that he could hold the steel jaws apart for long enough.

He braced himself, locking his muscles in place for a moment. Then he sprang again. It took him another three attempts. His head was throbbing violently. And it was only because of this that he misaimed and overestimated. The final leap sent him rolling, the trap snapping open forcefully, and he landed pathetically.

He landed shakily on his belly and hissed as he drew himself to his paws again. When he looked about himself, he found his heart skipping beats. He struggled for his feet and shook himself out. His back leg threatened to collapse beneath him. But he could see it now. His body had been trying to heal itself. But the silver of the trap had burned the edges as well. And, between this and the cold, his limb was so incredibly stiff that he had to wonder if it would even help him in any manner.

But the thought was fractured immediately by the sound of water spray. His head snapped up. One of the two canines had resurfaced again. But they were not facing him and they were too drenched to tell the difference between them. He could see raw muscle more than anything, moving beneath long black fur. Yugi stumbled forward a step, feeling shaken and desperate.

Yami?

He got to the edge of the bank, pricking his ears forward. The wolf in front of him had disappeared again. And Yugi searched frantically for any clue as to who it might have been. He saw no hint of a chain, however. He saw no evidence of the silver links anywhere beneath the water. And his heart began to pound and ache immediately at the realization. Part of him was shaky, breaking beneath the weight of this thought. And then he trembled and shivered harder.

Another part of him flailed with hatred at the implication. He panicked, letting out a deep yelp of dismay. The despair that swept through him seconds later made him collapse for a brief second. And then he stumbled for his paws and moved forward again. The wolf had come to the edge of the ice and was trying to pull himself out. Yugi hesitated, then hurriedly limped closer.

Something inside of him broke more. And he hesitated, bristling slightly, and pricked his ears. His heart began to skip beats. Something inside of him was panicked and elated all the same.

Yami, he called again, certainty flaring in his belly. He knew it, in some way or another. It was beyond him how he came to understand this. But he did, and so he hurried forward again. The ice bobbed lightly beneath his paw when he got too close, however. He recoiled immediately, hurrying back to safer ground. The black canine gripped at the ice slowly, but surely. And his grip was harsh but did not hold well enough for the moment.

The ice flipped again. The wolf disappeared for a brief moment. Then he reappeared immediately again. This time he found firmer ice, struggling to crawl out of the water. He clambered for a new grip, found it, and panted heavily. He did not try to pull himself out yet, instead struggling for air. And then, finally, he heaved himself up and out of the water in a sloppy series of movements. When he landed, he lay there on his belly. And Yugi trembled as he ran forward to help him. The wolf was frozen in front of him, safe for the shaky rasping breaths which left him.

Yami!

Yugi rushed to make his way over, but had to dodge away from various patches of soft ice and shards which crumbled beneath his paws when he tested them. He headed more for solid land, the banks where he knew them to exist. And then he hurried forward from there. The darker canine did not respond to his touch when he licked at his ears and tried to nudge him away. And he kept breathing shakily, pitiful puffs of white which left his nose.

The white wolf leaned forward to run his tongue over his forehead. The water was so frigid that it seemed to turn to frost beneath his touch. Yugi nuzzled his muzzle, then his ears and cheeks. The black wolf did not move in the slightest. Are you okay? Can you feel everything? he demanded, licking faster. But the wolf did not respond and so his heart began to shake and rattle within his chest. Yami? Yami…? C-can you hear me?

If he could not hear him, then it was more than slightly likely that Yami was dying. Yugi was well aware of the order in which the senses shut down. The first was sight, the last hearing. If Yami could not hear him now… But he was sure that Yami was keeping his eyes shut out of his own will. He did not think in the slightest that he could not open them. But he could also see his exhaustion and the way his breaths looked shaky and uncertain when they were expelled from his nose. And so Yugi was also aware of the fact that Yami was not simply unable to hear him. He was ignoring him.

Yugi reminded himself of this more than once. But it still caused the alarms to go off in his head. And when he shifted closer to lick at his fur some more, he could see his skin in its pale and slightly blue state. Yugi shivered and hesitantly lifted his back leg from the snow to hold his weight off. The pressure was enough to make his leg strain and ache pitifully, throbbing. It was almost in time with the pulsing in his head. The panic had made it a million times worse, he knew…

Yami's skin was pulled so taut over his bones that they looked like ragged mountain peaks. And his blue-tinted flesh was almost scratchy like sand under his tongue. He shivered, nearly trembling once more, and shook his head. Then he quickly licked again, trying to find some sense of warmth that he might be able to keep supplying until Yami was able to try for his paws or anything of that nature.

Something moved in the corner of his eye. Yugi blinked and turned and raised his head, pausing stiffly. He blinked again, tilting his head, and his tongue paused mid-lick against his alpha's cheek. In an instant his eyes zeroed in on the shape in the water. He could see the black fur, a long body of dark hair. He stiffened further, pricking his ears forward, and shivered violently for a moment.

For the smallest of seconds Yugi had feared Noah might get out of the water and pursue them. He had immediately feared having to fight him again, exhausted as he was. His throbbing head would not have done him well. That had been proven to him already. And he feared that Yami would not be able to recover in the time it would take to fight him off. But then he saw that his head had not risen from the water. And there was already a heavy layer of frost developing from the water on his coat.

Yugi blinked, bristling. He looked down, withdrew his tongue, and licked at his face again. Then he nuzzled his cheek and pressed his nose into his fur. He couldn't sense much heat from him…

Yami?

Now the black wolf twitched. It was when Yugi exhaled harshly against him that Yami bothered to react. The action was just enough to make the white wolf relax, if only slightly. And he could hear his steady breaths again now. Yugi nearly collapsed beneath the weight of his relief, shaking it off almost immediately after. He licked at his ears and then along his face again. If he could get Yami warm enough to go home, they would be golden…

It was exhausting to do this, knowing that all the while all he knew of Yami's health at the moment was his breathing. Yugi kept grooming him, trying to get rid of the excess water and warm him somehow. But it was during this that he found himself trembling again. He had overlooked it in the midst of his panic and the dulled pain in his head. And he had not noticed it beneath all of Yami's breathing.

But he could hear his heart now, wet and thumping and with a beat so familiar he almost sobbed with relief. He was shivering before he knew it, licking faster than he had before. He was jovial over this fact alone, beyond anything that he could have ever potentially thought before. He did not even think that his voice would have been more comforting to such a thought before.

Can you open your eyes for me? Yugi requested softly after a moment. He was not sure why it was that he asked. But he wanted more than ever to see his eyes again, as if they might actually signify he was alive. There was a long minute in which he saw no hint of movement at all from the wolf in question. Yugi felt sick, wondering for a moment if doing so had upset the other male in some manner. Yet, as he blinked, the wolf slowly parted his eyelids.

They were unfocused for a long moment. And then they locked on his face, searching briefly for his eyes before lowering again. He was so exhausted that he could not keep his eyes on him for too long. And the gleam in them was annoyed, slightly flustered, but incredibly feverish as well. Yugi shivered as they faced each other, though Yami began to close his eyes again moments later. And he found it almost amusing for a moment to think that maybe Yami had not expected him to be watching him as closely as he was. And then snorted in delight at the thought, wagging his tail briefly. He should have known better.

Yami blinked after a moment, looking towards him for only a second. Then he moved to push his chin into the snow as if it might cushion some of the pain in his system. His eyes closed tightly after a long moment. His ears flattened against his head after a few minutes. Then he flexed his claws faintly. He wanted nothing more than rest now. He wanted to sleep and never bother to have to worry in the slightest. He did not want to have to worry any longer about a possible threat in any manner. He was exhausted, tired beyond what he had initially assumed to be possible. And his mind seemed more fragmented than he cared to admit.

Okay, good. Thank you.

Yami did not respond to his words. Instead he trembled. His paw was burning, tingling in a manner that drove him nuts. He strained his neck and folded his paw towards his nose. The water seemed to be freezing upon his skin. He felt it might crystallize into nothingness at any moment, under his claws and along his paw pads. He flicked his tongue over it once, then twice. But the energy that was spent in doing so made him feel cold and heavy. So he left his paw as it was and closed his eyes again, ignoring the tingling. Yugi had been watching him, he was sure, because now he sprang forward to lick at his paws frantically. The action left him with feather-like kisses and soft flickers of warmth beneath the long frozen strands of hair.

You're going to be fine, okay? I'll fix everything when I can get your body heat back up. And then I'll get you completely healed up again and you'll be able to run off and do whatever you want just like you were doing before. No more waiting on me to catch you rabbits or serows or anything like that. You'll be able to run around and do whatever you want to.

Yami blinked his eyes into narrow slits, staring at the other wolf curiously for a moment. His voice was familiar but it was exhausting to try focusing on whatever it was he was saying to him. And his voice was beginning to lilt, changing at its very core. It became deeper, thunderous in his ears, much more like clouds crashing and booming rather than the simple soft tone that Yugi possessed. The black wolf blinked up at him again, then flattened his ears against his head briefly once more. He swore he saw a flash of gray and cinnamon along his muzzle, his eyes briefly flecked with green rather than blue. For a long handful of seconds, as his eyes struggled with this task of disorientation, Yami could not feel it in the slightest as Yugi continued to lick his paws.

You'll be okay, Yami.

Yami shuddered. A part of his mind seemed to recoil from the words, from the soft statement altogether. Then he snorted a breath, something that sounded almost vaguely like a condescending noise. Yugi paused in his actions, hesitating for a brief moment. Then he ran his tongue over his face once more, looking distressed more than anything. Yami ignored it, suppressing the urge to shiver at the sensation of cold which crept through his skin from the very roots of his fur. He closed his eyes tightly and flicked his ears slightly from side to side and resisted the urge to lick at his own paws again.

They were so cold.

But he doubted that anything would truly happen should they not be completely warmed in the next handful of minutes. He was capable of healing from it, he was sure. There was no means by which the temperature or his loss of body warmth might ruin him in any way. The lycanthropy would force it away rather quickly, he was sure, and so hypothermia was not truly a concern to him in any manner. It was, instead, a thought which burned through his mind that captured his attention more than anything.

He could hear words replaying in his head, not ones that Yugi had spoken, but ones which once more rattled within his skull like pebbles falling from the ledge of a mountain overhead. It made him shudder, unable to suppress the fear which crept through him for a brief handful of minutes. The words were anxious, begging that he run… Yami found himself trembling as the words echoed within his head in such a painful manner as to make his mind spin drastically in immense spirals that made his breathing heavier.

You have to run, the voice urged frantically, yet with something calm as well, a sternness which pressed upon his senses. You have to run and you have to live. You have to do it. You can't come back here. They'll kill you.

Yami shook, unable to keep himself from quaking uncontrollably. He wanted to puke, distress crashing upon him for a brief moment. And then he shivered and opened and closed his mouth and drew in a deep breath that almost came out in a hideous sob. He wanted to whimper and cry and lay there until his lungs gave out. The despair and sorrow which gripped him so completely now made him want to vomit. It made him want to lie there and never move again.

He wished he could freeze there within the snow. He almost questioned why it was that he had ever assumed to pull himself out of the frigid water to begin with. Why hadn't he just given up as he had the first time? That first time had been painful, but he'd been blissfully unaware after a while, until that moment that he'd been dragged from the water by foreign jaws and human hands. He remembered it, the way the water had cut through his skin and pressed upon him so painfully that it would rip through him. But the darkness had been so peaceful, an oblivion that he had not bothered before then to pay attention to. And now he felt dizzy and small for a moment.

He wanted to puke.

He wanted to simply lay there until he could no longer move.

It had been so peaceful when his mind had been trapped in that dark void. When his consciousness had been lost and regained, he'd hated himself the moment he'd resurfaced from the abyss. And then he'd loathed himself even more the moment he'd found the human staring at him pitilessly, eyes sharp and dark and lazy against his own. He'd smirked and Yami had felt that crystalline sensation of fear, immobilizing him and making him incapable of escape altogether.

But he'd been so tired as well. He could never have run even if he'd not been struck by the horrifying quality in those human eyes. He'd stared into them and felt that he'd seen things he never should have. And he'd considered a million different things that shook him to his core altogether.

He wanted to vomit at the very idea of it all.

But now those words repeated themselves against Yugi's worthless little promises, whispers of which he swore Yami would find himself recovering and healing properly and he'd survive as he always had.

Yami was exhausted by the very implication.

Survival was so much work.

And he was so tired.

Beneath the water had been easier than above ground. He'd changed in a last ditch effort to fix himself, to somehow survive it all. He'd changed because his lycanthropy had triggered such a response in him as to find it necessary. He himself had been so lost within the cold that he had not even considered it. And, when he'd found that shallow ice, it was not he himself which dug through it. It was a natural instinct borne within him somewhere, hiding beneath the surface, which allowed him to survive the ordeal. He'd crawled out of the water, by some miracle, and had moved only enough to drag his upper body out. It was only then that he'd come to hear noises, background at first but growing necessary for his attention as time passed.

He'd heard them but he had not moved. And then he'd felt the rough teeth in his scruff. He'd heard the voice of someone he knew but did not care to acknowledge. And then he'd heard the human, one with a voice he had not recognized. And, upon opening his eyes, he'd found instant hatred for the creature in front of him.

Yugi shivered. Flashes of ice and tangles of tree roots and shallow puddles against smooth stones and dark sand had come across his mind. Then he saw tan and gray fur, lavender eyes which peered at him disdainfully. And, in a flash, a redhead with eyes that seemed toxic as they bored into his own. Yugi felt sick as he recognized both these figures, these brief images making him feel sick.

Yami?

The wolf did not respond beyond opening his eyes into slits and peering at him briefly. The red gaze was glassy for a heartbeat, then glazed over as he continued to think. Yugi could see the shadows writhing behind his eyes, the way his mind was racing with need to understand something that the small teen had no knowledge of. He wanted to puke for a moment before he shivered and shook his head. His tongue immediately sought to lick his face dry as he needed.

You'll be okay. Once you're outside of here. When you're no longer in the labs, you'll be okay. You'll know and understand everything you'll need to. Green eyes bore into his, desperate to make him understand. The skin tone was soft, paler than his own, but with an almost olive tint as well. Long spiky, glossy dark gray hair tipped with silver and streaked dark brown fell in a sloppy formation across his forehead, windswept to the right… I promise you, when you're out there, you'll be okay and happy. You'll learn to live as you need to, okay? You'll find all the answers you'll need.

Yami blinked and closed his eyes tightly again. Answers, he repeated softly, so quietly that Yugi could only hear when he strained his ears and moved closer to his face, licking again more persistently. I haven't…

Haven't what, Yami? He moved to lick along his shoulders now, and Yami assumed that much of his face must have been dry. What answers?

The wolf did not respond to him. He flexed his claws, shivered, flattened his ears against his skull. He kept his eyes tightly shut, shuddering harder. Then he moved to draw his paws closer to his jaw and lay his chin upon them more comfortably.

What answers, Yami?

He did not care to answer him. It wasn't as if it mattered. Yugi wouldn't understand. Yugi would never know the pain of that thought alone, or the many regrets he possessed. And so he shook his head and pressed his chin more pointedly into his paws as he shivered harder. He could feel the persistent licks along his shoulders and between the blades of bone, then along his spine. And then he nearly stumbled to his feet. What was that soft pressure along his back?

Yami raised his head after a moment, then turned his head slowly in inquiry. Yugi had moved to step over him, stretching himself across his back and lowering himself there. He lay there, though not completely in order to allow him room to pull away. But Yami was too tired to do such a thing and Yugi was incredibly warm as he lowered more fully. The dark wolf lowered his head and laid his chin upon his paws again.

They remained there for what felt like hours. Yami was not sure the time that passed. All he knew was that Yugi would not let him sleep. Whenever he would come close, Yugi would nip his ears and coax him into awareness again, almost spiteful in the dedication he showed this task. Yami snarled in annoyance more than once, but settled again as the time had passed. Yugi licked his ear and shoulders, then finally got to his feet after what felt like an eternity.

Are you okay to walk? I mean, if you can walk, I can lead us back home and I'll take care of you and help you heat up some more.

Yami was silent for a long minute. Then, finally, reluctantly, he rose to his feet. He remembered the vaguest sense of pride in another voice entirely unlike his or Yugi's own, saying softly, That's it, you can do it. Get up and keep moving, okay? We have to make sure you're okay. The memory made him bristle faintly but he ignored it as he stumbled forward a step and shook himself out. Yugi ignored the way a few droplets landed on his nose and relaxed as the seconds passed as Yami moved forward a few sloppy steps. I know you want to sleep, but you can't do that just yet, okay?

His ears pricked forward at the soft, sympathetic reprimand. He had been so sure to keep him awake, to try to help him regain himself after one of the more horrid experiments. He'd been coaxed forward and back within his cage. The wolf had peered at him with soft, beautiful green eyes, telling him that he needed to remain moving for longer. If he didn't remain moving he might unconsciously hurt himself.

What do you think? Can you walk back to my house? Yugi flattened his ears against his head. Do you remember how to get there? I don't think it'll be too terrible but I…I don't know. I'm worried, I guess. Do you think it's too much to get that far?

Yami ignored him as he had when he'd spoken his name before upon his dragging himself out of the water. The dark wolf shook himself out again, the cold air seeming to bite through what remained of his coat. And then he stumbled forward again. He padded in a limping stride, feeling almost sick as he continued to make his way through the trees. He flicked his ears, ignoring the answer that Yugi sought from him. He looked about them for a few long moments, lowered his head towards the snow, and continued in the same slow pace. He could not move faster, as his back legs were too stiff and the wound on his shoulder prevented him from much more than flinching as he continued moving forward.

Yugi hesitated as he went to his side, flashing his tongue over his lips.

---

Yami had settled uncomfortably within the tub as Yugi had directed. The water was lukewarm, ready for him to step in. The air around was only a few degrees warmer than the area outside. And he was relieved to see that Yami was so easily led to do such a thing. He had expected far more than that to happen as it was. And, as Yugi reached out to turn the knob again to add some more warm water, the black wolf merely glanced at him. The dark canine did nothing more than raise his head over the edge of the bathtub. The water was low enough to just touch his paws for the moment. Yugi had wanted to simply focus on them first, then to raise the temperature of the water as had been directed online.

He licked his lips and shivered as the wolf still refused to flinch or cringe away from him as he had initially thought. The canine kept his eyes open, ignoring the urge to close them and sleep instead. The instinctive response was to rest rather than have to deal with the weight of remaining awake in any sense. He wanted nothing more than to simply sleep for as long as possible. He wanted to rest and not worry about anything else. And he would rather dry himself off and ignore everything else.

"Stay here, okay?" Yugi said gently. He reached over to run his hand over his forehead, along his ears, scratching behind one and making Yami look over without turning his head. "I'm going to get a few warm water bottles and some towels. And then when your body temperature is up from laying in the water here, I'll set you up to lay down and rest on top of the bed."

Yami blinked at him. Then he closed his eyes and shifted his weight uncomfortably. He hated the way the porcelain was so slick beneath his claws. He wished he could have gripped it forcefully, held himself higher than what he was able to. Thank you, he muttered, exhausted as he shifted his weight again.

Yugi stared at him for a long moment or two. Then he got to his feet. He wondered briefly if Yami even truly recognized him now, as he had seemed to only do so beforehand. He wondered if perhaps the other male simply knew and understood that he was there and speaking to him. Maybe he really only knew that Yugi was offering to help strengthen him up again. Or maybe he simply did not care for the moment, exhausted and beyond himself with the stress of raising his body temperature once more.

"Hey, Yami?" The wolf did not respond verbally but he heard the softest click of his nails, the gentlest slosh of water within the tub. The small teen hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and looked over his shoulder to face his alpha. The red eyes were peering at him from narrow slits. "How did you kill Noah? The hellhound at the lake, I mean…"

He blinked and then closed his eyes again. I tore his throat out.

"What happened to the collar and chain?"

He pulled me back under the ice with him by use of it. And so when I tried to get away from him, he lunged for my throat and got the chain instead. I pulled backwards until he wound up pulling it over my head. Then I ripped his throat out and swam back up. Yami fell silent for a long time. Then he snorted and huffed a breath out. Does it truly matter?

"No. I just wanted to know."

Yami did not respond again beyond blinking up at him and then shifting his weight. Yugi was happy he'd turned the water off again before he'd left. He would have been far more concerned that it was burning him had the faucet still been going. But for now he did not have to worry about such a thing. He did not have to concern himself with whether the wolf would be hurt from his negligence. It felt like a first, something that utterly shocked him for a brief moment and made him feel almost happy. But it was gone again in an instant and he paused in the doorway to look back over his shoulder.

Yami did not raise his head or blink at him in any fashion. But the small teen knew that Yami felt his eyes on him and so he relaxed. He smiled faintly, relieved upon seeing the way his nose wiggled with each inhale. He was exuberant upon seeing such a thing, licking his lips before he turned on his heel and headed out of the bathroom again. The black wolf would be fine, he told himself again, relief biting at his insides. Yami would be okay. He would be fine. He would get stronger and then he would be as powerful as he had been the moment that they had met during the festival.

Yugi brought back a handful of water bottles that he'd filled with warm water, some towels that he'd wrapped around them, and a heating pad that he'd used at times when he was younger and had pulled a muscle. Half the time he did not remember how he had done it. More often than not, the lycanthrope now considered the idea that perhaps he'd reacted to night terrors and hallucinations violently enough to cause such incidents. He swallowed hard at the thought, pausing in the doorway, and then moved to the side of the tub again. He twisted the knob to add a little more water, warmer than it was last. Yami did not respond but for a simple turn of his head in the direction opposing him.

The black wolf blinked his eyes open into miniscule slits, looking towards him for a brief moment. He considered him as the small teen kept his eyes on the faucet. The water was stopped after a moment, the knob squeaking as it was turned to cut off the supply. He flicked an ear as the pipes seemed to rattle for a few moments and then settle once more. He wondered briefly at the idea, the way that the metal seemed to slide and click into place and then disappear beneath the crashing water once more as it was peeled away. He pricked his ears forward, watching the small teen with a somewhat cautious expression for the smallest of moments.

He seemed so odd in front of him. He was vulnerable, his neck exposed as he leaned forward. His shoulders were slack with a stunning lack of tension. His eyes were focused on the water. His hand was still posed to turn the knob. And he was not paying him the slightest bit of attention. When Yami shifted his weight minutely, he did not see the smallest change in the other male's expression or anything of the matter.

Yugi licked his lips after a moment. His head turned, at first with a slight grimace and then with open shock. His eyes grew enormous. His mouth opened and closed once. Then he blinked thrice, tilted his head, and offered him a small smile which was strained with confusion. "What is it, Yami?" he asked in a calm, quiet voice. But he seemed nervous more than anything and it made the wolf blink at him once more. The canine searched his face, then lowered his eyes and shifted his jaw to close his eyes.

It is nothing.

"Are you sure?"

Yes, I am sure.

They were both silent again for a long series of minutes. Then Yugi sighed softly, looked away, and finally turned back with a tilted head once more. "If you say so," he conceded after a moment, but Yami could sense a spiraling touch of disappointment and perhaps a small hint of bewilderment. The wolf cracked an eye and looked towards him once more, curious about the emotions he sensed from him. "Do you think you'll be able to change back tonight? I mean, you don't have to, really, but it might be a better situation than you sleeping on my bed as a huge canine like this."

Yami blinked and then closed his eyes tightly after a moment. I will do so when I am warm again.

The small teen hummed, but he sounded miserable, as if the answer had destroyed him in a sense. "Okay," he finally mumbled a moment later. The wolf remained silent after he said these words, thinking rather than answering now. He wondered at the slight melancholy and nervousness which came from the small teen. It was bewildering to experience such things again, as not once in the time he'd been away had he sensed such a thing. It was strange to him how it could he could sense his emotional stance again when he had not been able to try such a thing for so much time prior.

Yami was able to change back only a couple of hours later, when his core body temperature rose to a more stable state. Yugi gave him some clothes to get dressed in and hated himself when he nearly cringed upon seeing the exhaustion that still plagued his alpha's features. He looked as if he would rather vomit than come even slightly close to him, stomach twisted and knotted. He looked pale, ashen almost, his eyes a dull brick shade, his skin slightly glossy with a small sheen of sweat. And, by the gods, if he didn't look so small and frail that Yugi wished he could hide him away altogether. He wished he could shelter him from any threat to come later and it made him feel sick for a moment.

He looked like a small, fragile lost soul which made his features appear even more sunken than ever before. His cheeks were paler than ever, his ashen skin taut and his eyes almost too large for his face for a brief moment. The small teen wanted to cringe away for the briefest of seconds, but then relaxed as Yami ignored his stare and wandered off to curl up on top of the comforter. He threw the fleece all the way over his head, curled up as if he could force himself into a ball as a wolf could, and seemed almost to forget about his presence there altogether.

And then Yugi moved to lay down under the sheets and comforter beside him, relieved when Yami did not disappear as if made of smoke. He was fearful of the way that the wolf remained facing the other direction, unnerved by the lack of attention or worry there. He was dizzy with relief that he was there beside him, but he was unable to do more than stare at the boy where he was hidden beneath the blanket. Only his red-tipped hair rose beyond the fleece blanket lying over his skin. The sight was almost like that of a pet or something of that nature which tried to hide away from their owner's attention.

"Are you okay?"

Yami was silent for a long time. It took a few minutes for him to reply, voice muffled and almost dead as he murmured, "Yes". He sounded so tired, or perhaps as if he was unable to speak more than such a simplistic response. Yugi was reminded of the first few weeks that they had been together, how Yami had been silent for the longest time. And when he had finally spoken again he would become exhausted almost immediately. And then he would recover later. He would lose his voice almost instantly when he would speak. Yugi thought of this, but Yami's mind was far from this same subject.

His ears were still ringing. There were words within his skull, dancing about the cavity and slamming into the bones before darting about again. He could feel them as pinpricks, harsh and thick against his skin. He felt as if his temples were throbbing and his thoughts punctured with the words, scattered away by the sheer force of it. He curled up tighter, bunching his limbs up until he thought his legs might fold into his belly entirely and his elbows follow soon after.

He wished he could fold into himself. He wished he could hide away beneath his own skin. He wished the shadows might swallow him altogether. But he could do nothing more than swallow hard and try as he might to hide away from the memories that came with the voices in his head.

He did not want to think of the many things he had suppressed so hard in that time in the confines of his own mind. He'd hidden himself away back there, far from the memories and recognition, beyond that part of him that might understand the things going on around him. He had wanted only to eat then. He had wanted then only to survive to see a new day, to eat and rest and make himself strong enough to run when he might need to.

Being back here was not a terrible fate, but it was not the best choice he could think to make either. It was terrible and sinful to think such a thing, he realized. Yugi was a loyal soul and beautiful to do such a thing as well. And Yami was grateful. There was no one that could claim otherwise. And he would gladly argue with anyone who might consider him opposing towards such a thing. But he felt sick being here all the same. It was horrifying to feel such a way. He had never thought himself capable of such a thing before. He had never considered before that perhaps he could be so unhappy with something offered him in such a manner. He had truly always believed that Yugi, in the least, would do well to make him happier.

"Are you still warm enough?" Yugi asked, concern bleeding into his tone.

Yami did not raise his head, nor did he truly wish to answer. Some part of him was miserable with the idea of using his voice again. But another part was loyal to the idea of putting Yugi's distress to rest. It was powerful and possessive, drastic in its need to reassure him.

"Yes." He said it in a curt tone, exhausted and frustrated by the mere thought of answering any further questions. He swallowed hard, heart in his throat for a moment as he tried to think straight. If Yugi asked him to answer him once more, he felt that he might grow too distressed to remain near him any longer. He did not want to speak again in the slightest. The very thought of his own voice was enough to make him feel ill.

"Okay." He fell quiet again for a long moment. "Well…if anything changes, you can tell me, okay? Or—or just wake me up, okay? Just nudge me awake if you have to. I won't mind."

Yami blinked against the dark red of the fleece blanket, narrowing his gaze into slits before tightly scrunching them shut. He nodded against the blanket as Yugi remained quiet in turn. He did not want to admit how the thought further unnerved him, his stomach twisting viciously inside of him. He felt dizzy and sick for a moment as he fought away the shudders which threatened to wrack his frame. He kept his eyes shut as tightly as he could, his lids so forcefully clenched that the pressure made small patches of light and color form there. His head was spinning again, the force behind it enough to make him want to vomit.

If you were ever my friend, you will run. You will run and hide and shelter yourself and survive. There is no other option, young one. You have to make it out there. You have to run. You have to hide. You must survive.

The whisper was cold and cruel in his ears now, but back then it had been warm. It had been soft and warm and friendly, desperate for him to listen and loving him all the more when he nodded. The gentle nip to his wrist and the soft kiss of his tongue to his forehead… Yami remembered it all very well, just as he did the rest of the days that had followed his declaration.

---

Yugi woke in the middle of the night to a stunning lack of weight upon the mattress but for his own. The furniture seemed to have clumped and rolled beneath his weight but it had not been touched otherwise. He shivered and felt sick as he rolled over. Unconsciously his arm moved to touch upon the cold surface of the comforter. At first Yugi understood nothing in the meaning of wondering why it was that he did so.

He felt around for a long moment, mind still dazed and swallowed away by the darkness that held his eyes shut. He thought briefly of his dream, the way it clung to the edges of his thoughts like frost within the cold air. He shivered at the droplets of blood, the way the earth had seemed to swallow it away as if it were nothing more than mere water. The thought made him feel dizzy as he swallowed hard.

His hand grasped tightly upon the comforter for a moment. He ran his nails over it, listening to the scratching noise that came with such a thing. Then he blinked his eyes open against the darkness. His eyes stung immediately, head nearly spinning painfully with the sudden addition of color. Then he blinked again. He narrowed his gaze to mere slits, peering at a wall that looked far too dark due to the lack of light from the window. He wondered briefly how late it was, whether dawn was in the air.

Some part of him denied it, an instinct inside of him which said otherwise and relayed to him that it was still late in the night and dawn was hours beyond his grasp. He shivered and opened his eyes further. The air seemed incredibly cool against his skin, making him feel sick for a brief moment. He blinked and looked about the small room for a handful of seconds. And then he stiffened considerably, heart in his throat as he realized something that his subconscious had noted and he had not fully known.

He turned his head, horrified, and sat up rapidly. All he could see was a blanket pulled slightly over the edge of the bed, pooling on the floor beyond his eyesight. He stiffened, breathing hard as his heart hammered away rapidly.

Yami.

Yami was missing.

He tried his hardest not to spit out a horrified, strangled noise. He felt dizzy and horrified, sitting up further than ever. His eyes were wide, terrified, and his mouth tasted of blood as he struggled to focus. There was a noise somewhere further in the house. His grandpa was moving about in the kitchen, he realized, his footsteps ingrained in his thoughts. His stomach jerked and sloshed. He could hear his mom in her room, fast asleep as her breathing indicated.

But he could not sense the fourth person in the house. He could not sense in the slightest a lycanthrope with red eyes and uneven breaths. He could not tell if he was still there. He could not understand where he might have run off had he ever been able to sense him in the first place. In a sense of dire shock, Yugi clutched at his shirt by the collar. He tugged on it lightly, though forceful enough to knot the fibers together. He felt sick as he stared towards the bathroom, then at the window with a sinking feeling in his gut.

Oh no…

Oh no…

Oh…no…

He nearly vomited upon thinking of it. Had Yami snuck out? Had he opened the window and taken off when he'd gotten the chance? Had he dashed away into the woods again, ready to see himself away from Yugi altogether? Had he—?

Would he have left him like that?

He remembered the way Yami had said he would tell him if he had ever wanted or needed to leave on his own. He remembered that. He did. He remembered it. He recalled it perfectly. Yami had promised not to abandon him. He had not thought to even suggest otherwise at that time.

He swallowed hard and dizziness made his head spin. His mouth was dry but for the metallic taste of blood. He did not know the source of it, however. He wondered at whether it was from a bite to his cheek or the sides of his tongue. Maybe he had bitten the muscle in half and swallowed it for all he knew. He swallowed hard at the thought, wondering how it was that his tongue did not disappear down his throat. He was shaking, he realized, as a new thought occurred to him.

Yami was gone.

Yami wasn't there.

Because…

Because maybe he had never been there.

Because perhaps Yugi had hallucinated it all.

Because, maybe, just maybe, somehow, despite all his effort, Yugi had failed to save him.

And maybe Noah had ripped his throat out instead.

And maybe Yugi had been unable to process it.

Maybe he was so incredibly broken that he was unable to think.

*And so maybe then he had processed and fabricated something entirely opposing the truth of it all.

Because, perhaps, he was just far too broken to deal with it all.

Yugi grasped tighter at his shirt, twisting the fabric in his fist and swallowing hard enough that it made him feel as if he might vomit.