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.

67. The River

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Hopefully biweekly

Chapter Warnings: MILD Bloodshed, Hunting

So the Anui people of Hokkaido DID believe that the humans came from wolves. They worshipped them as guardians and left them offerings at times before they would go to gather that year's harvest. They believed that the wolves dictated whether there would be a good harvest or anything like that. They were also considered gods and that's why their Japanese name is Ookami/Okami as Kami is Japanese for "god".

Yugi makes a reference to Black Shuck this chapter. He's a ghostly black dog that's considered a hellhound. There's a lot of legends surrounding him, but his most famous is when he appeared in a church as it was being struck by lightning and killed and burned several people while howling and snarling. That was in 1577 in Bungay. He's said to appear in Suffolk and Norfolk and occasionally he can be heard dragging chains or seen just walking. His eyes can be gold, red or green.

Chapter LXVII: The River

Work Log Entry LX: June, 2006

June 16

Atem seems to be exhausted by the exams we have performed on him today.

And he does not seem to be recovering now.

June 26

The boss has decided to spend time with Atem again.

No one is sure what is going on.

But he came back from the cage with a syringe of blood.

I know it was Atem's because when I checked on him he had a bright red mark on his arm inside of his elbow.

June 29

Atem does not seem ill.

But I cannot determine what would cause the boss to draw blood from him.

He does not do so with the other wolves…

"Come on, Yami."

Yugi looked up from where he'd entered the kitchen. He put the backpack aside on the kitchen seat he'd sat in the day before. The small teen shook his head and dug through his backpack for a moment to look everything over. The words were repeated as he looked around lazily and he frowned as he turned his head to look over his shoulder and face the living room. The wolf was seated on the couch, watching his mother with pricked ears and a tilted head. He was staring at her with something of a bored expression rather than a curious one. But he was not snarling and he did not seem even remotely aggressive at the moment.

That was an improvement from his usual attitude in his mental state now.

The small teen smiled in amusement and made his way towards the living room to see the wolf as well. "Yami," he said loudly, making a hand movement for the canine to get up and come to his side. Yami flicked his ears and looked first at his mother, eyeing her as if he thought she might reach for him. He hesitated, standing on the end of the couch and considering. For a moment he didn't move. Then he jumped off the cushion and landed on the carpet with a slow, halting wag of his tail. He looked back at Kasumi for a moment, wagging his tail a little more, and then turned to Yugi again.

He turned back to his mom. "I finally got him to listen to me," he murmured, offering her a slightly strained smile. Because he knew she was about to say what he'd been dreading since their conversation the night before. He had been hopeful that perhaps his mother was going to decide against it instead. "I'm going to go ahead and take him for a walk in a few minutes."

He hoped that she would take the opening that he'd supplied her.

And he was more thankful than he could put into words when she did.

"I already contacted Arthur about going there in a couple of hours," she said softly, considering his expression for a moment. When he simply nodded, she seemed to relax. The acceptance was not something she'd been expecting, if the expression on her face was anything to go by. Yugi offered her a small smile, one that he hoped was more genuine than the one he'd given her minutes before. "I told him I'd be staying there for a few days. It might be a week, but I don't expect to be gone longer than that."

Her blue eyes fell on Yami. Yugi lowered his gaze as well. The wolf was simply sitting between them, thin and frail but with pricked ears and a muzzle pointed at the handle of a cabinet door. Yugi smiled faintly in amusement, then shrugged it off and shook his head slightly.

"Okay," he said, turning back to her. She was still looking at Yami, however, as if surprised by his presence there. It was odd to see her expression, the way she peered at him so curiously. "That's fine. Do you want me to walk you over there? Arthur can't feel comfortable driving in this weather…"

His mom blinked in surprise, then frowned slightly as she considered him. "I wasn't going to ask him to drive, no. I figured that he wouldn't want to deal with the weather at all, especially since it's going to snow again soon enough." She hesitated. "But I don't want you to feel like you need to walk me over there when you need to take care of him…"

Yugi shook his head. "He can come with us. It'll just be a…pretty slow walk," he commented uncomfortably, glancing at the wolf that was still staring at the cabinet door almost lazily. He flicked his ears and tilted his head before slowly turning to him in bewilderment. His red eyes grew wide and his ears pricked forward as he shifted his weight in an almost awkward movement. Yugi couldn't tell if he was startled to find him looking at him or if he was anxious to get out of the house. "Or I can walk him and then I'll walk with you to Arthur's."

Kasumi was looking at Yami again, clearly considering her options. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet and she seemed mildly troubled. "I don't think he'd walk there very well, Yugi. It's over a block away."

"I know, but he can keep up." He looked at the wolf again. "Maybe he can't quite keep up as far as walking all at once. But if we go slowly, he'll be fine. I just need to find one of those fleece jackets we always have for the shaved dogs."

"I don't think it'll fit him properly."

"No, but it'll cover up most of his wounds." Yugi considered Yami again for a long moment. The wolf was simply staring at him in response. He would have used the fleece the day before had it not been for the fact that they'd only been going through the yard. And even then, yesterday it had not been snowing. It had started with loose flurries a few minutes before he'd gotten home from school. This time he wasn't going to let Yami out of the house without a fleece of some kind over his skin. He'd lose his body heat too quickly… "And I don't want to have anyone paying too much attention to him."

"I don't think that anyone will really be on the streets at a time like this, Yugi."

"You'd be surprised." He paused for a moment, wondering at the idea of whether the wolf would be too weak to deal with it all. He had to wonder if it was perhaps more than slightly foolish to bring him along when he was wounded. He did not know if it was okay for him to do that when someone might notice them. And he hesitated for a long handful of minutes before he finally looked at Yami. "You think you could look less like a wolf for me, aibou?"

His mom blinked at the use of the nickname, but said nothing against it. Yami blinked up at him in response, tilted his head and flicked an ear. The flash in his eyes was something of frustration and perhaps mild indignation and Yugi almost snickered in delight at the idea. Instead he leaned forward and ran his fingers through the wolf's soft fur along his ears. His stomach was in knots as they looked at one another. Yami didn't seem troubled, but Yugi did not know how much of the conversation he actually understood. He leaned forward and squished his cheeks against his cheekbones. Yami scowled at him, then huffed and peeled his lips back slightly to growl. Yugi released him, snickering, and rubbed his ears again.

"We can just leave him here if that would make you feel better," he offered after a moment, turning back to his mom with a raised brow. "I mean, I'm sure he wouldn't mind staying home instead. It's not like he really needs to walk that far anyways. I can leave him here and walk him when I get back or something like that."

Kasumi shook her head. "You wouldn't want that."

Yugi blinked and frowned at her. "What does that have to do with anything? That's not really important."

"I'm not going to have you follow me like that if you're going to be worried about him the entire time." Then she frowned and shook her head more pointedly. "And I don't want you to walk home on your own either. I know that you're infected and all of that, but if you're being hunted…"

The small teen glanced at Yami and then back to her. "I don't think it would be smart to bring him down there in public in case someone does notice. I don't want them to know that he's hurt or anything like that." He paused for a long moment, then sighed softly. "Yeah, I don't think that it would be too great for me to do that. I don't know that Yami would be safe if anyone noticed him in that state. I'm more worried about that at this rate. But I'd be okay to just walk home on my own."

Kasumi frowned, shaking her head slowly and feeling somewhat full of disbelief. The wolf blinked at them from his place on the floor. She had not noticed until then that Yami had stretched himself out to lie on his belly. The canine blinked as he looked between them. She wondered if he was curious or perhaps bewildered, if he was struggling to piece the words together to make sense in his own head.

"I don't think that anyone would really be looking for you…do you?"

Yugi shrugged slightly. "I don't know. Sometimes they just seem to be lurking around every corner. It really always seems that way," he muttered, shrugging slightly. He lowered his voice further, nearly mumbling under his breath as he continued. "Although, Fuwa Ryuichi was actually enrolled at the school. He actually managed to lure us to the restaurant to kill us. And Catherine was pretending to be the nurse at school. The other handful of them, though…"

"What?" his mom asked, raising a brow and staring at him in confusion. "What did you say?"

The small teen blinked and tipped his head towards her in bewilderment. Quickly he shook his head, giving her a strained smile. "Nothing, I was just thinking about something. It's not anything really important," he said with a small shrug. He frowned briefly before moving to tuck his hands into his school jacket pockets. "It's really not that big a deal."

Kasumi frowned at him, then lowered her head towards Yami. The wolf blinked and turned back to her with wide eyes. They considered each other for a moment and the canine slowly moved to wag his tail. He looked unsure of himself as he considered her, however, almost as if he expected her to snap at him. But instead she raised a brow and turned back to her son. "If you're going to come with me, I think you might need to actually change your clothes before you come out there. I don't think them knowing where you go to school is a smart idea."

Yugi nodded after a moment, glancing at Yami as well. "Good point. I'll be right back."

He was gone before she could respond and so she looked at the wolf. The canine watched him disappear around the corner and turned back to her. He blinked up at her, slowly moved his tail to a slight wag, and flicked his ears. She wondered how much he understood of their conversation or whether he was watching them in bewilderment for the sake of knowing what was going on. He had to think that Yugi had called him over there for a reason, she was sure. That was probably why he'd still been laying there watching them as the conversation progressed.

"Do you think you can actually walk that far?" she asked softly, frowning and crouching down to look down at him. He blinked at her, flattening his ears back and staring at her curiously. And then he flicked an ear towards where they could both hear Yugi moving around in his room for a moment. But he did not look away from Kasumi, instead peering at her curiously. "I trust you to bring him back home in one piece."

Yami tilted his head and when he parted his mouth slightly and his incisors were showing, she swore he was smiling. But it was not like a dog's sloppy grin, where the mouth was half-opened and the eyes were bright with excitement or adoration or squinted with pleasure. It was one of something almost akin cunning, as if he were laughing at a joke he'd played that she could not name. It was gone in an instant, however, as Yugi began to make his way through the hallway and towards the kitchen.

When Yugi neared, Yami simply moved to sit up and shook himself out almost as if he had gotten dust on the small growth of fuzz he had covering his skin. Then he flicked his ears and got up all the way. He looked at Yugi briefly, then away again as if he was unsure he should have gotten up in the first place. Kasumi watched her son smile briefly at the canine, moving almost as if he might touch him before turning to her instead.

"I was thinking about it and he should definitely be okay to walk that far. But he's going to get pretty tired pretty frequently so it's going to be a long walk. If he gets to the point that he's trembling and can't move or anything like that I'll go ahead and carry him back after I get him all warmed up again later. I don't want him to get too tired or anything like that."

"You think he's going to get hypothermia?"

"I think after I put a jacket on him and get him settled for a little while, he'll be fine. But I think that it would probably be a good idea for me to go ahead and get him warmed up again when we're over there. Or something like that." He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he won't need that this time."

"This time?"

"I walked him yesterday but he got really tired in the middle of it. We had to stop pretty frequently and then he started shaking so I brought him inside and gave him warm fluids anyways. I don't think he was actually hypothermic. I think he was actually too exhausted to move and that's how he expressed it."

Kasumi turned to Yami again, considering him for a long while. The wolf blinked up at her and then at Yugi slowly. His ears flicked and he looked between them as if he did not know which of them he was meant to listen to. It was bewildering to see the huge canine considering them as if either of them had the power to truly tell him what to do. It was enough to make Kasumi raise a brow in surprise. Yami was not nearly as dangerous in expression now as he had seemed before. But that did not mean much to her in the grand scheme of things.

He was still a werewolf. She was still certain of the raw strength he possessed and it was nothing she would ever want to go against. Even if he had been nothing but a natural-born wolf she would have been wary of him, if only because of the raw power he would have possessed. It was surprising to her just how easily the wolf deferred to her son, however. It was bewildering to see the simplicity of his expression. He looked as easygoing and gentle as Blankey had been when she'd initially met the German shepherd puppy. The realization was enough to make her skin crawl.

He looked so…innocent.

But there was absolutely no way that he could be. Yugi had said that they'd dealt with hunters before. That had to mean more than just simply escaping them. He must have meant that Yami had killed them at least once before. And that was not secluded to him alone. Kasumi was well aware that it meant her son had done so at one point or another as well. There was truly no means by which Yami alone would have been the one to do such a thing.

It was impossible.

"Mom?"

She didn't raise her eyes from the wolf for a moment. Then she blinked and looked at her son who was staring at her with a tilted head, clearly concerned. She frowned slightly and shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Let me grab my bag and then we'll head out."

Yugi nodded after a moment, though he clearly looked unconvinced. The expression on his face was one of bewilderment as she passed him and headed for her room again. He blinked and turned to Yami before she passed into the hallway and she swore she heard him mutter, "What do you think that was about?"

---

Yugi stopped again. Kasumi paused at his side and turned to look over her shoulder as he did the same. Yami had come to a stop again. He was at the other end of the leash, appearing tired and more than slightly flustered. He had nearly bitten Yugi again when he'd started to put the jacket on him. And he'd been walking stiffly ever since they'd left the house. The wolf would occasionally whine and flatten his ears. And then he'd try to back out of the collar as if it might be the reason that he was dressed up as he was. But then he'd settle for walking when he had no other choice. And now the wolf was standing just as he was before, looking exhausted and flustered.

"Hey, come on, aibou," Yugi muttered softly, frowning. "You're okay."

Kasumi wondered if he knew how condescending he truly sounded at the moment. But Yugi did not seem to mind the fact too much as he simply raised his head and looked at the canine in question. Yami huffed and shivered, then shook himself out. He was not trembling as if he were too tired to move or too cold to keep going. He simply looked at them with a crestfallen expression, as if Yugi were punishing him for something he did not understand.

"It's okay. You're okay. You're not hurt."

Kasumi considered the wolf again, tilting her head and then glancing at her son. The snow crunched under her boots when she moved to face the canine completely. Yugi had been careful in putting the fleece on him, making sure that the sutures were unharmed and were not pulled in any way. Yami had protested wearing the four jackets but he had not truly bitten, though he'd mouthed Yugi angrily and glared at him the entire time around the small teen's laughter.

"Are you sure that he can keep going?"

"Positive. He'll be fine."

She frowned at him but did not bother to say otherwise. It was strange to see the way he looked at the wolf with such warm eyes and tried again to coax him forward. He even patted his thighs as if Yami might respond like a common dog. Instead the wolf opened his mouth and grabbed at the end of the leash closest to him. When he tugged, Yugi burst out laughing.

"You don't look that bad!"

Kasumi snorted in amusement. "He looks like a blue marshmallow with the way you've layered him."

Yugi shot her a flustered look. "Not in front of him. He'll never move if he knows."

Yami huffed at them both, tugged one more time, and then finally sighed when neither of them moved. It was only because they stood there and simply stared that he finally made a move to step forward. The sound of the snow beneath his paws seemed to echo like gunfire in Yugi's ears for all of a moment before he continued forward. Yami's ears were pricked and his tail seemed to have puffed outwardly. He glared at them both as Yugi smiled at him and they began to walk again.

"So, I'm thinking that I'll give him twice as much food for the next couple of feedings. He always seems really hungry after he's done eating. And feeding him three times a day does nicely but he always seems like he's still starving when I put everything away for him. I don't know. I just think it might be a good idea…"

Kasumi blinked and glanced at him. "From a medical standpoint, no, that's a really bad idea. You know that. It could cause a lot of issues with digestion. Considering he's not a normal wolf though, I don't see why you shouldn't. It might help him gain weight faster. But I guess just watch and see how he takes to it before you do it more than once."

Yugi nodded. "I kind of thought so too. I think when we get back home I'll give him some warm milk and then try and see if he's hungry enough to eat a double serving of his food later tonight when it's closer to his bedtime."

"That'd probably be a smart move."

"Okay, then that's what I'll do." He glanced over his shoulder. Yami was sniffing at some snow but had not raised his head to regard them again. He wondered for a moment if the wolf might be upset with their conversation or if he was simply growing tired again. But the canine hardly seemed inclined to pay them any mind any longer and he figured it must have been the latter. So he turned back his mom again, sighing quietly. "I forgot how much dogs liked to do this. I haven't walked one in a while and now I'm doing this and he's acting just like one."

Kasumi considered the wolf and then glanced at her son as well. "I don't know, Yugi. I think he's a little too big to be a dog," she snorted. But there was something in her eyes that said she was more than slightly unnerved as the seconds passed. Then she drew in a deep breath, turning away. "I don't think anyone would mistake him for a dog."

Yugi felt as if he'd been punched in the gut, grunting in frustration. "Well, it's not like anyone is going to suspect him of being a wolf—and definitely not a werewolf. Wolves are extinct here." He hesitated. "And the rest are mythology. No one believes in that kind of thing."

His mom shook her head. "Some of them do."

"Grandpa doesn't count. He's always been told those stories as a kid, just like his parents were and so on and so forth. It doesn't count because he's related to me and he knew that something like this was going to happen a long time ago."

Kasumi made a show of rolling her eyes in front of him. "No, but the remaining Anui people tend to believe in those kinds of things. You remember that their origin story says that the wolves turned into humans. They literally believe that the human race comes from wolves."

Yugi grimaced. "They don't have that much influence anymore," he muttered, unsure of himself now. He glanced over his shoulder as Yami began to slowly pad forward. "And not that many people believed that to begin with. I mean… People basically hate anything to do with wolves now."

"They don't hate them. They're just afraid of them."

"There isn't much of a difference where wolves are involved."

Yami's claws were clicking against the ice. It was a surreal sound, something that made Yugi grimace as he slowly looked back again with a tilted head. The crunching of the snow was incredibly loud as well, so much so that the small teen almost thought it sounded like the rumble of a nearby car. But then the wolf looked at him and he felt the smallest sense of ease come through him, the feeling forgotten in the potential panic of another recognizing Yami to be as he truly was.

Yami was safe for the moment.

That was what mattered the most.

He was sure someone else might have argued that thought with him. And he was not the least bit concerned by the realization. He did not care in the slightest when it came down to it. The most he cared about at the moment was that Yami was, in fact, perfectly fine. He was in front of him, tired but moving forward with pricked ears. His face was battered and he was still too thin, but he was growing his hair back rapidly. And his eyes were clear. They did not hold any sense of residue or anything that might have harmed him. There was nothing about him but his emaciated state to suggest sickness either.

"I'm just glad he hasn't had a seizure or anything since the surgery, you know?" Yugi commented quietly, taking the conversation into a new direction as he drew in a deep breath. He glanced at Yami again, turned back to his mom and found her staring straight ahead, and finally looked down at the snow again. It seemed odd to try to justify his own thoughts and feelings for him this way. It was odd enough that it made his stomach curl. He licked his lips, staring pointedly down at the ice now. "I honestly kind of worried I'd wake up in the middle of the night to him thrashing around again."

"You've actually slept the last couple of days?" The words were incredulous enough to make him blink in surprise. Yugi thought he heard the smallest, vaguest hint of bitterness there as well. "I thought you would have stayed awake the entire time, honestly."

He scratched at the back of his head uncomfortably. In truth, he had for the most part. It was something that he had not truly paid attention to. And he'd fallen asleep in quick, short bursts. Normally he was awake again within ten minutes, blinking and searching rapidly for Yami in the living room.

He had not slept in his own bed for days now.

He glanced over his shoulder again. Yami was trailing behind them steadily. He was breathing hard, puffing out harsh breaths, but he was doing it regardless. The wolf did not seem as if he might stop at any time soon either, and the thought was comforting. But another rode on its heels almost instantly. He wondered briefly if perhaps the wolf would do better resting within his room. If he was to move back there for the night, was it possible that Yami might follow him? Or would he simply stay out in the living room? Maybe Yugi should have chosen a better position, a pillow and a blanket, and taken to making a nest on the couch. Then perhaps he would be able to find him more immediately, feeling more comfortable about his sleeping out there.

His stomach churned as he turned away again.

He was not only anxious upon awakening simply for the fact that he sometimes did not immediately see the wolf. He was anxious because of the mere fact that he knew the wolf was there, that he was wounded and in need of help. And, oftentimes, when he closed his eyes, all he could see was Yami thrashing and foaming at the mouth. He would smell the hot iron scent of blood and hear the hideous choking that had beheld Yami's vomiting and see the harsh spasms he would go through.

Yugi shook the thought off as quickly as he could.

"I don't really sleep all that much anymore in general," he said uncomfortably, reaching up with the hand holding Yami's leash. He tugged lightly on his shirt and ignored the urge to grab at his choker for a brief moment. He glanced at her sideways, swallowing hard. "It's kind of hard when you have insomnia like I do, I guess."

His mother shot him an unamused look. "You've always had insomnia." It just hadn't been too terrible, Yugi knew. The small teen offered her something of a sheepish smile, as if perhaps he had been caught in the act. Then he shook his head slightly and pursed his lips. "So it's gotten worse then."

"Ever since I first started to change."

"I always noticed the bags under your eyes. But there were a lot of times where you would show symptoms of restlessness and then seemingly recover or worsen out of nowhere just as quickly." She did not look at him again. "I figured it was just that kind of thing. I guess I should have realized otherwise when you began to look paler and thinner."

"It's not like it would have done anything, Mom. I was also extremely depressed about the whole situation with him"—he didn't have the heart to say his name and so now he simply gestured awkwardly—"and that made it hard to really hard to want to sleep or eat properly."

"I can't believe how much control he has over you."

The statement was so quiet that the words were almost inaudible. Yugi blinked in surprise, faltering in his steps. He slowed to a stop, blinking once more, and then glanced over his shoulder. Yami was considering both of them curiously now, peering at his mom first and then at him. He did not move faster, he did not wag his tail, but his eyes were on them almost expectantly now.

"It wasn't just him." He swallowed hard. "It was just…stressful. I had to learn a lot of things on my own and I wasn't prepared for it."

Kasumi shook her head. "You weren't prepared for it," she repeated in a wry tone. "You weren't prepared for him to up and disappear for a while?"

Yugi felt a wave of bitterness and guilt surge through him. He gritted his teeth to keep from snarling, though he did not stop the sneer from entering his voice. "He had just saved my life from another hunter and got himself hurt. The ice cracked in the river and he got swept away. That's why I was out of the house that night, why you guys woke up to me no longer in my room. I came home when you guys were preparing to call the police, right? Or, at least, I had crawled out of the tub by then." He huffed and glanced over his shoulder again, somehow amazed and perplexed and altogether fascinated that Yami was still there. The wolf had not slowed or hurried himself. And he was simply striding in one fluid motion that almost could have convinced Yugi that he was not hurt in the slightest. "The hunter had taken off when Yami went underwater. I don't know what you expect from me, but of course I was going to be worried when he got hurt and went missing."

His mom stayed quiet for a long minute, then sighed loudly. "It doesn't truly matter, does it? It's in the past already. And you don't owe me an explanation."

The teen blinked at her in surprise. "You don't think I owe you an explanation? Why not?"

"Why not? Because you're my son and you're old enough to make your own decisions. And I don't think you should ever have to explain or justify your emotions in any way. You know that."

"Yes, but I still…" He still wanted to. He still always felt that he needed to. And that had nothing to do with her. It probably had more to do with his schoolmates than anything else. He knew that his mother would never ask him for an explanation. And she would allow him to feel whatever way he might about anything and everything. She was willing to let him find his own understanding emotionally. She was willing to allow him to figure it all out in his own time rather than be led by the hand. "I guess you're right then. It doesn't really matter, does it?"

They fell silent for a moment. He frowned, moving to lightly shuffle away the snow from the path in front of him. The canine behind him was moving in that same steady pace. Yugi swallowed hard and grimaced as he looked over his shoulder again. The wolf did not so much as blink. And Kasumi turned as well, considering the canine with darkened eyes. The three of them swapped awkward glances at one another.

Yugi turned away again, walking a little more pointedly now. Yami remained at his easy pace. And his mom turned slowly away from the two of them completely. Yugi awkwardly tucked his hand holding the leash into his pocket and kept his grip tight on the second bag his mother had packed. The small teen felt sick as he shook his head slowly and grimaced more pointedly. "Do you ever wonder if Arthur knew about the lycanthropy thing too? I know that Yoshimori and his business partner did. But I kind of wonder if Arthur does too."

Kasumi shook her head. "No. I don't think that Arthur knows."

"Good." But he wondered at the idea of whether it was possible that he would eventually understand and find out for himself. He considered it and for some reason, as he did so, his mind drifted towards another pale-haired male with wide eyes and glasses. His stomach knotted as he looked at the snow pointedly, mouth tugging downwards into a grimace. He had run from Hanasaki. He needed to change that. He needed to speak to him about what it was that had happened to Tomoya.

"Do you think he would tell anyone if he did know?"

"No, but it makes me nervous. The less people who know, the better."

His mother raised a brow, looking over at him. Yugi blinked and raised his head now to look at her as well. "But it being such a huge secret like that… It has to be overwhelming at times."

"I think I'd rather have it become overwhelming than risk someone getting hurt because they know who I am."

---

"Here you go."

He put the bowl down in front of him, watching with satisfaction as Yami climbed to his feet again and hurried forward. He was clearly still tired, but his eyes were brighter and his movements were fluid. His fur had grown enough to reach a small inch beyond his skin. The wolf lowered his head and began to drink the water surrounding the meat, ate the boar steak that Yugi had gotten him, and took a seat. Yugi watched him as he ran his lips over his whiskers a few times, looking towards the small teen with his head tilted slightly. They considered each other for a moment and an impulse came over Yugi for the briefest of seconds.

His hand reached out before he considered it more than a second. His eyes had darkened slightly. His hand looked shaky where he'd reached out. And his expression was mildly troubled. Yami blinked up at the boy in confusion. And then, his fingers got closer. The wolf blinked at them, tipped his head up just slightly to sniff him. The seconds passed before Yugi finally reached him.

Yami blinked lazily at him. Yugi's hand ran over the soft furs along his head and the back of his neck. Then it ruffled upwards and ran over his ears. The canine blinked at him with dark eyes. Yugi ruffled his ears for a moment. The wolf did not seem to flinch in any manner. He did not look as if he might pull away. And Yugi was comfortable in the realization that the cartilage was not hurt in any way. He was happy to know this, to realize that the wolf did not ache from such a simple touch.

Yugi drew in a comfortable breath and looked at him more pointedly. He began to open his mouth, then faltered. His lips tugged slightly into a smile. Yami blinked up at him again. A heartbeat passed before Yugi moved to crouch in front of him. The canine tilted his head and blinked at him curiously. When he opened his mouth again, the small teen could smell something of iron from the boar meat he'd eaten. The two of them blinked at each other again.

"I'll give you more food in a minute, okay?" He smiled a little wider. The wolf blinked at him almost lazily. Then he pricked his ears forward, considered him, and ran his tongue over his nose. They studied each other, as if perhaps somehow they might notice something they hadn't before. "Maybe you should go to sleep for a little while, huh? You look really tired, aibou."

The wolf tilted his head again, blinking bright red eyes. His ears flicked and one of them brushed the inside of Yugi's palm in a ticklish manner. His nose wiggled as he sniffed lightly at the air. He was seated comfortably in front of him, long legs and frail muscle and fragile bones. When he shifted his weight, Yugi could see the harsh pull of the sinews and grizzle beneath his skin. It was surprising to witness it. It was odd to see how incredibly powerful the muscles were and notice the resilient strength that still existed there.

Yami did look extremely tired, however. He peered up at Yugi in a manner that said he was clearly physically tired. He did not look exhausted, but he was close to that point. The walk there and back, then allowing Arthur to look him over and ask Yugi about him, and Yugi warming him up with heated blankets and warm water bottles, had clearly winded the wolf.

Yugi wondered if perhaps the time there had been enough to overwhelm him in such a sense. It was clear that he was not completely recovered from the long trek. But he looked comfortable for the most part. And the small teen thought it was enough to make it clear that the red-eyed wolf was too exhausted to truly care to pay him further attention. The canine pricked his ears forward. Then he lowered his chin to his paws and closed his eyes tightly. Yugi considered him a moment longer. Then the small teen smiled and shook his head.

"You should get some sleep." He smiled a little wider and the wolf blinked lazily in front of him, sharp red eyes and flicking ears. He looked slightly amused, his tail wagging the smallest degree. Then he closed his eyes again and flexed his paws in a lazy stretch for a moment. His tail wagged again, more pointedly, before he began to seemingly doze off. But then his nose wiggled and Yugi snorted a laugh, almost delighted with the sight of it. "You're still hungry, aren't you, aibou? I'll get you some more food."

Yami wagged his tail vigorously now, head raised and mouth parted to allow his tongue to loll from behind his large teeth. He pricked his ears forward, eyes bright and vibrant with satisfaction. They stared at each other for a long moment before Yugi shook his head and turned to make his way into the kitchen.

The wolf's claws made a loud clicking noise when he followed him onto the wood and Yugi blinked as he turned his head to look over again. The canine stopped a few feet away from him, taking a seat and staring at him with wide red eyes. A long moment passed in which they simply stared at one another. And then Yugi smiled faintly with a shake of his head and turned back to the fridge. "Let's see, Yami, what would you like to eat today? We have a little bit of boar left, some beef, some deer. What about some lamb?"

The canine licked his lips when he looked over the door and glanced at him. And then the wolf wagged his tail again more pointedly, staring at him with bright eyes. The lycanthrope nodded slightly and turned away to pick at the large steak of lamb that he'd bought a couple of days before. He closed the fridge again and reached up to scratch at his shoulder lightly. Then Yugi moved to grab the metal bowls he'd been using to pour water and soak the steak inside of it.

He mixed the goat's milk with cold water and put it aside for the canine. Yami immediately ran over to it when it was placed on the ground and drank it before Yugi had even gotten back to the steak in question. He frowned as he looked at the large canine and shook his head slightly. Yami looked incredibly happy with this new development, red eyes bright, and Yugi rolled his eyes.

"Here you go."

He put the bowl down in front of him and Yami began to dig in vigorously. He did not so much as blink at Yugi, instead munching the meat away in heavy chunks. There was not a single second glance towards him and Yugi turned away after a moment. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes as the wolf finished his meal and began to head back into the living room.

---

"How did you wind up getting him to listen to you again?"

Yugi didn't look up from where he was undoing the clip on the leash connected to Yami's collar. His eyes were still glued to the canine as the dark-furred wolf began to make his way into the living room again. Sugoroku watched Yami move about the room for a moment, then plop down on his pillows and yawn with a single stretch of his large paws. He did not so much as blink beyond this, closing his eyes tightly.

"It pays to pay a lot of attention to him sometimes."

He sounded distracted more than anything. But, when he looked over, Yugi was watching him with clear eyes. He seemed more than slightly tired despite the bright gleam to his gaze. And Sugoroku nearly raised a brow, considering the words and wondering at the statement. Then he shook his head slightly and reached up to rub at the back of his head uncomfortably. His grandson blinked but did not question the behavior, instead turning away and glancing over his shoulder at the wolf again.

"Do you think he's going to be stuck like this for much longer?"

Yugi looked back to him, frowning in thought. Then, slowly, he shrugged his shoulders and stared down at the ground uncomfortably. "I think that it will have to take at least a couple of weeks before he's able to even change back to his human form." He looked back again and seemed satisfied with whatever it was that Yami was doing because he turned to him once more almost immediately. He was grinning slightly as he moved around to take a seat at the table, eyes curious. "I think he'll probably recover his memory a little sooner than that. But I don't think he'll come back around to being human again or anything like that before the end of the month."

The elderly Motou frowned at the thought. "Do you think that Yami will be okay on his own when you start back to school?"

The small teen fell silent for a long handful of minutes. Then he glanced into the living room and back. "I think he'll be fine," he answered finally. "I think you'll just have to be sure to feed him on time. He might not be too happy if you don't do that. Besides that, he should be fine enough with the whole thing. Just make sure to walk him every now and then. I don't think he'll actually do anything when it comes to using the bathroom, but I think that he'll be okay past that. It's mostly just for exercise, anyways. I don't want his muscles to deteriorate because he's not exercising like he needs to."

But hopefully break would not end before Yami healed enough to be able to change back and forth and take care of himself again. He didn't mind the task himself, but he did not think that having his grandfather do more than that was a good idea. No doubt his grandpa and Yami would likely butt heads in this manner. It was frustrating to consider that the wolf would be too stubborn to follow the elderly Motou's lead. And Yugi did not think that he could truly explain to him that the only reason Yami listened to him now was because he was no longer ignoring himself or any distress he might have been suffering.

He wondered at this, curious. He was shaken slightly by the thought that perhaps the wolves at the camp were so malcontent with him because of something similar. He felt shaky and small for a brief moment before shrugging it off.

This was not something he had to focus on now. Doing so now while he was at home talking to his grandpa was not something that he wanted to deal with. He was not sure that he could deal with it all in such close proximity.

His grandpa was still watching him and Yugi felt sick as he glanced over his shoulder. Yami was still fast asleep and he did not seem as if he were upset in any manner within his slumber. Yugi shivered as he turned back and looked at his grandfather. But Sugoroku had stopped paying attention to him after he'd looked away to check on the canine once more. The loss of his focus on him made Yugi feel safer to consider the thoughts that had clawed their way through his mind then. He felt sick and dizzy for a brief moment as his stomach knotted and his eyes flickered back towards Yami again.

He understood a lot more of the wolves' behavior now. Yami had taught him well enough in that aspect. If Yugi was going to hide away from problems, the pack was not going to listen to him. That they had done so in the first place was solely because of his identity as Atem. Had he never told them such a thing, they would failed to follow him in any sense whatsoever.

He wondered if perhaps the wolves would have turned on him violently as Annie had once considered doing to Yami. The exchange would have ended a much different way, however, he was sure. He knew that the wolves would have bitten and attacked him violently, perhaps even killed him. Yami, however, had been more violent and powerful than he himself was at the time he'd been in the camp with them.

Yugi felt sick for a moment as he tilted his head to look at the black-furred wolf. The canine was still fast asleep and did not seem hurt in any way. He was still resting, though Yugi was not sure it was happily so, and grew sick to his stomach with the thought. The small teen turned away to look at the floor and then to his elderly grandpa for a moment. The plum eyes were on a book that he'd laid out on the table in front of him.

And Yugi considered him with a tilt of his head for a brief moment.

If his grandpa was a wolf, he could not see how he would have been happy with him in any way either. Yugi considered the idea for a long moment. He felt sick and tired. In truth, he could not imagine that even Sugoroku would have listened to him had he seen him in the camp. Had he been a pack wolf he could not see his grandpa truly listening to him at all.

The reality of it was that Yugi hid from his problems more than anything else. He liked to push them aside and hide away and have answers fed to him than find them himself. Because it was terrifying and frustrating to him to consider that the wolves were so incredibly ensnared by his proclamation of being Atem that they would leap at the responsibility to listen to him.

But he did not think he would have been happy to listen to himself had he been in their place. He did not think for even a second that he would have cared to even consider such a thing to begin with. It was frustrating and tiring to him. The very idea of doing such a thing in the first place was bewildering and annoying. It was exhausting now that he was even thinking about it.

Yami had not paid him any attention upon being reduced to his feral state in this way. It was stunning to him that the black wolf had paid him any mind at all. He had been able to ignore him in every sense upon his initial ignorance of his distress. Now he listened purely because Yugi had gotten most of his head wrapped around it for the most part. The canine in front of him was still powerful despite being exhausted and weakened physically. He had a feeling that, should push come to shove, Yami would have been able to kill or deal with anything in this sense of threat.

---

The dream Yugi had been muddling through was abruptly shattered. There had been the slightest hint of outside noise, startling enough that Yugi had clung to it even in his sleep. Somehow the words were muddled and lost to him for a moment, his groggy mind struggling to understand the meaning behind them. But he heard them definitively a moment later when the words repeated themselves.

He blinked his eyes open in the darkness, at first sure that the words were spoken aloud and still remained somewhere in the air. He thought briefly of a second person in the room, thinking immediately of his mother or grandfather. The reality of it was quite different, he realized, as he sat up and looked about himself immediately.

He rubbed at his eyes, at first confused and concerned as to the source of it. And then he looked down and his eyes stretched wide. A few feet away from the bed, head tilted and eyes glowing in the dark, was an immense black shape. The rounded black ears were pricked forward. The huge jaw was angled towards the ground. The large paws were pressed against his carpet in a hard knot of muscle. Claws glinted with the soft mixture of moon and streetlamp light. Half of his face was golden and the other darker black than he'd ever expected it to be. But he could see the glint of bright red in a halo from his glowing eye and it made Yugi shiver for a brief moment.

"What are you sorry for?" he asked, yawning and reaching up to rub at his eyes again. Yami had apologized, hadn't he? Yugi could have sworn that was what Yami had said, but he could not be entirely sure. He was so tired he was not sure he could properly evaluate the words the wolf had spoken to begin with. It was exhausting to look at the canine now and see him staring back with such tired eyes.

Everything. The word was said simply enough that Yugi almost looked back to see if he was even serious about the statement. Then he glanced sideways towards the wolf, at the window, and then back to the canine in front of him. The word was so incredibly fractured as well, however, that Yugi almost wondered if he'd mistaken him somehow.

"Everything?" he echoed quietly. "And that would mean…?"

Yami shifted unhappily in his seat, looking incredibly crestfallen and perhaps slightly nervous as well. But he did not seem as if he were upset beyond this, more that he was unsure of what more to say or do. He looked incredibly exhausted and his eyes were clearly unfocused as he peered back at Yugi in the darkness. The way the light refracted from his irises made his fur glitter in smears of red like Christmas light glow. Yugi rubbed at his own eyes again, wondering if he was perhaps seeing things for a split second.

But then he wondered if he was really speaking to him to begin with. Yami sounded as if he could barely talk as it was. He seemed almost to be lost in the way he tried to find words. And Yugi felt almost sick as he considered the canine in front of him. It was bewildering to him in every sense, he realized. And he was keenly aware of the fact that Yami's voice would most likely drop away altogether at any moment. He was all too focused on this aspect as he knew for a fact that Yami could not hold the conversation in any capacity for too much longer. His voice was too cracked. He almost sounded inaudible as it was. Yugi felt sick with this thought, turning to the wolf again with widened eyes.

Would he lose his voice again and suffer an inability to talk for longer than he had formerly? Yugi wondered at this, bewildered and feeling almost sick as he considered. But he did not want to say more than this, instead looking briefly away again. His eyes flickered to the window and he considered the way the light around the streetlamp was somewhat fuzzy and stiff. Perhaps it would rain at some point. But with the freezing temperatures as they were, he assumed truthfully he would likely see sleet and hail more than he would anything else. Maybe there would be electricity of some kind. But perhaps not…

Yugi shook the thought off and turned back to him. "What do you mean by 'everything', aibou?"

Yami stared back at him with a confused expression, one which only grew annoyed as the seconds grew. He shook his head hard back and forth with a slight bristle to his coat. Then he curled his lips back to show off his teeth and growled low in his throat. The sound seemed to resonate from within his chest and the way it shook itself within the cavity there made Yugi shiver. He was not sure if it was with nerves or perhaps a sense of delight upon realizing that Yami was still okay enough to make such a noise. He did not know what he was truly meant to think of that.

All of it, the black wolf spat out. I am regretful of all of it.

Yugi was silent for a long time. He had the abrupt urge to crawl forward atop the comforter and perhaps reach out to touch him. But Yami was shaking and he looked so upset that Yugi was sure that to do something like that would result in a bite. He was not even sure that Yami might know he was doing it, just that he might snap his jaws in response to something touching him. He was shaking harder than ever as the seconds passed, teeth bared and eyes glittering coldly in the dark.

"All of it?" he repeated quietly, hoping to coax the words out of him now. "What do you mean? Can you explain that to me or are you too upset?"

His ears flicked back and forth for a moment. Then he flattened them against his head and bore his teeth more pointedly at the floor. He bristled as the seconds passed, then whined and tossed his head rather violently. Yugi watched him, bewildered and more than slightly distressed by the clear aggression on his friend's face.

"Aibou…"

Enough! Yami spat at him, but his voice was frayed at the edges and he sounded exhausted again. The black wolf turned his head away entirely and glared at the window for a moment. Yugi's heart was in his throat as he watched the other wolf for a handful of minutes. Do not call me that.

The small teen sighed softly. He was going to argue with him about this instead of answer the question? He wondered if telling him that he should not be calling him by that name was less exhausting than giving him any other response. So he simply tilted his head and watched him for a long moment. Yami was still shaking, clearly still distressed, until he finally tipped his head up and looked back at him with tired eyes.

I've caused you a lot of misery.

Yugi blinked and furrowed his brows. "Misery?" he repeated quietly, tilting his head. He couldn't honestly argue that his life was exactly fun anymore. But he was not sure what he was meant to say to that kind of statement. The truth of it was that he was not miserable, but he was not exactly enthusiastic about most things in his life anymore either. Things were more painful than anything else, something that he did not care to elaborate on more often than not.

But Yami was not the reason things were rocky.

Yugi shrugged off the thoughts that were to immediately follow this. "You're not seriously blaming yourself for every little thing that's not going right in my life, right? I know you're not foolish enough to be doing that right now, right?" he asked instead, nearly hissing in annoyance. Because, abruptly, Yugi was well aware more now than ever what Yami truly meant at the moment. "I made my own choices."

That is not true. You would not have made them had it not been for my involvement in your life.

He rolled his eyes, long and slow, to the point of nearly making his head spin with the force of dizziness to accompany it. "What are you being such a martyr right now?" Yugi mumbled, turning back to the wolf to find him glaring at him with disdainful eyes. "You can't honestly be arguing with me right now over this of all things. It's almost four in the morning and you're doing this for the night?"

Yami shifted his weight, curled his lips back, and then flattened his ears against his head. You cannot tell me you have not blamed me for some things at one point or another. The effort of talking was clearly draining his focus, Yugi saw. The wolf was blinking and his voice was strained to the point of near incomprehension at the moment. The ears pricked and flicked about before flattening against his head again.

"I actually can say that for the most part. I don't normally blame other people when it comes to choices that I made, Yami. I try to actually avoid doing that. It makes me feel better to know that I'm not that kind of person."

The black wolf bore his teeth a bit more pointedly, snarling low in his throat. I should not be here.

Yugi tilted his head. "No? Then where should you be?"

Yami did not answer. His head turned away and he looked at the carpet as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. His nose lowered to it to sniff lightly and he feigned interest in the fibers for a long handful of minutes. The small teen sighed softly and ran his fingers through his hair, hateful of the fact that he had no idea what he was meant to say to him now. It was exhausting to see his friend like this and not have a way to help.

The seconds passed. Yami sniffed a few more times, turned his entire body as if he had caught an interesting scent, and moved to stand up. Yugi shivered, knowing in a second or two the canine would simply flee his room again.

"You should come up here, Yami," he said, unsure of what more to do. He patted the sheets and the wolf flicked an ear and slowly turned his head back towards him. Yugi was reminded abruptly of the way he'd stared at him in the snow that day that he'd killed Ryuzaki and Haga. Yami had given him a similar stare, one of consideration and frustration that he could not possibly put into words.

Your mom left.

Yugi blinked. "Yeah, a couple of days ago. You walked with us, remember?"

The wolf began to claw at the carpet for a moment, as if digging, then snapped his jaws. He was a large shadow of dark black hair and glowing red eyes now. Yugi wondered if this was what hellhounds looked like in the dead of night. He remembered reading about Black Shuck and wondering at the sight and now he thought maybe he knew it. Yami was an immense dark shape before him, of sharp bones and long fur that had grown back far more rapidly than he'd thought possible.

Because of me.

Yugi blinked, startled. Then he shook his head slowly. "No, Yami, that wasn't because of you. She left because of me. She didn't know how to handle it when I told her I was a werewolf. She decided to leave because she was too rattled to know what else to do. It's as simple as that."

Yami turned bright white teeth on him, snarling. It is not!

"Are we really arguing about this right now?"

He snarled again, then flattened his ears against his head as he had before. I'm sorry.

"No offense, Yami, but you apologize for really stupid stuff sometimes."

Yami flicked his ears and tilted his head, wagging his tail slightly. He looked abashed now, as if he had been startled from the soft reprimand. He turned away again after a moment, bristling slightly before forcing himself to relax.

"And, besides that, my mom knew what was going on," Yugi said quietly. The words made Yami's head tilt and head snap towards him in pure confused curiosity. The small teen smiled faintly, shaking his head. "She didn't want to admit it. But she's not stupid in the slightest, Yami. She knew things were happening like this. She was well aware of it. She just never wanted to actually ask or talk about it unless it was directly thrown in front of her."

The wolf blinked at him.

"Yeah, where do you think I get my incredible avoidance skills from?"

He wagged his tail slightly, awkwardly. His ears flicked about for a moment as if he could not understand what more he should do at the moment.

Yugi fell silent for a long handful of minutes. Yami was not going to get on the bed with him, he realized. The wolf was too nervous. There was something in his instincts which prevented this. He was clearly at odds with the desire to do so and the need to ignore such a thing as well.

"You know…why don't you and I go on a hunt?"

Yami pricked his ears forward and tilted his head, curious and bewildered by the sudden idea. The wolf blinked slowly and then muttered, Hunt? as if the term were something almost foreign to him. Yugi smiled in amusement and nodded as Yami looked briefly towards the window and back.

"Yeah, I'll get some actual clothes on and we can go into the woods and I'll change and we can go hunt." Yami blinked at him in surprise, then looked away again as if it were too much to hope for at the moment. He seemed almost bewildered by the idea that Yugi might actually do this with him. And the small teen wondered if he remembered half of the things he'd been willing to do to help him with any unease he suffered before then. It was almost amazing to him that he might have forgotten… "Do you want to or not so much?"

Yami wagged his tail slowly, seeming slightly unsure of himself for a split second. Then he licked his lips and whined softly. Please, he agreed after a long moment. He wagged his tail again and turned towards the entrance of the room before glancing out the window and back expectantly. Yugi snorted in amusement and rolled his eyes.

"Give me a second, okay?"

Ten minutes later Yami was sniffing at the snow and Yugi was shaking himself out to get used to his canine form again. It was odd how muscle memory took prominence in changing like this. He had not done so in what felt like forever and now he was standing in front of Yami again, white coat and black nose and bright blue-violet eyes that he knew only from his reflection in Yami and the other wolves' various thoughts. He shrugged the thought off and trotted forward a few steps with a somewhat dismissive glance at the other canine.

What are we hunting?

Yugi flicked an ear and looked at him. He did not like the way Yami's voice was splintering and dying at the edges, but there was nothing he could do about that as they were now. Whatever you want. What do you want to hunt?

Yami huffed at him in response to the question, clearly annoyed by the dodging answer. And then he turned away with a flick of his ear, sniffing lightly at the snow for a moment. There was a long minute of silence before the black wolf began to move past him and further into the trees. Yugi had the abrupt and startling thought of hellhounds in the woods, whether they might be lurking about the area somewhere. He bristled, nearly snarling in dismay, and ignored the urge to simply turn tail.

He did not want to witness another fight like he'd seen the last time. He didn't want to see the way Yami had writhed in such immense pain and gone through those hideous seizures. If he could avoid seeing such a thing for the rest of his life, he would be happy.

Still, he hurried forward to chase him. If they were together and an ambush came after him, it would be easier to deal with them as two wolves than it would as one. They could at least try to hold them off in a more unified front than if they were separated, right? He shivered as his fur brushed against Yami's lightly. The other wolf glanced at him in near bewilderment before turning away again.

Rabbits should be somewhere around here.

Yami flicked his ear. Maybe.

But he did not sound as happy as he had before. Now, he seemed somewhat frustrated more than anything else, annoyed rather than happy. Yugi blinked in surprise, confused by the thought, and slowed a step. Yami did not seem to notice as he continued forward.

Hey, he snapped when the wolf was a few feet ahead and nearly slipped from his sight. The power of the outburst was enough to make the black canine spin around to face him with wide eyes. He seemed startled more than anything else as Yugi snarled softly and shook himself out. Don't go too far ahead. I need you to stay in my sight, okay? We don't know what's in the woods over here. There could be hellhounds or just our pack. And neither of them need to be here to see us, got it?

Yami flicked and flattened his ears. He looked annoyed now, but nodded regardless.

Good. Yugi wagged his tail and hurried to his side now. When their fur brushed this time, he almost shivered but now it was with excitement that he could not suppress. They were actually out and moving about again. Yami was healthy enough that he could keep pace with him. He wasn't limping or stopping every few minutes to catch his breath as he had only three days before. He did not seem winded in the slightest any longer either. It was comforting to realize.

They passed through the snow for a long handful of minutes. Yugi glanced at the sky every once in a while but the moon was blocked away by the heavy layer of clouds overhead. He could sense the frigid touch of the oncoming snow that would breach the air soon enough. He shivered and shook himself out, looking about them for a moment. Yami was a couple of feet ahead but he did not move out of his line of sight now. He would pause a few feet away from him and look over his shoulder so that Yugi could see him again.

Yugi hurried forward again as Yami turned away to start walking once more. The two of them continued to pace through the trees and Yugi was oddly comfortable despite their silence. It was strange that they had no words to speak to each other. But they would brush against each other lightly, comfortably, and Yugi wondered at the way they both simply settled for this quiet. Yugi was not unused to this kind of thing between himself and Honda but he was used to Jonouchi or Anzu filling in such pockets of silence. They usually started conversations with him despite the comfortable quiet and then they would all end up snickering and laughing.

Yami, however, was different to him. It was odd the way the two of them could fall into quiet and simply sit around together without saying a word. And they'd still be comfortable. Yami didn't want nor need to fill the air with words. He found his entertainment in other things or would figure out the answers to questions for himself if he had something he wished to know. He was naturally quiet. He may not have been happy with his voice in the slightest, but he knew how to use it if he had to. And he would do so had he needed to. But he did not want to disrupt the silence at all now.

Yugi was so distracted by the thoughts in his head that he missed it. Yami shot away from him and sprang straight into some of the deeper snow. He pounced almost like a fox, aiming his entire upper body for the snow. But when he landed, the snow did not encompass him nearly as fully. He was too tall and large. The snow came up high enough to cover his limbs halfway but he did not do much more than pull his head up. In his jaws was a large rabbit that had clearly been trying to burrow under the snow to flee. He shook it a few times and Yugi flinched when he heard the snap of its bones. But he was satisfied to see that the wolf could still hunt despite everything.

He had not lost his experience in the slightest.

Good catch!

Yami wagged his tail in response, but did not answer as he turned away and dropped the carcass aside. He plopped down in the snow with it, then put it between his paws and began to dig into his catch. He did not seem inclined to share in the slightest and Yugi was fine with this as he paced around him and began to sniff at the air. He had no idea how it was that Yami had even caught the sound or scent of the rabbit to begin with. It was bewildering to him as the black wolf got to his feet again, the rabbit swallowed away in one last gulp and his tail wagging slightly.

Come on, let's keep going.

He huffed a breath, then followed him steadily. Yugi wondered if he could get him to talk now, because some part of him was almost desperate to do so. He was antsy to see if perhaps Yami might say something that would make everything seem better. He did not know when the black wolf might come to speak on his own should he decide to do so. But he wished he could find that his voice was healing without any problems.

As they continued forward through the trees, Yugi found himself stiffening faintly. They were padding slowly but surely now, the pace steady rather than hurried. He flicked his ears and tilted his head and looked at him curiously for a long moment. There was an unconscious sense of acknowledgment and fear that came between them now. The wolf stiffened once more as he sank into the snow further than before and glanced over his shoulder before turning back to the river. He was shivering as his fur rose and fell back into place along his spine once more.

Yami glanced at him and then away again, not bothering to look towards the source of their discomfort. Instead he turned away entirely and curled his lips back to show his teeth briefly. Yugi looked at the banks, the frozen area before him which seemed to stretch for miles. He saw the rocks near him, the smooth and pristine surface of ice and snow which covered the water beneath. He trembled at the sight, then turned back to Yami with a feeling of sickness which came through him rapidly. His shoulders were shaking as he faced Yami for a moment, his ears falling back against his skull. He looked swiftly away to the snow again.

He didn't think he'd ever quite be able to face the river again without the thought of Yami falling through the ice as he had witnessed that night. He wanted to vomit as he considered it, heart pounding and leaping into his throat. He wanted to sit down for a moment, to lie on his belly and simply lower his chin to his paws. He wanted to rest, to lay there and simply ignore the pressure which made him so anxious.

Yami glanced at him over his shoulder as he headed further up the bank. Yugi thought maybe he was simply waiting so that Yugi would come with him again, so that he did not snap at him that he was leaving his sight. But then he saw the way his eyes glittered, not with nerves but with curiosity. And Yugi had the startling impression that Yami was watching him, knowing the things that went through Yugi's thoughts about the river and all that it encompassed, and thinking about continuing on. He wanted to see what it was that Yugi would do, the smaller wolf realized. But the thought of taking action to perhaps resolve the fear which billowed through him now was not something he even wanted to consider thinking about. He was exhausted and the air was too ragged and his brain was sluggish. He swore there were a million more reasons that he could not move towards the bank or approach the ice he knew was there beyond the stones.

And, as he thought this, he found himself bristling and hurrying forward. Yami had begun to trot up the bank again, ignoring him as he had on their numerous walks. Yugi had not once considered for even a second that he might take off like that this time. He hadn't even taken into account that the wolf might do such a thing. But Yami was so inclined to do as he wished. And he had not thought for even a second that Yami would have considered running off.

Yami had dodged away from him during walks when he would suppress his thoughts. And there were times in which Yami refused to so much as look at him. He was not happy with him when he did such things. And now he did not want Yugi to so much as watch him any longer. Yami did not so much as look over his shoulder at Yugi. And Yugi was abruptly aware of the fact that he'd taken his recovery for granted. Yami was not healthy enough to ignore his impulses. As the wolf, he was not healthy enough to ignore his urge to simply turn his back on Yugi and keep moving when Yugi tried to suppress his emotions.

Yugi had taken for granted that because Yami could talk again, it meant that his recovery was all but absolute. He'd made the mistake of assuming that Yami was stable again. But he should have known better. It had only been a week at the most. And Yami might have been recovering in leaps and bounds, but that did nothing to assure that he would not succumb to influence and instinct…

And now, the wolf trotted ahead without a second glance. He did not pause. He did not sniff at anything. He kept moving ahead and Yugi felt as if the world were slipping beneath him when he realized that he was not going to gain ground on him at this point. The black wolf had put yards between them and he had turned to the left suddenly.

Yugi was startled, horrified, as Yami crossed the ice without a second look. He did not seem to be shaken by the presence of it. He did not seem to be fearful of it at all. He did not seem to be even mildly inclined to pause in his trek either. And, when he got to the other side of the river, Yugi found himself whining and struggling to find his way across. He could not get past the stones that he knew were beneath the snow under his paws. He paced frantically back and forth on the bank, bristling as he continued forward and then circled back and snarled softly.

Yami looked back at him from the other side of the river, then shook himself out as a flurry of flakes began to fall. The air was so frigid that, as the black wolf turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder, the bones in his neck seemed to pop loudly. It sounded like grinding bones and fireworks for a brief second. And, as they looked at each other, Yugi could see it. Yami's eyes were dark, shadowed as if vacant of his own thoughts, and the wolf was simply looking back at the source of a noise it vaguely recognized. But the moment lasted only a heartbeat and then the black wolf shook himself out again and began to turn to trot away in the opposing direction of him.

Yami! Yugi shouted, voice frantic. The blank wolf paused and looked over his shoulder curiously. The white canine was shaking a few feet away, on the very edge of the bank, bristling. His pupils were dilated, his ears flattened against his skull. His tail began to lower and tuck between his legs, his spine arching nervously as he looked at the other canine on the opposing bank. His eyes were white at the edges whenever he turned his head, showing them off in his fearful state.

He flicked an ear and looked into the trees again. He could hear something moving about in the snow nearby and hunger cut through his belly. Yami turned back again just as the white wolf began to whine and paw at the snow. The hunger was enough to make his belly ache and his fur begin to rise in slight frustration. He tilted his head, flattening his ears and slowly pricking them forward once more. Yami looked to Yugi again after a moment, watching as the other began to pace harder. He was frantic and panicked and the fear was enough to make Yami pause for a moment.

He did not want to leave him alone. But he was hungry as he began to pad forward. The wolf was staring at the canine in front of him as the two of them considered each other. Yugi looked as if he might pee himself with fear. The canine blinked and pricked his ears forward as the other continued to shiver and shake before his eyes. And then he saw Yugi lower his nose to the ground, staring for a moment as he drew in long deep breaths. After a handful of minutes passed, when Yami turned to start into the trees again, he heard his name once more in a desperate snarl.

He turned again, eyes wide and curious. And then he paused as the other wolf chomped his teeth and paced again. He looked like a rabid animal, something that Yami recognized but hadn't truly thought of before then. The thought was enough to make him bristle before he snarled low in his throat. The noise snapped Yugi out of his pacing enough to make him look up with stunned eyes. And then the snow began to fall harder, blinding white sheets of flakes which fell quickly and seemed to dive forward into his face.

Yami found himself straining his eyes to find the definitive form of his beta against the snowfall. Yugi was so pure in color that the two of them seemed an extension of the other. It was odd and amazing to him, as he himself was much like cold winter darkness and Yugi had the fur of fresh snow and ice. He wanted, for the briefest of seconds, to cross the river again just to see if Yugi would become less like the snow if he was closer. The thought was amusing more than anything, because Yami was well aware of the wolf's heartbeat and he could have caught his breathing anywhere should he have tried to focus on such a thing. But he liked the idea that moving forward would reveal more to him, as if his eyes were not superior to most all other animals in the world.

He shook himself out as the snow seemed to weigh down upon his shoulders and neck. Yami tilted his head, watching him as his ears flicked back and forth and his eyes shot to the white wolf in front of him once more. The canine flicked his ears and tilted his head, then turned away again. There were deer close, he knew. He could hear the animals moving about in the snow. It was a small set of them, however, barely four or more if even that. He could not tell exactly, however. His senses were getting better, but he was not quite a hundred percent capable of accessing his usual strength of them.

Yami… The black wolf turned his head again. He wondered how much of a sore sight he was for the white canine across the river from him. It was odd the way those blue-violet eyes peered into his face that made him wonder at the idea. He considered the thought of the canine staring back at him so curiously at the moment. The wolf shook himself out after a long moment, scattering the white snow from his dark fur once more. Then he turned and glanced over his shoulder again.

Yami…wait… Please, don't…

Yami looked over his shoulder again, ears pricked forward. His head tilted and his eyes narrowed, lips curling back slightly. He shivered again, curious, and turned back to Yugi with a tilt of his head. He would have spoken had he cared to, but his stomach was growling again and he was held fast by it. So he remained where he was, not willing to do anything beyond this.

Yugi hesitated for a moment. Then he began to move forward. It was a strange sight in front of him. The canine seemed to burst from the snow. It was almost as if he had never had an absolute physical form before, because now he raced forward quickly. Yami didn't move as the wolf burst seemingly through the snow as if just an extension of the white around him. The wolf came running from a few feet away, then pressed himself down against the rocks beneath its paws. And then he sprang forward from the rocks and over the ice of the river altogether. He landed in a spray of snow, which burst forth into the air in a huge shower of bright white. The snowfall was shaken by the wind that had begun to touch upon his fur. And then the snow he'd sprayed into the air was whipped lightly to the side as well, hitting him.

Yami shook himself out again. And Yugi rammed into his side angrily, knocking him sideways. But his body had instinctively braced itself. And so he did not fall from his paws. But Yugi bit at his shoulders and then his face, not drawing blood but punching at him with enough force to make him stagger. Yami glared at him as he bit at his ear and slammed into his side again. Yugi bit at his hip, then shoved on his flank harder. And, finally, annoyed, the dark wolf spun on him.

He snapped his teeth at him and Yugi halted his miniscule attack. The wolf faltered, startled, as if Yami had somehow burned him. Then he blinked a few times, backed up a step, and snarled low in his throat, You fucking tried to leave me! What the hell is wrong with you?

Yami flicked his ear and tilted his head. Then he pricked his ears forward and sniffed softly. The wolf looked over his head towards Yugi and back with an annoyed expression. Then he scoffed and bore his teeth. The wolf shook himself out again to drop the snow away from his fur. You were not moving any longer and I am hungry. I want to eat. We came to hunt. Here we are. I am starving.

Yugi scowled at him, shaking his head violently. That's not an excuse. You're lying. You were not listening to me and you simply wanted to leave me back there. He shook his head again, snarling in annoyance once more. You left me over there to—

I left you there to figure out what you needed to, he snarled brusquely. He peeled his lips back to show off his sharp teeth. I left you to figure out what it was that you needed in order to get over the river. Leave it there. I am hungry. Now are we free to hunt?

The white wolf snarled furiously, then launched himself at his alpha angrily. You were not supposed to leave my side! he roared. What the hell is wrong with you, damn it?

Yami chomped his teeth at him and backed up a few steps. Rather than lower his head, he raised it and his tail came up slowly. His teeth were sharp and his eyes were glowing with frustration. He pricked his ears and looked back at him furiously. The wolf shook himself out again so that the snow fell away. But then he held himself more stiffly. His fur was in an immense bristle and he squared his shoulders. The wolf shook his head and leaned forward to bite at him again when Yugi twitched.

I. Am. Hungry, he snapped. I want food. Leave it alone.

Yugi faltered at the violent gleam in his red eyes. He recognized the canine's frustration. He recognized the ferocity. He knew that he would snap at him again. And this time he would not do just that. This time he might draw blood and force him to the ground. He might even leave him alone completely this time.

The truth of it was startling. He could see the shadows in his eyes again, the hunger which made him bolder. Yami was struggling, he realized. He was trying to stay focused on him, had done so long enough to let Yugi cross the river, but he was losing this fight rapidly. Instinct had made him more violent and hunger made his loyalty lessen. In this state, he was not liable to let him go if he kept interfering with his desire to eat. In this state, he truly would rip a hole in his gut and then go to hunt for himself and leave him there.

But, for now, he was giving him the chance to back down. He was giving him the chance to leave him be long enough to get food in his belly. He was truly warning him more than he deserved…

So Yugi simply turned away with a flick of his ears and bore his teeth in annoyance.

Fine. Let's go get something to eat then.

Yami huffed and trotted past him without a second glance. Yugi blinked and turned to follow him. Their pelts brushed again. They fell into step as they had before. But Yami did not glance back as Yugi himself did. The white wolf stared back at the river for a split second. Then he turned quickly back to his alpha. Yami shook himself out again as he continued forward. The snow fell away from his shallow muscles with each movement. Yugi finally followed this need to shake the snow from his fur as well. The snow was falling in sheets. And, a few minutes later, the wolf was covered in a layer of snow inches thick. Yami shook himself again, trotted forward into the trees, and looked about them.

There, down the hill, was the small group of deer. There were only a few of them, about six altogether. There was a wounded, large buck who was limping in the snow. He was so stiff that he could hardly raise his right forelimb. Two does moved about in front of it. And a much younger buck, with a large rack of antlers, moved ahead of them. None of them had seemed to notice them. And all of them were digging into the snow looking for whatever little grass remained. Yami shook the snow from his fur. Yugi did the same and looked over at him for a moment.

Do you think you can truly run fast enough or long enough to catch one? he asked softly, searching his face and feeling sick. Yami blinked and turned to him with an almost haunted expression in his eyes. He blinked at him a few seconds later. Then he pricked his ears forward and turned back to the small herd. Yami blinked once more, flicked his ears, and shook his head slowly.

I can catch the older one, he said quietly. He stepped forward only once, standing taller than before. He raised his head, then sniffed lightly at the air for a moment. Yugi tilted his head as he turned away again with pricked ears. He wondered at the sight of the deer in front of them. They were deeper in the snow than the two wolves themselves due to the slope of the hill. And they were constantly shaking themselves out. The does looked slightly unsteady but the older male was clearly struggling in the snow. He looked as if he might drop at any moment. The younger was shoveling snow away using longer, leaner legs, and moved in something of a trot rather than a walk as some of the others did.

Do you think that will be enough?

Yami was silent for a long time. Then he turned his head and faced him for a moment or so. I don't know, he answered dismissively. But Yugi had the feeling that he knew and did not truly believe so. And so he turned away with a frown and tilted his head. The deer were not checking their surroundings yet. The wind was blowing their sweeter scent towards him. But fthere was an odd odor of rot, much like a tooth decaying in the mouth. Yugi wondered how old the deer was, how many calves it had fathered. Then he shook the thought away as unimportant and looked to Yami.

Okay, so, how do you want to do this? I can corner the male and you can go for the neck or we can do it the other way around. Yugi flicked his ears and looked at Yami curiously for a moment. The black wolf did not seem very troubled by the idea of simply charging the deer on his own. But the reality of it was that the wolf beside him was physically malnourished but seemed no longer too weak to hold his own.

And he realized, should Yami truly be so reckless, those antlers might damn well sheer him. If he was gutted like a fish or the deer got in a well-aimed kick, Yugi was not sure what he might be able to do to help him…

I can take him on myself. Yami looked over. I used to kill deer on my own when I was still running from the pack. I moved a little away from their mountain range and came closer to the valleys where the deer frequented the area. The growth was better down there…so I…discovered the ability to rip their throats open on my own.

You were also healthier then.

Yami burst into laughter, something of a barking noise. The wolf was staring at him with disbelieving eyes. Healthy? he spat. I had just escaped a massacre a few months prior. I was running from a pack and having frequent nightmares and hallucinations. You think that was healthier?

Yugi blinked, startled, and then stiffened. Hallucinations?

They drugged me when I was at the labs. I did not realize they would have withdrawal symptoms. He ignored the horrified look on the white wolf's face. Then he shook himself out again and looked back at the deer in question. His voice remained tired and fractured and short. You are incredibly intelligent. And yet you worry far too much. I do not understand your manner of such thoughts. You honestly bewilder me.

Yugi flinched. I'm sorry…

Yami looked at him with pricked ears that began flicking frantically as the deer continued to move in the little dip of earth beneath them. After a moment he shook his head in near annoyance. I did not mean that badly. He paused, then flattened his ears against his head and looked away again. I did not mean it derogatorily, Yugi. I simply mean that you worry about the wrong things far too often. I…think, truly, that I am weaker bodily but I have never been as powerful mentally. I'd forgotten many of the things I used to suppress. Now they're back.

Yugi expected him to say something else. He was expecting him to say that he was seeing things more clearly. He was expecting him to say that he was more powerful than ever. He was expecting other things. But Yami was silent again. That haunted expression had crossed his face again. He was stiff and frozen in the snow. His eyes looked hollow, as if the emotions had been scraped away entirely. He did not seem coherent for a brief second. Then, before Yugi's eyes, the wolf seemed to shake himself into reality again. He scattered the snow from his fur. He shivered once. Then he blinked and his eyes filled with cunning as he watched the male buck in the rear of the group.

He's basically using him as a meat shield, you know? His voice was lower than before, gruff due to the strain of which he was trying so hard to focus. Then he flicked his ears and wrinkled his nose. The stronger male is leading. But the smarter male is in the back. It was expecting an attack from the front. It's an oversight that often gets made by herd animals.

Yugi blinked and tilted his head. Then he glanced at the deer as well. The wolf blinked and pricked his ears forward. The deer continued to move forward in the thick layer of snow in front of them. I thought they usually moved to where the older and younger were in the middle and the healthier on the outside. That way the ones that can defend themselves are running the flanks and they're more likely to be able to kick the wolves coming at them.

And then the weak ones or the wounded would be spotted by the wolves and their efforts would be focused in on them for then on. But Yugi did not know too much about it. The sheer number of the pack wolves made it harder for the animals to even get loose from them. What it came down to was the angle and the area of which the wolves were able to corner the prey animals. If they were successful in getting them in a more open area, it was easier for them. If they were in an area such as the cliffs, they did not manage very well to so much as chase the wolves away. The huge groups of prey animals did not seem to be existent in all truth, but for the boars.

But, then again, Yugi wasn't entirely sure that serows ran in groups rather than in pairs at the most. He wondered if that was a possibility or not. Then he shrugged it off, because it did not truly matter in the grand scheme of things. Yami was looking at the older buck as his obvious prey. And he did not know when the wolf might move to kill so he had no idea when he might need to follow. And then he wondered if he was meant to overtake Yami in this run and allow him more room to corner it or what.

He may have had experience taking them down on his own but he was not sure what he was supposed to do when he came down the hill with him. And asking him seemed foolish at the moment. He had no idea what it was that Yami truly wanted from him. The events from the river still irritated him and now looking at him again made him want to snarl and snap his teeth in annoyance. He could not know what it was that was truly going on in his head right now. Yami was basically an enigma at the moment. It was bewildering to him in that manner.

And he did not know the way to bridge the growing gap between them.

So he drew in a deep breath, looked down the incline at the deer as Yami was, and readied himself to run forward at the simplest hint of movement from his alpha. Yet Yami did not seem inclined to simply race down the hill at any point. He hesitated for a long handful of seconds. He blinked, flicked his ears, moved towards Yugi enough to circle him, and then began to move forward a few more steps. He trotted slowly through the snow, taking halting steps. He shook himself out twice more, lowered his head towards the snow as he continued, and then stopped a few feet ahead of the deer themselves.

The vantage point would have been useful, Yugi supposed, but he was confused what it was that they were looking for. He could not understand what it was that the canine was staring at. In the reflection of his eyes was only the snow itself. And so Yugi could not properly tell if he was still focused on the older male at all. Had he gotten ahead of himself and planned to attack the younger male? Had he turned his eyes on the does? He could not tell in the slightest now.

And, finally, Yami opened his mouth, lowered his head, wagged his tail, bunched his muscles, and sprang forward. Yugi hurried to catch up with him, though he was unsure what he was truly meant to do at the moment. Yami shot ahead like a racecar. He did not directly cut into the path of the deer for a few long seconds. They had noticed them and were trying their hardest to run through the thick snow to flee from them. But then the youngest male spun on the black wolf and Yami ran around it, circling as if it were more a game than anything.

But the wolf did not slow himself and the buck wound up kicking violently. Yugi found himself stopping, hovering, unsure of what more to do. He glanced at the two does as they tried to scramble up the hill. The older male was standing nearby the younger. But, as the younger lowered its rack and went to charge, the elder stepped away slightly. Yami did not seem to be surprised in the slightest by this. Nor did he seem to care either. The wolf pressed forward slightly, circled a step, then moved away when the deer got a foot between them. Yugi almost expected that he might simply grab hold of one of the antlers and try to shake its head until its neck snapped.

He wondered if that was truly possible, shivering at the thought.

But then he noticed the way Yami dashed to the side. He bit at the deer's flank. The prey animal spun on him and its back legs kicked. The blow hit the older male in the chest. The elder buck staggered from the force. Yugi startled, eyes wide with surprise. The black canine came around again, circling the older male now. It turned on him, head lowered, shoveling the snow with its front right leg. The black wolf turned and ran around the younger. He snapped at its flank, missed, dodged away. The older deer turned on the younger. It aimed its antlers and thrust them at the younger.

The hit made the young buck stumble straight towards Yami who was already circling again. The buck turned around, lowering its head, but stopped when Yami returned. It backed up, huffing a breath. And the elder male moved as if to ram into the younger buck's antlers as they might have during the rutting season. Yet, before the two males could possibly perform such an act, the black wolf came again.

He ran forward a step, leaping. His teeth snapped open and shut. His jaws snapped into the buck's neck, crushing it. The sound of the windpipe breaking was a loud popping noise. Yugi blinked, stunned, as the younger buck turned tail. But the older tried to toss Yami away even as the blood began to drip from his jaws and hit the snow. The effort it took the deer to try to move its head was too much. A few seconds passed and the heavy animal began to lower its body into an almost kneeling position. He wheezed and shivered. Blood continued to drip to the snow.

Yugi shook snow from his fur. Yami kept his claws clenched upon the deer's neck. His eyes were sharp, narrowed and caught on the wolf in front of him. Yami only released the deer when it had been lying in the snow for over a minute. Then he backed up a step or two, moved to its flank, and hurriedly dug into the side of its body, tearing chunks of hide and muscle away.

Yugi took a seat nearby, looking about them. Some part of him remembered that the sun would soon be rising. But he doubted that it would do much with the snowfall that continued so heavily. He was covered in inches minutes after, shaking himself out as Yami continued to gorge himself. When he finally looked over again, Yami had dug a huge hole through what had been its belly. From what he could see of it, the organs had all been devoured already. And the bones were being polished from the inside where Yami was tugging at strands of meat and muscle.

The sight managed to make him slightly queasy and he wondered at this. Hadn't he watched Yami eat an entire rabbit half an hour before that? Hadn't he watched him do that and listened to the bones popping and thought nothing of it? Or had he been judgmental then? Yugi blinked and pricked his ears forward, then bore his teeth in frustration. No, he hadn't shied away from it then. So why was he doing it now? Was it because he was used to seeing Yami eat smaller animals? It couldn't be, however.

He'd watched Yami eat that serow he and Obelisk had caught for him. He'd feasted on it for a couple of days, swallowing huge chunks of it whole and laying around to lick the blood off his paws and face before doing it again. He'd slept next to it, sometimes whistling in his sleep rather than the heavy snores that he was used to coming from his grandpa when he fell asleep on the couch. He had watched him eat that and had not once turned his nose up at it. Was it different because he'd caught it for him then?

But that didn't quite make sense to him either. Yugi felt small and sick for a moment as he looked at his alpha. What was it that had made him wrinkle his nose this time? The white wolf shook himself out again, then looked away. Was it because of the river? Was it because Yami had begun to leave him behind like that? Was that so upsetting to him?

But then, Yami had not been caught in the nightmare that was crossing the river. He hadn't been reliving the moment that the ice had broken away beneath his shoes and the sight of Yami's eyes as he'd disappeared under the ice. He hadn't been suffered through it over and over again in his mind. And he had not been there to witness Yugi's panic upon waking from his time beneath the ice and not being able to find him. He hadn't heard his pathetic apologies or the way he'd sobbed and broken down. He hadn't been there when Yugi had struggled to comprehend the possibility that Yami was no longer there.

And he had not seen what he'd done to the pack after that. He had not borne witness to his spiraling stupidity. He had not known and seen and understood it. And the pack had resented him for it, though none of them truly said it. He remembered the way that many of them simply turned away to avoid him altogether. He knew that and hated them for it. But, in reality, they had every right to ignore him and hate him in turn. He had not cared that he was disrupting their lives in order to force them to look for a wolf that many of them did not know in the slightest. And the sore memories that Yami brought with him regarding the original pack had done nothing to slow him down in forcing them to do as he demanded.

And he still had not done a damn thing to introduce himself to the other packs that had come to merge with the original one. There were no longer more females than males, he knew. And yet he had not bothered to know even one of the newer packs. He knew of Nistro and Chazz and a couple of the younger wolves at the most. And Yusei had been brave enough to introduce himself despite the way the rest of the pack had been unnerved and seemed ready to jump in at any time. They'd acted as if he was possibly aggressive, shocking Yugi for the most part. And now he understood why.

None of them had known him beyond his name.

And that did not mean much for him.

Being Code Name Atem only meant enough to say that they would follow him. It did not mean that they would be happy to do so. It simply meant that their loyalty guided their actions and so they were going to do as was necessary. That meant nothing else to them at the end of the day.

And the name Yami must have meant far less.

Even the rank of beta probably did not mean much to them. And when he'd replaced him with Slifer and Obelisk, he doubted that any of them might care to think much of anything regarding Yami himself. It was bewildering to him as the seconds passed, because he had not realized such a thing before. How he had missed this was amazing to him. In another situation he would have realized, would have considered it. Now he simply shrugged it off, pushed it aside, and forced them to go against their own desires for the sake of his.

He was a terrible pack leader. There was no getting around that or sugarcoating it.

He was probably the worst pack leader any of them had ever known.

Yugi shivered as he turned back around. Yami was licking his lips and staring at him, his meal finished for the most part. He would settle for sitting for a few minutes, then finish off what remained, Yugi was sure. The black wolf had done this when he was in the cavern too, letting the food settle and digest some before going in for his seconds and thirds. Now he licked his lips, watched him, tilted his head, and turned back to his buck with a shake of his coat. When he took a seat, it was right where he'd been standing. It was almost as if he was expecting Yugi to challenge him for his meal or something of that manner. But the white wolf simply turned away and licked his lips again.

Are you ready to go back to the camp?

Yami looked back from where he'd been licking his paws clean of some blood. His head snapped up and his eyes widened before he flicked his ears and moved to sit up again. He stretched, shook himself out again, and yawned loudly. I do not care to but I do not intend to avoid it either. He looked at Yugi with a tilt of his head and flicked his ears uncomfortably as the seconds passed. The snow was falling so quickly he was surprised they were not blind at the moment. But the snow would lessen in a few minutes, he knew. He could feel it.

How would you feel about doing it in a few minutes, after you're done with your deer?

Yami stared at him for a moment, looked back at his meal, and then turned to him again. I can leave it here. It will freeze in the snowfall. I'll uncover it again when I'm hungry. Or the pack will find it and do the same. It will be my cache later, I'm sure, he yawned, shaking himself out as he got up again. He faced Yugi with a calm, collected stare and watched him for only a moment as he wagged his tail. Let's do this now. I think it would be more beneficial to do so now rather than later.