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.

75. Others

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Hopefully biweekly

Chapter Warnings: Slight Puzzleshipping, Angst, Mention of Sacrifices, Guns, Poison/Tranquilizers, Mild Violence, Death, Threats, Mentions of Self-Harm

Sorry for the long wait. Clearly I'm a liar. I said I might be back on schedule and I so wasn't. Novemeber turned out to be super exhausting. And I already know December is going to be sporadic (at best) if there are any updates for the story. Work is kind of crazy again. Sorry for that. It didn't help that the chapter basically had to be rewritten which also made it a million times longer. So hopefully that makes up for the lack of updates from before.

Anyways! Self-harm references Yami. Nothing graphic. I just thought I'd put a warning in.

Chapter LXXV: Others

Work Log Entry LXVII: September, 2008 (Part I)

September 5

The pack of wolves is being recorded.

The information goes as follows:

The youngest are a year apart, the hellhound a year older and the lycanthrope younger. The hellhound is predictably nastier than the smaller male is, but for now she seems devoted to him. Neither has changed for the moment but the boss is wondering if somehow they might have pair bonded.

The alphas are clearly the lycanthrope's parents. They seem to be closely bonded, more so than usual for most alphas. The boss wishes to test the limits of this bond; experiments are to be performed in a matter of days.

The two yearlings are to be tested for rate of healing, blood pressure, and various things of that nature. They are to be given the usual trials before they are to be considered true specimens for testing.

"Do you want to come with me?"

The question was said so hesitantly that Yami almost did not believe it was directed towards him. Had it not been for the fact that they were the only two in the room, he might have thought otherwise completely. But then he blinked, thoughts still caught on blood types and transfusions. He had been playing with the textbook sitting in front of him for over an hour now, reading about the way humans reacted to blood they were given negatively at times. So far, he had not read anything regarding the blood of canines, but the textbook was about human anatomy and so he had not truly suspected it would say anything on the matter.

Yami looked up now, still considering the blood types that canines might have. He tilted his head, confused and bewildered as he looked at him. He shut the book in his hands slowly so as not to make too much noise, and wondered if he truly should have cared as much as he did. "Go with you? Where would we be going?"

Yugi blinked, then raised a brow slowly. He frowned, tilting his head to mirror Yami's quizzical expression. "You weren't listening?" he muttered in something of a dubious tone. And Yami guessed he could understand his bewilderment at the moment, as he had hardly ever failed to listen to him before. Usually, should Yugi speak, Yami paid him absolute attention. But even now his mind was whirling. He kept wondering about blood types, if wolves might ever have similar reactions…

What if he and Yugi needed to do something of that magnitude down the road? Did they have the same blood type? Did it matter if they didn't? Yami was not even sure he'd had the same as his cage mate and he'd survived it when Yami had let him drink his blood. Perhaps drinking was not the same as a blood transplant, but in theory it should have destroyed him had it been a factor, right? They hadn't even been the same classification of werewolf. If it was something that mattered between the two of them, how was it that he had healed from it so easily? Yami sank his nails into the hardcover of the textbook, blinking up at Yugi again.

"You okay? You look really distracted."

"I'm fine. I'm kind of tired but I'm fine."

Yugi smiled at him slightly now, eyes softening. "Kind of tired, huh? Then, I guess you can stay here and I'll go on my own. Take a nap and rest a little, okay?"

Yami rolled his eyes. "Kind of tired does not imply that I need rest. It means that I'm either bored or frustrated from my inability to change my thought process. It's the latter, since I can see you are about to ask." He hesitated for a moment, studying him for all of a heartbeat before looking away. Yugi didn't seem upset with the snide remark but Yami's fingernails still sunk further into the book cover with mounting tension. "Where was it you wished to go?"

And just like that Yugi took his silent warning to ignore his curiosity and answer him instead. Yami swore to the gods that were it possible he would have given Yugi the world for this simplistic mercy. And he did not think for even a moment that Yugi understood the immensity of the relief he'd bestowed upon him.

"I wanted to go into the woods for a little while. I didn't want to hunt or anything…" Yugi seemed to be debating his words now. His eyes narrowed faintly, his lips tugging downward into a small frown as he considered his response. "Honestly, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't really think you'll want to come with me…"

Yami blinked. Then he raised his head and looked over at him in confusion. He furrowed his brows and studied him curiously, tilting his head slowly to the side and narrowing his eyes. Had he truly just said that?

"I wasn't going to change and I know you don't really like to wear layers."

"They are restricting should I need to move fast."

Yugi nodded and looked away, kicking his legs lazily over the side of the bed. He shook his head slightly and smiled minutely. "Right. But if we go where I'm thinking, we'll need to wear more clothes to properly camouflage. I don't want someone to see me wearing a shirt and pants and a light hoodie in weather that would make almost everyone else wear more clothing."

Yami blinked. "Almost everyone?"

Yugi was quiet for a moment, clearly struggling to determine how he should tell him. He frowned, reaching down to scratch at his wrist, and looked at him with a considerate expression. "Jonouchi used to…not be able to afford heavier jackets so sometimes he would just wear a loose hoodie with fleece insides and a couple of shirts beneath. It made him look odd but he was always warm like that. And no one ever really questioned it. But that was mostly because they knew about his living situation."

"His living situation is poor?"

That would explain his desire to hide himself within the ranks of the pack then, Yami supposed. It made sense that he would desire to linger and hide there rather than return home. It was so much easier to escape and ignore things if they could simply abandon them when they felt it necessary. Fleeing from the things that upset you was something that Yami was admittedly all too familiar with.

"His dad is abusive," Yugi said in a much quieter tone, as if he were unsure he should explain this. He was watching Yami from the corner of his eye, however, with an expression to his face that almost seemed pleading for the briefest of moments. He wondered if he meant to warn him away from saying something to anyone else. But Yami could not tell. Surely Yugi knew he was not one to spill another's secrets.

And who might he tell them to anyways? The one person he spent time with already knew.

"It started emotionally when his sister was kidnapped and his mother got a divorce. His dad would get drunk and lash out verbally. When he was fourteen…it became physical. It was a random outburst that his dad had and the incident wasn't repeated when he saw Jonouchi badly beaten up and bleeding from a head wound. But he's gotten worse. I think he found out…about Shizuka, I mean. Because all of the sudden he's a lot worse than he has been in years."

"Why does Jonouchi put up with it? A drunk man is not hard to overpower."

"But when that man is your father, Yami?"

Yami was silent for a long moment. A memory threatened to stir in the back of his mind and he shrugged it away with a snarl. The outburst made Yugi stiffen, but Yami simply reached up to rub at his temples and ignored him for a moment. He closed his eyes, ignoring the pain that seemed to throb in them. He drew in a deep breath and shook his head slowly.

"No, I suppose it would be harder to do so when they are someone you are meant to be close to."

Yugi sat up the smallest bit, staring at him more pointedly. "Have you ever had to fight someone you love, Yami?" he asked curiously, but his voice was also gentle and quiet. "It's not easy by any stretch."

It was a tempting piece of bait. And, had Yami not been so acutely aware of it, he surely would have fallen for it. But he had been ready for that question; Yugi had asked just before if he knew what it was like to see someone die and come back. And so he could not be surprised now. He looked back at him with a tilted head, studying him in turn. "No. I have not." He ignored the way Yugi seemed to deflate at the harsh tone in his voice, clearly recognizing his choice to deflect the question entirely. He nodded slightly, frowning, and Yami closed his eyes. "I suppose I have been lucky for that."

"Yeah." Yugi sounded almost breathless. Had it not been for the fact that he cleared his throat Yami would have opened his eyes to see if he was okay. But the boy was on his feet again almost immediately after, dusting himself off when Yami turned his attention back to him. "Well, anyways, I guess I'll grab our clothes and we can get dressed. Uh…if you still want to go, that is?"

Yami nodded. "Yes, I will accompany you. I do not know why I should fail to do so. I am not so tired as to need rest," he murmured quietly. "And I have nothing better to do."

Yugi studied him with an expression that Yami could only describe as skeptical. But the moment they locked eyes, Yugi turned away again and wandered off for the chest of drawers. Yami listened to him pull the drawers out, sorting through some of the clothes inside.

"I wonder if maybe we should layer you up just to be on the safe side," he commented softly, pulling out a darker tank top and moving to put it on top of the dresser. He seemed to consider it for a moment before shaking his head slowly. "I don't think we'll have to change so I don't think it would be a problem to do it, right? I mean, wouldn't that do better to make it seem like you're healthier? If someone saw you, if your sleeves are long enough they won't notice how small your wrists are."

Yami blinked. "I do not know of many that would wish to wander through the woods like us as it is. There is a risk of snow falling on them or any number of other things. And it is cold, as you have already once said. I do not believe for even a moment that there will be someone to follow us."

But a part of him hesitated to say these words. He did not entirely know if he could believe such a thing. Was that a truthful assessment? Humans were not the most logical creatures, in truth, no matter how much they prided themselves to the contrary. The problem was that they often overestimated and did not always think things through. Should someone go into the woods and spot them…

Yami tilted his head. "Why should it be anyone else's business if I am malnourished? It should not be anyone else's focus to begin with."

"People are nosy, aibou. It's like if someone found out that, say, we were dating or something like that"—He could have sobbed when Yami peered at him steadily in response, not the least bit flustered or upset by the suggestion—"it would be all over Domino by the end of the week. Everyone at school would know by next Monday and everyone would either be in my face about it or ask about why and when I became gay."

Yami was quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly. "And are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and studying him. "Gay, I mean; are you?"

Yugi felt his cheeks heat up profusely, wishing for a moment that this conversation would truly lead to the thoughts forming in his head. He had imagined formerly—rather stupidly, in truth—that the confession of saying he was in love with a guy would prompt Yami to ask who. He'd admit that he adored him, and Yami would reveal the same to him. But, rather than butterflies, dread came to fill his belly.

The reality of it was far from something as stupid as one of those baited revelations he'd seen so many times on TV. And Yugi could not help but think that Yami was far too depressed and emotionally broken to ever be in such a position and find it pleasing. He was damaged. And there were far too many sharp edges that the other boy possessed.

Not only sex but relationships in general seemed to make Yami cower. But now, even as Yami watched him so steadily, Yugi could feel it just beneath his own skin. It was a burrowing sense of panic, one which penetrated his blood and fractured its way through his bones. Yami was suppressing it. He was trying to hide it away, but it was still there, scenting the air in the smallest and lightest of perfumes. Yugi almost found himself bristling in response, the unfamiliar feeling burrowing its way through him.

"I don't know? I don't think so."

"But is it a possibility?"

"I don't think 'gay' is actually the term you would use for…" He trailed off, feeling more flushed than ever. Yami was silent and considerate, curious more than anything. "I, uh… I guess bi works better?"

The red-eyed teen was silent for a long moment, wrinkling his nose and studying him. "Wolves are naturally what humans call pansexual. Or…perhaps pansexual is the closest label to be applied." He did not move for what seemed a lifetime, eyes darkening as his head snapped abruptly away to peer at the carpet. "Emotional attachments are the only way a wolf connects to someone else. But it is more akin someone adores that person regardless of history or gender or anything of that nature. They could say they've changed sexes three thousand times and it wouldn't change a wolf's opinion of them."

Yugi shivered. It sounded pure. It sounded beautiful.

But it also sounded like an absolute disaster.

"So, then…gender doesn't matter?"

"No. Gender only becomes a nuisance in terms of breeding should a couple so desire. If not for that, no one cares." Yami turned to him, humming now and tilting his head a fraction. "Wolves love without prejudice. It is most likely because of our tightly-knit communities and the loyalty we all possess for each other. But it is the truth for us."

Yugi felt his breath catch for a moment, swallowing hard and feeling winded with a brief surge of hope. If he could put a label to it, then it could be explained more easily, right? "Do you think that's the same for me?" he asked finally, quietly.

"I would not know." Yami's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head at him. "But I do not know who it is that you care for. The last I knew of it, you had feelings for Anzu. You said it would not work out, but you did not say you had moved past these feelings."

Yugi opened his mouth to answer him, then stopped short. Abrupt and startling clarity came through him, crashing painfully in his veins. He felt his legs nearly buckle beneath him, eyes wide and stomach churning. The air was knocked from his lungs and he almost collapsed as the immensity of it nearly knocked him away.

Yami knew.

Yami knew.

The red-eyed teen was all too aware.

And he was okay with it.

Yugi wanted to collapse once more.

But Yami was not going to act on it. He would not allow him a chance to, either. And he would not force Yugi to say it if he did not wish to. And, in return, he expected the courtesy that Yugi himself would not mention it. And he expected that Yugi would not probe at such a thing on his side of the equation either in this uneven spectrum they were on.

"Oh…"

Yami nodded the smallest fraction, turning away. He dusted himself off, as if to dismiss the discussion entirely. Then he shrugged and picked up the textbook to put it aside atop the dresser next to the tank top. He did not seem nervous, Yugi noted, but he did appear guarded in the way he refused to look at him again for several long heartbeats. Yugi wondered if he was trying to think of a response, if he wanted to let him down gently. But that unspoken promise not to call him out on his affections stated otherwise. And Yugi realized it was not this which upset him. It was something else entirely.

And Yugi wondered briefly if he was thinking about his cage mate again. Had the green-eyed wolf adored him so? Was that what had happened? Was that the truth of it? He'd forced the mating bond, he'd said. He had loved him in a manner that Yugi himself could never touch. He could not compare it in any way to what he felt for him. And he knew that more than he could ever admit.

He knew it and understood. But it did not make him any less nervous.

Yami had said he'd had a mate.

But he'd also said they had been female.

The problem was, however, that Yugi was aware of his capacity to lie so pointedly. He gave a crumb of what Yugi desired, as if to keep him busy and distracted from the questions he truly wished answered. He tried his hardest to keep Yugi off balance. He would spin the conversation away, shove the topic aside entirely. The realization made his belly ache for a long moment.

But it was not as if the green-eyed wolf had not admitted that he'd forced the bond between them. And it was not as if he had not said Yami had been terrified afterwards, that he'd immediately recognized and known what had happened. Yugi could easily imagine Yami lying in order to keep his head above water, saying that his mate had been female instead. He could easily see him trying to suppress his memories by doing so, as well as trying to push Yugi's affections away without acknowledging them.

"So, uh, what do you think then? Should we dress you up a little more than we usually would?" he asked quietly, smiling and tilting his head. "We won't put too much on you, just enough that it looks like you're a little less emaciated than you really are."

Yami frowned at him, shaking his head the smallest degree. "Very well," he relented calmly, sighing and looking away. "I suppose I should be grateful for the idea of such camouflage. It would not do me well to ignore the necessity of such a thing."

"Is that so?" Yugi mumbled. He was still thinking about the green-eyed wolf and a muzzle splashed with cinnamon and deeper brown. He was thinking of a tawny undercoat and long white legs. He shook his head to dismiss the image and flicked his fingers in order to ignore the mounting distress coming over him. This was not an easy topic for him to broach, even in small handfuls of scarce thoughts. "I mean, if you agree, then I don't think you'd have to wear more than three tank tops at the most, maybe one t-shirt on top of that. And then with the jacket on top, we'll zip it halfway and it'll look like you're all good and healthy."

Yami nodded slightly. But he still seemed rather skeptical, perhaps unsure and annoyed with the thought of wearing so much. Yugi wondered if he would have been similar were he human, if he'd be against multiple layers of clothing then as well. He supposed it didn't matter, however. Yami wasn't human; he was a wolf even when he wore his human skin. "If you say so," the red-eyed teen mumbled.

"Well, I do, so suck it up, buttercup."

The red-eyed teen looked sideways towards him, clearly startled, and frowned the smallest degree as he shook his head slowly. "I have never heard you say that before," he mumbled.

"I usually don't. But Jonouchi said it to me recently at school and I kind of like saying it," Yugi said, flashing him a smirk. "It's kind of fun, honestly."

Yami stayed silent for a few long moments. He nodded slowly, narrowing his eyes, and turned away from him entirely. He looked as if he were struggling to speak or even to respond in any manner.

"I won't say it again."

"Please."

His voice sounded breathless, strained, as if he were struggling to keep his head up or to even draw air into his lungs. Yami looked visibly sick, Yugi noticed with surprise. The other boy shrugged it off after a moment, shaking his head, but his eyes were still dark and his face appeared slightly ashen in shade. Yugi wondered where it was his mind had gone, if he had backtracked so far into his memories that he no longer even recognized him at the moment.

"I won't say it anymore—promise."

Yami nodded slowly. He reached a hand up, rubbing at his temple, and Yugi watched him with a flustered feeling. He wondered if someone had said that in the labs, if Yami remembered it so acutely from there. He wondered if his cage mate had said it to him at some point as well. "Sorry. I just wasn't expecting you to say that and now I'm a little disoriented from it. Whatever. It doesn't matter. Three tank tops and a shirt over it… Why is that necessary if I am to wear a hoodie as well?"

Yugi opened his mouth, then closed it and rolled his eyes. "Well, it's still necessary just in case your body temperature isn't up to par, either. You didn't listen when I said that it was for your health, too, did you? You and I both know you're not anywhere near your best. So…"

The red-eyed teen gave him an annoyed look. "You worry far too much."

"Only when I care."

Yami turned back to look at the clothes in the drawer Yugi had pulled out. He glanced at the tank top atop the dresser and then looked back down again. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head the smallest degree. And then he sighed softly and closed his eyes. "Three tank tops and a t-shirt. Right. That works."

Yugi shivered and moved to reach in for another handful of clothes. He put them in a small pile atop the chest and pulled another open to grab a regular graphic tee. He grabbed one that he put atop the others and glanced over to Yami only to find him staring rather pointedly. His red eyes bore into his, unreadable but deep with some emotion that evaded Yugi in its entirety. For a moment longer Yami studied him, then his eyes slowly lowered back to the pile of shirts. He tilted his head and reached for the clothes reluctantly.

"I do not understand why you kept these things."

Yugi startled, eyes widening. "What?"

"These clothes. After I went missing… Is it not a common human practice to discard the items that remind them of a dead friend or family member?"

"You weren't dead!"

"And how could you have known that for sure? I'm sure the gods were not helpful in your endeavors to find me. I am rather sure they also spoke of the contrary," he continued. He narrowed his eyes faintly, looking at him from his peripheral. "So, why did you not simply toss them?"

Yugi stared at him, stomach knotting and heart in his throat. "I refused to believe it. I didn't want you to be dead, so I honestly just refused to acknowledge it and… I don't lose faith in the people I care about so easily. I…"

Yami's voice had a scathing note to it now. "Do you ever fear your codependency?"

"Codependency? No, I don't fear it. I'm not…codependent." Yugi felt as if he'd been punched in the gut for a moment. He floundered, struggling to understand and pick the words he wished to say. "I'm not codependent, Yami. I'm… I just don't like being alone. And I want my friends and family to be okay. Is that…is that really so wrong?"

"It's not wrong. But it causes you more stress and frustration than necessary, yes?"

Yugi blinked. "Stress and frustration are a small price to pay if I get the satisfaction of knowing that everyone I love is okay."

Yami seemed to study him for a moment longer. Then he hummed, moving to pull a tank top over his head. Yugi watched him busy himself with the fabric, smoothing it out almost as if it were more than just a sleeveless shirt. For a moment he picked at the ends as if the threads were frayed but Yugi could see he was simply nervous and so was playing with his fingers to keep from growing further flustered.

"I suppose such a thing makes sense." Yami narrowed his eyes and tapped his fingers against the dresser. "I do not know. I do not make such connections with others anymore. It only leads to more pain."

"But I'm your friend."

Yami looked at him sideways, considering him for a long moment. "Yes," he agreed quietly, without much conviction. Yugi felt his heart constrict in his chest painfully. He looked skeptical, as if he were not sure of what he was saying. "You are my friend."

"But not others."

"The 'others' are all dead." When he turned away, it was to pull another shirt over his head and flatten it out again. He carefully avoided looking back at him, Yugi knew, but he couldn't help but think that Yami still looked too terribly thin. His arms and wrists were too lanky and his frame was tiny beneath the clothes he was dressing himself in. And Yugi once again wished more than ever that he knew how to cure it.

But Yugi could not discount the fact that Yami was recovering well in every other aspect but for the physical one. His temperament was evening out again. He did not seem as if he might lash out at any moment as he had before. He did not snarl as often as he had before. His temper was still short, frayed, but he gave nasty looks more than he did anything else. Yugi had expected him to lash out more often than he had anything else. But he seemed more comfortable in his skin again, though perhaps not nearly as regal as he'd seemed when the two of them had first gotten beyond the stage of acquaintanceship.

"It is a wonder that you are still alive, in truth."

Yugi flinched but did not know how to answer him in any manner. The silence between them continued even as they made it into the woods and began to trek their way towards the cemetery. Yami only knew it from the willow tree covered in inches of snow, the trunk all but frozen with the ice there. He shivered, ignoring the way the branches seemed almost to sway for a brief moment.

"Maybe we should have just tried to come out here when the snowfall began again."

Yugi looked at him over his shoulder. "You hate clothes that much?"

"I hate layers of clothing. It is not as if I am prone to running about naked and dashing through the trees like some kind of ape or something. What do you call that creature, anyways? Bigfoot, I believe?"

Yugi flushed brilliantly, imagining it for a brief second and then rubbing his face with his hands with embarrassment. He really needed to get some mental help at this point; there was nothing even remotely sexual in the way Yami had said that. "Oh, yeah…him."

Yami rolled his eyes as he came to his side again. He stepped around a small headstone where it was almost completely buried beneath the snow, looking over at him sideways. He frowned slightly and considered him for a long moment. "You're straying too close to one of the graves," he mumbled, turning away again. "You'll hit one and I'll have to hear you whining about it if you keep in that direction."

Yugi laughed in delight at the jab, then shook his head. "Thanks."

"So, who was it that came up with the idea of Bigfoot anyways?" Yami sounded dismissive but somehow interested as well, and when Yugi looked over again, he had the smallest smirk on his lips. "Was there a reason he created him or was it something else entirely?"

Yugi tilted his head. "I don't know, honestly. I think it'd probably be more boredom than anything." He grinned when Yami looked at him from his peripheral with narrowed red eyes. "From what I actually know of it, someone found huge footprints, named the creature Bigfoot, and then he became a legend and they think he might be the missing link in man's evolution or something like that? I don't even know, honestly. I think when I was younger I watched a documentary that said something like that. People say that he's like seven feet tall and his existence proves that we came from apes. But then you have the people who say that their god created everyone in their image and that evolution is a hoax and then other people turn around and say evolution is all there is and religion is a lie."

Yami snorted. "It sounds more like someone just wanted attention and made up a monster for the fun of it. Bigfoot was born and they became famous for it." He laughed and shook his head, eyes bright enough with amusement that Yugi's heart skipped a beat. "That sounds more like what might have happened. But I still cannot even imagine."

"I'm sure it didn't actually go down exactly like that," Yugi snickered. He shook his head, smiling, and walked around another grave. "Besides, Bigfoot is supposed to be around six or seven feet tall. And he's supposed to have long, wide feet."

"Yes, thank you. I needed clarification on what his name might possibly mean."

Yugi rolled his eyes. He shook his head, reaching out. His fingers gripped the other boy's wrist. Yami spun on him, halting in place. His entire body was frozen beneath his fingers. Yugi drew in a small breath. Then he drew his nails into his skin and squeezed. The other boy glared at him in response.

"You're an asshole."

"I know."

Yami rolled his eyes but didn't move. Where Yugi had pinched was already white again rather than showing red with irritation. "Regardless, Bigfoot is not something I have run across. And I do not have plans to search for him. So I do not make any judgments on whether he is real or not."

"Well, you're just slacking in knowing what supernatural creatures exist, aren't you?"

Yami shot him a surprised, confused look.

"You don't even know if vampires exist." Yugi flicked his wrist at him dismissively, smiling and watching as Yami gave him an affronted glance in return. "How am I supposed to let you teach me when you cannot even tell me if our enemies are real or not?"

Yami curled his lip back, staring at him before making a noise of absolute disgust. He turned away from him entirely, walking again. "Enemies? Wolves and vampires? It sounds rather stupid to me," he grumbled. But his eyes shot to his again and his lip curled into a wry sneer. "I guess I'll have to check and find out if they're real if we survive this."

Yugi rolled his eyes and smiled at him brightly. When he moved closer, he pressed gently into his shoulder and lingered a moment longer than usual. Yami stiffened for a split second. But the warmth Yugi gave off was enough to send a trill through his flesh. And then a part of him recoiled. Self-preservation struck at him with sharpened claws.

Personal comfort was not something he was meant to seek.

Physical contact led most often to pain.

And he would not allow himself to be trapped in such a manner.

He drew in a deep breath, preparing to answer Yugi, but the other boy cut him off with a laugh of, "You should be. Vampires are cool."

"You must mean temperature wise," Yami sneered. "Because I recall every clearly that you said you were not a fan of all vampires and only of Dracula."

Yugi huffed. "Shut up. Stop remembering things."

"Blame my species. We have such perfect recall."

Yugi was quiet for a long minute, pausing only long enough to look over at him. His lips drew downward and Yami could see him biting the inside of his cheek. "So, do you remember what it was that happened while you were recovering? I mean, when you were at the house? After the hellhounds attacked?"

Yami blinked. "I do not try to think back on it. Am I meant to be concerned about something or other to do with it?" he asked quietly, uncertainty creeping into his voice. He swallowed hard, confused as he tilted his head and considered him with growing alarm in his bones. His blood was burning beneath his skin for a brief second and he nearly shivered as a million different fears crossed through his mind. He shoved them away, however; Yugi would not have allowed such things to happen. He would never have done something like what he was imagining… "I would like to assume that you did not proceed to poke and prod at me and run experiments."

Yugi shook his head immediately, but he was smiling at the scornful sarcasm in his tone at the moment. "No, Yami, I did not poke and prod or run any experiments. I just wanted to know more about your whole…" He fell quiet for a long handful of seconds. "I just wanted to know if you knew what had happened."

Yami tilted his head. He was smirking, but a part of him felt cold and numb. "Should I be concerned, Yugi? Did you punish me because of how many times I bit you?"

"You only did that four times at the most, I think? And, besides that, you didn't even know what you were doing. One of those was also because I was showing my mom how you were biting, too, so that hardly counts."

"How I was biting?"

"You muzzle-punched one arm and then bit the other."

"Oh." Yami nodded slowly. "That makes sense."

Yugi flashed him a smirk. "You basically broke my wrist the third time, though," he laughed, rolling his eyes. "But it was worth it. It worked out. No one else got bit. So no one was actually hurt. And you turned out okay."

Yami remained silent, turning away. "Is that so? Then, I suppose you should remind yourself of that sooner rather than later and remember that I often recover when it is assumed I am rendered unable to."

Yugi seemed to flinch visibly in the corner of his eye but Yami refused to look towards him. "Well, I'm so fucking sorry for trying to help my friend," he said in something of a bitter and hateful tone. But then he looked over at him, face momentarily distressed. "I mean, you're free to tell me to back off at any rate. You…you know that…right?"

"Hmm? Yes, of course I do." Yami blinked and tilted his head. His eyes scanned Yugi's face for a moment, studying and finding only mounting insecurity in his features. "I am very well aware of the fact that should I so desire it, you will back off at any moment."

"Okay… Good."

Yami studied him for a long moment. Then he smiled, nodding slightly in something almost dismissive, and frowned. "I am well aware of your policy. If you recall, I have asked you honor it several times and you have always done so…" He hesitated for a moment. "Thank you for that."

The smaller teen smiled, nodding almost vigorously. "Of course! I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me." Or more uncomfortable than you already are, actually, Yugi seemed to add. Yami wondered if he was so insecure at the moment because he was feeding off his emotional stance now. He shivered and his skin crawled for a brief moment. And he wondered more than ever if he himself made Yugi uncomfortable in any manner as well.

And he knew he did not do well at times to help him feel otherwise. The problem was predominantly that he did not understand his own emotional stance as well. He could not often understand what it was that threw him off or made him uncomfortable. And he felt sick and weak for a split second.

It did not help either that at times he remembered Yugi's burning into his too intensely to be ignored or the way he could smell his arousal or his growing excitement. And it made him scornful and frustrated. And he knew that his relapse into these thoughts only highlighted further his growing inability to forgive. No doubt Yugi could sense the various great and many grudges that he harbored so close to his heart.

No wonder there were so many insecurities Yugi possessed and portrayed in front of him. No wonder he always seemed to walk on egg shells around him in order to keep from provoking his ire or startling him into an aggressive state.

"I do not feel uncomfortable with you, Yugi," Yami said with a small shake of his head. Yugi was watching him with slightly widened eyes now, as if he were unsure of what Yami was truly saying at the moment. "I enjoy your company. If I did not I would never have chosen to remain with or around you."

Yugi furrowed his brows, clearly flummoxed by the sudden admission. He tilted his head, watching him. "I know that. I just… I also know that sometimes I overstep, though. I have a tendency to do that, actually—w-where you're concerned, anyways. So, I just figured I would…" He shook his head and Yami felt the smallest sliver of panic trail up his spine for a split second. "I guess it doesn't matter, though, right? I just want you to feel as comfortable as possible. And if you ever feel otherwise, then you can tell me."

"I do not believe you have much to worry about then, do you? You can trust me to tell you something you have done has upset me in some manner."

Yugi was quiet for a moment and Yami picked his way around another gravestone. He shivered, considering them for a moment, and wondered only briefly if, when he died, he'd have one of his own. But he highly doubted it. It was not as if the gods were so willing to do such a thing for him and he did not believe for even a second that he was so tied to the human world that it might happen. He'd likely die as a wolf, if he were honest with himself. There was no reason he wouldn't.

"You think so?"

Yami startled at the sudden statement. He turned to Yugi but the small teen was staring at the snow rather than looking towards him. His eyes were narrowed, his mouth pulled into a deep frown. And he seemed almost flustered rather than upset, but his tone was frustrated more than anything. And Yami wondered with slight pain in his gut if he had spoken out loud.

"Do you honestly think you'll always tell me, Yami? You tend to stay quiet when you're upset." His eyes narrowed further and he stepped away from him to dodge another gravestone, but this time he didn't return to his side as he normally would. "You tend to try to ignore me when you're upset. You don't usually explain yourself until we're already fighting, because fighting is the only time I can get you to admit to being upset. And I can never fully trust you to tell me what's actually upsetting you, because you think too hard when you give me answers. You bide your time so that you know the best way to respond to what I'm telling or asking you. And by then you've almost completely withdrawn."

Yami faltered a step, staring at him for a moment. Then he struggled, mind rushing and his thoughts crossing a territory that almost winded him. He swallowed hard, voice smothered for a brief moment, then managed to mumble, "Or I might ask you to change the subject."

Yugi nodded slightly, but his lips twisted into a grimace and he was looking at him with an expression of flustered annoyance for all of a brief moment. "You've only done that a couple of times," he pointed out slowly, clearly struggling to keep his voice from growing annoyed as well. "I'd like to think I don't tend to make you uncomfortable, but—"

Yami bristled now, narrowing his eyes as his voice grew cold. "Do you think that I would remain so close to you if I did not—?"

"Yes." Yugi said it with such certainty that Yami almost tripped over himself. He froze there, eyes widening, lips threatening to peel back into a snarl, and then narrowed his gaze as they stared at each other. Yugi shook his head and sighed softly. "I think that you would stay near me if it could keep you hidden. I think you know that the labs are looking for you just as much as they are me and you're scared enough that you'd stay with someone if it meant that it made you feel a little safer. If it meant that you were protected, even for such a limited amount of time, you'd definitely do it. I'm not stupid, Yami. You're scared and you're driven by self-preservation. And if it comes down to it, even if I'm your friend, you'll do what you need to save yourself before you will me. And that includes using me and my family as camouflage."

Yami recoiled, heart in his throat and stomach rolling with pain for a brief moment. He opened and closed his mouth twice, struggling to find something to say to counter his statement. But Yugi was right. Despite everything that Yami wished, he couldn't argue him that. It was an insult to them both should he try to deny it. So he simply lowered his eyes and stood there for a moment, sorting through various responses he knew he couldn't make.

But nothing he was thinking was anything he could say. Even when he opened his mouth again, nothing would come and he found himself swallowing hard and narrowing his eyes once more.

"I'm not upset about it, Yami." The words were spoken so softly that had Yami not known Yugi, he would have thought he was threatening him. But the smaller boy got louder when he was upset, while Yami did the opposite. Silence was far deadlier in the grand scheme of things, and he was nastier when someone didn't know to prepare for his anger… "It's okay. I would do the same thing in your place. I mean, technically, if you think about it, I kind of already am, considering. I mean…"

A cold chill ran down his spine as he slowly looked over. They locked eyes and his mouth twitched with the beginnings of a snarl before he stopped himself. He drew in a deep breath, narrowing his eyes. "And, yet, you know why I'm hiding."

"Yes." Yugi's voice changed, becoming colder, and his eyes flashed with something Yami couldn't quite read. "I know exactly why."

Yami fell silent for a long handful of seconds. His lungs were constricting in his chest and his heart was too tightly jammed in his throat to speak. He shifted his weight, tugging on the ends of his sleeves, and finally he forced himself to mumble, "I'm sorry, Yugi." But he doubted the words did anything for him and his heart lurched again. He swallowed hard, looking away and clenching his jaw. The apology was so dry and pathetic and a sense of panic welled up inside of him. Yugi knew about that and yet he had let him stay there. How soon would that change? How long had Yugi known? And how long would it take for him to turn around and lash out to drive him away? "I did not mean to use you in such a manner. I just… I wanted to… I don't know. I don't know what it is that I used to want anymore."

Yugi opened his mouth to answer him, he noticed from the corner of his eye, but he did not speak for a long moment. Instead he turned away and continued to walk. Yami felt an abrupt sense of abandonment, one which shook him so hard to his core that he spun on him with a snarl.

Yugi startled visibly, jerking around with wide eyes. His mouth was half-open, eyes wide with confusion.

"But you do believe me when I say that I care about you? That I did not fabricate our friendship?" He was snarling so low in his throat that he could barely breathe, entire frame shaking finely as he spat at him. "You know that I did not mean to bring this kind of thing to you or your family or—?"

"Whoa, whoa, what? Yami—aibou, wait a second! Relax a moment," Yugi answered, eyes wide and stunned. He held his hands up as if to show him that he didn't have any weapons, that he meant no harm, and Yami bristled further. "I know all of that. You don't need to worry so much about that. It's okay. I promise. It's fine. I know that you didn't mean for any of this to happen. And I don't hold it against you that it did—"

"But why not?" he snarled now, despair giving way to a rage that he had not known himself to possess before. He felt his shoulders rising with his anger and his lips curled back to show each of his teeth. "It is my fucking fault. Several of your classmates have been murdered and mutilated. Your best friend was almost killed. The pack is fighting and murdering each other. The hunters have their eyes on you. Your hallucinations and night terrors are getting worse than ever. You constantly have to worry about me. You—"

"I don't have to worry about you. I choose to," Yugi said in a quieter, gentler voice. Yami shook harder at the declaration and Yugi tilted his head as he watched him with soft eyes. "You're my friend, Yami. I worry about you because I care. I don't have to care. But I do. I care about you a lot. And it's not like it's a burden to—"

"No? You don't consider it that?" Yami sneered, hands shaking hard enough that he couldn't grip at his hoodie like he'd been trying to a second ago. "You had to hide everything from your friends and family and even now you're still trying to protect me—"

Yugi moved too quickly for him to respond. His hand was outstretched, pressing gently into his mouth to smother his response. His eyes had grown hard, glittering with anger, and his jaw was set. He looked livid, his cheeks slightly flushed with his anger. Yami stared back at him for a moment, too startled to react, but he noticed that Yugi was not entirely paying him attention. He was glaring at him, yes, but his head was tilted slightly towards the ground as if he were listening to something. And then, abruptly, he pulled his hand away and shot him a look that said they would have to finish their conversation another time.

Yami hesitated for a moment. He awkwardly reached for his hand where it was hovering, for a split second wrapping his fingers around his wrist. But Yugi startled as if he'd been struck, eyes wide and locked on his hand, and Yami dropped it quickly to his side again. The shaking had gone away, but he swore his bones were trembling beneath his skin now.

"I think it's just Jonouchi and Otogi further in the woods," Yugi said softly, explaining rather gently why he'd grabbed him like that. But Yami hardly cared; he could hear them now too. They were chatting about something that he couldn't quite catch, but it still made him almost bristle. "That's so weird, though. I didn't think they would want to be around each other at any point. Jonouchi tends to be kind of possessive and jealous and he has a huge thing for Mai, so I honestly can't even imagine him wanting to spend time with the guy Mai is having sex with."

Yami was quiet for a brief moment. "Is that why he seems to avoid him so often?" he mumbled, looking in the direction he could hear them coming. They were not visible yet, but the stillness of the cold air helped their voices carry if only slightly. "But they're further back. I don't think they could have heard what we were saying."

"I don't want to risk it."

"You mean to say that you do not care to hear me say it."

"That too."

Yami shook his head after a moment. Playing at the game of avoidance might not be bad for them for the time being. In truth he did not even want to consider what he had been about to say. And he was sure that Yugi did not want to have this argument again. Whether he saw it as burdensome or not was his own choice; just as it was Yami's to see it as such. Why he constantly picked such fights with him was something that he did not wish to answer, either, if only for the fact that he would again have to admit to the pressure of the trauma that still so often came over him. He didn't want to think of his own night terrors or the various oncoming hallucinations that he could usually blink away if he tried hard enough…

"What? What's wrong?" Yugi asked suddenly beside him. Yami blinked, looking slowly away from a pile of misplaced snow to face him with a small frown. "Why do you look so upset again?"

Yami blinked and looked around again for a moment. He had not considered it before then, but now his stomach lurched and twisted and the realization settled more pointedly in his bones. He swallowed hard, then looked at the snow. It was either a trap or a hellhound had truly tried to dig up some food from this grave… "I just… I was here before, Yugi. Do you remember that day that you and I woke from that night terror? I had clawed my arms open again, you woke me, and I fled from the house for a few hours?"

Yugi took a moment to recall, then frowned at him in puzzlement. "Yes."

Yami could feel a familiar sense of exhaustion creeping through him like shadows across the snow. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed softly. "That day, I ran out here. There was an empty grave in one of the plots. A hellhound was probably eating whatever corpse had been in there." He still felt no loyalty towards the other subspecies. Hellhounds were often stupid and foolish and chaotic. And he doubted one would save him should he be in similar danger. "But, regardless, we need to be careful. It would be wise not to draw attention. Someone might still be watching this area."

"The hellhound got caught?"

"Would I be telling you otherwise?"

Yugi was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. "No." Yami noticed him cast a careful glance around the snow-laden area once more. And he knew that Yugi could hear Jonouchi and Otogi coming through the trees, slowly but surely getting closer to them. They were still far away enough that they should have been deaf to their conversation, however. "Think they were after them so that they could try to reactivate the poison gene in them, too?"

"I would believe that they were doing something with them beyond trying to breed them and pit them against the lycanthropes to test their strength in the labs."

"Is that what they were actually breeding them for?"

"They tried to make an army," Yami said slowly, turning to him, "for Atem to test his teeth on."

Yugi grimaced, then shivered and wiped his hands on his jeans as if it might somehow offer comfort. He shook his head the smallest degree. "That's disgusting." But he seemed to lose his ability to speak for a split second. He looked as if he were lost in his own thoughts now, eyes growing dim as he remembered or considered something that Yami himself was not.

"The experiments in general were disgusting as well."

Yugi nodded and shivered again, then looked away with a curled lip. "Well, then I guess we'll have to be as quiet and aware as possible. We don't want to have any issues with someone potentially getting caught."

"I am warning you because I do not think that Jonouchi has ever had someone try to aim a gun at him or try to capture him in general. You will have to watch for him. I am not worried about Otogi. He has been in these mountains for a while now, I am sure, so I do not believe for even a moment that he will have trouble escaping should it come down to it."

Yugi nodded again. "Right… Good call."

Yami turned away from him, looking towards the trees over his shoulder. There was nothing there to be seen, but he swore there seemed to be a shadow of some kind in the darkness. It made him bristle and he almost bore his teeth in growing annoyance. Was he seeing things? Was he so terribly paranoid? It was not uncommon for wolves to be stricken with bouts of such. It was a warning mechanism, a defense that one should be wise to never ignore in any capacity. But he could not harness this alone when he knew just as well that he was unnerved simply due to the capture of the hellhound formerly.

"Hey, Yugi!" The cheerful voice made Yami turn his head. He was bristling, eyes narrowed as a small trail of ice coursed up his spine. "What's up?"

There was an awkward moment of disconcerting bewilderment on Yugi's behalf. The small teen blinked a few times, furrowing his brows, and tilted his head a fraction. He seemed far more puzzled than he did angry, but Yami swore he could sense his growing ire and it made him nearly flinch.

"And Yami—I almost didn't see you there."

Yugi bristled visibly now but Yami simply blinked. "That's understandable, I suppose." When Yugi glanced towards him in surprise, the red-eyed teen smirked. "I've been told I'm far too skinny for my own good. If I were to turn sideways, one would never be able to see me."

Yugi snorted. "I never said that."

"I know. But unless I am so small," he said with a miniscule smirk, "then I shall never believe myself to be in such a predicament as to be too incredibly underweight."

Otogi snickered, smiling at him. "How much do you think you actually weigh?" he asked, tilting his head. But when Yami looked towards him, he dipped his head in a more respectful greeting. The red-eyed teen ignored this, however, smiling at him for a long moment.

"So very little it would be possible for you to bench press me with your pinkie." He smirked wider, shaking his head, as Yugi burst out laughing and Jonouchi stiffened with momentary surprise. "I do not suppose it truly matters. I will gain weight soon enough. It should not require too much to do so."

Otogi shook his head. "I don't think it'll take too long either. You should be able to do it pretty easily." He opened and closed his mouth after a long second, then shrugged and glanced at Yugi with something almost uncomfortable. His eyes flickered back to Yami before locking on the smaller teen once more. "What were you guys doing out here? I figured it must be important if you're both out and about like this."

Jonouchi was watching him with a curious expression. "You look kind of…odd."

"Jonouchi," Yugi hissed. His eyes were sharp and cold and his lips were curled into a small snarl. He shook his head angrily and Yami almost growled under his breath with growing distress. Yugi's tension was setting him on edge, making his skin crawl and his stomach churn. He swallowed hard, glancing between them briefly for a single moment. "What the hell?"

Jonouchi flushed bright red with momentary embarrassment. Then he rolled his eyes and shot Yugi an annoyed glance. "I was just pointing it out, okay?" But his expression was mildly sheepish when he turned to Yami again, hesitating. "I…I was just curious."

Yami tilted his head, ignoring the urge to sneer at him and making his voice lighter for a brief moment. "It could be the multiple shirts I happen to be wearing at the moment. I have four tank tops on and a shirt atop them beneath this jacket. So it could very simply be that." He fell silent after a moment. And he wished more than ever that Yugi was not glaring at his best friend with such clear anger in his eyes. He fiddled with the zipper, jingling it just loudly enough that it reached his ears. "I don't know what else could make me seem odd."

But he knew. It wasn't the clothing. Jonouchi had not even noticed the multiple layers. He had simply said it, staring straight at him with an expression that only infuriated him more. He had been watching his face, studying his gaze. He had meant his eyes, the insistence from the pack that he was a hellhound, that no lycanthrope could have a gaze the shade that he did.

Yami could feel hatred so strongly in his blood that he almost reached out and smacked him hard enough that he'd see stars. It was the first instinct he felt. But then he blinked, forcing himself to calm if only slightly. He breathed out evenly, eyes cold as he watched him in turn.

He was challenging him, he realized with only the smallest touch of surprise. Jonouchi was truly attempting to fight him at the moment, if only to see if Yami might lash out at him. He wanted to see if he would lose his temper, if he would attack him. And then he could look at Yugi and call him dangerous, could say that he was a threat.

He wanted, too, to see if Yugi would defend him against him. He wanted to see who would come out on top where Yugi's loyalty was concerned. The thought made him bristle and he swallowed the snarl that threatened to bubble up. He'd lose. Yami was sure of it. He would lose when it came to Yugi's loyalty. He was second to Jonouchi or Honda or Anzu; he had to be. He had known them first. And Yugi so often shielded any information about them from him as well as he did his from them. In truth, Yami did not think he knew much of anything about any of them and the thought was enough to make him feel small and weak.

Yugi had equally isolated his friends and Yami from each other. In the end of it all, Yami was basically Yugi's friend and alpha. But Jonouchi, Honda and Anzu were his best friends. There was a clear divide between them, as if Yugi were trying to hide the existence of them from each other. And the thought exhausted him for a long moment. Did Yugi even understand that he had done that? And was it to protect them from each other?

Or was it for his own ignorance and bliss? If he could keep the two divided, then that meant little mess or clean up. It meant that Yugi could pretend to be as human as he wished he was. He could pretend to be more normal.

And that was something Yami could not touch in the slightest.

It was as if Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu served as his friends in the day and Yami at night. It was like they served as his sun but Yami was his moon. They were separated with precision and it was daunting to even consider. Yugi had worked hard to do that, Yami realized. And he felt sick now.

Who was Yugi trying to protect?

Himself or Yami or his best friends?

"I do not think it matters so much that I look different today. It is meaningless."

Yugi was watching them both, eyes sharp and cold with growing tension. But he shot Yami a skeptical look, as if he sensed what Jonouchi was doing as well. "I guess so," he mumbled in turn, eyes on the blond once more.

"No, nothing is wrong," the red-eyed teen said after a moment, turning to Otogi and offering him a weak smile that was rancid with tension. He was amazed he was not grimacing at him. But he'd learned to make facial expressions when he was younger, to shield himself behind them and pretend that things were okay. Rotting on the inside did not need to be announced to onlookers. It was as simple as that. "We came out here for a walk. I was getting restless and Yugi decided to accompany me."

"So…he basically had to walk you?" Jonouchi cocked a brow, grinning slyly. He tilted his head a fraction and Yami almost bristled with annoyance. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Seriously, Jonouchi?" Yugi hissed. "What the fuck?"

"I'm just trying to keep it entertaining," the blond mumbled, huffing and rolling his eyes. "And it's not like Yami actually cares, anyways. He's clearly not concerned about it at all. Why are you getting so upset? I was just joking."

"I can take a joke."

"Yeah, except that it's not funny—"

"It's fine, Yugi," he said in a sharper tone. The smaller teen turned on him with an annoyed look but Yami ignored it. "I'm not offended. And it is not as if I am the one who looks like a dog. I'm not the retriever with pointed ears, remember?"

Yugi snorted and grinned, but quickly looked away. Otogi burst out laughing, turning away when Jonouchi shot him a flustered glare. His eyes were dark with frustration when he turned to Yami, cheeks slightly reddened.

"I do not look like a dog!"

"But, yeah, you do," Yugi laughed. "You look exactly like a golden retriever with some white in your fur!"

Jonouchi bristled. "I do not look like a fucking dog, okay? Fuck off."

And I am not a hellhound, Yami thought dismissively, turning away from him and considering the trees again, but you seem insistent upon believing so. And you wish to pursue a dangerous game in prodding at such a thing. "Do not worry, Jonouchi, you're large enough that you do not need to be concerned. No one will mistake you for a full-blooded golden if you have your ears pricked. Wolves can't quite pull off the faithful dog approach too well."

Yugi snorted and cast him a small smile, eyes full of warmth. Yami studied him for a moment and—for only a split second—he was tempted to ask him if he thought he was a hellhound. Yugi defended him so often, yet there was always a small part of him that wondered. And he couldn't help but listen to the occasional wayward thought about it. But to do so now, in front of Jonouchi and Otogi, would be a mistake that he could not correct should something come of it.

"Well, if I look like a retriever, then Yugi looks like a Samoyed!"

"And Yami is a huge German shepherd," Otogi snickered. "So, that must make me a smaller one."

"I suppose so."

They fell quiet after a long moment.

"So, what are you both doing out here? Why are you not in the camp with the pack? Did anything happen?"

Yugi looked at him as if the question did not make sense to him for a split second. His eyes were huge, his brows furrowed faintly, and then he blinked. Realization came through him and he looked quickly to Otogi and Jonouchi again.

"No, nothing happened." Otogi waved their concerns off with a flick of his wrist and turned to look at Yami more pointedly. "There's nothing wrong at all. Don't worry about it. It's fine. We were just discussing a couple of things."

"So, in other words, you were walking Jonouchi?"

"Not funny," the blond snapped at him.

Yami smirked at him. "You were discussing some things? What is it that the two of you would wish to talk about?"

"It doesn't matter."

Yugi tilted his head, obviously surprised by Jonouchi's curt response. "It doesn't? Then why was it so important that you had to come out here in the middle of the woods instead of staying at the camp?"

"Because it's private."

Yami wondered if it had far more to do with Mai than it did him. It would make the most sense, unless Jonouchi were truly asking Otogi his opinion on the matter. He frowned, considering, and nearly bristled with disgust. Usually Jonouchi avoided the black-furred wolf if he could; Yami had witnessed that firsthand. If Otogi was on one side of the camp, Jonouchi was on the other. So, should they be talking about something that was so terribly private to Jonouchi, it had to be the she-wolf.

"But, anyways! Since we're all here together now, why don't we just go ahead and patrol for a little while?" Jonouchi said, moving to look at Yugi more pointedly now. Yami felt a small heat fill his veins, but he could not understand whether it was with anger or discomfort. "We can see what the differences are between our senses as wolves and humans."

"Very minimal," Yami grunted in a dismissive tone. But he ignored the sharp look Jonouchi shot him, the puzzled glance Yugi gave him, and instead turned to Otogi again. "A small patrol? How far do you think we should go?"

Otogi blinked at him. He glanced briefly towards Yugi in bewilderment, then looked at Yami again. He lowered his eyes to Yami's lashes, clearly unnerved now. "We could go halfway to the camp or something. I don't know how far you'd actually want to go?"

"It does not matter to me." Yami fell quiet again for another heartbeat, shaking his head and glancing around again. The tension was growing in the base of his shoulder blades. But he still could not pinpoint whether it was simply paranoia or a reaction to Jonouchi's blatant staring. "I do not mind walking for a long amount of time, or for long distances."

And the exercise would do him well to regain some of his wasted muscle mass. It would not be immediate, but it should help eventually. And he was not doing well with such little exercise. Being cooped up in Yugi's room unless the other wolf was with him to go through the woods was not going to get him well in terms of regaining his worn stamina and physique.

"That's good." Otogi came to his side when Jonouchi took the opportunity to wrap an arm around Yugi's shoulder and pull him into his side. Otogi shot Yami an amused sideways glance that the other boy studiously ignored. If his discomfort showed on his face, he did not wish to see how amusing it was to Otogi. "I bet we could outpace them if we wanted to."

"That is not a question. Yugi is not one for longer treks. And I doubt Jonouchi will want to travel all that way without wishing to return to the camp altogether."

"Is that so?" The teal-eyed boy shook his head slightly. "I wouldn't be surprised if it did turn out he wanted to go back sooner rather than later. It wouldn't surprise me in the least."

"I did not mean it in a negative way. I simply feel that he is rather…unmotivated, I guess. I do not think he has too much drive in his life." But who would when their parent was increasingly abusive? Yami himself did not think he could have survived the situation himself. He likely would have tried to kill him by now or perhaps left him to die on his own at one point or another. There had to have been moments when the man was vulnerable, when he was too drunk to even realize what he was doing and passed out. Rolling him onto his back or smothering him with a pillow would have been simple enough… "I do not see him wanting to continue to walk around for no other reason than that we can."

"I guess that's true." Otogi shrugged after a moment or so. And Yami envied the fact that he did not seem to foster such dark thoughts as he himself did. "He doesn't seem like he's accomplished much in his life, huh?"

"I would not say that. I just think that he may be…lazier about them than some people." But Yami was more incredibly aware of just how close Jonouchi and Yugi seemed to be at that moment. The two of them were pushing at each other, laughing. They were lost in their own little world right at that moment, ignoring Yami and Otogi behind them.

A sense of growing bewilderment came through Yami at the thought. His mouth grew dry, his tongue swollen against his palate. He felt sick, almost amazed by the fact that his mouth was not overcrowded. He'd had that feeling on the rarest of occasions. And it was a wonder he did not suffer from it now. He would feel it more prominently, however, during his worst bouts of paranoia and the most intense alterations to the barometric pressure. During thunderstorms or what the people in the labs had called a tsunami…

Yami shook his head, looking at the snow and then to Otogi. "I've only met him once or twice prior to his being bitten. Yugi doesn't often talk about him, either. I don't think he's talked about any of his friends with me too often, honestly. I don't remember many conversations where they were involved in any way beyond the occasional mention. So I don't know enough about him to know if he's upset with me or not." He hesitated. "But he seems kind of frustrated whenever he sees me now."

Otogi cringed. Yami felt the smallest bit of rage growing inside of him, one which threatened to make him lash out furiously. That truly had been the reason for their conversation. He had been right in his assumption then.

But he had been wrong in why Jonouchi had snarled at Yugi before.

The conversation had nothing to do with Mai.

It had everything to do with Yami.

Yami stopped short, narrowing his eyes into slits, and lowered his voice to a hiss. "So, that's what this is." Otogi had turned away from him entirely, showing his neck in submissive stance, as if Yami might lunge forward and sink his teeth into it at any moment. "He brought you out here to talk about me."

Otogi looked as if he might be sick. "He wanted to know my opinion on whether you're a hellhound. He's apparently suffering some kind of post traumatic stress disorder from the fight at the camp."

Yami narrowed his eyes further. "So, then the two of you have been away from the camp for how long?"

"Almost half an hour."

"And you have been speaking about me the entire time?"

"The majority of it, yes."

Yami scowled at him now, but made no move to come any closer to him. He wished to lash out for a split second. But it would do no good. It would only bring punishment for the wrong person. And that was hardly something he wished to partake in. If he meant to lash out, he would do so against Jonouchi himself.

And he would do it when Yugi was not there to witness it.

"And then what's your opinion on the subject, Otogi? Are you under the same cloud of suspicion towards me?"

"What?" Otogi blurted out. His voice was an octave higher and it startled Yugi and Jonouchi ahead of them. Both of them spun around. But Yami ignored them both, watching Otogi. "No, of course not! Why would I ever think that?"

Yami was silent for a moment. He opened his mouth to answer, but movement made him swallow his response. He turned to Yugi as the small teen came running over to him. His blue-violet eyes darted across both of their faces, then burned into Yami's. But he seemed to realize that Otogi simply seemed affronted more than anything and Yami had ceased paying him attention. He relaxed visibly now, withdrawing slightly as he watched him for a long moment. Jonouchi had failed to come to his side, staring from where he had been standing when Yugi had initially heard the outburst.

"You okay?"

Yami didn't bother to answer him. His eyes stayed on Otogi, but in truth his attention was locked on Jonouchi. The blond was staring at them, standing a few feet away from them with wide eyes and a tense stance. His jaw was set, as if he were trying his hardest not to snarl in response, and his cheeks were flushed with what appeared to be embarrassment. Clearly he knew what they'd been talking about.

And Yami wondered for a split second if he might be able to antagonize him into attacking him. It was not without merit. Jonouchi had a temper that was easy to manipulate and he was sure he could swat him aside like a fly. Yami was still strong, even if he was damaged. He'd proved that to himself more than once in the time he'd been on his own.

"I'm fine. I was just asking him a question."

"You look upset."

"Mildly irritable, but it is nothing to be concerned about. Please, go back to Jonouchi. He seems to want to continue whatever conversation the two of you were having."

Yugi seemed more startled than upset by the easy dismissal. His eyes shot from Otogi to Yami again, as if unsure how to respond. For a long moment he remained incredibly still, studying. And then he stepped closer. Yami was all too aware of just how little space remained between them now. There were only inches. And he had the impulse to reach out and grab him, to put his hands on his shoulders and shove him back.

The instinct to do so was so powerful that his fingers twitched. But he caught sight of Jonouchi's eyes narrowing and his teeth ground together for a brief moment. It was not hard to imagine that the blond would lash out at him. And if Yami turned on him, what would Yugi do? He'd likely protect his best friend. He'd likely save Jonouchi from his anger, he was sure, as he doubted Yugi would want much more to do with him after he saw the immensity of his suspicions.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

If Yugi was put off by his curt response he did not show it. He was simply studying him again, as if he did not believe him but couldn't find the words to say so without openly challenging him. But he also imagined it had to be hard to read his expression from the angle Yugi stood. He was hardly looking at the other boy, his eyelids lowered so far that they must have cut off much of what Yugi could have seen of his irises. He didn't blame Yugi for being suspicious of him, however, even if Jonouchi had not spoken against him as of the moment.

"Then why are you so upset?"

"The topic of our conversation."

"Okay…" And now Yugi turned to Otogi, clearly seeing Yami as a lost cause where information was concerned. "Well, what did he ask you?"

"It was nothing important. He just…kind of startled me when he asked." Otogi looked torn, as if he were unsure of who it was he should answer to. But he was avoiding Yugi's eyes entirely, cheeks slightly flushed, and his gaze was clearly focused on Yami's bottom eyelashes. "It doesn't matter. I just overreacted."

Yami was silent for a long minute. Yugi had turned to him, staring and tilting his head as he watched him. "I promise. It's okay. No blood was spilled; we were just talking. It's all right." He glanced over Yugi's shoulder to Jonouchi now. The blond was staring at them both, brown eyes wide with confusion. But their gazes locked and his expression morphed into one of mounting suspicion. Yami turned to Yugi again, hoping to keep him from noticing. "I'm fine. We're not fighting. And I'm sure Jonouchi must be curious about what is happening. So, go ahead and join him again. There is no reason for you to remain here."

Yugi hesitated for a long moment. He eyed him, obviously dissatisfied, but the quiet became more oppressive. And he finally seemed to lose his temper with it all. He turned to look at Jonouchi after a moment as well, then he slowly turned back. Yami had the feeling he wanted more to stay beside him than leave. And for a split second Yami truly thought he might leave Jonouchi alone altogether and stay with him instead. And, in that brief moment, Yami felt the merest sense of cruel laughter bubbling up inside of him, something which sneered that he was more important than Jonouchi. But it died immediately, the words forming in his brain that he was fooling himself, that he was stupid to believe such a thing. And he found himself frozen more than anything, something in his chest tightened to the point that it almost cut off his breath entirely.

Instead Yugi sighed, shoulders sagging after a heartbeat, and shook his head. "Okay," he agreed reluctantly after a moment. He narrowed his eyes at him for a split second, and Yami wondered. If Jonouchi had told him, what would happen between them then? What would Yugi truly choose to do? "But if there's a problem, I want to be notified. Understand?"

"There will not be a problem."

Yugi smiled at him slightly, his eyes brightening. He hesitated a moment longer, then looked him over. When he seemed satisfied with whatever it was he found there, he turned and trotted off to Jonouchi's side. Yami wished for a moment that he might even have the energy to be upset with just how easily Yugi had wandered off like that. Some part of him truly stung, aching as if with a pulsating wound.

"My apologies," Yami said immediately in a soft voice, turning to Otogi now. If he focused on something else, things would get better. That's how avoidance worked, wasn't it? If he ignored the ache, it would diminish and disappear soon enough. "I did not mean to upset you so much."

"It wouldn't have been so upsetting if you hadn't just snapped at me like that. I thought for a second you were accusing me of believing it too."

"No, I would never do that. I believe in listening before coming to another conclusion of any kind." But Yami fell quiet for a long moment, shaking his head a small fraction. His eyes narrowed and he curled his lip faintly. The smallest prick of pain seemed to crash through his temples. And he felt, for a moment, as if he should lash out as violently as he could. That instinct to cause pain to rival what he felt was as vibrant as ever. And his heart began to hurt, aching with desperation to fix itself and right this growing tangle of problems. "It doesn't matter. I just wanted to know what type of proof he might have."

"You're not going to be happy knowing."

"Yes, well, I am not entirely happy now as it is," he snapped in turn. What was happiness to begin with? It was fleeting and stupid, he thought spitefully. When had he ever truly been happy? He did not think he had an answer to that question. And if he could not remember such things now, was that proof that he'd never felt such a thing formerly? "I do not like that Jonouchi suspects me of being a hellhound, but it is not something I can prepare myself to go against if I do not have the proper details. Surely you are aware of such a thing. So tell me what it is that he believes he has against me."

Otogi hesitated for so long that Yami nearly spun on him to snarl and snap his teeth. But the red-eyed boy turned to look at him, tiling his head and considering him with growing anger. Otogi refused to look at him, his cheeks a slight pink shade and his mouth set into a thin line that betrayed his mounting tension.

"It's mostly just your eye color. But he also brought up the fact that you were missing and gone without a trace for a long time." The raven-haired boy shook his head slightly and frowned. "He thinks it corresponds with the time the hellhounds began to show up. Or—at least, he believes it's more the time when they started attacking."

Now Yami tilted his head. He wasn't wrong in that assessment. In truth, Yami had just barely managed to return to the camp before the poisoning incident. And they'd attacked the camp immediately after. When that had happened, Yugi and Yami arriving to assess the damage must have looked that way far more than he wished to admit. And he wished more than ever that it could be simply blamed away by a misconception of some kind. But Jonouchi was not wrong.

And, had their situations been reversed, he might very well have thought the same.

"I see."

"I told you that you weren't going to be happy about it."

"None of this situation makes me happy. And I know that he cannot be the only to say it. If he were, there would not be so much tension whenever I enter the camp. Aki is still saying it, isn't she?"

"Well, she's definitely not a fan of you or Yugi. But she's also been raised pretty violently," Otogi said softly, frowning and looking at the red-eyed teen for a long moment. He grimaced and Yami nearly snorted, ready to sneer that he was well aware of just how violent the pack was, but was silenced immediately after. "She was almost used as a sacrifice at one point. Annie—her fucking mother—was convinced at one point that Aki was impure because she has a mark on her shoulder."

He stiffened, startled, and tilted his head. "A mark on her shoulder?"

"It's an odd smudge of black that looks almost like an arrow. It was extremely noticeable when she was younger, but it's kind of faded into her coat since she became around eighteen I think? But when she was…eight, maybe, Annie turned on her and tried to kill her as a sacrifice."

"For Code Name Atem?"

"Yes."

"So…then what spared her?"

Now Otogi was silent for a long moment. He seemed to be picking his words, as if he were suddenly unsure of what it was he should say to explain the words. He frowned and tilted his head, then sighed softly and looked away. "It was a…chance encounter with Morrigan, actually. Morrigan is the only reason she's still alive. She heard Aki screaming when Annie attacked her and came to help her."

Yami blinked, fingers twitching. She must have been terrified. Her own mother had turned on her, had planned to kill her for little more than a myth she'd grown up with. No wonder she was so bitter and resentful of them all. He could understand why she would hate everything to do with Atem, especially when Yugi did not meet the legend she grew up with. She must have looked on him and wondered why she would have been sacrificed for such a creature.

Yugi was nothing like what she would have wanted. And that would not be something that she could stand. Her entire life had been dedicated to this one wolf, and Yugi was not the creature she'd grown to understand would save them all…

"Annie tried to invoke Slifer to help her. But Slifer hardly cared about what she was asking of her. She was with Morrigan at the time, for whatever reason. And she said that Annie could not kill Aki for her simple superstitions. They both stopped her."

It was incredibly hypocritical of her, he considered. A small sense of laughter came through him, the faintest of amusements which burned his blood for a split second. Yami tilted his head, wondering why a hellhound might have stepped in for a lycanthrope like that. Aki was not Atem.

But perhaps Morrigan possessed more mercy than the other gods…

"Then, how was it by chance that Morrigan happened upon them?"

Otogi cringed, considering him for a long moment. Then he sighed again and awkwardly glanced around. "She was pregnant, from what I saw of it. And, honestly, I think she had been seeking Slifer for guidance. But I don't truly know. All I know is that they were there together that day."

"You think Slifer and Morrigan are so close?"

"They share the same domains. I feel like that would make you pretty close to someone."

"And why is it that you know all of this? Was she somehow feeling generous and decided to tell you all of it?"

"We used to be lovers. She told me one night when we were falling asleep. I think she thought I was already asleep when she started talking. She might not even know that I know about it, honestly." Otogi shrugged a shoulder when Yami turned to him with a stunned expression. The very idea of the two of them together in such a sense was almost enough to wind him entirely. "Mai was away on a mission to look into some of the kidnappings when they spiked again. Annie loved Mai the most, but Aki was aggressive and had the most drive to be leader when Annie passed. I guess no one ever told Aki that life just doesn't progress so easily."

"So, is that where her bitterness stems from then?"

"That and her general hatred. She has a lot of misconceptions about herself and how others look at her. Most everyone has forgotten about the mark. No one has even considered it since way before you two even came into the picture, honestly. But she's still convinced sometimes that everyone looks at her and sees it and remembers. It's one of the reasons she's so aggressive like this."

Yami nodded slowly. "And you two no longer see eye to eye?"

Otogi stopped short as if he had been struck. His eyes sharpened, mild irritation crossing his features. He shook his head, then turned to him with a flustered expression. "You're mistaking our relationship for something like love or friendship," he said slowly. And there was a small hint of amusement in his eyes, though with pity as well, as if he were trying his hardest not to laugh at him. "It was just fighting and screwing. There was no affection whatsoever. We irritated each other and wound up in bed together one day. Beyond that, we never shared anything else."

Yami could not truly fathom it. It was an amazing concept to him, in truth. The problem was not so much that he had not known someone capable of doing so. It was simply that he felt sick considering it. Wolves without mates would often do that—in fact, it was encouraged for some of the younger and more promiscuous wolves, though it was not always more than fooling around—but they also tended to bond permanently to their sexual partners at one point or another. The thought that Otogi and Aki had never developed such feelings when they were not forced to breed for the purpose of study and torture in the labs seemed stunning to him.

He swallowed hard and that pity in Otogi's face was clearer than ever and he knew the other boy saw this as well. He was seeing it, analyzing it, and it was somewhat amusing to him but also sad.

Perhaps he thought Yami too terribly naïve to understand…

"Where did you come from?" he demanded now, narrowing his eyes and cutting off that look of pity he was being shown. Otogi blinked in surprise, as if startled, and then frowned minutely. "You were not here when I first arrived in the camp. You were not even a name they spoke when I was there all but held captive but Aki's charming mother."

Otogi frowned. "I got sent after Mai to check on what was going on when she did not return within a week. I was gone the entire time you were there, but you were all they were talking about when I got there."

"And by then…" Yami slowed his steps, watching Yugi and Jonouchi ahead of them. Something cold and icy had begun to form in his chest and he slowed further, seeing Otogi do the same. He was confused, his teal eyes puzzled as they searched his face, but he kept pace with him in a respectful manner. "By then…were Aki and Marik screwing around?"

"How did you know about that? They were pretty discreet about it for the most part… I didn't think you would have caught onto it by then, honestly."

"It was easy to deduce." Yami could not stop watching Yugi and Jonouchi laughing in front of him. His skin crawled and his shoulders rose into a slight bristle. He was hateful, some part of him grieving in a way he could not explain. "I thought it simple to assume so when I knew how power hungry Marik truly was. Why not take to mating with the beta if you wanted to climb the ladder?"

"The worst part about it was that Aki knew he was using her and she still let him."

Yami was quiet for a long moment. "Did she wind up in love with him?"

"I don't think she's capable of love, honestly—not after everything she's been through. But I think he was the closest thing she's ever had to it." Otogi shrugged again and looked at the other two as well. "I think she was lonely and desperate and she knew she was being used but she did it anyways."

"Is she so broken?"

The question was met with a peculiar look and Yami found himself once again the focus of that idiotic pitying expression. It was not as if he were so stupid that he did not understand that such things happened. He'd even offered Yugi a similar noncommittal relationship once before. He could not truly judge, nor could he deny having thought it over once or twice himself. And he almost thought it would be easier for Yugi to get over his seemingly ridiculous attraction to him if they did simply sleep together.

Surely Yugi would lose any sense of attraction to him after that. There wasn't much more to see but damage he tried too hard to hide. And even Yugi could not simply ignore that in favor of his various fantasies. No teenage boy was so incredibly foolish or gullible, let alone Yugi himself.

But, more than ever, the thought simply made him want to hide away entirely. Yugi's feelings for him were something he could not bring himself to consider for more than a second. The idea of doing with him what he so often imagined, what he'd witnessed in those gods-forsaken labs, made him almost quake to consider. And his heart ached to know such terror directed towards the smaller teen.

And, for a single split second, he thought to simply run. He could make it halfway across Hokkaido before Yugi would notice his disappearance. And then what would he do? Could he hide away from there? Could he find a way onto a plane of some kind to hide away in? But with the heavy snowfall and the curfew that had been placed—and he was sure that it stretched outward of Domino now, if only because of the various disappearances of tourists—he doubted so. And then what? He could easily get rid of his own scent if he were to try. It was not hard to find something in the mall or another place entirely and simply soak himself in cologne or perhaps even perfume. Yugi would not expect that and—

"I don't know."

Yami blinked, startled away from his racing thoughts. Otogi had stopped in front of him, frowning and tilting his head as he considered the question. And Yami thought for a moment to simply dismiss it and keep walking. Maybe now was not a good time to speak of the matter to begin with. He didn't need to know so much about Aki anyways. Understanding her past would not keep her from lashing out at him in the future. It did nothing to ensure that he was okay at the end of it…

"Honestly, Yami, I have no idea. But I kind of wonder about that every now and then. I mean, it probably didn't help that when Mai and I returned from the mission we were already screwing around. I don't think she's ever forgiven me for that. And I think she hates Mai more than ever for it."

Yami blinked. "She was so attached to you?"

"It was more of a power play than anything. I was the only male at the time. And I was kind of obsessed with her for a little while there. And then Mai and I became a thing and she become bitterer than she'd ever been before. And now she's just vicious and hateful."

"Yes, you almost can't speak of her without such description." Yami cast a glance towards Jonouchi and Yugi again. And something inside of him simply pulsed with a long forgotten ache. It made him almost dizzy for a brief moment and he shook his head the smallest bit. He felt sick, stomach knotting with growing anxiety. "It's rather disturbing…to realize the two of you once had a thing."

"It happens that way sometimes."

Yami tilted his head, then looked at him sideways. "I think I'm going to return back to the house," he said slowly. His mouth twisted into a brief grimace before he could rein it in. And then he shook it off and narrowed his gaze the smallest degree. Yugi looked incredibly happy next to his friend, something that Yami was sure would do well to distract him long enough. If Yami chose to simply go back to the house or to run off on his own for a few hours, he was sure Yugi would remain adequately stuck in place with the blond. Jonouchi could keep him busy. Yami could be long gone before he even began to whisper in Yugi's ear about whether he was a hellhound. "I'm tired and I do not think I'm useful enough in this state to warrant remaining here. It would not be best for me to remain here."

Otogi stared at him as if he had been struck for a split second. He seemed so surprised and unsure of himself at the moment that Yami almost bristled with disgust. Was it so hard to believe that he'd rather not waste his time there?

"Are you seriously that uncomfortable just because I told you that?"

"It has nothing to do with you or Aki. I am tired. I am not recovering well enough to stay out here for patrol like this."

"That's crap. You don't even smell weak anymore." Otogi furrowed his brows. "And you look like you're fine aside from muscle loss. Is it Jonouchi?"

"If it is anything but exhaustion, I do not know what it is." He shrugged and shook his head. He refused to look over at Yugi or Jonouchi now, in case it gave him away further. He did not want Otogi to get in the middle of the spat that might come about later. If he feigned ignorance now, he might be able to spare him retaliation later. "It does not matter. I don't wish to continue. If Yugi should ask, just tell him I was tired and returned to the house."

"You honestly think he won't notice?"

"I think it is sufficient enough to say that Jonouchi will keep him busy for a while. Unless he turns around to talk to me, I don't honestly think he will notice my absence."

Otogi was quiet for a long moment. His expression was doubtful and perhaps a little sad as he tilted his head. "And you'll be okay?"

"I will be fine. I just need rest."

He shook his head. "Okay." Yami ignored his reluctant sigh and the way he frowned with clear disbelief. "If it helps, though, many of the wolves don't actually believe that you're a hellhound."

"That's nice."

But Yami had already turned around and was making his way through the snow in the opposite direction. He did not glance back even once and Otogi watched him until he could not see him any longer. The red-eyed teen disappeared into the trees and beyond his sight entirely a few moments later. And Otogi found himself amazed when he glanced over his shoulder towards the other two wolves.

Jonouchi truly had kept Yugi preoccupied enough that he didn't notice Yami leaving. The thought was just alarming enough that Otogi bristled and bore his teeth for a brief second. Yugi, in truth, looked almost mesmerized by whatever it was that the blond was saying to him at the moment.

He felt sick to his stomach. No wonder Yami had been so reserved and irritable enough to leave like this. The sight of the two of them together like that had to have put him on edge. He couldn't have been used to playing seconds to someone else where Yugi was concerned, but with the fact that Jonouchi was so suspicious of him as well it could not have made the scene easy in the slightest. Otogi felt his heart shiver in his chest, a moment of pure despair crossing through him.

Yami was truly afraid of what would happen when Jonouchi explained his suspicions to Yugi, he realized. He was trying to distance himself now before the blow truly came, because if he didn't now he wouldn't be prepared later. And Yami was simply trying to save himself that pain later…

And now he wondered, some part of him truly stunned by the idea, if Jonouchi was so stupid as to tell Yugi. It was not as if Yugi would listen to someone speak ill of Yami if they were in the pack, so he could not see it going any differently now than it would have then. The thought made him bristle for a moment. But it was clear they were close, even if someone only took this moment of bonding between them as evidence. Yugi was clearly relaxed and happy with him and Jonouchi seemed exuberant with him.

"I don't even think that's true," Yugi was saying as Otogi came forward to follow them. He didn't sound upset at all, and it was easy to figure out that Jonouchi hadn't told him anything about Yami being a hellhound. Yugi would never have been so good-natured had he done so. And he could only imagine how destructive Yugi might become when the rumors met his ears. "I mean, think about it. Why would you want to do something like that to begin with? Who's stupid enough to believe that?"

"You really don't think saying a name three times in front of a mirror will summon a ghost?"

"I think you're more superstitious than anyone I've ever met," Yugi laughed in delight. He grinned and shook his head lazily. "That's okay, though. It's not a big deal. You're a werewolf now, Jonouchi. So maybe you'll be able to outgrow it."

Jonouchi caught him in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles into his hair. Otogi frowned, watching them closely for a few seconds. Then he glanced over his shoulder and wondered how far away Yami had gotten. He had to be near the road if he'd kept walking at that brisk pace he'd set for himself upon leaving. When he turned back, he felt almost winded. Yugi still had not noticed.

The one wolf who so often followed and took care of Yami truly hadn't noticed in the slightest that he was not there. And it made no sense to him. Yugi would move heaven and hell for Yami. So why wasn't he aware of the fact that he wasn't there anymore? He seemed so careless towards him now…

"You're such a dick now that you're a wolf."

"I'm a sass master. I've finally bloomed into my role."

Yugi was laughing and struggling to get away from him. He tried to pull back but Jonouchi held tight and the laughter only grew louder as they both guffawed at each other's efforts. Yugi was halfway out of his arm, stretched with his head beneath his arm and his back arched as he tried harder to pull away. Instead he only got his jacket and shirt to ride up, his efforts thwarted and his laughter becoming louder.

"I'm going to put you in a cast if you mess up my hair!" Yugi was threatening, making Jonochi laugh, "Yeah, right! You can't even reach high enough to break my ribs or my arm."

And then Otogi heard it.

It was a single crunch of snow beneath a shoe, so soft that he almost thought he'd imagined it. But he was yards back from the two laughing wolves. And they were not walking anymore. It had sounded like someone moving through the snow rather than stopping in place as they were. Otogi looked around quickly, bristling for a split second, skin crawling. His mouth opened and shut twice, eyes widening as he strained his ears. They were close by, at the very least, and that should have been enough to help him pinpoint them…

It took him a minute too long to spot them.

The hunter was crouched extremely low in the snow. He was dressed in all white, had lowered himself into the ice, and had his gun aimed for Yugi. The two of them must have caught his attention with so much noise. And Otogi was momentarily ashamed that the two of them were so loud and rambunctious. He should have known better than to let them act like that. It didn't matter if the woods were usually empty. There could have been hellhounds instead, for all they knew.

And he didn't know what the hunter was using as ammunition—

"Get down!" he called out as loudly as he dared. If there were more in the trees, they were screwed if he made too much noise. If it was just this one hunter, they might make it out of the situation alive and well.

The two of them broke apart immediately. Jonouchi spun on him with wide eyes. Yugi's head snapped in the other direction. His eyes stretched thrice their usual size. His mouth dropped open. His face turned deathly pale. And he twitched as if he thought to run for it.

Jonouchi yelped and dropped to the snow. Yugi, on the other hand, was frozen and staring like a deer in headlights. Otogi couldn't convince himself to run to help, however. Some small part of him spoke of self-preservation.

He could use them as a distraction.

He could get away in the time the hunter caught them. It was not as if he were close to either of them. He may have known Yugi more than he did Jonouchi, but they were not best friends. And he was well aware Yugi would throw him to the lions to save Yami had the situation ever arisen.

But Yami wasn't even there anymore. It was only Yugi. He was frozen. He was gaping. And when he was shot, he went down with a mirroring yelp. They both lay on the ground. And then Yugi jerked, twitching. He seemed to thrash. And Otogi shivered. He turned his head. The hunter was staring at Yugi with interest. His eyes were narrowed, his head tilted. He was aiming for a second shot—

A snarl ripped through the air. Otogi turned back. Yugi was thrashing hideously in the snow. But the needle that had been in his neck had broken. Otogi could see a trail of blood to his collarbone. The Pure-Blood was still breathing hard. He was snarling, whimpering beneath the angry noise. And he was shaking when he tried to sit up.

"Motherfucker," Otogi heard him sneer. His eyes were glazed with pain, pupils mere pinpricks. His neck was soaked in blood. His fingers were covered. The entry wound from the dart was invisible amidst the carnage. He'd torn through his own neck with his nails. And his fingers were slick, bright red against the snow.

Yugi stumbled for his feet. He was swaying, sluggish. And Otogi wondered what was in that syringe. Yugi was bleeding profusely. He should have clotted. And his fingers twitched sporadically. He looked shaky, as if he might fall over at any moment. His legs shook, then buckled a second later. He was on his hands and knees, back arching. His mouth opened. He retched loudly.

He puked up blood.

The hunter was cursing. Otogi blinked. His eyes shot towards him. The man had the gun trained on Yugi again. And now Otogi could smell it. The syringe had been full of wolfsbane. The poison had a thick woodsy scent to it. And it was not diluted in any manner…

Yugi puked again. Jonouchi stumbled into a seated position. His eyes were blown black, his face ashen. He was soaked in sweat. He looked as if he might vomit at any moment. But he was not twitching. And, in truth, he did not seem to be in pain. In fact, Otogi thought Jonouchi had been hit with a tranquilizer.

But that meant that the human knew what Yugi was.

Or he at least had an idea that he wanted that specific pelt—

He blinked again. The gun was aimed for Yugi's face.

Otogi couldn't make it in time to stop him.

And Yugi did not flee. He breathed hard. He spat up vomit, glaring. He struggled to get up. Something hateful shone in his eyes. He looked murderous.

But the gun never fired a third shot. And Yugi collapsed abruptly. He thrashed violently again. And all Otogi could hear was the snap of a bone—or perhaps several—breaking.

The gun went flying into the air. It landed heavily in the snow several feet away. The man, however, was screaming. And Otogi was frozen in place once more. He was breathless, ashamed but also amazed. Some small part of him almost laughed. The other nearly snarled. And, somehow, instead, he wound up groaning as if he were in pain. But the newcomer didn't look over at him.

The man was cowering. His hand covered his ribs on the right side. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He was panting violently, shaking. Yami, however, simply stared. His red eyes were unmoved. His breathing was even. His stance was tall, foreboding. His fingers twitched once, then twice. He looked livid. But he did not look as if he meant to kill him for the moment…

Instead another well-aimed kick was delivered. The man gasped for air, face red. He hit the snow a good foot away. And then he gasped and choked again. Yami wrinkled his nose and looked over. Otogi was met with a look of pure resentment. And his blood turned to ice in his veins at the realization.

Yami blamed him for it.

He blamed him for the two of them being harmed…

"I…I didn't…"

Yami ignored him. He walked past him and over to Yugi. Jonouchi had dragged himself into a mostly upright position. He was breathing hard, shaking. And his hand was rubbing at his throat. Yami ignored him as well, Otogi noticed.

"Yugi…"

Yami looked as if he were struggling to find some words of comfort. He was crouched next to him. And one hand reached out for him. But it was abruptly snatched back a second later. Yugi was shaking as if to rid himself of the ache in his bones. And Yami seemed almost distracted for a single second. He did not look as if he might lash out at any rate. But he seemed flustered.

"Yugi."

"I-is he okay?" Otogi demanded, feeling himself flush when Yami spun on him. His red eyes had not lost their anger. In fact, he almost looked even more furious now that he was so close. "I—I didn't notice until it was already too late—"

By some miracle, Yami did not lunge at him. Instead he straightened and looked at him with cold, glittering eyes. "He's not badly hurt. He broke the syringe before even half of it got in his blood. And he's practically bled himself from the cut on his neck. Whatever is still in his blood should not be too terrible for him to weather."

"So, he'll be okay?"

"Why don't you waste your time trying to draw the toxin out of his blood?"

Otogi flinched, glancing at Yugi. "You don't think that's necessary?"

"No, not at all. As I said a moment before, I think it a waste of time. He will be fine. He's still healthy enough that he can shake it off without trouble."

But he still hesitated, Otogi noted with surprise. He had returned to Yugi's side again. And he was ignoring Otogi and Jonouchi entirely. He was crouched there now, fingers touching at the entry wound and along the skin Yugi had torn open with his nails. His fingers came back coated in blood, slick with purple wolfsbane as well. The blood turned black from exposure, as if it were decaying before their eyes. "But you could make yourself useful and sit with him."

Otogi nodded mutely. Yami went over to Jonouchi after a moment, hovering rather than touching him. But he considered him for a long handful of seconds, studying him more than anything. And Otogi was rather sure that he'd angled his head so that he could hear his heartbeat more clearly. Whatever it was that he heard, Yami straightened a moment later and looked over his shoulder.

"He must have been hired. He tranquilized Jonouchi, but he used wolfsbane on Yugi." Otogi couldn't help the small bit of sickness that crept through him. Yami didn't look mad. He simply seemed puzzled and confused more than anything. He was watching the hunter who was still struggling to get up. He was shaking, panting. His face was still red, his eyes glazed with pain.

Yami stepped forward.

And then froze.

Otogi opened and closed his mouth. His eyes lowered uncertainly. And his mouth grew dry for a moment. Yugi was shaking and sweating. He was on his side now, shivering. But he had reached out. And his hand was caught on Yami's jeans. His fingers were white from the grip. And he looked exhausted from the strain of his grip. But he had not released, teeth chattering forcefully together.

Whatever Yami saw in his eyes had stilled him for the moment.

"Shouldn't…he have fought it off by now?"

Yami stiffened, then spun on him with burning eyes. "What?"

"He's a Pure-Blood," Otogi said, immediately looking down at the snow and moving to expose his neck. "He shouldn't be suffering any ill effects right about now…"

"Any wolf is cowed by wolfsbane," Yami scoffed. His voice had taken on a territorial, challenging note. And he had straightened to a more intimidating posture, teeth bared. When he breathed again, it was in a low snarl. "I do not think even Slifer or Obelisk would be without pain."

"But I thought… I mean… He is a god, isn't he?" he blurted out in protest. "So why isn't he—?"

Something moved in his peripheral. Otogi spun towards it. Then he went still. Yami was staring at him. His hand was raised as if to strike him. And the look on his face was enough to make him freeze in place. It was enough to warn him to back off. Yami would kill him if he said something like that again. He looked away again as quickly as he could, breathless and shaken.

"Stay. At. His. Side."

"Okay." Otogi cringed, ignoring the urge to look over. Yami was still staring at him. His jaw was set and he was speaking through his teeth. In his peripheral, Otogi could see him shaking slightly with barely restrained anger. But it was actually the sight of Yugi that terrified him. The small teen was staring at Yami with a horrified expression. His eyes were wide and glazed over. But his other hand tried to grab at his leg as well. And Yami did not seem to react. From what Otogi could see from his downward stare was that Yami shrugged Yugi off without a second glance.

Yugi let out a little noise, something like a whimper and a snarl mixed together. Otogi looked over immediately. But Yami ignored them both. He made his way over to the human. The gun was a couple of inches away from them both.

"So, am I right?" Yami said in a quiet voice. "Were you sent here?"

The man didn't respond. And Otogi saw his eyes flicker towards the gun. Yami snorted and stared. Then he crouched down, one arm around his leg, head tilted and eyes deceptively soft.

"Were you sent here?"

The only response was a grunt and wheezing breath. Otogi shivered. Yami's shoulders had risen slightly. His eyes were narrower than they had been moments before. And his lips curled slightly as he peered at him. But for a moment he made no move. And the human wheezed and seemed to focus intently on Yami's face. For a split second he looked as if he might run. And then he spat.

Yami didn't have to move away. The saliva was inches from its goal. But the werewolf still smirked slightly. And the backhand he delivered was so violent Otogi was amazed it did not snap the man's neck. Yami straightened. The hunter struggled for air, then moved to try to reach for his gun.

"I wonder…" Yami mumbled. "Do you think you could still shoot me if you don't have your eyes?"

The man shot him a terrified look. Then he lunged for the gun. Yami stared at him, raising a brow slowly. He made contact with the rifle. And Yami sniffed disdainfully. It was aimed at him. And Yami simply moved closer, then crouched in front of him again. Whatever he said now was too low for Otogi to hear, but he could see his lips moving. Whatever it was, it distracted the hunter. Although, had he truly wanted to, Otogi was sure he could have shot Yami at point blank in that moment. The red-eyed teen, however, simply reached over and grabbed the barrel of the rifle, forcing it down towards the snow. He was still talking, but Otogi could not hear in the slightest what it was. Even straining his ears did nothing for him.

And, abruptly, the man screamed. Otogi jumped. Something popped loudly. And he could see that Yami had moved slightly. The gun was on the ground, discarded. The man was writhing, screaming in agony. The left side of his face was soaked in blood from his eye socket. And Yami's right thumb and forefinger were similarly streaked in red.

Yugi struggled to sit up. He was croaking, something almost inaudible but that Otogi knew had to have been Yami's name. But the red-eyed teen did not look over. And his lips were drawn back into a snarl. He was staring at the hunter with an unreadable expression.

"Otogi," he called quietly, voice a mere mumble. His hand shot out and clamped over the man's mouth, muffling him. When he struggled, Yami lunged forward. His knee was in his chest, pressing on his broken ribs. And his face was lowered as if to rip his throat out. "Check the woods. I want every inch south of here searched for others."

Otogi was frozen, however. The man was trying to kick Yami off. And Yami was simply sitting there, resting his weight against him. He did not look annoyed in even the slightest. He actually seemed…more amused than anything.

"Now, you fucking idiot!"

Yami was snarling at him, glaring. Otogi made a dash for it. He watched him change rapidly, bones popping and dislocating and sliding into rearrangements, before he disappeared entirely into the trees. Yami turned back. The man had slathered all over his hand in his panic. And his teeth were digging into his palm now. Yami blinked, then tilted his head. He was no longer screaming. But he doubted that would last long.

"Maybe, if I crush your ribs badly enough, your lungs won't be able to hold enough air in them to let you keep making all that noise," he hissed. He pressed his weight more firmly into the man's chest. His teeth cut the outer layer of Yami's skin in retaliation.

"Do you have any idea why wolves kill people?" he asked. The man reached out to grab him. His fingers fisted into the material of his jacket, scrabbling for purchase on the slick fabric. Yami ignored this, lowering his face closer to his. "It's because you persecute us and hunt us down endlessly. I do not know if you understand the retributions of such a thing. But I will tell you now, that I'll teach it to you before I destroy you."

Jonouchi was sitting up now. He looked sickly, shivering and pupils blown wide, but he was alive. He was breathing harder than ever, but his heart was returning to its usual rhythm—or as close to as Yami could consider it, as he did not recognize it from anyone else's. Yugi, however, was still panting. And Yami was relieved to simply find that his heart sounded clear and steady once more. The poison was wearing off…

"I think I was told once that head trauma could cause muteness in a human." Yami tilted his head and bared his teeth into a small grin. "Let's find out, shall we?"

"Don't."

Yami blinked. The word was hoarse, a croaking almost inaudible whisper. He hesitated a moment, hand still covering the man's mouth. He'd been about to strike at him with his other one. But a part of him felt cold, ill, and perhaps the smallest bit of shame crashed through him for a split second. Yami pressed his lips into a thin line, looking over.

"Please…Yami… Stop."

Yugi was staring at him with a shaky expression. He didn't look as if he were still ill, more just scared and tired. And Yami felt something inside of him shrink away, beneath all of the rage and the hatred that had been in his blood moments before. He grimaced, uncertain of how to respond to him. And then he lowered his eyes back to the human.

"Just…just put him out of his misery, okay?"

Yami moved a hand towards his neck, ignoring it when the hunter tried to kick him away. He was trying to buck and force him off. But every muscle in his body was hardened and he could do nothing more than rock Yami slightly back and forth as if he were but a wooden chair. Yami hesitated, hovering. "And if there are others?"

Yugi groaned, a pathetic noise full of frustration and exhaustion. "Otogi can tell us later," he bit out. He was shivering harder than before, his teeth clacking. Yami eyed him for a moment, growing furious once more. Yugi was trying to play alpha now? Yugi, the boy who clung to him half the time? The same one who couldn't even handle the pack? The same one who so often got himself into trouble and could not get himself out of it?

Yugi was trying to tell him what to do?

Yami snarled low his throat. And for a moment his fingers itched. He could just hit the man until his head really did break from the force. It would not take long. Most likely it would take five to ten of them, just hard knocks to the skull that could make it cave in. Yami was not stupid; he knew how much force it took to do something like that. He had bitten Ushio's head in. He had known how much pressure to apply then; he was certain he could mirror it now as well…

But he didn't want to fight with Yugi. Not again. Not now.

He lowered his hand, grabbing the side of the man's head. He pressed his other harder into his mouth, until the jaw bone creaked beneath the force. The man's remaining eye nearly popped out from the force. And then he struggled, squawking in terror and thrashing harder. Yami snapped both hands violently to the side in parallel positions. The hunter went limp, head sloppy and sideways. Yami had the odd idea that he might have snapped the vertebrae in half in his neck. And the thought was actually horrifying.

"You're too merciful," he mumbled after a moment. He got to his feet, his legs cold and his hands tingling slightly. He stopped as he got to Yugi's side. He didn't know if he should try to reach out and help him up or let him struggle to get to his feet. So he hovered, debating. "It's a weakness sometimes. We could have been found if he was hired. All that screaming certainly wouldn't have—"

No one else seems to be around, came Otogi's quiet report. The white-eared wolf was panting, shaking himself out where he stood a few feet behind the trees. He was visibly exhausted, and Yami could only imagine he'd pushed himself far faster than usual in order to do as he'd instructed. Yami considered him a moment longer, but did nothing more. And I don't know if he was hired or not. You said you thought so, but there was no one else around, so I can't say for sure.

"It would not make sense for him to simply tranquilize Jonouchi but poison Yugi instead. Had it been a random hunter, they both would have been poisoned, yes?" he snapped. "Or am I wrong? I would assume it to be foolish to consider anything else."

He could have been working alone. Maybe it was like some kind of breeding mentality or something, Otogi said hesitantly. His eyes shot from Yugi to Jonouchi and back before he looked at the snow with his ears flat against his skull. Maybe he had seen Jonouchi as a wolf at some point and wished to breed him. Maybe he was just trying to get Yugi out of the picture… He has a unique pelt, after all. There are many hunters who would pay a pretty penny for it.

"Is that so?" Yami drawled. "And what of your hide?"

Otogi blinked and looked over at him in confusion. Huh?

"I said, what of your hide, Otogi? Yours is unique; wolves do not usually have white ears. If they should want Jonouchi's golden and white pelt, why not yours as well? Do you not think that he would have waited to try to get both of you if that were his plan? For breeding purposes, you both have coats that are unique."

Yugi sat up, rubbing at his forehead. He was still shivering, but it was not as terrible as it had been before. And now he was watching Yami closely, as if he expected him to lunge at Otogi at any moment. He supposed he understood the tension in his body, if only because he could hear his voice dropping every few seconds just as well as Yugi could. And he was not wrong; his temper was already frayed from earlier stress. If Otogi were so stupid as to argue with him, Yami was sure he truly would lunge and give life to Yugi's fear.

"It doesn't matter." He was rasping, but his voice grew stronger as he drew in a deep breath and rubbed at his temples. He shook his head and sighed softly. "I don't think it matters at all."

"No?" Yami drawled in turn. "And why not? Hunters are no longer a common occurrence. They've foregone potential human error in order to utilize the hellhounds. They bred them for that very purpose. And you do not think it wish to ask why they have returned to set their eyes on you?"

"Are you really going to pick a fight with me now?" Yugi grunted. He sat up, his entire body shaking, but managed to bring himself to a shaky stand. When he looked at Yami, his pupils were still pinpricks, vibrating in his sockets. "I'm exhausted, okay? Why can't we just go home and not fight?"

Yami opened his mouth to snap at him, but Otogi cut in, asking, Are you all right? You look as if you might puke.

Yugi didn't look away from Yami. There was a plea in his eyes, one so desperate that it almost forced his anger away entirely. He wanted to go home, to rest and sleep and not worry about what had just happened. He didn't want to stay there any longer. And some part of Yami almost folded to that will, but another coiled with frustration as well.

"I'm just a little dizzy."

Perhaps you should lie down then? Otogi said uncertainly. His ears flicked back and forth as if he was searching for any type of noise and he looked hesitantly towards Yami after a moment. I mean, if the poison was so effective as to incapacitate you…

"I will not hear of that again," Yami spat, turning on him. "If you say it again, I will break your ribs, damn it."

"Hear what?" Yugi sneered. He had turned icy blue-violet eyes on Otogi now, lips curled back and teeth bared in a hideous snarl. "That he thinks I'm too weak to be a Pure-Blood?"

Yami felt as if he'd been struck. His legs nearly wobbled beneath him and his breath came out weak. His lungs constricted, hiccupping in their functions. Jonouchi was staring at Yugi with huge eyes. And Yami wished he could have snarled at him not to. But every part of him felt weak with realization and he shivered against the onslaught of cold.

There was an uneasy silence which came over the small group. Yami turned to the body. Yugi turned to stare at him. Otogi and Jonouchi swapped looks. Silence passed for a few long handfuls of minutes. Yami avoided Yugi carefully, ignoring the way his eyes bore into his head. Otogi had since taken a seat and was staring at the ground as his fur quivered as if in its own personal breeze. Jonouchi refused to look at either of them now.

And abruptly, Yami swore he tasted blood in his mouth. The sweetness made him almost quiver and he thought for a moment that it was hot and burning, aching as it spread from one taste bud to the next. His mouth felt laden with something stuffy and thick like cotton. He shook his head again, drawing a deep breath.

"It doesn't matter," he said slowly, teeth bared. He reached up to cover his face with his hands for a split second, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. "It does not matter what Otogi says regarding whether you reacted like a Pure-Blood or not. The fact of the matter is that you are Atem. You are the gods-forsaken fucking wolf meant to lead this war and win. Whether the experiments messed with your ability to heal from wolfsbane or not is inconsequential."

"Inconsequential?" Yugi snarled. His voice rose an octave, then split with anger for a single second before returning to normal. "Well, I'm so glad that you seem to think so, Yami! Good to know what you actually think and how you really feel about all of this. I'd love to hear about how you treated those others."

Yami recoiled violently. His hands dropped from his face, his eyes grew wide with horror, and he stiffened so sharply that he almost could not move. He gaped at him, lungs collapsing in on themselves for a split second. He couldn't breathe for a long minute. And his body shook with tension and shock. He blinked again. His stomach knotted. The urge to vomit came at him full force for a single second. And then the rage hit him. It came so sharply that he almost screamed. And then came the instinct to beat the insolence out of him.

"I'm sure," he said softly, turning to him again and baring his teeth, "that you can tell me later, when you join them, you insignificant spineless fucking bastard."

Otogi was immediately pressed into the snow. His belly was against the ice, his tail was tucked beneath his legs. He was shaking. Jonouchi was gaping, horrified. His eyes were wide, dilated with shock. Yugi was staring at him, at first with blind rage. And then he blinked, realization crashed through him, and he froze in place. His eyes grew wide, his mouth opened and closed, and he trembled as the full extent of his words hit him. Yami watched him as he shook his head violently, eyes wide and hands shaking.

"I didn't mean that."

"Fuck you."

Yami swore all he could see was red, blood and carnage and torn muscle and broken flesh. For a moment he shook, his entire body prepared to lash out. Every muscle in his possession begged to release its tension. And he struggled for a moment to breathe or think straight. The blood in his vision was so terrible it was enough to make him nearly snarl. He lifted his sneakers from the snow, dusting the ice off the tops where it had landed on his laces. It was comforting to do such a mundane task at the moment, and it let some of his tension slip away if only slightly.

"Go back to the camp and tell the pack to be on the lookout for humans and hellhounds. I would rather be safe than sorry. I don't know that any potential hunters or hellhounds might be so stupid as to travel alone as this one did, but—"

He spun on him with a backhand. Yugi yelped, jerking back. Yami breathed harder, shaking furiously. Yugi's entire cheek turned a bright hideous red. The imprint was disturbing, his hand perfectly shaped there. And he stared at it for a long moment. Yugi was still staring at him, frozen in place. But his mouth was no longer open and he didn't look quite as shocked as he had before. If Yami didn't know any better, he would have assumed he looked as if he felt guilty for the strike as well.

"Look, I didn't m—"

"I don't know if they'll be so stupid as to travel alone as this one did," Yami spat, turning away from him and to Otogi again. His hand stung, tingling from the force. His fingers were twitching and everything hurt. He shivered, his chest feeling as if it were caving in. "But I want all of them alert. If they so much as sense something potentially amiss, there are to flee rather than engage or investigate. We cannot afford to have our numbers dwindle any further than they already have. Patrols will be twice as large to ensure that there is more likelihood of survival and less of injury. Make them buddy up with those whose battle styles might complement theirs. For now the pack can't keep splitting up in a buddy system with newer faces like it has been. If something should happen, learning another's battle strategies is tedious and could lead to serious injury where it could have been easily avoided."

"Whoa, wait. Who the fuck are you exactly?" Jonouchi snarled. He was on his feet, moving towards him. Yami turned on him, waiting for him to come closer. He'd knock some fucking sense into him too—

It was Yugi who stopped him. His hand shot out, grabbing Jonouchi's shirt, and he held it so tightly his knuckles turned white from the force. When Jonouchi tried to shake him, Yugi snarled low in his throat and the blond stiffened in surprise. He didn't try to move away, but he turned back to sneer again.

"You just hit Yugi and then you're going to pretend to know what's best for—?"

"Did I ask for your input?" Yami said slowly, tilting his head and leveling him with a stare. "The day I wish to heed your advice or listen to you slaver like a dog will be the day I hand myself over to the hunters to be skinned."

Yugi kept his grip on Jonouchi when the blond snarled. He shoved him back when he moved between the two again. When Yami ignored him, Yugi straightened his back so that they stood at the same height. Their eyes locked and Yami stiffened, curling his lips back and snarling low in his throat in turn.

It took him a long moment to convince himself not to lash out. It took the reminder that Otogi saw Yugi as alpha to stop himself. If Otogi witnessed him lash out, he'd spread it around back amongst the pack. And then what might he do? They'd turn on him again. And he'd truly have to worry about every little noise in the forest from then on…

"Anyone to question the decision will be dealt with accordingly when I next return to the camp," Yami hissed, turning to Otogi again. "And if they would like to know ahead of time what I will do to them, tell them to take a good look at the human's corpse."

"What the fuck? Now you're threatening to kill them?" Jonouchi blurted out. "Are you fucking insane?"

"I can deal with you some other time, too," Yami promised, turning to him, "if you should like me to."

"Enough," Yugi snarled. He shoved Jonouchi back a step but never took his eyes off Yami, breathing hard and shaking his head. "Jonouchi, stand down and knock it the fuck off. Yami, stop threatening him. He's not who you should be taking it out on. The pack isn't either—"

"No? The pack isn't where I should begin fixing your mistakes? The pack, which you are absolutely incapable of leading?" Yami sneered, locking eyes with him again as he lowered his voice drastically. He narrowed his gaze and bore his teeth. "The one that you should never have gotten involved with, but disobeyed me in doing so? That fucking pack, Yugi?"

"Yug, don't take this shit from him! You're Atem. You could kick his ass if you wanted to!" Jonouchi growled from behind him. He was glaring at Yami but the red-eyed teen was still staring at Yugi. "Remind him whose boss."

Yami burst out laughing, teeth flashing and mouth salivating for a moment. He leaned forward, putting his face an inch from Yugi's. His cheek was still partially red and his eyes were quivering as they remained locked with his.

"What a wonderful idea, don't you think, Yugi? Do it then. Remind me who the alpha is."

Yugi flinched as if he'd been struck again. He backed up a step, shoved Jonouchi to put distance between the two of them, and snapped, "I said knock it off, Jonouchi. Leave him alone. Otogi, go ahead and do what he said. Don't bother with the threats, though. Yami is just pissed with me. He wouldn't actually turn on anyone there."

"Oh, but wouldn't I?"

But, to Yugi's shock, the words were not aimed at him. His eyes were locked on Jonouchi and the blond was stiff behind him, he noticed when he looked back. But the blond refused to look at him, gaze averted as Yugi had instructed of him. He could see his jaw working, however, as if he were clenching his teeth. Yugi almost wondered if he would have lunged at and bitten him had he not stopped him.

He turned back.

But Yami was already gone.

---

Jonouchi wasn't sure why anyone seemed surprised by the announcement. In fact, if he were truthful, he wondered how it was that Yami hadn't threatened them prior to that moment. He would have assumed Yami had done so more often than not, that he didn't care enough not to. And, he knew, Yugi would have protected him had he. So there was no chance that Yami might be harmed in retaliation for such an action. This thought was enough to make him furious, his fur in a bristle as hatred swelled through him for a split second. He shook himself out, having returned with Otogi to see what had come back to the camp.

There was no sense of anger or true surprise in any of the wolves that were standing about listening to the statement. Yusei looked troubled, ears flat against his head, and Chazz tilted his head as if with interest, but no one seemed to openly question the declaration. Otogi had explained that Yami had placed this decree after what had happened in the forest, but he had not gone further into detail.

Jonouchi almost hated him for that fact. He should have told all of them about it. Yami had lashed out against Yugi, his only real defense in the camp. And none of them would know what to do with him afterwards. In truth, with how furious he was about the entire thing, Jonouchi would have liked to see one of them step up and attack him at the very least. But another part of him knew better.

Yami had been pissed off. Yugi had shot his mouth off when he'd slashed out at him. Both of them had been angry enough on their own without his or anyone else's interference. It did not change the fact that he felt Yami deserved to have his ass kicked. But it did remind him that he would be stupid to say such a thing at the camp. The wolves here worshipped Yugi—for whatever reason; he might have been a good guy but Jonouchi couldn't understand worshipping him—and so the majority of them would protect Yami tooth and nail as well. He knew better than to assume that anything else would come of it.

Jonouchi paused in grabbing a piece of prey from the pile. They had restocked it with much more food than he'd ever seen in the camp before. There were tons of rabbits, baby serows, a couple of birds that he thought might have been quail, a few smaller pine martins… He sniffed about, picking at the one that smelled the oldest and looked the stiffest. The rest would probably be distributed among the other wolves that were still wounded from the fight days before.

He snatched a small rabbit from the pile, pulling its stiff corpse away from the others. He moved a few feet away and lay down, the piece of prey between his paws. He dug in a second later, though his eyes wandered curiously forward. Several of the yearlings were lying about nearby, appearing more confused than anything else. Some of them seemed mildly disturbed by the new rule, though not upset, and he noticed that Yusei and Chazz had begun to play fight as if Yami had never, in fact, threatened their lives to begin with. The idea threw him and he dug into his meal a bit more aggressively than he meant to, snapping the head off in his mouth and nearly choking on it.

You know, when people say "wolf" down their food, they don't usually mean forgetting how to chew properly, a familiar voice commented playfully. Jonouchi coughed it up, shaking his head, and looked over with wide eyes. The she-wolf had her head tilted, smiling at him brightly as she wagged her tail. Jonouchi frowned up at her for a single second, then wrinkled his nose and mirrored her action. What are you doing here? I thought you would have gone home.

He hesitated for a moment, then grabbed at the rabbit again, turning away from her. But he was no longer hungry and his stomach rolled for a few seconds. Yami and Yugi were in the woods while I was chatting with Otogi. After their fight, I decided to come back here. He was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. I didn't want to go back home after that.

She seemed to hesitate, then Mai moved to lay beside him, so close that their sides brushed. She stretched out, putting her chin on her paws. Your mother and father don't miss you? She seemed far away when she asked the question, but Jonouchi still turned to her, bristling slightly at the words. You never talk about them, you realize? And sometimes you almost don't even seem to have parents with how often you're here.

He turned away almost violently, huffing. My parents are divorced and I highly doubt my dad is sober enough to miss me, he spat. A small tingle ran down his spine. He glanced around anxiously, wondering if anyone else might have heard him. But no one seemed to even slightly be interested in him or Mai and the wolf closest to them—Mana, who had joined in the game Yusei and Chazz were playing—never turned. He relaxed and looked at his half-eaten meal with a disheartened feeling.

If he died here and now, would any of the wolves in this damn camp even care? It was like he'd traded a worthless father for strangers that had no care for him in even the slightest.

The thought was enough to make him feel cold.

Oh, Mai said simply after a moment. She didn't raise her head or her eyes. She was staring straight forward and Jonouchi wondered what she was watching. He tried to follow her gaze but there was nothing to be seen. Well, then. I guess that makes sense why you're here so often then. Yugi and Yami are always away.

Yami basically took it upon himself to abuse Yugi's hospitality and Yugi has his head too far up Yami's ass to notice it, Jonouchi bit out. He turned to her, angry and annoyed, but she merely blinked and looked at him with a wag of her tail once more. I guess it doesn't matter, honestly. It is what it is.

The she-wolf shook her head slowly, narrowing her dark violet eyes and considering him more pointedly. Yugi still values his human family, she commented softly, and Yami seems to as well. I think he cares more than you might assume. But why the two of them are always together and have yet to do anything is beyond me.

Jonouchi faltered, eyes widening. Do anything? He blinked. As in fucking around?

She snorted. If you wish to call it that, yes, Mai answered. She considered him again, then closed her eyes and tilted her head away slightly. I simply don't understand why they have not acted upon their attraction to one another.

I don't think Yami actually swings that way.

Wolves don't swing any certain way, Mai yawned. She wriggled her nose and stretched slightly, lazily. And it doesn't matter, I guess. I'm just always curious. They've got such nice chemistry—

Really? Cause I don't see it. Honestly, I think Yami is a menace and Yugi could do a million times better than him.

She blinked at him, then raised her head. Why would you say that? Yami is extremely loyal to him. In every interaction I've seen between the two of them, he's shown clear dedication towards him. She shook her head. Maybe I don't know them as well as you do, but I don't understand why you would ever say something like that about the two of them.

He went to answer her, spiteful and hateful, but fell short at the last second. His stomach growled and he shook his head slowly. It doesn't matter, he finally mumbled, and I don't even want to think about all of it again.

Are you talking about what happened before you came here? Otogi showed me—

Oh, of course he did, Jonouchi spat. Why wouldn't he?

Mai fell quiet for a moment, then sighed and looked around. You almost sound as spiteful as Barbara does. If you were as crazy as to accuse Yami of being a hellhound, I might actually think you two were mirror personalities at this point, she commented in a quiet tone. Do you understand that you're probably one of the only reasons that some of the wolves haven't turned on Yugi or Yami at the moment?

He stiffened, eyes wide and stunned. What?

The other wolves aren't that keen on either of them. The reason none of them are likely to lash out against either of them at the moment is because of you. Mai turned to him with a slight grimace on her face. Yugi is seen as an incredibly weak leader. And Yami despises the wolves with open resentment. All of us can see it. All of us know it. And he doesn't do a thing to change it. Yugi hasn't attempted to do anything about it either. But you still stand by Yugi. And Yugi still stands by his decisions regarding you. It shows a great deal of loyalty and that's likely one of the only things that's saving them both right now.

Yugi is Atem. Why would they—?

None of them are quite sure what they believe about the entire situation. The problem is more than that for them. And, honestly, the pack is so divided on the matter—and on whether Yami is a hellhound—that they don't quite know what to say or do about it. But you have wolves like Aki who like to stir up trouble, and then you have wolves like Barbara who seems to be rallying up some of the wolves in an effort to turn against Yugi entirely.

Turn against him?

None of them are stupid enough to do that right now. And your loyalty to him helps to make them all hesitate from it, she continued quietly, shaking her head. As long as you show him loyalty, it makes them think he's still worth the effort. The problem becomes when you and Yami and Yugi all fight. That makes things harder for them to keep hold of the belief that he's worth following and laying their lives down for. Do you understand?

When did I suddenly become so important? No one ever pays me any attention to begin with.

All of us have been watching you. All of us have been curious. She hesitated a moment. You've always been important in the long run. Yugi brought you to camp when you were half-dead. He saved you from drowning. He bit you to save you. And you're the only one besides Yami that he's expressed a desire to save so effortlessly as that.

Jonouchi blinked, tilting his head. Was that true? Yugi had always been so selfless and caring before, even when Jonouchi been a total ass towards him. Had he changed so much in the time that he'd been around Yami that he'd lost that part of himself? Or had he simply been so hurt by Yami's disappearance that he'd shut himself out from all of them? Both of them seemed possible, but the latter he remembered more than he did any other occasion. Yugi had displayed an emotionless stance for a short while in the time that he'd been alone to deal with his loss.

So perhaps it was something of a reality he had never considered before and—

The warning call made everyone leap to their feet. Snarls burst through the air. A couple of wolves snapped their teeth. Some of the alphas—Shay, Ute, Mana, Zane—rushed forward, tails up and hackles raised. All of them snarled and listened, flicking their ears about. The betas—Chazz, Aki, Moonshadow, Andre—took quickly to forming a secondary defense behind them, listening and snarling as well.

And then they all abruptly dropped their stances. Each of them blinked in surprise, then relaxed and turned away. Only Chazz and Shay seemed to keep their eyes on the sight in front of them and Jonouchi turned to see as well, bristling in surprise. His mouth almost dropped open, confusion and anger at war inside of him. He shivered, shaking his head, and stared at the teen now standing a few feet away, at the entrance of the camp.

He blinked, then hurried forward a few steps. His heart was in his throat almost immediately, a sense of dread creeping over him. He'd assumed Yami would have gone home with Yugi. What the hell was he doing there?

The red-eyed teen was bleeding heavily, he realized. He could smell it like heat coming from his skin. His eyes were tired, lids drooping, his mouth pulled into a tight line. The black hoodie he was wearing was drenched with water, but there was a long line of black running from the right elbow to the end of the sleeve. Something dripped from it slowly, hitting the snow in small red droplets.

Yami? He wasn't sure why he spoke. In truth, he knew better. And he thought he should have hidden away and kept from speaking to begin with. His stomach lurched and he almost shivered. Those red eyes had fallen on him, tired but full of something he couldn't read. What are you doing here?

There was a long minute of silence. Then, slowly, Yami turned his head. He looked away from the golden-furred wolf entirely, facing one of the wolves in front of him. "Ishizu," he mumbled, voice coming out in a low and hideous hiss of noise. "And Mieru, both of you…"

The she-wolves in question were standing behind the line of betas. Ishizu was staring at him with her head tilted to the side. But Mieru looked positively excited. Her russet fur was in a mild bristle, her black muzzle curled back into something of a smirk. Her tail rose and wagged and her ears were pricked entirely towards Yami. Her long black and brown legs reminded Jonouchi of a fox, and her cheeks were puffed out with a smile that set his nerves on edge.

As you wish, Ishizu grunted in a dismissive tone. She came forward, her ice blue eyes cold and her face almost phantom-like where the streaks of silver and gray touched her cheeks and muzzle. She picked her way around Zane without a second look, pausing only inches from Yami as Mieru did the same.

Yami?

The red-eyed teen blinked, slowly looking over at him again. He didn't speak and Jonouchi felt anxious as they stared at each other for a long handful of seconds. He flattened his ears against his head and shivered, fur rising and falling in a brief bristle before it fell calmly back in place.

You…need to look at your wrist…

"They're fine."

They're? Jonouchi looked towards the other arm. But Yami had moved it behind his back, refusing to let any of them see it. He didn't say anything else, but the rest of the pack looked at each other anxiously for a moment. Clearly he wasn't the only one who had noticed the smell or the sound of it as it dripped to the snow. Finally, reluctantly, Jonouchi mumbled, Yugi would kill me if you wound up hurt when I could have helped you.

Yami shook his head. His eyes flashed and he turned immediately to Ishizu and Mieru again. "Let's go. We have much to discuss."

They were gone a few minutes later, after Mieru and Ishizu spoke quietly to one another about whatever it was they decided they needed to. He watched them leave, just as the rest of the pack did, and when he went to speak to Mai again, the others seemed to huddle amongst themselves. Familiar groups were picked out—Chazz, Yusei, Syrus, Yuya with the new additions of Mana and Ute—and a couple of random stragglers had come together—Zuzu, Zane, Shay, Andre—and then he spotted Aki. The red-furred she-wolf was seated with a paler red and brown female, her eyes harsh and cold like chips of the ice around them.

They had their heads lowered, chatting quietly. But Aki seemed distracted and this she-wolf was too unfamiliar to Jonouchi to tell who she might be or what expression was on her face. But he could tell she was at least more focused on their conversation than Aki was, if only because of the way she stared at the former beta with narrowed eyes.

Barbara, Mai commented after a moment from his side, making him jolt and turn to her with wide eyes. She was staring at the red and brown she-wolf with a disdainful expression. You've never met her before, have you? We all made sure she didn't have access to you when you were recovering before in the cavern. She's always been something of a…menace when it comes to newcomers. And none of us wanted to see you hurt or Yugi angry, so we all blocked her from seeing you.

And she never came to see me after that?

She didn't care to, no. You were healed by the time you would have crossed paths. She wants her victims weak, so that it's less effort.

Oh…

Mai was quiet for a moment, turning to him with brightened eyes. Either way, Jonouchi, I'm glad neither of you met. She's a pain in the ass to me and I don't want her to scare you or anything like that.

Scare me?

She's…good at inspiring paranoia. Mai huffed. And once she's in your head, there's no shaking her.

Jonouchi stared at her for a long moment. Is she the reason everyone is suspicious about whether Yami is a hellhound or not? He felt winded for a moment, staring at her. I mean, she's the reason that there's so much trouble now?

There were more reasons than that, he knew. Yami's past history with the pack was nothing good, after all. He'd messed up in allowing them to think of and worship him as Atem, and attacking the former alpha had definitely not gained him any points. His absence from the pack had done nothing good for him, either. Then there was the fact that Marik had died the same day that anyone scented him back in the woods. Aki had made sure everyone knew of that, though Ishizu had done well to divert knowledge of that and had claimed Marik had gotten killed in a fight. She'd said that the way Yami's scent had fallen over the clearing meant that he had come afterwards.

The fact that Yugi's blood had been spilled before and after that had been explained away as Yugi attempting to help Marik in the fight and getting badly hurt. It wasn't apparent, however, who else had been there or for what purpose. Jonouchi still didn't know if it was suspected that it was a hellhound attack or not. No one had asked the question, if only to spare Ishizu the feeling of distrust or anxiety that might have come from it.

It did not help, either, that Yami seemed so openly disdainful of them all. He did not lunge or snarl or snap unless provoked, but it was hard not to see the hatred in his eyes. Yugi's constant desire to protect him often did not go over well with the pack. And when he protected him, he did not do so subtly. His aggression towards anyone who so much as mildly upset Yami was enough to make the other wolves resentful.

Hell, even Jonouchi was resentful of it at times. Yugi acted as if the sun shone out of Yami's ass sometimes. And it wasn't as if he didn't know that Yugi got that way when he was in love—or as close to in love as he could be, considering; it was the fact that Yugi had gone farther now than he ever had with his feelings for Anzu. She hadn't gotten nearly as much protection. But then, maybe he had known Anzu could take care of herself and he didn't know if Yami could do the same.

But then… Who in their right mind looked at Yami and considered him weak? That made no sense. Yami may have been smaller than ever, scrawny and emaciated, but he wasn't weak. He still had his teeth. He still had full control of his body. As long as those two things remained for him, he was lethal. Jonouchi thought he was like a centipede.

As long as the head was attached, he was able to survive…

If anything, that made him more dangerous.

She's one of the causes. Joy was the second one. But she's the primary now.

He stayed quiet for a minute, then turned to her and pricked his ears forward. Mai?

Hmm? She was still watching Aki and Barbara, but she turned to him a second later. What is it, Jonouchi?

Is it true that Ishizu is psychic?

She blinked. She is. She's able to see certain events in the future that none of the rest of us can. I've heard rumors that she's strong enough that she's the only one who can see Atem at all. But I think Mieru can see him now too. I think the two of them can see him. Mai fell quiet for a long moment. I know for certain that Ishizu can see the future. I don't know if the rumors about Atem are true or not, though. My mother used to claim she was capable of it and that was why she had to stay in the camp with us, because she would know when Atem was among us.

Jonouchi shook his head slowly. Why would she think she'd need a psychic to tell her that? Wouldn't you guys just know?

It's…not that simple. We were raised to believe that it was going to be a huge, immense event when Atem came to us. And, by all means, it has been. But, by technicality, Atem was meant to be more powerful and far nastier than Yugi appears to be. And, to be truthful, neither he nor Yami fit the description of what Atem was meant to be for us.

He tilted his head, frowning. What do you mean?

Neither of them is so selfish as to take and never give in turn. Atem is meant to use us as a stepping stone in order to achieve his ultimate goal and save the lycanthropes. Neither of them have the ability or temperament to do that. And Yugi is far more selfless than he is selfish, though Yami is cowardly when it comes to saving himself. If he believes it will save himself, he will sacrifice the others for himself. She tilted her head and flicked an ear. Her eyes fell on Aki and Barbara again. Yugi isn't brave enough to sacrifice anyone, but he's selfless in his desire to save everyone. The problem is, in war, you can't do that. Not everyone can come out unscathed. Yami, on the other hand, will sacrifice someone like they're pawns if he believes it will save him. It does not bother him to kill and get his fur soaked. The problem is that Yugi is much more of a pacifist than I thought possible. He doesn't even want to snarl at someone unless he's pushed to that point. And that's usually only when someone hurts someone he cares about, like Yami or Yusei.

Jonouchi shivered, lowering his head to his paws. Yugi has never been very good at confrontation. Even when he wants something more than anything, it's almost impossible to get him to act on it.

Mai shook her head. He's been perfectly capable of doing it when it comes to Yami.

Are you kidding? Even you know that he still hasn't told him about how he feels. You just asked why they weren't fucking around yet! If he really wanted a relationship with him, do you honestly think he'd be hiding like this?

After I asked you the question, I realized the answer. Yugi isn't staying quiet because he doesn't want to be with him. It's because he understands. Now isn't really the time for them to have some kind of doomed relationship. One of them is going to die, she mumbled, turning to him and staring with an exhausted gleam to her eyes. Hell, both of them might die. I certainly don't know the future. But I do know that they can't survive like this. Yami is always on edge now; he's a ticking time bomb from what I can tell of it. Hell, you saw him a few minutes ago. He did that to himself. He had no outside appearance to support an attack. And he stinks only of his own blood. You think if he had gotten into a fight with someone, he wouldn't have killed them to protect himself? He's turning on himself.

Jonouchi bristled, pricking his ears forward and staring at her. A shiver crawled down his spine again. Why would he…? That doesn't make any sense.

He's scared of something or other, Mai responded shortly, turning away again and shaking her head. And I'm not sure, but I think there's something extremely wrong going on in his head right now. I don't know what happened to him before, where he was when he was gone, but it's clearly messed him up. And I don't see him recovering from it very well.

Jonouchi flattened his ears. But he's…

He's what? She turned back to him now, tilting her head.

I… That doesn't make any…

Have you ever thought to ask Yugi about why he's so protective of him right now? He probably knows Yami is on a precipice at this point. If he up and snapped tomorrow, it would not surprise me in the least. Something in that kid is too damaged to be fixed. Maybe it could be if he survives, but I don't know if it could be fixed even then. She shook her head again. It does not help that he sees this war for what it is. He sees it as bloodshed and death and a game that has to be won for survival. Yugi is still under the impression that he can save and protect everyone. As long as he thinks that, he won't win. But Yami isn't leader material. He's a good supporter, but he's not a true leader. He doesn't have the same capacity for mercy that Yugi does.

Jonouchi tilted his head, wondering at it. Yami had not shown even the slightest inkling of it to that woman Aileen or the tigress in that attack. And he wondered now, rather abruptly, what it was that he might have done to Fuwa had he gotten to the restaurant before it had caught on fire. Had he even been human when he had arrived there? Or had he been planning to rip his throat out then and there? What was it he had planned to do with the others that had been there? Had he meant to kill them too?

He shuddered, thankful now that he hadn't seen him in action that day. The bloodbath would have been astronomical if Yami had truly been seeking to kill as Jonouchi suspected…

Either way, Jonouchi, neither of them is truly fit as alpha. But they work well together. She grimaced, lips pulling back before she shook her head and looked away. Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen to them at the end of all this. That's one thing that we were never told. I don't even think the gods have any idea what they'll do with them. They suddenly have two Pure-Blood wolves and their entire purpose is to win this war. Once they win, do they kill them or let them continue to exist? And what of the two Harbingers? No one even knows who they are just yet. We haven't run across them. And I have no idea when they'll make their appearance. They could be ready to kill us at any moment and we would never know any better.

He shivered again.

That's why it's honestly so easy for her to say these things and have them come off as believable. Yami is in no shape to truly deny it and without Yugi there to stand up for him, Yami doesn't have a reason to try to counter them. Yami doesn't often defend himself. When he was here before, he never did. Even when Annie finally snapped and almost killed him, Yami waited until the last second to attack her.

What did he do when he was here before? I know it wasn't a fun time, but…

Honestly? He stayed in one spot more often than not. He watched. He listened. He never spoke… He stayed in one place so that all of us could watch him. He was too uncomfortable to move half the time. He didn't eat with them. I think he starved himself because he was too afraid of them getting close to him. She shook her head. From what I know of it, Aki tried a few times to get him to interact with everyone and he ignored her. I don't know what was wrong with him or why he refused to take care of himself. But when he actually attacked and almost killed Annie before he fled, everyone was amazed. No one had assumed he had the strength to do it.

Jonouchi looked away from her. He had thought Yami would have gotten himself killed when he went up against that tigress in the warehouse. The fact that he'd come out of it alive had amazed him more than anything. The fact that he'd tunneled through her stomach and torn his way through her shoulder blades had always terrified him. It had meant a lot more in terms of how dangerous he was than any of them had wanted to admit. Yugi had seemed to take it in stride, however, as if he'd seen that before…

And it only made him wonder how long Yugi had truly known him. Had it really just been at the festival that they'd met? Or had they crossed paths before that? Jonouchi had no idea. But he always wondered. The way they acted around each other, even if it was somewhat stiff at times, always made him wonder. Yami acted as his shadow at times. And, in that warehouse, they had seemed like mere extensions of each other. Yugi had seemed able to read his expression and body language without trouble and Yami had clearly trusted him. He still did, he knew. But he wondered.

There was a lot in their interactions that he did not know how to properly analyze. Yami showed aggression and it set Yugi on the edge. Yugi showed aggression and Yami seemed more amused than upset at times. Yami became distressed and Yugi became increasingly angry. Yugi became distressed and Yami became agitated. Yami was injured and Yugi became protective. Yugi was injured and Yami became destructive. He killed simply because Yugi was hurt in some manner.

If they fed off each other to that degree…

Jonouchi got to his paws, shaking himself out. Do you ever wonder how unhealthy their relationship is?

That's their own business. Mai shook her head. And I would lose my mind if I spent all my time trying to figure them out. I wasn't meant to know everything where they're involved. Neither are you.

I get that, but …what if Yugi is making a huge mistake being involved with him at all?

She blinked, then tilted her head and looked at him with a bewildered expression. They're both Atem. Yugi is the primary and Yami is the secondary, but they're both meant to play a pretty significant role in each other's lives. Just because you're his friend and you're afraid he's making a mistake doesn't mean much to him. Yugi is almost an adult. He can make his own decisions. From what I understand, he's been doing that for a while anyways. Jonouchi, if he's making a mistake, let him figure it out for himself. If you come at him saying you think so, it's just going to upset him and make him push you away.

Jonouchi blinked, then scowled and flattened his ears against his head. But he's…

I don't think he's a stupid kid, Jonouchi.

I never said that!

And I don't think he's so naïve that he doesn't understand that Yami is dangerous or that maybe their relationship isn't the most ideal at the moment. I think he's well aware of all of it. And I bet you he knows damn well just how easily his bond with Yami has been twisted in the pack.

Okay, but that's not—

Promise me you won't say anything to him that might result in problems later. He has a lot on his plate and he's not the best under pressure. If you haven't noticed, he's really scared on top of it. And Yami's behavior at the moment probably isn't helping him in any way either.

Okay but it's not like any of us told him to—

No, none of us did, but he doesn't truly have a choice either. Even if he had never announced himself, he'd still be swept into this one way or another. If Yami had never made contact with him, it likely would have taken longer, but it still would have—

The sound of snow crunching made her head snap around. She was abruptly on her feet, tail wagging and head lowered to the snow. The submissive stance made him nearly bristle and he spun around with wide eyes in turn, confused and startled by the sudden movement. Ishizu and Mieru had returned, and Yami was a few feet behind them. His arms were no longer bleeding, but his jacket was stained black from sleeve to elbow on either arm. His steps were not as quiet as they usually seemed, as if he were weighed down by whatever it was the three of them had spoken about. And he looked exhausted, red eyes hooded and mouth pulled downward.

A few uncertain looks were shot around for a brief moment. Mai herself looked confused and bewildered, as if his sudden state unnerved her more than she could ever express verbally. It took a moment for her to seemingly recover from her shock. Her tail wagged again, more hesitantly, her ears against her head, and she stared at him in open confusion.

I see Ishizu didn't just put you out of your misery, a voice said snidely. Jonouchi turned his head, eyes wide, as Barbara glared spitefully at the teen. Her brown eyes were flat and empty, like discs of dried mud. Loyalty certainly doesn't run very deep for the damn psychic if she isn't even smart enough to kill a monster when she sees one.

Yami merely raised a brow, a long and slow but elegant movement. Jonouchi bristled as he turned back to him with an alarmed expression. And then, with startling clarity, he realized Mai was right. Yami didn't make any move to answer her, not to defend himself or Ishizu either. He had no plans to do so. He'd rather her speak against him and Ishizu than defend either of them.

What a damn shame.

Yami was watching her, Jonouchi noted, a sense of dread creeping down his spine. There was something in his eyes now; something had changed drastically…

Something in him was frayed, snapped, and it was writhing in his eyes at the moment. He couldn't tell if it was hatred or impatience, absolute loathing or resentment. But it was there.

I would have slaughtered you when your back was turned.

"Only cowards attack from behind. I'm sure if Ishizu planned to do me any harm, she would do so where I could see her." He smiled, something crooked and leering as he considered her. His lips peeled back on one side, showing his teeth in an exaggerated manner, and his eyes sparkled. "But I don't suppose you have the bravery to match your words and do so, now do you, Barbara?"

Jonouchi bristled; the way he said her name made his skin crawl for a long moment. He wanted to run for a split second, horrified as he glanced between them uncertainly. Would he attack her? He could not imagine Yami would do so. He'd have to explain himself if he went back to Yugi's house covered in blood that wasn't his. And he could only imagine that Yugi would respond violently to the fact that one of the wolves had attacked him…

"Are you afraid because you know I'll kill you?" Yami continued quietly. "And wouldn't that be pathetic? Your mother paid her life to give Atem leadership of the pack. Do you remember that? Although, I do not assume that she should be upset with your behavior. She was as foolish as you when it came to attacking Atem's chosen beta. Perhaps she's honored that one of her daughters is just as much a cowardly bitch as she was."

The reaction was instantaneous. Several of the wolves cringed away. Others laughed aloud. Zane sneered. Chazz howled. Yusei stared blankly. Jonouchi shivered. Mai trembled. Mana scoffed. Shay snickered. Barbara, however, narrowed her eyes. And Aki beside her bristled, though she hardly looked angered.

"I would watch myself, princess," Yami hissed, lowering his voice further so that it became a deep rumbling snarl. "You heard what I said about stepping out of line when Otogi relayed the message, I'm sure. If you were smart, you'd back off while you still have the chance."

Jonouchi shivered. He truly planned to kill her, didn't he? He would hold up his threat, despite what Yugi had said to the contrary. Yami was willing to kill them if they disobeyed him. Yugi had no control over the matter, even if he was his—

His stomach rolled painfully.

"Remind me who the alpha is."

Yami had said that in the woods earlier that day. He'd said it to Yugi when he'd said that Yugi needed to remind him who was boss. And now, staring at Yami, he had the sudden idea he knew exactly which of them was the alpha between them. Yugi had lied. Yugi had lied about who had bitten him. It wasn't Tomoya; it wasn't Ushio.

He blinked wide eyes, tilting his head slowly to the side.

Yami had bitten him.

Yami had been the one to bite him.

Which meant that Yugi had also lied about when they had met.

They couldn't have met at the damn festival if Yami had been the one to bite him…

Goddamn it, he spat.

The words were so loud that the wolves around him turned to stare. Even Yami blinked and tilted his head, staring with furrowed brows. Jonouchi was shaking, hateful for a split second as resentment coursed through him.

Yugi had lied to them. Yugi had lied to his friends.

He'd told them that Tomoya had bitten him when he'd been attacked by Ushio. But it had been fucking Yami instead. Yami had bitten him, had infected him. Yugi was defenseless against Yami should he turn on him with the intent to kill. The alpha command wouldn't save him in the slightest and he had no control over Yami whatsoever. If he chose to turn on and kill him, Yugi was going to be just another count on his list of kills. Jonouchi wanted to sob for a long minute.

Yugi wouldn't fight him. Yugi would never fight him if Yami truly tried to kill him. How would he defend himself? How would he truly convince himself it was necessary? He couldn't think straight where Yami was concerned to begin with. And now…

He looked up slowly, curling his lips back furiously. But Yami didn't even blink at him. Jonouchi wondered abruptly if he was projecting outwards for the pack to hear. But the lack of horrified expressions told him otherwise. But he knew, shivering, that Yami understood what had just happened. He saw the light in his eyes that was full of laughter and mockery and the smallest sense of anger.

And Jonouchi wished he could have demanded to know why. He wished he could have lunged at him and snarled and asked him. But Yami wasn't the one he needed to question. And Yami would merely sneer at him, he was sure.

---

When Jonouchi woke later that night, Mai was snuggled against his side. Her face was turned away, nose tucked into her tail where it was curled over. He shivered, muscles stiff as he moved to stand. His bones popped and immediately the she-wolf spun around to look at him. She yawned, stretching, and got up to circle. He watched her for a moment, then sighed and plopped into a seated position beside her again.

Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.

She shook her head, curling up again. I would have woken up even if you weren't moving around, she said quietly. And then she raised and turned her head, facing him with a somewhat sorrowful expression. What upset you so much earlier?

He blinked, then huffed. Yugi lied to me about something.

Was it a big lie?

I don't know how much it changes the situation. He blinked and turned to her after a moment again, pricking his ears. Mai, what happens when someone bites you?

She furrowed her brows. You get infected.

He laughed softly, shaking his head. No, I mean… The alpha can command their beta when they get out of control, but what about for the betas? What helps them?

Mai blinked and stretched again, then rolled over to press against him. She smelled strongly of roses and morning dew and he almost shivered with satisfaction. You mean the alpha command? She yawned again, then rolled so that she push her paw into his chest and tipped her head back, opening her mouth so that her tongue plopped against the roof of her mouth. Well, for the beta they have a kind of gene expression. It happens when the alpha turns on them. Something about the lycanthropy between them causes them to suffer phantom pains in response to the attack. So the alpha feels the exact pain they're inflicting. It keeps them from being able to kill the beta without killing themselves too. The pain being shared between them is enough to usually knock them out of the attack altogether…

That was a nice thing. If Yami turned on Yugi, he'd have to stop himself truly hurting him because he'd be destroying himself as well, right?

What about if it's further down the line? Like say…one wolf bit someone else and then that wolf bit someone else. Would that still protect them from the original wolf if they turned on them?

Mai blinked. As in, like, Otogi bit me and I bit you and you and Otogi were fighting? That kind of thing? She rolled over onto her stomach and looked at him with a bewildered expression. I'm not sure. I don't think it would protect the third in a line. It's too…strained after that to have a pull over the last in the line, I guess. I've never heard of it working out like that before…

Okay, but what about the reverse? Would the alpha command still work then?

It would be a fractured connection and not as strong as mine would be, but I think Otogi in that case would still be able to control you somewhat. I don't know to what extent, however. Why do you ask?

I was just curious.

She eyed him skeptically for a long moment, then yawned. If you say so.

Jonouchi stayed quiet for a few seconds. Do you think Barbara would actually be able to hurt Yami if she went after him?

She blinked. What? I'm not… She's extremely violent. But I don't think she could, no. Yami is a lot nastier than she could ever dream of being. He moves fast when he's enraged and I think he'd easily be able to overpower and kill her if he tried to. Why do you ask? Is that what has you so upset right now?

He sighed and looked around uncertainly. No one seemed to be paying them any attention. Most of the wolves were asleep, but some of them were still awake and looking around with tired but alert expressions. Chazz sat by the entrance to the camp, sitting vigil with a perfect posture of pricked ears and a wriggling nose. No doubt any wolf to so stupidly attempt to come through would get their faces torn apart if he didn't recognize them.

Jonouchi sighed as he turned back. She peered up at him, eyes soft and warm and he wished he could melt in them for a long moment. His anxiety melted away and he closed his eyes, tilting his head and listening to her steady heartbeat and slow breathing. It was comforting enough that he lost his sense of anger entirely, finally blinking his eyes open again.

I was just… I was thinking about how little I know about all of this werewolf stuff. And then I was just kind of wondering if the guy who bit Yugi was, you know…still alive, if that meant that Yugi would still be under his control and he'd be able to control me, you know?

It's not some kind of mind control or voodoo, Mai laughed, staring at him and shaking her head. But that doesn't apply to anything anyways. Yugi wasn't bitten.

Jonouchi blinked. What?

Yami was.

He stared at her for a long moment, then tilted his head. Wait, what?

Mai yawned. Yami was the one that Yugi bit. But Yugi wasn't bitten, not unless the experiments led him to a more dormant state and he had to be bitten so that it triggered a reaction out of it. Other than that, though, you'd be saying that someone bit Yugi and then Yugi bit Yami. So, anyways, as far as that goes, I don't know if they would have had any influence over you or not. She stretched and laid her chin on her paws, then looked over at Jonouchi with sharp eyes, voice lowered and slightly cold. Chazz is listening to us right now. As far as he knows, Yugi bit Yami. That's the story Yugi has been telling the camp. I thought he'd told you already about that.

Jonouchi flinched slightly, then glanced over. Chazz was watching them discreetly from the corner of his eye. He refused to look directly over, as if he were trying to be mild in his eavesdropping so that they would not notice. No doubt the more he'd used Yami and Yugi's name, the more interested the gray yearling had become.

He shivered and shook himself out. Had he told him that? Had he told him about the alpha command and phantom pains before, too? He couldn't remember now, too excited and anxious. I guess he did, he finally mumbled when she stared at him with a somewhat concerned expression, but I guess I forgot about it. I just… He told me that someone else completely had bitten him and it was Yami who did. I…

I doubt it was intentional to hurt you or make you feel like you'd been betrayed, Mai continued. She shook her head slightly, watching him, and then lowered her chin to her paws and glanced around slowly. Her dark violet eyes were all but glowing where the moonlight touched her irises. I think he did it to protect Yami. I don't think he truly considered that it would put a wedge between the two of you.

Protect him how exactly?

Mai looked over her shoulder towards Chazz before turning back to Jonouchi. Her voice was quieter, softer, as if she were trying to make him feel better for the betrayal he felt. Because of the pack's older misconceptions of him as Atem, I'm sure. Most of the wolves wished to kill him—and some still do, truthfully. So it would not surprise me in the slightest if it turned out that he decided to take the precaution of doing so. Yugi isn't stupid. And he has to know Yami is perhaps his one shot at actually winning this war. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see him attempting to find a way to protect him in each and every way he can, no matter how small.

And he couldn't have just told me and Honda and Anzu? Why the hell not?

You don't know this, but when you first changed, each one of your most important memories and thoughts came to the surface. You didn't broadcast all of them, but you didn't have control enough to stop us from seeing a vast majority of them. Thankfully there were only the three of us with you that night, so we were the only ones to hear them. But, had you known about Yami, it would have been chaotic. He was not there at the time, Yugi was actively lying to each and all of us, and you knew secrets that none of us had any right to.

Jonouchi flattened his ears. If he had known, everyone else would have as well. But did Yugi know that would have happened? Or had he simply thought to protect Yami as much as possible? He couldn't have known. And it wasn't like Yugi had planned to bite him at any point. So why would he have…?

No, it had to have just been Yugi being cautious.

Yugi was not malicious in any way, shape or form. He would not have lied to them without a reason behind it. But why try to protect Yami from them? It wasn't as if they knew enough about the werewolves to give anyone details of any kind. If Yugi were so fearful of everything, then why exactly had he gotten so involved with it all? It made no sense whatsoever. Why would Yugi have been so damn foolish as to do that?

Jonouchi drew in a deep breath, then exhaled softly and closed his eyes tightly. You think he did it to protect Yami from the pack then?

Most likely. Or to protect him should anything happen in which you or your friends were used as collateral damage. If you don't know something, you can't tell someone about it. Since you didn't know anything about him or that Yami bit him, then you couldn't tell anyone. It was the best way to keep you all safe without involving you in any manner.

He shivered and sighed again. But that's…I guess it makes sense but I still don't understand why he wouldn't just have tried to explain it a little bit or something like that. I just…

Mai shook her head and considered him curiously for a moment. If you plan to talk to him about all of this at some point, you need to do so when you aren't likely to be heard. You can't let someone else hear something like this about Yami or Yugi. It would cause a lot more damage, especially after everything that has happened with Joy. Barbara, especially, would love to know that information. She'd use it the moment she found out. And I don't know how the pack would react to that. They might turn on each other or they might try to kill them both for it.

Jonouchi glanced over his shoulder again. Chazz was now looking skyward; his ears were pricked and his face painted silver from the moonlight. When he got up and stretched, the yearling shook himself out and then plopped down again without a glance at them. Jonouchi watched him a few moments longer, wondering at the gray yearling and how strong he had to truly be in order to guard the camp alone like this. If there was an ambush of some kind, he was not sure he would have counted on just Chazz to deal with it…

He might have been vicious in a fight, stronger than usual for a yearling, but he could have been easily overpowered if there were numbers. And he still remembered Yami knocking him around as if he were nothing when he had first come to Japan. If one of the hellhounds were as fast or strong as Yami was, would Chazz even have the chance to sound an alarm?

I don't think Yugi is in any danger from lying like he did…as long as he is not caught. I truly don't think he meant to harm anyone in doing so. I think, honestly, if nothing else, you should probably thank him for it. He probably helped you out a lot more than you know. She was quiet for a moment. Her voice came out slower, almost sluggish, as if she were rasping. I don't think he makes all the best choices, but I think he tries. And I think if you're at least trying, then you deserve some kind of acknowledgment. I don't think the others agree with that, though. But he's trying…

Jonouchi turned to answer her, startled by the comment, but fell silent again. She was fast asleep now, breathing even and soft and her heartbeat slower than before. He frowned and glanced away again, eyes on Chazz as he tilted his head. The yearling turned his head after a few minutes of staring, head tilted and ears pricked. Jonouchi debated going to speak to him, if only to ask him why he was the only one keeping vigil, but sleep tugged at him after a few moments. And so he lay down next to her again, moving to rest his chin on her neck and close his eyes.