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.

81. Punishment

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Hopefully biweekly

Chapter Warnings: COPIOUS Bloodshed, Violence, Character Deaths, Poison

Hellhound poison is extremely fast-acting venom. And Yugi is more susceptible to it because of the silver she injected him with. It's as deadly as cyanide, but can vary in how quickly it acts. Range can go from a handful of seconds (for wolves that are unhealthy or with lower immune systems) to several minutes but NEVER more than five. The effects are a mixture of box jellyfish (intense pain, abdominal aches, difficulty breathing) and rattlesnake venom (nausea, numbness, tingling, swelling, blurry vision). Like rattlesnakes, they have complete control over the amount injected into the victims and different dosages perform different functions. At a low enough dose, the victim is paralyzed and experiences nothing but inability to move and control the muscles. It's a defense mechanism when the Harbinger is weak enough that they need to run from a fight, and it's usually just enough to slow down prey that would otherwise get away. Paralysis usually sets in a few minutes after being bitten and infection and rotting of organs begin an hour or so later. It kills any animal within two hours if untreated (and it gets aggravated when the victim moves).

Part VI

Chapter LXXXI: Punishment

Work Log Entry LXXII: February, 2009

February 10

Atem still has not fully recovered. But he seems a thousand times better than he once was. His heart rate is much lower now, at 65. But, just as before, it does not fluctuate in any manner. He does not have a resting beat that differs from it.

February 28

The hellhound female has become extremely aggressive. She is not lashing out, but she snarls and bristles a lot more than usual for a five-year-old.

She is extremely nasty when it comes to feeding time, but she always watches the lycanthrope pup. The boss is still determined to figure out the bond between the two of them.

Yami watched in amazement. Yubel had changed so swiftly it stunned him. There had been nothing between her human form and the wolf. She had simply lunged, body rapidly contorting and shifting. And then she was a long-limbed black she-wolf with a gray blazing trail down her chest. Her eyes glinted like knives. Her teeth were like jagged mountain peaks. He braced himself.

He couldn't shield himself entirely. He knew that well enough. So he squared his shoulders. He awaited the collision. He moved his most wounded flank out of her line of sight.

And, yet, he was not the one she collided with.

Yugi had somehow managed to change within seconds. Yami did not even get the chance to blink. Yugi hurtled himself. And he and Yubel rolled in a gnarled ball of light and shadow. Teeth caught fur. Blood soaked the carpet. The two of them snarled and snapped, biting at each other. Yami stared, stunned and horrified.

The two of them separated.

Yugi was soaked. His face was covered in blood. He was panting, shivering. But Yubel looked only mildly wounded. Her throat was gouged open. And perhaps on another wolf it might have been fatal. Blood dripped from it like a waterfall. Her shoulder was bleeding profusely. But she was not disabled in the slightest.

And, in fact, she looked more amused now than ever before.

Yugi snapped his teeth at her. She wagged her tail long and slow. Her eyes flicked to Yami. The black wolf pricked his ears forward. Sartorius was lounging lazily a few inches away, licking a wound on his side. Yami looked at him for a moment. Then he turned to Yubel once more.

She was eyeing him.

She was watching him with absolute glee.

Yami bristled. He was winded. Even bracing himself had been exhausting. His sides quivered, aching. His flesh stung. His muscles were burning. His bones ached violently.

She knew him. She recognized him. She had to. There was no way she didn't.

He could not think straight.

I had expected him to protect his family, she said in a cold, distant tone. There was an odd faraway look that seemed to travel so far into the past that Yami knew he could never follow. But she seemed brave enough to traverse it where he himself feared his own memories and experiences. I expected him to try to save them or himself. But, no, he comes to protect his alpha.

Yami bore his teeth, fear drenching him. She was a lot stronger than he'd assumed she could be. And her eyes were dead as they peered at him. That glee had disappeared as if by the flick of a switch. His right forelimb threatened to wobble. His belly rolled and twisted inside of him. His heart skipped and pulsed. His heartbeat resounded in his ears.

She was a lot stronger than he had thought possible. She was faster. She was nastier. She was a monster wearing the pelt of a wolf. She'd come so quickly into the house he had not had even the slightest chance to stop her. He had managed to kill two of the wolves before he'd been subdued. But it had not stopped her in the slightest. Her companions were pawns. And she was the game master. She had all the power.

Yami thought of that raven in the woods. He thought of how she'd watched him so closely. He thought of how she'd clacked her beak. He thought of her as she'd appeared that day in the street. She'd stood silently, watching them like a hawk. And then she had smiled and skipped away.

She hadn't been scared of them.

She had known who they were.

She had known what they were.

And she had not cared in the slightest.

She'd known from the beginning that they could do nothing to fight her.

She'd known the cowardice that Yami harbored.

If he had been braver, he would have killed her the moment they'd crossed paths. He would have slaughtered her in the snow. If he had even the slightest hint of bravery, he would have tried to stop this before it could even begin. If he had ever been brave in his life, he should have taken the opportunity to end it all a long time before now.

Yami drew his lips back. But no sound left him. Her eyes glittered like ice, dull and bottomless like an abyss. He remembered the screaming in the labs—the way the wolves had cried for help when they were hurt. He remembered being bitten and torn into—he remembered the ice cold scalpel and all of his own shed blood. And he imagined that it all wound up like the darkness in her eyes—black, dull, insane and chilling like frozen water.

He thought of water beneath the ice. Bubbles of air trickled upward. They slid beneath the crystalline covering. And then they burst through a small fissure. The fissure broke further, stretching and pushing upward.

He was quaking.

Pain lanced through his muscles like fire.

His shoulder throbbed, pulsating. He could feel it raging through him. It was like an incinerator flaring up. He could smell charred flesh and bones splintering. He swore he thought his own bones were cracking. He could not think straight. He could not shake the fear in his bones.

He had not thought of these things in so long.

He pictured bright green eyes. They bore into his, the softness of his expression so warm as to break his heart.

Your fear smells like sunlight, Yubel said in a dangerously beautiful tone. Yami thought of a hand touching his chin. He pictured a mask and leathery skin. He remembered the smell of ash and dying skin, of rot and blood that oozed with sickness. He remembered the way those fingers were always rough and calloused. His skin had always prickled his flesh. And his nails had been blunt but sharp. And sometimes they cut his chin and others they didn't.

Yami? Yugi whispered. And he was thankful the white wolf did not turn his head in his direction. It would have distracted him from her. And he did not know what it was the she-wolf would do to him if Yugi wasn't paying her absolute attention. Aibou?

I'm…I'm okay, he managed to answer. But his head was spinning and he wanted to vomit. He saw that stupid plastic mask again. It was shiny where the wizened skin had been nothing more than wrinkled and cracked. He saw needles and syringes, blood that thickened only when an hour passed. He remembered the illness being incurable, spoken of in whispers but never more so.

And then he saw his own blood, bright red but rapidly changing and darkening in the various vials. He remembered pain as his jugular was slit. He remembered electricity. He remembered tanks of water. He remembered various flashes of teeth. He remembered the screaming, the yelping and snarling. A dead body was stretched before him and—

It's amazing that you still know how to speak.

Yami bristled, shuddering.

Aibou…?

So, tell me, Atem. Yubel stared at Yugi with cold, glowing eyes. The mismatched colors made his skin crawl. He drew in a deep breath, shaking harder. Sartorius had turned his head. Now he was watching Yami as if he were a piece of prey. He looked intrigued and exuberated by the sight. Which of them would you sacrifice? Your human "family" or your alpha. Choose one.

Choose…? Yugi snapped his teeth. Yami stared at Sartorius. Sartorius scratched his jaw lazily. His eyes were glittering with excitement. Yami was shaken by how dark the maroon irises truly were. What the fuck is wrong with you?

I'm bored. And you are doing nothing to alleviate that. She looked to Yami again, ears pricked forward. Her lips peeled back slightly as she stared at him. At least your alpha knows when death stares him in the face.

Yugi's ears flicked. A shudder ran down his back. Yami stared at his fur as it rose and fell rapidly. Death? The white wolf sneered the words. You? You claim to be death? Is that what you're saying right now? How pathetic. You're crazy. I'm a fucking Pure-Blood.

And I am a Harbinger of Death, she answered in a cold, amused tone. Her head tilted and Yami swore one eye was focused on him and the other on Yugi. What does it matter that you come back to life later? If you cannot stop me from killing you, I still win.

Yami shuddered again. Sartorius wagged his tail slowly. The black wolf turned to stare at him. Their eyes locked. He barely resisted the urge to flinch away. He drew his lips back. But he could not find the strength to snarl.

Do you plan to fight me if I try to kill him?

Yugi was stiff in front of him. Yami's head snapped around. He stared at her, startled and horrified by the declaration. He could imagine how Yugi was looking at her. He was likely worse off than he himself was. She was truly going to force him to choose between—

I'll kill you if you touch any of them.

Yami could not tell if it was him or not, but the threat sounded half-hearted. And he thought Yugi seemed lost by the very idea of threatening another like this. He wondered if he was simply shocked by her hatred or if it was something else entirely. Perhaps it was his morals, the way he still saw her as nothing but an eight-year-old girl.

That's interesting. Her eyes flicked away from Yugi. And Yami barely managed to brace himself. Sartorius was on him a split second later. His teeth were in his throat. And Yami snarled. He tried to shake him and stumbled. He threw himself onto his back feet. And his right leg threatened to crumble. Their combined weight almost winded him.

An earlier bite there echoed with pain. He snapped his jaws violently. Sartorius bit back, though neither caught the other. Yami threw himself forward. Sartorius snarled, forced to all fours again. Yami landed an inch from him. His limbs were shaky. But his balance was somehow firm. He twisted around. Blood soaked his tongue. And he felt dizzy for a moment. He threw himself at him once more. His teeth caught Sartorius by the scruff.

The hellhound snarled and spat. Yami pressed forward harder. He kept his weight on his front limbs. And, when they landed, Sartorius was on his side. Yami kept his grip on his throat. But his legs strained. His shoulder throbbed. The pain paralyzed him for a moment.

And it took only this for the hellhound to gain the advantage.

Sartorius used the wall. His claws scraped the side. Sharp grooves were dug into the plaster. He twisted, using it as a springboard. Yami stumbled, trying to keep his grip. He could barely keep his footing. He was straddling him. His legs were spread apart so far he was amazed they held his weight. The hellhound slowly but surely rolled onto his belly. He could not snap his teeth into Yami's flesh. But he thrust himself to his feet. He straightened and Yami nearly collapsed.

He rose onto his back legs. The hellhound tried to claw him in the eye. Yami snarled, tossing his head. But his leg shook harder than ever. It threatened to collapse. He was winded. The effort made his muscles ache. It was a miracle the hellhound lost his footing. He slipped, thrown onto his back again. His back paws dug into Yami's stomach.

The pain when he clawed at him made him flinch. He reeled back, releasing him. The hellhound tried for his feet. Yami blinked, panting. Then he dug his teeth into his neck once more. But he could not get his jugular. Teeth clamped just above his eye. Yami screeched before he could stop himself. He reeled back, snarling. Blood dribbled into his vision and partially blinded him. He bristled.

The hellhound was still halfway beneath him. He was forced upwards and off his paws. Sartorius spun on him. Yami struggled to catch himself. His teeth dug into his neck. He pressed hard into his shoulder. Yami hit the wall and scrambled. He barely caught his footing. And then he lunged forward.

Sartorius missed him by an inch. The black wolf spun around. Teeth snapped at his cheek and he lurched. He nearly slipped over his paws. The hellhound lunged faster. His paw came for his face. His muzzle wrinkled back with a snarl. His eyes seemed to glow. He snapped at him, missing by an inch once more.

But Yami felt the force of that attack regardless. He thought of that tigress from the warehouse. Fur was stripped from his shoulder. He was shaking again. He backpedaled rapidly.

If he could get space between them—

But then he hit the wall again.

Sartorius snapped his teeth a mere centimeter from his muzzle. Yami tried to move out of his reach. He backed into the wall, cornered. His front half leaned away from the hellhound. He couldn't judge distance with his wounded eye. And his paws shuddered beneath his weight. But he rose to his back feet. Sartorius sprang on him once more. His front right leg aimed for his eye. Yami lurched again. His leg buckled beneath his weight. He collapsed to all fours. The hellhound aimed for his throat again. Yami could do nothing but bare his teeth and try to strike at his face in turn. Somehow the hellhound missed. Yami scrambled back a step, mouth wide open.

Sartorius caught him by the cheek. The hellhound rose onto his back feet. Yami scrambled. His leg quaked. His lungs strained for air. He caught his shoulders with his paws. Then he heaved backwards. It forced him to stumble. But it successfully separated them.

Yami snapped his teeth. The hellhound wagged his tail rapidly. He bit at the air in turn. His eyes were burning with laughter. Yami landed heavily. His entire body shook from the force. His shoulder wrenched. His back leg shuddered. He lifted it, repositioning his stance. He struggled for breath. Then he ducked his head. He could at least shield his neck. But he wished more than ever that he could aim. Had his eye not been burning, he might have tried. His face throbbed painfully. He could not blink the blood away. He could barely see Sartorius completely.

Now, what was that about killing us if we hurt any of them? Yubel laughed softly. She was wagging her tail and staring coldly. Your precious alpha might just bleed to death on your carpet, Atem. What a beautiful shade of red. It'll turn black as his coat when it dries.

Sartorius caught him by the scruff. Yami could barely breathe. His eyes were burning. The hellhound pressed down on him. Yami nearly collapsed. His legs buckled. By some miracle he held his weight. But the hellhound forced him almost completely to his belly. He was pressed into the carpet and the wall. And he didn't have the strength. He couldn't shake him even if he tried. He didn't have fur to cushion the blow. And he'd hurt himself worse if he tried.

Yami!

He couldn't think to speak. Sartorius bit down harder. Yami's mouth opened but he wasn't snarling. He could not even scream. He bore his teeth and stared. He hunched his hind legs as if to backpedal. But he could barely move any longer. He glared at the hellhound. But it did nothing to slow him.

But the off-white canine did not try to bite deeper into his skin. Instead he snickered. His tail wagged and he sneered, It was fate that we are to fight again.

Oh, no, not this bullshit again, Yubel snarled. Her tail dropped and her eyes hardened with hatred. Her ears pricked forward and she drew her lips back furiously. Do not go into that damn spiel. I'll rip your fucking eyes out.

Yami blinked. Fate?

I knew it was a fluke that you survived our initial encounter in those woods that day. It was lady luck who frowned upon me that day. But now fate has turned its favor to me once more.

Yugi did not have time to even blink. Yubel shot past him. She was a blur of dark color. And Sartorius didn't have time to move. She was on him in an instant. Teeth tore through flesh. Blood shot through the air. A huge arc of bright red formed over their heads. Sartorius screamed in agony. Yami crawled forward a few steps. He limped, shaky. And then he dragged himself further forward. He was at his side a moment later. But he didn't acknowledge him. He'd turned back around with blown pupils and wide, startled eyes.

I told you to shut your fucking trap, Yubel roared. She turned away from him abruptly. Her muzzle was coated in gore. Grizzle hung from her jaws. A flap of skin and bloody tissue dangled from her teeth. She shook herself out. Sartorius lay upon the ground. His face was torn open and he was bleeding profusely from a gut wound. Oh, it'll grow back, you stupid baby. Stop your crying.

But now her eyes shot to Yami.

You're too winded to even consider fighting me, aren't you? What a damn shame, she sneered. Her tail wagged. Yugi suppressed a shiver. He looked sideways towards Yami as well. The black wolf was visibly shaken and exhausted. He looked sick, tired. And he could see how unhealthy he was now. The black wolf had so little strength left in him that Yugi thought he might collapse at any moment. Beautiful. I love to see someone's spirit so broken.

Yami bore his teeth. Broken? No. Bloodied? Yes. I am not broken. I have never been broken. I will never be broken. He snapped his teeth. But he did not take aim. He did not even lunge. But he also did not flinch away. And he did not back off as he might have otherwise.

Instead he simply stood there. He had braced himself. His ears were forward. His eyes burned with hatred. Yugi stared at him a moment. Then he looked immediately back to Yubel.

The she-wolf laughed hideously. She tilted her head and watched him with glowing eyes. She was almost shaking with her guffaws. Really? You believe that to be true? I think that once I break your body, your spirit will not be too far behind.

You lay a tooth on him and I'll kill you.

You said so before. But even Sartorius there is alive. I did more to punish him than you have, dear little Atem. She snorted. And I fear nothing to do with you.

Yugi nearly shuddered. Instead he snarled louder. Try me.

Was it not just moments before that you said if I harmed any of them in any manner, you would kill me? And yet, once again, it has changed to just him. Why has it changed to just him? Do you plan to protect only him? Do you choose him then?

I haven't chosen anyone. But your attention is on him.

If it has changed, would you mind too terribly if I tore their throats out? she snickered. She had come closer. She was laughing as she eyed Yami. The black wolf snarled low in his throat. Yugi prepared himself to lunge forward. I won't leave your alpha to suffer either, though. I'll kill him soon after if you would like.

Yugi trembled, blood scorching through his veins. You won't kill any of them!

Is that so? You promised to kill anyone to touch your little pet here, Yubel continued. She wagged her tail rapidly and stared at him with glowing eyes. But Sartorius ripped him halfway open and you still do not seem to care too much about it.

His ears fell back against his head. He snapped his teeth. His heart was racing in his throat. His lungs were too tight in his chest. He swore he was going to puke. But he could not stop himself snarling. I had you to worry about instead, didn't I?

So then you decided not to honor your threat and instead allowed him to nearly kill him for the fun of it then. I see.

No! Fuck you!

The she-wolf pricked her ears. Now, is that not a disturbing thought? She was speaking in lazy, lyrical tones once more. Her eyes had grown dull with dismissal and boredom. How funny of you to express such a disgusting desire as that of all things.

Yugi shook, hatred crashing through him violently. I'll kill you. He lunged forward. But it was not close enough to be anywhere near her, in truth. He barely budged an inch. His anger didn't make him stupid. The problem was that he knew all too well how unprepared he was for this fight. It didn't matter that he'd surprised her and gotten in that neck wound. She was faster and stronger. She was wilder than he was. She was right; wilderness could destroy itself. A force of nature could destroy another. But his clarity and rage did not grant him that strength against her.

Yami was frozen beside him. There was a smudge of blood on Yugi's side. The smell of it was dizzying to him. His head spun. His stomach lurched. The way Yugi trembled stirred his own fears. His head spun faster. His back leg threatened to buckle once more. A sense of overwhelming panic coursed through him.

Yubel stared at Yugi. And, had she been human, Yami was sure she would have smiled. She would have smirked and danced about. She would have tried to pick him to pieces. And she would have danced upon his grave. Yami bristled, but he could not move. Every part of him was stiff and aching. Hideous pain wracked its way through him. Everything burned and ached. His stomach was on fire. Bile scorched the back of his throat.

He trembled.

She turned her head. Her eyes fell on him. Her lips peeled back into a smirk.

Yami stiffened, blinking.

Yugi froze beside him. His eyes were sharp and burning. His ears flicked. His nose twitched once. Yami? He mumbled the word. It was so quiet Yami almost thought he was hearing things. I'll hold her off. But I need you to get my mom and grandpa out of here.

Yami stiffened further. He bristled harder than ever. He pricked his ears forward. And his mind raced for a moment. How did he expect him to do that? He didn't even know if he could breathe well enough to remain standing as it was.

Yubel laughed softly. She wagged her tail, singing, You shouldn't just exclude me like this, Atem. If you wish to speak, why not include us both? I want to hear as well!

I was telling him how I'll rip your throat out.

Oh, well, isn't that valiant of you to pretend you're capable of that? She wagged her tail again. Her tongue lolled as she smiled at them both. Her teeth were shiny and glittering white. It's a beautiful delusion. I'd almost applaud you if I believed you could do it.

What makes you think I can't?

Oh, sweet little honey bun, I know you can't. She chuckled. Her eyes fell on Yami again. Her gaze was cold, glittering. The power in her stance was enough to shake him once more. You look a little winded. You look so much worse for wear, little red eyes. I'm surprised Sartorius didn't manage to gut you like a fish.

Yugi studied him once more. The concern was clear in his eyes. But Yami ignored him. He stared, unblinking, and kept his stiff stance. He did not know how to answer her. But he refused to back down.

He isn't strong enough to do that, he finally said softly. He could not think straight long enough to say anything else. She was right; Yami had been amazed as well. The pain he'd felt had stunned him when he'd begun mauling him as he had. He'd expected it, truthfully. He'd thought the maroon-eyed male would have killed him for sure.

What had stopped him, Yami didn't know. But it was something he could not afford to waste.

Oh? Yubel hummed the word. How depressing a thought. He's supposed to be a lot stronger than he actually is, you know? He can't change shape or poison anyone. But he can bleed you dry. Want to see?

Not particularly.

A damn shame. Yubel turned away from them. She glanced over her shoulder towards her fallen beta. Wake up, little silver paws. There's so much work yet to be done! I think you've got some more strength in those silver paws of yours, Sartorius! And if you don't, why not take until you do?

The off-white hellhound growled softly. He was still lying on the carpet. He was motionless for a moment. And then Yugi saw him tremble. Sartorius' entire side was torn open. The right half of his face was gouged. His skull even looked crushed on the side. His cheekbone seemed shattered. His eye was clearly missing. His muzzle was concaved where her teeth had dug in. His ear was cut, but the bleeding had stopped. Yugi could see raw red muscle where his cheek had once been. His bones were white against his open flesh.

Sartorius slowly rose to his paws. He stumbled. His good eye flashed. It fell on her. And then he slowly shook himself out. He stumbled again. His entire body quivered. He snarled. And, for a moment, he looked as if he might go for Yubel. But he simply turned to Yami once more.

Yugi bristled, raising his tail. He'd have to go through him first. He snapped his teeth. Sartorius turned to him. His lips were drawn back into a sneer. He looked ghastly, his entire face a twisted and morphed mess of sinew and blood. His tongue ran over his nose. The underside of it looked as if Yubel had run it over a cheese grater. It was hardly a full muscle. Tendrils of bright red hung in strings, bloodied and blackened at their cores. It was already rotting from the inside out.

Yugi shivered, horrified. Yami, beside him, eyed the wolf curiously. Yugi wondered how he could possibly look at the hellhound with such little care. He hardly seemed to even notice the grotesque nature of it. He almost seemed…bored, in fact.

Was it a mask?

Or did that hideous wound not affect him in some manner?

Well? Yubel prompted. Her tail wagged. She turned to her beta with a sneer. What do you plan to do?

Sartorius stepped forward. He looked uncertain for a split second. His leg wobbled. And then he blinked. He pressed forward. He was staring at Yami. And Yugi could see how simple-minded his focus was. The black wolf stared back.

Yami, try to get my mom and grandpa out of here, Yugi snapped again. The black canine did not pay him any mind, however. He was standing stiffly. He had raised his tail. His eyes were blown with aggression and focus. His ears pricked forward. His lips drew back far enough to show each tooth.

Panic made Yugi spin on him. He snapped his teeth furiously. But Yami ignored him again. He leaped forward. Sartorius met him head-on. The two of them twisted and writhed. It lasted only a moment.

Then Yami backed up abruptly. He jerked and shook. Sartorius was thrown sideways. He hit Yubel in the hip. The she-wolf staggered, startled. She turned to her beta, laughing aloud.

So you do have some fight left in you! She was speaking to Yami, but she was watching Sartorius with glittering eyes.

Yami ignored her. He released Sartorius, jerking him. He hit Yubel harder in the side this time. She stumbled, swaying. Then she turned on him. Her teeth tore into his face. Sartorius snarled and whined. But she shook him as if he were a toy. Yugi gaped, stunned more than horrified. He couldn't think straight. But Yami used her preoccupation to his advantage. He bit at the lighter-furred canine again. His teeth sank into flesh, inches from his spine.

Yugi bristled, infuriated. Yami! he screamed. You're more wounded than I am! Try to get them out of here! I can hold them off!

But Yugi realized, terrified, that he could not recognize the gleam in his friend's eyes. There was something cold and dangerous there. It was blinding, great and terrible. And it was so void of emotion Yugi thought of ice. He blinked, stunned. But Yami did not pay him any mind. He had turned away again. He was staring at the two hellhounds.

Yugi bore his teeth. Then he turned his head. He looked towards the bed. His mom and grandpa appeared exhausted. The cuts in their throats were still raw and inflamed. But they were not bleeding. So he came forward a few more steps. He looked at them a moment longer. Then he made his way towards them.

It didn't matter who. Someone just had to keep them busy. He could get them out of the—

He barely heard it in time.

Yugi spun around, snarling. He jerked away violently. His body nearly slammed into the wall. Her teeth caught his flank. She missed his spine by an inch. The white wolf snarled. He snapped at her. His teeth caught her throat again. Dried blood cracked in his teeth. Strands of hair were stiff against his tongue. Her skin shuddered under his touch. She released him immediately. And she slipped out of his grip as if she were nothing more than mist.

She dodged back a couple of steps. She was snickering. Yugi backed up a step. He watched her blankly. He could hear Yami and Sartorius. They were tearing into each other again. They were snarling and biting and ripping each other apart. The bed vibrated as one of them hit it. The legs of it nearly snapped from the pressure. His grandpa choked on air. His mom seemed to be unconscious.

He hoped they both were.

She sprang at him. He lunged forward. She landed easily. She twisted away from him entirely. He snapped at her flank. Her teeth snapped into his leg. The bone shattered beneath the force. But Yugi could not feel it. His heart was in his throat. His entire body trembled with each beat.

He bit at her. His teeth tore through fur and flesh. He cut into her abdomen like it was butter. She screamed. Then she jerked away. But she did not release. Yugi was pulled off balance. He scrambled. His paws hit her chest. The other caught her cheek. He kicked with his free back leg. She tossed her head as if she wished to tear it from his body altogether.

He writhed for a second. But he could not shake her. So he bit at the only thing within reach.

She screeched. Then she jerked away from him.

Her left paw was mangled. He could see bone and blood and torn flesh. Her paw pad had been crushed beneath his teeth. Each toe looked broken and fractured.

He threw himself immediately to his paws. He thanked the gods for the raw power of a werewolf's jaw. He bore his teeth, snarling. She stared at him hatefully. Then she pressed her weight into her paw, testing it.

This reminds me of fighting that damn Siberian tiger, she snarled. She sounded infuriated yet amused all at once. But instead of my paw, she shattered my fucking jaw. And I still managed to kill the bitch.

Yugi could not feel the pain itself. His back leg was numb. It felt almost detached from his body. He knew it to be there as he did a limb that had fallen asleep. He could even feel the familiar tingling. But his balance was precarious due to it. And he realized, ears flattened against his head, that his left leg was crushed. He could not use it.

He was balanced awkwardly on three limbs now.

She came at him again. She was roaring with laughter. Her mangled paw did nothing to slow her down. Yugi was stunned. He almost sputtered. But then she leaped forward. She had him by the throat immediately.

She tossed him violently. The world spun. He was off his paws, in the air. He strained for his footing. He struggled to distribute his weight. Then he screamed as his back leg touched the carpet.

He could not stand properly. His leg folded beneath his weight for a split second.

She threw him against the windowsill. Yugi landed in a heap. His back leg was burning. It was not a tingle. It was scorching. He almost screamed again. His eyes threatened to roll up in the back of his head. His tongue lolled. His heart raced. He gasped for air. The white wolf stumbled. He tried to move his paw. But he could not even see it. He could barely even sense it was still attached.

There was so much pain. It was fire in his veins. It cut through him like knives. He shook and trembled. He gasped again. And then he choked. The air left him. He sputtered. Blood rushed from his jaws. His legs were soaked in it. His body seemed to vibrate with the fire in his blood.

Poison? He couldn't think straight around the pain. But he was sure that was it. He'd rushed the silver out of his system when he'd accelerated the Change. He'd been able to trigger detoxification that way. But he couldn't do that now. He had so little standing for an advantage as it was. Home territory did nothing for him. And being hurt did nothing to her.

Yugi could smell it. He could smell the poison now. He recognized it. Valon had smelled like that at the camp. It was a rotting scent. It was like flesh burning and decaying beneath the sun.

Yubel stood a few inches away from him. The she came slowly to his side. She moved to circle around to face him. Then she lowered her muzzle to his slowly. You cannot beat me. I don't know what is wrong with you, but are weak. You are pathetic. You're…human. You're no wolf. I had expected you to be great and powerful. I had thought you would be a force that could not be contained. I fucking imagined you'd be a goddamned force of nature. But what are you? she screamed.

She was frothing at the mouth. Yugi looked up at her, shivering. He felt dizzy again. He wondered if it was the poison. He wondered if it was sheer fear. He could lose them. He vomited again before he could stop himself. The entirety of his forelimbs was covered in blood. He struggled for breath.

What even are you? Are you even a fucking Pure-Blood? What are you?! What are you, Atem?! I don't understand! I don't understand how I could be compared to you and told I am second to the likes of you when you are nothing!

Yugi blinked up at her. He gulped in air. His mind struggled to comprehend. His heart was racing. The blood was sluggish in his veins. Bile scorched the back of his throat again.

How quickly had the poison set in? There was a heavy pressure suffocating his chest. His lungs were strained. His diaphragm felt as if it crushed. His heart had slowed its racing rhythm to a faltering tempo. He blinked, dizzy for a moment. His abdomen was beginning to ache, throbbing. His throat was beginning to swell. His vision blurred and shadows crept along the edges.

And the gods chose you! Drool flowed from her jaws. Tendrils flecked with blood dripped to the floor in currents. She flicked her tongue over her nose. The salivation increased tenfold. She was shaking, so hateful that Yugi almost flinched. There were almost three of her in his sight. The gods chose to allow your birth! Ra gave you life! And yet I was given nothing! The gods had no paw in my birth. It was orchestrated by the damn humans. It was brought forth from the darkness. And now you lie here before me, broken and shattered, and still dare to stare up at me as if you have any right! Do you know… Do you know how big the gap is between number one and number two? Between perfection and flaws?

Yugi stared up at her. I'm not…perfect. He could see Yami in the corner of his eye now. He had collapsed at some point. He was almost motionless. His breathing was so shallow he was amazed it was happening at all. And, beside him, Sartorius lay in a similar manner. I never have been. I…

She snapped at his face. She missed by an inch. But Yugi could barely feel his own skin any longer. His fur jerked and shivered. His bone marrow was thickening. His stomach lurched and burned. And for a single second he thought he was dying. But instinct said otherwise. And he could feel the numbness spreading. But it was somehow isolated as well. It was focused in his back leg. And his hindquarters tingled, as if it were trying to fight it and failing. It was slowing. But it was going nowhere. It would remain in his bloodstream until he could dispel it.

And to change again would kill him. Yubel would murder him.

Abruptly her head snapped away. Her muzzle pointed beyond Yugi's face. Her eyes narrowed into sharp slits. She snorted, laughing softly. I will punish you. I will punish you. I will do it. Because you have disappointed me, Atem. Because you are the one I was compared to from the moment I could change. Because you deserve to suffer for it. You deserve every second you failed to protect yourself or your family. For each time that you drew air into your lungs that failed to be put to use for something other than the stupidity you so possess. She wagged her tail as she turned to him slowly. I think I will break their bodies and lay them atop you.

Yugi tried to get up. He struggled to pick himself up from the ground. He tried for his feet. But he collapsed again. His entire body shuddered. He tried to shake his fear somehow. But it would not leave him. And the pain was excruciating now more than ever. His entire hindquarters were numb and seemed unattached to the rest of him.

She was going to kill them. She was going to—

No, Yubel, please… He could not get up. And, as he looked, Yami was shakily trying for his paws as well. Some distant part of him realized it was a loss. Yami would not be able to save them. And Yugi himself—he didn't know if he could do it. Even if he could shake the poison, she could just do it again. And what then? Please… Don't do this…

She snorted. I wouldn't have to if you were not so incredibly useless. But she stopped short, turning to face Yami. Her tail wagged harder than ever. Do you think you can stand against me? Did Sartorius not break you well enough? Shall I fix that for you?

Yami stood again. His breathing was hideous. He was wheezing viciously. Yugi thought he could hear blood in his lungs. Yami stumbled forward a step. Then he blinked. He lowered his nose. Then he bore his teeth. It looked more defensive than aggressive, however. Yami was afraid, Yugi realized. He was just as terrified as he was.

Yubel blinked, glancing at Yugi. Maybe I should kill him. Maybe I should punish you by killing him as well. Maybe I should do it to all of them. When you are alone, do you think you'll be brave enough to face me again the next time?

Then she lunged. She did not have to slow down. She did not even have to aim. She got him by the throat. Yami couldn't dodge. And his entire frame was stiff in her grip. She rose onto her hind legs. Yami was limp in her jaws. His eyes glazed over. Yugi could not detect any life in them. But he was still breathing.

And then she tossed her head.

He hit the wall. Blood streaked the plaster. He landed heavily.

Yugi could still hear him breathing.

He could see his eyes as they stared blankly at Yubel.

And so he forced himself to focus on her again. Don't do this. Please. You don't need to do this!

She blinked. Then she turned slowly to look at him over her shoulder again. She had not moved from where she'd stood when she'd thrown Yami. Yugi blinked. Her side was bleeding heavily. But the wound was far from fatal.

And Yugi realized Yami had not been able to do more.

She was too fast.

She was too strong.

Even Yami had failed against her. His failsafe, the alpha he so often fell back upon, had been unable to stop her. Yami was a force of nature all on his own and yet she'd beaten him like he was nothing more than a toy. And then, if Yami could not hold his own against her, then what power did he have to fight her? What power did he have to even slow her down? What power did he have to beat her?

None, a voice whispered in his head. He almost snarled with hatred. But he felt as if his mouth were no longer working. His ears were thudding with his heartbeat. It was slow, terrible, and he could feel his blood in his veins like fire. His head swayed and he could feel the muscles tensing and then relaxing. He could barely keep his head lifted. He could barely blink. Every part of him was growing numb…

No? she muttered. Let me tell you a story, Atem—or would you prefer Yugi, as your humans so often called you? When I was first able to change, I was pitted against any apex animal they could get their hands on. Alligators, bears, lions, tigers. I was poisoned. I was cut open. I was disemboweled and reassembled. I was tortured. Until one day they decided it was good enough. Because you'd apparently wised up and killed Noah. From then they let me in with the rest of the hellhounds. And do you know what happened there?

Yugi blinked at her. He struggled to try to sit up. His legs had taken on a hideous tingling. His weight was daunting. Every one of his senses was struggling. He could barely see her, black spots appearing in his vision. His back legs would not move in any manner. His spine would not bend…

I felt how disgruntled they were. I realized how sad and miserable and wary they were. And I decided that I would give them the gift of death as so many of them had pleaded for before then. She watched him. Her eyes glinted and she tilted her head. Something faraway crept into her voice. I set them on each other. It took only a moment to make them all turn on each other. And then I watched as the wolves all killed one another. The hellhounds were cut in half. The strong survived. The weak perished. And I did not lift a paw. The humans died when they attempted interference. I cut the hellhounds from two hundred to about fifty in all of ten minutes. And I let their blood soak my paws and coat my face when it splashed on me.

Yugi dragged himself into a seated position. He was shaking. His body was full of tension and pain. He gasped for air. And then he tried to rise to his feet again. But he could not stand. He could not so much as stagger. His back legs were absolutely useless. His spine was all but cold and frozen.

Yubel, stop. Stop this. You don't have to kill. You don't have to do this.

She turned her head. She stared at him as if he were speaking another language entirely. Then she laughed. She blinked at him in clear boredom. Her entire body shook with her guffaws. No? I don't have to kill? Really? I never realized. You've truly opened my eyes to the fact. She scoffed at him in amusement. Her eyes glowed. Do you think I care what I do and don't have to do? It is my own personal amusement and satisfaction which makes me want to destroy you. You must be punished for your weakness.

Yami had closed his eyes. He was no longer moving but for shallow breaths. He was on his side, rasping. Yugi could see his paws. They were slicked with blood. And his mouth was slightly parted. His side was torn open, bleeding but mending. His right leg was twisted, bleeding. His shoulder blade was bright against what remained of his fur. His flesh was hideous pink and red. His ear was wet, half-eaten. His cheek was bleeding and torn almost to ribbons. His eye was swollen where Sartorius had attempted to tear it out.

Yugi could not think straight. Yubel was staring at Yami as well. Her eyes were sharp and narrow. But he realized she was listening to his breathing. She was listening to the way his blood sloshed in his lungs. And she was enjoying it.

She was an eight-year-old.

She was eight years old!

She was not even a fourth of the way through her life.

And yet she was an absolute monster. She was killing without discrimination. She pitted wolves against each other for pure amusement. She led a pack—an army—at eight years old. And she was killing her own and the lycanthropes without a care. She did not even blink as she turned her teeth on others. And it was horrifying.

She was looking back at him with nothing. The darkness in her eyes was blank and desolate. She was losing her interest in him, however. He could see it. She stared back at him as if he were a toy she'd broken in half. And then she scoffed and turned away, baring her teeth.

You are far too weak to even get up now.

He tried for what felt the millionth time. But his back leg buckled once more. And he forced himself to brace his weight onto his front limbs. He pushed his back leg to the ground for a moment. Then he forced the other three to hold his weight. But the leg she'd bitten had swollen up. And it buckled immediately. His hindquarters hunched to compensate. His skin itched and burned. And he could barely hold this position.

But so much as breathing made his body wobble.

And he could not cease his shaking. His muscles were going through spasms he couldn't control. And the pressure in his chest was only growing. His throat felt as if it had become nothing but a pinprick.

He was amazed he did not collapse again. Yugi drew in a shuddering breath. His lungs felt cold and small. He was amazed they still worked. His vision was foggy, blurred, and parts of it were completely black now. He could not see in his peripheral, as if he had tunnel vision. Spirals of color seemed to blink in and out. He could not properly focus on her face as a whole. Only her eyes were visible to him, intense and terrible as they bore into his.

Wow. You truly managed to get up, Yubel sneered. Her eyes were blank, dark as the night sky, and she stared at him coldly. When she shifted her weight, he struggled to even hear it. How nice of you to do so. It'll make it easier for you to watch while you die.

Don't… Please don't do this.

She snorted. Her tail wagged once. Then she turned. Her movements were nimble. And she leaped atop the bed without a second look. The bed jostled beneath her sudden addition of weight. Yugi stumbled forward a step, eyes wide.

His limbs almost buckled. But he ignored this. A small sweep of adrenaline came through. The sudden burst of pain was enough to almost make him scream. But the rush made his heart beat faster. And he could see slightly more. The tunnel grew and expanded. The spirals of color disappeared. The numbness grew tenfold. Then it seemed to dissipate and pulsate within his bones.

He risked a swift glance at them. And then he immediately wished he hadn't.

Both of them were awake, he realized in horror. They were both staring at her. Neither seemed capable of moving in any manner. They looked almost paralyzed, in fact. But their eyes managed to move enough to see Yubel and then Yugi himself. And he wondered abruptly if she'd poisoned them as well. If she had, just how long had they been suffering through this? They were paralyzed; that much was obvious. It was not just exhaustion as he'd suspected at first.

But how long had it been working in their systems?

Yubel, stop. He knew it was too late. He knew he could not change her mind. And he knew he could not move fast enough to stop her. But he still tried. His limbs nearly gave out beneath him but he stumbled forward, dragging himself. He tried to leap but only managed to stumble into the side of the bed. And when he got up again, his entire body was burning and aching. Everything inside of him throbbed and his lungs strained in his chest. Please, please, just stop…

You beg for the lives of these little humans, she muttered in a disdainful tone, but your wolves outside have exhausted themselves. And most of them are likely dead. And the one beside you now cannot even breathe properly. His lungs are all but destroyed. His body is broken. The ambush Sartorius led was similarly met with death that never inspired your begging. And yet, these two humans in front of me…they are so important to you that you would think to plead with me for their lives?

Every part of him throbbed again. His back leg was burning. The swelling had grown worse. And it was oozing. He could feel it, an open gaping wound that was spilling over his fur once more. He stumbled again. When he tucked his back leg into his belly, he almost screamed. His heart was racing again, but he was sluggish. The adrenaline could not help him either, he realized.

Don't hurt them again. They… He shuddered, falling back down again. He could not move now. He realized somewhere in the back of his mind that the combination of blood loss and poison had caused shock. His body had begun shaking harder than ever. He collapsed. He couldn't breathe for a moment. Then he managed a pathetic mumble. They're not…involved in this. Please.

They are involved. They are involved because you are involved! she roared, turning on him now. Her eyes were sharp, her lips drawn back to show each of her teeth. Her face was blurry, swimming, scattered back and forth among spots of black. But he could see her somehow all the same. You brought them into this! You could have run away. You could have failed to say a word about your identity. You could have feigned ignorance about it all. But you were stupid. You decided to announce yourself. You decided to remain here and masquerade as a human regardless. You did this. And now you shall reap what you sow.

Yugi stared back at her brokenly. He blinked in an attempt to get rid of the darkness creeping more persistently across his vision. Blood bubbled up in his jaws, flowing like a waterfall from his teeth. He shook so hard he thought he saw everything in triple. He shuddered and his fur rose and fell and dropped and twitched. He gasped for air, blood sputtering from his jaws once more as he choked and tried for breath.

You can't just kill someone! He barely managed to sputter the words. His body convulsed heavily. His mind spun and raced. His senses were lagging, the numbness slowly pushed aside but his hearing muffled and his blood burning atop his tongue. His vision was growing rapidly worse and he could not smell anything in the room any longer. You can't just do that! If you want to punish me, then do it. Kill me, but don't… Don't hurt them…

You are where you are today because the alpha in the woods died and handed you the power of the pack, Yubel hissed. He could not see her in any manner any longer. She sacrificed herself, did she not? She gave you the position by way of killing herself, yes? Did you scoff at death like this when she did such a thing?

Yugi was shaking. He couldn't think straight. His skin crawled, fur bristling. He drew his lips back. I never asked for her to do that, he snapped. And he hoped somewhere in the back of his mind that he might be able to distract her long enough to keep her from killing them. If he could heal just enough, he might be able to go after her again. He might be able to buy time. I never wanted her to do that.

Yubel snorted loudly. She laughed sharply. I never asked if you desired it. I am telling you simply that this is what happened. And I will remind you again that what you want is not what you are to be given. If you have never learned that lesson, then I will teach it to you now.

Yugi could see her again. The blood was pounding in his ears. His vision was acute and sharp. His nose was burning. His legs collapsed beneath him. His gums were bleeding. His tongue was swollen and bloody. His leg itched and thrashed as if separate from the rest of his body. And there was a certain sense of detachment that made him almost panic. But he could see her again.

She was standing there, looking at him over her shoulder. Her tail was up, curled. Her eyes were glowing with amusement. Her ears were pricked forward. She drew her lips back hideously. Each of her teeth showed in a jagged grin.

And then she spun around. Yugi screamed as she leaped. He wasn't sure what he said. He wasn't sure he even managed to speak. It could have been a dull roar of noise. It could have been a high-pitched screech. He was deaf to it, however.

There was loud and splintering cry that overwhelmed his senses for an instant. And the second to come after was a mere gurgle.

Yubel hummed. Then she turned back to him. Her entire face was slicked with blood. Grizzle covered her jaws. Her cheeks were coated in red. Her eyes shone like gems. Gray muscle hung from her jaws. And then she smirked at him, lazy and relaxed.

Now then, she purred, and Yugi wished his senses would fail him again, Sartorius, we need to go. We are the last two, sweet boy. Let's get out while they're still distracted, yes?

The other hellhound took only a moment to climb to his paws. Blood dripped from his wounds. But he blinked once, shaking himself out. He stumbled forward, blinking once. He glanced at Yugi, drew his lips back into a grin, and then sprang out the window. Yubel laughed, coming to Yugi once more. She pressed her nose to his, rubbing the two muscles together.

He was too numb to move. He was paralyzed, staring blindly at her.

We'll meet again. Be stronger. I want to have some actual fun next time.

She licked his forehead immediately after. Then she sprang through the window as well. Yugi heard them both slide on the snow-laden tiles. And then they landed. There was a series of yelps from below. It sounded more like shock and pain. None of them were death cries. And he could hear them both running seconds later.

He looked slowly towards the bed. But what he could see of it made him ill. So he trembled, squeezing his eyes shut. His heart stuttered. He pressed his muzzle into his paws. And then he trembled harder, pathetically. He gasped for air. His sides quaked with pain. His paws twitched and he gasped again. His mouth quivered, lips shaking. Blood gurgled and splattered away behind his teeth. His ears were ringing, his stomach knotted and twisting into a tight noose.

A few minutes passed. He could hear nothing but Yami's breathing. It was shaky, shuddering. And it was enough to make him tremble harder than ever. Yugi tried to look over. But fear and despair made him unable to. And, as long as he could hear him, why did it matter that he see him as well? It didn't matter at all.

Yugi lay there, blinking. His vision had come back slowly but surely. The acuteness had fallen away to its normal acuity. He could smell rotting flesh and blood splatter. He cold feel his back legs again. The swelling had gone away for the most part. His spine no longer burned. His skin was not itchy and terrible any longer. His tongue tasted of nothing but blood. But he could hear the air conditioner as it clicked on, dull and humming. He stared at the bed, at the leg where it was smeared with blood.

It was the sound of paws on the steps and a voice calling, Yugi? Yami? that finally stirred him to try to get up again. He pulled his paws to his chest, pushing with his unharmed back leg to attempt to rise. He trembled, shoulder quivering for a moment. He lurched, stumbling, and tried his weight on his injured limb. It held. That was an improvement, if nothing else.

Yami? he mumbled.. His throat did not feel as tight anymore. Aibou?

The black wolf made no indication he'd heard him. But he could still detect his breathing. It was weak, shallow, laden with the weight of his blood within his lungs. But he was still alive. As long as he remained alive, Yugi couldn't care less, in truth. He'd help him take care of his wounds and recover later. Right now, he couldn't bring himself to want to so much as consider it.

Yug? Fuck, Yug, where are you?

He flattened his ears against his head. I'm…here. And for a long minute he didn't even know what the words meant. Yugi pricked his ears towards Yami, listening once more. His heart was thundering in his chest as he considered it. His lungs ached and his chest felt constricted and crushed. They'd see the dead bodies. They would know just how weak he was. And they'd see Yami lying there and…

Where's Yami? another voice asked.

Yugi stayed silent for a long minute. Then he turned his head towards the doorway. How was he supposed to answer them? He couldn't bring himself to care how to soften the blow in any manner. Instead he looked towards Yami slowly, considering his stance for a moment. He's in here…with me.

The golden-furred wolf was in his room in an instant. Behind him, Yusei and Chazz limped into the room. Mai and Otogi stood in the hall. Zane studied him from where he hovered at the door.

Oh…oh no…

Shit…is he dead? Chazz whispered. He sounded shaky and unsure. And then he slowly inched forward a few steps. He came closer, sniffing. Then he yelped, jumping back. Yami had tried to lunge at him. His pupils were mere pinpricks. His maw was gaping. His teeth were shiny with froth and blood. He hadn't managed to budge more than to lift his head. But the effort was visible. And his teeth clicked as he dropped his head again. He snarled, but he couldn't even peel his lips back. He was gurgling, his breathing shallow and hideous. He shuddered visibly. His ears were turned towards him. But they were not pricked attentively. And even keeping his eyes open soon seemed to exhaust him. He closed them and didn't open them again.

Chazz turned to Yugi with a horrified expression. What the hell happened?!

Yugi stared at Yami a moment longer. Then he turned to Jonouchi. He could focus on his friend easier than he could the yearling. She was a lot stronger than I thought she would be. I…underestimated her. He hesitated once more, looking towards the carpet. He didn't know what else to say. His mind was sluggish yet somehow racing as well and he wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and waste away into nothingness. He wished she would have killed him instead. She completely crushed us.

Chazz stared at him with a horrified expression. His head turned to look towards Yami again, then back to him. A hellhound had beaten Atem? A hellhound had all but killed their beta? He glanced over at Yusei, but the blue-eyed wolf was staring at the bed. He was quaking, his eyes huge and dilated with horror.

Chazz turned his head as well. He stiffened, fur rising into a bristle of alarm as he gaped at the sight. Oh…

That was her, too. Yugi sounded broken and exhausted. Chazz couldn't imagine how devastating it had to be. She tore them apart to punish me.

Punish you? Yusei muttered in growing confusion. He sounded as if he might vomit at any moment. He was staring blankly, impossibly, unable to so much as turn his head or look away. Chazz couldn't take his eyes off the bodies on the bed. The sight of them was—he didn't have words for it, in truth. Horrifying seemed an understatement, perhaps too small a word to describe it.

For disappointing her.

Disappointing…?

An abrupt shifting noise, heavy and drawn out, made all of them turn. Chazz blinked, stunned, and stiffened once more. Every hair on his body rose further. His tail flew into the air. His muscles tightened and locked.

Yami was slowly but surely dragging himself to his feet. The red-eyed wolf had his head down. His shoulders shook violently. His legs looked as if they would collapse. He was trembling too hard to see straight. His wounds were bleeding again. His fur rose and fell, shuddering. He drew his forelimbs beneath himself slowly. And then he shifted. His spine popped noisily. His breathing grew labored. And then his back limbs popped noisily as well.

He lurched and swayed. His mouth opened. A current of red and black surged from his mouth. The carpet reeked of rot and waste. Yami slowly got to his feet entirely. It doesn't matter, he spat a long minute later. His teeth were bared. His gums were bright white, an exact mirror of his teeth. His jaws were soaked in froth. His lips were flecked yellow and red and black. What matters now…is what we do next.

Chazz blinked. He wanted to scoff. Was there a next? Both of them looked as if they might drop dead at any second. He couldn't imagine them having a plan on what to do next, as Yami had just said. He almost burst out laughing, fear making him scornful. It was so much easier to snap and snarl when terror seized him. But he couldn't imagine doing so now.

Yami looked pathetic. And Yugi was simply staring, despondent and cold. The yearling had no idea how he was supposed to help them. He doubted there was anything he could do to begin with. He flicked his ears and looked quickly towards Zane. But what he saw there didn't help. So he turned back, astonished and disgusted and terrified as Yami stared at the ground and bore his teeth more pointedly.

What happens next? Zane prompted. His voice was cold and unimpressed. Chazz almost wanted to snap at him. But rank and loyalty kept him quiet. He kept his eyes glued to Yami.

Funeral arrangements, came Yugi's quiet voice from the corner of the room. His eyes were on the bed for a split second, then darted away. I need to call my dad. I need to convince him to get them cremated. Or buried somewhere in the states. I…I have to call the police and report this…

Yugi's eyes were dull, lifeless. His pupils were dilated and swallowed his irises. His head was down. His breathing was unusually steady, and his head was lowered as if he were saying a prayer for a split second. But Chazz could see that he didn't have the words to do that at the moment. He looked far too hollowed out, dead and exposed like an uprooted tree.

You need to change back and heal some, Yusei protested in a weak mumble. His voice was quiet, the edges of it soothing, but he could tell without looking that he was shaking like a leaf as well. Yugi flattened his ears against his head, registering the words, but he didn't respond. And Yami pushed away from the wall a step, stumbled twice as he moved forward a pace, and his back popped hideously as he took a seat again.

Chazz went to tell him not to move. But then he found himself unable to look away. Yami's sides were shuddering. And he heaved as if he might cough up an organ. He spat bile and blood and cell waste once more. The aroma nearly made him flinch away entirely. But he spat it forth. Then he settled for a second, shaking, and dry heaved immediately after.

Mai rushed over to help him keep his balance. She nuzzled his stomach and side closest her. Then she leaned forward to support him when he nearly fell over again. She was smeared with blood, her entire face soaked and chest soaked when she moved to wrap her leg around his shoulders to keep him balanced when he nearly collapsed a moment later.

Chazz stared pointedly at the puddle of blood on the floor. The exchange seemed oddly intimate, though he knew otherwise. It seemed awkward to witness, if only because she was the only one willing to help him at the moment. They were all still too shaken up and stupefied by the situation to offer aid. When he glanced over, Jonouchi was staring at Yugi with a horrified expression. Yusei was still staring at the bed. Jack was nursing his side wound where Yubel had clipped him on the way out of the yard. Otogi was licking his legs, clearly embarrassed and unsure of himself.

You can call the police after. You have to at least make it look as if you weren't involved though, Yusei mumbled, finally finishing his piece on the matter. When Chazz glanced at him sideways, the other yearling was staring at Yugi. His eyes were darkened with sorrow and sympathy but he also looked determined to make him understand despite it all.

Yugi laughed sharply, bitterly, the noise a bark in their ears. Jonouchi flinched at Chazz's side. He turned away, shivering, and turned to stare at Yami instead. But the black wolf refused to look up. His head was angled to the ground, his eyes half-closed and gleaming thunderously. He was straining for air, shaking, but he seemed to have calmed the majority of the tremors despite it all.

Right, I need to change and make sure it doesn't look like I was involved. He laughed harder, a maniacal sound, as he spat, Right! Because anyone is going to fucking believe that! I'm already under suspicion for the fucking arson of that restaurant—and the woods too. I can't even imagine that even one of them wouldn't believe I didn't do it!

Jonouchi glanced at Yuei nervously, wondering if this outburst might lead to an argument. But the yearling hardly seemed to care, or even truly hear him. He was watching Yugi, ears against his head. But he also seemed more stunned than upset by the declaration. When he glanced over at Jonouchi from the corner of his eye, he quickly ducked his head and looked away again. But Jonouchi thought Yusei looked more pitying than he did anything else, but he also had to admit that he didn't know the yearling all that well to begin with.

All he knew was that Yusei was only about fourteen years old, from what he'd heard from Mai. He was super calm, friendly, but also had a nastier side when he was provoked. He knew of stories and things of that nature; Aki had even spoken about him once or twice the few times they had crossed paths. But he knew almost nothing about him beyond what he'd heard from limited sources. The biggest thing he'd known for a while was simply that Yusei had befriended Yugi at some point during the time that Yami had been gone, that the two of them were rather close.

They'll comb every inch of this place looking for proof that I did it.

No, Yami snarled after a moment. And Jonouchi almost thought he meant it as an outburst. But then the black wolf turned on his friend, teeth bared and ears flattened back. They will look at the bodies on the ground and think that it might have been a dog attack somehow. And then they will do DNA testing. And when they do that, they will find that they are not dogs but rather wolf-dog hybrids and go from there. As for what that truly means, I do not know. But I do know that they will not look at you in a suspicious light due to the evidence to the contrary.

Most likely they will try to find out where they came from and how they got into the house, Otogi chimed in. he looked awkwardly back and forth between Yami and Yugi. His teal eyes were darkened, flustered, and he looked towards Jonouchi after a moment as if he thought he would help. Then they'll investigate who could have brought them and why they're here. And then there would be more and more. But they can't honestly say that it was you when you were supposed to be in school when it happened. And, considering how long you've been a wolf now, your blood wouldn't even match what they have on record anymore.

No?

No, it should be so heavily mutated that it should appear to be more wolf DNA than human. So, what they find on the ground… Otogi grew quiet again after a moment. He looked away. Jonouchi turned to him more pointedly, feeling sick to his stomach. If they found out that Yugi's DNA was altered, would they try to come after him? Or would they think it was some kind of cross contamination? But it'll also look like they are all rabid. I mean, that's what the werewolf disease is, an extremely complex, mutated strain of rabies…

That depends, however, Zane argued in a cold voice. He was staring at them all now with a disdainful expression, his eyes harsh and glittering like diamonds. It depends on whether there are any of the lab works in the police force. If they are, it's possible that they might cover it up just for their own sake.

Yugi slowly raised and turned his head. Maybe, he growled, staring at Yami with something hostile in his eyes, but you are not allowed to change back.

The black wolf turned his head. I had not planned to, he stated icily.

When I call the cops, I am going to say you're a stray that Mom was helping to get placed in a rescue. It'll be easy enough doing that. Mazaki will listen to that. He'll have no reason not to. He was quiet for another handful of minutes. Jonouchi could see the thoughts working behind his eyes, his gaze darkening drastically. My mom rescues—rescued—strays all of the time. He can suck my dick if he doesn't like it.

Jonouchi flinched in surprise. The words made his skin crawl, his fur shuddering and eyes widening. The white wolf shook himself out, nearly collapsed, and then turned to Zane with a furious expression.

I want you to get them back to the camp. He shook his head, drawing his lips back. Jonouchi couldn't tell if he was mad at the gray wolf or if it was pent up from his loss against Yubel. Bring them back to the camp, tell them what happened if you want. I don't care. But make sure all of them are aware that the hellhounds are a lot more dangerous than we might have previously thought.

Zane chuckled, a harsh almost barking noise. When he spoke, he sounded almost disgusted. "Than previously thought"? Our numbers were all but wiped out the last time we encountered them at the camp, Yugi. We always suspected they were far too strong to be dismissed. He turned to Chazz now, voice dripping with venom. After all, not all of us could deal with Harbingers as Chazz could. He's a devil when he fights them. But that doesn't mean he could kill all of them or that he can defend the camp on his own.

Yugi bore his teeth. Yeah, thanks for the lesson, Zane. I appreciate it, he spat.

He means the pack unity, Yami growled, annoyed and vicious. He had tilted his head and was looking at Yugi with a sidelong glance rather than facing him completely. He is speaking of the fact that we did not prepare them in any fashion either. We went into this blind and we suffered for it. Relying on them to deal with it all on their own as we have was too much. We could have likely prevented much of this chaos from today if we'd—

Yami, Yugi interrupted slowly, voice carefully controlled, shut the fuck up.

Yami let out a snarl, one of warning that bordered on aggressive enough that he might lash out. But he simply shot Yugi a look full of hatred before turning away. Jonouchi watched him struggle to stand, shaking himself out and twisting around to lick at the wound on his side. Jonouchi stared for a long handful of seconds. He was horrified, startled by the declaration. His fur rose and fell in a shudder. Had he truly just turned on Yami? Had he really just said what he thought he had heard him say?

Is…is your side all right? Yusei asked in a quieter tone. He looked as if he might flinch at any moment if they were to consider him for more than a second. He bristled faintly, but shrugged it off a moment later. It looks really bad. Do you need any help cleaning it?

Yami blinked, staring at it. He had halted all movement to stare at the gaping, bleeding red wound. Then he turned to the yearling. Pl—

His wound is fine, Yugi snarled. Jonouchi was startled by the pure rage he could hear in his tone. We can't clean it until I can make a call to the police. If he's healed up by the time they get here—

It's infected! Mai protested loudly. She sounded horrified and her eyes were wide and terrified when Jonouchi risked a glance in her direction. All of them are infected, Yugi! You can't seriously ask him not to try to clean them before that happens!

It's fine, Yami answered in a much quieter tone. But it was clear he was struggling to so much as keep his mind focused enough to address them in any manner. His eyes were glazed over and his ears were flattened against his skull. He stumbled a step, shaking his head slowly and breathing hard as he looked towards the carpet. He's right anyways.

He's wrong! Mai burst out. He's asking you to suffer so that he can have an alibi!

No, Yugi spat, I'm going to stitch him up before they even get here. I'll have him cleaned and fixed up before they come to investigate. I can do a quick job of it and have everything cleaned and stitched and fixed up by then. He knows I can do it.

Yami flicked an ear. His eyes were still glued to the carpet. Jonouchi.

He blinked in confusion. His head snapped around. The black wolf spoke so low, his voice nearly broken, that the golden-furred male nearly missed it entirely. He blinked, confused. And then he slowly risked taking a step forward. Yami's red eyes flickered, slowly dragging themselves away from the carpet. Jonouchi hesitated, then crept forward another step.

Had he actually asked for him? Or had he simply been hearing things? Yami had seemed only to respond due to his proximity rather than anything else. If he had been asking for him, shouldn't he have been paying him more attention than that?

He couldn't fathom why it was he might have asked for him to begin with. It made no sense. Jonouchi was almost convinced he had heard something wrong entirely. He could hardly say they were close friends. If Yami needed help with something, wouldn't he have been better off calling for Yusei or Otogi or even Mai? He tilted his head, about to turn away.

Change back.

What?

Change back, Yami repeated. His words were soft and quiet once more. His voice cracked around the edges. His eyes were glazing over. His focus was dying before Jonouchi's eyes. He trembled, stunned. He could see the pain burning through the red-eyed wolf. Every muscle in his body shuddered. Please. I need you to…

Jonouchi ignored it when Yugi turned to them slowly. His eyes were puzzled, confused and bewildered, and he tilted his head in bewilderment. Okay, uh, just give me a minute, the golden-furred wolf murmured uncomfortably.

Yami shivered, looking away. When he nodded it nearly knocked him off balance. He looked like an animal trying not to fall asleep on its paws. Jonouchi hated how much his heart skipped, breaking in his chest at the sight. He might not have known Yami as well as Yugi, but he was used to seeing the strength in him. He had always been powerful, held together, and he had been the one to do what was necessary where Yugi could not. He'd taken that tigress apart in a matter of minutes.

Now he just looked shattered. He looked like he'd had the life drained from him. In truth, Jonouchi would have thought him nonexistent for all the presence he possessed at the moment.

Jonouchi had to work to concentrate long enough to change again. He was unable to shake the sight of Yami's almost broken stance when he closed his eyes. And every other second he pictured it and nearly flinched away. He bit his tongue so hard he thought his teeth had gone through it. But when he was human again, the black wolf had nearly collapsed once more. He was wobbling on his feet, even standing still as he was. His breathing was heavy and labored now.

Yami? Yugi muttered. His voice was confused and growing concerned as he looked at him. His nose wriggled rapidly, scenting for the biggest problem. What's wrong? What's going on?

If Yami cared to answer him, he didn't show it. The black wolf turned and focused entirely on Jonouchi now. His head bobbed once and then he staggered and nearly fell on his side. I need you to grab my shoulder…and pop it back into place.

"Oh shit. What?" he sputtered, choking on the words. He stared at him as his stomach lurched and his heart pounded. "I thought that was just a movie thing!"

I don't know if it's as easy with a canine, the red-eyed wolf dismissed. He shivered. When his mouth opened slightly, his gums were a stark white to rival his teeth. His tongue was pale and limp where it lolled on the side of his mouth. But I need you to do it.

"Fuck," he mumbled. He shifted his weight, trying to avoid the puddle of blood on the carpet. But all of it was soaked. And the carpet squelched beneath his weight. His knee was stained in an instant. He shivered. "Okay, how do I do this?"

What the hell are you planning to do? Yugi demanded.

Grab my right elbow and push up until it snaps. Yami shivered, panting. His breath was sour and oddly cold against his skin. With how low his body temperature was, Jonouchi had to wonder how it was he was even alive. I don't know if it will fix anything, but at least it can help me some…

Aibou?

"You don't even know if this is going to help?" Jonouchi bit out, eyes wide. He shivered, barely resisting the urge to snap at him that he would not help him. Fear made his hands shaky for a brief second. Yami lifted his head and looked up at him in annoyance. His red eyes had grown furious, glowing with anger. "I mean, I'll do it, but shit, Yami."

Damn it, Jonouchi, what the fuck is he asking you to do? Yugi roared. He made no move to launch himself, however, and so Jonouchi felt safe for the moment to ignore him as he had been before. Tell me!

The blond was horrified the moment he touched him. Yami's fur was crusted with blood. It was flaked with it. The strands had become knotted, bunched beneath his fingers. His skin was cold, several degrees more frigid than his own. The blood loss was clearly extensive. He thought it must have all but destroyed him. He had clearly lost more than what would have knocked a normal dog or human unconscious…

He shivered, swallowing hard. Then he grasped his elbow. "Here?"

You can see the shoulder blade, yes? The wound is open enough that you can see it? Yami said softly. I need you to align it with my spine. It won't be hard. Just grip my elbow, then move your other hand to my chest where you can feel the blade. And push as hard as you can until it pops.

"Okay…I mean, if you really think this will help…"

Yami did not grace him with a response of any kind. Jonouchi's hands were shaking. But he did not stop. He pressed his tongue between his teeth. When he grabbed his elbow and the bone in front of it, he almost flinched away again. He looked at the shoulder wound. Yami was right. It was so deep he could see the bone where it was completely pressed out of place and almost diagonal his body. The top of it was shattered, the blade itself almost nonexistent.

He shivered harder, swallowing away the bile in the back of his throat. He smelled of rotting flesh. Yami's wound was no longer just red. It was black on the edges. A film of dried pus had begun to form between the bones.

He grabbed it in a firmer grip. Then he shoved hard, forward and up. There was a loud and terrible grinding noise. At first Yami was silent. Then he screamed. His eyes looked as if they might pop out of his head. There was a hideous popping noise. And Jonouchi had only a second to think straight. Something punched him hard in the side. He yelped, releasing him. Yami collapsed to the floor. He lay there, shaking and panting. His eyes were dull for a split second. Then he managed to close them. His tongue was almost as white as his teeth now.

Jonouchi shivered. He turned his head. Yugi was standing in front of him. His back leg was held up and his balance swayed. He could see the entire limb coated in blood. And it was clearly broken judging by how delicately he held it up. It was almost tucked into his side. But he was still glaring at him, blue-violet eyes cold and angry. Yugi had muzzle-punched him, he realized. He had not bitten him in any manner. But he'd nearly knocked him off balance when he hit him. His skin was bruising already. But the white wolf was sniffing rapidly at Yami's side and shoulder.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! What did you do to him?!

Jonouchi flinched away. His wailing bordered on hysterical. The blond glanced briefly to Yami and back to Yugi. "He told me to pop his shoulder back in place," he finally answered. He couldn't think straight for a moment. The smell of blood was enough to make his skin crawl. He tried his hardest not to look towards the walls.

Yugi was shaking for a moment before tossing his head in a firm dismissal. Damn it, okay. Okay, okay… He's… Fuck, okay. He's unconscious again. I guess the pain was too much for him. The white wolf turned to him after a moment. Jonouchi swore if he could have cried in that form, he would have been sobbing. Yugi's voice broke when he spoke again. You guys…need to go back to the camp and help them. I have to change back and get dressed and call the police.

There was a long minute of hesitation. Yusei stared at Yami's bloodied form. Chazz stared at the bodies again. Mai sniffed at Yami's face with clear concern. Otogi refused to look into the room any longer, laying down a few feet away from the door with his chin on his paws. Zane, however, was watching Yugi with keen, sharp eyes. And, behind him, Jack was nursing a wound on his shoulder seemingly without a care in the world. Yugi shook himself out, turning to Chazz.

Yami and I will come back to the camp as soon as we're able, Yugi mumbled quietly. His voice grew darker, growing fierce. We'll talk about everything and formulate a few new plans and strategies. This can't keep happening. We can't afford to lose anyone else our ranks are too small as it is.

Zane dipped his head slightly. Right, he muttered. His eyes shot immediately to the others. His voice was cold as he continued. Are we ready to go? Jack, can you travel or do we need to wait?

The paler wolf snorted. He got up, shaking himself out. I'm fine. It's a cut, nothing else. Now let's go.

They left soon after, Jonouchi changing back to go with them. Yugi took a glance at Yami on the floor. Then he kept his eyes on the ground to avoid looking at the bed. He couldn't bear to even consider it. So he licked his lips and shivered, ignoring the impulse to flinch away and try to hide.

---

When Yugi made the call, Mazaki was the first person to arrive. Yami was drugged up, sitting on a pillow in the clinic downstairs. His eyes were glazed over. His wounds were stitched where they could be and bandaged where they couldn't. For only fifteen minutes of time spent on it, he'd done well. He'd been shaking more than half of it, but his stitches had still remained straight regardless. And he'd gotten Yami conscious again after giving him a shot of ketamine for the pain. The wolf had blinked at him stupidly, vomited twice, fallen over more than three times, and let him carry him downstairs without a fight.

"And the dog you said your mom was going to contact the shelters about?"

"He's downstairs, near the kennels. I barricaded him behind the counter." Yugi found himself shaking again. He couldn't look at the bed. There were so many people in the small room and yet he could barely tell. He almost thought they did not exist for as much attention as he could bother to spare them. The coroner was about to take the bodies—

"Did you need to see him? I just got him stitched up again."

"Is that why you're covered in blood?"

Yugi nodded. "I had to at least do something to clean the wounds before you got here," he explained softly. He frowned and stared at the blood on the wall where Yubel had thrown Yami into the plaster. "He was going to bleed out otherwise."

Mazaki grimaced, but he visibly kept his emotions at bay as he turned to Yugi again more pointedly. "And you ditched school again?"

"I did," he mumbled softly. He risked a small sideways glance at the man but turned away just as fast. Mazaki had not been too amused when Yugi had told him he refused to give a statement, but he'd agreed to answer the questions he had while he and the others were there to take pictures of evidence and things of that nature. "Jonouchi and I decided to skip class, left in the middle of one of them. We went to the park for a little while and then I came home. The stray was…on the floor in my room where the other bodies were and my mom and grandpa were…"

He gestured, unable to speak. He felt weak, stomach lurching. He closed his eyes.

"Can I see the dog?"

Yugi nodded and forced himself to open his eyes again. He forced himself to keep his words calm and even, struggling to answer the question he was asking. He could not think straight to reconsider his words. And then he forced himself again to feel grateful that he was not being recorded in any manner. They would have seen his behavior as far too suspicious just in the fact that he would not make eye contact for long handfuls of time.

"Uh, yeah…just be careful. He's doped up and I don't know how he might react. I think he's still in shock, so I don't know if he would try to bite you or not."

He led the way down the stairs, ignoring the blood across the walls and counter where Yami had fought yet another hellhound. He led the way to the counter. He'd put the pillow in the far corner, water bowl beside it, and he'd put up half of an exercise pen there to close off the little section. Yami was lying there. His breathing was even but his eyes were glazed and his mouth was half-open in his stupor. He was drooling heavily and he could not seem able to focus on much of anything.

"He got really messed up."

"What was he in the clinic for originally?"

"Originally? He'd gotten himself hurt in a dog fight a while back. And he'd crawled to a restaurant nearby and was hiding behind the dumpster stealing scraps. She had to perform a pretty major surgery for him because he had ended up getting poisoned from eating something that was rotten. So he's been on a raw diet since he got here." Yugi hesitated, then studied him for a moment. He narrowed his gaze and glanced briefly towards Mazaki. "It's been a week at the most since we got him, I think?"

"Do you know the name of the restaurant he was stealing scraps at?"

"I have no idea."

Mazaki made a face at him. Yugi kept his lips pressed into a thin line to avoid giving him a frustrated snarl. The two of them looked at each other for only a moment. And then they both turned away again. Mazaki took a picture of a bloodied paw print where it was slicked across the linoleum.

"Any idea which shelter she was in contact with?"

Yugi shook his head. "I don't know at all. She didn't really want me involved with him because of my school problems." He frowned, titling his head. His eyes flickered to Yami once more as his stomach knotted. "She thought I'd get distracted trying to help him and stop trying to raise my grades."

He swallowed hard and ignored the way his voice cracked. Yami peered back at him with dull, glazed over eyes. He had the look of a canine that couldn't understand a single word leaving his mouth. It was almost comforting but he wished Yami could have offered him some kind of suggestions to answer with or soft reassurances.

He wished more than ever that he had the ability to talk so that Yami could guide his words and give him answers. If he just repeated the words Yami fed him, it should be easy enough. He felt like Yami would think faster on his feet than he could at the moment. His stomach lurched as he glanced sideways towards the wolf. Mazaki was not paying him attention at any rate.

"You're still skipping classes?"

"I have been. I told you that already, though. Jonouchi and I skipped class and went to the park and then he went home and I came h…" He trailed off. His voice cracked and he couldn't swallow past the lump in his throat. He looked at the pillow Yami was laying on. Bile threatened to rise up in the back of his throat. "Anyways, when I got home, he was laying down half-dead and my m…"

Mazaki nodded, and when Yugi glanced at him again, he seemed broken by the reminder. Yugi felt sick to his stomach as he considered him. The reminder hit him hard enough to stun. His mouth grew dry as his heart skipped a beat. Mazaki had still been in love with her. He'd still harbored feelings for her. Yugi nearly flinched at the thought. He couldn't imagine it…

"Right," he said, clearing his throat. Some part of him flared with pain at the thought that perhaps his situation with Yami was not too far removed as he had initially assumed. "So, you called immediately after finding the…bodies?"

"Yes, but that was only after I'd realized he was still alive. I got him cleaned up before I even realized they were there. I…I just focused on trying to save him and I guess I…" He shook his head. His stomach lurched. He swallowed hard to keep back another surge of vomit. "Anyways, he's the only one here that saw anything. And…he clearly can't talk…"

The officer grimaced and looked over at Yami with a flustered expression. He stared at the canine blankly for a few moments. "He managed to…kill quite a few of the other dogs. Are you sure he's even safe to be around?"

Yugi almost bristled, hatred threatening to surge through him for a split second. He wanted to snap at him, but remembered himself. Quickly he turned away. "He's never been aggressive towards any of us before." He shrugged, watching the black wolf as Yami closed his eyes and his ears twitched back and forth several times. He was just thankful that his eyes were so heavily dilated, that his pupils swallowed much of his irises. Yugi still had yet to decide what eye color he would say Yami had, if it was brown with a pigmentation mutation that that made them appear red, or if he'd busted a vessel behind his irises that made them that color… "He's been here for a week, after all, and he's been perfectly fine. He's never even snapped at any of us. But he's a dog. You know how loyal and territorial they get. He probably went after the other dogs when he realized they were after my mom and grandpa."

It was hard to breathe suddenly. He couldn't think straight. And bile scorched a path up the back of his throat. His stomach flipped violently. Mazaki rubbed his back as he doubled over. Yami lifted his head from his paws, appearing tired and confused. Yugi wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. Yami tried for his feet and collapsed again. Yugi stared down at the mess on the floor. Then he shook it off, glancing at the wolf sideways.

Yami was bristling, shaking. His eyes were wide, horrified. His ears were pinned back, his muzzle pointed towards him. When he cocked his head, he looked as if he might try to force himself up in order to run to him. He looked absolutely terrified.

"It's okay," he mumbled, trying to sound soothing for the canine. Yugi straightened, awkwardly looking at the streak of bile across his hand. "I, uh…I need to clean that up…"

Mazaki blinked at him as if he were confused for a second. Then he frowned slightly, offering him a sympathetic look. "Right," he agreed softly. "Why don't you go ahead and sit down for a minute? I can do it."

"No, I'll do it," Yugi mumbled. "Just…give me a minute."

Yugi was gone before he could object again. The dog sat up, whining loudly. His ears pricked forward now, and flicking rapidly. It let out a loud, hideous yelping noise so high-pitched it could have been a scream. Mazaki turned his head, blinking. The animal was straining for its limbs. Its legs shook so hard it couldn't gain the smallest hint of balance. When he yipped again, it was loud enough that the officer flinched.

He was almost amazed a large dog could even make a noise like that. He'd always thought they made deeper, more aggressive noises.

The dog got to its paws, collapsed, then tried again.

"He'll be right back."

The dog reacted in the strangest way Mazaki had ever known a dog to. He was admittedly not an expert on them—in fact, most often he thought if he knew one dog, he knew them all. But he had the sudden feeling that dogs did not act as this one did. It spun on him violently, legs falling beneath it. Its fur rose into a hideous bristle. It snarled low in its throat. It sounded, with the slight whine in its tone, like a rusty door hinge being opened. Its tongue flicked. The muscle was pale, barely a shade away from white. The dilated eyes peered back at him blindly. The pupils were so large they swallowed every bit of its gaze. It snarled and snapped its teeth. Then it yelped, flinching backwards. Blood drizzled from the side of its mouth.

It tried again for its paws. Then it stumbled sideways hard. It hit the counter. Its legs buckled. It lay there snarling. It struggled to its paws. It was slathering at the mouth. It leaned forward. Then it fell into a heap. Its chin hit the ground so hard its teeth clicked. Drool drenched the ground. It tried again. Its sides were bleeding now. Dark pools of red flanked its frame. But, all the while, its eyes remained on him. He swore he saw a flicker of something like red in them. But it was gone again immediately after.

It tripped in its own blood. It stumbled. Then it straightened somehow.

Its mouth opened wide. Its mouth was strained red. But its teeth were glittering.

"Oh, aibou," Yugi mumbled from his spot in front of the door. He sighed softly, shaking his head. Mazaki watched him as he came forward, hands full of paper towels and cleaner.

The black dog stopped short. His tail wagged slightly, sloppy and slow. Then he whined again. His ears fell back against his head. Mazaki blinked, staring in shock. Yugi shook his head and sighed softly. He put the cleaning supplies aside, opening the gate to get back around the counter.

"He was just growling…" Mazaki could barely hear himself saying it. But Yugi seemed to hear him perfectly. He didn't pause, coming over to the dog's side.

"He was just scared. He's got a pretty big degree of separation anxiety right now. After what happened, can you honestly blame him? I think he thinks if I'm not where he can see me at all times, I'm going to go missing."

Yugi had grabbed the dog beneath the elbows. He was dragging him backwards. The dog was awkward, gangly, and huffed heavily. His eyes were groggy, his nose wrinkling. Yugi dragged him back to the pillow. He then settled him unceremoniously on his stomach. He folded his front paws in front of him, then shifted his back slightly to put him on his left hip. The dog kicked its back legs after a split second. Then he huffed again. His head fell over the side of the pillow, his head against the floor, his tongue laying flat across it.

Yugi pursed his lips as he came around the other side, then snickered and shook his head. "You're such a goof," he teased. But Mazaki saw that he made no move to put him in another position. He simply turned around again. His shirt was soaked in blood again, darker than ever where it had formerly crusted. He glanced at it once but ignored it altogether. "He's just really freaked out, I guess. Doggy trauma and all that."

"He must trust you a lot."

Yugi looked up in confusion. It took him only a moment to realize what he had said, blinking and then glancing back and forth between the wolf and the cleaning supplies. "I guess so." He grimaced, turning back. "I think it's because he was around me whenever I helped out. I mean, I took him for a couple of walks every now and then. It was never anything too serious."

"Oh." Mazaki glanced at the dog again. The canine was snoring now. Its mouth was wide open, its breathing steady and loud. It would shudder occasionally in its sleep, its sides twitching. "Your mother didn't shave him down when she was treating him?"

Yugi blinked. He looked confused for a second. Then he sighed. "There wasn't really a reason to shave him down originally. And now he's pretty hurt so his sides are basically gouged open. I don't even think I'd have enough skin to stitch together now that he's torn them open again." He sighed and bit his lip. "I might have to try bandaging them both. I don't think there's nearly enough skin to stitch it over and bandage either so…"

"And you have no records on him at all?"

"I don't know of any. But I didn't help my mom with this one, so I have no idea," he admitted uncomfortably. He frowned and looked away again, grimacing after a moment. "I could be wrong about him having files. But I think if he did, she would have been updating them more often and taking notes on his progress. I think he was more a stray that got hurt and we decided to treat for the sake of saving him."

Mazaki peered at him for a long moment or so. Then he looked at the dog and back, shaking his head slowly. "Your mom did do that a lot." He sounded almost pitying for a moment and Yugi wished he could have hit him. Yami, on the other hand, was still snoring softly, occasionally twitching.

"I need to get his sides bandaged," Yugi mumbled. He looked at Yami pointedly for a moment. Then he sighed softly. The wolf was fast asleep, the drugs finally knocking him out. He wished they would have come into effect earlier, before Mazaki had even gotten there. Yami had cried the entire time he'd been treating him, apologizing pathetically to him. He'd been so concentrated on getting his forgiveness that Yugi had nearly broken down several times. He'd puked three times when Yugi had drugged him, shaking when he'd tried to clean his wounds and stitch them back together. He'd had to hold him when he'd shaken too hard to suture. And then Yami had simply pleaded pathetically with him, begging forgiveness and whimpering.

Yugi forced the thought away. He didn't want to remember his words. He didn't want to think of just how terrified and hurt he'd sounded each time. He remembered all too well how Yami had broken down in the kitchen. He remembered it all too much, a mirror of the way Yami had cried to him now.

"Do you have somewhere to go after you do that? We need to quarantine and investigate more thoroughly."

Yugi nodded slightly, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. His eyes flickered briefly to Yami and back to the vomit in front of him. "I think I can make arrangements with Honda. And, if I can't, then I'll just have to find a hotel room that can let me bring him."

"You're taking him with you?"

"He's going to need constant supervision because of his words," he answered quietly. He glanced over at him once more. And he didn't know if that was true or not, but he felt sick thinking about it. Yami would need some help. Because he still wasn't healthy. And he didn't know how long it would take to bring him back to full health once more. "And I can't help him if he's not with me."

"And what if he doesn't make it through the night?" Mazaki asked slowly. He gestured at the wounded canine with a flustered expression. "He looks like he's in bad shape."

"I think if he could rip a larger dog's throat out then he's a scrapper and he'll pull through." Yugi shot him a wry look. Mazaki stared at him with wide, surprised brown eyes. Yugi couldn't help but think of mud puddles for a split second. "I think he'll make a full recovery. It's just going to take a lot of time. I don't know how he'll do with moving from one place to another, though—or with any other dogs…"

He nodded slightly. Then he glanced at the canine, frowning. "He's a…pretty big dog, even with how skinny he is." He looked over at Yugi sideways now, raising a brow. "You think you can carry him that far without too much trouble? Or would you like an escort?"

He almost laughed at the thought of a police escort. Some part of him sneered at the very idea. He shrugged this impulse off. He glanced between Mazaki and Yami and then back. "I'm a lot stronger than I look," he mumbled. But he realized slowly that he wasting a lot more time with this potential argument than he was anything else. "If you want to keep talking, we can, but I need to get his sides cleaned and bandaged again."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. "I'll accompany you then." Yugi opened the gate again, letting out a low whistle. Yami jolted in his spot. His head snapped up, tongue sloppily withdrawing into his mouth. He blinked stupidly several times, then turned towards him. His eyes were still glazed over completely and Yugi could tell that he did not understand what it was going on. And it even seemed, for a split second, as if he did not even understand why it was that he might be awake at the moment. "You might need some help."

"No, I don't know if he'd react okay with that," Yugi answered immediately. He reached under the pillow, bringing it up off the ground to hold him. Yami whined loudly, but he didn't object further. He did not snarl. He did not bare his teeth. He did not even speak against Yugi to tell him to leave him alone. Instead he flicked his ears back and forth several times, eyes wide with confusion and staring at Yugi in confused alarm. "He's not used to strangers. And after what happened, he's not going to be too keen on anything new right now. I'll get him into the room and you can come in right after."

"All right."

It took almost ten minutes for Yugi to allow him back into the surgery room with him. Yami was hooked up to the monitors, heart rate steady and eyes shut tightly. His mouth was held open by the breathing tube, his tongue pale where it lay inches from his muzzle there. His blood pressure was stable and his entire body was slack where it had been formerly tense from pain and fear.

"Just make sure not to get too close to him, okay? He's unconscious, but I need him perfectly still." Mazaki nodded slightly, turning to walk to the other side of the room. Yugi nodded but turned back to Yami with a scalpel firmly gripped in his right hand. "You still had questions, right?"

"I did, but—Why don't you have scrubs on?"

"It's a sterile room and I'm clean enough. He doesn't need a major surgery anyways, just a patch up procedure on his flanks." He paused around pulling on the skin there, reaching out to cut at the edges where the flesh had turned black. He hated how quickly they healed at the moment. This was insane. And the dead flesh was stuck to him like clumps of fur. "I don't think it's too life threatening, considering. Besides, I don't want to keep him under for too long."

"If it's not life threatening, then why do it right now?"

"I need to minimize the blood loss before it potentially gets any worse." Yugi scraped the blood form his skin, somewhat flustered as he narrowed his eyes. Mazaki was watching him closely. Yami was still breathing evenly. He guessed he had to be thankful for the smaller things in life at this rate.

"We're going to have to take any samples of DNA we find in the house."

Yugi scraped some raw flesh again, nodding. He'd known that already. He pulled Yami's skin from the muscle once more. He might just be able to stitch it back together. He'd been hopeful of that. It was just going to be extremely tight and he'd have to put in a couple of drainage tubes, likely two on both sides. Although, he did not know if Yami would be able to change back again…

If he was able to, there was no doubt in Yugi's mind that he would not be able to keep the drainage tubes in place. They'd fall out during the Change. And Yami might hurt himself further when it happened. But he would deal with it when the time came to and not worry about it until then.

"What are we going to find when we do that?"

"My DNA, my…family's DNA, the dogs that attacked, Jonouchi's from when he spent the night, Anzu from the other day when you both came, and I guess his too," he answered. He gestured at the wolf in front of him dismissively. Yami had said something about how his DNA would look purely canine; if that was the truth of it, he hoped to the gods no one got too suspicious of it. He cleaned the skin again, chewing the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. Then he pulled the two ends of skin together and let out a small sigh of relief. He could definitely stitch the skin together again. He almost sobbed with relief. "I don't know what else you'll find. I wasn't here. All I know is that he was the only one alive and I couldn't do anything but save him when they were already dead. So I did that."

"I'm not blaming you."

"You blamed me for the arson."

He didn't know why he was bringing this up. Things would go a lot quicker if he tried to ignore him altogether.

"No, I'm investigating you. But that doesn't mean I think arson leads to murder." Yugi ignored him when his voice grew a little tighter with anger. He kept his eyes on Yami's flesh. "That's a pretty large leap to take, don't you think?"

And so is becoming a werewolf and killing wolves left and right for being a threat to you or someone else, Yugi thought cynically. He almost laughed with the hatred that swelled through him. "I guess so. But I already know it sounds suspicious that I decided to fix him up instead of call you guys immediately."

"I'm willing to sum it up as shock."

"Shock…" Yugi thought briefly of how Yami had trembled like a leaf before Yubel. And he wondered, now that he was here and helping him again, what it was that about her that had scared him so much. He had fought against Sartorius and never missed a beat. But when he had faced her, his gums had been white and his tongue had been like a slab of ice. Had Yami fought her sometime before? Or had he simply been traumatized? "I guess so. It was pretty horrifying to see my house with its doors broken off the hinges and half of the walls smeared with blood. And I couldn't do much more than react to him laying there whining and struggling to get up."

Mazaki flinched in the corner of his eye. Yugi almost smiled spitefully. Some part of him wanted to sneer at him for his weakness. "How badly wounded is he?" he asked after a moment.

Yugi wondered if he was asking for the sake of documenting his answer or if he felt a small bit of gratitude that Yami had at least tried to fight to save them. His hands were shaking when he snipped the last stitch and lay the scissors and suture wire aside. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm surprised he wasn't gutted. His sides are so torn up I'm amazed he didn't get disemboweled."

Yubel had to have known she could have done it easily. She had to have known that all it would have taken was another hard bite to his side. She could have utterly disemboweled him and left him there struggling to heal. She could have eaten him alive if she had only thought to.

So why had she left him in one piece? Had she meant to toy with him?

Was that the punishment she planned for Yugi next time?

Yugi would kill her.

If he managed nothing else, he would do that.

"And how he was even moving is beyond me. His right shoulder was broken and his ribs are shattered on one side." Those had healed though. While Yami had been drugged and asleep the first time, he'd managed to recover enough there to heal his shattered bones. His shoulder was still badly damaged. Yugi wasn't stupid; if Yami were to change at any point anytime soon, his arm would be lame for at least a day or two. "His neck was pretty damaged too. But I think that was more superficial after I cleaned it and everything."

Mazaki shivered after a moment, watching him. His eyes flickered away and Yugi could sense the smallest inkling of fear in the man. "I would let you stay with us, but it would look bad for me to work on this case if that were to happen."

"I don't want to go to your house," Yugi admitted quietly, looking at Yami's side more pointedly. It took everything in him not to tremble now. Exhaustion pressed on his senses and he was so tired he felt as if his head were swimming. "Anzu is too sweet. She'd try to talk and comfort me. At least with Honda I know he's just going to give me room to do whatever it is I want until things settle down again."

Mazaki nodded. "Yeah…"

---

Yugi shivered as he closed the door behind him. Yami lay on his pillow in the corner. His sides were bright pink from lying on them. He'd rolled around twice and crashed into the counter on several occasions. He'd looked ill when he'd done so last. And Yugi had been horrified. Mazaki had just when leaving when Yami had pathetically murmured, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It had been so startling that he'd stopped short of walking the officer to the door. He'd looked over before he'd thought better of himself, but he'd thankfully failed to open his mouth in response.

Yami had not spoken again since then. But his eyes were half-open, glazed hideously as they peered at one another. He was quiet but for the occasional rasping sound of the wolf struggling to regain his breath. He'd sounded as if he had been choking. And each time he heard it, Yugi had trembled like a leaf.

Yugi stretched his arms out in front of himself, exhausting crashing through him. The police would give him until the end of the day to pack a bag and get out of the house. In the meantime, he would have to find a way to make a plausible excuse for how Yami might go missing. There was no way that once he changed and became human again he'd keep his wounds.

But then, Yugi had no idea how much poison Yami had been exposed to, nor how much time it would take to dispel it. He did not even know what might happen with Yami's slow metabolism. But he'd also healed somewhat when Jonouchi had popped his shoulder back into place. Had it not been for that, Yami's ribs might not have even healed before then.

"Fuck, I need to call my dad…"

And what would he say?

"Oh, hey Dad, Mom and Grandpa are dead"? Yugi couldn't even think such a thing without tears pricking the back of his eyes. But if he cried, he knew he would not stop. He had known from the moment he had first broken down after all of the night terrors and the bullying. He'd cried for hours on end and he'd refused to leave his room for a full two days…

He exhaled heavily, pressing his tongue into the roof of his mouth uncomfortably. A low, steady throb began to form in his temples and he shook his head after a long moment. He just needed to find a way to get through this without breaking down or losing himself beneath all the chaos. And right now he had to focus on calling his dad. Right now that had to be his main priority. From there, he'd focus on something else. And then he'd slowly but surely work his way through until there was nothing else to urgently hold his attention.

"Stay here, all right?"

Yami stared up at him as if he had grown a second head. Something terrified flashed in his bright red eyes and he peered up from his spot on the pillow with a tilted head. When he looked at him in surprise, the black wolf's ears flattened against his skull.

"I'm just going outside for a moment. I'm going to try to call my dad and…" He trailed off. Yami was motionless now, eyes wide and confused. Yugi sighed and shook his head, turning away. "And then I need to call Honda and explain what happened. I need to ask him if we can stay at his house for a while. I don't know what to do beyond that…"

Yami blinked up at him, flicking his ears. For a moment Yugi thought he might speak but abruptly the wolf looked away. His eyes fell on the floor, his exhale a heavy shuddering noise. Yugi watched him for a moment, expecting an outburst of apology like he'd given him earlier. And he was not sure if he'd tell him to calm down again, pull him into a hug, or scream.

Any of the three was likely at the moment.

He pulled his phone from his pocket. It had been covered in blood earlier, smeared across the floor and left on the carpet when he'd changed. Yugi felt sick as he looked at it. He'd tried to clean it earlier using water and paper towels, but he swore the edges were still blackened and smeared. And his eyes burned for a moment before he managed to shake it off.

It was so hard to breathe.

"Okay, just say here, o—?"

She drugged me.

Yugi blinked in confusion, turning his head slowly. He blinked once, then twice. Who had drugged him? He blinked again, then shook his head slowly. Did he mean Yubel? But Yubel had only drugged him—unless she'd done it before Yugi had gotten there. He stared at him blankly.

"What?"

She drugged me.

Yugi frowned. "Yubel?"

Yami blinked, slowly raising his head to look back at him. Who? Yami sounded so bewildered Yugi almost wondered if he had heard her name wrong somehow. Then the wolf slowly shook his head and narrowed his red gaze. No, I do not think she even knew I was there until I attacked one of her wolves. She never got too close to me before the end when…

"Then w—my mom?"

Yami looked at his paws. He ran his tongue over one of his toes. His claw was shattered, dangling from his skin. Yugi felt sick. He'd overlooked it. Somehow he had overlooked it. She drugged me, Yami repeated softly. His tone was fractured and his shoulder quivered. He looked as if he wanted to vomit. He was struggling to stay awake, Yugi realized in surprise. I…I was complaining…about my shoulder. And she offered me a snack…

"A snack?"

Yami had begun to gnaw on his broken claw. Yugi could hear it splintering louder than ever. But the wolf never paused, yelping when he cut it in half. Blood spurted from the wound.

"You hit the quick," Yugi mumbled. "Give me a second. I've got styptic powder."

It is okay. It will heal in a minute. I just have to clean it. Yami made no move to do so, however, and instead turned to him after a moment. She must have put it in the sandwich… The peanut butter… I couldn't tell…

Yugi blinked. "Does your shoulder still hurt?"

Yami stared at him blankly for a moment. Does it matter? he snapped. He looked away from him entirely and stared at his severed nail with a hateful expression. If I hadn't complained, I would have been awake when they broke the door down the first time. I could have changed faster and held them off for longer.

"You can't blame yourself for this," Yugi said breathlessly.

No, you simply do not want to do so because then you will come to hate me and justly so, Yami spat. He dug into his paw again, the blood coming out threefold. But it is my fault. I should have known better than to show weakness. I should have known better than to tell her my shoulder hurt like that.

"Why?" Yugi snarled. He spun on him. "Why should you have known better? You were hurt. It's instinct to complain when you're hurt. Did you know you'd be drugged? Did you ask her for medication?"

Yami blinked. He slowed his chewing. No.

"Then why am I going to blame you?" he sneered viciously. The wolf flattened his ears against his head, shaking. Yugi opened his mouth to snap at him again, then stopped short. He was shaking so hard Yugi almost thought it looked as if there two wolves instead of simply one. Yugi looked away, pressing his lips into a thin line and closing his eyes. "Look, Yami, she shouldn't have done that. It doesn't mean that she deserved for that to happen. But it does mean that she drugged you against your will which is something that I don't…understand. She's never done something like that before…"

Yami was quiet for a long moment. It likely looked worse than it was. I couldn't stop shaking because of the lack of sleep. And I said it and she probably thought it was worse than… He sounded as if he might sob at any moment. He was shaking harder than ever when Yugi finally glanced at him again.

"Worse than it was…?" Yugi repeated slowly.

Yami stayed quiet. Then he moved to roll over. His paws tucked into his belly, his tail curled up to press flat between his legs. Yugi blinked, stunned by the fearful submissive stance. The black wolf stretched his neck out to show his throat, head angled away. I should not have stayed awake so long. I could not stop the spasms after all of the time I'd spent awake like that. It wouldn't stop shaking.

Yugi blinked and narrowed his eyes. He'd almost forgotten that he'd stayed up for almost forty-eight hours straight. Ever since that night terror he had not quite recovered enough to keep his shoulder from shaking. Yugi remembered commenting on it at one point as well. No wonder his mom had seen it as something she needed to treat. He would have assumed it needed more attention if it hadn't been for Yami snarling at him that he didn't need medication because it might make him sleep.

Yugi's heart hurt at the reminder.

He looked away. "The pain medication put you to sleep."

Yes.

"Okay."

It's not okay.

Yugi blinked. Yami still had not moved from his submissive stance in any manner. But he was bristling faintly now. "No," he agreed quietly, fighting off the urge to snarl, "but I understand better now. I understand how it is that Yubel managed that ambush."

The words were said in such a dark voice that Yami struggled to lie in a more upright position. He scrambled and Yugi moved forward to help him, reaching out gently to help him pull him into a more comfortable position on his belly.

"You shouldn't move around so much. You might pull something again," Yugi said quietly. But he sounded dismissive and even he realized it. He hesitated a moment. "You might get hurt again."

Yami blinked at him, ears against his head. He shook his muzzle in disagreement, peering at him almost blankly for a long handful of minutes. It took only a moment longer for him to turn away, ears pricked and eyes narrowed into slits.

"What?" Yugi snapped. He almost screamed. "I can't afford to constantly take care of your wounds, okay? If you pull them, I'm not going to have the clinic to help stitch them again and—"

He was gasping for air all of the sudden. Yami blinked at him, eyes widening drastically. He struggled for his paws. Then he collapsed. Yugi had begun clawing at his throat with his nails. His eyes were huge, burning with panic, and his cheeks had become bright red. He was holding his choker in his fingers now, tugging frantically and breathing even harder.

Yami hesitated a moment, then pressed close enough to mouth his hand. He grabbed the one clawing at his neck with his mouth, teeth barely touching his skin as he tugged gently. Yugi didn't react for a long moment and Yami struggled to pull harder. His head spun with the effort and he nearly fell backwards. His back legs were shaky. But abruptly Yugi seemed to loosen his grip. Yami pressed a paw onto his shoulder to keep his balance, then mouthed at his other hand.

When Yugi released again, he was shaking harder than ever. Yami blinked once, considering the way his hands remained limp at his sides. Then he looked up. Yugi wasn't crying yet. But he was breathing so hard he seemed to be swaying from the force. His breaths were choked, desperate, and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. Yami tipped his head up slightly, running his tongue over his face.

Yugi jerked back violently as if he had been struck. His eyes flew open. He blinked, confused and startled. Yami nearly fell backwards, knocked off balance by the sudden backwards movement. Yugi caught him tightly by his injured shoulder and scruff. He held him there for a second, then backed up to take a seat on the bed. For a moment he looked as if he might speak. But it was gone again a mere second later. He pulled him closer, tugging him until Yami was pressed hard into his chest. Yami hesitated, unsure of himself, and slowly put his chin on his shoulder.

Yugi clung to him now. He held him as if he were a lifeline. He was shaking. His fingers dug into his skin. He could feel the smallest pinpricks of pain. His skin split beneath the force of his nails, blood coming in small crescent shapes.

It didn't startle him more than a second and he felt sick as he continued to let Yugi hold him so tightly. He had him all but restrained in his embrace, shaking harder than ever. Yami pressed a little further into him, leaning forward on shaky limbs. His legs ached and his shoulder was still pulled with tension from the way Yugi had grabbed him. And Yami wished he could have offered him some kind of comfort.

But he doubted he could help him alleviate his pain in any fashion.

Yugi wanted his family back.

And Yami had been the only thing standing between them and the hellhounds at the time. He had been the only barrier that could have stunted them. And the most he had managed to do was buy time for Yugi to get there.

Sartorius had torn him to shreds.

Yubel had tossed him like a rag doll.

He was hardly worth the effort Yugi had put into healing him. He had not even been able to save Yugi's family. He had let his memories overwhelm him. He had let Yubel beat Yugi to the floor. And then he had barely managed to hold Sartorius off for Yugi to try to get to his family.

But he couldn't have helped Sugoroku or Kasumi. It had to be Yugi to do it. He had been too wounded to make the jump onto the bed. He could not have grabbed either of them to drag them out of the house. And he couldn't help them when he could hardly help himself. He could not have helped them in any manner. But to say such a thing to Yugi now…

This is my fault…

Yugi had his face buried in his neck. He wasn't crying, but he was convulsing painfully as if he were. He was physically shaking hard enough that it was impossible to think otherwise.

Yami flattened his ears against his head. This is all my fault. He didn't pull away, nor did he say such sentiment where Yugi could hear him. He did not want to have that fight. It would crush him. Because Yugi was so damn oblivious. He was so willing to forgive and call him his friend. He was so kind and gentle and he overlooked it. He constantly ignored what he should have paid attention to the most.

Maybe he should have pushed harder maybe he should have made Yugi realize ahead of time how big a liability he truly was. If he had done that, he could have possibly saved him the heartache of this entire event. Maybe if he had left when he'd healed instead of lingering, Yugi would never have ever noticed and Yugi could have gone about his life without having their interference or Yami's.

Maybe he would have been able to keep his family.

But then…maybe he wouldn't.

Yami couldn't be sure. It was too easy to throw those things into a pile and blame it on himself. The problem was that he could not see the future. He did not know what it was that he might have done to prevent any of this happening.

Maybe it couldn't have been prevented to begin with.

But…if Yami had simply gone back to the labs at some point…

He shivered. It was so reflexive that he could not stop himself. Bile scorched a path up the back of his throat. One Pure-Blood was better than none, right? The labs would have likely left Yubel to rot if they'd managed to capture him again.

But that would do nothing for him now.

Yugi could only cling to him now.

He would need him now…

And Yami was not willing to abandon him to hurt and suffer on his own. The pack would need Yugi and Yugi would need him to help weather that responsibility, even if all Yami could do was cause more problems than good. He couldn't abandon him to suffer on his own like that. Yugi would die if he did so. He knew that more than he did anything else at the moment.

Yugi was not self-reliant as Yami had hoped he would be. He had tried to help make him so. But it was just as well, he supposed. Yugi was not wrong. Wolves were made for socialization as well as being loners. Adaptive and cunning was their way of life. So, for Yugi to be so heavily reliant on him was a flaw that upset him more than he could put into words. But he himself relied too heavily on the small boy as well. And he could not blame it solely on Yugi if he himself suffered the same.

Yami let him knot his fingers further into his fur. He pulled and tugged until Yami felt his skin grow raw from the abuse. He stared at the wall over Yugi's shoulder. He let him stroke him as harshly as he could. He pricked his ears and kept his focus on the wall. And he felt his grip harden even further on his skin. His nails dug in, splitting lightly at the soft layer of tissue. He tugged his fur until he felt it would pull out. And then he relaxed slightly. Yami shook himself out. But Yugi was not dislodged even slightly from his grip. So Yami remained standing on trembling back legs, forelimbs tired and aching where they rested on Yugi's shoulders, and did not bother to move.

It truly was his fault. He'd set Yugi up for failure the moment he had come into his life. The moment he'd bitten him, he'd set him up for misery and pain and suffering beyond their control. He should have remained calm and cautious. He should have left before either of them had gotten attached. He should never have come back for help with his wrists.

Is there anything I can do for you?

Yugi somehow tightened his grip on him, digging his fingers in impossibly harder. Yami felt as if his skin were being tugged from his body entirely. His sides ached, bruised from the force. He breathed in deeply. When he exhaled, the pain was enough to nearly stun him. He kept still, however, and Yugi's face remained buried in his neck.

He stumbled after a few more minutes. Yugi was shaking too hard. Yami's legs were too weak to remain standing as he was. He'd crumple to the floor and lay there in a heap soon enough. Yugi released him suddenly. Yami blinked at him, startled. And then the small teen slid down the side of the bed onto the floor with him. Yami thought his front limbs would hold him.

But they didn't.

He landed in his lap, crumpled and breathing hard.

Yugi moved to cross his legs and pull Yami's chin into his lap. He didn't speak, but he ran his fingers through the fur along his scruff again. He was waiting, Yami realized, his breathing strangled and exhausted.

I'm okay, he tried to reassure him. He shifted forward, then moved awkwardly to drag himself closer. He draped his forelimbs across his right thigh and closed his eyes. The effort was mind numbing. He looked at him again, blankly. My legs just aren't the most stable right now.

Yugi stared at him for a long time. "I shouldn't have grabbed you like that." He had drawn his hands away and was holding them strangely aside from him. His fingers were partially spread. He looked at him unhappily. "I mean, I…I know you don't like physical contact."

Yami blinked once, then closed his eyes. No, Yugi, it's okay, he answered, unsure of himself only as the smaller boy blinked and stared back at him. Had he grabbed him by accident? Had he grabbed him without meaning to? Had he simply reached out blindly and someone home to touch him instead?

Yami felt sick.

Yugi was trying to make himself feel better. And he'd grabbed at Yami. But he wondered if perhaps Yugi had not truly meant to grab him at all. He wanted to vomit as the thought crossed his mind. Had Yugi even meant to touch him to begin with? Had he meant to embrace the very reason his family lay dead now? Or had he simply been so heartbroken that he had just grabbed at something?

Yami shivered again. When he tilted his head slightly, Yugi was staring at him blankly. Then his eyes seemed to soften somehow, the smallest degree, and abruptly he reached out to rub at his ears. He stroked along his scruff to his ears and along his head. He didn't speak again, but Yami felt he did not have much else either could say to begin with.

His heart felt heavy in his chest now.

"Just…just sit with me…okay?" Yugi asked softly, gently, swallowing hard. He shivered and shook his head, looking away. "Just sit here with me while I call Honda. I think I need to think for a while before I call my dad. I don't know what to say to him to explain it to him…"

Yami nodded and moved to lay his chin across his paws. But Yugi reached out after a moment, angling his face up. He rubbed at his chin, then along his neck, his fingers gentle and easy. Yami hesitated for a long second, then flicked his tongue out to lick his cheek. The small teen smiled at him, ruffling his fur.

"It's going to be okay."

Yami could not tell who he was saying this to now, if he was trying to convince himself or Yami.

"It's going to be okay."

---

"Thanks," Yugi mumbled, shakily shifting his backpack on his shoulder and looking away. He shook his head, scuffing his sneaker across the floor. He looked back and forth anxiously between Honda and the door, feeling the intense urge to simply flee instead. "I really appreciate this."

Honda looked as if he wished he had the right words to reassure him, but when he could find none, he simply offered him a small smile and nodded. His hazel eyes flickered away and then fell on Yami. He tensed the smallest bit but relaxed a split second later when Yami simply stumbled forward a step and flattened his ears against his head with a pitiful whine.

"I had to bring him like this," Yugi muttered. He gestured vaguely at the wolf, frowning. He shifted the leash on his wrist and hesitantly studied his alpha. The red-eyed wolf was panting heavily, head down, mouth opened, and his entire body was shaky as he stood there. But he didn't collapse and he had been the one to insist that he walk instead of being carried. "When I called the cops, Mazaki was the one who responded. He saw him like this. I'm sorry, but I can't just leave him there—especially with how bad off he is right now. Blankey is probably going to wind up extremely stressed out from all of this, though…"

The brunet didn't remove his eyes from Yami as he shook his head. "It's okay. She can deal with it," he dismissed. But his eyes were wide, startled, and he looked as if he couldn't truly believe what he was seeing at the moment. He hesitated, then reached out a hand with his palm open, as if he were greeting a dog for the first time. "Does he recognize me as wolf too?"

Yugi nodded, almost laughing at his cautious stance. "He's perfectly capable of recognizing anything he would as a human when he's like this." He hesitated. "But I had to give him some pain meds. He's woozy and he stumbled around the entire walk. I carried him a part of the way but he started bleeding again and then he insisted he would walk on his own. Besides, I didn't want to freak you or your parents out by showing up soaked in blood. So I brought him over and he seems okay aside from how exhausted he is."

Yami had lifted his head, sniffing his hand. His eyes were glazed over, his head tilted. But his tongue came out to run over his nose and it became clear that he had no intention of biting him in any manner. The wolf lowered his head, panting, and shivered once.

"I was going to put him in a fleece," Yugi continued, voice distant and tired with strain, "but it occurred to me that if he opened his stitches again, it would just get stuck in his wound. So I had to decide against it. Uh, do you have a towel I could wrap him in? He definitely can't make it up the stairs. His shoulder is too messed up to do that."

Honda blinked, startled. "Yeah—of course. I'll go find one. Give me a minute."

Yugi watched him go. He listened as Honda's parents as they awkwardly shuffled about further in the house, avoiding coming down to see him. No doubt Honda had told them that he wanted to get Yugi settled himself instead. And he didn't think the entire situation would be as seamless as it had appeared before then. They'd likely discuss the time he was there with them when they had the chance to be alone. All Yugi had done was ask Honda and Honda had likely told them what was going to happen. He had likely not asked them in the slightest. He knew how much control he had of the situation. Yugi was well aware of that.

They had always bent over backwards for him. If Honda were to tell them to turn a blind eye to the blood on Yugi's clothes—should he have arrived covered in blood—they would have listened to him. Honda was their pride and joy. No matter what he asked of them, they would do it. He could rob someone blind and they would still believe him should he deny it despite the proof they might have against him. Honda was everything to them.

"Here." Honda was holding a dark red towel in his hand, extending it to him. Yugi blinked, then took it from him and moved to straddle Yami's flank. The wolf blinked once, lazy and tired, licked at his nose again, and grunted hard when Yugi grabbed him. The wolf kicked once, flailing pathetically, and then whistled a breath through his nose. "Jesus. He looks so…weird now. He looks so…different from when I met him at the warehouse…"

"He's super unhealthy right now," Yugi mumbled. He was pretty sure he sounded as tired as he felt. He shifted his grip on the canine, drawing him closer. He shuffled him towards his chest. And then he shifted his right hand to grab him near his hindquarters. He picked him up as gently as he could, tucking him into his chest and putting his chin on his head. "So he can't even heal properly right now. If he was healthier, this entire thing wouldn't have happened like it did. He wouldn't be nearly as hurt as he is right now."

"But he can still recover from this?"

"Yeah… He's healed from worse." Yugi didn't bother to elaborate, his heart hurting at the thought. He was simply thankful that Honda opened the door further to let him in. The small teen carried him into the entrance, then into the hallway that led to the two guest rooms. "Which room?"

"Either one. It doesn't really matter." Honda smiled at him when Yugi glanced over his shoulder at him. He frowned, for a moment puzzled as he caught Honda staring at Yami. But then he realized Yami was slipping slightly in his arms. He tried his hardest to tighten his grip without hurting him and Yami squirmed slightly, one of his back legs kicking. His nails almost struck his arm. But he became perfectly still again, statuesque in his grip. Yugi wondered if he was surprised by how easily Yami accepted him holding him this way. "Do you need anything for him before we start unpacking your stuff?"

"I didn't actually bring much," Yugi admitted uncomfortably. He pushed the door of the nearest room open and moved to put Yami on the ground. The bed was much alike his old one, smaller than the second, but with a multitude of pillows. A cot was made up in the corner as well. He wondered if they had made one in both room, if it was meant for Yami… "Mostly just some clothes for me and Yami. And then I brought my phone and charger. The rest is a bunch of first aid—sutures and disinfectant, some medication for him, some tran quilizers on the extremely off chance that he has some kind of adverse reaction to something."

"Will he be okay to stay in a house like this? I remember he wasn't too thrilled when I mentioned you guys might be safer during full moons if you stayed caged up and all that."

"He'll be fine." Yugi hesitated for a moment. Then he looked Yami over, searching his face. Reluctantly he undid the buckle of his collar and unhooked the leash from it. He slipped the towel from his flanks and put it on the ground beside him. Yami blinked once, pricked his ears, and then peered at them both in confusion. Yugi turned to him, stomach in knots and heart squeezing tightly in his chest. "He recently had to recover from something similar to this…"

Honda stiffened visibly. "Something this bad?"

"It was…actually a lot worse," he admitted haltingly. There was a single moment in which he opened and closed his mouth twice. Then he turned away, shaking his head slowly and pressing his lips into a thin line. "I… He was seriously almost all but broken when that happened. He had wounds everywhere. He had infections, muscle loss and lethargy. He was so bad off I honestly didn't know if he would make it through the first night without an emergency second procedure."

Honda considered Yami for a long moment. "But you guys heal fast, right?" he asked hesitantly. He was staring at the wound on his side and grimacing visibly. "I mean, I thought for sure…"

"We do. But that's only if we're healthy enough. If we're in a bad state like he is, then we tend to have a lot more trouble with healing properly." Yugi reached over to ruffle Yami's fur for a moment. He tapped him on the nose and the wolf blinked slightly. He leaned forward, trying to lick his finger, and missed noticeably. Honda wondered how much pain medication he'd given him. His pupils were so blown that his eyes were completely black. But he supposed it was better than seeing those unnatural red eyes… "But he's healed some already. I think he's not going to be able to do much else on his own. See his right here on his eye?"

Honda hesitated for a moment. Then he came cautiously closer to him. Yugi had taken Yami's face in his hands. He'd pulled Yami's right eye lid down as far as he could. Honda could see huge puncture marks now that his skin was shifted, his cheek crusted with blood where the cuts remained between patches of fur.

"His cheek used to be so swollen that he couldn't open his eye earlier. His shoulder used to be open to the bone, completely exposed and broken. It was dislocated, but Yami instructed Jonouchi on how to pop it back into place. He's still limping pretty badly, but it's not so bad that he can't keep moving for long periods of time. And he can put weight on it, which was something he couldn't do before when the fight was still going on."

Honda looked at Yami, scrutinizing his expression. The canine looked annoyed more than anything. He had not the slightest hint of happiness on his face. He looked tired out of his mind. But Honda could not tell if it was because of physical fatigue or if it were the medication he had taken.

"His flanks were almost completely torn open and I was amazed he wasn't disemboweled," Yugi continued. He sounded tired. "But he's grown back some of the muscle he lost. It's got some padding again. And I stitched the skin back in place from there."

"So he's recovered that much so far? Good. I was worried he'd be a lot worse off than that," he murmured softly. Honda frowned, tilting his head slightly. His mouth tugged further downward when he looked at Yami. "Is he okay? I mean, are you sure he is? He looks like he's going to be sick or something…"

"He's dizzy. I know that much. But the rest is also from stress." Yugi shook his head. "And if he pukes, I'll clean it up. It shouldn't be too terrible. I don't think he has anything in his stomach, so that would explain it if he's nauseated. Can I ask you to do another favor for me?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I need to get him some food. I didn't pack anything from the house because they had been fighting in the kitchen too and there were a couple of bodies in there as well. And I didn't want to…even think about it." He hesitated, looking away slowly. "But I can't let him starve. He'll never heal if that happens…"

"Okay. Yeah, I can grab some food for him. What do you think would be best?"

"Venison if there is any." Yugi hesitated, then dug into the outer pocket of the backpack he was wearing at the moment. He pulled his card out. "The pin is written on the back so you can withdraw some cash. Just go ahead and draw out about a thousand. Get as much of the venison as you can, please. And maybe some of the powdered goat milk."

Honda frowned but nodded. "Sure. I'll ask them to take me. It'll probably be an hour, though, you know. They're slow shoppers and if I'm stocking up on venison, you know I'm going to hit as many shops as possible."

Yugi was trembling when he looked at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't worry about it."

---

Dad told me what happened. Are you okay?

Yugi had been staring at the text for over an hour now. He had wanted to respond, but his stomach hurt too much and he was too tired to think of a nice way to answer. He didn't want to talk and Anzu would want to do just that. He could not handle it if she tried to talk to him and tell him it would be okay. He'd rather vomit than hear those words.

So he pushed it aside and moved to hover at the edge of the mattress. Yami had been passed out for the last thirty minutes. He had settled for lying on his side on top of the towel. Yugi wasn't sure if that was because he did not want to risk bleeding on the cot, or if he still could not stand the thought of sleeping on one again. Yugi remembered that breakdown all too well. He remembered his shaking and the way he'd stared at him so listlessly. He had been more than slightly afraid that the sight of the cot in the corner of the room might trigger a similar response for him.

But at least Yami seemed stable for the moment. He was sleeping peacefully, he was comfortable on that towel, and when he got up hopefully Honda would be back with the meat and he could feed him and—

He sat up straight, head tilting towards the ground. He got to his feet, straining his hearing for a moment. Was that a car door or someone at the door? He had heard nothing but a thud. The hairs on his arm rose into a bristle of confusion and rage. If Yubel had tracked him here—

His lips threatened to quirk into a smile.

He'd kill her for it.

He'd rip her to fucking pieces.

He'd leave her dead on the driveway with her body torn in half.

Yami shifted abruptly. Yugi lost his train of thought, head snapping around. The wolf struggled to sit up. He was shaking, his entire body vibrating. And then he got slowly to his paws. He was still sluggish, shaking himself out, and stumbled. Then he turned to look over at Yugi slowly. Something in his eyes was cold and distant, but also heated with suspicion.

Are you all right?

He smiled faintly. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he teased. He came over to his side, taking a seat in front of him and searching his face. "You look like you're about to fall over any second now, aibou."

Yami stared at him for a long minute, then looked away. Please do not call me that, he mumbled softly, voice all but pathetic as it cracked and grew almost silent. You shouldn't call me that.

Yugi eyed him for a moment. Then he crossed his legs and leaned back onto his palms, studying him. "Well, I'm not calling you Yami right now. Just in case someone has mentioned your name at some point," the blue-violet-eyed boy commented quietly. "Jonouchi spends a hell of a lot of time here and it's possible he's mentioned you by name at some point or another. So I don't want to risk it."

Then call me by something else, Yami snarled, voice pleading and desperate. He flattened his ears back and stared at him. Anything but "aibou".

"You know, you've argued with me about this before. And I still don't understand—"

You don't understand? Yami spat. He locked eyes with him, furious. His lips drew back and he glared at him fiercely. Truly? You don't understand? How can you not? You're calling me your aibou even after the fact that your family was just killed because I couldn't—

"Stop," he snarled. He had the smallest impulse to hit him. It lasted only a split second. But it was there and he was startled by its existence. He could not remember ever desiring to hit someone as much as he did at that moment. And that was enough to rattle him. He'd never truly wanted to hit him before—at least not over something like this. He'd lashed out when Yami had killed his classmates that day in the snow. But that had been more than a disagreement or memories of what had just happened… He drew in a deep breath, shaky as he looked him over. "Just stop, okay. I don't want to hear it. It wasn't your fault."

It certainly wasn't yours, Yami snapped.

"Right, because it's hers," Yugi bit back. He glared, hateful and annoyed. He pictured mismatched eyes of green and gold and his fingers clenched against the carpet for a moment. His blood felt hot in his veins. His arms shook. His fingers ached from the strain. "I don't want to hear this, okay? I'm not going to listen to you try to explain why this is your fault."

Yami was silent for a long handful of minutes. Then he tilted his head and looked away to the door. Honda is back. He got up to shake himself out again and Yugi grimaced. A small speck of blood hit the wall. Yami pricked his ears forward, staring blindly, and then flattened his ears against his head once more. Yugi was still glaring at him despite the grimace. Yami studied him for a moment, then looked away again.

Yugi looked at the spot on the wall for a moment. Then he shifted his weight slightly, closing his eyes halfway. "I'll clean it up in a second," he dismissed quietly. He tipped his head back, reaching up to scratch at his neck. "I brought some supplies for that just in case. Does anything hurt?"

My shoulder is still shaky, Yami admitted reluctantly. When he took a seat again, he was exhausted. He clearly didn't know how he was supposed to respond to him. Yugi stared at him, considering him for what felt like a lifetime. I'm sure it will pass when I wake up tomorrow. I'm just tired, honestly.

Yugi blinked, shaking his head slightly. "You can go back to sleep after you eat if that's what you want."

Yami tipped his head towards him. His ears pricked forward and his eyes widened. After I…? he mumbled. Yugi thought he looked surprised and bewildered more than anything. Then his ears pressed against his head and he looked away again. Oh, uh, yes.

The small teen stared at him. The door had opened and he was listening to Honda as he spoke to his parents and carried a few bags. "You didn't think I was going to let you go to bed without eating, right?"

"You knew better, right?" was what he really wanted to ask. Surely he didn't think that Yugi was so upset with him that he would let him starve? Surely he knew that Yugi would never do such a thing to him? Surely he understood that Yugi cared for him too deeply to do something like that?

Surely he knew that—right?

He had to know Yugi didn't want to hurt him. He had to know he wouldn't starve him just because he was upset or hurting. He had to know that he wasn't going to hurt him in any manner…

But he'd thought about it, hadn't he? Yugi felt as if he might vomit. He'd thought about hitting him for a moment. He'd wanted nothing more in that second than to do so. If he were to do anything to harm him in this state, he doubted Yami would ever recover well enough to stand on his own two feet again.

"Hey, Yugi, can you help me grab these?"

Yugi scrambled for his feet. He cast Yami an awkward look, flustered. "I'll be right back, okay?" he muttered. He felt stupid for doing it. Yami wasn't stable enough to stand, let alone walk any distance. He dusted himself off, ruffled Yami's ears, and hurried out the door to meet them in the kitchen.

"Okay, so, I think I bought out like three of the main shops with venison cuts," Honda murmured. His voice was somewhere between laughter and absolute seriousness. He put aside about ten different bags and Yugi stared at them with huge eyes. "So, he should be stocked up for at least a few days. I guess it really just depends on how much you plan to feed him and all that…"

Yugi blinked and looked at the bags. He would probably have a whole deer if he were to weigh it altogether. His eyes burned, pricked with oncoming tears for a split second. It was overwhelming. Some part of him was choked with relief.

Honda had done exactly what he had asked and more…

"Thank you," he managed to breathe out in a choked voice. He was almost trembling as he looked at the multitude of bags scattered around the kitchen. His heart raced in his chest, threatening to jump into his throat. "Probably going to go for more frequent meals… Do you have a metal mixing bowl? I'll go ahead and feed him now if I can…?"

"Of course." Honda's parents had seemingly disappeared elsewhere into the house. The brunet nodded at him and considered Yugi with a thoughtful expression. "Do you need any help?"

"No, but you can come with me if you want. He's not going to snap at you or anything. I just need to give him some medicine again." Yugi felt flushed. His heart continued racing and every part of him felt feverish for a split second. "Where's Blankey?"

"My room. She usually sleeps in there anyways. I don't think she'd attack him if she was loose and running around, but it's always better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"I'm more worried about her trying to play with him and getting hurt if she overdoes it. I'm honestly more worried about him snapping at her than the other way around. I don't think he could handle being around her right now."

"Makes sense." Honda nodded, going around the island to pick out some bowls from the cabinet. He slipped them over to him and frowned. "Well, either way, I'll just keep her in my room for a little while."

"Just until he can at least walk properly again?" Yugi asked in a quiet, tired tone. He felt stupid and selfish now as he asked for such a thing. It seemed rude to request that of him like this. Honda nodded as if it were a given, however, and Yugi almost sobbed at the realization. Honda had always been so quiet and helpful when he'd needed him, but he had never had to ask something so disruptive of him before. The fact that he was going above and beyond for him even in this moment was stunning to him. He lowered his eyes, breathing in shakily. "If you want to come in there and talk, I can explain everything that happened. Anzu's dad was there so I couldn't really explain like I wanted to."

"If you want." Honda raised a brow, studying him and tilting his head after a few seconds. "I mean, I'm not expecting anything from you, so if you don't want to, then don't."

"No, I…I need to…to talk about this. I don't think I can deal with this otherwise and… I don't want to talk to Anzu about it. And Jonouchi is with the pack right now, and I can't call him and I…" He trailed off for a long second. Then he cast an anxious glance over his shoulder in the direction of the room he'd left Yami. When he turned back, his stomach was in knots once more. "I'm sorry. That makes it sound like you're always my last choice."

Honda snorted and shook his head. "I know that's not true. Don't worry about it." He smiled at him, a kind and friendly gesture that left Yugi utterly winded. "I promise I don't think that. I know you're closer to them. You've known them longer. And I wasn't exactly the warmest towards you when we first met or when you started hanging out with Jonouchi."

Yugi shrugged a shoulder, looking away. "I know," he mumbled. He grabbed the metal bowl from his hand and pulled out a steak. He cut the packaging open with his nails, dropping it in without a second glance. "But it's not like I really deserved it anyways. Jonouchi was the one who decided to take me under his wing, not you. So I can understand you not really wanting to have much to do with me."

The brunet nodded slightly, but didn't speak again. His eyes had wandered to the bowl now, appearing curious. Yugi shook his head as he punctured another package and dropped a second steak atop the other. Then he looked at the others in the bags for a moment. There had to be at least ten to each, he realized, almost trembling with relief and amazement.

Yami could likely eat ten in one sitting if he were honest with himself. But he would need to cut his meals into two or three—maybe even four—and make sure that he was not having issues digesting it. He would need to feed him more often in order to help him avoid going hungry for too long. It would also help his healing; he knew that much. He didn't know if his organs were bruised or not. And who knew what kind of effect the hellhound saliva might have had on him?

Yugi dropped two more steaks into the bowl, then put the others into the fridge. When he turned back, Honda was watching him with a curious expression. He felt slightly flushed as he grabbed the bowl again and shifted it awkwardly in his hands. His nails scraped the sides when his fingers trembled. "I think I'm going to give him some medicine later, before he goes to sleep. But I don't think he needs it now."

"Okay."

Yugi left it at that, leading the way into the guest room. When he opened the door, Yami looked up from where he'd been nibbling at his paw. "What are you biting at?" he demanded, teasing but also concerned. If he bit the quick again it would be a bit more troublesome than it had been before at his house. "You're not trying to take another nail off, are you?"

My leg itched, Yami huffed. He glared at him for a moment, as if challenging him to argue with him. Then he spotted Honda beside him and wagged his tail slowly. Yugi glanced at the brunet as well, watching his eyebrows rise as he came closer and shut the door behind them.

"Glad to see you awake," Honda commented wryly. He grinned at the wolf as he wagged his tail once more and tilted his head. "I thought you would be knocked out by the time we got back in here."

Sleep is for the weak, Yami answered.

Yugi snorted loudly, teasing, "Then I guess you're among them, huh?"

Yami flattened his ears against his head and shot him another glare. You're an ass.

"I try." He glanced awkwardly over at Honda when he realized himself a second too later. He frowned slightly. "Sorry, I forgot you can't hear him too. I'm used to being around other wolves. We can all hear each other so I just kind of overlooked it."

"I'm not worried about it."

Yugi hesitated for a long moment. Then he shook his head, moving over to put the bowl in front of Yami. The wolf tipped the bowl over eagerly with his paw. He stuck his face into the bowl, wolfing it down without a second glance in their direction. The brunet hesitated for a moment, then took a seat on the ground near him. Yugi did the same after a moment, leaning back on his palms and watching Yami with warm eyes.

"So, do you remember how I ditched class in the middle of the period?" he asked, turning to Honda now. Yami's teeth clicked against the metal when he licked it seconds later. His red eyes flickered lazily towards Honda and his tail wagged once as he dropped the bowl back. "It was because Jonouchi thought he heard dogs fighting. I wasn't paying attention at the time, but he said it sounded like Yami and when I listened, I realized he was right. So I ran off."

Honda nodded. Yami flicked an ear and lowered his head to his paws.

"When I got back to the house, there were a few of the wolves from the pack outside fighting. And the door was busted off the hinges. The staircase was covered in blood. There were a few bodies scattered around. And when I got into my room, my mom and grandpa were placed on the bed like they were just relaxing against the headrest."

Yami flexed and stretched his paws. He looked at Yugi sideways.

"Yami was pretty bad off. And they'd been bled enough that they were basically unable to move. The hellhounds were holding their own, Yami was struggling, and I tried to talk the girl down." He glanced at Honda now, fingers clawing anxiously at the carpet. "She was only eight, Honda. She was fucking eight years old. And she was like a fucking monster. She fucking mutilated us. She could hold her own without a problem and she tore us both to shreds. She knocked me around like I was nothing."

Yami flattened his ears against his head. He turned away after a moment, leaning forward in order to lick at the bowl again. The tag on the side closest his muzzle jingled loudly. Yugi glanced at him sideways but the black wolf refused to look at him.

"She knocked him around like he was nothing. And then she even turned on her beta like he was nothing. It was horrifying, Honda. She didn't care who it was she was attacking. She didn't even care that she was killing anyone. She was having the time of her life."

"I'm guessing she got away."

"After killing them and leaving Yami for dead, yeah." He looked over again. His voice came out exhausted and fractured. "Mazaki blames me for the arson. But he says he doesn't think I could have hurt them. He seemed sincere about it, but I don't know. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how truthful that is. Anyways, though, I had to change back and get rid of the clothes I was wearing when I changed. And I had to stitch him back together to help spur his healing. So I didn't even call the police until about ten or twenty minutes after she'd killed them."

Yami blinked and raised his head. He shook himself out lazily, not bothering to get up, and lay his head on his paws soon after. His ears pricked forward, his eyes half-closed.

"She told me she was going to kill them to punish me." Yugi narrowed his eyes. He shook his head, looking down and picking at the carpet fibers once more. He grimaced after a moment, guilt gnawing at his insides. She was eight years old. And he hadn't taken her seriously because of it. He'd underestimated her. He hadn't thought she could be as bloodthirsty as she was. He hadn't considered that maybe Yami had been speaking from experience rather than just fear when he'd said he would kill her. "Apparently I wasn't exactly who she thought I was."

Yami's breathing evened out. His paws twitched every few seconds but he didn't seem to be troubled. Yugi stared at the paw missing its dewclaw. The stump of it was bright red and raw, all but oozing, and the sight of it made Yugi nervous for a long moment.

"You've never exactly been the best at fighting," Honda commented, voice cautious as he continued. Yugi kept his eyes on the bloodied toe, wondering if Yami had ever known a life where he wasn't constantly fighting one way or another. "You're a pacifist. Just because you got bitten doesn't change that. It doesn't mean you turn around and become someone you're not. I mean, you're still Yugi. You're still the weirdest and calmest kid I've ever met."

Yugi smirked and shook his head. "Weirdest, huh?"

"You're the one who got bit, not me. I'm labeling you the weirdest." Honda lost his smile a second later, frowning and studying him. "But I mean, it's not like that's a bad thing or anything. Honestly, the only thing that I've noticed since you've been bitten is maybe that you got a little more confident. I think you've come out of your shell somewhat. But that's about it. It's not like you're running around trying to make a name for yourself or anything like that."

The small teen shook his head. "But I did. I was stupid enough to do that." He drummed his fingers and looked over. Honda blinked, clearly surprised by the declaration. "I told that pack in the woods that I was this wolf they'd been looking for. I told them I was the messiah or whatever they think he is, meant to help them win some huge war."

"What? Why would you…?"

"Because it's true." Yugi turned away again. He tapped his fingers and narrowed his eyes. "I mean, in a sense I guess it's true. I'm kind of wondering if at this point it's not just some kind of stupid name, some kind of label that's been glorified to the point of becoming god-like in origin and all that. I mean, I am Atem. But I'm still Yugi too. It's weird…"

Honda glanced at Yami now. The wolf was still asleep. But his paw was twitching more rapidly. His fur rose and fell twice, his sides shivering. "I don't really know how to help you with that one."

"I know. And I'm not explaining it right either. But if I explain it to you, it's a long story and we'd probably be up all night talking about this."

"We can do that. I don't know about you, but I think it would be understandable for you to skip school after what happened and you're staying with me so it makes sense, right?"

Yugi laughed softly, eyes bright and almost watery. Honda's stomach lurched. But Yugi didn't cry even as he turned away and looked at Yami again. "I don't think you need all the details to get the gist of it."

"I think I would probably lose my mind if you told me everything," Honda said dismissively, waving it off. He let out a deep breath and smiled at him slightly. "But I have been meaning to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot."

"Tomoya wasn't the one who bit you, was he?"

Yugi pursed his lips and shook his head slowly, eyes narrowed. He made a flippant gesture towards Yami and awkwardly shifted his weight. "I shouldn't have lied about that either. But I didn't want you guys to think he was a bad person or anything like that. And I wanted to protect him. He is not always the most…subtle in the fact that he's not afraid of dying. I don't think he wants to die, but he's…not scared of it. And the less people who know he bit me, the better." He turned back to him after a moment, cheeks slightly flushed. He stretched his legs out and studied Yami more pointedly. "The pack got told that I bit him. It was the only way to keep them from killing him. So I lied and said I bit him. I don't think any of them believe that anymore. But when they did, it was easy for us to hide that fact and work around it."

"Why don't you think they believe it anymore?"

He looked toward Yami again. His blue-violet eyes became distant, glazed over, and his head tilted slightly to the side as he frowned and drummed his fingers against the carpet again. "The girl who killed my—Yubel. She's a hellhound. And hellhounds only come in three colors from what I've been told—black, gray, or an off-white color. And they only have three eye colors."

Honda blinked. "Oh shit." Yugi turned his head when he stiffened beside him. He was bristling in alarm, but the hazel-eyed teen merely looked at him in realization. "That's what Valon is, right? That's why his eyes suddenly turned gold when they used to be blue."

"Yeah. He's a hellhound." Yugi looked to Yami again. The wolf didn't stir from his sleep in the slightest. His ears flicked once, but his breathing remained calm and easy. "He's a king shepherd wolf mix."

"So then…what are the other two colors?"

He made a vague gesture towards Yami, a part of him hating himself for it. "Red, though usually it's a wine color. So it's not quite like his, but red eyes are still really…odd. And apparently lycanthropes never have red eyes. And then there are green eyes. I think it's more aquamarine or something more like that shade. Not quite green like you're probably thinking or anything like that."

Honda shivered. "I guess that's better than the idea I had," he commented softly. "I was thinking like dark forest green or something like radioactive green."

Yugi snorted. "I wish." He grinned slightly and shook his head. "It's harder to really look into them and not think that you're killing a person instead of a wild dog when they have eyes that aren't completely unnatural."

"So, what's your kill count?"

Yugi burst out laughing, turning to him and grinning. "Subtle," he teased, expression goofy with laughter. He shook his head and turned away, looking to Yami again. "I'm sure it's a thousand times smaller than Yami's. But let's see…I've killed… I don't remember. I think it's smaller than ten, though?"

Honda raised a brow. "And Yami?"

Yugi blinked and his eyes glazed over for a moment. He looked miserable when he picked at the carpet again. His eyes were glued to Yami once more, his lips pulled into a grimace. "Probably way more than me. I don't honestly know how many people he's killed," he admitted reluctantly. "And I can't say he killed them if he didn't do it consciously trying to."

"Huh?"

"Fuwa….caught him at one point. And he and another wolf were using him to kill off some of the pack members." Yugi looked Yami over for a long handful of seconds. Then he shuffled his weight and leaned forward. His fingers were outstretched towards his nose and Yami startled awake. His eyes were huge, pupils dilated, and his lips drew back visibly. He snarled for a single second. And then he licked his hand, lowering his head back to his paws. "Sorry, you had a hair stuck in your nose. It was kind of irritating me."

Yami stretched halfheartedly, sides rippling from the effort. And, for a moment, Honda thought they might split again. But the sutures held firm. His breathing evened out again soon after. Still, Yugi stayed quiet and Honda realized abruptly that Yami was wide awake. And Yugi wasn't comfortable with the subject matter they'd been discussing before.

It was a full ten minutes later that Yugi finally continued. "Anyways, Fuwa caught him and he tortured him and left him for dead half the time. Yami was forced to kill anything and everything that came in contact with him. And I know for a fact that many of them to be wolves from the pack. He even said as much himself. And I don't think he honestly knows how many. I think he was in a feral state and has no recollection of it."

Honda shivered and looked at Yami. "So he doesn't remember at all?"

"If he does, he hasn't told me. And I don't want to ask." Yugi shook his head firmly and Honda glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Marik…is the one who was helping Fuwa capture the wolves. He hated my guts and he wanted to take over the pack. So he…tried to kill me."

"Fuck, what?"

Yugi fell quiet for a second. "He had just escaped the greenhouse Fuwa was keeping him in and he went and killed Marik for me. And then he tried to kill me, but he wound up killing someone else instead in the middle of—How, um…how much has Jonouchi actually told you about…?"

Honda blinked, looking at Yami and then Yugi and frowning. "He really hasn't said that much about Yami. But he does think you have your head up his ass a lot because of the whole…wanting to bone him thing. He said the pack was awesome, but that he sometimes has to deal with them all bickering because some of the original pack members are extremely prejudiced and others can be snooty." He shrugged. "He mentioned that you guys have some weird belief that some of you can come back from the dead and all that?"

Yugi drummed his fingers, nodding slightly. "They're called Pure-Bloods. They're wolves that, when they die, come back to life. But they can come back in a feral state. Or they can come back in a calm one." He dug his nails into the carpet again, picking at the fiber once more. Honda wondered if this was the human equivalent of a dog's panting. "Yami is one of them. I'm one of them. And then are three others. They're gods."

"Gods?"

Yugi laughed quietly. "I know you're super anti-religion and all that, but hear me out, okay?" he murmured, turning back with a small grin. "Basically, it goes like this. The original werewolves came about from this huge war. It was during the Ice Age and it was humans against wolves. So the original wolf gods, Lupa and Fenrir, decided that war was necessary and all that fun stuff. Fenrir created the Harbingers, the first hellhounds. And Lupa created the Pure-Bloods. I'm giving you a really bad retelling, by the way. Everyone else has a lot more details to it and it's usually a lot different and longer than this. But I'm just giving you the gist of it. Anyways, so the first three of both species became gods. There's Obelisk, the god of war, Slifer, the goddess of death, and Ra, the goddess of life for the lycanthropes. All of them are Pure-Bloods. And then there's Morrigan, the goddess of death, Hati and Skoll. I don't honestly know who rules over what with those two. They're apparently brothers and I think Skoll is life and Hati is war. But I can't be sure."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa now. Wait a second," Honda snorted, holding a hand up and shaking his head at him. "Okay, not to shit on your newfound religion and all, Yugi, but seriously? What the fuck?"

Yugi laughed out loud. It came from deep in his belly and his eyes were bright with it. He grinned at him, tilting and shaking his head seconds later. "I've met four of them so far. And I watched one of them come back to life." Yugi gestured to Yami again, studying the sleeping wolf. "I watched him kill Obelisk when he tried to protect me after Marik tried to kill me that same day. Yami was feral and didn't know what he was doing. But he snapped Obelisk's neck in the middle of their fight. Obelisk was pissed."

Honda blinked and shook his head. "Okay, no, backtrack. I'm lost."

Yugi snorted and looked away. "I'm terrible at explaining this stuff. Anyways, though, basically what happened was Marik cornered me and he almost won. But Ra intervened and after I killed Marik, I sensed Yami nearby. But he was feral and didn't know what he was doing. He was starved and desperate and I kind of think he was basically hunting anything that moved. So he came after me too. And Obelisk tried to stop him. And when he did, they got into a fight and Yami managed to snap his neck."

"I was going to say I can't picture it, but… I mean, he killed that tiger right in front of us. And he decapitated Fuwa's wife while she was trying to shock him with a tazer. I can definitely see it." His eyes flickered to Yami. The wolf was still fast asleep and Yugi nearly groaned with relief. "What I can't see is this Obelisk guy coming back to life after that."

"Yeah, it's kind of a lot to take in, right?"

"Wait a second. You just said you and Yami can come back to life too?"

"Yes."

"Then why did Obelisk even bother? I mean, feral state aside, why…?"

Yugi curled in on himself for a moment. "Because…I…might be defective."

"What? What the hell does that mean?"

He scratched the inside of his wrist, shaking his head. "To explain that I have to explain who and what Atem is. And to explain that, I have to tell you about the Lunar Ascension…" He hesitated a moment, then looked up towards the ceiling. "The Lunar Ascension is the story of origins for the wolves. Basically there was a void and all creatures came from it in pairs. Humans and wolves came together. So Lupa and Fenrir are balanced by Adam and Eve, I guess. Anyways, the war started when there was little food. Humans started hunting and eating wolves and using their dogs to kill them. So Fenrir made the hellhounds to get revenge and then Lupa turned around and made the lycanthropes after she decided to save the humans. What I learned recently is that if one species dies, then the other will too. So destroying all the humans would destroy the wolves too. So then you have to wonder if Lupa really stopped the fighting because she saw humans showing mercy or if she realizes this where Fenrir overlooked it in his rage."

Honda snorted. "Pretty big detail to overlook just because you're pissed."

"Mm." Yugi grinned, a slightly self-deprecating one if Honda were honest. "Anyways, so the war turning into wolves against wolves. And eventually the three gods were chosen to rule over their subspecies. So, from there, basically Lupa or someone promised that if the wolves would need it, they'd create a messiah for them. And that messiah was Atem."

"Okay, yeah, I'm following this…"

"So, I guess that time came. And Atem is here." He pointed his thumb at himself, showing him another frustrated smile. "Me. But the problem is, they never said who Atem was. They never said who was meant to be or how he would even act. They never said what would happen or who he was meant to fight. And this is where things get even worse."

Honda blinked and raised a brow.

"Atem isn't natural. There was only ever meant to be the three Pure-Bloods in the world. And apparently someone managed to breed Atem into existence."

"Breed?"

Yugi nodded and looked away. "Yeah. There's a lab underground. And the people there are running experiments on all of the wolves down there. They're killing and torturing them. And they're constantly running these tests on them, creating someone like Yubel. And someone…like me."

So from what I could find of the procedure involved with the situation in question, there were three options for the statement—going to the station, an audio interview, and a video interview. Yugi, as a minor and technically just a witness as he claims he wasn't involved (as well as being related to the deceased), has every right to deny making a statement. I originally was going to have him make one via audio but I decided at the last second that he would decline doing one.

I'm not entirely sure he'd have that ability in Japan as well, but for the sake of the story, he does.