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.

82. Yubel

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Hopefully biweekly

Chapter Warnings: Slight Puzzleshipping, Mentions of Funerals, Character Deaths

Okay, so first off! I want to apologize like crazy for not getting this out sooner. I tried several times to get it set up and worked on and edited to post but it didn't work out until now. My work schedule has gotten tighter again and I'm working six days a week likely for the entire month of May (and possibly into May). It's exhausting and puts a lot of strain on writing and editing. So I'm going to try to get back onto regular updates but I have no idea if that will work out just yet.

I edited the majority of the chapter a week ago but couldn't get it all done until now. Some of it might still have some random typos and things of that manner because of only being able to go over it once. Feel free to point them out if they're bad enough.

Kizuna means genesis in Japanese. Yugi calls Yami Kizuna because Pure-Bloods are considered the genesis/origin of lycanthropes.

Japanese funerals usually consist of cremation; they have the highest cremation rate in the world at 99.85%. For the story, Domino usually has burials rather than cremations for the most part. During the funerals, the family gets to watch the bodies burn to ash and then they pick out the biggest pieces of bones with chopsticks and put them into urns. I didn't want to put that into the story because of how morbid it seems, but that's the details behind it.

Chapter LXXXII: Yubel

Work Log Entry LXXIII: March, 2009

March 12

Atem has been determined to be a sociopath due to recent tests.

We have scanned him with multiple MRIs to test the likelihood of such a thing.

The emotional signatures in the readings are almost nonexistent.

Of course, we cannot determine if this was a new development or was always there.

The lycanthropy makes it impossible, as the organs are too easily changed and manipulated by the disease.

March 20

We have determined that MRIs are not a reliable indicator as other wolves that display healthy brain scans have similar developments as Atem did.

The boss thinks he is a sociopath, however, and is determined to diagnosis him in another manner.

March 30

Atem has been determined to be unable to be tested in such a manner.

His brain is too complex.

And he has been determined to be manipulating us in the form of complicating our test results.

He has no problem with twisting his results and making us backtrack.

I think he's making a game of it at the moment as well.

Why am I here?

The words were snarled. Yami blinked, glancing sideways in confusion towards the white wolf. Yugi stood at his side, a few feet away. His head was raised, his fur in a furious bristle. The hateful expression on his face was one that shook Yami to his core. It was so unfamiliar and powerful that it almost made him tremble. But then he glanced over and Yami was struck with the oddest sense that Yugi had not noticed him there before that moment. The anger left his eyes and the intensity of his stare became one of warmth. He relaxed abruptly and came over to his side. His tongue ran over his nose and Yugi considered him with softened eyes, hatred smothered more visibly by affectionate warmth.

Hey, the white wolf murmured. He wagged his tail after a moment. Yami blinked at him, surprised by the change in his tone. He studied him for a long handful of seconds, finally wagging his tail slowly and hesitantly. You okay? I mean, you've been sleeping since we got to Honda's so I figured since we're here I might as well ask.

Yami blinked again. He nodded slowly and his eyes flickered across his. I'm fine. I just needed to rest some, he said quietly, keeping his tone level. But part of him wanted to snarl with the slightest sense of fear. Yugi's sudden change of personality made his stomach lurch. But I feel a lot better for the moment, seeing as you cannot experience pain in Paradise.

Yugi pricked his ears forward. Yeah, I'm wondering why exactly we're even here to begin with, he said in a sneer, eyes sharpening once more. I figure Ra or someone wants to—

Not Ra this time, a new voice commented. Yugi spun around snarling. Yami, however, pressed his ears against his head and lowered his muzzle to the snow. His fur rose and fell in a shudder and guilt crashed through him hard enough that he nearly swayed on his feet. The red-brown ears of the wolf in front of them twitched. Their green eyes flickered between them for a moment and he tilted his head slightly. His gaze was gentle and soft, warm as he focused entirely on Yami.

You're upsetting him, Yugi snarled abruptly, viciously. He lunged, teeth bared. His teeth chomped shut loudly. The wolf in front of them did not so much as blink. He still only had eyes for Yami, though he tilted his head in Yugi's direction. The white wolf lunged again. Yami blinked, studying him; he was rather sure that all three of them knew he would not truly strike.

The gray wolf shook himself out. His ears flicked back and forth twice. And then he turned finally to Yugi. He wagged his tail once, searching Yugi's face, and the white wolf lost his bristle. He hesitated for a moment, mimicking the action slowly. For once it was not the gods who brought you here. His tail abruptly fell. His green eyes flickered back to Yami, scrutinizing his position as if he thought he might flinch away. The black wolf refused to lift his head, turning away from them both entirely now. Someone else wants to see you both this time.

Okay, and? Yugi mumbled. Yami could see him turning to him. He bristled faintly, tucking his tail and angling his face further away from them both. He didn't want either of them to notice him. The white wolf let out a soft sigh, then turned away. So, who is it this time then?

Come with me, the gray male answered. Yugi started to trot after him, and finally paused a moment later. Yami hesitantly glanced toward him, taking a slow, lumbering walk. He was several paces behind Yugi, falling into his path and putting his paws in each of his earlier prints. Yugi glanced over his shoulder with a concerned expression, but he didn't ask nor did he stop. He hurried after the other wolf when he got too far ahead of them. Yami trotted in order to keep up, slow and uneasy in his pace.

Jaden?

The wolf that responded was small, not even a true yearling. He stood on legs too long for his body, his brown eyes wide and childish. He was a mostly solid color of chocolate brown, his legs a soft enough tan that they appeared tawny around paws that were far too large for his frame. His chest was streaked with white and his tail went past his hocks. He blinked in confusion from where he'd been apparently playing in the snow with a small stick. It was poking from the corner of his mouth when Yami studied him, his cheeks puffed out from the wooden object in his jaws. He looked at them, at first with bewilderment. And then he seemed to remember himself. His eyes lost their happiness and amusement and grew wide again, slight astonishment and then despair crossing his features.

I didn't realize he looked like…

Yami bristled, snarling low in his throat. The pup was staring straight at him, peering at him in such surprise that he seemed to think Yami had two heads. And, when he looked over at Yugi again, his eyes were sad and remorseful. The despair grew tenfold a second later.

Why am I here? Yugi said, in that same cold tone he had used before. He shook himself out and looked toward Yami from over his shoulder. When he seemed to find whatever it was he was searching for, he whipped back around with a snarl. What did you want us here for?

The gray wolf beside him looked over to Yami after a moment. Are you all right? His voice was quiet, soft and concerned. The black wolf flinched, aggression lost, and hurried to look away from him entirely. The other male sighed. Yugi turned around with a confused expression. Very well. I'll leave you three to it.

Yami pricked his ears and tilted his head. He risked a glance towards him. And his cage mate watched him for a long moment. He wagged his tail once, opening his jaws to show him a sloppy smile. His heart ached seeing it. He had only been given glimpses of it a week or two before the escape had come to fruition. He had told him it would be okay, wagging his tail and nipping at the scrubs Yami had been wearing at the time. He'd been distressed, knowing that something or other was going to happen, and his cage mate had tried his hardest to keep him stable and calm.

Now the wolf stood in front of him, wagging his tail happily. His tongue was lolling, his eyes softer than he'd seen them in what seemed a lifetime. He watched him a moment, tilting his head, and then turned and began to trot away into the snow when Yami gave him a hesitant nod. Yami watched him go, for a moment taking a step or two after him, gut pulling with anxiety. Yami flattened his ears against his head, looking over to Yugi after a moment.

The white wolf was staring at him. Yami expected to see something more than he was given. As he faced the other wolf, he felt his fur rise and fall in a shuddering bristle. There was not any judgment as he'd expected. Instead there was only sorrow and perhaps the smallest bit of desperation which came from seeing a friend in such a pitiful state. Yami looked away from him immediately.

I needed to talk to you, the brown wolf said hesitantly. Yugi turned to him immediately. Yami tilted his head, looking over at him curiously. When he crept closer, Yugi glanced at him long enough to lick his forehead and turn away again. It's about Yubel.

That gentle, forgiving energy that so constantly hovered about Yugi seemed to freeze within the frigid air. It became a hideous current, taut and punishing, and seemed to close in on them both viciously. Yami blinked huge eyes, turning to him in shock. His entire body was rigid, focused with his tension, and his gaze became sharp and terrible. The sorrow had fled long before. The friendliness had been abandoned somewhere behind the intensity of the hatred in his stance.

Yubel? he repeated. He sounded almost as if he were testing the name out more than anything. But his eyes were dangerously dilated. And his body radiated tension. He crept forward a step, stiff in his stance. Yami swore that he could hear his bones snap from the pressure of movement. He stiffened, narrowing his eyes.

Yugi…

Yugi glanced at him sideways. But somehow he seemed almost not to recognize him. Yami shivered, eyes wide, but did not bother to speak. Something about the way he stared back at him at the moment made him think that Yugi might lunge at his face should he so much as breathe the wrong way. Yami turned away quickly. Yugi studied him for a long second, then turned away again.

The pup in front of them took a seat. His head was lowered, ears against his head. He was shaking slightly, tremors focused in his slim shoulders. Yami would have assumed him to be sobbing had he not known any better. He blinked and looked between the two of them cautiously.

The pup refused to raise his eyes, however. He shuffled anxiously under their stares, his breathing stunted. Yami could smell his fear like a heavy perfume. Yubel is… He shuddered and shook his head slightly. She used to be my best friend—before we got caught and forced to endure the experiments…

Best friend? Yugi echoed slowly. He glared at him, expression morphing with anger. Yami saw the fur along his shoulders rise and his tail lifted slightly, but did not go above his head for the moment. The white wolf was shivering now, entire body more stiff than Yami had ever seen. His eyes flashed, appearing almost dark purple rather than their usual mixture of blue and violet. And then he glanced sideways towards Yami as if he had forgotten for a moment that he was there. Her…best friend…

She wasn't always like this, the yearling said quietly, awkwardly. He whimpered the words and Yami almost snapped at him not to speak for a split second. Something about Yugi set every alarm off in his head. And the anger he radiated made him similarly aggressive. She actually was never like this until after the escape happened.

Amazing, Yugi sneered. He did not remove his eyes from Yami's. He looked furious. But there was also the mildest touch of concern and perhaps even bewilderment. So what happened? She became a bitter little bitch because she didn't get rescued?

No, she's… The wolf shuffled anxiously again. When he raised his head, Yugi spun on him with a snarl. The yearling flinched. Yami glanced over curiously, studying his expression. The pup looked terrified for only a second, then became quickly heartbroken and shattered. He looked as if he had been gutted, as if he could not even so much as consider the things that had happened. No doubt he had been traumatized as well, though his death had to have come sooner—

You died that day, yes?

Yugi glanced at him sideways as he said the words. He seemed to have all but forgotten Jaden's existence the moment he saw him. Yami looked over at him as well, though he did not remain doing so for long. He turned away again almost immediately. His stomach lurched and ached.

Shot at point blank, the pup agreed. He looked at Yugi again, expression somewhat miserable. The white wolf blinked once, turned his head, and stared at the other. Jaden lowered his head again, flattening his ears against his skull once more. He pawed at the snow with his eyes tightly shut for a brief moment. But that's not why she's so hateful. That's not why she is so terrible.

No? Yugi drawled in a clearly disinterested tone. He flicked an ear, turned to look at Yami with something almost spiteful but incredibly lost as well, and huffed out a deep breath. His fur rose along his shoulders and scruff once more. She wasn't so upset because of your death? How amazing.

Jaden whined loudly, dismayed and horrified. And then he shook his head as Yami glanced towards him. That's not what I meant! he pleaded. He sounded desperate and disgusted. He sprang forward, bristling as he raised his tail. Yugi turned to him slowly, ears pricked and eyes sharp with annoyance. That's not at all what I—!

And? Yugi spat. What the fuck is your point right now? You're wasting my time.

Yugi, Yami muttered softly. He shook his head slightly as Yugi turned to face him. The white wolf was hostile once more, stance visibly terrible and cold. His lips drew back slightly in a sneer but he didn't say a word to him. Stop it. He's already scared of how you're going to react. He's barely six. Leave him alone.

Oh, oh, wow. So now you have some kind of understanding of age! Yugi scoffed, eyes sparkling with ferocity. His being six is different from her being eight? I'm sure you could explain to me if I give you the chance, right, Yami?

Yami snorted loudly. The chuckle that left him was hideous and spiteful. He wrinkled his lips back to show his teeth in a sneer. I have no problem killing a child mere hours old, he corrected him in a bitter voice. He shook his head, narrowing his eyes. I have no qualms killing when it is necessary. But you cannot simply treat him like an enemy for no reason. He's just trying to—

Oh, so you mean he's not an enemy? I must have the idea that he's best friends with her confused with something else!

Jaden was shaking. He had pressed himself into the snow. His paws covered his muzzle. His eyes were scrunched tightly shut. And he looked like a leaf of dark brown against the ice around him. Yami watched him a moment longer, wondering if he was afraid of him.

I will not argue with you now—

Why? Because you realize you're a hypocrite?

Because I will not turn my teeth on you once more! Yami roared, spinning on him again. He snapped his teeth shut next to his throat, clipping a hair or two. The smaller wolf stumbled back, startled. His blue-violet eyes widened drastically and he stared at him with a horrified expression. His fur was up in a bristle, his tail raised slightly.

Jaden was shaking harder. Don't fight! he begged. Please don't fight!

Yami drew his lips back. Then he turned furiously away from him. He drew in a deep breath, exhaling hard. He could see Yugi still staring at him in his peripheral. He was still in shock, no doubt stunned that Yami had turned on him in such a manner. But there was no reason for him to acknowledge the shock in his expression.

Speak, the black wolf spat. His voice was somewhere between furious and desperate. He couldn't tell which emotion was more abundant for him. His voice threatened to crack as he glared at the yearling, snarling, Hurry up.

He was almost trembling now himself. The anger in his veins left him abruptly. He felt cold, all but frozen as dismay washed over him. He didn't want to fight Yugi. But he didn't know how else to get the point across. And his aggressive state set Yami on edge. He could barely breathe for a split second. Then he shivered, shaking himself out, and flicked his tongue over his nose. He glanced over his shoulder. Some part of him wondered for a brief second if his cage mate was nearby. And another ached with desire that he would be there. He wished he could go and burrow into his side as he had that last year before he'd escaped. He wished he could just bury his face in his fur and disappear into his warm, soothing scent. He'd made it so easy…

Yubel and I were best friends. She was two years older than me and we grew up in the same pack together. She vowed to protect me against anything and everything that might harm me, he explained in a soft, almost broken tone. His eyes were on Yugi, pleading with him to understand. Yami could see the white wolf staring viciously at the yearling in his peripheral. We would play every day no matter what hour it was. We were inseparable. And one day we went out too late. We decided to play for too long. We weren't paying attention like we should have and…we got out of range of the rendezvous point.

Yami felt his stomach twist and churn, knotting itself. But he could not bear to acknowledge such a thing. The black wolf wished again that he might be able to burrow into someone else, hide behind them like a small lost pup would its parents. He wanted more than ever to pretend that he was blind to it all. He looked away again, flattening his ears against his head and narrowing his eyes.

The humans found us. We were drugged and caught. And my pack came to help us when they heard the commotion. We were all caught and dragged underground. Jaden fell quiet for a long handful of seconds. Then he began anxiously digging into the snow, bristling uncomfortably. We were tested on constantly and she was experimented on more than me because she was older.

You said you were from the same pack?

We were, yeah.

And she's a hellhound.

Yami flicked an ear, focusing on that unspoken question and considering. But Jaden simply blinked at him in bewilderment. He tilted his head, looking briefly towards Yami and back in confusion. He frowned and shook his head. And, as Yugi looked at him, his lips began to curl back with impatience.

Some packs will include hellhounds, Yami explained quietly. Yugi turned to him immediately. His ears pricked forward, his head tilting. Yami drew in a deep breath to keep himself steady for a moment. Sometimes it is beneficial to do so. Having two subspecies together in one pack can do well at times.

Yugi blinked, narrowing his eyes. Okay, he said after a long moment. And Yami had the smallest thought that perhaps Yugi was considering this. But that doesn't quite add up to what Yubel was saying. She told me that she was born in the labs.

She's blocked out the events that happened before the escape, Jaden said with a small shake of his head. He dropped his head and shifted his weight uncomfortably. He was almost shivering as he looked away. She forced herself to forget after the escape happened.

Yami narrowed his eyes. She'd forced herself to forget? He wondered if that was something he should do. He didn't want to think any longer about all of the pain that day alone had caused. He glanced sideways towards Yugi. If he died, he would need to know that technique. He would need to know how to forget it.

The pup looked between them when neither spoke again. I was with her when the escape happened. We were trying to run away together. But I got scared when they cornered us and she got caught when she tried to protect me. But I ran. And she was calling for help and I—w-when I turned back, she was unconscious and they shot me…

Yugi blinked once, long and slow. And, is this meant to make me feel bad for her in some manner? He said the words in a slow, furious drawl. Because I do not give a flying fuck about what caused her to act like this. I'm going to kill her regardless.

Yami turned his head, eyes widening. Yugi—

I owe her that much for what she did, the white wolf snapped, turning on him. He bore his teeth, bristling. His blue-violet eyes were sharp enough to make him almost flinch back. His entire stance projected the hatred Yami could read in his gaze. I owe her for everything she's done. I'm going to mutilate and destroy her. And I'm going to enjoy it.

Yami forced himself not to respond. He shook himself out, snarling under his breath. He truly wished he could turn his teeth on him at the moment. Revenge was something that would get him killed. Revenge was a sickness. It caused tunnel vision and it would get them both killed if he allowed it to take over.

But she's not some evil monster! Jaden objected. Yugi lunged at him blindly. His teeth snapped shut. Jaden was on his back, tail between his legs. He tilted his neck towards him. The white wolf never made contact with him. He was still several inches away. But he blinked down at him furiously. His ears were pricked, eyes burning. Yami only noticed as he turned away that Jaden was staring at him helplessly.

And though he was surprised, Yami would not get involved in this scuffle. He would not even consider it. He bristled, narrowing his eyes. And, when he turned his head away, he could see his cage mate somewhere further in the trees. Yami almost trembled. But the green-eyed wolf wasn't alone. Yami bristled for a split second, spotting the two of them following him swiftly about the trees. One was russet, a ginger shade so deep it looked like a flame. The other was light silver and black along the back; where the two colors merged it almost looked blue.

They were darting about like will-o-wisps of varying colors. They looked like ghosts for a split second. They moved rapidly and surely. And Yami realized they were playing tag. The three of them would dart away, return, and then throw each other around. His cage mate leaped over the russet one, spinning around to mouth the gray wolf a second later. They growled softly, a low rumbling like the dull roar of river water.

Yami had the split second urge to race over and join them. Some small part of him wanted nothing more than to hide with them. But he couldn't impose like that. And he knew in truth he was not welcome to join them in the slightest.

I think she's a monster, Yugi said beside him. Yami pricked his ears and turned back, startled by the certainty and disgust in his voice. The white wolf was still staring down at Jaden, impassive now in expression. And I don't know about you, Jaden, but I was taught in life that you get rid of the monsters in your life.

Yami blinked, considering him for a moment.

When my parents met, my dad was so overwhelmed by things he used to drink a lot. His parents had a lot of expectations in him that he couldn't quite meet. It depressed him. Because he could never do exactly as they wanted. Yugi blinked once, staring down at the pup. He looked indifferent now. When my mom found out, she told him that he had to stop. She threatened to take me away from him. That probably wasn't the biggest threat she could have given him. But it worked. He promised to stop. I haven't once in my life seen him accept a drink even for celebratory reasons.

Yami tilted his head, looking at him now in confusion.

Alcohol was his monster, Yugi continued, and Yubel is mine. She's going to be killed. You can see her again and explain your cowardice to her then. Maybe then you can reconcile or maybe you won't. I don't care. But when I kill her, I'm not going to hesitate.

Jaden rolled over for his paws, fumbling forward a step, eyes wide with horror. B-b-but— he objected, shaking himself out. He opened and closed his mouth twice, then slowly dropped his tail and stared up at him. I'm sorry.

Yugi peered down at him. And, to Yami's surprise, when the white wolf leaned forward, it was not to bite him. He licked his nose and stared down at him again, eyes narrowing. You'll get to see her again soon, Jaden, he growled after a moment, but I'll never be able to see my mom or grandpa again. I guess you should be thankful for your blessings, huh?

Yami hurried after him when he began to trot away. Jaden did not speak again and when Yami looked over his shoulder at him, he found the brown pup standing in the same spot. He was trembling, eyes wide, tail down, body visibly sagging with grief. Yami turned away again.

Death stalks your paws, Yami mumbled to himself. But he must have said it too loudly, for Yugi abruptly stopped. The black wolf collided with his back, snarling in confusion. His shoulder had begun throbbing again. And he felt winded the longer he stood there. He blinked, confused. Then he raised his eyes and found Yugi statuesque in front of him.

You're going to start saying that shit now too? the white wolf snarled. But Yugi never turned on him. He never even glanced at him. He didn't snarl or lunge. He didn't do anything for a long minute. And then he finally turned his head to look at him over his shoulder. His usually vibrant blue-violet eyes were dull and lifeless when he peered back at him. Truly, Yami?

I wasn't saying it for you, he answered almost spitefully. When he stepped back, his leg threatened to buckle beneath his weight. He stumbled, then hastily raised his paw from the ground to test his balance. He wasn't hurting like he would have had he been truly awake, but it was only a matter of time before he gained full consciousness and the pain became overwhelming. I was…reminding myself.

Yugi turned around now, lowering his nose to Yami's paw and scenting the pained limb. Then he sniffed along his shoulder and sides. His nose pressed briefly into his ribs. Yami held himself perfectly still for him, almost amazed when he did not collapse at any point. Why? The white wolf kept sniffing him. Why would you want to remind yourself that?

But the truth of it hung in the cold air between them and he shook his head after a moment. Yami turned away entirely and limped forward. He didn't risk a backwards glance, ears pricked forward.

Wait, Yami, just… Yami hesitated, slowing a few steps. And then he stopped, turning to look over at him. Yugi was staring at him, his expression unreadable. And then he came forward again, licking his cheek and studying his face. Just lay down, okay? I don't want you limping around here.

What? I'm fine.

No, your breath is getting shallower and your shoulder is shaking again. You're waking up, Yugi corrected him in a more frustrated tone. He pressed his chin on his hindquarters in an effort to make him take a seat. Yami hesitated for a long handful of seconds, then finally allowed him to do so. He took a seat and let Yugi gently nudge him into a laying position soon after. The white wolf stretched himself out beside him immediately after. I don't know if you moving around like that would cause your shoulder more pain or not.

Why does it matter? Yami huffed. It will heal.

Yugi rolled over onto his back, stretching his leg out to put his paw on his cheek and push lightly. Yami mouthed it, growling playfully, but he knew just as well as he that it would go no further. Yugi was not going to risk hurting him just to lose some tension. But the white wolf did smile at him. His tongue fell flat against the roof of his mouth as he opened it in a wide grin; his teeth were bright even against the snow.

Because, Yami, why hurt yourself more than necessary before it heals? he asked in a quieter voice. He pressed his other paw into his muzzle and Yami mouthed it as well, chewing gently on his claws and toes and wagging his tail. You're such a dork.

I try.

Yugi seemed to soften again, closing his eyes a moment later. You try, he mumbled, echoing him. And Yami knew now that he was thinking of the fight more than ever. He was justifying Yami's loss, equating it to trying and somehow failing all the same. He was justifying all the prior events leading to death and dismay and mayhem with the fact that they had tried. Yami wanted to puke as he turned away from him. When he looked at the trees again, there was only truly the sight of a few wolves moving about to greet him.

Marik was asleep a few yards away, the peaceful wolf he had not been capable of being in life. Echo was sitting, watching her former beta as he darted about and chased his pack mates rapidly. When she ran and sprang into the mayhem, the four of them rolled about snarling and laughing. There was a dark brown wolf with white paws and a tawny undercoat lying in the snow, a smaller gray yearling with them asleep on their side.

Maybe death wouldn't be such a bad thing when it came for him in finality. If they could all find some kind of peace here, who was to say he couldn't as well? He would be surrounded by wolves he had known at one point or another in his life. The gods only knew if they would still hate him for the things he'd done. But at least they'd be there, right? And he'd still be able to speak to them, to nuzzle them and lay with them even if it was on the outskirts of their little areas.

Yami pressed his ears against his head. He wasn't afraid to die. Why would one fear something so brief? He normally came back within a handful of minutes. Even when he had been tortured by Fuwa or the lab coats before the escape, he had come back within minutes. His cage mate had spent countless hours seated beside him, keeping him alive when he came back in order to ensure that nothing had gone wrong. He had always been sweet in doing so, nudging him when he'd blink one time too many or take too long opening his eyes again. He'd ask him to repeat certain phrases, always about the other boy because he himself had no name and had no true history to speak of. He'd recited the boy's name, his age, the state he came from, his brother's names, his eye color…

The questions had always been simple at first, then become steadily complex. Yami would have to struggle to remember the smaller details. And then he would work his way back to the first set of information a final time. By then he would be awake but tired, but able to at least sleep knowing that there was no permanent damage done to him from the more recent experiments.

Yami looked away and glanced back over to Yugi. The white wolf watched Marik for a long handful of seconds, blue-violet eyes expressionless and narrowed. Yugi, he mumbled. The other wolf turned to him instantly, blinking, and his eyes grew a little softer as he tilted his head and wagged his tail once. He was waiting, Yami knew, but he didn't know what he wanted to say, in truth. It was the most he could do at the moment, because he was not sure he could say anything…

Yami woke to his sides burning as if he'd been running. He raised his head, turning to look at them. The stitches were inflamed, but they were still there. His skin was tightly pulled in place. He licked lightly at the reddened flesh, the pain spiking but subsiding almost instantly.

"Don't make me put a cone on you," Yugi said from the bed. Yami blinked, looking at him over his shoulder slowly. The small teen had gotten up, dragging a blanket over his shoulders with him. Yami wagged his tail, unsure of what to say in response; surely Yugi was joking? The small teen plopped down beside him, wrapping his blanket around himself before falling backwards at his paws. "I'm not kidding. If you pull those and I have to redo them, I'm putting you in the cone of shame."

Rude, Yami quipped. But he leaned forward to run his tongue over his face for a moment. Yugi was shaking finely. He shifted closer still, the small teen blinking at the ceiling with an unreadable expression. He did so a few moments longer, then twitched his fingers. The lunged forward to grab him, latching his arms around his neck. He pulled him hard and Yami nearly yelped.

He shivered and licked him once more. Yugi clung to him, pulling him down until he was forced to press his chin to his chest. He shifted his weight, folding his paws inward. A nail snagged on the towel and he wondered if it would fracture as the other had before he'd chewed it off.

"I'm so tired of this."

Yami blinked, the smallest sense of fear coursing through him; did he mean of him? Did he mean he was tired of the situation? Did he mean how often they both got hurt? Or did he mean the fact that things were always broken and could never be properly fixed?

It was a gloomy thought. His stomach rolled for a long minute. His sides twitched, burning painfully, but he did not move. Yugi had taken to rubbing his head now, behind his ears and along the scruff of his neck.

The wolf stayed silent for a few minutes longer. Then he shifted forward slightly more. His legs pressed into Yugi's ribs lightly. But the boy was not complaining. So Yami simply shifted to rub his chin against his chest. He wasn't sure how comforting it was for him. But he tried all the same.

"It's just all so…stupid and terrible. Everything is wrong and I can't fix it because they weren't even wolves and I won't be able to see them again in Paradise and—" He choked. His chest shuddered beneath the wolf and Yami flattened his ears, whimpering softly. There was a small bubbly noise that left the other boy and Yami pressed against him more pointedly.

When Yugi actually cried, he tugged him harder. His fingers dug into his scruff. He mumbled some tiny apology when Yami grunted. He couldn't tell what he was saying. It just sounded tired and broken. Yami was shifted forward, drawn across Yugi's stomach. His paws were splayed across the carpet beside his shoulder and his nose wiggled for a moment. He ran his tongue over his cheek nearest him and Yugi seemed to try to laugh but failed miserably. It sounded bubbly, broken, and so pathetic that Yami almost flinched. He licked him more vigorously now.

Yami lay like that for several hours. His tongue was dried out from the saltiness of Yugi's tears and Yugi's cheeks were swollen from the abuse of Yami's tongue against them. The wolf only stopped when Yugi's breathing evened out somewhat. But when he thought the boy was likely asleep, he found him staring back at him. Yami pricked his ears forward and hesitated a moment.

Your eyes are all red and your cheeks are all puffy, he observed. It was a random statement, one that made Yugi blink in surprise before snorting. Yami wagged his tail slightly, but he did not know any way to comfort him.

"That tends to happen when you cry."

Yami snorted and wagged his tail again. Is that so? I had never noticed.

"You're such a jackass." Yugi was smiling though, reaching out to rub his head and behind his ears with both hands. He pulled his cheeks forward, making them puff up in his hands, and snickered. "Well, now you look like you've been crying too."

Yami wrinkled his nose. I don't cry. I simply drool with my eyes. He wagged his tail. Yugi was smiling, but he looked exhausted. Yami leaned forward, nudging him gently with his nose. And then my nose drools too. I'm a drooling mess.

Yugi laughed. "Is that so? I just thought you were a dirty, wet mess."

He growled playfully. You're not in the position to fight me, he teased, baring his teeth into a smirk of brilliant white teeth. Yugi grinned wider than ever. I could cover you in dirty wet mutt saliva.

"You already did, you jackass."

In certain areas. But I'll get all of you.

"Ooh, I'm so scared."

You should be. I'm a vicious licker.

Yugi laughed out loud, releasing his cheeks and ruffling his fur again. "I'm quaking, I promise," he snickered. He smiled wider, eyes softening drastically, and rubbed his ears once more. For a few minutes he was silent, and then he mumbled, "What did I do to deserve you?"

Yugi blinked in confusion. Was that meant to be a good statement or a bad one? He could not remember ever having such a question asked of or about him before. He had never even seen the question asked on television in all the shows he'd watched while Yugi had been at school. He had no experience with which to draw from to understand. Even his cage mate had never said something like that to him.

"Sorry. I think I'm just tired."

He didn't answer him a moment longer. Then he moved to put his chin on his chest again. I'm tired too. But his nerves were burning with bewilderment. And his stomach tossed as he tried to puzzle those words' meaning once more. He could not understand in any manner. He couldn't make sense of them in any way and it made him want to tremble, confused and unsure.

---

Yami stretched himself out and took a look at the stitches on his side. They were pulled tight from the movement and his skin took on a frustrating itch. But he did not do more than shift his weight to pull himself into a seated position. Yugi was still fast asleep beneath him. He was still on his back, slumbering easily. Yami stretched himself out again, wiggling his toes so that his claws caught in the carpet fibers for a brief moment. Yugi looked peaceful, and lying atop him again would surely wake him. So he looked at his sides again, lowering himself onto his stomach, and closed his eyes.

It took only a minute for Yugi to stir and sit up. He was rubbing his eyes when Yami glanced towards him curiously. The wolf blinked up at him, wagging his tail, and Yugi yawned as he looked over. His hand reached out to rub at his ears again and Yami hated to admit how comfortable he was with that touch. Werewolf or not, being scratched behind the ear was a wonderful thing.

"Morning." Yugi got up after a moment, dusting himself off. Yami glanced at the blanket when he lifted it and tossed it atop the bed. The small teen looked at it for only a moment, then turned to Yami again with a small, hesitant smile. His voice was somewhat hoarse and he still looked tired after the two hours of sleep he had managed to get during the night. "I'll go get you some breakfast, okay?"

Yami pricked his ears forward. Venison? he murmured in turn. He stumbled for his feet, but his legs were stiff from lying down as he had in the same position throughout the night. And so he stretched again, shaking himself out. Yugi ruffled his ears a second time, his eyes softer now than they had been before.

"Well, I had Honda go out and get a bunch of venison steaks yesterday," he admitted quietly, studying his face as if he did not know what else to say. "You can eat that for a while. And then maybe we can find something else for you later on."

Later on, I'll be hunting again, Yami dismissed him in turn. He craned his neck back and flicked his ears several times. It popped finally and he stumbled as he walked forward a step. And then I can…rectify some of this.

Yugi blinked and turned is head to look at him slowly. "Rectify?" he repeated cautiously. He considered him with a light in his eyes that Yami could only consider skeptical. "Rectify is an odd word, don't you think?"

Yami tilted his head, studying him in turn. To fix or plan to correct or put right, he mumbled, blinking up at him. He was almost relieved that his mind was working so fast when usually in a state like this he found it more or less lacking. That sounds correct to me. Why do you think it an odd choice?

The small teen eyed him for a long handful of seconds. His eyes narrowed and he leaned forward to look at him more pointedly. He tilted his head in turn before staring harder. "You don't truly blame yourself, do you?" he said slowly, voice bordering annoyance. "Tell me you don't, Yami."

The black wolf peeled his lips back slightly to show his teeth in an open grimace. It is my fault. Had I never crossed paths with you—

"I'd be dead," Yugi snapped much as he had so long ago during their last most similar conversation, "and you'd likely be captured again."

Yami huffed out a small breath. But even he realized to argue would only lead to resentment at the moment. Yugi was ready to fight with him, he realized. And he would do so until Yami became hateful of them both rather than just himself. So he turned away again, ears pricked forward and eyes locked on the carpet.

I'm hungry, Yugi, he said to change the subject. He tilted his head away from him, looking at him in his peripheral from beneath his lashes. He flattened his ears after a moment as Yugi stared back at him blankly for a split second.

"Okay, give me a minute. I'll go ahead and grab it."

Yugi wandered off without a second look. Yami took a seat, crestfallen as he considered it. They could have easily fought, had it gotten to that point. They could have easily dug their claws into each other. Yugi had wanted to, he realized. And he didn't know if it was because he'd cried all night but those couple of hours of rest he managed to get, or if it was just because he wanted to prove himself. Maybe he simply wanted to get his frustration out in some way. Maybe he had just wanted to fight with him for some reason. Perhaps he assumed that Yami would not take it personally.

But it admittedly startled him to consider. He had never assumed Yugi to wish to lash out at him like this before. He'd known he was capable. Of course he had always known that. Anyone was capable. And Yugi had proven himself to be once before, when he had spat at him in the woods about "the others".

The very thought made him want to vomit.

Remembering the words made him feel hollow and small. Yugi had claimed he didn't mean it. And yet Yami was rather sure some part of him had. It might have been driven by fear, but it was still something he said. One did not say such a thing without having thought it prior to the argument. That was not something that just came out in the midst of a volatile conversation.

Yugi had to have thought such a thing before—

"Yami?"

He looked over, ears pricked and eyes narrowing. He didn't raise his head and getting up was too exhausting to try to do at the moment. So he simply stretched his legs out and studied him in turn.

Yugi considered him for a few long minutes. He stared at him almost uncertainly, then slowly placed the bowl in front of him. His hands lingered a moment before he sighed and took a seat as well.

"You okay?"

The wolf blinked at him, an uncomfortable thought crossing his mind. How often had they truly fought? How often had they failed to pull punches? Yami could not properly remember. He didn't have a number for them. But he didn't think it was all too often. He could not imagine that they fought too often. It seemed as if they were a distant figment of his imagination most often.

It was often the things that he could have said and didn't.

It was the unspoken thoughts that he considered and left there resting on his tongue.

He didn't answer him now. He dug into his bowl instead, ignoring him. The metal clicked and Yami dug in without a second thought. Yugi reached out to ruffle his fur for a moment. And Yami wondered if it was meant to be an apology or something else entirely.

"You're harder to read like this."

Yami blinked and looked up at him in confusion. Oh? he mumbled. He looked away again when Yugi turned to stare at the carpet and nod his head. The gesture was self-conscious and vulnerable, Yami knew, and it could not be read otherwise. He looked at the steak in his bowl, half-eaten, atop the others and his stomach shivered with disappointment.

"You don't make as many facial expressions as a wolf," Yugi continued in a quiet, unsure tone. He picked at the carpet and the sound of it made Yami nearly snarl. It was so loud in his ears that he could hardly hear anything else. He thought for a moment of the way the boars had squealed and their hooves had sounded on the cement. He thought of the sound of his blood hitting the ground, how his paws had slipped so often in his own essence. His claws against the concrete when he slid had sounded much alike that… "You're more…solid like this, I guess."

Solid? The wolf turned to him in open bewilderment. His ears pricked and his head tilted in confusion. What does that mean?

Yugi turned to him now. "You show a little more…when you're human. You're more open. You don't seem so closed off and…fractured, I guess. I can see more of you than I can now."

Me? Yami echoed, staring at him in confusion. He blinked once, then twice, and narrowed his eyes slowly as he turned back to the steaks. He flicked his ears uncomfortably. Why would you want to see more of me?

"Because, you might hate yourself, Yami, but I care about you a lot," the small teen answered. His voice was slightly flustered and when Yami glanced at him sideways he swore he saw the smallest dusting of pink across his cheeks. Yugi looked annoyed and awkward, as if he could not think of the words to say what he really wanted him to hear. He almost even looked afraid of what he was saying for a split second. "And I think you're worth it. You might not, but I do. I care about you a lot."

Yami swallowed the last few chunks of his first steak, turning to look at him more pointedly. He licked his lips and narrowed his gaze the smallest degree. Is that so? he asked slowly. That's the reason you wish to be able to see me? I was under the impression that it simply made me easier to force into compliancy.

Yami hated himself instantly for speaking the words.

"What?" Yugi snapped, turning on him now. "You didn't just say that. I know you didn't."

But isn't that what you want? Yami snarled, hating himself all the more. He bore his teeth at him now, flattening his ears against his skull. For me to be compliant? That way you can keep me close and watch me whenever I so much as move a certain way.

The smaller teen was shaking now. His eyes narrowed into slits, his mouth tugged downward into something of a sneer. "You're such a piece of crap sometimes, Yami. You know that's not why I help you."

Why? Yami spat, trying to lunge forward and only succeeding in nearly toppling over himself. His fur rose, his shoulder quivering in the way he leaned forward. His lips drew back completely to show his teeth and his ears pricked forward hatefully. Yugi was so stunned by the display that he froze in place, eyes wide as his mouth opened and closed once.

Yami's eyes had grown wild and scared. He looked desperate, confused. And Yugi watched him for a few seconds longer. It took him only a moment to understand the way the wolf peered back at him was a clear warning. The canine before him was raw muscle and power, despite his wounds. He had the strength of a Pure-Blood even now. He had the ability to leap forward and crush his skull in his teeth if he were fearful enough, he knew. If it might end his confusion and misery, he was sure Yami might just consider such a thing.

I'm not this wolf you're trying to turn me into. I'm not merciful. I'm not soft. I'm not gentle. I'm not even trustworthy. I lie to you. I mislead you. I manipulate your decisions sometimes. I bite and snap at you. I—Last night is not who I am, Yugi. I'm not this sympathetic and powerful wolf who someone can cry to without judgment.

Yugi stared at him for a moment longer. He couldn't tell how he felt about the words his friend had just spoken. "That judgment might matter," he said slowly, "if I didn't already know that it involved only you."

Yami huffed, shaking his head. I'm not going to become that person. Not for you, not when I couldn't before either. You're not… I won't do it.

The small teen studied him for a few moments. Then he smiled faintly and shook his head, turning away. When he reached out, Yami bit at him but it was without any strength. And he did not puncture his skin in any manner. Yugi nearly laughed, ruffling his fur again. Yami glared at him in turn, clearly annoyed as he bore his teeth and pricked his ears at him.

"I'm not asking you to change." The words hung between them like electricity. It seemed to crackle and glare and bite into their flesh as if with teeth. "What I'm asking you to do right now is let me help you. And let me do these things so that I can…help myself."

Yami stared at him. His red eyes had lost much of their anger. He looked tired now, as if arguing had cost him all of his energy. Why should such a thing be of benefit to you in any manner? Helping me hardly seems to aid you in any way. Is it for distraction? he mumbled, but he went back to his food again soon after. Yugi was struck by how he refused to look at him. I can understand distraction. I've needed lots of them in my life.

"You know what I want," Yugi murmured. He narrowed his eyes again, considering him more closely. The wolf was stiff, tense, and his fur rose and fell in a brief but hideous shudder. It took only a moment for Yami to look over at him, expression somewhere between aggressive and despaired. "So, I guess then, the question becomes, what do you want? You know once this starts you can't back out."

Yami slowly raised his head, the implications making his eyes darker than ever. The aggression was gone in an instant, replaced only with absolute misery. And if I were to say no?

He was trying to sound even and calm in tone, but there was a heavy catch to his voice. And Yugi knew more than ever that Yami was breaking harder at the seams than he'd appeared to before. Things were hitting him now that he'd been ignoring and suppressing before. And he seemed to realize that he could not hide as he needed to.

"It depends on what you're saying no to," Yugi answered slowly. He couldn't tease him, because Yami would take it as dismissal and turn away from him. And Yugi could not stand that thought. He could not make sarcasm work; he did not have the energy and he felt it might weaken whatever resolve Yami might have. "If you mean no to letting me help you, that's going to be tough. But if you mean no to helping me, I can understand that."

Yami blinked at him as if he had somehow lost his mind. But there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes as well and he flattened his ears against his head with a small wag of his tail. Yeah?

Yugi smiled at him, somewhere between crushed and happy to see his expression. "I know you're scared of the whole thing. You don't want to fight. That's why you ran from the pack to being with. And you've said yourself you don't care anything for Atem and if you hadn't met me you'd never have done a thing to be involved in it. So, yeah, I can understand. But I want to ask you something before everything else gets worse."

Yami blinked wide eyes. He tilted his head, visibly bewildered. And Yugi could hear his heart skipping beats, racing so fast he was almost amazed that his ribs were still in one piece. What is it?

"Will you help me until then? You don't have to be there for the fight. You don't have to be there when it all comes to a head. But I still need your help until then. I need help with training. I need help with learning everything I can before this gets too much farther. And I've seen you in fights, of course. You know exactly what you can and can't handle. You might not always heed to it, but you know. I need to know that for myself at some point. Because I can't win the way I am."

Yami stared at him as if he had just been bitten. Yugi could see the war in his eyes, the way his thoughts were tossed about like a storm-wrecked ship. His stomach lurched as they looked at one another. He was struggling, Yugi knew, because he was aware of the fact that he could help but he was scared as well. Doing so meant that the pack was going to be more integrated into his thoughts and behaviors. It meant he had to depend on and offer his strength to more than just Yugi himself. And Yami was scared of that. He had loved his cage mate as if he'd been family and things had blown up further from there. And now Yugi was asking him to involve himself with more than just him.

I don't know what…or how you… Yami fell quiet again, then looked down. He dug at the carpet for a moment, then turned and bit at his own tail in frustration. Yugi smiled when he caught it and simply held it there. He looked as if he had caught a cat, a huge fluffy cat that was longer than it was wide.

"If you want to wait to answer me, that's fine too. I don't want you to rush into anything without thinking it through first. And I don't want you to agree for the sake of making me feel better."

Yugi bit his lip until it bled.

I don't…I don't want to be wrong.

Yugi blinked at him. "Wrong?"

I don't want to say I can and then prove I can't. I can't do that again. I…I've failed too many times. I'm scared of doing it again.

---

Yugi met him at the airport. He had made the phone call soon after he and Yami had finished their talk. Yami had gone to sit with him when he'd called and his voice might have cracked throughout delivering the news, but he'd refrained from crying again. He didn't know if he even had the energy anymore to do so. He'd picked at his nails for an hour afterward, ignoring Yami's various attempts to distract him, and his father had called again to tell him that he had gotten a last minute flight and would be there the next day.

It had taken everything in him to get up that morning. Yami had remained asleep next to him, as Yugi had opted for lying on the floor beside him as he had the night before. The cot had gone unused once more and when Yugi had woken it had been because of Honda coming in to check on him. He'd sat up so fast he'd almost given himself whiplash. Yami had stumbled to his feet, bristling and snarling, and then proceeded to huff and turn around in circles before plopping down again with his back to them. Yugi had laughed when Yami had told him to fuck off when he'd tried to get him up for breakfast soon after.

Now he paced the luggage area, biting his nails. His eyes narrowed the smallest degree and his teeth dug into his cheek. He'd chewed his nails to the quick. It was painful to keep fidgeting with them for the moment. He would have to give them the chance to heal and then he could go back to chewing on them again.

"Yugi."

He whipped around so quickly he saw stars. His empty stomach churned for a split second. He drew in a deep breath through his nose, trying his hardest to calm himself down. His heart raced in his chest and he swallowed hard to keep from choking.

"Hey, Dad." He could only say the words weakly. And suddenly he wished he had taken Yami up on his offer to try to change back and join him. He wished somehow he could have done that. But he had known it would have been a terrible idea. And it was not as if Yami could have truly done it without hurting himself to the point of visible deterioration.

And it would not do them well. Mazaki had told him to notify him whenever he left Honda's house so Yugi had done so. And he knew more than one officer was waiting around for him to make sure he was safe from whatever threat Mazaki imagined he was plagued by.

"Sorry, the plane was delayed for a little while due to the snow."

Yugi tried to smile at him but he was sure it was a grimace instead so he simply rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. The pressure did well to relax him, if only slightly. "It's okay," he lied. He had wanted to get back to Yami as soon as possible. He'd wanted to get this over with sooner rather than later. He'd wanted to just go back and curl up in the fetal position and lay there as long as he could. "I just got here anyways."

"You…look like you haven't slept in days."

"I didn't take my medication with me. I probably should have so I could get better sleep." Yugi sighed and pulled his hands away. There were stars still popping in and out of his vision from the pressure he'd applied. He shifted his weight, studying his father, and looked away after a moment. "I mean, it's not as bad as my usual insomnia. But I'm not…getting more than a few hours here and there either. Can't really sleep after seeing that, you know?"

His dad grimaced, his entire face screwing up as he considered him a moment longer. Then he looked abruptly away again. He had circles under his eyes, Yugi noted, and he could smell coffee on his breath. He wondered if he had even gotten any sleep since Yugi had called him two nights before. It couldn't have been pleasant to hear his son saying the words, "I have something I need to tell you. And I don't know how to say it. But… Mom and Grandpa were murdered."

He shivered at the thought. He'd said murdered rather than killed. Murder implied that someone else had done it to them. It didn't imply that it was an animal attack of some kind. And he could only remember the terrible silence after, as his father processed his call in the middle of his work shift, that had made him ill. Yugi twitched his fingers uncomfortably.

"Right," his dad whispered. Yugi watched him reach up to run his hand through his hair, a deep brown that looked reddish in the fluorescent lights overhead. He could see the way his fingers trembled and he wanted to vomit for a split second. His father had never been too outwardly emotional; it was something that most working men in Japan exhibited. If they were professional, they were expected to keep their emotions hidden behind a mask. Yugi had been used to seeing that growing up. He had been used to such things. His dad's control of his features was almost comforting at the moment, in truth.

His grandfather had lost his façade upon retirement, or so Yugi understood of it. When he had grown up around him, he'd never once tried to hide his emotions in any manner. He had always been soft and gentle, sweet and caring. He had been willing to show him his disappointment, his approval, his ire or his amusement. His father had been something of a guessing game when he'd been growing up. He'd had a much harder time trying to figure out how to understand his emotions than anything else. He'd understood veterinary science better than his own father's expressions and emotional stance.

"So, I guess we need to make arrangements and such," he mumbled. And Yugi considered him silently for a moment or so when his voice cracked and his eyes became slightly glassy. And Yugi had the sudden idea that perhaps he would give up his sobriety, if this might break him to that point. He couldn't blame him for that, should he do so, but he felt guilty thinking it. He looked away again. "Your mother always said if she died before forty she wanted to be cremated as soon as possible."

Yugi blinked, but he could not find it in himself to look over at him again. His lips pulled into a slight frown. "What?" he asked, almost uncertain that he'd heard him properly. And then he blinked and realized himself.

It took him a moment to remember what seemed to be a long-forgotten dialogue in the back of his mind. He blinked and it was gone, but he understood it. And the shadow it left behind in his thoughts was an aching one. He shivered and looked at a speck on the floor. It was a small piece of straw, with a melting clump of snow stuck to its end.

Some small part of him wondered if it had come from his own shoe.

He swallowed hard.

His mom had always asked for cremation if she died so early in life because of one thing. She'd said it when Yugi first exhibited signs of paranoia. He'd been misdiagnosed twice—once as bipolar and the other as dissociative. Both had been disproved when later tests had been run and a new doctor selected. But he understood now what the implications of that statement had been.

Cremations were not the most popular means of burial in Domino City. In most of Japan, cremation was the ideal means. But in Domino City burial was still more popular. He was not sure why that was, whether it was because Domino was so small or if it was something else entirely.

But he understood now that she had been afraid of him.

He understood now that she had been afraid he would lash out and hurt her.

But he also knew, should that have happened, cremation would have been her way of protecting him. They couldn't prove he'd done something if they had no body to examine after the initial one. And no one would originally believe a six-year-old to have killed his own mother.

He blinked. Then he looked towards his father from his peripheral, thinking for a brief moment of Yubel. She was only eight and she'd killed and murdered and loved every second of it. Had it been another situation, was it not possible he would have done the same?

Yugi drew in a small breath. "Right, she used to ask for a cremation." He felt lightheaded. She had assumed when he was eighteen, he would become stable. Because, when Yugi considered the time frame she'd referenced against the age he'd been at the time she'd begun saying that, she'd been giving him until he was twenty-four to do something terrible to her. "I almost forgot about that."

His dad cleared his throat awkwardly, looking flustered and exhausted. "I was contacted by Mazaki," he said slowly, voice somewhat frustrated. "He said something about how you had a stray dog that you'd been keeping at the clinic?"

Yugi drew in a small breath, frowning. "Yeah, his name is Kizuna and he's in really bad shape. I was treating him while I was on the phone with the police. He's fine now. I took him to Honda's house after everything that happened. And I'm going to make sure he makes a full recovery before I do anything else. I don't know if I should let him run off on his own again or just keep him. I haven't decided on that yet. I guess it kind of depends on what happens later on down the road, huh?"

"You're staying with Honda for a little while?"

He grimaced; he could imagine the surprise. The last his dad had known of it, Yugi had still been much closer to Jonouchi and Anzu than he ever had Honda. The sudden shift in their friendship was probably enough to throw him for a slight loop.

"Jonouchi and his dad are fighting again," he said slowly, picking his words carefully. "His dad is constantly drunk now and a lot more abusive than he used to be after…what happened. And I can't stay with Anzu because her dad is directly involved with the investigation."

"Well, what about your other friend?" He made an awkward gesture, shrugging a shoulder and gesturing abruptly towards his hair with a slightly grimace. "The one with the wavy blond hair and the glasses?"

Yugi nearly flinched, remorse crashing through him and stomach lurching painfully. "Tomoya was… H-he…he died a couple of months ago. Something…tore him to pieces. Like…" He glanced away and stared at a poster on the wall, pressing his lips into a tight line. "He got ripped to pieces when he went down the wrong alleyway."

His dad blinked, horrified, and stiffened visibly. "What?"

"Mom didn't tell you what was happening," he said slowly, full of disbelief and then distress, "so you didn't know… A few of my classmates have gone missing and then were later found dead. The night after it happened, Tetsu Ushio was killed and left on our doorstep. And then a pregnant girl from the school was found in the woods, torn to pieces. And before all of that, Miho was found in the quad…half-eaten."

"What?!"

Yugi glanced at him from beneath his lashes. "A celebrity from Honshu went missing a while back and hasn't been found. His wife went missing soon after, from what I understand. Yoshimori had his throat torn out after an extensive facial beating at the museum—killed in broad daylight, actually. I don't…" He drew in a shaky breath and a breath rattled out of his strangled lungs. "It's been going on for months now. It's been happening since before the end of October."

"And your mother didn't think that you should move? You all could have gone elsewhere and—"

"You can't always outrun a threat. There's no telling if it would have followed us or not. And I don't know if we had the funds to do that or not. Plus, Grandpa was elderly. It probably wouldn't have done him any good to up and take him with us out of the blue like that. And you know she wouldn't have abandoned him." Yugi hesitated for a moment, looking away again. "And the animals… You know she would never do that if she was sure she could have helped out more."

His dad shook his head angrily. "So the animals were worth more than her own life?" he spat. "And what about you and your grandfather? If you were at the house, you might have wound up dead too—"

Yugi doubled over, vomiting onto the tiles. His hands were shaking. His entire body was vibrating. His eyes watered, tears streaming form the force of his spewing. His hands caught onto his clothes, one on his shirt and the other with his nails digging into his thigh.

---

"Kizuna," he called into the house, adding Yami's nickname immediately under his breath. The sound of claws clicking against hardwood made Yugi's heart hurt. The wolf pushed the door open with his nose, then came stumbling forward into the hallway. He was shaky but not struggling and his balance seemed more uneven from the stiffness of sleep than anything else. The canine came forward another step towards him. Then he stopped short. His eyes had, as Yugi had known they would, fallen upon his dad where he stood behind him. And there Yami stayed, several yards away, his ears pricked and his eyes locked on the stranger standing before him.

"He's huge." His father sounded both awed and horrified, almost disgusted for a brief second. It took only a moment for Yugi to recognize that, his stomach lurching. He shivered, licking his lips, and wandered forward. But Yami never removed his eyes from his dad's frame behind him. He never once so much as twitched or flicked an ear. He was eerily still and cold, eyes sharp and cautious as he peered at him.

"He's the stray." Yugi moved to kneel beside Yami, voice barely above a whisper and teeth digging into his lip. "That's my dad. He… He wanted to meet you. He wanted to meet the dog that…"

Fought to save your family, yes, Yami answered when he could not continue. He sounded slightly bitter but he did not seem as if he might do much more than complain for the moment. He pressed past Yugi, then stopped a couple of feet away from his father. His nose wriggled furiously and Yugi could hear his breaths at such a rapid rate he was amazed Yami was not hyperventilating. The wolf pricked his ears forward, then finally came forward a few more steps.

He hovered a couple of inches away.

"Put your hand down, palm open. He's just curious about sniffing you," Yugi said softly. He smiled slightly, unable to stop the small thrill of amusement that came through him. "But if you move too fast or your palm isn't completely flat, he tends to bite at you."

"Has he ever bitten you?"

"No, not quite. He just barely misses. But he's also extremely stressed and scared right now. I don't think it does any good that he's also really groggy from the medication too." Yugi straightened, moving to stand beside him. He dusted himself off and looked Yami over for a moment. His dad followed his instructions to the letter, as Yugi knew he would, and Yami blinked back at him slowly. He played the suspicious, cautious, anxious canine role well. But then, with the state of mind he was in at the moment, Yugi could not be sure it was simply an act. "Honda said you could have the room next to mine if you liked. We can get you unpacked and settled in a few minutes if you want?"

His dad was quiet for a moment. Then he crouched down in front of Yami. The wolf startled backwards, ears against his skull and head lowered slightly. But he did not snap at him.

"I don't know if he'll let you pet him," Yugi said slowly, nervous. He hoped to the gods that Yami would not bite at him. He may have been conscious rather than feral, but that did not mean he would not lash out in a moment of pure instinct. "He hasn't had anyone pet him except me, so I don't know if he'll be all that receptive to it or not."

His dad didn't pause. Yami lowered his head a fraction more. Yugi nearly choked on his tongue. But his dad made contact. His hand touched the wolf's head, then slowly moved to the scruff of his neck. Yami did not growl, nor did he so much as blink. His eyes remained on the ground and his ears stayed glued to his skull. Never once did he so much as snarl.

But Yugi could see tension in his shoulders, a pronouncement of just how awkward and hard it was for the wolf. Yami was trying his hardest, but it clearly wasn't comfortable and he was struggling. Yugi dusted himself off when he stood up; if there was a way to love him anymore than he already did, he knew he would have. It was amazing of him to even put such effort into the task. He had no reason to, in truth. And Yugi wouldn't have blamed him if he'd snarled and backed away immediately.

"I think he just woke up. He probably needs to go back to sleep."

Yugi hesitated. Yami shot him an extremely grateful sideways glance, red eyes shining with gratitude. His dad straightened somewhat to a more upright position. Yugi was amazed for a single second. Yami's legs were long enough that he stood as tall—or perhaps even a few inches more—than a greyhound. His dad had not even truly needed to lean over in order to pet him.

"Here, let's get your stuff set up in the room, okay?"

Yami blinked and pricked his ears forward. But his red eyes flickered back and forth between them with uncertainty. Then he turned and trotted—limping—back to his room. He disappeared behind the door without a second look. And Yugi almost laughed when he heard the soft click as it closed behind him.

"What breed is he?"

"Probably some kind of shepherd or malamute mix or something," he mumbled with a careless shrug. His dad looked at him with something of a bewildered expression, frowning slightly. Yugi reached over and grabbed his suitcase, leading the way into the room neighboring his and Yami's. He placed it beside the sleep cot and looked over his shoulder at him. "I'm pretty beat. I think I'm going to try to take a nap."

"Okay," Yugi answered, blinking. "Sure thing. I'll leave you to it."

He wandered into the room he and Yami shared, not even glancing back at his dad. His stomach was rolling and he was tired as he stepped inside, but he stopped short when he found Yami seated in the center of the floor, staring up at him with keen eyes. He stopped short, frowning, and Yami rose to his feet.

Where does your father work? he asked cautiously. He shuffled his weight from one foot to the other, almost dancing with nervousness. His red eyes were shining with discomfort and growing alarm.

Yugi studied him for a moment. Then he moved to crouch in front of him. He reached out and Yami trembled visibly, pupils growing wide and nearly swallowing away his irises entirely once more. Yugi rubbed along the scruff of his neck and the front of his right shoulder, reluctant to move any further. "A company called Kaiba Corp. That's what the logo on the side of his suitcase means."

Yami jerked his head away to stare at the wall, shaking harder than ever.

"Why? What's wrong?"

Yami's eyes were blown, irises disappearing completely. I recognized the logo.

Yugi blinked. He'd gone to say that it was a regular thing. Kaiba Corp was extremely popular, after all. And then he faltered. Yami didn't come with him to the arcade often. He'd been there only once, after all. And he didn't go with him to the mall all that often, either. And, in truth, Yugi didn't have all that much that he owned that Kaiba Corp had created. He wasn't one who lived by brand loyalty beyond video game consoles, and Kaiba Corp didn't generate consoles. They made the games. And most of them were specialty to whatever console Kaiba Corp decided to sponsor.

Because of the fact that he only played certain types of games—usually single player because he hated the multiplayer platforms—he did not have much interactions with the company in any manner. Kaiba Corp made huge multiplayer platforms. He didn't know of a single game they'd created that was not simply made for humongous groups of people.

As far as he knew, they were the leading multiplayer-exclusive company in existence.

"How do you know the brand?" he asked slowly, cautiously. He narrowed his eyes. Yami flattened his ears against his head and peered at him from the corner of his eye. Yugi released him, frowning. Yami was staring at him with a fearful expression, the whites of his eyes showing and his muzzle pointed downwards. He looked as if he might puke at any moment. "It's okay, Yami, I'm not going to let anything happen. You know that. I just need to know."

Yami looked away and then back and forth between him and the wall. He ran his tongue over his nose and shook his head. It's on the gear they used underground. When they would catch us with the control poles after a fight broke out, the logo was always on the handles. They'd shock us with cattle prods with that same logo. And some of the scientists had white jackets that had that as the emblem.

Yugi stiffened, blinking once. The words rattled him, but the realization Yami was talking about this made him more unsure than ever. He'd never known of a gaming company to have another business like that on the side. But then, he remembered reading before that Kaiba Corp had been a company that built ammunition and things of that nature during war times before it had become illegal in Japan.

"Have you seen it anywhere else?"

Yami bristled. No, I have not. He paused and then turned to him more pointedly, huffing out a breath. Gozaburo—he owns the company. I remember him. He always had an eye on Bakura because of how volatile he was. He didn't think much of me for the most part. And he wasn't all too impressed with Atem, either. He had two kids down there…and he tortured them to death because they weren't Atem. I…I remember him. I thought…I thought for a while he was the one in charge.

He was shaking harder than ever, panting for air. Yugi hesitated to reach out. He almost feared Yami might sink his teeth into his arm without meaning to. It would hardly hurt him, but he couldn't help but fear his father might find out. And that could lead to a few problems if he did. But he shrugged this thought away.

He reached out, running his fingers over the sides of his muzzle. Yami blinked, staring at him pathetically. And when Yugi got to his cheeks, he rubbed his thumbs slowly back and forth in as soothing a gesture as he could.

His breath was hot and gushing over his wrists.

But he's just a partner—like Pegasus was. The two companies they own fund the experiments. And the actual leader—the one who bred you—just runs the place. He doesn't lift a finger, from what I understand. I think I only ever saw him once do anything more than bark orders for others to follow. I…I…

Yugi let go of him again. He wasn't sure, but he thought Yami was shaking even harder. He noticed he was salivating heavily now, however, drooling with terror. "I remember one time reading somewhere that Kaiba Corp was a huge supporter of the Japanese army when it was still in existence. They'd donated millions for the military to make weapons. They manufactured more than half of the weapons produced for World War II. And I wouldn't be surprised if they turned towards medical equipment or hunting supplies afterwards. I could see them wanting to try to use the wolves for superior soldiers or something like that. But their main operation has…always been multiplayer games, if I remember right." He frowned and shook his head. He wondered if Kaiba Corp had used that gaming equipment and online forums and things of that manner to gather more wolves at one point. "Do you have any idea what company Pegasus was in charge of?"

Yami blinked and shot him a bewildered look. He shook his head after a moment, then flattened his ears against his head. All I know of it was that it had a large I and a smaller one inside of it. And there was a drawing of an eye that surrounded that. He looked away. I never heard the name of it.

Yugi thought of that logo for a full minute, struggling to comprehend the idea. He couldn't truly understand it. He knew the logo, but his mind almost refused to understand. It was an interior design company.

But it was unmistakable.

Yugi knew the logo perfectly well.

"Industrial Illusions," he mumbled. Yami shot him a confused look. He shook his head slightly. "That's what the logo stands for. The eye around the two letters is meant to represent an interior design company that's supposed to amaze you. They basically come out to your home and redesign the floors and everything. If you're not absolutely in love with it, then it's free for them to put it back to how it was. It's more American-based, however. So the services are pretty limited here—mostly color schemes and redoing the walls. They're far less glamorous than the options for the states. They usually come out, make a blueprint of the house, study the places that could use more decoration, and make suggestions and help with installation. They're an American company and they're not that popular here to begin with. But they also mostly just advertise cheap furniture for college students that live in apartments of their own. Occasionally they sell software for smaller businesses, like for programs that support art and community projects."

Yami blinked slowly. He'd lost most of his tremors and was studying his face curiously. Then he tilted his head slowly to the side and finally looked away entirely. Yes, well, I don't know anything else about any of it but what you just told me.

Yugi nodded, studying him. "What do you know about the leader?" He forced himself to keep his voice more or less quiet. He didn't want his dad to hear him, he reminded himself. But part of him was so anxious about having to wonder that he almost did not care. "Anything?"

Yami stood statuesque for a long handful of minutes. His entire body was frozen but for his breathing. He didn't blink, he didn't flick an ear, he didn't snarl, he didn't shift his weight. But then, very slowly, he lifted and turned his head to face him. His pupils were pinpricks and his pupils were a deep bloodied color, like a weeping wound. I will not, he said in a hideous voice, tone deadly with his anger, discuss the rumors surrounding him.

Yugi startled, blinking huge eyes at the declaration. "O-okay. That's…fine." He shivered. Yami was making direct eye contact, furious. He could see so much hatred in his stance that he wondered if he could sear his soul. Yugi shivered again. And then the wolf turned away, rigid as he slowly got up and turned about himself to lay down on the towel he'd taken to bunching up as a blanket every other nap. "Are you hungry? I didn't feed you before I left."

Yami didn't look up. His voice was broken, strained, as he whispered, I do not wish to eat.

---

"So…then your name is Yami, huh?"

The statement was met with Honda choking on the cookie he'd grabbed from the pantry. The canine looked up with huge, confused eyes, blinking as he stared at the man at the other end of the table. Honda had let him out of the room as Yugi had asked when he'd gone to meet with Jonouchi to discuss various pack things. He'd decided to just let Yami wander around the lower level of the house as he'd liked; he'd ended up, rather predictably, where Honda had gone. And, soon after, Yugi's father had woken and come into the kitchen as well. He'd been eating his breakfast when he'd abruptly stopped short and turned to look at Yami with a curious expression that Honda had been unable to properly read.

"It is Yami, isn't it?"

Whatever display of nonchalance and feigned ignorance Yami had planned went out the window when Yugi's father leaned forward slowly and considered him more pointedly. His ears pricked forward, his fur rose into a hideous bristle, and he lunged forward with such power that Honda flinched. His teeth snapped shut mere inches from his hand, his tail raised high in the air.

Honda stared at them for a moment. Then he looked quickly away again. He searched his pockets for his phone, relieved that Yugi's father was so keenly studying Yami and not paying him any mind. Yami snarled, bristling further, and Honda hurried to type and send the message, Your dad knows his name.

When he looked up again, the man was watching the wolf with a tilted head. Yami flicked his tongue over his nose and squared his shoulders. Honda flinched despite the glare he sent not being aimed at him. His stomach lurched and rolled as they looked at one another.

"I could hear Yugi through the wall. He called you Yami." He scrubbed his face with his hands, looking exhausted as the tried to rub away the circles under his eyes. When he gave up, it was to drop his hands atop the table and stare down at his plate with a miserable expression. "I didn't hear much else of what he was saying. But I figured it has to be your name, since he was talking like someone was in the room with him. He…he talked to you like you were sentient."

Honda almost groaned with dismay; how could Yugi have not known the walls were thin enough that he could hear him? How loud had he been speaking? How much had he said? And when had he said it? Had he thought his dad was asleep in the middle of the night and so underestimated whether he could hear him? Or had it been something else entirely?

"He's…a smart dog."

The man scoffed loudly, then turned to him with a disbelieving expression. "Hiroto, I'm no expert on dogs. But I know damn well that that is a wolf." He gestured at him dismissively and sighed loudly. "His tail is too straight to be a common dog's. And no dog stares at you like that. He looks too wild."

Honda backtracked rapidly, feeling foolish and flushed. "He's a hybrid," he blurted out as quickly as he could, glancing at Yami for a split second. He wondered for a moment if he might take offense at the thought, but shrugged it off again immediately. It didn't matter. What mattered was that Yami got out of this okay. "I mean, that's what Yugi was thinking, anyways. I don't think he's a full wolf. I mean, they're extinct, remember?"

Yugi's father snorted and looked at Yami again. "He doesn't look like a wolf from Japan. He's like the wolves from the zoo, the ones from America, with the bigger bodies and heavier weights." he said quietly, shaking his head and sighing. "When I was in high school, there were…rumors. People claimed that they could hear howling in the mountains at the nature preserve. They claimed that there had to be a pack of wolves living there in the forests. They claimed that someone had brought them illegally from the states and set them free to roam around for whatever reason. There were others who said that…"

He was quiet for a long handful of minutes. Yami stared back at him, eyes frostbitten with anger. Honda shivered. The man sighed softly and looked away again, voice quiet and tired.

"A lot of people began the rumors that the dogs were being experimented on and sent to live in the woods when they couldn't control them any longer. If it was a dog attack that killed someone, why wouldn't you assume that it had something to do with that? Look at him, Hiroto; he's clearly wolf." Motou ran a hand through his hair and stared at his breakfast plate with such a miserable expression that Honda nearly flinched more than once. "Even I know that. His eyes are red. His eyes are fucking red. That's not natural. That's so far from being natural that I don't even know how to put it into words. Rats have red eyes. Hamsters have red eyes. Dogs and wolves do not have red fucking eyes."

Honda opened his mouth to object, but Yami shot him a look. He couldn't tell if it was threatening or warned of caution, but it was enough to make him shut his mouth again. Yami turned on the man again immediately after, staring with those same hard, glittering eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's some kind of side effect from being experimented on."

Honda stiffened and shot Yami a surprised look. In truth, he'd never even considered it. He'd seen him as a human with red eyes, seen him as a wolf with red eyes, and he'd never once even considered it. Thinking so hard about why his eyes were like that had never once even crossed his mind.

And now he couldn't help but wonder.

Maybe—if what Yugi said was true; he wasn't sure, because some of that just seemed absolutely crazy—Yugi hadn't been the only one who had escaped those labs.

The more he considered, the more Honda found himself wishing he hadn't.

"I don't know if that's true," he finally said, uncertain as he glanced between them uncertainly. Yami was staring at the man, expression becoming unreadable as the seconds passed. He was struck abruptly with the idea that he might lunge forward and sink his teeth in. Honda wasn't stupid; he wouldn't survive it if he got between them. Yami would surely kill him for the interference if he felt it necessary. "I mean, we don't know what kind of dogs they were that attacked—"

"They weren't dogs."

"Of course they were—"

"Mazaki said the team couldn't identify them whatsoever." Motou turned on him, eyes cold and cheeks slightly flushed with anger. "And what are the odds of some random canine existing here in Japan? Some unidentified, mutated canine species that suddenly sprang up in this area of the world? The states would make far more sense. They have wolves naturally. They have coyotes and stray dogs and foxes. But here?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line.

"And exactly what kind of dog just disembowels one corpse but tears the neck out of the other? Natural animals are habitual. They don't do something so outside of the norm when they're hunting or attacking. They didn't eat the bodies. That says that something isn't quite right."

"I mean, it's not like he wasn't there fighting," Honda blurted out, backtracking and trying instead to make it clear that Yami had not been the one to do it. He didn't know what might happen if he tried to turn on Yami when Yugi came back around. "Besides, maybe Yugi scared them off without realizing—"

"I doubt that. They had to have been…" He sighed, staring at Yami, and his eyes became two dull brown orbs. He looked overwhelmed and exhausted and devastated. "The rumors were that the wolves weren't just wolves, that they were able to change back and forth between human and wolf. They said they were werewolves. They claimed that was why people were being kidnapped. Tourists, schoolmates, even high-class businessmen at times."

"I never heard that when my parents told me about the rumors," Honda said slowly, narrowing his eyes. He tried not to look over at Yami again. "And it's not like werewolves are real. They're just scary stories to make kids behave and to justify people acting like idiots."

"Then what am I looking at right now?" Motou snapped. He glared at him for a split second, then gestured towards Yami and drummed his fingers against the table. When he shifted his weight, Yami lowered his head and bore his teeth more pointedly. "He knows exactly what I'm saying. His eyes are dilated. Dogs' eyes don't just dilate for no reason like that. The air conditioner isn't on, the lighting hasn't changed. My tone is still the same as it was when we first started talking. I'm not a fool. I know what I'm looking at."

"Werewolves are just a myth—"

"Are they? The Anui people used to believe that was where humans came from. And the Native Americans did as well." He fell silent for a long minute. Then he grimaced and looked at the plate in front of him again. "Kasumi's entire family used to believe in them. Even Yugi did when he was younger. He was obsessed with them for years."

Honda felt a small wave of nausea creeping through him. He didn't know how to argue with that. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. He couldn't chalk it up to kids being kids or weird family traditions. That wasn't it.

There was a small creaking noise, then a soft muffled one.

Honda flinched and looked towards the hall, a sense of dread creeping through him. If it was his parents, he didn't know what he was supposed to say. They'd gone out to get some more groceries and Honda didn't know when they'd be back. But if they'd come home already, it was possible that they could have caught the tail end of the conversation and he didn't know what he was supposed to do with that.

But he relaxed a second later.

Yami had gone eerily still. His head had snapped around and he was staring into the hallway. His tail had dropped, his bristle completely gone. And he was completely relaxed.

That wasn't the stance of a wolf that was pretending to be a canine for the sake of appearances. That was the stance of a wolf that realized an ally was nearby and the threat might pass faster than initially assumed.

"Okay, so, what exactly did I just read?" Yugi said softly as he came forward, eyes focused on Yami. The black wolf flattened his ears and stared at him with an expression Honda couldn't quite read. Yugi looked away again a moment later and Honda spotted Jonouchi over his shoulder, his brown eyes somewhat frazzled and his face slightly pale. "I'm assuming you have something you want to say to me, Dad?"

Honda had never heard Yugi so cold in his life. His voice was dripping with ice and his eyes had turned hard, glinting like gems. His mouth was turned down at the corner and Honda could see the smallest hint of tension in his shoulders, the muscles pulled taut. Yami let out a loud whining noise, clawing at the hardwood anxiously. He growled a moment later, ears against his head, claws so loud that Honda almost couldn't hear his own heartbeat in his ears. He swallowed hard, nearly choking, and looked between the three werewolves.

"Honda texted you?"

"Yeah, something about how you overheard me talking to the dog," Yugi answered quietly, voice dripping with frustration. Honda almost flinched at the cold glint in his eyes. Yami began to claw at the ground more frantically than before, appearing almost sickened with his growing desperation. Upstairs Honda could hear Blankey moving about in his room, pacing in reaction to the wolf's mounting anxiety. She barked and Yami's head snapped up, confused and bewildered as he turned towards the stairs to listen.

Honda had the sickening thought that Yugi might perhaps turn on his own father in order to protect Yami if it came down to it. He'd never considered it before, but now he wondered if he'd done wrong in telling him as he had. Blankey barked again, much louder this time. Yami tilted his head and flicked his ears back and forth several times.

"Do you have any coffee?"

Yugi blinked and looked over at Yami again. Honda could see him studying him with something of a frustrated expression. The wolf was sniffing at the air, however, perhaps more curious about the dog than he was alarmed by the situation any longer. When Blankey barked again, Honda thought it sounded oddly excited instead of anxious any longer. He wondered how distressed Yami himself was. But he wasn't shaking. So Honda counted that as a good thing in his book.

"Coffee?" Yugi asked slowly. But he didn't seem upset any longer. He turned to his dad again, eyes narrowed slightly and mouth pulled into a small frown. He was clearly distracted more than anything. "You want coffee?"

"I think I have a caffeine headache."

Honda watched as Yugi blinked again, somewhere between flustered and annoyed. After a moment he shrugged and looked away entirely, frowning. Honda turned around to make his way to the cabinet to pick out what he needed to brew a cup.

A cautious, strained silence fell over the house. Honda spent over ten minutes picking at his nails. Yugi remained watching Yami, blue-violet eyes somewhat hard still, but somehow warmed as well. But Yami was staring at Jonouchi. And Jonouchi was leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes on his phone screen as if it might help ease the tension. Yugi's dad sipped his coffee as if his life depended on it; Honda almost wondered if it did.

"You're one of them, aren't you?"

The words were blurted out so abruptly that Honda flinched. Jonouchi jumped a mile. Yugi's head snapped up in confusion. And Yami snarled, bristling with huge eyes.

Honda looked over to find Yugi's father holding his mug of coffee so tightly that his fingers had turned white from the force. He looked flushed and tired and his eyes had bags under them that Honda had not noticed before.

"That depends on what we're talking about right now," Yugi said in a quiet, even voice. But even Honda could tell he was stalling for an answer at this point. Yugi clearly had an idea of what he was saying; it was easy to see in the way his blue-violet eyes were so wide and startled. "What are you asking me right now?"

Yami flicked an ear and Yugi found that his dad was staring at the wolf with a small frown. "He's a wolf," he said slowly, as if he were daring Yugi to argue with him on this fact. "So, does that mean you are too?"

Yugi had to swallow back his frustration. He pressed his lips into a thin line and glanced at Yami again. The wolf was staring pointedly at the floor and refused to look in his direction. Yugi saw Jonouchi scratching the back of his head awkwardly in his peripheral.

"You can't say he isn't. He even knows exactly what I'm saying. He has to! He reacted when I asked if his name was Yami! And he's been glaring at me since then." His dad sounded almost frantic for a moment, out of breath and exhausted. He looked pale, his grip on the mug somehow tightening impossibly further. Yugi wished he had some kind of reassurance for him, some way to make him feel better rather than so clearly worked up and anxious. "He clearly knows what I'm saying to you right now. No dog just sits and looks at you like that."

Yugi nearly flinched. On instinct he went to deny it. And then a small part of himself scoffed at the idea. He was so tired of denying it, of pretending it wasn't anything like what he was claiming. Yugi grimaced and turned to the wolf after a moment, then smirked when Yami flattened his ears and scowled at the ground. "See that? You're acting too smart," he teased, wrinkling his nose. "Dumb it down."

The wolf turned to glare at him, curling his lips back and snarling softly. My apologies, he griped in return, huffing. I was unaware I was meant to act as stupid as you yourself right now. Thank you for the reminder. I shall cherish it and put such to work at all times.

Yugi laughed and shook his head. Then he turned to his dad and shrugged. "Surprise."

Jonouchi snorted. Honda, on the other hand, whipped around to stare at him, mouth half-open in shock. "You can hear him?" he demanded.

"Comes with being a wolf," Jonouchi said dismissively, shrugging. Yugi glanced at him more pointedly from his peripheral and tilted his head when he saw his flustered expression. Yugi's dad stared at them both with a horrified expression, and Yugi turned to him after a moment. "We can all hear each other."

Honda looked as if he wasn't sure how to respond to that. Then he glanced at Yami almost awkwardly. "That's really kind of creepy," he mumbled. "Does that happen…all the time?"

"It has to be projected," Yugi said, cutting in before Jonouchi could answer for himself. At this rate they'd be answering Honda's questions instead of fixing the problem that came with his dad knowing about all of this. He turned back to his dad, narrowing his eyes slightly. What was he actually supposed to do? "It's like talking to someone. If you're not trying to send it to someone, they won't be able to hear it."

"Kind of complex, but simple too?"

"It depends. There are a lot of factors. You can talk with real words or you can send images. Some of the wolves have to send images. Some of them are perfectly capable of talking for long periods of time. Others get tired out pretty quickly and can only say a couple of words. It depends on how much lycanthropy they have in their bloodline."

Yami let out a small grunt. Yugi almost burst out laughing when his father and Honda spun around to look at him as if he'd snarled. The black wolf looked at them, tilted his head, flattened his ears, and huffed loudly.

"Jesus."

Yami stretched lazily, ignoring Yugi's father. He got up, circling around a few times, and shook himself out before staring at Yugi pointedly. What are we to do now? You chose to tell him, he said quietly, staring at him with a flustered expression. He knows. But that's not to say he did not already somehow know. Unless he is smarter than he acted before, it is suspicious that he should know of such a thing. Do you plan to explain to him? He claims he has heard rumors about werewolves at his own workplace.

"It's possible," Yugi mumbled. He crossed his arms and hoped to the gods he didn't look as self-conscious as he felt at the moment. He shook his head and pressed his lips into a thin line once more. "Americans are kind of…obsessed with werewolves and vampires, so I could believe it."

Yami stared at him as if he had somehow lost his mind. Then he scoffed, You expect me to believe that humans harbor such obsessions with the supernatural that it is nothing more than mere coincidence that he was able to put these facts together so easily?

Yugi threw his hands up, spinning on him with a snarl. "So what are you fucking suggesting then, Yami? That we kill him too? Is that what you're implying?"

Yami blinked, then drew his lips back to show his teeth. Jonouchi audibly choked, turning to him with a horrified expression. He opened and closed his mouth twice, then scowled as he shook his head, mumbling, "Yugi, you know that's not it. You know that's not what he's saying."

"Really? Because, honestly, it just sounds like he's trying to make me think something like that." Yugi was flushed, a slight fever making his head spin. Shame crashed through him. He knew Yami was not implying it, nor would he have despite his frustration and suspicions. He knew he was just watching out for them both. He was just trying to make Yugi understand that he was nervous and unsure at the moment. Attacking him like this wouldn't do anything for either of them. He knew that. "He's right though, Dad. It doesn't make any sense. How would any of them have known anything about that?"

Yugi was almost relieved when he saw Yami blink and raise his head from the corner of his eye. His ears pricked, the small teen watching him and considering Yugi's father with darkened eyes. His father struggled to answer him, grimacing. Yugi could hear Jonouchi shifting his weight behind him now and Yami seemed to be far too aware of it as well, nose wrinkling back slightly.

"When your mother and I first met…" He tilted his head, looking over at the black wolf again slowly. He seemed to be wondering if Yami might leap at him at any moment. Yugi considered his expression a moment longer and wondered if the wolf scared him so much or if it was he himself who his father actually feared. He looked incredibly uncomfortable and scared, he realized, and the small teen nearly choked on his tongue at the thought. His father stayed quiet for another long handful of minutes. "There were rumors going around, Yugi. Classmates were going missing sometimes, tourists went missing, and there were rumors of wolves in the mountains. People claimed they could hear them howling at night and others dismissed it as packs of wild dogs. But there was also this crazy story about how someone was trying to breed a superior race of canine. There were rumors that they were trying to harness them for the army or something like that."

Yugi looked over at Yami slowly. Should that be the truth of it, they had yet to figure out how to do it. And he was glad for such a thing, but the idea of that explanation for all the horrendous things happening recently seemed far too easy and simple. It hardly seemed true enough to encompass all of the pain and grief he'd gone through as of late.

"There were rumors that they were trying to create the ultimate species of dog. But other people said they were wolves, not dogs. And somewhere along the lines, they started calling them werewolves on top of it. So it became a long game of who would believe what and why they should and everything like that. It was amazing to hear so many people pretending to believe in that kind of thing all of the sudden."

Yugi blinked and glanced at Jonouchi over his shoulder. His stomach rolled and lurched and he closed his eyes tightly for a long moment. The other werewolf was chewing on his nail when Yugi opened his eyes again. He looked unnerved and a little ill, paler than Yugi was used to seeing him. Yugi couldn't read the expression on the blond's face.

"And then there were rumors when I began working for Kaiba Corp. I heard stories about how there was a secret division in the company that didn't work on video games or the hospital. They claimed they were running experiments and creating a species too powerful to be controlled. The wolves were supposedly bred and used for extreme experiments for the purpose of creating werewolves." He was still staring at the canine and Yami was pointedly ignoring him. His head was turned away, muzzle angled towards the ground, ears flicked back towards them both. "None of us believed it, clearly, but it still… It stuck with all of us. And then just…just meeting him, it's almost impossible to think it's anything else…"

Yugi raised a brow slightly, studying him and wondering at the thought. He remembered his mom mentioning the rumors. He remembered her looking at him and asking him not to go into the woods anymore because of that. And, as Yugi glanced over at Yami, he understood what he meant.

It was impossible to simply look at Yami and dismiss the fact that it left your skin crawling when you mad eye contact. It was impossible to ignore the unease of so much as being in his presence.

There was always something strange and unnatural and devastating about looking at his face or studying his posture or paying him attention of any kind. It was hard to see something in him that could be overlooked and ignored in any manner. Unlike Yugi himself, Yami demanded attention. His presence was impossible to ignore. His silent strength was enough to overwhelm.

And the hatred in his eyes alone was enough to make anyone perform a double take.

---

"So, how did you end up becoming a werewolf anyways?"

Yugi didn't look up from placing the bowl in front of Yami. The black wolf, however, stopped short and raised his eyes to look towards them both. The small teen chewed the inside of his cheek, narrowing his eyes slightly. He hesitated for a long moment, studying the wolf in front of him, and then finally turned his head to look at him.

"It was around October, but I don't remember exactly when. I was at school late to make up some of my assignments after Mom made me stay home because of Miho's death." Yugi blinked. Yami was staring at his food in the corner of his eye, ears pricked back and breathing somewhat sharper and shorter than usual. The stress was clear on his features, his eyes somewhat wide as he paused in eating. "Ushio attacked me in the library, then chased me out of the school and into the streets. He cornered me and I panicked and tried to run. He nearly ripped me to pieces and Hanasaki got involved and fought him off for me."

"Hanasaki?" his dad asked with wide, horrified eyes. "He fought Ushio? Wasn't that kid built like a brick wall?"

Yugi snorted. "I used to call him a mammoth," he snickered. "But yeah, that would be him."

"Was he high or something?" he said skeptically, shaking his head. "Didn't he know Ushio would kill him?"

"I think he died of a wound after Ushio was chased off. If he hadn't managed to run him off, I would be dead." Yugi shrugged, looking to Yami again and narrowing his eyes slightly. "I assume he died from a wound after he ran. I don't know for sure, but I can't imagine it was anything else. Although, I also assume it had to be someone else entirely who dragged me home. Because I woke up in front of the door."

His dad's eyes flickered immediately to Yami. Then he nodded slowly and gestured to him, a wry smile crossing his features. "And where is he in all of this?" he asked slowly. When Yugi opened his mouth to object, his dad waved it off. "You're trying too hard, Yugi."

He almost flinched, but glanced at Yami sideways instead. "He killed Ushio."

"Okay, but where was he that night? I know he was involved in it somehow. So what did he do that night?"

Yugi pressed his lips into a thin line again. His father was staring at him so sharply that his flesh felt as if it were crawling beneath the pointed look. He released a deep sigh and narrowed his eyes. "When Hanasaki died, Yami is the one who dragged me to the house," he said cautiously. "He dragged me there and left me there to wake up and get inside. He had nothing to do with anything past that and killing Ushio, though."

His dad sighed loudly. "He bit you then?"

Yami snorted and dug into his food again. He's too smart for his own good.

Yugi rolled his eyes and turned to his dad. "Yeah. He bit me. He found me sometime after Ushio attacked me and he and Hanasaki fought. Ushio killed Hanasaki and Yami bit me before dragging me home. Past that I don't remember much of it. And now he's hurt and I'm taking care of him."

"Is he the one your mother mentioned?"

Yugi stiffened. Yami's head snapped up in confusion. His dad watched them both for a long moment. Yugi shivered and shook his head, mumbling, "She…she mentioned Yami?"

He nodded slightly. "She mentioned that you had a friend named Yami who seemed to have a questionable influence on you. She said that you and Anzu didn't work out," he continued quietly, studying Yami with a tilt of his head. Yugi knew what he was trying to say without coming outright and doing so. He shivered and Yami narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the two of them again. Yugi tried to ignore the way his heart raced and his stomach lurched painfully. "When she said it, of course I assumed he would be human if I was going to meet him."

Yami grunted, This is awkward.

"You're suffering secondhand embarrassment, not firsthand. Shut up."

Okay, well if you could please take this outside…

"I will put a muzzle on you and walk you outside if you don't shut up."

You didn't pack one! Don't start.

Yugi fixed him with a glare. "I have a cone of shame with your name written on it."

Yami stiffened, then flattened his ears. You're a bastard.

He nodded and turned back to his dad, clearing his throat. "Anyways, preferably, he would be human, yeah. But for right now he can't change back so you get wolf-Yami instead." He glanced sideways towards Yami again. He'd call him by different names when his dad left. He didn't think there was a way to explain to his father without having to tell him everything. And to tell him everything was just devastating. He didn't think he had the strength to do it. "But he's still nice as wolf too, right? I mean, he hasn't bitten you, so he has standards."

His dad snorted. "I don't think he likes me enough to even try that."

"He doesn't have a problem with you. He glares at everyone like that. And he let you pet him. That's saying something. He's usually an asshole when someone tries to pet him." He yelped when Yami bit his ankle lightly. "See? He's an asshole all around."

His father snickered and shook his head, looking Yami over. "Have you ever bitten anyone else?" he asked cautiously, narrowing his eyes and studying the wolf more pointedly. Yami blinked and raised his head to stare at him in surprise. Yugi scoffed, shaking his head, but his dad continued before he could speak again. "How many people have you bitten?"

Yami huffed and bit at Yugi's ankle again. Yugi glanced at him, for a moment wondering if he was looking for more food or something of that manner. But he wasn't feral, and Yugi felt his lips twitch as he realized that Yami was being spiteful at the moment rather than attempting to answer him. "He's only ever bitten me. And I'm pretty sure he's mad that you're trying to imply otherwise."

"Should I be worried if he's mad at me?"

Yugi shook his head. "No, he's not going to hurt you—"

The metal bowl hit the ground, then shot forward and slammed into his dad's leg. Yugi's mouth dropped open and he burst out laughing before he could stop himself. His dad rubbed his shin, gaping at the wolf for a moment before grinning despite himself. Yugi shook his head and reached over to rub the wolf behind the ears.

"I stand corrected."

"That was a great shot. I like you."

Yugi snorted. "If I had known you would have been so easily won over, I would have let him do that a long time ago," he laughed. He ruffled his ears again, then smiled slightly before turning back to his dad. "Anyways, to answer your question, I'm the only one he's ever bitten. And he wouldn't have even done that if it hadn't been for the fact that he found me in the alleyway basically dead like that."

His dad nodded slightly and looked down at Yami. "I guess I have you to thank for him still being alive."

It was kind of funny that his parents were such realists that they almost mimicked each other at times, Yugi thought with faint amusement. But he couldn't find the strength to smile again. So he simply looked away and towards the clock on the nightstand beside the bed. He wondered when Yami would be able to jump atop the bed again.

"So, do you want to tell me what actually happened that day?"

Yugi blinked and turned around with wide, confused eyes. Then he faltered and glanced at Yami sideways once more. He grimaced. "It's…basically a rival pack. They were going after me for something I did recently and they attacked while I was in school. Yami wasn't exactly at his fighting best and things got out of hand. The leader went after Mom and Grandpa and the fighting escalated from there."

Yami flinched slightly, ears flattening against his head. His eyes narrowed and he looked away again, fur rising into a slight bristle. Yugi ignored it when he apologized again, watching his father and closing his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair after a few moments, then shook his head once more.

"I didn't get there until everything had already happened. I didn't have a chance to stop it." Yugi fought off the immediate pain that swept through him at the thought of the lie. But how was he supposed to explain that to him in the first place? He'd have to backtrack to do all of it, then admit that he was too stupid and pathetic to stop them. He'd have to—and he knew for a fact that Yami would not react well to shouldering that immense amount of blame. He couldn't breathe even just thinking about it. Yami would react badly. His father would likely be unable to face him again during the next two days he would be there and then what would he do? He'd already lost his mother and grandfather. He didn't want to lose his father as well. He swallowed hard and looked at Yami for a long moment. He had the feeling if Yami were human he would have argued that it was his fault instead regardless. And Yugi didn't know what he would have done should he have been able to. "Yami killed most of the wolves that attacked, though."

"I remember Mazaki saying something along those lines. He said something about there being an abundance of bodies in the house. Necropsies were done on them but it didn't lead to any answers for them. The DNA didn't match any dog they have on record, even after pulling samples from around the world. When he said that, it wasn't too hard to figure out that those rumors probably had a lot more truth to them than anyone ever gave them credit for."

Yugi shivered. Was that really what had propelled him towards understanding? Was it really as simple as that? His dad had put two and two together without difficulty because of the rumors that so steadily abounded his workplace?

He considered that for a moment, but shrugged it off a moment later. It didn't matter. His dad wasn't involved. As long as his dad wasn't involved and stayed clear of the issues, he didn't care. It didn't matter how he had figured it out. All that mattered was that he was still alive and he wasn't turning his back on him and—

It doesn't matter, he told himself coldly. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head slightly. "It was a pretty uneven fight. If they hadn't come with so many numbers, it would have been simple. He would have won easily. He's one of the best fighters. As a wolf, he's an insane fighter. I've never seen him fight as a human, but if he can fight as well as he does when he's a wolf, I think he could fight as a human too."

Yami looked over at him with an unsure expression, head tilted. But he didn't bother to speak and Yugi watched him for a few moments longer. He wondered how easily Yami could train him, if he could get him farther than he'd allowed Obelisk to. The deity hadn't understood all his hesitations. But he had a feeling that Yami understood them all too well. His hatred of Atem and everything to do with him was something that he was sure would work in his favor if he tried to utilize it.

"You're stressing yourself out for no reason. I'm not blaming either of you."

Yugi almost collapsed, his legs threatening to buckle beneath his weight. He swallowed hard and chewed the inside of his cheek. He turned to his dad after a long moment and crossed his arms. When he shifted his weight, the metal bowl jingled where his foot touched it. Yami flinched at the sound, then wrinkled his nose and tilted his head at him in bewilderment. Yugi ignored him.

---

Motou looked up when Yami entered the room. The wolf hesitated in the doorway, blinking, and raised his head to consider him curiously for a moment. Yugi was still asleep as Yami considered the man seated at the table in front of him. His ears flicked back and forth uncertainly for a moment and then he blinked. Motou stared at him with a tilt of his head, studying him. They watched each other for what felt a lifetime. And then Yami forced himself to keep moving forward, watching him and then turning away to take a seat and turn away from him.

"Are you hungry?" he asked after a moment.

Yami flicked his ears, blinking, and tilted his head. He was offering to feed him? It seemed almost crazy to consider it. Were they all taking turns at this point? Honda fed him sometimes in the morning, Yugi fed him throughout the day, and now his father was offering to do so. Yami could hardly believe it. And then he wondered what it was he was supposed to do in order to articulate himself in some manner. Yugi could listen to him. Yugi could answer him when he asked him to do something.

"He just gives you two steaks, right? Or is there something else you need in it?"

Yami tilted his head, then nodded slowly and pricked his ears forward. Motou didn't even look at him when he got up and searched for the bowl he needed, then dug out the steaks from the fridge. When he placed them in the bowl and turned to him, he looked exhausted and Yami almost thought that the bloodshot expression in his eyes was from alcohol. He remembered Yugi mentioning that being his vice before then, and his heart felt heavy at the thought. But when he sniffed him, he knew for certain that it was nothing but lack of sleep.

He would have smelled any trace, no matter how well he brushed his teeth or rinsed his mouth out afterwards. Saliva particles would have still held a trace of it. Instead Yugi's father smelled of toothpaste and deodorant and nothing else. When he scrubbed his fingers through his hair, he reminded him of Yugi so much that he almost flinched. He'd left the room in order to avoid seeing him when he woke.

It wasn't that he didn't want to see him. It was that it was so hard to see him at first startled by the change of surroundings, then searching for Yami himself, then see his eyes light up with relief and his face slowly fall when he came to the realization that nothing had changed. Yami didn't know how to make him feel better. Cuddling with him was enough to relax Yugi for the most part, but it would leave Yami winded and uneasy for hours afterwards.

He didn't know if it was guilt for the pain of Yugi's emotions that he was so unable to reciprocate or if it was the fact that he had failed as he had. He didn't know if it was the pain he felt when Yugi found such comfort in his presence there or if it was the feeling of being hugged by someone who deserved so much better than he had to offer. He did not know what he was meant to do with the persistent ache he so often suffered at the mere thought.

Yami shrugged it off and lowered his muzzle when Motou placed the bowl in front of him. When his father lingered a moment longer than Honda or Yugi would have, he looked up again, blinked at the grieving expression on his face, and leaned forward to lick his forehead. He pressed his ears against his head, whimpering. Yugi's father stared at him for a long moment, then looked away and began to move to the table once more. Yami whimpered again, though he was not sure how he was meant to convey how sorry he was.

He nearly flinched when he heard Yugi moving around now. He must have woken him with the noise. Yami glanced in the direction of the room, then whined loudly when he spotted him coming down the hall. The small teen didn't speak for a moment, then stretched and wandered into the kitchen as Yami struggled to think of words to say.

"Did he wake you?"

Yami curled his lip but didn't bother to respond as Yugi shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "No, he didn't wake me," he said quietly. "I just didn't know where he."

Yami saw Motou's face become skeptical, but when he didn't speak again, Yami had the abrupt thought that perhaps he felt similarly displaced by Yugi's feelings towards him as his mother had. Yami almost cringed at the thought, flustered, and turned away as quickly as he could to shed the thought. His stomach lurched and he shivered, feeling abruptly weak and stupid. He wondered how much Yugi must have hated him for the alienation this had all brought on. His mother had found it awkward, and so did his father now.

"I was just feeding him."

Yugi stretched again. "Okay."

"You just put them in the bowl, right?"

"It won't hurt him to eat it like it is," Yugi dismissed, waving his hand slightly as his dad frowned at him. "I usually just run it under some warm water for a few minutes to help warm it slightly. I figured I would do that for him because I used to have sensitive teeth."

His dad blinked. "Used to?"

The small teen looked down at Yami with a slight frown as well. He furrowed his brows for a single second. "Yeah, they haven't been sensitive for a couple of years now. But they especially aren't sensitive now that I'm able to change and all that. Being a werewolf has a lot of perks."

"Oh?"

"They're also a lot straighter and whiter than they used to be." Yugi tipped his head to the side, closing his eyes, and exhaled softly through his nose. He bent his arms, folding them behind his head, and yawned. "I heal basically instantly from wounds, I can eat or drink anything and not suffer too badly from it, I no longer get sick for the most part, and I'm as close to immortality as anyone could ever hope to be."

Motou shook his head and watched Yami curiously for a moment. "You can understand him while he's a wolf, right?" he asked curiously. Yami flicked his ears and tilted his head, curious as he wagged his tail slightly. Yugi stretched his arms again and considered him with a curious expression. "And I already know he understands every word coming out of my mouth."

Yugi looked between them for a few seconds. "Yeah, I understand him and we don't have issues understanding anyone when they talk to us. He's not in a feral state so he understands everything." He shrugged after a moment and began chewing on his nails. "He would be far less friendly and way more aggressive if he was in a state where he couldn't understand what you were saying to him. And it takes a lot of damage to put him into that state."

Yami flicked an ear and didn't bother to argue with him for the moment. His eyes flickered back and forth between them as Yugi continued, mumbling, "You wouldn't be able to be around him at all if he wasn't stable right now."

His dad eyed the wolf for a long moment, then nodded and sighed softly. "He's that dangerous?"

"Dad, he's a werewolf. On principle alone, you should be worried about how dangerous he is."

His father shot him an annoyed look. "You don't say," he scoffed.

Yugi shrugged and shot him something of a sheepish grin that was full of laughter all the same. "Mom seemed to forget that at one point too," he teased, and Yami continued chewing on one of his steaks. He tried his hardest not to show how unnerved he truly was at the moment. He flicked his ears back and forth several times; Honda's parents were moving around upstairs. Honda was talking to them about something or other and the dog—Blankey? What kind of name was that?—was snoring softly in her sleep. Yami shifted his weight and swallowed a chunk of venison that was gamier than the rest.

The kitchen was silent for a moment, tense as they looked at one another. Then Yugi's father quietly mumbled, "I've made the arrangements for the funeral; it's set to happen in a few hours."

Yugi blinked and nodded, looking away from them both and grimacing. "Right, okay."

"And the cremation should be done a couple of hours after the funeral is over. After that, we'll go to the cemetery and bury the ashes in the family plot." His dad looked exhausted again, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head. When he opened them again, he was staring at Yami and the black wolf flattened his ears against his head, peeking up at him. Yugi had gone oddly still, eyes dilated and dull with despair. Yami wished he could have offered some kind of condolences but he was sure they wouldn't truly be welcome at this point. After all, who really wanted to hear about how sorry he was when he had been the one to fail the family in the first place? "I'm sure Mazaki and the others will be attending as well."

Yami wondered at the way Yugi seemed to flinch. The small teen looked exhausted as he pressed his lips into a thin line and closed his eyes. Yami couldn't imagine the pain he felt at the moment. He pressed his ears against his skull and looked down at his food again, trying his hardest not to flinch and hide away from them both.

"Right." Yugi looked as if he might puke at any moment. Then he swallowed hard, breathing in deeply, and turned to look at his dad with a slightly horrified expression. "We…we can't bury them."

"What?"

Yugi was shaking, eyes wide and terrified as he reached up to grab at his shirt until his fingers turned white with tension. Yami stared up at him in confusion, tilting his head and furrowing his brows. The small teen shook his head, staring down at the ground and pressing his lips into a thin line.

"They can't be buried."

His dad opened and closed his mouth, staring at him in absolute surprise and bewilderment. "Yugi…" He reached for him and Yugi flinched, recoiling from him entirely. He was breathing hard now, eyes dilated and glazed with pain. His father stopped short, frowning, and glanced at Yami sideways, an expression of puzzlement on his face. But he turned back almost immediately as Yugi ducked his head and began to pull more persistently at his shirt as if to ground himself.

"Y-you'll have to take the ashes."

Even Yami stared at him in surprise. What?

"What are you…?"

"She'll dig them up," Yugi whispered, almost to himself but just loud enough that Yami and Motou could both hear him. His father stiffened, stunned by the words, and looked quickly towards Yami as if the wolf might explain it to him. But Yami was so shaken by the words that he almost flinched and hid away. Yugi trembled, then drew in a deep breath and shook his head with a horrified expression. "She'd dig them up just to mess with me."

"Yugi, what are you talking about?" his dad asked slowly, narrowing his eyes into slits and frowning at him. He shook his head slightly, brown eyes bright with keenness and slight frustration. "What do you mean they would dig them up? Who would dig them up?"

Yugi was quiet for a long moment. "Yubel," he grumbled softly, shaking his head and pressing his lips into a thin line. "Her name is Yubel and she's trying to kill me. She plans to kill me and Yami. And she would dig them up and take the ashes if she thought it would get to me."

His dad blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You have to take the urns," Yugi mumbled, shivering and shaking his head. He looked to Yami now, scratching at his neck until his skin turned bright red with abuse. "We wouldn't be able to keep on top of that and everything else going on."

Yami blinked, nodding slightly, and flattened his ears against his head. Yugi wasn't wrong. In truth, he didn't even know how they were supposed to deal with anything at the moment. He was so scattered as it was that Yami was not even sure how he was supposed to treat him any longer his heart ached. He didn't know how he was supposed to comfort him or how to protect him or how to—

"Everything else?"

Yugi shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. "I can't tell you all of this. I can't…"

"Yugi, what the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I can't tell you right now. M-maybe when this is…is over or something." He trembled and shook his head, blinking his eyes open to stare at Yami. The black wolf flattened his ears against his head and looked at the ground, unable to breathe for a moment. There was so much pressure in his chest that he almost wanted to collapse beneath the weight of it all. "B-but not right now. I can't…r-right now."

Yami wondered if there ever would be a later, though. He didn't know if it was possible in any sense that he would have another chance to tell him. But how could he push him to tell him now? There was no manner of which he could ask him to do such a thing to begin with. The thought made his skin crawl and he shivered, breathless and anxious for a moment.

"So, I'm taking the ashes to the states then?" his dad asked slowly, cautiously, his voice full of trepidation. Yugi nodded shakily, reaching up to chew on his nails again. "Okay, so I take the urns and then what?"

"Then Yami and I deal with everything here and then afterwards, I'll call you and we can put them in the family plot," he mumbled, sounding small and pathetic. Yami flinched at the expression and looked away quickly once more. Even Yugi doubted himself, he realized; he didn't think he'd make it through this fight alive either. At this rate Yami didn't think any of them truly would. He doubted that even he himself would manage it at any rate. His stomach lurched as he looked at the steaks again. They were almost room temperature from all of the time he'd spent simply standing and listening to them. There was blood pooling at the bottom of the bowl at this point. "You leave in two days, right?"

"Tomorrow, actually, mid-afternoon."

Yugi blinked a few times, then turned his head with a confused, startled expression. "You're…you're leaving so soon?" he breathed out, looking as if he had been struck. He blinked again, mouth twisting as he stared at him. "I-I thought you were…but…okay. That's…probably better anyways."

Yami flinched and Yugi's father stared at him in surprise for a brief second before turning away again. Yami wasn't sure how to respond to the heartbroken expression on Yugi's face, nor whether he was meant to in the first place. He looked down, shuffling his weight, then dug at the tiles with his claws, the scratching noise soothing his nerves for a brief second. It was enough to drown out the way his heart beat in his ears so heavily.

"Yugi…"

For a long moment his dad seemed to struggle to find words, and then Yami glanced up as Yugi turned abruptly to the man and shook his head. "You're right. It's better this way. This gets figured out, you go back to the states. You're more likely to live that way. If you stay too long, I'm sure she'll find out you're here. And I can't afford for that to happen."

---

Yami was asleep when Yugi and his dad left the next day. Yugi had given him some medication to help him sleep. And, from there, the small teen and his dad had left to get to the airport. The funeral had been an awkward affair, performed relatively quickly with everything that had happened. The cremation had been horrifying to watch, though Yugi had been grateful he hadn't been forced to witness it when he was younger. And then they'd picked the bones out of the ashes with chopsticks and put them into the urns collectively and sealed them. His dad had packed them up and Yugi had promised again to call him after everything was sorted out and they'd be able to put them to rest properly then.

"Don't get more involved," his dad said abruptly, turning back around. Yugi had been chewing his nails and checking his phone when he'd done so. He turned to him in bewilderment now, blinking, and raised a brow in confusion. His dad was staring at him with furrowed brows, studying him with eyes that were sad and bore into his intently. "Don't get any more involved with them, Yugi. Don't get involved with the other wolves. Please, gods, please don't get involved with them."

Yugi stated at him for a moment. He had still been unable to explain it all. He'd told him nothing more than that he was infected, that Yami had been the one to bite him, and that he'd gotten into a fight without another wolf named Yubel. Beyond that, he had given no other details. He had not spoken a word of being Atem or anything to do with the wolf to begin with; he had not even mentioned that there were packs of wolves. He'd simply said he wasn't sure he'd ever heard of the wolves moving around in the mountains or anything of the kind.

"Yami and I are just trying to survive," he said slowly, shaking his head. It wasn't a complete lie, although now Yugi wondered if there was any bit of it that was actually untrue. He truly wanted nothing more than for the two of them to make it out alive. He shivered, suppressing the small wave of nausea that came through him at the thought of being unable to make it out of the situation. "And Yami isn't likely to get involved with anything too terrible anytime soon. He knows he's not in any shape to be involved in something dangerous. And he's not stupid. I don't think for even a second that he'd let me do anything either. He knows well enough how to take care of himself so…"

"Yugi," his father responded, visibly distressed and mouth pulled into a grimace, "I'm serious. Don't do anything that might get you hurt later, okay? Please. I just lost your mother and grandfather. I don't want to lose my only son too."

Yugi shook his head and forced himself to smile. He hated the way it felt on his face. It was as fake as the idea of his self-confidence. It was as weak as his voice when he'd mentioned Yubel's name earlier. But somehow, despite everything, it seemed to at least slightly pacify his father in some manner. And Yugi—for once—thanked the gods that his father had not often been at the house with him.

He was his only family at this point. His side of the family had wanted so minimal to do with Yugi that they might not have even existed as it was. And now he felt a cold sting in his belly as he considered it all. His father was truly the last point of family he possessed; he was the only one who could understand his pain and relate and acknowledge it all.

If he made it out of this war alive, he'd tell him about all of it. He'd explain everything to him. He'd ask him to come back to Japan—or, if he could convince Yami to come with him, he'd go to the states—and they'd talk about it all. He'd tell him all of the details and they wouldn't be anymore lies between them and…

I'm a fool, he thought sardonically. "I promise. Yami and I will not do anything too dangerous." He smiled at him the smallest degree wider. "We won't get hurt, okay? We'll keep safe."

They'd stay as safe as they could when Yugi led the attack against Yubel. He would kill her. He'd do it sooner rather than later; he'd need to lead the attack to prevent her doing so against him. And he'd destroy her happily when he got the chance.

Whether Yami helped him or not that final stretch of time was another thing entirely.

"Stay safe," he called a few minutes later when his dad was boarding. He turned away when he disappeared past his line of sight and spun on his heel to make his way back to the house. If Yami was still asleep by then, he'd let him keep resting. If he was awake, it was time to start talking strategy.

But first he had a couple of things to retrieve. Yugi traveled the full twenty miles from the airport back to the clinic in under an hour. Calling it the clinic was easier than naming it his house, than saying it was his old home. The small teen glanced around as he picked his way through the yard. Caution tape covered the doorway and along the windows. His entire yard had been cut off with it, a large perimeter of yellow tape telling all to leave it and avoid the property. He ignored this warning, pacing forward through the snow and towards the nearest window. He narrowed his eyes and crouched down.

When he'd brought them home, he'd hidden them outside the window. Initially he'd thought to put them in the air vents, but he had not chosen to do so at the last second. He felt sick to his stomach as he clawed at the snow. He dug through the ice, then into the small space that existed between the house and the dirt. There was the smallest dip beneath it and the hole was often used by smaller animals as a nest of some kind. Yugi had dug until he'd made the hole the smallest bit wider. And then he'd dropped the metal box inside the shadows into the dirt.

He reached in now, searching with his fingers to find the box. It took a few minutes, his approaching angle an awkward one. But it kept him out of sight of his neighbors should they be home. Yugi grasped the edge of the box after several long seconds, drawing it into his lap, and cut away the ice with his nail. The metal lock was rusted from the water and cold temperature. And Yugi had to claw at it more pointedly to snap the lock out of place. He broke it in half with his fumbling before his anger became too abundant to ignore.

When he opened the box, both of the pistols seemed to wink back at him. Yugi looked them over for a moment, then moved to put them in his pockets. They were heavy against the material, but much lighter than he thought a metal gun was meant to be.

He shivered, almost grimacing, and zipped his hoodie halfway. He buried the box back under the clinic and dusted himself off, jeans soaked from the excursion.

When he got back to Honda's house, his mouth was dry and his stomach was in knots. Honda's parents were not at the house and he assumed they'd both gone to work again. But he could hear Jonouchi talking and Yami was occasionally mumbling. It was Anzu's voice which did not quite match the scene. He hadn't seen her since the funeral, when she'd awkwardly apologized and asked if he was okay and Yugi had all but ignored her in order to keep from snarling. Then he had finally nodded, she'd hugged him for a minute, and then they'd separated again and he and his father had gone about finishing the rest of the proceedings.

"What did he say?"

"Yami didn't say anything. He's just growling."

"He's glaring at you, Jonouchi. I think you should probably go ahead and tell us what he said."

"But he didn't actually say—"

Yugi, Yami called abruptly. He could hear claws clicking against the hardwood as the wolf hurried forward towards the door. Yugi blinked as he reached for the doorknob. When he turned it, the wolf was standing a few inches away, tail wagging and tongue lolling. The small teen hesitated for a few moments as he stepped inside, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"You look happy," he mumbled, uncertain as he said the words. He tried not to grimace, but the wolf was clearly affected by the statement. His tail stopped and fell and his head tilted to the side. Yugi ignored the urge to flinch and instead ruffled his ears with his fingers. When he turned back to look into the kitchen the others were watching with surprised expressions. "What did I miss?"

Yami pulled away from him entirely, turning and trotting into the kitchen to take a spot next to the bowls of food he'd given him before. Yami pawed at one and turned to him with pricked ears. Yugi blinked, startled, and then turned to Jonouchi with a raised brow. "Starving my wolf over there, Jonouchi?"

The blond laughed awkwardly. "I just fed him!"

He did not!

Honda snorted and turned away, shaking his head. Anzu blinked and looked at Jonouchi with a frown when she hissed, "He was asking for food?"

"He just ate!"

I did not!

Yugi rolled his eyes. "You two are both so stupid," he teased, shaking his head. He turned and wandered for the fridge in order to grab some of the venison steaks. Yami anxiously danced from one foot to the next from where he was standing, watching him. "You didn't want to feed him? Afraid to touch some raw meat, Jonouchi?"

"He said I was a golden retriever again!" the blond snapped, flushed when Yugi glanced over his shoulder at him in amusement. He had his arms crossed and was huffing when Yugi turned away with a snicker and made his way over to the bowl with a package of meat. He shook his head. Jonouchi was glaring at Yami when he glanced at him from his peripheral. "I am not a dog."

"Wolves are canines. Canines are dogs." Yugi ruffled his ears when Yami snickered at the statement. Then he tapped him on the nose and the canine startled with wide red eyes, clearly confused by the gesture. He wagged his tail, blinking, and flicked his tongue over his finger with a tilt of his head. "Doesn't mean we call our friends a golden retriever."

But he looks like one!

"Okay, but we don't tell him that."

"Yugi, you're not funny."

"I'm hilarious."

You're also no fun.

"What was that about wanting food?"

I take it back. You're the most fun.

Yugi snickered and shook his head, dropping the steak into his bowl. He debated warm water added to it but instead piled two more slabs of meat atop the first. He dropped the packages into the trash and washed his hands. At Jonouchi's surprised face, he mumbled, "What? You and I might not be able to get sick from something like this, but Honda and his family could."

Yami had swallowed the last mouthful by the time he even bothered to look over. He licked his lips and shook his head, ears flicking about. His tongue flashed over his nose as he shook himself out. Humans are so delicate, he mumbled. The comment made both Yugi and Jonouchi turn to look at him.

Yami ignored them both and took a seat before slowly sliding forward to lie down. He closed his eyes and put his chin on his paws. His ears flicked about a few more times, focusing on Yugi for a moment before relaxing. Yugi watched him for a moment, relieved that at least one of them could settle for more than just a minute. His stomach hurt as he considered the wolf and then looked away.

"Speaking of delicate," the small teen murmured, turning to Honda and Anzu and drawing in a deep breath, "I have something that I wanted to give you guys."

Yami opened his eyes, lifting and tilting his head in open confusion. He considered Yugi with his fur in a slight bristle, as if he sensed that this was not going to be a pretty conversation at the moment. Yugi hesitated for a long moment, then glanced sideways at Yami and back. The wolf stared at him cautiously, then shot a look towards Jonouchi as if to ask him his opinion of the matter.

Jonouchi raised a brow and tilted his head. "You know what's going on?"

There was a moment of silence, then Yami flattened his ears for a split second, pricked them forward again, looking at the blond. He did not mention a thing to me. I have no idea what he means to give them.

The blond furrowed his brows. "What's up, Yugi? You going to keep us all in suspense?" he asked, grinning but with clear unease. "I don't really want to worry about that kind of thing."

The small teen opened and closed his mouth. Then he shook his head and narrowed his eyes, frowning. "I'm trying to think of the right words to explain it," he answered uncertainly. He glanced at Yami as if the wolf might offer some guidance, then exhaled hard. "Because I don't know how much you actually want to know before I give them to you."

Yami blinked slowly, tilting his head. His nose twitched rapidly and he leaned forward when at first he caught nothing. Yugi had his hands in his pockets and Yami stared at him in confusion. But he knew it had to be there, as his hoodie was sagging visibly. He didn't know what to make of the sight.

"Should I be scared?"

"It's a little alarming," Yugi admitted. He glanced at Yami and his face fell into a grimace as they looked at one another. Then he looked away and turned to face Anzu. "This probably won't be particularly great for you. Your dad would have a cow if he knew what I was about to do."

Anzu shook her head, then blinked in confusion. "He's pretty upset about what happened. I don't think he'd have the energy to be mad at you for any reason. He's super depressed, especially after you guys decided not to bury them yet. So I…" She hesitated for a long moment, then glanced towards Yami. The black wolf tilted his head, studying her expression for a moment; she just looked tired and slightly flustered. He couldn't imagine how much worse her father had to look in comparison. "I'm more worried about the fact that even Yami doesn't know what it is that you're going to give us."

Yugi blinked. Then his eyes shot to Yami and the wolf flattened his ears against his head, watching him closely. Yugi offered him a small smile. "You'd know if you were thinking about it hard enough," he teased, raising a brow. Yami pricked his ears forward and narrowed his eyes, wondering for a moment what it could have been he was offering them. He couldn't think of much that might have been of use to them. "It's a means of protection for humans."

Yami tossed that thought about in his head for a few moments, considering the words and narrowing his eyes as the seconds passed. Then he bristled, sitting up and staring at him in shock. The guns? He blurted the words out, snarling low in his throat and flattening his ears against his head. He stared at him, fear drizzling down his spine for a moment. The ones you stole from the hunters—Espa's siblings? I thought you had disposed of them!

Yugi grimaced, shaking his head. "No. I never said I was going to dispose of them. I said that I was going to hide them. And I did." He raised a brow and then scoffed, voice venomous. "Why would I just dispose of them when they're useful?"

"Um, did you just say what I think you did?" Jonouchi interrupted, staring at Yami with a horrified expression. His voice was slightly hysterical, squeaking along the edges. The wolf curled his lips back at the desperate stare he was given. "Tell me I misheard you."

"No, it's exactly as he said," Yugi stated dismissively. He shook his head, grimacing now. He'd lost any sense of anger in his voice, the toxic edge long gone. "They're not wolves, Jonouchi! It makes sense to give them something to help them deal with them if anything happens."

"Whoa, wait a second, time out," Honda interrupted. He held his hands up and looked pointedly at Yugi, "I'm confused. You're going to give us something to help with the wolves? In case we're attacked? First off, what are the odds of that happening?"

"Probably pretty high," Jonouchi grumbled reluctantly. He put his chin in his hand, elbow on the table as he looked back to Yugi. "So, what are we talking about exactly? Silver? Wolfsbane? Poison?"

Yugi shook his head and frowned, shrugging after a moment. "Probably a mixture of those first two, honestly," he said, glancing at Yami again. The wolf refused to look at him for a moment. Yami couldn't help but hate the idea of Yugi handing over a gun; he'd thought for so long that Yugi had gotten rid of them. And now they were back and Yugi was giving them to his friends. "I don't think it has anything to do with poison past that though."

They do not often trace metal with wolfsbane, Yami finally growled, looking at the floor hatefully. It tends to smell too much and it gives hunters away far too easily.

"Good to know, I guess," Jonouchi mumbled. He shook his head and turned to Yami with a slightly flustered expression. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, staring at Yugi uncomfortably. "So, then it's probably just silver, right?"

The wolf flicked an ear. I was always told that the wolfsbane smelled so powerfully that the wolves they went after could detect such a thing easily. He drew his lips back slightly to show his teeth. The black wolf shook his head slightly. Unless somehow they managed to dilute it until we could no longer smell it. But the potency would likely go down with it.

"I doubt it," Yugi answered with a shake of his head. "I don't think they'd manage it. And I'm pretty sure just brushing up against the plant will kill you. I don't think you can really dilute its potency. But, besides that, even if one wolf couldn't smell it, another might be able to, right?"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt the werewolves right about now, but this human over here is still really confused right now," Honda said. His hand was raised, his mouth pulled into a grimace. He shook his head, studying the three of them and then looking pointedly at Yami as if he expected him to somehow be able to answer his questions. "So, do you want to go ahead and tell me about what we're talking about? It honestly sounds like bullets and I'm not sure how that would be a topic unless you have a couple of guns in your pockets and—oh, holy fuck."

Yugi blinked. Yami looked away. Jonouchi made a low noise, sucking on his teeth. His brown eyes narrowed slightly and he shook his head slowly. Anzu grew pale, blue eyes wide and terrified. And Honda looked at the table uncomfortably.

"So…silver bullets, then?"

"Hmm?" Yugi blinked, looking away from where he'd been staring at Yami. He turned, nodded slightly, and mumbled, "Yeah, silver bullets."

"This is so illegal," Anzu muttered uncertainly. She was staring at Yugi almost as if he did not quite recognize him. She looked as if she couldn't believe it. Her mouth opened and closed once more, then she glanced at Yami and back. When he spoke again, her voice was anxious. "H-how did you even…?"

"It's one of the very few perks of being shot at in the woods," Yugi said dismissively, pulling both of the pistols out and putting them on the table. Jonouchi stared at them with wide eyes, as if stunned that he truly had them in his possession. Yami turned away entirely, licking at his side anxiously. "There were these two who cornered us in the woods and tried to kill us. When we escaped, I went back to where I had hid my clothes and took their guns before they could possibly be used on any other wolves. It was when the forest fire happened."

"How did they not find them when they were investigating after the attack…?" Anzu breathed out, horrified. "How could you have managed to hidden them so well?"

"I put them under the house. I had planned to do it in the air vents but I decided against it at the last second." He looked away and shrugged self-consciously, mouth set into a firm line. His eyes fell on Yami once more. "And between all the snow and the fact that the attack happened on the inside, I don't think any of them noticed it to begin with. I don't think anyone even considered searching there."

"And now you're…giving them to us…"

Yami watched Yugi flush and scratch the back of his head uncomfortably, eyes wide and full of frustration. "I get that it's pretty sketchy, but the problem is that you're absolutely defenseless otherwise. If Yubel or anyone decided to attack you now, you'd be ruined. You're only human. And every werewolf in existence is vulnerable to silver or wolfsbane or anything like that. I need to give you a way to protect yourself. You can't do that otherwise. Your reflexes aren't as fast as ours. Your strength isn't even half of ours. You can't move as quickly and you're not equipped to deal with us."

Honda was quiet for a moment, eyes flickering to Yami. "I would believe that if every wolf was like him, but…"

Yugi snorted and gestured at him. "You've seen him in action. If he was human right now I could even show you how fast he is. And Yubel is just as fucking fast as he is. If all of the hellhounds are half as quick as she is, we're all fucking screwed."

Yami flicked an ear, twisting around to face him again, voice quiet and soft when he mumbled, Sartorius is just as fast. They are both unbelievably quick on their feet.

Yugi blinked. "Right; Sartorius, too." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "That fuck."

Jonouchi blinked wide eyes. "Uh, okay then. I'm sensing some hostility," he mumbled in an almost dismissive tone. He grimaced and looked over at Yami again uncomfortably. "So, what do you plan to do then? Have them go to a firing range or something?"

"Abashiri has a shooting range that isn't too far from here," Yugi reminded him in an irritable tone, shooting him a furious glance. Then he turned to Anzu and exhaled softly. "And I know you'd be able to convince your dad if you just said you were scared after all of the things that have happened recently."

"He actually mentioned that a while back," the brunette said quietly, frowning. She was staring at the pistol Yugi was holding out with wide eyes, cheeks slightly reddened. "He said he wanted me and my mom to get classes or something in order to be able to protect ourselves if he wasn't home."

"Perfect."

"But my mom didn't want to. And she said she refused to let me do it, either."

Yugi stared at her for a long moment. She was closer to her mom than she ever had been her dad. And he knew normally when it came down to things like this, if her mom argued against something, her dad would back down rather quietly. He had only ever witnessed them go into a full-blown argument once when he was younger and they were hanging out.

"Tell your dad that you've changed your mind and you want to do it. Your mom will buckle if you're on his side." He said the words slowly, cautiously, and he felt almost as if he were telling her to lie and steal from someone else. He almost thought it was like trying to get her to sneak out of the house late at night. His stomach churned. He could only imagine they'd have done that beforehand if Yami hadn't shown up. Surely their parents would have even prepared for the two of them sneaking out together like that.

And, yet, now he no longer felt even a dull ache at the loss. He was fighting in a war, he was in love with another guy, he was stuck praying he would survive long enough to see an end to the fighting, and he no longer regretted what he had lost formerly.

He shivered, forcing himself not to flinch. All of this was for their good. If he had them practice with guns, he could possibly buy them some time and protection later on. Otherwise, he was sure they'd end up dead just as his mom and grandpa had.

He swallowed hard. "But even if you guys never use them, it's better to have them regardless, right? It'll help put my mind at ease, I guess." He didn't want to sound as selfish as he felt when he said the words. He didn't want to consider just how miserable he sounded when he said it. He glanced at Yami now, hopeful the wolf might tell him he didn't sound like the jackass he thought he did. But the canine was not looking at them any longer. But the canine was not looking at any of them any longer. At some point he had curled up and was a giant ball of black fur. He was fast asleep, breathing even and soft. But Yugi could see that his side was bright red and inflamed. No doubt Yami had licked at them when he wasn't paying attention.

The stitches themselves looked swollen, however, and Yugi was struck with the idea that he likely needed to remove them soon enough. He couldn't tell if they looked as if they might fall out on their own or if they were still deeply embedded in his flesh.

"I guess that's true. Even if we never use them, we'll at least have them and then we can at least have some kind of protection." Honda looked over at her now, frowning faintly, but Yugi was struck by the light in his eyes. He blinked, surprised, but he'd bring it up later. "My parents probably wouldn't even blink if I asked them."

Yugi snorted. "Probably not," he agreed quietly. And, after his history in that gang, he doubted Honda would even need to explain himself to them if they found out he had the gun.

"I'll ask when we have your situation better figured out," Honda said after a moment, turning to him. Yugi could see the shadows behind his eyes now, the thoughts that danced about his irises. He looked unnerved, as if he wanted to speak but couldn't find the proper words to do so. "I mean, you can stay here as long as you want, but Yami isn't going to be able to…change back…"

Yugi blinked, confused, startled by the declaration; for a moment he had the impulse to snarl at him that of course he would be able to change back at some point. But then he realized himself. His head snapped around when he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Yami's head was up, eyes wide and confused, ears pricked forward with interest. His eyes were locked on Honda's face and when the brunet failed to speak again, the wolf slowly lowered his head again.

"Sorry, aibou," he mumbled. The wolf flicked an ear and raised his head just enough to see him over his shoulder. "We were talking about the situation for living arrangements. Your name just popped up."

Yami blinked, then yawned and closed his eyes, burrowing into a ball again. I had assumed as much. He looked shocked when he saw me paying attention. So, I figured it had to be my name mentioned in passing.

Yugi looked away from him after a moment. "Right." He turned to his friends again. "So, as far as that goes, I don't know what we plan to do. I don't want to stay here and keep making things so awkward for your family. And then when he does change back, that would be an extremely awkward conversation to have. So, I don't know what to say about that. We might end up having to do something like hopping from hotel to hotel. But I don't know how that would work out either."

Jonouchi was quiet for a long handful of seconds. "We could try to get you an apartment?" he mumbled. "Or, if anything, you can hide in my room? I can stay at the camp with the others."

"The camp will probably end up being the safest place for us, actually." Yugi went quiet for a long minute, trying to pick his words as properly as he could. He frowned and nibbled his bottom lip before shaking his head slightly. "But I'd have to come back every other night to make sure my phone is charged in case anything happens."

He was still expecting to get a phone call at some point saying that they'd chosen to pursue him as the culprit behind his family's death. He could see it clearly in his mind's eye. He'd get the call saying that they were coming to detain him and he'd be in the mountains and then have a warrant put out for his arrest immediately after.

"You shouldn't go to hotels," Honda said quietly, shaking his head. "If you're spotted or something, they might just slaughter everyone there to get to you, you know?"

"I'm aware. Which is why the hotel idea is a last resort," he answered. But it might damn well be necessary. He didn't trust the idea of moving into Jonouchi's apartment if only for the fact that he was sure Jonouchi's father would flip out if he spotted him. And if he did so, he was sure Yami would turn on him in order to protect him if things got out of hand. And he couldn't promise that things would end without a body. And if it ended with a body, they had more reasons to believe it was him. "But it's hard. I'd like to think nothing would happen if we were to stay at the camp, but Yami isn't particularly well-liked at the moment."

"Now, that's an understatement." Jonouchi snickered and looked over at Yami with a huge grin. "Some of them are out for his blood, Yug. I don't even know if he'd make it a day on his own if he went there alone."

Yugi shot him a fierce look. "That's not a joke," he snapped. "And it's not funny. If h ends up hurt any worse than he already is, we could end up completely fucked, Jonouchi."

The blond huffed, rolling his eyes and scowling at him. "Why? You're Atem, not him," he scoffed. But his eyes still flickered to Yami. The black wolf wasn't asleep any longer, but he had not raised his head either. His ears were angled in his direction and his eyes were wide open. 'I mean, I get that he's the beta, but still."

A pack can function without a beta, Yami dismissed them both. He raised his head and leveled Jonouchi with a blank, yet powerful stare. It is Yugi who cannot function without me.

The words seemed to echo and vibrate in his head. Jonouchi startled at the quiet declaration, eyes widening. There was no smugness to be heard, just sadness, and Jonouchi looked to Yugi slowly. Yami had not said it to them both, he realized, but it still made his skin crawl all the same. The truth of the statement was too bold to ignore. Because he understood it; he knew it to be true.

"Basically, if you use the guns, operate them on a shoot first, question later basis. If it's not me or Yami or Jonouchi, shoot them the second you see them." Yugi ran a hand through his hair. Jonouchi watched him for a moment, then looked over at Yami again as the black wolf lay his head back down and curled up tightly into a ball once more.

"Okay," Anzu mumbled, so soft in tone, that Jonouchi almost couldn't hear her. He shivered and glanced at her, then to Yami again, studying him. The black wolf had his eyes squeezed shut. His sides rippled when he breathed, skin twitching as if in agony. "Okay…okay."

Jonouchi saw Yugi tilt his head in the corner of his eye. When he turned back, the blue-violet-eyed boy had turned to Yami. "Aibou," he said just loudly enough that Yami's head lifted from his paws and he stared at the boy curiously. Jonouchi watched his red eyes narrow before he slowly rose to his paws, stretched, and yawned loudly. "You ready to go lay down in the guest room?"

Yami shook himself out after a moment, blinking blearily, flicked his ears, and yawned again. Then he turned away, but didn't move to walk out of the kitchen until Yugi was right behind him. Jonouchi leaned back against the counter until they made it halfway out the room; abruptly Yugi spun around.

"By the way, I'm glad you two are together," he announced. Jonouchi snorted when Honda shifted his weight awkwardly and ducked his head and Anzu turned bright red with surprise. The blond almost burst out laughing at their awkward reactions; he'd forgotten how nervous they'd been about telling him. Jonouchi had told them more than once that it would be fine, but Anzu had insisted she didn't want to hurt him, despite the fact that both of them had pointed out various times that Yugi was in love with Yami now. "I could smell it on you both. I could also see you guys holding hands under the table when I walked in."

He winked and turned away. Yami looked over his shoulder at them a moment, pricked his ears, and watched Jonouchi. The blond studied him, seeing something dark and cold in his eyes. And then the black wolf turned away and trotted after Yugi.

---

Yugi… He sounded exhausted. It was late, the room was cold, and the wolf was staring up at him from the base of the cot. Yugi had taken the bed to lie stretched out on his stomach in order to figure out a better living situation for the two of them. He'd been studying hotels and debating the use of the camp. But it was late and the stress had to have gotten to him, because he'd dozed off. And now, looking over, Yami was staring up at him with a somewhat unsure, almost nervous expression.

"For what?" He yawned, moving to sit up, shaking his head as he looked over at him. His back popped and he ran his hands through his hair. He blinked lazily and sat up straight, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head. "What are you sorry about now?"

The canine remained quiet for a long moment. Kasumi and Sugoroku and our living situation, he said slowly. He pressed his ears against his head. If that hadn't happened, if I had managed to fight them off, we would not have to struggle with yet another problem. We would still be able to stay in your house and not have to worry about this on top of everything else.

Yugi frowned slightly and shook his head. "What? Oh, please, Yami. We don't know if this was inevitable or not. And between Yubel and Sartorius, I don't think you could have won on your own stuck alone like that."

The wolf grunted softly, but he couldn't tell if it was with agreement or frustration. It could have easily been disbelief as well. He knew Yami did not believe in his justification of the issue either. But he did not speak against it for the moment. The wolf peered at him blankly.

Yugi moved the laptop from beside his hip and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Yami was staring at the ground with a crestfallen expression. His ears were pricked forward and his muzzle was pointed down at the carpet.

"So…" Yami blinked and turned his head to face him again. Yugi let out a noise that was a cross between a grunt and a chuckle. He got up after a moment, taking a seat beside him. Yami let him rub him behind the ears again, watching him blankly and wondering at the sudden proximity. "Why are you suddenly so afraid of me right now?"

Afraid of you? Yami echoed, stunned by the question. He almost couldn't tell if he was being threatened or if Yugi was simply asking. But he stiffened regardless of it all. I am not afraid of you.

"Then why do you keep apologizing to me so much?"

Because I am remorseful about what has happened.

"Is that it?"

If we are asking such absurd questions, let me ask if you are afraid of me then, he answered with a tilt of his head.

Yugi laughed quietly, shaking his head. "I don't need to be scared. You're doing that for me." He drew in a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and closed his eyes halfway. His hands were still ruffling his fur and digging through the coarse strands. "Did your cage mate never used to touch you?"

Yami looked up at him in confusion, then blinked and lowered his eyes to the carpet once more. He did often. He was always afraid for me, he said softly, almost shivering with unease. I… Others do not. Maybe they're afraid.

Yugi considered him for a moment. "Do you want them to be afraid of you?"

No, Yami answered hesitantly as he peered back at him blankly for a moment, but maybe yes as well. I do not know anymore. It used to keep others at arm's length.

Yugi stayed quiet for a moment. "I think it would be easy for you to make others fear you. If that's what you really wanted, I think you could do it." He frowned, then smiled at him a second later. "Does keeping someone at arm's length help you? I feel like you took it for granted that others might be afraid of you and all that. Were you scary when you were in the labs, too? I always get the feeling your ability to intimidate others comes naturally to you."

Perhaps that's why the humans at the labs were so…obsessed with me.

Yugi smiled slightly more, ruffling his ears again. "You think that's it?" he stated softly. He wondered for a moment if they had known he was the second Atem, if they had bred him to that point as they had Yugi himself. But he didn't know and Yami had never spoken of it before. "I guess that makes sense, honestly. If they chose to keep you around for that, then I could understand it. I think we were all basically chosen for some trait we may or may not have wanted to personify for our lifetime. It's…kind of strange, huh?"

Yami remained silent, studying him. Yugi shifted closer, rubbing all along his neck now. The wolf had tensed, statuesque before him now, bristling against his fingers. His red eyes had grown wide, uncertain.

"Relax, aibou," he instructed in a soft, gentle tone. He searched his face for a moment, then leaned forward to nearly press his nose to his. Yami stared back at him, a slight panic building in his eyes. But he didn't look as if he might flee; if he tried to pull away Yugi would release him immediately. "One of us has a huge gaping set of teeth that could snap through bone, mind you. I won't do anything to you that you don't want me to. I just wanted to check on your shoulder and then help you relax some more. Okay?"

Yami stared back at him a moment or so longer, flattening his ears against his head, and seemed to consider what it was he was meant to say. Yugi ignored his hesitance, running his fingers over the old wound beneath his eye. It was all but healed. There was still some minor swelling where the initial gaping bite had cut through his flesh. And his shoulder looked shaky but he thought it seemed okay past that. From what he could see of it, the bone had healed itself and was no longer out of alignment.

"Still okay?"

Yami flicked his ears. Nothing hurts, he answered. Yugi pressed two fingers into his shoulder forcefully but whatever pain he might have felt seemed to dissipate immediately after. Yami looked more or less okay for the most part. I am fine.

Yugi hummed in the back of his throat. "It feels mostly healed. I think it's probably just going to be a day before it's going to be a hundred percent better." He felt along the bone once more, then let go entirely and sat back again. "You know you don't have to be afraid of me."

Yami looked away. Touch scares me. You don't scare me.

Yugi stared at him for a moment. Then he shook his head and studied him again. "I would hope not. I mean… You're afraid of Atem, but it would kill me if you were afraid of Yugi too."

Yami looked as if he were struggling not to flinch and flee away from him. His fur rose and fell in a shuddering bristle and he shook his head slowly back and forth. No, I am not afraid of you as Yugi, he mumbled softly. But I don't…know Atem.

"I honestly want to keep it that way."

Yami stared at him, just beneath the irises, studying for a few moments, and then shook himself out. Is that so? You plan to harness Atem? You plan to become Atem in order to be able to fight Yubel? You realize that you would destroy yourself in the process, yes? Atem is not some glorified name. He is meant to be some kind of unstoppable power unlike any other that can kill and destroy and wreak havoc if not properly utilized. It could kill you, Yugi.

"There's not much left of me to destroy to begin with, Yami. It wouldn't be hard."

The black wolf tilted his head, eyeing him now. Their gazed locked completely and he pricked his ears forward. Yugi could see his fur rising and falling with tension. But still Yami did not look away and a long minute passed. The wolf peeled his lips back, showing each of his bright white teeth, and then lunged at him.

There wasn't much room for him to move back. The space between them was nothing more than a few mere inches. But his body weight hit Yugi hard enough that he fell back. The wolf glared down at him for a moment. His red eyes were hideous with frustration and his lips were pulled back further than Yugi had ever quite seen them.

Yami peered at him, eyes dark like drying blood. Yugi could smell raw meat on his breath and it disgusted part of him even as his stomach twitched with hunger. The wolf lowered his head further, growling, and then flicked his tongue.

Yugi burst out laughing as the muscle ran over his nose. Yami wagged his tail, then pulled away fro him. "You're such a jackass," he mumbled, sitting up again. The wolf wagged his tail harder, then turned to him with brightened eyes. Yugi smiled at him, the sorrow from seconds ago all but lost to him. His blood was warmer than before, affection for he wolf making him forget his troubles almost entirely.

He thought briefly of Yami's proposition, that sex with him was a cure for all his woes, and for the briefest of seconds he wished he was human so he could take him up on that offer. He almost wanted to challenge him for it, see if he'd truly go through such a thing for him. But part of him recoiled at the thought, repulsed that he could even think such a thing. He sighed softly, closing his eyes.

There was no future for them, was there? Now that Yugi truly took a moment to consider it, he knew it in every fiber of his being. Now that Yugi considered it, he couldn't imagine it for even a moment. His stomach curled and tossed, aching as his chest tightened. One of them…wasn't going to make it. Even if they were both Pure-Bloods, even if he was Atem and Yami the back up, he could feel it. The gods wouldn't allow it. He'd be surprised if they let either of them remain alive when all was said and done.

Yugi shook the thought off, opening his mouth to ask him a question. But the words fell away immediately as his phone vibrated atop the nightstand it was resting on. He blinked, glancing sideways at it, and then moved to stand when it went through another burst of vibration. He dusted himself off, moving to grab it slowly.

"Jonuchi?" he mumbled into the phone, casting a small glance at Yami. The wolf sat up with pricked ears. All he could hear on the other line was heavy breathing. "What's up?"

"Shit, Yugi, something—Fuck, I think they're dead."

Yugi blinked and Yami tilted his head in confusion. "What? Who's dead?" he snapped, startled. Yami was staring at the wall now, bristling. His lips were peeled back, his eyes narrowed. "Who's dead, Jonouchi?"

There was a loud noise, almost like he was choking. "J-just, fuck, I can't—" He was panicked, Yugi realized as the other boy struggled to breathe. His stomach tossed. "Just hurry up and—"

"Jonouchi," Yugi snapped through clenched teeth. Yami sat up, then turned to him with a snarl on his face, clearly startled by his violent outburst. "Who are you talking about?"

"Anzu." His voice was clipped, terrified. "It's Anzu."

Yugi stopped breathing for a second. His eyes shot to Yami. The wolf blinked.

The line went dead.

Anzu? Jonouchi couldn't be serious…

But he'd never joked like that before…

He turned to Yami immediately. "You can change back if you want. Or come like that. Stay here if you want. I don't care. But I have to go now. Make a decision."

It was a thirty minute walk, but a four minute run. Yugi was so startled by the speed he was going that it nearly winded him just to realize it. Yami was a few paces behind him, trotting rather than running. But Yugi was sure that the pace he'd picked had not been because he couldn't keep up, but rather for the fact that it offered him a vantage point. Yugi had realized it almost instantly when he'd gotten ahead of him. Examining him physically a few minutes before they'd left had assured him that Yugi could keep up.

He slowed when they got to the corner of the yard. There were paw prints everywhere. Yugi noticed this before he did anything else. And, as he looked around, he realized almost immediately after that Jonouchi had to be inside. He wasn't out there waiting for them. Yugi was shaking as he came to a stop at the mailbox. He turned towards Yami, blinking. The wolf was walking now, head down, ears flicking every which way.

"Stay close."

The wolf didn't bother to reply. His ears flicked once more. He stepped closer, scenting the air, and locked eyes with him. Yugi didn't bother to repeat himself. He turned and cut through the snow and to the door.

He had a rush of déjà vu, struck by the way the door hung halfway from its hinges. Claw marks that looked like burns were scorched across the surface. Blood splattered the doorknob and the glass of the nearest living room window was scattered across the inside floor. Yugi bristled as he came forward; there was a heavy metallic scent, just as his own house had smelled.

"Do you hear anything?" he asked uncertainly. His blood was roaring in his ears and he almost could not hear his own voice. He swallowed hard, glancing towards Yami over his shoulder as the wolf hurried after him. The wolf peered back at him, eyes glowing like dimly lit lanterns.

One of them is still alive. And Jonouchi is with them as we speak, he answered quietly. But he did not seem happy with this news. Something darkened his eyes and he turned away abruptly. I do not know who it is. He has not said their name. And I do not know their heartbeats.

Yugi blinked and turned away again. A couple of wolf-dogs lay atop the first step. Their bodies were perfectly clean but for the pools of blood beneath them. And he realized, slightly horrified, that they had been shot. Anzu's father had to have done it, because they did not smell as if they were burning from infection. They did not smell as if they had been hit with silver. He was relatively sure that if silver from his hand could make Yami's tongue swell as it had, it had to be extremely similar for a bullet. It made no sense otherwise…

He jumped over the body nearest him, landing just a step outside of the puddle of its blood. Yami, however, didn't take so much as a second look. He stepped over the bodies and through the blood as if it were nothing.

Yugi wondered if he even cared about the scattered bodies before them. He couldn't imagine that Yami truly did mind them beyond having to get around them. His nonchalance in moving past made it hard to believe anything else.

Anzu's door was wide open. And he could hear Jonouchi now, whispering in a soft voice that it would be okay. Yami brushed against his leg when he moved past him again and into the room. Yugi looked down as the black wolf came to a standstill a few feet away. Yugi slowly moved forward to follow him.

"Yugi! Hurry!" Jonouchi called. He was still frantic, he realized. His voice was too high and he was talking too fast. Yugi stopped in the doorway, stomach knotting painfully. The door was covered in blood, streaked from the splatter of a bullet making impact with flesh. A huge chip of wood lay in the center of the room, near the bed frame. The carpet was soaked and stained black in the darkness.

"This is…exactly like my room." Yugi didn't respond as Yami and Jonouchi both turned to look at him. Their expressions were mirroring portraits of shock and remorse. "She must have…decided to recreate it almost exactly."

Her father was disemboweled, lying atop the bed. And her mother's throat had been torn out. Her neck had been snapped. And her head was almost completely disconnected. It hung by a single flap of skin. The bed was soaked. The walls were covered in blood. The main difference was simply the lack of animal blood on the walls. And, thankfully, Yami was not cornered by Sartorius and Yubel. He was not stuck in one spot, snarling and trying his hardest to keep them distracted so that Yugi might be able to gain the advantage.

He turned his head.

Jonouchi had Anzu propped up in the corner. She was breathing heavily. She was staring at him in the dark. Her throat was torn and bleeding profusely. Her entire body was soaked in blood. But she wasn't dead. And the wound should have killed her.

Yugi narrowed his eyes. "She bit you." The words left his mouth numb, his skin cold. His stomach lurched and rolled. He stared at her. Anzu's eyes had an odd glow to them, unnatural to any human. They looked as if they were glowing from the dim light of the streetlamp from the window. But the angle was wrong to even touch them. And he could see Jonouchi's eyes doing the same. "She fucking bit you."

She's healing rather rapidly, Yami noted, coming forward. His nose was wriggling as he drew in her scent, and his ears pricked further forward for a moment. Yubel must have bitten her quite a few times between killing her parents.

Anzu was staring at him in the dark. Yugi could see it as well as he could. The wolf tilted his head after a long moment, then moved forward a few small steps. The carpet squelched and the blood splashed up from the fibers to soak his paws. His toes felt as if they were burning for a split second. The sound made his ears burn.

"I…I can hear you." She sounded amazed, terrified, and devastated all at once. Yami came forward another few steps, tilting his head further. He stopped a couple of feet away from her. Her heart rate was far too fast. "I…I didn't know…"

Anyone infected can hear me, Yami said in the same quiet tone. He stared at her, ears pricked forward. Her heartbeat was racing now. She was shaking as she stared at him in turn. Yami swore he could see the smallest splashes of green bleeding into her irises. If Yugi were a wolf, you would hear him as well.

"Your voice…is in my head."

It's a form of telepathy. We send words, thoughts, images or segments of things we've seen this way, he continued, stepping forward again. It is easy. And it helps us all remain silent in front of the humans. If we were being hunted and constantly talking aloud to one another…

Yugi bit the inside of his cheek and looked away, shaking his head slightly. "Anzu, what happened?" he asked after a moment. He moved to crouch in front of her, hands on his knees. Yami could not tell if he was trying to get closer to her or if something had come over him and caused him to do so. Yami wondered abruptly if perhaps he was doing so to ease her fear or if it was more along the lines of affection that went beyond friendship still. He was treating her as he had Yami on several occasions. And it struck him both as painful and relieved. "Why did she bite you?"

Yami had to wonder this as well. It was not as if Yugi had still held such obvious affections for her any longer. And it was not as if Yubel had sprung at her immediately. It had been days between the attack on the house and this one. So he wondered now if it had been something else to trigger the attack.

Anzu and Yugi had not been around each other often enough to warrant it.

It would have made far more sense for her to come after Honda and his family or Jonouchi himself. If she had wished to cripple him, that would have been the way to do it. So why would she have chosen someone who seemed more or less removed from it all? Yami couldn't understand the motive. It made no sense to him.

"What do we do?"

Yami flicked an ear, thoughts cut off abruptly by Jonouchi's panicked voice. Yugi wasn't looking at him, however. He was still staring at Anzu, as if doing so might make her speak. Yami came forward a step again, but didn't look towards him. Instead he looked towards the bed. Yubel had known someone would find her there. But she hadn't been targeting Yugi in particular. He could feel that much in his bones.

And, yet, somehow, none of it made sense.

"We could take her to the camp."

Yugi was quiet for a long moment. "I don't think so, Jonouchi," he mumbled with a shake of his head. He was still staring intensely at Anzu. "You're forgetting. They hate Yami because he looks like a hellhound. Imagine what they would do to her for being a hellhound. They'd rip her throat out the moment one of us wasn't with her."

"Okay, so we don't leave her alone! None of them will do anything as long as we're with her!"

Yami flicked an ear. Yes, but that would mean that one of us would be forced to remain at her side at all times, he said cautiously. He glanced at the Jonouchi and the blond turned to him with something extremely hopeful in his eyes. And Yami despised him for it. He peeled his lips back after a moment, then released an anxious breath and looked away. And I do not know you'd be able to fight Aki off if she turned her teeth on you. And, besides that, the only three wolves that might be able to protect her would be Chazz, Zane and Yusei. But Yusei is not the best of fighters, even if he can hold his own. He's more likely to try to talk someone down than truly turn on them and if Aki were angry enough, I wouldn't be surprised if she killed him for it. Chazz, however, is violent when he's egged on and she could easily manipulate that because of his hatred of hellhounds in general. And Zane is loyal but unpredictable at best. I do not know how long he might side with us on the matter of keeping her safe.

"So we force him to!" the blond snarled. "You and Yugi can both force him to! You're stronger than him. All of us know it."

Bloodshed for the sake of saving a life is counterproductive at best, Jonouchi. It could get her killed sooner. Many of the wolves resent Yugi as it— He halted, head snapping up. There had been moving in the corner of his eye. And, at first, he'd assumed it to be Jonouchi. But, rather, to his astonishment, Anzu was staring straight at him. Her mouth moved again now that he was looking at her. He flinched back, bristling violently as the words formed in his head.

"What? What happened?" Jonouchi demanded. His head snapped towards Anzu as well, but he turned back to Yami a split second later. Yami couldn't remove his eyes from the brunette, however, bristling and peeling his lips back. He backed up a step, nearly shivering with distress. Yugi was staring at the girl as well, blue-violet eyes narrowed and intense. "Why are you looking at her like that?"

Yami tossed his head back and forth rapidly, snarling low in his throat. Don't look to me for such a thing, he spat, trembling. They are your friends. Ask them!

Yugi was quiet for a long minute. Then he glanced over his shoulder at him. Yugi looked tired, but he was also curious more than anything else. Yami flattened his ears and refused to acknowledge the stare he was giving him. When he turned away again, he was muttering so quietly Yami almost could not hear him.

"I think she asked the right person."

What? Yami spat. He bore his teeth. And why must it be me?

When Yugi turned to look at him again, his face was expressionless and cold. Yami shook his head and looked at the carpet, sneering, You are her friend. You and Jonouchi both. Why might I be the one to do it? Do not try to tell me it would pain you too much to do so. You are a fool if you believe for even a moment that I am so gullible as to agree with such a thing. That excuse holds none of my interest.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Jonouchi spat. His eyes were locking on Yugi's face now, boring into the smaller teen's skin. But Yugi would not look away from Yami, staring relentlessly. "I'm serious. What the hell is he talking about right now?"

Yugi didn't answer. Anzu mouthed the words again. Jonouchi stared at Yugi, then looked slowly to Yami again. The wolf snarled low in his throat and glared at the girl in turn.

There are ways to work around this. If she heals to the point that we can bring her to the camp, she'll be fine. Once she can stand on her own two feet again, we can make the pack understand. They'll let her in if she's strong enough to hold her own.

"She doesn't want that," Yugi answered in a cold tone. But he looked exhausted rather than angry now. And the stare he gave him was an unsettled one. "Yami…"

But why me?

"If someone doesn't tell me what the hell is going on—"

"She's asking Yami to kill her."

"What?" Jonouchi snarled. "Bullshit!"

"She's mouthing it at him again. Why don't you watch her? She's doing it."

"If she wants to die so badly, why doesn't she say it?" he sneered. "She's not talking out loud."

She can't, Yami said bitterly, snapping the words. He blinked and narrowed his eyes. Her vocal cords have too much pressure on them. She's about to change. And, should she change, there is no telling what might happen at this rate.

"What the fuck does that mean? She changes and she'll be just like us! She's a wolf, Yami. What does it matter if she's a hellhound instead of a lycanthrope?! What difference does that make?"

"It makes all the difference." Yugi had turned and was staring at Yami now. He was frowning as they looked at one another. "If she changes, she's not liable to remember herself. If she does manage to survive the Change, she could be feral. And if she's feral, we'll have no choice but to kill her anyways. We can't afford to have another wild hellhound running around. And we don't know how strong she might turn out. She could be an exact replica of Yubel—or even stronger. We have no idea."

You're trying too hard to justify this, Yami spat in turn, snarling softly. But then he faltered slightly. She was writhing now. And yet she was still facing him. And, despite the way her jaws opened and snapped shut seemingly every few seconds, she was still mouthing the words. And her eyes were terrified and pleading, panicked. He shook his head, almost trembling. Do not look to me. She is your friend, Yugi.

"And you're my friend!" Yugi all but roared at him. Yami flinched violently at the furious outburst. His eyes were burning with desperation. "And, as my friend, I'm asking you to do this!"

Yami blinked. He felt stricken, something in the furthest, coldest part of his mind unfurling. His heart ached with a steady pulse of pain. His stomach lurched as he remembered his cage mate. He'd begged him to run for it—he'd said it almost exactly as Yugi himself was now.

Yami's eyes shot to Jonouchi. The blond would not listen to them. Despite Anzu's begging him to do this, Jonouchi would not understand. He was glaring at Yugi, hateful and tense. He looked ready to lunge at him at any moment. Yami was not sure how he was meant to protect him if they fought. Yugi, I may be your friend, but it is not my responsibility.

"No? It's not your responsibility?" Yugi sneered in turn. He shook his head, swallowing hard, and spoke through his teeth again. "You told me you were responsible for me and my choices at one point or another, didn't you? You told me you were my alpha and you would help me when I faltered. Has that changed?"

Be reasonable, Yami spat. You're emotional—

"Has. That. Changed?"

Yami stared back at him, into those angry terrible eyes. His thoughts slowed entirely. Yugi would not do it either. He was scared and weak with fear. He couldn't convince himself to do it, no matter how much Anzu begged for help. He could agree to it, but to ask him to raise his own hand against his best friend and the girl he'd once loved was impossible for him. Yami looked to Anzu again.

She was gasping for air, thrashing pathetically on the floor. The wound in her neck was beginning stitch itself together almost instantaneously before his eyes. Her face had begun to turn red, her lips somehow becoming blue. And her body thrashed so much harder than before.

Yami blinked, padding forward a step. A thought crossed his mind that he could not hope to help Yugi make harsh decisions if he could not even do this now. And he remembered his cage mate, whispering to him that he had to make harder choices when he got free. Because the freedom would come at a price and he needed him to protect it at all costs.

And Yami couldn't tell who he would be betraying more, Yugi or himself or his cage mate in denying it. If he did not do this now, he was leaving a bystander to suffer and hurting his friend in denying him and breaking his promise to his cage mate. And Yugi was technically right; they did not know what might happen once she changed. She would hardly be as powerful as Yubel, he was sure, but if she turned on them, he'd have to kill her regardless. And this was much more peaceful than tearing her head off to defend Yugi or Jonouchi.

Do you truly ask this of me? He stalked closer a step, peering down at her coldly. His voice was harsh enough that it reminded him of thunder even around the dull roar of his pulse in his ears. Is that your wish?

She was shaking, and when she opened her mouth to speak, the breath she tried to let out came in a hideous gargle of noise. Jonouchi grabbed her again, trying to help quell her tremors. Yami pricked his ears forward and came closer still.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jonouchi asked, voice frantic yet somehow coming in a hideous snarl that sounded almost purely wolf rather than even slightly human. "You're looking at her like she's a piece of meat."

Yami tilted his head, staring at her blankly for a few moments. She was thrashing harder than ever. She'd slipped out of his grip once more, going through a seizure. He remembered seeing Yugi in a similar fit of spasms, shaking and thrashing and gasping for air. He stepped forward again, watching her a moment longer. The blond was staring at her in alarm…

Please, Anzu called in a strangled voice. Yet, somehow, it resonated in each of their minds, bouncing about violently enough that Yami could not help but flinch. He blinked, shifting his weight, and stepped forward again. Yami…

He tilted his head. She said his name as if it were some kind of prayer, some kind of morbid salvation he did not know how to grant. He bristled again, narrowing his eyes, and drew his lips back to show his teeth once more. He did not snarl, however, as his lungs felt too tight.

This loss would devastate Yugi and Jonouchi and Honda. And he was not sure how any of them might truly recover from it all. He did not know if the three of them would truly survive this…

Yugi, he whispered softly, unsure of himself. And his eyes shot to the other boy. Yugi responded immediately, head snapping around from where he'd been staring at his best friend and former crush. His heart twisted in his chest as they locked eyes.

Yugi was trying his hardest not to panic. He was trying not to burst into tears. He was trying to hold himself together. And he was seconds from breaking beneath the pressure of friendship and loyalty and the reality that what might come from his friend could simply be a monster akin Yubel himself.

He pricked his ears forward. Are you certain? Yami finally asked, watching him and studying his expression. I will have no hesitation regarding this matter. If you are not certain—

"Do it." Yugi was pale. "Just…just do it."

Yami blinked, turning away, and focused on her again. She was writhing, agonized, and her skin was beginning to distort now. Pores along her arms were opening wider, hair pushing forward. Yami came forward slowly, hoping now more than ever not to arouse Jonouchi's attention. But so far Jonouchi seemed to be in shock as he watched his friend writhing about on the carpet.

Yami…

He came forward again, opening his jaws wide. He had no qualms killing for a purpose. If it would save himself and Yugi pain later, he would do so. And he would never come to regret it. He stepped closer one more time. His eyes flickered briefly to Jonouchi. And then he focused on her throat.

Promise me something, Yami.

He blinked. Yes?

She said it so quietly that Yami had to struggle to focus to hear it. Then he nodded slightly, the words connecting in his head. A small burst of anger came with it. And then a steady calm. He looked at her, then leaped. The flesh was pale, almost gleaming beneath the moonlight. And his teeth snapped shut so violently that blood sprayed upward and into the air and upon the walls even as she grew limp in his jaws.