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.

83. Guilt

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Hopefully biweekly

Chapter Warnings: Referenced Character Death, Violence, Bloodshed, Symptoms of Trauma, Referenced Depression, Hints of Puzzleshipping

So, first off, all the apologies for not being able to get this out sooner. Life is hectic and I was dealing with a lot of stuff at work and at home (mostly the latter). And then I was GOING to TRY to get something up for PuzzleJune but I couldn't find the prompt list and then I realized I didn't have the time. So that was disappointing to find out.

In other news! I'm thinking Divine Sky's sequel will be a three to four chapter story. I'm about halfway through. It's been slow around another smaller story and edits and having no free time. But it's coming along, and the sequel to it is being plotted and outlined as is the sequel to that. So three Divine Sky sequels are being plotted and planned out. The last of which will LIKELY be a larger multi-chapter story because of how much is going to happen in it.

Anyways, so that's my update on things and where my focus is going once STB is finally finished this year (hopefully cause wow this year is a shit show). Beyond that I don't think I have much else to say? As per usual, if you think I missed a necessary warning for the chapter or anything of that nature, feel free to tell me.

Chapter LXXXIII: Guilt

Work Log Entry LXXIV: April, 2009 (Part I)

April 1

The female hellhound has been tested to the same degree as Atem.

It has been determined that she is truly a psychopath.

But Atem has ranged in the emotional spectrum by his own will.

He has been playing games with us since the beginning of these tests.

He has made it clear.

But the female has been determined to be extremely violent and nasty due to the complexity of the condition of being a psychopath.

April 12

Atem has grown more anxious than usual. He has begun pacing more rapidly than usual. He has not calmed down in the slightest since the last test we performed on him.

April 14

My lookalike wolf has crossed paths with the hellhound. It triggered her Change.

And the two of them began to fight as if it were a life or death situation.

The female has been determined to be an extremely powerful force of nature.

She is nothing short of a monster.

April 20

Atem's anxiety has begun to quell.

But between him, the hellhound, and my lookalike, I have been unable to do much else for the other wolves.

My lookalike has been recovering from the severe infection the she-wolf's saliva gave him. We cannot figure out what has caused such an adverse reaction as of the moment, but we are determined to find out.

The she-wolf is healing at a much steadier pace than him.

She seems hardly to be hurt in any manner.

I am unsure how this is possible.

Yami yelped so loudly it rang in his ears. Yugi was frozen in place for a single split second. His heart raced. The wolf yelped again. Then he snarled. But the third blow sent him to the floor. In his dazed stance, Yami could only blink. Yugi's heart was in his throat. Yami was winded. His eyes were glassy with shock. He struggled for his paws. But he collapsed again. And Yugi heard another sick cracking noise when the fourth blow came. Yami hit the carpet so hard the floor beneath him squeaked from the force.

"Stop it!" Yugi cried. His voice was desperate, a breathless croak. He could hardly move. But somehow he'd straightened. And he was standing upright. He was staring down at Anzu's corpse. But her face was soaked red. Her throat was exposed to the very vertebrae. Her eyes were pale and lifeless, her skin bleached white in the lamplight.

Another hit came. Yami screamed this time. Yugi jolted. His head snapped around. The wolf was bleeding profusely. His eyes were huge, swollen black with dilation. His ears were flat against his head. His fur was in a bristle. His side oozed with blood. His mouth was soaked. Bile covered his jaws.

"If you hit him one more time," Yugi said slowly, voice low and dangerous now, "I'll beat the fuck out of you myself, Katsuya."

The blond spun around to stare at him. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" he sneered. His brown eyes were almost glowing with hatred. "I don't even know you anymore! You just killed your best friend!"

Yugi shook his head, glaring. "She asked Yami to do this. She asked him to kill her. She asked Yami if he would. She didn't want to live like this! She asked for this to be over!"

"She asked for this," Jonouchi repeated slowly, voice cold and hideous. "She asked for this. You bastard! You didn't even give her the chance to change. You didn't even let us find out if it would turn out as bad as you thought. You killed her without even letting us try to help her!"

"She wasn't asking for help. She was begging Yami to kill her." Yugi shook his head slightly. He tried not to look towards Yami. He wondered if he could keep Jonouchi distracted. If Yami could make it across the floor and away from the blond, he might be able to flee on his own. Because Yugi didn't think he could protect him if he came to his side as he might have formerly. "She asked. She asked, Jonouchi. She asked. She asked. She asked!"

He was breathless after the outburst, stomach lurching as he tried his hardest not to scream the words. He felt as if he'd been punched in the gut, unsure if it was from the pain of watching Yami kicked so hard so many times or if it was the weight of the words leaving his mouth. She'd asked and he'd begged Yami to do it. And he'd told him to and Yami had done it and now he was being punished for something that Yugi had asked him to do and—

"And? Then you just turn around and kill someone you've known your entire life?"

Yugi opened his mouth to answer. But Yami was struggling for his paws now. Yugi's eyes shot to him before he could stop himself. His broad head was down. He was choking on vomit again. Spools of bright yellow and red bile began to drip from his teeth. His ears pricked forward slowly. His red eyes were dilated to pinpricks. His irises looked almost as if they were bleeding out into the whites of his eyes. The blond slowly turned his head and stared down at the wolf. His face twisted into a hideous sneer. His brown eyes were glowing with anger.

"Enough," Yugi spat, surprising himself with the ferocity in his voice. Terror made his hands shake but his voice simply grew more furious as the seconds passed. He hurried forward when he saw Jonouchi take a step forward. He stepped between them, throwing his arms out. Jonouchi was not looking at him. His brown eyes were focused entirely upon the wolf over his shoulder. "Stop, okay? He's hurt. He's bleeding. You've broken his ribs. His stitches are open again. He's not going to fight back. He can't. So, just…leave him alone!"

"Then that'll make it easier to kill him." He shoved Yugi so hard the smaller teen stumbled. But he recovered himself quickly. He swung his arm, slamming his elbow down. Jonouchi stumbled from the impact. Yugi swore he heard a sickening pop. But he didn't know if that was his arm or Jonouchi's back. Yami blinked up at them from the floor. Yugi felt sick to his stomach. The wolf was shaking, eyes wide and terrified. Jonouchi spun on him, swinging. Yugi took the brunt of it with his cheek. He hissed in pain, stumbling back a step.

"Leave him alone." Yugi snarled the words. He was breathing hard, stunned. His cheek felt as if it had been crushed. His jaw ached, pulsing and throbbing. "He only did it because I told him to. If I hadn't, he would never have done it. If you're going to hurt someone, it had better be me."

"Well, then I guess I'll beat the shit out of you first, huh?"

Yugi sidestepped the punch. The second caught his ribs. The cracking noise made his ears ring. Yugi stumbled. He almost doubled over. Another came for his face. He ducked. His temple roared with pain.

"I'm not going to fight you," Yugi pleaded, eyes wide. His head was throbbing. His ears were ringing. His temple ached. Jonouchi swung again. Yugi yelped. His mouth was soaked in blood. His jaw felt unhinged. And then he doubled over, almost screaming. He gasped for air, entire mouth open with desperation.

His tongue was swollen.

His teeth felt almost loose.

His vision was speckled with dull orbs of white, stars that exploded like supernovas. He stumbled. His ribs burned. He gasped for air. Blood flooded his mouth. His jaw felt as if it were barely attached. He blinked. His head roared. His temple took a second hit. He couldn't think straight.

Jonouchi was saying something. He could see his lips moving. But the pain was too intense to focus. And there was a roaring, high-pitched ringing in his ears. The blond was staring at him. His brown eyes were dilated with shock. His face had lost its aggression entirely. He looked terrified, stunned and horrified.

Yugi didn't realize he was on his knees until he was vomiting. His hands were strained amongst the carpet fibers. He was struggling to keep himself upright. His eyes threatened to roll up in the back of his head. He was breathing hard, shivering. He gasped. His ribs flared harder than ever. Blood spilled from his lips. His vision grew a shade darker. He almost felt as if it were blinking out of existence altogether.

"Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh no…oh no, no, no…"

Yugi risked a glance up from beneath his lashes. His best friend was gaping at him. His hand was stretched towards him. His eyes were huge. His face was bleached white. Yugi tried to speak. But his lungs burned too terribly. He couldn't make his lips move. He couldn't think straight—

"Fuck. Fuck. Hold on, okay? Shit—"

Blackness swamped his vision. The words were a dull roar.

Yugi woke again in a state of confusion. He was partially blind. His eyes were throbbing with pain. His vision was burning. His peripheral was blotted with darkness. The room swirled. His head spun. His eyes clenched tightly shut again.

"Yug?"

He kept his eyes shut. His breathing was short and shallow. He licked his bloodied lips. He forced himself to exhale. "Jonouchi?" He didn't ask what had happened. His brain was rapidly trying to explain it all to him. But he couldn't focus on one detail over the other. So it became a splotchy mess of colors and fragments. He almost groaned as his head throbbed dully. He saw mostly Jonouchi swinging at him. He remembered the pain in his jaw. He saw him kicking Yami hard in the ribs. He remembered the crack of his bones.

"Where…?"

"We're back at Honda's."

"No…" Yugi forced himself to swallow. His jaw throbbed. He almost screamed. The pain nearly made him tremble. "Where…?"

"Where what?" Jonouchi sounded somewhere between relief and desperation. "Where what, Yugi?"

"Y…" He struggled for enough air. The two syllables had never been so hard to speak before. "Ya…mi…"

There was a small pause. He could hear him shifting his weight. "He's okay," Jonouchi exhaled after a moment. He sounded bitter and remorseful all at once now. "I had to…get him patched up, but he's okay. His side is basically minced meat. And he tore the fuck out of my arm for what I did when I tried to grab you. But he… He's okay past that."

Yugi swallowed. His throat threatened to close for a split second. He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating. "Where?" he insisted, voice almost biting despite its hoarseness. He licked his lips, trying to open his eyes again. But the room swirled faster. He shut them back and focused on breathing. "W-where?"

"He's passed out next to you." The words sounded exhausted now. "He's right there behind you."

He would have groped if he thought he could move his hand that far. "Ya…mi…?" he exhaled. He shivered and tried again to open his eyes. He was greeted with a wave of dizziness enough to make his stomach tremble. Yami wasn't responding. That was all Yugi could think about at the moment. His stomach lurched precariously and he drew in a desperate, shaky breath. "Ai…aibou…"

"He's drugged out of his gourd, Yugi," a new voice offered sympathetically. It took him a moment to recognize that it was Honda. He almost shivered. "I had to drug him so we could try to get his side fixed up. He's been knocked out for about two hours now."

Two hours? Yugi struggled to grasp at that amount of time. Yami had been asleep for almost two hours? Then that meant that he himself had been passed out before then, didn't it? He must have been unconscious long before then. And that meant he had no idea how many hours had passed to begin with. He had no bearing of time or understanding of the situation or anything.

"I'm pretty sure I gave him enough sedatives to kill an elephant, Yugi," Honda mumbled. He sounded thoughtful, but also reluctant, as if he was afraid of how Yugi might react to the news. "He wouldn't go down no matter how much I gave him. He was extremely pissed off. And he almost tore my arm off more than once when he realized what I was trying to do. Either way, he's going to be out for a little while."

Yugi focused on the throbbing in his temple. His tongue was dry like cotton. He felt as if it were plastered to the roof of his mouth. He didn't think he knew how to talk for a long moment. His eyes felt as if they were glued shut for a brief moment. Then he forced them open, staring at the far wall until they began to slowly but surely adjust to the surrounding darkness.

"I thought werewolves were supposed to heal quickly," Honda said quietly. Yugi stared at the far wall, studying the smallest bump in the otherwise smooth plaster. "But he's… I don't get what the hell is going on with him."

Yugi watched the shadows deepen for a brief moment, then slowly lengthen and finally soften in shape and color. He blinked once. The throbbing continued. But the pressure on his tongue seemed to alleviate. He wondered if it was losing some of its swelling. He closed his eyes and twitched his hands and fingers for a moment. It took him a few long seconds. And then everything responded to him.

He clenched his fingers into the comforter and forced himself into an upright seated position. He regretted it immediately. His stomach heaved. His lungs squeezed painfully tight. He breathed in roughly through his nose. He struggled to think straight. He reached up, pinching at the bridge of his nose. The pain was overwhelming. His throat was swollen, as if it were trying to close itself. And he could not help but flinch as his lungs burned and strained in his chest. His ribs flared and his mouth flooded with saliva that tasted of vomit.

"You okay?"

He shook his head slowly. His eyes opened into slits. He drew in a deep, shuddering breath. And then he opened his eyes wider, testing them against the shadows. A small spiral of white danced before him. But it faded just as quickly again. He blinked slowly once, raising his eyes from the carpet.

Honda and Jonouchi both stood at the end of the bed. Jonouchi looked stricken. Honda looked calm but slightly uneasy as well. Yugi looked at them both for a moment. Then he cast a small glance over his shoulder. It took a moment for his eyes to determine the clump of black lying behind him.

There he lay.

Yami was on his side. His wounds were exposed. His head was curled inwards. His legs were folded awkwardly. One paw was pressed into his chest. His back legs were straight out. His right leg was halfway off the bed. His tail was straight behind him. His back was arched. His ears were pricked. His fur was in a state mirroring a bristle, a jagged clumping formation. His nose twitched every minute or so. His sides expanded and collapsed slowly in shallow breaths.

"His rib is broken," Honda said slowly, voice somewhat flustered. "You have three that are broken. And I think your shoulder was dislocated from where Yami knocked Jonouchi into you before I could sedate him."

A glare was shot at the blond. But Jonouchi was staring at him when Yugi turned back to regard them both. He blinked once, considering his friends, and then closed his eyes again. When he reached up, it was to rub at his mouth with the back of his hand. He could feel drool or saliva or bile dripping from the edge of his lips.

"Here." He blinked his eyes open to see Honda holding a trash can out to him. He put it in front of the smaller teen on the bed and Yugi cautiously reached out for it. Moving too quickly would make him vomit even worse, he knew. So he did it in a painfully slow manner, gripping it and drawing it into his lap. He was trembling when he began retching.

"Shit," Jonouchi groaned in a voice of pure remorse. Yugi could see him with his hands in his hair, tugging on the dirty blond strands. He could barely see him through his long lashes, but he recognized it regardless. "Fuck, Yugi. I'm so sorry."

"What does it matter?" he grumbled. He forced himself to breathe through his nose. He hated the smell of rot that came from the trash bin now. His eyes lingered on the bile inside of the plastic bag. He blinked once, then looked up again rather slowly. Valon had dragged him off for coffee when he'd last suffered like this. The thought made his stomach churn for a moment. His eyes fell on Jonouchi again. "It doesn't matter. I'll heal."

"Yeah…about that," Honda muttered. He cleared his throat awkwardly and Yugi forced himself to glance towards him now as well. They were standing right next to each other but it felt as if the action took all his strength. "You haven't healed even a little bit since Jonouchi first got you here."

"I…haven't eaten in over a week," he admitted, glancing briefly towards Yami. Yugi swore he could hear his rib splintering and mending and grinding with each breath. "Of course I haven't healed. But has he healed any? I mean, how bad was it? Is it still as…?"

"He looks better. I've been checking his gums every hour. They're not white like they used to be an hour ago. They're a lot pinker, so…" He frowned, tilted his head, and exhaled slowly. "You haven't eaten since…?"

"No," he snapped, feeling oddly defensive now. His stomach lurched. "I haven't been able to force myself to. I'm amazed Yami is, to be honest. I thought he'd be starving himself more than I am at this rate. He has a history of depression worse than me, so…"

Honda's frown deepened. "You need to eat if you're going to heal," he said quietly, sounding unsure of himself. "So…"

Yugi huffed a breath through his teeth. "Oh, is that so? I had no idea," he hissed in frustration. He hesitated after a moment, then reached out. His fingers brushed against Yami's side. The wolf's fur twitched. And then the wolf's head snapped up and around. Yugi was greeted by a mouthful of hideous white teeth. Yami was struggling to breathe, his snarls a mere stuttering. His red eyes were glazed and unfocused and he was staring at him blankly despite his aggressive stance.

"Sorry."

Yami blinked dazed eyes at him, struggling for an even breath. Then his eyes flicked back and forth. He glanced at the other two slowly. For a moment he remained snarling. Then he dropped back onto his side again. He stretched his head out, muzzle pointed almost straight to the headboard. Yugi could see his eyes half-closed and darkened with shadows. He breathed shakily, slowly, his sides shuddering harder than ever. He looked utterly exhausted.

"Has he eaten since he got here?"

"No, definitely not," Honda snorted. He sounded almost bewildered that Yugi would even ask. He shook his head. "I had to tranquilize him immediately when Jonouchi brought him in. Otherwise he would have likely torn one of our faces off. He was too scared and was freaking out too much for me to get him anything. I injected him with what you had in your bag."

Yugi blinked. "Oh. You gave him a dose of ketamine?" he muttered in surprise. He reached up to press his heels into his eyes, rubbing unhappily and frowning. "How much did you end up giving him?"

"Three syringes." Yugi's eyes almost popped out of his head for a split second. Honda paused and Yami's breath whistled in Yugi's ears. The small teen pulled his hands away and glanced at the wolf slowly. "Is he okay?"

"He'd be better if he was comfortable. But I don't think I can get him comfortable if he's on an empty stomach and he's just woken up like this." He said the words quietly, unsure. He didn't know if Yami actually could stomach anything at the moment. What were the odds that he'd be okay to do so? After a sedative most animals couldn't be bothered to eat because it would make them vomit. "And he's not going to respond well if I try to move him. I can tell that much already. And I'd prefer not to get bitten at the moment. Can one of you get him a few of those stupid steaks?"

Even if he didn't eat, it would be better to at least give him the option.

"Do you want something to eat while we grab him that? You need to eat too…"

"I don't even want to think about food right now," Yugi answered, shaking his head and sighing softly. "My stomach hurts too much to even consider it."

"Water then?"

Yugi hesitated for what felt like a lifetime. He didn't want to admit he thought he might vomit water up as well. But he was thirsty, and he wanted something to wash the taste of bile from his mouth. "Water might be okay." He glanced towards Yami again. The wolf was lying almost perfectly still but for his breathing. His eyes were focused on the headboard, his lips drawn back into something of a grimace that made him look exhausted and scared, as if moving were too much for him. Yugi stared at him for a full minute and Honda left to grab the food and a water bottle, reaching out cautiously a few seconds later.

Yami jerked. His head snapped up. His neck cracked from the force. He trembled. His breathing came in an uneven croak. He blinked. Then he stared. And finally he turned away again. His red eyes fell on the headboard. But he did not lie down in that same position. Now he seemed more alert. His eyes were sharper. His ears were pricked more pointedly forward. Every other breath was a heavy inhale, as if he were scenting the air.

A moment or so passed, then Yami tried awkwardly to roll onto his belly. He struggled, sides heaving, and panted harder than ever. His claws scrabbled. But his balance was shot. He gulped in air. Then he blinked. And finally he simply lowered his head again.

"Yami?" he murmured. He looked him over for a moment, swallowing hard. "Do you remember anything? I know you're not feral. You'd be trying to kill me right about now. But I need you to tell me if you recognize me right now."

The wolf turned his head slowly. His ears pricked forward. And then he stared at him for a long handful of seconds. There were shadows tossing about in his eyes, memories he'd suppressed from long before that were rising quickly towards the surface. He blinked once, peered down at him, and then narrowed his eyes. When he looked at Yugi, it was clear he understood what he was asking of him, about it was uncertain what he was meant to do to answer.

"Close enough," he snorted. He reached over to ruffle his ears. The wolf flicked his tongue out to run along his palm. Yugi flinched at the touch. Yami blinked at him in confusion, then flicked his ears. "Sorry. I just… You're hurt. And I…shouldn't have done that. I should have been the one to do it."

"She deserved that at the very least," Jonouchi grunted as he came into the room again. Yami blinked at him, then snarled and struggled as if for his paws. He could not manage his feet, as his coordination was too far off. He collapsed and simply shook at his side from there, refusing to try for his paws again. The blond stared at him with a stunned, horrified expression, face pale and eyes wide. "I never meant to hurt him so much."

Yugi blinked. "I can't speak for him, but it will eventually heal. Whether or not he ever comes to trust you again is another thing altogether." He shrugged, looking away again. Honda was coming now and Yugi wanted almost to sob with relief. Yami was a quivering ball of tension beside him, snarling and shaking. He was glaring furiously, bristling and wrinkling his lips back to display his teeth. Yugi almost thought he was trying to say he did not care what state he might be in, but if the blond came any closer he would kill himself trying to rip him to pieces. "But you're right. She didn't ask me but I still should have been the one to do it."

"She didn't have to die, though." But Jonouchi was staring at Yami, clearly still horrified by the sight of him. His brown eyes were dilated with slight fear. "Oh my gods, what the fuck is…? Is he okay? Is he going to be okay? He can't even really move…"

Yugi stayed quiet for a long handful of seconds. "I don't think you realize how hard you hit him. His lung is punctured. That's what the raspy, whistling noise is every time he breathes, Jonouchi. He's bleeding internally but he's awake now. He's conscious, which means that his healing is slowed down for the moment. He would have probably patched up his lung entirely if I hadn't woken him up like that."

"I didn't mean to…" He opened and shut his mouth. "But he killed her and I… Yugi, he sounds like he's dying."

"He's not." Yugi shook his head and reached over to ruffle his ears again. Yami paused in his snarling to glance at him sideways. "I've heard him die before. He doesn't sound like that. His death rattle doesn't sound like that."

The blond flinched as if he had been hit. Yugi looked away from him and glanced at Honda as the brunet came into the room again. Yami snarled a little louder, but fell quiet once more as his nose twitched eagerly. Honda hesitated, then handed the dish over to Yugi who noticed with surprise that Honda had loaded a generous amount of steaks into the bowl. He blinked, then slid it over to where Yami was sniffing eagerly, flicking his ears, and looking at the bowl ravenously.

"Here."

Yugi blinked, confused, then glanced over. Honda had his arm stretched out again. And for a moment Yugi had no idea why. Then he noticed the water bottle in his hands. He took it slowly, hands shaking, and unscrewed the lid a few seconds later. He took a sip, letting it rest on his tongue and cool the swollen muscle. Then he gulped down the rest as his stomach gurgled with desire.

"You sure he's going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine. When he goes to sleep again, in the morning his lung will be fine and his ribs won't be broken anymore. He's okay. He'll heal." Yugi paused a moment, glancing at the wolf again. How many steaks had Honda put in there? It almost looked triple the usual amount. "He's fine. He'll pull through."

"Okay, and what about you?" Honda asked a few seconds later. Yugi looked over at him now. He couldn't understand how he could even see him in the dark right now. And then he nearly laughed. Honda knew the layout of the room. He'd memorized it because of his obsessive nature. He didn't have to have night vision to know where Yugi was. "When do you heal?"

"As soon as I can force myself to start eating regularly again," Yugi mumbled hesitantly. "But, first… I think I need to make a trip tomorrow. I need to visit a certain café and get something pretty important."

"Café?" Honda echoed in bewilderment. He furrowed his brows and frowned at him in the dark. "What's at a café?"

"Coffee," he answered cheekily. The brunet snorted. Jonouchi smiled hesitantly. "I'll explain tomorrow after I get back. You'll see then."

What about the bodies?

Jonouchi flinched as if he had been hit. His eyes shot to the black wolf. Yami was staring straight at him now, ears pricked. His red eyes were almost glowing in the dark, a rustic orange shade almost like amber covering his pupils. He shivered.

What did you do? Did you call the police? Have either of you done so? I would imagine not seeing as you are here rather than at a station.

Honda drew in a deep breath beside him and Jonouchi cast him an anxious glance. When he had come back two hours before with both of them, carrying a snapping and snarling Yami and an unconscious Yugi, he had been horrified. But his friend had pulled through as he always had. And, when Jonouchi had convinced him to help him drug Yami to keep him from snapping at him every time he tried to move Yugi, the brunet had managed to help him disable the wolf. He'd grabbed him as he'd lunged for Jonouchi, barely managing to grip his scruff and force his head back. He had to hold him in place with his neck exposed in order to drug him properly. Jonouchi had forced his mouth shut, holding his muzzle tightly closed, and Honda had injected him in the jugular as Yami had struggled and squirmed and tried his hardest to break free. He had injected him with the second syringe the moment the first was empty. But it had done nothing.

And Yami had lunged for Jonouchi as if he were possessed. The most it did was slow him. And after about twenty minutes Honda had grabbed him again and injected with the same amount. Yami had lunged, stumbled, hit the wall, and collapsed finally. He'd still been snarling, glaring, until a few minutes had passed. And then he'd finally closed his eyes and drifted into clear unconsciousness.

The blond had only told him afterwards what had happened to Anzu and her parents. Honda had stared at him with a horrified expression, stunned and disgusted and more than a little unsure of whether he was meant to believe him. And then he had looked at Yugi and Yami a few seconds, muttered that he understood why he had hit them, and checked on Yami's gums instead. But he and Jonouchi had failed to speak a word about it since then. Neither of them had broached the subject in any manner.

And he didn't know how much their relationship had developed to begin with. Had Honda fallen in love with Anzu? Had they just been testing the waters? What had been between them? He swallowed hard, looking away.

"Is he talking again?" Honda asked after a moment. Jonouchi looked away, flushed. He had forgotten that Honda was unable to hear the wolf when he spoke. And he felt dizzy and ill. He'd watched Anzu respond to him on several occasions. And the realization made his stomach lurch even harder; she'd truly been about to change. She'd been so close, and then Yami had…

"He…asked about the bodies," Yugi finally answered uncertainly. He was frowning, staring at Honda now with an expression that Jonouchi couldn't entirely read. He couldn't quite pinpoint whether it was meant to be something of sympathy, pity or apprehension.

"Oh." Honda stayed quiet for a long second, drew in a deep breath, then swallowed hard. But his voice came out even and calm, though quieter than Jonouchi was used to hearing. "We haven't contacted the police yet, if that's what you're curious about."

Yami peered back at him. His eyes bore into his keenly. And for a moment Jonouchi felt shaken by the thought. It was like he was sizing him up for something. But somehow it was not aggressive at all, either. So Jonouchi didn't know what to truly make of it. But as Yami stared back, his eyes seemed to flicker in the dark, and the blond almost thought the reflection was something of freshly spilled blood. He blinked. Yami's eyes narrowed the smallest degree and then he turned away.

"Someone is going to try contacting them when her father doesn't show up for work," Honda said slowly, sounding almost shaken; he seemed almost exhausted. Jonouchi wondered if Yami had inspired the timbre in his voice. But the black wolf was not looking at them at all any longer. He would not even look towards Yugi next to him. "Someone is going to get the ball rolling on an investigation into his absence sooner rather than later. We all know that. So it might just be better for us to wait for that to happen."

Yugi blinked. His blue-violet eyes were a dark shade of indigo in the limited light. His face was pale against the shadows and he looked at him with about as much expression as the wolf beside him. "So… What about when they realize they can see our footsteps there?"

"They won't." Jonouchi grimaced as Honda continued. "The only prints when Jonouchi went back to check were Yami's. So that should just look like another dog came into the picture at some point."

"And the vomit?"

"Vomit?"

"I puked in there."

"Yami said that you should be fine if anything happens where DNA is involved," Jonouchi mumbled, almost flinching away when they both looked slowly towards him. Yami's lip curled but he did not snarl as he had before. "He said if it comes down to it, they won't be able to connect it to you anyways because it would no longer match."

"They'll probably ask me anyways because they'll have to clear me," Yugi argued, voice sounding mildly flustered now. His eyes flickered to Yami, however, as if he were trying to gather strength in some manner from the black wolf. "It's going to look like I did it because of the arson investigation."

"And your alibi is going to be that you, Jonouchi, and I were all here together all night," Honda said firmly. He shrugged when Yugi shot him a surprised look. "I don't know what to do about you, though, Yami. I don't know if they would want to try getting prints of your paws or something. I don't know how they investigate animal attacks."

Yami's ears flicked a few times. He was staring at Honda but he was clearly speaking to Yugi. Jonouchi frowned and tried to listen, but the black wolf was not acknowledging him in any manner. Whatever he was saying was meant only for Yugi.

"What's he saying?" Honda prompted seconds later when the silence stretched.

"He said it's possible I wouldn't be a suspect because of how close it was to what happened to my family. The timing and the circumstances of the deaths likely would make it seem like a coincidence," Yugi explained quietly. He frowned and looked at Yami as his ears continued flicking. Abruptly the black wolf lowered his head to the mattress and they seemed almost to flicker like coals as he stared back blankly. "He said the only thing that could tie me together with the crime is the vomit, but if I'm back to health before they discover the crime scene I should be able to alter my DNA enough to where it would no longer be similar. He…also said that he's glad my dad and I allowed them to be cremated, as they might have tried to examine the bodies in order to help tie the two cases together."

"They would have found bite marks that didn't match Yubel."

Yugi was quiet for a long handful of seconds. Then he turned to Jonouchi. "He said it wouldn't matter. They would match Ushio and…and that wouldn't lead them to anything new." He fell silent for a moment and Jonouchi had the oddest idea that Yugi had been about to say something he realized he wasn't supposed to. He seemed to pause again, as if he was listening, but Honda thought he was more likely trying to figure out how to phrase it. "He also said that they wouldn't have found evidence to support any of it anyway. They'd likely just assume that the dog that killed them was loose in Domino and had gotten involved somehow with the bodies."

"Couldn't they pull evidence from his paw prints?" Honda asked abruptly, turning and studying Yami. "They can make a complete composite about you depending on how much of a print you left for them to find."

Yugi chewed his lip. "They could technically pull his weight, his fur color, his saliva deposit, and his height from his paw print. They'd probably even be able to figure out that he wasn't a dog through that because of the way it's built. But he's not concerned about that at all."

"Because?"

"The police have to be involved in this entire thing."

Honda stiffened and Jonouchi felt his mouth fall open. He looked down at the wolf with wide eyes, startled by the accusation. "W-what? No way…"

"There are things that don't entirely tie up too nicely when they're actually examined."

"Like what?"

Yugi let out a low groan, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "No one ever mentioned that the animal to kill Ushio and Tomoya was likely the same or extremely similar. They never said that they found traces of rabies in the saliva from the attacks. They never mentioned that Ushio was likely killing our classmates. They didn't even mention that there were likely trace amounts of similar saliva found in Yoshimori when they performed an autopsy."

"Anzu said that her dad's superior was convinced that all of the deaths were unrelated homicides."

Yugi looked at him as if he had grown a second head, frowning. "All of them?"

Honda shrugged and looked away. "Even the Junky Scorpion was considered one of them." He paused and shook his head. "They were all signed off on by his superior, Tetsu Trudge."

"Tetsu?" Jonouchi sputtered. He swore his head was spinning. He'd never in a thousand years have thought that Tetsu would be Mazaki's superior. Mazaki had been a thousand times better than him in any way, shape or form. Even his dad had acknowledged that when he'd still been active on the force before he'd become so drunk that he was despondent and violent more often than not. But his stomach lurched. "My dad's former partner, Tetsu? As in Ushio's dad?"

Yugi was frozen on top of the bed. His eyes had grown wild for a split second and he turned quickly to Yami, blinking and shivering. "That would explain how he managed to get away with so much," he whispered after a moment. "If Tetsu is really the one who did all of this…"

"There's no proof that he was ever involved in the experiments, though," Jonouchi mumbled. But he did remember his dad complaining about him going missing at times, refusing to answer calls or respond to various messages sent his way.

"Okay, so then there's no proof of that. But he's clearly covering up for it." He was quiet for a long handful of seconds. "Which means he at least knows about them."

"Yes, but—"

"Oh my gods." Yugi blurted the words out, flushed even in the dark. He was still staring at Yami with a startled expression. "What if he is the one who sent out Yubel for Anzu and her family? What if Mazaki was close to figuring out that he was manipulating things and that's why…?"

"It would make sense," Honda grunted. He looked exhausted again. Jonouchi stared at him in bewilderment. The brunet felt sick as he looked between them. Their eyes were all focused on him, glowing in the dark. "Anzu said something about how Tetsu had infuriated her dad about something or other with one of the other cases. And he thought he was hiding things, but he didn't have the proof yet."

Yugi visibly flinched. Yami stared at him with a cold, expressionless glint in his eyes. And Jonouchi shivered beside him, turning away.

"I…I think it's about time for bed," he announced, feeling shaky. His hands were trembling. He glanced at Yami and Yugi again. "I'll check on you guys in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, that's…fine."

"I'm sorry about…before," Jonouchi mumbled, heading for the door and glancing over his shoulder. Honda could tell he was just as anxious and disturbed as he was at the moment. "I didn't mean to… I honestly never meant to… I'll just… I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

---

"This is going to sound really…disgusting, I guess," Honda said softly. The wolf looked up slowly from where he'd been drinking the bottle of water he'd poured into the bowl for him. His chin was soaked, dripping, and he blinked in confusion, the loss of composure making him smile faintly. The black wolf flicked his ears, then tilted his head in confusion. When Yugi had left, he had requested that Yami and Jonouchi be kept apart in case bad blood rose between them again. Honda had agreed and woken Yami to feed him his steaks and offer him some water afterwards; Jonouchi had slept in as far as he knew. He could have still been asleep as it was. "Well, it might not be to you. But I know Jonouchi would kill me if I said this in front of him. But…thank you for doing what you did."

Yami peered at him in open confusion, his eyes growing cold and glass-like as the seconds passed. He stared at him, then turned away. The wolf clawed at the ground in short bursts, his anxiety making his fur rise into a bristle moments later. He clawed twelve times in a few seconds, then eleven after a beat between them. And Honda watched him as he slowly worked his back down to nothing.

After a long minute the wolf turned to him, lips curled back to show his teeth in something of a ghastly grin. Your best friend broke my ribs and punctured my lungs because of what I did. And now you stand before me, thanking me.

Yami truly hated him for the gesture. He meant to help alleviate some of the pain he felt. He meant to help with some of the guilt. And Yami truly hated him for trying. But he was more furious than ever for the fact that he did not understand him. If he could simply speak to him, he could tell him how much a fool he was.

"Wait. You're actually thanking him for doing that to her?" Jonouchi spat, coming down the stairs and pausing. Honda blinked from where he'd been picking at his ramen. Yami stiffened and looked over at the blond with his fur in a bristle; how had he not realized he was coming? He should have been more careful when he'd spoken.

"If it was the better solution, then it was what needed to be done," Honda answered quietly. His eyes flickered and fell on Yami once more. Yami didn't turn his head any further from where he was staring at Jonouchi, but he could still sense it even as he stared blankly at the other lycanthrope. "Look, I'm sad, okay? But if she was pleading with him to do it and that's what she felt was necessary, then why am I going to ignore that?"

Yami shook himself out to keep from lunging at the blond. He stumbled, paws almost sliding completely out from beneath him. He straightened completely, catching himself, and suppressed a shiver. His lungs ached from his restless sleep and even he was aware of how much he was rasping. And he tasted blood sometimes when he coughed; he'd had a coughing fit just thirty minutes before. He'd eaten his steaks too fast, some part of him instinctively fearful that Jonouchi might try to starve him as further punishment. And he knew this was foolish, but he had been entirely unable to shake it.

Yami knew he could have handled him. He'd torn a tigress in half, after all. And his history in the labs was not to be taken lightly. But somehow the idea of fighting Jonouchi in his current state had been enough to trigger adrenaline and panic in equal doses.

"None of us knew how it would turn out if she was bitten," Jonouchi argued, infuriated. He turned to scowl at Yami. "It doesn't make any sense. She might have been afraid of becoming a hellhound, but none of us had any idea what might have actually happened!"

Yami stayed silent, then glanced slowly towards Honda. He had thanked him for putting her out of her misery. But his best friend was arguing with him that it was not the right thing. If he swayed Honda to believe in his point of view on the matter, what then? Yami couldn't imagine that Honda would turn on Yugi in order to get rid of Yami; surely he wouldn't kick them out or anything. But what kind of damage would the change of perspective do for his friendship with Yugi later?

And what of what she meant to him? Yami asked slowly, refusing to look at Jonouchi again. But the blond stiffened and turned his head in surprise at the words. He said they had begun dating, but to what extent did they get?

The blond hesitated for a long moment, seeming more or less flustered. "He wants to know some about your relationship with Anzu."

Honda blinked wide eyes, then looked over and frowned slightly. "What about it?" he asked him quietly. He looked as if he were rattled by the request for information and Yami almost felt bad for it. "What did you want to know?"

Honda watched as Yami tilted his head, glancing briefly towards Jonouchi and flicking his ears back and forth. Jonouchi grunted uncomfortably, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he turned away. "He said he wanted to know how the two of you wound up happening. And then I guess I'll ask the second question in a minute."

Honda frowned at him in bewilderment, then turned to Yami again. "She called me after she and Yugi had their…epiphany about their relationship. She said you had walked Yugi home and she's closer to me than she is with…than she was with Jonouchi. So we wound up talking for a while. She didn't exactly tell me why they weren't going to work out, so I didn't know about…" He cleared his throat. "Anyways, we wound up spending a few days together after that and we ended up hooking up."

Yami turned to him so abruptly that Jonouchi almost flinched. His red eyes were wide, puzzled, and his ears flickered back and forth. Hooking up?

"He means that they wound up having sex," the blond explained.

Why is it called that?

"How would I know why it's called that?"

Yami shot him an irritable look. I bet Yugi would know.

"Oh, I highly doubt that."

Honda was snickering, no doubt watching them glare at each other. Jonouchi rolled his eyes and looked away and Yami turned away to look at Honda again. For a moment it was quiet between the three of them, then came a small snarling noise that made Jonouchi blink and raise his head.

"Wolves don't make eye contact like that," Jonouchi explained as the black wolf continued to growl and then looked away. "It's a challenge for them. So you don't really want to do that with him."

Honda flushed. "Oh." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Jonouchi shrugged at him and leaned against the wall lazily. "Sorry, Yami. I didn't mean to freak you out."

There was a moment of silence. Jonouchi watched Yami take a seat and scratch his ear as if to ignore the unease of the situation altogether.

"Anyways, so, we wound up together a week or two after she and Yugi called it off completely." Jonouchi shot him a surprised glance and Honda frowned, rolling his eyes. "What? Miho and I clearly weren't going to happen. And it's not like I didn't already like Anzu. Stop looking at me like that. Just because I wanted her and Yugi to be happy together doesn't mean I didn't have feelings for her too."

Jonouchi grimaced. "You guys had some kind of weird triangle going on."

Honda rolled his eyes again, sighing. "Yeah, okay, sure, Jonouchi."

The blond jolted slightly when the metal bowl clanged against the floor. He turned his head and froze in surprise. Yami had lowered his head to his bowl, drinking from the dish without a second look.

"Okay, so then what was the second question?"

"He wants to know if you would have killed her if she'd asked you and you'd been there."

Honda jumped. Jonouchi snarled as he spun around. Yami, however, never looked up from his bowl. Yugi was leaned against the wall behind Jonouchi, a large styrofoam cup in his hand.

"Oh." Honda's eyes shot back to the wolf. Yami looked up, staring at him, and after a long handful of seconds he turned to Yugi instead. Honda froze in place, spotting the bags that the smaller teen had carried in. They lay on the ground next to his right foot as he continued to sip his coffee. And it didn't take more than a second for Honda to realize that whatever the wolf was saying to him, it was not something Yugi particularly liked.

"Yes," he finally said. "If I had been there and she'd asked me to do it, I would have."

Jonouchi spun on him with a disgusted look. Yami turned his head to stare in amazement. And Yugi blinked wide, startled eyes. Honda looked away from the three werewolves and crossed his arms.

"Then you must not have actually cared all that much, huh?"

"I don't think you can say that," Yugi snapped, turning on the blond with cold eyes. He had not changed his stance, however, and remained leaned back against the wall. "That has to be one of the stupidest things you've ever head."

"Stupid?" Jonouchi spat, turning on him. "How's that? The fact that I don't want to kill my friend—"

"So, if it was Mai in that situation, you would have forced her to simply live through it? You would have just told her to hold on and refused to listen to her when she begged you to kill her?" Yugi questioned, voice cold and low and cutting. "That's not nearly as great as you seem to think."

"She could have healed! We have no idea what would have happened!"

"She wasn't like us!" he snarled, straightening and glaring at him. "She didn't want something like this to happen to her. She was terrified, Jonouchi. She was probably going to die halfway through the Change anyways, even if Yami hadn't gotten to her first. It would have likely killed her immediately as it was. It would have been longer, more drawn out, and a hell of a lot worse for her if Yami had not listened to her."

"Okay, so then let's look at it this way instead. Since you seem to enjoy putting Mai in her shoes, how about we do that with Yami?" he said, all but sneering the words. "If it was Yami in her place, he'd been half-killed and he was asking you to kill him, would you do it?"

Yugi fell quiet for a long moment, eyes flickering to Yami and then slowly back to Jonouchi. His hand was shaking now, and even Honda could hear the coffee sloshing back and forth from the speed. "I killed him once," he said slowly, and his eyes were locked on Yami again, "because I knew it would be better than the state he was in at the time. I had to gamble with it. Because I didn't know if he'd come back in on piece or too broken to even recover. And I did it. So, yes, if he had been in her place and asked me to kill him, I would have done it."

Honda stiffened. Yami was frozen in place, eyes wide and pupils dilated. His fur rose slowly into a bristle, his lips peeling back to show his teeth. And then he was panting seconds later.

"I asked you if you remembered what I did. And you said no. I didn't plan to tell you until later. But you were going through seizures. You weren't recovering. The drug we used to wake you up wasn't working. I had to try something. I pumped you up with phenobarbital."

Yami blinked at him. Jonouchi gaped at the smaller teen. Honda drew in a deep breath, exhaling shakily. He shook his head slowly and the wolf seemed to tremble with anger and disbelief.

"I did what I had to do," Yugi continued coldly, gripping his cup somehow harder. "You wouldn't have recovered otherwise. Don't look at me like that. I did it to help you. And it worked—"

"You killed him!" Jonouchi exploded. The words made Yami stumble, so shocked that he jumped. His tail came up, his eyes wild with fear. His ears pricked. He peeled his lips back further, snarling. He quivered like an abused dog before its master. Honda pushed himself out of his seat and moved to get to his side. The wolf looked up, panicked, but didn't move beyond this.

"You fucking killed him! You didn't know if he would come back and you did that."

"I had no choice. He wasn't conscious! He couldn't answer me even if I'd asked him. He was…" Yugi turned to the wolf again. Honda reached out to try to smooth down the coarse fur along his broad shoulders. "You know I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't thought it was the best course of action."

Jonouchi looked over at Yami now as well. Honda tugged gently on a tuft of fur. Yami's head snapped around and he growled. But beyond the irritable glance and the small noise of discontent he objected no further. Honda was relieved to see him comfortable enough that he was no longer so anxious that he could not stand to even look away from Yugi and Jonouchi. "You look like you're about to kill someone. If you plan to attack, do it outside, okay?"

Yami huffed loudly. His exhale was hot where it puffed against his face. He glared for a moment. Then he flicked his tongue over his forehead. And then he faced Yugi with a snarl. Honda did not have to search to see the hurt in his eyes.

"It was wrong." Yugi exhaled slowly and his eyes were locked solely on Yami. "I know that. We all know that. But I didn't have a choice. And I would do it again if I had to. You came out of it alive and healthy."

"That's not really the point," Honda mumbled, sighing when Yugi shot him a furious look. Yami turned his head to give him a warning look now as well. "You know that. You hurt him. He has every right to be upset right now, Yugi."

"I never said he didn't," he spat in turn. He hadn't taken his eyes off of Yami. "And I agree. He has every right to be upset. I just… You know I would never have done something just to hurt you."

Yami flicked his ears, peering at Yugi for a moment. But he didn't make any move to wag his tail, nor to speak. After a moment he lowered himself into a seated position. Honda kept his fingers working on the fur along his shoulders.

Yugi fell silent after a moment. Then he sighed loudly and began to drink his coffee instead. He leaned back against the wall. His eyes were half-closed as he continued to tremble for a brief moment.

"You lied."

Yugi blinked and looked over at Jonouchi. "I didn't lie," he said slowly, voice becoming flustered. His cheeks were tinted slightly pink with frustration. "I just…never told him."

"They call that a sin of omission." Jonouchi shook his head and scowled at him in annoyance. His eyes shot to Yami but the wolf was ignoring them all now. His ears were pricked and his eyes were locked on the chair in front of him as if it had all the answers. "You can't honestly be mad that we're pissed at you for it."

Yugi rounded on him. "It has nothing to do with you. It has to do with me and him!" he spat. He splashed coffee on his hand but never seemed to notice. He was visibly seething now, eyes like blades as they bore into Jjonouchi's face. "And it's not like I would have done it if it weren't for the fact that I honestly believed that it would help him. I would never have done it otherwise. But you didn't see him! You didn't see him thrashing around in the snow or foaming at the mouth or vomiting up blood and bile! You didn't see any of those things, Jonouchi. You can't judge me. He's the only one who has any right to. He's the one who was involved. He's the one I hurt. He's the one who has that right, not you."

"Look, guys, this isn't helping." Honda barely resisted the urge to flinch. Both of them rounded on him. Yugi's eyes were brighter than usual, glassy with unshed tears and Jonouchi looked as if he wanted nothing more than to beat Yugi half to death again. Honda drew in an uneasy breath. Yami's ears flicked in his direction. But he never looked towards him. And Honda was sure that he was still watching Yugi. "It happened, okay? If Yami trusts you again after this is his choice. But…let's get back to figuring out what we need to do about what happened last night."

Yugi looked as if he'd been struck. His eyes shot to Yami, almost pleading. "I don't know," he finally mumbled, studying the wolf with a look that made Honda's heart ache. "I don't know what we need to do."

"Okay, so—" Jonouchi stopped short as the wolf looked up. He must have said something or other, because the blond stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. His eyes grew wide and then his head snapped around, his mouth falling open as he gawked at Yugi. "What, what? Neither of you know the wolves in the pack? The fuck, Yugi?!"

"What can I say?" Yugi grumbled, looking down. "I'm a piece of shit all around."

Yami growled softly. Honda couldn't tell if it was a noise of agreement or not. But Jonouchi turned to him with a raised brow and then frowned. "Well, yeah, everyone kind of needs to know each other. You can't really have large numbers like that and not know how to address them…right?" he murmured. He frowned visibly and let out a small breath. "But what do you want me to do about it?"

Yugi drummed his fingers against the styrofoam cup for a moment. "We need to have a meeting. And Yami and I can meet everyone and figure out things from there."

"You don't get to do that."

Honda blinked, confused. Jonouchi was glaring at Yugi again.

And Yugi was frozen, startled and shocked by the sudden outburst.

"You don't get to do that," the blond repeated furiously. He was glaring, mouth twisted into a sneer. "You can't just tell him what to do or force him to spend time with you when you did something like that to him!"

Yugi flinched. Then his lips peeled back and he snapped, "Yami will tell me if he wants otherwise, damn it. You can't tell me I can't do that any more than I can tell him what to do. You can't dictate what I can and can't do when you have nothing to do with this entire situation to begin with. Yami is alive. He's fine!" He was almost screaming the words after a moment, entire face red with anger. "Stop being such a bastard. You hate Yami as it is!"

Yami blinked and flicked his ears again. A small ripple coursed through his fur. It rose and fell in a small wave. Honda reached forward to smooth it out once more. Then he ruffled his ears. The wolf seemed to consider the other two lycanthropes. A moment or two passed. Then he turned to him again. For a moment his eyes were dark with something Honda couldn't read. Then he licked his forehead again and wrinkled his nose, peeling his lips back to show his teeth. He watched him a long moment, as if waiting for him to flinch, huffed, licked his forehead again, and turned away.

"I don't hate him," Jonouchi snapped. "I don't even know him well enough to hate him, Yugi. Stop being a dick. I'm not the one who hurt him."

"Oh? Is that right? Because, correct me if I'm wrong, you nearly killed me and him last night. Or am I thinking about it all wrong? Maybe it was someone else who kicked us both hard enough to break our ribs."

Yami lunged forward, snapping his teeth. The movement made them both jump as if they'd been shocked. Honda moved away entirely to sit against the wall. The wolf was quivering, tail up and ears forward. His entire body was puffed up in a bristle and his lips were peeled back to show his teeth. He shook his head angrily, snapping at the air several times, and glared.

Jonouchi crossed his arms and turned away. Yugi blinked and stared at Yami with something broken in his expression before focusing intently on his coffee drink. The wolf huffed after a moment, turned around to circle twice, and finally plopped down with his back to them.

"So…"

Honda pressed his lips into a thin line. Neither Yugi nor Jonouchi turned towards him. And Yami merely acknowledged his voice with a flick of his ear. Whatever he had said to them had clearly taken much of his energy. His eyes were shut tightly and his brows were furrowed. His breathing was quick and shallow. And his mouth twitched as if the muscles were going through a spasm.

He exhaled, somewhat relieved to have the aggression put aside for the moment. But it occurred to him not a moment later that even with that satisfaction, he still had to speak to make his proposal. And interrupting the silence was hard. It was stifling, like a blanket smothering him.

"So, if you guys need more numbers…"

Jonouchi looked over in confusion. Yugi chewed on the lid of his cup with his eyes half-closed and glazed over. He was watching Yami in his peripheral and the wolf refused to so much as open his eyes. Honda shifted his weight. When he stretched his foot out, Yami grunted and tightened his muscles as if to curl up into a smaller ball.

"I could help you out."

"Help us out?" Yugi echoed a second later. Then he turned to look at him, finally lifting his eyes from Yami's beaten form. He blinked once, then stiffened as the words connected properly in his head. Jonouchi turned his head as well, eyes widening in shock as the words seemed to translate in his mind as well. The blond was stunned, but Yugi looked too shocked. "You want us to bite you?"

Jonouchi looked as if he wanted to swing at him for suggesting such a thing.

"Uh, no, I definitely wasn't saying that."

"Oh, thank fuck," Jonouchi muttered, relaxing.

Honda exhaled slowly. "I was saying that one of you could bite me. I'm not going for three bites."

"What the fuck, Honda?" the blond snarled, groaning a second later. Yugi simply stared at him in mystified silence. But now Yami even seemed so startled as to look over. His eyes were wide, stunned, and his pupils were dilated with bewilderment. Honda found himself lost on who he was meant to actually focus on, so he turned away to stare at the discarded bowl of water near his foot. It was still half-full. "Do you even realize what the fuck you just said?"

"Uh, yeah? I said that I want to get bitten."

"Want is kind of a strong word," Yugi snorted. But he faltered after a moment. Honda could feel him staring at him head on but he was too nervous to look up again. There was a loud crackling noise as Yugi chewed on the lid of his coffee cup harder than ever. "Why would you even consider that? It's not like it's any fun. Everyone is dying left and right. My mom and grandpa, Anzu and her parents, the wolves at the camp…"

And even Honda noticed the pregnant pause as he struggled to continue talking.

But the gaping silence was easily swallowed away by the wolf's name.

Yami had gone unspoken but all of them felt and understood it.

"Okay, but you need as many allies as you can get, right? Besides, you know I can't sit on the sidelines like this forever." He paused, swallowing hard. "Yubel is probably gong to come after me too, right? So why not be somewhat prepared for it when it happens?"

Yugi blinked once. His eyes shot immediately to Yami. The wolf ignored him altogether, still focused entirely on Honda. And from over the wolf's shoulder the brunet could see Jonouchi was pacing anxiously, brown eyes wide and cheeks slightly flushed.

"You could be, I guess," Yugi said awkwardly. He seemed to be looking to the others for help but neither of them was willing to glance in his direction. "I mean, I don't know if you really…want this though. Have you thought it more than just now? You can't exactly do everything you do now…"

"So Blankey and I fight over the bed every now and then. So what? She's a good dog. She'll figure it out eventually." He paused, opening and closing his mouth twice, but thought better of his response at the last second. All three of them were staring at him now, waiting. So he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "And I have to give up one day every month. How terrible."

Yugi opened his mouth, then stopped short. He frowned after a moment, tilting his head. "Yami said that's not entirely true. It depends on who bites you and the amount of lycanthropy you get in the exchange," he said slowly, watching Honda with narrowed eyes. "I have to change every full moon and so does Yami. But I think Mai told me that wolves change differently depending on their status of infection. I think she said that every wolf changes their first full moon after being bitten but that the Change comes on whenever they spend too much time without doing again from then on."

"Any idea how long that would be?"

"I get anxious after a couple of weeks," Yugi mumbled, looking away. "But I don't know how everyone else feels about it. I'm a Pure-Blood, so I can't really speak for them…"

"And you're a Pure-Blood too, Jonouchi?"

"He's a Full-Blood," Yugi answered for him, cutting the blond off before he could answer. "He can heal faster, he's stronger than most of the others, but he's not immortal. If I… If he were in Yami's position that night, if I'd gone through with sticking him with phenobarbital, he wouldn't have made it."

Jonouchi scoffed and turned to Yami. "You going to stop him if it ever comes to that?"

Yugi flinched. Yami snarled and bore his teeth but never turned away from Honda. His red eyes were boring into his face, studying and narrowing as he considered him fully for a few moments. Honda sighed, shaking his head. "Look, let's call it a day with this argument, okay? We don't need to rehash it like that. Let's get back to the point. I'm offering to let you bite me."

Yami blinked at him. His ears pricked forward. He tilted his head. His nose twitched twice. When he blinked once more, it was slow and long. His red eyes looked almost as if they were glowing for a brief moment. And, for the first time, Honda could see Yami's eyes were not uniform as he'd initially assumed. There was not just one random shade of red to color his irises. They were speckled with different shades, glittering and glowing and dancing. And, if Honda knew him well enough, he might have tried before then to truly read his emotional expression.

"Is that what you want?" Yugi pressed quietly. He sounded uncertain and Honda looked up to see Jonouchi and the smaller teen staring at each other with mirroring looks of indecision. He frowned after a moment and the smaller teen turned to them again, chewing on his bottom lip. "I mean, we can do it, but…"

Honda hesitated for a long moment. "So, if Jonouchi bit me, I'd be weaker, right?" he asked slowly. "But if it was you or Yami who bit me, I'd be stronger?"

"Yami is healthier than I am," Yugi said quietly, looking almost shaken. The name leaving his mouth was a tremble in the air. Honda almost wanted to flinch. "You should ask him to bite you if that's really what you want. But I'm serious, Hiroto. Do you even know what you're actually asking right now?"

"I do. That's why I'm doing it."

Yami stared at him for a moment. His head tilted a little further. Then he finally turned around to face Yugi. The smaller teen turned to him immediately, looking almost hopeful, but then grimaced. Whatever it was he'd been so hopeful for, the wolf had not given him in the slightest.

"If you're willing to do it," he said slowly. Yugi frowned, then looked slowly towards Jonouchi. For a single second he seemed to hesitate further. And then he narrowed his eyes into slits. "If you're really willing to, then sure. Come on, Jonouchi. Yami said he wants to be alone with Honda when he does this."

"Why? So he can rip his throat out too?" the blond huffed. Honda blinked wide, surprised eyes. Yami, however, simply flicked an ear and refused to look over his shoulder. Yugi grimaced, considering the three of them for a few moments. Then he turned to Jonouchi.

"Let's go, Katsuya."

The blond turned to him and reluctantly, head lowered and shoulders drooping slightly, turned to follow him. Yami blinked and watched him. And Honda furrowed his brows at the sight. He had never seen him so passive and submissive before. But he had never heard Yugi's voice so cold and hollow before either…

"So, how badly do you think this will hurt?"

Yami turned to him with a confused look.

"Blink once for a little and twice for a lot."

Yami blinked once, flicked an ear, and tilted his head. He lowered his nose, sniffing, and moved his mouth to his wrist. Honda snorted and flipped his hands over to let him find a vein. The wolf sniffed at both sets, nosed his sleeves as if to push it upwards, and Honda rolled his eyes. When he pulled them both back, Yami sniffed a few times more, trailing the lines of both his major veins. Then he paused, blinked, and pressed his nose more pointedly into a line of blue about an inch from his wrist.

"There?" Honda mumbled. He held his arm straighter for him. The wolf opened his mouth wide, positioning his jaws, and lightly mouthed at the spot. He was almost gumming it, Honda realized in surprise, with his teeth just barely rubbing for even a moment. And then he realized that Yami was building up a drool. "Oh, ew."

Yami blinked, flattened his ears against his head, and shot him a look that was both sheepish and dirty. Honda burst out laughing and wondered how such a dangerous creature could look so modest. Then Yami turned back, focused once more, and lightly clipped him with his teeth. He felt the blood, hot and flowing on his skin, but it was far from painful. And Yami let go a second later, sniffing and then licking the puncture wounds so that they sealed themselves.

He moved away from him entirely, shook himself out, and padded forward a few steps. Honda watched him as he shifted his weight, stretched until his back popped, and stumbled forward to get more water.

"So…"

Yami paused, water dripping from his jaws, and turned to face him with pricked ears. He tilted his head but if he spoke to him, Honda couldn't hear him.

"It's that easy?"

Yami stared at him for a moment. His tail wagged hesitantly. He looked confused by the question more than anything. But he was not paying him attention for long. His ears pricked forward and he turned his head in acknowledgment. Yugi and Jonouchi were coming now, and Honda realized he must have said something at some point to assure them that they could come back down the stairs.

"So, how long until I'm going to be able to change and have better senses and all that?"

Yami turned to him. But he did not bother to answer and instead Yugi did so. He dusted himself off a he came into the room again. "Probably until the full moon," he answered, pulling his phone out to check the calendar. "Which, I guess is going to just be a couple of days."

"You mean New Year's?"

Yugi blinked wide eyes. "New Year's?" he echoed in a mumble, then looked briefly at Yami and back to his phone with a startled expression. "Yeah, I…I guess so."

Yami looked between Honda and then Jonouchi, a bewildered expression crossing his face. Why do you seem so confused? he demanded, flattening his ears against his head. When Yugi failed to answer, he turned around to face the blond once more. What's wrong with him?

The blond blinked, shrugging. "I don't know. Maybe he forgot about Christmas?"

"Christmas is already over," Yugi mumbled. "What are you talking about?"

"Yami is worried about why you're acting so odd," the blond answered with a tilt of his head, studying him with a cold expression. "Wow, you didn't even hear him talking to you, either, did you?"

Yugi grimaced and looked back. "Sorry, Yami, I just got distracted," he said quietly. He had grabbed his coffee cup again at some point and was chewing on the lid once more. "What was it you were asking?"

Yami blinked at him, shaking his head and looking away. It was not important. He pricked his ears forward. Jonouchi shifted his weight anxiously, as if he couldn't wait to get out of there or perhaps as if he were struggling not to lash out. I suppose I will have to see to it that Honda is taken care of when the full moon comes and all that. I'll have to be able to change back by then.

"Okay, well, that shouldn't be too hard to get you back up to par." There was a rustling noise and Yami looked up to see him digging into a couple of bags. "Venison, boar, rabbit, serow… We'll feed you some more regularly and alternate between. That way you can get some variety and metabolism doesn't burn through everything in one sitting. And then, when you can change back, you and I have a couple of things we need to discuss and go over."

Yami cast a glance at Jonouchi, but the blond seemed just as puzzled as he was. Why can we not just discuss it now?

"Because it's not important enough to. It doesn't matter since you're a wolf right now. It's a human thing, not a wolf one, Yami. Don't worry about it."

He glanced at Honda over his shoulder. The brunet was staring at Yugi in confusion and Jonouchi looked bewildered when he turned back. Yami flattened his ears, bristling for a moment, and then shook his head out and took a seat once more. Okay…

But a bitter little voice was whispering in the back of his mind to exercise caution. And he was struck with the thought that maybe it was easier to stab a human with phenobarbital than it was a wolf.

---

Yami woke to hushed tones in the kitchen. The wolf surveyed the room, seeing Yugi still asleep beside him on the bed. He'd curled up with his back to him and Yugi had rolled over to face the other wall before he'd fallen asleep. Now one of his arms was haphazardly slung over one of his shoulders and his fingers were tucked into fur, soft and warm against his skin. Yami pricked his ears and listened again, confused as to why he was awake.

"Did he actually do it?"

The voice was far too close for his comfort. Yami strained his focus for a second, unease prickling at his senses. It took a moment to understand why and remember who it was speaking. They were in the kitchen only feet away from the guest room, and Jonouchi sounded incredibly agitated. He sounded as if he were on the verge of losing his temper as he had the night before. The fridge door opened and closed once, and he could hear the ice cubes shifting as some fell into a cup.

"Well, yeah, I asked him to and he did it. Why wouldn't he have?"

"It just didn't seem like he had. I mean, there wasn't any blood anywhere in here when we came back." Jonouchi was quiet for a moment. Yami bristled slightly, unable to stop himself. "And it's not like he could have infected you without drawing blood."

Yami blinked. He cast an uneasy glance at Yugi, but the small teen was still fast asleep. He looked troubled even in rest, however, and Yami wondered at it for a brief moment. But it was not as if Yugi did not deserve to suffer at least the smallest bit of an inability to rest. He had brought much of it on himself with his choices; Yami could not so easily turn his back on the fact that he had killed him like that. If nothing else, he felt that Yugi deserved the smallest bit of distress concerning that matter.

That did not go as far as having his family hurt or killed in retribution, however. He could never have claimed that Yugi deserved something so terrible. A few restless nights, yes, but not such intense pain. His cold shoulder was enough to make Yugi flinch and second guess himself as it was. The rest of it was just an unfairness that Yami could not combat in any manner.

"He didn't gouge my arm open or anything. He just bit hard enough to break the skin. And when he licked it clean, it healed back almost perfectly again. So, I mean…" Yami heard his clothes rustle and imagined that he was shrugging. "He did it. He bit my arm and it's all healed up. So, why does it matter?"

"I was just curious." Yami didn't think he sounded curious. He thought he sounded almost suspicious and annoyed now more than ever. "It just seemed odd how easy he made it for you. I thought it would be more painful than that. I'd honestly expected you to scream or something."

There was a small beat of silence in the kitchen. Neither of them seemed to so much as breathe. Time seemed to have gone completely still, leaving them both frozen. Then, as the air conditioning clicked on, both abruptly moved as if to shift their weight and step away from each other.

"And…I just don't get why you did this. I don't get why you would want…this."

"Being human is useless against supernatural monsters, don't you think?" Honda snorted. There was a long second of silence and his voice came out quieter, his amusement lost entirely. "And, at least this way, I might be able to help. As a regular person, I'm nothing but a liability for you guys. And if she came after Anzu like that, it's only natural to assume I'll be next."

His nails were clicking against the cup.

"And I don't want…to die like she did, Jonouchi. I don't want to die without being able to put up a fight of some kind. At least this way, if she comes after me, I can try to slow her down or protect my parents—even if it doesn't pan out to much when it's all said and done." Honda was quiet for a second. "I don't want to have to suffer and lay there in the dark, hoping for someone to find me and put me out of my misery or for the Change to happen."

"Right. So, even after hearing that story, you decided to do this?"

"The pros outweigh the cons, Jonouchi."

"That's not true at all."

"How would you know?"

"What about the fact that Yami can basically control you now?" the blond snapped. "He can make you do anything and everything he wants. And you'll be forced to do it because of the Alpha Command. If he wants it done, it'll get done. Yugi uses it against me sometimes and there's no fighting it. It's one of the most miserable experiences you could ever have. You have no chance to disobey. And now Yami can do that to you. And we have no idea how he's going to treat you. He might just turn around and make you do anything he doesn't want to have to do himself!"

"Where are you getting that idea from? All the times I've been around him, he's been pretty level-headed. So why are you even saying that right now?"

"You watched him rip a tiger apart. You don't think he might turn on you at some point? Are you kidding me?"

"I'm trying to be serious, but you're making that kind of hard right now." Even Yami could hear the smallest hint of disbelieving laughter in his tone. "Look, Jonouchi, I'm not worried about that. I'm not going to worry about it later either. I don't think Yami is just going to turn around and try to make me into some kind of personal slave or something stupid like that."

"And how would you know? Yugi is fucking obsessed with him. And that happened sometime after he started being able to change. You don't think you might suddenly become obsessed with him too?"

"You're not obsessed with Yugi." Honda snorted, then snickered a second later. "So, what exactly would you call that? Unless you think Yami is somehow more magnetic than Yugi."

"The hell is…?" Jonouchi made a disgusted noise, one almost like gagging. Then he scoffed, "You're not getting it. Yugi suddenly up and quit on Anzu because he started thinking with his dick. And somehow his dick wanted this random guy none of us knew aside from name. Then we find out he's a werewolf and Yugi lied to protect him and told us that Tomoya bit him instead, right? But then we find out he's invested in somehow finding a way to fuck Yami. He ditched Anzu, the girl he'd had a crush on for years, in hopes of hooking up with him. If that doesn't spell obsession, then I don't know what does!"

Yami blinked, flicking his ears. Was that what Jonouchi thought of their relationship? He thought that it was some kind of sick, lopsided obsession? He shivered, wondering now if perhaps he was right. Could that have been the truth of it? Was it not so significant as Yugi had assumed initially? Was it as simple as Yugi wanting to fuck him so much that he'd become single-minded in that desire? If he had truly turned his back on a meaningful relationship with a girl he'd been in love with for years, what would that mean of them?

He was trembling before he could stop himself. The small teen remained fast asleep, but his hand fell away as Yami hurried forward to the end of the bed. There he crouched down, quaking as he cast an awkward glance over his shoulder once more.

Was that all it was?

Was that why Yugi had allowed him to remain with him? Had his intentions always been to sleep with him? Had it been his first step towards treating him as a conquest? Had he simply planned to lure him into a false sense of security so that he could—?

His first instinct was to immediately deny it. Yugi had always been sweet and kind towards him, to the point of baffling him entirely. And that was not something that Yami could simply forget—not in anger, and certainly not in suspicion.

But the problem was also that he'd proven himself to be rather impulsive. He'd killed him for a gamble that it would help to save him later. He'd injected him with phenobarbital in order to restart his heart. He'd intentionally allowed him to die. And he'd never planned to tell him.

And if that were true then, what was to stop him from having the impulsive desire to help him in order to make him feel inclined to give him as he desired? He could very easily assume that guilt was the way to pressure Yami to have sex with him. And who was to say that Yugi might not try to force his hand to get what he wanted from him? He doubted that Yugi would ever go so far as to drug or kill him for those means, but he knew that Yugi was not oblivious to the power of manipulation. He had grown up with humans. And Yami was sure of nothing more about them than the fact that they were and always had been monsters of manipulation. They were removed from the truest of animals to live without excessive needs and desires.

He was shaking again, harder than ever.

"Jonouchi, knock it off. I get that you're upset. I know that you think Yugi basically betrayed us when he told Yami to kill Anzu, but it's not your place to judge him like this. Anzu asked him to do it and—"

"I hate it when you try to psychoanalyze me," Jonouchi grumbled, cutting him off in a slightly cold voice. When he exhaled again, it was a sharp breath. Yami almost worried he might lash out. But it seemed to pass a split second later. "But, look, that's not the point, okay? You didn't know about the Alpha Command side of this. And you didn't get the chance to ask about it. Yugi didn't even warn you about it! And what about the pack? They're dangerous. You're more likely to get into fights if someone makes eye contact with you. Blankey won't like you nearly as much—"

"Okay, but you actually love being a werewolf—"

"That doesn't mean that I ever wanted to be bitten," the blond snarled maliciously, voice harsh and dangerous. "I like it now, okay? But if Yugi had asked me before he did it, I would have said no."

"You would have died if he hadn't."

"Okay, but so what? That should have been my decision to begin with."

"So then what's the difference, Katsuya? What's the difference between you wanting the right to decide if you should be bitten and live and the fact that Anzu asked Yami to kill her?"

There was a long pause. "Don't start."

"Fine, fine. Okay, so, then what's the point of this conversation? It's not like I'm going to want to hop on Yami's dick just because he bit me, okay? I think Yugi just…fell for him," Honda answered slowly. "We used to make jokes about how he could swing both ways before anyways, remember?"

Yami blinked. He tilted his head and looked over his shoulder again.

Yugi had told him before he didn't think he identified as gay because of his attraction to him. He had also said he didn't identify as bisexual. But labels were stupid and they often confused Yami as it was. But he knew the bare minimum of terms in relation to labels like that.

Werewolves were more or less considered what humans called pansexual. He knew the word from the labs, where his cage mate had explained it as well as he could.

But that didn't fix what he felt was wrong at the moment. His stomach knotted and he pricked his ears forward miserably. When he turned back to look out the door towards the kitchen, his fur lifted into an uneasy bristle.

"You don't get it. Being a wolf is miserable."

"You said it was the best thing in the world for you."

"I mean that it's going to be miserable for you. Honda, you don't have a reason to want to run all the time. Your parents are respected. They're not drunks who got fired from the police force for killing an innocent kid when they were too drunk to listen to the command not to shoot. You didn't grow up with emotionally abusive parents or a sister you never had a chance to get to know because she was kidnapped when you were younger and you found her right before she was killed. You don't have those issues. The pack is great for me. I get to run around and not have to care. You like your life. I hate mine."

Yami cast an anxious glance at Yugi once more over his shoulder. He shivered and looked away again. Yugi had resented him for biting him when they'd first met. He may have denied it, claiming he was just happy to be alive, but Yami felt it. He had to have at some point or other. He'd hated it so much before, when he had first begun changing. And Yami would not have been surprised in the slightest had it turned out that he still did.

"I know that our lives aren't the same. That's the understatement of the century, honestly." Honda's voice was quiet and his words were carefully picked. "But, that's not…"

"You remember how you asked me about what happened that night when Yugi found me in the woods?" Jonouchi asked slowly, in a tone that was cautious and somewhat cold. "Don't tell Yugi this. But I was… The night before my dad had hit me with a beer bottle so I went to Yugi's house. He helped me clean the cut and stitch it up and all that. But when I got up again the next day I couldn't stop thinking of my sister and how someone had killed her like that. And I…"

Shizuka, Yami reminded himself. And for a brief second he thought of her face as he'd lunged forward towards her. She'd known he'd moved. She'd heard him. And her eyes had brightened for the split second—

"I was headed back here to see Yugi so that he could clean it again and all that. But when I got halfway there Marik found me. We were talking and he said something that really freaked me out. I don't remember what it was—I'm pretty sure he threatened me but I have no idea. But it freaked me out and I remember debating whether to run or try to talk him down." Jonouchi was quiet for a long handful of seconds. "He wound up attacking me soon after that. I managed to fight him off the first time. I actually stabbed him in the eye with a rock. But I kind of… I was watching him laying there on the ground and I thought of how easily he could kill me and I thought about Shizuka again and I just… I gave up."

Honda stayed silent for what felt a lifetime. "You…let him nearly kill you?"

"Yeah. And when I was at the camp, I kept waiting for him to come and finish me off. But he never made any move to. Yugi was so distracted by Yami's absence at the time that he just… He became an easy target. And the next thing I know, Marik is completely focused on Yugi again instead of me and doesn't give a shit about anything else."

A long handful of minutes passed in which Yami almost wondered if he had somehow missed them going upstairs. And then Honda sighed, muttered something that sounded like "Let's go back to bed" and Jonouchi grunted quietly. Then they were both gone.

Yami spent a while staring at the door. Some part of him expected them to keep talking. He'd expected to be able to hear them. But they'd gotten into Honda's room and settled for sleep again without another word. The only noise to disrupt the quiet of the upper level was Blankey growling softly and settling when Honda snapped his fingers at her in response.

Yami blinked slowly, narrowing his eyes.

Jonouchi had given up…because Yami had killed his little sister.

He'd killed her because she'd said that to him and he hadn't been able to hear it. He hadn't been able to stop her and his anger had grown so quickly, so fiercely, that he could not stop himself. He had moved to stop her at first. He'd meant only to hush her. But when she had finished her statement, she'd been smiling. She'd known and been smiling for the sake of goading him.

He'd originally gone to cover her mouth. But he'd gone for her throat in his anger. His nails had been curled. His teeth had been ground together in his fury.

He'd meant to kill her, as soon as she'd finished the statement.

Maybe, even before he'd thought to quiet her, he'd been prepared to kill.

Moving as he had, lunging forward like that, could have been the very pinnacle of the choice.

He flicked his ears.

Then he glanced over his shoulder towards Yugi again. His breath came out slightly harder than before. How long had Yugi sat around hashing this very thing out? How long had it truly taken him to accept and understand that he had done such a terrible thing to his best friend?

Yami looked at the comforter for a moment. If that were the case, was Yami not obligated to do similarly? Was he not obligated to accept and understand that Yugi had made a difficult choice in order to save him? Was he meant to do it simply because Yugi had stuck by him so often? Or did he owe him for helping him as much as he had?

Yugi was still fast asleep when he looked over at him once more. And he crawled forward awkwardly on his belly in order to get to his side again. He hesitated, hovering, and his heart thumped loudly in his throat. Finally, belly churning and fur shuddering, he continued forward until he could slip his nose beneath his arm.

But he moved too close. It was a second too late that he realized. His nose brushed Yugi's skin and the small teen was awake in a second. His eyes shot open. He looked at him with a groggy, curious yet alarmed expression.

"What?" Yugi muttered. He reached up to rub his eyes and then peered at him in obvious concern. "What happened? You okay? Are you bleeding? How are your sides? Do I need to clean and stitch them back again?"

Yami could have sobbed. Yugi had awakened in the middle of the night because of his nose against his skin and yet the first thing he worried about was if Yami was okay and needed help with his wounds. Yami couldn't imagine him being so manipulative as to use and abuse him as he himself did with others.

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

No, no, it's okay. It's okay, Yugi. I was just… I was trying to get closer. My nose touched your arm, Yami answered softly, flicking his ears. I'm okay. I'm sorry I woke you.

The small teen yawned, stretched, rubbed his eyes again, and slowly shook his head. "Okay." He glanced at Yami, searching his face for a long moment, and then moved to roll over again. "Come on back over here then, you big fluffball."

Yami hesitated, but crawled obediently up and closer to the pillow. He settled for a moment, Yugi noted, closing his eyes. A minute or two passed. Yugi was half-asleep once more when Yami moved. The wolf pushed himself closer, molding himself against the curve of his spine, and his neck stretched out so that his muzzle lay against his clavicle.

Yugi blinked his eyes open, staring into the darkness. "You're sure you're okay, aibou?" he asked quietly.

There was a moment of silence. Then, just as quickly as it had happened, Yami moved his mouth away. He laid facing away from him entirely, staring at the opposing wall instead. Yes, I am fine.

Yugi was quiet for a long handful of seconds. Then he reached back to ruffle his ears. Yami did not respond for a moment but to yawn. Yugi dropped his hand back on his side of the bed once more. "Okay," he mumbled softly. "I'll…see you in the morning then…"

Yes. He sounded hesitant when he continued. Goodnight, Yugi.

"Goodnight, Yami."

When he closed his eyes, Yami was completely pressed against him. His entire body was curled against his back. His breathing was low and even a few minutes into rest. Yugi yawned, glancing over his shoulder, and tried to force himself to settle once more. It took a few minutes for Yugi to properly relax, his stomach in knots as the seconds passed.

Yami had moved away from him in the middle of the night. If that were the truth of it, did that mean he had woken early to him rolled over like that? Had he touched him and Yami had freaked out? As a wolf, Yami did not truly have as much to consider when it came to unwelcome advances. In truth, if Yami stayed a wolf forever, Yugi would likely never so much as look at him any differently than he did a dog for the most part.

He shivered. Did that truly matter? He stared at the wall in front of him, dark gray with the shadows stretched across its surface. Yami had been okay before. He'd been okay with it all. And he knew Yami knew about it.

He'd said as much himself, though perhaps not quite in the same words.

He hadn't quite turned around to say, "I know you're in love with me" but the meaning was altogether still the same.

And Yami had seemed okay with it all then.

But that had also been before he'd learned of the phenobarbital. Yugi cringed and glanced over his shoulder again. Yami likely would never be able to fully forgive him for such a thing. He likely would never accept it should Yugi apologize to him. And to show him how much it rattled him was something that Yami would likely hide from him as much as he could.

Yugi pressed his lips into a thin line, glanced at him over his shoulder again, and drew in a deep breath. When he closed his eyes again, he was shuddering beneath the blanket.

But he did not think it lasted long.

Within seconds of dozing off, he was in the snow. Leafless branches swayed about, disappearing into thin tendrils of silver as they faded into the network of stars against the blackness of the sky overhead. The moon was huge and bright, always full and never dull, a brilliant shade of cobalt blue this time, with mists of violet and red about its round sides. He shivered and looked around and, to his surprise, he was almost relieved not to see Yami there with him.

He shook himself out when snow fell over his shoulders, trotting forward a few steps with a small backwards glance. He nearly bristled as he looked around for a long moment. He'd almost expected to find one of the gods waiting for him or perhaps even the little yearling Jaden. Instead, as he moved about, he caught only sight of snow for a few long seconds. He glanced around again, flattened the fur along his back out of its former bristle, and closed his eyes.

Yugi could not argue should Yami choose never to forgive him for what he had done to him. He had done it without permission, because he'd panicked when he'd seen Yami so unresponsive. And Slifer may have claimed that he would come back, but in that moment, Yugi had truly wondered. He had wondered if she was lying, because the russet female had so often seemed to prior.

But he had brought him back to life. And he had helped him heal from then on. Yami might not have been pleased with how he had gotten him back to health, but he could not argue that he had done it for any other reason than that. He shivered, opening his eyes.

Then he sprang backwards, snarling and snapping his teeth. His fur rose into a hideous bristle and his tail came up like a war flag. He stiffened as he blinked once more, then flicked his ears.

Shit! You can't do that!

The green-eyed wolf wagged his tail happily instead, smirking at him. You looked troubled, he teased, tilting his head. I thought I would come to help you.

By sneaking up on me and putting you nose inches from mine?

The wolf wagged his tail more excitedly than ever. Of course! It's how I used to do it with Yami as well. Although there were a few times in which he panicked and I thought that I might have given him a heart attack.

Yugi watched him for a long moment. Then he blinked. He remembered abruptly how Yami had seemed rather easygoing about waking up to Yugi leaning over him at one point. Yami had just barely blinked at him, then teased him that he was trying to molest him. And now Yugi understood why it was that Yami had not been upset in any manner. His cage mate had done similarly on more than one occasion. For however long they had been together, he had been doing so to check on Yami.

Speaking of, how long were the two of you in the cage together?

You almost sound as if you are asking how long the two of has were fucking around, the wolf said in a somewhat cold tone. He had lost his tail wag and now looked back at him with an expression that held no amusement of any kind. He had lost all friendliness to his features altogether. If you had questions about our relationship, you should have asked one of us instead of accusing me like this.

Yugi blinked, startled. I wasn't accusing… He bristled faintly, then tilted his head and frowned at him. The white wolf tilted his head and studied the gray male. I was just curious. I didn't mean to come off as accusatory.

The other wolf didn't entirely relax his stance, eying him for a long moment. Then he blinked and lost his tension. It feels like I knew him forever. But in truth we couldn't have been in that cage together more than a few months at the absolute most. And I feel like that might be stretching it quite a bit.

Yugi shivered. You were—are—in love with him. He breathed in heavily, turning away from him and flicking his ears. His heart felt heavy, clenching tightly in his chest. Why didn't you ever make a move?

It wasn't meant to be. I knew that already. And it wasn't as if I was truly mated to him, Yugi. I forced the mating bond. The wolf stayed quiet for a moment. Then he snickered at Yugi's startled expression. I knew I couldn't have found the courage necessary to save him if I didn't do it. So I forced myself to bond to him as much as I could. It wasn't hard. He's still one of the most beautiful souls I've ever met, as damaged as he is.

Yugi blinked. Did…did he know?

From the moment it happened. He understood it. He was scared of me for days afterwards. The green-eyed wolf tilted his head at him, wagging his tail in a lazy manner. You've gotten closer to him than I ever managed, Yugi. And it's not as if he does not have the capacity to love in return. He's just afraid of what that means. Have you ever seen him flinch as if he's been attacked when sex is mentioned? Watch him the next time. He panics.

I know he thinks it's all like at the labs—

You don't understand. He has only ever been down there. The wolf shook his head. He's only ever seen and experienced the things shown there in the tunnels. The labs were his home since the moment he drew his first breath. He was conceived and grew there. When he escaped, he was forced to start from scratch. And he didn't know what he was doing when he originally got above ground. He just…worked with his instincts.

Yugi stared at him for a long moment, sighing softly, and shook his head as he turned away again. You know what I did to him…

I do.

Then why are you still being so friendly to me? I fucking killed him.

You did what I would have done, the other wolf answered softly. Yugi looked up after a split second, guts churning with growing disbelief. I loved him enough to die to ensure his safety. I would have done anything for him. That included killing him if it would trigger his healing. You did as you needed to.

But it—

You're upset for the wrong reasons. Yami does not hate you. He will not hate you. He's freaked out, yes, but it's not because of what you did. It's because of how you did it.

Yugi shook his head. What?

You drugged him.

He blinked. Yes.

The wolf stared for a moment, green eyes searching his before he burst out laughing. His eyes were bright with amusement but a small part of them darkened with disbelief. You are so cute, he snickered. Some days you're as smart as a whip. And others you make me wonder how you've survived so long.

Yugi blinked, then flattened his ears against his head. Thank you. I wasn't aware of how stupid I was until you said that. He frowned and huffed, tilting his head. You're an ass.

I forgot how young you actually are. I used to forget sometimes with Yami as well. He'd say something and I would look at him and wonder. But I also had to remember that he lived such a sheltered existence. The wolf turned away. My point is that you drugged him.

Yes, I did. I… Oh. He flinched, realization crashing through him. Without his consent. I drugged him without his consent. And it reminded him of the labs.

The wolf lowered his nose to the snow, wagging his tail exuberantly. Exactly.

Yugi shivered, then took a seat with his ears against his head again. He must hate me.

Yami may dislike you for a while. Most likely he won't trust you for a little while. But he won't hate you. The boy has enough love in his heart to hold terrible grudges but also to forgive quickly. You know he will not remain angry for too terribly long. The wolf wagged his tail as he looked at Yugi again. If he can forgive you relatively quickly after what you said to him that day, I'm sure he can find it in himself to forgive you now as well.

Yugi flinched again, eyes widening. Do you guys just all listen to me say shit to him like that? Is that what it is? He mumbled the words, shame filling his guts and leaving him winded. You're like omnipotent and shit and you hear everything and see everything?

He laughed, howling with the noise. He jumped from foot to foot and wagged his tail even more exuberantly than ever. No! I mean, yes, technically we are. But we all attach to one or more souls of the ones that were closest to us in life. I watch Yami and when he bit you, I knew I had to watch over you too. So here we are. But we can all technically watch anyone and everyone we desire.

Yugi blinked. But it's mostly the wolves you interacted with when you were alive?

Yes. The green-eyed wolf paused, seeming to consider. I watched you and Yami and Echo until she passed. Did you know that Yami sat with her and told her a few things as she was passing? It overjoyed her to hear what he had to say to her.

He flicked an ear. She wasn't his biggest fan.

None of them are. They're not even your biggest fan. He fell quiet a moment, and his eyes were soft with affection. And it is not as if it is truly expected of you to be any of their favorites. You either will be respected or you will not. Favoritism is not going to be a path for you to follow.

Yugi sighed. You know, I grew up needing everyone's approval. Sometimes I forget that it's not necessary and I won't win over everyone. He hesitated. And I used to avoid people in school if they didn't like me. I avoided anyone and everyone who didn't approve of me. I guess I never outgrew that habit, huh?

It's most likely made worse by the wolf's need to be social and their lack of willingness to work with you when you so much as try. Although…you have not tried hard and I would see it as a spite as well should I be them.

The white wolf licked his nose and shook himself out again. Why is it snowing? I don't remember it snowing usually.

The gray male glanced around after a moment, his green eyes becoming troubled as he lost all friendliness in his stance and grew slightly stiff. There have been rumors as to why it has suddenly begun snowing here. But no one truly knows. I suppose one of the gods might have an answer. But none of them have bothered to tell us if they do. He turned back and wagged his tail, but he was troubled and distracted more than anything. But it doesn't matter. Nothing truly touches this place. That's why it's Paradise. It's perfect and everyone gets to rest here.

Yugi nodded slightly. Yami shouldn't be alive right now, should he? he asked slowly, flattening his ears once more. The other wolf blinked and tilted his head. Pure-Blood or not, the gods could have permanently killed him, couldn't they have?

Yes, they could have. But to do that would lay waste to you. You both are too heavily intertwined. And they can't separate you without risking destroying both of you. So they have renewed his life more than once when it should have permanently damaged or destroyed him.

Are they afraid of him?

An immortal to strike fear into the hearts of gods? the wolf laughed, but there was a deadly intensity in his glittering teal eyes. And he was no longer wagging his tail. He looked at Yugi as if he were a dog's favorite chew toy, then abruptly turned away with a tired and forlorn expression. You might say that. He's beyond their control. He's gotten too strong on his own to depend upon their mercies. He should have died when your friend attacked him. The blows to his ribs and the blood loss alone should have killed him. But he did not even arrive in Paradise. He somehow managed to fight your friend and got himself drugged with so much ketamine it should have killed an elephant.

Yugi nodded slightly, shivering. In truth, he'd known that Yami should have died from the attack. When Jonouchi had punctured his lung, Yami should have fainted at the very least. He's gotten a lot…stronger, maybe more vicious and capable. He tilted his head. Valon said they were afraid of him, of what he's capable of doing. He broke Obelisk's neck that day…

The wolf turned back to him, ears pricked forward. He's dangerous, Yugi. And he has enough power to bring the world to its knees one day. He stayed quiet for a moment, sighing softly. But he's not a god. He's not the same as them. He is not stagnant and he's not going to remain the same like they will. He's constantly adapting. He's aware of the things he can do, but he holds back. And that's the difference between him and them. They don't have to hold back. They have their domains. Yami doesn't. He doesn't like it. He doesn't want it. And then, sometimes, he can't even fully control it. But every accident he's ever had, he's convinced himself otherwise.

Convince himself otherwise? Yugi said slowly, cutting him off and narrowing his blue-violet eyes. He flicked his ears and tilted his head again, curling his lip faintly. What the hell does that mean?

He carries a lot of weight on his shoulders. My death scarred him. And when others die around him, he has always found a way to convince himself that it was his own fault it happened. He scares himself until he twists things around to make sense to him. He doesn't like his inability to control things around him.

Yugi shivered. But that's…

He could not even say that it was uncommon. Trauma could warp someone's brain completely. It could make someone blame themselves for something they weren't involved with, something that they could never have even hoped to be a part of. The fact that Yami might one day do the same was in and of itself not truly surprising. In truth even the idea that he might twist his own reality around in his mind was not even a surprise to Yugi. He lied so constantly because he was afraid of the things that had happened before. Lying to himself was no different…

He blames himself for your death. Yugi eyed the other wolf for a long handful of seconds. He blames himself more than ever. He's scared of you. He's scared to even see you here.

Yes, I'm aware. Thank you for the clarification, the other wolf snarled, ears pricked forward and teeth bared as he glared. I was so confused as to why he would cower before me as he did the last time we crossed paths.

Yugi sighed, shaking his head. That's not what I… He trailed off, ignoring the urge to snarl in annoyance. You had the biggest impact on him. He couldn't even grieve for you properly. He still hasn't. He can't say your name. He can't even come here without looking for you and flinching if he sees you.

The gray wolf stood a little taller. I am aware. What is your point?

I just… He shouldn't be afraid all of the time like that. It's not healthy. And it's not fair. He doesn't deserve that. He's going to eventually collapse from exhaustion when he can't run any longer. And then what? Yugi bristled. Will he bend or is he going to break? Will he survive or will he finally disappear?

The gray wolf studied him a moment, losing his aggression now before turning away with flattened ears. I do not know, he answered softly. He fell silent again, flicking his ears about for a few seconds. That's not something I can tell you.

Yugi flicked an ear. I would hope he'd be able to get back up.

But that's not something either of us can decide for him.

He nodded. I know. I just… He turned his head and pricked his ears forward. Slifer was approaching. Behind her, Marik and Noah were sitting and talking. Marik wagged his tail lazily and Noah crouched down, bristling as he pretended to bite at him. If he dies, he'll come here. And he'll be…happy, right?

He heals so fast at times that he cannot even remain here for more than an instant. The gray wolf studied him for a long moment, the smallest bit of tension and suspicion in his eyes. I do not know that he would know Paradise to be happiness considering his track record with it. Between Fuwa's torture and the other various times he's gotten himself hurt so badly he could not heal on his own, I do not see how he might be too happy to be here.

You think he'd be happier alive?

I think he will be happy as long as you are there with him.

Yugi blinked, ears prickling. What? He doesn't feel the same about that. He mumbled the words uncertainly, watching as Noah and Marik continued chatting. Slifer was much closer now, mere yards away. He doesn't seem interested in me like that.

The wolf blinked, then sighed loudly through his nose, and let out a long-suffering groan. If he had been human, no doubt he would have rolled his eyes. You and Yami are utterly hopeless, he snorted. He shook his head, turning to Slifer as the goddess came to his side. I guess I'll leave him to you then.

The she-wolf offered him something of a warm look, turning back to Yugi almost immediately once more. Yes, thank you, she answered. Her golden eyes were locked entirely on Yugi. Hello.

He tilted his head. Funny meeting you here, he said dryly, considering her a long handful of seconds. His eyes narrowed and he shook the snow from his fur again. Why is it snowing?

The question made her stiffen slightly. Then she shook herself out and offered him a small smile. Her eyes flickered up to the sky. It doesn't matter as of yet. You will see when the time comes.

Always the cryptic, huh?

Life must always retain some mystery, don't you think? Slifer smiled at him in amusement, purring the words, and fell silent again seconds later, shaking herself out as well. Anyways, what are you doing here?

I thought one of you pulled me in here.

She tilted her head. You came of your own volition this time. Is something wrong?

Yugi blinked, startled by the implication. I didn't even know I could come here by myself. He looked past her again. Noah had pinned Marik and the two were growling mockingly at each other. Yugi wondered if it would have been possible for them to be friends in life as well. Had things gone differently, would they have been the best of friends? Had things gone differently, would he and Marik or Noah have made friends at some point?

Yes, well, here we are. Slifer looked over her shoulder to see what had caught his attention. Then she turned back and Yugi could see the growing amusement in her glittering eyes. No doubt she found it funny that he still struggled to comprehend the happiness they managed to exude. So, did you wish to speak to us? Is that what brought you here now?

Yugi stared at her blankly. What would I have to say to you? he answered slowly, tilting his head. I already know who I'm killing now. I don't know what reason I have to destroy her beyond the hatred I feel for her. But I know that I'm going to. And from there I'll revel in it all.

She stared at him in near bewilderment. You do not wish to ask me anything? You have no questions for Obelisk or for Ra? What of Morrigan or Skoll or Hati?

I've never spoken to the last two. And I don't know that I ever will. He stared at her, frowning and flicking an ear. And it's not as if you won't all just turn me around in circles if I bothered to ask you anything.

Slifer tilted her head, flicked her ears, and snorted softly as she studied him. How different you are than you were just a week or so ago. I suppose loss can truly destroy someone, hmm?

He snarled, showing his teeth fiercely. I just lost my mom and grandpa and my best friend from childhood back to back in the span of a few days. Are you really going to say that, Slifer?

She took a seat in front of him, seemingly debating the words. She sighed softly, turning away, and softly murmured, Yes, it was rather uncalled for. You have my sincerest apologies for the pain it has caused you.

So I'll never be able to see them again, huh? Anzu wasn't able to change before she died and my mom and grandpa were too far removed from the lycanthropy to enter here, right?

She blinked, and for a second he saw sympathy. But it was gone when she blinked. You are rather astute today, she commented in something of a wry tone. She fell quiet again, then nodded. That is correct, yes. None of them shall cross paths with you again. It is an unfortunate circumstance but if they could not change, they cannot access this afterlife. It is for wolves only.

Yugi closed his eyes. But any wolf can access this place. So even Ushio is here, isn't he? He's somewhere in this place. Ushio and Haga, Ryuzaki and Ryota, Marik and Noah…

Yes. And Akusawa and Brooke and Joy and Annie and all of the others. As we speak Echo and Yami's cage mate are playing in the woods and his brothers seek to join them. And one day I assume that you and Yami will join them.

He blinked, bristling. You plan to kill us after we win.

Perhaps not. We are undecided in our views. Ra thinks you would do best being eliminated as you will no longer be necessary. But Morrigan and Obelisk both believe that it is best avoided that this should happen again. They believe it may be best to let you exist should it ever be necessary for Atem to come into being once more.

And you?

I believe that you both have earned the right to live a life your own. But I am not sure you should have the need to remain immortal in order to enjoy it. You might very well be happy to know that death awaits you in permanence the next time should it ever be necessary for Atem to come into being once more. She eyed him curiously for a moment. Although it is still questionable your ability to return back to life should you be dealt a death blow. It is a question of your means of survival which might sway my thoughts.

If I die permanently…

Yami would be destroyed.

I'm well aware of that. I just… He huffed and shook himself out, glancing around briefly. Why is it that none of us know if I would come back? Isn't that a little defective in the grand scheme of things?

It is an inconvenience. But it is not as if it were unnecessary. And it is not as if we chose simply to do it for the sake of our own amusement. You forget your bloodline is mediocre at best. You may have Ra's blood in your veins, but it is not as powerful as you might have once believed. While you are a Pure-Blood and possess every other aspect of that lineage, you forget yourself. You are mortal until it is proven otherwise. Yami has saved you multiple times and thus deemed our interactions with you unnecessary. But he also leaves us to question your capabilities.

And coming back to life is a question more than anything, right?

Yes. She closed her eyes. As I once said, we do not know what you might be able to do. If you can come back from death is beyond our knowledge. You have no idea the many nights we have spent awake wondering and discussing such a thing. Obelisk questions it constantly and Ra is unwilling to risk it if only because your death in permanence will send Yami into a tailspin. And, while he may only be the secondary Atem and meant to be nothing more than a backup, he is still important to us. We cannot afford for him to become mentally unstable during this fight.

Yugi nodded slightly, turning away. Right.

Is it? I call it foolish, rather. And sometimes I consider it pathetic at best. He looked over to see her eyes narrowed and her lips drawn back. But she was not looking at him. Her eyes were glazed over and she almost seemed to be peering through him altogether. He wondered if she even saw him anymore or if she was trapped in some phantom of a concept he could not see. It is an oversight that should never have been made. We had assumed so stupidly that because you came from Ra you would be immortal as well. But there are times… There have been a great many times where we have questioned it. You do not heal as quickly as you should. You do not always seem to be able to fight as you should.

Yugi huffed. Thanks for the small list of my shortcomings. I appreciate it.

She snorted, abruptly turning to him now. Her eyes were sparkling again. You are so childish sometimes. I forget how young you both are. You have so much on your shoulders and your life is so chaotic and though many of your decisions are dubious at best, I think you much older than you truly are.

Good to know.

Slifer considered him a moment, leaned forward, and licked his forehead. My apologies, she mumbled, shaking herself out again and lying down with her chin on her paws. I had forgotten the ego the living possess. Are you all right?

Yugi blinked. Am I okay?

After all that has happened. I know the question is relatively trivial to you, but… She tilted her head. I am unsure of how I am meant to phrase my real question.

He stared at her for a long moment. Then he sighed and closed his eyes, turning away. I'm not okay. But I can figure it out. Yami and I are going to figure it out. I need his help. Between the wolves and school and all the rest of the… Did Obelisk know that Anzu and her parents were going to die? Is that why he never made a move against her dad?

Slifer blinked. He was not aware. None of us knew until it happened. Morrigan did not even know. And she is the one most closely related to Yubel, you know? Her golden eyes narrowed slightly and she huffed out a breath. Perhaps Hati knew, as it was an act of war before it was death. But he never spoke of it. So I do not know whether it is something that was planned by one of my siblings or if Yubel simply turned her sights on them for one reason or another.

Yugi bristled. Like what? What reason did she have for doing that to them?! he demanded furiously. He peeled his lips back to show his teeth, enraged. What the hell could she have seen that she decided would cause this?!

I do not know. Perhaps she was jealous. Yubel is a petty creature. Even Morrigan was surprised by how easily swayed she is between affection and spite. Slifer shook her head. I cannot tell you the answers to something that I myself cannot explain.

Is there any idea how much time I have before everything goes up in flames? he asked slowly, watching her intently. Do you know the exact day and time it's going to happen that the two of us fight?

I do not. We do not know the future, remember?

Is that true? Or is it that so you don't have to explain it to us or answer the questions we have about everything?

We are not unlimited.

Yugi frowned. Unlimited? He turned his head to look up at the moon where it shone through the nonexistent clouds. The snow seemed to be come from the stars themselves, as if they were shedding their former glow for more luminescent ones.

I shall explain it the best I know how to, she said slowly. She drew in a long, deep breath, closing her eyes. For a moment she was silent, then her voice came out low and soft, with a slightly comforting edge to it. Death, life and war run in a linear fashion, parallel to one another. Our paths cross only where our domains merge, such as when one dies during birth or fighting breeds death. Until those moments happen, each of our consciousness is a pinpoint anchored in time. It is pulled along by the current. We cannot control our speed, nor our direction. We cannot go back to where we have been, nor where we wish to be again. We are limited.

Yugi blinked. And Lupa and Fenrir?

She opened her eyes again. They are not. They are unlimited.

If they're so powerful, why can't they tell me what it is they want from me?

She peered at him, golden eyes burning into his for a long moment. They have. Whatever it is they might wish to say, it comes in fragments for now. You have seen the dreams. You have tasted the despair and responsibility. But…to be truthful, for you both, it is like trying to tell an ant how to cross a busy street.

Yugi blinked, then tilted his head and nodded slowly in puzzlement.

Ants are smart in the world of bugs, Atem. They are organized. They are social. But they can neither see all the way across the street nor up the wall they might climb. But, if they were able to, they still would not understand it. They would not know the truth of traffic lights or crosswalks. They would be incapable of predicting what the drivers might do. And the drivers cannot see them. And they would never come to stop for them even if they might somehow manage to do so. They are ants. And who would ever think to stop for ants?

Yugi nodded again, flattening his ears. The thought made his stomach churn and his mouth seemed to grow dry a brief moment later. It was clear to him now. It was clear just how disconcerting having power truly was. The statement made him far more aware of his own limits and his heart trembled in his chest.

Yami had always seemed so terribly aware of his own limitations. He had always seemed troubled when Yugi mentioned Atem. And now he understood those sideways glances he sometimes show him, the way his eyes were cunning and hurt all at once. He had felt strong, powerful even, before he'd crossed paths with Yugi.

But when their paths had diverged, he'd begun to teach him and it was self-imposed how small he felt. Yugi had certainly never tried to make him feel that way; he'd always known he'd caused it, but he'd always hoped to ignore it. If he didn't acknowledge it, it was easier to pretend it wasn't there, and that made it simpler for them to avoid the conversation that so often threatened to come between them.

Yami had begun to realize just how big the power was that they both owned, the one that he'd lived with his entire life that Yugi was still learning. He had understood it. And he had feared it. He'd known the truth of what their existences meant. And he'd known what Atem meant. He'd understood the magnitude of it, that they might both be crushed beneath the weight of it all.

What about when your paths merge? he asked, trying to force his own glumness away. Are you limited then? If you guys tried to know and your domains merged, would it still make your power limited?

Slifer shook her head slowly. When all three of us merge domains, no matter how short the period of time, we become unlimited. Then we can access the things to come and the things that have once passed. She stared at him, golden eyes darkening briefly. I once thought to change your birth. I almost thought to try to persuade them to let me. But to do so would be more foolish than anything else.

Yugi bristled furiously. Why mine? he spat. Change Yami's.

Yes, for surely he deserves it more, she sneered, but there was something cold and wistful in her voice and Yugi found his heart nearly shattering in his chest. Both of your births were a question of what I might change and how to do so. But it was foolish. The repercussions would have destroyed more than they could have ever saved. And if I had gone by my impulse to do so, you and Yami would have had about four different versions of yourself, timelines submerged and changed made that could never be undone.

He stared at her, bristling faintly. You…backed off four times?

Yes, I hesitated and changed my mind four times. And then I watched Obelisk wonder at the same. And more than once Morrigan had asked about it. She's wondered about what might be different if she made Valon stronger and more aggressive or give him the emotional range beyond his sociopath personality.

Yugi shook his head. Valon is the sociopath. And Yubel is the psycho, he mumbled. Am I right?

Yes. That is how they have turned out. Kris is the medium between, with a full spectrum of emotions which we hope will not lead to overload in the future. Valon would be forced to kill her to protect himself if that should happen.

Is that so? I would think Yami would get to her first.

Valon would kill him until he no longer could if Yami were ever to be so foolish as to simply threaten her. She was silent a moment longer, sighing softly and shaking her head. But it would not be permanent, as we all know. And he would still try regardless.

I can see that. He'd kill and mutilate Yami as many times as he could. He sighed softly once more. His lips drew back at the thought but he shrugged it away and shook his head again slowly. It doesn't matter. That wouldn't happen. But… Slifer, what would happen if we can't win?

If you are to lose? Against the humans or Yubel or all of them? What s it you truly meant to ask? Slifer paused, searching his face. No, do not clarify. I will explain to you what will happen should you die permanently or you should be incapable of killing Yubel, as she is the main force which you will face.

Yugi stared at her, tilting his head. She's my main concern, yes, so why don't you go ahead and explain it for me?

The she-wolf hummed as if she were remembering a nursery rhyme or a small song that she had long since forgotten. She shook herself out and closed her eyes. If you are to die and Yubel remain, should you remain, should you return, she will kill you each and every time you come back. Her rule will expand. She will create more and more wolves for the sake of her own amusement. She will kill until she can no longer swallow blood and the world will turn in on itself. Genocide will occur as humans and wolves turn on one another, and they will destroy themselves. If even these two species destroy each other, the problem comes that soon more and more species will fail to exist. The dire wolf is one such species. They came with the saber-tooth tiger and both were destroyed when they failed to adapt as necessary. Their species relied on one another, as they came from the void together, and that ultimately is what destroyed them both. Such will happen with the humans and wolves if you are to fail.

All of us would cease to exist?

Yes, humans, werewolves, natural wolves. She sighed and shook her head again. Then she studied him, flicking her ears and watching him closely. But this will not happen if you force yourself to succeed. There is hope. You can change this.

Why create us if one of us is imperfect and the other is so incredibly traumatized by everything he remembers?

Slifer smiled at him. We are fond of this world, as Lupa and Fenrir once were. It is not without its copious flaws, but there still remains a beauty in it worth saving. And we were sworn to the task of protecting the wolves as necessary. In that future it will be impossible. Humans are not as indestructible as they might seem. And Yubel is a monster that will only grow more destructive as she matures. They have broken her to a destructive, chaotic state that she cannot recover from on her own. She cannot be contained if it is not by Atem.

Right, so I kill her.

You follow your heart, she laughed, wagging her tail at him. Yugi blinked stupidly at her, tilting his head and flicking his ears in turn. He narrowed his eyes a fraction, watching her. You do not believe me?

I don't believe it's as simple as that.

You're not incorrect. It is far more complicated. But that is not of your concern. You will come to understand soon enough.

Yugi peered at her in bewilderment for a moment. I guess so. He blinked, ears flicking again. What is that noise?

Slifer blinked, then listened for a moment before smiling slightly. Yami is awake.

Oh! He blinked, eyes widening. Why? I thought he would sleep through the night.

Hmm… The she-wolf was quiet for a long moment. It sounds as if he is vomiting.

Huh? Yugi snarled, bristling and staring at her. Why?! He's supposed to be recovering! Why is he puking?

She was snickering even as Yugi felt himself waking up. He jerked upright in the bed seconds later, covering his face with his hands as dizziness swept through him. His temple throbbed for a long moment and he shook his head slowly as he licked his lips. But now he could hear it again, a harsh and terrible croaking noise. He groaned quietly between his teeth, then struggled to push the blankets aside. His legs popped and he stumbled, rubbing them before straightening.

"Yami?" he muttered, somewhere between hesitant he might scare him and concerned enough that his skin was crawling with the need to check on him. Why should he have been throwing up? It didn't make any sense to him. Yami should have been completely healthy aside from his loss of weight and being unable to change—

Something hit the wall. Yugi blinked, startled.

Had Yami thrown something?

Was he upset about something?

He frowned, grabbing the doorknob. "Can I come in?" he asked hesitantly. Something about the entire situation didn't make any sense. Yami should not have been vomiting and yet the retching noises couldn't have been coming from anyone else. He would have woken up if someone had come in. Yami would have likely snarled and then relaxed had it happened.

There was a low groan on the other side of the door. Yugi blinked, furrowing his brows, and then stiffened as he considered. Yami didn't groan as a—

"Aibou?"

There was a soft rustling noise, then the sound of the toilet flushing. The smallest sound of footsteps heralded the other wolf's presence. And then the doorknob twisted slowly beneath his fingers. It was smooth, much easier than what Yami was capable of before…

When the door pulled open Yugi stiffened, caught somewhere between delight and horror. Yami was covered in blood. His mouth was smeared with it and there were streaks of it in his hair. His hands were covered, shaking. Every ounce of his skin along his arms was drenched, rivulets of dark red and dried brown along the tips of his fingers. Streaks of red marred his bangs and blood knotted strands of his hair, tangling them into clumps. His hands were covered, shaking, and his eyes were dull and colorless for a moment. His nails had weird white lines through the top, as if he'd somehow bent them backwards. And his breathing was raspy for a long moment or so.

It took Yugi a minute to realize the other boy was even dressed, that he had at some point been coherent enough to do so. But the moment lasted only a second longer. Because, to Yugi's horror, the taller boy drew in a deep breath, stared at him with an alarmed expression, and vomited violently.