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.

84. Family

Chapter Warnings: Blood, Referenced Wounds, Referenced Seizures, Referenced Death, Mild Puzzleshipping

Next chapter is going to be a lot longer than this one, just a heads up. And it might take a while to get it ready for posting; I lost the file I needed and will have to redo a scene that's vital to the chapter. So unless I can somehow restore it I'm going to have to completely rewrite it and that means a LOT of work for this scene. So it might take longer to get that chapter out than it did this one. Sorry about that.

Enjoy the chapter~

Chapter LXXXIV: Family

Work Log Entry LLIV: April, 2009 (Part II)

April 24

Atem and the she-wolf crossed paths.

And the bloodbath was terrible.

Atem could not change. But he beat her half to death after punching a hole in the wall and grabbing a brick. She managed to bite him hard enough to break his hand and wrist and arm. But he was still beating her despite the fact.

April 25

Atem has the same severe infection as my lookalike does.

His arm is swollen to thrice its usual size. His blood is clotting prematurely. Pus oozes whenever we attempt to drain it. The ends of his hands have turned purple due to the loss of circulation.

April 29

Atem and my lookalike have all but proven that they cannot remain in the same place for long. They have been squabbling bitterly for a while now. Atem will not fight with him verbally, but he likes to throw things at him when he is angry.

He stared at the blood covering his pajama bottoms and shivered. The smell of it was heavy and cloying, suffocating for a moment or two. Half of the floor was soaked bright red, smeared where Yami had inevitably stepped into it. He could see where he'd been trying to support himself against the counter. His handprint was visible, dragged downward like huge claws cutting into flesh. The blood was splattered across half of the mirror, speckled bright red against the otherwise clean glass. The sink was drenched, though it was clear that Yami had tried to clean it at least slightly as his fingerprints were smeared across the right knob. The faucet was soaked as well, dripping downward in streaks, and the toilet was hideously striped.

Yugi looked at it for a moment, closed his eyes, and then turned to make his way over to the backpack he'd put in the corner of the room. His mouth grew dry and his stomach twisted painfully. There were footsteps coming through the hallways and he stiffened, bristling with unease.

He knew better than to think that it was Yubel. But a part of him was oddly hopeful it might be. He wanted to fight her again, to rip her to pieces and pay her back for the damage she'd done.

But he also knew how stupid he would be to do so. He wasn't strong enough. He didn't even know if Yami was strong enough at his healthiest. And, in his current state, he would get himself beaten within half an inch of his life if he didn't succumb and come back. She would likely kill them both before they could even breathe properly, in truth. The most either of them could hope for was the chance to flee.

"Yugi?" There was a small knock on the door and Yugi glanced into the bathroom. Yami was doubled over again, arms shaking from where he was gripping the toilet's sides. Yugi flinched at the sound of his vomit hitting the water and how ragged his breathing became afterwards. "You okay, dude?"

"Yeah, Yami is sick," he muttered, moving to get the door open. He blinked as his eyes locked with Jonouchi's. The blond stiffened, face turning pale with alarm. "He's puking. And—"

"Uh, you're covered in blood."

"Yeah. Thanks for the update." He frowned, glancing towards the bathroom again. He could not see Yami from this angle, however. His mouth grew dry once more. He turned back to Jonouchi, gesturing awkwardly at the legs of his pajamas; he truly was covered, the bottoms of his pants soaked and stained red. I'll need new pajamas. "He, uh…got me."

The blond blinked, appearing almost confused for a moment. Yami retched again, louder than before. The noise made them both flinch. Yugi looked immediately back towards the bathroom. Jonouchi, however, stared at him intently in what he assumed was an effort to avoid looking over at the bathroom. "Do you want some help cleaning it up? It looks like there's a lot."

Yugi had a small split second of panic. Because his first thought was to push him away and protect Yami. And usually he would have thought himself paranoid, but after the incident from the night before Yami could not stop himself suspecting it of him. He shrugged it away a moment later, reminding himself that if Jonouchi wanted to do something he would have done it by now. And he wouldn't have been staring at Yugi's appearance with such a horrified expression if he'd planned to do something to Yami.

He shrugged it away, flushing faintly as he glanced over his shoulder again towards the bathroom. He turned to make his way towards where Yami was still hunched over the toilet. Jonouchi wasn't wrong; the carpet squelched beneath his weight with every step.

"Any idea if Honda has some scrub brushes or anything? I need something to get this into the carpet," he mumbled, shaking the chemical bottle he had in his bag. He frowned and glanced at the blond as the taller teen abruptly turned and trotted back up the stairs. Yugi rolled his eyes, amused by his aversion to blood, and came to the bathroom again. "Aibou?"

Yami looked over. The entire upper half of his body was stained red. The front of his tank top was soaked, drenched and clinging to his chest. He was breathing hard. He'd vomited hard enough that he was rasping. He was shaking furiously, staring straight at Yugi with a somewhat confused and frustrated expression.

"When I get this clean, I'll get you some water, okay? It might help settle your stomach some if we do that."

Yami blinked, opening his mouth to respond. And then his neck flexed, the cords straining. He spun around again, hands braced on the edges of the toilet, and vomited again. The splashing noise made Yugi wince. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the inside of his wrist uncomfortably. He shook his head, swallowing hard.

"He said he doesn't," Jonouchi said from the doorway. Yugi looked at him in surprise as the blond came to his side and got on his knees there, just outside of the blood patch. "That's all blood?"

His brown eyes shot to Yami. Around his pupils the colors had turned a shade lighter, like honey in direct sunlight, as if his shock had made them brighter. Yugi peered at him for a moment, taking in the shaggy dirty blond hair that he'd always teased him was too dog-like to be human. Exhaustion tugged at his insides for a moment, but he still moved to position himself closer to the doorway. He sprayed the carpet, hesitating.

"What are you going to do without a brush? Do you want me to go get one?"

Yugi paused, startled by the question. "Jonouchi, the stores aren't open anymore, remember? The curfew was tightened again after what happened…" He hesitated for a few seconds, then looked up at him. He couldn't think straight; the heavy scent of Yami's blood in his nose was suffocating once more. "I'll…I'll just use my nails."

The blond stopped short. "You…w-what?"

"I said I'll just use my nails," he repeated, looking at him now. He narrowed his eyes and moved the bottle aside to put on the floor beside his hip. He glanced towards Yami but the red-eyed teen was not paying them any mind. He was gasping for air and struggling to keep his arms from shaking instead. "It's not like I'm going to catch something from doing this. Yami can't get ill and it's not like I'm going to put my hands in my mouth afterwards or something."

"Yugi, that's… Why would you…?"

"Because, Jonouchi, I'm not going to just leave his vomit to set into the carpet. And I won't leave it there if there's a chance that the police come to visit, okay? It's not happening." He fought away a shiver, turning back to the blond. "If I'm right and there's someone connected to the labs that's on the force, I'm not giving them the chance to find him."

The blond stared at him for a long moment. "Him? But not you?" he asked slowly, searching his face. Yugi blinked, freezing for a split second. He glanced over his shoulder again. Yami had moved. He'd drawn his legs up tightly, leaning forward into a fetal position so that his head was pressed against the front of the toilet. He was shaking, breathing harder, and his face was soaked with sweat.

"I…" Yugi couldn't help it when his voice cracked. "Can you move? Are you okay? You look really winded."

Yami did not look over. But his eyes did open. They were glazed, but focused on the porcelain immediately in front of him. He let out a deep breath, a long and slow sigh, and shivered again. He closed his eyes again, tilting his head slightly forward. "My ribs hurt," he managed to breathe out.

Jonouchi flinched in the corner of his eye. But Yami simply blinked his eyes open again. His fingers gripped the toilet so hard that his knuckles turned white against the dried blood across their surfaces. He tipped his arm forward, bending his elbows, and tried to push off the toilet.

At first he seemed okay.

"I thought wolves couldn't get sick."

Then he stumbled.

Yugi tried for his feet. But Jonouchi jumped up before he could.

Yami nearly fell, boneless, to the floor.

The blond got to him before Yugi could attempt to block him either. And, as terror swept through him, Yami was caught by his elbows and held upright. The red-eyed teen's head lolled back and forth almost as if his neck was broken. But he remained upright. And Jonouchi reached past him to turn on the faucet.

When Yami's eyes opened again, they were glazed over more than ever. But he caught his gaze regardless. His entire body was trembling. And he looked as if he might flop over at any second. His face was smeared and drenched and there were trails of sweat against the dried blood, washing it away if only slightly.

But he didn't look upset that Jonouchi was there. He didn't even seem upset that he was being touched.

He just looked annoyed, perhaps flustered, more than anything.

"Why the hell is he sick?"

It took a few seconds for Yami to be able to pull away enough from Jonouchi to put his hands under the water. And, when he finally shuffled away from him, he pressed himself almost entirely into the counter. Yugi could not tell if he was trying to press away from Jonouchi entirely or if he needed help to stay upright.

Jonouchi was clearly hesitant to leave him alone. And it was apparent that he was afraid he might collapse once more. Yugi wished he could get between them for a split second. But he was not willing to do so for the moment. He did not want to scare Yami for no other reason than his own suspicion towards one of his best friends.

"He's…" Yugi shifted his weight. He could get up faster in the new position he was in, one knee in the carpet and the other in the air. He could get up and move to Yami's side far sooner if he had to. But he hoped to the gods that Jonouchi would not do anything to harm the red-eyed boy. "He didn't heal right."

"Huh? Didn't heal right?" the blond said slowly. He turned to Yami now, staring in alarm. But the red-eyed teen was too distracted, gaze unfocused, and Jonouchi flinched visibly. Yugi watched them a moment longer. Then he glanced away to the water Yami had his hands buried beneath it. "What does that mean? How could he not have healed right?"

Yami was quiet for a long moment. His eyes were hooded, his pupils dilated from the shadows of his lashes. He was staring at the water for a few seconds. And then he ducked his head. Yugi blinked, startled, as the other boy used the faucet to wash his face and began gulping down mouthfuls of liquid.

And Yugi had the feeling rather abruptly that if he had not woken and gone to check on him, Yami would have simply locked himself in the bathroom instead. He would have likely kept hidden away from Jonouchi altogether. He could easily picture him locking the door behind him and ignoring them both if they tried to get it open.

"Aibou?" Yugi asked quietly. The red-eyed teen stopped gulping water. He blinked, then shifted awkwardly to pull away to glance over towards him. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He scrubbed at his face to remove some of the grime on his skin. And then he blinked several times, red eyes still somewhat unfocused. "Are you all right? Do you need to sit down? You're shaking."

Jonouchi seemed to finally understand the look Yugi was giving him. He backed away immediately from the red-eyed wolf. The blond looked at the toilet and grimaced. Then he turned back and searched his face.

"I'm all right." His voice was hoarse, gravelly enough that Yugi barely suppressed a flinch. Yami straightened as much as he could, wiping his hands awkwardly across the front of his dark tank top. Then he pushed himself away from the counter entirely. When he stepped forward, he stumbled. Jonouchi looked as if he might lunge forward to catch him. But the look Yami shot him, lips curled back to show his canines, made him turn away entirely. Yami was shaking even as he came forward to crouch beside Yugi, his black skinny jeans and bare feet covered in blood. "I think it was residual form Yubel. It smelled of rotting flesh. I think it was remnants in my bloodstream."

The words made Yugi freeze in place, heart racing in his chest. His lungs felt as if they had pulled tight enough to suffocate him. He shook his head, a fresh rush of panic crashing through him. His heart had leaped into his throat now.

"You didn't have seizures again," he whispered, finding his hands shaking. He looked over at him, searching his face in a panic. His heart made his throat pulse hideously. He tasted blood in his mouth. His nose felt as if it were burning. His eyes stung fiercely as he swallowed hard. "And you seemed to be healing. You seemed to be…"

He remembered looking at Yami's lifeless body, the way he'd gone so still and statuesque. He remembered holding his broken body in his arms more than once. And he remembered the way that Yami had been torn open so many times before.

"The second attack," he mumbled softly, blinking and shivering. "At the house… I-I thought you meant about what had happened in the woods…"

"No, I recovered from that," he said softly. He shook his head, blinking, and hooked his fingers. He dug them into the carpet, scrubbing furiously until the fibers foamed a hideous bright red that turned yellow as it oxidized. "I think between the drugs, the attack at the house, and my lung getting punctured, it caused it to dislodge. Maybe I'll heal faster now."

"Do you really think it was that?" Yugi turned to Jonouchi now as the blond came around to take the side of him opposite Yami. But he did not move to help scrub the carpet. He simply stood there, watching them both with a flustered expression. "Or do you think maybe it was something else? Couldn't it have just been that maybe the phenobarbital or something killed a few cells and they weren't…vomited up before?"

"I used to metabolize phenobarbital too fast for it to take effect," Yami said without a second look. The yellow foam turned bright blue and paled to white a few seconds later. Yami moved aside from it and began to scrub before pausing and reaching for the bottle again. Yugi realized he had to have smelled the lack of chemicals in the carpet fibers as he sprayed for him instead. "They used it a lot for testing in the labs. I'm used to it. I might have been hurt when you injected me and it might have restarted my organs, but it would not have harmed me beyond that."

"So then you think it has to be Yubel?"

"Yes. There is no other explanation for it. There is no proof of anything else that would make sense. Hellhound saliva would explain it." He scrubbed furiously once more. Yugi shivered. Jonouchi had crouched down, but he made no move to help. His face had grown pale with disgust. And Yugi found himself reluctant to help for a split second as well. His mind was reeling; had Yami truly expelled the dead cells that had come from the poison she'd infected him with? Or was he rotting somehow from the inside out?

"If you're not going to spray it, then hand it over."

Yugi flushed, horrified as Yami turned abruptly to him. His red eyes had grown harder, glittering like bloodied glass. Yugi ignored him to look down, spraying the carpet once more. He dug his nails into the carpet as well, scrubbing at a steadier pace than Yami himself was.

"Okay, so, do you think you'll heal better now?" Jonouchi pressed.

"I think that I will heal properly, if that is what you mean," Yami answered quietly. He narrowed his eyes, glancing at him sideways, and tipped his head towards him. Jonouchi was still watching them rather blankly. Yugi felt his heart skip a beat. Yami had stopped scrubbing, breathing in hard to catch his breath. It took a minute before he could speak again. "It should go faster as well."

Jonouchi shivered, glancing between them both uncomfortably. Then he sighed softly, looking away just as quickly, and mumbled, "I—I don't think I can do this."

"Do what?" Yugi asked, alarm slipping through him as he looked between them anxiously. The blond looked slightly nauseated, staring at the carpet with a horrified expression. Yugi found himself relaxing, almost laughing with realization. "You mean cleaning? You don't need to. Yami and I will do it."

"But I offered to…" He groaned low in his throat. "Yeah, I don't think I can help with this. Uh… Should I go get paper towels or something? I can clean up the foam, I just can't…"

Yugi let out a soft humming noise. "Sure, go ahead, have fun." He rolled his eyes as the blond turned and ran off. He turned to Yami with a small grin. "You would think after being in a gang and all that he wouldn't be so squeamish anymore."

Yami was quiet for a moment. "Maybe it is because it is mine."

He lost his amusement and turned quickly back to the carpet. He didn't think Jonouchi truly had anything against Yami anymore. It was not as if he had any knowledge of what had happened with Shizuka. He had no idea what Yami had done. He would have tried to kill Yami if he'd known. But he couldn't think of any other reason that Jonouchi could have been upset with him in any manner. So far he even seemed to care. He'd caught him when he'd almost fallen over mere minutes ago.

He'd helped him clean up when he'd turned on the faucet. He'd stood there behind him, ready to catch him should he fall again. And he knew Jonouchi still felt terrible for hurting him as badly as he had; he still felt the guilt of breaking his ribs as he had. He was trying his hardest to make amends…

Yami kept scrubbing for a few long minutes. Then he slowly moved to stand. Yugi watched him, shivering, and scrambled to his feet. Yami stumbled, unsteady, and the smaller teen sprang forward. He moved so quickly that his momentum carried him harder than he'd meant to. Yami spun on him, eyes wide and startled, but Yugi caught him regardless. They spun a split second from the impact and Yugi relaxed when he realized they were both able to stand around his awkward laughter.

"I'm fine," Yami mumbled. He was staring at him, blank and cautious. Yugi quickly pulled away, nearly choking when he heard the carpet squelch once more. He drew in a deep breath, sharp as he struggled not to squeak with disgust. "Still a little tired, I guess."

The small teen nodded, offering him an extremely awkward smile. "Sorry. I…didn't mean to grab you like that. I was just trying to…you know, make sure you didn't fall," he managed to breathe out. He struggled for words for a long handful of seconds. His hands were still on his arms, he realized, flustered as he tightened his grip for a split second. He wondered if Yami had even noticed. "You think you'll be okay?"

The red-eyed teen rolled his eyes, giving him something of a small grin. It was a mixture of amusement and frustration now. But Yugi did not know what frustrated the other boy more, his fumble or the fact that he'd tried to keep him from falling.

Or maybe it was simply that it was Yugi who was touching him at the moment.

Maybe it was the fact that Yami did not want him so close after the mention of phenobarbital.

Yugi released him, stepping back several times. Yami turned away without a second glance at his face. He simply looked down at the carpet.

"I need rest," he announced coldly. When he blinked, he lost his stiffened stance and grew more relaxed, his voice softening and losing its edge. "But we need to get the blood from the carpet first."

Yugi searched his face for a moment. Yami was right; he would be better off when he got rest. The more rest, the more energy he'd be able to recover. When he woke he'd be healthier, stronger. He'd push the weakness out through his breathing, perspiration, and eventually urination. Even the water he had drank around washing his face had done enough to so slightly dilute the illness beneath the surface of his skin. And, when Yami was able to stomach it all, he would be able to eat and the energy would help him to regenerate the cells he might have lost.

"Yugi?"

Yugi blinked, head snapping up and eyes focusing on his face again. He wasn't sure when he had started staring at Yami's collarbone. "What?" he asked quietly. But even to him Yugi realized his voice sounded distant and faraway. And he thought briefly of tunnels too long to shout through and holes too deep to dig out of. He thought of graves for a moment, of his grandmother in the bathroom after her stroke and then of the wolves Slifer had listed off to him. He didn't know what it was he would have done if it had been Yami's name listed there. The thought made his mouth dry again for a moment.

She couldn't see them, he reminded himself with a horrified sensation in his gut.

Something had changed. She'd originally said she could see every wolf in existence. And then she'd come to claim that there was nothing of them she was capable of seeing. She could not see Yami and she could not see him. She could not see either of them in any manner. But Yugi had no idea what that meant. He didn't know what had changed. What might have made them invisible to her?

What might have changed her capabilities?

But Obelisk and Ra were blind to them as well; it was not only the goddess of death herself. It was the god of war and the goddess of life blind to them as well.

And Yugi had no idea what he was supposed to think of it all.

What could have changed so drastically?

What could have caused such a thing to happen?

He looked at Yami and wondered at evolution. He thought of how the boy before him had changed, how fear no longer made him merely tremble. It made him snarl softly. It made him spit and glare. Where he had once simply shaken and whimpered, now he prepared himself to attack and barely held himself back when he rose to the challenge. Now he was a wolf that killed before it fled. Now he was a wolf that struck before it retreated.

Yugi wished the floor might open beneath his feet and swallow him whole. He wished it would destroy him entirely. He wished more than ever that he might be hidden away inside of it and never forced to resurface.

The red-eyed wolf studied him for a long moment or two. And it was apparent he knew something was wrong. There was something powerful, almost cunning, in his eyes, and he turned away slowly once more. "I wanted to know if you wanted anything," he said quietly, narrowing his eyes. "I was going to grab some water."

Yugi was struck with the image of the skin around his grandmother's mouth after the stroke, how she'd turned so pale and lay there against the wooden tiles. He shivered and his stomach rolled for a moment. The carpet was disgustingly dark with blood. "Water sounds nice," he lied, looking the mess over once more. His socks were completely soaked. And his knee was covered in bright red. He studied the fibers. "I can…I can go grab it if you want."

"I'll do it."

He didn't want to argue. He couldn't think straight long enough to anyways. So he nodded and turned away. "I'll finish cleaning the carpet then," he mumbled softly.

Yami stared at him for what seemed a lifetime; Yugi felt his intense eyes on his face like lasers. He let out a deep breath through his nose, then turned away from him on his heel and trotted out of the room.

---

"Here."

Yami looked up from the plate of food Yugi had grabbed for him minutes before to see the plastic container he held out for him. The wolf pushed the plate aside, loaded down with some of the fattier restaurant foods Yugi could find. He'd gotten a few bites in, but his stomach still ached enough that he could not properly eat. His eyes narrowed faintly as he looked over the symbols across the front. He frowned at the picture of the device on the front, but the teal color made him blink before slowly looking up.

Yugi was watching him. He looked slightly nervous. But he also seemed mildly flustered as he considered him. Yami stared at him for a long moment. Curiosity and the smallest bit of pain cut through him. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to the item Yugi was holding in front of him. Yami lowered his eyes again slowly, pressing his tongue into his palate forcefully.

"A…cell phone?" His tongue clicked as he mumbled the words. And his fingers twitched, tingling with disbelief. The color of the device almost matched his jacket perfectly. His stomach lurched. Something in his heart seemed to shatter and another warmed brilliantly as if with affection. He fought away a shiver and looked back to Yugi. "You bought me a cell phone?"

Yugi was hesitant for a moment. But Yami could see him nodding in his peripheral. "I know you probably won't use it very often, but it…helps. If anything happens and we get separated or something happens, you can always call me. Or if someone won't leave you alone you can always pull it out and play on it to make it look like you're busy." Yami wondered who exactly would be stupid enough to bug him, or when he might be human with others around him. "I mean, I was honestly mostly thinking that using the GPS features on it might help if something goes wrong. We'll just have to keep it charged nightly and it should be fine past that."

Yami opened and closed his mouth, then lowered his eyes again. It was a considerate gift. It was nothing malicious. And he knew that Yugi had deliberately chosen the color for him. He'd spent time looking for that green color, the shade of which he'd known the jacket was. He'd thought of him, of those various points for his argument to let Yami know he wanted to help him. He'd…

"I see."

Yugi shifted his weight awkwardly in front of him. Yami shifted his focus just slightly. His vision sharpened, his peripheral keen enough to take in every detail of his clothing and body, from wrinkle to various twitch and soft shadows.

Yugi was staring at the ground now, shuffling his shoe. And his fingers had knit together for a moment. But he clasped them together tightly a few seconds later.

"Besides, I think it's…easier to do it that way. I can keep track of you, Honda and Jonouchi all at once if something ever happens."

Yami considered him, peering through his lashes. Yugi wouldn't look up. "Is this…how you managed to find Jonouchi that night?" he asked slowly, so quiet that he was amazed Yugi even heard him. "When Marik attacked him?"

Yugi stiffened in surprise. His lips drew into a frown and he huffed out a flustered breath. "Yes," he admitted quietly. He clenched his hands tightly enough that his knuckles turned white. Then he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. "That's exactly how I found him."

Yami nodded again, red eyes flickering over his face. Then he closed his eyes and tightened his grip briefly on the phone.

"I was just lucky he still had his phone on him when it happened." Yugi sounded as if he were struggling to think of a way to explain himself. "And Marik must not have had much experience with them because he'd broken it with his teeth instead of taking the battery out to turn it off and make it useless. It was already half frozen, though, and I'm just glad the app we all use can work without the other phone being on. Otherwise I probably would never have found him on my own."

Yami opened his eyes into slits. His nail clicked against the box for a moment.

"I was going to do this a long time ago," Yugi admitted quietly, uncertain as he swallowed hard. He nibbled his lip and chewed the inside of his cheek before sighing softly. Yami watched him from beneath his lashes the entire time. Yugi looked almost nervous enough that he might tremble or flinch away. "Or…at least, I wanted to anyways. I had planned to…to discuss it with you a while back. But everything got out of hand and you weren't exactly open to much and I didn't want to stress you out so I…held off, I guess. Uh, anyways, though, I figured now would be as good a time as any…r-right?"

Yami blinked at him. "I suppose so," he answered. He thought he sounded dismissive as well. He pressed his nails hard into the plastic, then lowered his eyes and looked it over once more. "Thank you."

Yugi hesitated a moment. Then he looked away entirely again. "I'll show you how to use it after breakfast, okay? We'll have to look into hotels and things like that sooner rather than later, you know? So…"

The red-eyed boy nodded slightly. "Yes, I guess we will," he mumbled, though he drew in a deep breath and turned back to the phone. "Go ahead and eat. I'll get this open and… I suppose it will have to charge…"

Yugi nodded. "Right." He blinked and bit his cheek again. "Honda and his parents are going to the supermarket later. And Jonouchi is heading for school. So, it's going to be just you and me for at least an hour or two. Do…you want to eat with me…or…?"

Yami stared at the green phone for a long handful of seconds. His lungs felt tight and his chest ached. He drew in a deep breath, then put it aside on the bed. Yugi sounded so desperate. He sounded as if he were afraid Yami might up and vanish somehow. The thought rattled him; he didn't like Yugi so fearful or despaired. But it was gone again seconds later when he turned to him slowly.

"Sure, why not?" he mumbled. The words tasted almost like lead on his tongue. His skin crawled for a brief moment. He could not tell if it was residual from the thought of being tracked—even via a phone Yugi had given him—or the fact that the words felt so heavy on his tongue. Either way he had to force himself to get up and dust his pants off before moving to follow him out the door.

Breakfast was an unusually quiet affair. Yami could find nothing to say and Yugi did not bother to try for conversation. Yami had begun picking at his dish, having retrieved it earlier. They both sensed the immense rift that had formed between them, something of a chasm that threatened to drown him if he tried too hard to approach the edge of it. Yami had settled for eating, however, which was more than Yugi had hoped for. Yugi picked at his own food as well and, after a half hour, they'd gone back into the room again.

Yugi began packing their things, though there was little he'd brought to begin with. Then he started moving around the room as if inspecting it for something Yami could not quite figure out. The small teen was inspecting the floor where Yami had vomited, cleaning the metal separating the wood from the carpet again. And then he'd gotten up and wandered back over to the bed to grab his laptop from where it was charging atop the nightstand.

When he opened it again, Yami was plugging the phone charger into the wall. His eyes were locked on Yugi, almost mesmerized by the chaotic way the small teen seemed to behave. His stomach lurched when he heard him typing on the keyboard.

A few long minutes passed in silence.

And then Yugi paused in his typing. "When Honda's parents leave for work tomorrow, I want to be able to visit some of the hotels and see about rooms. After that we'll need to clean the room."

Yami blinked, confused by the sudden declaration. "Clean the room?"

It was the simplest thing to focus on. He didn't know what else he was meant to truly say. And the idea of it all made his stomach lurch.

"Vacuum and disinfect, things like that. I want to make sure we don't leave any DNA evidence that you were here."

Yami was frozen for a long few minutes, then frowned and tilted his head. "They couldn't match it to anything. They wouldn't even be able to match it to a dog that's still alive…" He blinked. Yugi had tipped his head up slightly. And his blue-violet eyes were burning as they looked up at him from over the laptop. They narrowed the smallest degree. Yami frowned and fell quiet, then looked quickly away. "I forgot. I'm sorry. I forgot you guys think one of the police officers is involved in the experiments."

Yugi sighed softly. "I'm being a dick, aren't I?" he muttered. He pulled the laptop screen down halfway and frowned at him. His fingers were almost clenched with tension. "I didn't mean to make you feel stupid, Yami. I'm just… I'm anxious. Between the fact that Yubel exists, you're still not one hundred percent, Honda needing training, the fact that we need to meet up with the pack and do proper introductions, and everything else, I'm just really not…"

Yugi gestured helplessly, clearly at a loss for words. Yami blinked, smiling faintly at the sight, and turned away again with a small nod.

"It's a lot to handle."

"Yeah. And I'm clearly not doing a very good job of it," Yugi sighed. He looked exhausted as he turned to the laptop once more. "Here I am, glaring at you because I'm frustrated with myself."

Yami stayed silent for a moment. Then he got up. "I can handle the pack."

The words seemed to suffocate them both. His chest grew tight and his mouth became dry. His tongue felt as if it were glued to the roof of his mouth. His stomach ached. And he realized his heart was in his throat.

He didn't know how Yugi would react. He didn't know how he was supposed to respond to anything he might say.

Yugi stiffened visibly, eyes slowly falling back to him from where they'd lowered to his laptop screen once more. He narrowed his gaze and Yami stared back at him, calm despite the anger he could see forming in those blue-violet eyes.

"It wouldn't be hard for me to do it. You know that as well as I. I'm more wolf than you." He hadn't meant to sound as irritable as he did. "I know how to deal with them. I can get them prepared for the upcoming fights. I can have them working as a full unit sooner rather than later."

"But in the meantime I'd have to worry about them fighting with you constantly," Yugi said slowly, coldly, voice clipped. "I'd have to deal with them suspecting that you're really a hellhound instead. And then what, Yami?"

"Then?" Yami returned, voice slowly morphing with irritation. "I handle it."

"Are you going to? I don't know if you actually will. You wait too long to assert yourself sometimes. It scares me. You don't always react as soon as you should."

"I react when I feel it is necessary."

"And that's usually after I would react."

"We're two different people, Yugi," he said quietly, forcing his aggression aside. "It takes more to upset me than it does you. You cannot assume that I'll react the same way that you do to something. And, despite what you might think, Aki is afraid of me. She's afraid of what I did that day. I disabled her mom right in front of her. I fought two other wolves off immediately after. And when I ran they couldn't catch up. She's still afraid of me for that. That's why she attacked Yusei instead of me that day."

Yugi blinked. "What did you do to her? Annie, I mean. What was it that you did to her? I mean…the way you talk about it sometimes…"

Yami stared at him for a moment, then smiled wryly and looked away. He sighed softly through his nose and ran a hand through his hair. "I was ignoring them when they were discussing what to do with me. Marik was the most outspoken about it. He hated me more than anything. So, it wasn't hard to figure out why he was so aggressive towards me about it. Regardless, he was not happy to have me there. And Aki was…rather infatuated, I believe would be the proper term for it. She seemed rather happy with me there, perhaps attracted. But she wouldn't approach me."

Yugi blinked. "What would you have done if she had?"

"I would have ignored her like I did the rest of them." Yami was quiet for a moment, then smirked at him and shook his head. He tilted his head and looked away again, smirk growing tenfold. "Annie demanded that I speak to them, that I prove that I was Atem. And I stood up. She thought I was going to talk but when I refused she grew too upset to stop herself. When she lunged, I got her by the throat, clipped her so hard I almost tore it out, and then fled with the others chasing me. I seriously almost destroyed her. I harmed her pretty badly."

The smaller teen frowned at him, curious for a moment. "And since then Aki has been afraid of you?"

"I think she is more afraid of the fact that I attacked her mother with such little warning. And I think she is afraid that I managed to infatuate her as I did before." He frowned and looked away, huffing and closing his eyes. "I do not know. I do not know what she fears of me the most. But I do know that she is afraid of me. She is more afraid of me than anything else. I am sure of that much at the very least."

"Then why would she turn on you so often? That doesn't make sense."

"It does. How often does one face what they fear without anger?" Yami considered him with a tilt of his head. He watched him for a moment. And part of him thought briefly of the phenobarbital. Yugi had drugged him when he was afraid he would die. He'd done it in order to save him when he'd been unresponsive. Yami reminded himself of that for a few seconds, repeating it like a mantra. "You lash out just as violently as she or I."

Yugi blinked, frowning in puzzlement at the thought as he considered him. "Anger is a fear response," he mumbled in turn. He nodded slightly, watching him. He mumbled the words, considering him curiously for a handful of seconds. Then he glanced away and exhaled softly. For a long handful of seconds they were quiet and then Yugi turned back to him. "So, she's afraid of you. Is that why she's so adamant that you're the traitor? Or that you're a hellhound?"

Yami nodded slightly. "Yes, that would explain it." He gave him a small, dry half-smirk as he turned away again. His eyes fell on the phone again, stomach churning with tension for a brief moment. Yugi had truly gone out of his way to get him this color phone. He swallowed hard, licking his lips and shivering. "She felt as if I had somehow managed to more or less…enthrall her in one way or another. She's been bitter and angry with me since."

Yugi considered him a moment. Surprise made his gut clench and lurch with tension. Aki had had feelings for him at some point? Or had it been that she'd simply been in love with whoever she thought to be Atem? Was that what had happened?

He could picture that far before he could imagine that she loved Yami for a reason of any kind. And Yami hardly seemed her type. Yet…

What exactly did he know about her to begin with?

And what did he know of their history from before?

"I don't want you going to the camp." He said it slowly, hesitantly, and pressed his tongue into the roof of his mouth. He lowered his eyes, swallowing hard, and shook his head. "I want you to…stay. With…with me."

Yami was silent for a long handful of seconds. His lips drew down as if into a grimace, his expression one of something like frustration or unease. He sighed softly and looked away, eyes on the carpet. "Okay," he said quietly, relenting.

It took Yugi a moment to realize that Yami was doing it to keep him from getting upset. He went to reassure him, but the words died on his tongue. It wasn't true that he wouldn't have gotten upset if he went back to the camp. He would have. And Yami wasn't a fool; he knew just as well as Yugi did.

He swallowed hard, shaking his head. Yami was staring at the phone now.

"I can do that. But we have to find a place to stay, yes?" the red-eyed teen mumbled softly. "So, where would the best place be?"

Yugi could have trembled with relief. "Right," he agreed, smiling. He flipped the laptop open all the way again. He gestured to him, coaxing him over. "I'll show you how to work your phone around looking for places, okay?"

Yami grunted but joined him.

It was an hour later that Yugi was laying back against the headrest of the bed with the laptop on his knees. Yami was watching the GPS app Yugi had installed, bewildered. It truly said they were in the exact same location, that they were side by side. And that made him squirm.

What if someone managed to get hold of it?

"Okay, so what about this place? It's a nice little rental spot. I mean, it's a house, but it's in the woods. It's closer to the nature preserve, but it's near the house too. We could go there and it wouldn't be too hard to—"

"No," Yami spat. He barely glanced at the picture. But what he saw of it burned his pupils, scorching his corneas. He reached up to rub at his forehead, massaging it with the heel of his hand. He was breathing hard when he shook his head again. "No. we will not go there."

Yugi was staring at him with a startled expression. "Why not?" he asked, gaping at him. "I mean, it's… It's right there and there's no way to track it since it's not used often and it's meant to be used during winter. It's a tourist—"

"Right. A tourist attraction." Yami rubbed at his eyes fiercely, pressing so hard into them with his heels that he swore he might pop them out of their sockets and into the back of his skull. "Where the lab's workers are aware of who checks in and out because they run the damn thing."

"What?" Yugi was staring at him blankly when Yami finally opened his eyes again. The smaller teen had lowered his eyes to the laptop again and Yami could see the reflection of the screen against his pupils. "You think that's what's going on then?"

"Think?" Yami scoffed. His skin felt as if it were burning. His insides twisted painfully. "I know that's where they kidnap some of their victims. When I first escaped I wandered nearby for a few days. Gozaburo kidnapped a couple of tourists in front of me."

"That's…"

"Their number one trap," he hissed. He rubbed his eyes again. When he opened them again, he saw the app before he could focus on anything else. It said they were side by side, with the address of the house they were inside. He was dizzy with growing disbelief and anxiety which whipped through him hard enough to leave him winded. He took a few small breaths through his nose and lowered his eyes to the carpet again. "It was easy for them to pretend to rent it out and capture anyone who was foolish enough to attempt to list themselves beneath it. And what could the police truly do? There's one among them, if not more. There has to be. There's no way there isn't. There have been far too many coincidences. And the fact that they began kidnapping so long before you were even born says that they were banking on the odds of the occurrences being tied. It basically ensured later that it might be considered coincidence. After all, tourists were disappearing all over Hokkaido, not just in this little area. Domino is not the only spot it happened. But it was the most frequent. And obviously curfews never did anything for them. They can't protect them, they can't protect themselves, and the results of the experiments; you know as well as I."

"You're shaking again."

"I don't want to think about these things any longer. Please, choose another place to look into." He squeezed his eyes shut until he could feel the muscles straining painfully. He curled his lips for a moment, then exhaled and opened them again. The phone had gone dark and the smaller teen had begun clicking away on the laptop once more.

"What about this?" Yugi asked ten minutes later, looking somewhat unsure of himself. Yami could see the gears churning behind his eyes and he knew the small teen was trying to prepare himself for another listing to be rejected. He was trying to prepare himself for Yami's next outburst should it come to that point.

Yami scanned it a moment, then looked away again with a small shake of his head. He didn't bother with the phone and instead looked towards the wall. He wished there was a window to look through. But the guest room was too small and sandwiched between the kitchen and the laundry room on the other side from what he understood. The guest room Yugi's father had stayed in had a small window, but Yami had avoided the room as much as he could. He'd seen it only once, when he saw a stray splattering of sunlight, and had never gone into the room because of it.

It was another hour later that Yugi turned the laptop towards him. Yami glanced over the majority of the quick facts it had for the hotel. And then he lowered his eyes briefly towards the screen where the phone app blinked up at him again.

"Yes, that one should do."

"Great." Yugi looked relieved. "We'll go check it out in a couple of hours then."

"We?" he asked, almost listless in tone.

"Well, yeah, you're coming with me. Honda and his parents will be back by then. He just texted to say they're probably going to be back sooner rather than later. That means we need to clean and gets things better situated before we go."

"I suppose."

---

The hotel they settled on was closer to the woods, further from the house. Yugi seemed satisfied with it, but Yami was relatively sure it was because he was running from the idea of what Yubel had done. He had no qualms with that, of course, but it threw him that Yugi might be so tactless in doing so. It had seemed as if he'd have some kind of way to make it less obvious, and yet somehow the other boy hardly seemed to care at the moment.

He had taken a seat on one of the beds—he'd gotten two, he said, so that Yami would have room between them should he so desire—and now he seemed far happier with himself. It didn't take a genius for Yami to realize it was because he was glad to see that Yami was with him and perfectly safe as well. He knew it would have been otherwise had he not come with him to do this.

"Okay, so, you have your card key. I have mine. You have your phone. I have mine." He was ticking off the details with his fingers. His blue-violet eye shot to Yami curiously for a single second. "We cleaned the room and the kitchen top to bottom where you interacted with anything. Oh shit…I forgot to make sure the hotel was pet friendly before I booked it."

Yami nodded. "It is. I was looking before I told you to go with it."

It was the first time he'd spoken since they had gotten there. Yugi had been all but bouncing off the walls when he'd agreed to the hotel and then he'd been frantic. They'd cleaned the carpet a second time to make sure there was no blood to be found. They vacuumed every inch of the room, even the sheets and comforter. They took apart the cot to roll duct tape over it. They'd cleaned the kitchen and the entrance of the house. When Yami had gotten outside again, Yugi had rigorously wiped his prints from all of the doorknobs, then cleaned the bathroom completely twice over.

But he'd faltered when Yami had asked if he thought the cleaners would keep anyone from finding evidence via black lights. He'd fallen silent, considering, and then shrugged it away and told him they'd have to take that chance. He'd merely been curious, not alarmed by it in the slightest. What couldn't have been fixed then perhaps could be later.

But then…

Stains were a part of every day life, were they not? Yami could only imagine what the clinic looked like when it was put beneath an LED. He considered that only a moment, then shrugged it aside and looked away again.

"Great," Yugi mumbled. He looked distracted now. The shadows in his eyes had darkened and he appeared to be thinking hard about something or other Yami was not sure he wanted to consider. "Okay, so, that's covered then. This isn't a bad room, either. And it's not too far from the camp."

Yami looked over at him for a long handful of seconds. But the small teen simply nodded, smiling slightly, looking him over. He licked his lips and straightened, the shadows gone now from his eyes.

"Do you want to go out for a little while? We don't have to change or anything. We could get some hot chocolate or something, maybe some coffee or something like that, you know? I mean, we haven't done that in a pretty long time, so…"

Yami blinked, startled by the suggestion. His red eyes widened drastically for a moment before he nodded slowly, turning away. "I had almost forgotten that leaving does not always require meeting with the pack or hunting or trying to find more information about other wolves."

Yugi blinked. It had been a long time since the two of them had done something like that, hadn't it? He frowned slightly. "Well, I think it'd be nice to have a break from everything, if just for a couple of hours," he explained softly. He searched his face, relieved when he saw how comfortable Yami truly looked at the moment. "I mean, we're going to start running on empty if we're not careful. And I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted and I don't want to feel like that as much as I do."

Yami nodded slightly. "I feel similarly, yes." He paused. "A break sounds good. We should definitely do that. I'd like to do that. It will help calm our nerves, I think."

Yugi smiled at him. "I think so, too."

It was a couple of hours later that they left for hot chocolate. Yugi had set up the app on Yami's phone in order to read his location, his own location, and then Jonouchi and Honda's as well. The phone numbers were all put into the contacts. He'd shown him how to use each app. And then he'd told him how to make phone calls. But he'd sat with him for twenty minutes with rapid fire questions related to his phone number, Yami's, Honda's and Jonouchi's as well. All four of them Yami had burned into his memory. Yugi had made sure of that. He'd grilled him until Yami felt he could recite them in his sleep.

And then Yugi had done something he had not expected. His phone now said "In case of emergency, call Yugi Motou" and his number after this strip of information. Yami had stared at it for over ten minutes, locking his phone just to see the little banner. His heart was in his throat each time he looked down at it, pressing the power button every time it went into sleep mode. He swallowed hard, shivering once, as he followed Yugi out onto the street again.

Yugi truly cared about him so much? He'd made him his emergency contact. He'd made him literally the first number to appear on the phone whether it was unlocked or not. Yami almost sobbed, the realization enough to almost destroy him.

He put the phone away shakily into his pocket and licked his lips as Yugi handed him his cup of cocoa. They walked out after a few more seconds, Yugi studying the menu for only a moment longer. And then he glanced at him, grinning. And Yami had the smallest sense of bewilderment, shocked and stupefied, come over him as Yugi did something he had never done before.

His hand brushed against Yami's.

He swallowed hard, eyes wide for a moment. But it was hard not to understand what it was he was meant to do. For a split second he hesitated. And then he opened his hand for him.

Yugi looked at him in surprise, amazed for a split second. Then he grinned so wide Yami almost thought his face might split. Yami almost went to hide his hand but Yugi's slipped into his own immediately, fingers twining with his. His palm was warm and soft and Yugi squeezed his hand tightly.

"I was thinking the park is probably the best place to talk, you know?" Yugi said, grinning at him. "If something happens, we're able to see them before they might see us. We can also see who might be close enough to hear us or anything. But I doubt that too many people are out and about right now as it is. It's too cold. I was honestly kind of amazed the café was even open."

"Wouldn't now be the best time for their business?"

"Well, not quite. The problem becomes that if it's too cold, there's no way anyone is going to want to go anywhere. And that would make it almost impossible for them to get any business." Yugi swallowed hard and looked to him, squeezing his hand once with a small glance around. "So, it's kind of a catch-22 for right now, I guess. Either way, I'm glad they're open today. I mean, Valon's mom has a café too but I don't know what they serve or if they'd be okay either. His foster parents are human, after all, so I have no idea whether they would have stayed open or not."

Yami nodded slightly and looked down at the sidewalk once more. "Have you spoken to him since what happened?"

Yugi stiffened briefly. Then he squeezed his hand again, as if to reassure himself. "Who? Valon? No. I haven't spoken to him since then," he answered quietly. "But that's okay. It's not like we were best friends or anything. He knows where to find me if he needs me. Besides, we only started talking in the first place because I got infected. If it wasn't for that, we probably never would have spoken to begin with, you know? So, I mean, I guess it's just too big a loss."

"But it is. He's a potential ally. He's been helping you since before I was around."

"He told me I was a wolf and then he told me I shouldn't exist. That was basically the extent of it at first." He bit his lip and glanced at him sideways. "He did start helping me out a little bit more recently, but besides that…"

"Well, either way, we need to find a way to make good with him again. We risk a lot if we ignore the opportunity to utilize him."

"Utilize him? Yami, he's not interested in this war in the slightest. He just wants to survive and make sure that Kris is okay, too."

"And? Is that more than you or I wish for? I just want to live to see tomorrow most days. And half the time it is not by my own desire. If I were not friends with you, I would have long since abandoned anything to do with this war. Atem would be on his own, and I would be halfway across his island hiding from the humans and the pack and everything else this miserable existence has in store for me." Yami huffed out a breath, scowling at him after a moment. Yugi squeezed his hand, unsure who he was trying to reassure at the moment. "Do you truly believe that I wish for anything but to live to see the next day? If you do, you are wrong. Regardless, Valon is wise to choose a neutral state to exist in. I would have done the same if I was able."

Yugi nodded. "I know that you didn't actually want anything to do with Atem."

"I don't regret helping you." Yami locked eyes with him now. "I don't regret saving you, Yugi. And if I had to do it, I would do it again. But, as I said before, I would never have come to help you had I known you as Atem beforehand."

Yugi took a sip of his cocoa and smiled at him. "I know. And I'm happy that you wouldn't, Yami. I don't want you to get hurt. I wouldn't want you to get involved if you weren't already. I think…as Atem…I have the right to say something like that…right?"

Yami blinked. "Perhaps."

He tipped his cup to his lips, peering ahead of them. The park was flat snow, untouched and virgin before them. The thought made his skin crawl for a brief moment. So no one had come around the area for a while.

He could not tell if it was a good thing or a bad one. It made it harder to know if there were possibly hunters around. Although, considering that they now had wolves like Yubel and Sartorius, he doubted the humans were going to put nearly as much effort into attacking them themselves now. They no longer had to hire anyone to try to hunt them down. They had the wolves they'd bred to do so for them instead.

He could not imagine that the wolves would wish to work with the humans in order to capture one of them. It would have been stupid of them to do so. The humans were not as methodical and didn't work as well together as a band of canines did. Yami could not imagine that they would wish to deal with them.

"Different topic for a second," Yugi said quietly, turning to him with a small grin. "But you asked me about setting up a password for your phone, right?"

Yami blinked and his eyes flickered uncertainly to his face. "Oh. Yes." He blinked again and glanced over his shoulder for a split second. Thinking of the two hellhounds had not done well for his nerves. He turned back and Yugi stared at him, curious and waiting for an explanation or denial. He looked away. "I wanted to make it a simple one."

"Oh, you mean like your birthday or something?"

"Mm." Yami fell quiet. "What's yours?"

"My birthday? July twenty-sixth."

The red-eyed teen halted. He blinked, stiffening, and stared at him blankly for a long handful of seconds. "July twenty-sixth," he mumbled, uncertain as he stared at him. "That's…your birthday?"

Yugi was quiet for a moment. Then he smiled slightly, tilting his head and watching him. "Now you know why I snapped at Jonouchi that day when he asked when your birthday was." He squeezed his hand and Yami had the startling urge to snatch it away from his grip. His stomach lurched and his eyes flickered away again. He drew in a deep, dizzying breath, and closed his eyes tightly. "You're okay, Yami. We just have the same birthday. It's not like it's anything more than that."

Yami let out a rattling hiss from behind his teeth. When his eyes opened again, Yugi was watching him. There was a challenge there, something cold and glinting and powerful. And Yami almost thought to lash out against it. But the pity came a second later and he found himself instead laughing pathetically, the sound bubbling out of his lungs in little gasps.

Yugi stared at him as if he were a broken toy that he didn't know how to put back together. And for a second Yami truly felt that way. But then it passed. It was gone in an instant. He blinked, abruptly swallowing away the maniacal laughs again. And his lips twitched with a snarl before he shrugged it away.

"Right. It's just a birthday." Yami was sneering. "It's just that we both share the same birthday. Do you think, Yugi, that if you knew the exact time you were born it would be the same as when I was?"

"Huh?" Yugi mumbled, startled by the question. "Why would you ask that?"

"I just kind of wonder who came first—the original or the backup." He could feel his blood burning through his veins now. "What do you think? Did you come first or did I?"

"Knock it off," Yugi spat.

And for a moment Yami almost pulled away if only to swing at his head. He could've hit hard enough to stun him if he'd needed to. But the thought passed and Yugi was holding his hand in a vice grip now, as if he were afraid he might run. Yami flicked his fingers twice, turning away.

"I—"

"We—"

"Well, well, well, look at the two of you," a new voice commented, teasing and full of laughter. Yugi and Yami both jerked, heads snapping around. The newcomer stood a mere couple of inches from them, lips quirked into something of a friendly half-smirk. "You're holding hands. Why is that? Are you finally on a date?"

Yugi blinked. His eyes grew wide. And then his face became slightly flushed. Yami nearly flinched when he abruptly released his hand and hid his own away. Yami felt stranded, as if he had just been abandoned before a threat, but Yugi still stood next to him and it dampened the effect if only minutely.

The golden eyes flickered to Yami's face abruptly released his hand. He felt stranded for a moment, as if he'd just been abandoned before a threat, but Yugi still stood next to him and it dampened the effect if only minutely.

The golden eyes flickered to Yami's face abruptly. "Your eyes are so odd. Has anyone ever told you that? They're somewhat exotic, I suppose." The boy moved to cross his arms, watching him with his head tilted. "I keep thinking I'm looking into a sheet of stained glass. Or maybe a blood-soaked mirror. I can't decide yet."

Yugi glanced between them. Yami blinked and frowned. "My eyes are as they are meant to be," Yami said slowly, with an even tone and a mild frustration beneath it. "I do not know what else they might be considered."

"You don't see many people with red eyes. Much less a lycanthrope," Valon continued. He was hardly worried about the snarl that Yami let out at the words. "Either way, the color is nice. I'm surprised by how healthy they are, considering."

"Considering?"

The hellhound seemed to just then remember that Yugi was there. He blinked, looking at him, smirked, and said, "Nothing to worry about, Yugi. Just something I found odd." But his eyes shot back to Yami now and they bore into his for a moment. When he leaned forward, he was snickering. "Morrigan said you'd gotten your ass kicked pretty badly."

"Your half-sister," Yami grunted. He clenched his hand around his cup for a split second. But the styrofoam wasn't sturdy, he reminded himself at the last second, and it would shatter far sooner than a glass cup might. And he'd suffered enough wounds from glass. He didn't want to think about it any longer. "She's a monster."

"Yubel, right?" he asked. His eyes shot to Yugi now. And he considered him a moment before humming. "I heard about your family. You have my condolences."

"Do I?" Yugi mumbled. His eyes had darkened at the she-wolf's name and his voice was lowered with anger. He was sneering when he met Valon's eyes. "I mean, the condolences of a sociopath. Do they count for much?"

"I doubt it. But you have them all the same." Valon was visibly working to ignore the mounting hostility. His eyes flashed faintly with warning and his fingers twitched with tension. "If I had known she was going to be so destructive and manage to win against you both I would have tried to stop her."

"You said you didn't want to fight in this."

"I don't. But she's a threat to everyone if she's running around doing this." He turned to Yami now. "You look haunted."

Yugi turned to him abruptly now as well. His blue-violet eyes widened the smallest fraction and he frowned as he tilted his head. Yami ignored his eyes on his face and drew in a deep breath. "I'm tired," he said instead. He sank a nail into the cup in his hand for a moment. "And what happened wasn't pretty."

The hellhound studied him for a long minute. His golden eyes were glittering for a moment before he turned abruptly back to Yugi. "Your mother and grandfather did not deserve such a thing." He said it quietly, watching as Yugi turned wide eyes to him. "Although I suppose you don't need me to say that to you to begin with. You already know. Regardless, I'm sorry."

Yugi nodded, turning away. "Yeah, well…" He drew in a deep breath, shaky for a moment. "I guess I should have known it would happen eventually. I mean, I was playing with fire by staying there. I could have…run off on my own or…or something."

"Running away?" Valon scoffed, voice scornful. "That would have been foolish. You would have gotten yourself killed in an instant. You could hardly stand Yami's absence formerly. You couldn't deal with running away from your family. And it would not have guaranteed they survived anyways."

Yami closed his eyes tightly for a moment, blinking them open again only long enough to take another sip of his chocolate. It was barely warm any longer. He glanced around cautiously, then turned back to the hellhound.

"What do you know of Yubel?"

Valon blinked and looked over with a tilt of his head. "Not much. I don't even know which of the three of them she's related to the most. But I know that she's afraid of the power she doesn't have."

Yami blinked. "Power she doesn't have?" he echoed, stiffening in surprise. "Do you mean the power of one of the Harbinger's or Atem's immortality?"

The hellhound snorted, smirking. "His name is Yugi."

"Asshole; I know what his name is."

Valon winked at Yugi before turning back. His eyes were sparkling with laughter. "To answer your question, I don't know which one she fears the most. But I know she is afraid of the things she doesn't know and the powers she doesn't possess. Who knows? Maybe your immortality would scare her. Maybe the third power; who knows? All I am aware of is the fact that she has a fear of it. And she's got a death wish on top of it."

"Oh, I can give her that," Yugi sneered instantly. Valon glanced at him with a raised brow and Yami grimaced. "I can kill her. I will kill her."

The hellhound stared at him for a long moment. Then he tilted his head a fraction. Finally his eyes flickered to Yami but they had grown blank, cold and empty for a moment. And he wondered at the sight for a brief moment before Valon abruptly turned back to Yugi.

"I suppose you've earned that right more than anyone." He narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing at Yami once more, as if he expected him to somehow give him the words he was searching for. Yami had no doubt he was afraid of what it would mean for an emotionally unstable Pure-Blood running around in the city. "But what about you? How did she beat you? You might have been scrawny the last time I saw you but even I know you're violent and powerful."

"He was already hurt. And he was half-asleep. She got him when he was basically unconscious." Yugi narrowed his eyes and grimaced. "And I wasn't home yet."

Valon stayed quiet for a moment. "Did you fight her too?" he asked cautiously. "I knew about Yami. Yubel claimed she was going to pluck his eyes out and eat them like grapes."

Yugi stiffened. "Over my dead fucking body."

Yami reached up and scratched the back of his head. His fingernails were digging further into the styrofoam cup in his other hand. "That's surprising to hear," he said finally. Valon didn't turn his head, but his eyes were on him again. "Anyways, that's exactly what happened. I took medication and it put me to sleep and I woke up to Yubel breaking into the house."

The brunet studied him a moment. "I haven't been near the house. And I haven't watched the reports on the attack yet."

"She broke the door, tore it off the hinges." Yami fell quiet for a long moment. His eyes flickered to Yugi and he pressed his lips into a thin line before continuing. "And then the others got in through the door. I heard them when I went out to get water after waking up. And then we all started fighting."

Yugi scratched his arm uneasily. "I got there when it was just him and Sartorius and Yubel left. The three of them were fighting in my room and my mom and grandpa were still alive but unconscious." He fell quiet a moment. Valon was watching him closely now. "She's a fucking psychopath, Valon. Did you know that?"

"I have yet to cross paths with her. But I had assumed she might be," Valon admitted quietly. His golden eyes narrowed the smallest degree. "Why do you say that, though?"

"She told me she was disappointed the entire time we were fighting. And she was delighted when she nearly killed me and tossed the two of us around like we were toys."

Valon nodded slowly. "Disappointed?"

Yami's hand was soaked in hot chocolate now, numbed from the cold drink. He pulled it away from his fingers, moving it away and heading for the trashcan that was near the entrance of the park.

"I don't act like they think he's supposed to be." Yugi didn't speak for a long handful of moments. Valon stared back at him blankly. And then his eyes flickered to Yami. But the red-eyed boy refused to look over at them now. He had dumped his cup in the trash and was looking around as if he expected something to be lurking and waiting for them. "So I guess I disappointed her and she killed them because of it."

"Did you just blame yourself for them being murdered?" Valon asked, head snapping around and eyes owlish with shock. He blinked once, narrowed his gaze, and shook his head slowly. "What the fuck, Yugi?"

"That's what she told me. She said she had to kill them because I was a disappointment and that was how she was going to punish me."

Yami refused to look over. His entire body felt as if it were burning. He couldn't tell if it was shame, grief or disbelief. Valon, however, blinked a few times and stared at Yugi blankly. Then he burst out laughing and shook his head with a scornful expression.

"And you actually listened to her? You fucking idiot. Are you kidding me?"

"Enough," Yami said quietly, shaking his head. He forced himself to look over to them. "You don't need to call him names. He's just telling you what happened."

"And he's shouldering a lot of burden that isn't even his. What the fuck is wrong with you that you don't see that?"

"And you propose that calling him an idiot and cursing at him will make him feel any less burdened?" he answered, sneering when Valon drew his lips back into a snarl. He shook his head, narrowing his red eyes, and huffed a breath. "Do you honestly think that's helping either?"

Valon stared at him for a long moment. He blinked once. Clarity came across his eyes, making the golden gaze darker than ever. His head snapped back to Yugi for a split second. Whatever he had seen in Yami was equally mirrored in Yugi and the hellhound bristled for a split second, startled by the realization.

"Fuck me. No way…" he mumbled. His eyes shot between them for a moment before he shook his head slowly. Whatever he had been about to say died when he formed the first syllable and after a moment he simply turned to Yugi again. "How do you plan to fight her? Yami is the stronger of the two of you."

"I'm faster than him…or at least I am in theory." He cast an uncertain glance at Yami. But the other boy was simply staring at Valon. He turned back as well. "I'll have to figure out how to utilize that."

Valon blinked. "Do you even spar?" he mumbled after a moment. He looked them both up and down as if to measure their physical statures. "Do you fight? Sparring would be easier for right now. Do you not do that?"

Yami glanced at Yugi now. "I don't think he'd be willing to hit me if I tried to instruct him like that." He grimaced. "But it wouldn't be a bad—"

Yugi let out a startled noise. Yami caught the punch with one of his own. His relaxed stance had not changed in the slightest, however. And he was still facing Yugi. His eyes narrowed slightly before he turned to Valon again. He frowned, pushing him back a step.

"What the hell?" Yugi spat.

"I just wanted to see how fast he was." He swung at his head and Yami ducked away. He stepped back twice and stared at him. "And you're right. He's not as fast as Yubel. And she never takes the defensive, only ever offensive. She's dangerous because of it."

Yami hummed, shoving his hand aside and turning away. "You've never crossed paths with her?"

"No, not at all. Morrigan tells me about her every now and then, but I definitely haven't seen her face-to-face." He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. He turned to Yugi after a long moment. "Oh, stop bristling. It's not as if I meant to seriously hurt him. If I'd planned to do that, we would have had a lot worse of a fight than that."

Yugi shook his head, scowling at him in turn. "That's not even funny, damn it. Don't play that game."

Valon smiled faintly. "You need to hunt or get some blood in you. You're definitely too emotional to be stable right now. You need to figure it out before you lose your temper about something, understand?"

Yami grimaced. "Enough," he said again, snapping when Yugi turned his head to look at him with a glare. "I'm serious. He didn't do anything. I'm perfectly fine. And he's not wrong. You need to calm down before you do something you'll regret later."

"Like what? What do you all think I'm planning to do?" he snapped in annoyance. "I don't plan to hurt anyone."

Valon shook his head. "You know I have no plans to fight either of you, Yugi. You can relax at any time you want. It's fine. I won't hurt you or Yami." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "Besides, as I said before, this war is not what I wish to partake in. If I were to fight the two of you, I would be declaring war myself."

Yugi huffed a deep breath, scowling at him a moment longer. And then he looked away. After a moment he reached his hand out, the hot chocolate held like a peace offering. Yami slowly took it from him, as if he were confused by the sudden action. But he did not look upset by the action in any way. And Yugi forced himself to relax somewhat. He was not upset with Valon being there. He was not tense due to his presence. He was not angry with Yugi himself. And he seemed relatively calm for the moment.

The very thought was amazing and comforting to him. He licked his lips and turned to Valon slowly. "I guess I need that blood a lot more than I originally thought, huh?" he asked quietly, hoping that he sounded friendlier than he felt.

Valon eyed him for a moment. And his smile in return was small and perhaps awkward as well. He turned away with a small nod. "Are you well enough to hunt on your own?"

"I can."

"Would you then?"

Yugi glanced at Yami. "Probably not."

The hellhound sighed through his nose. "All right, then come on. We'll go get you a coffee with some blood in it."

Yami followed them silently when they made their way down the street and slowly to the little café Valon's adoptive mother owned. Yugi stopped short a few feet away, then glanced over his shoulder slowly as if he did not fully believe that Yami was behind him. When their eyes locked the smaller boy seemed abruptly to lose what little tension remained in his shoulders. He relaxed as if Yami had given him some kind of reassurance he'd never known he needed his entire life. He smiled at him awkwardly, turning away, and slowly opened the door for him.

Yami hesitated. Valon glanced between them curiously for a moment. And then he looked more pointedly at Yami, as if daring him to turn and wander off on his own again. The very thought alone made him bristle before he shook his head irritably and bore his teeth. He sighed and looked at Yugi.

"He puts animal blood in the coffee for you?"

"I didn't want to hunt when you were first gone. When Fuwa found you, it made me miserable and I couldn't find it in myself to wish to do anything like it. I couldn't hunt and I got sick and he had to convince me to come with him here to get a cup of coffee."

Yami nodded. "You do this for Kris?"

Valon raised a brow. "Perceptive," he drawled. He glanced at Yugi for a moment, then gripped the door Yugi was holding open in order to slowly close it in front of them. He narrowed his eyes the smallest degree. "I'm not willing to have her run off and get hurt. So my dear adoptive parents assume the people I bring to the house are my parade of fuck buddies and she gets the blood that I take from them. She's too young to go off on her own and her Change got triggered when you came to town."

Yami tilted his head. "Is that so?" he asked lazily. "I caused it?"

"Yugi had already changed and was healthy before then so it had to be you. I could smell you on him by the time that she changed."

Yugi blinked. "Oh… Is that why you were so upset at the market that day?" he asked curiously, eyes brightening with understanding. "You said you smelled him on me or something."

Valon grunted, noncommittal and perhaps even slightly annoyed. "He was living with you by then, right?" But his eyes didn't move from Yami's. He narrowed his eyes and his lip curled back slightly. "And then, surprise, surprise, I could smell you all over the backyard when Kris went missing."

Yami snorted. "It wasn't a surprise that something like this was going to eventually happen," he scoffed. "You knew the moment she changed she could be used against you. That's why you're trying your hardest to hide her altogether."

Valon snarled low in his throat, then huffed a breath out and narrowed his eyes. "Apparently, I didn't try hard enough. She still went to the fucking door when one of you two numb-nuts scratched at it," he sneered. But his anger passed and he turned to Yugi again. The smaller teen had been watching them both, listening more than anything. And Valon realized abruptly that Yami had never given him details about what happened, that he was curious about it all. He smirked and shook his head. "Kris is in the back."

Yugi shot him a surprised look. "We can stay out here instead. I don't want to scare her or—"

"Kris doesn't give a fuck," Valon scoffed, snorting at him in amusement. "She's a lot tougher than she looks. She didn't even care when we came back to the house. She was just curious about what happened before at the camp, if they were really planning to kill her. I was telling you for your sake. She's not afraid of you and she might approach you."

Yugi blinked. Yami furrowed his brows. His eyes flickered to Yugi and then to Valon again. The hellhound smirked wider than ever. "Why should it matter if she approaches us?" Yami said slowly, narrowing his gaze. "What does that entail exactly?"

Valon snickered. "It means that you need to watch what you say and try not to listen to her too much. She tends to say things she shouldn't."

Yugi furrowed his brows now. "What?"

Valon snorted and threw the door open, trotting instead without a second glance. Yugi and Yami swapped looks, hesitantly stepping inside. Yami sniffed at the air, glanced at some of the patrons that sat in the corner at the window tables watching the snow fall, and then awkwardly looked around them again. Yugi had never told him of this little place. But he'd smelled that weird nutmeg undertone on him before, the way the cup had stunk of it when he'd come back from his trip…

So this was the little café he had mentioned? Yami cast a small glance around once more, nervous as he saw a few curious faces zero in on him. Lanterns hung from the ceiling where large dark brown beams supported the sloping roof. The tables were spread about a foot between each other to allow comfortable space for anyone to move about as they needed. It was smaller, cozier, and anyone could sense that it was meant to attract family and close friends.

It was oriented towards that demographic, one that boasted of friendliness and things of that nature. Yami looked steadfast at Valon now. Some of the others were asking if they were looking at twins. And one woman said she wished he was older…

"Don't look so freaked out. It's just gossip," Valon snorted. But he was laughing again when he wandered around the counter towards the coffee maker nestled in the corner of the little set of counters. Yami ignored him, casting a glance at Yugi that was given a small smile as if to encourage him to relax. "Anyways, though, I'm sure this goes without saying. Don't get too close to Kris. And if you touch her I'll likely rip your arms out of their sockets."

Yugi nodded. "I gathered as much."

Yami snorted but his eyes flickered away as the door to the back room opened outward. Yugi stood a little straighter, moving around Yami to see. It was a strategic maneuver, as if he thought Yami might try to rush at the girl headlong.

She was small, perhaps a little shorter than a six-year-old should have been. She was dressed in a pair of jeans with a dress over them, the ends of it flowing and puckered outwards. A small belt was wrapped around her waist over her dress material and a little pendant hung around her neck. The design was ambiguous, as from one angle it looked like a teardrop and when she moved closer it seemed more like a rose. She came to a stop in front of Yami, her little hoodie unzipped and the zipper clicking. Her boots were loud against the tiles and her eyes were huge as she finally stopped a couple of inches away from him.

Yami looked down at her, curious and bewildered. His skin crawled. She would have to move to a tropical area for a large portion of her life if she was going to age in even the slightest. She'd get triggered to change too frequently here in Japan, where the weather could be colder for months on end and the snowfall was so deep it put the mountains to shame.

She blinked. Her braided pigtails bobbed when she tilted her head to the side and looked up at him. Her bangs were set to the right just like her brother's.

"Daddy says you look like him."

Yami blinked. Valon dropped the measuring scoop he'd been using, startled. Yugi stiffened and looked at her with a slightly horrified expression. The hellhound behind the counter turned slowly to face his little sister, eyes narrowed.

"Kris, what did I tell you about saying things like that in public?" he hissed. His little sister blinked and turned her head, but her eyes stayed on Yami for a moment. "Kris."

She frowned, bottom lip jutting out in a pout, and looked over at him. "But I wanted to see him! He said he looks just like him."

Yugi stared at Yami for a moment. The red-eyed teen flexed his fingers as if in a nervous tic. He swallowed hard. Then he turned to Kris awkwardly. "You shouldn't talk about things like that where others can hear you, sweetie."

The endearment was awkward and heavy on his tongue. He'd never been one for kids. And this just seemed to highlight it even more for him. He pressed his tongue into the back of his teeth and swallowed hard again.

Kris turned to him now, tilting her head a fraction once more. "He didn't tell me you would be here, only him." She frowned and bit her lip. "He said that he's really curious about you."

"Damn it," Valon mumbled, "Kris, hush. Come back here."

She frowned and turned to the entrance to the little cubicle of space that held the register and the coffee items. But when she reached for the top of the door, her hands were too short and she huffed. Valon undid the lock on the side and she pushed her way in, trotting past him when he tried to grab her.

Yugi smiled slightly. "She's so cute."

"She's a pain in my ass," Valon returned, but he was snickering at his sister's stubbornness now.

Yami was quiet for a moment, then turned to look at her, leaning over the counter. "Hati is awake now?" he asked in a low voice, his lip curled slightly back. "I wasn't aware he was involved. I figured he would still be sleeping."

Valon let out a low scoff. "It sounds more like something he would do."

Kris frowned at Yami. "Valon doesn't like Daddy." She tilted her head. Yugi glanced at Valon and the golden-eyed teen narrowed his gaze with a shake of his head. Yami, however, kept his eyes on the little girl in front of him, searching her face intently. "He doesn't like Mommy, either, but he tends to think she's better than him."

Valon grunted, rolling his eyes. "Kris, what is your point right now?"

"He likes you," she mumbled. She turned to Yami, smiling brilliantly. "Daddy really likes you. He said you look so much like him that he thinks of you as a mirror image. He said you have the same eyes as him."

Yami nodded slightly. Yugi bristled beside him, staring at Yami pointedly now as his skin crawled. He could see the tension in his frame, the way his eyes had grown narrow and cold for a moment. He looked as if he were engaged, though he did not snarl or so much as scowl at her.

"Yami looks like Yami," Yugi said, voice becoming frosty and biting. Yami turned his head towards him and blinked and Kris moved to take a seat on one of the stools behind the counter. She struggled to pull herself up for a moment and Valon lifted her up to place her there.

Yugi cast a cautious glance around the café. But most of the people had returned to their conversations. Aside from a couple of onlookers who seemed more inclined to ogle Yami, there did not seem to be any attention cast their way any longer.

Yugi spun around when he saw movement form the corner of his eye. But Kris had reached for Yami and the red-eyed werewolf was watching her with narrowed eyes. The smaller teen stiffened a moment, wondering at the sight, and forced himself to remain still. His first instinct was to put himself between the two of them, alarmed that she was even so brave as to attempt to do such a thing to begin with. The very thought left him anxious.

"Your eyes are so pretty."

"Kris, don't touch him."

Yami was staring at her. "Like your father's?" he said dismissively.

"I like yours more. Yours are prettier."

Yugi shivered and reached over to lightly touch hands with Yami. The action made the taller teen stiffen and move his hand away, unreceptive to him in the slightest at the moment.

He swallowed hard, ignoring the urge to flinch. "So, they don't look just like your dad's?"

Kris blinked at Yugi, turning to him. "Your eyes are the prettiest."

"African amethyst and royal sapphire," he mumbled before he bothered to think it through. Yami shot him a confused, startled look. Valon stared at him with a mystified expression for a brief moment. Yugi licked his lips. "So, does Hati speak to you a lot then, Kris?"

"He just woke up a couple of days ago. He's been speaking to me since then." She smiled at him after a moment, tilting her head again. "He's been watching you and Yami since. He's interested in Yami more than you, but Skoll likes you more."

Yami blinked. Yugi frowned. Valon tapped his nails against the counter behind him. "Why does he like me? Any particular reason?"

"He said Yami is too cowardly."

Yugi bristled, nearly snarling. Then he breathed sharply through his nose. She wasn't the one who had said it. She was simply repeating it. She was just telling him the answer to the question he'd asked. The small teen drew in a deep breath.

"Okay. So then why does Hati like Yami?"

"Because they look alike." She turned to Yami, eyes brightening. "He thinks Yami is like an…illegitimate lycanthrope son. That's what he called him last night."

"Kris," Valon said quietly, voice growing harsh, "enough, okay? You don't need to say anything else."

She frowned at him, twisting around in her seat, and stared at him. When Valon shot her an irritable look, she sighed loudly. "Okay." She kept her eyes on him. "Can I have some coffee too?"

"You can have hot chocolate, like I always give you," he scoffed. But he was smiling slightly now, eyes sparkling with laughter. She pouted and Yugi glanced at Yami in turn. The red-eyed teen narrowed his gaze, watching her, and then slowly glanced towards Yugi in turn. They stared at each other for another long second. And then Yami turned abruptly away again. "You're too young for coffee."

"No, I'm not! I'm old enough to drink coffee…"

"Oh? Do you see any other six-year-old little girls drinking coffee in here?" he teased. She cast a hopeful glance around, then slumped in her seat. "That's right. You can have your chocolate instead. Only teenagers and adults drink coffee."

Yami glanced sideways at the golden-eyed hellhound. "Is coffee bad for someone her age?" he asked slowly. Yugi blinked and looked to the hellhound now as well. "I mean, I could understand her predicament. It's not wise to give a wolf coffee, I would assume, but you're suggesting her age is too young. Why?"

Valon looked at him as if he were some kind of wild animal he didn't know how to approach. "Caffeine isn't good for little kids," he answered, studying him before his eyes darted away again. "It's not good for their development. Or so they claim. Every other study says something to contradict the one before."

Yugi ignored the urge to explain further. Yami had already accepted the answer and hardly cared to hear anything more about it. His eyes closed when he leaned against the counter and Yugi relaxed slightly from his former stiff stance.

"I tried," Kris mumbled with a shrug. She turned to Yami. "Your hair looks soft."

The red-eyed teen looked at her, leaning away entirely. There was something darker in his eyes now, as if she'd said something that struck a nerve. "I suppose." He answered her almost from between his teeth. He ignored her when she seemed to reach out as if to ask permission to touch it. And his eyes were on Valon immediately again. The golden-eyed boy did not seem aggressive at the moment, however, and Yugi forced himself to relax again.

"Hands to yourself, Kris. You know that."

Yugi scratched the back of his head and the coffee maker went off. "Oh, good," he mumbled. Yami glanced at him. Kris drummed her fingers loudly on the counter, and Valon turned away from them without a second glance. "So, uh, what do you think?"

Valon and Yami both glanced at him in bewilderment at the question. He flushed. Valon was smirking and Yami was clearly confused and bewildered.

"I meant the décor. What do you think of the décor? Doesn't it seem roomy and friendly?" he asked more pointedly, refusing to look at Valon again.

Yami blinked at him. "It's a nice shop." He fell silent again immediately after. And then he glanced at Valon and turned away again. "I mean, I should assume that's what you are asking me? I don't know what else you mean for me to say…"

"I…never mind." He grimaced and shook his head, looking away. He wondered if Yami missed the other café, where the artwork had caught his attention so easily. But he supposed it didn't matter. He was just being stupid in asking if he was okay with it at this point. Besides, they'd visited it just earlier. And Yami had not seemed as drawn in the second time as he had the first; maybe the novelty had worn off for him already. "That was kind of a stupid thing to ask anyways."

"How long might we remain here? I am tired." He drummed his fingers. "I wish to sleep."

Yugi blinked, startled. And then he glanced at Valon. Kris was staring at Yami as if his odd phrasing had surprised her as well. But he could see her brother looked as if he had somehow been expecting it from the red-eyed teen. He frowned after a moment, considering them both for a long handful of seconds. And then he snorted and handed over a styrofoam cup for Yugi.

"Did you want one too, Yami?"

The red-eyed teen turned his head, curious and visibly bewildered. He frowned slightly, considering, and nodded slowly. "Yes, please." After a split second he turned to Yugi again. "Do you mind?"

"Mind what?" he asked in surprise. And then he blinked again, frowning, and shook his head. "Oh, I don't mind at all. Go ahead."

Yami nodded slightly and took the cup Valon offered. When he lowered his nose and sniffed, his eyes shot back to the hellhound as he mumbled, "Deer blood?"

"It's what I have at the moment. I'm going hunting later, but for now that's what I've got. What? You don't like deer?"

"I was simply surprised. I had assumed it would be serow. Serows are much easier to catch, or so I have always thought."

Valon shook his head. "I don't care what it is I catch, as long as it can be bled into a vial." He looked at Kris, tilting his head. "And you do not repeat a word of what was just said, right?"

"Okay." She grabbed the chocolate he handed her and immediately took a drink of it. She had a little mustache of dark brown from tipping the cup too far. Her lip was slightly red from the heat but she looked so pleased that Yugi couldn't do more than smile. He wondered in the back of his mind if she even felt it for a split second or two. "I know better than to say anything to Mom or Dad."

Valon looked at her for a moment as if he might argue. And then he nodded slightly and turned to Yugi after a second. "Seiko," he said quietly, "actually asked about you recently. She wanted to know if you were okay after what happened."

He blinked and his face felt oddly cold and pale for a moment. He drummed his fingers against the side of the cup. "Tell her thank you for asking and I'll be okay when everything is figured out," he answered. He took a sip of the coffee, turning his hardest not to look at Yami again.

But the other boy made it impossible. His relentless staring was so fierce that it made his skin crawl. He glanced over. Yami finally lifted his cup and took a sip. His face twisted up slightly. He turned away entirely from the smaller teen, red eyes slightly narrowed with consideration.

"Too strong?" Valon asked, raising a brow. "I think I put in too many coffee grounds when I was measuring it out so that could be why."

"He's never had coffee before." Yugi ignored the odd look Valon shot him in turn. He ignored the urge to simply curl in on himself and pretend none of them were there. It would have been so easy to block the world out and hide away from it all. "So, he probably wasn't expecting it to be a little bitter like that."

"I have more creamer if you want it."

"No, no, it is fine. It's as Yugi said. I was simply surprised. I do not need more creamer." He took another sip, turning to Yugi after a moment. His eyes were darker than they had been before. "Are we free to go now?"

"Yeah, of course, aibou. If that's what you want."

"Thank you for the coffee." He hesitated, then glanced at Kris and murmured, "It was nice to meet you like this."

She waved at him, smiling brightly at him. Yugi watched Yami's face darken briefly with a shadow of something like bitterness. And then he turned away again and led the way out, waiting as Yugi handed over some cash and followed.

---

Yugi looked up from his laptop again. Yami was passed out on the second bed, the green jacket thrown over his shoulders beneath the comforter. He'd sought it out the moment they'd made it to the hotel, digging through Yugi's things to get it, and had curled up with a mumbled apology. Yugi had not known what it was he was apologizing for. The truth of it was that he didn't know entirely what it was that Yami wished to gain his forgiveness for.

He swallowed hard and looked away. But it was hard not to look over and acknowledge it every once in a while. And he knew he shouldn't have been nearly as jealous as he was. Yami's cage mate had even said as much. But it still made his stomach twist all the same and he couldn't fight away his frustration.

But the thought occurred to him that Yami had not worn that jacket when he'd first changed back formerly. When Yugi had been upset with him, after Yami had said he hadn't told him because he was afraid of disappointing him, he'd been wearing his jacket. He'd worn Yugi's school jacket.

He'd come out of the room wearing his uniform jacket. He'd chosen Yami's over his cage mate's. But then, he wasn't entirely sure that was how he should have seen it. It was not as if he were competing with a ghost of some kind for Yami's affections.

And Yami clearly didn't have any real inclination toward a relationship either way. If Yugi knew nothing else, it was that. Yami was too scared to want one. And what little he knew of them was irreparably damaged by what he'd witnessed at the labs.

If nothing else, Yugi could be assured that Yami would never truly look at him and say he wanted to date. He would never see Yugi's affections as more than something that he could handle. And that, though they were acknowledged for what they were, was not relationship material. It was, so that Yami did not panic, seen as nothing beyond a platonic tendency for touch. Anything Yugi said that could be misconstrued was ignored for its potential true nature and turned into something Yami could actually manage.

It was how he'd adapted, how he'd learned to deal with it all. It was all Yami could do for himself at the moment. Otherwise he risked hurting them both. And Yugi knew all too well such a thing was out of the question for the red-eyed teen. He would rather suffer on his own than drag someone down with him.

Yugi sighed softly. He clicked again on the website and closed his eyes after a moment. And it was not as if it were hard to figure out why exactly Yami had chosen to sleep with that jacket. Kris had said that Hati had all but adopted Yami as an illegitimate son due to his coloration.

And Yami could not have been happy with that. He'd seemed miserable with it formerly. And now probably did nothing to help with that. Yugi wondered at how damaging it was to him. He clearly hated the implications of looking like a hellhound to begin with. But Yugi didn't know if it was because he held a hatred of hellhounds or if it was simply because of the fact that he did not want the attention or if he'd possibly taken to heart the idea that the pack truly saw him as a traitor due to physical appearance alone.

Perhaps it was just something that had always scared him in that sense. Yugi didn't know. And for the moment he supposed it didn't matter. It was not too big a problem. And trying to help him with what would simply make it into a much bigger one than it truly was.

For now it was okay. Hell, it might remain okay even after they fought. He wasn't sure they'd both survive and if they did, maybe he would try then to help Yami with some of his pain. Otherwise, he did not see a reason to attempt prodding at such raw wounds when it would do nothing but upset Yami further. So he shrugged this thought away again, looking away and shaking his head.

Yami remained fast asleep. And so Yugi ignored the urge to look back at him again. He scrolled down the website, narrowing his eyes slightly. His head hurt. He'd looked at these graphs more than once, studying the hot and cold proteins until his eyes hurt. His stomach rolled and he frowned, shaking his head.

He closed the laptop.

Yami startled awake.

He barely saw it form the corner of his eye. But he knew the other boy was awake. He frowned, pushing the laptop aside, and mumbled, "Sorry, aibou. I didn't mean to wake you." He hesitated a moment as Yami sat up and rubbed his eyes to get the sleep from them. "You okay? Hungry? Thirsty? Do you need anything?"

Yami blinked and glanced at him sideways. He tilted his head, turning to him with a confused expression. "No, I'm okay," he said quietly, blinking and looking around in mild surprise. "I'm not hungry…or thirsty. Thank you, though."

Yugi tilted his head the smallest degree, but smiled at him after a moment nonetheless. "Okay, well, if you change your mind, I'll go and grab something from one of the restaurants downstairs. Or we can get room service, I guess."

Yami looked at him curiously for a long moment. He shook his head after a moment, turning away. "If you say so," he mumbled. "I suppose it does not truly matter, however? We could also hunt if—"

"I'm sorry about what Kris said."

Yami halted. His head snapped around, mouth half-open with a response, and then appeared to reconsider. He stared at him blankly for a long moment. He was oddly still, tense and angry as they stared at one another. He looked skittish as well, as if he might flee at any second. But then it seemed abruptly to pass. His eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"It doesn't bother me."

"Now there's a bold-faced lie," Yugi scoffed before he could stop himself. He froze in place, horrified by his own words. Yami blinked at him once, long and slow, and bore his teeth at him angrily for a split second. He turned away again, snarling low in his throat. "I'm sorry, Yami. I didn't mean to say that. I just… I'm not… I'm sorry."

"Not what?" Yami snarled, spinning on him. "You're not what? You're not happy that I don't tell you every little thing? You're not happy that I don't explain everything to you? Are you truly so upset with me? And for what? Because I couldn't fight Yubel off? Or is it something else this time?"

"What? Fuck! No, Yami, stop! That's not what I meant. I would never say something like that to you. And I don't even blame you for—"

"No, because you blame yourself instead, correct?" he scoffed. He scowled at him again, shaking his head. "But, oh, I bet you're happy now, aren't you? We're trapped in this godsforsaken room in the hotel again. You've been told Hati looks almost exactly like me. And now I guess we all know who the fuck the traitor is meant to be, right?"

Yugi scowled at him in turn. "You're joking, right?"

Yami opened his mouth to sneer at him, then fell abruptly silent again. He stared at him for a long moment, as if stunned by the thought altogether. Then he looked away again, narrowing his eyes. "I don't care," he said suddenly. When he got up, he tossed the comforter aside and stretched his arms. "You can think whatever you want. I don't care anymore. Decide what you want."

"Don't be a dick, Yami," the smaller teen spat. "I get it. You're upset. But don't start. This has nothing to do with all of that bullshit and you know it. Don't do this. I'm not trying to corner you or anything. You know—"

"I know that? Do I now?" Yami mumbled. "I'm surprised if I know my own name most times. And here you expect me to know the way you treat me over other things. Hati thinks I'm his twin. Skoll thinks you're his favorite lycanthrope in existence. The two of them are awake now, which is pretty amazing considering that now all six of them are running around Hokkaido, Japan."

Yugi frowned and shook his head. "Skoll and Hati don't even matter in the long run, Yami. What matters is that this gets figured out. Slifer told me what will happen should I lose to Yubel. And that cannot happen in the slightest. We have to figure this out. We have to work it all out so that we can get this done and worked on. Otherwise…" He looked away. "I need your help. You know more about being a Pure-Blood than I do. And I can't ask the gods for help because they've already stated that their involvement in this is almost entirely over."

Yami was silent for a long moment, still and unmoving in his statuesque state. His eyes closed after a moment and he sighed softly with a shake of his head. "Right. I can teach you. I'll…I'll try to get you back on track and figured this all out. We can get you to your physical peak. From there I have no idea how you and Yubel will later interact. She's dangerous, as Valon said. And I don't know how you'll match up against her. She has no conscience. And you're merciful."

"I'm going to kill her," Yugi said immediately. "I'm going to kill her, no matter what. What I need is to know how to do it. Because I plan to do it regardless of anything."

Yami looked at him slowly now, furrowing his brows slowly. He tilted his head the smallest degree, then huffed softly. "You'll have to be able to fight me and pin me at some point. I'm stronger than Obelisk and I'm larger than Yubel. But I'm stronger than you right now. When I'm healthy again, we'll fight and see what comes of it."

Yugi swallowed hard. "If she's faster than you…"

"You are faster than me. We need to hone in on that." He frowned and considered him a moment before smirking. "Yusei would be a good match. He's faster, very deliberate when he fights. He tends to think things through when he fights. I think he'd be a good opponent. We'd just have to convince him to go against you. He might be more comfortable fighting me, however."

"You think so?" he asked softly, frowning curiously. "You think that Yusei would be a good opponent for that? If we do that, should it be a training lesson or just me, you and him?"

"Which do you think will help you focus more?"

"The three of us," Yugi mumbled uncertainly, licking his lips. He nodded after a moment, though he fell silent for a second and shook his head slowly. "Honda and Jonouchi should be there too. We need to train them both. Neither of them is going to be up to par until they have some training. They can fight as humans, and Jonouchi is a scrapper but I don't think Honda will adapt as quickly as a wolf as he did. He tends to have a little bit more difficulty with fighting than Jonouchi does. So they would definitely benefit from it."

Yami nodded slightly, narrowing his eyes. "Yes, that would likely be a good idea for us. Yusei can fight me and all of you can watch and take notes, I suppose. It should be easy enough for them to learn from it. Wolves learn well from simply watching, if nothing else is provided. And I don't think Yusei will explain as he's fighting. And I certainly won't be."

Yugi nodded again, searching his face for a moment before smiling at him. "And then we can practice again, right?" he mumbled. He sounded hopeful, with such a sense of audible desperation that Yami blinked in surprise and stared at him in bewilderment. "And then when Yubel and I cross paths again—"

"You act as if that is the only reason to do this," Yami growled in a colder voice. "You make it seem as if your own personal revenge is more than enough reason to do this and go after Yubel. It makes no sense to me. Why should you be so angry as to go after her for a reason less than to help others? You are doing it for personal gain—"

"Revenge isn't always a bad thing. If it gets me to the point that I can kill her without hesitation, why does it matter, Yami?" he scoffed. He shook his head, narrowing his eyes into slits and scowling at him after a moment. "I mean, really? What's the point of pretending otherwise? She's eight fucking years old, Yami! And I couldn't kill her if I didn't have a reason."

"And saving others is not enough for you? You killed Bakura to save me. And you killed Marik to save yourself. But you do not care to hold such morality now as you did then? Is she such a monster to you?"

"She murdered my mother and grandfather—"

"I was there when she attacked them!" Yami burst out. He was shaking now, face twisted into a hideous sneer of hatred. "I was there when they screamed. I was there longer than you, damn it. I was there when she cut their throats with her nails and Sartorius managed to hold me back. I was there the entire time, damn it."

"You didn't love them like I did. They weren't related to you."

"I cared for them as I do you!" Yami snarled. "I cared for them because they were your family. I may not have been close to them as you were, but I did care. I still do. And I regret not being able to stop her. But I…I can't afford to do what you're doing."

"You can't afford to do it?" Yugi repeated quietly, tilting his head. "You think that you're so much better than me for that?"

"Of course not! I'm not sure what it is that you wish me to say, Yugi. But that's not what I meant. But I can't do what you are doing, damn it. You're more unstable and bloodthirsty than I can afford to be," he spat. "You have that luxury. I do not. I cannot afford to lose myself because I am upset. You have that ability and I don't. I'm too dangerous. I lash out too frequently. I…I kill when I am upset enough. And I don't always know how to stop. So, I don't know what you wish to hear from me, but I can't hold that same vendetta against her as you yourself do. Do you understand what it is that I'm telling you right now?"

Yugi swallowed hard, staring at him blankly. "What the fuck does that mean exactly?" he huffed softly, coldly. "You think you're more stable than me? Since when would that ever be a thing?"

"You're shaking and salivating," Yami scoffed. "You're trembling and salivating heavily. You're so angry you can't argue with me. You're so upset that you do not even seem to be listening to me now. You're focusing on one goddamned thing altogether. You're looking at my saying I won't take revenge on her as if I am turning my back on you and I will not aid you any longer. And that's not what that means—"

"You're right. I am looking at it like that. Because that's exactly how it sounds, Yami. You're saying you'll help me, but you aren't—"

"I won't kill her." Yami was quiet for a long handful of seconds. Yugi stiffened considerably at the statement, eyes widening. Yami shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "I won't kill her. I tried before, and I couldn't. I planned to do it when she crossed paths with us the first time and you said otherwise. Now you wish for me to leap at the chance? If I am able to kill her, I will. But I will not leave her to let you kill her instead should the opportunity arise, Yugi. I cannot offer you such a thing when I am unable to justify it. She needs to be eliminated. It doesn't matter if it is you or me to do it. It had to happen. Your personal vendetta is not something I can afford to play with. And I cannot afford such a thought process for myself. The last time I did such a thing…"

He fell quiet, then shook his head roughly. His neck popped at one point and he reached up to cover his face. "I can't do it again. You can hate me or you can accept it. I don't care. I will offer assistance in any manner I can. But I will not try to hold her at bay so that you might kill her yourself. Do you understand?"

Yugi was silent for a long handful of minutes. He narrowed his eyes and drew his lips downward into a snarl. "Right," he snapped. "If that's how you want to go for it, then fine."

"I don't care if you believe me or not," Yami said, dropping his hands and narrowing his eyes at him coldly, "but I am not your enemy. And I will help you as best I can. If you see it as me being an asshole or no longer helping you out, then so be it. But I cannot force myself to a breaking point in order to save you. I cannot do it. I cannot save you at the cost of myself."

"I never asked you to," he spat.

"No, but I am telling you that I cannot do it. I cannot afford such things." He fell silent for a long handful of seconds, swallowing hard and shaking his head. "I am not as brave as you, Yugi. I am too afraid of the repercussions. I was in a feral state for over a month. And I do not wish to go back to that. If you hate me for that, so be it. I do not care."

Yugi was quiet for a moment, then his cheeks flushed as he turned away with a snarl, looking at the ground. "I could never hate you," he snapped. "I could never do such a thing, Yami. You know that."

Yami stayed silent, then finally closed his eyes. "Yes," he lied after a moment. "Yes, I know that."