Gravestones

by YamiYugiPuzzleshipper

"You're not listening to me. That's not a normal dog. It's called a hellhound and if you look into its eyes three times, your death is absolute. Now how many times have you looked upon the dog?"

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh or Animal Planet or Are You Afraid of the Dark?

WARNING: Blood, Gore, Violence, Major and Minor Character Deaths, Mild Cursing

Storyline Inspired by: Animal Planet: Lost Tapes Episode 14: Hellhound, Are You Afraid of the Dark? Episode 1: The Tale of the Phantom Cab, Episode 26: The Tale of Old Man Corcoran

The hellhounds in this story are a subspecies of werewolves. According to the lore and wolves' scavenging behavior, werewolves were known for digging up corpses and eating them. It's recorded in a few older myths, but not so much later and cannibalism was massive in those myths and "real life" werewolves as well. The hellhound focuses more around this than lycanthropes.

They are modeled more around Fenrir, Skoll and Hati from Norse mythology (Fenrir was destined to eat Odin and end the world in Ragnarok and Skoll chases the sun while Hati chases the sun). They are extremely chaotic, vicious, and the darker of the subspecies of werewolves. For the purpose of the fic, werewolves is used as the general term for a person who changes into a wolf.

These wolves are NOT completely in line with the wolves from Shadows That Bleed. I actually wrote this story as a test run for how to structure them.

Gravestones

"I've been trailing them for weeks now. There's no question of whether or not we'll get some fun out of this."

And you're sure? It is time consuming to chase the humans that actually have some kind of brains.

"So then we'll change the game. Don't worry about it. I have the perfect idea."

Do tell.

"But of course. How else would we be given our proper payment? There is no reason to lose easy prey and hunger longer than necessary."

---

"Is it rolling?" the boy demanded. He smirked slyly and turned his head to glance at the other boy sideways. Teal green eyes, flashing and glimmering with laughter, locked with honey-brown colored with flecks of cinnamon that bordered on soft red. The other boy had a head of blond shaggy hair, truly unruly with long bangs that fell into his eyes, nodded. He tapped the edge of the camcorder in his hand and grinned. A red light blinked near the flash's bulb and the first boy chuckled as he tipped his head back and turned away to press his palm into steering wheel with approval. "Good boy. I want to get every single moment of this ritual. It's going to be amazing."

The blond beside him flashed a grin to the beautiful girl in the middle set of seats. Dark violet eyes flickered with laughter as she granted him a wide smile of amusement in turn, nodding. A glance was cast over the others in the group, all of them spread out in the ten-seat minivan, just large enough to hold their usual members and this newcomer. All of them were dressed in some article of black, whether it be scarce or more apparent.

A brunette with blue coloring the very tips of her short, layered hair was seated directly in the middle of the back seats. It matched her cerulean eyes, lending them yet more depth; with the new addition, one could lock eyes with her and see her thoughts rather clearly. She was dressed in a dark blue ruffled plaid skirt with a sheer black lace top layer with dark gray tights beneath that fell away to striped royal blue and black knee high socks. Black sneakers with blue skulls made up the sides of her converse sneakers with dark gray laces.

The boy to the right of her was the lankiest of their group, with a nearly sick appearance and pale skin that made him appear almost vampiric. His skin was sunken, his eyes seeming to peer through them all endlessly as he glanced around lazily, at ease with it all as he always had been. He was built small, with features that made him look almost like a zombie from a Hollywood horror movie, and his hair fell like that of a shaggy dog's fur. It looked knotted and greasy in the front, but fell in a way that was oddly somehow appealing to the eye, windswept to the side. Formerly it had been a strange bluish-black color that rode on a horribly receding hairline and came up in sloppy spikes that made most cringe upon seeing it.

The black clothing did nothing for his skin. The shirt lent the obvious gothic design of a red cross in what looked like paint smeared across the front, given flecks of the color at each end. His jeans were baggy, dark gray to match his shoes which boasted the same color but for their black soles.

To his right sat a brunet with his hair gelled into a single large spike, a deep brown bordering on chocolate in shade. He had shaved it in the back along the nape of his neck, making it look darker there. He had opted for a similar outfit to the boy beside him, wearing a simple black graphic tee with several bracelets on both wrists, dark gray jeans that looked almost black, and a pair of white sneakers. A few small chains crossed his pocket on his left side but did not do much to draw the eye.

In front of them, positioned to the left and leaning against the window, sat the blonde, having demanded the entire row of seats to herself. Resting comfortably, she'd twisted herself in her seat to pull her legs out from beneath the bottom strap of the seatbelt, draping smooth, hairless tan legs across the other two cushions. Leather combat boots ran up to her knees, tied off neatly, the back zipper of the shoes done to their highest point so that they jingled softly when she moved. Directly above the top of her boots was the flowing material of a skirt to a formfitting black lace-patterned corseted silk dress. Her hourglass figure was shown off beautifully with the article of clothing. Her tan was highlighted with the addition of the sheer sleeves draped down her arms, giving an appearance akin that of a gothic goddess.

A single black ring rested on her pinkie finger, a dark-banded watch on her wrist, the only two pieces of jewelry to line her arms. A layered necklace of black chains and dark amethyst gemstones fell across the cut of her elegant gown, highlighted the cleavage she was using to tease the blond in the passenger seat. Her violet eyes were layered with eyeliner and mascara on her long lashes, giving her gaze a more defined cut almost akin a viper's.

"So, what did you tell the loser about tonight?" their driver demanded. He glanced at the blonde in the rearview mirror and admired the long lines of her legs. The blonde tipped her head back towards the other girl and looked at the brunet at the end of the seats.

"Nothing," the brunette said, shrugging. She blinked and shook her head. "We didn't tell him anything, Otogi, just that we would pick him up and he would have to pass our initiation if he wanted to join."

Otogi snorted, glancing over his shoulder to fix all three of them with a look that showed his doubt. The brunette frowned momentarily, but a pair of hazel eyes met his head on, cool as always, and he came to her somewhat nervous rest with the statement, "His name is Yugi and he seems okay for the most part. He said he was part of one of the groups before he moved to Domino—"

"Great," the black-haired boy snorted. He turned back to watch the road, shaking his head. "He better not expect us to run by the same rules as whatever reject group he was a part of before. This is my group, and I'm not about to let him think he can run the show just because he thinks he has experience."

"Anzu spoke to him, remember? If he was anything like that, she wouldn't have gotten close enough to ask him to join," the brunet drawled, turning to stare out the window again. He ignored it when the purple-eyed blonde glanced at him.

"And you and Jonouchi met up with him, too, didn't you, Honda? So, what was your opinion?" she asked. "Do you think he's actually worth putting through the initiation or is it not even worth wasting our time?"

"I thought he was pretty cool—for the most part, anyways. He just tends to talk a little too much sometimes."

"Lovely. A habit for me to break him of."

"That's his house," Anzu stated, gesturing towards the game shop on their left.

Otogi stared at it, disgusted for a brief second. He shook his head, pulling into the driveway. The harsh glare of his headlights against the entrance of the small shop was almost blinding; the door had a shiny new coat of paint and the glass window cast a bright beam back at them. Red wood looked almost almost white, silver along the edges, as he considered the door a moment longer and finally cut the lights.

They piled out of the minivan, Anzu the one to knock on the door. She was impressed; the door was firm and yet somehow soft beneath her knuckles as she rapt them. She tried to peer through the darkness, but swore she saw something moving in the room where it was scarcely lit by moonlight. Her own shadow draped across the floor, painting the white tiles dark gray, and she squinted, swearing she saw another movement. But even with the attempt to catch the faintest differences between the multiple shades of gray and black, there was nothing but the shadows cast by the displays of merchandise.

The doorknob twisted in the dark, though no light was cast from inside, and the porch became bright with a yellow glow as the bulb overhead came to life. Anzu glanced toward it, taking in the small lantern-like cast of iron that made it's home, sheets of thick glass granting it an almost antique look. Set against the brighter colors of the game shop, it was oddly beautiful and eye-catching.

Yugi smirked as he came outside, his eyes momentarily flickering to the steps to the upstairs living area where he could hear his parents speaking to each other. He stepped down the small inch-high drop between the bottom of the door and the first step on the porch and paused briefly. His eyes shot about the group for a moment. And, satisfied with their stunned expressions towards his attire—blinking and staring with huge eyes like gaping fish—he shut the door behind him.

He had planned his outfit for far too long. He'd stood in front of the body-length mirror and wondered for more than two hours. He'd mixed and matched until he thought his head might explode, then finally chose to call this outfit perfect for his needs tonight.

The black skinny jeans had studs across the knees in rows of three and columns of six. Several studded belts hung around his waist, one draped loosely to hang down his hip in a diagonal strip of leather, serving to highlight the thick gold foil of black and silver chains across his pants pocket. The clasp gleamed brightly as he stuck his hands in his pockets. Two bands of black rested on his wrists, two chains seated above them. A loose-fitting white button-up shirt was loosely pulled from where it'd been tucked beneath his jeans' waistband. Several layers of black, glistening chains with random designs fell to his abdomen in varying lengths. A choker around his neck boasted of a sheen like that of a silken ribbon, with a clasp made from a deep red gemstone. Atop the button-up was a semi-classy black jacket that tied the outfit together nicely and lent his skinny frame a more defined and powerful shape.

"Hello," he stated simply, moving down the second step and looking them over again. His eyes lingered briefly on Mai's figure. He could almost see her breasts, but did not comment. Instead he turned to Otogi, studying him just as the raven-haired leader of the group seemed to finally recover enough to speak.

He was tall, with dark hair the shade of midnight with bangs that highlighted both of his cheeks and seemed to give his jaw a bit more length and depth. It spiked upward in the front, in three large clumps of hair that gave more notice of the ponytail he wore it in. Slight ruffles of strands made it looked knotted upon the top there along his neck A black and silver diamond-patterned headband rested on his forehead, covering every inch of his skin to the top of his brows, with small skulls and crossbones forming symbols in each silver shape.

A nearly sheer gray and black jacket rested on his arms, cut upwards in a soft curve that gave the hem of it an inward flowing design. A white shirt cut diagonal along the bottom, showing off a small bit of his lightly tanned skin and a studded leather belt. An upside down cross hung by a thin thread of curved metal chain links and Yugi allowed his eyes to flicker down to take in the black skinny jeans. Combat boots rose halfway to his knees, laced and polished, and Yugi could tell that it was meant to give more indication towards the many various pockets in his jeans.

His head turned back to Anzu, eyes glinting with the yellow cast of the light next to his face. The whites lit momentarily, giving it a cast of odd glowing gold that looked wet, almost like a flickering flame in too vast a darkness to truly penetrate. Set beneath the thick black frame of spidery lashes, his violet eyes were given rings of dark sapphire blue around the pupils and outer irises. Small flecks of the beautiful shade glittered between. The sight of them was enough to make Anzu's breath catch, eyes widening in surprise. They looked like pure lapis-lazuli gems, caught between sunlight and darkness.

For all her staring, she had not noticed he was staring at her now as well, gaze bright with laughter. His lips twitched into a small grin and he tilted his head minutely as he looked her over. Her breath had caught upon their gazes locking, and her eyes widened as she remained mesmerized by him for the moment. His eyebrow rose slowly upwards and his lips pulled into a wider smile, bordering on a smirk.

"Nice shirt," he commented, grin becoming a pure smirk now. His eyes flickered over her top, brazenly glancing at her chest before winking at her and walking past to follow Otogi. Blushing furiously, the brunette swore under her breath, undone by the expression on his face and the way his eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. She glanced down at her top, taking in the pentagram colored in deep blue and the candles that made up the bottom in a neat border of white, red and gray. She wondered if he'd noticed her belt, the studs plastic painted black and red with small dots of blue and white to make up random checkered patterns.

"Great dress," he murmured, turning on Mai with interest. His eyes had darkened and Anzu thought for sure that she could see lust as clear as day in those dark irises. Her cheeks grew flushed with momentary jealousy. But the two of them simply sized each other up, and Yugi seemed more curious and amused than anything. It was Mai who looked oddly as if she were enchanted by the attention she was being fed at that moment. Anzu had never seen that expression on her face before; usually guys were stunned by her and never the other way around.

"T-thanks," Mai stammered after a moment. The group glanced at her, but Yugi only nodded, turning solely to Otogi now. Anzu watched Otogi look Yugi over with something of a furious expression. The taller male stared at Anzu for a long second before turning to him as well, teal eyes widening faintly before narrowing into slits.

"And you must be Otogi," Yugi stated calmly. He angled his head up slightly as if he were challenging him, eyes still gleaming with laughter. Otogi narrowed his gaze once more, his lip curling faintly before smirking and putting a hand on his hip, voice low and amused.

"So, Yuki"—the other boy didn't even blink at the way he sneered the name and mispronounced it on purpose—"are you ready?"

"Yugi, actually," he said simply, voice calm. He was smirking, tilting his head to the side, and pulled his lips back just enough to show his teeth. The new position made his bangs fall to frame his cheeks more noticeably, his forelock more striking in appearance now. The highlight of goldenrod in that moment made Otogi's eyes wander for a split second to take in the darkness of his midnight black locks of skyward spikes tipped with dark blue-violet that matched his eyes. "And yes. It sounds like fun."

"Fun? Humph," Otogi snorted. He smirked in amusement and shook his head, eyes sharp and cold. "Well, let's see if your words match the experience, shall we?"

"Yes…let's," Yugi agreed. His eyes glittered with amusement and he followed the teen as he spun on his heel to follow him to the car. He glanced over his shoulder towards Jonouchi, looking at the camera and giving it a small smile. He nodded slightly before he turned away again and the others smiled in turn.

The ride was mostly silent. Yugi had allowed them to wrap a thick black and silver-starred scarf over his eyes, effectively blinding him. The knot of material hurt where Bonz had tightened it unnecessarily, but he did not complain. The others had settled into their seats again, watching him occasionally around staring out the windows, and there was minimal small talk if any at all.

"Is this blindfold actually necessary?" he finally wondered aloud. His curiosity made his voice sound puzzled, perhaps a little annoyed with his lack of sight as well. His fingers twitched where they sat in his lap and he tried to squint through the material of the blindfold, catching only the faintest outline of light burning his strained vision. The colors of the scarf made his head spin momentarily and he closed his eyes tightly again.

"It's part of the initiation," Otogi drawled in response. Yugi could hear the smirk in his voice, hearing him twist around in his seat for a moment to no doubt look at him. "Neophytes are blind until they are given the gift of sight."

Yugi hummed, shaking his head slightly and smiling in amusement. He reached up to scratch at his temple. "Well, that's not entirely true. There is no global interpretation of the initiations required to join the circles and many would do it another way. 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law'," he quoted, the last word coming in a purr. "That's from Aleister Crowley's Book of Magick."

Otogi snorted in his seat. Yugi tilted his head, lips drawing into a slight frown, not surprised when he heard him twist around in his seat again. "And yet, tonight's 'law' is doing as I say," he stated with a smirk, laughing out loud a second later. "You're only coming with us to be considered as a new member of our circle."

He smirked, glancing at Yugi from the rearview mirror. The smaller boy had tipped his head slightly to the side, almost as if it made it easier to hear him. And Otogi nearly laughed out loud again. He looked almost like a puzzled dog that had initiated a highly impressive treat and did not understand its lack of reward.

He almost laughed aloud again. Yugi had a naturally innocent expression that it made the dog analogy perfect.

"All right," Yugi agreed a moment later, a small bit of reluctance creeping into his voice. He leaned back into his seat again. "But it's still not necessary."

"Well, then let's go with the fact that this meeting place and the ritual are private and not meant for an outsider," Otogi snarled. It was a blindfold. It was not as if they had plucked his eyes out of his skull. Why was it such a big deal to him? Unless he was afraid of the dark, then he needed to just deal with it. Otogi smirked at the thought; if Yugi was somehow afraid of the dark, he was going to be miserable. Although, odds were, if Yugi had been in a circle before, then he was hardly scared of something as mediocre as that. He wondered vaguely if he could scare him a bit tonight, grinning at the potential possibilities. If he did, he would make it a grand effort, one that was worth his time. "And you're not in yet. Be grateful that you are even being given this opportunity in the first place. Tons of people want into our circle and we haven't let anyone in since Anzu."

Yugi was silent for a moment. "So, you're the newest member then, Anzu?" he asked softly. "For some reason, I thought maybe it had been Honda."

A long moment of silence passed.

"Anzu was the last one," Otogi said, an edge coming into his voice. Yugi remained relaxed from his seat in the back. "But that doesn't matter anyways. It's whether or not you're actually worthy of becoming one of us that matters, not who was the last one to make it into the circle."

"True," Yugi conceded. He pressed his feet together on the floorboard, the sides of them touching so that he felt the car vibrating more pointedly beneath his shoes. Comfortable with the sensation, the blue-violet-eyed teen in the car tilted his head back and tipped his face towards the ceiling.

"Stop asking questions about everything and go with what I say," Otogi snapped before snickering seconds later. "Do as I say, got it? You won't survive the night otherwise."

Yugi nearly burst out laughing. There was nothing that Otogi could throw at him that would possibly be worthy of a comment like that. That was just an intimidation tactic. And it was impossible to do so with him. Perhaps if Otogi had met him a year or two prior it might have had some kind of effect. Now, however, he had to smother his laughter and keep from shaking his head at him with a smirk.

"Sit through the ceremony and prove yourself worthy or you're not joining us, neophyte."

Yugi pointedly ignored the way he emphasized the word, rolling his eyes behind his lids. He had joined a circle before he'd come to Domino and he doubted Otogi's could ever be so special that it operated differently or needed more unique rules. Universally the circles were rather alike. This much trouble put into the ritual must have been for the sole purpose of attempting to punish him for having former experience. And that simply hinted at a weak and easily intimidated leader without much confidence to boast of.

They stayed silent for the rest of the twenty-minute drive. Yugi supposed it was mostly because they could not say much else without potentially ruining the initiation ritual. He tipped his head back into the seat. Relaxed completely he was the only one who did not jump when the car jerked slightly. Otogi cursed violently. A wheel popped upward. Yugi stiffened. His hands reached up immediately for his blindfold.

"You can take that off when I say you can," Otogi snarled. Yugi nearly scoffed. But he could hear something outside the car and so he froze in place. He squinted, peering through the material of his blindfold. But he could only see the smallest it of the light overhead. At first he could hear nothing but the soft curses from the others nearby. And, then, finally, came the sound of the door opening.

The raven-haired teen got out of the minivan, glancing towards where he could see a shape in the middle of the road a few paces back. It was larger than a serow, but definitely smaller than a bear. He could just barely make out the shape of its mouth in the dark. "We hit a dog," he muttered. He turned to look at the others. Yugi was stiff in his seat, Honda shaking his head furiously, Jonouchi gaping at him.

"You hit the dog, not us," Honda corrected him angrily. Otogi rolled his eyes when he continued glaring at him. "Shit, go check on it, Otogi."

"Why the hell would I go check on it? It's not even fucking moving."

Yugi was shaking, trying for his blindfold. "You killed a dog?" he cried in horror, voice drenched in remorse. He was struggling with the knot at the back of his skull. "Go check on it! You can't just leave it like that! It might be someone's pet!"

"And? So what if it is? It shouldn't have gotten in the middle of the road anyways," he scoffed. "They couldn't have cared about the dog too much if they let it loose. And don't take that off. I haven't said you could y—Holy shit!"

Yugi listened to the door slam shut. He strained his ears for sound from outside. But the car jolted abruptly. The left side nearly tipped off its wheels from the force. It tottered violently, off balance. And then he heard the most violent of snarls. Teeth chomped shut. The car shook again.

Yugi worked at the knot again.

And then he heard it.

There was a sharp growling noise. There were rapid clicking sounds. Teeth chomped again. Nails, Yugi realized. That clicking noise was the sound of the dog's nails. And it was headed, he realized, towards the front of the car.

Abruptly he heard a violent creaking. Nails scrabbled. Metal screeched. Teeth snapped shut. A snarl seared through the air.

The others shrieked. Mai let out a noise akin a bat. Anzu's voice was high-pitched as she screamed, "Oh my god!" in a horrified tone. Yugi tried again to strain his eyes to see through the scarf.

The metal creaked again. The animal's weight was heavy and dense. Yugi flinched. The impact was overshadowed by another furious snarl. Claws clicked against the glass. He flinched again. The car shook when the dog slammed into the window. There was a loud cracking noise. But the screaming did not intensify. He assumed that meant the dog had not gotten through the glass.

It snarled louder, almost roaring. Yugi was amazed by how loud it was. It was terrifying how heavy the impact was. And he could hear it over the shrieks from the girls next to him. He could hear it over the violent curses Honda and Jonouchi and Otogi spat out.

The dog was built like a rottweiler or a pit bull. Its legs were longer, chest narrow. Its tail was long and straight, kinked to the right at the tip. Its head was lowered. Its lips were drawn back. Each tooth showed, jaws slavering. The jaws opened wide, almost like an alligator's. The sound that came forth was a snarling back. He and Otogi flinched backward.

Its eyes had been closed momentarily. But the sound emitted violently. The car shook.

They all jerked and shrieked. Even Yugi cried out in panic now. Otogi could just barely see him trembling in the back seat. Being unable to see had done nothing to lessen the fear, apparently.

He jerked back in his seat again. His hand hit the horn by accident. The dog's eyes snapped open. A bark tore through its lips. It was so loud the car shook and rattled again. A paw pressed into the glass forcefully. In the low light, Otogi swore he saw steam rising from the contact.

Condensation bubbled up beneath its paw. Each calloused foot was illuminated. Its other forepaw scraped at the glass. The claws seemed to leave long trails of blood smears.

The dog drew its lips back. Its teeth glinted. Its head lowered as it snarled. The glass was pounded at as it tried to dig its way through. Its jaws snapped, teeth slamming into the windshield.

It was pitch black like the sky beyond its shoulders. But it looked deceptively soft, its coat fluffed out in long tufts. It if it had not been snarling, it might have even looked beautiful and sweet. But its eyes were glowing, a fierce distinctive red like crushed rubies bathed in fallen blood. And the skin around them was wrinkled hideously. Its entire muzzle seemed to be pulled back to bare its fangs. The teeth flashed brightly, gums a deep and ominous red. Its ears were pricked forward, oddly soft in their shape.

It barked but the noise was a roar again. The car shook violently. All of them screamed.

Otogi could see Anzu trying to hide. She was attempting to burrow into Yugi in her panic. Her eyes were wide with panic, her shrieks deafening. Yugi was struggling with the blindfold. And his face had turned red from where his fingers were knotted in his hair. He was cursing under his breath. And Anzu's impromptu attempt to hide behind him had slowed him. Honda reached over to grab his hands abruptly.

The car shook violently again. It inched back from the force of the impact. Yugi yelped, spitting, "Goddamn it, let go!" when Honda kept his grip.

The glass creaked. The dog let out a hideous baying of a howl.

"Shit!" Otogi screeched, slamming his palm into the horn. The dog's red eyes swung to him now. They were almond-shaped. And they seemed to peer through him. It looked at him as if he were a meal. It looked at him as if he were a toy to teeth on. Its jaws opened wider, snarling. It bayed at him, teeth colliding with the glass again.

A long string of saliva coated the windshield. The animal pressed further into the window. Its red gums were bleeding violently from impact. And, as it slammed its paws into the glass again, Otogi thought it would break through the windshield. The glass creaked. The hood of the car shook.

The beast threw its head back, howling long and low. The car shook violently, rocking like a ship cast upon choppy waters.

Its head lowered, eyes on Otogi.

And then it vanished.

Otogi was frozen for a moment. Blood was smeared across the windshield. A small hairline fracture was focused where its teeth had gnashed against it. He blinked. And then he slowly looked over. Jonouchi was frozen next to him, gaping. They locked eyes for a single second. Disbelief and horror came over them both. But the entirety of the situation was too bewildering for either of them to consider for more than a moment.

"Fuck," Yugi was muttering. He had shaken Honda off, face twisted in a sneer. But he had dropped his hands in his lap. And he had settled in his seat again. "Fuck."

"Oh my god."

"What the fuck was that?"

"Was that a dog?"

"I thought you said it wasn't moving!"

"It wasn't!" Otogi snarled, spinning on Bonz with a furious expression. He glanced out the window past him, wondering if the dog had somehow simply run off. But he'd sworn it had locked eyes with him and then disappeared. It was impossible, he knew, but there was no way it had leaped over the roof of the car in that single second and dashed off into the darkness. Was there? He shivered. Then he looked to Bonz again.

There was no such thing as a dog disappearing into thin air. That was something that would have been written into a children's book.

He rolled his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. Anzu was still clinging to Yugi. But Yugi was ignoring this. He looked annoyed more than anything. And Otogi could see he'd torn a patch of hair out in his attempt to get the blindfold off. It was a small clump, but it was there, against his white shirt.

Otogi stared at it for a moment. Then he slowly raised a brow and fixed Anzu with a look. She released Yugi immediately, straightening in her seat, and looked away.

"Where did it go?" Honda demanded. He was shaking, breathing hard and struggling to keep his voice steady.

"It must have run off," Otogi scoffed. He shook his head, rolling his eyes. He fixed Jonouchi with a glare when it looked as if he might argue. Then he turned back to the others, frustrated and annoyed. "It was just a dog. It must have just turned and run away. It probably had rabies or something."

Yugi shook his head slightly. His head was lowered and his fingers were picking at the chain on his belt. He had looped one of his necklaces around his fingers in distress. Otogi could easily imagine that he was someone who wrung their hands when they were fearful. He could picture him as one of those people who struggled to stay still when they were upset, fidgeting restlessly due to it. He could never see him as being a good liar or much of a troublemaker, something that normally came with being part of the circle. And now he wondered if it was even worth the risk just to mess with the kid.

It was another couple of minutes of travel by car before they got to their destination.

They got out of the car. Honda helped Yugi keep his balance when he stumbled on the step out. And Jonouchi glanced at them both with a somewhat flustered expression. He was clearly still shaken from the entire experience. Otogi watched Yugi stretch his arms out to balance himself, then walk forward to follow Bonz and Mai. Anzu kept to Yugi's side, holding his elbow, and Honda kept a light grip on his other.

The incident in the van seemed to have affected him the most despite having not seen it. It was almost as if his inability to fix his eyes on the scene had scared him more than anything else possibly could have. He supposed it had to have been the adrenaline had probably thrown him for a loop. It had probably made the dog's roaring that much worse. The shaking of the car had done nothing to soothe, either, he was sure. And he could easily see himself just as bad—if not worse—had he been in the smaller boy's place.

"I don't see how the blindfold is really necessary," Yugi commented. The wind had picked up, tugging at his clothes. He stumbled, his hands reaching for the scarf again. He picked at it questioningly, though Otogi assumed he wasn't too serious about taking it off at the moment because neither Anzu nor Honda were pulling his hands away.

"And I think I can tell you what's necessary and what's not," Otogi sniped.

Yugi pulled his hands down reluctantly.

"Watch your step," Anzu stated when he stumbled slightly. Honda held his arm a bit tighter, keeping him from falling forward on his face. Yugi flashed them both grateful looks. It was almost as if he did not need his eyes to see them. And then he continued a bit more slowly, carefully picking his steps as they continued.

"Dude, Otogi, this place is creepy," Jonouchi muttered. He shook his head and cast a glance towards Bonz and Honda.

None of the group had been initiated inside of graveyard as Otogi was doing with Yugi. And, while it invoked a small bit of jealousy in the blond that the other boy was being given such attention, he was also extremely grateful for that fact. He had never been one for the scarier things in life, as ghosts and the possibility of the paranormal or supernatural being true always made him want to vomit. Curses made him almost scream and flee. Horror movies made him cringe despite how hard he tried not to.

"Oh please, you guys have nothing to worry about," Otogi purred. He was laughing when he spun around and held his hands open. He had picked this cemetery specifically, mapping it out several times. He knew the path they were taking like the back of his hand after two full weeks of crossing it, and could pick out every stick and stone that would litter it. "Besides, what better way to learn to appreciate life than to be surrounded by death?"

Yugi clicked his tongue, scoffing. "The dead aren't something that you should play with, Otogi. Especially not when it comes to cemeteries and restless spirits."

Otogi scoffed loudly, clicking his tongue in mockery. "Don't lecture me on this, neophyte," he sneered. He grinned wickedly at the others when they raised their brows or rolled their eyes. "I know what I'm doing. Stick with me and find a place in the circle and you won't have anything to worry about with that."

The smallest teen nearly laughed out loud. He smothered it, but couldn't suppress his urge to chuckle, a low almost baritone noise. He shook his head, never slowing his steps. And he knew instinctively when Honda and Anzu pulled away somewhat to allow him more room to move. The ground was steadier, he realized, despite the soft downward slope and gentle bends in the uneven terrain.

A large slab of polished and beautifully smooth marble stone rested in the center of a grove between largely-branched trees that shot several feet into the sky with shadows cast upon the ground as thick as the fear that had come over them in the presence of the dog. The grass was cut low to the ground, crunching beneath their feet as they continued forward, and the leaves cast dapples of light from the sparse moon overhead. Intricate patterns of roots in the earth made tiny mazes for bugs and woodland animals among the cemetery, and the gravestones cast the perfect shelter for creatures trying to hide away from predators. The wind whistled when it shook the branches and the leaves scattered softly in its gentle embrace, nearly pulling from the stems but holding just barely.

The dirt made a soft thudding noise as they stepped along, the pace changing to a slower steadiness that seemed to mimic that of army men moving across the earth. A small statue rested on the end of the slab of marble and several chalices with iron designs like thorns and ivy across the stems and upwards into the bowl of the cup sat parallel before it. A large bowl like that of a clay pot, given small writing and bits of paint, with tiny legs to hold it upright, stood in between two metal glasses. A book rested in front of one, at the very end opposite the knelt angel, and upon it rested a medium-sized stone to keep it and some of the looser papers in place in case the wind grew to be too much. Around the slab were several large stones, arranged to make up seats for the group, a camera's red light blinking from where it was perched atop a headstone.

Otogi cast Jonouchi a wicked glance, winking at Honda a moment later when he saw the surprised and suspicious look on his face. Mai purred softly in her throat, laughing quietly, and Anzu blushed at how oddly cozy the entire setup seemed, despite the darkness that the night offered. Bonz snickered happily, in his element as the boy had always been gothic and morbidly fascinated with the dead to the point that if he spoke most of the group would try to block him out in case the conversation swept that way.

"Seat him next to me," Otogi announced. He stepped around to the head of the slab across from the angel, sparing a single moment to take in the beautifully done statue. Knelt downwards with its wings bent into the air and its hands held together in prayer, its hair fell to the left as if swept purposefully away from her right shoulder, and her face was done in a way that it was hard not to imagine her alive and well. He pictured long lashes and eyes like the sky with hair like silken sunlight and skin as pale as porcelain.

Yugi followed his voice for the most part. He allowed Anzu to help him take his seat only when Otogi was truly quiet. The soft chirping of bugs off in the darkness was enough to distract him for a moment and he hesitantly reached forward, touching the stone of his seat and then the slab before him. His knee pressed into the chosen stone first, lightly running over the hard surface as he ignored the studs which threatened to block his sense of touch in that moment. He lowered his other leg, Anzu holding his other arm to keep him steady, then curled them to the side first so that he could test his weight against the marble in front of him. Satisfied when it did nothing to tip forward or rock beneath his hands, Yugi swept his legs to fold outwards, startled momentarily by how high up the ground was beneath him. He had expected the seat to be higher up or perhaps the ground lower beneath him. But his momentary scare was gone again and so he settled with putting his palms on the marble.

Anzu watched with slight amusement and a small sense of amazement, his recovery so quick and seemingly effortless. She couldn't understand how he could appear so comfortable despite his blindness. She took in the way he slouched forward momentarily, rolling his shoulders, and sat up straight. He was at attention, listening to the rest of them settle. His head had tipped slightly towards each of them when they moved, taking seats, and he did not appear to be straining himself to do so. But he did look incredibly confused and disoriented when he tried to listen for Bonz's movements. The lanky teen so often moved so softly that no one could hear him when he moved as it was. Yugi had been forced to lean forward against the marble, turning and tilting his head so that his ear was angled towards him entirely.

A candle was lit. The smell and sound of the match striking its box made Yugi turn towards Otogi as if the other had burned him. The air crackled with the small flame. The candle burned with a low, gentle flame against a wick that made soft hisses in the stillness. The noises of nature had seemed to suddenly drop away and no longer did crickets chirp or an animal move in the grass, paws almost too soft for any of them to catch.

"Those who enter this place must play the ultimate price. You are the only one to be worthy of this ritual but you must pass my test or suffer the consequences," Otogi announced. He smirked in Yugi's direction, the smaller boy awkwardly shifting his weight and bouncing one of his legs. "Are you ready?"

"I am," Yugi said without hesitation. He stopped moving aside from sitting straighter.

"Then let us begin."

Yugi could feel the excitement as it charged the group now. Anzu shifted almost nervously beside him, with an unease borne from suspense. A small intake of breath came from Mai, heightened by the silence. Jonouchi let out a small sigh that was riddled with anticipation. Bonz sucked his teeth softly. Honda tapped his fingers against the marble. Yugi nearly smiled at the idea of how much nervous anticipation seemed to come from them now.

And he knew without thought that Otogi was milking the entire situation and loving the situation of power that came with it.

A brief minute of silence passed between them all. A wind stirred lightly to touch at their faces as if in invisible affection. Yugi felt it curling over his skin and pricking him with ice like the tips of needles, almost as if begging for his approval. He drew his resolve together, the small teen licking his lips and pressing his knees together momentarily. He would remain still and calm for the duration of the ritual, as was expected of him. The silence made the blood pound in his ears and, for a moment, he could feel his entire body pulse with his heartbeat, a low and steady beat of muscle.

"Spirits of the somber night, those who preside over moon and stars, hear our voices calling out to thee," Otogi began, book open and his head tipped upwards as he said the words by memory rather than reading. Yugi tilted his head slightly toward him, rolling his neck a moment later, and the scarf's tail fell across his right shoulder.

But beside him, Anzu stiffened and grew wide-eyed, swallowing hard at the words. Yugi had yet to figure out if it was fear, residual from the encounter with the dog, or excitement as his initiation that made her do so. Honda was still tense across from him, eyes locked on Otogi while Mai and Jonouchi sat near the statue, their hands touching where they hung between their seats. Bonz sat at the other corner, near Honda, eyes bright with pure excitement and something akin wonder and amusement, lips drawn back into a small smirk of enjoyment.

"Blessed be."

A moment of silence passed, something of a cautionary pause, and then all of them chorused, "Blessed be" in unison. Yugi inched forward, shoulders somewhat rigid, and his head lowered slightly as he listened to the candle once more.

"Spirits, we appeal to thee, see us before you now. See this neophyte we present unto you tonight," Otogi continued. His voice rose and fell, but mostly it served to emphasize Yugi's status amongst the circle as a newcomer. Yugi wondered if posturing was what Otogi did best. "Blessed be."

The silence was much shorter now, almost nonexistent, and their voices came up steadily in echo of his words.

"Spirits from the shadows, we invoke thee. Rise, rise and see us so that we may commence." Otogi held his hands up and Yugi listened to the soft click of a lighter flicking to life. Anzu gasped faintly beside him and Bonz chuckled softly in amusement. "Spirits, make your presence known."

The bugs chirped for all of a moment and then fell immediately silent, as if somehow spooked away from their harmonious chatter. Anzu stiffened, shivering beside him, and Yugi wondered at this astonishing quiet that came from the darkness surrounding them. It was astonishing.

"This is getting a little weird," Anzu whispered, giving Honda a small glance.

Wind suddenly shook the trees, the branches whispering against the darkness and making each of them stiffen in turn. It almost sounded like the quiet giggling of gossiping women. Anzu glanced around, feeling flustered. She flinched when Duke shot her a look for silence, raising his chin to speak once more with a bit more power to his voice.

"Let us be silent so that we may hear the spirits bless this rite with a sign of their presence," the boy stated softly, purring the last two words and picking the book up between his hands, holding it open between his fingers. Silence greeted them for a long minute. The others began to shift restlessly around him, all of them swapping looks and frowning at one another. Normally Otogi would have taken even the sound of a mouse scurrying or something moving in the trees, a gentle gust of wind, a louder chirp from a cricket than usual, as a sign.

But none of these greeted them.

There was nothing.

There was nothing moving around.

The wind stilled and no leaves shook overhead any longer.

The bugs were still strangely silent, as if suffocated.

The silence continued without relief.

Bonz began twitching. A sense of terror and dread came over his face. Abruptly he stiffened and his head turned. He twisted around several times to look around them.

There was nothing, however.

There were nothing but shadows cast in the grass, mingling with the blades' own pale streaks of darkness. The gravestones around them were visual to him. Nothing looked out of place. No wind stirred. No noise came about from the grass. Nothing moved and nothing gained his attention. Nothing popped out as a culprit for his fear.

By the end of that long minute, even Otogi had grown restless. Bonz looked over. His grip on the velvet-lined book tightened. His fingers were twitching minutely, but his knuckles were white. His eyes were wide when he glanced around in confusion. Jonouchi broke into a cold sweat beside Anzu, stiff where he sat. Honda looked as if he might vomit, looking around in confusion. And Mai had shifted his weight uncomfortably now, pulling her hand away from Jonouchi's.

Bonz could see Otogi looking frantically for a sign of any kind.

He looked around as well now, shivering.

The moonlight was dreary and cast nothing but cold indifference over the field of graves. The dappled patterns upon the ground cast by the leaves cast deep shadows that made his skin crawl. Yugi could not see them, but he felt the chill of them, unnatural even for an autumn night, and he twitched in his seat. He shifted his weight and raised his shoulders in a somewhat defensive gesture. A car passing along the street was the only outside noise and Yugi's shoulders stiffened more at the sound of it as it passed away further into the darkness.

A snarl ripped through the air so suddenly that all of them sprang like startled cats.

The shriek left them in unison.

The air seemed to thicken abruptly. The fear crept over them, smothering and hot like a coming storm. They all swung around to peer in the darkness. Even Yugi tried to peer through his scarf once more.

But, again, there was nothing.

Yugi started to work on his blindfold. His fingers were shaking violently. And he let out a noise of pure fear as the animal snarled once more.

The ground shook with the strength of the noise. The trees quivered. They all swung around to look again. Yugi was quaking in his seat. The moon fell away to darkness, overcast by the clouds. The entire area around them was cloaked in the vast nothingness of darkness. The candle's flame fell away for a split second. And then it snapped back to form. The faint light danced across carved stone and old worn paper, the rough exterior of tree bark.

The animal paced forward. It snarled low in its throat. The one made Yugi's hands fall back. They were shaking too hard to grasp the material. The sound of its movement was completely nonexistent. It crept along the length of a shadow. The gravestone several feet away seemed almost to shimmer. The animal crept forward in the darkness as if it were carved from the night itself.

Jonouchi yelled in panic. A startled "Holy fuck!" left him. Anzu and Mai both screamed. The air seemed to shake from their voices. Bonz began to breathe harshly, nearly hyperventilating. Honda cursed but fell silent as he watched it. He seemed mesmerized and stupefied by the sight of the massive creature. Yugi shook like a leaf in the wind. His bones were quaking beneath his skin. A cold sweat began to form across his face.

The animal stopped only two feet away from them. It pulled itself to its full height, no longer creeping forth. It had been like a snake, slithering. But now it stood on long, slender legs. Honda thought it had the length of a deer's limbs. Its paws were huge, splayed outwards rather than forward. Its head rose from where it had been lowered. It stretched forward at shoulder height, then raised itself completely. Its ears were smooth and rounded at the top. They stood erect, pricked forward, and twitched in unison with his own pounding heart. Its eyes glowed a fierce russet color. Its head tilted slowly. Its almond-shaped gaze glowed.

The silence made them all stiffen impossibly more. The tension made them quake. Its tail rose slowly into the air. It wagged once. Then it sprang forward. It was a blur of motion. Its jaws opened wide. It snarled viciously. It landed a foot away. Then it sprang straight for Otogi. Each tooth was aimed for his face. The air quivered with heat. Bonz and Honda threw themselves out of the way. They ducked on the ground, but still turned to look.

It looked like no dog Honda had ever seen. He'd grown up a dog breed fanatic. He'd studied them relentlessly. And then he'd finally settled on a German shepherd puppy when he was fourteen. The muscles in this dog's body were amazingly well-defined. They rippled beneath its coat. And, he realized in shock, its coat shunned even the smallest touch of the silver light from the moon overhead. The fur along its shoulders rose entirely in a bristle. Its legs were long and powerful. The nails were extremely sharp, like hooked knives that would never grow blunt. They glistened in the low light unlike its fur. And the teeth had to be two or three inches long…

Its howl made their blood freeze. The animal was inches from Otogi's face. Its jaws were aimed for his throat.

And Otogi was frozen.

He was screaming. His eyes looked as if they might pop out of his head.

And then his instincts kicked in.

He ducked, throwing himself to the ground. The dog sailed over him. It landed in the grass right beside his seat. Its head was thrown back in a long arch of muscle and fur. An enraged scream escaped its mouth. They all shook violently, blood boiling in their veins.

It stood for a brief moment. Then it spun on them, snarling. Its eyes glowed fiercely in the dark. Its jaws opened to show each tooth. And then it turned. Its head swung towards Yugi. Its mouth opened wide. All of them could see the puff of air leaving its muzzle. Its tongue flicked over its nose. Yugi was completely still. Somehow he did not move. Hot air pressed into his arm. It burned and tingled there, as if to scorch him And then the animal snarled and bayed again.

It rose onto its back legs, front legs straight and stiff before it. And then it screamed so fiercely that it made the trees tremble and the air seemingly ripple.

And then it was gone.

Honda blinked stupidly. He struggled to sit up. His eyes were wide, stunned. His mind worked frantically to understand. The animal had a narrow chest and long legs. It was so tall, standing at almost four feet. But when it had moved, it had possessed the grace of a wolfhound. The robust muscle and more compact figure of its flanks and chest, its shoulders, and the narrow skull, the ability to open its mouth so fully and pull its lips so far back, was like nothing he had ever seen before. The ribcage had sloped in a gentle upwards arc, giving it a leaner side profile but not failing to pronounce the power that it possessed. The back legs had propelled it so easily, with the grace of a pouncing jungle cat. It had been precise and powerful, with strength that put a rottweiler or even a shepherd to shame.

How those long legs supported that beast was something that Honda would have thought impossible. It was built for speed and power and precision. It was like no dog breed that he had ever seen or studied. Not even the spindly greyhound could carry itself at such speed as that monster had seemed to. Seeing it slink forth in the darkness had almost made him think of a large jungle cat…

"That dog…" Honda breathed roughly, shaking his head. He shot Otogi a horrified look. The other boy glanced between them all. He drew himself to his feet, then dusted himself off. He took a seat then, as if he had never been scared for his life, nor been nearly killed a mere minute before. Then he snorted. "Where did it go, you guys?"

"It couldn't have just disappeared…" Mai whispered. She was trying to sound reasonable, Honda knew, but she only succeeded to sound shaky. Jonouchi was quaking beside her. The blond glanced around wildly, twisting and turning around in his seat. And his face had turned green, as if he might vomit at any moment. Bonz breathed harshly in Honda's ear, shaking so badly that he had to use the brunet's arm and shoulder to pull himself to his feet. He glanced around as wildly as Jonouchi was, shivering. And then he released him and exhaled loudly.

"It didn't just disappear," Otogi sneered. "It just ran off."

"Are you…are you serious right now?" Bonz snarled, shaking his head violently. Honda could see him still shaking. "That thing came out of nowhere and then it fucking vanished into thin air!"

"No, you idiot, it didn't. Because it's just a fucking dog. And dogs do not just disappear into thin air. It was black and there's not much light around to see by. It ran off when we weren't looking," Otogi spat. He rolled his eyes and shook his head sharply. Abruptly his head snapped around. "You can take that off when I tell you you're allowed to."

Yugi stopped short. His hands fell in his lap again. Otogi leaned over, grabbed the tails of the scarf, and tugged violently. Honda winced when he saw Yugi grimace in pain. But he gave him props for not flinching. It had to have put a lot of pressure on his skull, especially where it tugged and knotted his hair, Honda was sure.

"But, you don't understand," the smaller teen mumbled. He turned his head towards Otogi, opening his mouth again.

"I do understand," Otogi snarled, cutting him off completely. "We asked for a sign and that is what we got. Now keep it on."

"This isn't right," Honda breathed out shakily. Otogi spun on him with a furious look. But he felt sick, far too nervous to care for a scolding over the fear he could still feel in his veins. And the smallest part of him was somewhat indignant on Yugi's behalf. He was still blindfolded and Otogi was being an asshole towards him.

"No, no," Yugi snapped, his voice coming out in a furious and hateful tone. He shook his head sharply and his voice grew quieter when he exhaled between his teeth a moment later. "This is something else—"

"It was a dog," Otogi stated. His mouth was set in a hard line. He had moved the book back onto the stone and he was glaring at Yugi in annoyance. "A dog. A common household pet. It ran away."

Yugi shook his head again. He sniffed the air, shoulders rising as he turned his attention away from Otogi entirely. Honda noted that he was facing the spot the dog had landed moments before. "What is that smell? Did the candle fall?" Yugi demanded, his voice confused but alarmed. He drew in a deep breath, shoulders stiffening visibly, and shook his head. "Something is burning."

Anzu let out a strangled noise as she turned her head. Honda hurried over to lean over the marble and see. Steam was billowing into the air, in four separate spots. The air was so cold that it looked almost like thin tendrils of white smoke rising and flowing in the dark. The air was distorted with the heat the spot gave off, the grass around what looked to be four paw prints appearing black and burned. The grass was completely gone and the earth exposed where the paw pads had landed, forming perfect prints.

"This is a sign," Otogi dismissed, ignoring them as they began to immediately protest. Honda shook his head, staring down at the four prints. The smoke did nothing to obscure them in any manner. They were perfectly outlined, spaced to hold the dog's weight firmly upon its landing.

"Where did it go?" Mai shrieked, voice brittle but full of rage. "Where the hell did it go, Otogi?"

"I don't know. Who cares? It's not like that actually matters."

"What is that? What the hell is that?" Yugi demanded, cutting through their growing argument with alarm and bewilderment in his tone. "Is something burning? Did the candle get knocked over? Nothing is on fire, right?"

Jonouchi had wandered over to them. He was terrified, Honda knew, but still curious as well. And he could tell by the look on his face that he was torn between the instinct to pretend he didn't notice and one to investigate it further. But then he reached out. Yugi paused from sniffing the air to stop and turn his head, a confused expression on his face. He looked utterly lost as to what was happening. And, abruptly, Jonouchi crouched down to get closer, having brought his hand back. Honda hesitated, watching him, thinking to warn him against it, but the blond wouldn't have listened to him regardless.

The moonlight cast a faint enough glow to see that the grass beside the prints was charred pitch black, burned to a crisp but still somehow there. The blades further away, however, were still their usual deep green. Autumns and winters were usually on the warmer side in Domino, and the grass didn't usually lose its lustrous green color until it was around mid-November or early December. So it was not hard to see the contrast in color, even without the steam that still rose in the air around the prints.

Jonouchi seemed to have decided to go through with it. He reached out, his fingers touching the earth, and then yowled as he leaped to his feet. "That fucking burns! Holy shit!"

"What is that?" Bonz demanded, voice shrill.

"It's fucking hot!" Jonouchi spat in distress.

"Otogi, I think we should go home," Honda stated, hazel eyes wide and dilated. He glanced at the others for support. And he received various nods, though he found himself puzzled when Yugi seemed to simply tilt his head. The others looked like cheap bobble-heads from a souvenir store with how rapidly they nodded, however. "This is crazy."

"Yeah," Bonz agreed. His voice was still somewhat high-pitched, though it was growing more even. His eyes were nearly black, his pupils blown. It made the moonlight where it touched his eyes that much more brilliant. And he looked nothing like the kid who was so often obsessed with spirits and the supernatural. He looked like a scared child who might vomit or piss himself at any moment. "We need to get out of here—"

"Please," Anzu begged, eyes wide and horrified.

Honda looked at the others again. Bonz was still shaking. Jonouchi was glaring at Otogi. Mai was inspecting Jonouchi's hand. Otogi was pretending to listen to them, tilting his head slightly to the side.

Yugi was simply listening, head tilted. His shoulders were up again, almost shielding his neck, and he was swallowing with what looked to be absolutely fear. He was not shaking any longer, but anyone could see that he was still terrified. His skin was skill clammy, soaked with sweat, and his hands were clenched on his knees. He looked pale and smaller than Honda had ever seen him before.

"I'm serious."

"We have to finish the ritual," Otogi said with a conviction that made Yugi turn his head. His jaw was set, his lips twitching and working into a frown, but he did not speak against him. And Honda wondered if he'd displaced the scarf enough to be able to see Otogi through the thick material. It certainly seemed as if he were staring straight at him.

"I don't think we should stay here," Mai wheedled in distress. She had released Jonouchi's hand now, and Honda could see the flesh looked red but there was no obvious damage beyond that. Jonouchi was shaking his head, his expression full of disdain as he stared at Otogi. Honda and Anzu swapped looks but Bonz had taken his seat, terrified but quiet.

"I really don't think that's a good idea," Anzu breathed shakily, quaking as she stared at Otogi again. She started to take a seat, however, when she saw how determined Otogi looked at the moment. The resolve in his teal eyes was hard to try to fight against. And she found herself looking away again.

Her eyes shot to Yugi after a moment. The boy beside her was simply stiff, uneasy for sure, and he seemed as if he were struggling not to speak. She was tempted for a moment to reach over and lightly touch Yugi's arm, to ask him if he was okay. But, even when she thought to do so, a part of her refused it. Yugi had to be scared enough as it was, and she didn't need to potentially make it worse by startling him by doing so.

She drew in a deep breath, then looked away.

"Are you fucking serious?" Jonouchi spat.

"Otogi, I don't think we can stay here," Honda tried. Anzu watched him swallow hard, his hazel eyes shooting around again. She noticed that Bonz was still shaking, but he'd turned his head away and refused to look at anyone now. He seemed almost despondent enough to be comatose for a split second.

"There's no way we can stay here," Mai screeched. She shook her head. "You'd have to be insane to want to stay here! That dog just appeared and disappeared! And you just barely got away with your head still on, Otogi! How the hell can you want to stay here?"

"This is crazy," Bonz said, voice sounding almost broken for a moment. "You can't be serious—"

"Okay, all right," Otogi snarled, holding his hands up. "Fine, fine. You guys want to leave so bad? Then go ahead. Leave. But you forfeit your place as a member of this circle."

Yugi tilted his head, scowling for a moment. He scowled and reached up to run his hands through his hair. He twisted his forelock around his finger, tugging lightly, and breathed out a soft sigh. Otogi was watching him with cold eyes, however, as if he thought that he might lunge for him if he thought he was touching the scarf. Yugi settled back again, shaking his head and putting his hands on his knees again.

The others had gone completely quiet.

Yugi could imagine that they were staring at him now, stunned by the audacity of saying such a thing. And he wondered if any of them would go against him. Out of the group, he assumed only Jonouchi or Honda would truly do it. Bonz was too much of a follower. And Yugi had a feeling that Anzu would stay simply for Mai but Mai would stay only because of Jonouchi. But if the blond were to cut ties, she would do the same and follow him.

"Oh my god," Jonouchi snapped.

But Yugi remembered he was rather proud at times, and so he would be rooted to the spot. Yugi did not turn his head towards him in any manner, and he thought all of them were motionless but for looking at each other. If Jonouchi didn't decide to cut ties, neither would Mai and he knew for a fact that Honda would only follow the blond then. Anzu would likely follow Mai, but he did not know what Bonz might do. He might easily take the abuse and roll with it.

"Come on, Otogi," Honda mumbled.

"Fine, fine, let's just finish this," Mai snapped. Yugi could hear her taking her seat again. And then he heard Jonouchi do the same. Anzu came back to his side, the smell of jasmine and vanilla filling his senses for a split second. And then Otogi seemed to snort with satisfaction.

"Here we go," Anzu hissed.

"Let's just get this over with and then go home," Bonz grumbled.

"Go," Honda urged, sounding flustered.

Yugi tried to make his shoulders relax. But they were so tense that he was forced to attempt to roll them. But it did nothing but raise them higher and make them stiffer. And he found himself almost sighing with dismay before forcing himself to drop his stance. He sagged his shoulders, but his back remained stiff and straight. A small quiver ran through his shoulders a moment or so later.

Silence fell over the group again.

"Spirits, having risen, behold our communion."

Yugi swore he heard something like a cork being undone from a bottle. He strained his ears and heard liquid splashing against the sides of a glass bottle. He blinked behind the scarf, his lashes folding awkwardly against the material, but still could see nothing. Then he heard the softest clink of metal against marble and stiffened.

Had he truly brought wine? None of them were of legal age.

It was not uncommon for such a thing to be done, he knew. But seeing as he had joined his old circle when he was only fourteen and the others had been the same age, they'd substituted it with grape juice. It hadn't been much fun to drink that, seeing as he hated grapes, but it had been worth it regardless.

But he'd never had anyone bring an entire bottle of wine to a communion before. Usually it was a little flask that was silver in color. It was meant to be symbolic to the spirits, to have the right color and the right size for the flask. The silver of the flash was meant to cleanse the soul of the person who drank from it and if they could swallow the wine it meant that the spirits accepted them as a member.

"Allow this neophyte to drink the spirit's blood so that he, too, may become one of us," Otogi continued. Yugi could hear the cork sliding back into place. He strained his ears but made no move to take the cup. It was usually the leader who would hand the cup over for them. But this time the tension seemed to have gotten to everyone.

Anzu reached over, gently taking his hand, her fingers warm but slightly shaky, and led his palm to grab it. Yugi grasped it firmly when she cupped his fingers around it, though she surprised him when her fingers momentarily twined with his. His other hand came out, balancing it as he raised it to his mouth. There was a strong, fake smell that came to him as he breathed in.

He nearly cringed, ignoring it when Anzu seemed to reluctantly peel her fingers away. He swallowed once, shoulders twitching, and took a sip of the concoction just as the others began to speak again.

"Otogi, what the hell is—?"

"Put that away. Don't make him actually—"

"Hush," the teal-eyed boy snapped.

Yugi swallowed the mouthful, putting the cup down. He almost gagged, placing it on the slab once more and wiping at his mouth in disgust. That definitely was not grape juice. He didn't know what it was, but it tasted of chemicals and smiled slightly like nail polish remover. He wondered if Otogi would have been that disgusting and spiteful as to do that.
"What is that?" he finally asked. He gagged, then covered his mouth with the back of his hand. He refused to cough it back up. The irritating prickle and disgusting taste could be forced down, he promised himself. He'd come too far to vomit this up and ruin his own initiation.

"Is that blood?"

Yugi could feel the concoction across the back of his hand. It was disgusting and oddly thick, almost like a paste, where it began to dry.

"That would be a fake blood mix—you know, the crap that you get on Halloween that can look either really great or really shitty depending on how you do it. I was expecting you to react better than that," Otogi snickered. He sounded amused but disappointed as well. Clearly he'd been expecting Yugi to gag and cough it up so that he could say that they could not accept him into the group. "Welcome to the circle, Yugi."

Yugi smirked slightly, nodding at the statement. It might have been grudging, but it was still affirmation regardless. He rose to his feet, stepping awkwardly around the stone he'd been sitting on.

"That was kind of cool," Bonz said in a shaky, yet relieved tone from somewhere to Yugi's right.

"Yugi, I now give you the gift of sight," Otogi announced. He reached up to peel the scarf from his eyes, allowing him to open them and stare at him. His eyes seemed blank for a moment, as if Yugi could not see him properly. And then they focused so sharply on his form that he seemed to be staring through him. The moonlight glimmered, the blue of his eyes glittering as if they were chunks of chiseled gemstone. Otogi was so caught up in the momentary power of that look in his eyes, of the hypnotizing quality that it seemed to possess, that he stopped short. His fingers rested in his hair near the back of his ear, almost as if it were reminiscent of a tender touch, and forced himself to focus again as he looked him over. "You are one of us now."

"All right," Anzu breathed in relief. But she froze, flushed, as Otogi leaned forward to gently brush lips with Yugi. The small teen did not once more, allowing him to do so. And Otogi pulled away with a wide smirk. But Yugi simply blinked at him once, expression blank but eyes studious. And then he looked away without a second glance.

"Okay, so can we go now?" Jonouchi spat. Anzu looked over at him, still feeling incredibly flustered. The blond was rolling his shoulders eagerly, brown eyes appearing more annoyed than ever. It was clear he wanted out of the cemetery and away from the oddities that had occurred there. He hardly even seemed to care that Yugi was part of the group now. He looked as if he simply wanted to run as fast as he could.

"Yeah, let's just get out of here," Bonz said eagerly. He nodded vigorously and licked his lips, looking at the others. There were equally fervent nods. Anzu noticed that only Yugi did not seem to speak up in agreement or so much as nod in turn. He simply smiled a little, a reassuring gesture, but turned his head to look towards Otogi.

Anzu felt the smallest bit of jealousy crash through her again. But then she realized Yugi was not looking at Otogi, in truth. He was facing the dog's paw prints. He had moved over to crouch next to one of them, reaching out to measure it against his hand. The print was as wide and just as long as his own hand, the toes stretching impressively to the length of his fingers but thrice as wide. His lips twitched, his eyes widening, and he got up again after a moment.

Otogi walked ahead with Bonz, arm wrapped around his shoulder while Bonz returned the gesture. The two of them looked odd and gangly as they walked, the taller boy looking over his shoulder and laughing, "Going to stick to your original choice of fun, huh, Yugi?"

"Mm," the smaller boy acknowledged, flashing him a smirk. Anzu noticed that he did not look particularly amused, however. And he seemed to make no move to start forward to join them either. "I think I chose the right word."

"I was seriously scared when you were doing the ritual," Mai commented. She'd rushed past Yugi over to Jonouchi where the blond was beginning to follow them. She snuggled into his side and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Anzu watched them for a moment, flustered and stealing a peak at Yugi again, but the small teen hardly seemed to notice. He turned away from the small group entirely and so she looked back at the others again.

"I wasn't," Otogi laughed. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment at Mai with a smirk.

"I had no idea what was going on," Bonz admitted in a quiet voice. "It was great and all but it… That dog…"

"Oh, don't even start with that again," Otogi scoffed. "It was just a dog. It doesn't matter. We asked for a sign and that was what we got. Now stop talking so loud. You might end up waking the dead."

The comment got a nervous chuckle from Bonz. But Anzu saw his head turn to look at Yugi over his shoulder, an unsure expression on his face. Yugi seemed to sense it, head turning abruptly towards him. And Anzu felt a shiver crawl up her spine.

This entire night had been strange and different, odd and bewildering. A lot of it had been, she knew, Otogi trying to make it more mystical and exciting. He had always been rather showy and flashy like that when it came to initiations. But this one had also had a bunch of power play between them as well. Otogi had obviously felt threatened for whatever reason; it was likely because Yugi had already had experience in a circle before then.

But she couldn't imagine how terrible this ritual in and of itself had to have been for Yugi. He had been blind the entire time, unable to even know half of what was going on. He'd had to listen and draw his own judgments on the situation at hand. It had to have been ten times as hard for him as it was for them. And she thought the dog's attack had to be three times worse with the realization that he could only hear it snarling at him, could feel its hot breath against his arm like that. How he had not screamed and cowered when the dog had howled into his ear like that was beyond her.

Maybe he had assumed staying still and making himself smaller would save him.

Regardless, she admired him for his ability to remain so calm. Yugi had flinched and shaken, but he'd held absolutely still when it had gotten so close. He'd been sweating, but he'd held himself there rather than fleeing. She remembered reading once that dogs tended to like to give chase when a victim—be it human or animal—fled. So it was possible he'd done such in order to avoid being attacked.

Maybe that had been why the dog had gone after Otogi the second time. After all, Otogi had fled back into the car when the dog had rushed at him.

But, if he had hit the dog with the minivan at the speed they were going, wouldn't that have actually killed it? Or left it with some kind of limp? But that dog had leaped with such a grace that it was nearly impossible for it to have even been touched by the car. And yet…the car tire had rolled over the animal. They had all felt the lurch of it when it rose and fell as if on a mound of dirt on the road.

Yugi watched them wander off together. He tucked his hands into his jacket pockets and looked around lazily for a moment. It was a nice night, even with all of the craziness that had occurred earlier. He lowered his eyes to the paw prints, however, and his stomach lurched for a single moment.

"I am so sorry, Yugi," Anzu breathed quietly. His head snapped up, eyes wide. She was fidgeting, looking anxious. "I had no idea he was going to do that."

"It doesn't matter," he stated simply. He shrugged, then smiled at her easily. But he thought of her fingers fingers when she'd momentarily twined them with his and his stomach lurched as he frowned. "But I do want to know more about the dog."

"The dog…?" she repeated slowly, blinking wide eyes. She opened and closed her mouth, then shook her head slowly. Anzu glanced at the prints in the grass, at the charred blades that would have made up the shape of the dog's body, and then turned back to him immediately, unnerved. "What about the dog?"

"Did you see it twice?"

Anzu was quiet for a moment. Then she stiffened, no doubt having heard the urgency in his tone. "W-why?" she finally stammered. She blinked wide eyes and swallowed hard. Yugi stared at her blankly for a moment.

"It's just really important, Anzu. I need to know. Did you see the dog twice or not?"

"W—"

A distant snarl made Anzu jump. Yugi's head snapped around, eyes wide.

"Oh god," she whispered, shaking her head.

"Fuck, we've got to run," Yugi said, grabbing her wrist. She was frozen in place, eyes wide and horrified. And a small bit of sweat had begun to bloom on her face. "Anzu, run."

"What's going on?" she demanded. But she took off after him regardless. And she was relieved to have chosen to wear a looser skirt, as it helped her keep her footing. Yugi was a lot faster than he looked. It was almost like his legs had grown longer or something. The distance he seemed to put between the two of them and the canine could have put a track runner to shame. "Yugi, do you know something?"

"Just run." His voice bordered a snap. And he continued to drag her along behind him. She was losing stamina but he seemed almost to gain it. She lagged slightly, almost tripped. And he nearly took her off balance altogether. But he slowed just enough for her to catch her balance. "And don't look back—whatever you do, do not look back. Do not look at it."

Yugi almost jumped a headstone. But then he remembered she was there too. He veered to the left. She stumbled and he caught her. But the moment was short. He turned away immediately, running. The sound of the grass beneath their feet made his head spin. His stomach twisted.

The barking grew louder. A snarl ripped through the air.

It sounded like it was right behind them.

The smell of burning grass made Anzu gasp. The dog was closing in. But she couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear it crashing through the grass behind them.

What she heard was the stone marker exploding.

It burst in a rumbling cloud of noise. She heard pieces falling upon each other. She heard it as they lost their shape. She could hear the dog breathing. She could hear its teeth clicking. It snapped and snarled. It slavered. But she could not hear it moving. There was no weight to be pressed upon the earth. The grass did not crush beneath its paws.

But the smell of fire was more prominent.

For all the speed Yugi had, he was unable to keep ahead of it. He abruptly veered to the right. A mausoleum appeared in the distance. Yugi brought her close to it. And then he spun around, eyes on her. "Get down and keep your eyes shut. Don't look at it," he urged frantically. He gestured for her to take a seat. Then he did the same. She squinted through her lashes, breathing heavily. And then he tucked his feet beneath his legs, pressing himself against the stone completely.

"What's happening?"

"Don't open your eyes," Yugi spat.

The snarling grew into a furious roar. She kept her eyes shut. The animal closed in on them. The air grew distorted and heavy. Ripples of heat came over them. She was shaking next to him. The smell of sulfur and burning flesh came forward. The beast snarled and she covered her ears with her hands frantically.

Yugi peeked an eye open. The creature was mere inches away. It paced several steps. It shifted its weight back and forth. It snarled low in its throat. Its head was lowered to level with its shoulders. Its long tail wagged back and forth angrily. Its muscles rippled beneath its pelt. The earth shriveled into nothingness beneath its paws. It burned to ashes. The grass withered into blackened strands of death beneath its shadow.

The snarl it loosed was unholy. It dipped low, heavy and terrible. It gripped at his insides. His instincts faltered. His skin grew cold. His blood froze in his veins. His bones grew stiff. The animal's red eyes glowed like live embers, burning like hellfire. But the beast was not paying him attention at the moment. It was focused entirely on Anzu instead.

The lean build seemed incredibly misleading. The height made it stand larger than life. It had to be at least the size of a small horse. It was skinnier, much more aesthetically pleasing in build. Its tail nearly touched the ground. Its ears were smooth and rounded. Soft tufts of fur on either side of them gave the illusion of cuteness. Its skull was broad, narrow. Its snout was longer than usual. Its fur seemed to absorb the light around it. The shadows seemed darker and longer. And its fangs dripped heavy strings of saliva. The earth sizzled on contact.

It snarled. Then it lunged for Anzu.

But it dissipated an inch from her face.

Yugi blinked, confused. And then he looked down at the tracks. The tracks were huge.

"It's gone. I think it's gone," he announced. He looked around slowly, uncomfortably. He had seen the dog once, purely out of curiosity. He would be safe for now. He had no doubt the animal would come to claim him as well, however. It just depended on when it chose to destroy him.

"W-what was that?"

"We're okay," Yugi whispered, climbing to his feet and looking around once more; the beast was nowhere in sight. "I think we're okay."

"A-are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure… I think so, yeah… Yes, I think we're good—W-we're fine," Yugi said in a rush. His wide eyes shot around again. He blinked, taking in the height of the grass around them. It was much taller than he'd noticed before. Most cemeteries were well-kept and the lawn regularly mowed. But the weeds were sharp where they stretched high enough to outline the headstones. The cuts of stone seemed to glow in the moonlight beneath their shadows, and the neat paths of dirt and sodden grass made the area seem even stranger. There were large clumps of undergrowth spread about, ferns and monkey grass, and the entire place looked like a forest littered with gravestones rather than a proper cemetery.

The trees gave to life a gentle breeze and the grass rustled where the plants brushed against each other. A long weed scraped against his clothing almost like fingernails scratching at the fabric but failing to touch his skin. The bugs remained silent but he could see a cricket perched on one of the blades, with enough weight to make the top wilt with the pressure of keeping them upright. Moonlight made the grass appear almost silver for a moment and Yugi shook his head slightly as he glanced at Anzu sideways and blinked slowly.

If there was a mist to cloak the cemetery, it would have looked like a horror movie scene or a wonderland painted silver. He could just imagine the glistening touches of bright white due against the bluish-silver-tint of moonlight and mist. The overgrown grass would have had the perfect effect of highlighting the beautiful glow of color and giving it more foundation. The trees were black in the distance, large vertical lines of towering branches that cut like jagged spikes of dark lightning.

He had already known that this cemetery was half well-kept and yet neglected on the other end of the large area. He had been inside it once or twice, had seen that it was split almost exactly down the middle with the way that its maintenance had been neglected. The older graves were hardly ever visited seeing as most of the families had moved out of Domino at some point or other, and so the grave keepers had probably seen it fit to ignore for the time being. The gravestones themselves had become chiseled and worn down in the further spots of the cemetery, and Yugi had even spotted one of them cracked down the middle with a plant growing through it. So the change of terrain was not truly a surprise to him, though he could see that Anzu herself had not known of this at had already known that this cemetery was half well-kept and yet neglected on the other end of the large area. He had been inside it once or twice, had seen that it was split almost exactly down the middle with the way that its maintenance had been neglected. The older graves were hardly ever visited seeing as most of the families had moved out of Domino at some point or other, and so the grave keepers had probably seen it fit to ignore for the time being. The gravestones themselves had become chiseled and worn down in the further spots of the cemetery, and Yugi had even spotted one of them cracked down the middle with a plant growing through it. So the change of terrain was not truly a surprise to him, though he could see that Anzu herself had not known of this at all.

He lowered his eyes to the ground in front of them, turning his head just enough to take in the charred patterns on the ground. The smell of burnt grass made him wrinkle his nose and his eyes grew wide with shock as he looked at the spot the dog had once stood.

The earth was scorched in a long trail of paw prints. The ground beneath was exposed, steam rising in billows of bright white smoke. The trail was odd in the way it looked more as if the animal had run with its back legs in the place of its front paw prints. For every print, there was another to overlap it. The displacement made it seem as if each foot had eight toes and two paw pads. The heat of the steam bathed over him even with the distance of those few feet between them. And he felt as if the animal had truly struck him.

A loud scream traveled through the air. A snarl ripped its way through Yugi's ears. Jonouchi was yelling. Both of them jumped. Yugi looked at the prints again. But there were none leading to where the dog had gone. The trail ended where it had been standing. It had been in front of him there, snarling and snapping at Anzu. And there was no other trail…

Yugi waited a moment longer. Then he heard a crash. He took off after it. Otogi was cursing. And Yugi could hear him crashing through the grass. The dog was right behind, he knew. He must have run when he had heard it. The dog would have let up the chase otherwise. Had he looked back, the canine would have disappeared. But then, it was a dog. It might have chased him regardless.

They were bred for such a thing. The instinct for dogs was to make them run. Then they would chase. And then they would outpace their prey. Their stamina was amazing. And they would hunt their prey relentlessly.

Yugi ignored Anzu when she called his name. He could hear her chasing him. He narrowed his eyes. It was hard to tell what direction they'd gone. He could not see any prints. There was no smoke to follow. He listened to the dog in the undergrowth. Otogi was swearing louder than ever now. Yugi was abruptly enveloped in smoke. The heat was enough to stun him. And the smoke choked his nose. His throat was hot, raw with pain as he breathed in.

He swallowed, throat aching. He panted. It felt as if he were being smothered. The heat burned his lungs and his chest ached. He shivered. Then he took off running again. The grass was charred and black again The smoke billowed every which way, creating a dense haze. The path was scorched to the dirt, just as it had been before.

Otogi yelled again. Yugi hurriedly chased the noise.

He could see nothing up ahead. For a long minute and a half there was nothing.

His legs were burning. His lungs ached. He could hear them. But he was blind. He panted, exhausted. His stomach dropped. Otogi yelled again.

And suddenly he was staring at the raven-haired teen. He was racing towards him. The dog was inches away. Yugi spun and ducked. The gravestone was cold against his skin. Otogi raced past him. A furious heat crashed over his head. Yugi pressed himself hard against the marble. It felt almost as if it might freeze his flesh. His heart was in his throat.

The dog landed in front of him. Smoke burst upwards from its paws. Heat surged forward. Its black tail was held high over its back. Its fur stood in a bristle of pure aggression. Its entire body was tense. Its muscles were coiled to spring. Yugi could tell without seeing that its lisp were pulled back. Its mouth was likely a slathering mess of saliva. He imagined thick strands falling from gaping jaws. He imagined teeth glimmering in the moonlight. He imagined glowing red eyes like hellfire and brimstone.

Yugi breathed in roughly.

It was not looking at him or even facing him. But it still scared him. He had heard rumors. If the dog was not facing or actively hunting someone who saw it, then no harm came from the sighting. He was not sure this was true. But it was better to pretend it was safe, right? Yugi felt every hair on his body rise in alarm. The dog's body heat made his cheeks flush. The intensity made him sweat.

Otogi yelled again. He spun around. His leg lashed out. "Stupid mutt!" he spat. His foot was an inch from its jaw. The dog snarled furiously. It jerked back. Yugi tried to press himself further into the marble. But the solid surface refused to yield. He swallowed a whimper. The canine snarled and snapped. It paced a few steps away. Its ears flicked. The snarl was deep and hideous.

Horrified, Yugi choked.

It was going to turn. And then it would see him. It would make him a target as well.

Yugi's mouth watered. But it felt dry as well. His stomach twisted. His heart pounded.

He was going to die—

"Get the fuck out of here!" Otogi screamed.

The dog's snarl was guttural. Its entire body shook with the force. Its fur rose further. Its shoulders squared. Its ears pricked. Saliva fell in thick strands. The incisors glistened. The earth burned where it came in contact. The stench was of rotting, burning flesh. Its left leg shook from the strain of its tension. The muscles rippled beneath its fur.

Abruptly its head turned. Its ears pricked forward. Its neck rippled with the power of its muscles. Its tail dropped suddenly. Its back legs moved to scratch at the earth. The scorch mark was far more pronounced now. The nails tore the earth in deep grooves. The grass gave way to nothingness. And then its head was thrown back.

Yugi flinched. The howl was a booming roar of noise. A bark made his ears ring. Otogi cursed. He looked around quickly. But the animal was long gone. It had taken off in the darkness.

It was howling again. Yugi turned to Otogi. The teal-eyed teen had a rock in his hand, the edges sharp and jagged. Yugi stiffened. If Otogi threw it at the dog, it would do some significant damage. It would probably throw it sideways if he managed to hit the upper body. Or it would make the dog collapse should it make impact with the hindquarters. Yugi clenched his jaw.

"Put that down. It won't do anything but piss it off more," he spat. He got to his feet. His legs were slightly shaky. He was holding the headstone to keep himself upright. He shivered and breathed in roughly. Otogi shot him a surprised, annoyed glance. Yugi watched him dust himself off. The rock was put in his pocket.

"I'm going to kill that stupid thing."

Yugi nearly lunged at him. He wanted to punch him more than he'd ever wanted to hit someone else before in his life. He wouldn't let Otogi hurt the dog like that. He would rather his tongue was cut out and roasted on a stick than watch an animal be hurt.

Harming the canine would do them no good, however. In fact, the most it would do was make things worse.

But then, he wondered, what could possibly be worse than what was already in store?

A scream tore through the air. Otogi cursed again. "Mai." Yugi watched him take off running. He wanted to tell him not to. But there was no point to do so. He was trying to save her, he assumed. And they needed to know if she was okay. They had to make sure nothing had happened to the others…

Yugi finally took off after him. He was tired and flustered. His skin was crawling. His face was drenched in sweat. He was exhausted. His stomach ached. His legs were burning.

He couldn't let the dog get to them. He hoped they were okay; the dog didn't appear to actually be hunting them. It wasn't attacking. It was chasing them instead. And that meant something else entirely, did it not?

He followed Otogi for a few minutes. The grass was knotted and tangled. It seemed to reach for his legs as he ran. The canine had seemed to disappear again. Its very existence seemed to be long gone. Any signs of its path had vanished with it. They slowed to a brisk jog, breathing heavily.

Yugi panted, glancing around. Anzu seemed to have joined the others now. And he could see Mai propped between Jonouchi and the brunette. She was limping terribly, leaning against Jonouchi heavily. But it seemed more likely that Anzu simply was not tall enough to support her as Jonouchi could.

They helped her to a gravestone where she could take a seat. Yugi watched her reach down to grab her foot, trying to rub it and breathing hard. Bonz and Honda came up behind them, moving to crowd around her. Otogi had shouldered Anzu away in order to see better. Yugi stood awkwardly aside from them, however. He cast a glance around, studying their surroundings. But nothing seemed to be visible there.

"Are you all okay?" he demanded. He looked each of them over. None of them appeared physically hurt, however. They looked visibly scared, their faces flushed and eyes dilated. It did not look as if the dog had truly tried to sink its teeth into them in any manner. There were no burns of flesh shredded like confetti paper. No fresh blood oozed from any wounds.

Aside from a mark on her palms and left cheek, Mai did not look harmed either. Jonouchi's hair was in more disarray than usual. Honda's eyes were glassy. Bonz was chewing his thumbnail and watching the trees. Anzu was shivering fearfully.

But they all seemed physically okay.

"No!" Mai snarled, head snapping towards him. She was struggling to get her boot off. "I twisted my fucking ankle running from that stupid dog again!"

"It's…not just a dog," Yugi said slowly. He frowned and swallowed hard. The others had turned to him now.

"What?" Jonouchi spat. His eyes were glazed with fear and hatred. His attention swung from Otogi to Yugi, his expression scathing as he eyed the small teen with dark brown eyes. "What do you mean it's just a dog?"

"Of course it's just a dog," Otogi snapped. He rolled his eyes and straightened from where he'd been rubbing Mai's shoulder. He looked at Yugi suspiciously, as if he were threatening him with a knife to his neck. He looked as if he wanted to beat Yugi's head in…

"No, you don't understand," Yugi argued, ignoring Otogi when he rolled his eyes and sneered at him. "That is not just a dog."

"Stop trying to scare them," Otogi snapped. "They're scared enough as it is, you moron. Leave it alone. It was just a dog—"

"No, it is not just a—"

"Fuck you, Yugi—"

"Shut up!" Honda snarled. Yugi blinked wide eyes. The others were frozen, startled by his raised voice. "Seriously. Shut up and let him talk."

Yugi nodded at him gratefully. "How many times have you all seen it?" he demanded. He searched their faces, finding only bewilderment and irritation to greet him there.

"Does it matter?" Otogi scoffed. "It's a dog. It barks. It snarls. It chases things. It pisses on trees. That's what dogs do."

"You're not listening to me. That's not a normal dog. It's called a hellhound and if you look into its eyes three times, your death is absolute. Now how many times have you looked upon the dog?"

A thick, smothering silence fell over them. Mai nursed her ankle more fully now. The others were stiff with confusion. They all swapped looks after a moment. And Yugi frowned, searching their faces again. He didn't know if they believed him or not. Their faces were closed off to him, in truth. And he could not tell what it was that he should do to explain himself should they not believe him.

None of them spoke for a long minute. And he could not tell if it was from fear or nervousness or sheer annoyance.

"We saw it once…on the way here—in the car," Bonz muttered finally. He frowned, looking at the others. His voice was shaking when he spoke the last three words and Yugi shook his head slightly. And some part of him really wanted to reassure them that they would be okay to tell him, that he wouldn't laugh or mock them. But he swallowed this impulse down, frowning slightly.

"Twice when it nearly took Otogi's head off," Honda commented finally.

"And when we were running. So, we just saw it again…"

Yugi fell silent, narrowing his eyes slightly. So the dog had claimed them as its victims. "Well, that's…not good," he mumbled. He nearly dodged it when Otogi swung at his face. He stumbled back a few steps, eyes wide and startled. Anzu stepped between them to shield him a second later, and the others watched Yugi with furious looks.

"What kind of bullshit is that?" Honda demanded. He shook his head and glared. Yugi didn't flinch despite Anzu doing so. "You see the dog three times and you fucking die?"

"No, you see a hellhound three times and you become its victim," Yugi said. He was pretty sure whatever little respect he had before that moment was officially gone. Honda clearly didn't believe him, Jonouchi was shaking with anger, Otogi was sneering at him, and Bonz was shaking his head. Mai was looking at her foot again, ignoring him. "If you see a hellhound three times, you will die. It's an absolution—"

A sound came to them. Yugi stopped short. His eyes grew wide. His head snapped around. It was high-pitched, vibrant in its powerful volume. It tore through each of them as if they were nothing. Yugi's blood burned beneath his skin. The ground seemed to shake. The wind stirred. The leaves rustled violently. A branch burst in half and fell to the ground with a sudden, violent thud. The large stick of wood was splintered down the middle, jagged like lightning.

The center was burning. Whiffs of smoke rose in the air. The end was bright red, blackened with soot. Dark ash covered the branch for several inches. Embers sparked bright orange and flared briefly, dying away into nothingness seconds later.

Another scream came from the darkness. The wind rippled briefly. The smoke swept forward. The smell of sulfur burned Yugi's nose.

He could see deep grooves in the branch, as if it had been clawed. It looked almost as if the canine had scratched it furiously. The wood was chipped in different parts. But he could see smears of black as if the paws had run over it in a dragging motion. The grooves disappeared a few inches downwards, deep and sharp as Yugi continued inspecting it.

He blinked wide eyes. The canine was nowhere in sight when he looked around. But the screams seemed to come from every direction now. The others were frozen but to look around. A long line of grass stirred and sparked with smoke. It turned black and crisp against the moonlight. Yugi shook, trembling like a leaf. The hellhound still did not show itself, thankfully, but it was obviously nearby. Likely it was waiting for them to make a move so that it could chase them.

"You were a mistake," Otogi snarled, glaring at him. "We should never have let you in."

"I'm not a mistake," Yugi spat spinning on him. "Just because you can't handle the truth—"

"That's bullshit!" Jonouchi all but screamed. "There's no way that's true."

"Hellhounds are a myth," Bonz said with false conviction, rolling his eyes.

"Black dogs are seen all over the world," Yugi snapped, shaking his head. "And black dogs are a subspecies of hellhound, you moron. But they're less likely to actually try to kill you. Especially like this…"

Another scream came again. Yugi blinked stupidly at the noise. It sounded almost like his own voice. He chewed his lip, heart pounding in his throat. He swallowed hard, staring. He could smell more of the burning sulfur-like stench. It was growing far stronger…

"I hate you," Mai sneered. She got up, stumbling. "You think it's so funny to play a prank like this? For fuck's sake, it was just fake blood!"

"You think I'm joking? Are you fucking kidding? We have to go!"

"We need to just leave, you guys," Anzu whispered, looking around. Yugi wondered if she expected the dog to come racing forward from the darkness again.

"I want to go," Mai agreed, giving Otogi a pleading look. "Can we just go?"

"He's just full of shit," the raven-haired boy snorted, staring at Yugi with a hateful expression. "It's not worth getting so worked up like this."

"I am not trying to scare you!"

"Let's just go—"

"Oh, please, you set up microphones and speakers and set them off." Otogi was snarling, shoving him hard enough that it should have sent Yugi to the ground. But the small teen barely budged, staring at him in turn. "You wanted to prank us so you have the speakers going off. It's great and all, but it was a waste of time. None of us are scared."

"What?"

"So, where did you set them up? Inside a couple of the mausoleums, behind a few headstones? A couple of trees?"

"You actually think I…?" Yugi snorted, shaking his head harshly. "If anyone set something up, it was you. You're the one who arranged this prank. You probably set up cameras to record it all. If anyone had the time to do all of this, it would be you."

"Why would I have to bother scaring them?"

"Not them. Me. You wanted to freak me out so you planted little cameras and speakers around so that you could blame me instead. You just want to get me thrown out."

"I'm the leader of this circle. I could throw you out whenever I'd like."

"Why do that when you can humiliate me instead?"

"That's a pretty big accusation to be making, Yugi. Maybe you should watch it before you get hurt—"

A low snarl rose in the darkness. It curled upwards like a howl. And Yugi tensed every muscle in his body. His stomach lurched. His skin itched for a moment. All of them froze in place. The noise was furious, growing louder. Every second made the howl a roaring sound. The scent of burning flesh came through the air. Yugi jumped, startling. He spun around to look. But the canine was not there. He couldn't see it anywhere.

That didn't mean it wasn't nearby, however. And its snarling was growing worse.

He swallowed hard, searching the shadows. The dog was going to kill them all, wasn't it? He was going to die there in the cemetery. They were all going to die there in that damn cemetery. All of them were going to be ripped to pieces and eaten. And then what?

Would there even be evidence to be found?

Would anyone mourn them?

What if they were just statistics for missing teens later in life?

Anzu and Jonouchi swapped horrified looks. The snarl roared louder. Yugi flinched. It was like a mountain lion. The guttural noise was so powerful that the air shook. The snarl grew deeper. And it tore through each of them. Their ears popped. Their hearts pounded. Blood boiled in their veins. Panic engulfed each of them.

"So, what did you do, Yugi? Did you bring your own dog out here?"

Yugi blinked, spinning around. His heart was roaring in his ears. And he almost could not hear him. The dog was screaming. The baying sounded so unnatural it made him quiver.

"Maybe you gave it the command to sic people in the cemetery at night," Otogi continued. He was sneering, but smirking at him now. His teal eyes were burning with rage. "Maybe you got a friend to bring their dog. Did you teach it to do this? You got it to stalk us and jump onto the hood of the car."

Yugi blinked stupidly. "What?" he sputtered.

"It doesn't take much. Dogs are pretty smart, right?"

"You…you actually think I would have done that? If this was an actual dog, do you really think it wouldn't have gotten through the glass? It would have torn us all to pieces. And you ran it over, Otogi. You hit it with your car. The entire front left side of it lifted off the fucking ground. And it still managed to get up and try to attack us. Do you even understand what that means?"

"That there are probably two of them. And I'd bet a million yen they're both yours."

"That's a lot of trouble," Yugi mumbled, "just to play a prank on someone."

"I wouldn't put it past you. You acted like you'd castrate me if the dog got hurt earlier," Otogi sneered. "Care to explain how upset you got when we hit the dog with the car?"

"It could have been someone's pet!" Yugi exploded. He shoved him violently in turn. And Otogi hit the ground with a yelp. Yugi loomed over him, snarling. His eyes were harsh, narrowed, glinting like chips of dyed ice as they glared at each other. "You can't just run over someone's pet like that and not fucking check on it! And you could have fucking killed it! That's like having someone in your family die in a hit and run accident because someone was too shitty to check on the person!"

Otogi scrambled to his feet immediately. "You're a fucking moron. You can't compare that to a hit and run—"

"Most people consider their pets to be family members!"

"That doesn't matter anyways, Yuki. The point is that you set this whole thing up. You had your dogs waiting. You had someone with them. And you set up microphones and projectors to do this—"

"Me? I didn't even know where we were going!"

"One of them told you," Otogi spat. He gestured at the others, shooting them furious looks. Jonouchi gawked. Bonz blinked in surprise. Anzu shook her head angrily. Mai rolled her eyes. Honda ran his hand through his gelled hair. Yugi stared at him as if he had grown three heads.

Did Otogi really think he had this all figured out?

Yugi nearly scoffed. "Judging by how freaked out Jonouchi was, I think it's fair to say otherwise."

"Stop fighting, okay? We just need to find the car! Right now! Let's go!"

Yugi flinched. Anzu was screaming, staring at him with a desperate expression. He blinked at her, opening his mouth, but she turned on her heel and stormed off. She must have been heading for the street. But Yugi wasn't sure which direction led there. He frowned, looking around minutely. And then he began to hurry after them. A few harsh looks were shot his way, Jonouchi sneered, and Otogi watched him as if he thought he were a rabid animal.

Yugi shook his head. But the hairs on his neck stood up. A cold sweat began to form on the nape of his neck. He blinked, faltering. And then he slowed. He stopped, tense. His shoulders rose to shield his neck. And he slowly turned to look over his shoulder.

The animal stood several feet away. Its head was lowered, ears pricked. Its tail hung low to the ground, almost perfectly straight but for that kink. It did not chase them, however. And Yugi felt bile rise in the back of his throat. The animal had begun wagging its tail at him. Its eyes bore into his. Its head rose slightly. Its lips drew back to show its teeth. The incisors glistened in the moonlight, pale and sharp and slender like the tips of daggers. Its muzzle curled back more. The gums were a solid pink. And Yugi found himself staring at the canines. They looked as sharp as swords. The saliva dripping from the tips made the curve of them look almost like tusks.

For a moment they stared at each other. The teen was too startled to look away. His skin crawled and his heart hammered. The dog looked amused, only mildly furious. But Yugi saw mostly hunger there. It was starving. And it wasn't about to let them survive.

Abruptly its lips fell back into a smooth line. Its bristle was lost, long black fur unruffled. Its massive nose exhaled an immense gust of air. It blinked, releasing him from whatever spell it had cast. And Yugi turned to flee, eyes wide. He was shaking when he got closer to the group.

The dog was going to kill him with them. They'd locked eyes twice now; it was going to eat all of them.

"The car is over here," Anzu announced. She was in the lead. Yugi could see her hurrying. And then she shrieked. Yugi stumbled, nearly hitting the ground. He shook it off, scrambling to straighten. And then he looked downward. Anzu had landed in a grave. It was wide open, the edge of it cut from her sudden trip. A small cloud of dust rose upwards. Yugi shivered.

Scraggly roots from the displaced grass made up a from like hands in the darkness. The tiny fingers were the width of a human vein, reaching out as if to grasp her skin. Yugi blinked stupidly, shaken. Then he crouched down to help her out of the hole.

"You just…"

"If you had fallen another way, you would have broken your neck," Yugi commented, ignoring Otogi's look of disbelief. She grasped his hand. A low, dry sob left her. He braced his weight, then crouched lower. He grasped the grass with his free hand. And a part of him truly thought it felt as if the roots were attempting to dig into his skin. He moved to bend his legs skyward, preparing himself. And then he tugged hard enough to lift her.

"You just nearly completely…" Otogi continued, blinking.

"It's coming true," Anzu sobbed.

"But you only saw it twice…like me…" Yugi protested, blinking. He nibbled the inside of his cheek for a moment. Then he glanced at the others. They were all shaking their heads.

She had only seen its eyes twice, right? That should have meant that she was okay, too. He knew already that the others were all doomed. They had seen it in the car, when it had tried to burst through the windshield. And then they had seen it when it chased them.

And he was relatively sure that was the only reason the dog had left them alone again. They had all locked eyes with it thrice. And that ensured their deaths. It didn't have to terrorize them any longer. For whatever reason, the hellhound was hunting in the manner of eye contact rather than simply the sight of it.

Yugi shuddered, refusing to let them see how shaken the realization left him.

Was the dog saving him for fun later then? Was it going to torture himself and Anzu?

His skin prickled, the hairs on his arms and neck rising once more. If he was saving him for later, Yugi felt him might vomit. He wasn't an expert on dogs by any means. And, in truth, he didn't know much about hellhounds either. He simply knew what he'd read on the internet before. But its manner of chasing and enjoying its hunt was enough to make him wonder.

Was he meant to be some kind of dessert for it?

And he had no doubt that it was smart enough to go around picking and choosing.

Perhaps it was because of how small he was. Maybe it had determined he wasn't worth eating early.

"No, it is not coming true," Otogi snapped. "Don't be stupid. He's just trying to freak you out."

"He wasn't anywhere near me when I—"

A stifling boom made them all flinch. Yugi looked skyward, expecting to see lightning. But there was nothing. The sky was clear. The stars were brilliant and glowing. The moon was full overhead, blinding for a split second. Yugi turned away, looking rapidly around them.

One of the gravestones, Yugi noted, read "Remember friends, as you pass by, As you are now, so once was I, Remember in life that you must die". Its surface was pristine, perfectly smooth, the dark gray granite painted silver in the moonlight. But there was an immense black spot in the center. And it looked, to his amazement, like a rotting core. The edges were forked lines, like veins of ink or dark lightning. The booming noise seemed to shatter into a brief silence. And then came a steady crackling. The edges of the sound reminded him of splintering glass. And the veins grew larger and thicker. They stretched downward, almost oozing with darkness.

The tendrils moved downwards in long lines. They branched out in massive fissures. They spread further outwards along the surface. The cracking grew tenfold. The air seemed to shimmer and split. The sound was as if the sky were falling in on itself. It was like a thousand thunderclaps all at once.

Yugi flinched violently at the noise. The others were gaping.

The gravestone broke and fell apart. A scream filtered through the air. A furious snarling took up immediately after. The granite fell into tiny shards of stone. They fell downwards into the grass and dirt beneath. A massive cloud of dust and stone had erupted with the explosion. Yugi opened and closed his mouth stupidly. His eyes were wide, his stomach tossing and burning.

"Oh my god…"

"W-what the hell was…?"

The dog had to have been extremely close by. It must have been invisible. But it had to have been within proximity of the stone. The heat it gave off must have caused it. It must have made the stone fracture and splinter, then collapse in on itself. Yugi shuddered at the thought. His entire body shook, quaking.

He was lucky.

The dog hadn't gotten close enough to the gravestone he'd been pressed against when he'd followed Otogi. It must have leaped clean over it. But then, maybe he had simply failed to hear it. His heartbeat had been thundering in his ears, after all. So he could not say he knew for sure. He shuddered again at the thought. He swallowed hard, glancing around once.

He opened his mouth, struggling to say they should run. But then he stopped.

Otogi had turned to him, staring at him hatefully. "Great job, Yugi," he sneered. He nodded in appreciation, giving him a mocking smirk. "First, you tell us about dogs that kill you if you see them three times. Then you set up a projector to do that. I commend the effort."

"What?" Yugi sputtered. "You're so full of crap. Just because you're afraid—"

"It's make-believe bullshit! Hellhounds don't exist—and neither do 'black dogs' as you put it. Seeing something three times does not mean that it can kill you. Especially a fucking dog."

"Are you kidding me? I didn't even know we were going to be here. You set up the initiation here! You planned to freak me out. You set up this entire thing! I was blind, Otogi. I couldn't have done any of this. You made me drink fake blood because you wanted to punish me for having experience. You wanted to make me think I should feel lucky to join you guys, but newsflash, you idiot, I'm regretting it so much right now!"

"Oh, did you scare yourself with your own prank?"

"I'm not doing it!"

"Bullshit—"

"I don't have a dog! I can't have pets! My mom is allergic!" he spat, glaring at him. "And what exactly would I get from doing this? I would have had to follow you here. And I've never met you before. You're not so great and special that everyone knows who you are—"

"It's not my problem your prank isn't going so well. You should have known I wouldn't fall for it."

He shoved him. Yugi tumbled backwards, windmilling his arms. And then he fell straight back.

Otogi blinked, stunned, as Yugi landed in the grave. The cloud of dust made Yugi cough violently. And he bit his wrist to keep from choking on more dirt. He kept his eyes tightly shut to prevent dirt getting into them. And then he struggled to sit up somewhat.

A booming howl made them all freeze. Yugi tipped his head up. His eyes snapped open. He forced himself not to breathe. His teeth dug more furiously into his wrist. His heart was in his throat. His stomach twisted and churned. He scrambled for his feet. And, abruptly, the grave seemed too small. It seemed too compact. It seemed as if the walls were moving in on him. Or maybe it was as if it were caving in. It seemed as if they were falling downwards and—

He sprang with all the force he could muster. The grass was soft, but strong. He gripped it tightly. Then he scrambled for a firmer grip. Another howl pierced the air. Yugi shivered. It was getting closer. He could smell sulfur again. He grasped the grass harder.

"Call them off, Yugi," Otogi breathed. His hands were shaking. Yugi could see them from where he was facing him. Yugi struggled not to sneer at him. And the other boy turned to him slowly. He looked dazed, stunned. And Yugi could see that something was dawning in his mind.

"I don't have a dog," Yugi snapped. He bent his right knee harshly against the softer soil. His toes pressed flat against the dirt wall. His left leg dangled. He stretched his right arm out. The grave was steep. But the grass was firm. Yugi breathed a small sigh of relief, pulling himself out again.

The howl descended into a roar. Then it fell into nothingness a few minutes later.

Yugi breathed hard. His lungs felt choked with the sulfur scent. He swallowed and shivered. Had the hellhound moved away again? It wanted them to run. And Yugi wasn't truly about to argue. He wanted the hell out of there as soon as possible. And the others were shaking like leaves.

"Can't you see how impressionable they are?" Otogi spat. He spun on him. Yugi narrowed his eyes, shaking his head. "Call them off and stop talking about myths."

"Impressionable? You really think I would hurt them?" he snapped. "I'm not trying to hurt anyone! I'm a pacifist. I hate violence. I would never hurt someone—"

"Look, let's just go? Let's get out of here. I almost died…"

Anzu was trembling, but Otogi merely turned a furious glance on her, spitting, "Will you knock it off? You didn't die, all right? You're right fucking here!"

"Let's just go!"

Mai was supported by Jonouchi and Honda when they ran. Yugi took off after them. Otogi overtook all of them, Bonz right behind him. Anzu looked over at Yugi, then around. The small teen ignored the urge to do the same. He didn't want to see the dog again. He didn't want to risk eye contact with it.

The car came in their line of sight a few minutes later. They made a mad dash for it.

"Let's go, let's go!" Jonouchi said with a relieved laugh.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you in," Otogi said abruptly. He'd slowed and, as Yugi passed him, reached out. He caught his arm in a vice grip. The force of it was enough to nearly send Yugi straight to the ground on his knees. He panted, turning to him with a confused look.

When he squeezed, it would have made anyone else wince. Yugi, however, simply shrugged him off. His voice was low and dangerous, slightly smug as he peered into his eyes. "Oh, but it's not me that you should be so worried about, Otogi," he murmured softly.

"Get in the car!" Bonz snapped.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Mai whined. Otogi turned and headed for the driver's seat. Yugi climbed in behind Anzu, unimpressed when several irritable looks were shot at him. "Go, go, go, go!"

The car stalled a moment, however. The engine refused to catch. Anzu let out a low sobbing noise, covering her mouth. Yugi glanced at her with a startled expression. His stomach churned. She had only seen the dog twice, right? Bonz was shaking violently at the other side of him. Honda looked extremely pissed. Jonouchi was shaking his head rapidly. Mai was glaring at Otogi.

"Come on!" Jonouchi snarled.

"Hold on a second. It's not starting," Otogi spat. He sneered the words, almost as if he considered Jonouchi mentally inept. He twisted the key again, the engine sputtering as if it were a drowning person. It followed the noise in rapid succession with a soft gargling noise that sounded like the gas was sloshing in its tank.

"What do you mean it won't start?" Bonz demanded.

Yugi ignored it when the other boy looked at him with a horrified expression. There wasn't much he could say that would help the situation. So he refused to look over, putting his hands in his lap and resisting the urge to look out the windows either. Who knew where the dog was now?

"Oh god, we really are going to die!" Mai cried out, distressed and hysterical.

"Start the car!" Honda snapped.

"It won't start."

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god—"

"I don't want to die, I don't want to die—"

"Please don't let me die—"

Bonz and Honda both looked as if they might leap through the windows. The thought made him shiver. They acted as if the car were cursed rather than the dog. He didn't explain that most likely running would simply excite the dog and send it after them both. It wasn't worth saying. He had already terrified them all enough as it was. As fun as mass hysteria could be, this was far from enjoyable.

"You think that just because the car won't start, you're going to die?" Otogi deadpanned. He burst out laughing. "Are you all fucking idiots? The damn thing started. Do you believe you'll live now?"

"Oh my god, Otogi, you insensitive asshole," Mai spat.

"You're such a bastard," Anzu cried in annoyance.

"Shut up!" Honda snapped, shaking his head angrily. "All of you, just shut the fuck up. Just go. Drive, damn it."

"I don't want to die!" Bonz said slowly, facing Yugi and shivering. "H-how do you undo it?"

Yugi blinked slowly and shook his head after a moment. "You…you can't. There's no way to change it. It sought you out and you saw it three times. That's…that's it," he stated quietly, swallowing hard.

"I don't want to die," Mai spat, shaking her head angrily. "I don't want to die."

"Oh my god, you can't change it?" Jonouchi squawked in the passenger seat, head snapping around to stare at Yugi in horror. "What do you mean you can't change it?"

"Shut up, shut up!" Otogi snapped, turning his head to glare at them over his shoulder.

"We're going to be okay, we're going to be okay," Yugi stated, nodding at Anzu slowly and narrowing his gaze faintly. "We didn't see it three times, remember? So we'll be fine—"

"I saw it three times!" Mai screeched, spinning on him furiously. "I'm going to die!"

"Okay, you know what, shut the hell up!" Otogi spat, turning around in his seat again. "You bunch of fucking crybabies! You want to know what? You're all out of the circle."

"Who gives a shit about the fucking circle? Drive the damn car!" Jonouchi snarled.

"That would be a relief. I'm sick of your bullshit anyways," Honda snapped, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"Oh bull—"

"Otogi, watch out!" Yugi screeched. He pointed at the windshield, then flattened himself against the seat as well as he could. Otogi let out a horrified noise. The car went over the edge of the road, straight into the trees. The brakes failed. They flew off the ground, straight into the trunk of one of the largest trees any of them had ever seen.

It took over twenty minutes for him to regain consciousness. He was the only one wearing a seatbelt, he noted. And he was the only one who hadn't gone through the windshield on impact. The others were crushed in the metal and wood. A couple lay across the forest floor, scattered like pieces from an upturned board game. Only Honda and Bonz had remained in the car due to their positions in the back seats. They had slammed into the back of the seats, falling across the floor in unnatural positions

Yugi undid the seatbelt, struggling for only a moment. His fingers were shaking with adrenaline. He grabbed the door handle and pulled. It clicked when it slammed into place for a second, hand losing grip of it. And then he jerked again. The door creaked. But it would not move. It was too damaged. They'd spun and scraped against the trees too much. The entire side of it had burst inward from impact. The glass was shattered, however. And Yugi noted with surprise that some of it was embedded in his arm. Blood had trailed entirely from his wrist to the inside of his arm, his jacket soaked through. He rolled his eyes and slammed his hand into the remaining glass of the window. It tinkled out and he grunted.

"You're being nastier than usual," he commented, teasing. He threw himself out of the window, landing hard on his back. His lungs ached from the impact and he rolled his eyes again. He huffed an annoyed breath. The animal came bounding out from the trees, red eyes glittering. Its tail wagged furiously as it strode towards him. The sound of its paws crushing the frosted straw made him smile and he reached his bloodied arms out for it as it came in sight.

You are the one who insisted on seeing me twice, the other returned playfully. Its tail wagged once more as it came forward. Its tongue ran dutifully over his bleeding wound. Its teeth gently picked at the small shards of glass in his skin. The dog moved away from him only to spit the glass out. Crouching down into a play bow, tail wagging, its eyes turned towards the others. And then they fell on one in particular. The playful position became one of pure tension, fur rising and falling in a bristle of intense hatred. Its ears pricked forward and it straightened, snarling, I should have mutilated that boy.

"Oh, yes, because a tree branch through the vital organs wasn't enough," Yugi teased. He rolled over onto his knees and pulled the canine closer by its broad neck. The dog allowed him to do so, leaning forward to rubs their faces together. Its soft tongue ran over his forehead a couple of times. And then it shrugged him off and lumbered away into the trees again. Yugi watched it disappear into the shadows, then got to his feet as well. His bones popped from the exertion and he stretched lazily before his eyes found Anzu's broken body.

"I told you not to look," he teased. He pressed the toe of his shoe into her arm, laughing minutely as his eyes flickered back towards the trees more fully. A moment of silence passed and red eyes appeared at the height of five feet, the shadows twisting momentarily as they came closer. Eyes glowing, the other continued toward him, smirking with absolute amusement.

"Ah, there you are," he purred, gesturing him forward with a lazy flick of his fingers.

The other chuckled softly as he came closer. The moonlight made his hair look beautiful and shiny, each strand glistening with silver. Dark midnight black hair rested atop his head, given a crest of red like the endless depths of their glowing crimson eyes. A black leather jacket rested on solid but sleek shoulders, a dark gray tank top beneath. Long legs were clothed in black skinny jeans, giving the illusion of more height, and several belts rested on either side of his hips, falling diagonally and hugging his waist. Sneakers of black and gray rested on his feet, given studded designs along the outer sides.

"Mm," the other acknowledged softly. He had the graceful strides of the predator he truly was. The human skin did nothing to shield this from anyone's sight. And his glowing red eyes were full of amusement and satisfaction. The hellhound made it to his side, ducking away from the kiss Yugi offered, and eyed the carnage he'd wrought with a smirk.

Yugi sighed at the aloof response he was given, rolling his eyes and glancing over the bodies as well. There was nothing so fun to be noticed that it excused his ignoring him. Yugi turned back, eyes falling on the red silk choker wrapped around the other's throat, given gold and black metal which held a brilliant blue and violet gem in the middle as a clasp. The jewelry around his neck held only rare small pieces of obsidian carved to certain shapes, a small wolf pendant that he almost never took off.

"We should fuck," the other boy announced, turning to him and smirking cruelly. His lips were drawn back to show off each of his brilliant teeth in a wide curve. "We can make love on the hood of the car."

"Ha, Yami," Yugi snorted, smiling as he reached forward to run his fingers beneath the leather material of the choker. He tugged him closer and the hellhound purred at the attention, licking his lips. Yugi pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, approving of the lust in those sultry red eyes. "I don't think there's a hood left to fuck on. You did too good a job with this one. Besides, even if there was, there's enough damage done to the stupid thing."

"Good point," the newcomer stated simply, eyes flickering towards the windshield. He bore his teeth and a small tremor of tension ran through him, his lip curling back. "I should have bitten him. I should have ripped his throat out. He thought he could actually kiss you."

Yugi grabbed his chin with his other hand, redirecting his attention immediately with a tug of his fingers. Yami blinked once, focusing on him, and tilted his head but did not fight his grip. "Oh, sweet boy, aren't you adorable," he purred. He pressed his fingers a little more pointedly into his skin, nails digging into his flesh enough to sting but not to draw blood. "I should have kicked your ass the first time I saw you in that damn graveyard. How dare you actually let him hit you with the car, you idiotic bastard!"

Yami smirked wryly, purring low in his throat. The feel of those vibrations in his skin was enough to make Yugi nearly tremble. "Oh, but I used to do it all the time," he reminded him, tone wistful.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Yugi snapped. "And you promised me you would stop doing that."

"It is not as if it truly harms me—"

"That doesn't matter, you fucking idiot." Yugi narrowed his eyes into slits, shaking his head sharply. He raised a hand, lacing his fingers through Yami's hair, and the other burrowed its way beneath his shirt. He traced his spine with his fingers, licking his lips. "What matters is that you still did it. I told you never to do that again. You know how much I worry when you do that. It does take you time to recover after all, you idiot."

Yami pursed his lips, frowning and sighing. He turned away, curling his lip, and huffed, "Yes, I know that. I'm sorry for making you worry." He paused, then looked at him from the corner of his eye with a sly gleam. "But you know, that is how we met, remember?"

"As if I will ever forget," Yugi laughed aloud, pulling him closer to press their lips together. He tugged on his hair gently, then dug his nails into his skin just enough to make Yami shiver. "It's not every day that you are attempting to drive on your own for the first time, hit a wolf-dog that turns out to be a hellhound, get stalked all day by said hellhound, and end up getting offered a deal for immortality if you become his mate."

"Yes, well, I should get points for that stunt," Yami sniped goodnaturedly, pressing their mouths together once more. He stepped more fully into his embrace and Yugi nearly purred with satisfaction. The cold air heated around them and warmth returned to Yugi's limbs as he allowed Yami to encroach further upon his personal space until their bodies were pressed almost entirely into each other. "Normally you just get stalked, get asked if you'll be their mate, and then if you say no, you get slaughtered like a cow."

"Ah, yes. I believe I gave you points on originality," Yugi murmured. He picked at Yami's shirt, tugging gently at the soft fabric with his teeth. He wished Yami's throat were more exposed, so that he could run his teeth over them or nick the skin. His blood always tasted hot and heavy on his tongue, intense and burning. "More so for allowing me to live with my family if I could only find easy prey until the day of my sixteenth birthday."

"Oh, yes, I am a very generous bastard," Yami purred in a self-satisfied voice. He latched his mouth to the side of Yugi's neck, sucking and nipping as Yugi burst out laughing. Small trails of nips and kisses made his skin crawl and the hairs on his arms rise with delicious tension.

"Very much so. Which reminds me, don't do the car thing anymore." If Yami had not been suckling at his jugular Yugi would have shoved him and glared. Now, however, he simply settled for digging his nails further into his flesh as if to punish him. "It makes it hard to focus and work a hunt if I'm worried that you've actually been hurt by the damn impact, thank you very much."

"Except they don't hurt—"

"Fuck you, Yami. Just stop doing it," Yugi snapped. He shoved him now, pulling back, and glared at him fiercely enough that Yami lost his smirk and looked almost sheepish. "I'm serious, Yami. Stop it."

"Fine," the red-eyed boy relented after a moment. He searched his face a moment, then smirked. "I'll only use it for the best kills, how about that? If it's going to be grand, I want to put on my best show."

Yugi tried to keep his expression serious. He wanted to snap at him for a moment. But the familiar curve of his lips and the way Yami's eyes were sparkling with laughter made him chuckle. He shook his head, drawing him closer, and buried his face into his neck once more. "Only the most knowledgeable get the car impact, got it, aibou? No one else," he stated in a demanding tone. When Yami failed to object, he closed his eyes tightly. "Otherwise it's just a waste of your time and mine when I worry about if you're okay or not. Especially this time, Yami—why the fuck did you take so long?"

"The suspense, of course," Yami drawled, smirking like the Cheshire cat when he pulled back some. Yugi swatted his arm gently, scowling at him. "Oh, come on, little one, it was good enough to get you to jump out of the car and come running."

"Yeah, and I'm just so lucky that you didn't go for my face," Yugi grumbled. He rolled his eyes and pulled away slightly more. But he stopped, studying him, and then smirked. "Not that I would have complained."

"Bullshit, you were still human," Yami laughed. He pressed his nose into his temple, opening his mouth and running his canines over his cheek and down to his jaw. "You wouldn't have liked that at all, stupid boy."

"I'm stupid?" he snickered. He shook his head, then tilted it, encouraging him to run his teeth over his flesh again. "That's such a brave statement coming out of your mouth, Yami. I should punish you for that."

"Ooh, yes, please."

"You stupid hound."

"I prefer Harbinger of Death, thank you very much," Yami snapped in a childish tone. He pouted playfully, purring when Yugi drew his lip into his mouth and tugged with his teeth. "Ooh, dirty."

Yugi pulled away laughing. He turned his eyes on the carcasses at their feet, tilting his head towards Yami. "You mutilated dinner," he commented. He reached out, running a finger under his chin, and Yami snarled in approval, sensitive now as he always was to such a touch.

"The girl is still in one piece." Yami blinked, then looked them all over. He wrinkled his nose and pulled away from him. "In truth, all of them are but the green-eyed bastard. They are all still edible. You might want to watch for random tree limbs, of course, but—"

Yugi pressed his lips into his, cutting him off completely. Yami blinked, surprised, and Yugi pulled away only when they were both mildly breathless. "I play alpha next time," the blue-violet-eyed boy growled softly. "You've nearly ruined a perfectly good meal!"

He shot him a furious look that only lasted a moment before he dissolved into laughter; what did he honestly care? There was so much blood. It was dripping form the car door where Otogi had been stabbed through with a tree branch almost the size of his gut. Jonouchi was crushed in a shower of glass, skull busted upon impact with the tree trunk, lips painted bright red with blood. Anzu lay across the forest floor, neck twisted unnaturally, arms braced forward as if she had tried to shield herself. Honda had his neck snapped, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth and dribbling down his chin where it was propped upward against the back of the seat. Mai was torn open by the shards of glass and the impact, laying beside Jonouchi motionlessly. And Bonz—oh, stupid, inexperienced, amateur Bonz who had assumed he knew so much—was strewn across the floorboard like a doll. His body was twisted every which way, bones broken beneath skin, white risen from rivers of bright red.

The chaos of the scene, the carnage of it all, was enough to dilute his momentary anger into nothingness. His mouth had begun to water heavily. His eyes shot to Yami's, pleading, and the red-eyed boy smirked and tipped his head to the side before nodding.

Yugi sprang forward, bones popping beneath his skin. His jaws opened wide, his limbs elongating. His senses kicked forward in a height tenfold that of a human, fingers pulling apart. His nails curved, growing thicker. The clothes tore away along his body. The threads roared in his ears as they snapped. His heart kicked up several notches, accommodating the speedy Change it was undergoing. His mouth grew wider, sharper, stretching, sinewy with muscles that put a crocodile's jaws to shame.

Fur burst along the length of his body, long strands of black like an empty abyss without a shimmer to offer the strained moonlight attempting to bathe it in silver. Teeth stretched and punctured soft gums. They pushed upwards in arches of sharp enamel. And he could not wait to use them to shatter bone and tear through tissue.

He landed on paws and thick black nails as sharp as knife blades. His weight made an impressionable thud in the straw. The scent of blood amplified in his nose as he breathed in once slowly. Then he tipped his head up, stretching his thickened neck. The muscles rippled along his body as he shook himself out. He turned his head, flicking an ear. Yami's heartbeat was wet and throbbing in his ears, twisting steadily in his chest cavity.

Yugi turned his head, wagging his tail. Yami smirked, teeth glinting from the slight moonlight cast upon them. His canines were growing longer, curving. And Yugi resisted the urge to run around him in a circle. He wanted to bark and howl with excitement, affection, pure exuberance. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest. His blood was boiling in his veins in an effort to grow accustomed to the sudden change. He lowered his hindquarters to the floor, relaxing his muscles to allow some of the burning tension to seep away entirely.

His mouth watered as he tipped his head slightly to the side. The scent of death and spilled blood was delicious. His lungs expanded fitfully to draw in the richest touch of these scents. The cold impact of it swirled inside of them like mist atop the surface of heated water in winter.

The popping sound, low and drawn out, and the noise that came from Yami's jaws clicking forcefully shut to swallow away the bile that rose from the traditional Change, made his ears flick. But he did not look. Yugi had long ago learned not to trust himself to do so. His immediate instinct had not changed despite the two years they'd been together. His instinct as his mate was to attempt to stop anything from hurting him. And each time he looked, Yugi wound up panicked, trying to help him through the Change.

But to panic made Yami violent. And the other wolf-dog would turn on him. He usually only tore into his face, forcing him onto his back in a show of dominance. But to hurt Yugi caused him pain as well. And this would only further panic Yugi. And the cycle sometimes continued until Yami was too frozen with pain to discipline him and Yugi was too hurt to try to help him any further.

Impatient as always, Yami noted. He trotted forward, tail raised like that of an excited German shepherd, the thick black-furred bone waving like a flag. Yugi opened his eyes, springing to his paws. The pain left him immediately at the prospect of food. The sight of Yami's unharmed stance helped him feel better as well, and he nearly shivered with satisfaction. Yugi hurried to his side, their pelts brushing.

Hungry, Yugi agreed. He nipped him gently on the ear, gaining him a playful growl. Yami grabbed his cheek lightly, tugging once in teasing approval. Yugi huffed, watching his breath crystallize before his nose, and growled softly. Yami turned his attention away after a moment, the game forgotten to the prospect of food.

The earth gave satisfying sizzles of disapproval as their heated paw pads burned away the layer of straw beneath them. The animals around them silenced as if death had seized them, and all of the bugs' beautiful harmonies fell away as if they had never been. The only sound to greet the stillness of the night was the straw beneath them, the soft weight which came with each step.

Yugi turned his head, running his tongue over Yami's cheek, and leaped onto the crushed hood of the car. It creaked beneath his weight, as light as he was, and the metal groaned as it began to burn beneath his feet as if it had just met a welding torch. He wagged his tail, listening as Yami sniffed at some of the others, breaths even and study as his fur glided beautiful over his muscles.

It was his right to pick the freshest of the prey, to claim prize of the most delectable of the bodies. Yugi watched eagerly as Yami picked his way about them, sniffing at the junctures of their throats, low steady breaths making him tremble with approval. For a long minute the red-eyed hellhound merely sniffed, moving among the others. Then he leaped upon the hood beside him.

Yugi stepped back, lowering himself into a slightly submissive stance. It was hardly necessary, he knew, as Yami showed no signs of feeling threatened. Had they been starving more than this, Yami might have lunged at him and snapped his teeth every time he got too close to a potential meal. He might have shoved him aside forcefully. He might have snarled and bit at his face or chased him a few yards away.

Now, however, Yami simply turned to lick his nose affectionately, wagged his tail, and turned away. Their hunger was not too terrible as to make them senseless. And their hierarchy between themselves was a simple one. It was equal, their rights shared, from dominance during sex to territorial disputes; this only changed during hunts. It was then that a clear line was drawn between them.

The hellhound to make the kill, as Yami had done, gained the right to claim the best of the carnage brought about. And, if Yami thought he was too close while he chose, he would not hesitate to punish him. Instinct said that the alpha got the first bite and they would attack and even kill another hellhound that strayed too close to cheating them of such a thing.

Yugi had gotten his muzzle scratched and fur torn out the first couple of times he'd been with Yami during a hunt. The other hellhound had been careful, failing to harm him too much, but had not been hesitant to draw blood on both occasions. He'd pinned him, snarling, and nipped at his cheek when Yugi had whimpered. But the lesson had stuck with him from that point on. He'd learned not to drift too close, to show submission if Yami thought he was encroaching on his privilege.

Yami, in turn, had always maintained a respectful distance when their roles were reversed. The first time Yugi had been ready to attack him just for being within close proximity of him, breathing the same air, and his anger had only been quelled when Yami had thrown himself onto his back with his tail between his legs. All the excitement and adrenaline of his first kill had made him even more volatile towards Yami than he had ever been before. That sensation had never quite left him, but it had grown more diluted and softer. And he no longer wished to turn on Yami, but rather to sometimes tackle and mouth him with the intent to play.

Jonouchi was sniffed several times. His neck was mouthed, his jugular inspected thoroughly. Yugi almost assumed he would be chosen. But Yami abruptly lifted his nose, curling his lips back, and turned towards Mai instead. Yugi settled upon his belly, fur rising into an excited bristle, watching with a tremor as Yami continued to move about. Yami swung around to face him momentarily, red eyes curious, and then huffed gently so that his exhale gusted over his ear affectionately. Then he turned away again, throwing himself into the car.

The plastic of the wheel, the dash, the gear shift, all began to melt beneath the heat Yami's pelt offered into the cold air. His jaws worked in a low snarl as he picked his way about the broken glass, the leather beginning to blacken furiously beneath him.

A moment passed and, as Yugi had expected, the softened velvet covers of the seats began to burn. A small bead of black smoke drifted into the air. It curled upward to the roof, staining it, and a single tiny flame burst into the air. The seat parallel it took up the same slow burn. Yugi climbed to his feet, poking his head inside to watch his mate. Finally Yami threw his shoulders against the back door of the car. It jerked, tossed open forcefully as Yami pressed his paws into it and the plastic began to melt visibly beneath them. The glass took up a furious condensation at the touch of his breath, and the metal screeched with the new addition of his power.

Honda's body was tossed carelessly into the dead straw. Yami leaped forward, crouching over it, sniffing again, before he took a small bite out of his throat. Yugi waited until he was satisfied enough to lay down and dig in. And then his own muscles quivered, his entire body twitching with gratification, and picked his way into the back seat as well. His jaws closed around Bonz's neck and he tugged him out, careful to avoid hitting Yami in the process. He dragged the corpse to lay beside Honda's.

Their pelts brushed, tails quivering, as Yami got up to make more room for him to lay beside him. They dug methodically into their chosen meals. Yami's tail swept over his moments later, the tip curling around his, and Yugi growled in satisfaction, flicking his ears and returning the gesture. The movement made them look as if they were a knot like that of two cats' tails. And Yugi didn't have to look to know that their tail tips formed the shape of a bushy black heart.

Any feedback is welcomed; this was written as a test run for hellhounds in Shadows That Bleed.

Few quick notes for anyone who might be curious:

Yami's habit of getting hit by the car of his target, then going after them is based on the Bray Road Beast's first recorded sighting. The Bray Road Beast is considered a werewolf/dogman, so it made sense to me to use it for Yami. (The Bray Road Beast exists in Wisconsin, oftentimes showing itself near or around Bray Road. The sighting occurred on October 31, 1999, by a woman named Doristine Gipson, who hit the beast when she was changing the station on her radio. Her front right tire ran over it and she got out to see what it was but was scared away when a "dark, hairy form" raced towards her.)

In mythology, hellhounds are said to possess fire-related abilities. For this story, since I was just playing around with them, they have this ability while the hellhounds in Shadows That Bleed do not. They were said to have to lock eyes with you in order to truly harm you (other legends say just SEEING it will kill you or someone close to you). For the sake of the story, Yugi and Yami can choose how to engage their prey (which is almost always the three sightings trick because Yami adores scaring his prey and Yugi loves to make him happy). The strongest most well-known hellhound of all time is called Black Shuck. He has been seen numerous times and is said to need eye contact in order to kill you or a family member as eye contact made with him is said to "make your soul its for eternity". Just seeing him usually brings a lot of misfortune but eye contact is what is usually required to bring about death.

Hellhounds only kill or harm someone if they are seen (which is why Yugi tells Anzu not to look and tries to calm her down by saying she's only seen the dog twice). In legend, to avoid Black Shuck, if you hear him howling you need to keep your eyes shut and wait until it passes by or else you'll be cursed to die within the year or with significant misfortune or death in the family.

Black dogs (phantom black dogs) or white dogs have been seen in numerous places in Britain. I named them a subspecies of hellhound because they are often used interchangeably. Black Shuck and Galley Trot (his white dog persona) are the two most well-known examples.

Hellhounds are said to be pitch black and do not give off any shine with their coat, no matter the light that touches them. So in other words, they're like ventablack in the shape of a shaggy dog (most of them are described as shaggy dogs) with sharp teeth and glowing red, green, or yellow eyes (or eye—some accounts say that Black Shuck has one eye in the center of his forehead like a cyclops).

Also, for reference, most hellhounds cannot usually speak so well mentally like Yugi and Yami do in the story. They can do so for the one-shot (although they're so closely bonded that they likely could have formed this ability a few years after being together).