Vile: Heyo! Vile's here again, folks! Like I said in my fake Smash reveal trailer, I waited until I got more of this Numbershot written before I posted anything, so now that I've posted this chapter, you'll be getting a chapter a day, so you guys won't have to wait! We good? Good! So let's get into the next Numbershot! Enjoy!


Numbershot 80: Precious Melody

Chapter 1

In the dead of night over Heartland City, a lone figure stood above a rooftop. "Ever so closely, the time draws near…" Though a slight silhouette covered them, their form was female of young teen age, with wild lime green hair, but her eyes remained hidden by a shadow. "Before long, the pieces will be collected… and everything will fall apart on top of me." A beeping was heard, and the girl pulled out a D-Gazer, switching it on.

The Distributor's face appeared on-screen. "Tsukumo is getting closer to gathering the Master Keys. We need as much of an edge as we can get. I want you to locate any Numbers out there that are not held by one of us or one of Tsukumo's group. Try and cause the least amount of ruckus as possible. Understood?"

"I will do what I can." The girl replied, and the Distributor cut out the communication. "Now I must act… for however long it takes." Gazing out over Heartland City, a cyan glow came from the shadow over her eyes. From her line of sight, the city was covered by cyan energy, with nothing appearing to stick out… aside from a red glow located in the distance. "Target sighted." She moved toward her target with seemingly superhuman agility, leaping across the rooftops.

Down in the city streets, however, things weren't as peaceful as one might think. From one alley, a strange melody echoed out into the streets. The song was haunting, carrying a very tribal vibe with its drums, rattles, and other instruments. Any passersby were clearly unnerved by the sound, one little girl even starting to cry. Within the alley, the song became louder and louder. The source sat by the end of the alley: A very disheveled-looking man with a very thick beard and rags for clothing, rocking back and forth in his own corner. A disturbing grin was plastered on his face as he held a card in front of him, which was the source of this eerie music. "Yes, my lovely… Please, don't stop your precious melody…" He said with a shaky voice before descending into his own indistinct lyrics to match the melody.

From above, the unknown girl gazed down. "Found you…" She then leapt off of the rooftop and landed directly in front of him.

Her landing startled the man, making him freak out. "W-Who are you?!"

"I am here for one thing, and one thing only." The girl said, standing up with her head down. "Give me the card you hold… I do not want this to be any worse than it needs to be."

The man shook, holding the card protectively. "N-Never! Go away! I'll never let you take my precious melody from me!"

"You will make this difficult?" The girl asked.

"I will not let go of my precious melody… I will fight you for it!" The man pulled a rather rusty D-Pad out from a small trash bag, activating it with a Deck inside.

The girl sighed. "Very well…" She rose her head to show that her eyes were actually covered by a black blindfold, which had markings resembling an eye on the front. "I will humor you." She pulled out a Deck and placed it into a D-Pad. "Though my eyes are covered… I can see all."

*A Little Later*

"Ekushiizu Shoukan! Arawareyo, Nanbaazu Hachi (Number 8)!" A shadowed humanoid monster appeared with a flash of a cyan "08" before it charged forward, slicing a sharp instrument across several smaller monsters, causing them to explode. The force of the explosion threw the homeless man back, knocking him into a bunch of trash cans.

Mitsume LP:4000

Unknown LP:0 – LOSER

The monster vanished as the girl walked towards the seemingly unconscious man and took the card from his hand. "I warned you of this... If only you had listened, you would not be in your situation." The girl, now known as Mitsume, breathed. With that, the markings on her blindfold glowed, causing her to vanish with a flash of light, leaving the homeless man where he was lying.

However, watching HER was a different figure: The black cloak and dark gray mask of Kuronazo, the Black Mystery. "You might see all, but you never noticed me. I am the shadow that escapes your line of sight." He mused. "I'll have to keep my eyes on you now that I know you're working for him." With that, Kuronazo walked away into the night.

*The Next Day* *Heartland Middle School*

Tokunosuke walked to his next class, but rather than his usual duck-and-cover style or even watching where he was going, he had his nose in some sort of book. "Hey, Toku-kun!" Hikaya's voice startled him, making him flail his book around before he clamped it against his chest, looking back and forth. He saw Hikaya skipping up to him.

The bespectacled boy sighed. "Jeez, Hikaya-chan, you scared me, ura." He said. He then noticed that Hikaya was holding tongs behind her back. "Eh? What are those for?"

Hikaya giggled and pulled them out front. "Ta-da!" Stuck to the tongs was a card: A Number card.

Tokunosuke's eyes widened. "A Number? Where did you find that, ura?"

"It was outside the school, no lie!" Hikaya said. "The minute I saw it, I had to borrow these tongs from the cafeteria!"

"Uh… what for?" Tokunosuke wondered, reaching for the card, only for Hikaya to jerk it back.

"Careful, Toku-kun. You want this thing to possess you?" Hikaya asked. Tokunosuke sweatdropped. "But the lunch ladies will want this thing back."

"Hmm…" Tokunosuke snapped his fingers. "I've got an idea. Follow me, ura." The two of them headed off.

Hikaya, however, got curious. "Hey, Toku-kun, what's the book for?"

Tokunosuke gave a smirk. "It's for a secret project, Hikaya-chan, ura." He said, winking at her. Hikaya just giggled, but inside, Tokunosuke was letting out a breath. 'Too close.'

*A Few Minutes Later*

"Arigatou for letting us use your safe, sir." Hikaya said to the principal as he opened a small safe, which was empty, in his office.

"It's no trouble at all." The principal replied. "After the incident with those three cretins, I'm well aware of how dangerous these cards can be, so it's best to keep it locked up until either Ryoga or Yamoto can claim it."

"I know Yamoto's still recovering from his burn, but why did Shark disappear again, ura?" Tokunosuke wondered as Hikaya placed the card in the safe.

"I'm not sure, but with Yuma and Kotori gone, we currently don't have anyone else who can handle these cards." The principal said, closing the safe and locking it.

"I'm glad we've got someone else on our side with this." Hikaya said. "I've gotta go take this thing back to the cafeteria. See ya!" The blonde girl ran off with the tongs she used, out the door and down the halls.

Tokunosuke watched her leave, then turned to the principal again. "Arigatou again, ura. We appreciate it." The principal gave a "You're welcome" gesture, and Tokunosuke left the office as well. However, he re-opened his book again. Stuck to the pages were pictures, and among them were pictures of a strange monster… the same monster that was on the Number card. 'How did Hikaya-chan find this… when that girl had it?'


Vile: The mysterious Mitsume… Who is she? Before you speculate in the reviews, yes, people, Mitsume is the same person from the end of the Triple Numbershot. She'll be appearing more in the Numbershots by this point. Oh, and a quick note: If my Numbershots seem low-key nowadays, this is a slow point in the plot. They can't all be amazing (Forestfleet, I'm looking at you). Oh well. If you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me, and I'll see y'all tomorrow! Ja ne for now!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.