Vile: Hey, folks, Vile once again back in the ZEXAL world!

Yuma: Where've you been, man?!

Vile: It's called a slump, Yuma. In spite of it, though, I have every intention of finishing this Numbershot by Christmas Day, so for this Number, I'll be updating one chapter a day, counting down the last six days until Christmas. I can't exactly call this a Christmas-THEMED Numbershot, but the time period fits.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In terms of the timeline, this fic takes place after the end of Keys to the Solution. In fact, this is canonically the last Numbershot before the final arc of the Numbershots, so any Numbershots after this that aren't in the final arc take place before this.

Vile: With that note out of the way, let's get into my first Numbershot in forever. Enjoy, my loyal fans!

Numbershot 49: The Most Dangerous Time of the Year

Chapter 1

The magical time of the year had come again: The Christmas season, Christmas Eve, to be exact. It was late in the day, with people bustling around trying to finish up whatever shopping they needed to do. A light blanket of snow covered the ground, but not enough to make traveling difficult, and no snow was actually falling in spite of the gray clouds that loomed overhead.

A gentle wind breeze blew through the area, and riding the wind was a lone card, an Xyz Monster, drifting aimlessly with no clue as to where it would end up. The answer would come when the card was snagged out of the air by a woman walking through the streets, bundled up for the cold. She didn't even bother looking at the card for some reason, only slipping it into her pocket. "Well, I guess that's one. Now if only I could get a full Deck for my son, but Christmas is tomorrow." The woman sighed. However, unbeknownst to her, a faint glow came from her pocket, and she rounded a corner to pass by Kodoa's Card Shop, and her eyes widened when she saw a fold-up sign set up outside that said "1/2 Off Full Deck Deals" on it. Hikaya was also outside, bundled up and sweeping snow off the sidewalk. The woman approached her. "Excuse me?"

Hikaya stopped and noticed her. "Yes?"

"Um, is this deal still ongoing?" The woman asked, pointing at the sign.

Hikaya smiled. "You're in luck you got here now! Tou-chan was about to close up in 10 minutes! Come on in!" She went into the store followed by the woman, where Mr. Kodoa was cleaning the counter. "Tou-chan, we got one last customer!"

"Oh, how can I help you?" Mr. Kodoa said, looking at her.

"I happened to notice your sign out front. Would you happen to have any Deck Deals for a Deck that is koala-themed? My son loves them." The woman replied.

"Ah, yes, a koala Deck. I've got just the thing for you. Just one moment." Mr. Kodoa left the counter and went to the card racks, and within a few minutes, he had a full Deck assembled. "There we are." He then handed the Deck to the woman.

The woman smiled as she checked the cards. "This is perfect! My son will love it. Thank you so much."

"It was my pleasure." Mr. Kodoa said with a smile as he rang up the purchase. Hikaya giggled as the woman left the store with the Deck.

"My son is going to be so excited. That other card might work in this Deck. I wonder what it does." She fished into her pocket, but for some reason, the card wasn't in her pocket. "Huh? Where'd the card go?" She tried checking her other pockets, but the card was nowhere to be found.

Somehow, the card was once again drifting through the wind, until it went through an open window, landing on a desk. At the desk, a clearly stressed man was doing paperwork, tapping the desk with his finger. "Ugh... I'm never gonna keep things going at this rate..." His tapping finger ended up touching the blank card as he gazed at a picture of himself with his family: A wife and two young girls. "I can't support my family with my current paycheck… If I can't get a raise soon, I'm doomed."

A faint glow came from the card, unnoticed by the man. Then, out of nowhere, a voice boomed on the intercom. "Ozu! My office! Now!"

Ozu was startled, his face twisting into dread at the voice's tone. As he got up out of his chair, he thought: 'Great. I'm screwed. How am I gonna tell my family about this?' He walked away from his desk and eventually made it to his boss's office, opening the door and meekly peeking in. "You wanted to see me, Fukasaku-san?"

His boss's chair was turned to the back was facing the door. "Have a seat." Ozu nervously did so. Mr. Fukasaku was reading Ozu's file, which Ozu couldn't see. "You've been with us for a while now, haven't you, Ozu?"

"Y-Yes, sir, ten years." Ozu said, stammering a bit. 'That's never a good line.'

"You've done a lot of good work. Always on time, no complaints. You're one of my harder workers."

"I j-just do what I can, sir."

Ozu's file was heard being closed. "And that's what I want from my workers." Mr. Fukasaku then turned around in his chair, having a smile on his face. "You've got what I want, and I wanna keep you around, so does an extra 12,000 yen each paycheck sound alluring?"

Ozu was completely dumbfounded. "Duh… What did you say?"

Mr. Fukasaku laughed. "I'm giving you a raise, knucklehead!" Ozu just stammered, making his boss laugh again. "Should I take that as a yes?"

"A-Absolutely! Arigatou, Fukasaku-san!" Ozu cried, elated.

"Hey, think nothin' of it! We need people like you around! Now go show the others what it means to be a workin' man." Mr. Fukasaku said, giving Ozu a thumbs-up.

"Hai, Fukasaku-san." Ozu said with a bow before leaving the office. He walked back to his desk feeling happier than ever, but when he got back, he didn't notice that the mysterious Xyz Monster on his desk had once again vanished.

Floating through the air once more, the mystery card floated through a gap in the glass ceiling of a bustling mall, with shoppers pulling last-minute sprees. The card drifted around before somehow landing in the band of a mall security officer's hat. The officer sighed. "Geez, I had to get stuck with the slow beat. Nothing exciting ever happens here." He said. "I don't mind no crimes happening, but sometimes the job is just boring."

At that moment, the Xyz Monster glowed once more, and then the officer's radio switched on. "All units on the first floor, be advised. Carbuncle Jewelry has been robbed. Repeat, Carbuncle Jewelry has been robbed."

The officer grabbed the radio and held it to his face. "Officer Onishima responding. I'm on my way."

"Copy that. Other units are on patrol." Onishima put his radio back on his belt and rushed in the direction of Carbuncle Jewelry, in the southern part of the mall's first floor.

As he neared the scene, a woman was heard yelling. "Help, someone! That man stole my purse!"

Acting on impulse, Onishima rushed up to the panicking woman. "Did you see which way he went?" The woman pointed in the direction of the purse snatcher, who was still in view fleeing, and Onishima adjusted his hat's brim and gave chase. Onishima chased him toward a fountain area, but while they were running, a little boy was playing with an RC car. The car ended up moving right in the path of the thief, causing him to trip over the toy and double over into the fountain.

"Kuso!" He griped when he pulled his head out of the fountain, only to be grabbed by Onishima. The guard pulled him out of the fountain and held him down on the ground.

"Don't try to run, dirtbag!" Onishima said, reaching for his cuffs. The thief tried to flail to get away, but as he did, several pieces of jewelry fell out of the purse he had snatched. Onishima did not miss this. "What the…?"

The woman whose purse was snatched finally managed to catch up to them, a bit out of breath, but happy that the thief was caught. "Oh, thank you, office-" Her voice stopped when she looked down, noticing the jewelry that had fallen out. "Uhhh…"

Onishima noted her reaction, and the wheels in his head started turning, processing the situation. Grabbing his radio, he called in. "Dispatch, can you give me a run-down of what was stolen in the Carbuncle Jewelry heist?"

"Among the stolen items were a pair of amethyst earrings, a silver ring engraved with a giant snake, and a ruby necklace." The radio relayed. Onishima noted that all three items were among the dropped items, then he leveled a stare at the woman, the pieces having clicked into place. The purse thief was just watching them now.

After a moment of silence, Onishima spoke again. "...I'm gonna need backup at the East Fountain, ASAP."

The woman was about to turn and run, but someone accidently bumped into her, knocking her back. Onishima, moving quickly, grabbed her and cuffed her to the purse snatcher. "Nice try." He pulled the two of them to their feet as two other officers approached. "It's your lucky day, buddy. You just helped me solve a crime while trying to commit one." Onishima said to the purse snatcher.

"Ooh, lucky me." The thief said with oozing sarcasm, shooting a mutual ugly look at the woman as the three officers escorted them away.

However, unseen by them, the card that remained lodged in Onishima's hat then vanished into thin air, re-appearing in the holiday sky. It was as if the card itself desired to travel the sky… en route to its next holder.

Vile: The mystery is in place, with a strange Number seemingly granting wishes. Not really Christmas-y, unless you count wish-granting as a Christmas plot.

Kotori: I can't even tell what Number you're planning to use, whether a made-up one or the canon 49.

Vile: Oh, you'll find that out later, Kotori. This plot's vague enough to keep it a mystery.

Yuma: Well, hopefully this'll tide your rowdier fans until tomorrow.

Vile: Same here, Yuma. I might be in a slump, but I'm not dead. If you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me, and I'll see you tomorrow with Chapter 2! Ja ne for now!

Computer Voice, Vile, logging out.