Vile: Hello, my readers! I am so sorry for the delay, but a combination of schoolwork and getting Pokemon X really cut me back. But I'm back with my next Numbershot!

Yuma: What's the "S" stand for?

Vile: You'll find that out later, but based on the Number itself, you can see that Jenaveve is the star of this Numbershot. Rest easy, viewers: This is not a "save Kaito" plot.

Kaito: At least you're trying something different.

Vile: Hey, I try to listen to feedback. Anyhoo, standard disclaimer here, folks. I'm half-tempted to stop doing this. Enjoy!

Numbershot S43: Pink Light In The Darkness

Chapter 1

A Duelist fell to the ground, defeated in a Duel. On his opposition was Kaito, decked out in Photon Mode, with Jenaveve, Haruto, and Orbital 7 spectating. The AR field vanished, and Kaito dispelled his Photon Mode, walking over to his opponent. "You all right?" He asked.

"Ngh… I might ache later, but I'm all right." His opponent said.

Jenaveve walked over, she and Kaito nodded at each other, and she covered her hand in her pink Soul Power aura, combining it with Kaito's Photon Hand. The Soul Hand entered the opponent through the chest, the opponent keeping still during it, but the hand retracted with nothing in it. Kaito sighed. "Nothing. Again."

"Gomen. I wish I could've been of help." The opponent said.

"Don't worry about it. Sorry I stopped you." Kaito apologized. The opponent nodded and walked off.

"Nii-san?" Haruto asked, apparently sensing worry in his brother.

Kaito smiled at him. "Don't worry, Haruto. I'm not as depressed as you might think." He told him. "Even if I fail, the others are probably finding the Numbers as well." Haruto wasn't sure if he believed him. As they went to head home, Kaito suddenly stumbled. "Ugh…" With a groan, he toppled over and fell to the ground.

"Nii-san!/Kai-chan!" Haruto and Jenaveve cried.

"Oh dear… I was afraid of this!" Orbital 7 cried. "We need to get him to a hospital, now!"

*A Little White Later*

Kaito laid on a hospital bed in Heartland Hospital, his body hooked up to various machines, his face in an irritated expression. The monitors gave various responses to his condition. Jenaveve, Haruto, and Orbital 7 were over to the side, the former two with worried expressions. "Nii-san…" Haruto breathed.

"Ngh… I'm all right, Haruto." Kaito said. "I'm just… exhausted, that's all." He gave an annoyed sigh and closed his eyes. "Orbital."

The robot was startled. "H-Hai, Kaito-sama?"

"You didn't tell them about my condition, did you?" His master asked.

"Condition?" Jenaveve asked.

"N… No…" Orbital said, fidgeting with his hands.

"Tell them. Now." Kaito said.

"Are you certain that they need to-" Orbital said, but he was stopped when Kaito shot him a stern look from his bed. Orbital shrunk back. "K… Kashikomari."

He turned to Jenaveve and Haruto, and saw Haruto already looking at him with apprehension. "Orbital, what is wrong with Nii-san?"

Orbital gave a sigh (or at least the sound of one). "Kaito-sama's body… is being weakened by the power of Photon Change. I thought he was immune to the effects now that Jenaveve-sama was strengthening him, and he has been using Photon Change at reduced power ever since. It seems that nothing will be able to stop these effects, and Jenaveve-sama's relief is only temporary. His body will shut down if this Number hunt is not finished quickly."

Haruto gasped, looking horrified. "Nii-san… No…"

All of a sudden, Orbital's metal neck was grabbed, extended, and shook violently by an angry Jenaveve, shocking Haruto. "Why did you hide this from us?!" The pink-haired girl yelled, still shaking the robot.

"WAH-AH-AH-AH! I d-didn't want y-you worrying about K-Kaito-sama's m-m-medical condition…!" Orbital managed to say.

"We're his brother and girlfriend! We're SUPPOSED to worry about him!" Jenaveve yelled.

"Stop, Jenaveve!" Kaito said, making the girl stop in her stride. Kaito had his eyes closed with his face pointed up. "It wasn't his responsibility to tell you. It was mine. But the fact of the matter is, you're aware of everything now. I was aware that I could die during this, and I'm still prepared to forfeit my life if it means finding the Numbers and keeping you and Haruto safe." He opened his eyes and looked at her with a smile. "Then again, I was never one to go without a fight."

"Nii-san's right about that." Haruto said, feeling a little better.

Jenaveve let out a breath, letting go of Orbital's neck and, because she had ended up lifting him off the ground, making him fall to the ground. 'Kaito-sama's woman is scarier than he is…' He computed without talking.

The doctor then came into the room. "How is he, Doctor?" Jenaveve asked.

"He's in a better shape than I thought, but his body is clearly in a state of exhaustion." The doctor said, looking at the chart he was holding. "I'm going to have to keep him here overnight, but he should be well enough to leave either tomorrow or the day after. Overall, though, he'll be fine."

Jenaveve let out another breath, this time in relief. "Arigatou."

"See, Jen-chan? I don't go down that easily." Kaito told her.

Jenaveve finally gave a smile, walking over to him and kneeling down. "Good. Because I'm gonna hunt you down in the afterlife if you don't get out of this." She told him with a playful smile before kissing him.

Orbital turned around and held him arms up in an "I don't know" gesture. "That girl changes moods like Haruto-sama changes the channels every day…"

*Meanwhile*

Within the depths of Heartland Tower, the Number Distributor typed furiously on the keyboard. "Where… where are they?" He growled. After a few seconds, images began to show up on-screen, showing Number digits and pointing to locations. The Distributor smirked. "Good… they're all still out there. They can have the prototype, for all I care. Those are the ones that will help us."

"Wait a minute… Isn't there one missing?" Vector mused, forming from the Distributor's body.

"Only this one." Pressing a button, the Distributor brought up an image of Number 43: Sacred Persei. "The one that Kaito's woman has somehow been able to resist."

Vector growled. "I can't understand it! How could she manage to resist its power when it's one of the strongest Numbers I've infected?!" He shrieked.

"I've been trying to answer that myself." The Distributor said. "I can't just walk up and ask her, so I did the next best thing." He inputted a command on the keyboard, and a section of the wall opened up, revealing another room. "Even though the first test failed, I captured what I think can give us the answer." Getting up from the chair, the Distributor walked into the room, which showed a glass case with pink light swirling within it.

Vector let out a long gasp. "Is that…?"

"A piece of the girl's power. Unfortunately, the machine hasn't been able to figure out just what it is." The Distributor said. "Its essence is just so… unnatural."

Gazing at the pink light, Vector suddenly felt an odd compelling feeling within him. Slowly, he extended an arm toward the glass case. The Distributor was confused, but he decided to trust the Barian's judgment. As his red energy hand phased through the case, the pink light came into contact with it, and…

"GYAAAH-AAAH-AAAH-AAAH-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Vector's entire energy body was shocked relentlessly by pink lightning, causing him tremendous pain. Unfortunately, as he was still connected to the Distributor, he got some of the pain as well. "GRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" In his stupor, Vector somehow managed to pull his hand back, causing the lightning to cease. The two of them were panting heavily, Vector's body becoming staticy. "What… What just happened?!"

Vector's solid blue eyes gazed at his hand, then at the light in the case, quivering. "No… It cannot be!"

"What? What is it?" The Distributor asked.

With a growl, Vector pretended to slam his hand down. "Distributor! Ignore the Numbers for now! We have a new mission!" He pointed at the case, his reflection showing over the light. "That girl… The herald of that power… must… be… DESTROYED!"

Vile: Oh boy. Vector's mad now.

Jenaveve: What does this have to do with me?

Vile: Uh... it's your power?

Jenaveve: That isn't what I meant.

Vile: No spoilers, Jenaveve. Anyhoo, if you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me! Ja ne for now!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.