A/N: Hello guys! Welcome to my first fanfic! I won't do much fanfics concerning ZEXAL (to tell the truth I only planned two oneshots for this, something concerning Ryoga and this) and I may return once the plot bunnies start coming to me or when there's an unresolved plot hole, but I'll try my best to please you guys with this current oneshot!
Kaito never was really on board with his father's idea of hunting down the whole Numbers, nor did he even want to play this strange game known as Duel Monsters to hunt for them. Yet what choice did he have? Haruto had fallen ill, and these strange Numbers were the only cure…or at least that's what his father told him. Again. And according to Mr. Heartland, he was to attend the upcoming World Duel Carnival, as part of a plot to harvest the remaining Numbers from the duelists who would be tempted to join the tournament. "You don't have to worry about losing, Kaito." Mr. Heartland had told him when he brought up the subject of the Carnival to Kaito after his duel with that strange boy named Yuma. "You're invincible. This deck can easily help you get those remaining Numbers!"
The boy remained mute. "How many more souls do I have to take? This doesn't even look like it's worth it anymore."
"So you would rather have Haruto die?" Mr. Heartland questioned.
Why, oh why can he just not live a normal life with his little brother? Kaito stared at the unconscious body of Haruto, lying down on the bed with his eyes shut. Kaito knew that the only reason that brat Yuma managed to get out safely of that duel was because of Haruto. If Haruto didn't scamper off again, it would have made his job of hunting down the Numbers a lot easier. After all, Yuma already had quite a lot of Numbers with him. If the duel continued, Kaito would have gotten those Numbers and until the World Duel Carnival could happen, he could have had spent at least some time with Haruto.
Kaito grunted. This was all his father's fault. He had nobody to blame but that stupid father of his and those stupid Numbers. Somehow, he needed to convince himself that and that Haruto's illness will fade away before he knew it.
"Kaito-sama!" A robotic voice cried out. "Where are you going?"
"To hunt for some more Numbers." Kaito told the robot in a monotone voice.
"Do you wish for me to assist you?"
"No need. I just want you to keep an eye on Haruto while he recovers."
"As you wish, Kaito-sama!"
As Kaito exited the room, the only thing that lingered in his mind was misery and frustration. The people whom he had dueled to gain control of the Numbers had been reported to be near-death (excluding Yuma, of course) and such a phenomenon has been documented by reporters and journalists curious of who, how, or why these people ended up in such a condition, and already they had realized that each of these people had a Number under their possession. If it wasn't for Orbital 7's time-stopping ability, Kaito would have already been captured.
Yet these people's conditions pale to Haruto's illness, the boy told to himself, these people were teens or adults who had lived a prosperous life, and Haruto…he was merely a boy. A psychotic boy. A psychotic boy that was driven to this state because of those stupid Numbers.
Suddenly, Dr. Faker didn't seem much of a bad person than Kaito had once thought.
The mansion had an abandoned look to it, with moss slowly growing on the rooftops and plant life slowly eating up the house. It was cloaked in a thick mist and shielded by a black steel gate, giving it an eerie feeling. To some faint-hearted child, the mansion was the stuff of nightmares, and would run away in fright but to Kaito, this was just another ordinary house. Nothing special, with the sole exception of the rumored figure that lived in the abandoned mansion, or at least according to Mr. Heartland.
The gates creaked open and from the mist, revealed a man as bony as those that Kaito had defeated. The man was a hunchback, with his body covered in a black cloak and the hood covering most of his face. "I've been expecting you, Kaito-sama…" The man said. He tilted up his head, revealing a thin face with a pair of psychotic golden eyes and lips dyed heavily in red. "Come, dragon. Your strong heart has propelled you to the right tamer…"
This man seemed quite spooky, which wasn't really a farfetched idea considering the eerie tone of his voice and that rickety old mansion. According to his own father, this man bore the name of Jin and was a fortuneteller. Using the Duel Monsters cards, he was able to foretell the future as well as a valuable asset to Kaito's mission as he could easily lure duelists that hold Numbers with them while they stalled out for the World Duel Carnival.
"So, how do you exactly tell the future?" Kaito asked as they continued walking through an endless hall lit up only by torches.
A thin grin formed on Jin's face and a hoarse chuckle. They eventually came to a chamber lit up by a turquoise light and there, Jin kneeled down on the middle, taking out a deck of Duel Monsters cards and spreading them across the floor in front of Kaito. The elderly man remained silent, gazing at the cards as if he was in a trance until he finally flipped one over, revealing a card with a black border with the picture of a cube that was silver and purple. "This is what you're looking for, isn't it?" Jin cackled. "A card with mystifying powers that transcend limits…a card that can change everything…it's called a Number, is it not?"
"Yes! That's the one!" Kaito cried out.
Jin chuckled again. "You need not to worry, Kaito-sama…I can take care of this situation quite easily…you will get these Numbers quickly and I can trust you that there is no possible way I can fail." He rasped. "I am a fortuneteller. I can see everything. They can't stop me."
Kaito grinned. If these Numbers can cure Haruto, then maybe such a sacrifice is needed. After all, Jin was powerful. He couldn't fail. He'll easily beat that bratty kid known as Yuma and the Numbers would be his. How could he possibly lose?
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it! Two things to clear up anything before I go:
1.) When Jin said something about Kaito being a dragon, I will direct you back to the fact how he represented Yuma's friends as Stray Lambs due to the card they were represented when he was fortunetelling. You can basically say that Kaito was symbolized as a dragon when Jin foretold his visit.
2.) Just to bonk your memory a bit, Dr. Faker called Kaito and Haruto his adopted sons in Episode 13, I believe. Just putting that out there case anybody forgets.