Vile: We've made it to Chapter 4! Now some answers will be given to the plot.

Yuma: ...But what if the actual series has other explanations?

Vile: Ever heard of the term "non-canon", mi amigo?

Yuma: *feels stupid* Oh yeah...

Vile: Heh heh. Disclaimer's on the first page, so let's get in this. Enjoy!

Numbershot 71: The Hunter Reborn

Chapter 4

Kaito's eyes were deathly wide as he processed the sentence Orbital had spoken. No words could come from his mouth. "Kaito…?" Jenaveve asked.

The Hunter's fist clenched. "…Explain, Orbital." Kaito said, struggling to stay under control. "What do you mean, they've got control of him?"

Orbital groaned. "Mr. Heartland… his associate… Numbers…"

Kaito gasped. "Numbers?" He cried.

"Yes… Haruto-sama… has a Number…"

*Flashback*

"Haruto-sama!" Orbital cried as the young boy's power raged. Quickly getting to his "feet", Orbital tried to go battle Form again, but found it to be disabled. "Kuso…" Acting on impulse, Orbital quickly charged forward to attack the associate. "You'll pay for doing this to Haruto-sama!" The robot leapt at the associate angrily, startling him. Out of nowhere, though, he was blasted by a small energy bolt, knocking him to the ground. Orbital looked up weakly and saw Haruto's hand outstretched toward him, smoke coming from the palm.

The associate grinned. "Face it, Orbital 7. Haruto is under our control now." He showed him the back of his darkness-covered hand, revealing a red "71".

"Numbers…" Orbital groaned.

"Indeed, Orbital 7." Mr. Heartland chuckled. "Haruto here was given the Number as a little 'present' from my friend here." Haruto's gold eyes were completely blank, and an identical "71" was on his forehead. The glow around him had since dispersed. "Now then, come along, Haruto." Almost like a zombie, Haruto slowly followed Heartland and his associate, all three exiting the room.

Orbital 7 slowly got to his "feet" again, weary. "I… I failed Kaito-sama…" He said solemnly. "But… I have to warn him…" Orbital's movement wasn't impeded by his damage, and he quickly exited the room and found his way out of the tower.

*End Flashback*

"Gomen-nasai, Kaito-sama… I did all I could to protect him…" Orbital groaned, bowing in shame.

Kaito, however, had no intention of getting angry at Orbital. If Orbital or Jenaveve could see his face, they'd see a glare to kill. Suddenly, Kaito let out a loud roar to the sky, startling both of them. "That… does it!" He growled. "Dr. Faker's gone too far this time! Infecting my brother with one of the Numbers!" He locked his eyes on Heartland Tower. "Jenaveve, take care of Orbital. I'll be back."

"W-Where are you going, Kaito?" The girl asked.

Kaito looked back at them. "I'm going to rescue my brother!"

"But Kaito-sama, the tower will be on high alert for you!" Orbital cried. "If they catch you, who knows what they'll do to you?"

The Hunter looked back at the tower. "…That's a risk I'll have to take." Kaito said. "I'd rather die knowing Haruto was free… than live with him as a slave of the Numbers." He clenched his fist. "This time, Haruto… I'll make sure you're safe!" With that, Kaito quickly ran off, heading towards the tower.

Orbital 7 and Jenaveve felt uneasy as he watched his master run off. "Kaito-sama… Can he do this himself?" Orbital wondered.

*Two Hours Later*

Kaito had been on top of a rooftop staking out an entrance to Heartland Tower for the last hour-and-a-half, waiting for the guards to leave their post. "Come on, hurry up." He whispered.

"Kaito-san." A voice said to him. The Hunter quickly whipped his head back to see his female friend on the rooftop with him.

"J-Jenaveve! Why are you here?" Kaito whispered. "This is dangerous!"

"I don't care. You can't do this alone." Jenaveve responded.

"She's right, Kaito-sama." Another voice said. Orbital 7 suddenly propelled himself onto the rooftop.

"Orbital? You too?" Kaito asked.

"Hai (Yes). And I brought more help, too." The robot said.

"Hey, a little help?" A fourth voice whisper-yelled. Kaito also recognized that voice. Orbital extended his arm down the building's side, pulling up someone else with familiar red-and-black hair. "Thanks."

"Yuma?" Kaito was completely shocked. "Why did you bring him, Orbital?"

"I've already helped you once, Kaito." Yuma told him. "And I'll keep helping you when you need it. Orbital told me the whole situation, so you're not talking me out of this."

"I failed to protect Haruto-sama, so it's partly my duty to help save him." Orbital said.

"You're not alone in this, Kaito-san." Jenaveve told him. "We're all here to help."

Kaito was speechless for a moment, but then he smiled. "Arigatou, everyone." He said. "You're right. I can't do this alone, but together, we can save Haruto." Jenaveve, Orbital, and Yuma nodded. Kaito looked back, noticing that the guards were leaving their post. When they were out of earshot, Kaito spoke up. "Showtime. Let's go, everyone!" All four of them hopped off the rooftop and headed for the door. Orbital cracked the lock and opened the door, allowing the group to head inside. "Orbital, where were they taking Haruto?"

"They were going to have him use his power again! The Number forces him to use it!" Orbital explained.

Kaito growled lowly. "Then we both know where to go." Orbital nodded and the group rushed off. 'Mr. Heartland… Dr. Faker… you will pay for doing this to Haruto!'

Kaito led everyone through the tower's halls. It was surprisingly empty. "Where is everyone?" Yuma wondered.

"I don't know. This is strange. There are usually a lot of guards patrolling the area." Kaito said. Soon, the four of them headed to the area where Haruto usually stood when he used his ability to send trash to the Astral World. No one was around.

"Where are they? They should be here!" Jenaveve realized.

"Calm down. We ARE here." A voice called out. From the other side of the room, Mr. Heartland walked in, followed by Haruto with his head down.

"Haruto!" Kaito cried.

"He may be able to hear you, but don't expect him to answer you." Another voice said. Mr. Heartland's associate walked into the room, an evil grin on his face.

"So glad you could join us for this. Such a shame the show is over. And after I went to the trouble of giving the guards a break." Mr. Heartland said.

"You monster! What did you do to Haruto?" Jenaveve yelled.

"I just gave him a little… incentive to do what he was supposed to do." The associate said. "Not to mention I gave back what was rightfully his."

*Flashback* *Bold Text is Associate Narrating*

Mr. Heartland began chanting. "Mr. Heartland's chant wasn't what restored his power. It was the power of the Number Haruto holds." A "71" appeared on the man's hand and on Haruto's forehead, covered by Kaito's hands. "I made it so the Number would connect to Haruto's powers the moment he received it, so I used its power to pull the power back to Haruto." He watched evilly as the power returned to Haruto. "But during the process, I noticed that a second piece of Haruto's power had returned to him, one that didn't come from Kaito. I suspect it came from those people with strange markings Mr. Heartland mentioned." As the bright red flash blinded Kaito, a red orb flew into the room and embedded itself into Haruto. "Regardless of how it happened, Haruto then had his full power again."

*End Flashback*

"We gave him some time to rest, and left him alone so it wouldn't utterly piss you off." The man said. "I must say, it was a brilliant plan on Mr. Heartland's part."

"Please, don't give me an ego." Mr. Heartland said modestly.

"You're a sick man, Heartland! People like you don't deserve to run this city!" Yuma yelled.

"Eh?" The associate said, realizing who was talking. He got a good look at Yuma and grinned. "Well, well, well… Yuma Tsukumo. At last we meet."

"Am I supposed to know you? Who are you?" Yuma asked.

"My name is not important… but you do know me." The man said. He held up five cards. "I believe you know me by this name… the Number Distributor!"

Yuma gasped. "The Number Distributor?" He cried. "The Number Distributor works for Mr. Heartland?"

"I think we've told them a bit too much, my friend." Mr. Heartland said. "Perhaps we should get to what we came here for."

"You're right. All right, Haruto, get to work!" The Distributor clenched his fist, causing a 71 to appear on it. A 71 appeared on Haruto's head, and he slowly stalked to the center of the room.

Kaito growled. "Not this time!" He yelled, quickly rushing into the center. His right hand glowed white. "Forgive me, Haruto!" Thrusting his hand forward, the Photon Hand shot out.

"Oh no, you don't!" The Distributor yelled, holding out a darkness-covered hand. All of a sudden, a dark hand stretched out, identical to the Photon Hand, and grappled with Kaito's hand, causing a struggle. Then the dark hand clenched, dispelling both of them. "My powers are stronger than you realize! If you want Haruto so bad…" An object formed in his hand. "You'll have to win him back!" He threw the object, revealing it to be a purple D-Pad. Haruto shot out his left arm, catching the object on his arm.

"Haruto…?" Kaito breathed.

Haruto's head then looked up. The boy's blank gold eyes were leveled in a glare. He spoke almost robotically. "My mission is to destroy the Astral World. I will eliminate anyone in my path. Prepare to meet the end of your quest, Kaito."

Kaito shook from fear. Could he bring himself to fight his brother? "I… I can't…"

"Don't give that 'I can't' crap, Kaito!" Yuma yelled out, making Kaito look back at him. "The Number might be controlling him, but Haruto is still in there, and you're the only one who can save him now!"

"He's right! Haruto's counting on you!" Jenaveve cried.

"You can do this, Kaito-sama!" Orbital cried.

Kaito was speechless. "Everyone…" His head lowered as he processed this. Then his head finally rose, his arm wiping his eyes of a few tears that had shown. His silver eyes shot open in a look of pure determination. "I won't let myself be psyched out. What I see before me is a Number! And there's only one thing I do with Numbers: Hunt them!" His fist clenched. "Haruto… let me hunt for your Number so I may free your soul!" Kaito widened his right eye. "Duel Mode, Photon Change!" His coat changed from black to white. Orbital fired his D-Pad, which he clicked onto his wrist. His left eye gained blue markings and turned red, and the residual glow faded.

The spaces on Haruto's D-Pad unfolded. Haruto's left eye gained black markings, and his iris turned bleach white. "May your Numbers become mine, and may you fade away…!"

"AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED." Both players' D-Gazers flashed, as well as those of the spectators. "ESTABLISHING LINK BETWEEN A AND B." The area morphed into the augmented reality.

'Haruto… I will save you!' Kaito thought.

"DUEL!"

Vile: So, as some of you may have expected, Kaito must now Duel Haruto to save him from Number 71!

Kaito: You got Yuma to help me? Really?

Vile: Who else was there? You and Shark weren't exactly on good terms at that point.

Shark: He has a point there.

Vile: I always do. If you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me! I'll get the Duel in as soon as I can figure out what kind of cards Haruto should use. See ya next time!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.