Kazuki: Unknown, why is there a curtain again?

Unknown entity328: You'll see, anyway it's time for chapter eight ladies and gentlemen!

Kazuki: Seriously, what's with the curtain?

Unknown entity328: Relax, I'm getting to that, anyway I like to introduce the author that helped me write this chapter!
*Curtain falls to reveal...*

Revolutionary Regicide: Ah, hello wonderful audience! And thanks for having me here Unknown.

Unknown entity328: No problem and thank you for helping me with this chapter and providing us with an OC. Speaking of which, he won't be joining us in the intro to keep you guessing, but he will be in this chapter and the outro.

Revolutionary Regicide: Yep, wouldn't want to spoil anything for our fans here. Anyways, since I really don't have that much to say, shall we begin the chapter?

Unknown entity328: Of course, but first the disclaimer, Kazuki, if you will?

Kazuki: Unknown entity328 doesn't own yugioh zexal except me.

Unknown entity328: With that out of the way, read and enjoy!


Chapter Eight

"New character enters the scene! Enter The Number Thief!"

Kazuki P.O.V.

I was walking through the streets of Heartland city a couple bags in each hand.

"Geez, why did Kari make me go and buy groceries when she's the one with the car?" I complained to myself but smiled a little. "But it still feels nice that she knows the truth about me now and I only got a slap from it."

My lock glowed and Dark mist floated next to me.

"You must feel like a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders don't you Kazuki?" Dark mist asked. "Now Kari knows the truth and with the help of her and Yuma so does your grandmother."

"Yeah, I almost thought she had a heart attack when we told her." I replied chuckling nervously thinking about two days ago when Kari learned the truth about me and told grandma. "But I'm glad that things haven't changed between us like I thought it would."

Dark mist nodded in agreement and went back into the lock.


3rd P.O.V

A sixteen year old boy was running through the streets, dodging and weaving through the crowds as his pursuer chased him down, cursing and yelling for him. "Hey! Give me back that card!" the man yelled at him. Kiren chuckled as he looked at the newest card in his collection, Number 52.

As he ran, he looked back to see how far away the person was. Unfortunately for him, he managed to run into someone, knocking them both to the ground and drop what they were both were carrying. "Ah! Damnit! Sorry bout that!"


Kazuki P.O.V.

"It's alright." I said picking up my bags but started to panic. "Oh no, the tomatoes!"

The boy was about to respond before he heard a yell behind him. "There you are! You're gonna pay for taking my Number!" said the Pursuer.

The boy sheepishly chuckled before looking around for the card he dropped. "Hehe, well I don't take a guy's number. Mostly they're from girls, but hey. Who am I to judge?" He joked in an attempt to stall as he searched for Number 52 among the dropped groceries.

"Huh, a card?" I said picking it up and his eyes widened when I saw what it was. "A number card?"

Both the boy and the Man turned to see that I held up the card. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, you mean that Number..." The boy said with a sheepish chuckle.

The Man sighed before walking up to me.

"Thanks kid. This little thief over here thought he could take it from me behind my back!" He said, shouting the last part at the boy who shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't know what he was talking about. "So, if I could kindly take it back, that would be nice." He said, his voice sounding slightly malicious at the end.

"Sorry, but I think it's best if you don't have this anymore." I replied getting up. "How about this, we duel and if I win I get this number but if you win..." I held up Crazy Box. "You get this number."

The man looked thoughtfully before grinning. "Hmm, I could always use another Number... Sure! I accept!" He said before adding another term. "But, that little thief also has to give me his rarest card!" he exclaimed, causing said thief to widen his eyes. "Uh, m-maybe not my rarest card... How about a Kuriboh instead?" He said hesitantly, holding up said card.

"Deal." I said handing back Number 52 and grabbing my duel disk.

The man took the card and grinned before the boy shuffled over to me. "Ha! This duel is going to be a breeze!" The man said before activating his silver duel disk.

I threw my duel disk which expanded and attached to my wrist. "Duel disk, set!" The zones appeared and folded. I then put on my duel gazer. "Duel gazer, ready!" The surroundings got covered in code.

AUGMENTED REALITY VISION LINK ESTABLISHED
"Let's Duel!"
Kazuki vs Pursuer: 4000

"Since you challenged me, I'll go first! I draw!" The Pursuer said before he drew. He smirked before starting his turn. "First, I'll activate Foolish Burial to send my Garnet Crab to the graveyard!" He said, activating the spell and sending them both to the Graveyard. "Next, when Garnet Crab is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one "Crab" Monster from my hand! Come forth, Cobalt Crab!" A large blue Crab appeared on the field, snapping it's larger claw.

Cobalt Crab/Earth/Level 4/Rock/ATK 1500/DEF 1000 DEF

"And Now, Cobalt Crab's ability activates! If a "Crab" Monster was sent to the Graveyard this turn, I can Special Summon it in Defense Position, but it's effects are negated! Come back, Garnet Crab!" A graveyard portal opens and a red crab entered the field.

Garnet Crab/Earth/Level 4/Rock/ATK 400/DEF 2000 DEF

The man grinned as both his monsters turned into orange lights"Now comes the fun part! I overlay my Level 4 Garnet Crab and Level 4 Cobalt Crab to built the Overlay Network!" The lights shot into the air as an overlay network formed and they entered it causing an explosion. "I Xyz Summon Number 52: Diamond King Crab!"

The number "52" appeared and flashed yellow as a giant blue crab with a mountain of Diamonds on it's back and the number "52" on its left claw.

Number 52: Diamond Crab King/Earth/Rank 4/Rock/ATK 0/DEF 3000

"Is he a crab nut?" I asked the teen behind me.

He just chuckled before turning to me. "What gave it away? The crab themed deck or the Crab Themed Number?"

"A little of both." I replied shrugging. "Why did you take his number in the first place?"

"Oh, I thought I'd try something new and take it when they don't know about it then duel them for it. Plus, what's the point in dueling someone if they're too weak to duel in the first place?" He said with a smirk, causing his victim to growl at his comment.

"Did you just call me weak?! Tch, I'll set two cards face down and end my turn." Two face downs materialized. "After I'm finished with this Duel, you're next, punk!" He said, clearly angry from the teen's taunts.

"I best finish this fast and get back home before Kari kills me." I said sighing. "It's my move, I draw!" I put the card I drew in my hand and took another card. "First I play the spell Dark Moment!" The card materialized and glowed in activation. "For the rest of this turn all cards currently on the field become useless." All cards on the pursuers field to turn grey.

The Pursuer was shocked at that statement "U-Useless?! What do you mean by that?!"

"What I mean is that face downs can't be activated and face up cards have their effects negated." I explained. "It's like a dark moment in your life before your worst nightmare becomes a reality."

The Pursuer growled at the explanation before the teen decided to put his two cents in. "Well that was pretty morbid description, on another note that's a rather powerful card."

"I said I was gonna finish this fast and I always keep my promises." I grabbed another card. "I play the spell card Setting the Table!" The card materialized and glowed.

Both the Pursuer and the teen looked confused as they heard that. The teen was starting to get interested in my deck as the duel went on. "Setting the Table?" asked the teen.

"I'll explain what this does later, but first I send Malicevorous Cup to the graveyard to summon Malicevorous Fork!" The fork wielding fiend jumped onto the field resting its weapon on its shoulder.

Malicevorous Fork/Dark/Level 2/Fiend/ATK 400/DEF 400

The teen was taken aback by this as the Pursuer was grumbling about not being able to use his cards. 'Huh? Malicevorous Cup? I've never heard of that card... So he's from there, huh' He thought as he watched with interest.

"Now with Setting the Tables effect I get back my Malicevorous Cup, and I think I'll summon it." A fiend inside a cup appeared next to Fork.

Malicevorous Cup/Dark/Level 2/Fiend/ATK 600/DEF 400

As Kiren was keeping tabs of the cards Kazuki was playing, Kiren looked to the Pursuer. His face seemed to show that he was waiting for something. 'Hmm, he must have a hand trap... wonder what Kazuki has to stop it?'

"I activate the spell Overlay Stealer LV 2!" The spell revealed Leviar the Sea Dragons overlay units becoming Souls of the Forgotten. "This spell steals all of your xyz monsters overlay units and summons them to my field as level two monsters."

The Pursuer growled as 52's Overlay Units were turned back to Garnet Crab and Cobalt Crab and came onto my field as the teen watched on with interest. "Grr, If you think you're gonna win you're out of your mind!"

"Trust me, this duel is over." Kazuki said calmly. "I overlay level 2 Maclicevorous Fork, Malicevorous Cup, Garnet Crab, and Cobalt Crab!" Fork, Cup, Garnet, and Cobalt turned into purple and orange lights respectively as they shot into the air as the overlay network formed.

The Pursuer was furious that he couldn't do anything yet. The watched with interest, wondering what monster I could be summoning.

"With these four monsters I build the overlay network and Xyz summon Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition!" The lights entered the network and exploded.

The number "45" appeared and flashed red as a man with a horse's lower body appeared with the number "45" on the right side of his chest.

Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition/Earth/Rank 2/Zombie/XYZ/ATK 2200/DES 0

The Pursuer was getting "Crabby" as he was tired of waiting and activated his hand trap. "Grr, enough of this! I activate the special ability of Amethyst Armor Crab!" An astral image of a amethyst crab appeared behind Diamond Crab King. "By banishing a "Crab" Monster from my deck, I can add it to an Xyz monster as an Overlay Unit." amethyst crab turned into an orange orb of light and started orbiting around Diamond Crab King. "Not only that! When Amethyst Armor Crab is attached to an Xyz Monster, It's unaffected by Spell or Trap Cards! What do you think of that?!" The Pursuer laughed as the teen sighed, knowing Number 45's effect. He turned to me with a sweatdrop. "I don't think this guy can read..."

"I think I'll just end this." I said grabbing my last card. "I activate the spell Overlay Reward." The spell materialized and glowed. "Now I can draw one card for each overlay unit on Crumble Logos."

"Oh, so you draw a bunch of cards. So what? Just attack already!" The man taunted, also getting impatient. The teen chuckled and started taunting the man. "Hey, no need to be so Crabby. It's just a duel!"

I drew four cards and smirked at what I drew.

"I activate the spell Overlay Blast!" The spell materialized and glowed in activation. "For each overlay unit on Crumble Logos, you take 500 points of damage."

The man took his attention away from the teen as his eyes widened when he saw the Spell card and Crumble Logos' overlay units started flying towards him. "W-What?!" He gasped as they exploded when they reached him and his Life Points dropped down to 2000 while the overlay units went back to orbiting around Crumble Logos.

"As promised I'm ending this duel now, Crumble Logos, attack Diamond Crab King!" Crumble Logos galloped and stomped on Diamond Crab King causing it to explode.

The man yelled as he was sent flying by the destruction of his monster. His life points dropped to 0, signalling the end of the duel. The teen smiled at this and turned to me. "Well, looks like I don't have to worry about losing my rarest card. Thanks for winning for me."

"No problem, before coming here I was the regional champ at my home town so beating him was a walk in the park for me." I said as Dark mist came out of the lock but only I can see him and extracted the pursuers number.

The teen was impressed by that. He walked over to the unconscious man to try and find the Number. "A regional champ? No wonder you were so good." He noticed that the Number wasn't on him and assumed I had it. He thought of a plan and smiled, standing up and turning to me. "Hey, tell you what. Why don't I help you with your groceries since I ran into you? Consider it an apology from me." The teen said.

"Thanks, I don't want my sister to kill me for coming home empty handed." I shuddered at the thought.

The teen walked over and put some groceries in the bags that fell out before taking some bags. "It's no problem! Oh wait, I never introduced myself! My name is Kiren."

"My names Kazuki Tsukumo." I said, introducing myself as I was getting the other bags. "It's nice to meet you Kiren."

"Kazuki? Oh wait, I remember seeing you play at the beginning of the World Duel Carnival! Man, you guys are good!"

"You think so?" I rubbed the back of my neck blushing in embarrassment. "Truth is I get nervous when I sing in front of people so I thought I botched a few of the lyrics."

Kiren nodded, walking with me towards my house. "Hey, it's all understandable to be nervous Kazuki. Everyone does. And so what if you mess up on a few lyrics, no one's gonna expect it to be perfect. Hell, they'll be too busy having fun and rocking out to your music to complain on a butchered word or two. Remember that, and you'll do even better than you did at the opening." Kiren said, offering his words of advice.

"Thanks, that helps a little." I said. "I was hoping my brother's confidence would rub off on me but no luck."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But hey, you still got up on stage didn't ya? That takes a lot of confidence in itself."

"Yeah well, that was thanks to a friend that was with me since day one." I smiled at the thought of my partner.

Kiren smiled and looked forward. "Sounds like you got a good group of friends there, Kaz."

"Yeah, oh we're here." I said seeing my house.

Kiren looked at the house and let out a whistle. "That's a nice house you got there... well, I guess you want me out of your hair now, huh? Catch ya later Kaz." he said with a sigh as he set the bag on the floor by the door, before starting to walk away.

"Hey wait!" I called out. "Why don't you come in since you came all this way."

He stopped and looked back. "Hmm, you sure your family's ok with me being in your home? I mean, I am a thief, remember? That and I'd hate to intrude on you guys" Kiren said, making his points.

"It's alright." I smiled. "You helped me pick up my groceries and walked with me all the way here, and I'm sure grandma won't let you leave without saying her thanks and having a cup of tea."

Kiren smiled back and nodded. "Hehe, alright, you got a good point. Thanks Kaz." Kiren said as he walked over to the door, up the bag.


3rd P.O.V

"I'm home!" Kazuki called taking off his shoes.

"Welcome home Kazu, oh you brought a friend over?" Haru greeted and asked coming out of the kitchen.

"Not really, I bumped into him and helped me pick everything up." Kazuki replied handing her the bags.

"Oh, in that case thank you for helping Kazu." Haru bowed to Kiren.

Kiren smiled and chuckled sheepishly "Ah, it's nothing Ma'am. It would've been rude of me not to help."

"Where's Yuma and Kari grandma?" Kazuki asked looking around.

"Yuma went with Tori and Bronk and Kari said she had a big scoop to go after." Haru replied going back to kitchen to make tea.

Kiren took off his shoes after seeing Kazuki do so and walked over and sat on the couch. "Thanks again for letting me in here, Kaz."

"Just call me Kazu, all my friends do." Kazuki said taking a seat too. "So why were you trying to take that guys number again? If you even touch it, it might try to control your actions."

Kiren chuckled. "Ah, you see. That's the very reason why. So many people are after the Numbers for power and some are just too naive and get manipulated by the Numbers. That's why I'd rather take that burden on myself then let others fall from them."

"That's nice of you, but what if you get manipulated?" Kazuki asked gripping his lock. "It's because of this that I'm safe from their influence."

Kiren noticed it and nodded. "I see...But the thing is, I know how the Numbers take control."

"So you're saying you can resist the numbers influence." Kazuki asked eyes wide.

He nodded and smirked. "Yep. Pretty easy when you get the hang of it. They make a promise, right? Anything you could ever want whether it be Power or wealth, and all they'll ask for is complete obedience. Who could resist? Well...I can. After all, What could they possibly give me that I can't already take myself? Power? Already have it. Money? I can get it. You see what I'm getting at? That being said, what Numbers do you have?" Kiren asked

"Including the one I just got, Numbers 52, 45, 31, 13, 23, 85, 28, and 96." Kazuki replied looking up in thought.

'Hmm, I can take Number 52 when he's not looking and leave, but after seeing his deck in action...I think a duel would be much more enjoyable than simply taking it from him.' Kiren thought to himself before nodding. "Hey, how about a duel... after dueling you myself, I think I'd like to give it a try against my deck. How does that sound?"

"You want number 52 and decided to win it right." It was more a statement than question.

"Well, I'd find it better than just taking it from you and coming off as a horrible guest. Plus, we can learn a bit about each other as we duel. It's a win-win." Kiren Said

"I guess you have a point." Kazuki shrugged. "Let's go to the yard."

Kiren smiled and nodded, following Kazuki to the yard.

"Just to let you know I'm not holding back." Kazuki pulled out his duel disk.

"Well I'd hope not, else this'll be for nothing." Kiren said attaching his unusual duel disk to his arm which looked like a sleeker version of the Orichalcos Duel Disk.

"Duel disk, set!" Kazuki attached his duel disk to his wrist as the zones appeared and folded. "Duel gazer, ready!" Kazuki put on his duel gazer as the yard gets covered in code.

AUGMENTED REALITY VISION LINK ESTABLISHED
"Let's duel!"
Kazuki vs Kiren: 4000

"Since I challenged you, you may go first, Kazu'' Said Kiren with a smirk, drawing his five cards.

"If you insist, I draw!" Kazuki looked over his hand and grabbed a card. "I summon Malicevorous Bowl!" The fiend jumped onto the field its bowl on its back.

Malicevorous Bowl/Dark/Level 2/Fiend/ATK 100/DEF 600

Kiren smirked as he saw this. "I never heard of Malicevorous Bowl. Where did you get those?"

"They were a gift from a friend." was all the response Kazuki gave before grabbing another card. "Since I control a Malicevorous monster I can summon Malicevorous Skewer!" The skewer wielding fiend jumped onto the field next to bowl.

Malicevorous Skewer/Dark/Level 2/Fiend/ATK 300/DEF 300

Kiren looked at Kazuki, trying to predict what he would do. "Hmm, you're going to try and summon your Numbers, huh?"

"You'd like to think that don't you?" Kazuki asked rhetorically. "I overlay level 2 Malicevorous Bowl and Skewer!" Said monsters turned into purple lights and shot into the air as a red overlay network formed. "With these two monsters I build the overlay network and Xyz summon Sky Cavalry Centaurea!" A knight with wings and a horse's lower body wearing white and purple armor wielding a javelin and shield jumped out of the network.

Sky Cavalry Centaurea/Light/Rank 2/Beast-Warrior/Xyz/ATK 2000/DEF 0

Kiren smirked as he saw this, but opted to remain silent and wanted to see what else Kazuki was going to to.

"I place three cards face down and end my turn" Three face downs materialized.

"Very well, I draw!" Kiren said and drew his card before adding it to his hand. 'No doubt he has trap cards that could negate my monsters effects and maybe even make it harder for me to Xyz summon my monsters, better test the waters.' "I set three cards before Summoning Marauding Captain!"

Marauding Captain/Earth/Level 3/Warrior/ATK 1200/DEF 400

"A warrior deck, huh?" Kazuki muttered.

"Yep! But not just any warrior deck. Let me show you the power of my warriors! I activate Marauding Captains effect! When he's summoned to the field, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Monster from my hand. Arise now, The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves!

The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves/DARK/Level 3/Warrior/ATK 1000/DEF 500

'Phantom knight's?!' Kazuki thought eyes wide. 'How can he have that deck?'

"Now I Overlay my Level 3 Marauding Captain and Ragged Gloves to build the Overlay Network!" Marauding Captain and Ragged Gloves turned into orange and purple lights respectively and shot into the air as a red overlay network formed. "Souls of knights who fell on the battlefield. Revive here and now, and become the light that breaks the darkness! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 3, the Phantom Knights of Break Sword!" Kiren Chanted, Xyz Summoning his Phantom Knights Xyz Monster.

The Phantom Knights of Break Sword/DARK/Rank 3/Xyz/ATK 2000/DEF 1000

"That's not all, Ragged Gloves' Effect activates! When it's used for the Xyz summon of a Dark Xyz Monster, that monster gains 1000 ATK!"

Phantom Knights of Break Sword: 2000 - 3000

"Hahaha! Now this is getting exciting, isn't it Kazu?" Kiren said, seeming like he was having the time of his life.

"This is starting to get interesting." Kazuki smirked. "But what are you going to do, I have three face downs and a monster that can't be destroyed in battle."

"Well I gotta get rid of that problem, now don't I? I activate Break Swords special ability! By using an overlay unit, I can destroy one card on each side of the field! I chose my middle trap card and your Sky Cavalry Centaurea!" Kiren Exclaimed as Break Sword's overlay unit gets absorbed into his sword.

"I activate Forbidden Dress!" Kazuki's middle set card flipped to reveal a woman holding a white dress. "By reducing Centaurea attack points by 600, for the rest of this turn Centaurea can't be targeted or be destroyed by card effects."

Break Sword swung its sword releasing a wave of energy that destroyed Kiren's set card but a barrier formed around Centaurea blocking it.

"Oh? Well then I'll just have Break Sword attack your Sky Cavalry Centaurea!" Break Sword then charged towards Sky Cavalry with its swords raised.

"You seem to forgot what my Sky Cavalry can do." Kazuki commented smirking as Break sword brought down its sword only to be blocked by Centaurea's shield and his life points dropped to 2400. "When Centaurea does battle, by using an overlay unit, the monster it battled returns to your hand." One of Centaurea's overlay units entered its shield which sent a beam to Break Sword.

"But you still take damage!" He said, not in the least bit worried as Break Sword was struck by the beam and sent back to the Extra Deck. "Now I activate Ragged Gloves' Effect from the Graveyard! By banishing it, I can send one "Phantom Knight's" card from my deck to the Graveyard and I choose The Phantom Knights of Shadow Veil!" as he said this, a graveyard portal opened as Ragged Gloves card came out and dispersed and sent the Trap card to the Graveyard. "And with that, I end my turn! So, what do you think so far? Pretty impressive, right?" Kiren asked, wondering if Kazuki was having as much fun as he was.

Kazuki: 2400
Kiren: 4000

"Yeah, pretty impressive." Kazuki said. 'His cards have the effect of the cards from my world.' Kazuki draw his card. "Let me ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?" Kiren asked, smiling in anticipation.

"That deck, where did you get it?"

Kiren chuckled as he smirked. "Ah, well, I bought it myself! Had to go to so many different stores just to find these. Don't even get me started on Break Sword. He was one of the hardest to get!" Kiren explained.

"I guess that answers that question I had when I saw your first monster." Kazuki said sighing.

Kiren noticed him sigh and decided to press on t. "Hey, what are you sighing for? Something wrong?"

"You know what's wrong." Kazuki said calmly. "Those cards shouldn't even exist here or have those effects, so how is it you have them?"

Kiren smirks and shakes his head. "Hmm, I'd like to ante up on our deal. You win, I tell you everything. Though, if you lose, I still get Number 52. Deal?"

"Deal, though I'm surprised you don't want to know how I know that." Kazuki blinked a couple of times.

"Simple, I already know where you're from. Where you're really from. Being a thief has it's perks. Especially when you can eavesdrop on others. I swear, that Blazer guy likes to talk to himself." Kiren stated, his smirk growing wider.

Kazuki's eyes widened before shaking his head rapidly.

"I need to have a talk with that guy." Kazuki muttered.

Kiren laughed before getting a hold of himself. "Haha... ok Kazu, would you like to Raise our bets higher or shall we continue our duel?"

"Let's continue, if I remember correctly it's my turn." Kazuki grabbed a card. "I summon Malicevorous Spoon!" The spoon wielding fiend appeared spinning its weapon.

Malicevorous Spoon/Dark/Level 2/Fiend/ATK 100/DEF 500

Kiren grinned and got ready. "Let's go Kazu. Make this a duel to remember!" Kiren Exclaimed.

"I plan to, when I control a Malicevorous monster I can summon Malicevorous Bowl from my graveyard!" A graveyard portal opened and Bowl jumped out.

Kiren's grin got wider and bore into a growing smirk as the duel went on.

"When Bowl is summoned, it becomes an overlay unit for one xyz monster on the field and I choose Centaurea." Bowl scooped itself becoming a yellow overlay unit and started orbiting around Centaurea.

This got him interested in what Kazu was going to do. "Oh? And here I thought you were going to Xyz Summon..."

"There's a reason why I gave Centaurea an overlay unit." Kazuki smirked.

Kiren looked confused and was trying to predict what he was doing. 'No, there's no way he could try that... just what are you planning, Kazu'

"I activate the spell Overlay Reward!" The spell materialized and glowed.

Kiren's smirk grew as he played that card. "Overlay Reward? But you only get to draw two cards... What are you planning? or are you leaving this to the luck of the draw?"

"I'm feeling lucky today." Kazuki drawed his cards and smirked. "This look familiar?" Kazuki held up a spell card of Adreus, the Keeper of Armageddon grinning madly under an eclipse.

Kiren's smirk grew wider when he saw the card. "Well damn, I guess you are lucky..."

"That's right, I activate Dark Moment!" The spell materialized and glowed. "For the rest of this turn all cards on the field are useless, and to make this even better is that you can't activate anything in response."

Kiren's smirk grew into a full blown grin as he played that. "You weren't kidding when you said you were giving it your all, huh?"

"Like I said, I always keep my promises." Kazuki smirked as all the cards turned grey. "Next I equip Centaurea with Fairies Meteor Crush!" The spell was a meteor falling. "Now Centaurea can inflict piercing damage."

"Centaurea, attack Kiren directly!" Centaurea galloped forward readying its javelin.

"I activate two copies of Phantom Knight's of Shadow Veil from my Graveyard!" Kiren yelled, smiling widely as the two traps arrived on the field as two headless horsemen riding golden armored horses. "When my opponent declares a direct attack, I can special summon these cards as monsters from my graveyard in defense mode!"

2x Phanotm Knights of Shadow Veil/(Trap/Monster)/DARK/Warrior/ATK 0/ DEF 300

"I thought as much." Kazuki smirked. "Centaurea, attack Shadow Veil!" Centaurea jabbed one of the Shadow Veils destroying it. "And thanks to Fairies Meteor Crush, you take piercing damage." Kiren smiled as the Shadow Veil cards on the field was destroyed, sending a shockwave back towards him.

Kiren: 4000 - 1700 = 2300

"With that I end my turn." Kazuki finished as the cards that turned grey return to normal.

Kiren looked as if he was having the time of his life as he laughed joyously. "I'd be lying if I'd say this wasn't the best duel I've taken part in! That was amazing! With you using Faries Meteor Crush ahead of time to get through Shadow Veil before I even played them! Sadly, this is the end... I Draw!" Kiren drew his card and Summoned it to the field. "I summon The Phantom Knights of Fragile Armor!" As he said this, a flaming blue suit of armor appeared on the field.

The Phantom Knights of Fragile Armor/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/ATK 1000/DEF 2000

"Now, I'm able to summon the true Ace of the deck! I Overlay my Level 4 Fragile Armor and Shadow Veil to build the overlay network!" The two monsters turned into glowing purple lights and shot into the air as the overlay network formed. They then entered the overlay and exploded into a blinding light as the yard became cloaked in black and purple smoke. "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Kiren Chanted as the Fabled monster roared and cleared the field of smoke, revealing the dark dragon.

"I'll admit that dragon is impressive." Kazuki said before smirking. "But what would happen if I got rid of its overlay units?"

"Well, I'll just use them before you can take them! Go, Dark Rebellion! Treason discharge!" Kiren shouted with a smirk as both overlay units entered Dark Rebellion as its effect activated.

"I activate the trap Malice Curse!" The trap revealed Malicevorous Spoon snickering behind Blue-eyes White Dragon.

"Malice curse? What does it do?" Kiren asked.

"When an xyz monster uses its overlay units while I control a Malicevorous monster, by tributing my Malicevorous Spoon your dragon's ability is negated and your trap cards can't activate in response because you can't stop a curse." Spoon dispersed into particles as both monsters attack points return to normal.

Kiren sighed and looked down in defeat. "Damn, of course you would..."

"I said I was gonna give it my all." Kazuki said. "And it would be an insult to you as my opponent if I held back."

Kiren looked back up and smiled before nodding. "Indeed, so maybe I should step up my game, eh? After all, I still have life points so I still have a chance to win! Now tell me, Kazu, does this look familiar?" Kiren said, revealing a spell card that showed a grey castle surrounded by blue flames.

"I thought you might have that." Kazuki replied gritting his teeth.

"Is that so? Then I guess you also know who I'm gonna summon. You gave me your all so now it's time I gave you mine! I activate the spell card The Phantom Knight's Rank-Up-Magic Launch!" He said as the spell card materialized and glowed. "With this, I can choose one Xyz monster on my field with no Xyz material and summon an Xyz monster one rank higher than this one!" As Kiren said this, a black smoke rose from the field and covered Dark Rebellion before he began to crystallize as Kiren chanted. "From the depths of purgatory, dedicate to the unsinking souls your song of rebellion! Appear and echo forevermore! Rank-Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 5! Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon!" The Dragon then broke out of the crystal shell and reared its head, letting out an ungodly roar as he was summoned to the field. Kiren laughed as he saw Kazuki's reaction. "The real fun is just getting started..."

"I think I'm in trouble." Kazuki took a step back. "If I remember correctly, the spell also becomes an overlay unit for the summoned monster doesn't it?"

"Yep! Rank-Up-Magic Launch is also added to the Xyz summoned monster as an overlay unit." As Kiren said that the said card turned into a purple over unit orbiting around Dark Requiem. "With Dark Rebellion already as one of its overlay units." Kiren confirmed before activating Dark Requiems effect. "Now I activate his effect! By using one overlay unit, I can change a monster's attack points to zero while Dark Requiem gains all the lost attack points! Go, Requiem Salvation! " The two spheres on Dark Requiem's spikes began to glow a rainbow color before black shadow-like tendrils wrapped around Sky Cavalry Centaurea, dropping its attack points to zero.

Sky Cavalry Centaurea 2000 - 0

Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon 3000 - 5000

"5000 attack points?!" Kazuki exclaimed eyes wide. "Not good."

"Now Dark Requiem, let's end this duel!" Kiren shouted

"Disaster of Requiem, Disobey!" The Dragon rose up into the sky as it stopped midair, wings spread out as they began to glow and take form, appearing as if they were stained glass in a cathedral. As Kiren called the attack, Dark Requiem dived down towards its target, it's large fang glowing as it picked up speed.

"It's now or never, I activate Dimensional Prison!" Kazuki's last set card flipped to reveal a monster attacking only to be sucked into a portal. "When you declare an attack your monster is banished!"

"No you don't! I activate my counter trap, Dark Bribe!" Kiren shouted with a smirk as the face down revealed itself and glowed briefly. "When you activate a spell or trap, this negates and destroys it but you also get to draw a card."

"Oh no!" Kazuki's eyes widened recognizing the trap.

"Continue, Dark Requiem!" Kiren shouted as the dragon roared in response, just at it's target and ready to destroy it.

Dark Requiem's jaw got covered in electricity and struck Centaurea who blocked it with its shield. The aftershock hit Kazuki who tried to keep his footing bu tit was too strong and it sent him flying dropping his life points to 0, the screen declaring Kiren the winner before the augmented reality disappeared.

"I lost." Kazuki said getting up to a sitting position taking off his duel gazer and smiled. "This is a first."

Kiren had walked over to him and held out a hand to him. "That was one of the best duels I've had here! You're a pretty damn good duelist, even having to make me summon Dark Requiem! No one has ever pushed me that far in Heartland City." Kiren said joyously.

"Glad I was a challenge." Kazuki accepted the hand and Kiren pulled him to his feet. "I hadn't had that much fun since I dueled Yuma, I haven't lost a single duel since coming to Heartland city I forgot how it feels to lose." Kazuki smiled Kirens way while pulling out number 52. "Thanks for reminding me, and here, we did had a deal after all."

Kiren nodded and took the Number. "Hey, glad I wasn't the only one having fun. Besides, that was impressive using Sky Cavalry to make sure you'd have some sort of defense. I was almost certain you'd try using a Numbers monster."

"I go for strategy than throwing my numbers around like a certain brother of mine." Kazuki replied chuckling a little at the thought of Yuma glaring at him.

"Hehe, so both you and your brother are Number Hunters too?" Kiren asked

"In a way." Kazuki looked at his lock and smiled. "We're actually recovering the numbers for the original owner of them." Kazuki noticed someone coming up the stairs and saw Yuma. "Oh, speaking of brothers there he is now."

Kiren tilted his head and looked towards where he heard the footsteps and looked to where Kazuki was looking and saw Yuma. He then looked back and forth between the two. "Uh...sorry but I don't see the resemblance...are you two step brothers?" Kiren asked

Kazuki and Yuma looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

Kiren sighed. "Well you could've just said 'no'..."

"Sorry, it's not that." Kazuki apologized wiping a stray tear. "On my first day at Heartland academy I was in Yuma's class and everyone freaked out."

"Yeah, and when you asked that we thought back to that." Yuma added getting a hold of himself. "Sorry if you took it the wrong way."

Kiren chuckled and nodded. walking over to Yuma. "Nah, it's fine. Anyways, I'm Kiren. Nice to meet ya!" He said, extending a hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you, my name's Yuma." Yuma accepted the hand shook it.

"And to answer your earlier question Kiren, I'm adopted." Kazuki added.

"That was my second guess." Kiren said, chuckling again before he saw the necklace on Yuma's neck. "Hmm, your necklace..." Kiren said, looking between Kazuki and Yuma again. 'They must be connected somehow...but how did they get it?'

"What about it?" Yuma asked looking at his key.

"It's rather similar to Kazu's. Where did you get them?" Kiren asked, curious about the Key and Lock.

"I got mine from my dad before he disappeared." Yuma replied before looking sad then turned to Kazuki. "Not sure how Kazu got his."

Kiren nodded with interest and decided to question further. "Oh? How did you get yours then, Kazu?"

"A friend gave it to me." Kazuki replied gripping his lock. "He just gave it to me and I haven't heard from him since."

"Oh, well what exactly do they do? I've heard that they help prevent the Numbers from taking over, but that's not their main purpose, is it..." Kiren said, turning to face Kazuki

"We don't really know that much about them, just that they block the numbers influence on us." Kazuki replied. "Why the sudden interest in our pendants?"

"Wouldn't you be interested in them if you were in my place? First, one acquires a pendant from his father that suddenly disappears then the second acquires it from a friend that suddenly disappears and now, they both meet together and become brothers. If that doesn't peak my interest then the powers they share certainly do." 'that, and they look valuable~' Kiren thought. "That seems more than just a coincidence, ya know?"

"You got a point there." Kazuki looked at both his lock and Yuma's key and remembered something. "Now that I think about it, the key hole on my lock looks the same as Yuma's key."

Hmm, Kazuki seems to know more about the lock and key than Yuma...but Yuma seems to be the easiest one to get information from. Ooh, I smell another possible duel coming~ "Well, that's nice and all... but there's something about these things that you're not telling me about..." Kiren said looking at Kazuki with a knowing grin.

"That's honestly all we know about them, ah." Kazuki looked down in thought. "Although..."

Kiren smiled and shook his head. "Actually, I have a better idea. Why don't we duel for it. If I win, you two tell me all you two know about the Key and lock, and if you win, I'll answer any and all questions you two have about me to the best of my abilities. Sound fair enough?" Kiren said

"I think I have enough time for another duel before I head to practice." Kazuki readied his duel disk.

Kiren chuckled. "Oh, not you Kazu. We already had our duel." He smirked and turned to Yuma, pointing at him as he declared his challenge. "I'll duel him this time!"

"Huh?!" Yuma was surprised that Kiren challenged him.

"You want to duel Yuma?" Kazuki asked.

"Well, of course. I already defeated you earlier, so why not duel another opponent? Plus, we both know about each other's decks so it wouldn't be as fun. Him, on the other hand, doesn't know of my deck and I don't know of his." Kiren said

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Kazuki sighed and turned to Yuma handing him a card. "Good luck Yuma."

Yuma took the card and his eyes widened at what he saw.

"Are you sure Kazu?" Yuma asked unsure. "This is your best card."

"I'm sure, go out there and feel the flow!" Kazuki walked over to the porch and sat down.

Kiren smiled before activating his duel disk and put on his duel gazer. "Trust me, Yuma. You're gonna need all the help you can get with this~" Kiren said with a smirk.

Yuma placed the card he got from Kazuki in his extra deck and brought out his duel disk.

"Alright, get set to get decked." Yuma attached his duel disk to his wrist. "Duel disk, go!" The zones appeared and folded then put on his duel gazer. "Duel gazer, let's roll!" The surroundings got covered in code.

AUGMENTED REALITY VISION LINK ESTABLISHED

"Let's duel!"

Yuma vs Kiren: 4000


Kazuki: ... I lost.

Unknown entity328: Yeah, me and Regicide thought it would be a good idea to have you lose at least once.

Revolutionary Regicide: That, and I thought it'd be fun to see your reaction to losing.

Kiren: Also, I wanted Number 52.

Unknown entity328: Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter and my poll is still up so if you can please leave a vote.

Kazuki: Next time we duel Kiren I'm gonna even the score.

Kiren: Oh please, Dark Requiem can tear down your numbers easily.

Revolutionary Regicide: You guys can settle later it in the WDC, but for now, it looks like Yuma is going to be dueling Kiren this time.

Uknown entity328: Yup, but we're not giving away any spoilers. I hope to see you all again!