Vile: Another week is upon me, and most of the major work I have for one class is done, so I've got a bit more time on my hands now.
Tetsuo: So why are you posting this chapter a little before 5:00?
Vile: Inability to figure out what the hell to put before and after this chapter.
Tetsuo: …Which somehow fills the areas before and after the chapter.
Vile: Irony at its finest. Anyway, let's get back into this. Enjoy!
Numbershot 80: Precious Melody
Chapter 4
Kuronazo groaned. "Curses… Whoever did this to him must've taken it." He deduced.
"But how did they find him before either of us did?" Mitsume wondered. Then the memory hit her. "…That man."
"Eh?"
"The one who originally held the Number. He was here, in this school." Mitsume revealed. "The card's melody must have drawn him to this boy in order to retrieve it."
"But if he has it, he could be anywhere by now." Kuronazo said.
"He can't get away from me." Mitsume's blindfold glowed again, but she was on the receiving end of a two-finger strike to the back of the head. "Ow!"
"Don't be reckless." Kuronazo told her, retracting his hand. "If that man has the Number, he will be wholly unpredictable. Your power alone won't be enough to keep on him."
Mitsume was silent for a moment, then she sighed. "You have a point. If either of us are going to get this Number, I propose a temporary truce. I can point us in the right direction, but you are capable of using deeper deduction."
Kuronazo nodded. "Very well. You and I will join forces… for only a while." The two mysterious figures shook hands. "Now, let's not waste any time."
"Right." Mitsume activated her tracker vision again. "They've gotten far. The signal is farther away than I thought."
"Then let's get moving." Kuronazo replied, and the two of them took off, Mitsume leading the way.
However, as they moved, a surprising question was posed by Mitsume. "Tell me, Kuronazo: Why do you aid Yuma Tsukumo?"
"Getting personal, are we?" The detective replied. "The better question would be: Why are you an ally of the Number Distributor?"
"Let's just say, we have a mutual understanding."
"In other words, you're no more than a puppet."
Mitsume glanced at him from behind her blindfold. "As are all who use his Numbers, but he has more use for me than others because of my talents of finding them. And don't bother asking why he suddenly wants them back; I don't ask, he doesn't tell."
Kuronazo was silent for a moment. "...The fact that you revealed he wants them back is good enough for me."
'Curses…' Mitsume thought.
"But that's trivial for now. Keep leading." Kuronazo continued.
"You just keep your eyes open for clues." Mitsume told him as the two kept moving. "Your turn to answer my question."
Kuronazo chuckled. "I'm a detective. I find clues to solve a mystery." He turned his head to face forward. "I'm out to know what that man is up to, which can make an enemy out of anyone. I was solo at first, but upon learning that Tsukumo opposes him, I gave him a helping hand every now and then, whether he knows it or not."
"I don't sense a Number within you. Are you sure you can handle opponents like this?" Mitsume asked.
"You don't need to possess the same power as your opponent to emerge victorious. You merely need to work around them."
Mitsume went silent again, pondering Kuronazo's words. This detective might have been both her age and her (rather short) size, but he was rather interesting. "How close are we to the main entrance?"
Kuronazo looked around, trying to note his location. "Not much farther. There should be a staircase nearby that is right near the entrance."
"Then where is he going? Is there an exit we didn't consider?" Mitsume wondered.
"Hmm…" Kuronazo said, thinking, before he gasped. "The loading dock."
"Hmm?"
"There's a dock on the other end of the school where supply trucks arrive. It's also the closest area of the school to the more clustered areas of the city."
Mitsume nodded. "That might be how he snuck in. Do you know of a quicker way there?"
"I do." Kuronazo replied. "Would you believe me if I told you that there's a secret tunnel under the school?"
That statement actually made Mitsume stop and look at Kuronazo, him stopping as well. "…Seriously?"
"I was surprised, too, but…" Kuronazo looked around, then he walked over to a certain wall and tapped a hidden switch. When he did, a noise was heard, and part of the floor opened up, revealing a tunnel underneath.
"Amazing. I wonder why these are here." Mitsume wondered, her thumb and finger rubbing her chin.
"Most people don't know it exists." Kuronazo told her. "It's a straight shot across the school from here. Let's go."
"Lead on." Kuronazo hopped down into the tunnel, Mitsume following, and the two of them rushed down the path, ignoring multiple corridors along the way.
Meanwhile, the man in question exited a service entrance leading to the loading docks. He clutched the Number card tightly. "Now, no one will ever take you from me again." The man leapt away from the door and started taking off into the nearby city.
However, a few minutes after he did, a panel outside opened up in the ground, Kuronazo climbing out. "I told you it was quick."
Mitsume climbed out after him, seeing the tail end of Suguru a distance away. "Seems so." She activated her tracker vision, getting a read on him before he rounded a corner. "Quickly, before he gets too far into the city!" The two of them rushed off in pursuit of the man.
They weaved back and forth through the city, Mitsume relaying information to his location to Kuronazo, before the two of them found him. "Over there!" Kuronazo cried. The man turned right around, freaking out and running off, the two mystery figures chasing him.
"Let me be! Let me and my precious melody alone!" He yelled to them.
'Not a chance.' Mitsume thought. "Go right and block him off." She told Kuronazo out loud, getting a nod from him. Kuronazo angled off to his right, out of view of the man, and he seemed to be gaining on him.
However, the man tripped out of his shoes, causing him to fall onto the ground. With this opportunity, Kuronazo came back out from his alternate path, putting him and Mitsume on both his sides. "That's far enough."
The homeless man looked up at Kuronazo, shaking. "Please… leave me alone…"
However, he felt something grab his wrist, looking down to see a cyan tether of energy hooked to him. Following it, he saw that it was attached to Mitsume's arm. "Now you can't escape. The only way out is by Dueling me."
"Dueling us, you mean." Kuronazo spoke up.
"Hmm?"
"Our truce was until we located him. Now that we have him, this will be a Triangle Duel, where the winner walks away with the Number." Kuronazo produced his arm, a D-Pad active. "Spares the winner from needing to duel again, no?"
Mitsume nodded. "Your terms are accepted, Kuronazo."
"Why can't you just let me have my precious melody?!" The man shrieked, scrambling to his feet.
"You don't deserve a reason. Prepare yourself." Mitsume said. "Duel Disk, set." Mitsume pulled out her D-Pad, black with cyan designs, and placed it on her wrist, the D-Pad activating. "D-Gazer, set." With her eyes covered, the markings on her blindfold flashed. A flash also came from the left eye of Kuronazo's mask.
The homeless man, although still shaking, leapt so his back was against a wall and glared. "…I'll make you pay for this! Duel Disk, set!" He produced his D-Pad and activated it. "D-Gazer, set!" He then pulled out a slightly rusty D-Gazer and placed it over his eye, the Gazer still functional.
"AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED." The AR system said, the area changing to the Augmented Reality, all of their Gazer equivalents flashing.
"DUEL!"
Kuronazo LP:4000
Mitsume LP:4000
Suguru (name given by system) LP:4000
"I shall take the first move. Draw." Kuronazo said, drawing his first card. "Kaado ni mai settei." Two facedowns emerged: One monster, one Magic or Trap. "Turn end."
"Quaint opener, Kuronazo." Mitsume commented.
"I'm not usually one to be flashy." Kuronazo replied.
"Whatever works for you. Watakushi no turn. Draw." Mitsume drew her card. "The Knight Blinded By Loyalty, Shoukan." The monster that appeared was a knight in silver armor with long golden hair. In both hands he held a large claymore, and had a solid steel visor over his eyes.
The Knight Blinded By Loyalty: Lv.4 EARTH Warrior ATK:2100/DEF:500
'2100 Attack Points, eh?' Kuronazo thought. 'She's got a trick up her sleeve, since no Level 4 monster gets away scot-free with those Attack Points.'
"Kaado ichi mai settei. Turn end." Mitsume's facedown emerged. Even though it was now Suguru's turn, he was still shaking like an earthquake, not even going to draw, which Mitsume didn't have time for. "If you're not going to make a move, you should forfeit right now."
This made Suguru gasp and glare at her. "N-No! I won't forfeit my melody! Ore no turn! Draw!" He finally drew his card. "Notiki Xylos, Shoukan!" His monster emerged as some creepy-looking living xylophone made out of brownish-black wood, its eyes having an evil blue stare to them.
Notiki Xylos: Lv.4 DARK Plant ATK:0/DEF:1800
"No Attack Points, and yet in Attack Position. Interesting." Kuronazo commented.
"N-Notiki Xylos no kouka hatsudo! If this card is Summoned without any other Notiki monsters on my field, I can Special Summon another Notiki from my Deck!" A card slid out from his Deck, which he grabbed. "Koi, Notiki Gongo!" This one was a strange dark blue trapezoid-shaped tiki with a gong attached to its head.
Notiki Gongo: Lv.4 DARK Plant ATK:0/DEF:1700
"Furthermore, if I control 2 Notiki monsters, I can Special Summon Notiki Kalim from my hand!" A third musical tiki appeared, this one being dark red and resembling a kalimba.
Notiki Kalim: Lv.4 DARK Plant ATK:0/DEF:1500
"Going for that set-up again, are you?" Mitsume asked.
"You've seen this?" Kuronazo chimed in.
"Notiki Gongo prevents any monster from attacking his Attack Mode Notikis so long as he controls 3 of them." Mitsume explained. "You were at the last Duel. How do you not know?"
"You assume I was there the whole time. I only managed to get glimpses of the final move." Kuronazo told her.
"Hmph. Either way, at the moment, our monsters won't be able to do anything to him."
Kuronazo gave a simple "Hm". "We'll see about that."
Author-Made Cards
The Knight Blinded By Loyalty
Level 4 EARTH Warrior
ATK:2100/DEF:1600
This card cannot attack. This effect cannot be negated, except by the effect of an "Eye" card. If this card is targeted for an attack: Reduce this card's ATK and DEF to 0 during damage calculation.
Notiki Xylos
Level 4 DARK Plant
ATK:0/DEF:1800
If you control no other "Notiki" monsters when this card is Summoned: Special Summon 1 "Notiki" monster from your Deck. (OCG/TCG: You cannot Xyz Summon during the turn you activate this effect.)
Notiki Gongo
Level 4 DARK Plant
ATK:0/DEF:1700
If you control 3 or more "Notiki" monsters: Your opponent cannot target Attack Position "Notiki" monsters you control for attacks.
Notiki Kalim
Level 4 DARK Plant
ATK:0/DEF:1500
If you control exactly 2 "Notiki" monsters: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand).
Vile: The Duel has begun with a good start for everyone. …What? Why are you looking at me like that? Kuronazo plays Ghostricks, of course a facedown monster's a good start. :P But anyway, if you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me! Ja ne for now! …Seriously, quit it, guys. I feel like I'm gonna get hit with a Five Nights at Freddy's jump sca- *scary face rushes the screen, causing static*
Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.