Vile: Howdy, folks! I've got a just-finished Chapter 3 for you all!

Shark: Aah-aah-aah-choo! *snot drips from his nose*

Vile: Oh great, not you, too! Why is everybody getting sick here?

Ariel: You're the one writing these conversations, that's why. *rolls eyes as she pulls Shark away*

Vile: Oy. Hopefully he and Kaito get some medicine. You guys already know the drill with the disclaimer, so let's go. Enjoy!

Numbershot 37: Unhealthy Competition

Chapter 3

Haiga felt strength return to his body, so he immediately got up off of the bed. "There isn't enough time to deal with them now… I must get out of here. No way in hell I'm staying here. Ah-choo!" Haiga went to the door and turned the knob, but couldn't get it opened. "Kahretsin! ("Damn it!" in Turkish) Locked! Those blasted nurses!" He looked around and noticed a window. There was a lock on it, but Haiga quickly undid it, opening the window. Looking down, however, he noticed how high up he was. "Rgh... Now what do I- eh?" Looking closer, he saw what looked like a mattress on the ground. "I don't know how that got there… but I'll take what I can get!" He weaseled his way outside the window, hanging on to the ledge. "Ngh… Geronimo!" He let go of the sill, plopping down on the coincidental mattress below. "Thank you to whoever did that… Now I play the waiting game."

*The Next Day* *25 minutes before school starts*

A group of students made their way to the school building. "Eh heh heh heh heh heh… Morning, friends." They heard someone say. They turned and saw a boy coming toward them. He had a hood on, so they couldn't see his face.

One of the boys, the one who was smug to Haiga yesterday, spoke up. "Oh, uh, hey. Do we know you?"

"Know me? Hmm… I can't remember meeting you. Nice to meet new people, however." The hooded boy said. "I was wondering… since we've got some time before class, why not have a quick Duel?"

The boy looked confused. "I… guess so. I'm not that good a Duelist, though."

"Oh, don't be so down. We're Dueling for fun, not stakes!"

*After the Duel*

"Now… feel the power of my poison!" The hooded boy declared, a wave of pink particles blowing toward his opponent, knocking him back. The particles also washed over the spectators.

? LP:3000

Boy LP:0 – LOSER

All of a sudden, the boy's face went pale, his nose going red. He began sneezing and coughing rapidly, then he passed out. "What did you do to him?" Another of the kids said. Then, he succumbed to the same symptoms. Eventually, all the rest of them were on the ground. Though they didn't pass out, they were breathing heavily.

The hooded boy was already leaving the scene, a pink glow coming from inside his hood. "Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm…"

*Twelve Minutes Later*

Yuma finally managed to make it to the school, being greeted by most of the gang. Oddly, three of Hikaya and Sachi weren't there. "Whew! Made it!" Yuma said. He noticed the two missing members. "Where are Sachi and Hikaya?"

"We don't know. We didn't see them today." Takashi said. "Maybe they're late."

"Or maybe they're inside already, and we missed them." Ariel suggested. "Let's go see if we can find them." Everyone agreed, and the group went into the building to look around.

Then things got ugly.

"Move, move, move!" A few voices said. Everyone looked and saw a group of frantic kids running through the halls. Each of them was holding someone in their arms, but the center one was startling.

"Hikaya-chan, Ura!" He cried, his eyes wide. He ran up to the kids, eyes deadlocked on his unconscious girlfriend

"What happened?" Takashi asked when the others rushed up.

"We don't know! We just found them on the ground, out cold!" The kid holding Hikaya said. "This is the third group of out-cold kids discovered today!"

"THIRD group?" Yuma gasped.

"Stop talking! We gotta get them to the infirmary!" Another kid said. The first kid nodded, and they ran off with their ill passengers.

"We should go there, too!" Yuma said. "Sachi could've been affected as well!" Everyone agreed, and the group ran off.

*At the Infirmary*

Everyone rushed in, seeing various kids being placed in beds, Hikaya being one of them. Some of them were coughing or sneezing. Tokunosuke ran to her side worriedly. "Hikaya-chan…" He placed his hand on her head, but he felt a burning and quickly pulled back. "Ow!"

"They've all been brought here with a fever." A voice said, and Eiko walked in. "Only one of them is still awake." She pointed at another bed, where Sachi was laying.

Yuma felt dread, realizing he was right. But then, a creeping suspicion came over him. "Eiko?" The nurse looked at him. "One of the brought-in students wouldn't happen to be Haiga, would it?"

"No. Nobody's seen Haiga anywhere today." Eiko told him. "You… You don't think he had something to do with this, did he?"

"He hates people that aren't sick, and didn't he say he wished he could get people sick?" Yuma asked.

"There's a bigger piece of this puzzle." A voice said. Someone new walked in: Someone familiar.

"Y-Yamoto!" Yuma cried, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"The school hired me on as a patrolman. I help keep order. I'm like a hall monitor, only I get paid." The dark Hunter said with a smile. "But the staff and I have noticed something odd. Take a look." Yamoto formed his D-Gazer from darkness and pulled up a visual. "These are the temperatures taken from the sick kids, all in Fahrenheit degrees. Do you notice anything… similar about them?"

The group looked, and did see a common link. "They all end with '.37'." Cathy said.

"Yes. I'm not sure what could be causing it." Yamoto mused. He looked at other kids, who were taking temperatures of the new kids. "What do you have for their temperatures?"

"103.37." "105.37." "102.37." Their voices said at once.

"What's with these '.37's?" Shark wondered.

Then, small groans were heard from Sachi. Yamoto walked over to her. "What is it, Sachi? Do you know something?" She nodded. "Do you know who did it?" Sachi shook her head, making a motion with her hands as if to put up a hood. "A hood, huh? Darn. No suspects." Sachi got his attention, then made motions with her hands resembling drawing a card. "A Duel? It happened through a Duel?" The girl held up three fingers, then seven fingers. "3… 7… 37… 37?" Sachi nodded again.

"Just like the temperatures." Tetsuo realized.

"But what does 37 have to do with this?" Sei wondered.

Yuma and Kotori's eyes widened and they stepped forward. "Sachi, did you see anything on the person when this happened?" Kotori asked. Sachi nodded, pointing to her neck. "The neck… what was it?" She held up three and seven fingers again. Kotori looked at Yuma. "You think it might be…?"

Yuma nodded. "It has to be."

"What is it?" Yamoto asked.

Yuma and Kotori turned to him. "Numbers." They both said.

This surprised everyone. "A Number's been making everyone sick?" Shark asked.

"Sachi said that the sickness happened during a Duel, and she indicated a 37 on the hooded boy's neck." Kotori said. "So this hooded boy is our culprit, and must be holding a Number."

"That would explain the constant '.37's on all of their temperatures." Yamoto said. "Numbers are capable of granting special powers to their owners. Dark Matter Dragon gave me my dark powers."

Yuma flashed back to another moment. "Godspeed Mirage gave Spade super speed."

Kotori also flashed back. "And Zap Pitcher gave Zina control over lightning."

"Well, this just makes the situation even worse." Tetsuo said. "If the guy's still out there, he could be making more people sick by the minute! We need to get out there and find the guy quickly!"

"Tetsuo's right. We need to be careful." Yamoto said. "Everyone, keep your eyes peeled. I'll stay here and help the staff monitor their conditions."

"I'm not leaving, Ura." Tokunosuke spoke up. "Not until Hikaya-chan is all right."

Yuma nodded. "We'll tell Ukyo-sensei. Let's go, everyone." The group nodded and left, leaving Yamoto and Tokunosuke behind.

Meanwhile, a hooded figure watched them leave. Pulling down the hood, a pink glow came from his neck. "Now… your turn…"

Tokunosuke: Oh, come on! You had to torture me, too, Ura?

Vile: Don't give me that, dude! It's not like the condition is fatal!

Tokunosuke: *shoots me a skeptical glare*

Vile: Things always get better in my stories, and it will here as well. If you guys liked this story, leave a review for me! Ja ne!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.