A/N:
Welcome Back Everybody!
A little bit longer of a wait this time, but this was a very difficult chapter to write.
Hopefully all my hard work pays off in keeping you guys entertained!
Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Negative Developments
While his feud with Rio had unofficially been laid to rest, Astral spent the next three days with a troubled mind. Two Numbers were safely in his grasp, while two more lay so close to them he could almost reach out and grab them, but they lay in the hands of somebody Yuma was unwilling to duel. Two pieces of his memory, potentially important memories, were out of reach because of her. The only beneficial aspect of this predicament was the fact this arrangement he reluctantly agreed to would guarantee an awareness of where certain Numbers resided at all times.
Still, they contained his memories. The girl had no right to keep them for herself. The longer he spent without his memories, the more his important mission was delayed. What if he failed his mission because he waited too long to complete it? Failure was not an option for the blue alien spirit, and the mere possibility of it filled him with anguish and stress. However, given his current circumstances, he had no choice. He could only cooperate with Yuma in hunting other Numbers until he figured out a way to collect the ones belonging to Rio, which was easier said than done since Yuma still had serious difficulty listening to him.
Even now, as they dueled their latest opponent with a Number, a man Yuma identified as Professor Ukyo, Yuma's stubbornness had put them in a very bad way until Astral figured out how to trick Yuma into listening to him by intentionally saying the opposite of what he wanted Yuma to do, knowing Yuma would disobey him. Of course, now that Yuma was finally catching on to Astral's mind game, the spirit hoped Yuma would realize how valuable his advice was. For the moment, it seemed to be the case as Yuma pondered what might have happened had he dueled without Astral. There was more than a Number on the line this time, after all. Apparently, under the influence of Number 34: Terrorbyte, Professor Ukyo was planning to unleash a deadly computer virus into the entire city, which would cause chaos on an unspeakably destructive scale.
While Yuma had mostly succeeded in holding his own in this duel, in no small part to Astral's reverse psychology prompting him to make the correct moves, Astral knew this was their final chance to win. Thanks to Ukyo's monster, Super Crashbug, Yuma's opponent had changed strategies and Terrorbyte had shifted from a defensive wall into a powerful beatstick. There was one single mysterious card in the back row, and ironically, Ukyo's card provided Astral with a glimmer of hope. Based on Ukyo's behavior, Astral was almost certain he knew the identity of that card, and if he was correct, Yuma could use his opponent's trap card to his advantage.
"Yuma, activate the spell card, Thunder Short from your hand." He stated matter-of-factly.
"Why?" Yuma questioned him. "That card isn't enough to make a difference."
"Not on its own." Astral explained. "But take a look at the face-down card on your teacher's field. If that card is what I think it is, then Thunder Short will play a pivotal role in stopping it from ruining your attempt to win on this turn. Afterwards, your next course of action should be to activate Monster Reborn. From there, you shall be able to support Hope with your second Number Monster."
Yuma detected a small hint of desperation underneath Astral's stoicism.
"No games this time, Yuma. This time I am certain if you do not play that card, you will not be able to win this turn, and I will fade away forever. Furthermore, we shall run out of time to stop the virus from spreading throughout the city. I know we have had our differences, but just as you asked me to trust Rio, I must ask you to trust me."
Yuma nervously glanced at the card in question. He was still annoyed when he realized Astral had played mind games like he was five-years old, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel guilty for putting Astral in a situation where he needed to do that. He now realized the moves Astral tricked him into making ended up saving him, and now Yuma needed to return the favor and save Astral from the grim end of fading away.
In the end, what did Yuma have to lose?
"I activate the spell card, Thunder Short! This inflicts four-hundred points of damage for every monster you control, and I count two."
A bolt of lightning fired out of the spell card, striking Ukyo in the chest, but the corrupted teacher only looked mildly annoyed.
Professor Ukyo: 4000 - 800 = 3200
"Pointless! I counter with the trap, Damage Vaccine Omega Max! Now I automatically get those lifepoints back."
Professor Ukyo: 3200 + 800 = 4000
"Oh come on! Another one?" Yuma groaned. "I just can't make a dent in his life points. Astral, are you sure you know what you're doing? I just wasted that card."
"But your opponent also wasted a card." Astral reminded the young duelist. "It seems that under the influence of his Number, your teacher is obsessed with perfectionism. It is not enough for him to simply win the duel. He wished to make sure he did not lose any life points at all. That is why he used Damage Vaccine Omega Max right away to keep his life points at full health, but now that he has, he cannot protect himself should you inflict a larger amount of damage in the future."
"A larger amount of damage?" Yuma repeated. "But how can I do that when both his monsters are stronger than Hope, and I don't have double or nothing to make Hope stronger this time."
"Need I remind you that thanks to your duel with Tokunosuke, Hope is no longer the only Number Monster at your disposal." Astral reminded him. "Pay close attention to your hand. You have the means to not only summon another Number Monster, but you can also win the duel with it."
Yuma studied his hand, pondering what Astral meant, and the moment his eyes darted to a particular card in his hand, he beamed with the excited thought of victory in his grasp.
"Give up, Yuma. It was a mistake for you to challenge me." Professor Ukyo taunted.
"Actually, you're the one who made a mistake, teach!" Yuma replied, sporting a triumphant smirk on his face. "You just wasted your Damage Vaccine, when you could have used it to protect yourself from what I'm about to do next! I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn! This lets me special summon one monster from my Graveyard, and I choose to summon my Gagaga Magician! Next, I'll summon Dododo Warrior from my hand. While he may be a level six monster, I can summon him without tributing a monster provided I lower his attack points by five hundred."
Two portals opened up on the field, one black and one blue. From the black portal, Yuma's brown-robed magician returned to the field, his chains dancing in the wind. From the blue portal, a new monster appeared, a viking warrior clad in red medieval armor with large shoulder plates and a kilt around his waist. On his head was a helmet with curved orange horns. The viking wielded a round wooden shield in his left hand and a long poleaxe in his right hand.
Gagaga Magician: Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1500 ATK/1000 DEF
Dododo Warrior: Level 6/EARTH/Warrior/2300 ATK/900 DEF
Dododo Warrior ATK: 2300 - 500 = 1800 ATK
"Next, I activate Gagaga Magician's effect. Once per turn, he can change his level, and I choose to change him into a level six monster, which means I can now overlay him with my Dododo Warrior. With these 2 Level 6 Monsters, I build the overlay network!"
The golden galaxy, foreshadowing the arrival of a Number, absorbed both viking and magician and conjured quite the familiar seal, the vampire coffin of Dragulas.
"XYZ SUMMON! RISE UP, NUMBER TWENTY-FOUR, DRAGULAS THE VAMPIRIC DRAGON!"
The coffin opened, its layers shifting, dividing and reconfiguring like a puzzle box until it took the shape of the first Number Monster Yuma fought, the golden maned black dragon, now willing to follow Yuma's command and aid the boy in battle.
Number 24 - Dragulas the Vampiric Dragon: Rank 6/DARK/Wyrm/Xyz/2400 ATK/2800 DEF
"Interesting, so you have more than one Number Monster." Ukyo said. "I'll admit this new one looks rather strong, but even though it grows stronger by having its attack and defense points swapped by my Super Crashbug, you're still a few points short from defeating either him or my TerrorByte."
"I don't need to add more attack points to my dragon." Yuma explained. "What I'm going to do instead is subtract your Super Crashbug off the field."
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Ukyo asked with a twisted sneer on his face.
"With a little help from Dragulas, of course. I activate the effect of Dragulas! By detaching one overlay unit, Dragulas can flip itself face-down."
The dragon transformed into a sideways card, causing Yuma's teacher to glare at the card in confusion. "I'm still not following along. How is that going to help you win the duel?"
"And I thought I was the one who had trouble paying attention during a lesson." joked Yuma. "I still have one more card. It's a spell card called Flip Flop. When I activate it, I can change the battle position of one monster on the field, so with this card, I can flip Dragulas back into attack mode, and this is where the fun part happens. When Dragulas is flipped face-up I can send any card I want straight to the graveyard."
Professor Ukyo's confusion quickly shifted to shock and horror. "You can do what?!"
"Go, Dragulas! Wipe out that Super Crashbug with CRIMSON CURSE!"
Dragulas locked eyes with the muscular, digital humanoid. Its eyes flashed red and the computer creature let out a pained wail. All color drained from its body before it dissolved into thousands of black pixels.
"NO!" cried Ukyo. "Without my Super Crashbug, Terrorbyte's attack points return to zero!"
As if on cue, Ukyo's Number Monster's screeched with its electronic voice, sounding just as panicked as the duelist using it. The yellow and black robotic beast lowered its arms. Its green horn on its square head flickered like a busted lightbulb and its scorpion-like tail crackled like a broken cable as its body was stripped of power.
Number 34, Terror-Byte: Rank 3/DARK/Machine/Xyz/0 ATK/2900 DEF
"Go, Dragulas! Attack his Terrorbyte now! SANGUINE STORM!"
The black and white dragon reared its long neck backwards and fired a crimson beam from its mouth, consuming the electronic beast and shattering it into fragments of scrap metal.
Professor Ukyo: 4000 - 2400 = 1600
"Now it's your turn, Hope! Time to bring it home with a direct attack! RISING SUN SLASH!"
The golden winged warrior obeyed, throwing his sword into the air and then taking flight to catch it before dive-bombing the professor and slicing across his body, sending the possessed teacher two the ground and shattering the Number mark on his neck.
Professor Ukyo: 1600 - 2500 = 0 (LOSE)
Winner: Yuma
Astral, wasting no time, extended his right arm forward and silently claimed his prize. The Number card rose out of the professor's chest before nestling gently in Astral's hand. However, as he did, Astral felt a foreboding feeling creep into his mind. Out of the corner of his eye, the spirit saw a flash of light in the corner of the room, and in that same direction, Astral felt a familiar presence.
More Numbers.
"That cannot be right." he muttered to himself. "Our opponent did not have two Numbers."
But just as he turned to face the direction of the flash, the dark presence vanished.
"Sorry, what was that?" Yuma asked, not catching what his dueling partner said. "Something about two Numbers? Astral, we talked about this. We agreed to let Rio go after that second Number holder we heard about while we dealt with this one."
Suddenly, the mention of Rio caused Astral's mind to refocus all its attention on the girl. While he still agreed to follow Yuma's suggestion of working with her, the mere thought of allowing her to collect yet another of the Numbers when he and Yuma could have collected it themselves annoyed him tremendously. At this point, he could no longer stay silent about it.
"Yuma, you are not upholding your end of the agreement."
"What do you mean? Of course I am! We just collected another Number card, didn't we?"
"Rio Kamishiro is nowhere to be seen." Astral argued stoically. "I'm afraid I must insist that you honor your agreement to maintain her within your line of sight and make sure you are within one meter of close proximity with her at all times. Seeing as Kotori wishes to be within approximately two meters from you at all times, keeping Rio within one meter of you should satisfy the requirements of your contract without any prohibitive inconveniences."
Yuma blushed at the mention of Kotori wanting to be close to him all the time. He wasn't sure why he reacted that way, but he was more confused about Astral's instructions regarding Rio.
"Astral, what are you talking about?"
"I specifically remember you saying that you would keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Astral replied, causing Yuma to grow annoyed with him and groan. The teenage boy was now convinced he desperately needed to teach Astral about metaphors, figures of speech, and how human beings talk to each other in general.
"Astral, I thought we agreed to call a truce with Rio and work together. She's not the enemy."
Astral was unphased, and he continued to stand his ground.
"She possesses two Number cards and she is in the process of maintaining a third as we speak." the spirit continued. "It is just as I said before. If we are to obtain all one hundred Number cards, we shall have to duel her eventually, and she will not make it easy for us."
"Like I said, Astral. Let's worry about that when all the Numbers belong to either Rio or us." Yuma was desperate to get Astral to drop it. "For now, I'm tired. My teacher is unconscious, and now I have to explain to my sister about what just happened with this weird computer virus without implicating my teacher since she won't understand he wasn't in control of his actions. She'll completely lose it once she finds out she has nothing for her stupid journalism scoops, and that's worse than anything Rio might do to us."
Astral merely sighed, having finally given up, and with his third Number in his hand, he retreated into the Emperor's Key to study the memory the Number contained.
Astral so far had failed to make Yuma understand just what was inside the Emperor's Key, and he did not blame Yuma for having trouble comprehending the idea there was an entire pocket of space inside such a tiny object. Astral found it hard to comprehend himself. As his body rematerialized inside the pocket dimension of the key, Astral reunited with the blue sands of the expansive desert and the black void of the starry sky above. The only structure for miles was a strange horizontal pillar floating in the vastness of the empty space. Thousands of golden rings surrounded the structure with smaller rings at the edges and larger rings closer to the center, and in between the rings and the green structure itself, Astral saw thousands of tiny gears and smaller pillars. To the average observer, this bizarre machine gave off the appearance of dozens of unsolvable puzzles interwoven with each other, with the only clue on how to solve them being the three glowing Numbers Astral saw on three of the pillars.
39, 24, 34
Astral made a mental note that the only moving gears in the structure were those touching the pillars containing the three Numbers in Astral's collection.
"It should be six." Astral grumbled quietly. He then brushed his hand across each Number as he floated past them from one end of the structure to the other, starting with the latest addition, the purple 34.
"Terror-Byte, the newest Number in my possession. Its memory tells of a place far away from Planet Earth. No, not a planet, an entire new dimension of space, Astral World. That must be my home, but does that mean there are other people like me? Did they send me on this mission? Do I have friends or family waiting for me to return?"
The thought of family created an empty feeling in his chest as he drifted to the red 24.
"Dragulas, the first Number defeated and acquired. Its memory explains the nature of the Numbers to me. I need all one hundred to unlock my memories, and cannot complete my mission without them. If only this knowledge came with an explanation of what my mission was."
The frustration of not knowing his mission forced his mind to think of Rio again.
21 and 52, two memories out of his reach, soon to be three.
At least, Astral assumed she would win her duel and capture her third Number, but as long as they were with her, Astral could not unlock the memory fragments inside them. What if the specific memory explaining his mission was inside one of those three Numbers? What if the Astral World revealed in Terrorbyte's memory fragment was in danger? What if the fate of the Astral World depended on the completion of his mission?
"You seem very troubled, Astral."
A deep masculine voice came from the third pillar. Astral tensed up once he realized he wasn't alone, but relaxed immediately when he saw the figure emerge from the pillar to greet him.
"Hope, the only Number who remained with me when I came to Earth and did not scatter with the rest. Had it left to find a host, I would not even know my name, Astral."
"Yes." Hope confirmed. "I'm sorry that my memory fragment is so small. I wish I could tell you more, but as you clearly know, I only contain that small fragment. The fragment does not explain your mission, and therefore, I do not know your mission."
Astral became more despondent from Hope's words. Pondering something, as well as being grateful to have someone to talk to inside the key, he decided to engage with the Number.
"Why did you stay?" Astral asked. "The one-hundred Numbers scattered the moment I arrived on earth, and each of them fled to likely follow their instincts and find new hosts. As all evidence points them to being sentient creatures with minds of their own, none of them appear to have any interest in helping me complete my mission. Why are you different, Hope? Why stay with me when you could have left to find a host?"
"Ah, but I already found my ideal host." Hope rebuffed. "Yuma Tsukumo, I know you have mixed feelings about the boy's mentality. He is indeed stubborn and frequently makes bad choices, but he has potential to grow into a fine duelist. You just need to be patient with him. As for why I chose him, that is quite simple. The moment you appeared next to him, the other ninety-nine Numbers having already left, I sensed the boy was in need of hope. His desire is pure. He only wishes for his parents to return, and therefore what he needs is the hope that they will one day return, and the hope he will make them proud until they do. As for why I stayed with you while the other Numbers scattered to find hosts of their own, look at what my kin are capable of when left to their own devices? I may not know your mission, nor do I remember what you were planning to do with us once you came to Earth, but true to my name, I hope we were meant to be used for good, and I hope that through the efforts of your alliance with the boy, they can still be used for good one day."
"What about Rio?" Astral brought her up again through bitter instinct. "Her two Numbers, soon to be three, may contain memories too important for me to simply wait to collect them."
"It is possible." Hope admitted. "But look at the Number who chose the girl as her host, Frozen Lady Justice. A great wrong was committed against her, and so the Number of justice joined with her to make it right. It is not merely through personal revenge that she is collecting Numbers, but she also wishes to keep them out of the wrong hands as she seems to have a strong sense of right and wrong."
"So you believe I should trust Rio?" Astral asked, still unconvinced.
"I Hope we can." The Number replied, almost sounding playful as he placed emphasis on the word Hope. Without warning, Number 39 vanished back into his pillar, leaving Astral with a lot to think about.
Pondering over Hope's advice, Astral reluctantly admitted he wanted Rio to succeed in defeating every Number holder she encountered, including the one she was currently hunting. If he wanted to recover his memories as quickly as possible, he needed all the help he could get.
While Yuma was dealing with Professor Ukyo and Terror-Byte, Rio agreed to search for the other Number holder causing havoc in Heartland City. As if the computer virus making traffic lights, litter robots, and other devices across the city go haywire wasn't enough, reports across the city indicated somebody was taking advantage of the virus to commit robberies, as the virus disabled the electronic security systems and cameras in several stores and businesses across the city. While the criminal kept the lower half of his face covered by a face-mask, eyewitness reports claimed the criminal sported a strange glowing tattoo on his forehead, and that was all Rio needed to know. It took a long time, but she finally tracked the criminal down and caught him preparing to rob a jewelry store.
The moment the criminal spotted her, he immediately lost interest in the jewels he planned to steal and pulled out a duel disk to challenge Rio. Justice appeared to be right. Those under the influence of the Numbers seemed compelled to collect the others.
Now that Rio finally found the criminal, a bald man in his early twenties dressed in leather with his face covered in piercings, all she had to do was defeat him and a third Number would be hers.
Duel Gazer Set
Augmented Reality Vision Online
Rio Kamishiro: 4000 LP
Futoshi: 4000 LP
DUEL!
"My turn, draw!" Rio studied her hand and her eyes darted to a very specific card. She couldn't help but smile, albeit bittersweetly. "Thanks Ryouga. Always helping me when I need it." She whispered before playing the card in question.
"I'll start by summoning my Flying Shark to the field!" Contrasting her usual avian monsters, Rio's first monster appeared in the form of a large great white shark with teeth resembling icicles. However, the creature's fins were replaced with a set of blue avian wings.
Flying Shark: Level 4/WATER/Fish/1600 ATK/1400 DEF
"Flying Shark may be a fish type monster, but it's also treated as a Winged-Beast monster, and speaking of winged beasts, when I normal summon my Flying Shark, he can call out another monster from my hand like my Blizzard Falcon!"
Rio's iconic blue falcon descended from the sky to join the Shark on the field.
"Next, since I control two monsters, one fish and one winged-beast, I can special summon this monster, Siren Orca!"
A third monster appeared on the field, taking the form of a beautiful blue mermaid with fluffy green hair on her head and massive green wings on her shoulders, giving her a hybrid appearance between bird and fish.
Siren Orca: Level 5/WATER/Winged-Beast/2200 ATK/1000 DEF
"Siren Orca's effect activates. When I summon her, I can change the levels of my other two monsters to five, which means I can now overlay Flying Shark and Blizzard Falcon! With these 2 Level 5 Monsters I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon this monster, ICE PRINCESS ZEREORT!"
Both shark and falcon vanished into the crimson portal, conjuring forth the frozen angel, who unsheathed her golden ice pick and pointed it menacingly at the criminal.
Ice Princess Zereort: Rank 5/WATER/Winged-Beast/Xyz/2500 ATK/2100 DEF
"I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
"My turn, Draw! I special summon Vice Dragon from my hand by cutting its attack points in half."
The criminal's first monster appeared and took the form of a very ugly purple dragon with a round bulbous head, massive claws and green wings.
Vice Dragon: Level 5/DARK/Dragon/2000 ATK/2400 DEF
Vice Dragon ATK: 2000/2 = 1000 ATK
"Next, I will summon Power Invader to keep Vice Dragon company. While my Power Invader might be a level five monster, I can summon it without a tribute since you control at least two monsters."
A second monster appeared next to the dragon, a creature similar in appearance to a grey alien, but with massively bulking muscles on its purple body.
Power Invader: Level 5/DARK/Fiend/2200 ATK/0 DEF
"I now overlay Vice Dragon and Power Invader! With these 2 Level 5 Monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon this! ARISE, NUMBER FOURTEEN, GREEDY SARAMEYA!"
The criminal's two monsters vanished into the overlay network and the Number's sealed form rose out of the golden galaxy, what appeared to be a large torch with three wolf heads resting on the top, cradling a dancing flame. The heads separated from the torch and the flame expanded, joining the three heads back together while the pillar of the torch reconfigured into the creature's body. With the transformation complete, the Number Monster now resembled a sapphire colored cerberus, with scorching orange flames dancing on its back like the mane of a lion. For the final touch, a green 14 mark appeared on the canine's back left leg.
Number 14 - Greedy Sarameya: Rank 5/DARK/Beast/Xyz/2500 ATK/1500 DEF
"Next, I equip my Number Monster with the equip spell. Xyz Unit! This will allow my Greedy Sarameya to gain attack points equal to its rank multiplied by two hundred. My monster is Rank Five, so it gains one thousand attack points!"
Greedy Sarameya ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500 ATK
"Battle! Greedy Sarameya, attack her Siren Orca! AVARICE FLAME!"
All three mouths of the cerberus opened and belched out jets of fire, consuming the mermaid until she was nothing but ash.
"Greedy Sarameya's effect now activates! Since it destroyed a monster by battle, I can detach one Xyz Material to destroy all other monsters on the field, so your Ice Princess Zereort is done for as well!"
The cerberus continued breathing fire and turned all three of its heads to the left, causing the fire to spread and consume the ice princess in the growing blaze.
"Trap card activate, Torrential Reborn!" Rio countered. This will revive my Ice Princess Zereort and inflict five hundred damage to your life points."
A geyser of water erupted from the ground and doused the flames, while the ice princess rose emerged from the column of water and onto the field. For a moment, the water appeared to aim for the criminal, but suddenly, Greedy Sarameya's six eyes flashed an avaricious shade of green and the water column suddenly changed direction and dumped its contents all over Rio.
Rio: 2700 - 500 = 2200
"What?! What happened?" The Ice Queen exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you about Greedy Sarameya's other effect, Greed Burning." The criminal falsely apologized. "Any damage I would take from a card effect is inflicted to you instead. In other words, any attempt to harm me will only hurt yourself. I end my turn."
"On your end phase, I activate the trap card, Powerful Rebirth! This resurrects my Siren Orca while increasing its attack points by a hundred and its level by one."
Sirenorca: Level 5/WATER/Winged-Beast/2200 ATK/1000 DEF
Sirenorca ATK: 2200 + 100 = 2300 ATK (Level 6)
"As if that weak monster could possibly help you. Go ahead with your turn." The criminal taunted. "Soon enough, your Number card will be mine, then all of the numbers will be mine, Mine! All mine!"
Rio elected to ignore the criminal's mad, greedy ravings. She was more concerned with the state of the duel. "Most of my best cards inflict effect damage." she thought nervously. "Greedy Sarameya renders them all useless, and Ice Princess Zereort cannot destroy him either since she's not a Number. Justice won't work either, not by herself at least. I have to draw a good card now, or he'll finish me on the next turn."
"My turn, draw!" She looked at the card she drew and breathed a sigh of relief. "I activate the spell card, Book of Moon! This will flip Greedy Sarameya into face-down defense mode and that destroys your equip spell, Xyz Unit in the process."
As the cerberus transformed into a sideways card, the criminal shrugged his shoulders.
"Go ahead and do it. You still haven't summoned your Number Monster, and until you do, you can't destroy my Greedy Sarameya."
"Oh, I'm getting to that, so be patient." Rio replied with a smirk. "For my next move, I sacrifice Ice Princess Zereort in order to summon a new monster, Mobius the Frost Monarch!"
Mobius the Frost Monarch: Level 6/WATER/Aqua/2400 ATK/1000 DEF
"I now overlay Mobius the Frost Monarch and Siren Orca! With these 2 Level 6 Monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my Number Monster!
"RISE UP, NUMBER TWENTY-ONE, FROZEN LADY JUSTICE!"
The golden galaxy appeared again, sucking up Rio's two monsters and conjuring forth the frozen scales, which transformed into Rio's ace monster, eager to deliver justice to the criminal.
Number 21 - Frozen Lady Justice: Rank 6/WATER/Aqua/500 ATK/500 DEF
Justice ATK: 500 + (1000 X 2) = 2500 ATK
"Frozen Lady Justice activates her effect. By detaching one overlay unit, I can destroy all defense position monsters on your field, so say goodbye to Greedy Sarameya. GO, SUB-ZERO SENTENCE!"
Justice raised her sword into the air and brought it down, commanding a blizzard to descend from the clouds and freeze her opponent's card solid. Mere seconds later, Greedy Sarameya was nothing but a collection of shattered ice crystals.
The criminal growled in anger, but stood his ground. "Fine! Attack me if you want, but even if you've defeated my Number Monster, I won't lose too many life points. I can handle a mere fifteen hundred points of damage."
"Fifteen hundred you can handle, but what if I decide to have Justice kick things up a notch?" Rio asked in the form of a chillingly telling rhetorical question. "I activate my final card, the quick play spell, Xyz Adrenaline! Since your Xyz Monster was destroyed, Justice can now attach it to herself as an overlay unit, meaning her attack points go back up to twenty-five hundred. Not only that, but Justice is now allowed to attack twice this turn, and if my math is correct, that's a total of five thousand points of damage coming your way."
The criminal's mind shut down from shock. "W-W-What?! NO! It can't be!"
"Justice, attack! Sentence this guy to a world of hurt! POLAR NIGHT DOUBLE SLASH!"
Just like before, Justice aimed for the Number Marking on the forehead of Rio's opponent. Charging forward, the frozen woman made two aggressive diagonal slashes at the criminal's forehead, shattering the Number Marking and knocking the man unconscious as he fell to the ground and did not get up.
Futoshi: 4000 - 2500 - 2500 = 0 (LOSE)
Winner: Rio
Not wasting any time, and curious to see if it would happen again, Rio extended her hand, and the ghostly red hand which took Diamond Crab King in her last Number hunt pounced onto the criminal's chest like a snake and grabbed the Number 14 before pulling it back into Rio's hand.
"Glad I ended that duel quickly." Rio muttered to herself. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of this Number hunting quest."
Suddenly, her eyes perked up as a flash of light caught her attention followed by a snapping sound. She recognized the sound immediately. It could only have come from the flash of a camera. Somebody had just taken her picture.
"Who's there?" She shouted in the direction of the dark alley where the flash came from, but there was no reply.
"This is most troubling." the voice of Justice spoke up.
"What is it, Justice?" asked Rio.
"You saw that flash of light, did you not? The moment it occurred, I detected the presence of a second Number Monster, but when the flash subsided, I could not sense it anymore. How strange."
"Great!" Rio groaned. "Now we have another Number monster to deal with, and I've only just finished collecting this one. Even weirder, it looks like I won't be dueling this one right away since whoever just took my picture seemed to just vanish."
While the idea of somebody spying on her was very disturbing, she decided to wait until the following morning to talk to Yuma about it. The sound of police sirens off in the distance signaled her cue to flee the scene as quickly as she could.
Rio and Yuma chose to rendezvous with each other at school the following afternoon, filling each other on the details of their respective successful Number Hunts. Yuma was still relishing his second major victory and his third Number overall, but Rio couldn't rest easy, not after what she saw last night.
"I'm telling you, Yuma. I saw the flash of light." she insisted. "It was a camera. Somebody took my picture while I was dueling that thug."
"How can you be sure?" asked Yuma, doubtfully. "Who would…. Oh hang on."
The loud ringtone of his phone interrupted Yuma's train of thought, and Yuma immediately turned his phone off when caller ID made him realize it was his older sister.
"You sure that was a smart idea?" Rio asked, genuinely surprised Yuma would without hesitation refuse a call from his sister, as she did have the authority to punish him. Rio had found herself caught in the middle of several heated arguments between the two Tsukumo siblings in the past, and she did not want to get caught in another one.
"Kari just wants more juicy details for her scoops." Yuma answered dismissively. "All she cares about is poking her journalist nose into things, especially if she can use me to do her dirty work just like last night. What am I supposed to tell her? If I tell her my teacher was the one responsible for that computer virus, she won't hesitate to expose him even if it means he could lose his job, or worse, get arrested, and Professor Ukyo had no control over himself. I don't wnat that to happen to him."
"Neither do I." Rio admitted, now fully onboard with keeping Kari in the dark. "Although now that you mention it, would she even believe you if you told her about the Numbers?"
"More likely she would use it to further her Anti-Dueling policy she has against me." Yuma grunted. "Honestly, why can't she support me for once in my life? Yes, I'm not the best duelist in the world. Not yet anyway, but dueling is my passion. You don't see me trying to tell her she shouldn't be a journalist, even though she's stuck doing tabloid gossip instead of proper news. Oh yes, give up on dueling, but drop whatever you're doing to help me with my scoop that will go nowhere and turn out to be a waste of time. Yeah, you clearly know what's best for me, Kari."
Yuma's mocking of Kari summoned a giggle from Rio. Not wanting to spend the afternoon ranting about his sister, he steered the subject back to the mysterious photographer. "Anyway, you think somebody was spying on you during your duel and took your picture. Let's say there really was somebody watching you. Who do you think it was?"
"Somebody who wants to take our Numbers, of course." Rio answered, frustrated Yuma wasn't understanding how serious this could be. "Keep in mind, there are over ninety Numbers still out there, and if Taichi's behavior is anything to go by, people possessed by Numbers can't resist the urge to collect the others. Does it really seem that difficult to believe another Number holder would spy on us so he or she could come up with a plan to defeat us?"
Yuma was still unconvinced. "Did you see who the photographer was?"
"No, I just saw the flash." Rio confessed.
"Then how do we know it came from a camera?" Yuma asked. "It could have just been something shiny reflecting off a street light in that dark alley where you dueled the criminal."
Astral materialized out of the Emperor's Key to join the conversation. "I'm afraid I will have to agree with Rio on this matter, Yuma. I saw the mysterious flash of light as well."
That caught Yuma's attention. He certainly wasn't going to dismiss it anymore. "You saw it too?"
"Yes." Astral confirmed. "Even more telling. When I looked at the flash, I sensed the presence of another Number, but the sensation disappeared when the light faded away."
"Thank you!" Rio replied, exasperated. "At least one other person is taking this threat seriously."
"I must take it seriously if there are Numbers involved." Astral said "but I have one very important question. What is a camera?"
Yuma groaned, prompting Rio to cover her mouth and try not to laugh.
"It is a valid question, is it not?" Astral asked, confused as to why the two humans reacted that way.
"Well, you literally just came to Earth less than a week ago." Rio admitted. "So can we really blame you? A camera is a small piece of human technology that lets you record an image on a small paper square, like the images of duel monsters on their cards. You point it at whatever you want, the camera flashes a bright light, and then boom, you have your picture. Nowadays, most people have cameras inside their phones, but those aren't exactly the best. Professional photographers who get paid to take pictures, however, they still use cameras and some of them are really high-tech. They can get your picture even if it's pitch black outside or even if you're really far away."
Astral nodded to indicate he was following along. Meanwhile, Yuma put his hand to his chin, pondering something. "But wait a minute, though. You were dueling the criminal around the same time I dueled Professor Ukyo, so how could mister spy guy be there to watch both our duels and take a picture of both of us?"
"That's a good question." Rio admitted, growing slightly nervous. "Numbers seem to give their holders special powers, but so far what we've seen has just been minor stuff. You don't think this guy's Number gives him the ability to be in two places at once, do you?"
"I have a theory." Astral chimed in. "The two of you are working together to collect the Numbers. Is it not possible other humans would deduce the same thing? There could be two Number holders out there, each of them hiding in the shadows to watch our duels and spy on our decks so they can plan an appropriate counter strategy."
"But why wait?" Yuma wondered. "Why don't they just show their faces and challenge us now?"
"Because they want us to do their dirty work for us." Rio answered. "We each have three Numbers already. If they decide to wait until we get our hands on more Numbers, they can swoop in and take them all at once instead of hunting them one at a time like we've been doing."
"Well that's definitely going to backfire." Yuma said with a smirk, hoping to lighten the mood with a bit of bravado. "The more Number monsters we get, the stronger we grow as duelists, so if they're not careful, they'll get their butts kicked if they wait until we have too many Numbers to challenge us."
Rio's brows furrowed, growing annoyed from Yuma's attitude. "Yuma, I told you before. You can have the strongest cards in the history of the game and still lose if you're not careful."
"Yeah, Yeah, I know. Don't make stupid moves." Yuma huffed. "Astral spends every duel reminding me about that. I don't need two backseat duelists yapping in my ears all the time."
"Clearly, you do." Rio argued back, growing even more annoyed. "Kotori told me about your duel with Professor Ukyo. You were struggling a lot before you finally made a comeback. While I'm glad you got yourself out of that bad situation, you put yourself there to begin with. You dug the hole. Next time, you might not get lucky, and if that happens, Astral dies. Is that what you want?"
Astral gave Rio a strange look, which Rio returned.
"What? Astral, I know we don't get along, and it's no secret we still have trust issues with each other, but I don't want you to die. I may be the Ice Queen, but I'm not that cold."
Yuma's face fell from Rio's scolding. Knowing deep down she was right, he couldn't muster the will to argue about it any further. Rio noticed this and her eyes immediately softened.
"Yuma…."
"I know I have issues." he muttered, his voice despondent, which caught Rio off guard. "And I know they come up every time I duel, but…."
"You don't know how to fix your issues." Rio finished for him. "It's a knee jerk reaction, right?"
"Right." Yuma sighed. "I just, well…." he paused, trying to find the right words. "I just can't bring myself to do anything half-way. Playing cautious feels like holding back, and holding back feels like…. Well….."
"Doing the opposite of what your Dad taught you." Rio finished. "He taught you to always give one hundred percent and to not let fear get the better of you. That's great and all, but there's a difference between being brave and being reckless."
"Yeah, it's just hard to tell the difference sometimes." Yuma sighed. "But now we're dueling with high stakes. Astral's life is on the line every time I duel a Number holder, so if I don't figure out how to improve fast enough, then the next time I duel, I could screw up and NOT get a chance to bounce back, and if that happens….."
"I know, Yuma. I know." Rio replied, putting her hand on Yuma's shoulder for sympathy. "But the good news is, you're not doing this alone. You have Astral, Kotori, Tetsuo, and most importantly, you have me helping you out."
Yuma chuckled. "Yeah, where would I be without the Ice Queen knocking some sense into me whenever we have a practice duel?"
"To be fair, you are getting better." Rio replied, and Yuma's face brightened from the compliment. "Just keep practicing and don't forget what you've learned, otherwise you'll have to relearn your lessons the hard way."
"Thanks Rio." Yuma replied before looking at his deck box with a smile on his face. "Speaking of practice, I think that's the best way to deal with whoever's spying on us. If this Number Holder is trying to plan ahead to beat us, then we need to plan ahead too. Let's figure out how to be so unpredictable that it doesn't even matter if he was watching us, so let's go!"
"You want to have a practice duel right now?" Rio asked, and Yuma nodded, causing Rio to give a competitive grin to her friend. "Okay, Yuma. You asked for it. Maybe you'll last more than one turn this time."
"Or maybe I'll finally beat you this time. Who knows?" Yuma boasted. "KATTO…."
HOOOOOONK!
Both teenage duelists jumped from the ear piercing noise of a car horn. Yuma in particular lost his balance completely and fell on his stomach. Three more honks from the car and Yuma immediately knew who it was. He let out a loud groan before muttering "No" under his breath. Sure enough, when he turned around, he identified the red sedan with a black streak on the hood. The driver side window rolled down revealing a young woman with red hair tied back in a pony-tail, a visibly irate Kari Tsukumo.
"YUMA!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "You have some nerve hanging up on me!"
"I was busy!" Yuma made a feeble attempt at an excuse.
"I'm sure you were busy." she replied, her anger not subsiding at all. "Busy about to duel!"
Placing emphasis on that final word, like it was poisonous, made Yuma wilt.
"Well…. I mean…. I wasn't….."
"Don't you dare lie to me, Yuma." Kari scolded. "Get in the car. We need to talk."
"Come on, Kari." whined Yuma. "Rio and I are in the middle of something really important."
"I am not in the mood right now!" Kari threatened, slamming the car door with her palm. "You're already in big trouble, so get in the car right now or I will come out there and drag you to the car by your ear!"
"Okay, Okay! I'm coming!" Yuma put his hands up in a state of surrender. "Sorry, Rio. We'll talk later, I guess." and the verbally crushed teenager opened the backseat door and hopped inside."
"And you!" Kari turned her attention to Rio and delivered a piercing glare. "Stay away from my brother. I don't want to see you or any of his friends dragging him into more dueling stuff. From now on, find some other way to waste your time."
Kari rolled up the window and sped away in her car, leaving Rio completely speechless.
The drive home was spent in suspenseful silence, with Yuma dreading what Kari would say when she finally decided to talk. Of course her temper was boiling. She spent all that effort last night attempting to stop Professor Ukyo's computer virus, only to fail. She likely spent the last few seconds before the program uploaded panicking that the entire city was about to fall to an electronic apocalypse, only for nothing to happen barring the appearance of the Crashbug monster sprite in the night sky.
Of course, Kari's computer files containing all her research for juicy tabloid gossip were still gone forever, and since she could not expose the culprit behind it, she was now looking for somebody to blame for her scoop going up in smoke.
What could Yuma even say? Kari wouldn't believe him if he told her the truth, and even if she did find out about the Numbers, it would only give her more ammunition to use against Yuma's passion for dueling. Even after years of putting up with lecture after lecture, Yuma still didn't understand his big sister's disdain for the game he loved so much. Still, not counting his grandmother, Kari was the adult of the family and all Yuma could do was deal with the grounding he assumed was going to come once Kari was finished yelling at him.
Finally, the car stopped right outside the Tsukumo household. A deep breath from Kari in the driver's seat alerted Yuma to what he assumed would be the verbal storm of the century, but what came out of her mouth was way worse, a bone chilling question speech barely above a whisper.
"Don't get out of the car just yet. We're talking here. I don't want to upset grandma."
"More like you don't want grandma to take my side." Yuma muttered under his breath, remembering all the times Kari confiscated his deck only for his grandmother, Haru, to give it right back the very next day, all the while winking at him. At least one member of the family understood his passion. Kari either didn't hear him, or elected to ignore him as she continued.
"Yuma, I'm going to give you one chance. I have a big enough headache already, and I do not want it to get worse by arguing with you, so just tell me straight up. What happened last night?"
Yuma made the decision to play dumb. "You saw what happened last night, right? We thought the guy responsible for the virus was planning to crash the city's electronic grids and cause chaos, but it just turned out he wanted to create a lightshow based on the Crashbug Monster. The traffic lights, litter robots, and your server crashing were all just an accident."
"Really? Just an accident?" Kari's reply only put Yuma further on edge. He could tell she was asking loaded questions. "So did you find the person responsible for the virus?"
Yuma tensed in his car seat as he felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead. "N-No" he forced the word out of his mouth. "There was nobody there."
"Really? You didn't decide to do anything in particular while you were there? You didn't decide to duel anyone?"
"What?! No! Why would I drop what I'm doing to a duel with somebody when there was a crisis going on?" Yuma desperately tried to lie on impulse, even though he knew deep down it was pointless, but what shocked him were the photos Kari proceeded to shove in his face. There he was in the photo, a perfect still image of his duel against Professor Ukyo, Hope and Dragulas battling against Terror-Byte.
"Where did you get these?" Yuma asked, completely incredulous at the sight of the pictures and horrified that his attempts to continue dueling behind his sister's back were now completely exposed.
"They just came in the mail this morning, but that's not the point." Kari growled, the dormant volcano that was her temper now finally erupting. "So do you want to keep lying to me and dig your hole even deeper or do you want to confess? It's bad enough you've been dueling even when I told you not to, but you actually have the nerve to just play your little card game while the city was at risk of viral collapse, and why the hell is your teacher there?"
With the subject of Professor Ukyo's innocence now in question, Yuma regained his willingness to stand up to his sister. "He was helping us catch the person responsible for the virus." he lied again, this time with more confidence. "He thought it was a student. The signal from the virus did come from the school library after all. He was investigating it himself, and when he realized the virus was harmless, we decided to duel to pass the time while we waited for the Crashbug light show. He's a fan of the game too, you know."
Astral, who sat in the seat next to Yuma, invisible to Kari, grew suspicious from the sight of the photographs. A dangerous theory began to creep into his mind as he remembered Rio's explanation about cameras.
"These are photographs," he whispered. "But if the photographs here depict our duel from last night, then that means they came from the camera of the person spying on us, and if the spy sent the photos to Yuma's home, then that means he knows where we live. He could ambush us whenever he wants."
Unfortunately for Astral, Yuma didn't hear him. He was too distracted by the piercing interrogation from his sister.
"Ignoring the fact that I'm one hundred percent sure that's another lie." Kari rebuffed. "How many times do I have to drill it into that thick skull of yours? No dueling means no dueling! I don't understand why you're so addicted to that stupid game!"
"It's more than just a game to me, Kari!" Yuma snapped back, his own temper now starting to boil over. "It's my passion! It's my dream to be a professional duelist. I can't just give up on my dream any more than you can give up on your dream to be a successful journalist."
"My career and your obsession are two completely different things." Kari snarled. "Especially since I'm the only one who has a job in this house. I needed your help last night, Yuma. I was counting on you to help me find a new scoop after that virus fried all my research. I'm on thin ice with my boss right now already. One more missed deadline, and I could lose my job, and then where would I be? I needed your support, and instead you selfishly ran off to play your stupid game, leaving me to stop the virus by myself! Why can't you just listen to me for once in your life and grow up?!"
As Astral could not talk to Kari, and Yuma was in no position to talk to him, the spirit had no idea how to stop this conflict from getting any worse. If Yuma's sister actually enforced her authority to stop Yuma from dueling, then they would lose any potential to collect more Numbers. Even worse, if for some reason Yuma couldn't duel, Astral would have to rely on Rio, of all people, to collect the Numbers for him.
"Yuma, we cannot allow your sister to…" Astral started to advise Yuma, but stopped immediately when he saw the look on Yuma's face. Completely different from the cocky high spirited adventurer the spirit had reluctantly partnered up with for the past week, he had never seen Yuma so vulnerable and emotionally shaken.
"Yuma? Are you alright?" He tried to console the teenager, but his attempt was ignored.
"Support?" Yuma hissed, his face red, angry tears building in his eyes. "Support?!" His voice instantly switched from a quiet hiss to a hurt shout. "When was the last time you ever supported me on anything? Ever since Mom and Dad disappeared, I've needed you, but you haven't been there for me at all. You're barely involved in my life. You criticize everything I do, and when you're not flat out boycotting my passion, you're telling me to give up, like I'm a loser who's doomed to fail."
"I can't coddle and spoil you like Mom and Dad did!" Kari snapped. Now the conflict evolved from a clash of ideals to a full blown shouting match, and the emotions of both Tsukumo siblings were running wild like two angry bulls staring at the red cloak of a matador. "If you're not good at something and you never get any better, then you're only hurting yourself instead of walking away when you have the chance! Just find some other path to devote your energy to instead of setting yourself up to fail!"
"I can't!" Yuma wailed. The proverbial dam broke, and his cheeks were now soaked in his tears. "Don't you get it? I don't duel just for myself. I duel for Mom and Dad too! I feel close to them when I play, even though they're not here. They taught me to never give up on my passions! NEVER! It's like I'm betraying them if I even think about giving up, and you know what, Kari? You're betraying them right now by saying that I should!"
"Then you'll end up just like them!" Kari thundered, her voice spiteful and explosive. "Is that what you want, to leave everything behind to pursue your little pipe dream and never be heard from again? Get your head out of the clouds and open your eyes. Life isn't fair! Dreams do not come true, and Mom and Dad are NEVER coming back!"
Now there were tears flowing down Kari's face as well. The elder Tsukumo was hyperventilating from her rant while the younger stared at her, completely silenced. For the first time in ages, Yuma did give up. Lowering his head, he got out of the car and walked towards the front door of his house.
"Ground me however long you feel like." he muttered in a heart-broken monotone. "Just leave me alone."
As he walked through the front door, his head slumped down, he passed an elderly woman wearing a pink robe and a red vest. Her silver curly hair was tied in a bun and her warm, welcoming smile gave her well defined dimples on her cheeks.
"Hello, Yuma, how was… school…." Haru Tsukumo's smile immediately disappeared when she saw the state of her grandson. "Oh, Yuma. What happened?" She already knew the answer to that. The moment she noticed Kari's mood when she insisted on picking Yuma up from school instead of letting her little brother walk home, she knew there would be a fight.
"I don't want to talk about it, grandma. I just need to be alone." Yuma muttered, causing Haru to grow concerned. Now she realized this was more than just a typical argument between the siblings, as normally Yuma wouldn't hesitate to rant about how much of a pain in the neck his sister was being. Still, Haru hoped to salvage the situation and improve his grandson's mood.
"Well perhaps dinner will cheer you up." she offered. "I'm making your favorite tonight."
"I'm not hungry." Yuma replied bluntly as he marched upstairs.
That sent off warning bells in the Tsukumo Matriarch's mind. Her precious grandson never turned down an opportunity to eat, especially anything she cooked, but before she could call her grandson back, Yuma had already disappeared upstairs to his bedroom. She turned back to the front door and saw Kari enter, drying her face with a cloth to hide any evidence she had been crying as well, although the redness in her eyes still made it obvious, even for the near-sighted Haru to see.
"What did you tell him, Kari?" Haru asked, following up her question with a disappointed frown.
"I just told him the truth." Kari confessed as she moved to the couch and sat down to deal with her mental exhaustion. "Yuma can't keep living in his childhood fantasies anymore. He has to rip the Band-Aid off and face reality like I have. Mom and Dad are gone, gone forever…" she forcefully sniffled the last two words out of her mouth, and Haru put her hand on her granddaughter's shoulder.
"But have you really moved on?" Haru asked. "Or do you tell yourself that because it's too painful for you to keep waiting and waiting for a sign they might still be out there?" Kari turned her head away from her, which told Haru all she needed to know. "We all have our methods of dealing with grief, Kari. Don't forget that when you and Yuma lost your parents, I also lost my son and daughter in law." Haru sat down on the couch next to Kari and gave her granddaughter's hand a squeeze. Kari shifted uncomfortably on the couch as Haru continued. "Moving on, Kari, doesn't mean tearing them out of your heart. Yuma is moving on, but at the same time, he is honoring his father's memory in the best way he knows how. Can you really take that away from him, Kari? Would you even be able to stop him? Trying to stop Yuma from dueling is like trying to stop him from breathing. He is his father's son after all."
"I know… and that's the problem." Kari explained. "I loved Dad, but his sense of adventure is a bad influence on everybody who buys into it, and Yuma's just a kid. He can't handle himself out in the real world. He's trying so hard to be like Dad, but the fact is, he's not Dad. He's going to get himself hurt one day, especially if he keeps up with his passion for dueling. The more he gets involved with dueling, the more likely he'll be in danger if he winds up in a duel against the wrong person, especially with the reports going around about these strange cards."
"Hmmm?" Haru raised an eyebrow. "What strange cards? Is that another scoop you are chasing?"
"I wish." Kari scoffed, her mind drifting back to the pressures of her job. She opened her tablet and opened the link to a news article on the internet, published only this morning. "Look at this. Reports of duelists with one of a kind Xyz Monsters and strange glowing tattoos on their bodies. Eyewitnesses state that owners of these cards who use them in duels exhibit deranged and violent behavior. Remember that criminal on the news who got arrested last night? Before he got caught, witnesses described him as having the same kind of glowing tattoo. What if Yuma encounters one of these people and has to duel them? He won't stand a chance. He'll get hurt! I don't want to lose a third member of the family."
"I know you don't, and neither do I." Haru affirmed. "I would like nothing more than to keep both of my grandchildren safe for the rest of their lives, but sadly that is not how the world works. Even if you force Yuma not to go looking for trouble, there is a chance trouble might find him. If you keep somebody away from danger all their lives, they will not know what to do when they are suddenly put in danger. That is why I believe Yuma should continue dueling. I believe the best course of action is to help Yuma get stronger. We cannot protect him forever, especially when he grows up, but what we can do is support him in his hour of need."
"But Yuma isn't strong." Kari argued "How can he get any better when he doesn't listen to anybody and doesn't learn from his mistakes? If he doesn't change his attitude, then any support I would want to give him would be for nothing."
"Then why don't you at least tell him the truth of why you don't want him to duel?" Haru asked. "While I highly doubt you would convince him to stop dueling, perhaps Yuma will realize you care about him. That can go a long way in terms of helping him, even if you don't agree with his desire to continue dueling."
"As if Yuma will listen to me now." Kari muttered regretfully. "Not like he ever does."
She got up from the couch and began walking to her study. "Look, Grandma, I appreciate what you said to me, and I know you want to help both of us, but I can't in good conscience permit Yuma to duel with these dangerous people running around. What I'm going to do is get the scoop on what's really going on with these glowing tattoos and find out how much of this is real. I have to at least provide something for my boss before that parasite, Shuta Hayami steals another scoop right from under my nose."
"Shuta Hayami?" Haru inquired, noticing the name. "Isn't that the nice young man who shadowed you as an intern for your tabloids? Whatever happened to him?"
"I told him the truth." Kari replied, shrugging her shoulders. "He was a wannabe photographer looking for a job. He tried to impress my boss with his pictures, so he partnered him up with me for a week's trial to see if he was good enough. I just told him straight up. He wasn't good enough. His pictures were mediocre at best, so I gave my boss the thumbs down, and Shuta didn't get the job. That was the last I saw of him until a week ago, and now it seems like every picture he's taking is front page material. Even worse, he somehow gets to the scoops I'm looking into before me, and he's selling his pictures and scoops to rival journalist firms. He's doing this to spite me! I just know it."
"Well it seems like you were wrong about him since he seems to have improved so quickly." Haru noted. Kari stopped in her tracks as she noticed her grandmother's stern tone of voice. "Perhaps if you supported him and encouraged him to keep trying" she continued. "He would be working for you and not your competitors. Isn't that the very thing Yuma wants from you? Is it so hard for you to have a little bit of faith in other people?"
Kari didn't answer. She simply retreated into her office, leaving Haru to sigh and return to making dinner.
Unbeknownst to the two Tsukumo women, Astral had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Having understood how upset Yuma was, he resolved to give Yuma some space, choosing to instead study the other side of the sibling rivalry to improve his understanding of humans.
"Observation Number Six" he narrated to himself. "Verbal fights with hurtful words seem to cause more pain than physical confrontations."
The spirit appreciated the opportunity to gain new insight into the human psyche, especially since it appeared the psyche of his human partner was rather shaken by the argument. Yuma was upset, and while Astral's primary focus was to keep Yuma's mental health in prime shape so he could focus on hunting the Numbers, part of him felt hurt to see Yuma this upset and vulnerable, and Astral could not explain why.
Once the topic of the conversation shifted to Shuta Hayami though, he grew concerned.
Invisible to Kari and Haru, he studied the photos on the news article and his eyes widened at the sight of one photo in particular. He recognized one of the Number markings as the 52 on Taichi's neck when he wielded Diamond Crab King against Rio.
"That is our culprit." he said with firm conviction, and he floated back upstairs to Yuma's room. When he returned, he saw Yuma's mental state had yet to improve. The teenage boy lay slumped over his hammock bed clutching the photo of his parents.
"Yuma?" Astral greeted his human partner softly and cautiously, understanding how upset Yuma was and not wanting to disturb him further.
"I don't want to talk about it, Astral." Yuma groaned, his voice devoid his usual positivity.
"I wasn't aware I had indicated what "it" was." Astral replied, causing Yuma to roll his eyes.
"If "it" refers to your confrontation with your sister, then I understand, but if "it" refers to the mysterious individual who has been spying on our duels and taking pictures, then I am afraid I must insist we talk. I believe I have discovered who the photographer is."
Yuma instantly found the energy to spring out of bed, his full attention now focused on Astral.
"Really? Who?"
"Have you heard of a young man named Shuta Hayami?" Astral asked.
The teenage boy scratched his head as he tried to recall the name. "Shuta? Shuta, Shuta, Shuta. I think I've heard that name before… OH!" He snapped his fingers. "I think I know him!. I met him once about a year ago. He was trying to pester my sister for a job, but she brutally rejected him. Where did you even hear that name, Astral?"
"Your sister's device depicted a report written by Shuta on this… what is the word?" he paused, still struggling to understand the concept he was thinking of. "The In-Turn-Net? Yes, this Shuta wrote a report on the internet regarding the Number Monsters and one of the photos he took depicted Taichi and Diamond Crab King."
"Taichi?" Yuma repeated as a disturbing epiphany entered his mind. "But that means…"
"It means he has been watching us for far longer than we have realized." Astral answered grimly. "I'm also certain he is the one who sent those photographs to your sister, which means he knows where you live. If he does have a Number, we must find him and take his Number from him at once before he uses it to cause harm to others."
Yuma processed all the facts in his mind, but remained confused. "But why? Why take those pictures of me dueling and send those to my sister? If he wanted to blackmail me or force me into a duel to take my Numbers, then why not send them to me first and threaten to send them to my sister? Instead, he drops them off anonymously in my mailbox for Kari to find. That makes no sense. What does he want?"
"I do not know." Astral answered. "But I believe it would be far more prudent for us to confront him and find out what he wants before he has the chance to do anything more threatening."
"I guess you're right." Yuma answered with an audible sigh. "But I can't leave the house. I'm already in trouble with Kari, and if she catches me sneaking out, she'll explode."
"Your sister does not know about the urgency of our mission to collect the Numbers, and if she did, I do not believe she would understand." Astral said. "Hunting the Numbers takes priority, especially if Shuta is planning on harming you, so therefore you would be undermining your sister's authority for the greater good. However, perhaps you should take the necessary precautions, as we do not want your sister to spontaneously combust."
"Astral, I didn't mean she would literally explode!" Yuma scolded his oblivious spirit partner. "I really need to start teaching you about figures of speech."
"Yes, I seem to be constantly struggling with your rather indirect methods of communication." Astral admitted. "But we can worry about that later. Confirming that Shuta is our Number holder and dealing with him accordingly is our primary objective. We cannot hunt any other Numbers without the risk of him interfering, and the more opportunities we give him to spy on us, the more he will learn about your deck and how to defeat it. You should warn your friends immediately, particularly Rio."
It seemed to Yuma that Astral forced the words out of his mouth when he mentioned Rio.
"Though I do not like the idea of another Number falling into Rio's hands, the perpetrator was targeting her as well. She is in just as much danger as you are."
"I'm already on it!" Yuma replied and started a group call with his phone, starting with Rio. The teenage boy breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Rio pick up.
"Rio, get Tetsuo and Kotori on group chat real quick. It's important!" Yuma insisted. He started pacing his bedroom as he waited impatiently for Kotori and Tetsuo to join the group chat. On his phone, he opened HeartSync, Heartland City's most popular social media messaging platform and looked for each of his friends' virtual Avatars. One by one they popped into the screen to join the chat, a snowflake for Rio, a chocolate chip cookie for Kotori, a toy robot for Tetsuo and next to them on the screen was a golden key to represent Yuma, and the teenage boy opened up the group voice chat.
"So what's up?" Tetsuo spoke first. "You and Rio seem to think something really bad is going on."
"Did Rio tell you about the spy guy?" asked Yuma.
"What spy guy?" Tetsuo asked, growing skeptical.
"Let's just say we have another Number situation going on." Rio answered for Yuma. "Somebody was watching me duel the owner of Number 14, and he took my picture. The same thing happened to Yuma while he was dueling Professor Ukyo to stop his computer virus."
Rio's explanation prompted a pair of surprised gasps from Kotori and Tetsuo.
"I'm assuming you found our spy since you called us so urgently, right?" Rio inquired.
"Yeah, I think I did." Yuma confirmed, earning a raised eyebrow from Astral, which Yuma noticed. "Well, Astral did." Yuma corrected. "But the important thing is we have a prime suspect. Do any of you know a guy named Shuta?"
"Wait, Shuta Hayami?" Kotori spoke up for the first time. "Yeah, I know him. He was about two grades above us, president of the photography club, but he transferred schools last year. Hang on one second."
She left the chat for no more than a minute and then came back online, sending a picture to the group, which depicted a young man with neck-length blue hair and prominent bangs. He was wearing an orange beret and the photo depicted him with a kind and welcoming smile.
"Oh yeah, now I recognize him." Tetsuo said. "But are you sure he's up to no good? I remember Shuta, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. Sure, he'd get really annoyed if you messed up his shots, but who wouldn't?"
"Don't forget, Tetsuo." Rio sternly corrected him. "We all thought Taichi was harmless until he got possessed by a Number. Who knows what Shuta's personality is like if he has a Number too."
"Yeah, you're right." a worried Kotori agreed. "I just can't believe that the sweet guy who would take award winning photos of people for free could even be capable of hurting us."
"It's not his fault." soothed Yuma. "It's the Number messing with his head that's to blame, which is why we need to find him pronto and take his Number before he tries anything against us, and there's only one way to do that. We kick his butt in a duel."
"Hold up, Yuma!" Rio interrupted again. "We talked about this earlier. Shuta was spying on this, and that means he knows how our decks work. If we brazenly charge into battle, we'll be playing into his hands."
"Not to mention, we don't even know how he was able to spy on you two." Tetsuo chimed in. "How did he pull that off anyway? Didn't you guys duel both of those Number holders at the same time."
"You're right, that is strange." said Kotori, equally confused. "Yuma, you and Rio were on opposite sides of town, but your duels happened around the same time. How could Shuta spy on one duel, take your picture, and then run over to the other duel to spy on that one?"
"I have no idea." Yuma answered. "It's not like his Number gives him the power to be in two places at once, right?"
"I think we should just throw logic out the window and assume anything can happen." Tetsuo admitted. "You remember when I dueled Tokunosuke? After he kicked my butt with his Number monster, he picked me up and tossed me like a sack of potatoes, even though I weigh four times as much as that scrawny shrimp."
"So does that mean Numbers give special powers to their hosts?" Kotori wondered. "If that's the case, then why haven't Yuma and Rio shown any signs of being able to do that?"
"I have no idea. What do you think, Astral?" Yuma signaled for the spirit to join in on the conversation, although he quickly realized Kotori and Tetsuo would not be able to hear him, but his partner didn't answer. Yuma got up to search the room for Astral and saw he was staring out the window.
"Come on, Astral. We don't have time for birdwatching. We have a spy to catch." Yuma scolded, but Astral's eyes were fixated on a certain object outside.
"Yuma, look." Astral pointed down from the window and outside, hiding among the trees was what appeared to be a tiny black machine resembling a toy plane. Four rotating helicopter blades spun silently as the machine hovered in the air pointing a single lens at the window below Yuma's bedroom. A single flash burst from the lens of the aircraft, and then like a hummingbird searching for flowers, the machine flew off into the sunset.
"A drone…." Yuma whispered, horror creeping into his brain as he suddenly realized the secrets of his new enemy. He quickly got back onto the group chat and broadcast his emergency to his friends.
"Guys, you're not going to believe this. He was watching me just now."
Three exclamations of "WHAT?" followed.
"Do you see him?!" asked Rio, growing alarmed.
"No, he's not actually here at my house. I saw a drone outside my window." Yuma explained. "That's how he's doing it. He's got little drones flying around the whole city looking for people with Numbers."
"But why would he send one here?" Kotori asked. "You're not dueling, so why would he spy on you now if he can't get the chance to look at your deck again?"
"I don't know, but I'm not just going to wait around for him to come to me." Yuma insisted. "Especially not at my house. I can't let Shuta drag my family into this, so I'm going to find him and take his Number before he gets the chance."
"No, Yuma. We have to be smart about this." Rio scolded her friend. "Shuta knows where we are and how to find us, but we have no idea where to look for him. He could be anywhere in the city. If we force him to come to us, we'll have the advantage."
"That's assuming he will come to us." Tetsuo replied pessimistically. "It looks to me like he's more than happy to hide behind his spy cameras until he decides he's ready to take your Numbers."
"Then I'll catch him when he's not ready." said Yuma, undeterred from his chosen course. "If he wants my Numbers, then he's more than happy to try and take them. I've beaten Tokunosuke and Ukyo without too much trouble from their Numbers, and my duel against Shuta will be no different."
Astral still remained at the window, continuing to stare at the horizon while still listening to the conversation. While he agreed with Yuma that they needed to seek Shuta out, something else was bothering him.
"Why do I have the feeling that Yuma's Numbers are not the only thing Shuta wants?" Astral muttered quietly. "That flying device, it was not pointing towards Yuma's window. It was pointing to the window below, where Kari resides, but what could Shuta want with Yuma's sister?"
While the four friends continued discussing how to find the newest threat in their Number Hunting Crusade, the camera drone flew through the city into downtown Heartland, returning to its master. Its helicopter blades buzzed like a mosquito darting from building to building until it landed on the balcony of an apartment complex where a young blue-haired man was waiting for it.
The drone landed like an eagle resting in its nest, switching itself off, and the young man picked it up and carried it into his apartment. Inside, every wall was covered in photographs, some incredible scenery shots and others were headshots of people from all walks of life. Taking out a cord and connecting the camera of the drone to a printer, Shuta Hayami got to work in developing his latest set of photos.
"My best investment idea yet." he mused to himself. "These camera drones work perfectly. Now I can find any Number Holders I want without even having to confront them in person. Why even bother when I can let these two oblivious little idiots collect multiple Numbers for me?"
He sat down at his desk and turned on his computer, and as the light of the screen illuminated, the reflection of his face briefly appeared on the screen, and Shuta gazed at his blessing, a blue 25 on his right cheek.
"Of course, I can't stand in the background and wait forever. They'll catch onto me soon and seek me out. Besides, they have three Numbers each. Defeating them both and increasing my total to seven would make for a picture-perfect score."
His printer flared to life, and Shuta reached for the now fully developed photos. Coveting them like a pouch of gold coins, he stuck them to his wall as they joined several other photos he acquired from his spying endeavors. Glancing at the photos of his two targets, he reviewed what he knew about them aloud.
"Rio Kamishiro, it seems my prediction of her being the stronger of the two was correct. If I want my future to come to pass, I will need to wait until I've acquired more Numbers before I go toe to toe with her and Frozen Lady Justice. That just leaves you, Yuma Tsukumo."
Shuta sneered with malice as his eyes darted to his picture of the teenage boy. "I can't believe the irony that you of all people have a Number, but it's actually better this way. After all, defeating you will make my revenge against your sister all the better, and if you even think for a second you can defeat me when I come after you, it won't matter. The future has already been set in stone thanks to the power of my Number!"
Shuta stuck the final photo on his wall and began to chuckle in delight from the sight of the image. While the drone spied on Kari in her study, completely safe and blissfully unaware of any potential danger, the photo it took told a far different story.
In the photo, Kari Tsukumo was on her knees, screaming and begging for her life.
Author Made Cards:
Flying Shark: Level 4/WATER/Fish/1600 ATK/1400 DEF
Effect: This card is also treated as a Winged-Beast Monster. If this card is Normal Summoned, you can special summon 1 Level 6 or lower Fish or Winged-Beast Monster from your hand in Defense Position. If you would use this card as Xyz Material for the Xyz Summon of a WATER Xyz Monster, you can treat this card's level as a Level 5 or a Level 6 Monster for the Xyz Summon.
A/N:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND CLIFFHANGER!
Originally this chapter was going to be much longer and contain the confrontation and subsequent duel between Yuma and Shuta (Cameron Clix in the Dub.) However, I decided it would be best to split this chapter up into two parts to better focus (FORCE Focus? Pun very much intended) on the conflict between the two Tsukumo siblings while also building up Shuta as a credible threat who is different from the previous two Number Holders.
The good news is that most likely you will not have to wait long at all for chapter four since it's the second half of the Force Focus Arc and I have that mostly complete already, so I hope you're excited for that.
So what did you think of this chapter? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Whatever your opinion may be, feel free to leave a review or a comment and let me know!
Until Next Time! This is NOX SIGNING OUT!
