He had a normal, almost pleasant childhood.

Two loving parents.

A more than adequate roof over his head.

Siblings who he looked up to.

Wonderful friends.

Something was just off about him in general. His color was black instead of one of the brighter colors, and red markings snaked down from his forehead to the bottom of his eyes. However, his appearance wasn't the issue; it was his behavior. From a young age, the child enjoyed the morbid, finding small animals and discovering new ways to stop their struggling in his black, clawed hands. He used his own hands, knives his mother left after cooking, sticks, stones, and water.

His original name was Sekai, which was lovingly given by his two older siblings, saying that he would be their whole world. Their parents called him their "golden child"; none of them had any idea of the morbid things he did in his spare time, though, it became apparent in due time.

Once, he came home without bothering to wash his hands or rub them in special leaves he found in his play place because he was genuinely worried he had a problem. Sekai went crying to his parents, the purple blood of an animal coating his black hands. His parents, both devastated to find that their sweet child killed animals for no reason, took him to a doctor to see if there was something wrong in his head. The doctor said that nothing was wrong, but the unusual behavior was certainly worrying. He offered to keep Sekai in the office for further studies.

When his parents left, Sekai was put to many complex tests of his sanity, most of which he failed. That was when they realized that there actually was something wrong with him.

They kept him there for many months.

Months, nearly a year, later, Sekai was released to his parents with a slip of paper that proved that he was cured. He didn't feel cured, but to please his parents, he acted so. His parents were overjoyed to have their baby boy, their golden child, back to them, and his siblings peppered him with kisses. Sekai smiled and laughed, both forced but convincing.

When he was alone in his usual play place, he got the urges again, and he gave in. This time, though, they were not to kill, but to steal things.

So he did.

Because of his Number's nature, which he didn't discover until later, he could blend with shadows, making stealing things without being seen easier. He took his new belongings to a hole in his special place to hide them from everyone. Then, he found small animals again and tried leaves to still them.

A few years passed. The urges became stronger, more risky. He started killing people. Of course, no one suspected him. Heck, no one even knew what a dark being or Dark Number was, and because he was the sweetest child they met, he was at the bottom of the list of suspects.

That is, until his whole family was killed.

One of his friends came to his house to hang out, but she only found Sekai standing in the middle of a bloodbath, a kitchen knife clenched in his clawed, bloodstained hand.

"S-Sekai...?" she called tentatively.

Upon hearing his name, the dark being turned his head, his mouth curling into a sneer. "My name isn't Sekai anymore. It's Hakai." Then, he drove the knife into her.

From that moment on, Hakai didn't bother to hide the fact that he was doing bad stuff. He relished in the horrified faces of his victims, or the angry storekeepers. He just didn't care if they hated him; he loved it!

One day, when he was what we humans would call a teenager, an unusual person started giving chase. Their energy was stronger than most, and with unparalleled glee, Hakai realized that special forces were made just for him! He was beyond excited!

People just for me to have fun with!

"Hey!" he called behind him to the one chasing. "Catch me if you can, you no-good, goody-goody dog!" With a laugh, he took off into the shadows, once again not bothering to blend at all.

The man responded as he wanted, with a shout and more speed. Hakai laughed in glee of the prospect of a chase that was more fun than anything else he ever did in his life.

The people on the ground watched as the Light Agent chased the dark being around the city, launching off of buildings and bouncing off the ground. They cheered on the Agent, but he was too slow for this one. Hakai simply had more practice than the Agent, and in the end, Hakai found a place to hide and blended.

The game of "hide-and-seek" continued for years, even when Hakai became an adult. When he grew up, he was tall and lean with hair that reached his shoulders and barely touched his eyes. His muscles rippled under his skin with every movement, but he was every bit as immature as when he first started egging the Agents on. For many of those years, he was never touched once, even though the Agents received more and more rigorous training.

One day, he found a woman who genuinely admired him. Her name, ironically, was Sekai. She was beautiful and black and white, with golden orbs. Her dress was a sparkling red.

They went out in secret, but did nothing more than cuddle and kiss for a few more years until Hakai became bored with the game that went on for so many years.

So they did the deed.

Hakai ensured that he would, at some point, have a son with his powers and his darkness, just to have the last laugh. Then, as he was chased again, he stopped in the middle of the square and held up his hands.

"I'm bored of this," he declared. "Go ahead, take me in."

This surprised all twenty-four Agents, but they took him in. Surprisingly, he didn't put up a fight, but that was because he simply wanted to end this never ending game. He would live on, he knew, in his future sons and daughters.

One of them would have his powers.

A few months later, when it was time for his beheading, they took him out. Again, he didn't put up a fight at all. They placed his head between the blocks and asked if he had any last words.

He chuckled. "Sekai!" Hakai called into the crowd when he spotted her, her stomach already bulging. "Take care of our kid, will ya? Make sure it doesn't do anything stupid! And take care of yourself!"

Sekai smiled and nodded. She wasn't sad about this because she knew that their kid would be his gift to her.

Then, Hakai grinned at the Agents. "Well, this has been a journey," he chuckled. "None of you sorry dogs could catch me until I gave myself up. Well, joke's on you because in many of these girls, I injected my DNA." This was obviously a lie, but with his confidence, he passed it off as a fact. "That kid Sekai has ain't got nothin' on the ones that will inherit my Number." Then, he shouted to everyone in the crowd, "None of you forget the Number 96!! You'll all have another one on your hands, I'll tell you that much!" He laughed like crazy, not stopping until his head rolled off of the stage.

Many, many, many Cycles later, twin boys were born from a single woman, whose husband died in a battle between himself and a dark being. If anyone cared enough to look, they would have discovered that she was directly linked to the first carrier of the 96 lineage, Sekai.

One child had the full power of the original 96, Hakai.