Anti-Shadow Riders?
The Dark Scorpion Burglars exchanged looks, faces strange.
But aren't we the Shadow Riders?
There are supposed to be seven, but they're special—the five of them share one seat, living and dying together, so they count as one member.
"You want us to betray the organization?"
Don Zaloog snorted heavily.
"You're overthinking it. The Dark Scorpion Burglars are honorable thieves, not like those who have no bottom line. We have our code and would never betray our comrades lightly…"
"I'll pay you extra," Kira said.
Don Zaloog's words were cut off instantly.
He fell silent.
"Boss, he's offering more money!" Chick's eyes widened.
As if to say, what's there to think about?
"Shut up."
Don Zaloog glared. Chick shrank back, muttering under his breath, probably wondering why they'd ever turn down money.
"And if you feel guilty about betraying your comrades, it's not necessary." Kira smiled. "Shadow Riders has seven officers. Vampire Camula is dead, Nightshroud is in a coma—but his sister is my friend, and when he wakes up he'll probably join us.
The other three have already switched sides and joined us."
The burglars digested this.
Wait.
There are seven Shadow Riders. One is dead, four have defected, if we defect too…
There'd only be one left?
Burglars: "…"
"So you'd better join us quickly," Kira said earnestly. "If you don't, you'll be the traitors betraying your own comrades."
Burglars: "…"
What the hell, we're the traitors now? Minority obeying the majority?
"What do you think?" Don Zaloog asked his companions.
"I'm in," Meanae nodded first.
The others had no objections.
Only Cliff hesitated, "Boss, aren't we forgetting something important?"
"Hm? What?" Don Zaloog raised an eyebrow.
"We just lost the duel," Cliff whispered. "He's probably just being polite inviting us. We don't really have the right to refuse."
Don Zaloog: "…"
Damn, that makes sense.
"Alright, we'll join."
Don Zaloog turned to Kira.
"By the way, what's your name?"
"Me? I'm Fujiki Kira," Kira smiled, gesturing to his uniform. "As you can see, just a regular yellow-dorm student at Duel Academy."
"A regular student…"
Don Zaloog was speechless.
He'd heard Duel Academy was full of hidden masters. He never believed it before—how strong could a bunch of kids be? Now he believed.
But Fujiki Kira… that name sounded familiar…
"What a coincidence," Chick said. "Isn't that the same name as the rumored new Duel King?"
The place fell silent.
The burglars looked at Kira, expressions shifting from shock to fear, then reverence.
NAAANNI!!?
Don Zaloog was shaken.
Did I just challenge the Duel King!?
…
An hour later, the five of them—now disguised—joined Kira at the cafeteria.
Kira treated them. After winning the Duel King title, he'd earned a huge prize, and the lab sponsorship deals were pouring in, his work was world-renowned. He could make a fortune just from appearances and lectures—money was no issue.
He ordered a feast. The five burglars devoured it like starving ghosts.
"This is amazing."
Gorg finished three big bowls of rice, eyes smiling.
Chick grinned, "Guess we really didn't pick the wrong guy to follow."
All thoughts of "never betraying comrades" were long forgotten.
The iron-willed burglar gang, bought off by a single meal.
Kira learned that the Shadow Riders had long coveted the Sacred Beast keys. The Dark Scorpion Burglars had been hired years ago, and had secretly infiltrated Duel Academy as sleeper agents.
Meanae was the school nurse, Chick a red dorm student, Cliff a security guard, Gorg in logistics.
With a change of clothes and a little makeup, they weren't easily recognized. Only their boss Don Zaloog, with his fierce expression and one Horus-eye, was hard to hide.
Not to mention, Don Zaloog was already the most famous burglar at Duel Academy.
Well, Kira thought, that's not my problem—no idea why that is.
He was curious about the burglars.
He'd always wondered about this when watching the anime.
"By the way, you're all spirits, right?" Kira asked.
They nodded.
"But aren't spirits supposed to be unable to exist in the real world for long?" Kira asked.
His own spirits were like that, and in the later anime, Jaden's spirits too. They could materialize briefly, but soon reverted to spirit form.
But these burglars were different.
They could stay physical for years, even go undercover as students, nurses, staff, and so on.
Was there some trick?
The burglar spirits looked at each other.
Kira was curious. "Is there a secret? Or did the Shadow Riders boss help you?"
"Nope," Don Zaloog said, looking strange.
"It's because our real bodies are here. We're always physical."
"Your real bodies?"
"Yeah, we haven't been back to the Spirit World in ages," Meanae added. "Our world's boring. We lost interest ages ago.
After coming here by chance, we found this world super fun. Great duelists, great food, great games, we love it here. We're not going back."
Kira suddenly understood.
In GX later seasons, there were spirits like that.
Honest, for example, a spirit came to Duel Academy seeking his master, used transformation skills to disguise himself as a student, and could stay physical for a long time. But Jaden, already with supernatural powers, saw through him at a glance.
So, spirits can live in the real world.
"Actually, me too."
A crisp girl's voice sounded behind.
Kira turned to see the Vampire Fraulein, sitting quietly at the back, face pale and expressionless.
Kira remembered.
When she left her castle, she'd decided to travel with them, bidding farewell to her clan—she seemed to be here in person too.
But she'd always stayed quiet, like other spirits.
Kira asked about this, and the vampire girl just glanced at him expressionlessly.
Then pointed upward.
"So hot."
Kira understood.
She hated this world's sun.