Kira didn't pay the Scorpions' antics any mind. He didn't even look up—he was using the flight time to KaibaCorp to sort the cards he'd just acquired.
As he casually flipped through the new deck, he sensed the chatter suddenly stop. Like white noise cutting out during a nap. Curious, he set the cards down and glanced up.
And caught sight of a girl in a sailor uniform—like a JK—walking toward him.
Silver hair, white as first winter snow, shimmering softly under the cabin lights. Her blue-and-white sailor suit echoed the colors of Obelisk Blue's girls' uniform, paired with a high-waisted short skirt that showed off long legs and white canvas shoes.
Kira was dumbstruck.
Huh? Who's this?
How'd she refresh on his plane?
The girl came right up, sat down beside him without a word. She turned her palm over; a white glow blossomed, and an ancient-looking book seemed to appear from thin air, settling into her hand.
Only then did Kira seem to realize something. He studied the pretty yet cool face—more and more familiar the longer he looked…
"Silent?"
The girl nodded slowly.
"What's with the outfit?" Kira asked, baffled.
Silent Magician looked up at him seriously.
"Wait… you've come to the real world?" Kira caught on.
Silent nodded.
"Did something happen?" Kira asked.
He recalled how in DM, Dark Magician Girl had only summoned her master Atem and Yugi from the Spirit World once—and that time was a world-ending crisis. It couldn't be easy for a spirit's true body to come to reality—usually it meant something important.
But Silent shook her head.
"Nothing?"
Silent pointed at herself, then at the five Scorpions, and gestured.
Kira somehow understood.
The Scorpions were monster spirits who could return to their cards at will—but they also had identities in the real world.
Meanae was the academy nurse, Chick a Slifer Red student, Gorg in campus logistics.
Silent indicated she planned to live here long-term too, so she wanted a human identity like the five.
"You mean, you want to come to Duel Academy? As a student?"
Another nod.
Kira chuckled. "This term's almost over. Enroll next term and you'll be my underclassman. Also, you don't have any ID—how are you going to test and enroll?"
Silent pointed at Kira.
"You want me to figure it out?"
A firm nod.
Well now—assigning the master a quest right off the bat, huh.
"Alright, I'll make some calls, see what I can do."
Kira smiled and patted her silver head.
"Because you're my best partner."
A hint of a smile softened the glacier on her face.
She couldn't resist shooting the five pipsqueaks a smug glance.
As if to say: see who really calls the shots?
The five wisely kept their heads down and played dead.
Kira had to admit, he didn't use Silent much in duels lately, but outside of duels she was unquestionably his favorite spirit.
Because she was truly capable.
Not just in raw combat—if it was about power, the strongest of the spirits he could readily command was undoubtedly the Black Luster Soldier.
But BLS was a pure warrior. Swinging a sword is great, but beyond that his toolkit is limited.
Silent was different. Maybe she couldn't outfight a legendary warrior head-on, but as a high-level mage, she knew a bit of everything.
Light, flight, magic missiles, disguise, mental interference…
Even if she wasn't a master of some, there was little she couldn't do at all.
If Kira could freely pick one spirit to accompany him in reality at all times, he'd pick Silent Magician.
Mid-flight, Mokuba called again.
Kira was puzzled. It hadn't been that long—so urgent?
"Mokuba? I'm en route, I'll be—"
"Come to Prison No. 7!"
Mokuba sounded rushed, like he was running.
Kira blinked. "What?"
"Prison No. 7. Now. There's a riot—things are going south… I'm heading there first. You come straight over."
Prison No. 7…
Kira mused, then told the autopilot:
"Change course. New destination: Prison No. 7."
"Affirmative, sir."
The plane banked and headed for the prison.
He'd heard of it.
A special prison built under contract by KaibaCorp.
A Duel Prison.
Yes, that was its specialty. As everyone knows, Dark Duelists possess extraordinary power. While they require cards to maximize it, even without monster cards as a medium, they can wield the power of Dark Games in other ways.
Which makes them nearly impossible to confine in ordinary prisons. They need special facilities designed for them.
Of course, it's not that common—by their nature, Dark Duelists are hard to capture alive, and often get neutralized on the spot.
But not always. When the president himself raided that Dark Duelist club, the entire membership was brought here.
It was a fortress forged by KaibaCorp—the strongest prison in the world.
Or so it should have been.
….
When Kira arrived, he saw no fortress. The walls, supposed to be impregnable, looked like paper, licked to the verge of collapse by tongues of rage and despair. Thick black smoke billowed like storm clouds, hiding the stars—and the outside world—away, isolating this patch of ground.
Kira opened the hatch and dove, deploying the glider midair.
He was no longer the underground "Revolver" now—he'd switched back to the King of Games.
Mokuba was outside the prison, drenched in sweat, conferring with someone. Inside, chaos reigned.
Kira dropped down behind Mokuba.
Mokuba spun, eyes lighting up like he'd seen a savior.
"Finally!"
Kira stepped up. "What's the situation?"
"If I knew, I'd tell you. We just heard the place suddenly rioted—every one of them is dangerous. If they get out, it'll be a disaster—"
"Got it. I'll go in and look. Have your people clear a path."
Kira moved forward.
A man nearby in a guard uniform saw someone trying to go in and shouted, "What are you doing? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is inside—"
But Mokuba quickly pulled him aside.
Mokuba only smiled at the guard.
"You really don't know who this is, do you?"