The laughter of all five of them could be heard easily through the halls and it seemed to flow through the normally empty and cold house….making it seem alive once more.

"You know….I think you like my brother as more then a mentor!" One girl, who seemed more then a tad pudgy and looked vaguely like she was sick, said between snickering as she stared half-expectantly at Seto. He only managed to sputter as the three others began to laugh in time and he felt a blush appear on his cheeks.

"Of course he likes Crawford, anyone with eyes can see that." Another declared simply with little doubt as someone else, who was quite obviously her twin, shook her head in denial. "No way 'Soko-chan. I saw Siegfried kiss Seto only a week ago, so he must like him!" Everyone stared at her in a mix of amusement and, in Seto's case, horror.

"I…Natsumi you liar!" He attempted to defend himself verbally, but it quickly turned physical when the last girl, who was certainly the oldest of the group and had a rather too large grin about her, swooped around him jokingly. "B-but Seto I could have sworn you would marry me and bare my children!" She dramatically sobbed, grin still in place, as the brunette attempted to push her off.

The other girls jumped into the joking fray and after a few moments all five of them were left gasping for breath between laughter and smartarse remarks from 'Soko-chan' and Seto.

Seto, who had his back to the door and felt more alive then he had felt in so long, couldn't help feeling normal again. Happy again. And, for once, he didn't think about things like war, perfection, and whether or not Kaiba-sama was watching him.

He wished he had remembered to think about the last part though.

"What the hell are you all doing?" The cold and commanding voice of Gozaburo echoed through the room and Seto could have sworn he felt the entire house loose all of it's life once more and return to it's empty and dead state.

He couldn't turn around though…he just couldn't bare it….

The view seemed to shift on him once he finally turned to gaze at his father. Everyone else was gone and the man had a smile upon his face that seemed cruel and benevolent at the same time.

"My dear little Seto, you are getting so…popular these days…" Gozaburo's tone held little joy for that fact as he moved forward and, as if mimicking the movements of the girl who had always had such a large grin on her face, let his arms wrap around Seto and pulled him into his lap.

"Becoming a bit of a slut really…" He growled out into the young boy's ear. "….No sir…there were just my friends." Seto managed determinedly, attempting to ignore his father's hands.

"You don't need friends, boy. You have me."

And Seto whimpered and moaned and agreed.