Yuugi peered around the hedge, attempting to keep himself as hidden as possible. He caught sight of Kaiba sitting in what looked suspiciously unlike patio furniture, typing away at his laptop and looking distinctly less snappish than usual – it was exactly as Mokuba had promised.

The boy pulled back to his hiding spot, giving his friends a thumbs-up, which they returned. They all stood, and made their way cautiously around the hedges and various shrubbery surrounding the Kaiba property. Just as cautiously, though as casually as they could manage under such cheery pretense, they approached the patio.

The CEO considered, for a moment, ignoring them and simply signaling his security team to release what was becoming known as the 'hound du jour', but as he flashed them a sharp look of warning, their disarming smiles made him still his fingers, if only momentarily.

"Mokuba's in the living room."

Anzu smiled softly, bowing politely in greeting. "No, no, we're here to see you, Kaiba-kun."

The sentence he had been typing – something along the lines of 'product relations', or somesuch – was replaced with a string of 'a's, and Kaiba tore his eyes from the screen again, glare suspicious. "Why?" he asked sharply, erasing his typo and continuing where he left off.

"Well, you see, Kaiba-kun," Yuugi stepped forward, also bowing courteously at his rival, flashing a charming smile, "We've been thinking about it, and we believe we've discovered what you've been hiding."

And with the positive outcome of specific negotiationsssssssssssssssssssssssss... "...What I've been what?"

"Hiding," supplied Yuugi cheerfully, taking a few steps closer to Kaiba, so that the CEO could feel the brunt of his understanding expression. "It's okay, Kaiba-kun. It all makes sense, and it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Anzu nodded in agreement. "Especially this day in age, when so many people are doing it," she added, turning to face Jounouchi and Honda expectantly. "Right guys?"

They shrugged noncommittally, both muttering something to the effect of, "Dunno why you're asking me."

Kaiba could only stare, brow furrowed in confusion – he was not used to this feeling of puzzlement, and it was beginning to aggravate him. He would rather eat his Blue-Eyes than admit he didn't know something, but this was just plain ridiculous. Crossly, he snapped, "What in the world are you idiots talking about?"

Again, Yuugi smiled in what he was sure was a sympathetic, there-for-you manner. "It's all right, Kaiba-kun, you don't have to hide it anymore. We're you're friends – " Kaiba snorted derisively " – and we're all okay with it."

"In fact," Anzu chirped. "We've invited a couple of friends over to keep you company later."

It was all very vague, but Kaiba didn't get where he was without being a master of subtlety – very, very slowly, the gears began to turn, and he put all of the pieces together. He blanched, unsure whether to be insulted, furious, indignant, or D) all of the above. He pressed a button on his laptop's base casually, turning to face them in calm fury.

"The hounds have been released. You have ten seconds to remove yourself from my property."

There was a general ruckus as the four sprinted from the yard; Yuugi was yelling that they were really only trying to help, Anzu was insisting that Kaiba didn't have to overreact like this, and Honda was screaming in agony, as one of the Pinschers had latched onto his leg.

Jounouchi, however, had managed to find humor in the situation, dancing out of the way of the dogs, laughing as though the events had been the most amusing thing he'd been through all week and hollering, loud enough for Kaiba to hear, "He didn't deny it, though!"