"Yes. I met them. And they hate me...not that I've done anything to earn being liked by anyone other than Mokuba, but. I'd never seen one of you with so much contempt for a person."

He bowed his head, clutching fistfuls of Stoutland's shaggy fur. "The way they seemed to wish I would drop dead...maybe it's because there's a trace of the pharaoh there, and my single goal has been to prove myself to him. But after all these months living and working with my team, away from the corporate grind and the shadow magic nonsense? And away from Mokuba"

Kaiba finally looked back up at Jonouchi. "I'm not saying I'm going to bow to your every whim or be your best bud or go on friendship picnics, but...if a Kaiba screams at an empty sky, to the consciousness of the world it's like it never made a sound. I need to be part of the universe. Preferably as close to the center of it as possible."