"Stop it Ruby! That's mine!" Sapphire's shouting echoes throughout the hallways of the Celestial Dragon Palace.

Of course it's Ruby. With a sigh, I stop what I'm doing and head towards the scene of the disturbance.

Entering the room, I see Ruby sitting on top of a stack of books. Sapphire must've been reading one of them, because she's desperately trying to move her off. "You're always reading stupid books, come play with me please~" Ruby says as she pouts her lip, trying her best to look innocent.

"You never play, you just want to cause chaos."

Ruby moves to stand up on the pile of books, putting her fingers around her chin like she always does when trying to be smart. "Playing equals having fun, causing chaos equals having fun, therefore playing equals causing chaos. It's simple math."

...

Ruby seems to be learning the wrong things...

I send my shadow over both Ruby and Sapphire to seize control of the situation. "Alright, calm down both of you. Ruby you have to leave Sapphire alone when she's reading, you know she doesn't like being disturbed. And who taught you that kind of math?"

Ruby turns to look at me, all smug and with a glint in her eye. "Big Sis Gora of course! She's the smartest, so that makes her the best teacher!"

"Uhu, did she tell you that herself?"

"Yes!" Ruby replies with the biggest smile on her face. She's wild and unruly, but my baby sister has the cutest smile!

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Ahem, I'll get Ket to tutor you, you'll quickly learn who is actually smart..."

"But Ket is always reading books, that's so boring - She should tutor Sapphire! And then Gora can still be my tutor!"

"That's a great idea actually, Ru! Ket will tutor you, and Gora will tutor Sapphire!"

"Uhm, hold on one second, that's the opposite of what I said." Ruby stammers out with a confused look on her face.

"Maybe this way you will finally learn some common sense. And Saph will learn that there's more to life than books! A brilliant idea!" I gloat as I look at our teenagers.

Ruby and Sapphire look at each other before turning to me with a dark look. I might come to regret this decision, but it's actually a good idea. I think it's worth trying. "Stop looking at me like that, this'll be good for both of you."

Hopeless and defeated, they sit down next to each other, dreading the days to come.

°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°-°

After making lunch, I call for everyone to gather round. Henry has always been adamant about eating together.

As soon as everyone sits down, I take a look around. As the eldest, it's my responsibility to look after everyone. Ru and Saph have been dealth with, so let's see.

Gora is easy, as long as she doesn't have to sit still all day, she shouldn't be a problem. I should maybe tell her to stop trying to turn little Ru into a second Gora.

Serket, or Ket, is the closest thing we have to an angel, so no problems there.

Ikkaku is spending every waking hour in his lab every since he discovered his passion for alchemy... Good thing Ket's clinic is in the next room. If there's a problem, Ket can solve it.

Sirin and Caladrius are still working on that lump of metal Henry left behind, but for how long... I could take Qiao and Machaka with me to find some more metal for when it runs out. Who knows, we might find some new metals we haven't seen before. It makes for a good opportunity to talk to Qiao about getting a hobby again, she always looks so incredibly bored. There's gotta be something that interests her.

That leaves Fin... He's a little older than Ruby, but not any more mature. Lately he's been helping on the farms, maybe I can get him to explore this interest in farming in more detail. Knowing him, he's gonna wanna figure things out on his own though. What a hassle these teenagers are... luckily we only have 3 of them.

I hope Henry gets back soon...