"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 cute and innocent.

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

  I sigh again.

  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. They yelp in surprise, "Don't spook us like that Sam!" Sapphire squeaks out.

  "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! Don't give in, Sam!

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  "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, Rue! Ket will tutor you, and Gora will tutor Sapphire!"

  With a nervous expression, Ruby raises a finger and stumbles, "Uhm, hold on just a sec, that's the opposite of what I said."

  "Maybe this way you will finally learn some common sense. And Saph will learn that there's more to life than books. And Heaven's be willing, you might actually become good kids." 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.

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  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. Rue and Saph have been dealt 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 tell her to stop trying to turn little Rue into a second Gora though.

  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 in the garden a lot, maybe I can get him to explore this gardening interest 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 sigh again. I hope Henry gets back soon...