"That was all, Natsumi. You can go now."
"Okay, goodbye."
But Yuki jumped up from the couch, calling out to her in an warm, casual tone.
"Natsumi, wait!"
As she excitedly turned around, she she felt a fist in her stomach with enough force to rip through a regular person's body. Though of course not enough to harm her, she almost threw up. As Natsumi leaned forward, Yuki looked down at the back of her head with cold and annoyed eyes, considering pushing her over into the ground all the way, but deciding against it for no particular reason besides mood.
"Next time slip a note under the door or just knock. I won't tell you again."
With that, Yuki teleported her out of the Sphere, and innocently turned to Yamato with a cute swirl.
"Boo, I've got an idea! How about you and I, spend the day with Phoebe! Within the past week we barely got together, and that's no healthy family picture, is it?"
"You're right… Even if Petrisha's taking good care of her, we shouldn't leave it to her entirely…"
"That's what I'm saying! Hence why you must leave that desk at once, and devote this day entirely to family!"
"You know who also is part of our family?"
"Hmm… Iky! Pets play a big role in most families!"
"Nope."
"That one friend Phoebe found… Violetta!"
"Why would I be talking about her…?"
"Because she's like a second daughter to us~…"
"She really isn't…"
"Give me a hint!"
"You shouldn't need a hint for this…"
"That's mean!"
"It's Natsumi."
"…Ew."
"No "ew". Natsumi's presence will have a positive effect on both Phoebe and you."
"…Ew."
Yamato looked down with a serious and sad expression, as if drowning in deep sorrow.
"Sigh… Y'know… Me and my brother grew apart, and there is nothing I regret more… If only I had the chance to talk to him one last time, and apologize…"
Yuki was suddenly behind him and possessively grabbed his head from behind, nuzzling her face into it with great affection.
"Awww, boo is using my methods…! But making up sad stories to get what you want is only okay when I do it! You can't. Cause it breaks my heart to see you even pretend to be sad."
"I guess you're just cute like that when you do it…"
She blushed a lot at that, though she hid it by burying in his hair.
"That's right. You get lots of cute points too though…"
"Do I?"
"Mhm…"
"Enough points to buy a favor?"
"Ooh, I like the sound of that~…"
"Get along with Natsumi."
"…Ooh, I hate the sound of that…"
"You don't have to be best buddies. That's a bit difficult with your personalies anyway… Just don't be as mean, maybe?"
"…Why? What's in it for you?"
"Nothing."
"Sounds suspicious to me… Do I need to get jealous, boo?"
"Jealous of what?"
Yuki wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, her hands caressing his cheek.
"Stop thinking about her… Just me… Don't waste a thought, on anything but me…"
"You're always in the back if my mind, boo, no matter what I do."
"That's good… But if Natsumi were dead, you'd stop thinking about her, yes?"
"I don't think about her in that way in the first place…"
"I know, boo… and for it to stay that way, you need to cut her out completely, do you understand? Do it for me…"
She began whispering into his ear, her lips occasionally brushing against him deliberately.
"I think—"
"Shhhhhh… It's just us in here… And so all you need to do is relax… and have the two be the only ones in your mind as well."
"You don't need to get jealous, I promise."
"Hm… But don't you like when I act a little jealous? When I get really possessive? It makes it feel okay when you feel those things about me… When you want me all to yourself. All my beauty, is it supposed to only meet your gaze and no one else's…? Does that not feel good? You can tell me, boo… Please tell me…"
"You are being extra seductive today… Is it that repulsive to you to bond with your sister?"
"Stop trying and you get a reward… Whatever you want~…"
"I want you to be comfortable, so I guess you win for now."
She gave him a kiss on the cheek, before pulling him out of the chair.
"Great! So it will be just the three of us after all."
"Yes…"
"Direct approach doesn't work either, huh… Now how do I get her into a healthy relationship with her sister without her noticing what I'm doing…"
"Boo! I know what you're thinking!"
"Do you now?"
"Yup!"
"I guess there's no point in hiding it then… Sorry for having perverted fantasies about you behind your back."
"It's only natural, since I'm so gorgeous, so I will forgive you this once! But only if you do it again!"
"I'll try my best, but we best get going. Phoebe wakes up at around this time."
"I can feel the family-time fun coming our way already!"
"Oh, boo, as perverted as your mind may be about me, I know you haven't given up on that Natsumi crap yet… You're too stubborn for that. So I guess you and I are going to play that kind of game now… You're so adorable, I wanna press myself into your face right now…! But I will do so only after having removed Natsumi fron your mind entirely.
And if that requires her literal removal… That would be really unfortunate for her~!"
As she teleported them into the upper section of the Cube, they went straight for Phoebe's room, where she was studying math, it seemed.
"Now, Lady Phoebe, we already established one thousand apples are being transported every month for the farmer to sell. Now, how many appples should he sell in two years?"
"Hmm… Phoebe thinks the farmer should sell as many as he wants!"
"That's very smart, Lady Phoebe and without a doubt correct. But how many should he sell if he wants to get rid of all the ones being transported to him within the two years?"
After a moment of careful consideration, Phoebe reached her conclusion. She responded almost smugly and full of certainty.
"Phoebe thinks that's a trick question. Because the farmer is secretly evil and turns all the apples into oranges! And fuss, he didn't sell anything. Cause no one wants his oranges!"
"That's… Very creative, Lady Phoebe… And I think you mean "thus". Where did you learn that word from?"
"Pheobe heard mommy use it once! And Pheobe said thus. But she forgives you for wrongfully correcting her, because she knows misses maid meant well! Phoebe is vers kind. Thus!"
"Thank you, Lady Phoebe. You certainly are… Now, what if we assume the farmer only has evil customers, that are eager to get their hands on his oranges? How much oranges could he sell in two years?"
Phoebe let out a sigh, looking at Petrisha with eyes that clearly already saw past this lesser problem.
"Silly misses maid… The farmer of course sold nothing still, because mommy and daddy don't allow that kind of evil plans to unfold. Thus!"
"I suppose my examples were unsuited for this… We will continue another time. Now, next is geography!"
"No! Phoebe doesn't wanna do geography!"
"But it's important—"
"Phoebe wants to do something else!"
"Sigh… Lady Phoebe—"
Thankfully, at that moment the door opened and Yamato and Yuki entered, saving Petrisha from having to come up with yet another way to rephrase the task, though she did not mind it that much either. As Phoebe noticed them, she immediately saw her way out of geography and ran up to them.
"Mommy, daddy, Pheobe's been studying a lot! She can even calculate 1000 times 24, which is 24,000!"
As Petrisha was left speechless by Phoebe apparently knowing the answer all along, Yamato patted her head.
"That's great, Phoebe. And do you know whaz 24.000 divided by 1000 is?"
"24! Because that's just like what I just did but all mixed up!"
"Because division is the inverse operation to multiplication."
"Yup! What daddy said!"
"What else have you been up to?"
"Nothing! Phoebe just finished her lessons for the day!"
"Are you sure? It's a bit early for that…"
"It's because Pheobe's so smart, she finished ahead of time!"
He gave Petrisha a quick glance, who just shook her head unnoticed to Phoebe while standing behind her.
"Well then, let me just tell Petrisha how great she's been teaching you and then—"
"N-no! You can't talk to misses maid! Because… Uh… Phoebe wasn't completely totally honest…"
"You don't say…"
"It's true… You've been fooled by her cute and smart personality… But the truth is, Phoebe hasn't finished all her lessons for today… All she did was a bit of math… But Phoebe doesn't wanna do geography…"
"But knowing at least a bit about it can be pretty helpful, y'know?"
"How so?"
"Well, what if you get lost and don't know which country you are in?"
"Can't Phoebe just ask someone for help?"
"I guess… But what if you don't speak their language?"
"But what good would knowing where Phoebe was do if she still wouldn't speak their language? And wouldn't mommy and daddy come pick her up?"
"Of course we would. But… Mommy has some great points to add that will convince you."
Phoebe's eyes turned up to Yuki, who could not care less about geography, since she .
"I-I sure do have plenty of reasons for you! Like… It's not just learning about towns and stuff! Knowing what regions are warmer or colder and why and when can be very helpful when deciding a vacation spot!"
"Mommy's right!"
"She sure is~! And knowing what kind of terrain awaits you will be helpful when deciding what shoes to wear!"
"That makes sense!"
"And if you want to travel between places, you will have to know how far apart they are, to estimate how long you will be traveling for!"
"Mommy's so smart!"
"Those were but one of many reasons why you should study whatever you can!"
"Phoebe will study hard, starting tomorrow!"
"Don't you have stuff to do today as well~?"
"Phoebe will save it for when she begins not holding back next week!"
"Ah… Okay, that's fine, I guess…"
"And when Phoebe begins next month, nothing will stop her from consuming all the knowledge and becoming the princess of wisdom!"
"Well, daddy and I are looking forward to it, princess of wisdom. Speaking of… Why have me explain geography to—…"
As Yuki turned around, it dawned on her that maybe this had been just a distraction. As Natsumi also entered the room, Yamato's plan suddenly seemed so simple and obvious, yet it was too late. She should have locked the door behind her and made sure he did not leave her sight. Which she would have done but Yamato's diversion made her focus on Phoebe instead. As it seemed, Yamato had won this round.