--

Alright.

As entertaining as it might be to let Primal Huntress – Sorry, Sveta, stew? As entertaining as it might be to provoke her? Tease at her complexes, pick away at her self-justifications and paranoia?

You did actually want to put Kisha through the wringer today.

Which you can't do if her sister's constantly hovering over her like some busybody.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" You ask, turning to Sveta.

"You can talk to me right here - " Sveta begins before you quickly pull her aside.

"Kisha, dear, wait right here, okay? Hey, Patricia, Rebecca! Take care of the new hire. Bring her something to drink, okay~?"

"Okay mistress Alice! I'm getting the tea now!" You hear Rebecca cheer.

"And I'll go find some sugar cubes and milk~!"

It's really so nice having minions who've been trained so well~!

You'll definitely have to do a group cuddling session with the maids at some point…

Sveta yanks her arm out of your grip once you've got her in a more secluded part of the lobby. The incognito Magical Girl continues to scowl. If looks could kill, the look she's aiming at you would've eviscerated you five times over. "Alright, now that we're alone, there's something - "

"Is your sister your pet?" You ask, taking the wind right out of this girl's sails.

"I – What?! No! The hell do you think - "

"Is your sister your prisoner then?" You continue, channeling a bit of essence into your throat, activating your pheromones. Just to impress the gravity of what you're about to say to Sveta.

"…" Sveta clamps her mouth shut. "Look. Lady. I don't know what you're implying - "

"Because even pets and prisoners get daily exercise. Even pets and prisoners need stimulation to keep them sane. Why are you denying your sister even that?"

Cute girls were never meant to languish, bored out of their minds in tiny cubicles and small apartments. Cute girls are meant to be doted on. To be lavished with affection, to have their heads patted and their bellies rubbed. Cute girls should always eat good food, drink clean water, and sleep in warm, cozy beds. Cute girls can't stay cute if they don't do these things.

And, of course, cute girls should be stuck in a state of constant debauchery and arousal~! Cute girls are the cutest when they're needy, blissed out of their minds with pleasure. Ah~! Girls are so soft, squishy and nice to hold…

But even that falls to the wayside if your poor darlings languish cold, alone, and afraid in a cruel world that goes out of its way to crush their hopes and aspirations.

So. Even you know that girls need something to keep them sane, so they can keep being cute. Purpose, pleasure, both in equal measure…

"Look," you continue. "I get you don't like me. You know what? I can live with that. I get it. You know I did a background check on your family when I went to hire Kisha, yes?"

"Is this you pretending to have a sense of empathy?" Sveta scoffs. "That's rich, coming from-"

"A corpo-cunt?" Your lips quirk up amusedly as Sveta's complexion pales. "That's right, I heard your earlier argument with your sister. Every. Last. Word. And if I were the corpo-cunt you thought I was, I'd have had security throw you out of the building."

"… You could've tried," Sveta bares her teeth. "You would've been surprised at how many corporate goons you'd need to kick me out of this building. Probably more than you've got.."

Oh, the baby Magical Girl's trying to be intimidating!

It's true, if you were a regular CEO she'd outclass you so much it isn't even funny. Even the weakest Magical Girl is worth entire squads of corporate soldiers. So you suppose Sveta's right to be confident; if you were a regular CEO there is actually nothing you could do to stop her if she felt threatened.

Except you aren't a regular CEO.

You're Alice Takanashi, Void Heart.

And this girl is entirely out of her league. You'd have been worried if she was as powerful as Infinity Princess, but she isn't. Infinity Princess was out slaying Kaiju minutes after receiving her Pact. When every other Magical Girl was out learning the ropes of their powers, Infinity Princess was kicking Lokwyn into orbit.

If Primal Huntress were anything like Infinity Princess, you'd be worried. Infinity Princess would eat you alive… And you'd let her. Anything for your love, after all~! Ah, you miss her every day…!

But Primal Huntress is no Infinity Princess, and she'd best learn that fact quick. Otherwise, monsters like your sexy self will do her in.

"Can you drop the open hostility, please? We're on the same team here. I genuinely like your sister."

"What, you want to turn her into one of your pets?" Sveta glances meaningfully at her sister. Kisha's currently being doted on by your maids. Rebecca and Patricia have brought her a tea tray, and the three are having a bit of an impromptu tea party. Even from here, you can hear the high-pitched sound of their laughter and giggling.

Aw, that's just cute.

"I'm going to ignore that because I understand that you're just trying to be a good big sister and that this had to have been a bit of a shock. But have you ever considered how your sister sees this?" You continue. "Because from where I'm sitting and where your sister's sitting, you're trying to sabotage her first chance at independence."

"What?!" Sveta snarls.

"I did a background check, remember? I remember the details. Your mother, Mariya, died in a monster attack trying to protect your sister. Your father, Mikhail? Never at home. He was always at work trying to put bread on the table, and then he died in a home invasion."

"Yeah, yeah, real heart-tugging stuff," Sveta snarks, a bitter tone coming into her voice.

"And then there's you, the big sis who's always had to look out for her little sis. Her little sis who can't walk, who's had to be sheltered her entire life. Have you ever thought about how she's felt, always being the one who has to be protected?"

Sveta goes silent at this last bit, a pained expression flickering across her features briefly.

"From Kisha's perspective, she's been denied the chance to stand on her on feet her entire life, by freak, cruel circumstances. Is it really any wonder she'd take the best opportunity she'd get to try and be independent? To be the kind of person her sister can rely on instead of having to rely on others constantly?" You finish.

Frankly, you're amazed Sveta hasn't taken a swing at you. You'd sort of expected her to, the girl really doesn't seem like she takes fools lightly. And she definitely hates everything corporate.

Well, the essence you're channeling to your voice and the calming pheromones you're emitting are probably affecting her cognition. She's thinking rationally now, a bit of the angry edge ebbing from her thoughts.

"Look, if you want to convince Kisha to quit her job here before she's even started her first day? That's fine. I'll sign the termination paperwork myself. But. Kisha has to agree to quit. And I get the feeling that she won't," you say. "So I'm just going to ask you a question. Are you really going to be the person who tramples your sister's hopes and aspirations like this?"

"… Shit," Sveta finally says. "… Should've expected a corpo to have a silver tongue. Damn, you're good."

"But?" You ask, raising an eyebrow and folding your arms below your chest.

"But I still don't buy what you're selling. This is Terminus City. Can you really blame me for being suspicious?" Sveta replies, folding her own arms across her chest and fixing you with a glare. "I… I just want to keep my sister safe, okay? Don't try to turn me into the villain here."

"I get it, but I'm not doing anything right now. This, right here? Your reaction? That's on you. So ask yourself. Are you trying to isolate and control Kisha? Or will you try to support her during this new period in her life?"

Gosh, that was a mouthful. All of it. You're thinking you need a throat lozenge and a glass of water now. Phew! Conversations can be so exhausting sometimes. You were almost tempted to just ramp up the amount of essence you were channeling just to get through this nonsense quicker.

Your words seem to have had an effect though. Sveta's shaking her head now, affecting a more relaxed posture. The incognito Magical Girl thrusts her arms into her pants pockets, turning to walk back towards her sister.

"… Alright. Fine. Whatever, I've got work in fifteen minutes myself. But I'm escorting my sister to her job every day, and I'm swinging by to pick her up every day. You'd better tell your creepy maids to expect me."

Yeah, you expected that much, but it's still kind of irritating to hear it. This means that you're probably not going to be able to make all the lovely modifications you want to Kisha right off the bat. Unless you want to make Sveta even more suspicious than she already is…

"Will do. We're done here?"

"… Yeah. We're done," Sveta speeds away. You watch as she approaches your gaggle of maids, shoves through the impromptu tea party in order to reach her sister. You watch as the two hold hands, as Sveta bumps her forehead against Kisha's and whispers something in her sister's ears.

And then she's off. She gives you one last glare through the window of your lobby before she leaves, speeding away in a beat-up junker of a car. A few seconds later a rush of mana washes over you, and you shiver.

Ah, the familiar feeling of a Magical Girl transforming. That'd be Primal Huntress heading off for patrol.

Which means… That you're all alone with Kisha now.

Fabulous!

You clap your hands together gleefully as you approach your new hire. She looks up at you somewhat wonderingly as you approach her, a cup of tea still steaming in her hands.

"… What did you say to Sveta to get her to change her mind?" Kisha asks. "Sveta never changes her mind!"

"I just got her to think about what you wanted for a change, instead of what she thinks you want. It didn't take a whole lot of convincing. That's a good sister you have there. She cares about you, a lot."

"Mmh," Kisha nods, takes a sip of her tea.

"I see why you fell in love with her," you continue casually, and Kisha spews her tea all over her tray. Your pet-to-be coughs, hacks, swipes the towel one of your maids offers her to wipe down her blouse.

"Did you really just say that-" Kisha begins to say.

"Oh, you're in love with your sister?" Patricia claps her hands together gleefully. "That's so cute! I'm in love with my sister too, right Rebecca!"

"Totally, Patty," Rebecca cheers, glomping her sister. "We, like, do things all the time now that mistress Alice removed our pesky inhibitions and made us super cute! We give each other ear scratches, we go get the most gorgeous matching outfits together…"

"And we have sex all the time!" Patricia finishes. "Rebecca. I love you!"

"Aw~! I love you too, Patty~!"

"… Eh…?" Kisha stammers, pointing from one catgirl maid to the other. "They're… They're seriously…"

"I told you, didn't I?" You say, affecting a bit of a smug tone now. "That I'd allow you to express your true feelings towards your beloved sister, yes?"

"…" Kisha's face goes red and you laugh.

Hee. How adorable. You can't wait to break her of her pesky inhibitions and hangups…

"Now then, I think we've got to get a move on. We've got a big day ahead of us!" You grin.