In the Darklands lived many races that were driven out of most other countries. People with demonic ancestry, vampires, lycanthropes and much more. Despite being called monstrous aberrations the peoples of this land had laws and roads and healthcare and many other things just as if not more advanced than its neighbors. It did not have nobility however. It was governed by the representatives of each race making the one of two nations on the continent to be a sort of democracy. Despite not having nobles, there were many influential families that rose to power through extended service. One such example would be house Kirigaya. They were kitsune, an offshoot of fox-kin with demonic heritage. As masters of illusions, manipulation and a tendency to devour the memories of their prey, they were hunted in all other countries with little success. In the Federation however, they were the most prestigious spies and saboteurs

-- Unified calendar 816

"Miss Yuuki, please come down, dinner is almost ready!"

A black haired maid with pale skin yelled while looking around in a large garden. The young lady of house Kirigaya enjoyed spending large amounts of time on treetops for whatever reason. 

"Coming!" A young voice replied from high up. By the time the maid had looked around to locate the source, she heard the light rustling of leaves from behind her.

She turned to see the now five year old Kitsune with healthy flawless skin, violet eyes, white hair and fur and her favorite set of clothes: plain black pants and a t-shirt.

"Lets go!" The young girl beamed at the black haired woman causing the her personal maid to get a nosebleed. "You alright?" the maid just covered her lower face with one hand and gave a thumbs up with the other. Yuuki gave an innocent and confused look which only made the situation worse.

--

Yuuki was walking alongside her personal maid when she felt a presence attempt to sneak toward her. She recognized it and continued, feigning ignorance. The next moment she was hugged and lifted up.

“Eric! Stop!” She cried out with faked annoyance while flailing her small limbs in protest. Her brother only laughed and continued the hug, seemingly oblivious to the performance in front of him.

“So cruel! You see me once a year and this is how you treat me. I’m so sad, you know.” He said while patting her head. Yuuki just pouted a bit and let out an adorable growl. Eric put her down and pet her head a bit more with a large smile on his face.

“See you at dinner!” And with a wave Eric walked into the manor.

Yuuki looked at her brother’s back analytically before putting on a smile once more to face her maid.

“Do I have to change clothes?” She asked with pleading eyes.

“I’m afraid so, formal wear is required for such a prestigious event.” Yuuki didn’t understand how such inefficient clothing would be required for anything but kept quiet.

After going back to her room with her maid Yuuki lied down on her bed, while her maid got the clothing ready, and just stared at the ceiling with a blank expression. That was when there was a knock on the door.

“May I come in?” It was her father.

“Sure!” Yuuki exclaimed energetically and sat up on her bed with a smile.

“Could we have the room to ourselves, Amanda?”

“Of course Mister Kirigaya.” The maid curtsied and left the room. After the door closed behind him, Yuuki’s dad just sat down on the floor and stared into his daughter's violet eyes with a pained expression.

“Are you alright dad?” Yuuki asked with genuine confusion but faked worry.

“No I’m not. it turns out my daughter either doesn’t feel emotions or has no soul. And I’ve felt your aura when you were born so it’s sure as hell not the latter.”

Yuuki’s face turned completely blank in a split second. “I see. Do you have any inquiries?”

His eyes went wide but he put on his professional mask and got a hold of himself. “Who are you?”

“Yuuki Kirigaya. It was changed 5 years 3 hours and 34 minutes ago. Before that my designation was I.S.A. Gamma 3147.”

“You were created by scientists?”

“Negative. I was born a human. I underwent a series of modifications to improve usefulness.”

“What were these changes?”

“Metallic alloy injections into the skeletal system, replacement of muscles with artificial ones, bionic eye and ear implants, blood injected nanomachines to improve healing and cerebral reprogramming.”

If it wasn’t for his ability to understand sentient creature’s intentions when speaking combined with passive telepathic abilities, he wouldn't have understood much.

“And this ‘reprogramming’. Is that why you can’t feel emotions?”

“Correct. Emotions were deemed a liability in independent decision making.”

“Why did you pretend?”

“Among my jobs is to blend in.”

“But why did you tell me then?”

“My main objective is to serve my country. You are my superior.”

“Why would this be ‘your country’? Isn’t it the one that made the modifications?”

“The country I serve is the one I was born in. After I died, when I got the chance to be reborn I learnt that my original country has already been destroyed. I concluded that in order to continue my mission I must be born in a new country and serve it.”

He was good at his job, but it still took a lot from him to maintain professionalism in a situation like this. “Why did you pretend to have emotions with us?”

“I believe I already answered that question.”

“No you answered why you would normally do it. Why pretend with your so called ‘superiors’? Aren’t you supposed to tell us?”

“You did not ask before. You asked now and I answered.”

“So lying to your ‘superiors’ is the normal behavior?”

For the first time in the conversation Yuuki broke eye contact and took a few seconds before answering. “No data available on this topic.”

Yuuki’s father stood up and embraced her in in a hug. “I don’t care if you have memories of a past life or not. You are my daughter. I am here to help you. We all are.” He looked at Yuuki and put his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t fake emotions just to make us happier.”

“Is that an order?”

“It’s a request.”

“What is the difference?”

“You only have to follow it if you want to.”

“I do not care for my preferences. I carry out my missions and that is it.”

“So you do have them?” He asked with a hopeful smile.

“This body’s biology reacts differently to stimulus. These reactions could be classified as ‘preferences.’”

“Alright. I hereby order you to do activities in your free time that you find enjoyable.”

“...understood.”

“We’ll talk more at dinner.” With that he smiled warmly, pet Yuuki’s head and left the room.