Yuuki was still sitting on her bed when Amanda came back in. The maid was surprised to find the little girl devoid of emotion.

“Is everything alright?” She asked with some worry in her voice.

“Yes. Please sit down.” Yuuki motioned to the spot next to her on the bed. The maid sat down with a questioning look. That questioning look turned into full blown confusion when The little girl pulled a brush out of thin air from in front of them. “Please brush my tail.”

“But I thought you didn’t like it?” Poor Amanda was getting mixed signals. The girl she thought to be sweet and energetic talked in a monotone way with no emotion in her voice. She had also contradicted how she had acted previously.

“I was told I shouldn’t lie about my emotions to people I can trust. I said I didn’t like it because it occupied too much of my mental capacity. It takes a toll on my combat readiness.” She saw the maid was still confused so she just continued. “I enjoy it too much. It’s distracting.”

The moment she said those words she was hugged tightly by Amanda. The maid was happy that despite no longer showing emotions as much, the adorable girl was still adorable if a bit strange. She also noticed that Yuuki’s tail was wagging around during the hug, reminding her of what she was meant to do. She took the brush and Yuuki put her tail in the maid’s lap.

When she began brushing it, she noticed that Yuuki began shaking and her face had turned to mach a tomato in color. She stopped for a moment. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I had previously disrupted receptors in the area to-” She realized the maid was not following her at all. “I made it go numb before. It’s sensitive.”

That was all what Amanda needed to hear to practically dive back into the soft fur. The two sat there in pure bliss for five minutes before they heard a knock on the door and the voice of another maid. “Are you ready, miss Yuuki?”

“I am.” Yuuki glanced at the brush with some regret as disappeared and stood up. 

Amanda was about to protest when she noticed Yuuki had the right clothes on already. “When did you change?” She asked in a hushed voice.

“I didn’t. It’s an illusion.” Sure enough, the same clothes were prepared next to the large wardrobe in her room. Amanda was going to say something else, but Yuuki had already left the room.

--

The dining hall was rarely used. A family of spies, saboteurs and counter-intelligence officers don’t usually hold banquettes. Instead, family member’s 5th, 16th and 25th birthdays, alongside their marriages are celebrated by the entire extended family. When Yuuki entered the hall, she saw four figures she knew: her father, mother, sister and brother. She also saw fifteen other kitsune figures she did not recognize. They were all standing in silence, just looking at her.

“Why are you using an illusion?” Asked the oldest looking female in the hall.

“I am expected to have a formal look. I also enjoy comfortable clothing. This fulfills both parameters.” Yuuki’s reply caused a few people to laugh and was all-in-all successful in breaking the silence of the room as conversations started. She walked over to where her parents were chatting with the old woman. Her mother just broke off from the conversation and picked Yuuki up in a tight hug.

“Still adorable.”

“Your standards for such high emotional reactions are disturbingly low.” Yuuki just said with a straight face. Her mother just laughed and hugged her even tighter. Yuuki didn’t protest and just went completely limp while looking at her father.

“I assume you told everyone about my… ‘condition’?”

The older kitsune was the one to reply. “Yes, he told us you don’t show much emotion, are as loyal and efficient as a golem and you could probably kill us all right now.”

Yuuki continued looking at her father. “I don’t recall sharing the extent of my abilities. Did you just guess?”

“No, I tried to use mind control on you as a test and you didn’t even notice. Also, to be reborn with your memories you most likely received help from a deity.”

“Mystra reincarnated me. She also said she’s modify my body so the first time I used magic I ‘wouldn’t blow a hole in the planet by accident’.” During the quote she mimicked the goddess’s voice and speech pattern. Yuuki’s mother stopped moving around and just stared at the other two adults awkwardly. Her father just stared at Yuuki before drinking what was in his glass in one swing and leaving towards one of the tables that had more alcohol. The old kitsune put a hand to her mouth and was barely containing her laughter.

“Right. So… I’m your grandma Abigail, nice to meet you.” She went over to pet Yuuki’s head. Yuuki just closed her eyes and leaned into the headpat.

--

During the rest of the evening dinner Yuuki talked with everyone a bit. Eric didn’t seem disturbed by the change in his sister’s mannerisms until she told him that if he didn’t stop being so willful he’d ‘have reduced chances of finding a mate’. Her sister, Hanae was as also as enthusiastic as ever to hug Yuuki with enough strength to hurt a normal five year old. Yuuki was not a normal five year old.

Yuuki’s eating habits also changed a bit. She just calmly walked over to the table with sweets began shoveling them into her mouth, claiming ‘I don’t need nutrients to sustain myself, only mana.’. Which was in fact true, but also true for other kitsune. They didn’t need food, but they enjoyed it. Hanae telling Yuuki she’d get fat from all those sweets was a joke. Yuuki did not get the joke.

As the evening was coming to a close Yuuki was led to one side of the room, with all guests lining up in front of her.

“Thank you all for coming to my birthday, I hope in the future we will get to know each other even better.” She then lifted her hand and looked at her palm. It had a small metal ring on the middle finger to conceal her aura. It was tradition to wear it until they removed it on the fifth birthday. Everyone was waiting for the big reveal: was everything said before true? Even the ones who wanted to believe everything had a hard time, but even the skeptics could agree: there was no point in lying if it would be revealed right away.

Yuuki considered her actions a bit before she lowered her hand and looked at the confused guests with a smile. There was a sound of shattering as metal pieces fell on the floor next to Yuuki’s legs. She then proceeded to release her aura. All of it. The ones in the room froze in cold sweat as the weight of a mountain was placed over them. It lasted only a second before the aura retracted so fast, it seemed as if it had just ceased to exist. The deafening silence was broken by the small girl herself.

“I hope our work together will be fruitful.” With those words Yuuki walked towards the exit without glancing to the side and left the hall.

“Did… did we just get threatened by a five year old?”

“I’m not sure. If that was her intention, it worked.”

“Do we tell her about the cake? I know she made a cool exit, but I think we should still tell her.”

In the end Yuuki was informed, went back to the hall as if nothing had happened and ate a large portion of the cake. It worked quite well to break the tension.

--

“I think you all know why I called this meeting.”

“Yes Ifrit, everyone felt it.” Another said dismissively.

“Then why, Zephyr, are you not concerned?”

“Because whatever that was is too big for us to worry about. It was probably some newbie god moving past the world. And if it wasn’t, it’s not like it’s hostile. If it was, we’d be dead.” Zephyr replied as if he was talking with a child.

“So that’s it? You just accept that there is a thing we can do nothing about?” The one named Ifrit asked irritably.

“Being outmatched is not a sin. Failing to recognize it is.” A female voice said coldly.

“This will get nowhere. The meeting is over. Any objections?” Zephyr said. No reply came.

Illiterate_potato

Now two day break before more chapters. Hope you enjoyed so far! :)