I Got Reincarnated! - Kitsune Chronicles
~Extra Chapter~ Season's Greetings: The Spirit of Christmas!
"So... this will help with my heat spikes?" Kayo questioned, skeptical of the strange blue pill her kitsune brother, Deigo, had set in front of her to take. Having received it from their father who was still in the Beast kingdom, Euranazia. While the kitsune leader trusted her brother, she knew he wasn't naïve or stupid, at least compared to their normal company. She was very distrustful of the older void kitsune and his strange disappearance, not to mention her siblings wouldn't tell her anything even when she threatened to make them test subjects for dangerous experiments.
They knew she didn't have the heart to be that cruel to them.
"Yes, you're the only one of us who hasn't taken it out of our littler. It works fine, trust me. Unless you can stop exhausting red and blue with baby making-." He teased, suppressing a laugh as Kayo choaked on her coffee that was in a dark blue mug.
"We are not making babies!" Kayo choaked, her face nearly ghosts white as she glared at her brother who only grinned as his lone white tail wagged behind him. "Right, that's why you were at the hospital so early this morning getting a health scan." He pointed out as Kayo was quiet, whipping up the spilled coffee, thankful they used wooden tablets so none of her work got ruined.
"Don't make my hospital staff break confidentiality." she hissed at him, but the kitsune just looked confused by the large word. "It means to keep secret and Private." Kayo explained, her 4th eldest sibling not having the most advanced vocabulary. "I haven't been feeling well, and NOT because I might be with child." Kayo explained and ran a hand threw her wavy pearlescent locks, leaving it loose as the demon ribbon was around her left wrist, setting another wooden tablet in front of her. Dressed in a slightly baggy crimson t-shirt with a white sash wrapped around her hips, black slacks covering her legs as she went bare foot in her office as she usually did. Her winter coat, scarf and boots near the door to slip on if she need to go outside, setting an example for the ones who admired the kitsune to stay warm.
"Like you not eating more?" He asked, glancing at the barely touched breakfast Shuna had brought his sister before he had entered. Kayo sighed, she had eaten a little to not worry the young kijin, pushing It over to her brother. "It's fine, I already had breakfast. Can you finish it for me? I don't want to worry Shuna." she asked, and her brother looked unsure. "Do you not like it? You know you can just tell her and-"
"I'm just not hungry, okay. Souei has made sure I'm not skipping meals nor snacking too much." Kayo reasoned, having eaten the simple breakfast Souei had made her and Benimaru after their first night of tiring her out. She didn't want to get up after that night and it made the kitsune blush pink at the memory, the ninja becoming dangerously curious about her other kinks.
"Oh!? He made you breakfast. I didn't know he could cook." Deigo mussed before Kayo shook her head, going back to her work as her brother finished her breakfast. "Not so much cooking as is easy to make and the minimal food to survive. He was an orphan in the Oni village along with Shion from what Master Hakuro has told me." she explained with a worried frown, having better understood why Shion thought wearing undergarments was more of a suggestion then common practice. Not to mention what she considered food, let alone cooking. Souei was only a little better because his food was edible but lacked flavor, explaining why he prefers little to no spices in his meals.
"So, you're going Mommy Mode then?" Deigo mussed, just eating the rest of his sister's breakfast as she glared at him. "I do not have a Mommy mode; I just want them to grow and learn to take care of themselves better, eating good food is a basic right. It seems no one form the Oni village seemed to have really taken more time than necessary to teach them any more than the skills for basic survival. Souei is my mate and Shion is... close to Rimuru-nii-san." Kayo explained, having tried to explain what the purple kijin was to her slime brother but struggled to find the right word for it.
"What does Eros say about it?" the curious kitsune asked, but Kayo stayed quiet, doing her work like she hadn't heard him. "Sis... how compatible is she with Slime-nii-san?" he asked before there was a little bell jingling.
"Who's compatible with who now?" Rimuru asked as he rolled into Kayo's office, besides the double doors, there was the small flap that connected the two leader's offices that they were both able to use freely. Deigo took the empty plate and left the office to put them away in the kitchen, Kayo's eyes glaring at him, knowing he would tell on her to Shuna anyway.
"It's not important. What brings you over to the dark side slime ball?" Kayo joked, setting aside her work so that Rimuru could hop onto her desk. The slime taking a moment to look on enviously at her tall, completed work piles before he noticed the blue pill.
"Are you feeling, okay? What's with the pill?" He questioned, a little worried she had been working more then she should... and drinking too much coffee as she took another sip from the dark blue mug that was unofficially Souei's. "I'm fine. Deigo dropped off something from our Sire that is supposed to help with my heat." Kayo explained, glaring at the pill that was the size of a gumball.
"He's just giving it to you NOW?" Rimuru asked, sounding almost as annoyed as Kayo felt. "It hasn't been too bad but-" Kayo was saying while Rimuru was distracted by Great Sage reporting about the odd pill, Kayo grabbed the slime and hugged him to her chest, nuzzling her cheek into his cool surface. "I heard you translated my journal. So... what did you think? Rimuru-nii-san~?" the kitsune asked, in a rather low and breathless voice that had the slime slowly turn pink... it didn't help that he did read the lewd slime stories she had written inside.
"It was... interesting... Oh! And the pill is safe to eat! So go ahead and take it right now." He chirped and tried to slip out of her hold, but she held onto him. "Aww thank you Nii-san~. I wish there was a way I could show you all my love." She purred, gently rubbing the slime as he was pressed into her soft warm chest. If she had not been his little sister, Rimuru would have let himself enjoy this delightful sensation, her hands tingling pleasantly as they rubbed his gelatinous body before he recognized what was going on... and what would come later if this continued.
"AGH! NO! NO! NO! STOP! TAKE YOUR PILL! NOW!" Rimuru yelled in a panic, taking on his humanoid form, so he could quickly grab the pill and shove it into Kayo's mouth. The kitsune swallowed the pill, trusting Rimuru(Great Sage)'s information, only to smirk and playfully lick his palm afterwards. Rimuru shivered and blushed, pulling his hand away but ended up sitting on her desk with her hands on his hips.
"Your never gonna lose your virginity at this rate, Nii-san~." Kayo teased, smirking as she slowly ran her hands over his covered thighs, making his face turn an adorable dark red, his jaw dropped in shocked disbelief. Wide golden eyes looked into glowing narrowed ones as she rested her hands on his knees, her thumbs teasingly slipping between them, ready to pull them apart.
"I-it didn't work!?" Rimuru questioned, looking terrified before Kayo bust out laughing.
"Cha ha ha ha! How to lewd a slime #1: Massage. Due to their bodies being mostly liquid with a thin membrane. They can easily be cooed with simple water manipulation, add a bit of magicules slightly to the fingers tips and they coo like a baby~." Kayo explained as Rimuru glared at her.
"It's not funny! How do you know that!?" he asked, feeling a bit terrified and curious before he carefully returned to his slime form. Not moving when Kayo plopped him into her lap and started petting him... he could feel what she had just told him happening, her fingers feeding him a steady stream of magicules and created small whirls happing inside his slime body. It felt nice and without the threat of his virtue being taken, it was a very relaxing feeling.
"Would you be mad if I captured a few slimes? I've been running some... tests on them. I was just curious about somethings. I've been taking good care of them regardless, and they keep my hospital nice and clean too." Kayo admitted as she could tell Rimuru enjoying her petting, feeling the strange cooing that slimes did when very happy and relaxed coming from him.
"No. It's fine. Just don't name them." Rimuru warned, not sure what would happen if she did name a slime but for some reason the kitsune had stopped the petting, snapping him out of the peaceful daze. "You... named a slime, didn't you?" Rimuru asked, looking up at the silent kitsune who gave a nervous smile. "To be fair nothing extreme really happened, other than them being able to recognize their names and simple commands... I think." Kayo admitted sheepishly, feeling the slime giving her a suspicious look as she hadn't seen much change in the captured slimes she had working at the hospital.
"Can I check it out?" he asked, slightly curious about his brethren slimes.
"Sure. Let me get on my coat and we can walk there, and we check on some things on our way there." The Kitsune suggested after a while and set him on her desk so she could get on her winter gear. Rimuru meanwhile took a peek at some of her work, confused as he didn't recognize most of it. "Hey Kayo... how come I've never seen most of these? The hospital stuff sure but... the Accounting, Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Legislation and even the Military are reporting to you." he asked, confused and a bit worried with her taking on so much work. While he was just approving the building permits, Vesta and Gabiru's research, shops, and festivals most of the time.
"Well for one thing: I set up the accounting team as well as provided most of the dwarven coin sitting in the vault." Kayo explained. "We have a vault!?" Rimuru asked in shocked confusion before Kayo gave him a that annoyed unblinking stare at his surprise. "S-sorry go on." he apologized quickly before Great Sage informed him of the location and access code to get into the nation's vault, as well as his own that Kayo had been personally putting money into for him... and how much was currently inside shocked the slime into vowing to listen to his little sister more.
"Not to mention so far, we have been working on solidifying the foreign relations with Dwargon and a few human kingdoms. Father has tasked me with handing the trades on Dwargon's behalf so there's no real conflict with our relation there. Just a little fabrication to not look too suspicious should any one look into it." She explained, Rimuru was a little amused she called the Dwarf King father, and was handling that relation well, being one of Tempest's leaders and the Heir to Dwargon was useful for both nations.
"I've also been speaking with Fuze about what to trade with Belumund. Once winter is over and we have a road leading to the nation, the only problem is what Blumund can trade with us so far. I've made up several proposals that are ready to send to you for approval, AFTER YOU READ them." Kayo voiced sternly and pulled out 4 tablets to show him from her complete pile. Rimuru couldn't help but be impressed by each one, however none of them seem very fair for the human nation, yet the slime wisely kept that to himself as Kayo kept going.
"Internally I've been meeting with a few of the leaders of different villages that live within the Jura Forest and near our borders. There are still several villages we have yet to make proper contact with, however. Rigurd has introduced me to Koby, a kobold merchant, so internal trading has gone very smoothly thanks to him but he's a bit shy. Regurd, Rogurd, and Rugurd have been meeting with me to go over the laws and punishments a bit more, but they seem to be doing just fine without my intervention. As for the military don't you remember putting Benimaru and Souei under MY command after Treyni made me the new Guardian of the Jura Forest?" Kayo finally asked, amazing the slime how much she could ramble on and how much work she had been doing. He could tell she was cutting a lot out for his sake, and even then, some of it was a lot for him to personally process.
"Oh! Right... Um, you think you can give them to- N-never mind." Rimuru asked but got a rather nasty glare before he finished his sentence, but Kayo sighed. "Do you want Benimaru to work under you? Souei has always reported to me, it's become more like a bad habit. Right Souei?" Kayo asked as she slipped on her boots, before Souei appaired from her shadow and helped her put on her coat before she grabbed her scarf.
"S-souei!? How long have you been here?" Rimuru asked, shocked and confused at the sudden appearance of the Ninja kijin, unlike the kitsune who wasn't surprised at all. "The whole time. So, yes, he did see me try and seduce you." Kayo explained bluntly with an amused smirk, only the slime turned bright pink, avoiding looking at the kijin who had a very good poker face, but was amused by his kitsune mate's attempt.
"Souei. How long has Kayo been doing... all this?" Rimuru questioned, holding up a wooden tablet, the kijin kneeled before him and bowed his head out of respect. "Lord Rimuru. Lord Kayo has been completing this work and more, diligently after you finished naming the orcs. She did not want the Orc's to go hungry again nor to overwhelm anyone with their large population. She personally ensured they had shelter, clothing, and food. The result being the establishment and stability of 4 Orc villages around the Jura Forest currently. Much to the detriment of herself, she lost quite a bit of weight during that time." Souei reported before getting a fluffy white tail to the face.
"Oi! Don't tell him that." Kayo scolded the ninja who seemed unfazed but smirked a little at her cute pout and glare she gave him. "How much weight?" Rimuru inquired, becoming bit worried before Kayo just picked him up. "It doesn't matter I gained it back and more. Let's just go slime ball." Kayo avoided the questioned and walked out of her office with him as Souei slipped back into her shadow.
While Rimuru wanted to ask, he thought it was best he didn't, only Great Sage did inform him that Kayo was still a bit underweight for a kitsune. So, he gently encouraged the kitsune to accept the snacks offered along the way.
~Tempest Research Hospital, Slime Garden~
"Wow... this place is really nice." Rimuru voiced a bit amazed to see a pleasant greenhouse like place attached to the hospital. Still being carried by Kayo as he looked down at the common slimes that rolled over to Kayo the moment she entered. It was a warm grassy place, a few flowers, bushes, and trees around with a pond that the slimes seemed to hop out of.
"You sure are popular." He joked as the slimes gathered around the kitsune's feet and almost her tails before she took on a more human form to put them away. "It's only because I'm leaking magicules and familiar to them. They're still very simple creatures despite being named." Kayo explained and went to where there was a rope swing hanging from a tree.
Rimuru then notice that there also seemed to be simple toys and a slide in the slime aera. "Hey, is all this just for the slimes?" he asked her, amused that the slimes still followed her as she sat on the swing to give Rimuru a good look at everything.
"Yes and No. We also used this place as a playground for some of the sick little ones. The slimes can play on everything too as well as clean it to help prevent any more sickness from spreading. I may have messed with them a little to make them Sanitation slimes so whatever surface they move across gets rid of germs." Kayo admitted as Rimuru could see the slight difference between them and the wild slimes he had met in summer. These slimes where much more transparent and where different colors, most where a light green, with a few having yellow, pink, gray, and blue tints to them. Possibly from the flowers they had eaten but it gave them an interesting color that made them look different from each other.
"Little ones? Wait you mean there are sick kids here!?" Rimuru asked shocked, looking at Kayo who gave a sad sigh. "Unfortunately, but most of them are humans that require some careful treatment to-" Kayo was explaining before the colorful slimes hopped away from her suddenly, with the light green ones not moving.
"Lord Kayo!" Several young children came into the aera, followed by a tan scaled Dragonewt that Rimuru didn't remember naming, dressed in the light blue scrubs of the hospital staff. Quickly the two siblings were surrounded by excited human children, each of them hugging a colorful slime in their small arms that had white bands around their wrists, light green hopital scrubs seeming a little too big on their bodies. "Hey guys, good to see I got all of you at a good time." She smiled; a bit relived to see that all the children were present before looking to their attendant. "Have they been good, Ryoko?" Kayo asked the attendant who smiled in amusement. "As good as they can be. They bribed me to come and check on the slimes for you." the female dragonewt mussed and showed the kitsune the little paper stars the children had given her. Kayo chuckled at the joke as Rimuru was being watched by several pairs of eyes before the kitsune realized her mistake.
"Ah? Hi. I'm Rimuru Tempest. Kayo's-" Rimuru was introducing himself before the children all screamed suddenly. "IT TALKED!" They yelled, startling the adults as they all held onto their slimes worriedly.
"Yeah. This is My big brother, Rimuru, I've been telling yall about. Rimuru these are some of the children I've brought here from the human villages to be treated." Kayo explained but she added more via thought communication. 'These kids are orphans, so there is no one to really look after them. On top of that they have some serious illness that a healing potion won't fix, so don't offer to cure them.' She explained quickly, but Rimuru was still confused. Hopping out of her lap to take on his humanoid form, smirking as the kids' eyes widen and sparkled in amazement.
"Hello. I guess this form would be easier to talk with." He mussed before being swarmed by curious children asking about him and their slime friends.
"Looks like Lord Rimuru just stole your little fan club Lord Kayo." Ryoko joked as Kayo shook her head with a small smile. "It's fine. Let them torment the slime ball for me." The kitsune joked and watched as Rimuru tried to explain why their slimes would not be like him, looking to Kayo for help but she ignored it as the kids dragged the slime leader away to play with them.
~Later, Rimuru's Office~
"Eat it." Rimuru commanded sternly, Kayo glared at the sliced bell peppers Rimuru was 'feeding' her after a rather big lunch Shuna had made for her but held back the strawberry short cake she had made for dessert. "I don't wanna~." Kayo whined, sounding a bit like a child and she pushed the plate away, crossing her arms stubbornly. Rimuru in his slime form sat on his desk, annoyed that his sister had left him at the mercy of several children that had come to adore slimes. While not his idea to try and feed her bell peppers, Shuna had not been very happy to learn Kayo was skipping meals again.
"You will stay there until they are eaten." Rimuru told her firmly, Kayo just huffed and brought both her legs up on the couch, of course taking her shoes off before she pulled out one of the magic tomes she was supposed to be studying. "Fine by me, my work is done so I can take a break." the kitsune reasoned, sulking about missing out on the tempting strawberry short cake, mentally cursing her kitsune brother for tattling.
After reading a few lines of the very advanced magic tome, the kitsune set it on her face and went to sleep, Rimuru not stopping her as he quietly did his work. Only stopping for a bit to cover his napping kitsune sister with a warm pink blanket.
~Void Space~
"Look! I made one of you, Kuro!" Agape happily showed the imprisoned demon the cute plush she had created of him, one of his eyes where black with gold thread while the other was just a gold button with black thread, the one he had stolen from the kitsune leader. Kuro looked at the little one with mild interest, but was uninterested in the, admittedly cute, plushie she presented to him. Her hair had also turned white, but her golden eyes had turned a familiar crimson that reminded the demon of an old acquaintance. He was more intent on studying the Sacred Text, Gokushufudō (The Way of the Househusband) that contained some very interesting information the imprisoned Dragon had boasted about, but it seemed even he was unable able to get access this series within Rimuru's stomach, much to the dragon's displeasure.
"That's good, but your other self has my arm. You will need to rip it off to make it accurate." he mused as the child blinked and looked at the plushie before looking back at him. "But you're gonna get it back once you get out." she admitted, tilting her head in confusion before one of her older selves found her talking with Kuro.
"Agape, go play with Jester." Kayo told her young self, concerned that the young facet was taking a liking to the demon. "but... Jester is asleep again. No one else will play with me." Agape muttered, looking down dejectedly as she hugged her new demon plushie tightly, making her older self-feel bad for not giving the child enough attention, even if the child would get over it... eventually? "How about you keep Nii-san company then? I'm sure he will play with you." She suggested as Agape's crimson eyes widen in excitement.
"Really! Yay! Thank you, Mommy!" She squealed and hugged her older self before running off. Kayo giving a little smile as she knew just spending time with the slime would be enough to make the little one happy. "The Slime will just make her eat those bell peppers." the demon voiced before his prison suddenly got more cramped, his knees quickly meeting with his chest. Kayo glared at him, having forgotten about the disgusting vegetables.
"R-right, anyway what's the status of undoing the prisons now?" Kayo asked, changing the subject but not expanding the demon's prison as a small punishment.
~Agape~
"Rimuru-nii-san~! Play with me!" Agape whined as her small body sat on his desk while the slime tried to do his work, ignoring the pesky fox child bugging him for attention. Agape in just Kayo's red shirt with the sash around her middle tied into a bow on her left side, sat on his desk pouting and demanding his attention. "Not now, Agape. I have to work. It's not fair your older self does all the work. Just wait a bit okay. Be a good girl, and maybe Santa Claus will leave you a nice gift." He reasoned threw her pestering but didn't think too much about what he had said until the little kitsune stopped.
"Thunder... Cross?" Agape questioned, confused mostly by the slime's Japanese accent.
"Santa Claus. You know, the man in the red suit that rides around in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer that leaves presents for good little boys and girls on Christmas?" Rimuru explained, confused why Agape seemed so bewildered before she gasped in understanding. "Oh! You mean Pancho Claus! Silly Nii-san, he drives a really shiny red lowrider to brings presents AND food!" Agape told him with a beaming smile, stunning the slime, who had no idea what she was talking about.
"Pancho Claus? Low... rider? Is he like Santa Claus?" he questioned, wondering if it was a weird American thing again, since she did mention that he brought presents, but he was sure Santa didn't bring food, as most left HIM food in the form of milk and cookies. "Yeah! Mr. Reyes would dress up in cool a red suit and an awesome fedora, every year for deliver gifts and food to lots of people. He even gave me a red, toy low rider like his! The Tamales were always hot and really yummy! Are we going to bring Christmas here too Nii-san?" Agape asked excitedly, her single tail wagging excitedly behind her, droll coming out of her mouth as her golden eyes sparkled with pure and innocent excitement.
"Wait... there isn't Christmas in this world? Do they even have a Santa?" Rimuru questioned before there was a firm knock at the door. "PAPA!" Agape yelled excitedly, recognizing the knock as she jumped off the desk to run to the door just as it opened, and a confused Rigurd slid one of the doors open at the familiar shout. Confused as he saw the little kitsune running up to him excitedly, arms raised as a sign she wanted to be picked up. His fatherly instincts kicking in and picking up the kitsune child who gave a familiar innocent giggle he recognized.
"Ah. Lord Kayo, so this is where you've been." the goblin king mussed as he pets her head, holding her in one arm as she gave him a hug. "Yeah! Nii-san wants to know if you know about Sandy Claws!" Agape immediately asked, but the goblin king just looked at her in confusion.
"Sandy Claws? Is that a sort of Crab?" Rigurd questioned before Rimuru piped up. "She means Santa Claus. Have you ever heard of him Rigurd?" The slime asked but Rigurd was still confused. "Thunder cross? Is that a new attack Lord Rimuru?" The goblin questioned, also misunderstanding the slime as Agape giggled, she could see Rimuru was struggling to explain.
"Um, well Christ... in the olden days, a great man was born." Rimuru started but only got a confused look from the goblin king, and surprisingly a low growl from a glaring little kitsune as he mentioned Jesus. Rimuru tensed, he remembered that religion was a bit of a sore sport for Kayo. "Uh, no. It doesn't have to be about that person faith but, Ah..." Rimuru tried to think of how to describe Christmas.
"To decorate you bring a Fur tree inside... There's Cake to eat and Turkey, and presents." he mentioned, but it had been a long time since he celebrated Christmas, outside of work that is. It didn't help that his boss had made him work Christmas because he was single. That and Rimuru didn't like the idea of taking a long trip back to his parents' house for the holiday, lugging around gifts for his brother's young kids after he had ruined the magic of Christmas for him around their age, so it didn't bring many good feelings.
"Where is the Sandy Claws then?" Rigurd asked, confused by the kitsune's reaction to Rimuru's words, the kit pouted into his shoulder and held onto him tightly. The goblins fatherly senses telling him something was wrong.
"Santa Claus, he breaks in at night and knows when kids are asleep to-." Rimuru was saying before Rigurd shouted. "He breaks in!? What does he do while the children are sleeping!?" the old goblin asked, startling the slime as he could see the deadly protective aura around the goblin king.
"H-he just leaves them gifts if they're good. Ah. In the end it's all about the drinking, eating, singing and giving gifts. A feast!" Rimuru explained very simply and looked at the quiet kitsune child that still clung to Rigurd. 'Kayo. A little help please?' He pleaded with the kitsune as the goblin looked very excited.
"I see. That's splendid! Now I understand, Lord Rimuru. What about your idea's, Lord Kayo? I'm sure you have some thoughts about this Feast as well." he asked and Agape pulled away, tears in her eyes that shocked them. "Lord Kayo!? What has upset you!? You can tell papa! I will make sure it gets taken care of right away!" Rigurd offered and set the upset kitsune on Rimuru's desk, the slime also looked concerned.
"C-can I still get a present? Even if I'm too old for one?" She asked, looking at Rimuru who was confused. "To old? What are you talking about? Everyone gets presents on Christmas, no matter their age." He told her, reminded of the present his mother would always send him, the scarf Shuna had knitted him reminded him a lot of her last gift before he got stabbed and reincarnated.
"R-really?" Agape questioned, looking a bit hopeful, her tail wagging slowly. "C-can I still get food too?" She asked, the question sounding strange coming from such a young child. It made the slime wonder about Kayo's childhood in her pervious life a bit more. "Of course, Lord Kayo! It's not a feast without lots of food! What would you like as a gift then?" the goblin king asked, egger to know what the selfless kitsune leader wanted as a gift. Rimuru was also curious about what Kayo would want, finding it hard to think of something that she couldn't already get.
"Love!" Agape answered honestly, beaming at the goblin who looked at Rimuru in confusion, and the slime looked back at him, just as confused by the request for love by the innocent little child.
~Next Day, Dwargon~
"Father. Lord Rimuru of Tempest has sent you this gift in honor of the celebration he calls, Christmas." Inari explained and presented a large brown box that was tied closed with a red and gold ribbon to the Dwarf king. While she didn't need to keep up the act, it was better to stay in character in the Dwargon throne room, where she had presented the gift to him while kneeling.
"Bring it forth my child. I trust you ensured its delivery?" Gazel asked, trying not to show how amused he was, seeing Inari in her guard uniform, the hallmate hiding her white hair, and she had taken on a shift for this reason.
"Of course." She nodded and got off her knee and smirked at the king who curiously eyed the box. 'Wanna try it on~?' She playfully thought, being careful not so spoil what was inside for the king who chuckled and gave a warm smile. Directing her to a changing room connected to the throne room, while gone, The Captain of the Pegasus knights, Dorf entered dressed in his armor looking a little confused as he spotted the empty king's throne.
"Your Highness?" Dorf called out in confusion before he heard a door open from behind the throne, seeing a large crimson and black clad form appear form the doorway. "Captain Dorf, have you come to deliver your report?" Gazel asked, smirking in amusement as the captain stared at his new attire with his jaw dropping open and face turning red.
The dwarf king draped in a crimson cloak lined with dark fur that stopped just a few inches from the floor, under that was a pair of boots, with the legs of some rather flattering pants tucked into them, held up by a wide red and gold embordered sash that had the emblem for Dwargon Royalty on both of its ends, then there was the very tight-fitting red shirt under it that exposed a bit of the king's chest with some dark brown chest hair peeking out teasingly.
"Dorf? Dorf~? Hello? Anyone home?" Inari called out to the stunned captain, waving a hand in front of his face to get him to respond again, even poking his cheek seemed unable to get his response.
"Captain Dorf? You have a report to give to me?" Gazel spoke, amused as his captain finally blinked and responded. "Y-yes your highness. It's about the outpost that Lord Kayo has allowed us to build in the Jura Forest." he started, clearing his throat before jerking away from Inari's finger that had just poked him again, mostly out of shock. "L-lady Inari!? When did you get here?" he asked, taking a step back to look at the Dwargon heir who smirked deviously at him. "I've been here the whole time~. Doesn't my father look great in the attire Tempest has gifted him?" She asked and Dorf looked a little embarrassed, glancing back at the king who seemed to be amused and let his heir continue.
"Y-yes, he looks magnificent. Um? About the outpost... there seems to have been a bit of a... situation." Dorf started, unsure of who to report to as he was one of the few who knew Inari Dwargo was Kayo Tempest. "Situation?" Inari questioned, concerned but Gazle only looked a little surprised before chuckling at what the situation was before Dorf pulled out a little red bag tired closed with a small white bow. "Yes, these little things appeared in the knights boots this morning. They seem to be filled with small candies, oranges and nuts? You wouldn't happen to know why, Lady Inari?" he asked her confused at why she was chuckling.
"Oh! I guess I never informed you guys. It's a tradition in Tempest to find small gifts in your shoes on this day as a celebration of goodness and generosity." Inari explained, having been curious if it was really possible for one person to leave gifts for everyone in a single night. Regardless of the sad outcome, she made sure everyone in Rimuru City, Kayo village, and a few more places got a nice little treat.
"Hmm, maybe we could import that tradition here." Gazel mussed, finding the young woman's little experiment cute and thoughtful.
"Your Highness? Surely such a thing like this can't be possible." Dorf reasoned and looked at Inari who sighed tiredly. "It's just difficult and time consuming. Delivering these small gifts during the night was just a test for another celebration their Slime leader is attempting. He calls it, Christmas." Inari informed them before Gazle looked very interested.
"Christmas? Hmm. Maybe I should go see this for myself." He voiced and both his captain and heir looked at him with wide eyes. "Your highness, surely you can't be serious! In this weather? Not to mention The Jura Forest is infamous for its-" The captain started to explain worriedly. "Not officially Captain Dorf. I trust your Gates are working now, Lord Kayo?" Gazel asked, looking at the disguised Kitsune who nodded. "Yes, thank you for allowing me to set one up in the castle. Should you need it, it will take you right into the kitsune village." She explained simply, the gates that where special Japanese Torii gates that would serve as a possible escape route for her village, or for Dwargon.
"In exchange I want to see what you and Rimuru have been up to. I'm also interested in visiting these hot springs your so fond of. A little Escape doesn't hurt once in a while." the king mussed, and Dorf looked a bit nervous at what the king was planning, Inari looking excited. "I'll be sure to have an itinerary in mind for when you visit then. The Christmas celebration is still 2 weeks away, so you have plenty of time to make some free time." She suggested much to Dorf's relief as the king pouted as she mentioned his kingly duties.
"I'll be heading back to my post. Unless you want to try and make me a little brother~." Inari joked making the king let out a hardy laugh and Dorf turn a dark crimson. "N-No more library time for t-two weeks!" The captain yelled, and Inari's eyes widen in horror, given that Dorf was also the head librarian of the royal archives, he had the power to ban the notorious book hoarder.
~Next Day, Rimuru City, Shuna's Workshop~
"You really didn't have to make this for me Shuna." Kayo reasoned but couldn't help her 3 tails waged in delight at the cute Rimuru blue dress lined with white fur. It lacked sleeves but hugged her body nicely until it reached her wide hips where it flared out into a knee length shirt with fur timing the edge along with some golden little stars right above it. A few gold buttons holding the dress around her were aligned down her left side going up to the high collar that was supposed to wrap around her neck, but it had been uncomfortable for the kitsune woman with her large chest. It had to be left open to expose more of her caramel skin and the white fur that lined the inside of the dress, putting her neck and a bit of her plump breasts on display much like Shion's clothes did.
Shuna couldn't help but stare at Kayo's chest with a mix of envy and amusement when the woman tried to hide her exposed chest with her hands. "Maybe add a small jacket or something, this feels a little to... exposed." Kayo suggests, looking uneasy as she looked away from the full-length mirror Shuna had her standing in front of.
"I have just the thing, I'll be right back." Shuna reasoned and Kayo took a seat in a chair away from the mirror, giving it a weary glance as something felt off about it. "Maybe I'm just imaging things." Kayo sighed, as she tried to brush away her uneasy feelings before she sensed something was off. Her golden eyes locked onto the mirror and stand up, reaching for the sword she kept in her tails as a figure in a tattered red cloak appeared in the mirror.
"Who are you!? Show yourself!" Kayo commanded, confused why she couldn't smell the other person as they raised their black gloved hands and started to sign something to her. The kitsune was still confused before the figure vanished and the uneasy feeling went away as fast as it came.
"What the hell? What did they mean by-"
"Kayo, I think this will- is something wrong?" Shuna came back holding a white blouse and a small blue coat. The Kijin princess looking confused and a bit worried that the kitsune woman had her weapon drawn, her eyes locked on the mirror. "No... it's nothing." Kayo assured her and put away her reason to give her a relaxed smile to hide how concerned she was about the message the strange figure had just delivered.
-Protect Cynthia-
"If you're sure, Kayo. Try these on and see how they fit." Shuna handed her the items and Kayo carefully took them to try on, tossing a glance at the mirror before she slipped into the changing room.
~Later, Kayo's Office~
"Making a list and checking it twice~. Gonna find out who been naughty or nice~." Kayo softly sang as she was dressed in a red tunic and some black pants after putting together a Christmas outfit with Shuna before Shion showed off her seasonal outfit someone else had made, because Shuna seemed to have been completely unaware of it. The Kitsune had never seen Shuna so enraged before, so she decided to help her little Kijin sister and Shion, with a bit of collateral damage.
"KAYO!" Rimuru shouted as he zoomed into her office threw the little door and hopped on to her desk, a cute little Santa hat on his head. "What. Did. You. Do?" he questioned, sounding angry as the kitsune looked at him in confusion, having been writing down some song lyrics for the children to sing. "What are you talking about slime ball?" Kayo asked, not hiding her smirk as she knew full well what he was talking about. "Bad kitsune! You're getting coal for Christmas!" Rimuru yelled before her office doors were pushed open by the two kijin females. Dressed in green and red with pointed ears making them look more like elves.
"Lord Rimuru!" Both females shouted as they startled the slime into jumping into his sister's lap where he felt safe, trying not to look at the two beautifully dressed young women.
Both were wearing a red, white fur lined dress, red and white stripped stockings covered their legs, as a green and white furred jacket was making sure they wouldn't catch much of a chill as a black belt was secured around their midsections. However, it looked very cute and modest on Shuna with her hair done up in some cute round buns, while on Shion it was very tight and showed off her curves a lot more and she had her hair down and not in her usual ponytail. It also didn't help Rimuru that Kayo had made them some pointy ears to go with their Santa's helpers' outfits.
"Why are you running away Lord Rimuru? We are here to help you with the Christmas preparations." Shion pouted; jealous that Rimuru always ran to Kayo when she wanted to get closer to him. The purple kijin woman couldn't help but glare at the kitsune leader who wasn't even dressed properly for the occasion. "Shion. I'm sure Lord Rimuru wants Kayo's input on the celebration." Shuna reasoned, before Kayo set Rimuru on her desk. "Actually, I don't want anything to do with this celebration." the kitsune voiced as she picked up another wooden tablet as they stared at her in shock.
"WHAT!?" all three yelled in complete shock as the kitsune woman read the report.
"What are you working on Kayo? I thought you finished all your work?" Rimuru questioned and looked at the new stack that was on her desk. "I did, but some issues have come up along the border and I will have to be away for a few days or a few weeks. I might even miss the celebration altogether." The kitsune explained and let Rimuru look at the wooden tablets himself.
"Our Borders? Wait, these are human villages... and they had a shortage of food and medicines... but aren't they part of another nation? They're not even part of the Kingdom of Blumund." Rimuru asked, a little confused as he read the reports, looking at Kayo who sighed. Shuna and Shion were looking at her with wide eyes as they didn't know what to think of this situation.
"True, but I have formed some relations with these villages despite their race and nationality. I've imported some goods from them with a casual agreement. It's been a harsh winter for them among other things, so repaying their trust with kindness only seems fair." Kayo reasoned as they all stared at her.
"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Rimuru joked and Kayo laughed in understanding as she had been the one against socializing with humans. "Not all humans are bad slime ball. I don't see anything wrong with helping the few who are at least decent beings. I'm sure you'll enjoy everything for me while I'm gone." Kayo assured him before Rimuru took on his humanoid form, taking off his Santa hat and putting it on the kitsune's head as she looked confused by the gesture.
"Then you should take care of that, I still have to work on your present. You're sure going to love it." Rimuru teased and Kayo glanced back at Shuna and Shion before poking her brother's nose. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. If you get stuck, I'm sure my journals with give you some... ideas~." she teased him back, making him turn bright red as he looked at her in horror.
~After Dinner, Kayo Village, Meeting Hall~
Kayo sat nervously with her siblings among most of the residences of her village after enjoying a meal together, normally the Kitsune Lord usually had dinner with Rimuru and the others in the capital city, so it was a rare occurrence she had dinner with her villagers. When her golden eyes looked up, she did catch a few kitsune and elves quickly looking away quickly. The gossip being why she was having dinner with them and... Souei was sitting on her left enjoying the dinner the elven cooks had excitedly prepared. Never mind that Souka and her dragonewts were also among them, talking with a few friendly kitsune that had dragged them into their group, since they had been invited to Kayo village for an important meeting.
"Are you going to make it official now sis?" Antony teased, as he sat at his sister's right, smirking as Kayo gagged on her Apple cider as she was taking a drink. Souei glanced at the eldest kitsune sibling who got an elbow to his side, mostly eating and observing how close the kitsune siblings where. He felt a little envious how comfortable it all felt as they joked and laughed with each other. Souei found Kayo's siblings very welcoming, her sisters were the easiest to talk with as they helped Shuna in the kitchen and her workshop. They were also part of the Shuna Protection Squad that the kitsune had formed to protect the kijin princess in mostly more mundane, everyday kind of ways. Kayo was aware of them and let the group become semiofficial, with roughly 30 members ready to put their lives down for the pink kijin.
"I-it's not that kind of announcement." Kayo hissed at her bother, setting down her drink to get up in front of everyone, as the elevated platform was used mostly for formal dinners to elevate the leaders and special guests, but it was hardly used in informal meals. Clapping her hands twice, using a bit of her Haki to amplify the sound over the chatter and get everyone's curious attention, especially when she still had on Rimuru's Santa hat on her head.
"I'm sure many of you are wondering what I have to say here tonight. While I'm sure many of you have good intentions with your speculations. I will have to disprove many of them right now. The reason for this meeting is to undertake a rather large-scale covert operation that will affect many in Tempest within a few days. A day that has been dubbed, Christmas Eve." Kayo announced and let her people take it in. Most having heard of it from their time in Rimuru city, while there were a few small preparations made in their village, but it was nothing compared to the grand scale of the capital.
A nice sized tree in the village center that had been decorated with colorful lights, a few paper animals, some sparkly garland and colorful orbs with a big light blue and white star on top. Kayo having taught a few recipes to the elves and kitsune that were not all available in the monster capital yet. A few of the children having been excitedly talking about gifts that made the Kitsune Lord unsure about including them in on the difficult mission.
"The overall goal of this mission is to deliver presents to the people of Tempest in secret. Starting with the capital, Rimuru city and its population reaching 500,000 including those who are guests in our nation. What makes this more challenging is that this operation will have a time limit of roughly 6-8 hours. Starting when a vast majority of the city is asleep and ends when they wake on Christmas Morning." Kayo explained as quite a few of them voiced their shock at how impossible that kind of mission was before Estella spoke up.
"Sis! Is that why everyone had those little treats in their shoes? Where you testing to see how possible it was?" she questioned; it was a bit off a poorly kept secret that Kayo had left little bags of treats in shoes not too long ago. The Kitsune Lord herself having been caught by several people while she was in the delivery process.
"Yes, there was a legend Lord Rimuru shared with me about a jolly old man in a red suit delivering many gifts in a single night while the residence slept. However, I have come to find that is task is impossible for any single individual to accomplish by themselves." Kayo explained, a little disappointed with herself for getting seen so many times leaving the little gifts, even if she already knew Santa Claus was a myth because it was humanly imposable to make such a big delivery in such a short time.
"That is why I am personally requesting your aid in this massive mission as I had overlooked some of the finer details about this Santa Claus." Kayo admitted, having realized that the man in the red suit didn't work alone, at least not with other humans. "Santa Claus does not work alone; he has a team of 8-9 special operatives to help him deliver the presents. Even before that, he is rumored to also have a team of highly skilled elves giving him both information about those deserving of gifts and in making the gifts for intended individuals." Kayo explained, curiously looking to the elves who looked confused by this piece of information, as it was nowhere in their history to serve under such a person.
"I know this may all be confusing, as the elves don't have any known or written history of such a calibration. However, it doesn't have to be elves who procure the information or make the gifts or even a lone induvial delivering the gifts." Kayo reasoned and pulled out a stack of papers. "As another tradition Lord Rimuru has started serves as a good source of information gathering. The Dwarves, Kaijin, Gram, Dord, and Myrd, have been told about what the children wish for in this new celebration and saw it fit to pass this information along to me." the kitsune presented, her tails twitching behind her nervously as everyone watched her.
"That is why I would like for volunteers to help make this event successful. Even if what we are doing is discovered, I would still like for the idea of selflessly giving gifts to continue for this special day." She voiced and could both feel and hear her heart in her throat as she nervously awaited their response. She tried to ignore the few glares she was getting, vaguely noticing the Water Kitsune leader leaving without much of a sound as his mate stayed, only a few elves and other kitsune's left the hall as well but a majority was still eager to listen to their leader's plan.
Kayo took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm down her nerves, briefly closing her eyes to try not to let the few who left get to her. As to them it surely sounded like a silly and meaningless operation. "I will assume those of you still here are willing to go with my crazy plan?" she questioned, looking out at everyone who gave her smirks and smiles of excitement before the fairy, Bell, flew up to Kayo eagerly. "Of course, we are! You already did the hard work yourself so leave the rest to us!" She happily chirped as she and several others voiced their agreement.
It relived the Kitsune Lord enough for her to give them a beaming smile they were not familiar with, making a few of them blush at her hidden beauty being shown to them. Kayo left the 'Gift list' to Avalon who was eager to see what kinds of gifts the children of tempest had wished for, a few of the elves having been part of Dwargon's ANBU and were very interested in this new mission despite their 'retirement'.
Allowing Kayo to slip away and out of site for a bit, as she crumpled to the floor, putting her head between her knees to calm down from her anxiety she had held in, remaining that way even when she heard muffled footsteps as they got closer to her.
"They took that very well." Souei voiced and sat down besides his mate, not wanting to aggravate her weakened condition that she was allowing him to see.
"Y-yeah." she responded softly, she relaxed her breathing, eyes still closed as the crystal-clear memory of receiving the beautifully wrapped gift from a very kind and ordinary man. The wrapping paper was a matted light blue color with a shear white and gold sparky ribbon, even the tag that hung off it with two mini candy canes with it...
To: Anna Vargas
From: Pancho Claus
'That... was my name?' Kayo questioned, having forgotten her old human name long before she got reincarnated. Only to become confused as the names seemed to change on the very memorable gift.
To:
From: Veldanava
'Lord Veldanava?' The kitsune questioned as the recipient aera was left blank. 'Is this because... I had no name... back then?' Kayo questioned before slowly opening her eyes, confused as she saw the celling of her room in the kitsune castle, sliver stars twinkling from the wooden ceiling.
"You're awake." came Souei's voice beside her, while sounding calm she could hear his relief when he noticed she was conscious. "How long was I asleep?" Kayo asked, her body felling heavy and uncomfortable even on the soft futon, so she slowly sat up, pushing away the light blue blanket that covered her body. A bit relived to see that she still had her clothes on... or at least her tunic as looking under the blanket her pants had been taken off.
"An hour. Everyone is excited about the mission you gave them; your brother has told them to let you rest for tonight after your hard work." the ninja kijin informed her, when the Kitsune looked at him she paused in confused shock at her blue kijin mate, who was wearing a pair of round black glasses, attached to a comically large nose with a black mustache under it.
"What... the hell are you wearing?" the reincarnated otherworlder asked, a bit started and confused to see that completely out of the blue before Souei took them off. His disappointed expression being very subtle before going back to his normal expressionless mask. "Lord Rimuru suggested I wear glasses to test your reaction, but it seems to have been a failure." he told her, the kitsune giving an annoyed low growl.
"What reaction where you looking for?" Kayo asked but felt she already knew what it was, a blush on her face that she thought the kijin couldn't see in the dim star lights of her room. Only her golden eyes gave her away, glowing in the darkness. He reached out to her, his rough hand gently cupping the side of her face, her eyes half closed as he felt her nuzzle into his touch. Her skin feeling a bit warmer than usual under his fingers.
"A cute one." Souei teased as he came closer and kissed the kitsune on her nose by accident, making Kayo give a small sneeze that had a small smile on his lips. "You missed~." she teased and grabbed his hand, pulling him close to plant a kiss on his cheek, surprising him a little before his other hand stroked her exposed thigh, making her shiver at his touch.
"Your aim isn't much better." he teased her back, enjoying their little games of seduction. Regardless how she felt about him compared to Benimaru, he found the kitsune enjoyable, kind, and warm. It was a strange feeling to let himself be weak around her, and she let herself be weak around them... this was... much more than just trust between comrades. He pulled her into his lap and Kayo let him as she saddled his lap, her knees on either side of him before easily pushing him onto his back.
Souei was a bit startled by this before he felt her warm weight on top of him, her golden eyes looking down at him smugly, the soft strands of her hair brushing across his face as he looked up at her. Seeing her come closer and hit her target. Her soft plump lips pressing against his in a soft kiss before he pulled her closer to deepen it.
Both unaware of someone watching their little game with reluctant, undivided attention.
~Tempest Border, Human Village~
"Boil some water and add a little of this to your cups in the morning, and this at night. It should help stave off the winter chills and ailments. Still make sure she wears her scarf and mitts when she goes out in the snow." Kayo advised the last human that had come to see her for some medicine. A large bearlike man took the two wooden boxes that where simply decorated with Kayo's kitsune emblem on them along with a cartoonish drawing of a yellow sun on one and a white star on the other to tell them apart.
"Thank you, Docter. I'm sure my wife will appreciate your tea." the man gave her what would be a frightful smile to anyone else, but the disguised kitsune who had come to know the man better. "My sister made the blend, so no need to thank me. Have a good night then." Kayo corrected and showed the massive man out before locking up for the night. Stretching her arms up over her head, Kayo walked over to the fireplace where she was making herself a nice beef stew in a rather large pot that could feed quite a few people. Pulling out two large barrels of Apple Brandy before there was a knock on her door.
"Ah, I wonder if it's who I've been expecting." she mussed knowingly before going and unlocking the door carefully. Dressed in a white medic robe that was more common in this world over dark blue tunic and slacks, a pair of brown boots on her feet, her hair illusioned to look like it was a dark brown color.
Once she opened her door, the cold breeze came in around the 5 lightly cloaked figures that stood in her doorway.
"Can I help you gentlemen? Please feel free to come out of the cold. I'm sure ya'll must be freezing." Kayo suggested and allowed the men into the little cabin the Lord of the village had given her to work from. With a second of hesitation the leader entered the warm cabin and soon the other's followed suit, tracking in mud and slush before she closed the door once the last visitor crossed the thresh hold.
"So, what brings you and your men all the way out here, Archduke Erald Gimwald? " Kayo questioned, changing to a different language she was sure her guests would understand. However, it made 4 of the men tense as she turned to face them with a calm smile. The lead figure only chuckled and pulled down his hood before turning to Kayo with a tense, but amused smile. "Smart girl. I don't suppose you will tell me how you knew it was me. Would you?" he questioned, speaking in the same language and looking at the young woman carefully, easily seeing past her illusion as she returned the amused smile with a small tilt of her head.
"Let's just say I have some ears to the ground. Would you like some beef stew? I'm sorry if the ingredients are not to the standards your used to, but it's warm and will fill you up all the same. Please, have a seat and I will get everything ready." She casually offered and walked past the stunned men who had pulled off their hoods just like the Archduke, looking like they were his bodyguards, or assistances, or maybe even both. The men hung their cloaks and the archduke's cloak on the coat rack near the door as she went to pull out the simple wooden dinner wear. Grumbling when she noticed someone had put them well out of her reach, so she had to go find a stool to give her the extra inches to reach them... only one of the tall visitors got them down for her.
"Oh! Thank you. You didn't need to do that." Kayo honestly thanked him, not expecting the help. Only stunning the man with her smile as she took the bowls from him and pulled out the utensils and some wooden mugs to offer drinks to her visitors who watched her. They were all able to tell she was using some illusion magic on her hair but didn't want to be rude by dispelling something so harmless.
"Here we go. I hope you don't mind drinking some Apple Brandy. I'm not very good with brewing tea." Kayo admitted, not wanting to leave too bad of a first impression and maybe open them up to trade with Tempest later. Setting down the mugs filled with the amber liquid before each of them before going to get the food as well as some yeast rolls that had been warmed nicely.
"M-miss, please allow me." another of the archduke's guards volunteered, speaking in the language that was common in this world, confusing Kayo with the switch but giving him a smile for his helpfulness in carrying the heavy strew bowls, or making sure there was no poison, while she carried the baskets of warm rolls to the table. The other guards already trying the delicious drink with pleasing results.
"M-miss this drink is amazing, where did you get this from?" one man with glasses asked, sitting right next to the blond man who was trying the drink himself, after confirming it was not poisoned, surprised by the taste and quality of the strange new brandy.
"I received it while I was in Tempest's Captial city. It's one of their specialties called Apple Brandy." Kayo informed them, amused that it seemed to be a hit with the men as she set down the rolls and the other man set out the mouthwatering strew in front of his comrads that didn't even test it before taking a spoon full of the precious offering. Collectively they all let out relaxed, dreamy moans upon it hitting their tongues, the temperature was just right to not burn their mouths.
Kayo took the only open seat across from the Archduke, and between two of his men, who were happily eating. Ignoring the look, she was getting from him she clapped her hands together, unintentionally getting their attention as she bowed her head. Dispelling the illusion on her hair, turning it back into its pearlescent white color as well as taking on her kitsune form, showing off her ears and 7 tails much to the men's shock, but not the Archduke who seemed to have known about this already.
"Thank you for the food." she softly voiced, a little amused when the subordinates put down their spoons and copied her. "T-thank you for the food." they repeated, and Kayo giggled at their manners before starting to eat herself, getting a spoonful of strew in her mouth before being spoken to. "Pardon us miss, but I'm afraid we didn't ask for your name." Duke Grimwald voiced with a friendly tone and smile.
'Evey fucking time!' Kayo thought in annoyance, having wanted to saver the mouthful for a bit longer before she swallowed to respond. "Your pardoned, but I'm sure you already know who I am. Given that your country has had their eye on us for quite some time now. Correct?" Kayo reasoned as she grabbed a roll and pulled it apart to soak up the juices of the stew before eating it happily, her delighted purr and the wagging of her tails assured them that she was enjoying her food.
"Ah! So, you're Lord Rimuru, the leader of the Jura Tempest Federation then?" Archduke Grimwald teased, smirking as he got a blank, unamused stare from the kitsune. "Allow me to be blunt and tell you that was a bad joke. I'm sure your information gathering agents are not that incompetent." She voided as the man to Grimwald's right choaked on his drink and gave a displeased glare at his boss who just laughed it off.
"True. You're not an easy one to fool, Lord Kayo, the New Guardian of the Jura Forest." He mussed and his men seemed to tense as they learned who she was. Kayo Just gave a simple smile, as he gave a serious answer. "What brings you out here to this little village then? I would have assumed an invitation to Sarion or a visit to the capital city would have been a better use of your time, Archduke Grimwald." Kayo questioned, eating her strew carefully, so she could respond to any questions this man had, but his scent was confusing her.
He smelled mostly like a classic old leather book and oak trees, only it seemed muted or like he was covered with mud or clay.
"Truth be told I had a personal reason to speak with you, Lord Kayo." Gimwarld voiced seriously, confusing the kitsune who tried to think of what he would want with her. 'Could it be from returning that uppity elf princess? Or not returning the other girls?' The kitsune questioned mentally preparing herself for whatever the man had to say to her.
"I have come to ask that you ensure my daughter's safety while in your domain." he voiced seriously, making Kayo blink in confusion. "Huh? Your... Daughter?" she questioned, visibly confused before brushing it off to roll with what the man was asking of her. "Of course, but who is your daughter? I can personally escort her to The Tempest Captial, her safety will be well assured there regardless of who she is or is not." Kayo reasoned as this seemed to relive the man who finally started to eat the stew, his men looking shocked at his request of the kitsune.
"Actually, we believe you have already met Lady Elyun and her bodyguards quite some time ago." The man with the glasses explained and Kayo got a bad feeling. Before Grimwald laughed at the destressed expression on the kitsune's face. "Not to worry, Lord Kayo! My little girl is a sweetheart! She's nothing like that spoiled brat you rescued from those slavers. There are even some families that would have PAID you to just ignore her instead of insuring her safe return." He voiced joyfully but the Kitsune was still confused as to who is daughter was before her eyes widen in realization of the other reason his scent smelled so strange yet familiar to her.
"Would your daughter happen to go by the name Eren, and her guards Kaval and Gido by any chance?" She questioned and the men look stunned at her deduction, the Archduke laughed and even clapped as when she figured it out. "You ARE a smart one, Lord Kayo. Yes, my daughter is an adventurer by the name of Eren. You will be rewarded for protecting her but... I also require proof that she is doing well while under your care." Grimwald explained seriously and his assistant pulled out a palm sized communication orb.
"You can use this to record Lady Elyun's progress and send it to Duke Grimwald at a later date, so his work is not disturbed." the assistant voiced and the Duke pouted a little at the last part, Kayo only looking at the small orb but not accepting it yet. "What would I get for doing this then? I assume you don't want her to know I'm reporting her progress back to you, if she's not already doing so herself." Kayo asked, making the Duke give an uneasy smirk. "You are a little too smart, but can't you understand the worry a father has for his only daughter. Who is out there in the world, all on her own without even a call or letter to her worried old man?" he expressed passionately, but the Kitsune woman found herself feeling a little annoyed by his plea.
"What do I get if I do this?" she repeated bluntly, the man chuckled a little nervously as the Kitsune stared unblinkingly at him, his men just enjoyed their meals and the show.
~Christmas Eve, Rimuru City~
"Something... doesn't feel right." Rimuru voiced in concern, even as everyone was smiling and enjoying the festivities: Christmas music playing, drinks like brandy and eggnog being served, fun winter games being played, and the delicious food being served. Something seemed to be missing from it all as the slime leader noticed that even the kitsune had joined in on the celebration. The fairies happily fluttering around, the kids of all races in Tempest playing and running around in delight. The elves of course enjoying the season too, distracting him from what he was thinking of before Estella called for his attention.
"Lord Rimuru, Kayo wanted you to try something. She worked on this a lot and said that you would really appreciate the thought of it, if not the taste." the young kitsune girl told him, having been dressed in a cute red and white furred Santa dress many of the girls had been wearing with the Santa hats. "From Kayo? Sure. I curious to see what she cooked up this time." Rimuru mused, realizing what was missing as he sat at a special table with Milim on his right, enjoying the food that Shuna and the other's had prepared for their imitation of a Christmas dinner. Leaving a chair to his left empty, no one had attempted to even take it, but he didn't have time to think about it as Carmen brought out a startling familiar red bucket. A black and white face of a smiling elderly man painted on it, surrounded by a decorated Christmas reef. The smell coming from inside it very familiar as his golden eyes widen in shock and disbelief even when the kitsune set it down in front of him. It was vastly different from any of the beautifully plated food he had already tried, looking rather shabby in comparison.
"Why are you serving something like this to Lord Rimuru!?" Shion questioned the kitsune, confused like everyone else when they saw the strange bucket be placed in front of their Lord. "It's how our sis told us to serve it to him, EXACTLY like this with the weird bucket she painted for him." Carmen told the Kijin woman who had pulled out her large claymore to punish the kitsune sister before Shuna worriedly approached Rimuru, tears started to fall from his eyes at the site and smell of the familiar Christmas tradition.
"Lord Rimuru? Is everything alright?" she questioned before Rimuru composed himself, Milim was eyeing the bucket, or rather the chicken inside of it greedily, so the slime picked up a drum stick and took a big bite of it... once the familiar seasoning touched his taste buds the memories of his old life came back to him as clear as day, or at least the times he enjoyed the taste of the familiar fired chicken, he could taste all eleven of the herbs and spices used in the secret recipe.
"Y-yeah, it's just... s-so good~. It's got to be the best dish yet. I can't believe she figured out the secret recipe~." Rimuru cried a little as he finished the chicken while everyone watched in awe as their leader enjoyed the specially prepared chicken. 'I really hope Kayo's wish comes true... even if she's not here with everyone.' the slime thought sadly, wondering when the kitsune woman would return from her mission to that far off human village.
"Of course. Kayo's cooking always outshines everyone else's." Shuna sighed dejectedly, envious of the kitsune woman and a little sad that she didn't get a chance to try some of the food they had all prepared. The kitsunes even surprising her with help and new dishes Rimuru hadn't told her about as well as the rare ingredients needed for many of them.
"Well, it's a good thing she's helping with the cake then!" Bruno mussed before Antony elbowed him in the gut, thankfully no one seemed to catch it. Rimuru was trying to protect his chicken from Milim who had already stolen 5 pieces of the nostalgic deliciousness.
No one noticed the golden eyes watching over all the festivities with a bittersweet smile. 'I wish I could be a part of that.' Came a small longing thought.
"I'm sure they would love for you to join them, my child." Gazel mussed as he sat with the kitsune and his Guard, Dorf at their own table on the second-floor balcony of a building the kitsune leader owned. They were able to look over the festivities yet stay out of site. The dwarf king was without his armor or crown for the night, dressed in a nice navy-blue kimono with a black sash and the knight was relaxing in a redish orange kimono with a light blue sash that he had been reluctant to wear before he was ordered to wear it. Across from the two men was Kayo, dressed in a black tunic and dark blue pants, some black socks on her feet, leaning back in her chair watching everyone enjoy themselves while drinking some chilled Dwargon Whiskey.
"Maybe, but you know I'm not one much for tons of attention, at least not without some liquid courage." Kayo joked as she sipped more of the fine whiskey, having come to enjoy more than her own brews as she emptied her glass again. "As long as you don't depend on it for all of your courage, it's fine." Gazle mussed and poured the young woman another glass. A bit confused when he could hear a woman and man screaming in some strange language in her thoughts, along with the sound of things breaking that made the kitsune flinch from the memory alone as she paused her drinking. Having already filled her stomach with some of the delicious food that was being served except for the fired chicken, which the kitsune was a bit sick of trying after getting the recipe right.
"Of course not. It's just to perform in front of a large audience. I'm much more confident in my backstage work." Kayo mussed, savoring the taste of the 200-year-old fine, liquid drwarven craftsmanship. "I have to admit, Dwarven Whiskey is the G.O.A.T. that sets the bar for which I strive to achieve~." she mussed, letting the liquid warm her up. Feeling her worries slowly fade away with her old dark memories, and replace them with the beautiful, pure site before her.
"Goat?" Dorf questioned as Gazel chuckled at the amusing term. "It means Greatest Of All Time." he explained proudly, amused by the acronyms the kitsune had come up with. Kayo set down her empty glass next to the empty plate that had her own share of the meals Shuna and her students had prepared.
"I should get ready now. I hope you will enjoy my performance, daddy." Kayo smiled brightly at the dwarf king, relaxed enough to call him daddy instead of father. While Dorf looked at the kitsune in shock at what she had just called the dwarf king, Gazle was just amused by the slip. "Go be the G.O.A.T. of the stage my child." he encouraged, happy to see her golden eyes light up happily as her fluffy white tails wagged behind her. "Will do~!" She giggled and slipped into the shadows, leaving the two men alone with a communication orb looking out onto the stage, recording the Christmas concert while the kitsune got ready.
~Outside, Rimuru City~
"M-master Souei... Is Lord K-kayo coming soon?" Souka asked the blue Kijin nervously as the two of the waited out of the city limits as both sentinels and accomplices in the Kitsune Lord's master plans. It was dark, and the two of them were alone together, watching the bright lights of the celebration from a far. It felt rather isolating to be so far away from everyone, the celebration sounded like a lot of fun but as one of the Shadow Guards for Tempest, she had to forgo such childish things.
The dragonewt sighed and snuggled into the warmth her jacket provided, grateful to the kitsune Leader and her kijin master for allowing her this simple comfort.
"She's here." Souei voiced, barely moving from his crouched position as the snow resting on his head and shoulders was undisturbed. Confused, the dragonewt looked around and tried to sense where the kitsune was. Hearing a bell chime above her she looked up... only to widen her eyes in shock as she saw the kitsune's face very close all of a sudden, and warm, whisky flavored lips on hers in a quick kiss.
"AAH! L-l-l-l-l-ord Kayo!" She stuttered badly, her face turning a dark red as her dragon horns popped out at the sudden surprise, covering her lips with her hands as she looked at the upside down Kitsune who grinned playfully at her. "Always, look up~. Have any issues, Sou-sou?" Kayo mussed before her dexterously strong tail lifted her back up to sit on the branch that had been right above the two. Souka looked up at her in surprised shock as she noticed that the snow hadn't even been disturbed by her weight before she was noticed.
"None. It's been quiet. Is phase five ready to start?" He asked seriously before her felt the kitsune wrap her arms around him from behind, her could smell the whisky on her breath. "How much did you drink?" he asked her sternly as Kayo giggled. "Just two bottles~. It's fine~. Have more faith in my tolerance Sou-sou~." the kitsune teased and poked the serious kijin's cheek.
"I do, it's just a matter of your safety. You should go with plan B. The original is far too risky even with your careful preparations." he advised her, trying not to think about how her chest felt pressed into his back... and her lack of a bra. "Aww but that's no fun~. I already got permission so it's just a bit of fine tuning and kitsune magic left. Oh! But I got to let Eren finish her song though." Kayo reasoned and pulled away from the ninja to let him stand up, the kitsune having brushed the snow off of him. Souei stood up from his crouch and looked down at the buzzed kitsune who smiled up at him knowingly.
"Are you even wearing panties?" he asked bluntly, ignoring the shocked Souka, she had glanced down at the black slacks of the kitsune woman, but even with her night vision she was not able to tell if the kitsune woman was wearing panties... but she could tell the woman wasn't wearing a bra.
"Do you want to see for yourself~?" Kayo giggled and pulled up her shirt and her slacks down to expose a lot of her caramel skin, making the dragonewt's jaw drop in shock at her shamelessness. Souei quickly covered her up, holding her writs, giving her a stern glare for her joke. "You're going to catch a cold like that." he scolded her, despite knowing her fur kept her plenty warm even in her humanoid form.
"The cold never bothered me any way~. Oh! Come on! It's almost show time!" Kayo beamed, as her ears perked up the distance sound of Eren's voice being broadcasted via the magic microphone that had been developed in Dwargon's Research lab and imported for the summer festival as a 'Feild Test'.
Souei carefully let go of her as she connected with all those involved with her little 'show'.
'3 Minutes to curtain! Everyone ready? We are a go with Operation Storm Coming!' Kayo excitedly sent to those who needed to know. Mostly the security forces and a few others to minimize the risk of serious harm and panic from the surprise performance.
Kayo took in a deep breath, putting a hand to her throat to help her lower her voice and her head was still filled with Christmas songs... so...
I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents by the tree
I'm dreaming tonight
Of a place I love
Even more than I usually do
And although I know
It's a long road back
I promise you
Kayo's voice slowly got lower as she tried to get the cords just right, despite only her and Rimuru knowing what he sounded like, she still wanted to give her best impression for the performance. Not knowing it was affecting Souei and Souka, both of them feeling... longing, sadness, and hope in their chests.
I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents by the tree
Christmas eve will find you
Where the love gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Kayo smirked as she seemed to ger the tone right and decided to give it a real test.
"PREPARE MORTALS! FOR THE MIGHTY STROM DRAGON, VELDORA'S RETURN! KWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" She yelled out loudly, feeling a familiar energy enter her body to help with her imitation. The energy put the two ninjas on guard, pulling out their weapons nervously as Kayo's from changed into that of a massive dragon in a swirl of black mist and sparks of lighting.
"L-lord Kayo!?" Souka questioned as she and Souei backed away from the massive beast that had once been their kitsune lord. The dragon looked down at them and gave a rather sinister smirk, and neither of them felt malice from the strange being before them. "Not to worry little one. As long as you play your part you will be spared... as for those who dared not to invite me to such a joyous celebration. I shall deal with them right, NOW." the dragon voiced, growling as he glared at Rimuru City, spreading his massive wings and taking off into the dark sky, swiftly making their way over to the monster capital.
"M-master Souei was that...?" Sokua asked as she fell to her knees once the dragon was gone, not having ever felt such an aura before, and it seemed the Kitsune's was completely gone.
'IT'S SHOW TIME! I'M IN ROUTE TO THE MAIN STAGE!' Came the Kitsune's excited announcement to those in on her plan.
~Rimuru City, Central Plaza~
Eren, she performed a beautiful song for everyone, having been nervous about doing her little hobby in front of so many people, well monsters, but after spending so much time with many of them they hardly seemed much different form humans. It also made her blush when they all applauded her performance, filling her up with joy and pride. Waving to everyone as she got off the stage, about to return to her friends who were waiting for her, but once both her feet where off the stage, all the lights went out suddenly.
There was a confused mummer among the people, having never experienced a black out, unlike their slime leader. "What? What's happening? A black out?" Rimuru questioned, shocked at the sudden occurrence that confused everyone... and then where was the feeling of a very familiar presence coming over them... like a massive storm.
Notice: A High-Density Aura is Approaching quickly.
"I-it can't be... c-could it?" Rigurd questioned as he looked up into the sky just in time to see a large black and blue figure fly over them, bringing with them a strong gust of wind that knocked over a few goblins from its strength and parents held on tightly to their children, fearing what had come to their city so suddenly. The ground shook at the large dark mass landed and a pair of glowing golden eyes glared at all those in attendance, a few lights came back on to partly illuminate the form of the massive black and blue dragon. Arms crossed and massive wings spread out as glowing golden eyes glared down at the little monsters it could crush very easily under its feat... or even with a swing of its mighty tail, or even more simply... blow them all away with a twitch of his mighty wings.
"N-no way, that can't be! V-veldora!?" Rimuru stared up at the familiar form in shock and confusion while everyone else looked up in horror in the presents of the Great Storm Dragon. Looking down at them with a low growl in his chest that shook many of the weaker monster as they were frozen in fear of the great dragon, falling to their knees quickly.
"What's all this noise about? I disappear for a few days and already I am already being replaced?" The dragon growled, scoffing, his arms crossed and looking very displeased. "Who is the one responsible for all this!? Bring them to me now!" the dragon commanded but everyone was just shaking in fear... well... almost everyone.
"True Dragon or not! I, The Great Gabiru will not let you-AGH!" Gabiru shouted as he flew at the massive dragon bravely... or foolishly, having easily been dealt with a single huff of the True Dragon's breath that smelled of alcohol. The foolish dragonewt landing in some bales of hay, Rimuru now noticing that all the Christmas décor, the food, the gifts, the lights and even the tree had disappeared in the brief moment the lights had gone out.
"Lord Rimuru! Please get to safety, we will hold this beast off for as long as we can!" Shion declared, pulling out her massive sword along with Hakruo and Benimaru, and charged at the massive dragon bravely.
"Wait! No! Guys! You got it all wrong Veldora is-" Rimuru was trying to tell them before Geart Sage spoke up.
Analyzing: That is not The Storm Dragon, Veldora. The True Veldora is still present within your stomach.
'WHAT!? Then who is this?' Rimuru questioned worriedly as he saw the three kijin get shooed off with a flick of the massive tail that seemed very real. Only Shion got back up and tried to attack the dragon again, Rimuru was about to stop her before he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. "Lord Rimuru, please let them handle this. Everything is going to be alright." Shuna assured him but he could feel her trembling. "Shuna, I can't do that. I need to have a talk with Veldora." he told her firmly and made his way closer to the dragon, worried as he saw all the monster's trembling and holding onto their children and each other.
"Oh~ This is really exciting!" Milim beamed, as her blue eyes sparkled with joy as she saw the massive dragon who seemed really strong but being one of the few who could see the truth, she just sat back and ate more of the Christmas cake, watching the show. The only other person that could stared at the dragon as their eyes sparkled with a strange gift as they were being shielded from the dragon's aura.
"Is no one going to come forth and face me? I cannot believe my forest has produced such cowardly, weaklings." The dragon scoffed before he looked down at Rimuru who was slowly approaching him, still unsure of who he was.
"Hey Veldora! Long time no-" Rimuru started before being interrupted.
"Are you the one responsible for all this noise? For desecrating my forest in my absence? You!? A weak little slime!?" The dragon growled, and Rimuru almost felt a little suffocated as the massive dragon loomed over him and the scared his people.
"Y-yeah, I kinda had to... um build this city. Listen can you stop scaring everyone and ah..." Rimuru tried to think of a why the dragon could leave without causing too much damage. Even if it wasn't really Veldora, the dragon could still cause a lot of damage with its massive size. "Are you asking ME! The Guardian of the Great Jura Forest to LEAVE!? You have some nerve for a mear slime." the dragon growled angerly, huffing and nearly blowing Rimuru away If he was weaker. The smell of whisky hitting his human nose, which just confused him.
"N-No! Not at all! You can stay, but can you get... smaller? Or know what happened to the decorations, food, and gifts?" Rimuru questioned, as he felt that something was off about this Veldora. "Humph! Why should I? All those useless decorations will not make you any stronger. It's best that they all disappear and never appear in my forest again." Veldora scoffed and... pouted as he muttered something.
"Not even having the decency to invite me to all the fun."
Rimuru then started to laugh, confusing everyone as they looked at him instead of the massive dragon. "S-sorry about that, Veldora. I know it's a little late now, but would you like to-" Rimuru was saying before the dragon glared at him.
"You think I would join your happy little celebration now!? I know what you are doing Slime Ball, it's too late to make amends for your transgressions!" The dragon yelled and then Rimuru really started to panic as everyone hugged their families tightly, fearing the great dragon's wrath. 'What do I do now!? Any ideas?' Rimuru asked Great Sage before he saw a small goblin child fearlessly approached the dragon, catching its attention. "PUKA!" Rina shouted, terrified that her daughter had gone up to the powerful dragon without any fear, fainting into the arms of Geld who was nearby to catch her before she could hit the ground.
Golden eyes looked down at the little goblin child who smiled up at them while holding up some large Rimuru blue and white candy canes shaped like a heart.
"Merry Christmas, Lord Kayo!" Puka shouted, and it took a while for everyone to process what the goblin child had called the massive dragon... "EH!? K-KAYO!?" Rimuru shouted in complete shock, he looked at the dragon carefully, seeing it give an amused smirk as the massive dragon uncrossed its arms and reached out with its right hand to scoop up the giggling child into its massive claws.
"Thank you, Puka." The dragon mussed softly before it disappeared in a swirl of black mist and lighting. Everyone watching on in shock at the dragon's aura dissipated and all that was left in front of them was their 7 tailed kitsune lord, holding the giggling child in her right arm.
"L-Lord Kayo!?" Rigurd questioned in disbelief and relief at seeing the kitsune woman, as was everyone else not in on the little performance. "T-that was Lady Kayo this whole time!?" Shion questioned, shocked as Kurobe fianly let go of the Purple kijin who had not known about this, least the surprise be ruined. Hakuro chuckled in amusement, and Benimaru smiled upon seeing his kitsune mate again, a blur of days went by without seeing her, even if she had just been in her village making preparations the last few leading up to the celebration.
"Well, the kitsune's out of the bag now." Kayo mussed, the worry that everyone would just give her glares for her performance disappeared as she saw nothing but smiling faces, beaming with joy directed at her instead.
"Lord Kayo has returned!" An orc shouted in genuine excitement that caused the whole village to give a roar of welcomes to their kitsune leader. "E-everyone?" Kayo muttered, shocked that the whole city was welcoming her back so warmly that she nearly forgot what the rest of her plan was, tears building in her eyes before Puka booped the kitsune's nose playfully, giggling at her achievement. Kayo smiled at the child before remembering what she was to do.
"Thank you everyone, for the warm welcome. I'm sorry to have scared so many of you, but it was to serv my greater purpose, of teaching all of you, the real meaning of Christmas." Kayo's voice cared out into the crowd loud and clear without the use of the magical microphone. The monsters all looked at their leader in confusion as to what she meant.
"The meaning for this celebration is about Peace, Chairty, and Family. We in Tempest are graciously blessed with having all three, when there are so many that have nothing but Conflict, Greed and Loneliness. Let us not forget, that while Tempest is a strong nation now. It had all started, with a weak little Goblin, asking a Cute little Slime for help." Kayo mussed and gave Rigud a wink, making him blush at the subtle attention.
Everyone cheered excitedly at the speech, Rimuru was both shocked and impressed with his Kitsune sister's plan, her words seeming to warm the hearts of everyone. 'I guess she still is, The Demon Stage Manager.' The slime mused over the kitsune's old nickname, before he noticed that all the Christmas stuff was still missing. 'No way... she couldn't have...' Rimuru was thinking before Great Sage spoiled him to the illusion.
"While that is the true meaning of this celebration. It doesn't hurt to have a little fun too~." Kayo mussed and snapped her fingers... and like magic the illusion faded away as all the lights, decoration, food, and gifts returned. The citizens looked on in aw as everything magically returned, seeing it all come together so quickly was a wonderful site to behold in itself.
"Feliz Navudad!"(Happy Christmas) The kitsunes that had helped the illusion shouted happily, popping some rather large confetti cannons that showered everyone with what looked like glittering snowflakes that floated down on everyone. Then, fireworks flew into the sky and burst into the shape of a smiling Kitsune, a Slime, and a Dragon.
Kayo used this distraction to set the little goblin child down as she walked off the stage, feeling her slime brother's eyes on her while everyone watched the fireworks.
"That was some pretty good work there, but I think impersonating Veldora was bit much don't cha think?" Rimuru asked and Kayo gave him a smug look. "I never claimed to be the storm dragon. Only that I was The Guardian of the Jura Forest, which I am. You're the one who started calling me Veldora~." Kayo pointed out, much to Rimuru's shock as he realized that it was true... just as he was about to ask how she pulled off her impersonation of the dragon so well, the Kitsune was picked up by her siblings and pulled away while she was still confused.
"H-hey! Kayo!" Rimuru tried to go after them but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Lord Rimuru, it's time to exchange gifts." Shuna told him with a smile as the slime looked at her in confusion. "Shuna, did you know about this too?" he asked and the Kijin princess only gave a soft smile while she guided Rimuru to the special receiving aera where the goblins had gifts for each of their kind leaders, Rimuru taking a seat on the red and gold chair next to a slightly smaller light blue and silver chair on the left.
~Rimuru's Stomach~
"BRAVO! BRAVO! What a magnificent performance!" Veldora happily praised, his tail wagging excitedly as he had just seen what the Kitsune had done with the requested power. While shocked and a little annoyed with the impersonation at first, but then flattered with how well the kitsune had portrayed him... even set up for his eventual return and freedom.
"That was quite remarkable, but reckless." Ifrit pointed out, having been with the dragon to watch the show. For entertainment it was some of the best he had seen, but he had seen how terrified the dragon's sudden appearance made the weaker creatures and even the slime himself had been scared.
"A little risk is worth such a grand prize. Oh! Their giving gifts now. Hmm, say Ifrit... if you could... What sort of gift would you give me?" Veldora questioned, nervously tapping his claws together as he looked at the fire sprit expectingly. Ifrit took a while, putting some thought into what he could give the powerful dragon that would be of used to him.
"J-just Hypotactically, no need to think of it too hard." Veldora voiced before Ifrit had an answer. "I would be... Diligence." The fire sprit reasoned but the dragon pouted and gave the sprit a glare for the unintentional jab at his work on undoing his imprisonment.
"Well, a little Diligence wouldn't hurt but I don't think that's what Veldorable wanted to hear." Kayo mussed, laughing a little at what she had over herd. Having taken the time while letting her siblings dress her up, to speak with the dragon and fire sprit for a moment.
"K-kayo! What brings you here? Surely, you're going to rejoin the festivities! Look! They even have a throne for you right next to Rimuru!" Veldora showed her, feeling absolutely giddy with her visit. "Yeah, I'm just getting dressed for the occasion. I wanted to wish you both a Merry Christmas. It can't be much fun being stuck in here watching all the fun." Kayo gave them a soft smile that still made the dragon's face heat up.
"Y-yes, well... thank you for the thoughtfulness. Oh! Before you go, if you could give me a present... what would it be? Hypothetically of coruse." Veldora asked, feeling a little nervous at the let the kitsune think.
"Honestly? My default gift would be food. Neither of you may not need to eat food, but you can still enjoy it, right?" Kayo reasoned, as she looked at the stunned dragon who agreed, starting to drool at the mear thought. "Yes... that sounds wonderful~, especially if you make it. It always seems a bit different to when the little pink one makes it." he voiced, thinking of all the yummy food the kitsune could cook for him... like a dutiful wife.
"As for right now... I think I have a nice gift to give you now." Kayo broke the dragon out of his daydream and became very interested in what 'gift' she would be giving them. The kitsune beckoned the dragon closer and he did so without question, watching her come close and place a small warm hand on his scales before witnessing her lips press into one of his scales that covered his cheek.
"There. I can't give you anything physical, so that will have to do for now." Kayo reasoned, pulling away as the dragon was shocked still. Trying to process what had just happened. Not even registering that she had also given the fire sprit a kiss on the cheek that greatly confused him.
"I have to go now, Feliz Navudad~!" Kayo quickly said her go bye and disappeared to see the result of her sibling's work. "Why did she do that to both of us?" Ifrit questioned, touching his cheek where she had kissed him, it had felt... odd. Like nothing he had ever felt before.
"SHE LOVES ME! I MUST NOT LET THIS BLASTED PRISION KEEP US APART ANY LONGER! SOON MY DEAR WIFE! WE SHALL BE TOGETER! KWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Veldora yelled, with renewed vigor in analyzing his prison, a very tempting prize waiting for him on the other side.
Ifrit couldn't help but stare at the dragon who had dove back into his work, almost as if he had been GIVEN diligence by the kitsune woman. It amused the fire sprit at the effect the kitsune had on such a powerful being... and question what else she was capable of.
~Gift Exchange~
"Wow! You look great Kayo! Shuna really out did herself on this one." Rimuru praised, marveling at the light blue dress Kayo had been made to wear. The Kitsune loving the fit of the dress lined with white fur, small golden stars decorating the skirt that seemed a little too short as it showed off her knees, but where thankfully covered by a pair of white stockings, a cute pair of black low-heeled boots on her feet. Her pearlescent locks pulled up into a neat bun and decorated with several hair pins snaped like stars, some shorter strands left to frame her face. A white frilly blouse was added under the dress as some wide ruffles covered her lower arms and her chest was properly covered by a matching shawl, A light blue with white fur and golden stars wrapping around her shoulders and held there by a cute, soft yellow bow on her chest.
Yet to top it all off was a light blue Santa hat and the bell earrings Rimuru had gifted her, jiggling happily as her ears twitched with excitement from the compliment.
"Kayo loves to model clothes for me Lord Rimuru. It was a simple task to make something that suits her." Shuna praised, proud of her work as Kayo came and took her seat next to Rimuru as intended.
"Do I look... cute, Nii-san?" Kayo asked the slime who smiled at her warmly.
"Of course, you are Kayo. Just relax and enjoy the rests of the evening. I owe you one for the fried chicken." Rimuru praised, before they started to receive gifts from the villagers, but the kitsune was actually caught off guard upon being given a gift.
"P-please, you didn't have to give me anything." Kayo told the smiling goblin.
"Of course, we do, Lord Kayo! You've done so much for us. It's the least I can offer to someone as kind and selfless as you." the goblin reasoned and moved along as Carmen and Estela were helping their siblings receive their gifts, while the others got ready for the next phase of her grand plan. This continued for a while with the citizens of Rimuru City giving gifts to both of their beloved leaders, yet every time Kayo was surprised when she received a gift.
"Why are you so surprised? Haven't you ever gotten a Christmas gift before?" Rimuru teased, smirking before it melted off with Kayo's answer. 'No. It stopped when I turned 10... birthdays too. So... it's been over 20 years since I got a gift.' She explained to the slime as she smiled and accepted another gift, this time from an orc.
Rimuru glanced at Kayo, surprised by this information only to smile as he saw the two people Kayo would LOVE to see most of all make an appearance, after Shuna had got them, all dressed up very nicely. "Hey Benimaru! Souei! Get over here!" The slime called out, egger to see Kayo's reaction, having hear her earrings giggle with the perking of her ears.
Kayo's wide golden eyes locked onto the two Kijins, her jaw dropping as she saw how they were dressed, as they got closer the effect got even more noticeable as all for her tails fluffed up when she shivered with excitement.
"L-lord Rimuru, why are we dressed like this?" Benimaru asked, trying not to blush as his sister had made him wear a rather form fitting black pants with gray vertical stripes, a crimson red shirt and a golden tie under the pinstriped vest that matched the pants, along with some odd black shoes. While he did run hotter than most, the crimson kijin still needed a jacket, so Shuna had made him wear a long red coat with a white scarf draped over his shoulders and at the slime's insistence, he also wore a pair of black rectangle glasses for some reason.
Souei however was forced into some black denim jeans that were tucked into black boots, a Dark blue turtleneck sweater and his scarf was under a black Lether jacket that showed off the ninja Kijin's well-built form. Rimuru having given him a pair of rimless oval glasses to wear.
"Lord Benimaru~! Master Souei~!" Many goblina's screamed in appreciation for the Samuri general's new look, and Souei's as both young men looked very good in their outfits, curiously glancing at a still frozen in shock Kayo who stared at them. "Hey, you guys look really good. It doesn't hurt to try different things. Right Kayo? Kayo?" Rimuru turned to Kayo who was still frozen, trying to process what she was seeing even when Rimuru started to poke her to get a new reaction. His prodding did nothing but Benimaru taking off the fake glasses made Kayo's face burn a dark red.
"I don't understand why you made us wear-Kayo!" Benimaru called out in shock as Kayo fainted, overwhelmed with the handsome site, thankfully for her heart she was caught by Rimuru, who had an idea of what had happened and Great Sage giving him an answer, the scent of spice and persimmons filling the air.
"Is she alright, Lord Rimuru?" Benimaru questioned as he came closer, worried about Kayo's sudden fainting as the slime gave him a guilty smile. "Yeah, she's going to be alright. Hey Antony, you wouldn't happen to have another one of those pills, would you? I think she's gonna need one before she wakes up." Rimuru mentioned to the eldest Kitsune sibling who chuckled and handed another blue pill to the slime.
It didn't take long for the Kitsune to wake up, and be force fed the Heat suppressant pill after she had slapped Souei's ass and nuzzled Benimaru's thighs, along with some R rated suggestions. The people of Tempest had given their leaders' their gifts, that easily towered over the two, but Kayo seemed to have gotten a lot of smaller gifts compared to Rimuru.
"Is that everyone?" Kayo asked, giving a relived sigh, getting a bit nervous to look at the pile of gifts that had been put behind her. The amount of attention she had gotten in a few hours from the citizens of Rimuru City and Kayo Village was more than enough for several lifetimes.
"Hey don't forget about us!" Kaval spoke up as he, Eren, Gido and even Fuse approached the two. Eren holding two gifts and holding them out to the siblings with a smile. "Merry Christmas you two!" Eren beamed as Rimuru was given the blue wrapped present and Kayo the red. "Thank you Eren. I saw your performance; it was very lovely." Kayo praised, reminding herself to send the video to the girl's father, after a little editing and trimming of course.
"Thank you, Lord Kayo! I hope next Christmas you're here for the whole thing. Enjoy the book~." Eren mussed, giving away what the kitsune's gift was, but Kayo wasn't upset about the spoiler, still curious what kind of book she was gifted before Rommel slowly approached the leaders with a present and a stack of papers that where loosely bound together. However, he was right in front of Kayo as the rest of Youms Party was just recovering from the shock of seeing an impersonation of the storm dragon.
"A gift for Lord Rimuru and um... Apologies Lord Kayo for not having a gift for you to but..." the mage handed the small gift to the slime who took it can look at the kitsune, who was a little relived. "It's fine Rommel. I don't need a gift from everyone, sorry to have scared all of you." Kayo mussed, as she had been told the human's had fainted at her grand entrance.
"Um. Well, I wanted to ask something of you." the mage gulped nervously and looked up at the woman who looked so much like a queen sitting upon her thrown, looking poised and powerful. Kayo tilted her head and noticed the papers in his hands who was holding nervously. With a small smile, the kitsune leader got up and walked down the few steps to be on the same level at the meek mage, even if she was almost a full foot taller than him.
"Is that the story you have been writing about Tempest?" Kayo asked softly, giving a warm smile to the human who gulped nervously but handed it to the woman. Almost feeling like a child giving their mother a present they had worked so hard on. Rommel watched with bated breath as the Kitsune woman slowly flipped through the pages, not wanting to destroy the order of the story. The human could hear his heart pumping loudly when the kitsune got to the end, while it wasn't a long story it wasn't very short either. Seeing her read threw his work so quickly made him nervous that she was just putting on an act out of kindness.
"Huh. Not bad. A little messy but I guess this is a first draft then?" Kayo asked, giving him a small smile, Rommel nodded, a strange feeling coming over him as he felt her hand on his head. "Saitama told me you liked writing stories. You can drop by my office at the assembly building tomorrow if you like to talk more about this." Kayo suggested, amused by the working title.
The Kitsune Queen of Tempest
"R-really?" Rommel asked in disbelief as Kayo nodded, pulling her hand away.
"Of course, but I will have to keep this draft for security reasons. Can't have just anyone know how kind I am." Kayo joked and Rommel was excited and agreed. Giddy that the kitsune had even slipped it into her tails for safe keeping. Rimuru was curious but sure Kayo would share with him later but now. King Gazel and Dorf approached them, the knight carrying serval presents up to the two leaders.
"K-king Gazel! I didn't know you were here. When did you arrive?" Rimuru spoke up, surprised to the dwarf king and his knight dressed in warm kimonos. "No need for any formalities, this visit is purely personal. Why wouldn't a father want to spend time with his daughter on such an occasion? Let alone bring gifts." Gazel mussed as Rimuru received a single white box with a red bow on it, while Kayo got seven!
'Why did she get more?' Rimuru pouted for a moment, a little jealous. Kayo's eyes lit up at the gifts, taking them from Dorf. "Thank you, Da-Dorf. I take it the other council members liked their gifts?" she asked, smirking knowingly, Dorf was a little amused and gave her a fond smile at her almost slip up. Gazle laughed loudly at her words. "Like is putting it mildly, my child. Kaido also felt the need to get you a gift as well." Gazel mussed as Kayo could tell which gift was from the Captain of the Guards, as it was just wrapped in brown paper tied with string.
"Thank you. Oh! While you're here, I can give you, my presents!" Kayo beamed as she pulled out a dark brown leather satchel with a cartoonish Pegasus stitched on the flap, handing it to Dorf who stared at it in shock before smiling. "I know you've been saving for a new one, but I thought I could just make you one. I had a little help from Gram and Dord but the little horse was all my doing." Kayo excitedly admitted as the man took the bag none the less.
"Thank you, Lord Kayo. I shall treasure this." the dwarf mussed, feeling like a parent getting a gift from their child. The kitsune then walked up to the King next and pulled out what looked like a golden broch on a black string with golden tips at its ends. "I made this for you, it's a Bolo Tie! I thought something small, that could go with anything would be easy for you to wear all the time, and not get in your way. I even carved the sword, and mountain on the clasp and set the gem inside it all on my own~." Kayo proudly showed threw dwarf king her work, he carefully took it from the excited kitsune's hands and inspected it carefully.
"I see Kaijin and his brothers have been teaching you well. This is some fine work for a novice, makes me look forward to what else you can create, my child." Gazel gently encouraged, he was still a king so he couldn't gush openly over the cute and thoughtful gift his adoptive child had given him. Handing it back to her as he let her slip it around his neck so he could wear it like a proud father.
"Wait... did the King of Dwargon just call Lord Kayo... HIS CHILD?!" Fuze questioned, staring at the two in shock, getting the kings attention. His mind having trouble processing this new information. "Opps, guess this kitsune is out of the bag now." Kayo mussed as Youm looked nervous upon seeing the Dwarf king from afar, even without any of his kingly stuff, the Champion in training could tell that the man was not to be messed with.
Eren however watched with a sad smile as the Dwarf king tried not to dot on the kitsune he called his daughter. It made her miss her own father... just a little bit.
~Next Day, Eary Morning, Kayo's Office~
"Finally! It's done!" Kayo whined as she had changed back into the black and blue stealth uniform, she and many of her 'helpers' had been wearing to avoid detection. Plopping down on one of her couches as she had entered through the window after delivering her portion of the gifts to Tempest. Having broken it down into zones to be more manageable, with safe house to come and go from and store the Christmas gifts meant for the villagers come Christmas morning. The same had been done for the other villages as the gifts had been sent out before the celebrations.
"I just have to leave- What the fuck!" Kayo pulled out the last gift she had to deliver before she jumped off her couch in shock as a hand touched her shoulder. Pulling out her sword, about to draw it before the intruder laughed and the kitsune recognized the large figure dressed in red and white.
"Ho ho ho! Easy their Kayo. I'm sorry to have startled you. I mean you know harm." The large, bearded man held up his hands to show he was unarmed, Kayo only stared in shock at his image. "What the hell is going on here? Bruno, are you making fun of me!? I know there's no such thing as Santa." Kayo hissed at the man, but she couldn't sense nor smell her brother in her office.
"Ho ho ho! You don't believe in me? Well, I can't really blame you for thinking that. It's been quite some time since someone was able to summon me." The man mussed, stroking his beard as Kayo still looked at him in confusion.
"Summon? I don't summon you." the kitsune questioned but noticed the man was giving off a strange glow and seeming to be transparent. She dared to get closer and poked the man's belly, making it jiggle like a bowl full of jelly. "Of course, you did. Just not in the way you would summon a common spirit, of course. You have sparked the spirit of Christmas within your nation. Promoting peace, charity, and family to everyone, even those that do not belonging to your nation. You were able to accomplish something not many beings would even try to do without selfish intentions. Let alone succeed in accomplishing, with the help of others." the sprit mussed as Kayo was still confused.
"I wanted to give my brother a good Christmas, it was a pain that I had to get everyone else involved to be super effective." Kayo scoffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes at the Christmas spirit. "I am The Guardian of The Jura Forest and The Kitsune Lord. Of course, people will follow my orders. It helped just that it was fun sneaking around and leaving gifts." Kayo tried not to smile as she recalled leaving a plush kitsune for several children along with a little gift for the morning. Taking a few of the cookies left out and the milk just to help sell the illusion.
"Ho ho ho! No matter how you view it Kayo, you did make a lot of people very happy, and you were a good girl. You didn't harm or kill anyone tonight. I think you deserve that spot on the nice list~." the spirit semi joked before he pulled out a familiar light blue box with a white and gold ribbon. Without much thought the Kitsune held out her hands and received the gift... only to then feel something enter her body, surrounding her in glittering golden light.
"What the? What just happened?" Kayo questioned, looking down at the box in confusion. Curious she started to rip open the present as it WAS Christmas morning. A bit shocked to see what the spirit had gifted her.
"Thank you, Santa." she softly mussed, giving a soft smile as she was a bit tired from all the events.
~Late Afternoon, Souei's Home~
"So cute~." Kayo gushed happily as she played with Souei's kitten, teasing it with a stuffed mouse on a stick and string. Laying comfortably on the floor as she helped the little hunter hone his skills with play. While she happily relaxed in peace at her mate's hide away, dressed in only one of his dark blue robes with a black sash loosely tired around her waist. Having spent the early morning sleeping with him after they had completed their special task that night.
While Kayo wanted to spend the early morning cuddling with him... and just him. The Ninja only 'slept' for a little while before leaving a clone behind to snuggle the sleepy kitsune. When she had woken up a bit before lunch, she had been disappointed to find a clone cuddling her. Sending the workaholic ninja a message before swiftly dispelling the clone, she started to make them a nice lunch. So now she was just killing time waiting for the ninja to return home.
"Mew~" The kitten purred happily, tuckered out with all the practice as it rubbed itself against the kitsune who took him into her arms. "Have fun hunting that mouse darling~?" Kayo cooed, gently petting the kitten who happily settled into her arms. The woman enjoying this peace but got a little worried as Souei had yet to return.
"What's taking him so-" she questioned before she heard Eros speak to her.
You have received summons request by, Rimuru-nii-san.
Accept?
"Sure. Let's see what the slime ball wants now." Kayo sighed, before leaving a note for Souei when he finally got back. The she and the kitten got summoned to Rimuru's office, and just a moment later Benimaru entered with Souei. "Kayo!" the red Kijin called out, wanting to see his kitsune mate but didn't see her anywhere. The smell of freshly cooked food filling the space along with her scent. "She's not here?" the kijin questioned, disappointed before Souei saw the little note.
"Please be sure to sit down and enjoy the meal. Your body needs proper rest and nourishment to get stronger. Don't just leave it to a clone, that doesn't count! Kayo~. P.S. I am carrying our child." Souei read the note out loud and it took him awhile to process the last line. "What!? K-kayo is...?" Benimaru questioned in terrified shock, and Souei felt conflicted and confused before he looked around. At the mess of cat toys but no cat. The ninja let out a relived sigh at his mate's bad joke.
"She meant the cat."
~Rimuru's Office~
"Kayo... did you leave this for me?" The slime asked, pointing to the red box tied closed with a green ribbon. Kayo blinked as she noticed the new box, the kitten napping against her chest peacefully.
"No. My gift to you was white with a black ribbon." She told him honestly, smirking as she saw that her slime brother was wearing the Bolo tie, she had made for him. It was sliver with a dragon carved into the clasp with a colorful jewel at its center, the string being Rimuru blue with the ends caped with golden little slimes."Do you like it?" Kayo asked, pointing to the tie, making Rimuru blush and smile. "Yeah, I always wanted one of these things, but it's not like we get much western wear in Japan. Thank you." He gave her a beaming smile that had her tails wagging at her accomplishment.
"Then where did this other one come from? I found it in my office this morning. I was trying to call you, but Great Sage said you were sleeping." He asked, a little confused before Kayo surprised him with a simple answer. "It must have been Santa Claus, look at what he gave me." Kayo beamed with excitement as she showed the confused otherworld a car manual for an old Charolet Impala pulled from her tails.
"Where did you? Does this mean? That Santa Claus is HERE?" Rimuru questioned, stunned as he looked at Kayo who seemed to be serious with her childish answer.