I made my way to the outskirts of town to the south. I made myself invisible by masking myself with an illusion of my surroundings. It was not as difficult as it sounded. I just made it look like there was nothing where I was.

  At first, I thought this would look suspicious, but I learned that people simply think it’s their imagination and ignore it. Was it foolish naivety or just willful ignorance? It didn’t really matter to me. So long as they didn’t get in my way.

  I made my way to a farmstead and passed the house, heading toward the barn. Climbing up the side carefully, I jumped in through the window to the second story. Crawling over to a haystack, I collapsed on it and closed my eyes. My illusion faded as my form began to shift.

  After a few moments, I lay in the hay as a mini version of my true form: a small albino fox with nine tails. I actively suppressed the nine tails down to one before closing my eyes and resting. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day after all.

  The next day I met up with the men my… er… contact had hired for me. The men looked strong and capable. As expected of thugs, the first thing they noticed was my body. But I had them right where I wanted them. At least, that was the idea. Then she appeared.

  I stared at the Nekojin. I was at a loss for words. All that effort wasted! Who even was this girl? Where had she come from? Why was she so strong? She was barely taller than me at around 5'2", with waist-long, silky-smooth royal purple hair and piercing blue eyes. Her skin was fair, clearly from one of the water tribes. But what stood out most was her insane skill and strange way of speaking.

  “What were you doing to that fox girl!” The Nekojin yelled at one of the guys and glared. Instead of saying anything, the idiot kept trying to punch her. I watched as his head suddenly jerked to the side and he went limp. She dropped him like he was a paperweight and turned to the last man. She blinked over to him and dodged as he swung an enchanted dagger at her.

  What a foolish man. I suppose that’s why they were thugs. The enchanted dagger used a rock bolt skill that fired into the ground where she had been. The Nekojin instantly responded by literally grabbing his head and twisting hard, causing his neck to snap aggressively. Honestly, she was extremely impressive and terrifying all at once.

  She turned to me, and I went rigid, my face paling and fear piercing me as her sapphire eyes stared into mine. She vanished again, then appeared next to me near instantly. I didn’t even have time to blink. She suddenly had a dagger at my throat, and I knew I was dead.

  “Tama wants to know what’s going on, you are going to tell her!” she said to me, her eyes staring into my soul. I nodded, terrified and trying my best to not piss myself. She held me tightly and stared into my eyes.

  I quickly forced myself to calm slightly and spoke, trying to sound indignant. “If you must know, yes, they were criminals. They were bad people! I was trying to hire them to help me with a quest. Then you show up all sword swinging and ruin everything! I had everything under control before you showed up and ruined it!” I said. My voice became angrier as I spoke, despite my fear.

  After a moment, I realized I had told the truth when I had meant to lie. My eyes went wide in shock. Was she charming me?! “What did you just do to me?!” I snapped, even more angry and confused. She didn’t seem to be a Kitsune.

  She glared back at me and responded, “Tama did nothing! Tama asks the questions!” Her tail lashed aggressively as she spoke.

  I took a moment to think. Okay, it was clear she was upset and confused. I could still take advantage of this, right? I made sure I sounded calm and reserved when I next spoke. “Look, as I said, I was trying to hire those gentlemen when you showed up and killed them. I think it is only fair that you help me with my quest in their place. You mentioned being a ninja, right? That means you must be an adventurer of some kind. Take up my quest with you and your party. I promise it will be worth it.”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Despite my calm voice, I was all nerves. It didn’t help that her dagger had not even shifted an inch. She was highly trained and dangerous. I glanced toward the guards really quickly, but they weren’t in sight.

  “Tama is not an adventurer, she is a ninja. She has come to Drestor to help people and find her aunt!” Tama said to me.

  I considered what she said and then smiled widely. “I tell you what, let’s make a deal! I help you find your aunt, you protect me by escorting me through the Trelloark forest. Fair?”

  She pursed her lips, and after a moment she let me go. I felt a strange kinship with her despite her being a Nekojin and having a blade at my throat. She nodded and said, “Okay, Tama will help as long as you don’t lie!”

  I nodded at her gratefully as she put me down. I stated, “By the way, my name is Autumn, but you can call me Saki.”

  "Tama misunderstood what was happening. She thought those men wanted to hurt you. They said lots of things that sounded very bad," Tama said suddenly.

  "That is true," I said, not even trying to be circumspect at this point. "I planned on charming them to get them to do what I wanted." Tama looked at me puzzled, and I sighed. "It means," I leaned in and whispered, "that I was going to use a special skill I have to make them want to do what I asked of them."

  I realized how casually I told this random girl I just met one of my biggest secrets like it was common practice and began to wonder if I was actually being charmed. I mean, it was clear she had been threatening me only a moment ago, and yet I felt oddly at peace near her. Like she would protect me... like my mother. Internally, I winced at the memory.

  "Tama thinks mind control is bad!" She said this with a raised eyebrow, but she made no threatening moves toward me. "Yes, I agree mind control is bad!" I said emphatically. "But my charm is not mind control… it's more like manipulating emotions to make people like you more!"

  Tama frowned at that for a moment before her eyes went wide in realization. "So wait, it's like saying pretty please with ice cream on top!" I stared at the cat girl for what felt like an eternity, trying to comprehend the pure, incomprehensible stupidity of her words.

  Finally, I gave up and simply nodded. "Yes, that's right, it's like saying pretty please with ice cream on top." I didn't add any fluff, I simply stated my response with an edge of sarcasm.

  "Tama knew it! She is very clever, you know!" she said with a wide smile. I resisted the urge to facepalm. The truth was that despite my misgivings, I really liked this girl. She was innocent, kind, and heroic.

  I was hesitant, but the reality was that regardless of how I felt, I needed her, and she owed me for this. Even if she disagreed with my methods, she would definitely see that.

  "So, you will help me, right?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  She seemed to consider it before nodding. "While Tama doesn't like your tricks, Tama did mess up your plan. As long as your plan is not bad, I will help."

  I sighed in relief. That was good. What was even better, if disconcerting, was the fact that I genuinely believed her. She truly would help if she felt the cause was right.

  "Actually, Tama was wondering if you could help her with something after too," the cat girl suddenly said, throwing me completely off guard.

  I froze as I realized I had started to trust this girl like it was nothing. I quickly hid my emotions before asking, "And... what would that be?"

  "Tama needs to get to this city place called Arrisaille. After Tama helps you, can you tell Tama where that is?"

  I actually felt shame at myself for thinking this girl would actually ask something nefarious of me.

  A ludicrous feeling, as I shouldn't trust her this much to begin with. But it's like my very nature as a Kitsune made me want to help her.

  The void within me, of course, said what it always said. Erase her. It repeated the phrase again and again in the background.

  I sighed as I once again warred with myself in an endless struggle. One I wasn't sure I could win.

  Finally, I pushed the melancholy and thoughts away. Instead, I stepped forward and held out my hand, taking hers.

  "I really appreciate this," I said with genuine appreciation, causing me to feel slightly uncomfortable. "Let's get your badge and we can get started."

  She looked at me strangely, causing me to feel even more uncomfortable. After a long moment, she finally spoke.

  "Why are your breasts so big?" I stared at her in stunned silence, mouth agape at the insane question.

  "Well... it's... I..." I stuttered, at a complete loss for words. Suddenly she turned towards the town gates, her ears perking up before nodding to herself.

  I was almost scared to know what she was nodding about. But after a moment, she once again spoke, and I felt relief.

  "So, where do I get this adventure thingy badge?"