Happy Birthday

  It's Thursday, which is normally a regular day, but it's also my birthday. So, I decided to skip school and take the day off.

  I can’t believe I managed to survive long enough to live through another November 22nd. This year has really tried to kill me more than usual, but my day has finally arrived. I planned to simply rest and enjoy myself today. Tamamo called me to take a bath and come downstairs for breakfast. It seems they have something planned to celebrate, so I did just that. When I finished, Tamamo replaced my usual clothes with a new kimono. It was the second kimono she had given me. This time, it was white with golden dragon details and a bit of fur to make it feel nice to the touch. It also had the usual sexy details I loved, like being inappropriately open.

  "Here, so you can be the beautiful girl you've always wanted to be."

  "Today, you'll just be a girl, nothing more, alright?" she said with a smile, teasingly but affectionately.

  She asked me to try to get and maintain my desired shape, so I tried to find a nice balance between being a slime and a kitsune. I was quite pretty, smooth, and smooth like water. I put on my latex boots and gloves from my maid uniform to cover my transparent hands. I managed to shape my slime arms to hold my breasts, making it look like I was wearing a fitness bra, though they were actually my slime hair hands. I had become much more proficient at manipulating my water body, I confess. So I thought, why not? I absorbed a lot more water and used it to create nine kitsune tails, just like Tamamo’s.

  After staring at myself in the mirror for a while and admiring how silly yet lustfully sexy I looked, I went down to the kitchen, where a large breakfast had been prepared just for me. It looked like a buffet I couldn't refuse. The other girls were there, too, each getting ready to go out. I still didn’t know where we were going, but they insisted that it would remain a secret. They also said I shouldn’t worry because it wouldn’t be a surprise party; we were just going to spend some time outside with family.

  They genuinely seemed to have good intentions toward me until fate came to test everything once again when the house bell rang loudly and unexpectedly. Everyone turned to look at each other, wondering what it could be since it wasn't part of the plan. My mother gathered her courage, thinking it was just another package, and opened the door. On the other side stood her younger sister, Damaris—our aunt—along with a backpack and a smile.

  "Surprise!"

  "Hi, sister! How have you been?"

  "What do you think? This surprise visit will surely brighten your day!"

  "I wanted to see how you and Maria were doing living alone abroad, so I thought I'd come. No doubt Maria is happy to see me arrive unexpectedly!"

  Everyone in the house was silent with their mouths wide open. No one had planned for her to be here today. I didn’t know why, but I could tell that the other girls weren’t happy about my aunt's unexpected visit. Both Tamamo and Lisa looked seriously toward the door. Maria and even my mother didn’t look pleased to see her.

  “Damaris? What are you doing here!?”

  Didn’t you ask me to announce my arrival beforehand? We have a lot to do today. I can’t attend to you!”

  "I already made a reservation!"

  My aunt wasn’t a bad person. She had probably traveled all the way from Costa Rica to Japan because she was genuinely concerned about her sister and how she was living with Maria. I also didn't doubt that she had paid for the entire trip with her earnings as a party and wedding planner. However, she was also well-known in our family for her childish appearance, comical bad luck, and tendency to break things.

  For Leon, Maria, and me, though, she was like a second mother. We trusted her as much as our mother and she was always worried about us in her own way. If she had managed to make the trip without being stopped by customs, navigating complex procedures, boarding the correct plane without any malfunctions or cancellations due to bad weather, and arriving at the correct address, it was probably because her presence here would cause more trouble than all that combined—which was probably the point.

  "Would you mind if I came inside? I’m tired; it’s been a long plane trip.”

  The seat was super uncomfortable. Economy class is getting closer and closer to just being the luggage hold.”

  “...”

  “...”

  “Um… Ade, who are all of them? And why is there a costume party at your house?" my aunt asked when she saw us inside the house.

  We all waved slowly, not really knowing how to react. My mother, looking tired, rubbed her eyes, closed the door, and went straight to talk to my aunt.

  "All right, we're short on time, so I'll give you the summarized version."

  "That one over there is Tamamo, the moon goddess. The demon is Lisa; the tiny fairy is Tifa; the ghost is Nanami; and the androids are Kazumi and Charlotte.”

  The giant snake is actually two: Lucy and Voranoa.

  The one in the wheelchair is a mermaid named Levia. The other is Mei Ling, my secretary.

  The nun is an angel named Momo.

  “The other one in the breakfast area...just call them Cesar.”

  “Wait, not so fast! Who’s who? I didn’t understand anything.”

  “Why do you live with all of them? Why is one of them called Cesar?”

  "As I said, we're short on time. We have a reservation for a party in an hour, and, as you can see, many people still need to get ready.”

  "There are too many girls. Have you turned lesbian? You've been living carefree since you left!"

  “No, that’s not it. It’s a harem; it’s different.”

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  "And it's not mine. It belongs to Elise."

  "You know what? Uncomfortable questions go to the Department of Strange Things. She’s the girl who eats for an entire family at the table.”

  "Go grab something to eat before she absorbs everything with her boobs.”

  "I still need to do my hair and makeup. I'll come down when I'm done," my mother said, going upstairs.

  Damaris was confused by the rapid conversation earlier. Seeing that her sister refused to explain what was happening, she turned to me for answers, but she didn’t seem confident enough to speak. I didn’t blame her; I knew perfectly well how ridiculous this must look to an outsider. My aunt pulled a book out of her pants pocket and started flipping through the pages quickly, as if urgently searching for something.

  “Konnichiwa!”

  “Wata… …shiwa ni… …hon… …go o hana… …se…ma…sen!” Damaris said, reading the book aloud, her face showing confusion.

  "Don't worry. I speak Spanish," I replied.

  "Everyone in the house knows it to a greater or lesser extent."

  "Oh, what luck! I don’t know any Japanese.”

  I bought this book at the airport, but I haven’t read it yet."

  Damaris grabbed a chair in the dining room, poured herself some coffee, and sat down. She seemed to be making her best effort to fit in and not bother the others, having noticed that her presence had disturbed her sister. However, it was clear from her face that she was nervous and didn’t know how to proceed, especially when Voranoa coiled her body nearby to eat, opening her mouth so wide that she could swallow a steak in one bite. My aunt didn’t say anything, but she was terrified by the Lamia's feat.

  “Don’t worry. She’s trained, although the first week was tough for us.” Maria noticed her aunt’s discomfort and came over to help. She sat with us at the table to talk and try to relax her.

  "And why are you here at this time of year, Aunt?" I thought more parties started happening around this time. I thought you’d be busy with work until next year.”

  “Um…sorry, I think I’m the weird one here.”

  “What’s going on here?”

  “And who is she, and why do they call her Cesar?”

  Maria and I looked at each other. There was nothing else we could do but tell her the truth and hope she could understand. After a few minutes of talking with her and using Kazumi’s computer presentation, we tried to give her an introductory course about the house.

  “...”

  "Wait a moment...so you really are Cesar?"

  “The Cesar who went off to fight in the continental war?”

  “...”

  "And you ended up as a cross-dresser and...that Japanese beast of a monster?"

  "It's not just dressing up. I really changed sex."

  These thighs didn't come off by themselves.

  "And you two, Maria and Adelis, do you believe her?"

  "Well, at first, it seemed ridiculous and improbable, but now, I don't doubt it."

  "Oh my God..."

  “So, my mother’s story was true?”

  "We all thought she was going senile!"

  “Wait, what? What happened to Grandma?” Maria asked, worried.

  "A couple of months ago, she said she had seen César in a dream.

  "She insisted that she had seen him in a huge castle at night at a party like the ones in Hungary."

  My mother kept saying she had seen César alive and busy trying to save someone.

  "The craziest part is that she described you just like you are now, with those...tails and ears..."

  "For a long time, we thought she was going crazy. Nelsy even bought her pills and scheduled visits to a psychologist."

  "But, as always, she managed to talk her way out of it."

  "Well, it's not like the story is easy to accept either," Maria replied.

  Damaris kept looking me straight in the eyes, seeming to try to confirm that everything she had been told was true. She didn't seem to believe anything, but with Grandma's story becoming reality, it seemed to have eased some things in her mind.

  “...”

  "I'm sorry to say this, but Mencho didn't take that story well. He dismissed it as nonsense."

  "He said several times that if his grandson had become a faggot who liked skirts, it would have been better if he were dead."

  "Then he said that, at least, you died in the war before having the chance to do something like that, doing something like a man for the only time in your life."

  “...”

  "Then Mama spiced up his dentures and forced him to sleep outside the house for fifteen days for talking too much."

  “...”

  "As for me, it may not mean much, but congratulations on coming back to us once more, Cesar."

  "No, wait. Your name is Elise now, right? Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you!”

  "Don't worry. Names don't matter to me. Even here, people keep calling me Cesar and Elise all the time.

  “There's no need to say anything, though I think Elise sounds prettier.”

  “...”

  "As for my grandfather, well, there's not much that can be done."

  "He’s set in his ways and likes the world a certain way. I’m nothing like that."

  "I know he never liked me, and even less now that I changed sex. I’m not going to spend my life trying to win over someone who could never love me. That chapter is over."

  "I’ll simply focus on living my own life and let him live his."

  "He doesn't need to know that I'm still alive."

  "Okay, I'll keep that in mind from now on."

  "Oh, right! It’s your birthday today, isn’t it? That’s why everyone is going out!”

  “Don’t worry! I’ll help you celebrate! I’m an expert at this. After all, organizing parties is my job!"

  "I'm sorry, Oba-sama, but today's event has been carefully planned for some time now. We appreciate your good intentions, but please refrain from doing anything outside the plan. "

  "Simply enjoy what has already been prepared,” Tamamo said, quite serious but polite as expected.

  Adelis came down the stairs, already dressed to go out and checking the time. She still seemed a little stressed.

  "Alright, Cedric says he’s almost here with the truck."

  "There are too many of us for Mei Ling’s car, so sorry, sister, you’ll have to go in the truck along with Voranoa, Levia, and the androids."

  "I managed to call the pizzeria, and everything will be ready in time for the afternoon. Maria, you’ve got the music, right?"

  My mother was still very determined to throw the party today at any cost. But all her doubts and worries seemed to disappear as soon as we arrived at the place. It turns out they remembered how much I enjoyed the time I brought Kazumi and Charlotte to the arcade and trampoline area the first time, so this time they rented the entire place just for us this afternoon. It was really awesome, especially the trampoline area and the maze, where we tried to have a race to see which team would reach the end first. The groups were created randomly, but we had to make a couple of changes when Tifa, the little fairy, ended up as Levia the mermaid’s teammate.

  For food, my mother and my aunt brought several boxes of pizza so there would be enough for everyone. Without a doubt, what surprised me the most was receiving a couple of gifts, already wrapped, because I had resigned myself to never seeing one of these again in my life. I think I truly showed real happiness when, in one of them, there was the box of a new video game console just for me.

  For a good moment, I felt happy without the fear of bothering anyone with my existence, truly feeling that they wanted me there with them in that moment. Being the girl I wanted to be, Tamamo was even happy to see me as a kitsune like her, and that we matched each other in appearance. Nanami also shared with the others and even gave me a book she bought online, Robinson Crusoe, one of my favorite stories.

  At the end of the day, my aunt Damaris took a photo of all of us together. My mother liked it so much that she’s thinking of using it to send as Christmas cards to the whole family, letting the news of my return and new identity reach everyone naturally.