The Fox Hole

Chapter 33: A Party and a City of Capes…

– Glory Girl –

Victoria Dallon was doing her daily flyby over Brockton Bay, or at least the nicer areas her mother let her patrol. She kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary when something caught her attention. Down near the boardwalk, a crowd had formed around what looked like a restaurant at the end of the pier.

"That's weird," she thought. She didn't remember seeing that building there yesterday.

Curious, she descended toward the gathering. As she got closer, people noticed her approach. A few pointed her out, and the chatter turned toward her.

"It's Glory Girl! She'll know what to do!" someone in the crowd shouted.

Vicky landed and glanced around. "What's going on, everyone?" she asked.

"We don't know!" someone else replied. "This building just… appeared out of nowhere! Like, poof, and there it was!"

Another person chimed in, "Yeah, one second there's nothing, and then suddenly, a whole restaurant shows up! It's freakin' bizarre."

Crossing her arms, Vicky stared at the building. The sign on the front read "The Fox Hole." She muttered the name aloud. The place looked ordinary enough for a family restaurant, though the windows were oddly opaque, like they were tinted from the inside.

'Should probably call this in,' she thought. 'Or wait for backup. But…' Her curiosity was getting the better of her. "If this is some kind of villain trap, I'm probably an idiot for walking right into it," she mumbled to herself before stepping forward. The crowd parted to let her through, murmuring behind her as she pushed open the door.

The inside of the restaurant caught her completely off guard. Banners stretched across the walls, reading "Happy Birthday Kunou!" 

A group of–people–were gathered around a table, laughing and celebrating like they were at the best party ever. It was definitely a very…odd and colorful bunch. Was that guy just a straight up skeleton? 

'That must be another Case 53…' she thought to herself.

In the middle of it all was a little girl with fox ears and nine fluffy tails. She was in the process of blowing out the candles on a massive birthday cake while everyone sang for her. Vicky's first thought was how adorable the girl looked, even for a Case 53. It was almost too cute to handle.

"Hi there!" a voice called out.

Vicky turned to see a girl approaching her. She felt a twinge of envy as she took in the girl's stunning appearance. She had crimson red hair that practically glowed and a figure that made Vicky's gym efforts feel like a joke.

"Hey," Vicky said. "Uh… what's going on here? With all this?" She gestured awkwardly to the party.

The girl smiled brightly. "Oh? Are you new here? Today's Kunou-chan's birthday! She's the adorable little sister of my fiancé, Haru. He's the owner and chef here at The Fox Hole. Best restaurant in the whole multiverse!"

Vicky blinked. "The… multiverse? R–right..." She nodded slowly. "Well, I guess I'll come back later. I wouldn't want to crash a birthday party."

The girl waved her off. "Oh, don't worry about it! Haru and Kunou wouldn't mind another guest as long as you're not here to cause trouble."

Vicky put her hands on her hips. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm a hero, after all."

The girl's eyes lit up. "Wait, really?! An actual superhero!? That's not just cosplay?!"

"Uh, no?" Vicky said. "You seriously don't know who I am? I'm Glory Girl."

"I love your name and costume!" the girl said. "You have to meet Kunou and Haru! Kunou-chan will flip when she finds out a real superhero showed up at her birthday party!" She grabbed Vicky's arm and started dragging her toward the center of the room.

Vicky sighed but let herself be pulled along. This wasn't the first kids' birthday party she'd crashed since becoming a cape. Honestly, it wasn't even the first one this week. And hey, free food and cake were always a plus, right? Besides, kids usually got a kick out of her showing up.

"Be careful not to eat too much or you'll make yourself sick, little sister..."

Vicky stopped mid-step, her thoughts skidding to a halt when she saw the most gorgeous Case 53 she'd ever laid eyes on. Damn, she wished she was older! He was handing a slice of cake to a little fox girl with frosting smudged on her cheeks. The guy looked almost exactly like her—golden eyes, tall fox ears, and nine golden tails swaying behind him.

'Weird,' Vicky thought. As far as she knew, Case 53s didn't share appearances. Every one she'd ever met was unique.

"Ara… hello there."

Vicky flinched and turned toward the new voice. She blinked twice. Another fox person had appeared—this one a woman with long golden hair and the same vulpine features. She stood right in front of Vicky and the red-haired girl dragging her along.

"Hi, Yasaka! I found someone new!" the redhead said brightly, giving Vicky a firm push toward the busty fox woman.

Yasaka laughed—no, it sounded more like a chittering noise—and folded her hands neatly in front of her. "Hello, my dear. Welcome to my son's restaurant, The Fox Hole."

Vicky glanced around and raised an eyebrow. "I can see where the name comes from."

Yasaka grinned at the comment, the corners of her golden eyes crinkling. "Indeed. I see you're already acquainted with Rias here, one of my son's fiancées."

One of his WHAT?! Fiancées? Plural? Vicky froze, her head spinning. She swallowed down the barrage of questions threatening to spill out and was about to demand an explanation when the little fox girl suddenly noticed her.

"Hi there! I'm Kunou, and today I'm ten!" The girl bounded over with a wide smile, bits of frosting still on her face. Her fluffy tails swayed enthusiastically behind her.

Vicky crouched down to meet Kunou's gaze and smiled. "Hi there, Kunou! I'm Glory Girl, otherwise known as Victoria Dallon." She waited for the usual spark of recognition most kids got when they realized they were face-to-face with a superhero.

Kunou just tilted her head, looking puzzled.

That was, until Rias leaned in with a playful grin. "Vicky's a real superhero."

Kunou's eyes widened, her whole face lighting up. "You are!? That's so cool!"

Vicky couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yep, that's me. Super strength, force fields, the whole Alexandria package!" she bragged.

Kunou clapped her hands together excitedly. "Wow! Do you fight villains and save people?"

"All the time," Vicky replied with a grin. 

Kunou spun around to face the handsome restaurant owner—Haru—and blurted out, "I want to be a superhero too now! Can I go out and fight crime with… um…" She paused, looking at Vicky. "What's your hero name?"

Vicky giggled. "I'm Glory Girl. And I think you're a little too young to go on patrol. What are your powers, anyway?" She was starting to get suspicious. Maybe this family wasn't a bunch of Case 53s after all. They could just be capes with strange powers that gave them the same fox-like appearances. That would explain a lot.

Kunou put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly. "My powers are super awesome." She held up her right hand, and a small ball of blue fire flickered to life in her palm. "I can use fox fire to fight, or I can trick bad guys with illusions. Or I can scratch them with my claws. Or even bite them!"

Vicky laughed at Kunou's excitement. "I wouldn't recommend biting villains. They're not exactly hygienic." She smirked, thinking back. "One villain I know, Mush, covers himself in garbage before fights. Pretty gross."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Kunou suddenly declared. Before anyone could react, she dashed right past Vicky, her tails swishing behind her. "I'm gonna be a superhero for my birthday!"

"Wait, Kunou!" Haru called after her, already stepping forward, but the little fox was too quick. She weaved through the crowd of partygoers like a pro, heading straight for the front door.

"It's fine, I'll catch her," another blonde girl said casually. She looked younger, maybe twelve or thirteen, with sharp eyes and an air of authority about her. Without waiting for anyone's response, she darted out the door after the runaway birthday girl.

– Haru –

"Sorry about Kunou. She's just really hopped up on sugar and excited 'cause it's her birthday," I said to the new girl. "I'm Haru."

"That's okay," she said with a smile. "I'm Glory Girl—or just Vicky."

"Are superheroes supposed to give away their secret identities so easily?" Rias asked, leaning against the counter.

"What's a superhero, Haru?" Agnar walked over, towering over both of us.

Vicky blinked at him, her mouth slightly open as she stared at his sheer size. "Wow, you're big."

Agnar grinned and puffed out his chest. "That I am, lass. I'm a true Nord warrior! We don't come in any other size except big!" He thumped his fist against his chest. For once, he wasn't wearing his usual armor, since this was a party.

"Only the men!" Aela called out from the bar. She was already on her third tankard of mead. "We Nord women are large too, but not freakishly so like the men!"

…And yet somehow, they're almost as strong as the men are. I always figured it had something to do with the magicka running through everyone from Nirn. Whether they used it for spells or not, it still seemed to enhance them physically.

"How do you not know what a superhero is?" Vicky asked Agnar.

"I can explain that one!" Rias said, cutting in. "I feel like you didn't believe me when I said this was the best restaurant in the multiverse!" She gestured around the room. "This restaurant connects to a whole bunch of other dimensions. Some of them are other Earths, and some of them are completely different worlds. There's even a super huge alien space station we can go to, full of aliens!"

Vicky's eyes widened as she really started taking in the room. She looked at the different styles of clothes, the unique features of the guests, and the general weirdness of it all. Councilor Tevos, sitting in the corner talking to Sansa and Catelyn Stark. The Councilor was very fascinated about the literally impossible weather cycle in their world and wanted to launch a couple probes there to find out what was going on.

Vicky's head snapped back to me. "That blue lady isn't a Case 53… she's an actual alien?"

I nodded. "Yep. And I'm not human either. I'm a Yokai—a kitsune. "

Rias's wings popped out, and she grinned at Vicky. "And I'm a pureblooded devil!" She started pointing around the room. "Over there is Ainz. He's undead, and his girlfriend is a succubus. I think he also has a vampire girlfriend, but I haven't met her yet." She pointed toward the bar. "Over there is Haru's other fiancée, Aela. She's a werewolf. And over there is Lady Gabriel. She's an archangel—yeah, that one from the Bible..."

Vicky stared at Gabriel, her jaw dropping. "Holy shit! An angel that's not evil!?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Most angels aren't really evil. Except for, like, Kokabiel probably…" I trailed off.

Gabriel tilted her head before gracefully walking over to us. "Hello there. Have you met an angel before? This restaurant hasn't connected to any worlds with other angels yet, but I'd be fascinated to meet one."

Vicky shook her head quickly, her eyes wide. "You don't want to meet ours! She's killed millions of people and destroyed even more lives."

Gabriel's expression didn't change, but I noticed her wings twitch slightly. Then, her golden aura started to leak out, glowing brighter and brighter.

I grabbed Rias by the arm and scooted her backward a few steps so she wouldn't get burned by that aura. 

Gabriel's voice cut through the air like a blade. "Tell me more about this blasphemous creature..."

– Tanya –

Tanya and Viktoriya were flying above the city, the skyline a mix of glass towers and older brick buildings that made it clear this was this world's version of America. Below them, Kunou zipped around, her tiny form a blur as she ran through the streets, pretending to be some kind of superhero. People stared openly at her non-human features—her fox ears and tails made her stand out in a big way—but Kunou didn't seem to care.

"Should we stop her?" Viktoriya asked as Kunou slowed down to help an old lady cross the street. She even did it dramatically, puffing out her chest and walking the lady at a snail's pace, earning a few chuckles from passersby.

"Nah," Tanya said, watching from above. "I've been watching over Kunou long enough to know it's better to let her burn out all her energy before we drag her back. If we interrupt her now, she'll just sneak out again later."

Viktoriya nodded, glancing down at the little fox as they floated in the sky. "I like this new job a lot more than fighting in a war," she said softly. "I like just spending time with you peacefully, Colonel."

Tanya blushed and cleared her throat, looking away quickly. "I—I like spending time with you too, Viktoriya. But I'm not a Colonel anymore. I'm just a normal salary woman working as a bodyguard for yokai royalty." She crossed her arms, trying to sound casual.

Viktoriya giggled. "That doesn't sound normal at all…"

Down below, Kunou had wandered into a park and was now standing on a bench, speaking loudly to herself. Tanya cocked an eyebrow and leaned in to hear what was going on.

"All my life, people have looked down on me," Kunou declared to absolutely no one.

"Uh… what is she talking about?" Viktoriya whispered.

Tanya smirked and pulled out her phone, already hitting the record button. Yasaka always paid her a bonus for videos of Kunou being adorable, and this was pure gold. "She's improvising her superhero backstory," Tanya said.

Kunou kept going, her hands on her hips. "They thought I didn't have what it takes. They said my lowly fox powers couldn't keep up with the big leagues. They said I'd never be a true superhero!"

A couple of old ladies walking by cooed at her. "Awwww," they said, smiling as Kunou kept up her act.

"But not anymore!" Kunou shouted, pointing dramatically at the sky. "Now I'm out here, and I'm going to prove everyone wrong by taking down the biggest and baddest villain on these streets!" Kunou leapt off the bench and ran up to a teenage girl walking three dogs. The girl stopped and stared as Kunou struck a pose. "You there! I am Kunou, the most powerful hero this city has ever seen! Show me where the most evil villain in this city is!" she declared.

The girl stared at Kunou blankly before leaning down and sniffing her. Tanya frowned. That was… unexpected.

"You smell like a fox, but that's still a canine," the girl said finally. "So that means you're a good person." She stood back up and nodded. "There's an evil villain named Hookwolf. I hate him. He likes to hurt dogs. I like dogs. I want to hurt him."

Kunou gasped so loudly Tanya heard it from above. Her tails swished wildly, practically vibrating with energy. "An animal abuser? That's the most evil person in the whole world! Let's go beat him up!" she shouted.

The girl nodded seriously. "I'm Bitch," she said, then put two fingers to her lips and let out a sharp whistle.

Tanya and Viktoriya froze in the sky as the three cute dogs at Bitch's side transformed into gigantic, monstrous creatures. The girl grabbed Kunou and plopped her onto the back of one of the massive beasts before climbing onto another herself. The people in the park scattered, staring nervously as a cheering Kunou rode off with Bitch and her giant dogs to take down Hookwolf.

"Well…" Tanya finally said, still holding her phone. "I wasn't expecting that to happen. I guess we should follow and see where this goes. If the villain's too strong, you or I will have to step in of course…"

She turned to Viktoriya, only to see a fiery determination in her eyes. "An animal abuser!" Viktoriya said fiercely. "What a monster! I hope Kunou-chan gets his ass!"

XXX

I have a patreo n. My subs can read advanced updates of my stories ahead of standard release and even check out pics for some of the more naughty chapters. That's a recent development though.

Link:

Patreo n .com (slash) Starwaves

Here is the list of Current Advanced Chapters:

The Fallen Gamer ch 308-312

The Fox Hole 38

The Titan 19

The Fox Hole 37

The Fox Hole 36

The Blood Queen 25

The Blood Queen 24

The Titan 18

The Fox Hole 35

The Fox Hole 34

The Blood Queen 23