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The Fox Hole 91
🕑 Added 2025-05-06 21:52:23 +0000 UTCChapter 91:
– Zouken –
Matou Zouken writhed and twisted in mindless fury on the grimy stone floor of his secret basement, his shapeless, worm-infested form shifting and squirming endlessly.
At this point, his body was nothing but a seething mass of worms barely held together in a humanoid shape, wriggling ceaselessly across the dank stones.
But his mind—his mind remained perfectly sharp, razor-focused even after hundreds of miserable, blood-soaked years.
He didn’t care what those pathetic, talentless fools in his family thought of him. Their pitiful whispering, calling him mad and insane—they had paid dearly for their arrogance. Zouken had devoured every single useless worm of his lineage who’d dared question his vision, feeding their miserable bodies and mana to sustain himself. They were nothing. Worthless trash without talent or purpose.
There was only one mage in the Matou family who mattered. Himself.
Only he had the skill, the foresight, the ruthless dedication necessary for true magecraft!
Well… there was that adopted girl as well, Sakura.
The Tohsaka child he’d taken in so many years ago. Her potential had been undeniable, her body perfect for the worms he’d lovingly forced inside her, shaping her into an obedient vessel for his purposes.
But now—now something was wrong.
Very fucking wrong.
With a sudden, violent twist, Zouken’s worm-infested body spasmed uncontrollably, an explosion of rage and confusion surging through him. He could no longer sense her. Sakura’s presence had vanished completely from his perception—along with every single worm he’d implanted inside her. It was as if they’d all suddenly disappeared from existence itself.
Impossible.
“What the fuck happened?!” Zouken hissed, his voice thick and distorted, a grotesque, rasping noise echoing off the basement walls.
Had Sakura been killed and her body annihilated instantly? Had another powerful magus family discovered and removed his parasites, erasing all traces of his precious work? Or had that pathetic, spineless little girl dared to betray him after everything he’d done for her—after all his generous training, the incredible honor he’d bestowed upon her?
Zouken’s paranoia surged uncontrollably, twisting his thoughts into darker, uglier possibilities. He felt sickening rage swell inside him, worms crawling in agitation beneath his sagging, rotten flesh.
“SHINJI!” he bellowed suddenly, his twisted voice echoing violently through the estate. “SHINJI, GET DOWN HERE IMMEDIATELY, YOU PATHETIC, USELESS MAGGOT!”
Almost instantly, he heard the rapid, panicked clatter of footsteps hurrying down the stone staircase. Moments later, Shinji Matou burst into the dim, musty basement, face pale and sweating, eyes wide with terror.
Good. The boy should be afraid. He was an utter disgrace—unable to even use basic magecraft, a pathetic failure with no redeeming qualities.
He disgusted Zouken completely.
“W-What is it, grandfather?” Shinji stammered, voice trembling, refusing to look directly at Zouken’s writhing form.
“Sakura,” Zouken rasped viciously, a dozen worms squirming violently beneath the translucent surface of his distorted face. “Where the hell is she, Shinji?”
Shinji flinched violently, cowering back against the wall. “I-I don’t know! I swear! She just said she was going to visit that idiot, Emiya! She always goes to that bastard’s place—”
“Emiya…” Zouken’s distorted, worm-infested face twisted horribly at the name, something like dark recognition dawning inside him. “That fucking adopted brat of Kiritsugu Emiya’s…?”
A new surge of paranoia flared through him, bitter and violent. Kiritsugu Emiya, the so-called Magus Killer. Zouken had long dismissed Shirou Emiya as harmless—a weak, idealistic fool without an ounce of his adopted father’s ruthless ability. But had that been a mistake? Had the boy merely been pretending to be a harmless nobody, patiently biding his time, waiting silently for the perfect opportunity to strike?
Had Shirou Emiya betrayed Sakura against him, somehow destroying his precious worms?
“You idiot!” Zouken snarled at Shinji, worms falling grotesquely from his mouth onto the basement floor, squirming and scattering wildly. “You pathetic waste of flesh! Why didn’t you tell me she’d been spending time with Emiya?!”
“I-I didn’t think it mattered!” Shinji squealed desperately, eyes wild with panic. “He’s just a useless nice guy—no magecraft, no threat! I swear, I—”
“Shut up!” Zouken screeched, his malformed worm-body convulsing grotesquely, rage burning in every squirming cell. “Find out what happened to Sakura immediately! NOW, SHINJI!”
Shinji stumbled backward, nodding frantically, sweat dripping from his pale face. “Y-yes, grandfather! Right away!” Without another word, he fled up the staircase, nearly tripping over himself in his blind terror.
Zouken watched him go, eyes burning with fury and suspicion. He would not let this insult stand. He would never allow Emiya to interfere with his plans. No matter what it took, no matter how many he had to kill—he would erase Shirou Emiya completely.
“Prepare yourself, Emiya,” Zouken hissed viciously into the darkness, worms writhing and snapping hungrily around him. “I will rip your pathetic body apart and feed you to my worms! You will pay dearly for this...”
– Haru –
I may have slightly underestimated how the purple-haired girl would react to me annihilating those disgusting parasites inside her. As soon as Sakura swallowed that bite of steak, something clearly clicked inside her. Her eyes went wide, face going from shock to relief, and then instantly to disbelief.
Then came the waterworks.
Sakura completely broke down crying right there at the table. Big, messy tears poured down her face, her shoulders shaking violently as she sobbed.
"Sakura! What's wrong?" Shirou bolted to her side immediately, panic written all over his face. "Are you okay?"
"Sakura-chan?" Taiga was equally alarmed, practically leaping over her chair to reach the girl. "Are you hurt? Did you choke? Did that evil yokai poison you?"
How rude!
Sakura shook her head frantically. "I-I'm so confused!" she choked out. "...I'm so happy, and scared, and I don't know what to do now!"
Her voice was trembling, thick with emotion. Shirou placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, gently patting her back and murmuring softly that everything would be fine.
Of course, neither Shirou nor Taiga had any clue about what I'd just done. How could they? As far as they knew, Sakura had simply taken a bite of my cooking and spontaneously burst into tears.
I sighed deeply, my tails flicking slowly behind me.
As heartwarming as it was to watch Shirou fussing protectively over Sakura, this wasn't really how I'd pictured our cook-off ending.
Her crying, while totally understandable, completely killed the competitive vibe.
With Shirou completely distracted trying to comfort his kouhai and Taiga loudly demanding answers that Sakura couldn't give, I quietly decided to slip away.
I gave one last glance at the trio, figuring I'd probably see them around again later. I made my way unnoticed out of the Emiya compound.
Outside, I took a moment to breathe deeply, inhaling the cool air as I started down the street.
This was clearly a completely new world for me.
I'd already suspected it when I stepped into Shirou's city—Fuyuki wasn't a city that existed anywhere in DxD's version of Japan.
I felt outwards with my senses, finding several dark, sinister powers lurking quietly in various corners of town. One power stood out clearly above the rest—a strong, twisted presence radiating from a church perched ominously on a hill at the outskirts of town.
Part of me was tempted to check it out right away, but honestly, that wasn't my problem just yet. Not unless whatever dark creatures were hiding out there decided to mess with me or threaten the Fox Hole directly.
Until then, I'd let it be. My restaurant and family were always my priorities, after all.
Fuyuki itself seemed like a peaceful, quiet town, ignoring the dark energies hidden around the edges. I calmly walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the sunlight and the quiet buzz of everyday city life.
Locals openly stared at me, gawking as they spotted my ten golden tails swaying casually behind me and the fox ears atop my head.
I wasn't exactly concerned about exposing the supernatural here, though. Not in a modern Japanese city, at least.
"Wow!" a student called out excitedly as he passed by. "That's some awesome cosplay, man!"
I chuckled lightly and nodded back at him. "Thanks."
Yeah, that was exactly why. No one here would look at me and think "oh shit, real yokai!" Instead, they'd just admire my incredibly realistic "costume" and keep walking.
…Humans were honestly great at rationalizing weird stuff they didn't understand.
In hindsight, that made Taiga’s reaction pretty interesting. Sakura and Shirou both had magic–or this world’s equivalent–so it was obvious they could tell I wasn't human. Taiga must have had really good instincts, because she didn't think I was a random cosplayer for a second.
After a short, uneventful walk, I reached the familiar sight of the Fox Hole.
I stepped back into the Fox Hole, stretching my arms lightly above my head as the comforting familiarity of the restaurant surrounded me.
Immediately though, I paused, tilting my head slightly as I glanced around. Wait a minute… did the inside seem bigger?
I looked again, eyebrows rising slowly. No, scratch that—it definitely was bigger. The walls were a few feet further out than usual, the ceilings higher and more spacious. The whole place felt expanded, roomy. Hell, there was even a set of gigantic booths off in one corner, clearly meant for guests who were a hell of a lot bigger than the average human.
And sitting comfortably inside one of those oversized booths were three familiar faces I hadn’t expected to see again quite so soon. Na'vi—tall, blue-skinned aliens from Pandora.
Specifically, a certain glowing white Na’vi goddess accompanied by two others—one female, one male. I smiled, instantly recognizing them.
“Hello, Eywa,” I greeted casually, making my way toward their booth. “It’s been a while.”
Eywa returned my smile warmly, her luminous eyes shining gently. “Hello, Haru. It is good to see you again.” She inclined her head and gestured her hand at me. “I see you.”
“And I see you…” I chuckled softly and returned the gesture as best as I could, touching my forehead and motioning outward toward her.
Neytiri laughed softly beside her goddess. Even Eywa herself let out a quiet, melodic giggle.
Apparently, my attempt hadn’t been too terrible.
My eyes moved to the third figure seated with them—Jake Sully. The Dreamwalker. Our last encounter had been a little tense.
But now, studying him closely, I noticed something different.
His soul no longer felt disconnected, floating loosely between bodies. Now, it was firmly anchored inside his Na’vi form.
Interesting.
Jake met my gaze, looking a bit uncomfortable. He dipped his head slightly, clearly embarrassed but earnest. “Hey, uh… listen. I wanted to apologize for being such a jackass last time. I didn't know the circumstances and everything that went down…”
I waved my hand dismissively “It’s all good.”
He visibly relaxed. His eyes wandered curiously around the restaurant interior. “So, what exactly is up with this place? It looks like a restaurant straight out of one of those old Earth movies. You know, before the corps completely fucked everything up.”
I chuckled, leaning casually against the giant booth, my tails swishing lazily behind me. “That’s pretty much exactly what this is, honestly. A restaurant on another version of Earth. You guys aren’t in your own Universe anymore—you've hopped realities.”
Jake blinked rapidly, absorbing that casually delivered bombshell. “Another Earth?” He glanced sideways at Eywa. “Did you know about this!?”
Neytiri hissed and smacked Jake upside the head. “Do not question the Great Mother!”
Eywa nodded at me. “I have not shared any of your secrets with him or Neytiri until now.”
“I appreciate that, but I wouldn’t have minded too much,” I said with a shrug and stepped back.
Eywa smiled. “We came here specifically to enjoy a meal!”
My grin widened immediately at that. “Of course. Welcome to the Fox Hole. What’ll you three be having?”
Jake perked up immediately, curiosity brightening his eyes. “Man, I haven’t eaten Earth food in ages. And you have actual real food here? Not the synthetic food paste they pump out in the factories?!”
…I cringed. As a chef, his world’s future sounded genuinely awful…
His large eyes practically lit up when I told him he could have any kind of real meat he wanted. He immediately ordered a real cheeseburger.
—
I leaned casually against the counter, resting comfortably on my elbows as I watched Eywa sitting across from me at the bar. Her eyes studied the wine glass she held, swirling the rich red liquid slowly around inside it.
On the other side of the restaurant, Jake Sully and Neytiri were still in the large booth. Both of them were enthusiastically devouring the oversized cheeseburgers I'd cooked up, and Neytiri—who'd seemed pretty skeptical about Earth food at first—was clearly loving every bite. She even flashed a faintly embarrassed smile in my direction when she caught me looking.
Turning my attention back to Eywa, I asked, "So, how are things going on Pandora lately?"
Eywa brought the wine glass to her lips, taking a small sip before answering. "It has been a long while since I have had alcohol," she murmured softly. "Not since before the Time of Great Sorrow." Her eyes dimmed a bit, sadness passing across her alien features as she set the glass down. Her feline-like ears twitched slightly as she sighed, continuing quietly, "The Sky People have become hesitant recently. They stopped mining operations after their failed attack on your restaurant. But their caution is temporary. Soon enough, their greed will outweigh their fear, and they will return."
I nodded slowly, understanding exactly how stubborn humans could be when chasing profit. "And what about Councilor Tevos?" I asked. "She's preparing to reveal herself openly to the humans…"
Eywa inclined her head slightly. "Yes, that is true. But Tevos has been troubled, as you have said before. The deaths of the other Citadel councilors have left her overwhelmed."
"Yeah, things have been rough for her lately," I agreed quietly. "But hopefully the new replacement councilors get elected soon enough, and she'll finally get some breathing room. I'd love to see her visiting here regularly again without so much stress weighing her down."
Eywa smiled softly. "I hope for that as well."
I sighed, glancing around the mostly empty Fox Hole. "You know, sometimes it feels like wars and conflicts keep springing up around this place. I hope you and your people can find peace eventually, Eywa. You deserve it. But if things ever get bad—really bad—remember you've got friends here. I'd help, or one of the Fox Hole regulars would step in."
She tilted her head curiously at my offer. "Friends here?"
I shrugged, not bothering to sugarcoat my meaning. "Yeah. Like, if you needed it, I literally know an entire ninja village that would happily assassinate every last one of the RDA bastards bothering Pandora. They'd probably even enjoy it…"
Eywa's expression softened, her golden eyes gentle yet serious. "Your offer is kind, Haru, and I thank you for it. But I would never wish to bring violence like that upon anyone, even those who harm my children."
My conversation with Eywa was suddenly interrupted by a new voice, one I definitely didn't recognize. "You're a lot nicer than the aliens I usually have to deal with," the voice said casually, directed at Eywa.
My tails immediately went stiff, ears perking sharply as my eyes narrowed on the newcomer who’d just appeared out of nowhere on the barstool next to her. He was an older gentleman with sharp features, silver hair, and a neatly trimmed beard. He wore an old-fashioned black suit, and his crimson eyes gleamed with amusement as he took in my reaction.
Eywa blinked at him in surprise, her catlike ears twitching slightly. "Thank you…?" she replied hesitantly, clearly unsure what to make of the sudden arrival.
I studied him carefully, immediately sensing a powerful aura around the old man. There was a vampire vibe radiating from him. Also, oddly enough, he kinda looked like Sebas, come to think of it.
Definitely a vampire, though, not a yokai or devil.
"And who exactly are you supposed to be?" I asked cautiously, not bothering to hide the suspicion in my voice.
He smirked at me for asking that. "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, at your service!" he announced dramatically, sweeping one arm out theatrically. "But you can just call me Zelretch, Haru of the Yokai."
I raised an eyebrow at the introduction. Damn, now that was a mouthful. Zelretch glanced around the interior of the Fox Hole with growing fascination, his eyes practically sparkling with curiosity and approval.
"You know, I never imagined anyone else would manage to master the same magic as me," he said excitedly. "And to use it to create a restaurant of all things… Absolutely brilliant!"
He finished with a delighted, toothy grin, and for a brief second, his red eyes glowed brightly. Yep, definitely a vampire.
I relaxed slightly, recognizing the genuine curiosity and admiration in his expression. He was probably from Shirou's universe. He didn't seem to be a threat and he wasn’t one of those dark prescenses I’d sensed earlier either.
“You want some blood sausages?" I asked him.
Zelretch blinked at me, his expression shifting from surprise to sheer delight almost instantly. "Ha! I would love some!"
"I'd like some blood sausages too, Haru!" a cheerful voice shouted suddenly from behind Zelretch, making both him and Eywa nearly jump out of their seats with startled yelps.
Of course, I'd seen Milim coming the moment she stepped through the door. She'd been tiptoeing dramatically, thinking she was sneaky and clever by trying to surprise everyone. It was cute, honestly. I couldn't bring myself to ruin her little game, so I hadn't said anything.
Milim immediately burst into laughter, clutching her sides as she watched Zelretch and Eywa recover from their mini heart-attacks. Eywa regained her composure quickly, ears flicking as recognition flashed across her face. She definitely remembered Milim, considering she'd beaten up a fair number of Na'vi.
Zelretch, however, looked noticeably less composed. He was staring at Milim like he'd just seen a ghost, suddenly nervous and shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" Zelretch asked her, eyes wide and clearly wary.
Did he know her?
Milim stopped laughing long enough to cock her head curiously at him, bright eyes innocent and confused. "Huh? Have we met before or something?"
"No… of course not," Zelretch quickly mumbled, averting his eyes and scratching his cheek awkwardly. His lie couldn't have been more obvious if he'd tried, but Milim, in her typical fashion, didn't notice or didn't care.
She ignored the tense old vampire entirely, bounding onto the barstool next to Eywa. She planted both elbows firmly on the bar, propping her chin up with her hands and shooting me a bright, toothy smile.
"I missed you so much, Haru-kun!" Milim announced cheerfully.
I chuckled softly. "I missed you too, Milim," I said warmly, reaching out to ruffle her hair lightly. "But trust me—you really won't like blood sausages. They're more for vampires like our nervous friend here. Let me make you something else, okay?"
She thought about that for approximately half a second before bouncing happily in her seat. "Okay!" she chirped brightly, clearly thrilled just to have me cooking for her again.
XXX
An alien Goddess, a dimension hopping vampire, and a demon lord walk into a bar…
Also, Zouken is crazy…
Comments
loyd
Would you try a collaboration with astoryforone
WhatAFungi
Thanks for the chapter
