The Fox Hole

Chapter 6: A child soldier?

–Tanya Von Degurechaff– 

The familiar scenery threw Tanya off, a weird sense of déjà vu creeping in. It was the kind of place she only saw in her dreams, not reality. After months of brutal battles on the front lines, she had just returned to the capital of the empire, craving nothing more than a decent cup of coffee. That's when she spotted it–The Fox Hole. With a dark sense of humor that came from too many years as a soldier, she figured it would be a small, grimy café. The name alone had her curious enough to check it out.

What she didn't expect was to walk into a cozy traditional Japanese family restaurant. The warm atmosphere was almost eerie after she had been around so much death and destruction. She thought that everyone inside looked too perfect and clean. 

And wait—were those girls at the bar actually wearing school uniforms?

Tanya shook her head. Focus. What really mattered was the bartender and the customer in one of the booths, both of whom had clearly inhuman features. Nine large, fluffy tails, and a pair of fox ears atop their heads? 

Yeah, that wasn't normal. Even from her perspective as a mage.

She marched right up to the counter and hopped up on an empty stool. Once seated, she glared at the inhuman bartender. "What the hell is this place!? And what the hell are you supposed to be? Another one of Being X's lackeys, here to mess with me? Is this some twisted attempt to make me feel sentimental by throwing a Japanese family restaurant at me?" Tanya scoffed, crossing her arms. 

As if she'd break down over something like that…

The bartender looked at her, utterly confused. "I have no idea who Being X is," he said. 

Tanya grimaced. Right, only she called it that. To everyone else, Being X was known as…

"I'm talking about that bastard who calls himself God! Always flaunting his powers over poor mortals and acting like he's better than us even though I know he's nothing more than a fraud!" she snapped.

The bartender's expression didn't change at all. "...Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down? Japan has hundreds–thousands of gods. And honestly, a lot of them act like you describe even though most of them aren't even that impressive or powerful," he added with a shrug. "Hell, some people still consider nine-tailed Kitsune like me and my family to be gods."

"Japan?" Tanya asked, her eyebrows knitting together. "Why are you talking about Japan? How do you even know about Japan?" Was he from her old world as well!? Was he another reincarnation? Her head started spinning with thoughts about all the potential plots and plans Being X could come up with to try and screw her over!

Tanya was snapped out of her stormy thoughts by one of the girls sitting nearby. "Ara, because that's where we are right now, little girl. We're in Japan." 

Tanya whipped around, ready to bite back with some snappy remark, but the words caught in her throat. The girl was drop-dead gorgeous—like something out of her wildest fantasies. She was an amazing Japanese beauty with curves in all the right places, and her… assets were nothing short of amazing. Tanya could feel the heat rising to her face, and she quickly fought off a blush. Sure, she was in a girl's body now, but deep down, she was still a healthy man. 

"And who are you supposed to be?" Tanya asked defensively. Being X hadn't tried to honeypot her yet, but she wouldn't put it past the bastard!

"Ara, don't you know it's polite to introduce yourself first?" the schoolgirl teased, a playful smile tugging at her lips.

Tanya, unamused, slid her rifle off her back and set it on the stool beside her, its weight hitting the seat with a solid thud. "I'm Colonel Tanya von Degurechaff…" she said.

The girl's eyes widened slightly when Tanya mentioned her rank, but then she giggled behind her hand. "What an adorable little soldier you are, Tanya-chan. I'm Akeno Himejima," she teased again before turning back to the bartender. "Is she from another dimension too, Haru-kun?"

Another dimension!? Tanya's ears perked up, her attention suddenly razor-sharp. She listened intently as they continued talking. Could this actually be real? Was it possible she had stumbled upon a way to escape the hellscape of war that Being X had dumped her into?

"Yeah, she's probably from another dimension," the fox-eared bartender, Haru, replied casually, his tails flicking behind him. "Child soldiers aren't exactly common these days—same with Nazis," he added, casting a brief glance at Tanya. Then he flashed her a smile that seemed designed to charm—something Tanya was immune to, though she figured most women might fall for it. "As I said before, welcome to The Fox Hole," Haru continued. "It's my restaurant, and for reasons I don't entirely understand, it has the ability to manifest itself in multiple dimensions." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Right… you might have no clue what I'm talking about," he muttered to himself.

Tanya bristled, gripping the edge of the counter. "Of course I know about alternate dimensions! I was cursed to be reborn in one by that foul Being X!" she practically shouted, then clapped a hand over her mouth. She'd never shared that secret with anyone! Not even her closest ally Viktoria…

"Wow! Reincarnation!? You're like a real-life Isekai protagonist! You have to come on my TV show!" 

Apparently, Tanya's outburst had caught the attention of everyone in the restaurant. One of the women who had been sitting in a booth—dressed in what looked like magical girl cosplay, for some reason—immediately rushed up to the counter, getting right in Tanya's face.

"A show?" Tanya repeated skeptically. In her current world, TV barely existed, and what little did was just war propaganda. "What show are you talking about, and who the hell are you supposed to be?"

The girl raised her hand, and in a flash of pink light, a heart-shaped magic wand materialized out of thin air. She took a few steps back before striking an exaggerated pose. "I am Miracle Magical Girl Levia-tan! The magical girl who protects the hopes and dreams of children everywhere and defends them from evil!" she declared enthusiastically.

Tanya raised a skeptical eyebrow. She turned back to the bartender, hoping he could provide a better explanation.

Haru chuckled. "This is Serafall Leviathan. She's one of the top four strongest Devils—a Maou," he explained casually. "And yeah, she has her own magical girl TV show, but... I wouldn't exactly call it child-friendly. There's a lot of nudity…" he said with a small blush that had the other women in the bar cooing at him.

Tanya's eyes widened. A Maou? She was standing in front of an actual Devil? Her mind raced with the implications. If this woman was a devil, then she was an enemy of God. An enemy of Being X! Could it be that she had finally found an ally against that self-righteous tyrant?

For the first time, Tanya's cold, calculating mask cracked. A flicker of hope—tiny, but real—crossed her features. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't a trick after all.

The fox woman with the most impressive assets Tanya had seen yet approached and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you should tell us your story, Tanya-chan. Tell us about your world. We might be able to help," she offered with a soft, reassuring smile.

And so, Tanya did.

She told them everything—about how her first life had been cruelly cut short, almost certainly by Being X himself. Then she described the living nightmare that had been her second life so far. Thirteen long years in a world where war was endless, a brutal, unrelenting conflict of guns and magic. Millions of lives lost every year in a senseless, violent struggle. 

All because that wretched Being X wanted to cause enough death and despair to force an entire world to pray to him for salvation!

By the time she finished her story, everyone in the restaurant had gathered around the bar, listening intently.

"This Being X…" Aela, the Viking woman, growled, her fists clenched in anger. "He sounds worse than any of the Daedric princes!"

"He needs to be stopped!" the other redhead girl next to Aela said.

Serafall crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. "I can tell you one thing, Tanya-chan," she said with a grim smile. "Being X is definitely not God–Ow." She paused, rubbing her aching head, and so did all the schoolgirls around her. Tanya was surprised to learn that they, too, were all Devils, just like Serafall. And saying the word "God" hurt them for some reason…

In fact, no one in the restaurant besides her was fully human. She should have been more freaked out about that, but she found it oddly comforting for some reason. People had always compared her to a Devil…

"I obviously know he's not God," Tanya replied. "But I don't know what he is! Or why he's so obsessed with me!"

The fox woman, Yasaka, frowned thoughtfully. "I have a theory, though I hope I'm wrong." she said cautiously. "I think… Being X might be an evil spirit. Maybe the most powerful one I've ever heard of, if he can cross dimensions at will and forcefully reincarnate souls that aren't bound to him..." she trailed off.

–Haru–

Shit…

This might be a bit of a problem. Evil Spirits had a natural advantage against Yokai, and if one showed up here looking for Tanya, that could spell trouble. Especially one powerful enough to do everything she claimed. I'd never heard of an Evil Spirit transcending and becoming an actual god before. How much pain and misery did it have to cause for that to happen?

"Is there a way to deal with Being X, then?" Tanya asked. "He's been harassing me for so long—I just want to be done with him!"

"Evil Spirits are naturally weak to psychic powers," Yasaka explained. "You'd need to find an incredibly powerful Esper to take on an Evil Spirit as powerful as Being X sounds. The truth is, I don't know if such a powerful human has ever existed," she added and then apologized to Tanya for not being able to help more. 

I could tell that Yasaka was hesitant to even offer shelter to Tanya in Kyoto, but I knew she would if asked. She wouldn't hesitate to help a child, and even if Tanya wasn't one mentally, she still was physically at only 13 years old. 

"I would offer to help, but Demonic Power tends to actually make Evil Spirits even stronger," Serafall admitted sheepishly. 

Tanya explained how she had discovered something similar when she tried to kill Being X herself with her fairly impressive own magical abilities. She apparently fired what would amount to a mini magical nuke at him, and he wasn't even bothered by it or the explosion. That added magical immunity and physical immunity to his list of admittedly impressive abilities as well…

Tanya crossed her arms and let out a huff. "It's okay. I always knew that taking down Being X wouldn't be easy. It's not like the amazing Esper I'm looking for is just going to walk through the door…"

"Hey guys! Quite the crowd you've got here today, Haru-san!" Arataka Reigen strode into the restaurant, followed by a plain-looking middle school boy in a black school uniform.

Finally! I wasn't the only guy anymore! 

"Come on in, Reigen-san. Is that your apprentice you mentioned yesterday?"

"Yep! This here is Shigeo, but everyone just calls him Mob," Reigen introduced the boy, who looked incredibly nervous with so many eyes on him—especially from so many women, I suspected.

"H–Hello…" Mob muttered, staring at the floor with a blush.

The bar was quickly running out of available seats, but there were still two left for Reigen and Mob to join us. "I can't stop thinking about that Katsudon from yesterday!" Reigen exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement. "You've got to try it, Mob!"

"Okay…" Mob replied, his voice was barely above a whisper. Poor kid definitely needed to work on his confidence.

"Two orders of Katsudon coming right up!" I grabbed a large chunk of tender pork and started slicing it with precision.

While I worked, Reigen made some small talk. "You've got a lot more customers today! Looks like your place is going to be pretty popular."

"You should have come by last night," I said with a chuckle. "The place was packed! There was a whole party, and things got pretty wild—maybe a bit too wild."

"I wouldn't have been able to. Mob and I had to exorcize an Evil Spirit haunting an all-girls high school yesterday. Sounds easy right? It wasn't! Men aren't allowed on campus, so we had to disguise ourselves as girls! Our disguises were flawless, but somehow I still ended up getting caught," Reigen lamented, shaking his head as he told me about running away from the security guards. "Mob managed to sneak in just fine, though. He made a pretty convincing girl!" He laughed and gave Mob a pat on the back.

Mob's face turned beet red, and he looked like he wanted to disappear. I decided to give him an extra portion of Katsudon on the house.

"Hold on!" Tanya suddenly snapped her head toward the pair. "You guys are exorcists? You can take care of Evil Spirits!?" Her disbelief was palpable. What was that about someone waltzing in through the front door…?

Reigen flashed a grin at the little blonde girl. "Oh? Are you being haunted, Ojou-chan? Never fear! For a modest fee, Mob and I will be more than happy to help you out!" Reigan gave Tanya the same sales pitch he had given Yasaka yesterday.

"Really…?" Tanya's eyes narrowed as she stared intensely at Reigen and Mob. 

Neither of them looked particularly impressive on the surface, but I could sense something was off about Mob. Compared to Reigen, Mob seemed to have genuine Esper abilities. Although, it felt like he was suppressing his powers for some reason.

Despite his blush, Mob managed to look Tanya straight in the eyes. "Evil Spirits are troublesome. I will get rid of it for you!" he declared, surprising us all with his confidence.

"Aww…" 

"That's adorable…"

"I think someone's got a little crush…"

The girls in the restaurant all cooed at Mob's sudden declaration. They all thought he was trying to impress her because "he and Tanya were the same age."

The light-hearted atmosphere of the restaurant abruptly shifted as the doors were flung open by a powerful gust of wind. And then, it appeared. Describing it was difficult—it was a floating orb of shifting, multi-colored lights, lacking any discernible physical form.

"So, this is where you've run off to, sinner?" The voice of the entity echoed with a chilling resonance. "You thought you could escape from me by traveling to another dimension?"

Tanya's face twisted into a fierce snarl as she spat out the name with barely contained hatred. "Being X…"

Despite the lack of eyes, I felt its gaze pierce through every single person in the room. A shiver ran down my spine, my fur standing on end. I knew instinctively that a fight against this being would be incredibly difficult…It was powerful. I gritted my teeth as I saw Yasaka and Serafall sharing similar looks of dread. Almost everyone was trembling.

"Consorting with Devils and Demons, are you, sinner? How low you have fallen…" Being X' said with disdain.

"They're much better company than you are, Being X!" Tanya shot back defiantly. "What are you doing here? Can't you see you're killing the mood in this restaurant? Begone, Evil Spirit! I know what you are now!" 

Being X floated closer to us all, its malevolent aura making the very air thick and oppressive. If it usually pretended to be a God, it certainly wasn't doing so now. The aura it emitted made it hard to breathe and stand. I could already feel the negative energy seeping into my body, trying to corrupt me. I was genuinely relieved that Kunou wasn't here today…

"I know not what this place is," Being X declared ominously, "but I will not permit its existence in my world. I will also not permit anyone knowing the truth about what I am. You've overstepped too far, sinner, our game must come to an unfortunate end," it declared it was going to kill Tanya, and probably everyone here as well.

"Weren't you supposed to be an all-knowing God? How can you not know what this place is?" I couldn't help but speak up. This was my restaurant, and I wasn't about to let some random Evil Spirit waltz in and act like it owned the place! Blue Fox Fire crackled above my hand, ready to unleash if it came to a fight.

Suddenly, I felt all of Being X's attention snap to me.

"Your pitiful defiance is laughable, demon. I shall be rid of you first—Graaaaahhhh!" 

An ear-splitting wail of agony erupted from Being X. Its orb-like form began to distort wildly, clearly under assault from another force!

"That's enough!" Mob's voice rang out as he strode toward the Evil Spirit. A shimmering aura of psychic energy surrounded him. I'd been right—he was an Esper! And an incredibly powerful one at that. His psychic presence was so immense that it overwhelmed my senses. "You're going to leave Tanya-chan alone now and never come back!" Mob declared as he blasted the Evil Spirit with a surge of psychic power.

"T–This p–power!? An E–Esper? D–Dammit! T–This isn't over!" Being X stuttered in pain before quickly retreating from my restaurant. The oppressive atmosphere lifted instantly, and a collective sigh of relief swept through the room.

"Fuck yes!" Tanya started jumping up and down with a wild look of glee in her eyes. She ran over to Mob and actually planted a kiss on his cheek! "That was amazing!"

"That really was amazing, kid." I thanked Mob. "...You really saved us all… Um, kid?" He wasn't moving for some reason. "Is he okay?"

Reigan walked over to Mob and then started giggling when he looked at his face. "Hahaha! He fainted after Tanya-chan kissed his cheek…"

XXX

Poor Mob, he's not good with girls…