chapter 35

Chapter 35: Oh no, they banded together…

– Alice –

Alice sat in a small restaurant somewhere in Kyoto. It wasn't the Fox Hole though. That wouldn't have been private enough. 

At the table were several women, all sharing two distinct traits, they were all stunningly beautiful, and they all had red hair.

"Welcome to the first meeting for all the girls interested in Haru and/or already together with him!" Rias Gremory announced, clearly enjoying the absurdity of her own declaration.

Alice sighed. "Why exactly am I here again…?"

"Because you sometimes work at Haru's restaurant when you're not moping around about how your entire life is apparently a lie," Rias said.

Alice shot her a glare before letting out another sigh. That sting was too fresh to ignore. Yeah… that revelation had been a few days ago, during Kunou's birthday party. That's when Alice had officially met the Archangel Gabriel. She wasn't particularly religious, but seriously—it was a literal archangel. Who wouldn't want to meet her?

Of course, that's when Gabriel had dropped the bombshell that shattered Alice's sense of self.

"Do you know you're a clone?" Gabriel had asked innocently.

No, she did not know she was a freaking clone! Sure, she knew Umbrella Corp had experimented on her, but she'd never thought she was the experiment—not since the day she'd been born. Or rather, the day she'd been grown in a pod. Her so-called missing memories weren't missing at all. They had never existed.

Alice hadn't taken the news well. She'd been shutting herself inside ever since, until Rias—the Devil Princess schoolgirl who had somehow become her friend—dragged her to this ridiculous meeting.

Also at the table were Aela the Huntress, Jane Shepard, Naruko Uzumaki, Sansa Stark, and Sansa's mother, Catelyn Stark. The eclectic mix of women made Alice feel like her head might explode.

A Yokai waitress approached, setting drinks in front of everyone before retreating.

"Let's get this meeting started, then," Rias said.

"Aren't we missing someone?" Aela asked. 

"I tried to get in contact with Lupusregina but she's busy doing a mission for Ainz. With that settled, let's get started!" Rias said again.

Naruko scoffed. "What's there to talk about? We all like Haru, and it's obvious he likes some of us back better than others." She smirked at Sansa and Catelyn.

Alice expected the other two to shrink back under Naruko's confidence, but both held their heads high. 

Sansa responded first. "Haru simply hasn't had the opportunity to spend much time with us yet because we've been learning about the modern world from his mother. We've still got a lot to catch up on. The technology is so fascinating."

Catelyn chimed in. "Indeed. And as an experienced woman, I'm sure I can offer Haru things you could only dream of..." she added smugly.

Naruko hissed in annoyance and crossed her arms. "Whatever." She turned her chair around and slouched against it. "At least I've been on a real date with him!"

"At least you prissy nobles have grown a backbone since the last time we met," Aela said. "But let's be real. Neither of you have, or ever will, be in a real fight. You should learn some magic if you're serious about Haru. He might be a chef, but that doesn't mean he isn't also an adventurer at heart. I've been on a few dates with him hunting beasts across Skyrim to use as ingredients. He loves those kinds of excursions. If you're not willing to join him on adventures like that, you might as well give up now." Aela explained honestly. 

Aela wasn't being cruel, Alice thought—just realistic. Sansa and Catelyn might have come from a brutal medieval world, but compared to the other women in Haru's life, they were just regular humans.

Sansa Stark stood up, her hands resting firmly on the table. "I'm not giving up, and neither is my mother. I'll be Queen of the North, and she'll be Queen of the Riverlands—with Haru as our king!"

Catelyn nodded. "I can't think of a better partner for him than my daughter… or myself."

Alice blinked, surprised by their conviction. A twinge of jealousy gnawed at her…

Sansa and Catelyn spoke with such purpose. Meanwhile, Alice felt like she was floating aimlessly. Learning she was a clone had obliterated her sense of self. She hated Umbrella Corporation with everything she had, but what was she even fighting for now? Humanity? That felt laughable. She wasn't even human—just a lab experiment in a pod. Her so-called life had been nothing but a series of lies, and the memories she thought she'd lost had never existed at all.

She let out a sigh loud enough to draw attention.

"What's wrong, Alice?" Rias asked, leaning closer.

Alice hesitated but finally spoke. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Finding out I'm a clone... It's like my entire existence is some kind of joke. I'm not real. I'm not human. So why should I even care what happens to my world? What's the point?"

The table fell silent for a moment. Then Rias clapped her hands together, startling everyone. "This is exactly why these meetings are important! As Haru's girls, we should be here for each other, helping with whatever we're going through!"

"She's right," Shepard said. "Look, Alice, I get it. Finding out you're a clone messes with your head. But you're still you—your thoughts, your feelings, everything that makes you who you are. None of that is fake."

Catelyn frowned slightly. "I'm not sure what a 'clone' is, but I do know this—you're a brave young woman who has fought the undead to protect others. That says everything about the kind of person you are."

Sansa nodded. "You're one of the bravest people I've met, Alice. You've gone up against horrors that most of us couldn't even imagine!"

Naruko smirked. "A clone, huh? Nah, you can't be a clone. Watch this." She formed a quick hand seal, and a perfect copy of herself appeared at her side. Without missing a beat, she grabbed a spoon from the table and smacked the clone on the head. It vanished in a puff of smoke. She leaned over and bopped Alice gently on the nose with the spoon next. "See? You're still here, and I just hit you with the ultimate clone test. Totally not a clone!"

Alice couldn't help it—a small smile crept onto her face. It wasn't much, but it was the first real smile she'd managed in days.

Shepard reached out and patted her shoulder. "Whatever you decide to fight for, make it for yourself. Not for some abstract cause. Fight for what matters to you."

Alice looked around the table. These women—this strange, mismatched group—actually cared about her. Maybe that was enough. 

Maybe she didn't have to figure it all out right away. 

But still… Alice crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Thanks everyone. I still don't know why I'm here. Haru and I aren't in a romantic relationship at all..."

"That's bullshit," Naruko said, rolling her eyes. "Haru is always checking you out. You just don't notice it."

'He was!?' Alice blushed at that. She hadn't noticed…

Shepard shrugged. "I've seen it too. The guy isn't exactly as subtle as he thinks he is. Then again, I've been trained to spot small things like that." 

Alice frowned. "You're exaggerating. He's just being nice. I work in his restaurant sometimes, that's all."

Rias snorted. "Seriously? You've probably spent more time with Haru than any of us. You're practically glued to the Fox Hole. He'd have to be blind not to notice you."

Naruko grinned. "Exactly. And let's be real, you're hot. No way Haru doesn't think so."

Alice felt her face heat up. "You're all just imagining things."

Catelyn, who had been quietly sipping her drink, finally spoke up. "Alice, it's clear to everyone here that Haru cares about you."

Alice stared at the table, her thoughts a jumble. She didn't want to admit it, but maybe there was some truth to what they were saying. "I guess I've never thought about it like that," Alice muttered.

– Haru –

I was halfway through one of Enri's dishes, a simple stew she'd been practicing for weeks. It was good—better than good, actually. The flavors were balanced, the meat was tender, and the broth had just the right amount of seasoning. 

"This is fantastic," I said. "You've improved so much."

Enri's face lit up. "Really? I was so worried it wouldn't turn out right!"

"You nailed it," I said, grabbing another spoonful. "Keep this up, and you'll have people lining up for your food."

Before she could reply, the door to the restaurant creaked open. Alice walked in, looking nervous. She hesitated just inside the door.

I chuckled nervously myself. "How'd the meeting with the other girls go…?" I'd been a little freaked out myself when Rias sent me a text saying she was setting up weekly meetings with all the "redheads" in my life. Still, it wasn't exactly unexpected. I had a harem, after all. Something like this was bound to happen eventually…

Alice walked closer, and something in her posture shifted. She looked determined now. "Haru, I want to go on a date with you." she said bluntly.

I blinked, caught off guard. 

"Grrrrr… Another one!" Enri hissed behind the counter. 

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, ignoring Enri's reaction. It wasn't that I didn't know about Enri's crush on me, I just chose to ignore it because she was too young and I kind of saw her as more of another little sister at this point. Kind of like how our family had started seeing Tanya…

Alice smiled in relief. "I want to see Brockton Bay. I know it's not exactly the America I used to dream about, but I still want to see it. Even if my memories are fake, I want to experience something real."

I grinned. "Sounds like a plan." I turned to Enri. "Watch the shop while I'm gone. If anyone stops by for food, call me. Not that I expect anyone this late." It was already past 8 pm. 

Enri begrudgingly nodded, still glaring at Alice as we walked out into the city of Capes…

Since this was technically a date, spontaneous as it was, I decided to dress up and snapped my fingers. A solid enough illusion projected itself over my clothes and made it look like I was wearing a nice black suit. Alice's outfit also changed into a short black dress. Although she was still wearing her regular combat boots.

Alice smiled at me and wrapped her arm around me as we walked down Brockton Bay's boardwalk. 

– Emily Piggot –

Emily Piggot, Director of the Brockton Bay PRT, sat behind her desk, staring down Armsmaster with a glare that could burn through steel.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" she asked.

"I engaged another parahuman in combat without knowing his full capabilities first." Armsmaster said bitterly. "It's been a week, and I still haven't been able to repair my motorcycle! That was really expensive to put together!"

Emily facepalmed, her patience nearly at its breaking point. Why was this guy the leader of the Protectorate again? She'd always thought Miss Militia would have been a better choice. 

"No, Armsmaster. What you did wrong was act hostile and attack a Case 53 parahuman without any proof of him committing a crime. Especially when we later found out from the Nazis we captured—including Hookwolf—that this Haru does, in fact, have a little sister. A little sister who stormed into Hookwolf's dogfighting pits with Hellhound of all people and proceeded to take down the entire operation with the help of only two other girls." She leaned forward. "That's three extra parahumans in this city we know next to nothing about, besides the fact that they're all very popular for taking the Nazis down a few pegs. Had you simply been cordial to Haru, we could have gotten a lot more information!"

Armsmaster crossed his arms. "You weren't there. You didn't get the same vibe that I did when I saw the guy. It felt like I was standing in front of an actual endbringer! I had to bring him in."

Emily grimaced… She wished he had told her that information earlier. Especially since it's now been a full week since the incident, but even so, just because someone is dangerous doesn't give Armsmaster the legal right to attack them.

"I say we just storm that restaurant on the pier and interrogate everyone inside. Why are we waiting?" he asked.

Emily let out a long sigh. "We've been over this. I got orders from the Head Director herself, Costa-Brown. No member of the Protectorate or the Wards is to go near that restaurant under any circumstances unless invited by someone inside. The only exception is Glory Girl, and she was grounded for a week by her mother after what happened."

Armsmaster grumbled, his fingers twitching against his gauntlet. Suddenly, he pressed a finger to his helmet, activating his communicator. "Okay, stay put! I'll be right there!" He turned to Emily, his tone sharp. "That was Vista. She just spotted Haru on the boardwalk with a red-haired woman we haven't seen before. They're currently confronting Lung! I have to stop them! I promise I'll handle it better this time!"

Before Emily could respond, he turned and stormed toward the door.

"What did you just say!? Wait!?" she shouted after him, but he was already gone… "I fucking hate parahumans sometimes," she muttered under her breath. She reached for her phone so she could start dialing the heads of the police and fire departments. If Lung had come out personally, then there was going to be a fight. She hoped the Boardwalk didn't get wrecked. It was one of the few nice parts about the city! 

– Haru –

We strolled along the boardwalk, Alice's arms wrapped tightly around my left arm. People stared, probably because of my Kitsune features. Or maybe they were just jealous that I had a gorgeous woman hanging off my arm. 

I smirked at the thought.

We stopped at a food cart to grab some ice cream. 

I cringed after the first bite. Factory-made, definitely not homemade. The taste offended me as a chef, but I ate it anyway because Alice seemed to enjoy hers. She was smiling, and that was worth it.

We made our way down to the beach and sat on the sand. The rusty tanker lodged in the bay ruined the view of the water.

"That thing's kind of an eyesore," Alice said.

"Want me to melt it down?" I asked. "Should only take a couple of minutes."

Some nearby humans, clearly too curious for their own good, scurried off in fright after overhearing that comment.

Alice thought about it before shaking her head. "No. It's nice enough just sitting here without any undead trying to eat me." She leaned her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her back. For a spur-of-the-moment date, this wasn't going too bad.

At least, not until I heard someone approaching from behind. The scent of dragon filled my nose, accompanied by a hint of malice.

"Walk away, man. This won't end well for you," I said, not even looking back.

The guy chuckled. He spoke in Japanese. "I came all this way to meet a nine-tailed fox. My Kaa-san told me stories about them as a child. How could I miss the opportunity to not recruit a Case 53 that looks like a Kitsune into my gang?"

"There's always one asshole," I muttered.

"Absolutely," Alice agreed.

We stood and turned around to face him. He was a large Asian man with a smug grin. "The ABB doesn't take gaijins, though, so ditch the bitch. Or better yet, she'd fetch a nice price in one of our slave brothels."

My tails swayed angrily behind me as I ran a hand through my hair and took a deep breath. "Why'd you have to say that? Now I can't let you walk away…"

Instead of backing down, the man smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Good. My gang doesn't need any pussies. You'll learn the rules after I beat you and drag you home. My name is Lung."

Alice looked like she wanted to shoot him herself. I told her I'd handle it.

She giggled. "I've never had a guy defend my honor before. Kick his ass, Haru!"

Lung laughed. "Your boyfriend's bit off more than he can chew, gaijin whore."

Alice shook her head. "I haven't been living in Kyoto long, but I've been there long enough to know you don't fuck with nine-tailed foxes. They're considered gods for a reason."

"There's no such thing as gods!" Lung roared and charged, his fist cocked back.

I let the first punch land on my cheek. A crack rang out, and Lung cursed, cradling his broken hand.

"Is that all?" I said.

"I'm just getting started!" Lung yelled as his hand snapped back into place. His scent grew stronger, and his eyes became slitted. He threw another punch at my left cheek, and the same thing happened—another broken hand. "Fuck! You're tough," he growled as his body grew larger, his skin turning faintly red.

"That is a weird-ass superpower," I muttered. 

Lung kicked at my stomach, and I caught his leg, snapping it like a twig.

Lung screamed and grew even larger. His scent was now obviously a dragon. Horns and scales started forming, and the nearby humans panicked, screaming and running.

"Lung's rampaging!"

"We need to get out of here!"

"Those two idiots are going to die!"

Awww, no one believed in me. I shook my head and decided to put on a show. Alice wasn't like regular girls, she liked violence. And who wouldn't enjoy watching me kick the shit out of a dragon?

I lunged forward, claws and fists swinging, and started beating the living hell out of him.

– Alice –

Alice supposed she should have expected something like this to happen. After hearing stories about Naruko and Aela's chaotic dates with Haru, it seemed inevitable. Powerful beings always attracted trouble.

"You need to get out of here, lady!" a young girl in a superhero costume shouted, running up to Alice. She couldn't have been older than twelve.

Alice giggled. "You're adorable."

The girl frowned. "I'm not adorable! I'm a hero!"

"An adorable hero, then," Alice said with a nod. "But I'm perfectly safe."

She had to step quickly to her left as a red fireball streaked past her, narrowly missing. It exploded against the sand where she had been standing. Lung, who now looked less human and more dragon with every second, had thrown it at Haru in a desperate attack.

The girl gave Alice a deadpan stare. 

Alice shrugged. "I dodged it just fine."

At this point, Lung was over fifteen feet tall, his body completely transformed into that of a massive, scaly dragon. Despite the size difference, Haru was still handing the guy his ass. Each blow Haru landed made Lung roar in frustration.

Alice's attention shifted as the rumble of a motorcycle caught her ear. A man wearing blue armor pulled up on a Harley.

"You're the guy who attacked Haru last week," Alice said. "I thought he said you had a cooler-looking motorcycle."

The man clicked his tongue under his helmet. "That fox ruined my multi-million-dollar bike. I haven't had time to fix it yet. This is just a rental!"

"Is that so?" Alice replied with a shrug, glancing back at the fight. Lung was now twenty feet tall, his form towering over the surrounding area. "How much bigger is he going to get?"

"We don't know!" Armsmaster said. "We've never seen him reach his full angry peak! Haru needs to stop and get away before Lung destroys the city. We won't be able to stop him at this rate." He turned to the young girl. "Vista, get this woman out of here!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Alice said, stepping away before Vista could grab her. "It doesn't matter how big that guy gets. Haru is going to win."

"Raaaaaawwwrr! Why can't I hit you?" Lung screamed in the distance.

"Sounds like a skill issue to me," Haru called back, dodging the massive red claws with ease before slapping the dragon across the face with his fox tails.

"Woah…" Vista mumbled, watching in awe. "Lung is getting owned."

"Impossible…" Armsmaster said, staring at the fight in shock.

– Haru –

I decided it was time to teach the angry dragon who was the "top monster." Lung had grown to forty feet tall, sprouted wings, and was covered in flames. His massive, glowing red body actually looked kind of badass, I had to admit. Too bad he was clearly an evil asshole.

Freaking superhero worlds…

Blue flames surrounded me as I shifted into my full form. My golden nine-tailed fox body towered thirty feet high, and my tails stretched out. Lung froze, staring at me with wide, reptilian eyes.

"You're about to get your shit wrecked," I snarled, lunging forward. My tails slammed into him, battering his enormous body. He roared in anger, wings flapping wildly as he tried to stay upright.

Lung reared back and unleashed a torrent of fire. Red flames poured over me, but they were pathetic against my form. 

The heat barely registered. 

"Is that all you've got?" I mocked, grabbing him with several tails at once. With a heave, I tossed him straight into the bay.

He hit the water hard, before skipping across the surface and slamming into the massive ship out there. The collision left a huge dent in the rusted hull, but I wasn't done. 

I inhaled deeply and released a massive plume of blue foxfire into the bay. It exploded outward, blasting Lung's giant body further out to sea. The flames melted a gaping hole through the ship—and as I watched, the entire thing split in half, sinking a bit deeper into the water.

Woops… Eh, I'd clean it up later.

I quickly sprinted across the surface of the water, walking on water was no problem even with my massive form. I chased after wherever I blasted Lung away too. It wasn't too much further away.

"Dammit! I can't swim!" Turns out, fire dragons aren't great swimmers. Lung was flailing his large body, struggling to stay afloat. 

I chuckled and snatched him by the neck with one of my tails. Then I dunked his scaly head into the ocean over and over, the rest of my tails smacking him repeatedly. He could barely fight back out here.

He was nearly done for when I suddenly felt something approaching fast from the open ocean. 

Something big. 

I paused, letting Lung's limp body hang from my tail, and turned to face it.

A blue-and-green sea monster rose from the water. Its glowing green eyes fixed on me as it glided closer, its humanoid form rippling with muscle and thick scales.

"Oh fuck. It's the Leviathan!" Lung trembled weakly, shrinking down a bit as his energy drained. He tried to get away, but I held onto him firmly.

"I don't know who you are," I growled at the monster, "but you're interrupting me teaching this villain a lesson. Scram!" I channeled all of my "Young Master" energy while saying that word!

Unfortunately, it either didn't hear me or didn't care. It closed the distance in seconds and threw a punch at my head. 

I blocked it easily with one of my tails, the force barely making me budge. 

The monster seemed shocked. Before it could react, I lunged my jaws forward and sank my teeth into its right arm. My jaws tore through thick skin and muscle until the limb ripped clean off! 

The monster let out a horrible mix of a roar and a scream. 

"Nasty…" I spat the gross, slimy limb into the water. "I told you to fuck off, and now you found out. You want to find out again…?"

The monster's glowing eyes suddenly filled with fear. Without another sound, it dove beneath the surface and swam away quickly before it disappeared.

That's about what I figured…

I scoffed and turned back to the shore, dragging Lung with me. I smacked him one last time with a tail for good measure. He went limp, his massive dragon form shrinking down to his normal human size. 

For a moment, I considered leaving him to drown, but the growing crowd on the shore made me reconsider. Some people were cheering, others looked shocked, and quite a few stared at me like I was some kind of monster.

I shrank back into my human form, hefted Lung over my shoulder, and walked across the beach where I tossed him at Armsmaster, who stood near Alice for some reason. "I hope we're not going to have a problem this time," I said to the hero. "This was legitimate self-defense…"

Armsmaster's eyes darted to the melted tanker in the bay, then back to me… 

"That was an accident…"

He sighed. "No… we're not going to have any problems." He cuffed the unconscious Lung and added, "I'll just be taking this guy to jail now. Um… Good work with him...and the Leviathan…?" he said very nervously.

I'm glad he decided to be more reasonable this time. I wrapped my arm back around Alice's shoulder as we started walking off. The crowd of people all immediately started parting for us as we headed back to my restaurant. "I'm kind of hungry after all that. That Ice Cream sucked, how about I make you a real delicious homemade treat?" I asked Alice.

"I'd like that…" she chuckled before adding, "So, are we going to talk about that weird sea monster randomly showing up while you were giving the dragon a swirly in the ocean?"

"My life is weird sometimes… But I wouldn't trade it for anything."

XXX

The leviathan was not ready for Haru to be so strong. Next time it'll put up a better fight. maybe…

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 309-313

The Titan 20

The Fox Hole 39

The Blood Queen 26

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