Chapter Text
“Dude...is this like, our first Halloween together?”
Josuke stopped chewing on whatever candy Joseph had brought him from America and shrugged.
“I guess.”
Okuyasu slammed his fists on the desk they were sitting at, causing Koichi to jump up from the book he was reading. The teacher at the front of the room shot him a glare.
“Shut up, bro. You’re gonna get us in trouble,” Josuke whispered harshly. Koichi pretended to go back to his book, but Josuke could see his eyes peeking up to look at them.
“Why are you getting so riled up about Halloween, anyway? We’re way too fucking old to go to those stupid festivals and dress up and shit,” he added on, watching as his friend’s glare hardened.
“I know, but don’t you wanna...I don’t know...do anything this year?” Okuyasu whispered, smiling nervously at the teacher, who still seemed to be staring him down.
“Not really,” Koichi mumbled back, turning a page in his book.
“There’s not much we can really do, bro,” Josuke said thoughtfully, “What, you wanna go to the graveyard or something? Steal my mom’s booze? Fight a couple stand users and then play a couple pranks on Joestar?”
“No,” Koichi groaned, “Please, don’t drag me into your bullshit this time.”
Okuyasu snickered and pretended to do some impossible math equation. He put his pencil down.
“Bro, every time we say there isn’t something to do in this town, there always is,” he paused, watching Koichi squint his eyes in thought, “There’s gotta be one place that you guys haven’t shown me yet.”
Josuke sighed, scribbling a few illegible notes on his work, “I dunno, dude. There’s always scary movies and dinner at Tonio’s?”
Okuyasu wasn’t exactly ecstatic about that answer, but it was better than nothing. Sighing, he nodded heartily and got back to his stupid math. Koichi hummed quietly in thought and got back to his book.
...That is until Josuke’s pencil scratchings halted. Menacingly.
“Oh,” he said intensely, a wicked smile starting to grow on his face, “Oho... I know where we can go...”
Koichi looked up from his book fully this time and stared blankly at them. “Josuke, I really don’t hope you mean—”
“—Let’s go to Costco Castle.”
“Costco what? ” Okuyasu repeated loudly. Josuke slapped a hand over his mouth as the teacher gave their table the deadliest glare he had ever seen. Students around them whispered amongst themselves.
“Shut the hell up,” Josuke whispered harshly, “I swear to god, if those kids overheard us and decide to show up, it’ll be a fucking disaster.”
Okuyasu nodded apologetically, and Koichi shook his head in exasperation.
“That place is so depressing, Josuke. And it’s probably disgusting, too. Why would we bus all the way out of S City for something like that?”
“Sounds like my kinda place,” was all Okuyasu said, rubbing his hands together. Josuke nodded enthusiastically.
“Come on, Koichi~ It’ll be like reliving our youth or something. Facing our demons. We’ll get food and shit after school, grab some sweaters or something, and show Oku around. It’ll be great.”
Koichi narrowed his eyes at the pair; Josuke looked beyond proud of himself for thinking this up, and Okuyasu’s eyes were shining with excitement. He sighed.
“Fine.”
“Hell yeah,” Josuke whispered. Okuyasu grinned and re-opened his textbook, but not before poking Josuke on the shoulder.
“Wait, what the hell are you guys talking about?”
Josuke opened up his notebook, grinning slyly. He didn’t say a word.
“Hey, so you gonna tell me where we’re going, or what?” Okuyasu yelled, practically jumping in anticipation as Josuke locked his front door.
It was half past-seven, and the wind was already starting to pick up. Red and orange leaves scattered the ground, and the faint scent of something sweet hung in the air. They could spot groups of children decked out in costumes running towards the centre of the city, presumably for the festivities that were bound to happen once the sun had set.
Josuke, out of his uniform and now in a bright orange sweater, slipped his keys into his bag and tossed Okuyasu another brightly-coloured sweater. They weren’t in their uniforms anymore but Okuyasu...didn’t exactly have the best selection of cool-weather clothes. There was no way the kid was going to survive in just a t-shirt.
“Koichi said he’d meet us by the bus stop with more food,” was all Josuke said, trying to hide a smirk as Okuyasu’s whines and complaints got more and more relentless.
“C’mon dude, you can’t just leave me hangin’!” he groaned, threatening to swing the grocery bag full of unopened sodas and cheap bags of chips into the empty streets.
“Koichi an’ I will brief you about it once we get on the bus,” Josuke said smoothly.
Though the moment they rounded the corner and crossed over to the blue bus sign, the person standing beside Koichi made their stomachs drop.
“Shit,” Josuke snapped quietly, plastering on a fake smile as they approached the pair standing there. Koichi smiled and waved nervously.
“Yukako~” he strained, “Haven’t seen you in a while! How’s it been?”
“Fine,” she answered briskly, grabbing onto Koichi’s hand, “My dear Koichi says you’re going to Costco. I’m coming, too.”
“Wh—come on, dude! This is supposed to be a bro thing! ” Okuyasu blurted out, preparing himself for Yukako’s boundless rage. Instead, she just clasped her hands together and blew a piece of hair out of her face.
‘Why isn’t she getting pissed?’ he mouthed to Koichi, who shrugged nonsensically. Yukako sighed and pulled down the bottom of her purple sweater.
“I’ve been working on myself this summer. If you really don’t want me to go, that’s fine. I’ve just always dreamed about spending Halloween with my dear Koichi; if I can’t go, I might just be consumed with—” she paused and sighed, opening up her bag, “I baked Halloween cookies.”
“Nah, it’s cool,” Josuke finally said, and they all felt a sigh of relief, “Those cookies look really fuckin’ good. Plus, if any other idiots end up going, you can beat them up for us.”
Josuke knew he would have no problem beating the shit out of anyone, but the last thing he wanted to do was tell Yukako that she wasn’t capable of beating people up. Which she definitely was.
The bus pulled up, and the four of them pulled out their tickets.
“Oi, you get that sweater at Kame Yu?” Okuyasu elbowed Koichi. The boy stared down at his white and green sweater and shook his head, instead pointing to the girl clasping hands with him.
That sweater looked comfortable. Maybe if he begged hard enough, she would make him one too. Though the outcome didn’t seem likely.
The four of them decided to sit at the back of the bus.
“Someone gonna explain what the hell’s going on?” Okuyasu asked, voice filled with anticipation. Josuke’s eyes lit up.
“You didn’t grow up in Morioh, did you?”
The boy shook his head, and Yukako snickered.
“Alright, alright,” Josuke said, “I’ll give you the deets.”
Morioh landmark #???
The one that nobody likes to talk about:
Has no official name, but the locals like to call it ‘Costco Castle.’
“Okay, so In the 1970s, American’s influence on Japan’s cultural media was getting bigger. And I don’t know what kind of drugs they were on when they did this, but they decided to open a Medieval Times attraction right outside of town.”
Okuyasu looked confused, but Josuke pressed on.
“It took fucking forever to bus or drive out there, and it was the only thing out there for miles. They had everything—horses, knights, weird European medieval meals, everything,” he explained, “We all went there as kids, it was like a rite of passage to go to the weird castle place.”
Koichi chuckled at that. “They even had a moat surrounding the entire thing. You could only get in by driving across this ramp.”
“Hey, I remember that!” Josuke laughed. Yukako uncrossed her arms and sighed in amusement.
“After a while, they realized that they were making no money because, well, they put it outside of fucking Morioh,” Yukako continued, “So in the early 90s, the Americans that owned the building sold it and rebranded it.”
“Into a Costco,” Koichi added. Oku raised an eyebrow.
“A fucking what?”
“It’s a North American thing. Like a giant superstore with all this shit inside of it,” Josuke explained, “But...we were such a small town that no one really wanted to go all the way out there with all the stores we have in Morioh and S City, so it totally failed. They even made an anime mascot to try and appeal to us.”
“Jeez, Costi-chan is forever ingrained in my mind,” Koichi shuddered.
“Wait, dude—but did you hear someone bought the entire stock of Costi-chan dolls way back?” Josuke interrupted.
“Seriously?”
“Man, those dolls were ugly.”
Yukako nodded in subtle agreement.
“Long story short, it got completely shut down after not even two years. They packed everything up and welded the doors shut. Hasn’t been used for anything since,” Yukako finished. Okuyasu had stars in his eyes.
“Sounds sick,” he concluded, “But how the hell do we get in?”
They all turned to Josuke, who smirked. “They welded the main doors shut, but rumour has it that the employee break doors are still unlocked. We could use our stands to get the main doors open, but they got rid of the ramp that used to be there, and the door is too high up to reach without it.”
“The building is surrounded by the moat still, right?” Okuyasu asked, “...We’re gonna swim across Costco Lake in our sweaters?”
Josuke shook his head. “There was an oil spill in Costco Lake that killed all the ducks a few years back so we can’t swim there anymore. Plus, I’m not messing up my hair.”
“So, what the hell are we gonna do?”
Josuke smirked. “Old medieval boats.”
The bus dropped them off on a barely-used highway in the middle of nowhere at 8:30. The only thing they could see for miles was the giant, looming building with the torn-up red letters spelling out Costco on the front of it. The sun was setting behind them, and Josuke made his way down the gravel next to the highway.
The old rowboats he was talking about were pretty beaten up, but with a few punches from Crazy Diamond, they’d be perfect. Muttering to himself, he searched the grass for any broken wood.
“I know these boats are—”
“—HEY! What the hell do you punks think you’re doing here?!”
At the sound of Okuyasu’s voice, Josuke spun around, expecting an unfortunate meeting with an enemy stand user, but instead seeing-
“Hayato? Hazamada? What the hell are you guys doing out here?”
Hayato crossed his arms. “We followed you. You guys are always doing something cool. Plus, my mom is an absolute mess without dad around now, and I’m not gonna sit there and listen to her and her girlfriends talk about dad all night.”
Hazamada shrugged. “Just felt like it.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t—” Koichi stopped himself, sighing. “Just...go home, guys. Please.”
Hayato paused, staring back at the bus stop. “Uhm...that was the last bus that stops here tonight...sorry.”
Koichi looked about ten seconds away from pulling his own hair out, Yukako looked like she was about to manifest herself silently out of existence, and Okuyasu looked unimpressed. Josuke sighed.
“Listen. Just—you can come as long as the two of you don’t talk and don’t chicken out. This is some serious shit we’re pulling here.”
Koichi shook his head in disbelief and Hayato’s eyes lit up.
“Are you guys fighting more of those...what are they called?”
“Stands?” Yukako butted in.
“Yeah, yeah—wait. Does everyone here have one but me?”
“Yep,” Oku snickered. Koichi started bickering with Hazamada about “being irresponsible with Hayato,” and the red-head pulled out his video camera, complaining about not being able to see their stands.
Josuke rummaged through a pile of wood not far from the bus stop and grinned as he caught the nostalgic medieval emblem on one of the pieces. With a few punches, he could already see the wooden details starting to reform into the boat structures that they were once before.
“Is that where the enemy is hiding?” Hayato asked cautiously.
“No stands here. Just boats,” Josuke grinned, grabbing an oar, “Come on. Let’s go to Costco!”
When no one answered him, he turned around in confusion, only to catch sight of a familiar headband glinting in the near-sunset.
Of course.
Of course Rohan fucking Kishibe had to be here. Of course everyone had to be here. Okuyasu was explaining loudly about how he found Rohan a few meters down in the grass ditch, working on something. Josuke felt his blood boil.
“Rohan. What are you doing here?” Koichi deadpanned. Josuke could tell he was getting tired. Rohan shrugged, putting away a few pieces of paper.
“Came out here to work since nobody comes around here,” he explained, scoffing, “Well, almost nobody comes around here. Which brings me to my next question; what the hell are you fucking gremlins doing out here, exactly?”
“Halloween shenanigans, duh,” Okuyasu answered. Rohan’s face scrunched up in distaste.
“Delightful. Well, I’m off. I don’t think I can stand to be in Josuke’s presence any longer. Koichi,” he snapped his head in the boy’s direction, “You carry a watch on your left hand once you’re out of school. When does the next bus come?”
The silence that followed was almost funny, had it not been for the lingering fact that Rohan was now stuck with them. The man seemed to accept his fate, though not without some kind of physical protest.
“Should I even ask what you’re doing out here?”
“...Costco?”
“Ah, I see. Costco. What a straightforward and detailed answer, Josuke. Thank you.”
He could punch Rohan. He really could. But he didn’t.
“Okay!” Josuke shouted at the sky, far too enthusiastically, “Any other fucking beings wanna come out and join us? Last warning!”
…
“Is it too late for me to join in on your pagan celebrations?”
The oar in Josuke’s hand spoke.
Okuyasu frowned. “...Mikitaka?”
A (possible) alien was now standing next to Josuke, not an oar, and he felt all tension leave his body. As did his sanity.
“Not even gonna ask why you’re hanging out in a pile of wood. Just gonna go. Yeah. Just gonna go,” Josuke muttered to himself, pushing the newly fixed boats down the ditch and closer to the shore of the “lake.”
Okuyasu pushed a few with the help of The Hand, and Josuke could hear Koichi gently briefing Rohan about whatever was about to go down. With reluctance, the rest of the group made it down to the dirt-covered shoreline.
“Okay. Pair up in groups. Don’t touch the water with your bare hands. And uhh...that’s it,” Josuke explained hurriedly.
He didn’t want it to be dark while they were rowing. What would they do when they rowed back? He was sure he’d think of something before then.
Okuyasu was already pushing a boat out into the lake for them and grabbing a pair of oars. Yukako snatched Koichi before anyone else could lay their hands on him. Hayato and Hazamada were trying very hard to push a boat out for themselves, and Rohan stared at the last rowboat in disbelief.
“I’m not getting in that thing. It looks disgusting. Your stand couldn’t clean the grime off it, at least?”
“Would you rather stay here and walk home in the dark?” Josuke teased. The look in Rohan’s eye was probably something that he should shove in the vault and forget. Maybe Rohan didn’t like the dark for a good reason.
“Please don’t tell me I’m stuck sharing a boat with this weird guy,” he scoffed. Mikitaka just smiled blankly at him.
“Would you like a tissue, Rohan? They’re quite delicious, but I’m told that they’re also used for cleaning things” Mikitaka passed the man one and the look on Rohan’s face was undeniably shocking, then strangely neutral.
“This isn’t happening,” he grabbed an oar, sitting at the back of the boat, “I refuse to believe any of this is happening.”
Costco Lake was disgusting. Josuke knew this before Rohan started complaining about it, but now he supposed he would never forget after this. The large, dark, abandoned building looming over them got bigger and bigger as their boats finally started to reach the shore.
The entrance wasn’t anything special; just a pair of metal side doors and a small walkway that seemed way too close to the water. Legend had it that the employees were never allowed to leave the building for break. This was the only taste they got of the outside world.
It looked a bit like a small, concrete island now that Josuke thought about it. Maybe more like a prison.
The eight of them pulled their boats the closest they could get, tied their ropes together, and made Koichi freeze the giant knot to the ground. Okuyasu was the first one to the door.
“Is it locked?” Josuke asked, pushing through the people crowding around it. Koichi pointed to a rusty-looking piece of metal on the ground below the door.
“Looks like the lock rusted away years ago,” he said. Josuke shrugged and kicked open the door with one fell swoop.
The group entered hesitantly and were met with aisles and aisles of empty shelves. The only light shining in was from a few holes in the boarded-up windows and the light from the door. Creeping further in, they settled on a spot in the very centre of the colossal store.
“Well, this is depressing,” Josuke muttered fondly. At least if it were medieval times still, there would hopefully be a couple cool props.
“What did I tell you?” Koichi chuckled. Josuke couldn’t recall ever being in here once they rebranded to Costco, but seeing everything so... abandoned shook him to his core.
“It’s getting dark out,” Koichi motioned nervously to the lack of sun coming in through the building. He was right. The sun was barely in the sky now.
“Scared?” Hazamada teased, earning a slap on the back of the head from both Rohan and Yukako.
“A fire would be pretty nice,” Josuke decided.
After taking wood from a few storage spaces and cardboard from abandoned, half-soggy boxes, they sat in thought before Mikitaka turned into a lighter. Because Mikitaka could turn into a fucking lighter.
The sun was gone, the fire was lit, and those who weren’t sitting on plastic cartons were on the cool ground with cardboard for cushioning. Bags were opened and snacks were passed out.
“So like…” Okuyasu broke the silence, “This is really epic and all, but what do we do now?”
There was a moment of thoughtful silence before Rohan’s eyes lit up.
“How about,” he started, throwing another plank of nail-covered wood into the fire, “We tell scary stories? It is Halloween, after all.”
The others nodded silently. Josuke popped open a can of soda and grinned.
“Alright,” he said, taking a sip, “So who’s going first?”