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His hand is already on the doorknob, backpack heaving on his shoulder right with the fake sickle.
"Osamu Dazai where do you think you're going?" the voice doesn't come from behind him, but instead from the kitchen. Swallowing down a curse, Dazai turns around and moves slowly toward the voice.
The quiet clanking noise of the bottles stacked inside his bag sold him right away.
Mori looks at him from behind the kitchen island, filling two carved pumpkins with a mix of sweets. Instead of the bloody scrubs that he wears every year for Halloween, he's dressed in clean ones. Dazai frowns, looking to the side and seeing his younger brother looming around the corner in a white sheet with wobbly cut-out holes for eyes.
"Out. Tachihara invited me to-" he can't continue his explanation, as Mori looks at him and then at the backpack sighing.
"Not going anywhere, young man" Dazai is already opening his mouth to argue. "One more word and I will take a look into this backpack and call Tachihara's parents".
There's a quiet giggle coming from the sheet ghost behind Dazai.
"That's what I thought" the man looks at both his sons. "Dazai you'll bring Yumeno to the trick-or-treat gathering tonight. I got a last-minute call from the hospital".
"Can't he go alone?"
"Dazai, he's /six/".
These words and a pointed look from Mori end the discussion and Dazai goes back to his room. He texts his friends about the change in his plans and goes downstairs again, looking at Mori fawning over how cute Q looks with a small carved pumpkin on his head right with the sheet.
"Okay, pumpkin-head, let's go," Dazai says, promising Mori to notify him once they're back home and reassuring him that they perfectly know where to go. And yes, they're going to ask how are the Akutagawa's parents doing. Also yes, Dazai knows that Q can't eat jelly-based candies.
A lot of "mhm"s and "yes"s later they're out of the house.
Once they're nearing the meeting point with more and more people appearing around, Q is fast to catch Dazai's hand. Although Dazai would love to pretend not to like his little brother he does understand how shy he gets.
Pumpkin-head is lower and lower, pointed towards the ground and the kid starts to walk even slower, dragging his feet.
"Maybe we can go home" goes a muffled plea. "You'll be able to go to the party. Dad won't know".
Dazai chuckles, squeezing his hand with a soft smile that he would never admit to.
"Not happening. We're already here and we're going to show all of these bastards how to trick or treat" he smiles when the pumpkin turns towards him probably trying to look at his face through the cut parts.
Because of how small the city it is they know most of the people gathered around. Small groups are already forming and starting to leave the plaza as they stay in the center looking around and trying to decide who would be a good partner.
That's when Dazai feels someone tugging at his coat. Looking down, he sees a girl in a blue-and-white dress, pigtails and a big white rabbit plushie tucked under her arm.
"Sowwy, you still don't have a team?" she asks before looking at Q and smiling lightly. "Hi, I'm Kyouka. And it's Nivens" she explains, pointing at the plushie.
"Alice in Wonderland, hm?" Dazai muses, pushing his younger brother from behind his legs to say hello as well. He's not sure he ever saw this girl though... "Come on, don't be shy, this little rabbit won't eat you alive".
Kyouka is too small to go around alone though... His eyes fall on the figure rushing towards them.
There are cat ears nestled in between red hair and a tail swinging with every step the person takes.
"Kyouka, there you are" Chuuya breathes out, visibly relieved, as he fans his face with a hand not to ruin a Cheshire cat makeup he spent way too much time doing.
Dazai surely hasn't seen this guy before. He would remember.
A grin appears on his face.
"Pspspspspspsps" he starts and seeing the boy seemingly his age turn his head around, his grin just stretches more. "Hey, kitty, kitty, pspspspsps".
"Are you fucking kidding me..?" he hisses (just like a cat! - Dazai thinks) and catches Kyouka's hand, wanting to go and find someone else to team up with. Surprisingly he's met with a whine.
"We already have a plan! /Pwease/, can we stay with them?" Kyouka looks at her older brother with the best puppy eyes.
He already lost this round.
Soon enough a ghost with a pumpkin as its head and a small Alice in Wonderland are going from door to door, trying their best in getting all the sweets they want.
Meanwhile, a grim reaper and a Cheshire cat make their way a few feet behind them. Dazai quite quickly learns that the kitty is named Chuuya and that they moved in barely a week ago. Upon realizing that they're going to the same class, Chuuya whines.
"Please somebody kill me..." he dramatically adds to which Dazai swings his fake weapon, a smile forming on his lips.
"Look, I usually don't find any pleasure in killing animals but for you, my dear kitten..." he yelps when an elbow hits right under his ribs.
"Nevermind. Living's fucking great".
From time to time Kyouka and Q are rushing back to them to give the candies that they don't like before sprinting to another house.
Humming, Chuuya unwraps one of the candies and pops it into his mouth.
Dazai is stuck at the sudden realization that Chuuya's wearing a matching thick choker that moves when his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. He falls silent.
"The fuck is your problem?".
Dazai swallows caught staring and now looking Chuuya in the eye.
"You... you look so" /hot/, weirdly hot, weirdly attractive "...dumb," he says. "Lewis Carroll has to turn in his grave".
Kyouka turns around hearing a familiar shouting, just to witness her older brother swinging his fist at the grim reaper. Fortunately for him, he blocks it with his sickle. They wrestle with it for a few seconds before the weapon breaks in half.
"What are they doing?" Q asks, standing closer to her and checking what candies she has in her basket.
By now grim reaper tries to run away but is caught by his hood with a muffled yelp.
Kyouka scrunches her nose.
"I think they're flirting".
Although both of them have barely six years old, they continue on their mission of getting their favorite sweets, leaving their brothers to deal with whatever they have going on.
Once they find them again, Dazai's coat is ripped in a few places and his cheek is bruised. There's also something pinkish and purple-ish around his lips and on his neck. Q doesn't dare to ask.
On their way back home Kyouka looks back at her brother. Chuuya's hair is a mess. One of the kitty ears is barely holding itself in its place and the make-up around his mouth is smudged.
With disgust, she thinks that people look awful after flirting.