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Chapter Text

“Hmmm.” This was a very serious matter and a very serious little four year old was contemplating just what to do. It wasn’t a life or death situation, but it was a close thing. The problem? He had no idea what he wanted to be for Halloween and this was a devastating ordeal that needed to be fixed. Now.

“Say, Jeje-nii, do you think this one shows too much skin?” He held up a ballerina costume with fairy wings. “Hugh-nii said it was scandalous,” pouted the four year old. “What does ‘scandalous’ mean, by the way?”

Flustered, Jeje pulled his bag down lower over his face and mumbled, “... You’re too young to know those kinds of things. Hugh ... big brother is overreacting.” In a rush, his brother added, “I think that costume suits you the most, Lily, and you should wear it. Oh, and make sure to thank Mahiru-kun for making so many for you to choose from. And ...”

Lily gave a little laugh and then spun around with the costume in his tiny hands. “Yes, yes, I know. Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to thank him when I go asking for candy tomorrow!”

“... But Halloween isn’t for another week.” Confused, Jeje brought out his phone and double-checked the date. Only to find his background had been changed to a picture of Mikuni posing in a white and blue Dorothy dress to match his doll’s black Toto theme. He was going to kill that brat one day, if not today. “Excuse me, Lily, I have a call to make.” And a murder to plot, he thought with conviction.

Alone now, Lily changed outfits, ready to show off and ask what his other siblings thought. Best to get as much feedback as possible! Though hopefully big sister was still busy picking up dinner.

“Kuro-nii, look, look!” He was careful when he spun around this time, making sure his wings didn’t catch anything. “I’m going to be a fairy godmother for Halloween!”

“Ah, great ... yeah.” Kuro hadn’t even looked up from where he was lounging on the couch, playing a game on his handheld. “That’s super great.”

Pouting now, Lily fisted the fabric of his bright red skirt. “Mahi Mahi is going to be disappointed if you don’t even look, Kuro-nii!” Interest piqued, Kuro finally glanced up - and promptly dropped his handheld, a Game Over flashing across the screen.

“What the - Mahiru made that? Does he realize how cold it’s going to be in a week?”

“That's okay,” chirped Lily happily, pleased with the stunned reaction. “Mahi Mahi also made me a cloak to match all the costumes!”

“Wait, there’s more?” Sitting up, he scooped up his game, turned it off, and thought for a moment before asking, “Hey, have World and Hyde found costumes yet?”

“Nope!” Grinning, Lily said, “But I’m sure we can persuade them to try some on.”

“... This might be worth the trouble,” decided Kuro.

They went searching and found World and Hyde playing in the backyard (or more correctly, building a war machine of questionable proportions). It was Hyde who noticed them first, waving and shouting, “Hey, come check this out! We’re going to launch ice cream to the moon!”

“As long as it’s not the cookies n’ cream,” Kuro told them.

Lily tugged on the sleeve of his jacket and whispered, “I don’t think that’s the problem, Kuro-nii.”

That was probably a good point, but Kuro wasn’t about to argue. If they wanted to make a mess, let them, he thought. They’ll be the ones cleaning it up. Though, perhaps what he was about to say would be a sufficient distraction and the ice cream could yet be saved. “Do either of you have costumes yet?” he asked around a yawn. “Lily’s got extras if you don’t. It’ll save us time.”

World paused with an ice cream laden spoon half-way to his mouth. So much for that trip to the moon. “I want to be a pirate,” he stated matter-of-factly, right before shoveling the ice cream in without holding back.

“Hmm,” Lily rested a hand against his chin, “I don’t think I have a pirate one. But Mahi Mahi did make a fluffy big bad wolf costume! It’d really suit you, World-nii.”

“Well,” World put his spoon down, rubbing at his head in a way that gave away the possibility of a brain freeze. “I guess. As long as it’s really fluffy.”

“The fluffiest!” promised Lily excitedly. “Come on, let’s go try it on!”

“What, now? But -”

Hyde scoffed and crossed his arms. “Hey, what about me?”

“You come too, Hyde-nii. I’m sure you’ll look great in everything.”

Preening from the praise, Hyde came along without complaint, Kuro trailing behind them if only to see what the kids would end up wearing for Halloween. It didn’t take long for Hyde to find something he liked and of course it would be an outfit that looked like it belonged in a Broadway musical.

“I’ll go as Tuxedo Mask,” declared Hyde. “Then Ophelia can be my Sailor Moon. I’ll go call her now, she’ll be so excited!”

World seemed equally content with his costume, except it looked more like a puppy suit than something that should be called a big bad wolf. But if the kid was happy, so was Kuro. “That’s everyone, right?” He didn’t think Hugh or the rest would be too interested in something like this. “Good. I’m going to bed.”

“Wait!” Lily gasped. “What about Tsu Tsu? Nothing I have here will fit him.”

Kuro raised his eyebrows. “Mahiru didn’t make anything for him? Huh, guess even Mr. Perfect can forget a thing or two.”

“I can go ask -”

“No.” Kuro waved off Lily’s words before that sentence could even finish. “That weirdo Sakuya is over. I don’t want you kids anywhere near that creep.”

“Hehe,” giggled Lily, “big brother doesn’t like sharing, does he. That’s no good. Let’s go see them. I want to show Mahiru how cute I look.”

“Yeah, well, I think you should go put a coat on. At the very least.”

“Fine,” Lily whined, “but we’re still going!”

After an argument about the definition of a coat (“It’s a shawl, Kuro-nii, it’s technically a jacket!” “Yeah, but it covers very little. Go get changed.”), they finally made their way next door. A few knocks later and a haggard looking Mahiru opened the door, wondering, “Is it tomorrow already? Ah, but I don’t have any candy, Lily. Sorry. I must have fallen asleep ... didn’t make it to the store.”

The drowsy speech paired with his rumpled appearance gave testament to the fact they’d just woken him up. And Kuro did not like the fact that Sakuya had probably been watching him sleep. Seriously, why stay if the host needed to rest? “No, it’s not tomorrow,” corrected Kuro, and before Lily could barge his way in, told him, “We just came to ask if you made a costume for Tsubaki.”

“Oh.” Mahiru blinked into a semi-balance of awareness. “Oh! Did I forget to send it along with Lily? I’m glad you stopped by then. I’ve been making costumes non-stop, it could wind up lost at this rate.”

“Do you not have an off button?” Unfortunately Kuro hadn’t asked that in the safety of his own mind like he had intended.

“Do you even have an on button?” rebuked Mahiru. For the first time not snapping or waving around dangerous cleaning tools, but rather giving his guest a fond, exasperated smile. “Yeah, I know I could say no, but I enjoy making them and someone has to do it. Besides, it’s funny watching Sakuya trying to thread a needle. Even if he gets in my way half the time.”

The mention of the man seemed to call him forth and a curly, green-haired creep was peeking around the corner, grinning like a loon. “My, my. What brings a princess and beast to this side of town? Were you cursed?” Kuro ignored the fact that Sakuya was looking fully at him when he said that. Oh, he’d show him curses if he wanted one so bad.

When Sakuya rounded the corner properly, Lily darted behind his big brother’s leg with a faint shriek. It was no wonder why. One half the other teen’s face was nothing but a grotesque abomination. “Cool, right? Mahiru’s been practicing.”

Sighing, Mahiru explained, “He wants to be a zombie for Halloween. I told him we’re too old for this sort of thing, but he insisted. I’m going as,” he glanced at Kuro, eyelashes sweeping against suddenly red cheeks, “as a ... magician.”

With a laugh, Sakuya plopped the witch’s hat he’d brought with him on to his friend’s head. “Yeah, a real cute witch you’ll make, too! All you need is a black cat ...”

Kuro briefly wondered if Mahiru would like him to fill that role, but squashed that idea before it could take root. That would be such a pain. “Huh, good for you. I guess. So ... about Tsubaki?”

“Right!” Remembering what Kuro had come for in the first place, Mahiru darted down the hall to get the costume.

Meanwhile, Sakuya tried coaxing Lily back out of hiding, promising, “There’s no need to worry. Mahiru knows all kinds of magic. He’ll fix me right up!”

“Really?” A blond crown of hair shifted out from its hiding spot. “Do you think Mahi Mahi would teach me some? I want to do magic too.”

“Sure! I can even show you a few of his tricks.” Winking, Sakuya took out a deck of cards from his pocket and asked Lily to pick one. “Now, put it back without me seeing and I’ll shuffle ‘em. Like this. And tada!” He held out the exact card Lily had chosen. “Neat, right?”

“Again, again,” chanted Lily.

“Of course. Anything for such a sweet princess.”

By the fifth time, Lily could mimic the trick on his own and was trying to talk Kuro into learning too. And by the time he succeeded, Mahiru was done fetching what he needed from the other room.

“You guys look like you’re having fun. Want to join us for some tea? I -”

“No!” Kuro hadn’t meant to be so vehement about it, but Sakuya had given him that evil-looking smile that just promised pain if he stayed. Lily would be fine, sure, but it was Kuro that might end up a zombie if they didn’t go soon.

“Oh, I see.” The disappointed look on Mahiru’s face almost made him change his mind. Almost. “Well, here, at least take this.” A headband with cat ears was shoved into his hand. “I was hoping I could measure you for a costume and make it in time for Halloween, but ... no big deal. You can still be my black cat with just those.” The smile Mahiru gave him could rival the sun. Kuro had to look away - and unintentionally ended up looking at Sakuya instead.

“Say, Mr. Neighbor, be careful on your way home. Watch out for those ladders, ‘cause you know, it’s really bad luck for a black cat to cross under one.” If that wasn’t a threat, Kuro would eat the fuzzy black right off the ears he’d been given.

Taking Lily’s hand without further delay, Kuro led them back to their own property while keeping a lookout for suspicious ladders the entire time. It took Tsubaki’s laughter at his little Winne the Pooh costume to remind him that being paranoid was too much of a bother. Especially when he had a cackling child to shush before bedtime.

Tsubaki was still laughing when their sister got back with take-out. And they all pointedly chose to ignore the fact she was wearing a fedora and telling them, “I’m joining the mafia for Halloween.” It was best to assume she was keeping up the cool act.

Chapter Text

Ring. Ring. Click. “Hi, hi~ You’ve reached the land of Nod! How may I help you today, dear customer?”

“Mikuni.”

“On sale today, for a limited time only, we have -”

“Mikuni, about … my phone.”

“- an assortment of … wait, phone? I don’t sell phones. Wrong number, man!”

In a low, angry voice, the caller replied, “Hang up and you will regret it.”

“Hmmm, I sense some hostility here … don’t tell me~ Is that you, Jeje?”

“… Mikuni, it’s the 21st century. Your phone has caller id.”

“Ah, so it really is you. Because only my dearest, most favorite friend in the whole wide world would know such a thing about me.”

Quiet, and more like a mumble, Jeje reminded him, “You literally have your ringtones set to your little brother saying the name of whoever is calling. You are a horrible liar.”

“Awww, you’re no fun. So? What do I owe the pleasure of your voice?”

“You owe me,” started Jeje, drawing out each word pointedly, “an explanation. Why does my wallpaper look like it belongs in Oz?”

“I wouldn’t know. Did you remodel your room? Good for you. I hope you find the end of the rainbow.”

Losing patience, Jeje’s tentative hold on his phone turned threatening, imagining it as someone else’s neck. “No. I am talking about my phone.”

“Oh? Why didn’t you say so! Yeah, I remember changing it now. Looks good, right? I have nice legs. Ah, but don’t stare at Abel like a pervert, Jeje. I know she’s super cute and my fashion sense is amazing, but that’s no reason to be a creep.”

Another pause filled the line before Jeje decided to play a little dirty. “Johannes. Key. Doll collection.”

“Don’t be mean, Jeje!” The horrified reaction was a sweet, if short-lived victory. “Fine, fine. I’ll unlock the picture so you can delete it. On one condition!”

See? Jeje thought, Didn’t even last five seconds. “Yes?”

“Hehehe, I’m so glad you asked. You see~ Little Misono is going to be a lion for Halloween, and I was wondering -”

“I refuse.”

“I didn’t even finish!”

“No need. I respectfully decline.” More silence followed. Mikuni, because he was probably pouting. Jeje, because he was preparing the best way to avoid being manipulated, and then: “Oh, you really do have nice legs now that I look at the picture again.”

“I’m going to ignore you just said that and move on to the real matter at hand: You, as a scarecrow. Don’t worry, you won’t be losing anything by pretending to have no brains.”

It was a good thing he had gone for a sturdy model when choosing a phone. It nearly cracked with how hard he was holding it now. “All right.” There was only one reason he had agreed so easily: “On the condition that you wear some ruby red heels, Dorothy.”

Mikuni was practically singing when he responded. “Of course, that was always the plan~! But if you doubt my sincerity, I’ll even promise a little extra -”

“… I believe that even less. Just make sure Johannes wears something equally humiliating or I am going to stab you to death with the straw that replaced my brain, according to you.”

“Aw, come on! This’ll be fun. Misono is going to love -”

Click. Jeje cut off the inevitable brotherly love spiel and tossed his phone aside, disgusted. Once he could delete that photo of Mikuni getting ready to skip down the yellow brick road with Abel the tacky Toto, only then would he ask his family’s next door neighbor if a scarecrow costume could be arranged.