A/N: Written for the Ichiruki contest at BA. I plan for it to be about 2 chapters or so. I'll post the other chapter shortly.

Rukia gave Isshin a worried look as she pinched the fabric of the costume. The sleek plastic like material gleamed under the florescent lights of Yuzu and Karin's bedroom, where Isshin was currently putting the last final touches.

"Are you sure it's supposed to be this snug?" She asked, as the fabric returned to her body with a snap.

"Of course it is! It is one size fits all, after all." Isshin replied eagerly, pointing to the corset shaped red and black packaging.

"Well...that is true."

"My dear Rukia-chan, do you doubt my costume selecting abilities?" Demanded Isshin, his stare boring into hers.

Rukia gave his Pink Chappy Shirt and baggy grey sweat pants a once over. Although his style was rather unorthodox, he did wear Chappy themed clothing, which was rather fashionable. And she had to admit, Isshin did seem to have a knack for helping her out in situations.

"No, of course not." Admitted Rukia. "It's just that...well, I'm a bit surprised that you managed to find a Halloween costume on such short notice. All the stores that Ichigo and I went to said that they were sold out. I didn't know there were still any available... So...-"

"Ah, no need to worry about the details, my Rukia-chan!" Interrupted Isshin, adjusting the zipper on the back. "All you need to know is that your daddy worked hard to get you a costume so that you could enjoy yourself at this Halloween party you and Ichigo are going to. I bet all the other kids are going to be envious!"

"Are you sure? I mean, I didn't think that most teens would wear something like...this." Rukia answered, looking down at her spike heeled black boots.

"Don't worry about it, Rukia-chan!" Exclaimed Isshin, clasping her shoulders firmly. "Anyway, hold this while I fix your boots."

He handed her a long black whip with a leather bound handle which Rukia grasped gingerly. Just what had she gotten into?

Flashback

"Hollow-ween?" Inquired Rukia, a puzzled look plastered upon her face.

"Halloween, actually," Corrected Keigo, eagerly grinning. "Anyway, like I was saying…"

(cue anime sparkles and random spotlights)

"You, my dear goddess like Kuchiki-san, along with the rest of my delightful classmates are…."

(cue banners dropping from classroom ceiling, along with pieces of confetti)

"All invited to my annual Halloween super funky bash!"

Rukia shot Ichigo a confused look, her amethyst eyes widening. The orange haired boy in turn scowled and narrowed his caramel eyes in response, as if to say, "Hell, I'm not explaining it to you, so don't even try."

She sighed. He always had to go make things difficult, didn't he?

'Ano…Back in the place I used to live, we didn't have Hollow-ween. Would you mind explaining it to me?" Rukia chirped in her adopted schoolgirl tone, fluttering her eyelashes in Keigo's direction.

She smirked momentarily, noticing Ichigo stiffen beside her. That boy really was too easy to rile up sometimes.

"Really?"

The trio turned to notice the rest of the class was regarding them with interest.

"I didn't know that, Kuchiki-san." Continued Tatsuki, her eyebrows raised slightly. "What country are you from again?"

Ichigo and Rukia both froze in their positions, as they quickly attempted to formulate a reasonable explanation, their faces having assumed the tone of chalk.

"Um…Er…uh…" Stammered Ichigo, who happened to be growing paler and paler by the second.

"Er….I'm from Canada actually!' Rukia blurted, the words spewing from her mouth before she had a chance to stop then.

Ichigo growled in frustration. Idiot.

Keigo's brown eyes slowly narrowed as he stared intently at a floor tile. The boy apparently, appeared to be in deep thought. Or, at any rate, as deep as a person of his mental capacity could get.

"Hmm…." He muttered, tapping his chin. "I think…..that…"

His gaze suddenly turned to Rukia, a glint in his eyes.

Rukia braced herself for the expected onslaught of questions, beads of sweat forming on her forehead He knows I'm lying. He'll figure out that there's something different about me. He'll realize that I'm not-

Her train of thought was stopped as a lanky figure with chestnut brown hair glomped her. His clammy hands gripped her body tightly, while his legs entwined around her thighs.

"My poor Kuchiki-san," Cooed Keigo, his cheek rubbing contently against hers. "Having to suffer in that frozen winterland without Halloween! That's it, now you must come to my Halloween Party. No exceptions! After all, what normal girl wouldn't want to go to her first Halloween Party?"

Although Rukia insisted that she only reason she wanted to go to the party was because otherwise it would arouse suspicion, both her and Ichigo knew that excuse was incredibly…weak.

However, Ichigo opted to go along with it, for reasons beyond Rukia's comprehension. She presumed that it was either because he was attempting to be nice, or more likely, he was attempting to avoid her wrath.

Rukia had to admit, she was pretty excited. Who would have guessed that humans actually had such interesting forms of entertainment? She had to thank Isshin-san for bothering to explain the whole concept of 'Hollow-ween' to her, without even bothering to ask why she wanted to know.

Although...

She glanced downwards at Isshin, who was still lacing up her knee length boots.

Humans sure have an odd taste in costumes.

--

"All right, my work is done!" Isshin lilted, beaming happily. "Go knock 'em out, Rukia-Chan!"

Ichigo tapped his feet impatiently. Of course, the midget had to take a freaking 2 hours to get her costume ready. At this rate, they were going to probably going to end up missing Keigo's party.

He inspected his own 'costume', which basically consisted of his regular clothes, plus a rather large black cloak that his father owned, and a stuffed toy dog.

It wasn't much, but at least he could always say he was a detective… or Harry Potter, or something along those lines.

He groaned. Why was he even going through with this?

Rukia's old enough. She could handle going to a Halloween party by herself. She doesn't need me around. She can go to Keigo's house by herse-

Visions of Keigo and every other reasonably hormonal boy glomping her entered his mind.

"Kuchiki-san! My dear goddess!" Screeched an inner mind Keigo, before leaping on top of said girl. "My aching heart has waited this day for lifetimes. In order to subdue my pain, all I ask is one kiss!"

Right. That was why.

Even though he couldn't place the exact reason why he didn't like the idea, he knew that it was his job to prevent that from happening. Under all costs. It wasn't like he was being jealous or anything….He was just going to fulfill his duty as a…concerned friend.

Right.

Ichigo shook his mane of vivid hair with a grunt. He seriously needed to stop over thinking things like this.

"Oi! Rukia! Pick up the pace, we're going to be lat-"

His words caught in his throat as he noticed Rukia heading down the stairs in her costume. Ichigo felt his face begin to burn, as blood flooded his cheeks. The legs which supported him threatened to collapse, as his knees buckled. His eyes widened, and his heartbeat quickened, beating hard against his ribcage.

What. The. Hell.

"Do you like it Ichigo?" Questioned Isshin, who had mysteriously popped up next to him, looking rather amused. "I must admit, it was a lot of hard work, getting that costume together."

"This…is your fault?" Roared Ichigo, thrusting a finger angrily in Rukia's general direction. "You're the reason she's dressed like that?"

"Well yes, Ichigo. I am the one who bought her costume."

Ichigo suppressed a shudder as he imagined Isshin walking into a store, clutching the costume in his hands.

"Well, I say she's not going to any party dressed like that!" He barked, crossing his arms.

"Why not?" The voice that replied however, was not Isshin's but Rukia's, who happened to be watching the scene in front of her with interest. "Why can't I wear this?"

"Err…"

Ichigo realized a little too late, that he shouldn't have turned to look at her when he was about to reply. Black, leathery fabric clung tightly around her petite frame, showcasing every curve, every bump, and every angle in the form of a one piece body suit. A deep plunging V-neck revealed her, well…assets, while a circular cutout in the back looped with lace exposed her creamy alabaster skin. Knee high boots with spike heels, and a long black whip managed to tie together the whole…ensemble.

"Well?" Rukia urged, her tone laced with exasperation.

"Umm…" Ichigo wondered briefly if she would decide to whip him, seeing how tightly she was holding it at the moment. "I think it might be a bit too cold to wear something like that." He finished lamely. "Maybe you should wear a sweater...and some jeans…and a jacket over it? Or better yet, let's just not go to the party at all!"

Rukia's indigo eyes flashed angrily, her face nose to nose with his. "What? No way! I want to go to this party, and experience this 'Hollow-ween'!"She retorted, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Besides, your father worked very hard to get me this costume. I don't think it would be very fair to Isshin-san to put his efforts to waste by wearing clothes over it!"

"Eh…" Why was it that a bulk of his issues tended to involve the only two people in the room? "It's not right for you to wear something like that! Go change into something else, I don't care-"

The old man took this particular moment to interrupt Ichigo. "Now son, you need to learn how to treat a lady right!" He clambered over the blown up poster of his deceased wife. "Oh Masaki! My brutish son is too unkind to my third daughter!" Isshin wailed, rubbing his face against the glossy paper. "He refuses to take her to her first Halloween party, even though he should realize that if he doesn't, the three of us shall be having our own little party in Ichigo's bedroom! I'll be wearing that little lace skirt you always loved so much, Masaki! If only you were around so you could join in with the-"

"Fine." Ichigo muttered.

"Really?" Isshin immediately straightened, removing himself from the poster. Notably, there wasn't a single tear in his eye. Or any sign that he had just spent three minutes rubbing his face against a poster.

Ichigo felt his eye twitch. His old man's acting skills were always rather…unnerving.

"Yes."

"Yay!" Isshin immediately grabbed Ichigo for a bear hug. "Go make me proud, son!"

"Yeah, whatever." Grumbled Ichigo. "Let's go, Rukia."

Isshin waited until he was sure the pair was gone before he dialed up a certain blonde haired man with a knack for inventions, and an equally perverted demeanor.

"Kisuke, I managed to get Death and Strawberry to go to the party with Alpha suit on. I repeat, Death and Strawberry are now heading towards the party. Operation Super Robo Alpha Suit is now go. I'm coming over to your place now."

A/N: Tell me what you think. Review please :)