~A/N My debut fanfiction. Enjoy! ^^

~Masquerade~

The cool, October night breeze gently danced along through Takatsuki, Japan. The bright, silver crescent in the dark sky illuminated the seemingly desolate town, a creepy addition to the many ghoulish statues and Jack-o-lanterns that were spread out across the city. Very little stores had their neon lights on, but only a fraction of the slim pickings were really open.

A young lady with unnaturally coloured hair walked down a lonely street, hunched and shivering. Her facial features were soft and gentle as the pink hue matched her pleather, button-up jacket. Her wavy cerulean locks had been tightly pulled up into a ponytail, dancing with the chilly wind. The bluenette had bright pink earmuffs that fit perfectly on her head, and they had went well with her jacket. Her white rubber boots made a hushed squishing sound as she swaggered down the empty street.

Her amethyst orbs were staring at the cement walkway as frozen wisps of her light blue hair fell onto her blushing cheeks. In a weak effort to remain warm, she stuffed her numbing hands into her pockets and sniffled softly. As she continued down the street, she suddenly saw a faint shadow of her hunched figure out of the corner of her eye. Lazily, she lifted her head up at the slightest as a faint smile played around in her soft lips.

A ramen house had bright lights that shone through the shingles, and a fading green neon sign had read, OPEN. Her destination, and virtually, the only civilization in the darkened town, had finally been reached. The young, naïve woman felt a tinge of relief dab on her body as she quickened her pace, feeling glad that she had finally reached the designated area at last. As she stood in front of the wobbly screen door, she inhaled a large intake of breath and, although reluctant, took out her pale, icy hand and grasped onto the frosty handle and gently tugged on the door.

The whimsical sound of aging bells had filled the silent restaurant as a blast of warm air brushed against the bluenette's cheeks. Her relieved grin grew wider as she shuddered gratefully, taking in all the warm, toasty air. She sniffled once more and moaned satisfyingly, closing her eyes lightly. The scent of spicy beef ramen, kimchee stew, and many more cooked delicacies wafted into her runny nostrils, causing her to smack her lips as her stomach growled quietly.

"Konnichiwa, and welcome to Yukimura's! Arigatou gozaimasu for- Oh, Botan-chan!," a soft, feminine voice cried out cheerfully. "You're here!" The young lady, Botan, gave her friend a toothy grin, even though her teeth were chattering rather loudly. She shot the brunette behind the counter a peace sign as she sauntered over to a wooden stool that sat directly in front of her good friend.

"Konnichiwa, Keiko-chan," Botan said in a much softer, yet equally enthusiastic tone, seating herself comfortably on the slightly wobbling stool. She sniffed the air, tilting her head upwards at an angle, and could feel her stomach rumble. "That smells delicious… What is it that you're cooking?" Keiko gave out a small mewl and immediately turned her back to Botan as she scrambled to try and stir her stew, which began to bubble.

"Kimchee stew… I got hungry," Keiko answered briskly as she began to rapidly stir the wooden spoon around the scorching pot. Botan's playful smirk took over her lips as she easily unbuttoned her jacket and placed it on the stool next to her. She got up onto the counter and swiveled her whole body around and jumped off the countertop, standing next to a busy Yukimura.

"Is there enough for two?," the perky young woman asked into Keiko's ear, scaring the poor girl as she jumped in place and, by accident, flung the spoon in the air before it landed onto the stove. A few burning droplets of the stew landed on both of the girls' forearms, and a screech of surprise escaped both of their lips as the droplets sizzled.

"Ahh! Gomenasai, Botan!," Keiko wailed as she frantically blew onto her arm, a vain effort to cool it down. Botan stared at the sizzling stew on her arm and cautiously stuck out the tip of her pink tongue and lapped up the spot. The Yukimura, grateful that her arm only burned for a few seconds, had gave her friend an apologetic look. Botan returned the glum look with a hungry expression. Sheepishly, she rubbed her growling tummy and pointed at her trembling lips.

"I'm hungry, and I'm pretty sure the food's done. Let's eat!"

~*~

After an umpteenth amount of apologies, and many licked-clean bowls of kimchee stew, the two satisfied girls had ran up to Keiko's room after making sure the front entrance, and back entrance, had been locked up so no one could harm the girls while in Keiko's room.

"… And of course, I had to tell the poor boy that I couldn't have any relationships with him because he was starting his journey to the Great Beyond," Botan proclaimed guiltily, hanging her head sadly as Keiko pushed her bedroom door open and switched on the light. She merely shrugged at her blue haired friend's story.

"Exactly. Did you tell him that?" Botan nodded glumly as the two women walked into the barren room. She heaved a long, heavy sigh as she plopped down onto the new Western bed. It squeaked quietly as Keiko sat on the floor, crossing her legs whilst doing so.

"Hai, I had to… But Keiko-chan, he was so cute! I could honestly say that I was tempted to give in to his offer of joining him in Heaven! He had noticeable dimples when he smiled… And he was adorable," she whined into one of Keiko's kitsune plushies. Keiko sighed softly, letting her long, naturally coffee brown hair hide her face.

"Hmm… Let's get off that subject with Jun, and let's start talking about… erm…" Keiko stopped talking suddenly and was side-tracked as her huge, creamy eyes went blank for a few moments. Botan huffed into the gray kit toy and rolled around onto her back, staring at the gray ceiling. "Huh! What should we talk about?," Keiko asked inwardly as life was brought back to her eyes. Botan stuck out her bottom lip and heard all these thoughts run through her mind. Almost instantly, she jumped up with a thoughtful look in her violet eyes as a smirk began to form. Her ponytail swished about as Botan's sudden movements forced Keiko to look at her friend with a startled expression. Thoughts of chaotic and apocalyptic destructions filled Yukimura's mind, knowing that the smirk meant Botan thought of some sort of plan that only her boyfriend could think up of.

"Hey, Keiko-chan, when are your parents coming back from Tokyo?" Keiko, completely thrown off at the question, looked thoughtful once more for a moment or two, and then shrugged, gently closing her eyelids as she brushed away some of her silky hair out of the way.

"Probably the 1st next month. At the latest, maybe the 5th." Botan malicious, unremorseful smirk caused Keiko to break out in a nervous sweat. Beads of the salty, sticky droplets slithered down her flustered cheeks as her chocolate eyes widened ever so slightly. "W-why?," she stammered without thinking. The bluenette suddenly turned from the evil witch to an innocent child. Botan snatched one of Keiko's plushies, this one an adorable blue bunny, and gave Keiko a very pitiful look; her eyes were gleaming with sadness, her bottom lip had stuck out once more, but it was quivering. Her mouth opened into a narrow slit and she murmured sweetly;

"Kay-chan…" The eyes… the quivering bottom lip… the sweet voice… the nickname… the added prop… Keiko added all of it together and stood up vehemtly, clenching her fists and changing her worried face into an angry expression. Her eyes showed fury and her face was hot.

"No way, Botan! Nu-uh! Not a chance!," Keiko shouted hotly, tightly closing her eyelids and flailing her arms across her chest multiple times. Botan flinched, but kept her straight face, determined to get her friend to break. "We're not doing that again! I had to drop out of swimming after we got caught!" The bluenette's bottom lip began to shake even more as she forced tears to well up in her pure violet eyes.

"Oh, Kay-chan, you don't even know what I'm thinking of," Botan whimpered out as she embraced the bunny a little bit more tighter, keeping it close to her bosom. Keiko's creamy irises flared wildly as a vein popped out on her forehead.

"Of course I know what you're talkin' about, Botan! You want to throw a party here again! Didn't the Easter party teach you that we're never having a party here again?! No parties!" Botan continued to stare at Yukimura, piercing her puppy-dog eyes into the furious woman. Keiko crossed her arms and swung her head to the right, refusing to look at the determined girl's face, acknowledging that she could easily give in to Botan's pestering with that innocent look in her eyes.

"Oh, so you know what I'm thinking… Please, Keiko-sama?," the bluenette pleaded softly, adding the honorific to show how much she respected her furious friend. "I promise I'll be good!" Keiko groaned irritably, flicking her long silk hair out of her face.

"Botan-chan, I'm not going to agree with this! Last time, those… those… Yusuke's friends came over and trashed the store," Keiko reminded her blue-haired friend with venom dripping off her words. "I got in so much trouble when my parents walked in on me and Yusuke in their room!" Botan let a silver tear stream down the side of her face as she struggled to contain the laughter that was developing in her throat.

"Kaaaaaaayko-chaaaaaaan," Botan droned on meticulously, rolling over to her back, releasing her grip on the stuffed animal as her ponytail hung over the edge of the Western mattress and gently brushing against the wooden floor. Keiko grunted, but Botan's determination began to ware off on the ningen, who began to shiver because of the strain on her arms, which began to tingle painfully. "Please, please, please, please, PLEASE throw a Halloween party here! I won't invite Jin, or Touya, or-or even Hiei! Just throw a costume party in the store!," Botan begged annoyingly.

"ALL RIGHT!!," Keiko shouted in a fiery tone, swiveling her head with a nasty glare on her usual gentle face. Botan jumped in surprise from sudden yell, and in a much gentle whisper, Keiko said, "We'll have a party here… But on one condition." Botan lit up at her brunette friend, but her face fell a smidge at the 'one condition.'

"Hai?" Keiko held up her painted pink index finger, a serious twinkle in her dark coffee eyes.

"Before I state the condition, remember that you did say that any of Yusuke's demonic friends, and Hiei, of course, won't come because you aren't inviting." Botan nodded vigorously, eager to hear the condition so she can begin to make plans. "Good. Now, the one condition I want is… You must help set up and take down decorations if we're gonna do this…" Botan emitted a loud, gleeful squeal as she rolled to her right side, letting the blood flow down to her body once more.

"Yay! Trust me, Keiko. This is going to be the BEST Halloween masquerade that has ever hit Takatsuki, Japan, ever! Just you watch! Now, where's the phone? I must phone Shizuru and Genkai-sama about the party!," Botan chirped, jumping off the bouncy mattress and landing on her feet. She quickly scurried to the bedroom door and left, searching for a phone, leaving Keiko to sigh sadly.

"I know I can trust you, Botan-chan… That's why I'm afraid, because your parties can be just as bad as Yusuke's…"

~*~

A/N 'Til next chapter, this is it! Lol, How'd I do? :)