Halloween, the time when kids dressed up in costumes and went door to door trick-or-treating for candy. The holiday for all sorts of spooks who made the holiday what it was, spooks who instilled terror in children and gave good scares to those who weren't so afraid.

Some people hated Halloween because of how scary it was, all those ghost stories springing up every now and then. Others felt differently if not overly excited for the holiday itself. There were many who actually loved Halloween because of the fear it espoused and the candy—especially that second one—kids got to collect from adults willing to hand it out.

Halloween wasn't present in some regions of the world, and it wasn't even a well-known holiday in other places like Japan. Few individuals in these locations celebrated Halloween, so it wasn't entirely unheard of. Still, its lack of a major presence left a small imprint compared to the much larger one in other countries like America. Even so, people still celebrated the holiday despite its weak influence on their civilization.

The Ushiromiya family were included in this minority since they celebrated every now and then, plus Maria loved Halloween because witches inspired her passion for it—and now she was glad to be one of them. Ange too could be considered a practitioner of the holiday, even if she only celebrated once for the Stakes she called her friends and preferred an Obon Festival instead when it was typically held in the summer.

Since it was October thirty-first, it was time for them to celebrate the Western holiday the Stakes enjoyed. Well, at least the older six enjoyed Halloween the first time they celebrated it last year, making this year the second time. Out of all the seven Stakes of Purgatory, only one missed the fun last year, and it wasn't because of an illness or some other mundane reason that kept her from participating with her siblings—siblings related by blood, anyway.

If anyone could guess as to who that Stake might've been, they would've been wrong on six counts had they not known the six older ones went trick-or-treating. Through a process of elimination that would've been unnecessary if they were aware of that, anyone could deduce that the only Stake to have been absent from the festivities was none other than the Stake of Lust. It was correct; Asmodeus was the sole Stake absent from the fun her sisters had, but she wasn't alone.

Someone else had been absent with her, and it wasn't somebody from Purgatory—which eliminated everyone who resided there. If one were to infer from that bit information and the way it was being implied, there was only one other person who fit the description: Asmodeus' current master and foster sister, Ange, who couldn't make it the first time either for the same reason.

And just what was that reason that kept them back?

To make a long story short, Mammon dared Asmodeus to spend the night inside a haunted house a year ago and Ange had gone with her so she wouldn't be scared to go alone. Things were okay at first, until Ange and Asmodeus encountered an actual ghost in the cemetery by the house. That was their cue to run away. Although they sought solace back home even though they were still terrified, mistaking Lucifer for a ghost only made that trauma worse. They had nightmares for weeks and their shared fear of ghosts became a shared phobia.

What's more, they actually encountered another ghost earlier that year while at a carnival. A few girls were tormenting Asmodeus and one of them refused to give up after Ange saved her from them. She dared them to cross a bridge where they met the gruesome apparition and became traumatized again, especially since the ghost made physical contact with them. That proved the notion that ghosts could touch living people—provided they had enough energy to do so—and gave the girls a terrible fright to boot since it meant the dead could harm the living.

That was it for scary stuff. Neither of them could handle anything scary anymore, whether it was vampires or ghosts, fiction or real life. That meant all of the scary things had to go: movies, books, and whatnot. Everything scary was gone so as not to cause Ange and Asmodeus more psychological trauma; not that it was an issue because there weren't a lot of things they and the other Stakes had which fit the bill.

Regardless, with no scary stuff around, that meant Ange and Asmodeus wouldn't have to worry about what was in the house anymore. They still had to fear whatever was still out there even after death had already claimed whatever souls needed to pass on, specifically the souls death had not collected because they slipped through its cold, bony fingers.

Perhaps that was why the two of them were adamant against going to a small village that was celebrating Halloween since they knew scary things were going to be there whether it be in the form of decorations or actual horrors. They weren't looking forward to this trip even though Asmodeus secretly wanted to go and Ange knew she did, but ultimately they decided it wasn't worth it because of how scary it could be. The other Stakes had to actually drag them out of the house so they could at least have fun, and also because they felt it was foolish for their fear to hold them back from an enjoyable experience they never had last year.

That was how Ange and Asmodeus got on the bus that brought all of them to the village. They made sure to sit way in the back while the other Stakes were up front, hoping they could get away on the return trip back. No such luck; they collected their friend and youngest sister anyway. Now both of them were involved in the festivities as the Stakes all went trick-or-treating together while Ange supervised them. She and Asmodeus were initially fearful of what might happen, but this was surprisingly better than they thought it would be. They weren't afraid of this—even though it didn't cure their phobia—so they had fun and enjoyed themselves.

Once the trick-or-treating was done, the older Stakes all went to a party at the local restaurant while Ange and Asmodeus just sat on a bench across the street. Walking around from house to house on each street was pretty tiring, so they decided to just rest and have some peace and quiet to themselves while sharing some of the candy the Stake of Lust collected. The matching witch costumes—which they chose to purchase days ago when the Stakes dragged them to a costume store—they wore blew in the gentle breeze as it cooled the pair and soothed their nerves. They both still couldn't help but feel a tad nervous despite nothing having happened yet, but so far everything was fine since it was a quiet night, save for the music from the restaurant.

As Ange popped a third piece of candy in her mouth and ate it, she turned to look at her favorite little sister—her only little sister, even if she was adopted by her—and smiled. "Did you have a good time, Asmo?" she inquired, wrapping her arm around the Stake to pull her close.

Asmodeus smiled too, happily chewing on a piece of candy. "Yep!" she nodded after swallowing. It was so much fun, Ange! I'm glad you came with us!"

Ange chuckled in response, thankful to spend time with her little sister. "Well, I'm glad you finally had a chance for some trick-or-treating. I know we missed our chance last year since…" she said, her voice trailing off as she swallowed a lump in her throat when she brought up their encounter with the very first ghost they saw last Halloween. She tried to continue, but couldn't out of fear she might jinx it and make a third ghost appear in front of them. "In any case," she went on to relieve herself and Asmodeus, who had shuddered slightly with her big sister at the mention of the haunted house and the ghost that resided there, "I actually had fun this evening. Maybe it's a good thing your other sisters brought us here."

"Yeah," the Stake of Lust agreed, "I was so looking forward to this even though…" her voice trailed off as well, but she regained her composure to leave that thought behind and continue. "Well, at least we had fun and got candy, so that's certainly something, isn't it, Ange?"

"I should say it's an improvement over last Halloween, that's for sure," Ange nodded in agreement. "No haunted houses or bridges means this place is certainly a location I'd love to come back to visit. This place is pretty peaceful and beautiful, so I imagine it attracts some attention from tourists. We could make it a day trip sometime in the near future."

"I'd love that, especially if it's with you, Ange." Asmodeus said while embracing her favorite big sister in a hug. "I love you, Ange; you're the best big sister I ever had."

"I love you too, Asmo," Ange smiled as she returned the hug and pressed her lips up to the young Stake's forehead to give her a tender kiss. "And you're the best little sister I ever had."

After their special moment together, the young witch yawned and stood up while stretching her arms in the air. "Seems like the others are going to be there for some time," she said, looking in through the restaurant window to see the older Stakes all having fun. "I daresay we've got enough time to ourselves for a little walk, don't you think, Asmo?"

Asmodeus got to her feet as well, pumpkin basket in one hand while taking Ange's right hand in the other. "I daresay you're right," she replied and stood on tip toes to kiss her big sister on the cheek. She giggled as Ange gently rubbed the top of her head, being careful not to knock the witch hat off the Stake of Lust.

And with that, they began their peaceful trek down the sidewalk with the full moon hanging overhead to guide them on their way in addition to the streetlamps providing some light for them.

…

Before long Ange and Asmodeus had reached the edge of the village in around fifteen minutes. By now it was getting a bit darker as the clock of a nearby store chimed to indicate it was eight o' clock. A thick fog was starting to creep over the outskirts, coming close to engulfing the village as it slowly made its way towards the settled area. It was fine, nothing too scary as they were already aware it would be getting foggy since the weather report that morning mentioned it. Even so, its presence put Ange and Asmodeus on edge a little since it made them slightly nervous.

But nothing bad would happen. Nothing was going to jump out and scare them—or at least they were sure of that. Still, it was getting late so it was a good idea to head back.

Yet something caught their attention, something that looked a little out of place in this part of the village. A small house just nearby that looked very old and decrepit as if it hadn't been cared for in years. Maybe that was the case indeed, despite the light coming from one of the windows on the ground floor indicating somebody lived there.

The pair eyed it for a few minutes until Ange cleared her throat. "S-so, Asmo…" she started nervously, "d-do you think we should go back and see if the others are ready to leave yet, or should we go to one more house?"

"Y-you mean t-that one?" Asmodeus inquired fearfully, drawing closer to Ange while pointing towards the enigmatic abode several yards away.

Ange nodded timidly. "U-um, y-yeah, why?"

The young Stake began to tremble slightly as she wrapped her arms around her big sister for comfort, seeking protection from whatever could've emerged from that house to come after them. "I-it's c-creepy…" she said, her voice having lowered to a whisper so as not to intentionally provoke something terrifying that may have heard her if she had spoken a little louder.

"Y-yeah, you're right," Ange agreed, "it does look eerie, that's for sure. If you want to go back, we can, otherwise we can just give the place a shot and get more candy," she continued while turning to look at her little sister.

"W-wouldn't that be rude to whoever lives there?" Asmodeus still whispered, looking up at Ange so the witch could see the obvious fear present in her eyes. "I don't like it when my other sisters leave me out of the loop all the time, s-so don't you think the homeowner feels the same?"

"I-I'm sure whoever lives in that house wouldn't mind," Ange shrugged, sounding a little uncertain, "but I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a little more trick-or-treating in." She looked from the house to Asmodeus again. "Do you want some more candy, or should we go back?"

Asmodeus tipped her head down for a couple moments. "I-I don't know," she said, her attention returning to Ange. "C-could we flip a coin?"

"S-sure, alright," Ange responded while pulling a coin out of her pocket. "Heads for more trick-or-treating, tails for—w-well, turning tail, okay?"

The Stake of Lust nodded to confirm those odds and Ange tossed the coin up in the air, catching it in her hand as it came down. She pressed the coin against her other wrist without removing her clenched fist just yet.

"Are you ready, Asmo?" she asked to check if her little sister was prepared for what Lady Luck had determined for them, even though they both secretly begged it was tails.

Asmodeus nodded. "Y-yes, Ange."

"Alright, here goes," Ange said, opening her fist and taking her hand away.

They both swallowed heavily when they saw which side it was: heads.

"U-uh, b-best two out of three?" Ange inquired with a somewhat shaky voice.

"Y-yeah," Asmodeus nodded timidly in agreement, hoping the second throw would be tails. That would leave them with one final throw they both hoped would also be tails.

"O-okay, this is it," Ange said, throwing the coin up one more time. She caught it and pressed the coin to her wrist again, only opening her fist after she and Asmodeus exchanged nervous glances with one another.

Heads again.

It was now official; they were going up to that house for a bit more candy, something they wouldn't have minded had the house not appeared haunted and was occupied by living inhabitants.

"W-well, Asmo," Ange spoke up after a few moments of fearful silence, her voice still shaky, "it looks like we're going trick-or-treating again.

"I-I guess…" Asmodeus agreed and took her big sister's hand for comfort as they walked down a short hill to the house.

It wasn't exactly a pleasant stroll, but the thought of them side by side together as they faced what may have been another terror—their third one so far—soothed their nerves with each step they took. Moments later they had reached the porch and climbed up the steps to the door.

"O-okay, Asmo, do you want to knock or s-should I?" Ange asked nervously.

"C-can we both k-knock?" Asmodeus replied. She didn't want to do it on her own or force Ange to do it alone because something scary that could've been in the house might've pulled one of them in without leaving a chance for the other to save her. The only downside was that they'd both be snatched up by it, but hopefully that wouldn't happen if they were quick to get away.

Ange nodded. "A-alright, that'll be fine. Are you ready?"

Asmodeus nodded. "Y-yeah."

They both took a few deep breaths each and slowly reached their hands up to the door. After closing them into fists, they knocked a couple times and jumped slightly at the sound of movement from within the house, but the two of them calmed down enough so they wouldn't look that scared if something scary did open the door. A second later the door began to open gradually, and while its creaking did unnerve the girls a little, they closed their eyes and smiled nonetheless.

"Trick-or-trea-ea-ea…" Their voices were cheerful when they spoke up at first, but soon all sound died away the moment they opened their eyes…

…and saw the headless ghost of an older man standing right in front of them. It gradually started to reach its arm towards them, but Ange and Asmodeus immediately screamed in terror and ran away in a fit of fright. They didn't even consider the fact that it may have just been a harmless Halloween-themed prank, but the house disappeared as the fog slowly swallowed it up.

…

The time was nearly eight twenty-five when Ange and Asmodeus reached the restaurant. They had stopped by the bench they first sat on to take some deep breaths, but then they ran across the street without looking in the direction where the house once stood. As they stopped dead in their tracks at the front door, having nearly fallen to the sidewalk when they tripped on it and stumbled, the two of them immediately began banging on the door while begging to be let in.

The door gradually opened just a couple minutes later, but Ange and Asmodeus simply screamed in terror again and ran away towards the bus station where the rest of the Stakes later found them clinging to one another and trembling in sheer fright.

The waitress who responded to their knocking had watched them flee in that direction when she opened the door to find the two girls screaming while running in terror. She shrugged it off, thinking they were simply the victims of a harmless Halloween prank. Of course, if she had seen what Ange and Asmodeus saw in that one moment, she too would know that it wasn't a prank.

...

Ah, another one-shot ready in time for Halloween, and it's an Ange & Asmodeus one-shot continuing their Halloween tales to boot. I began work on this and finished it a few months back, which is actually way ahead of time, but I wanted to get this piece done and ready for Halloween. With this short project done, I can now continue working on my current longer projects one at a time (feel free to visit my profile page for more information on them if you're interested). I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing this.

Disclaimer: I don't own Umineko; it's owned by 007th Expansion.