Trick or Treat

"I dun' wanna wear this eyepatch..."

"Satsuki-chan can't find her head!"

"I'm sleepy, do I hafta go?"

"STOP POKING ME, FUUMA!!"

"... I don't understand."

Magami Tooru pressed her fingertips to her temples, fighting her growing headache. She had no idea how she managed to get wrapped up into supervising the trick-or-treating excursion of sixteen children. Even with help from a few of the other mothers, Tooru foresaw the evening being a total disaster. Four adult women could not possibly watch the children every minute, and once they got sugar into their systems, it was almost ridiculous to think they could be controlled.

"Mama?" Tooru looked down to see her son tugging on her pant leg, his eyes large and teary.

She crouched down to his height, straightening the gold-covered plastic halo suspended above his head. "What is it, Kamui-chan?" She asked, smoothing his hair.

Kamui sniffled a little. "Fuuma keeps poking me with his pitchfork!" He wailed, lower lip trembling. "He's being mean!"

Tooru suppressed a sigh. She had told Saya that it had been a bad idea to dress her son up as a devil. Fuuma was normally quite a gentle boy, but sometimes he got this mischevious streak that Tooru was tempted to call evil. "Go play with Kotori-chan and Subaru-chan, darling." She said, urging him forward. "We're almost ready to go."

"Okay!" Kamui ran off, his white cardboard wings bouncing from his back. He huddled with the Sumeragi boy who looked adorable dressed like a pirate, and Fuuma's younger sister, who was twirling in circles and waving her "fairy princess" wand.

Tooru straightened and sought out the one of the other mothers, Sakurazuka Setsuka. "Sakurazuka-san, are we almost ready?"

Setsuka finished painting a trickle of red paint from the corner of her son's chin before turning to face Tooru, her childlike face showing a hint of a smile. "I think so, Magami-san." She responded in her high-pitched voice. "But Kazuki-chan is having trouble with her costume."

Glancing around the costumed children, Tooru saw a figure standing all alone by the wall. She had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing or sighing heavily. The child was covered in a white sheet, with more holes in it than cloth. It had to be Kazuki, or Nataku, as her grandfather called her. Tooru could never actually tell if the child was a girl or a boy, but Kazuki was a girl's name, so Tooru went with it. "Oh dear." She made her way over to the little girl, who peered up at her through one of the holes, her gold eyes expressionless.

"Kazuki-chan, what on earth happened to your costume?"

Kazuki's head tilted slightly in confusion. "I cut holes."

Tooru felt the headache assaulting her again. "Yes, dear, but you have too many."

"I don't understand."

A crash from the other side of the room brought the sound of Saya yelling at one of the other children. In his zeal to show a serious-faced little girl his ability to fly, Arisugawa Sorata had gotten his cape caught on the corner of a table and had knocked a vase over. Tooru looked from that scene, back to Kazuki, and shook her head. "Never mind, dear."

Tooru was greatful, albeit slightly startled, when her sister let out a shrill whistle that quieted the room. Tokiko clapped her hands once to grab the children's attention. "Okay, everyone! Get your partner and line up at the front door!" She ordered, using what she called her "teacher" voice.

One by one, the children scrambled to get into line with a partner, which caused some slight problems in and of itself. Little Sumeragi Subaru was dragged into line by Setsuka's son, despite his protests, and the boy held the Sumeragi's hand tightly. Kamui had some confusion as to whether he would be in line with Kotori or Fuuma; both brother and sister clamored for Kamui's presence, but he eventually gave up and stood next to Fuuma. Kotori pouted a little in line behind them, then began to talk animatedly with Kakyou - the other child dressed as a ghost - as he fell in beside her.

Sorata bounced in place next to his chosen partner, the little stoic girl in the Wonder Woman costume. Tooru believed her name was Kishuu Arashi, but she couldn't be sure. She had to admit, though, that their matching costumes were adorable. Sorata clutched his chest as Arashi held her green plastic bag up to whack him, crying out loudly that she was trying to kill him with "kryptonite."

The rest of the children lined up without much fuss, and seemed generally happy with their partners. Nekoi Yuzuriha, sporting cat ears and a striped tail, clutched the hand of a boy dressed as a soldier, and swung them happily, telling him just how much candy she planned on getting, and that she'd share it with him and "Inuki." Kigai Yuuto and Yatouji Satsuki were ushered into line once Satsuki found the head to her cardboard robot costume. Yuuto seemed happy to just stand by, twirling his policeman's baton clumsily in his fingers. Behind them, Yuuto's cousin Asagi Shougo laughed every time he dropped it. Saya stepped in just in time to stop Yuuto from hitting the biker-clad boy with the plastic stick. Next to Shougo, Kazuki stood motionless, staring directly ahead.

At the back of the line, another matched pair waited patienly for the group to get moving. Kasumi Karen, adorable in her nun costume, caught Tooru's eye and waved happily. Some of the girl's firey red hair fell out from underneath her habit, and she tucked it back in with her free hand; the other held a pillowcase and the arm of a battered-looking teddy bear. Tooru waved back at her, and then to Aoki Seiichirou, who accompanied Karen as an old-fashioned Catholic priest. The boy smiled shyly and adjusted his glasses, toying with the stiff collar of his ankle-length black robe.

"Can we go yet?! Inuki's getting hungry!"

"I vont to drrrrrink your bloood, Subaru-kun."

"Satsuki-chan, can you see okay?"

"I'm not Satsuki. I'm BEAST."

"AUGH!! NOT THE KRYPTONITE, 'NEE-CHAN!"

"Dude, your costume's fulla holes!"

"..."

The four women exchanged glances. It was going to be a very, very long night.

---+---

Two hours, fifteen houses, twenty pounds of candy, seven scared children and three fistfights later, the exhausted adults herded the children back to the Togakushi Shrine to regroup. Somehere along the journey, they'd lost a few costume pieces; thankfully, none of the kids had wandered off, though Karen had nearly been in tears when her bear had been left behind. Kamui was missing one of his wings, and his halo was bent from Fuuma poking at it too many times. Arashi was leading a bound Sorata along by the rope of her lasso, though the boy didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Setsuka gathered her son and the Sumeragi boy, getting ready to take them home. Subaru rubbed at his eye sleepily, still holding onto Seishirou's hand. Subaru's pale hand had slight red marks from Seishirou's attempts to gnaw on it and test the sharpness of his plastic fangs. Setsuka also rounded up a few of the other children, including Yuzuriha and her soldier-boy, who were by far, the cutest show of the night. The quiet boy currently carried the sleeping kitten on his back.

One by one, the other children were claimed by their parents or guardians, until the only ones left were Tooru and Saya's children, who sat on the living room floor and sorted their candy. Kotori gave away some of her candy with nuts in exchange for Fuuma's gummy bears, and both siblings gave Kamui their licorice ropes without the smaller boy even having to ask. Any apples were quickly set aside in favor of the sweets which would assuredly rot their teeth and give all three of them stomachaches.

Tooru and Saya watched their children as they bartered, and Saya gently took the other woman's hand lightly in her own. Tooru glanced over at the blonde woman and smiled. "When they go up to bed, would you like to watch a movie?"

Saya tilted her head to one side. "Will you let me cling to you if I get scared?" She asked lightly, laughing a little.

Tooru's response was cut off by a shriek from Kotori that turned both women's heads. Fuuma was in the middle of chasing both her and Kamui around the room, waving his pitchfork and cackling. Kotori pulled the smaller boy along by one hand, but neither was fast enough to escape the little would-be devil. The three children went down in a tangled heap then Fuuma pounced, laughing and scuffling on the floor, each attempting to outdo the others in a tickle war.

Saya smiled and tightened her fingers around Tooru's. "Happy Halloween."


Author's Note: This was written aaaages ago for a Halloween fic challenge. No, Hokuto didn't make it in and Shougo did, because Shougo gets no love. His relationship to Yuuto is purely my imagination. Enjoy!