A/N: Happy Halloween (chapter)! Hahahaha, maybe I should have waited until the fall to post the entire story so the events would sync up, but I am not that patient of a person. :P

Be sure to let me know what you think, and be sure to look for another chapter later this weekend - one that may clear some things up for many of you... ;)


"Happy Halloween!"

The crowd cheered at Tamaki's announcement halfway through the party, to formally welcome everyone, and Kyoya smiled, pushing his glasses up. The night was looking to be a grand success.

The guests were delighted (and very eager and excited) to receive a kiss on the cheek as their treat from a host of their choice. Tamaki's customers ended up with two small blood dots on their cheeks as well, from his sexy vampire fangs, but none of them seemed to mind. Kyoya's own customers had sighed delightedly and blushed, before scurrying off, embarrassed, to go compare with their friends. Kyoya found the whole matter rather silly. Could a kiss on the cheek really mean so much...?

There was a loud clamor of laughter, and Kyoya turned to see Kagome pointing and laughing at Junnosuke, who was doing a handstand and attempting to walk across the floor, many of the other guests laughing and cheering him on a well.

Kagome had taken Kyoya's words to heart – when he'd said "girls only" got to trick-or-treat, she'd happily included herself in their number, and was delighting in asking all her male customers "trick-or-treat", to their surprise and bafflement, and then making them perform outlandish tricks for her when they failed to come up with an acceptable treat. Underneath their embarrassment, though, the boys all seemed to preen under the attention and enjoy the challenge, and one or two of them seemed eager to get asked trick-or-treat again. And she was creating a great spectacle for all the party guests to enjoy.

Kagome was clever like that, Kyoya reflected. She seemed clever with just about everything, including people. Including him. And most other boys, apparently…

Kyoya turned to look at Nekozawa, who was wearing a Zorro costume, and though Kyoya hated to admit it, it was a very sharp costume.

The main piece of the costume had been made from a rich spandex/elasticine mix, preventing it from looking like pajamas, instead giving it a rich appearance and holding his body closely – a body, Kyoya was annoyed to notice, that was quite toned and fit. His belt had stunning embroidery, as well as his gloves and the edge of his cape, and the cape itself was a marvel of flowing silk. His hat and mask looked luxe and perfect, and Kyoya was sure that Nekozawa must feel quite pleased with himself at getting ahold of such a perfect costume on such short notice.

Nekozawa was currently leaning against a wall by himself, watching Kagome make Junnosuke try to do a handstand and walk across the floor again again, with a look in his eye that Kyoya suspected was fondness. At least Nekozawa hadn't managed to talk to Kagome yet, as she was so busy entertaining clients. Kyoya eased his way over across the floor, determined to keep it that way

"Enjoying the party, Nekozawa-senpai?" he asked politely.

Nekozawa's eyes flicked up to his.

"Any ritual or gathering on this, the most darkest and poignant of nights, is a cause for celebration," Nekozawa intoned darkly. He gave a dark laugh, pulling Beezelnef from the folds of his cloak. "Let us hope the spirits of the Nether world will be pleased with our offerings."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself," he remarked.

Nekozawa let a smirk slip through his spooky countenance, before looking back up to Kyoya.

"Are there any more rituals planned?" he asked, his voice spooky once more.

"There's still bobbing for apples," Kyoya said. "There's also Tamaki with a Oujia board and the twins with ghost stories later during the jack-o-lantern carving contest."

"Suoh with a Oujia board…?" Nekozawa looked disgusted. "He doesn't have the proper respect or knowledge of what to do."

"Mm." Kyoya looked at Nekozawa. "Your costume is excellent. Though I must admit, I'm a bit surprised to see that a Zorro costume is your family heirloom."

Nekozawa was confused for a moment, before recognition sparked.

"This isn't the costume I planned on wearing," Nekozawa admitted. "I was planned on wearing a lord's ancient kimono, but it turned out not to be dark enough, and it didn't have a hood. Even my servants were more in favor of me wearing Zorro – we weren't sure how much light would be at the party, and if I'd be able to tolerate wearing blue and purple."

Kyoya bit back a sarcastic remark.

"How disappointing," Kyoya said instead.

The two of them watched a boy dancing to Thriller by himself at Kagome's command for a moment, the female customers of the Host Club laughing and cheering him on.

"It's also disappointing that you have to leave so early," Kyoya said regretfully. "Though I do hope you've had a good time while you've been here."

Nekozawa turned to look at Kyoya, puzzled.

"Leave…?"

"Oh?" Kyoya face was a perfect mask of confusion. "I'm sorry. Don't you have to pick Kirimi up from her class party?"

Nekozawa's eyes widened.

"Kirimi…?" he breathed. "Her class had a party?"

"Didn't they?" Kyoya said, keeping his tone surprised. "Miss Kurogawa was mentioning her younger brother was dressing up as a puppy dog. Her brother was so excited, she was telling me. She'd talked to the organizers, and their teacher was going to bring in pumpkins and a cauldron and even a black cat for them to see."

Nekozawa's breath caught, horrified.

"A cat…?"

"Black cats are traditional," Kyoya continued, as if he didn't see Nekozawa's alarm. "As are pumpkins, broomsticks, candy, cauldrons, witches…" He gave him a small smile. "It'll be nice, for the children to get their first taste of Halloween."

Nekozawa was already scrambling to get his phone out.

"I- I have to leave immediately, Ootori," Nekozawa said, fumbling with his mobile. "Tell Kagome I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. But I have to go."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow in confusion. "But your sister's party doesn't end for another hour. They've probably just finished playing games and are just now bringing out the Halloween treats."

"I have to go!"

Nekozawa bolted, muttering things about cats and idiot teachers and foolish Kirimi not talking to him as he ran. Kyoya watched him go, satisfied, giving a small hand wave as he sprinted from the hall.

Financing a kindergarten Halloween party may have been atypical, but it had provided excellent results. Kyoya made a mental note to look into altruism as a method of effective manipulation more often.

"Happy Halloween, Nekozawa," he murmured quietly. "Happy Halloween."

Kyoya turned back to the party, which was as animated as ever. It seemed that Honey was just wrapping up "pin the fallen-off arm on the zombie".

"It's time to play bobbing for apples!"

At the twins' cry, the guests all moved toward the giant tubs of apples, oohing in excitement, and Kyoya smirked. The twins had won their fight with Tamaki about the best type of apple to use, and had thus commandeered the entire game for their own use, whatever Halloween mischief that included. Kyoya suspected that some of the apples would be fake to surprise the girls, and that most of the apples the boys managed to get from their bucket would have worms.

The crowd moved around him to reach the other end of the hall, and Kyoya saw Kagome emerge from the crowd, also not going towards the giant wooden buckets of water. She saw him and shot him a grin before joining him, and Kyoya smiled. He hadn't gotten to see her very well yet this evening or talk to her, so her interruption was well welcome. Kyoya took the chance to give her costume a good look, only to feel his eyes grow wide, and he barely won the fight to keep his jaw from dropping open.

Kagome was dressed as a witch, but as a very, very sexy witch. Her neckline was cut in a daringly low V, her asymmetrical A-line skirt cut daringly high, and her short sleeves and hemline were slashed, giving her a ragged, someone-tried-to-tear-this-off-of-me look. He was pleased to see she wasn't wearing the gloves Nekozawa had made her either, so long, smooth arms were exposed to match the long, bare legs that the short skirt flaunted. The entire dress was done in a luxe black silk that looked incredibly soft to the touch, and it hugged Kagome like a glove. Her pointy hat was slightly off-center, giving her a playful, flirtatious look, and tall, knee-high black silk boots finished the look, complete with very high heels, making her look every bit the devilish witch she was to portray.

Kyoya felt his mouth go dry as Kagome sauntered over.

The twins had definitely outdone themselves.

"Hi," Kagome said breathlessly when she reached him. "How's it going?"

Kyoya cleared his throat. "Everything's going well," he told her. "We've already made a tidy profit from all the silly carnival games, and we're not even done with the night."

Kagome's eyes sparkled.

"I meant for you," she said, tilting her head playfully. "How are you?"

"We're making a profit," he told her, smirking. "Of course I'm doing well."

Kagome laughed, and Kyoya felt his chest swell.

"You look stunning," he told her, eyeing her up again. "I've never seen a witch costume quite so..."

"Skimpy?" Kagome suggested.

Kyoya laughed. "I was going to say sexy."

"Of course you were." She grinned, doing a playful twirl, making her skirt flare out. "The twins went a bit overboard, I think. But I did lose the bet."

"Even if it was on purpose," Kyoya added, and Kagome's eyes sparkled.

"Even so," she agreed.

They smiled at each other for a moment, before Kagome gave him a once-over.

"You look great," she told him, her eyes looking up to meet his. "Your devil costume is... wow. Just wow."

"Thank you." Kyoya smirked, taking a showy bow. "It was intended to be 'wow'."

His costume consisted of a richly-patterned crimson and black vest that was tailored to fit him exactly, as well as a black silk shirt and pants, a black lace jabot and seal at his throat, and a high-necked red silk cape to swirl ominously behind him. He had on prosthetic horns as well, and he was enjoying carrying around the solid pitchfork he'd had made – it was large and intimidating, and Kyoya found himself having fun with using it as a sort of walking stick, making the base thud every time he took a step.

"No, really." Kagome licked her lips. "That's almost sexier than my costume is. You certainly look more sexy in it."

Kyoya felt his throat close. Had she just called him sexy?

"I sincerely doubt that," he said. "There is no way anyone here could possibly top your costume."

"Ha! You'd be wrong," she told him. Her tone was playful. "Because you definitely do."

"Your opinion is clearly biased," he said, giving her a smirk. "You're a heterosexual female. You cannot objectively judge between the sexiness of two costumes when a male is wearing one and a female the other – unless the male was hideous, you would pick the male over the female every time."

"And your own opinion isn't similarly biased?" Kagome threw back at him, smiling. "Or are you not a heterosexual male that would always find the female more alluring than the male?"

"I certainly have more experience judging in what is more objectively sexy on the male and female form," Kyoya shot back. "For my references, see: the entire Host Club cosplay history."

Kagome laughed, and Kyoya smiled, a small, genuine smile at seeing her laugh so freely. When she stopped, she grinned up at him, her eyes filled with mirth.

"Perhaps we'll have to agree to disagree," she said, her eyes dancing.

Kyoya let out a dramatic sigh. "If you insist."

"Oh, I do." Her eyes sparkled. "So, what kind of demon are you?"

"The King of the Demons," Kyoya said, gesturing to his costume. "What did you think I was?"

"Well, I did figure a Western demon, not one from Japan," Kagome said, smiling. "But I don't know much about Western demons and devils. There's what – imps, devils..."

"Ah." Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "I was just going for an abstract King of the Demons. The Top Devil, if you will. Nothing so precise."

"Oh?" Kagome's voice was oddly innocent, subtly mischievous. She looked up at him, eyes glinting, and the look she gave him was positively naughty. "And here I thought you might have been an incubus."

Kyoya felt his heart stop.

An incubus?

She thought...?

Had she just implied...?

Just the thought sent a surge of desire through his veins.

Did she really...?

His heart slowly started back up again, and Kyoya fought to keep his face from going red, but he couldn't keep the incredulous expression off his face. Kagome laughed and promptly ignored it.

"Well, devils don't get special treatment from me, regardless of what kind they might be," she told him, smiling.

"They don't?" Kyoya asked, fighting to get his breathing back to normal after her implication. He'd rather thought he'd been getting special treatment – surely she hadn't implied similar things to anyone else...?

"Nope!" She grinned at him. "So! Trick or treat?"

Kyoya blinked. Trick or treat?

"You're trick or treating with me?" he said blankly.

"Yep!" Kagome's smile was playful, hopeful. "Why not?"

Kyoya blinked again. Kagome's tone was determinedly light and happy, but there was just an edge of uneasiness to it, like she was nervous about what she would say. He looked at her more closely, concerned, and her eyes darted up to his, widening in surprise, and Kyoya sucked his breath in as their eyes met, her sapphire eyes holding his with her gaze.

She was nervous. Despite her confident, playful banter, she was nervous – at the very least, a bit on edge. Just as nervous as him, even, maybe.

Why would she be nervous around him...?

Unless...?

His hope bolstering him, Kyoya found new resolve.

"That's a dangerous thing to ask a devil," he told her, his voice low but still teasing. "Devils know many, many tricks, Kagome."

He purred out her name, and Kagome's cheeks flushed. Kyoya felt a rush of triumph at managing to insinuate something suggestive enough to make her blush just like she had done to him.

"So I'm told," she murmured. "So I'm told. But..."

"But...?" Kyoya prompted.

"But..."

Kagome hesitated. Kyoya could almost see her gather her courage up, licking her lips, before looking up at him to meet his eyes once more.

"I heard the hosts were giving out special treats to those who asked trick-or-treat."

Kyoya felt his heart stop.

Kagome stood there, watching him, anxiety in her eyes, but Kyoya couldn't move.

A kiss.

A kiss.

She'd asked him for a kiss!

The hosts were giving out kisses to the girls who said trick-or-treat! The thought that maybe Kagome had planned all this when she'd suggested giving out kisses all the way back when everything was being planned just to get a kiss from him flashed through his mind – had she wanted him to kiss her so badly? Did she like him that much? – before another thought entered his mind – one with greater implications.

His mental voice considered this new thought, turning it over and over, becoming very still.

"A kiss?" His voice was quiet; serious, now.

Kagome nodded wordlessly, an edge of nervousness still in her eyes. Kyoya licked his lips, paused, and opened his mouth to speak.

"You realize if I kiss you, I'll have to touch you...?" Kyoya asked. His voice was low, and he kept his eyes on hers.

Kagome's tone was determinedly light.

"It'll only be for a moment," she said, her voice trying for casual, but not quite getting there. "I hardly think there would be any harm..."

Kyoya caught his breath.

"You would let me touch you?" he asked quietly. "Me?"

"You're making this into a bigger deal than it is," Kagome said impatiently, brushing her hair behind her ear. "It's just-"

"No," Kyoya said. "I'm not."

Kagome bit her lip, giving her away, and Kyoya could feel the gravity of the moment. Kagome only let one person touch her – her guardian – and even that touch (that he'd seen) was only in extreme distress. There was only one person whose touch she tolerated. Only one.

And now, she was saying that there would be two.

That she wanted him to touch her.

Him.

Kagome's eyes made their way back up to his, and Kyoya admired her resilience. He knew he must seem cold, just standing there, not responding, but he had to make sure she was certain – he couldn't do this without her full consent of what she was agreeing to.

"Kyoya..."

Her deep blue eyes locked with his, the depth the her azure orbs taking Kyoya's breath away.

"Trick or treat?" she ventured. Her smile was small, almost shy, and his heart skipped a beat.

Wordlessly, Kyoya leaned down to kiss her cheek.

Her cheek was impossibly soft under his lips, and he could smell a faint whisper of strawberries in her hair. She shivered at his kiss, her cheek blushing under his lips, and suddenly Kyoya felt so full of emotion, so filled with wanting, so badly did he want to kiss her cheek over and over again, and then capture her lips, claiming her with a fierce kiss, but even just this, even just kissing her cheek meant everything, and he suddenly felt as if he knew what all those girls earlier had been going on about, getting so much out of just a kiss to the cheek...

Somehow, Kyoya managed to pull himself away, breathing hard, not quite sure what had happened. Kagome let out a small sigh, blushing prettily, but she gave him a smile. Her eyes were sparkling, like diamonds lost in sapphires, and Kyoya found he couldn't look away.

"I want to go out with you," he blurted, surprising himself with his own daring. "I want... I mean... I want… I meant..."

He cleared his throat, embarrassed. It was completely unlike him to be so crudely blunt. He took a moment to collect himself, though his cheeks still burned.

"Kagome, will you go out on a date with me?"

Kagome looked stunned herself – but not in a bad way; in a star-struck kind of way, he hoped. There was a sudden cheer, and both Kyoya and Kagome turned to look – Tamaki had managed to come up with the reddest apple in the tub while blindfolded, and Honey was happily handing him his prize.

Kagome turned back to him, her eyes meeting his again, and this time, her gaze was almost shy.

"Yes," she said quietly. She offered him a small smile, entirely uncharacteristic of the usual confident Kagome that Kyoya knew, but utterly adorable in its shy bashfulness. "I'd like that."

"Good. Good," Kyoya said, adjusting his glasses. He knew he was babbling. "I'll- I'll get the details to you soon. Will that work?"

"That'd be fine." Kagome was playing with a lock of her hair now, twirling it in her hands. She glanced back up at him, deep blue eyes locking with his once more, and he felt his throat go dry. "Kyoya?"

Kyoya. He loved it when she forgot the -senpai. He cleared his throat. "Yes?"

Suddenly, the impish light was back in her eyes, joined by a teasing glint and a sparkle of happiness.

"Thanks for asking me out."

She danced away from him after that, clamoring for her turn to bob for an apple before all the good apples were gone, and soon after, there was chanting and cheering for her as she secured a green apple on her first try, before letting the twins take their turn.

Kyoya was content to watch from the sidelines, leaning against the wall with a secretive smile. Honey tried to engage him back into the activities, worried he wasn't enjoying himself, but Kyoya waved him off, assuring him he was fine.

He'd secured a date with Kagome. He'd secured a date with Kagome.

How could anything else possibly top that?


Behold! A magnificent chapter of fanfiction, a trick of the highest order! And now, my treat - a review, if you will, dear reader? ;)

Hahaha, I'm having too much fun. If you read it, please review! :D