[Mark]

OCTOBER
2nd Year High School

"Happy Halloween!"

In the middle of the field, where it was once their training grounds in junior high, stood Nakamura in a bunny girl outfit. She was holding a microphone while facing her Class 3-E peers, who were also clad in their Halloween costumes.

The open area was decorated with jack-o-lanterns on the grass and hanging from tree branches covered in fake cobwebs. On each round table, covered in white cloth, is a skull head glowing in green. In front of the blonde prodigy was a long rectangular table covered with dishes and delicacies, prepared by Hara and Muramatsu with the help of some of their friends.

"Now that everyone is here, we can start the party! We're going to play a game first before we eat, and then it's movie time. Lastly, we are going to hold a costume contest with Karma, Ritsu, and I as judges," Nakamura announced.

When Nakamura had gone back to Japan from studying abroad, she enunciated to everyone in the group chat that they should have a Halloween Party as the people do in America. Set in the Class E building. Since they all had just undergone stress in the midterm exams, it seemed right to jump in the ride.

For the game that they were playing, it was a blend of Stand on Newspaper and Seven Minutes in Heaven. The participants were in pairs – one boy and one girl – and the pair that was not able to step fully within the newspaper after the music stopped would be out of the game. The loser pair would be punished by staying inside a locked room together for seven minutes while the newspaper game resumed.

Because there were three more boys than girls (excluding Ritsu), Takebayashi, Muramatsu, and Itona were set aside to supervise the game instead. Nakamura was the one who had chosen them for obvious – matchmaking – reasons.

Chiba, dressed as a cowboy, and Hayami as a vampire lost after four rounds. Hayami was standing on her toes when she looked up at Chiba, whose arms were encircled around her waist. The proximity of his fierce gaze above her face sent her mind and heart into haywire, which caused her to lose balance.

"I'm sorry," Chiba blurted after they had left the game.

"Why are you apologizing? It was me who fell down," said Hayami skeptically.

"I know that if it weren't for my eyes, you wouldn't have –" his jaw tightened "– and I could've stopped your fall."

A sigh escaped her lips. "That's not necessary. It's just a game. Besides, I have my share of fault too."

Upon confiscating their phones, they headed to the storage shed. Takebayashi in a mad scientist getup led them on the way there while carrying a flashlight.

The darkness of their surroundings, the eerie quiet, and the languid walk have taken them to the nostalgia of when they had their Test of Courage in Okinawa Island. As to how they have been paired up and the physical touch needed in the game, it reminded them of Korosensei's 'annoying' attempts of inciting romance upon his students.

After opening the door, Chiba patted the sidewall for the switch only to find that the light was not working.

"Without light, it's too dark for us to stay inside," said Hayami.

"Then you can have this flashlight. You won't be doing anything inside anyway," Takebayashi said as he fixed his glasses. Although he doubted that nothing would happen between them considering that they were already a couple.

When the loser pair had made their way in, Takebayashi slid the door to a shut and locked it with a chain. "Enjoy your seven minutes, you two," he said as he gave the door a tap before leaving.

The inside was almost pitch-black except for the gleam in Chiba's hand, which made Hayami stick close to him. Thanks to his bangs blocking his sight, he was having difficulty navigating in the dark for a spot to sit on.

"I should have thought of changing the light," he uttered when his foot tripped over a solid object, causing him to lurch forward.

Before Hayami could grab a hold of him, his hand had latched onto her wrist, bringing her with him. He ended up lying flat on the floor with her landing on top of him. Underneath his weight was a box filled with sheets that had cushioned his head from the fall.

Still in a haze, Chiba propped his elbows up when he found himself staring face-to-face with Hayami. Her features were being radiated by the flashlight, which had been dropped right beside them.

Her emerald eyes blinked just as her mouth curved up into a smirk. "Why does it seem like Korosensei's pulling the strings?" she mused.

He smiled back. "It couldn't have been him. His efforts have always been a failure," he said jokingly.

Then her emerald eyes turned coquettish. "Say," she began in a velvet-like tone. "Don't I look like right now a vampire trying to suck in blood from a human?"

Seeing the picture, he chuckled. "I guess."

"What if I take a bite?" she whispered as she drew nearer to him when a lump formed in his throat, heart accelerating.

She spread her mouth open over his bare neck. She wanted to tease him a little, make him flustered, but – when she saw his skin and the rise-and-fall of his chest – something else possessed her.

Every part of his body turned rigid at the contact of her lips on his neck followed by a nibble of her teeth. His stomach churned and flipped as his chest thumped loudly, sending all of the blood to his brain.

He couldn't believe that she would actually do it; he had thought that she was only messing with him. Who knew that she has this side of her – an assertive and bold one?

With a gloating smile, she detached herself from him and got up on her feet. "I wonder how long we still have," she stated nonchalantly as she turned her back on him, facing the door.

In a trance-like state, Chiba touched the part that she had nipped. He dwelled on the sensation that lingered there – the soft feel of her lips, the scrape of her teeth, and her warm breath.

As for Hayami, well, she was ashamed of herself deep inside because not only she had bitten his neck, but she also had left a mark.