Bit late for Halloween. Alas, I do Halloween about as right as the Ten Family.
…
Halloween
"What," Isshin huffed at his lieutenant, "is this?"
He held up the floppy white thing and Rangiku beamed at him.
"That's part of your Halloween costume, Captain," she giggled. "You're going to be a monster hunter!"
"So a Soul Reaper?" Isshin asked, mildly hopeful.
"Not quite," Rangiku giggled again, and the captain inhaled deeply, feeling a migraine coming on.
'Halloween' was a relatively new concept in the Seireitei. Hell, it was a new concept in the Japanese Living World too, but now it had infected the Soul Society.
It was a Western celebration, and though Isshin didn't mind the likes of Christmas and similar Western traditions he had experienced, but Halloween was a strange one. The theme was horror, and the concept was ridiculous. He was sure it had some sort of understandable origin but had since become commercialised and frankly, weird.
"People scare each other, then go door to door of people's homes to ask for treats?" Isshin had asked, frowned etched on his face, when he was told about it from Rangiku. It was a year prior, when she has returned from the Living World from her holiday trip with a few of the other Lieutenants. Of course, she had come back on a loud buzz about this 'Halloween' thing and now a year later, the Seireitei was to have its' own version.
"Yeah I thought that was strange too," Rangiku had hummed, tapping her lip with finger in thought. "That seems to only happen in the West though. Japan has great street parties to celebrate!"
Isshin had rolled his eyes sufferingly. This all seemed like another excuse for his lieutenant to get drunk.
Of course, Rangiku had spearheaded the Halloween organisation for the following year. She recruited the lieutenants and the SWA, and anyone else who couldn't look past her chest to say no to her.
Now, a year later, Isshin suffered.
They had to dress up in costumes apparently, and of course, Rangiku had assigned herself to costume detail.
Naturally her costume was a revealing one that was not at all appropriate for a Soul Reaper in her rank – a low cut, open black corset, and a shorter than possible skirt with fishnet stockings. She threw on a pointy hat and called herself a 'witch', and that was the truest thing Isshin had heard this first Halloween.
Rangiku had also wrestled Toshiro into a wolf costume, which was essentially a fluffy grey onesie with a tail. Isshin had felt sorry for him when he stood there pouting, his nose coloured to look like a dog's, as Rangiku slid the wolf ears onto his head – but the boy was easily bribed with sweets and that lost him sympathy points, since now he was excited to go out. He had since taken up residency on the office couch, working on carving a pumpkin into a 'jack-o-lantern', quietly ignoring the exchange between his captain and lieutenant behind him, ears still perched on his head (they were the same colour as his hair, and looked disturbingly natural on him).
"Get changed, come on," Rangiku ordered Isshin, throwing a big chain with a fake-ruby pendant at him. "We've got to go meet Kaien and Miyako."
"And Captain Ukitake!" Toshiro chimed in then, turning to grin at them from over the couch. He had a jelly snake hanging out of his mouth. "He's bringing more sweets."
Rangiku beamed, and Isshin shot the boy a look.
"You better still eat your dinner, Toshiro," Isshin told him sternly. "Don't go filling up on sugar."
"I won't," the third seat promised him before turning back to his pumpkin.
Isshin sighed and started putting on the bits of costume Rangiku had given him. The sooner they got to the party, the sooner it was going to be all over and done with.
Thankfully he was allowed to wear his Soul Reaper uniform, though Rangiku had taken Haineko to the end of his haori in order to make it look charred and ripped to the point it was worse off than anything Zaraki ever wore. She had given him a chain necklace, which Isshin hated since he wasn't a jewellery wearer; it sat low on his chest too, making him look like a poor mobster. Then, the part of the costume that he could only describe as a 'white floppy thing', went around his neck like a big frill.
Isshin stared at himself in the office mirror. He looked ridiculous.
"You look great!" Rangiku clapped her hands together excitedly, either oblivious to or ignoring the incredulous expression on Isshin's face.
"I look like a freak!" Isshin snapped, but Rangiku was unfazed, simply reaching out to adjust his costume in places, murmuring about how they were going to be the best dressed division.
Yeah, apparently that was a thing too – costume awards. Isshin glared death at his lieutenant, but she continued to ignore him, suddenly taken with her own reflection in the mirror.
"Look," Toshiro's happy voice caught their attention and they turned him. The boy held up his jack-o-lantern proudly. It was ice.
Isshin spotted the real pumpkin in pieces on the coffee table. Apparently the kid had struggled with that one and since replaced it with an ice cube instead, carving it down to a pumpkin shape before getting into the jack-o-lantern detail.
The face was terrifying; its mouth an open zigzag, its eyes slanted triangles. The expression in the ice was mad, somewhere between angry and laughing. There was resemblance to a hollow mask, minus the lack of teeth. It was creepy, to say the least, but Toshiro beamed up at them so Isshin let Rangiku handle that one. Of course, she loved it.
"This is amazing!" she gasped, taking the ice pumpkin from his hands. "I can put a candle in this and it won't melt, right?"
Toshiro scoffed, turning back to his sweets bowl.
"Don't insult me," he muttered, pulling out a lollypop and popping it into his mouth.
Isshin could only shake his head and sigh as Rangiku giggled. She returned a moment later with the ice pumpkin and placed it on the coffee table. It now had a candle in it, and it lit up the face in a way that made it look ten times as scary. With the lights off, this thing was going to haunt Isshin in his dreams.
"It's perfect," Rangiku murmured and Toshiro hummed his agreement.
Isshin really felt that migraine coming on now.
…
The Seireitei's first ever Halloween street party was utter madness.
It was very clear to Isshin that nobody really knew what they were supposed to be doing. It was looked like the Obon festival in the Living World, but like no one was taking it seriously. It seemed surreal, almost like a cartoon. The streets were decorated in the creepy horror theme, and food stalls lined them. There was also a rides section (when the Hell did the Seireitei get rides?), but Isshin steered Toshiro and Rangiku clear of them. He had been on a ride in the Living World once and gotten so sick he had to stay overnight, unable to face running through the Senkaimon, or even transitioning out of his gigai. His subordinates didn't need to see him like that tonight.
Instead, Isshin walked them through the streets, while Toshiro and Rangiku gushed beside him at all the pumpkins and lanterns, and pumpkins that were lanterns (they made Toshiro's look like a piece of gorgeous art). Fake spider webs covered division barrack gates, and rubber masks covered skewered melons to look like decapitated heads. Soul Reapers ran around everywhere with excitement, an eerie music played through the alarm speakers.
It was the food that was where Isshin decided the theme went too far – he didn't want sushi that looked like it was screaming in pain, or noodles that were pushed together to look like a brain. Toshiro didn't seem to mind, munching into manju that were decorated to look like eyeballs, and Rangiku was drinking red wine out of IV bag.
The captain couldn't knock the enthusiasm of the Soul Reapers though. Every single Soul they saw was dressed up, and most had put a lot of effort into their looks.
They had spotted Renji, dressed as a mummy, and little Rukia with him, dressed as a succubus. Isshin didn't know what that was, but she had a purple fluffy dress on, devil horns coming out of her hair, and bat-like wings on her back. She and Toshiro had bumbled awkwardly through a conversation in which he tried to tell her she looked pretty, and she reached out to feel the wolf ears on his head.
Isshin hadn't been able to help but smirk at that, and he had to send Rangiku for a walk to calm down as she erupted in a fit of giggles, only throwing Toshiro off his game further.
The captain had also seen Soifon dressed as a black cat, as well as Shuuhei dressed as a devil and Izuru as an angel. It aligned perfectly when they stood either side of a pumpkin-Momo and bickered over whether she should stay for another game of 'Hit the Zombie' or return to her captain.
Eventually, Isshin managed to wrangle Rangiku and Toshiro back on course, and they met up with Ukitake, Kaien and Miyako.
Ukitake was dressed an old wizard, with purple velvet robes and what looked to be Yamamoto's staff. He had a pointy hat like Rangiku's and half-moon shaped glasses on the time of his nose. Miyako was dressed as a scientist, calling herself 'Frankenstein', and Kaien was dressed as her 'monster', his skin made to look like it was patched and stitched together from a number of sources. Rangiku of course had a number of sexual remarks to make about all that, but thankfully she covered Toshiro's ears as she did so.
Apparently 'Frankenstein' was a living world book, and they gave Toshiro a copy to read, alongside a whole bag of sweets from Ukitake.
"Is it scary?" Isshin asked when Toshiro accepted the book, already flicking it open.
"A little," Kaien shrugged.
"Cool," Toshiro smirked.
Isshin shot Kaien a glare but his brother merely shrugged.
"He'll be fine."
Easy for Kaien to say – he wasn't going to have the boy crawling into his bed in the middle of the night, trembling from a nightmare.
The group wandered on, marvelling at the set up in the Seireitei that evening. It was cold and dark, but Isshin couldn't complain while Ukitake, the most susceptible of them to the cold with his illness, carried on happily. Isshin was a fire type though, so he felt the cold chilling his very soul. Rangiku, fire like him, didn't seem to notice however, but the captain figured her alcohol blanket was keeping her warm enough. Toshiro was loving afterlife naturally.
Eventually, they settled on a picnic rug on the grass below Sokyoku Hill. Kyoraku, far more drunk than Rangiku now was, found them and joined their party. He was dressed as a pirate, and stumbled over to them, collapsing on the grass a metre or so away. Nanao stalked behind her captain, dressed as a nun. She hit him over the head with her bible and sat with a huff on the rug.
Isshin had to have some sake from Kyoraku's flask just to deal with them all.
"Hey Toshiro!" Rukia's voice called out to them and they spotted her waving at them from the path. She stood beside her brother – Byakuya was officially the only person not dressed up that evening, though he had put on his nicest noble headpiece so perhaps he was dressed as a stuck up clan leader?
Isshin could make that joke, being the Shiba clan leader himself.
Toshiro's face was bright red but he waved back at the girl.
"Want to come on the tea cups ride with me?" Rukia asked brightly.
Toshiro turned to Isshin with hopeful eyes. The captain nodded, never wanting to step in the way of Toshiro's budding friendship with the little noble girl, though he was worried his third seat might sick on the rides.
"Be back in half an hour," Isshin told him sternly. "You need to eat dinner."
The boy beamed and nodded, before he ran off quickly, meeting Rukia and Byakuya. They disappeared in the busy streets towards the rides section.
Isshin watched them go before he took another swig of Kyoraku's flask sake. The man hadn't moved from the grass, so Isshin doubted he'd notice, and Nanao looked glad to be rid of the alcohol in his possession anyway.
As much as Isshin wasn't sold on this whole 'Halloween' idea, it was nice to see everyone out and about, despite the cold autumn evening. Rangiku and her army of minions had done a good job setting this all up. It was, as much as it pained Isshin to admit it, a rather enjoyable new festival for the city. Morale was high, in spite of the horrific costumes and decorations. It felt like the beginning of the festive season, with Christmas and the New Year next on the horizon, and of course that meant some important birthdays were also coming up in the Squad Ten barracks.
Isshin didn't care so much about his own – he was happy with a family dinner at home – but he had some ideas about what he wanted to do for Toshiro this year. The boy didn't love having a big deal made of his birthday, in fact he didn't seem to care for it at all. He was usually more excited for the Winter Solstice that week instead, but Isshin figured he'd like his gift this year.
The captain was brought back to reality harshly, when Rangiku poked his cheek and giggled.
"I knew I'd get a smile out of you tonight, Sir," she chuckled before sipping more of her blood transfusion wine.
"Yeah, yeah," Isshin rolled his eyes, and battered her hand away when she started flicking his neck frill.
"I'm going to get food," she sighed, standing on slightly wobbling legs. "You want anything, Captain?"
"Get some dinner for your brother," Isshin requested, not meaning to say 'brother' but it slipped out naturally. Rangiku wasn't fazed, giving him a thumbs up before turning and stumbling off to the nearest food stall.
Eventually, and in fact right on thirty minutes later, Toshiro returned. He was beaming and waving at Rukia as she left, grinning before she appeared to get dragged away by Byakuya. The second they were out of sight, Toshiro's smile fell and was replaced by a queasy grimace, and he held his stomach as he came back to sit with Isshin on the rug.
"Feeling okay there, Kid?"
"Yeah, great," Toshiro tried to smile, but he looked in pain.
"I supposed you don't want your dinner then?" Isshin sighed, holding up the plate Rangiku had just brought back. "Though you did promise me…"
"I want to eat," Toshiro told him, matter-of-factly, though Isshin was sure he just didn't want his sweets eating rights revoked.
He all but snatched the plate from Isshin and began shovelling the food into his mouth. Isshin rolled his eyes, and finished off the last of Kyoraku's sake, finally feeling a bit of warmth spread in his chest.
As predicted, Toshiro couldn't finish his dinner – not that Isshin could blame him when the rice was designed to look like maggots and the chicken looked like a cut off finger.
"I don't feel so good," he finally admitted, leaning into Isshin's side, his green face disappearing under Isshin's white floppy neck frill.
"I told you not to eat all those sweets," Isshin sighed and the boy groaned half-heartedly.
"I think it was the ride," Toshiro argued weakly.
"I'm sure it didn't help," Isshin couldn't help but chuckle a little. He'd been there too, but he wasn't going to admit that tonight. Poor Toshiro was just trying to impress his pretty friend no doubt, and Isshin had been there too many times in his youth.
"Captain," Rangiku moaned then, collapsing into his other side. "I feel sick too."
"Well bagged wine will do that to you, Matsumoto."
She groaned loudly, "It's not fair."
Though they were both feeling queasiness that was self-inflicted, Isshin put his arms around them and held them close for a moment. They curled into him, looking for comfort. The captain sighed, patting their backs gently.
"I better get these two home," he told Kaien, and his brother nodded.
"Yeah, I should get my captain out of this cold too."
Ukitake seemed to protest to that idea, but his argument was weakened by a coughing fit that quickly consumed him.
"I'm leaving my captain here," Nanao grumbled, getting to her feet and brushing off her nun costume.
There was a pause when the group looked down at Kyoraku asleep on the grass, his snores the only sound between them for a moment. Isshin shrugged, deciding that was fair enough, and he picked his two subordinates up off the rug, placing them back on their feet.
It was a slow journey back to the Tenth but they finally got there. They reached the office first because it was the closest and Toshiro and Rangiku collapsed onto the facing couches. Isshin shook his head, once again stepping into the Squad Ten Dad role. He threw blankets over them, before he got a cloth from the bathroom and wiped away their costume makeup.
Toshiro held up his new Frankenstein book to Isshin, his question silent but obvious. The captain sighed and sat by the boy's feet, opening the book.
It couldn't be that scary, right?
…
Isshin wasn't scared.
Nope, not in the slightest. He was a Captain of the Gotei Thirteen. He wasn't scared easily.
He just couldn't sleep because of all the excitement of the evening, that's all!
There was no way he was scared. He tensed up at every sound but that was just… well, that was just his captain reflexes kicking in of course.
That Frankenstein book certainly had not frightened him. It had been boring really, so boring that Toshiro and Rangiku had fallen asleep listening to him read it.
Isshin had snapped the book shut the instant he realised no one was listening to him anymore, and chucked it quickly under the couch, hoping they would never ask him to read that again. His laboured breathing was merely the cause of the long walk back to the Tenth, and the captain decided he needed to put himself to bed. He made sure his lieutenant and third seat were tucked in tightly before sneaking out of the office.
Though, Isshin wished he hadn't turned the light off and then glanced back over his shoulder to see the ice jack-o-lantern staring at him, lit up and laughing at him through its zigzag mouth. Shuddering, the captain ducked out of the door and hurried through the dark barracks to his quarters.
Did he lock the door behind him and triple check it? Well, that was nobody's business but his.
The captain lay awake in his bed that night, clenching his teeth and gripping the covers every time the wind rustled outside. His muscles were tight, and starting to ache from the constant tensing.
Relax, Old Man.
Engetsu's comments were not warranted and Isshin visualised himself punching the fire spirit in his mind, but of course a twig snapped outside and the captain tensed again.
That sounded like someone was coming.
Right? Twigs don't snap for no reason?
I didn't hear anything, Old Man.
Isshin strained his ears. He wasn't scared, but if someone was coming to attack him in the middle of the night, he was going to be livid.
Another sound, whispering voices, had Isshin sitting up.
Heard that one.
The next sound, a metallic twinkle had the captain rolling out of his bed. It was coming from his front door.
Grabbing his Zanpakuto, Isshin slipped out of his bedroom, and into the hallway. The sound of someone picking his lock grew louder, as voices continued to whisper. Isshin approached the door, sword raised, eyes locked onto the door knob that was now turning.
The door swung open and Isshin raised his sword but froze instantly, when Toshiro and Rangiku screamed, jumping back out the door.
Isshin almost swore, dropping his sword and holding his heart. He reached for the light switch and turned it on, to see his subordinates shaking on the front porch, holding each other for dear afterlife.
"What are you two doing breaking into my quarters in the middle of the night?" Isshin breathed loudly, trying to calm himself.
"You gave me a key," Toshiro's timid voice pointed out. He was hiding half behind Rangiku, his big teal eyes full of fear as he looked up at the captain, key held up in trembling hands. "You said I could come over if I had bad dreams."
Isshin swallowed and nodded. His heart was still racing but he reached out for the boy and pulled him in for a hug.
"I know, I'm sorry," Isshin murmured. Toshiro's body was tense, but he relaxed after a few moments "I just got a bit spooked."
Spooked. Not scared. Obviously.
"Can we stay with you?" Rangiku asked then. "The office is creepy and so are my quarters."
"I don't want to go to the dorms," Toshiro added, voice muffled as he buried his face in Isshin's yukata. "I had a dream the officers all turned to zombies and tried to eat me."
"And I had a dream that a snake slithered into my bed and bit me," Rangiku shuddered.
Isshin wasn't one to analyse dreams normally, but Rangiku's reminded him of her relationship with Gin. Toshiro's was crazy, but he'd consumed a lot of sugar that evening.
"Come in," the captain sighed, pulling them inside his flat. He triple checked the door lock again before leading them down the hallway.
He didn't ask where they wanted to sleep and they didn't tell him, navigating naturally towards his bedroom. Rangiku had changed out of her costume and into a yukata of her own, while Toshiro was still in his wolf onesie, though it was soft and undoubtedly comfortable enough to be perfect sleepwear.
They climbed into his bed and Isshin followed. Of course, they cuddled into him, Toshiro sandwiched in the middle as he often was for their group naps.
"I bet no other captain has their lieutenant and third seat climbing into their beds tonight," the captain grumbled half-heartedly, as Rangiku reached over and pulled his arm across her and Toshiro.
In truth, Isshin loved it. He wasn't scared before – clearly – but he was definitely calmer now. He felt like he could tackle any monster, any hollow. He had two important souls to look after, and they depended on him to keep them safe.
"Squad Eleven," Toshiro murmured sleepily into Isshin's chest.
"I doubt Madarame is getting into Zaraki's bed," Isshin poked the boy gently. He gave him Yachiru though, since she was Zaraki's adoptive daughter and younger than even Toshiro.
"Squad Thirteen," Rangiku offered then.
"Kaien and Miyako are married, of course they share a bed," Isshin rolled his eyes. "I don't think their getting in with Ukitake though."
"I bet they do," Rangiku chuckled in the dark room. "They give him cuddles when he's sick."
Well Isshin doubted that they were sleeping in the sick man's bed, but he wouldn't rule out Kaien giving Ukitake hugs to cheer him up. Kaien was affectionate, very much the hugger.
Even then, Isshin didn't dignify that with a response, merely sighing and tightening his arms over the subordinates that he considered his kids. Toshiro was already asleep between them, and Rangiku hummed in content.
"I love Halloween," She murmured sleepily.
Why she loved scaring herself to the point she couldn't sleep in her own bedroom anymore, Isshin didn't know. Still, he had to admit he'd had a good night too. Now, with his kids safe in his hold and the warmth he got out of being their protector, the captain supposed he loved Halloween too.
…
Lame. Sappy. Cute?
Jelly, my lovely guest reviewer – I have more angst coming for you next chapter!
