Halloween

Halloween night was a holiday Tsubasa didn't often find herself celebrating. Often she spent it either meditating at home or performing a concert for it. This year she found herself with no concert to perform for or time to herself as she was forcibly dragged out by Hibiki and the others for a Halloween party at SONG HQ. Genjuro insisted on it, even ordering Ogawa to clear up her schedule so that she could unwind and get in on the holiday spirit, so she had no excuse not to attend.

So here she found herself at the party, pulling at the stuffy collar of the cloak of her Vampire outfit as she watched Kirika and Hibiki chow down on various Halloween-themed dishes that Shirabe, Maria and Tomosato had prepped for the occasion. She smiled, taking in the general cheery atmosphere of the party as she sipped at some juice that Kirika had insisted she drink with a wine glass to really sell the Noble Vampire look. That smile turned a little awkward as she saw Hibiki stop eating, coughing and then needing Miku and Kirika to smack her back as she nearly choked on a leg of turkey she was eating. A sigh to her side drew her attention away from Hibiki as Miku physically lifted her up, performing the Heimlich maneuver with surprising expertise as Kirika let out a shocked "OYOYO!?".

"That idiot really needs to learn how to pace herself while she eats. I swear it's like she does her best to mimic a vacuum most of the time…"

Tsubasa looked to the side and nearly choked on her juice. Beside her was Chris, arms crossed and looking on with fond exasperation as Miku finally managed to get Hibiki to spit out the turkey leg, although she didn't notice it as she only continued to do the Heimlich to Hibiki, unaware of the latter's cries for help. Ignoring the antics of their friends for a moment and keeping quiet as she recovered from her spit take, Tsubasa spent a few moments fully taking in and appreciating the costume Chris had donned for the night.

As opposed to the more cutesy and silly outfits the others wore, Chris' was far, far more serious and well-done. A jet black longcoat held closed by all manner of silver buckled belts, a rugged looking black and red shirt and vest combo underneath that, black leather pants and thigh-high combat boots emblazoned by silver gothic crosses on the kneepads and elbow-length gloves tipped with silver on the knuckles. To top it all off, she wore a black tricorn hat that was tilted forwards to shadow her face. Overall, she had the look of a Monster or Vampire Hunter to her as she stood there… munching on some cookies shaped like vampire bats. She found herself giggling at the contrast in seriousness and cuteness before she could stop herself as Chris nonchalantly picked up another cookie from the handful she held and nibbled on it.

"Something funny to you, Senpai?" Chris said, raising an eyebrow as she sent a sideways look at Tsubasa. She waved a hand dismissively, setting down the wine glass in her other hand lest she accidentally drop it.

"Nothing, it's nothing… That costume of yours looks incredible though, Yukine" she said, gesturing down at the shorter girl's outfit. Chris huffed proudly, turning to Tsubasa with a smug smile and a tilt of her head.

"Hmhmm! I'm glad you think so! I spent the last week working hard on this outfit you know" She held out her free hand proudly, turning it over so Tsubasa could see the intricate markings all along the underside of the glove, like tree branches intertwining and budding outwards before coming together in a wreath like shape around the wrist. She let out a low whistle of appreciation as she ducked a stray chicken bone that flew overhead, embedding itself into the wall while she grasped Chris' hand to trace the markings on it with a finger. She hummed, the sheer detail of the gloves alone leaving Tsubasa speechless at the craftsmanship. "It was tough, getting the gloves just how I wanted them to look, but I think I did pretty well with the end product!" Chris said, puffing out her chest with smug pride.

Silence hung between them for an awkward moment, Tsubasa taking a few moments longer to examine the glove, the rest of Chris' outfit and then looking up to see Chris' face starting to sweat as she waited for Tsubasa's response. She smiled, letting go of her hand and giggling as she took a step back to once again admire the silverette's outfit.

"You made this yourself? That's even more impressive, Yukine!" She clapped her hands, much to Chris' embarrassment. In seconds, her earlier smugness melted into shy humbleness as she started to nibble on some more cookies, speaking through a mouthful of them as she turned away.

"I-It's no big deal! I-I had a week to prepare this outfit anyway s-so it's not like it's the best I could do… I didn't even have time to make the Cross cannon to go with it…" Tsubasa felt a bead of sweat roll down her head when she heard Chris whisper the last part. She shook her head, somehow not surprised at Chris' dedication to her craft. Then she hummed, seeing an opportunity to be a little bold for once as she noticed everyone being too distracted by Hibiki and Kirika trying to pull the Turkey off of Genjurou's head.

She approached the shorter girl, stopping just inches away from her and catching her attention. Chris nearly jumped back, catching herself before she could as she stared up at the taller girl with a glint in her eyes that made her instinctively gulp.

"On the contrary, I think this is quite a big deal. I may not be as much of a fashionista as Maria is, but even I can tell that quite a bit of effort was put into this outfit… like these belts- these buckles don't look like something you'd normally find…"

Tsubasa reached out, touching one of the myriad belts across Chris' midsection and fiddling with it. Chris blushed and looked away, stuttering out an excuse.

"Th-that's- I-I just happened to find some that looked like what I imagined in a… c-cosplay store! Y-Yeah! I just mixed and matched stuff I found and bought!" she rattled, backing off by an inch before hearing a distinctive click of metal. She looked down, seeing one of the belts hanging loosely by her middle, undone without her notice.

Her eyes trailed up the hands hovering over her belts, all the way up to the mischievous face of the vampiric songbird hovering over her with a mischievous glint in her eyes. The faintest hint of the fake fangs she wore showing in the smirk she gave her as she moved forward until she pushed Chris up against a table behind her as she loomed over the shorter girl.

"I wonder… with so many of these belts…" Tsubasa leaned down, close enough that her breath tickled Chris' ears and made her shiver. "… I wonder how long it'd take me to undo the rest…~"

Chris let out a strangled noise of surprise, leaning back and looking up incredulously at the taller girl while her face erupted into a flaming blush. She was met with that same, mischievous fanged smile still stuck on Tsubasa's face as she stumbled over herself trying to form a response. Her gaze flickered to the side, seeing the others still busy with Kirika sitting on Genjuro's shoulders trying to pull the offending food item off his head, and gulped as she considered her options. As if to motivate her, Tsubasa placed her hands on either side of the table behind Chris, pinning her to it. Chris made another strangled noise of indignation as she raised up a hand to push away Tsubasa's face for just a little more breathing room as she gave her an answer in a hushed, agitated tone.

"A-Alright already just!... n-not here… y-you thirsty vampire…"

She didn't deign to say anything about the cheeky, satisfied smile on Tsubasa's face as Chris lead her out of the room without anyone's notice. Neither did she bother acknowledging the teasing comments about being thirsty for something other than blood.