A/N: Alright, so, first off, Happy Halloween! Since my family doesn't celebrate it, however, I decided to do so through this chapter. I'm undecided on whether this should be accepted as canon since it's severely out of the timeline given my story is somewhere in August, lol, but we'll see. For now, just accept it as a special for today. For all those unlucky peeps stuck at home, hope you enjoy, and stay safe!

As for reviewers, much thanks for AwesomeFangirlOtaku01 and 8shadesofmadness for the awesome reviews. And to my silent readers, thanks for the favs/follows. Your support is motivation for me to right!

8shadesofmadness: You're very close. Technically, she has a demon living inside of her as they "share" the same body but it's more of like she's the host, and the demon feeds through the sword through which she assassinates people."Rachel" becomes "Ruth" during missions because that's when her demon activates (either half or fully demon) and she acts on orders when someone uses her name. And yes, Ruth has a personality of her own in which she's far more detached so that she's more logic/reason based in decisions. Rachel is the personality she uses around people she's intimate with or trusts such as close friends and whatnot. Ruth is for dealing with others outside her social circle. And it's not that her power becomes too much to handle, rather, she allows (prefers) her other personality to take the reins which means she can take over, but through experience and learning, she's learned emotions have a huge impact on actions hence why she chooses impartiality. As for the actual demon, well, you'll have to see.

AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Their relationship meaning Rachel and Undertaker? Or someone else? Sorry, it was a bit vague since I don't know to what you're referencing from, however, yes, her form is definitely interesting, and it'll be even more so once she starts interacting with Sebastian. And lmao, of course, you choose to focus on lust on all things. Rachel for now doesn't understand emotions, such as love, much less lust, but because of her demon, she can recognize it, even smell it (scent), so you'll definitely know she's always on the lookout. That's interesting to know, though. He even has the same name from Vampire Knight. Interesting tidbit. Might watch, might not. Anyhow, thank you for the info and enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji nor will I ever. Everything read not included in the manga are my ideas and characters alone unless mentioned otherwise.

Halloween omake
"Deary~ We're gonna be late~"

I threw a glare at the sweeping voice outside my door. The last few weeks, he'd gotten balls deep into preparing for Halloween. I don't know what possessed him to do this, but we (or mainly I) put up decorations around the clock, not that his shop needed any help. However, a few carved pumpkins here, some candles there, and the ambience of his shop amplified its creepiness even more. It probably didn't help that he'd made it his life's mission to include jump scaring his guests. What this guy was trying to accomplish was beyond me at this point.

And now, the Phantomhive Halloween party. Really, it was more of a festival of harvest for the benefit of the citizens, but surprisingly, Vincent invited us for whatever reason. So now, Undertaker would have to temporarily close business so we could attend.

Which brings us to the present me struggling to put on the costume Undertaker persuaded - or rather assigned - me to wear. He'd decided that we'd pair up our costume, and ironically, he wanted to dress up like a skeleton while I became the corpse bride. Of course, that made me think of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and their starred characters Jack Skellington and Sally, so when I drew the characters for Undertaker, he immediately wanted to try it. No surprise. He pulled out a suit and had the tailor, the same one who made my clothes, add the finishing touches so it'd be similar to my drawing as well as use a dress to fit the theme.

Now, I was having quite a bit of trouble tying up the corset. I decided to do the makeup last since it'd be easier once we had all our clothes on.

I sighed. No use at all trying to do it myself. I stomped to the door, pulling it open so quickly that even Undertaker was caught off guard. "Here, you need to tie up my corset. I'm not going to waste my time trying to do it on my own."

He snickered, immediately setting to work. "I see~ Wise decision, my dear."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes. Afterwards, I need to work on your makeup as well as mine. Did you want anything done to your nails?"

"Hmm~ Decisions, decisions~ What do you think, dear? Ah, and lean over here, if you would be so kind? It'll be easier for me to tighten~" He pointed a sharp nail towards the bed, and immediately I stilled.

This was the part I dreaded most. The first time I experienced a corset, I felt like I couldn't breathe more than half the day. The pain became so excruciating that I immediately used a kunai to cut them loose. Of course, Undertaker busted a gut over my desperation, but he'd had me practice weeks prior every other day. The pain eventually lessened, but it didn't mean it wasn't an absolute inconvenience to have to breathe right so I didn't pass out.

I sighed in frustration but followed his directions, hands gripping the wood in front of me. His foot rose up and rested on the footboard next to me, and inevitably, I felt the tugs progressively become tighter. Suddenly, I felt a sharp tug and squeaked. "Hey! Not so tight!" I glared back at him to find him innocently pouting. My eyes narrowed further.

"Hmm? But you didn't answer my question~" He maintained his pout, resuming his work until he deemed the laces tight enough. By the time he was done, I had to take a moment to recover.

Taking a careful deep breath, I managed to accommodate what little space the corset allowed my lungs to expand before turning to him. "Okay, so your nails." A grin and a nod was my reply. Right. "I can do them, but I'll do your face first. You wanted a skeleton? I can make it realistic, but you'll have to tell me if you want any finishing touches added." I was pulling out makeup sets, foundation, etc. for whatever was needed.

He only giggled. "Do what you have to, love~ I don't mind either way."

I guess that was his consent to letting me see his face. Not that it was a problem, but ever since confessing my little secret, he didn't care for maintaining his facade as a human. Well, who cares, really? I still had my makeup to do as well. I'll have to finish quick if we had any hopes of getting to the Phantomhive manor on time.

I looked back, raising my eyebrow, and seeing as he did nothing but grin, I shrugged before pulling away his bangs. And of course, his face came into view. The first thing I registered were acidic green eyes with hints of yellow throughout. And of course, since the building was somewhat dark, the glow of his double iris only enhanced his ethereal look. We stared for a bit, me processing with a blank face as he smirked. Eventually, I turned away, deciding to forgo the foundation. He was already pale enough. I turned back with a type of thin brush in hand to find him donning a forlorn look.

"What?"

"You didn't react at all despite seeing my face for the first time." His lower lip stuck out.

That's what he was hurt about? "Well, of course. The manga showed your face anyway."

He crossed his arms with a pout. "Hmph! Not fair~"

I snorted. Then smirked. "If it helps, it seemed that you not having eyebrows in the manga is proven true since I can't see any on you."

And of course, he lit up like a Christmas tree. "Is that so? And is that a bad thing?" He tilted his head, batting his eyelashes.

I deadpanned. "Dunno. What do you think?" Since he had no eyebrows for me to use as a guide, I would have to estimate where the eye socket for the skull should be drawn.

He whined. "Killjoy~"

"Yeah, yeah, now hush. If you have any hopes of attending, I have to finish quickly." I had him sit on the footboard of the bed since he was a bit tall, and raising my arms so much would tire them out quickly which would end up being counterproductive in the long run. As I traced the perimeter of his eyes using the brush, the weight of his stare was quite unnerving, and I ended up rambling just to take my mind off it. "You know, there's an artist named Mimi Choi who makes optical illusions of her face using makeup."

"Oh? Is that where you got your inspiration from?" He was careful to keep a blank face so that my drawing wouldn't be messed up.

"No, this came from someone else. But it popped up on the news because of how good her skills are. I'll have to show you sometime." I'd finished drawing the two sockets by now, comparing them to make sure they weren't off before deciding to work on the jaw. The shading in wasn't hard, but I didn't shade everything in that way I could add some eye shadowing to give his appearance a more gothic look.

"I see~ How interesting."

I hummed before getting serious again. "Ok, you can't talk for this part since I'll be doing the jaw portion of the skull, and the proportions have to be accurate if I'm gonna pull this off accurately." All I got was a nod, and seeing as he got the message, I began the careful job of detailing the teeth and contours of the jaw. Eventually, I was so deep in my work that I'd neglected my earlier worries, focused on shading in and outlining the teeth of the skull before finishing up the nose. Lastly, I added small details such as various indents and squiggly lines along the sockets to make them more realistic.

Afterwards, I leaned back with a sigh, seeing him let loose a grin that he must've been holding back. My eyebrow ticked. That must explain why he was twitching so much. "Alright, I'm done. You can go to the mirror-"

I hadn't even finished talking before he shot out of the headboard and into the bathroom like a bullet. I blinked before shaking my head with a half-smirk. He must've been super curious, and based on the exclamation of delight, he must've really liked it. I walked over to the bathroom to find him inspecting his face from various angles, side to side before finding me in the reflection. His grin spread like wildfire and my lips twitched despite my self-control to not grin like a fool.

"Do you like it?"

He scoffed. "Like it? I love it!~ You've done a marvelous job, my dear!" He was even inspecting his neck where I'd added in the cervical region of the spine on a whim, admiring the workmanship.

"Alright, alright, you can gawk later. I still need to do your nails."

He perked before rushing back into my bedroom.

I paused, eyebrow raised before joining him in the bedroom, sitting where he was previously and wagging his foot excitedly.

Well, at least he can behave himself. I think.

…

About an hour and a half later, we were on a carriage transporting us to the Phantomhive manor. To say that the Undertaker and I's appearances rose a few eyebrows was the understatement of the year. People ogled, gaped, gossiped, you name it. Whether it was from interest, disgust, we dismissed it as per usual. People either liked it or they didn't. Even the driver of the carriage took a few moments to recover since the sight was such a shock to him. He was at first reluctant, but after hearing about our destination, he couldn't risk refusing or else his actions would reflect on his services, so he relented.

As of now, Undertaker still admired himself in the reflection, glancing at me every now and then with giggly excitement. I simply shook my head with amused exasperation before staring out the window. /He's such a child./ I snorted at the thought.

Having seen the other pedestrians as we passed by, I noticed that their costumes weren't as bold as Undertaker and I. At the most, they only wore hats to pull off an angel or a demon, or even a cat. I furrowed my brow. Did we go too far? Undertaker certainly didn't mind, and the pumpkin idea was far more fascinating to him than a bunch of turnips.

Oh well. He can always wash it off.

Eventually, the Phantomhive manor rolled into view and Vincent and the twins were waiting for us impatiently. I could tell they were eager for us to join, and despite the lack of dress up for the theme itself, they still wore nice matching outfits for the occasion. Already, I could feel Undertaker's anxiousness from here. He was definitely going to scare the living shit out of those kids. Before the carriage could make a complete stop, I turned around and tugged his sleeve, immediately grabbing his attention.

"Do not kill any children today."

The statement alone made his grin falter momentarily before an even crazier one replaced it. "Now, now, dear~ A little bit of excitement isn't gonna hurt anyone!" He was giggling, and already, I could feel my stomach dropped.

As soon as the carriage pulled to a stop, through the window, I could see Vincent approaching with the kids. As soon as they were close enough, Undertaker swung the door wide open, claws poised, yelling, "Boo!~"

Both the kids screamed, running behind Vincent as I facepalmed. I was too embarrassed to show my face, but the Earl's hesitant query made me peek out. "Undertaker? Is that you?"

"Hihihi! Right you are, milord. And my lovely assistant should be inside hiding, cute little thing~"

My eye twitched. The asshole. He was taunting me! I huffed, immediately exiting the carriage as everyone but the Undertaker, merely smirked, balked at my appearance. "Some nerve you have!"

Undertaker cackled loudly as Vincent recovered. "Ms. Rachel?"

I looked back at him with an raised eyebrow. "Is this going to be a problem?"

Vincent blinked. "Hm, well, it will certainly be an eye opener for the folks visiting today. Did you have something to do with the face paint?" Obviously, he was referring to the makeup skull on Undertaker's face as well as my design which consisted of stitches along with light blue hints of shade to pull off a corpse-like appearance. And, of course, since Undertaker's face was in view but fully masked by the makeup drawing, there was no problem really. Even his scar was well-hidden which left his eyes, but for today, I don't think it should pose much of an issue."For today, I believe, it's alright. We can have you interact with the guests to enhance the experience, after all."

Well… isn't that lovely. I paled, but the makeup hid it of course. "Why don't I let Undertaker take care of that? I can do something else, like face paint."

"You can do that?" Vincent looked astonished idea, so much so that I had to hold in a sound of amusement. If only he knew.

"Sure. It's quite common where I come from, even in other festivals outside of Halloween." I observed him processing the information.

"I see. Hence the idea for dressing up and the facial makeup."

I nodded. "Pretty much."

Vincent beamed. "Excellent. We'll use that, then. Undertaker here will lure in children and you can do the painting." He seemed happy with the plan. "The paint isn't harmful, of course?"

I shook my head. "You can wash it off." His nod was all I needed for approval.

Great. I've incorporated American ingenuity at a British harvest festival. Go me.

With that decided, we'd gone on ahead to the garden where the festival would take place, and of course, it was nothing extravagant compared to what I've seen. The place was dimly lit with lanterns hung around while carved turnips littered the place. A few decorations here and there with lots of food and games mainly for children. The place had a beauty of its own, however, and the servants did well to compliment the theme of the festival using their environment. Might as well scope out a spot for me to settle so I could do face painting.

Scanning the area, I could feel more than see the heavy stares of guests around us, but as I searched, the ideal spot came in a corner of the garden, slightly obscured from view but well lit enough for me to work without needing a light. Perfect. I headed over, Undertaker tailing me and waving at the kids every so often, giggling when they withdrew in fear. Still, you could see the curiosity in their stares, wondering if what they were seeing was even real. While I set up, I felt two new presences and looked over my shoulder to find the twins. Ciel, being the bravest, drew nearer while the younger hanged back. I guess they'd gotten over the fear.

"Miss Rachel?"

"Hm?"

Ciel pointed to one of the drawn stitches. "Are they real?"

Hm. How should I answer that? "Well, you see, an accident occurred, and Undertaker had to patch me up. So, this is the result." They both blinked. Then a moment of silence before I ended up snickering. "Just kidding, they're not. But keep it a secret, alright? You'll spoil the surprise." I crouched down and held a finger to my lips and they grinned before copying me with a giggle.

"Don't worry, Miss Rachel! We won't say anything!~" Both the boys crowded me before jumping me for a hug.

"Oi!" Their enthusiastic laughter, of course, drowned out my cry for help, so I was stuck with two kids clinging to my neck. And, per usual, Undertaker chose the worst possible time to show up.

"Ara~ Seems my little assistant has been caught! Hihihi~" He loomed over us, hand covering his mouth as he giggled unabashedly.

Glaring up at him, I retorted, "Yeah, thanks for the protection because I really didn't need it, after all." Of course, my tone laden with sarcasm did nothing but amuse him so I opted to ignore him. "Hey, did you two want me to paint your face?" I patted them both on the head so they would let go.

They looked at each other before Ciel perked up. "I should get Lizzy, too!" We both watched Ciel go before I looked at the youngest twin.

"So, bocchan, I guess you're up first. I'll just have you sit on this chair and we'll get started, alright?" Since he didn't seem to need any help, I got started taking out the brushes and paint before grabbing a chair and pulling it in front of him. "Okay, so what would you like me to paint?"

He blinked before staring at my makeup again. "Can it be like yours?"

I shrugged. "Sure, or I could draw a mask, or something small on your cheek like a pumpkin. Anything you like."

He mulled over it a while, still unsure. "I want it to match with Ciel, though."

I nodded. "I can see why. How about I draw you a mask? That way you and Master Ciel can match and Lady Elizabeth's design compliments yours?"

He nodded ecstatically. "Yeah! And add spiders and webs, too!"

I smiled a bit. "Not a problem. Alright, you need to stay very still for me, and close your eyes. Try not to move your eyes, no matter how odd the brush feels." I dipped in the brush before starting the base. I had to stop every so often when he giggled before I could continue, but eventually, I managed to add some swirls, a spider, and a bit of webs. Mixing in dark blue with black helped highlight some features of the mask as well as his eyes, and once Ciel and Elizabeth joined us, more children started coming over. Guess I didn't need Undertaker, after all.

…

I slumped against the table, exhausted. My last customer had pranced away with a happy smile, showing off to her relatives and friends. I hadn't expected my face painting to become so popular among the kids. There were a few young adults who wanted to try out the activity, but at least thirty kids visited me, inquiring about different designs. Some girls wanted a flower, a heart, a butterfly, etc while the boys liked the pumpkins, bats, stitches, and even the skeleton face. Of course, I had to let the parents know it wasn't harmful and could be washed off, but seeing as how Undertaker liked to advertise my makeup skills, I could see why so many people populated my corner of the garden.

Hearing footsteps approaching, I looked up to see the tall, lithe figure of Undertaker approaching me with baskets of candy. When they landed with a thump on the table, one peek at its contents had me groaning in disgust.

So. Much. Sweets. Yuck.

"Undertaker, I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but I don't like sweets. At all." I gave him a half-hearted glare with one eye as he waved it off.

"Please, dear~ It's Halloween for a reason! Go ahead and try some. After all, most of your customers want to convey their appreciation~" He winked at me as I glowered before deciding to suck it up. It would only be for one day. One day. That's all.

Peering into the basket, I selected a cracker which seemed to be gingersnaps. Huh. I was expecting more of frosted confectionaries, but these were commonfolk. It was easy to forget compared to modern day America how much poorer people were. I suppose this was better than nothing. Deciding that would be all I was eating, I settled back in my chair and observed the rest of the festivities with the Undertaker who happily munched away on some of the sweets. Goodness, was he a glutton.

After a few moments of silence, Undertaker broke it with a question. "So~ What did you think?"

I glanced at him before taking a moment to absorb the atmosphere. The laughter and bright smiles seemed to drown out the dimness of the area, and although it was well into the night, the lamps seemed to burn brighter. My expression relaxed as I met his smile with my own. "It wasn't so bad."

A/N: A little side note, yes, Mimi Choi is a real person and I do remember seeing her art on the news at one point. You should go ahead and check it out. As well as the skull mask makeup idea, that came from Nikkitutorials on Youtube. I'm no makeup artist nor do I use any, so I tried my best through the steps although I suspect there may be some mistakes/steps missing. If anyone would let me know, I'd greatly appreciate it.

10/31/18