Kadaj: This took you forever.
I know, I know. Sorry... I couldn't really anyway before now. Our old keyboard got screwed and the shift keys couldn't work so... *shrug*
Joshua: So you're putting this up one day before the deadline?
Hai! I only own the plot, characters and song are not mine. I will put in a trigger warning now to be safe; I've seen other authors put them in so I wanna play it safe for other readers and I also apologize in advance if the content does cause any harm. I mean no disrespectful harm.
This is Halloween
So much pain ran through his body...
His backside was torn and bloody, bruises at his hips in the shape of large hands...
He was soiled, dirtied, violated...
"Megumi... I thought you had more respect than this... Why would you break me like this...? What did I do to deserve this pain in your eyes...?" once bright amethyst eyes began to overflow with tears at the physical and emotional pain he suffered from.
Yoshiya Kiryuu, more commonly know to his hometown as Joshua, was a local beauty with his gem shaming eyes, ash-blond hair that was soft and silky to the touch, pale skin, bright smile, and otherworldly singing voice. He was kind, but not a pushover, although there were times he let his guard down far too easily around those he knew too well.
Like this night.
What he thought was an innocent invitation to a friendly dinner was far from that. His father's friend, Megumi Kitaniji, had leered at Joshua with lust the entire meal and had gone as far as to drug the boy's tea. By the time Joshua had fully realized what was happening it was far too late; Megumi had the powerless boy in his bed and brutally claimed his body. No matter how much he screamed and cried for help no one heard him or came to his aid; he was left to suffer until this sick monster got his satisfaction which was preceded by tossing Joshua out of his house with his clothes and parting words of thanks for his "services". Consumed by pain, despair, and self-loathing Joshua pulled on his kimono and slowly began to make his way home on wobbly legs as agony screamed throughout his being.
'Just let his pain kill me...' he silently begged.
He didn't noticed he was being followed by a woman completely overruled with pure hate and rage, and by the time he did it was, once again, too late...
That night Yoshiya Kiryuu was brutally murdered.
This is Halloween
Cavin casually made his way through Halloween Town's square heading for the home of his fiance of... Well, the past century technically speaking. That's how long he's been in Halloween Town now, and he was happy.
The night he met Yazoo a week after his arrival he spent every day with the vampire; that's what the silveret was, a vampire born and raised in Halloween Town.
It was a few months into their... Companionship that Yazoo explained that Cavin was his soulmate, and was willing to wait until the ghost was ready for them to participate in the annual wedding during their holiday. Many thought it should have happened the next year but the fact was that there was still a lot for Cavin to get used to despite how easily he took to everything; Yazoo's family being a major point on the list.
He was the middle child in a set of triplets, the oldest had a form of emotional instability that was masked by his burly build and tough-guy appearance, and the youngest was just crazy, his parents were both male with his father appearing to be a heartless and cold bastard while his mother had the tendencies of a temptress; it took a few decades to be comfortable with them but he was part of the family soon enough. During the rest of the time Cavin was trying to establish his own place in what had come to be home; he found he was quite the green thumb thanks to Sally's help as she often dabbled in herbal witchcraft to get away from Dr. Finkelstein before she married Jack, and Yazoo saw that as a helpful skill as he was the town medic so he was happy to have someone grow and tend to the plants he needed. It was a good fit they admitted.
Then there were times when it was just them in one place or another during the day or night when they just relaxed together and it felt as if it were only them in the world. Cavin would play with the strands of silver hair that gleamed in the natural light as the scent of nightshade and blood wafted into his nose, the identifying scent of his vampire that he grew to cherish; he didn't think he could find love again after his wife, but he did. He didn't care that it was with a male.
But at the moment he had to find said silveret; they were supposed to meet a few hours ago for a date.
Imagine his surprise when Yazoo's father, Sephiroth, came out the front door right when he got to the gate, and smiling! Something happened that must have been really good to cause that; did Kadaj and his mate finally move out?
"Evening Cavin. Go on in, he's in the kitchen. Just please be quiet." The vampire said.
"Yes sir." The blond nodded while mentally applauding his ability to hide the fact that he was unsettled by the warm treatment.
He went in and found Yazoo in the kitchen drinking a goblet of blood. It was obvious he had showered recently as his hair was damp.
"Don't tell me you forgot." He teased going over to the silveret thus surprising him.
"Oh, Cavin." He smiled warmly "No. I just got up a couple hours ago, busy night." He leaned up a bit when the other was close enough and pecked his lips.
"What, emergency surgery?"
Yazoo smiled brighter shaking his head. He quickly finished off the blood and led Cavin upstairs to a bedroom door, signaled for him to be quiet then went inside silently, and came back out holding a bundle wrapped in a dark gray blanket.
"Last night my mother went into labor." He whispered moving the top of the blanket enough to show the pale face of a newborn baby with silver hair "This is my new brother, Riku."
The blond smiled now understanding Sephiroth's bright attitude, "Congratulations."
That was another thing Cavin had to come to terms with slowly, males having as much of a capability to become pregnant as women did; he was able to relax on the idea when it hit him that he could have a family again, and Yazoo said he would carry the baby to ease his mind.
But first thing's first before thinking of that: Get married.
This is Halloween
Jack found this to be a splendid day indeed; Sephiroth had just informed him that his mate, Genesis, had their fourth child the previous night and now he was making his way to the Hinterlands to meet a new arrival his ghost dog, Zero, had informed him of. He loved when Halloween Town got new arrivals, whether they came from the Mortal Plane or if they were born to the citizens; the more the merrier as the phrase went, so he was very excited to see who their town's new addition would be and just in time for the coming Halloween celebration! He was expecting though to meet the new arrival halfway through the journey, and what he saw shocked him; it was a teenage boy in a bloodied kimono, his eyes were gone, there was a hole in his chest, his throat was slashed, his hair was matted with blood, the corners of his mouth and the skin around his eyes was stained with the red substance. Jack was horrified that anyone could do this to a child, and he didn't scare easily.
But this was too much to bear, even for him.
This is Halloween
Yazoo and Cavin were at the top of the Curly Hill enjoying each other's company, a late occurring event but it happened none the less, and they were content... Until Cavin started to shift nervously.
"What's wrong?" the vampire asked looking at him in concern.
The blond swallowed, "I need to tell you something..."
"Yes?"
"This Halloween, I think... I think we should participate this year. W-we should finally get married." There, he said it.
But his eyes were squeezed shut so he didn't see Yazoo blush redder than the blood he drank.
"Really...? You're sure you're ready...?"
Cavin opened his eyes, emerald green meeting cat green, and he said with a steady confidence, "Yes. I love you."
The other smiled, his blush fading, "I love you too Cavin."
Smiling back the blond leaned in kissing him sweetly.
"Yazoo!"
And the moment was ruined...
"Dammit Kadaj!" Yazoo turned to look at his younger brother who looked like him but thinner, slightly shorter, and with shoulder length hair.
"You two can make out later. Jack's asking for you and it's serious."
"Did something happen?" Cavin asked.
"A new arrival, a boy..." Kadaj turned a shade of green and shivered.
Yazoo's eyes widened; a child in Halloween town was rare unless they came from the Mortal Plane during the annual hunts.
"Let's go."
This is Halloween
Joshua looked around the dark house; it had a very comfortable atmosphere despite the odd themes. The stranger he met in the woods brought him here saying it was his home with his wife, who was very kind and pretty despite reminding him of the Kuchisake-Onna*; she reminded him of his mother...
"Here dear, drink this." Sally handed him a mug with steam rising out of it.
"Thank you..." he took it with slightly shaking hands.
Sally couldn't help staring at his blood-stained hands, the blood having come from where his nails had been ripped away from all of his fingers.
"So," she sat by him on the couch "Where did you come from?"
Joshua finished a sip from the drink finding it was green tea, "Shibuya, Japan... Where am I now?"
"Halloween Town." Sally answered.
"Why am I here? Can you tell me?"
"Well sweetie, you are dead. Sometime those who have died come here, I can't say why because I don't really know how it works. Jack asked for our town medic to come have a look at you."
Joshua blinked despite having no eyes; Sally could tell they used to be beautiful because the boy was beautiful even with the lingering signs of his death.
"I'm dead...?"
"Yes... I'm sorry..."
Joshua dropped the mug and it broke on the hardwood floor, "No!" he pulled at his hair "I can't be dead! I'm home in bed waiting for my mother to wake me for dinner! Megumi didn't ask me to dinner with him! He didn't rape me! I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming! I'm not dead! I'm at home sleeping!"
Sally tried to pull his hands away so he wouldn't hurt himself but hearing that bit about being raped made here freeze; the poor boy...
Jack, having heard the commotion, came into the room and immediately tried to calm Joshua, "Sally what happened?"
"He doesn't believe he is dead. Jack did you see any signs of him being raped?"
The Pumpkin King froze, "What...?"
This is Halloween
The scene Yazoo and Cavin were met with was startling. Jack and Sally had a teen boy sitting between them while the boy rocked back and forth pulling his hair as he mumbled to himself.
"I can see why Kadaj looked ill..." Cavin said quietly.
Yazoo nodded and slowly approached the trio, "Jack, Sally...?"
Sally looked at him, "Yazoo, I'm glad you're here..."
The teen looked at the vampire and the couple had to bite back a gasp at his face.
This is Halloween
Joshua had to be restrained and sedated in a bed for months after his arrival because he was hysterical and always trying to "wake himself up" by hurting himself; it broke everyone's hearts.
Cavin and Yazoo agreed to postpone their marriage for another Halloween after the new ghost was better, in the meantime they got a house of their own and brought Joshua to live with them so they could care for him better rather than go between houses back and forth every day, and spent their time with him just talking whether he responded or not. Some days were good if he ate and spoke even one word unrelated to his situation, but there were a lot of bad days that threatened to drive them all up the wall. Cavin even talked to Joshua about his own death hoping it would help him settle a bit easier.
Yazoo cataloged all of the boy's wounds from head to toe; it made his sick when he saw the blood and semen forever staining the skin of his backside and between his thighs. With such a traumatizing occurrence being proven true it was no wonder Joshua hysterically insisted to being alive and back home waiting to be awoken from a nap; anyone would want to forget that...
The day Joshua was finally release from his restraints was a cautious day with a promising surprise. Cavin, because he spent the most time with him, undid the straps holding his wrists carefully and helped him to sit up.
"You and I are going to walk around the town square for a bit. We'll get some food for the house and even buy you some things if you'd like. Just take today slow okay."
"Okay..." the boy nodded.
Cavin gave him a set of clothes, a button down shirt and some jeans with white sneakers. The clothes were strange from what he was used to but he liked them nonetheless and found them comfortable.
The walk around the square was calm; Joshua mainly stayed quiet only speaking when asked a question. Nothing really caught his interest... Until he heard a bass cello, an accordion, and a saxophone, music!
While Cavin's back was turned Joshua went over to the trio of musicians that were playing and just listened, a small smile playing on his lips. It wasn't much longer before he did something he hadn't done in months, he opened his mouth and sang filling Halloween Town with the most beautiful sound ever heard. When Cavin saw who the source was he was hit with an idea...
This is Halloween
"Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween~
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of
fright
It's our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween~"
This was turning out to be the best Halloween celebration yet! Joshua's singing was met with cheers and praise, and he returned with a breathtaking bright smile.
Cavin had went to Jack the day Joshua sang in the square and suggested letting the teen sing on Halloween solo hoping it would help with his healing; it did. Joshua found it exciting to learn a new song and put it to use, he was excited to sing again; his slow healing and acceptance accelerated slightly much to Cavin and Yazoo's relief. And to Joshua's delight, he had a family again that loved him as much as his parents did.
This is Halloween
*Slit Mouthed Woman.
All done! How was it?
Genesis: Poor Joshua!