"This Is Halloween"
by Furor Scribendi
2008 Scribendi Productions
October 31st
The gloom of night was descending as the month was coming to an end. Outside the Misato house, a pair of Jack O' Lanterns cast their eerie glow on the walkway. Near the front gate, Slash stood in stony silence, looking more like a decoration, his eyes also glowing.
A pair of teen-agers, disguised as pirates, sauntered up to the house.
"This looks like a great place to trash," said the first.
"I get the pumpkin on the left," snickered the second.
As they came into the yard, Slash went into combat mode, growling, showing his fangs and baring his claws. The teens, caught off-guard, shrieked with fear and panic, tearing out of the yard as fast as they could go, stumbling and crashing into one another. Slash resumed his sentinel position, as though nothing happened.
"Heh, heh, heh. That was fun," he said, smirking.
Inside, Mahoro was putting the finishing touches on the evening meal, singing one of her songs. "It's such a lovely treat, for all my friends to have. Udo, udo, udo, so nice and fresh and good-oh."
Suguru came downstairs, dressed like Naruto. "Believe it!" he yelled, pointing at Mahoro, who laughed.
"And do you have your kunai?" she asked. He tried to pull one out, but it snagged on a pocket, and it tumbled helplessly to the floor.
"I hope your friends will enjoy themselves tonight." Mahoro brought over a tray of food to the table.
"I was really hoping that you would join us," ventured Suguru.
Mahoro looked horrified. "No. It would not be right for me. As the maid, I cannot engage in matters, although that would be nice and fun for me to do that and….ohhhhhhhhhh." Mahoro was a bit surprised that came out of her mouth.
"Come along. It would be fine," coaxed Suguru.
"But…but who would dispense the treats?"
"You can always leave a bowl out. People will be honest about things," smiled Suguru.
"But, there's no time for a costume," she protested.
"But you have a great costume. Your warrior uniform."
"Out of the question! How could I explain it?" Mahoro's eyes opened very wide.
Suguru came close to her. "Tell them the truth."
"The…..truth?" Mahoro looked uncertain.
"Trust me, tell them the truth. Please, Mahoro, you'll have fun. So go upstairs and do this. For me? Please?"
"Very well, as you request." Mahoro trooped upstairs and changed into her warrior uniform. It felt rather odd. When she put it on, she always did battle; she never used it for something of this casual of a nature. While she was getting dressed, she heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll get it," Suguru called from the lower floor.
Mahoro finished dressing and came downstairs to greet everyone.
"Well, that is some costume, Mahoro," remarked Miyuki, dressed as Sailor Venus.
"She looks fabulous," drooled Hamadi, trying to be Gasser from BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo.
"Doesn't she, though," agreed Kawahara, being Captain Battleship from the same show. "But she is no Torpedo Gal."
"I think she looks great. She put in a lot of work on that costume." Chizo was a chef, wielding a gigantic plastic carving knife and cleaver.
"But who are you? I do not recognize you at all," puzzled Rin, costumed as Nonononn, from Magical Play.
Mahoro looked over to Suguru, who urged her on.
"I am Vesper combat android, V1046R Mahoro, created to do battle with the invading alien android forces of Saint, which attacked Earth in the early 1980s. I was created nine years, six months ago and proved myself on the battlefield in defense of all. Many tried to defeat me, but none succeeded. Although recently decommissioned, I am still battle ready."
Rin stared at her with open eyes and began to clap. "Wow! That is incredible. You really go all out with things. I am truly impressed with the dedication to this."
"The next time there is an anime convention in town, she has to go. I think this is the best thing ever," added Chizo. "One gets so tired of seeing Sepheroth and his giant butter knife of doom."
"I like the costume, I really, really like the costume" leered Hamadi, as he circled Mahoro.
"I like the costume, too," said Kawahara, as he also circled. "I mean it."
Miyuki pulled both of the boys back. "Calm down, you two. Have something to eat and stuff your eyes back into your head."
Mahoro went up to Suguru. "They don't believe me," she whispered. "Not at all."
"It's Halloween, perhaps the one time of the year you can tell that story and have no one question it," smiled Suguru.
"So, when do we eat and when do we treat?" asked Chizo.
"We eat now and we will treat when it gets a touch darker," said Mahoro. "Let us start with the lovely deviled eggs."
"Not too dark," said Rin. "Did you see those pumpkins out front? Those were the scariest ones I have ever seen!"
"I wouldn't want to meet one of those creatures in a dark alley," said Kawahara.
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't want to meet one on a well-lit street. In the middle of the day. In summer!" remarked Hamadi.
Mahoro smiled. The pumpkins were representations of some of the androids she had to combat, and a rather terrifying visage one would ever care to see.
Chizo popped an egg into her mouth. "Sacre Bleu! Cordon Bleu! Red, White and Bleu! These…..are…..MAGNIFIQUE! The delicate convergence of spices and chopped egg take this simple dish and push it into the realm of the legendary! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"
Just then the door opened. "I hope I'm not too late!" Shikijo was dressed as Ariel, the Little Mermaid. Her clamtop was just a bit too small to cover her ampleness and her hair was let down to cascade about her shoulders. Everyone stared on, stunned.
"This is about as bad as when we went to the beach," hissed Rin.
"She is going to freeze her…shells off," offered Miyuki.
"Even at this time of year, you need a chaperone, so you stay out of mischief and mayhem." She went over to Suguru, who was mesmerized. "Just say the word, Suguru-kun, and we can go explore my secret grotto."
Mahoro slid between them with a tray of food. "You had best eat something while you can!"
Shikijo looked Mahoro up and down. "And who are YOU supposed to be?"
"Let's just say I'm not to be messed with," and she pulled out her pistol, the bullet belt coiling around her arm. Suguru freaked out.
"WAAAAAAAH! There is no need for that!" Suguru waved his arms about frantically, standing between Shikijo and Mahoro. "We're all just having a friendly time here! Let's just all enjoy ourselves! Look, lots of tasty udo!" Shikijo and Mahoro glowered at each other, as she put the pistol away. The doorbell rang.
"I'LL get it," purred Shikijo, as she went over. She opened the door to see two young boys, dressed as Power Rangers. "My, my, don't you look all fierce," she commented, as she dropped treats into their bags.
"Thank you," they chimed, as they scampered out. Shikijo shut the door.
"I guess it is time to go out. Remember, there is still the Big Festival at the fairgrounds later tonight," she said.
Chizo stuffed a few more eggs into her mouth. "Myff frume blrerm."
Mahoro took a stool and went outside with it, then placed the treat bowl on it. She wrote a short note, "Please help yourself, but think of others," and attached it to the front of the bowl. They all started to troop out, but Mahoro lagged for a moment, speaking to Slash.
"I'm depending on you to protect the house while we are gone."
Slash smiled. "I will not let you down!" his eyes glistening with a sense of mayhem.
As Mahoro left, her departure did not go unnoticed. Peering from the trees down the street were two costumed people. One was in a very realistic spacesuit, but the visor was pulled down so the eyes could not be seen. The second came off like a combat android, rather tall and menacing. Spaceman spoke. "227 reporting. Subject has left the house. We will follow."
The streets were active as all kinds of costumed people scampered about. Some of the parents got involved as well. The cracking autumn air put a festive flavor on things. Mahoro examined the numerous costumes. Some folks went all out and appeared more as Kabuki or Noh performers. There were a lot of ninja and samurai about. One person even put together a caliber of Gundam and drew a lot of attention, as he clunked about the streets. After all, one didn't see an eight-foot tall costume lumbering about too often.
"I'm actually less interested in the treats and more the festival. They are going to have a huge costume contest and lots of tasty snacks there. This will be even more fun than the summer one we had. But no fireworks," pouted Chizo.
"We can make our own fireworks, if you know what I mean," said Shikijo, turning to Suguru. "All you need is…EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" The sound of a splatting water balloon could be heard as Shikijo took a solid hit in the middle of her back. She was propelled right into Suguru, who turned about at her squeal. He was pinioned by her cleavage as she clasped her arms about him tightly. "At least you can keep me warm, Ninja-Boy. I'm so chilled and your body heat will help me."
Mahoro didn't know what to do: break up the tête-à-tête between those two or give pursuit to the perpetrators, who scampered about a corner. She focused on Shikijo and Suguru. "A true warrior is always prepared," she commented and pulled out a thermal blanket, which she quickly wrapped about Shikijo, so she looked like a silver mummy.
"How can people admire my beauty if I am so encased?" she complained, trying to break free. As she walked, she crinkled and rustled.
"You should have thought of that before stepping out in rather sharp weather! At least you'll keep warm and you can take it off at the fairgrounds," muttered Mahoro.
Half a block away, the spaceman and his robot kept them under a wary eye. "Yes, I think we can direct them towards the woods," the spaceman said into his headset.
The other Gundam robot came up to the Spaceman and robot. "Wow! That is some fabulous costume. I am really impressed with the attention to details." Without hesitation, the robot grabbed the Gundam and flung him as far as he could into the trees. It was done so fast, no one saw a thing, despite the crowds on the street.
The spaceman went up to him and stared at the robot's chest. "Base, this Man Eater cannot be acting on its own. It's bad enough we are out here, but we cannot draw undue attention to ourselves. Please correct the programming."
The roads to the fairgrounds were getting more and more congested. "At the rate we're going, everything will be over by the time we get there," complained Miyuki.
"All the food eaten? Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Chizo was beside herself.
"Perhaps we should split up and take a shortcut," offered Rin. "We can cut through the Todai Forest and come around back, or down through the Marketplace and enter from the East." Rin pointed her battle staff in the direction of the forest.
"Or we could run like the wind and get to the Fairgrounds in record time," said Hamadi.
"I think we should stay together so we all get there together, and not get lost from one another," offered Mahoro. She was feeling funny. The last time she felt this way was two months earlier, when Ryuga was lurking about. She debated going into combat mode, but it was supposed to be a festive time, not one of suspicion.
"Besides," said Suguru, "you go taking a walk in the spooky old woods alone and you will get DEVOURED by some hideous monster. RAAAAARH!"
At that point, Shikijo clutched Suguru tightly, her ample bosoms surrounding him. "And you will protect me, you big, strong man, won't you? I'm just a poor, defenseless little mermaid." Mahoro's eyes glowed with resentment as Suguru was sweating so badly his whiskers were washing away. Out of the corner of her eye, Mahoro glimpsed the robot. She had that feeling again, but this time, she would act.
"You know, Rin, I think that would be an excellent idea," she commented. "I, as a warrior android, am not afraid of any spooky old woods, so I will venture forth alone!"
"It's a plan, then," concluded Chizo. "Hamadi and I will run like maniacs to the fairgrounds, Kawahara, Rin and Miyuki will go via the Marketplace and Suguru…"
Shikijo spoke up. "Suguru and I will stroll leisurely through the streets…together." Mahoro was torn. She needed to chaperone both of them, but bringing them along could put them in greater danger.
"Then it is settled," remarked Mahoro and she strode off towards the woods. Shikijo looked stunned. This was not like Mahoro; usually, she was splitting them apart like cord wood. She's up to something, Shikijo mulled, as Mahoro disappeared.
Hamadi turned to Chizo. "Race you."
"You're on, Gas Boy!" and the both sped off into the night.
Miyuki tapped Kawahara on the shoulder with her wand. "We might as well be off as well, Hair Head."
"You're no Torpedo Gal," he said.
"That's OK, you're no Zucchini," commented Rin. They, too, were swallowed up by the crowds. Only Suguru and Shikijo remained. Suguru was extremely nervous. Him and Shikijo-sensei? Alone? What designs did she have on him?
"Uh….so….where do you want to…uh…go?" His voice ended in a high squeak.
"That way," she replied, pointing.
"But….but that's the way Mahoro went. Into the woods."
"Exactly." And they followed, Shikijo practically dragging Suguru along.
In the woods, Mahoro was on full alert. She was aware of two figures following her. They were keeping well back and well hidden. Her special pistol was out and at the ready as she took a zigzag path to see if she could loop behind and discover the identity of her pursuers.
She decided to hide in a dense thicket, keeping a wary eye for whomsoever. Unlike at summer time, when the woods were filled with people, on this occasion, it was fairly quiet. She could hear the sound of two sets of footfalls, getting closer. She was going to wait for the right moment.
Springing out, her gun was at the ready, she pointed it straight at…
"Suguru? Shikijo-sensei?"
"AHHH! Mahoro! What are you doing here?" shrieked Suguru.
Mahoro raised up the gun so it wasn't aimed at them. "I could easily ask the same of you two! Get out of here!" Mahoro scanned about.
Shikijo went up to her. "You were planning something! You thought I was going to take Suguru into the woods and have with him the most delicious kind of Halloween treats. But I'm on to you!" Shikijo pointed a finger at Mahoro. "You don't fool me at all. You were just waiting for an opportunity to conk me and…"
BLAM!
Out of nowhere, a tree exploded, sending debris everywhere. A fair-sized branch hit Shikijo on the chest and sent her reeling into the bushes, knocking the wind out of her. Mahoro leaped on top of Suguru, driving him into the bushes as another blast tore the tree to the left of them. Holding him tightly, she rolled out and away. A third blast went in another direction.
"What's going on?" said a panicky Suguru. Mahoro came to a stop and surveyed the situation.
"I am being followed. They are after me for some reason."
"Is it Saint?" Suguru hugged the ground.
"No, they have learned their lesson. This caliber of attack indicates someone completely different, but I am not fully certain who it might be." She tried to look for Shikijo, but the foliage was too dense to see clearly. "This is what I want you to do, Suguru. Tend to Shikijo-sensei. I am going to draw their fire and lead them away from here. Get help as soon as you can."
"I…I will do that."
Meanwhile, the robot was on the prowl. The Spaceman came up to him. "Don't do that. Base, this Man-Eater's functions are all wrong. I need…" Before he could finish, the Man-Eater swung about and struck him, driving him into a clump of bushes.
Mahoro crawled up and away from Suguru, then sprung out to see the robot. He fired but missed. Mahoro was tighter with her aim and three well-placed shots crippled his firing arm.
Springing from tree to tree, she led the robot away from Suguru and Shikijo. The robot fired from an auxiliary chest gun, but the aim was not that good. The splintering trees were more of an annoyance to Mahoro as she managed to stay just ahead of the shots.
She had to. With no body armor, even a near miss could cripple her severely. She knew she made that promise to Professor Hokaze, but there was no time to call for help. Another blast forced her to the left. She wondered if the robot was directing her towards someplace for some reason or if it was that bad of a shot.
It was acting like the Crab Robot, in that the actions did not make full sense. Perhaps some errant programming or wiring of some ilk was causing these attacks. Spinning around, Mahoro fired off three more shots. The first cracked the glass on the head area, the second damaged the chest cannon and the third weakened the left leg at the shin.
Still, the robot kept charging and firing. The Sylpheed would be useful, but it may not get to her in time. Besides, sailing away may put other people in danger.
A back flip landed her…in the middle of the fairgrounds! People screamed at her sudden appearance, but when the robot crashed through one of the stands, panic ensued. Mahoro had no choice; she had to stand her ground, but with the people running wild, it would be tough. It was odd; she was a tiny isle of calm while people went berserk. The robot faced her down as a third weapon appeared from it.
Mahoro rolled to the left, then immediately to the right, the robot firing at where she wasn't. Mahoro laid down a carpet of bullets that hit their mark every time, tearing through the robot as parts of it were flung off and it crashed to the ground. She had to make sure that not only her shots were deadly accurate, but that the robot did not get off another round from this point on.
Doing a gigantic twisting loop through the air, Mahoro sent five shots directly on what would be the spine of the robot. Landing on the other side of a cleared-out area, she stood up and turned about to see the robot stagger to its feet, then collapse in a heap. A small explosion engulfed it in flames and it burned in a steady fire. People stood about and watched it, then burst into applause.
When she was certain the robot had been stopped, she quickly left the area. Heading back to where Suguru was, she called Vesper HQ. "Send a containment team to the Hiryu Fairgrounds for robot retrieval. Robot has been subdued."
Cameras were going off and people were talking amongst themselves. The fire brigade showed up to put out the fire and made sure the area was secure. As the people applauded, one of the City Councilmen went to another councilman. "What a surprise for everyone. Who did you get to be that warrior? People will be talking about this one for years. That was a great idea of yours!"
The other councilman was stunned. "My idea? I thought it was YOUR idea." They stared at one another with a bit of alarm, then to the smoking debris of the now-destroyed robot.
Chizo and Hamadi arrived and saw the knot of people plus the smoke billowing upwards. "Gee," said Hamadi, "I wonder what we missed?"
MAHORO'S SYSTEMS CEASE TO FUNCTION IN 261 DAYS
End Notes
OK, my research showed me that Japan does NOT celebrate a Halloween like we do, but many Japanese, embracing Western culture, choose to do so.
I just felt it helped with the "hectic holidays" part of the second season. I was willing to give up Thanksgiving (as, presented in the way it is, it makes it wholly American), but I needed something more than just the Christmas/New Year's nexus.
It also gave me a chance to introduce Ferdelance and his machinations on Mahoro, while some kind of battlebot stalks her. I have a hard time believing that Management "magically" decided that they wanted Mahoro out of the blue. Something has to be established sooner, which makes the Minawa Scenario in December the final logical step in the plan when this approach fails.
And in concert with my Breast Augmentation story (currently set in mid-November), I am putting out these early feelers of Management trying to get Mahoro (or the Keepers or whatever they want to call themselves). Keep in mind that, in the manga, Professor Hokaze talks about unexpected combat when he gives Mahoro the bad news in early April. We know of some of the battles, but with the approximate 200+ days between Mahoro's arrival and Mahoro's departure, not that many days are really examined.
A slight side-bar here: what about Ryuga? I mean, if Management is aware of Mahoro, they must be equally aware of him. Wouldn't it be just as easy to "capture" him? He is easily on a par with Mahoro as far as talents and abilities go, or do they feel that a "weakened" Mahoro is a better target than a complete Ryuga? Or is it an accessibility issue? They know where Mahoro is, but Ryuga is a bit more elusive. This is just something that has nagged at me.
Back to Halloween. Although we have seen the friends all in some kind of costume in the series, time wise, this would occur before that, as the hunt for Shikijo's time capsule (anime) is similar to when Mahoro went to the Vesper Academy to look for the bombs (manga), and those were both in late November.
If we try to establish a real date and time that this takes place, we know that it occurs no earlier than 1997. I bring that up, for, in the Dance of the Dead Festival episode, when the Mayor is showing the pictures of all the previous Dancing Maidens, we see one photo, dated 1994, then another, then Shikijo.
Admittedly, the photos jump around and he shows her maidens as far back as 1932 or thereabouts, but, even if we use consecutive years after 1994, then Saori was maiden no earlier than 1996.
I bring this up in that all the characters the gang is costumed as did not make an appearance prior to 1994 or that time frame. Still, I thought it would be funny to have anime characters dressed up as other anime characters.
If you know who these characters are, so much the better; if not, Wikipedia can give a basic overall idea. One reason I let Rin be Nonononn, although not fully mentioned here (I do have to keep mind of the ratings) is that Rin is rather busty, as is Nonononn, and she wears this corset-like vest that draws immediate attention to it.
I mean, how much should be explained? It's a bit of a sticky wicket. I am fairly certain folks have not seen the animes mentioned, but I don't wish to over-explain to those who know potentially more than I do.