A/N: Here's the second chapter! Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX.
In Las Vegas, Halloween was celebrated rather lavishly at one mansion. The front lawn was decorated like a graveyard, with fake tombstones littering the yard, pumpkins lying about, and ghosts and skeletons set up as well. The house itself had cobwebs strung on it.
At the front door, a man with orange hair and purple eyes was greeting his Halloween guests. Dressed in a black cape with fangs in his mouth, he was playing the part of Dracula tonight. His spacious entrance hall had a bowl of candy corn sitting on a small table. There were cobwebs hanging from the staircase in the middle of the room, a skull sitting atop a stand in one corner, a table on one side of the room with food, a coffin propped up against the wall, and various other Halloween decorations scattered all about.
Some of the first ones to arrive were a man and woman, dressed as a prince and princess, respectively. The brunette man wore white pants, blue coattails, black boots, and a red sash around his waist. The blond woman, looking somewhat annoyed, wore a long, Medieval-style dress, red with white trim.
"I can't believe he talked me into wearing this thing again," she muttered as she and her "prince" entered Dracula's abode.
"Ah, Lord and Lady Tenjoin," the orange-haired vampire said. "Good evening. Welcome to my humble abode." He gave an exaggerated bow.
"Can it, nerd," Asuka said. "It's bad enough my brother dragged me here. Don't make it worse." She walked right past their host, Natsuko.
He watched her go, then said to Fubuki, "Y'know, your sis is kinda rude... Makes me miss my dear little sissy..."
Fubuki shrugged and headed off to mingle with the other guests who had already arrived.
A black spider came in next, black hair poking out around the sides of the opening in his costume for his face. He was glaring at his phone as he muttered, "Yeah, gloat all you want. I'll win next time!"
Based on that, Natsuko figured this guy—Manjoume—had just lost to his rival again. He teased, "Aw, what's up, King? Still can't beat that rival of yours?"
"Shut up!" he snapped. "I'll get him next time! Just wait, Judai! You're run as champion ends soon!" He stormed into the house.
Natsuko grinned. "He says that all the time."
"Well, well, why am I not surprised? Do you always have to do that the moment we arrive?"
Natsuko turned to see Ryo standing there, dressed as a monk in an orange robe. Sho was there, too, dressed as a wizard in a long black robe and pointy hat.
"Do what?" Natsuko asked.
"Make someone mad. Although, usually, it's me. So, where's this girl I should meet?" he asked flatly.
"Helping my sis put the kids to bed. Don't worry, she'll be down soon."
"Nice to see you, Natsuko!" Sho said. He cast a glare at his rude brother.
"Hey, you, too, dude!" he responded. "Your bro, not so much."
"The feeling's mutual."
Three others walked in just then—Jim Cook, dressed as a gladiator with his crocodile, Karen, both wearing Greek armor; Johan Andersen wearing a Rainbow Dragon costume; and Austin O'Brien dressed as...Austin O'Brien. He was just wearing his usual red shirt and black vest.
"Nice costume, Jim!" Natsuko said, giving the man a thumbs-up. "O'Brien, not so much."
"Thanks, Natsu," Jim said. "Your costume's alright, too."
"Aw, come on!" Johan said. "What about me?"
His Rainbow Dragon costume had holes in it for his arms and legs, and his face was peeking out from the dragon's mouth. Natsuko took a good look at the wings on the back.
"Dude, your costume's epic!" he said. "Did you make it yourself?"
"Yep! Took me awhile, but I think it turned out pretty cool!"
Fubuki stood next to the candy corn, talking to Manjoume.
Asuka walked back over and asked, "Uh, excuse me, but who are they?"
Natsuko turned in the direction she was pointing and saw two women and a man. One of the women had long, wavy, purple hair hanging loose around her shoulders and was wearing a brown, white, and red strapless mini dress that said "Tootsie Roll" on the front. The other woman was dressed as an Arabian princess, wearing purple pants with a veil-like fabric forming a second layer, an off-the-shoulder top that stopped just below her chest, and a headdress that hid her hair. A veil made of the same material as the extra layer of the pants covered the lower half of her face, and she had a scarf attached to gold bracelets on her wrists. The man was dressed as Legolas from Lord of the Rings, though he hadn't yet put on his blond wig, revealing his ice-blue hair.
"Oh, hey, looks like they got the kids to sleep...," Natsuko said. Louder, he called, "Hey! Fuyu! Haru! Aki! Get over here!"
Several of his Japanese guests were wondering why he had just yelled the names of three seasons until the three Asuka had indicated turned.
The man, whose eyes were yellow, blushed, frozen, staring at Asuka.
What's he staring at? She looked at herself, and the answer hit her. Oh, no.
"Heh. Don't worry, Asuka," Natsuko said, catching her expression. "Fuyu's too shy to make a move. Besides, Tootsie Roll should help distract him."
"Natsu-kun!" the Tootsie Roll said, pouncing the man in a hug.
"Oof!" he said, catching her. "Hey, Toots! Y'know, I didn't think you'd take that so literally," he teased.
"Well, I hope you're right," Asuka said. "I've already got a boyfriend."
"Uh, Asuka?" Manjoume said. "You do remember that the guy's long gone now, right? So, unless you meant me, you're single."
"Hey! That's right!" Fubuki said. "So, your friend's shy?"
"Nii-san!"
With the Tootsie Roll still hanging off him, Natsuko waved to the other two. "Get over here, Legolas! Jasmine!"
"You know that's not even close, right?" the Arabian princess said as she walked over, arms crossed, with the elf prince.
"Yeah, yeah. Chill out." Natsuko turned to the others, pushing the Tootsie Roll off of him, and said, "Well, guys, meet my pal, Fuyuko," he gestured to the man dressed as Legolas, "my little sis, Akiko," pointing to the Arabian princess, "and her friend, Haruko," he finished, waving to the Tootsie Roll.
"Hi, there!" Fubuki said to Fuyuko. "So, you checking out my sister? 'Cause, if you are, then—"
"I'm engaged," she said quickly.
"Uh...," Sho said. Oh, I'll just go with it. It's her choice...
Fuyuko blushed and said to Fubuki, "I am not 'checking out' your sister, whoever you are."
"That's Fubuki," Natsuko said. "His sis is Asuka. Then there's Jim the gladiator, Johan the Rainbow Dragon, Sho the wizard—not Gandalf, though, sorry—Monk Ryo, and O'Brien doing a great impression of certain people I know at work."
"Shut it," Akiko said.
"Besides, that's a lie, anyway," a black-haired cheerleader said as she entered with an auburn-haired witch. "That jerk totally ran out on her."
With that, everyone figured that she was talking about Asuka's claim to be engaged.
Asuka turned. "Momoe!"
"Well, it's true, ain't it?" the ebony-haired girl said. "He didn't even say goodbye! I can't believe you still like him."
"D-don't bring that up, please?" said a T-Rex who came in behind the girls. "That was t-the saddest moment of my life!" He wiped his eyes with his arm.
Natsuko looked at the three for a moment. Finally, he asked, "Remind me, who are you again? And you two lovely ladies, as well."
Akiko whacked him upside the head. "You're married, dipstick!"
"Oh, you don't know us. But he does," Momoe said. She and the witch gave Fubuki a dreamy look.
"...Right, and did he invite you, then? Because I'm fairly certain I didn't."
"Girls! You came!" Fubuki said, effectively answering Natsuko's question. "Momoe, Junko, meet Natsuko. Natsuko, Momoe and Junko."
"Hi!" the girls said in unison.
"Hey! Nice to meet ya, ladies!" he said flirtatiously.
His tone earned a glare from Akiko, which made him cringe.
"Well, as the lovely Akiko has mentioned, I'm married, but I don't think you care, anyway! Fuyuko, on the other hand, is single." Glancing at his friend's costume, he thought, And a nerd. Oh, Fuyu, you'll never get laid.
"Well, sort of," Haruko said, hanging off his arm.
He blushed furiously in response.
"What about me?" Kenzan asked. "Aniki never forgot who I am! What? Do I look like Misawa all of a sudden? Natsuko, we met at that party two months ago. You said I was cool and invited me to this one ahead of time, remember?"
The man looked mildly surprised. "I did?" He looked up, thinking about it.
Akiko sighed. "It's not you. He was probably just drunk."
"Oh." Muttering, Kenzan said, "Aniki never did that, either. Man, I miss him."
Somewhere in India, a two-tone brunette couldn't seem to stop sneezing.
Wiping his nose with a finger, he said, "Ugh... I wish whoever's talking about me would cut it out, already."
"Are you sure you aren't just sick?" Yubel asked him.
"And again with the backtalk... Do you ever quit?"
"Yeah, you're right. It's probably just Rei again. Where's she been lately?"
"Please don't talk about her..." He looked around as if he were worried saying her name would make her appear.
Back at the party, Junko screamed. "Jim!? Why did you bring her!?" she demanded, pointing at the crocodile on the floor.
"Huh?" He looked down. "You mean Karen? Why not?"
Momoe joined her friend in freaking out, saying, "'Cause a live crocodile has no place in this country! Or the same room as us! Especially when she isn't on your back or on a leash!"
"Hey!" Natsuko said. "That's Karen you're talking about! She's always welcome in my house. Don't like it, then leave."
"It's okay, girls," Asuka assured her friends. "Karen's our friend. She won't hurt anyone."
"Well, what about those guys?" Junko asked, pointing at Akiko, Fuyuko, and Haruko. "I bet they're freaked.
Akiko shrugged, saying, "Hey, I don't care if there's a live elephant stampeding around, as long as it doesn't step on the kids."
"No," Fuyuko said calmly. "This is normal for Natsuko."
"Nah, I got used to seeing her at school!" Haruko chimed. "Besides, Akiko's made sure I've had...exposure...to wild and possibly dangerous animals."
"Wait, what!?" Sho cried, suddenly realizing something—he knew these girls. He looked at Akiko.
Under the headdress, he could just make out blond hair, and her eyes were sapphire.
"Hey, shrimp. How's it hanging?" she asked.
He started, recognizing her at last. "Y-you're—!"
Kenzan the T-Rex looked, too, his eyes widening as he recognized the girl dressed as an Arabian princess.
"Huh?" Natsuko asked. "Something wrong, guys?"
"N-no, nothing's wrong!" Kenzan stammered, sweating nervously. "How's it going, Aki!?"
"Oh, not bad," she answered. "So, you guys are friends with my brother? What the heck?"
"He likes being called 'bro' again," Ryo said, pointing to his brother. Though he won't admit it.
"That's not it at all!" Sho protested.
"Dude, stop putting our friendship down to stuff like that," Natsuko said. To his sister, he asked, "So, Akiko, I take it you know these guys?"
"We went to school together."
"And...?" he pressed.
"And we were the best of friends!" Kenzan said, grinning broadly and still looking nervous.
"We were not, liar," Akiko said.
"R-right! My bad! We were enemies, right!?" he tried again, giving a nervous laugh.
Akiko stared a moment, then said, "You were the weird kid a year behind me who was still sitting in on all my classes. We were nothing to each other, good or bad."
"Right! That's exactly right! You're so smart, Akiko!" He laughed awkwardly.
Akiko rolled her eyes.
"Aw, you scared your high school classmates, too, Kiki?" Natsuko teased.
"Don't call me that!"
He just laughed.
"More importantly, Fuyuko," Fubuki whispered, throwing an arm around the man's neck, "if you're interested in my sister, I could help, you know? I'm an expert on all things romance, and, to tell you the truth, my sis could use a boyfriend to help her get over her last one."
Fuyuko eyed him nervously, thinking, He reminds me of Natsuko...who tried to match me with Haruko...and that one girl who turned out to be a wanted criminal... Not wanting to let Natsuko's twin try to find him a girlfriend, the man answered, "No, thanks, I'm good, really."
"What are you guys talking about?" Asuka asked, suspicious.
"You're brother's trying to convince me to let him 'help' me hook up with you," Fuyuko answered honestly. "And I've declined."
"Oh, brother," Asuka said. "Why can't you—"
"Aah!" Sho screamed. "Bakeneko!"
They all turned to see a small glass cat, a maneki neko, sitting on a stand at the back of the room, both its paws up. It was painted black, and its eyes were closed, just yellow lines across its face.
"Oh, that?" Natsuko asked. "That's one of my wife's baubles. No worries."
"No worries!?" Manjoume said. "That thing's black! I'm pretty sure that's a bad sign, ain't it!?"
"Meh, my wife doesn't buy into that. Chill. It's been there for years, and it hasn't hurt anything."
"Oh? And have you had a black cat for years, too?" Momoe asked, looking at a black animal weaving between everyone's legs.
"As a matter of fact, yes," Natsuko answered. "Waru won't hurt you."
"Waru? Do you even know what that means?" Johan asked nervously. Maybe his Japanese was a bit rusty, but he was pretty sure that word translated as "evil" in English.
"Hmm... 'Waru' is Japanese... I'm Japanese...," Natsuko said with heavy sarcasm. "Yeah, I think I do." Shrugging, he added, "Akiko named him. He's been mine for 14 years."
"14 years!?" exclaimed the newly-arrived Des Koala that was Hayato. "Natsuko, you need to get rid of that cat!"
"How long's the tail? It's long, isn't it? Not good, it's gonna—" Momoe said quickly.
"Alright, that's it!" Akiko said. "Leave poor Waru alone, you idiots!" She picked up the cat, adding, "He's not hurting anyone!"
"Not yet, he isn't!" the scared Japanese people said.
Akiko opened her mouth to argue, but her brother beat her to the punch.
"Alright, alright," he said. "Look, Waru's a good cat. He puts up with the toddler yanking his tail, he's never hurt a fly, and he's not going to turn into a nekomata. Those aren't even real, guys."
"Oh, no!" Sho said. "That's right! He's got the makings of becoming an evil one! A nekomata! We're doomed!"
"Thanks, Natsu," Akiko said sarcastically.
Her brother rubbed his head.
"It's okay," Ryo said. "Sho does this a lot. I believe you. Forget him and let's enjoy our party, okay?"
"Thank you," Akiko said.
"Yeah, come on in, guys!" Natsuko said, backing further into his house. "Don't let Waru—or Aki—scare you off!"
"Natsu!"
The cat leaped out of Akiko's arms and left the room. As the humans continued their conversation, some heading over to the refreshment table, the cat looked back at the statue, angry. Its tail split, becoming forked, and fireballs spun around it for a moment.
A nekomata was born.
A/N: Okay, brief yokai lesson for any who don't know what they are. Yokai are Japanese creatures (spirits, demons, whatever you want to call them). Many are animals, and a bakeneko is the cat spirit. Nekomatas are evil versions, and they are born when a cat's tail grows too long and splits, like what just happened. They have powers over fire, usually involving shooting fireballs.
