Treasured chest
Ah, October, the eternal spooky season.
That time of the year in which people strive to decorate their gardens and the entrances of their houses with every kind of scary decoration they can get their hands on, each one of them being more terrifying than the previous one for both the delight and fear of people.
That time of the year in which pumpkins are the flagship product on the supermarket shelves, before they adorn every house and kitchen waiting for their turn to get carved simulating different faces whose candles will lit up in the dark of the night.
That time of the year in which kids, and not so kids, dress themselves up as the scariest things possible: from skeletons to ghosts or simply as witches and pirates or any other character they might like from a very long list of them, ready to run from one door to another asking the infamous question of "trick or treat?" in exchange for some sweets, and why not, some scare from time to time.
And of course, Aqours couldn't be any different from all those kids or decorated houses having their own Halloween party to spend all together.
A chuckle escapes Yoshiko's lips as she thinks about it, the weight of the carrying bags in her hands being a reminder of the pumpkins she had to help her burgundy haired companion to buy and carry for it.
- Do you already have your costume chosen?
Riko asks softly as they walk towards the older girl's house after have bought some of the decorations for said party.
- Of course! But I must say that the great fallen angel Yohane doesn't even need a bland costume to show her grandeur.
Yoshiko states proudly and with her head high while the burgundy haired girl walking beside her just laughs.
- So I guess you're going to go as a fallen angel? – Riko asks her, seeing Yoshiko smiling at her beamingly in confirmation.
- Just wait and see how majestic my wings will look. You'll wish to fall with me.
The burgundy haired girl can only giggle while blushing at her friend's antics, not bothering to tell the younger girl she already fell for her without the need of any pair of majestic wings or any costume, before Yoshiko glances at her with a curious spark shining in her eyes.
- What about you?
- Um, I don't know yet... but I'm sure we'll be matching.
Riko says mysteriously, somehow calming Yoshiko's curiosity, before they finally reach the older girl's house.
- Thank you for helping me with the decorations, Yocchan.
- No need to thank me. The great Yohane is always here for her elite demon Riri.
Yoshiko answers dramatically, winking at Riko as she bows. Riko's giggles then fill the air, mixing with the rustling of the fallen leaves while the cold autumn wind blowing carries them away to be part of the beautiful Halloween decorations, painting their surroundings of beautiful hues of orange, red and yellow.
- Be careful on your way back home.
Riko wishes Yoshiko fondly, handing the younger girl one of the smallest pumpkins they've bought, to then see her walking away, almost running to make it in time to catch the bus to go to her own house.
The older girl lets out a sigh as she gazes at the breathtaking view before her. And even though she loves spring the most of all the seasons, autumn certainly holds its own beauty and mystery, something that actually reminds her to the self-acclaimed fallen angel.
As the blowing wind lashes at her frame eliciting a shiver from her, Riko can't help but smile at the sight of a black feather plowing through the sky to fall and mix with the burgundy fallen leaves covering the yard of her entrance.
With a soft smile playing on her lips, she enters the warmth of her house to help her mother to carve the pumpkins with different expressions, some scarier, others funnier.
A gloomy atmosphere envelops the burgundy haired girl's house once Halloween finally arrives, giving it the perfect terrifying vibe she was aiming for as the owls hoot and the lit pumpkins illuminate the path to the front door where a couple of skeletons greet the new guests.
- Wow Riko-chan, you overdid!
- It's amazing!
A grey haired girl in a sailor costume and an orange haired girl dressed as a werewolf exclaim at the same time as they look at the meticulously done decoration in awe, making the other girl blush at their complements, before another girl chimes in.
- It's wonderful, my fellow guilty mate. As well as your costume! I bet somebody will really love it.
A mischievous blonde witch congrats her fellow sub-unit mate, winking at Riko's angel costume as she's guided inside the house by the arm of her personal and chivalrous blue haired knight.
- It's really good, Riko. You've actually scared some people back there.
Kanan says teasingly as she winks at her and motions with her head to the girls coming in behind she and Mari, seeing a trying to look serious Dia appearing with two frightened cabin girls clinging to both of her arms.
- I feel my soul is about to leave my body, zura.
Hanamaru murmurs still clinging onto Dia's arm, eliciting a chuckle from the serious girl while her little sister giggles in between weak tears.
- It was so scary, but so well done.
The young girl admits with wonder in her eyes.
- Thank you, Ruby-chan, girls, but I wouldn't have been able to do all of this without your help.
Riko thanks them all softly, giggling as she hears the others cheering on her loudly, before the music starts to fill the house and drinks and snacks are set on the table.
- Mari-san, get away from that punch right now!
Dia reprimands the mischievous blonde witch not trusting her in the slightest, before Mari runs away dragging a certain but equally troublesome grey haired sailor with her by the hand.
Riko can only watch the scene before her amusedly, before the clear of a throat pulls her out of her reverie, turning around to see a blue haired pirate in front of her.
She can't help but feel her breath taken away as she admires the grey and black hat resting over Yoshiko's head, her hair tied into a lateral ponytail. Riko then notices the dark jacket hanging over the younger girl's shoulders, the silver ornaments on it giving her a powerful look all while revealing a light greyish blue shirt a bit tight around her chest.
Her eyes stare at Yoshiko's chest for a moment, before her gaze goes down to observe how wonderfully the sash hugs Yoshiko's body and the way the baggy trousers fit her, a sword secured in them, before she finishes looking at the black boots, completing the pirate's look.
A smug smirk adorns Yoshiko's lips as she notices the lustful look the burgundy haired girl gives her while running her eyes up and down her, making Riko blush as she realizes of it and notices the small cut on Yoshiko's arched eyebrow that makes the young pirate look even sexier than she already does.
- Yocchan…
Riko exhales dazed yet a bit confused as to why the younger girl is dressed as a pirate when she was supposed to go as a fallen angel so they could match as angels.
- Surprised, aren't you? Don't worry, me too.
Yoshiko says with a lopsided smile as if she had read her mind, before two girls come running to hug their first year's friend while laughing.
- Yoshiko-chan!
Ruby exclaims her name happy to see one of her best friends dressed as a pirate, before she and Hanamaru take a step back and get serious, raising a hand to their temples to salute her.
- Ayo captain, zura.
- We're ready to set sail, captain.
You quickly joins the first years much to Yoshiko's embarrassment and Riko's further confusion who can only tilt her head.
Ruby, upon noticing her confusion, can only giggle, before clarify to her why their friend is dressed like that.
- Yoshiko-chan lost a bet.
- I-I didn't!
- Who got out that strange hand instead of paper, zura?
Hanamaru teases Yoshiko who can only blush even harder in return, not even trying to defend herself while she hears her friends explaining Riko how Yoshiko's already predictable and bland fallen angel costume was lost within the bet.
A grumble escapes the blue haired girl, before she decides to end the teasing by pushing her fellow first years away to then begin chasing them around the house, their giggles filling the air. And even like that, Yoshiko doesn't manage to stop the teases for being such a weak fallen angel when it comes to play rock, paper and scissors.
You can only giggle watching them running around while Riko follows Yoshiko with her gaze, a mix of disappointment and something alike warmth filling her.
- Here, you might need it.
Mari's voice interrupts her thoughts as she offers her a glass of punch, winking at the burgundy haired girl mischievously, before Riko takes the offered glass and thanks her for it, seeing her disappearing in between their friends.
Soon, Riko drinks the dark orange liquor in her hand, her throat going instantly dry as she watches Yoshiko unsheathing her sword to fight against Kanan. The second year bites her lip at the unfolding fight, before she sees the older blue haired girl feigning to get hurt to fall into the arms of a sly witch.
Riko can only smile at this, hearing Yoshiko squealing happily upon have beaten the shiny knight, before she locks eyes with her and smiles at her beamingly, making a warm feeling blossom in Riko's heart and crawl up to her cheeks, before the pirate runs towards her to take her hand in her black gloved ones.
- Have you seen that, my angel? This fearful pirate defeated the oh so great and noble shiny knight – Yoshiko says grandiloquently and proudly of her feat while doing her signature pose – Now these mere mortals will fear the great Yohane pirate, getting out of my way to let me take the treasure without risking any life.
Yoshiko proclaims victorious, and Riko can't help but feel a buzz running through her body at the warmth irradiating off Yoshiko's hand gripping hers and her beaming smile, prompting her to say something she won't even thought of saying under any normal circumstance, before she realizes of it too late.
- If you want to see some treasure… – Riko starts saying, pausing briefly to gulp – I'll show you my chest.
A pregnant silence fills the air after her words, only broken by the music playing and a high-pitched shriek coming for the girl in front of her, the eyes of the young pirate accidentally gazing at her chest and the portion of skin that her angel costume doesn't cover.
Yoshiko quickly begins to sputter some incoherent words as her face takes a hue of red darker than the second year's hair one, before a loud thud is heard.
- Y-Yocchan!
Riko yells worriedly as she takes the young pirate in her arms to cradle her against her chest, feeling Yoshiko nuzzling it while murmuring embarrassedly.
- I think I've just died and went to Heaven.
Yoshiko babbles, nuzzling the angel's chest more while Riko also turns as red as her own hair.
- Truly a treasure.
The young pirate murmurs, before going unconscious in the arms and chest of a burgundy haired angel, all while the roaring laugh of a mischievous blonde echoes through the house.
- Mari-san! I hope you didn't pour in the punch what I think you did!
Dia exclaims horrified at the thought of Mari pouring some light alcohol in the punch while Mari just giggles behind her hand.
- Oops.
She excuses herself, winking at Riko, before the later looks down at the unconscious and sexy pirate cradled in her "treasured" chest, understanding now where it came the boost to flirt with the younger girl so shamelessly even though she just made her fall unconscious.