A/N: It's October, and that means I've got some spooktacular chapters lined up for us! Hold onto your hats, it's gonna get scary! Also, if you're looking for some scary music for the season, I'll be making weekly recommendations from now until the last Friday this month. This week's recommendation is "Vampire Vamp" by the RAH Band.

A crisp fall chill permeated the air, and Deku and Todoroki were driving up a winding road on Mount Kenashi. Eventually, they reached a cabin in a small clearing, which looked like a traditional Japanese home on the outside. When they got out of Todoroki's '72 Oldsmobile, they had a good stretch.

"Ah, nothing like fresh mountain air!" said Deku. "And it was nice of Endeavor to let us use his cabin, too!" He stroked his chin. "Although…I have to wonder why he agreed to this if you two don't get along too well…"

"Well, my father was in a tolerable mood for once. Besides, who says that he needs to know about you?"

Deku chuckled. "Good point!"

Despite the cabin's traditional look, when they got inside, they found a few modern conveniences, such as a TV and a large selection of books. There was also an irori, a type of Japanese fireplace sunken into the middle of the floor that could be used for various purposes, including cooking, clothes drying and just heating the house. As soon as Deku and Todoroki got inside, they sat down on a mat in front of the irori, while Todoroki put some kindling in and used the Hot half of her Quirk to light a fire.

"So, what are we going to do now?" asked Deku.

Todoroki grabbed a canvas bag. "I decided to make a batch of my special zaru soba for both of us! Deku, would you mind helping me with this?"

"Not at all! Just tell me what to do and I'll do my best!"

"First, fill that pot with water."

Deku did so.

"OK, hang it over the fire now," said Todoroki.

Deku hung the pot on an iron rod encased within a bamboo tube, after which Todoroki put the noodles in. Deku sat down, while Todoroki turned on a timer on her phone and wrapped an arm around Deku.

"Deku, thanks for coming along with me! You make everything worth it!"

Deku giggled. "You're welcome! I could say the same of you, Shoko!"

"Oh, Deku!"

Todoroki laid her head on Deku's shoulder. During this time, Deku reflected again on how things had changed between them. Even so, he still couldn't help but shake that weird feeling about how he'd once known her in the guise of a boy. Still, he was willing to go along with the weirdness because he figured that it was a sign that he was truly attracted to her. Besides, she probably still felt weird about being a girl, too. Soon enough, the timer went off.

"OK, the noodles should be done by now," said Todoroki. "Drain them, and I'll run them under cold water. You get the seasonings ready."

"Got it."

Not sure of where else to drain the pot, Deku took it outside, being careful not to spill the noodles in the process. After that, he handed the noodles to Todoroki.

"Now bring the seasonings to a boil," said Todoroki.

While Todoroki was rinsing the noodles under cold water, Deku whipped up some dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a saucepan and brought the whole thing to a boil. After letting the mixture boil for a bit, Deku removed it from the heat and set the pan down next to the irori, and Todoroki – who got back from rinsing the noodles – set them down next to the pan with the seasoning mixture and set another timer.

"So, would you like to snuggle?" asked Todoroki.

"Of course!"

And so, while waiting for the seasoning mix to cool to room temperature, Todoroki snuggled with Deku.

"I love snuggling with you!" said Todoroki.

"I love it when you snuggle with me, too!"

"Deku, you're so cute!"

Deku giggled when Todoroki called him "cute". While this wasn't his first time snuggling with Todoroki, it still felt as warm and cozy as ever. Plus, with her voluptuous chest pressing against him, it felt like he had two large, squishy pillows to lean against. Eventually, the second timer went off, so Todoroki mixed the noodles with the dashi sauce before dividing them between her and Deku, after which she topped them with nori and green onions.

"Enjoy!" said Todoroki.

Deku dug into his soba and nodded as he took in the taste.

"Well, this isn't my favorite food ever, but it's very good, and I can see why you like it!" said Deku.

"I know, right? Ever since I was a little girl, this has been a major comfort food for me. Whenever I eat this, I don't feel any sadness or pain. As a matter of fact, ever since you helped me to reveal myself as a girl, I feel like this has tasted even better!"

"Well, good, because I'm going to make you my favorite katsudon someday!"

"Awww, you're so sweet!"

Deku and Todoroki continued to enjoy their meal. In particular, even though it wasn't his favorite food, Deku had gained a positive association with zaru soba because Todoroki had once offered it to him when he was feeling edgy and sad from failing to rescue Eri. He figured that given the right moment, katsudon could have the same effect on her. After they finished the food, Todoroki grabbed two lowball glasses plus a bottle of Mitsuya Cider, which she poured into the glasses before offering one to Deku. She then held hers out to him.

"You remembered the custom of toasting!" said Deku. "So, what do you want to toast to?"

"To many more wonderful years of being together!"

"I'll drink to that!"

Deku and Todoroki toasted, and they drank up. By this time, the sun was setting below the horizon.

"So, what do you want to do now?" asked Todoroki.

Deku turned his attention towards the bookshelf. "Well, one of my greatest fantasies has been to curl up and read a good book with a woman I really love…"

Todoroki wrapped an arm around Deku. "Who says it has to remain a fantasy?"

Deku blushed. "You're right. Mind if I pick the book?"

"Not at all!"

"Cool!"

Deku broke free of Todoroki's grasp and proceeded to pore through the bookshelf. When his hand hovered over one particular book, he thought he could hear vague chanting. His hand froze when he heard this, and he got chills up and down his spine. Nevertheless, he found the intrigue of that particular book to be more gripping than a vise, so he went for it again, only for the chanting to return. His hand froze again, and he got those chills, but even so, he ignored what should've logically been a sign of danger and just tore the book away from the shelf. In doing so, he heard the sound of something crashing against the wooden floor, so he looked down and found a Panasonic tape recorder, its battery door having been thrown off by the impact. After putting the battery door back on, Deku picked up the tape recorder and inspected the book. It was a brown book with a heavily-wrinkled cover resembling a mutilated human face. On the spine, Deku could just barely make out the title: Naturom Demonto. He brought the book over to Todoroki.

"What have you got there?" Todoroki took the book and looked at it. "This is highly unusual."

Deku shrugged. "I don't know, but it was almost like the book beckoned me to read it."

"Does that explain the tape recorder you've got there?"

"Well…why don't we find out, my dear Shoko?"

Todoroki only smiled as she wrapped an arm around Deku, and they proceeded to read the book while snuggling with each other. Reading the book, however, proved to be a memorable experience…and not necessarily in a good way: after getting past the stained inner front cover and first page, they came across a series of Satanic images such as a goat's head superimposed over an inverted pentacle and messages such as "ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO READ THIS TOME." Todoroki readily expressed her disapproval:

"Deku, should we…maybe pick a different book?"

"I would, but I feel like the book doesn't want me to."

"Please, stop reading it! It's scaring me!"

"I…I can't! Plus…what about…"

Deku hit "PLAY" on the tape recorder, and a mysterious male voice began talking:

"It has been a number of years since I began excavating the ruins of Kandar with a group of my colleagues. Now my wife and I have retreated to a small cabin in the solitude of these mountains. Here, I continued my research undisturbed by the myriad distractions of modern civilization and far from the groves of academe. I believe I have made a significant find in the Kandarian ruins: a volume of ancient Sumerian burial practices and funerary incantations. It is entitled Naturom Demonto, roughly translated…Book of the Dead. The book is bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. It deals with demons, demon resurrection and those forces which roam the forest in dark hours of man's domain. The first few pages warn that these enduring creatures may lie dormant, but are never truly dead. They may be recalled to active life through the incantations presented in this book. It is through recitation of these passages that the demons are given license to possess the living."

Todoroki hit the "STOP" button on the tape recorder.

"What did you do that for?" asked Deku.

"Deku, I really don't like this! Please, let's read something else!"

"All right, we'll read something else, but let me check out the rest of this tape first…"

Deku fast-forwarded through a good portion of the tape before hitting "PLAY" again, and this time, the mystery man recited the following incantation:

"nataS das, reffus su edam eh erehw dehsloot elttil a saw erehT. 666 uoy evig uoy evig lliw eH. nataS si rewop esohw, das em ekam dluow htap elttil esohw eno ehT. nataS teews ym ot s'ereh, on hO."

"ENOUGH!"

Todoroki hit "STOP" on the tape recorder again, but this time, it seemed to be a bit too late, for the cabin shook quite a bit, and the fire in the irori went out.

"Deku, what is wrong with you!?"

Deku rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry! My curiosity got the better of me!"

"We have to get out of here!"

"Right!"

Deku and Todoroki bolted for the door, but they would soon find conventional escape impossible as branches had grown all around Todoroki's Oldsmobile. Todoroki dropped her jaw and put her hands on her cheeks upon seeing this:

"What do we do now!?"

"There's only one thing we can do: RUN!"

Deku led Todoroki in a run down the same road they took to get up to the cabin. By now, the sun had completely set. Unfortunately for them, their escape was cut short when a landslide blocked the road ahead of them.

"Stand back, Shoko, I've got this! DETROIT SMASH!"

Deku aimed a super-powered punch at the rock pile. Unfortunately for him, not only did the rocks not break, but he very nearly busted every bone in his hand. Undeterred, he headed back to Todoroki, and…"

"DELAWARE SMASH!"

No matter how hard Deku tried, the rocks just wouldn't budge. Todoroki put a hand on Deku's shoulder:

"Let me try. FLASHFREEZE HEATWAVE!"

Not even Todoroki's massive superheated ice attack could lay a scratch on the boulders.

"Hang on, I've got another idea!"

Todoroki scooped Deku off his feet and used her ice to try to surf over the pile of boulders. However, even this was thwarted when a bolt of lightning struck Todoroki and caused her and Deku to hit the ground.

"Shoko, are you all right!? Wake up!" Deku shook Todoroki.

Todoroki groaned as she slowly got up. "OK, that hurt way worse than any pain I've ever been through."

"Can you walk? We have to get back to the cabin!"

Todoroki put her hand on her head and rubbed it. "Are you sure? What if something's waiting for us back there?"

"What choice do we have? It's probably safer than staying out here in the dark!"

"Right!"

Todoroki stumbled to her feet, and though she had difficulty moving at first, she managed to get up to speed again thanks to Deku. As soon as they got inside the cabin again, Todoroki used her fire to relight the irori. Just then, she heard the sound of breaking glass behind her and turned around, only to see a grotesque-looking humanoid with blank white eyes, grayish-green rotting flesh and clawed hands. She shot a blast of ice at it to stop it, but it just slashed through.

"Deku, there's a shotgun above the bed! There should be ammunition on the bookshelf, too!"

Deku rushed over to the bed, and sure enough, there was a Parker Model 1878 side-by-side double-barrelled shotgun hanging above it. Also, as Todoroki told him, there was indeed a box of shotgun shells on the bookshelf. Deku broke open the shotgun and loaded two shells in. He had to hurry, too, because even though Todoroki was doing a manageable job of holding off the mysterious monster, more just like it had shown up. With careful aim, Deku fired at one that was getting too close to Todoroki and stopped it. Thus, the cabin became a scene of absolute bedlam as Deku and Todoroki worked their damndest to hold back the monsters. Todoroki in particular seemed to be having trouble with the monsters because they proved resistant to her fire and ice. Only by grabbing a katana from a stand on a nearby table was she able to do any significant damage to them, for they died automatically once beheaded or otherwise had limbs removed. Overall, Deku and Todoroki seemed to do an all right job of holding off the monsters, but it was clear that unless they found another way to defeat the monsters, then they would get overrun. Despite this possibility, they elected to keep fighting, hopeful that they would end up the victors. However, hope would soon begin to ebb when one monster – despite Todoroki hacking its arm off with her katana – managed to scratch her face before dying.

"TODOROKI!" exclaimed Deku.

As if the wound wasn't enough, Todoroki clutched her face and screamed as she underwent a horrifying transformation, ending up turning into one of the monsters herself.

"Kill…" said Todoroki.

His face paler than a ghost, Deku dropped the shotgun and backed away from Todoroki. On one hand, he didn't want to kill her, but on the other hand, if she was allowed to continue living like this, then he too would become one of them. Thus, his eyes darted desperately around the room, fumbling for anything that would put an end to this living nightmare. Then…

"THAT'S IT!"

Doing a front flip over the monsters, Deku jumped onto the couch and grabbed the Naturom Demonto, also ejecting the tape from the cassette player. Grabbing both in one hand and backing away from the onslaught of monsters at the same time, he drew his hand back, and giving it all he had, he tossed the book and the tape at the irori. Fortunately for him, both landed square in the fire, and as they burned, beams of white light emanated from the monsters' bodies, and they desperately grasped about, not wanting to perish. Soon, most of the monsters disintegrated into puffs of smoke, barring Todoroki, who crumpled to the ground and fell unconscious. Once the smoke cleared, Deku ran over to Todoroki.

"TODOROKI!"

Deku cradled her body in his arms and shook her.

"Please, wake up!"

Just then, he heard a low groaning sound, and he looked down to see Todoroki opening her eyes.

"Deku…?"

"TODOROKI!"

Deku embraced Todoroki tightly and cried his eyes out. Hearing this, she lovingly returned his embrace.

"It's OK to cry, Deku! I'm right here! Let it all out!"

Deku continued to cry as he hugged Todoroki. While life-threatening situations were nothing new to either young hero, this was probably the first time that he genuinely felt like he was going to lose her forever, and to pull her back from the depths of eternity meant more to him than anything in his life. Despite the overwhelming sadness, though, he enjoyed the fact that crying made him feel more snuggly in her arms.

Although Deku's unbridled sadness proved overwhelming for Todoroki, she nevertheless happily embraced him as he continued to cry. He had gotten her through some tough times, so she figured it was only fair that she be there for him in his hour of need. In this moment, she also came to understand why he wanted to be a hero so much and how important putting smiles on other people's faces meant to him. Even after Deku stopped crying. Todoroki continued to hug him until he let go.

"Deku, thank you so much for saving me! I promise I'll love you forever!"

Deku smiled. "And I'll also love you forever, Shoko!"

Todoroki chuckled. "Here…"

Todoroki handed Deku some tissues, which he wasted no time in blowing his nose and drying his eyes with.

"So…shall we snuggle again?" asked Todoroki.

"Absolutely!"

And so, Deku and Todoroki snuggled with each other by the dying embers of the irori.

"Deku, why are you so cute?"

Deku chuckled. "Well, God must've known that we were going to meet, so he decided to make me into the cutest boy that any girl would ever have the fortune to be with!"

Todoroki giggled. "Oh, stop it!"

Deku smiled as the warm and fuzzy feelings overtook him. Even if it was hard to forget about the hellish events that came to pass, it was also difficult to forget about how happy he was that he saved Todoroki and how happy he was just being with her.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.