Chapter 78: Halloween Part 3

With it now being late into the night, all the groups had finally returned to the house.

"So, Kioku, Ken, would you mind explaining these!?" Izuku cornered the two children, holding up the water pistol and machete respectively.

"You brought a real machete!?" Ken asked, looking at Kioku with a shocked expression.

"I didn't hurt anyone with it." Kioku pouted.

"No, but you did mug people out of their candy!" Izuku gave her a stern look. "How did you think that was possibly, an ok thing to do?"

Kioku didn't answer, only looking away guiltily.

Izuku sighed. "How did you even get this?"

"I...found it." Kioku obviously lied.

"You...found it," Izuku repeated skeptically. "Where exactly, did you find it?"

"...Around." Kioku replied.

"Kioku, who's memories did you mess with to get this?" Izuku asked, having figured her out by now.

"...Momo's," Kioku muttered, slumping over sadly at having been found out.

"When did she...actually I suppose given her quirk me not rember it makes sense," Momo said.

"Kioku what have I told you about using your quirk on people without their permission?" Izuku asked her with an upset expression.

"Not to…" Kioku answered despondently.

"And so why did you do it anyway?" Izuku asked her.

"Because I wanted to scare people." Kioku moped. "I thought it would be fun."

Izuku sighed. "And there are ways to do that, without carrying around an actual weapon! You could have asked me if you wanted to give people a Halloween scare."

"Sorry, daddy." Kioku apologized, lowering her head in shame.

Izuku sighed, "Look, for now, we'll be taking half the candy you got, which is more than fair considering you stole a lot of it. We'll discuss further punishments tomorrow, for now, I want you to enjoy the party, understood?"

"Yes, daddy." Kioku sighed.

Izuku then turned to Ken. "Honestly, not the worst thing you could have done. Still shouldn't have done it, and you know that, but not too terrible."

"Soooooo...punishment free? Ken asked hopefully.

"Not quite. You're losing a quarter of your candy." Izuku told him.

"Aww, man." Ken groaned.

"Be grateful that's all the punishment he's giving you doofus." Nara scowled at him. "Anyone else would have done something much worse."

Ken pouted. He knew that was true, which is why he wasn't making such a stink over it, but it still sucked.

Although to be fair, he was still getting, a LOT of candy.

All the kids had pulled in an obscene amount of candy. Each one of them filling more them a single bucket.

Kioku had gathered the most...because she stole it.

Yami also got quite a bit more than the others, most likely because out of fear.

Fuku and Shiruku would likely be tied for third in candy gathering. With both of them likely getting more candy because of the quality of their costumes, as well as Fuku getting some pity candy.

"Wait a minute, Sansan, Fu, and Netsu don't eat candy." Ochaco pointed out. "What are they gonna do with their candy?"

"Well, I'm going to give Fu's to Mu, since he didn't get any," Izuku explained. "And the rest will be given out as a prize to the winner of the costume contest, and jack-o-lantern making contest."

"What?" Ken shouted in shock. "There was a prize for that!? You never said anything about that!?"

"I mean it's pretty self-explanatory, you win a contest, you get a prize," Nara said smugly. "And it wouldn't have made a difference anyway, no one's beating Shiruku at the costume contest."

Shiruku smirked, feeling confident in her chances.

"Well we'll see," Izuku said. "Now let's go outside. Class 1A, as well as a few workers, have been setting up the party for us, and I think you'll like what they've done."

XXXXXXXX

Izuku was right, the children were in fact, very pleased.

Class 1A had done a good job, putting up holiday decorations all over the place, as well as setting up tables, and whatever else would be needed for a party. Including setting up tables filled with various snack foods, all themed after Halloween.

However, the most impressive work was done by the people who Izuku specifically hired to help change the place up.

Firstly, the gardens, which had been mostly empty up until now, was now changed into a full-on pumpkin patch, will full-grown pumpkins included.

And second was the pool which had been filled with dry ice, making it give off a spooky mist.

It really was astounding how much could get done, in so little time, thanks to quirks.

"Man you really spooked this place up!" Ken praised.

"We tried out best!" Kaminari said.

All of class 1A joined in the fantasy theme, with costumes ranging from witches to knights, to adventures, heck Kirishima had a dragon-themed costume.

"Cool!" Sansan bounced around happily.

"And that's not all," Izuku told them. "I also invited some extra guests."

Then, they heard more people enter the backyard.

"That must be them now," Izuku said.

Everyone looked towards the door, at the six guests that came along.

In front of them was Amai, dressed up as Samus in her armor, excluding her helmet which she was holding.

Behind her was Kota and the Wild Wild Pussy Cats, all of whom were in their hero costumes, and Kota was...wearing cat ears over his hat, and looked about as happy about that as you'd expect.

"Yami!" Amai ran over to the cloaked boy, greeting him cheerfully. "You look absolutely terrifying!"

"Yup." Yami nodded. Knowing there was no actual fear or malice behind her statement, only an objective fact.

Amai quickly spotted Fuku and gasped. "Link!"

She went over to Fuku, who gasped, and froze up.

"That's such a great costume!" Amai praised as she looked over the whole outfit. "So accurate too! You must have worked really hard on it!"

"Y-Yeah." Fuku stuttered. "Y-Your's is really good too! I l-like your arm canon!"

"Thank you!" Amai said holding up the fake weapon with a smile.

Meanwhile, Kioku walked up to Kota and giggled. "Nice ears."

Kota's eye twitched. "Hey, I watched the Friday the Thirteenth movies too, what was Jason killed by again...oh right. Water."

Kioku's eyes widened, as she quickly realized where this was going.

"Ahhhh!" Kioku screamed as she ran away from Kota, who started shooting water blasts at her while chasing her.

"Kota!" Mandalay called out to him, about him to chase after him to try and stop the child, but Izuku held out his hand to stop her.

"She needs to learn to stop antagonizing people," Izuku explained. "And getting a little wet isn't a bad way to learn."

"He's got a point." Pixie Bob agreed.

"I suppose so." Mandalay sighed. "Thank you for inviting us over by the way. Kota was very happy to get the invitation."

"Although he was less happy about having to dress up for the occasion," Tiger added.

"I can see that," Izuku noted. "Well, hopefully, he'll forget about it as the party goes on. At least he didn't get it as bad as Fu."

"Yeah, looks like little Kiba pulled him into something." Ragdoll giggled.

"Wait where is Fu?" Mandalay asked, not seeing the boy around.

"Standing next to Kiba," Izuku said, pointing over to Kiba and Fu, who were talking to Amai.

"Wait that blond girl is Fu!?" Pixie-Bob shouted in shock. "Damn he looks good in a skirt. Never would have figured him for trap material."

"Please don't refer to any of my kids as, trap material." Izuku deadpanned.

"Please don't refer to anyone as trap material." Mandalay deadpanned.

Meanwhile, Fu heard all of this, as he blushed with embarrassment even more.

"Well, looks like almost everyone is here," Izuku said. "Except for-"

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Kai walked in, eagerly joining his other siblings in the festivities. "Hey everyone! Your back!"

The giant boy came in with devil horns on all of his heads, which were a bit small for him, however, they were still huge.

"I'm here for the party! I've been waiting for this all day!" Kai said eagerly.

"Well alright then, the only person we're missing is Mu," Izuku said, before feeling a tug on his pants.

He looked down and saw Mu, dressed as a Shy guy from Mario.

"Oh never mind," Izuku said. "Let the party begin!"

"Heck yeah!" Mina cheered.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"All right everyone! Time to start the pumpkin picking!" Toru yelled out, as all the kids got around the new pumpkin patch. "Remember, these will be the pumpkins you'll be using to make jack-o-lanterns out of. So pick wisely!"

Kiba immediately dashed towards the largest pumpkin. One about as large as her body. Using her immense strength, she lifted the thing over to her head and took it away.

Ken, not to be outdone, slammed down on his Omnitrix, and turned into Four Arms, picking up a similarly sized pumpkin, and taking it.

Fu didn't even move from his table, instead using Kyosei to grab a moderately sized pumpkin. Something to note is that to go better with the costume, Kyosei turned red, instead of black.

Sansan also wanted a big pumpkin, so she bounced over made a hand to pick it up.

However it was too heavy, and the pumpkin didn't budge.

After a bit of struggling, Sansan heard some haughty laughter, and looked over to the source, to see Kiba's smug face looking at them.

"Oh? Is the mighty Sansan having issues? With something I did so easily?" Kiba asked, looking and sounding smugger than ever. "It seems perhaps lifting strength seems to be a weakness of yours?"

Sansan made one of those anime irritated symbols appear of her head, before looking back at the pumpkin and trying to figure out how to move it.

Then she had an idea, and she made a lightbulb appear on her head.

Sansan then flattened herself, and went under the pumpkin, before raising it, and bringing it away.

And as Sansan dragged it away, she extended a part of her, and shapeshifted it into Kiba's head, sending her smug face right back at her.

Kiba glared at Sansan, and Fu rolled his eyes in the background.

Mu quietly took a small pumpkin and went to his table.

Likewise, Eri, Yonda, and Kioku took smaller pumpkins, not really wanting to carry any of the bigger ones.

Kei took on of the medium-sized pumpkin, struggling a bit to take it away, but happily doing so.

Shiruku, despite having the strength to take a larger pumpkin, took one of the smaller, medium-sized ones, while Fuku struggled to bring one of the larger medium-sized, over to her table.

Netsu had on gloves, so he was able to carry over a medium-sized pumpkin to his table.

Nara and Otoko picked smaller pumpkins, along with Kota and Amai.

And with everyones' pumpkins gathered, now it was time to start carving.

Fuku shyly approached Sato, who smiled as he saw her get closer.

"Uh, um…c-can you…" Fuku tried her best to ask for his assistance, while Sato waited patiently. "Can you help me with my jack-o-lantern!?"

"Of course!" Sato gave her a light pat on the head. "Let's get started!"

"C-Can I join?" Mu said, speaking so quietly that they almost didn't hear him.

Amai went over to Yami. "Wanna work together?"

"Hm." Yami nodded, and the two got to work.

"Lady Kiba do mind if your loyal servants step in and offer you some assistance?" Mina asked, with Toru right behind her.

"Of course," Kiba responded happily. "But just so you know, I won't tolerate any slacking."

"Of course lady K!" Toru said.

Some of the other kids went to ask for help, while others worked on their pumpkins by themselves, with careful supervision, to make sure they didn't hurt themselves or do something wrong.

After everyone had finished up their jack-o-lanterns.

"Alright, then, since Kai couldn't participate, he'll be judging the jack-o-lanterns," Izuku explained.

"I'll do my best dad!" Kai said excitedly, as he eagerly approached. "Everyone! I'm gonna rate your pumpkins!"

Starting with Ken, Kai leaned down all three of his heads towards Ken's creation.

The Jack-O-Lantern had the symbol of the Omnitrix carved into it, and the fire lighting it was green. (Izuku had given them some materials which would allow them to change the color of the fire).

"Oh! Like your watch! It's really cool!" Kai praised. "And it's green! I love green! A+!"

"Hm." Ken puffed his chest out, looking extremely smug.

Kai moved his heads to look at Nara's next.

Nara's pumpkin had a cat face carved into it, with a pink flame illuminating it.

"It's a cute kitty!" Kai noted excitedly. "It's cute! A+!"

Nara smiled at him and gave Kai a head pat. "Thanks, Kai."

Kai giggled, enjoying the head pat for a second, before moving on to the next kid, Sansan.

Sansan had carved Rimuru Tempest himself into the jack-o-lantern, lit by a blue flame.

"It matches your costume! A+!" Kai graded.

"Is he just going to give everyone A+'s?" Kaminari asked.

Kai moved onto Yami, whose pumpkin had a strange emblem on it, with some sort of eyeball in the center, surrounded by lines in a circle(Salem's Emblem), lit by a bright red flame.

"Spooky!" Kai praised. "How did you come up with it!?"

Yami shrugged. "Saw it in my dreams."

"Cool! A+!" Kai graded.

"Yeah, he is," Izuku answered.

This pattern did indeed continue, as Kai moved on to all the other kid's jack-o-lanterns.

Eri red flamed apple lantern, Kei's green flamed snake lantern, Kioku's scared faced black flamed jack-o-lantern, Otoko's white flamed ghost jack-o-lantern, Yonda's golden flamed crown lantern, Shiruku's black flamed spider lantern, Mu's red flamed shy guy lantern, Fukunoko's blue flamed Hylian shield lantern, Amai's red flamed Mario mushroom lantern, Kiba's red flamed bat lantern, and even Netsu's idea to stick the lantern on his head.

Heck, even Fu's and Kota's generic lanterns got A+'s.

And so now that literally, everyone got the same grade, it seemingly left them at an impasse.

"Well, Kai, it looks like you gave everyone the same grade." Izuku stepped in, not surprised by this at all.

"Sorry, they're all just so good!" Kai apologized.

"Don't worry about it son," Izuku said, patting Kai's leg. "Do you happen to have a favorite?"

"Hmmm." Kai took a minute to think, looking over all the pumpkins once again. "So hard...I like...Fuku's!"

"Huh!?" Fuku gasped, as froze up in shock.

"Congratulations Fuku!" Kei ran over and congratulated Fuku, along with Eri.

"Hmm. I'm not happy about my loss, but at the very least, I lost to a worthy opponent." Kiba said, taking this surprisingly well.

Amai was slightly upset about losing, but she also did really like Fuku's lantern, so that softened the blow.

Ken was the most upset about losing and was actually about to say something when his sister grabbed onto his shoulder and whispered into his ear. "Let her have this, or so help me, me and Kiba will make sure you don't see the light of day."

Now Ken was pretty confident in his strength. But he was not confident enough to try and fight both his sister, and Kiba at the same time, so he wisely shut his mouth.

"Now everyone, it's time for the costume contest," Izuku announced. "That also means, I'll finally be announcing the judges."

Suddenly, they heard the back door open again.

"And here they are now," Izuku said.

Into the backyard, came three pro heroes.

Nezu, dressed in his usual suit, but with devil horns on his head. Which was very appropriate, if a bit lazy.

Midnight, who was dressed as a...ghost...or rather, it was a quickly made ghost costume to cover up her actual costume, which was not appropriate for this event, to say the least.

And lastly was the symbol of peace, All Might himself wearing a Frankenstein's Monster costume.

"Greetings children! I am here!" All Might announced.

"All Might!?" Shouted many of the children in shock.

"Ahaha!" All Might laughed, as many of the children flocked to him.

"No way! The number 1 hero!" Ken looked up at All Might with stars in his eyes.

"He's even bigger in person than he is on T.V.!" Netsu said with equal amazement.

Izuku went over to Nezu and Midnight, while the children were distracted by All Might. "Thank you all for coming. And thank you especially Midnight for not...you know."

"Well, I couldn't refuse a chance to amaze some cute little kiddies." Midnight giggled.

"To tell you the truth I didn't have many plans for tonight. For whatever reason, I don't get invited to many Halloween parties." Nezu explained.

I think they just don't want to tempt fate. Izuku thought. "Well, I think we should get onto the contest then, don't want to make All Might stay in that form any longer than needed."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, everything is set, it's time for the contest to begin!" Midnight announced as she, Nezu, and All Might sat behind the judge's table, looking up at the stage. "Can the first contestant, Kiba dressed as Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate, come on stage!"

With that, Kiba immediately ran on stage, showing off her costume, as well as her model guns.

"Oh my what a cool costume." Midnight cooed. In reality, she thought it was adorable, but that was not what Kiba wanted to hear. "I love that you dyed your hair. Wonderful devotion."

"Yes, it's about as accurate as you could be," Nezu said, all three judges had pictures of the character the child was dressed as. "No detail was overlooked!"

"You can see the amount of effort that was put in, on both your part and the part of the tailor!" All Might praised.

Kiba smiled, happily taking in all the praise, and living it up in the spotlight.

"However." Midnight said. "If I had to nitpick, and as a judge, I do, your hair is a bit too long for the character."

"Yes, and I must say, while the clothes do suit you, your small stature does take away slightly from how intimidating the character is supposed to be," Nezu explained.

Wow, these two are really getting into this. All Might thought.

"Overall, it was done about as well as could be expected, but it held down by some very minor details that would be difficult to solve." Midnight said. "I give it a 9 out of 10."

"An 8 for me," Nezu said.

"Seems fine to me! I'll give it a 10!" All Might judged.

All Might then leaned down and whispered over to the other judges. "Aren't you guys thinking about this a bit too hard?"

"Not at all All Might." Nezu laughed. "We must give our 100% in everything we do. Even this. Plus ultra and all."

Meanwhile, Kiba pouted a bit but tried not to look upset. She knew it would be kind of petty to get worked up about this, and so she accepted the few points taken off of her costume with grace.

"That leaves you with a score of 27 out of 30!" Midnight announced. "Very good sweetheart, a wonderful start."

"Well, next year I'll do even better! Just you watch!" Kiba vowed as she exited the stage.

"Alright, now onto the next contestant! Fu dressed a Seras from Hellsing Ultimate!" Midnight announced.

Fu walked on stage, grumbling about being forced into this, with a slightly red face.

The currently crossdressing boy reluctantly showing off his costume, before allowing Kyosei to come out as a red tendril, adding to the costume's accuracy.

"My my, the character accuracy is quite astounding. Of course, excluding the inclusion of breast that is." Midnight giggled as the normally expressionless boy became more and more embarrassed. "Perhaps Kyosei could help with that."

It was then Fu felt Kyosei start to come out of his chest, and he immediately squished him back into his body. "Don't you dare!"

Midnight was giggling like a madwoman back at the table, at how adorable this was.

"Come now, don't tease the poor boy, he clearly doesn't enjoy this." All Might told her.

Well, that's a lie. Yami thought from the side.

"I must also praise the accuracy, and all the work put into hiding his gender," Nezu said. "The makeup work, and impeccable wig, make it impossible to tell he's a boy."

"Guys, come on." All Might said out of sympathy. "Well um, it's a very, very nice costume, that you uh...pull off very well?"

Fu sighed. "Thank you."

"Well, I give it a 9 out of 10. Would have been a 10, but no breast." Midnight teased.

"An 8 out of 10 for me," Nezu said.

"10 out of 10!" All Might judged. "Have to give credit to the plus ultra makeup!"

Kiba smiled from the side, taking a bit of pride in this. After all, it was her idea, and she had done all of the make-up and wig work. She had tried to get him to attach fake breasts, but Fu refused, even when she offered to pay more.

"That gives you the same score as your sister. 27." Midnight said. "Makes sense, because you're just as cute."

Fu grit his teeth, as he could hear Ken and Kioku giggling in the audience, as he exited the stage.

"Alright, next is Yami, dressed as the grim reaper," Nezu called.

With that, Yami walked on stage, his red eyes staring into the souls of the judges.

"It is quite a chilling design," Nezu admitted. "Even though it's a child, his appearance would make even a pro hero's skin crawl."

"It's like his eyes are drilling into me." Midnight shivered. "Very impressive."

"I think there are many villains who'd sell their soul to look half as terrifying as you young Yami." All Might laughed. "Very good. Captures the Halloween spirit just right!"

"Although honestly, I think the fake scythe brings it down a bit." Midnight said. "It just reminds me that it is in fact a costume."

"Ah, I see what you're talking about." Nezu nodded. "If it was just the robe, your naturally terrifying self, then I could believe that you were some actual incarnation of the grim reaper."

"I can...kind of see that." All Might said, taking a closer look a the scythe.

"In that case, I would give it about an 8." Midnight said.

"I personally would score it a 9," Nezu added.

"Uhh. 9." All Might would have given it a 10, but he a had a feeling that given all the splendid costumes tonight, he would have to heighten his standards, otherwise everyone would get 10s.

"So that puts you at 26. Slightly lower than the other two, but still a very good score." Nezu told him.

Yami shrugged. He only really participated because Amai suggested it. He wasn't too invested in how he did in the contest.

And so he unceremoniously exited, making way for the next person.

"Alright, next we have Amai, as Samus Aran!" All Might announced.

Amai eagerly ran onto the stage, this time she had her helmet on, and aimed her arm cannon around at invisible targets, to better show off her costume.

"Very nice. Chibi little Samus." Midnight cooed. "Every detail is accounted for, a very convincing costume overall. However, it does have that plastic shine that makes it seem a bit fake."

"Yes, that is indeed a problem." Nezu agreed. "It's a small detail, but it goes a long way in making it feel real."

"With that said, everything else is so great, that I think I'll only deduct one point. 9 out of 10." Midnight said.

"I agree. 9 out of 10." Nezu said.

"Um, yes. 9 out of 10!" All Might agree.

"And that brings your score up to a 27. Tied for first place so far." Midnight told her.

Amai felt a twinge of disappointment, but quickly shook it off, and bowed. "Thank you all for your time."

And with that, she exited the stage.

"Onto our next contestant, Fukunoko, as Link!" Midnight called.

And with that, they all waited, as Fuku slowly walked on stage, trembling slightly with fear and anxiety.

"U-Um h-hi," Fuku said, trying her best not to give in to her fears and collapse on stage.

"Hello dear." Midnight said with a sweet costume. "Won't you show off your costume for us?"

"I um…" Fuku was struggling to remember what to do when out of the corner of her eye she saw Shiruku gesturing for her to use her bow. "O-oh! Yes!"

Fuku took her bow, as well as an arrow from her quiver, then took aim at a nearby branch, striking a dynamic pose in the process.

"Ok, Fuku, focus. Breath." Fuku took a deep breath and focused all her attention on her target.

She felt the world around her fade away, until all there was the branch.

TWHIP!

THUNK!

Fuku let loose her arrow, and it flew into the branch, lodging the arrow into the wood.

"Oh my! Showing off a talent as well as her costume! Very nice!" Midnight praised. "And it's a character accurate skill, I'm gonna have to bump it up a point for that!"

"Very impressive display! A bow a tricky thing to use, so to show such skill with it at such a young age, is very admirable!" All Might praised giving her applause.

"I agree wholeheartedly." Nezu nodded. "I think you have a future in Kyudo."

"Y-You think so?" Fuku stuttered, blushing intensely at all the praise.

"We know so dear." Midnight said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Now as for your ranking. To put it simply your costume is utterly perfect. I can't find a single fault in it. Easily a 10 out 10."

"9," Nezu added. "The hair is a tad bit too long."

"I'll have to give it a 10!" All Might said. "I think the issue with the hair is so minor, in comparison to the character accurate skill she just displayed!"

"That brings you up to a 29. The highest score so far! You should be proud." Nezu told her.

"W-What?!" Fuku was shocked by how well she was doing tonight. First, she won the jack-o-lantern contest, and now she was getting at least second place here!

Was she actually...talented?!

Fuku's mind was blown, and she walked off stage while completely out of it.

"Alright, for our last contestant we have Shiruku, in an original costume." Midnight said.

Shiruku scuttled on stage, spreading her arms and waving around her staff, and showing off her costume.

"Oh my, what a beautiful costume." Midnight praised. "Such wonderful colorwork, and design, and it fits your unique body so well! I can feel all the thought and hard work put into putting this together!"

"Indeed. When it comes to hero costumes, it's quite easy to tell how much thought and heart was put into each one of them." Nezu said. "And while this isn't a hero costume, the same applies here. Not to mention, the originality. Coming up with something truly original is difficult in this day and age, but you pulled it off beautifully."

"And one advantage of coming up with something original is that you have full control over what the costume looks like!" All Might added. "Meaning we can't take away any points for character inaccuracy!"

"Overall a truly splendid costume! 10 out 10!" Midnight judged.

"Agreed! 10 out of 10!" Nezu said.

"No complaints here! 10!" All Might judged.

"And with that, you received a perfect 30! Making you the winner of the competition!" Midnight applauded her, along with Nezu and All Might.

Everyone else applauded her as well, including the other contestants.

"Alright, everyone! The party will continue for another hour, before coming to a close!" Izuku announced. "Enjoy!"

And as such, the children, 1A, and the teachers enjoyed the party, eating and talking away, into the night.