Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"It is with such sadness we say goodbye to you, Ken Hasegawa, but we thank you so much for every little gift you have contributed to this life and to the lives of others." The priest said as the grave diggers start to lower the casket of Ken Hasegawa into his grave in the forest.

It was a rainy morning in the cemetery. A small group of people gathered around to comfort each other. Ken's mother and his older sister, Mao, are crying. Even Keiko, who is Ken's fiancee from their arranged marriage, cried. Next to his family, his friends Hiroaki, Mai, Ojima, and Yanegi are saddened by Ken's death.

After the burial is done, everyone said their goodbyes and left. Hiroaki went with Ojima and Mai. Yanegi and Hama went to talk to Ken's family.

"I can't believe Ken is gone." Hiroaki whispers.

 

"Yeah... Ken was a really good person. I feel sorry for his family. Especially Keiko because she and him were supposed to get married." Mai said.

 

They will never forget about what happened yesterday when the police came into the church to look for Ken's family and tell them the heartbreaking news that they found Ken's dead body in the river.

 

"I want to know how all of this happened to him." Ojima said.

 

"The police aren't sure how Ken ended up in the river, but they think Ken might have accidentally fell down from the bridge and drowned." Mai said.

 

"Damn...Poor Ken." Ojima said sadly.

 

While they walked away, in the forest, there was a grey gravestone saying, "In loving memory of Ken Hasegawa." Next to his gravestone is another person's gravestone. In their gravestone, their name is Kazutoshi Kamimura.

What the people in the village don't know is that there are secrets that lay in the cemetery in the forest.

Chapter Text

 

"I was thinking if we are going to make this festival fun, it needs to have a fun theme." Tamba said to her best friends, Watari and Okazaki as they are walking through the forest in the nighttime.

 

"I agree! How about a fruit salad festival? We can make smoothies and decorate the town hall with a tropical look." Watari said.

 

"I don't think it will work since there aren't any fruit trees around here." Okazaki said.

 

"Besides, we live in the underground. How are we going to turn this gloomy place into a tropical beach!?" Tamba said.

 

As Watari was about to respond, A strike of lightning hits the ground, a little far away into the forest.

 

"AHHH!" Tamba and Watari both shriek as they were spooked by the lightening sound.

 

"Oh goody! A deceased person has arrived into the land of the dead. Let's go meet them." Okazaki said as she transformed into a fox and sprinted.

 

"Okazaki, wait up!" Watari said as she turns into a fox and follows her. Tamba quickly follows them.

 

They went further into the forest until they found the brown coffin. There was smoke coming from the lightening. The trio slowly went to inspect the coffin.

 

Both Watari and Okazaki transformed back to spirit human forms again.

 

"Who do you think is in that coffin?" Watari said.

 

"Maybe it might be a famous serial killer." Okazaki said.

 

"I-It better not be Jack the Ripper! I don't want this crazy guy jumping out of the coffin and stabbing me!" Tamba said.

 

"Actually, I would love to say hi to him." Okazaki said.

 

"You're insane!"

 

"You guys. It can't be a serial killer. What if the person in the coffin is a beautiful queen who used to rule her kingdom." Watari said.

 

"Or maybe it might be a knight who happens to be a woman." Tamba said.

 

" A lady knight would be hot. She would be in her shining armor and when she takes off her helmet, she reveals her gorgeous long hair." Watari sighs, dreamily.

 

"I guess there is one way to find out." Okazaki said as she volunteered to open the coffin.

 

As the coffin opens, it is revealed to be a young man who is a corpse groom. His skin is pale blue, and has medium-length brown hair, being neatly combed. He wears a blue gothic wedding groom suit in satin with silver embroidery. The groom even wears a light grey satin shirt with ruffles and has blue slippers. There is even a pearl grey cravat and a handkerchief in his suit pocket. His hands are clasp on his chest.

 

"Ohhh~ He is so handsome." Watari said.

 

"I will admit that I admire his suit. He is one well-dressed man." Okazaki said.

 

"Wow! He must be super rich to get a cool suit. I wonder what his life is like when he was alive." Tamba said.

 

The masked stage entertainer takes a closer look on the deceased young man. She notices that there is a gold ring in his finger.

 

"How tragic. He was a decreased groom." She explains.

 

"A groom!? That's so sad! His fiance must be really sad." Tamba said.

 

"Especially when they are supposed to get married on their wedding day." Watari said, sadly.

 

"I think we should wake him up. We don't want to make him have an eternal slumber." The masked entertainer said.

 

"You're right. Hey sir! Wake up!" Tamba claps her.

 

The young man is still sleeping as he is unresponsive to the loud noises. His chest slowly rises up and down while he breathes softly.

 

"You need to be more louder." Watari said. Then, she clears her throat.

 

"WAKEY! WAKEY! HANDSOME GROOM!" Watari yells.

 

The undead groom is still sleeping.

 

"Ugh! He still won't wake up!" She pouts.

 

"I think I have a more effective solution." Okazaki said.

 

She raises her arm up and brings her hand forward to slap his cheek harder.

 

"OW!" The young man wakes up and rubs his cheek.

 

"Problem solved." Okazaki said.

 

He looks at the trio in shock. Tamba has pale blue skin, has lavander eyes, has a hole in her cheek, revealing a teeth, and both her right and left arms have bones. She wears a mint green ball gown dress, wears a tiara, and her blond hair is in a ponytail. Watari has orange eyes and dark-skinned. She is wearing a sparkly wine red sequins bodysuit, red heel boots, red gloves and wears her long dark hair in two buns, with her two front bangs out. She even wears makeup.

 

Finally, Okazaki wears a white and gold jester masquerade mask with a smile. He can see that she has short brown hair. She wears a white and gold poofy satin shirt, bright stockings, large shoes, and baggy pantaloons. The young groom can see that she is wearing white gloves, a three-cornered hat with bells, a star-shaped collar with bells. Both Watari and Okazaki have a somewhat ghostly appearance despite looking human.

 

"W-Where am I?!" He panics.

 

"You are in the land of the dead with us!" Watari cheers.

 

"L-land of the dead!?" He gasps.

 

"It's true. We saw a strike of lightning so we went to check it out and that's when we found you." Okazaki explains.

 

"What in the world?"

 

"Look at the bright side. At least, you get to hang out with people who are dead in this world." Tamba said

 

The young man takes a look at his hands and gasp. His hands are cold and have pale blue skin. He quickly sees a river and went to check a reflection on himself. In his reflection...his face is also pale blue.

 

Then, he turns around to see his surroundings. He is in the dark forest where the crows are sitting in the branches. The trees grow close together and the air is still and cold. The dark sky gleams with the stars.

 

Then, he screams in horror.

"AHHHHH!"

Chapter Text

 

"So, let me get this straight. I was dead in my coffin and then, I was transported into the land of the dead?" The young man said as he sits on top of his closed coffin.

 

"Yep. That pretty much sums it up." Tamba said.

 

He rubs the back of his neck. "Is there a way I can go back to the living world?" He ask.

 

"Not really. Once, you are in the land of the dead. You can't go back to your world. You are pretty much stuck here for the rest of your life." Okazaki said.

 

"Oh shit." He said, looking sad.

 

The fire entertainer doesn't want him to feel sad. She has an idea.

 

"How about we can take you to our place and we can have a tea party?" Watari said.

 

"That's a great idea! We can get to know each other. What do you say?" Tamba said, looking at him.

He thought about this. It wouldn't hurt to come with them and have a tea party. He even wants to explore the environment that he was in.

 

"Sure. I don't mind coming along." He smiles.

 

"Yay! This is going to be so fun!" Tamba cheers.

 

********

 

The Corpse groom was in the carriage with Tamba, Watari, and Okazaki. He looks at the window and is amazed at the scenery. He sees the town hall. In the town hall, there is a latern posts, a water fountain, vendors, shops, apartments, and even a library. Even the trees has orange leaves and a few leaves fell down.

 

Finally, they arrived at Tamba's castle. Her castle is light green and gold. Her undead butler arrives to open the carriage door and the group got out.

"Thank you." Tamba said to the butler and they went inside the castle.

 

Inside her castle, there is a dining room where there are eight chairs and a big square table with a decorative gold and red table cloth. There is even a chandelier above the ceiling.

On the table, the butlers has placed the food and desserts on the 3-tier cake stand. There were mini cakes, macarons, cupcakes, fruit, scones, croissants, breads, cucumber sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches.

As soon as the group sat down on their seats, the undead butlers pour them their English breakfast tea in each of their teacups.

 

"Thank you, my lovely butlers." Tamba said happily.

"At your service, princess." The undead butlers said as they left.

 

"First things first, What's your name?" Tamba asks as she grabs herself a pink macaron and a scones.

 

The young groom blushes. He was so shock and confused in this new environment that he forgets to introduce himself.

 

He clears his throats. "M-My apologies. I should have introduced myself. My name is Ken Hasegawa."

 

He takes a tiny drop of sugar and cream in his tea and swirl it with a spoon.

 

"Nice to meet you, Hasegawa! My name is Princess Ruiko Tamba. You can call me Princess Tamba." She said as she bites her macaron.

 

Ken's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! I remembered learning about you when I was in High school. You are the princess of the Hamamatsu kingdom. You were known for being competitive in the royale gymnastics." He said.

 

"Aww! That's so sweet that you know about me." Princess Tamba giggles.

 

"Okay, Princess. You had your cute introduction. Now, it's my turn. My name is Nishino Watari and I am one of Ōita's best fire entertainer." Watari said with a dramatic flair.

 

"A fire entertainer? That's interesting. I had never seen a fire entertainer before. When I lived in the village of Shibuya, we don't have any street entertainers." Ken said as he takes a chicken salad sandwich and puts it on the plate.

 

"Say what!? You don't have any street entertainers from where you live?" Watari gasps.

 

Ken shakes his head. "Not really. If you ever come to my place, my village is pretty average. We have shops, busy people, and religious churches." He said and takes a bite of the sandwich.

 

"I feel sorry for you that you had to live in a place that is soooo boring. If I came to your place, I would bring the fire and excitement." Watari said with a glimmer in her eyes.

 

He chuckles. "I would rather watch your fire performance than hear than hear a group of Priests preach about religion."

 

Watari laughs then she nudges Okazaki. "You're up next."

 

"Okay. I am the Jester of Nagoya." She said.

"We talk about this. You have to introduced yourself with your real name first. Not your stage name." Watari groans.

"Don't worry about it. You don't have to know my real name~" Okazaki said, playfully.

 

Ken knows that she has a real name but he decided to play along. "I think your title is mysterious. I assume you are also an entertainer as well." He ask.

 

"Yes. I am a stage entertainer. I would perform comedy, music, juggling, and storytelling. I can even make masks." She said.

 

Ken smiles. "You are a very multitalented, Jester."

 

Suddenly, Okazaki feels flustered. "I...Thank you." She said as she takes a scone.

 

Ken looks at the both Watari and Okazaki. They are both ghostly spirits.

 

"I have a question. How are you two going to eat and drink if you are spirits?" He said.

 

"That's easy! Tamba would call out her two butlers for us so we can possess them and eat the food." Watari said as she grabs a handful of sandwiches and puts it on the plate.

 

"Watari and I can be quite hungry and crazy as spirits since we don't have bodies." Okazaki said as she grabs the desserts and puts it on her plate.

 

"Yeah. You are about to witness them having a buffet fest." Princess Tamba said. Then, she calls them.

 

"Harold! Arthur! It's time!" She yells.

 

Harold and Arthur are both of Princess Tamba's undead butlers.

 

They look scared as they approached the dining room.

 

Suddenly, Okazaki's mask came off and she has grey eyes and has a canine tooth. Both Okazaki and Watari's eyes glow brighter.

 

"I will not Konfine my hunger any longer! I shall eat, eat, eat! Konkonkon!" Okazaki laughs in a ghostly manner and possessed Harold.

 

"I need food! I must eat!" Watari roars in a ghostly rage and possessed Arthur.

 

Both the butlers roars and starts to eat in a barbaric behaviors. The tall corpse groom's body shook and how the Okazaki and Watari are having a fest.

 

Tamba shrugs. "I'm used to it." She said as she bites her scone.

 

Ken nods his head at her and slowly drinks his tea as he watches the buffet fest chaos unfolds.

 

*********

 

As Wada was raking the leaves in the town hall when he sees the beautiful blue-haired corpse bride with his skeleton pet cat.

 

"Oh! H-Hi Kamimura." The timid orphan ghost waves hello.

 

"Hey Wada! How's your job coming along?" Kamimura asks.

 

"My job is going well. Are you heading to the living world again?" Wada asks.

 

"Yep! I need some alone time from this dumpster shithole." He sighs.

 

Before he leaves the town hall, Wada said, "Did you hear that there is a new undead person who joined the Land of the Dead?"

 

He turns around and glares. "No and I don't want to meet with them."

 

"B-But it wouldn't hurt to go meet the person. H-He might be a kind person." He said.

 

"Like hell I would! You think I would have a great time with the new person and fall in love with them? Fuck no! I would rather be alone forever, Wada." Kamimura said as he storms off. His pet cat follows him.

 

Wada shakes his head and continues to rake the leaves. He knows that Kamimura has a dark past and how he has a guarded and dark heart. He knows that when the new person does meet Kamimura...he hopes that he can help change Kamimura's life and gives him the light to his heart.

Chapter Text

 

"Thanks for coming to our tea party! We should do it again." Princess Tamba said with a wave.

 

"Bye, handsome~" Watari giggles.

"Goodbye." Okazaki said.

 

Ken smiles and waves goodbye to them as he leaves Princess Tamba's castle. Despite the buffet chaos...he did had a great time with the trio. He learned about their past when they were in the living world.

As he walk through the town hall, he sees different undead people. Some undead people are old, while some of them are children. There were even skeleton pets such as cats and dogs. He even sees a few people who are ghosts, spirits, and even guardian spirits. Ken remembered that Watari told him to see Wada, the orphan ghost and he is known for raking the leaves

 

The tall corpse groom sees a small ghostly young boy. He has pale cream hair of medium length that sticks out messily, red eyes, thick eyelashes, and a slim body. He wears a white shirt, black waistcoat, black trousers, black hat and red scarf. He finished raking the leaves and put them in the bag. Then, he looks at Ken.

"Are you Wada Masanari?" Ken ask, politely.

 

"Y-Yes. I am. How do you know my name?" Wada said, timidity.

 

"Watari told me about you. She said that you could give me the key to my studio apartment since I was new here. My name is Ken Hasegawa." He said.

 

"I-Its nice to meet you. I-I can give you the key to your apartment." Wada said shyly as he took the key out of his pockets from his trousers and gives it to him. It was a golden key.

 

"Thank you." Ken said. Before he leaves, Wada grab his arm gentle.

 

"I was wondering if...you would to go visit the living world again because I can help you." Wada said.

 

Ken's eyes widened in surprise. He remembered Okazaki's words back at the dark forest.

"𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦."

 

'Why would she lie about this.' He thought.

 

"How can you help me?" Ken asks.

 

"I can use my special ability to create the portal to the living world. I can take you to the dark forest." Wada said.

 

"That would be great! Thank you." Ken said.

 

*****

It was a long walk but they finally arrived at the dark forest. The small ghost boy shivers his fear as they go further into the forest.

 

"I-I don't like going here. I-It scares me." Wada said.

 

Ken holds his hand. "I'm here, Wada. Everything is going to be okay." He said.

He takes a deep breath. "T-Thanks."

 

Finally, Wada finds the place to summon the portal. It was the big oak tree and has orange leaves since it is the autumn.

 

Before Wada summons the portal, he looks at Ken with a solemn look. "D-Do you want to return home because you miss your family?" Wada ask.

Ken nods his head. "Yes. I want to see my family again. I miss my mom and my older sister." He said.

 

Suddenly, Wada looks away in pain. He hates to break the news to Ken.

"What's wrong?"

"Ken, I'm sorry but...I don't think it is a good idea to visit your loved ones. Especially that you are a walking corpse. If they see you...they will think you are a monster and the villagers will kill you." Wada said.

 

Ken was about to argue with Wada when he thought about this. He has a good point. Ken is no longer a living person anymore. He is an undead. Also, his village is heavily religious, and if they see a monster like him...he will be killed.

 

"You're right. I think it is best if I avoid conflict with the villagers." Ken said.

 

The ghost boy is glad that Ken is being reasonable. Then, Wada places his hand on the oak tree and sings softly:

𝘔𝘪𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘮. 𝘉𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘈 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰' 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦'𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. "𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦! 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦! 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.

 

Suddenly, a light aura shines through his hand, and a portal is on the tree. The portal shows an image of the living world. Which is the cemetery in the forest. Ken is amazed by not only Wada's special ability but also his singing ability.

 

"Wada...that is amazing." Ken said with a smile.

 

Wada looks at him, shyly. He doesn't know what to say. He was just...speechless that someone compliments him.

 

Before Ken enters the portal, Wada has to let him about the one person he hasn't met. He knows Kamimura is in the living world.

 

"Wait! Did you have happen to see the bride? Wada ask.

 

Ken shakes his head. "No...I haven't seen her. Why?"

 

"If you do...promise me to be patient and kind. The bride can be...quite reserved and crass but something tells me...that you are destined to open their heart." Wada said, softly.

 

'Destined to open their heart.'

 

Ken may not known who the bride is but something about what Wada said at the end...makes him feel curious to get to the know the person.

 

Ken enters the portal, returning to the living world.

******

 

The pale blue groom returned to the living world. Which is the cemetery in the forest. Ken looks around in his surroundings. It was the night time and the full moon shines through the sky. He can see that the portal to the Land of the dead is still here on the tree.

 

He walks to the cemetery until he sees his gravestone. Ken bends down and reads it:

"In loving memory of Ken Hasegawa."

Ken almost choke a sob. "Oh god...How did this happened?"

He doesn't remembered on how he died. There were so many questions. Suddenly, he noticed another gravestone next to his. The gravestone has another person's name: Kazutoshi Kamimura. There were even a big pile of nests covering the entire bottom of the gravestone.

 

Just as he was about to remove them, he hears a cat meowing from a distance. Ken stands up and went to the source of the sound. He walks slowly through the forest until he saw someone and by god...it was the most beautiful thing that Ken has witnessed.

 

In the center of the forest, where the big oak tree lies...stands a short beautiful bride. With her back turn, she wears a beautiful Classical Blue Gothic Wedding Dress With Black Lace Long Sleeve Corset Celtic. She even wears a black choker with a small black gemstone. She has straight blue hair that reaches below her armpits. Her face is covered by a black lace wedding veil. Ken sees something in her hand. Which are a bouquet of blue flowers. It was the forget-me-not flowers.

 

The moon shines on the beautiful bride, revealing her pale, blue skin. She has a skeleton left arm while her right arm has pale blue skin. She starts to shine her blue aura around her body as the wind blew, making her wedding dress sway a bit. It looks like she is looking at the moon.

 

Ken is speechless on how beautiful she is. He can feel his heart fluttering. Suddenly, without even thinking, Ken said it aloud:

"You are so beautiful, my lady."

 

Then, Ken covers his mouth. As the bride quickly turns around to see him.

 

'Oh my god! You are such an idiot, Ken!'

Suddenly, the wind blew the veil up, revealing the bride's beautiful pale blue face. She has dark rose gold eyes and pretty sharp eyelashes.

 

Ken uncovers his mouth and they stare at each other's eyes.

 

The Corpse Bride couldn't stop staring at the handsome Corpse groom. His skin is pale blue, and has medium-length brown hair, being neatly combed. He wears a blue gothic wedding groom suit in satin with silver embroidery. The groom even wears a light grey satin shirt with ruffles and has blue slippers. There is even a pearl grey cravat and a handkerchief in his suit pocket.

 

They stared at each other for a long time, not saying a single word. The Corpse Bride blushes, drops the flowers, and runs away.

 

"H-Hey!" Ken said as he runs after her.

 

The small bride quickly ran down the path of the forest but Ken is catching up. "Wait! Don't go!" Ken said.

The bride keeps on running and starts climbing up the rocky cliff. Ken gasps as he sees how dangerous it is to climb up.

"Stop! It's dangerous!" Ken said as he quickly climbs up to protect her.

Finally, she is at a dead end and looks down at how deep the ground is. The bluette saw the groom climb up and sees her.

 

"Whatever that you are trying to do, don't do this! I won't hurt you." Ken said as he slowly approaches her.

 

The bride is panting harder and is losing consciousness. She has fear in her eyes. Ken has a bad feeling that She is going to fall and drowned. Suddenly, The bride accidentally lost her footing and fell.

"NOO!" Ken yells and he quickly grabs her around the waist and brings her to his chest. He hugs her and has saved her.

"It's okay. You're safe." He whispers.

 

The bride was in a state of shock. He just saved her life. She can hear the sound of his heart beating. Slowly, she faints into his arms.

 

"Oh dear! U-um! I-I will take you somewhere safe." Ken said as he carries her in bridal style and starts to head back to the portal. The bride's pet cat follows them.

 

*****

Ken has returned to the Land of the dead and is now in his studio apartment. His studio apartment is cozy as there is a small kitchen, closet, couch, a table with two chairs, a bathroom, laundry room, a large bed, window, and a small bookshelf.

 

The bride is laying on his bed. Ken take off his suit and hangs it in the closet. He has his light grey satin shirt with ruffles on. The brunette finishes making the miso soup and places it on the table. The skeleton cat nozzles on the bride's cheek, making her wake up.

 

Ken smiles. "Oh good. You're awake. I'm glad that you are safe."

The small bride looks around the room. Suddenly, Ken has a thermometer in his hand.

"May I take your temperature, my lady?" Ken said.

 

The bride looks at him, weird. "I-I just want to make sure you are in good health. That's all." Ken said.

 

The bride rolls her eyes and opens her mouth. Ken puts the thermometer in her mouth. A few minutes later, the temperature reads 98 fahrenheit. He sighs in relief.

 

"Thank goodness." Ken said as he puts away the thermometer in the bathroom. He went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

 

"Let me know if you need anything, my lady." Ken said as he sips his water.

 

That's when the Corpse Bride starts to speak to him.

 

"I'm not your fucking lady!"

 

That's when Ken starts to choke on his water. He didn't expect the bride to have a masculine voice. After he regains himself, he looks at the him with a shock

 

"Y-You're a man?" Ken said, with his eyes widened.

 

"Of course I am! God! This is the fifth time someone mistaken me as a lady." He complains.

 

"I-I mean when I first saw you, you do look like a lady. Especially how short you are." Ken admits.

 

Suddenly, He glares at him.

 

"Are you gonna make fun of my height by telling me if I need a fucking stool!?" He snaps at him.

 

"What!? No! I wouldn't make fun of your height." Ken said as he puts both his hands up in defense.

 

His pet cat cuddles with the bride. The bride pats his head, thinking on what he is going to say.

 

Ken remembered the gravestone and it hits him.

"Say...does your name happened to be Kazutoshi Kamimura?"

 

He looks at him angrily. "That's none of your damn business."

 

"Actually, I found gravestone next to mine." Ken explains.

 

This made Kazutoshi tilts his head. "You got to be shitting me."

 

"I'm not lying. When I went to the living world, I saw your gravestone next to mine. By the way, my name is Ken Hasegawa. It's nice to meet you." He said as he went to shake his hand.

 

However, Kazutoshi jumps off the bed. "I'm leaving."

 

"Please don't leave" Ken said.

 

"Forget it! I ain't staying here!" Kazutoshi said Just as he is about to leave, he sees a nice hot bowl of soup.

"Say Ken. What soup is this?" The short boy said.

 

"Oh. It is miso soup." Ken said.

 

'Fuck! I love miso soup.' Kazutoshi thought.

 

He sighs as he went to sit on the chair and grabs the bowl of miso soup. "Okay, big guy. Here's how it is going to work. I ask the questions." He points the spoon on himself. "And you answer my question." He said as he points the spoon to Ken.

 

"Sounds fair." Ken said. He has prepared himself to take quizzes in his school days. So, he is ready to answer his questions.

 

"Okay. Question number 1. How did you end up in this place?" He said as he eats his soup.

 

"When I died at my funeral, my casket transported me into this place. That's when Princess Tamba, Watari, and the Jester of Nagoya found me." Ken explains.

 

"Why am I not suprised that these three weirdos found you." He said with a eye roll.

 

"Okay. Next question. How were you able to return to the living world?" He ask.

"Well, I-"

 

Suddenly, realization hits the bluette's face. He did a facepalm.

 

'Of course! It's Wada fucking Masanari.' He thought bitterly.

 

"You know what? Let's skip that question. I'm gonna have a fucking serious talk with Wada." Kazutoshi said.

Ken fiddles his ruffles, nervously.

 

"Last question. What did you do to me when I fainted?" Kazutoshi said as he takes a bite of his soup.

 

"When you fainted, I carried you in my arms and took you to my apartment. I made sure to watch and take care of you while you are asleep. I just want you to make you feel better and safe, that's all." Ken said.

 

Kazutoshi has a blush on his face.

'Goddamn...He is so cute when he cares me. He's treats me like I'm his wi- FOCUS KAMIMURA!' He snaps back into reality.

 

"Okay. That's all the questions. I have." Kazutoshi said as he continued to eat his soup.

 

"At least, I was being honest." Ken said.

 

After Kazutoshi finished his soup, he puts it in the sink. "Let's go, Taro." Kazutoshi said as he snaps his finger at his pet skeletonal cat.

 

Taro jumps off the bed and follows Kazutoshi. Before he leaves, Ken said, "Am I going to see you again?"

 

Kazutoshi stops at the door. Part of him wants to be asshole to the guy but at the same...Ken was so kind to take care of him.

 

"Yeah...I guess you can say that. Oh and Ken?"

 

Ken was busy washing the bowl, he turns to him.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Your miso soup is so fucking good." He said.

 

This made Ken smile and chuckles. "I'm glad you like it."

Chapter Text

 

Wada finishes his job of cleaning up the leaves and putting it in the bags. His ghost crew picked them up so they could use the leaves for traditional potions, food for the animals, and mulch.

 

The small ghost boy went inside his apartment and went to his apartment room. Inside his room, there was a couch, table, a record player, and a few romance books on the shelf, bathroom, and bed. He has no kitchen since ghosts like him can't eat food. Which isn't a problem for him.

 

As Wada was about to sit on the couch and read a romance book, there was a loud pounding on the door.

 

"Open the door, Wada!"

 

The ghost boy shakily sighs. It was Kazutoshi and he is not ready to face him. He was reluctant to open the door, but he knew he couldn't keep him waiting.

 

Wada opens the door, and Kazutoshi angrily walks to the couch to have a seat. He can hear the sound of Kazutoshi's black boots underneath his blue wedding dress. Wada sits in the couch across from him.

 

"Why in the hell would you send Ken to the living world!?" Kazutoshi argues.

 

He has a reason why he sent Ken to the living world.

 

"I-I asked him if he wants to return to see his family and he said yes. I did warn him that it is not a good idea to go his family because he will get killed." he said as he rubbed his hands together, nervously

 

Kazutoshi raised his eyesbrow. Whenever Wada rubs his hands together, he knows that he is hiding something.

 

" I know you have something to hide. What is another reason why you sent him there?" He said as he crossed his arms.

 

"I....also wanted Ken to met you since he hasn't see in the town hall."

 

"WADA! You know that I prefer to go to the cemetery in the forest, alone! You can't just bring someone into my fucking space! I was scared as hell when I saw him. So, I ran away." The bluette yells.

 

"I-I'm sorry if I made you feel scared. I did tell him that if he does, see you. He should be patient and kind to you since I know that you are a reserved person. Why are you being hostile towards him? Is it because you think that he is going hurt you just like the guy-"

 

Suddenly, Kazutoshi stands up and points his finger on Wada's chest.

 

"Don't you fucking dare say that!" He growls.

 

Wada glups as his body shook. Wada is the only one who knows about Kazutoshi's dark past because he trusted him to not tell anyone about this. Wada views Kazutoshi as a big brother to him. He remembered when Wada was new to the Land to the dead, the other undead children would pick on him because he was poor. He will never forget when Kazutoshi was able to transform into a swarm of blue jellyfishes to scare the kids away. He was the one who helped Wada have a job and a place to live.

 

"I'm sorry." Wada said as lips trembled.

 

He noticed that the little ghost boy was about to cry. Kazutoshi didn't want him to cry because it would make him feel upset. Even though Kazutoshi was an only child, He sees Wada as his little brother.

 

Kazutoshi takes a deep breath and gently squeezes his shoulder.

 

"Please don't cry. I'm sorry if I yell at you. I hate it when my past is brought up. That's all." He said and hugged him. Wada hugs him back.

 

After their embrace, they went back to sitting on the couch and continued their conversation.

 

"If you want to know what happened, I ran away, and climbed up on the rocky cliff. Ken followed me. As I was cornered, Ken was telling me that I shouldn't do it and how he won't hurt me. That's when I lost my footing and fell off the cliff but Ken...he saved my life he grabbed me in time and held me close. I swear to you, Wada, I can hear his heart beating. It was like...so protective of me. That's when I fainted. After that, I woke up in his apartment, and he took care of me, making sure my health is good. He even made the best miso soup." Kazutoshi said with a smile.

 

"It sounds like you are in love with him." Wada said with a small smile.

 

That's when Kazutoshi was taken aback. "Hell no! Ken and I are just...residents." Kazutoshi said.

 

"Kazutoshi, I read many romance books, and trust me, I highly doubt that you and Ken are just residents. Especially the way your eyes lit up when you mentioned about hearing his heartbeat."

 

"Shut up."

 

"How you talk about Ken taking care of you."

 

"Shut up."

 

"And we can't forget about you smiling when you talk about how he made you a miso soup like a husband cooks your favorite dish." Wada giggles.

 

" Wada, shut up! Can we talk about something else?" Kazutoshi groans as he covers his face, hiding his blushes.

 

"Alright. We can talk more about your handsome groom later." He teases. The albino ghost thought about the festival.

 

"Are you coming to Tamba's castle for the festival meeting?" Wada ask.

 

"Sadly, yes. I didn't want to come to the meeting but she insisted that everyone should have a chance to have their inputs share." He said as he crossed his legs over, revealing his black Victorian boots.

 

"Do you plan on inviting Ken to the festival meeting?"

 

The short bride bounced his knee a bit and twirls his long blue sidelock.

 

"I...was thinking about calling Ken tonight to see if he is interested to have a festival meeting with us, but-"

 

"You should totally call him. I bet he has creative ideas for the festival." Wada said as he give him a paper of Ken's apartment phone number.

 

"Thanks! I guess I can call him." Kazutoshi said as he stood up, and walks toward the door.

 

"Oh and one more thing. When you give Ken a call, make sure you send him a goodnight kiss~" Wada giggles.

 

He rolls his eyes at him. "You and your annoying ass." He said, but he chuckles a little and left his place.

 

*****

 

Kazutoshi went inside his victorian mansion. In his mansion, there was a grand piano, a large couch, a fireplace, and a private study room with a small library where he stores his horror books, crime books, chemistry, and forensic chemistry. In the basement, he has a large lab workstation where he works on his chemistry experiments and his forensic work and a laundry room. He even has a medium size kitchen, a bathroom upstairs, his small bedroom, a dressing room, and a projection room where he has horror films.

His skeleton pet cat, Taro meows and comes to Kazutoshi.

 

"Aw! You missed me, Taro?" Kazutoshi smiles as he bends down to pet him.

 

He meows and purrs. "Here. Let me give you a bowl of milk." He said as he went to the kitchen and grabs a small bowl and a milk carton. He pours the milk into the bowl and places it on the ground.

 

Taro meows and starts to lick the milk. "Good boy." He said and he went upstairs to the dressing room.

 

The dressing room is a large room with a huge closet and drawers. There is a even a makeup table with a chair and mirror. The young bluette takes off his black jewel choker and his gothic blue wedding dress. He looks at himself in the mirror and his body shook.

 

Standing in his short black boxer briefs, he sees an image of his pale slim blue body with a small waist, a small proportion of right ribs are exposed, his skeletal left arm and leg, and only his right arm and leg have blue skin.

 

Kazutoshi lets out a shaky breath when he sees the slice mark on his neck and the stab wound marks on his stomach.

 

He quickly takes off his boots and changes into his pajamas. Which is his short sleeve black pjs shirt and pants with the small skull designs. He even wear his fuzzy black and white slippers with a smiling skull. He then sits on the chair and brushes his medium length blue hair and puts it in a bun, leaving his two long blue sidelocks out.

 

Then, he went downstairs to the kitchen and opens the fridge and grabs a container of his teriyaki chicken with miso ramen soup that he got from the shop. He pours it into his favorite glass bowl, a design of a white bowl with blood dripping around the bowl.

 

He puts it in the microwave and heats it for two minutes and 30 seconds. After the microwave beeps, he takes it and puts it on the countertop, and grabs a chopstick from the drawer. Kazutoshi looks at the white telephone hanging on the wall. He then grabs the phone and dials Ken's apartment phone number from the paper that Wada gave him.

 

Kazutoshi sits on his chair, his phone next to his ear, his legs crossed, and starts to eat his miso ramen soup.

 

Suddenly, he hears the Ken's voice.

 

"Hello! This is Ken Hasegawa speaking."

 

"Pfft! Do you always talk formally on the phone?" Kazutoshi said sarcastically.

 

"Hey! I was raised by my parents who taught me to be a gentleman." Ken pouts.

 

Kazutoshi chuckles. He will admit that it is cute on how Ken shows polite mannerism.

 

"Anyways, how's your day going?" Ken ask.

 

"My day is pretty mid but you made me feel better when you pick up my call. What about yours?" Kazutoshi said.

 

Ken chuckles. "I'm glad that I turned your frown upside down and yeah, my day is getting better since I am navigating my new life in this place."

 

"You will get used to the underworld. Trust me" Kazutoshi said. Then, he clears his throat.

 

"So, I was wondering if you would like to come with me to the meeting at Tamba's castle, so me, you, Tamba, Okazaki, and Watari can discuss on the idea for the festival." He said as he slowly swirls his chopsticks around his bowl .

 

"Sure. I would love to help you guys with the festival." Ken said.

 

'Holy shit! He is actually said yes.' He thought, excitedly.

 

"That's great. I will come by your apartment tomorrow morning." Kazutoshi said.

 

"Wonderful! I will see you tomorrow. Have a good night!" Ken said.

 

"Thanks. You too." He said and hands up.

 

Kazutoshi sighs happily. Everything is working out great. He gets to spend more time with Ken. Something about Ken makes him feel like he can talk to him with ease and have a fun time. It's like he has feelings for K-

 

Suddenly, he shakes his head quickly.

 

'Woah, dude! You are not gonna have any romantic feelings towards Ken. I am not fucking gay. I am just a friend to him. That's all.' He thought.

 

"Yeah...I'm just Ken's friend." Kazutoshi whispers.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

 

It was morning time and Ken is already dressed up and is eating his breakfast, which happens to be scramble eggs and toast with orange juice. His outfit consists of brown pleated pants, white long sleeve dress shirt, brown bow-tie, brown suspenders, and brown scally hat and brown shoes.

 

The Corpse brunette knows that today is the festival meeting at Princess Tamba. Last night, he had written down an idea in his small notebook on how he can make the festival more fun in the town of the land of the dead. After he ate his breakfast, there is a knock on his door. Ken went to open the door, and it was Kazutoshi.

 

Kazutoshi is wearing a white dress shirt with a black vest and tie, black pants, and black and white converse sneakers.

 

"Morning Ken." He said with a smile.

 

"Good morning, Kazutoshi." He said as he went with him downstairs and out of the apartment. There is a luxury black gothic carriage ride with two horses waiting for them. Kazutoshi and Ken went inside the carriage, and the driver starts to move the carriage.

 

"I see that you changed your outfit." Ken said.

 

"I changed it for two reasons. One, for Tamba's meeting, she wants men to wear casual clothing, whether it is wearing suspenders, vest, or tie. So, I choose to wear this. Two, I want to keep my beautiful wedding dress clean. If anything happens to my dress, I am gonna lose my shit. You know how fucking difficult it is to clean this type of dress." Kazutoshi said.

 

Ken nods his head. "Oh. I understand. There are challenges to cleaning a victorian dress since it is delicate, has aged fabrics, and complex construction that is not suited for the modern washing methods. Did you know that dresses were also impractical, sometimes so wide that women got stuck in doorways. Oh god! I'm sorry that I was rambling." Ken said as he covered his face, blushing in embarrassment.

 

Suddenly, he hears Kamimura laughing.

 

"It's ok. I remembered last year, Tamba wore a ridiculous pink dress to the ball. It was so wide that she got stuck in the doorway when she was trying to head downstairs to the dance." He laughs.

 

"Poor Tamba." Ken chuckles.

 

"Oh, it's gets even worse. She was so mad and embarrassed that she had to call her butlers to pulls her out. She was like, help me! Get me out of here!" Kazutoshi laughs, imitates her voice.

 

"Were they able to get her out?

 

"They did, but it was hilarious when they pulled her out so hard that she flew across the room and landed into the food table. She wasn't injured or anything, but she got smashed cake on her hair and crushed sandwiches on her dress. It was hilarious." He chuckles.

 

"That is one messy story." Ken said.

 

"Yeah. By the way, you got any more facts about Victorian dresses?" He asked.

 

"Wait a minute? You don't mind me talking about trival facts?" Ken ask, feeling suprised.

 

"I don't mind. I actually find it cool." Kazutoshi said.

 

To Ken, it feels nice to have someone who doesn't have a problem with talking about trivial facts. He remembered when people would tell him to shut up, how annoying he is, or even told him that he is just a show off. Being with Kazutoshi....he feels like he can be his nerdy self.

 

"Okay then. Another fact about them is that Victorian-era dresses are traced directly to the reign and influence of Queen Victoria of Britain from 1837 to 1901." He explains.

 

They continue to talk about the victorian history while the driver takes them to Princess Tamba's castle.

 

*********

 

" Yay! You guys are here!" Tamba cheers as she sees the two young men enter the meeting room. Tamba is wearing her mint green shirt with white pants and white heels. She lets her long blond hair out and wears a tiara.

 

The meeting room is a large room with bookshelves, a medieval chandelier, and a round brown table with chairs. In the room, there was Okazaki, sitting to Watari. The masked Spirit wears a red and white traditional men's kimono with a red and white fox mask. They even wore Japanese sandals. The young black woman wears a red and white women's kimono with her dark brown hair in a bun. She also wears the Japanese sandals as well.

 

Ken didn't expect the trio to wear different outfits to the meeting. In his village, he remembered how he would see business people wearing suits and ties. Despite how strange it is, he actually liked how they are breaking the norm.

 

"Why are you two wearing traditional Japanese clothing? I thought this meeting was so supposed to be professional?" Kazutoshi said as he sits down on the chair. Ken sits next to Kazutoshi.

 

"Because wearing business outfits are so bland
." Okazaki explains.

 

"Besides, who needs to wear professional outfits when you could wear these cute Japanese outfits." Watari said.

 

"Figures." Kazutoshi said as he rolls his eyes.

 

Watari and Okazaki are a dating couple. They are known to wear theme outfits together. Whether it is party outfits, fall outfits, Japanese outfits, circus outfits, or anything, they will always compliment each other.

 

"Now that everyone is here, let's talk about the fall festival. We need to come up with the theme today since we only have nine days left." Princess Tamba explains.

 

"Are the festivals seasonal?" Ken asks.

 

"Yes. There are winter, spring, summer, and fall festivals." Okazaki explains.

 

"Last year, We did a cherry blossoms festival for the spring and the fireworks festival for the summer. It was so fun." Watari said.

 

"Except for the whole firework incident where it almost goddamn burn the entire town." The bluette argues.

 

"I just thought the more fireworks we have, the more fun the townspeople can enjoy the show. Besides, I love fireworks." The dark-brown haired spirit woman said.

 

"Well, if you haven't lit up all of the fireworks at once, then none of this would have happen." He said with a face palm.

 

"Oh my god! Watari, that is dangerous! It would have cause serious injuries and devastating fires." Ken yelled.

 

"You two have a good point. I really shouldn't have done that." Watari whispers, feeling ashamed.

 

"At least, I was able to stop the fire burning from happening by using the water potions that I had created." Kazutoshi said.

 

"I'm sure we can choose a theme that will be safer this time. Any ideas for the festival? Okazaki?" Tamba said.

 

"We could do a circus festival. Watari and I can do the performance. I can be the Magician, and she can be the fire juggler. Kamimura and Hasegawa can be responsible for the game vendors while Princess Tamba can be the ringmaster." Okazaki said.

 

"That is such a good idea, Oka." Watari said.

 

"What do you think of Okazaki's idea, Toshi?" Tamba ask.

 

"Don't call me that! you know how I hate that nickname." The Corpse bluette groans. Then, he crosses his arms, thinking about it.

 

"It's not a bad idea but there are problems. You will have to find and train more people to make the circus performance work. You would even need to wild animals such as an elephant and a lion for your performance. On top of that, it is going to be expensive to get the equipment to create the game vendors and prizes." Kazutoshi sighs.

 

"If I may add, you would need a much bigger area to set up a large performance tent." Ken exclaims.

 

"You two are right. I guess I won't be able to perform the wheel of death on someone." Okazaki sighs, sadly.

 

"Next up is Watari. What do you have?" Tamba said.

 

"Maybe we can do a fun competitive sport event. Tamba, and I will be amazing cheerleaders. I will twirling around with my fire batons. Okazaki can be in a cute pumpkin mascot costume, dancing in the field. Kazutoshi will be in a marching band, and Ken will be the water boy for the football players. It will be an exciting night." Watari said excitingly.

 

"Respectively, I will have to disagree with that idea. You will need to find another football team to agree with you to have a football game. Besides, I am not a fan of sports." Ken said as he nervously straightened his brown bow-tie.

 

"Me too. I am not a sports person." Kazutoshi said.

 

"Alright. We can cross the sport event off the list. What about you?" Watari asks Tamba.

 

Tamba thought about it and suddenly, she has a smile on her face.

 

"You know what will make a cute festival?" Tamba said excitedly.

 

Ken can see Kazutoshi's eyes widen in realization on what she is about to say.

 

"I swear to god, you better not say-"

 

"A Pink fairyland Festival!" Princess Tamba cheers.

 

"Not this shit again." Kazutoshi groans.

 

"Think about it. we can paint the entire town with pink colors and sparkly candy decorations. Oh! We can make everyone wear glitter and puffy pink outfits with wings. Even you guys , including Kazutoshi will wear glitter pink clothes with wings. Then, my butlers will find the unicorns so everyone can ride through the forest and go on a scavenger hunt for a pot of gold. After that, we will have a petting zoo with the cute kittens, puppies, hamsters, baby chicks, and horses. Finally, we will have a tea party with cookies, cakes, teas, brownies, macarons, sandwiches, pretzels, and a huge chocolate fountain. We would even dance and talk to each other all day long! This is will be the most cutest festival ever!" Tamba giggles in joy.

 

Watari is speechless, knowing that it will not end well. The tall brunette looks at Kazutoshi, nervously. Despite Okazaki wearing their fox mask, they can feel the sweats coming from their forehead, feeling overwhelmed with Princess Tamba's ideas.

 

"I....um..."Okazaki was about to say something until finally Kazutoshi starts to lose his shit on Tamba.

 

"That is the most stupidest shit that you had ever said!" Kazutoshi yells.

 

"Oh boy. This is about to get feisty." Watari whispers.

 

"It is NOT stupid idea!" Tamba yells back at him. Then, the two start to fight each other.

 

"Yes, it is Tamba! We are living in the underworld with dead people! Does this place look like a fairyland with fucking rainbows and sunshine to you!?"

 

"For your information, we can turn this creepy place into a pretty and glittery place."

 

"Okay, Miss fucking princess! Tell me! Do you think the undead people will be pleased to hear that their town will turn into a goddamn eye-strain!"

 

"Shut up! You don't know that! Besides, I think you should wear bright pink outfits instead of that dark and gloomy dresses you wear!"

 

"FUCK NO! I am not wearing that shit!"

 

"Um, excuse me." Ken said quietly as he tries to break up the argument.

 

"I just want a festival where it is pretty and fun!"

 

"Excuse me." Ken said a little louder.

 

"And I want a festival where we can have a good time and not have a headache with this pink shit!"

 

"EXCUSE ME!" Ken yells.

 

His yelling both startled everyone in the room, including Kazutoshi and Tamba. All eyes were on Ken. He clears his throat.

 

"S-Sorry about that. I can share my idea for the fall festival." He said quietly.

 

"By all means, go for it. I had enough fighting with Kazutoshi for one day." She complains.

 

"You were the one who started it." Kazutoshi mutters.

 

"I heard that!" Tamba yells at him.

 

"A-Anyways! Everyone might agree or disagree with this but...I was thinking we could have a Halloween festival. After all, it is a very popular and fun theme." Ken said.

 

Kazutoshi suddenly has a smile on his face. "Oh hell yeah! That's a great idea, Ken!"

 

"Oooo~ A Halloween festival might sound spectacular. Okazaki and I could perform scary story plays in front of the whole audience in the town hall." Watari said with a smile.

 

"That sounds like a good idea but what fun activities can they do?" Tamba said.

 

"I wrote a list of fun ideas for the Halloween." Ken said as he takes out a piece of paper from his pocket.

 

Tamba, Kazutoshi, Okazaki, and Watari look at the list. In the list, it said:

1. Costume contest

2. Trick or Treating

3. Halloween party

4. Going to a haunted house

5. Pumpkin decorating

6. apple bobbing

7. pin the spider on the web

8. musical tombstones

9. Roll the pumpkin race

10. ghost hunting

 

"Oh! I love treat or tricking!" The blonde undead princess said, happily.

 

"I know where we can find the best apples." Watari said.

 

"I can even find the tombstones so they can play the game." Okazaki said.

 

"All in favor for the Halloween festival, say aye!" Tamba said.

 

"Aye!" Kazutoshi, Okazaki, Watari, and even Tamba said it in unison.

 

"Wow. Thank you, guys." Ken said with a smile.

 

"That concludes our meeting! I will inform our townspeople about our fun event today. Tomorrow, Kazutoshi, Ken, and I will head over to the pumpkin patch to collect the pumpkins and carve them for the lanterns." Tamba said.

 

One by one, everyone got off of their chairs and starts to leave the room.

 

"It would be so fucking cool if Jack the Ripper was here for the Halloween festival." Kazutoshi beams.

 

"Not you, too! We are not bringing crazy people!" Tamba shrieks.

 

"Funny...I remembered I mentioned about wanting to say hi to Jack." Okazaki whispers.

 

*******

 

The two young undead men got out of Princess Tamba's castle and are heading to the carriage.

 

"Thanks for coming to the meeting." Kazutoshi said.

 

"You're welcome. I am grateful that I helped you and the others." Ken exclaims.

 

They got inside the carriage. "Can you take us to Ken's apartment, please." Kazutoshi said.

 

"No problem." The skeleton driver said and made his horses move the carriage.

 

In the carriage, Kazutoshi reflects on the meeting. It was nice to bring someone like Ken with him. He remembered when Kazutoshi would feel bored going to the meetings at Tamba's place and would contribute less. But with Ken...it made him changed. Despite Ken being soft-spoken, he isn't afraid to speak on his mind and challenge their ideas. It even made Kazutoshi to participate in the discussion.

 

"Hey Ken."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"I just want to say...I had a great time with you. I know Tamba and I can be argumentative at times, but I'm glad you survived." Kazutoshi said.

 

"I accept your compliment and I had a wonderful time with you, too. You can be quite...vulgar but I know that you are being honest." Ken chuckles, softly.

 

"And I shall accept your compliment." Kazutoshi chuckles.

 

While they are riding in the carriage, the short bluette slowly holds Ken's hand. Ken can feel Kazutoshi holding his hand. So, he gently squeezes his hand with warmth.

 

What Ken didn't see is that Kazutoshi has a blush on his face and a small smile.

Chapter Text

"Oh Takeshiiii! I need your help~"

 

Takeshi Ojima was in the middle of drawing when he heard his boyfriend, Hiroaki Nakamigawa dramatically sing-song his name.

 

It was night time and he is at Hiroaki's victorian luxury mansion castle. The dark navy haired man will admit that it is pretty cool that he owns the mansion. Inside his mansion, he has a huge room where he makes and designs the clothes, a bathroom, a large kitchen, a warm fireplace, a dining room, a living room with couches, a master bedroom, a laundry room, an art room, and a ballroom.

 

"I'm coming!" Takeshi yells as he got out of the artroom and went to see him in the designing room. He sees him standing next to a beautiful blue Renaissance Victorian with a white and brown floral designs.

 

"I need your opinion on this since I am making it for my customer. Does this dress need frills on the sleeves or not?" Hiroaki ask.

 

Takeshi takes a good look on the dress. "I don't think it needs any frills. It looks good."

 

"Oh thank you! You are the best!" Hiroaki said as he kissed him on the cheek.

 

"Anything for my amazing boyfriend. I'm gonna head back to the artroom to finish my drawing." He exclaims.

 

"Whatcha drawing?" He said as he puts the dress in a glass container.

 

Suddenly, there was silence between the two. Hiroaki knows that something is wrong.

 

"Takeshi?"

 

He lets out a sad sigh. "I'm drawing a picture of Ken."

 

"Oh..." Hiroaki said with a sad look.

 

He knows that Takeshi and Ken are very close with each other. They would go to the art museums, play chess, cook dinners for their friends, and hang out in the library.

 

Hiroaki places a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

 

"I know how much you missed him. I missed him too."

 

"I just can't believe that he's gone. There is something that I have been bothering me with." He said as he rubs his arm.

 

"What is it?"

 

"Well...ever since the funeral, I can't help but to think that Ken's death wasn't accidental."

 

"Wait a minute! Are you saying that you think Ken was murdered?" Hiroaki said.

 

"Yeah. I do."

 

"Takeshi..." Hiroaki cups his hands on his cheek.

 

"I think it's best if we let go of this crime investigation and just focus on healing from the pain."

 

"B-But it doesn't sit well for me that Ken-"

 

"You can mourn about his death and all but I think Ken would rather want you to live for him than wanting you to focus on death. I know you are shaken up by all of this but I don't want you to feel paranoid about it." Hiroaki said.

 

"You're right." Takeshi gives him a warm hug.

 

While he should focus on healing himself, in the back of his mind...he wants the real truth on what happened to Ken

Chapter Text

The morning shines through the clear skies. There are two brown horses that are connected to the brown wooden wagon. Princess Tamba is on the horse while Kazutoshi and Ken are both on the other horse. They are heading to the pumpkin patch to collect and carve pumpkins.

 

Tamba is wearing a long sleeve pink dress shirt with blue jeans and light pink high heels. Meanwhile, Kazutoshi wears a steampunk victorian outfit. Which consists of a black underbust Corset, a short red wine skirt double Bustle, and a black victorian boots with red thigh socks. The short bluette looks at Ken, who is wearing white collar sweater, brown pants, black shoes, dark green jacket, and blue scarf.

 

'Ken looks so adorable in that outfit.' He thought with a slight blush.

 

Kazutoshi wraps his arms around Ken's waist while Ken has his hands on the brown leather reins.

 

"We are here! Let's go pick some pumpkins." Tamba said as they stopped their horses and gets off their horses.The pumpkin patch is a huge field of pumpkins. Some pumpkins are small while the other ones are bigger.

 

"Oh wow. That is a lot of pumpkins. In my village, we don't grow pumpkins." Ken said.

 

"Well, it is your lucky day, Ken." Kazutoshi said with a smile.

 

"Isn't it also YOUR lucky day since you get to be clingy with Ken~" Tamba teases.

 

"Say what?!" Kazutoshi said, feel flustered.

 

"I saw you wrapping your precious arms around your man. How cute!" The blonde giggles.

 

"S-Shut the fuck up! I was just holding him so I don't fall off the horse!" Kazutoshi argues.

 

"Rrrright." Tamba snorts as she starts to look for the perfect pumpkins.

 

"Annoying ass." He mutters as he starts to look for the pumpkins.

 

Ken laughs nervously as he joins the undead blue-haired man to look for the pumpkins. So far, the trio were able to find alot of good pumpkins and put them in the wagon. Kazutoshi found a large pumpkin and went to go carry it.

 

"I-I can help you pick up the large pumpkin for you." Ken exclaims.

 

"Don't worry. I can pick up all by myself." He said. He tries to pick up the large pumpkin but it is very heavy. He grunts as he struggles to pick up the pumpkin. Ken quickly helped him pick up the large pumpkin.

 

He can hear Tamba laughing. "Wwwow! For a short guy like you, you really got weak muscles. You are built like a string bean." She laughs.

 

His cheeks got red and yells at her.

 

"Okay, bitch! Let's talk about you wearing fucking heels. I bet your feet are gonna hurt from walking and carrying the pumpkins." Kazutoshi argues.

 

"My feet won't hurt! Besides, I bet YOUR feet will hurt from wearing these stupid boots you wear!" She said as the blonde undead princess continues to do her job.

 

[45 minutes later]

 

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Tamba complains as her feet are hurting and went up on her horse.

 

She looks at Kazutoshi, who finished putting the last two pumpkins in the wagon. He looks at her, with a smirk.

 

"I told you so. I love my awesome boots. I didn't feel any pain at all!" Kazutoshi said as he gets up on the other horse and grabs the reins and Ken joins him as well.

 

"Shut up!" Tamba said as she rolls her eyes.

 

Kazutoshi sticks his tongue out, playfully, and flicks his middle finger at her. Then, he made the horses move.

 

After a few minutes, they arrive at the green hill where the picnic pavilion is located. It was a medium sized brown pavilion with a bench and table. They got off their horses and got out a few pumpkins from their wagon and place them on the table. After that, Kazutoshi retrieved the bag with the knives inside the wagon.

 

Together, the trio starts to create the jack-o-lanterns. Tamba carves her pumpkin with eyelashes. Ken watches the way that Kazutoshi carves his pumpkin with precision. He made a laughing jack-o-lantern with fangs. Ken tries his best to make a jack-o-lantern. Sadly, it came out all weird. The mouth is out of place, and the eyes are disproportion. Tamba winces at Ken's pumpkin.

 

"That is the worst pumpkin that you had ever made." Tamba said.

 

"Hey! Give him a break! This is his first time making it." Kazutoshi frowns at her.

 

"S-Sorry. I-I had never made jack-o-lanterns before." He said, quietly.

 

"That's okay, Ken. I remembered when I was a kid, I struggled to make these. Trust me, it takes a lot of practice. Here, let me show you how to do it." Kazutoshi said as he grabs another pumpkin and gently takes his hand with the knife he is holding.

 

"Is it okay if I guide your hands?" Kazutoshi said.

 

"S-Sure." Ken murmurs.

 

Kazutoshi takes his hand and starts to guide him to carving the design for the pumpkin, slowly. The way Ken can feel the undead blue-haired bride's soft pale blue fingers intertwined with his...feel so warm and lovingly. His light brown eyes focus on the way Kazutoshi carves the pumpkin. He loves how artistic and patience he is.

 

Tamba rests her cheek on her right hand and sighs happily at the two couple. Which she earns a side-eyed from Kazutoshi's dark rose golden eyes. He gives her the 'not a single word' look. She proceeds to quickly continue carving her pumpkin.

 

Feeling Satisfied, Kazutoshi continues to help him until they were finished carving. It was a smiling pumpkin.

 

"You are so amazing!" Ken said as he looks at the finished pumpkin.

 

"No, you are! You were able to follow along with me and created this masterpiece." Kazutoshi said with a smile.

 

"Yeah! Even if you aren't an artist, you still dod a good job!" She said.

 

"I feel flattered. Thanks." Ken chuckles.

 

As they continued with their carvings, She said to Kazutoshi, "How come I don't see you wearing any high heels when you wear a dress?"

 

Kazutoshi looks at her with annoyance and sighs.

 

"Do you remember the high heels incident that happened last year?" He said as he air quotes high heels incident.

 

"The...high heel incident?" Ken said, slowly with confusion.

 

Tamba's face went from confusion to realization as her eyes starts to widened.

 

"Oh yeah! I remembered!" Tamba giggles.

 

"And don't even think about talk-"

 

It was already too late as she begins to talk about it. "Okay. It all started from last year..."

 

[Flashback begins]

 

It was last year in the spring. Tamba, Watari, Okazaki, and Kazutoshi are on top of the green hill. Watari wears a short red sleeveless floral dress with sandal heels while Okazaki wore a white jumpsuit with white boots. They even wore a white glass mask with ornaments. Tamba wears a lace ruffles mint green dress and high heels. The trio watches at what Tamba made Kazutoshi do.

 

Kazutoshi wore a short Pink Satin princess dress with pink high heels. His lips had pink lip gloss and light pink eyeshadow. His blue medium hair is straightened and has a tower of books on his head. He is trying to walk and balance it on his head. He felt angry doing this.

 

"I can't fucking believe that I am doing this dumb shit!" He complains.

 

"I won the bet! Fair and square!" Tamba yells.

 

"Tamba has a good point. She did defeat you in a game of chess." Okazaki said.

 

"Besides, it's time for you to become a pretty princess. Not some gloomy freak, Toshi." Watari said.

 

"Don't call me that! How does balancing some damn books on my head have to do wi-AHHH!" Kazutoshi yells in panic as he lost his balance and fell down face first to the ground.

 

He fell down so hard that his head popped off from his body and started to roll down the hill.

 

"FUCKKKKKK!" He yells as his head rolls down faster and faster until his head hit the tree.

 

"OW!" His head bumped into the tree.

 

Meanwhile, on the top of the hill, his body starts to get up and tries to look for his head. Suddenly, the Tamba and Watari starts to laugh so hard as his body wobbles from the high heels and falls down. Kazutoshi's cheeks are redder.

 

"Oh my god! Look at his body. He can't find Kazutoshi's head. Hahaha!" Watari said.

 

He can see his headless body on all fours. His body starts to move his hands around looking for him.

 

"Kazutoshi might as well need to put it on a leash like a dog." Okazaki giggles.

 

"You know what I see, Okazaki? I can see Toshi's pink panti-"

 

"Shut the fuck up!" Kazutoshi yells. Suddenly, he has an idea. He does a loud whistle. This brings his headless body attention as it stands up.

 

"Over here!" Kazutoshi yells.

 

He can see his headless body start to wobble down the hill. Meanwhile, Kazutoshi can see them laughing at him.

 

"Wow! What a headstart to a great day!" Tamba laughs.

 

"Shut up!"

 

"Come on, Toshi! Put your best head forward!" Watari chuckles.

 

"Shut up!"

 

"Yeah! Keep a cool he-"

 

"SHUT UP! I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!" He yells.

 

This made Tamba and Watari stop laughing at him. His headless body made it to the bottom of the hill and approach Kazutoshi.

 

"Guys. He's right. We should leave him alone." Okazaki said.

 

"Thanks you! At least they are-"

 

Kazutoshi spoke too soon as Okazaki removes their mask and sees that shit grinning face.

 

"It's Koncerning that he couldn't keep his head in the game! Konkonkon!" Okazaki laughs. Which made Tamba and Watari joins them to laugh at Kazutoshi.

 

His headless body found him and Kazutoshi's head is back in place with his body again. Then, he gives them the middle finger.

 

"Fuck you guys!" He yells.

 

[end of Flashback]

 

"And that is the story of the high heels incident." Tamba giggles.

 

"Ugh! It was so fucking embarrassing." Kazutoshi moans.

 

"Oh cheer up! When you first wore your high heels, I bet you feel like you are on top of the world." Ken smiles, hoping to make feel better.

 

This results a glaring look from Kazutoshi and a laugh from Tamba.

 

"What a great friend you are." The bluette said, sarcastically.

 

"I-I wasn't trying to make you feel insecure about your height." Ken said as he puts his hands up.

 

"Whatever." He mutters and continues to carve the jack-o-lanterns.

 

After they finished carving a few jack-o-lanterns and putting them in the wagon. It was time to eat lunch.

 

"I am starving." Ken said as he got his lunch bag from the wagon and opens it. It was a red apple.

 

Suddenly, Tamba's eyeball pops out of her eyesocket and rolls to the ground. It was a green worm.

 

"I love apples! Gimme!" It said.

 

"AHHH! WORMY! LOOK! WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" Tamba screams, dramatically.

 

This made both Ken and Kazutoshi laugh. "Holy shit! Your eyeball!" Kazutoshi chuckles.

 

"I-It's not funny!" Tamba said as she crouches down to pick up her eyeball.

 

"Oh! I find it super duper funny! That's what you get for making me wear high heels." Kazutoshi chuckles evilly.

 

"Don't worry about losing it, Princess Tamba. After all, we will keep an eye out for you." Ken jokes. Which made Kazutoshi laugh harder.

 

"You're evil, Ken." Tamba complains as she places her eyeball back in place.

 

********

 

Back at the town hall, Tamba drops them off to head back to their homes. She waves goodbye and left by riding her horse with the wagon.

 

Which leaves Ken and Kazutoshi on their other horse. Ken takes charge in riding it. As the horse gallops through the town, Ken looks over Kazutoshi, quickly.

 

Kazutoshi looks at him and grins.

 

"You know what? I take it back. You are a great friend." Kazutoshi said.

 

"Is it because I made a joke on Tamba?" Ken chuckles.

 

"Yep! All is forgiven."

 

"I'm glad because...this was the best pumpkin picking and carving experience I ever had. You made me feel confident in myself." Ken said softly.

 

This made him blush. "Yeah. No problem."

 

Together, the two young undead men continue to ride through the town hall.

Chapter Text

It was early in the morning at the hospital. Through the gold, white, and blue colored wall hallways, doctors and nurses are busy taking care of their patients despite having bags under their eyes. Emergencies can be heard through the loud speakers as surgeons quickly wheeled their patients to their surgeries by using hospital patient transporters.

 

While it was a busy day, there was one doctor who wanted to see a patient. Who happens to be a little boy. The doctor has short black hair, wears glasses, wears a black shirt, black pants, shoes, and a lab coat with his hospital badge. His name is Doctor Sota Fukumoto. He is a calm and caring pediatrician who loves helping kids.

 

When he arrives at his patient's room, he hears the poor boy crying in sadness. He gently open the door and sees a small boy with short black hair, wears a light green hospital gown, and rose golden eyes. Tears had fallen from his eyes.

 

"Kazutoshi. It's me. Doctor Fukumoto." He said as he knocks on the door.

 

Kazutoshi stops crying and looks at him. The doctor walks over to him. "Can you tell me what makes you feel sad?" He said gently.

 

"I want my Mama and Papa. I feel scared. Kazutoshi whimpers.

 

The doctor squeezes the small boy's hand. "I have good news. Your Mama and Papa are coming to visit you today and they have a suprise for you."

 

Kazutoshi looks at him with suprised. "They are coming?" He said with innocence in his eyes.

 

Doctor Fukumoto nods and smiles at him. Suddenly, the door opens and Kazutoshi's parents are here. His mother wore a light purple sweater with blue jeans and shoes. She has the same eyes and hair color as her son. Next to her, his father has blue eyes and black hair, wears a white dress shirt, black pants, and shoes. Both of them had presents for him.

 

Kazutoshi's face went from sadness to happiness.

 

"Mama! Papa! You came back!" He cheers as he reaches out his small arms to hug them.

 

"We missed you so much." His father said as he hugs him.

 

"Here. Let me wipe your tears away and give you a hug." His mother said as she took a tissue from her pocket and wiped his tears away. She gives him a warm hug.

 

After their embrace, the little black haired boy looks at them with sadness.

 

"I want to go home so I can be with you again. This place scares me." Kazutoshi said.

 

"I know that you want to go home, but you need to stay at the hospital so that they can take care of your health." His father said.

 

"Your Papa and I did bring you gifts." She said as she took out the two presents.

 

Kazutoshi opens both presents and smiles, brightly. It was a teddy bear and a few storybooks.

 

"Thank you! You are the best Mama and Papa in the whole wide world!" Kazutoshi said.

 

"We love you, son." His father said with tears in his eyes.

 

"And never forget, sweetie. We will always visit you every single day. When your health gets better, we will return to our sweet little home." She said.

 

"I love you too, Mama and Papa." Kazutoshi said with a smile.

 

𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘯

 

𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦

 

home

 

~~~~~~

 

Kazutoshi gasped as he woke up from a cold sweat. He looks around his surrounds. He is just in his small bedroom. He sighs as he rubs his forehead. He remembered that he was tired from picking and carving the pumpkins today and had to head to bed. All of sudden, he had a dream of his childhood with his parents.

 

"Meow?" Taro, his skeletal cat, looks at him with worry. He was on his bed.

 

"I'm okay, Taro. I just had a dream." He gave him a sad smile and pets him.

 

While he was petting him, there was something that was bothering him. His dream felt real due to his memory of his childhood, and those words kept talking about home.

 

'𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦?' Kazutoshi thought.

Chapter Text

Tonight is the halloween festival. Ken is very excited about this. After he got out of the shower, he wraps his towel around his waist and looks at his costume on his bed.

 

His costume consists of a black hooded robe, a scythe, black pants and a black shoes. Kazutoshi was the one who suggested an idea for him on what he should wear for Halloween. Which is a grim reaper. He took off his towel and puts on his black briefs. Then, he starts to put on his grim reaper costume.

 

After he puts on his grim reaper outfit, he looks at the small vial. It was a white color potion. He remembered yesterday that Kazutoshi created a potion for him so he can have the skeletonal effect to complete his outfit. He picks up the vial and opens the top. He drinks the potion. Suddenly, he feel the effect changing him.

 

Ken's face transforms into having a skeleton face. Finally, his hands and arms are turned into having boney structures. The tall brunette quickly looks at the mirror to see his new appearance.

 

"AH!" Ken screams as he sees his skeletal face and how he has no eyeballs.

 

"Oh my god...his potion works." Ken whispers.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

As Ken leaves his apartment, he sees how amazing the decorations are in the Town hall. The full moon shines in the night sky. The jack-o-lanterns are shining due to the candles. The undead children are in their cute little costumes with their bucket of candies. There are even music being played outside of town hall. Ken even saw the children playing musical tombstones and ghost hunting. He sees Wada who is dressed as a cute little black spider going trick or treating.

 

He then sees Okazaki and Watari on stage, performing a horror story. Ken remembered what the stage performance is about. The play is called the harvest of whispers. It is about how the farmers were having a crop failure and the the townsfolk perform an ancient ritual to appease a vengeful witch they believe is cursing their land.

 

On stage, Okazaki is not wearing a mask. This time, his short brown hair is combed neatly and is wearing a red fannel shirt, blue overalls, and boots. Then, Ken sees a magic fire appearance of Watari dressed as the harvest witch. She wears a patched brown, orange, and red witch dress and a hat. Her wears her long dark brown hair down and she even painted her face and arm to have a grayish color. The crowd cheers at their performance.

 

Ken looks around to see if Kazutoshi is here, but he is nowhere to be seen. 'I wonder where he is?' Ken thought.

 

Suddenly, he sees Princess Tamba on the podium on stage. She dressed as an evil princess. She wears a puffy dark black and pink dress with heels. Her long blond hair is pulled into a bun and wears a dark tiara. She has a microphone on her hand.

 

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and Okazaki! It is time for the costume contest! We have five contestants. The judges will decide on which costume is the best and will win a trophy! Let the conest begins!" Princess Tamba said.

 

Princess Tamba gets off the stage so the other contestants can show off their costumes. Ken shouts out her name.

 

"Princess Tamba!"

 

She turns her head and her eyes widen. "K-Ken! Is that you!?"

 

Ken chuckles nervously. "The one and only."

 

"Wow! Your face is so different, and your arms too! Did you have bone surgery or something?" Tamba asks.

 

"No. Kazutoshi just gives me this potion to drink so I can look more like the grim reaper."

 

"Of course, it's Kazutoshi. He loves to spend in his lab doing crazy things like a mad scientist!" The blonde said dramatically as she put her hands up in the air.

 

"Ooo~ Ken! You look so spooky as a grim reaper." Watari said. She is no longer wearing her harvest witch costume. Instead, she wears a pale pink and cream spangled silk masquerade gown with a bustle and flowers. She even wears small heels and her dark curly hair has star-shaped hairpins.

 

"You looked exactly like a grim reaper." Okazaki said. He no longer wears his farmer outfit. Instead, he wears a black cape and a black silk tailsuit, a white Victorian shirt, a maroon vest, and a cravat. He wears black shoes, a half white mask, covering half of his face, and his short brown hair is slicked back.

 

"Thanks! By the way, I love both your costumes. My guess is that you two are Christine and The Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera." Ken exclaims.

 

"OMG! You are right! My Hana-chan was the one who came up with this costume idea." Watari squeals as she squeezes his cheek.

 

"Hahaha! She calls you Hana-chan!" Tamba giggles as Ken tries to hold back from laughing.

 

"W-Watari! Y-You know my nickname is embarrassing." Okazaki stutters as his cheeks are red.

 

"Oh hush! Your nickname is sooooo cute." Watari said.

 

Okazaki sighs as Ken softly laughs. Suddenly, one of the judges came to Tamba.

 

"Excuse me, Princess Tamba. It seems that we are missing our fifth amd final contestant. His name is Kazutoshi Kamimura." The judge said.

 

"Say what!? Kamimura should have arrived on time! I can't believe he stood up for the contest!" Tamba complains.

 

"Say, where is Toshi? I haven't seen him at all." Watari said.

 

"I-I tried looking for him but I couldn't find him." Ken explains.

 

"Maybe he didn't want to be in the contest." Okazaki said.

 

"There's no way he drops out of the competition! Yesterday, he told me that he wants to be in the contest. Why would he suddenly want to-"

 

Tamba's words were interrupted when a small group of undead farmers were running into the town hall, panicking.

 

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! THE LEGEND IS REAL!" The farmer screams.

 

"HE WILL DESTROYED US ALL!" The other farmer yells in fear.

 

"Please, don't tell me it's Jack the ripper." Tamba shakes in fear.

 

"I don't think it's Jack- HOLY SHIT!" Ken yells as he points to the mysterious figure heading to the town hall.

 

There, the mysterious person has no head is riding on his black horse. He wears a blue military-style coat, tattered, Black and grey armor pieces, Black, calf-length boots, and Black, calf-length boots. His black horse has a shadow-like aura around them.

 

Ken sees Okazaki holding Watari in a protective stance. The horse is coming closer.

 

Finally, the mysterious person is holding something in his hand. In his hand, he is holding a dark shadow-like head. His head has red glowing eyes and his black hair is being held by his two long sidelocks.

 

"The skies grow dark. The flames burn bright! None shall escape the horseman's sight!" The horseman laughs, evilly as he threw his headless head at Princess Tamba.

 

"AHHH!" Princess Tamba yells as she is being chased by a floating head.

 

"OH MY GOD! HIS HEAD IS FUCKING FLOATING!" Watari screams as she hugs Okazaki for protection.

 

"Watari! You're crushing me!" Okazaki said.

 

While Princess Tamba is being chased by the head, Ken suddenly realized something.

 

"Tamba! Wait! That's Kazutoshi!" Ken yells.

 

"Huh-Ahhh!" Princess Tamba yells as she accidentally fell down on the barrel of apples with water. The townspeople stopped panicking. Instead, they were in awe.

 

"KAZUTOSHI!?" Both Watari and Okazaki said in unison.

 

Ken can see the floating head laughing at Princess Tamba.

 

"I got you real good!" Kazutoshi laughs. Then, his black horse arrives next to him. Kazutoshi's body grabs his head and put it back in place.

 

When Kazutoshi's head is in place, Ken is thankful that he doesn't have a blush on his cheek. His outfit looks so terrifying...but cute.

 

Kazutoshi looks at Ken with a smile. "Your grim repear costumes looks sick!"

 

"S-Sick!? A-am I not feeling well!?" Ken worries.

 

Kazutoshi rolls his eyes and chuckles. "No, you dork! I was talking about how cool your costume looks."

 

"O-Oh. Thanks." Ken whispers.

 

Princess Tamba got out of the barrel, with her costume and her hair being wet. She looks at him, with angry.

 

"KAZUTOSHI! What the hell!? You scared me! I thought You were Jack the Ripper!" Tamba yells.

 

Kazutoshi raise his eyebrows at her. "Do I fucking look like Jack the Ripper to you?" He said.

 

Before Tamba was about to attack him, Ken intervenes.

 

"A-Actually, Kazutoshi isn't Jack the Ripper. He's dressed up as the Headless horseman from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Ken explains.

 

"What is the Headless Horseman?" Tamba asks.

 

"The horseman is the ghost of a Hessian soldier from the Revolutionary War, who lost his head to a cannonball. He is said to ride out of the churchyard at night to find his head and may hurl his pumpkin "head" at travelers. However, Kazutoshi did hurl his own head at you." Ken said.

 

"That's right!" Kazutoshi said. Then, he smirks at Tamba. "I created the best Halloween costume ever!" He said.

 

"The judges will be the ones to decide who the winner is. So, don't be too cocky, mister!" Tamba said.

 

"Let's not start a drama. Instead, we should continue to have fun." Watari chimes.

 

"Alright. I'll join you guys in a bit as soon as I go to the store to get my dress dried." Tamba mutters and walks away.

 

While Tamba goes to the store, Ken, Kazutoshi, Okazaki,Watari, and even Wada did fun activities such as bobbing apples, did a little trick or treating, played musical tombstones, and went to the haunted house.

 

After they got out of the haunted house, Princess Tamba is on the podium again.

 

"Okay. It is time to announce the winner. Contestants, please go on stage."

 

Then, she frowns at Kazutoshi. "Even you, Toshi!"

 

"Yeah! Yeah! I am coming! Geez!" Kazutoshi yells as he walks over and heads on stage.

 

He is standing on stage with the other four contestants. The contestants are dressed as a werewolf, a mummy, a frankstein, and a scarecrow.

 

"Alright. I got an envelope in my hand. It is time to announce the winner. The winner of having the best costume is...." Princess Tamab opens the envelope and reads the letter.

 

"Kazutoshi Kamimura!?" Tamba said in shock.

 

"FUCK YES!" Ken screams in joy as he pumps his fist in the air.

 

"Hasegawa!" Kazutoshi said in shock.

 

Ken looks around his surroundings. He forgot that there are children who are in the crowd with their parents. He sees that the parents already covers their kids ears.

 

"S-Sorry! Good job! You did a good job!" Ken said as he puts both thumbs up.

 

Kazutoshi shakes his head but he smiles at him. The townspeople starts to clap and cheer for him.

 

The judges gave him a trophy, titled: Best Halloween Costume. The other contestants who received ribbons for their efforts on making the costumes, congratulated him.

 

"Congratulations on winning the costume contest." Tamba said as she is trying her best to be cheerful though deep down she is low-key salty.

 

"Thanks." Kazutoshi said. Before he leaves, Tamba stops him.

 

"Now, you have to say something." Tamba said as he gives him the microphone. He decided that he will say something rather than protest against her.

 

He takes the mic and clears his throat. "Thank you for letting me compete in the costume contest. I had a alot of fun making this costume."

 

Everyone, including Ken and Wada cheer.

 

Ken can see Kazutoshi having a soft smile.

 

"Also, let's give a warm of applause for everyone who helped made this Halloween festival fun. That includes Tamba, Wada, Okazaki, Watari, and Ken. Come here, you guys." Kazutoshi said.

 

The gang got up on stage and the whole townspeople cheered. Ken smiles. Despite being a new resident...he felt welcomed and loved.

 

"Aww! You are such a sweetie." Tamba said as she hugs him.

 

"Let me fucking me go! You know I feel weird about hugs!" Kazutoshi mutters darkly.

 

"Good old, Kazutoshi. Being foul-mouth as ever." Watari laughs.

 

Everyone laughs. After the contest is over, Tamba announced that her butlers prepared a Halloween party at her castle. The townspeople cheered and starts to follow her. Ken couldn't decide on what he wants to do next. Suddenly, he hears Kazutoshi's voice.

 

"Say Ken. I know a cool place where we can hang out and eat. It's called Spook's bar and kitchen. Do you wanna come?" Kazutoshi asks.

 

"Sure. I love to see the restaurant." Ken said with a smile.

 

Kazutoshi and Ken got on the the black horse. The bluette is the one riding it.

 

"Trust me. You are going to love this place."

 

**********

 

Ken and Kazutoshi arrived at the restaurant and gets off of the horse.

 

With its red bricks softened by moss and time, the building appeared to have been a part of the town for ages. The sign over the door, "Spook's Bar & Kitchen," was hand-painted and a little tilted, and the windows were framed by wooden beams. Warmth and the scent of woodsmoke and roasted garlic filled the air as Ken and Kazutoshi entered. Every step made the floorboards creak, as if they were muttering their agreement.

 

Ken is amazed by this place. Inside, there are chandeliers on the ceiling, a big fireplace, tables, a bar with non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, chairs, and booths. There are even a few people who are already eating their food and chatting.

 

The two young men picked to sit at the table with the booth. Then, an undead waiter came to give them their menus.

 

While they are looking through the menu, a chubby ghost chef came by their table. He wears a white chef uniform with black pants and shoes. He has a black mustache and a white chef hat.

 

"Kazutoshi! It's nice to see you again." Chef Antonio Spooks said.

 

Kazutoshi looks at the chef with a smile on his face.

 

"Yo Spooks! Long time no see!" He grins.

 

"I see you brought a buddy with you." The ghost chef said.

 

"Oh! This is Ken Hasegawa. He is a new resident." He exclaims.

 

Ken smiles shyly and waves. "H-Hello."

 

"It's good to meet you, Ken. You will love this place. My Talented Chefs and I cook the best food with our best quality ingredients. Also, it is your lucky day because on Halloween, it is an all you can eat and it is free." He said.

 

"That's fucking awesome!" Kazutoshi beams.

 

"I will let you two continue to look through the menu. Enjoy!" He laughs as he went back to the kitchen.

 

Then, the waiter comes back and ask them about their orders for appeziters and drinks.

 

"I will have the black widow cocktail and the witches finger garlic breads." Kazutoshi said.

 

"And I will have the mangonado and the witches finger garlic breads." Ken said.

 

The waiter takes their orders and left. A few minutes later, the waiters gave them their drinks and appeziters to share.

 

"Cheers!" Kazutoshi said as they both clink their glass together.

 

Ken drinks his mangonado. His drink taste like mango juice, chamoy, and chile-lime seasoning.

 

"Wow. This drink is amazing." Ken said in amazement.

 

"I know right! They also make the best drinks too." He takes a sip of his cocktail. His drinks has blackberry juice, vodka, and lemon juice.

 

The duo began to eat the witches finger garlic breads. It looks like a witch finger due to the green color with black nails but it taste like garlic.

 

"Wow. It taste goods. The vampires are really missing out on the garlic breads." Ken laughs as he takes a bite.

 

"Yeah." Kazutoshi giggles.

 

After they ate their appetizers, the waiter came and the duo both ordered the halloween brain Mexico dip with chips. After a few minutes later, the waiter gave them their food.

 

"Oh yeah! This is my favorite!" Kazutoshi said as he grabs a chip.

 

Just as Ken is about to eat...his eyes widen in horror. On the plate, it was an actually human brain that has been turned into a dip.

 

"STOP!" Ken yells.

 

Kazutoshi's body shook in suprise and he drops his chip.

 

"What the fuck, Ken?! You scared me." Kazutoshi exclaims.

 

"S-Sorry! You can't eat that." Ken said.

 

"And why the fuck not?" Kazutoshi said as he crosses his arms and raised his eyebrows.

 

"Because that is a real human brain!"

 

Kazutoshi sighs in annoyance. "You do realize that you and me are both zombies, right?"

 

"I am aware that we are both zombies but eating a brain is very unhygienic and can make you feel sick! Think about the possible illnesses that you could have! You might have a stomach flu, diarrhea, or even wor-"

 

Kazutoshi quickly grabs a chip, swipes it on the dip, and eats it.

 

"Kazutoshi! No!" Ken shrieks.

 

He gives him a "who's in the right now" look.

 

"Relax, doctor Hasegawa. It has Mexican season and spices, and tastes like a regular dip but with a human brain." The black haired man said, sarcastically.

 

"A-Are you sure you feel okay?" Ken said softly.

 

"Yes, I'm fine. Now, come on, big guy. Enjoy the food or else I'm gonna eat it all." He jokes.

 

Ken will admit that he has never eaten a human brain before but he trusts him. He grabs the chip and slowly dips it. Then, he eats it. His eyes widened.

 

"Oh gosh! It actually tatse good!" Ken said as he quickly grabs another chip.

 

"I told ya." Kazutoshi smirks as he grabs another chip.

 

"The more I eat it, it reminds me of something I learned. Around 60% of the brain is made of fat, making it the fattest organ in the body." Ken rambles as he keeps eating.

 

"Interesting. That's explain why it taste so good." Kazutoshi said. Which earns a chuckle from Ken.

 

After they finished eating, the waiter came to order their dinner.

 

Kazutoshi orders the eyeball pasta with green noodles while Ken orders the Midnight Garden Salad, a witches brew lemonade, and the loaded mashed potato spider web casserole for them to share.

 

While they wait for their food, Kazutoshi twirls his long black sidelock.

 

"When you took the potion I created for you, did you freak out?" He asks.

 

"Yeah. At first, I got spooked when I looked myself on the mirror but...I grew to love it. You made me feel...like I can be happy and fun." Ken smiles at him.

 

"I'm glad I made you happy. I know Tamba can get on my ass whenever I created potions and chemistry in my lab." Kazutoshi said as he rolls his eyes.

 

"I think chemistry is fun." Ken said.

 

"Really?" Kazutoshi said with a suprised.

 

Ken nods his head. "When I was in High school, my chemistry teacher did an experiment called the elephant toothpaste."

 

Kazutoshi's face lit up with joy.

 

"Holy shit! I remembered that experiment! It's when a hot foamy substance caused by the quick decomposition of hydrogen peroxide using potassium iodide or yeast and warm water as a catalyst. Then, it is how rapidly the reaction proceeds majorly depends on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide." He said, enthusiastically.

 

"Aw! Look at you being a nerd like me." Ken chuckles.

 

"You have no idea how much I love chemistry." Kazutoshi said.

 

Then, the duo continued to their conversation throughout the night.

 

*******

 

"Thank you for coming to my restaurant, you two." Chef Spooks waves at them.

 

"You're welcome. Your food is amazing as always." Kazutoshi said with a thumbs up.

 

"Even the brain Mexican dip is delicious!" Ken said as Kazutoshi laughs.

 

"Happy Halloween!" The chef said and went inside.

 

It was time for them to head home. Kazutoshi and Ken got on their horse and ride through the townhall.

 

Ken had a great time with Kazutoshi. When he used to be at the living world, he would hang out less with his friends and would focus on his studies. Now...he was able to get the experience of having a great time.

 

They arrive at Ken's apartment. Ken gets off his horse.

 

"Thank you, Kazutoshi. I really had a great time with you. We should definitely hang out at the restaurant." Ken said.

 

"Me too. This was the best Halloween ever! You really made me happy." Kazutoshi smiles.

 

"Happy Halloween." Ken said.

 

"Happy Halloween to you too!"

 

His black horse neighs as he rides back to his house. As Kazutoshi went further away, Ken sighs happily.

 

This was indeed the best Halloween ever. Especially when you are hanging out with the most beautiful man in the land of the dead.