Post
by TheDwarfLard » Sat Oct 31, 2015 11:55 am
Haneko
This fanfic was based on a writing prompt (which is why Halloween is something new to them) and is a few months old. In any case, it seemed like an appropriate story for today.
_____
"As you know, Japan doesn't usually celebrate Western traditions," Misha started as she carefully tried to capture some of the gravitas Shizune had painstakingly signed to her. "But this year, the student council is proud to announce that Yamaku will be celebrating Halloween. We will be distributing pamphlets describing this strange Western tradition to your class representatives later today."
Well, that was… unexpected. Can't say I really know what to expect, though, having only heard about this 'Halloween' from brief tales that could easily be made up. The only thing that sticks out in my mind is costumes, ones that can be just about anything, I think. Hanako has spent more time on a computer than I have, so maybe she knows something.
"Hey, Hana, do you know anything about this?"
She thinks for a second before shaking her head. "Not really… just that people wear c-costumes and give out candy." What a strange holiday indeed.
When I look back at her, I can see a grin creeping up on her face. I imagine ideas are already racing through her mind, but I'm completely lost. Hopefully something will come to me.
Just as expected, Shizune and Misha handed out pamphlets describing this upcoming special day. At least half of it is historical, but I can't say I'm that interested. Aha!
'The most common way to celebrate Halloween in the West is to dress up in costumes and going from door to door for candy by saying "Trick or treat!" Creativity and ingenuity is always welcomed.'
Unfortunately, I'm just as lost as before. Nothing comes to mind, at least nothing creative or fun. If he decides to participate, I can imagine Kenji dressing up as a military officer, presumably to scare off the feminists.
On that note, maybe I could put together or buy a samurai costume or perhaps a Western knight. Well, if we're going for creativity and unusualness, the knight is probably better. I hope the various shops in the city have something I can use. Makes me wonder what Hanako has planned, but she's remained secretive so far and I can't imagine her dropping that.
_____
After class, Hanako and I make plans to go shopping in the city for costumes and supplies for Halloween with the promise that we won't reveal our costumes to each other before that day.
Unsurprisingly, there aren't many shops here, but a few are distinct enough to at least give us a chance at finding something. The owner greets us a with a contemplative expression.
"What brings you two here," he asks, his voice sounding what can only be described as calm and businesslike.
"Oh, uh… our school is having a Halloween party and we didn't really know where to start," I manage to stumble my words out.
He claps his hands together and grins. "Ah, that I can help with. An assistant can come by to help your friend." With that, he pulls me to the side as Hanako talks to the assistant.
"So, tell me, what are you after exactly? Costumes, candy, or something else?" Straight to the point, I see.
"Just costumes."
He seems to know his stuff pretty well or at least better than I do. However, before going any further, he asks for my height to help limit the search. After giving him that, he brings me to an area in the middle of an aisle packed with costumes.
"Was there something specific you had in mind?"
"Something Western, I guess." Not wanting to commit to anything yet, I use a generic response.
The owner scratches his head for a bit before continuing. "Alright…" He begins to rummage through the racks.
"We have… a cowboy costume and this flashy wizard costume complete with a beard. Oh! How about a Native American costume?" I think for a minute and then ask him to continue.
"We also have… a knight costume here. Ah, I see that caught your attention." Guess my reaction was more obvious than I thought.
"That what was I originally had in mind, but is there anything else available?"
"There is, actually. We have a rather fetching musketeer costume here. They used to be among the standard infantry units in warfare hundreds of years ago, but technology has obviously improved since then."
Very colorful pants and chestpiece, feathered cap, and rather simple leather shoes. Large amount of accessories across the chest. It's certainly a lot creative than what I had in mind. Price could be problem, though.
"How much for it?"
The owner looks the costume over for a few seconds, wobbling his head from side to side while doing so. "How about... ¥4000 for the weekend?"
"Deal," I say excitedly. It's hard to believe he's letting it go for so little. Maybe this store doesn't get a lot of business? Actually, it almost reminds me of the antique store in a way.
He takes the musketeer costume off of the rack and brings it to the counter, where I can see Hanako waiting outside with a bag. We complete the transaction, I thank him, and head out the door to meet Hanako
I quickly look in my bag and noticed he slipped in a bag of candy for free as well. Wouldn't surprise me if Hanako received one as well. I speak up to break the silence, but not because it's awkward.
"Find everything you wanted?" She nods her head. "Alright, let's head back."
_____
The next few weeks are relatively hectic as everyone attempts to set up a party that they know very little about. And just as we promised, Hanako and I don't tell each other about our costumes. Halloween, however, manages to sneak up on us.
The party is set to start at 6PM, but it doesn't hurt to get ready early. An hour might be too much, but who knows if I need to make any adjustments to this? As soon as I start to get ready, a call causes my phone to ring. The number is a dead give-away that it's Hanako.
"H-Hisao? Could you come to my room? There's s-something I wanted to show you…"
"Sure thing. See you soon." And with that, I hang up, put my costume in a bag, and carry it over to the girls' dormitory.
I give a distinct knock on Hanako's door to let her know it's me.
"C-C-Come in…," she stammers out.
As I open the door, I see… well, nothing out of the ordinary. Hanako's room is the same as it's been the past few months since she decided to decorate. Even in the middle of her room, there's still no sign of Hanako. Suddenly, the door closes behind me and a pair of arms pull me into a hug from behind. I look down and notice a pair of fluffy cuffs around her wrists.
"N-Nyah~," Hanako does her best impression of a cat and gently purrs.
When she lets go, I turn around only to be met with Hanako wearing a neko costume. I can't help but appreciate the sight. A very liberal black dress, complete with the same fluff that her cuffs are made from, a choker with a bell, and black cat ears. Additionally, she's wearing a massive blush across her face. It's times like these that make me glad I picked up a bit of exercise, even if it's only to keep myself going whenever Hanako has a surprise.
Hanako then looks at me expectantly, purring the entire time. Doing the first thing that comes to mind, I pat her head while smiling like an idiot.
I speak up with absolute certainty, "You look great, Hanako."
She frowns and shakes her head. "Nyah~, I'm Haneko, H-Hisao." I thought my grin couldn't get any wider, but I was wrong.
Once again, she throws her arms around me, nuzzling her head up against my chest and scar. Her purring grows louder. "Haneko loves you, Hisao," she attempts to seductively yet lovingly say, and does a pretty good job.
I hold her close to me, just listening to her purring and running my hand through her amethyst hair. "Do you want to see me in my costume?"
"S-Sorry, I almost forgot…," her voice returning to normal.
I quickly assure her it's that it's okay. "I'll only be a minute, but… I need somewhere to change."
She quickly jumps onto her bed, covering her eyes with her hands. I smile to myself, thinking about how adorable she looks. Within a few minutes, I manage to get everything on and make sure it looks as good as it's going to.
"Okay, I'm all set," I say, satisfied with how I look.
She pulls back her hands and her smile says everything. "It's a purrfect f-fit for you." Hanako starts having a giggling fit. She's really committed to her costume, huh?
I join her on the bed continue to pet her head. Once again, she buries herself in my chest, nuzzling her head against it.
Despite wanting to stay like this forever, I know the party's about to start. "Should we head to the party now?"
"Oh, I guess, but… my s-scars…," she stammers out her concern, one that I hadn't thought of.
An idea suddenly comes to mind and I let her know, "What if you wear your stockings too?" Her expression grows much brighter and she nods with excitement. They're not a perfect match, but work well enough.
"Ready," I ask with anticipation for the events of the night.
Hanako, or should I say Haneko, lets out another cute 'Nyah~' to voice her approval.
Tonight's going to be an interesting and fun night…
____________________________________________________________
Hand-in-hand, we make our way outside and into the courtyard in between the dormitories. We're met with a mess of students, some very well disguised by their costumes, some… not so much.
I'm unable to see any of our friends, but Hanako tugs on my sleeve after a quick scan of the area.
"I s-see Naomi and Natsume. Let's go talk to them," she says with her regular voice.
As we swim through the sea of other students, Hanako's grasp on my hand slowly turns into one around my arm. She's been doing better around crowds, but with her costume, some of that must have been temporarily lost.
Her two friends from the newspaper club give us a wave as we get closer. "Hey, Hanako. Oh, and Hisao too," Natsume nearly shouts to make sure she's heard.
Natsume's dressed as a witch and is constantly fumbling with her oversized hat. On the other hand, Naomi is dressed as what I assume is a journalist, complete with a camera, pad of paper and pen, and so on. It certainly gets the job done, in any case.
Almost as if on queue, Naomi starts writing something down, looking up at us and then back down at her current sheet of paper as she does so. "Hm… some kind of colorful costume for Hisao. Can't say I really know what it is, though." I quickly tell her that it's a musketeer outfit. Naomi scribbles out what she wrote and corrects it. She continues in the same journalist-sounding voice, "And a neko costume for Hanako. Very cute." Hanako puts on a bashful smile in response.
Naomi puts her pen and paper away and looks back up at us. "So, what made you two decide on these costumes."
Hanako lets me go first and I do my best to recollect what happened. "It just… stuck out to me, I suppose. My ideas before that were split between a samurai and knight. A musketeer seemed a lot more out there... in a good way, of course."
Naomi nods her head. "And you, Hanako?"
"I'm Haneko… n-nyah~," she firmly states, finding the resolve to continue her impression before dropping it momentarily. "I wanted to try s-something new for myself. I made a pr-promise to Hisao that I'd always to my best to keep making progress. And…, " she stops suddenly and shakes her head, but whispers that she'd tell me later.
The aspiring journalist looks up briefly and says, "Okay."
I'm sure Hanako knows the reason, but I'd like to know why Naomi asked. "Anyway, why were you so interested in our costumes?"
She claps her hands together loudly enough to cause Hanako to jump slightly. "You know that this whole Halloween thing is something new for us, so what better topic for the week's newspaper? Complete with a listing of all the costumes worn, of course." Hanako nods her head to confirm.
Natsume continued to fiddle with her witch hat the entire time, with all of her attention focused on it. Eventually, she just keeps it out of her face with one of her hands, but is less than content with the outcome.
Naomi chuckles at her friend's situation. "I still don't know why you decided on this costume. You have enough trouble with your vision as is."
Natsume shakes her head and sighs, "I know, I know… But it just felt right at the time. Sometimes you just need to experience a bit of discomfort for what your gut says. Yet, I'm not sure this is one of those times."
Her journalistic partner smiles. "Well, it looks good on you in any case." The only response is a simple 'Thanks.'
After our brief encounter begins to come a close, the two girls begin to create some distance. At first, I'm confused and maybe even a bit offended, but understand why as I hear Kenji's voice behind me.
"Hey, man. What's up?"
I turn to face him, only to be met with an unsurprising sight. He's dressed as some sort of military officer, presumably a high-ranking one. I must admit that it fits his appearance well enough.
In this distance, I see Naomi taking notes on his costume before the two girls wander off, presumably to do the same thing with others they encounter.
He pushes up his glasses before speaking up, "I see the two of you are getting into the day. Hisao's ready for battle and Hanako's ready for… infiltration, I think. Yeah, that's it."
It's kind of strange what's happened between Hanako and Kenji. I don't think he's ever really distrusted her more than any other girl, but now they've become friends… of sorts. Well, they get along decently, if that means anything.
Hanako and I share the same reaction, and I feel comfortable voicing it. "Er, yeah, sure…"
"You two stocked up on supplies, right?" Straight to the point, I see.
"S-Supplies?" I share her confusion.
Kenji lets out a sigh. "I thought you were prepared for this… I'm talking about candy, it's like 85% of what today is about. It really keeps you going out in the field. And you can be sure that percentage is correct, I consulted my graphs."
A slightly strange smile creeps up on his face. "I have plenty if you need some. Otherwise, there's a bunch of tables over there somewhere with candy. I'm feeling particularly lenient today, so the only task is to stock up."
"Sure thing, Kenji," I say, thankful that he has little planned for the night, at least that we know of.
"It's General Kenji to you, soldier," he proudly states and he walks away. I'm a bit thankful that we don't need to deal with much of his nonsense today.
Hanako and I head for the table, taking a handful or two of various candies for each of us. Without an obvious place to store it, we decide to put it in the various pouches and pockets of my costume. Afterwards, we hang out with our friends for a while longer and see some… interesting costumes before deciding to call it a day, heading back to Hanako's room to spend the night together.
Upon reaching her door, Hanako lets us in and she settles down on her bed. I empty out my pockets before deciding to take off my costume. After I turn around to face my Hanako and settle down with her, I notice she's still in her costume.
"Not going to change?" She shakes her head. I can certainly appreciate the experience in any case.
For a few minutes, we're content to sit side-by-side, holding hands while doing so. During that time, I can't help but notice a blush slowly taking over her face.
"Something on your mind?"
Another shake of her head. "N-No, I'm just happy we can be here like this…" I can't help but smile.
Though, something's on my mind… I swiftly grab Hanako's hair clip from the nightstand without her noticing. I face her, brushing her bangs away from the her beautiful face. She instinctively flinches slightly, but quickly recomposes herself, curious what I'm doing. With minimal difficulty, I pin her bangs to the side. After doing so, my hand lingers on her scarred cheek. It's a familiar and comforting feeling. Hanako places her hands over my own, leaning into my touch.
I try to pull my hand back after some time passes, but her grasp is much stronger than expected. Her cute, shy smile is enough to keep myself from trying to move again.
Eventually, she pulls her hands back, but starts rubbing her arm, a clear indication that something's on her mind. I position myself more comfortably on her bed as my mind begins to wander. Next thing I know, Hanako begins to straddle me. It's somewhat unusual for her, but no complaints from me.
"Hanako?"
"N-Nyah~." Her point is clear.
"Sorry, Haneko. What brings--" She interrupts me with a quick kiss. It's a good thing I'm always prepared for whenever this may happen.
A bashful expression appears on her face. "You always do s-so much to show how much you love me, but… I don't think it's f-fair."
"Fair?" Her words leave more a bit more than confused.
"I can't keep up with what you do, so… let me sh-show you how much I love you."
I shake my head. "I know you love me, I could never think otherwise." Another kiss, this time much longer and more passionate.
After we break off, it seems like she has one more thing she wants to say. "J-Just relax." Hanako presses her body up against me and nuzzles her head against my chest. She never fails to surprise and impress me, and certainly never fails to express her love.
Last edited by
TheDwarfLard on Sun Nov 01, 2015 12:13 am, edited 3 times in total.
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