Halloween – a day that strikes fear into the hearts of many, mild annoyance in others, and to goths around the world, is celebrated as a holy anniversary of all things dark and spooky. For Reiko Yanagi, no other day could muster as much excitement in her, and she was lucky enough to be spending it with her boyfriend and fellow enthusiast, Hitoshi Shinso. With the holiday lining up with their day off from classes, the pair had a slow and relaxing start to their day with a walk around the chilly campus.
“How’s our schedule looking?” Shinso asked. “We’ve got all the materials, right?”
“Everything’s set up,” Reiko confirmed with a sly grin. “There’s 19 other people in our class and we’re gonna prank every single one of them.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Shinso nodded. “You made sure none of these are, well, going too far?”
“I’ve been pulling pranks like this all my life. Based on what I know about my classmates, I’ve made sure our pranks have maximum scare with minimal mental scarring.”
“Damn. Perfectly-balanced pranks. Can it be done?”
“Oh, ye of little faith,” Reiko said while patting Shinso’s shoulder. “Why don’t you watch the master at work and then ask if it can be done?”
“’The master,’ eh? Don’t forget we collaborated on these.”
“I know, I know. You’ll get your credit, lovely assistant Hitoshi.”
“Is that my title? ‘Lovely assistant?”
“Yup. Ready for Prank #1?”
“You know it. Who’s the mark?”
“Oh no! No way!” Outside of the 1-B dorm building, Reiko and Shinso waited near the entrance and kept their eyes on Kendo, who had returned from the gym just then. “I know you two are up to something!”
“What are you talking about?” Reiko asked coyly. “Kendo, you’re acting crazy.”
“Our first target is her? You do things dangerously,” Shinso whispered to Reiko.
“I’ve known you’d be pulling these stupid pranks today, Reiko. I’m not taking another step closer until you move.”
“But if you don’t move,” Reiko began, smirking sinisterly, “then that big spider behind you may crawl up your leg.” The normal unflappable Kendo flinched just hearing the word “spider.” Though she was keeping her eyes steadily on Reiko and Shinso, it was obvious to the pair that she couldn’t resist checking behind her for long.
“I know you’re full of crap and I know there’s no spider behind me… but I’m checking anyway and you better not be a spider in my face when I turn back around.” Kendo whipped around and stared down at the grass behind her, brushing off her legs for good measure. Reiko didn’t move, but did flick her wrist. Shinso looked up and saw she had used her Quirk to throw down a giant spider push from the window above.
“Kendo, above you,” Reiko warned half-heartedly.
“ACK!” Kendo swiped at the air above her and swatted the toy away, heaving an annoyed sigh once she calmed down. “Haha, very funny, you two. Are you done?”
“Yeah, that was it… by the way, there’s an actual spider on your shoulder. Not joking.”
“Say what?” Once Kendo looked, she saw the fuzzy black creature scuttling around on her shoulder and promptly went as pale as a ghost. Shinso assumed she’d scream, but instead, she toppled backwards and fainted outright.
“Holy shit,” he gasped while Reiko used her Quirk to catch her. “Rei, did you—”
“No, it must’ve crawled onto the toy while we were waiting. Fun bonus, though.”
“Is she OK?” Shinso asked as they carried her inside.
“Yeah, she’ll wake up soon enough,” Reiko assured him before leaning in close. “Anyway, let’s hit our next two targets – Kamakiri and Tetsutetsu.”
“…OK, they might actually kill us.”
“Yeah, their fight-or-flight response is firmly in the ‘fight’ category, so I just laid a little trap for when they go get their lunchtime protein shakes out of the fridge.”
“When does that happen?”
“Any moment now, but any wait would be worth the reaction,” Reiko stated with another impish grin. Almost on cue, Shinso heard a violent spitting sound come from the kitchen.
“WHO THE FUCK FILLED MY SHAKE BOTTLE WITH RANCH DRESSING?!” Kamakiri yelled.
“MINE’S JUST SAND!” Tetsutetsu screamed. “THAT’S NOT EVEN A FOOD!”
“…OK, yeah, that was pretty good.”
