"Neechan, are you done yet?!" 

"Almost done, Keisuke!" Natsume yelled down to her brother before she added the final touches to her costume. Her Shuka costume had been hard to put together, but it had been worth it in the end. Touma was going to go as Gentou, while Akinori went as Hakushu and Ayame went as Jorogumo. Bad memories aside, it was original, and that was what they were going for this Halloween; special Youkai in their lives. 

Once she made sure the hairpieces on her head were stable enough, she headed down to see her brother dressed as Bourei Banchou. 

The brown-haired male adjusted his collar slightly, but turned to her with a smile, "Neechan, you look good!" 

"Thanks," she smiled back at him. "Akinori and the others are already waiting for us outside, aren't they?"

"Yeah they are," he nodded. "Just got a text from Ayame-san telling me to head out, but I wanted to wait for you."

She grinned, ruffling her younger brother's hair before she slipped the slippers into her feet and walked out with him. She was a bit excited for this Halloween, because it was the first one they would be celebrating together. To commemorate their friendship and their position as the Youkai Tanteisha, they felt that it made sense if they did this. Though Akinori's grandma had warned them about the dangers of Halloween, claiming it was a dark and horrible day to be up and about, they had opted to just try and have fun. 

As promised, the others were already outside, each in their respective outfits. They had the small candy bags for the trick or treating, which lightly contrasted their dark-coloured costumes, yet somehow matched the theme. 

"You're late, Natsume!" Akinori scolded, causing the female to roll her eyes playfully. She was used to this. 

"These hairpieces are not easy to put up, so cut me some slack," she deadpanned. 

"She's right, Akinori-kun," Ayame felt her hair slightly. "Hairpieces are not easy to stabilise on hair." 

"Ah, sorry then!" he bowed hurriedly, flustered over the mistake in his words. 

"Don't worry, you get used to it," Keisuke waved it off. "Right, Neechan?" 

"True true," she nodded in agreement. 

Touma chuckled before he said, "Well, now that we're all there, let's get going."

"Yeah, I'm excited to see what's around!" Ayame smiled. "This is my first Halloween here!" 

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Akinori got pumped up as he grinned. "Let's go!" 

"Oh!" the other four cheered. They were excited for Halloween alright. 

If only they knew what tonight was about to become. 

Nearby, a silhouette watched from above, allowing the moonlight behind him to light up. A pair of slitted yellow eyes glinted menacingly, and a low laugh echoed through the sky before the shadow disappeared, leaving behind an atmosphere of fear. 

Who was that silhouette, and what did he want? 

The darkness of Halloween was about to get real, and the Youkai Tanteisha had no idea of that at all. 

They should have brought their watches, at least. They would regret it for sure. 

*****

"This place is amazing!" Ayame cheered for what must have been the tenth time as the five humans stopped roaming around for a break. Her eyes were sparkling, and she held the candy bag that was slowly filling up thanks to their trick or treating tightly. She was happy and excited about what else this year could give her. 

Akinori, being the loyal friend he was, trailed behind her, making sure that she didn't stray too far. Natsume, Touma, and Keisuke brought up the rear, watching in amusement as Akinori tried to prevent Ayame from getting too excited and asking too many questions. She was a kid in an amusement park for the first time.

Natsume smiled. This was nice to watch, because she loved seeing her friends happy. 

Her eye then caught something from a nearby alley, making her blink as she turned there. 

Noticing that she wasn't following, Touma turned around, "Natsume, what's wrong?" 

"I thought I saw a shadow in that alley," she pointed towards it. "I'm not too sure, though." 

"Shadow in an alley?" Akinori turned to face them. "That sounds suspicious. Should we check it out?"

"That's dangerous," Keisuke mumbled in protest. "Do we really have to do it on Halloween?" 

"We should," Ayame was not as hesitant. "Either way, we have to see if that person's in danger." 

"That's true," Natsume nodded. "Plus, we can handle it." 

"I'm a bit unsure about that, since it is Halloween, but Ayame has a point," Akinori spoke up. 

"What's wrong with Halloween?" Touma blinked. 

"It's a hive for Youkai activity," he explained. "The spiritual energy is higher, and if one is not careful, a lot of craziness can happen in Halloween. Course, July is somewhat similar, but Halloween is practically the worst time of the year for us priests." 

"Isn't that all the more reason to avoid this?" Keisuke asked. 

"Well, we still have to help whoever that silhouette is, so I suppose we'll have to take the risk," Akinori said. "As long as we're careful enough, it should be safe."  

"Alright then, let's go," Touma nodded. 

"Something tells me we're going to end up running away for the whole night..." Keisuke groaned under his breath. 

Natsume couldn't help but sweatdrop at his words,  saying, "Keisuke, can't you be a bit more positive?" 

"What is positivity?" he deadpanned in reply. 

They all facepalmed at his answer. It was at times like these that Natsume questioned her life. Didn't mean she stopped loving Keisuke for who he was, though. She loved her brother a lot. 

She wondered why sometimes, but she knew that the shadow she saw could be in danger, so she brought them all back to attention by saying, "Come on, guys, we still have to do this." 

"Right," Akinori nodded, and the others nodded, serious faces on before they turned around, heading into the dark alley. 

Requester: blackorwhite11

Prompt: Halloween Special, Youkai Detective Agency get involved in something darker due to it being Halloween.