[S.S 1] A Plus Ultra Halloween

{A/N: think of this like one of those anime holiday specials. This is just a non canon side story for Halloween. SO ENJOY!!!!}

I stared at the ridiculous vampire costume Todo had thrust into my hands. The cape looked like it came straight from a bargain bin, and the plastic fangs were probably manufactured in some sketchy warehouse.

"No way," I said, tossing it back at him. "I'm not wearing this."

"My Besto Friendo!" Todo's voice boomed through the mall's Halloween store. "It is essential for the full haunted house experience! Plus, you and Jane-san would make the perfect vampire duo!"

Jane, who'd been examining a rat costume with obvious amusement, looked up. "Actually, I think it could be fun. Though I might need to hide my ears under the wig."

"Fam, you're totally giving me life right now!" Camie clapped her hands. "I'm going as a ghost queen. Todo's already got his werewolf fit ready."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You're all insane."

"Come on, Aki-boy! Don't be such a buzzkill!" Camie nudged me with her elbow.

"Fine," I muttered, snatching the costume back. "But I'm not wearing the fangs. They'll mess with my speech."

Todo's face lit up like he'd just won the lottery. "This is why you're my Besto Friendo! Now, about the haunted house rules-"

"There are rules?" I interrupted.

"Of course! Rule number one: we go in pairs. Rule number two: no using quirks unless absolutely necessary. Rule number three: if you scream like a little baby, I get to record it."

Jane twirled her new plastic stake between her fingers. "Pairs, huh? I call Camie."

"Absolutely not!" Todo crossed his arms. "I've already decided the perfect pairings based on aesthetic and dramatic potential. Camie and I will be one team, representing the classic ghost-werewolf alliance. You and Akira will be our vampire power couple!"

I choked on air. "Power couple?"

"Just go with it," Jane whispered, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It'll be less painful that way."

An hour later, I found myself standing outside "Nightmare Manor" in full vampire regalia. Jane had somehow transformed her costume into something actually impressive, while I looked like a discount Dracula.

"Remember," Todo said, his fake werewolf ears twitching in the evening breeze, "we'll take different entrances. Camie and I will go through the basement. You two take the main door."

"This isn't some kind of setup, is it?" I asked, suspicious of his enthusiasm.

"Besto Friendo, would I ever?"

"Yes. Yes, you would."

Camie adjusted her ghostly crown. "Let's get this bread!"

Jane linked her arm through mine, playing up the vampire couple angle. "Shall we, darling?"

I rolled my eyes but played along. "After you, my dear."

The main entrance creaked open with theatrical slowness. Inside, fake cobwebs and dim lighting created the standard haunted house atmosphere. As soon as the door closed behind us, I heard Todo and Camie's muffled laughter fade toward the basement entrance.

"Ten bucks says they're planning something," I muttered.

Jane's tail swished beneath her cape. "Obviously. But where's the fun in spoiling their scheme?"

We moved through the first room, which was decorated like a Victorian parlor gone to ruin. The props were decent enough - aged furniture, mysterious stains on the wallpaper, and a grandfather clock that ticked ominously.

"So," I said, ducking under a low-hanging cobweb, "you're surprisingly good at this."

"At what? Walking through fake haunted houses?"

"At..." I gestured vaguely at her ensemble. "This whole vampire thing. The mannerisms, the accent you keep slipping into."

She gave me a sidelong glance. "I contain multitudes, darling."

"There's that accent again."

A mechanical ghost popped out from behind a curtain, and I didn't flinch. Jane actually yawned.

"Amateur hour," she said in her normal voice. "Though I suppose that's part of the charm."

We entered a narrow hallway lined with portraits whose eyes followed our movement. Standard stuff, but something felt off about the atmosphere.

"Hey," I said, keeping my voice low, "does this feel a bit too quiet to you?"

Jane nodded slightly. "Todo and Camie should be making more noise. Even with them taking a different route, we should hear something."

A floorboard creaked behind us. I spun around, but the hallway was empty.

"Camie," I called out, "if this is one of your illusions-"

The lights went out.

Complete darkness enveloped us, and I felt Jane's hand grab my wrist. Her grip was steady, professional - a far cry from someone seeking comfort in the dark.

"Well," she whispered, "this just got interesting."

"You don't think-"

"That this isn't part of the regular haunted house experience? Oh, definitely not."

I activated my quirk just enough to generate a faint red glow around my hand. Jane's eyes reflected the light like a cat's - or more accurately, like a rat's.

"We should probably-" I started to say, but she pressed a finger to my lips.

"Listen," she breathed.

In the silence, I heard it - footsteps above us, too heavy to be Camie's, too irregular to be Todo's. And they were getting closer.

The footsteps grew louder, accompanied by a scraping sound that made the hair on my neck stand up. Jane's grip on my wrist tightened.

"We should move," she whispered. 

"Agreed." 

We crept forward, guided by the dim red glow of my quirk. The hallway seemed longer than before, stretching impossibly into the darkness. The portraits on the walls cast strange shadows, their eyes still following our every move.

A door slammed somewhere behind us.

"This way," Jane pulled me into a side room. It appeared to be some kind of study, with dusty books lining the walls and an antique desk dominating the center. The red glow from my quirk cast everything in an eerie crimson shade.

"You know," I said, keeping my voice low, "if this is Todo and Camie messing with us-"

"Shh." Jane pressed close to me, her body tense. Her tail brushed against my leg. "Someone's coming."

The footsteps approached the study. Heavy. Deliberate. Not Todo's usual confident stride or Camie's light steps. A shadow passed beneath the door.

Jane's breath tickled my ear. "When I say run..."

The doorknob turned slowly.

"Run!"

We burst through a different door, emerging into what looked like a conservatory. Moonlight filtered through grimy windows, illuminating dead plants and broken glass. The footsteps followed, faster now.

"This is ridiculous," I muttered, pulling Jane behind a large dead fern. "We're pro hero students. Why are we running?"

"Because it's fun?" Her eyes glinted with mischief in the darkness. "Besides, I'm curious to see where this goes."

"You're impossible."

"You like it."

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words died in my throat. In the dim light, with her playful smirk and the way her costume actually worked despite its cheapness, she was... distracting.

A crash from nearby snapped me back to reality. 

"We should split up," I suggested.

"Absolutely not. Haven't you seen horror movies? That's how people die."

"We're not in a horror movie."

"Could've fooled me, Mr. Discount Dracula."

Before I could retort, the temperature dropped dramatically. Frost began forming on the windows. Jane pressed closer to me, though whether for warmth or just to sell the act, I couldn't tell.

"Okay," I admitted, "that's a good effect. Camie must be going all out with her illusions."

"Assuming it is Camie."

"Who else would it be?"

Jane's tail curled around my leg. "Want to find out?"

I looked down at her, suddenly very aware of how close we were. "You're enjoying this way too much."

"Maybe." Her hand found mine. "But so are you."

She wasn't wrong. Despite the ridiculousness of the situation - or maybe because of it - I felt more relaxed than I had in weeks. Plus, the way Jane kept looking at me...

A shadow loomed over us.

"Time to go!" Jane yanked me up, and we ran again.

We sprinted through a kitchen with floating knives (definitely Camie), past a ballroom filled with dancing specters (absolutely Camie), and into what appeared to be a wine cellar. The temperature was still freezing, our breath visible in the air.

"Dead end," I noted, scanning the room.

"Not necessarily." Jane pointed to a small window near the ceiling. "We could-"

The door slammed shut behind us. The red glow from my quirk cast long shadows on the stone walls.

"Well," Jane said, "this is cozy."

I leaned against a wine rack, trying to look casual despite my heart racing. "Trapped in a cellar with a beautiful girl? There are worse fates."

She raised an eyebrow. "Beautiful, am I?"

"I mean... objectively speaking."

"Objectively?" She stepped closer, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "That's rather clinical of you."

"Would you prefer subjectively?"

"I'd prefer honestly."

The space between us seemed to shrink. The cold air made everything sharper, more immediate. Jane's tail swished back and forth, betraying her interest despite her controlled expression.

"Honestly?" I said. "I think you're the most fascinating person I've ever met."

"Fascinating isn't beautiful."

"No, but you're both."

She smiled - not her usual playful smirk, but something softer. "Smooth talker."

"I try."

Another step closer. "Do you know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think-"

The wine racks began to shake. Bottles crashed to the floor, shattering around us. I pulled Jane close, activating my quirk to create a barrier of energy. The red glow intensified, illuminating a figure in the doorway - tall, misshapen, definitely not Todo or Camie.

Jane's hand found my face, turning it away from the door. "Ignore it."

"But-"

"Trust me." Her eyes locked with mine. "Some things are more important than haunted house monsters."

She kissed me.

The world seemed to tilt. Her lips were soft, insistent. My quirk flared unconsciously, sparks of red and black dancing around us. Her tail wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer.

The cellar, the monster, the cold - it all faded away. There was just Jane, the taste of her lip gloss, and the way her body fit perfectly against mine.

Then the illusion shattered.

Literally.

The cellar dissolved like mist, replaced by the regular haunted house hallway. The monster vanished. The temperature returned to normal. And standing at the end of the hall were Todo and Camie, the latter looking extremely pleased with herself.

"That," Camie announced, "was totally fire!"

Jane pulled back slightly but didn't let go of me entirely. "How long have you been maintaining that illusion?"

"Since the lights went out," Camie said proudly. "Though Todo helped with the footsteps and door slams."

"My Besto Friendo!" Todo wiped away what appeared to be actual tears. "Such romance! Such drama! The tension was perfect!"

I should have been annoyed. They'd manipulated us, scared us, and basically forced us into a romantic scenario. But looking at Jane, seeing her trying to hide her own amusement, I couldn't bring myself to care.

"You're all insane," I said, not for the first time that night.

"You love us," Jane replied, her tail still wrapped around my waist.

"Debatable."

Camie bounced excitedly. "So are you two like, official now? Because that kiss was-"

"None of your business," I cut her off.

"But-"

"Camie," Jane said sweetly, "if you finish that sentence, I'll tell everyone about what really happened at the mall last week."

Camie's mouth snapped shut.

Todo looked between them curiously. "What happened at the mall?"

"Nothing!" Camie grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's give these two some privacy. My illusion game is totally spent anyway."

As they walked away, Todo's voice echoed back: "But I want to know about the mall!"

Jane and I stood there for a moment, still partially embracing in the now-normal hallway.

"So," I said.

"So," she echoed.

"That was..."

"Interesting?"

"I was going to say unexpected."

She laughed. "Nothing about me is expected, Akira."

"True." I looked down at her tail, still firmly wrapped around me. "Planning to let go anytime soon?"

"Nope."

"Good."

This time when I kissed her, there were no illusions, no monsters, no elaborate schemes. Just us, standing in a cheap haunted house, making our own magic.

"You know," she murmured against my lips, "we still haven't finished the haunted house."

"Is that your way of asking me out?"

"Maybe. Is it working?"

I pretended to think about it. "Well, I am already dressed as a vampire..."

"And I do make an excellent vampire's bride."

"Bride? Moving a bit fast, aren't we?"

She nipped at my lower lip. "Shut up and walk me through this haunted house properly."

"Yes, ma'am."

We continued through the attraction, hand in hand, making fun of the cheap scares and occasionally stealing kisses in the darker corners. Somewhere ahead, I could hear Todo and Camie's laughter.

It wasn't how I'd expected the night to go. But then again, nothing about Jane was ever expected.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.