A/N: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters from said show. I am making no profit from the posting of this story. The plot and original characters are mine.
Halloween Tricks (a DISCOVERIES oneshot)
By Jaded_Samuri (GLH)
The twin boys raced towards the costumed mascot, eager to attach themselves to the poor person’s legs in a hug. The poor, unfortunate soul that was dressed as Captain Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean, never stood a chance as the two rambunctious youths slammed into him full force. To his credit, he did remain in character, complete with the slurred speech and accent. The boys were thrilled that they got to meet one of their favorite characters from one of their favorite shows. Kagome and Sesshomaru stood nearby with Chinsei and observed as the boys rambled off their favorite lines from the movie, not understanding that the person was merely an employee of the park in a costume. In their eyes, they were talking to Captain Jack and no one could (or would) tell them any different.
Soon enough, the actor turned to greet another group of children whose parents brought them to the theme park as well. Yoshii and Keichi respectfully stepped aside and let the other children have their turn, their attention quickly diverted as another costumed character appeared next to the entrance of a nearby ride.
Jumping excitedly, each boy grabbed a parent’s hand and tugged them in the direction of the ride. “Can we go in there?” they begged in unison. “Pleeease?”
Sesshomaru looked pointedly at Kagome, who made a show out of thinking about it. The boys turned on their poor mother and began tugging on her sleeves. “Please, mom. Please.”
“I suppose. But only if your father goes with you. I will stay here with your sister.”
Sesshomaru nodded and headed to the entrance to the attraction with the boys.
Kagome knew with certainty that they would be comforting the boys afterwards. And probably for several consecutive nights as well. The boys did not understand that the park changed things after dark. When the sun went down, they switched to the scarier versions of the characters. And as such, the ‘pirate’ ship, was about to be haunted by the ‘undead’ versions of the pirates who manned the Black Pearl. It was about to turn into a ghost ship.
She waved at her twins, who were grinning ear to ear as they waved to her from the entrance. Once they disappeared inside the ship, she seated herself on a nearby bench and waited for the inevitable screams, watching idly as the lanterns that lined the pathways of the theme park began to flicker on, one by one until all the walkways were bathed in a soft glow.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Some time later…..
Kagome nibbled on the pastry she had purchased from a passing food cart, sharing the savory treat with the little girl seated next to her. As they ate in silence, another little girl appeared out of the darkness and seated herself on the unoccupied part of the bench. The girl was dressed in a dark blue yukata with fans printed on it, Kagome observed, not really sufficient for the chill that was creeping into the air as October progressed. She wondered where the girl’s parents were as she peered down the surrounding pathways. The child stared down at her feet as they swung to and fro. Without a second thought, Kagome split her portion of the pastry in half and offered it to the silent girl, who took it eagerly and began eating it with a grin.
Resigned to sit with the girl until her parents found her, Kagome removed the shawl had been draped over her shoulders and wrapped it around the child in an attempt to help keep her warm, as the air was becoming chilly after losing the heat of the day. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear music drifting on the breeze, but as she listened, she heard no parents calling for their children, just the sounds of the amusement park…children laughing, machines whirring. She gave the girl’s hand a gentle squeeze and relaxed back against the seat.
Suddenly the calm was shattered by Yoshii and Keichi bolting from the attraction, eyes wide with terror and tears rolling down their little cheeks, their father hot on their heels, grinning from ear to ear. They flung themselves into Kagome’s arms and burrowed in as deeply as they could.
“Don’t let them take us,” they wailed in unison.
“Don’t let who take you?” she inquired, attempting to sound sincere while knowing full well what they were going on about.
“The pirates from the Flying Dutchman,” explained Yoshii They came and took all the good pirates away. They are gonna take us too. I don’t wanna be a monster,” he sobbed.
Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru, who was doing his best not to laugh at the poor boys. Kagome grinned as she stroked their heads in an attempt to comfort them. “We would never let them take you,” she murmured as she kissed the top of Keichi’s head. “Your father will never let anything happen to you or your sister.”
"We need to head home,” Sesshomaru stated as he offered her a hand. “The boys have school tomorrow, and we have a board meeting first thing in the morning.”
“We can’t leave yet,” she replied and she awkwardly hugged him around the children that were attached to her waist.
“Why not,” he asked as he kissed the top of her head.
“Because,” she replied as turned to retrieve her shawl. “We have to help…”
“Where did she go?” she asked as she spotted her shawl lying on the bench.
“Where did who go?”
“The little girl who was sitting next to us. She was sitting right there,” she said as she pointed to her abandoned shawl.
“There was no one here. Only you and Chinsei.”
“No. She was there. She was wearing a blue yukata.”
“Koi, there was no one with you when we came out.”
Kagome reached down and picked up her shawl. A chill crept up her spine when the crumbs from the pastry tumbled from the fabric to the ground.
“Oh hell no,” she mumbled to herself as she hurriedly rejoined the rest of her family as they made their way towards the front of the park.
And as the group disappeared up the path, Chinsei turned and waved to translucent child peeking from behind the nearby trees.
~end~