Halloween Event: Trick or Treat

[Elyon Brown]

As Elyon left that dark house,she didn't know that she left the boy completely and she forgot about him right away.She want to grab some sweets so badly.She was just looking around and she saw only kids enjoying their time.

Elyon saw a teacher nearby and quickly ran to her and quickly said"Trick or Treat,Ms.Thea...."she then,waited for the teacher to reply.She was dying for some sweets already.

[Hiei]

And this was awkward. Ms. Thea was staring at him. He was confused for a moment, before a realisation entered his head. She must have been surprised at how he was attired, considering it was not really something to be worn in Halloween. He grabbed the inner brim of his black blazer once more, where the buttons were, pulling it away from his body, revealing the red cloth that was used to make the inner side of the blazer. The while buttoned shirt was enough, but having him wear a whole tuxedo attire, save the tie, of course, was something he did not expect from Kurogane. What was the young dean up to?

Looking back up at Ms. Thea, he noticed her hands nervously shaking. Hiei looked at it, slightly confused but keeping his facial expression steady and still. His red eyes turned back to Ms. Thea's, wondering what she was thinking off. He could use Dark Dragon's etheral form to enter her head and try to see what she was thinking of, but that would be rather too hard for the demon himself, considering that it only worked on those people who were really close to Hiei. Ms. Thea was only close to being there.

Then, the young man spoke, trying to break the awkward silence between the two.

"Kurogane made me wear this. It wasn't my choice."

Dropping his right hand, he let it hung by his side, his left hand still in the confinement of his pant's pocket, the part of his blazer above that pocket folding to make way for his arm. It was a formal attire, indeed, or at least, in Hiei's case. This was the first time he had ever worn such an attire and hopefully, it would be the last. It just felt wrong to him.

[Mi'ki-chan]

Takara beamed with happiness. A gift for Xena and a gift for Yuki! She took the sweets happily. She could hold things and such, but eating something from the plane of the living? Impossible. She could no longer feel hunger, nor physical pain.

"Thankyou very much!"

She looked at the teacher. It was one the girl hadn't met in her previous encounters with people. At least, she didn't remember seeing this teacher before. Maybe she was a new teacher here? She looked quite young, maybe early twenties or so.

"Of course, my dear. Are you a former student here?"

She nodded, a sheepish grin as she explained her current situation.

"Hehe, My name is Takara Yuu. I was the one who blew up parts of the elementary school and the academy walls the other day. I escaped, and ran for it. But then I got sliced in two by a truck."

She knew it sounded stupid. Bombed the place, escaped, then got hit by a truck. Not the way she imagined she'd die. She thought she'd die of old age after playing mahjong until she was 83. Then again, for that to happen, she'd actually need to know how to play mahjong.

[Elyon Brown]

Elyon heard what the other girl was saying,so suddenly,Elyon turned a little pale staring at the girl and she was wondering why she was transparent.It could be a ghost,it has to be.

Why did the other girl even say that she was sliced in two by a truck?Elyon never felt so scared before.She then,coughed loudly two times and told the teacher"Um,trick or treat,please,Ms. Thea."she was planning to run away after the sweets will be given.

[Hiei]

As another girl went up to Ms. Thea, Hiei remembered that they both had a job to do. The student president gave Ms. Thea a nod with his head, looking at the girl for a moment, wondering why is it that before every single conversation that Hiei would have with someone, another person, ironically always a girl, would interefer? Then, he spoke, his voice calm and cool, though monotonous.

"Well, it seems that you're busy, Ms. Thea. I guess I'll see you after this."

Little did he know that there was an urgent matter than needed to be dealt between the two of them, but how should the young Student President know? He had never seen Ms. Thea look at him like that, true, and it wouldn't be his attire. If it was, she'd be more excited than nervous. As he took a step away, he turned his head for a moment, looking back at Ms Thea. Giving her one last look, he turned away and took another step.

Now, for the advanced future seeing moment. If she were to call his name, for some unknown reason, Hiei would, of course, turn around to face her, his composure the same as always. If not, then Hiei would continue on walking, continuing his patrol and simply doing his job as the president of the student council.

OOC: I chose to ignore Takara's presence as, as stated in my second post, the place where Ms Thea and I are standing are ALMOST empty, indicating that we were the only ones there. Also, Takara or the other teacher would have noticed Hiei or Althea by now and would have sounded of, but neither has. I will continue RPing this thread as if Takara and Ms. Nagisa are in a different part of the Academy. Sorry, Elyon, but people just don't appear out of nowhere and you can't be everywhere at once. Just cause it's the same thread doesn't mean it's the same place.

[/ / s e t s u n a [ i ]]

[OOC: I hope I'm not too late in posting here~]

"Trick or treat!"

"Awooo~ I am the ghost of Alice Academy~ Fear meeee~"

"Hey, let's go up to that teacher..."

Voices of children having fun have always made Setsuna feel good. However, with the death of a certain student, it would probably take more than the children's happy voices to cheer her up. Although she did not know Takara Yuu personally, that girl was a special person for one the students who had been close to her, and that student is Yukino Anael. So far nobody knows about her death except for her and a few other staff members.

Earlier on her way to Yuki's room, a dorm bot came to her and handed her a letter. The robot thought it would be best to give that letter to a teacher first, seeing as it was from Miss Yuu. She hasn't given it to the boy until now. It's just sitting on the pocket of her long, leather overcoat.

Despite the occasion, Setsuna didn't have the enthusiasm to really dress up for Halloween. Beneath her brown coat was a cream turtleneck sleeveless top and a black skirt, and on her feet were brown boots. The only jewelry on her were a pair of gold earrings and a black pearl necklace.

Still, even though she didn't gear up for the occasion, she was aware of the tradition, and the event that was on-going. Trick or treating--that's what they call it in the west. Before Setsuna went out for the night, she dropped by at Central Town to buy some sweets to give the children. Then she made an ice replica of her, and put the candy inside the replica's hollow ice body. It was kind of a walking refrigerator, really.

Eyes downcast, Setsuna pulled the small envelope out of her pocket, walking side by side with her ice creation. Miss Yuu's letter. The raven haired teacher didn't have the heart to break the bad news to Yuki. She hoped that somebody else would inform him of this. But she had a responsibility. This was something she herself had to do; else that letter wouldn't have gotten to her care.

Setsuna was so caught up with her thoughts that she barely noticed the group of students gathering around her. It wasn't until a small girl in a fairy costume tugged the end of her overcoat that she noticed. When she was snapped out of her daze, she just had to smile at the expressions of their faces. The little ones were happy that they caught the attention of Hayashi-sensei.

"Hayashi-sensei, TRICK OR TREAT!" the children exclaimed, extending their little bags and baskets to the teacher. Setsuna then crouched and looked at the little angels.

"My. Aren't you little ones just wonderful! Okay, okay, Koori-oneechan here will give you your goodies, alright?"

The small students hoorayed and jumped around as Setsuna's ice creation dropped candies and chocolates onto their baskets, and then they ran off to the other teachers. It was very rewarding for the tall woman.

Now with the little children gone, Setsuna found herself alone once again with an envelope on her hand and her treats-filled ice creation by her side.

[Althea V.]

"Kurogane made me wear this. It wasn't my choice." Althea heard Hiei spoke from the distance. She walked slowly towards him, the envelope now on her hand's grasp, the basket of treats on the other. Breaking a simple news wasn't going to be that hard of a task to do, wasn't it? So why is her heart pounding loudly inside her chest? She was afraid of something...something that she couldn't put to words.

Althea could clearly remember her first day of teaching 1B. The moment she told the class that she would be their "second mother", all of them reacted violently. That shocked the woman a lot, considering that no one in the outside world reacted like it at the statement. The class basically became a mayhem, and she was left with a lot of dilemmas on how to connect with them. On her first day of teaching, she immediately got rejected.

...Maybe that was it. She was afraid of getting rejected. She knows it was a huge gamble to adopt Hiei in the grounds of her being his teacher, but she couldn't help it. She felt as if the boy needs her. She wanted badly to fill in the space his childhood dug into him that she might get into his nerves in the near future. How would she be able to make him accept her as his mother from this point on?

"Um, trick or treat, please, Ms. Thea." Another voice from a student cut through her thoughts. She took a deep and slow breath, closing her eyes, and then opening them again as she let that breath out. Turning around, she gave the little girl a bar of chocolate. After that, she turned back to Hiei, just in time to catch him walking away.

"Well, it seems that you're busy, Ms. Thea. I guess I'll see you after this."

"Hiei, wait--don't..." She took a step forward, grabbing Hiei's arm gently. "...go." She continued the sentence, her heart pounding faster than ever. This made her wonder...to become a real mother, would every woman go through all these to earn the child's trust? She was reminded of her Psychology course back in college, but she shook the thoughts off immediately.

"I have something to show you."

[Hiei]

He felt pressure on his arm, shocking him slightly. Turning his head, he looked at his limb, only to see Ms. Thea's hand around it. He stared at it closely with his red eyes, honestly confused. Now, one would say that a guy like Hiei shouldn't even have emotion, cause he doesn't show it. What one doesn't know, is that no matter how one tries, they will never be able to completely hide their emotion. The eyes are the windows to the soul, a way to potray emotion where a facial expression cannot, and at the moment, his soul was very confused.

He shifted the leg under the grabbed arm back, turning himself to the side as he looked at Ms Thea, his mouth closed and his face stern and expressionless, but his eyes twinkling slightly in curiousity. At that moment, he was reminded of when she first knew about his past. As a request from Kurogane, she had been asked to find out why he was who he was and why Meredith was so against authority. And when she did, she cried. Cried and hugged him. Hiei remembered himself being at a loss then, not sure what to do. He was still a kid, after all, despite his experience, his maturity, he was still a kid.

His eyes travelled down to her hand, noticing the envelop propped in between her fingers, wondering what it was. If his intellect were still intact, he was sure that she was here to deliver him that envelope, but what was in it? He turned back to Ms. Thea, noticing the worry and hesitation in her face and eyes. At that, he turned to completely face her as he lifted his other hand up, grabbing her wrist and gently squeezing it, before slowly pulling it down. The gentle squeeze was to snap her out of any trance she might have been and tell her to let go of him. She had his attention already.

She had something to show him? His eyes once more returned to the envelop. Well, he guessed correctly then. Turning back to Ms. Thea, he oepned his mouth to speak, his voice deep and calm.

"What is it?"

[Althea V.]

Here goes.

"I didn't want to delay you on your duties, that's why I want to make this as quick as possible." Althea finally spoke with a firm voice, trying to overcome the scared little girl within her. She lifted once more the hand that Hiei pulled away from his arm. She then forced a smile on her lips on handing him the opened envelope. Upon receiving, she figured the curiosity on Hiei would get the best of him and will make him open the letter. And as he would read it, she would tell him the story behind it that happened this morning.

"Kurogane left it on my desk. It really shocked me to know that he would be forced on an early retirement. He had been a great leader...but I guess I couldn't do anything about it, no matter how much I wanted to. But even when he was on the peek of the greatest dilemma in his life, he didn't forget what he promised me." She said, the forced smile now turning to a genuine one.

"He pushed through on finishing your adoption papers. Hiei, it's now legal...You're my son now."

[Hiei]

Ah, his guess was right. It was the envelope. Curiousity overcame him as he grabbed hold of it, both of his crimson eyes on the significant piece of paper as he removed it from the envelope and unfolded it. Words filled his eyes as he held it with two hands. It was a long letter, that was for sure. He recognised the hand-writing too. It was Kurogane's. Perhaps this would explain why he was forced to wear this suit. Taking a slow deep breathe, he started reading it from the top.

"Dear Althea,

I know you may be wondering as to what is happening at the moment so hopefully this letter might explain everything to you. Yesterday, I received a call from the higher-ups as they requested to meet me in their office. I had to leave the Academy, of course, which I had become frequent to. Immediately, I knew there was something wrong, as they wouldn't call me up on such short notice. I arrived there soon enough and you will never believe what happened in the office.

They said that they were not satisfied with how I've been handling the school and how I've been doing my job as a Student Dean. They had found out about me sending Hiei and Saturos with me into clear danger and engagement with the AAO. They said that I had disappointed them many times before, but this had to be just the worst yet. Long story short, they were not happy and sadly, I lost my job. I'm no longer a student dean and no longer a teacher of the Academy. I was asked to leave the Academy today, so by the time you're reading this, I should be in my room packing my stuff or already have left the Academy. Don't try to confide me as it won't help me get my job back.

I would just like to say thank you and it has been a fun and enriching experience working and teaching with you and the rest of the staff. Give them my regards and good luck to you all. Oh, yeah, one of you will be promoted to student dean soon and hopefully he would be able to do a better job than me. So, good bye to all and thank you for the memories.

-Kurogane

P.S. I managed to persuade them to give me Hiei's adoption form as my 'retirement' gift, so congratulations, Althea. You're a mother now. Take care of that kid, alright?"

His eyes only got wider as he read it, his mouth opening at the second paragraph. Kurogane had been retured from his job? But... He was still 22? How could he have retired? Cursed higher-ups. Hiei gritted his teeth, but stopped when he reached the post script. His adoption form? Ah, he remembered now. That time when Ms. Thea was in his mind, searching through his memory. She had been 'touched' by his history and actually offered to be his second mom. At that moment, he had felt warm, but this time, the warmth was nowhere to be found. Instinctively putting down his hands, he looked up at Ms. Thea. She was his mother now?

Was that why he was forced to wear this suit? To look presentable and to honour this supposed memorable and happy moment? Kurogane was gone, but in his place, a new relationship was born. In his last days as a student dean, he kept his promise and perhaps other promises that he had made. He could tell that Ms. Thea was smiling happily now. The young boy simply looked at him, his eyes blank and his mouth slightly open. So, who was he now? Hiei Valentine? That didn't sound so bad now. That was when the warmth came and something happened that no one had seen before. A single tear. A SINGLE TEAR. Rolled down his cheeks.

The student president shot forward, wrapping his arms around the neck of the shorter female as he embraced her, his eyes closed and his body shivering slightly. And he spoke, his voice slightly raspy as he did.

"I feel... I feel glad... Mom."

[Althea V.]

OOC: Urgh. Crappy post. Injured fingers. But since I promised...

Just after reading the letter, Althea saw Hiei look lift his head up to look at her. She saw the confused look in his eyes at first; the blankness; the perplexity. Her smile almost faded, almost believing her fears came true, but something that she saw surprised her more than she thought seeing it would. Hiei shed a tear. And now, he drew himself closer to her where the woman returned the embrace by wrapping her arms around him loosely. She didn't want to strangle him after all.

"I feel... I feel glad... Mom."

Mom. Was she hearing things right? She never thought that she would again be called that after leaving the first school she taught at. The feeling of emptiness that's been haunting her since she got in the Academy slowly began to be filled. She hugged him tighter now (not to the extent that she already strangles him), resting her cheek on Hiei's shoulder while closing her eyes. What if anyone sees it? It's not an issue anyway. She has papers to prove it. But will it create an impact in the institution? Probably yes. It's not everyday that a teacher would be legally alowed to adopt an orphaned student--one under her care at that. But whatever others might think, she's still going to be Hiei's mother.

A few seconds in that state passed, until she pulled back from the hug. She looked at Hiei eye to eye, both hands on the boy's shoulders.

"I hope you wouldn't mind having my rather 'fancy' last name."

[Hiei]

He then started to wonder, why, among every single student here who had their own sad past, did he have to be the lucky one to have a mother in this prison-like academy? Unlike all other students, he was the lucky one to have another family member instead of being isolated from them in the academy? He opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times to prevent any more tears from falling. No, he shouldn't think that. He was lucky cause he just was. There were no other reason to it. He did not have to think about it too. Things happen for a reason, after all.

She felt her embrace tighten on him as she rested her head on his shoulders. For a moment, Hiei closed his eyes as an emotional arrow of hurt pierced his heart. He was reminded of his times with Hime, how he would hold her and how she would hold back, how her lips felt. Taking a deep breathe, he opened his eyes, before letting it all out. Now was not the time to think of such painful thoughts. Now was the time to rejoice, if he knew how to, that is. As his new parent pushed him away, he put his hands down. She was about two inches shorter than him, making this rather happy moment a bit awkward.

"I hope you wouldn't mind having my rather 'fancy' last name."

Fancy last name? Now, many people would have thought that Thea was her last name, but no, it was not. It was Valentine. Althea Valentine. Being the student president, he had access to a couple of files and the first thing he read over was the teacher's profiles. Being a student president required him to work with the staff, after all, so he would need to know at least a thing or two about them. Hiei Valentine. Hiei actually felt glad that he was no longer a Masaaki. That name belonged to his so-called father, someone he did not want to think about. From that day onwards, the line of the Masaakis had ended. His father would always be forgotten, just the way Hiei wanted it to be. Shaking his head at his new mother, he replied, his voice as calm as ever.

"No, I don't. I'm actually happy to get rid of my last name. It belonged to my dad. I don't have to explain to you why. You've seen it. Hiei Valentine sounds fine to me."

[Althea V.]

"...Oh."

It was all the woman could answer concerning the last name issue. She gave him another smile, removing her hands from his shoulder and placed her right hand on his head. Being that she had mastered how to activate her alice only when she needs it, the touch did nothing to him. The only thing Hiei would feel was her palms over his messy hair.

"Glad to hear it."

It felt pretty awkward the way they parted from the embrace. Althea had dreams of having a child of her own since she loves children, but the fact that she never thought of marriage first made her conclude that THAT dream was really a premonition of her future. Here she was, face to face with her son who is already a few inches taller than him. Oh well, at least she didn't have to go through all the trouble of carrying him inside her womb for nine months and going through the painful process of giving birth. She knows it. She have studied it. So for her first day on being a mother, she's already on the stage where one can say "Kids really do grow up fast". Just last year, she was taller than him by a few inches...and now, it's the other way around. It reminded her of a walk in the park with a childhood sweetheart. Back then, he always teased her on how fast she grows tall to the extent that she's already taller than him.

"Am I getting shorter or are you getting taller?"

Heh. Memories. Who can live without them? No one. But to be able to go on living, one should not live just with them. Memories are just just keepsakes, whether good or bad. They will never be real, no matter how real they may seem. That was the reality of memories for her.

Now from the place she was standing on, she can already tell...more memories would come. But those future memories she will keep would be different--far far different from what she had.