Chapter 5: — "Trick or Treat Mayhem" [HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: PART 2🎃]

The neighborhood looked like a different world at night. Paper lanterns shaped like pumpkins hung from balconies, a faint orange glow spilling across the narrow street. Somewhere down the block, a stereo played a tinny version of This Is Halloween, and the smell of caramelized sugar clung to the air.

I tightened my grip on my tote bag. Poyo bounced at my feet, pink, shiny, and proudly wearing its crooked zombie helmet. Mochi followed close behind, wobbling like a shy water droplet in its own matching headpiece.

“…Okay,” I whispered, adjusting my witch hat. “First house. Let’s not cause a scene.”

Poyo let out an eager poyuu! and hopped toward the nearest porch before I could finish the sentence.

“Wait... Poyo!”

Too late. The doorbell rang, a cheerful ding-dong! echoing through the crisp air.

A middle-aged woman opened the door, dressed in a comfy sweater and cat-ear headband. She looked down at me, then at the two wobbly blobs at my feet.

"Trick or Treat!" I said calmly.

“Oh my, aren’t you adorable! And… are those your pets?”

I froze. “Uh... they’re, um, slimes.”

“Slimes?” she repeated, eyebrows lifting.

Poyo puffed proudly, as if confirming the statement. Mochi hid behind my boot.

The woman blinked once… then smiled. “Well, I’ve never had slimes at my door before. Here, take a few extra pieces. One for each of you!”

She dropped a small handful of wrapped caramels into my bag.

“Th-thank you!” I stammered, bowing slightly before shuffling away as fast as socially acceptable.

The moment we turned the corner, Poyo dove straight into the bag.

“Hey! Don’t—”

Too late again. The little slime slurped up one of the candies… with the wrapper.

“…Did you just eat plastic?” I whispered.

Poyo blinked innocently, a faint crinkle noise coming from inside its jelly body. Mochi made a tiny mff…chi noise, like it was sighing in judgment.

I crouched down. “Okay, rule number one: no eating wrappers. It's not good for you!” 

Poyo deflated slightly, as if sulking.

We moved on to the next few houses, and to my surprise, people were… nice.
Some laughed, some took pictures, some gave us extra candy for being “creative.”

At one house, an old man squinted at Poyo and Mochi, muttering, “Are those… animatronics?”
I smiled nervously and replied, “Uh, kind of?”

By the fifth house, I wasn’t even embarrassed anymore. The cold didn’t bother me, and for the first time in months, I found myself genuinely laughing.

Poyo bounced happily beside me, its pink body glowing faintly in the streetlights. Mochi stayed closer, occasionally brushing against my shoe like a shy cat.

“See?” I said quietly. “This isn’t so bad.”

The slimes both looked up at me, one beaming, the other content.

We reached a house with a big pumpkin display, three carved jack-o-lanterns stacked in a pyramid. Poyo’s eyes widened like a child spotting treasure.

“Don’t even think about it,” I warned.

Poyo wobbled innocently. Then, the moment I turned to check the porch number, it rolled forward, too fast, too determined.

“Poyo—no!”

It bumped the bottom pumpkin, which wobbled… then tipped. The whole display collapsed with a loud thump!

I froze. Mochi squeaked in panic and flattened itself against the sidewalk.

A woman opened the door, blinking in confusion. I instantly bowed ninety degrees.

“I’m so, so sorry! My... uh, slime got excited! I’ll clean it up right away!”

But the woman just laughed, her witch hat bobbing slightly. “Oh, don’t worry about it! I was going to throw those out tomorrow anyway.”

“Really?”

“Of course! Besides, I’ve never seen a trick-or-treater with slimes before. You three definitely have the best constume I've seen for the day.”

She winked and dropped a generous handful of chocolate bars into my tote bag.

“Th-thank you, and sorry again!” I called as we left.

When we reached the end of the street, I finally exhaled. “That could’ve been so bad.”

Poyo made a proud poyoo! noise, clearly thinking it had done something heroic. Mochi shuffled closer to me, its little helmet slightly askew.

I sighed, smiling. “You’re lucky she was nice.”

After about an hour, my bag was half full, mostly chocolates, gummies, and the occasional weird homemade cookie. The streets were starting to quiet down; only the distant laughter of kids echoed between houses now.

We stopped at a small park bench near the corner convenience store. I sat down, stretching my legs as the cool autumn breeze brushed against my cheeks. The moon hung high, glowing soft and pale.

Poyo hopped up beside me. Mochi settled quietly on my other side.

I opened my bag, looking at the pile of sweets with a small, disbelieving smile. “We… actually did it.”

Poyo jiggled. Mochi’s tiny blue body shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

“Maybe Halloween’s not just for kids after all,” I murmured, leaning back against the bench.

For a moment, it was peaceful, just the soft rustle of leaves and the distant hum of streetlights.

Then—

“Hanae-chan?”

My head snapped up.

Three silhouettes stood under the park lamp across the path, girls in matching cat-ear hoodies and fluffy skirts, carrying their own candy buckets.

Misaki, Mei, and Asuka.
My classmates.

Oh no.

Misaki waved energetically. “I knew that was you! You actually dressed up this year!?”

Mei giggled. “So cute! And... wait, what are those!? Are they moving!?”

Asuka leaned forward, adjusting her glasses. “Is that… slime?”

I froze, cheeks burning. “Uh—uhhh…”

Poyo bounced, proud as ever. Mochi tried to hide behind my hat, peeking out shyly.

The girls squealed in delight.

“Oh my god, so cuuute!”
“Can I pet it!?”
“Where did you even get them!?”

I waved my hands frantically. “Wait, wait... they’re not toys! They’re—uh, my, uh, companions.”

Misaki clasped her hands together. “That’s so cool!”

Mei then spoke up. “Hanae-chan, come trick-or-treat with us! We still have a few houses left.”

“Huh? W-with you guys?”

“Of course!” Mei grinned. “You’ve got the best costume combo I’ve seen tonight!”

I blinked, stunned. Nobody had ever asked me to join them before, not in class, not at lunch, not at anything.

Poyo wobbled expectantly. Mochi peeked out, eyes gleaming faintly.

“…I mean, if you don’t mind,” I mumbled.

Misaki smiled. “Then it’s settled! Let’s go!”

And just like that, the quiet night turned lively again.
The four of us, and two slimes, walked down the glowing street together, laughter blending with the soft sounds of rustling candy bags and cheerful chatter.