The week leading up to Halloween had been full of whispers, giggles, and suspicious glitter trails. Now, it was finally here.
The school grounds had transformed overnight. Paper slimes with ghost costumes floated above the gates, jack-o'-lanterns lined the hallways, and Venti had added wind-powered spooky sounds that howled every time someone opened a door. It was, in his words, "Hauntingly fabulous."
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Morning Madness: The Make-Up Mayhem Begins
"Alright, you little breezes!" Venti shouted as he skipped into Class 4A, wearing a massive black witch hat and trailing a cape made entirely of wind crystal feathers. "Today is not about books. It's about boos!"
Everyone groaned.
"Costume class starts now. You have one hour to transform yourselves using the makeup kits in front of you. No Anemo cheating! No Sucrose chemicals! No stealing Sayu's smoke bombs—yes, I see you Heizou!"
The boys stared at their kits.
Wanderer opened his slowly. "This is a sparkly eyeshadow palette. Is this a joke?"
Heizou grinned devilishly. "Oh no, this is a challenge."
He grabbed a powder brush like a weapon. "Let's see who can make Xiao look the scariest!"
"I will destroy you," Xiao said with a deadpan voice. That only encouraged them more.
Kazuha tried to maintain decorum, brushing some tasteful black eyeliner under his eyes. "I will become a sorrowful wandering ghost... lost in the storm."
"You're becoming emo, not spooky," Wanderer muttered, while trying to smear black across his own eyes without looking like a raccoon.
Meanwhile, Heizou tackled Xiao from behind with glitter gel.
"I warned you." Xiao hissed, but couldn't escape. Within seconds, Xiao had bright pink cheeks, silver eyeshadow, bat stickers on his forehead, and purple lipstick that sparkled under the classroom light.
"Perfect," Heizou declared. "You're terrifyingly... adorable."
"I will hunt your soul," Xiao growled.
But vengeance had to wait.
Because Wanderer, once smug and unflappable, became the new target.
Kazuha walked over with calm grace and whispered, "Wanderer, may the spirits of mischief grant you beauty."
"What are you—WAIT, NO—"
Before he could react, Heizou and Kazuha teamed up. Ten minutes later, Wanderer's face was painted like a sparkly jack-o'-lantern: orange base, green eyebrows, and a carved smile drawn with eyeliner. His hat had been replaced by a giant ghost plush sewn with "BOO BABY" across it.
"You all are dead to me," he mumbled, unable to open one eye due to a massive fake eyelash.
"I've never been prouder," Venti sniffled, clapping at the spectacle.
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Midday Mayhem: Trick-or-Glide Race
After lunch (pumpkin curry and caramel apples, courtesy of Mizuki and Ifa), the Halloween activities began.
"Time for the Trick-or-Glide race!" announced Chasca, floating midair with her glider shaped like a vampire bat.
"The rules are simple!" she said cheerfully. "You glide through each checkpoint in the courtyard. At every point, you receive a 'treat'... or a prank!"
Sayu stood beside her, giggling inside a ghost costume three sizes too big. She held a basket of challenges that looked suspiciously like stink bombs.
First round: Kazuha, Xiao, and Heizou lined up with their gliders.
"GO!" Chasca yelled.
They launched into the air with grace, but halfway through the course, Xiao hit the "prank" checkpoint. A bag of orange paint exploded midair, splattering his glittery face and black uniform with bright pumpkin goo.
"This is not aerodynamic," he muttered, dripping.
Heizou hit a "treat" and got... a fake mustache.
"It enhances my mystery detective look!" he announced proudly, until a flying Sayu smacked into him and knocked him into a hay bale.
Kazuha, ever the poetic soul, finished first—but was instantly slapped with five ghost stickers from Sayu as a "bonus scare."
"Frightening beauty," he said humbly.
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Evening: The Haunted Hall and the Painted Vengeance
By evening, everyone had gathered in the decorated auditorium for the annual Haunted Hall Walkthrough.
"Why are there cobwebs made of slimes?" asked Wanderer as one dripped goo onto his costume.
"Because it's slimey spooky fun!" Venti cheered from a floating platform, now dressed as a vampire bard with fake fangs.
The students walked through the fog-filled halls while spooky music played, accompanied by teachers in costume.
Jean appeared as a very tired witch. "If you misbehave, I'm assigning you real homework."
Sucrose emerged from the chemistry lab with glowing green potions, cackling like a mad scientist.
"Ifa is hiding somewhere with a jump scare," Kazuha said.
"No one's safe," Xiao confirmed, just before a screaming Sayu popped out of a barrel wearing a wooden mask.
"WAHH!" Wanderer yelled, launching backwards into Xiao, who caught him—with both of them landing face-first into a trap of flour and colored dust.
Poof.
Xiao's sparkly vampire face turned white with a streak of neon pink. Wanderer's jack-o'-lantern look became a clown disaster—blue cheeks, yellow beard, and red nose.
"You've turned me into a festival reject," Wanderer moaned.
"I think... I just became a circus offering," Xiao muttered, blinking pink flour out of his lashes.
Heizou doubled over laughing. "This is better than my birthday."
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Back in the Dorm: The Final Color War
Just when they thought it was over, Heizou declared war.
"All makeup tools... are now weapons."
A final paint war erupted in the dorms.
Heizou drew cat whiskers on Wanderer while dodging flying eyeliner pencils.
Kazuha got white foundation smeared down his neck like ghost slime.
Xiao finally retaliated, holding down Heizou and painting a big red heart on his forehead. "To remember your sins," he said.
"Fair enough," Heizou nodded.
By the end, the dorm looked like a rainbow had exploded inside a wind tunnel. Beds were painted, mirrors were cracked, and everyone looked like abstract art.
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Night: Quiet Moments
Later, with everyone wiped out and lying across beds and pillows, covered in colors and glitter and shame, silence finally settled.
Kazuha sighed peacefully. "This was... a good day."
"I look like a festive radish," Wanderer whispered.
"You looked worse after gliding class," Xiao said dryly.
"True," he mumbled.
Venti's voice rang from somewhere down the hallway. "Sleep tight, my monsters of mischief! Tomorrow is the Costume Duel!"
Groans echoed from every corner.
Kazuha whispered, "At least we survived."
Heizou lifted his head. "Barely."
And Xiao, arms folded, eyes shut, simply said:
"Next year... I'm going to Mondstadt."
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To Be Continued…