Shout At The Devil! [Halloween Party] Band members and friends invited

[bangingthe_hellouttayou]

Zack had decided that he wanted to do something for Halloween now that he'd gotten his new costume and being a Spider-Man fan he'd gone for a Spider-Punk costume straight from his comics. He'd gotten it at a local comic store down on the Strip and couldn't wait to show Damien because he knew the Dog didn't have comics or anything fun back in Hunger City. Zack now pleased that he'd arranged a Halloween Party for the band members, their friends and family to attend inside the communal area of the apartments. It was the biggest space and there was a bar all stocked up with spooky drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike.

It would be a blast!

There were even spooky snacks with crisps and chips shaped like bats, ghosts and pumpkins. There were even actual pumpkins on a table for those who wished to carve a pumpkin alone or with friends. Zack had tried to make it accessible for all, those who wished to party and get drunk and those who wanted to do non-boozy activities too.

As for costumes---they were optional but preferred.

"Ok, I think that's it. Everyone should be arriving soon."

Zack looking around the room and hoping everyone would like what he had set-up with help from some of the others of course.

Comments

hi Coach!

[itmeanstruth]

Of course, Minoru had seen Damien not that long ago. Just because he won American Ninja Warrior didn’t mean he was going to rest on his laurels. He had to qualify next year just like everybody else, so it was right back to the usual training schedule.

Heck, it was one of the few places that he could go to escape people acting weird around him. In his home world, he was a reclusive celebrity (they didn’t know he didn’t live in that universe). In the Nexus, his coworkers were still wondering why he hadn’t quit and his brother was still giving him the silent treatment any time he wanted to talk about doing something with said money. Even in Ziggy’s world, he felt a little out of place, suddenly being just like all the other rock stars. Even if he never admitted it to anyone but Martyn.

But in Hunger City, they still treated him like an honorary Pup. When he was there to train, nothing else mattered.

“Hey!” Minoru waved, laughing. “A dog dressed up as a cat? That’s s good one.”

[hungercity_hellhound]

It helps that Damien's world didn't have much concept of money outside of the Ministry cities. They would respect a win at a physically demanding event but the money wouldn't be an issue, or even something that some of them would understand.

"Minoru." Damien smiled but it faded to an unusual expression for the Dog, one of defeat. "Aarne insisted."

They didn't have holidays so they are still new to the Dog so he hadn't dressed up but Zack's love of comics helped him understand some of the costumes at least.

[itmeanstruth]

That’s what mattered most to Minoru. The achievement of scaling Mount Midoriyama, something that only three other people had been able to say. No one, though, had ever been able to do it twice. And that, for obvious reasons, was Minoru’s next goal.

“They look good.” He chuckled. “Think of it like a disguise.”

Did those fool Ministry cameras? Maybe this could be a new tactic or something.

“Oh! Guess what! The American Ninja Warrior folks reached out to me last week. They’re doing a special run on Christmas for charity! I get to run the course again!” He beamed. “Okay, so not the WHOLE course, just the first stage. But still, that’ll be so much fun!”

[hungercity_hellhound]

Damien looked as unimpressed by the comment as he was with Aarne's persistence. He wasn't really someone who could disguise themselves; here or in his own world. His height and features were too remarkable, as were his yellow eyes.

Damien started to laugh. "Maybe I should register so you have competition." He was both teasing and complimenting Minoru's abilities. Damien thought it might be fun to try and compete even if it might be cheating since he wasn't as human as they expected.

[itmeanstruth]

“Well, you probably wouldn’t have any problem faking an ID on my world.” Minoru and Isamu could both thank Damien for the cards that made them at least look like they belonged here whenever they visited. “There might be other issues, though…”

Not being entirely human, for one. Minoru was honestly surprised no one had really picked up on the fact that he didn’t really even live in that dimension. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what would happen if they did.

But his tone had regret in it. Because, although there was a good chance he’d lose to his coach, it would be a thrill to test his skills against Damien. It would be even more of a thrill to go head to head against him at the same time. Ninja vs Ninja.

…maybe he should suggest that for a future show.

[hungercity_hellhound]

"I could already exist there." Damien answered to that hanging thought. It was on his mind even in this universe though, with a Ziggy here, he could surmise that it would be years before he was born and without a Ministry might never exist.

He could also sense the negative emotions there too and shook his head. "I wouldn't want to take your crown so quickly. You should have time to enjoy it." Damien knew it would be a challenge and there was a chance he could lose. After all, a lot of their training was not just skill but testing Minoru's speed against himself.

[itmeanstruth]

“Oh! I’m not worried about you taking it!” He quickly clarified.

Win or lose against Damien, and it would still be a night to remember. It’d probably be the best run of his year!

“…it’s just that you’re from another world… and not, well, fully human either. My world doesn’t have aliens or angels or, well… anything like that. If they disqualify you, and you’re my coach… um… I don’t want to be the first person to be stripped of Total Victory.”

He hoped Damien wouldn’t take offense. He legitimately wanted to run against him. But it was like outing Ziggy as an alien here. It wasn’t safe.

[hungercity_hellhound]

"Do you think they would know?" Damien asks with concern. He'd never considered that here and no one really noticed. No one had ever asked about anything except some random questions here and there about his golden eyes.

[itmeanstruth]

Minoru scratched his head. He couldn’t say for sure, but he remembered a basic background check being part of his initial application.

“Isamu really wanted to rig me up with some IRIS gear for one of his experiments, and I said no to that too.” He admitted. “I didn’t want to get caught with something on me like that, and get accused of cheating.”

Obviously, Minoru didn’t see any danger in anyone who could basically pass as a human visiting his world. Ziggy had on several occasions. And he asked Damien to come down on the sidelines with him when he ran this year. But being a face in the crowd and being on national television in an extreme athletics competition were two different things.

[hungercity_hellhound]

Damien wouldn't push but it was more a curiosity. Damien knew he was not only from another universe but finding his alien DNA would put others in danger.

"I wonder if there is something similar here?" Damien wondered about that since Minoru here would not cause any issues and here, Damien had been all over the TV at concerts in the background of interviews and other places. He moved on from the topic though since it was getting uncomfortable for everyone.

"The Pups are working on a new obstacle course and I've incorporated some of the challenges you need the most practice on." Not only did he do it for Minoru but for his own people too. Changing things up in training was important when you had to think quickly in unknown circumstances.

[itmeanstruth]

Truthfully, Minoru didn’t know. He knew Ziggy’s world at least had a network of Antheans. World Enterprises was run by one, after all. But that kind of technology didn’t exist in Minoru’s world. There wasn’t anybody there… right?

Never mind the fact that someone obviously knows about the Nexus. Because some academic advisor with government connections gave Isamu a brochure on IRIS and helped him make arrangements to apply there. Someone knows something. But Minoru had never asked.

Maybe he should.
Maybe it would be best if he didn’t open Pandora’s box.
Maybe this was a topic better left for when you’re not at a party.

He was more than relieved when Damien mentioned the new course. All his other worries and concerns disappeared instantaneously. Because, of course, he wanted to run it.

“I can’t wait to try it!!” He jumped excitedly. “How soon before they’re done?”

[hungercity_hellhound]

Damien considered himself a Pandora's box so probably best not to add another to the mix.

"A couple of days." Damien smiled. "A lot of the pups are busy. Rekker has agreed to do some Halloween things with some of them, beyond Jack's children." Which meant a bunch of pups were here, though that wasn't unusual at this point since the older Dogs were serving as Ziggy's security. "I think Jake, Mikkel, and a few of the others are helping dress them up."

[itmeanstruth]

“Sign me up to test it out.” Minoru grinned.

“I’m glad you guys could bring them. This’ll be their first Halloween party for a lot of them, won’t it.”

[hungercity_hellhound]

"The Ministry abolished holidays years ago." Damien reminded, as they had outlawed a lot of things. "Most people don't remember the traditions."

Damien started to grin. "Rekker was the one who told us to bring more."

[itmeanstruth]

“Well, then they can create some new ones. And bring back a lot of sweet treats for everybody else.” Minoru smiled, his optimism shining through the harsh reality that they both knew Hunger City was.

Almost as an afterthought, he added, “They’d better not share it with Jack when they go back, though… I know Ziggy can’t eat any of it without getting dangerously sick.”

He wasn’t sure how well Damien fared. He was part-Anthean, technically. But maybe that part didn’t come with the dietary restrictions.

[hungercity_hellhound]

Damien managed another chuckle. "Rekker is the one to spoil people."

He can only imagine how much candy and goodies Rekker was going to send home. He knew how the man spoiled Bjorn and he couldn't imagine how that would apply to children since he was a teacher.

"I don't know if Jack and Ziggy are exactly the same any longer." Damien wondered about it and knew that Jack and Ziggy spoke about it before though Damien didn't know the details.

[itmeanstruth]

"Oh yeah. Rekker's basically a giant teddy bear around those kids."

And technically some of the big kids too.

Now that they had access to provisions from other worlds, hopefully that allowed some of the Pups the ability to be spoiled. Even if only for short bursts at a time.

"Can you eat candy?"

[hungercity_hellhound]

"It's probably because of his daughter." Damien mentions but his voice is down. He understands that kind of loss, not a child but a partner.

Damien was a teddy bear too when it came down to it and more aggressive and destructive than the ginger.

"I don't like sweet food." Damien shrugged. "Among the Ministry, we weren't allowed to eat it."

[itmeanstruth]

"Unfortunately, this holiday and most of the ones coming up are all about sweets..." he smirked, before his brain caught up to what Damien had said about Rekker.

He stopped. He couldn't remember Rekker ever mentioning having a daughter. Or any child. Just the students he teaches. And Bjorn, who might act like a child sometimes, but that definitely didn't count.

"Wait a sec... Rekker has a kid?"

[hungercity_hellhound]

"I remember from last year when Balthazar brought all the candy." Damien had seen that the year before but he had been here in New York for most of it.

"Yeah." Damien thought the topic had passed but it came right back. It wasn't that some didn't know but he did wonder how much to say.

"Yeah. His ex took her when she was a baby." Damien didn't want to say everything because it wasn't his place. "It's a... bad topic."

[itmeanstruth]

"... oh." Minoru glanced down at the floor. He rocked back and forth on his heels. "Sorry..."

He honestly didn't know. And hopefully hadn't exclaimed it loud enough for anyone to hear. That was an awful predicament to be in.

[hungercity_hellhound]

"It was awhile ago." Damien reached out to offer Minoru some support. Hugging was still awkward for the Dog sometimes. "A lot of us carry things we don't talk about."

Which was true for more than Rekker.

[itmeanstruth]

Time probably didn't make it better. But Minoru was a hugger, so he was quick to be distracted by Damien's hug. And then laugh when his coach came away with a green streak on his cheek.

"my makeup... oh whoops! Sorry!!" this time, the apology was a lot more jovial. "Guess this stuff comes off easier than I thought!"

[hungercity_hellhound]

Damien easily fell back into laughing. "It's not a first. Have you seen all the make up and glitter?"

Damien constantly had incidents with makeup, hairspray, glitter. Lots of glitter.

[itmeanstruth]

"Seen it? I think I've bathed in it before." Minoru laughed. "One of these days, Isamu really is going to invent something that neutralizes glitter when you walk in the door. He hates the stuff."