Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Sasameki Koto, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. Please don't sue me, you won't get anything from it.

Sasameki Koto: Costumes

Sumika Murasame sighed in despair as she finished going through her closet full of clothes, finding nothing that she could easily convert into a costume. "Why am I even doing this?" Sumika muttered to herself, the tall, black haired girl leaning against the closet door with a sigh.

It was all Tomoe Hacjisuka's fault, as usual. The eighteen year old had gotten it into her head that their Karate Club/Girl's club should have a Halloween party, and no one was able to convince her otherwise. She decided they'd meet at the school on the 31st, go to their clubroom and have a small party, with food, drinks and, most importantly, all wearing costumes.

Normally Sumika would have begged off, but Ushio Kazama had agreed to come, and she just couldn't resist her pretty little blond friend. 'I wonder if she'll wear the Ultraman mask?' Sumika thought, remembering the kiss she and the masked Ushio had shared in the classroom.

Sumika had loved Ushio quietly but deeply for a long, long time, but her friend remained oblivious to her feelings. Sadly Ushio only liked cute, petite girls who were a bit clumsy, and while Sumika was many things, cute, petite and clumsy were none of them.

Making things more confusing was how Ushio had recently begun to act,. They had pulled apart from each other by Sumika's obligations to karate and other things, but after Ushio was hurt things began to change. They were spending more time together, talking and... she could almost swear that Ushio was flirting with her.

Blushing furiously at where her thoughts had wandered Sumika shook her head, trying to think of what she could wear. And she had put of preparing for this too long, so she only had a few days to try to get ready. Sighing in defeat she went looking for the live-in house maid, Noe, hoping she would have a idea or two.

'And hopefully nothing too embarrassing,' Sumika added mentally.

"A costume?" Sasumi Noa asked, the slightly older woman smiling slightly. She clapped her hands together as she said, "Ooh, I have just the thing!"

'I have a BAD feeling about this,' Sumika sighed to herself mentally as the maid led her to her father's closet and began pulling items out.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The day of the party, Tomoe smiled slightly as the woman in the neat tuxedo looked around the club room and checked off items, 'We've got the fruit punch, scary fake spiders, black and orange ribbons, I think we're all set,' she decided, her black hair slicked down slightly.

"What do you think?" Miyako Taema asked, twirling as she showed off her slinky tight dress. They had decided on matching costumes, gangster and girlfriend from the United States, though they hadn't managed to find prop guns.

"Lovely," Tomoe purred, pulling Miyako into a hug, her hand settling nicely on the rounded curve of her ass.

"Don't mess up the makeup," Miyako teased, winking, pulling back just a bit to prevent her lover from kissing her and messing up her lipstick.

Before they could do anything TOO blatant the door slid open, Azusa Aoi walking in and giving the two of them a disapproving look. The girl was dressed in a uniform from a popular girls-love series, her glasses actually going quite well with the starched skirt. "Do you have to do that?" Azusa sighed, shaking her head, her hair pulled back severely as usual.

"Yes, actually," Tomoe answered archly, reluctantly letting Miyaki go and reaching up to straighten up her tie.

"Stupid question," Azusa sighed, but she wasn't too annoyed.

Azusa was a proud supporter of girls-love, the only difference she had with Tomoe and Miyako was that she thought they should be a bit more discrete. To her girls-love was a sweet and gentle thing to be sheltered from the outside world, not blatantly put on display for all to see.

"Do we know who else is coming?" Azusa asked them curiously.

"Ushio and Sumika both promised to be here," Miyako told her as she checked over the table at the side of the room packed with cookies and the punch, "and I think Kiyori and Lotte will be too."

She pouted, "Koi and Mayu both had family things to do."

"Kiyori?" Azusa blinked, "I thought she was straight." She didn't mention Lotte, who was too young for any of them to consider. Or something. Besides, Lotte was clearly crushed on Sumika, much like she used to be.

"I think she's coming for the free food," Tomoe looked amused, picking up a cookie and munching on it happily.

Everyone laughed at that, knowing the appetite of their mutual friend.

Lotte arrived next, the small teen dressed in a sweet looking skirt and ruffled blouse in pink and white. "Don't ask," the little blonde scowled, stomping inside cutely.

"Your mom?" Azusa said sympathetically.

"Yes," Lotte sighed, getting a glass of punch.

Lotte's mother was a nice enough woman, everyone agreed on that fact, but the lady had a certain image of what she wanted her daughter to be. Every chance she got she stuffed the tomboyish girl in cute dresses and bows, despite the fact that Lotte would have preferred to wear a karate uniform or boys clothes.

There was a rustle of cloth and Tomoe looked up, only to blink in surprise as she took in Sumika's outfit. The young woman was dressed as a wandering swordsman of ancient times, with the billowy pants, overcoat and even the sandals. The tall girl suited the costume well, a striking figure with two prop swords at her side.

"Wow," Azusa breathed out, her glasses slipping down her nose as a blush colored her cheeks. Her imagination instantly conjured up a scenario of the woman samurai saving a girl like her, then she shook her head as she tried to banish the fantasy.

Sumika blushed under their gazes as she gripped the somewhat awkwardly hanging swords. "Sorry," she said as she nodded hello to Lotte and the rest, "Noe got kind of carried away."

"Sempai, you look terrific!" Lotte said eagerly.

"Thanks," Sumika answered sheepishly, her long black hair tied back in a ponytail up near the top of her head, also like a samurai.

"Hey," Kiyori walked in, the younger woman munching on a beef bun from the local corner store. The brown haired girl had found a ninja outfit somewhere, though she had the mask pulled down so she could keep eating.

"Well, that's just about everyone except...," Lotte started, when the club room door slip open once more.

Sumika turned around to see Ushio coming in, and her brain seemed to literally freeze up. Ushio had apparently decided to borrow one of her brother's maid outfits, and the costume suited her very well. Worse, it was a low cut, high skirted model and Sumika was having a VERY hard time reining in her imagination.

"Wipe off your drool," Miyako murmured the order not too covertly, looking up at Sumika with amusement.

Sumika's hand went up to her mouth then she blushed, glaring down at the smaller girl. "Stop that," she hissed.

"Sumi!" Ushio was looking at her wide eyes. "That is so cool!" she blurted excitedly, circling her so she could take in the whole costume.

As Ushio walked her short skirt swished in the breeze, rising and falling enough to bewilder Sumika more than a bit. "I think yours is the better costume," Sumika said honestly. She tugged at her billowy pants, "I was shocked my dad had all this in his closet."

"Damn they're cute when they do that," Tomoe murmured, smiling slightly as she and Miyako lingered off to one side.

"Especially since it's your fault that Ushio found out about how Sumika feels about her," Miyako reminded her lover pointedly.

Tomoe blushed faintly. Not long after Ushio had been hurt she had sat down to talk to Ushio, and Tomoe had told her that Sumika loved her, thinking Sumika had already confessed to her. Sadly that wasn't the case, making things complicated for both her friends.

"Do you think I should try to...?" Tomoe trailed off.

"Better leave them alone," Miyako suggested as she mused, "it'll be easier for them both if they find their own way."

"I still don't even know what we're doing here," Azusa complained good naturedly, "this isn't even a Japanese tradition."

"You like cosplay, right?" Kiyori said as she munched a cookie, "It's sort of the same thing. Besides, what does it hurt?"

"Well, true," Azusa conceded as she saw Tomoe go over to a portable stereo over by the windows, presumably brought in for the party. After a moment 'Pure Pure Heart' began playing, a song by a local band called After School tea Time.

Sumika hesitated for a moment, then she bowed slightly towards Ushio and asked her, "Can I have this dance?"

Ushio smiled blindingly as she said, "Please!"

It was a very toe tapping song, one that had even Azusa tapping her feet slightly. Beside her Kiyori swayed back and forth, then smiled at her as she asked, "Wanna dance?"

"Us?" Azusa asked, surprised.

"Why not?" Kiyori offered a hand as she said, "Dancing's fun, and I think I can trust you not to do anything."

"All right," Azusa agreed just as the one track ended and another started, this one called 'My Heart is a Stapler.'

"Strange songs," Kiyori said as she shook her head, but she was smiling too.

"Yeah," Azusa agreed, "but fun too."

Kiyori gave her a teasing look as they swayed and shuffled to the music, "Do you have a crush on Mio-sama too?"

Azusa blushed, "No comment."

Kiyori laughed, adding quietly, "I may be straight, but she is really cute."

"Sumika," Ushio murmured as they danced to a slower number, "do you remember when you kissed me through the Ultraman mask?"

"Urk," Sumika blushed bright red. "Yes?" she said quietly.

"At first I thought it wasn't a first kiss," Ushio said as she pressed herself a bit closer to Sumika, "but on thinking on it I think it really was my first kiss."

"Really," Sumika said nervously.

Ushio looked up at Sumika, giving her a arch, almost teasing look as she purred, "It means you have to take responsibility, Sumi."

"I do?" Sumika croaked.

"I want a much better second kiss," Ushio said, encircling her arms around Sumika's neck and pulling her down into a kiss.

"Wow," both Azusa and Kiyori froze, watching wide eyed as they kiss. Ushio pulled back, smiling, then Sumika keeled over in a dead faint.

"Sempai!" Lotte yelped as they dove to catch her.

"What did you do yo her?" Miyako asked Ushio, impressed.

"Nothing bad!" Ushio protested. "I think."

"I think it was just a bit too much for her," Tomoe decided after looking Sumika over, "but we'd better get Sumika home."

"Right," Ushio agreed, mentally tossing out any romantic plans. 'And I wore this sexy outfit too,' she pouted.

End?

Notes: Canon wise this is set somewhere around volume six of the manga, or before chapter thirty-five, whichever comes first. At this point Ushio knows how Sumika feels about her, but Sumika has not yet figured out how Ushio feels.

Yes, I'm implying that Sasameki Koto and K-On may exist in the same universe. Am I gonna write a actual crossover eventually? Who knows? I was actually tempted to have Tomoe pull a 'Screw the rules, I have money' stunt and pay to have After School Tea Time actually PREFORM for their Halloween party, but I decided it would be a BIT much.