The morning after the Great Anemo Paint War™ was surprisingly calm.
Birds chirped. Sunlight bathed the now tie-dye colored dorms. And in the hallway…
"WAKE UP, MONSTERS!"
Venti burst in wearing a full clown bard costume, complete with red nose, polka-dotted cape, and a balloon sword.
"Today is the Costume Duel & Trickster Tournament! May the worst dressed win!"
Xiao sat up with flour still on his eyebrow. "I regret breathing."
Wanderer groaned under his blanket. "If one more person paints my face, I'm going full Anemo nuke."
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First Event: The Costume Duel
The courtyard was set up with a glowing stage, floating jack-o'-lanterns, and Sucrose on fog machine duty (overdoing it, obviously).
Jean, in a judge robe and giant crow hat, held a megaphone.
"Contestants will battle… in costume-based challenges! Creativity and comedy shall be rewarded. Dignity shall not."
Round 1: Kazuha vs. Heizou
Kazuha floated out dressed as… a sad romantic tree. His outfit was brown silk, with falling fabric "leaves" and a poem attached to his back that read:
"O Maple breeze, why ye dump bird poop on me?"
Heizou came out in a detective trench coat made of candy wrappers, chewing bubblegum and declaring, "I'm the Sugar Sleuth! I solve crimes and cavities!"
Challenge: Dance Battle on Slippery Leaves.
Both slipped instantly.
Kazuha spun mid-fall and landed dramatically like a wilted flower.
Heizou skidded into Sayu and got whacked by her tail.
Winner: Tie. (They both made Venti cry with laughter.)
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Round 2: Xiao vs. Wanderer
The crowd held its breath.
Wanderer appeared in an enormous, inflatable pumpkin suit. "I hate this. I can't bend. Or move."
Xiao stepped up in full vampire gear again—but this time with giant foam bat wings and red heels.
He took one step.
He fell.
Hard.
The wings got tangled. The heels snapped. He rolled off stage with a "I swear this school is cursed."
Wanderer waddled forward triumphantly—until a strong breeze knocked him over and he couldn't get up.
They lay there. Both face-first in the grass.
Venti nearly passed out from laughing.
Winner: Sayu, for recording the whole thing and uploading it to 'AnemoFails.net'
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Second Event: Trickster Tournament
Jean: "Students will now compete in four rounds of absolute chaos. Proceed if you dare."
1. Spider Web Dash
Each student had to run through a hallway filled with sticky fake webs, while being pelted by slime-balls by Sucrose and Ifa.
Heizou dodged everything, until Sayu dropped from above like a true ninja and smacked a pie into his face.
Xiao tried to cut through with his spear.
The webs slapped him back like elastic. He got tangled.
Wanderer shouted, "Watch out!" and ran straight into a glue trap.
Kazuha floated through elegantly… until Lynette tossed glitter bombs and he emerged looking like a disco ghost.
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2. Ghost Balloon Stomp
The courtyard was filled with ghost-shaped balloons.
Goal: stomp the others' while protecting your own.
Kazuha played it like a samurai mission.
Wanderer just stomped everything. Even his own.
Heizou screamed, "Team up on Xiao! He has two balloons!"
Xiao smirked and summoned Anemo—and launched Heizou into the air.
"AAAH—WORTH IT!" Heizou shouted as he landed in a candy bucket.
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3. Mystery Costume Swap
They had to switch costumes randomly.
Kazuha ended up in Heizou's candy detective trench coat—way too short.
Wanderer was now a tree. A sad, leafy tree.
Xiao... was the pumpkin. "I will annihilate all of you."
Heizou: vampire heels. Again.
They had to perform a "spooky catwalk" like this.
Sucrose clapped. Sayu died laughing. Jean sighed and covered her face.
Winner: Everyone. (Venti declared this the "greatest moment in Anemo history.")
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Final Event: The Trick or Treat Gauntlet
A maze made of hay bales and illusions created by Chasca.
Inside: Either candy, jump scares, or paint traps.
Xiao entered first.
Boom—green paint on face.
Wanderer followed.
Boom—glitter glue to the hat.
Heizou rolled in laughing and was immediately hit with red chalk dust and fake worms.
Kazuha floated through again... and fell into a hidden mud bath filled with confetti.
They crawled out, covered in Halloween colors, dragging fake skeleton arms, plastic spiders in hair, and teeth glowing with sugar.
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Closing Ceremony
As night fell, Venti floated above the glowing jack-o'-lanterns with a cup of pumpkin soda.
"Let it be known," he declared, "you are all disasters. Beautiful, colorful, chaotic disasters."
The students were huddled together, sticky, painted, exhausted, and wheezing with laughter.
Jean handed out "Participation Scrolls of Eternal Shame."
Sucrose gave everyone glow sticks.
Sayu put googly eyes on everyone's backs.
Even Xiao cracked a tiny smile when Wanderer whispered, "We survived the circus."
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Dorm Night: The Aftermath
They sat in their pajamas, sipping hot cocoa, watching the school's slideshow of their worst moments.
Xiao's faceplant in vampire heels.
Wanderer as a collapsed pumpkin.
Heizou being launched by a wind gust mid-giggle.
Kazuha twirling in glittery leaf-pants.
Silence.
Then a loud:
"Let's do it again next year!" Venti yelled from the hallway.
"NOOOOO!" everyone shouted back—laughing.
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To Be Continued…