Hello everybody, thesaiyanjedi here with a little Halloween gift for you, my loyal friends and readers.
This is just a little story I cooked up in honor of the season. I was a bit rushed for time when I wrote it, but it ended up being a lot of fun. I have a feeling that you all with enjoy it. Once again it takes place years before the events of "Shinachiku's First Adventure."
So, with all that said, lets get to reading! And one more thing...HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
"But mommy!"
"Hanami! I told you that's no way to get what you want!"
"But mommy! I want to go now!"
"Hanami, your father and I told you, finish your chores and your homework from the Academy first, and then you and your brother can go trick-to-treating."
The four year old girl with pink hair walked away mumbling to herself, clearly disappointed that she needed to finish her homework first. Sakura looked at her young daughter and smiled, shaking her head in amusement.
'Poor girl, I know that she's anxious to go out and get her candy, but as her mother I need to make sure that she learned the importance of responsibility first.'
Ah yes, it was Halloween, the day when all that is dark and spooky is celebrated. When it is acceptable to dress up and pretend to be someone or something else. The day when fun, fantasy and, of course, candy were the way of life. Even after the children of the village graduated from the Academy and became Genin, the so-called age of 'adulthood' within the shinobi world, they could still appreciate everything the holiday stood for, and they could still take part in the various Halloween traditions like sweets, costume parties, scary movies, etc. Everybody who had ever been a child, be it in Konoha or anywhere else, has had some sort of experience with Halloween to speak of...Well, almost everyone.
Naruto Uzumaki, the Seventh Hokage, jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, hero of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and Sakura's husband. No, he had never had a pleasant Halloween growing up, not until he was much too old for most of the traditions that many of his friends take for granted. Why you may ask? Because for him every day of his life was already a horror show.
When you are burdened with the curse of being a jinchūriki, as far as your village was concerned you yourself were a monster, ostracized for something you may not even be aware of growing up. For someone like Naruto, going trick-or-treating was the an utter waste of time. If he dared show up at somebody's door asking for candy he'd be beaten away with a stick, a broom, or something worse.
Fortunately, things had changed dramatically for Naruto since then, and he did not want his children to have to miss out on the kind of childhood he was forced to.
'And they'll never have to,' Sakura thought to herself. 'After all, you're only young once.'
"Hey mom."
The pink-haired woman with the diamond seal entrusted upon her forehead turned to see a young boy, soon-to-turn nine years of age, with blonde hair and emerald eyes. He was their first born, their pride and joy along with his sister...It was hard to believe that in just a few short years he'd be graduating from the Academy and be joining the ninja world himself.
"Shinachiku," Sakura said, "have you finished your homework yet?"
"Sure did, Shino-sensei should be happy with the book report I wrote."
The slug queen's apprentice narrowed her eyes. "You didn't just do a report on your father's book did you?"
"No mom, I swear! I found a book in the library."
"Was it a manga?"
"No."
"Was it one of Jiraiya's novels?"
"No!"
Sakura eyed him suspiciously for only a second before she let it go. "Alright then, lets wait for your sister to get her homework done and your father gets home and then the two of you can go trick-or-treating."
"Okay mom!"
"Honey? Kids? Dad's home!"
Naruto had just gotten home from work and called out to his wife and children. He looked around for them as he took in the decor of his home, which had been fully decorated in orange and black, fake cobwebs, plastic bats and skulls, and all sorts of eerie decorations to honor the season. He did not need to wait long before he heard the some rather anxious children coming into the front atrium.
"DADDY!"
The ever excited Hanami ran up into the arms of her father. She was dressed differently than usual, wearing a Princess Gale kimono, her costume for the night. It may have been a father's biased point-of-view, but Naruto could not help but think she looked beautiful.
"Hey sweetie!" he said as he embraced his daughter. "Did you finish all your homework for tonight?"
"Yes daddy! Can oniichan and I go trick-or-treating now?"
"Well, is your brother ready yet?"
"Yeah, I'm right here dad."
Father and daughter turned their heads in the direction of the voice, observing the source. Shinachiku Uzumaki had appeared in the room. He was dressed in his costume now too, choosing to go in an orange fighting gi with a blue undershirt with shirt sleeves. He was going as Son Goku, his favorite hero from his favorite manga series. He read a couple of issues in magazines a few times and he was a big fan of the anime that aired on TV. He'd wished that he could actually own the series for himself though, oh well. Amusingly enough, the suit went great with his blonde hair and green eyes, making him look just like a short-haired version of one of the 'Super Saiyan' characters in the story. Sure, he'd tried to explain the concept to his parents before, but the whole thing went totally over their heads.
"I assume you're ready to go too son?"
"Yep!"
Naruto let go of his daughter and went over to his son to look him right in the eye. "Now Shina, I need you to promise me something alright? I want you to big a big boy tonight and watch out for your sister. Don't let her out of your sight."
"I will dad. But it will be safe won't it? We are in peace time after all, and we're not going to be going deep into the city."
"I know that, but as your father, I have to make sure you kids are careful. You know where to meet up with your friends right?"
"Yeah, we're all going to meet in front of Ichiraku's before we start visiting houses tonight."
"Good boy. Just remember what I told you about how to take care of yourself out there. You're only a few years away from being a ninja after all."
"I know dad."
The Uzumaki children met in the living room after their little talk, where their mother was waiting for them. Upon seeing her husband, Sakura shared a complementary hug and kiss with him, which he happily returned.
"Get a room you two!"
The couple broke their lip lock at the sound of their son's voice. It was Sakura who scowled at her son's outburst. "Young man! Where did you learn to say things like that?"
"I heard Ōkami and Shikadai say it, when they caught Sai and Aunt Ino kissing one time."
"Well, that's still a very rude thing to say to anybody, especially to your own parents!"
"Oh Sakura let it go," Naruto said. "Let the boy have his fun. After all it is Halloween."
Sakura let out a deep sigh at this, "Fine. But I want both of you kids to be safe tonight. And don't let yourselves get separated from your group—"
"I already went over it with them sweetie. Don't worry they'll be fine."
As usual, Naruto's confident smile was sufficient to put the medical ninja at ease. "Oh alright then." She turned to her children, "Kids, come into the kitchen while your father and I whip up some dinner. I don't want you getting full on nothing but candy tonight."
Hanami whined in disappointment. "But mom—"
"Hanami sweetie," Naruto interrupted, "your mother's a doctor; she knows what she's talking about. Too much candy in one night can make you sick and rot your teeth." He suddenly turned to the wife for confirmation, "That is true, right?"
Sakura rolled her eyes at her husband's ignorance. "I'm a doctor, not a dentist you doofus! ...But yes, you're right."
"So mom," Shinachiku asked, "what are we having for dinner anyway?"
The parents looked at each other for a couple of seconds before smiling mischievously. They turned back to their son and daughter with devilish smirks.
"Oh I don't know," Sakura answered. "It is Halloween, so I suppose something special is in order..." She looked to her husband, "Monkey brains?"
"Mmmm! Sounds good!" Naruto agreed, in on the joke. "I could barbecue us some human flesh and drench it in the jelly from their own eyeballs."
"Yeah great idea! Oh wait! I can treat the kids to my snake and spider stew! And instead of wine you and I can have a glass of blood while the kids are out having fun. Oh wait, I've got it! Instant ramen made of live worms!"
"Baby, you've read my mind!" Naruto kissed her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They broke the kiss after about five seconds and sure enough, their little game had the reaction they had hoped for.
Shinachiku and Hanami looked utterly terrified...and disgusted. Their faces were flushed white, their eyes were bugged out as if they would pop out at any moment, and while Hanami was seemed like she was about to cry from what she was going to be eating tonight, Shinachiku seemed on the verge of puking his guts out.
Naruto and Sakura glanced at one another out of the corner of their eyes and smiled big before quickly turning back to the kids and shouting as one "GOT YA!"
The kids were both snapped out of their trance and their white faces were instantly seething red in embarrassment, particularly the older boy who was old enough that he really should have known better.
"MOM! DAD! That wasn't funny!"
"Oh yes it was son!" Naruto protested as he and his wife were still cracking up laughing, "Oh yes it was!"
"Daddy! That was gross!"
Sakura got a hold of her composure long enough to speak for the both of them. "We're sorry sweetheart. Mommy and daddy just felt like having a little fun is all...Tell you what, how about we make it up to you two by making you a pizza tonight?"
"YAY!" Both kids cheered in response. Obviously pizza sounded way better than any of the disgusting entrées that their parents had suggested.
However, the young blonde, demonstrating an impressive sense of perception for his age, suddenly ceased his moment of glee when something came to his mind. "Wait! Mom, do we really have enough time to bake a pizza before we go? Doesn't that usually take a while?"
"Hmm..." Sakura thought to herself as she, in a seemingly exaggerated manner, put her finger against her chin in a contemplative pose. "You've got a point there Shina, you kids are short on time...I guess that means its a good thing I went ahead and put the pizza in the oven twenty minutes ago, huh?"
Fifteen minutes later the Uzumaki family were sitting at the dinner table having themselves their pizza dinner. In honor of the holiday, the slices of pepperoni were arranged in a pattern that resembled a Jack O' Lantern.
After their pizza was finished, the kids were ready to go. Sakura reasoned that all the walking from house to house that they were going to be doing tonight would do well to help burn off the carbs and calories...which, she supposed, would ensure that they still had room for some of their candy tonight.
"Well," Naruto said, "I suppose you kids had better get going soon."
"Alright," Shinachiku replied. "Come on sis, lets get going."
"Okay!"
Grabbing their candy sacks, the two siblings went to the front door to begin their night on the town, so to speak.
"We'll see you later dad! We'll be back in time for tonight."
"See you son. Remember what I said about looking after your sister."
"I will."
Hanami waved her arm in the air enthusiastically to wave her parents goodbye. "Bye mommy! Bye daddy! We'll be back!"
"Have fun you two!" Sakura told them. "And stay out of trouble."
Nodding, the two kids stepped out the door to go meet up with the rest of their friends for their Halloween night.
After the door closed, that just left the two lovers alone with the house all to themselves...at least until the trick-or-treaters came visiting their own doorstep tonight.
"So is everything set?" Naruto asked.
"Pretty much," Sakura answered. The candy is all set, the decorations are up, and the last things left to set for the haunted house are ready out back."
"Great, I guess we're about ready then."
"I've got to tell you, I'm really impressed at what you and your clones were able to pull off for such a small venue."
"Yeah, well, I guess it's just my way of getting into the Halloween spirit. I figured we might as well treat the kids to some fun."
Sakura frowned, "You mean the kind of fun you didn't get to have when you were a kid?"
Naruto lowered his head, "Yeah."
Sakura took his chin in her had and raised his head back up to face her. "Hey, its alright baby, its just you and me now," she kissed him, "and I think its great that you did all of this for the kids."
"I just wanted them to have a great Halloween that's all. That's why I had no problems letting them go on their own tonight; I figured they wouldn't want their friends to see them being chaperoned by their folks all night."
Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "I guess I can't argue with that, I know my parents would have embarrassed me if they did that to me on Halloween."
"Exactly. Besides, we're all living in peace time right now and our son is studying to become a shinobi; what's the worst that could happen?"
Sakura was about to say something else, but then the heard a loud knock on the door.
"Well, that was fast!" Sakura said surprised as she got out the bowl of candy.
"I'll hurry and go get myself and the clones ready."
"Great, and after I deal with these kids I'll go slip on my costume too."
With that, Naruto made an all-too familiar hand sign and ordered his clones out to the back yard to get themselves ready to entertain their guests and to whip out the last minute preparations. Meanwhile, Sakura opened the door to be greeted by a group of five young children.
"TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
One of the children was dressed in a classic, makeshift ghost costume that was just a white bed sheet with eye holes cut into it. Then there was a girl in a plastic witched mask and back gown and hat. There was a little boy wearing a costume covered in fur, making him look like a werewolf. There was a vampire present, and the last child was dressed as...well, actually she wasn't sure what he was dressed as, but it looked like some really bizarre looking anime creature that she had never seen before.
"Hey kids!" she said as she held out the bowl of candy and started passing it out to them. "Here you all go. Now don't eat all of it in one night or you'll get yourselves sick!"
"We won't," they all said as one.
"Good." She opened the door wider as she did her best to put on a grim expression. "Now you may pass through the cursed threshold and enter...the haunted house..."
Not long after they left, the kids made it to Ichiraku's where all of Shinachiku's friends were there. Shikadai was dressed as a ghost (mainly because he was too lazy to put in the effort to make a better costume), Inojin was dressed as a vampire (not a hard look for him to pull off with his already pale white skin), and Chōchō was dressed as a zombie. The twins Ōkami and Tsuki arrived in matching costumes, they were both dressed as werewolves. Bagu was dressed up as a mummified living corpse, and Burandon was dressed as a...err, well, he was dressed in an all black suit and was wearing white face paint with black eyeliner.
"Hey Burandon," Shinachiku called out," what's up man? What's your costume supposed to be?"
"Try and guess dear friend."
"Umm...a zombie?"
"No."
"Some sort of ghost?"
Nay."
"A goth?"
"Nay! I am a crow!"
"...I don't get it."
Shikadai chose that moment to step in "Yeah, none of us do either."
Chōchō and Tsuki looked to the young girl in the Princess Gale costume with happy smiles. It was Chōchō who spoke for the two of them. "Hey there Hanami. How are you doing tonight?"
"I'm doing great! I can't wait to get some candy!"
"That a girl," Tsuki smiled.
"Hey Shina," Ōkami said to his friend, "sorry that you're stuck babysitting your sister tonight man. I'm in the same boat, it sucks!"
"Oh, its not so bad, really. Besides, I feel much better that she's going out with the rest of us than all by herself."
"Why can't your parents go with her?" Inojin asked.
"They're handing out candy at our house, and they're also running a haunted house tonight."
"Really?" Shikadai asked underneath his white bed sheet. "Well, I guess we'll have to check it out before the night is over...or whatever."
Shinachiku frowned at the Nara's nonchalant feedback, but he let it go when he noticed something else. "So...she's not coming tonight is she?"
The two girls immediately got what the boy was getting at and regretted having to tell him the truth.
"No," Tsuki said, "I'm sorry Shina, but Sarada and her parents are still out of town. She and her mother are away with her dad on his latest mission."
The boy tried to act grown up about the whole thing, but try as he might, he could not fully hide his feelings of disappointment.
"I wonder what she would have worn for her costume if she'd been here tonight?" Hanami asked.
"I don't know," Bagu said, finally breaking his silence. "But we should all start going before it gets too late."
"He's right," Inojin reasoned, "peacetime or no, I know my parents will still get nervous if I'm out too late at night."
Shinachiku, getting over his disappointment, took on the alpha male role among his peers and lead the charge. "Alright then, we've got a lot of houses to visit and one night to do it. Lets get us some candy!"
"And TP any house that doesn't have any!" The others all turned to face the one who'd just said that, Ōkami, and frowned at him. "Sorry."
The kids first started out by visiting a few of the neighbors houses. They knocked on the door and when they were greeted they shouted "TRICK-OR-TREAT!", to which the adults at the door all handed out their candy. One recurring theme that would periodically happen during the night was how a number of the adults recognized Shinachiku and Hanami, and when they did they couldn't resist going on about how delightful it was to see the Seventh Hokage's son and daughter out among friends tonight. They would also complement Hanami costume and, out of respect, do the same for Sinachiku's, even if they did not have any clue who Son Goku was.
For the record a lot of them did not know what a 'crow' was supposed to be either, so they assumed that Burandon wasn't wearing a real costume at all.
After that they moved on to visiting other houses around the villages, including Kurenai's home which she shared with her daughter Mirai.
"TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
Kurenai handed out some candy that included caramel apples, sugar sticks, chocolate bars, and other goodies. After leaving that house, they then paid a visit to Ino and Sai's house.
"TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
Ino welcomed the kids with a bit too much motherly enthusiasm...particularly around her own son (who waved in respect) and upon seeing her best friend Sakura's kids.
"Hey there Shinashiku, Hanami!"
"Hey Aunt Ino," Shinachiku waved, as did Hanami with much more energy.
"Alright kids, let me see what I've got here."
She handed several different kinds of chocolate bars and fruit flavored gummy snacks. There was also some candy corn in there for good measure. Saying goodbye to the Yamanaka's, with both Ino and Sai asking the Uzumaki siblings to say hi to their parents for them, the kids next decided to go over to Shikadai's house to knock on their door. It opened to reveal Shikamaru and Temari opening it together.
TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
Shikamaru groaned, "Oh man, what a drag!"
Temari elbowed him hard in the side. "Watch it! They're just kids for goodness sake! And besides, two of them are your boss's kids aren't they?"
"Yeah, hence why it's such a drag."
Temari promptly stomped on her husband's foot, causing him to groan in pain and head back in side mumbling; Shikadai was happy his friends could not see his embarrassed expression as they were already sweat dropping at the scene.
"Sorry about him kids," Temari smiled as she tried her best to set the mood back in order for the kids. "Here, lets see what we have in the bowl this year."
She handed out some peanut butter cubs, gummies, jawbreakers, sour balls, etc., and wished the kids a good night. Things were going pretty good so far, early in the night and already the kids were on quite a roll.
They decided to ring out the last of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans as they headed over to Chōchō's house. Chōji and Kurai greeted the kids a the door as they called out "TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
"Hey kids!" Chōji shouted with his burly enthusiasm; lets just say there was a good reason why Halloween has always been one of his favorite holidays. "Hey sweetheart, you and your friends having fun?"
"We're doing great dad, thanks," Chōchō told her father. "And don't worry, I'm bringing home plenty for all of us to share."
"That's my girl!"
Ōkami leaned over to Bagu and whispered in his ear, "Yeah, like a lard butt like Chōchō's dad needs to eat any more candy?"
Shinachiku, Shikadai, Inojin, Tsuki, and especially Chōchō all face faulted at what the Inuzuka-Hyūga boy had just said, praying that Chōji hadn't heard it.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
'Oh crap...' Chōchō hung her head as she was forced to run off into the night with her friends as her mom was forced to hold the Akimichi clan head back from conducting assault on a minor. Oh sure, he'd calm down and be over it by the time she got back home, but Ōkami would still be wise to stay away from him for a few days.
Moving on, they decided to visit the Hyūga estate next. With the clan security allowing them passed the front gate, they knocked on the front door and were greeted by Kiba and Hinata.
"TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
""Hello kids," Hinata said to all of them with motherly politeness.
"Hey mom," both of the twins said back. "Hope you don't mind us bringing our friends over for some candy."
"Oh no, not in the least. Hello Shina and Hanami."
"Hi Aunt Hinata," both of the siblings waved.
"Hey you two," Kiba said to his kids as Hinata passed out the candy, "you hit a lot of houses already?"
"Yeah," Ōkami answered, "we already went to Inojin's, Shikadai's, and Chōchō's houses."
"Not bad, not bad."
"Mr. Inuzkua," Chōchō spoke, "before we came here Ōkami made a joke about my dad's weight."
There was silence as Hinata gasped with her hand over her mouth and Kiba groaned slapping his forehead. They were obviously no stranger to Chōji's lifelong weakness, so it was a miracle that their son was alive in one piece.
"Son," Kiba said, "when you get home we're going to have to have a talk, you understand me?"
The male Inuzuka-Hyūga twin swallowed a lump in his throat as his sister looked at him in pity. "Yes sir."
After leaving the estate, Hinata having handed out some gum drops, red vines and chocolate coins, they decided to the try heading to Burandon's house next. Knocking on the door, they waited until it opened, revealing the happy couple.
"TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
"AH! The Springtime of Youth shines upon our home this evening, this most joyous of holidays that is Ol' Hallow's Eve!"
All of the kids, except for Burandon, merely stood there not having any clue what to say. And so Tenten had to do her best to speak for her husband. "What he means to say is 'Happy Halloween kids.'"
She handed out some lemon drops, some peppermints, and of course chocolate. After leaving the Lee family home, that just left the Aburame family home and the Uzumaki house on their hit list. It felt kind of weird to be going trick-or-treating to their teacher's home, but Bagu was with them so they figured it was okay.
Knocking on the door, the cried out "TRICK-OR-TREAT!" when the door opened and Shino came out.
"Happy Halloween Shino-sensei!" the kids all said as one.
"Evening kids," Shino said in his classic monotone voice, but with that touch of softness that let the kids know he was being polite. "My wife is preoccupied with something right now, so I'll just get the bowl here and you kids can help yourselves...But I don't want to find out that any of you chose to stay home sick tomorrow just because you ate too much in one night."
"We won't Shino-sensei."
The kids helped themselves to some candy...which was nothing but a giant bowl of apples. Reluctantly, they took one apple each and stuffed them into their sacks. As they left, they kids complained to one another.
"Well, that sucked," Shikadai whined.
"I feel inclined to agree," Inojin concurred.
"I'm sorry if my father's choice of sweets wasn't to your liking," Bagu said, "but to be fair we do have plenty of sugary snacks already."
"Point rejected," Ōkami dismissed rudely. "I say we go back and TP their house right now!"
"Oniichan, no..." Tsuki voiced worriedly.
Shinachiku chose to step up and speak what all of the others were thinking, "Ōkami, if you want to pull a Halloween prank on our teacher and get yourself sent to detention and in trouble with my dad, be my guest. But don't expect any of us to bail you out after it goes wrong for you."
Ōkami frowned, "Y'know, sometimes I really hate you Shina."
Shinachiku merely smirked at that. Well, I guess the only house we have left to visit tonight is my house."
"Yosh! Let of partake in the sweets handed out at the Uzumaki Estate!"
Bagu looked at Burandon out of the corner of his and merely replied, "What he said."
"Hey Shina," Tsuki asked, "didn't you say that your folks were having a haunted house tonight?"
"Oh yeah! It was my dad's idea. He wanted to try something different this year than inviting our parents over for another costume party."
"Sounds like fun!" Chōchō said. "Lets go!
"Oniichan," Hanami said tugging on her brother's gi, "do you think mommy and daddy will make it too scary?"
"I don't know sis, dad wouldn't tell me what he's doing with the place and it didn't look too bad when we left tonight. I really don't know what he's planning." He looked to the others, "Either way we'd better start heading to the outskirts of the village before it gets too busy."
"Too busy?" Shikadai questioned raising an eyebrow, even lifting up his sheet so that the others could see him do it. "No offense Shinachiku, but I really doubt that a whole lot of kids are going to bother coming to your folk's house tonight..."
"...I stand corrected."
There was a long line that lead up to the Uzumaki mansion that stretched clear from the front door to well outside the front gate. Kids in costumes, and a few of their parents, were all lined up to get themselves some candy and to check out this haunted house that their Hokage had set up that had quickly become the talk of the whole village.
The line was very long, and the children were currently at almost the very back of it.
"Hey Shinachiku," Ōkami complained...again, "why don't you just let your mom know that we're back here so we can cut to the front and we can get this thing moving already?!"
"Come on man," the blonde countered, "that wouldn't be fair. All these other kids have been waiting in line this whole time already. Besides, I don't want any of them getting jealous of me just because my dad's the one that set this whole thing up."
The male twin merely folded his arms and muttered under his breath, "What a boy scout."
And so they waited...and waited...and waited. Many minutes passed by, but to them it felt like it was a whole hour. Eventually however, the kids got to the front of the doorway and were greeted by none other than Shinachiku and Hanmai's mother...or so they all assumed.
Sakura was dressed very differently than she had been when the kids left for the night. She was wearing a short black dress with puffy purple under layer, and while the dress covered her upper arms it left her shoulders bare. Her skirt was fairly short, but her legs were covered by thigh high stockings that were black and purple striped, topped off with thick black high-heal shoes. Atop of her head was a large black witches hat with some purple diamond shapes on it that were reminiscent of the seal that christened her broad forehead. Basically she was wearing a cross between a sexy maid and a sexy witch costume. And while Shinachiku wasn't a hundred percent sure, he thought for a moment that his mother might have been wearing vampire teeth as well.
'What the heck?! When did mom find the time to buy that?'
The boy's train of thought was interrupted when the others all shouted "TRICK-OR-TREAT!"
"Oh hi there kids! Happy Halloween!" She then noticed that her own children were a part of this particular group. "Oh hi kids!"
"Hi mommy!" Hanami waved excitedly.
"M-Mom?!" Shinachiku stammered with a clear blush across his face. "W-When did you...?"
Sakura looked confused at what her son had meant at first until she looked down at her attire where the boy's eyes were staring. "Oh this? I picked it up at a costume store after work one night and snuck in into the house when you and your father weren't looking. Your father really liked it when he first saw me wearing it."
The boy's face faulted, 'I'll bet he did...'
"Lady Sakura," Inojin spoke up, "my mother and father wanted me to tell you they said hello."
"Oh thank you Inojin! You be sure to tell your mom that I said hi back okay!"
"Lady Sakura," Shikadai interrupted, "can we have some candy please?"
"Oh silly me! Of course!" Sakura proceeded to hand out some chocolate bars, lemon bars, peanut butter cups...grapes that looked like eyeballs, realistic-looking gummy worms, things like that. It kind of freaked the kids out at first until they fully caught onto the joke.
"There you go kids, Happy Halloween." She then stood up straight and held the door open, suddenly speaking in the deepest, most ominous-yet-feminine voice she could pull off. "Now you all may enter...the haunted house."
Not wasting another second, the kids entered Shinachiku and Hanami's home...which stunned even the two siblings because it looked completely different than it had an hour or so ago!
The lights were turned completely off, and many of the different hallways were blocked off by planks draped in black velvet. The main hallway was lit by strobbing lights and there was evidently a fog machine installed because the eerie mist was all over the place. Spooky music was booming through the house as the kids walked a predetermined path.
"Jeez Shina!" Ōkami said, "you never told us that your folks went to this must trouble!"
"I didn't know! I swear that it looked nothing like this when Hanami and I—"
The blonde was caught off when he felt a tug on his gi. He looked down to see his baby sister looking really scared, not surprisingly. "Oniichan, I'm scared."
"Hey, don't worry imouto. Your big brother's right here to look out for—"
"RWOOOOUUUURRRRR!"
The kids all screamed, even Shinachiku, when they suddenly saw a hairy monster, or rather a person wearing a monster costume, leap out of a hidden passageway and 'attack' them. Hanami freaked out and screamed especially loud as she clung onto her brother. Of course, if she had known who was really behind the monster's mask, she probably would have been far less afraid.
The kids moved on, jumping at everything that came out of them: vampires, werewolves, mummies, the walking dead, you name it, they probably saw it. There were some really creepy details that lined the walls of the haunted house also, namely bloody handprints along the walls, some of which splashed out as if the victim was trying desperately to cling to the wall as they were being dragged against their will.
The kids were having an absolute blast, but all of this activity was putting them seriously on edge. Hanami clung to her brother's costume the whole while, and he had his hand on her shoulder to help move her along.
The kids followed the constantly weaving and bobbing path until it finally had brought them to a familiar sight...the door that led to the back yard. It was covered in thick black paper so that none of them could see through the window, meaning that nobody had any idea what was on the other side. Over the door there was a sign that said: "Welcome to Horrorville." The Uzumaki siblings were especially curious what their parent's had done with it while they were away.
Not wasting any time, Shinachiku turned the handle and opened the door...
...As soon as he did, he were greeted with the sight of the back yard he had always known, but now it had been totally transformed into something from a horror movie! The lawn was covered with dozens upon dozens of makeshift graves, dozens of jack o' lanterns were laid out with ghoulish faces carved into them, the ground was covered in fog, background music could be heard that sounded like howling wolves, chirping bats and mewling ghosts, plus some muffled screams and other noises that sounded too inhuman to even be recognizable. A zombie was standing at the barbecue pit waving to them as he was cooking up what looked to be human organs like hearts, livers and even a human head...It was all fake of course, but more than convincing enough to creep out the kids!
The hot tub had been turned into a stage of sorts; a makeshift stage had been set up with a man in an executioner's mask hanging a gagged dummy upside down and dunking him into the bubbling hot tub water. The pre-recorded screams of agony created the illusion that the poor victim was being dunked into a vat of acid...that or a pool of man-eating piranha. The horrific illusion was completed when the victim was raised back up, revealing not a dummy but a bare skeleton.
The kids kept moving through the back yard as they passed along the pool, which looked totally ordinary, unassuming, completely normal...Until...
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
With a giant splash a creature, one that looked like some bizarre cross between man and fish, a 'gill-man' if you will, burst out of the water and lunged out at the kids. The young ones naturally leaped back in shock, and Hanami grabbed onto her brother even tighter as the creature slunk back into the pool.
But as horrific as the decor was, perhaps the creepiest part of all was the fountain that was set up right in the center of the yard. No longer was it merely spraying normal water but a red-colored variant of it that was meant to resemble blood!
Monsters and masked lunatics provided jump scares for the kids, and zombies would once and a while burst out of the ground as if they had literally risen from their makeshift graves.
As all of this was happening, they could clearly hear an eerie Halloween-themed song playing in the background:
Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It's our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween
I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red
I am the one hiding under your stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
In this town, don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can
Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll scream
Scream! This is Halloween
Red 'n' black, slimy green
Aren't you scared?
Well, that's just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take the chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night
Everybody scream, everybody scream
In our town of Halloween
I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace
I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the wind blowing through your hair
I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Tender lump lings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare
That's our job, but we're not mean
In our town of Halloween
In this town
Don't we love it now?
Everyone's waiting for the next surprise
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everybody scream
Won't ya please make way for a very special guy
At this point the kids had followed the path to the outdoor chamber, which was totally covered up so no one could see inside of it. They pulled back the tarp and dared to go inside...What they found was a single, large chair, and sitting in it was a lone figure dressed in a outfit made up of a orange-red vest, black pants, a black frill neck piece, and a long orange-red cloak clasped together with a silver neck piece with a large red, diamond-shaped jewel in the center. The figure had his head down, but he had what appeared to be dirty blonde hair and a pair of orange-red fox ears coming out of his head.
Our man Jack is king of the pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
The 'Pumpkin King' rose ominously from his throne as the rest of the song play, a light shining upon him from the back with a silhouette of nine waving lines reflected in it, resembling the shadows of nine fox tails that, symbolically, belonged to the flesh-and-blood creature standing before them now.
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
La, la, la, la-la la, la, la, la-la la, la, la, la-la la, la-la la, Wheeeeeee!
As the song came to a crescendo, the mysterious stranger at last rose his head to face the children...It was Naruto, only has had vampire teeth in his mouth meant to resemble fox fangs, make up that made the whisker marks on his face appear more pronounced than usual, black eyeliner, and special contact lenses that made his eyes appear blood red with slitted pupils. It all made Naruto look like some sort of Gothic vampire version of himself while he was under Kurama's control. It looked quite terrifying!
"BOO!"
The kids jumped, even Naruto's own children. The jinchūriki relaxed and let out a laugh.
"HAHAHA! Got ya!" He'd been doing this act all night and he couldn't lie that he was having a great time. But then he recognized the kids that he had just scared. "Oh hey kids!"
"D-Daddy?" Hanami questioned as she dared to peak out from behind her brother's legs.
Naruto dropped the spooky monster act and went right back into father mode, getting on one knee and opened his arms up. "That's right sweetie, its me."
It seems that was enough to get the girl to calm down and make her happy as she ran into her father's arms and embraced him in a hug. "Daddy!"
"Hey princess, I'm sorry if I scared you."
"Its alright, it was scary, but it was fun!"
The Hokage then noticed his son standing there with a smile. "Hey champ! How do you like your old man's haunted house?"
"It's awesome dad! But...how did you pull all this off so soon after Hanami and I left?"
"Months of careful pre-planning, clever hiding things from you, and a literal army of shadow clones that all knew exactly what their jobs were to help put it together."
Chōchō got curious about something. "So...all those monsters we ran into were...?"
"Shadow clones of myself. Why? Did they scare you kids?"
Ōkami got a smug expression as he defied the allegation. "What? Me? Scared? Not even close!" He was lying of course, and Tsuki knew it. 'When I get home I need to change my pants.'
Naruto made one more clone that looked just like him as his posed for two pictures that the clone took: one with all of the kids, the other with just his own son and daughter.
After all of that fun, the other kids decided that it was time for them to head home and thanked Naruto, Sakura, Shinachiku and Hanami for the awesome Halloween. After a few more hours the crowd outside died down too and by the time the last batch of guests had cleared out, the night was pretty much over.
"So did you kids have a great Halloween?" Sakura asked cheerfully.
"Sure did mommy!" Hanami said excitedly as she held open her sack. "See? Look at all the candy we got!"
"Wow! That's my girl!" Of course then Sakura needed to go back into doctor mode again. "Now you two remember what your father and I told you earlier: don't eat it all in one night or you'll be too sick for school tomorrow."
"We won't mom," Shinachiku answered for the both of them.
After the kids had their fill of candy for one night, they finally decided to get out of their costumes and head off to bed. This just left Naruto and Sakura, still in their costumes, all to themselves.
"I'll leave a team of clones at the house tomorrow to take all of this down while you and I are at work," Naruto promised.
"Thank you." Sakura wrapped her arms around her husband as she kissed him on the lips, which he gladly returned. It was an interesting kiss for them to share as neither of them had taken out their vampire teeth yet.
Breaking the kiss, Naruto looked into his beautiful wife's emerald eyes and said, "I love you babe."
"I love you too sexy." She kissed his again, running her hands along his back.
After breaking the second kiss, he smiled perversely at the pinkette. "Have I told you yet how awesomely sexy you look in that costume?"
"Yes, you have..." she played with the rim of his cloak, "...and you look pretty hot too." She suddenly got a perverted grin of her own. "Y'know, the night's still young..." she whispered into his ear as she rubbed her clothed groin against his own clothed crotch. "What do you say Hokage-sama, want to head upstairs and play the grown up version of trick-or-treating?"
Naruto grinned like an idiot. 'God I love this woman!' "Why Sakura, is my sexy witch planning to cast a spell on me?"
"Not at all my lord Pumpkin King...Well, maybe."
Giggling like a couple of naughty teenagers, Naruto picked up his wife and held her in his arms, catching her off guard before she gave in and claimed his lips again as he carried her up the stairs to their bedroom.
As they retreated to their room to have their own private fun, Naruto could only think to himself, 'Now this is what I call a perfect Halloween.'
So, what did you think? I'll leave it up to your own imaginations what the grown up version of trick-or-treating is. LOL!
But in all seriousness, this was a lot of fun to write, particularly the haunted house stuff. I decided to go with that idea instead of doing yet another party. Besides, I already have a party idea in mind for another story I hopefully plan to get out to you all next week.
The song in this story was "This is Halloween" from the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas." It was originally written by Danny Elfman for the film, and since then has been covered by several other artists, most notably Marilyn Manson. It is my favorite song from the movie and I love how creepy and atmospheric it is, especially for a Disney film. Originally I was going to go with Michael Jackson's "Thriller," but I decided that this worked better.
For those of you who want a better understanding of what costumes Naruto and Sakura are wearing, look no further than the image that accompanies this story (which was NOT done by me but rather by and I fully credit her. Although, I DID alter it slightly by adding Sakura's seal to her forehead).
Hanami was dressed in a kimono worn by Princess Gale, Koyuki Kazahana's film character from the first Naruto movie, "Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow." Just a fun little reference I thought I'd put in.
Some of you might have been put off by the meta humor of Shinachiku dressing up as Goku for Halloween, but if you have read my previous story "An Uzumaki Family Christmas" (which this actually takes place two months ahead of), you would know that I already wrote that Shinachiku is a Dragon Ball fan (like yours truly) and that Sakura actually got him volumes of the manga for Christmas. Plus, come on! Blonde hair, green eyes...the kid was born to cosplay as a Super Saiyan!
The other kid's costumes were fairly typical, but Burandon's was an in joke that I hope most of you caught. Burandon Lee is a pun on the late Brandon Lee, the son of the legendary Bruce Lee, the original inspiration for both Rock Lee and Might Guy. Burandon's costume is therefore meant to resemble the Crow, the comic book character that Brandon Lee played in his final film "The Crow," where he was tragically killed during production; may he continue to rest in peace. If by some chance anyone reading this does not know that story, I encourage you to look it up as it is truly one of the greatest Hollywood tragedies.
Also, a lot of you likely already guessed it, bu the man-fish creature that leaps out of the pool to scare the kids was based on the Gill-Man, the titular monster from the classic horror film "Creature from the Black Lagoon." The Creature is so popular and iconic that he is often regarded by many (myself included) to be the last of the classic Universal Studios Monsters, of which I have always been a huge fan. Even though the Creature was created in the 50s, well after the Golden Age of horror films during the 30s and 40s, it is a testament to his popularity that so many of us cannot imagine that iconic lineup of monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Wolf-Man, and the Phantom of the Oprah) without the Creature from the Black Lagoon being among them. In fact, I dare say that many of the more recent horror icons like the Alien or the Predator owe the Creature a huge debt of one sort or another.
I think that's all I've got for this one. I hope you all enjoyed reading it, and Happy Halloween!
Until next time, see ya!