Naruto High School
Story 9: A Halloween to Remember
(Rated T for mild violence, adult content, and adult language.)
(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Naruto because it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. As for the drama in high school, it has some coolness in it. So, enjoy the show!)
Halloween was around the corner as everyone in school was gearing up for the tricks and treats that occur. As for Naruto, however, he was more into dumpster diving for candy coupons since he got out of school. He was on the prowl to dish out some Halloween candy as he was about to hit the motherlode with the overhaul of coupons in his hand. When he went home, he set the coupons down as he clipped them and got out the ones with the candy on them. After separating the candy coupons from the rest of them, he put them into his wallet as he was ready to do some hardcore shopping for Halloween candy. With his wallet, keys, and cellphone in his hands, he left his house with his longstrap bag as he also had the five thousand yen gift card that his paternal relatives gave to him. When he got to town, he decided to go to Konoha Market first to spend his gift card as he was going for a Halloween costume for tomorrow's festivities. The costumes consisted from a Count Dracula outfit to a cowboy outfit as he was looking for one that suited him.
The selection of costumes was limited after many sales as Naruto settled with a pirate costume with some extra stuff in it. When he paid for his costume, with his gift card, he was happy to get it as he left Konoha Market for the mall, where Benibara stood. The store in the mall accepted coupons by the bushel as Naruto was ready to hit the candy aisle. With a cart full of candy, he was ready to hit the cash register as he had his coupons handy. With every bag scanned it racked with a whopping total of a hundred and twenty thousand yen as he was ready to have his coupons scanned to lower the price. One by one, the coupons lowered the price as they even doubled on some of the items in Naruto's cart. With the last coupon scanned, the total became reduced as it only lowered to a thousand yen. Naruto was relieved as he got out his money and paid for his candy in his cart. By the time he left Benibara, he had all the candy in his hands as he was on his way home. By the time he got there, he put the candy down on the porch, he used his keys to unlock the front door as he opened it up. With the candy brought inside, he set it on the couch as it was something to be worthy of being couponed.
Tomorrow was Halloween as he also had his costume in his longstrap bag, he got it out of there as it was a cool one to wear when he got out the candy for the kids, who would come to his house to get some candy. When he put it up in his pantry for tomorrow, he was exhausted as he was also hungry for some dinner. As usual, he got out an instant chow mein as he was about to cook it up in the microwave. When it got done, he took it out as he got out his chopsticks and took it to the table. With an ice cold Pepsi from the fridge to complement dinner, he was eating away as he loved the taste of the chow mein that called to him. When he finished up, he threw away the chow mein cup and Pepsi can as he washed his chopsticks off in the sink. He was fully satisfied with a good dinner and an overhaul on Halloween candy as he went upstairs to the bathroom and took a shower. Tomorrow was Halloween as he was looking forward to it. After finishing up his shower, he dried off with a towel as he was ready to brush his teeth. After doing so, he put on his nightclothes as he put his dirty things into the hamper and left the bathroom. When he went to his room, he climbed into bed as he was about to fall asleep. Even though tomorrow was Halloween, there was also a party at the school as most of the students will be dressing up in their costumes. As for Naruto, however, he was looking forward in staying home as he couldn't wait to get the candy out for the kids sooner or later.
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The next morning, it was all a doozy as Naruto was in school in the most grueling class ever: Physical Education. Sixth period was trouble for him as he had to contend with Might Guy's grueling training methods in order to get fit for both the mind and body. Naruto was still having a tough time climbing a rope as he was trying to get to the top with such fashion. The bout of exhaustion has taken a toll on him as he finally made it to the top of the rope, but fell to the ground when he landed on the mat. He was tired as he was about to have another case of going to the nurse's office. He was a wreck as he was also the butt of epic fails in physical education.
"You're not hurt are you,... little girl?" said Sasuke as he was mocking Naruto for his blunder.
"Ha, ha; very funny," he said as he was up on his feet.
"Okay, Naruto, you've done enough for your exercises," said Might Guy as he blew his whistle.
"But class isn't over yet."
"You've pushed yourself too much; so, hit the showers."
"It's not even seventh period yet."
"Naruto," said Sasuke. "Do what Guy-sensei says. Besides, you can't be running on empty, especially on Halloween."
"Speaking of Halloween..., I'm gonna be dishing out the candy to the kids tonight. I even got a Halloween costume to wear while I do it."
Naruto was right about that as he left the gym and went to the boys' locker room to take a shower. He was worked through the ringer as he was cleaning himself off from all the physical activity that went on here. After he finished up, he grabbed a towel and dried himself off as he went to his locker and got out some clean underwear and his clothes to put on. With his dirty gym clothes shoved into his backpack, he left the locker room as he was off to his seventh period class, which was science. As usual, he was at the forefront of the learning ladder as he was doing an assignment about particles. He kept his eye on the notes on the chalkboard as he saw Yamato writing the details into next week's test. Science was Naruto's least favorite subject as he had to deal with Yamato directly. The class was nearing the end for another day as Naruto stared at the clock above the door.
"As I have told you before," said Yamato as he was staring down the class. "Tonight's Halloween and there's no homework, but tomorrow is another matter because it would be extra scary if you forget tomorrow's test for the start of second quarter."
The class shook with fear as they couldn't wait to get out of Yamato's classroom right away. When the clock finally reached three o'clock, Naruto was glad to get out of there as he was on his way home. Even though he didn't have any homework on Halloween, it was his day to savor as he was ready to dish out the candy to the kids. Little did he know was that there was going to be a Halloween party at the school as he didn't have time to go there due to the trick-or-treaters and their parents walking all over the neighborhood. It was also the time that the party at the school was about to be scrapped because of Kinjo's stance on the holiday, but it was reinstated at the last minute. Although Naruto wanted to go, but he wanted to be there serving the candy to the kids as he was going home right away. Unbeknownst to him, he didn't notice Sasuke and Sakura spotting him going home as they were also both curious and concerned for him.
"I can't believe that Naruto is about to miss out on tonight's Halloween party at the school," said Sakura. "Does he always miss out on this holiday?"
"Last time I heard, Naruto was going home to cater to the trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood," said Sasuke. "As usual, he always skips out on this day."
"Excuse me," said Hinata. "Have you seen Naruto?"
"He went home... again," said Sakura.
"That's too bad. I was hoping that he would come to the Halloween party."
"What?!" Sakura was starting to get furious. "Naruto's not going?! That's not fair to you because you don't have a date! As for Naruto, he's been staying at home for too long!"
"Sakura," said Sasuke cautiously. "Naruto's not going to be easy to get out of his house because of the trick-or-treaters getting candy from his house. Somehow, there will always be a way into bringing him out into the open for tonight's Halloween party. All we need to do is to concoct up a plan."
"Are you sure?" asked Hinata.
"I'm positive. Besides, Naruto shouldn't be staying at home too much anyway."
Sasuke made his point clear as he was about to have his plan put into motion. All along, he has seen Naruto all alone in his house as he was mostly in such a situation that was too quiet. There was even that time when he caught the nosy trio breaking into Naruto's house at the time, but this year's Halloween frolic was going to be far different than any other.
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When Naruto made it there, he saw several kids dressed up in costumes as they were about to head out into the whole neighborhood to get some candy. With the sun starting to go down, he had to get set up as he went inside his house and gone upstairs into his room to get out his costume. Stripping down his school uniform, he dressed into his pirate costume as he left his room and went back downstairs. When he went towards the pantry, he got out the candy that he bought yesterday as he set it on the counter in the kitchen. The notion of tonight's Halloween was a lonely one for him as he didn't mind the quiet comfort of his house. Sooner or later, he would be ready to give out the candy as he was also on hand in having his Halloween decorations outside of his house lighting up in his yard. Speaking of Halloween, Naruto resumed the candy detail as he was ready to mix it up for the kids.
He was ready to blend in the candy as he got out a large bowl and put some of it in it. With a selection of chocolates, chewy candy, suckers, and other stuff, all of it was mixed into the large bowl as Naruto was ready to await the kids in the neighborhood. The time for trick-or-treating has already begun the kids in their costumes were out with their parents while looking for candy. As for Naruto, however, he was used to being alone on Halloween as he didn't mind it. The surroundings were quiet all over until he heard the doorbell ring. With the large bowl of candy at his disposal, he walked towards the door. Opening it up, he saw several kids in costumes as they had their pails out for their pieces of candy.
"Trick-or-treat!" they yelled.
"You guys must be in for a real scare tonight," said Naruto as he was giving a piece of candy to each kid in costume. "Here's your candy and have a safe and happy Halloween."
"Thank you!"
With the kids leaving for the next house, Naruto saw them go across the street to Kiba's house as his mom and sister were also giving out candy. He loved the fill of Halloween as it was a festival of costumes all over the neighborhood. When he went back inside with the bowl of candy, he waited as he turned on the t.v. to see what was on. With a horror film playing on screen, Naruto continued to wait it out as he heard the doorbell ring again. It wasn't long until he opened up the door with the bowl in his hand and saw Konohamaru with his Halloween pail in his hand as he was dressed up as a cowboy. There was also the sight of Moegi and Udon as they were also dressed up in costumes. With Konohamaru in the lead, there was Moegi in her fairy costume as Udon was dressed up like a mad scientist. All three kids were up and ready to go trick-or-treating as they were waiting to get some candy.
"Trick-or-treat!" they yelled.
"Hey, Konohamaru," said Naruto. "Looks like that you're off on a good start."
"We just got started on the hunt for candy, but we decided to go here first," he said.
"I've got a pretty sweet selection so far."
"Do you have any Snickers?" asked Udon.
"Is there any Meiji chocolate?" asked Moegi.
"There's a lot in this bowl," said Naruto as he gave the kids some candy in their pails. "Besides, it is Halloween after all."
"That's one sweet bowl of candy," said Konohamaru. "I might come here at your house again for another piece."
"Yeah, I bet you would. By the way, you guys have a safe and happy Halloween."
"Thank you," said the kids as they left for some other houses.
Once again, Naruto shut the door as he had the large bowl of candy in his arms. He was waiting for more trick-or-treaters to show up as he was still ready to dish out more candy for the kids. With the minutes going by, he was answering the doorbell many times as he continued to bring out more candy for the kids. With the bowl of candy almost empty, he was about to get out some more as he went to the kitchen. With a couple bags of candy put into the bowl once again, he was ready to cater to the trick-or-treaters as he sat down on the couch and waited while watching another cheesy horror film. Although he got used to the quiet in his house, it was also very depressing for him to be alone in his house on a special holiday as he was the only student in Konoha Academy that lived on his own.
With the Halloween festivities going on as usual, Naruto flipped the channel to the weather report as he saw that there was going to be a cold front coming here to Konoha City. It was already freezing enough as the cold weather was even creating frost on the windows. Anyway, Naruto was still waiting for more trick-or-treaters to show up as he was still on the prowl to see more kids running for more candy in their bags.
"It sure is fun," he said to himself.
When he saw the clock reach close to seven, he was waiting for more trick-or-treaters to show up as he was still watching t.v. while staring at the door. When it was starting to get quiet, he heard the doorbell ring as he grabbed the large bowl of candy and answered it. To his shock, he saw Hinata at the door as she was dressed in a baroque costume. He had never seen her so beautiful before as he even wanted to give her some candy.
"Hello, Naruto," she said as she blushed.
"You forgot to say 'trick-or-treat,'" he said as he gave her a Meiji chocolate.
"There's a Halloween party at the school."
"I know, but I've been dishing out the candy to the kids."
Without warning, Naruto heard some footsteps coming from the back door as he turned around and saw Sasuke and Sakura enter into the kitchen. Dressed in their costumes, they were good to go as they were determined to get Naruto out of the house as soon as possible. He didn't know what to think as he was about to be towed into the school, where the Halloween party was going.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"We're here to snag you, Naruto," said Sasuke.
"It's that Halloween party, isn't it? I have a bad feeling that Kinjo might be there barring me like he always does."
"Actually, he's not gonna come out of the bathroom anytime soon," Sasuke fishes out a bottle of stimulant laxative from his bag. "I kind of slipped this stuff into his coffee thermos."
"Really? Alright, Sasuke!"
"Hey, we have to go right away," said Sakura. "Besides, there's a costume contest and prizes there."
It was an offer that Naruto couldn't refuse as he decided to turn off the lights and t.v. in his house. With his wallet, keys, and cellphone in his longstrap bag, he was out the door as he locked both the front and back with Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata following him. The fall weather was getting colder as it was also a godsend that all four had their coats with them. It was even a huge plus when Naruto had the large bowl of candy in his hands as he was about to go to the school for tonight Halloween festivities. By the time he got there, he saw the other students go into Konoha Academy as they were dressed in their Halloween costumes. There was even music playing as there was also some games that were fun. It seemed that Naruto wasn't lonely after all as he was even dancing with Hinata as the sound of the spooky tunes filled the commons.
The party was lively as the students loved the Halloween party that went on. Even Naruto was having fun as he was about to go for one of the games in the cake walk. He had never did anything like that before as he was walking to the spooky music playing. When it stopped, Naruto stood on a number as he was waiting for it to be called upon. It wasn't long until he saw Yamato come towards the cake walk as he was dressed like a Jedi knight with a toy lightsaber in his hand. He was a jack of all trades as he was also ready to announce the winning number of the cake to be taken home by one of the students on the numbers.
"Okay, listen up," he said as he was digging into a box that was next to the plethora of cakes. "Our first winning number for the cake walk is..." He digs into the box as he gets out a piece of paper with a number on it. "...Number 7!"
The students in the circle all stared at Naruto as he was standing on that lucky number. He didn't know what to think as he decided to take a cake of his choice. The sight of a tres leches cake with whipped frosting was a doozy as he took it right away. He had always had cake mixes and frostings in his pantry, but having his cake in his hands was a great victory for him as he carted the cake over to a table. He was ready to tackle that cake as he had one slight problem: no paper plate to put a slice of it on nor utensils to eat it with or napkins on hand. He had a bright idea as he went over to a serving table to get a paper plate and some utensils as he carted them to the table where his cake was. Opening up the plastic top, he was ready to dig into it until he saw Hinata walk towards the table with a cake of her own. It was a chocolate cake with mocha frosting on top of it as she set it down next to Naruto's tres leches cake.
"I take it that you have a cake of your own." she said.
"I'm not too worried about it," said Naruto. "At least it's a great party."
"I'm so glad you think about that."
"Hey, I know that I've got some cake on hand, but I'm not gonna pig out on it right away because it wouldn't be fair to eat it all and not share."
"I see..."
Naruto decided to slice up the tres leches cake as he even gave Hinata a piece of it. She had never tasted something so soggy before as she loved it so much. When she saw Naruto get a piece of chocolate cake, he tasted it as he couldn't get enough of it. He knew the one who baked it as it came from the bakery of Benibara in the mall. He even noticed that the tres leches cake also came from Benibara as it was made by the same thing. It was one fun-filled evening as he was even dragged from his house to enjoy the Halloween party from his friends, especially when it came to Hinata being there.
"This is good cake," he said as he was happy to share from the one that he won at the cake walk.
"I like the tres leches one better," said Hinata.
"What about the chocolate one? It's made by the same bakery in Benibara at the mall."
"It's not as good as the tres leches cake, but I like it the same."
"Anyway, this is a great Halloween so far because Kinjo isn't around to be bossing everyone like last time."
"Anyway, what happened to him?"
"He... kind of gotten a case of the runs."
"That's too bad..."
"Yeah, but at least we're having fun and not being belittled for our costumes. Besides, Halloween comes once a year and I'm sure not letting it go to waste."
Hinata was happy to hear that from Naruto as she saw him get out another piece of cake. Both of them were enjoying the evening as it was packed with all the spooky decorations that ever existed in the school commons. With the party going, it was fun as there was also the costume contest to be announced. With everyone on display, there was going to be a winner in every category. There were even pictures that were taken by either camera or cellphone as everyone loved the fun of Halloween. It was even more fun when the winner of the best costume turned out to be Naruto himself as he got a blue ribbon for the one that he wore. With the clock reaching close to ten, it was time to go as everyone was on their way home. As for Naruto and Hinata, however, they were ready to go as they grabbed their things and left the school. To their surprise, they saw snow falling on the ground as it was only a trickle. It was a strange notion to see snow falling on Halloween as the rest of the students came outside to see it fall onto the ground. With most of the students leaving for home, Naruto remained as he waved goodbye to Hinata, who was also on her way home as well.
"I'll see you tomorrow at school," he said as he smiled.
"You forgot this," said Sasuke as he had the bowl of candy in his hands. "Sometimes, you can be a total loser, but not this time."
"Sorry, I forgot all about it. When I get home, I'm most likely to be waiting for the other kids to show up for some more candy."
"I hate to break it to you, but all the kids that got candy have gone to bed by now."
"I see... Anyway, I bet that Konohamaru went to bed without going to my house for some more candy."
"There's always leftovers. By the way, we should all get home before breaking curfew."
"That's fine with me."
With that, Naruto saw Sasuke set down the bowl of candy as he went home to his own family. When he picked up the bowl, he found that it was nearly empty as there is only some Snickers chocolates left. It was a Halloween that would be remembered as Naruto made it home safely to his house. With the Halloween decorations intact, he was happy to have it that way as he dug out his keys and opened up the door. With the cake and bowl of candy in tow, he set them down on the table as he later went into the living room to turn on the t.v. It was a happy time for him as he would also go back to school tomorrow for more schoolwork assignments in tow. Just as he was about to turn in for the night, he heard the doorbell ring as he walked towards the door. When he opened it up, he saw that it was none other than Konohamaru as he wanted to get another piece of candy from him.
"Trick-or-treat!" he said.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?" asked Naruto.
"By the way, I still wanted to get more candy from you."
"I don't have much, but I'll get you some."
When he got the bowl from the table, he dumped out all the Snickers chocolates as he gave them to Konohamaru. It was a great Halloween for everyone as Naruto watched Konohamaru go home while he watched the snow fall on everything, including the Halloween decorations. With tomorrow becoming the first of November, Naruto was waiting for the fall weather to wane as there was also a prospect for Thanksgiving on the corner. With the holiday coming to a close, he went upstairs into the bathroom to take off his costume as he turned on the hot water in the bathtub. After being in the cold weather, he wanted to get a bath right away as he stripped off his costume and underwear. When he entered the tub, he was happy to be in a hot bath as he turned off the water. Winter was in full force as the fall weather wasn't going to last forever.
After spending over a half hour relaxing and cleaning himself in the bathtub, Naruto emptied the water out as he got out of the tub and dried himself with a towel. He was clean as he even wanted to go to bed. After brushing his teeth, he got on some nightclothes as he put his underclothes into the hamper and his costume up for next year when he left the bathroom. Going downstairs, he went to the main closet by the stairs as he opened it up to put away his costume. To his shock, he saw a huge selection of old Halloween costumes as they were put up nicely in some plastic covering. He had never seen anything like it before as he even noticed an old chocolate box with a jack-o-lantern on the front. Picking it up, he opened it as he saw some old pictures of his parents dressed in the same Halloween costumes that were in the closet. It was something of nostalgia as he saw his late parents, Minato and Kushina, all dressed up in the same Halloween regalia that they had many years ago. It was the simple gathering of memories of them as he even noticed one Halloween picture that made him cry. He saw his father all dressed in his Victorian costume as his mother was decked out in an old '70's suit. It was a picture that he wanted to put in his parents' room as he took it out of the box while putting it back in the main closet.
By the time he closed up the closet, he went back upstairs as he went straight into his parents' room. He wanted to put the picture next to the one of his parents as they were even more dearer to him than anything. When he put it next to the one that was framed, he smiled as he left the room and gone into his own. Climbing into bed, he fell asleep as he was happy to have a great Halloween at last. With the festivities over, everything was back to normal as the start of November was coming along with the sights of Thanksgiving coming soon...
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The next morning, Naruto was up as he was dressed up in his school uniform. Before he was about to leave, he opened up the fridge as he still saw what was left of the tres leches cake that was about to be eaten one way or the other. When he was getting ready to start the day, he got out some cereal as he was about to get a bowl down to pour it in. Just as he was about to get the milk to add to the cereal, he stared out the window as he saw the snow on the ground covering the yard. When he opened up the front door, he saw the snow become such a nuisance as it even covered some of the Halloween decorations in his front yard. He didn't know what to think as he never expected the snow to stay much longer. He didn't mind it one bit as he went back inside to get his breakfast. With Halloween over, the fall weather had gotten stunted as winter wasn't too far away. Naruto may have enjoyed the spooky holiday, but he had to finish up his breakfast and get to school as he got his backpack, along with his wallet, keys, and cellphone when he went out the door with his warm coat over his school uniform. After last night's party, he was back in the norm as he was eager to get the lead out in another day in school as usual.
"It doesn't get any better than this!" he yelled happily.
Happy (Snowy) Halloween!