This is my entry for 's Tribute to Eiri contest for her amazing Naruto fanfiction, The Obsession. Read it now if you haven't already.

Wait – read this first.

Disclaimer: Naruto is Masashi Kishimoto's, as well as the Sand Siblings, Sunagakure and the Land of Waves. The Obsession is Desert. Moon's (without the space), along with Takara, Abura, and Eiri.

"But Takaraaaaaaa-chaaaaan, why're you making me wear all this eyelineeeeeer?"

"Because, Eiri-kun," I said for the eightieth time, "since we happen to be in the Land of Waves for Halloween, I think I can finally get away with getting us dressed up as Gaara-sama's team without enduring eternal ridicule back in Suna."

"But why do I have to be Gaaaaaraaaaaaaaaa-samaaaaaaa?" he whined, fidgeting so I almost messed up on his left eye.

"Gaara-sama's shorter than Kankuro-sama and Abura-kun's being Kankuro-sama cause he's taller than you. Why does it matter, anyway?"

"Cause if I'm Gaara-sama you're gonna be stalking meeeeeeeee."

I really, really wanted to hit him for that, but it had taken hours for me to get his hair to stick up in a Gaara-ish manner, and I didn't want to ruin it.

"No, I will not be stalking you, because no matter how much you may look like him – after getting really dressed up – you don't have the awesome Gaara-ness that gets me to follow him around."

He pouted, but held still except for the occasional wince.

"These contacts are itchyyyyyyyyyy…" he whined after a few more minutes.

"If you touch your eyes I will kill you very slowly," I said in what I hoped was a threatening tone of voice. "Aaaaand… done. Don't mess them up."

"Well, do I look like Gaara-sama?" he asked, getting up. I stood back and appraised him as a whole. He did have the right clothes, and the right hair and eyes, and his skin tone was pretty close. He was a bit too short, but in relation to me as Temari and Abura as Kankuro, it would look alright. But still…

"Eiri-kun, stop smiling," I commanded. He immediately put on an expression that was pretty similar to Gaara's usual "bleh"-like attitude.

"Actually, not bad," I said, surprised. I guess eight-odd years of following someone make it easy to create a decent imitation.

"Cheh, no he doesn't," said Abura, walking up behind me. He was wearing an outfit that looked exactly like Kankuro's, though he absolutely despised the hat – it was on the model Karasu's head instead of his.

"Shut up, Abura-kun," I groaned in exasperation. "You said you wouldn't complain too much."

"Speaking of which, I decided what you owe me for this. One, I get to burn these costumes when you're done."

I flinched. Making all this stuff had taken me months, but it was worth it for tonight.

"And two?" I asked, not sure I wanted to hear this.

"You're telling Gaara-sama that we dressed up as his team when we get back."

"No. Freaking. Way," I growled.

"Cheh, you said 'Whatever you want, just do this for me'," he said in a really bad imitation of my voice.

"I don't sound like that, and there's no way Gaara-sama will ever know about this."

"Either you tell him, or I'm going to people's houses with my head on fire like I wanted to instead of this."

"That would be stupid. How about you don't owe me any birthday presents for the rest of my life?"

"Cheh, I wouldn't get you anything anyway," he said, rolling his eyes. That was probably true.

"I'll give you all the candy I get," I offered.

"I'm already going to fill up this entire doll." He held up Karasu, who was hollowed out.

"I'll stop lying. To you," I added, doubting I could hold the bargain up as it was.

"Cheh, I'd like to see you try."

"You will, just please don't make me tell Gaara-sama!"

"Cheh, alright. But one lie and I'm going to tell him."

"Just for the rest of the year?" I begged.

"Until your birthday," he decided. "Stopping'll be your present."

Dang, that was eight months… but better than telling Gaara. I was already scared to let him know that I stalked him obsessively, so how would he take "Oh, and by the way, my friends and I dressed up as your team for Halloween behind your back. Isn't that hilarious?"?

"Fine," I agreed begrudgingly. "Sit down; I have to do your makeup."

Eiri looked glad to leave the courtyard. I hadn't wanted to hang around at the room we were staying in – I had to keep an eye on the setting sun so we didn't run out of time.

Eiri, however, failed to jump onto the roof correctly – he was off-balance because of the gourd strapped to his back. He slipped, sending some tiles clattering to the floor, and grabbed onto the edge just before falling.

Abura cheh'd, shaking his head, as Eiri clambered to his feet.

"If you ripped your costume I'm going to strangle you!" I called. Eiri looked himself over quickly, gave me a thumbs up, and carefully leapt away.

"Cheh, he's going to look ridiculous when he tries to walk around with that thing filled with candy," said Abura, holding surprisingly still while I opened a jar of purple paint.

"As long as he doesn't mess up his hair," I muttered.

Almost an hour later, even Abura was running out of patience.

"Look, I'm nearly done," I said, perfecting the last stripe that ran down his chin.

"You'd better be," he mumbled, trying not to move his mouth while he talked.

"Finished," I proclaimed, wiping off my hands on a towel. Abura immediately rushed over to a puddle and crouched down, examining his newly purpled face.

"Cheh, it's decent," he said, obviously annoyed that it didn't look terrible. I was pretty proud of my work on him and Eiri – really, considering I'd had no practice, they actually weren't too bad.

"Exactly," I said, prodding my temporarily bleached bangs into place. "I'm gonna go find Eiri-kun. Put this inside for me." I handed him my huge Temari fan.

"Fine, fine."

I would've used my jutsu to search for Eiri, but I was trying to conserve my chakra, and more importantly, if he caught me stalking him, he'd flip out and be under the impression that I actually saw him as Gaara. Yeah right.

The streets were basically empty – since this wasn't a ninja village, people had time for holidays, and most of the citizens were inside getting ready. Therefore, it didn't seem to insane to wander around yelling.

"Eiri-kun!" I shouted, turning another corner. It was a dead end – the streets here were really confusing, almost maze-like.

Wait – oh, duh, I thought, face palming myself. I jumped, pushed off a wall, and landed atop the roof.

It really did look like a maze from above. There were dead ends, spiraling lanes, and hundreds of tiny alleys between buildings. Maybe Eiri was just lost.

"Eiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiii-kuuuuuuun!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" came from across the town, echoing along the passageways. That kid was loud…

"Get up on the roof!" I called, running towards the sound of his voice. It was getting dark, and we had to meet up with Abura and hit the streets before all the candy was gone.

"Can't!" he called back.

"Can't? What do you mean, can't?"

"I'm stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!"

"Hey, Takara-chan, Eiri-kun, you know everyone can hear you?" Abura's shout came from over near our inn. I rolled my eyes, ignoring him.

"Stupid Eiri…" I muttered, dropping to the ground and melting into the shadows. It was much easier to travel like this, and I rushed through the darkness to where I had heard him, looking ahead through the long shadows cast by the setting sun.

Aw, crap, I thought – people were starting to emerge from their homes, sporting costumes and carrying empty bags. The last sliver of sun dipped beneath the distant mountains, and navy blue spilled across the sky, looking exactly like paint as it leaked into the pink and orange remaining near the horizon. It would be impossible to find Eiri in the dark.

On the upside, now I could go virtually anywhere, blending into the crepuscular shadows.

"Takara-chan!"

I stopped short at Eiri's voice, coming out into the light and looking around for him.

"Over heeeeeere!" I turned, and saw Eiri grinning at me from a narrow alley between two buildings. In the dark, his face would have held the demonic atmosphere that followed Gaara around, had it not been for his sheepish smile.

"What happened?" I asked, walking over.

"The gourd got stuuuuuuck," he whined.

"Did you scratch it?"

"I dunnooooo, but can you get me out?" he begged. I climbed up to the roof and dropped into the passage behind him. Sure enough, the gourd was wedged on a bump in the wall.

"You actually couldn't escape this? C'mon, Eiri-kun, you always get out of traps."

"I don't have any weapons with me, and I didn't want to tear the costume, Takara-chan…" he explained.

"Oh, thanks. I think if you just push backwards you'll get out," I said, getting the best grip I could on the gourd and pulling. His feet slid a little in the dirt as he tried to force his way back, but suddenly he burst free and fell backwards out of the alley, right on top of me.

"Get off," I gasped, basically squished.

"Sorry," he said, rolling over and getting up. I stood immediately, brushing the dirt off my back.

"Aw man, you scraped up the sides…" I grumbled, examining the gourd. That really sucked – I'd spent basically forever replicating it.

"It won't matter cause it's dark," he pointed out.

"But still," I said, "I worked really hard on it…"

"Cheh, it doesn't matter, I'm going to burn it in a few hours anyway." I looked up, and Abura was perched on the roof, looking very unhappy. I was glad to see that he was wearing his hat, and along with Karasu was carrying my fan.

"Thanks," I said as he threw it to me. I grabbed it by the end, flourishing it in what I hoped was a Temari-like manner. "Ready?" I asked them, as Abura landed next to me.

"Let's get this over with," said Abura.

"Yeaaaaah!" laughed Eiri.

"You can't smile," I told him.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?"

"You're supposed to look like Gaara-sama."

"Would he celebrate Halloween?"

"Yes," I said.

"Cheh, he means in a way that didn't involve demonic worship, sacrificial ceremonies, general terrorizing, you know," intervened Abura.

Alright, he had me there – no way Gaara'd go trick-or-treating.

"He'd look adorable in a little Shukaku outfit, though," I remarked.

"Ha, lie to me and I'm telling him you said that, too."

"Shut up, Abura-kun."

"Can we go?" asked Eiri.

"Yes, but stop smiling."

He assumed an annoyed scowl, and the three of us jumped out of the courtyard, ready to hit the streets.

"Trick or treeeeeeeat!"

The teenage girl who opened the door stared at Eiri in horror.

"Aren't you the m-monster from Suna?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yep, that's me!" he said, grinning widely. "Trick or treat!"

After a few more seconds of staring, the girl handed Eiri the entire bowl of candy she was holding, slammed the door, and turned off the light. I could hear the locks click as Eiri, grinning, poured the contents of the huge bowl into his gourd. The line of hopeful kids that had converged behind us dissipated with many groans.

The next house was similar.

"Trick or treat!"

"AAAAAAAUGH!"

"Ooh, thanks!"

"Eiri-kun," I said as we walked down the street, "can you let me and Abura-kun say 'trick or treat' first?"

"Whaaaaaaaat?"

"They're scared of you cause they think you actually are Gaara-sama, so you get all the candy. Would you let us get some before you take the rest?"

"Kaaaay."

This technique didn't work.

"Cheh, got candy?"

"Yes, here you- wait a second… isn't that boy the demon from Sunagakure?"

"Mhmm…"

"AUGH!"

"Alright, that was a failure," I said, carefully watching Abura as we went over to the next house – I didn't want him messing up Eiri's hair when, or if he strangled him out of jealousy.

"Cheh, how about we just split up?" he suggested, eyeing the extra sweets that were spilling out of Eiri's already-filled gourd. Eiri was sitting on the ground – he'd had trouble balancing even when the gourd was empty, and it was probably hard for him just to stand now.

"But we're supposed to be the Sand Siblings, not Gaara-sama, Temari-sama, and Kankuro-sama!"

"Fine, but you're going to give me whatever candy you do get," he said.

"You keep changing our deal, that isn't fair."

"Well, I thought I would actually get a decent haul."

"I'll give you some of my candy, Abura-kun," said Eiri. Well, I think that's what he said. His mouth was full of chocolate, so it sounded more like, "'ll iv oo fum o m andi br un," but I'm pretty sure I got it right. I quickly translated for Abura, who looked confused.

"Can I get whatever doesn't fit in that giant peanut thing?"

That wasn't really fair – it meant Abura would get the rest of Eiri's sweets.

"ow a'out oo iv ee k'a'u n oo et w't'er zint it n m?"

"Huh?"

"I think, 'How about you give me Karasu and you get whatever doesn't fit in him?'" I explained.

"Cheh, guess that works…three more houses and Karasu'll be filled too," agreed Abura.

"Do I get any?" I asked hopefully.

"Cheh, you're already making us dress up like this…"

Eiri swallowed, which was a feat in itself. "I'll give you all the sour candy I get, I don't like sour."

"Thanks, Eiri-kun!" I was delighted – I hadn't really expected to get any.

"But that'll also go to me," said Abura-kun, "cause I get all your candy, remember?"

"Our deal isn't open to negotiation," I said firmly.

"Cheh, whatever, I'll get enough as it is."

"Kay, let's go!" said Eiri enthusiastically, struggling to get back up. I dragged him to his feet, and the three of us set off down the road, our candy-hogging little demon taking the lead.

"Cheh…" Abura groaned hours later, lying on the couch with his head hanging over the armrest. I was curled up at the other end of the sofa, hugging my stomach, and Eiri was lying on the floor, using his gourd as a pillow and Karasu as a candy-filled blanket.

We had eaten what I estimated to be a good twenty-three pounds of sweets between us. I was completely finished, having gotten the least. Abura still had about a pound left to go, and Eiri, having filled up over and over as he ate away at his hoard, still had all of Karasu and four-fifths of the "giant peanut" to eat his way through.

"Abura...kun…" I mumbled.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"Get your… foot… out of my… face…"

He complied, drawing his knees up to his chest. Eiri gave a tiny burp.

"Takara-chaaan," he whined.

"What?"

"D'you think Gaara-sama gets sick… from candy… every Halloween?"

"Nah… he's not as stupid… as us," I said, chuckling. I winced from the pain in my gut, gritting my teeth.

"Cheh, duh," said Abura, laughing a little. "Takara-chan, I think I'll go with my head on fire next year."

"Smart. I'll be… an ANBU member… maybe for real…"

"Cheh, yeah right… how about you, Eiri-kun?"

"I wanna be… Gaara-sama… again."

Wow, I'm actually really happy with this. It didn't focus completely on Eiri, but he got the final joke, so that's good, right?

By the time these are judged, it'll be December, but I'm writing it before Halloween. And I'm not totally sure that it's celebrated in Ninja World, but let's pretend it is, okey? Also, please ignore any other mistakes I may have made.

I'm sure anime characters are scared of their cosplayers. And that Gaara would get a huge amount of candy if he trick-or-treated.