"Alright, there we go!" Jaden exclaimed, taking a couple steps back to get a better view.

The driveway was covered in fake spider webs, tombstones, black and orange streamers…Jaden had even gone through the trouble of setting up a fog machine by the doorway. His grin was as bright as the light up ghosts hanging from his almost leafless maple tree as he admired his masterpiece.

"Just one more thing…" Jaden pulled a lighter out of his pocket and stuck it inside the freshly carved pumpkin, making sure not to touch the paper wings glued to its back with the flame, and lit the candle inside it. His smile brightened as the carving of Winged Kuriboh's face burst into light.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed with excitement, running back inside to get his costume on.

Once in his room, Jaden frowned down at the boxes he had spread out in front of him. He always had this problem whenever Halloween came around, he could never choose just one costume. The others might feel rejected. That way of thinking was also the reason Jaden owned so many costumes. He couldn't just leave such a wonderful creation at the store, it was blasphemy!

"What do you think, Yubel?" he called, waving his arm at the mess of cloths and colours.

Said spirit appeared at his side. "I think you need a new hobby," she said teasingly.

"Yubel," Jaden pouted, adding at least three syllables as he stretched out her name with his whining tone. "Come on, I don't have much time left!"

"I still don't understand what you need a costume for," she said, rolling her eyes at the boy's familiar antics.

"I told you, it's Halloween!" he exclaimed, his arms waving excitedly.

"And I told you, I don't know what that means," she pointed out.

"You'll see," Jaden said with a secretive smirk. "But first I have to pick a costume." Jaden looked at them thoughtfully. "On second thought…" His smile grew into a wide grin, the kind one would expect to see spread across a Jack O' Lantern.

"What are you planning?" Yubel asked, almost cautiously. She knew the kinds of crazy things Jaden was capable of.

"You'll see," Jaden repeated, laughing.

~*~*~*~

"Ta da!" Jaden exclaimed, throwing his door aside with exaggerated enthusiasm. His excitement dropped slightly when he saw there was no one there to see his dramatic presentation. "Yubel?" he called, eager to show off his brilliant idea to his friend. His search for her was interrupted by a loud dual-toned ringing. "The door! They're here!"

Jaden practically flew down the stairs, almost tripping on his extravagant costume as he ran to answer the door. He threw open the door, his trademark goofy grin plastered on his face as he looked down at the two small children dressed up as the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl.

"Trick or…treat?"

The well-rehearsed saying faded into a question as the children stared at Jaden with looks of pure confusion.

Not that anyone could blame them. He looked as if a card shop had swallowed him up and then spit him out with whatever pieces were left over. He had the long black hair of Burstinatrix, partially covered by the pointed green mask that his Elemental Hero Avian wore. As If that wasn't strange enough, he was also sporting Bubbleman's bulky blue top, the colour matching with Sparkman's tight, blue pants with lightning bolts running down Jaden's legs into his bright, flaming red boots courtesy of Burstinatrix. To top off the strange, clashing mixture Flame Wingman's large feathered wing was sprouting from the left side of his back and a red dragon looking creature sprouted from his right arm.

Altogether, he looked like an obscure combination of every card in his deck, smashed together in a mixing bowl and then poured out and dumped on his head.

"Cool, huh?" he asked, twisting his body to show off all angles of his…unique costume.

"What are you?" the little Dark Magician asked, his nose scrunched up.

Jaden's shoulders slumped slightly at the derisive tone in the child's voice. "I couldn't pick just one, so I decided to be all of the Elemental Heroes!" he explained, straightening up proudly.

The children just stared at him.

Jaden sighed. "No one appreciates true creative genius around here," he muttered as he turned to fetch the kids some candy. Instead, he found Yubel, standing on the stairs looking at him with an expression similar to the children on his porch.

"Is everything alright?" she asked in a tone that clearly stated she thought he was crazy. "I heard the door…" her voice drifted off as she noticed the little duel monsters in the doorway. "What-"

"Hey, Yubel, want to grab me that candy bowl?" he asked quickly, noticing the slight panic in Yubel's eyes. He had hoped to explain at least a bit about Halloween to his friend before any trick-or-treaters arrived. She wasn't used to being seen, and she didn't usually like it when people did see her. He silently begged the children not to say anything that would set the spirit off. He adored Yubel of course, and trusted her with his life, but he knew how her temper could get.

His pleas were unnecessary, however, as he would soon see.

"Wow, that costume's wickedly cool!" the boy exclaimed, admiring Yubel's heterochromatic eyes and large wings. Said eyes widened in shock at the unexpected reaction, and she stared at the boy with her mouth agape.

The mini Dark Magician Girl nodded, smiling at her with wide eyes. "You're so pretty," she said shyly, hiding slightly under her hat.

"Costume…?" Yubel's voice faded off, still confused as she looked to Jaden.

The young teen just grinned back. "I know, isn't she? Yubel is the best."

His declaration was met with eager nods from both children and a deep blush from the guardian, the bright red tone lightening her purple cheeks. Jaden just laughed.

"The candy?" he reminded her.

"Right," she said, struggling to regain control of her composure as she walked- not flew- the candy bowl over to Jaden. Jaden smiled and dropped a handful of candy into each child's outstretched bag.

"Thank you!" they chorused, turning to leave with a wave.

Jaden beamed back, waving happily at them as he shut the door. With the door securely back in place he turned his grin to Yubel, bringing her blush back in its fullest.

"I told you you'd see," Jaden said in a singsong tone, chuckling slightly at her reaction.

"Yes you did," she agreed, her embarrassment slowly being replaced with a genuine, happy smile. "Thank you, Jaden."

Their sappy, emotional moment was interrupted by yet another ring of the doorbell.

"If you want to thank me, you can help me hand out these treats!" Jaden replied with a laugh, getting into position to dazzle more trick-or-treaters with his brilliant costume.

A/N: Happy Halloween everyone! And remember, you're never too old to go trick-or-treating, so if you're reading this and you're not planning on going here's your encouragement to go! Free candy guys, come on, how can you turn down an offer like that? The people that judge you are just jealous that they can't pull off your costume like you can. Besides, I find a lot of people are more amused or impressed when they see older people that still go out for Halloween rather than anything negative.

And if for some reason you aren't going, I hope you'll at least get dressed up and have a mini costume party in your living room or something. Anything to spread Halloween spirit! If not for yourself, then for Atticus (Or Fubuki, for the subbed fans). Because you know he'd be thrilled that you decided to dress up, and since it's his birthday we should all have some fun as a birthday present for him!

Anyways, the moral of the story is you should definitely have some fun today! Happy Halloween!