Disclaimer: I never owned Naruto. Never will.
"Kiba-kun...maybe we shouldn't do this," I whispered worriedly.
"Relax, Hina-chan," Kiba whispered back from the other side of the fence. "It'll only take a little while. Two hours, tops."
"Don't worry, Hinata," Ino patted my shoulder. "This is so much better than trick-or-treating!"
On the contrary, I was tempted to say. I would much rather be begging for candy door to door.
I placed my foot in Ino's hands, lifting myself up. I swung one leg over to the other side.
"You're going to catch me, right, Kiba-kun?" I asked, eyeing the six foot drop fearfully.
"Yes," He rolled his eyes, "Now please, jump."
"That sounds so suicidal..." Ino giggled. I shut my eyes tightly as I took in a big gulp of air.
Kiba shot her a glare that said "You're not helping!"
"Come on, Hina-chan," He said encouragingly, "I'm gonna catch you! Jump!"
Ino giggled again. I could only imagine the glare Kiba gave her.
I took a deep breath and complied. I hated the feel of free falling, the wind rushing through you, not knowing when you'd reach the ground safely -- or even if you'd get back up in one piece.
But sure enough, I felt Kiba's strong arms wrap around my waist. "See, I told you I wouldn't drop you!" He grinned cheekily. I blushed.
"Hey! Enough flirting! It's my turn," Ino hissed, "Sakura and the others are probably already there!"
Kiba rolled his eyes, holding his arms out expectantly. Ino nimbly climbed to the top of the fence, flipping back her long blonde bang out of her eyes, muttering a few obscenities regarding her hair.
"Ready?" She asked.
"Obviously."
"Hmph," She scowled, dropping herself. Kiba grunted. "Jesus Christ, you sure are heavy, Ino-chan!"
"Hey!" She exclaimed, lowering herself. "I'll kill you!"
"You can't kill me yet, 'cause then you two won't be able to get to the other side of the fence later, now would you?" Kiba smirked knowingly as Ino reddened quickly.
"Let's just go," I interrupted, hoping Ino wouldn't start another brawl -- again.
The both of them merely nodded, and we set off towards the gravesite we were supposed to meet at.
Everyone was there, as expected. Sakura, in all her pink glory, was surprisingly wearing dark clothes -- a deep red long sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans. Temari was wearing cargo pants and a regular tank top under a jacket, slouching against her boyfriend, Shikamaru. I could see Tenten in her hippie costume (she was probably the only one who bothered to buy a costume she wouldn't use), talking to Neji. Even the silent Shino was there, conversing quietly to Naruto, who, out of character, was responding equally as quietly.
"Hey, guys! Sorry we're late!" Ino greeted. "Where's Kankuro and Gaara? And Lee, too."
"Lee is with Gai...celebrating the youthfulness of Halloween," My cousin's eye twitched.
"Gaara was grounded," Temari shrugged, "He can't keep his hands off reading that hentai of his. And Kankuro would rather spend his Halloween trick-or-treating."
As would I, I thought.
"Right," Tenten stated, "Can we start now? Maybe there'll be some time to go get some candy. You know, to celebrate Halloween's youthfulness!"
The group laughed, though I could hear Neji groaning quietly.
"Yeah, come on," Sakura agreed, giggling.
"...Which one are we going to do?" Naruto asked, looking around the decrepit area.
Silence.
"What? No one bothered to pick one?" Shikamaru inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Apparently not," I said.
"Well...let's just pick a random gravestone, then." Shino suggested.
We looked around, searching for old, weathered gravestones.
Rayonusuki Karin...Maito Kai...Yagami Raidon...more names of dead people. I should just say one at random, just to get it over with.
"HEY! I FOUND A GOOD ONE!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Naruto! Shut up!" Sakura's voice rang out, annoyed.
"Sorry, Saku -- ow!"
"I don't think this is the time to start something, Sakura," Neji muttered, walking towards the gravestone Naruto was pointing at.
It was old, as any other gravestone in this section was. There was a cobweb covering half of the name, ironically enough.
"Sasuke..." Ino breathed. "Naruto, take out the spider webs."
"What? Me?!"
"I'm not ruining my new manicure," She huffed, showing off her orange and black colored nails.
"I'll do it," Kiba offered, "Naruto's obviously not man enough to do it."
"YES I AM!" Naruto replied heatedly, "And I'll prove it to you!"
Kiba smirked as Naruto proceeded to swipe the silky web away. "This is how far reverse psychology gets you with an idiot like him," He stated smugly, nodding towards the blonde. Most of us sweatdropped.
Shikamaru leaned down, shining his flashlight onto the slab of stone
"Uchiha Sasuke," He stated, mildly surprised. "Interesting."
Uchiha...how familiar...and odd.
"An Uchiha?!" Sakura breathed.
"We must be in the Uchiha section," Neji concluded.
"Let's do him!" Naruto exclaimed. "He's perfect!"
"Does he understand how wrong that sounds?" Tenten whispered. The crowd laughed while he fumed.
"Someone get out the video camera," Shino said. Neji wordlessly took out said object out of Tenten's backpack.
"Video camera?" I asked, confused.
"We want to capture evidence, Hina-chan," Sakura explained, turning the camera on. Her slightly tanned face was illuminated with a blue hue. "Let's see if we can get him on camera."
"I have the thermometer, as well," Shikamaru held up a bulky little box. "This better work, too, I went through hell to swipe it from my dad's shop."
"It'll work," Ino retorted, swiping the thermometer from his grasp.
"I have the tape recorder, too," Temari held up the slim rectangle. "It was hard to get an old one that won't filter anything out, but we're in luck. Gaara had one in his closet."
...Something tells me I really don't want to know.
"Okay, we're supposed to relax," Tenten stated, taking out a small, clear bottle of liquid.
"What's with the pure water?" Kiba asked.
"It's holy water," Tenten corrected, "We have to bless it before summoning the ghost."
"...Bless what?" I asked.
"That, my dear friend, is a very good question," She murmured. "Perhaps on the gravestone..."
"Get around the tombstone, guys," Sakura ordered, "Tenten, get behind it so you can bless it easily."
We did as told. I was handed the camera.
"You're right in front of the tomb," Kiba shrugged in reply, "You've got the best angle."
I tried breathing calmly. This wasn't going to work. It was a lost cause. Summoning a ghost wouldn't work. That was enough to calm me down slightly, stopping my trembling hands.
"Relax; breath deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth," Tenten instructed, "It helps your senses get more attuned. I would tell you to join hands, too, but most of us are a bit occupied. So whoever's holding something can just link arms with someone instead of hold hands."
"Where did you learn all this, anyway?" Temari asked.
"The Internet does wonders, Tema-chan," She grinned.
"Did you turn on the camera, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked.
"Yes..." I nodded.
"Good," Sakura replied, "Ino, keep your eyes on the thermometer. If it gets colder, there might be a prescence here. Tema-chan, turn the tape recorder on, we might get some EVP."
EVP...EVP...what the hell was that?
"I summon you, Uchiha Sasuke," Tenten began, pouring a drop or two of the holy water on the tomb below her, "I ask thy Lord to allow us to speak to one Uchiha Sasuke. Allow us the honor to contact this departed spirit."
Tenten repeated this a few more times, in this slightly odd, fixated voice. I absently wondered where exactly was this information she had found.
A shiver ran up my spine. I looked out of the corner of my eyes, beyond Kiba and Neji, hoping there wasn't an unwanted -- by my standards, at least -- presence.
"Uchiha Sasuke," Tenten finally spoke normally, "Are you there?" She paused before asking another question. "Can you give us proof you're here?"
Nothing.
Sakura bit her lip. "Please show yourself to us," She said gently, "We don't bite."
"I know that," A voice retorted. The group jumped, including the quiet men.
"W-what was...that?" I stammered, looking around fearfully.
"I didn't say that..." Tenten said.
"Neither did I," Neji added.
"Nor I," Shino nodded.
"It wasn't any of us..." Shikamaru looked around, over his shoulders, side to side. "I...I think that was his proof, Tenten."
"A smart man you are," The voice said again. It was smooth and amused. But there was an annoyed undercurrent to his tone. He must be a lot like Neji-niisan...
"Could...could you please show yourself to us?" Ino asked, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Alright," It said nonchalantly. A figure, almost transparent, appeared sitting on the gravestone with a slouch posture. He was directly in front of Tenten.
I gasped, along with the others.
"Beautiful..." Sakura breathed.
I must agree. He was pale -- whether from the fact the man he was dead or not, I will not know -- with locks of of inky black bangs framing his face, silky hair in spikes in the back of his head. I couldn't quite see his eyes, but his pink lips were set in a slight smirk, his arms folded across his chest. He had a quaint black dress shirt and black trousers.
"Now, I do think it's necessary to tell me why exactly you've summoned me here," He stated, "Dead people are extremely busy."
"Really?" Naruto asked, amazed. Neji, Sakura, Kiba, and Ino groaned.
"He's not exactly the sharpest crayon in the box, huh?" The ghost said, jerking his chin to Naruto.
"HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!"
"..."
"He's like that," Shino explained.
"Whatever," He shrugged, "Back on topic, please. Why am I here?"
"We wanted to ask a few questions, Uchiha-san," Temari stated. "If you let us, that is."
"Depends on the questions."
"I'll go first!" Naruto exclaimed. "How did you die?"
A slight frown tugged at the dead man's lips. "Murder," He stated simply.
"Who killed you?"
The frown deepened. The wind breezed by, showing the coal black eyes. And right now, they were irritated.
"Naruto!" Ino scolded, eyeing the irritated man nervously. "Sorry, really. That was out of line!"
"Next question," He demanded, glaring. I gulped. I quietly hoped I wouldn't die tonight.
Silence. I looked around. Everyone looked thoughtful, as if thinking of a worthy question that wouldn't upset the ghost.
"Um..." I stammered, "H-how...how old are you?"
There were no telltale signs of his displeasure. I felt reassured I wouldn't upset him and make him go demon boy on us.
"If I were still alive...I'd be ninety-seven." He shrugged, "And you?"
"I-I'm sixteen." I blushed, looking down. This beautiful man was that old...oh my...
"Hn," He grunted. "Anything else? I swear, from what I hear, people like you are supposed to ask much more interesting questions."
"From what you...hear?" Tenten asked confusedly.
"You didn't think I was actually kidding about the ghosts being busy thing, did you?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I KNEW IT!"
He ignored Naruto, turning to me. "What's with the camera?"
"U-uh..."
"Come on, I don't have all night here," He rolled his eyes.
"Yeah he does," Kiba whispered, "He's dead..."
"Uh...we wanted to capture...evidence..." I stammered. Please don't let that make him mad...Please...let us live...
"Why don't you ask us a question," Sakura suggested hastily, getting nervous
"Whatever," The ghost shrugged, "How old are the rest of you."
"We're all sixteen. Except Neji, Temari, and Tenten," Sakura pointed at each corresponding person, "They're seventeen. How old were you when you died?"
"Twenty-three, I think."
We were quiet for a few more minutes.
"What day is it today, anyway?" He asked disinterestedly, "Don't you have school or something?"
"It's Halloween," Shikamaru replied. "And no, tomorrow's Saturday."
"Halloween? Shouldn't you be begging for candy right about now?"
"This was more fun," Tenten shrugged.
"Not for me," He muttered.
"Um...sir..." I said quietly.
"Sasuke. 'Sir' makes me sound old."
"You are old," Kiba muttered. Sasuke shot him a glare.
"Right, then, uh, Sasuke," I stammered, "Why did you let us see you?"
"I have nothing else to do," He shrugged. "Don't feel special. I've done this a few other times."
"So..." Sakura said awkwardly. There was nothing else to talk about.
"Um..." I stammered, "W-who killed you?"
Why did I say that? I was curious. I thought he'd warmed up a little. I was wrong. Dead. Wrong.
His eyes narrowed as he gazed at me with a scary intensity. I shivered.
"I told you not to ask that," His...'teeth' ground together.
"Uh...I-I..."
"Um, Uchiha-san," Ino wrung her hands together, "We're --"
"Get out," He snarled. "Leave!"
I was trembling, truly scared. His teeth were barred, arms at his side with his fists tightly wound together.
"Uchiha-san --" I tried to say.
Snap!
"...What...was that?" Kiba looked around anxiously.
"It was a twig snapping, idiot," The ghost sneered visciously.
"Uh oh..." Temari said, "That means..."
My eyes widened; I dropped the camera, which on reflex Neji caught them.
"RUN!" Naruto yelled, turning back and quickly disappearing.
I could see a flashlight in the distance.
"Guys, run!" Tenten hissed.
It took me a second to register what was happening. By that time, the light was only meters away.
"Hey! You there!" A gruff, male voice called out to me. "What are you doing here?!"
"Uh, um..I-I..." I was frozen. I couldn't move. I searched for the rest of the group; they were gone. Even the ghost boy was nowhere in sight. It was just me and what now appeared to be a cop.
Oh, no. No, no, no! You have got to be kidding me! The only time cops are actually doing their jobs and patroling around here and I have to be caught!
I could have run. I was more agile than the thick cop. I just couldn't make my legs work. Frozen in shock.
And sadly, that is how I ended up in the police department.
I hate Halloween...
Author's Note: Okay, dudes. My little tribute to Halloween! Please review, I love it when you do!