Hello all! Here's a fun little one-shot I wrote for Halloween. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its characters. I don't own Halloween. However, I do own the delicious little candies I bought for trick-or-treaters - yum!

From his alert position at the doorway of his soul room, Yami let his eyes skim their surroundings as Yugi walked the distance from the grocery store back to the game shop. Strangely dressed people filled the darkening streets, and they were far too close for his own liking. Yugi seemed completely unaware of the cloaked figures, and he was exposing himself to danger. With a sense that the Pharaoh couldn't define, as it was neither visual, auditory, or tactile, he felt the strange person closest to them towards Yugi, as though to stop him in his path. Yami's fist clenched on the doorway of his soul room. /Yugi…/

Yugi's eyebrows furrowed. /What?/

/Don't you see that man next to – look out!/

The strange man leapt in front of Yugi, and whirled around to face him, the hood of his black cape falling back to reveal a glaring, ghastly pale face with protruding fangs. A thin red line traveled down the creature's chin from its fang, and Yami deduced with a jolt that it must be blood. He felt Yugi lurch backwards in surprise and, fearing that his hikari would not be able to defend himself from the bloodthirsty threat, he prepared to take over. /Hold on, Yugi, let me - /

Yugi's burst of appreciative laughter stopped Yami from his original plan, and he sagged slightly in the doorway, the adrenaline pulsing through his skull at the aborted plan of action. He tried to refocus on what was going on, regaining his usual regal stance.

"Wow!" Yugi laughed, "That's a great costume!"

"Really?" The vampire smiled, a big beaming smile that immediately transformed the man's face into a much more welcoming expression. "Thanks."

Yugi shifted the bags in his arms, trying to reassemble the contents that were about to spill out from his leap of shock. "Certainly scared me," he grinned, "Going to a party?" He placed a reassuring hand on the Puzzle, sending pacifying thoughts to his friend, whose confusion was so thick as to be palpable.

"Yeah, there's a costume contest."

"I bet you'll win." Yugi said, "Only first-rate monsters can scare me!"

The partygoer gave the young teen a concealed, appraising look as he nodded in thanks. The kid was friendly, confident, but rather small-looking. His eyes were wide and gentle, and his face had a child-like, almost cherubic quality. To be honest, he thought one good scare would be enough to send the kid into a fit of hysterics, but he wouldn't say so. He liked this friendly kid.

Yami continued to feel intense confusion but tried to mask it as Yugi waved goodbye to the partygoer and continued to walk home. /It's okay, Yami/ Yugi said through the mind-link, /He was just somebody going to a Halloween party./

/Oh. I see./ And that was all Yami said on the way home. It was a little out of the normal for both of them, as they usually were constantly talking to each other, but Yugi chose not to break the silence. Through the spirit's nonchalant response, he could sense that his friend was feeling distinctly ruffled at his reaction to the costumed people and needed some time to regain his composure. Yami was embarrassed, a sensation he was not accustomed to, and Yugi decided to give some time to nurse his wounded pride.

Besides, Yami's reaction had been a natural one, considering that most cloaked or strangely attired people they'd come into contact with either wanted to steal the Puzzle, kill them, or take over the world – or more often some combination of the three – it made sense to be cautious. And Yami would have never celebrated Halloween during his life in ancient Egypt.

Yugi closed the door behind him when he returned home, flicking on the outside light switch and dragging the small table his grandpa had set up earlier that day beside the door. He dashed to the kitchen to grab a bowl and then plunked it on the top of the table, panting slightly from the exertion. Rifling through the plastic bags from the grocery store, he pulled out a multicolored bag from one with a cry of success and ripped it open.

The spirit decided to project his image from the Puzzle as Yugi dumped the contents of the bag into the bowl with a loud clatter, craning his neck slightly to the side as he tried to make sense of his host's actions. If Yugi noticed the spirit's confusion, he didn't comment on it, simply completing his task of pouring the candy into the bowl before tossing the empty bag into the hallway trashcan with a satisfied grunt of approval. Then with a slightly guilty expression, he quickly looked up and down the hall before snatching one of the paper-wrapped candies off of the top of the bowl.

With an increasingly bemused expression, Yami watched his Aibou rip the paper off the piece of chocolate and stuff the sugary morsel into his mouth. An increasingly blissful look spread across Yugi's face as he savored the taste of the chocolate on his tongue, and the Pharaoh let a rich chuckle rumble out of his throat. Yugi's eyes jerked open.

"What are you eating, Aibou?"

"Chocolate." It was fortunate that the candy had been small so Yugi was able to swallow it quickly, otherwise he might have choked on it as he joined in his friend's laughter. "Have you never had chocolate, Pharaoh?"

Yami gave a regal shrug. "I don't remember – I don't think there was much chocolate in my part of the world, though."

"Oh," Yugi chewed on that knowledge for a moment, before continuing. "And you wouldn't have celebrated Halloween either, I guess?"

"Hal…lo…ween?" The Egyptian king tried the word out gingerly on his tongue.

"That answers my question, then." Yugi grinned, and he tried to explain what he knew of the history of the holiday. Yami was nodding gamely, but it was hard to tell what he actually understood – and the situation was made even harder since the conversation was regularly punctuated by little children in costumes knocking at the door and asking for candy.

"So…is it a contest of some sort?" Yami asked, trying to find some sort of common ground, "The best dressed children get the best candy?"

"No," Yugi said as he rearranged the candy in the bowl so he would hand out a better variety to the trick-or-treaters as they knocked on the door, "we give out the same kind of candy to everyone – or try to, anyway. It's not a contest, it's just about going out and having fun."

"I see." But it was clear that he didn't get it, and it was frustrating. Yugi sighed internally at the look of self-irritation on Yami's face as he stared into the candy bowl. The Pharaoh was very smart, but modern day lingo and customs were sometimes difficult for him to grasp. He could probably figure them out if he had a few days to think it over, but they rarely had free time when they could focus on smaller things like that. They were too busy saving the entire world with card games, of all things, and most of their time was spent discussing strategies and dissecting opponents' motives. When their talk got more casual and relaxed, they were busy talking about things that directly affected them – so most modern-day customs fell by the wayside.

That was perfectly understandable, but Yami liked having a complete understanding of all that went around him, and had trouble reconciling himself to the fact that he couldn't immediately understand everything. Yugi was about to remind him about that when he caught sight of his watch and gave an exasperated groan. "Oh, great."

"What's the matter?" Yami arched one brow inquisitively.

"I'm going to be late for Tea's party." Yugi called back as he ran to the hallway closet and dug a coat out. He returned to where the spirit was hovering near the candy bowl, shoving his arms through his sleeves.

Yami smirked. "Oh…Tea's party, Yugi?"

Yugi heard the teasing note in his voice and rolled his eyes as he blushed. "Shut up."

"What?" Yami returned innocently, "I'm not insinuating anything. Certainly not that that blush you're showing or the fact that you're panicking about being late has anything to do with your…feelings…for Tea."

Yugi almost crashed into the hallway wall as he tried to shove his shoes onto his feet. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aibou," Yami sighed in an exasperated, older brother fashion, "we share a mind – don't think you can hide it from me."

"Grandpa!" Yugi yelled down the hallway, "I'm heading to Tea's party – make sure you don't eat all the candy." He muttered to Yami out of the corner of his mouth as he walked into the cool night, "Fine. But spill to Tea and you're dead."

Yami receded into the Puzzle, but Yugi could feel his growing smirk. "Would I tell, Yugi? That aside, I have been dead for a rather long time…"

Yugi groaned. "Okay, you win."

Yami's smirk grew. He so loved to win.

They were about halfway to Tea's house when Yugi stiffened slightly, and Yami stopped laughing from the conversation they'd been having. /Yugi…what is it?/

/Naguru./

/Who?/

/This jerk that went to my school a few years ago – he used to beat me up./

Yami could feel anger boiling at the base of his skull and trickling down his spine. /Beat you up?/

Yugi sighed slightly, his mind quickly running through the different strategies he could use to get out of the situation. /Yeah, but that was a long time ago./

In his soul room, Yami stood at the doorway and drew himself into a foreboding, regal stance. /That means nothing, Yugi. He has no right to treat you like that. Let me take over/ he nearly growled, /and I'll show him not to mess with you./

/Yami…/ Yugi said, /He hasn't even messed with me yet today./

/But will he, Aibou?/

Yugi saw the bully's eyes swing towards him and gulped slightly. The chances of simply avoiding him were essentially null now. /Yeah, probably./

/Then leave him to me. I'll teach him a lesson./

Yugi smiled at the protective gestures of the spirit even as he tried to dissuade him. /Yami, I appreciate it, but you can't just banish everyone to the Shadow Realm who you don't like./

/Very well./ The Pharaoh got as close to pouting as a proud ancient spirit could, but then his face lit up with a mischevious smirk. /But how about another thing we both could do to show him the error of his ways./

Yugi came to a stop in the middle of the street and grinned. /I'm listening./

···

Naguru carefully scanned the street in search of his latest prey. It'd been a long time since he'd seen Mutou; last time they'd been in the same room was when Mutou was giving evidence on the times he'd beaten him and a couple of other freshmen up. He cracked his knuckles in expectation. Now that he'd found the little shrimp, it was time to return the favor.

He watched the kid talk to himself for a minute before glancing in his direction and nervously darting into a narrow alleyway. Stupid, the bully sneered to himself, you think that I didn't see that. For trying to run, the payback will be even worse.

The hulking, muscular teen walked into the alley and grinned deviously at the kid who looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Mutou, Mutou," he drawled, "is that any way to treat an old friend?"

"Y-you better st-stay back." The kid tried to counter back as he attempted to hide in the shadows.

Pathetic. "Oh, yeah? Or what?"

The kid straightened up, and his voice suddenly sounded a lot more confident. "Or I will call on the ghosts of Halloween to help me fight you off."

"Right." Mutou was either a really bad bluffer, or he was insane. Either way, Naguru knew he was going to land on top. Popping the muscles in his neck, he strode forward and balled his hands into fists. "I don't think so. Any last words?"

The kid smirked. "Oh, just a few." And then he nodded to the side at someone Ushio couldn't see.

Suddenly, the entire alley filled with a violently red light and it felt burning hot and freezing cold all at once. As Naguru's body reacted to the bizarre temperatures, he looked up at the kid disbelievingly, only to have his heart began thudding in his chest.

Because beside Mutou stood a ghastly figure – it looked like Mutou except for being taller, and its hair rose up and streamed in the wind like a deadly flame. But scariest of all was the golden symbol that was seared onto the creature's forehead – and the cold, demonic, blood red eyes that seemed to look into his very soul. And then the creature spoke.

"Infidel!" The creature boomed, its voice ricocheting in the alley, "You dare question my existence! Now the only way to appease my wrath is to END YOURS!"

Naguru didn't say a word. He couldn't.

Naguru had fainted.

Yugi had doubled over in laughter. "That…was…awesome!"

The Pharaoh smirked, his hair and eyes having returned to normal. "Thank you, Yugi."

"A little corny, though," Yugi teased, "Infidel? Appease my wrath?"

Yami shrugged one shoulder. "Hey, all I had to base the act on was Marik's ravings – and that was the way he talked."

Yugi grinned. "True." He turned to walk out of the alley. "Come on, let's go."

Yami followed him out, only pausing to take one last look at the bully's form on the ground as he began stirring into consciousness. He could feel the smile building across his face.

Maybe there was some fun to this modern holiday after all.

A/N: I don't know why, but I like writing Yami a little out of his element. He's so hard-core amazing that I like seeing him confused sometimes. *shrugs* Who knows?

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know what you think!

Happy Halloween!