Hey-lo everybody! The name's CPegasus, but you knew that already. Some of
you may know me from the Yu-gi-oh and Anime Crossover sections on ff.net.
This is my first distinctly YYH fic to go up; there is another I'm thinking
of but that's not done yet.
So here's the deal: The really REALLY early version of Halloween was the day that the Spirit World and the Living World overlapped, and it was easiest to cross between them. So I'm thinking new spirit detective duties for Yusuke! So, enjoy!
Disclaimer: whadda ya think?
*******
Yusuke Urameshi used to look forward to Halloween. That was before he died and became Spirit Detective. While alive, Halloween is a time for scaring little children and getting free candy. However, for the Spirit Detective, Halloween is something veeerrry different . . .
"Yusuke! Get out here!" Botan called out cheerfully. She was standing outside the Urameshi residence in her work outfit, the classic pink Kimono. Very dismal and death-y, isn't it? Well anyway. Yusuke stumbled out of his house VERY angrily, yet at the same time half- conscious.
"BOTAN! IT IS 5:30 IN THE MORNING! YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A DAMN GOOD REASON FOR WAKING ME UP OR I SWEAR I'LL-"
"Quiet you silly; don't you know what day it is?"
"Hnugh?"
"It's All Hallows Eve!"
"Hnugh?"
"Halloween! The day when the Spirit World and the living world are the most closely connected! And YOU are about to have some spiffy new duties as Spirit Detective!"
". . . Hnugh?"
"Hmm, well I guess it won't do to spoil the surprise, now will it?" Botan mused, putting a finger to her lips. "And I should let you get back to sleep, so I'll just come back later and fill you in! Have a good rest!" And with that, she pulled out her oar and flew into the darkness. Yusuke stared after her. He had time for two words before sleep claimed him right in his own front yard:
". . . . It's Halloween?"
***
"It's Halloween!" Keiko shouted joyfully.
"It's about time! I've been planning this for a while ^.^" Kurama said.
". . . . . . . . Hall-o-ween?"
". . . . You really never had a childhood, did you Hiei?"
Death glare.
"Shutting up."
"Basically, you dress up in something stupid, go around to a lot of houses and get lots of sugar."
". . . I think I could get used to this holiday."
Keiko sat on the floor sewing a hem on a light blue plaid dress. "This is gonna be the best costume ever!"
"Who are you?" Asked Kuwabara, as he cut far too large eye-holes into his bed sheet.
"Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz!"
"Hmmhmm," Kurama chuckled fondly. "It fits you."
"Thanks! What are you gonna be Kurama?"
"Hmm, I'm still not sure."
"Wow, you're really prepared," said Kuwabara sarcastically as he pulled the sheet over his head. Not just his eyes, but also his head, and entire body went through the eye-holes. "Aw darn, now I gotta start all over!"
"And just what is _that_ supposed to be again?" Hiei asked with an eyebrow raised.
"A ghost!"
". . ."
"What?"
Yukina giggled.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing . . ." Hiei turned his attention away from Kuwabara, wondering if just perhaps stupidity was contagious.
"You're embarrassing me in front of Yukina!!!"
"Why should you be embarrassed in front of me Kazuma?"
"Well cuz I love ya baby! You don't wanna see your man looking stupid!" Kuwabara exclaimed, grabbing both of Yukina's hands. The ice apparition blinked. The fire demon at the window twitched a bit.
"So uhh . . . what are you thinking about doing Kurama?" Keiko changed the subject.
The Fox-demon shrugged. "I'm not sure. I guess as a last resort I can always be a fox, can't I?"
"Um, I guess so . . . 0^_^"
"Must I degrade myself this way?" Hiei asked, eyeing Kuwabara, who was now hopelessly tangled in his sheet.
"If you want candy you have to," Keiko replied, finishing her dress. "I know! If you can't think of anything, you can partner with me!"
". . . Pardon?"
"I still need Toto!"
'I'll think of something," Hiei said so quickly that Kurama choked back a laugh out of respect for his friend.
"Hello everyone!" Botan flew in through the open door and lightly touched down next to Yukina.
"Oh hey Botan! What's up?"
"Oh, nothing much, just filled Yusuke in on his Spirit Detective duties for Halloween."
"You mean he has to work tonight? He can't come trick-or-treating with us?"
"Well no, he has some . . . interesting jobs tonight . . ."
***
". . . PLEASE tell me you're kidding."
"Oh, what's so bad about it Yusuke? I think it's cute! ^.^"
". . ." The policeman's hat on Yusuke's head slipped down and covered his eyes. However, the large hat wasn't the worst part. The uniform was that of a normal police man, only . . . altered a bit. The uniform was bright orange, and the hat was designed as a Jack-o-lantern. Not just a Jack-o-lantern, but one with huge eyes and a blinding grin. There was nothing halfway cool about the rest of the uniform to make up for it. Guns, handcuffs, even a little book to write people up, none of it was there. Only a stupid orange uniform with a stupid pumpkin hat.
"Whadda ya mean 'what's so bad'!? You think I'm going out in public like this!?"
"Don't worry you silly, as Spirit Detective, only the people you know will be able to see you tonight."
"Great, so now Hiei and Kuwabara can make fun of me . . ."
"And no, you don't have a choice," she added to the question Yusuke didn't have to ask. "Koenma gave me specific directions for you. Your job tonight is to keep the order between Spirit World and the Living World. There will be a lot of ghosts trying to get through, and it's your job to decide who to let through. I trust you'll make the right decisions."
"Can't I at least freak Kuwabara's little friends out?"
"You'll also have to take care of some fixated ghosts," Botan continued, ignoring Yusuke. "You've been busy lately so I haven't bugged you about it too much, but part of your job as Spirit Detective is to help these spirits find their peace. All the ghosts in the living world are especially active on Halloween, so you'll have your hands full. You're also going to be busy keeping graffiti off the public streets. It's a community service thing. And that means NO trick-or-treating!"
"Aw, come on Botan! It's my one night for free candy!"
"Well, I'll be going out with everyone else, so I GUESS you can share mine-"
"OKAY then! What's my first job?"
"You're that anxious to work?"
"No, only to get this stupid outfit off -_-"
"But it's so cute!"
***
"Oh, I see then," said Keiko. "Are you SURE you don't want to be Toto, Hiei?"
"YES GODDAMNIT!"
"Er, we're working on it . . ." said Kurama. By now, the two demons had gathered a length of black fabric and some fake teeth, and were setting Hiei up to be a vampire. Kurama had decided to be a fox, to help keep an eye on things. Kuwabara had gotten another sheet, and this time Yukina helped him cut out his eye-holes. Her face was painted as a cat, with whiskers and a little pink nose. She and Botan were going together, though Botan's face make-up was easier to get through. The two were on the floor now with Keiko making their own outfits.
"Well, we'll see Yusuke later when we're out, right?"
"Yes Keiko, but he'll be very busy. As a matter of fact, he should have started working already."
***
"Okay, what's first?" Yusuke looked at the list of jobs Botan gave him. "Well the spirit stuff won't start until sundown, so I'll haveta get started on the graffiti." Sighing, he took out the new ring Botan had given him for his Spirit Gun, to lower the power for removing paint. He wandered around, thankfully unseen to the general public, and found the first of many Halloween messages.
THE ANGEL OF DEATH WILL COME AT MIDNIGHT.
BEWARE
Yusuke took out the new ring and put it on his finger. He was able to quickly and efficiently take care of the paint. Then he found the second message.
PATHETIC HUMANS, YOUR DEMISE IS AT 12:00 SHARP!
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE WRATH OF A DEMON!
This message was taken care of too, along with a little chuckle as Yusuke imagined the tiny, weak demon who must have written it.
Things began to get slightly weirder as he found the third message.
IT'S TIME TO PLAY BLUE'S CLUES! (there was a paw print drawn next to this one)
Yusuke stared in puzzlement at this one for a while before he erased it. Then the fourth message loomed before him.
THE GIANT HAMSTER OF DOOM RAINS COCONUTS ON YOUR PITIFUL CITY!
Yusuke stared and blinked again, for a bit longer now. He erased the message, as was his job, but he left the picture of Hamtaro tacked up next to it.
The messages continued to get still weirder as the day wore on.
THE NINJA MONKEYS ARE COMING, THE NINJA MONKEYS ARE COMING AND THEY WILL KILL YOU ALL!
YOU HAVE DESTORYED MY HAPPY PLACE, AND YOU WILL PAY
DO NOT TALK BACK TO DRAGONS, FOR YOU ARE CRUNCHY AND TASTE GOOD WITH KETCHUP.
Until finally, just before the sun went down, Yusuke came upon the most horrible, terrifying thing he'd seen all day:
I LOVE YOU, YOU LOVE ME, WE'RE A HAPPY FAMILY, WITH A GREAT BIG HUG AND A KISS FROM ME TO YOU, WON'T YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME TOO? (There was a life- sized Barney next to this)
"DIE YOU FIEND!" Yusuke shouted, and blasted off Barney's head very quickly. He regained his composure and erased the message. He wiped sweat from his brow and checked off this job on the list. "Let's see, what's next?"
***
Back at the Yukimura home, the rest of the gang was almost ready for the Night of Free Sugar. Botan and Yukina had finished their nearly skin- tight cat costumes, Keiko's hair was braided and her dress was on, Hiei had been practicing and now had the vampire persona down to the last little detail, Kurama was in his Spirit Fox form, with a candy bag in his mouth, and Kuwabara was just barely able to see in his sheet.
"I told you Keiko, I am NOT wearing those idiotic teeth. I'll do just fine without, thank you."
"Botan! My suit's too loose!"
"Don't worry Yukina, I'll get a pin for you."
KLUNK
"Kuwabara, are you SURE you don't want your eyes to be a little bigger?"
"No way! My baby Yukina made em just for me Kurama, and I like em fine!"
"Suit yourself . . ."
KLUNK
"Kazuma, I wouldn't mind making the holes a little bigger if you can't see-"
"No need Yukina, it's all good!"
"Well, if you're sure . . ."
"Here you are, this'll do, right Yukina dear?"
"Oh, yes! That's perfect. Thank you!"
"Okay, everybody ready?" Keiko asked, standing up. She grabbed a basket with a stuffed dog in it, which would also serve as her candy bag. A chorus of "yeah!" came back at her. "Okay then! Let's go!" And with that, Dorothy, the two cats, a vampire, and a fox walked out the door, and a ghost walked into the door before going out.
***
Yusuke wandered around as the sun was setting, hoping to find as few fixated ghosts as he could. Unfortunately, he found far more than he was looking for.
The first ghost he came to was a little boy, sitting sadly on the ground next to a pumpkin.
"Hey there little guy, what's up?" Yusuke walked up to the kid.
"Wha- you mean you can see me?"
"Mhmm. What's the problem here?"
"Oh, can you help me?" The boy's eyes widened.
"I sure can, just tell me what you need to do!"
"Carve my pumpkin! . . . Hey mister, are you alright?" Yusuke had facefaulted at this announcement.
"What the hell!? THAT'S why you're not going to heaven?"
"My mommy promised she'd help me carve it last year, but something bad happened in the car and she went away . . . I thought if I waited here, she'd come back, but she didn't." he looked at the ground sadly. Yusuke, being the sensitive guy that he is, quietly cursed Botan for making him take this job.
"So if I carve the stupid pumpkin for ya then you'll go to heaven like you're supposed to?"
"Yeah! Will you?" The little boy looked up at Yusuke with puppy-dog eyes. Yusuke of course had no choice but to give in.
"Sure thing kid, that's my job."
So of course, Yusuke carved the pumpkin to the kid's wishes, and had more fun doing it than he would admit. He continued on his way and found another child, this one a girl floating around by a ruined barn.
"Hey kid, what's up?"
"Oh! Are you the detective Botan told me about?" asked the girl as she floated down to where Yusuke was.
"Yup! The great Urameshi at your service!" The "great Urameshi" struck a heroic pose.
"WOW! Then you can help me so I can go to heaven?"
"Yup! What's the deal here?"
"I need to find my teddy bear! . . . Urameshi-san? Are you alright?" Yup, another facefault for Yusuke.
"Fine kid, but explain to me why a bear's so important you won't leave earth without it?"
"He's Teddy!" She explained simply, and with a huge smile. Yusuke rubbed his temple.
"Alright, where'd you last see the damn bear?"
"In there," she pointed to the barn. "I went in to look for him, but the roof collapsed and the next thing I knew, I was out here. Botan told me you'd come and help me and then I could go to Heaven!"
"Oh brother," Yusuke muttered as he went into the abandoned barn. Turns out, the bear was miraculously unharmed, and the little girl also decided to wait where she was with her bear until Botan could guide her to heaven.
"Man I swear, one more ghost like that-" Something small and white fluttered past him. Actually, it had been flying back and forth over the same house for a while, and had just seen him. The something arranged itself into the shape of a ghost. The ghost of a goldfish.
"Oh screw this!" Yusuke smacked the fish away, and continued on to his last duty, deciding which spirits got through, and which didn't on this night.
***
"AAAAHHHHHH!!!! VAMPIRE!!!!" the screaming of small children echoed all around the neighborhood when they saw Hiei. He had indeed captured the essence of his character, and his red eyes glowed with malicious intent. Many of the children ran screaming back to their parents. Others buried themselves in Keiko's dress, or Yukina's soft cat fur. Both girls tried to comfort the kids as Hiei laughed on.
"LONG LIVE THE NIGHT OF FREE SUGAR!" Hiei ran away, grabbing candy from every house he passed. Kurama panted up behind him.
"He ate some of the candy . . . apparently sugar takes very little time to absorb into his blood . . ."
Each and every one of them looked at eachother. They all knew what this meant.
"But they wouldn't . . ."
"Could they really?"
"I don't think they'd miss the chance to see him like this . . ."
TRIP
"Ow . . ."
"Kazuma, are you SURE your eye holes are big enough?"
"Of course they are!"
"Whatever you say Kuwabara . . ."
"But are they here? I don't like seeing the damage they cause . . ."
All the questions were answered with one piercing shriek:
"SUGAR-HIGH HIEI-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And that settled it: the fangirls had arrived.
***
"I died when my daughter was only five, I've been watching over her every Halloween since-"
"You're in." Yusuke lazily pointed the woman's ghost to Earth.
"Yeah uh, listen, my brother owes me money and I was hopin ta haunt it out of him-"
"Nope. NEXT"
"I died a little over a year ago, and I really just wanted to look in and make sure my wife was still okay-"
"Fine, fine, yeah, sure. NEXT"
"Woof!"
Yusuke blinked. The big golden dog standing in front of him wanted to visit the boy who used to care for him.
"Sure. NEXT"
"My daughter-"
"In. NEXT"
"I want to-"
"Yeah, sure, whatever, NEXT"
"I-"
"Ya know what? Everyone through! I'm done here. Been working the whole stupid day. . ." Yusuke deserted his post at the gates to the underworld and all the spirits went down to Earth with him. Yusuke began to look for his friends.
***
"HIEI-KUN!"
"I CALL HIS HEADBAND!"
"I WANT HIS CAPE!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Shouldn't we help him?" Keiko asked, blinking.
"I'm not risking my neck out there," Kurama replied casually. "Why don't you go Kuwabara, they're no threat to you." Kuwabara, not getting the concealed insult, stepped between the girls and Hiei, who was cowering in the corner, helpless against the Power of the Fangirl. Instantly, all motion stopped.
"You've made a grave mistake, baka."
"You should never separate fangirls from their Bishonen."
"We tend to get rather angry"
"And you won't like us when we're angry." And with that, the girls charged Kuwabara. Soon, he was back on the sidelines, as Yukina tried to heal all his wounds.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Yusuke found our group of Trick-or-treaters. All movement ceased again.
"Urameshi . . . what are you wearing?"
Hiei looked over, suddenly cured of the paralysis caused by several fangirls at close range. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"What?" Keiko asked. "It looks so cute!"
Kuwabara and Hiei were both in hysterics. Fortunately, because of this the fangirl spell was broken, and the horde of females began to scream again.
"YOU'VE SPOILED IT ALL URAMESHI!"
"WE'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"
"NOOOOO!!!!" and with that, they were gone.
Blink. Blink.
"Well . . . that worked."
". . . YUSUKE! WHAT ON EARTH HAVE YOU DONE!?" Botan screamed, seeing thousands of ghosts destroying some things and haunting others, mortals screaming everywhere and general chaos.
"Hey, I've been working all day!"
"YOU LET THE ENTIRE UNDERWORLD RUN RAMPANT!"
". . . . oops?"
***
So there is a tale of Halloween Horror. Botan was stuck smacking ghosts with her oar for the rest of the night, until all of them decided it was better to leave than to stay. Yusuke, visible to everyone again, was forced to Trick-or-Treat as a Halloween Patrol officer. Hiei had learned the dangers of too much sugar, and Kuwabara learned to see on Halloween, rather than keep knocking into things all night. And Kurama, Keiko and Yukina got plenty of sugar, had wonderful costumes, and in all, had the only great Halloween of all of them.
So here's the deal: The really REALLY early version of Halloween was the day that the Spirit World and the Living World overlapped, and it was easiest to cross between them. So I'm thinking new spirit detective duties for Yusuke! So, enjoy!
Disclaimer: whadda ya think?
*******
Yusuke Urameshi used to look forward to Halloween. That was before he died and became Spirit Detective. While alive, Halloween is a time for scaring little children and getting free candy. However, for the Spirit Detective, Halloween is something veeerrry different . . .
"Yusuke! Get out here!" Botan called out cheerfully. She was standing outside the Urameshi residence in her work outfit, the classic pink Kimono. Very dismal and death-y, isn't it? Well anyway. Yusuke stumbled out of his house VERY angrily, yet at the same time half- conscious.
"BOTAN! IT IS 5:30 IN THE MORNING! YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A DAMN GOOD REASON FOR WAKING ME UP OR I SWEAR I'LL-"
"Quiet you silly; don't you know what day it is?"
"Hnugh?"
"It's All Hallows Eve!"
"Hnugh?"
"Halloween! The day when the Spirit World and the living world are the most closely connected! And YOU are about to have some spiffy new duties as Spirit Detective!"
". . . Hnugh?"
"Hmm, well I guess it won't do to spoil the surprise, now will it?" Botan mused, putting a finger to her lips. "And I should let you get back to sleep, so I'll just come back later and fill you in! Have a good rest!" And with that, she pulled out her oar and flew into the darkness. Yusuke stared after her. He had time for two words before sleep claimed him right in his own front yard:
". . . . It's Halloween?"
***
"It's Halloween!" Keiko shouted joyfully.
"It's about time! I've been planning this for a while ^.^" Kurama said.
". . . . . . . . Hall-o-ween?"
". . . . You really never had a childhood, did you Hiei?"
Death glare.
"Shutting up."
"Basically, you dress up in something stupid, go around to a lot of houses and get lots of sugar."
". . . I think I could get used to this holiday."
Keiko sat on the floor sewing a hem on a light blue plaid dress. "This is gonna be the best costume ever!"
"Who are you?" Asked Kuwabara, as he cut far too large eye-holes into his bed sheet.
"Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz!"
"Hmmhmm," Kurama chuckled fondly. "It fits you."
"Thanks! What are you gonna be Kurama?"
"Hmm, I'm still not sure."
"Wow, you're really prepared," said Kuwabara sarcastically as he pulled the sheet over his head. Not just his eyes, but also his head, and entire body went through the eye-holes. "Aw darn, now I gotta start all over!"
"And just what is _that_ supposed to be again?" Hiei asked with an eyebrow raised.
"A ghost!"
". . ."
"What?"
Yukina giggled.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing . . ." Hiei turned his attention away from Kuwabara, wondering if just perhaps stupidity was contagious.
"You're embarrassing me in front of Yukina!!!"
"Why should you be embarrassed in front of me Kazuma?"
"Well cuz I love ya baby! You don't wanna see your man looking stupid!" Kuwabara exclaimed, grabbing both of Yukina's hands. The ice apparition blinked. The fire demon at the window twitched a bit.
"So uhh . . . what are you thinking about doing Kurama?" Keiko changed the subject.
The Fox-demon shrugged. "I'm not sure. I guess as a last resort I can always be a fox, can't I?"
"Um, I guess so . . . 0^_^"
"Must I degrade myself this way?" Hiei asked, eyeing Kuwabara, who was now hopelessly tangled in his sheet.
"If you want candy you have to," Keiko replied, finishing her dress. "I know! If you can't think of anything, you can partner with me!"
". . . Pardon?"
"I still need Toto!"
'I'll think of something," Hiei said so quickly that Kurama choked back a laugh out of respect for his friend.
"Hello everyone!" Botan flew in through the open door and lightly touched down next to Yukina.
"Oh hey Botan! What's up?"
"Oh, nothing much, just filled Yusuke in on his Spirit Detective duties for Halloween."
"You mean he has to work tonight? He can't come trick-or-treating with us?"
"Well no, he has some . . . interesting jobs tonight . . ."
***
". . . PLEASE tell me you're kidding."
"Oh, what's so bad about it Yusuke? I think it's cute! ^.^"
". . ." The policeman's hat on Yusuke's head slipped down and covered his eyes. However, the large hat wasn't the worst part. The uniform was that of a normal police man, only . . . altered a bit. The uniform was bright orange, and the hat was designed as a Jack-o-lantern. Not just a Jack-o-lantern, but one with huge eyes and a blinding grin. There was nothing halfway cool about the rest of the uniform to make up for it. Guns, handcuffs, even a little book to write people up, none of it was there. Only a stupid orange uniform with a stupid pumpkin hat.
"Whadda ya mean 'what's so bad'!? You think I'm going out in public like this!?"
"Don't worry you silly, as Spirit Detective, only the people you know will be able to see you tonight."
"Great, so now Hiei and Kuwabara can make fun of me . . ."
"And no, you don't have a choice," she added to the question Yusuke didn't have to ask. "Koenma gave me specific directions for you. Your job tonight is to keep the order between Spirit World and the Living World. There will be a lot of ghosts trying to get through, and it's your job to decide who to let through. I trust you'll make the right decisions."
"Can't I at least freak Kuwabara's little friends out?"
"You'll also have to take care of some fixated ghosts," Botan continued, ignoring Yusuke. "You've been busy lately so I haven't bugged you about it too much, but part of your job as Spirit Detective is to help these spirits find their peace. All the ghosts in the living world are especially active on Halloween, so you'll have your hands full. You're also going to be busy keeping graffiti off the public streets. It's a community service thing. And that means NO trick-or-treating!"
"Aw, come on Botan! It's my one night for free candy!"
"Well, I'll be going out with everyone else, so I GUESS you can share mine-"
"OKAY then! What's my first job?"
"You're that anxious to work?"
"No, only to get this stupid outfit off -_-"
"But it's so cute!"
***
"Oh, I see then," said Keiko. "Are you SURE you don't want to be Toto, Hiei?"
"YES GODDAMNIT!"
"Er, we're working on it . . ." said Kurama. By now, the two demons had gathered a length of black fabric and some fake teeth, and were setting Hiei up to be a vampire. Kurama had decided to be a fox, to help keep an eye on things. Kuwabara had gotten another sheet, and this time Yukina helped him cut out his eye-holes. Her face was painted as a cat, with whiskers and a little pink nose. She and Botan were going together, though Botan's face make-up was easier to get through. The two were on the floor now with Keiko making their own outfits.
"Well, we'll see Yusuke later when we're out, right?"
"Yes Keiko, but he'll be very busy. As a matter of fact, he should have started working already."
***
"Okay, what's first?" Yusuke looked at the list of jobs Botan gave him. "Well the spirit stuff won't start until sundown, so I'll haveta get started on the graffiti." Sighing, he took out the new ring Botan had given him for his Spirit Gun, to lower the power for removing paint. He wandered around, thankfully unseen to the general public, and found the first of many Halloween messages.
THE ANGEL OF DEATH WILL COME AT MIDNIGHT.
BEWARE
Yusuke took out the new ring and put it on his finger. He was able to quickly and efficiently take care of the paint. Then he found the second message.
PATHETIC HUMANS, YOUR DEMISE IS AT 12:00 SHARP!
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE WRATH OF A DEMON!
This message was taken care of too, along with a little chuckle as Yusuke imagined the tiny, weak demon who must have written it.
Things began to get slightly weirder as he found the third message.
IT'S TIME TO PLAY BLUE'S CLUES! (there was a paw print drawn next to this one)
Yusuke stared in puzzlement at this one for a while before he erased it. Then the fourth message loomed before him.
THE GIANT HAMSTER OF DOOM RAINS COCONUTS ON YOUR PITIFUL CITY!
Yusuke stared and blinked again, for a bit longer now. He erased the message, as was his job, but he left the picture of Hamtaro tacked up next to it.
The messages continued to get still weirder as the day wore on.
THE NINJA MONKEYS ARE COMING, THE NINJA MONKEYS ARE COMING AND THEY WILL KILL YOU ALL!
YOU HAVE DESTORYED MY HAPPY PLACE, AND YOU WILL PAY
DO NOT TALK BACK TO DRAGONS, FOR YOU ARE CRUNCHY AND TASTE GOOD WITH KETCHUP.
Until finally, just before the sun went down, Yusuke came upon the most horrible, terrifying thing he'd seen all day:
I LOVE YOU, YOU LOVE ME, WE'RE A HAPPY FAMILY, WITH A GREAT BIG HUG AND A KISS FROM ME TO YOU, WON'T YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME TOO? (There was a life- sized Barney next to this)
"DIE YOU FIEND!" Yusuke shouted, and blasted off Barney's head very quickly. He regained his composure and erased the message. He wiped sweat from his brow and checked off this job on the list. "Let's see, what's next?"
***
Back at the Yukimura home, the rest of the gang was almost ready for the Night of Free Sugar. Botan and Yukina had finished their nearly skin- tight cat costumes, Keiko's hair was braided and her dress was on, Hiei had been practicing and now had the vampire persona down to the last little detail, Kurama was in his Spirit Fox form, with a candy bag in his mouth, and Kuwabara was just barely able to see in his sheet.
"I told you Keiko, I am NOT wearing those idiotic teeth. I'll do just fine without, thank you."
"Botan! My suit's too loose!"
"Don't worry Yukina, I'll get a pin for you."
KLUNK
"Kuwabara, are you SURE you don't want your eyes to be a little bigger?"
"No way! My baby Yukina made em just for me Kurama, and I like em fine!"
"Suit yourself . . ."
KLUNK
"Kazuma, I wouldn't mind making the holes a little bigger if you can't see-"
"No need Yukina, it's all good!"
"Well, if you're sure . . ."
"Here you are, this'll do, right Yukina dear?"
"Oh, yes! That's perfect. Thank you!"
"Okay, everybody ready?" Keiko asked, standing up. She grabbed a basket with a stuffed dog in it, which would also serve as her candy bag. A chorus of "yeah!" came back at her. "Okay then! Let's go!" And with that, Dorothy, the two cats, a vampire, and a fox walked out the door, and a ghost walked into the door before going out.
***
Yusuke wandered around as the sun was setting, hoping to find as few fixated ghosts as he could. Unfortunately, he found far more than he was looking for.
The first ghost he came to was a little boy, sitting sadly on the ground next to a pumpkin.
"Hey there little guy, what's up?" Yusuke walked up to the kid.
"Wha- you mean you can see me?"
"Mhmm. What's the problem here?"
"Oh, can you help me?" The boy's eyes widened.
"I sure can, just tell me what you need to do!"
"Carve my pumpkin! . . . Hey mister, are you alright?" Yusuke had facefaulted at this announcement.
"What the hell!? THAT'S why you're not going to heaven?"
"My mommy promised she'd help me carve it last year, but something bad happened in the car and she went away . . . I thought if I waited here, she'd come back, but she didn't." he looked at the ground sadly. Yusuke, being the sensitive guy that he is, quietly cursed Botan for making him take this job.
"So if I carve the stupid pumpkin for ya then you'll go to heaven like you're supposed to?"
"Yeah! Will you?" The little boy looked up at Yusuke with puppy-dog eyes. Yusuke of course had no choice but to give in.
"Sure thing kid, that's my job."
So of course, Yusuke carved the pumpkin to the kid's wishes, and had more fun doing it than he would admit. He continued on his way and found another child, this one a girl floating around by a ruined barn.
"Hey kid, what's up?"
"Oh! Are you the detective Botan told me about?" asked the girl as she floated down to where Yusuke was.
"Yup! The great Urameshi at your service!" The "great Urameshi" struck a heroic pose.
"WOW! Then you can help me so I can go to heaven?"
"Yup! What's the deal here?"
"I need to find my teddy bear! . . . Urameshi-san? Are you alright?" Yup, another facefault for Yusuke.
"Fine kid, but explain to me why a bear's so important you won't leave earth without it?"
"He's Teddy!" She explained simply, and with a huge smile. Yusuke rubbed his temple.
"Alright, where'd you last see the damn bear?"
"In there," she pointed to the barn. "I went in to look for him, but the roof collapsed and the next thing I knew, I was out here. Botan told me you'd come and help me and then I could go to Heaven!"
"Oh brother," Yusuke muttered as he went into the abandoned barn. Turns out, the bear was miraculously unharmed, and the little girl also decided to wait where she was with her bear until Botan could guide her to heaven.
"Man I swear, one more ghost like that-" Something small and white fluttered past him. Actually, it had been flying back and forth over the same house for a while, and had just seen him. The something arranged itself into the shape of a ghost. The ghost of a goldfish.
"Oh screw this!" Yusuke smacked the fish away, and continued on to his last duty, deciding which spirits got through, and which didn't on this night.
***
"AAAAHHHHHH!!!! VAMPIRE!!!!" the screaming of small children echoed all around the neighborhood when they saw Hiei. He had indeed captured the essence of his character, and his red eyes glowed with malicious intent. Many of the children ran screaming back to their parents. Others buried themselves in Keiko's dress, or Yukina's soft cat fur. Both girls tried to comfort the kids as Hiei laughed on.
"LONG LIVE THE NIGHT OF FREE SUGAR!" Hiei ran away, grabbing candy from every house he passed. Kurama panted up behind him.
"He ate some of the candy . . . apparently sugar takes very little time to absorb into his blood . . ."
Each and every one of them looked at eachother. They all knew what this meant.
"But they wouldn't . . ."
"Could they really?"
"I don't think they'd miss the chance to see him like this . . ."
TRIP
"Ow . . ."
"Kazuma, are you SURE your eye holes are big enough?"
"Of course they are!"
"Whatever you say Kuwabara . . ."
"But are they here? I don't like seeing the damage they cause . . ."
All the questions were answered with one piercing shriek:
"SUGAR-HIGH HIEI-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And that settled it: the fangirls had arrived.
***
"I died when my daughter was only five, I've been watching over her every Halloween since-"
"You're in." Yusuke lazily pointed the woman's ghost to Earth.
"Yeah uh, listen, my brother owes me money and I was hopin ta haunt it out of him-"
"Nope. NEXT"
"I died a little over a year ago, and I really just wanted to look in and make sure my wife was still okay-"
"Fine, fine, yeah, sure. NEXT"
"Woof!"
Yusuke blinked. The big golden dog standing in front of him wanted to visit the boy who used to care for him.
"Sure. NEXT"
"My daughter-"
"In. NEXT"
"I want to-"
"Yeah, sure, whatever, NEXT"
"I-"
"Ya know what? Everyone through! I'm done here. Been working the whole stupid day. . ." Yusuke deserted his post at the gates to the underworld and all the spirits went down to Earth with him. Yusuke began to look for his friends.
***
"HIEI-KUN!"
"I CALL HIS HEADBAND!"
"I WANT HIS CAPE!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Shouldn't we help him?" Keiko asked, blinking.
"I'm not risking my neck out there," Kurama replied casually. "Why don't you go Kuwabara, they're no threat to you." Kuwabara, not getting the concealed insult, stepped between the girls and Hiei, who was cowering in the corner, helpless against the Power of the Fangirl. Instantly, all motion stopped.
"You've made a grave mistake, baka."
"You should never separate fangirls from their Bishonen."
"We tend to get rather angry"
"And you won't like us when we're angry." And with that, the girls charged Kuwabara. Soon, he was back on the sidelines, as Yukina tried to heal all his wounds.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Yusuke found our group of Trick-or-treaters. All movement ceased again.
"Urameshi . . . what are you wearing?"
Hiei looked over, suddenly cured of the paralysis caused by several fangirls at close range. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"What?" Keiko asked. "It looks so cute!"
Kuwabara and Hiei were both in hysterics. Fortunately, because of this the fangirl spell was broken, and the horde of females began to scream again.
"YOU'VE SPOILED IT ALL URAMESHI!"
"WE'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"
"NOOOOO!!!!" and with that, they were gone.
Blink. Blink.
"Well . . . that worked."
". . . YUSUKE! WHAT ON EARTH HAVE YOU DONE!?" Botan screamed, seeing thousands of ghosts destroying some things and haunting others, mortals screaming everywhere and general chaos.
"Hey, I've been working all day!"
"YOU LET THE ENTIRE UNDERWORLD RUN RAMPANT!"
". . . . oops?"
***
So there is a tale of Halloween Horror. Botan was stuck smacking ghosts with her oar for the rest of the night, until all of them decided it was better to leave than to stay. Yusuke, visible to everyone again, was forced to Trick-or-Treat as a Halloween Patrol officer. Hiei had learned the dangers of too much sugar, and Kuwabara learned to see on Halloween, rather than keep knocking into things all night. And Kurama, Keiko and Yukina got plenty of sugar, had wonderful costumes, and in all, had the only great Halloween of all of them.