Are You Afraid of the Dark- or Your Feelings?

Trick-or-Treat: A homework.

"I can't believe this!" Boruto Uzumaki yelled. He swung his plastic pumpkin bucket around and around in the air until it finally smacked him in the face. Shikadai Nara let out a tired yawn at this. "I'd rather be sleeping too but we have no choice, Shino-sensei considered this to be our homework."

The day before, their homeroom teacher announced that in celebration for the upcoming Halloween festival, he will assign them an unusual homework activity. Trick-or-treating. A custom usually ignored by their culture but due to the continous modernization happening, they ought to take part in.

"It will help you strengthen your social exposure which is a vital trait for you to become an excellent shinobi. Shinobis must have the skill to carry a normal, unsuspecting conversation especially during espionage tasks. You will be wearing costumes, that's because-"

Because what, nobody knew. The girls immediately burst into giggles, turning to each other to compare notes about their costumes.

The boys groaned in protest. Apparently convinced that they're now too old to dress up and beg strangers for sweets.

"I don't really care about the food, I only wanted to be in a costume." Back to the present, Inojin smirked happily because he's so lucky to have an artistic bone in his body and partly because he really cares about the food.

The pale boy walked in front of his friends to show off his Frankenstein monster get-up. Boruto, for some reason, wanted to dress up as a giant burger for the heck of it but his mom forced him into a werewolf onesie. Shikadai on the other hand chose to dress up as a mummy because all they ever do is groan and sleep.

"Who are we waiting for?" Inojin asked.

It's half-past five in the afternoon. They were in front of the Academy to wait up for their friends. Other students in groups were already filing out of the gate dressed in their spooky outfits.

"Just.. Denki and I'm not sure of Iwabe. He's too killjoy for this." Boruto answered which made the three laugh out loud.

A sleek, black vehicle stopped in front of them and out came a jumping, live rag doll.

"Sorry I'm late!" The doll apologized in a high-pitched voice. But Boruto, Shikadai and Inojin backed away abruptly with Boruto slightly shaking nervously.

"A t-talking doll.. a talking d-doll.." Boruto pointed a trembling finger at the new comer. "P-puppet jutsu? N-no-"

The doll rested his hands on his hips impatiently. "Come now, it's me, Boruto-kun!"

"D-DENKI?!"

It doesn't look like their smallest friend at all.

He was dressed in a handsome black vest over a white cotton long-sleeves, same black colored shorts and knee-length boots that are normally worn by kunoichis. Both are decorated with expensive chains and ornaments which hung heavily on Denki's legs.

A black velvet bowtie is tied around his neck. But the most prominent feature of Denki's costume is the authentic-looking needles and stitches running across his face and arms.

"W-wow.." Inojin whistled in half awe, half-shame. It's as if all his artistic cells laughed at him then ran away in different directions. "Y-you're.."

"A ragdoll!" Denki skipped on the ground excitedly. Without his glasses, his eyes looked abnormally bigger than they seem.  "I wanted to go as a vampire but Father forced me on this before he left for business yesterday. More like he doesn't want his son to be seen as a simpleton." Denki laughed sheepishly.

Unlike other rich kids, Denki loves to dress down ordinarily. The boys could tell that their friend is not used to the excessive weight of his accessories.