Hikaru No Go Fan Fiction ❯ Halloween: Night of A Thousand Frights ❯ Chapter 1

Halloween Night of A Thousand Frights.

It had started out innocently enough. It was supposed to have been an inside joke between two friends. Who would have thought that such a simple, childish prank would have gotten him into this mess?

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The day before Halloween…

Hikaru yawned wearily and leaned back on his arms. He closed his eyes, since looking at the image of his red-haired `thinking' friend was beginning to take a toll on him…but then opened them again as he remembered where he was and what they were doing. It wasn't as if the other boy was going to cheat, but one could never be too careful in this game.

The redhead scowled and then gave another soft `hmm'. This made the blond teen groan in frustration.

"Oi, Waya…when are you going to play? I haven't got all day you know."

He was rewarded with a wave of a hand and a motion for him to `Shut up'. Shindo snickered at the frustrated look on his companion's face. It looked like he was going to win again today. Too bad the redhead was too stubborn to acknowledge it.

A black crow flew past his window and Shindo's gaze followed it absently. It flew in a tight circle for a little while before perching on a telephone pole across the street. For a heartbeat it looked as if it was staring right at the blond. Its dark almost red blood-colored eyes regarded the boy a bit longer, before it gave a loud cry and flew away.

It had lasted for only a minute, but the teen was shaken.

"Hey…Waya…" he began softly, while licking suddenly parched lips. "Do you believe in ghosts?" It was a rather ridiculous question to ask considering the fact that he was currently living with one, but there was something about that bird that just made him feel so…weird inside. It just seemed wrong.

Yoshikata lifted his gaze from the board to blink in confusion at his playing companion. How had the conversation changed so quickly?

"Uuumm…some of them," he finally admitted reluctantly. "My grandpa used to tell me a lot of spooky stories and I guess a few have stuck with me after all these years." He finally placed his black Go stone on the board and sighed heavily. He would have to give in soon, it seemed. Hikaru had completely blocked any and all further attacks.

Hikaru gave a soft nod as he turned to face a certain ghost who was currently transfixed with kifu that had been played by Touya Meijin a few days ago. He had to smile softly at the image. A ghost was in his room and yet his best friend didn't even realize it. Talk about irony.

The red head frowned. "Why did you ask me that anyway?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that…"

The shrill ring of the phone had Shindo cursing softly. Excusing himself, he practically ran down the stairs and snatched up the offending object none too gently. His mother had gone grocery shopping again, so he was the only one at home at this time.

"Hello?"

Waya, who had walked out of the room, stood at the top of the stairs and watched the blond's expression go from surprise to annoyance to downright irritation. He failed to sense the concerned silent figure beside him. Apparently, the phone had been loud enough to rouse Sai from his trancelike state.

Shindo slammed the phone down and eyed the two people above him. "That was my grandpa. He wants me to help him out in catching a thief. What do I look like, a policeman?"

Waya snickered and made his way downstairs. "What are you talking about?" He walked into the kitchen and began to help himself to a sandwich. "Why would your grandfather want you to do something like that?"

Hikaru shrugged and reached for something to drink in the fridge. "He runs this store and it's pretty old and stuff. The place gives me the creeps, but he said that someone has been going in there at night and making a mess of things. He was hoping that I could stay up for a while and catch the person."

"And you agreed?"

"He promised to pay me good money for my time."

Both boys laughed at the reason for Shindo's willingness to do the job. Trying not to choke on his food, Waya grinned. There was a mischievous wink in his eye now. "Would you like some company?"

Shindo shrugged non-chalantly. "Don't care. If you don't want to be spooooooooooked by the ghosts around the place," he added teasingly.

Waya stopped chewing and stared at blond with a serious expression on his features. However, there was an underlying tone of excitement in his voice "That sounds like it could fun. What if there are really ghosts there, Shindo. Wouldn't that be exciting? I mean, if we really saw one?!"

The blond stared at his own chuckling ghost and couldn't help grinning. "Yeah, that sounds like real fun, Waya. Hey, I know! Let's make it a ghost hunt!"

"Yeah! A real ghost hunt and when we find any, we're going to scare them off!!"

The image of he and Waya chasing some scared looking ghosts tickled Shindo to no end and before long, both boys were laughing almost manically at their impending raid. As for Sai, the friendly ghost could only smile wistfully at the unbridled innocence of the young ones.

The next morning, Shindo made his way into the Go Institute with all thoughts of ghost busting and hunting completely out of his mind. He had figured that it had all been a joke to both of them. Tomorrow night, they would have to be in his grandfather's shop to try to catch some thief. Hikaru was sure it was only a stray cat or something that had slipped in somehow, but his grandfather had said that some things had been missing. Mostly things that related to Go.

"Don't you find that a bit weird, Hikaru?" Sai asked with a puzzled look on his face as they made their way down the street. "Why would a cat want to steal only Go stones or boards?"

The blond snorted and shook his head. "How should I know? My grandpa has some weird theories sometimes. I still say it's probably some cat…"

"Hey, Shindo, wait up!"

The familiar sing song voice had them turning around quickly. Nase was running towards them, looking quite pretty in a short red skirt and a white t-shirt with the words `Babe' written on it. "Hey, Nase," he greeted with a smile of appreciation. He might be immune to most girls, but he would have been blind not to have noticed how good she looked today. She positively glowed. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much," she gushed with excitement. "It's just that I can't wait for the ghost hunting trip tomorrow night. It's going to be so much fun, ne?"

"Ah…it should be…what?!" He blinked in surprise at the smiling girl. "What…what ghost hunting trip?"

"Eh?" For a second, Nase looked blank, but it was quickly replaced with a knowing look. "Aaah, I know what this is! You don't want me to know that I know that we are going to look for ghosts at your grandpa's place tomorrow, hmm? Good one, Shindo! See you around!"

They watched her run into the building, both blinking slowly as if wondering what exactly had just transpired moments ago.

Sai began softly. "Did she just say…"

"Oi, Shindo!"

The blond barely had the time to turn around this time before being slapped hard on the back by his fellow Go player, Honda. The taller boy had a pleased grin on his face and two other Insei players, Ochi and Fuku, soon flanked him.

"Thanks for the invite, Shindo. Do you need us to get anything for the night?" he asked. "My father has several high-powered flashlights we can use, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Eh…no…"

"I could bring us some food!" Fuku announced with an even wider grin. "I bet if I told my mom that we are having a sleepover, she would be more than happy to make some food for us."

Sleep…sleepover??

"That sounds like a good idea," Honda agreed with a nod. "So, it's settled then. I'll bring the flashlights and Fuku brings the food and Ochi…what are you bringing?"

The bespectacled boy shook his head and began to make his way into the building. "I don't recall ever saying that I was attending this childish event, did I?"

"Feh, what a sourpuss. Who needs you anyway?" came the sharp retort from the taller boy. "It's okay, Shindo. We have more than enough people right now. We'll catch those ghosts for you, no problem. See you later!"

And just as soon as they had come, they left, leaving Hikaru to stare in complete bemusement at his ghostly friend as if looking for answers. Slowly, it dawned on him on what must have happened. And clenching his hands into tight fists at his sides, he growled out menacingly.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaayaaaaa!!!"

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Several hours later…

"I swear to you, Shindo, I only told Isumi-san."

The blond said nothing.

"How was I to know that he would tell Nase and that Nase would tell Honda and that Honda would tell everyone else?! Shindo? Are you even listening to me?!"

They had been striding down the hall towards the lunchroom and as soon as Shindo stepped inside, a group of familiar faces were already waiting for him at his usual seating area. He glared at Waya, who seemed to shrink away from the gaze.

"This is all your fault," he muttered out quickly. "What the hell am I going to tell them, Waya?"

The redhead shrugged. "All you have to do is walk up there and tell them that it's all one big lie, Shindo. But just think…just think of the disappointment that you are going to cause as you watch their excitement fade away. And then…then it would be YOU Shindo Hikaru, who would be responsible for the many suicide notes and attempts as these poor souls…"

"Alright, alright! I get the picture!" came the frustrated cry.

And so it came to pass, that one Shindo Hikaru had somehow, become in charge of the biggest Halloween sleepover party ever.

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Sai pointed at the next spot on the Go board silently, watching with growing worry as the blond placed a stone on it rather absently. It was clear that Shindo's mind was not on the game and he wanted nothing more than to help out the boy in any way he could.

Forcing a cheerful grin on his face, he tapped the board gently. "What say we stop for the day, Hikaru? You do have to get ready for your hunt tomorrow night."

"…"

Sai raised his fan to his lips and sighed softly. This wasn't working very well. He would have to try harder then. He got to his feet and began to dance around the boy with exuberant cheers of encouragement.

"Come on, Hikaru! Up, up, up from the floor! You have to get ready, you know you do!"

"There are no ghosts there, Sai," came the soft reply, which sent the ghost stopping abruptly. "There are no ghosts in the shop. What do you think they would all say if we went there and sat up all night waiting for someone or something that isn't going to show up?" He fell back to the floor with a heavy sigh. "I am so dead."

"But you can't give up now," Sai said with a warm smile. "I think its going to be a fun night whether you do see ghosts or not. Everyone gets to be with everyone else, isn't that right?"

From his lying position, Shindo stared into the upside-down smiling face above him. He stared…and then stared a little longer.

Sai was getting quite uncomfortable.

"Uuum...is…is there something wrong, Hikaru?" he asked meekly only to squeal in fright as the blond bound to his feet quickly with a look of pure excitement in his eyes.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that before?!" he screamed loudly as he reached for the sheets on his bed and promptly pulled them out. With a flourish, he threw it over Sai completely, before standing back and grinning with delight. "Haha! It could work!! This could actually work!"

"Uh…Hikaru?" came the muffled voice beneath the white bed sheet. "Why am I covered with this?"

The blond took it off and flashed pearly white teeth at his friend. "Because you, my good old friend are going to become the ghost for us!"

The Go player stared at the boy as if he had gone insane. "But…but…you are the only one who can see me, Hikaru. How can I…?"

"Which is why it would work, Sai! You see? They won't see you…all they'll see is a sheet of cloth walking up and down the stairs and stuff, okay? Come, come, come! We've gotta get going and set you up before the others arrive!"

The ghost could only stare at the bustling teen with a faint sense of worry. Shindo had begun to stuff some items, he couldn't quite make out, into his backpack and before long he turned around to ask quickly.

"Can you make ghost sounds?"

Sai blinked. "Ghost…sounds?"

"Yeah, you know? Woooooo…like that?"

"Woo…??"

The blond shook his head. "No, no…like this." He pursed his lips and made a soft `whoooing' sound that sounded like an owl (at least to Sai). "Well, can you?"

"I…I'll try."

Shindo looked on expectantly as Sai took a deep breath. "Wooooffffssh….no, no…let me try it again. Wooofsss…."

He lowered his gaze with disappointment. "I can't do it, Hikaru."

The teenager shook his head with a wide grin. "Sure you can, Sai! Don't worry, we've got…." He eyed the clock. "We've got only about eighteen hours or so. Plenty of time for you to practice your ghostly skills."

He got to his feet and shouldered his backpack, making sure that his grandfather's keys were in his pockets. "You ready, Sai?"

The ghost gave a rather reluctant nod. He really wasn't sure about this whole spooking thing, but if this was what his friend wanted, then Sai was determined to be the scariest ghost he could ever be.