Entry to Awanyx Spooktober Challenge

Having a removable head has its perks sometimes, but one yearly downside is that whenever something scary is planned I'm the first guy in everyone's minds. What better Halloween decoration to lug around than good ol' headless Jun.

"Pleeeease, sensei..." A student pleads. "We couldn't find anyone else to come with us."
"Is everyone else unavailable?"
"They all said to ask you instead."
"Fine, I'll join, when are you going?"
"Tonight."
That explains the collusion.

-----

I arrive at the meeting place—a statue just outside town—where said student has been waiting. Eventually other people arrive and all in all there's five of us.
"Is he the teacher you told me about, Renji?" The group's sole redhead asks my student.
"Yup, that's him, he's been through worse so haunted places are nothing for him, am I right, sensei?"
"Uhh... thanks?"
"Why aren't you wearing a costume?"
"I wasn't planning to." I sigh. "Let's get moving or the ghosts will get there before we do."

We then head to the location, an abandoned corner of a commercial complex.
"Halloween night and this is where we'll start." I say on the way.
"At least we're doing something actually scary." Renji assures me.
"We're not trespassing or anything, right?"
"No, we can enter the buildings," the other guy in the group with glasses answers. "Look."
A lit booth stands in contrast to the dilapidated walls of concrete behind it.
"A tollbooth?"
"Yeah," Another student of mine, Kyotaro, answers. "it's a favorite hangout. Are you ready, guys?"
Amid the trepidation in their faces, the other three answer "Yes!"

-----

The plan is to split to cover as much base as possible. Five is a prime number but an ingenious idea comes up: split me in two pieces. My two students carry my head while the other two bring my body along with them.

"I don't know what's scarier," the redhead speaks out while scouting an area with his flashlight, "this place, or that Renji's teacher just decapitated himself and his body's watching over us."
"I think he can still hear you, Ken." They look at me with my arms crossed.
The sound of concrete breaking startles us.
"What was that?" They walk toward a fallen wall. Another thud rings, but the spot had nothing on it, not even signs of an old store. The spot next to the former wall did have vestiges of commerce so they scout that part instead. I'd ask them if they plan on taking anything from there if I could talk, not that I'd need to as they are already holding some dusty clothes.
"You're taking that?" the glasses kid asks. "That's a skirt, besides, we shouldn't be taking anything here anyway."
"I guess you're right, Shinichi, but they won't notice it if I did, right?"

While the two kids discuss ethics I notice another light appear on a wall. I turn around to see where it's from but it turned out to be a bad idea.
"GAH! IT MOVED! RUN!" They scream 
"What was that?" Shinichi asks while the two rush to my side. "Oh, I guess it makes sense."
We hear footsteps and chatter approaching us.
"Umm, sensei, I just thought of something funny." Ken says with a sly smile before turning off his flashlight.

-----

"I swear it was here a while ago, the mannequin moved!" I hear from behind a more robust wall, the three of us in hiding.
"How did you know it's a mannequin and not a man?"
"It had no head."
"Right, this spot here?"
"Yeah, just over there."
I watch their lights flash over where I stood.
"There's nothing there. Where did it go?"
As a cue the kids push me from where I'm hiding out into the sight of the strangers.
"There it is!"
From a standstil I leap at them, enough for them to jet. I chase them all the way out of the building, where I stop to take a breather, however that works.

"It just stopped." One of them comments. "Not that great of a spirit, huh?"
I stand up straight, arms crossed. This bunch is at about the same as I am, wearing the sort of clothes you'd expect of someone who explores abandoned buildings.
"Don't piss it off again, please." Another one of them says.

The two guys I'm with finally catch up from behind me.
"Did you two summon this thing?" The first guy starts asking.
"He's not a thing." Ken answers.
"And we didn't summon him."
I put on a more casual stance for them, which doesn't quell much. I step up and extend a hand. Someone takes on my offer and just in time as the other team returns.

"Sensei!" Kyotaro calls out. "Did you hear that ruckus?"
"Your sensei and your pals here made that ruckus."
"Well that makes sense." He pulls out my head that he hid in his backpack and gives it to me.
"So," I say as I reattach my head." That was more fun than I expected."
"Yeah," The first of the enthusiast guys blurts. "I'm still not convinced you're not supernatural."
"I got an idea, with this guy's head we can scare the kids over by the neighborhood over there."
"We're just about to go to the mall, though." Renji interrupts.
"We'll do both, then we split the loot, what do you guys think?"
After a brief pause, the answer is a big fat "Deal!"

-----

Safe to say, even without a costume all I need to do is carry my head around. The candy haul amounted to each person getting around a kilo of sweets and the adults getting around 10,000 yen worth of discounts. I still have my pile of candy at home, but at least I'm having a nice dinner date at the mall.