10th Day of Christmas
Theme: Christmas curses, unstable jutsu's and other marvelous misadventures
Weather is something that no one should ever - ever - tamper with. How the brats had gotten their hands on that particular forbidden scroll, Iruka would never know. All he knew was that he had been five seconds too late to keep them from finishing the seals and that this particular jutsu had an almost immediate result.
He picked his head up slowly, shoulder aching from where he'd hit the floor after tackling Kohohamaru to it in a desperate effort to keep him from making the last seal. The air in the Hokage tower had taken on a certain crisp chill that he usually associated with snow, and the large snowdrift against the window confirmed his suspicions. He dropped his head back to the floor with a thunk. Konoha was in for several months of bizarre weather if previous experiments with the weather were anything to go on.
Wait. Snowdrift? He was sure that he'd chased his students up at least three flights of stairs. He scrambled to his feet and peered out the window. Even as he leaned towards it, the window swung inward, and snow spilled into the hallway.
The entire village was covered though not completely buried. The snow seemed to be concentrated around the tower, building piles up to the fourth floor in some places.
"Wow! Did we do that?" Konohamaru grinned out at the village. "Awesome!"
Iruka snagged the back of his collar and hauled him away from the window, dodging flying fists and feet. "Konohamaru!" A snowball collided with the back of his head, blotting out the last syllable of the name. Cold snow poured down the collar of his vest, melting on contact and soaking into the high collar of his shirt. He dropped Konohamaru and scrabbled at the back of his neck, trying to clear the snow before he got any soggier.
The minute Konohamaru's feet hit the floor, he flashed a thumbs-up and yelled, "Way to go, Kakashi-sensei!" He snatched up the scroll and fled into the depths of the tower.
Iruka turned slowly, still fishing icy slush out from under his collar. "Kakashi."
His students knew that tone well. The typical reaction was to immediately fall silent, drop into their proper seats, and listen attentively.
He knew from long experience that Kakashi did not have the typical reaction to the tone. The second snowball hit him square in the chest. Oh, that was it. Kakashi was going to die.
He scooped up a handful of snow from the pile avalanching through the window and hucked it in Kakashi's direction.
Much later, they stood in Tsunade's office, soaked to the skin. Their cheeks were flushed from the cold and - at least in Iruka's case - embarrassment at being caught acting like a ten-year-old.
She sat behind her desk, a slight smirk on her lips, awaiting an explanation that was not forthcoming from either of them as to why the halls of the Hokage tower were peppered with snow.