KONOHA CHRISTMAS CAROLS
Carol #12: Late Night Guests
Genre: poetry, comedy
It was the night before Christmas, all silent and white.
All the good children have already went into sleep, awaiting tomorrow with all of their might.
For tomorrow would come this one, magical day,
When they shall receive that, for which they pray.
One kind, in particular, draws our attention:
A boy with no sight, one Manako Akira,
Who, at this time, was also getting ready to say 'see ya'
As he prepared for good night's rest,
Aiming to start tomorrow at his very best.
Sadly, he was not to be given his beauty sleep;
On the contrary, of this, we was about to be viciously stripped:
With a blow of cold, winter wind,
The windows opened, giving first hint,
While a figure that appeared in the corner become another,
An obvious and annoying one rather;
Akira bolted up, despite being blind, totally aware
With kunai in his grip as he called out: "Who's there?"
"I am not here to harm you, be sure of that,
So why don't you put down that rusty knife, you stupid brat?"
The voice was familiar, all too to be frank,
And, a moment later, the blind gennin could easily fill in the blank:
"Senkou-san, what the hell? Why did you sneak into my room, waking me from the slumber?
And, for the record, you can't call me brat, being younger!"
"I am not Senkou" the figure stated with a bow:
"I figured it's best to take the form of someone you know."
"Well, that's mighty considerate of you, considering I'm blind..."
"Right, sorry" the person blushed at the info. "That totally slipped my mind...
Anyways, I'm not her for chit-chat, there's much to do;
I am the ghost of Christmas Past – first of the three that shall come to you
On this very night, to show you the error of your ways
In past, present and your future days.
With that said, let us proceed to the Christmas day, six years ago,
When the air was cold and the season saw a lot of snow"
And with those words, he snapped his fingers, releasing a spark.
In a flash the lights died down, turning all of surroundings completely dark;
Not that it mattered, Akira was blind, but these supernaturals... they like to show off.
And so the duo ended in the backyard, dropping from the sky, which made the landing a tad rough,
Allowing them to join a certain eight-year-old
As he played with the newly acquired action figure, recently sold
To his mother, at a rather fair price,
A gift that certainly made young Akira widen his eyes...
Or, would have, if the latter could see:
"Just watch as you play with your doll with that peaceful glee"
Senkou announced, pointing at the child, only then realizing how futile was the request:
"It's what you always wanted, so you've taken it out for a little test...
But soon a boy of greater need arrived at your door...
You remember him, don't you? Sad... lonely... poor...
Do you also recall how you treated him then?
You might wanna takes note... here, some paper and pen"
The masked ghost stated, handing him said items as a young, shivering boy came up the street
Dressed in worn out robe, thorn pants and having bare feet.
He stopped at the hedge, watching the blind kid having fun,
Dreaming how nice it'd be to do... but that couldn't be done...
Just then the young Akira lifted his head and, with his white eyes, he calmly spoke:
"You want this doll?" he asked - "Yes, but I cannot afford it... my family's broke..."
The boy's expression changed into despair,
While the blind child, without hesitation, decided to share
Extending his arm towards the guest, offering his toy.
"W-what are you doing?" questioned the shocked, poor boy.
"I don't really need it, I have lots of toys, so you would have more fun with it anyway...
Now, how bout you come inside with me? Mom's making dinner... I'm sure you could stay..."
And soon the two walked into the house, leaving Senkou dumb-fooled
As he scratch the back of his head, embarrassed by the stunt his has pulled:
"Okay, not the best example, I'll give you this much,
But don't get too confident and such...
This is just the first trip you'll undertake in this night,
The other two shall show you scenes that are less bright"
And with those words the ghost disappeared,
Leaving Akira back in his bed: "Man, that was weird"
The blind gennin announced, but merely shrugged at the endeavor;
"That was one, freaky dream... oh well, whatever"
With that thought in mind, he dozed off again
Yet his sleep was interrupted, he didn't even noticed when:
"Get up, you lazy bump, it's time for our trip!"
The voice, again, was familiar, though strangely hip
Compared to a person he knew it belong:
"Rei-san, is that you... or am I wrong?"
"I am not Rei" the female replied,
Rising her hand as her head tilt to the side:
"Not the one you know, at the very least..."
"Let me guess then – a ghost of Christmas Present, right?"
"Damn straight" responded the wraith.
"I came here to show you a current event"
And with those words, she snapped her fingers, making the world bend
Again, but to the spirit's surprise
The most unusual sight appeared before its eyes:
"What the...? This can't be right! Do you see the same thing I do?"
"Of course not, I'm blind! How many times do I have to say it, to get through?"
Rei let out a sigh as the two stood in the bedroom, just as they were before the snap,
If this was real life, she could suspect a genjutsu trap,
But since it wasn't, one solution seemed clear,
Making the female spirit let out the opposite of a cheer:
"Well, this was a complete was of my time, that much is sure,
I ain't doing this anymore!"
And just like that, she was gone,
Like night hides the sun,
Leaving Akira confused, even more then he was:
"This keeps getting dumber and dumber" he frowned at the sleep loss
And went back to bed, hoping to catch a nap;
Sadly, that did not happen as he heard another snap.
Then a rattle echoed through the air,
With a voice so annoying, that was truly rare:
"Get up, Akira, the time has finally arrived
For you to take one, last time-dive..."
And at hearing those words, it all became clear:
"That voice... Kusari? What the heck are you doing here?
It's the middle of the night, dammit! Get out and let me be!"
"I'm the ghost of Christmas Future, moron, can't you see?"
"No, I can't! I'm blind, which part of that eludes you guys?!"
"Don't you try acting all-mighty and wise;
I came here to show you what lays ahead,
So shut up already and get out of that bed!"
With a snap of his fingers, the world went into a spin
Moving them forward, quite cruel and mean...
Or, at least, that's what Kusari was hoping for
Coz, what appeared, to him proven to be an incredible snore;
There, in a big, wealthy mansion, an elder Akira sat near the fireplace,
A pipe in his mouth and pose... well, less then a grace.
The man was smiling, surrounded by friends,
Who were all happy, one could tell with one, simple glance.
Aware his companion was rid of his sight,
The spirit decided to give, however, a bit of a fright:
"See? This is what awaits you, if you don't fix your life!"
"A group of good friends and a carrying wife?"
To this, Kusari's eye twitched, as he recalled few minutes back:
"What gives, you said sight was one thing that you lack!"
"Yeah, but my other sense work perfectly fine
And I can tell from the noise that everyone gathered in cheerfully... and drinking cheap wine..."
The spirit's arms hung as it gave in to defeat
Return the duo to the present, within single heart beat.
The ghost popped, leaving the room
Just as the sun rose, letting the day bloom.
Akira yawned, exhaustion to great, making the boy reach for his bed.
He fell asleep in five seconds flat, like he was dead,
His snore bouncing off the walls, filling the room with disturbing sound,
But he did not care, finally being unbound.
And, as we bid our hero goodnight, questions arise that beg our attention:
If you live your life foul and unjust, is there truly hope for redemption?
Or is our existence written in the stars, giving us no choice over it's spam?
Do we get a warning or do things just happen, regardless to our plan?
Why would fate choose to visit a blind boy, Akira, in all of its glory?
And, most importantly – what was the point of this story?