Title: Decimate the Halls
Prompt: Christmas Songs
Author: kita_the_spaz
Rating: PG

Iruka walked back into the classroom, burdened with some of the supplies they would be using to decorate the school and had to stop and stare for a long moment.

Kakashi was perched on his desk, looking distinctly like he was about three seconds from bolting. There were seven ninken being molested by grabby eight-year-olds with an eighth hiding under the desk. The only one he knew on sight was Pakkun, but it was clear that Kakashi had summoned his whole pack to keep the kids occupied.

From the looks Kakashi was getting from the dogs, he was about to get mutinied against.

Iruka dropped his supplies and clapped sharply. "Alright everyone, back to your seats!"

There was a groaned protest from the pre-genin, but looks of relief from ninken. "Did you all behave for Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei!" The class chorused as the scrambled back to their seats. Every single one of them wearing an innocent look that wasn't fooling Iruka in the slightest.

Iruka stifled a laugh as he looked at the slightly panicked look visible on the exposed portion of the jounin's face. He could practically read the man's thoughts. If this is them being good and behaving, what the hell happens when they take it in their minds to act up?

The ninken looked horribly mauled. The huge black one had tinsel dangling from his ears and poor Pakkun's brown fur was mussed and rumpled. The gold and white one had fingerprints all over his sunglasses and a stressed look on his canine face.

Iruka chuckled. "Thank you for showing my class your summons, but I think you can send them back home now."

Kakashi's eye went wide and Iruka had to fight hard to stifle a laugh. Did the children traumatize him so much that he felt safer with the dogs there to protect him?

The dogs shot Iruka grateful glances as they, without word from their master, began to disappear. The red female under his desk slipped out and stood on her hind legs to lick Iruka's cheek before vanishing. The last to leave was Pakkun, who gave his master a long, meaningful look. "You owe us big-time for that." He intoned gravely, before vanishing in a poof of smoke and displaced air.

Iruka had to stifle a chuckle. "Alright, form up in your groups and come to the front of the classroom, one at a time, to get your supplies. You all remember what to do, right? No, Mariko-chan, that doesn't mean put glue in Gin's hair! What are you doing?"

Mariko looked up innocently, big blue eyes wide and guileless. "I just wanted to see if it would stand up like Kakashi-sensei's. It's almost the right color!"

"You know better. Gin-kun, go to the teacher's lounge. Noriko-sensei should be in there. Tell her what happened and she'll help you get the glue out. Hurry, before it dries." Deftly, Iruka handed the boy a pass and shooed him out the door.

"Mariko-chan, no more glue for you. You can take Gin's spot twisting the streamers together." He cut the student off before she could even begin to protest. "And you do know how to do it. Don't give me that look, you know perfectly well it's all your fault for putting glue in his hair."

Iruka clapped his hands again. "Form up in groups. Konohamaru, if I see that rubber snake again, I'm using it to string you up from the rafters. And leave Hanabi alone. Group one, come up here to get your supplies."

Kakashi watched in reluctant amazement as Iruka deftly managed the terro—students, breaking them up into groups of four and five, and passing out supplies. He directed them with as much talent as any seasoned leader. "Groups two and four, meet up with Umeko-sensei in the classroom next door. She's your team leader, so listen to her. She'll be telling you where to put up decorations. Groups one and five, you meet Tatsuya-sensei in the library. You go straight there. I'll know if you don't and you don't want that, do you?" As one, every little head shook no.

"Groups three and six, you're with Kakashi-sensei and I." Kakashi winced. He really wanted nothing to do with this. Really.

After the little hellions had been dispersed and they had stopped by the lounge to pick up Gin, whose white-blonde hair was wet and slicked down to his skull, they proceeded to the front of the academy. Kakashi was put to work cutting lengths of crepe paper or holding one end of a streamer as a giggling child twisted it just so. Unfortunately, he seemed to be partnered all too often with the one who had been making calf-eyes at him. She giggled and kept winking at him!

Iruka ignored his plight, directing his little monsters like a pro. "Sakiko-chan, up over the railing! If you let it hang down it'll droop and hit the ground! Akihiro-kun, if you don't stop trying to tie Daichi-kun up in those ribbons, I'm going to use them to hang you from the academy roof by your ears!"

Kakashi had to give Iruka that, he was very inventive with his threats. He catalogued several of them away for future use.

He was startled by an unearthly sound. He turned to see the pig-tailed girl tipping her head back. The most awful sound was coming out of her mouth. He flinched as the girl who was twisting the streamers began to make the same horrible noise. A boy joined in.

Then to his absolute horror, Iruka joined in. Kakashi dropped the streamer he was holding and clapped his hand over his ears.

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly…"

Yep, it was confirmed. He was in hell…