I

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

Arc I Chapter 12

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

Iruka offered an encouraging smile. As their teacher, it was his duty to motivate his students. Keeping up a smile was paramount in that regard. “Good work, Kiba. Your presentation about the Inuzuka clan was ... insightful. A bit too descriptive at some points, though.”

They didn't need to know all about dog pee and the various different types of dog poop. What colour. What shape. What consistency. What texture. Too much information.

Iruka scribbled on his notebook. “You will get a good mark, Kiba. You can return now to your place. The next one of the list is Minami Asami.”

Asami stood up and stepped forwards with a sheet of paper in her hands. The girl looked motivated.

“What is your presentation, Asami-chan? You are not from a clan, so I assigned you ninja life in general as your topic.”

Asami beamed in high spirits. “I wrote a little song that I am going to sing, Iruka-sensei.”

“Oh, a song ...” Iruka scratched his head. “That's a strange form of ... presentation, but I guess it's fine. What's the song about?”

“It is about the Second Great Ninja War and the destruction it caused. History was always one of my favourite subjects.”

“I see ...” Iruka offered an uneasy smile. He had a bad feeling, a very bad feeling ...

Asami took a deep breath and sang.

“We kill the sick, the young, the lame

We do our best to kill and maim

Because the kills all count the same

Ninja do what they need

Running fast, through the trees

Ninja doing what they please

Attacking refugees

Ninja do what they need

It made us all feel good inside

When the strong men wept and the women cried

But what we liked was the children fried

Ninja do what they need

See that family over there?

Watch me get 'em with a pair

Blood and guts just everywhere

Ninja do what they need

Mercs and swords for hire

Rogues and thieves around the fire

Money makes the flames go higher

Ninja do what they need

Children sucking on a mother's tit

They all end down in the pit

Because we ANBU don't give a shit

Ninja do what they need

Attack some kids when you go downtown

By throwing some candy on the ground

Then get them when they gather'round

Ninja do what they need

A squad of Kumo-nin in the grass

But all the fighting has long since passed

Dead critters rotting in a mass

Ninja do what they need

Oxcars rolling down the road

Peasants with a heavy load

They are all Iwa-nin when the tags explode

Ninja do what they need

Killing women, lots of fun

Try killing one that's pregnant, son

You'll get two for the price of one

Ninja do what they need

Running fast and feeling mean

See that family by the stream?

Drop by and hear them scream

Ninja do what they need

See the ninja down on their knees?

Draw your blade. Be at ease

Find their arms nailed to trees

Ninja do what they need

Kiri-nin are all hardcore

Come at you with a roar

Soon their corpses wash ashore

Ninja do what they need

Eighteen orphans in a no fighting zone

Books under arms and going home

Last in line goes home alone

Ninja do what they need

Hidden by rain, they live in peace

They think Ame will never burn

But the fuckers never learn

Ninja do what they need

See the little kids jump and shout

Some fire will help without a doubt

Watch them try and put it out

Ninja do what they need

I've been around, some things I've seen

But the people who are mighty mean

The people you kill, they make you clean

Ninja do what they need

I've only seen it happen twice

But both times it was mighty nice

Maiming peasants planting rice

Ninja do what they need

Fire, son, is lots of fun

With a jutsu it all began

Gets them when they're on the run

Ninja do what they need

Some people say it's not so neat

To watch people burning in the street

But burning flesh smells mighty neat

Ninja do what they need

Peasants in the open, making hay

But I can hear the captain say,

“Our orders, no prisoners today”

Ninja do what they need

Kill some civilians where they sit

Take them in as you split

All your life you'll remember it

Ninja do what they need

We all know, we who fought

It's no crime if you don't get caught

That is what the war us taught

Konoha-nin do what they need.”

Asami finished her cute little song. Her mood was good. This was one of her better performances. She had practised a lot in the recent days to modulate her voice. Singing wasn't her forte. Her vocal cords lacked training, but Asami gave her best. She polished, edited, improved her text over and over again until satisfied. She was pleased with the result.

Asami stood before the entire class armed with a bright sugar sweet smile. “And? What do you think? I hope you all liked my song?”

...

...

...

Silence reigned. Absolute icy silence reigned. Coldness gripped the room. The temperature dropped as the very air froze. Nobody uttered a word. Everyone just sat there and said nothing, not daring to disturb the eerie silence. A sea of blank stares met her. Shock and disturbance were written over the faces of her classmates. Mouths hang wide agape, deeply unsettled by her macabre morbid performance.

Asami tilted her head, confused and wondering. “Is something? Did I do something wrong?”

“Iruka-sensei?” Asami looked at her teacher for help. He didn't prove useful. Iruka wore the same troubled expression as the rest of the class.

Iruka stumbled over his words, unsure how to respond. “Your presentation was ... wonderful, Asami-chan. Very ... unique.” He scratched his head, offering a weak smile.

Asami beamed. “Do you think so, Iruka-sensei?”

Iruka nodded. “Of course, ... I do ...”

A girl dropped to the ground from her seat. She had fainted.

“...” Asami blinked, equally confused and surprised. This was strange. Why did the girl faint?

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

“Kurano, do you know why I called you and Asami here?” Iruka welcomed Kurano and Asami in his office. He never thought it would be because of a girl, but the day had come he had to summon her mother. He had few things to discuss with Kurano.

Kurano shook her head. “No, not really.” Asami was sitting on Kurano's lap with a happy smile on her face.

Iruka smiled. They made a lovely mother daughter pair. How Kurano hugged her daughter and how Asami hugged Kurano's arms. They both looked very much alike. They shared their same sense of fashion and hairstyle. Like mother, like daughter. “You are here because I received various complaints from other parents because about Asami's behaviour in class.”

Kurano hugged Asami tighter, protecting her precious daughter. “What did my daughter do?”

“Asami made a little presentation last week ...”

“And?” Kurano interrupted Iruka.

“Well, her presentation physically and mentally traumatised some of my students. They say, they have now nightmares because of her.”

“Furthermore, some children say ...” Iruka flicked through a pile of papers until he found the right file. “They say that they find her ominous presence unsettling and her cold soulless stare frightening. Some of my students even claim that Asami is in truth an evil spirit masquerading as a little girl. They call her the ‘Demon Princess’.”

Kurano grew protective. “That is impossible. My little cute Asami would never an evil spirit. Don't you see how sweet she is, Iruka? Asami is fluffy and puffy. Her cheeks are soft. She can't be evil.” Her mother adored her daughter, not doubting her little princess for even the fraction of a second.

Asami nodded in agreement. “Okaa-san is right, I am not an evil spirit.”

“...” Iruka sighed, conceding defeat. He already saw this wouldn't lead anywhere. This was a waste of time.

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━