Line #46 Fanfic/ReflectionsOfDemons


1	A ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fic by evil_genius, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4477597/2/Reflections_of_Demons found on fanfiction.net]].
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3	Reflections of Demons is a rather well done AltFic, inspired by a [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3438341/1/Mirror very good one-shot by another user]], and has inspired at least one [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/136899 another fic]] based off it's {{Canon}} and a challenge by Evil.
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5	The premise is simple: during the battle of the bridge, Haku's mirrors revert to their true purpose - reflecting, as all mirrors do, only the truth before them.
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7	It reflects the truth of Naruto's life before him. Instead of Naruto's first kill, we have a Haku who finds a kindred soul and decides he must help. And when his mentor Zabuza hears how Konoha treats the young man holding the Nine-Tail, he's rightly pissed - as stories of Konoha inspired his attempted coup against the Kiri leadership.
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9	The idea of Haku and Zabuza joining Konoha is done here surprisingly well. Zabuza's character is developed rather nicely into a hardened, but caring man. It's also one of the few fics where Haku retains his gender, unlike [[GenderFlip what happens]] in... a lot of fanfiction involving Haku.
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11	There is some [deserved] Konoha bashing over the treatment of Naruto - but we also see the good side of Hidden Leaf. We see the Sandaime and the village Councils portrayed not as evil or ineffectual but trying to deal with the choices made to protect the son of one of their greatest leaders.
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13	The fic believably takes us to a point where Haku and Zabuza really want to help Naruto as he helped them. Naruto is eager, but there's also the resistance of stubborn habit because he's been on his own for so long.
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15	The ripples from this simple relationship hit everyone, and several characters are given an "underneath the underneath" that fits what the manga to that point had established very well. From a slowly defrosting Sasuke to a Sakura slowly realising she needs to change her attitude to truly be a ninja, to even the politics of the village being hit - the changes are so natural and gradual, by the time the Chuunin Exams roll around you blink and realise the characters are exactly where this story took them.
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17	[[RuleOfCool Also. Best. Gai. Lee. Scene. EVER. In. A. Fic]].
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19	----
20	!!This fanfiction series contains examples of:
21	* BigBrotherMentor: Haku and Iruka to Naruto.
22	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Lampshaded multiple times, when all the most powerful ninja in Konoha are BARELY sane (Kakashi, '''Anko''', '''GAI'''...).
23	** Don't forget '''[[BigBad OROCHI]][[CardCarryingVillain MARU!]]''' albeit this is dismissed for him being [[MadScientist evil scientist]] [[ImmortalityImmorality seeker of immortality]]...
24	** And for some reason, ''foreign ninja'' entering Konoha's territory will somehow show the symptoms. Zabuza and Haku ''seem'' to barely escape the plague, Kankuro does not.
25	** On the other hand, Haku has a quirk preloaded, being a WholesomeCrossdresser. It's low key compared to the Konoha norm, though.
26	* BrainBleach: Most people in Konoha have gotten used to Gai's quirks, though they do tend to show some obvious discomfort when he gets going. However, first time exposure can cause one to GoMadFromTheRevelation...
27	** They have this in fic. It's a drink called "Dousing the Flames of Youth". It was ''made'' to counter Gai's effect on people:
28	---> WordOfGod: "So I thought I would all allow you to know what was in the drink: 'Dousing the flames of Youth!' 1) Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Jack Daniels, Jim Bean, Johnnie Walker and Jose Cuervo 2) [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Water]] and 3) [[ControlFreak Disulfiram a drug used to treat alcoholism]], this is to prevent those that have more than 2 shots from dying from alcohol poisoning…[[IKnewIt Yes, you are right]], [[LampshadeHanging that will kill the brain cells that have just seen a Gai moment!]]"
29	* CoolTeacher: Haku. Even the Konohamaru Corps approve. But then, [[IncrediblyLamePun it suits him]].
30	* CynicalMentor: Both Zabuza and Kakashi are this; they can also switch to SinkOrSwimMentor mode when someone [[labelnote:COUGH]]Sasuke[[/labelnote]] needs a wake-up call, as seen in chapter 4 part 3 when Naruto and Sakura prove to understand Zabuza and Kakashi's team-building exercises and someone[[labelnote:COUGH]]Sansuke[[/labelnote]]... doesn't.
31	* DysfunctionJunction: A lot of people are more than a little off in this fic.
32	* FairWeatherMentor: What some think of Kakashi. Anko loudly proclaims that she's surprised they let him teach and Koharu mentions he's "as much a basket case as the Uchiha". Ibiki, however, thinks it's mostly due to his SurvivorGuilt, his inability to [[MyGreatestFailure forget his failed mission where Obito died]] and being placed on a team with Naruto (mentor's son) and Sasuke (Obito's family) makes him forever remember [[MyGreatestFailure his failures]].
33	* {{Glomp}}: How Naruto tends to greet Iruka. His adoptive older brother sees it as a sign of Naruto's innate innocence.
34	* AnIcePerson: Haku, via his bloodline.
35	* LampshadeHanging: On fem!Haku fic. Haku changes outfits just so Sakura will accept he's not another girl who might "compete" for Sasuke's attention.
36	** Not only has the Kakashi "not really teaching them much, is he?" concept been lampshaded, but it's been {{Deconstructed}}. Kakashi responds to Zabuza's WhatTheHellHero speech about his approach to Team Seven with a laundry list of ''further'' reasons the situation sucks. He also notes that those that he might have wanted to help are hamstrung by their own past good intentions.
37	** Also on BunnyEarsLawyer, see above - complete with the in-universe BrainBleach
38	* LackOfEmpathy:
39	** While going the extra mile to be nice and protective of Naruto, Haku, Zabuza and the Author had it hard for Sasuke. He is called and snarked left and right for being emo and needing to grow up and take his head out of his ass... forgetting that he is like that because Itachi [[LeaveNoSurvivors brutally murdered his entire clan]] and [[ForcedToWatch forced him to watch]] for 3 days. At age 7. [[NoSympathy While crying at the same time for the difficult and lonely life Naruto had to suffer]]... [[FlatWhat What?]].
40	** What set Zabuza off, to begin with. He notes how after the battle on the bridge Kakashi immediately rushes for Sasuke (he had a good reason) and both he and Sakura ignore Naruto.
41	** Sakura. Takes her frustration out on Naruto because he'll just let it slide and forgive her. This ignores that Sakura's canon outbursts against Naruto in the anime were motivated by him harassing her for dates or transforming into a naked woman in the middle of a street, [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality seemingly ignoring any culpability Naruto may have had in the situation]] in favour of bashing Sakura for punching him (the hyper-durable shinobi).
42	%%* MamaBear and PapaWolf: '''Several'''. If anything, the fic seeks to [[LampshadeHanging Lampshade]] how this attitude and the best intentions can lead to unfortunate side effects.
43	%% They should be separate entries, with context.
44	* ThePollyanna: Naruto. Happily lists how awesome a place Konoha is. Zabuza and Kakashi lament how he's trying very hard to lie to himself.
45	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Sarutobi and his advisors.
46	* RougeAnglesOfSatin: One fault that does jump out at you. Also, some WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma, in that Evil seems to underuse it.
47	* ShellShockedVeteran: Kakashi shows signs of this. Understandable, given his back story.
48	** On a RuleOfFunny note, ''everyone'' is this regarding Gai's presence, [[GenerationXerox except Lee maybe]].
49	* [[PlanetOfHats Village of Hats]]: Producing [[BunnyEarsLawyer Bunny Eared]], CrazyIsCool Ninja seems to be Konoha's hat.
50	* SugarAndIcePersonality: This seems to be Haku's baseline attitude in this alt.
51	* ThereAreNoTherapists: Subverted for Naruto in that Zabuza and Haku help him deal with his issues. OTOH you have the rest of Konoha.
52	* WhatTheHellHero: Haku and Zabuza feel this way about Konoha, as they saw it as a model for what Kiri would be if their coup had worked. They are understandably disappointed in how Naruto's been treated.
53	** A lot of the residents of Hidden Leaf feel this way about parts of the village and are fully willing to admit they've paved the road with good intentions and just hope it's not heading to hell.

Context Fanfic / ReflectionsOfDemons