Fanfic / Reflections Of Demons

A Naruto fic by evil_genius, found on fanfiction.net.

Reflections of Demons is a rather well done Alt Fic, inspired by a very good one-shot by another user, and has inspired at least one another fic based off it's Canon and a challenge by Evil.

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.

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.

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 what happens in... a lot of fanfiction involving Haku.

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.

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.

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.

Also. Best. Gai. Lee. Scene. EVER. In. A. Fic.

---

This fanfiction series contains examples of:

• Big Brother Mentor: Haku and Iruka to Naruto.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Lampshaded multiple times, when all the most powerful ninja in Konoha are BARELY sane (Kakashi, Anko, GAI...).
  • Don't forget OROCHIMARU! albeit this is dismissed for him being evil scientist seeker of immortality...
  • 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.
  • On the other hand, Haku has a quirk preloaded, being a Wholesome Crossdresser. It's low key compared to the Konoha norm, though.
• Brain Bleach: 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 Go Mad from the Revelation...
  • 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:
    Word of God: "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) Water and 3) Disulfiram a drug used to treat alcoholism, this is to prevent those that have more than 2 shots from dying from alcohol poisoning…Yes, you are right, that will kill the brain cells that have just seen a Gai moment!"
• Cool Teacher: Haku. Even the Konohamaru Corps approve. But then, it suits him.
• Cynical Mentor: Both Zabuza and Kakashi are this; they can also switch to Sink or Swim Mentor mode when someone ^*COUGH* Sasuke 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^*COUGH* Sansuke... doesn't.
• Dysfunction Junction: A lot of people are more than a little off in this fic.
• Fair-Weather Mentor: 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 Survivor Guilt, his inability to 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 his failures.
• Glomp: How Naruto tends to greet Iruka. His adoptive older brother sees it as a sign of Naruto's innate innocence.
• An Ice Person: Haku, via his bloodline.
• Lampshade Hanging: On fem!Haku fic. Haku changes outfits just so Sakura will accept he's not another girl who might "compete" for Sasuke's attention.
  • 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 What the Hell, Hero? 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.
  • Also on Bunny-Ears Lawyer, see above - complete with the in-universe Brain Bleach
• Lack of Empathy:
  • 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 brutally murdered his entire clan and forced him to watch for 3 days. At age 7. While crying at the same time for the difficult and lonely life Naruto had to suffer... What?.
  • 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.
  • 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, seemingly ignoring any culpability Naruto may have had in the situation in favour of bashing Sakura for punching him (the hyper-durable shinobi).

• The Pollyanna: Naruto. Happily lists how awesome a place Konoha is. Zabuza and Kakashi lament how he's trying very hard to lie to himself.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Sarutobi and his advisors.
• Rouge Angles of Satin: One fault that does jump out at you. Also, some Wanton Cruelty to the Common Comma, in that Evil seems to underuse it.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Kakashi shows signs of this. Understandable, given his back story.
  • On a Rule of Funny note, everyone is this regarding Gai's presence, except Lee maybe.
• Village of Hats: Producing Bunny Eared, Crazy Is Cool Ninja seems to be Konoha's hat.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: This seems to be Haku's baseline attitude in this alt.
• There Are No Therapists: Subverted for Naruto in that Zabuza and Haku help him deal with his issues. OTOH you have the rest of Konoha.
• What the Hell, Hero?: 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.
  • 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.
    • Ibiki, hard as nails head of Torture and Interrogation, starts wondering if he can keep handling Zabuza and Haku's entrance into the village and overseeing their interactions with Naruto after some of the things it reveals.