White Cloud
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Mizuki doesn't wake up Iruka in Ep/Ch 1 (because why would he?).
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"You had it made! You could have been the biggest thief of all time, but you had to target my ancestors and blow your own cover. You exposed your operation because of your ego!" - Sly Cooper on why Villians need to stop needlesly digging thier own graves.
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The plan works perfectly. Because of course it does.
At first it looks like a prank, The Hokage assumes as much because it certainly wouldn't be the first time. By the time he realises something's amiss, it's too late.
Far too late.
The alert goes out and this is the difficult bit. Nobody's bothering the Jōnin yet. It doesn't seem that bad. 'A prank gone sour', they're hoping. But he's good. Dropping 'Naruto' and 'Forbidden scroll' into enough sentences has the intended effect. Mob mentality does the rest.
Or at least it will.
He hits the shinobi bars first. Because what's a mob without a little liquor? It works of course. The bar is up in arms and out the door before he can even remind anybody 'not to jump to conclusions'.
Silly me.
Apartment complexes are next. He's almost at his building when he stops.
Because actually…
…No. better not.
Iruka was the absolute worst person to involve. Yes, he'd be useful in finding him, but he'd also gotten pretty fond of the little shit. Well known, well likeD and entirely too level headed for Mizuki's own good. He'd try to calm everyone down when what they really needed was riling up. But if he skipped over his entire building...
No, he'd have to risk the complex on 33rd. There were a few Tokubetsu Jōnin still living there, but none of them should pose a problem.
Iruka would have his beauty sleep.
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Shikamaru is the first to notice. Not because he wants to-You can go talk to Ino if you want gossip or whatever- but because it's impossible not to.
Blonde and orange shuffles into class and it's all he can think of to point out that he really shouldn't be here. Yes, he can see the 'fresh off the line' headband perfectly well. But also, yes, he can also see the bags under his eyes and the way he shivers like it isn't the middle of summer. So he stalls for time and how did he pass after he failed and-
-And he gets nothing.
Nothing verbal anyway. No 'screw you!' or 'I'm gonna be Hokage! No way something like that was gonna phase me!'He just shrugs his shoulders and ducks his head as he goes to grab a seat and this whole scene feels off. This idiot should be doing laps around the freaking room. Asking Haruno out and getting his ass kicked by the Uchiha. Instead, he's sitting quietly about as far away from either of them as you could get without actually leaving the room and now he's starting to freak Shikamaru the hell out.
It gets worse, rather than better, when sensei arrives. He won't even look at Naruto and suddenly Shikamaru's thinking about how his dad bolted from their evening game of shogi and for that matter, why isn't Mizuki-sensei here?
He doesn't ask. Doesn't have time to ask because now he's stuck on a team with Ino who won't stop accusing Sakura of stealing her Sasuke-kun and oh great, now they're both yelling again.
As he trails out of class for probably the last time with a new sensei who's already lighting up a cigarette, he can't help but wonder…
What the hell just happened?
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"You are the Nine Tailed-"
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"Container"
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"Weapon"
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"Extenuating Circumstances"
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"I'm so sorry"
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"Welcome"
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"Murderer"
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As a matter of fact, quite a lot actually.
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Note: for those of you wandering about the title, it has nothing to do with Kumo. Its medical slang for an on-call doctor who isn't called upon the entire night.
This was originally going to be a full story, in much the same vein as 'Introverted'. I loved that story, but not how it went down in the long term. Everything was just too constantly horrible. To quote Whedon "Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke." Seriously, I've never read another fic so utterly devoid of hope. I'd still recommend giving it a look though
Anyway, this was going to be a version of Naruto who was utterly broken by his encounter with Mizuki. Who entered Team 7 more hated than ever before in the wake events unspoken which lead to Mizuki's death. I would have liked to explore the manner in which this changed the dynamic between himself and the other characters. Especially Haku, as one aspires to be a useful weapon while the other rails against his newly discovered status as one.
Anyway, tell me what you think and if anybody want to turn this into a full blown fic then for the love of god tell me so I can give it a read.
Merry Christmas.