AN: This is my first ever one-shot, meaning that this is the only chapter to this story. I've had this idea floating around in my head all day, and it won't leave lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and yes Arc 2 of Akuma no Senshi is almost done editing wise. Thanks all!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I am not doing this for monetary gain. All rights go to their respective owner.

ITALICS – Thinking

BOLD – jutsu/demon talk

I Am What I Am, I Am What I Am Not

The day started like any other for Naruto Uzumaki, a 13 year old shinobi from Konoha. He smashed his annoying alarm clock and lightly cursed at the birds chirping outside as he sat up in bed. As he did, he couldn't help but rub the sleep out of his eyes and frown at the same dream, nightmare rather, he's been having for quite a while now. The most maddening part of it all, was that Naruto couldn't remember anything about this dream except one detail which always seemed to wake him up.

A bright flash of white.

Not wanting to dwell on the topic much longer, Naruto reluctantly swung his feet to the side of the bed and stood on the cold hardwood floor of his small apartment. With a yawn, Naruto went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet only to fill it with water and down it shortly after. Refilling it once more, Naruto looked at the water and couldn't help but feel something poking at his mind, like a reminder to something that was lost. Although confused, Naruto eventually emptied the glass and put it on the counter before he went to his dresser to grab his outfit for the day.

One, bright orange tracksuit and matching pants.

After grabbing what he needed, Naruto went to get a shower but happened to pause as he looked at the mirror on the bathroom wall. To add to his already confusing day, Naruto blinked in shock to find that he had no reflection.

"What is going on…is something wrong with me?" Naruto thought, pinching himself to make sure. "Ouch!"

The pain he felt brought a smile to Naruto's face; he was real, not an illusion. With a shrug of the shoulders, Naruto stripped out of his nightclothes, turned the shower on, and stepped inside only to feel the poking once again. Pushing this sensation off as nerves, Naruto quickly finished and dried himself off before getting dressed. Once his shinobi gear was in place, Naruto headed out to the place he loved the most.

Ichiraku's Ramen.

"Good morning Old Man Teuchi, Ayame!" Naruto said as he parted the flap which hung from the roof of the stand.

"Ohayo Naruto!" Teuchi gave Naruto a smile as he appeared from the kitchen. "The usual today, I take it?"

"Hai!"

The ramen chef nodded, "Five miso coming right up!"

As Naruto swung his feet, he couldn't help but notice that one person hadn't answered his call like usual.

"Um, Old Man Teuchi, where's Ayame?" Naruto asked, his eyebrow raised.

A frown appeared on Teuchi's face, "She's paying respects to someone that she lost not long ago, but don't worry, she'll be here soon enough."

"Oh, I give her my condolences then. Whoever it was must've made her feel special." Naruto replied, regretting he asked in the first place.

A simple nod is what was returned, and the place went silent for a while. Within minutes, Naruto had his first bowl and was digging in when someone else decided to join the stand. Noodles still hung from his mouth, Naruto looked at the person sitting next to him and smiled.

"Hey Kakashi-Sensei, you paying for my meal today?" No response, it was like he wasn't even heard. "Um, Kakashi-Sensei…can you hear me?"

Again, no response was given which further added to Naruto's already confusing day. Suddenly not feeling hungry, Naruto paid for his five bowls and left the stand. If he had stayed any longer, he would have saw Kakashi taking out a picture of someone whom he missed dearly.

Naruto aimlessly wandered Konoha in the hopes of solving whatever the heck was going on. However, like before, the villagers seemed to ignore his existence though they oddly didn't glare at him this time.

It was yet another piece to the ever growing puzzle.

Frustrated, Naruto headed to the one training ground he used the most; training ground seven.

As he arrived, he made 200 Shadow Clones to start training on his chakra control among other things. Just as he was about to begin fighting some of his clones, a gasp was heard behind him. As Naruto turned, he blinked at the sight of a shocked Sakura.

"Hey Sakura, you OK?"

"Y-you…but h-how?" She stuttered out, not believing her eyes.

"How what?" Naruto asked innocently. "Am I missing something here?"

"I have to tell the others…this can't be just me, can it?" Sakura mumbled then took a step back before running towards Konoha again.

"Sakura, wait!" Naruto reached out towards her to try and stop her, but nothing resulted. "Please, tell me what's wrong!"

Defeated, Naruto sat on the grass with tears brimming from his eyes. He dispelled the clones, he didn't feel like training today. No, all he wanted was to figure out why some people avoided him while others were shocked or sad to see him.

"Ino…Ino, open up!" Sakura frantically said as she banged on the flower shop door.

The door unlocked and opened to where Ino peeked her head outside. "Sakura, we don't open for another 20 minutes, can't you wait like everyone else?"

"Dammit, Ino! Now's not the time!"

The Yamanaka heir didn't hesitate when her friend brought out the sailor speak, Ino knew it was only used for desperate situations. She pulled Sakura inside and closed the door behind her.

"Alright Miss Potty Mouth." Ino jested. "What's got you all worked up?"

"I…I still can't believe it, but I did, I know I did!" Sakrua replied, her brain still trying to wrap around what it saw. "Naruto, Ino, I saw Naruto."

Ino frowned, "Look, I know you're sorry for making that promise, but that was a month ago…you can't always live in the past Sakura, what's done is done."

Sakura shook her head, "Why can't you believe me? I know what I saw, Ino…he was THERE!"

Ino looked at her longtime friend and wondered about her mental state. After a brief moment of silence, she finally spoke up.

"Perhaps my father needs to start the sessions again, you might be relapsing."

Frustrated, Sakura slapped Ino across the face and stormed out of the flower shop leaving a shocked, and saddened, Yamanaka behind.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura."

"Nope, nope, nope." This was the mantra Naruto spoke as he looked through unclassified shinobi records in a section of the library. "How hard is it to find something about me? I want answers, 'dattebayo!

"SHHHH!" The librarian suddenly spoke as she looked towards Naruto, confusion evident on her face.

Seeing the confusion, Naruto walked up to the librarian and waved his hands in front of her face. Usually she would yell at Naruto for this and tell him to get out, but not today. It was like Naruto wasn't even there. An exasperated sigh escape the Uzumaki's lips, yet another person who denies his existence. Just as he was about to leave the library, however, one person came in which made Naruto's head start to pound.

Sasuke Uchiha.

The pounding got worse, the pain eventually bringing Naruto to his knees. It was like the poking when he looked at the water, but more severe. As Sasuke got closer, the drilling sensation seemed to intensify, but when he passed by that is when all went white for Naruto.

The day started like any other for Naruto Uzumaki, a 13 year old shinobi from Konoha. He smashed his annoying alarm clock and lightly cursed at the birds chirping outside as he sat up in bed. As he did, he couldn't help but rub the sleep out of his eyes and frown at the same dream, nightmare rather, he's been having for quite a while now.

Wait….

Realization suddenly hit Naruto, he was here before but this time he started to remember some parts of the dream. He was jumping through the forest, Kiba and Akamaru beside him and black silhouettes around him. Who these silhouettes were, Naruto didn't know but he was determined to find out. Shower all but abandoned, Naruto put on his usual attire and headed to the one place he knew Kiba and his other friends would be for breakfast.

Akimichi BBQ

Like before, Naruto was completely ignored by the villagers as he walked the streets and as he entered the humble BBQ restaurant, Naruto happened upon an interesting conversation.

"I still think you should inform Inoichi about what Sakura told you, Ino." Hinata said, concern evident in her voice; the stutter all but gone. "I've come to terms with the pain in my heart, but occasionally the wound still bleeds."

"I know, but I don't want to subject her to those sessions again." Ino sighed as she remembered hearing Sakura screaming from the back room. "They helped, yet at the same time I think they hurt."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru suddenly spoke in his usual lazy drawl.

"Perhaps we should investigate into Sakura's allegations. Why? Because the shinobi world is filled with surprises." Shino quietly stated while his hive ate the meat in front of him.

Choji, who just came from the kitchen with a plate of BBQ ribs, was about to meet his friends and sit down for a nice meal but that all changed when he saw Naruto standing in the doorway of his family's establishment. The plate slipped from his fingers and smashed apart when it hit the ground, catching everyone's attention.

"Butterfingers today, Choji?" Kiba asked with a smirk, but that vanished as did everyone else's when they looked at what the Akimichi was pointing at.

"You can see me?" Naruto questioned as he saw the Konoha 12 staring at him.

"And this is why everything's troublesome!"

Frantically, Naruto ran up to the Nara and shook him back and forth. "Please!" He begged. "I don't know what's happened to me, some people ignore me, others don't…just what am I?"

Everyone frowned at that, though they were surprised that Naruto couldn't remember what happened a month ago.

"I think all of us need to go to see the Hokage, Sakura included." Tenten said, tears brimming from her eyes.

Lee nodded and ran off to fetch her while Hinata looked at her crush in shock.

"Y-you don't remember anything?" The stutter was back.

Naruto shook his head, "No, other than Kiba and Akamaru being beside me while jumping from tree to tree. Why, was I involved in some accident?"

The Konoha 12 looked at each other, all had concern etched on their faces.

"Come." Ino said with a smile, "All will be explained once we see the Hokage."

"Enter!" Tsunade said as she heard knocking at her door, a godsend really as the paperwork sucked. "Ah, I wasn't expecting all of you to pay a visit to my office today. Is something the matter?"

Before the office door was closed, Sakura burst in with Lee. "Where is he, I know he's here!"

"Who's here, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, confusion evident in her tone.

"Me, baa-chan." Naruto said as he stepped in from the hallway and made his way towards the desk.

Tsunade looked at Naruto, then at Ino where a scowl began to form. "If this is some sick joke, Ino, I won't hesitate to have you demoted…permanently!"

"Hey! This isn't some joke, dattebayo!" Naruto screamed.

Tsuande again looked at the Uzumaki, "This is a joke…right?"

"Troublesome, but no it's not." Shikamaru sighed. "Apparently Naruto doesn't remember what happened a month ago."

"Other than me and Akamaru." Kiba interrupted.

"Oh, and a sharp pain in my head when Sasuke was around." Naruto just remembered that tidbit of information, one which made everyone suck in the breath they were about to exhale. "What? Was it something I said?"

Shakily, Tsunade stood from her desk and started walking towards the door. "Come Naruto, I think there is something you need to see."

After a ten minute walk, Naruto and the others stood in front of the memorial stone where fresh flowers and wreaths adorned the base of it. Along with these was a picture of one person.

Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze

"W-what, I don't understand?" Naruto was scared, there was no way he was dead, right?

"A month ago, I tasked you, Shikamaru, Kiba and Akamaru, Choji, and Neji with retrieving Sasuke Uchiha who defected from Konoha." Tsunade started quietly. "I should have given it to the ANBU, but in my drunken state I allowed Danzo to manipulate my mind thus sending you instead."

Neji, seeing the pain Tsunade was in, decided to continue. "Danzo was ready to send his Root agents to capture you once he got word that you failed to bring Sasuke back…killing us in the process as to tie up loose ends."

Choji sadly nodded, "Yah, but his plan ultimately failed when Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara showed up to help us." The Akimichi wiped his tears before continuing. "Once the Root threat was gone, Neji, Kiba, and I had to be sent back to Konoha to get our injuries treated. Shikamaru and the others, however, went to try and help you."

"…And that's when you found me, crying over my surrogate brother's body" Sasuke interrupted as he stepped from behind the memorial stone.

Naruto gasped as the pain in his head started, something which made Sasuke keep his distance.

"I gained the Mangekyou Sharigan for killing you, Naruto, a curse which I never wanted in the first place." Sasuke sighed as he looked to the sky. "Why didn't you block my second Chidori Naruto? Was it worth it? Were you trying to prove a point?"

The pain started to lessen, and memories of that day started to come back. "I…I wanted you to see the error of your ways. That, and I wanted to be free from the beast inside my gut…a burden that I wish on no one."

Tsunade's eyes widened as she remembered Jiraiya telling her about Naruto's seal, on how the Kyuubi couldn't reform due to Minato having the other half of the bijuu, a half which rested in the grasp of the Shinigami.

"Did you know about…?" Tsunade asked, only to be interrupted by Naruto.

"Yes, all of it, even my parentage. Pery-sage told me everything during the one-month training period."

"So you knew about the Akatsuki…that's why you sacrificed yourself, for the greater good." Tsunade smiled, the others quickly doing the same as it was something only Naruto would do.

Sasuke hesitantly came closer to see how Naruto would react, seeing that nothing happened, he rested a hand on his surrogate brother's shoulder.

"Thank you, Naruto, for everything. Your death awoke me from the darkness I had been in for so long." The Uchiha smiled with Naruto returning it.

"It's what I do best, dattebayo!"

"If you're wondering, I made sure the village knew who you actually were and who was to blame for sending you on that mission. Needless to say, our Root problem is now gone." Tsunade happily informed, though grew saddened as she revealed the next bit. "Jiraiya, however, managed to convince the leader of Ame to break away from his plans by telling him of your demise. Nagato Uzumaki was his name, and both he and Jiraiya brought an end to the Akatuski, sacrificing their lives in the process."

Naruto sniffled, although sad, he was happy to know that the sage went out like he always wanted. After drying his tears, he looked at Sasuke once again.

"Did you ever kill Itachi?"

"No." The Uchiha shook his head. "He and I made amends after he visited me and told me the truth of it all."

The talking ceased as Naruto felt something being placed around his neck. Looking up, he saw Tsunade put on the necklace he was given not so long ago.

"This has always been yours, take it as the memories it brings back haunt me to this day."

Naruto smiled as he grasped the green crystal, as he did, however, a flash of white occurred. When it cleared, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Nagato Uzumaki, Jiraiya, Kushina Uzumaki, and Minato Namikaze all stood beside Naruto.

"Ready to come home, son?" Minato asked, ruffling Naruto's hair.

"Hai father, I finally found what I was looking for."

"Jiji?" Tsunade gasped, still not believing her eyes.

"Hello my little Tsu-Tsu." Hashirama smiled. "And by Kami, look how much you've aged."

"Jiji! You know I hate that nickname!"

The Konoha 12 snickered, though a heated stare from the Hokage shut them up; an action which made the Shodai chuckle.

"Ah, a great Hokage you will be Tsunade, I have faith you will keep the Will of Fire alive."

"As do I, my student." Hiruzen smiled.

"Thank you for being there for my sochi, each and every one of you are honorary Uzumaki in my eyes." Kushina said warmly while giving Naruto a hug from behind.

"Let's go home, everyone." The ethereal figures nodded and, before they faded away, Naruto Uzumaki spoke his final words. "Thank you, for everything, may we meet each other again when that fateful day comes."