A Soul's Salvation

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I really enjoy reading them and love hearing your opinions. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, because this chapter marks the changing relationship of Naruto and Sakura. Enjoy and please review.

~!~

Sakura looked up at the man beside her and silently wondered what he wanted. Normally, he wouldn’t have much to do with her, except if they were on a mission, but he had started to come around, and she was curious as to know why.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was confident that he could sway Sakura away from Naruto. After all, she had been in love with him for so many years and now, she would be getting exactly what she had always dreamed of….him.

After walking for several minutes, Sakura finally asked, “So, what’s going on, Sasuke?”

The young man looked down at her, and gave her a smile. Suddenly, she was wary, mostly because whenever he smiled, it was never good.

He took in a deep breath, prepared to tell Sakura that he had decided that they would be a perfect team, both on and off the field, but froze when a voice yelled, “Sakura!”

The pair turned and watched as Shizune ran towards them, her face red from running. When she finally caught up, she took a moment to catch her breath and then said, “Tsunade-sama wants to see you in her office, Sakura. It’s really important.”

Sasuke could feel his anger beginning to bubble, but calmed himself when Sakura turned to him and asked, “Why don’t we try to catch up with each other tonight, ok?”

He nodded and then glared over at Shizune, who was watching them with narrowed eyes. When Sakura turned to the other woman, he fought the urge to flip the intruding female off, but then decided that at least now, he could fine-tune what he wanted to tell Sakura.

Turning on his heel, he walked in the opposite direction, but then stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Then, he lifted his hand, and allowed his middle finger to shoot up towards the sky.

He smirked as he walked towards town. Well, at least he got some satisfaction.

~!~

Kiba was growling low in his throat as Neji seethed. That little Uchiha punk was just asking for his ass to be beaten.

When the two men jumped down from their hiding place, Kiba said, “What in the hell are we going to do now? She’s going to meet up with him tonight.”

Smirking, Neji replied, “She said that they could try to meet up. I think that we can convince Hinata to come up with something that would distract Sakura away from the Uchiha.

Kiba laughed and patted his friend on the back. As he moved to walk away, Neji’s hand shot out and gripped onto Kiba’s arm.

Stepping forward, Neji calmly asked, “So, do you want to tell me about you and Hinata getting stuck in that cave? You seemed so eager to tell the story the other night.”

Kiba gulped and gave a nervous grin. Ah, hell. He was in a lot of trouble.

~!~

Tsunade grinned and nodded her head. Yes, this was the perfect plan to get Naruto and Sakura together. Her cohort in the plan was currently sitting across from her, looking very pleased with himself.

As they waited, Tsunade asked, “And, you believe that this will bring them closer together? What if it has the opposite effect?”

Masahara shrugged. “The boy needs to be the one to step to her. She isn’t going to go against his wishes, due to her honor, and in order for them to begin, there must be a starting point. This way, he has no choice but to deal with her, and vice versa.” He explained, his tone bored.

Tsunade smiled and took a sip of her drink. As the liquid burned down her throat, she gave the man before her an admiring glance. If only she were a few years younger, then he’d have to watch out.

The door opened quickly, causing the female hokage to drop her drink, and she glared up at the intruder.

“What do you want, baa-chan?” Naruto demanded. He had to get back to where Sasuke was, just to make sure that he didn’t try anything with Sakura. If he found the bastard making the moves on her, there would be no way in hell that he’d be held back from beating the shit out of him.

Tsunade finished mopping up the mess that her drink made, and motioned to a seat next to Masahara. The younger man gave the lord a glare, but did as he was told. Once he was seated comfortably, Tsunade said, “Lord Akio has come to me with a request, and unfortunately, I have no one else who I trust with this mission.”

Naruto relaxed a bit. He knew the woman before him could be sneaky. Of course, all of the sannin were like that. He glanced over at the stoic man beside him and got a cold stare in return.

Tsunade took in a deep breath and calmly said, “Lord Akio has decided to approach me for permission to ask Haruno Sakura for her hand in marriage. Their union would benefit both of our villages, not to mention the alliances between us, valley, and Suna.”

Naruto felt his entire body freeze. Lord Akio wanted to marry Sakura? He was glad that he was sitting down, because if he wasn’t, he would have probably passed out, or worse, gotten sick all over baa-chan’s floor.

“Yes. I need a woman who holds both compassion and intelligence at my side. Sakura is the perfect woman for the task.” Masahara said, his eyes never leaving Naruto’s.

“Your mission, Naruto.” Tsunade said, “Will be to protect Sakura. What that means is, you are to be Sakura’s personal bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard?” Naruto asked, his tone flat. He felt as if the breath had just been kicked out of him.

Masahara nodded. “Yes, you will be at Ambassador Haruno’s side at all times. She is to be your responsibility.”

As the words filtered through his head, Naruto thought of many reasons why he should refuse this mission. He should refuse because he knew that Sakura still thought that he hated her. He should refuse because there were other shinobi out there who were better suited for the job. He should refuse…..because he loved her and couldn’t watch her fall in love with someone else.

But, for all his refusals, his darker half began to whisper about how they could sabotage this so-called engagement. By being at Sakura’s side, he could rebuild the bond that they once held and strengthen it, thus effectively removing the lord’s chances with her.

He looked up and into the eyes of the woman who he knew he could not let down. But, his honor simply wouldn’t let him acknowledge the kyuubi’s suggestions, and he was about to tell her no, but was stopped when the door opened.

“I found her, Lady Tsunade!” Shizune called, her tone merry. The dark haired woman walked in, and behind her, walked Sakura.

He watched her, his heart beating rapidly, and gave her a nod when she looked up at him with those green eyes of hers. For a moment, nothing existed but her.

When Tsunade cleared her throat, both Naruto and Sakura looked over at her, and she motioned for Sakura to sit down.

“Lord Akio has informed me that he has brought up the idea of marriage to you, Sakura.” Tsunade said. “As your sensei, I have given my consent for him to court you.”

Sakura’s heart dropped to her feet. She knew that her face had lost all color, and she could hear Naruto’s knuckles cracking behind her.

“I’ll do it. “

The entire room was silent. Tsunade was nodding in approval, as was Masahara. Sakura whirled around and asked, “What?”

Masahara stood up and smoothly explained. “When I asked for permission to court you, I also asked for one of the village’s shinobi to be assigned as your personal bodyguard. After all, you are a very important woman, Sakura. We are fortunate to have this young man agree to be that bodyguard.”

Tsunade stood up, as well. “Yes, however, Lord Akio and I have a meeting to attend, so Naruto, your duties begin now.” She said, as she walked to her door. Over her shoulder, she threw the pair behind her a wink and said, “Be good, children.”

Naruto watched as the door closed, leaving him and Sakura alone. He looked down at Sakura, who was still staring at the door. He supposed he should feel a bit guilty for going along with the kyuubi. After all, he was honorable.

Oh, well. Honor didn’t keep you very warm at night, did it?

~!~

Sakura bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder as she walked. Once she had recovered from the shock of learning that she was now officially being courted and finding that Naruto was going to be her bodyguard, she had decided that what she needed was a really good workout.

She walked past the man, and mumbled that she needed to go to her apartment and change. She knew that he would follow her. Despite his loud, brash ways, Naruto was a shinobi who did as he was told, within reason. If he was to be around her, he would be.

So, once she had changed and grabbed her sword, they walked to her sensei's home, and was happy to find the man sitting outside, waiting on her.

Akumista watched as she walked towards him and cocked his eyebrow when he saw the blonde man behind her.

“Girl, it would appear that your shadow has decided to switch genders.” He said, his tone dry.

Sakura sighed and gave him a weak smile. “Naruto is going to be hanging around me, for a while.” She said, praying that her voice didn't show that she was saddened that he was around because he had been ordered.

The old man slowly nodded, but then snapped, “Alright, girl. Let's get the show on the road.” He walked towards their training area, then looked over his shoulder. “You too, blondie.” He said, his eyes narrowing in silent challenge. “If you're going to stay, you might as well join in.”

Trudging silently behind the pair, Naruto allowed a small smile to cross his lips, which was not missed by Sakura's elderly sensei. As the older man turned to face forward, a smirk crossed his own lips at the young man's cunning. He knew exactly what Naruto was doing, and in his opinion, it was a damn good plan. Of course, he wasn't going to take it easy on the younger man, but he did have to respect him, especially since he was the one who inspired his student to change her bad behavior.

So, they trained, and when Akumista told them that he was done for the day, Naruto nearly kissed his feet. The man was a slave driver, even more so than Kakashi. Once Sakura's sensei had walked away, after telling them that he was busy the following night, so training was canceled, he glanced down at the heap of kunoichi and grinned at her exhausted expression.

“Gods, I hurt so much.” Sakura groaned, wincing as she tried to sit up. When she felt a hand on her back, she jumped a bit, then blushed as she mumbled a quiet apology. When she got to her feet, with his help, she brushed herself off and then sighed as she strapped her sword to her side.

“Hinata has said that she and the others are going to the bar, tonight. I was going to go, but I don't want to put you out, or anything.” She said, her eyes looking everywhere but at him.

Honestly, he didn't want to go out, simply because he knew that Sasuke would probably be there, and would probably try to get Sakura alone. However, he also knew that Sakura liked spending time with Hinata, and he also wanted to get together with Neji and Kiba. He liked the dog shinobi, mostly because he brought Hinata so much happiness, and also the man had a wicked sense of humor. Neji was a great guy, even though he was slightly stuck-up. But, he viciously protected his friends, and he could tell that Neji had started to watch over Sakura, for which he was grateful for.

“If you want to go, I don't have a problem with it. We'll go, and when you get tired, we'll leave.” He replied, keeping his tone light. He nearly burst out laughing when her mouth dropped open at his response. He knew that she had been expecting a gruff reply, but he wasn't just ready yet to tell her that he had forgiven her. In fact, he had decided that he would take baby-steps with her, rebuilding the friendship, and then slowly evolving that friendship into a relationship. After all, the things worth having were worth waiting for.

She slowly nodded, and then turned. Silently, he trailed behind her, and congratulated himself on such a good idea.

~!~

Laughing, Sakura shook her head as Hinata told her about how Kiba and Shino had managed to get caught as they attempted to peek at her during a mission about a year ago. It was Akamaru who had chased his master and the bug shinobi back to the camp and then watched them like a hawk until she returned.

“When I came back, Kiba kept yelling at Akamaru that he was ruining his 'good time' and I was clueless as to what his 'good time' had been.” Hinata giggled. “When we went to bed, Akamaru refused to leave my side, and he kept growling over at the two males, which shocked me because he was Kiba's dog.”

Kiba snorted into his drink. “Yeah, my boy didn't like the fact that we were spying on Hinata, and because of him, we didn't get to see anything interesting. He was really pissed at me.”

“He's not the only one.” Neji muttered, and took a sip of his own drink, before turning to Tenten, and giving her hand a squeeze.

Naruto snickered. He had really missed hanging out with his friends, and now that he was on his way to working things out with Sakura, he found that he was relaxed for the first time in a long time. He glanced over at his companion, who was sitting right beside him and he couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful woman in the place.

Kiba and Hinata noticed the way that Naruto was looking at Sakura and they smiled. The change in Naruto had been incredible. No longer was he the brooding, young man who was constantly miserable, but now, he joined in their conversations with enthusiastic comments, and laughed louder than anyone at their table.

Kiba's eyes moved to the entrance of the door and he stiffened. Hinata, feeling the change in her man, glanced up at him, then followed his eyes to find Uchiha Sasuke standing in the doorway, looking their way.

Ino narrowed her eyes. She had hoped that this evening would go smoothly. She and Sakura had finally put all of their rough past behind them, and were now friends, as they should have been before competing for Sasuke. She wasn't going to let him spoil this evening for her friend.

Shikamaru clenched his fists underneath the table, but stayed quiet. He knew that the other male wasn't there for Ino, but he also knew that Ino didn't want the Uchiha any where near Sakura. If that was what his woman wanted, then he would do all that he could to ensure that the man stayed far away from the pink haired woman, even if it was bothersome.

Sasuke smirked as he took in Sakura's appearance. With her hair pulled up, showing off her beautiful neck, and light make-up, she looked stunning. However, when he saw that Naruto was sitting beside Sakura, he frowned.

This was not the way he had envisioned the meeting between him and Sakura. He was going to walk over to her, ask her to dance, and then when they were tired of dancing, he had planned to ask her to take a walk with him and tell her that he chose her to be his lady.

Now, he was going to have to revise his plan. When his eyes met with Naruto's cold ones, he smirked. He was going to enjoy ripping the pink-haired woman away from the fool.

He walked towards the table, and watched as the table grew quiet. He took in a deep breath and when he reached the table, he gently tapped Sakura on her shoulder. When she turned, he smiled down at her and calmly asked, “I was wondering if we might be able to continue our talk from this afternoon?”

Sakura narrowed her eyes. That was twice that Sasuke smiled at her, and now, she knew that he was up to something. However, she did promise him and nodded. Turning to Naruto, she quietly whispered, “I'll be right back.”

Fighting back the vicious growl that was threatening to escape from his throat, he simply nodded his head and turned his attention to his drink. If the bastard attempted to take her out of the bar, he'd just stop them, and rub the fact that he was her bodyguard in the smug asshole's face. They wouldn't get too far without him.

Taking Sakura's hand, he helped her up and led her over to a table that was in a dark corner of the bar. He motioned for a waitress to come over and after he ordered drinks for the, he waited until they were alone to say, “It's been a long time since you and I sat down and had a conversation.”

“We've never sat down and had a conversation, Sasuke.” Sakura reminded him, watching the smile turn to a grimace. “The only thing that we ever really did was me chase you, and you brood over everything that went wrong in your life. Oh, and you also liked to tease Naruto, too.”

Sasuke was quiet for several moments, and then quietly said, “I've made a lot of mistakes, especially where you are concerned. Some of them were greater than others. I wish that I had been a lot gentler with you, and listened to you when you talked about things that were important to you. To be honest, I was only concerned with avenging my family to listen to anyone. For that, I am sorry.”

Sakura blinked. Ok, first he smiles and now he apologizes. May the gods save us all.

Sasuke inwardly smirked when he saw that she had gone still. Sakura was obviously moved by his words. Reaching over, he covered her smaller hand with his own, and watched as her eyes moved to where their hands were resting.

Sakura was now officially confused. What in the hell was going on here? Suddenly, things began to click, and if he was doing what she thought he was doing, then he was going to get his ass handed to him.

“Why are you acting like this?” Sakura demanded, her green eyes narrowed. “Is this some sick attempt to piss Naruto up?”

Sasuke froze. Where in the hell did that come from? He watched as she yanked her hand from his and stood up.

“You know, I know that you are capable of many things, Sasuke. But, if you think, even for a moment, that I'll let you use me to anger Naruto, then you have another think coming.” She snapped, and turned to walk back to her table. However, she paused and threw over her shoulder, “Grow up, Sasuke. Stop being such a punk, and move on with your life. We are teammates, and friends, but if you ever pull a stunt like this again, we won't be that.”

He watched, stunned, as she sat back down at her table, and shook her head as questions began to fire at her. He clenched his hand around his drink when he saw the blonde idiot help her up and called out a goodnight to their friends. As his teammates left the bar, his eyes moved back over to their table, only to find Kiba and Neji smirking at him, and before he could tell them to mind their own fucking business, the two men flipped him off and grinned.

Throwing his money on the table, he stood up and stormed out of the bar. This wasn't over. It wasn't over until he said it was over.

~!~

He knew that she was upset, and that Sasuke had been the cause. He was dying to know what had been said, and that whatever it was, had stunned the normally stoic Uchiha.

However, he refused to upset her any further by prodding into whatever had happened. Instead, they walked in silence until they reached her front door. She turned to him and gave him a shaky smile.

“Well, I guess that I'll see you in the morning.” She said, and watched as he shook his head.

“Sorry, but I am to stay with you.” He said, and fought a large smirk at her expression. “The hokage and the lord want to make sure that you are safe, and so, I am here to stay.”

Lifting an eyebrow, Sakura let out a large sigh, and then turned to unlock and open her door. Silently, he walked in behind her and turned to shut the door. However, as the door closed, he caught sight of Sasuke, standing in the shadows, watching them with a furious expression on his face.

Shooting him a large grin, Naruto closed the door and locked it. Taking a deep breath, he moved into the living room, where Sakura was standing and staring at the couch.

“Um, we need to figure out the sleeping arrangements.” She mumbled, as a pretty blush spread over her cheeks.

A large part of him wanted to draw the issue out, and enjoy seeing how many different shades of red she could blush, but the gentleman within him replied, “I'll take the couch. This way, I can watch the door and your balcony.”

Nodding, Sakura turned and began to walk towards her bedroom. When she stopped, he looked over at her as she turned and quietly said to him, “Good night, Naruto.”

Quickly, she turned and walked into her room, closing the door before she heard him say, “Sweet dreams, Sakura.”

Grinning, he reached up and yanked off his shirt before stretching out on the couch. He stared out the large, sliding glass door that separated Sakura's living room from the balcony, and he sighed.

Finally, things were starting to heal, and he could almost see a happy ending for himself and Sakura.