A Soul's Salvation

A/N: Thanks again, guys, for all of your support. We are coming to a crossroad for both Sakura and Naruto, along with other people, so that should make you guys happy. So, for now, enjoy the newest chapter and review for me, and I'll get the next one out as soon as possible. Fair trade, isn't it, LOL.

~!~

As he made his way from the training grounds, he was shocked to find Kakashi waiting for him. Curious, he walked towards the man, and noticed that, for once, he didn't have his infamous book pulled out. Instead, he seemed....off.

While the slouch was present, the cool confidence was not, but rather a sadness seemed to roll off of him. When the older man began to speak, he made sure to give him his full attention.

“Was I a good sensei to you, Naruto? And, I don't want you to try and make me feel better by lying to me. I want the truth.” Kakashi said, his eye trained upon his student.

Naruto bit his lip and looked away. Yeah, Kakashi did instruct him, but only enough to keep his skin safe. However, it was when he met his perverted Jiraiya-sensei that he began to surpass everyone's expectations of him. But, Kakashi had become a good friend; an older brother of sorts to all of team seven.

“I guess you did your best.” Naruto said, his blue eyes trained on Kakashi's dark one. “But, you needed to concentrate on Sasuke. If you hadn't, we might have lost him for good to Orochimaru.”

“Did I teach you anything worth while?” Kakashi persisted, his tone soft. It was worse than he had thought. While he honestly knew that he had done wrong by Sakura, he never imagined that he had done wrong by Naruto, as well. He honestly thought that he had given the young man just as much attention as he did Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto reached behind his head to scratch and then sighed. “Well, you taught me enough to keep me alive. And, it was because of you that I was forced to find someone who could push me to my limits, so yes, I think that you did.” He said, firmly.

Kakashi sighed and lowered himself to the ground. “You know, when I received your team, I hated it. In fact, I thought that all of you were idiots. Sasuke was the brooding heir, you were the village clown and outcast, and Sakura was the village cry-baby and couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of Sasuke.” He said, and didn't notice that Naruto's jaw clenched. “But, as I worked with you, I saw real improvements, but then the mess with Sasuke started and I suppose that I forgot that you and Sakura needed me too. You needed someone to help you deal with the issues that were laid at your feet when you were a newborn, and Sakura needed someone to help her deal with the issues that she developed after her parents died. I failed both of you, and for that, I am sorry.”

Naruto looked away and swallowed the lump in his throat. He remembered when Sakura had received the news that her parents had been killed and she had taken it well, saying that it was apart of being a ninja. But, he could recall a couple of nights, waking and finding Sakura sitting up and staring into the night, lost in thought. Perhaps she hadn't dealt with her parents deaths as well as she wanted them to think.

The hand on his shoulder brought him out of his musings, and he glanced up at Kakashi, who was now standing up and staring down at him. “I have to go, but I just wanted you to know that you have turned out to be a really good ninja, Naruto. Jiraiya has done a really good job with you.” Kakashi murmured. He turned and as he walked away, he lifted his hand up and gave a wave, before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Naruto groaned and fell onto his back into the grass and stared up at the bright, blue sky. It was nearly a week ago when he stumbled upon the sight of Hinata sitting with Sakura in a cafe, holding the pink-haired woman in her arms as she cried. He knew that her tears were mostly over him, and for a moment, he nearly lost the battle with his heart and went to her. He wanted to wipe away her tears and tell her that he forgave her and didn't mean it when he said that he didn't want her near him. But, at the last minute, he managed to turn and walk away, though he, too, felt tears in his eyes, but didn't allow them to fall.

Ever since then, Hinata and Sakura had become close and he heard that she even went to Hinata's home and had dinner. Kiba had quietly told him that some grudges didn't need to be held, and that perhaps things had just gone too far. But, he stubbornly told Kiba to mind his own business, and said that Sakura was the one who started this, and he had finished it.

The dog-ninja sadly shook his head and murmured that Sakura had done a lot of changing, and though he didn't know how it happened, he knew that whatever it was, it was a good thing. Leaving him to his thoughts, Kiba left to go and find Hinata, and didn't see his shoulders slump.

Gods, he missed her. Try as he might, he simply couldn't forget her. Hell, on his last mission, he had met a young lady who was more than willing to help him forget, but his damn body couldn't react to her. So, he sent her off and it was when he was in the shower when his mind began to torment him with the images of Sakura, that his body reacted. Finally, he ended up having to stand in a cold shower to get his body to calm, but it was then he began to have doubt his resolve.

Yeah, he'd seen Sakura around town, and when he was sure that she wasn't looking, he allowed his eyes to roam over her, cherishing her. She wouldn't know that every night, he would walk by her apartment to make sure that she was home safely. She wouldn't know that when she would leave for valley, he would trail her until she cleared the woods that led to Konoha.

She wouldn't know, because he wouldn't tell her. He simply could not allow himself to go back on his word. And, he always kept his word, though this time, he wasn't sure that he wanted to.

What really got to him was how two-faced the village was. Before she became the ambassador for valley, they talked behind her back and shot her glares, just as they had done to him, especially when they found out that he had failed yet another exam. Now, they greeted her with wide smiles and open arms, grateful that she had managed to give them a way to make more money.

However, Sakura didn't seem to notice. Instead, she kept to herself, and when she wasn't with Hinata, or that crabby new sensei of hers, then she was alone, and seemed happier. But, the most noticeable change was when Choji accidentally spilled his drink all over Sakura's outfit, in front of a bunch of people, and instead of pounding him, she simply grabbed a few napkins and began to dab at the stain, while assuring Choji that she knew it was an accident and it wasn't important.

The old Sakura would have beaten the hefty ninja to a bloody pulp a few months back.

There were times, when he covertly watched her, that he could see similarities between them. Sakura had discovered how he had felt all those times, when they were kids, and had to face public displeasure. She knew how it felt to be rejected and cast out. Hell, he cast her out.

Jiraiya-sensei once told him that he thought that Sakura used violence as a way of hiding from her true feelings and needed an outlet for them. Actually, what the perverted man had actually said was that she was in need of a good lay to get those demons of hers under control.

He, of all people, knew about demons. Hell, technically he was a demon because of the fox that was sealed within him. People were scared of him, and because of that fear, they shunned him and made sure to let him know that he was not wanted.

Until he became a part of team seven. For the first time, he was surrounded by people who talked to him, and worked with him, without fear. Sasuke, too, had demons of his own to deal with, but it never occurred to him that perhaps, Sakura, had demons within her, and that she hadn't found the courage to face them. Until recently.

Ino confided to a few of them when they met at the bar, that she had bought some flowers, and when she had gone to place flowers on her grandmother's headstone, Ino had seen flowers, just like the ones Sakura had purchased, placed upon her parents' headstones, and on the headstones of a ninja named Rin, and on the headstone of Uchiha Obito, which caught Sasuke's attention.

Obito, he said, was one of the weakest Uchihas. He had been on a team with Kakashi and a kunoichi named Rin, and they were led by the fourth hokage. He had been killed in the field, and it was the sharingan in his left eye that had been removed and placed into Kakashi's eye socket.

So, to hear that Sakura brought his deceased family member flowers came as a shock to the normally unflappable Uchiha. But, to him, he thought it a nice gesture. Apparently, so did the others at their table.

He had spoken to Hinata on a couple of occasions since seeing her at the cafe with Sakura, and even though she was as friendly as ever, she had mentioned, on a couple of occasions, that people were the only creatures on the planet who could change their ways and should be commended for it, not condemned.

Because it was Hinata, he didn't tell her to mind her own business, but instead, he simply stared at the ground. He knew that she was talking about Sakura, and he briefly wondered if Sakura had asked her to intervene on her behalf, but quickly dismissed the idea, because he knew that Sakura would keep her word to him and stay away from him, as he told her.

But, late at night, when all was quiet, he wished that she wasn't so damn good at keeping her word. He had the sneaking suspicion that should she come to him again and apologize, his heart wouldn't let him send her away.

But, she didn't. In fact, she did her best to avoid him, even to the point of going out of her way so that she knew there wasn't a chance of bumping into him. That was why he had, unconsciously at first, altered his routine. On occasion, he would see her, and when she caught sight of him, she quickly swiveled on her heel and went the other way....not looking back.

And...it hurt. It hurt a hell of a lot more than her fists did. He supposed that a part of him wanted her to come to him, begging him, to forgive her and to be her friend again, and when she did, he would grudgingly give in and they could move forward. But, then there was that part of him that wanted to see her suffer, just as he had suffered at her hands, and the day he had seen her tears, despite the pain he felt at seeing them, a tiny part of him sighed in satisfaction. Now she knew how it felt.

Sitting up, Naruto gazed at the quiet training field and closed his eyes. Now that Sakura had a taste of what he had gotten, he didn't know if it was worth keeping a hold of this grudge. He was miserable...Sakura was miserable.....but, if they could find a way back, then perhaps they could be happy, again.

Sighing, he stood up and began walking towards town. He needed to explore his feelings a bit more before making a final decision, but he did make the decision that he would not do anything to make Sakura feel any worse than she already did.

Perhaps now that she had gained a glimpse into how it felt to be in his shoes, now they could start fresh, and on even ground. Perhaps it was time to forgive her.....and himself for ignoring the problems that she clearly needed help with, but had been ignored. Maybe now, they could fight their demons together, and as a team, they could beat them.

For the first time in a long time, a smile brightened his face and he found himself walking into the village with a spring in his step. Today was a good day, he decided.

~!~

Kakashi stared at the bottle before him and sighed. When things got rough, the best cure was a good, stiff drink. But, his bottle was untouched and he couldn't bring himself to touch it. After talking to Naruto, and finally realizing that he failed his team, he couldn't help but think on other things that he failed at.

He hated his father. He did everything he could to separate himself from his father's memory. He wanted to be a by-the-book ninja, but it was because of Obito that he found himself following his father's footsteps by disobeying orders. He disobeyed and as a result, helped Obito save Rin.

He failed Obito, by losing him on a mission. Even at the end, Obito smiled and begged him to allow him to give him a gift. He gave his good friend, Kakashi, his family's greatest weapon, the sharingan. It was both a blessing and a curse, but the dying ninja knew that if anyone could handle it, then Kakashi could. The only thing he asked was that Kakashi protect Rin, at all costs. He wouldn't tell her, but Obito had been in love with Rin, even though her eyes focused on Kakashi.

But, he couldn't even keep his promise. After Obito was laid to rest, Kakashi watched as Rin began to wilt. When Obito died, so did a part of Rin. She finally realized what she could have had with the young Uchiha, but she cast it aside for someone who could never return her love. Just as Sakura had done with Naruto, in favor of Sasuke.

Kakashi would never admit this, but after Obito died, he began to experience things that he knew he could only feel due to Obito's influence. Perhaps it was because of the sharingan, but as time passed, he noticed that he was doing things that Obito did. He was constantly late, a trait that Obito had, and have a habit of telling half-truths, another Obito trait.

Over time, as he watched Rin fall into despair, he began to feel things, things that he knew Obito felt, and did his best to try and relieve her pain. But, it simply wasn't enough. In the end, she had died in his arms, her pain too great for her to live with, and when she took her final breath, it had not been his name upon her lips, but Obito's. It seemed that she discovered too late that she loved Obito in return, and when he died, she had nothing to live for.

That was the reason why he refused to allow anyone to get close to him. The two people he allowed close, he visited every day, at their graves. And, it was every day that he apologized. It seemed to him that he would be apologizing for the rest of his life. He failed them, and he failed the team he was assigned to protect and teach.

He was a failure. He had done a good job of ignoring that fact, but Sakura's new sensei made sure to let him and everyone within earshot know just how much he screwed up, and until it was in his face, he didn't have to own up to it. Until now.

“Kakashi! I want to talk to you.” The old man growled, his voice hard. When he turned, he watched as the old man came forward, and sneered when he bowed respectfully to him.

For several moments, he regarded the man who was once known as Konoha's deadliest and most cunning ninja and mentally noted that the man seemed agitated. Glancing around, he noticed that Sakura wasn't around, but then remembered that she had departed for valley earlier that day. When his eye focused on the man, he noticed that the man's hand was gripping his cane tightly, his knuckles white, and realized that the man wasn't just angry, he was down-right pissed.

“What may I do for you, Nachito-sama?” He asked, his tone respectful. As a child, he heard stories about this man and his legendary skills. Once, he had been offered the position of hokage, but he refused and stood behind the man who became the third hokage. To say this man was a legend was an understatement.

Nachito Akumitsa glared at him and said, “I understand that you were Sakura's sensei, before she began to train underneath Tsunade. Is that correct?”

If anyone else referred to the hokage by her first name, they'd have been jumped by those who were faithful to her, which basically included the entire village, but this man was just as respected, if not more, than the female hokage, so no one batted an eye when he called her by her first name and left out the honorific.

Nodding, he returned his book to its resting place and said, “Yes, I did teach her. Is something wrong?”

Snorting, the old man snapped, “Yeah, she had a shitty sensei who pushed her aside in favor of the males of his team.”

The crowd around them gasped, and for a moment, he was stunned. Yeah, he did pay quite a bit more attention to the boys, mostly because Naruto was constantly getting into trouble, and Sasuke needed him to protect him from Orochimaru. However, he didn't understand why that was Nachito-sama's business.

Using a calm tone, he asked, “May I ask why you are involving yourself? Even though I did give most of my attention to Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura did receive instruction from me, and if she couldn't handle a situation, I protected her. So, I don't understand why you are so angry.”

The old man shook his head angrily. He stepped closer, and straightened to his full height. It was clear to him that the old man simply chose to give off the appearance of a man who was feeble, but when he straightened, it proved to him that the old man was anything but feeble, and probably knew enough to put him in the ground, even at his old age.

“Angry?” Akumista gritted out. “Actually, I'm shocked. From what I have heard, and seen, that girl should be dead and buried beside her parents. You didn't teach her anything, except the bare necessities, and if we are going to be honest, you really didn't do too good of a job with that Uzumaki kid. From what I understand, his new sensei, Jiraiya, has done the job that you were assigned to do, and has had better success at controlling him, too. The only reason why they are alive, after your teaching, is by pure and stupid luck. Nothing more.”

His temper got the best of him as the old man's words soaked into his brain. Stepping forward, he snapped, “I had a student who was a target of a madman. What would you have done?”

Akumista cocked his head, and replied, “I would have trained all three of my students to the best of my ability so that all three of them could have whipped their enemy's ass. I sure the hell would not have pushed them aside and let them wander around, believing that they could handle themselves, especially against ninja who were better trained by a sensei who actually cared about them. The purpose of a team is to protect each other, and that no one is any more important than the others. That is what teamwork is, and that is what I would have taught them. Then again, I was and am currently, a better sensei than you, so I wouldn't expect you to understand.”

He wanted to punch the man. He really did, but as his fist clenched, he felt Genma grab his arm and heard him softly say, “Don't do it, man. It's not worth your career.”

When the old man snorted, he glanced up and allowed his eye to widen as the old man addressed the crowd.

“Listen up....if the so-called copy ninja takes a swing at me, I don't want him to get in trouble for it. Besides, I want the opportunity to prove to him that he's not as good of a ninja as he believes he is.” The old man said, his face twisted into a sneer.

However, the burst of fury quickly faded when he realized that this was what the man wanted. He wanted to fight him, and he wasn't going to fall for it. Turning on his heel, he glanced over his shoulder and calmly said, “Think what you want. I did the best with what I had at the time. All three have grown into successful ninjas, and that, for me, is proof enough.”

As he walked away, the old man began to laugh and yelled, “Yes, they are successful, and it is due to Tsunade and Jiraiya, and that, for me, is proof enough that you are a failure. You are pathetic, and I am going to ensure that no other student be subjected to your negligent teaching. Count on it, you smug bastard.”

Turning around, he found that the old man had turned his own back and was walking away, his head held high. Several of his fellow senseis gathered around him and dragged him away and into the bar, while Genma told the crowd of villagers and ninjas that the show was over. Then, he followed them and sat down at the table, giving his own assurances that he was a good sensei.

But, as he sat at the table, looking at the bottle before him, he realized that the dye had been cast. Ever since that day, he found himself wondering what that team would have been like if he had not been their sensei.

Reaching forward, he was about to grab the bottle, but his wrist was caught and a soft voice said, “You look like you could use some company. So, do you mind if I join you?”

Looking up, he found himself staring at Sakura, her green eyes intent upon his. When he silently nodded, she smiled and took a seat beside him and sighed. It was clear that she was dressed for travel, and he asked, “Are you leaving for valley?”

Nodding, Sakura motioned for the waitress and ordered a soda before she said, “Yeah, I received word that they are having some trouble with a small group of thugs. I'm guessing that they are trying to figure out which village is the head village, and so far, they have not been able to figure it out. So, I am leaving to deal with the situation, but saw you sitting here as I walked by the window, and decided to come in and say hello.

He glanced down at the table and then back at her. He needed to hear it from her lips. He already got Naruto's opinion, but now, he needed to hear hers.

“Sakura....was I a good sensei to you?” He asked, his eye focused on the table. He waited for her reply, but when it didn't come, he looked up into a thoughtful face.

Sakura carefully thought for several moments before she said, “When I was younger, I watched as you instructed Sasuke, and Naruto, but I figured that you'd get to me when you had time, so I did my best to not be such a burden, even though I knew that I wasn't strong enough to be of any help. As time went by, I suppose a part of me grew jealous of the attention you gave to them, but I didn't say anything because I knew that Sasuke needed you, and since Naruto had met Jiraiya, and was learning things from him, I felt as if I had been thrown away.”

Kakashi felt himself sink lower into his seat and silently groaned. It was worse than he feared. However, when Sakura spoke again, his head jerked up. “When I became Tsunade-sensei's apprentice, I had a mission. I wanted to prove to you, Sasuke, and even Naruto that I could shine. I guess for a while, I lost track of all that was and should have been important to me, and now that I can see things clearly, I think that all of us were faced with circumstances that were unusual, and we simply had to adapt. I like to think that I took one for the team when you focused more on the guys. And, you did protect us when we could not. I'm sure we gave you plenty of headaches with our bickering, and you drove us crazy with your tests and your obsession with smut, so I guess we are even. So, to answer your question, yes. I think that you did the best with what you had, at the time and I do think that you were and are, a good sensei.”

The door opened, causing both Kakashi and Sakura to look up at the newcomer. Sakura lifted an eyebrow as Sasuke walked towards them. When he reached the table, he pulled out a chair and sat down, even though he had not been invited and looked at the pair before him.

When he first heard that Sakura had been named as the ambassador for Konoha, he had doubted that she would even make it a week before giving up and walking away from the title. But, she surprised him by making agreements that not only benefited their village, but also gave them the ability to cross through the valley on missions, which would make his life, and the life of other ANBU easier.

If he had known that this was the way Sakura would have turned out, he never would have approached Ino. He could deal with Sakura and her temper tantrums by ignoring her. However, word reached him that all of Sakura's former bad habits seemed to disappear as she grew comfortable in her role as ambassador, and he cursed himself for not following his first gut reaction and held off on seeking out a wife for himself.

While it was true that nobility should wed nobility, just to preserve the rich bloodline of powerful families, but when a commoner, such as Sakura, rose to such high levels within their village, then it was acceptable for a noble to marry that person, with the blessing of their family.

When he decided that it was time to rebuild his clan, he chose Hinata, due to the fact of her family's status. But, she explained to him that she didn't care about tradition and was seeing Kiba, and intended on staying with him.

Because she was the only daughter left to chose from, Sasuke went to Ino's father and asked for her hand, which her father agreed to. Ino, of course, was thrilled and quickly began preparations for their impending marriage.

Now, he was regretting his decision, and was seriously debating on calling off the wedding. He didn't care for her, and was growing sick of the constant arguing. He could also tell that Ino, too, was miserable, and didn't look at him with adoring eyes anymore. Instead, she turned those eyes onto another, and it disturbed him when he realized that he just didn't care.

Nara Shikamaru could have her and her loud mouth, for all he cared.

Before he could open his mouth to speak, Sakura's face grew ashen when she noticed the clock on the well behind the two men.

Jumping up, she cried, “Oh no! I'm late. Sorry, but I have to go. The messenger is waiting on me, because he is going to walk back with me to his village. I'll talk to you later.”

In her haste to leave, Sakura ended up knocking over her chair and nearly running over an elderly man who was coming through the door as she was going out. She grasped his arm, to keep him from falling, and when the man recognized her, his tone was fond and he said, “I hope the special fella that you are rushing to meet doesn't get upset that I made you late, Ambassador.”

Blushing, Sakura steadied the man and shook her head as a giggle slipped out. “Sorry to disappoint you, but the only special fellow that I am meeting is the messenger from valley, and I'm late.”

Waving at the elderly man, and then to her former sensei and teammate, she was gone. Kakashi and Sasuke turned to look at each other, and Kakashi sighed.

“She looks good, doesn't she? Her new role in life suits her.” He murmured, as he poured himself a drink and then one for Sasuke.

The Uchiha nodded, and took a sip of his drink. As the booze burned its way down his throat, he smiled and wondered if she had a date for the upcoming gala. If not, perhaps he would offer to escort her. Of course, he would need to decide what he was going to do about Ino, but he knew that his mind was pretty much made up.

He refused to have an unhappy union. After all the hard work he put into rebuilding himself after he finally made good on his promise of killing his brother, he deserved happiness, and he was beginning to wonder if he could find that happiness with a certain pink-haired ninja-turned-ambassador.