A/N: Here's chapter nine. A little more action in this chapter. I hope you like it!

Chapter Nine:

Becoming Free

"Ryo-sensei?!" Liyenn exclaimed angrily. "What the hell are you doing here?!" she barked. He wouldn't answer her, so she dug her fingernails into the skin on his neck. "Answer me, dammit!" she demanded. Blood trickled down her arm, but she didn't flinch.

"Master-sama... sent me." he said as he struggled under Liyenn's grip. He was much taller than her, but she still managed to get a good grip on him.

"Why?"

"He said... he said that the disease wasn't killing her fast... enough. He said that... he said that the old woman was only in the way... of him gaining control." He was losing breath, his vision fading.

"Control of what?! What did he think he could accomplish by killing my mother?!" She was screaming at him. Her grip tightened, causing him to fall to the ground.

"He wanted... the Phoenix..."

Ryo couldn't help but answer her questions. It wasn't likely that he was going to live and Liyenn had the right to know the truth. He, along with her other senseis, wanted her to know, but was afraid that their master would find out. They didn't know what he would do to them and they were also afraid for Liyenn. Nobody knew what he would do to her without her senseis there to protect her. Besides, he would rather die at her hands than work for Master-sama for another day.

He looked up into Liyenn's eyes, expecting to see the ice blue staring back at him. But, he didn't see the ice blue. Instead, he saw amber, bird-like eyes glaring down upon him. They were filled with hatred, which was to be expected. He had betrayed her and killed the only person she had left. But he saw something else that surprised him, something he had never seen before. Ryo saw tears building up in Liyenn's eyes. He had to say something, he just had to. "Liyenn. I'm sorry." Liyenn looked taken aback by this. "Liyenn, please, finish it. Then go get the freedom that Yoshi wanted for you."

"Shut up!" Liyenn cried.

"Liyenn, please. You're the only one who can stop him. And finish us all off. We don't deserve to live after what we did. Just kill me and get it over with..."

Ryo closed his eyes and waited for his death. Liyenn didn't think she could do it at first, seeing he was asking her to kill their master. This meant her wanted her to be free as well and that he actually cared for her. But, he wanted to die and she didn't think she could forgive him for killing her mother. She squeezed her hand harder until Ryo's throat exploded in her hand. Blood splattered everywhere.

Liyenn, not knowing what to do with herself, sat under a near by tree and started to sob. She was all alone.


Naruto tried his best to catch up with Liyenn, but she was moving so fast that he could barely see her move. He was worried about her. He never seen anyone act like that before. Liyenn had completely changed in only a matter of seconds. He ran as quickly as he could, trying to keep up. When he finally did catch up to Liyenn, the sight of the surrounding area frightened him.

There were two bloody corpses lying on the ground, one of them face down into the mud and the second was facing upward. Naruto saw what was done to him. The body's throat was completely crushed. He looked around, he hadn't seen Liyenn yet. Where was she?

Naruto was about to leap into the trees and keep going when he heard a faint sobbing coming from near by. "Liyenn?" He walked towards the sobbing and saw her. She was sitting underneath a tree, blood splattered on her arm pieces. He knelt down beside her and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Liyenn?"

Liyenn couldn't look at him, not after what she just done. She had just murdered two people out of a fit of rage. She felt bad, and knew the only way for her to become free was to murder some more.

"Did you do this, Liyenn?" She nodded, unable to speak. Naruto sighed. What was he suppose to do now? "Liyenn? Look at me, please?" Naruto asked. He was moving his head, trying to get her to look at him. But, she wouldn't. Liyenn wouldn't even left her head. "I know it must be hard for you to deal with, but-"

"You don't know anything!" Liyenn screamed, cutting him off. "You don't know what it feels like to know that you're the reason why you're always alone! You were able to convince people that you weren't a monster! Sakura and Sasuke seems to trust you! Even if it is only a little bit!" She continued to scream, but now she was looking at Naruto. Naruto could now see the tears that were streaming down her face and the hurt that reflected in her eyes. "You weren't the cause of your loneliness! Something else was! But me... I end up killing everyone who I get close to! And if I didn't kill them myself, I'm the reason! One way or another!" she screamed, now looking away from him.

"Liyenn..." Liyenn stopped and looked up at Naruto. He was... he was crying! "Please stop crying." he begged. When she didn't answer, Naruto continued. "For some reason, it hurts me to see you get hurt. But it hurts me more when you blame yourself." he said quietly. "We may only became friends recently, but, I dunno. Just please stop blaming yourself!"

Liyenn stared at Naruto in disbelief. He was crying because Liyenn was blaming herself for things he didn't know much about. The part of this that struck her the most, was the fact that he was hurting for her. "Naruto, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." she said as she started sobbing again.

Instead of speaking, Naruto did something he probably wouldn't do to anyone else, except for maybe Sakura if she would allow it. Naruto gripped his hands on both of Liyenn's shoulders and pulled her into him. He wrapped his arms around her small body and held her tightly to him. He wanted to protect her from everything, he wanted to know that he could help change her mind.

Liyenn's sobs were muffled by Naruto's jacket. "You can trust me, Liyenn. I won't hurt you, nor will I let anyone else hurt you." Naruto whispered into her ear. This only made Liyenn sob harder. Why did he care so much?! Why did she cared that he did?

"Why?" a muffled voice said.

"Huh?" Naruto looked at Liyenn. She looked so confused, so hurt, like she was ready to break.

"Why would you do that for me?"

"Well, Liyenn, you're my friend, and friends protect each other no matter what. They're something worth fighting for, something not worth giving up." Liyenn was quiet after that. Naruto pulled away from her and buried the two bodies. When he was finished, he walked back over to Liyenn. "We should get back, or else Kakashi-sensei will start to worry." Naruto said, holding his hand out to help her up. Liyenn took it and stood up, only to find herself swaying on the spot. "Are you ok, Liyenn?" Naruto asked, catching her as she swayed a little to far.

"I think I might've used up all of my physical energy." Liyenn said, trying to stand up straight. It didn't work; she just ended up swaying again.

"Here." Naruto offered. He crouched down in front of Liyenn and was offering her a ride on his back.

"Are you sure?" Liyenn didn't really think this was a good idea.

"Yeah, it's no problem. Don't you worry one bit." Liyenn reluctantly climbed onto Naruto's back. He stood, and Liyenn clutched onto him for dear life. She afraid that he was going to drop her. "I won't drop you, Liyenn. Trust me."

Naruto walked through the trees with Liyenn on his back. She was really light. By the time the village came into view, Liyenn's arms dangled and she had her head rested on the back of Naruto's shoulder. She had her eyes closed, but she had a small smile on. If this was how her life was going to turn out, she was glad that of all people, Naruto was there to share it with her.

When they returned to the mansion, Sakura and Daiki ran to greet them. "Naruto! Where were you?! We were worried sick about?!" Sakura said as Liyenn slid off of Naruto's back.

"Liyenn-chan! Are you okay? I'm so sorry, child." Daiki exclaimed.

"We're fine, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, sounding a little glad that Sakura was worried about him.

"We're ok, Daiki-san. Where's Momma?"

Daiki sighed. "Come on, Liyenn-chan. I'll take you to her." Daiki led Liyenn away from the group and took her to the temple. There, in the centre of the temple, Yokomo's body laid. She was dressed in a white kimono and her hair was pull up. Liyenn ran over to her mother's body and started crying. Daiki walked over to Liyenn and rested his hand on her head. He patted her gently, knowing how hard this must be for her.


"We should really be heading back home. We shouldn't be intruding." Sakura argued with Naruto.

"What are you saying?! That we should just abandon her when she needs us most?!" Naruto argued back. His sudden happiness of Sakura caring for him was gone, and he was beyond pissed.

"Well, no. But, Sakura's right. We shouldn't intrude on family matters." Sasuke said as Sakura glowed because Sasuke said that she was right.

"But she needs us! I don't think it would be fair if we leave her! After all, they did take us in even though they probably couldn't afford it! Yokomo-san was sick and she still treated us kindly and still let us stay there!" Naruto argued. Right now, he didn't care whether he was arguing Sakura, Sasuke, or even Hokage-sama, he was determined to stay.

Kakashi only sighed. He knew that Naruto was right and that they should stay to pay their respects. He also had a promise to keep to Yokomo.

"Liyenn needs me! So, I don't care what you guys think, 'cause I'm staying!"

"Well, I guess it's settled then." Kakashi finally said.

"Huh?" Sasuke and Sakura both reacted at the same time.

"We can't just leave Naruto here by himself. The road back to Konoha is just too dangerous for anyone to travel alone." Kakashi stated. "Plus, Liyenn does need us now, more than ever. We should pay our respects to Yokomo for allowing us to stay at her place. It's only right." Kakashi said, finally admitting that he agreed with Naruto.

So, it was decided that they were staying. They saw Liyenn being led into her home by Daiki and decided to go in too. When they got into the house, Daiki greeted them. "Liyenn-chan's in her room getting changed for the service. Well you be staying for it, Kakashi-kun?"

"Of course. We all are, Daiki-san. It's the least we could do." Kakashi nodded.

Liyenn came down the stairs and faced everyone. She was wearing a short, black kimono and white socks. Her hair was down and she was carrying a pair of zori sandals with black straps. "You stayed." Liyenn looked doubtful, like she didn't believe they were staying.

"Yeah, of course. We couldn't leave you at a time like this." Naruto said, stepping closer to her. She could tell that he was sincere.

"Thank you." she said with a small, sad smile.

The service went ahead that same day. Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke felt a little out of place, being among people who knew Yokomo better than they did and that they weren't wearing black clothing. But, they stayed and paid their respects just the same.

Naruto glanced over to Liyenn, who was standing in the front of the crowd by herself. She was crying and nobody seem to want to help her.

"Argh! That bastard! Smirking when she's hurt like that!" Sakura hissed in disgust. Naruto looked around the room to see what she was talking about. Then he saw it. Kuro was standing by his younger brother with a smug look on his face. Naruto frowned and cursed in under his breath. It was like Kuro was happy that Liyenn was hurting, suffering.

Naruto looked around the room again and noticed how most of the adults were whispering among one another. This also made Naruto curse. They should be helping Liyenn, not gossiping like there was no tomorrow. He returned his gaze to Liyenn. She was standing there all alone, her small body quivering as she sobbed. He couldn't take it anymore, seeing her like that, so walked over beside her and laid his hand on her shoulder.

Without hesitation or even looking to see who it was, Liyenn spun around and smothered herself into the person who had just touched her. She gripped onto the person's clothing and pressed herself as close as she could possibly to the person's body.

Naruto was afraid to move, he didn't know what to do. Liyenn's reaction caught him off guard. Never before has he seen someone do that kind of thing. It worried him. At that moment, Liyenn was vulnerable, willing to run into the arms of anyone. After the shock had worn off, Naruto raised his arms and wrapped them around Liyenn. He let her cry there. Naruto looked over at Kuro and noticed that he didn't have his smirk anymore. That wiped that smirk of your face, now didn't it? Naruto mentally taunted.

Sakura thought what Naruto did was sweet. She knew, just as well as Kakashi and Sasuke, that Liyenn needed moral support right now more than anything. Sakura looked at Kuro and saw that his smirk was gone. What's with him? It's like he loves seeing Liyenn get hurt and have no support... Sakura frowned and continued to look around the room. Most of the adults looked shocked, not just because of Liyenn's actions, but because Naruto actually went over to her. Sakura heard them muttering something about them never being able to imagine Liyenn bringing herself low enough to have friends. Her frown worsen. How sick could these people be?

When they went to bury Yokomo, everyone gathered at the little island. Liyenn removed her footwear before stepping onto the grass, and Naruto and Sasuke did the same. Sakura and Kakashi didn't, along with everyone else, for they didn't understand reasoning behind the action. They buried Yokomo adjacent to her husband.

When the service was concluded, Liyenn went home. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi followed her. Moments after, people from the village piled into the Ogokasi Mansion and began telling Liyenn how sorry they were for her. Sakura grunted in disgust, as did Naruto. They both walked up to Liyenn to speak.

"You know, Liyenn, the people in your village disgust me." Sakura commented loudly. Everyone stopped what they were doing.

"What do you mean, Sakura?" Liyenn asked in a very monotone voice.

"Well, all throughout the service, they were gossiping about you and your new friends. They were saying things like 'Wow, Liyenn lower her standards long enough to make friends' and stuff like that. Now, they're here lying to you." Sakura said. She sounded angry and was speaking louder than normal.

"Not only that, but they wouldn't left one finger to support you when you needed it the most. In fact, one person was smiling because you were crying." Naruto said. He sounded just as angry as Sakura and was just as loud.

"Kuro..." Liyenn whispered. Naruto and Sakura nodded. Nobody moved, not knowing what to do. These strangers had noticed and heard things they weren't suppose to.

"I made a promise to you, Liyenn. I told you that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you." Naruto said softly, resting a hand on Liyenn's shoulder. Liyenn looked at him and so did Sakura.

"You really promised her that, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Well, yeah, Sakura-chan. Liyenn needed friends, people she could trust. Not like the people of this village." He snapped his last sentence and darted his glance at the groups of villagers that had gathered there. They all looked down at the floor in shame. One group of six older girls looked at each other and walked over to Liyenn. Among them, was Etsuko.

"Liyenn-chan?" Etsuko asked. Liyenn just looked at Etsuko and the other girls. "We wanted to say that we were sorry."

"Etsuko-chan's right. We feel really bad." one of the other girls said.

"We just treated you the only way we knew how - the way our parents and the other adults in the village treated you." another one added.

"We are really sorry." a third said.

"I know it wasn't your fault." Liyenn said, looking down at the floor. "I thank you for your courage to tell me so. Etsuko, Gina, Haruko, Ayame, Chika, Arisu." With that, Liyenn was smothered by the six girls as they caught her into a group hug.

"You've made yourself a good group of friends there, Liyenn-chan." Ayame commented.

"You think so?"

"Yes. And the blonde one's kind of cute, Liyenn-chan." Arisu giggled as Liyenn blushed slightly.

"You better watch yourself, Liyenn-chan, or he'll rob your heart before you even know it." Haruko whispered. Liyenn's slight blush deepened and the girls giggled.

"I suppose you'll be going back to Konoha with them." Etsuko said with a sighed. Liyenn looked confused. "Well, with my idiotic brother here, you probably wouldn't want to live here anymore."

"Besides, Liyenn-chan, you'll live better there." Gina said.

"And there's nothing left here for you anymore." Hikaru added.

"But, the village - " Liyenn started.

"The village can handle itself, Liyenn-chan. Go on, be free." Chika reassured her. Liyenn gave a smile and nodded.

By mid-afternoon, Liyenn had all of her things packed. She dragged her suitcases down the stairs and out of the house. She flung her belongings into a small cart that Daisuke, the grave keeper, had given her as a farewell present. She moved it to the entrance of the village and rested it there.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys in Konoha." Liyenn said, turning to Naruto and the others.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Sakura asked.

"No. I've got something to take care of first." Liyenn answered.

"What about your stuff?" Naruto's gaze was on the cart.

"I'll come back and get it."

"I'll take it for you." Naruto offered. Liyenn blinked. "That way, all you'll have to do is come to the village. You won't have to make an extra stop."

Liyenn thought about it for a moment. "Alright. But, don't strain yourself." Liyenn said when she finally agreed. And with that, she took off. The faster she got this over with, the better.

After an hour of running, Liyenn came across a small cottage. "Master-sama!" she yelled as she slammed the front door open.

"Liyenn? What a surprise! I wasn't expecting you for another couple of days." her master said. He tried to be sincere, but Liyenn wasn't buying it. There he sat in front of her, the man that had ordered for her mother to be killed. He didn't look no older than Kakashi. His hair was blonde with blackened tips, his bangs covering half of his face. His bright, green eye stared back at Liyenn.

"Things changed."

"What do you mean?" her master said. Liyenn then noticed the four other men that was in the room with them. They were her senseis; Rokuro, Ryota, Ryuu, and Saburo.

"Momma's dead." Liyenn answered coldly. "Oh, and I quit." Liyenn added.

"What?! You can't quit! We have a contract!"

"Not anymore. The deal was that if I worked for you, you would paid for Momma's treatments. Since Momma's dead, I don't have to work here anymore." Liyenn turned to leave but was stopped by Ryota. Liyenn looked at Ryota. His face was stern, but his eyes were soft and showed Liyenn that he wished to die. She turned back around. "You just want the Phoenix, don't ya? That's why you had Momma murdered. Or well, that's what Ryo-sensei told me." She smirked.

"He told you?!" Her master was going to make a mental note to take care of him later, but Liyenn spoke first.

"He didn't have a choice in the matter. I mean, I had his throat in my hand."

Her master looked at her in disbelief. "You killed him?"

"Well yeah. And that's what I'm gonna do to you." She smiled. Her master looked horrified. Liyenn took out some kunai and threw them in the directions of her senseis. One hit Ryota in the throat, another hit Rokuro in the head, a third landed in Ryuu's heart, the last one hit Saburo in the stomach.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" her master yelled. Liyenn smiled and made a hand sign. Before his eyes, Ryota, Ryuu, Rokuro, and Saburo caught flame from the inside out. He watched has his men burned, screaming in pain. All of them looked at Liyenn before their death and thanked her. "Wh-what is - is the meaning of this?!" Her master was now shaking in fear.

"What's wrong, Master-sama? Not so tough without your minions, now are ya?"

Her master froze in fear. She was behind him somehow. He felt his knees crack as Liyenn delivered him a powerful kick to the knees. He could move his legs! He managed to turn over to face Liyenn, who was standing directly over him. Liyenn brought her foot down hard on his chest and ended up breaking a couple ribs, causing him to lose his breath. He was choking from both the smoke and his crushed ribs. Liyenn grabbed her master around the neck and raised him up to meet him face-to-face. "This is for Momma." was the last thing he heard. Liyenn raised her other hand up and forcefully pushed his head, breaking his neck and tearing his throat.

Liyenn left the scene covered in soot. The sun was beginning to set. Since Naruto had taken her cart with him, she could just run all the way to Konoha and hopefully get there before dark. Liyenn ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She had been running for almost an hour and a half when she first saw the gates of Konoha. She smiled when she saw them and she started to speed up. Within another half a hour, Liyenn stopped in front of the gate. The sun was almost gone from sight, but she had made it. Not only that, but she was free. She was finally free.

"Welcome to Konoha. Please state your business." said a man that Liyenn assumed to the gate watcher.

"I'm looking for Uzumaki Naruto. Can you have him summoned here, please?" Liyenn asked politely. The two men gazed back at her. Was this a joke or something? No one has asked to see Naruto before. The two men didn't get a chance to have Naruto summoned, as he appeared there, seemingly running away from something... or someone. Liyenn saw him, and began waving her hands. "Naruto!" she called.

Naruto stopped running and looked for whoever called his name. When he saw who it was, he gave a big smile and ran over to her. "Liyenn, you made!" He looked at her and his smile faded slightly. "Liyenn, what happened? You're covered in soot?"

"That doesn't matter, Naruto. I'm free."


People Introduced:

Takako Gina - Oldest child of the Takako Clan; Wielders of Wind. She hangs around with the other girls in the village as well as work hard in the village's garden. She was jealous of Liyenn being the talk of most of the adults in the village. Since she had became friends with Etsuko, Gina's jealousy lefted as she had friends that liked her.

Sachiko Haruko - Oldest child of the Sachiko Clan; Clan of Lightning. Haruko is pretty much a happy girl. She didn't quite understand what everyone had against Liyenn, considering that she didn't know Liyenn very well. She wishes to be friends with Liyenn, but she lets the adults in the village keep her from that. She once had a crush on Habu, Liyenn's older brother.

Ayame - One of the orphans that lives in the Hidden Forest Village. Her parents were killed in the attack of the thunder cat demon. At first, Ayame didn't get along well with the other orphans, because she was hurting over her parents's death. Afterwards, she meets up with Arisu and Chika and they become good friends. When she was old enough to work, Ayame became friends with Etsuko, Gina, and Haruko.

Arisu - One of the orphans that lives in the Hidden Forest Village. Arisu never knew her mother as she died giving birth to Arisu. Arisu was raised by her father until he was killed by the cat-demon's attack. Despite losing her father, Arisu remained happy, and tried to help other people through their losses. Arisu feels sorry for Liyenn but won't get involve since Liyenn had her mother all along.

Chika - One of the orphans that lives in the Hidden Forest Village. Her parents died in the attack of the thunder cat-demon. Chika listens to other people and believes that if more than one person says it, then it must be true. This is why Chika never really treated Liyenn well.

Daisuke - The village's grave keeper. He is also Daiki's older brother. He lives in the small hut in front of the graveyard.

Jutsus Used:

None

A/N: That was chapter nine. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Lemme know what you think! Thanks for reading it!