Chapter Ten:
A Night in Konoha
"I'm free, Naruto. I'm finally free." Liyenn rejoiced. Her face was beaming through the soot on her skin. Naruto knew what she meant and didn't ask any more questions.
"Welcome to Konoha, Liyenn." Naruto smiled at her. She looked really happy, despite her recent loss.
"Thanks, Naruto." Liyenn looked around. "Where's all my stuff? And, where am I staying?" she asked, looking puzzled.
"Oh, you're staying at my place until old man Hokage can find you a suitable place. I already took your things there."
"Oh, thanks." Liyenn blushed. "Um, Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's the bath house?"
Naruto blinked. He hadn't thought about it. Liyenn was going to need her own personal space, not only because she was a different individual, but she because was a girl. "Err... I'll have to take you to the village's spa. My apartment's bath house isn't really, ugh... suitable for a girl like you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Liyenn sounded offended.
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it, Liyenn. It's just, it's not the cleanest, nor is the most private." Naruto said apologetically.
"Oh."
"I'll take you to my place so you can get your stuff. Then I'll take you to the spa."
"Ok."
Naurto and Liyenn walked through the village. Liyenn's eyes glowed in wonder as she saw all the new faces and all the new sights. The streets were busy, even at the break of sunset. Back home, people were normally confounded to their own homes by sun down. It amazed her. Naruto smiled at her expression. It was weird to see someone get excited about something he was already use to.
Naruto led Liyenn to his apartment and into his room. Liyenn's things were piled neatly into a corner. Liyenn took a whiff of the air in the room and could smell some sort of cleaner. She could tell the room was recently cleaned, possibly even that day. She walked over to her suitcases and opened one of them. She dug through her suitcase until she pulled out a couple pieces of clothes, a small basket, cleansing supplies and what appeared to be a wallet. "How much will it be?"
"Huh?" Naruto sounded confused.
"The spa. How much?"
"Oh. Don't worry about it." Naruto said. Liyenn looked at him with a confused look. She hulled out a bag and put her belongings into it. She put the strap over her shoulder, and turned to face Naruto. "I'm ready." she said, walking closer to him.
"Alright. Let's go." Naruto smiled. He led Liyenn back out into the village. He was now leading her into the busiest part of the village. He watched her face light up with excitement.
"Good evening and welcome. What can we do for you this evening?" A woman had greeted them when they entered the spa. She smiled at them, and looked at Liyenn. "I can guess what it is you want." Liyenn blushed, which made the woman laugh. "Right this way." The woman led Liyenn away, and came back shortly for Naruto. "What about you?"
"Nah, I'm just here with her." Naruto said. He handed the woman some money and waited. He waited, and waited, and waited. He was waiting for an hour before Liyenn finally came out into the waiting room. "It's about time." he muttered impatiently before looking up. He blushed when he looked at her.
She was no longer wearing her shorts, vest, and t-shirt, and her hair was no longer up. She was wearing a thick, light blue kimono with a black sash tied around her waist. He could see a thinner, white shirt in under her thick kimono. She was wearing white socks with the same sandals Naruto seen her wear to her mother's funeral. Now, Liyenn looked more like a woman than a young girl.
"I'm sorry. I guess I was dirtier than I thought." Liyenn beamed. Her bag hanged to one side and she tilted her head. "Where to now?" she asked.
Naruto blinked and realized that Liyenn was speaking. "Uh, what? Oh, I was gonna take you to Ichiraku Ramen."
"Ok. Lead the way." Liyenn smiled. Naruto blushed again, but managed to lead Liyenn outside.
"Um, I'll take your bag for you if you want." Naruto offered.
"What? Oh. That's ok. I can handle it."
"You sure? Cause, I don't mind." Naruto looked away.
"What?" Liyenn looked at him, trying to figure him out.
"It's just, you're dressed so nicely."
Liyenn's cheeks flushed slightly. She stopped and thought about it. "Well." she began. "If you really want to take it that badly, I guess it'll be ok." Naruto turned and looked at her. Liyenn took her bag off her shoulder and held it out for Naruto to take. Naruto smiled and took it from her. He slung it over his shoulder and continued on his way.
Liyenn started walking behind him. Naruto had commented on her bath kimono, which was something no one had done before. What processed him to say something like that? They walked for a while without speaking, both of them were deep in thought. They walked to Ichiraku Ramen and Naruto gestured for Liyenn to sit. "Two bowls of the usual, old man." Naruto grinned. "You're gonna love this, Liyenn. It's the best ramen ever!"
"Really?" Liyenn smiled. "I had some pretty good ramen before. Yoshi-tou-san use to make it for me all the time. I've always loved it."
"Just wait until you try it. I know you're gonna love it." Naruto grinned some more.
"Who's your friend, Naruto? I don't believe I've seen her before." the man behind the counter said.
"Oh, this is Ogokasi Liyenn. She just moved here." Naruto explained.
"Did you say 'Ogokasi'?" the man asked. He was eyeing Liyenn with interest.
"Yeah. Why?" Naruto questioned.
"As in Ogokasi Kenshin?"
Liyenn blinked. "Yeah. Ogokasi Kenshin was my father." Liyenn answered.
The older man laughed. "Well you imagine that?! Ogokasi Kenshin use to come to this ramen stand when I was only a waiter here. He was always so kind and never came without a story. He was our favourite costumer until young Naruto here started coming here." the old man laughed. He looked at Liyenn. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Teuchi. The waitress here is Ayame."
"It's nice to meet you." Liyenn smiled sweetly.
Teuchi smiled at her. "You definitely have your mother's smile." Liyenn blushed. "She was a beautiful woman, I can tell you that much right now."
"Thank you, Teuchi." Liyenn said gratefully. It was nice to meet people who once knew her parents, especially when they said good things about them. Ayame placed a bowl in front of Liyenn and Liyenn dug in. She hadn't eaten anything since that picnic she had with Naruto and the others at the Phoenix's hut, earlier that day. Naruto watched as Liyenn's eyes, once again, lit up with delight. Liyenn gasped after she swallowed. "Wow! You were right, Naruto! This is the best ramen!" Liyenn said before diving back into her bowl. Within ten minutes, Liyenn was finished her bowl. "Naruto?"
"Yeah Liyenn?"
"When you're done your first bowl, will you split a second one with me?"
Naruto blinked and looked into his own bowl. There was about a quarter of a dish left. Wow. Liyenn must really like this ramen. She ate it faster than I could eat mine. Plus she's asking for more. Naruto thought. But then he gave a small, barely noticeable sigh. He loved having Liyenn around, but, if things kept up, he would be in the hole. Naruto finished his remaining morsels and ordered a third bowl.
"Naruto? Could you come back here, please?" Ayame called from around the corner. Naruto looked puzzled, but went to the back like he was asked. Ayame and Teuchi led far enough to be out of earshot of Liyenn.
"She's a pretty one, Naruto." Teuchi commented.
"Huh?" Naruto was more confused now than ever.
"Where did you meet her to?" Ayame asked.
"I met her on the way back from the Land of Waves. What do you mean, old man?"
"She looks a lot like her mother when Yokomo was younger. I hadn't seen her in years." Teuchi sighed.
"Geez, old man. You sound like you were in love with her." Naruto sounded annoyed.
"Nah. But she did use to work here. Yokomo-chan was my co-worker."
"Liyenn-chan seems really sweet." Ayame smiled. Naruto questioned their intentions. These two had never acted this way towards any of Naruto's friends that were girls. But, he had to agree with the old man and Ayame. Liyenn was pretty, and she was sweet. But, what were they thinking?
Ayame noticed Naruto's questioning look. "Oh, don't worry, Naruto. We were just curious about her. She is new in the village and we just wanted to know how you met."
"Well, I told you. Can I go back and eat now?" Naruto asked impatiently. Teuchi and Ayame nodded and Naruto walked back to Liyenn.
When he saw her, Liyenn was playing with her chopsticks. Naruto stopped and watched her for a little bit. She was smiling softly and she was humming. She sat there, waiting patiently for Naruto to come back and for their next lot of food to arrive. Liyenn heard something ruffle, so she looked up only to see Naruto staring at her. She smiled and waved her hand to catch his attention. Naruto blinked and blushed, while Liyenn just smiled. "Welcome back." she greeted playfully.
"Sorry. I got lost in thought. That's all." Naruto sat down beside her. "Hey, what was that melody you were humming?"
"You heard that?" Liyenn asked. Naruto nodded and Liyenn's smiled faded slightly. "It was a melody the Phoenix use to hum to me when she was healing me. After the Phoenix died, Momma sung it to me as a lullaby before I went to bed." By now, Liyenn's smile was completely gone. Naruto noticed that her eyes had glassed over.
"I'm sorry." was all he could say.
Teuchi had brought out the third bowl of ramen. He could sense there was something wrong and frowned. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked as he sat the bowl in front of the two.
"I was thinking about Momma, that's all." Liyenn answered quietly.
"What happened?"
"She... died. Eariler today."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Teuchi said. "I know it must be hard for you, but you gotta look at the bright side." Liyenn looked up at Teuchi. "It's gonna take time before you get through it, but at least you have friends to help you." Teuchi said, nodding towards Naruto. "I'm pretty sure Naruto's not going to leave you now. Not for anything. And I know you can count on him. If he can't cheer you up, nobody can." Teuchi finished. He had made Naruto blushed with his compliment. Naruto side glanced at Liyenn. To his surprise, she didn't look sad anymore.
"You're right, Teuchi. I appreciated that. I know I have a good friend when it's someone like Naruto. I'm really glad I met him." She gave him a smile and began splitting the bowl of ramen. Teuchi smiled and went back to the kitchen.
Naruto, too, was grateful. Not because of what the old man said, but because of the fact that Liyenn had faith in him, that Liyenn believed that she had made a good choice by becoming his friend. He smiled.
Naruto and Liyenn ended up spending an entire hour at the ramen stand. They joked around with each other, and, when Naruto found out that Liyenn was ticklish, Naruto kept poking Liyenn, causing her to squeal in laughter. Naruto laughed when she did, which made Liyenn laugh even harder. He finally stopped tickling her when Liyenn fell off her stool and hurt her butt on the ground. "Owie..." she whined, rubbing to spot where it hurt, but she continued to laugh.
"Are you ok?" Naruto asked. He, too, was still laughing.
"Yeah. I'm fine." she said as she yawned.
"Looks like someone's getting tired." Ayame said, giggling at Liyenn. Liyenn gave a goofy smile and nodded.
"Well, we're closing up soon, so it's best if you two get going." Teuchi said, turning off the light in the kitchen. "I don't mind having you around, but you gotta leave a closing time." Teuchi smiled and turned to the sleepy Liyenn. He held out his hand to her. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Liyenn-chan."
Liyenn took his hand and shook it. "It was nice to meet you, Teuchi. You too, Ayame."
"Likewise. Liyenn-chan." Ayame said, smiling pleasantly.
Liyenn and Naruto waved goodbye to Teuchi and Ayame and started to head back to Naruto's apartment. They were still laughing but were starting to settle down. "Hey, Liyenn?"
"Yeah, Naruto?"
"I noticed that your sensei 'Tou-san'."
Liyenn smile softened and she looked up at the stars. "It's true. I called Yoshi-sensei 'Yoshi-tou-san'. Since Daddy died, I never had a male role model. Yoshi-tou-san was that model for me after I met him. I never called him 'tou-san' where there was other people, nor did I refer to him as that to anyone else, but I would call him that when we sat in his study and talked about random things. When nobody else was listening." Liyenn was still smiling when she finished, but she did stop walking. Naruto stopped as well, waiting for her.
"I'm glad he was good to you, Liyenn." he said. He smiled at her, which made her smile some more.
"Yoshi-tou-san was the best. But, I've met someone better." She smiled and walked passed him.
"Who?" Naruto asked her. He was very serious, he wanted to know.
"I'm not gonna tell you. " she teased.
"Aw, why not?" Naruto pouted.
"Cause I don't wanna." she stated in a very childish voice.
She started to jog a little bit. Naruto chased her for a little bit, but, he wanted to know the answer to his question. Yoshi had treated her well from what Liyenn told him. Who did she meet that was better than him? Was it himself?
He wasn't able to restrain himself. He had to know. He jumped up in front of her and caught her by the shoulders as she ran into him. Liyenn blushed when she hit him. When he gazed deep into her eyes, she blushed even more. "Tell me."
Liyenn blinked. "Huh?"
"Who did you meet that's better than Yoshi?"
"You really want to know?" Liyenn asked in disbelief. Naruto's curiosity amazed her. He was so serious and she could tell that he wasn't going to leave her alone until she gave him an answer. She sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. Can you let me go first?" Naruto released her and she rubbed her shoulders. Instead of telling him up front, she decided to challenge him. "Well, who have I met recently that has shown kindness to me before they even knew my name?"
Naruto thought about this for a moment. He was never very good at tests, so it took him a while to get the recap. "Me?" he asked after several minutes.
"You got it." Liyenn said as she began walking again.
"I'm better than Yoshi?" Naruto asked, running the catch up with her. He was confused now.
"Well, yeah. You didn't even know who I was and you still helped me. That automatically makes you better than Yoshi-tou-san, but not better than Momma or Daddy since they loved me before I even existed." Liyenn said, staring ahead. "Yoshi-tou-san loved me like I was his own child, but only after he got to know me. You cared for me as soon as you found out what my goals were, which was before I told you my name."
Naruto understood now. His want to help someone in need made him better than the best. He smiled at Liyenn as she continued to walk. Her long, navy hair swayed as she walked as did her kimono. He had confidence that the friendship between Liyenn and himself would indeed become stronger. Liyenn stopped and looked back at Naruto. "You coming?" she asked, snapping Naruto out of his trance.
"Oh yeah."
They two walked the rest of the ways in silence. Liyenn yawned every two minutes until they got back to Naruto's apartment. Naruto unlocked the door and swung it open. Liyenn ran over to her suitcases and grabbed her pajamas. She looked at the bed and a question popped into her head. "Where am I going to sleep to?" she asked.
"You're gonna sleep in the bed. I'm taking the mat." Naruto said, taking a sleeping mat out from a closet.
"Are you sure that's ok?" Liyenn asked.
"I'm positive. Oh, you can get changed in there." Naruto said, pointing towards the toilet room.
"Kay." Liyenn nodded. She went and got changed. When she came out, Naruto had his bed made and was already sat up in it. Liyenn walked over to the bed and fell into it.
"You're really tired, aren't you?" Naruto asked, smiling at her in the darkness of his room.
"Mmmhmm." Liyenn murmured, not having enough energy to speak. Naruto chuckled as Liyenn snuggled in under her sheets. They smelt fresh but they still had the smell of Naruto in them. She smiled from in under the covers.
"Goodnight, Liyenn." Naruto said before laying down. Liyenn didn't respond, since she had already fallen asleep. Naruto chuckled again. "You were really that tired, huh Liyenn?" he asked her, even though he knew he would get no answer. He watched her sleep for a moment before turning in himself. Naruto smiled to himself before falling asleep. His new friend was here and tomorrow she will be officially an member of Konoha.
A/N: No new people introduced and no jutsus used. People can be so nice, can't they? And others really like it. Anywho, hoped you all liked it. Lemme know wha cha think please! Thanks for reading this far!