Normal

"Speech"

Thought

Kyuubi

Warnings: I do not own Naruto. Rated "M" for language and adult situations.

Chapter 14: Heart to Heart

Naruto woke the next morning feeling very rested. He stretched down to his toes and jumped out from under the covers. He started towards the shower to begin his morning routine.

"We need to have a heart to heart."The Fox grumbled. Naruto was a little suspicious of this request. The Fox never asked to have a "chat" before. Naruto brushed his teeth.

"What about? I have more important things to think about." The blonde turned on the shower.

"If you plan to seriously pursue Myra, she will become a target for anyone that wants to get to us." Twice in one sentence, the Fox had succeeded to surprise Naruto. The Fox had called Myra by her name, not some demeaning nickname. More importantly, Naruto hadn't thought about the possibility of a friend or Myra being used as bait to draw him out. He didn't want to think about the Fox being right. Naruto undressed and got into the shower.

"Are you trying to spoil my mood or do you like the desolate loneliness that I live in?" Naruto was only being partially sarcastic. The Fox grinned forcibly and chuckled.

"I prefer anything that makes you most miserable, Brat. Your torment is my last pleasure in this prison. However, as I know you as well as I know myself, should you get attached to this Myra girl and anyone so much as harms a hair on her head, you WILL jump head first into a fight that could very well get you killed and I shall cease to exist." The Fox yawned. Again, the Fox had used Myra's name. Naruto tried not to betray his own thoughts about what the Fox was up to. The Fox didn't call anyone by their name. He used diminutives and demeaning descriptions, but not names. The closest to names the Fox used were the numbers of the Hokage's.

"Oh… I get it this is something where you are trying to preserve your own life." Naruto spat at the Fox. The Fox growled, but there was a glint of a different emotion underneath the Fox's annoyance with the boy. It was there, a small whisper in the Fox's growl. The Fox wanted to protect Myra, but just as Naruto could sort out the emotions he was detecting from the Fox, they would flit away under a flood of malice.

"Guilty as charged. I am trying to preserve my own existence. No offence Brat, but your mortality is my weakness. But like I have said on several occasions, I am entertained by your self inflicted misery, and such opportunities allow me a little time out of the cage so to speak. So by all means, do as you please. It is of no consequence to me. I am not afraid of death." The Fox faded from Naruto's mind. Naruto was washing the soap out of his hair when the water suddenly ran cold. He washed the soap out of his hair and cursed the water heater as the cold water continued to pour from the spout. "I really need to get that fixed." Showering done, towel loosely draped around his mid section and another over his head. The blonde stepped out of his bathroom and headed for the kitchen. He walked passed his bed and noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye. Naruto got into the kitchen and put on the kettle to make something for breakfast and processed what he saw. He darted back to his bedroom, nearly loosing his towel.

Myra was curled up in his blankets on his bed. Naruto started to become very nervous about this new situation. He tip toed over to the bed and taped her gently on the shoulder. She didn't move. He nudged her shoulder "Oi, Myra-chan… Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" He tightened the towel around his hips in an attempt to hide the hormonal response to the thought of Myra in his bed.

Myra didn't move, nor did she open her eyes, "I don't like hospitals. They're full of sick people." She whined. "I escaped and came here. They won't think to look for me here." She opened her eyes and looked at him. Naruto scowled at her. Myra pushed herself up on her elbows, keeping the blankets just over her breast. It didn't look like she was wearing anything and suddenly Naruto's towel was a little more uncomfortable. He swallowed hard and his voice cracked as he spoke.

"Oh… I think they would look here first if that Nurse reported me last night." He looked very nervous. Myra giggled.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist. I was released." Myra was still a little upset about the lecture she had gotten from Tsunade. "Truth be told, I didn't feel like being alone. Is that such a horrible thing?" She pouted and looked at him with those big puppy dog brown eyes. It didn't do anything to squash Naruto's overwhelming urge to jump into bed with her.

"Brat, just remember what I said, she will become a target. Are you willing to risk her life without asking her?" This time Naruto was sure of it. The Fox was trying to protect Myra. Naruto tensed up and looked away from her. "I can understand not wanting to be alone. But life is very complicated for a shinobi. I risk my life every day on missions that are extremely dangerous." He was trying to choose his words carefully. "A shinobi must be free of emotional attachments." He was trying to push back his tears. Myra raised an eyebrow. There was laughter in her response.

"You're kidding, right? Do you really believe that bullshit? Because I don't." Myra got out of the bed, her long black hair let loose around her face and down her back. She was wearing a white spaghetti strap flannel t-shirt that came to just above her navel and boxers with purple flames printed on them rolled down below her hips. Naruto chanced a look at her when her feet hit the floor. She stood up and walked towards him. Sweat started to pour off of him, if he could have climbed up the wall he would have.

Myra put her hands on his chest. The electricity of the touch was like a euphoric drug to both of them. She looked him in the eyes. Her tears were evident in her words, "If you really believe that bullshit, then tell me to leave and I will do so. But if I walk out that door, there is no turning back." Myra put her forehead against his chin. Naruto had dug his fingers into the wood of the wall. It was everything he could do not to pick her up and toss her on the bed. Myra brushed her lips against his neck. Her breath made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Naruto swallowed again.

"I don't want to risk loosing you. This is the only way I know how to protect you." His voice was a horse whisper. Myra took a deep breath, her warm tears now dripping on his chest.

"And what if I told you I don't care about the risks. What then? Are you still going to tell me to leave?" She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to believe he was being serious. Naruto looked away from her. He couldn't see her like this. The Fox howled in the recesses of his mind. It was a mournful sound that chilled Naruto to the bone. His heart was breaking and he was breaking hers along with it. She pushed away from him.

"FUCK YOU and your GOD DAMN shinobi BULLSHIT!" The tears flooded her face. She paced the room for a moment and wiped the tears from her face. Myra turned back to him, anger burning in her eyes. She was not going to give in that easily. She stomped up to Naruto, grabbed his head just behind his ears and pulled his head down to hers. Myra kissed him, sending as much of her passion as she could into the kiss.

Naruto let go of the door jam and wrapped his arms around her pulling her close to return the kiss. Myra broke the kiss first looking directly into his blue eyes then rested her head on his chest.

"Now that I know you're full of shit, tell me to leave." More tears dripped on to his chest. Naruto held her for a few more moments, still debating on what he should do. The longer Naruto held on to Myra the more content with life he felt. A strange warmth radiated from her that calmed him, and it seemed to calm the Fox as well. In that few moments, there were no objections from the Fox in anyway about his next thoughts and actions.

Naruto scooped her up in a fireman's carry. Myra wrapped her arms around his neck. He walked her over to the bed and laid her down and leaned in for another kiss. He had his knee on the bed and reality whistled its way back as the kettle on the stove started to boil over. Naruto broke the kiss. Thought and speech was a little difficult for him.

"I… Need to… Um… Turn that off…" Lips locked on to each other again. The whistle became increasingly louder. "Don't go anywhere." Naruto smiled at her. He skidded into the kitchen, pulled the kettle off the burner and turned off the stove. The blonde went back into the small bedroom, his hands on the towel ready to pull it off. Myra was sitting up with her knees in her chest looked rather annoyed.

Edgar and Poe were perched on the window sill next to Naruto's bed. Naruto readjusted the towel and cursed under his breath. These interruptions were beginning to wear on his nerves.

"Looks like I've been found." Myra rested her head on her knees. Edgar ruffled his feathers to show his displeasure of the situation.