A/N: Look! An update... HOORAY UPDATE! Yes, I know, I know... It's been a horribly long time... AGAIN. I have no excuses, or illnesses... or anything like that this time around. But give me a break. Life happens. I will try an update more often, I will. But I have another story starting to stir in my brain, and I want to finish this one before I start on yet another epic. Anyway, on with the story.

As a side note: Reviews make me happy. They aren't required, but they do help motivate me, and the Gods know I need motivation sometimes.

As usual, standard warnings apply.

Previously:

Naruto grumbled under his breath and turned back to Myra looking as serious as he possibly could. "You are staying where I can keep an eye on you. You just died. That isn't something you recover from in a few days. You ARE going to take it easy."

Myra chuckled heartily. "Death is usually something you never recover from period." She could feel that he was worried about her. She was a bit worried herself. There was a lot to do in a very short time. The week to play catch up was something she needed as much as he did, but there were more important things at stake. She placed a chased kiss on his lips and let out a sigh. "Seriously though, this should be a walk in the park compared to most other missions your used too."

Naruto glared at her. "No."

Myra raised a thin eyebrow defiantly. "And who's going to stop me?"

And now...

Chapter 83: The truth behind the lies.

Fighting was becoming pointless. Myra just wasn't listening to him. Naruto had called her father, thinking he would talk sense into her. The blond stood in the hallway and stared with his jaw hanging open as Rai took her side of the issue. Now Myra was packing a modest amount of clothes with a smile, or at least she was trying to.

Naruto was going to stop her. He hadn't figured out how, but he was going to stop her from going on this mission. "You can't go. I won't allow it."

Myra stopped packing and crossed her arms over her chest. "Naruto, I'm going and there isn't anything you can say that will change my mind."

"I'm not going with you then." He grimaced childishly.

"I already said that was fine with me. Your participation is completely optional. Minato can stay with you while I'm gone instead of with my dad. Besides, Little One will like to spend some time with you." She folded a pair of jeans into her suitcase.

Naruto walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her flush against him. "I just got you back and you're running away again."

Myra sighed sadly. "Do you really think I want to go?"

"Yes." He answered in a defeated tone.

"Okay, so I kind of do want to go, but not for the reasons you think." She turned to press up against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I want to go with you and have a chance to be completely alone with nothing to bother us. No Minato, no Fucktard, no ninja crap, just two people on a mini vacation."

"But what about Karin?" He eyed her confused.

"Karin is an unfortunate part of that vacation that does have to be dealt with. Look, as much as I would love to spend some quality time with you and Minato, I can't be selfish. I have to understand that the good of the many outweigh the good of the one. What I want isn't what's good for the rest of the world."

Naruto stepped away from her. "You are going to risk everything to bring back a woman that may or may not have a sliver of information we may or may not need. That's stupid!"

"It isn't stupid Love, it is necessary. You risked everything to bring Sasuke back from the darkness. You were bound and determined to do whatever you had to do to bring him back to Konoha. Was that stupid?" She asked him honestly. Naruto looked away guiltily.

Myra let out a sigh. "I am bound and determined to stop Madara. Karin has a piece of the puzzle, however small that piece may or may not be is irrelevant. In order to see the bigger picture, I will need that piece." Myra turned back to her suitcase.

"This is nuts." Naruto moved to bar her from leaving the room.

She zipped the suitcase closed and pulled off the bed. Myra turned and saw Naruto barring her way. "Please, I don't want to fight about it anymore."

"You aren't seeing reason." Naruto stood at the door to the bedroom.

"You're one to talk."

"This is a bad idea." He crossed his arms.

Myra scratched her forehead, closing her eyes and took a deep breath, effectively calming her frustration. She let out the breath and opened her eyes. "Which part of this plan is a bad one? I'm not saying it's perfect and I'm not saying there isn't room for improvement. It's something that has to be done. We need the information that Karin has. Karin got stupid, or smart depending on your point of view, and got herself involved with the Yakuza. The information she has is extremely valuable in more ways than JUST her knowledge of where the labs and prisons are in Sound." Myra realized she had screwed up after she had said it; however, she hoped Naruto wouldn't try and push it any further, or just missed it completely. She did her best not to show she had let something important slip.

Something clicked inside Naruto's head. Konoha wanted Karin for the information on Sound. But why then would Ravenheart Industries be so keen on wanting to lead the mission to extract Karin? Why were they pushing to go on this mission now when the lead agent was still recovering? What could Karin know that was so damned important? Contrary to popular belief, Naruto wasn't as stupid as people thought him to be. He usually saw the little things that most people looked over. And besides, this was a story concocted by Myra. There was ALWAYS more to the story that she wasn't telling. Naruto KNEW there was more than one motive behind this mission. His face darkened and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Why else then?"

For the first time, since he had known her, Myra visibly flinched and paled at his question. There was silence from her for several moments before she lifted her chin to stare directly into his eyes. She opened her mouth several times but could not find the words. Myra shut her mouth and turned away from him.

Anger, rage and disappointment coursed through Naruto's veins. She wasn't going to tell him a damn thing unless he pushed it out of her. He found it strange that she didn't try to evade the question, she simply didn't answer it. There was no fancy half truth or attempt to be sneaky about it. Was it that she didn't want to tell him? Or was it that she couldn't tell him? It wouldn't have been the first time the higher ups had kept information from him for the good of the mission. That thought just served to make him angrier. "You WILL tell me the whole story." The tone of his voice was like the edge of a sharp dagger, and it cut into her deeply.

She could feel the anger and disappointment building within him. Myra may not have been able to read his thoughts, but she had become an expert at reading someone's emotions. The anger was because she was keeping things from him. She could understand that. Myra didn't want him to rush into Sound based on a theory. They needed a plan and Karin could provide vital information to that plan. The disappointment came from his belief that she didn't trust him. On the contrary, she trusted him with her life. Myra knew that he would die to protect everyone in the village if it came to that. But it was that thought that drove her to do what she had to in order to keep him alive.

Naruto would walk head long into Hell and sacrifice himself if he thought for one second it would save one of his friends. Myra didn't want to think about what devil he would make a deal with to protect her or Minato. Heck, Naruto had the most powerful demon in any of the realms that would be happy to trade for his freedom. She knew it would never come to that though. The Kyuubi had changed, and she was glad for it. But it didn't stop her from thinking there was still enough malice and anger left in the Kyuubi that he would take advantage of Naruto's quick temper and self sacrificing nature. It was never that she didn't trust Naruto. She was just never going to let him know that she wouldn't hesitate to risk everything, even her relationship with him, to keep him alive.

As her silence continued, Naruto's anger built to a feverish pitch. He stepped forward with a menacing glance. He started to radiate the menace and anger he was feeling. At first he really didn't understand why she was beginning to squirm. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. She was empathic and could feel his anger. Myra knew he was mad. And he wasn't going to let it go until he got an answer.

The moment he stepped closer, Myra's breath hitched in her throat. "That's not fair." Her voice was a faint whisper and had traces of unshed tears. "It hurts when you do that."

Naruto finally understood more about this situation. His hair fluffed out and seemed to defy gravity. His eyes became dangerous feral blue slits. He allowed the aspects of the Kyuubi he had gained over the last year to manifest. Naruto wanted Myra to understand that he meant business. "Then tell me what is so important that you would risk everything to bring Karin to Konoha."

Myra closed her eyes and a single tear fell. Her lips trembled as she tried to answer him. She HAD to answer him. It wasn't something she couldn't ignore. Myra licked her lips and swallowed the lump in her throat. She still hadn't turned to face him, she couldn't, not now. "Karin has knowledge of the Yakuza in the area as well as the names of the higher ranking bosses. She has details of the black market trafficking and possibly knowledge of how Madara is cloning his army."After speaking at such speeds a cheetah would have trouble understanding her, she took in a deep breath hoping Naruto had completely missed the last part of her explanation. She wasn't ready to explain that to anyone, just yet. Myra swallowed the breath. "Now please stop being angry at me."

Naruto stood stock still in surprise. He was amazed she could talk that fast. What amazed him still was that he had caught every single word she spoke. He was surprised for several reasons. The first was that he had shaken Myra to the core, Naruto was a little upset with himself for that, but he wasn't going to let his own emotions betray it just yet. He understood the weakness of her empathy and hated that he had used it against her. Second, Clones? He thought to himself. And the most important surprise was something he just now noticed in both Myra AND the Kyuubi. Asking the same question three times produced a truthful answer. He would test the theory again. Naruto grasped onto his anger and reined it in, but didn't stop radiating it. He merely backed it down a notch. "What clones?"

Myra put her hand on the bed to steady herself. He was still angry and directing all of it towards her. It felt like her back was on fire and not in a good way. With her chakra pathways closed off and not where they should be, the control on her empathy was off kilter. She couldn't block out the emotions as easily as she could under normal circumstances. Shutting off the world around her was taking up most of her strength. When Naruto dialed up his anger towards her, she had no defense against it. She had no way to tune it out or block the intense heat he was directing at her. This was the curse of her empathy.

She could feel the world around her in minute detail of temperature. All living things had a spirit of some kind. Even a tree radiated a warm glow if the tree was healthy and thriving. Small animals were usually neutral if there was no danger around. The larger predatory or companion animals the temperature ranges didn't change much. A dog that was angry felt just as hot as a scared cat. In humans, Myra had found the temperature ranges to be the most varied. Sasuke, on most days felt cold, almost emotionally void. But there was a burning flame at his core that made him at least lukewarm. Naruto, who wore his emotions on his sleeve never felt cold to her. He was always warm. When he got angry at anything or anyone, he would become an incinerator, and now that incinerator type heat was directed at her. Any moment, and her skin was going to peel from her back due to the intense heat coming from him.

"It's something that I was going to tell everyone when the time was right." Myra panted out with a sob. "Please stop."

"What clones, Myra?" He commanded. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't back down. Naruto had found a way to combat her secretive habit, a habit he would not tolerate.

More tears slipped from her eyes. "Please don't do this." She pleaded.

Naruto planted his feet and dialed his anger up. "WHAT CLONES?!" Myra fell to the floor in a heap and Naruto didn't move to catch her. He didn't flinch at her reaction. And he hated himself for doing it.

Myra's breath was shallow and shaky. She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Madara is cloning an army. Kabuto was already working on resurrecting the dead science for Orochimaru. With Madara's influence and backing, Kabuto was able to crack one of the issues that caused the science to be abandoned almost a century ago. Madara is using DNA collected from different sources all over the world, but he's using Uchiha DNA as the base for all of the clones. That's why the labs in Sound need to be destroyed and why Itachi needs to come back to Konoha. Karin is the key." Myra swallowed again.

"She knows the locations of every lab, base, and prison and she may know what chemicals Kabuto is using, or possibly the process. We hope that maybe with her knowledge we can devise a plan to get all the labs at once and maybe come up with a way to counteract the chemical cohesion of the clones. Now please stop." She whimpered in pain.

The human form Kyuubi burst through the bedroom door and pulled Naruto away from Myra. He then placed himself between Myra and Naruto. He growled at Naruto menacingly. "What the HELL are you thinking?"

Naruto stood straight. "I'm stopping this shit now! I will not have her lying to me just to get her way."

"Listen Brat, because I am only going to tell you this once. SHE CAN'T LIE TO YOU. Myra is incapable of lying. The first Law of the Ethereal, 'Speak from the heart, for it knows no lie.' She can bend the truth or leave out certain details, but flat out lie to your face is impossible."

"Why can't she trust me with the truth?!" Naruto snarled feral blue slits boring into the Kyuubi's red ones.

Myra gazed at the pattern of drops from her tears on the floor. "Stop it both of you." She hiccupped. "Please just stop."

Naruto pushed passed the Kyuubi and tried to pull Myra into an embrace. She scampered away from him. She looked up at him and her chocolate orbs wavered. Naruto took a step back from her, horrified by the fear in her eyes.

The Kyuubi grabbed the blonde and forcibly removed him from the room, dragging him down the hall way and tossing him on the couch in the living room. Naruto had tried to resist, but the Kyuubi wasn't letting him get out of his grasp. Naruto made several attempts to stand up to go back in the bedroom and the Kyuubi kept pushing him back on the couch. Finally the Kyuubi had his arm across Naruto's chest and was sitting on Naruto to keep him down. "Stay down Brat!"

They both glared at each other. There was a tense moment before Naruto calmed down, but not much. "What the HELL? Let me go Furball. I need to go back in there!"

"No." The Kyuubi let up on his hold on Naruto slightly. "You are such a fool, Naruto. You focused and concentrated your anger at the situation, then directed it all at Myra."

"I know what I did and why I did it." Naruto's eyes waived for the briefest of moments, echoing his concern.

"You couldn't see that she was writhing in pain. You couldn't tell that her heart was screaming for you to stop."

Naruto paused. "Yes."

"Then why did you continue?" The Kyuubi snarled. The Kyuubi was met with silence. "There is no word in any language I know to describe your moronic behavior!"

"I want her to stay here where I know she won't get hurt! What is so terrible about that?" Naruto shouted back at the Kyuubi.

Kyuubi sighed, releasing Naruto from his hold. The demon stood towering over the boy with his arms crossed, slitted eyes warning him to not move from the spot. Maybe a different approach from violence would work. "You say you would do anything to protect your precious people from harm. Myra IS your most precious person is she not?"

"OF COURSE!" Naruto shouted back without hesitation.

Kyuubi snorted. "Yet look at your actions. I know you saw the fear in her eyes. The smell of her fear hovers about you like flies to horse dung. She was afraid of you...not Madara, not the mission...YOU!"

Naruto's eyes widened, taking on a distant look of guilt, before he looked away from the Kyuubi ashamed. He knew he had held onto the anger and disappointment as a weapon against Myra. But he thought it had to be done. The fight left Naruto at that moment. He was again, Naruto, plain and simple. "I only did it so she would tell me the truth. I wanted her to be safe until she recovered." He whispered with remorse.

Kyuubi shook his head at the naive boy. "I will agree that Myra needs time to recover. But even with her current disadvantages, are you telling me that YOU would allow ANYTHING to happen to her while on this mission?"

Naruto growled lowly. "Of course not, and may Kami have mercy on anyone who'd try." He threatened the air around him.

Kyuubi smirked at Naruto's response. The great fox had one final thought for the boy. "Then why, pray tell, are you worried about her at all?" He questioned Naruto almost sarcastically. "If you are so confident in your abilities, this should not have been issue at all. Or is it merely false bravado, and the true reason you do not want her to go because you would fail in your duties to protect her?"

Minutes rolled by in silence as Kyuubi simply watched the different facial expressions cross over Naruto's face. The boy mentally battled with himself over the Kyuubi's words. When the blonde boy looked up at the Kyuubi, the great fox grinned. A familiar glint had been rekindled in Naruto's eyes. The boy would never give up and he would never back down from a fight.

"I see you finally get it." Kyuubi ended the silence in smug tone.

"Yeah I get it..." He said lowly, before shaking his head and letting out a sigh. "I am idiot aren't I?" Naruto questioned making the demon chuckle.

"That you are Kit; however, it is said that we only hurt the ones we love. Meaning you love her with all your heart."

Naruto silently nodded while getting up. "That should be obvious." He answered, sighing deeply. "Fine I'll let her go, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Sure, it's selfish of me to want her to stay." He admitted. "But it sure as hell doesn't feel that way." Naruto grumbled.

Kyuubi chuckled. The boy was getting smarter, if only bit by bit. "All depends on one's perspective. Now I believe you owe a certain young woman a hefty apology, and to get packed." The Kyuubi raised a curious eyebrow. "That is IF you are going, because I recently heard otherwise."

Naruto's eyes hardened "She won't be leaving my sight." He promised though more to himself than the demon he spoke to.

"Good. I am going back to my pagoda. If you interrupt my nap again, Brat, I will not hesitate to kill you." The Kyuubi grinned.

Naruto waved his hand dismissively and rolled his eyes. "Kill me, kill yourself." The boy started his slow trek to the bedroom.

0 – 0 – 0

Myra breathed in a deep sigh of content as she basked in the morning sunshine. Oh how the sun warmed her skin exposed by the barely there purple bikini. It seemed like it had been ages since she able to sneak away from anyone to enjoy the simple pleasure of sun bathing. Sure, she could get that sun kissed golden tan out of a bottle, but where was the fun in that? She didn't like the public display of skin, but it was a means to set the mood for her cover, or so she kept trying to convince herself. If she were truly honest with herself, something her whinny inner voice had been saying, she wanted to know if she still had 'it'. Myra felt ugly at the moment. She had felt ugly since the fight with Naruto a little more than twenty four hours ago. But she wasn't ugly, she wasn't insecure and she sure as Hell wasn't being stubborn. Ok so a baby, little to no strenuous exercise for the last year, and practically no sun and she was feeling a little self conscious about herself. Naruto practically lording over her, smothering her and hiding her from the world in general wasn't helping her at all gain back the self confidence she was looking for. Myra needed to prove to him, more than herself that she COULD and WOULD take care of herself.

She opened one eye behind her dark sun glasses in time to see another one of the towel boys almost trip over one of the other chaise loungers. The near fall brought a smirk to her lips. The boy tripping over himself to get a good long look made her feel better.

A shadow was cast over her and her smirk soon turned into a frown. "You're standing in my sun."

"You promised you wouldn't go anywhere alone." Naruto scowled over her.

Myra inched her sun glasses down her nose to look at him over her glasses. She had to pause and think about how good Naruto looked in the black jeans and buttoned down white linen shirt. He looked totally comfortable, except for the nasty look he was giving her. "I said I wouldn't leave the hotel alone." She replaced her glasses and went back to her previous state of sun bathing. "I'm still in the hotel. Now kindly move your ass out of my sun." She said in a bored tone. Yes, Myra was still a bit pissed at Naruto. She didn't really have a good reason to be angry at him. She had felt guilty about keeping him out of the loop, but it was a necessary evil to protect Naruto from himself. He had apologized for the most part. And she had forgiven him, but she sure hadn't forgotten yet.

Then he started laying down the rules. Myra had zoned out after the second rule. She vaguely remembered something about not being alone and not over exerting herself, but that was about it. Myra had no intention of over exerting herself. This was going to be an easy mission. Snatch, grab and flee nothing complicated or strenuous. Everything had been set up in a matter of hours. Myra was to play the well kept mistress and Naruto, her body guard. Myra's employer, a one "Gentleman" George Marcone, was coming to Matsuri to meet with the local Yakuza to discuss business, specifically, the business of illegal fight organization and possible import and export of such a business. How convenient was that?

Myra really wanted to know what her father threatened Marcone with to get the Mafia boss to allow a Death Dealer in his mitts. She didn't dwell on the sorted details. She just explained the gist to Naruto. His anger flared when she used the word 'whore', so she tried something a little less demeaning, like 'call girl', but he didn't like that either. So she settled on explaining their cover with a term that didn't seem to cause the blonde too much undue stress. Though it did bother Myra a bit to know he didn't mind the term 'mistress' and it made her think about possibilities that brought her to her current state of semi-undress. Several thoughts kept nagging away at her the entire time they were packing his bare necessities. Was she enough to keep him? Would he actually take a mistress on the side if she weren't? Was she still desirable after a baby and being completely useless for the last year? If Naruto knew she was scared out of her mind, would he still want to be here? She had shoved those thoughts to the side and stopped talking all together.

There was a deafening quiet during the car ride to Matsuri. And they hadn't real spoken at all since they got to the hotel. The luxurious three room hotel suite was something Naruto had only seen in pictures from magazines. He was marveling the view of the sunset when he heard Myra shut one of the bedroom doors and lock it. At first he thought about breaking down the door and getting her to tell him what was wrong with her. He'd apologized, what more did she want?

"She needs time." The Kyuubi mused. The Kyuubi was a last minute addition to Naruto's insistence that HE call the shots. Naruto would rather have the blasted demon there and not need him, than need him and not be there. Not that Naruto ever needed the Kyuubi, but it was really pathetic to hear the King of all Demons whine about being fat, lazy and not having anything to do while they were gone. So the Kyuubi had tagged along. That first evening in Matsuri was a quiet one. Naruto let Myra have the evening to herself and didn't try to intrude on her. When she had emerged from her room, wearing the skimpiest dress he'd ever seen her in, he had two thoughts. The first nearly had her out of that dress and on the bed, but he reminded himself she still needed her space. So he acted on the second instinct and refused to let her leave the room.

There had been a lot of shouting. Myra wanted to maintain the cover. Naruto wanted to maintain her honor. When she started to pout, bat her eyelashes, and yank the chain she thought would get him to give in, Naruto didn't budge. It took an extreme force of will on his part not to fall prey to her powers of persuasion, but he was able to stand his ground… barely. She finally turned up her nose with a harrumph and went back into her room, shutting the door and locking it behind her. He heard a muffled "Fine, I won't leave the hotel alone."

Now, she was in the pool area, alone and wearing a bikini, if you could call the three triangles of fabric held together with dental floss a bikini, causing all sorts of havoc with the hotel staff. Naruto took a calming breath. "When are we meeting with this George guy?"

"We're meeting him for lunch."

"When is that?" Naruto saw out of the corner of his eye a pool boy approaching her with an ornate glass filled with bluish liquid on a tray.

The boy bent with glass and offered the drink. Myra took the glass, offering the boy a playful grin and a soft. "Thank you Kenji-kun." Something in the back of Naruto's mind snapped and he growled. Myra didn't use those affectionate and familiar suffixes with anyone, now Myra adds the sign of affection to the pool boy?

"Would there be ANYTHING else, Miss?" Kenji hinted.

Myra just grinned impishly over her glasses let her eyes wander up and down the boy. Naruto's growl made Kenji step back worriedly and finally the nervous poll boy scurried away. Myra turned to Naruto, who was scowling deeper than she had ever seen. His mood had shifted from extremely annoyed to boarder line pissed off. She rolled her eyes and lay back down on the chaise. "I see you're not going to be any fun." She sipped at her drink and set it on the side table.

"Lunch?" Naruto growled impatiently.

"Noon-ish, give or take a minute or two."

"Do you seriously plan on laying out here practically naked until lunch?"

Myra smirked. She didn't want to push Naruto's possessive tendency, but it was perfect payback, cruel maybe, but perfect. "Well I tried it take off my top to avoid tan lines, but..."

Naruto was near the end of his rope. "What the HELL is wrong with you?!"

Myra sighed indifferently. "There isn't anything wrong with me that you removing your ass from my sun wouldn't cure."

That did it. She had officially gotten his goat. He picked her up out of the chaise lounge and tossed her in the pool. Myra floundered in the pool for a moment until she found her footing. Naruto stepped to the edge of the pool and couldn't help chuckling at her.

The NERVE of him! The insensitive BASTARD! Myra's mind railed as she ran a hand down her face to remove the excess water. Her hair was a tangled mess plastered all over her head. She was far from amused. Naruto's gloating chuckled had turned to a full mocking laugh. Myra ducked her head beneath the water to slick her hair back to something more manageable and waded to the edge of the pool. She gracefully pulled herself up out of the water and stood nose to nose with Naruto, who was trying to stifle his laugher. It wasn't working.

Myra narrowed her eyes and poked him in the chest. "NOT funny, Pretty Boy…"

Naruto tried to hide the triumphant smirk. "It was so." He snorted trying to contain another bought of laughter.

Myra smiled and batted her eyelashes. Then her lips were so close to his ear, Naruto could feel her breath tickle the side of his neck. "If you wanted me wet that badly, you should have just asked."

The exquisite tingle of lust traveled the length of Naruto's spine and made his groin twitch. Her lips hovered over his pulse point causing each hair on his neck to stand at attention, which in turn caused another part of Naruto's anatomy to stand at attention. Naruto ineffectively tried to beat back the lust beginning to stir within him. Myra slid her hand up to the center of his chest and slipped the other to the back of his neck, pulling him down to lock her lips with his. It was passionate kiss that seared his lips and left him bereft of oxygen. Naruto's body throbbed with a sudden need that was going to consume if he didn't have her soon. Myra broke away from Naruto gasping for air. He had lost the battle to douse the flames of desire before they became a wild fire threatening to consume him. There was something in her smirk that didn't sit well with him. But it was too late for his brain to kick in and realize the error of his hesitation. Then it was Myra's turn to stand on the edge of the pool with a gloating grin.

Naruto's burning desire was engulfed by the cool water of the pool. He mimicked Myra's action of running a hand down his face to remove the water now dripping from his hair. His eyes focused on her retreating back as Myra, wrapped in a towel, stormed back towards the main hotel, and hopefully, back to the room. He smirked as he hopped out of the pool. Naruto had done what he came to do. Myra was covered and out of the view of men with lewd thoughts running through their heads as they gawked at her. Kami knew if HE was having those thoughts about her, other men staring would be too. And as far as Naruto concerned, he was the ONLY person allowed to think that way about Myra.

The towel boy, Kenji, approached Naruto cautiously and handed him a towel. "Are you alright sir?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the boy, who shank under Naruto's withering stare. The moody blonde grabbed the towel from Kenji. "Off limits." Naruto growled.

Kenji paled. "Uh... Excuse me?"

"Pass it around pool boy... She's off limits." Naruto growled again as he wiped down with the towel.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that sir. The staff isn't allowed to fraternize with the guests. And I doubt any of the off duty staff have the cash to afford her company." Kenji shrugged.

Naruto was seeing red, before he had to remember their cover. Myra was playing the part of the well kept mistress. Naruto was her body guard. Naruto agreed to the arrangement, begrudgingly. They would be meeting up with Myra's employer later this afternoon. He was supposed to get them into the fight arena to find Karin. Once they had a solid fix on Karin, Myra would get close enough for the initial tag. Then it was easy sailing from there. In the meantime, no matter how hard he tried to remember the cover story, he could not see Myra as whore or a cheap floozy. Myra was better than that, but right now he was beginning to rethink that statement. Since they had arrived she had been nothing but trouble and a pain in the ass. It was like she was purposely trying to irritate him. Naruto let that thought sink in. He growled in frustration and set his jaw in a deep grimace. He forced down the urge to rip apart the little dweeb. "Yeah... Don't forget that either... She belongs to the Boss."

And I'm the boss! Naruto tossed the towel at the pool boy and stormed after Myra. It was about time he proved it too.

0 – 0 – 0

Myra stomped into her temporary living quarters and shed the towel. He was coming up the elevator and he was angry again. Myra sighed. What could she have possibly done now? Naruto had interrupted her alone time. She needed time to think. She needed time to meditate and she seriously needed some sun. Naruto had ruined that. He had been standing in her sun. He dropped her in the FUCKING pool! What the hell did he have to be pissed about?

"Maybe because you're being a total bitch?" Myra's inner voice chimed in. "A kind of slutty bitch at that."

No one asked for your opinion. The slutty hooker thing is part of my cover so get over it. And when did you start using such harsh language? Myra snapped.

The inner voice that had always been there, but never as vocal chuckled. "As you have always taken to using harsh language when it is appropriate, I thought I would try it. It seems to have done the job because I have your attention."

Myra walked into her room and started to rummage through her closet. Some of the clothes there she had brought with her. The rest, a fine selection of cocktail dresses, a few out about town 'come fuck me dresses', some 'I'm more than you can afford' club outfits, along with matching accessories and shoes, were bought by the wonderful fashion coordinator at Ravenheart Industries and sent to the hotel room for her perusal. Myra was picking out a slimming black strapless number for lunch with their contact George. Fine, you have my attention. I promised to listen, so talk, and make it quick because Pretty Boy will be here in a few minutes.

"See what I mean… Bitchy bitchy bitchy. What crawled up your ass?" Myra glared at herself in the mirror on the closet door. "Damn… You ARE pissed, and over something so trivial."

"IT IS NOT TRIVIAL!" Myra yelled at the mirror, before donning a white terrycloth bath robe.

Her inner voice laughed. "Yes it is. You're not up to your own standards of excellence. You've been out of action for over a year. You've been seriously thinking he might leave you. Naruto caught you at a weak moment in your life and you're pissed at him because he took advantage of it. You spilled your guts and told him things he NEEDED to know ANYWAY. He apologized and you've been treating him like shit ever since. Yes, you forgave him, but rather than letting it go, you are going to make him suffer. And all because you don't feel pretty at the moment, COME ON! Get a grip on reality and admit to being scared. How petty are you?"

Myra frowned at the floor. Most of the time she liked to be right, but at this moment she hated being right. Or at least she hated the idea that the inner voice she usually never listened to in the first place being right. There was silence in Myra's mind for several brief moments. "You aren't petty. You never have been. Your confidence was shaken and you've been rethinking this mission since you were on the floor sobbing like a baby. You're scared and rather than telling the one person that can alleviate those fears, you are pushing him away like a spoiled brat. Trust him for once. Let him know you're scared. Rely on him for a change. Allow yourself to be a damsel in distress and let him rescue you from self doubt."

Myra heard the door slam open and then shut again with a loud thud. She was about to rush to her door to unlock it, but she stepped back. Naruto was still angry and hadn't schooled his emotions. He had been doing it most of yesterday after the first fight, and most of the morning. Myra understood. Naruto wanted her to know he was mad. The door handle jiggled and he knew it was locked. Myra stepped back away from the door. Once again she was at odds with herself. Her inner voice was screaming for her to open the door and jump into his arms. Her more practical voice with the sense of self preservation said to jump out the window.

The door to the room burst open, sending wood chunks off to the side of the room. Naruto was standing in her face with a vicious snarl on his lips. "Don't EVER lock me out again."

Myra's eyes faltered and Naruto saw tears at the corners. "Yes, you're right." she said softly. "I'll never lock you out again."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. She was being totally contrary not ten minutes ago. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm scared." Myra's voice shook as she said it.

Naruto's nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent. Yes, she was scared. He put the brakes on his anger and his face seemed to fall. "What are you scared of?"

Myra took a deep breath and licked her suddenly dry lips. "Everything." She said while letting out the breath slowly. "I am scared of what you know, and how you will use that knowledge. I am fearful of the future and what has to be done. I am terrified of what will happen if we fail. I am disturbed by the idea that I might lose you because of my stupidity." Her voice shook with the tears she was shedding. "I am afraid I am not strong enough to endure the possibilities."

Naruto paused. He was extremely glad the Kyuubi was out sniffing around town. The idea was if the Kyuubi could find Karin, then they wouldn't have to go through with any of this. They could just grab the girl and go. Naruto didn't like the cover story idea. But he knew they couldn't just tear apart the town searching for Karin either.

Naruto was going to make damn sure Myra didn't try anything that would cause her to collapse again. He knew she wasn't up to snuff. He thought she knew it too. But Myra was being stubborn and not giving in. Naruto admired that, but he hated it at the same time. Why had he picked a woman that was just as, if not more stubborn than he was, he didn't know, but he loved her just the same. When Naruto got back to the room, he had expected her to fight back. He had expected her to be belligerent and mouthy. But he hadn't expected Myra to… to… Admit she was scared. But she was admitting it to him. That was a good thing wasn't it? Did this mean she trusted him finally? Naruto's anger vanished, leaving him with the deep desire to sooth her fears. He took a few steps closer.

Myra put up her hand to stop him and she took a step back. "Please let me finish." Naruto nodded and let her continue. She took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "I've haven't had someone use my empathy to tear me down like that, not since I was a child and couldn't shield myself from that kind of attack." She swallowed a lump in her throat, clearly chocked by the memory. "My father used to do that to me when I was little so I would learn to build the barriers that block out the empathy. Ten years of barrier building and chakra reinforcement, and in five minutes I was humbled at your feet." Myra shook her head. "Few people know or understand what it's like for someone like me, to be able to feel EVERYTHING. People can school their features, modify their voice patterns, alter their chakra and even force their heartbeat to stay in rhythm. But no one, not even the emotionless Sasuke can alter their emotions. I know when people are happy or sad, angry or at peace," her face softened into a small smile, "when people are in love." Tears slipped down her cheeks. "My empathy, at times, is a greater asset than my Sharingan. And at other times, it is a curse. Yesterday was one of those times I hated it.

"When I was on the floor, I couldn't believe I had let myself become that weak. How could I possibly believe I could do anything to help you if I can't even stand up to you? How was I going to face someone like Madara, if I turn to a bowl of jello when someone gets a little emotional? When I was in control, I would have been able to fight back. If I had been in control, we wouldn't have had the fight AT ALL. Look at me now. I can't even perform a simple clone jutsu without exhausting myself. I thought if I could just get the information that Karin has, I could at least help with the plot to attack Sound. But I can't even do that without screwing it up somehow."

Myra wrapped her arms around her shoulders as if she was suddenly cold. "I'm not enough to keep you anymore. I'm not strong enough. I can't do it… I just can't. You may die. Minato may be without parents because of my stupidity. I screwed up royally and I have to fix it, but I don't know how." Myra put her head in her hands and sobbed.

Naruto rushed forward and took Myra into his arms in a comforting embrace. He stood there with her held close to his chest, rubbing circles on her back, and let her cry. They stood that way for several long minutes until Myra's sobbing turned to soft hiccups and sniffles. Naruto wanted to tell her that it would be okay. There were too many uncertainties, too many variables, and too many unknowns to make false promises. Course when had that ever stopped him from making a promise. "It will be okay." He cooed into her hair.

Myra smiled. "I'm glad one of us thinks so."

"We're postponing the lunch till dinner. You need a nap." Naruto stated matter of fact.

Myra whipped at her already puff red eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm fi.."

He glared at her.

"I'm a little tired, yes." She amended. "All this emotion and fighting and drama, seems to drain me right now."

Naruto pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry I did what I did."

Myra shook her head. "You did what you thought you had to do. Am I mad at you? Kind of, but I'm more angry at myself for allowing it to happen. Like I said, I got myself into this situation, and I have to own up to the consequences."

"You say that like this is a bad thing."

"It IS a bad thing. I put you in danger because I was too stubborn to realize I wasn't as up to this mission as I thought I was. Should things get out of hand, we're screwed."

Naruto chuckled and pushed her on the bed. "Stop worrying. We'll get through this. It's just a snatch and grab right? This whole cloak and dagger thing is overly complicated. Why can't we just find her, grab her and go?"

Myra blinked up at him. "Mostly because we didn't want the other villages or the Yakuza to get suspicious of what we were doing."

"So we do it quietly."

Myra rubbed her puffy eyes, causing them to become puffier. "Naruto, you and I can't do ANYTHING quietly."

He jumped on the bed next to her. "See you're cracking jokes. You must be feeling better. But seriously though, can you just sniff her out and be done with it?"

"That isn't how Spirit Tracking works. I can't locate her if I haven't met her. I have to get a feel for her before I can track her down." She snuggled closer to him. "Emotions come from the soul. Just like a chakra signature, emotions are unique to an individual. It's how I know where people are and with a little guess work I can tell you what they are doing."

Naruto pulled her closer to him. "Okay, so I understand why you have to meet her first. I still don't like it."

Myra sighed. "I don't like it as much as I thought I did either. But we're here. If we do this right, we will be back in Konoha in time for lunch tomorrow. I'll nap all you want me too then, I promise."

0 – 0 – 0

Karin had a strange foreboding when she woke up that afternoon. Her little apartment in Matsuri was a nice change from the cold, dark and dank cell she had while working for Orochimaru. It was an even better change from the forest floor while traveling with Sasuke. She stretched and grabbed her glasses off her night stand before getting up to start her daily routine. It was two thirty, just enough time for a quick shower, something to eat, and then she had to be at the warehouse to appraise the fighters.

Sasuke had abandoned the little group and they were running out of supplies. Suiegetsu was the first to leave the group saying he wasn't waiting around for Sasuke. Juugo had retreated to a cave where he wasn't talking to anyone but the birds, which left Karin to herself. When she didn't feel safe in the forest anymore, she headed for the closest town of Matsuri. She knew Sasuke's secret. She knew Itachi was in Matsuri. Karin could find herself a decent job at the hospital and ambush Sasuke the next time he visited Itachi, but he hadn't shown his pretty face.

Six months she waited for that bastard to come visit his comatose brother. Six months she slaved over bed pans, filthy sheets and disgusting messes waiting for that rotten son of a bitch to come back. Karin's once glowing admiration and blind loyalty had turned into festering hatred. She was going to rip his cute little button nose off his face if she ever saw him again. But even that didn't matter anymore. She was actually happy for once. Meeting Tanaka-sama had changed everything.

Tanaka-sama had brought a few of the pit fighters into the hospital for treatment. Karin had done her once over of the wounds and did a quick once over of the chakra in the room. In a off handed conversation with the handsome Tanaka-sama, she had made mention that she would have never put any money on them because they were too weak. That was how she quite literally fell into sorts with the Yakuza. Tanaka-sama invited her to visit his 'stables' as he called it. Karin walked the room of fighters and picked out the three best fighters. Haru Tanaka made a fortune that night. To make sure it wasn't a fluke, he tested her three more times. Each night the Yakuza boss made a small fortune and immediately after the last fight he made Karin his personal Fight Coordinator.

That was six months ago. Since then Karin had been earning a decent living, the Yakuza paid well. She had a roof over her head, though small in comparison to the huge manor Tanaka-sama lived in. She did, however, have issues with a few sleaze balls trying to make her do other things, but after Tanaka-sama declared her 'off limits', the sleaze balls went away. Though she hated Sasuke more than ever now, it didn't mean she didn't want to pounce on him BEFORE she ripped off his cute little nose.

The strange sense of foreboding came back to her minute she entered her tiny kitchen. There was a woman, long black hair tied back into a braid, wearing a black body suit and ninja armor that wasn't ninja armor from a village she could remember. She wasn't wearing a head band, nor was she wearing an insignia that she could see. She was sitting very casually in Karin's dining area reading a magazine on fashion. She looked oddly familiar.

It took Karin a few minutes to piece together her memory. She had been introduced to so many people over the last few months that she had stopped using her sensing ability all together. But last night, there was something strangely off about everything.

"You're that hooker!" Karin exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at Myra.

Myra didn't even look up from the magazine and turned the page. "I'm no hooker." She continued reading. "God damn! Green is the new black?" She glanced up at Karin, disgust etched on her face. Myra hated green.

Karin was totally thrown for loop. "Who are you?"

Myra went back to the magazine, turning another page. "Just a visitor, taking advantage of a few minutes to read a magazine I haven't read in a while. Really, though, green is the new black? I like black as black…" Myra sighed and closed her eyes.

"Get out of my house!" Karin charged Myra with a kunai conjured out of nowhere.

Myra looked up at Karin, sharingan a blaze in her eyes. "If you insist." Karin fainted in two steps.

0 - 0 - 0

Next time...

Chapter 84: Strange things are a foot at the Circle Konoha!

"I don't know anything about what you're talking about." Karin yelled at her interrogator.

"You're lying through your pearly whites." Myra flipped a map of Sound on the floor. "Just point to the places on the map Karin. That's all you have to do. As soon as you do that, you can go back to your cell. And if you tell me what you know about Kabuto's crazy cloning experiments, I may even arrange for you to be moved to a nicer cell. Tell me everything you know without having to resort to more," Myra smirked deviously, "Painful methods, and I might even arrange for you to see Sasuke."

"I don't believe Sasuke is here." Karin spat. "Why would he be in Konoha? He hate's this place. I don't believe he would be captured by you morons." Karin kept her face guarded.

Myra laughed. "When did I say Sasuke was captured? I hate to burst your bubble Sweet Cheeks, but use that talent of yours. Search him out." Myra got up and walked behind the bound Karin. She put her hands on the the back of the chair, jerking it to face a camera on the wall. "He's watching right now. Listening to everything you have to say. You wouldn't want to disappoint him, now would you?"

Karin spat in Myra's face. "Fuck you bitch!"

Myra stood up and whipped the saliva from her face with a sigh. "Fine then. I tried the easy way. But I forget how stubborn you ninja are." Myra started to walk out of light circle. "Have fun with Ibiki."