Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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A Tale of Tails

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Chapter Ten

Two weeks. She'd been alone for two weeks and it had been hell for her. She'd been having nightmares almost every night, leaving her sleep deprived with dark bags starting to form under her eyes. Smiling weakly as Ren hopped up onto the couch where she was laying down, Haku gently pet the feline. She hadn't realized just how heavily she truly relied on Naruto for emotional support. Just being near him was more than enough for her to stay strong, to scare away her nightmares, but the moment he disappeared from her side, she became a wreck. The day after Jiraiya took Naruto, she had sent Sakura a message saying that she wouldn't be able to continue training her for a little while, but didn't specify why. Her depression and exhaustion kept her confined to the apartment for the most part, only going out to do any light shopping she needed to do with the money Naruto kept at home for her to use, but that was about it.

"Ugh! Pull yourself together!" Haku suddenly groaned as she forced herself to sit up, rubbing her face vigorously. Wearing a pair of black shorts and a light grey tank top because of the summer heat, Haku stood up and stretched with a groan before heading to the bedroom, grabbing her hair brush and running it through her raven locks to tidy it up. Pulling it back into a pony-tail afterwards with a black hair tie she kept around her wrist, she decided to at least be a little productive as she gathered up the laundry before hauling the basket to the front door. Moving it outside, Haku made sure to arm the trap and lock the door before heading down to the apartment building's ground floor where the communal laundry room was located.

Once she had everything in the washing machine, she sat down in a nearby chair, being the laundry room's only occupant. She needed something to keep her busy. Sure, she could train Sakura, but there wasn't much left for her to teach the girl. For the most part, she could just give the girl scrolls on everything else she needed to learn about herbology and anatomy. At the same time, though, she didn't want to become a regular ninja of Konoha and go out on missions; not unless she was teamed up with Naruto on them. She had started falling apart at the seams after just the first few days she'd spent away from him. There's no way she'd be able to handle going out on any missions outside of the village for any more than a day or two if Naruto wasn't right next to her...

'God, I'm so pathetic right now.' Haku thought depressively with a sigh, only for a thought to occur to her. Or rather, she remembered something Naruto had said a while back. Something about becoming a teacher. Thinking it over, she could see the merits in it. She already loved kids, so working as even an assistant teacher at the Academy would be nice. So long as the Hokage would allow her to join the village's ranks, she would be able to freely access the Shinobi Library, giving her a chance to learn more techniques and branch out with what she could do. It would be a decent and steady income, too. She'd always felt a little self-conscious about Naruto having to pay for everything all the time; he didn't really mind it, but it still bugged her a little. She was used to pulling her own weight back when she traveled with Zabuza.

The only reason she had been so against it before was because she was still trying to readjust to living in a stable environment when Naruto started suggesting it. Granted, he had only first started bringing it up a handful of weeks ago, but still...She wasn't even sure the Hokage would let her. Naruto had said he was a nice person and looked up to the man like a grandfather, the one he had told her about in passing back in Wave Country. She was just...a little scared of being rejected. As happy as she was, the past two weeks had snapped her out of the daze she'd been in; she was still in a fragile state...and it was getting to her. Not that it was getting worse, but that she wanted to do something about it.

'Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.' Haku mused with a slight smile as she heard the alarm from the washing machine timing out. Getting up and transfering everything over to the dryer, Haku set the timer and started it up after depositing a coin in the slot. Leaning back against the washer she had just been using, Haku blankly stared at the far wall in thought, letting herself daydream a little about the future. Some day, she hoped they could move into an actual house with a little bit of property and, maybe, start a family with her beloved 'Kitsune-kun'. It was still a distant dream, a rather cliche one, at that, but it was still a dream. Smiling tenderly at the thought, Haku shook her head a little bit.

At least she was cheering back up...and all by herself, too. Sitting back down in the chair since she had an hour to go before the laundry was done, Haku glanced at the magazines on the table next to her. They were all civilian ones, but she grabbed one and started flipping through it idly, just looking for something to kill time. Once it had finally finished, Haku unloaded everything back into the laundry basket she'd brought with her before hauling it back up to the apartment, huffing slightly as she reached the door. Disarming and unlocking the door, she went back inside and locked the door behind her before heading to the room to start folding everything and putting it all away. Just as she walked into the bedroom, though...

"Naruto!" She exclaimed, dropping the basket as she rushed forward to wrap her arms around him, burying her face against his chest. Smiling slightly, he slowly wrapped his arms around her in return, lightly kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you, Haku." He whispered softly, making her shake her head as best as she could, drying her few tears with his furry chest.

"I-It's okay. I'm just happy you're back." She mumbled, holding on to him for dear life. Feeling him pick her up, Haku blushed slightly while clinging to him, but the journey was short lived as he sat down on the bed with her in his arms. "S-So...are you okay now?"

"Yeah...I'm okay now." He mumbled quietly as he buried his nose in her hair, breathing in her scent as he closed his eyes. Pulling back slightly, he tilted her head up to look at him, having been intending to kiss her, only to notice the bags under her eyes. Frowning slightly, he gently brushed a thumb across her cheek. "You've been having nightmares again, haven't you?"

"Mhm..." She hummed out, looking away slightly, almost ashamed of it. She knew it wasn't something that could be controlled, but she still didn't like making him worry. Feeling him kiss her forehead, Haku let her eyes close before leaning back against him. "It's okay, though...I've been doing some thinking while you were gone."

"Oh?" He intoned curiously, looking down at her. Smiling a little more, she nodded her head against his chest and neck without looking up at him.

"I decided to do what you suggested a while back." She answered before finally looking up at him. "I'm going to try to become a teacher."

"Really now? What happened to being so against it?" Naruto teased lightly, getting an indignant blush and pout from the girl as she buried her face back against his chest. Despite his teasing, Haku was just happy to have her Kitsune-kun back in her arms...

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Later that night, Naruto stared down at Haku as she slumbered, smiling softly as he gently brushed a few hairs out of her face. Slowly slipping out of bed without disturbing her, Naruto pulled the covers over her fully before walking to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge before sitting on the couch. He had skipped over the details of what had gone on while he was away with Jiraiya, but he had made sure to reassure her that he was okay. He was glad she didn't care about the details, though; one of which was the reason why he was having trouble sleeping even though it was almost one in the morning. Cracking the bottle open and taking a sip, Naruto sighed while running a hand over his head before putting the bottle on the coffee table.

Situating himself in the lotus position on the couch, Naruto sat his hands in his lap while closing his eyes and concentrating. It had taken him a couple days to get the hang of it, but Jiraiya had managed to help him contact the Kyuubi during the second week; it had been necessary since they were wanting to find out the cause for the chakra spikes that had strangely stopped after his second tail formed. After a few minutes, Naruto opened his eyes once more to find himself in a sewer-like structure; the mental representation of the seal containing the Kyuubi no Kitsune. His mindscape, as it were.

It had been a rather frustrating fiasco trying to talk with the fox about the chakra spikes. As it turned out, it was a result of the snake-fuck's malfunctioning seal, but it wasn't anything bad, surprisingly. When it was first placed, Orochimaru hadn't accounted for the sheer potency of the Kyuubi's chakra, which warped the already faulty seal. Thus, his physical appearance. Even the splinter of Orochimaru's being was destroyed by the Kyuubi's power the moment the seal was placed on him. As for the chakra spikes, it was because of the seal's original faults.

While other bearers of a Cursed Seal could call upon it at will, his would have activated randomly under times of high stress tied in with hard fighting. Thus, the chakra spikes whenever he was fighting someone that he had subconciously labeled as being 'stronger' than him, whether it was just because of someone's rank or because of a slight intimidation from some kind of weapon they had. Whenever the Cursed Seal would have originally been triggered, it would simply pull out bits and pieces of the Kyuubi's chakra to boost him, acting almost like an automatic offensive enhancement, kind of like a technique being used; Kiba's Shikakyu technique was one of the first to come to his mind when he learned about it.

As for his second tail, however, that was also a side-effect of the malfunctioning Cursed Seal. Apparently, whatever it was that Orochimaru used to create it, it had strange transformative powers that acted as the Cursed Seal's basis. Whatever it's original purpose was, neither of them could tell, but from what the Kyuubi had been able to sense about it, the seal was...evolving, in a way. Not that it was getting stronger or anything, but more like...an immune system getting stronger against certain things. It was essentially trying to adapt Naruto's body to the Kyuubi's chakra, allowing him to handle more of it's chakra at once. The number of his tails didn't equate to the same as the Kyuubi's, but it was enough that he could handle more without losing himself to it's dark influence so easily.

It had stumped Naruto and Jiraiya both when he'd relayed the information to the man; because of Orochimaru's interference, Naruto now had something that allowed him better control over the Kyuubi's chakra in limited amounts. And it was slowly getting stronger the more of said Bijuu's chakra he used? It was a surprising boon...

"What do you want this time, boy?" The massive fox inquired irritably from within the shadowy confines of its prison while Naruto walked into the giant chamber.

"I just wanted to talk for a little bit. That's all." Naruto remarked as he sat down not too far from the cage's towering gates, staring up at the giant nine-tailed fox. "I can't sleep and thought you might have something to talk about."

"I have nothing to say to you. Leave me alone." The Kyuubi growled out at him before forcefully ejecting him from their shared realm. Opening his eyes and finding himself back on the couch, Naruto couldn't help sighing with a slight grimace; was that what it felt like when he acted like an ass to everyone else?

"Glad to know that I've been acting like a total jackass half the time..." He grumbled quietly before taking a drink of his water, letting his legs stretch back out as he sat there. Letting his mind wander aimlessly, he eventually started thinking about what Haku had told him shortly after he got back to the apartment. She was going to try to become a teacher. That meant he was going to have to introduce her to the Sandaime to see if she'd even be able to join. As friendly and kind-hearted as he was, Naruto knew that the Old Man would always put the village first. He would just have to use that to his advantage if the Sandaime tried arguing the matter. He'll wait until after the Chuunin Exams to ask, seeing as the Old Man was probably busy with everything already.

Walking back to the room, Naruto set his water bottle on the nightstand before crawling back into bed, attempting once more to get some rest. Almost instantly, Haku sensed his body heat in her sleep and sluggishly cuddled up against him once more, burying her face against the side of his chest with an arm draped over his stomach and a leg tossed over his. Smiling warmly, Naruto held her close and closed his eyes, simply waiting for sleep to claim him...

xXx

Checking the calendar, Haku smirked slightly; October fourth. Just under a week before she could give him his birthday present. Luckily, his birthday fell on a day that was exactly one week before the finals were to take place. Naruto had been back for all of maybe twenty-four hours and she was already focused back on his birthday. Of course, she was still worried about him, but he had told her what was wrong a little while after he got back. As it turned out, Naruto was a little more broken than she had originally assumed; she couldn't imagine what he had gone through back then. At the same time, she was proud of him. Despite all of the horrors he had been forced to endure, he was still able to hold himself together most of the time and get through it all.

Even if he had needed to get put through mental rehabilitation by Jiraiya...

Naruto didn't tell her much about what had happened, but she wasn't worried about it. If it was important, he would tell her. She constantly worried over him enough as it was; she didn't need more things weighing down on her mind when it came to him. Besides, as far as she could tell, most of it had simply been Jiraiya keeping Naruto contained while trying to get the boy to focus back on reality again. During the solid year of near-total isolation he'd spent in that lab, Naruto had apparently gotten in touch with his 'animal instincts', which caused him to go feral. Now, it was something that would never truly go away.

Thinking of her boyfriend, Haku frowned slightly as she remembered that he was going back out to train with Jiraiya some more. She didn't have anything against the man, but she just worried that they didn't try to kill each other. Still, she was glad to know that Naruto was at least giving the man another chance to redeem himself. Shaking her head to clear it, Haku went back to getting breakfast ready. It wouldn't be much longer before he woke up, after all...

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Jiraiya stood off to the side as he watched Naruto and his clones spar atop the small lake's surface, the multiple twin-tailed fox-teens using taijutsu only. The only key difference that set it apart from how the boy normally sparred with his clones was one simple thing; they all had red eyes, a clear sign of the Kyuubi's chakra being used. After Naruto's first visit with the Kyuubi, Jiraiya had once again offered to teach him for the rest of the month until the Chuunin Exam finals. For the most part, he wanted to make sure Naruto could control it properly in a fight. So far, he seemed adept at tapping into the Kyuubi's chakra, but couldn't really draw on much more than what the chakra spikes he told him about would provide, but it was more sustained now.

'It's still something.' Jiraiya mused as he watched Naruto and his clones trading blows, the original battling all fifteen...all fourteen of his copies by himself. Using Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto moved faster than most chuunin, almost faster than most rookie jounin, but not in land speed; the boy was already fast as hell even without the Kyuubi's chakra enhancing it. No, he meant the speed of his strikes. The Toad Sage couldn't help smiling slightly as he watched Naruto dance around punches and kicks before countering while the clones' were left wide open from their attempts to hit him. What made it challenging was the fact that his clones were just as fast as him, making it harder to land a blow.

From what Kakashi had told him, Naruto fought by instinct, letting his body dictate where to go or what to do in a fight. He had been taught only a handful of things about taijutsu and had damn near created an entirely unique fighting style from it; while not an actual fighting style, it had the potential to be made into one with enough proper refinement. Because of his unique physiology, Naruto had greater flexibility than most people, his twin tails granted him better balance and more control over his center of gravity, and with his heightened senses, he could react to things far quicker than anyone else. The only ones in Konoha that beat the boy in terms of sensory awareness were those of Hyuuga blood due to their Byakugan. His opponent in the Chuunin Exam finals just so happened to not only be a Hyuuga, but a prodigy of the Branch House family. From what he'd been told, he was also quite brutal in a fight.

He'll have to focus Naruto's training to better deal with the Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist fighting style, but as quick as Naruto's reflexes were, Jiraiya didn't think he'd have too hard of a time. The real issue was the presence of a second jinchuuriki in the exams; Sabaku no Gaara. The boy was capable of controlling sand with absolute ease because of the Ichibi no Tanuki's spirit sealed inside of him. That and he had an automatic defense that would be incredibly difficult for Naruto to deal with. He was a speed fighter, not a heavy hitter. Given enough time and proper training, he could be one day, but as he was now, he wasn't strong enough to deal with him. That would have to be rectified, just in case.

Sighing heavily, Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head as he closed his eyes and bowed his head; he had so much to teach the boy in such a small time frame. Thankfully, he was a quick learner, but Jiraiya didn't think he'd be able to get it all taken care of in only two weeks. Just under that, actually. He had faith in the boy, though. He was a tenacious little shit just like his parents, after all...

"Hey, kid! That's enough for now! Come here!" Jiraiya called out to Naruto, distracting him just long enough for a clone to get in a cheap shot. Almost instantly, Naruto rounded on them all in anger, using his claws to maul each and every clone around him, his feral side showing as he attacked them like a rabid beast. Watching with a flat stare, Jiraiya couldn't help sighing. That was one thing they needed to work on; his temper while under the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra. That, however, could wait until another time. A minute later, Naruto walked over to him while scratching under his chin, his eyes still red from sustained use of the Kyuubi's chakra; a passive training technique to find out how long he could hold it. So far, he'd been using it for the past hour without much of an issue apart from a slight drop in his chakra control. "I think it's about time I taught you something that should prove rather useful to you. You know what a Summoning Contract is, right?"

"Yeah...Why?" Naruto drawled out and then asked slowly, a flat look of suspicioun on his face. "You want me to sign the Toad Contract, don't you?"

"Stupid brat! Always ruining my fun!" Jiraiya snapped indignantly, fuming not unlike how a child would. "How the hell did you-"

"You're the Toad Sage, you lech." Naruto interupted, simply staring at Jiraiya with mild annoyance. "I highly doubt you've got another Summoning Contract stashed in your back pocket."

"You don't know that!" Jiraiya argued, crossing his arms over his chest while glaring off to the side, still pouting.

"Do you?" Naruto asked, immediately calling the man's bluff.

"...No." The perverted old man muttered, his pout only worsening.

"That's what I thought..." Naruto sighed quietly, closing his eyes as he ran a hand over his head, smoothing out some of his fur.

xXx

"Hey, baby. How was training?" Haku greeted with a smile as she walked up to him, giving him a tender kiss on the lips as he stripped out of his armor and other equipment. Naruto, looking a little worse for wear, gained a half-lidded look that was a cross between annoyance and an exhausted pout.

"Feh..." He scoffed, getting a giggle from her as he shuffled over to the couch, flopping face down on it as he finally started feeling the physically draining side-effects of using the Kyuubi's chakra for so long. This time, Haku laughed a little louder at him, getting a disapproving growl from Naruto, who didn't even bother moving in the slightest.

"Aw, did you have a long day?" Haku teased mockingly as she walked over and patted his head, sounding as if she were making fun of a child. Still growling, Naruto retaliated with a low blow, not even bothering to look as he reached up and grabbed the inside of her thigh near her crotch. Squeaking quietly, Haku nearly fell over on top of him as her legs near gave out from under her, but she managed to catch herself. Cheeks burning red, Haku bit down on her bottom lip to suppress a moan as he squeezed her inner thigh, the fox-teen intentionally tormenting her to get back at her. "Y-You je...jerk..."

"Then quit making fun of me..." Naruto mumbled through the couch cushion as he let her go, getting a huff from the long dark haired young woman as she glared at the back of his head. Wanting to make a nuisance of herself, she laid down on top of him, getting another drawn out growl off disapproval from Naruto. "Get. Off."

"I can't do that until you stop ignoring me." Haku whispered teasingly in his ear, his growl only getting louder. Only this time, it wasn't quite so annoyed. Grinning cheekily, Haku hastily climbed off of him before running for the bedroom, laughing as Naruto tried grabbing her again before she could get too far from him. Sitting up, Naruto groaned as he stretched a little, his back popping as he did. Standing up, Naruto started walking to the bedroom while tugging his mesh shirt and gloves off...

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Nearly a week later, Haku couldn't help giggling as Naruto lightly kissed her stomach, tickling her with his whiskers as he held her by her hips, both laying on their sides on the bed. Barren of clothes with the exception of her dark blue booty shorts, Haku bit her bottom lip slightly as one of his hands shifted lower, gripping her thigh just below her butt as he leaned his head up slightly to teasingly kiss her nipple. Cheeks reddening slightly, Haku encouragingly ran her fingers through the fur on his neck, only to moan softly as he wrapped his lips around the erect nub.

As he continued to tease her body, Haku let her eyes close, savoring the pleasure as he suckled her breast. It was finally his birthday, but she wasn't going to be giving him his present until later that night. She'd already talked to Jiraiya the other day to give Naruto the day off from training, which had earned her a good number of teasing jokes. In turn, they earned Jiraiya a senbon lodged in his ass cheek. The man wisely ceased with the teasing. She had already gathered up everything she would need yesterday, leaving only a little bit of preparation to surprise her beloved later.

"Ah, N-Narutooo..." She suddenly moaned out as her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, feeling his hand shift once more from her rear to between her legs as he moved up a little more. Cradling his head against her chest as he switched to her other nipple, Haku curled up slightly around his upper body as he teased her nethers, her breaths coming in quick and shallow from sexual stimulation. She had been working 'hard' to subtly teach him how to please her and she was glad that it was paying off so well; she didn't have to be so aggressive or dominating now. Hooking a thumb on her underwear, Haku struggled to focus as she pulled her panties down a little bit. "N-Naru...S-Stop te...teasing. Please."

Instead of answering her begging plea, he used his hold on her hip to pull her down more before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss, making her moan more heartily as he slipped his hand under the hem of her underwear. Holding the back of his neck and fisting her hand in his fur, Haku returned the kiss hungrily, her hips bucking slightly as he fingered her. Hooking her fingers under the waistband of Naruto's pants with her free hand, she tried pulling him on top of her, the fox-teen doing the rest of the work for her as she parted her legs slightly to give him better access to her most sacred spot. Once he was hovering over her, Haku lifted the leg situated between his to rub her thigh against his own crotch, getting an aroused growl from Naruto as he broke the kiss before sucking on her throat, his fangs lightly grazing the tender flesh and exciting her even more.

She couldn't wait for the day to be over so that she could make the night last forever for the both of them. Gasping for breath as she felt that all too familiar knot build up in her core, Haku squirmed and writhed under him in ecstacy. Thankfully, they had slept in until almost noon, leaving just a little less daylight to endure. She had done good holding out so far. Now, she just had to wait a few more hours...

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A/N: To be honest, I never really intended to have so many 'limey' moments in these recent chapters, but they've been good build up towards Haku's plans for Naruto's birthday. It also acts as a sort of 'warning system', per se, for the soon to come attempt at lemon next chapter...Maybe. I don't know even I'll add that part yet. Anyways, Naruto and Jiraiya have been getting along a little better, but that doesn't quite mean everything is fixed up between them; still some unresolved issues they haven't addressed yet, but I don't plan on putting those in until after the Chuunin Exams. Hope everyone's enjoyed the new chapter.