Sorry about the late update, we're renovating my house right now and I had to unplug and move the computers around when we ret

Sorry about the late update, we're renovating my house right now and I had to unplug and move the computers around when we retiled the floor. I don't know when I'll get the next update out for any of my stories since we're still renovating and I'm borrowing a friend's laptop for this.

So please be merciful!

Chapter 5

Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch.

"Hello sir! Would you like to order something from our menu today?" A tall man was standing there in black slacks and a clean cut whit shirt with a tie. Over which he wore an apron. His dark brown hair was spiked straight up and his eyes hidden by his square shaped sunglasses, he was speaking into a microphone, making his words echo all around the empty shop.

Now I know why no one was in here

He calmed himself down, trying to get the ringing sound out of his ears, before he replied.

"Radim, what the hell are you wearing?" Radim looked scandalized.

"Why, Naruto, I am wearing a suit to not insult the customers" Naruto sighed again, he was used to Radim and his attitude, after all, it was Radim who tested him for his Oracle Bell, but this was pushing his patience level.

"Radim, you look creepy in a nice old-lady type apron on top of a business suit"

"It's not a business suit! I'm not wearing the coat"

"You mean that thing that's like a jacket or an over shirt or whatever the hell it's called?"

"Yes"

"WHY DOES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!" Radim almost seemed to find joy in getting him riled up, but he knew he should stop pushing it.

"I dunno. Oh Look! My shift is over! Well, see ya later at the fights Naruto, I'm gonna be the referee!" He ran out the door like a bat out of hell just as another patch tribe member walked in to take his place. The new guy had long slightly wavy hair and was very muscular. Though the shirt ruined the effect by the flower on it.

"Hey, my name's Kalim. May I take your order?" No, you may not. After that I think I lost my appetite.

"Sure, do you have any ramen?" Kalim turned around so he was looking at the boards with the foods on it behind him.

"Ummm, nope" Naruto felt like screaming in frustration, he had hurried to the Patch village rather than take his time because he thought they would have ramen but noooo.

"But we do have Cheeseburgers, Hamburgers, Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Drumsticks, French Fries,…" He was just reading straight off the menu with his back turned to Naruto. So much for customer service.

"Do you have any tea?" he may not like it, but if they had it, it was at least reminiscent of home.

"Ummm, no. Would you like some milk?" Naruto screamed inwardly, he wanted to blow something up.

"Fine. Yes." Kalim gave it to him pretty quickly, able to tell he wasn't in a good mood. Other customers started coming in since Radim had left, but a quarter of them took one look at Kalim then left. Another quarter would come in, do a double take on Kalim, read the menu, then leave. The third quarter approached warily. The last quarter didn't care since he was patch and a handful here and there who recognized Kalim from something or other; he figured it was the Oracle bell test.

Naruto sat down and huffed, glaring at anyone who tried to come close. He sipped the small glass of milk, he refused to drink Soda, and thought carefully. He knew Hao was starting to get frustrated with him for not giving him a straight answer. He was a little worried that if he didn't hurry, Hao might start threatening him or trying to kill him. He couldn't have that, so he would say yes next time Hao asked. But that didn't mean he was happy about it. Speaking of which, something was bothering him since their last meeting.

Kyu?

What do you want brat?

Why does Hao always seem to know what others are going to do?

He is a master of Yin and Yang

What does that have to do with it?

A true master of yin and yang has almost unlimited power, he understands the truth of the elements and the cycles of all living things.

But he's insane

Hao specifically is insane, yes, but that doesn't mean he's not powerful. He mastered the Yin and Yang BEFORE he went insane.

Still, what does that have to do with it?

He can read minds

WHAT?!

Hao Asakura can read minds

Well, what about our mind?!

I've been blocking him access to our mind, probably why he was interested in you in the first place

Oh

Yeah, oh. Now get before I give you nightmares for a month.

One more thing, can any master of Yin and Yang read minds?

No, it's an inborn ability to read minds. I think that Anna girl from before can do it also, but her power is more diminished.

THEN WHY'D YOU TELL ME ALL THAT CRAP ABOUT THE YIN AND YANG!!

IT DOESN'T MATTER! JUST GET!!

Naruto had a strange feeling that he would have a nightmare that night, damn. Soon the small café was full again, the absence of Radim probably making a huge difference. He would make a great announcer, but he shouldn't announce everything inside of a small café. It would hurt people's ears quite a bit. Soon, three new people walked into the café and despite Naruto's glares, they sat at his table since it was the only place with enough room for their team. The tall one with blond hair went up to the counter to order their food while the girl and the buff guy stayed at the table.

Naruto was still glaring at them, wanting to be left alone. The girl took notice of this.

"What's your problem?" She said, trying to match his glare. The quite large guy was either ignoring them or didn't care what happened.

"This is my table" Naruto growled.

"I don't see your name on it" She replied, pretending to look for it.

Meanwhile, the other guy came back with the five cheeseburgers and some large fries.

"What's going on?" He said, dropping the tray in front of the girl and the other guy. The blond looked between the three of them and noticed that things about them were standing out. They all looked dressed for a very harsh winter though they were in the middle of summer in a desert. The girl had a fur-lined hat with antler horns and a long cloak. The tall guy with blond hair wore a thick coat, though the front was left open. The bug guy was only wearing a long sleeved shirt and pants, but he also had a Viking helmet, a scarf, and his pants and shirt had fur lining. Naruto could feel himself swearing just looking at them.

"This guy says we can't sit here" The girl said, pointing at Naruto. Naruto turned away from them grumbling and glaring out the window.

"Doesn't look like he cares to me, besides that, why should it matter?" She girl just turned a little red from embarrassment and grabbed one of the cheeseburgers. The blond grabbed another one, leaving the other three plus the fries to the big guy. Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

"Sooo, you a shaman?" The blond guy asked. Naruto felt himself twitching.

"We're in the Patch village, OF COURSE I'M A SHAMAN!!"

"Fine, fine, don't get so frustrated man" Naruto started grumbling and turned to face out the window again.

"I was just asking because you looked more like a spectator, since you don't have a team and all" Wait. What?

"Why does having a team make a difference?" This sounded like important and need-to-know information. Not good.

"You mean you don't know? The next round of the shaman fight takes place in teams. If you don't have a team, you don't participate"

"WHAT?!" Shit. Naruto stared at them for another few moments, well, maybe he would be on a team with Hao. That would be good. So he sat down and went back to staring out the window, curious if Yoh and them had made it yet. Two of the three months had passed and the next round would be starting soon.

"Yeah, it has to be a team of three. Like us!" He said indicating the other two.

"Won't you three have to fight again later?" Naruto said, curious if this was some kind of teamwork test done by the Patch.

"No, we will surrender should that come to happen. We support Pino's dream since it is the same as out own" The girl said, nodding her head back towards the blond, who Naruto guessed was Pino. He figured Pino was the strongest since he was the leader, probably had good teamwork too, damn.

"You should find someone with similar powers to your spirit" Pino suggested. Naruto nodded absently, Pino noticed that Naruto seemed in some kind of daze and tried to take advantage of him.

"What kind of skills does your spirit possess? I'm sure I could help you find someone" Naruto was already mentally going over his skills. Oversouling Kyuubi was more of a close range or complete mass destruction typre of thing, Cooro had more long range and precision. Since he used Cooro more, it would be better to get a team with a close range fighter or fighters. But then again, at least one of them would need to specialize in precision-based attacks since he was better at wide scale devastation. Luckily, he didn't fall for Pino's trick and kept his mouth shut.

Pino finished his cheeseburger and seemed to be waiting for the others.

"Zria, Tona, we need to hurry so we can train" The girl nodded and finished her cheeseburger. The big guy was on his third and hadn't started on his fries yet, frustrating the rest of his team.

"Tona, why aren't you done yet?" That sorted the name problem, the girl was Zria and the guy was Tona. The guy glanced at her before devouring the rest of his food. Pino nodded to himself before standing up.

"Anyway, you might be better off not finding a team. Because if you did, we'd have to beat you into the ground so you better remember our name: Icemen." Naruto nodded absently.

Just as the others were about to leave, the door opened and it seemed as if all activity ceased. Pino froze, his expression a mixture of fear and hatred. Zria and Tona both were staring at the man who walked in, Tona not showing any expression and Zria was showing absolute fear. Naruto looked up in curiosity, and met with some brown eyes.

"Naruto-kun" Oh, great, Hao again. Naruto smiled at Hao, remembering that he had made up his mind to try and become his friend.

"Hao-kun" Naruto replied, scaring those around him who were expecting either a "Hao-sama" or a "Hao" said in hatred. Hao walked over and right past Icemen without giving them even a glance. He sat down in one of the chairs across from Naruto, where the Icemen previously were.

"Opacho, go get me some Jasmine Tea"

"Hai, Hao-sama" the little shorty with an afro ran over to the counter, got some tea from Kalim, and ran back to the table.

"So, Naruto-kun. How've you been?" Hao said, taking his tea from Opacho.

"Good, how about you?" Naruto said, smiling.

"Good, considering circumstance" Naruto laughed quietly as Hao smiled at him. The shamans in the café all seemed edgy, though a few went back to what they were doing. The majority was trying to discreetly sneak out. Naruto met Hao's eyes when they saw the shamans trying to get out and Naruto was struck by how much they looked like Gaara's eyes.

Like mine

They were full of loneliness, a kind of pain that only comes from misunderstanding. But they also had an anger, a deep need for revenge, like Sasuke.

I swear, I will not let you go down that path

"So, when are you gonna tell Yoh?"

"Hm?" Hao looked at him questioningly.

"I'm not going to say it out loud, but I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about" A look of comprehension dawned on his face.

"Ah, that. I dunno, whenever I get around to it I guess. How'd you know anyway?"

"I thought it was kinda obvious" Hao laughed, a full on laugh. Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head. Some of the shamans left in the café were looking at them as if they were insane.

"So, have you thought about what we talked about?" Naruto snorted, trying to hold back a laugh.

"Heh, that rhymes" Naruto smiled, looking over at Hao, Hao raised an eyebrow at his antics. "Oh, alright, yes. I have thought about it" Hao smirked.

"And?"

"Sure, what the hell. I mean, I got nothing else to do, right?" Hao smiled at him.

"So, you're just helping me on a whim then?"

"Yeah, pretty much" Hao laughed again.

"You're funny" Hao smiled at him before standing up.

"Well, I gotta get going. Your first mission is to get on Yoh's team for the shaman fights," Hao said, turning around and facing Naruto. Naruto stood up and gave a mock salute.

"Yes sir!" Naruto smiled warmly at him, making Hao laugh on his way out. Naruto sat back down and sighed.

Yoh should be here within the week, joy.

--

For those wondering why Hao was acting the way he was, most things just aren't that funny to him since he can read minds. He'd know what you're going to say before you say it so it looses that surprise that makes it funny. Yeah.

Review please! And once again, we are renovating my house right now so I don't know when I'll get the next chapters out for any of my stories.