Hello! Welcome to the new story I've decided to (finally) begin. This is a story about how my OC, Jordin, came to meet Hao. It's set when she's about eight years old, so it's really a blast from the past. I'm not sure if I'll ever actually finish it, but I hope you like it!


Part one – New Orleans, Louisiana. 1995

"Order up!" The cook yelled in his low, gruff voice, hitting the bell with his spatula.

"Coming," The waitress yelled back, running over with her tray. The cook loaded it down with plates of flapjacks and coffee cans. She ran around the restaurant, delivering her burdens to the customers. As she ran by the table in the far corner she caught the eye of an eight-year-old girl.

"Honey, why aren't you in school?" The waitress asked in her New Orleans accent.

"I was just about to leave." The little girl assured her. "When will you be done working?"

"Jordin, you know I gotta keep working till tonight." She said picking up the dirty dishes left on the girl's table. "I'll be at the church to pick you up after rehearsal. Then I have to get back to my night shift."

Jordin sighed. "Why do you always have to work, Leila?" She asked.

"Because," Leila replied. "If I don't work I can't pay for the house and our food, now get going."

"Order up!" The cook yelled again.

"I gotta get back to work, baby." She kissed Jordin on the forehead. "I'll see you later."

Jordin climbed down from her seat slowly, stretching the process out. If she was really slow, maybe getting to school wouldn't be so bad. "Bye Leila! Bye Cook!" She yelled at the door.

"Bye Miss Jordin." The big cook yelled back in his gruff voice.

"Go to school!" Leila replied. "And don't talk to strangers. And look out for cars."

Jordin shook her head and laughed as she ran out of the restaurant and headed down the street. It was a hot day, so she took off her jacket and swung it over her shoulder. She loved walking in these streets on her own. Leila hardly ever let her, but now her older sister was too busy working, so she couldn't argue with Jordin walking to school, since the bus didn't come to their neighborhood. So every morning Leila would wake her up real early and take her to the restaurant where she worked so that she could go to school from there. It wasn't that bad. She loved feeling grown up when she walked alone. It made her feel invincible. Who knew? Maybe she was invincible.

She started out, holding her lunch box full of Leila's pastries. As she looked around, she began to notice something very strange. The people she passed were dressed really weird. First she passed a very big, fat bald guy with a thin mustache. He was wearing round sunglasses and he had some kind of strange tattoo on his stomach, which was bare. He smiled at her as he walked past her, and she turned, wide eyed, to watch him walk away, in the direction of the restaurant. After a few seconds of staring, Jordin turned again and headed away, glancing back every few seconds at the strange man. But it didn't end there.

When she crossed the street, waving at some of the people she knew, she noticed two more men talking to one of the shop owners. The first man was very tall and had black hair and a very pointy mustache. He wore all black. The second guy was wearing some crazy old fashioned clothing, pouffy sleeves, cape, boots, you name it. His hair looked even crazier, put in a way that made him look like some kind of vampire. Jordin was too busy staring at the two new strange people that she didn't see another man walking towards her. She collided with him, and she looked up quickly to see what had just happened.

"Permiso, senorita,*" the man said.

"Excuse me?" Jordin said, staring at the new guy. This one wore a big sombrero, and his face was covered by goggles and some kind of scarf with a skull on it. An acoustic guitar was strapped over his shoulder.

Was there a festival going on that she hadn't heard of? Was it Mardi Gras already?

"Exactly," laughed the new strange man, side stepping her and walking away.

"Well, this is weird." She muttered. She started to walk slower, looking out for more crazy looking people.

"Hey you, short stuff." She heard someone say behind her. Jordin turned to see three girls come out of a shop. The one who had spoken was a tall girl with blue hair. She looked like a high school student. Another girl, who was about the same age as Jordin, was a redhead carrying an old broom, and the last was a blonde with pigtails wearing a black dress that made her look like at doll, also around Jordin's age. She was carrying a very creepy looking doll.

"Hey," The one with the blue hair said. "Do you know where the Sambo Cafe is?"

The Sambo Cafe was where Leila worked. Why would these three girls be looking for it? Leila had told her not to talk to strangers. What was she supposed to do now?

"Well?" said the redhead. "We don't have all day, you know."

"Shut up, Macchi." The blue haired one said. She turned back to Jordin. "Just tell us where it is. We're on a tight schedule."

Jordin decided to risk it. "Go up the street, cross over there, turn left. You can't miss it." She pointed the way she had come.

"Told you we were going the right way," The redhead, Macchi, said.

"I told you to shut up." The bluenette told her, then to Jordin. "Thanks, shorty. Come on, girls." And they were off. Jordin stood there, wondering what had just happened.

"Hey, Miss Jordin," One of the shopkeepers yelled to her. "If you don't hurry up you'll be late for school again."

Jordin started. "I'm on my way." She yelled, starting to run. She couldn't see any more weird people; she was too preoccupied by the time. She couldn't be late, or she'd get in trouble. Jordin hated getting in trouble with her teachers. They already picked on her enough as it was. She didn't need another reason for them to get on her case.

She was one block away from the school, when suddenly she heard:

"...her name is Elliot, right Hao-sama?"

Jordin stopped in her tracks. Elliot? That was her last name. But hardly anyone knew that, except for her teachers of course. She turned back to look who had spoken. Walking in the opposite direction of her, she saw two kids, both with identical long brown hair. One, a boy, it looked like, was wearing what looked to be a white poncho of some sort, while the shorter one, a little girl, was dressed in a well fitted white dress. The one who had spoken was a tall man in what looked to be Middle Eastern clothing. Jordin had seen people dressed like that on the news, when they talked about all those wars that Leila said were ridiculous. She heard the reply from the young boy.

"Ah, Leila Elliot, she works at a cafe around here. The Hanagumi are on their way over there right now."

Jordin heart skipped a beat. What would they want with Leila? Was she in trouble? Who were these people?

"And do you think she'll accept your offer, Hao-sama?" The man continued.

"How could she refuse? She's been working herself to death for years. I don't think she'll find a better alternative." The little boy continued. Jordin couldn't hear the man's reply, she was too far away. She contemplated following them, but that was too risky. She had to get to school. What was she still doing there?

Still, she watched the three strange people walk away. Suddenly, the little boy who had been speaking stopped, and turned back. Jordin was caught by surprise. The boy, who was probably a little older than her, was staring right at her. The little girl next to him, probably his sister, turned to see what he was staring at. When she saw Jordin, she turned to her brother and said something. The boy smiled and said something in return, taking his sister's hand. They turned again and began to walk away.

Jordin stood there. How had the boy known she was looking at him? This was just getting increasingly weird. She turned again, this time running as fast as she could. Not just because she was late for school, but because the people she had seen were freaking her out. She made it to school with barely a minute to spare, and was in her seat when the bell rang. Her teacher looked at her quizzically, obviously wondering about her red face and her hard breathing.

The girl who sat in front of her turned. "What happened?"

Jordin shook her head. "I was late, that's all."

But as the teacher began her daily lectures, Jordin's mind began to drift towards all the people she had seen on the way there. What was going on? Were they all together? And what did Leila have to do with all this? Jordin sank lower and lower into her chair, wondering nervously what was going to happen.


"Hurry, Leila!" Cook yelled from behind the counter. "I've got a plate of flapjacks for table five!"

"Coming, Cook!" Leila kept running around, trying to satisfy the never ending flow of customers. Her feet were already exhausted, and her hands were getting tired, but she had to do it. The morning shift was the best one to be at, since it was when everyone was looking for some breakfast. She needed the money, so she kept working.

"Hard day, huh?" Nadine, the other waitress, commented drily.

"You would not believe." Leila sighed, heading off again. The door opened, and she looked over to see who it was. Three girls entered the café, all wearing grim expressions. The two younger ones couldn't have been much older than Jordin. She wondered why they weren't all in school. The eldest looked like she was in high school. When she had delivered her flapjacks, she ran over to the newly occupied table with three menus.

"Welcome to the Sambo Cafe." Leila said with a smile. "Can I get any of you girls something to drink?"

The eldest, a girl with bluish hair, opened the menu. "These two will have orange juice, and I'll have black coffee."

"Right away," Leila rushed back to the kitchen and came back a couple of minutes later with their drinks. "Would you like to order?"

"We need some more time," the bluenette decided.

"Take your time, sweetheart."

"What a weird girl." Macchi whispered when Leila walked off. "She seems too happy to be a poor waitress."

"It's part of the job." Kana, the bluenette, whispered back. "She gets paid to act happier than she actually is."

"How boring," Mari, the blonde, said.

Kana looked towards the door, sipping her coffee. "Here comes Hao-sama." Sure enough, the cafe door opened, and two kids entered, followed by an older guy in Middle Eastern clothing. When they saw the three girls, the girl with long brown hair rushed off to their table and took a seat next to Mari, but the blonde ignored her. They were both the same age, but Mari almost never talked to anyone, especially this particular little girl. A few seconds later, the little boy and the older man joined the table. The boy picked up the menu and started to look at it.

"What kind of a restaurant is this, anyway?" he asked, reading each menu option to himself. "What do you think beignets are?"

"They sound tasty." The little brunette looked over her brother's shoulder.

"What do you want, May-chan?" The boy handed the menu over to her.

"Hao-sama, I thought the point of coming here was to get the girl and leave." said Kana. "We shouldn't be eating."

Hao smiled. "But this stuff looks so interesting, I'm curious to see what it all tastes like. Round the world cuisine is a very good thing to experience, right May-chan?"

"What are flapjacks?" May asked, instead of answering.

"They're some kind of flat pastry thing that people eat in stacks." The older man replied.

"How do you know, Turbine?" Macchi asked.

Turbine shrugged. "They're the same thing as pancakes. Everyone should know that."

"Oh," said Macchi.

"So, what will it be, folks?" Leila asked, coming over to refill Kana's coffee cup, trying to ignore the weird clothing.

Hao looked up at the young waitress. "You're Leila Elliot, right?"

Leila blinked, surprised. Did she know this kid? She didn't even wear a name tag. How could he have known her name? "Do I know you, kid?"

Hao smiled at her. "I need you to help me. My name is Hao, I'm a shaman. In four years I'm going to win the Shaman Fight."

Leila looked at the kid. He couldn't be more than ten years old, and yet, he was talking to her like he was older than her. And he had just said he was a shaman… "I don't know what you're talking about, kid."

"I think you do, seeing as you're descended from a whole line of shamans yourself. Or, what is it they call it here, Turbine?"

"Something like voodoo," replied the man.

"Ah, that's it." Hao turned back to Leila. "And unless I'm wrong, which I never am, you can see spirits."

Leila studied the people in front of her. From the moment they came in she knew they were different. "You're right," She said, lowering her voice and casting a look around. "I can see spirits. Now, I don't know how you came to know about my family, but they're all long gone, except for me and my sister. I gave up all that stuff a long time ago, and there's no way I'm bringing my Jordin into any of that stuff."

"Shame," Hao said, resting his head on his hand. "You would've gotten a lot farther with that than you ever will with this waitressing job of yours. You work double shifts and you still don't have enough to pay your rent. Is that really the life you want for your little sister?"

"If you don't mind, little boy, stay outta my business. I don't need some ten-year-old telling me how to raise my sister."

Around the table, everyone stared cautiously at the Hao. They all knew what happened when Hao got mad. Leila's annoyance at him wasn't helping the situation.

To their surprise, Hao nodded. "You're right, it isn't my business. But please, think about my offer. With us, you wouldn't have to worry about work again. You'd be free to practice your shamanic techniques without fear of judgment. I'll come over later to get your decision." With that, everyone around the table got up. Kana left a fifty dollar bill on the table to pay for the drinks, and then they all walked out the door. Leila watched them leave, her eyes wide with awe and terror.

"Leila!" Cook's yell brought her back to Earth. "What are you doing just standing there? We've got people to feed. Come on, girl, hop to it."

Leila worked as hard as she could, even though her mind was on that strange kid. How had he known about her family? No one knew about that. She had made sure to keep her line of descent a secret, especially after her parents died. If people found out that she could see dead people, she'd be in a whole lot of trouble. Not to mention, Jordin would be in trouble, too. Leila didn't even know if Jordin had the sight, and she hoped with all her heart that she didn't.


Hope you liked this first chapter! :D

*That's Spanish for "Excuse me, miss." (If you haven't guessed yet, that was Peyote).