Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the National Hockey League, my brother who's helping me with all of these crazy terms (yeah right I don't own him. : P XD), or anything else.

Moriko: YOU TOOK OVER TWO MONTHS TO UPDATE THIS!

Me: ducks flying spork Well, sorry! I told you all I wasn't going to update very much until I got the other fics outta the way!

Mori: Well, you took over a month to update Ask Bleach, too! And you just brought that back!

Me: Humpf. Well, blame my procrastination.

Mori: Why did you take so long for this, anyway?

Me: Welllll...I wanted to rewrite the first chapter, but decided against it.

Mori: And what made you update now, anyway?

Me: Bullet in the Brainpan Squish, a.k.a., BB, is a friend of mine here and recently sent me a mail ranting that I should get off my ass and update. So you can thank her for the chapter here. : P

Mori: Uh-huhhhhhhhhhhh...

Me: Oh, and I also don't own the two other OC's who show up in here. Just Mori.

Mori: Pfffft, yeah right...

Me: XD

-

Hockey Nin

Thankfully for everyone present, the staff of the restaurant had been gracious enough to supply another few cakes for the team, wishing them good luck in the game tomorrow. As Moriko immediately attacked the chocolate cake, Naruto ordered another round of ramen.

Opening his wallet, he blinked. Empty! With a groan, he tossed it to the counter, propping his head on his fist.

"Darn it," he muttered, "I hardly ever get to come here anymore."

A small hand darted in to scoop up his wallet. Alarmed, Naruto sat up and started to shout, "Hey—!"

"Y-You left your cash in the inside flap," Hinata informed him, handing him his wallet back again. Naruto paused before taking it back from her and checking the inside flap. A wad of tens jumped out, President Hamilton staring at him.

"Oh," Naruto muttered, taking out a few bills and tucking the rest away. "Thanks, Hinata."

"No problem." She looked down at the floor, a teeny smile on her face. "I used to have to remind Neji-nee-san of that all the time. I s-suppose you could say I have experience."

Naruto nodded and looked at her closely. After the first hour or so at the party and Naruto's epic counter dive, Hinata had almost completely lost her stutter. The bright red blush on her cheeks had faded to a powdery pink shade, and she had stopped fidgeting with her fingers. Coming to the conclusion that she was only shy with new people, Naruto waved the cook over.

"Hey, Teuichi-san," he said, "Can I get another two bowls of the miso ramen?"

"Sure, kid," the cook nodded sharply. Twisting his head to one side, he regarded Naruto slyly. "Any reason you're trying to defy physics and eat out of two bowls at once?"

"One's for me. But Hinata hasn't had any yet."

The old cook's eyes flashed knowingly, and he nodded curtly before saying, "Ah, I see." He disappeared into the kitchen.

Naruto patted the stool beside him. "Well? Go ahead and sit down."

Hinata blinked, then sat down on the edge of the seat and balanced precariously. Naruto eyes her but didn't say anything.

"So..."Naruto began, searching for a topic. He wasn't good with introductions, mostly because everyone in town already knew him. "Um, you're Neji's cousin?"

Hinata looked up, surprised. "Yeah. How long h-have you know Neji-nee-san?"

Naruto's brow furrowed as he tried to remember. "I don't know," he said eventually, shrugging. "A while, I guess. Somewhere around middle school's when I first met him...gods, he was an ass." He looked at her quickly. "Um, no offense, or anything."

To his surprise, Hinata burst out laughing. "Oh, n-no, I get it. Nee-san can be like that to some people."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, he was. After a while we were friends, though, and I saw him again in college. He actually has a degree as a lawyer, but he got recruited to training camp for hockey, anyway."

"I was wondering about that...D-Didn't know Nee-san could play all that well."

Grinning again, Naruto told her, "Well, compared to yours truly, he can't. I am team captian, after all!" He laughed lightly, and she smiled as Teuichi gave them their ramen and slunk away again.

Suddenly, the shop door opened, and three girls came in. Snapping her fan shut and dropping it back in her bag, Temari smiled at them all apologetically. "Sorry, everyone! I can't believe we're so late! Gods, Ino, I told you we should've just taken the metro!"

Ino, the tall, slim blonde, flicked a strand of hair back behind her ear and rolled her eyes. "Oh, the taxi ride wasn't so bad, Temari."

"Yes," Temari growled, hands on hips, "It was. We spent over an hour in that traffic!"

"Would you really rather have taken the metro?"

"Yes!"

"The metro saves energy," Moriko told them both matter-of-factly. "Most public transportation does in this city. So, next time," she rounded on Ino, and the expression on her face told the blonde clearly that this was not an option, but a demand, "take the metro. Less carbon emissions that way then an hour stuck in traffic."

Temari glared at Ino, triumphant. "See? I told you she'd agree with me."

"But—"

"I have a bit of a better excuse," the older woman said, an eyebrow raised as she stared levelly at the arguing girls. Ino and Temari shut up, and Geshi continued. "I got hung up at the riding centre. Some of the horses got out of their stables somehow, and I had to help round them up again. I took the metro—"

"Ha!" Temari muttered at Ino, who scowled.

Geshi glared at them again and finished, "I took the metro and ran into these two on the walk from the station. So, here we are. Ta-daaaa."

After a moment, Kakashi said, "You're right. That is a better excuse."

"You're just saying that because you're married," Ino muttered, flouncing over to the counter to order a drink. Temari rolled her eyes and went to sit down by Shikamaru.

Geshi rolled her eyes and grabbed a slice of lemon cake before taking a seat by Kakashi. "Teenagers!"

"Actaully," Moriko reminded her as she walked by them, "We're in our twenties, thank you very much."

"You don't act like it," Geshi informed her. Moriko scowled and snatched a bit of whipped cream off the top of Geshi's lemon cake. Before the wavy brown-haired woman could react, Moriko had eaten the whipped cream and ducked behind the counter.

Kakashi chuckled. "And thus the war begins."

Geshi growled in Moriko's direction, but sat back down again. Stopping with the fork half-way to her mouth. She snorted, looking at Naruto and Hinata, who were chatting animatedly. "Look at those two. Naruto can be such a flirt."

"That's Hyuuga Hinata," Kakashi told her, arching an eyebrow. "She's Neji's cousin. Naruto knows that—do you really think he's flirting with her?"

Geshi shrugged. "I can't tell from here. Maybe I'll ask him later."

"Don't. He'll blame me."

"Oh well, you are his teacher."

Kakashi glared at her. "You're evil."

Geshi grinned. "Yup." Swallowing another bite of lemon cake, she frowned, then smiled again. "I just remembered something."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I got a call today." Geshi paused and looked at Kakashi slyly. "From Egypt."

Kakashi blinked. "Egypt?"

"Uh-huh. Who do we know who's studying there?"

Suddenly, Kakashi smiled brightly. "Kani! Is she coming home?"

"Uh-huh. And something else. She's bringing a friend with her."

"A friend? Not a boy, is it?"

Geshi shook her head no. "Not a boy. Forgot her name, though...something like the name of a character in a book I read once..." She frowned again, trying to remember.

"What book?" Kakashi coaxed, trying to help her remember. He was thrilled his daughter, Kani, was coming home from Egypt, but he was curious to know who was coming with her.

"Have you read the Ugliesseries, by Scott Westerfield?"

"Once. In high school."

"What was the name of Tally's best friend again?"

"You mean Shay?"

"Yeah, that's her..."

Across the room, Gaara had snapped his head up and was staring at them intently, listening to every word. Kakashi looked at Geshi amusedly. "So Kani's bringing a book character home with her from Egypt?"

Geshi glared at him. "No, she's not. The girl's name is Shay. Shayshaymura, I think."

Gaara's face, unnoticed by anyone, flickered into a hard, stoic mask. "Mura."

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, nice to know Kani found a kindred spirit. When will they be back?"

"In time for the boy's first game this season, I think...Gaara? What's the matter?" Geshi asked, staring at the red--head as he abruptly stood up, dropped some money on the counter-top, and strode out the room.

Everyone stared after him blankly. After a second, Shikamaru asked loudly, "What's with him?"

Moriko, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura glanced at each other. This was either going to be really good, or really bad.

-

Me: Yes, Gaara, what is your problem?

Moriko: Dammit, Siwrly, you just made thigns really complicated.

Me: smug Oh, I know. This is going to be fun.

Moriko: Damn sadist...

Me: Oh, forget you. BB, here's the chapter you wanted, and sorry if I made the background for Shay a bit hazy. To everyone else, Shay isn't mine, she's the OC of Bullet in the Brainpan Squish, a good friend of mine and a really brilliant author. GO LOOK AT HER STORIES OR ELSE! NARF!

Moriko: ...Oooo...kay...then...

Me: Oh yeah, and Geshi isn't mine, either. She's the OC of BluPiratePuppies, my sister. She's also a really good author, READ HER STORIES! NOMPFG!

Moriko: ...'Nompfg'? What the bloody Hel is 'nompfg'?

Me: You'll never know. : P

P.s. Uglies really is a book series. They're really good, go get them! And yes, I mean NOW! XD (And BB only recently read the series. Shay's name wasn't ripped off from them, okay? Good. : P )

Well, more hockey stuff next chapter, which will show up soon, I promise you. XD Bye!