[OP: "There Beneath"--The Oh Hellos]

The construction site was more like a cleared space with some caution tape around it.

Wally walked up to someone who was walking down the street to ask them what it was for.

"Oh, that?" they said. "I think they were going to make a nursery there or something. But after the War it's been put on the back burner."

"Oh, that's too bad," Wally said. "Low priority?"

"More like not enough people to complete it," the person replied.

"I see," Wally said.

"Did you hear that?" Ino asked Sai and Jugo excited. "A nursery."

"Yes, I think it's too bad that the children don't have anywhere to live," Sai said.

Jugo nodded, but he didn't know what either kind of nursery was.

"Huh?" Ino said. "No, no, Sai, I think he meant a plant nursery."

"Oh?" Sai said. "Are you sure?"

"Only hospitals have nurseries for kids," Ino insisted. "And they have a hospital already here. I saw it on the way in."

This was true in the ninja world. Childcare wasn't really a thing.

"Good news." Wally buzzed back to them. "This is right up your alley, Ino. Know anything about nurseries?"

"We have one at the flower shop," Ino said. "We grow most of our own flowers." She turned to Jugo. "We also have a small greenhouse, just for the exotic ones. Some people like them."

"I bet we could have that place finished fro him," Wally said. "And, best of all, it's not used for war."

"It could--" Sai began.

"Not directly at least," Wally cut him off.

"But...it's just a vacant lot..." Ino gestured at it. "Do you really think we could do that?"

"Please, I've built space generators in 2 hours," Wally scoffed. "This should be nothing. Just need a nail gun, and screw driver, and some blueprints to be phased into my brain by my Martian Manhunter friend."

Blank looks.

"Might need actual blueprints...." Wally amended. "But still, I've built a ton of stuff. This is nothing. I bet if everyone else was helping we should do it no problem. And the village does need it."

"It sounds fun," Ino said, "if the Tsuchikage was okay with us doing this."

"Shine would know how to pitch it the right way." Wally rubbed his chin. "My girl can make anything sound like a good idea."

"That sounds dangerous," Sai said with a straight face.

"She is," Wally said.

Ino giggled slightly. "You two are so cute...even if you are old."

"I'm not old!" Wally cried. "You're just a young whipper snapper! That what's Granny would call you."

"What is that?" Sai asked.

"Whatever it is, it's young," Wally said.

"Why would someone being dangerous be a good thing?" Sai wondered also.

"Don't you want your girl to be able to defend herself?" Wally said. "And you--if you get knocked out or something."

"I don't have a girl," Sai said. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. Like a slave?"

"You are really not politically correct, are you?" Wally said. "A girlfriend. You know what that is. right?"

"I have some notes on it..." Sai opened his notebook. "But sometimes Camie's comments are not the easiest to decipher. I think it's like a friend but different. And it can be a girl? Or a boy?"

"Oh boy." Wally rubbed his head. "He doesn't know what a girlfriend is? That's a tough one to explain."

Ino shook her head. "I guess that Foundation really didn't teach a lot, huh?"

"I never heard anything like that there," Sai confirmed.

"I think it's when two people want to be together," Jugo offered. "Suigetsu makes strange jokes about it. Something like what animals do, I think. But I didn't really learn much about it inside a cell."

"Which of you had the darkest childhood?" Wally wondered to no one in particular.

Ino winced. Jugo's life sounded more bleak than Sai's.

"Kakashi did give me a book about it," Sai said. "But none of it made any sense to me after the first chapter."

"I don't even want to know." Wally made a face.

"What did it say?" Jugo asked.

"I can't even really repeat it," Sai said. "Something about warm feelings and excitement, but the rest of it didn't sound familiar at all."

"Okay, we're not doing this," Wally said. "Especially in front of a lady. It's not appropriate, boys."

Ino liked being called a lady, and especially by someone older than herself.

"Why isn't it?" Sai asked Wally.

"'Cause some things just aren't for public conversation," Wally said. "You know, it's crass... You don't want people to think you're a pervert or something, right?"

"I've been called that before," Sai said. "But I really just don't understand what that means. I mean, yes, I've read the description of it, but I don't understand it. Any time I ask a question about it, I get punched by Sakura."

"Sakura has anger issues," Wally said with a wince. "But we're not talking about that stuff in mixed company, buddy. We're gonna make Ino super uncomfortable if we keep talking about it."

Ino was getting uncomfortable.

"Oh," Sai said. "I see." He wrote that down. "We shouldn't talk about it then."

Well, that was sweet.

Jugo and Sai didn't ask anymore after that.

Wally seemed to be worried Ino would be disgusted though. "They sound a little off," he said, "but the guy means well, you know. Just doesn't know any better."

"I think I get it now," Ino said. "At first I did think it was weird, but...uh, I mean, Camie's told me a lot about the Foundation that...made it make more sense."

"That Danzo guy was a piece of work," Wally said. "And...I mean, knowing what he taught them, unsupervised, I'm actually surprised Sai is as functional as he is. He's really a nice guy, if you can ever figure out what he's really trying to get at. I know his teammates don't really understand him that well and they think he's rude--which he is, but he gets kind of a pass for not knowing any better. I mean, if you don't have feelings, how can you know if you're hurting someone else's?"

"I know," Ino said. "It takes some getting used to, but I think you're right. I don't think he's trying to be mean. He really does seem to like Camie, and she's always nice to him. So maybe it's just that...you know, she's not easily offended." She rubbed her arm nervously. "I wasn't offended or anything, I was just...embarrassed."

"'Kay, just making sure." Wally gave her a thumbs up. "I'm really glad you're giving him a chance, Flower Girl. I think the thing he needs most are friends who won't judge him so much for not knowing stuff he couldn't possibly know. You're being really great, you know, you and Camie. I'm just glad to see some girls who aren't hitting the poor guy for every little thing."

Ino felt guilty that she had done that in the past--not that she knew at the time that Sai didn't have a clue why he was wrong. Sakura had never told her after all!

"I, uh...you really shouldn't say that," she said shamefully. "I can be just as short-tempered as Sakura, you know... I'm sure not like Camie."

"Hey, you don't have to cut yourself down," Wally said, shaking his head. "You might have made some mistakes here and there, but everyone makes mistakes. I'm pretty used to hot-tempered women, trust me. Most of my female friends are like that, but they're not bad people or anything. The important thing is they're there for you when you need them. And, for the rest, I really don't think you and Sakura are that much alike."

"No? Everyone else does," Ino said.

"No, you're not the same," Wally said. "Thank goodness for that--not that Sakura is...you know, all bad, but she's...uh...well, she's a handful, for now anyway...so...one of her is enough."

Ino found that funny, though she felt like she shouldn't be agreeing with him on that.

"So...you really think I'm doing good?" she said. "Because I've been messing up constantly since I joined this team. I mean, there was the mountain thing--and other stuff."

"That was just an accident," Wally said. "It happens. Hey, don't tell anyone this, but I trip on stuff every week while I'm on the job, and I've been doing it for 10 years, practically. No one has it all together. But it's the heart that counts. As long as you're trying to do your best, who cares if you trip and fall, literally or figuratively? You don't seem that confident, but you're part of the easily most functional team in Leaf Village's younger set. You have a nice side gig at the flower shop...and teammate who actually treat you decently. I'd say you're doing well for yourself. I mean, that's what I got, basically. That and a super awesome fiancée. But you'll get there. You've got a lot more years to look for that."

"It's just not as easy..." Ino said.

"Uh...Ino, my fiancée and I are from two different worlds," Wally said dryly. "What could be harder than that?"

Ino laughed finally. "Oh my...that's kind of true though... If you can do it, who can't? Isn't that weird?"

"Sure it is, but it's awesome," Wally said. "Little tip: Someone who's way different than you can open your eyes up to a whole new side of life. My best friends are oddballs and one-of-a-kind people. I feel lucky to know them. You don't need to worry so much about what's normal, you know? Sorry...I don't mean to get all serious on you. I just thought...you seem to worry what everyone thinks about you, that's all."

"I do," Ino agreed.

It was easy to say this to Wally somehow. He was just so easygoing, she didn't feel odd saying it.

Shine always felt like a battle to people, at least till they got used to her, but Wally made everyone feel like a friend. Ino preferred a non-combative conversation.

"It's just that..." Ino went on after a pause, "...I feel like I'm not...special at all. So many people from my village are exceptional. Shikamaru is a genius, Naruto is a hero, Hinata is a Hyuga, Sasuke is...well, Sasuke--and Sakura is a medical prodigy. Then there's me... I'm not even that good at my family jutsu yet." [Depends on which one we're talking about, if you ask me, but Ino does tend to minimize her accomplishments.]

Wally nodded slowly. "Sometimes I feel like the least cool out of my friends too... Most of them are geniuses. They have more powers than I do too. I'm fast, but they can fly and crush buildings and are bulletproof. I have one power, and I'm not a genius. But I decided that I shouldn't focus on what I didn't have. It was tough at first--I mean, it took me years to really get used to it--but then I figured out that having less power does mean I have more time to spend on things that aren't all superhero-related. Like hanging out with the kids at the orphanage, painting fences, getting food with the buddies... Honestly, sometimes having the 'exceptional' lens can be kind of a prison, in a way. I get a little more leeway. And I decided that if at the end of a given day, no one died, that was a good day. Sometimes that's all you get of success. Can you do that much?"

"Uh...sure, most of the time," Ino said. "Not...every time."

"You guys have dangerous lives, so some casualties are gonna happen," Wally nodded. "Happen to me too. But more often than not, no one dies?"

"No," Ino agreed.

"Then I think you're doing good," Wally said. "Who cares if you have flashy powers as long as you're saving people? Or protecting them or your team. I bet you're not really as ordinary as you think you are, anyway, but, even if you were, ordinary people are who we fight for to begin with. That's the dream, getting to have an ordinary life. The exciting part usually only happens when something goes wrong."

Ino smiled a little. "You really think so?"

"I know so," Wally said. "Everyone I know who's exceptional wishes they had a more normal family life... Look, if you compare yourself to others all the time, you're gonna be miserable. You're not them, you're you. You can always get better, but get better at what you're supposed to do, not what they're supposed to do. I'm never gonna be able to fly, probably...but I can float. You see what I mean? It's all in how you look at it."

Ino nodded. "I...that's really deep... All of you are so deep..."

"Hey, I still think if you're a good friend to someone, you did something right," Wally shrugged. "You may not see it this way, but Camie is 100% happier since you two became friends. She's had some problems at her school with mean-spirited kids, especially one little headcase...real messed up stuff. And the UA kids are great and all, but even they think she's weird, and they have their own inside groups already, so she always felt a little like an outsider."

Ino blinked at how close that was to her own thoughts about Camie at first.

"So it's been really great that you've been willing to be her friend," Wally went on. "I can tell she really appreciates it. She's a really nice kid. I think she's funny, but I guess she just doesn't fit so well in her own setting. Maybe this will help her feel like she can have close friends too. And like I said, Sai too. I know, he's a little hard to read, but I'm sure one day he'll understand all this and he'll appreciate that people gave him a chance. It means a lot."

Ino felt embarrassed again, though somewhat pleased. "But Camie really did all the work. I also thought she was weird too."

"But you still gave her the chance," Wally said. "I guess that's not a big deal to you...but it is to me, since people do dismiss me as kind of a goofball-idiot too. So when someone doesn't, I like them. Shine was one of those people. So you might think it's nothing, but, it's something for sure." He shrugged. "But hey, no need to get too sappy here--that's gonna make things awkward. I better check on how the others are doing anyway." He disappeared for a second.

So fast that Ino nearly tripped on the air in his wake.

"Where did he go?" Jugo turned around.

"I think to check on the other groups," Ino said.

"What were you talking about?" Sai asked.

"Oh...uh, nothing," Ino said. "Just talking about his friends at home. They sound...interesting."

"They do sound unusual," Jugo said, "from what I've heard. But then, I'm not one to judge."

A sparrow landed on his shoulder, as if on cue, and chirped at him.

"Apparently it's difficult to grow things here," Jugo said, as if this was normal. "The environment is harsh."

"Maybe they really do need a greenhouse then," Ino mused. "I mean, I know how to make one. My parents built one. It's actually not too difficult. "

"It sounds nice to work with plants," Sai said appreciatively. "Making something, instead of..." He stopped as if he wasn't sure where he was going with that thought.

But he'd been thinking that all shinobi did was destroy things.

"Yeah, it's nice to have a hobby," Ino agreed. "Flowers arranging is a thing that they used to teach us kunoichi. I always did the best--I mean, though they did all right, but I had an advantage. My mom drilled me on that at home all the time. Did you know that different flowers can mean different things?"

"I think you said that before," Sai recalled. "Something about the language of flowers"

"Yes, I had to learn all that," Ino said. "People come in and then they ask, you know? So Mom made sure I knew it all before I could even read. And colors change the meaning too."

"Colors?" Sai said with interest. "Just like in paintings?"

"Uhh, sure," Ino said. But she wasn't really sure what he meant. "Pink means one thing, white means another, and yellow, and red, even black--but hint: black is never good."

"And orange?" Jugo asked.

"I think that's jealousy," Ino said. "But not a lot of flowers are orange. Lilies, pansies, and a few others." [In her shop, maybe. There are hundreds of species of orange flowers.]

"So you could give someone a message with flowers?" Sai asked.

"Oh, sure, usually people get them to confess their love," Ino said, not realizing that she might have to explain that. "But also for birthdays, and anniversaries, and funerals, and other parties. Some mean good luck, too. I had a few people who used flowers to tell their spouses what gender their baby was. Which is so cute."

"Why do that extra work?" Jugo wondered.

Ino frowned. "It shows you put thought into it, that you're excited about it. It's not just a normal thing to announce that."

"I see." Sai wrote that down. "Flowers are more useful than I thought. Mostly they're just nice to look at--I didn't know they were useful."

"Sure, and they make good weapons." Ino meant that as a joke after Camie had brought it up, but of course Sai took her completely seriously. 

"True," he agreed with that odd smile, like he was trying to hide something. In this case it might just be that he had no idea how to take that.

Ino guessed it was kind of cute once you got used to it.

"I like flowers fine," Jugo said. "But I don't think I would us them for a message. I would rather just appreciate them for what they are. All that meaning is just made up to make things more complicated."

Ino felt he'd missed the point entirely.

"Sometimes things are hard to explain," Sai pointed out to Jugo. "Perhaps it helps to have some other way to say them."

Jugo just stared. "I always say what I mean."

"As long as you know what you mean," Sai said.

Jugo nodded. "I always know what I mean."

"How fortunate," Sai said with a smile that almost looked like he was thinking "screw you", though he probably just thought it was unfair.

"So would you want to know anything about flowers?" Ino asked Sai, changing the subject back. "I mean, how to communicate with them?"

"It sounds useful," Sai said. "Did you have that pamphlet with you?"

"Uh...no, I didn't bring it, but I bet the flower shop here would have it," Ino said. "They must have one..."

She looked around.

"Hey, kids." Wally reappeared so fast that they all jumped. "Shine and G-Man loved the idea about the nursery. We're going to pitch it to the Kage right now. You can come with or keep looking around. Never know if we might need a backup plan."

"Actually, we were just thinking of looking for a flower shop--" Ino began.

"Oh, to see if they have seeds? That's a great idea," Wally said. "Do that. Meet back at the jail-turned-diplomatic-house later? Wow, that's weird when you think about it. Gotta run." He vanished again.

The sparrow had flown away out of fright, to Jugo's disappointment.

The three of them went towards the market place.

They ran into Temari's group on the way.

"Hey, sis." Camie waved at Ino.

After what Wally had said, Ino wondered if she really was more chipper.

But...it kind of worried her, too. Once, Sakura and her had been really close like that...but it all ended badly.

But, she reasoned to herself, Camie already had a boyfriend, so there was no reason for that to happen. It shouldn't make her so antsy, but it still did, sometimes.

"How long have Camie and Ino been friends?" Karin asked Temari, perhaps noticing it also. "Are their families close?"

"What? Oh, no, they just became friends last month," Temari said carelessly. "Camie's family doesn't live in Leaf Village."

"People must be more friendly in Leaf Village," Karin muttered.

"We checked out the north side," Shikamaru said to Sai and Jugo. "Mostly just has the utilities buildings there. Nothing much else. We did see a water wheel for the stream Kurotsuchi mentioned. I doubt they'll need any help out there, unless it's moving stuff, and I don't want to do that again."

"I didn't mind that," Sai said.

"Sai, do you ever mind anything?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically.

Sai thought. "I mind when people harm my comrades."

"Aww," Ino said aloud before she caught herself.

Temari and Karin and Camie all gave her looks.

Luckily, none of the boys noticed it.

Ino flushed anyway. "What?"

"Oh, you know what." Camie winked.

"Please," Ino replied. "It's just a nice thing to say."

"Ah, gurl, I told you he's adorbs--you just didn't believe me," Camie said.

"His face is all right," Karin said. "But he's so washed out. He looks like one of Orochimaru's prisoners who hasn't seen the sun in 15 years."

"I wouldn't brag about knowing that," Camie said.

"I wasn't bragging about it, it's just...I mean, was he chained in that Foundation or something?" Karin said.

"Might as well have been," Camie said.

"You know, maybe he's got a weak constitution," Karin mused. "That could be it. And no sun and dark, musty air would just make it worse. Didn't you say his brother died of a disease? Sai is lucky he didn't get it also. I bet it was some infection from that environment."

"What a horrible thought," Ino shuddered.

"I know about this stuff," Karin insisted. "I'm just saying, that Foundation doesn't sound sanitary to me. Leaf Village allowing it at all is a mystery."

"Sis, all Leaf Village did is a mystery to moi." Camie pointed at herself dramatically. "Hey, where you guys going now?"

"At the moment we're looking for a flower shop, something to do with a project Wally wants," Ino said.

She didn't mention the other part--didn't want to give them more ammunition.

"Oh, that's lit," Camie said. "Let's do that, I'm tired of climbing over this flat rock. I'm gonna wear a hole in these shoes before long."

"Actually, that's a problem we need to address," Temari mused. "Mine are getting worn down too. All of us will need new shoes."

"Yeah, but where will we get the bread for that?" Camie shrugged.

"It's a shame you don't have any money," Karin said. "But mine is waning too. If you got paid for  jobs you did in Mist, maybe you'd have some."

"But Wally is all about that charity work," Camie said. "And I get it, it's cool and all...but we are broke."

"Ino-san," Jugo startled her by speaking to her, "I think there's a florist down there. I see a sign."

Ino looked. "Oh...good eye."

"I guess we can just help," Temari shrugged. "Unless you want to work on something else?" she ask Shikamaru with an impish smirk.

"Oh brother," Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You're funny, you know that?"

"Actually no one ever calls me that." Temari shrugged and followed Camie--of course, she outpaced everyone at once.

"She's part gale force herself," Karin groaned. "How does anyone walk that fast everywhere?"

They hurried to catch up.

The flower shop was, as Ino noted with pride of the trade, very small compared to Leaf's.

It also had a far less vast selection.

Still, there was something a little comforting about being around the familiar scent of plants and soil and leaves.

Temari wanted take inventory in case the other asked later...which seemed to strike the shop owner as rude, until Ino began about to ask them about the plants, and they warmed up to the topic and conferred about how they took care of seedlings.

"Wow...she's really into this," Karin noted.

"Ino knows everything about plants." Camie waved her hands. "Dang, I need to have useful skills like that. Memes don't count much here. Hmm, I could make a meme out of that too..."

"The 'big brain' one?" Sai asked.

"Not bad," Camie said. "Feel like I could make a better one though. So, Sai, what are you browsing for?"

Sai had been looking through the pamphlets. "I was wondering if they had one on the language of flowers."

"Oh...cool," Camie said. "I forgot they have a language."

"Why would you want to learn something that useless?" Shikamaru asked.

"Wow," Temari said. "You just said that about your teammate's hobby?"

"Hey, Ino's good with field botany if you need to know what not to touch or eat, but I never understood why she bothered with that symbolism stuff," Shikamaru shrugged. "It's all nonsense."

"That's what I think," Jugo agreed. "But it's harmless nonsense."

"I think it's cool," Camie said. "Be more supportive of your friends there, Shika. This is what we were talking about. How do you know it couldn't be useful? What if you need a code?"

"Why not use a normal code that most people would understand?" Shikamaru said.

"That's like asking why you couldn't just wear off-brand instead of designer," Camie said.

"What?" Shikamaru said blankly.

"I miss Baku," Camie sighed. "He takes my crap seriously."

"Sometimes it's easier to believe they are from outer space," Temari said in a low tone.

Shikamaru smirked.

After what felt like hours (but was only about 45 minutes) they finally left.

Sai had found the book he was looking for there.

"Did you know irises can mean 'I send a message'?" he said, glancing through it.

"Yes," Ino said. "And poppies can mean 'I'm not free.'"

"'I send a message,'" Shikamaru said. "See, that's what I mean--what a useless thing. The flower is already a message. Why would you need to say that?"

"I would give you a yellow carnation for that," Ino said, annoyed.

"Hmm, oh, 'disdain'," Sai said.

"I think we may have found a way of communicating that Sai can understand," Camie said. "I mean, not much room for confusion there."

"But some flowers mean multiple things," Ino said. "You'd still need context."

"Easier than talking though," Camie shrugged. 

"I like the idea of using flowers to communicate. I think it would be much easier," Sai said.

"Only if you're a strange person," Karin muttered.

"Someone's just mad she got 'black roses' from a certain prickly desert plant," Camie said, peering at the flower book around Sai's shoulder.

Karin at least could guess partially what that meant, and she looked steamed. "Why, you--!"

"Hush," Temari said suddenly, tensing.

They all went silent.

They followed Temari's gaze. They were walking along the part of the market where there were stalls selling food to the passersby. There were many people out right now, since it was still morning and not the warmest part of the day.

Temari had noticed that a couple of scrawny kids were slipping around the edge of the stalls and going towards the side of one booth that held bags of rice and some rice bread.

The others didn't see them at first, but then they caught on.

One of the kids suddenly made a big show of tripping into one of the pots hanging off the stall next to that person, and some of them came crashing down.

The stall owner started to yell at the kid and swing a fan at them that they'd been using to try to keep bugs off their wares before.

The other kid snuck up while their back was turned and nicked one of the rice bags and tried to snatch one of the bread bags also.

But they were more clumsy with the rice weighing them down and rustled the bag.

The person turned around in time to see them pull it away and glared at them.

The kid took off, along with their stolen loot, and the other kid shoved some of the other parcels at the merchant so they hit their foot and tripped, and then ran after the first kid.

"Stop! Thieves!" the merchant began to yell, trying to alert any shinobi from Stone Village who might be nearby.

Temari smirked. "I got the first one," she said, leaping onto the top of a building and racing along it.

"She's got what?" Shikamaru said. "Wait, what is she doing? This is their problem."

"Hey, we're on the scene. Might as well." Camie ran after Temari, though on the ground.

"Uh...I guess we better make sure they're okay?" Ino said.

"This day is seriously turning into a real drag," Shikamaru said.

"The next time you say that I'm going to box my own ears," Karin said, as they ran after the other girls.

https://youtu.be/vmbpPvy-0nk

[AMV to Trouble by P!NK, by Syches 141-- song works for Temari.]

Temari had no problem at all catching up to the thief. They had ducked around several of the streets and around corners, but she was running over rooftops.

When they realized she was after them, they panicked and dropped the sack of rice but kept the bread. They then turned onto an alley and darted into a hole in one of the stone buildings that looked like it was abandoned.

Temari landed next to the hole... It was too small for a grown woman to fit in.

"I know you're in there," she said, tapping on the stone. "Come on out."

The other thief had become scared of her and had tried to bolt into the neighborhood part of town, but Shikamaru had caught them with his shadow.

"Really this is not worth the effort," he said. "Couldn't someone else have handled this?"

"Yo, no one else is coming," Camie said.

"It's the war," Sai observed. "Perhaps there's not enough people to protect the marketplace."

"That's right." The merchant had followed them, apparently. "These little vermin have been taking advantage of the fact that we have less shinobi around to stop them. The market is not the top priority for the Kage to have monitored, and I've been losing things every week. They start young."

The thief couldn't have been more than 10 years old, if that old. He looked really scared.

"Maybe they had a reason?" Camie offered.

"I'll give them a reason not to!" The merchant raised a long pan they had brought with them.

"Wait a minute." Camie stepped in his line of aim. "You can't whale on a kid, come on. That's not right. At least not with a frying pan. Are you gone?"

"Step aside, girl," the merchant said. "The only way to learn anything in life is through hard knocks. That's our way. Maybe your Leaf Village coddles you, but around here you don't steal."

"But do you have to beat them?" Ino also wasn't comfortable with this. "What if they were just hungry?"

"Then they should work like the rest of us," the merchant said. "Both of you soft-hearted little girls don't understand how to instill discipline in the young."

"Well, he's not wrong," Shikamaru said. "Mom would kill me if she caught me stealing when I was a kid."

"I bet your mom also fed you," Camie pointed out.

"I don't think it's necessary to use that." Sai held up a hand. "Maybe we can find some other way to settle matters?"

"I didn't ask you, beanpole. You're not from this village. I suggest that you focus on catching them... Where's the other one?" the merchant said.

"Over here." Temari waved at them. "They're hiding. Might be trying to go out the other side of this building."

"No." Jugo had gone to look. "There's no opening here."

"They're still in there," Karin sniffed. "Just hiding. Their chakra is kind of disturbed though. What did you do them?"

"Nothing yet," Temari said.

"Well, he won't come out with you talking like that," Camie pointed out.

"Ino, you can get them out," Shikamaru pointed out. "We need to finish the job now that we've started it."

"Oh...of course," Ino said.

"Shikamaru, really, I'm surprised at you," Camie pouted. "So not gucci."

"Can you talk normally for even a second, Camie? This is serious business," Shikamaru said.

"I'll say it is." The merchant reached for the kid.

Camie stopped his arm, actually grabbed it.

Karin winced.

"I told Bakugo delinquents aren't in fashion," Camie said. "But I never thought I'd have to tell a growna-- adult that. Dude, you need to chill."

"And you need to step off," he said, giving Camie such a violent shake that she tripped.

He lightly backhanded her also, in order to break her hold. It might not have been that hard, but he was a lot bigger than Camie, and it sounded like it still hurt.

Camie hit the ground, surprised.

Ino had already started to do her mind transfer to get the kid, so she couldn't do anything.

"Hey." Sai didn't like this. "You shouldn't do that to her. She wasn't doing any harm."

"You want a piece of this, milksop?" the merchant said. "All of you need to stop getting in my way!" He gave Sai a shove.

"That's enough." Jugo stepped forward.

But Jugo couldn't fight now, and sadly he didn't strike the merchant as that intimidating.

Things weren't looking good here.