[OP: "Grow"--The Oh Hellos]

Back in the present, Shoto was still upset but trying to hide it, and he didn't appreciate Dabi bringing it up. How had he even known?

Dabi had put it together when he saw them talking and recalled the mood of the past day had been kind of off. He was way more observant of Shoto than Shoto suspected.

Shine went back inside after telling them all they could head back to the lodgings if they didn't want to do anything else in the village, and since Ino and Karin both very much did not, they took her up on it.

Temari wanted to join the meeting, and Shikamaru wanted to be left out of it but was kind of curious, so they decided to stick around.

Dabi, Shoto, Jugo, and Sai left.

Sai kept reading his new book, and Shoto asked him what it was--and was sorry when he got way more of an answer than he bargained for.

They wondered what the other teams were up to.

* * *

"Absolutely not," Kankuro aruged. "You cannot tell me that a full-power attack is more effective for capturing people than a complex one."

"Any dumba-- would be able to see that if you scare the criminal enough, they'll run," Bakugo argued.

"If you ask me, both is good," Suigetsu said. "Hit them with a big attack and then catch them once they're running for their lives."

"I think that's just what your team would do," Tenten put in. "Either way, this argument is dumb."

"It's not!" Bakugo and Kankuro both said at the same time.

"It's fun to play them against each other though," Suigetsu said to Tenten.

"You're obnoxious," she said.

"Ugh, you sound like Karin. I thought you were supposed to be the chick who was one of the guys," Suigetsu complained.

"That doesn't mean I don't think this is dumb," Tenten said.

"That's just what a girl would say." Suigetsu deliberately said that to make her mad.

"What I think," Kankuro said, before Tenten could do anything to Suigetsu, "is that Bakugo just doesn't like to use precision trapping because he can't."

"That's the freaking reason you don't like to use big attacks--because you don't have any offensive destruction power, pansya--!" Bakugo argued.

"I thought we were checking the perimeter," Tenten pointed out.

"We are," Kankuro said. He looked at the wall. "Looks fine. And listen here, Blasty, I have offensive pewor. You see these puppets? They have spikes with points on them. You're a one-trick pony."

"And you're the kind of prick who doesn't like to fight his own battles and lets his dumb toys do it," Bakugo said.

"Do they have to be so loud?" Tenten rubbed her ears.

"At least they're having a good time," Suigetsu said. "I feel sorry for the other groups--all those touchy-feely people? Please. Give me a good weapons debate any day. 'Course these two fools don't see that swords are the best weapon hands down--and traditional."

"Nothing's traditional about your sword," Bakugo objected.

"How can you even say that?" Suigetsu said.

Tenten rolled her eyes. But she really vastly preferred this to the talk about feelings and ideals that usually was around the others.

[Anyone else get the feeling Kankuro selected his group precisely to avoid that kind of talk?]

* * *

Momo's group was the only one that was all girls--if you included Sasuke as a girl.

Sasuke himself didn't like being in their group--at first.

But really, he would have liked it even less if he was in any of the others', except maybe for Shine's, and he'd never have asked her to change. 

Anyway, Todoroki was in that one--and he had a suspicion that she'd done that on purpose. Maybe she'd at least read him the riot act after earlier.

But he was stuck with the Hyugas and Momo, all of them known for being the sweetest and most non-confrontational people in the group. A terrible match up for him.

At least it seemed that way on paper, but since none of them were talking to him at all, he really might as well have not been there.

All they talked about, while they were exploring the village's more high level housing district, was the damage the war must have done and how terrible it was for the people.

Then Momo began to tell them of when Shine had taken her and her classmates on a little field trip to a run down district of her own country and shown them how people lived who had certain quirk based disadvantages.

"Didn't you feel odd going to see people like that?" Hanabi asked. "My family always says people who don't work are trash. That success depends on hard work, so if you're failing, that means you didn't take responsibility."

Hinata winced.

"I've always been told that too," Momo agreed with her. "But...uh, I now realize that there are exceptions to that. I still believe that you should work hard for success and most often that will lead to success. But...there is someone in our hero course who didn't make the cut the first time more for superficial reasons than because of work. Some people are just born more powerful than others. And some people aren't liked by...well, society. There's a massive prejudice against people with animal quirks. We have pro heroes who have them, but they do get a lot more heat for how they look and act...so I guess it just...it's not completely fair. Shine has told me that one of the reasons is that people who look different are just easier to pick out that one thing about them to make fun of. That humans would do that to each other either way, because we like to feel superior, but if  it's obvious, then that makes it easier. I think that's disgusting...but it happens all the time."

"I think that's terrible." Hinata said. "But...familiar. I sometimes got picked on when there were no adults to see it happen because my eyes look different. People say they're...like a demon's." She loooked down.

"Not at all," Momo said. "Your eyes are beautiful...but then, people in my world all look so much more different from each other than you all do. You all look like people with non-body morph quirks. Which is now only a small percentage of the population. I'm one of them, Bakugo is another, and Dabi. ..I wonder if that's partly why it's us...I  mean if one of us had a cat head, we might get treated like a monster here."

"A cat head?" Hanabi said.

"Nevermind, I probably shouldn't explain it too much," Momo reflected. "But when you're used to that, none of your eyes or other differences seem that strange to me. I just can't get over that you have multiple powers."

"I guess we're more different than we think," Hinata said. "Because you do look like one of us. You could pass...Miss Likstar and Mr. West couldn't, probably. but some differences are just family related, so people might assume that about them. They remind me a bit more of Cloud Village shinobi."

"That is interesting," Momo mused. "They certainly don't look Japanese, but you... I mean if I didn't know better. I would never know the difference like I said with how different people are at home. But... the Cloud do look like they're not from...I wonder how people populated this world of yours then...If they transmigrated here from different places after all. I've been told that's how it starts."

"That's so...strange to think about," Hinata mused.

Sasuke noticed only from this that Hinata and Hanabi both clearly knew the truth about the heroes.

"Are we being rude?" Momo surprised him by asking politely. "I notice you haven't said anything in all this time. I did not mean to exclude you from the conversation."

It wasn't the kind of conversation that Sasuke couldn't have joined if he wanted to, but why would he want to?

He just gave her a look like she'd asked if he wanted to be hit with cold water.

"Doesn't talk much, does he?" Hanabi noted. "Dabi says it's because he thinks he's better than us. But the Hyuga and the Uchiha have always been considered to be on the same footing in Leaf Village's kekkei genkai clans. So there's no reason to look down on us."

"Did your clans ever intermarry?" Momo asked what was a normal question for her since it was a common thing to happen in the circles her family ran in.

And it must have been for the Hyuga's also, because Hinata acted like it was a normal question.

"No," she said. "You see uh...well, it's probably not polite to explain it."

"Oh go ahead," Sasuke said thinly. "Tell her."

He actually only had a vague idea, his clan had been killed when he was too young to understand the politics of the village and his reasons since had been more based on their powers--but he had a good guess based on Tobirama's explanation.

"Well, uh please understand I'm not speaking for my personal feelings on it," Hinata said nervously. "But I think the elders of our clans, originally, didn't want to unite with the Uchiha clan because they were still considered lower class even though they weer strong...they wer the police force, and we're elite warriors. At least that was the thinking of the time. Now it..." she trailed off.

But of course she meant that now it wouldn't even matter.

"Oh," Momo sid. "I'm so sorry for asking such a sensitive question. I didn't understand that, because rich families... I mean where I live it's...it wouldn't matter if...I guess it would be like if someone wants to marry into a wealthy family who did business with a mob boss. That sounds like some trashy novel my mother wouldn't let me read now that I say it out loud--but those differences shouldn't matter, between people. If you're both heroes, I think...I hope anyway." She rubbed her hair.

"Why?" Hanabi asked. "I mean... unless it's personal."

"Then don't ask her about it," Hinata warned her sister.

She only ever took that tone with Hanabi, proof that even a timid person can be subject to familial effect.

"No it's all right, I asked you," Momo said with a weak smile. "I was just thought of Shoto and I... not that we're anywhere near marriage or anything yet, but, my parents... well, I'm sure they're fine with eim since he's the son of the top hero, but if he was anyone else, I wonder if they would have minded. They have high standards. I hope any hero student would be good enough for them, but not all heroes are the same. I envy my classmates who don't have to worry about that sometimes. Jiro, my best friend, she's dating someone in our class who is not rich or powerful politically anything but her dad and mom only care that she's happy and that he likes music. And he does and she is, and it's so simple for them." She sighed.

"Sounds as if your family power might have factored into your relationship," Sasuke said just to be mean, he didn't actually care. 

"What do you mean?" Momo looked at him oddly.

"Jstu that it's conviona that you're giong out with someone who your family would approve of, right away," Sasuke said.

"That not ni thitn osay," Hinata said, with more firmness than you'd expect of her.

"He's got a point," Hanabi said. "He's a jerk, but he's got a point. Would you even have considered it if not for that?"

"Of course I would, that wasn't even a thought in my mind when he asked me to date him," Momo said heatedly. "I could do that to Shoto, not after the way his family pushed him into things. I'm sure if he thought that was it, he'd be crushed. He would never think of that with me. I think he was actually worried about his father approving of me being a bad sign. It's just because of my quirk and my skills...well, I think he likes me all right, maybe he doesn't mind that as long as the reason for it is in place. But that's still...uncomfortable. Anyway, the ito is, I wouldn't be that mercenary about my relationships. It's not like I'm friends with the others in my class for the connections."

"I agree," Hinata said, strongly. "That doesn't matter, not really."

"Wow, that's so cool that both of you think that," Hanabi was impressed. "I've always wondered about that myself...but you know what? I'll just be with who I want too. I'm telling Father that whenever he brings it up."

"Oh, that might not go well," Hinata paled.

"Oh, I'll just tell him if I don't get to pick, I'll renounce my heritage and make you next in line," Hanabi shrugged.

"That would work?" Momo said. "But Hinata would be good at leading. Is that really a threat."

"I know that and you know that, but father doesn't," Hanabi sniffed. "Actually, I should just do that anyway."

"No, it's fine," Hinata held up her hands. "You'll make a great leader. And I'm too timid. I would never be able to make the changes we want. I'm fine with you being the leader, really. I really think not having the responsibility might be good for me because I have...other things to be concerned about."

Namely Naruto, they all knew. Even Sasuke hadn't missed her massive crush, but he didn't care about it.

[You have to love how well Sasuke fits into the girls' group however much he might resent it. He's really never been much of a man's man despite the male characters all wanting to be cool like him--which he's not cool; I just don't get it. Sasuke is a massive nerd type if you take away the cold exterior.]

"You don't have siblings right, Momo-san?" Hanabi said.

"I'm afraid not. I always wanted some, but my parents said they were too busy," Momo said, sighing.

"At least you don't have to worry about this inheritance stuff," Hanabi said. "I really think it would be more fun to be a shinobi."

"You'd be a good leader," Hinata insisted. "And it's not as fun as it seems."

"It does almost seem your personalities are better suited to switch places," Momo noted. "But that is not always how life works out...sadly. But I think you both are good a what you do already."

The sweetness of this was making Sasuke feel nauseated.

"Come to think of it--" Momo finally remembered him and his rude remarks. "--why did you even ask me that? I didn't think you would care about this kind of thing...unless you've really always avoided an entanglement partially because of your family history. Is it that you're worried that people will get dragged down with you?"

Sasuke had never thought of anything so unselfish--though, now that she mentioned it, it was an excellent reason. But he doubted it would convince Sakura.

"No," he said sullenly. "I was just trying to make you angry."

Somehow he figured that saying that to her up front would bother her more than lying would.

He might have been right.

"Why?" Hanabi said incredulously. "She's so nice."

"She's too nice," Sasuke said. "It's not believable."

"I can't believe you're saying that to my face," Momo said. "I could easily believe you would say it behind my back, but it seems strange for you to admit that's why you're trying to upset me. Is that also why you try to upset Shine? Is she too kind?"

Why was she making this about Shine? Most people would have just gotten defensive.

"Of course not," Sasuke said, not even sure it was the truth. "All of you annoy me."

"By being nice?" Hinata said strangely.

Why were they all acting like this? The boys would have told him to buzz off. But the girls' calm handling of the matter was like nails on a chalkboard to him. Or like kryptonite to Wally's flying, bullet-proof friend. It was too unusual for him to handle.

"It's too complicated for you to understand," he said aloud. "You're all so predictable. And you don't act like fighters. Not like shinobi."

"But you don't like shinobi," Momo countered. "So why isn't that a good thing?"

She had him there.

"Maybe he is crazy," Hanabi remarked.

"Hanabi!" Hinata said strangely. "Please...don't make him mad."

"Why? He can't do anything to me--the others will stop him," Hanabi said.

"You think that it's okay to underestimate me?" Sasuke got mad. His eyes changed color without him noticing.

The two older girls at once pulled Hanabi behind them while she looked surprised.

"I don't mean to bother you," Hinata said, "but you can't threaten my sister... I'll...have to step in."

She was about as threatening as a kitten, but Sasuke knew that if she landed a hit on him in the right spot he would be in trouble.

"I will also," Momo said. "But I don't want to fight. You shouldn't mind what she said so much--she's younger than us. She can't be any threat to you."

"Right here," Hanabi muttered.

"It's not that," Sasuke said darkly. "Everyone seems to think I'm suddenly on a leash just because of you people. As if it's not my choice."

"Of course it's your choice," Momo said, as if he was being ridiculous. "But all of us are not supposed to hurt each other. That goes for us just as much as you. Hanabi just didn't mention that part, but you know it...so there's no reason to take it so personally."

"All of us have to respect each other," Hinata agreed. "Please calm down."

Sasuke finally began to feel silly for acting this way when they were so eager to not fight him.

He sighed coldly. "Just so we're clear."

Hinata grabbed her sister's wrist. "I've told you not to be so brash with people like him," she said as she dragged her away, probably to scold her further. "Dabi is not a role model..." They went out of earshot.

"Perhaps it is partially Dabi's influence," Momo admitted, looking after them before looking back at Sasuke. "But she's a sweet girl, really. Just a little...peppy, I suppose. Perhaps her confidence is from being the heir."

Sasuke was silent.

"You know...none of us really want to fight you," Momo said. "Is it so hard to let us be peaceful? I almost think you want conflict sometimes. Just like with Shoto."

"He started that," Sasuke argued.

"But you didn't have to engage," Momo countered. "If you were offended by what we said, that's all you had to say...of any of us. But you never talk about what you think, so I don't know what bothers you. No one else does either. It's a little hard to be so quick to get offended when you never tell anyone what offends you."

"Maybe this is how you live," Sasuke said, scornfully, "but I don't generally tell people my weaknesses. Or bother to complain about things that are so trivial. It's only that you bringing them up to me and asking me to care about them that is intolerable."

"Duly noted," Momo said. "I will try not to. I thought you might feel snubbed if I left you out--but if you prefer to be left out, then that's all there is to it."

Sasuke started to think that Momo's considerateness might be almost as effective a weapon as the others' snubbing him was. She certainly was polite to a fault enough to annoy him.

[Maybe the problem is that you just don't like anything, Sasuke.]

"Just don't worry about it," he said aloud. "I don't care. Going out of your way to be either pleasant or unpleasant is foolish." [🤔 😆]

"I'm not sure what you mean," Momo replied. "Either I am nice or I'm not, but I can't just be neither. I was raised to be polite. I get along with Hinata and Hanabi because we have something in common. But I realize that we really know so little about your life before the...tragic events of it. Perhaps we had some more in common than we thought. Is that a weakness? I...just wonder what it is you would rather talk about? And if you're not going to talk, why did you answer me?"

That was a good question.

Perhaps the loneliness of his choices did wear on Sasuke more than he knew, even if his way of relieving it was to be a pill.

"You know, you're the kind of person I would never talk to at home." Momo took his silence as dismissal and got a little mad. "At least not without my parents' approval. But I've done so many things I would have never done before, I hardly even thought about it. But this conversation made me realize that...so your question about Shoto really is wrong in two ways. If I let my family's expectations motivate me that much now, you would not be anyone I would take notice of."

She sounded like him, almost.

Sasuke didn't like being talked to that way--and then he realized that Momo was from a powerful family and no doubt a famous one...

And so was Shoto, for that matter.

 Perhaps in their world, they would be the Hyugas and the Uchihas...actually better than him.

What she was saying was true. The same way the Hyugas avoided the Uchihas--in fact he'd never talked to Hinata in his life that he could remember before this trip--Momo's and Shoto's families would no doubt have avoided him.

Class differences had never made much difference to Sasuke since he was avoided by everyone, but he had to recognize that he would no doubt have been shunned at least by the major families of Leaf even if his clan had never been massacred. They always were. 

Knowing that the outcast thing was inevitable was kind of a bitter pill to swallow even after years of ensuring it was his fate...because, again, what choice had he ever had?

"So you think you're being charitable, is that it?" he spat at Momo, since he was mad now.

"I think you're being uncharitable," Momo replied firmly. "Because you accused me of what you did and didn't even think about how untrue it must be if I'm here talking to you. I'd rather be with Shoto right now, but..." She paused. "Well, anyway, the point is, that's not the kind of elitism the DJs would encourage in us. They hate that. But you brought it up, not me. I can't defend myself now?"

So she did have some temper about people insulting her after all.

Somehow that was kind of a relief.

"It's not as if I was serious," Sasuke heard himself admit without planning to admit it. "I just thought you would get angry."

"I see." Momo sounded angry, all right. But too self-controlled to blow up at him. "Why would you want that?"

No clue...and it did sound strange now that she asked.

"Shine is right about you," Momo decided. "You do prefer people not to be nice to you."

Sasuke bristled at that--but it was true.

"It's strange to me," Momo said, shaking her head, "but she told me to just do as I think I should, regardless of that. So I will. I don't like to be unkind. Maybe you're right--maybe I'm not genuinely kind to you because of you; it's so that I will not feel bad. But that's how I am. I think you will just have to accept it because I'm just not a bully. And I think it's ridiculous that that's even something I should defend. Who has to make excuses for being nice? You're a very strange person."

"Your 'kindness', as you put it, is not that different from the others' lack of it," Sasuke replied. "All of you are just acting as you want. Why should I be grateful?"

Momo blinked at him. "Well...maybe you have a point." She tugged her bangs. "I didn't think about it that way...but, on the other hand, if you're just acting the way you want, why is that a problem if we do it?"

"Honestly, it wouldn't matter what you do. I just dislike all of you innately." Sasuke retreated to his usual ground.

"I guess if I take you at your word, I can't make it worse," Momo said. "I'm going to interpret that as meaning you don't mind if I keep acting polite. But don't feel any obligation to answer me, if you don't want to. Just consider it part of my upbringing to be inclusive and considerate, and I'll concede that it was not part of yours. Then we can get along fine without either of us having to feel like we're changing ourselves."

She walked after the Hyugas.

Sasuke slowly realized that Momo might have just insulted him in the most polite way she could have. And it would have gone over his head weeks go, but now he was starting to understand how she talked.

But actually it was kind of a nice change of pace--she'd seemed so boring at first. Maybe her and Shoto's connection did make more sense after all. He had wondered how two people who had such different ways of seeing things could somehow consider themselves compatible--

Wait, since when did he care? This was stupid.

It couldn't be possible that he was taking an interest in anyone else. All their talk must just be invading his brain.

[Sure...well, denial is a strong Uchiha trait.

Btw, anyone else feel like if Hinata and Sasuke had been two characters who were engaged kind of by their powerful families in an historical romance fashion, and Naruto and Sakura had been their rival love interests who were rebelling (for different reasons) against their family's wishes, it would have been a way more interesting show? I could totally see Sasuke and Hinata agreeing with each other that they didn't want to be united and trying to help each other get out of it, and then Sasuke going off on the dark path, with Hinata acting as kind of the distant friend character who sort of understands the feelings of the antagonist but doesn't share their conviction of choices.

Just saying, I feel like that's probably a fan fic somewhere, and if it isn't, it should be.]

* * *

Sakura had been the only one to sit this out. She was sore because her interference with the DJs had not worked, and she was also sick of walking around the villages trying to be "friendly".

But she didn't enjoy sitting alone in the house that much. Like Tenten, it made her feel left out.

When everyone came back, group by group, the hot topic, of course, was the incident at the marketplace. 

The shinobi didn't all agree with Shine's method of handling it, but Gaara was in favor of it. He was inclined to be merciful.

However, her take on the political issues of intervening did give the others some food for thought.

"I agree that we shouldn't be acting as law enforcers," Gaara said. "I hadn't thought about it before, but...it would give off the wrong impression. I want to be seen as a friend to the villages, not a subject of fear."

To hear Gaara say that, after his past, really reminded his siblings how far they had all come.

"Still," Kankuro said, "we don't want to seem like pushovers. What if those two thieves spread the word that you can get people out of being punished for crimes?"

"Kurotsuchi would be complicit in that," Shine said. "They won't push their luck, I think. And if they do, why can't we just say no? We're not obligated to do what they want. Your politics really aren't as favor-based as the ones at home. I wouldn't worry about it."

"But that doesn't mean I won't worry about it," Kankuro protested. "I respect your opinion, Gaara, but are we always going to have to agree with them? Don't we need to think some of our ways also?"

"That is what we're trying to avoid," Gaara said.

"You can't just say everything we do is wrong," Sakura pointed out. "The shinobi way has been working for many decades now."

"You call that working?" Dabi sniffed.

"Something about it must work," Wally said, "if they're still around. I mean, it's not wrong to stop criminals. I don't mind what Shine did, under the circumstances, but that's not the rule."

"No, I know that," Shine said.

"I know you know that, but I wanted to make sure they all understand that's not what you're advocating," Wallly explained. "Shine is a big believer in stopping crime, guys, don't get us wrong."

"Then why not stop it?" Tenten asked.

"I didn't need to stop it. Technically, they already did." Shine nodded at the people who had. "But, you have to look past the crime sometimes. Those boys were desperate. Isn't the bigger problem that people are so hungry they resort to stealing? I'm not a big 'pity justifies crime' person, but I can't deny that, after a war, this happens. It's not their fault in this area. The means of providing for themselves may just not be there."

"But I worry that your helping them is a drop in the bucket," Momo mused. "If more people asked us to help, and we couldn't help them..."

"I've heard that there's always enough," Shine said. "There's a way we can help. Perhaps that's what we're supposed to do here."

She glanced around at them. "Don't you all see it? We're not just shinobi or heroes anymore. We're here to bring life, remember? Zoe. Life means caring about people's material needs as well as their spiritual ones. You can't have one without the other, or you're fake. 'Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Faith without works is dead.'" [James]

"She's right," Wally nodded. "Justice is great, but sometimes it's not perfect. You need justice and mercy."

"'Power belongs to God, and to You, O Lord, belongs mercy.'" Momo quoted softly. [Psalm 62:11-12]

"I don't see how encouraging freeloaders is mercy," Sakura said. "In Leaf Village, we think not working for something is low."

"In Leaf Village," Shine said heatedly, "you also think that hushing up entire massacres is okay--and ostracizing children. Not to mention all the stealing that you do as part of your job--"

"Shine," Wally said in a low voice.

Shine stopped and drew a deep breath.

"Do you even really object to this?" Dabi asked Sakura. "Or is it just because we suggested it? If Tsunade said it, would you do it?"

"I..." Sakura frowned at him. "What a stupid question. Tsunade wouldn't suggest it anyway. It's not practical."

"Well, from what we decided about this greenhouse idea," Shikamaru spoke up, "it might be possible to hire some people. The Kage was adamant that we don't do it without help from Stone because of needing to know more about the climate and circumstances of it. Which makes sense. Of course, funding all this will be interesting. We can probably do a lot of work ourselves, but the village will have to provide materials. I guess they have some lying around, not being used because there's not enough workers. That's what Kurotsuchi told us."

"She was very helpful," Shine said. "The poor woman really just seemed relieved that we want to help. I believe the short staffing may be stressing her out."

"For now," Shoto said, "we only know of those two people... Why worry about freeloaders if it might not even happen? They might keep it to themselves."

"Yeah, they'd want to keep the opportunity private," Bakugo agreed.

"All right, fine," Kankuro said. "But if it does get out of hand, I warned you."

"I guess that settles it," Gaara said. "Tomorrow we can start working on the project. I am hoping that doing this will ease the village into hearing out my ideas for peace. Showing them we understand their struggles will help. At least, that is the precedent we're operating on. It worked well before."

"'Cept for the peeps who yeeted roofing at us," Camie pointed out. "But, like, that couldn't happen twice. People here are probably way more chill."

"Knock on wood, Cames," Wally joked.

[Ha...but if they only knew...but that's spoiler territory.]