["Soldier, Poet, King"--The Oh Hellos]

Temari's group, which was smaller, had been accompanied by Kyuu.

Kyuu appeared to be intrigued by leaving his Village yet again, and he informed them he'd never been to Quiet Stream, which was the town they had gone to. [In Japanese, that is Shizukana Nagare, but that's more of a mouthful.]

They had less trouble gaining entrance to the village, because Gaara himself had gone with them. So had Karin and Suigetsu. With Shikamaru and Choji, that made an impressive cast.

For all Shikamaru had said he'd be stuck with girls, there were only two, Karin pointed out to him.

Choji, while quiet, had fit into the team well. He was easy going, and he and Shikamaru were comfortable with each other.

Temari actually almost felt ignored now that he was around, since Shikamaru was the type to direct his remarks to his friends, since it was the least amount of effort.

Of course she didn't complain about this and told herself it was ridiculous to even think it.

Choji, who was better than Shikamaru at reading people, kind of suspected it.

"You shouldn't neglect your team leaders," he told Shikamaru, good-naturedly.

"I wasn't neglecting Gaara..." Shikamaru was also as dense as Sai was at times.

"Yes, I don't understand that problem." Gaara was equally dense.

"Good luck with those two," Karin told Choji.

"Hmm," Choji said. "Where are you from again? And you're...Naruto's cousin?"

"Distant cousin," Suigetsu said. "You can tell because they're nothing alike."

"We might be a little alike," Karin said.

"You're both kind of...emotional," Shikamaru suggested. "Naruto can be a hothead."

"Naruto doesn't really seem like the type," Karin said. "And I resent that you're saying that I'm one. Please."

"Don't you beat up Suigetsu on a daily basis?" Temari asked her.

"He can't feel it..." Karin looked a little embarrassed.

"Then why do you do it?" Choji asked the real question.

"I don't know... He's annoying." Karin frowned.

"Hmm," Choji said again. "But from what I notice, you don't really seem to have a problem getting along most of the time. Just now and then."

"What do you mean?" Suigetsu said. "We've never gotten along."

"Actually, he's got a point." Temari looked back. "You two go from bickering to level-headed discussions so fast, it's like you flipped a switch."

"Maybe if you just didn't provoke each other, you would be friends," Shikamaru even added.

"Oh, sure," Karin said with a frown. "Wel,l I could say the same for you and Temari-san."

"When do I provoke her?" Shikamaru asked.

Choji nodded sagely. "Maybe Karin-san has a point."

"What? You too?" Shikamaru said. "Hey, I came with this team to get away from all the girls nagging about hurt feelings and being nice to each other."

"So having standards," Temari replied.

Karin smirked.

"It's good that you've made some new friends," Choji told Shikamaru.

"You sound like my mother," Shikamaru said.

"Speaking of your mother, she did ask me to tell you that you should make sure you're eating right," Choji said, like he was reciting a list. "And that you should dress warmly for the weather. And that--"

"I think I get it." Shikamaru was embarrassed. "Doesn't she know I can take care of myself? Don't say all that in front of the team."

"Ah, how cute," Temari made it worse by saying with a smirk. "Your mother is still worried about you."

But that kind of felt heavy since Temari had no mother to do this.

She realized it a second later too and sobered.

"My mother used to worry about me..." Karin added to the somberness by reflecting. "That was a long time ago..."

"Didn't you have a dad?" Choji asked.

"I don't know anything about him," Karin said vaguely. "All my mother ever said was that he was gone... Maybe he died. Maybe he just disappeared. With shinobi, you might never know the answer."

"That's...sad," Choji said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Well, sucks to be you," Suigetsu said. "But I don't remember either of my parents. Maybe I just spawned, like Kabuto used to say."

"Ew, he said that?" Temari said with a grimace. "Honestly, why didn't you kill him ages ago?"

"Kabuto was not such a fool as to not take precautions against his own subject killing him," Karin said. "Don't you think it would have happened a long time ago otherwise?"

"True," Temari said. "I don't know how two men like that can do so much damage all by themselves."

Their shopping endeavors were more fruitful than they thought. The Land of Storms was actually a very fertile land and didn't get very harsh winters, so it still had a growing season going even at this time. 

They found actual vegetables and some late season fruits and some more staples like salt and dried meat.

Choji wanted fresh meat, but Temari wouldn't let him get more than a few pounds of it because she said it would go bad in 2 days, tops, in the humid weather of Rain.

"How is the budget holding up?" Shikamaru asked Temari.

She shrugged. "Since we don't use much of it normally, and we're still a small group compared to a whole army, we should have enough for a while. But Sand will not want to pay for this trip if it doesn't yield dividends in return. If this plan doesn't work, I don't know that we could have convinced them to send us to Cloud even without Stone... Well, anyway, let's just hope it works."

"You never struck me as an optimist," Shikamaru said. "And without Gaara there to convince them..."

"Well, our sensei is there," Temari said. "He's actually grown a spine in the last couple years. Besides, we sent them a very persuasive letter." She smirked. "But I also have insurance."

"You do?" Shikamaru said.

"Oh, yes," Temari said. "You think I don't keep track of the Village's dirty secrets? I have enough on some of the Council to remind them that they didn't support Gaara initially, which they would like us all to forget. Not to mention the various assassination attempts that came too close to home. I suppose it's not the way to threaten people into cooperating, but they could use a little nudge now and then."

"Okay..." Shikamaru said. "Wow...does Gaara know you're willing to do that?"

"Gaara will not ask questions," Temari said. "He trusts us. But...even so, I don't think he'd care that much. He prefers not to use fear, but he knows that, at times, people are too arrogant to listen to reason."

"True," Shikamaru said. "But how will you know if that's necessary when you're not there?"

"Because I also have spies keeping an eye on things," Temari said. "As if we'd be foolish enough to leave our Village from months after a war and not make sure no one was trying to usurp our authority... Did you think of this?"

"The concern had crossed my mind, but I didn't know that you did anything about it," Shikamaru said, relieved. "I didn't think it was my place to say something."

"Well, in the future, say something." Temari put a hand on her hip. "If we hadn't thought of it, that would have been disastrous. And another time, there might be something we could overlook. At least ask."

"Right...but I'm not from Sand, so it's not my business."

"If we said that about Leaf Village, I don't think it would still be there," Temari said, quite brutally.

"Maybe not... Still, there's some line, isn't there?" Shikamaru said. "Or the Villages will feel they are losing their individual status."

"I suppose..." Temari didn't seem to like that idea much.

But she was just glad that they'd had any conversation at all.

"Mm," Choji said yet again, this time to Gaara. "They're getting along well."

"Yes, they don't bicker as much as they used to." Gaara was still oblivious. "I'm glad that many of us are putting aside our petty differences."

Choji knew Gaara was clueless.

"Temari visits Leaf a lot anyway," he said. "And Shikamaru is always asked to take care of her while she's there. So, it makes sense that they're close."

"Yes, well, it's good to watch each other's backs." Gaara still didn't understand.

Choji didn't try harder.

* * *

The last group, which entered the town that Ino had mentioned in passing, Eastern Gust, was comprised of Momo, Shoto, Dabi, the Hyugas, Naruto, Lee, and then the Rain envoy, Kosame.

Kosame seemed to enjoy herself. She already was more chipper than she had been when they first arrived in the Village.

She told them that the sun had come back so many times since their arrival, they must really be blessed by the heavens.

They wondered if they were.

"I guess it's nice to have someone think we're good luck for once," Dabi admitted. "With my mug, most people don't see me as good omen."

"Uh...what's wrong with your mug?" Hanabi said.

"Right...I keep forgetting that it's not burned," Dabi sighed. "I look like such a normie now."

"A what?" Momo said.

"Nevermind... You don't know any slang still?"

"Just what Camie's taught me," Momo said. "And Mina, a little. My mother doesn't like slang."

"Big shock," Dabi said. "You say that a lot, you ever notice?"

"My mother has lot to say to me," Momo said.

Hanabi laughed.

"Speaking of which," Lee said, "Guy-sensei mentioned to me that your mother is always worried about you and Neji. I forgot that before."

"I've tried to send her updates to let her know we're okay," Hinata said.

"I guess it's never going to be enough to reassure her," Hanabi said. "But really, I'm fine. The worst I've been hurt is just a few scrapes doing work. Don't make me go back. I'm having the time of my life doing this, and I'll never get another chance, probably, because you know Father will keep me at home." She pouted.

"I don't think I can make you go back," Hinata said. "I just worry what Father is going to say to me...I mean, to both of us. I'm sure he'll be finished with his own mission soon, if he wasn't already, and he may blame Mother for letting you go."

"She should just tell him to deal with it," said Dabi.

"And how well did that work for our mother?" Shoto asked him.

"I never heard that she did it." Dabi scowled. "So I wouldn't know."

"She tried to stand up to him," Shoto said. "She just couldn't." Tightly.

"If you say so," Dabi said.

"How can you--" Shoto began.

Momo cleared her throat. "Um, Shoto, Dabi, don't you think this has gone on long enough?"

They paused.

"Shoto's even patched things up with Sasuke--sort of," Momo said. "If he can be...well...uh...less unforgiving than before, then surely you two can. You're brothers, after all."

"Gross," Dabi said.

Hanabi and Hinata looked at each other.

"The nice thing about siblings," Hanabi said, "is that even if everyone else judges you, you know that they'll still be loyal. And that you have each other's backs--no matter how much you get on each other's nerves."

"That's sweet," Hinata said.

"So sweet I could throw up," Dabi said.

"I can't say that I've ever felt like he has my back," Shoto said coldly. "I was more glad to know he wasn't going to put a knife in it."

"Shoto." Momo frowned.

"There's some trouble between them?" Lee was confused.

"They never get along." Naruto rubbed his head. "Like Sasuke and I."

That was a more true comparison than Naruto really realized, actually.

"I see," Lee said, but he didn't.

"Hey, he's right," Dabi said. "I'm not any kind of brother. So why pretend?" He put his hands in his pockets and shuffled away.

"You shouldn't have said that to him," Hanabi dared to say to Shoto. "How is he going to feel like your family if you talk about knives in the back?"

"I'm happy that he's turning over a new leaf," Shoto said, "and that he wants to be good...kind of. But I just don't see how that can make us have some bond like we've been close for years."

"That's not what we meant," Momo said. "Of course you wouldn't be close--yet. But you could be closer if you stopped judging each other. This has been going on ever since you found out who he was and he got arrested. But you know that he turned himself in out of honor, and that he wants to make changes that we can at least partially agree with now, so...what's holding you back from trying to bond?"

"I guess..." Shoto thought. "I mean, he hated us all so much, he wanted us to die. I never wanted my siblings to die, just...I mean...I didn't go that dark."

"But, Shoto...didn't you have your mother to help you?" Momo said. "But he didn't... She didn't help him, did she?"

"She's said she didn't," Shoto said. "Not the way she should have. But that's not fair to her. She had to deal with my father."

Hanabi and Hinata exchanged glances.

"Is that really a good reason?" Hanabi asked. "I mean, Dabi is not your father."

Shoto looked up. "Well...no..."

"So then it's not fair to him," Hinata said. "Just like it's not fair to Neji, what happens to his father, and about the curse seal...and it made him angry until he felt there was no way out of it."

"Dabi has talked to us about you," Hanabi added. "And I think he really doesn't hate you so much, you know? He just doesn't know how to be a family. But he was alone for a long time, and...well you have your school, and your other siblings, and a lot of stuff was bad, but I...just think maybe you're not appreciating how much you had going for you that maybe he didn't."

She knew just what it was like to have advantages that your sibling didn't.

Shoto looked somber. "So you're saying I could have turned out just like him if I didn't have those things?"

"No, I think some things are a choice," Momo said. "But that anger you feel...if you gave into it like he did...well, yes, I think you could have turned out much the same way, if you didn't have the understanding you did...and you also had the quirk ability to be a hero, and he doesn't. If you hadn't had that...if you'd just been another failed experiment...and one of your siblings had been the perfect one...what do you think would have happened to you?"

Shoto had never thought about it that way before.

"I...think I would probably have felt like he did," he admitted slowly. "And helpless, probably."

"Perhaps he's just too ashamed now to talk to you about it," Hinata said quietly. "I think...if it were me, I would wonder if anyone would even see me as their family again."

"But you would never do anything like that," Naruto said.

"I don't think I would," Hinata said, "but I know what it's like to be the weak one. And if I could have become like Dabi...well, I never could have, so I don't know if I would have been tempted to or not. That's the thing, we all have our own stories of what we have in life. I don't think he's really so bad, considering the ones he had to face. And I think Shoto-san has been admirable also, to try to overcome all of it... I think both of you have tried. But it's selfish if you don't give the other enough credit."

"That's just what I think," Momo said. "Of course, you haven't made the same choices--it's not that... It's just that he's made as good a choice as he knows how to make, perhaps. That's the...part that I think we can just forget sometimes."

By we, she meant Shoto, but she wanted to be nice.

Shoto likely wouldn't have listened to this a few days ago, but he was still in a more humble state of mind after the Sasuke fight incident.

"So then it's like Sasuke," he said aloud. "I forget that other people have the deck stacked against them more than I have, and I expect them to be the same as me without all the same benefits... Though I think that our senseis would say everyone has moral responsibility."

"They do," Momo said. "But do you remember that part of Mere Christianity? Where Lewis says that we can't judge people's moral efforts just by how well they match each other? Because someone may have very different circumstances or physical problems than someone else. But because of them, they're making further strides. I suppose that both someone who was raised to be an assassin and one who was raised by priest might choose not to take revenge on another person--but would you give more to the one who was taught it was the right thing to do than to one who wasn't? It's like...we all have to climb the same mountain, but some of us have a harness or a stairway because of our upbringing, but others have to just claw their way to the top by themselves."

She shook her head. "But I never realized this till recently. In fact, I think our shinobi friends have made it more clear to me than before. In the past I might have been one to look down on all of you because of what you were taught and what your jobs entail, and it's not very heroic...but, coming to know you, I see that you're all trying to do the best you can with what you do know--and trying to change where you can...and just because I was taught different doesn't means I was trying harder. So I feel foolish for ever thinking that way."

"It's best not to think that way," Hinata said. "If you can. Many ninja do the same. They look down on people because of their backgrounds."

"Heh...I know all about that," Naruto said somberly.

"I think it's actually a good sign that you think you're wrong now," Hanabi said to Momo. "It shows that you were actually not arrogant, deep down. Isn't that better?"

"I had good teachers also," Momo said. "Shine and Wally's method is to turn everything you think upside down on you and then ask you to defend it. When you realize that you can't, or can't as well as you think, you reconsider your biases."

"Speaking from experience," Lee said, "people can think less of you just for your lack of talent, not even what you do. So I can easily see that it would be hard to overcome both those things. I don't really know Dabi-san that well, but I think Guy-sensei would admire that he has the passion to even try to change."

"It's almost too bad he's not hearing any of this," Momo mused.

"I'm surprised that you defend him so much," Shoto said. "You didn't like him at first."

"I was afraid of him at first," Momo said. "But once I stopped being as afraid, I began to like him more." [Btw, that's a huge part of why people dislike each other. Fear. It's not always about actions or personality. That's why social anxiety has really amped up the amount of hostility in the culture.]

"I never thought he was scary," Hanabi said, "so I liked him right away. Not that he's not rude, but I like that he takes people seriously no matter who they are. That's a rare quality."

"It is," Hinata agreed. "I did find him a little off-putting, but, he has grown on me. And he shows some concern for us, when the situation is dire enough. And I have to be grateful to him for looking after my sister."

"Gosh, this got sappy," Naruto complained. "If you all like Dabi so much, why don't you just tell him that?"

They looked at him strangely.

"I guess that is a thought..." Momo said oddly. "I mean, it's awkward, but...I suppose we rarely do praise him to his face. Or at all."

"We should try harder," Shoto admitted. "I suppose...but he said some very...insulting things to me also."

"But you could be the bigger person," Momo suggested gently. "Because it's our responsibility to act more maturely, since we're heroes."

Shoto nodded.

Hinata smiled.

When Shoto had fallen a little behind because he was lost in his own thoughts, she ventured another remark.

"Momo-senpai, I hope you won't find this impertinent to say, but...I think you've changed since we met...years ago."

"I have?" Momo said.

"Forgive me if this sounds rude, but, back then, you seemed uncertain and timid," Hinata said. "I mean...not like...me, but still, less sure. I suppose because you were in a strange land. Now you seem much stronger."

Momo thought. "I suppose...I have started to be more vocal since then. I think...honestly, it's almost that it went wrong so drastically that time, and I felt as if I had to speak up more. Sometimes I try to speak up in class and to defend my friends, but I often feel as if I back down too soon. But with this...journey, it's been more clear that if I back down, nothing changes, and I never get my point across by being hesitant. It's a flaw of mine that my teacher at home has said; I need to act with more confidence...but do you really think I am? I don't feel confident. It's more  that I'm losing patience with the same mistakes."

"Isn't that being confident?" Hanabi said. "That's all I got."

"You seem confident even if you don't feel it," Hinata said.

Momo blushed a little. "I didn't realize..."

"It's not just her though," Naruto piped up. "Hinata, you seem much stronger than before."

"I do?" Hinata blushed even harder than Momo had.

"Yes, the way you were talking to Todoroki, too. I mean, that guy's kind of scary, but you were just going at him." Naruto made a fist. "When you get serious, you're pretty strong."

Hinata flushed again. "Oh..."

"Hmm." Hanabi winked at Momo. "At least he noticed, huh?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't pry..." Momo always felt strange about pushing people together. She did not share Camie's love of match-making and theorizing about people's personal Ives.

Unfortunately, it looked as if Hanabi had just as much of a weakness to that as Ino did. She was already one of Camie's fellow shippers.

But thankfully they had to be about their business, so Momo was spared being roped into any attempts to push this further.

* * *

The Bakugo group got on well enough once the leaders of this village had welcomed them in. But they found this village (this one's name was Small Waterfall, because it had one at the edge of town, where it also had a stream that brought them water) was a lot bigger than they'd realized.

Of course it was nothing compared to Leaf Village, but it had more restaurants and other kinds of places that most tiny towns didn't have, once they got beyond the entrance.

Sakura was encouraged to see it had an herbalist shop and a medical center, though it was a small one, but at least they had some nurses there. Though they were much less skilled than shinobi medics were.

However, Ino said that people in a small town had more information on natural remedies than big city medics did, so it could also be a blessing in disguise. After all, Rain Village people were more likely to have natural medicine than shinobi specialized medicine.

People also came to gawk at the newcomers.

Jakku didn't enjoy the attention. He never seemed to smile at any point.

Camie finally asked him what was eating him.

"You're always depressed," she said.

"I'm of a melancholy disposition," Jakku said. "On top of which, I have nothing to be cheerful about. Rain Village is little more than a prison for people without the talent to be useful. Why would I smile?"

"You could find something to smile about," Camie said. "I mean, sheesh, life is hard, but there's good stuff in it."

Jakku wasn't impressed.

"We'll find some way to make you smile before we leave," Camie predicted. "Just you wait. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No." Flatly.

"Do you have family?"

"No." Still more flatly.

"Do you have a hobby?"

"No."

"I think I see why he's depressed," Tenten muttered.

Kankuro smirked and nodded. 

"Hey, maybe they do have face paint here," he said, in a more chipper tone. "They have makeup shops."

"Just use makeup then," Camie said.

"It's. Not. The. Same. Thing," Kankuro said through gritted teeth. "The chemical compound and texture of face paint is completely different--"

"Don't really care that much," Camie cut him off. "Just do your thing. Ino-chan, let's just go check out the clothing stores."

"But we can't buy clothes," Ino said.

"I just want to see what the fashion is," Camie said. "Then we can ask Momo to update our outfits when she gets the chance. If we can't shop, we'll just get creative."

"Icyhot doesn't like you using her like your vending machine," Bakugo said.

"And me don't Iike being broke," Camie said. "But life be tough." [Ain't that the truth?]

"It won't hurt to look," Ino said. "Even if we don't buy. You know, Karin hasn't had a chance to get any new clothes. I'm sure hers need to be replaced...but I am running a little low on cash."

"This is why we should get paid for our work," Kankuro said. "You know the book says 'a worker is worthy of his wages'. It's not wrong to get paid."

"I don't know if we can keep doing this stuff for free indefinitely," Tenten said. "Hey, maybe we can find work here."

She turned to one of the village leaders. "Anyone here need their weapon repaired?"

"Oh, it's funny you should ask that," the leader said, "because our weapons cache overseer just left to visit their family in another village, and we've had some items stacking up for repair. But you wouldn't want to spend your time on that--it could take hours."

Tenten grinned. "Why not? If you'll pay for it. I'm good at fixing weapons."

"Well...if you want to do it..." The leader seemed to wonder if he could trust her still, but they probably needed the weapons for their own security issues."

"Need help?" Kankuro asked Tenten. "I'm better at doing hinges and stuff."

Tenten's strong points were not the mechanical parts of complex weapons...but she didn't like admitting she might need help.

"I don't know..." she said. "You only do puppets."

"I can do other stuff," Kankuro said. "I'm bored anyway. Plus, this way, I won't have to tap into the travel fund to get my face paint."

"We're splitting it 60-40. It was my idea," Tenten objected.

"Fine," Kankuro sighed. 

"But we could be here for hours..." Ino said.

"Then all the more time to shop." Camie tugged her arm. "Sai, you coming with?"

"I don't really know," Sai said. "I'm not really a shopper... Perhaps there is something else I could do around here to pass the time. And also spending money would be a bad idea, considering the state our funds are in."

"Shh, don't say that so loud," Kankuro said. "But what would you do? Honestly, you're kind of a wimp."

"I am?" Sai said. "I didn't think so."

"Don't listen to him," Camie said. "You've got mad skills...just find someone to pay you to draw a picture or something."

"Why would they pay for that?" Sai asked.

"People do that all the time," Bakugo said.

"Is he any good?" one of the other leaders asked.

"Uh...he's great," Camie said. "Fantastic. Very lifelike, like they could pop right off the page."

"And they can," Sai said.

"In that case," the leader said, "I do know someone who wants to redo the advertisement for their restaurant. They asked if I knew anyone more reliable than the drunk designer we currently have, and I said I would ask around. I suppose you're more reliable than that?"

"I don't drink..." Sai wasn't sure he understood the question.

"Well, that's perfect then, if you're going to be around for a few hours anyway," the leader said.

"You just want someone else to do your work for you," one of the others said to that one. "Don't you? This milksop probably is too fragile to do any heavy lifting anyway, so you and him are better off doing something that's unimportant."

"Say that again?" Bakugo said, holding up a hand with sparks in it.

"Then again, it can't hurt." The leader stepped back. "We were very generous to allow you to enter at all, so it's the least you can do."

"Sweet," Camie said.

* * *

Bakugo went with Sai to make sure he didn't get scammed by the townspeople.

He was probably right. Sai had subscribed to a magazine in Leaf Village because the people peddling it had told him it supported a good cause but failed to mention the cause was their own profit.

The restaurant was really more of a bar than a restaurant, though it had food.

Bakugo felt a little uncomfortable about being at a place that he was legally too young to be at in his own world. Though the owner mentioned that the Land of Storms didn't put an age limit on bars. [And most places didn't, before the last century or so in the real world, so that's believable.]

Sai didn't see a problem with it. He just wanted them to repaint some of the signs and some posters.

"Why do they need so much for this place?" Bakugo asked. He eyed one of the posters. "And why does it say 'for a good time' on this one?"

"I suppose they mean the bar is fun?" Sai suggested.

Bakugo frowned. "I'm not sure that's what it means... Eh, maybe we shouldn't work for this guy after all. I'm worried about my reputation as a hero."

"To...whom?" Sai puzzled. "And don't we need the money?"

"Well, there's more important things than money," Bakugo said. "Like character. I just don't know..."

"But it's just a poster," Said said. "We're not drinking. That's not something that ninja should do excessively, but I don't drink anyway. "

"You're too young to drink," Bakugo said.

"I don't know if that's true, but I never saw the appeal," Sai said. "A shinobi should have sharp senses."

"You look like a lightweight anyway, so you'd probably better keep it that way... Don't take any water from this place...never know, could be sake."

"I think the smell would tell you that." Sai still didn't see why Bakugo was worried.

But nothing really went wrong while he was working on the signs, and the owner pronounced them to be acceptable.

And he even paid them what he said he would, which Bakugo thought for sure he wouldn't.

"It's too bad your not sticking around," the owner then said. "You're way better than the sot who normally does this, but he the artist, and you know how artists are."

"No," Sai said.

"Always drinking or something," the owner sniffed. "Art is a waste of time if you ask me, but I guess people like it on the ads. What about you? What do you do?" He meant Bakugo.

"I beat up criminals," Bakugo replied.

"Huh? Are you sure he's not the shinobi?" the owner said.

"Yes..." Sai said simply.

"Eh?" the owner said. "Is he all there?"

"He's an artist." Bakugo decided explaining that Sai didn't understand social cues well was a waste of his time.

"Oh, right." The owner nodded. "I guess they're all a little loopy, huh? You two boys want to come inside for a meal? It's the least I can do for getting this all done today."

"I don't think our leaders would like us going in there," Bakugo said, stiffly. "Besides I have to find my girlfriend. I hope she hasn't bought up half the town by now."

"Ah, ladies are like that," the owner sighed. "My wife spends half our income on things like that. But what ya gonna do? Well, if your lady is waiting for you, you should probably go. Oh, but since you're on your way, would you drop this poster off at the apparel shop down the street? Tell them I sent you and you'll get a discount on any ladies apparel. We have a little deal."

Bakugo didn't want to say yes, but Sai agreed before he could say no.

"I don't think we should do this," he told Sai when the owner had gone.

"But why not? He paid us very well and was very amiable," Sai said. "It's no extra trouble. And the girls might like a little more time."

"I have my suspicions about that apparel store. Listen, there are things you just don't understand about towns like this."

"Like...?" Sai said.

Bakugo had no intention of explaining it to him. "Forget it, let's just drop the d--m thing off and find the girls and Puppet Boy." 

[While this may be a comedic scene, I do wonder if the dilemma of working for people you're not really aligned with morally is a little too real.]