The Way Through Stone Village (Naruto)

33: Communication and Conflict

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

Everyone else returned to the compound, and most of them were unaware of anything going wrong that day.

Karin and Shoto were not sure exactly how to bring it up, or if they should tell everyone or just the leaders.

Camie and Bakugo weren't talking all through dinner, which drew some notice from their friends.

"Did the world's weirdest couple have a fight?" Suigetsu asked Karin.

"How should I know?" she replied testily. "I can't read them the same way... maybe."

"Is something wrong?" Shoto asked Bakugo, since even he noticed.

"Mind your own d---n business, Icyhot!" Bakugo retorted.

Shoto took that as a yes but didn't ask for details.

Sakura notably was not making any kind of eye contact with Sasuke, which wouldn't have been strange for him, but for her was unusual.

No one really cared that much about their fight, though. They didn't expect much else of Sasuke after weeks, and, really, his presence in their team was something they half forgot about when he wasn't around, since he never talked to any of them.

Interestingly, Sasuke was starting to realize this fact slowly--and to wonder if it bothered him to be ignored or if he preferred it.

Shine and Wally ignored the tension between people for the duration of the meal, but Shine didn't catch a break after that because Camie applied to her for sympathy over the Bakugo thing.

Shoto asked Wally if they could talk, so Wally gave Shine a thumbs up sign.

Shine waved at him that she'd be there shortly.

"It's just so not fair," Camie said to her, not noticing the others. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Shine thought to herself that teens were so dramatic about their disagreements...but then, she was no one to talk.

"Okay..." she said. "So you don't know why he was mad?"

"Nope," Camie sighed. "Something about idolizing the ninja."

Shine knew already what was up.

"Well, what did you do right before then?" she asked.

"I was just telling him about Sai," Camie said. "And...you know, my girl Ino."

"Oh?" Shine couldn't help but be interested. "Did something happen there?"

"Well, it could, if they'd let it." Camie gestured. "I mean, who cares if Sai is weird? He's still great. That's all I was saying, and then Bakugo got all huffy, like I was raving about it."

"Do you see a connection there?" Shine asked.

Camie looked as if she was trying to count the points on her fingers, mentally.

"Uh...Sai?" she guessed.

"You have been pretty excited about hanging out with your fave." Shine could make that lingo sound natural since she was from California. "Which is great. I'm sure I would be too and have been in the past. But I was farther apart in age usually from them, so it was less of a question of why I was excited. To me, all you guys are just cute, but when you're all in high school range together, do you think it always comes off that way?"

"What? You mean, like, would I have something for Sai?" Camie snorted a laugh. "Oh, please, he's like a puppy. Cute, but I see him more as a pet...uh, if pets had, like, agency."