"Sakura." I called to her as she walked into the room from the room we'd been lent.
"What's up Sage?" she asked me.
"While Kakashi watches the boys in their training you and I are going to protect Tazuna during the day." I told her.
"Just the two of us?" she asked me.
"Yes." I said before Tazuna came into the room. "Are you ready to go?" I asked him.
"Yes." Sakura and I left with him and sat on the bridge as he worked. Some time later Sakura stretched her arms above her head and yawned.
"You sure seem bored, just the two of you." I looked to see Tazuna behind us. "Where's that blond kid and the other one?"
"They are training." Sakura told him.
"You don't have to?" Tazuna asked her.
"Since I'm so superior Sage asked me to help protect you." he said and I sighed.
"Really?" Tazuna asked looking at me.
"She got all she could from the training the boys are doing." I said and he nodded.
"Hey, Tazuna!" a man walked up to us.
"What is it Giichi?" Tazuna asked him.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking recently and... and I stop working on the bridge?" Giichi asked him.
"What is that?! This is so sudden! Not you too!" Tazuna asked him.
"Tazuna, we've been close for a long time now. I want to help you, but if we continue this, Gatou will notice us. And if you get killed, then what's the point?" Giichi asked him. "Why don't we quit building the bridge?"
"I can't do that. This bridge is our bridge. This is the bridge we started building together, believing it would bring resources into our poor country." Tazuna told him.
"But if we lose our lies...!" Giichi started yelling but Tazuna stopped him.
"It's already noon, let's stop for today." Tazuna said walking away from him. "Giichi... you don't have to come tomorrow." Sakura and I followed Tazuna into the market place quietly. In the market people were begging for food and jobs. Children were stealing from venders and beggers didn't even bother begging for money, the begged for food. It was a drastic change to how we lived back home. "I'm supposed to bring home food for lunch." Tazuna told us. "Here we are." In front of the shop we were going to go into was a child.
"Welcome." someone called as we walked inside. I looked at the counters and saw barely anything on the shelves. Suddenly, Sakura kicked a man in the head screaming.
"You sure surprised me earlier." Tazuna told her as we walked down the street.
"What's going on in this city?" Sakura asked him. She turned and I saw a child behind her, holding out her hands. Sakura gave her some candy and the child ran away, happy.
"It's been like this since Gatou came." Tazuna told us. "All the adults have lost hope. That's why we need that bridge. A symbol of courage. We need for the people to lose their fear and regain the desire to stand up for themselves. If that bridge... if that bridge can be completed... the city will return to that time... the people will return to how they used to be..."
When we got back to Tazuna's home I helped his his daughter cook lunch with what little we had and Sakura went to get the boys. Everyone sat down and ate the meal together.
"Wow! This si super fun!" Tazuna said. "It's been a long time since we ate with so man people." I ate quietly as the boys stuffed themselves, forcing all the food down. They both quickly stood and lifted their bowls.
"More." they both said. It was quiet for a heartbeat before the both bent over and puked all the food they just ate back up.
"If you are going to throw up then stop eating!" Sakura yelled at them.
"No, I must eat." Sasuke said.
"Yeah, we have to no matter what. Because we have to become stronger." Naruto said.
"While that is true, you don't need to throw up." I told them. We ate the rest of our dinner in silence and I helped Tsunami clean and put everything away.
"Hey, why do you have a torn picture on the wall?" Sakura asked them. "Inari-kun was staring at this during dinner. It seems like someone purposely removed the person that was in the picture." The family of three was silent as we waited for the explanation.
"It's my husband." Tsunami told us.
"And the man called the hero of the city..." Tazuna said. Inari got up from the table and walked away from us.
"Inari, where are you going?!" his mother asked him. He walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. "Inari! Father! I have told you not to talk about that man in front of Inari!" Tsunami quickly followed her son out the door.
"What's wrong with Inari-kun?" Sakura asked.
"There seems to be some kind of explanation." Kakashi said. We all looked at Tazuna and waited.
"Inari had a father; not related by blood. There were very close, like a real father and son, Inari would laugh a lot back then. But, Inari has changed since the incident with his father" Tazuna told us, shaking.