A Bridge that Connects Us All: Part Two

Azula clicked her tongue in anger; as much as she wanted to smash Inari's head in, she couldn't bring herself to do that. Azula hated how that wretched brat said such idiotic things to Naruto, however, she didn't understand Inari's current situation to draw her own conclusions.

For now, she would add that boy to her shit list. After she saw Naruto had left the hut, she quickly followed after him. It were times like these that Naruto needed her, even if he didn't want it.

Tsunami walked towards Inari, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. However, he slapped her hand away and rushed out of the house as well, "Inari..." She watched her son leave in tears with downcast eyes.

Tenten didn't know what to think about this whole fiasco. In one moment, everything was all happy sunshine and sparkles, then everything suddenly burned down to ashes in the next moment.

Like honestly, way to bring the mood down. It's no wonder she always tried to steer away from pointless drama. Nothing good came out of them. One thing for sure, she understood why Naruto got so annoyed with him. Hell, she was a bit pissed off herself, but what use was there to get angry at a kid who looked like he had just lost all hope in life.

Unlike Tenten and Azula, Suki was processing the situation. Somehow, everything was all tied up to this Gato guy. From what she had heard so far, Gato was basically the big bad boogeyman just below the Fire Nation in terms of ranking.

However, Suki needed to hear the full story herself, "Tazuna, about that Gato guy. What exactly is going on here?"

Tazuna sighed to himself; he knew everything would have to come out eventually. As much as he wanted to keep the situation to himself, these people had the right to know. They had fought to protect him and even save Tazuna from near death. Tazuna had nothing but gratitude to give them.

Scratching his head, Tazuna spoke, "It all started with a bridge. It wasn't just any other bridge, though; it was the one where people's hopes and dreams depended upon it. And I've worked my entire life on the construction of this bridge in order to bring trade and prosperity to this region.

You see, this part of the Earth Kingdom is surrounded by desert and uninhabitable terrain. Not much is able to sustain us around these parts.

This here river divides this part of the land to the more prosperous region on the other side. This river is wide, ridiculously so, so the only method to cross it is by boat."

Suki nodded in agreement, the info she read from different books all agreed that this river, known as the Ju Shuilong River, was estimated to be just over a mile(1.6 km) in width, however, she didn't know whether that number was an exaggeration or not. But, what she could tell from her own eyes, it seemed to be true.

"Unfortunately, Gato's trying to take over these parts of the river with his ships, essentially creating a blockade. His goal is to control all the trading routes through this river to expand his business empire.

Some say the bastard actually works for the Fire Nation. Whether that's true or not, he's a dirty fucking rat that uses his ships to smuggle drugs while turning our land into an impoverish hellhole." Tazuna balled his fist in rage.

The pain he wanted to unleash onto Gato would be worth going to hell for. All the villager's lives he ruined, and the women kidnapped will have their sweet justice served on a cold plate. Tazuna quickly calmed himself down by taking in deep breaths. He shouldn't get ahead of himself.

"Inari's step-father, Kaiza, tried to fight against Gato's tyranny, but he was publicly executed for it," Tazuna shook his head. "It left a mental trauma on my grandson. He used to be headstrong, never giving in like his stepfather. Inari had always looked up to his old man, wanting to be just like him, strong and courageous. Unfortunately, Kaiza's death had changed him."

"No wonder he was so angry," Yulah said. "Losing someone dear must have taken a toll on his mind."

"What about the Earth Kingdom's military?" Tenten suddenly asked. "Why don't you get them to help you?"

"It's not that easy as you think; they already have their hands full against the Fire Nation. Besides, they aren't interested in this backwater region, anyways. I tried asking them for help, but they refused, stating they didn't have enough manpower to do so.

I even went to mercenaries for help, but none wanted to take on Gato. He's that powerful. The only person who was willing to help me was-"

"My father," Yulah interrupted Tazuna. "I saw the Sujin symbol on many of the workers at the bridge on my way there. I didn't think he would be here as well."

There was no mistaken it. She recognized those trademark golden koi fish on those worker's shirts. It had belong to the Sujin Family from the House of the Golden Koi. Like the Beifong, they were incredibly wealthy and had great connections with other noble and rich families.

Her father, Yi Sujin, was famously known to have brought their family into an era of prosperity through real estate and infrastructure. However, Yulah hated how her father does things. He'd often extort the poor and small businesses through ridiculously high rents or high interest from loans. It was to ensure they wouldn't be able to pay it back, and he could take over their property.

He would target the vulnerable and the most desperate who had no choice but to accept his company's offer. She had seen the lives ruined by her father; he was no different from Gato no matter how hard he tried to hide his wickedness under a kind facade.

"You're the daughter of Yi? Now, that's quite unexpected." Tazuna crossed his arms.

"Wait, so not only you're a merchant, but you're also from a noble family as well?" Tenten pointed a finger at her in shock, "What's next? You're going to tell us you're the Avatar, too?"

Yulah chuckled to herself, "Sorry for keeping it hidden from you guys."

"Don't be," Suki said. "We were just shocked, that's all."

Suki knew they were a weird group. They already had fugitives from the Fire Nation, one of them being a princess, herself, a legendary blacksmith and a pair of Kyoshi Warriors. Having a daughter of a rich, noble family was just a cherry on top in their rag-tag gang.

"So, why does my father want to help you?" Yulah turned her head towards Tazuna again.

"Your old man has beef with Gato; he ain't too happy to see the bastard controlling the trading routes along the river. After all, how was he suppose to ship his goods if Gato's in the way?" Tazuna leaned back against the wall. "In the end, it's about money, and your old man's losing quite a bit. Therefore, he decided to help us with the construction by supplying materials and much needed manpower."

"Is there anything he asked for return?"

"Well, he said he wanted access to the land to build new trade routes to bypass Gato's blockade. Considering how rich he is, he may be able to pull it off." Tazuna answered, taking a swig of his beer. "Moreover, the bridge is in near completion. We just need a few more days until it's finished."

Yulah believed that her father have ulterior motives with the construction of the bridge, however, she can't necessarily tell him to stop. If not her father, then Gato would be in control of these people's lives, and he's more open to commit acts of atrocity. After all, her father was still bound to his reputation and image amongst the Earth Kingdom nobles and commoners.

Gato didn't have to worry about that at all, usually doing things on his own. Furthermore, these people's lives depended on this bridge. If this bridge was constructed, trade will be able to prosper into this region and better the lives of the people. Yulah prayed that her father won't do any harm to these people. However, she at least needed to speak to him about it.

"I really don't know how I feel about all of this," Yulah rubbed her forehead in frustration.

*****

Naruto sat by the edge of the river, staring at the moon far above the night sky. It was a cloudless night, offering Naruto full view of the ocean of twinkling stars. The dim light of the moon glimmered across the river while the crickets buzzed along the trees and grass. Naruto enjoyed the peace.

"You have a bad habit of walking away from things, Naruto," Azula suddenly appeared and sat down beside him.

"I do?" Naruto scratched his cheek. "I just thought the kid was just gettin' annoying."

"I'll give you that; he was getting on my nerves as well," Azula took off her shoes and dipped her feet into the cold water. She gently swayed her feet against the flow of the river, "Are you angry?"

"No, I'm not," He answered with a sigh. "Annoyed? Yeah. Angry? No."

Azula pursed her lips as she looked towards him. It was difficult to read his emotions at the moment; it was like he was covering it up with a mask. On the surface, Naruto didn't look mad at all. However, if he was, he was doing a pretty good job at hiding it.

Azula suddenly grabbed Naruto's head and pushed him onto her lap, much to his utter confusion. However, he didn't seem to mind it, though; Azula's thighs felt strangely comfortable to rest on.

"What's up with you?" Naruto raised a brow.

"This was what my mother used to do to me before we grew apart," Azula answered, softly stroking her fingers through his hair. Occasionally, she twirled his wild hair around her fingers, "She usually does this whenever I feel angry or sad."

"You guys grew apart? Why?" Naruto was stunned to say the least. Ursa had always been such a gentle and loving woman to him. She was like a mother he never had. It seemed that there was more to Azula's relationship with her mother than it appeared to be.

"It's honestly quite complicated," she replied. "Ever since my father discovered my talent in firebending, he personally trained me, taught me what I needed to know to become the perfect warrior. Since then, I began to see my mother less and less, only meeting her when we eat, or if I had days to rest from hard training.

However, every time I saw her with Zuko, I couldn't help but feel envious. I thought to myself: why couldn't that be me?

Then, that envy turned to anger, and I began to despise my mother more and more. From that point, I felt that my father was the only one who cared for me, so I ended up growing closer to him instead," Azula unknowingly gripped tightly onto Naruto's hair.

"Ow, you're pulling on my hair, Azula," Naruto winced in pain.

"Whoops. Sorry, Foxy," Azula quickly loosened her hold on him. She threw her hands to the side and glanced up into the starry sky, "Well, that's basically my sob story; you can laugh at it if you want since it's pretty pathetic."

Naruto glanced up into Azula's golden eyes with mix emotions; he felt both angered and sorrow. Angered because he knew that her father was the root cause for all of her troubles. Ozai was the only person whom Naruto had truly hated the most. He wished things were different, that Azula had a happier life than she has now. However, reality was often disappointing.

"Do you still hate her? Your mom, I mean."

"No," Azula shook her head with a smile. "Not anymore."

Ever since Naruto came into her life, the two of them had talked more and shared comfortable moments with each other in the Royal Garden. It had honestly been one of the best moments of her life.

"You know, when Inari said that I didn't know what real pain felt like, I couldn't help but laugh to myself," Naruto said. "If only what he said was true."

"What do you mean?" Azula looked down at him again, her ears perked up with curiosity. She wanted to know more.

"Usually, I don't like talking about my past; sometimes, it's better to leave it all behind, ya know?" Naruto folded his hands over his chest. "But if it's you, Azula, then I don't mind. After all, you told me yours, already. But, where should I even start?" Naruto scratched his head.

*****

A younger Naruto stood in the middle of the streets of Konoha in oversized, ragged clothing. It was a normal village, not exactly a large one, but it was rather hidden and isolated from the rest of Fire Nation society. Konoha had its own unique culture and infrastructure compared to other villages and cities. However, it still retained contact with the Fire Lord through envoys sent to him.

His dull eyes were lifeless as he walked through the streets in slow steps. Everyone around Naruto were avoiding him like the plague, each giving him looks of absolute disgust. He didn't know why they hated him; it's been that way for as long as he could remember. He'd been called demon or monster wherever he went. However, Naruto learnt how to keep his head down and walk forward, ignoring them entirely.

Naruto used to live in an orphanage, but that old hag decided to kick him out for whatever reason. Naruto didn't care, though. He could survive on his own without anyone's help. And that's exactly what he did throughout the years. Naruto resorted to pickpocket, stealing whatever change someone had on them for food.

Most stores either banned him from entry or charged him exorbitant prices for food that were supposed to be relatively cheap. Occasionally, he was chased by civilians hellbent on beating him up. Naruto had either escaped them or was saved by these strange men in grey uniforms and white masks.

Naruto swallowed the pain and continued to push through all the setbacks that were stacked against him. He learned to hunt in forests, drank from rivers and slept in makeshift shelters. Naruto didn't want to, but he had to. Naruto hated it; he hated this village and the people who had hurt him.

He wished he lived a normal life; he wished he had parents liked the rest of the kids. Naruto just wanted to be recognized by someone, whether it was to cause trouble or play pranks on the civilians. It wasn't until he met Jiraiya when his life had changed forever.

He stumbled upon Jiraiya when he was peeking into one of the women's bathhouse. Unlike the others, Jiraiya didn't shy away from him, but instead, offered the poor boy a bowl of ramen with a genuine smile. It was at that point where their relationship suddenly began to blossom.

He was the first person who had shone Naruto love when nobody else did. Jiraiya took Naruto in like one of his own and cared for him like a father. When Jiraiya offered Naruto to go a journey with him, Naruto couldn't be more excited. He was finally able to leave that hellhole.

*****

Azula clenched her fists in rage. She never realized how bad Naruto's life was back then. How could they treat Naruto that way, much less to a four years old? Demon. Monster. Those were the insults they called Naruto, and honestly, it made Azula sick to her stomach. These people were truly backwards when it came to humanity.

"Even if I did have a shitty life, I never cried about it. I had always told myself that nothing would change if I just cry," Naruto grinned at her. "I would fight through it and get stronger and prove all those motherfuckers who's better."

Yep, that was her Naruto, alright. Someone who was willing to push through against anything that stood against his way. Azula was honestly jealous that he had the strength and willpower to fight against all odds. If she had been in his shoes, Azula would have fallen into darkness a long time ago.

Meanwhile, Inari stood hidden behind a tree. He had heard everything Naruto had said, and he was truly at a lost for words. He shouldn't have judged Naruto so early without knowing him; Inari felt like an idiot for doing so. His anger had clouded his mind, and he wanted to take all his frustrations out at somebody.

Inari decided to take his leave to reflect on things by himself, leaving Azula and Naruto all by themselves.