A Missing Ninja

Chapter One

"Aww, you made some chocolate for Garu?" Ching asked Pucca while they walked through the town square. Pucca nodded and giggled. Pucca spent all day yesterday finding the perfect chocolate because she knows how much Garu likes it. However, she had to make it on her own without any help. Her uncles were busy in the Goh Rong, serving customers. Along with that, they had something else to take care of, but she didn't know what. Pucca signed her thoughts to Ching, and she too was curious. "Hmmm...what do you think they're doing?" Ching asked while petting Won. "They must be making a new recipe, they are extremely passionate about their cooking." Pucca signed to Ching. She nodded in agreement and they kept walking. "Maybe you should make Abyo some chocolates too." Pucca signed to her friend. The girl blushed in response and chuckled. "Maybe I should, but he'll be too busy eating them before getting the big picture," she told her. Both girls laughed and continued walking. Before too long, they ran into Abyo. "Hey Abyo, have you seen Garu today?" Pucca signed. The boy shook his head. "Not recently, but we did spar this morning," he told her. Ching snickered when she saw the bruises on his face. "Let me guess, you lost. AGAIN," she stated and Pucca giggled. Abyo scoffed and shook his head. "I...I wasn't ready! Anyway, he had to leave early because he told me that he had something to take care of at Goh Rong. He must still be there." he told them. Pucca nodded and started to walk to the Goh Rong. "Do you want to come with us Abyo?" Ching asked while blushing slightly. He shook his head. "Nah, my dad needs help with some police work and I'm going to ask Chang if he could give me a few more lessons tonight," he said with a sigh. Ching nodded. "Okay, I should come by too. Seems like your dad needs help and my dad could help me with my swordsmanship," she told him. Abyo nodded and they both told Pucca goodbye and left for the rest of their day. 

Pucca didn't mind too much, at least she'll be able to spend more time with Garu. As she was walking, she bumped into someone. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my darling Pucca~," a black-haired, tan-skinned guy said with a little smirk. His name was Casano, and as the name suggests, he was a total Casanova with the ladies of Sooga Village. However, he only had his eye for Pucca. However, her heart only belonged to Garu. Pucca sighed in annoyance and tried to avoid him. However, he got in her way again and he noticed she had a box of chocolate. He frowned. "Oh don't tell me this is for Garu." he groaned. Pucca raised a brow. "Look, my dear, he's already proven time and time again that he isn't interested in you in the way you are to him," he told her. Then he grabbed her hand and gently kissed it. "But I am, after all, I'm nothing like Garu," he said in a flirty tone. "You say that like it's a good thing." Pucca thought in her head. She took her hand away from him and continued walking away. Now Casano was beginning to get agitated. "I honestly don't know what you see in him! He's not even a quarter of a man I can be for you!" he yelled to her. Pucca stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face Casano. He gulped and chuckled nervously, nothing he could say now would be able to save him. She ran up to Casano and punched him so hard that he went flying into the sky. 

It was soon that he landed in a pool. He spat water out of his mouth and let out a frustrated scream. However, another scream broke the silence. "CASANO ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" a blue-haired girl screamed furiously. Her name was Ring Ring. She was the daughter of Dong King, owner of the other restaurant in Sooga Village, and the girl fighting with Pucca for Garu's affection. She also tended to be bossy, arrogant, and had a short temper. "HOW DID YOU GET IN MY POOL?! AGAIN?!" she shrieked. Standing next to her was a boy with tan skin and black hair covered by a baseball cap. His name was Ayo and he was Ring Ring's assistant and the nephew of Dong King's manager. He was also very honest. "I think Pucca threw him into the pool, Miss," he told Ring Ring. Ring Ring scoffed. "Will you give it up Casano? As much as I wish, she doesn't like you," she said. Casano got out of the pool and looked down at his feet. "Go entertain the customers, and Ayo, go get me a towel! NOW!" she demanded. They both nodded and left to their posts. Casano kept thinking throughout the day. "Garu doesn't deserve Pucca," he said to himself. "guess I will have to prove it to her," he said and a smile slowly appeared on his face. 

Pucca arrived at Goh Rong, looking for Garu. She ran into Dada and Dandy and asked them. Dada was a blond boy working as a cleaner for the restaurant. He also tended to be quiet and a bit of a scardey cat. Dandy was a brunette boy with blue eyes and freckles on his face. Not much is known about him, but he's working in Goh Rong in search of the legendary secret of martial arts (which doesn't exist). They both said that they didn't see him. Then Pucca went to the kitchen and ask her uncles: Uncle Ho, Uncle Linguini, and Uncle Dumpling. Uncle Ho was a bald man who wore a hat and handled most of the heat in the kitchen. Uncle Linguini was also bald but had a long black beard and made the dough for the food. Uncle Dumpling had black hair and a beard and handled the mincing and chopping of the ingredients. "Hello Pucca, how are you today?" Dumpling asked. Pucca sighed and signed, "Have you seen Garu?". Dumpling paused for a moment to think. "I'm sorry Pucca, you probably just missed him. He dropped off the ingredients and left to go home," he said. Linguini and Ho nodded in agreement. "The poor boy must be so tired after all his hard work today," Ho said. "Yeah, maybe you should wait until tomorrow Pucca," Linguini suggested. Pucca sighed in defeat and nodded. She placed the chocolates in the refrigerator so they wouldn't melt and headed to bed. 

The uncles watched her go up the stairs into her room. "Okay, she's gone now," Ho said. Just then, Garu popped out of a storage closet. He sighed in relief and signed, "Thank you.". Ho smiled. "Don't mention it, shall we continue?" Dumpling asked. Garu nodded and placed an apron on. The uncles were very excited because Garu was about to finally profess his love to Pucca. The uncles were happy to be of assistance because the best way to a person's heart was through their stomach. Garu wanted to prepare a special dinner just for the two of them and he wanted to prepare her favorites. JaJang noodles, some wontons, sweet and spicy curry, and some of the pudding they made that was so good, Abyo couldn't help himself. Of course, she did come off very strong in regards to her feelings and some of her choices could seem a little immature, but Garu knew she meant well. However, he was very nervous. "What if she says no? I run away from her so often, what if she gives up on me?" he signed and looks down in shame. Linguini placed his hand on his shoulder. "If I know Pucca, she will let it go. Because, in the end, you're proving to her that it was all worth it," he told him. Garu gave a little smile and nodded and continued cooking. They worked all through the night. By the time they were almost finished, Garu was exhausted. "I don't know how you do this every day." Garu signed while panting. The uncles laughed. "It's a passion." they all said together. Garu nodded and headed home. He knew he would be there all day tomorrow because he wanted to make everything perfect, just for Pucca.