A Missing Ninja

Chapter Five

The uncles listened at Pucca's door that night. Her endless sobbing disturbed the silence of the town. "Pucca?" Ho asked quietly. "Go away!" Pucca sniffed, nose stuffy from crying. "Please Pucca, we just want to talk to you." Linguini told her. "There's nothing to talk about, if you want me to feel better then LEAVE ME ALONE!!" she screamed. The uncles sighed and respected her wishes.

The following day was so...different. For everyone knew Garu was gone. They tried to live their lives like they would have but it was hard, because it wasn't the same without Garu.

Abyo and Ching felt the loss of their friend, however Abyo was extremely upset with Pucca. He felt that she was the reason why his best friend was gone. However, Ching knew it wasn't her fault.

The uncles missed him as well. Not just because he was the only person who could go and get them ingredients quickly, but they cared for them like the son they never had.

Ring Ring was about as upset as Pucca, so upset that she didn't even bother yelling at any of the workers at Dong King. Which worried them even more.

Tobe, at first, was ecstatic when he heard that Garu was gone. He and his ninja clan wanted to do all the things that they wanted to do now that Garu's gone. His ninjas were having fun and enjoying it, but Tobe wasn't. Now that Garu was gone, there was no reason to fight, well at least not a good fight. He also remembered that Garu was also a good ally, like when he and Tobe fought against Dong King and the time they were stuck together. As much as he hated to believe and say it, he missed him.

And worst of all, Pucca. Her hair was let down ever since she found out he left. She felt like she was the reason he left, and after all this time, he loved her back, but that hurt her even more. Worse yet, she didn't even have a chance to apologize and explain. She felt like her whole world crumbled apart.

"Pucca?" Uncle Dumpling called softly. No one answered. He took a breath. "I'm coming inside, okay?" he asked. Again, no one answered. So he assumed it was a yes. He slowly opened the door. He saw Pucca with tears flowing down her eyes. He sighed and sat down next to her. He was silent for a few minutes before noticing what she was doing. She was looking through an old picture album. He chuckled. "Going down memory lane I see?" he asked to break the tension. Pucca nodded. She gave him the book and he scrolled through the pictures. "Oh look, there's JaJang." he said pointing at a man with black hair and blue eyes. JaJang was the uncles' younger brother, and Pucca's father. He was also what they named the noodles after. He and Pucca's mother, Salang, were travelers and left Pucca in the uncles' care because she wanted to stay in Sooga. However, they disappeared when Pucca was young, and nobody has heard from them since.

Dumpling stopped at a page when he saw JaJang and Salang in their wedding photo. He couldn't help but shed a tear. "Yeah, that's my little brother. Good smile, funny, and kind. Horrible cook, but a good man." he recalled. He looked back at Pucca, who was still crying softly. "You know, I never thought they would be together." he told her. Pucca looked up. "Huh?" "Your father was quite the hopeless romantic, chased almost every woman in the village. That is, until, your mother came into the picture. Your father would chase her to the end of the earth if he could, but she would always try to escape from him." he recalled. He looked at Pucca and smirked. "Sounds familiar?" he asked her. She let out a soft chuckle but still looked very downhearted. "As much as she kept avoiding him, he hoped that one day she would be his. So he never gave up. Soon enough, your mother accepted his confession and the rest is history." he told her.

"Is there a point to this story Uncle Dumpling?" Pucca asked quietly. "My point is that you have never gave up on Garu, so why do you choose to give up after it was all worth it?" he asked. "He's gone Uncle Dumpling. I'll never see him again, and he probably hates me now." she said through tears. "Pucca, he loves you. And I know for a fact that you love him. After all this time, do you really feel like you should give up now?" he asked her. Pucca was silent and watched her uncle leave the room. She looked back at her parents' picture in the book. "Dad never gave up for Mom, so why should I?" she asked herself and went to sleep. Preparing for tomorrow.