A Missing Ninja

Chapter Thirteen

The group continued their search for Garu. Abyo and Pucca finally made up and Ring Ring tried to be nicer to her and Ching, but there was still some tension. As they continued their journey, there was a thought in Abyo's mind. "Hey Tobe?" he asked him. "What?" "If you hate Garu, then why are you coming with us to find him?" he asked. "Yeah." everyone else said. Tobe turned his head around from the others. "It's none of your business." he grumbled. The others were confused, why was Garu's enemy trying to find him?

The search remained the same from the day before. Go to a nearby village, ask if anyone has seen Garu, and move on based on the responses. The day was growing short and the band gathered together during sunset.

"Anything?" Pucca asked. The others shook their heads. She sighed. "Oh well. The man I talked with earlier said that we could stay at his home tonight. There's enough rooms for all of us." she stated. "WHAT?! NO WE MUST CONTINUE!!" Tobe exclaimed. The others looked at him wide eyed. He cleared his throat. "I...I mean we must continue because we may fall behind." he said. Pucca narrowed her eyes at him, she could tell he was lying.

When they arrived to the hotel, they settled in. When the couple served them dinner, Tobe didn't touch his food. "Tobe? Aren't you hungry?" Ayo asked. He looked at him and shook his head.

"I'm going to sleep." he said and went upstairs. He left the others baffled. "Okay, seriously? What is he hiding?" Ring Ring asked. "Yeah, it seems strange why he would come look for someone he hates." Pucca said. "Maybe he wants to come so he can finish Garu off!" Abyo exclaimed. Ching shook her head. "I don't know Abyo..." "I mean, he could be right. What if that's the reason?" Ring Ring suggested. "What if it's not and he really wants to find Garu?" Ching asked. Pucca didn't know what to think, but she did have an idea. "He doesn't have his ninja clan with him, so why not just ask him?" she suggested. The others were quiet, they knew Tobe didn't like interacting with anyone, especially if they're friends with his greatest enemy. However, they agreed because they were curious why he wanted to come.

"Tobe?" Pucca called out. No one answered. "He's not in this room." Ayo told her. The others said the same thing towards other rooms. Ching looked around and towards the roof.

"Tobe?" Ching asked when she and the others climbed up to the roof. Tobe was sitting on the edge, with his mask off. He turned his head to the side. "What do you want?" he mumbled. "WE WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU CAME WITH US!!" they all exclaimed. "You hate Garu, so why are you looking for him?" Abyo asked him. The others agreed. Tobe sighed. "If I tell you, will you people leave me alone?" he asked with a mildly aggressive tone. They nodded. "Fine, this was before we lived in Sooga. Garu and I were once...friends." he revealed. The others gasped, GARU AND TOBE WERE FRIENDS?!?!?!

"He was left at my orphanage when he was just a baby. I took him under my wing and I later taught him martial arts. He looked up to me like an older brother and we spend most of our time traveling together. Until one day..."

~Flashback (Garu is nine and Tobe is eleven and a half)~

"Oh come on Garu! Hurry up!!" Tobe called out. Garu sighed and followed behind the older boy. "I'm sooo hungry!!!" he complained. Garu sighed again, he knew this was a bad idea. Tobe knew that if they stayed one of them would be adopted while the other one wouldn't. He didn't want them to be separated. Garu felt the same, but he just wanted to settle down in one place instead of roaming the world for so long.

"Yes! Berries!!" Tobe exclaimed when he ran to a bush. Garu gasped and stood between him and the berry bush. Tobe moved one way and Garu moved towards the other way. Tobe gave a dry laugh. "Ha ha Garu, very funny. Now move." he said but Garu shook his head. Tobe began to get more irritated. "Garu seriously move." he said again. Garu stood in his place. Tobe sighed and cracked his knuckles. "Fine then..." he said and grabbed Garu by his shirt and threw him to the ground. Tobe sighed and reached towards the berry bush. Then Garu grabbed his leg and threw Tobe to the ground. Tobe looked at him angrily. "GARU WHAT THE HELL?!" he yelled and the two began to spar.

Tobe was bigger and stronger than him, but Garu taught himself a new move: illusion. He quickly duplicated himself and Tobe couldn't tell which one was real. Tobe lunged at what he thought was the real Garu, but it was a fake. As soon as he made contact, the fake Garu poofed and Tobe went flying into a shrub of briars. Garu gasped in shock as Tobe grunted in pain as he went face first into the briars.

When Tobe finally got out, his face was a bloody mess, with a red x scar dripping blood. A puddle provided him with a reflection of his face and he gasped at the sight. Garu looked sadly at him, he didn't want to hurt him. When Garu offered him his hand, he slapped it away. "GET AWAY FROM ME!! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO ME!!! I HATE YOU GARU!!!" he snapped and ran away deeper into the woods. Garu tried to follow him but he lost track of him. With a heavy heart, Garu sadly walked out of the forest to be greeted by the sun rising above his soon-to-be home: Sooga.

~End Of Flashback~

The others were shocked at Tobe's story. "Believe me, a part of me would rather die that see that stupid ninja again. However, another part of me still cares about him." he said. "What kind of berries were they?" Ayo asked. "I don't know, they were yellow growing in a nettle bush. He wanted me to starve." Tobe grumbled. Abyo's eyes widened. "Wait a minute..." he said and pulled out a book. Ring Ring raised a brow. "What are you talking about Ayo?" she asked. He stopped on a page with the berry on the page. "Aha! They're called Midas berries. It says here that they're extremely poisonous. If you touch the bush, you will drop dead." Ayo read. Tobe gasped. "Garu must've known what kind of berries they were." Ching said. "Yeah, that means..." "He just wanted to save my life." Tobe finished Pucca's sentence. He then lowered his head in shame, all these years he spent hating him, he never took the time to think he did it for a reason.

"This..this is a mistake! I...I shouldn't be here..I-" "Tobe!" Abyo exclaimed. "Listen, as soon as we find Garu, you can apologize to him and finally put a stop to your vendetta." he told him. "Yes, I'm sure he'll come around." Pucca added. Tobe was quiet and he nodded.

Afterwards, the band fell asleep that night. However, little did they know a great danger was approaching their home. To which they need to find Garu more than ever.