A Missing Ninja

Chapter Twenty

They say that love is the strongest force of all. However, when there is an obstacle preventing love to show its power, unspeakable things can happen.

During the journey, Pucca couldn't help but notice how Yeobo was always getting so close to Garu. The sight of it was enough to make her blood boil. However, she didn't want to make it too obvious. Besides, Garu's siblings were willing to help her. "So which way is back to your village?" Noble asked them. They reached a split. "I don't remember taking this path." Garu said. "Me neither, we've must've went a different route." Ching believed. Ring Ring groaned. "We're not going different routes." she demanded. Tobe rolled his eyes. "Listen, we'll split up. Abyo and I will go down this path, while Noble and Garu go down this path. We'll come back at sundown and we'll go down whichever path that seems to be the quickest route to home." he explained. The group nodded in agreement and each pair went down each path.

"In the meantime, why don't we gather some things to make camp?" Hope told the rest of them. They nodded and they went to a forest to collect the necessary items. Melody and Blaze followed Pucca, they were curious about her and Garu's relationship prior to meeting. "So, why did you beat up Garu? Did he cheat on you or something?" Blaze asked. Pucca picked up a few sticks. "No, it's my fault." she told him. "Why?" Blaze asked. Melody nudged him. "Can't you see she's upset about it?" she told her twin brother. Pucca shook her head. "It's okay, there was another man in my village who was jealous of Garu. He dressed up like him and treated me harshly. I was so blinded by my anger that I took it out on Garu." she explained. "Well, we're going to help you win him back!" Melody cheered. "How?" Pucca and Blaze asked.

Melody thought about something. "Well, Papa said the best way to someone's heart is through their stomach. Maybe you could make some food for him." she suggested. Pucca cringed at the thought. Sure, her uncles were amazing cooks, but her..not so much. She still remembers the dumplings she made for him, and everyone (apart from Ring Ring) hated them. Also with the rice balls her uncles wanted to serve at Goh Rong, every customer headed for the hills. The only reason why others ate them is because they were hypnotized by donuts.

"I appreciate the thought...but I'm not a very good cook." she admitted. Melody smiled brightly. "Don't worry. Mama taught us how to make use of my resources. What's Garu's favorite dish?" she asked. Pucca raised a brow. "You don't know?" "We only met him four weeks ago, cut us some slack!" Blaze exclaimed. Pucca thought for a minute. "I remember after we got the legendary honey, he tried a honey dumpling after Gram finished hers. He said it was one of the greatest things he ever tasted." Pucca said. Melody cheered. "Great! We'll make some honey dumplings!" "Great, but there's just one problem, the legendary honey is miles away from here." Pucca told her.

"Whats so great about this 'legendary honey'?" Blaze asked. "It's only found guarded by fierce bees who can only be calmed by a singing bird. We had to find it using a map from a honey bear." Pucca recalled. Blaze scoffed. "No need for the bear, I've seen that hive multiple times. Let's go, it's not too far from here." Blaze said and led them in a direction. Pucca got Ching and they followed the twins. They were hiding behind a tree, looking at the bees guarding their hive. By them, a bird was sitting in the nest on the tree.

"But here's the problem, the bird's singing alone doesn't calm them." Blaze told Pucca. She sighed. "So there's nothing we can do?" Pucca asked with disappointment. Blaze shook his head. "No, that's where Melody comes in. She sings with the bird to calms the bees. Her singing always calms down animals." he told her. On cue, Melody stepped in front of the hive and started to lightly sing.

"Honey bee, honey bee, honey bee."
"Love my happy honey bee."
"Honey bee, honey bee, honey bee."
"You keep things in harmony."

As she continued singing, the bird began to join in. As if it was magic, the bees slowly stopped swarming their hive and landed on a branch. As the song continued, they slowly began to sleep. Using that opportunity, Blaze and Pucca sneakily took a few jars of honey from the hive.

Even as they walked away, Melody continued to sing with the bird. Blaze elbowed her. "You can shut up now." he told her. "You shut up!" The two began to argue but Pucca broke them up. "Hey, I thought you guys were going to help me make the honey dumplings." she told them. The twins stopped. "Alright, here's what to do..."

Hours later, it was now the evening. Pucca spent hours making the dumplings, and she knew that Garu would be back by now. When she was finally finished, she asked the twins to taste test for her. They did, and they approved. With happiness, Pucca skipped back to the camp. When Ching saw her, she was happy to see her happy again. However a large belch interrupted the silence. Of course it was from Abyo. "That had to be the best meal I've had in days. Thanks Yeobo." he said. The others at the camp agreed.  "It was pretty good." Garu told her. Yeobo let out a little giggle and a blush. "Thank you." she said. "I could cook for you forever if you wanted me to." she said under her breath. Garu looked at her with a raised brow. "Excuse me?" he asked. Yeobo blushed even more. "I-I mean, it took a lot of practice." she lied. Ring Ring stood up angrily. "STOP FLIRTING WITH HIM!!" she shrieked. Then her yang form quickly took over. She sang an operatic  song with a singing îand charged at Yeobo. Yeobo squealed in fright and ran to hide behind Noble, meanwhile Tobe and Ayo were holding her back.

Pucca slowly approached Garu. "Hey Garu? Can we talk, alone?" she asked him. He nodded, mostly because he didn't want to get in the middle of this. They walked away from the group. "Yes Pucca?" he asked. She held out a tray with the dumplings. Garu was shocked. "You..you didn't have to do this Pucca." he said. Pucca shook her head. "I know, but I wanted to. Also, I still owe you more than a apology." she told him. Garu was a little hesitant, one because he felt he didn't deserve it. Also, he still remembers the last time he ate one of Pucca's dumplings. At the same time, he knew she must've worked are AND she made them just for him. Not to mention how sad she might be if he refused. He gulped quietly and popped one of the dumplings in his mouth. To his surprise (and relief), it tasted amazing.

"Wow.." he breathed. Pucca winced, expecting him to collapse on the ground in disgust or spit it out. "This tasted great." he told her. Pucca sighed in relief. Garu let out a little blush. "But there is a lot, would you...eat them with me?" he asked her. Pucca blushed, but happily agreed. As they ate, they gazed up at the stars. Pucca let out a yawn and fell asleep on Garu's shoulder. Garu was a little shocked, but he didn't mind. He was glad to feel her touch again.

As their relationship began to prosper, Sooga village was on the brink of ruin and needed them more than ever.