Love (Pucca X Garu)

Chapter one

//Ages are 13 and 14 in the story.//

There was an unusual bustling in Sooga village on this Tuesday afternoon. It almost seemed as if the entire town was on the main strip. The street was crowded with tourists, families, shoppers, workers, and townspeople alike. Everyone was there for their own reason and that's what makes Sooga Village such a special place. That, and the cause of a rumbling in the earth that you could feel from three miles away. It kept getting stronger and stronger as it prolonged. Everyone knew what it was. This wasn't uncommon for the townsfolk to experience as it had been caused by the gentlest and humblest person in the entire village.

"There she goes again, always chasing after Garu!"
"She must really love him, huh?"
"I wonder if she ever gets tired of chasing Garu around, that Pucca; she's so ambitious."

Everyone knew that she'd always win the chase and he'd get the punishment, too. The two pass through the village and is heading towards the meadow. She won the chase when they got there and tackled him to the green ground. Nobody understood the infatuation the girl felt about the ninja. There's a line of perfectly good men waiting to be graced with the young girl's kisses from all around the village who would die to be even acknowledged by Pucca. However, all the girl wants is her Garu.

Garu, on the other hand, wasn't so into the attention he was getting from the girl. It interfered with his plans. His ambitions. He was taken in after the death of his parents by Chang, who decided to teach him martial arts and ninja skills from a young age. There, he met Ching and Abyo, two of his closest friends. Ching is basically the boy's sister; he feels as if he can convey what he's feeling to her, and she'll always understand and try to make him feel better. She's been doing a very good job with this after he took an oath of silence for his parents and ancestors. She learned sign language so Garu could vent to her without talking. That, and because it also pertains to her closest friend, Pucca, who also went silent out of respect for Garu. He doesn't know why she would, but it's nice to not to feel so left out from the group.

⁂༄♡༄⁂

Pucca had just finished up her last kiss attack of the day, with the sunset to her back and the orange rays illuminating her hair. She signed goodbye to the older boy and turned to walk back to the Goh Rong for the night. Garu was alone again. He got up off of the soft grass he was stuck on, dusted off his pants, and watched the sun continue to set in front of him.

He needed a minute to think. He needed to think about his life and if he's satisfied with where it is right now. Does he need to work harder on his ninja skills? Does he have to be a better friend? Does he actually hate the attention he gets from her? Ew. Of course he does. Garu sighs when he thinks about that. But he can't help thinking why he lets her treat him like that.

I need to have a discussion with her, he thinks, but will she actually listen?

He thinks about it longer and decides to call quits for the night. It's unimportant to Garu right now. What is important is that he gets home with enough light as to not get lost in the dense bamboo forest. He takes one more look at the setting sun and heads home to go sleep. Garu can't focus on the task before him, though. His mind keeps on dwelling on the thought of having a serious discussion with the younger girl and how she'll react. Garu doesn't want to hurt her feelings, but she knows he gets uncomfortable by the constant kisses. He needs to say it to Pucca in order for him to feel better.

As soon as he came back to reality Garu is greeted by his house. He walks in, locks the door, brushes his teeth, and changes into his pajamas. He hears Mio chirping at his feet and decides to walk to bed so he can sleep. He rolls into his blanket burrito and blows out the lantern next to him. He closes his eyes and drifts off into a deep sleep.

Pucca, on the other hand, is in her room, looking at all of the stars outside of her window. She does this when she can't sleep or if something is on her mind. In this case, it's both. She's worried about her crush again. Maybe he's overworking himself to get the family honor. She can't stop coming up with likely scenarios that could worry her when it comes to Garu. Maybe she did something wrong? Maybe he really doesn't like her the way she likes him. It bothers her.

What if her attempts at making him like her were doing the complete opposite? She sighs in worry and heads to her bed. She adjusts her pillows and keeps tossing and turning in hopes to get comfortable. Eventually she forces herself to close her eyes and submerge into a restless slumber.

Little did either of them know of the plans against them bubbling from below.

//895 words.//
//next chapter will actually have more dialogue. Thank you for reading!♡♡//