It's the middle of the day at the Goh-Rong. Pucca, Dada, and even Dandy are running back and forth to pick up and serving dishes. Garu was practicing balancing an onion and apple on his sword. He looked up and flicked at his pigtails. 'They're only okay because they don't get in the way, but it's kind of getting old.' He thought to himself. He did change his old uniform to a keikogi shirt and pants and he thinks his hair should change as well. He looked up at Pucca. She didn't change as much. Her double bun hairstyle stayed the same besides letting a bit of it down to look like pigtails, her shirt is now a tighter red cheongsam shirt with black outline and a tiny black heart in the corner, and black leggings. She even wears an apron when she works around her waist. She's still a showstopper with the townsfolk, despite being the same with a tiny change. 'It's weird how a bit of time can make her look mature. She only got a bit taller and a fashion change and she looks like she's ready to be 16.' Only when she turned a little, it made him realize he was staring and he looked down at his sword. 'Am I ready to be 16?' The thought slipped out and he jolted a bit, dropping the produce off his sword. 'Why did I think that?' He thought as he picked up the apple and onion. "Garu, I need you," Uncle Dumpling yelled. Garu ran in the kitchen. Dumpling handed him the basket. "Garu, can you please get some shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots please?" Garu nods and walks out. When he walked past Pucca, he realized she wasn't following. He waved to get her attention. She looked over. He made a confused face and tilted his head to the door. 'Aren't you coming?' he asked physically. She shook her head, gestured to the full house then gave a smile with a thumbs up. 'No, I'm staying. It's busy here. Good luck!' She turned back to the customers before Garu could do anything back. Garu walked out. It wasn't the first time she didn't tag along, but it still felt odd. Garu can do it by himself, not as fast, but still. He was right in front of the station when he got the idea to invite Abyo. He walked up and knocked at the door. Bruce answered, "Oh, hello, Garu. How can I help you, over?" Garu smiled, and tugged on his shirt a bit and tried doing a kung fu pose. Bruce guessed, "You want to see Abyo, over?" Garu nods and gestured to the basket on his back. "You're asking if he can come with you, over?" Garu nods again, smiling. Bruce called out, "Abyo! Garu wants you to come with him to go food gathering, over!" He yelled back, "I'M COMING, DAD!!" He came out, zipping up his jacket, a tank top underneath and combing his hair up. He decided to cut his hair shorter and spike the front up. "Hey, Garu! Let's go!" He almost stepped out completely if it wasn't for Bruce stopping Abyo. "Hold on, Abyo. What must a police officer remember before, walking out, over?" Abyo smiled, " 'Protect, serve, help and act with the utmost honor!'... over. Satisfied?" Bruce smiled, "Yes, but remember to act on that, over." "Yes, Dad! Now may I go?" Bruce nods and Abyo and Garu walk quickly before he says anything else. Abyo looked around. "Pucca didn't come around this time, either, huh?" Garu nodded and shrugged. "Hm... Maybe Pucca is over you." Garu tilted his head to the restaurant and winked, mockingly. 'Pucca? How? She still flirts with me.' Abyo chuckled, "I mean, yeah. She's really flirty, but didn't you think if she really liked you, as much as when she chased you, wouldn't you think, she'd try to get as much time with you as possible?" Garu looked down. Pucca was busy this time, but the last few times she just didn't want to go for some reason. Garu shrugged. "So what exactly are we looking for exactly, Garu?" Garu made his hands look like a mushroom. Abyo took a wild guess, "Shiitake mushrooms?" Garu nodded. Abyo yelled out, "FOUND SOME! WHOEVER GETS THE MOST WINS!!" Abyo took a headstart and grabbed a few then Garu quickly caught up and started grabbing them. Garu got only a few more, but Abyo was pouty anyway. "AWW!! HOW DO YOU ALWAYS WI~IN?!!" Garu laughed a bit. He looked up seeing bamboo shoots. He pointed to those and grunted. Abyo looked over. "We need those too?" Abyo unzipped his jacket a little, jumped up then yelled, "HIIIII YAAAH!!!!" The jacket hit Garu but something even harder hit his face. Abyo started grabbing them as fast as he could. Garu pulled out the thing that hit him and saw it was a police badge. A silver badge with the golden letters "Reserve Officer Sooga Village Police Department." Abyo landed with a large armful. "I WIN!!" Garu held out the basket and lifted up the badge with a confused face. "Oh, that? My dad is training me to be his deputy but for now, I'm only part-time." Garu made a kung fu pose. "Yeah, I do like kung fu but I just kinda want to do something else." Garu thought about it but gave Abyo a thumbs up. "I don't need good luck! I already got ALLL THIS!" Garu rolled his eyes. They made their way over to the restaurant and Ching yelled over, "Hey guys!" Ching ran over, she was in a pale blue soccer uniform and had a sweatband over her hair that was pulled back in a single braid. Won was quickly following, kicking a shiny new soccer ball. She was no longer small enough to sit on Ching's head, so instead, she now has a tag on her collar and follows the girl wherever she goes. In other words, if bo peep decided to carry a fowl instead. Abyo's eyes glistened. "Wow! You got a new ball, Ching?" Ching smiled, "Yeah, me and Won were just going to go to the park and kick the ball around but do you guys want to join us?" Garu showed the basket to Ching. She grinned, excitedly, "Oh great! We can invite Pucca if she wants to come with!" She and Won began to follow them. When they got into the restaurant, the customers have definitely gone down. Dandy was nowhere to be seen, Dada was sweeping and Pucca was cleaning up tables. Won kicked the ball over to Pucca, making it hit her foot lightly and bring her attention to Ching. "Hey Pucca! You want to come with us to play soccer?" Pucca made a worried face, then looked over to Dada. Dada smiled, "You've been working really hard, Pucca. Go play with them, I'll tell the chefs where you are." Pucca smiled lightly, taking off the apron and raised it a bit. "Alright, Pucca. We can wait for a little." She walked off and came back with a red jersey. Dada handed Pucca a bag. "The chefs said you are allowed to go and to make sure to stay hydrated and energized." Pucca looked in the bag and sighed. Abyo looked over her shoulder. "OOOH! How could you be upset with that?! Water, Juice, cookies?" Pucca grumbled and pushed Abyo away, not enjoying the invasion of space. As they were walking over to the field, Ching looked at Pucca. "Pucca, are you sure you wanted to come? You look a little tired." Pucca shot her head up as Abyo added, "Yeah, a bit more so than just a day of work. Are you having trouble sleeping?" Garu grunted and nodded. Pucca held up her hands and gave a smile and shook her head at the kung fu boy. "Well... whatever the case is... we promise to go easy on you." "Not too easy though!" Pucca rolled her eyes and pushed Abyo far enough onto the field. Abyo fell back and grinned, "Alright Pucca! You want a fight, YOu'll get one! HIIIIYAH!" He ripped off the jacket. "JOIN ME, GARU! JERSEYS VS FIGHTERS!!" "Oh, yeah?! Well, us girls are gonna beat you, boys, to the ground!" Garu jumped up and landed right by Abyo and moved his hand towards him. 'Bring it on.' Pucca slid to Ching's side, giggled and stuck her tongue out. Won let out a huge call then kicked the ball to the middle. Everyone charged to the ball at full speed. Garu got the first kick, he kicked it a little too hard and it rolled over to Ching. Ching takes it a couple feet towards the goal. Abyo tries to take it away, both of them are almost tripping each other. Garu manages to sneak the ball from behind, turns around and begins kicking it over to his goal. Pucca ran over and kicked the ball at full strength to Ching. Abyo intercepts it quickly and kicks it back at full strength. It hits the corner, and Garu runs up to it and scores. Abyo high fives Garu. "ALRIGHT!!" Ching giggled but stops when she sees Pucca panting. Ayo was walking up, "Hey guys! That was a good game!" Abyo grinned, "Hey, Ayo! You're back in town already?" "Yeah, I like visiting Sooga and the Dong King." Ching looked around. "Is Ring-Ring with you?" "Nah, Miss Ring-Ring got annoyed with me and the restaurant is slow, so I walked out. Can I join you guys?" "The teams would be uneven." Pucca raised her hand and pointed to the bench. Abyo asked, "Okay, can you keep score while you're sitting down?" Pucca nodded as she plopped down on the bench. Ayo looked at Ching, "So she's sitting down?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Pucca will sit out and you can play with me!" Abyo grinned, "Hey, how about we have some stakes in here?" Pucca made a few noises then lifted a bag of cookies. Ching smiled, "Great idea! The chefs' secret ingredient chocolate chip cookies!" Abyo licked his lips, "I'm in! What about you, Garu?" Garu gave a thumbs up, smiling. Ayo asked, "They're that good, huh?" "Totally! It tastes fruity and the chocolate mix perfectly and the cookie isn't too dry or crumbly. You really need to try it!" Won kicks the ball to the middle as Abyo taunts, "If you guys who can even score." Ayo smuggly smiled, "Even more incentive to win." Pucca giggled as Won walked up to Pucca and sat on her lap. Pucca whistled loudly, starting the game. They all began to play soccer. Abyo tried to make a few fancy moves only for Ching to take it. Won would always kick the ball to the center after every score. Ayo tried to pet her, but Won began to make a fuss and ran to Pucca's lap. Garu would try to get the ball, but it would only lead to Ayo and Ching to team up on him. As the sun began to set, the game was tied. Abyo huffed, "Come on! One more game!" Ching somehow yelled at Abyo, even though she was out of breath, "ABYO!! Are you crazy?! Look! Even Garu can't go on!" Garu and Ayo were laying down, exhausted, and only focused on getting oxygen in their lungs. Pucca was fanning Garu and Ayo winked at Pucca. "Wow, Pucca, You're super kind for fanning Garu. I bet you're kind enough to give me and Ching an extra point." Pucca grinned, smacked Ayo lightly with the fan and began to fan Ayo. "Not what I was trying to get, but this is equally satisfying." Garu whines a bit at the loss of relief. Won climbed onto the ninja's chest and began to flap her wings rapidly. It would've helped if the sight wasn't terrifying, making him blink rapidly and jerk his head away. Everyone laughed. Pucca got up and began setting up a blanket to rest. Everyone sat on the blanket, drinking and enjoying snacks. A large breeze blew past the 5 and let the players sigh in bliss. Ching handed a cookie to Ayo. Ayo took a bite. "Wow! This is good." Pucca hands everyone juice. Everyone was over the moon about it. Ching squeals. "OOH! This juice is great, Pucca. Who made it?" Pucca pointed to herself. Everyone jolted a bit. "YOU?!" Pucca scowled. "Sorry, Pucca. It's just we never expected you to make..." "It's just that you make really gross stuff most of the time." "ABYO!" Pucca pointed to her head and pretended to mix something. Ayo took a wild guess, "The chefs are teaching you how to cook?" Pucca smiled and nodded. Ayo's phone rang and answered. "Yes?" "WHO TOLD YOU THAT WAS THE CORRECT WAY THE ANSWER THE PHONE!!!" Ring-Ring was so loud everyone could hear it. Ayo was still calm and responded, cooly, "Ah, Miss Ring-Ring, What do you need?" "WHAT DO YOU MEA-" "Miss, I recommend lowering your voice, I'm with friends, Y'know, Ching, Abyo, Pucca and Garu." They now couldn't hear her. "Yes, Miss Ring-Ring. Okay." He hung up the phone and took a drink, ate a granola bar then took a huge gulp of juice. "I gotta go. Ring-Ring wants me to pick up a dress at a store then go to the Dong King. I hope I can hang with you guys more." Everyone agreed and said good-bye as he left. Ching got up, "Well, I better leave." Abyo picked up the soccer ball. "I'll walk you home." Won flew up to Ching's arms. "Bye guys! See you later." "Let's spar tomorrow, Garu." They left, leaving the silent power duo alone. Pucca began to clean up. Garu grabbed a stick and poked at Pucca. Pucca immediately understood and grabbed the thermos. Garu tapped at the ground, 'You have been studying your morse code right?' Pucca puffed up and tapped on top of the thermos. 'Of course, I have!' 'Don't tap on the thermos too hard. You're going to break it.' Pucca threw the thermos at him. Reflexes caught it, just enough time to see Pucca all huffed up. Garu tapped, 'Sorry.' Pucca peeked at him, grinned and began tapping on it again, 'you're lucky you're cute or I wouldn't forgive you.' Garu groaned as she giggled. They both stare at the field. 'Sooga isn't always going to be safe, Garu...' 'I know.' 'Vagabonds?' 'Still gone.' 'The pirates?' 'gone' 'Muji?'' 'I actually found that one out. He's just resting in his house.' 'The zombieh?' Garu shook his head 'zombies. S' Pucca repeated it until Garu confirmed it was right. 'The zombies are just wandering. They still somewhat want to attack.' Pucca punched a fist into her own hand and Garu shook his head. Pucca tapped, 'it'll be 3 months since Tobe's been missing, right?' Garu nodded. Pucca sighed. 'I know you'll keep us safe.' Garu looked at Pucca and she smiled. Her faith will always stick with him. No matter how much he pushes away, no matter what happens, her money will always be on Garu. He nodded back at her and she finished packing up and looked at him. They made eye contact. Garu expected her to flirt but instead, she claps, 'Thank you for talking with me, Garu. It's hard to have a sincere conversation when you can't talk... Thankh.' Garu's eyes widened, but responded with, 'Thanks. S.' Pucca rolled her eyes and whispered, quietly, but loud to his ears. "Thanks..." Garu's eyes widened but he nodded, gulping. He jumped off into the trees, letting the girl imagine a Tarzan type Garu romance. If only. She walked home, alone with her thoughts. The type she doesn't want to have.
YOU ARE READING
Pucca Fanfic: Really Real love
FanficAlmost 3 years later. Everyone has grown up almost past Garu's level of maturity and it seems to have gotten to him. Garu thinks he's stuck in a rut. Can his friends help Garu out or is Garu only going to help himself dig himself into a deeper hole