'Vows'
by Leki

Pucca. Characters - Many. Couplings - Many. Rated K. Genre - Romance/Tragedy.
Children have so many ways to grow up. Some go happy, some go angry, some go sad... And some... are haunted by things that drive them to do what they do.

Disclaimer: Pucca and characters is copyrighted by Vooz Character Systems. Only the story of this fanfiction is by me! :D

This little series was originally made for my sister, Shade, and so, this is dedicated to her.

Part I: Innocent Age

"Heh." A small snort of a laughter, as a young boy ran up and over the hill. He leapt aside as his friend swung at him good naturedly.

"Outta the way, Garu! He's comin'!" He grinned and shot off to hide in a clump of high bushes. Garu rolled his eyes at Abyo, and took off over a river, jumping the stones to the other side. He leapt and slid down into a hole near the bankside, and leaned back to wait for his friend to find him. He chuckled as he heard the three giggling girls run off to hide. Suddenly, it was only two giggles moving on, and one of the gigglers slid down into the hole with him. Garu rolled his eyes, though really, he had been expecting this.

"Pucca, your 'posed to hide on your own." He rolled his eyes and shrugged as she just giggled at him, "Well be quiet, or your gonna get it if he finds us first!" He settled back to wait, Pucca laying on her belly and her chin on his lap.

"Ready or not, you guys, here I come." Suddenly everything was quiet, except for his other friend trying to find them.

"Heeeeey, why'd you have to find me?!" A rough growl of annoyance, and Abyo was found. You could hear his growl and snap as he broke a branch in frustration. It wasn't unusual for him to be found first.

"It was quite easy, seeing as your head was sticking up over the top of the bush." Replied the seeker, a smile in his voice. Abit latter, and a light laugh as Jing-Jing was found. And then, awhile longer. Time lapsed by, and Garu had to grin. Ching really was a great hider, but so was he-

"Gotcha!" Garu jerked backwards as the seeker's hand shot in, grabbed his shirt, and dragged him out. Pucca giggled behind him as Garu was thrown out.

"Heee, heeeeee!" Pucca put her hands to her face, laughing into them.

"GAH!!" Garu grinned, and tackled his friend to the ground.

"Easy on Tobe, Garu!" Jing-Jing spoke up, sucking on her thumb with a worried expression. She hated to see Tobe hurt. Tobe grinned and shooved Garu away, and leapt up. He brushed himself off, shaking his head at Jing-Jing's concern, and went to the hole, peaking in.

"Gotcha Pucca. So come on out!" He smiled as Pucca took his hand, and let herself be pulled out.

"Heee!" She hugged him, and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek, making him flush, pleased. He let go, and started to look for Ching. A few minutes became a few more, and those minutes became even more. He snorted in frustration. Ching always had to find the good places. And the sad thing was, every time they played, she didn't have to pick the same spot. She could always think of an even better one every time, it seemed. He scratched his head in frustration.

"Alright, Chingy, come on out! I give!" Tobe looked around as he heard a giggle behind him. Abyo laughed as Ching came climbing out of a hollow log, damp leaves and log rot sticking into her hair. But she looked pleased to have won, that was, until she got stuck trying to get out of the log. He fell over laughing onto the ground as Jing Jing and Garu ran over to try and help her out.

"I choose... ABYO." He grinned as she ran off, and ran off to hide as well. Pucca giggled at Abyo's open mouth before she ran off. Garu chuckled as Abyo cursed and kicked at the ground before counting. He ran across the grass. Pucca, Abyo, Ching, Jing-Jing, and Tobe. All were his friends, and all he trusted with his life, in his naive sense of youth. He never thought that he would someday become an adult, or that things could be difficult. He was only seven! Adulthood seemed like a myth to him. He didn't know that youth doesn't last forever.

Hope this story is well received, as always. Thank all of you who do read this story!