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New story for you guys. Hope you enjoy :)

"Puuuuuca! Puuuuuca!"

The incisive calling of her name roused the young woman from her much needed slumber. She muttered to herself, groaning as the light attacked her face when she had built enough courage to face its bright gaze. She sat up, scrubbing her face with the back of her hands simultaneously shifting loose strands of long black hair from her vision.

Pucca shuffled out of her bed and staggered towards her evil window that had betrayed her, letting the devilish sunlight in. Peering out she noticed her friend, whose voice had ejected her from her bed, and she felt the urge to throw something substantially heavy at her. That thought caused a tired smile to stretch her dry lips. She needed a drink.

"Finally!" Her friend scolded her. "Do you realise how long I was calling?"

"No, please enlighten me. You could also explain to me why you were even yelling for me in the first place." Ching grinned up at her.

"Can I come up?"

"You might as well hide from my neighbours up here."

Pucca shuffled back into her room to flop on her bed, listening as her friend bounced up the stairs and skipped into her room. She was luck Pucca's uncles were already at work or she'd have gotten a real ear full. "I can't believe you're still in bed."

"Hey, unlike some of us I have multiple jobs and school tuition to pay." Pucca had started University a year ago, studying English with a side teaching degree so she could study abroad at the end of her second year, but she still hadn't gotten used to her late hours. She could count the number of hours she'd had in the past two days alone on one hand.

"Stop complaining," Ching teased. She knew her friend was working way too hard, even for her. She desperately wanted to help her, but Pucca scarcely had hours free as it was and with Ching's own work at the Youth Training Academy it had became extremely difficult to see each other for more than an hour every two weeks.

"Get up and get dressed."

Pucca groaned like a child, snuffling under her quilt again pushing her face into her soft pillow. She felt a cold hand grab her ankle and give a sharp tug so she was practically holding onto the mattress with her nails to stop herself from falling face first onto the floor. "Stop!" She laughed as Ching shook her legs up and down like she was airing out a towel.

"Well, get up." With every word she timed her shaking, increasing Pucca's laughter.

"Okay, okay!"

Once Pucca had conceded Ching, with a sly smirk, laid her legs onto the floor gently. Pucca pulled a face at her when she walked towards her wardrobe, Ching smoothly taking Pucca's place sitting on her bed. Pucca began to pull out her regular clothes, a long sleeved loose red top and black bottoms when Ching stopped her.

"No, not those."

Pucca pirouetted on her heel, stubbornly placing a hand on her hip, "Why not?" She lifted her brow, "What do you have planned?"

"Nothing," Ching smoothly replied. Pucca suspicions rose. To anyone else Ching appeared totally calm and honest, but they had been friends for far too long for her to be fooled. She saw the strain in Ching's eyes as she forced herself to look at Pucca in the eye before directing them as if surveying the room casually.

"Uh huh." She decided to play along, curious to see where this would lead. "Then what should I wear?"

Ching bounced up to be next to her, ruffling through her quite minimal wardrobe. She began laughing, pulling out a bumble bee costume from when she was little. "You still have this?"

Pucca grabbed it from her, hiding her own smile and assuming a stern expression. "Of course, Uncle Dumpling made this. He'd be crushed if I threw it out."

Ching reached in to pull out another costume, this time a fairy complete with gorgeously intricate wings that had made even Ring-Ring bright red with jealousy. Pucca snatched it away as well. "Okay, enough with the embarrassing costumes. What would you like me to wear now?" Pucca was relieved when Ching, with an amused shrug began to seriously look for some decent clothing, the one costume she had not pulled out thankfully left at the back of her wardrobe. She'd be mortified if people knew she still had the only costume she had ever made which had fooled Tobe into attacking her rather than his rival.

Pucca's chest twinged, remembering the simple times before a certain ninja went off to the depths of Japan.

"This one," Ching declared. Pucca looked at the dress she had pulled out, a simple light blue summer dress with a darker blue sash around the waist. Pucca looked up from the dress to see her friend holding out matching knee length socks and white shoes.

"Is this really necessary? You're wearing..." Pucca finally noticed that Ching was not wearing her usual attire either; rather she was dressed quite sweetly in a white fitting dress with a red cardigan hiding her bare shoulders. Ching twirled for Pucca's appraisal and was pleased with her response.

"Hurry and get dressed. I'll wait downstairs."

Before Pucca could repeat her earlier question Ching had disappeared down the stairs in her usually chirpy way. What on earth was she up to? Pucca quickly dressed herself, running a brush through her long glossy hair and tying it up into twin buns. When she came down Ching was bounding on the balls of her feet in impatience.

As soon as she spotted Pucca she grabbed her hand and rushed her out of the door.

...

They had walked for some time before Pucca sighed with exasperation. She had been quizzing Ching the entire way but the sly woman wouldn't yield under her consistent probing and eventually Pucca grew too tired to continue. Ching had dragged her past her beloved scooter, declaring that it was too nice a day to ride around so quickly. Baffled, Pucca had allowed herself to be pulled down many of the small roads of the village and missed her chance to ride her baby around to wherever it was she was meant to be going.

By the time they had reached their destination Ching described Pucca's behaviour to be that of a child, pouting and annoyed. Being sleep deprived, Ching figured she should consider herself lucky that Pucca didn't stomp her feet and whine like a child too. "We're here!"

Pucca looked around the small clearing, confused to why they were here. It was pretty, sure, but why... Then she noticed the picnic blanket and assorted cutlery lay out not far from them in the centre of the sunlit clearing. She smiled sweetly at her closest friend in the world. "Now are you happy you got out of bed?" Ching asked accompanying a gentle jab in Pucca's side with her elbow.

"Don't push your luck" Pucca teased back.

The girls sat down and began to help themselves to the assortment of foods and grape juice, laughing as they told stories from their separate lives.

Pucca smiled brightly, "Thanks Ching."

"For what?" she queried as she took a sip of her juice.

"For getting me up. Getting me out of the house for a while," she raised her cup as if giving a toast, "even if you did wake me up from much needed sleep and caused me to consider mass murdering for a moment."

Ching bowed, "It was my pleasure." Something caught her eye and it was her turn to grin. "Actually Pucca, I didn't just get you out her to catch up." Pucca frowned.

"I had an ulterior motive, and it seems like it has just arrived." Ching indicated her head and Pucca, suddenly terrified, followed her gaze into the thicket behind them.

She held her breath as a figure stepped out of the shadows, her chest squeezing so much that she couldn't draw air into her lungs at all. She swallowed and met the intense dark gaze of the only man she has ever had such strong feelings for. Suddenly she didn't know how to act. He had left so, so long ago... and it wasn't like he had ever returned her feelings. She stood on uneven ground blinking as she tried to think of anything to greet him. Pursing her lips, a mask fell into place and she bowed formally, like one should when welcoming a warrior home from a long trip. "Welcome back, Garu."

Ching looked between the two, all at once regretting her plan. Her own stomach dropped at Pucca's formal greeting and she saw similar surprise pass Garu's face before he returned her bow with a short one of his own. "Thank you." Garu turned to give Ching a small bow which caused Ching to scramble to her feet to reciprocate. An awkward silence fell as none quite knew how to approach the tense atmosphere that had appeared between the two childhood friends.

"Garu, w-wont you join us?" Ching attempted to speak, her voice wavering slightly.

"I'd hate to intrude," he began.

"Oh come on buddy," a male voice joyously broke through the atmosphere, "we can't deny such an offer from two lovely ladies." Oblivious to the tense situation, a muscular tanned man with long black hair wrapped his arm around Garu's neck, and Ching had never been so happy to see Abyo again. He winked at her, and even after so many years apart her heart still soared from the simple action.

"Yes, please join us," Pucca formally invited; gesturing for the men to take a seat around the picnic blanket she wished she could roll herself up in and disappear.

Abyo flopped down and didn't hesitate to dig into the food supplied, complimenting Ching at her cooking. Despite the food being extremely minimal, rice balls and the likes, she flushed at the compliment but composed herself enough to chill him for his sloppy table manners. Surprisingly, Abyo took notice and sat straight, his manners dramatically improving. All that training had done him some good, Ching couldn't help but think. Minutes in she noticed that Pucca and Garu had yet to speak to each other. They sat in silence, picking at their food and sipping their drinks, looking anywhere but each other. Well, that wasn't all true. She did catch Garu sneaking confused glances at Pucca who refused to even breathe in his direction. Her body way also pointed away from him, hands when unoccupied folded neatly on her lap.

"So Garu," she began when she could get a word in between Abyo's chattering, "how was Japan? Anything like the rumours?" If Pucca refused to ask him the questions, she would just so it might stir life back into her and relax poor Garu.

"Busy. Crowded and busy."

Gee, thanks for elaborating, Garu. She looked to Abyo to pick up the hint, which thankfully he did.

"Yeah, Garu wasn't one for the big crowds so he tended to stay away from the towns and remain in camp. The amount of people in one place was amazing, and the shop lights at night were pretty dazzling. You'd have liked it Ching, there were so many unique stores and a huge variety of food from all over the world!" He punched Garu in the arm lightly, "but one of us wouldn't know about it. I'd say it was too bad that you never went into the towns Garu but without you there I'd get a lot more attention from the ladies." He laughed and Ching both wanted to punch his big mouth shut and hid her face in her hands. So much for him helping. To anyone else Pucca looked unaffected by Abyo's comment of the women, but Ching saw the way Pucca's muscles jumped and her body went ridged in jealousy.

"So when will you be leaving?" Pucca suddenly spoke up, shocking everyone into listening. Ching noticed how Garu flinched ever so slightly and his face darkens at Pucca's tone.

"Want rid of us already, Pucca? That's cold," Abyo played, touching his chest as if wounded.

"We are only back for a few days." Garu answered her, copying her tone perfectly. Ching shivered at the chill between the two and she had to wonder why she had allowed them to sit next to one another. They could cause the next ice age if they kept it up.

"Oh, what day?" Ching asked Abyo.

"Sunday morning. But not to worry, we'll be back during the winter."

"The Captain wants the men to look forward to their break so they work harder when they come back." Garu wished for this holiday to already be over with.

"More like he wants something to use as a threat to make the guys work harder," Abyo huffed. Clearly he wasn't a fan of the Captain's methods.

"Well, you must have learned quite a bit when you were away. Care to teach me something? The kids would be thrilled to have some new material to practise," Ching smiled with a tender look to her eyes. She really did care for the children she tutored at the Academy, Pucca thought which brought a smile to her own lips. Garu caught it and was surprised how it stirred his insides with this warm feeling. Strange, he frowned.

Abyo had already lead Ching off to the side and began to run a few simple drills with her to ease her in, leaving the two behind. Silence descended for some time before Pucca went to speak. She realised how horrible she was treating Garu, who couldn't possibly know why she was upset when even she couldn't comprehend it.
Garu beat her to it. "When we parted ways, we didn't leave on great terms did we?"

She looked at him, for the first time since they sat down, in surprise. "What do you mean?"

He shifted, looking ever so uncomfortable and as adorable as ever. Damn him. "When... When you came to see me off I was very short with you..." He cleared his throat. He had felt guilty for years because of that incident, how he had caused her face to flush and tears to fill her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Pucca blinked. "There's nothing to apologise for. You did what was necessary to get me to leave. Besides, it's in the past."

The two quietly listened to the soft connections of the two sparring in the woods. Garu went to attempt conversation again when he caught a rustling behind him. He sprung to his feet and surveyed the area. Pucca peered up at him, his fiercely strong features that were so different and yet similar to his younger self. She scolded herself for thinking how handsome he had become. She had come to her own kind of peace with her unrequited love, and his distance for so many years had helped her heal and let go of him. She couldn't let one picnic change all of her hard work.

Garu slowly drew closer to the earlier noise, his senses heightened through his vigorous training. He sprang only to watch a shadow run from the scene. He began to chase down the figure when he noticed the notice following him. It was louder than his but quiet enough to cause him to feel cautious. He hid behind a large oak, confident that he could follow the first's tracks, and waited for the sounds to come closer. When he rounded on the person he was stunned and it was only due to his complete control of his body did he stop short of hitting the figure.

Pucca gasped, backing away from the looming Garu. After a second to calm her thudding heart she glared at him. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Me? You're the one following a warrior chasing down a possible threat!" Garu, composure forgotten, raked a hand threw his long hair, tied neatly in a low ponytail.

"You never change."

Pucca huffed. "Like you'd even know if I've changed."

"What?" Garu peered down at her. When he had seen her sitting in the sunlight, he experienced the strange warmth in his stomach, and he had taken the time to watch her laughing. Her hair shining in the light, small sections haven fallen from their bindings framing her face artistically. She had grown up well, her height haven changed by several inches since they were kids, her face slim but glowing and well nourished. Her toned calves peaking out of the sides of her flowy white dress, reassuring him that she had been exercising despite his absence, his surveillance of her well being stopping short when he caught himself staring too long at her legs, following the smooth skin higher... higher... That's when he caused the bush to shake and catch Ching's eye to indicate his arrival. He was an honourable man, he had worked so hard to be seen as such, but this woman had always upped him in some way. Even now she made him confused, and he was never confused. He was the Captains right man, his next in command, so he knew his 'stuff' as Abyo put it.

Pucca, rolling her eyes haven long gave up the cold shoulder because of how irritating she now found this tall dark man, stalked past him.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? To follow that guy!"

Automatically, Garu reached out and grabbed her arm. Her skin was as soft as it was pale. "You can't."

Pucca rounded on him, thankful to break the contact of his hand on her which sparked things beneath her skin that she had thought she had forgotten. "I can't? I can't?" Garu watched as Pucca's cheeks flushed with accumulated anger, "Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? I am not a little girl anymore, nor a warrior beneath your order, and I am not someone you can boss around." Pucca was glaring at him throughout her rage induced rambling but after the rage began to drain from her body she felt exhausted.

On the other hand, Garu felt his own anger building at her outburst. He swallowed, trying to cool his own blood. It'd do no good for him to blow up like she had at him. He could already see her face relaxing and it was then that he noticed how drained she was, which got him wondering what had been going on since he left. She was only twelve when he left, and here she stood a twenty two year old woman. So much had changed and he hadn't been there to see it, and to his surprise he felt a small piece of sadness filter through his system. "I'm sorry. Let's return to the picnic. Ching and Abyo must be wondering where we've gone off to."

Pucca drew in a deep breath and nodded, stalker forgotten.

"We wondered where you two went off to," Pucca sighed at the hopeful tone in her friend's voice.

"Yeah, we were going to finish up and leave you behind," Abyo said matter-of-factly, earning him a punch to the shoulder from Ching.

"We-"

"We thought we might as well spar like you two," Pucca interjected. No need to worry them, and after all they did spar in a way it was just an emotional match rather than a physical one. A physical fight would have been preferred, Pucca thought sitting down to take a long gulp of her drink. She frowned as she pulled her hand away from the sticky sides of the glass. Weird.

"Really? Would you show us what moves you taught her, Garu?" Ching pleaded, her eyes alight with the prospect of learning. Garu, who was drinking from his own cup, gulped down the substance rapidly.

"I don't know, Ching. It may not be as exciting as those Abyo taught you." Garu had hoped to deter the conversation onto Abyo's ego which had somehow survived the strict training, making him offer to demonstrate something, but Ching refused to be directed away. "Come on Garu! Pucca, make him show us!"
Pucca frowned at her. Like she had some form of influence on the man besides her, how ridiculous. To pity her, Pucca glanced at Garu silently asking him what he wanted to do.

"Alright. Only one move."

Pucca watched Garu stand gracefully and hold a hand out to help her up. It would look weird if she refused his help so she accepted but discreetly withdrew as soon as she could. Pucca stood opposing Garu, hoping he had some sort of plan to direct her. Which he did not. He had hoped that Pucca would rush at him, perform some sort of attack and he'd fall like she had broken his defence but she stood there still waiting for instruction or for him to make a move first. Pucca relaxed into a comfortable stance waiting to react accordingly.

Garu finally made the first move, rush her with his arm wide, the sort of sloppy move a drunkard without training would use against a defenceless female. Pucca, rather offended that he'd use such a silly attack, easily deflected him. She then struck out, intended to hit him. He reacted to his full extent then, blocking her and fluidly turning his blocking into a backwards kick. She danced out of the way; glad he'd finally taken the challenge. He'd see that she hadn't taken a lay about way to her practises either. He smirked. Now this form of talking he was comfortable with.

One after another the pair struck and pirouetted from harm. Their onlookers were in awe at how well they performed, seemingly in sync and reading one another's mind. It was only when Pucca had taken an underhanded rout and had pinned Garu beneath her that their audience believed it to be over. She grinned down at him, triumphant. Garu shuffled beneath her, trying to buck her off of him, when he noticed how enchanting her face was beaming down at him. He paused, for reasons he didn't comprehend to just look at her.

Pucca went to get off him but suddenly a gut retching pain travelled its way up her sides into her spine and finally her head. She cried out dropping her head onto Garu's chest, clutching her head. Alarmed, Garu tried to pry her hands away from her face, repeating his question. "Pucca! Pucca, what's wrong?"

She whimpered, pushing her face further into his chest. The pain was agonising, like her very soul was trying to detach itself from her, tearing at every nerve ending and muscle to free itself. As quickly as the pain came about it faded, leaving her weak and uncontrollably weeping. She allowed Garu to push her up and look at her face but he had to hold her there for she had no energy to do it herself. She felt so sleepy that she yawned, barely nodding when her friends asked her if she was okay. Abyo offered to carry her home but Garu waved him off.

Clutching the already sleeping girl to his chest Garu walked off towards her house, perplexed to what had just happened. He had gotten to the edge of the woods to the village when he experienced a sharp sheering pain up his back and into his chest. He fell to his knees, gasping with the pain but determined to hold onto Pucca. He groaned, leaning down over the peaceful woman in his arms. Garu started to recite the Japanese mantra he had be required to sign before every session, focusing on ignoring the pain. To his relief the pain subsided till he was able to regain his footing with little effort. Breathing hard, he focused on getting Pucca to her home so he could collapse in his own neglected house.

...

"What did you think you were doing?" A pale woman with heavily applied make-up paced, shaking with anger. She glared at the buffoon before her who still, to this day, claimed to be a Shaman. "You could have gotten us all caught!" She turned sharply at her laughing companion, "And you!" The red haired man stopped laughing now that she had turned her cold stare onto him so fast he began choking, "You were only meant to draw them away, not let them trail you to our hide out!"

He giggled out of habit, "B-but they didn't follow us to our-"

"But they could of." She bit. She breathed in, calming herself. After all she couldn't have Tobe hearing of her unattractive side. She twirled back to Shaman, "You at least put the poison into Garu's cup, right?"

The Shaman coughed awkwardly, smiling shyly, "Well I couldn't tell which cup was-"

"What?! You could have put it into someone else's? You were instructed to watch to see which cup was his!"

"I-I-I didn't know which was his so I-I-"

The Clown, as she had so lovingly given the nickname though he didn't seem to mind, began to chuckle again. "He spilt it all over the picnic!" The delight in his voice was subdued by a sharp glance from Chief.

"You what?! You said you had perfected that one vial and you go an' spill it?!" Shaman scooted back. "Do you know what this could have done for me?! My Hunny Snuffles may have just wed me if I had brought the news that I had finished his long time rival!"

"Why can't you lie and say you have?" Clown asked.

"Because once he finds out it was a lie he'd... He'd..." Chief shook her head. He wouldn't hurt her. They were in love and she just had to prove her love for him, that's all he's waiting for before he wed's and beds her. "Whatever. We'll see if the potion had any effect in the morning."

And with that the gang settled down in their small shack to get some rest.

That's the start. Thoughts? It'll get more interesting as time goes on and more... Intimate ;) But you'll have to wait and see for that.

If you guys give this story a lot of love *cough* comments *cough* then you may just get quicker uploads XD