Garu rested on his porch taking in the soft breeze of the morning. Deep in concentration, he found himself lost in his meditation. Peace overcame him, but he knew it wouldn't last long. Soon she would run into him and tightly wrap his torso in her arms like she did every day. There was no escape once she grabbed him, and from experience, he was starting to wonder if it was just easier to give in. He scowled wishing she'd stop with the extreme public affection. He had no time for it and it got in the way of his training. However, he just sighed knowingly and began to await the inevitable.

Four hours passed, but she hadn't come. Garu opened an eye questioningly, scanning his surroundings in search for any hint of red and black peeking beyond a tree; however, there was nothing but a lush sea of green. With a sigh of relief, he arose from his meditation position, grabbing his sword. He had promised Abyo that they would spar in the meadow at noon and then go to the Gorah for lunch. He thought that she must be there then if she wasn't here. If there was one thing she loved almost as much as him, it was her uncles and their beloved restaurant. He could never eat in peace there. She'd always dash to his table, hand him his dish, and shower him in kisses while he ate. He smirked thinking how nice it would be to eat alone in peace as he trudged towards the meadow.

"GARU, you're late!" yelled Abyo as Garu finally approached the tree where Abyo had been smashing his nunchucks against. Ching stood next to the tree, watching Abyo in admiration. Garu rolled his eyes as Abyo continued, "Ching and I found this new cool move from the one and only Master Seong!"

This suddenly perked Garu's interest. He questionly raised his eyebrow at the duo. Master Seong was one of the most famous ninjas of all time, but he had mysteriously disappeared 20 years prior. All of his techniques were hidden away and thought to be lost for all entirety like their creator himself. There was no way they had found a copy of it.

Understanding his doubt, Abyo dashed to Garu handing him a worn and yellowed scroll which Garu took carefully and slowly opened. The move was labeled Hidden Shadows in a sloppy scrawl. He quickly scanned the illustrations of the techniques before reaching a bundle of letters at the bottom. Master Seong's signature. Garu's breath hitched as he repeatedly gazed at the small, yet sloppy print. Garu then looked up excitedly at Abyo who held a smug look on his face.

Ching turned to Garu. "The chefs at the Gohran found it in the back of their supplies and they just gave it to us, can you believe it?" she smiled sweetly. "They even said we could go back and check for more!"

"So sparring is postponed so we can go look for more!" Abyo yelled. "Also, I'm starving. I could go for some noodles."

The trio began down the meadow towards the town when it suddenly struck Garu. The chefs were her uncles. They had to have had a strong relationship with Master Seong in order to possess this scroll. Did she also have a connection to him? He aggressively shook his head and pushed the thought out of his mind. He had one goal now. Finding those scrolls.

As the trio approached the Gohran, they were met with the delicious aroma of chichang noodles. Abyo's stomach growled longingly as he kicked the door in. Garu cringed, not only at Abyo's "Martial arts" display, but at the realization she had to be here ready to pounce on him. His eyes scanned the room as they walked to their table, but the only person serving seemed to be Dada, who was struggling to not drop the 25 bowls he had stacked upon each other. After only dropping 5 of them, Dada trudged clumsily to their table to take their orders before walking back into the kitchen. As the kitchen door flung open, Garu tried to catch a glimpse of her, but only saw her uncles furiously cooking. As much as Garu hated to admit it, he was starting to worry. Where was she?

As if she had read his mind, Ching asked her companions what he was wondering. Garu shrugged at her question, and Abyo, more focused on the arriving food, shook his head.

"I haven't seen her all day," Abyo spat out between large bites of noodles. "It's really weird if Garu hasn't seen her either. She'd be all over him by now normally."

Ching made a disgusted face at Abyo, while Garu wiped the boy's half eaten food off his face.

Reaching for his napkin, Garu looked up and saw her. She stood on the indoor stairs of the Gohran, tightly gripping a small, elaborate red box in her hand. Her normally upright perfect buns were now falling apart and strains of her hair covered her face. Their eyes locked, and Garu saw a look a fear and distress in hers instead of the normal loving glisten she always had for him. Her lips parted slightly as if to speak, but nothing but breathless gasps escaped. The two continued staring deeply into each other's eyes as if they were partaking in the most intense conversation of their lives until Garu peeled his attention away to address Abyo's repeated remarks.

"Garu, we need to go ask the chefs where the scrolls are, come ON!" Abyo whined. He had long since scarfed down his whole meal and was now impatiently bouncing in his chair. Garu nodded before returning his eyes to the spot where she had been, only to find she had disappeared. He scanned the room, expecting a sneak attack, but saw nothing. Though confused by her sudden disappearance, Garu stood up and followed Ching and Abyo who had dashed into the kitchen upon his note of approval.

As Garu approached the kitchen door, he began to ponder what was wrong with her. Her lack of affection, her messy look, the little red box. It was so unlike her to just stare at him, but do nothing. He cleared his thoughts, ready to open the door, but was stopped as it flung open revealing an excited Abyo.

"Follow me, Garu! I know where to find them now. HIYA!" Abyo ripped his shirt off before dashing off to the stairs where she had been standing moments prior. Abyo back flipped up the first few steps, yelling his martial arts styles as he completed them. Ching followed looking slightly annoyed with the boy's continuous outbursts, but soon broke into giggles as Abyo tripped up the last few steps. After taking one final look around the dining area for her, Garu turned and began scaling the steps his friends had gone up.

As he ascended the stairwell, Garu looked at the family photos aligning the wall. Pictures of her uncles smiling and cooking were placed in between photos of her in the restaurant. Garu began to notice a running trend. She was always alone or only with her uncles in the pictures, but she was never with anyone that could look like her parents. Where were they? ...Could she possibly be more similar to him than he initially thought? Garu paused at a photo of her and himself. It was from her tenth birthday party many years ago. She was practically strangling him within her death hug. Garu's eyes locked onto her lovestruck face. What secrets were hiding within this girl he had thought he knew?

Garu's concentration was suddenly broken as he heard a loud bang from up ahead. Sprinting up the rest of the stairs, he was greeted to Abyo's loud cries and Ching's scoulding.

"Abyo, what were you thinking busting into her room like that! That's no way to treat a lady. I would have slammed the door on you too if I was her," Ching began angrily.

Garu rolled his eyes at Abyo's antics before turning to the slammed door in question. His heart stopped momentarily. It was her room. The room where Abyo thought the scrolls were. Why would she have them? What was her connection?

Ignoring his friends' bickering, Garu approached the closed door and paused right at its foothold. He took in a deep breath, knowing what would happen if he went in. The suffocating hug, the soft repeated kisses, her sweet smile. Garu stopped himself, wondering what had come over him. He had never described her persistent affections like that before. Shaking his head, he reasoned to himself he would most likely not even have to face it once he opened this door. Something with her was not normal today. Her broken look from earlier flashed through his mind. He wanted answers.

Without knocking, Garu pushed her door open and slid into her room.

He needed to see Pucca.