Hello again! Has it been a year already? Time flies I swear. Thank you for your patience, that is why this chapter will be longer because I know I don't always update quickly. Also Garu is not a cop haha but he's sort of like a vigilante. That's a twist for you.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2. Return and First Appearances.

Pucca

Pucca stood in front of the restaurant, hesitating. It's been years since she has been away from home, but now that she was back, she frankly wasn't sure what to expect. She had missed her uncles terribly. The chefs-the best chefs in the whole wide world were the only family she has ever known, she would've never dreamt of being away from them, but she knew that there was a very valuable reason why she ran away so long ago.

It is the same reason why she has returned now.

A fraction of a minute later, Pucca decided that she couldn't stay out here any longer. Her longing to see the chefs overcame her as she knocked at the doors as subtle as a fly.

*SLAM, SLAM, SLAM*

Pucca grinned enthusiastically as she knocked over and over again, with so much force that the door shook with each knock. Unbeknownst to her that the gargoyles at the end of the restaurant were sharing a look of panic among themselves. Each shake closer to a fall.

"Oh dear….," Pucca heard from the other side of the door. The voice behind the door sounded nervous and quibbling. The door opened a moment later, as a half scared and half shaken Dada stood at the door. "The chefs are asleep right now-…Pucca!"

Dada look as if he had seen a ghost.

Pucca grinned happily. "Hello Dada," she waved cheerfully. Dada was the servant boy that Pucca had strangely admired when they were younger. He was always a klutz and mumbled a whole lot, but he was friendly and despite his hopeless love for Ring Ring- Pucca slightly wondered if he still had that crush on that crazy blue hair queen-he was still pretty cool.

"I-…It's been years...I can't believe you're-," Dada stammered, he looked at Pucca, and almost didn't want to blink. He held on to the broom in his side in place to keep him steady. Poor Dada look as if he would fall down if Pucca would just tap a finger in his chest.

Pucca snickered, smiling, with her eyes close (her trademark smile) as a noise came from the hall.

"Dada what was that noise?"

"One moment-we leave you alone for one moment Dada and you're already breaking the house!"

"Can't get enough sleep these days."

Pucca's heart accelerated, it was the voices of her beloved uncles as they turned the corner and finally saw her.

Their eyes all expanded and their mouths formed an O shape of surprise.

"Uncle Dumpling, Linguini, Ho!" Pucca forgot her bags momentarily. She could get them later. She ran into her uncles, letting her legs pick up speed as she crashed into the three of them like a bowling ball rolling down the lane of three pins. Strike.

They all collapsed into the ground.

"Pucca?!" Uncle Dumpling was the first to utter a word out.

"Is it really you?" Ho asked too.

"It's a miracle!" Linguini added in.

Pucca was caught between a laugh and a sob now as she nodded once again, confirming she had returned. Now that she stared at all three of her uncles her heart swelled up. There were slightly more lines in their faces from days of hard working, and worrying about Pucca disappearance years ago. Yet Pucca can see they were the same loving kind uncles and mentors that raised her when her world was crashing apart.

"I missed you all," She finally expressed out, squeezing Ho into a hug, then Linguini, followed by Uncle Dumpling.

For the next several minutes that small restaurant in Sooga was filled with way too many boa constricting hugs, laughter, cries of happiness, and even more hugs.

"But tell us Pucca where did you go?" Uncle Dumpling asked now finally believing that Pucca was really there.

"You left without a trace," Linguini expressed, furrowing his dark brows.

Pucca's eyes slanted to the side in guilt now. She couldn't tell them why she left. Eventually she will, just not today. Yet lying was not in her nature either, especially to them.

"I'm sorry," She said, meaning the words. It was all she could say now. "But I'm here to stay now. I promise I won't leave again this time I will fix everything."

The Uncles all shared a look among themselves, before their stare returned to Pucca.

"We're just happy your back," Uncle Dumpling expressed.

"Me too," Pucca sighed in content glancing around the place. This restaurant was her home.

"We missed you around here Pucca," laughed Ho. "The moment you left our delivery service was haywire."

"That's true, no one can quite deliver noodles as quick and efficiently as you Pucca," joining in the laughter, Linguini clasped a hand on Pucca's shoulder. "We haven't had take-out-delivery since you left."

Noodles, her mouth almost watered imagining the taste of the noodles. No one, absolutely no one made noodles like her uncles. People would go to war for a bowl of these noodles, that is how great they were.

Simply. Amazing.

"But now that you returned to us Pucca, we can finally put the speedy delivery again," Uncle Dumpling suggested teasing goodheartedly.

"I'll help for sure," She agreed nodding her head eagerly, "But I was hoping on taking a job at the Noodle Company Corps."

"The company!"

"But-"

"Are you certain Pucca?" Linguini questioned concern.

Pucca's lips curved into a smirk. "More than anything in my life."

Garu

Yawning yet in another meeting, Garu's eyes began to drift. The reports of the company have been relatively good, but they were always so dang boring. Sometimes Garu wished he could really quit this job then he remembers the reason why he can't.

A sudden buzz came in from Garu's pager.

Garu sat up straighter, completely alert now. He stood up abruptly. "I'm sorry I have to go," he apologized halfheartedly as the looks of bewilderment cross his employers faces. "It's an emergency." He was already half out the door by then. He glanced back to see if any one trace behind. Nobody. He now focused on the pager, clicking on the answering call button.

"What is it Abyo?"

"We got the Vagabond Ninja Clan breaking into the Sooga Bank," Abyo voice comes over the pager. "My dad just went two minutes ago."

"On my way," Garu responded naturally, he already had his ninja attire set, in his own office, he hid his sword well into the desk cabinet along with his black mask that only exposed his eyes out. When he was younger the mask was not a problem, he did not wear it, still as he grew and his connection with the Noodle company became more evident Garu had no choice but to make his identity secret.

Leaving the Noodle Company like a true ninja, he leaped through the roofs of the following buildings with little effort. He had done this same maneuver before countless of times. Despite it being morning no one notices the quick flash of a man dress in black, with a trademark red heart in the middle of his suit dashing through the town.

The few who have seen him have won Garu the notorious and mysterious name of Black Ninja.

The sirens are what direct Garu's attention now. Police cars were stretch out all in front of the Sooga bank. Coming down into one of the pipes of the nearby market house, Garu does not waste time, the moment his feet touch the ground he pulled out his sword in anticipation, loving the feeling of how his sword slid out gracefully.

"We have you surrounded! Give in! Over," Bruce, the commissioner and Abyo's father called over a speaker, standing behind his police car door.

Chief, Clown, and Shaman, the famous thieves of Sooga formed the Vagabond Ninja Clan. Though their crimes tended to be basic, this is the first time those three attempted to rob a bank.

"Come out with your hands in the air! Over!" Bruce continued to stall.

There were glass windows all around the inside. As Bruce and the other officers remained in the front, Garu sneaked in through the window. Using his skills to the best of his knowledge he picked up enough speed to run up the wall and straight into the higher placed window. He opened it and slid himself inside.

"Shaman! Hurry do something!" Chief shouted out while in the floor stood a group of hostages all out sprawled in the floor unconscious, probably from one of Shaman's spell, as Shaman tended to do half pull spells. Most of the spells didn't work the way he always wanted, this would be the first time that Garu has seen Shaman pull a well enough spell.

"How are we going to get out of this one!" Clown murmured, dragging a black luggage behind him, while two more thick bags were strapped on his arms. "The Cops have this whole place surrounded and if we don't do this job Tobe-"

"Shut it Clown!" Chief yelled back at Clown. "We're going to get out of this, as soon as Shaman thinks of a spell to get us out of here!" The one head shorter girl stated glancing back through window to see the lights flashing from the police force.

Garu ears perked at the sound of Tobe's name. His gloved red hands clenched at the sound of his name. He wondered what Clown was about to say before he got interrupted by Chief.

Shaman finally stopped spinning through pages in his spell book. "I got it!" He exclaimed, goofily grinning. "I know a way we can get out!"

"What is it!" Chief pulled herself from the window with a wide grin.

Garu sighed, hoping that they would've delivered more information about Tobe, considering how close the Vagabond Ninja Clan was to Tobe, but it looks like they're about to escape, and Garu couldn't have that. He would have to get the info from them after he caught them. Garu's hand now tighten around the sword, ready to summer sault down from the second floor staircase he was hiding in.

"Not so fast!"

Garu froze in his position as the voice of a girl echoed out. He peeked surprised to see a figure dressed in a complete velvet red ninja jumpsuit, three black hearts in her white headband, flip forward right into them.

Who is he…she-? Garu frowned, recalling that the voice sounded like a girl.

"Who are you?" Chief was the first one to ask, pulling out the numchucks.

The mysterious red ninja simply giggled in return. Giggled!

She's fast. One moment she is in front the next she is tackling Chief to the ground flipping her numchucks out of her hands, and her whole leg shot up right into Chief chest so that in the very next moment Chief is on the ground out cold. The red ninja does two back flips, maneuvering in the way of different type of Ninjutsu that Garu couldn't remember ever reading about or learning.

"Wait!" Clown murmured with a pale face, paler than the color of his makeup, he dropped the bags down signaling defeat, but the Red Ninja didn't stop. She raised her knee straight up to him, knocking the air out of him, and flipped him forward, while behind Clown, Shaman released a set of foreign ancient magic words.

A set of illusionary ninja's appeared, circling the Red Ninja.

Garu leaped down into the first floor, knowing that it was time he stepped up, although he was hell of confused. He didn't know who this red mysterious ninja was, or what her purpose of coming here was.

The moment Garu glanced back up all he sees is the Red Ninja single handedly handle all the fake illusionary ninjas. Her moves were powerful and held a level of technique that awed him. In a flash, she jumped up, and directed a punch right at Shaman whose mouth was opened in shock that when the punch did arrive, it literally sent him flying almost to Garu himself.

Garu raised an eyebrow, stunned. She held a crazy amount of strength that Garu never thought could be possible. Garu looked up to her and that's when their eyes lock. Her eyes were dark brown, but challenging.

"This is the final warning! We're coming in face the law! Over!" Bruce voice echoed through the loudspeaker as the group of cops start climbing the stairs to the bank.

Almost as if that was her cue. The Red Ninja moved back, bursting into a run, she came from one of the backdoors of the bank, as she slams through the doors and makes her getaway.

"Wait!" Garu called, speeding behind her. He had to know what this Red Ninja had to do with what happened here. Why she was involved. The moment she came out into the opening some of the policemen stopped surprised to suddenly see her, and Garu coming right behind her.

"Stop right there!" They raised their guns to her, the Red Ninja backtracked into the alley, still running like a bullet as Garu chased after her.

"Hey! Stop!" They heard behind them, but Garu and the Red Ninja were too fast for the others to catch. The Red Ninja started ascending the houses near her, simply by hoisting herself up to a balcony, then the next compartment closer to her like a gymnast in an obstacle course. By the time Garu got up in the first house rooftop, the Red Ninja was already a couple rooftops away.

He did his best to jump through the rooftops to catch up, but when he saw her at a distance drop down into the street, he already knew he lost her. When he jumped down the same rooftop there was no trace of that mysterious red ninja, just other citizens of Sooga Village.

Impossible- No one has ever escaped from Garu before. Who the hell was the girl?

"What do you mean Garu, who was she!" Abyo asked when Garu returned to the Corporation later that day. "What happened back there?"

Garu shrugged. "I don't know. I've never seen her before." The truth was ever since she appeared and disappeared on him, a strange unease filled his whole soul. Nothing like this has happened before.

"Could she be part of Tobe's ninjas?" Abyo asked, another reason to fill Garu with unease.

Garu grunted in response, an answer that Abyo could interpret as there is a high chance she might be.

"Man, this all just gives me a strange vibe, I wonder if she's ever going to appear again," Abyo shivered in his spot right as a knock came through the door.

Garu frowned, was he expecting someone today? Instantly he signaled Abyo with a look that their conversation before had to be kept hidden now, because they are the only ones that know that Garu is the Black Ninja around Sooga and they had to keep it that way.

"Come in," Garu forced himself to speak as Abyo straightened from slouching in his chair.

The door swung opened. In black high heel boots and a red tight dress steps in a girl with bun up dark black hair, dark brown eyes, tall, and slender

Garu frowned even more, unsure what this girl-who he's never seen before is doing walking forward with a folder in her hands. She smiled widely back straight at a very confused Garu.

Something unnatural spurn inside of Garu, but he hides it keeping a blank look.

"Hello," She said brightly, everything in her was shining, from her smile to her eyes to her very voice.

"Uhh I'm sorry…who are you?" Garu asked in return his eyebrows locking, nervous jitters swarmed around him. He couldn't pinpoint where these new emotions were coming from.

"Oh, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Pucca your new secretary," She said, walking forward smoothly. In such a provocative way that made Garu cast a look of worry to Abyo. His best friend dismissed it, enjoying the look of panic crossing Garu's face at the obvious attractive girl that just arrived.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," She said, leaning over, and extending her hand to Garu.

Garu tensed in his seat as the moment she extended her arms to Garu, a great view of her cleavage practically was shoved right into his field of vision. His eyes unable to prevent himself looked. His cheeks warmed instantly as he looked away guiltily and reached out to shake her hand quickly. He hoped that she hadn't noticed what he has just done, but when he locked eyes with her again, a well knowing, and kind of sexy smirk pulled at her lips.

As if that wasn't bad enough she winked in return.

Garu pulled his hand back abruptly. Was it just him or was this girl deliberately trying to be…be- Garu inwardly shook his head pushing the thoughts aside.

"Anyway," Abyo stood up suddenly, a foolish grin still plastered all over his face. "I have to go-you know life of a cop in training is never easy-"

Hell no! Garu shot a look at his best friend. He was not about to leave him here alone with her!

Abyo again dismissed it. "Hope you enjoy working here Pucca, you'll be working with him for long hours-" he said suggestively containing his laughter as he left the office.

Abyo that traitorous best friend left! Garu glared even after he left.

"Friend of yours?" Pucca asked now turning back to Garu.

Garu nodded unable to even form words with her. He felt extremely nervous having her here. Sure, she was really attractive, in this small town where everyone mostly knew each other, he is surprised to see a new face, but what is with this god-wrenching sense of wanting to run away from her coming from.

Pucca

The moment she entered, her heart gave a leap. Garu was far more handsome than what she thought he would be like. He had suave dark black hair with equally enticing dark eyes. He was definitely well built, she expected him to be after all. He looked mysterious, yet with eyebrows like that it made him look far too serious.

In person he was one of the hottest guys she had ever seen or met before. Part of Pucca pitied that he had to be this way, but this addition was far better then, she thought, it would make seducing him far more easy.

Which is a big part of her plan.

"So boss we're do you want to begin?" Pucca murmured slyly on purpose, instead of sitting in the seat across she sat right at the corner of his desk, crossing her legs in front of her in a fancy way like she has seen women do in television multiple times, exposing her long legs and part of her thighs in the process. She knew how to be sexy when she wanted to, and Garu, though the CEO of this company was only two years older than her, he was still a young man raging with growing hormones, how hard can it be to seduce him? He won't be able to resist her.

In his seat, Garu gulped.

~~To Be Continued in Ch. 3~~~

How hard can it be indeed, heehee. The backstory of the characters will be revealed later in the chapters.

I keep thinking this is a crime fighting, revenge plotting, work office AU with a dash of superheroes. Who do you guys think the Red Ninja is?

Next chapter will be titled: Red Ninja- and I sincerely hope I have time to update it faster! I shall try! Also, Pucca is soon going to learn seducing Garu won't be as easy as she thought.