A/N: My first fanfiction ever was about Pucca, and that was way back in 2008...so I thought it was time for me to write a NEW Pucca story! :D PLEASE tell me what you think in a review; this fandom may be small, but it's absolutely amazing! Enjoy!

NOTE: This takes place when Pucca and Garu are older, around high school/college-age.

Denying the Inevitable

A round of high-pitched giggles announced the arrival of the girl before she came into view. Hearing the noise, the boy sighed and closed his eyes, the black pigtails tied at the top of his head bouncing slightly as he shifted into a more comfortable position. Beginning his usual ritual of mental preparation, he flinched when another peal of laughter echoed through the trees surrounding his forest-enclosed home. He didn't even bother going inside; last time he tried that tactic, his door got broken into dozens of pieces. It would be unnecessary to waste money replacing it again.

And besides…why deny the inevitable?

The girl was going to find him; there was no doubt about that. Over the years, he learned that it was better to just let her do as she pleased. The easier it was for her to get to him, the faster she would tire out and leave him alone. So, he braced himself for the (literal) impact of her arrival and waited.

Sure enough, within less than a minute the trees at the edge of the forest rustled with a great foreboding. Opening his eyes a crack, the boy caught a glimpse of red before his instincts began screaming for him to get the hell out of there.

If he sat still, the girl would get an easy hold of him and possibly leave faster…but he might receive a few new bruises in the process. However, if he moved to avoid injury, the girl would probably stay longer as punishment for avoiding her. Which would be the easiest to handle today?

Move.

She could still catch him anyway, even if he tried to flee; she was definitely fast enough.

Move.

Even if he did, where would he go?

Move!

Conserving his energy would certainly be a good idea…

MOVE!

Before he realized it, the boy's finely-tuned instincts prompted his body to shoot up and out of the way. A yelp and a loud thump revealed that the girl was much closer than the dark-haired boy had thought. Finally opening his eyes, he saw that the girl had indeed launched herself at the precise spot where he sat just a moment ago. He successfully avoided her attack!

...But he failed to remember that the ground behind his former position was significantly softened by the rain the day before. Thus, the girl's front side was now covered in a thin layer of dark, wet mud.

The boy cringed; so much for avoiding trouble…

Letting out a loud sound of utter disgust, the girl gingerly stood up and examined her outfit. Her red, mid-thigh-length dress was absolutely drenched in sticky, brown mud. Splotches of the offending substance had also gotten onto her black leggings, not to mention her ballet-style flats and… ugh, her hair as well, she realized when she lightly touched one of the two buns situated on top of her head. The girl turned her murderous gaze towards the boy.

"Garu…" Her soft voice held a tinge of malice that the boy certainly did not miss.

Shit, he thought, wincing. Pucca rarely spoke, let alone used his name…and when she did, it was either because she was extremely happy or he was in big trouble. Today, it certainly wasn't the former.

He shrugged apologetically and gave her a nervous half-smile. She glared at him, gesturing to her muddied dress and stockings. Oh god, it was even on her shoes…The ninja closed his eyes and prayed that she would go easy on him today. Bracing for the possible impact of a foot to some sensitive part of his body, he waited. However, the girl made no move towards him. Opening his eyes, Garu saw that she was simply standing there, her arms crossed, one hip slightly jutting outward.

"I need to change," she said simply. Garu blinked at her. She could go home and change at her house…why was she still staring at him?

"No, I'm not walking home like this," the girl said with a shake of her head, answering his unspoken question. The boy was still unnerved at how easily she could read his mind after all these years, although he reminded himself that it was simply because they grew up together. Everyone who had been with him since he took the Vow of Silence had learned to read his thoughts to some degree, but no one could understand him to the extent that she could.

It was terrifying, and yet sometimes it was nice not to explain everything he couldn't say.

With a gentle sigh, he gestured for the girl to follow him to the house; she might as well get cleaned up immediately instead of waiting around and letting the mud (and her temper) fester. Garu knew that there would be much worse hell to pay should the mud permanently stain her well-loved clothes. Huffing slightly, her arms still crossed in annoyance, Pucca trailed along behind him. He felt the glare of her dark eyes boring into the back of his head. The walk to the front door felt like hours.

Finally, they made it inside and the door slid shut behind the girl's muddy figure. The ninja gestured for her to stay put as he got something for her to wear. Of course, and to his relief once again, the translation went through; Pucca nodded and gestured for him to get along with it. He gave her another apologetic smile and half backed-up, half dashed to his bedroom.

Garu knew he should have done a wash the night before. Frantically rummaging around in his dresser, the ninja looked for an outfit that was both clean and would be approved of by the angry girl in his living room. Eventually, he settled on a pair of black shorts and one of his usual long-sleeved shirts with a red heart in the middle of the chest. He kicked his dresser drawer shut and, grabbing an extra towel from the hall closet, headed back to the other room. Catching sight of the girl as he entered the living room, he hoped the clothes wouldn't be too big for her slender frame.

The ninja wrinkled his forehead; since when did he pay attention to her figure?

Pucca gave him a questioning glance, noting his confused expression, but he merely shook his head and offered the clothes to her. She grabbed the pile of fabric, gave him a small, satisfied smile, and headed off to the bathroom. After years of being invited or (usually) sneaking into her pig-tailed ninja's house, the girl knew her way around.

Garu sighed and rolled his eyes. This would probably take a while… He might as well return to his meditation as the black-haired girl cleaned herself off. Sitting lotus-style on the wooden floor, the boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Soon, the world around him faded away until he was left with nothing but his own thoughts.

Too soon, the ninja's peaceful reverie was broken by the sound of the water in the house being turned off. He opened his dark eyes and shook out the sleepiness from his limbs. Guessing that it would take Pucca a few minutes to get dressed, he stood and put a pot of water on a nearby hot plate. There was no way the girl would leave anytime in the near future, so Garu might as well make himself comfortable with a nice, hot cup of tea to soothe the nerves.

Soon, the padding of light footsteps down the wooden hallway signaled that the girl had completed her shower ritual. Garu glanced up as she came into the room. Furrowing his brow in confused surprise, he felt his breath catch in his throat.

To his great relief, the waistband of the shorts he had given Pucca was tight enough to remain securely around the girl's thin waist. The shirt, however, was bigger than expected; it covered her modestly enough, although the extra-long sleeves dangled down past her slender fingers. Garu could tell that the straps of her undergarment would be visible should she move the smooth, dark waterfall of hair cascading down just past her shoulders.

Without conscious effort, the ninja's face flushed hot crimson.

The girl's mouth twitched as the boy quickly stared hard at the ground. Damn. She'd caught a glimpse of his red face before he could hide it.

"Ahem," Pucca cleared her throat. Garu's eyes shifted up to find her holding out the used towel. He gestured to a room at her right side and just visible a little bit down the hallway- the laundry room. She threw the towel on top of a pile of dirty clothes and proceeded to the center of the living room, where she sat down in front of the pig-tailed boy and the soon-to-be-boiling pot of water.

"Hmm?" she questioned, for the boy still tried to avoid her gaze while acknowledging her presence at the same time. The ninja blinked, shook his head, and sat facing her, gesturing to the pot of water and the disorganized assortment of tea leaves and cups next to it.

Pucca nodded, smiled, and giggled lightly; the love of her life's cheeks still sported an adorable shade of pink.

A meow from outside the window signaled the arrival of Garu's cat, Mio. The girl turned her head towards the sound, prompting another lock of dark hair to shift over her shoulder to the front of her body. Garu took this momentary lapse in her constant attention on him to examine her features more closely.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember actually looking at the girl in years. Of course, he saw her almost every day; there was no way she would let any potential chance to be with her ninja go unattempted. But years of being attacked with "love" had jaded the ninja to the girl's presence. He watched her grow up without actually seeing her do so. The little girl no longer tried to steal kisses whenever her pig-tailed hero walked by. In fact, thinking back on the past few years of their life, Garu realized that somewhere in the process of getting older, Pucca stopped really trying to kiss him. She gave him a light peck on the cheek here and there, but his lips hadn't been touched in God knows how long.

Shamefully, he thought to himself that this was a very unfortunate thing.

Another plaintive meow brought the ninja's attention back to the present. Mio now sat in Pucca's lap, purring as she stroked the soft fur and scratched behind his ears. Sensing his Master's attention upon him, the cat looked up, his deep, golden eyes boring into Garu's own dark ones. The two stared each other down for a moment, and then Mio meowed softly and jumped out of Pucca's lap. Walking towards the kitchen, he spared one last glance from his master to the girl and then softly padded away, the tip of his tail flicking the ninja's arm as if to say, "She's all yours."

Garu turned his eyes back to the girl as she wiped the fur off of her hands and onto the oversized shorts. She reached up and sectioned off a small lock of hair, deftly tugging her fingers through the black strands, slowly working her way up towards the top of her scalp. Once assured that this particular chunk of hair was free of tangles, the girl grasped another bit and began the process again.

Pucca met Garu's gaze, and the boy blinked; his eyes had once again become fixated on the black-haired girl without any conscious effort. Why did she suddenly interest him so much? Because her hair now fell down in a beautiful cascade as opposed to being up in its usual tight buns?

That must be it, he assured himself, checking the water in the pot next to him. Such a rare occurrence deserved extra attention. Still, the way the girl playfully smirked let the ninja know that he might be giving her too much attention at the current time.

The girl grabbed another piece of hair. The boy's eyes followed her movements. She giggled.

Garu's face twitched at the sound and he looked away again. The water started to boil, so he removed it from the hot plate and poured it into the cups. Reaching for the tea leaves, his attention was diverted by a pained squeak. Glancing back to the girl in front of him, he saw her desperately but gently attempting to tug a knot out of her hair.

Always akin to sounds of distress, the boy's body reacted instantly by standing up and walking towards his bedroom. Within half a minute Garu was back in the living room, a wooden brush clutched in his right hand. He offered it to the girl, who took it with a polite nod and began to run it through her hair from tips to scalp. The onyx-haired boy made a conscious effort to avert his eyes and pour the hot water over the tea leaves. Too soon, however, the girl cleared her throat and the boy was forced to give his attention back to her.

She was gazing at him, her brown eyes wide, proffering the brush with one hand and pointing to the back of her head with the other.

"Please?" she asked, her voice soft. Had her tone always been so calm and smooth? Garu couldn't remember. All he could think of right now was that the girl that made him feel strange was asking him to help brush her hair. To do that seemingly simple act, the boy would have to touch her…which didn't seem like a good idea at the current time.

Maybe Garu had finally developed an allergy to Pucca; that was probably why his heart sped up the more her dark gaze bored into his. Well…even if he miraculously was allergic to the long-haired girl, he couldn't be certain unless he got closer…right?

Grunting in agreement, he took the brush from the girl's outstretched hand and sat behind her. Cautiously, ever so cautiously, he ran the brush through her thick hair. Much to both of the youths' dismay, it immediately became tangled in the girl's dark tresses. Garu quickly let go, allowing her to remove the brush and wordlessly instruct him on how to start from the bottom of the hair and slowly work his way up towards the scalp.

A light breeze of shampoo-scented air drifted past his nose with every pull of the brush. It shouldn't have smelled particularly interesting; it was, after all, the stuff that Garu used every day to keep his own hair nice and clean. However, for some strange reason, the smell seemed to be mixed with something else, something…sweet. The boy was curious; what was this mysterious scent?

"Ahem!" The sound of Pucca suddenly clearing her throat made the boy jump. He realized that, unconsciously, he had been moving closer and closer to the girl's hair until he was so close that his lips could touch the back of her head if he so desired. A silly thought, really, for everyone knew that he would never have a desire to do such a thing.

…Which is why Garu found it very strange that he actually made the effort to move those three centimeters closer in order to press his lips against the girl's curiously-smelling hair.

Pucca let out a slight gasp and leaned forward so fast that she almost toppled over the still-hot tea set. Garu backed up until he hit the wall at the far end of the room, the brush still clutched in a death grip in his right hand. Neither of them knew what to do, so they simply stared at each other for a good minute and a half.

Then, as if on cue, Mio once again sauntered into the room, meowing loudly and demanding everyone's attention. He plopped down in-between the humans, glanced at each of them slowly, and then decided to take a bath.

Nervously, still not having any explanation for his actions, Garu laughed. It was a short, barking sort of noise that made Mio flatten his ears and glare at his owner before returning to his self-cleaning. Pucca locked eyes with the pig-tailed boy for a split-second, and then quickly stared hard at the floor, a light blush coloring her cheeks. Again, neither of them made a move. Eventually, since she knew that Garu couldn't be the one to do so, Pucca broke the silence.

"Why?" The question was simple, to the point, and one that Garu was completely unable to answer. He locked eyes with her and shrugged, shaking his head slightly, mouth open as if the answer would fly in and speak for itself.

Pucca bit her lip, wondering what in the world had possessed the boy who was never, ever shy. She did know one thing, however: even if the circumstances were odd, Garu had initiated a kiss. Yes, it was just a little peck on the back of her head, but still- he was the one who did it first, no prompting involved. This was something that Pucca had been dreaming about since they were both children, and she was so happily surprised that she couldn't stop a small smile from lighting up her face.

Garu, on the other hand, was utterly horrified. Why in the name of martial arts did he do that?! He had absolutely no attraction to Pucca; he realized this fact many years ago. Therefore, Garu could think of no excuse for his behavior. The only thing he could do was sit against the wall, dumbfounded, waiting for the certain death that was sure to fall upon him for daring to press his lips against the girl's beautiful hair.

…Beautiful? Why did Garu's mind decide to use that term to refer to Pucca? The boy put his head in his hands; he was extremely confused.

Pucca giggled again; obviously, the pig-tailed boy was struggling with the current situation much more than she was. A devious smile lit up her face. She knew just the thing to bring Garu back to Earth.

Silently, she crawled past Mio and to the other side of the room, stopping a few inches from the boy's curled-up figure. Sensing a presence, Garu immediately glanced up and let out a surprised yelp; it seemed as if Pucca had teleported right to him. Impossible, yes, but a few impossible things had already happened that day. Before he could react any further, a warm, soft pressure fell against Garu's lips.

Suddenly, the boy found Pucca's mouth pressed against his own; technically, this was their second kiss of the day. However, this time, it was she who had initiated it. Though Garu's mind was a jumble of thoughts and confusing emotions, a singular realization made its way through:

This is just like old times.

The pressure on his lips increased for a few seconds, and then Pucca finally broke the kiss to get some much-needed air. Garu stared at her, wide-eyed.

Just like old times…but not really. Not really, because, for the first time…I want…

"…more." He mouthed the word, his vow of silence still intact. Even so, this didn't stop Pucca from understanding what he was trying to say.

"M…more?" she asked tentatively, figuring that she must have misread his lips. To her utter amazement, the love of her life nodded. Overcome with an intense rush of happiness, she squealed and threw her arms around him, planting kisses all over his face.

Now this is more like what I remember, Garu thought as he was once again smothered with Pucca's love. Strangely, he had no desire to push her away. In fact, he actually allowed a smile and a small, disbelieving laugh to escape his lips. When she saw this, Pucca squealed even more and gave the boy a firm, slightly forceful peck on the mouth. She pulled away and locked eyes with the Garu for a split-second, and then grinned even wider and snuggled up to him, resting her head on his chest.

Without hesitation, the boy put his arms around her; the action was almost instinctive. The boy didn't mind, though; Pucca was very warm, and her hair was nice-smelling and smooth. He began to nonchalantly run his fingers through her dark tresses, pondering what had just happened. Obviously, their relationship had taken a drastic turn that neither of them had been expecting. Gazing down at the girl in his arms, Garu smiled softly.

Though she could be a lot to handle, Pucca had always been there for him whether he wanted her to be or not. Sometime in-between when they were children and the present day, she had realized that her affections were probably never going to be returned, so she stopped really trying to gain them. But, of course, such strong emotions could never truly disappear.

Garu, as he was beginning to realize, had never wanted to admit that he also harbored these feelings; he couldn't even admit them to himself. Now, it was as if something had sparked inside his soul, and as he held the onyx-haired girl against his chest he realized that he didn't want to…no, he couldn't ever let her go again.

Garu clutched her tightly, suddenly afraid that she might disappear. Pucca returned the hug, nuzzling right under his chin. They sighed in unison, equally content in each other's embrace.

It had taken a few years of growing up for the puzzle pieces of their feelings to fit together, but they both now understood what they had been too young to understand before: this was how they were truly meant to be. Now, there was nothing left to do but go forward; there was no turning back to the way they used to be, even if they wanted to.

Garu laughed lightly, his mind circling back to a thought he had had earlier that day; it was fitting for the situation then, and it was fitting for the situation now:

After all…why deny the inevitable?