Chapter 13

392 17 23
                                    

The cemetary was filled with the endless sound of grief. The only sounds that could be heard were the crying of children—Garu, especially—and the uncontrollably heavy rain. The people of Sooga knew for sure that their guardian deity Brise was mourning the death of Daisuke Akahato.

After the horrible incident that happened on that day, Garu was never the same person he used to be. He doesn't smile, nor does he show his shyness. In fact, he shows almost no emotion on his face. It was the only emotion he ever held was sorrow, nothing else.

Pucca couldn't help but feel like she had failed yet again, failed to protect a citizen of her own village. But this had been happening since the very beginning, which explained why members of the Akahato clan kept on dying. Pucca couldn't help but hold a grudge against Soo—her own teacher—for that.

She couldn't help but feel like he was responsible for everything terrible that happened in Sooga village, and he hid everything from her so that she wouldn't find out it was all his fault. She never knew that he, out of all people, knew how to play.

Tobe was forbidden by his father to come to this funeral. If there was one person who Pucca despised in Sooga village, it would be Hachiro himself. That man was too obsessed with power for his own good, too much that he's willing to kill a father and traumatize an innocent child of his.

Upon interrogating Garu, Bruce himself had confirmed that Hachiro was indeed the perpetrator of the crime. He wanted to arrest the dark ninja, but there was nothing he could do. For some reason, Hachiro had fled the village, which left Tobe all alone by himself.

If his father is gone, then shouldn't Tobe be at this funeral? Or was he holding his father in such a high regard that he would obey him even after he was gone? But Hachiro abused Tobe emotionally, so Pucca couldn't understand why he even loved his father in the first place.

Warm tears began to stream down her face as she continued to embrace this unacceptable reality. No matter what she's going to do, nothing would be able to cure Garu's wounded heart, at least not for the time being. Everything she thought was but a smile got messed up.

Out of all the people in Sooga, Garu's grief was the strongest. He tried to deny it as much as he could, hoping that all of it was just a dream... but he couldn't deny it any longer. This was a fated, cruel reality. And now sorrow was tearing up his heart.

Garu had the honor of approaching the coffin that his father was kept in while it was still open. He looked at his father's lifeless face, knowing that he'd never be able to see it in person again. He embraced the coffin one last time, unbothered by the glassy surface against his skin.

Being forced to pull away, Garu continued sobbing as the coffin was closed, and it was slowly going down onto the ground. He covered his face and allowed his sobs to continue further. He didn't care even if everyone in Sooga witnessed his tears.

Garu never even thought that this day was going to come. He didn't want to accept it, or rather, he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to. His father had always been there for him. The both of them were so close. Why did something like this have to happen? The world is so cruel...

And at that, his innocence completely vanished into thin air. He finally realized it. This world isn't just full of happy smiles and shining rainbows. The world is a cruel place that torments those who are born at it. All good things come to an end.

Garu doesn't blame Tobe for the death of his father. He knew that his friend was suffering just as much, but he still couldn't understand why Tobe refused to come to the funeral. After all, the news from Bruce said that Hachiro had fled the village without a single trace.

Tale of Our Love // PuccaWhere stories live. Discover now