Starting Over: Do You Want to be Friends?
Chapter 6
By Senshi of Valis
It was early morning when Ranko was standing in the wash room looking at herself in the mirror, tears falling freely as she took in all of the damage that was done. She was sure a couple ribs were bruised if not cracked or broken. There were multiple bruises running up and down her body, a very large one on her stomach and chest where he was kicking her the previous night. Also there was a bruise on the left side of her face and one on her throat where he was holding her down and choking her. As much as the bruises was bad she felt that she could explain them away as getting into a fight but if anyone saw the bite marks…there was no explaining those away.
"Damn you Pops…" Ranko whispered hoarsely. It was probably an hour still before anyone would wake up and Ranko wanted to get a good bath and cleaned up before anyone else woke up. A gasp from behind her brought Ranko out of her depressed trance as she spun around to see a shocked Kasumi standing there staring in shock. Ranko wrapped her arms around herself trying to fide the worse of it, "Don't look at me…please don't look."
"Ranma?" Kasumi whispered in shock, surging forward to warp the younger girl in a hug. Ranko winced in pain at that which caused Kasumi to loosen her hold. "Your father did this to you?"
"N-No…Kasumi, please…" Ranko cried.
"Ranma, I saw the bruises and bite marks and those were most definitely not caused from sparring." Kasumi said, firmly but gently. "What happened?"
"I ca-can't…please just forget th-this Kasumi, please…" Ranko whispered, trying to pull away without hurting Kasumi but the older girl wouldn't give up.
"What the hell is going on in here?" asked a weary eyed Nabiki whose eyes grew in shock at seeing Ranko. "Ranko…what the hell did that bastard do to you?"
"Ranko?" Kasumi asked in confusion as Ranma pulled away. Nabiki's eyes grew even larger at seeing all of the damage.
"Oh hell no, there is no way I'm letting this go on Ranko!" Nabiki said, her anger obviously rising. "What happened?"
"Please Nabiki…" Ranko begged as she fell to her knees hugging herself as she sobbed.
"Ranma, your father or whoever did this deserves to be punished." Kasumi said as she kneeled next to Ranko and pulled the red head into her lap and held onto her.
"I deserved it…" Ranko whispered, "I knew not to tell anyone…it's my fault."
"That's bull!" Nabiki snapped then calmed down as she kneeled down next to Kasumi and Ranko and rubbed the youngest girl's back as she cried into Kasumi's shoulder. "No one deserves this, Ranko. Get dressed and we can go to my room and talk about this."
Nabiki helped the sobbing Ranko and Kasumi up and waited by the door while the red head dressed slowly, being careful not to cause any more pain to her ribs. They already hurt enough to begin with before Kasumi had hugged her which made them a little worse.
Slowly the trio made there way out of the wash room and slowly through the still darkened hall to Nabiki's room. Kasumi watched the red head as best she could in the darkened hallway. Ranma seemed so scared and vulnerable but considering what the red head's injuries looked like to Kasumi she had a reason to feel that way.
Ranma was one of the strongest people that Kasumi had ever meet, in both male and female forms. So who could have hurt Ranma like this? Ryoga and Kuno was the two biggest suspects in Kasumi's mind but even though Ryoga could match if not excel in strength compared to Ranma he was also the same with shyness. Just thinking of a girl could give Ryoga a massive nose bleed.
Kuno, he was the more likely candidate to Kasumi, the boy was purely insane. From everything Kasumi heard, the kendoist had seen the change on more than one occasion but he still believed both of Ranma's forms was two different people.
There was one other suspect though who was even higher up on the scales than Ryoga and Kuna, it was Genma Saotome. From what Ranma was whispering in front of the mirror made it seem he might have had a hand in it. But Genma was Ranma's father, right? What kind of monster would do something like this to their own child?
Kasumi went into Nabiki's lighted room as the girl held the door open. After Ranma and Kasumi was all the way in Nabiki shut the door and locked it. Ranma went to a corner of the room and curled up in the corner where Kasumi decided to join the red head and try to be a comfort.
Nabiki paced back and forth a few times before dropping to sit on the floor tiredly, "I need some coffee…"
"Do you know what's going on, Nabiki?" Kasumi asked.
"Yeah, but I didn't think he was going to be this stupid…I had a feeling we shouldn't of all left last night to see Auntie MacKenzie…still don't know why she didn't tell us who she was while we was at school…god I want to strangle her…" Nabiki said as she blinked her eyes a few times trying to clear the sleep from them.
Nabiki was partially rambling, something Kasumi was used to since her little sister could never seem to wake up in the mornings and would seem to ramble about different stuff until she had some coffee. Kasumi loved and trusted her sister dearly, but she knew Nabiki hid back a lot of stuff at times unless she was in a state like this. Those times she felt a little guilty for taking advantage of her sister's condition but it was one of the best ways to insure the truth.
"What does that have to do with what happened to Ranma though?" Kasumi asked softly as a soft snoring started coming from the red head and Kasumi didn't want to wake her back up quite yet.
"That bastard father of hers…" Nabiki said as she leaned her head back against the wall as tears started to make there way slowly down her face. "I can't keep this secret anymore…I didn't think he would do something like this while they were staying here…"
"Nabiki, I want to know what's going on." Kasumi said softly but firmly. Kasumi watched her sister for several seconds, she knew that the younger girl was trying to think of what to say.
"This isn't Ranma, Kasumi, there never was a Ranma." Nabiki said, "This is Ranko, Genma's daughter who he kidnapped a long time ago."
"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped as she looked down at the sleeping red head, "But the curses though…"
"Ranko wasn't cursed at Jusenkyo training grounds, it's a long story. Genma went to Jusenkyo to try and make the curse permanent until the idiot fell in the spring of drowned panda."
"Then why act as if he…she was a boy?" Kasumi asked as sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"Genma forced her to all her life, he was planning on taking control of the dojo if he could trick us." Nabiki said.
"How long did you know?" Kasumi asked. She was a little angry at Nabiki for hiding this and at Ranko for lying to them. But the main reason she was getting mad was the stupid panda who was going to become a rug very shortly.
"When they came here, I wanted some background information on them but I couldn't find a Ranma Saotome anywhere. So I took the day off from school one day while everyone would be out and I searched through all of there stuff. I found some stuff that pointed to where Genma had stolen dowries from several girl's over the years. I also found paperwork for transferring all of Ranma's possessions to himself. No there isn't a Ranma but before anyone would have found it out if he succeeded was after he sold the dojo and everything and took off." Nabiki explained, closing her eyes tightly. "I found out a few days ago when I confronted him about with Akane about Ranma really being Ranko which I did find records on. I found out something else, Genma has abused Ranko for a long time, I wanted to tell but she made me promise. I thought as long as they was here that Genma wouldn't be stupid enough to do anything…This is all my fault Kasumi…I should of told someone sooner."
"It's not, Nabiki." Kasumi said as she crawled over to Nabiki and hugged her, "It's that bastards fault and he'll pay for it!"
"Kasumi, I'm worried…" Nabiki said, "What if father doesn't believe us?"
"He will Nabiki, it'll be okay." Kasumi said. "I think he did much more than beat her though…did you see the…"
"Bite marks?" Nabiki finished, "Yeah…I saw them. I think he raped her before though, just after he was cursed. She refused to talk about it but it sounded like he did."
"I don't understand though, how could anyone put there own child through something like that?" Kasumi asked.
A little later than morning Kasumi waited in the kitchen with breakfast finished and ready to be carried out, she didn't want her family to starve. She even had the table set minus one, she gripped the spear tightly in her hand as she waited for everyone to arrive at the table. Ranko didn't know what was about to happen and neither did anyone else except for Nabiki who was sitting at the table nervously after calling her 'contact?' on the police force and emailed a lot of proof for not just Ranko but a lot of other stuff he did. She saw them arrive a few minutes earlier surrounding the dojo since they knew how dangerous he was.
"Where's my plate?" demanded Genma.
"You don't get one bastard!" Kasumi snarled as she walked out of the kitchen.
"Kasumi!" Soun gasped, "What is the meaning of this?"
"Easy father…there is no Ranma Saotome, this is Ranko Saotome, his daughter who he has abused for years."
"What are you talking about, girl?" Genma growled as he stood up, anger and hatred in his eyes.
Kasumi noticed Ranko move closer to Akane as the red head shuddered in fright. "You beat her last night…you raped her you bastard!"
"Is this true Genma?" Soun demanded as he stood up and joined his daughter. Kasumi was glad that Akane was leading Ranko from the room which was her mistake. Genma kicked Soun hard knocking him down as he advanced on Kasumi and yanked the spear from her hands. That wasn't good, she was supposed to trick Genma outside where the police could get to him in the open.
Kasumi sighed in relief when Genma was knocked away but she was shocked when she saw who did it.
"Don't you dare tough her!" Ranko demanded as she kicked Genma hard sending him to hit the ground hard. It didn't phase him though as he started to get up.
"Worthless bitch…you think you're going to stop me?" Genma growled.
Ranko knew she was in trouble now and was scared, very scared as her father started advancing toward her. She stayed in between Genma and the Tendo's though. She loved the Tendo's and was going to try to protect as best she could. She may have believed she deserved it to some extent but she knew the Tendo's didn't, especially Kasumi. Ranko would die before she'd let that bastard lay one finger on the older girl.
"I-I won't l-let you hurt her." Ranko whimpered. A brief glance showed Soun was out for the count which was bad. She didn't have a choice, she had to use the cards to protect Kasumi and the others, they were innocent.
A soft glow started to form in front of Ranko stopping movement from everybody in the room. Slowly the glow intensified and started to expand taking on the shape of a young girl. She was dressed a little strangely with really puffy pants and a strapless top and slippers with a puffball on each one. She had two long earrings that hung from pointed ears. As she turned to Ranko her hate filled eyes could be seen clearly causing the red head to gulp nervously.
Slowly the girl smiled then moved towards Ranko slowly turning see through again until she disappeared into the red head. Instantly Ranko felt a rush of power fueling her, increasing her confidence and her strength. As Genma finally jumped towards Ranko the red head just smirked evilly. In a flash Ranko was on Genma punching and kicking him so fast and hard the man didn't even have a chance to fight back.
"No more beatings…No more raping me…No more threatening my friends, my FAMILY!" Ranko cried as she punctuated each statement with a very powerful blow. The man was bleeding and bruising very badly but Ranko didn't care at the moment as she slipped farther and farther into the anger that she held for year.
"Ranko!" Akane cried out.
"Please stop, Ranko!" Kasumi called out, "He's had enough, please don't kill him."
Slowly Ranko started to notice the damage that was being done and decided that she didn't want to kill him, she wouldn't become a murderer. "And don't come back!" Ranko cried as she kicked him hard knocking him through the wall and outside at the feet of a few people standing in the yard doing a very good impression of a koi fish.
Finally Ranko started to cool down a little as a card appeared before her, one that she hasn't caught yet. The power card. "Thank you so much for helping me protect them."
"All I did was boost your confidence…" a voice inside Ranko's mind whispered, "The skill…the strength was already there."
"Well, well, dear Genma…" a woman said snidely as she pulled Genma to his feet, "Looks like your lucky I didn't get a hold of you first."
"We'll take care of him, Detective Kuno." A man said as he roughly pulled Genma's hands behind his back and cuffed him tightly. Three other men helped the first man roughly push Genma who was still dazed through the yard towards the gate.
Ranko couldn't take her eyes off of the woman who they called Kuno. She hoped it wasn't another insane member of the kendoist's family. Yet the woman looked so familiar for some reason and Ranko froze when the woman locked eyes with her. A flash of pain and hope flickered through the woman's gaze before she whispered more to herself, "Ranko?"
Kero was relieved when he saw the girl appear since he was about to intervene but he overheard Kasumi's and Nabiki's quick planning and was trying not to ruin it. If Genma hit anyone though Kero swore that he would tear the man limb from limb, even if he couldn't take his true form yet.
When Ranko started laying into Genma Kero couldn't help but cheer the girl. Genma deserved it and a lot more in the small guardian's opinions. A loud crash that signaled Genma's exit through the wall which brought a small shock to Kero. When the card appeared in Ranko's hand it was cause of another great shock, a wild card willing returned to the holder of the key, something that had never happened before.
Then it dawned on him, it was the presence he felt last night when he was comforting Ranko. Kero was sure it wanted to help and protect Ranko. Many of the cards were like that, wanting to protect and help people but for it to return after helping…Ranko was going to be the best keeper of the clow since Clow Reed himself, he knew it. Ranko may have been hurt badly but she never lost the good parts inside of her, the love and compassion for others.
AN: Finally Genma might be paying for what he did and Ranko was finally able to take some small part of satisfaction at beating Genma to a near pulp. Is this the end or close to it for this story? Not a chance. There's still so much for Ranko to do yet and this story will continue on for a ways yet. As for Genma, this won't be the last of him, not by a long shot.
Also, I need some feedback on an idea I've been playing with. How does everyone think about Ranko using the lock or erase card to get rid of her curse and maybe the others except for Genma?
Well, time again for some more reader responses…
RubberNeck: He does deserve that and so much more. Even hell is too good for Genma.
Dragon Man 180: Ranko for the most part doesn't want to use the clow on someone like that but when Genma was going to hurt Kasumi she snapped. The power card gave her power of will to fight back against Genma and stand up for herself and the people who she is starting to see as a second family. She lost herself in it though and wasn't too concerned about the other cards in the heat of the moment. Later though it's a very good possibility.
Mgsaintz: Nodoka won't really need any help from Madison on finding Ranko but I did finally decide to probaly bring her in. I might change it though because I like the idea of them being related. Thanks for the idea, and if anyone would want to see Sakura come in please tell me. Maybe both will come visit over summer break or something since Sakure is Madison's best friend and cousin.
Reaper2040: Even a giga slave is too good for Genma. I'll have even more chapters out soon as I've decided to concentrate mostly on this story though I won't abandon the other stories I'm working on.
Rubel: That would be a fitting end for Genma, becoming the victim of a bunch of enraged inmates. However, I'm not to sure if that will happen, Genma's not one to be stuck in jail so easily.
Xeno: She didn't deserve it or any of what Genma did to her and he did get some payback this chapter. This won't be all of the payback he gets though, far from it. Thanks, I wanted to show that Kero cares for Ranko a lot and does stuff to try and cheer her up.
Calamatie: Don't worry about it, it's gard to think when it gets too late and you get tired so its no big. I'm glad you're liking this so far.
TheWhiteMonk: I don't blame you for hating Genma, not at all. As for Li, that's a very good possibility for them becoming friends if not more. It is a good idea to have him protect Ranko from Genma though and it may happen in the future. As for catching a break, she'll be getting a few good breaks soon though she may end up with even more complications as more new characters arrive.
Lov3the3vil: Thanks for your comments, as for the Ranko/Li pairing, it still may happen, theres a very good chance of it. Then again, there's a chance that it may not, I'm a little unsure of it at the moment since I originally planned it that way somewhat since I wanted an original pairing and that's one I don't think I ever seen. Now things have already changed some from what I originally planed so now it could go either way and there's so many new possibilities of other things happening as well.
Chrono 9999: Thanks, I'm glad so many of you seem to be liking this story so far.
Chaos Babe: Well, to tell the truth, I'm not sure exactly all the cards that she has caught yet. I'm planning on going through my clow deck and see which ones I want her to have and which ones would be good ones to have her go after yet. As for having Akane go after Genma with sword, I like it a lot, I love the thought of panda shishkabob.