Starting Over: Do You Want to be Friends?
Chapter 13
Written by Senshi of Valis
Ranma ½ created by Rumiko Takahashi
Card Captor Sakura created by Clamp
I don't own any of these series or the character in each.
Ranko was actually awake the next morning in time to get cleaned up and join everyone for breakfast. It was more packed than she thought it was going to be, not realizing how many people were at the house. Her mother was sitting at the head of the table with Soun sitting at the opposite end. Ranko was sitting to Nodoka's Right and Alita to the left. Next to Akane sat Akane and Ryoga and across from them were Nabiki and Kasumi.
"Nodoka, my niece and her friend will actually be here later today." Alita said, "Their school let out early since they finished everything including the finals."
"How did they get out early?" Nabiki asked in surprise.
"They go to a private school whose curriculum is very strict." Alita said.
That made Ranko smile, she couldn't wait to meet them, especially because if she understood it right, they were technically cousins. She was hoping they were as nice as Alita said they were and that they would become good friends.
Since the previous night, Ranko was feeling pretty good about herself. There was just something about Tofu's words that she couldn't debate for some reason. She still felt dirty on the inside but she didn't want to dwell on it, she wanted…needed to forget about it. She was intent on trying to be just a normal girl.
"That's great, Alita." Nodoka said, "How about you girls, have any plans for the day?"
"Nabiki and I plan on going to do a few things today in town, Auntie." Kasumi said, "Maybe visit Tofu and check how the repairs are coming along at our home."
"I'm going to meet Yuka and Sayuri for a movie later today." Akane said, "You can come to if you want, Ranko."
"Thanks Akane, but I wanted to do a few...things today." Ranko said.
"If you want, I'll come with you." Ryoga said.
"Thanks, Ryoga, I'd like that." Ranko said, "Besides, I want to talk to you some anyways."
"Sure." Ryoga said.
"Okay, but I want all of you to be extra careful." Nodoka said, "And Ryoga, I'm counting on you to take care of my daughter. I have to head over to see Tatewaki and Kodachi so I will see everyone later today."
"I will defend Ranko with my life." Ryoga said.
Shortly after breakfast everyone had broken up to go do what they had planned, Ranko walking very closely next to Ryoga as they walked through the park. She was wearing a blue skirt and white blouse, her hair left down as it fell around her shoulders like waves of fire. She wore a large satchel type bag as it hung from her shoulder. Ryoga was wearing his usual traveling style of clothes and seemed a little nervous.
"Are we there yet?" Kero grumbled from inside the bag causing Ranko to sigh. "It's hot in here, you know."
"What was that?" Ryoga asked, staring at the bag.
"We will be soon, just hold on a little longer." Ranko said. "That's Kero, he's my best friend Ryoga. He's been there for me through so much."
"I'm sorry I wasn't, Ranko." Ryoga said, "I never knew…"
"Its okay, Ryoga, its over now and I just want to forget it." Ranko said, "You remember the other night when I cured you?"
"Yeah, thank you Ranko." Ryoga said, "But how did you do it anyways."
"This falls under your promise not to tell anyone." Ranko said, "Not too many people know about it."
"Okay." Ryoga agreed.
"You see, there is this book of magical cards made by someone named Clow Reed. Each of the cards has a different power and was sealed inside a book which I accidentally opened up and sat them free. I've been catching them with Kero's help, he's the guardian beast of the seal that protects the cards."
"Some guardian." Ryoga snorted.
"Wise guy, eh?" Kero grumbled as he floated up out of the bag shaking his little paw at Ryoga. "Why I oughta…"
Ranko quickly stuffed Kero back in the bag and looked around nervously for anyone who might have seen him. That was one of her biggest fears, someone finding about Kero and taking him away to some lab somewhere to dissect. She loved him very much and for so long was her only support…her only friend.
"I'm sorry, Kero, but please…just a few more minutes.
"Th-That's the guardian beast." Ryoga chuckled.
"What's wrong with that?" Ranko asked.
"I guess it is true, you are a magical girl." Ryoga said.
"And what's wrong with THAT?" Ranko demanded.
"No-Nothing." Ryoga stammered, "I was just thinking…you have a mascot and everything…after all…all cute magical girls have their own cute mascot."
"Y-You think I'm cute?" Ranko asked, blushing furiously.
"We-Well I didn't mean anything by it…I'm sorry." Ryoga said.
"Don't worry, Ryoga." Ranko sighed as she walked on ahead sadly.
"I don't think she's cute…I think she's gorgeous." Ryoga whispered to himself as he hurried to catch up. Ranko heard it though and it made her feel good that he thought so. Resuming her happy thoughts, she reached out and took Ryoga's hand and leaned onto his shoulder, moving the bag some so Kero wouldn't be squashed. A part of her was very scared at being this close to him, touching him. Yet another part felt safe and secure doing it.
"R-Ranko…I don't need led around anymore." Ryoga said.
"I know." Ranko said as they walked on in silence until reaching the bridge instead of the park. Slowly they worked there way under it and looked out at the small stream that ran under it.
"What did you want to do?" Ryoga asked.
"I almost have all of the clow cards but I still need a few more." Ranko said. "I was planning on flying over head and looking for them."
"How were you planning to fly?" Ryoga asked.
"With this." Ranko answered pulling out the fly card and showing it to Ryoga.
"That looks like the card I have in my pack back at the house." Ryoga said, "But mine has a shield on it."
"Where did you get it?" Kero asked.
"I-I don't know." Ryoga said, blushing. "I was lost but I found it laying on the ground somewhere…I was going to give it to Akane because I thought it was kind of neat looking. But I thought it would be a stupid gift but I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of it."
"Ryoga…if it is a clow card…can I have it." Ranko asked.
"Of course, Ranko." Ryoga said, "I'll get it for you as soon as we get back."
"Thank you, thank you so much!" Ranko cried out as she glomped Ryoga then jumped back in embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry, Ryoga…" Ranko said.
"I'm sorry, Ranko…" Ryoga said at the same time causing them both to burst out in embarrassed laughter.
"If you two are done we have clow cards to search for." Kero said in amusement.
"Ri-Right…cards, no problem." Ranko said as she pulled out the key of clow. "Key of Clow! Power of Magic, Power of Light, Surrender the wand the force ignite! RELEASE!"
Ranko felt the familiar surge of power through her as the key elongated into its staff like shape. Spinning it around Ranko threw up the fly card and called out, "Fly Card, become our wings! Release and Dispell! FLY CARD!"
Ranko opened her eyes as the staff left her hand and floated a little off of the ground. Slowly she sat near the front as the wings flapped on the back a little. She pulled her skirt tight around her knees as she motioned for Ryoga to get on.
"Are you sure that thing is safe?" Ryoga asked as he climbed on behind Ranko.
"Just hold onto me." Ranko said as she felt his large form press close to her from behind causing shivers to run through her body making her have to keep assuring herself that he wouldn't hurt her. He wrapped his arms around her waist nervously as they shot up into the air, high over Nerima.
Ranko's nervousness started to fade as she felt herself back in the sky flying high with Kero close by and Ryoga with her. They floated there for several seconds until Ranko noticed how Ryoga was shaking.
"Are you okay?" Ranko asked as he tightened his grip a little.
"J-Just fine…R-Ranko…hahaha…no problems…nope…none.," Ryoga stammered.
"He's scared of heights." Kero said.
"Am not!" Ryoga protested.
"There's something down there…" Ranko said.
"I feel it to…over there." Kero pointed, "I think it's a clow card."
"There's Li to!" Ranko said pointing in the same direction as Kero did. "Let's go."
"Right." Kero said as they descended near Li, landing as the staff became the key again and returned around her neck.
"Are you sure your okay, Ryoga?" Ranko asked, worried as she watched him stand dizzily for a few moments, looking as if he was going to be sick.
"I'm fine." Ryoga said, straightening up. "Let's find this card thing you were looking for."
Ranko hurried up to catch up to Li with Ryoga and Kero right behind her. "Ranko?" Li asked shocked to see her.
"Hi Li." Ranko said, blushing a little, "Thank you for helping me."
"It's no problem, are you okay?" Li asked.
"I'm feeling a lot better, thank you." Ranko said as she noticed Li looking behind her causing her to turn and look to where Ryoga was staring back at Li. "This is Ryoga Li, he's an old friend of mine."
"Kero?" Ranko asked in shock as he dove back into her bag. "Those girls are holding a clow card, Ranko."
"Where?" Ranko asked looking around to spot two girls about the same age as her. One of them had long black hair with a dark blouse and skirt while the other had short reddish brown hair and wore a pair of jeans and red shirt with a picture of Hikaru from Rayearth bathed in fire.
"Sakura…I think you should put that thing back down." The girl with the black hair said nervously."
"I feel it to, Tomoyo…It has some kind of power…but what could it do?" Sakura asked.
"Don't say its name!" Li called as he rushed forward.
"Say what?" Tomoyo asked.
"Maze?' Sakura asked, confused.
"This isn't good." Kero said from inside the bag as walls came out of no where that seemed to extend as high as they could see.
"I told you to put it back down, Sakura." Tomoyo sighed.
"Sorry…" Sakura said.
"We better stick together." Li said, "We need to make sure all of make it out."
"Sure." Sakura said, "Hi, I'm Sakura and this is my cousin Tomoyo."
"I'm Li." Li said.
"Hi, I'm Ranko and this is Ryoga." Ranko said as she gestured towards Ryoga. "Tomoyo and Sakura? Are you Alita's niece?"
"Yep." Tomoyo said with a smile.
"I thought she was going to pick you up." Asked Ranko.
"I wanted to surprise Auntie so we left on an earlier train and we would have been there by now if Sakura didn't have to stop for ice cream."
"Hey, you know they have the best around and we only get to get some when we visit Auntie Alita." Sakura said.
"This can't be too hard to get out of." Ryoga said, cracking his knuckles. He struck the wall with a cry of, "Bucksai Tenketsu!"
"It actually worked…" Ranko said in awe as the wall crumbled but it only let the group into another corridor.
"That was so cool!" Tomoyo whispered to Sakura who only nodded.
"Of course." Ranko said as they all climbed through the hole. "Was there ever any doubt."
With that said though the hole closed up onto itself which worried Ranko a little but not much as Ryoga did it again to the next wall and then the next wall but each time it seemed the holes closed faster until Ryoga tried it again but the hole closed up as soon as it was made. Ryoga tried several more times but it was no use.
"This isn't getting us anywhere." Li growled as he pulled out what looked like a chinese game board.
"Li, I don't think this is a time for games." Sakura said.
"Relax, it's not a game." Li said though his voice seemed a little agitated. "Source of Light, With ancient Spin, Send forth the magic power within! Force, know my plight! Release the Light!"
Ranko watched expectantly at the board as it started to glow but it stopped quickly. Ranko was confused, she saw Li's scroll's in action against the Thunder Card and expected this one to do something.
"We're trapped here, aren't we?" Tomoyo asked nervously.
"We're be fine, right guys?" Sakura asked, "Don't worry, Tomoyo."
"Sakura is right, Tomoyo." Ranko assured the girl, squeezing her shoulder. "I have an idea. Kero, fly up and see if you can see if there is a way out."
"Who's Kero?" Sakura asked and gasped as the small creature floated out of Ranko's bag. "He's so cute."
"Hey, I'm studly, not cute." Kero mumbled.
"Ok studly." Sakura giggled.
"I'm surrounded by wise guys." Kero mumbled as he floated upwards.
"What is he?" Tomoyo asked.
"I'll explain later, I promise." Ranko said as she watched Kero, "But you can't tell anyone about him or anything you see here. Okay?"
"Sure." Sakura said.
"We promise." Tomoyo said.
"It's no use!" Kero called down, "There's an invisible ceiling."
"Let's just walk for awhile and see if we can find anything." Ryoga suggested, "It did say maze, right, so there has to be an exit."
"There is." Li said but the way he said it didn't help any. He sounded as if there was little hope of finding one.
They all walked down corridor after corridor for what seemed like hours until Tomoyo just dropped to sit on the ground. Ranko wasn't feeling much better herself, physically she was fine but she was emotionally exhausted. She was scared, Ryoga may have been scared of flying but her, she hated spaces this closed in and it was wearing on here.
"I need to rest." Tomoyo huffed.
"Me to." Sakura said as she dropped down by her friend.
"I'm scared Sakura." Tomoyo whispered.
"It'll be okay." Ranko said as she sat on the other side of Tomoyo. "We're used to this kind of thing."
"Really?" Tomoyo asked.
"Yep, expect the unexpected." Kero said, "That's our motto."
"So you know Auntie Alita," Sakura asked, "How about Auntie Nodoka?"
"Nodoka's my mother." Ranko said.
"Really?" Tomoyo asked, her eyes shinning with happiness. "Oh my god, you're alive!"
Ranko was having a hard time breathing from this girl's glomp, it was almost as strong as Shampoo's.
"I'm glad you're okay, Ranko." Sakura said, "You know, Auntie Nodoka and Tomoyo here was two of the only people who believed that you was still alive. Your mom never gave up on you."
"So what happened to you?" Tomoyo asked, she must have seen the pain flash in Ranko's eyes as she continued, "I-It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'm just glad you're okay now and back home now."
A sound like a bell and the wall crumbling in front of them startled them as Ms. Mackenzie walked through the new hole carrying a crescent moon shaped bell. "Are you all okay?" Ms. Mackenzie asked.
"Yeah, thanks." Ranko said as she got up and looked through the hole, there was now a clear path out of the maze.
"Then let's go." Ms. Mackenzie said as she led everyone out of the maze, Ranko watching her suspiciously. After everyone was out she surprised Ranko even more. "Go ahead and seal the card, dear."
"H-How did you…" Ranko tried to ask.
"I know many things dear." Ms. Mackenzie said, "For now, I think it's best for you to seal it before anyone else wonders in."
"R-Right." Ranko mumbles as she pulled out the key of clow. Key of Clow! Power of Magic, Power of Light, Surrender the wand the force ignite! RELEASE!" Ranko felt the staff lengthen as she twirled it around, bringing the beak of the bird like nose down towards the maze, "Maze Card, Return to your power Confined! THE MAZE!"
The maze slowly started to shrink itself until it formed the clow card and flew to Ranko's hand.
"Don't forget to sign it when you get home, Ranko." Ms. Mackenzie said, "As for home, I'll give you all a lift."
"Thanks but I'll walk." Li said as he turned and walked slowly away from the group. A part of Ranko was hurt that he didn't even say bye to her, much less anyone else.
"Come on, my van is parked over here." Ms. Mackenzie said as she led everyone away from what used to be the maze. Ranko stared after Li for a few moments before joining them, Sakura and Tomoyo giving her a weird sort of smile.
Bakura was in a bad mood as he stopped what was now his motorcycle outside a little city called Nerima. A part of him felt like he was running away but in truth his plans had changed drastically after the whole Marik episode.
The Pharaoh had saved him from the shadow realm, both Ryu and himself so in a way he was indebted to him and the little brat. So he no longer seeked the millennium treasures but now he was at a loss at what to do. In a way he felt lost, without a reason for being and wanted so much to find that reason. He no longer cared about taking over the world.
"Bakura?" Ryu asked inside his mind, "Maybe you should just try helping people, Bakura."
"As if…" Bakura mumbled. Ryu was the owner of the body which he shared and lately…he grudgingly admitted, his only true friend. "This place looks interesting, let's see what we find here."
AN: Hi everyone, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was really hard writing this one for some reason but I already started on the next and its being much more cooperative with me. Also, now that Ranko has caught The Maze card and Ryoga has The Shield card, that only leaves six more cards before Ranko gets them all and the judgment happens. If anyone could help me with how the judgment worked I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.
Review Responses:
Dragon Man 180: Thanks for the help with the cards, as for who Yue is, yep Tofu will most likely fill that role and that is a good possibility. And as for Genma, he did get off pretty easy but there will be plenty more punishment for him. And Mei Lin will be showing up in the next few chapters, as will Ranko's first meeting with a psychiatrist and her doctor appointment. Thanks for the idea but I'm sorry I only used a part of it with the maze and Ryoga.
RubberNeck: Thanks, I'll try my best to keep it great. Ranko will pretty much have a happy ending, a sequel and a prequel coming as well for this story. I still get sad thinking about what Pluto did in that story, it's really terrible what she did.
Calamite: Thanks for the help, and I think that would be a great idea. Perhaps she will catch Light/Dark Cards first and then catch the Firey card.
Mgsaintz: Thanks for the info I think it was a big help, as for a love triangle, it's possible it may become a square soon with Bakura coming into town. As for the reason she has so many cards…I'm sorry but I'm not really too sure why I did it. It was kind of a spur of the moment kinda deal. I will probably be ending this part of the story around chapter 25 or maybe 35 since I don't want to stuff too much in one chapter and make it look rushed.
Borg rabbit: Yep, the hot spring curses is the strongest of all Jusenkyo curses, even the prince's from the second Ranma movie, Nihao My Concubine. I do like that idea with Genma, thank you. And the thing with the gong, I thought I remembered Li carrying like a small gong that changed into his sword in the anime though I could be wrong. As for Cologne and Shampoo, sorry but I'm still having trouble deciding with them but thank you for the ideas.
Rubel: Thanks for the tips and ideas and Ranko will probably have a harder time than Sakura did in catching those cards. And it all helps, thank you, but I never really thought about that with Kero to be honest, I was thinking that Ranko needed both cards, sorry. It's been awhile since I watched Cardcaptors and I only have a few manga though I'm trying to get the others too.
Reaper2040: Thanks, I have all the cards but sadly not all the manga and it's been a bit since I seen the anime.
Smith: Yep, he is and they may become a pairing later on. As for my leg, thanks, it does hurt some but it is feeling better and it also keeps me inside to work on my story during the day when no one is at home which lets me get a lot done on it. And your right, Yugi would hold back too much so it will be Bakura, thanks and good night.
Masaki yang yi1: In a way Genma did ruin Ranko's life and he hates her very much for messing up his plans with the Tendo's and wants to make her suffer for it. As for Li, I don't think he'll be fighting much more with Ranko now that he knows the truth, thanks.
Fierkraag: Thanks, it's been awhile since I seen it to and I will keep writing so don't worry. Glad you liked it.
TheWhiteMonk: Thanks for the help, it's still a toss up on who will win Ranko's heart but Li is definitely in the running. As for Mei Lin, thanks, that's a great idea and Ranko may even end up teaching her a little. Also, that's a good idea about Cologne and the cards so thanks again, and Shampoo I'm at a loss for, maybe she'll be upset at first and slowly come around but she could react completely different. The amazons are going to be the most difficult to handle in this but they will be showing up soon. Thanks.
Ranma-tomoe: Thanks, I always did love stuff with more of a story than action in them. I love a lot of different types but action is just one of my least, for example Dragonball Z. (No offense.) I just can't stand where they fight for two or three episodes when the planet was supposed to be destroyed in like twenty seconds.