Starting Over: Do You Want to be Friends?
Chapter 23
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 characters in each.
SeCtIoN bReAk
Ranko sighed as she watched out the window wishing that Bakura would hurry up and come. She was home alone as everyone had ended up leaving a few at a time to go do whatever they had planned. A few of them asked if she wanted to come but Ranko didn't want to leave until she saw Bakura and was sure that he didn't hate her after last night.
She was having such a great time and when they kissed, it felt so good but then she had to have freaked out. It was so real to her to, Genma was there kissing her with that hateful, lecherous look in his eyes. It was a flashback, she knew, but it still seemed so real.
Bakura would have all the rights in the world to abandon her now after running their date which was one of the best nights of her life. She had cried for awhile the night before after pretending that she fell asleep and her mother left. Of course Kero and Bast had tried to comfort her but it was useless, though it wasn't her first kiss…it was the most important one.
It wasn't like when that bastard had kissed her, forced his tongue into her mouth. She giggled a little bit at that memory. It was the last time he had kissed her like that after she bit down hard on his tongue. The beating she received because of it was worth it to inflict some pain on the bastard. The memory of the taste of alcohol though…that was one of the biggest reasons she hated the stuff. The reason she refused any the previous night and why she silently prayed Bakura wouldn't drink any either.
She sighed again as she looked out the window again with no sign of Bakura anywhere. He had said he loved her, he would wait for her but for how long would he wait? He deserved someone who could be more normal, who he could kiss without them freaking out.
The loud roar of a motorcycle snapped Ranko out of her thoughts as Bakura came skidding to a halt out front and hopped off of the motorcycle. Ranko ran to the door and out it meeting Bakura half way down the path, relieved that he really did show up.
"Hi, Kitten." Bakura said with a smile.
"Hi Bakura." Ranko said shyly. "I…I'm so sorry about last night."
"It's no big Kitten." Bakura said, "I can't stay long, there's something I have to do this morning but I was hoping that we could meet in the park tonight."
"Sure, what time and where?" Ranko asked.
"Sunset by the fountain." Bakura said.
"Okay, I'll be there." Ranko said.
"Okay, see you later, Kitten." Bakura said starting to turn around.
"Wait…" Ranko said, nervously as Bakura turned back to face her. Genma was gone, he wasn't coming back. No one was ever going to hurt her again. Did she care, maybe even love Bakura? Care, yes, very much but she couldn't bring herself to say she loved him yet.
Steeling herself she walked up to Bakura and pulled his head down and kissed him softly on the lips. Bakura froze for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Ranko and held her close as he responded. They stayed like that as the kissed for a few moments before Ranko broke the kiss and took a few deep breaths to steady herself from the fear that was trying to take over and the excitement that she actually did that.
"Wow." Bakura whispered, "What was that for?"
"Well…I messed up our good night kiss so I wanted to make up for it with a good afternoon kiss." Ranko said.
"I liked it." Bakura said, "I have to get going though, I'll see you tonight."
"See you tonight, Bakura." Ranko said as she watched Bakura leave then walked inside slowly closing the door behind her. She felt her lips softly and smiled, she kissed him…she KISSED him and didn't freak out. With a shout of joy she ran up the steps to tell Kero and Bast.
sEcTiOn BrEaK
Li looked at the new card that he just caught while wondering why on earth would Clow Reed even make a Song Card for. It was easy to capture and held little to no offensive or defensive capabilities. It was a card made to make someone sing better, big deal. How on earth was that even going to help in the final judgment?
"Well I like the card." Meilin said, "I think it's a great one."
"Whatever…" Li grumbled.
SeCtIoN bReAk
Bakura sighed as he looked through the jewelry display at the outrageous prices on some of the stuff inside. He wanted something for his Kitten but he had no idea what to get her that she would like and he could afford. It was going to cost a good chunk of his savings from all f the duels that he had been in and won or became a finalist in.
'Bakura, she will like any of these.' Ryou said mentally.
'I want to get her something special though…something as a promise that I will always be there for her. I want her to know that I am willing to wait as long as it takes but I want to be with her.' Bakura replied, looking at a golden chain bracelet with little cat charms also made of gold with diamonds as there eyes. "Perfect."
'You know, Bakura, I've never seen this side of you for as long as we've been together.' Ryou said with a hint of amusement.
'I no longer hunger for the vengeance I once did…I hate to admit it but I owe the pharaoh and his brat.' Bakura said, 'I give up on getting all of the millennium items, what happened is in the past and can not be undone.'
'I'm glad, Bakura.' Ryou said.
'Besides, if I decide to continue on my path of vengeance…I won't be able to be with my Kitten.' Bakura said, 'I want to be with her, protect her and cherish her. I want to treat her like the princess she deserves to be…I want…I want to settle down, Ryou. I'm tired of trying to get revenge for something no one even remembers.'
"May I help you?" a young woman asked coming up to the counter in front of Bakura.
"Yes, I would like that golden cat charm bracelet." Bakura said.
"I'm sorry, that is rather expensive." The woman said, "How about something like these gold plated chains over here."
"Kiyone, what have I told you about treating our customers?" an older woman asked.
"I'm sorry, mom." Kiyone sighed.
"Besides, I'm sure Bakura has plenty enough to buy anything in this store…after all he was one of the finalist in the battle city tournament." The older woman said.
"You have to be kidding me!" Kiyone gasped.
"I'm sorry for my daughter, she can be a bit spoiled at times." The woman said, "You wanted the golden cat charm, okay I'll get it for you. And for your trouble I'll even knock off twenty percent."
Bakura walked out of the store with a small smile, even with the discount he spent about eighty percent of his savings but to him it was worth it. Besides, there was a tournament coming up in Nerima that was sponsored by a Daisuke Kuno in celebration of another game and toy store grand opening. The prizes were all very good and there were even sponsorship deals for the winner which paid even more.
'That's a good idea.' Ryou said. 'It should be an easy win.'
'I know.' Bakura said with a smirk All contestants had to purchase one of Kaiba's Duel Disk which was now being sold widespread. Then Bakura thought of something, the tournament was sponsored by Daisuke Kuno but backed by Kaiba Corp causing him to groan. 'I hope that pompous ass doesn't show up for it, I can't stand his attitude. He is worse than I ever was.'
'You got a point there.' Ryou said.
sEcTiOn BrEaK
Ranko was taking a small nap before she had to leave to meet Bakura since she was still tired from the lack of sleep the night before. She woke up and laid on her back staring up at the ceiling after looking at her clock and seeing that it was still only a little past noon.
Sighing she started to sit up then noticed how dark it was starting to get in her room which should be impossible since it was clear outside and her curtains was pulled back. Within a few short moments the whole room turned pitch black except for Ranko herself who seemed to be glowing.
Climbing out of bed she walked a few feet before bumping into something solid. After feeling around she figured that it was the wall. Running her hands along its smooth surface she searched for either the light switch or the door knob but couldn't find either.
She was starting to get frightened so pulled out the clow key for comfort, transforming it into the sealing staff. "Key of Clow! Power of Magic, Power of Light, Surrender the wand The force ignite! RELEASE!"
Then it hit her, this was all being caused by a clow card, she could feel it. "Dark Card!"
There was a brief flicker through the darkness but nothing else changed, she couldn't seal it unless it was in its true form but how did she do that? This was beginning to get to her, of course she wasn't really afraid of the dark but she was afraid of things that happened in the dark like beatings and…things she didn't want to think about. Things that made her feel almost as dirty as when the bastard raped her.
"I wish I had a light." Ranko muttered to herself. Then she noticed how she was the only thing that even had any light since she was glowing but the glow didn't go out into the darkness. Why was she glowing though…there had to be someway to figure out what was going on.
"Light…that's it!" Ranko exclaimed, "Light Card!"
"Hello, Ranko." A woman's voice said as the woman Ranko remembered from her dream as the judge appeared in white. A moment later another one appeared dressed in black.
"You were in my dream, weren't you?" Ranko asked, "It was real?"
"Yes, Ranko." The woman in white said, "I have never left you since the seal was broken, I have been in your heart the whole time but I couldn't do anything. I wasn't yet allowed to appear most other cards were caught and now there remains but one."
"But I still have a few more to catch." Ranko said.
"No, Ranko, you don't." the woman dressed in black said. "Another has caught those cards and will be judged as well as you. We both want you as our master though, many of us do. Though you have been through some very traumatic events, your heart still shines strong. We have faith in you."
"When the final card is caught." The woman in white said, "Keroberos will regain his true form and on the night of the full moon Yue will be revealed and he will pass judgment on you both to see who is worthy of the cards."
"We all have come to love you very much Ranko and we want you to be the one," the woman in dark said, "So be strong and all will be okay."
"Please seal us now, Ranko." The woman in white said.
"Thank you." Ranko sniffed as she raised the staff, "The Light Card, The Dark Card, return to your powers confined. LIGHT, DARK!"
As the darkness faded away she caught the two new cards in her hands and smiled. She would become the new master and take very good care of the cards, her friends.
SeCtIoN bReAk
Ranko couldn't be any happier as she sat on the bench waiting for Bakura to get there. She was so close to finishing catching all of the cards and finally be done with it. She was happy about that but she wasn't going to just push them aside, she wanted to make sure they knew how much she had appreciated them and cared for the. There was no way that she was going to forget about them.
"Hey gorgeous, is this seat taken?" Bakura asked with a grin.
"I don't know, my boyfriend could get jealous." Ranko said with a smile then she realized what she said and turned bright red.
"Boyfriend, huh?" Bakura said, "I can take him. A princess such as yourself deserves a strong and devilishly handsome knight such as myself."
"Well, Mr. Knight, why don't you take a load off?" Ranko giggled.
"Boyfriend?" Bakura asked as he sat down.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Ranko said.
"No, its okay, I like it." Bakura said, "I'd love to be your boyfriend."
"Really?" Ranko asked a little nervously.
"Really, Kitten." Bakura said.
"But I can't even say it yet…" Ranko said looking down when Bakura put a dark violet box on her lap. "WH-What's this?" Ranko asked.
"Just open it." Bakura said.
Nervously Ranko opened the velvety box and gasped out what was inside of it, it was beautiful. She loved the way the little cat's eyes sparkled then realized that they were diamonds, real diamonds and the chain looked like real gold.
"I-I can't…Bakura, thank you so much but I can't…" Ranko said, close to crying.
"Yes you can." Bakura said as he took the chain and fastened it around her wrist, "It's not an engagement ring or anything, but it is a promise that I will wait as long as that takes and as long as you will have me. Ranko, I love you and will be here for you no matter what."
At that Ranko did start crying, partly mad about not being able to say those three simple words but so happy that she really did have someone who was willing to accept her for who and what she was and who loved her for it too.
She leaned into Bakura embrace when he hugged her as he asked, "What's wrong kitten?"
Ranko's only answer was to lean up and kiss him on the lips not caring who walked by, she couldn't say she LOVED him but she wanted to so much. She knew she liked him very, very much though and never wanted this moment to end.
sEcTiOn BrEaK
AN: Ranko is feeling much better now and all of the cards but one has been caught but who will be able to catch this one, Ranko or Li? Ranko can't say 'I love you' yet to Bakura but she may be able to soon. Hope everyone liked this chapter.
The sequel will probably be at least two, maybe three or four times longer than this part. Ranko needs to change the cards in it, learn magic and tie up some loose ends for some of the other characters not to mention starting school again but this time as a girl.
Review Responses:
Firehedgehog: Don't worry, MewMew Ranko was just a comparison and a bit of a joke, if it happens at all in this story, which I seriously doubt, it won't be until late in the sequel. If I make a MewMew Ranko it will most probably be a story on its own.
Lov3the3vil: I hoped this would go over well and I'm glad, I love romance too. Hope you liked how this chapter turned out.
Shinigami: You do have a point but believe me it is so hard to talk about it to strangers, much less your own family. The truth probably will come out though and Tatewaki may be the one to punish them. This probably won't happen until the sequel though, sorry. Thanks, Ranko really does need someone and she will have plenty of someone's helping her. As for Akane, she may have a hard time coming to terms with that unfortunately.
Dragon Man 180: I actually thought of trying something similar early on, maybe using the Amazon formula 411 thing but I ran into a major barrier there. The rape is not the only thing that bothers her, its much more than that. It's the years of abuse and treatement that she received from Genma that also hurts her. To be able to get rid of most of the pain would also wipe out so much of her memories leaving her without much knowledge at all and wiping out a lot of who she is. That is a good idea with the cards helping her with her confidence and she will get a lot more confidence as Xellos teaches her magic when she is through with the judgment.
Darkman v3: That may be a good idea for the sequel, thank you. And that's a good way to bring in Ranma so thanks again.
RubberNeck: I love that idea so much but I'm not sure how to pull it off so I'd love any suggestions on how to. As for how far I'm into this story, well I'm not completely sure where it will stop but I believe it will be between chapters 27 and 30 at the moment as Ranko still needs to catch the firey card and prepare for the judgment which I have planned out somewhat but it will probably be very long. I'm not sure if I should break it in half if I can't finish it on time to post it and post the second half the next day or just wait the extra day to post it. In a way I'd like to wait myself but I also promised that I would try my best to do a chapter a day with this story which sometimes has been difficult but I managed so far.
TheWhiteMonk: Thanks, and he is moving a bit fast but he has come to care for her very much. Kind of like love at first sight, he could see her aura and it was nothing like he had ever seen before. Besides that he thinks she beautiful and very good hearted and on top of that she is an avatar of Bast. Ryou really does need to have a talk with him though, thanks. And I will, I plan on doing a sequel and a prequel both.
Ebona Nite: Thanks, I hope you liked this chapter also. As for the card capturing, there isn't much more of it in this story but there will be a lot of it in both the sequel and prequel as she has to change/catch the cards respectively.
TheCentauress: It could in the sequel, after all Nodoka knows all sorts of magical beings and otherworldly creatures such as Alucard of Hellsing as well as Sir Integra. That is a very cute scene and would be very funny to write. I'd also love to get a fanpic of that for my site which should be up as soon as I finish this part of the story.
Thanks everyone for all of your great reviews and comments. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter also.
Until Next Time,
Ja Ne