Chapter Text
A book with a bright green eye on the cover peaks through the water. And as a water drop creates the wavy patterns over the image, the book and the water slowly disappear into a scenery. A building.
‘Tokyo Tower…?’
Standing on top of a large building, Atsushi finds himself in front of the Tokyo Tower. Cards with complicated designs that he had never seen before scattered in the air, blown by the wind around him. And with the corner of his eyes, he sees a small yellow thing floating by him, a serious look on its face.
A third Someone stands by the tower, but Atsushi cannot tell who it is but that they are dressed red from head to toe. And without a warning or consent of his own, Atsushi finds himself saying something he cannot hear, and as wings appear on his shoes, he finds himself walking toward the edge of the building where he stands. And, just like that, Atsushi jumped off into the night.
***
Atsushi shoots up from his bed in a panic as his alarm rings and promptly falls onto his face. Right… today is Monday. He needs to go to school. Looking around his room before back at himself, Atsushi lets out a relieved breath.
He is home. He is fine. And he is not jumping off of a tall building in front of the famous Tokyo Tower.
Climbing out of his bed with all his might, Atsushi wished that he had slept earlier yesterday as he pulled out his uniform from his closet to get changed. Tying the bright red tie around his neck and brushing his hair as properly as he can (which looks how it is now thanks to a prank his older brother pulled on him last year), Atsushi is currently a sixth grader in Yokohama Middle School.
“Morning, Dad!” Atsushi chirps happily as he skips down the stairs and into the kitchen, seating himself down in his seat.
“Good morning, Atsushi. As energetic as usual, I see.” Fukuzawa Yukichi, Atsushi’s father, smiles lightly as he places a plate of breakfast down in front of Atsushi, the same thing he had already given Osamu, Atsushi’s older brother, just earlier.
“Awe, no morning greeting for me, Atsushi? How rude of you.” Osamu teases from across the table as he takes a sip of his morning coffee, only a few crumbs left on his plate. “And with how long it took for you to come down, I thought you were going to ditch school~.”
“I got down just in time, and I am not going to ditch school.” Atsushi retorts as he practically scoffs down his food to try and save time. “I am not you. Do you even have a two-day attendance streak, ever?”
“Classes are too boring. I can’t help it, okay?” Osamu chuckles as he stands up, swinging his coat on and wearing it over his shoulder. “It’s too boring, and I can pass without going to class anyways, unlike Atsushi~!”
“I swear, Ni-san, you are the worst type of genius out there.” Atsushi shoots Osamu another offended glare before gulping down his cup of milk in one go. Grabbing his hat, Atsushi chases Osamu to the front door, and stripes on his roller blades as the older goes out to get his bike.
“I’ll be on my way!” Atsushi yells into the house, and after Fukuzawa wishes them to both have a good day even when Osamu is already gone, Atsushi closes the door behind him, and begins his trip of catching up with his annoying brother on the way to school.
“How is he so fast….” Atsushi murmurs to himself as he skates toward the direction of his school. Osamu goes to Yokohama High School, right beside his Middle school, separated by a fence, so they usually go to school together, alongside Osamu’s friend rival, who meets them halfway there.
Oh. Finally catching glimpse of Osamu, Atsushi speeds up his blades and finally comes to a stop right beside his brother. “You couldn’t wait for one minute…!” Atsushi lets out a sign of frustration as he takes in the shit-eating grin on Osamu’s face.
“You know how this fucking Mackerel is. Cannot give anyone a break.” Standing beside the two siblings, Chuuya lets out a light chuckle and grins at Atsushi, his bag hanging from his bike beside him. “Morning, Atsushi.”
“M- morning, Chuuya-san! How are you?” Atsushi greets back with a slightly embarrassed smile. Nakahara Chuuya is said to be Osamu’s rival, the two are supposed to hate each other if what everyone said is true. But Atsushi doesn’t think that this is the case at all. After all, what rivals walk to school and back together, and study at each other’s house every week?
And unlike Osamu, Atsushi actually respects Chuuya a lot. A hard-working student who is already earning money by himself (and somehow managing to drag Osamu along as well), who actually helped Atsushi with his homework when his own brother would not. What’s not to respect?
“I’m doing good. Great, in fact, until your annoying brother decided to show up.” Chuuya shoots Osamu a glare as he says that, but he still smiles at Atsushi. Climbing onto his bike as they start moving towards school once more, Chuuya asks back. “You? Ate breakfast?”
“Yes! I did!” Atsushi smiles back as he follows up with the two bike riders on his skates. “Did you?” Atsushi follows up with a curious smile.
“Yup. Got time to eat eight steamed buns before leaving today.” Chuuya smiles back lightly. “Though I already feel hungry again… should’ve made just a few more.”
“Aren’t you eating too much, Chibi?” Osamu comments teasingly, emphasizing on the nickname by stretching the notes out longer than the rest. “You are going to get fat~.”
“I am not. In fact, I did not gain weight at all after eating like this for years!” Chuuya retorts before shaking his head in frustration. “Maybe you should learn to eat a bit more, just so you don’t look like a fucking stick all the time, fucking Osamu.”
Yup. Atsushi can’t see them hating each other at all. Maybe it’s because of how often Atsushi had been around the two (or the fact that they use each other’s first names), but somehow, even if slightly, he can sense a bit of fondness in the bickering-
“Atsushi. Are you coming to high school with us? How ambitious!” Osamu’s teasing voice brings Atsushi back to reality, and indeed, he has already arrived at his school. And giving his brother a playful glare, Atsushi skates into his school gate. “Have a nice day, you two!”
“You too, Atsushi!” and just like that, the two older boys ride off to their own school.
Changing his skates for some indoor shoes, Atsushi stores his protective gear and rollerblades away in his locker before something red catches his eye.
“Ah, good morning, Lucy!” Atsushi greets as he walks over to his best friend for six years now, tilting his head as a gadget in her hands catches his attention. “Is that….”
“A video camera? Yup! I got it yesterday, and I’m still trying to figure it out-!” Lucy answers as she takes the camera by her eyes, with a mischievous grin, points it at Atsushi. “Now, anything to say for the camera, My-brother-cut-my-hair-kun?”
“Don’t film me, Lucy…!” Atsushi sidesteps to the side to avoid being on camera as he shields his face with his arms. “And don’t call me that, I’ve grown it out a little, it’s not that bad!”
“Atsushi… I don’t think even a stylist can fix that.” Lucy deadpans as she puts down her camera, putting it away. “And fine, I won’t film you. For now.”
“Why only now?!”
“Because I need to learn how to use it, and I want blackmail on you. Two birds with one stone.” Lucy smirks as they make their way to class. “I have a few already, but it’s not really blackmailing if I don’t have proof to back it up!”
“Lucy… what do you have against me….” Atsushi lets out a sign before plopping himself into his seat near the window, Lucy sitting down at the table on his right, making it just in time before their homeroom teacher, Yosano Akiko, walks into the classroom.
Most people would say that Atsushi is nothing like his brother. But if there is one thing, it’s that from time to time, Atsushi really can’t focus on the class at all. Which is what is happening today as he starts doodling on his textbook, the little yellow creature from his dream last night.
Now that he actually drew it out, Atsushi is starting to think that it looks like a stuffed animal dog.
“What are you drawing?” Lucy whispers as she leans over from her table. “A stuffed animal?”
“Oh, this is-” Atsushi was about to respond before Yosano suddenly called his name to come up and do some math. “I’ll tell you after class.” Atsushi whispers back before skittering up to the front of the class.
***
“Tachihara-kun, Pass!” Atsushi yells out as he runs across the field and towards the net at the end of the field. As the ball comes flying, Atsushi stops it with his knees before with a swift kick, shooting it into the goal.
“Let’s go!!! Atsushi, high-five!” Tachihara Michizou runs over with his hand raised up high, grinning brightly as Atsushi returns the gesture and slaps him hard across the hand. “Your kick is as strong as ever!”
“Mhm. The ball went flying.” Tanizaki Junichirou smiles as he joins the conversation, handing the two their water bottles with a tower over his neck. “Unlike me, who barely did anything….”
“No, your saves were great! Give yourself some credit!” Tachihara grins as he drapes an arm over Jurichirou’s shoulder, taking a sip of water. “We would’ve gotten scored on so much without them! You should consider being the goalie next time!”
“No- I mean… Thanks, Tachihara-kun….” Junichirou gives Tachihara a timid smile before looking back at Atsushi. “Say, Fukuzawa-kun-”
“Just call me Atsushi, Tanizaki-kun.”
“Ah, okay….” Junichirou gives yet another timid smile before continuing. “Then, Atsushi-kun, if you’re not busy, want to eat lunch together with Naomi and I? She said she wanted some opinions on the drawing she made for art class. Of course, Lucy-san can come as well.”
“Can we? Sure!” Atsushi smiles and nods at the invitation as he gulps down some water. “We’ll be there, Tanizaki-kun!”
“Call me Junichirou as well.”
“Ah- of course.” Walking away to get changed now that the club had ended, Atsushi gives the two a wave. “I’ll see you then, Junichirou-kun!”
“Can I come, Junichirou?” Tachihara asks with a purposeful pout as he waves Atsushi goodbye. “I wanna come as well!”
“O- of course, Tachihara-kun can also come!” Junichirou blinks in surprise as he slowly gets Tachihara off of his back so he can go get changed as well. “But… first name?”
“You allowed Atsushi!” Tachihara argues, taking another gulp of water and grabs his tower from his bag. “You can call me Michizou too.”
Finding no reason to reject this, Junichirou just lets out a sign before smiling and walking towards the changeroom with Tachihara. “Fine, I get it. You can come with us for lunch as well, Michizou-kun. After all, the more, the better.”
“Great!” Swinging his bag over his shoulder, Tachihara grins. “I’ll be there for sure, Junichirou!”
***
“Ah… I’m tired.” Taking off his rollerblades, Atsushi stumbles into his house after locking the door behind him. The house is silent per usual since his father wouldn’t be home till much later, and his brother is… Atsushi doesn’t know where Osamu is, but he’s not home for sure.
Feeling his stomach grumble as he makes it to the kitchen, Atsushi decides to make himself some food as he waits for the others to come home. He does have homework… but eating comes before everything else, right? So, flipping through the fridge, Atsushi hums as he tries to find enough ingredients to make a chazuke.
Suddenly, Atsushi hears a ruffling and fluttering sound coming from the basement, where his father kept all his books. Feeling a wave of anxiety wash over him, Atsushi slowly closes the fridge as a question repeats over and over again in his mind.
Is someone down there?
It couldn’t be his father because he was at work. It couldn’t be his brother, because he never comes home on time….
Unsure of what to do, Atsushi grabs the closest thing to him, a cooking pan, before slowly making his way toward the door. He’s the only one in the house right now, so if there really is someone down there, maybe a burglar, he is the only one who can do something about it.
Slowly approaching the door till he is right in front of it, Atsushi takes a deep breath. He is just going to peek inside, and if he sees anyone down there, he will run back up and go call the cops. Simple. No way he can mess that up.
Gathering all his courage, Atsushi slowly creeps open the door and peaks inside. There is no one in sight, but the sound is still there. Slowly walking down towards the basement, making as little of a sound as possible, Atsushi can hear his heartbeat in his ears as he approaches where the sound is definitely coming from.
Abruptly turning into a corner where the sound is the loudest, Atsushi holds up the cooking pen in defence, only to find that no one is there. Turning around immediately to make sure no one is behind him, Atsushi is left in confusion as the sound dies down, that no one but himself is in the basement right now.
It is then that Atsushi feels something behind him. Turning back into the corner the sound was coming from, Atsushi paused as one of the many books in his father’s library started… glowing?
Slowly walking towards the book, Atsushi hesitantly holds out a hand to grab it. But just before he touches it, the glow disappears. Even more hesitant than before, Atsushi gulps before pulling the book out of the shelf.
Looking down at its cover, Atsushi’s eyes widen as he recognizes the bright green eye on it from his dream. “It’s that book….” Atsushi murmurs to himself before jumping in surprise as the lock on the book pops open with a glow, allowing him to see the content inside.
Opening the book after getting over the jump scare, Atsushi finds himself looking at… a deck of cards? Instead of words, the book has a giant hole in the middle which is filled with cards with complicated designs on them. The same one that he saw being blown by the wind in his dream.
Taking out the first card in the deck and flipping it around, Atsushi blinks in curiosity as he sees a drawing of a woman-like creature covered in wings. Eyes trailing down the card until it reaches the bottom, Atsushi pauses at the English words printed under the symbol of a moon.
“Win…” Atsushi squints his eyes at the word as he starts making his way out of the library with the book in his hand. English really isn’t his best subject, so it took a while as he registered those letters into Katagana for him to be able to say them out loud.
“Win… dy.” Atsushi reads off the card. But just as he said it, the card suddenly started glowing bright blue. And as a complicated-looking glowing circle appears from under his feet, a giant gust of wind starts blowing up from where he stands, causing all of the cards to fly out and into the roof, where they then go through the roof, and fly away into the night sky.
Falling onto his knees, Atsushi stares at the one card left in his hand as he drops the book to the ground. “What… happened?”
As if that wasn’t all, the book he had just dropped started glowing as well. This time, with a blinding shade of yellow that rivalled the sun. Atsushi jumps before raising his hand up to protect himself from whatever is about to happen.
Whatever happened did, in fact, not attack Atsushi. Instead, a golden… plush with wings emerges from within the book and starts floating in midair.
“Ahh… I had a good nap….” The plush says. SAYS. The plush can talk…! Grabbing the stuffed animal in one hand, Atsushi pulls on its limbs with a confused look on his face. “Wait… where are your batteries? Speaker? How are you talking???”
“I Am Not a Toy!” Flying away from Atsushi, the plush lands itself back onto the book that it came from and let out a sign. “I am Edogawa Ranpo. The Beast of the Seal and the Guardian of this book!”
“A seal…?”
“Yeah. To keep the cards from within this book from getting lost.” Ranpo explains before pausing at the look on Atsushi’s face. “… Please tell me you didn’t do anything to the cards.”
“Well… so….” Handing over the ‘Windy’ card that he was still holding, Atsushi suddenly feels like he had done something terrible as he rubs the back of his neck. “I took this card….”
“Okay?”
“And when I said the word ‘Windy’….”
“There was a giant gush of wind, and the cards all flew away.” Ranpo finishes with an unamused look on his face and a heavy sign. “This is exactly why I told Natsume to not make it this easy to use the cards! To prevent this kind of thing from happening!”
“… Natsume?”
“Natsume Souseki, the creator of me, Arahabaki, and the cards. A powerful magician.” Ranpo explains as he looks Atsushi in the eyes, setting his small body down on the book like a chair. “These cards are Natsume Cards. Created by him, each of them is alive and has powerful magic. The only thing is that they are all independent and willful. Once they are let out, it’s no telling what will happen. That’s why I was made the cover of the book, to seal it off.”
“I… don’t get it.” Atsushi confesses as he stares down at the little creature currently staring at him like he is stupid. Ranpo, in return, just lets out a sigh and shakes his head.
“In simple terms. I’m going to have to need those cards back. And you, are going to help me.” Ranpo floats up into the air once more and points his nub-like hand in Atsushi’s face. “You let the cards out, so you’re going to take responsibility for it.”
“Eh?!” Taken aback, Atsushi lightly pushes Ranpo away and tries reasoning as he sits up properly. “But aren’t yousupposed to be the one keeping them safe?! What were you doing when they all flew away?!”
“Sleeping.” Ranpo deadpans as he floats slightly away from Atsushi. “Look, I can’t be awake and conscious 24/7 just staring at some cards, okay? It’s way too boring!”
“… how long were you asleep for?” Atsushi hesitates to ask.
“I’ll say about 30 years.” Ranpo makes a motion that can only be interpreted as a shrug without much shoulder to work with, before floating back down onto the book with a more serious look, silencing Atsushi in the process.
“Anyways, back to what I was saying.” Ranpo says as he stands up properly on two small nub-like feet. “You can use windy to blow away the cards, that means that you at least have some amount of magic.”
“Me? Magic?” Atsushi feels his head burning up from confusion as he looks down at the living plush.
“What’s your name?” Ranpo asks.
“Atsushi.”
“Alright, Atsushi-kun. Go stand over there.” Ranpo orders with a point of his hand. And as soon as Atsushi obeys, he starts glowing once more as the room around them fades away into a colour of pure blue. The same glowing circles appear under Atsushi as Ranpo starts speaking once more.
“Key of the seal. There is one who wishes to form a contract with you.” Ranpo chants as a white glow emerges from the keyhole of the book, floating towards Atsushi till it's right in front of him. “A boy names Atsushi. O great key, grant him power! RELEASE!”
And with a bright white glow that blinds the whole room, pushing Atsushi away while the key grows dramatically in size.
“Atsushi, grab the key!” Ranpo’s voice yells through the blinding light. And peaking an eye open, hiding behind his arms, Atsushi spots the key in the middle of the circle, and slowly walks towards it. Finally making it close enough, Atsushi grabs the middle of the key. And just like before, the key starts growing in size once more, until it is the size of a staff.
“And this, is the birth of the Cardcaptor.” Ranpo concludes as the light starts fading away. And as Atsushi finally realizes what is going on, Ranpo is already sitting down on one of the bookshelves, making himself at home, while eating a candy that he had somehow got, that was supposed to be in Atsushi’s pocket.
***
“There is no way I can do this….” Atsushi murmurs out loud as he flops himself onto his bed after taking a bath. There’s a sound of the door opening and closing downstairs, from the sound of it, it's coming from Osamu. But Atsushi ignored it for now and instead stared at the plush-like being eating his pudding on his desk across the room. “There is absolutely no way! I can barely pass my English class, let alone catch cards that can cause catastrophe for the whole world!”
“Ah, this is delicious!” Ranpo ignores the rant as he takes a huge bite of the pudding, filling himself with happiness before going on to take another bite.
“Ranpo-san!” Atsushi yells out once more, but is way too tired to walk over to get the other’s attention. “I am talking to you, Ranpo-san!”
“Fine, fine, I hear you.” Ranpo lets out a sign before looking back at Atsushi. “But do remind me again, who is it that scattered the cards with Windy?”
Feeling guilt wash over him, Atsushi lets out a strangled sound before falling flat against his bed. But before he can think of something to say in return, a huge blast of wind starts coming in through the window, blowing his stuff around everywhere.
“Why is it so strong….” Atsushi pushes his way toward the window and tries to close it. But before he can, Ranpo appears beside him with an alarming look as a giant glowing bird flies across the night sky.
“Atsushi-kun, it’s not the wind.” Ranpo says as he turns towards Atsushi. “That’s a card.”
“A card? That?!” Atsushi sticks his head out of the window as he takes a better look at the giant bird. There is no way that this… monstrosity is a card, is there?!
“That’s probably the Fly card.” Ranpo peaks out the window as well as he hums under his breath. “Alright, chop-chop. We’re going after it.”
“Wait, what?!” Atsushi’s eyes widen as he stares at Ranpo. “Why?!”
“Why do you think?” Ranpo gives him an unimpressed look before pushing him toward the door. “It’s your first job. Good luck!”
***
“Why do I have to come out in my pyjama?!” Atsushi questions as he skates towards where the bird is in his rollerblades. Besides him, Ranpo paid almost no mind to him but instead kept his focus on the giant bird that was now in full view.
“It’s HUGE! There’s no way I can capture THAT!” Atsushi felt a strike of fear washes through him, but there was no way to turn back now that he had come so close. The bird lets out a loud yelp, and with that, a giant gush of wind sends them flying into the night, and for the first time today, Atsushi feels glad that Ranpo had wings, as the plush that had grabbed onto his shirt, slowly puts him back onto the ground, so he doesn’t die from falling on his first job.
“Use your magic.” Ranpo says after putting Atsushi down on the ground, signing at the confused look on the teen’s face. “The key! Like I already told you earlier!”
“O- oh, right!” Atsushi quickly pulls the key, once again the size of a key, out of his pocket and places it in his hand. And just like Ranpo had told him earlier, he slowly chants the spell. “The key that holds the magic of darkness. Show your true form before me! I, Atsushi command you to honour our contract!”
The key glows as it floats above his hand. With the glowing magic circle again under his feet, Atsushi takes a deep breath and yells out. “RELEASE!”
And just like that, the key starts growing right in front of his eyes, into the staff he now holds. But even if he now has the staff, the question stays. How is he going to capture a giant bird with a stick?!
“You can capture it with your windy card.” Ranpo says as he floats to the side. “But first, we have to get closer.”
And before Atsushi gets to question the possibility of success with that plan, the bird suddenly flies into the air and comes straight towards them, missing only because Atsushi manages to bend down and dodge just in time. As the bird circles back to go for round two, Atsushi grabs Ranpo before starting to skate away to avoid death.
“You have to catch it.” Ranpo says as he gets dragged along. “It’s your job to figure out how!”
“Even if you say that-” Atsushi was about to retort before the tilt of the wall beside him caught his eyes; letting go of Ranpo to have him float for himself, Atsushi mumbled under his breath. “I might have an idea….”
Skating up the slope, Atsushi goes as high up as he can before jumping off, landing on the bird chasing them. Getting blown back a bit by the wind blowing back, Atsushi holds on as tightly as he can to the feathers of the giant monster, not letting go, no matter how hard it tries to shake him off.
After surviving a 360-degree turn, Atsushi takes out a deep breath before taking out the wind card and throwing it into the air, hoping it will not fly away. “Wind, turn into a binding chain….” Atsushi says before raising his staff, hitting the card straight on with the top. “Windy!”
With a bright yellow glow, the woman-like creature from the wind card flies out and circles around the bird until its ever-extending body fully wraps around it. Holding on tight until the bird crashes down to earth, Atsushi lets go and skates a bit away, before holding up his wand once more.
“Reclaim the guise you were meant to inhabit.” Atsushi chants the words that Ranpo had taught him, hoping that they are correct. Holding the staff up and over his head, Atsushi swings it down towards the bird and yells out loud. “Natsume Card!”
As a glow, the shape of a card, materializes at the tip of the staff, the bird turns into a mist that gets sucked into the card just as the wind binding disappears. As the mist gets fully sucked into the sheet of paper, now no longer a mere glow, the card drops down onto the ground as Atsushi falls to his knees, letting out a relieved sign.
“Ah, that was a bit reckless, but it got the job done.” Ranpo floats over after everything it dealt with a lightly pats Atsushi on the head. “Could have better ways of dealing with this, but for your first time, it was okay.”
“Well, if Ranpo-san had any better ideas, you could’ve told me!” Atsushi says back, feeling his energy drained now that the danger is gone.
“I could’ve, but it’ll be boring, and you needed to learn this on your own.” Ranpo answers like it should be something obvious, and before Atsushi can be offended, he points down at the card by Atsushi’s feet. “And now that you’ve captured your first card. Wanna try it out?”
“What does it do?” Atsushi asks as he climbs onto his feet, his staff in hand.
“It’s called ‘Fly.’ What do you think it does?”
“Right….” Atsushi lets out a sign as sweat rolls off his cheek. Swinging the staff towards the card, Atsushi prepares himself to speak English.
“Fly!”
The staff was shaped like a bird with wings as ears, something that Atsushi thought was just an aesthetic choice with no real meaning to it. But apparently had a lot more meaning to it than he would’ve ever guessed. As the wings on the staff grew in size, Atsushi found himself looking like a witch or a wizard as he flew in the sky, riding on a staff instead of a broomstick.
Looking down from where he is riding, Atsushi’s eyes widen as the city he lives in suddenly looks like somewhere new. Yokohama at night, from the angle of a bird, is beautiful.
“It feels good, right?” Ranpo comments as he lands himself on Atsushi’s shoulder. “I’ll look forward to working with you from now on, as long as you don’t forget to give me more sweets!”
“… of course.” Letting out a sign but finding himself not despising this job as much as before, Atsushi carefully flies back towards his house, hoping to live past twenty.
Or at least longer than Osamu.
That's all he asks.