A Rival in Need

(Picture of cat is Ran)

It was supposed to just be another normal day. That was all it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be the "same as always" as it always had been. But, yet, things weren't the same as always. Not for Ran Mitake, at least.

It's one thing to wake up and suddenly be in an unfamiliar place. It's another thing to wake up as a cat in an unfamiliar place. That was the dilemma that Ran found herself in.

She was in an alleyway. Her clothes were nowhere in sight. Not that it mattered. It was just about five in the morning. Ran started to panic. What would happen when she didn't show up to school.

Ran nervously got up. She had no clue how to walk. She was really bad at it. She yelped in pain as she fell onto her face. She was not a good cat. That was definitely for sure. Ran felt hopeless. What could she do? She had no clue what was going on.

Ran laid on the ground. She couldn't get back up. She was stuck. Ran was scared. She hated that she was scared. But, she was. She was defenseless in an unknown body and place. How would she survive?

The answer soon presented itself. It was not what Ran had been expecting. She also had not been wanting this answer.

Yukina was standing at the end of the alley. She had a backpack on. Ran didn't know what to do. She didn't want to get help from her. That was the last thing she wanted. But, Ran was desperate. She had no choice but to try and get help from her rival.

Yukina walked closer to her. Ran tried her best to meow. It sounded strange. It felt strange to do as well. Yukina bent down and looked at Ran. Ran tried to stand up, but to no avail.

"Are you hurt?" Yukina asked, "Poor thing..."

Ran hoped she would take her somewhere safe. Somewhere away from here. That was all she could ask for. She hated that it was Yukina, but there was nothing she could do about it. She needed help.

Yukina picked her up, "I'll take you home with me. But you have to stay quiet."

Ran was glad she was going away from the alley, even if it was with someone she didn't necessarily want. Yukina carried her to her house. They went to her bedroom. Yukina set Ran down on the bed. Ran tried again to stand up. This time, she managed to stand for a little bit.

"I don't have anything to feed you. I promise I'll get you something soon." Yukina said as she reached over and started petting Ran.

Ran froze in place. She didn't know how to react to that. It was strange. She didn't like her current situation. She just wanted to be a human again.

...

Ran had been left alone while Yukina had gone to school. Ran was worried. How would everyone react when they saw she wasn't there and wasn't at home either. She couldn't figure out what to do. She had no idea how to get herself back to being a human.

Ran spent the day pondering that. Yukina came back at around five. She gave Ran some ham that she had snuck up from the kitchen. She couldn't let her parents know that she had a cat here. Ran was grateful she wasn't having to eat cat food.

Yukina sat on the edge of her bed. She started texting the other Roselia members. They were having a discussion about their set list for an upcoming show.

Ran hesitantly walked over to Yukina. She wanted to thank her. After all, she might be dead by now if it hadn't been for her. Ran climbed onto Yukina's lap. Yukina started petting her as she watched the chat.

"Hmm..."

Ran looked up at Yukina. She wanted to know what she was looking at now.

"Mitake-san's gone missing..." Yukina whispered to herself, "How strange..."