al709382@campus.ccm.itesm.mx

        Although this was originally supposed to be part of the "One 
hour limit" challenge, it developed into something much more. It's
rather 
short (which is a new for me... remember TCP's length? ^_^ ) and it has 
two possible endings. Let me know what you think.

        (Notes: This follows volume 38 of the manga.)



                        White Darkness

                        by Jorge A. Pratt


Dammit... I don't think I can take this anymore. Man, I... I still wake
up 
seeing that bright ball of fire coming right at me and Akane. But then I 
open my eyes and...
        Oh, god...
        The old fool keeps saying I should take it like a man, that the 
heir of the Saotome School should just shrug it off like a minor
setback. 
Minor setback my butt... And Mom... I know she wants to help me but 
sometimes she makes me feel like I can't take care of myself.
        Oh, sure. Expect that bastard Kuno to come and babble about 
how now I'm "weak" because of what happened to me. Lucky I still 
manage to kick him out before he makes the moves on Akane. Either 
that, or Ryouga grabs him and knocks him out real good. Heh, Akane 
told me how they once had to stop him from killing Kuno.
        I guess... Ryouga's been a real friend about this. But 
sometimes... don't get me wrong, I really appreciate what he's doing, 
but I think he's helping me out of guilt instead of friendship. Why,
just 
the other day I caught him talking to Mom, saying that he felt guilty
for 
not helping me and Akane against Saffron. He said that all he did was 
stand aside and watch that brat try to kill us, that he didn't do
anything 
while I risked my life to save Akane, and that -he- should've been the 
one to end up like... like the way I am now. Damn it Ryouga, must you 
have -someone- to blame for the bad things that happen? You blamed     
-me- for things like your sense of direction, and now you blame yourself 
for...
        Akane... Oh, Akane... I... Yes, yes, I've told her I love her.
I've 
told her lots of times. Funny how it works, huh? Before, I couldn't even 
admit it to myself. Now, after I... ended up like this, I can tell her
easily.
        But what's the use? I told her, but I... I never got to see her 
smile. From her voice, I could tell she was beginning to cry, but... but
I 
never saw anything... And I don't think I ever will... because
Saffron... It 
was Saffron's blast that...
        Okay, dammit! I'm blind! BLIND! You happy now?! I can't see 
worth a DAMN! And I don't mean blind like Mousse, either. Even if he 
doesn't have his glasses he sees -something-. But not me, uh-huh. 
Wanna know why? Because of that stupid brat, that's why! When we 
were fighting, right before I got him with my revised Hiryuushoutenha, 
he used this big blast of fire against me and Akane. He destroyed a 
couple of mountains with it, so I guess I -was- lucky he missed me. But 
then he used it a second time, and I was staring right at it like an
idiot!
        Nothing happened during the following two weeks. I just felt 
some itching in my eyes every now and then. But then I began to lose my 
sight. I... I was scared, you know. And it only got worse each day, 
until... well, until I ended up blind. Now all I can see is a bright
white 
blur, just like what Saffron's blast looked like. The I found out Akane 
was also...
        Sure, we went to Dr. Tofu's right away. He looked at Akane 
first, because I asked him to. As it turns out, since she had her eyes 
nearly closed, she just got her eyes cloudy for a few weeks. He also
said 
that being covered in ice helped her too. But when he looked at my 
eyes... oh, man... he said that I was too close to that fireball. Not
only 
did the bright light damaged my eyes, but the heat almost burned through 
my corneas. So, even if my eyes got better my corneas would only get 
worse.
        What really irks me is that the damn curse is actually -helping- 
me now. Since I looked at the fireball when I was a guy, and I was a
girl 
when it rained Jusendo water afterwards, my girl side doesn't have
it      
-that- bad. When I turn into a girl, I see shadows moving around me, 
even if everything else is still a white blur.
        So yeah, I'm blind for life. And guess what? It made me realize 
who my real friends are. I told you 'bout Kuno. That bastard doesn't 
have a shred of sympathy in that stupid body of his. I don't know about 
Kodachi, though. Ryouga told me they've been keeping her away, no 
telling what she'd do to me or to "the pigtailed girl" if she caught me
like 
this.
        Y'think Shampoo or the old ghoul would try to find a remedy, 
right? Think again. Shampoo -did- try to help me, but then that mummy 
said that if I was blind then I wouldn't make a "good husband" for her 
great-granddaughter, and they went off back to China again. It's been so 
long since they left that I think they're staying for good this time. On
the 
other hand, Mousse was friendly, for once. He said he shouldn't have 
complained so much about his eyesight, because of how I am now.
        Oh, yeah, they were real friendly. I mean, I liked to be friends 
with them, but did I -have- to end up blind? And... besides... it
doesn't 
matter anymore. Not after -that-.
        It happened yesterday. It's funny, in a way, since it was sort
of 
like our "anniversary," just one year after that failed wedding --and
eight 
months after I lost my eyesight completely. I was just training in the 
dojo, trying to work out some of the "blind-fighting" techniques that I 
had never been interested in. I was sure Akane would just stay in the 
dining room, watching TV --she had just gotten her eyesight back three 
days ago. But since I wasn't used to training like that, I ended up in
the 
floor more than once. So, I decided to take it slow. I went around the 
house towards the pond  (hey, I'm blind but I can still walk around 
some) so I could change into a girl and start by working out in shadows. 
When I got there, I heard that the sounds from the TV were kinda 
muffled, so I guessed the dining room's doors were closed. I went and 
splashed my face with water, which was enough for me to change, and 
almost instantly the big blur was a little more defined. I smiled even
if it 
was a tiny difference, since it sure was a big help.
        I heard Akane laugh, and I couldn't resist. I loved to hear her 
laugh. I went over to the doors, and I was about to open them when I 
heard it.
        "Thanks for dropping by. With Ranma... like he is right now, I 
was beginning to think I couldn't take it."
        "It's all right. I'm here for you now."
        What the... What was -he- doing here?
        "It's just..." that was Akane, "I'm not so sure anymore. I...
Oh, 
Ranma... How will I ever tell him?"
        "Did you speak with your father yet?"
        "Uh-huh. He... he said it was my choice."
        "And what did you choose?"
        "I told him... yes."
        Yes? What did she say "yes" for? What was she taking about?
        "So then... the engagement's off?"
        Oh my God... Akane... Please, no...
        "Y-yes... Yes, I'm not engaged to Ranma anymore."
        I just wasn't thinking anymore, and don't you dare joke about 
that. Akane had said she... she had called off our engagement! But why?!
        Oh, right, like I didn't know why.
        "Akane!" I yelled when I opened the door. She was there all 
right. As a girl, I could see her shape. Then I noticed who else was in 
there. I was right. It was HIM.
        "R-Ranma!" She moved her head around, like she was trying to 
find something, "I... what're you doing there..."
        "I was just... I walked past and I heard... Akane, did you 
really..." I think I was starting to cry. Dammit! After all that, and I
was 
just crying like some weak girl!
        "Oh, Ranma... Please..."
        I didn't want to listen. Her voice told me I had heard it right.
I 
don't know what came over me, but before I knew it I turned around 
and leapt over the wall. I don't remember if she called me or not. It 
doesn't matter. I don't feel welcome with her anymore.
        So here I am. I've already been here a whole day, and I have no 
idea how I got here. Maybe I've been here so many times I just homed in 
to the bridge. I got here last night, and I... oh, man, I hate this... I
cried 
myself to sleep under the bridge. Just a helpless little girl...
        Why, Akane? Why didn't you tell me? I... I guess... I should 
understand why you called it off, but couldn't you have told me first? 
Couldn't you just -talk- to me, for crying out loud? Stupid tomboy... I 
already told you a thousand times that I -do- love you, and then you go 
and... Why?
        I... I think I better get out of here. I don't know what time it
is, 
but I can tell it's already late at night. But... I just don't know
where to 
go now. Stupid Akane...
        I climb over the slope and get onto the bridge. Yeah, it -is- 
pretty late. Maybe it's even midnight. I don't hear anyone around me. 
Oh, what's the use anyway... Go ahead, try to mug a blind girl in the 
middle of the night. I really don't care.
        But Mom... the others are probably worried 'bout me. Maybe... 
maybe I -should- go back--
        No! I -don't- want to be near Akane, at least not for a while. I 
didn't want to be near if HE was with her. Of all the people... She
calls 
off our engagement because she'd rather be with HIM?
        But... it's not as if I had somewhere else to go. I -have- to go 
back anyway. Man, I sure hate this...
        I walk away, guiding myself by using the walls. Fortunately, I 
found a ramen yatai on my way over there, so I changed back to a guy. 
No use coming back like a girl, right?
        I just keep walking and walking. It seems like I've been walking 
forever. Oh, great. Got lost, huh? Just perfect.
        Sounds. Someone coming. What are they saying...?
        I see --or rather, I don't. I walked into an alley. So, these
guys 
want a fight? Then they got one!
        The first one goes down in a sec. I just knocked him away with 
a simple punch. Then I dodge the other, whose movements let me know 
he had a knife. He was easy too. But then the other six gang up on me. 
Gah! So, they got chains, huh! Hey, that hurt--Agh! I'm serious here! 
You better hit the road or... Yieaah!
        Damn them! If I weren't blind, I'd...
        If I weren't blind.
        It's until I knock three of them away that I hear a click, then
a 
loud boom. And then I realize that the first guy had a gun.
        I still see the big white blur in front of me, but I think it's 
fading. All I see now is a white light in the distance. Maybe... my
sight is 
suddenly getting better... But it doesn't... matter... anymore...
        Nothing... matters... now...
        Akane...

The End.

This story has an alternate, brighter ending. E-mail me if you want to 
read it.

The Zephyr
al709382@campus.ccm.itesm.mx