(Sorry for the double postings, but the previous version had messed up
margins.)

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! They got chains! 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