"The one who earns the most hits in five minutes loses so try to strike each other as much as you can. Okay kids?" The head master announced. He raised his hands slowly and the two fighters went into a defensive stance. "Ready." The two tensed up a bit. "Fight!" The young man charged to his target.

Another day in the dojo, another student in line in hopes that they could pass the school's requirements. Their dojo is really booming this summer vacation. Despite knowing that she could handle these newbies all by herself, Akane knew she have to keep her guards up in this one. It's the heir of the Kunos she is fighting. There are rumors that the heir studied kendo and she could not just throw this bit of information away. She can clearly see the huge advantage the boy got in age, built, and skill. And she's not happy at the thought of embarassing herself in front of her father.

"Stay where you are, I command!" The older boy cried in mild irritation as he continued to let out a series of punch on her way. To her surprise, he's not that much of a trouble. A five year old Akane leapt to dodge his knee strike. "Two minutes! Tendo Akane twelve successful strikes, Tatewaki Kuno zero strikes. A buzz of conversation rung inside the room, Kuno reddened with a toxic punch of anger and embarassment. "I can't let you humilate me anymore, dammit!" To her fear she watched him produce a shinai out of nowhere. She stopped dead on her tracks.

She hadn't learn how to disarm someone yet.

Mr. Tendo quickly went to blow his whistle but the spoiled heir hadn't noticed it.

"Akane!"

Thump.

"Akane!"

"Aah!" She screamed in horror. "Akane?" The voice said in worry. "Are you having those nightmares again?" Akane ignored her sister's question as she quickly checked her head for blood just like what happened before. "It's okay." Kasumi cooed, taking her younger sister's petite body in her. "Here's the basin for you to wash your face. There are visitors downstairs. We'll be waiting for you."

"Visitors?" Akane asked, taking the damp towel off her sister's hands. "I'm confused, too. It's too early in the morning to have visitors, father insisted for you to come down to meet them."

Akane's expression soured. "It's okay I can stay here and wait for them to leave. It's not like they wanted to meet the infamous Akane Tendo." She gave a hollowed laugh.

"Akane." Kasumi said in a scolding tone. "Don't down yourself too much. Please consider this as a favor from father, okay?" Kasumi helped her to get dress. "I can't help it, Kasumi." Akane retorted weakly as Kasumi pulled the dress down. "It's been so long since I encountered humans except from you and the family. I always avoided visitors." She raked her hand on her silky bluish hair then to her dress. "Silk? Are they that special for me to wear something like this?"

"I heard they're father's closest friend." Kasumi shrugged. "Do you want me to accompany you downstairs?"

"No, I can do just fine." She reached under her futon, tapping into around the space in search for something. "By the way Kasumi," Akane stood up slowly before swaying to her sides. "What color am I wearing?"

Kasumi's gentle smile seemed to lose its place on her lips. "It's... a yellow sundress." Kasumi shifted from where she was standing. "Here, I took your staff last night."

Akane reached for her staff but failed miserably. Kasumi guided her hands for her to grab the staff. "Go on Kasumi, I'll follow you downstairs."

BLIND n' BLUES

A Ranma Fanfic by Frances Rancher

"So the Saotome's will be staying with us from now on."

"What?" Nabiki asked a little higher than she intended. "Sorry. Not that I'm complaining." Nabiki muttered before going back to her accounting books, off to her own world.

"If that's the case, please don't feel like you're strangers in this house. You're now a part of our family." Kasumi said brightly to the newcomers.

"D-don't worry, we will try our best not to be a living burden around here. We'll stretch our bones so we could offer some financial help."

"That's good, because we already have a huge living burden upstairs."

"Nabiki, that's rude! How could you think of your own sister as a burden?" Kasumi hissed.

"Don't worry Nabiki. I'm capable of making money for myself." All heads turned to the door. Akane brought her staff down with a deafening clattering sound in the middle of awkward silence. Akane crawled her way beside Kasumi. A tight frown set on her face.

The Saotome boy gulped, the 'Akane' sat in front of him from the opposite side of the table. And...

She's staring at him.

Ranma started sweating under her heavy gaze.

"If... you don't mind us asking, but what happened...?" His mom asked reluctantly.

"She's blind because of an accident during a sparring match when she was five. That darned boy hit her with his shinai. A nerve was damaged in her eyes, causing her to be blind." Mr. Tendo bited each word in his attempt to keep his cool. Nabiki just grunted before turning a page on her book.

"Weapons are not even allowed at kenpo, how could you let that happen?" Ranma bursted without thinking.

The room was ghost-quiet.

Mr. Tendo looked guilty, Kasumi is frustrated, Nabiki is unnerved, seemingly unaware of the events around her, both of his parents are cringing in embarassment. "I'm sorry Tendo kun, my son didn't mean that." Genma apologized after a minute of muteness with an anxious laugh. "Right son?" He patted him hard on his back.

"Sorry for my rudeness." Ranma mumbled.

"I admit I'm the one who's at fault." Ranma sweated heavily, all guards alarmed. "Don't be sorry, daddy. It's a good thing it actually happened." Ranma seemed confused at that but also relieved at the comfort she's emitting. "Thanks for your reaction, I'm kind of touched by what you said." Akane smiled, before standing by herself. "Nice to meet you. I'll be at my room if any of you needs me." Akane smiled kindly before leaving.

"No one needs you here." Nabiki whispered. "Nabiki!" Kasumi scolded once again.

Ranma followed her with his eyes as she made her way clumsily out of the room by crawling.

oOo

Ranma seemed very disturbed by that news earlier on the breakfast table. She must be living a lonely life in her room. With her sister treating her as a huge burden they could not just rid of, being traumatized and blind by that accident, not being able to see colors, restricted from continuing her budding passion for the art...

"I'm glad it actually happened." What could she possibly mean by that? Even though he have no idea what is behind those ironic words on her actual condition, it's enough to make him amazed by her determination and optimism towards life.

He lead his vision to the farthest: he could see the silhouette emitted from the door. The movement of the faintest shadow along the light. The vivid color pattern printed on the fabric. The fireflies glimming outside the window. He had never been so grateful for his eyes, and yet he had never been so afraid of darkness as he stood here in the middle of a dusky hall.

"Ranma kun, could you lend me a hand please?" Kasumi's head poked out of the door he's been staring at before.

"Of course, Kasumi san." Ranma quickly approached the woman in a frilly apron dress. "Sorry to disturb you, Ranma kun, but these are Akane's supplies she asked for. Could you give it to her on the second floor while I cook our dinner?" Kasumi asked.

The said girl hadn't even showed around the house all day. Maybe he could cheer her up in some way? Ranma turned his eyes to what he was carrying. 'Bond papers?' He thought curiously.

"It's Akane's supplies she asked for.""Supplies?" He mumbled, halting in front of a door without actually thinking of it. In front of him hung a wooden duck plate with 'Akane' written in red paint. "Come to think of it, I actually memorized the whole household in a day." Ranma muttered before knocking.

"Come in Kasumi." Came her muffled reply.

"It's Ranma." Ranma stood patiently outside.

There was a minute of startled silence before she gave a puzzled reply. "C-come in."

"Kasumi asked me to bring them." Ranma stared at the standing girl in the middle of the room with her back facing him, he wondered if this is all what she was doing all day? "Is this what you're doing all day?" He asked, a little bit surprised by his words.

Akane looked kinda insulted but she tried to smile. "No." Akane retorted, "Voices, and volumes. I couldn't bring out all of my fumes. Letters and freedom, are the things had helped me to find out what I want to become."

"What the hell does that mean?" Ranma said, a little bit bewildered at what he had heard.

"Maybe I speak so low that's why they can't even notice me, so I used letters that can somehow help me express my concerns and feelings." She ended up quietly.

His intellectual churning inside his mind. His gears trying to make out something out of that. "I give up, what are you trying to say?" He half-demanded.

"I'm a writer,sometimes a diarist, sometimes a poet, a composer, isn't it obvious?" Ranma didn't answer in awe. "Gain respect. You have mine, Tendo san." He mused.

"What could that be?" She asked, finally bringing out the subject on why he was here.

"Papers." Akane visibly brightened at the word. "Timing! Give me those." She started walking towards his voice but she walked past him. Ranma grabbed her extended arms in front of her and guided her in front of him. "Here." Ranma couldn't make out how could she be this happy. "Happy much?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, this is the only thing that can make me happy." She flopped on the floor, her hands searching for the opening of the package. She brought out a piece of paper and reached for the ballpen clipped on the collar of her clothes.

Ranma knotted his eyebrows in frustration. "I think not. You said you're 'glad this actually happened'." he tried to sound nonchalantly. His first intention on his way here is to try to cheer her up because of her condition. At least... make friends? But she sounded like no one could really cheer her up. He thought Kasumi can contribute to her euphoria, but she seemed that she didn't acknowledge her sister's efforts and it sounds plain annoying to him. Does that mean he doesn't stand a chance at his intention?

"Honestly, this paper and that statement I said earlier are related. Maybe... I was wrong about that only papers could make me happy, though." Akane scrunched her nose before smiling at ease. "Oh yes, I'm actually happy right now. I was kidding earlier."

"No offense but... how could you be so happy after all of this?" Ranma asked with hesitation as he flopped down beside the girl.

"Actually," Akane sighed, "The papers and that I'm glad it happened is somehow related." She smiled daintily, pulling a small lock of her hair behind her ear. "The fire died down and you're left sith burnt wood, but still it can spark and set a bonfire."

"Charcoal?" Ranma croaked unintelligently.

"I might be handicapped, but still I could do things that can affect people. If that incident didn't happened, I wouldn't find out my hidden talents." Akane proceeded to find the edge of her paper. Satisfied at the space she found, she started writing down from where her finger was pointing.

"Lady, you're not writing anything." He said in mild irritation before snatching the visibly emptied ballpen. "What are you doing?!" Akane screeched, tapping around her surroundings in search for the boy who stole her weapon.

"It's empty! Here, I found this beside your futon." Akane reddened. "Thanks." Shee mumbled before heading back to her task. "I feel like being a diarist, something really good happened today, I cannot forget it. It makes me happy." She said, filling the silence inaide her dark room.

Come to think of it, he realised it just now that there were no lights. He stared on top of him and saw that there's no light bulb connected to the sockets. 'What's the use?' Ranma frowned. But despite this the moon outside is so clear anf full, enough for him to see her features vividly; happy, carefree, determined. At that moment he questioned Nabiki's earlier statement.

How could they treat her like this?

"Read this." She said excitedly.

Ranma went out of his stupor. "Oh... What's that?" He apologized.

"I made you this, I said. You're not even listening." She half pouted.

"Oh, let me." He gathered the paper off her small hands. He scanned the paper, wincing at the sight. "Your penmanship's horrible, no offense." The characters are so large and flying all over the place, it's shaky and there are even no spaces. His eyes are hurting.

"I'm blind, remember?" Ranma cringed, she said it like it was nothing, a flat expression faced him, like she waa not a bit affected by it. Akane sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm used to do these things with Kasumi. All I need is to speak and she writes them for me, but I'm grown up, I can't disturb them just fot my silly entertainments so I'm practicing writing on my own."

Ranma nodded although she would not know that. Finally making out of the words she writen on the paper he started reading.

The rain poured down but I got a good soil that's holding me. In the end I ended up blooming with happiness as I stood adamant in my radiating colors. In those darkest days of almost drowning in sadness, there's a well cared soil that had been my friend. Although he undergo mixing with feces and garbages he turned out to be good in the end. In those dark nights I could feel his grasp on me as he encourages me to do better, that I'll produce a good seed of happiness. You're that kind of a soil that every growing and immature seeds needed in their life.7

"Ranma kun." Akane whispered, "Wanna be friends?" She pointed an index finger on the opposite side from where Ranma was sitting.

Ranma was still unresponding, gaping like a fish as he stared gooey eyed at her. He smiled, taking her finger in his hand he lead her to his direction.

Guess his intention's not a failure, after all.

To Be Continued...

A/N: Wanna see more of this story? Let me know what you think! If you decided to join my short fic ride, welcome aboard!