Fighting Blind

Disclaimer: What can I say that will make any difference?

<>: Thoughts
<" ">: Chinese Language

In part one, Kasumi had just encountered Ranma and had been told 
of the crimes that Genma had committed in his name. She had also 
deduced that Ranma is blind, thereby gaining his respect. Nabiki had 
been tailing the blind martial artist in hopes of learning his secrets. 
What she finds are more questions than answers. Kasumi is unable 
to keep what she learned about Ranma's past to herself and tells 
Nabiki, which shocks the middle sister to the core. Meanwhile, 
Akane, in her preoccupation to defeat Ranma had unintentionally 
wandered into a bad part of town and was attacked by a street gang. 
Despite her best efforts, she was defeated by the gang leader and 
was nearly raped when Ranma appeared on the scene to save her. 
Using his skills as a healer, Ranma tended to her wounds and is now 
carrying her to Pepper's Place

                                Chapter Eight
                          Akane and Her Sisters Part 2
                          (Secrets and Confirmations)

     "Ranma is blind?!" Nabiki couldn't believe what her elder sister 
had said.
     Kasumi nodded. "Yes, it's true. Ranma is completely sightless. He 
admitted it to me when we met yesterday."
     "He just told you?" Nabiki asked, still in shock.
     "Well" Kasumi's cheeks reddened a bit. "I sort of figured it 
out for myself, and when I told him that I knew, he admitted it."
     "YOU figured it out?!" The middle sister couldn't believe that she 
could miss an important detail such as this when her normally 
oblivious sibling noticed it from the start.
     "I'm not as dense as some people think I am. "Kasumi said with a 
small smile. "Haven't you ever noticed that his eyes don't react to 
bright light or that he doesn't focus on anything in particular?"
     Nabiki paused as she thought back to that last fight with Kuno 
when Ranma used his flute to blind the kendoist. She then recalled all 
the other times when Kuno tried to ambush Ranma from behind. The 
blind boy never had looked in Kuno's direction whenever he was 
attacked. In light of this new information, it made sense. Why would 
a sightless person look in any direction in particular? 
     She began compiling the other information she had amassed about 
Ranma and made the connections. The way he always let his 
opponents make the first move. Why he never seemed interested in 
movies or anything on television. Why he always ran his fingers 
across whatever he was reading. Nabiki had found it especially 
strange when she had seen him one time running his fingers across 
the sign of the boy's restroom before going in. However, being blind 
did not explain a few other things, such as the displays at the archery 
classes and basketball court.
     "It can't be. I mean, some of the stuff about him fits in with a 
blind person, but the way he handles himself he can't be blind."
     "He is blind, Nabiki." Kasumi affirmed. "He couldn't tell you what 
color your shirt was or read a distant traffic sign. He couldn't see the 
images on a television screen or see anything on the monitor on your 
computer. I'm not at all certain at how he accomplishes other things, 
but he did tell me that he had trained in a martial art called the Unseen 
Light."
     "Unseen Light? He mentioned that before." Nabiki paused as she 
thought about it, then shook her head after slapping her forehead as 
she realized the irony. "I've always wondered what that name meant, 
but now, it's funny. Blind people practicing a fighting style that has 
the word 'unseen.' in it. Talk about missing the most obvious clue."
     "Yes, he had us all fooled for a while, although I am rather 
annoyed at Mr. Saotome for not telling us an important detail like 
Ranma's blindness. After all, he was the one who caused Ranma to 
lose his sight!" Kasumi's voice raised in tone as she remembered 
Ranma's story. 
     "Nani?"
     "It's true. Ranma's father is not a very good man, and I'm rather 
ashamed that our father is associated with someone like that."
     Nabiki couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kasumi was always 
the dutiful daughter and never once objected to Soun's wishes. 
Whatever Ranma had told her that day must have had some impact 
for her to express her own ideals.

Meanwhile, at Pepper's Place
     Cologne and the other Amazons were getting worried. Ranma had 
yet to return from what was supposed to be a short delivery. They 
had begun to suspect that the blind boy had run into another one of 
Genma's ambushes. When it was almost nine o'clock, they were 
ready to assault the Tendo dojo. It was then that Shampoo heard a 
knock at the service entrance.
     <"Hey! Open up! It's me!">
     "Ranma!" Shampoo gleefully ran toward the back to let her cousin 
and intended love interest in. The other Amazons breathed a sigh of 
relief as they waited for the purple-haired girl to return with their best 
warrior. A moment later, they heard her shout.
     "Aiya! Great-grandmother! Come quickly!"
     A few minutes later, Akane was placed on a bed in one of the 
spare guest rooms on the second floor where Pepper made her 
comfortable. Near the doorway, Ranma finished with his story to the 
others about his run-in with the gang that assaulted Akane.
     "so you see, I couldn't just leave her there and I certainly 
couldn't take her to the dojo. Not with Genma and Soun there."
     Cologne nodded as she said, "You did the right thing Ranma. 
However, we still must contact her family and let them know that 
she's here."
     "I know. I'll be on the phone." Ranma left the room and went to 
the front counter. Taking out a phone book from under the cash 
register, he began flipping through the pages until his fingers traced 
the number belonging to the Tendo family. He then began dialing on 
the phone beside the register.
     At the Tendo residence, Kasumi had just finished telling Nabiki 
what she learned from Ranma when the phone rang. She went to 
answer the call, leaving her sister to consider what she had been told.
     <Good grief I never suspected something like this. Daddy's 
friend must be the biggest idiot in the world to have pulled those 
stunts! Throwing his son into a pit of cats?! Selling off his son for a 
fish?! Engaging him to all those girls?! I can understand now why 
Ranma doesn't want to fulfill the promise to unite the schools.> 
     Nabiki started thinking about all this information about Ranma. 
She had her answers, but there were still more questions. How is 
Ranma able to do what he does, despite his inability to see? Does he 
know some kind of special techniques? That could prove very 
profitable if she could discover his secrets. Then she remembered her 
promise to Kasumi. She had sworn that she would not use this 
information to exploit him. She sighed as she realized that her promise 
might have just caused her to lose a valuable resource. But then 
again, the pledge didn't really specify which Tendo girl was to marry 
him. Her father had been stressing that Akane would be the one to 
marry him, but with a few well-placed words, that could all change. 
Nabiki decided to give it some more thoughts. In retrospect, she 
didn't find it too difficult to be place herself standing before the altar 
next to Ranma. 
     Her train of thought was broken when she heard Kasumi's shout.
     "WHAT?! WHAT DO MEAN?! OH NO! YES, NABIKI AND I WILL BE RIGHT OVER!"
     Nabiki could tell that something big had just happened to make 
Kasumi so upset. She raced toward the next room and saw Kasumi 
frantically dialing on the phone.
     "Kasumi? What's going on?"
     "I'm calling Dr. Tofu! I need to tell him to meet us at a restaurant 
called Pepper's Place! We have to get there right away!"
     "What's wrong?" Nabiki was very concerned. She had rarely seen 
her sister in this state. 
     "It's Akane! She's been hurt badly!" As she waited for the young 
doctor to pick up the phone, she took out a pad and pencil and began 
writing a note to notify her father and Genma as to where they would 
be, should they arrive later.
     Fifteen minutes later at the restaurant, Kasumi and her sister were 
sitting at a large table with Cologne and Ranma, while Dr. Tofu and 
the others were upstairs with Akane. Kasumi was trying her best to 
keep a level head as she and the group waited for the physician to 
finish examining her sister.
     At the time, Ranma had finished retelling his story to the Tendos.
     "On behalf of our family, I would like to give our thanks to you for 
saving our sister." Kasumi and Nabiki gave Ranma a small bow. "On 
that note, I would like to also give our apologies with the way Akane 
had been acting against you. She had no right to judge you the way 
she did."
     Ranma nodded. "I'm only glad that I was able to save her in time. 
As for her attitude against me and boys in general, although I do not 
care for it, I can understand why she doesn't like the opposite 
gender. Perhaps, I too have been quick to judge her."
     "Oh?"
     "Yes. After this attack, I can now see that she has some basis for 
being afraid to let a boy come close to her. She was scared of me 
when I tended to her injuries and carried her here. I suppose she 
feared that I was going to do the same thing that those thugs almost 
did to her. Furthermore, I can understand why she saw my skills as a 
martial artist as a threat. She was afraid that if she got beaten, then 
she wouldn't be able to stop me from taking advantage of her. I 
guess that I was a bit too hard on her since I beat her that first time."
     "Yes, well in any case, I must agree that she does need to improve 
in her manners. I will endeavor to teach her better etiquette." Kasumi 
replied.
     "That would be appreciated, but for now, Akane needs to have all 
the support she can get." Ranma said. "She's been through a 
traumatic experience and will need the support of her family."
     At that moment, Dr. Tofu Ono came down the stairs and took a 
seat beside Ranma. Because of the severity of the case, the good 
physician was able to keep his sanity in the presence of the eldest 
Tendo sister. 
     "Well Dr. Tofu, will Akane be all right?" Kasumi asked.
     The chiropractor nodded as he replied, "Oh she'll be fine. The 
physical injuries she sustained are mending very nicely." He then 
turned toward Ranma. "Pepper has told me that you were the one 
who treated Akane's wounds."
     Ranma nodded as he extended a hand. "Ranma Saotome of the 
Joketsuzoku, healer and warrior of Nieuchiezu, at your service."
     "Joketsuzoku? Nieuchiezu?" Tofu repeated as he shook his hand. 
"You're from the Chinese Amazons?"
     "You've heard of us?" Cologne inquired.
     "Yes I have." Tofu replied with a bit of awe in his voice. "My 
sensei had told me about the legendary warriors and healers of the 
Joketsuzoku. The Chinese Amazons are among the best in both 
martial and healing arts."
     "Why thank you." Cologne said in a pleased voice. She liked this 
young doctor and from what she could read from his aura, he had 
considerable skill in the martial arts as well. He would make a fine 
addition to the tribe. The matriarch put away that thought for later.
     Dr. Tofu turned his attention back to Ranma. "I must admit, your 
skills as a healer are most impressive. Akane's ki energy is already 
replenishing itself and the way you treated her wounds are exactly 
what I would have done. In fact, there was nothing more that I could 
do for her that you haven't already done. You even set her shoulder 
properly."
     "Thank you Dr. Tofu. I owe it all to my sensei and my mother 
Jasmine. She happens to be the best healer in the village. In any case, 
going back to the subject of Akane, I would recommend that she 
remain here for the night. She's been through a lot and I'm afraid that 
her experience may have left her emotionally distressed, to put it 
lightly."
     Tofu nodded as he turned to Kasumi and Nabiki. "I tend to agree 
with his assessment. I would prefer that she was not moved, at least 
until morning. I used a sleeper point to help her rest, but I would be 
more at ease if you two were to stay with her. I believe she would be 
more comfortable with some of her family was with her."
     "Of course Dr. Tofu." Kasumi agreed. "But, my father and Mr. 
Saotome should be already home by now, and I would think that they 
would be worried about us being gone."
     "Do not worry Miss Tendo. I'll make a call to your father." 
Cologne said as she got up. "I will explain everything and tell him 
that you and your sister will be spending the night here to keep 
Akane company. I'm certain that he can do without you for one 
night. You and your sister may sleep in the spare guestroom. We'll 
make all the necessary arrangements."
     "Elder Cologne."
     The aged matriarch turned back to Ranma. "Yes?"
     "You will explain EVERYTHING to them?"
     Cologne smirked. "Do not worry Ranma. I'll make certain they 
understand that their presence would not be required."
     "Thank you Elder." Ranma paused to listen as Cologne hopped 
away on her staff.
     "What did she mean by that?" Tofu asked. "Shouldn't Akane's 
father be with her as well?"
     Ranma gave a long and tired sigh as he replied, "Well, to put it 
mildly, I really have no desire to face Mr. Tendo or my father any time 
soon. That was the main reason why I brought Akane here instead of 
her own home. You see, my father and her father are bound and 
determined to make me fulfill a pledge of theirs and if I ever showed 
up at the dojo, they would do anything and everything to keep me 
there."
     "So what is this pledge?"
     Kasumi spoke up to answer. "I'm afraid that father and Mr. 
Saotome had promised to unite the schools of the Anything Goes 
Martial Arts. To that end, Ranma was supposed to marry one of us."
     "R-R-Really?" Tofu was a bit staggered by this news. His mind 
began to fill up with images of Kasumi and the familiar madness that 
usually came with being in close proximity with the eldest daughter 
began to surface.
     "However, my father and his father had decided that Akane 
should marry Ranma, being that they are both martial artists."
     As suddenly as the madness appeared, it disappeared. It was 
unnoticed to all except for one person. Ranma's acute senses picked 
up Tofu's sudden change in behavior. He had heard the doctor's 
heart rate jump from fifty beats per minute, to a hundred and twenty 
and then back down to fifty again. His breathing rate had almost 
tripled in that brief instant. His body temperature had gone up several 
degrees and Ranma could almost feel the slight flushed look in his 
face. His personal aura was the dead giveaway. The blind boy could 
feel the aberrations in his ki energy and the heavy emotions 
emanating from it. The feelings were all directed toward where 
Kasumi was sitting and Ranma noticed that Tofu was trying very 
hard to keep them in check. 
     <Well now. It seems that the good doctor has a bit of a torch for 
Kasumi. I don't blame him. If she weren't a Tendo, then I would have 
snatched her up myself and what am I thinking?> Ranma shook his 
head slightly to clear it of such thoughts. He had already promised to 
himself that he would not wed a Tendo. He would never give that 
stupid panda the satisfaction of fulfilling the one promise that Genma 
intended to keep after breaking so many others.
     "Excuse me, Ranma-san?"
     Ranma snapped out of his train of thought at the sound of Tofu's 
voice. "Yes?"
     "When I was examining Akane, I noticed that some anesthetic 
shiatsu points were used on her."
     "You saw them?" Ranma was impressed. If Dr. Tofu could see the 
almost invisible signs of pressure point manipulation, then he must 
be a very good specialist in that field.
     "I did. You must be a very good shiatsu expert to have hit those 
particular points. They happen to be some of the most difficult areas. 
You used just the right amount of pressure and all in the right 
places."
     Ranma blushed a bit at the comment. "Well, among my tribe, I'm 
considered a fair acupressure and acupuncture user."
     "Now don't you be modest Ranma-san. You're quite good. In fact, 
I also noticed that you used Akane's Mute point on her. It would 
take a high level expert to have been able to affect so small a nerve 
cluster. I've only seen one other case like that recently. Tell me, were 
you the one who froze the vocal cords of a certain Tatewaki Kuno?"
     Ranma was a bit surprised, then he smirked as he replied, "I will 
answer that question with this question. Were you the one who 
unfroze Kuno's big mouth?"
     "Touch"
     Ranma and the others discussed a few things for a while before 
Cologne returned.
     "I have spoken with Soun Tendo and he has been told 
everything."
     "And what did he say?" Ranma asked.
     "It was hard to tell. He started bawling at full force and he kept on 
saying Akane's name in a whining voice."
     "That's Daddy all right." Nabiki affirmed. "Is he still on the line?"
     "Yes."
     "Let me talk to him." Dr. Tofu went over to where the phone was 
and picked up the receiver. After five minutes of what seemed to be 
an eternity, He returned and said, "Well, I've explained it all and told 
him that Akane will be back by tomorrow afternoon. As per your 
wishes, I also told him not to come near this place until then. He'll call 
Furinkan and tell them that Akane and me won't be in class tomorrow 
because of this. It's all set."
     "Very good Tofu-san." The elder then turned to the Tendo sisters. 
"Now let me show you where the two of you will be sleeping. I 
believe that the girls have some spare night clothes that you can 
use." Cologne began hopping up the stairs, leading the other Tendo 
girls.
     The night went by without incident as Akane slept in the 
establishment. By morning, she awoke to the sound of the morning 
birds and the first rays of sunlight appearing through the bedroom 
window. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was 
that her body was sore in many places. She moaned a bit before 
attempting to sit up. Her head throbbed as she got up. One hand 
went up to rub her right temple and she noticed that her head was 
wearing a bandage. When she looked out the front door, she saw a 
familiar person entering the room.
     "Good morning Akane. How are you feeling?"
     "Kasumi! W-W-Where am I? H-H-How did I get here? I" Her 
head began to throb even more as the terrible memories of the 
previous night came back to her. The fight, the humiliation and her 
clothes being torn off as her opponent and his friends prepared to
     "Akane?"
     The youngest sister's face turned pure white as she recalled the 
events of the previous day. Her body trembled and she began to 
breathe faster. Kasumi noticed her sister's agitation and put the 
breakfast tray down. She went over to comfort her sibling by 
wrapping her arms around her just as she started to cry.
     "Kasumi! They they almost I couldn't stop them! 
Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!"
     "There, there Akane. It's all right. It's all over. You're safe now."
     (Whimper) "I tried to fight them off, but that guy was too 
strong. I couldn't beat him. If if Ranma hadn't shown up 
then" (sob).
     "Yes. I know. Nabiki and I have been here with you since Ranma 
had brought you here. He saved you. You're safe. That's all that 
matters."
     Akane nodded, albeit reluctantly as she recalled that it had indeed 
been Ranma who had rescued her from being raped and probably 
killed. She continued to sob into her sister's shoulder and after a few 
minutes, she began hiccuping and finally went back to sleep. Kasumi 
laid her back onto the bed and quietly exited the room.
     Sometime later, after Ranma and the other girls had left for school, 
Pepper had decided not to open the restaurant as she, Cologne and 
Akane's sisters took turns caring for Ranma's patient. It was around 
noon when she went up to give Akane some lunch.
     Akane awoke to see a strange woman enter the room. She was 
about around her mid-thirties and had jet-black hair tied in a bun. Her 
eyes were a warm, hazel color and she had a pleasant figure. She was 
wearing a red silk kimono and she moved with nary a sound. She 
smiled warmly at her as she presented a tray that had a large bowl of 
steaming ramen on it.
     "Hello Akane-san. I am Pepper, the owner of this building. I have 
your lunch all ready for you. Ranma has told me that your injuries 
should be all healed by today, so it would be good for you to keep up 
your strength."
     "Where are my sisters?"
     "They are downstairs having lunch right now, but they'll be 
coming up shortly, so don't worry. So how are you feeling?"
     Akane paused for a moment, assessing her body's injuries. "All 
right I guess. I don't feel as much pain as I did this morning."
     "Excellent! Ranma had done his job well."
     "Yeah I guess he did." Akane didn't like the fact that she was 
indebted to a boy, but it had been a far better outcome than what 
would have happened, had the Unseen Light martial artist not arrived 
in time. The young girl was still in mental conflict. She hated boys, 
right? They were nothing but perverted jerks, yet the one person she 
despised the most had just saved her and didn't take advantage of 
her. His personality had changed from the arrogant, smart-talking 
martial artist, to a gentle and understanding healer. He didn't give 
any snide remarks, other than that time when he used that Mute 
pressure point on her. It was just so confusing.
     "Akane-san?"
     "Huh?"
     "Aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten anything since last night, 
and you didn't have any breakfast."
     Akane looked down at tray in front of her and realized that she 
was hungry. The smell of the ramen before her made her stomach 
rumble. Giving a nod of thanks to Pepper, she began to consume the 
meal before her.
     "This is really good."
     "Thank you Akane-san. It's my own family recipe."
     Akane ate for a while in silence as Pepper watched. Her mind was 
still occupied with thoughts of Ranma. Just who was he? She had 
thought that she had him pegged down as just another stupid boy 
but now she wasn't so sure. When her father had announced the 
engagement and had been pushing her to marry up with him, she had 
become extremely angry at the fact that she was being forced to be 
engaged to someone she had only just met. To make matters worse, 
her status as the best martial artist in Nerima had been destroyed 
when the very same person defeated her. She had become resentful 
of his higher skill level and it had become a bit of an obsession to 
beat him and regain her title. Yet, his later battles with Kuno and 
Ryoga had shown her that he was far more skilled and powerful than 
she had first thought. She had trained hard to try and catch up to 
him, but when it came right down to it; her martial arts had improved 
very little. That fact had been made painfully clear when she went up 
against that gang leader. He had not come from any dojo, nor 
practiced any particular style, but his street-fighting skills were more 
than a match for Akane. It was also because that he had cheated to 
win that really made Akane furious. The girl shivered at the memories 
of his cold, cruel hands as he ripped her clothes off and almost 
violated her. If Ranma had not saved her, then
     "Akane-san?"
     Akane snapped out of her reverie at the sound of Pepper's voice. 
"Yes?"
     "May I ask you a few things? You don't have to answer if you 
don't want to."
     "Uh okay. What do you want to know?"
     "Ranma has told me about your attitude toward him and I must 
admit that I'm surprised."
     "What do you mean?"
     "I mean, that Ranma is a very good catch and I would have 
thought that you would be glad that you have an engagement to 
him."
     Akane's automatic denial surfaced at once. "Me?! Happy to be 
engaged to that jerk?! No way! Why would anyone want that 
arrogant, smart-aleck?"
     "Now Akane-san, I do not think that you're being very fair. As far 
as to what Ranma and the other girls have told me, he hasn't done 
anything to you to deserve such treatment. What exactly did he do to 
you that he warrants such hostility?"
     "Well he"
     "Is it because he defeated you so easily and showed that you 
needed to improve?"
     "Well he"
     "Is it because he has gotten so much attention at school since he 
stopped the morning fights against his fellow Amazons and showed 
great respect toward the rest of the girls?"
     "I wouldn't say"
     "Is it because he called you an ill-mannered brat, though your 
oldest sister had admitted to me that your social skills need a lot of 
improvement?"
     "Now he had no right to"
     "Or is it the fact that he had saved your life, gave you the proper 
medical treatment, brought you here to be cared for, and is even 
taking extra notes in class for you so you wouldn't miss anything?"
     Akane became silent at that last comment. A minute later, the last 
bit of information hit her. "What? He's taking notes for me?"
     "Yes. Ranma took a tape recorder with him when he and the others 
left for school. He's planning to give you that tape when he returns. 
Since you both share many of the same classes, he thought that you 
would need it to keep from falling behind."
     "But why would he do that for me?"
     Pepper looked at Akane's confused expression, then smiled. "He 
of course will not admit it but he doesn't think you're all that bad."
     "Really?"
     "Yes. You don't know much about Ranma, now do you? Well, I'll 
admit that I'm not an expert on him myself, but I've received many 
letters from his mother Jasmine over the years. In any case, Ranma 
was not born in the Amazon village. He was adopted by Jasmine 
when he was eight and let me tell you, it wasn't easy for him. Being a 
male and an outsider to boot, Ranma found it very difficult to make 
friends with the village children at first. The Amazon society 
generally viewed the male gender as inferior before Ranma arrived."
     Akane couldn't help but smirk at that one, but she quickly 
smothered it when she saw Pepper's expression harden. She nodded 
for the restaurant owner to continue.
     "Anyway, Ranma fought hard to gain respect from the others. He 
was constantly picked on and beaten up several times. Through it all, 
he never gave up on trying to fit in. Since our village prided itself on 
strength, Ranma trained to become a warrior. He showed remarkable 
talent in that field, and it wasn't long before he began to outperform 
the rest of his generation. This proved to be quite detrimental to his 
attempts to make friends since the others became jealous of his 
ability. Fortunately, Jasmine was there to train in him in another art. 
The art of healing."
     "What's does that have to do with anything?" Akane asked.
     Pepper chuckled a bit as she replied. "In many of the fights that 
Ranma got into later on, after he had beaten up his opponents, he 
would then use his healing skills to tend to their injuries." She 
paused for a moment to break into a small laugh. "By doing this, 
Ranma showed that he respected the others enough that they began 
to return his kindness. He began making friends out of enemies."
     Akane had to agree with that one. Ranma had become very 
popular with the boys at school since he had tended to their injuries 
after they had tried to battle Shampoo, Lilac and Perfume.
     "This went especially well with the females of our tribe." Pepper 
continued. "Ranma has a certain charm that they find very 
attractive and since he shows great respect toward their gender, they 
couldn't help but fall for him. He treated them as his equals, if not his 
betters. As of now, just about every unwed girl in the village, 
between the age of fifteen to twenty-five, is trying to land him as a 
husband! And I can understand their attraction to him. He's tall, 
handsome, a great warrior and healer, gentle, kind and shows respect 
to those who deserve it."
     "He's never shown any respect to me!" Akane retorted.
     "That's only because you've never given him any reason to." 
Pepper responded. "He may not think that your martial arts or social 
manners are deserving the respect that you demand, but he still 
respects you as a person. If he didn't, then he wouldn't have done all 
those things such as save your life, heal your injuries and take extra 
notes for you."
     The youngest Tendo sister became silent at that. Pepper's words 
made sense. In the past, she was proud of her skills as a martial artist 
and she had to admit that she had been a little cocky about it. A little 
bit, mind you. She was always saying that she was a martial artist to 
anyone who would listen and she had felt a certain pride when 
people would acknowledge it. Was that her problem? Was she too 
wrapped up in just the title? Was she really that conceited? Then 
something scary hit her. Images of herself became superimposed with 
images of Kuno. In her mind, she saw him posturing and declaring to 
all that none was better than he was. Then she remembered her own 
comments about her being second to none. Was she just like Kuno? 
Only wishing for others to acknowledge her superiority? She 
shivered at that thought, then thought of something else.
     <Oh no! It's not true! I can't be like Kuno! I'm nothing like Kuno!>
     Pepper confirmed her fears as she said, "Ranma had told me that 
you took great pride in your skills as a fighter, but he wasn't really 
impressed. If there's one thing that Ranma dislikes, it's a person who 
tries to force others to acknowledge that that he or she is better than 
he is, simply by saying so. He had enough trouble with Mousse. I've 
heard that he's had quite a bit of problems lately from some idiot 
named Kuno." Pepper noticed that Akane had winced at the 
comment. "Akane-san, is something wrong?"
     "No!" Akane blurted out then calmed down. "It's nothing."
     Pepper looked at the girl on the bed with a thoughtful expression, 
before getting up and taking the tray of empty dishes. It was then 
that she heard a gentle knock at the door.
     "Come in." 
     The door opened revealing Kasumi and Nabiki.
     "Kasumi! Nabiki!"
     "Hi sis." Nabiki greeted as the two entered the room. Pepper 
nodded to them and left the three sisters to be alone.
     Akane's older siblings went over to her and sat down beside her 
on the bed.
     "So how are you feeling Akane?" Kasumi asked.
     "A little better Kasumi, thanks. I don't feel any more pain."
     "That's good. Ranma told us that you'd be well enough to come 
home with us tonight. He's been very thoughtful and he's even 
taking notes for you in class so you wouldn't miss anything."
     "Yeah, Pepper told me about that."
     "So Akane, how do you feel about him now?" Kasumi asked out 
of the blue.
     "Huh? What do you mean?" Akane was surprised the Kasumi 
would be this direct.
     Kasumi wasted no time in getting her point across. "Ranma had 
just saved your life and healed you. He didn't ask for anything in 
return and even now he's making sure that you don't fall behind in 
class. After the way you treated him since he came here, he's doing 
all this for you. Don't you think that you should let go of this 
hostility toward him? The least you can do is thank him. It's only 
proper."
     "Well I" Akane began.
     Nabiki joined in. "Oh come on now Akane. It's not like he's going 
to demand that you marry him or something. We've been talking with 
Cologne and she assures us that Ranma wants nothing in return." 
Remembering what Kasumi had told her, she added, "Besides, he's 
got enough problems as it is."
     "What do you mean?"
     Nabiki looked at Kasumi and said. "Should we tell her? I mean"
     Kasumi took on a thoughtful look. She had already been skating 
on dangerously thin ice by telling Nabiki, but then again, she would 
have figured it out eventually. However, after thinking about how 
unfairly Ranma had been treated by her youngest sister, she just 
couldn't stand the thought of him being subjected to Akane's rage. 
With that in mind, she decided that it was time that Akane's eyes 
were opened. Saying a silent prayer for Ranma to forgive her, she 
said, "Ranma has a condition in which we had just recently 
discovered."
     "A condition?"
     "Yeah." Nabiki nodded. "I was more than surprised when Kasumi 
told me about it. She made me promise not to use this information to 
exploit him, but after hearing his story, I don't think it would be right 
for me to do that to him."
     Nabiki was actually turning down a chance to make money? Just 
what did Ranma have that was so important? Akane held her breath 
and waited for Kasumi to give her the answer.
     "I admire him for overcoming his disability."
     "Oh yeah. I was impressed too." Nabiki admitted. "I never would 
have guessed that Ranma was like that."
     "Like what? What are you two talking about?" Akane was getting 
bewildered.
     "I'm not surprised that you didn't pick it up Akane." Nabiki said 
with a slightly smug look. "You've been so busy trying to beat him, 
that you didn't notice the clues."
     "Will you please tell me just what you are talking about?" Akane 
said in an exasperated voice.
     "Akane Ranma is blind." Kasumi said in a quiet voice.
     As soon as Akane heard this, her entire view on the world was 
forever altered. She just couldn't believe what she had just been told. 
<No it can't be! He can't be blind! Nobody could be that good and 
be blind! A blind boy can't have beaten Kuno all those times! And 
that fight with that Ryoga person.> It was then that she realized 
something else. <I was beaten by a BLIND BOY?! It it's 
impossible!>
     Kasumi noted her sister's disbelief and confusion. "It's the truth 
Akane. Ranma admitted it to me after I had deduced it. We spoke with 
Cologne downstairs and she too had confirmed it. Ranma has been 
blind for more than ten years now, and it was all the fault of that 
friend of father's."
     "It is?" Akane asked, still in shock over what she had been told 
about Ranma.
     Nabiki continued the explanation. "It seems that Daddy's panda 
friend had not told us all the details." She then began to tell her 
younger sibling on the trials and tribulations of Ranma's life.
     Unfortunately for Kasumi, her revelation of Ranma's blindness to 
Akane would have serious repercussions for the eldest Tendo sister. 
     Some time later, Akane made her way down the stairs when she 
felt she was well enough to get out of bed. She was still in a bit of a 
shock over what her sisters had told her about Ranma. She was still 
dressed in the pajamas that were borrowed from one of the Amazons 
and she was slightly annoyed that the chest was a little loose and the 
hips were a bit tight. The figures of the warrior girls had every female 
student in Furinkan jealous and the males panting. When she got to 
the first floor, she saw Shampoo's great-grandmother sitting in a 
booth, organizing some papers. The Amazon elder saw Akane appear 
and gave her a warm smile. 
     "Good afternoon Miss Tendo. I see that you have recovered from 
your ordeal."
     "Thank you. " Akane said as she took a seat opposite to where 
Cologne was sitting. "Please, call me Akane."
     "All right. You may call me Cologne. I am Shampoo's great-
grandmother." She looked down at the bandages and noted their 
condition. She then used her senses to assess her ki levels and 
nodded. "Do you feel any pain Akane?"
     "No. I feel great! I feel as good as new."
     "Then you shall no longer be needing those bandages." With one 
quick motion of her staff, she stabbed forward and removed all of the 
wrappings in the blink of an eye. Akane was dumbfounded at the 
speed in which she moved and wondered if she could learn a trick like 
that. Cologne had removed all the wrappings without even taking off 
her clothes. She then looked down at her leg and saw that the ugly 
gash she had received in her fight was gone without even a trace of a 
scar. All of her other injuries were also totally healed. 
     Cologne nodded as she assessed her body. "Ah, Ranma had done 
an excellent job. His mother would be pleased. Though I would 
advise you take it easy for the next day or so."
     "Yeah I guess he wasn't bad." Akane admitted as she tried to 
think up a way to ask the matriarch her next question. Finally, after a 
long pause, she decided to ask her straight out. "Cologne-san, may I 
ask you something about Ranma?"
     "You may, though I have a feeling that I already know the 
question."
     "What do you mean?"
     "Well, while you were upstairs, I had a discussion about Ranma 
with your sisters. It seems that they too had found out a few 
unexpected things about him."
     "Then it's true, isn't it?"
     Cologne made eye contact with the Tendo girl for a long time 
before finally answering. "Yes. Ranma is blind. I was there eight years 
ago when Jasmine brought him to the village. The doctors that 
visited our village every few months had confirmed that Ranma was 
clinically sightless."
     "But how is it possible? He doesn't act like he's blind at school 
and I've seen him fight against Kuno, Ryoga and he even beat 
me." Akane said the last part with great reluctance.
     Cologne smirked a bit. "Ranma had taught us all that the world 
doesn't end when it goes dark. He practices a martial art known as 
the Unseen Light which allows him to 'see' in a way that is far better 
than a normal sighted person would. He has also learned other skills 
that have made him extremely formidable, both as a warrior and a 
healer. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him."
     "Unseen Light? I've heard him mention that before."
     "It is an ancient fighting style that has been around for about 
twenty-five hundred years now. I had been acquainted with Ranma's 
former mentor in that discipline and he told me of its history. It was 
created by a band of blind Zen monks, who had developed a way of 
sensing not only the ki of others, but also objects as well. They had 
also developed their senses to the point in which they could detect 
things hidden beyond the surface of objects and even things of a 
mystical nature. It was so secret that none of the techniques were 
ever written down and were only passed down from master to 
student. As of now, Ranma is the sole master of that nearly lost art."
     "He is?"
     "Yes. Ranma's sensei, Koga Shinura, had passed away a few 
months ago, leaving Ranma as his only heir. His mother Jasmine has 
raised him to be a fine, young man and many of the girls in our village 
are quite taken with him."
     "I see." Akane said as she thought about the hardships that 
Ranma must have gone through to reach his current status. She 
began to understand what Kasumi meant when she said that her 
tendency to judge others by appearance would be insulting to 
someone like Ranma. Then she realized that some of the other things 
that she said about him were inappropriate and perhaps just 
perhaps, she may have been wrong about him. 
     Akane put that last thought away as she sat up. "Thank you for 
your time Cologne." She then headed upstairs to think.
     At the end of the day, Ranma and the others returned from school, 
just as the Tendo sisters were preparing to leave. Ranma stepped up 
and handed Akane a cassette tape, telling her that it contained all the 
notes that she needed to catch up in class.
     Akane looked down at the cassette in her hands and then gave 
Ranma a polite bow. "I would like to thank you for all you've done for 
me Ranma Saotome."
     Ranma's senses had picked up no hint of anger or the usual 
hostility toward him in her aura. He was a bit surprised at the sudden 
lack of resentment against him, but didn't question it. "You're 
welcome."
     "Ranma-san?"
     "Yes?"
     "Could we start over? I would really like it if we could forget 
all that's happened and I would really like it ifwe can be at least be 
friends?"
     Ranma considered her words carefully before replying. "Maybe."
     Akane gave him a questioning look before nodding. It wasn't a 
definite answer, but it was a start. She would just have to work on 
building on it.
     The three Tendo sisters left Pepper's Place and headed back 
toward the dojo.

To be continued

Author's Notes
     Well, the rewrite has made a few changes as I am taking some 
suggestions form my readers. As a result, I am adding a third part to 
this chapter. I will give my final comments on it later. Ranma is 
currently unaware that all three sisters know his secret.


