See No Evil By Kyokukou Disclaimer : I don't own the characters from Ranma 1/2 only the characters that I write myself . So please don't sue me ! But if you try to use my characters .....there will be ...unpleasant consequences if I find out . Do not repost or reprint this without my permission , however if you do ASK there is a good chance I will let you . * I may know how the blind read here in America , but I'm completely ignorant about how it is done in Japan so I'm winging it . Sorry . When I learn more I'll revise .* After Ranma had leapt off with that strange boy they had hurried off in pursuit . Only to find an empty lot . The fresh scuffs and divots in the dirt coupled with the cracks and fist shaped craters in the nearby wall spoke of a recent fight between two powerful martial artists . However she and Akane had missed the action . Hoping that Ranma had returned home after the fight they hastened for the Dojo . Only to have the wall a few meters before them explode in a manner that gave them a distinct sense of deja vu . " Oh , sorry ." The boy apologized the moment he identified them . " What the hell is going on here , buster !?" Akane demanded hotly . " What ? Oh , I guess Ranma never told you guys about me ?" The boy chuckled . " Why wouldn't he ?" She asked . " He probably thought he had time before I showed up ." The boy shrugged . " So this is a regular thing ?" She prodded further . " More like random ." The boy put a hand behind his head and gave an embarrassed laugh . " I guess I should give you two a quick summary ." She put a hand on her sister's shoulder to keep Akane quiet and nodded for the boy to begin . " My name is Hibiki Ryouga . I've known Ranma since junior high , and it was back then that I discovered that one of the techniques Ranma knows to find his way about without sight could all but cure a condition I have ....you see I have a family curse , I have the worst sense of direction you could imagine . That's not even the worst of it , but it's the basic problem . " But when I asked Ranma to teach it to me one day his father said that I had to beat him in combat to earn each lesson . He swore it on Ranma's behalf , and I was foolish enough to accept the terms . So ever since I've been following Ranma around earning my lessons ." Ryouga leaned back against an intact portion of the wall and waited for their reactions . " So you're not out to hurt Ranma ?" Akane asked slowly . " Nope ." Ryouga replied . " In fact , Ranma happens to be the man I respect the most ." " Why ?" She inquired , intrigued . " Being what he is Ranma could easily take advantage of his extra senses in a fight . Luring a sighted opponent into a dark room , using smoke or other blinding tools that will disable a normal fighter but only give him a supreme advantage in the fight . But he doesn't do anything like that unless it's just to balance the fight . Besides , that he's had to deal with some of the things I have to . We understand each other ." " That's a weird friendship ." Akane snorted without malice . The boy only shrugged eloquently . " So who won this fight ?" She asked . " Um...I kinda got lost before we could finish ." Ryouga looked away in embarrassment . " If we take you to the Dojo you won't fight with him will you ?" She asked . " Not today ," He assured her . " and I wouldn't dream of imposing on your hospitality like that ." " Just follow us , it's not far ." Akane favored him with a smile . She suppressed a chuckle as she saw the boy blush and avert his gaze . She idly wondered why Nabiki and Akane weren't back yet with Ranma . Where could those three be ? Probably took Ranma to some friend's house with them . She shook her head and finished vacuuming Nabiki's room . She hummed to herself as she switched which hallway wall socket the vacuum was plugged into , all that was left was the guest room . She let out a startled yelp when she turned on the light to find Ranma sitting on the floor right in front of her . " I'm so sorry , I didn't know you were there ." She apologized , placing a hand over her chest feeling her heart slow from it's rapid pace . " I thought I left the light on ?" Ranma muttered , sliding his shades onto his face . " What are you doing ?" She noticed what looked like a blank book sitting in Ranma's lap . " Reading ." He replied mildly . " Do you need me to leave so you can vacuum ?" " I'll take a break ." She replied , curiosity overtaking her . While she had been informed that Ranma was no ordinary blind boy she knew little to expand on that tidbit of information . Everyone seemed to be too busy to tell her more . " May I see it ?" She asked , after taking a seat on the floor beside Ranma . " Sure , just be careful ." He handed the book to her after placing a scrap of paper in it to mark his place . On the outside the book looked entirely blank , Just a series of divots where characters should be . She gave Ranma a questioning look before remembering herself . " I know that western letters can be made into Braille , but how do you do that with our kanji ?" Ranma smiled at her like a teacher asked his favorite question and took the book from her gently . " I've found two methods , Japanese in romanji Braille alphabet and regular characters either raised or lowered like the Braille on this title ." He ran his finger over the small patterned divots . " For example , the author's name is Kurokawa Shin . In Braille that would be spelt k-u-r-o-k-a-w-a s-h-i-n . I just have to read phonetically instead of by characters most of the time ." " I see ." She ran her fingers over the divots that meant nothing to her . She looked up at Ranma and was caught by the warped reflection of her face in his shades . " Why do you wear those inside ? Or at all ?" " These ?" Ranma touched the rim of his shades . He seemed to think for a moment before answering . " They're not for me , they're so my eyes don't unnerve other people ." " But isn't that just for when you're out in public ?" She continued . Standing , Ranma walked over and replaced the book among the few remaining things in his pack . " The lights are on , right ?" He asked , walking back over to her slowly . " Yes ?" " They're not hideous , just nothing you've ever seen before ." He warned before pulling off his shades . She gasped before she could catch herself . She had been expecting the stereotypical normal , but blankly staring eyes she had seen on television dramas . What she was met with was quite different . In the center of the whites were two cerulean disks that peered , aimless , out at the world but with an intensity that jarred her . The startlingly blue disks were just that , solid blue with no black pupil in existence . " How ?" She asked , her mind reeling . " Some kind of trap to guard an ancient artifact . I was used to set it off . None of the doctors know how it happened . It's not just my pupils , that , could be at least helped with surgery . At least half of what happened to me is magical . So no doctor can cure me , but no magic can either . So far I've never found any reliable mix of the two that could be of any use ." " I'm so sorry ." She placed a hand on his shoulder only to have it shrugged off roughly the instant it landed . " Pity is something I will never accept ." Ranma thrust his shades on , his voice harsh . " I was a martial artist before I lost my sight , and I'm still a martial artist now ." " How ?" " What ?" He all but snapped . " How do you fight ?" She expanded , seeking to calm him . " I've learned every single technique for blind fighting that I know exists ." Ranma answered with bitter pride in his tone . Seeing him calm slightly she continued . " I thought all there was , was just fighting by sound ." " Yeah , and I bet you think stuntmen on TV actually use real fighting techniques too ." He snorted . " Fighting by hearing is so limited . All your opponent has to do is find a loud background noise and he's invisible ." " So what are the others ?" She pressed . " Lot of questions ." He raised an eyebrow in a fashion that distinctly reminded her of Nabiki . " Why do you want to know ?" " I've lived with martial artists all my life . It's all old hat , but this is the first time in years that there's something I've never heard of ." He seemed to mull that over for a moment before giving her a sight smile and adjusting his sitting position . " I've learned everything from the silly and stupid to the devastatingly effective ." " Devastatingly effective ?" She repeated . " How so ?" " Some methods are more than simply sensing your opponent somehow . But one of my best techniques is simply doing that , but to an extent that makes it very painful to use . " There is a rare condition called Synesthesia where all the five senses are combined . The technique consists of artificially inducing a state akin to this , but with the sense of sight missing , you use that hole as your mental anchor in order to sift through all the info . People who are born with the condition have no problem with it , but for someone who has separated senses it's an intensely painful strain . " So I don't use it except in emergencies . But , when I do I can predict my opponents every move . They can't hide anything from me , and I know what they are going to do at the same time they do ." " If you can't use that all the time what do you use normally ?" " I've taken the best of what I know and blended it to my needs . I may be able to sense ki precisely enough to sense a held weapon's position by the ki bleed off . But it's easier to get the magnetic echo off of it ." " Magnetic echo ? You're kidding ." Ranma sighed . " I've blended and combined so many that it'd be hard to really explain ... Alright , right now I can tell exactly where your every finger , toe , arm , leg , whatever , is and even your heart rate . But I have no idea what color your blouse is or what your face looks like . The most detail I have of people is what you'd get from a unpainted mannequin . Small or thin things like some coins or paper lying flat are hard for me to pick up even under good circumstances ." " Oh ." She blinked a few times . " I turn up my sensitivity in a fight , but I have to turn all the special techniques down really low in a crowd . At school I have to rely on a cane and training , just like a regular blind person . Didn't Nabiki or Akane tell you any of this ?" " No one really talks to me about such things ." She admitted with some embarrassment . " Tell me what one of the silly techniques was ." She asked to derail that tangent . Ranma's face flushed slightly and he looked like he was fighting down laughter . " One involves shouting really loud and spinning very fast . That's all I'm going to say ." " Oh come on ." She smiled , trying to get a mental picture of that . " It can't be that bad ." " You don't know the half of-..." He suddenly cocked his head as if listening for a distant sound or catching a scent . " Ryouga's here ." " Who ?" " An old friend ." Ranma shrugged . " Can you hear him ?" She asked in wonder . " Impossible , but I can feel a strong person's ki from pretty far away . And I know his ki like my own ." * * * She had followed Ranma down the stairs to the living room . He had taken a seat facing the door and hadn't budged until Nabiki's voice announced that she and Akane had brought a visitor . " Glad you found a guide ." Ranma stated seconds before a boy stepped into the room wearing a tiger striped bandanna and somewhat deteriorated clothes . " So am I ." Ryouga seemed to be slightly embarrassed discussing the subject , his face flushed and he spoke again before Ranma could . " I notice you got new shades , what happened to your lucky pair ?" " Not so lucky ." Ranma corrected with a sigh . " Right now they're in about twelve pieces . Oyaji sat on 'em in his panda body ." " Mirror looks less threatening than matte black ." Ryouga sat down across from Ranma . " Doesn't matter much ," Ranma shrugged . " I'm not trying to threaten anyone here ." Silence passed for a moment , and she felt the subject change as the posture of both boys grew more serious . Small talk was over . " Furikan high is here in Nerima , right ?" Ryouga began . " Yes ." " Then she's here ." " Already ?" Ranma almost looked startled . " Who is 'she' ?" Nabiki butted in , seconded by Akane . " Shampoo ." Ranma answered impatiently , turning his attention back to Ryouga again . " But I thought you led her on a merry chase across Southern Brazil ?" " Yeah ," Ryouga nodded . " but she probably sold that gold dagger to fly back here ." " Damn ." Ranma clenched a fist . " Why can't she stay the hell away ?" " Because Amazon law says that she's got to kill you and marry me ." Ryouga shook his head sadly . " Why can't we fake our deaths ?" " Again ?" " Good point ." " Um...excuse me but , what's going on ?" She put in . " That , in about a second ." Ranma pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the wall before diving forward . Ryouga was instantly on his feet , pulling a handful of bandannas from his forehead , eyeing the wall like an opponent . She just had enough time to turn her head to look at the offending wall before it exploded in a shower of wood , sheetrock , pipes , and wallpaper . Stiffened bandannas were whizzing at the cloud before she had finished shrieking in surprise . Three oddly metallic rings preceded the exit of the bandannas from the rapidly dissipating cloud . " When I get husband , I tie up and keep on leash !" A high soprano barked from the fading mist of sheetrock dust . Looking around , she noticed that Ranma had mysteriously vanished . " Like hell !" Ryouga back up to the opposite wall , fists at the ready . " Oooooh !" A violet haired girl stamped her foot in exasperation . " Is marriage so bad ? Is I so bad ?" " Um , I guess not ." Ryouga's face relaxed into a wary expression , but his stance never wavered . " Then come with me to village !" The girl took a step forward and beckoned . " Hell NO !" In a lightning movement a stiffened bandanna was in Ryouga's hand . " WHY ?" The frustrated girl stomped her foot again , hard enough for the floorboards to crack and give a little . " I'll be a damn pet ! Not a husband !" " You defeat me , is your fault !" The girl snorted raising in each hand what looked like a basketball sized sphere of steel atop a metal bar . " Over heeeeeere !" A soprano voice higher than even the violet haired girl called from outside the hole-in-the-wall . All turned to face the newcomer . A familiar redhead in mirror shades gestured rudely to the violet haired girl . " YOU !" The girl snarled , leaping out after Ranma . " Me alright !" Ranma laughed mockingly , leaping just out of range of the young girl's furious attacks . No one spoke until the sounds of mocking red head and shouting violet head had receded into the far distance . " I hate to repeat myself , but what the hell was that about ?" Nabiki asked Ryouga . " Sit down , it's a weird story ." The bandannaed boy brushed some rubble aside to clear a spot by the table . " It started shortly after Ranma was cursed ." Ryouga began . " I met Ranma and his father on the road . They had just came from the Amazon village only hours before . As usual I wasn't picky about where I fought Ranma for my lesson . I hadn't had a lesson in nearly a month so I was a bit overeager . Ranma didn't even have time to explain that he was on the run for defeating an Amazon warrior who could show up at any moment . I beat him just about the time Shampoo came over the hill ." " Amazon law states that if a warrior is defeated by an outsider male she must obtain his bloodline through marriage . If the outsider is female she has to either take the outsider's bloodline through her child , get the outsider to join , or kill her . However , if that outsider , male or female , is defeated then she has the option to switch to the victor . After all , the object is to get the best genes . Then there's the thing she happens to have about guys in bandannas ... ug ..." " So she just dropped Ranma right there ?" Akane blinked . " Ranma had defeated her as a female , so she decided to make use of both sides and continue to try to kill Ranma and marry me ." Ryouga pulled off the amazing feat of keeping a straight face throughout the entire explanation , including what came next . " Oh yeah , I almost forgot . Shampoo has no idea that the male Ranma and female Ranma are the same person or that both are blind . Then there is the fact she assumes that I'm engaged or married or something to Ranma's female form ." " What ?" It was her turn to blink . " Yeah , really screwed up huh ?" Ryouga idly brushed debris off the table . " I'll say ." Akane nodded . " So let me see if I have this right ." Nabiki began . " This Shampoo girl wants to marry you , kill Ranma who she thinks is your lover , and doesn't even know about Ranma's male form ?" " She's met Ranma's male form , but she mostly ignores him ." Ryouga corrected . " Oh my , can Ranma handle her ?" She looked out the new hole shaped door in the wall . " Oh yeah ," Ryouga nodded . " Shampoo's not someone to trifle with , but so long as we pay attention to what we're doing she's not a serious threat ." " So there's no problem then ." Akane smiled . " Um..." " What ?" " Well , she may not be a threat alone , but she has this real problem with her timing . It's always really , really good for her , but really bad for us ." While the three Tendo sisters digested that information Ryouga stood . " I'd better leave before she decides to come back ." He bowed to them before starting from the room . " Will you come back ?" She called . " Anytime I can find Tokyo ." Ryouga called back sheepishly . " That's the closet ." Akane called to correct Ryouga's trajectory . ".... that's the hall ... that's the kitchen ...alright now that's the front door ." " Right the fourth time ! I'm getting better this week ." She heard Ryouga mumble to himself as he left . " Doesn't get any weirder than this ." Akane shook her head . " You just cursed it Akane ." Nabiki glared at her little sister . " It's going to be bad enough paying for that wall ." Off in the distance she thought she heard a high voice cry out some odd curse about the sexual habits of Japanese grandparents with red hair .