It's been like 8 years since my first post here, and it's not without
emotion that I dare post a story in RAAC... This one however, is not a
fanfiction, and I hope it'll find its place here as an original story in
a manga/anime style. I guess the small references here and there to some
animes will help people who only enjoy fanfiction to read this.

In the meantime, please enjoy :)

(Side note: the english version of the website is not up yet. You can
reach it however via http://blindspot.teri-chan.net for those of you who
speak French. For those who do not, here are two pieces of artwork done
by a good friend of mine to illustrate Blind Spot:
The heroine, Ayako: http://blindspot.teri-chan.net/files/ayako.jpeg
and Ayako & friends: http://blindspot.teri-chan.net/files/blindspotgroup.jpg
)

Now enough with that, here's the real story:

Blind Spot
By Axel Terizaki
Chapter 1
Retool/Edit V.1.1 by Dave Watson

"Sometimes, you just need a fiction to show reality."

Foreword:
This story is a work of fiction. Yes, complete, utter fiction.
However, it is based on research and experience, to make it as
believable as possible. Of course, you will certainly find drama, love,
angst, and such, but don't expect mechas, magical girls, or android
maids. Actually, maybe maids...no, no, never mind.

Let me introduce you to our heroine, who will tell you all about her
story, from her own point of view.

* * *

My first year of high school was something entirely new to me. I don't
know when everything started to change around me. Maybe it was just the
very first turn in my life, or maybe it was just me realizing how
gigantic the world around me was. It could get quite scary and exciting
at the same time.

"I will be your homeroom teacher for this year. I already introduced
myself during the first-years' assembly yesterday, but I'm sure some of
you weren't listening, so, my name is..."

And the teacher, a woman probably in her mid-thirties from what I could
see and hear, started writing her name on the board. That's when I
stopped paying attention and looked around a bit at everyone in the
class, or rather, the people immediately around me. On my left, a girl
gave me a little smile and a small wave of her hand when she saw that I
was looking at her.

This was Karen, one of my two best friends. Her mother is Japanese and
her father's American, hence the foreign-sounding name. Karen is quite
the athletic girl, with a slender figure and curves. It's no surprise
most guys drool over her. She has an almost flawless face, and dark
blue hair that normally goes down to her back. However, today she chose
to tie it into a ponytail with a white ribbon...or is it light blue?
Ah, that doesn't matter much, anyway.

She looked as bored as I was. I smiled back at her and she leaned a
little closer to me.

"Her name is Eriko Kasuga." she whispered to me, and gestured toward
the blackboard and our homeroom teacher.

"Oh, thanks," I replied in a soft whisper, and looked directly in front
of me at that blackboard and the woman in front of it. I think she
smiled in my direction.

"Now that you all know who I am, it's time for you to introduce
yourselves. Let's start with the first row, shall we?"

And thus began the lengthy introduction process. This was more than
necessary, since there were a lot of new faces. Our school was quite
big, covering middle and high school. It was rare for students to
transfer here during middle school; it usually happened during the first
year of high school. My parents decided to enroll me in this one mainly
because it would help me avoid the terrible experience of having to get
accustomed to new surroundings once my high school life began.

I didn't really look at who introduced themselves. Their voices were
enough to give me an idea what kind of people they could be. Ah, looks
like it's Karen's turn. She stood up, like everyone else did before her.

"My name is Karen Sakazaki. My father is American, but he decided to
keep my mother's family name," she starts to explain, as if to clarify
things right from the beginning of the year. Clever move. "I like
sports and movies, and going out with friends. That might sound a bit
typical, but that's how I am. I hope everyone will get along well this
year."

Her speech made a few students chuckle. Nice one, Karen-chan. I'm
sure you left them with a good impression!

"Thank you, Sakazaki-san," the teacher softly said. "Next, please."

I was next. Spotlight, anyone?

I stood up slowly from my seat, and looked in front of me, towards the
teacher at the other end of the classroom, and started my little
introduction speech. I actually thought about it for a while since
yesterday. This kind of speech can determine your relationship with the
rest of your classmates for the entire year.

"My name is Ayako Suzumiya."

Now is the interesting part. At first I wanted to say I liked aliens,
time-travellers and espers, but I felt it'd be cliché somehow.

"I enjoy music, both Japanese and foreign, as well as manga and novels.
I also like writing and singing. Pleased to meet you all."

And I bowed a little. I know it seemed like a lame thing to do, but
that was the best idea I could come up with. Yes, even after thinking
about it since yesterday. Oh, please, it's just a introduction speech,
after all.

As I sat back down, the teacher surprisingly didn't call for the next
student yet.

"Suzumiya-san will occasionally need your help and attention this year..."

Ah, I should've known. After all, even though I'm in the same school,
many people are new here and don't know me yet, teehee.

"...as she suffers from very bad eyesight. She might need help with
reading words from a distance, or taking down notes. However, she does
everything else almost as well as we all do, so please don't give her
too much special treatment, and be friendly to her, okay?"

It's strange; I actually feel like I'm special after people introduce
me that way. I could feel some students staring my way. That's
expected, of course, since it's not every day that you have a classmate
with a disability. Usually, such kids gain scholarships to a
specialized school and never get out of it until they graduate. They
live with other handicapped boys and girls, and are confined to these
protective environments. Oh, of course, once they graduate, they're
also accompanied until they find a job...but what kind of job? My
parents didn't want that to happen to me, and now that I'm old enough to
think for myself, I thank them every day for this decision.

Oh, it wasn't that easy all the time. Some teachers actually had a
hard time adapting to my problem, but, all in all, I can't complain.
Most of the time, I was among the students teachers paid a lot of
attention to. It could be a curse when you forgot about homework, though.

"With that said, next student, please."

The introductory speeches went on and on until we reached the end of
the student roster for our class. The rest was just various bits of
information about school life and a brief description of the main clubs.
Of course, joining a club was greatly encouraged, but not mandatory.
I wasn't really into clubs. Most of the time, I accompanied Karen to
her track and field club activities, and watched her from the bleachers.
I considered joining the literature club, though.

When the bell rang, signalling lunch, Kasuga-sensei actually came up to
me as I was putting my stuff in my bag. That's when I could inspect her
more closely. She had long dark hair, and was pretty well-dressed, with
a small jacket, shirt, and skirt going down to her knees. I looked up at
her as she spoke.

"Suzumiya-san, if you need anything, please come and see me, all right?
You can easily find me in the teacher's room. My desk is right next
to the door when you enter."

She sounded pretty nice to me so far, but one has to take more classes
with a teacher to be sure of that.

"Thank you, sensei. I'll remember that."

I bowed in thanks. I'm always polite; after all, how can you get angry
at an overly polite person? I didn't plan to come to see her any time
soon anyway, as I already knew my way around by then after spending
years in this school building.

After she allowed me to leave, I joined Karen, who was waiting for me
outside the classroom, and we went to the cafeteria for lunch.

* * *

"So, what do we have today?"

That was the eternal question I asked Karen every time we went to have
lunch at the school's cafeteria. Knowing what you're going to eat is
much better than to having an unpleasant surprise, right?

"Hmmm, let's see...there seems to be hamburgers today, and also
curry-rice with pork."

"Okay, I'll have the katsu-curry-rice, then," I replied, following
Karen as we grabbed trays to put our food on.

"Hmmm...follow me. We're going to that table. Some of our classmates
are there," she told me, making sure I was holding my tray behind her
before moving on towards the table.

"Remember that we're meeting with Shizuka after school," Karen reminded
me as we took seats across from each other. She had opted for the
hamburger.

"Yeah. I hope she's doing all right at her school."

Shizuka was actually my second best friend, also since childhood. She
went to the same schools as Karen and I did until high school, when she
went to another one in the same neighborhood. She wanted to become a
hairstylist, and had to attend this specific school to take the
prerequisite courses that would allow her to study hairstyling in a
beauty school after she graduated.

"Yeah, me too. She must be pretty happy to finally take a step toward
her dream," Karen continued.

"What about you? Have you thought yet about what you want to do? What
about all these speeches the teachers gave us during our middle school
graduation? You know, about how we should think about our future and
all that?"

"Bah. I haven't really found anything I want to do yet," she replied,
shrugging. Karen could be quite carefree sometimes. But so could I.

"I have to admit I haven't thought about it much, either."

"Well, then, let's stop bothering ourselves about it. Let's meet up
with Shizuka later and go sing some karaoke to celebrate our first year
in high school."

I grinned at that. I admit I like karaoke, a lot. My first lunch in
high school was pretty uneventful. I ate with Karen and our classmates,
as she suggested. Everyone was chatting about which school they came
here from, which was a nice way to break the ice with so many people at
once.

* * *

Our very first class of the year was English, with Kasuga-sensei. I
don't mind English much; the sonority and feel of the language rings
pretty well in my ears. I still have trouble speaking it fluently
because of my accent, but reading short English novels and fiction helps
a lot with vocabulary. Obviously, Karen was quite good at it too.

As the class began, I placed my laptop computer on my desk and opened
it. Why did I have a laptop, you ask? Well, since I was small, I was
trained in typewriter keyboarding. I'm not really good at using a
pencil; some could say I'm quite slow at it, too, but I don't care. I
wrote on the laptop my parents bought me a few years ago for school
instead. Whenever possible, teachers would give me various class notes
on CDs or USB keys so I could read them on screen instead of from white
paper, which I had trouble with due to the font being too small for me
to read clearly. The laptop allowed me to zoom in on the text and
adjust the brightness and contrast of the screen, which made reading
much easier. It was really handy for me, but I just wished that the
laptop was smaller; it was a little heavy in my bag and took up a lot of
room.

Let me get this straight: I am not into computers. I don't mind them,
but I'm not overly interested in them, either. I just use them as
tools, since I can't read or write properly. Oh, and they were also
pretty useful when a class got really boring. I could write on another
file or read something else without the teachers noticing. Yes, I could
be sneaky, too.

Karen sat to my left. Normally, seats are decided randomly at the
start of the school year, but I always got special treatment. Karen and
Shizuka did, too, since it was pretty well-known here that we were all
good friends and that they helped me a lot. My desk was actually next
to a power outlet so I could plug in or charge my laptop whenever I was
in class.

Back in middle school, some classmates were pretty jealous that I had a
computer with me at all times, saying I was watching movies or playing
games on it during classes. There really wasn't any way they could
prove that, though, and I just tried to ignore them.

Class could be quite boring sometimes...but what could you expect?
Walking around with a laptop in my bag made me look like a rich spoiled
brat who could get anything she wanted, especially since the teachers
were paying so much attention to me. Thanks to Shizuka and especially
Karen always defending me, though, I felt pretty secure, even if the
other students' jealousy and all that sometimes did hurt me.

But now, things were different! I was a high school student now, and
no one was going to stop me or bug me!

"Ayako, shut down the solitaire game," a voice on my left whispered,
like a guardian angel. That was Karen, of course.

"Aww, but this is so bor--" I started to pout.

Another voice suddenly came from the front of the class.

"Suzumiya-san, could you read the rest of the article for us?"

Aw, crap.

* * *

I sighed as class ended for the day. I was actually able to make it
look like I was paying attention during English. My honor was safe, at
least. Karen patted me on the shoulder.

"That was a close one. You should look into becoming a diplomat or
something."

I tried to explain that I was searching for where we were exactly in
the text, as I was only listening to it in order to rest my eyes. Yes,
that's what I told the teacher. Fortunately, it worked.

"That's not very funny, Karen-chan," I replied, putting my laptop back
into my school bag. I was still a bit embarrassed about it. It wasn't
like anyone really noticed, I believed, but I didn't want to get
unwanted attention.

"You really should thank me, Ayako-chan. I tried to warn you about the
teacher looking your way," she said with a grin.

"All right, all right, I'll pay for your drink at the karaoke box,
then," I let out with a little sigh.

* * *

Once outside the school, Karen slipped her arm under mine to hold me
close to her while we walked down the streets towards the karaoke place
where Shizuka was probably already waiting for us. I couldn't see very
well outside, so Karen often guided me that way. It didn't seem to
embarrass her at all, even if, from a distance, people could mistake us
for a couple, or at least, very close friends. Well, we were very close
friends; still are now, in fact. While I found it embarrassing myself,
I didn't want to ruffle any feathers, so I said nothing.

As we approached the karaoke place, a girl with short, dark hair and a
yellow headband waved to us. Her uniform was quite a contrast to ours;
very classy. It consisted of a brown blazer with a white shirt and tie,
along with a grey skirt. In comparison, Karen's and mine were simpler:
The usual sailor-like uniform in green tones, with a navy blue pleated
skirt.

"You're late, guys." Shizuka grinned, pointing at us.

"Hello there, Shizuka-chan," I said with a little smile, observing her
uniform a bit as we got closer.

"Well, classes ended later than we expected, and you know that I always
have my little baby to carry around." Karen, you meanie...!

"Mou...!" I pouted cutely, making Shizuka emit a small giggle.

"Right, let's go in, girls," she smiled. "We'll have all the time in
the world to chat after our hearts are sated from all the singing!"

Did I forget to mention that Shizuka also loved karaoke?

* * *

Karaoke isn't really made for me. Singing in front of a screen with
the lyrics flashing on it is useless to me, as I can't read them very
well from where one usually stands, and getting closer to the machine
and the speakers mounted on it would surely result in my ears ceasing to
function in protest after two hours of it all. That, of course, didn't
take into account my ability to memorize the lyrics of songs I like by
heart. I'm not picky about music, and whenever "Garnet Moon" by Hitomi
Shimatani or some of Lia's more upbeat songs were on, you could count on
me to sing them out loud! Shizuka liked pop and rock songs much more,
and she and I often argued about which song to put on next.

It was not much use talking during karaoke, as the music in those small
rooms is usually pretty loud, but it was refreshing to sing there with
my friends. We always had time to chat afterwards, while walking home.

"Well, I'll be off now. I'll pick you up here tomorrow morning for
school, Ayako-chan," Karen said as she parted from us once we reached
the point where she had to turn to go home.

"Take care," Shizuka replied cheerfully while waving to her. Karen did
the same before turning and walking away.

"Well, let's head home."

Shizuka walked by my side. She almost never held my arm like Karen
often did while we walked together. Maybe it's because she knows me a
little better than Karen does, and knows well that it hurts me a bit to
be treated like a kid. After all, both of us have known each other
since we were in
kindergarten.

"So, how was your first day, then? Did you two miss me?" Shizuka asked.

"Well, our homeroom teacher is nice. That's pretty much all I can say."

"Not very talkative as usual, I see." She smirked at me.

We walked a few more steps before she asked another question.

"Any cute boys?" she asked with a grin this time. Shizuka liked to
tease me because of my known lack of luck with guys. At least Karen
understood how I felt about that sort of thing.

"Oh, come on, Shizuka, you know how I do with that."

"Yeah. Either Karen scares them off, or you do."

What could I say? It was true; Karen, as beautiful and strong as she
was, often intimidated both boys and girls. And me...well, having a
handicap sure didn't help.

"I know you can't really see how anybody looks after a certain point,
but weren't there any sitting around you during class?" Shizuka asked,
pushing the subject.

"I didn't really take time to notice. I mean, I guess there weren't
any," I simply replied, not sounding very interested in the subject.
It's not like I didn't try to look around, but I guess that the boys in
my class weren't that special. Maybe it was just too early to really
tell at that point.

"Aaaah, boooring," she whined.

We soon arrived at an intersection. I wasn't too far from my own
house, but Shizuka lived close to here.

"I'll have to leave you here. Will you be okay, Ayako-chan?" she asked
kindly.

"Yes, no worries, Shizuka-chan. I know my way from here, thank you," I
smiled back.

We waved to each other, and I walked silently towards my home. At this
hour, the sun was already low, which allowed me to walk around outside
without having to shade my eyes from the sun or blink every second. I
like darkness, actually...well, semi-darkness, to be exact. The sun
tends to blind me pretty easily outside.

As I walked towards the streets of the residential area, which I know
well since I lived there ever since I was born, I suddenly bumped into
someone on my right at another intersection. No harm, though; neither
of us fell.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out, bowing a little in apology. As I looked
up, I realized that I'd bumped into an older man. Probably a salaryman
going home, judging from his suit.

"Look where you're going, girl!" he snarled back.

H...hey!

"I'm sorry, sir, I have vision problems."

"Well, how am I supposed to know that?!"

He was really getting on my nerves now. That's what I first thought.

"I'm sorry!" I blurted out again, not wanting to be on bad terms with
anybody. After all, I was at fault here, wasn't I?

"Ah, whatever," he muttered dismissively and then turned away, heading
in the direction I had just came from. I pitied his wife and children,
if he had any. He didn't look very happy or friendly at all.

Shrugging, I headed home, being a bit more careful this time. That
wasn't the first time I'd accidentally bumped into someone, but still,
he sounded pretty annoyed.

* * *

"I'm hoooooome!" I cheered as I stepped into the house where I lived
with my family.

"Welcome home, Ayako-chan," my mother replied from the kitchen. I took
off my shoes at the entrance, put on my house slippers and walked
towards the source of the voice. My mother was there, starting
preparations for dinner. She's the classic housewife type. I don't
really agree with such a way of life, even though it allowed her to
prepare delicious food for my father, my older sister, and me. I just
don't want to become a housewife myself. I'm bad with household chores,
anyway.

"How was your first day, then?" she asked, noticeably interested. My
mother was actually quite good-looking for a woman in her forties, with
long, black hair tied in a braid that she usually let hang down in front
of her right shoulder. She is quite calm and loving most of the time,
although she could be scary when she got angry at us. Never, EVER push
her to her limits.

"It was okay as usual, I guess. The homeroom teacher is pretty nice,
too. Looks like it'll be another good year there. We also met our math
teacher, but there's not much to say about him. He didn't greet us or
anything like that. He just started right away with his lesson." I
shrugged. I didn't like talking about what happened during a school
day, and usually only did when I was asked specifically about it. I
guess I just don't want to bore anyone by talking about things they
really don't want to hear about.

"I see. Did they put you in the same class as Karen-chan?"

I nodded.

"That's good. I'm making dinner right now, so why don't you go change?
Your father should be home any minute now."

I nodded again, like a good girl, and went to my room to change into
something more comfortable. It wasn't that my new school uniform was
uncomfortable, but there was no need to get it dirty at home, was there?

* * *

I stayed in my room for a while, mainly to sort out my books for
tomorrow, until someone stepped into my room. Without knocking. That
could only be--

"Hiya, Ayako-chan," came the voice from the doorway.

"Miyuki-nee, you could at least knock before entering someone's room,"
I replied, a little irritated.

"Oh, c'mon..."

The young woman before me was none other than my older sister, Miyuki.
She has long, wavy red hair, and works at a book publishing company as
an office lady. That's not the kind of work I'd like to do in the
future, either, but they say it has career opportunities. Yeah, right,
as long as you don't mind being seduced by your boss or something like
that. Miyuki was wearing a tank top and shorts--her usual attire around
the house, since she has to wear a tight blouse and skirt at work. I
honestly laughed when I first saw her in her work uniform. I could
never, ever wear that! It looked way too serious for me.

"So, how was your first day of high school?" she asked, after taking
only one more step into my room.

"Why don't you ask Mother? I just finished telling her," I replied
flatly while working on my books, pretending to be busy.

"Hey, I'm only asking you how today went!" she replied, placing her
hands on her hips.

"It was all right, really. Nothing happened. Only bumped into some
guy while heading back home," I replied, trying to shrug her off.

"What, he didn't see you coming?"

"No, I didn't see him. It's all right, though, nothing to worry about."

"Hmph." She then went off, obviously as annoyed as I was. Good, now I
could relax.

Frankly, I don't like my sister much. When I was younger, she used to
tease me a lot. It was really irritating at times. I felt like a pet
being tormented by a mean little kid, really. She was still living with
us, since her salary didn't allow her to rent an apartment yet. Her
boyfriend couldn't afford one, either, so she was still living with us,
despite her age. She's about seven years older than me, which made her
about 23 at the time.

"Dinner is ready!" I heard Mother call from downstairs.

Ahhh, food. Something I could always count on.

* * *

"Miyuki-nee! Why did you tell them!?" I asked, frowning, while sitting
at the kitchen table across from my sister.

We had just started eating, when my mother asked me about the man I had
bumped into on my way home. Ah, I hate being disturbed when I'm eating!
I always got angry when my parents started to sound concerned about
me. They were way too overprotective, especially my mother, who easily
got worried. My father, on the other hand, often appeared like he
wasn't that concerned about me, but I know that he thought no less about
things than my mother did. He was also pretty handsome despite his
years, in my opinion.

"Ayako-chan, you don't have to hide anything from us, you know," my
father added.

"But it was insignificant! I mean, just bumping into someone--"

"But it could have been worse. What if it had been a car?" my mother
interjected.

"I can HEAR cars coming, you know. I'm not deaf," I snapped back,
obviously annoyed at this discussion.

"What about a bicycle, then?"

What could I have said there? Bicycles don't make much noise; not as
much as cars, anyway. I had been surprised more than once in the past
by someone on a bicycle suddenly whipping right by me. Of course, there
are those who ring their bicycle bells like crazy or just call out to
warn people, but there are a lot of rude bicyclists who expect you to
see them coming and get out of their way.

"She's right. The man probably wasn't aware that you don't see well,"
my father added.

"Why doesn't she use a white cane, then?" my sister asked, looking at
both our parents.

"White canes are for BLIND people! I'm NOT blind!" I argued back.
Don't you hate it when people exaggerate about a situation? I certainly do.

"You're not, but you definitely don't see very well, so it'd be a good
idea, just in case." Father, really...

"Just in case of what...?"

"I think it might be a good idea. Tomorrow, we'll see about buying one
after you come home from school, okay?" Mother suggested. And when she
suggested something, arguing about it was not recommended.

"Wait a minute, I'm not agreeing to this...!"

"At least come and check it out. You don't know if you don't try it,
right?"

I sighed, deeply, to show my irritation.

"All right, all right!" I said, exasperated, and finished eating my
dinner in silence. I would be able to refuse it after I tried it, right?

* * *

The second day of high school went without a hitch. We met more new
teachers, and had another class with Kasuga-sensei, as uneventful as the
rest of the day. I was already starting to get moody about the idea of
going to town with my mother to get a white cane. I know that's what
blind people use to move around and detect obstacles, but I don't need
that. I can see them perfectly! Well, not perfectly, but I can see
them a bit, at least.

Karen shrugged as I told her about it. We were walking out of the
school building, and towards the front gate.

"Well, y'know, it can be helpful. I know sometimes you have trouble
seeing stuff on the ground when there's a lot of sun." Karen had a
point here.

"But, still, I feel...I feel like I'm degenerating, or something."

"Come on, Ayako-chan, that's too much. Your eyesight isn't getting any
worse, is it?"

"Of course not! I'd be able to notice it...I think."

As we approached the school gate, Karen nudged me a little. She always
did that to get my attention when she spotted something I didn't
obviously notice.

"Hey, your mother's waiting for you at the gateway."

I took a closer look at the gate. Yes, there was someone waiting
there, and she looked like my mother, all right.

"Geh...!" I grimaced.

Really! I wasn't a little girl anymore! What sort of high school girl
had her mother come to get her at the end of the school day? Honestly!
I approached her, frowning a bit. I'm going to look like a spoiled
brat for sure now, I thought.

"Ayako-chan, I came to pick you up. It's better that way, isn't it?
You don't have to go back home first..."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Now let's go," I said hurriedly. The last
thing I wanted was to hear gossip about my mother coming to personally
pick me up at school.

"Do you want to come with us, Karen-chan?" my mother asked.

"Oh...well, no, maybe I'd just get in the way if I did."

Honestly, I didn't care one bit at this point. I just didn't want to
go anyway. It didn't matter if Karen or Shizuka were there or not.

"I don't think so, honestly." Mother looked at Karen with an
encouraging smile now.

"I guess I'll accompany you, then." She bowed a little, and came up to
me, taking my left arm in hers. "Let's go, Ayako-chan." she said.

Before I could take a step forward, I felt someone take my right arm
too. Did I ever feel awkward then! I looked to my right, and saw
mother holding my other arm as well.

"Looks like you have two bodyguards, Ayako-chan," Mother said, making
Karen giggle a little.

Somebody help. Please?

* * *

Fortunately, only Karen held my arm during the walk from school to the
shop Mother wanted to take me to.

We all went to a small shop, apparently belonging to some sort of
association to help visually handicapped people. My parents sometimes
went there to pick up information about what could possibly be done
about my eyesight problems, but it was rarely useful. Most people here
are totally blind and couldn't fully relate to my problems, just like I
couldn't really relate to their own.

The shopkeeper, an old man who could apparently still see well, took us
to a back room of his shop, where he produced a few white canes out of a
cupboard. He handed one to me. It was pretty small, and could easily
fit in my school bag.

"I'll look ridiculous if I wave this around as I walk."

The old man frowned a little and looked at me sternly.

"Young lady, it's a telescopic model."

"Huh?"

I looked at it more closely, and it looked like the tip could be
unscrewed by hand. I gave it a try, and took off the tip of the cane,
which started to grow almost instantly as I pointed it downwards.

"Ahhh, that's kind of neat," I remarked, getting into it before I could
realize it. What could I say? Never give a girl a new toy, whatever it
may be.

I saw him turn around and pick up another one. I gave him back the
telescopic one, which he very naturally pointed upwards so that the cane
quickly retracted into its original form. He then handed me another
one, which looked like it was in several parts.

"What is it now? Do I have to build this one myself?" I joked.

"No, no, just take one part and hang it downwards," he instructed.

I did so, and before my eyes, the parts quickly unfolded and snapped
into cane form. It was a bit surprising though, as it made a lot of
noise. Indeed, the cane was held together by heavy-duty elastics
inside, and all the parts fit solidly together.

"When you don't need it, you just fold it up and put the small chain
around it to hold it that way," he explained, taking my hand to make me
feel its different parts. As good as his intentions might have been, I
just hate it when people automatically assume that I'm totally blind and
make me touch things.

Mother and Karen were still behind me, watching with interest, I bet.
I didn't care much anymore at this point.

"Which one would you like, then?" the old man asked. I considered it
for a few seconds. Once shrunk, the telescopic one was smaller, but if
I were to lose the removable tip...

"I'll take the folding one, I guess..."

Why did I agree to this in the first place? I had no idea. I guess,
if I had said I didn't want one at all, it would have been pretty rude
to Mother, who had gone through all the trouble of coming to school to
pick me up.

"Okay. You can keep it." He smiled, and moved next to me. "Okay, you
have to use it like this. Move it around while you walk."

He showed me how to do it. It was pretty simple, actually, but I still
had a hard time finding a use for it. I mean, I can SEE
obstacles...well, most of them, anyway.

"Well, looks like it'll do." He smiled, I think, and went to my
mother, probably for payment.

Karen approached and looked at the cane more closely.

"That's a nice new toy you have here, ne?"

"It's not a toy, and besides, I still don't see why I absolutely need it!"

Surprisingly, Karen looked at me with a warm smile, as if she knew
something I didn't.

"Don't worry. It'll really come in handy one day."

I frowned. I didn't like the sound of that, but, before I could say
anything, she spoke again.

"I don't mean that you'll totally lose your sight one day, Ayako-chan,
but...well, you'll see for yourself." She patted me on the shoulder
again. It was quite a common gesture for her, at least with me. I
started to wonder what she meant by that.

* * *

We left the shop and the kind old shopkeeper, my cane in hand. I could
actually attach it to my wrist so that I wouldn't drop it if it fell out
of my grip.

"Why don't you try to get home alone with that, Ayako-chan?" Mother
suddenly suggested as we were about to cross a street.

"Huh? This isn't a GPS, you know," I said, looking down at the cane.

"Try it. I'll invite both Karen-chan and Shizuka-chan for dinner, so
you'll have a reason to get home." Was she kidding me?

"Okay, okay, I GET IT!"

I fumed and went my own way, without looking back. From where I was, I
could recognize the area well, and could easily find my way home from
here. Obviously, inviting Karen and Shizuka was just a pretext for
mother to make me try to get home using this cane, all by myself. I'm a
big girl now. I'll show her!

My first impression was quite confusing. I could feel some people
looking at me, and others simply suddenly moved away from me as I walked
near them. It was as if I was pushing people away. A very unpleasant
feeling, really.

I was pretty irritated by the noises the cane made on the ground when I
tapped it on the pavement. You may have noticed that sidewalk panels
have large areas in the middle which are different in color and texture
than the borders around them. This actually helps blind people find
their way on the sidewalk with their canes. I didn't need that, though,
and I tried to keep the cane's tip just above the ground, and wave it
back and forth a little. It felt quite awkward, and the waving effect
made people avoid me.

You can see that in two different ways: Either you're leading a parade
with that cane and people slowly make room for you to get through, like
some big star walking down the street, or they suddenly avoid you as if
you have a contagious illness. I reacted more like it was the latter at
first, which only made things even more unpleasant.

At the intersection, I was looking at the street perpendicular to the
one I wanted to cross. While most pedestrians instinctively look at the
crossing lights, I couldn't see them so easily, and depended more on
watching the cars moving and stopping to determine when to walk.

At the next crossing, I patiently waited for the light to turn green.

A young woman's voice suddenly popped into my ears. "Excuse me. It's
green."

"Huh?" I looked back.

"The light's green. You can cross now. Do you need any help?" she
asked. She was a petite office lady, probably in her twenties. She had
a pleasant voice and a kind attitude which didn't feel
condescending--nothing at all like my sister, the only office lady I
knew. She walked with me as I crossed the road.

"Thank you, but I can still see a little," I replied, which probably
sounded a little bitter. I really hate it when people think I'm blind.
That couldn't be helped, since I was now using a white cane, the
symbol of blindness. People with white canes are usually given a lot of
attention. Cars even stop in front of you when they see that you have
that magical item.

Come to think of it...it wasn't that bad. Plus, it made me kind of
autonomous in a way, didn't it? I was usually accompanied by either
Karen, Shizuka or my family when I went outside. I waved the cane
around a bit in front of me as I walked, getting the hang of it. I
guess I wasn't doing it the same way blind people did, to detect stuff
like stairs or other obstacles, but it would be good enough to show
people that I don't see very well. Yes, I definitely liked the sound of
that. Kind of made me feel special, teehee.

I made it home without any problems. I didn't bump into anybody, and
people offered to walk me across the street more than once. Every time
they did, though, I told them I could see a bit, and thanked them for
their kind offers.

I could have even pretended I was a magical girl with that! Yes!
Magical Girl High-Schooler Ayako! No, that definitely sounded stupid.
And I wasn't a little girl anymore, was I?

I guess I could keep that cane with me, for now...

* * *

To be continued.

Author's notes:

I hope this first chapter wasn't too boring, but I couldn't possibly
introduce all the characters in one simple chapter.

This story will be long, and I hope I will be motivated enough to finish
it. I also hope that I will find interesting things to write about this
story, as I know these 'slice of life' stories can be quite boring if
they're not backed up by something special. The 'something special'
here is Ayako's handicap.

Oh, yes: Sue me for the obvious Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutsu references.
I don't care :)

Please send your feedback to axel at teri-chan dot net, please. I would
appreciate it, be it constructive criticism or praise. This is
important, so I can tell if I'm going in the right direction or not.
Even though I know pretty well what I can do, and what I can tell with
this story, I always want to improve myself and make it more enjoyable
for everyone.

Special thanks go out to Darksoul for the discussions we had on this
story, Myssa Elaine Rei for all the help and what she means to me,
Saturnalice for her feedback and cheering she gave me, Doug and David
for his proofreading help, and everyone who made this possible with
their ideas and overall help.

Axel Terizaki