White Blindness
by Mina Lightstar

And here, we've reached the cumulative notes for this monster. Now, the question is, WHERE do I start?

I suppose the first thing that should be mentioned is the very book that inspired this fic. For my Winter 2001 semester, my English course required me to read Blindness by José Saramago. The book was not my genre of choice, but once I began, I was hooked. Saramago's narrative style was simply superb. The novel has been translated in a number of languages; if you have access, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Upon completing the book, I had the urge to fuse the novel with YYH. It's been so long since I've thought of that original plot, I can't even remember what I was going to do. After I churned out the first part, I let it lie for...well, months. But when a more solid plot came to mind, I decided to simply fuse the two ideas together. Therefore, WB is no longer a fusion, but borrows the concept of "white blindness" from Saramago -- the blindness itself, rather. Of course, how and why the blindness occurs is completely different.

WB takes place in a Makai of my own imagination, adding to what has already been shown to us in the YYH animanga, and was the "birthplace" of Mina's Makai. The fic was written based on the assumption that things left unexplained would more than likely be expanded on in another fic; all of my YYH fiction takes place within Mina's Makai. People/places/species elaborated on in one fic are not necessary to understand another, however.

I have taken liberty with youki, reiki and their capabilities, and often refer to youki, at least, as "magic" -- because that's what it is, really. In addition, there are both canon and non-canon elements in the story, as well as some commonly-used YYH fanfic "myths".

But, hey, it's my story. And as far as these 250 pages are concerned, whatever I say goes *grins*

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Trixie EvilEyes. A very good friend, a mother hen at times, a funny beta-reader, and a wonderful smartass. No matter where you go, and no matter how far apart we become, I'll still remember all the fun we had, and I will always wish you the best of luck. Look! I did it, darling. It took nearly two years, but I did it. And yes, I DID do your mom XDXDXD

Thanks MUST go to Kitty-chan Otaku, who was (un)fortunate enough to be my companion through most of college, who often found me seated in front of our locker scribbling in my WB notebook(s), and who was (and is) THE soundboard. You helped me rebound when I felt stumped, you helped me work my way back when I wrote myself into a corner, and you helped catch many a typo. *loves you*

Thanks to Arishia, my co-dependent pre-reader, for all the pick-me-ups. Trust me, my fanficking career just wouldn't be the same without you *hugs* And thank Rev for me, for giving Locke some well-earned...recreation XD

Thanks to Morgan D. for being the first to archive my YYH output, back before I even had a site of my own. And thanks for coding it as beautifully as you did. You're still good for something, you cranky old fossil :-p

Thanks to Ko-chan for the bribes -- which I am still waiting for *hinthintnudgenudge* They did wonders for my productivity. As well, thanks to all who have ever C&C'd WB; be you the faithful reviewers who dropped me a line after each chapter, or the occasional commentators who decided to throw some feedback my way. All comments were greatly appreciated, and always will be greatly appreciated.

-- Telepathy --
Technically, anyone with the ability to wield reiki or youki has the ability to learn telepathy in this story. However, the ability to converse with another being depends largely on the amount of natural compatibility between the two parties. The compatibility can grow with time and closeness, but those aren't really the determining factors. Hiei and Kurama, for instance, are really just lucky to be as compatible as they are. And note, "compatibility" does not mean "how well they would do in a romantic relationship" ^_~ Yusuke, for example, has next to no compatibility with everyone, whereas Hiei can converse with just about anyone.

-- Teleporting and Skimming --
The two are not the same thing, here, though "teleport" is often used as a collective verb for the two -- it's not really correct, but language is bent over the passage of time. To "teleport" means to move around from one place to another, within the same World. Some can just disappear and reappear with a mere puff of smoke, and others must make little portals, and other such things. To "skim" is to skim over, through worlds, such as going from Ningenkai to Makai. Skimming, naturally, takes more energy and skill than teleporting, and the more members in the party there are, the harder it is to move them.

-- Magic --
I'll admit it: I'm a RPG addict. Was, is, and will be as long as they make console games. More often than not, my addiction rears its head in my longer fiction. Fight scenes, random battles, and most of all: magic. I use the Element system, as most writers of the fantasy genre do. Earth, Fire, Air, Water, and Spirit being the most common elements. Blends of them, Lightning, Ice, Healing, etc, are used, too. I try to tie most magical skills to having something to do with the elements.

-- Fangirl Japanese --
I've ranted the rant before, and won't get into it here *beams* so I'll leave it at this: WB is a more-or-less serious story. Therefore, no fangirl Japanese. The Japanese words used are minimal, and were kept strictly for names of places or specific things. For instance, "Reikai" is the name for the Spirit World.

The "White Blindness" Q&A or
"Ample Opportunity for M to be a Smart-Ass"
(read: answers should not be taken entirely seriously ^_~)

"Will there be a sequel, once you're finished?"
--No. The very thought nearly shames me out of my pseudonym ^_~

"Can I archive it?"
--No. I'm sorry, but the fic has undergone heavy editing, and some of it still is. It was started on a whim after-hours on college nights, so...that should tell you something about the typo-to-word ratio ^_~ It's archived at two sites, and two sites only.

"Are Jumon and Itsuwari incestuous homosexuals?"
--Ask them. Oh, wait. One's dead and the other has gone off the deep end. Sorry.

"You do know that Kurama doesn't actually pray to Inari, right?"
--Yes, I'm quite aware of that.

"Is Shiryoku's blonde hair and stupidity supposed to be some sort of veiled blonde joke?"
--I assure you, it was completely coincidental (*mwahahahaha*)

"Just how many lovey-dovey nicknames do your Hiei and Kurama have for each other?"
--As many as it takes to avoid typing the generic "fox" and "baby".

"You like Mukuro!"
--That's not a question... But yes, yes I do.

"You like Kuwabara!"
--That's not a question, either... But yes, yes I do. Or rather, I don't. I LOVE Kuwabara.

"This is rather like the way I imagined the series would have turned out!"
--Did I say this was a Q&A...? But thank you ^_^ Actually, the entire purpose of WB was to be, in a sense, a continuation of the series. The characters have grown up a little more (well, where applicable ^_~) but the story wasn't supposed to contain a great deal of angst, to be "action-packed" or to become a yaoi lemon-fest ^.^.^ I tried to write it as it would be to watch YYH. There wasn't much angst, or a great deal of romance, and there was a fun moment every now and then -- just like the animanga.

"What's with Itsuwari's attacks? Why does he scream them out?"
--Because it is Anime Law. You MUST shout out the name of your attack XDXDXD

¤ Seung doesn't have, and won't ever have, a developed background story. I have a vague history in mind for him, but didn't feel the need to elaborate on him a great deal.
¤ Dr. Ikari's name is not meant to be a reference to Eva. I just needed a doctor's name and it was the first to come to mind. I like it.

¤ I hate telephones, and hate talking on them. You may have guessed this...
¤ The short glimpse at Yusuke/Keiko smut was for Varon-neechan.

¤ I apologize for this and all future fight scenes. I don't know why I write so much fiction that centers on action scenes; I can never get them right.
¤ Once again, you MUST shout out the name of your attack. I couldn't resist.

¤ Yeah, I know the dream sequence is rushed and choppy. But it was a dream, so that means I can get away with it, right? Right? ^^
¤ I am fully aware of the abundance of cheesy lines in both this chapter, and the fic itself. I ask that you laugh at them XDXDXD

¤ This part was for Stormy, who insists that my fight scenes don't suck.
¤ I repeat, you must shout out the name of your attack.
¤ Peroxide is my father's solution to any problem.
¤ I like silk.

¤ No, neither Hwang nor Eiyo are sexually attracted to the other ^_^
¤ Yes, I know that I had Kuwabara and Hiei spelling in English. Next time, I'll write the whole fic in Japanese, okay? :-p
¤ Hiei is playing with Kurama's hair during their "farewell" scene. Sorry; I should have used one less "he" there. Bad Mina. No biscuit.

¤ I am a psychology major; conditions like Jumon's fascinate me, and I like writing about complex "evil" characters.
¤ Writing the scenes that had Jumon sexually fantasizing about Shiryoku was actually quite easy... What does that say about me, really...? o.O?
¤ The best part about this chapter was the sheer amount of "she's his MOM?!" mail I got ^____^
¤ Unconsciousness is STILL the best way to fade-to-black.

¤ The basis for this chapter (the Trial) was borrowed from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. To be honest, I'm not sure why I'm a WoT fan (possibly because it seduced me when I was very young) given its predictability and such XDXDXD but there you go.
¤ I hate some of the scenes in this chapter (particularly the second arch) because I feel it dips too far into cliché, which is something I didn't want to do. But at the same time, I wanted that Kurama to be a different Kurama from the one Hiei knew already. Consider it a jab at Wimpy!Whiny!Kurama fics, where Kurama is portrayed as a sniveling wuss for no reason at all. Not your Wimpy!Whiny!Kurama fics, of course. I meant the other guy's.

¤ Green is my favorite color.

¤ Yeah, okay, it has a crappy title. Bite me.

¤ I always dread writing about journeys onto the Plane. It's always difficult.

¤ Do not attempt to speculate how the door was open, and then closed. It happened behind the scenes; a reaction to Jumon's fear, perhaps. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

¤ I meant for the story to end the way the series ended: with the possibility of something more to come. There was no "definite" ending to this particular chapter of their lives. Everything is still open for debate. Will Yusuke and Keiko every get married? Will Kuwabara and Yukina ever get together? Will Hiei and Kurama go through and adopt children? Will Yusuke and Hiei eventually ascend to their respective thrones? Will everyone still be friends ten years in the future? Who knows? I know I don't. You have to take it as it comes, and live one day at a time.
¤ Kurama was looking at the clouds, yo.

¤ I repeat, I like silk.

Thanks for reading!

Begun: March 6th, 2001
Completed: January 18th, 2003

There will be no sequel.