Characters don't belong to me, never did, never will. Please don't sue if you're Rumiko Takahashi and if y'steal my story, (unless you're Ms. Takahashi) then you ain't a good person. And I'll sue you!

The setting sun was one of the most beautiful Nerima had seen in years. But Ryoga paid it no heed. His sight was set on the building in front of him. "Finally," he thought, "I've made it back to Nerima and my darling Akane!"
Fists clenched, he stared at the Tendo Dojo, which seemed to glow in the fading light. Tears welled in his eyes. Three years it had been. Three years of wandering Japan. Three years of fire cooked meals. Three years without seeing her face.
But now he was back. He blinked back the tears and strode towards the door. "It been a long time, Akane, but I'm back and I have something I need to tell you."
He walked the halls of the dojo, calling her name. He eventually found his way outside, more by luck than skill. It was there that he saw her, sitting by the koi pond watching the sunset.
She was wearing her gi and Ryoga noticed that she had let her hair grow long. It glistened softly in the fading sunlight.
"Akane!" he whispered. As if able to hear him, she turned to him. The smile that lit up her face seemed to shine even more brightly than the sun.
"Ryoga!" she cried. She ran towards him, and threw her arms around his neck. Blushing deeply, he brought his arms up and gently hugged her back. "Akane..." he began.
"Oh, Ryoga! How are you? Where've you been? It's been nearly three years since you left!"
He hugged her tighter. "I know, Akane. I know."
They ended their embrace and sat on the grass, watching the sun. "So, how've you been, Akane?" asked the Lost Boy.
"I've been doing pretty good. I've let my hair grow out long again."
"I see that. I've been well too." He smiled, showing his fangs. "How about everyone else?"
"Well, father and Mr. Saotome are doing great. So are Kasumi and Nabiki. Ukyo and Shampoo are fine and Kuno's been Kuno."
"What about Ranma?"
There was a short pause before she replied sadly, "Ranma's gone."
In a split second the words seemed to echo a million times in his head.
He quickly turned his face towards her. "Ranma left? Why? When?"
Akane shook her head and sighed. "I don't know. We woke up one morning just after you had gone and we couldn't find him. He had just left, no note or anything. Things haven't been the same around here since," she said sadly.
A long silence ensued. Ryoga plucked a few blades of grass and stared into the distance. He had to do it now. It would be the only chance he could get. He dropped the grass and watched the blades flutter away in the breeze. "There's something I need to tell you, Akane."
"What's that, Ryoga?"
"Well," he gulped, "ever since I met you, I've had a secret I needed to tell you. But I was never able to. Either I was too scared or that baka, Ranma interrupted me. It's the reason I keep coming back to Nerima." He looked into the sun, as if for inspiration. He turned back and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Akane." He immediately lowered his head, face red, hot tears of embarrassment building in his eyes.
"Oh, Ryoga..."
"But I don't suppose you feel-"
"I love you, too."
He looked up, the tears working their way down his cheeks. "What?" he asked in shock.
But she didn't answer. Instead she leaned forward and then kissed him.

Hey, everybody. I released this same story on fanfiction.net about a month ago. However, it was poorly written (in my opinion) and people wondered about Ranma's leaving without a reason and why Akane said she loved Ryoga. Well, I just wanna say that I'm writing a fic as to why Ranma left. And I'll leave it to you to figure out why Akane said she loved Ryoga. Also, I've made some changes on my original that I think made it better. And if I get some good response to this, I just my write a sequel. (hint, hint)