Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2

"Akane..."

No response.

"Akane?"

No response.

"AKANE!"

Ranma sat, alone in the silence. Darkness had snuck up on him, but it didn't really seem to register in his mind. Sat by the lake where they had so many memories, he watched shooting stars glide across the night sky.

He replayed every memory of her in his mind.

The way she smiled, and those tears that streaked down her cheeks when he surprised her that one christmas eve with all those things she'd hinted she wanted before when they were shopping.

When she stepped into the path of doom when that guy wanted to turn him into a frog to 'share' his pain. Even if it was just a prank to scare him, even if he would never have admitted to crying when he thought she would actually be a frog...

Ranma laid back on the grass, remembering how angry she could get, how she would smash him with her mallet, how she got him with that giant rock out here when he first saw Dr. Tofu's reaction to seeing Kasumi. He smiled, but grimaced as he then remembered how Akane had felt heartbroken about it, and how he was the only one who knew.

He never told a soul about it.

Ranma pinched the bridge of his nose, clenching his eyes shut to hold back the tears. He took a deep breath. The image of Akane's face right before he leaned in to kiss her in the Romeo and Juliet play flashed through his mind, and he wished he told her how he felt about her. He wished he could of seriously agreed when she joked about wanting it to be a real kiss.

But then, he thought, there had been numerous times he had spoken about his feelings, yet she never realised, and always accused him of preferring Shampoo, Ukyo, and even Kodachi to her.

"Never," he whispered to no one. "Never."

On the walk back home, her smile, her laugh, she haunted him. His feet dragged as he reluctantly returned home alone. Watching the ground as he walked, he could just see her feet now, where his were. They would step around, roughly where he was standing. Her steps were never straight so, if you were watching carefully, you would see her move from left to right just ever so slightly, and it made is heart ache.

"Oh, there isn't any milk left." Kasumi sighed, the refrigerator the only light in the kitchen.

"D'you want me to head to the corner shop to get you some?"

"Oh, Ranma! There you are! I was worried sick about you and Akane. Has she gone up to bed?" She asked, looking around him.

Ranma felt sorry for the girl. Akane had been buried last week. It was as if Kasumi had erased it from her memory, acting as if it were still old times.

Ranma waited a few seconds before speaking up again. "Did you want some milk?"

"Uh..." Kasumi studied his face for a moment; it was still and serious. He was avoiding the subject, she concluded. "No, it's not that important, I just like to have a glass of milk, it stills my nerves when I'm worried, that's all. But now you're home, so I'll get some when I'm out fetching the groceries tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I'll be back before long. Plus, it's open all night."

As he turned away, another memory played in his mind - the memory of that night. He couldn't sleep, so he snuck down the stairs and found Akane awake, too, also unable to sleep. He had gone to buy her milk, also.

It was the day where his father decided he'd let Ryoga inherit the dojo and marry Akane. She couldn't sleep and was trying to find milk in the fridge, so he offered to get her some...

He remembered the look on her face when she received it. Adorable and

Ranma shook his head as he walked down the darkened streets. He had used the money he was going to repay Nabiki with that night. He chuckled.

Ranma took another look towards the stars. "If only I noticed it earlier..."

He found himself at the graveyard, and decided to walk in. When he reached her stone, he crouched before it. "How much I love you. How much I would regret it; not telling you how wrong I was when I insulted you..."

He reached his hand out, tracing the words engraved on the stone;

Here lies Akane Tendo. A beautiful, young woman who touched the hearts of many with her determination and enthusiasm. There is no doubt she will be missed by all who knew her.

Ranma sighed. "It's true, y'know," his eyes filled with tears. "Everyone misses you, no matter how much they wish they didn't."

What do you think happened?