This is my very first (and only for now) fanfic. I wrote it a couple of years ago, so please be kind. I kind of have an idea of what my next one will but I'm still thinking it through. Thanks. Chrissy H.

Disclaimer: Ranma and Co are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I'm just an innocent reader/watcher/writer.

In Nerima, the setting sun covered the town in an orange-red glow. The first star was already out and shining and a certain dojo was actually at peace. Akane sat on the porch looking out over the yard and sighed. The koi pond rippled slightly as she felt a breeze quietly flow through her short bluish black hair.

Akane thought of the one person that seemed to always occupy her mind: Ranma. For the past two years they had fought constantly but it seemed that now they were fighting even more. As soon as all those college applications came in it seemed that they fought about everything and their fights were actually getting worse. Akane sighed again as she thought about having to fill them out soon.

'What happened to us?' Akane thought while the sun finished setting. 'There was a time I thought we might actually make it, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.' A tear quietly fell down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away. She had thought that after Saffron they might actually have a future. They even started to get along better for a while, much to the dismay of a lot of people. And that just made everything feel worse. His normal insults stung more when he said them and now they were coming so very often. 'I guess you never did love me and I guess you never will.' Another tear betrayed her as the thought lingered on her mind. She knew Ranma had no intentions of going to college even though she constantly pushed that he should at least apply. Going away to a good university was something Akane always wanted but if she heard those three words from Ranma she would've stayed home with Ranma in a heartbeat. 'Three words I'll never hear.' With this, she made a decision.

The breeze picked up a little and rustled her short hair when she felt a presence behind her. She turned her head and saw Ranma standing behind her looking over the yard as well. He wore a blue version of his Chinese shirt with his normal black pants. "Hello Ranma." Akane said looking up at him. He nodded still staring out past her. "Do you think we could go somewhere and talk?" She asked him while standing up and smoothing out her skirt.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Ranma replied looking straight at her for the first time since he got there. "Would the roof be okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Akane said as she followed the already moving Ranma. Suddenly, he grabbed her around her waist and sprung up to the roof. She shut her eyes tightly but was used to the sensation by now. In a second it was all over and he was standing a few feet away from looking at her expectantly.

Akane looked at Ranma and saw the moon reflecting in his eyes. His eyes were normally beautiful, being the color of a crisp blue, but now they seemed almost silver. The wind blew slightly and she saw his pigtail sway softly. She wasn't ready for this, but there was no use in stalling the inevitable. "What do you think of our engagement?" Akane asked nervously. She needed this answer; she had to make sure she made the right decision.

Ranma closed his eyes for a moment, stood up straight and looked back at her as if he had prepared for this moment. "Why would I want to be engaged to a kawaiikunee tomboy like you!" He said looking at her and watching her reaction. Ranma saw her aura flare up and quickly braced for an encounter with her trusty mallet but after a second he looked back at her. Her aura quickly died and in her eyes, it looked like part of her did too.

"That…is what I thought." Akane said quietly as the tears started stinging her eyes. Well, she now knew her answer. "Ranma, it is only a few months until our graduation and then I will be going to college away from here. After I leave, we will break the engagement and you will be free to be with whoever you want. And our fathers won't be able to do much with me gone." She took a deep breath that helped her hold back her tears. "I know now that you don't love me and you never will. We have been fighting so much recently and I was hoping that we could stop fighting since the engagement will be terminated in a few months. I was hoping…" Her breath got caught in her throat and her tears started to fall down her face. "I was hoping that we could be friends or something. If you can deal with having an uncute, sexless fiancée for a few months more."

The tears were flowing down her cheeks but she refused to stop looking at Ranma. The look of confusion, hurt, and shock was on his face as he very slowly nodded his assent. If the tears weren't so abundant, Akane might of saw the crushed look in Ranma's eyes or the single tear that went down his cheek, but she didn't. Having her answer, she quickly ran off the roof and went straight to her room.

Akane threw herself on her bed sobbing into her pillow. He really didn't love her and he wanted to be rid of her. He probably couldn't wait for her to leave. But at least he agreed to stay friends. If she couldn't have him as her husband at least she could have him as a friend. And maybe they could actually stop fighting now that he didn't have to be concerned with her anymore.

There was a tapping on the window and she turned around to see Ranma hanging upside down. She slowly went over to the window and opened it for him. He quickly hopped inside and closed the window behind him. She had stopped crying and sat on the edge of her bed looking at him. He turned around and looked at her puffy face and red eyes and he frowned.

"Akane, I wanted to say that I, uh, I'm sorry." He looked down at his feet but quickly looked back up at her, his blue eyes staring into her chocolate brown eyes. She had a quizzical look on her face like she didn't understand what he was saying. He took a deep breath and walked over to her. "I'm sorry that I hurt you and I never wanted to do that. I'm sorry that I've been so mean to you lately but the truth is I was…uh…sc…worried."

'Worried?' Akane thought as her brow started to furrow. 'Why was he worried? Did he just not want to hurt me?' Akane didn't get it. "Why are you worried, Ranma?" She asked slowly, staring at him.

"This past year had been going well and then I realized something when you got those college applications. I realized that you might not go to college because of me or you might not go to a good college and stay close to home because of me. And you deserve a good college. So, I thought that if I was mean to you, you wouldn't want to be with me and you could pick a college without my interference. And it seemed to have worked." Ranma look intently at her, focusing on her facial expressions.

'He did this to…to…protect me?' Akane's mind whirled as all of this started to sink in. 'Does this mean he wants to keep the engagement?' Her heart leapt at that thought.

Ranma watched and he could see all her thoughts flashing through her face. He took another breath and took her hand in his. "It worked and I hated it. I sat on the roof after you left thinking about how my plan worked and how I wished it didn't. So, I decided that I'm going to apply to college after all."

Akane sat there looking at him. She could see the unsure look on his face and his eyes sought her looking for some kind of sign that he made the right decision. Suddenly, she jumped up and hugged him with all her might. "You baka! I can't believe you did that to me!" She said lightly tapping him on the head and crying into his shoulder.

They broke apart and she sat back on her bed. Ranma looked at her and once again grabbed her hand. "Akane, I don't want to hurt you like this again. I've almost lost you to monsters, people, and so many other things, I'll be damned if I lose you now. I l...lo…lo…I don't want to lose you."

Akane looked at Ranma smiling broadly. She gave him another hug and whispered in his ear, "I love you, too, Ranma." He had a smile that matched hers as he held her, holding her as if he wouldn't ever let go.

The End.