Author's Note: Yes! At long last, I've rewritten it after I stupidly went to delete it (accidentally T.T). Okay, it's a little shorter and different (of course) from before. I changed a tiny bit of the content so much so that there wouldn't even be a difference. Thank you for waiting so patiently all these years- I mean months. The second chapter will be up tomorrow. I promise. Now I just need to get a pen and write this down on my hand so I won't forget... >.

"Thank you for you patronage," Akane smiled as she handed a brown paper bag to the customer before her.She was standing behind the cash register in a shop called Fumikino, a popular bookstore situated just outside the train station. Akane smiled as several schoolgirls wandered past the store, reminding her of herself during her own school days. Her thoughts were interrupted when the bell tinkled and a customer in a dark coat and sunglasses entered. The back of his head sported a pigtail. Just like Ranma…

Ranma. That's right. Two years ago, the Monster Cat had out of the blue kidnapped Shampoo, Kodachi and Ukyo all at once. Akane had also been one of its target but Ranma had been with her when the Bake Neko appeared to abduct her. Hence Akane was saved from being taken away. Ranma learnt about the sorry fate of his other three 'fiancées' and being the responsible person he was, had taken off to rescue them. Akane had wanted to accompany him so that he'd have an extra pair of helping hands but he turned her down, saying that she'd only serve as an unwanted burden. And ever since then, she'd not heard any news of him.

The state of the dojo deteriorated as its only male heir was gone. The Tendous could no longer depend on it as their source of food and income. Because of this, Soun did not have enough money to support the education of two children. Seeing as to how Nabiki had a better chance at surviving the harsh dog-eat-dog world, Akane gave up her chance of schooling to her elder sister so that Nabiki could become an entrepreneur. Instead, Akane managed to get herself hired at Fumikino, one of the mostqwll-known bookstores in the region where all kinds of reading material could be found- magazines, novels, and even manga. In fact, it was almost every day when a girl would come in and squeal about how lucky Kagome was to have Inuyasha.

Taping down the edges ofa newbrown paper bag, Akane warmly thanked another customer, a young girl, for her patronage. She passed the paper bag to the girl and collected the money from her; the young girl left and the next customer stepped forward, passing a hardcover encyclopaedia to her. Akane calculated the price mentally (she couldn't let her math skills get rusty, could she?) and said, "That will be Three thousand yen, please."

All the stranger did was smirk. Akane realised that he was the pigtailed man who'd entered the store earlier on and- what on EARTH was he smirking about? This man seemed so much like Ranma in more ways than one- they both had a pigtail and the annoying tendency to smirk at every little thing she did.

"Yes?" she asked in a strained voice. Oh crap, maybe there was something stuck in her teeth. Where was a mirror when she really needed one?

"You don't recognise me, Akane?"

"Of course I don't. You're a total STRANGER-"

Akane froze as her brain slowly recognised what the person had said and who the owner of the voice was. That voice which was always so laidback and yet tended to annoy the hell out of her. The voice which comforted her when she so needed it.

The voice which abandoned her two years ago. It couldn't be…

Realisation dawned on her in that instant and all doubt dissipated as the stranger removed his sunglasses; Akane's voice caught in her throat and she thought that her heart had stopped from beating too wildly. "Ranma…"