Akane learns to like their tiny one-bedroom apartment, to tolerate the creaky floors, to accept the hot-to-instantly-cold showers she takes before bed. And really, the too-small futon is the perfect excuse to snuggle up to her husband at night.
She learns to expect the instant ramen noodles almost every other night, and learns to accept the fact that they can't afford ingredients for the simplest of meals.
They don't have enough money to buy a car or even a bike, so her husband walks with her to work every morning. And every afternoon, when school gets out, he's already by the gate to walk with her home.
She'd place her students' papers in her bag, put on her brown wool coat, and walk out of the building alongside her students. At the sight of her husband, she'd smile brightly. He'd smile back as Akane walks closer, and, if he dared, he would place a kiss on her temple.
"Bye, Mrs. Saotome," the boys would say, rushing by.
"See you tomorrow, Mrs. Saotome, Mr. Saotome!" the girls would say before clustering together and giggling behind their hands.
On their way home, they would talk to each other about their day with their fingers intertwined.
Akane is happy. She and Ranma are both happy. She knows it.
But there are times when the rusty pipes or the lack of a good home-cooked meal or the constant fear they might not make rent gets to be too much for her. As much as she loves her husband, sometimes Akane gets lonely with Ranma being her only friend in this town. If she thought the salary of a high school teacher was bad, the assistant to a local martial arts master was even worse. And with barely making ends meet, their desire to start a family together has to be put on hold.
Akane doesn't want her elopement to Ranma to be mistaken for cowardice, so every week she calls home to catch up. Either Kasumi or Nabiki would pick up and the two sisters would chat, happy to hear the other's voice. Their conversation would be cut short, however, when Soun takes the phone from one of his daughters and begs Akane to come home.
"Daddy, please try to understand," Akane pleads as she kneels on the floor. Tears would stream down her face as she talks to her father. She'd shake her head stubbornly while Ranma wordlessly holds a hand for support. "We can't come back, Daddy, you know that!" she cries brokenly. "Not until we can make sure that both of us are safe, that we won't come home to people trying to kill us every day."
Akane knew it would be hard. She knew that moving to another town, when she lived in Nerima her whole life, would be difficult. But she knew it would be harder to have stayed married and alive if she and Ranma didn't leave.
It doesn't stop her from missing her family, however.
And so, when the time comes for Akane to hang up, she will seek comfort in the form of her husband. Sitting on the floor, Akane will clutch the front of Ranma's shirt and cry loudly into his chest while Ranma can helplessly do nothing else.