When I was small, a very kind boy sometimes lived in a house near my family.
We would sometimes play together, and once he shared his onigiri with me
when I dropped mine because my sandal broke and made me fall.

Then he disappeared, and not long after, his mother also left, selling the
estate. I was saddened, because I knew then I would never see him again,
even though I'd been told for a long time that I was to be his wife one day,
because his mother's family was very important.

There was never a formal dissolution of the engagement, but my mother never
spoke of it again.

Ever since that time...I've wanted to see him again. I have longed for it my
entire life; I've learned everything I can so that I can become his perfect
wife one day.

And just recently, I've learned where to find him...



            * * * * *


"Ah, hello. Can I help you?"

Tendou Kasumi smiled, trying to set the girl standing in the doorway at
ease. She had short, neatly-styled blue hair, gentle eyes, a cute face, and
wore an elegant blue wafuku with a lavender obi. Her cheeks were flamed and
her eyes were downcast; she seemed quite timid and afraid. The girl bowed
slightly. "A-anou...sumimasen..." She paused for a long moment. "I...I'm
looking for a Saotome Ranma..."

*Oh dear. Not again.* Kasumi smiled cheerfully at the girl, who appeared
about the same age as Akane. "Ranma-kun should be back from school
shortly..."

"Tadaima," a voice called from the gate just then. "Oi, Akane, how'd you get
here so fast? And what's with the kimono?"

"You have a visitor, Ranma-kun," Kasumi called to the boy who'd just entered
the compound.

"Ranma-sama?" the blue-haired girl spun around, eyes shining, cheeks
flushing more deeply as she caught sight of him.

"...hey, you ain't Akane," Ranma said, staring at the girl. "Who--?"

"Ranma-sama...you don't remember me?" Her eyes began to moisten, and she
looked down at her feet.

"H-hey now...don't cry..." Ranma tried to placate the girl.
"Umm...sorry...you do seem kinda familiar, but--gee, you look a lot like my
fiancee..."

At that, the girl's head snapped up, her eyes shining brightly, and she let
out a cry of joy. "You *do* remember!" She flung herself at him, embracing
him tightly. "Ranma-sama..."

"H-hey!"

"Ranma, who's *this* girl?" a voice asked from the gate, tinged with heavy
suspicion.

The blue-haired girl in the kimono stepped back suddenly, cheeks once again
red, and looked at the frowning blue-haired girl in a school uniform behind
Ranma. Smiling, she bowed formally. "Hajimemashite. Saotome Ranma-sama no
iinazuke, Sakuraba Aoi desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

*Oh hell, here we go again...*

-----------------------------------------

[Ranma/Ai Yori Aoshi. Because you KNOW it had to happen. No, I'm not going
to write it. I'm ashamed of myself for even writing this much. I'll let one
of the thousand or so Ranma crossover fiends on the list take it from
here...]

-------------------------------------------

Studio ELL: Back in Crack!
http://www.lurkerdrome.com
The Eternal Lost Lurker
lurker@lurkerdrome.com
http://www.livejournal.com/users/lurkerdrome



             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'