repost...	
	(Scene:  Scott's apartment.  Scott pecks away at the computer 
while Ranma watches "Sliders" and Akane tries to master a string buzzer.)

Ranma:  Pikers!  Hey, that reminds me, it's time for you to put out 
another chapter of "Worse".

Scott:  I dunno.  At this rate, I'll soon be out of written parts.

Akane:  Don't worry.  When you run out, you can use one of your fillers 
again until you catch up.

Scott:  Right.  Why don't you kids catch up any new readers on what's 
going on.

Ranma:  Well, in the last chapter I finally got to spend some time naked 
together with Akane--

Akane:  Pervert!  (Whacks him with the buzzer.)

Ranma:  Ow!  But it didn't really count, 'cause I was in girl form at the 
time.  Actually, I'm in girl form all the time now, because some stupid 
wish put me in a world where I was born female.

Akane:  Although this didn't get you out of your fiancee troubles, did 
it?  Now you're engaged to boys! 

Ranma:  Yuk!  And why did one of them have to be Kunou?  The best part of 
my new world is that I have a new little brother, Hikaru, who's almost as 
good a fighter as I am.  In this world, he was the one dragged off by 
Pops on that training trip, so he's the one stuck with the Drowned Girl 
curse.

Akane:  Yeah, and Nabiki wanted him to play dress-up.  Let's see, you 
were just leaving the dojo...


				WORSE
			by Scott K. Jamison
			(Takahashi/CLAMP disclaimer)
		Chapter Three:  In Which More Is Disclosed

	As they left, Nodoka turned to Ranma.
	"I'm taking your father and brother shopping for some new 
clothes.  Be a dear and get a light supper ready?"
	"Me?  But--"
	"Don't worry.  Just remember you're cooking for four instead of 
two, and you'll do fine, Ranma."
	That's women's work, Ranma finished in her head.  But as far as 
anyone knows, I am a woman.  And it's not like I can't cook.
	"Okay, Mom."
	After that big meal at the Tendou house, they wouldn't need that 
much supper anyway.  Back at the apartment, Ranma checked to make sure 
there were enough ingredients, then estimated how much time would be needed.
	"Okay, if we eat at 6:30, that means...do this bit now, then I'll 
have a couple hours free."
	The preliminaries were soon finished.  Ranma decided to explore 
her room.  She hadn't really gotten around to it before, being so 
distracted the last couple of days.
	Wardrobe:  fairly extensive, but for the first time, Ranma really 
understood what Akane meant by "nothing to wear."  Half the stuff was so 
out of fashion even Ranma could tell, and most of that looked too small 
anyways.  She could spot telltale marks of strain on the seams of what 
obviously had once been favorite outfits.
	Ranma sighed as she felt fine stitching of tears.  Her mother had 
made do.  Still, maybe there would be some budget for the Chinese-style 
outfits Ranma liked.  And the underwear drawer was incredibly 
well-stocked.  
	Music:  She had her own (well-worn) Walkman!  Most of the tapes 
were idol singers, heavy on the pretty-boy types.  But there were a few 
decent rock tapes, an enka cassette that had never been unwrapped 
(present from Kunou, she was willing to bet,) and something called 
"Boiled in Lead."  Ranma summoned up her limited command of English and 
decided that didn't make sense.  The flyleaf indicated it was from 
Nabiki.  Girl always had had strange taste in music.  Ranma popped it in, 
and was pleased to discover that after a blood-curdling scream at the 
beginning, it was quite listenable.
	Books:  A whole bookcase!  Some sappy-looking romances, old 
textbooks, a complete collection of Yawara, a couple of SF paperbacks, 
assorted martial arts texts (liberally annotated with scrawls like "learn 
this technique"), several classics (presents from Mom...) and a well-worn 
volume with a blank cover.
	This last gave Ranma a shock.  It was one of the type with blank 
pages you filled in yourself, and inside was a crudely-drawn shoujoish 
manga about a passionate love affair between Ryouga and herself!
	Repelled, yet unable to look away, Ranma read on.  It started 
with the heroine finding a way to cure her beloved of his wandering, and 
got steamy from there, though never actually pornographic.  It had 
obviously been the work of several years, as the art improved in spurts.  
She had had it bad for Ryouga.  At least until Friday.
	I don't feel that way now, thought Ranma.  So what happened to 
the mind that was in my body before?  Does she still exist?  Maybe she 
wished to be out of being engaged to guys, and we switched.  If that 
happened, I'll bet she's sorry now, what with the curse and all...
	Memories of the real world flooded back.  Faces friendly and 
snarling, places Ranma had gone, adventures he'd had.  Now they were 
*only* memories.  Ranma fought back tears.  I won't cry, dammit!  I'm a 
man!  And a cold thought came from the back of his mind:  Who's going to 
believe *that*, little girl?  The tears flowed.
	The ending of the tape brought Ranma back to what passed for 
reality.  Is it really that late?  I've got to start supper now!  Even 
so, it ended up taking an extra fifteen minutes to get to the table.
	Hikaru was grousing about having to go to school, but their 
parents pointed out that even martial arts masters needed an education.
	"By the way, Ranma, how's that report coming?"
  	"Still working on it, Mom."
	She spent the next two hours trying to put down on paper 
everything she'd learned about the Chinese Amazons.  It was a pretty long 
list, but needed a lot of work before a teacher would consider it 
acceptable.  
	About bedtime, Nodoka knocked, then came in.  One of the 
advantages of having your own room was that people knocked. 
	"Honey, I noticed at supper that you'd been crying.  Would you 
like to talk about it?"
	No, not that, think fast.
	"Um, Mom, what do you think of my fiances?"
	"Oh.  I see.  Well, I haven't met this Mousse person at all yet, 
so I don't have any idea what to think of him.  The Kurenai boy, Tsubasa, 
was it? is obviously a pervert, and I'm glad you haven't encouraged him.  
Tatewaki is a  nice boy, if a bit pompous."
	"Nice boy?  Mom, he beats up any guy that tries to even come near 
me or Akane!"
	"You've never mentioned that before.  Are you lying to me Ranma?" 
	"No!"  Not about that, she amended mentally.
	"I'm sure he means well.  As your fiancee, he wants to protect 
you." 
	"That kind of protection I don't need.  And it's making Akane's 
life downright miserable."  
	"All right.  I'll speak to the boy's father when he's back in 
town." 
	Ranma shuddered at the thought of the Principal.  Dollars to 
donuts he wouldn't have changed at *all*.  
	"Was that all, dear?"
	"Well, I was wondering about Ryouga too--"
	"You are never to mention that name again!  The Hibiki boy is 
forbidden to you for...for reasons you know full well."  Her eyes held 
fire.  "There is no engagement, there never was, and never will be."
	Whoa!  That struck a nerve, thought Ranma.  Wonder what he did?  
Or was it something I did?  God, we didn't, I hope...
	"I'm sorry, Ranma, but it's for the best.  You'll see when you're 
a bit older."
	Nodoka kissed her daughter goodnight and left. 
	Ranma's dreams were dark and confused.  One was clear, though.  
She was marrying Kunou so Akane could be free.  Her skin crawled as the 
ceremony continued.  Then the priest said "you may kiss the bride," and 
Kunou was embracing her, crushing her lips with his, groping her 
body...and then Ranma turned back into a man...and Kunou wouldn't stop 
groping him...  
	Even so, she got early the next morning, and suggested a nearby 
empty lot for her, Hikaru and Genma to get some practice in.  Ranma's 
father seemed uncomfortable somehow, but agreed.  The workout wasn't as 
satisfying as the ones Ranma was used to in the real world.  Genma held 
back against her, getting pounded pretty badly.
	"C'mon Pops, I'm not fragile you know.  Besides, I'm fast enough 
you can barely hit me anyways."  That was true enough.  Ranma's female 
form had always been a bit faster than his male one, and now that she was 
stuck with just the girl's body, she'd have to concentrate on its 
advantages.  It would take some hard training to bring herself up to the 
speed she'd had in the real world, of course. 
	But Genma was saved further embarrassment when Nodoka called down 
that breakfast was ready. 
	"I've enrolled Hikaru at Wushu Junior High, so you take him there 
today, Ranma.
	"Now, Hikaru, I know it can be rough your first day at a new 
school, but try not to get into any fights today, okay?"
	"Yeah Mom."  He sounded bored, and obviously felt choked in his 
school uniform.
	"I don't know if it's a good idea to make him wear a uniform, 
Mom." 
	"Wushu is much stricter than Furinkan on their dress code, dear.  
there's more kinds of discipline than matial, you know."  She handed them 
their lunch boxes. 
	Akane showed up a bit early, which was good, since Wushu 
was--Ranma strained to remember--a good bit out of the way to Furinkan 
High.  
	Akane pointed out local landmarks on the way, and this was most 
of the conversation.  Hikaru seemed surprised when Ranma joined him on 
the fence.  
	"You're not the only one who needs balance practice.  Oh, you'll 
want to be careful right around here; Mrs. Watanabe likes to clean her 
steps early in the morning, and she's not real careful where she throws 
the water."
	"So.  Oh, right."
	"If you do get splashed, Dr. Tofu's place is the nearest you can 
get hot water," put in Akane.  "He uses a lot of it in his practice."  
She had a note in her voice Ranma hadn't heard since early on with the 
other Akane.  Clearly the crush was still on here. 
	They dropped Hikaru off at the gate to Wushu, a generic-looking 
junior high school.  "Think you can find the dojo from here?" 
	"Sure.  Meet you there after school.  School, what a waste of a 
perfectly good day." 
	"School has its good points.  Sometimes.  Bye now."
	There was no Kunou to greet themn at Furinkan.  Odd, but it was nice 
to get to class on time for once.  The good feeling from that lasted 
almost all the way to Women's Studies, and even that class was helped by 
remembering the report. 

			To be Continued...

	In our next chapter, more education for Hikaru!

SKJAM!
"comments?"