Note:  This chapter gets a bit dark; queasy sorts may want to 
go to the next fic.

	(Previously:  In yet another alternate reality, the Jyuusenkyo 
springs alter one's form permanently and are apparently uncurable even by 
other springs.  Thus Ranma is stuck as female for (in all likelihood) the 
rest of his life.  In an effort to fulfill the spirit of the 
Tendou/Saotome vow, the Tendou sisters have adopted Ranma as a sibling.  
Kunou, naturally, is infatuated with both Akane and her new "sister."  
The majority of Fuurinkan students believe Ranma to be the victim of a 
crazed father's attempts to make her live as a boy.)

			WORST CASE SCENARIO
			by Scott K. Jamison
			(Takahashi disclaimer)
			    Chapter Four

	[Dear Diary,
	[Sorry I haven't written in a few days.  It's hard to believe 
Ranma has been with us for over a week now!
	[Uncle Saotome got a job.  Nabiki found out Dr. Toufuu's old 
handyman quit (something about "hazardous duty") so she got the big panda 
to take the position.  Dr. Toufuu's *so* kind and understanding to hire 
him!  Kasumi's pleased too, as she didn't think Nabiki's idea of charging 
"stud fees" to zoos was proper.
	[The morning gauntlet is down to just Upperclassman Kunou now, 
though Sayuri tells me a few of the tougher boys intend to start again 
just as soon as they heal up from the last time.  Jerks!
	[Speaking of jerks, Ranma can sure be one.  Sh--er, he (and isn't 
that the problem?) is *so* full of it sometimes!  He's always saying that 
he doesn't want to do this or that because it's "girly".  Even stuff most 
normal boys do, like use politer speech to teachers.
	[But then he'll do something sweet and kind and noble, like make 
the bullies stop picking on Risa, who can't help that she's fat.  And he 
seems to be inching towards accepting things.  Next week, Kasumi is going 
to try to get him to wear a girl's uniform, at least for important school 
events.  Heck, maybe we can even get him to finally try on the panties 
Kasumi bought for him.  Boxers are so gross on a girl!
	[In other news, Yuka finally got asked for a date.  And of all 
people, it was Captain Yamaguchi!  I think--]
	Akane put down her pen.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  
Almost a shame to waste it on school.  But at least they had the lunch 
break happening right now.  
	She saw Ranma heading towards the small wooded patch near the 
school grounds with one of the upperclassmen.  He'd become quite popular 
with both sexes.  His mysterious but tragic past intrigued the girls, and 
the boys appreciated a "girl" who wasn't afraid to talk about "guy 
things".  But the boys all knew about Ranma's "hands off" policy, even if 
they didn't fully buy his protestations of being a male.  So it was all 
in good fun.
	Except...something bugged Akane.  That boy, the one she'd seen 
with Ranma.  What was his name?  Inuzawa, that was it.  He hadn't been 
around this past week.  Or the week before.  Why?  Half-heard rumors came 
back to her.  He'd been suspended from school.  Because he'd... 
	"Oh my God."  Akane began running towards the woods.  
	But it was obviously already too late.  A scream of outrage 
shattered the peace of the day, followed by a scream of pain.  Akane 
redoubled her speed.
	Akane was the third fastest runner in the school, right after 
Ranma and the star of the track team.  And with her head start, she was 
on the scene well before anyone else.   
	Inuzawa was rolling on the ground, whimpering and clutching his 
right arm.  Akane's practiced eye noted it was bent the wrong way.  
Twice.  But her main attention was for Ranma.  His shirt was partially 
open, displaying his lack of a bra, and he was covering his groin area 
with his hands.  His eyes were glazed with anger and shame.
	"Notagirl I'mnotagirl I'maman a man you hear me, not a girl, a 
MAN!"  Ranma kept repeating it over and over again as if to convince 
himself. 
	Akane moved towards him, her hands spread open to show peaceful 
intent. 
	"Ranma, it's all right.  It's over now.  You won, he won't hurt 
you any more."
	"He can't hurt me, I'm a man!  Tell him I'm a man, Akane!"
	"Yes, you're a man, Ranma."  Akane concentrated on fixing his 
shirt to try and calm herself.  "A man who's had a bad experience, come on
I'll get you out of here."  
	Inuzawa had managed to sit up.  "Fucking bitch!  All I wanted was 
a little fun, you were just begging--"  He stopped as a rather large rock 
impacted his head.  Akane caught her breath.  She really shouldn't give 
in to her temper like that, but the pervert deserved it.
	On their way out of the woods, Akane and Ranma met several of 
their classmates.
	"What happened?" asked Hiroshi.  
	"Inuzawa bit off more than he could chew.  Someone might want to 
call an ambulance."  Akane's cold glare intimidated the others, and she 
and Ranma were able to get to the school nurse's office without further 
interruption. 
	As usual, the nurse was out, so Akane led Ranma to one of the 
beds and drew the curtain.  "What happened, Ranma?"
	"He said he knew a new restaurant that'd just opened, and we 
could get there and back quick if we went through the woods.  Then when 
we got in the middle, he said he was lost, and then he said there was 
something on my shirt, so I was letting him get it off, and he got real 
close and suddenly he was groping my chest, and then he put his hand down 
*there* and--and--"
	"You lost it.  It's okay, Ranma.  You taught him a good lesson.  
Nobody's going to try that again, I bet."
	"You don't understand!  I was weak!  I mustn't be weak, I'm a 
*guy*, dammit!" 
	Akane was at a loss for an answer.  She'd heard that sometimes 
this sort of thing happened to boys, too, but it didn't seem the right 
time to bring that up.
	Ranma spotted a mirror.  He stared at it for a moment, then 
started laughing.  A broken laughing Akane didn't like at all. 
	"I got it!  It's the pigtail!  I thought it would make me look 
cool, but all it does is make me look like a girl!"
	"Ranma, I don't think--"
	"I'll fix that!"  He grabbed a pair of bandage shears, and at 
first Akane thought he meant to do violence to himself.
	And so he did, but only to his hair.  He chopped with the shears 
until his hair was mutilated beyond recognition.  He was nearly bald in 
spots.  
	"There!  Now people won't mistake me for a girl!"
	Akane didn't have the heart to tell him he looked like a cute 
girl with a really bad hairdo.  "Maybe we should go home, Ranma.  You 
need a rest." 
	On the way out the door, Akane nabbed the nurse's cap and stuck 
it on Ranma's head.  It might look a little weird, but it was better than 
letting everyone see his hair.
	She managed to get his home without further incident, but he 
almost immediately retreated to his room and refused to open the door.  
He was back to his "not a girl" mantra.  Akane was quite frankly at the 
end of ideas for handling the situation. 
	Thankfully, Kasumi came back from shopping an hour later. 
	Akane explained what had happened, to her sister's deepening 
frown. 
	"Oh dear.  I was hoping a crisis like this wouldn't come up.  
`That time of the month' was going to be bad enough.  I need you to tell 
me exactly what Ranma said, as much of it as you can." 
	Akane tried to match Ranma's expressions and speech as closely as 
possible.  She knew Kasumi would handle this somehow, although she 
couldn't quite see the way yet.
	"I think I see now.  I'll talk to Ranma."
	Kasumi took up a bowl of crackers, and proceeded to Ranma's door, 
waving Akane back.  The younger girl took the hint and moved into the 
room next door, where she could eavesdrop.
	"Ranma, it's me, Kasumi, I've brought snacks.  May I come in?" 
	"I guess so."  Ranma didn't seem too enthusiastic.  Now Akane was 
really worried.  Normally, any mention of food made him quite happy. 
	There was a crash.
	"You all right, Kasumi?"  A little bit of the real Ranma back in 
that voice.
	"Ah, yes, it's just that your hair..."
	"It was too girly.  So I cut it."
	"So I see.  Ranma, I understand you had a bad experience at 
school today.  Would you like to talk about it?"
	"No!" 
	"I understand.  But we're going to talk about it anyways.  I got 
most of the story from Akane, but I want to know how you're feeling."  
	"Ashamed.  I shoulda known better, shouldn't have let him trick 
me like that...I was weak."
	"Weak...how?  I understand that you broke the boy's arm." 
	"Yeah, but I...I'm a *guy*, dammit!  That shouldn't have 
happened!" 
	"Ranma...when he touched you...down there...do you mean here?"
	"Aagh!  Kasumi!  What are you doing?!"  Akane suddenly got very 
worried.  Her big sister wouldn't do anything perverted, would she?
	"Ranma, don't worry, I'm not trying to seduce you.  But I need to 
know where he touched you, and I know you don't want to be touched right 
now, so I have to use my own body to demonstrate, all right?"
	A long silence.  Finally Ranma spoke.
	"All right.  But I've been spending a lot of time trying *not* to 
look at other girls'...you know." 
	"So, Ranma.  Did he touch you here?"
	"Y-yes."
	"And it felt kind of...good...when he did, didn't it?" 
	"NO!  yes."  There was shame in his voice again.
	"I thought so.  And that's why you think you were weak?"
	"I'm a guy!  I shouldn't feel that way!"
	"Ranma, it has nothing to do with being weak.  It's normal 
physiology.  When that gets rubbed, it feels good.  Just like rubbing 
your manhood felt good when you were physically a boy.  It doesn't mean 
you secretly wanted Inuzawa to do that, or that you're any less of a 
person."
	"But what if this body takes over my mind, makes me all girl?"  
There was real worry there.
	"I think we'd have seen more signs of it by now.  You'll 
eventually adjust to your condition, perhaps you'll seem more feminine to 
people who knew you before, but you'll still be Ranma.  Not some new 
girl, but the boy Ranma with experience added on."
	Another long silence.
	"Maybe you're right, Kasumi."
	"Of course I am, silly boy.  Now, let me fix your hair."
	By the time they came out, Ranma's hair looked better. 
	"You might want to wear a baseball cap till it grows out a bit," 
suggested Akane. 
	"Oh, I dunno.  Maybe I'll start a trend."  They both laughed. 
	Nabiki was late coming home.  "Big meeting," she said. 
	"Huh?  There wasn't one scheduled."
	"Kunou-baby called it after you went home.  He was *very* 
displeased someone had assaulted his "pig-tailed goddess" other than in 
open combat." 
	"I don't need him to protect me!  I'm a guy!" 
	"Admittedly, the first thing he wanted to do was pound Inuzawa, 
but someone pointed out you'd already done a good job of that.  So the 
Blue Thunder decided to do something worse to him."
	"Worse?"  Akane thought multiple fractures and a probable 
concussion were pretty bad already.
	Nabiki smiled her "blood in the water" smile.  "He declared 
Inuzawa unworthy of being fought."
	"I don't follow," admitted Kasumi. 
	"That means Kunou considers him so without honor he won't even 
bother attacking him.  Which means the kendo club won't either, or any of 
the other martial arts clubs.  They won't even talk to him.  And Kunou 
has enough pull (even if he is an idiot) that nobody who belongs to any 
of the other clubs will either."
	"Oh, my.  Shunning."
	Akane winced.  Shunning was a living death for a high school 
student.  Most people survived a week of it, but all but a few were 
reduced to tears after a month.  It usually resulted in a transfer, and 
rumors would chase that student for years.  She felt sorry for Inuzawa. 
	"We can get it lifted if he shows he's sorry, right?" asked 
Ranma. 
	"Why would you want that, Ranma?" asked a skeptical Nabiki. 
	"If I made a mistake, but I tried to make up for it, I'd want 
people to forgive me.  So the same should go for Inuzawa.  If he's 
sincerely sorry, he should be able to have people talk to him again."
	"Ranma, you're wo--an okay guy!" said Akane.  Kasumi just smiled. 

	TO BE CONTINUED

SKJAM!
"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under 
Heaven."