Again, this chapter has been revised.  Does it work better this way?



			WORST CASE SCENARIO
			by Scott K. Jamison
			(Takahashi disclaimer)
			      Part II

	Father looked as though he were about to burst into tears again.  
"Kasumi! Nabiki, Akane!  Won't one of you please just consider your 
father's request?"
	Nabiki found her tongue first.  "I like me the way I am, Dad.  
I'm not going to turn myself into a freak of nature just to marry someone 
I only met today."
	"Father, I hate *boys*, not men.  I don't think I could 
handle...that," I put in. 
	"Can you imagine me as a man?"  I couldn't.  A male Kasumi just 
seemed beyond the bounds of belief. 
	Father did start crying.
	Ranma stood up.  "I knew it was a mistake coming here.  We've 
only brought trouble to this house.  C'mon, Pops, let's go.  Sorry, Mr. 
Tendou." 
	No, Ranma, don't go!"  Where'd *that* come from, I wondered.  
Wasn't I the one who hadn't wanted the girl...boy...whatever to come in 
the first place?
	"I'm sorry, Akane, but--"
	"I think what Akane means," said Kasumi, "is that just because 
the letter of our fathers' promise can't be fulfilled, doesn't mean that 
we can't honor its spirit.  Maybe a marriage isn't in the cards, but you 
can be part of our family as long as you need to be.  Our home is your 
home, Ranma."
	[Me, too?] asked the panda. 
	"Of course, Mr. Saotome."
	Ranma looked stunned.  "I-I don't know what to say."
	"How about `thank you'?" suggested Nabiki acidly. 
	"Thank you, Kasumi!"  Father was nodding his head.  "Thank you, 
Mr. Tendou, for taking us in.  And thank you, Akane, for...everything."  
Kasumi cleared her throat.  "Oh, and thank you too, Nabiki."
	"You are *so* welcome."
	"Akane, Nabiki, why don't you help me in the kitchen while the 
menfolk catch up on old times?" 
	"But--"
	"Please?"  I caught on.  I'd always meant to learn to cook, but 
somehow had never found the time.  Couldn't be that hard, I'd pick it up 
in no time when I needed to.  And Nabiki was completely undomestic.  Her 
idea of "preparing dinner" was opening a bag of chips.  So if Kasumi 
wanted us in the kitchen, it wasn't to make supper. 
	Father hauled out the shogi board, and he and Genma began to 
play, while Ranma tried to look interested. 
	In the kitchen, Nabiki grabbed an apple.  "So what's up?" 
	Kasumi busied her hands with the rice cooker.  "We all have to 
help Father, now that Ranma and Mr. Saotome have come to stay." 
	"Well, I wasn't the one who invited her to be part of the 
family." pointed out Nabiki. 
	"Him, Nabiki.  Ranma is physically female, but mentally male, and 
we should treat him as such.  We can start by using male pronouns for 
Ranma, even to each other and people outside.  It'll seem strange, but it 
looks like being as masculine as possible is important to him." 
	"I'd say that's a definite yes."  I remembered Ranma's words in the 
bathroom, "I *have* to be a man!"
	"I don't think Ranma fully understands yet how attractive he is, 
or how far some boys will go when they like a girl.  Akane, I want you to 
look out for him at school until he's used to the kind of attention he'll 
get."
	"You can count on me!"  I was all too familiar with unwelcome 
advances by boys.  Ever since I'd started, um, developing, they couldn't 
seem to keep their hands off me.
	"And now that we'll have two more people living in the house, 
we'll need to rearrange the budget."
	"I was thinking maybe we could sell them to the circus as 
`Ran-chan and her Amazing Trick Panda'.  Make a pretty penny."
	"Nabiki!"  I maybe put a litlle too much emphasis into that.  I 
have a bit of a temper problem.
	"I'm sorry Ranma didn't turn out to be the rich, handsome 
bachelor of your dreams, Nabiki.  I'm disappointed too."  She was?  
Didn't Kasumi *know* how much Dr. Toufuu liked her?  "But they're much 
likelier to contribute to the family income if you find something that 
doesn't make them feel humiliated." 
	The middle sister sighed.  "I'll see what I can come up with." 
	"And I'll concentrate on trying to ease Ranma into the 
concessions he'll have to make to his new body.  None of his old outfits 
will fit properly now, but I have a feeling he's not ready for skirts, 
even on a school uniform.  So I'll need to come up with a compromise 
wardrobe." 
	While she'd been talking, Kasumi had kept working, and a late 
supper was already on its way.
	I went back out to the living room, where the fathers were just 
finishing up their shogi game.  The panda pulled out a sign that read 
[U.F.O.!] and pointed skyward.  While Father was looking up, Uncle 
Saotome rearranged the pieces. 
	"How does your father do that?" I asked Ranma. 
	"Brazenly.  Oh, you mean the thing with the signs?  I dunno.  He 
started pulling them out of thin air a few days after we changed.  I 
tried doing it, but nothing happened, and no other weird powers yet.  
Maybe it was a magic panda." 
	We talked of inconsequential things for a while, primarily the 
rainy weather Nerima had been having lately.  After a quiet supper, 
Kasumi showed the Saotomes to their room, and I took a last review of 
my homework.  I was distracted by thoughts of Ranma, and thoughts of 
how she, no, *he* was going to change things around the Dojo.
			*		*		* 
	Monday morning dawned deceptively bright, as scattered rain 
showers were predicted.  Ranma grumbled at having to go to school, but 
Mr. Saotome was adamant, and being a panda, was difficult to argue with.  
Ranma asserted his independence by jumping up on the fence to walk. 
	"Um, Akane, about yesterday in the bath..."
	"It's okay, Ranma.  Everyone needs to cry sometime, even the 
strongest men.  And if it's seeing me naked you're worried about, you'd 
better get used to it.  You don't think they're going to let you use the 
guys' showers, do you?" 
	"Nah, I guess not.  It's weird.  A month ago, I would have given 
anything to see nude girls.  Now I can, and it all seems so hollow." 
	"Oh, something I should tell you before we get to school.  
There'll be a whole bunch of boys attacking me, so stay out of the way." 
	"Attacking you?  What did you do to them?" 
	"I refused to go out with this yutz from the junior class named 
Kunou.  So he used his influence to declare that no guy could date me 
unless he defeats me in combat first.  And they fell for it!  Bunch of 
jerks!  I!  HATE!  BOYS!"  I picked up speed, but Ranma easily kept up, 
despite his staying on the fence.
	When we arrived at the campus, Ranma held my schoolbag while I 
demolished the usual squad of suitors.  He rejoined me as the last one 
fell. 
	"Man, you're *good*!"  I smiled at the compliment.  But the smile  
faded as a rose flew through the air at me. 
	It was Upperclassman Kunou.  He made his usual challenge.
	"This is the yutz you were talking about, right?"
	"You got it, Ranma." 
	"Who is this vision of loveliness?  But I forget my manners.  I 
am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, rising star of the kendo world, 
Tatewaki Kunou, age 17."  He struck a pose intended to be dramatic, but 
more silly than anything else. 
	"Well, I'm Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome Style of 
Anything-Goes Martial Arts, and I think you're a pompous jerk." 
	I flinched.  It was true, but customary politeness meant you didn't 
say that sort of thing to upperclassmen.
	"A fiery spirit to match your wild beauty!  As the rose is sweet 
despite its thorns, I would sup of your nectar betimes." 
	"Is he coming on to me?" Ranma asked me.  I nodded.  "He's coming on 
to me?!  Yech!" 
	Kunou made towards us, and I spotted the maneuver as "Arm Around 
Waist, basic" so I quickly got between the kendoist and Ranma. 
	"I believe we had a challenge going?"  I made my usual short 
work of Kunou, and we were able to get inside just as rainclouds rolled 
in.
	"Hey, I coulda took him." protested Ranma. 
	"You'll get your chance, believe me.  Upperclassman Kunou is 
nothing if not persistent." 
	"I sure hope so.  I need an opponent I don't hafta feel bad about 
punching." 
	I frowned at that.  Though I knew intellectually it was to my 
advantage that most male opponents pulled their punches against me, 
emotionally it rankled not to be treated as an equal.  And it felt worse, 
coming from another girl (physically, anyway.)
	I pulled the teacher aside when we arrived at the classroom.  
"Please introduce Ranma as a `he', sir.  It's very important.  Also, 
could you waive the uniform policy for a while?" 
	The teacher did as requested, and Ranma managed to smile as he 
introduced himself. 
	Between classes, Yuka and Sayuri cornered me. 
	"`He', Akane?" asked Yuka.  "Don't tell me Ranma's one of those 
weird crossdressers and that chest's all padding." 
	"Not exactly.  You see, Ranma was raised as a boy." 
	"Oh, one of those crazy father things, like Ryuunosuke over at 
Tomobiki High?" 
	"Something like that.  And he recently suffered a personal loss, 
so he's still very sensitive about his gender." 
	"I think I get it," said Sayuri, "Ranma thinks being a girl will 
make `him' weak, when `he' needs to be strong to deal with the tragedy."  
	Close enough, I thought.  "Can you get the other girls to play 
along?  And as many of the boys as you can?  It would really help a lot." 
	The girls agreed.  A tragic past and insane father served to 
invoke their sympathy for the new student. 
	Then I had to go rescue Ranma from a clutch of boys asking for 
his phone number, measurements and other personal information.  He was 
obviously losing patience rapidly. 
	"Sorry guys," I firmly said, "but Ranma is *not* on the market 
just yet.  When and if he wants to date boys, he'll let you know." 
	The male contingent groaned.  "Aw man, are *all* the cute chicks 
not available?"
	"What are we, chopped liver?" groused Yuka as she bopped Hiroshi 
with a book. 
	Although they didn't mention it to my face, I knew many of the 
girls resented the way boys chased her while neglecting the other, more 
available, date prospects.  I almost wished Ranma had turned out to be a 
real fiance.  If I were taken, temporarily until I could get out of the 
engagement, maybe the boys would chase someone else for a change. 
	Ranma seemed just as happy to be summoned to the office for 
paperwork during P.E., avoiding the problems associated with that for one 
more day. 
	I wasn't able to stop Kunou from trying to "get to know Ranma better" 
in the afternoon.  According to witnesses, however, a quick trip out the 
window and three floors down to the swimming pool had cooled the 
upperclassman's ardor somewhat.  Most of the boys seemed to get the hint.  
			*		*		*
	After school, Ranma fidgeted as Kasumi took measurements and 
stuck pins in his favorite outfit.  I helped where I could. 
	"Well, Ranma, most of your Chinese outfits should serve if I 
shorten the legs and take them in a bit.  We'll leave the shirts loose 
for now.  And it looks like some of Nabiki's old slacks will fit you." 
	"I don't want to wear girls' clothes!  I'm a guy!"
	"Try to think of it, they're not girls' clothes, but clothing 
that happens to fit your body.  There's no shame in wearing properly 
fitting clothing, and nobody will think the less of you for it." 
	"Okay, Akane, I'll try.  But there ain't no way I'm wearing pink, 
okay?" 

	End Part II


SKJAM!
"The Irish are a warm, witty and imaginative people.  Never ask them for 
directions."