I finally finished this story.  This is hopefully the last revision
before I send it to R.A.A.C.  I hope you enjoy reading this.

Disclaimer:  All characters portrayed in this story are the property of
Rumikio Takahashi and co.  Please don't sue me.

This story takes place after volume 38 of the manga.  It draws ideas
from both the anime and the manga.  I hope you like it.

C & C welcomed.  Flames not.

For Better or Worse

by

Donny Cheng
	Ranma smiled as she licked her ice cream cone.  Who would have thought
that girls had it this easy when it came to getting free food?  This body of
hers wasn't so much of a curse after all.  She looked around at all the stores
as she tried to decide where she should go next.

	"WHAA!"  A loud cry alerted Ranma to trouble.  It was Shiratori Azusa,
the martial arts ice skater.  "Give me back my Marcel," Azusa cried as
she tried to take a rice cake from one of the vendors on the street.

	The vendor looked like he was about to explode.  "You have to pay for
this, if you want to have it."

	Ranma decided to intervene before it got ugly.  She quickly ran over
and grabbed Azusa before she could get into more trouble.  Where was Mikado?
He was usually here to keep Asuza out of trouble, when she was out in public.
"What do you think you're doing?  You can't go around taking other people's
things without asking."

	Azusa stopped crying over the rice cake as she looked at who had pulled
her away from the vendor.  Her demeanor immediately turned angry.  "Oh! It's
you.  What do you want?  Haven't you made Azusa's life miserable enough?"  She
hadn't forgotten about the only loss of her skating career.

	Ranma looked at her in shock.  "What are you talking about?  I just
saved you from that guy.  Talk about ungrateful."

	Azusa looked at Ranma with a bored expression as he continued to
reprimand her.

	Elsewhere, two people were observing all that was happening from the
sidelines.

		*	*	*	*	*

	Hiroshi and Daisuke watched with interest at the interaction between
Ranma and Azusa.  "Hey, Daisuke.  Did you see what Azusa almost did?"

        "Yeah, I saw.  After her partner, Mikado, dumped her for another
partner, she'd been getting into trouble every day.  Her own career is on the
fritz.  She keeps getting distracted by 'cute things' during competition."

	"You know, Daisuke, as president of the Azusa Fan Club's Furinken
branch you should try to do something to help."

	"I wouldn't talk, Mr. Arch Bishop of the Church of Azusa.  I think we
both should come up with something to help her."

	"Wait a minute!  I just thought of something.  Didn't Ranma beat the
Golden Pair in that match earlier last year?  That would mean Ranma is pretty
good at martial arts ice-skating, wouldn't it?  Well, why don't we get Ranma
to be Azusa's new partner?"

	Daisuke considered it for a second.  "It wouldn't work out.  She goes
to a different school."

	"Maybe we could work something out with our principal.  Furinken hasn't
had a pair make it to the finals in ten years."  Hiroshi shuddered as he
said this.  Principal Kuno always gave him the creeps.

	"You're right.  This plan does sound plausible.  Let me tell the
leaders of the other branches about this plan and see how this works
out.  Meanwhile, you can tell members of the church.  Ranma is perfect
for the job as Azusa's partner.  He doesn't seem to mind when girls beat
him up and I think he will be a great influence on Azusa.  Look, how
he's scolding her for stealing."

		*	*	*	*	*

	"So you see, Azusa, what you did was wrong."  Ranma looked sternly at
Azusa.  There was no way that he was going to let her continue what she was
doing.  It just wouldn't be right.  "While stealing is one way of getting some
thing for free, it's not worth all the aggravation.
Especially when you're a cute girl.  What you SHOULD have done, was this."
Ranma carefully explained to Azusa.

Ranma proceeded directly to the vendor that sold rice cakes.  She composed her
self for a moment, before going into her act.  "Oh, those rice cakes are so
cute.  They look positively yummy.  I would love to have one to taste, but I
don't have any money."

	The vendor, being your average male, took the bait.  "Don't fret
little miss.  Here, have a rice cake on the house."

	"Thank you very much!  You're such a nice man."  Ranma gave the man a
cavity with a smile that brimmed with sweetness.  She then bowed and
immediately slipped away.  She headed back towards where Azusa was watching
with rapt fascination.  "That's the way you take other people's things.  If
you have the body, flaunt it.  And boy do we have the bodies."  All this
talking about stealing food made Ranma realize that it was time for dinner.
He was going to be late for one of his mother's delicious meals.  "I have to
go now, Azusa.  Bye, and remember what I've taught you."  Ranma then handed
the rice cake to her.  With that done, Ranma quickly ran home. 

	Azusa stared after the strange girl in shock.  She looked back and
forth between the rice cake and the girl.  No other girl had ever treated her
this well before.  "Big sister," the cute girl whispered under her breath.

		* 	*	*	*	*

	"Class, this is your new class mate, Shiratori Azusa.  She has just
transferred from Kolhoz High.  I want you you all to be very nice to her.  I
don't want any of you to be naughty to her.  Is there anyone here that want's
to be her guide?"  Immediately a swarm of boys charged the diminutive teacher,
eager to be Azusa's guide.  With a child's mind, Miss Hinako panicked at the
sight of the horde of boys rushing her.  She quickly drained them of their
entire battle aura, stopping their assault and growing up in the process.
Looking around, she noticed that all of the girls in class were glowering at
Azusa.  It looked like she wouldn't get a volunteer from them.  All of the
boys were now lying at her feet, drained.  All, except for one that was.
Ranma.  The boy was sleeping at his desk oblivious to everything around him.
It looked like it would have to be him.  "Azusa, that boy over there will be
your guide for today."

	Azusa stared at the teacher in shock.  Miss Hinako had changed from a
little cute girl into a full grown woman.  She must be just like her little
Charlotte, with the ability to change form.  Azusa lost interest in what the
teacher was saying as she was no longer cute enough to hold her attention.
She then walked over to the boy that the teacher had pointed out to her.  It
was that boy named Ranma, who had defeated Mikado.  Azusa glared at the
sleeping boy.  He was the one that made a fool out of Mikado, which led to
Mikado's decision to go it with another partner.  Azusa angrily grabbed a
glass of water (which just happened to be there) and splashed Ranma with it
determined to exact her revenge.  For the second time today, Azusa looked
dumbfounded.  The irritating boy had transformed into her beloved big sister
figure.  She must also be like her darling Charlotte.  With a cry, she glomped
onto Ranma.  "Big sister Ranma."

	Ranma woke up with a daze as he felt himself change into a she.  She
felt her lungs threatening to collapse from something clamped about her chest.
It was Azusa.  She said something about Ranma being her big sister.  Ranma,
still a little dazed, absently answered back incoherently. "I'm a guy."  That
was his last thought as Akane suddenly punted him into the sky.

	"What do you think you're doing, Ranma?  Holding onto her like that in
front of me."  Akane then turned her gaze to the ice skater.  "What are you
doing here at Furinken?"

	Azusa looked Akane with disdain.  "I'm here because your principal
asked me to transfer here.  He thought that my presense will improve on this
school's rather lacking ice skating program."  Azusa then looked Akane over
from top to bottom slowly, causing Akane to blush furiously.

        "I can see that I have my work cut out for me, with material like
yourself to work on."  With that last statement, Azusa turned and left
Akane fuming as she went to look for her big sister Ranma.

		*	*	*	*	*

	"Big sister Ranma, aren't you happy?  We get to be partners in martial
arts ice-skating.  I'm sure we'll make a great team."

	Ranma hanged his head in defeat.  The principal again blackmailed him. 
The principal will give him a passing grade if he does this 'special project'
for him.  He now had to put up with Azusa for the rest of the year.  He turned
and faced Azusa angrily.  "Get it through to your head.  I'm a guy, okay."

	Azusa laughed into Ranma's face.  Big sister made the funniest of
expressions.  She then threw a glass of water (appearing out of nowhere)
at him, changing him into a she.  "Now you're a girl."

	Ranma sighed and accepted her fate.  She put on her ice skates and went
to the rink.  She promptly fell on her face.

	Azusa could only shake her head in confusion as she picked Ranma up. 
She could not understand how a person who had defeated the Golden Pair
could be so bad at skating.  "Looks like we will have to start from the
beginning."

		*	*	*	*	*

	"No!  I do not want to practice the couple cleaver."  Ranma winced in
memory of that particular technique.

	"Why not!  It's a very devastating maneuver.  It's won the Golden Pair
many titles."

	"Well we are not the Golden Pair.  We are just Ranma and Azusa.  It's
just wrong to use a move to separate two people who like each other."

	"Why?  All that matters is that you win.  I've seen you cheat lots of
times since I got here.  Why is it okay for you to cheat and not okay
for us to use the couple cleaver to win?"

	Ranma had to admit that Azusa had him there.  The Saotome style of
martial arts was filled with hundreds of tricks to use on your opponent
and Ranma had mastered almost all of them.  He couldn't think of a
single reason for not using the couple cleaver.  "It's just wrong to use
that move.  I don't want to learn how to use it and you can't make me. 
Let's just practice on some basics."

		*	*	*	*	*

	Ranma groaned as he got up from the ice.  He had fallen again.  Why did
he ever agree to be Azusa's partner?  His thoughts were disrupted as
Azusa commanded him to get up again.  Azusa was a mystery to him.  At
one moment, she was a girl obsessed with cute things and at the next
moment she was this very professional ice skater standing before him.
She always reverted to the former whenever he turned into a girl.  It
seemed that Azusa has an idol fixation on his girl form.  He shuddered
as he remembered the look of adoration on Azusa's face gazing on his
female body.

	Azusa stopped as she looked at her watch.  It was 7:00 p.m.  She and
Ranma had trained for three hours without even noticing it.  She never got
this much practice before.  Mikado usually tried to get the training over with
as soon as possible.  Azusa suspected that it was because, he didn't like her.
Ranma was different.  Although she knew that Ranma was less then enthusiastic
about ice skating, he still tried his hardest to improve himself.  "Ranma,
let's call it a day.  It's seven o'clock already."

	Ranma cursed himself.  He was probably late for dinner.  It was going
to be table scraps for him again.  Ranma was sick and tired of cold
dinners, so he decided to go out to eat today.  "Hey, Azusa.  I'm going
out to cruise for eats.  Do you want to come along?"

	Azusa looked at Ranma in surprise.  Nobody had ever offered to go and
hang out with her for no particular reason before.  Boys were just after
her for her looks and girls didn't like her because boys were always
after her.  She was so surprised she forgot to answer as Ranma took her
silence for no.  She quickly ran after him and shouted, "Yes!  I'd like
to go with you."

		*	*	*	*	*

	"Big sister Ranma, let's go here to try something next.  Then we'll go
over to the bakery."  Azusa tugged impatiently at Ranma to follow her.

	"How many times do I have to tell you?  I'm a guy."  However,
Ranma was smiling as he corrected Azusa.  At first Ranma thought he had
made a big mistake by asking Azusa to come along, but gradually he began
to enjoy himself.  Azusa, being an only child and an idol to millions,
was not used to having fun with another person her age.  She didn't know
how to act around one of her peers.  She reverted to the way she acted
when she noticed something cute.  Ranma hoped to expose Azusa to more of
society.  It would help her to deal with other girls.

	Azusa stopped pulling at Ranma as she suddenly noticed a familiar
bandana clad boy.  Letting go of Ranma, she glomped onto Ryouga. 
"Charlotte, it's you."

	Ranma stared at his hand in shock.  Just moments ago Azusa's hand was
over it.  It now felt incredibly empty as Azusa left to grab Ryouga. 
Ranma admonished himself for feeling this way, but he couldn't help it. 
To be suddenly thrown away for someone else really hurt.  He turned and
glared at Ryouga.  "So Charlotte, what are you doing here?"

        Ryouga desperately tried to free himself from Azusa's grasp.  "My name
is not Charlotte.  Ranma?  You mean this isn't Mt. Fuji.  Let go of me
you crazy girl."

        Ranma didn't know why, but Ryouga's last comment about Azusa's sanity
really irked him.  Without saying a word Ranma picked up a glass of water
(again out of nowhere) and flung it towards Ryouga.  Ranma then  walked away,
ignoring the screams of a black piglet.

		*	*	*	*	*

	Azusa looked sadly at Ranma as they skated side by side.  She (He,
Asuza mentally reminded herself) hadn't spoken to her all day.  He must
still be mad at her for leaving him behind yesterday.  She should have
known better.  Now she had probably destroyed her only hope at being
friends with Ranma.

	Ranma stopped as he looked worriedly at Azusa.  Not once today had she
'acquired' an object and given it some French name.  She seemed to be
listless as she skated around the ice rink.  Never before had she done
that.  She always seemed to be full of life when she was skated.  Ranma
always admired her for that.  "Hey, Azusa what's the matter.  You seem
to be down today."

	Azusa immediately looked at Ranma.  He had finally spoken to her on his
own free will.  Just the sound of his voice full of worry brought
shivers down her spine.  "I'm sorry about last night, Ranma.  I don't
know what came over me.  I just noticed my little baby and I had to see
if he was alright or not."

	"Last night?  Think nothing of it..."  Ranma stopped talking as he
picked up on what Azusa was saying.  "Baby?"

	"Yes, I think of all of the things I pick up as my babies.  I've never
really had any friends, so I make up for it by expressing my love to the
animals and things I collect."

	He should have known that 'Charlotte' was not exactly a boy friend type
name.  For the life of him, Ranma couldn't understand why he would care
whether Azusa had a boy friend or not.  "So, are you up for some more
training?"

	Azusa thought for a bit.  A mischievous thought crossed her mind.  It
wouldn't hurt if they were to skip practice once in awhile.  "Why don't
we just have fun today, instead of training."

	Ranma smiled at her, "Sure!  Race you around the rink."

	"Hey!  No fair.  You had a head start."  Laughing and giggling echoed
throughout the rink.

		*	*	*	*	*

	Nodoka sat with the Tendo's and the other Nerima residents that had an
interest in her son's life as they all watched the skating competition. 
Ranma and Azusa were skating perfectly together.  Nodoka sighed as she
looked at the pair.  They were both smiling at each other.  One of the
requirements in any good partnership was working together.  To do that
you had to get along with your partner very well.  After a few months of
training together, Ranma and Azusa were now very good friends.  She knew
that their friendship could develop into something more if left alone. 
Apparently, she wasn't the only one who knew this.  The ice around their
section of the rink melted from the battle auras given off by Akane,
Kodachi, Shampoo, and Ukyo.  They did not seem to take Ranma's
relationship with Azusa very well.  Even hardened fighters like Ryouga
and Mousse moved away from the girls in fear.

		*	*	*	*	*

	Azusa figited with nervousness.  She and Ranma had defeated all of
their opponents in battle and were now in the finals.  The other team
that made it to the finals was Mikado and his partner.

	Ranma smiled reassuringly at Azusa.  "Don't worry.  We can beat them. 
Remember, we're Ranma and Azusa.  The best ice-skating team in the world."

	"I hope you're right Ranma-kun."  Ranma's overflowing confidence did
not ease Azusa's worries at all.

		*	*	*	*	*

	"Let go Azusa!"  Ranma screamed at the top of his lungs.  Danm it, he
was again caught up in Mikado's couple cleaver.

Mikado smirked as he continued to spin.  He had learned from his previous
mistake.  He knew that Ranma would never let go of his partner no matter what.
Azusa, on the other hand, would ditch Ranma without a second thought.  He knew
that his former partner could not stand dizziness for too long.  Looking up
towards Azusa, Mikado's jaw dropped.  She had not let go of Ranma.

	Azusa was slowly losing consciousness.  At last, she understood.  She
understood what Ranma had been talking about.  She understood why the
couple cleaver is such an evil move.  A single tear fell from her eyes
as she started to blacken out.  Her last thought was to wish Ranma would
be all right.

		*	*	*	*	*

	Azusa's slowly opened her eyes.  She was lying in a bed and Ranma was
sleeping in a chair beside her.  She looked at him.  He was still
wearing his costume.  Azusa could feel a slight blush coming to her
cheeks.  Ranma had stayed beside her.  How long had she been out?  She
groaned as she felt her head throb in pain.

	Ranma was jolted awake immediately as he heard Azusa's groan.  "You're
awake.  You nearly scared me there."  He breathed a sigh of relief as he
saw she was okay.  His dismeanor immediately turned sour.  "Why didn't
you let go?"

	Azusa winced at Ranma's tone of voice.  He was angry.  "I couldn't let
go.  At that speed, you would have gotten hurt.  Never will I let that
happen and I didn't want us to lose."

	"Who cares if I got hurt or if we won?  Do you think that I care more
about winning then my own partner's safety?"

	Azusa didn't know what to say.  Again, Ranma was treating her like no
other had before.  Her welfare had never been anyone's concern before. 
All that had mattered to the Golden Pair was winning.  "I'm sorry. 
Don't be mad at me.  If I had to do it all over again, I still wouldn't
let go."

	Ranma looked at the contrite girl and tried to admonish her some more. 
However, he could not summon any anger against her.  How could he stay
angry with a girl that just wanted to help?  Looking at her, Ranma
finally relented.  "Just be more careful next time.  I don't want to see
you getting hurt ever again."

	Azusa heart soared.  She now knew that Ranma was no longer mad at her. 
Squealing with joy, she launched herself at Ranma and hugged him.
	Ranma's face was expressionless as Azusa held him.  Slowly he wrapped
his own arms around her and hugged back.

		*	*	*	*	*

	Nodoka peaked through the door to room Ranma and Azusa was in.  She
could see touching moment that the two partners shared.  Nodoka beamed
at the sight.  Her son was just so manly.  For better or worse, it
looked like there was going to be another girl joining in the fight to
win her son.  Nodoka silently hoped the best of luck for Ranma to get
out of this alive.

		*	*	*	*	*

The End.