gziped /archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/ranma.for-better-or-worse.gz Donny Cheng 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 something 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 herself 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 presence 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! Azusa would 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 Ryoga. "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 Ryoga. 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 Ryoga. "So Charlotte, what are you doing here?" Ryoga 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 Ryoga'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 Ryoga. 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 Ryoga and Mousse moved away from the girls in fear. * * * * * Azusa fidgeted 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 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. 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 Chapter 2: Once More Around the Rink **fade in** Azusa's heart pumped rapidly as her feet continued to run. She could still feel HIM out there. He was chasing her and gaining fast. She knew that if she stopped to catch her breath, she would be caught. She turned around the corner and came smack into a dead end. Trembling, she felt eyes watching her back. She was afraid to turn around. But if she did not turn around and run, her heart was sure to be eaten. Azusa made a decision. She turned around... and looked into piercing gray blue eyes surrounded by a mane of unruly hair. **fade out** * * * * * Azusa jolted awake. She breathed heavily from the night's exertions. Damp clothes clung to her sweat-soaked body. What a dream. She couldn't even recall much of the nightmare. Only that Ranma was in it. Rather than feel safe, the thought of him brought shivers down her spine. Why should she fear her big sister? Azusa looked around her room to find something comforting to calm her nerves. Somehow, her various possessions didn't offer her as much comfort as she thought they would. She spotted a tiny lock of hair on her nightstand. A few strands of Ranma's hair bound together. She smiled in memory of Ranma finally relenting and letter her have a small snip of his cute pigtail. It took her a full minute of pouting to get even such a little snip. Who knew Ranma was so vain about his hair? Azusa picked it up and examined the red strands closely. "I know that you would never hurt me big sister," she said to the lock of hair. Funny, the feeling of fear she had before passed and she was able to think again. Smiling she went back to sleep thinking of her big sister. She was so happy she didn't even notice the hulking male figure looming in her dream. The figure looked remarkably like Ranma's male half. * * * * * Ranma watched worriedly at Azusa's behavior. The cute-obsessed skater was showing a poor performance during practice today. Anytime he came close to her she seemed to falter. She tried to avoid all contact with him. Azusa tried to fight down the beating of her heart. Was she sick? Why was it that whenever she came near Ranma, she would start to break out into a cold sweat? "Sorry, Ranma. I can't seem to concentrate." "You're not sick are you?" Ranma asked, concern written all over his face. "Ranma..." Azusa felt her face warm at his question of concern. Strange. Her heart seemed to hurt more, yet she was happy? "...because I wouldn't want to catch it," Ranma said quickly. He ignored the guilty feeling he got when Azusa seemed to deflate. Jeez, he was in enough trouble with Ukyo and Shampoo because he didn't stop off at their respective restaurants in awhile. Not to mention the looks Akane was giving him. How was he to know that skating would take up so much his time? He should never have agreed with Principal Kuno about the job. But then, he would never have had Azusa for a partner. "Oh. Azusa wouldn't want you to catch it, big sister... er I mean, Ranma-kun." Azusa winced as she forgot her words again. She waited for Ranma's speech about how he was a guy to be restated yet again. He must have told her the differences between a guy and girl a dozen time already. Truth to tell, it was more habit than actually believing him to be a girl. Ranma didn't even notice Azusa's little slip. He hated the fact that Azusa never got mad at him and hit him since they became friends. How else was he going to make it up to her for putting his foot in his mouth? Instead, she had to be a spoilsport by hoping that he didn't get sick too. "Hehehe... don't worry about me. I'm strong enough to handle any old disease. Um, why don't we stop for today and get something to eat? No sweets this time, though, okay?" Azusa could never understand Ranma facial features. His face seemed to contort to any old shape at a moment's notice. He seemed concerned, then panicked, and finally irritated all in a span of a minute. "Azusa doesn't want to be a bother. I can go home and eat. By myself." "No bother at all. Heh, two cute girls get more free food than one," Ranma grinned mischievously. Azusa seemed to perk up already. Who said he couldn't think and talk at the same time? Azusa breathed a sigh of relief. Ranma's female form was much easier to deal with right now. "Okay." * * * * * Ranma scowled at the exchange between the vendor and Azusa. It wasn't that she thought Azusa's technique at getting a free meal was bad. She had taught Azusa all her tricks and the skater was as great she was at squeezing freebies out of lovesick men. A little too good, Ranma thought sourly. She seriously considered punching some of the more lecherous grins on some faces. Azusa rarely looked out at the world around her. Her mind was always preoccupied with some little object or another. However, today she found herself looking all around her. Anywhere and everywhere except at the girl beside her. Her eyes kept avoiding Ranma-chan. She found it hard to think of Ranma as a big sister at all, even in his cursed form. It was scaring her tremendously that she couldn't even see the idol of a sister that she worshipped in Ranma anymore. Ranma's lectures on manhood must really have brainwashed her into following his line of thinking. Ranma sweated nervously and moved a little closer to Azusa. All of a sudden the girl started to hold her head in her hands and shake it violently, all the while, muttering nonsense. "You okay, Azusa?" "I'm fine. Just have something on my mind," Azusa said embarrassed. It just wouldn't do for him to know what she was thinking. "You look kind of pale. I'll get you a bowl of soup over there. Wait here for a second." Ranma turned and headed for the nearest stall serving steaming hot soup. * * * * * Azusa felt the pressure on her chest lighten a little bit after Ranma left. At the same time, she also noted that the pain was more acute than before. She walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. Her eyes shone as she caught sight of the cutest cartoons she had ever seen. She wanted it! The artist smiled at the little girl admiring his work. He then did a double take. Little girl? The girl was much too well developed to still be in her preteens. It was only her shortness and behavior that gave her a look of youth. Fitting, considering what he was drawing. "You like the picture? You can have it. I don't really own it anyway. Someone else that lives in America makes the cartoon I'm drawing. It's called 'Peanuts'." "That blanket he's holding is so cute," Azusa whispered with awe in her voice. She had one just like it. It was right beside some of her cute little babies. "Heh, that's actually a symbol of the character. The little boy, while still young, is much too old to be carrying a blanket. It represents his inability to handle with his insecurities," the artist supplied. "A security blanket?" Azusa wondered aloud. "He can't face the world yet, so he holds on. It's figuratively, his anchor in life," he explained a little more. "Azusa, there you are. I was looking all over for you. Are you bothering that guy?" Ranma gave the man a look over and was satisfied that the man wouldn't be able to hurt someone with Azusa's skill. "Don't worry, your girlfriend wasn't bothering me. In fact I was just about to give her this drawing since she appreciates them so much," the artist said as he waved off Ranma's accusations. Ranma whirled around and made sure none of his suitors were there to hear what the guy just called Azusa. "Heh, come on Azusa let's leave the guy to his work." Azusa nodded and followed after Ranma. She looked at the drawing in her hand. She looked at the boy closer. For a split second, she imagined herself there with a thumb in her mouth. She shuddered and wondered what possessed her to think of that. She folded the drawing a placed it in her purse. She didn't want to look at it again. She tried looking elsewhere. The street was very crowded tonight. The restaurants were bustling with people walking in and out. She couldn't help but notice most of the people around her were grouped in pairs. A boy and a girl, that is. Just like she and Ranma. Or it would be like that if Ranma was a boy. "What the..?" Ranma-kun sputtered out. That soup was hot! "Azusa sorry," Azusa quickly apologized. She stared at her hands in disbelief. Unable to comprehend why she did that. "I tripped and my beef soup just flew out of my hands before I could stop myself." Ranma was confused. He never heard of anyone tripping so that they turned ninety degrees to one side like Azusa had. He chalked it up to his seeming cursed ability to attract water at all and any possible chance. "No prob. It's time to head back home anyway. I'll take you home first." Azusa nodded happily. She really couldn't understand what made her mood change again. She still felt an ache in her heart when she saw Ranma, but she found it did not hurt as much as not seeing him. His male body at least. She sighed, now totally confused. She didn't know why but she tried to followed the example of those around her and wrapped her arm around Ranma as they walked to her mansion. Azusa eyes widened suddenly. Her head just cleared. * * * * * "I, Arch-Bishop Hiroshi of the Church of Azusa, hereby resign my position as penance for my actions." "I, President Daisuke of Furinken High's Azusa Fan Club branch, hereby resign my position as penance actions for my actions. After all was said and done, the two buddies were thrown out in to the street literally. "I can't believe they blame us Azusa's change in behavior. We didn't do anything that would make her lose her cuteness," Daisuke snorted disgustedly. "We did nominate Ranma to be her partner. The club knew where it stood with Mikado. With Ranma in the way, most club members have just given up. The only ones that stayed are all suffering from delusions that Azusa would look their way," Hiroshi commented as he picked himself up and dusted his pants. Daisuke took Hiroshi's hand and helped himself up. "Yeah, I guess we left the club in time. If things keep going the way it does, Ranma is going to have another fiancée." Hiroshi shrugged. "What else is new? Anyway, we've got to get going. The meeting starts in fifteen minutes. "After you, president of the Asuka, the White Lily, Appreciation Society." Hiroshi grinned and followed Daisuke's lead with a mock bow of his own. "I insist Father Daisuke, founder of Daisukism, the way of the fanboy, go first. You are the guest speaker after all." * * * * * Azusa looked around her room. She frowned. None of the things in her room looked very cute. She must have been out of her mind when she picked up that purple stuffed dinosaur. She ordered a few of the servants in to start cleaning up. After a short while she was satisfied that most of the junk had been cleared out. Now to put the stuff that felt were much cuter into the room. She smiled as a dozen pictures of her and Ranma skating together were brought in and placed on the walls. She felt the pictures with her partner in it were the only ones that did her own features justice. Well, that and the fact that Ranma falling down on his bottom was just so cute. Next, she had all the lace in her room replaced with red silk. Red was a much nicer color. Actually, not everything in the room was cleared out. On her nightstand still lay a tiny lock of hair. * * * * * Ranma tried not to stare at the girl beside him. He couldn't quite place his finger on it but there was something different about Azusa. She still carried on about cute objects, but now they all seemed to be related in some way. If he could only figure what was the connection, then he might be able to figure out what was so different about her. That could help him decide if he should worry about his partner. Today she took off one of the wooden ties to his shirt. The other day she took his shoe. And the day before that, his box... Ranma flushed as he remembered coming out of the showers in the locker room to see Azusa standing there with a mask of innocence. What was so cute about that, he had no idea. At least it was clean pair. She couldn't have planned it. She was much too naive for that sort of thing. She must have wandered in by accident. Just what in the world was on the cute kleptomaniac's mind these days? At least she no longer splashed cold water on him as she often did a week ago. She even went so far as to help him find hot water to change back. Maybe his nagging about his status as a guy and not a sister got through to her. He watched admiringly as Azusa separated from him and started to skate solo again. Well, he was supposed to follow right beside her and complete the same movements simultaneously. But, he felt that his clumsy presence would only mar the grace Azusa had on the ice. He sighed and knew that he still had a long way to go, before he could catch up to Azusa's style. There wasn't much time before their rematch with Mikado and here he was idling while his partner practiced. * * * * * Ranma ignored the crowd as he skated onto the ice with Azusa. Sure enough, they would again meet the New Golden Pair in the finals of the martial arts figure skating event. Mikado would pay for what he did to Azusa the last time and for winning the event. Mikado glared at Ranma. He still remembered the beating Ranma gave him during their last match. He may have won the battle, but Ranma made the victory a costly one. He ran his tongue over his two front teeth. The dentures were still holding. Oh, he would pay. First off would be a kiss from Ranma's partner. The mature look did wonders for her. In all the years that he was Azusa's partner, Mikado had never once kissed her. That mistake will be rectified. Azusa looked over at her rival and exchanged a worry glance as they both stepped away from their respective partners. The dark aura they both emitted was frightening. * * * * * Ranma winced as he held his kidney. It was just like Mikado to sucker punch him just as they exchanged complimentary handshakes before the match. Azusa could see that Ranma needed to catch his breath. She had to stall for time to help him. She sighed and knew there was only one thing that would make Mikado lower his guard during a match. Her stomach grumbled in protest. Turning her back deliberately on Mikado she skated slowly towards Ranma as if to check up on him. She could hear the muffled voices of the other skating pair and smiled grimly as the other girl skated off in a huff. Mikado smiled, his teeth gleaming off the light. This was your lucky day, Azusa. Here comes Mikado, ready or not. Ranma's eyes blurred. He saw red. Anger clouded his vision as he watched Mikado pick up the slight Azusa. What he saw next made him go berserk. Mikado dropped Azusa and immediately started to skate backwards clumsily. He had only seen Ranma this mad twice. Once was for no reason the first time they fought on the ice. The other time was when he caused Azusa to black out. Both times, he ended up on the stretcher. "You dare kiss my partner? Heh, you must feel pretty lucky," Ranma said quietly. He advanced on Mikado slowly. His second wind coming to him strongly. Adrenaline powered his body forward. Azusa used the back of her hand and wiped the slobber off her lips. She spat out the rest. Never had she ever been so disgusted before. However, Mikado did not deserve to die for what he did. Which it apparently looked like would happen if Ranma continued his assault. She raced towards the irate martial artist in an effort to calm him down. Ranma turned and looked at Azusa incredulously. "You want me to let him go? Don't tell me you liked it!?" Ranma dreaded the idea that Azusa would say that she liked it. "Bleh. Azusa feel sick from Mikado. I didn't care for that kiss. He did it just to get you mad. I know how his one track mind thinks. Remember, I was his partner for a few years. If you beat him up, it means that he got to you and he's won. He does that to every opponent." Ranma was surprised to hear that kind of logic from Azusa of all people. But she was right, she had been Mikado's partner and knew how he operated. "But still..." Azusa could see that Ranma was still unconvinced. "Here, he took a kiss from me. It's only fair that I give one to you." Before Ranma could ask where the logic was in that, he felt Azusa's lips on his. All thoughts melted away. "Ranma, DIE!" various voices shouted at the same time. "Oops, my bad," Azusa said impishly as Ranma was mauled by his crowd of friends. She wished she had so many friends that looked out for her. * * * * * Ranma looked at the trophy that sat in the case beside the lobby. Furinken's first trophy in the area of martial arts figure skating. It also meant that his deal with the principal was effectively over. He no longer had to be Azusa's partner. "Ranma, you ready for practice?" Azusa asked hopelessly. Her eyes were downcast. She knew that Ranma didn't like figure skating as much as she did. He was going to leave now that he helped the school with its first win. "Yeah, I'll be there in a sec. I just need to get my skates." * * * * * The End. (maybe) -- Anime Fanboy and Fanfiction Writer ^_^ Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/4537 ICQ #: 13236148