A Change in Him: Chapter 2

Author: Null Factor

This story contains scenes of explicit sex, naughty words, and other horrible, offensive things.  If you are underage in your house, village, town, city, community, state, province, country, or continent: READ NO FURTHER!  If that type of thing offends your tender sensibilities, or you are stupid: READ NO FURTHER!  All characters are the copyright of their respective creators and/or owners; no copyright infringement is intended by this story.  Any resemblance to people, places, or situations alive, dead, or otherwise is purely coincidental.

Chapter 2

Approximately Four Months Later

Akane made her way home from school taking the slightly longer path that led her along the river. She couldn’t believe the new school year had started and Ranma still hadn’t come back. His absence over the summer had changed so many things in the Tendo household. Far lower food and repair bills. No more hysterical fiancées, deranged rivals, or bizarre magical beings. No more being woken up in the middle of the night by no holds barred combat or receiving challenge letters from psychos. Everything is so much more peaceful and quiet since that pervert Ranma left, Akane thought. She was surprised by how much she missed it all.

All the members of the Tendo household reacted in different ways. Soun had broken down in a crying fit, remaining in his bed for over three weeks before finally resuming his functions as head of the house, whatever those were. Genma had stuck out the testy atmosphere for a few weeks, but had then fled to take extended “training journeys” in the mountains. He came back couple of weeks or so, in fact he had just popped in the day before, hoping for news of his son, but he generally faded away again when things got too hot. Happosai had gone on an extended rampage of panty stealing, skirt flipping, and general lecherous behavior without Ranma around to keep him in check. After a couple of weeks, though, he had seemed to get bored about how easy it all was. That didn’t mean he stopped, of course, simply that he didn’t bother to flaunt it at the Tendo house anymore. Currently he only poked his depraved head into their lives once or twice a month. Nabiki had immediately begun taking bets on Ranma’s return date, looking happier and happier as that time was extended. Undoubtedly she was making a lot of money off the whole thing. Kasumi was the only one who seemed unchanged; as calm, reserved, and gentle as always.

Ranma’s disappearance had affected numerous other people’s lives too, of course. Shampoo had immediately begun making plans to follow Ranma to her homeland, but after her great-grandmother had performed some kind of mystical Amazon divination ritual they had remained in town running their business. That had convinced Ukyou, who had been planning to follow her rival, to stick around as well. Now that they no longer had Ranma to quarrel over, though, Akane barely ever saw any of them or Mousse either. Kodachi had acted the worst; the insane sister of Tatewaki Kuno going complete ballistic at the loss of her love. Her brother took it much better, of course, until he realized that for some reason along with Ranma his pigtailed darling also was no longer to be seen. Then Kuno became convinced that the “two” of them had run off together. Ironically, for once the idiot was right, but the uniqueness of that fact seemed to make him even more deranged. Yes, Ranma’s absence had had a big impact on everyone’s life.

Akane was surprised when she abruptly came to the bridge she needed to take to make her way home. I must have been more wrapped up in my thoughts then I realized. About halfway across Akane noticed that there was a green tent set up on the grass-covered ground on the opposite side of the river. At first she barely glanced at it, but then something about it caught her attention. It’s just a dirty, patched tent, she thought. Why should I...? Her breath caught in her throat and her walking pace picked up a notch as a tremor of recognition ran through her body.

Arriving at the far side of the river she immediately turned to the side and quickly picked her way down the steep embankment. As she made her way toward the strangely familiar camping tent she noticed an oil barrel full of steaming hot water underneath the bridge and heard the sound of someone moving around inside the tent. Evidently that person had just taken a bath in their makeshift tub and was now drying off. Akane had just gotten close enough to the tent that she was getting ready to call out a greeting when suddenly the tent flap swung open and the person inside stepped out. They were vigorously rubbing their head with a towel when they came out, obscuring their features, but Akane still immediately knew who it was. “Ranma...,” she breathed.

At the sound of her voice the individual dropped the towel and looked up, revealing that it was, indeed, Ranma. His blue eyes were wide open with shock as the two teenagers stared at one another. Since Ranma wasn’t currently wearing a shirt Akane could see that his trip had been hard on him. His body, always lean was now thin, despite the fact that he seemed to be just as muscular as ever, if not more so. In addition, he seemed to have picked up a number of new scars and nicks that Akane didn’t remember ever seeing before. Most of them were fairly minor, but overshadowing those he had also acquired a long, vicious-looking gash that ran diagonally upward from his lower left abdomen up across his body and extending three-quarters of the way up the right side of his chest. It looked like someone had given him a severe slash with a sword or similar kind of weapon.

Noticing Akane’s eyes fastened on the evidence of his recent wound; Ranma flushed in embarrassment, grabbed a convenient shirt and quickly began tugging it over his head. The threadbare state of his clothes was also mute witness to the difficulty of Ranma’s travels, Akane realized as she tried to wipe the shocked expression from her face. “A, A, Akane,” Ranma stammered. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Well, you know, I sometimes take this route home.” Akane felt strange making such odd-sounding small talk, but she was in such a state of shock she really didn’t know what to say. “When did you get back anyway?”

“Uh, yesterday.” Ranma too seemed uncomfortable, not surprising considering the situation.

“W, why didn’t you come back...You know, come back home?”

Ranma shrugged, “Well...You know, the way I left and all...I just figured...Well, figured maybe I wasn’t...” He trailed off, unable to finish.

“Don’t be silly,” Akane chuckled, using a show of cheerfulness to cover her discomfort. “You should’ve come home yesterday when you got back in town, stupid! Now get your stuff together and let’s go!”

“Are you sure?” Ranma asked as he hesitantly moved back toward his belongings. “I mean...”

“Yes, get moving or we’ll be late for dinner! I know you must’ve missed Kasumi’s cooking.” Ranma had to laugh at that and it wasn’t too much longer that they were on the way, the speed with which he packed away his gear being a clear sign of how often he had been doing it of late.

Approximately 35 Minutes Later

Ranma’s arrival at the Tendo household had unsurprisingly caused a huge uproar. Both Genma and Soun had broken down crying in their happiness to see Ranma again, hugging him for all they were worth. Kasumi had smiled radiantly, clapping her hands in joy before quickly moving back to the kitchen in order to make up some special refreshments for the occasion. Nabiki had whipped out her calculator and immediately begun working out the results of her “Ranma Returns” betting pool. From the sly smile on her face it was clear that it was going to be quite a windfall for her. The commotion went on for quite a time before they finally settled down enough to make their way into the living room and sit down at the table.

They had barely sat down when Kasumi entered with some tea and special sweets for the family. As she served everyone all their attention focused on Ranma, who flushed under the pressure of their gaze and lowered his head. Eventually Soun broke the silence, “Ranma, it’s so good to have you back!” As everyone seconded that sentiment, he went on, “So tell us about your trip. Did you manage to make it all the way to China, even with those horrible typhoons?”

“Yeah,” Ranma acknowledged, “I got to China all right.”

“And...And did you make it to Jusenkyo? Did you find a...a cure?” Everyone waited breathlessly for the answer to the elder Tendo’s question. Well, everybody except one person, that is.

“Yes, boy! You did find a cure, didn’t you?! You brought back some water from the nannichuan for your old dad, didn’t you?! Didn’t you!!” Genma’s pathetic whinings as he clutched desperately at the sleeve of his son were embarrassing to behold.

Ranma absentmindedly tugged his arm free from his father’s clinging grasp even as he replied; “Well, I wasn’t able to make it to Jusenkyo because of...Well, because of...Because things just didn’t work out. But I was able to find a cure. Sort of.”

“What do you mean, sort of?” Nabiki’s asked coolly. “You’re either cured or you aren’t. There isn’t anything in between, is there?”

Ranma abruptly popped to his feet. “It’s easier to show you all then to explain it. Just watch.” With his father and all of the Tendos still watching him closely he swiftly made his way to the carp pond in the backyard and scooped up a bucketful of water. Turning to face his audience he held the bucket over his head and said, “I still turn into a girl when I get hit with cold water.” He upended the bucket on himself and with the impact of the water there was a shimmer and then the familiar appearance of Ranma’s female half: shorter than his male form, red-haired, and even bustier and more curvaceous than ever. “That’s the curse and I can’t change that. But...” Here Ranma closed his eyes in concentration and with another shimmer...He was back in his male form!

“That,” gasped Genma.

“Was,” said Nabiki.

“So,” breathed Soun.

“Awesome!!!” declared Akane.

“It’s getting cooler in the evenings lately,” Kasumi observed as Ranma came back into the living room and sat down. “Here, have some more tea to help you warm up, Ranma dear.”

As Ranma drank his hot tea, Akane finally broke the stunned silence at his amazing display. “Ranma! How were you able to do that?! And where did you learn it?!”

“And can you teach it to me?!!” Ranma’s father begged selfishly.

“If you think about it there are all kinds of times when we get wet where we don’t change,” Ranma observed, in a bit more reflective manner than one would normally expect from him. “Like in summer when I’m in my girl form and I’m sweating a lot. I’m covered in warm water, but I don’t change into a guy. Or in winter when a bunch of snow covers me. It eventually melts so I’m soaked in cold water, but I don’t turn into a girl. So, if you think about it, maybe those dorks from the Jusenkyo Preservation Society were kinda right. Maybe it is at least partly in our mind. I mean, they were definitely wrong that we could get rid of the curse totally. After all, it’s a magical curse, not some kinda psychological condition. But I did learn a way that I could control it somewhat. If I’m focused enough I can change from one form to another. The fewer distraction, the more quickly I can do it.”

“So you can teach me!! Can’t you son? Can’t you?!!” Genma whined.

“Sorry, pop. To be able to do it you gotta know yourself, both yourselves really, inside and out. That ain’t anything I can help you with.”

As Ranma’s father slumped down in depression his old training mate asked, “But where did you learn it, Ranma? If you didn’t got to Jusenkyo, then where did you find this miraculous fix for your problem?” Soun frowned at a sudden thought. “Did you go to that Shampoo girl’s Amazon village again? Should we be expecting more Amazon fiancées to show up?”

Noticing Akane’s dark expression at the mention of Shampoo and more fiancées, Ranma hurriedly denied any involvement. “No!! No, of course not, Mr. Tendo! I learned it...Well, I learned it...Someplace totally different. Anyway, a place you guys have never been.” Ranma laughed nervously, “After all, if I had been at the Amazon village I would have been close enough to go to Jusenkyo for the real cure, right? Heh, heh, heh...” His laugh definitely wasn’t very encouraging, especially when combined with the large sweat drops being formed on his brow, but nobody pressed him for any more information.

“Well, this is certainly all quite exciting,” Kasumi commented, rising to her feet. “Now, if you’ll all excuse me I’ll go fix a special dinner to celebrate Ranma’s homecoming.”

“Wait for me, Sis!” Akane cried, jumping to her feet to follow her older sister toward the kitchen. “I’ll help!” Everybody at the table managed to keep a frozen, slightly horrified smile on their face until Akane had disappeared from view, but as soon as she was gone...BONK!!! The sounds of four heads smashing simultaneously onto the wooden table in front of them echoed throughout the house.