A Change in Him: Chapter 21

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 21

That Night, Shortly Before 10 PM, The Tendo Dojo

The Tendo Dojo was quiet, but full of tension as the clock slowly approached ten o’clock. Ranma knelt at one end of the dojo while his father, who was almost entirely covered with bandages, and the entire Tendo family waited off to the side. Suddenly there was a sound from outside, causing everyone to straighten up and face the doorway. When the door slid open, however, it wasn’t Silk, but...

“Airen! You OK?” Rushing into the dojo was Shampoo, followed more sedately by Cologne. Shampoo went to Ranma’s side to hug him, causing Akane’s face to flush red while she sniffed dismissively, but Ranma quickly freed himself from the Amazon’s clinging grasp.

“What’re you guys doing here?” He asked as he held Shampoo away from him.

“Well son-in-law,” Cologne spoke up as she came in front of him. “We heard-” The Amazon elder paused as did everyone else in the large training hall as yet another sound came from outside. Again everyone turned to the already open doorway to see...

“Ran-chan! Are you all right?” Ukyou was by Ranma’s side in a flash, glaring at her Amazon rival. “What are you doing here, Shampoo?!”

“I say same thing to you, Spatula Girl!”

“How would you like to get a real close look at that spatula, you Chinese slut?!” The okonomiyaki chef reached over her shoulder for her primary weapon of destruction.

“Not now!” Ranma growled.

“Why not, Ranma honey?” Ukyou asked. “She’s always in our way!”

“That Shampoo line!”

Ranma ignored their comments, however, and merely inclined his head toward the doorway. Everyone turned to see what he was indicating and was shocked to see three figures standing there. Silk, flanked by two other people, had appeared without a sound and she and her companions were equally quiet as they made their way more fully into the dojo. Instead of the business clothes she had been wearing that afternoon she was now clad in form-fitting black clothes that made everyone in the room extremely aware of her incredibly voluptuous form. Her skin-tight black leggings were tucked into knee-high black leather boots, while her long-sleeved black top was cinched around her waist by an inky black silk sash. Her bright red hair, a shocking contrast to the darkness of her clothes, was now pulled up into a tight bun, rather than falling free as it had that afternoon.

The figure slightly to her right was quite a bit smaller than Silk was, perhaps only an inch or so over 5 feet tall, but nearly as curvaceous. She was evidently a teenager and had golden blonde hair that cascaded off her beautiful face in elaborate ringlets. Her blue eyes were full of mischief and she clearly reveled in being the center of attention. Her curvy form was also clad in black clothes, but not head to toe as Silk was. Instead, her black top was sleeveless and the section over her bosom consisted of black mesh, rather than solid cloth. Around her slender waist was a belt to which various weapons such as knives, shuriken, sai, and so forth were attached. Also, she was wearing boots similar to Silk’s, but instead of having leggings that tucked into them, she was wearing black shorts that ended several inches above her knees. Thus, the pale skin of her legs and arms was exposed to everyone’s gaze.

The final new figure was of intermediate height between the six foot Silk and her much smaller companion, perhaps around 5’ 8” or so. She also had a much less voluptuous body, but she was clearly also a woman, another teenager from the youth evident in her pretty face. Her hair was a dark green hue and was styled in intricate braids that were wrapped together in loops that were in turn held in place by a number of long, elegant hair pins. Her slim, athletic figure was also clad in black; a short sleeved, cut-off top that left her slender yet muscular stomach bare in her case. Her hands sported fingerless, black leather gloves and her boots were only ankle-high, not up to her knees like the other two’s. In addition, her leggings ended shortly below her knees. A final difference between her and her two associates was that her skin was a dark tan, rather than the pale skin tones of the others. Extending upward from behind her back the others in the Tendo Dojo could see the hilts of two swords that were strapped to her back.

The two newcomers followed the larger Silk into the room, but before any of them could speak, Cologne rounded on them in surprise and...anger? “YOU!?!”

Silk was obviously just as surprised at Cologne’s presence as the Amazon elder was at hers, but she recovered more quickly. “Well, it’s been a while. Hasn’t it... Grandmother?”

“GRANDMOTHER?!!?”

Everyone, including Silk’s two colleagues, stared in shock at the two women, but Cologne merely frowned and said, “You cast that identity away long ago...Silk. You are no relative of mine.”

Silk shrugged, “If that’s the way you still feel, Grandmother, then that’s the way it has to be. At least, let me introduce my daughters, though. This is Rapier, my eldest,” Here she indicated the shorter, curvy teen to her right. “And this is Velvet, my youngest.” The slimmer teen on the left stepped forward at this, her grey eyes downcast in a more subdued manner than her grinning, cocky sister.

“Well, I don’t care who you are!” Ukyou said, standing in front of Ranma, her gigantic spatula hanging ready in her hands. “If you’re here to fight Ran-chan, then you’re gonna be fighting me too.”

“Shampoo too!” The blue-haired Amazon also assumed a fighting stance next to her rival, equally ready to defend her fiancé.

Silk peered at the two teenaged girls carefully, then her plump lips quirked into a smile as her green eyes regarded Ranma. Because he was calming down his two fiancées; convincing them he didn’t need any help and would be fighting alone, Ranma didn’t notice it. It was a look that didn’t escape Nabiki’s sharp eyes, though.

“Just what are you doing here, Silk?” Cologne questioned the big-breasted redhead closely. “This-”

The Amazon’s questions were stopped by Silk’s sharply upraised hand. “This is a duel, not an interrogation, Grandmother. And, to be honest, it has nothing to do with you. This is between us and Ranma.” Her attention turned to the young martial artist, “Are you prepared to fight, Ranma?”

“Let’s do it,” he said simply, flexing his fists slightly.

Silk smiled, and then gestured to her daughters who brought up thin, black silk veils to conceal their faces. “My daughters have decided they want to take you on first. If you can defeat them, then I’ll see what you’ve learned since our last...contest.”

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and with a slight shimmer he shifted to his female form. “If that’s the way you want it.”

“Ranma, Ranma, Ranma,” the blonde-haired Rapier mock-chastised. “Don’t you respect us? Shifting to your girl form like that!”

“We, too, have been training, Ranma-san,” her sister added, her voice quieter than Rapier’s. “You’ll find us a greater challenge than we were before.”

The three teenagers faced each other silently for a few moments, but in a flash they were gone, drawing gasps of surprise from everyone except Cologne and Silk. The three had moved so quickly it was almost as if they had disappeared.

“Um, Excuse me?” Soun’s tentative voice suddenly spoke up. “Would you mind explaining to me just what in the world is going on here?”

Silk and Cologne eyed each other carefully, but it was the older woman who replied with a sigh. “What I’m about to tell you is a part of the secret history of our Amazon village, it’s something that people are normally told only once they’ve become a full member of the tribe.” She faced Shampoo, “That’s why this is all new to you as well, child.” Cologne sighed again, settling down in preparation for relating a long tale.

“Long, long ago, thousands upon thousands of years ago, there was a dispute in the village over the leadership position. The Amazons split into two groups and there was a civil war that lasted for many decades, nearly a century. In the end one of the sides was driven from the village and though both sides claimed to be the true Amazons, each developed in very different ways.

“The Amazons of the home village, Joketsuzoku, where Shampoo and I are from, kept our village open to the outside world, but continued to follow our own traditional ways; separate as much as possible from what was occurring in the rest of China and the world. The group that was defeated and expelled founded a new home, one they considered more true to Amazon culture and traditions. It is rumored that this new village was on an enchanted island, one that could not be discovered by the outside world. Yet, at the same, time this separate group engaged much more closely with outside organizations than the native Amazons of Joketsuzoku did. They would accept contracts from governments, business, and even private individuals to use their martial arts skills for them. They became mercenaries, basically.” Cologne seemed disgusted by this and favored her grandchild, Silk, with a particularly unfavorable glare.

“Over the centuries since the split,” Cologne finally continued. “The two sides often found themselves in deadly skirmishes, although they managed to avoid another full-scale war. One of the main sources of these skirmishes was fights over recruits; each side wanting to have the strongest members. Several hundred years ago, however, shortly before my time, a final peace agreement was signed between the two sides. In that treaty a series of protocols were signed to reduce tensions and to arrange for as peaceful a sharing of recruits as possible.”

“Over the years there have been women of both tribes who have felt that their...personality didn’t suit the community they were in. In such cases there were options available for them to become a member of the other tribe. To my great shame, one of my own granddaughters chose this course,” Here again Cologne glowered at Silk before continuing. “Of course, when this happens the individual is erased from the village’s register and is treated as if she had never existed. That is why this woman is not truly your aunt, my child,” Cologne explained to Shampoo. “She rejected everything that we, our tribe, our way of life stands for. Now she is just another person who fights only for pay; one with no honor.”

The rest of the people in the training hall looked over at Silk to see her reaction to this story, only to find her smiling calmly. “That’s basically correct,” She admitted in her low voice. “If a bit slanted. I suppose it’s now my turn to explain how we came to this battle tonight.” She paused and then she too sat down before she began speaking again.

“As you all know, near the end of this past spring there were a series of unusually powerful typhoons that hit both Japan and China. After one of these storms a wounded, half-conscious red-haired girl wandered into our town, of course it was Ranma. I don’t know how the typhoon blew him onto our island, as Grandmother said our village is protected and hidden by the most powerful of spells, but the more I come to know Ranma the more I think that anything is possible with him. Both good and bad,” The beautiful woman added with a chuckle.

“At any rate, no men are allowed in our town. Ever. It is our most basic rule, so Ranma was very lucky to be in his female form when he arrived at our village. While he healed he was very careful to hide his true nature, but one thing that was soon evident to us was his exceptional skill with martial arts. He seemed to be a wonderful potential recruit to our tribe, but eventually the truth came out. At that point there was a great debate among the elders as whether we should kill him or not.”

Of course that comment caused a huge gasp of shock and disbelief from her listeners, but Silk ignored it and went on; “In the end we decided not to eliminate him. Instead we reached...an agreement with Ranma-kun. One part of that bargain was that he had to complete a certain level of training as well as pass a series of tests before he could leave us.” Suddenly Silk laughed merrily, “All of us expected that it would take him years, maybe even a decade to accomplish the challenges we had set before him. It took him less than four months.” She turned to regard Genma, “I hope you realize what an amazing son you’ve raised.”

Before the head of the Saotome family could respond to this compliment, Soun Tendo jumped in. “But what about this other part of your bargain, Mrs. Si-, sorry Ms. Silk? What is this other task Ranma has to perform for you?” His concern about yet more fiancées standing in the way of his dream of the united Schools of Anything Goes Martial Arts was clear in his desperate tone of voice.

“And just what is this duel about tonight?” Cologne added sharply.

Silk looked at both of her questioners carefully before answering. “As I said before, the bargain between us and Ranma-kun is private, but I give my word that it has nothing to do with marriage. As for what we’re fighting for tonight...When Ranma left our village he took with him something of inestimable value. Something we will never let others have. Something...”

“Something that was given to me, free and clear,” Ranma’s voice suddenly broke everybody’s focus on Silk. A light layer of sweat was clear on her face, but other than that, Ranma seemed to be unharmed. Rapier and Velvet, on the other hand, were both unconscious and draped over either of Ranma’s shoulder as she strode into the dojo and set them down in front of their mother. “So, you ready to go?” Ranma asked, a cocky smile gracing her lips.