Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, nor claim to.

Chapter 2: The Hibiki Clan and the Kunoichi:

"My people are the misfits; I won't let you down . . . I bleed for the moments when we're here, and we're all around." Third Eye Blind: Misfits

"Hurry UP, Sauske!" Mayu shouted, as she led him off to see his sister. "School's over! Why do you always take so long to leave?!"

"I forgot something." He said calmly, walking up to his friend. "Besides, we have plenty of time . . . why are you in such a rush to finish the science project anyway?"

"Because!" She shouted again, and left it at that.

Sakura sighed as the two came walking up to her. "Are you two through arguing?" There was a whoosh as something familiar whizzed by. "See you in a little while, Keira!" She shouted.

"Got it! See you both in a minute!" The racing girl shouted, before she disappeared off into the distance.

"Wonder if she'll be back before he gets here this time." Sakura replied quietly, as the trio began to walk down the street.

Mayu watched expectantly at the older sister, hoping to get an explanation of who "he" was. Neither of the Saotomes said anything, as they walked quietly back to their home. The girl sighed. "What's with you two? Why are you so quiet?"

"He's late." Sauske replied, sighing as well.

"And who is he?"

Sakura turned to say something, as they turned the corner. That was when the voice shouted.

- - -

"Ranma, another letter from China!" Akane said abruptly, tossing it over to her husband.

Ranma snatched it out of the air, before sitting down at the table. "Thanks, Akane." He said quietly, before opening it slowly. He had too much on his mind, and if this was that Jusenkyo Customer Service again, he'd . . . "Hey, it's from Shampoo and Mousse!"

Akane placed most of the mail down, only keeping the letter that her friend Sayuri had sent, before glancing over at him. "Are they coming to visit us again?" She said quietly. It had been a long time since they had been back in Nerima, almost nine years.

"No, they're . . . WHAT?!" Ranma shouted, before re-reading the letter again, making sure he really saw what was written.

Akane stood up, walking around the table to sit down next to him. "What is it, Ranma?"

The man placed the letter slowly down on the table, thinking this over. "Shampoo and Mousse . . . and their children . . . are moving to Nerima."

- - -

"SAOTOME! Today's the day! THE DAY THAT YOU LOSE!" The voice shouted.

It was coming from a blond boy, standing in the center of the sidewalk, ready to block his target's path. The boy stood there, his arms crossed and his mouth in a smug smile, his spiked hair rustling slightly in the breeze. Despite his lack of height, it was his long-sleeved orange shirt, black pants, fingerless gloves, and light shoes made him look ready for exactly what he wanted: a fight.

"Oh, Naruto." Sauske replied calmly, taking off his school bag, and dropping it on the ground. "You're late today."

"SHUT UP!" Naruto shot back, shaking his fist. "I don't care if I'm late or early! All that matters is that I'm going to beat you today!"

"This must be 'him' . . . I guess." Mayu thought to herself, before Sakura dragged her to the side.

"You're going to want to give Sauske some room." Sakura said with both a joking and serious expression.

Sauske sighed deeply, kicking his bag to the side of the walkway, as it clacked against the wall. This was one of those fights he had no choice in. "All right, Naruto, let's get this over with." He hated these kinds of fights.

A long way down the street, another boy noticed the group, and began walking towards Sakura and Mayu.

"MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!" Naruto shouted, sliding back onto the balls of his feet, raising up his hands. Sauske eventually followed. The world paused, as the two waited for the other to begin. Or their own self-control to snap.

Naruto dashed forward at full speed. "TAKE THIS!" he reared his arm back, until he was almost in range for his punch. He flung his fist forward, as it flashed through the air.

Sauske spun around, extending his foot, snapping Naruto's legs out from under him. The blond boy tripped, floating. Twisting back around, the Sauske stood up again, raising his hand into the air. As Naruto's head passed by, he dropped his elbow, smashing it into his opponent's neck.

Naruto was hurled into the ground, before he skidded across the cement on his chest, and stopped at the edge of the street. "Well," Sakura began, "that's the end of that. Oh well. Ready to go, Sauske?" She said, snatching his bag off the ground, and dusting off some of the dirt before handing it to him.

Sauske nodded, and the three began to walk again. Mayu was staring wide-eyed at her friend. She had heard that he was good, but he didn't even blink at that. She had never seen him, or anyone else, fight like that. He was amazing; he could be the best martial . . . "HEY! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

The three turned back around, to see a slightly dusty, and even angrier, Naruto staring at them. "I am NOT finished yet!" The boy charged forward again, taking a second swing.

"Yes, you are." Sauske breathed quietly, sliding aside again. Naruto stumbled forward past Sauske, now off balance. Sauske landed lightly on one foot, before swinging the other one around into a roundhouse kick, connecting to the back of Naruto's head. The spiky haired boy was launched forward, and collapsed onto the ground again. He slid along the ground, kicking up pebbles and dirt for a few feet, before stopping at the shoes of someone.

The teen looked down, sighing. "Lose again, squirt?" he said. The three other standing kids looked over. Sakura's eyes traced to his face.

"Oh, hello, Kite." Sauske said, nodding his head in acknowledgment of his presence.

The new arrival, Kite, stood looming over his younger sibling. He was much taller than his little brother, who was short for his age. Kite was also taller than Sauske and Sakura, who he had known for years. His black hair was tied into a long, twisted pigtail, reaching down to between his shoulder blades. He was dressed in his school uniform still: a white shirt and black pants. His muscles, while not bulging out, were readily apparent, unlike Sauske's and Sakura's, giving him a strong, tough appearance.

The older boy turned, nodding back, before turning to the girls. "Hello, miss." He said with a slight smile. It faded to a straight line as he turned to the other girl. "Hello, Sakura."

"Hello, Kite." Sakura replied, in a gruff tone, before turning away from him, and leaning against the fence nearby. She stayed several feet away, sniffing once, and grimacing.

"DON'T CALL ME SQUIRT!" Naruto shouted, jumping up, and glaring at his brother. He was the shortest of all five of them, but that did not mean his brother could make fun of him. He was only a year older, like Sakura was only a year older than Sauske.

Kite sighed. "Whatever." He turned to the winner of the fight. "That was damn good as always, Sauske. We ought to spar again sometimes." Sauske nodded.

"Don't be vulgar!" Sakura said louder, walking up to the boy her age. She shoved something into his hand. "Use this!"

He held it up, looking at it. "Chewing gum? What's this for?"

"Your breath. It smells terrible." Sakura said, before walking back to her previous spot. Kite placed his hand over his mouth, breathing out, and sniffing his own breath. It wasn't that bad; he could barely smell anything. "And take a bath tonight."

The eyes looked over at Sakura for a moment, before there was a sigh. "Whatever." Kite repeated, and turned to walk back the way he came. "Come on, bro'. We got chores to do back at home. So long, Sauske, miss."

"WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE!" Naruto shouted, still in his fighting stance. "I am NOT finished yet. I still got an ace up my sleeve." Sauske looked at him over his shoulder, and Kite stopped, looking back at his brother. "I've been saving this for a special occasion. Let's see you deal with this!" He reached down, pulling out a flash.

Kite grabbed him by the collar, ripping the bottle away in a flash. His face was pale. "YOU IDIOT!" He paused for a minute, not wanting to explain. Naruto looked at him sheepishly. Everyone else was staring. "You . . . uh . . . you got, um, . . . sake in this flask, don't you?! Yeah, you were going to use that fire-breathing trick on Sauske! Stupid! Don't you know how dangerous that is?! We're going home right NOW!"

Kite carried his brother away, racing down the street, before anyone could say anything. "Well, that was odd." Sauske said, before the remaining three continued to walk.

- - -

"So, when are they coming?" Akane asked, picking up the letter from Sayuri again.

Ranma paused, twitching. "Well, according to this . . . they moved here two weeks ago, and . . ."

Akane looked up. That wasn't too odd. The letters from China always came late. It always took a month or two to receive their letters. "And what?"

"They're comin' to visit tonight." Ranma said sheepishly. "Just to visit, not for dinner or anything. Around nine. And they're bringin' Aki too."

Akane fidgeted from rage. Even after her engagement to Ranma was finally ended, and she ended up with Mousse, and moved back to China, Shampoo was still so annoying. She probably wrote them enough letters to make an encyclopedia set. And now she was moving here?! She took a deep breath. "All right."

"Al . . . all r . . . all right?" Ranma said softly, lowering his arms, which he had raised in a feeble defense against the hit he was expecting. "You don't mind?" Akane shook her head. "O . . .okay."

- - -

"Are you stupid?!" Kite shouted, dropping his brother to his feet. "What the hell made you even think of doing that?!"

"It's not sake, okay!" The shorter brother shouted back, his eyes staring back, and his thin, blond whiskers twitching nervously.

Kite shook his head. "I know that!" He opened the flask, checking inside to be sure exactly what it was. Pure, unadulterated H2O. "Why in the world would you ever think this would help you win?!"

Naruto regained some of his composure. "The greatest element in a fight, is the element of surprise."

"Surprise my ass!" Kite shouted back. "Using this might surprise Sauske for a moment, then he'll beat the hell out of you, you moron! And once they realize you can change, who do you think they're gonna look at next, ya little twerp?! ME, that's who!"

The smaller boy lost more of the color in his face, before he realized something. "This is about Sakura finding out you . . ."

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING HER INTO THIS! SHE'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING!" Kite screamed, ripping his brother off the ground by the collar, a few twinges of fear in his eyes.

After a moment, he lowered his brother down, and sighed. "All right, I'm sorry for yelling. But . . . if you ever use that idea again, you're going to be in real trouble. It ain't gonna help you with anything. Got it?"

Naruto nodded quickly, before breathing a sigh of relief. He should have never brought up Sakura. Oh well, too late now. "So I guess we got to go home now?"

Kite nodded, before a sight appeared in his mind. Clouds, dark ones, in the sky. "Looks like rain." He muttered loudly. "Good thing we got umbrellas." His brother smiled oddly, trying to act like things were going good. "You forgot yours, didn't you, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. Kite shook his head; he knew what that meant he would have to do. He paused a moment before walking around behind the dumpster, changing out of the clothes he was wearing, and putting on another set, much smaller, that was inside his bag. He tossed him umbrella over the green metal container, and then took the flask in his other hand. After dumping the contents of it over his head, and letting the water soak in for a while, Kite returned from around the dumpster. "Let's go."

- - -

The rain began to fall. It was light right now, but Sakura wasn't worried. A little rain was no problem to her; it was nothing more than a drizzle. They walked slowly, when there was the sound of footsteps approaching again. Very fast footsteps. Another thing she wasn't worried about.

"Hello, Sauske-kun!" The sprinting girl shouted, effortlessly leaping over the fence, and landing right next to him, smiling pleasantly. Mayu blinked, surprised about her sudden appearance.

"Oh, hello, Keira!" Sauske replied, smiling widely as well.

"Hello, Sakura!" Keira said happily again, to which the other girl smiled and nodded. Then, the new arrival turned to the last person, still smiling. "Hello . . . um, I don't think we've met."

"Nope!" Mayu said politely, before introducing herself. "I'm Mayu, one of Sauske's friends."

"Me too!" she said cheerily. "I'm Kuonji Keira, Sauske's training partner."

"Training partner?" Mayu replied quietly, before realizing the girl and boy were already walking along the road, talking and laughing together. Sakura dragged Mayu along.

"Yeah, Keira and Sauske spar, so they can work on their speed skills. Or, that was what they used to do. Now, Sauske holds back so much, and Keira too, that it's more for fun than training." Sakura said knowingly. There was a twinge of a sigh, however, when she said ". . . Sauske holds back so much, . . ." but to Mayu, it was unnoticeable. She was more focused on the girl. Her initial hyper cheerfulness died down, like it was an act, while a more subdued, echoing happiness and friendship traversed between the martial artist boy and ninja girl.

Keira walked along, still chatting with Sauske, while ignoring the other two behind her, allowing Mayu to continue to study the girl. Her almond-brown hair, almost as long as the observer's, was loosely tied into a long braid, rolling along down her spine. There was a small white bow at the end, swaying slowly as her body walked along, and a dark-blue bandanna tied around her forehead. Her arms and legs were slender and trim, and they moved with grace and elegance, as if her whole form simply floated along.

The girl's clothes only further accentuated the idea of a ninja girl. The two piece body suit, a dark blue-black, hung on tightly, reaching along her entire body, and making all her features that much more prominent. Her porcelain skin was hidden completely, except for the forearms, her ankles, her face, and the area in the small v-cut on the front of the shirt. That last bit, however, was hidden behind a thin, gray-black tank top, that was only visible in that tiny space.

Then there were the weapons. Attached to her belt was a sword; what it was called, Mayu didn't know. It looked like a katana, but those had a curve to them; this one was straight. And there was also the small pouches attached to other parts of her sash tied around her waist. Out of one poked a small metal handle, but nothing else could be seen. For some reason, though, the onlooker couldn't place fighting and her together.

She seemed so small and frail to Mayu's eyes. Her whole person was thin and light, with her whole body smaller than that of everyone else around. She was, generally, smaller than Naruto, even if she did have a height advantage, and that was not by much. Someone lifting her would probably find her weightless. Then again, she had seen the girl race away at almost thirty miles per hour. And Sauske had that same appearance of weakness and frailty about him, relatively to the traditional martial artists, and he seemed to have an unbelievable amount of power inside.

"I don't know, Keira, Mayu really wants to get the project done, and I don't know how long it's going to take." Sauske's words returned the observer back to the real world, as she ended her long, unintentional stare.

"What about it? Is something wrong?" Mayu said, but was unheard as Keira began to speak.

The ninja-girl nodded her head slowly. "I understand, Sauske-kun. What about later tonight? You shouldn't be working on that project all night, right?"

"I don't know, Keira. Dad's been acting a bit anxious lately, and I really do not want to get him riled up about anything." Sauske replied, letting his head drop just a tiny bit. "But I can check and call you back."

The girl nodded again, before Mayu forced her feet to catch her up. "What is it?" she blurted out quickly.

"We haven't been able to meet to train all week, and it looks like today's going to be like that again." Sauske replied with a sigh, before his face brightened a bit. "Well, there's always tomorrow."

The girl nodded, before Mayu broke in again. "What about right now?"

"Wha . . .?" Sauske asked, taken aback by her friends sudden interest in anything but getting the assignment done and forgetting about it. "Didn't you want to finish the project?"

"Well, we can wait. I mean, how long are you going to work out, an hour? Half an hour? That's fine with me, I can get started without you, if you want." Mayu wasn't exactly sure why she said that, but suddenly she wanted them to train. More to see how well Sauske could really fight than anything else, but there were probably other reasons too.

The pair blinked, staring back at the girl for a moment. Sakura, behind Mayu, where she couldn't be seen, joined in the staring. After a moment, though, Sauske broke off, murmured a few words to Keira, before they nodded to each other. "Are you sure, Mayu? I mean, it's not really imperative or anything." Sauske continued.

Mayu nodded. "It's fine, Sauske. Go on ahead. It's like you said, we have plenty of time to do our project." Secretly, she thought to herself, "And I want to see if you really live up to all the hype people at school say . . . and if this girl does too."

The boy nodded. "All right, Mayu, if you don't mind. I guess I'll see you in a few minutes, Keira, at the dojo. Okay?" The girl nodded, leaping back over the fence without even turning around, and disappeared. "Well, let's go." The boy finished, before continuing to walk home.

Mayu nodded, and slowly began to walk as well. Sakura, contemplating the previous events, continued to march along, eyeing the other girl strangely. Something seemed odd, but it quickly passed, as the trio strolled to the Tendo Dojo.

- - -

"I'm home!" Keira shouted, bursting in the front door, and racing through the restaurant to the back stairs in an instant, before vanishing upstairs. She grabbed a few more of her tools, and tied them onto her clothes, as well as taking a thick strand of wire. She glided back down the stairs, stopping at the counter.

"Well, what's your big hurry?" the girl's mother asked, looking up from her work. In the back room, Keira could hear her father continuing to work, trying to stay ahead of his mother's brisk schedule. "Something important, I guess."

The girl smiled uncertainly, before explaining her sudden rush. "Well, I was talking with Sauske, and we decided to spar now, instead of later. He's got a big science project to do, but now was the time we decided to spar. So, I won't be able to help at the restaurant for a little while, but . . . um, I can when I get back!"

"Fine with me, sugar." The woman replied, dropping down a bit of batter onto the stove for her usual, very late lunch. "Take your time if you need to, just be back before five. M'kay?"

"You don't mind me not being able to help for a while?"

Her mother laughed a bit. "Aw, honey, you ottah know we don't get any big rush for a while. Besides, you aren't the only one around to help, are you?"

The young teen smiled, a bit more confidently this time, before nodding. "All right, bye Mom!" she said, already at the door, and stepping outside. "Bye, Dad!"

"Bye, sugar!" the mother shouted, before there was a loud shout of "Have fun!" from the father, just as he walked out the door to the back room. As he said that, the door was already swinging closed, and the girl was gone. "She runs so fast." He murmured to himself for the millionth time.

"Oh, hadn't noticed." The woman said to him sarcastically, before grabbing another scoop of batter. "What do you want?"

"The same as always." He replied, before instantly stepping into, "They spar a lot nowadays, don't you think, Ukyo?"

Ukyo smiled a bit, before nodding her head. "Yeah, Konatsu, they do. But that's just because they're the only ones around who are fast enough to keep up with each other. And I think she's been teaching Sauske some of her own fighting style too."

"You're not worried?" Konatsu replied.

The woman shook her head, her brown hair shaking in the room. "Not at all, sugar. Let 'em have their fun. Besides, what's the point of being good at something, if you never get to use it?" she sighed. "Then again, you know how Sauske's been fighting recently. That's what worries me. It's worse than it used to be."

The male kunoichi blinked. "I don't understand. What's wrong with him? He's not the one tossing around throwing knives . . . not that that's a bad thing, since she knows when to use them. But he's careful."

"Too careful, honey. Way too careful. He could beat almost everyone he knows, and that's without even trying. The only person he doesn't hold back with is Naruto, not that he even has to try to fight with him. And he only does that because he knows Naruto's not going to leave him alone for an instant each day until he gets his fight. Everyone else, though, he won't put out his best effort."

"You don't actually think he's mocking them, do you?" Konatsu asked.

"Nah. But, . . . he's too much of a pacifist. I got a good feeling it's just going to make things worse for him someday." Ukyo returned. "That's what worries me."

- - -

"I'm here!" Keira shouted, shaking out the rain from her hair, as she stepped up into the training hall. The other three were in there, Mayu in her school uniform, Sakura in ordinary clothes, made up of a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, and Sauske in a pair of loose black slacks and a long sleeved shirt, also loose. Sauske nodded, smiling, as the other girls waited. Sakura was expecting to see another spectacular performance, and Mayu was hoping for anything really cool.

Keira continued walking in, slipping off her heavy shoes, her clothes still a bit damp from the rain. "Well, then, Sauske-kun, let's get this started, m'kay?"

Next Chapter: Keira and Sauske face off in their newest battle, and Akane goes up against her burden: her nephew.