Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.

Author's Notes: I certainly appreciate the warm reviews I have been receiving. I would just like to thank all of you for reading this story. This chapter will follow Sora while the next chapter follows Ranma and Kat during the events from this chapter. Now without further ado, let's get on with the show!

The New Girl on the Block

Chapter 5

Family Reunion: Hibiki Style

Sora Hibiki, former heir to the Hibiki School of Martial Arts, squirmed more comfortably in the warm futon provided to her by Ranma's mother. The sweet woman even insisted she call her Aunty Nodoka. Kindness like that always made her warm inside which is why she always tried to protect other people's happiness. After all, wasn't it a martial artist's duty to see to the well being of others? Too bad her little brother, the heir of the school by birth not by effort, didn't believe that. The angelic faced girl smiled happily at the looks she noticed between Ranma and Kat over dinner. They were so cute together. She was probably the only Hibiki in her generation who could sleep with a clear conscience. Her brother was a dishonorable lout that used his curse to sleep in a girl's bed. She only knew about it because Nabiki knew and had made sure to tell her that. It gave her incentive to deal with her brother's transgressions. Had he been keeping up their family style or had he completely forsaken the school in favor of a few Chinese tricks? Yes, they were good and powerful, but they weren't of their family. They practiced an unrecognized form of martial arts, much like Anything Goes in that they took elements of other styles and formed them into a complete whole. However, he threw away much of their legacy in favor of some cheap moves.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Ryoga? Whereas we could have been a loving family you turned your back on us. Why? For the sake of a bloody vendetta that you can't even carry out in today's society? You couldn't carry it out even if it was the old days simply because it's wrong." She mused aloud to the empty dojo where she had elected to sleep before turning over and burrowing deeper in the covers. Tears ran down her face as sleep refused to come that night.

-Breakfast-

Breakfast was a somber affair due to the mood of the latest member of the house. Like all Hibiki's, their moods could alter the perceptions of people around them, and Sora was no different. Her early bath had been to scrub her face of the dried tears, hoping that they wouldn't pay attention to the red-rimmed eyes, but also knowing they would notice. Aunty Nodoka looked down the table at her newest acquired charge and waited for her to make the first move. Ranma had taken breakfast up to Kat who he ordered to stay in bed since her energies weren't back to full yet so the two of them had the table to themselves. The quiet clink of the chopsticks on the empty bowl brought Sora out of her reverie.

"What's wrong dear? You have hardly eaten a thing and you seem to be brooding about something." Nodoka inquired gently of the younger woman. The oldest Hibiki child ate another sparse mouthful of food before setting her chopsticks down.

"I keep thinking about my little brother. He was such a sweet child and was never a problem. It didn't bother me when Father named him the heir to our school because I believed that he would honor our family just by being himself. Then his direction curse manifested and he had the hardest time finding his way around, even harder than me. I could usually get where I was going in a few hours if I needed to but aside from that I just enjoyed the chance I had to see the countryside. He never developed that and so it gave him a deep anger. Father and Mother worked to train him out of it but they met with no success. I even gave it a try and was almost hospitalized because he took his aggression out on me. It confused me when I tried to figure out how he went from "I love you Sis" to "You've made my life hell". I need to find him again, but this time I'm challenging him for the position as heir to the school. Nothing else will reign him in but that I'm sure." She told the attentive woman across from her before picking up her chopsticks again and eating once more, this time with more enthusiasm.

"Why do you think that he doesn't like my son? I can tell that he did something that makes Ranma mad but why is he mad at him?" Nodoka asked carefully, making sure that he darling child wasn't nearby to interrupt. One way or another she was getting the truth. Her dining companion visibly steeled herself for what was coming.

"You understand that what I am about to tell you is a sensitive matter, correct?" at the copper-haired woman's nod she continued. "This is very difficult because it infringes on the honor of multiple individuals. My brother had followed Ranma to China from what I heard, you know the source of my information I'm sure. While there he was knocked into the springs by a panda and a redheaded girl. He landed in one of the springs there and is now cursed to change whenever splashed with cold water. The panda and redhead are Genma and Ranma respectively." Her voice trailed off as she tried to think of a way to say the next part.

"What…does he turn into…?" the normally unflappable woman asked hesitantly, already suspecting the worst.

"He turns into a baby potbellied pig. Black by the way." Sora commented tonelessly as her soft hazel eyes took on an almost furious light forever banishing any thoughts of her not being a Hibiki. Nodoka gripped the katana resting beside her, her knuckles white from the strain. She wasn't blind to the situation at all. If it got out that Ryoga was Akane's pet P-chan and that her family knew then her honor was ruined. Not only her honor but the honor of her family would be swept away like so much sand at the beach.

"My son knew I imagine so why didn't he say anything?" the Saotome matriarch asked with a pleading hint to her voice.

"According to my source he had made a promise to never reveal his curse because it was considered a weakness. Any one of my brother's enemies would have used his curse to harm him so your son sought to protect his rival. He repaid your son's kindness and Akane's kindness by sleeping with her. What makes his crime worse is the fact she doesn't know his curse. That's another thing I need to talk to him about." The Hibiki girl said. On the worse "talk" she cracked her knuckles in anticipation. He would not ruin their family's honor anymore if she had a say in it. Nodoka shivered at the harsh sound. It promised broken bones and bleeding.

"Let us finish our breakfast. I think you should walk with my son to school today since he is still hurt and his enemies would certainly take this opportunity." The woman said to their houseguest who nodded in acknowledgement. Any further questions were tabled as Ranma came into the room to eat. The pigtailed boy seemed deeply troubled by something and ate slowly instead of with his usual gusto.

"Aunty Nodoka asked me to walk you to school today. I hope you don't mind." Sora said politely. The resident chaos magnet gave a small smile of recognition that peeked out like a timid animal. The way his eyes peered at her from under his bangs made him look twelve and not seventeen. It was an endearing look she decided but firmly put the cap on that line of thought. She did not poach boyfriends let alone fiancés.

"That's cool…but what 'bout Kat?" he asked as he began eating at a steadier pace.

"I spoke with the police last night and they are keeping an eye out for Shampoo. Yesterday was the last straw as far as I'm concerned and that barbarian woman is not allowed here any longer." Nodoka said with a note of finality.

"K, that's good…but what 'bout Kodachi?" Ranma asked as if expecting to hear her mad laughter at any moment.

"If the scion of the house of Kuno comes calling then she will see that her brother is an infant compared to my sword skills." His mother told him. He could almost swear he heard the rasp of a katana in her voice and shivered involuntarily. Sora gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry; she'll be safe until you come home. I plan on coming right back after walking you to school. Once you're there I'm sure your ex-fiancée would help you." She said to him. Ranma still looked a little leery but it wasn't for his own welfare. He was still trying to get a few moments peace with Kat to just get to know her but that was proving difficult. She was so beautiful it made his heart ache and valiant enough to be a samurai of old. Her mind was sharp but not cutting like Nabiki's and she was kind. Almost too good to be true but for once he wasn't going to question a good thing and she definitely fell into the Good Thing category. His words of the previous day came back and he whispered them with humor in his voice.

"Sanity is sexy." He would have continued to laugh but the women at the table looked at him pointedly; apparently he wasn't as quiet as he thought.

"As interesting as it would be to hear more dear…" he blushed deeply at her tone "I do believe you need to get to school." His mother said as she set his bento down for him. She was fixing some herbal tea in preparation for Kat. With a final smile in his direction she went upstairs.

"C'mon bro, we better get going." Sora said as she cuffed him lightly on the shoulder. He looked a bit surprised at the "bro" but let it slide. Who was he to throw away a potential friendship?

"Alright 'Sis' let's go." He fired back in good humor and was rewarded by a bright smile that showed off her cute fangs before the two took off out the door, racing along the streets towards Furinkan.

-At School-

Kuno stood at the gates of the hallowed halls of learning, Furinkan High, in anticipation of his fight with the beast Saotome. His pet wolf would help him not for he was a samurai of noble lineage and unparalleled ability. Turning his head to the side to monitor the goings on of the hoi polloi he reflected that today was a good day. Once again decked out in his family's ancestral armor (a replacement helmet upon his head from the Foul Sorcerer's magicks that ruined the original) and held his sword aloft in a heroic pose. So engrossed was he in his musings he didn't notice the pigeons land on his noble personage or that his quarry had already vaulted onto school property. He stood like that until the bell had rung but he didn't have to worry about bucket duty today, nay he did not. Something more pressing called to the Eldest Scion of the House of Kuno. The pigeons.

Kuno hated cleaning pigeon dung.

While all this was going on, the man of the hour and his new friend were on their way to the school. From what Ranma was able to find out is that Sora is nineteen, the same age as Kasumi, and had graduated class valedictorian. She was probably the only Hibiki to successfully graduate high school and not have to take a mail-order course. She loved to sing and paint watercolors but her true first love was the Art. To hear her describe their family style it was like a feral ballet all grace and power. He had to see that and pestered her for a spar which she agreed to, laughing at the hopeful look on his face. Her eyes moistened a bit as she wished her brother could be like this. The Hibiki girl tried to hide her eyes but Ranma caught her.

"What did I say?" he asked, clearly distressed by his friend crying only to be enfolded in a firm hug. His pigtail stood on end before settling down. She was just giving him a hug and it was okay to accept hugs. Truth be told, he did enjoy the feel of them as he hesitantly returned the hug. She was a little shorter than Kat but was definitely more muscular.

"I was just wishing Ryoga could be as sweet as you." She replied once she had gotten over her brief cry, carefully making sure she showed no traces of her loss of control. With a bright smile she took his hand and proceeded to lead him in the exact opposite direction before he gave her hand a little tug in the right direction. Sora, with a sheepish grin on her face, gladly let him lead her in the right direction. Ranma rolled his eyes over the fanged girl's antics before a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Yesterday when the Old Ghoul showed up she was pissed that someone hurt Shampoo but when she found out it was you she just left. Why?" the pigtailed boy asked bluntly. His companion's face darkened noticeably and her smile was just a tad evil like it was when she fought Shampoo.

"It's nothing all that special except that I set a few things in motion before I went after that Amazon bitch. The first was to inform a few people of where I was going. If they didn't hear from me in a day then they were to call the police and the Chinese embassy. Nabiki made sure that Cologne knew the measures taken so even though she could probably kill me she wouldn't want her government mad at her. As my employer says "It's not how hard you hit but how hard you think." So as long as I had the mental advantage then she couldn't beat me." The Hibiki girl said to the now thoughtful Ranma.

"That's kinda cool…but I prefer to take care of things myself." He said to his wiser companion who merely shrugged in response.

"We all have different ways of handling things." She said but before she could continue, the wall in front of them exploded. The sight that was revealed made Ranma's blood run cold. It was Ryoga and he looked far from happy. Luckily he hadn't taken notice of them yet. Ranma felt Sora go rigid beside him, looking to her suddenly as he felt her energy rise. She was audibly growling as she regarded the figure of the Lost Boy. With a shove, she sent the pigtailed boy careening into a side alley.

"What the hell…?" he asked stunned.

"Get to the school NOW!" she roared at him before focusing solely on her target once again. With a loud yell, Sora rushed to battle her brother. Ranma knew that he would worse than useless and that this was her fight. With a weary sigh, he took off for the school rapidly, praying she could handle this herself.

Ryoga heard the shout and stared in stunned amazement at his older sister. She looked a lot harder than he remembered and the look on her face was nothing short of horrifying. It was a mask of pure, unadulterated rage mingled with hatred and an underlying…sadness? He knew that he wasn't on the best of terms with the former heir but he never expected to be faced with this. Before he could even say a word she was in his face with a wicked right hook that he barely slipped under. His instincts were screaming at him to fight back but since she was family he decided to exercise diplomacy.

"What's going on sis? Why are you attacking me?" he asked in a slightly panicky tone. She was definitely better than he remembered and her speed was phenomenal even if she was slower than his usual sparring partner. His sister was a master of their particular style while he was still learning. On skill alone she had him beat.

"Don't play innocent with me…P-chan." She whispered in cold fury as her fists began moving even faster. So intent on dodging her blows was he that he failed to make the connection to what she said but then it sunk in. His face paled and he stopped in his tracks as realization dawned. She knew his secret! His momentary inattention cost him dearly as several jackhammer blows took him in the abdomen. The Bakusai Tenketsu training had hardened him considerably and made it more difficult for Ranma to hurt him, but this was a fellow Hibiki and they naturally hit harder. The air exploded from him lungs, forcing him to retreat briefly under the cover of the same attack that increased his endurance. The stone shrapnel bouncing off his sister's body like water off a duck's back.

"That honorless bastard told you didn't he? When I see him next I'll kill him! Get out of my way or I will go through you." He told her in a deadly quiet voice only to find her openly grinning at him.

"He didn't tell me…do you want to know how I found out?" she asked in a syrupy sweet tone. The Lost Boy nodded curtly even as he firmed up his stance. Sora's grin threatened to split her face as she watched him, her own stance loose and easy but no less formidable.

"Nabiki told me…she's not as oblivious to your curse as you think she is, but there was one problem with exposing you." The girl told him conversationally, her voice pitched low deliberately forcing him closer to hear her but not too close.

"The problem wasn't how angry her sister would be. That could be handled of course. No, the problem was if everyone found out that her pet pig was really a young man. Not only a young man but her ex-fiancé's rival. What do you think that would do for her honor? It would certainly be a black mark on the Tendo family's honor…not to mention the stain on our family honor. I think you can understand why I'm angry now." She told him in that conversational tone that suddenly left the flesh creeping up his spine. The stakes for this match were suddenly a thousand times higher than any he had with Ranma. Left unspoken was that she was here for honor. Not just hers but for a girl she didn't even know. He still had to clarify.

"What happens if you win?" he asked, feeling his stomach drop and his heart leap up into his chest at her suddenly contemplative look.

"The winner will be the Hibiki family heir to the school. The loser will never practice the family style again. If I win then the debt of honor will be satisfied in that you will have lost everything. However, if I lose then I get the fitting punishment for failure to stop your crimes. One more condition and you cannot refuse: no rematches." She finished the challenge but to her surprise he didn't immediately attack. Now he was grinning.

"Talking to me about honor are you? What was honorable about that bastard running out on our duel? He knew of my curse so he should have waited for me. Then he made me hunt him down all the way to Jusenkyo where I picked up my curse. Once again thanks to him I was knocked into one of the pools there. Then his fat oaf of a father tried to eat me! You want me to just give up now? This is about my honor!" he declared heatedly.

"What about other people's honor?" Sora asked him, already fearing his response.

"I don't care anymore. He beats a freaking god and now everything's changed. We don't fight as often because he beat a god and now I'm beneath him. Do you have any idea how that feels? I'm forever in second place to an honorless bastard who never deserved Akane. I don't deserve her either as you kindly reminded me, but Akari treats me better anyway. If it's the school you want…I'll gladly take your all and crush you." His eyes burning with the light of the fanatic as his aura swirled around him in blacks and greens, violet lightning shooting through his form as he prepared himself for battle.

"Shit…he's insane…this is starting to look a lot worse than I thought." Sora said to herself as her own aura calmly flowed from her body in soft pinks and red before coalescing into the red of anger yet her eyes remained clear. The fury of the berserker needed to be tempered if she was going to win against this insanity driven behemoth. The two Hibikis dropped their packs to the ground, cracking the concrete from the force before launching themselves at each other furiously. The initial assault was concluded so rapidly that neither one of them realized when they were shunted apart.

Ryoga had opened up with a straight punch to her chest while she grabbed the arm and attempted a throw only to be cuffed in the side of the head. Rather than swooning from the blow, she slammed her elbow into his gut. Their auras flared violently forcing them apart. The two leapt at one another again, intent on finishing this quickly only to be knocked apart once again by opposing auras. Both combatants were breathing heavily, nursing wounds that weren't healing as fast as they should be. They circled one another, getting a feel for the other before suddenly stopping.

"One of us is not walking away under their own power." Sora told her brother calmly as she suddenly scooped up her umbrella and giving it a peculiar wrench, the umbrella portion flying off as she held the handle, revealing a finely crafted sword.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Ryoga said with a twisted smile as his aura gathered between his hands before unleashing his trademark ki attack.

"Shi Shi Hokodan!" he roared out as his twisted aura formed into a sphere of ki before launching violently at his grimly smiling sister. Her aura abruptly flared white as she slashed the sword down violently crying out her own attack.

"Reiken!" (translation: Sacred Sword) her own attack roared to life before punching through his attack, continuing on to its target however much reduced by the ball of depression energy. Much to Sora's surprise, his attack simply closed up and struck her full on. The street was lit up by blasts of light and dark ki in a swirling maelstrom trapping the two warriors in the eye of the storm, their auras fueling the terrible funnel they were stuck in. Ryoga was scorched and burned in several places from the attack but otherwise was none the worse for the wear. His sister was worse off by far since his attack wasn't depleted in the slightest. She could feel her lungs sucking laboriously for air as she fought to remain standing. Her ki attack was one of the advanced moves of the school but she didn't have the control to use more than one. Ryoga however was calmly gathering in energy for another depression blast.

"Y-you think…that beating me will…excuse your dishonor?" she gasped out, the storm nearly obliterating her words.

"It certainly will make me feel better. Though I think after this I might be an only child." He told her as calmly as if her discussing the weather and that was when she felt fear trickle down her throat. It was a bitter drink but there was nothing she could do. The horrible cyclone kept her from dodging and her ki was too low to withstand another blast. Casting her mind out for options she decided on the only thing she could do. The dishonor to all the families involved needed to be avenged and she was the only one to do it. Summoning all the power she had left, coupled with the certainty that she was not going to survive, she called out to their ancestors to bless her decision. When she felt her energy expand greatly she knew she had been heard. With a look of cold finality she regarded her brother and felt the tears fall. Maybe if he had to learn his lesson like this than maybe he wouldn't repeat it.

"Shi Shi Hokodan!" he cried out again, fuelling his depression with the knowledge that he was killing his own sister. The girl who loved him and had trained with him in their art. The only one who tried to understand him, but sadly he had come too far to back out now as the depression bomb left his hands thus beginning a terrible chain of events. Sora leapt forward at top speed, crashing into the attack with her aura fully extended, and forcing her way through. Several times she almost failed, her clothes disintegrating from the force of the blast, burns appearing on her body, but she would not stop. With one last gasp of energy she was through much to Ryoga's shock. Without thinking about it, he caught her in his arms, finding her own arms thrown around him. He was left staring down at her as she looked up at him, her eyes dimming with either exhaustion or death he didn't know, but he held her.

"R-Ryoga…be a good…boy…okay?" she asked him as if the answer was desperately important. He couldn't think of anything to say so he answered her the best way that he could.

"You win, Sora. You're the heir to the school and I won't use the family style again. I don't deserve it." The tears rolling down his face let her know he had understood just moments before she slumped in his arms. Once her aura stopped powered the tornado it collapsed harmlessly, debris falling down around them. A sorrow filled howl left him as he held his sister close before falling to his knees, cradling her badly abused body.

-Furinkan-

Akane was talking quietly to Ranma during English class, since the conversation was conducted in English then Miss Hinako wouldn't be too angry with them or so they reasoned. It was pretty nice to have a quiet chat without wanting to kill the other person or at least insult them badly. They would have continued had the massive ki flare not distracted them. Ranma stared out the window in utter amazement at the swirling energies clearly visibly to the school at large. When it suddenly winked out he was left with a gaping void inside as one of the familiar ki signatures he had grown to know had just winked out.

"W-what the hell…?" the pigtailed boy stammered not even realizing he had pressed his face to the window.

"Saotome! Get back in your seat this instant!" the piping young voice of his child teacher ordered only to get the shock of her life.

"Screw you! I'm going now!" he told her over his shoulder before leaping out the window, panic lending his strength as he took off at a dead run in the direction of the disturbance. He barely registered it when he found Akane beside him, keeping up only through sheer force of will. How long had he wished the two of them could have been together in matters like this but now it couldn't be. This wasn't the time to worry about stuff like that as they arrived at the scene. An ambulance was there, loading a stretcher into the back. Ryoga was standing off to the side with tears streaming down his face. He looked up at their approach before his face screwed up into an even more hideous mask of misery before bawling loudly.

"What's going on Ryoga?" the boy asked, fear clear in his voice. The response he got solidified his heart in ice as the Lost Boy pointed to the ambulance. Before the medics could say yes or no, he was in the back of the vehicle beside the badly abused young woman. He barely knew her but she had been so nice to him. Why were the new people so nice to him but the people who knew him treated him like shit? He couldn't let it go at this.

"Ranma! Where are you going?" Akane demanded of her one time fiancé.

"Drop by my house and tell Mom and Kat that I went to the hospital with Sora. If ya want the full story ask them. Don't forget to ask P-chan about his involvement in all this." Ranma fired back with venom heavy in his voice. Even though the tone wasn't for her it still chilled her to the bone. When she looked back to Ryoga he wouldn't even look at her. Something was going on and she wanted to know what it was. Nodding her head in Ranma's direction she walked away with Ryoga in tow. The paramedics shut the doors to the ambulance and took off quickly towards the hospital with Ranma holding his friend's hand the whole way…

End Chapter

Author's Notes: I love drama almost as much as I love humor. I like fanfics where everything turns out fine but struggle always makes for a better read in my opinion. I don't know as of yet how long this story will be as I don't have a clear destination in mind, but I'm hoping this story keeps you entertained. Thank you all so much for your kind words. Ja ne!