Texas Tournament: The Trip Part 1

The Texas Tournament, The trip Part 1
Started By: Happosai


Jim King sat in his small office at the "King Dude Ranch and Dojo". He was a young man dressed in jeans a flannel shirt and wearing a ten gallon cowboy hat. His expression was far from happy.

"Gosh Darnit! We're gonna go broke at this rate. Somehow we're gonna have ta get some new blood into tha school. All I need is some attention, and then my recruitment would go up."

He glanced at the television, and noticed that those crazy martial artists from Nerima had made the news again. Suddenly, inspiration struck as he picked up the phone to make a few calls.

24 Hours Later

An invitation arrived in every martial artists mailbox. Included with each invitation was a voucher for a seat on a chartered plane to west Texas.

The invitation read like this.

Greetings Y'all
You are hereby invited to the
King Dude ranch and Dojo
For an anything goes Martial arts tournament.
First prize
An all expense paid trip to anywhere in the world.


Silk looked at the invitation. She seemed to be getting all sorts of odd invitations lately. But a free trip to America was nothing to be scoffed at. But she wondered about the name of the tournament. She thought anything goes was a Japanese style that hadn't been exported. She picked up the phone and dialed the Tendou Dojo, seeking Happosai, master of Anything Goes.

Happosai had just come from the Koi pond so he was female at the moment. "All I did was ask for a little date!" She shouted in the direction that she flew in from.

She heard the phone ringing, and Kasumi was working hard so she decided to answer the silly device.

Using her best Kasumi impression Happi answered the phone. "Hello, Tendo Dojo, may I help you today?"

"Hey Happi, do you know anything about this invitation we all seem to have received from 'King's dude ranch and dojo'? It seems he's having a 'anything goes' martial arts tournament in western Texas, in the United States. I didn't think you'd exported your school to the US." Silk ignored Happosai's attempted impersonation. She knew the old master to well to be so easily fooled.

Happi frowned slightly, Silk was so hard to fool sometimes. She had to think for a moment about the question. "I didn't exactly export it, Silk-Chan, but I taught some of it to a young cowboy when I was in the United States. Perhaps he mixed what I taught him with some other teachings and created his own Hybrid anything goes school."

Ryuu read the invitation and smiled. At least this tournament had a prize worth getting. He glanced at the list of tournaments he had been banned from. Street Fighter...Tekken...King of Fighters... He sighed and then laughed. "Seems this one hasn't heard." he thought in glee. He pulled out the voucher and saw that the plane would be leaving soon. He packed his bag and walked toward the airport...the 30 or so miles there.

Keisuke entered the kitchen from the stairs leading to his room. "Yo, Silk." he said waving the invitation in front of her face, ignoring the fact that she was on the phone. "What the hell is this?"

Perfume followed Keisuke into the room. "This sounds like fun, I've always wanted to go to America."

Alex looked his own invitation, and grinned. "Well, this looks interesting. I think I'll go to this thing." He looked at the trophies he had from previous tournaments. "Darkstalkers...Tenka-ichi-budokai...Fatal Fury...Marvel Vs. Capcom..." He grinned. "I think it's high time I added another one to the shelf."

There was a clatter of dishes as Mimiku fended for himself in the kitchen. Taking out some chilled ramen, he sat and shuffled through the mail. He blinked when he found a letter from the Americas. "Hmm...I wonder what this is about? All the way from Texas!" He quickly opened the eye-catching letter. "A tournament! Hmm...sounds like it'll be fun. I might as well.... I wonder if Kuno and Kodachi were invited...?"

They say you should never speak of the devil, because he will come. Just as Mimiku was wondering about the Kunou's participation, Kodachi was just opening her invitation. "Oh hohohoho Oh my, Texas?" An image of John Wayne appeared in her head. "It's another chance to prove that the Black Rose is a force to be reckoned with!" She laughed insanely and dropped her brother's invitation by his place at the table. He'd find it soon enough.

Fujiko read through her invitation and wasn't laughing. She looked through and the words "Buyer Beware" rang through loud and clear. She'd go all right, but she'd make ulterior plans. No way was she going to be stuck half a world away without a back-up plan. Silk would be proud of her. She found another use for her computer besides Tetris.

"This should be quite some fun..." Ryuu said aloud as he jogged toward his destination. Seeing the airport in the distance he increased his speed. As he ran towards his target he was already formulating battle tactics to use against his opponents.

"Thanks Happi. that's all I needed to know. Bye." Silk hung up the phone and looked at her hovering roommates. "So, you guys coming to Texas too?" she asked them. "I just got off the phone with Happosai, and I think the tournament and the sponsor are legitimate."

Alex was finalizing his packing, and decided to call the Cures and Curses, to see if any of the residents were going. "Hey, did you guys hear about the tournament in Texas? Any of you going?"

Happi smiled to herself. It had been a good long while since she was in Texas, and this school was related to the founding school. She just had to see what was going on.

She ran by the kitchen and grabbed her invitation on her way out.

Moria was just coming in through the kitchen while reading her own invitation to the tournament, when Happosai literally ran into her on her way out, sending both girls, and their invitations, flying.

"OW!" Moria groaned as she picked herself off the floor. "Happi what's the big rush?!" she exclaimed, before her eyes caught sight of two invitations floating down.

Reaching up, she snatched the one out of the air, thinking it was hers, only to realize that it was Happosai's instead. "You got one of these invitations too?" She asked, as she handed it over. "Are you going?"

"Who's going where?" Akane asked as she stepped downstairs to grab a bite to eat. "Did I miss something here?" A brightly colored envelope nearby Happi's feet caught her eye. "Hmmmm... A tournament in the US?!" But before she could give the invitation back to the crimson headed female, Akane was knocked over by an enthusiastic Ranma clawing for the blue piece of paper.

"Tournament...Free trip...Texas." Her fiancée pondered over while Akane picked herself off of the floor. The brown flecks in her eyes slowly turned an irate red as she clenched her hand around a large handle.

Ranma felt the familiar shot of bone-crunching pain that always accompanies one of Akane's mallet blows while she called him her typical insulting name. "BAKA! If you want to go to the Texas just to show off, then be my guest. But you don't have to be rude and inconsiderate."

The sting of the weapon against his flesh was instantly cooled by the refreshing waters of the Koi pond outside. Emerging in his busty female form, the cocky kempoist waved his fist at the hammer wielding vixen and proceeding to walk back inside the dojo.

"No need to get all uptight about it KAWAIKUNE!" He dodged another swing from her. "I don't need no stupid tournament to prove that I'm the best. I'm better than you, that old man of mine and every other person in this cursed town."

"But there's a lot you don't know Ranma." Akane swung at him again and missed for the second time. "And I won't be surprised if someone teaches you a lesson out there." She couldn't deny that he was a great martial artist, nevertheless she couldn't help but be slightly concerned for him. "You'll probably come back all beat up!"

"Whatever. Anything I don't know," He jumped up just in time to feel the mallet brush pass his cheek. Seeing an opening, Ranma lunged forward and flipped behind her back, grabbing it's handle and tried to wring it out of Akane's hands. But he only managed to pull her and the mallet closer. "Anything I don't know...I learn quickly,"

Silk picked up the phone, since she was sitting next to it, and answered Alex's question, "Yes, it looks like Perfume, Keisuke and I are all going. Why do you ask?" Silk and Alex may no longer be a couple, but they were still friends.

Behind her Perfume was throwing a few necessary items into a duffel bag. She had her bag packed and her Naginata, sword, and Bon Boris sitting nearby. She was ready to go on to America before Silk even finished talking on the phone.

Keisuke ran downstairs to his room and grabbed a couple bags he always had prepared travel-ready. He tossed them up the stairs and they landed right next to Perfume's stuff. With that, he ran back up the stairs and waited for Silk to pack so they could leave.

"Just seeing who all I can expect to be there. Besides, it's been too long since I've been back home. I figure I'll go and win this thing, then stop and visit a few friends while I'm there." Alex inwardly grinned, knowing he'd bring out Silk's competitive side.

He already knew Ranma would be there, so he'd get a good workout. "Hope to see all of you there." Alex then looked over at his closet, and his bags began to pack themselves.

"Foolish hope soon answered. Bye." Silk said, dropping the phone on its cradle, she went upstairs to get her bags (prepacked, they always were) but this time she also went to the closet and pulled out her combat gear.

The tightly woven reed basket held her dragonscale formal fighting gear, her fighting fans, a pair of tonfa, and two swords. She didn't plan on using the swords, but she wasn't going to just leave them behind, either. She came down the stairs a moment later, calling to the waiting Perfume and Keisuke, "Let's go. The next train to the airport leaves in five minutes."

They all headed out toward the train station. It wasn't a far walk, about 10 minutes, maybe. The ride to the airport would be another half hour. Taking his seat next to Perfume in the compartment, Keisuke looked at Silk across him. "Excited?" he asked with a smile.

Silk grinned, "Yeah, I've always wanted to go to America. I have some friends who live in Texas. I'd love to see them again." Her eyes were filled with a sort of merry light. "Besides, I need the vacation."

Ryuu entered the airport and shuddered. The thought of riding a dozen tons of metal through the air seemed unnatural to him, as was the notion of any other "civilized" transportation. What was wrong with swimming to the America? Besides the extra time that is. Keeping in his nervousness, Ryuu did all that one such as him could do in a situation like this. He got confused and lost.

Back at the Ranch, Jim had finished his last phone calls. As he hung the receiver back up he turned to the three men in his office.

"This is shaping up better than I planned. We're actually going to have a really good tournament." He smiled at three fighters. "And you three will be representing America, Ken Masters, Terry Bogard, and Johnny Cage, the three best martial artists in America.

Suddenly the door burst open. In stepped Robert Garcia, Andy Bogard, and Paul Phoenix. Andy stepped forward to speak. "Bro, you weren't seriously thinking of joining a tournament without me, were you? I brought along some friends. Mr. King, meet your American fighting dream team."

Silk, Perfume and Keisuke were unaware that the youngest Amazon Rinse had stowed away with them, hiding as a kitten in one of Perfume's bags. Shampoo and Great Grandmother did not allow Rinse to go to America for they thought he was too young to go alone without them who were uninterested in the fight.

The trio (or quartet depending on how you look at it) arrived at the airport terminal. Perfume still didn't enjoy flying but she wasn't afraid of it anymore. That's when she noticed Fujiko already at the terminal.

"Nihao, Fujiko-Chan!" She smiled and gave Fujiko a hug, dropping her bag in the process.

"Hello, Perfume. What brings you guys here? Did you get a silly invitation too?" the redhead asked.

The plane over hadn't been fun. Mimiku had put in second class because he happened to pick a loser to take the place of. It hadn't been that hard to pick out a real sucker and lure them into a dark corner to get their ID and change his face to match theirs, but next time, he was choosing a first class flier! They hadn't given him much trouble at the security desk, since his bokken was wooden and his cloak wasn't considered a 'lethal weapon' here in the Americas.

It only took a short while to catch transportation to the ranch. There was a series of courtesy limos for the foreign combatants. Mim crossed his fingers, hoping Kodachi would be in the same limo as he.

Ryuu sat down nervously on one of the planes to Texas. After swallowing his pride, he had asked someone to direct him to the plane. He looked around a bit worried as the plane started up. Was it his imagination that those wings looked to be falling apart? And this metal it was made of, was it even strong?

Ryuu reached out toward one of the seats in front of him and tore it out with one hand. "AAGGHHH!!!" he screamed, "Everything is falling apart!" He noticed that everything in the plane was easily breakable. "We're all gonna die!" he shouted in panic. He jumped up out of his seat and smashed through one of the walls...and out. Tearing a hole through it he ran toward the ocean and started to swim to Texas...very, very quickly.

Happi-Chan grabbed what few items she needed and rushed to the airport, hoping that her students were following her. She smacked right into Fujiko and her party.

"OW!"

Kodachi Kunou was never one to conform, and was certainly not one to fly anything but the best. She chartered her own Lear jet to Texas. There was simply no way she would travel with the other rabble. A Kunou always goes first class. Her plane landed in Lubbock, Texas, and she took a helicopter the rest of the way to the ranch.

A long way from Texas, there was a Chinese boy in a large robe so deep in his own thoughts never noticed the people in front of him. Therefore, he bumped into them. "Ah! Watch where you are standing! You could hurt someone!" he said as he donned his glasses to study the miscreant. "Silk?" Mousse said, managing to sound surprised. "What on earth are you doing here of all places?"

Perfume smiled when she saw everyone that was going to be going with her. This was going to be a fun flight. "Why Hello Mousse-Chan." "Hm?" Mousse said, turning to the sound of the non-Silk but yet familiar voice. "Perfume, hello. Are you all here for that tournament thing?"

(Tendo Household)

Seeing Happi quickly bolt out of the door after the argument, the belligerent couple finally decided to let things cool down, or rather RANMA DECIDED that he had no time to fuss with Akane when there was a trip to prepare for.

Walking into the kitchen to boil some water, Kasumi handed him a fresh kettle full and smiled as she went back in to prepare a light snack. "WAHHH!!! HOT!! HOT!! HOT!!!" he yelped while his clothes began to fit comfortably on him. Relieved to be in his normal male form again, the pig-tailed boy jokingly stuck out his tongue at his fiancée and followed her upstairs to taunt her while she packed.

"Don't tell me you're going too?"

She looked up at him questionably, pulling out a few shirts and pants and stuffing them into her black suitcase. "Yes. I'm going to compete too. ANY REASON why THAT would seem so strange?" She asked, slightly insulted by Ranma's tone. After years of practicing kempo, her skills could be considered superior to any normal female. Akane wasn't the best martial artist but her quick bursts of energy proved to be formidable in any match.

"Well," he paused for a moment, trying to think of something to say which wouldn't result in a bash across the head. "Uh...no, um you just might be out of your league here. Maybe you should just sit this one out."

He could feel Akane's hot ki flaring up with anger with each word that sputtered out of his mouth. "C'MON AKANE! Stop gettin' so angry all the time. You know it's the truth." This was his way of saying "I'm concerned for you and I don't want you to get hurt." Unfortunately, it came out all wrong.

Holding up her favorite yellow gi, the young Tendou placed the final garment in her suitcase and firmly shut it closed. "I'M GOING TO FIGHT!...If I need anymore training, I'll just get Happosai to teach me...Hey!" She opened her drawer again and realized that most of her underwear was missing, especially the colorful silk bras that she bought a few days ago at the urging of her sister Nabiki. "Why that NASTY LITTLE PERVERT! Oh now I'm DEFINATELY GOING, and when I find him...."

"But you JUST wanted that old prune to show you a few tricks before the tournament... I don't know Akane," Out of sheer spontaneity, he flipped onto his hands and tried to see how long he could maintain a handstand. "That may be too much for even HIM to do. Unless, of course Kawaikune, you think he can train the biggest klutz in all of Japan, in time for the match!!"

Opting for a different weapon this time, the short-haired maiden swung her heavy suitcase around and clobbered Ranma directly in the gut. He fell to the ground hard and stumbled out of the door, almost tripping over his brown backpack in the process.

Finally the quarrelsome couple made it to the airport after being kicked out of two cabs for fighting and one pickup truck for bumming a free ride. "You owe me BIG Ranma!" Akane mumbled as she dragged her suitcase through the halls. Eyeing Happi and the others getting on the plane, she ran after them, bypassing ticket check and baggage claim all together. "PERVERT!" her cries echoes through the terminal, alarming everyone within a mile radius. "I"LL get you for taking my stuff!"

Silk greeted Mouse and Fujiko with smiles, and winced when she heard Ranma and Akane approaching. The plane ride would be violent, she knew. Predictable, for a tournament involving Nerimites, though. "This everyone?" she asked the various people around her, reconsidering for a moment her decision to go. If she stayed she would be one of the only ones in town. It would be a peaceful week, with most of the trouble makers gone.

Perfume smiled at Mousse (Like he could see it) and said, "I wouldn't miss going to America for all the tea in China." Noticing who all was going with her on the flight, she took two Tylenol, knowing that a headache was not far off.

Running ahead of the irate maiden, Ranma quickly scooped Akane up in his arms and held her by the waist. "Let ME GO!" she protested. "I'll kill that old pervert! I'll...I'll drown him it the ocean with my bare hands."

"Calm down." Ranma whispered in to her ear while giving a small embarrassed grin. With his arm still wrapped around her, he picked up the suitcase that she dropped in her pursuit of Happi all the while dodging Akane's flailing arms and legs that thrashed in her short green skirt.

"Givin' him a sight to see huh?" Akane hung motionless while casting an angry look at him. "Chill out. It's not like it turns me on seeing you in your underwear or nothin'. Let's just get on the plane."

Hearing Ranma's voice, Mousse looked around and stared at an innocent passer-by. "Saotome! Release Shampoo at once!" Happi-Chan was a little confused as to why Akane was mad at her this time. She hadn't done anything to the tomboy in at least three days. Then again, who knew what angered the girl half of the time? She grabbed Mousse and turned him the right direction. "This way, Mousse."

Just then the pilot stepped into the terminal. He was wearing Jeans, cowboy boots, a ten gallon hat, and a belt buckle the size of a Buick hubcap. "Y'all the fighters for the King tournament?" he didn't even wait for an answer. "Y'all go git in tha plane, we's goin' up to tha big house."

Mimiku sat in the limo for quite some time before he got a bit uncomfortable. "Hey, what time are we going to get to the tournament?" A large foreboding figure turned and smiled at him with crooked teeth. "Why, we're waiting for the other fighters to arrive. It seems that you came early."

"What?!?" Mimiku blinked. He was sure he was supposed to take the early flight. "They're plane hasn't even taken off yet," the chauffeur continued, "and it looks like you've got a long wait.... Hey, do you know how to play Parcheesi?"

Mimiku screamed for his dear life, jumping out of the limo for some air. There was no way in 'ell he was going to stay in there and play Parcheesi for three hours. He went inside to get something to eat and settle his nerves.

Silk considered for only a moment longer before picking her bags up and boarding the plane. It may be a crazy vacation, but it was a change of scene, at least. She discovered that the charter jet had no 'coach class'; every seat was luxurious and had sufficient legroom for even the tallest of them. "The only way to travel." she said as she picked a window seat near the front and loaded her bag into the overhead compartment.

"Whoah." Keisuke said, admiring the inside of the plane. "This is sweet." Keisuke walked to the front of the plane and saw Silk in the window seat. "Hey! I wanted that seat." shrugging it off, he took the window seat next to her across the aisle.

Perfume settled into place in the seat behind Silk. She was still apprehensive about the flight, considering what happened last time she got on a plane.

"/Silk-Chan, they don't hijack chartered planes do they?/"

Keisuke looked back at Silk. "Don't worry, I don't think they do. I'm sure we'll be safe." said Keisuke, answering Perfume in her native language. "What?" he asked when they both gave hum a dumbfounded look. "So I've done Chinese opera before. What's the big deal?"

Fujiko stared out the window. "I don't know about this, gang. I always thought "the big house" was slang for jail..." was all she said.

Ryuu gasped as he crawled onto a beach. "Oh..." he groaned, "My arms hurt like hell itself." He wrung out his shirt and put it on when he noticed the people staring at him. "What?" he asked loudly, "Never seen a guy swim from Japan before?" He shook his head to clear it of water and went off to ask for directions to the Tournament.

Akane sighed upon looking at the jumbled mass of people in the middle of the isle and promptly jumped over them angrily making her way to the cockpit. "What are you doing?!" Her pig-tailed fiancé asked as she plopped herself down in the pilot's seat and placed a huge set of headphones on her head.

Turning around for a moment to search for a control manual, Akane merely answered "First, you said my fighting skills weren't up to par for this tournament." Her hands brushed lightly against a massive book underneath her seat. After becoming confused with all the weird terminology and foreign terms, she threw the manual behind her back and started randomly pressing buttons.

"Then," Akane continued, "Happi steals my underwear." Stopping briefly, she clicked on her seatbelts and Ranma followed suit unsure of where she was going with all of her complaining. "We get kicked out of two cabs just trying to get to the AIRPORT and NOW some idiot tries to take over the plane! I'm tired of this! WE ARE GOING TO AMERICA EVEN IF IT KILLS US!"

Suddenly, a loud whirring blasted through as the tires started to head down the runway. "Look at what ya did Kawaikune!" Ranma said while frantically grabbing a large lever hoping it would make the plane stop. Instead, as the plane moved down the runway at a faster speed, it quickly tipped upwards making all of the unsecured passengers flip and tumble to the end of the isle. Several yelps and cries of pain could be heard as the plane elevated rapidly.

"What I DID?! You're the one who pulled the level! How do you steer this thing?!" "Control Tower to the Texas Belle. Do you read me? Over...Texas Belle, Do you read me? Over." The operator repeated once more before Akane pulled the headphone mike to her lips and tried to answer in between screams to Ranma's failed attempts to keep the plane steady.

"Uh yeah this is AKANE! Texas Belle, is that what THEY CALL THIS?! What a STUPID name. HELP US!!!!" "Ok Akane...This is Tenchi from the Control Tower... Stay calm, everything's going to be ok." "OK?! What the HELL are you talking about?! My no good fiancé is CONTROLING THE PLANE!" Ranma scrunched up his nose at her remark but continued to remain focussed on what he was doing.

"Akane," Tenchi continued," I don't know how or why you got in the cockpit but may I please speak to the pilot?" "No. He tried to hi-jack us. I don't know where he is now nor do I care. Please...TELL US HOW TO FLY THIS THING SO WE WON'T DIE!" Tenchi cleared his throat for a moment and continued to talk in his normal mellow voice. "Calm down, you're only acting this way because you're in an uncomfortable situation."

"She's like this all the time!" Ranma commented. "BAKA!" Raising up a huge mallet to sock him in the mouth, the Control Tower operator interceded. "Akane, listen to me very closely. Beside your seat, to the left, there is a large blue button. Do you see it?" "Hai. The one that says 'Auto-Pilot'?"

"Yes! Press that al the way down and have a nice trip to America. ...Please don't come back." Akane waved her fist at the speakers. "I heard that!" "Oops, left my mike on!" Ignoring Tenchi's last sentence, Akane followed his instructions and upon her completion, the plane steadied its course and set out on its nonstop fight to Texas.

Alex, who had been sitting down when everyone went flying, chuckled softly as he secured his keyboard and walked towards the cockpit. He saw Keisuke buried in a pile of bodies. He stepped into the cabin and said as he moved towards the pilot's seat, "If you don't mind, Akane, I'll take over the flying."

Keisuke scrambled out from under the sudden mess. "What the hell just happened??" Keisuke gasped, dusting himself off. He saw Alex walking in, going to fly the plane. "Um, Alex. I wouldn't touch that if I didn't know what I was doing. Flying a plane is a serious thing, you know."

Ranma glanced at Alex, he and Akane walking out of the cockpit. "You know how to fly a plane?" He shrugged slightly. "I hope you do. Cause this uncute girl over here sure doesn't." Ranma ran to the back of the plane, anticipating Akane's brutal retaliation.

The actual pilot of the plane had finally struggled out of his bindings he was tied up with, and emerged from the lavatory.

"Gawl Dang Hijackers! why do thay always go afta me?"

The Texan pilot made his way to the cockpit.

Alex didn't even bother to look back at Keisuke, he just flashed a pilot's license. "I spend close to half my time as a bird. Flying comes fairly naturally to me. Now you can just go back to your seat and relax, unless you want to stay up here and co-pilot."

The Trip Part 2