"I thought Terry was going to be here thirty minutes ago." Andy declared as he impatiently walked around in circles "What is it with him always being late?" "Don't worry too much about it, Andy." Joe told him as he comfortably sat back on a chair "He'll be here. You know how Terry is." "I would really like to spar with him after the tournament." Kim brought out "Last time we met I didn't get a chance to do it." "Hey, Mai?" Joe asked her as he saw her distracted "Something wrong?" "Not really." she responded "I just think I know the group over there from somewhere." as she pointed out to team Street Fighter. "Now that you mention it." Andy added "I think I've seen them before." "Man, you guys are really out of it." Joe remarked "Don't you remember they were in the same Street fighting tournament we were last year." "Oh, yeah." Mai stated triumphantly "Now I remember. Didn't Terry made it to the finals?" "Now I remember that blond guy in the red dogi." Andy said "Can't really say I'd like to meet him, looks too much of a snob." "You weren't in that tournament, were you Kim?" Joe asked his friend. "I'm afraid I couldn't assist." Kim replied "I would have really liked to enter the tournament, but it was my son's birthday and I really couldn't let that pass by." "You should've been there, man." Joe went on "Terry and some guy in a white dogi really gave us a show. Both ended up in a tie." "Isn't it sweat, Andy." Mai began as she put her arms around Andy's waist "The way a father thinks of his children first. I just can't wait to feel what's it like having kids." "Er... yeah... sure..." Andy responded, he then saw Terry approaching up ahead "Hey look, there's Terry." rather grateful of his brother appearance to help the change of conversation. He wasn't feeling very comfortable when Mai began to talk about children and stuff like that. "Hey, who's that he's talking to next to him?" Joe asked. "Isn't it the guy he fought at the finals last year's tournament?" Mai sort of answered. As a mater of fact, Mai was right. Entering the parking lot were Terry and Ryu walking together. In spite what one might think that they were having a friendly chat, they weren't. Yes, Terry Bogard and Ryu HATED each other. The only reason they were walking together was because they were heading towards the same place (and just that). Both seemed to had some unfinished business since their last encounter. Something about proving who was the best. And right now, they were arguing about the matter. "You'd wish, blondy!" Ryu declared "I could kick your ass any day of the week!" "Is that so?" Terry asked in the same aggressive tone of voice "And what happened when you woke up from that wonderful dream?" "You think I'm joking? Why don't we find out who's number one?" Ryu told him "Or maybe you're too scared that I'll make you cry?" "The only thing that makes me cry is noticing that you haven't change clothes since the last time I saw you." Terry replied "Haven't you heard about deodorants? Or is that some sort of taboo for you?" "Fashion advice from a guy who always wears a red cap and jacket?" Ryu mocked "That's a good one! Especially when that guy has such a girlish hairdo." "And I suppose that your red bandanna of yours is very appealing?" he responded "Wasn't your boyfriend Ken who gave it to you?" "Okay! You wanna settle this?" Ryu stated angrily as he set down his traveling bag "You and me right here, right now!" as he took a fighting stance. "Oh, you wanna fight?" Terry went on as he let down his bag as well "Well c'mon! I'll kick you back into the stone age!" as he cracked his knuckles. If it wasn't for the two teams that were there to interfere with the fight, things might have turned ugly. Both Andy and Joe were restraining Terry while Ken and Guile were doing the same thing with Ryu. With some effort, they managed in setting them apart and took them to opposite sides of the parking lot. Ryu finally seemed to calm down once he lost sight of team Garo. After that, Ken and Guile finally released him. "I can't believe you guys!" Chun-Lee pointed out "Haven't you two settled your differences like grownups yet?" "I think they're even more at each other's throats now than before." Ken pointed out. "I'll be fine." Ryu declared, a little annoyed for the lecture his friends were giving him, he then picked up his traveling bag and put it over his shoulder. "Well," Guile began "now that that's settled, can we concentrate in the tournament?" "Sure." Ryu told him. As if he popped out of nowhere, Dan suddenly appeared behind both Ken and Ryu and put his arms around their shoulders. Ryu only now noticed that Dan was here... you really couldn't say that he was very enthusiastic about it, he certainly didn't expect seeing him here. "Hey! No problemo!" Dan said as he shook the two other dogi dressers "While having us *three musketeers* here, there's no way we're gonna lose." Two big sweat drops appeared behind Ken and Ryu's head. Obviously they weren't as happy being with Dan as he was being with them. Chun-Lee and Guile's face expression seemed to share that same opinion. Dan however, was completely oblivious to all the faces. As the team headed to their room, Ryu sighted Ken. Even though he wasn't using any words, it was clear that he was asking "what on Earth was a looser like Dan doing in the team". Ken just responded by raising the palms of his hands upwards in an interrogative way, as if things just took that course and couldn't be helped. Ryu sighed, not only he'd have to stand Terry "Lone WHIMP" Bogard during the entire tournament, but now he'd have to tolerate Dan too. "Well," Narsus commented after witnessing the entire event "that seemed to be settled out quite efficiently." "I just hope neither Terry or Ryu cause us any troubles." Shinobu said "We have too many things to do to be watching them all the time in case a fight brakes loose." "Don't worry too much about it, Shinobu." his companion told him "I'm sure they'll concentrate more in winning the tournament than fighting. I think they're aware that causing a fight might cost them their place in the tournament." "You know we can't do that." Shinobu replied "We need all sixteen teams for the tournament. We can't afford to disqualify a team now." "I know that," Narsus went on "and you know that. But I'm sure that not letting both team Garo and Street Fighter know will make things a lot more easy on us." "Then let's keep this between us." Shinobu suggested as he sat back in his chair. Just as Shinobu's back touched the chair, a brutal engine noise made its way to the parking lot, almost making him lose his balance and fall to the ground. There really hasn't been any moment for him to rest the whole day. Up ahead, the cause of the noise was approaching. And it was approaching very fast. It was the bus Isamu was driving, and it didn't seemed to be slowing down. Narsus and Shinobu began to worry, considering that they were in the bus trajectory. Preferring being safe than sorry, the two of them decided it was wiser to jump out of the bus' way before it turned them into pancakes. As soon as the two threw themselves to the ground, the bus made savage stop which might have probably thrown all it's passengers to the front of the vehicle. The bus had stop just a couple of inches away from where Narsus and Shinobu were standing moments ago. The two UBT helpers slowly raised their heads to see if everything was safe. As the bus' door opened, Isamu jumped out of the vehicle with his charming little boy smile. "I sure had you guys worried, didn't I?" he stated amused "I told you not to worry. If it has an engine, I can drive it noooo problem!" Narsus sighed, Isamu's daring driving skills sure wasn't good for his heart condition. Even if he wasn't going as a passenger. Shinobu and him finally stood up to greet the new participants for the event. All of the bus' passengers were looking rather pale, if not almost dead form terror. Each one *slowly* began to descend from their transportation. Some of them still trembling, some others holding on to their couple. Since that term was a little difficult to explain in Tenchi's and Ranma's case; both of them ended up being held by their *several* respective suitors. Even Keiichi who was used to speed seemed to be more than a little shocked by the ride. "A... are we dead y... yet?" Ukyou asked to no one in particular. Several minutes later, once the last visitors registered and everyone got their respective room, Narsus and Shinobu went to report to their superior. Once they entered the room where their employer always met with them, the usual light that came from the floor didn't took too long in appearing and the couple transparent eyes floating above it opened up. "Well?" the voice said "Give me your report." "Yes sir." Shinobu declared as he held his clipboard for further consultation "All teams had been given rooms. In spite of the unexpected guests, we've managed in setting everyone conveniently." "Good." echoed the voice "And what about the recreation room?" "Everything has been taken care of." Narsus began "The video game center, the tennis court, the swimming pool, the pool tables, Ping-Pong tables, dancing hall and bar are now ready to be used by our guests without any inconvenience." "Very well." their boss went on "I assume everything is in order then." Both Shinobu and Narsus looked at each other not very comfortable for what they were going to inform. "Actually," Narsus started "we do have a problem." "Which is?" the voice asked as it narrowed it's eyes (which was of the few expresions it coud do). "Ataru Moroboshi showed up." Shinobu continued "Alone." "What about his team?" "There's no such thing as team Moroboshi now." Narsus explained "Actually there never was. For some reason, Ataru was unable to form a team." "And now we're one team short." concluded Shinobu. "We need all sixteen of them for the tournament." the voice made clear "How do you plan to fix this?" "Narsus and I came up with a temporary solution." Shinobu started. "Which solution?" "We decided that for today's draw we'd postpone the sixteenth number, for the time being." Narsus began "In spite of who might that team be, he'd be the last one to compete in the tournament along with the team that will draw number fifteen." "Since the tournament is divided in two blocks," Shinobu continued "We'll start with the first block and move on to the second block. Team sixteen being the last team from block number two. That'll give us enough time to find the appropriate competitors to fill the gap." "And how much time will that be?" the voice questioned. "We've calculated seven days, tops." Shinobu answered "It won't be easy finding a replacement team in such short notice, but we'll do our best." "Very well." their leader spoke "Start looking for possible candidates. In the meantime, get everything ready for the draw. Is my link to the main hall ready?" "Yes sir." Meanwhile, at one of the contestant's rooms, Deedlit and Miaka were caring on with their chat. Each one told the other about her life in general, friends, different situations and adventures that could be considered important to tell. "Wow." Deedlit said "This Tomahome guy of yours, seems to be quite a catch." "Just wait till you meet him." Miaka enthusiastically declared "I mean... we're talking about a *major* babe here! Handsome, brave, noble, gentle. He's got everything!" "I'm more or less familiar with that kind of men." Deedlit told her "But, by any chance. Is he a little... you know... dense when it comes to romantic stuff?" thinking of Parn as an example. "Not at all!" Miaka responded "Take a look at this." as she showed Deed her ring "He gave it to me. Neat hun?" "That's a beautiful ring." she remarked [I can't believe this! I'm practically ten times older than her (we're talking about Elf years here) and *she* has a better love life than mine. I feel like a total loser.] At that moment, someone knocked at the door. Both girls stopped their chat to see who it was. Outside the room, both Parn and Tomahome awaited the girls. Both of them had a chance to briefly introduced themselves to one another considering that they were knocking at the same door. As their two companions opened the door, Miaka quickly threw herself affectionately towards her man, much unlike Deedlit who just walked out and said "Hi". She obviously would've liked to imitate her friend, but she knew very well that Parn would be completely oblivious to her gesture. Miaka took the chance to introduce Tomahome to Deedlit as she did the same with Parn. "Did you rest well?" Tomahome asked Miaka as both headed toward the elevators, leaving behind the other couple. "I was talking more than sleeping." Miaka answered "But I'm okay." as she snuggled up closer to him. Deedlit just saw as the couple left. She really felt jealous of Miaka's relationship. Not because of Tomahome, but by the way they held and hugged, things that still hadn't shown up in her relationship with Parn. "We might as well go also." Parn declared as he snapped Deed out of her thoughts "The others are already at the main hall and we shouldn't be late." Deed just made a disappointed face as a response to Parn's lack of concern about her welfare. After "humph"ing, she left towards the elevator, leaving her dense friend behind. "Men!" she coldly declared loud enough for Parn to hear. Parn just stood there rather confused and trying to find out what was all that about. "Was it something I said?" he asked unsure, although Deed was too far away to hear him. He quickly went to catch her. In a mater of minutes, all the teams for the tournament were present at the main hall. The place was rather large considering that all the competitors fitted in and could move at ease. At the end of the corridor, a stage about ten feet square had been set up with a podium at the center. The walls were made out of fine white marble, which only proved to all the competitors, once again, the luxury of the UBT installations. Even the carpet they were standing on seemed to be made from way-above-average quality materials. At the front wall, where everyone was facing, a huge billboard was placed, showing the diagram of how the tournament will develop. There was two blocks, each one with eight entries. The outline was very simple, the first victory would put the team in quarter finals, the next victory into semifinals and the last match would determine who would be the winner of the tournament and therefore, the winner of the wish. Still, according to UBT rules, there was only going to be one match per day, which would slow things a little. Everyone was a little restless, some anxious to now against who they were going to compete, some others actually more concerned about UBT's motives for creating this tournament and some others mostly observing the other competitors... if they were worth watching. "Wow! I can't believe this place!" Makoto declared to her Senshi friends "Everywhere I turn around there's a ravishing-prospect-of-male-gorgeousness present." "I'd say there's at least one good looking guy per team!" Minako added. "Helllllooo!" Luna stated "Aren't you forgetting why we're here? Secret identity discovered... Possible trap... Probably a new enemy... Doesn't these words ring a bell?" "Check out the guy with the pigtail!" Rei pointed out, completely ignoring Luna. "The one next to the guy with the bandanna?" Minako asked. "No, the other one." she confirmed "The one on the other side of the room, next to that other hunk with long brown hair." Luna just sighed, it wasn't going to be easy making the girls cooperate with this investigation, especially with so many good looking guys. It appeared that she'd be relying mostly on Ami, who seemed to be the only Senshi with her feet on the ground. As the doors at the end of the hall opened, both Shinobu and Narsus walked inside the room. They were caring what seemed like some sort of metal disk with several cables and connections. Once they both made it to the stage, they deposited the disk and stepped back. A glowing light reflecting a couple of eyes came out of the object. The crowd immediately silenced and paid close attention to the new face... er... eyes. "Greetings." a voice echoed throughout the room "Allow me to welcome you all to this event. The first Ultimate Basketball Tournament. My name is Lord Jade 72, I'm your host and sponsor of the tournament. Today we'll be determining the places for the competitions. My assistants Narsus and Shinobu will give you the details on how the event will be organized. I will leave now and let them explain everything necessary to you. I hope you enjoy your staying here and the tournament as well. If you have any questions or complains, please let my assistants know, they will inform me afterwards of the situations. All of this to guarantee your comfort while being our guests." The light began to fade away after those final words. Some of the contestants looked more confused, others seemed more distrustful and others didn't knew exactly what to think. The speach was incredibly short any only managed in setting new doubts between the contestants. The two assistants could hear several mumbling and whispers from their guests. Narsus stepped behind the podium and took the microphone. After tapping in it to get everyone's attention once again, he spoke. "For the draw, may all the team captains step forwards, please." he requested. Each captain stepped forwards as told. Next to the podium, Shinobu brought along an urn and asked each one of the teams representatives to take a number. After that, the contestants had to go with Narsus so that he could register their number on the billboard. The matches went as following: Block number 1: First match: Team Garo Densetstu versus Team Maison Ikoku. Second match: Team Gaia versus Team Street Fighter. Third match: Team Sailor Senshi versus Team Nerv. Fourth match: Team Nerima versus Team Cephiro. Block number 2: First match: Team Lodoss versus Team Nekomi tech (Oh My Goddess!). Second match: Team Slayers versus Team Fushigi. Third match: Team Tenchi versus Team El-Hazard. Fourth match: Team Experts of Justice versus Team #16. "Excuse me." Chief Chucho asked Shinobu "But where is the team we'll be competing against to pass to quarter finals?" "The sixteen team isn't here yet." he responded "They had... technical problems, but the team should be here for the day of their match." Everyone began to see who were they going to compete against. Several expectations took place. Ranma was looking very confident about winning the first match against team Cephiro. The same could be said about Ryoko, even though she didn't knew much about basketball, she wasn't very impressed by what her opponents could offer. Besides, her powers could always give her an edge over the other contestants (or at least she thought so). As time went on, each team decided to either go back to their rooms or visit the installations. As the sun began to set down, back at the parking lot, a BMW arrived and parked right outside the facilities of UBT as it stopped, the driver's door opened and a slender figure appeared, dressed in a conservative green suit. Her long silky brown hair was hanging over her left shoulder and her eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark shades. [So this is where Morisato-kun and Belldandy are.] Sayoko thought as she took of her glasses [I should be in his team. Not Belldandy.] she then kicked the car's wheel in frustration. [If it wasn't for this piece of junk who broke out in the middle of nowhere, I might've managed asking Keiichi to put me in his team.] she added [I can't imagine what went wrong. I had it checked last month and it was working like a charm.] From one of the guest room's window, another person was spotted. This one however was observing the first and seemed to do it quite amused from her bedroom window. It was Urd who was spying the newcomer with a pair of binoculars. [Looks like she managed to get her car fixed after all.] Urd thought [She's persistent, that's for sure. But I'm even more stubborn than her. If she wants to separate Keiichi and my sister, she'll have to pass through me first. And I've just begun to fight.] as she shut the curtains. In spite of not knowing exactly which were Lord Jade 72's motives, which irritated her a little, Urd felt that this was going to be a memorial event. She noticed that the other contestants were all special in one way or the other. There was no doubt about it, this was going to be something more than mere basketball tournament, and she just couldn't wait to see how things were going to unroll. End of chapter 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Author's notes: I know, I know. Dan doesn't show up in the Street Fighter anime. But I couldn't resist putting him in. Also, I didn't make either Terry or Ryu act the way they should. But it's just funnier if they hate each other. Isamu Dyson is a new acquisition to the fanfic I forgot to mention him at the Prologue, but this is his only appearance on this fanfic. But then again, maybe not. Anyway, he belongs to Macross Plus if you haven't noticed. OKAY EVERYONE!! LISTEN UP!! I know that some of you have your own favorite series (or teams) in this fanfic. And I also know that you're expecting them to kick the living daylights out of their opponents. Still, in this fanifc some teams are going to lose and some teams are going to win and I can't please everyone by making their favorites team win. Because everybody has different tastes it's going to be impossible to please all of you. Don't think that just because Team A has more martial artists than Team B or Team C has some serious magic wielding sorcerers and that Team D is filled with losers that the outcome will be obvious. Because it's not going to be that way. Expect the unexpected. I'm not going to base the results of the matches on logic. I'm practically tossing coins to see who gets to win (it's more entertaining that way ^_^). Anything can happen, the point of these matches are to be chaotic and fun. So please don't mail me saying "I think Team A should've won the match vs. Team B because character Y could've taken easily his opponents if he used the special technique.". Please... spare me the logical justification. You'd be surprised how easily I can ignore e-mails like those. Oh, and by the way, there's not going to be just basketball matches in this fic. With so many characters put together, something else is bound to happen. ^_^ See you in chapter 3...