Karate Wars

A/N: I know I said I was going on hiatus. That's sort of true. This might be my last story. Yeah. Anyway. End of Author's Note.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Chipmunks or Chipettes.

Chapter One

Brittany Makes a Bet

Jeanette Miller leaned against her favorite oak tree in her favorite park. It was so peaceful to sit down with a cute little booklet by her side, learning, breathing the misty air... for Jeanette, it was all about comfort. She wore comfy clothes, wore her hair the way she found comfortable, and stayed in her comfort zone whenever it was possible.

So the Chipettes were happily doing their 'thing'. Well, Eleanor was tossing a ball to some kid she'd never met, Brittany was talking to a friend on her cell phone, and as always, Jeanette was reading.

"Come on, guys!" Eleanor panted, kicking the ball. "Join the fun!"

Brittany, who until that moment had been rambling on about some new lipgloss color, finished up her call with a "Victoria, let me call you back." She shut the phone and snapped, "What?"

"Don't you want to play ball?" Eleanor said. She summed up an adorable little girl with black pigtails, big brown eyes, and a bright blue jumper. It was the girl she'd been tossing the ball to. "This is Tui. She just moved here from...Vietnam? She's known English, though, since she was little. You're from Vietnam, right?"

"Japan," said Tui. "In Okinawa."

"O-ki-what-a?" said Brittany in confusion. "And no, Eleanor, I don't want to play ball. I'm going to get my manicure dirty."

"That's where karate was born," said Jeanette suddenly. "Okinawa."

Everyone turned around. They seemed to have forgotten her until that very moment. Jeanette blushed and put down her book. Then she stood up to listen to the girl.

"Yes," said Tui. "In Japan I took karate classes. Want me to show you?"

The Chipettes nodded.

Tui demonstrated some impressive moves. She kicked, punched, jumped, and blocked.

In the end, the Chipettes were in awe.

"I was almost a brown belt before we moved," she said sadly. "I never got to earn the black."

"Well, you can study karate here, can't you?" said Jeanette.

Tui shook her head. "My mommy says it's not authentic enough and I'll learn it the wrong way. I have to learn it RAW. The Okinawan Way."

Brittany looked insulted. "America is just as good at karate as Japan is!" she said shrilly.

Tui didn't speak for a while. "Okay," she said. "You think that if you want."

"Oh, I don't just think it, Tui. I know it." Brittany's eyes suddenly became small and mean. Before Jeanette or Eleanor could stop her, she said something more. "And I'll prove it to you. My sisters and I will start taking karate classes - "

"Brittany..." Jeanette started.

" - After a month of them, we'll meet - "

"Brittany!" She made her voice a little louder.

" - In this same park at eleven o'clock. Then, we'll have a karate battle! You can bring along your little friends from school, too, so Jeanette and Eleanor have some competition. The losers - "

"BRITTANY!"

" - Have to take out the winning team for frozen yogurt."

Tui was quiet again. She twirled at a ponytail and her brown eyes grew thoughtful. Her pinky-red cheeks were flushed. It seemed to be hard, making decisions, for her. "All right," she said finally.

"Shake on it," said Brittany crossly, sticking out her hand.

Tui took her hand slowly, and shook.

"Ha!" Brittany smirked. "In a few weeks we'll be digging out oodles of crushed candy bars and sweet creamy globs of yogurt because of you."

Then somebody from the park benches yelled something the Chipettes couldn't understand. Tui must have known what it meant, though, because she started running toward a woman there. "Bye, Eleanor!" she shouted, waving.

Then she was gone.

Just then Grandma Miller's car pulled up, ready to pick them up.

"Brittany, I'm not so sure that was a good idea," said Jeanette, picking up her book as they started walking toward the vehicle.

"Yeah," Eleanor agreed, taking out a strawberry-flavored energy drink from her pocket. "I mean, all Tui said was her mom wanted her to learn karate in Japan. What's the matter with that?"

"No!" Brittany shrieked. "She said she'll learn it the wrong way here in America! America is just as good as Asia! Isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," said Eleanor. "I wasn't saying anything against the USA. But you know, it's her mom's choice. Not like she had any say in it. It's like that in Asia."

"Ha! See? 'It's like that in Asia' Exactly!" Brittany smiled triumphantly and rushed off to get into Grandma Miller's car.

"Hi, girls!" Grandma Miller said. Then, seeing Brittany's red face, she shook her head. "What went wrong this time? Every time I drop you off at the park something bad happens."

"Oh, it wasn't so bad," said Jeanette. "It could have been worse..."

"But it's still pretty bad," said Eleanor. "Grandma, you won't believe it! She made a bet with this nice girl I met on who was better at karate, just because the girl said that her mom doesn't want her to take karate classes here because she'll learn it the wrong way."

"And what was that bet?" asked Grandma Miller, a note of anxiety in her voice.

Brittany proceeded, a little nervously, to tell her every detail of what she'd said.

"Brittany!" Grandma said at the end. "I'm surprised at you. I would not have thought even you would resort to such impetuousness."

"Yes, Grandma." Brittany wasn't sure what 'impetuousness' meant, but she knew it was best not to ask. She would inquire about it to Jeanette, the human dictionary, later.

After a few minutes, she said, "But will you sign us up for karate lessons?"

Grandma Miller sighed. She didn't speak for a long time. The Chipettes grew tense.

"Yes, I will," she finally consented. "If it makes you happy..."

"Yes! Yes! It does!" Brittany screamed.

"Then yes. I will."

"Yay!" The Chipettes high-fived.

A/N: My first Chipmunks story.