Orimi and Bachiko stood in front of each other. Orimi looked nervous and Bachiko looked very confident as she had more fighting experience. I watched and smiled as I had faith in Orimi. Orimi does have Cosmic Energy so she can control any of the elements minus Time and Space...well at her current level she can't control them.
"Are they gonna start?" Namiyo asked.
"Monsters usually have a stare off before fighting to gauge where their opponent stands. Since Bachiko knows so little about Orimi, she's gonna just stand there and gauge Orimi." Rimuri said.
Orimi looked serious then dashed to Bachiko then went for a punch. Bachiko dodged then Orimi looked surprised and turned around then got in a blocking stance. Bachiko spun around and kicked Orimi, landing a critical blow. Orimi groaned and spun horizontally then landed on her back. She sat up slowly then gripped the sand.
"Uh...Are you sure those stats are right? Her attack blew Orimi away." Ochiyo said.
"I mean...She is still a human." Himeko said.
"You know for an Asato, I expected a lot more. One hit shouldn't have taken you out! You're a hybrid, you're supposed to be the pinnacle of strength! The top of the league!" Bachiko smirked. "Unless your mother was right and you are...a defect."
Orimi's hair covered her eyes. "Shut up.."
Bachiko laughed and placed a hand on her hip. "What's the matter? Don't you want to prove to your brother that you can be strong too? You love him right? You want to spend the entire day with him right? You want to prove you're not a defect correct? Well you aren't doing a good job showing it if one kick is enough to take you ou-"
Bachiko looked surprised as Orimi punched her stomach. She coughed then stumped backwards and fell on one knee.
Orimi's left eye was uncovered and shined purple, emitting purple aura from her eye as well. Her eyeball developed spirals, becoming a spiral eye. "I'm not a defect.."
"What the..." Naora looked surprised and looked at me.
I had a surprised expression as well. I wasn't expecting this from Orimi at all. "Orimi..?"
Everyone who watched looked surprised.
Bachiko smirked and stood up then stood up. "So this is who you truly are on the inside. Hmph...I am going to enjoy this battle!" She summoned her naginata then dashed to Orimi.
She slashed and Orimi used the sand to blocked the attack then punched Bachiko's stomach. Bachiko groaned then Orimi sent a wave of sand at Bachiko, burying Bachiko. Bachiko appeared behind Orimi. Orimi turned around then grunted as she was kicked away. Bachiko stopped time then appeared above Orimi. Bachiko thrusted her lance at Orimi then looked surprised. She resumed time then noticed it was a sand clone. She landed on the ground and looked around.
"Orimi is much more efficient in fighting when she's serious. Not even Bachiko can keep track of her. This is a case of being multiple steps ahead." Himeko smirked.
Orimi appeared from the sand behind Bachiko then kicked her away then a sand clone appeared in front of Bachiko and palmed her stomach. Bachiko groaned then was blown away into a sand wall. "I'm not a defect...Big brother told me so! Mama says I'm not! I'm not a defect!" She yelled and the sand behind her spiralled then began to form into a giant Sand Wolf. The wolf howled then ran towards Bachiko.
Bachiko looked up and looked surprised then dodged the wolf's attack. She jumped back then noticed the wolf disappear into the sand. "This chick is stronger than I anticipated.."
Bachiko made multiple clones of herself using her time abilities then they dashed to Orimi. Orimi dodged their attack and kicked some of them away then snapped her fingers and a sand blast blew the clones away from her. Orimi held her hand out then a sand sword formed in her hand. She grabbed the handle then dashed to Bachiko. They clashed then pulled way then clashed again and again. Orimi sent a sand spear at Bachiko, but she deflected the spear.
"Orimi is really proving herself, but this is where it ends for her." Namiyo said.
"Her human limitations are her downfall, just like Yoshida." Ochiyo said.
Orimi panted as she grew tired. She fell to her knees and her Monster Aura vanished. I got up and went to her then held her. "Big brother...I did my best.."
I smiled at her then nodded. "You did do your best, but we are still half human. We have limits unlike actual monsters."
Orimi looked disappointed in herself then I rubbed her head. She looked at me. "Is it really okay that I failed?"
"You only fail when you've truly given up. That's what Mom taught us." I smiled then looked at Naora.
She nodded and smiled. "That's right."
I took her back to the tent and let her rest her head on my lap. She smiled and looked up at me. I looked down at her then returned her smile.
"Next battlers! Rimuri against Mae! This was destined to happen." Himeko smirked and looked at the two girls who obviously had a strong rivalry.
They got up and went outside the tent. They stood in front of each other. Rimuri looked at Mae then pointed at her.
"Yoshida is my boyfriend! He told me that he loved me and I, as his girlfriend, obviously love him too!" Rimuri said. "You're not taking him away from me!"
"Ha! I've known him for longer. Every night he would come over to my house to show me affection and unconditional love." Mae said.
"That never happened." I said.
"See? We take baths together! He even touches me in a very romantical way when he washes me." Rimuri smirked.
"Never happened either. Both of you are very delusional and it shows. Are you two gonna fight or try to one up each other off fantasies that never happened?" I crossed my arms.
"Right the fight!" Rimuri glared at Mae then ran to Mae and went for a punch and yelled.
Mae looked at Rimuri then countered her easily then put her into an arm lock. "Say uncle."
Rimuri squealed in pain. She flailed her arm around and tried to escape, but Mae had a strong hold on her. "Uncle! Uncle!" Rimuri cried.
"Mae wins by submission...How did Rimuri lose so quickly?" Himeko asked.
"Rimuri was in her human form like an idiot." Ochiyo said. "She should've went into her monster form then she wouldn't have lost like that and so quickly at that. It's almost embarrassing."
Mae dropped Rimuri. "Better luck next time side chick." Mae went to sit back down.
"Is anyone else joining the fray or was it just the four of them?" Himeko asked. "I personally am not joining because I can wait to have my turn."
"Same here." Ochiyo said.
"Wait what? You want to date me as well?" I asked.
"Why not? Not like any other man here anuses me." Ochiyo said.
"Let's all take a break. Let's enjoy the sun. How about we have a competition. Let's have a sand castle building contest! Naora, Mina, Tsuki can you two judge?" Himeko smiled.
Naora smiled. "I have no issue with it."
"Mina will be a judge!" Mina raised her hand.
Tsuki nodded. "I'll do my best."
The others went to build their castles. I sat out of the sand castle competition. Seems like most of the women were going out of their way to impress me. I watched them build their sand castles and smiled.
"I haven't done this since childhood." Ochiyo giggled.
"Me neither. It's harder than I remember." Namiyo smiled.
"You gotta really...get...into it." Himeko said as she was bent over with her butt facing me.
I blushed and looked away from her. I noticed Rimuri getting help from her rival, Mae. Although they were rivaling over me, Mae still seemed willing to help Rimuri get used to the earthly activities. I smiled as I watched them.
...
Everyone had finished their sand castles, and Naora and Mina got up to look at the castles from up close. Tsuki made a tiny dragon and used her shared vision ability to see what the tiny dragon saw. They all inspected the castles.
"Mina really likes Commander's castle!" Mina smiled.
"Ochiyo's castle does look nice, but I'm going to have to go with Karasu's. She even built a sand raven on the top." Naora smiled.
"I really like Bachiko's." Tsuki said.
I looked at Bachiko's castle then had a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. "Ah...why am I the statue in your castle?"
"Because I like you that much. You deserve to be the monument of all my works. I love you that much Yoshi-san~" Bachiko smiled at me.
"So who's your ultimate pick between the three?" Himeko asked.
"My pick would be.." Naora started.
I sensed something nearby. "Everyone!"
They all looked at me then heard rumbling. They looked around and a sandworm appeared from the ground in the distance. They all heard the roar of the sandworm then looked in that direction.
"What the fuck is that..?" Ochiyo stood up.
"It's a Berserker Sandworm. Monsters like these shouldn't be able to live in beaches. That could only mean it was summoned here." Himeko stood up.
The sandworm roared, opening its mouth wide open.