"Wrestling?" Hikari was amused at the suggestion.
Sheela's physique was impressive, but it was dwarfed by Hikari.
"Yup! You heard right."
Sheela replied confidently with her hands on her hips.
"I don't know."
"Huh!? Are you doubting your master?"
"No"
"Hrmp, worry not my good student. I have just the thing."
Sheela began channeling.
The ground around her rumbled.
Masses of sand lifted themselves off the ground in a spiral, coalescing around her.
The mass of earth grew and grew, gradually taking form, until it turned into golem matching Hikari's size.
"There… what.. do… you… think.."
Sheela talked through the golem's rumbling low pitched voice.
Hikari covered her mouth, trying her hardest not to laugh.
It was a ridiculous get up.
A stunning display of skill and mastery of her form.
But an incredibly impractical way to fight.
Not to mention the booming voice that makes it appear like the monster from a children's bedtime story.
"Not bad."
"This should make up for our difference in strength. Don't cheat and use your mana to harden your body."
Sheela pops her head out of her sand golem suit so she could speak normally.
"I won't"
"Good, now I'll explain the rules. The moment you touch the outside of the circle, you lose. Or if you can maintain a choke hold for five seconds, you win. The referee will make the call."
Hikari nods.
"He."
Sheela slips back into the sand golem.
The sand benders approached the center of the arena.
With synchronized movement, they created a shallow wall of stone no taller than Hikari's ankles.
They would wrestle inside a tight ring.
The mana in the golem built up.
Glowing runes started appearing all over its body.
The air around its body stirred.
Hikari could feel Sheela's heart pumping beneath the thick layer of sand.
Her excitement.
The referee blows the whistle.
Sheela widened her legs, bent both knees and took a low stance.
Hikari just did her usual upright, relaxed stance with one foot in front of the other.
Gong! The referee rang the bell with a muffled hammer.
Sensing that her center of gravity was too high, Sheela stayed low and lunged towards Hikari.
Hikari twirled to one side, avoiding the brunt of her momentum.
Sheela managed to grab onto one of Hikari's legs, dragging her along.
The bore of Hikari's foot skidded in the sand as it absorbed the force of Sheela's lunge.
Gong! The referee smashed the bell. "Half point to Hikari!"
Hikari was confused.
Then she saw the section of the shallow wall being kicked down.
"Sheesh, you dodge really fast. I thought I had you there."
"You startled me."
"He. That's the point. But you sure are slippery."
Sheela returned to her stance as the sand benders rebuilt the arena.
"Looks like I'd have to get more serious with you."
Hikari nods.
Gong! The bell rang.
Sheela lunged at Hikari again.
Hikari dodged.
Not repeating her previous mistake, she changed course, grabbing Hikari's left leg.
Hikari bent her knees, anchored on her right foot and pushed Sheela back.
The sand golem wobbled on the edge of the arena, struggling to regain its balance.
Hikari recovered her stance first and attacked, pushing Sheela out of the arena.
Gong! "One point to Hikari!"
"Man, you're good."
"I got lucky"
Sheela took her stance again.
It's subtle, but Hikari notices that it was lower than before.
Gong!
Sheela hopped forward. Hikari bent down, arms extended in an attempt to stop her.
But she ducked her head lower, avoiding Hikari's palms and going straight for her leg.
Hikari tucked her leg back just in the nick of time, causing Sheela to crash into the sand below her.
Hikari hopped toward and crashed into her back with her bottoms.
"Five! Four! Three!"
The referee counted.
Sheela shrugged to turn her body to shake Hikari.
But the giantess sitting on her was too heavy.
"Gong! One point to Hikari." The round ended and Hikari got up.
Sheela's sand golem collapses into a ball before reshaping itself into a standing position.
"Sheesh, you really are good. I can't believe how nimble you are with that huge body."
"You too."
"Hrmp, look at you, not even bothered to take a proper stance."
Hikari scratches her cheek in embarrassment.
"Ha! Fine. Fine. Seeing how you are so clueless. You should keep your stance low so that your opponent can't easily knock you off balance. You noticed didn't you? The moment I lunged you tried to bend your knees anyway. I guess you're so good that you didn't need it huh?"
"Oh."
Sheela took her stance.
Hikari mirrors.
The sand benders restore the ring.
Gong! Hikari braced for impact, but none came.
Instead, Sheela kept her stance, forward leaning, low center of gravity, well balanced, no obvious weaknesses.
A tense stare down.
Sheela shuffled her left leg.
A small, deliberate step, minimizing the temporary loss of balance.
Then she shuffled her right leg.
She gained a bit of territory.
Hikari mirrored.
The two got closer and closer to each other, in a tense stare down.
They shuffled until they were within an elbow's reach of each other.
Then, they clashed. The force of their collision released a shockwave.
The referees raised a sand barrier to block the wave of sand.
When the dust clears, Hikari and Sheela are locked in the middle of the arena.
A crushing force that would crush the armour of a steam tank was being created as they gradually ramped up their power to match each other.
The referee signaled to the sand benders, who scrambled to create mounds of sand to soften the blow.
A mound explodes, splattering its sand in all directions, creating a brief sandstorm.
Hikari was the one standing.
She breathed heavily.
Sheela's last push took its toll.
She had not had to exert herself like this in a long while.
Hikari was starting to feel as though she had been cooped up in the RazenHeir estate for too long.
"Ahh… that was a good match."
The sand moved.
Sheela dug herself out of the sand.
Her attendants brought her water.
"It was."
"That last attack. I should have known trying to fight you with brute strength is a bad idea. I hope this little request of mine wasn't too much."
"We should do this more."
Sheela's eyes lit up. She held her breath for a moment before releasing like a springboard.
"Really! Well.. if you insist! I think my dear student hasn't had enough of my teachings. She still has loads to learn from me. I think some more wrestling sessions would do nicely!"
"Sure."
Then Sheela leaned her face towards Hikari and stared her in the eye.
"You promise?"
Hikari nods.
"Good! I'll see you around then!"
Sheela turns and gets ready to slide towards her tent.
Her cauldron was boiling.
Her meal was almost ready.
"Hold on."
Sheela stopped.
"You lost."
The sand bender flinched.
Sheela's turned so red that the underlying tanned skin was no longer visible.
"I heard from Rey that-"
"Eh!? Hey, are ya really gonna rub it in? That stupide brother of mine, I'll make sure to give him a piece of mind when I get back. Fine! I lost every round this time! It won't always be like that. Soon it will be your turn, you rotten tomato, overdue grain, burnt marshmallow!"
Even Hikari was taken aback by the barrage of positive energy from Sheela.
"I didn't mean it."
Sheela took a moment to suppress her exasperation, pouting all the while, before reluctantly replying.
"Fine, I'll do it."
The sand on the ground started shifting.
A ring of pillars was raised around them, giving them some privacy.
Sheela slowly buried herself into the ground.
Her knee caps disappeared into the ground,
then her legs followed by her hips.
Her head soon passed Hikari's knee caps, and then down to her shin.
Finally, only Sheela's head was popping out of the ground.
Her eyes were level with Hikari's bare feet.
It was coated with a layer of sand stuck to the skin by her sweat.
From up close, Sheela could see the crevices of Hikari's toes being stuffed full with damp sand.
A foul stench filled her nostrils as the toes wriggled excitedly before her nose.
"Uggh! Your feet stink!"
"They do"
Hikari began doing a little dance with her feet, alternatingly lifting each ankle.
She wriggles her sand caked toes.
"Sheela lost to Hikari~"
Hikari teased.
"Sheela.. Lost to… Hikari … "
Sheela echoed. Her voice was flat.
"Hikari beat Sheela~"
"Hikari … beat… sheela… "
"Hikari won three to nothing"
"Hikari… won.. Three.. To… nothing.. "
"Hikari won three"
"Hikari… won… Three"
"Sheela lost three."
"Sheela… lost… three…"
"Sheela won nothing."
"Sheela… won… nothing…"