The Red Hand

Chapter 230 – The Real Beach Episode!

"Look, Miji. It's the ocean!" Yumi pointed out to the water.

"WOW!" Miji's eyes went wide as she gazed upon the sea for the first time in her life. "That's so much water!" She'd never seen anything larger than a pond, so the seemingly endless blue water of the Ocean was quite the sight. "How far does it go?" She asked.

"All the way around the world." Naomi answered her. She was wearing a white Bikini with a swim skirt. Her outfit was a bit bolder than Yumi's, who was reluctant to 'show off' like the girls, and instead, the Priestess opted for a Swimming dress, though one that showed off a bit more of her legs than she liked.

{How can she just walk around like that?!? How can ANY of these girls just show off like that?!?} Yumi screamed in her mind that they were wearing far to little clothing. Mika had joked about Miji wearing something similar to Naomi, but Yumi declared that hell would freeze over before she allowed her sister to wear something like that. Thus Miji was in a one-piece swimsuit that Kana modified to meet Yumi's requirement for modesty.

"Really?!?" Miji was surprised. "Is there really that much water out there?!?" She was struck with awe and wonder over the amount of water.

{There must be so many fish!} (Miji)

"Yup. The ocean covers most of the world." Naomi giggled at the girl's sense of wonder. "It's so big that if you could walk on it, it would take years to hit land again." She enjoyed the young girl's surprise.

"I would ask why you're not all surprised by the ocean, Yumi, but you've been to Tokyo." Kana appeared behind Yumi, and like Naomi, she was wearing normal swimwear.

{I can't believe Akagi is just ok with her sister wearing something like that!} (Yumi)

"Tokyo wasn't the first time I saw the ocean." Yumi corrected her, while trying not to comment on her swimwear. "When Akagi and I traveled around my world, we were constantly on the Coast. Antekellion was a major port city, and we traveled by boat to some islands on a few occasions, so I've seen the ocean plenty of times." They'd gone on their side adventures when Akagi wasn't busy with jobs or fighting bounty hunters. Though sometimes, they'd fight bounty hunters while on a trip, and Akagi was usually extra nasty in those moments.

{Getting on a boat isn't fun, since I easily get seasick...} (Yumi)

"Hey! Don't run off ahead of me!" Mika said as she came running over from the changing area. She was also wearing a bikini, but unlike the other girls, she was wearing a T-shirt as well.

"Why are you wearing that?" Naomi asked. "Don't tell me you're a prude like Yumi." She knew that wasn't true, but decided to be a smartass anyway.

"I sunburn easily, and you know that." Mika shook her head. "I'll take it off when we go in the water, but I'd rather not turn into a peeling mess." She'd been to the beach many times, and her skin never liked this much direct sunlight.

{Being tanned is good, being burned... not so much...} (Mika)

"Will that even happen?" Kana asked. "We have magic, so aren't we a bit more durable?" She figured they didn't even need sunscreen, and Akagi never said anything to them before they left the house.

"I don't think it works like that." Momo commented. "Himari and I don't get sunburn since our bodies are just magical energy, but I have never heard of magic working to block sunlight's effects on the body."

"Are you guys sure you don't want to come out?" Naomi asked. They'd remained within their respective hosts and had refused to appear in the 'flesh.'

"It's too hot out!" Himari cried. "I have no clue how you can handle this heat! It's like a bajillion degrees outside! I'll stay nice and comfy in here with my T.V. and pool table You girls have fun burning in the heat and sweating bucket." She wasn't really an outdoors person anyway.

"When did you get a-" Kana stopped. She figured the comment about the pool table and T.V. was a prank by the sword girl. "I almost fell for that."

*CLACK*

The sound of pool balls hitting each other was audible to everyone around Kana. "Fell for what?" Himari asked, not understanding Kana's comment.

{…} (Kana)

"While inside our hosts, we have our own little imaginary home that we can customize. Think of it like Akagi's shadow, but less spooky." Momo answered the question she could tell was on everyone's mind.

"I'm just gonna ignore all that..." Kana shook her head. She figured Himari's looked like some kind of crazy kiddy paradise with rainbows, gumdrops, and lots of candy.

"Hey!" Himari cried out in protest. "I might not be reading your mind, Kana, but I can tell what you're thinking! My house in here is nice, and it doesn't have anything like you're imagining!"

"Oh, so what does it look like?" Kana asked, not believing the sword girl.

"It's a traditional Japanese home with an arcade in the basement!" Himari exclaimed.

"And it has a ranch with horses out back..." Momo said. "Don't try to lie about it. I've been to it myself." She chuckled.

"Wait! You can go inside?!?" Naomi was shocked. "How does that even work?" She had no idea about any of this.

"We're both Weapon Spirits, so it's not strange that we can enter each other's sanctuary." Momo gave an audible shrug. "I don't know how it works, only that we can."

"Maybe I should get Akagi to kick in the 'door' and pull Himari out into the sunlight." Yumi giggled. "I'm sure some exercise could do you good. We don't need Kana's sword getting to heavy for her to swing."

"NO!" Himari cried. "Don't send her in here! I don't know if that's even possible, but this is what we're talking about, so I wouldn't be shocked if she could! And also fuck you for the fat comment! We can't even gain weight!" She pouted

"Anyway." Kana wanted to move on from this topic. "Where's Alice?"

"She was right behind me a moment ago?" Mika turned around, but there was no Alice.

"I hope she doesn't get into trouble." Kana sighed. She wasn't too worried about Alice, since she could easily handle herself. "Wait! Where's Miji?!?" She looked around, but found the spot where the little girl was a moment ago was empty.

"EH!" Yumi looked around as well, panicking that she couldn't find her. "Miji! Where did you go?!?"

"I...I think I found them." Naomi facepalmed as she pointed out to the ocean.

“That looks kinda fun...” Mika was clearly envious of the girl's fun.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" Miji screamed in joy as she rode on the back of what looked like an animatronic dolphin. "This is so much fun! FASTER MR. BLUBBER, FASTER!" Waves kicked up behind her as she rode on its back, while in the distance, Alice sat on a small raft under an umbrella and was being served juice by her two bears as she laid back on a beach chair.

"Just be careful you two!" Alice said as she slipped on some sunglasses and pulled out a sun tan mirror. "Miji can't swim, so don't you dare let her fall off." She warned Mr. Blubber and the other aquatic puppets that were nearby.

"Like mother like daughter..." Mika was barely holding in laughter. "She really is taking after Akagi, huh?"

{Alice looks like some kind of rich lady like Naomi with that outfit. She's got a white beach dress and servants for god's sake!} (Mika)

"That's not a good thing..." Kana shook her head. "But I guess they'll be fine. Good thing this section of the beach isn't too busy..." She looked around, and most people seemed to be ignoring the craziness happening further out in the water.

{I'm sorry, everyone!} (Kana)

"Just ignore them, and let's have some fun..." Yumi took a deep breath. She was used to the craziness that came with being around Akagi, so this wasn't too out of the ordinary.

"No exploding things!" Kana instantly turned to Mika, who started whistling. "NO. EXPLODING. THINGS!" She whipped her head to Naomi. "And that goes for you too!"

"Why me?!?" Naomi exclaimed.

{What did I do?!?} (Naomi)

"Because you're no better than Mika!" Kana pointed at her. "Recall that time you obliterated the hoop during your basketball match!" That had only happened a few weeks before the end of the semester.

"That was an accident!" Naomi denied intentionally doing it.

"And that time you made a crater during volleyball? Was that an accident too?" Kana squinted at her in disbelief.

"Yes!" Naomi tried to defend herself.

"Even though Marilla was talking trash? If I remember correctly, you aimed right for her." Kana grinned.

{You totally tried to crush that girl's face!} (Kana)

"..." Naomi turned away. "I have no reason to answer the false accusations levied against me."

"I thought so." Kana rolled her eyes. "You've become our second Mika. Should I start calling you Mika 2? You're getting to be almost as bad as her."

*PBBT*

Naomi blew a raspberry rather than responding.

Once Kana had sufficiently warned her friends not to do anything stupid, they got to having fun. Yumi didn't know how to swim, and so opted to stay in the shallow end or sunbathe. While Mika, Naomi, and Kana dove straight into the sea to have some fun. They played around with inflatable rafts, beach balls, and all sorts of other toys and games they brought to have fun.

While the girls were having fun in the water, Miji and Alice got to building a massive sandcastle that was basically a fortress. A lifeguard did ask them nicely not to block the way down the beach, but Alice's glare sent him running. Once it was finished, she moved to the upper floor where she continued to have her puppets act as servants. They prepared her and the girls drinks and by the end of it, Alice had really gotten into the whole rich girl persona as she and Miji enjoyed the good life.

"Miji's going to be so spoiled after today..." Yumi groaned as she imagined her sister acting obstinate after today's events.

"Says the Priestess who can literally have anything she wants and is also spoiled rotten." Mika laughed as she bounced a beach ball back toward Naomi. They'd gone onto the roof of the sand fortress and set up a volleyball net and were playing around.

"I'm not spoiled!" Yumi protested.

"You're as spoiled rotten as month-old bananas!" Naomi agreed with Mika as she sent the ball back.

"How?!? Akagi doesn't do things like feed or dress me!" Yumi wasn't going to easily admit that she was equally as spoiled as the Demon.

{I'd never let her do that! I do things like that for HER, but the other way around would see me strung up by the rest of the clan!} (Yumi)

"Yumi, you're basically the Wife of the single most powerful thing in the world. She can and would do anything for you, and I've seen the two of you relaxing and snuggling too many times to not consider you spoiled." Mika said as she caught the ball.

{Not to mention the fact that YOU also get lots of happy pet time from Akagi. Don't act like she's the only one who gets doted on!} (Mika)

"So?!? Skinship is not spoiling!" Yumi huffed.

{I'm not spoiled!} (Yumi)

"I don't know." Mika put her finger to her lips. "From what I've seen you get quite a lot of skinship from her." She smirked. "And from what I've heard, you get even more in private." She winked.

{AKAGI! WHAT DID YOU TELL THEM?!?} Yumi tried to ignore Mika's words, but was unable to. "We have a healthy relationship. I don't see the problem with our activities."

"Alright, you guys." Kana walked over with drinks in her hands. "Stop picking on Yumi. She can't help if Onee-chan likes to touch her all the time." She giggled.

"Thank you, Kana." Yumi appreciated the backup.

"It's not her fault that Onee-chan's kitty form made her want one too." Kana smirked, and Yumi's face got red.

"Wait! Akagi actually made Yumi into a catgirl?!?" Mika burst out laughing. “I need to see it!”

{MORE FLOOF!} (Mika)

"Our totally not spoiled Priestess here asked her to try it while in Onee-chan's shadow, and she gave her cat ears and a tail that looked and acted real." Kana turned to the bright red Yumi and snickered. "I heard you loved being spoiled as a kitty." She'd been told that Yumi got into the role quite well, and now understood why Akagi loved it so much.

"WHY DID AKAGI TELL YOU?!?" Yumi yelled, demanding to know the full story.

{That should have been a secret!} (Yumi)

"Think of it as payback for threatening to restrict the number of pets you give her." Kana answered, and Yumi recalled their small conversation in the garden right before Akagi and Kana trained the other day.

"THAT WAS A JOKE!" Yumi exclaimed.

{Though I might do it for real after this!} Yumi thought that, but knew that she couldn't and wouldn't actually go through with it.

"Onee-chan isn't one to take those well. You should know that better than most." Kana laughed. "But don't worry, we won't tell anyone else. Ok? You're kitty secret is safe with us." She winked.

Yumi didn't reply, and just glared at her.

"MEW!" Kana gave a small meow which caused Yumi to jump up form her chair and begin chasing her around the fortress.

"What's wrong, mew?" Kana said while being chased. "Does kitty need ear scratches, mew?" She laughed.

"Get back here and take your lumps, Kana!" Yumi screamed as she chased her through the fortress.

All and all, it was a fun and relaxing day at the beach and a nice way to start their vacation.