Odd Jobs Sparring Tournament Part 1

"Alright contestants. It's time for the Odd Jobs Sparring Tournament. We've all already pulled our names at random for the matchups, so let's get right to it." Kagura acts as the commentator although she's also a contestant. "The winner will be decided by the first to land 3 hits. There's a time limit of 3 minutes, if that duration is passed the winner will be whoever has the most hits. The first matchup is Nicholas vs Me—Ahem.. Kagura!"

"Saying me would've been fine."

"Yeah, that just sounded weird."

"Ugh…" Kagura gets embarrassed by her slip-up.

"I'll take over for now. Are the two contestants ready?" Chifuyu quickly takes the commentator position.

"Yes!"

"Yes. Let's have a good match."

"Very well. Begin!"

The first fight begins. Kagura charges forward while Nicholas holds his position.

"Let's see what you're made of."

Kagura's strong point is her swift attacks. When Chifuyu first fought against her, he was overwhelmed. Nicholas is holding his ground, blocking all of his opponent's swings. He's looking for openings since he needs to land 3 hits to win. However…

'Seriously? She's not leaving herself open at all. But I won't give.'

'This guy's stronger more build he looks. He has a strong core, I can't break through his defense.'

Unawares, both of the contestants are at a standstill. Whoever breaks through this rut first will emerge victorious.

"Hey, Chifuyu," Diego whispers.

"What's up?"

"Besides Ariel, who do you think is the strongest here? I don't know how you compare to Iris, but how about Kagura?"

"You know what, that's a damn good question. But I think I can say for certain that.. Iris and Kagura are the strongest of us."

The first match's intensity kicks up by the second. Shinatsu is surprised this guy is keeping up with Kagura.

'It's been a minute of this, can't let this tourney start off too boring.'

Kagura slows her tempo creating an opening for Nicholas. He goes for it and lands a downward slash on her left shoulder, but she immediately gets her lick back with interest. Nicholas was unable to dodge the two slashes that followed not even a second after his attack, the first across his abdomen and the second on his right leg causing him to fall on one knee.

'Crap, she lured me in!'

Kagura wastes no time going for the 3rd hit.

"Th-The winner is Kagura!"

"Woooo!"

"Great fight!"

"Hmph. Took you long enough."

"You're good, Nicholas."

"Ha. I was in the palm of your hands, but I'll take the compliment."

Kagura helps her new like-minded mate up, they exude a strong sense of swordsmanship.

"Alright, the next matc—"

"I'll be taking my commentator role back, thank you very much."

"Grr…"

"The second matchup is Beatrice vs Diego."

"Mind if I call you by your last name, Nova?"

"Not at all."

"You're beauty has enraptured me. If I best you in this duel, would you go on a date with me?"

"Sure. I doubt I'm losing though."

"Is he serious?"

"He's definitely losing, wanna bet on it?"

"Is this payback for our little prank? Fine, I'll bet on Diego. How much?"

"$200."

"Merciful I see."

"Make that $400."

"Oh…"

Chifuyu accepts a bet with Shinatsu that he knows he's going to lose.

"Begin!"

Diego takes the initiative, opening with a jumping wide swing.

'She's confident, just my type!'

"What's that idiot doing?"

"You must not want this date."

Diego left his sides completely vulnerable, giving Beatrice an easy hit that she put no effort into after blocking his attack.

"Iris, was he fighting like this at the mansion?"

"N-no.."

"He's clearly not taking this seriously."

'Shit. That was lame.'

After boldly taking the initiative, he backs away with no shame. Diego knows he definitely just got ahead of himself, so he slaps his face to gain some focus. After a deep breath, he charges back in knowing not to make the same mistake twice. If that was in real battle, that sloppy wide swing would've got him killed. The main thing Diego has going for his swordsmanship is the strength behind his swings. Beatrice continues to block his attacks, but they're starting to leave a stinging vibration that doesn't feel good for anybody. After a certain point, she dropped her wooden sword because of how numb her hands got. Diego goes in for what he thinks is going to be a free victory, but Beatrice quickly grabs him, tripping him over and disarming him. With a rapid 3 taps to his chest, she ends the match.

"The winner is Beatrice! Go girl!"

"I'm surrounded by impressive peers, I don't think I'll be able to keep up," Caesar is blown away by the strength of those around him.

"I feel you, man. I need to get stronger," Diego agrees.

"I was including you too, you know."

"Cough up those 4 Benjamins."

"Why did I agree to this?" Chifuyu wallows in his own stupidity.

"I don't know any places here. Instead of buying my dinner tonight, I think I'll have you show me around tomorrow and pay for me then."

Diego gasps, "So we're going on a date after all! Woohoo!"

"It is not a date."

"Oh man, a pity date. Looks like we got someone colder than Shinatsu," Kagura states feeling bad for Diego.

"I'm not cold…"