Chapter Four: Legends of Bihoshi Village

It's a background chapter everyone. I know it's long, but it explains a whole lot. Also I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone who has been reading my work. Thank you so very much! And with that, here is the fourth chapter.

*crash** crash** crash* "Who…does…that…hag…think…she …is!?" yelled Alvida, punctuating each word with the sound of her fist into a great log she had had the villagers bring in from the jungle. Alvida had slept in the village's largest hut which had been decorated with the finest luxuries the village had to offer. Although it had been a wonderful sleep, Alvida had awoken the next morning filled with a heat that can only come from rage. She immediately had the villagers fetch her materials so she could begin training for her encounter with Onaku.

"I'll…tear…her…too…pieces!" she screamed, her last punch sending a rigid crack through the log. "What do those villagers see in her anyway?!" she screamed raising her fists into the air with an expression of pure rage upon her face.

"The same that we see in you, a vision of pure beauty as set forth by the ancient heroine of our tribes." said Chief Haryuu. "She is a vision almost as lovely as you."

"Founder? What do you mean by "as set forth by the ancient heroine of our tribes?" said Alvida temporarily cooling from her state of rage.

"Ah, that is an interesting story. Follow me." He said rising up from his position on the ground and turning. Alvida followed hesitantly. "You see, long ago this island was a horrible place. Great beasts roamed the island. There were beasts with huge teeth, beasts with giant stingers, and beasts that traveled in swarms of hundreds at a time and devoured everything in their path. It was a very dangerous time for our villages. We had to work together constantly just to survive, but then, one day, a heroine arrived from the sea. They elders, who were but small children at the time, say that at first they thought she was an island on a crash course with ours until she began to rise out of the ocean."

"She was huge, bigger than any of the monsters on the island. She wore the bones of a whale covered in seaweed for clothes, and she used a hollowed tree to breathe when she was under water. She walked onto the beach with the sound of an earthquake, and the villagers were afraid she would sink the island just by standing on it, but instead she walked right into the jungle and cleared herself a place to sleep. The villagers were terrified of her, but they were also very curious. They sat in the brush to watch her one night as she slept. One of the larger creatures on the island came forth from the jungle, with its scaled back and vicious teeth, and tried to eat her. The villagers were sure that she was a goner, but, without so much as sitting up, she smashed her fist into the creatures jaw with the force of a crashing mountain. The beast was sent flying into the distant jungle, and the giant woman went back to sleep."

"The villagers were astonished by this display of pure power. They were more terrified of the giantess than ever before, yet, after seeing what she did to the great toothed beast, they also realized what a great asset she could be to them. They went to their meeting halls, and decided on a plan of action."

"Members of both villages sent a representative to speak with the giantess. When they first arrived, the giantess was devouring entire fruit trees, not just the fruit off them, but the entire tree. The village advocates were terrified, but they knew that if they did not talk to the giantess, the entire village may one day be wiped out by the vicious predators."

"'All hail to the most beautiful creature in all the seas.' said one of the advocates. 'All hail to the most beautiful creature in all the land.' said the other. 'All hail...to the most beautiful creature in all the world!' the screamed in chorus. The giantess looked down at the two advocates. She had never been called beautiful before, so when she saw the tiny villagers declaring such thinks to the heavens, it must have caught her attention."

"'Who are you that declare me the most beautiful creature in all the world?' said the giantess, her voice deep and smooth like a river of honey; at least that is how it was recorded. The advocates were astonished to hear the giantess speak, let alone in such a beautiful voice. They took a moment to compose themselves before continuing."

"'We are representatives from the residents of this island; oh beautiful one.' said one of the advocates. 'We come to ask the mighty, glorious, righteous, generous, and most beautiful creature in all the land for aid.' he said. 'Our island is populated by great monsters. Beasts so fearsome that to merely look at them would cower a full grown man, not to say that men are better than women in any way!' he said adding the last part in hastily."

" 'What my college means to say' said the second advocate nervously, 'Is that we were wondering if you would do us a grand service, and rid the island of these fowl beast so our villages are not eaten by them. What do you say great Bijin-sama?' he said rubbing his hands together nervously and breaking out in a sweat."

"'Nope.' said the giantess, suddenly lying down with another fruit tree in her hand.
'Why not?!' yelled the advocates in unison as their faces assumed expressions of absolute astonishment."

"'Why should I risk myself to save an island which I'm just going to leave in a couple of days anyway?' asked the giantess. The advocates had no answer for her. Neither of the villages had thought of something to offer the giantess. They had only thought to ask her for help and complement her. Then, the advocate from the Bihoshi tribe had a sudden burst of inspiration. 'Well, oh beautiful one. What if we set you as the figure of beauty for all generations?' said the Bihoshi advocate."

"'What do you mean figure of beauty?' said the giantess leaning forward, her shadow falling over the Bihoshi village representative. 'Well, you said that you need a reason to help a place you're just going to leave, right?' he began nervously. 'Well, if you help us, we will set you as the standard of beauty for this island from this day on. You will be our idol, everyone who lives on this island will see you as the most beautiful person there ever was. We will rank our people's beauty by how much they resemble you from this day on. You will be a legend! So, what do you say? Would you like to have an entire island dedicated to your beauty?' said the advocate rapping up his proposal."

"The giantess leaned closer to the advocate until her enormous face was right in from of his body. She narrowed her eyes, and the advocate, breaking out in a full bodied sweat and trembling, was considering running away when the giantess spoke. 'Very well.' she said sitting up again. 'You do what you said, and I'll take care of all the creatures that want to make you into lunch. Deal?' she said, stretching out her enormous hand. 'Deal!' yelled the Bihoshi advocate in sheer joy as he grasped her middle finger with both hands."

"The next instance the giantess was up. She waded through the jungle to a large rock jutting out of the ground, grasped the top, and wrenched the structure from the ground. She swung the mountainous club over her shoulder, and set to work. Legend says she crushed the fanged lizards, smashed the stinging beats, and hunted down everyone of the creatures that attacked in swarms until not one of them were left. There was a wake of destruction left in here path, but the villagers still celebrated her as the hero of the age. Paintings were done of her, sculptures were completed almost immediately, and a huge festival was held in her honor. Celebrations continued for an entire week, and then the people of both villages said a sad good bye as the giantess swam back into the ocean from which she rose."

"Ah, here we are." said Haryuu as he stopped in front of a long hunt in the back of the back of the village. "Everything made from that celebration is stored in here, in the Hall of the Giantess." Haryuu threw open the cloth covering the entrance and let the sunlight shine in. Alvida walked forward into the hall, mouth agape at what she saw. There were numerous sculpture of the giantess, many paintings all around, but what caught her attention first was what was in the back of the hall.

She started to walk forward slowly, past the various works of art, scrolls, and various other treasures, towards what was stretched across the back wall. When she stopped, she was but a foot away from the back wall, the image of the giantess. Her arms were more than just massive, they were gargantuan. She was a mountain in herself, but covered as she was in her seaweed and bone attire, she looked as if the sea had, in all its vastness, had taken on a form of flesh and blood. In the picture she had what appeared to be a small mountain slung over one of her shoulders as she stood on the beach with a flaming red sunset behind her. Her face was enormous, but her eyes spoke volumes about her wisdom and kindness.

Alvida was staring at the painted cloth when Haryuu appeared at her shoulder. "She's beautiful isn't she?" he said.

"Gah! Don't just sneak up behind someone like that!" she yelled in surprise and anger, but she quickly switched back to her expression of awe at the huge woman. Alvida could see a bit of beauty in the woman, even if it was not even close to her own level of beauty.

"My apologies Bijin-sama." said Haryuu before he continued about the giantess. "She saved our island all by herself, but she is also the reason why the Gokibaka and Bihoshi tribes compete all the time."

"What do you mean." said Alivda curiously.

"Well, after she left, the representative from the Gokibaka tribe said that it had been his idea to make her the island image of beauty. This was a complete lie, and the Bihoshi village advocate called him out on it. They began a duel, to see who was telling the truth. The duel ended in a draw, but ever since then the two tribes have always competed. Our most revered contest has always been the contest of beauty."

"Whenever either tribe gains a person who is close in appearance to the giantess, they always gloat to the other tribe about it, and when both sides have a beautiful person, a battle of strength is held to determine the most beautiful. Unfortunately such a beauty is very rare on the island so the contest of strength has only happened once before, between people who weren't nearly as beautiful as you."

"Why do the contestants compete? I mean I know that your villages are big on bickering, but what's in it for the contestants?" said Alvida crossing her arms across her large body.

"What do you mean?" asked Haryuu.

"Let me put it to you this way. I'm going up against hag face for my club, and the satisfaction of beating the crud out of smart-mouthed rear-end, but what else do I get?" asked Alivda leaning close over Haryuu.

"Oh, well why didn't you say so. The most beautiful person on the island is always honored, but one who wins the contest of strength is treated like a goddess on earth." said Haryuu striking an elegant pose. "You will be waited on hand and foot for the rest of your life. Everyone will adore your beauty, and you will hold a position of power on the island that is almost as high as a chief's. Plus you will have the choice of anyone on the island to be your match. You don't even have to pick just one. The last winner of a contest of strength had a harem of seven of the finest men on the island, and had many works of art erected in her honor."

Alvida never heard the last of that sentence. She was already out the door, and back to punching the log, much faster than before. 'Power, wealth, being worshipped, and my pick of the handsomest men in all the seas….Hag face is going down!' she yelled in her head before unleashing blow upon the log that crushed it to splinters. "Someone get me another log!" she screamed as she raised her massive fists in the air. "And make in a bigger one than the last!"