Persona 4 the Gaining

April 30, 2011
The Dojima Residence
	“My fried tofu!” Yukiko cried. But it was not a cry of loss or anger, but a cry of joy. She lovingly used her chopsticks to devour the bowl full of delicate, perfectly cooked morsels into her mouth, savoring each bite. “Oh, my fried tofu...”
	“See, Yukiko?” said Chie. “I told you Yu could cook. And it’s way better than the stuff they ate. We’re totally getting our money’s worth!” With a loving smile, Chie started to slurp down the homemade ramen and beef before her.
	Yosuke sighed in relief. You really saved my ass, partner.” He nursed his own bowl of ramen before him, thinking more about his wallet than his food.  “I know I offered to buy them steak for eating their instant stuff, but the way they eat, I would have totally gone bankrupt. Thanks for offering to cook instead.”
	Yu grabbed a pair of empty bowls and carried them to the sink. “No problem,” he said, as he started to wash them. “I enjoy cooking and I had the ingredients.”
	“Still,” Yosuke said, stuffing a piece of beef from his ramen into his mouth, “where’d you learn to cook like this? It’s freaking fantastic!”
	“I spent a lot of time by myself growing up,” said Yu. “You pick things up.”
	Yu grabbed a fresh set of bowls of tofu and ramen and set them down at the table beside Yukiko and Chie.
	“Oh, no thanks,” said Yukiko, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I couldn’t possibly have seconds.”
	“Aww, come on, Yukiko,” said Chie who was already starting on her third bowl. “How often do we get to eat stuff this good?”
	“Well, all right I guess…” said Yukiko hesitantly.
	“Plus, we’re celebrating your joining the team!” Chie added. “We gotta celebrate all the way!”
	“Well, if it’s for a special occasion, I’d hate to be rude. Plus, it is really good...” she said before starting her second bowl.
	Chie continued to go to town on her bowl of beef ramen, which wasn’t the steak she had originally ordered, but when it was this good, she didn’t mind, until a thought came to her. “You know, I really wish I could have this stuff every day. It’d really energize my workouts.”
	“I wouldn’t mind,” said Yu.
	“Mind what?” asked Chie.
	“Making food for you guys everyday.”
	“Seriously?!” cried Yosuke, stood and slammed his hands on the table.
	“Sure, I make my own food at night. I don’t mind making some extras.”
	Yosuke sat back down and thought for a moment. “You know, it’s a nice gesture, but I’ll pass. Thanks anyway, partner, but I feel like I rely on you too much already.”
	“Well I’m game! I’ll take your cooking any day!” cried Chie with glee. She turned to her black-haired friend. “You’re in too, right Yukiko?”
	Yukiko blushed a little and patted her already stuffed stomach and shyly reached for her third bowl. “W-well, it’d be rude to refuse, but as long as it’s not too much...”

May 1, 2011
Yasogami High Rooftop
	“This is definitely too much,” said Yukiko.
	“I-It is a bit more than I was expecting...” said Chie.
	“Sorry, I got a bit carried away,” said Yu, looking at the bento boxes he had prepared. They were enormous. They had more of the fried tofu but also some curry rice, sukiyaki, and an omelet.
	“Well, it’s fine for today, I guess...” Yukiko said hesitatingly. “But tomorrow, could you try to make it a bit smaller?”
	“Eh, it’s alright if it’s a once in a while thing,” said Chie already into her omelet.
	“I… guess that’s okay...”

May 2, 2011
Yasogami High Rooftop
	Chie and Yukiko looked upon yet another large set of bento boxes.
	“Eh, it’s alright if it’s a couple days in a row, right?” asked Chie.
	“M-maybe a few days in a row doesn’t hurt...” said Yukiko, before picturing the scale in her bathroom at the inn. “I mean, we can make up for it, right?”

May 7, 2011
Yasogami High Rooftop
	“A-a week straight is totally okay, it’s just extra energy!” said Chie. She fidgeted uncomfortably, pulling her skirt back down and adjusting her bike shorts.
	Yukiko nodded. “Y-yeah, besides, it’d be an insult to his skills if we didn’t eat it all...” She looked down at her stomach which ever so slightly was poking out from under her sweater. “But just this last time!”

May 31, 2011
Yasogami High Rooftop
	“That was great,” said Chie setting down her box and wiping her lips. She patted her distended belly contentedly. “Did, uh, you make anything for dessert, Yu?”
	“Ooh, I hope it’s dorayaki!” said Yukiko.

June 6, 2011
Dojima Residence
	“Welcome to the party, Kanji!” cried Teddie.
	“Uh, th-thanks, I guess,” said Kanji. “But I don’t think you had to go to all the trouble of throwing a party just for me.” He blushed and rubbed the back of his head shyly, which clashed with his delinquent appearance.
	“It’s a tradition,” said Chie. “Everyone who joins our team gets a party to welcome them!”
	Yosuke raised an eyebrow. “Wait, everyone? A tradition? We only did it for Yukiko! Just admit you wanted an excuse to have a feast, didn’t you?”
	“N-no we didn’t!” Chie said without looking him in the eyes. “It’s just late at night and we hadn’t had dinner and we figured Kanji...”
	“We ate at Junes already! You had an entire plate of skewers!”
	“Th-that was just a snack, right Yukiko?”
	“Hmm?” Yukiko looked up from the dining table and her bowl of curry. “Wait, what were we talking about?”
	Yu walked over and put down a fresh loaf of french bread, completely ignoring the conversation. “Alright everybody, dig in. I hope you like this new bread. I think I finally nailed the recipe. I’ve always wanted to make good foreign breads.”
	Yosuke sighed. “Partner, can we talk for a second?”
	Yu nodded and walked over to him. They sat down on the sofa. “What’s up?”
	Yosuke sighed and grabbed the TV remote. He turned the volume up just enough to mask his voice for everyone else. “Don’t you think you’ve been indulging the girls a bit too much? Like, dude, you’re an amazing chef. But I think this may be getting a bit out of hand?”
	Yu gave him an earnestly clueless look. “I don’t follow.”
	With an aggravated groan, Yosuke slapped his palm into his own face. “I mean you’re a cooking machine! You just baked like an entire feast on the spot!” He pointed back at the table which was covered from edge to edge in soups, curry, bread and steamed vegetables. And the girls don’t have the self-control to say no! And it’s already showing!”
	Yosuke pointed to the girls. Chie and Yukiko sat at the table side by side talking to Kanji and their rear ends were pressed up against their chairs. Chie’s in particular was visibly larger. While not huge, it was definitely growing. Her skirt was partially caught on the chair, and it left her bike shorts were indented by the chair. Yukiko meanwhile was sporting a mild muffin-top. Watching her for a moment, and you’d see her fidgeting unconsciously and pulling her sweater down as she spoke to Kanji and Teddie.
	“M-maybe I have taken it a bit too far,” Yu said, holding his hand to his chin. “I guess I--”
	DING!
	“Big bro!” Nanako ran in from her room. “Isn’t that the cake you said you were going to make?”
	Yu snapped his fingers. “You’re right! Come on, we can decorate it together.”
	“Yay!”
	“God dammit, Yosuke sighed.

June 10, 2011
Yasogami High 2nd Floor
	“Chie, would you mind if I trained with you?” asked Yukiko out of nowhere.
	“Hmmm? Of course! I’m always glad to have you around, but why the sudden interest? Didn’t you have work at the inn?”
	With visions of the inn’s scale fresh in her mind, Yukiko began to sweat nervously. “No reason, really.” She couldn’t meet Chie’s gaze. She had been in denial for a while, but her weight was going up fast and she could see Chie was in just as much trouble if not more, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it out loud. “No reason, I just… wanted to spend more time with you.”
	“Well alright! Then let’s get to training! First up, a jog around the town!”
	Yukiko’s eyes bulged. “Eh? The whole town?”
	“Yep! You gotta train hard if you wanna get stronger! So no holding back! I just wish we had a waterfall around here to train under. That would be even better.”
	With a heavy sigh, Yukiko resigned herself to this. If she was going to lose weight, this was what she had to do.

	They had hardly made it out of the school before she was out of breath. Yukiko was sweating and huffing, but she was determined to go through with it. They kept a solid pace down the school and into town. Yukiko couldn’t help but notice a constant jiggle coming from Chie’s rear. It was almost mesmerizing as the upward bounces would send the skirt higher, just enough to see distinct cheeks before gravity took its toll and the skirt and the ass went down to repeat the process. The sight was so hypnotic she almost didn’t notice a similar feeling coming from her own midsection, where her stomach swayed from side to side with her left right pace. Every now and then she was brought back from her trance when her sweater would slide up just enough to expose her navel.
	As they made it into the shopping district, the sky opened up and literally rained on the chubby girls’ parade. With a pout, Chie stomped her foot. “Isn’t that just typical.”
	Yukiko took the sudden downpour to catch her breath. She leaned on a building and was too out of breath to voice her pleasure at the break. She did not know how Chie had all this energy. Maybe her rear was secretly a gas tank. This thought made her begin to enter a trademark laughing fit.
	“What’s so funny?”
	“Hahaha, oh, nothing, Ms. Gas Tank.”
	With furrowed brows, Chie decided it was better not to ask. “Anyway, if it’s raining, no point in continuing. We’re right by Aiya’s, so why don’t we grab a beef bowl?”
	Yukiko stopped laughing. “Wait, we’re going to eat? After our lunch?”
	“Trust me, Yukiko. You gotta eat after a good work out. It’s how you recover!”
	Having taken health class, Yukiko was not so sure how true this was, but Chie always was the more athletic, so she wasn’t going to argue.
	“Besides, Yu has been trying to copy Aya’s beef broth and I want to compare them again, so we’ll get a few bowls to take back, too.”
	“Uh, alright...” Yukiko said with reluctance, and a feeling she was going to regret this.

June 18, 2011
Class Fieldtrip to the Forest
	The trip had not been a highlight of anyone’s week. Sleeping on rocks. Hanako’s snoring. Mystery Food X. Everyone was tired, hungry, cranky and waiting for iut to all be over. But this was Yosuke’s moment. He was going to get something out of this, dammit. He had brought two swimsuits and he was going to see them worn. Kanji, Yu and he were waiting at the cliff side waiting for the girls to change. Yeah, the girls had let themselves go a bit, but this was still an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
	Minutes passed and nothing happened. Yosuke tapped his foot impatiently. “What is taking the girls this long? How hard is it to put on a couple of swimsuits?”
	Rustling came from a pair of bushes near the cliff. From it, a series of strained groans and grunts came, followed by the tear of fabric and cries of frustration.
	“Oh come on, you stupid thing! You are way too small!” cried Chie.
	After another solid minute, the two girls emerged. Yosuke’s impatient frown turned to beaming joy and just as quickly turned to disgust, followed again by more joy, then disgust, then joy one last time and finally settled on confusion. He knew the girls had gained a little… a lot of… that they had gained some weight, as his mind tried to put it diplomatically, but he didn’t expect to see so much girl.
	Chie was wearing a green and yellow bikini top and shorts combo, but it did not fit right. Up top, Chie had hardly changed at all. Despite going up quite a few sizes in her pants, her bust and upper body had hardly changed. Her lower half on the other hand, well, gave the impression of pear which was attempting to burst from a pair of shorts like an alien baby. Her titanic thighs and rotund rear were attempting to explode out of her pants. The cuffs of the jean shorts were digging into the flesh with a force that could not have been comfortable and a large tear in the left side exposed a ball of flesh that seemed like it was trying to escape her body. On further inspection, Yosuke even thought he could see a bit of her ass cheeks poking out of her bottom. The yellow ribbon that held the shorts together was now mostly covered by a roll of belly flab. And speaking of bellies…
	Yukiko wore a pink and white bikini with what was supposed to be a small, slitted skirt but from the front you could hardly tell with her huge globular gut hanging in front of it. While her ass and thighs had certainly grown, it was nothing compared to what that gut had become. Her belly button looked like it must have now gone in several inches. Every time she moved slightly, usually to try and cover part of herself in some futile effort, it just made the whole thing jiggle like a wave pool for several seconds. And on the topic of jiggling, her bustline had noticeably increased several sizes. Yosuke didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed, but they were definitely too big for the top he had given her. Besides now sporting some ample cleavage, they also showed some under-boob, side-boob and just a lot in general.
	“What was the big idea, Yosuke? You totally got these things from the kids’ section, didn’t you!” accused Chie.
	The insult snapped Yosuke back to reality. “What? No! I even made sure I went up a size from what I was originally going to get! It’s not my fault you filled so much of it up!”
	Chie reddened and scowled. “Hey, what are you trying to say? Are you calling us fa… fa…” The words died on Chie’s tongue, unable to speak them.
	“I think you look great, Chie,” said Yu.
	The effect was instant. “O-oh, really?” she asked while coyly putting her hands on her cheeks. There did seem to be a bit more to her cheeks to put her hands on, though not too much.
	“And you as well, Yukiko, of course. You look very mature.”
	Yukiko joined Chie in blushing and turning away. “Oh, well, that’s very considerate...”
	Yosuke put his hand to his chin contemplatively. “Yeah, I don’t think you can call that ‘mature.’ They’ve grown out, not up. Though I suppose...” He paused, not understanding this feelings. “There’s a certain...”
	“Hiyah!”
	In one quick move, Yu and Yosuke tumbled into the river below.
	“We are not fat!” Yukiko cried. “We just… we just aren’t!”
	“Y-yeah, this is muscle I’m building, you dumb jerks! Right Kanji?”
	Kanji tried to look away, hiding his bleeding nose, but was then also thrown into the stream.
	“What the hell is wrong with those girls?” Yosuke cried. “Stupid fat...” he stopped. What was it he was feeling? The river was cold, but he also felt warm. Maybe this was an awakening of sorts. Either way, that was a sight none of them were going to forget long after the trip ended.

July 10, 2011
Marukyu Tofu
	The gang had stopped outside the tofu shop to meet with their newest teammate Rise but instead came across a slender young man by the name of Naoto Shirogane. He seemed to have known the group would be there and was in wait. He seemed to know everything the team had been up to and eyed everyone suspiciously. He even knew the recent death of Mr. Morooka was suspicious with his never appearing on TV.
	“What do you make of that?” he asked.
	“...How are we supposed to know?” responded Yosuke.
	“Well, we’ll leave it at that. For my part, I’d like to solve this case as quickly as possible. I’ll be keeping an eye on you all. Well then, until we meet again,” said the slender young man as he turned to walk away.
	He didn’t make it very far before Yu stood in front of the blue-haired young man. “...Yes, was there something else?” he asked.
	Yu didn’t say anything, but simply reached inside a small, brown bag he had been carrying and removed a small object and held it before the detective. He reflexively backed up. “What is this?”
	“It’s a doughnut,” Yu said.
	Naoto’s eyebrows quickly raised themselves, unable to hide her confusion. “Ah, yes,  I see that but why are you giving me this?”
	“You looked a little tired. When I’m having trouble concentrating, I find a little sugar helps me think,” said Yu, still holding out the confection.
	Naoto eyed the pastry suspiciously but carefully and reluctantly. He inspected it closely, eyeing the powdery sugar topping before finally giving it a quick lick. In that moment, a rush of energy rushed up the detective’s spine. He quickly bit into the moist pastry. “This is… and, wait, what’s that filling?”
	Yu smiled. “Ah, you noticed. That’s my own personal jelly filling.”
	Naoto stared at the doughnut hard, drool starting to accumulate on his lips. In another moment, the rest of the treat was gone, stuffed in his mouth. Noticing the strange stares around him, he quickly cleared his throat and turned away.
	“Th-thank you, but now I must be going,” he said.
	“Would you care for a few more?” asked Yu, holding up a large brown bag.
	Naoto quickly grabbed the bag, threw in a quick “thanks,” and finally took off for real.
	“What was THAT all about?” asked Yosuke.
	“I dunno, it was really weird,” said Chie who had been transfixed on the doughnuts the whole time and their leaving finally broke the trance.”
	A moment later, Rise emerged from the shop. After brief introductions, she escorted everyone down to the town’s shrine.

July 10, 2011
Aiya’s Restaurant
	At the insistence of Chie, the newest member of the Investigation Team needed a welcoming party. However, Yosuke and Kanji felt that always making Yu do the cooking was a little unfair and was just asking for trouble, and so a compromise was made. This however, did nothing to stave off the appetites of the two growing girls in the party, who sat across from one another in a booth, a mountain of bowls before them, both those who had already been vanquished by the spunky dragon and the classy heiress, and those who were merely minutes from their gruesome end.
	Rise finally tore her eyes off her new favorite senpai to gawk in amazement. “I… I’ve never seen anyone eat so much...” She didn’t mean it as an insult, but merely as an objective fact.
	Chie dropped her chopsticks for a moment and smiled. “This is nothing. This is just the stuff we need to get to training! We’ll burn this off in no time!” Chie’s eyes were filled with confidence. Confidence her friend didn’t seem to share.
	“W-well, helping out and fighting shadows is busy work, so...” Yukiko said, her voice trailing off as she herself couldn’t continue her obvious lie. The way part of her exposed stomach sat on the booth table and the way Chie’s bottom zipper was starting to open up told the real story.
	“I… see...” Rise said, unable to think of anything substantial to say. At least anything as substantial as the girls in front of her, granted that they were very substantial.
	“Aiyaaaaaa!” cried the owner, walking out to take back a handful of dishes while dropping off another plate of ramen to Chie, who happily dug back in.
	“I know!” chimed in Teddie. “They eat so much of sensei’s cooking it’s like they’re getting ready to hibernate!”
	“Hey!” The gluttonous girls exclaimed in unison, but did not stop their consumption.
	Rise’s eyes widened. “Senpai, you cook?”
	Yu nodded. “I do enjoy it. There’s something special about watching someone eat what you prepared with love,” he said romantically.
	“Senpai’s… love...” Rise’s eyes glazed over. In her mind, she saw the math. His food was filled with love. Thus anyone who ate his food put his love into themselves. So if she ate the most…
	Rise slammed a hand down on the counter hard. “Senpai, please cook for me too!” She slapped it again. “No, don’t just cook for me, too, cook the most for me! Anything you cook, I want twice as much!”
	Yosuke was beside himself. “Oh no...” Though deep down, a part of him began to rise in excitement.

July 11, 2011
Yasogami High Gym
	Rise’s jaw nearly hit the floor. She knew to expect a big lunch. She hadn’t eaten all morning in preparation. But this was even more than she thought possible. How did he make all this in one night? How did he bring it all to school? Heck, who MAKES bento boxes this big?!
	But it didn’t matter. She was a woman on a mission. It wasn't a box of food before her. It was a box of affection. For her. And to leave any behind would be to deny the affection Yu had put into this for her.
	Chie and Yukiko put aside their own big lunches and looked on apprehensively. “You know, we could just share our lunches with you,” Yukiko said. “You don’t have to try and eat all… that.” Even for one who had become quite the glutton, Rise’s mountain of food made her uneasy.
	“No, this is what I have to do!” Rise picked up her chopsticks. Where to begin? The curry? The omelet? The beef bowl? It didn’t matter. She’d eat it all. Scooping up some beef here, chugging the broth there, slurping down the noodles in the corner. Chie and Yukiko could only stare in amazement at the speed at which the idol was devouring it all. But as they expected, she soon came to a stop. She must have reached her limit, not even an 1/8th of the way through.
	“Come on, Rise,” said Chie. “We’ll help you save that for...”
	“It’s so good!” Rise exploded in cheer, hand on her cheek, blushing intently. “I’ve never had a meal this amazing before!” And to the surprise of everyone, she did not stop. If anything, her pace increased. It was a hurricane of food. It was a sight so amazing it almost kept Chie and Yukiko from finishing their own massive meals (Almost).
	Finally, before the lunch period could end, Rise fell backwards onto the stage, a large, visiblly rounded stomach jutting out from her uniform. She patted it contentedly. “I feel so full of love...” She sighed lovingly. “I could get used to this.”
	Chie and Yukiko had a feeling they definitely were.

July 11, 2011
Junes Food Court
	The team had been discussing the day’s events, the new teacher Kashiwagi who replaced Mr. Morooka after his death days before, and where the team would go from here. They sat at the large table in the middle of the roof, with two girls admittedly straining to sit close enough to the table. Those two in question were also the last to sit, carrying a large platter of steak skewers. Their quiet meeting slash meal time however was interrupted by the arrival of the blue haired detective from the previous day.
	The boy had come to announce that he had been taken off the case now that the police had a suspect in the case and that the team’s little game had come to an end.
	“A game?” exclaimed Rise. “Aren’t you the one who thinks of this as a game?”
	The crew verbally laid into the detective, who was quite taken aback. While it was unusual to see such a shocked look on the blue-haired detective’s face what was really strange was what the detective was holding. Which was to say several paper bags with various bakery logos on the side of them. Besides those, the boy also carried an armful of doughnuts, which he continually ate as the conversation continued.
	“A game… that might be quite true,” Naoto said, taking another bite of a pink, frosting covered doughnut, seemingly sinking into depression. “We detectives are used to it. We’re discarded when we’re no longer useful, thrown to the side like yesterday’s leftovers.”
	“Speaking of leftovers, what’s with the food?” asked Yosuke. “Eating to forget your troubles?”
	Naoto blushed but still shoved the last bite into his mouth before licking his fingers. “N-no, I just...” He looked at Yu. “I’m just taking the sugar advice to heart. And I… needed to see whose confectioneries were the most effective,” he lied.
	Yosuke laughed. “Sure, sure, just make sure you stop before you become the Detective Porker.”
	Naoto visible fumed. That’s none of your business!” and with nothing else to say, he took off, bags and a trail of crumbs in tow.

August 20, 2011
The Shrine
	It had been a long, hot summer but it was time to cut loose. The festival was one of the few times the whole town got together, and the team planned to make the most of it. The smell of fried foods and the calls of attendants tending to their carnival games filled the moist air. The warm night atmosphere made everyone’s clothes stick tightly to their skin, but it did nothing to dampen the upbeat mood.
	“Man, they’re late...” said Yosuke angrily tapping his foot on the pavement. “Why were they meeting up at Yukiko’s place in the first place?”
	The boys stood in the middle of the shrine awaiting the arrival of all the girls. They had decided to go in two different groups but the girls were quite late without any explanation.
	“They’ll show up sooner or--” Kanji began before Teddie interrupted.
	“Whoa, isn’t that them?”
	A group of figures approached from the entrance. While it was Teddie was the one to first notice them, it would not have been long before the others had seen them. After all, as the flock of girls approached, there was simply so much to notice. The three girls and Nanako took up so much space it was impossible to see anything behind them as they made their way up the path.
	“Sorry we took so long,” said Chie before taking a bite out of a steak skewer from the several different skewers extending from between each figure.
	“It took us some time to get dressed, said Yukiko.”
	“With all that fabric, it’s no wonder it took you so long,” thought Yosuke to himself not daring to verbalize a single word of it.
	Chie was wearing a white yukata adorned with green flowers and a yellow sash, but it looked somewhat off. While from the chest on up she mostly resembled the Chie they had always known apart from fuller cheeks, but from the stomach down she was someone entirely else. She had become so bottom heavy that if her yukata had more green to it, she’d resemble an overripe pear. Her wide hips and ass prevented her from closing the gap between the fabric around her legs. As a result from the front her thick, chubby legs were on full display from her upper thigh to her tabi socks. With every step her legs jiggled back and forth like waves on a beach.
	Yukiko’s outfit fared little better. While she managed to keep the outfit closed all the way around, her blue yukata with rose patterns and pink sash lacked the flat, slim look that the outfit was designed to elicit. The elegance was mostly ruined by the massive gut hanging out in the front. While all of her body had widened with her ever expanding weight, her stomach had taken the brunt of the assault on her waistline. The sash, which should wrap itself around the center of the outfit, was pushed down and under a roll of flab. The innkeeper’s daughter had spent a ton of time trying to adjust it to fit over her massive belly which extended far from her midsection, but it simply wasn’t long enough. In the end, while she thought it was slightly humiliating, she simply suffered the indignity of using her own belly to hold the sash on and her outfit closed. On the bright side, the thick fabric hid just how thick her arms and legs had become. On the downside, no one would pay attention to her arms or legs or budding double chin when that stomach was swaying back and forth like a metronome with every step. When she finally came to a stop in front of the boys, her gut most certainly didn’t.
	Rise, however, stole the show in her pink, flowered yukata and sash.
	“How do we look, Senpai?” she said. “Does the sight make your heart skip a beat?” Rise hopped slightly onto one foot and struck her trademark idol pose. How she managed to pull this off was one truth the team would likely never reach, because it seemed to defy physics and biology. Somehow, in the last month, Rise had managed to not just gain a considerable amount of weight but had caught up  to both Chie and Yukiko in total weight.
	Rise carried her weight differently. While her ass was expansive, it fell slightly short of Chie’s. Her gut was like an oversized globe but it did not hang down quite like Yukiko’s. Instead, her weight was evenly distributed from her ankles to her rounded cheeks. There was one major exception, or rather, two major exceptions.
	Yosuke covered his face with his hands as it turned red. He stood stock still except for his eyes which followed Rise’s jiggling chest as it bounced in every direction like a pair of volleyballs which had just hit the gym floor. He had never realized that he could have a thing for larger girls but with this much idol before him, he was having difficulty parsing his feelings.
	He was also sure that between the three of them there was enough fabric to make enough blankets for several large families.
	Yukatas were designed with modesty in mind, but Rise had none to spare and unlike Chie and Yukiko who struggled to keep their outfits closed, Rise flaunted her size. She positioned her sash to hold her breasts up and keep them perky while exposing as much cleavage as she could. It was a valley so deep it made Kashiwagi’s mountains look like molehills.
	Rise laughed contentedly. “But I’m just so full of Senpai’s love that I must surely have caught your eye, right?”
	But Yu’s focus was instead on Nanako to whom he offered a biut of cotton candy and a pat on the head. “You look very cute tonight, Nanako.”
	The cherry cheeked girl was all smiles and laughs. “Really? Thanks, Big Bro!”
	This hurt Rise’s heart a bit, but it was Nanako, so she’d let it slip.
	After a few minutes more, Dojima arrived to pick up Nanako.
	“Thanks for looking after her, everyone,” he said.
	“They bought me cotton candy!” the cherubic girl squealed.
	“Did they now? Alright, you wanna go over and do the target prac- I mean, the game with me?”
	“Uh-huh! Let’s go!” And with that, Nanako took Dojima’s hand and started away from the group.
	Dojima turned back. “I’ll take care of her from here. You guys have fun.” He hesitated for a moment, his eyes drifting past the three boys to the large ladies behind them. “And, uh, I know it’s a festival, go easy on the food. I mean, not that--” He tried to make a verbal undo. “Not that you’re… I mean… Just take it easy, okay?” And with that, he was gone.
	“What did he mean by that?!” Chie asked with indignation. “It’s a festival! What’s the point of a festival if you don’t get to really let loose and try everything?”
	Yukiko sighed and looked down. “D-do we normally show restraint? I’m a little concerned...”
	Chie sputtered and worked her brain into overtime coming up with an excuse. “That’s… training fuel! I only eat what I need to motivate me! A-and you need to eat after a good workout! You need to eat big if you want to get big.”
	Yukiko placed her hands on her oversized gut and pressed into the supple flesh, her fingers entirely engulfed despite the yukata. “I don’t think getting big has been a problem...” Though despite her grumblings, she did enjoy the way her fingers felt as they pressed into the bottomless pit her stomach had become. She continued to prod and jiggle it unconsciously.
	“It’s all good, there’s no problem as long as you’ve got confidence!” Rise stood proudly, her hands on her wide hips. “You just wait and see as I show the idol world the love I put inside of me!” She turned to Yu with considerable force and wrapped her arm around his, making sure to press as much of herself into him as she could. It was like being hugged by a particularly aggressive bodypillow. “Come on, Senpai, why don’t we pair off and make some memories?”
	Chie could only stare in amazement at the idol’s brazen and direct approach. “Rise… what a terrifying girl… but she’s got a point. I’m in! Let’s go somewhere!”
	Yukiko briefly stopped prodding her midsection. “Huh? Oh, um, I’m in too!”
	Each of the girls focused in on Yu, hoping for a chance to spend some time with him, but it was Teddie who stepped up first.
	“Ladies, please, why don’t we do something together? All of us?” he said smiling from ear to ear.
	“Uh, what did you have in mind?” asked Chie, her voice dripping with suspicion. Any idea of Teddie’s was bound to be bad. And her instincts were spot on.
	“Well, your yukatas remind me of a beary special game I saw on TV! See the boys play the Emperor and the girls play the helpless girls and you do this...” Teddie reached out and grabbed Yukiko’s sash from the side and gave it a solid pull. In his mind, this would be a fun game of spinning the girls around by the sash, with laughter and merriment of all. It was also a chance to see a bit more skin if things went well and there was so much skin possible to see.
	In reality, all he managed to do was spin Yukiko around with enough speed that her massive, heavy stomach was transformed into a spinning weapon of death, Teddie’s impact with which sent him flying to the ground.
	The night air was filled with crying as Yukiko struggled to keep her modesty with the yukata slipping from her shoulders, revealing albeit briefly that her breasts and arms had not been spared and as the others panicked to make sure Teddie was in fact still conscious.
	At the very least, they were sure that they certainly had made some memories that night, even if it wasn’t quite the ones they had had in mind.

August 21, 2011
The Shrine
	Ai Ebihara sat on the steps of the shrine, nibbling on the end of a candy apple. Her face had smears of red crossing her lips like she had had an accident while applying her lipstick. However the discarded pile of candy apples sitting beside her told a different story.
	The girl looked nothing like the team manager Yu had met earlier in the year and had become another victim of his cooking. Her white shirt and pink skirt were stretched to the absolute limit. She could not compare to his friends, but his food had brought out feelings and desires she had long tried to put away, back when she was bullied as Piggy-hara.
	But Yu had changed all of that. She finished her last apple, patted her stomach and sighed. She couldn’t believe she had relapsed but more than that that she was okay with it. Who cared what other people felt? She liked herself first and foremost, and this was who she was. And who was to say she wasn’t beautiful? She was still Ai!
	Hell, look at those other girls Yu hung around with. Chie and Yukiko and most of all that idol Rise. Over the months they had blown up like a balloon and did they lose admirers? On the contrary, there seemed to be a rise in admiration! At the very least, it was hard to take your eyes off of them. She had expected the idol to lose her fandom as she walked the halls with her whole body shaking like a tree in a hurricane, but if anything she had even more fans.
	Well, Ai was going to stand out too, and she was going to do it as herself, not the fake persona she had put on to get friends before. She looked down at her prominent cleavage and the stomach which still managed to stick out beyond it and decided that if this was part of who she was, she was going to own it.
	After a few minutes, Yu came back with the armload of candy apples she had requested. “Here you go,” he said.
	“Thanks,” she said while barely waiting to take a bite. “That is… thanks for everything,” she added quietly as her cheeks flushed.
	“Hmm?” He turned to look at her.
	She beamed. “It’s nothing. Say, what are we going to do with this?” She said pointing to the giant bale of rice they had won at the lottery.
	Yu put a hand to his chins. “Well, I have a few ideas. A few recipes I wanted to try out.”
	Ai put her hands on her hips and smiled. “Well, whatever it is, make sure you share some with me!”
	Yu chuckled. “Of course.” And the two of them enjoyed the remainder of the festival together.

August 23, 2011
The Beach
	It was unbelievable. Everything about this situation was unbelievable. I mean, the whole year had been unbelievable but this took the cake. Yosuke was already in Heaven as he was now going to the beach with the Rise Kujikawa. She was going to be wearing a bathing suit, as was everyone else. But it was even more amazing that they even made it there in the first place.
	Yu, and Yosuke made it safely to the beach on their scooters no problem, and Kanji and Teddie had struggled but only because they were too young for a scooter and had to peddle and skate the whole way. The girls were a different story. Whoever had designed these things clearly had girls of a, shall we say, much smaller stature in mind when they were built. Ignoring the fact that Chie’s ass repeatedly blocked Yukiko and Rise’s view of the road, there were several flat tires and other problems to content with. Clearly some suspensions were going to need some tuning.
	But they were here. It was happening, and Yosuke was in Heaven. He was so stoked he could even tolerate Kanji’s disturbingly small speedo. But he still wasn’t prepared for what was to come.
	“W-what are you guys doing here? You’re supposed to be in the water!” shrieked Chie, surprised to see the boys on the beach. She proceeded to cover herself, though it was not particularly helpful with so much to cover.
	“Oh, were you waiting for us?” asked Rise mischievously with a coy smile.
	“Umm, can we get in the water?” asked Yukiko, refusing to make eye contact.
	It was sensory overload. There was simply so much skin. Yosuke was sure he had never seen so much woman in one place. Chie and Yukiko wore the same yellow and white swimsuits from the camping trip, but the months were clearly not kind to the outfits.
	Teddie beamed. “Chie, Yukiko and Rise all win the Ladies of Summer competition! I’m surrounded by such beautiful mermaids! I feel like this could be my chance for a summer romance!”
	Teddie continued to babble on, but Yosuke could only stare. In every way the girls had grown since the camping trip. Yukiko’s belly now completely blocked off her bikini bottom from the front, her dangling gut effectively censoring her lower half. If he hadn’t seen her from the side moments ago and the strings dangling from her hips he could be forgiven for not knowing if she even was wearing a bottom to her suit at all.
	Chie’s bottom half was not so obscured. It would take a lot to cover all of that up. Her thighs could now be accurately be called tree trunks with only a hint of hyperbole and the fat ran all the way down to her ankles. The effect of this and her meteoric ass was that her shorts were stretched to the absolute breaking point. Pockets of flesh poked out of the seems and one wrong move could spell their end. And their end would be putting a massive amount of end on full display.
	But Rise’s swimsuit was the most scandalous of all. Whereas the other two had clearly at least tried to go up a few sizes on their suits, even if they underestimated their weight by several sizes, Rise was clearly wearing the same orange bikini top and bottom from before her transformation via Yu’s cooking. The word skindentation ran through his mind like a mad bull. Her bikini bottom was absolutely no match for her ass and had effectively become a thong. Her top did little more than cover the absolute bare minimum and push her chest together and up into her chin. In all likelihood, if she looked down she’d still not be able to see what seemed like an acre of pale white stomach which was quite an accomplishment.
	“Dude,” Yosuke said unable to look away. “I didn’t know I wanted this, but thanks, Yu.”
	Yu looked back confused. “Thanks for what?”
	“Uh, nevermind,” he said. “A-anyway, how about we get this party started?”
	And with that, the festivities began. Nothing could put a damper on this day, even Kanji’s disturbingly small speedo. There was running, swimming and games. And of course a picnic, a lot of picnic, even if everyone questioned where Yu had stored all that food.
	Rise flopped backwards onto the sand with a loud thump. She laughed contentedly. “I can’t believe how much fun this has been! I’ve never been able to cut loose like this when I was working!”
	Yu approached her holding a volleyball. “Then would you like to go a few rounds?”
	Rise immediately sat up. Well in truth she took a few tries to sit up. She grunted and strained, and finally made it back to a sitting position. “Of course!”
	The nets were set up. The teams were chosen. Yu and Rise would take on Yosuke and Chie. Winner would face Kanji and Yukiko. But it wasn’t meant to last.
	“Coming right up!” Chie said as she started the match but hit it too high, setting it up as an easy return for Rise. Yosuke moved up to the net to prepare, but instead of gently setting it up for Yu, Rise decided to try a different strategy.
	Rise charged at the net. “Watch my great Spike, Senpai!”
	She underestimated her own girth or overestimated her jumping skills. Either way instead of spiking the ball, she ended up charging straight into the net and slamming right on top of Yosuke.
	The June’s employee felt both a paradoxical combination of softness as the idol’s cleavage enveloped his face and the rest of her crushed his body.
	“Yosuke!” the group cried out in once.
	Shit, he thought, maybe he really was going to Heaven.

August 30, 2011
The Hill Outside Town
	“Ugh, did this hill grow... a few hundred feet... since we last came here?” whined Rise as she climbed to the top of the hill, adjusting her skin tight pants.
	“I think… it must be… a Tec… a Tectonic shift...” Yukiko said between gasping breaths. She fanned herself as sweat dripped down her face.
	“It’s just… better… training...” said Chie nearly as out of breath as the other two. She didn’t want to admit that all she wanted to do was sit down and eat the candy she had brought with her and to avoid feeling her thighs continual rubbing together. But she pressed on.
	Eventually they made it to the top and the fireworks did indeed make the trip worth it. But then as the fireworks died out, the girls suddenly remembered they had to make it back down the hill as well. Their thoughts of doom and gloom were interrupted by Kanji.
	“Oh yeah, should we have asked that kid to come with us today?”
	“What kid are you talking about?” asked Yosuke.
	“Uh, well...”
	“You mean the detective Naoto Shirogane?” said Yu, picking up on Kanji’s feelings.
	“Oh yeah, we might not ever see him again,” said Rise.
	And the teams thoughts turned to the slim detective boy they suspected they would never truly get to know.

August 30, 2011
Naoto Shirogane’s Room
	“Come… ON...”
	The detective groaned and strained. He pulled tight on a string that went under his clothes.
	“This is… I can’t… I can’t be seen like this...” he said to himself. “It’s shameful. I will fix this. This is just a temporary fix while I change my ways.”
	But as he said this he stared at the bakery bag on his desk. Well, if he was going to end this bad habit, he might as well finish off what he had already purchased.

September 1, 2011
Yasogami High School Gates
	“Good morning,” said Naoto Shirogane waiting at the school gates.
	Yu, Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko stopped in their tracks. “Y-you?! You’re that, uh, pint-sized detective!” said Yosuke.
	“I-I beg your pardon!” the detective boy said with indignation. “P-pint sized...” he whispered to himself, looking down at his buttoned up shirt, and quickly tucked a pair of strings dangling from it into his waistband. “A-anyway, please do not give people bizarre nicknames on the spot.”
	The detective tried to give Yosuke an indignant glare, but the effect was somewhat foiled by the oversized crepe he had begun to eat from the oversized bakery bag at his side. With each bite, it left a larger dollop of cream on his cheek.
	“Um, you know this is a high school, right?” asked Yukiko.
	Naoto explained that although the case of the murders was considered closed, he still had apprehensions and would be staying in the area and attending the school as a first year. But while his friends were shocked to learn the detective was younger than they were, something else attracted Yu’s attention. He approached the boy and knelt down in front of him, gazing intently at the boy’s stomach.
	“E-excuse me,” stuttered Naoto. “C-can I help you?”
	Yu rubbed his chin methodically. “One of your buttons is missing. Would you like me to fix it? Kanji lent me some sewing equipment.”
	Naoto took several steps back, his face turning brighter than the sun above him. “Th-that’s all right! I’ll take care of it myself!” And with that, the blue-haired sleuth took off and ran into the building as fast as he could, which actually wasn’t particularly fast.
	“That was a little...” Yukiko began before noticing the detective running back to retrieve the bakery bag he had left behind. The boy stuffed the rest of his crepe into his mouth and ran off with the rest.
	“That was a little weird,” she finished.

September 1, 2011
Naoto Shirogane’s Room
	Naoto slammed the door to the room shut and dropped all of today’s purchases on the desk. The blue haired detective wasted no time in running to the full length mirror in the corner. The sight of the detective’s own reflection would have completely taken all breath away if running home, up the stairs and into the room hadn’t already left the teenage private eye gasping and panting like a dog in the summer.
	Naoto was developing a bit of a gut. It wasn’t entirely noticeable unless you looked for it, but there it was. And that boy Yu, who filled Naoto with constant confusing, embarrassing feelings, was so close there was no way he hadn’t noticed. It meant more drastic steps were required. And those steps would be even more uncomfortable. And as it were it felt like the detective had hit a limit.
	“Dammit, this hurts...” Naoto said, reaching down and lifting up the back of the dress shirt and grabbed a pair of strings. With a quick tug, the swish of fabric being let loose filled the air. More than the air, the shirt Naoto was wearing was filled with an explosion of flesh. The sudden wave of stomach slammed into what had been a loose-fitting shirt weeks ago and the force was too much for another two buttons, which were flung against the wall and dropping onto the wooden floor with an audible clack.
	“I can’t take this...” Naoto had held it inside, but it was simply too much. She looked down and saw the corset she had been wearing on the floor. Hiding her gender was bad enough but trying to hide her weight gain was making it even more difficult. She looked down and saw what was basically a giant globe of belly fat bouncing out of the open folds of her shirt. Binding it down was taking more and more effort each day and a corset could only do so much.
	Speaking of binding, there was another pair of problems. In a burst of frustration, she grabbed the chest of her shirt and ripped it clean off and threw it to the floor, leaving her standing topless but for a tight set of bandages over her chest. She began to tear at them with furor. Ultimately she didn’t even have to tear them off as merely weakening the cotton gave the underlying breasts enough force to do the rest. With the loud tearing of cloth her true buxom nature exposed itself.
	Naoto panted heavily, finally free of her bondage. In the past few years, puberty had been inordinately kind to her, or unkind perhaps from her point of view. But now, her point of view was filled with more female flesh than she had ever believed she could possess. They had been big before she had started packing on the pounds, but they must have doubled in size. She cupped her breasts in her hands and felt their weight. One hand was not enough. They had easily surpassed a handful. She had no real knowledge of cup sizes, as that was knowledge she never wanted to apply to herself, but she had gone up an unreasonable number of them she was sure.
	Feeling their weight, she finally let go and watched the orbs fall and collide with the engorged belly below them, the soft mounds of flesh pressing into each other and bouncing off each other, like a squishy Newton’s Cradle. Each collision would send a ripple of adipose across the surface of both her chest and her stomach, which took far too long to calm down.
	She squirmed, her hips moving from side to side. “And this is just the icing on a terrible, terrible cake...”
	Naoto’s hips were surprisingly wide, which she attempted to hide with excessive layers of clothes or loose fitting shirts and slacks, but unlike her chest, her lower half was never particularly fat. Until now, of course. Her thighs were digging into the stitching in the side of her slacks, causing each step to be cause even more discomfort. She reached down and began to fiddle with the notches on her belt, which in hindsight she should have taken off first. The jiggling, monumental gut in front of her completely obscured the entirety of the belt and as such she had to try and undo it by feel alone, which was not easy when said gut was pressing down on the belt and pushing your fingers into the cold metal.
	When she finally managed to undo the buckle, the force of her stomach slammed down on her pants, forcing them to around her hips. She bent over and removed them, leaving herself clad in nothing but a pair of white panties. They were the sole feminine item she allowed herself to wear under the assumption that if anyone ever saw them, she’d already be in enough trouble. Yet even this still felt a little uncomfortable as the cotton undergarments dug into her new body, but this was the largest pair she had.
	She turned herself around in front of the mirror and fell into a bout of depression. It was like a heavy weight had been dropped onto her chest. And her ass. And her legs, arms, and of course her belly. Even her back was showing some fat. It was everywhere, except her face which had only slightly rounded out just enough to be noticeable but only if you knew her enough to look.
	“I’m going to need to get new everything. With stronger stitching, too,” she said making a mental note to herself. She turned to look at her desk and saw the pile of bakery bags she had left on it and grew angry at herself. “No! I need to be stronger. I need to beat this...”
	She walked up to the desk and took a bag. Inside was boxes upon boxes of donuts. The label said it was party sized, but she had bought it for herself. She made excuses in her mind when she bought things, saying she would share it with her servants when they dropped by, or that this was the last one, or it was just for the energy, but she couldn’t keep lying to herself. She was addicted.
	She opened the box and took out a donut. As a child, she had enjoyed some sweets, but as she grew she began to associate sweets with childishness, and as such it became something to avoid. A detective didn’t sit around sucking on candies, he drank black coffee and ate only as much as he needed to keep going. So this had to stop. She moved the pastry over the garbage and tried to let go. But memories of that first bite Yu had given her at the tofu shop flooded back and her mouth flooded over as well.
	I can’t… help it...” She stuffed the entire donut into her mouth and chewed happily. “They’re too good...”
	Her will was broken. She opened all of the bags on her desk and stacked up plate after plate after plate of baked goods. Cakes, pies, fritters, muffins and more. She had fallen in love with food, and western sweets in particular. And she knew she couldn’t stop now. She was going to devour them all right now and savor every bite. After each piece was finished, she gently sucked on her fingers, slowly going over each one to make sure she got everything. She even bit into the wrappers, getting every last crumb. And she knew she couldn’t, wouldn’t and didn’t want to stop. In the morning, she would be filled with regret, and she would tell herself it was the last time. But she knew it wouldn’t.
	So she ate and ate, stopping only briefly to get some milk to wash it down and some ice cream to top it off. In those moments of wandering the small house in search of more she was extremely thankful she was staying by herself as no one would see the ‘serious’ Detective Prince walking with a swaying, swollen gut bouncing a pair of naked breasts up and down with every step, wearing only a tight, ill-fitting pair of plain panties which you could barely see when her stomach bounced upward. Out of sight, she could remain unbounded until she was sated. She never did end up completely full, but when she finally ran out of sweets.
	When she finished she fell backwards onto her bed which creaked under the sudden weight and spread out her arms and legs and sighed. She felt liberated, but it wouldn’t last. She reached down and adjusted her panties, lowering them into a comfortable position. Without thinking, she began to rub her belly, pressing her fingers into its soft, round body. The gentle waves of its movement were calming, soothing. She let her heart calm down and her mind relax. She knew what would play out. She’d fall asleep like this, wake up, see herself nearly naked in the mirror and feel shame, and struggle even harder to hide what she had done before heading off to school. She knew because she had done the same the day before. And the day before. But for now, she was calm and free from her self-ordained bondage.
	And while she was free, she took out her phone and looked up her tailor. Might as well order several different sizes of clothes. With reinforced stitching. And see where else she could get more bandages. And maybe see if any other restaurants in the area would deliver tonight.

September 6, 2011
Yasogami High Rooftop
	A group of male students was scattered about the rooftop, sitting in a semi-circle as they ate the lunches they had bought from the school store below. The looks on their faces said that they had a lot on their minds, but they were too nervous to say it out loud. So their lunch continued in awkward silence.
	At last, one boy, a tall, skinny lad broke the silence, unable to bear the quiet any longer. “So, you all saw it too, right?”
	No one responded, but the way they avoided eye contact said everything. They had.
	“Rise Kujikawa, the idol we have worshipped for years… we saw her panties.”
	The temperature on the rooftop got even hotter in a moment. They nodded, almost imperceptibly. It was true. On the way up to the roof, the group of boys had passed the growing idol who was on her way back to her classroom with a stack of papers for her teacher. In spite of her immense new size, she was still as spirited and energetic as ever, almost skipping through the halls with a smile. She even turned to offer a wave to the boys, as she often did to anyone she recognized as a fan.
	It was such an odd sight. Rise had been growing so rapidly that her uniform simply couldn’t keep up. She had seemingly enjoyed the way her school outfit covered less and less of her, an exposed belly here, a little, or a lot of, cleavage there. But eventually the school had deemed it too risque, even with the rather lax dress code, and had forced her to wear a larger uniform, much to her annoyance.
	That was a month ago. Today, it had happened again except the school store didn’t have anything in her size. It was unbelievable, but in all likelihood she had even surpassed Hanako in weight to become the biggest girl, no the biggest person who had likely ever attended the school. So they improvised and forced her to wear the green and white gym uniform to retain some form of decency. It didn’t really help.
	For one thing, the suit was also probably too small. The elastic band of the sweatpants dug into the idol’s gut, pushing it up into a ring off flab far too big to be called a muffin top. And below the belt was no better as the idol’s huge, blubbery thighs stretched out the rest of the material. What should have been a pair of loose-fitting elastic sweat pants had become a strangely colored pair of yoga pants. As she walked you could see every contour of her lower half, right down to her pantylines. As she walked you could even see the taught underlying fabric get pulled in as her voluminous ass threatened to swallow the cotton coverings whole.
	Her top was little better as her breasts had done the most growth. Simply put, she could not zipper her jacket shut and so it remained zipped up a quarter of the way. This, if anything, only made it worse, as the jacket acted more like a makeshift push-up bra, lifting and accentuating the gargantuan orbs above them. They must have extended a foot off her chest and the underlying white cotton shirt was stretched to its limits. Rise had managed to turn an outfit which was meant to be as modest as possible into something scandalous. But until something could be custom made, it would have to do.
	And so the boys saw her march past, bouncing in every sense of the word. But when she turned back for just a moment to wave to her fans, she collided with another boy in the hall. They instantly recognized him as the giant, monstrous Kanji Tatsumi. Normally, he was so huge that a girl her height would stop like a feather thrown at a brick wall. Instead that feather was at least another hundred pounds heavier than that wall and plowed through, knocking the delinquent to the ground as giant ass met giant boy.
	“Geez, Kanji, you’ve gotta be more careful,” the idol said in a teasing tone.
	“ME?!” Kanji erupted in annoyance. “You’re the one who’s walking backwards in--”
	That was when it happened. The idol, strangely casual with the delinquent, bent over to help him to his feet. And the tearing of fabric could be heard throughout the halls as her pants split right down the middle.  Two ample cheeks barreled out of their constraints and showed off their green and white striped glory. Shamipan, as expected. It was for only a moment, but the boys burned the sight into their retinas.
	Rise shrieked in surprise and tried to reach back to cover up, but it was no use.
	“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!” Kanji leapt to his feet and blocked their line of view, screaming loudly in their faces.
	They should have run, but they were stuck standing in terror for just a moment. They watched as Kanji took off his own jacket and wrapped it around Rise’s waist, escorting her away.
	“C’mon,” he said. “I can fix that for you over in the home-ec room. Geez, you need to really be more careful, you know?”
	When the world had returned to normal, they made their way to the roof, where they sat still in shock. Eventually, they knew they had to say more.
	A boy with glasses was next to break the ice. “It’s… not just Rise. Yukiko Amagi she… she’s gotten so big that all her pantyhose have tears in them. Her legs are pouring out of them every day. Her belly hangs so low out of her cardigan that you can always see her belly button. I feel like I could get lost in that thing. Hell, the other day, when she turned to sit down it swung and toppled her desk over!”
	“That’s nothing,” said a third boy wearing a gym uniform. “Chie Satonaka’s ass is getting so huge she’s actually started using two chairs at her desk. She’s started wearing longer skirts to hide it, but they end up still just going to her thighs. It’s like our school suddenly has a sumo team or something.”
	Another boy sighed. “It’s not just them. It’s everyone. It’s an endemic. Almost every girl in school is putting on some pounds. Even Kashiwagi is doing it! Ai, Yumi, even that little girl over in the band, you know, the one carrying that huge trombone? It’s everyone! And we’re all too afraid to talk about it, really.”
	One boy, the short, bespectacled one from before, started to sweat. “Is it… uh… weird if I...” He gulped and tried to swallow his words but braved on. “Think it’s kinda… hot?” The air was uncomfortably quiet. When he got no response, he backed down. “S-sorry, it’s a silly thing to...”
	“No, it totally is!” The tall boy said enthusiastically. “It’s totally hot! Rise was always hot but she’s like 10 times hotter now!”
	“Wait, you think so, too?”
	“I’m not alone?”
	“Wait, we all think this?!”
	The roof erupted into a chorus of agreement and chatter as they began to talk over us.
	“I just want to press my face into her stomach!”
	“Those huge boobs are just the best!”
	“I want to feed her steak all day, every day!”
	“The other day, just walking to her desk Chie accidentally slammed her ass into me! It hurt, but it felt so good I thought I was gonna die!”
	“You lucky bastard!”
	And the conversation went on until the bell would ring. But a new bond had certainly been forged.

September 8, 2011
Tatsumi Port Island, Gekkoukan High
	The school trip had so far been a waste of time. It had been a series of lecture after lecture after lecture. If they had wanted to hear boring talks about nothing, they could have stayed back in Inaba. The only thing of interest to date was the student body of Gekkoukan High School. Or rather the student bodies. They had been greeted by the student council president, a long-haired brunette girl with glasses who had been the epitome of manners. She also had a body that rivaled every girl in the Investigation Team in terms of weight. She was huge, though she seemed to at least have had a uniform that was tailored to fit her generous proportions. It fit perfectly, if a bit snug in places, though it didn’t stop her almost perfectly spherical stomach from being an endless sea of white cotton. And it wasn’t just her. Half the female students walking around were of similar builds. It was almost too much for much of the Yasogami High boys to take.
	The classrooms reflected this, with desks and chairs that seemed to be extra wide and sturdy. Apparently, several years ago the former student council president had ordered everything to be fitted to accommodate the growing obesity epidemic. Even the doorways looked like they had been widened, though this wasn’t always a perfect solution.
	“All right, we are out of here!” cried Chie. They had been stuck in a particularly boring lecture by a teacher who also seemed to double as the school nurse, and Chie was anxious to get out of there and start moving. She put her stubby hands on her thick thighs and began to stretch her legs from side to side. “Come on, Yukiko. I’m starving. Race you down to the cafeteria!”
	“Come on Chie,” Yukiko said a bit glumly looking down. “You know you’re faster than me. And I’m...” she looked down at the massive gut which had reached the point of absurdity, stretching out her cardigan to the breaking point as the buttons strained to stay together, the white top underneath it stretched to the point of becoming nearly see-through in spots, and her belly button hung out from under it all. It was like carrying a hundred pound medicine ball in front of her, albeit one that would not sit still. “I’m not… dressed for running.”
	“Nonsense!” said Chie, smashing her fist into her open palm. “You just need the right motivation! Loser has to buy the winner dessert!”
	Yukiko still wasn’t convinced. “I dunno...”
	Chie smiled and brought out the ace up her sleeve. “They got a Wild Duck Burger here. You can get a Triple Duck Burger AND then top it off with a Chocolate Strawberry Mega Shake!”
	Yukiko’s eyes were suddenly as bright as a supernova. “You’re on,” she said with complete confidence.
	They waited for the other students to leave before they got in position. Ready. Set! Go!
	The two girls bounded for the door with a speed that was surprising for their abundant natures, but their race was not destined to last long. In a matter of seconds, they reached the first bottleneck, the door to the classroom, and realized their folly. The doors in the school had been widened to accommodate even the widest of students, but they likely hadn’t predicted two large women attempting to use it at the same time at high speed, which resulted in a congestion issue.
	“Oof! H-hey, I can’t move!” said Chie, who found the left half of her ample ass pressed into the left side of the door and the other half pressed into Yukiko.
	Yukiko was not pleased either. “S-sorry Chie, but I think I’m stuck, too and—mmph!” Yukiko’s soft but unwieldy stomach was pressed right into Chie’s side, her arm making an indent down its entire length. When she tried to step forward, the added squishing forced her growing breasts up higher. She was nowhere near Rise’s size in the chest, but the lift from her stomach was enough to begin smothering herself with her own mammaries.
	“Oh what the hell is this?!” Asked Yosuke, walking by, not expecting to see two obese friends lodged in a doorway.
	“Quit gawking and help!” demanded Chie.
	Yosuke grabbed Chie’s flailing arm and pulled. “Don’t yell at me because you got your fat ass--”
	“Oh my, what’s going on here?”
	Yosuke recognized the voice of Chihiro, the huge student council president who had introduced them to the school. Without a need for explanation, she ran up and grabbed Yukiko by the arm. With their combined force, they managed to dislodge the heavyset friends, sending them falling to the floor.
	Chie and Yukiko carefully worked their way back to their feet and brushed themselves off. “Ah, ummm… thanks,” said Chie unable to look either of her two helpers in the eyes.
	“Oh it was no trouble,” Chihiro said demurely, and meant it. “This, uh, happens more often than you think. I’ve err… done a few times with another student when I wasn’t paying attention.”
	“Anyway, let’s go get those burgers and shakes,” said Chie, turning back to Yukiko.
	The red-clad girl seemed to be in a worse mood after her near mammary-induced asphyxiation, pouting deeply. “...Make it an extra large.” And with that, they sulked off to get their fill, leaving Yosuke alone in the halls with Chihiro.
	The two of them stared at each other in an awkward silence for a moment. Taking a good look, he realized she was just her type. Shy, wearing cute glasses and this summer he had learned that being a couple hundred pounds overweight was not a downside. Damn, he had to do something. “H-hey, it’s lunchtime, so could I buy you something… or uh...”
	Chihiro blushed. “Ah, that would be, uh, lovely, thank you.”
	The two of them made their way down to the cafeteria, where they made sure to get a seat quite far away from the sulking Chie and Yukiko. Chihiro sat down with a tray holding more food than Yosuke would eat in a day. The weight of the burgers, fries, drinks and special pies caused the tray to sag in the middle. It was not food you’d expect to see a student council president to be eating, but his expectations had begun to change.
	When she sat down at the table next to him, he felt his seat raise several inches in the air and a book on the table slid closer to him. He took a quick look and opened it.
	“I thought you might want to look at this. It’s a yearbook from a few years back,” she said. “Look over at this page. It’s the president who came before me that I mentioned earlier.”
	Chihiro skillfully opened the yearbook to the right page and laid out a large, color photo. In it was a fiery but refined looking woman with red hair and an elegant sense of fashion. She stood in a regal manner, befitting someone so rich and well-mannered. She was also the single fattest woman Yosuke had ever seen, who would have crushed a desk at his school like a paper cup. Her plump, double-chinned face stared with incredible intensity, as if daring anyone to make a crack about her size. The picture made Yosuke wonder if this fate was going to befall the girls on his team. How long until Yasogami had to start widening doors and buying new desks? Could they afford that? Then again, not doing it could end up even more expensive when half the equipment in your school kept breaking.
	“Isn’t she amazing?” asked Chihiro with enthusiasm. “She was one of the people on the council who helped shape me into the class president I am today.”
	The word ‘shape’ ran through Yosuke’s mind for several seconds, gazing at the exceptionally round student council president, as did the words ‘sphere,’ ‘round,’ ‘bubble’ and ‘orb.’ He was sure something had certainly shaped her, but he was sure it was something edible. He didn’t mind, of course, but for once in his life he decided maybe it would be wiser not to make a comment.
	Chihiro put a hand to her generous chest and sighed happily, reminiscing. “She was everything I wanted to be. She was a role model to us all. She was strict, but fair. She always worked hard to ensure the students had everything they needed to thrive here.” She paused for a second, looking down at herself. “Sometimes… maybe too much. The… Wild Duck Burger inside the school grounds… and the cafe and bakery inside the library… and the cooking festival...” A bead of sweat ran down the side of her face as she got deeper into thought. “Though many of these ideas were based on popular suggestions… Come to think of it, that boy was the one who said we should have a suggestion box... and I passed it on to Kirijo-senpai and… oh dear.”
	“Is, uh, something the matter?” asked Yosuke hesitantly.
	“It’s fine, I think… I just need some time to reflect, if that’s all right.”
	Yosuke sighed and nodded his head before getting up. Struck out again, and just when he thought he had a chance. Ugh. Well, at least this trip couldn’t get any crazier.

September 9, 2011
Tatsumi Port Island, Club Escapade
	“PERSHOOOOONAAAAAAAAA!” Rise screamed, slurring her words as she grabbed another bottle and began to chug its contents like she was a starved woman coming out of the desert and just found a lifetime supply of water. “It’s sho coolsh… We jump in tha TV and we… fightsh these shadowsh and… we’re all like KAPOW!” The intoxicated idol leapt to her feet, causing large parts of her body, which was most of it, to jump around with as much enthusiasm. She threw her fist into the air. “And we beats ‘em all and...”
	Rise fell straight back, landing on the sofa with considerable force. So considerable in fact it threw the Detective Prince sitting next to her right off the couch and onto the cold floor of the club. As the detective got back onto the sofa, the sounds of Rise beginning to snore echoed throughout the club, which was quite the feat in a place with music as loud as this.
	“Are you making fun of me?” Naoto was not amused. “I see now that you had no intention of telling the truth,” he said as he reached out to his plate and grabbed another donut. Few people could look angry while eating a pastry, but Naoto had managed it.
	The team had gone to this club at Rise’s recommendation, but they had not been expecting to see Naoto there. It was not exactly a place that screamed private eye, unless there had been a homicide, and the only thing that had been killed there that night was the mood, with the killers being Naoto’s stone faced stoicism and Yukiko and Rise’s insistence that the drinks they had been slamming down were alcoholic despite Naoto and the club’s claims otherwise.
	“Are you a pack of imbeciles?” Naoto asked. Looking around, you could see the damage. Teddie and Kanji were unconscious on the floor, Yukiko was swaying back and forth, ignoring the conversation entirely as she kneaded and smooshed her engorged stomach with the utmost fascination, and Rise was out cold on the sofa, her uniform top lifted up, leaving her vast stomach and nearly as vast pink and white bra out on display. With all the evidence, it was hard to deny the detective’s accusation.
	A heavy air hung over the club. Naoto watched the group expectantly, tapping his foot in impatience. He had a hard glare even though he had appeared to have softened physically. The detective had developed a rather noticeable beer belly, revealing small pockets of flesh between the buttons on his dress shirt. His chest likewise had expanded to the point it could only be called a spectacular set of man boobs. He did not appear to be anywhere near the obese members of the Investigation Team, but Naoto was unmistakably fat. Yet this did not diminish the effect of his glare.
	“Maybe we are...” said a voice. Everyone turned to see Yukiko, who slowly stood up, her gaze still transfixed on her stomach. “Maybe we’re just a bunch of fat, stupid losers...” she mumbled more to herself than anyone.
	“Hey, don’t talk like that!” said Chie, leaping to her feet. She held Yukiko’s hand and pulled her close. “You’re none of those things!”
	Yukiko laughed, but it was a self-depreciating laugh, not her usual hyena-like laugh-fest. She used both hands, lifted her top up and grabbed her swollen gun, sinking both hands in to the point that they seemingly disappeared. She began to shake it up and down, sending waves of fat crawling all over her snow white skin. The sheer heft of it nearly threw her off her balance. “I’m a total cow,” she said with disgust.
	The room went cold, but Chie heated up. No one dared to say a word as Chie seemed to gather her will. In one sharp movement, Chie grabbed both of Yukiko’s hands and pulled her close. Yukiko was taken completely by surprise, knocking the fake buzz right out of her. Yukiko’s eyes bulged in shock as her oversized gut was pressed into Chie’s. “Don’t you dare talk like that! You’re Yukiko! You’ll always be Yukiko! You’ll never be a loser no matter what! You’ll always be my Yukiko! Stupid crap like dress size doesn’t matter, to me you’ll always be the cool girl I looked up to!”
	Chie could see tears beginning to form at the corner of Yukiko’s eyes.
	“You tell ‘em,” said Rise, who had woken up and dragged herself to her feat. “You’re still cool, Yukiko!” The idol made a peace sign and lit up a thousand watt smile. “Don’t let anyone tell you you’re a loser or you’re not cute!” She gave her own stomach a hearty smack, sending various parts bouncing every which way. “I’m still going to be an idol, and I’m bigger than anyone here! Cuteness comes from within, and you’ve got it!” She moved forward and put a hand on her shoulder. “If you want, you could even come join me someday, we’d make a great idol duo!”
	Yukiko smiled brightly. “Thanks, you guys.” She bowed deeply, seemingly summoning her inner inn-keeper. “I was really embarrassed about what happened yesterday, but I’m going to stop worrying about my weight and start worrying about what’s really important!”
	“That’s the spirit, Yukiko!” said Chie enthusiastically.
	“Though Chie, your huge ass really does look funny like that!” she said with a laugh.
	“H-hey! I know what we just said, but you still don’t say something things!”
	The group erupted in laughter as Naoto looked on. The young detective had never really seen anything quite like this before, but they were taken in by the group’s warm, friendly demeanor. They may have been imbeciles, but something about their acceptance of the situation, the way they didn’t judge each other, broke through to her heart. It certainly gave them something to reflect on.
	Naoto raised a finger to try and single out an employee. The least she could do is order another couple of platters of sweets. For the group, of course.

October 6, 2011
Yasogami High School, Gates
	It had been many weeks since the team had seen Naoto, but it had been a dramatic period of time The Detective Prince had proven the kidnapper was out there by getting captured on purpose and then getting rescued by the team, revealing her gender in the process and then took several weeks off to recover from the ordeal. As such, the group was getting anxious as to the health of the blue haired sleuth. They hadn’t had so much as a phone call since her rescue, but her absence came to an abrupt end.
	Yu, Yosuke and Chie approached the school gates only to find the Detective Prince awaiting them. The girl held her briefcase in one hand and a massive crepe in the other, snacking idly while she waited.
	Chie’s eyes lit up when she saw the girl waiting, and bounded forward, bouncing in several ways towards Naoto even as her naked thighs chaffed together. “Are you feeling better now?” she asked.
	“Yes, thanks to all of you,” said Naoto. “I’d like to thank you once again for what happened.”
	Naoto took a serious bow to the group, making them feel a bit awkward. Not just because the sudden shift in attitude from the formerly unflinching detective was off-putting, or because of the whipped cream still stuck to her lips, which she quickly noticed and licked away before wiping her lips.  Rather they saw how much she had changed. The weeks of bed rest had evidently not been particularly kind to her waistline.
	She still wore the same white dress short and slacks she always had, but the amount of fabric suggested she had in fact gone up a size. Or two. Or several. And that she probably needed to go up a few more, because everything was strained to its absolute limit. Every part of her had ballooned out except for her face, which was still rounder than it had been, but only showed a dimple where a second chin was developing. Her stomach, ass, thighs, breast and even her hands had rounded out to one extent or another. To make it more awkward, her pants had clearly been hiked up to try and suppress her growing gut, with her waistline around where her navel should be, and her belt tightened so much as to indent itself in the globular mound of fat. It was so tight that the flesh actually went around the belt and pushed back inward, like a tidal wave approaching the beach.
	The worst part was that this did actually very little to hide her gut, but rather it held it up more prominently, creating a nice shelf for her growing breasts to sit nicely on, highlighting all three squishy balls of fat on her front. She hadn’t reached Rise territory of mammary growth from what they could see, but they could only imagine the difficulty in finding something to cup them.
	The hiking of her pants had also emphasized the growth of her lower half. Her rear end was nothing compared to Chie, who still needed a chair for each cheek when she sat at a desk, but it was still impressive, looking like you could use it as a makeshift shelf in a pinch. It also went well with her thighs which had grown until they now pressed together, forcing her to take a wider stance.
	It was also strange to see the detective so out of breath. She stood still and had likely been waiting there for some time, but she panted heavily, sweat dripping down her forehead as if she had just finished a long run. Well, long for her. She seemed to be in quite a bit of discomfort, shifting from leg to leg in an attempt to get comfortable.
	Naoto, aware of the looks she was getting, and was attempting to find some way to deflect attention, when a parade of students came marching by and with it the endless chatter of gossip.
	“Hey look, it’s the Detective Prince!”
	“That’s no prince! I heard ‘he’s’ a she!”
	“Huh? You serious? That porker is.. oh crap...”
	“That’s… kinda cool actually.”
	“I thought those things were a little too big to just be moobs.”
	“She is pretty cute, even if she’s… you know...”
	“I-I actually really like that!”
	“Wait, you too?”
	Naoto’s face went so red it seemed like it could have turned her hair and hat purple just by association. “M-my, rumors do seem to spread so quickly...”
	Yu walked up and placed a hand on her soft shoulder. “We’re on your side,” he said, giving her a quick thumbs up.
	She backed away as quick as she could, his handsome face and calming demeanor being simply too much for the already out of breath and overheated detective to take. “A-anyway, I’ll talk to you all later tonight! And I have plans that we need to take care of together tomorrow!”
	Without so much as a good-bye, the embarrassed girl ran into the school, shaking with every step.

October 7, 2011
Inaba Hospital
	Naoto had made one demand of the group, that they had all gone in to get testing done. After all, there was no way to know if exposure to the TV world was healthy. Who knew if there was crazy pathogens or background radiation in that magical world? The group was pretty upset that they hadn’t considered this before, but they were relieved to find out that no one showed any negative signs. Well, maybe one.
	“What does he mean a controlled diet?!” Rise said, stamping her foot. “I look great!” she said, spinning around with a flourish before striking a pose. “I’m full of the love between me and senpai, expressed through his cooking! Love can’t be unhealthy!”
	“It’s just standard procedure,” said Naoto, looking over the results. “Don’t take anything personally.”
	Rise understood, but still turned away and huffed, and not just because her little display had her slightly out of breath. She looked at her wonderful senpai and clung to his arm. She wrapped her blubbery arm around his, pulling him in close and traced a chubby finger over his chest. “You understand, right senpai? I still look amazing!”
	Yu felt his whole body slowly being engulfed, like he was being eaten by a warm pillow as he was drawn into Rise’s engorged frame, his arm and chest starting to press into the massive mounds that sat upon Rise’s chest.
	Naoto coughed very loudly, bringing the idol’s displays of affection to an end. “The important thing is we’re all okay. Other than a few… issues...” she gazed about the room, looking at three girls who managed to do a lot of moving despite standing completely still, before looking down at herself for a fraction of a second and blushing. She cleared her throat. “Other than a few, um, minor issues, we’re all in perfect health.”
	She went on to explain the doctors couldn’t see anything about Teddie.  The team’s mascot and pet literally did not show up on any of the equipment. X-rays and CAT scans simply showed nothing, as if the boy was not there at all. They couldn’t learn anything.
	But this line of inquiry was getting too depressing, so Teddie in turn snatched the results from the detective’s grip and started to talk about his own interests.
	“Enough about that!” he said. “Now it’s time for the real competition to begin! First up! The winner of the shortest legs competition!”
	“Wait, is it me?” asked Yosuke, surprised. “Wait, would they even measure that?”
	“Come on, Teddie,” said Rise, inching in and putting a flabbry arm around his shoulder. “Get to the good stuff and give us everyone’s measurements!”
	“W-wait, what?” stuttered Yukiko, who seemed paralyzed in fear. “You don’t want anyone to know that, right?”
	Rise grabbed the papers from Teddie’s hands and fanned herself with them coyly. “Aw, don’t be like that. My numbers have been public knowledge for a long, long time. Well, my agency bumped them up a few centimeters.” She looked down. Or rather, she looked down as far as she could, which was several inches below her, where her massive chest completely blocked her view of herself and the floor. “Or, well, I guess those numbers aren’t so accurate anymore,” she said with a giggle, purposely shaking and giving her stomach a good slap.
	“I just don’t know if...” Yukiko continued to hesitate.
	“Oh, don’t feel bad. You’re plenty cute and you still have that heiress charm. And hey, plenty of guys like a girl with a huge stomach. It’s a charm point!”
	Yukiko’s face reddened as she tried to suck up her gut, entirely in vain. It continued to hang, her belly button still dangling beneath her shirt and cardigan and covering up her skirt.
	“And let’s not forget Naoto, who...” Rise’s eyes darted over the page and froze. It remained frozen for what felt like an eternity. She didn’t move, but the idol’s face began to turn pale as sweat poured down her face like she had just run a marathon.
	All eyes turned towards Naoto, whose countenance had similarly gone pale. “R-Rise, can I just...” the detective reached out and grabbed the papers, but they wouldn’t budge from the idol’s iron grip.
	Rise’s eyes darted between the paper and the girl in front of her. “Every… category…” She whispered. “Waist… hips… bust… weight...”
	The sweat truly began to pour down Naoto’s face as she turned white as a sheet. “Th-that’s ridiculous, Kujikawa. So why don’t we...” Naoto’s breathing became even more erratic as she struggled to yank the papers from her hands. “It’s obviously… huff huff… a clerical error… huff huff… of some kind...” Naoto pulled tighter and tighter. All she managed to do however was pull herself closer until the two bellies collided, slowly pressing into each other.
	All at once, Rise released her death grip on the papers, and the detective, suddenly pulling with all of her considerable weight on thin air, went flying backwards, hitting the wall and landing on her ass. The force of the blow seemed to have some effect on the detective, as she sat on the floor, everyone could hear the tearing of fabric and finally the metallic ‘plink’ of a metal button being launched clear across the room. Everyone’s heads turned in unison to see the brass fastener bounce of a wall and fall to the floor, bouncing loudly each time before rolling agonizingly across the before finally coming to a stop in front of the detective’s lap. A massive, diamond shaped hole sat in the middle of her shirt where the button had popped off and the taught flesh underneath was taking that moment to escape, like a prisoner trying to bust out of a dilapidated cage. Only strange, crisscrossing lines of string across her stomach held the burgeoning belly back.
	“The-the-the-the” Naoto stuttered, failing to start her excuse several times. “Theimportantthingiswe’reallsafesowecanallheadhome!” She slammed her words together as she rose to the floor, pressing the exam papers over the gap in her shirt. “I’m going to go burn these,” she said intelligibly as she made a dash for the elevator, accompanied by the sound of more tearing.
	Silence fell over the hospital as everyone wordlessly agreed to erase the past several minutes from their collective memories. Nothing they had just seen was at all possible, so clearly they were suffering from some sort of ill-effect from the television world after all.
	“...Can we get some dinner?” asked Rise quietly, all the energy drained from her voice. Numbers ran through her head. “Super sized?”

October 30, 2011
Yasoinaba Culture Festival
	“Laaaaaaaaadies and Geeeeeeentlemen!” A dorky looking man in a fake pink afro, an oversized bowtie and glasses stood on stage before what must have been half the school. “Welcome to the Miss Yasogami Pageant!”
	The Yasogami High culture festival was in full swing, with the crossdressing pageant already concluded and the beauty pageant about to begin. It was the event the entire school had been waiting for, but this year, there seemed to be a strange twist to the proceedings. Normally the contestants would be waiting backstage, waiting for their name to be called and they would come out to introduce themselves. But instead, the entire collection of girls was now sitting at an extremely long table which stretched from one end of the stage to the other.
	The crowd began whispering among themselves.
	“Any idea what this is?”
	“No clue. What’s with the table?”
	“That blonde foreigner guy from the crossdressing competition, did he set this up?”
	“Is it just me, or does that look like a buffet table?”
	The conversations were just as lively up at the stage. From left to right sat Chie, Yukiko, Rise, Naoto, Hanako and Kashiwagi, each with a confused look on their faces, apart from Kashiwagi whose expression could be best described as somewhere between demonic and serial-killer.
	“I don’t like the look on Kashiwagi’s face...” said Yukiko, as the dread and gloom began to fill her entire being.
	“Yeah, that face spells bad news,” added Chie.
	“I know I can beat it,” said Rise with absolute confidence, “but I still don’t like it.” Rise looked to her immediate left at the pudgy detective who was unusually quiet other than some labored breathing.  “Uh, hey, you okay Naoto?”
	The Detective Prince didn’t respond, but just slumped forward in her chair, her face completely red. After what felt like an eternity, she finally whispered “Please just let it hold...”
	“Hmm? Let what hold?” asked Rise curiously.
	Immediately Naoto’s back shot straight up and she came to full attention. “AH! NOTHING!” Naoto’s breathing became fairly erratic. “Nothing is wrong! I’m okay… Just...” she panted and fidgeted in her seat. “Let’s just… get this over with...”
	At that moment a line of assistants made their way out onto the stage, each carrying a large, covered silver platter. In front of each girl was placed a single tray and the lid was removed to reveal a staggering amount of food. Each plate had several bowls of ramen, which were simply huge.  They resembled the rainy day specials at Aiya’s. In fact, they smelled like it, too. Beside them was a pile of Korean barbecue, an entire platter of western style cookies and a meat bun that was as big as a girl’s head.
	Before any of the girl’s could ask what the meaning of this all was, the MC began his explanation. “We’ve had a slight change to this year’s pageant at the request of our organizer, Ms. Kashiwagi!” He gestured to the smug teacher sitting at the table, who waved to the crowd, anticipating a round of applause which never came. “In addition to the usual popularity vote, with thanks to a sponsorship from Aiya’s restaurant, this year’s pageant will also be decided by an eating competition!”
	Naoto’s eyes bulged as she quickly began scanning the room, trying to determine the closest exit point. She had no intention of letting her secret out here.
	“Our contestants today will be sampling the newest dish from Aiya, the Belt Buster Supreme! It’s a mix of various foods from around the world! And whoever eats the most platters in 20 minutes will win not just a multiplier bonus to their vote tallies, but all the Aiya they can eat for a year!”
	As if they were in synch, the stomachs of each girl on stage growled and rumbled at once. This was ridiculous but, on the other hand, all you could eat for a year? That was simply economical, right? Who could pass that up? Even Naoto, whose financial situation meant she didn’t worry about the price of food, did a double take. Or maybe it was the cookies that caught her eye. Was that white fudge?
	“Ohohoho!” laughed Kashiwagi, standing up with a great deal of effort. The substitute teacher had absolutely ballooned up over the course of the year, but the way it had accumulated, with her face in particular rounding out, she ended up looking like Hanako’s older sister. “I’ll show you little upstarts what a REAL woman can do. Beauty on the outside, the inside, and in the stomach. A real woman has real curves and that means a real woman’s diet!”
	Hanako snorted and smiled smugly. “You tell ‘em, teach!”
	No one else was amused and the room decided it was best to just pretend that those two weren’t there.
	And with the formalities announced, the MC raised his hand to the sky. “So, ladies, get ready to EAT!” With overly enthusiastic flair, he threw his hand down, signaling the match to begin.
	It was so sudden, several of the girls didn’t know how to react, but Hanako and Kashiwagi were already digging in to their plates and Chie was never going to say no to a free bowl of ramen. The tubby kung-fu enthusiast made a bee-line for the ramen and meat skewers, even though it was those vices that had given her the figure which currently needed two separate desk chairs to support. Her hips and ass had widened to the point she would simply envelop a single chair, so she now need individual support for each cheek. Her torso had not grown as much but her trademark track jacket was now purely ornamental as she couldn’t even bring the zipper parts together let alone zip it up and her flabby arms filled out the sleeves all the way to her sausage-like fingers. But she didn’t seem to mind as she lifted her bowl, pouring the delicious, salty broth down her stomach. As was her mantra, she didn’t think about how much food she was eating, or what it was doing to her, but she merely felt. And as one bowl was finished what she felt like was having seconds.
	Rise was a consummate professional, and if that meant to be a consumption professional, so be it. She had to win this, on her pride as an idol. It didn’t matter if it was a bike race or an eating competition, if there was a pageant component, she had to be number one. That was the attitude you needed to survive in her business. But she faced several obstacles.
	First was the physical obstacles, namely, her own chest. She had gone up so many cup sizes that she had to custom order her bras, which was a point of pride, but when you’re trying to be dexterous at a table, two large, mounds of fat blocking your view and your path was more of a hindrance. Her head-sized globes sat on the table, which had become their natural resting spot whenever she could sit down, but now they were blocking the path from her plate to her mouth. So she decided to make use of what she had and placed the meatbun in her ample cleavage which inevitably popped out of her undersized orange dress.
	This lead into her second problem, showmanship. While she wanted to win, she looked out into the cheering crowd and saw the crowd staring back, including the stoic face of her beloved Yu. With all that attention on her, or on her sensual eating, she couldn’t help but play up the crowd. She waved and gestured to the crowd, unable to resist the urge to take slow, methodical bites whenever Yu would look directly at her, causing her pace to slow.
	Yukiko was also having several problems. Besides some slight embarrassment it was simply hard to eat. Whoever had chosen this table had done a poor job of it, as it sat so low that her globular stomach kept pushing it away. Or at least she struggled to pull her chair close enough to eat without the table making a huge indentation in her belly. But more than that, she had her manners. This was not eating with friends, it was a public affair and her pride as the daughter of a prestigious inn was kicking in. She ate quickly, but with a refined grace that radiated beauty. She took full but slow sips of the broth before using her chopsticks to grab the noodles, never slurping. It was a sight to behold, but on the other hand, it didn’t lend itself to a speed eating competition.
	Still Yukiko fared better than Naoto, who after a minute had not even started. She simply stared at her plate, her mind swirling with conflict. It all looked so tasty, but she could not show that gluttonous part of herself. No, that had to be kept hidden. But then, it would be rude not to eat at least something. But that’s how it always starts. Internally she kept beating herself up, fighting her urges.
	“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?” screamed a voice from the crowd. Naoto looked up to see Kanji standing on top of his chair, shaking his fist in the air. Yosuke was tugging at his sleeves, trying to get him to sit down, but Kanji blew him off. “YA AIN’T SOMEONE TO GIVE UP WITHOUT A FIGHT!”
	Some teachers arrived, approaching Kanji and forcing him to keep quiet and sit back down. But his words had reached Naoto. She really wasn’t the type of person to not at least try. She was up here already. And then she looked beside Kanji and Saw Yu looking her straight in the eye from across the room. Even at that distance she could see the smile on his lips as he nodded at her silently and gave her a thumbs up.
	That was it. “W-well, a little couldn’t hurt.” The voices of embarrassment and of shame and of control began to quiet down in her mind. They were replaced with other voices. Those voices had only one thing to say. Hunger. She picked up a small cookie from her tray and gently took a bite out of the chocolate morsel.
	The switch had been flipped. In a moment, the entire cookie was devoured. And before anyone could notice, the next was gone, too. And the next, the next, the next and the next. In under twenty seconds, the platter was gone and the detective had moved on to the meatbun. She bit into the delicacy, chewed quickly and swallowed in what seemed to be one smooth motion. In record time, she haqd consumed the entire thing and moved on. She was an eating machine, efficient and dedicated.
	This speed did not go unnoticed by anyone. All the girls at the table had stopped their own eating to turn and gawk at Naoto. Despite starting a minute after everyone, Naoto held up her bowl and chugged down the last of the broth to wash everything down, slamming it down on the table to signal that she was done. “Another, please!”
	Everyone stared in disbelief, including the MC until he collected himself and signaled for another plate to be brought out. And before the silver platter was even fully removed, she was starting again, practically inhaling a cookie with each bite. Where was all that going, they wondered. Of all the girls present, she was visibly the smallest. Sure, she was still fat, with a big keg belly which was pushing into the table and a surprisingly large chest for a girl who had formerly passed for a guy, but she was beaten out by all of her friends. Heck, if anything she seemed almost like she had lost weight in the past few months.
	Rise watched Naoto intently as she devoured everything in her path, being shocked by what seemed like a smile slowly building over the detective’s face when a startling idea hit her. She thought back to the doctor’s exam. All those measurements she had seen, in no way did they match the girl in front of her, but what if…?
	Rise grabbed her bowl of ramen and sucked down all the noodles in one big gulp, sputtering a bit afterwards as a bit of juice went down the wrong pipe. She had to hurry. She was not going to lose! “Bring me another!” Rise said, throwing her hand in the air.
	“M-me too!” said Chie, stuffing the last of her meatbun in her mouth.
	“I-I need one as well!” said Yukiko.
	Kashiwagi looked to the side and scowled. “How can I be losing?!” she screamed in her own mind. She clenched her fists in anger until her chopsticks snapped in two. But she was not going to give up! She grabbed her meatbun and began to scarf it down.
	She immediately got a cramp in her stomach, falling face first onto the table, her face enveloped in meat, and gave up.
	“Teacher!” cried Hanako, putting her hands on the oversized teacher’s shoulders, pulling her out of the meaty bun. “Come on, there’s no point in finishing without you!” The jumbo girl yanked Kashiwagi from her seat and dragged her off stage.
	“Well, it seems we have our first two eliminations!” cried the MC as the two left the stage. “Who will drop out next, or will all of these lovely ladies make it to the end? Chie, the spunky martial arts aficionado? The beautiful inn heiress Yukiko? Our very own idol, Risette? Will it be the mysterious transfer student Naoto? No one can say!”
	The crowd was going wild, cheering for each of the girls as food came and went. It was a sight to behold. Everyone noticed the little habits of each of the girls. Chie constantly shifted in her seats as the twin chairs holding her daring derriere started pushing her chairs outward. Every minute or so she had to stop to try and squeeze her seats back together before she ended up making a crater in the floor. The way she bit into the meat skewers would have made a lion feel inadequate, but she slowed down significantly for anything not made of meat.
	Yukiko was somehow the epitome of grace as she ate slowly, but with the air of a royal princess. She delicately pushed her silky black hair away from the table and hooked it behind hear ears as she leaned over her plates, biting each cookie daintily. If there had been judging for style rather than volume, she would be in the lead.  If nothing else, it won her a few more fans in the crowd who cheered wildly. They cheered even louder when halfway through the match a tear sprung up in her taught red dress, exposing her belly button under the table. Her face turned as red as her dress, but she soldiered on.
	Rise was determined and a passion burned in her eyes as she tore through the food, but passion alone wasn’t enough. She tried to scarf down her food as fast as she could but she often ended up biting off more than she could chew, quite literally. After several platters she had to calm herself. She shifted her weight in her seat, which let out an audible groan, patted her bulging stomach under the table and adjusted her top which had slowly began working its way to the point of indecency. This got quite a cheer from the crowd, but she just needed to make room. Still, her eyes kept being drawn to the girl beside her.
	Naoto was efficiency personified. Almost no movement was wasted. She bit off as much as she could quickly swallow and quickly followed it up with another. Unlike the other girls, she never had to worry about her posture or her clothes while she was eating as everything she wore was tailor made. To fit her frame. Sure she was smaller than everyone but that didn’t matter when you were prepared. She only ever relaxed when she finished a plate and signaled for another. As an assistant came by to take away her empty plates and bowls and deliver another she would sit back and sigh contentedly, placing both hands on her large stomach and rub it in a circular manner. A smile on her face seemed almost transcendent. But then more food was put in front of her and she was once again a machine with a simple task. Eat more.
	This continued for another ten minutes. Was there no end to all this food? But there had to be an end and it was approaching quickly.
	Chie leaned back in her chairs to drink up all that remained of her bowl, but went too far. Two seats was not the most balanced thing to begin with and this was simply adding to that. Flailing her fat arms around, she fell back with an ear-splitting thud, landing on her back. The crowd gasp, first at her falling and secondly at the view. Chie was very thankful she had decided to wear her largest pair of bike shorts under denim skirt, even if they were now extremely tight or else the school would have seen something very different.
	When Chie fell, her friend turned to help her. “Chie, are you--” Yukiko turned and stood quickly to help her friend, only to be greeted by an audible tearing sound. Her face once again reddened as she put her hands behind her and quickly sat back down. She then pushed her tray away and decided she had probably done enough.
	As the MC was calling Chie and Yukiko’s elimination, Rise looked to Naoto who had not slowed one iota and was not even looking at anything but her food. She, on the other hand, had reached her limit. And while she was competitive, she also knew when it was time to call it quits. No one likes a sore loser, after all. Clearly she was just outclassed. Her own stomach strained and groaned, pressed up against her orange dress and her chair creaked under her, saying that they too had had enough.
	Rise smiled as she pushed her tray away. She was okay with this. She liked her new shape, the softness, the curves, the looks she got in the hallway as she walked by, the feeling of contentment when she ate her Yu’s food, and the prospect of going back to her idol career and proving that bigger is better.  She’d also watched other girls in her class start to grow out too, and thought it was cool to be a role model like that. She wondered if other idols would end up following her lead.
	“Ha, watch out, Kanamin. You better get in on the latest trend if you hope to catch up to me,” she said with a firm slap to her own gut.
	With Rise’s withdrawal, the match was settled. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!” The MC cried as he pointed towards the blue-haired girl, still face first in her food. “The Detective Prince Naoto Shirogane has done it! Victory by total knockout!”
	But Naoto didn’t stop. She continued to eat. She washed down the last of her bun with a chug of the ramen broth and slammed it down. “Another!” she said.
	The MC stared in confusion for a second, adjusting his afro as another assistant came out with a fresh platter. Without a word or looking up at all, Naoto simply kept up her one woman food rampage. All the announcer could do was improvise. “So, uh, Ms. Shirogane wins with a total score of uh… let’s see… a dozen… A whole dozen full platters! Wow! That’s… a lot of calories.” Naoto didn’t respond and merely tore through some more meat skewers. “So, uh, would you like to say anything?”
	Naoto took a cookie from her plate and held it up above her head. She paused for once, seemingly staring up at its chocolately goodness. She slowly lowered it to her lips, extending her tongue and caressing it, savoring every moment. She seemed lost in her own world, fixated only on the sweetness in front of her. Every man in the room, and a non-insignificant portion of the girls watched enraptured as she delicately shoved the morsel into her mouth, taking her time and gently sucking and licking the finger that accompanied the treat. She grabbed another and seemed poised to begin again.
	“GRRRRRRREETINGS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” The sultry atmosphere was immediately dispelled with the arrival of Teddie, still donning his Alice in Wonderland costume, who had absconded with the MC’s microphone. “It’s time once again for the question and answer period with me, your ever so humble lovable bear, Teddie!”
	The switch in Naoto’s head was flipped to off in the blink of an eye, and she found herself suddenly very self-aware of the fact she was on a stage and suggestively sucking on a cookie in front a rapt audience. The embarrassment and shame sections of her brain skipped their startup sequences and went straight into overdrive. Her face went white as a sheet before immediately switching to beet red. She swallowed the remainder of her last cookie, and took a moment to suck her fingertips in the most nonchalant manner as possible, before standing at attention.
	The other girls had collected themselves and gathered around Naoto as well. Rise grabbed Naoto by the forearm and dragged the shocked detective to the front of the stage, where Teddie was waiting.
	“Wow, that was quite a show, Naoto!” said Teddie, with the flair of a natural-born performer. “Tell me, where did you learn to eat like that?”
	Naoto’s face somehow managed to turn even redder as she stuttered to find an answer. “I… I was… I mean I don’t...” But there was nothing she could think to say which would satisfactorily explain her actions without exposing her hidden gluttony. Or rather, without admitting to her gluttony, as she could not erase the minds of every person attending the pageant that day.
	“And I think we all want to know, what are your measurements?” asked Teddie, ignoring all tact, decency and sexual harassment laws.
	Naoto’s eyes bulged. “Th-that’s classified!” she shouted, crossing her arms over her chest and squeezing tight.
	“Aww, come on,” said Rise. “You were cool up there! You can share with us!”
	“Even if you ask, I’m not going to--”
	“And, I really want to know, what is this?” Teddie pointed to a small string which was dangling at her waist just beneath her jacket. The strange bear reached out and put his hand on the small, dark blue bit of fabric and gave it a little tug.
	Panic instantly flowed through Naoto. As soon as Teddie fingered the string, she jerked herself backwards into the table. “D-Don’t touch that!” she screamed, but this was in effect the absolute worst thing she could have done. Teddie had already gotten a solid grip on the unknown object, so when she jerked away, she caused him to give the string a nice, firm tug. And so began a chain reaction no one had seen coming.
	Throughout the hall the sound of clothes tearing and fabric straining echoed. And like magic, Naoto began to grow. In a moment, the blue jacket that had fit loosely, only vaguely following the contour of her belly, was now constricted and snug. Her stomach jumped out another foot, the buttons of her jacket now pushed to their limits.
	“No! Not here! Not now!” Naoto cried in pain and anguish, throwing her arms around her stomach in an attempt to keep it all in, but this only made matters worse. When she squeezed her stomach, the pressure had to release somewhere, and that somewhere was her chest. The buttons on the neckline of her dress shirt popped off, flying across the auditorium and a copious amount of breast meat popped up. What seemed like an endless ravine of cleavage was being held back by the collar of a jacket whose reinforced stitching was quickly losing the battle.
	In the audience, Kanji Tatsumi was, like most everyone else, staring in amazement and confusion. Someone who was so familiar with the work of a tailor should have seen what was coming next and in a sense he did. The four golden buttons which held the detective’s jacket closed were finally giving out. With a loud pop, the metallic fasteners were launched with tremendous force across the room and into the forehead of the young delinquent. In one blow, the boy fell to the floor, out cold.
	Other than Yosuke, few noticed the blonde boy’s troubles as the show was not over. Naoto’s jacket flew open, revealing that under the jacket, above her shirt, had been a leather corset whose strings had snapped and whose body was torn. The spent garment fell to the floor, revealing a shirt which was not long for this world. Naoto leaned back, using the table for support. With each passing moment her stomach and chest expanded outward. The remaining buttons on her shirt were being pulled apart. Diamond shaped pockets of fat protruded between each button like prisoners desperately trying to escape their cage. Something had to give, and that something gave all at once.
	Naoto groaned and cried out in embarrassment as her shirt finally lost the battle of the bulge, and with a loud pop, the buttons holding back her gut flew off, some even hitting the ceiling with an impressive plink. AS tidal wave of fat exploded and what happened next could only be detailed thanks to several students who were filming the event on their phones and cameras and who later played the footage back in slow motion. A couple extra feet of stomach fat and an immeasurable amount of breast meat exploded out of their confinement, shaking and bouncing in every direction. There was simply too much Naoto on display to fully take in. And with her top half finally freed, her bottom half was quickly put under assault. There was a bulge of meat around the top of her pants which could only be called a muffin top in the most generous of terms. Maybe a baker’s dozen muffin tops all rolled up into one. The force of her bouncing gut and the shifting bulge around her waist put too much strain on her belt which was fighting valiantly but futilely which snapped in half. With nothing left to hold them back Naoto’s ass and thighs asserted their dominance, tearing at hear pants. Seams along the side of her legs were cut open, revealing a long pocket of flesh and the back of her slacks tore right down the middle. And to add insult to injury, her falling stomach finally put enough force to simply tear the pants open on both sides, with streamers of pants now hanging around her anchors. Even her panties, the white, pure garments, the single feminine article she allowed herself to wear, gave out, torn at the sides. They were the largest size she could buy commercially and they were simply not enough, and they now fell to the floor. The only saving grace was her hanging stomach was simply so massive that no one would be able to tell she was completely bottomless. In fact, other than the scraps of shirt, the tatters of the bandages she had used to compress her chest and the shreds of her former slacks, she was all but naked on the stage.
	The room was deathly silent as every last person stood in amazement. This was Naoto? This was impossible. To say she was huge would be an understatement. Yukiko was huge. Rise was huge. Naoto was MASSIVE. It defied belief. The word that jumped to mind was spherical. She was a smooth pile of roundness. Her fat encompassed all of her but it did not fold up. Her gut extended so far off her body that when she attempted to wrap her arms around it, she couldn’t fit all the way around. Her belly button was forever out of her reach. It was a smooth, flawless globe of pale flesh that sank almost to her knees.
	But she was not like Yukiko, whose growth went almost exclusively to her stomach. It was everywhere. Her thighs and her legs were like tree trunks, her ass was like a huge pair of bubbles which enveloped themselves into the table. Her arms were thick with dangling layers of adipose swinging back and forth.
	And then there was her chest. Rise had thought she was amazing, but those monsters were something else. Each monstrous mammary had to be twice the size of Naoto’s rounded head. There was simply no way there was a lingerie store in the world that stocked something to fit those. And when Naoto squeezed them tight to hide what little dignity and decency she had left, and pulling them in was quite a task in and of itself, it merely displaced their mass, meaning the embarrassed girl got a valley of cleavage large enough to hide her reddening face in.
	“Please, just let me die...” Naoto sobbed to herself.
	“NAOTOOOOOOOOOO!” cried the crowd, finally snapping out of their shock.
	“That’s so hot!” cried one boy.
	“Look at that!” cried another.
	“So cool!” screamed a girl.
	“Naoto! Naoto! Naoto!” the crowd began to chant.
	“Let’s give it up for our champion once more,” said Teddie, fully pulling himself into his announcer roleplay.
	Rise stared in awe. “Whoa! You are amazing, Naoto!” She latched onto the girl’s arm and bounced.
	“How did you DO that?” asked Yukiko, thankful someone had drawn attention away from her own torn clothes.
	“You gotta teach me how you pulled that off,” said Chie.
	Naoto pulled her face up and stared at her friends and the crowd. “You… don’t think I’m hideous?”
	“Of course not!” said Rise, pulling Naoto closer, which was no small feat in and of itself. The two girls bounced off each other, layers of fat colliding all at once. “You’re still the cool, collected detective, you always were and, more importantly, you’re our friend!” Rise beamed a million watt smile. “And besides, you look so cute!”
	Naoto’s face reddened a bit once more, but there was a hint of a smile behind it. “You guys… thank you...” she said quietly.
	Teddie stood before the crowd, beaming with pride. “Now, before I hand out the reward to our special champion, we have to get ready for part two! Up next, we have a special surprise for you: The swimsuit competition!”
	Naoto’s smile disappeared.

October 30, 2011
Amagi Inn Hotsprings
	Rise sucked in her gut and squeezed through what had to be the world’s smallest door, something the owners clearly needed to fix, and made a dash for the famed Amagi Inn hotspring. With characteristic glee, she ran to the edge of the water, threw her arms to the sky and cheered as she gazed up at the glorious starry night that illuminated their own private outdoor bathing time. It was the perfect end to a wild day. With absolutely no shame, she jumped in the air, clad in nothing but an overexerted towel which was seriously being tested by all her jumping and shaking. At the very least, she was at an increased risk of smacking herself in the face with her own assets. But before a wardrobe malfunction could manifest, she turned and gestured to the other girls. “Come on out!” she cried. “This is awesome!”
	“We’re… TRYING...” said Chie, who was struggling a bit with the concept of stepping outside. The side effects of the eating competition had taken even more of a toll than they had realized, and the girl’s careless had cost her, and she was now paying the price.
	“Chie can you… ergh… Get a grip on anything?” asked Yukiko from behind.
	“Hold on, I think I can get a hold of the door frame...” said Chie.
	Chie pulled with all her might, pushing with her feet, but it was no use. Her butt was simply too wide and wedged too tight in the door. Yukiko had tried to warn her that the doors in the bath were smaller than the rest of the house, but the spunky dragon had been simply too excited to listen, and now even with Yukiko pushing, she wouldn’t budge.
	“Wait, I have an idea!” said Yukiko, who ran off, or more accurately waddled slowly off, returning a few seconds later with a bottle of massage oil. “I’m going to pour this on your hips around the door frame and… and...”
	The bath fell silent for a moment.
	“Yukiko, is something wrong?” asked Chie, unable to turn her head far enough to see back into the changing room.
	Rise tried to stand on her toes to see over the massive mound that was Chie, but there was too much girl in the way.
	“Snrk… Ha ha…” Yukiko began to laugh. “Chie… Ha ha… Chie you should… Snrk...” Yukiko doubled over, laughing to herself. “You should see your butt! It’s hilarious! Bwahaha!” The dignified heiress began to choke on her laughter. She dropped the bottle of oil and pointed. “It looks like a pair of pressed hams that got stuck in trap! And your towel… Snrk… It doesn’t cover anything!”
	Yukiko was right. Chie had tried to wear her towel properly, but there was simply so much back in the back that it lifted the towel up too high to actually cover anything, putting the gigantic, dimpled orbs that were her buttocks on full display. As Chie struggled, the cheeks jiggled and bounced, but they didn’t show any sign of coming loose from their wooden cage.
	“H-Hey!” said Chie as she turned beet red. “I thought you were on my side! B-besides, it’s a bath! Who cares what’s covered or not? Just help me!”
	“Okay! Ha! Okay!” said Yukiko, before engaging in one last bout of laughter. She picked up the oil bottle and poured the clear liquid on both sides of the frame. “Alright, set on this side… Snrk...” She stifled a laughter as her hands sunk into the oversized ass.
	“H-hey! Watch where you’re putting those hands!” cried Chie. “Besides, those things are cold!”
	“There’s not much else to grab!” said Yukiko with a little too much glee in her voice.
	“Erg, just push then!” said Chie. She also gave her hands to Rise, who started to pull. “Come on you guys, on the count of three. One… two… THREE!”
	The trio of girls pushed with all their might and finally they could feel some progress. After a few moments of struggling and straining, Chie was free, and came charging forward like a bull. She plowed straight into Rise with tremendous force, toppling the idol backwards and onto the cold, wet ground. Chie stumbled over, landing on top of the toppled idol, landing face first in Rise’s immense cleavage.
	“Oof!” squealed Rise as way too much Chie pressed into her, forcing all the air out of her lungs. It likely would have also been extremely painful if there wasn’t simply so much padding between the two of them. Rise lifted her head. “You okay, Chie?”
	Chie thrashed and squirmed with her face full of Rise, struggling in place before she manahed to come back up for air. She gasped for breath. “I thought I was gonna suffocate in there…” She took a deep breath again. “Idols can be seriously scary...” She pushed herself back and struggled to stand for a moment before she finally caught her balance. She extended an arm to Rise and with all her might she tried to help her friend to her feet, though it took quite a while.
	Once everything had settled, they finally turned back to the door. “Are you okay Yu… ki… ko...” Chie trailed off.
	The two girls stared back and saw that Yukiko’s amazingly globular stomach had also lodged itself in the doorway. Chie rushed forward to try and aid her stuck friend but…
	“Snrk… Bwahaha! Oh geez, this is getting ridiculous! Hahahaha!” Yukiko threw her head back and laughed sending ripples throughout her body. Even her cheeks and slight double chin were bouncing in joy. She slapped her stomach with both hands and laughed even more.
	“Well, at least she’s happy, I guess...” said Chie.
	Rise gave a quick laugh. “What’s important is she’s developed a positive body image in her mind. A cute heiress should be confident!”
	Chie sighed. “I think this goes a bit beyond confident...”

	It took several more minutes and some more oil, but eventually Yukiko was free. It had taken a while longer than they expected, but their moods had not dampened. Tonight was their night! But as they got ready to step into the bath, they realized something did seem to be missing.
	“Hey, where’s Naoto? And Nanako?” asked Chie. The diminutive Dojima was easy to miss, but there was no missing a girl Naoto’s size.
	“Here I am!” cried Nanako, who bounced up and down as she made her way out into the springs. “Wow! Look at all the stars! And it’s a real hot spring! This is so cool!”
	Nanako’s bright and cheerful optimism was like a bright ray of sunshine and they all just wanted to soak in the cuteness. Each of them wanted to just pick her up and squeeze her tight, but maybe now was not the time.
	“Hey Nanako, have you seen Naoto?” asked Chie, kneeling down to get to the small girl’s height.
	Nanako put a finger to her chin and tilted her head back. “Umm, I did, but I’m not sure where she went.” She went into deep thought. “I was going to come here with her, but she said she had something to take care of first and… and then she picked up the phone. Um, then she told me that she would come by later.”
	Yukiko patted Nanako on the head and scruffled her hair. “Good girl, Nanako!”
	“But who could Naoto be calling?” asked Chie. “I mean, we’re all here tonight. The boys are upstairs.”
	Rise grinned. “She did see pretty bummed out at the end of the pageant today… I think I know what she’s up to.” She waved to the others and gestured to the door. “I’m going to go get dressed and take care of a few things. Why don’t you guys get in without me?”
	“Uh, where are you going?” asked Yukiko.
	Rise winked and put one finger to her lips, smiling mischievously. “Don’t worry. It’s a surprise. Be back in a bit!” And with that, she squeezed back into the inn and disappeared from sight.
	“Well then,” began Chie. “Why don’t we hop in Nanako?”
	“Yeah!” cheered the young girl. And the two of them made a beeline for the bath. The two girls entered with a splash which drenched Yukiko, like an audience member in the front row at a whale show.
	Yukiko laughed and rolled up her imaginary sleeves. “Oh, a splashing contest? No one’s a better splasher than me!” And a moment later an even bigger splash flew across the entire open bath.
	About a dozen minutes passed in relative peace aside from a mock race between Chie and Nanako. Chie tried to do the breast stroke, but the way her ass stuck up over the water, blocking out the rest of her amused Yukiko into yet another fit. This also led to Yukiko floating on her back, finding herself to be surprisingly buoyant. She imagined her stomach, a tall, towel-covered globe which bobbed up and down in the water, to be a deserted island. This also amused her to no end. Chie hadn’t seen Yukiko in such high spirits she she thought she was drunk back in Tatsumi Port Island, but it was good to see it.
	“Heeeere we are!” shouted Rise, bouncing and jiggling back into the spring. Her left hand held the arm of what looked like to be a massive wall of whiteness. It turned out to be Naoto in an enormous white bathrobe. “She was trying to be trouble, but I wasn’t having any of that,” said Rise with pride.
	“I-I was getting ready to come!” said Naoto nervously.
	“She was still in our room, making a few… orders.” Rise held up her right hand, revealing a large, brown paper bag. She dropped it to the floor with a soft thud. Whatever was in the bag, it was very full. Rise released Naoto’s arm and removed the blue robe she had worn back in the inn and dropped it onto the floor.
	Naoto looked at the water, then at her robes, which stood out in the night air. “A-anyway, why don’t I head back for a moment, I just need to uh...”
	Rise grabbed the bathrobe’s sash and gave it a good yank as the detective turned and tried to make her escape. The already stretched garment gave in easily and the front of it popped open.
	“Ah!” Naoto blushed, trying to hold her robes closed with her arms. “Rise, what are you--”
	Rise grabbed the back of the collar of her robe and gave it a good yank. The entire outfit came off in one, smooth moment leaving a very large, very naked Naoto standing on the wet stone ground. While they had already gotten a good view of her up on stage that day, this was the first they had seen so much of her backside. And there was just so much to see. Her entire back was a series of rolls of fat, unlike her smooth, hanging stomach. A pair of ginormous cheeks formed a shelf you could stack a book on bounced with every little movement she made, as did her tree trunk thighs which rubbed together, leaving no visible gap. Her legs were simply fat from thigh to all the way to her bulging ankles. And of course her monstrous breasts were simply too large and bounced in and out of view from her backside as they spilled out over the sides.
	“Rise, wait, I don’t--”
	But the idol didn’t stop. She grabbed Naoto’s arm and pulled the struggling girl into the water with a splash that probably went right over the walls. It seemed like it was raining for a few seconds.
	Naoto rose to the surface and spit out some bath water. She sputtered, trying to catch her breath, still in a bit of shock. “Rise, what do you think you’re doing?!” she demanded to know.
	Rise didn’t answer but instead moved to the edge of the bath and dragged the brown bag closer. She reached into it and pulled out a small pastry. She moved towards Naoto and shoved the sugar-loaded delight into the flustered girl’s mouth. Naoto stared silently, confusion visibly overtaking her irritation until her gluttony kicked in. The detective bit into the doughnut and began to suck out the chocolate cream inside. Rise reached into the bag and grabbed a doughnut for herself, taking a healthy bite out of it.
	“I found her up in our room ordering takeout. She was planning to eat this whole bag by herself before she came down.” Rise took another bite and sucked the sugar off her fingers. “She was trying to keep it hidden from us!”
	“Really?” asked Yukiko. Rise handed her, Chie and Nanako a doughnut as well, and the three of them dug in. “I’m kind of amazed she could eat anything at all after how much she had just a few hours ago.” The inn’s heiress then remembered how much she had eaten as well, and noted the treat in her hand. Well, there’s always room for dessert, right?
	Naoto looked away. “I just didn’t want you guys to see me like that...” she said, knowing full well they had already seen plenty of that. “It’s… embarrassing.” Naoto then looked down and realized her breasts were floating in the water, her pert, pink nipples floating just above the surface. She threw her arms over them, covering what she could.
	Rise stood up and in one movement took off her own towel, throwing it to the side and standing wide, with her hands on her plentiful hips. Naoto entire body blushed as her eyes couldn’t look away from the watermelons bouncing mere inches from her face.
	“Naoto, we are friends!” said Rise with confidence. “We’re more than friends! We’re the best of friends, and friends don’t have to hide anything from each other! We like you for who you are! So if you like to eat a lot, eat a lot! We could never be embarrassed by what you do!”
	“Yeah!” said Chie with enthusiasm, throwing her fist in the air. “We like you at any size!”
	Yukiko stood up and gave her own belly, one that hung out well below the bottom of her wrapped towel, a hearty slap and a shake. “Besides, it’s not like we’ve got any room to talk. So don’t think we’d ever think less of you.”
	Even Nanako, who wasn’t quite following the conversation but was swept up in the mood, swam close and wrapped her arms around Naoto’s belly, squeezing tight. “Yeah, you’re cool Naoto! you’re like a big sister!”
	Naoto’s eyes watered up a bit. “You guys… Th-thank you. That means a lot...”
	“But,” said Rise, sticking a finger in her face. “There is one rule you have to obey going forward.”
	Naoto blinked. “Wait, what rule?”
	“Excuse me,” came an unfamiliar voice from inside the inn. “Is Miss Rise Kujikawa in there?” It was a female voice. Was it one of the maids?
	“Wait, mom?” said Yukiko surprised.
	“Come on in! You can set it down over here!” said Rise.
	Yukiko’s mom entered the bath, carrying a pair of brown paper bags in each hand. She was dressed in a lovely pink, floral yukata and was the spitting image of Yukiko, right down to a prominent and oversized stomach that stretched her outfit until the sash was digging inward. Naoto looked back and forth between Yukiko and her mother. It was eerie. Besides some laugh lines and a few gray hairs, it was like looking in a mirror. How had Yukiko started out so thin?
	“You girls enjoy these now,” Yukiko’s mom said with a wink. “Just be sure to share. I’ll be back with the rest shortly.”
	“The rest… of what?” asked Chie.
	Rise grinned. “I knew what Naoto was doing and I made a call, too. I ordered some takeout to be delivered to the inn and I asked Yukiko’s mom if she could bring it in here. Your mother is really super nice,” she said earnestly. “And anyway, this ties in to that one rule.”
	Naoto looked confused. “Which is…?”
	“Sharing, silly!” Rise grabbed two pastries out of the new bag. It was a pair of chocolate croissants. She quickly stuffed the whole thing in her mouth and swallowed with relish. “If eating makes you feel good, you gotta do it with us. No sulking in your room by yourself. Everything is better together!”
	Rise took the croissant and pushed it into Naoto’s mouth, who did not resist. Once more a switch was flipped in her mind. Rise pulled herself close to the detective and put a hand on the detective’s belly, rubbing gently as she chewed. It felt… good. Really good. Naoto’s eyes rolled back a little as she untensed her muscles for the first time, letting out a contented sigh as she rested her back against the edge of the bath.
	Rise smiled and watched as Yukiko’s mother came in one more time, carrying yet another full bag. “All right girls, who’s up for a snack?”

	An hour passed, and so did many, many calories. But the girls had rarely felt so relaxed. But their time passed and eventually they returned to their room, but the night was not over. A sleepover did not end until the next day, after all. So the girls set up for the rest of the night. Yukiko turned on a television in the corner, setting it to an all-night movie marathon. But forgoing the furniture, Naoto put on her bathrobe and splayed herself out in the middle of the floor. The other girls then laid down themselves, using the detective’s massive gut as a makeshift pillow, leaning back into the yielding flesh like a giant, warm marshmallow pillow.
	Nanako slept quietly in the corner, tuckered out after her bath while the others focused on a touching romantic comedy. They had started on a cheesy rubber-suited monster movie, but everyone but Yukiko objected
	After the group had been quiet for a while, Yukiko broke the silence. “You know, it’s kinda amazing to think you won the pageant, Naoto. I’m a little jealous.”
	Naoto blushed, but she also continued to reach into one of the last remaining snack bags and chewed on the last confectioneries.  “W-well, it was only because I got so many points from the competition...”
	“Nah-uh,” said Rise. “You got the most votes, too. That stings my pride a little, but it was pretty cool. I wish I could have seen Kashiwagi’s face when she found out.”
	“Oh, you could see it tonight. Kashiwagi and Hanako are here. They always stay over when something traumatic happens.”
	At that moment, the sound of stampeding feet charged past the girl’s door.
	“Dammit, what is she doing here?” cried a familiar voice.
	“Doesn’t matter, just RUN senpai!” cried another.
	“I BEARLY escaped with my life!” punned a third.
	“Come back boys, we won’t tell anyone!” came another voice, chasing after the others.
	They didn’t know what that was about, and they didn’t want to. Silently, the four girls agreed to ignore it.
	“A-anyway,” continued Yukiko, pulling a snack bag to her and taking a bite. “That was some bikini you had on Naoto. I was surprised you showed up.”
	Naoto coughed a little, choking for a moment on her doughnut. She took a sip of soda and relaxed. “It, uh, wasn’t really my choice. It was basically the only thing that could fit me. And even then, just barely, until they could alter a gym uniform that would fit.”
	“Still,” said Chie, tilting her head back but only seeing the white wall of belly behind her, “I was positive you were gonna run away.”
	“She tried,” said Rise, adjusting her own robe to loosen it a bit. “She got stuck in the emergency exit.”
	Naoto blushed. “B-but I’m not going to run away from anything anymore!”
	Rise smiled, satisfied. “Oh, but that does give me an idea. We should all go get new outfits!”
	Yukiko chuckled. “I have a feeling most stores won’t carry our size.” For emphasis she purposely jiggled her belly, poking her own navel playfully.
	Naoto nodded, stuffing another pastry down the hatch. She looked down and could simply not see anything past the wall of belly and breasts. “They don’t even make underwear in my size. I, uh, can’t… reach a lot of myself. I’m going to need some extra special tailoring.”
	Rise smiled mischievously. “Don’t you worry about that. I know a few tricks and a few people. Trust me, this is going to be fun.”
	The other girls looked each others in the eyes. When Rise had that smile, they knew it would be anything but fun.

October 31, 2011
Okina City
	Chie blew into her straw, making bubbles in her soda as she idly lazed about, resting her chubby cheek on her hand. She picked at her empty plate, picking up a few scraps of leftover meat and eating them. She drummed her fingers on the table irritably, picking up her pace as her irritability grew and grew. Finally, she had enough. “Oh, come on! Where the heck is Rise? She dragged Naoto off and said she’d be back in half an hour! That was an hour ago! We were supposed to go out for lunch!”
	Yukiko gently put her cup of coffee down on the table. “Um, didn’t we just have lunch?” asked Yukiko, tilting her head to one side as she looked across the table.
	“This?” said Chie, shocked that her friend would suggest something so crazy. She motioned her hand over the stacks of dishes that covered the restaurant booth. Five plates that formerly held a stack of meat skewers taunted Chie with their emptiness. “This was just an appetizer to hold me over until lunch!” Chie made up her mind and signaled for the waitress to bring out another round. The rumbling in her stomach told her she wasn’t going to make it if Rise was any later.
	“Well, I’m sure that things are just taking longer than she thought,” said Yukiko, running her spoon through what little remained of her fourth extra large curry bowl. She shifted her weight in her seat, as her stomach pressed uncomfortably into the table even as she sat back as far as she could. “I’m sure she’d call if things were going to be too much longer.”
	Chie squirmed. Her butt stood out so much that it pushed her to the edge of her seat. Was this really the biggest booth they had? This whole situation was so irritating. “It wouldn’t be so bad if we even knew what she was up to.”
	“Well, she said she had to contact a few people before we could really go outfit shopping...” said Yukiko.
	Chie shook her head. “Yeah, I have a feeling that’ll be a bit tough around here.” She looked down at her own outfit. She wore a pair of green sweatpants that were so tight they practically highlighted every crevice and contour of her body. She really didn’t want to know what she looked like from behind, and all she could manage to wear for a top was an old white tank top. It wasn’t exactly high fashion, especially for the trendiest part of the area, but it was all she had. Though she did admittedly like the way her top flashed a little cleavage. It was nice to actually have some, even if she was dwarfed by all of her friends. “I’m getting the feeling that we’re not going to have a lot of options.”
	“I don’t know about that,” said Yukiko, pointing out the glass window beside their booth. “Have you looked around here lately?”
	Chie turned and pressed her face up to the glass. Behind the restaurant logo, she could see the passing crowd of shoppers, businessmen and students enjoying their days off. It was no Tokyo, but it was certainly a much more bustling place than Inaba. It seemed pretty normal until Chie watched a flock of school girls from another school pass by. She didn’t recognize their blue blazers or the black and red pleated skirts, but the girls in them certainly shared a similar attribute to the girls from Yasogami.
	“Uh, is it just me or are a lot of the girls around here kinda… heavy?” A few more packs of girls walked by, with thick thighs and chubby stomachs on full display. The average weight seemed to have gone up a couple dozen kilograms at the very least.
	“I thought it was just Yasogami. Actually, come to think of it remember the field trip to Tatsumi Port Island? The school needed reinforced desks because of the school’s… ummm, growing… problems.”
	Chie shook her head. “This is kinda weird… How could so many girls let themselves--”
	“Your meat skewers are ready,” said the waitress, setting down an additional three plates filled to the brim with roasted meat.  Yukiko took that time to get a good look at their server and now realized was also pretty chubby, with a bit of a muffin top poking out from under her red and white uniform.
	“Aww yeah!” said Chie, losing her train of thought and digging in, pouncing on the meat like a raging carnivore.
	Yukiko watched her best friend closely and started to reminisce. “Hey Chie, does this remind you of anything?”
	Chie swallowed a chunk of meat and wiped her face hastily. “Does what remind me of anything?”
	“This. The food. Remember the sleepovers we used to have when we were still kids?”
	Chie tapped a finger to her lip. “Hey, yeah. I do kinda remember now. We’d stay up all night at the inn, and your mom would always bring out tons of food. She always made me extra steak, too.” Chie licked her lips and wiggled in her seat excitedly, shaking the whole table. “Man, your mom’s beef steak was the best. And those pork buns she’d cook...” Chie was positively drooling at the memory.
	“Hey, Chie...” Yukiko seemed deep in thought. “Do you think maybe my mom was trying to fatten me up?”
	Chie coughed loudly as she nearly choked on a bite of meat. “What? What are you talking about?”
	“Well, isn’t it strange how much food she prepared for us? I mean, it’s a party, but it was always just the two of us, but there would be plate after plate of food and bowls of snacks everywhere. Isn’t that too much for just a couple of kids?”
	Chie took a sip of her soda to clear her throat. “Not really. I mean, a slumber party is supposed to have a lot of food. It’s not a party without snacks.”
	“Maybe, but mother was always weirdly persistent about it. She always had more on hand, and she insisted I finish anything that was leftover or else it would go bad.”
	“Well, I mean, it would be a waste not to eat everything. No one likes throwing out food.”
	“Yeah, but… sometimes when I’d go to the fridge, it felt like there was more leftovers than there was when we started. Like, she was adding fresh stuff to the leftovers.”
	Chie tapped her chin. “Uh, maybe you just forgot about some stuff? Or maybe she would just forget to bring it out?”
	“And when I was a kid, my mom and the staff, they were always offering seconds or thirds of dinner, even when I said I was full.”
	“That’s not really weird. I mean, parents like to spoil their kids sometimes,” said Chie. “My parents did the same thing. I think you’re reading too much into things.” She finished another plate of skewers and began to wash it down with another glass of soda.
	“Oh, and this one time, when we were just starting high school, my mother told me I should try gaining some weight because boys like girls with some meat on their bones, and that one of the reasons dad fell for her in the first place was because he loved her big belly.”
	Chie spat her drink out, making a mess on the table. “You could have started with that!” yelled Chie, inadvertently turning heads across the restaurant, not that they didn’t get some stares already. She sighed and grabbed some napkins to wipe up the soda. “Also, that’s just way too much information for your parents to be sharing! Ugh, I wish I could unhear that...” Chie shook her head. “Your folks are weird. I mean, they’re nice, but who just says that?!” Her eyes ended up drawn to Yukiko’s gut, pressed into and flowing out onto the table, making a little lap for her chest. Yukiko was definitely her mother’s daughter.
	“I thought it was pretty sweet, really.” Yukiko tapped the side of her coffee cup. “I guess I just take after her more than I thought. But what about you?”
	“What about me?”
	“What about your parents, I mean?”
	“Not everyone’s parents try to turn them into butterballs, you know!” said Chie. “It’s pretty weird!”
	“But have they said anything about your, uh, changes?”  Yukiko tried to be diplomatic, but her eyes kept getting drawn to the forming double chin on Chie’s face or the way you could see the flab on her arms wave back and forth as she went from one bite to another.
	“Not really. Mom and dad have always just kind of let me do my own thing, they’re only concerned about making sure I don’t fail my classes...” She paused, thinking for a moment. “Although they are… complaining a bit about my clothing budget. It’s a bit tight.”
	Yukiko nodded in agreement. “All of your clothes are tight.”
	“My budget, not my clothes!” yelled Chie, her face turning bright red. Yukiko laughed. Chie sighed. “Although… I really hope we can find some good stuff today.”
	“I’m sure we will as soon as Rise comes back. She said she knows all sorts of fashion shopping tips.”
	Chie sighed and looked out the window. “Man, this is such a pain.”
	Yukiko joined her. “Still, isn’t it weird how people have been changing? It wasn’t like this a year ago.” They watched another flock of schoolgirls go by. They ranged in size from a little on the chubby side to completely obese. Granted, none of them seem to come close to certain people that they knew. What was also weird was the way people dressed. It was like some girls were actively flaunting it. A deeply tanned girl with hair dyed as blonde as could be strolled by the window wearing a pink crop top and denim shorts that seemed to be trying to draw attention to the giant gut hanging off of her. Another girl, a college-aged girl with a punk-rock outfit and short black hair didn’t seem to mind the way her thighs were bulging out of her black dress.
	“Maybe fashion really has just changed when we weren’t looking,” said Chie, being one who rarely paid attention to fashion trends in the first place. “Oh, but look at that girl over there! That’s ridiculous!”
	“Where? Oh, I see her! And look at her friend! They’re huge!”
	“What is with those outfits?”
	Chie pointed to a pair of girls walking towards the restaurant. They were massive girls but their outfits were ridiculous. One, with short, boyish hair, wore a pair of pants that were missing an entire leg. They were like bell bottom jeans but the right half was a pair of shorts. The pants were being forced open by an incredibly huge, round, dangling stomach that forced the fly completely down. The top was not much better. It was obviously supposed to be a low-cut jacket, showing off the belly and the cleavage topped off with a choker, but it was clearly undersized as the fabric dug into the belly flesh and an obscene amount of cleavage flowed out of the top. The wearer seemed to agree that it was too much as she constantly tried to cover her chest with a hat she held in one hand, but it was like trying to cover an ocean with a napkin.
	The girl to her left was dressed similarly, but with a pink skirt and thighhigh boots which were struggling to contain her tree trunk thighs and a top which was slightly less likely to explode at a stiff breeze. Both girls were wearing a darkened pair of sunglasses and a flu mask, apparently deciding they wanted to keep their identities secret in spite of the head-turning clothes.
	Yukiko frowned a bit. “That’s a bit much. Are they some kind of exhibitionist?”
	“I don’t know,” replied Chie, “but I can’t believe how fat they are. They’re almost as big as--”
	And at that moment, it dawned on both of them. They quieted down as they watched the pair of scantily clad girls walk down the sidewalk and approach the restaurant, making their way inside. And as they suspected, the pair of fashion oddities made their way past the entrance and make a beeline right for their table.
	“Oh, uh, hey guys...” said Chie awkwardly. “So how was...”
	Rise pulled off her mask, no longer concerning herself with the strange looks she was getting, and sat down at the booth, forcing Yukiko to slowly slide further in. Her eyes were tired and angry all at once, and a scowl on her lips said pretty much everything they needed to. She ignored Chie’s question and threw her hand up to get the waitresses attention.
	A moment later the waitress arrived, visibly taken aback by her new guests. “Oh, uhh… w-welcome, what can I...”
	“A triple scoop ice cream sundae,” said Rise. “Extra large.” She paused. “Actually, make it three.”
	“Uh, three… scoops?” the waitress said, afraid to make eye contact.
	“No, three sundaes, each with three scoops. With sprinkles,” clarified Rise.
	“O-oh… ummm… okay...” The waitress was used to large orders, but she was still a little put off. She turned to Naoto who had not taken a seat but instead stood awkwardly by the table, still wearing her identity-concealing glasses and mask. “A-and anything for you?”
	“...I’ll have the same,” she said quietly. “Oh, and a large order of fries and a large specialty burger and a coffee.”
	“O-okay, and can I interest you in any appetizers?”
	“Those are the appetizers,” said Rise with a pout creeping up her face.
	The waitress blinked, dumbfounded, before deciding it was best to just take her leave and fill those orders.
	The table was deathly quiet. Naoto took the chance to try and sit down but struggled to get in the booth. Her completely exposed hanging belly pressed into the table while her ass and thighs pressed against the seat, forming some impressive bulges but not getting anywhere. After a good thirty seconds of grunting and groaning, she had the idea of lifting her gut, which took a Herculean effort unto itself, and letting it rest on the table as she squeezed in. Yukiko had an overwhelming urge to stick her fingers in the seemingly endless bellybutton which was now staring straight at her, but as she inched her finger closer, Naoto sucked in her gut as much as she could, which admittedly wasn’t very much, and slowly, painfully stuffed it under the table until the massive mound was squeezed between her knees. Yukiko dejectedly pulled back her hand.
	After that somewhat strange display, the table still remained quiet, no one willing to break the silence to address the elephants in the room, in multiple senses. Even when the waitress came back with everyone’s orders, no one said a word. Naoto removed her mask, if only so she could dig in to what would only be a warmup for the meal to come, but she didn’t seem keen to share what was on her mind. But just when Chie was finally beginning to work up the urge to say something, Rise exploded.
	“Argh, dammit!” Rise cried in an uncharacteristically vulgar manner. She balled her fists and pressed them against her temple in frustration. “This is totally not fair!”
	“Something happen while you were out shopping for...” Yukiko eyed the girls and their eye-catching outfits up and down, and there was so much to eye, but she couldn’t find a diplomatic term.
	“Shopping was fine,” said Rise, stuffing a bite of chocolate into her mouth. “I knew this place where idols sometimes ordered custom outfits. You know, when you need an outfit specially made for a big job quick, that sort of thing. We go in, we get our measurements taken--” Naoto shudders violently when the word measurements is uttered, obviously reliving some painful, recent memories. “Anyway, we order some outfits and they say to come back in a few hours. So we decide to come back and then we run into my old producer.” Rise furrows her brow even more and quickly gulps down the rest of one of her sundaes, eating through her anger.
	“D-did he have a problem with how you… uhh… changed since he last saw you?” asked Yukiko.
	“No! In fact, he was happy! But that was because… He had these outfits made and had us audition! I thought he wanted me to prove I could still pull it off, but...”
	“Wait, both of you?” asked Chie as she eyed Naoto.
	Rise rested her head on her palm and moped. “I thought he wanted her as a back-up dancer, to make it more authentic...”
	Naoto blushed up and down. “I-I wanted nothing to do with it! But Rise begged and I couldn’t say no...”
	“Anyway, he liked my performance, said I was still so talented...”
	Yukiko raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a good thing? It sounds like he’s okay with you coming back to be an idol.”
	“No, it’s not okay! He thought I was just trying to copy Kanamin, so I could be part of her crew!” Rise said angrily.
	Chie tapped her forehead as she tried to remember that name. “Wait, Kanamin? Like, Kanamin Mashita, that idol from… what’s it called...”
	“Oh, Kanamin’s Kitchen, right?” answered Yukiko. Neither she nor Chie were much for idol culture, but everyone has at least heard of them. They were doing pretty well for themselves.
	“Yeah, well, Kanamin’s changed.” Rise pulled outr a poster that she had been keeping with her and showed it to the table. Kanamin was definitely Kanamin, with her eye-scorchingly bright outfit that resembled a diner waitress’ uniform and her huge, orange drilled hair. But there certainly was a lot more of her. She had always been called the cow of the group, in no small part due to the in no way small udders sitting on her chest, but the description was more apt than ever. Titanic thighs bulged out of thighhighs that were barely being held together. Her stomach was trying to burst out of the front of her uniform, the buttons holding on for dear life, but her chest was out of this world. It even had Rise beaten, though Naoto was still winning that particular battle by a bit.
	“Whoa, she’s… really changed.” said Chie with incredulity. “She sure didn’t look like that a few months ago.”
	“Turns out, fat is fab this year. Packing on the pounds is the big new trend. It started in Iwatodai a few years ago, but it’s been spreading.”
	Chie sighed. Just how out of date was Inaba? This was the first she had heard of it. But it certainly explained all the girls around here. Hey, at least they might fit in more.
	“That’s the problem!” yelled Rise. “Everyone thinks I’m just following a trend! ‘Oh, there goes Rise, she’s just trying to cash in on the latest trend to stay relevant!’ I didn’t even know this was a trend! I was purposely ignoring the trends and idol news! And now everyone thinks I’m just trying to cash in and maybe join Kanamin’s group! Argh, I’m her senpai! If anything, she should be joining me!” Rise swallowed another giant piece of her sundae and dropped her head into the table, sulking.
	“I-it’s okay, Rise,” said Naoto in a consolatory tone. “You can still make it if you put in the effort...”
	Rise picked up her head and glared at Naoto.
	“H-hey, what are you-- Ah!” Naoto gasped as Rise leaned forward, grabbing a huge spoonful of ice cream and began feeding her. At the same time, Rise reached under the table and started rubbing Naoto’s jiggling gut. “Ah! Rise, please, what is-- Oh...” Naoto moaned as Rise started to feed her and rub her gut at the same time. She turned red, but a feeling of joy was starting to take over her control once again. Her breathing became more erratic and even heavier and her overripe watermelon sized breasts bounced on the tabletop with every breath. “Rise, that feels--”
	“And then Naoto here was really popular! My producer wanted her to try and sign on for a deal, which she turned down, and then as we were leaving, a bunch of people kept taking her picture!” Rise reached and grabbed a skewer from Chie’s plates and started to feed Naoto with abandon. The detective squirmed in her seat, though there was no room to do so. “Even on the street some people recognized us and people wanted photos with her! Apparently she made quite an impression at the pageant when clips went online.”
	Rise stopped and sighed. She took her hand off Naoto’s stomach and the detective slumped back, her breathing still heavy, but it grew more regular as she calmed down.
	“I’m sorry,” said Rise, staring at the table. “I shouldn’t take it out on you guys, especially you, Naoto. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Rise pushed her empty sundae glass away. “It’s just, I really want to go back eventually. You guys taught me that being an idol is part of who I am, and suddenly everyone thinks I’m just a copy-cat chasing after a trend.”
	“But we know you’re not. You’re always so passionate about your work,” said Yukiko.
	“Yeah, you’re not the type of girl to follow trends, you set them!” said Chie.
	Even Naoto smiled and joined in the consoling. “I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone who attacked their problems so head on. I know you’ll succeed.”
	Rise smiled, her gloomy attitude blown away like a storm cloud, letting the sun shine through. “Thanks you guys. I needed that. All right, time to get to work then! I can’t let Kanamin show me up! Why don’t we head out and go get some new clothes? We’re gonna make heads turn!”
	“I’m pretty sure we already do,” said Yukiko quietly to herself, gently shaking her gut.
	“All right, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, so let’s get going! I’ve already put some orders in. Trust me, you’re going to like what I picked out. We’ve got some special stuff to look for, too!”
	No one knew what she had in mind, but if Rise was back to her cheerful self, that was all that mattered. They called the waitress over to pay their bill and proceeded to get ready to leave.
	“All right, first we need some new casual clothes,” said Rise.
	Naoto grabbed the table and went to pull herself up when…
	“URGH! HMMMM!” Naoto pulled with all her might. Her stomach pressed against the table, and her rear stuck down to the seat. “I think… I might be stuck...” she said aloud, but quiet enough so as to not be heard by any other customers.
	“Wait, here, let me help,” said Chie, who put her hands on Naoto’s side and pushed.
	“Let me just--” Rise grabbed Naoto’s hand and started to pull.
	“Ow!” said Naoto in pain, whose stomach and chest were pressed too deeply into the underside of the table. “I don’t think--”
	“Let me help, too. I think if we can just all pull at once...” Yukiko grabbed Naoto’s other hand and pulled. For about thirty seconds, everyone gave it their all. And yet...
	“Ugh… I think I pulled something...” said Rise, down on her knees, her breath run ragged.
	“Just let me… catch my breath,” said Yukiko who had to sit back down.
	Chie wiped her sweat drenched brow. “Yeah, just give me a minute.”
	Naoto sighed, still stuck in her booth. “Maybe our first order should be to order some fitness equipment...”

November 1, 2011
Chie Satonaka’s Room
	“Whaaaaaaaa-tah!”
	Whump!
	A light breeze blew through the room as the sandbag swayed back and forth. Chie couldn’t complain about the force. She had hit it hard. That kick was deadly. But what could you expect, getting hit with a leg which was about just as thick as that heavy piece of equipment? The real problem was the consistency. It had taken a few tries to get the balance just right and worst of all, she was now exhausted.
	“C’mon...” said Chie to herself. “This is pathetic… I can’t be… out of breath… after only… a couple of kicks...” She wiped her forehead with a tissue and realized she was already drenched with sweat. It was simply too much. She waddled towards her bed, her thighs rubbing together with each step, and simply collapsed backwards. The bed squealed loudly sagging and straining under the sudden weight thrown upon it. With some effort, she lifted her legs up and curled up with her pillow, taking a moment to catch her breath.
	“This is sad,” she said to no one in particular. “I don’t care that I’ve put on… a little weight.” She lifted one leg into the air, but so much fat hung off her thighs that it still managed to lie on her bed. “Okay, maybe I’ve put on quite a bit, but that’s okay! It’s fine!” She took a deep breath. “But I’ve also been slacking in my training.”
	She looked down at her gut. It didn’t compare to her friends, but it was still a huge mound that sat on her torso, and wearing nothing but a green bra and an overworked pair of striped green panties, the soft, jiggly flesh definitely stood out. She grabbed her belly, pushing her belly button high into the air and gave it a shake. “Too many of my pre-workout meals ended up just becoming regular meals.”
	She sighed, holding her forearm over her eyes as if to hide herself from the truth. Maybe it was better to just forget about training.
	A burst of pure rage erupted from her throat, like a belch of fire from a rampaging dragon. “What am I thinking?!” She smacked her forehead with her palm. “Never give up! If you fall behind, you just work harder to get back!” She kicked her tree-trunk legs over the side of her bed and strained as she stood up. She made her way back to the punching bag and started up again. With renewed energy, she punched, kicked and battered the bag. She wasn’t as spry as she used to be, but she had momentum. Every hit sent the bag reeling. She kept moving and so did the rest of her body as her cheeks shook up and down, back and forth like bowl of jello.
	After a few solid minutes of assaulting the bag, she was drenched with sweat and out of breath completely, but she remained determined. She took a towel to wipe her face and cracked her neck, giving the bag the evil eye. She put everything into her right foot and kicked with the force of a wrecking ball. The bag flew back with such force the base holding it slid slightly on the floor.
	Chie was proud, or at least would have been if the kick hadn’t also caused her custom ridiculously extra large panties she bought yesterday to bunch up and lodge themselves deep in her cavernous ass. She reached back to dislodge the garment from its hostage taker, but reaching all the way back there was quite a task. Her hands slipped on her sweaty, jiggling backside. It was like trying to get a grasp on the world’s largest ham smothered in glaze.
	Chie looked back over her shoulder and into the full length mirror on her wall. The sight shocked her, but she could feel a laugh bellowing up from in her belly. She snickered as she looked at her visage, channeling a bit of Yukiko. She didn’t see herself in the mirror. Instead, she saw a sumo, getting ready for a match. From her tremendous thighs to the rolls of fat that swallowed her bra strap, she was the image of a sumo. Rather than hide it, she embraced it. She stopped trying to fish out her trapped undergarment from the infinite void and gave her cheeks a heart slap sending a wave that ran down her legs and up her back. She raised a leg in the air and drove it into the floor with a slam that reverberated throughout the house. She repeated the process again with the other leg, making another miniature quake that rattled the decorations on her wall and desk.
	Chie laughed. She had always admired martial artists, but she had never figured she’d end up shaped like a sumo wrestler. But strength was strength!
	BANG BANG BANG
	“Knock it off up there, Chie!” yelled Chie’s mother through the floor, banging a broom into the ceiling. “You’re shaking the whole house!”
	Chie blushed and froze up. “O-oh, sorry mom!” she yelled back. Clearly, the house was not the right place to train like this. She dragged herself over to the bed and collapsed on it, giving a muffled thud as the frame groaned. Despite the aches and the shortness of breath, she felt good. This is what she should be doing.
	With some effort, Chie rolled onto her back and noticed her reflection in the lifeless TV staring back at her. Even after all these months of getting fatter, it was still weird. It wasn’t necessarily bad. She gave her gut a quick slap and watched it wave back and force with some mild amusement. In some ways, it was kinda enjoyable. But there was one thing. She looked back at the TV and thought of the world on the other side. It had been a while since they had to rescue Naoto from that world, but the fact she was kidnapped meant that the real killer was still out there somewhere. She had managed to keep up so far, but what if she started to slow the group down? That couldn’t be allowed to happen.
	Chie wouldn’t let that happen. She grabbed her cellphone and pulled up the contacts list. She was going to do something to ensure they wouldn’t let their friends down, ever.

November 2, 2011
Yasogami High School Gates

	“Chie, are these outfits really necessary?” asked Yukiko.
	“Of course they are!” said Chie, pounding her own chest with pride. “A good workout requires the right clothes. The wrong outfit could end up with you tripping or unable to move. It’s just as important as a good warm-up!”
	“Ye-yeah, but...” Yukiko was still not entirely convinced. “Aren’t they a little… little?”
	Yukiko was used to wearing a gym uniform that consisted of either a nice t-shirt with some basic shorts, or a pretty unflattering but comfortable pair of sweat pants and a sweat jacket. They weren’t exactly high fashion, but they did the job. Plus, they were the same thing that everyone else wore, meaning even if you looked a bit silly, so did everyone else. What everyone at school did not wear was a simple red sports bra and leg-hugging exercise pants.
	There was just so much Yukiko on display. Yukiko’s most prominent feature was out on full display with her massive belly simply hanging out in the open, not even a shred of a shirt attempting to hide it. The stupendous globe was wider than the rest of her and overflowed over the band of her pants, hanging down over her groin. One could have been forgiven for thinking she was a proud expectant mother desperate to show off her form except for the layers of fat in her arms and legs hinting at her true nature.
	“What’s the matter? You picked it out the other day!” said Chie.
	“Only because you chose the same outfit for everyone! And I didn’t think we’d actually be wearing them.” Yukiko sighed. “I kinda figured it would just sit in the back of my closet for eternity...”
	“I was planning to hide mine for all eternity...” said Naoto, the life drained from her voice. She could not figure out how she got dragged into this madness, wearing a similar out but tinted blue.
	“That would be such a waste!” said Rise. “Outfits are meant to be shown off. More importantly, they’re for showing yourself off!”
	Rise, likewise, was in a sports bra and exercise pants that stopped around her fat ankles, but colored pink. Her outfit and Naoto’s had taken the most work to get ready. They had bought them at a shop which custom fitted all of their outfits, which was already pretty expensive, but ordering a bra that fit the detective and the idol was a step beyond.
	“I-I really prefer not to stand out so much,” said Naoto. She watched the crowd of the school pass them by. Almost every head turned towards the four girls standing by the gate and the acres of flesh on display. And the few heads which didn’t look their way seemed to be reddening and deliberately avoiding contact.
	Rise smiled and pressed herself up to the detective. Their bare stomachs collided like pair of oversized pillows slapping together. “Come on, Naoto. I thought we got you over your shyness. Don’t you accept yourself?”
	Naoto blushed. “I’m fine with myself, but it’s still a little...” she trailed off.
	“Come on, everybody loves you! Show off for your fans!” Rise turned Naoto on her feet until she was facing a small crowd of boys and few girls who had stopped momentarily to gape. She threw her arms under Naoto’s and grabbed the sides of her perfectly rounded stomach and started to rub gently but firmly.
	“Ah, Rise, please—Ahhh!” Naoto moaned in obvious pleasure, her voice jumping up to its natural higher pitch as she breathed heavily.
	The onlooking students, male and female alike, their faces filled with a mixture of embarrassment, shock, confusion and definitely some arousal. Most of the crowd ran off except for a couple of boys who stopped to take a quick picture and pair of girls who were on their way to joining the school’s obesity club, who took some video before running off as well.
	Naoto’s face reddened as she struggled out of Rise’s grip. “Rise, please! Don’t do such things in public!”
	Rise giggled. “But you have so many fans? And what do you mean, in public? Does that mean it’s okay in private? Ooh, we could go to a nice restaurant after this and I’ll feed you lots of nice sweets and give you a nice belly rub! Doesn’t that sound nice?”
	Naoto backed away from Rise as fast as her chubby legs could manage. “Rise, please!”
	“Aww, I’m just teasing,” said Rise. “...Mostly.”
	“Anyway, what are we doing here?” asked Naoto, desperate to draw attention to something else.
	“We’re training, of course!” said Chie proudly, hands firmly on her not so firm hips.
	“Training for…?” Yukiko waited for an explanation. “All you did was call us up and demanded we wear these outfits we bought after school.”
	“Stamina! Endurance! We need to keep in shape so we can keep up with the team!” Chie threw her hand out, pointing to the horizon. “We’ve gotten lax over the months, but it’s time to buckle down and really get in shape.”
	Yukiko snickered. “I’m pretty sure we’re already in a shape. Round. Very round.” She jiggled her stomach, which still amused her a little. “Or I guess in your case, pear.”
	“That’s not what I meant!” said Chie. “I mean we need to make sure we keep fit and active.”
	Naoto sighed dejectedly, her shoulders sagging as she looked down at herself. “I think we’re long past the point of being in shape or active.”
	“That’s not true.” Chie picked up a water bottle she brought and took a sip. “This isn’t about looks or fashion or popularity. I mean, what happens if we’re in the TV world and something happens? What if we have to run away and we’re too slow to keep up? What if we’re too slow to act and someone got hurt? This is training so that we can make sure that doesn’t happen.”
	Naoto perked up. “Chie, that’s… very responsible. You’ve clearly put a lot of thought into this.”
	“Right, so let’s get going!” Chie said.
	“Uh, going where?” the three others asked.
	“We’re going to stretch and then we’re going to run all the way from here to Junes.”
	“WHAT?!”

November 2, 2011
Yasoinaba Shopping District
	Their progress was not particularly fast. Chie had said they were going to run all the way to Junes, which was already a fair distance from the school, but they barely made it off of school grounds before things started to slow down.
	“I’m gonna die...” said Yukiko.
	“Not if I die first,” said Naoto.
	“Come on, you two, we’re not even a tenth of the way there! You gotta keep up the pace!” said Chie. Unsurprisingly, the formerly spry girl had the most stamina and didn’t seem particularly winded.  She had worked up a good sweat but had managed to run ahead and come back when she realized half her group was lagging far, far behind.
	What was a little surprising was how Rise had managed to keep up with Chie. The idol had managed to work up a decent sweat but was keeping pace despite being the second heaviest girl in town, having long eclipsed everyone in town except Naoto. Even when they stopped to let the others catch up, Rise jogged in place, with the rest of her body moving with her although involuntarily. “Come on, Naoto, Yukiko. I know you’ve got it in you!” she said enthusiastically.
	With irritation filling her eyes, Yukiko glared at Rise. “How… are you...” she huffed and puffed. “How are you… so energetic...”
	“Idol work is hard. You gotta keep in shape. You gotta diet right, work out constantly, and practice until you drop.” She stopped and smacked her palm onto her gut with a hearty SLAP. “I may have gone off the rails on the diet, but this is nothing compared to the work I used to do to get ready for a show.”
	A cold chill ran up Yukiko’s spine. “Idols are terrifying...” she whispered to herself.
	Naoto huffed and puffed, her body ready to give out. Sweat poured off of her by what felt like buckets. She was never able to run, her attempts to do so ending up in an awkward waddle or else her thighs would stick together. Even with her inhuman breasts, each more than twice the size of her head, tamed within their sports bra, their sheer mass meant she had to lean back or she risked being dragged to the ground. The result was her leaning back like she was staring at a cloud with her legs spread wide open, tilting back and forth. Even this was too much.
	“I’m… not going to… ugh...” Naoto found a small wooden bench off the side of the road in the grass and fell right onto it. The bench creaked under her tremendous weight and visibly bent under her. She had never been so exhausted in all her life. She spread her legs out wide, pulling her fat thighs apart loudly as the wet flesh was pulled apart. Her sports bra was absolutely drenched as if she had just gone for a swim. She would have been mortified if she had noticed that the dampness had turned the garment slightly translucent, exposing the mountainous flesh underneath. She tried to wrap her arms around her stomach as she struggled for breath, but her hands couldn’t get all the way around. With every in breath it was made even worse as it expanded. She tried to voice her displeasure but she simply couldn’t catch her breath.
	Yukiko was faring little better. She didn’t quite waddle, but with every step she made her globular stomach swayed back and forth like the world’s largest metronome. She had to plant her foot down hard and take it slow or risk being thrown to one side. It was like trying to walk with an overactive, large dog that couldn’t decide where it wanted to go. The sweat had done her no favors, fussing up her hair which constantly stuck in front of her face. Every attempt to move the hair simply moved another strand to replace it. She was out of breath, tried, couldn’t see, drenched and irritated. And she was hungry. So very hungry. So she decided to take a rest as well, sitting down next to Naoto on the small bench, rubbing her thighs up against the detective’s.
	“Uh, guys, I don’t know if--” Rise bega
	CRACK.
	The bench snapped, with the old wood being no match for an untold number of hundreds of pounds of girl. Naoto and Yukiko dropped like lead weights to grass beneath them. The two girls splayed their arms and legs out on the ground. A crowd of people from the shopping distance looked on while trying to seem like they weren’t actually interested in the destruction of town property that had just happened right in front of them. No one dared to say anything for a moment and just listened to the sound of the two beached whales struggle to catch their breaths. When they finally managed to rest enough to speak, they did so in unison. “I… give up...”
	“I’m sorry Chie, but I just can’t...” Yukiko huffed. “I can’t do this...” She winced from the stitch she had gotten from her attempt at running. She actually wished the fall from the bench had hurt a bit more as there was simply so much padding she barely felt it.
	“It’s simply not… not...” Naoto breathed heavily. “It’s not biologically possible.” She sighed. “I just don’t have the ability to run.”
	A loud gurgle rang out from Naoto’s stomach. It went on for several moments, sounding almost like the roar of a lion. It left no question that it demanded tribute.
	Naoto covered her face. “And even like this… all I can think about is food. I had an even bigger lunch than usual but I’m absolutely famished.”
	A stream of drool ran down Yukiko’s lips. “Yeah. A nice big bowl from Aiya’s… or some of Yu’s cooking… That’s all I want right now.”
	Chie retrieved a pair of water bottles she had brought with her and gave one to each of the downed girls. Neither of them bothered to even try to get up as they drank up the entire contents of the bottles in one go.
	“Better?” asked Chie.
	Naoto and Yukiko both nodded, their rounded faces retreating deeper into their double chins.
	“Maybe you two should just go on without us,” said Yukiko. “We’re just slowing you down.”
	“Oh no you don’t!” said Chie, standing right over Yukiko and looking down. “We’re not going to let you give up on yourselves!”
	“We just don’t have it in us,” said Naoto. “We don’t have the strength.”
	“That’s the entire point!” said Rise, walking over to the downed detective. “No one is strong at first. I didn’t know how to dance when I started out, but I learned. You start slow, you fall down, and you pull yourself up, and you keep going until you can do it.”
	Chie put a hand on Rise’s shoulder. “That’s right! And you guys are the strongest people around! You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t, so we’re not going to let you guys give up and think you can’t!”
	“Okay, okay,” said Yukiko. “We get it.”
	“You’re right, of course. We won’t get anywhere if we just give up here,” Naoto said.
	Yukiko took a deep breath and tried to pull herself to her feet, but trying to sit up was near impossible. Every time she tried to get into a sitting position her stomach was in the way. She grunted and groaned, squeezing her abs but getting nowhere. After several attempts to sit up were shown to be in vain, she took another approach, trying to roll to the side. With some effort, she managed to roll onto her side and then onto her stomach. She pushed off the ground and tried to ignore the way her stomach was still firmly pressed into the ground even when she was on her hands and knees. She pulled back with a groan until she was on her knees before struggling to her feet.
	“Way to go, Yukiko!” cheered Chie. “I knew you could do it!”
	Yukiko blushed a little. “I appreciate the support Chie, but I think I’d prefer it if I didn’t get cheered for being able to stand up.”
	“Your turn, Naoto,” said Rise.
	Naoto’s face reddened a bit. “Umm… I, uh, was already trying...”
	She grunted as she lifted her head off the ground, but she didn’t manage to get too far. Her chest was too heavy and her almost spherical body was in the way. If sit ups were out of the question, she’d try and mimic Yukiko. She rocked back and forth, trying to get on her side and then onto her stomach, but it didn’t take. She just about nearly got there but ended up right back where she started.
	“Okay, let’s give her a hand,” said Chie.
	She and Rise each grabbed a hand and tried to pull the poor girl up. They put all their considerable weight into it and with quite a struggle, they managed to finally get the girl to sit up. Unfortunately, this was hardly the end of the ordeal, as this position forced her insane stomach to rest on the ground, pushing it so far forward it went well beyond her knees. There was no way she was going to be able to lean forward. Naoto made a single attempt, but all she managed to do was nearly suffocate herself in her own massive breasts. Even contained in a sports bra, those things were a pair of lethal weapons. Instead, she rolled onto her side, with a little help, and ended up on her stomach.
	Yukiko snickered, but tried her very best to stifle it. She had thought it was bad that her stomach was still touching the ground when she was on all fours, but Naoto managed it with her knees barely able to touch the ground. From her perspective, Naoto appeared to be little more than a belly with a pair of chubby legs and a generous ass sticking off of them.
	“Not now, Yukiko” Chie whispered to her friend. Naoto clearly heard, but it was still not the time.
	“Sorry, sorry,” Yukiko whispered back, trying to cover her smile.
	“Up you go...” Chie and Rise once again grabbed a hand and managed to pull her to her feet.
	“Well,” said Rise, “that’s the other thing. When you struggle and can’t get up on your own...”
	“Snrk.” Yukiko laughed. “Sometimes literally.”
	“Quiet,” said Chie.
	“Well, when you struggle, you’ve got friends to help you,” Rise finished.
	“Yeah, so don’t you give up now, got it?” said Chie.
	Naoto shook her head, but a slight smile crossed her lips. “Well, after all of that, how can I give up now?”
	“You can’t,” said Chie.
	GURGLE.
	A loud roar came from Chie’s stomach this time. “Uh, so, why don’t we finish this run and get something to eat? I’m starving too?”
	“Lead the way,” said Naoto.
	And the group continued on, albeit a bit slower this time.

November 2, 2011
Junes Ground Floor
	The four girls were the only ones at the entrance to Junes, and the only sound that could be heard was the constant gasping and deep breaths each girl made as they struggled to calm down. Their hearts were beating a mile a minute, no one had the strength or the breath to say a word and they were all so drenched in sweat they looked like they had just been in a pool despite the cool November air, but there was a sense of accomplishment.
	“We… made it...” Rise said after a minute to calm down. She leaned against the wall next to the elevator, her chubby arm cushioning the rest of her as she leaned in. She had performed almost as well as Chie, but even for her the last quarter of the trip was too much for her.
	“I told you we could,” said Chie. The leader of the exercise was also exhausted, but she was still feeling the high of an exercise well done. “But sheesh, I feel like I need to soak in the tub for an hour.” Her stomach gurgled once again. “After we get some food, of course.”
	The last two girls were too sore to take another step, but the mention of food gave one last bit of energy to their tired bodies. Naoto and Yukiko seemed barely alive, but they staggered towards the elevator. All they wanted was to sit down and order enough food to put them in a coma.
	“At least it’s over,” said Naoto, even her voice sounding tired and lifeless.
	“Until tomorrow,” said Chie.
	“TOMORROW?!” Yukiko and Naoto’s eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets, the shock kicking their adrenaline into overdrive.
	“Well, duh,” said Chie. “Training is an everyday thing. You don’t go for a jog and then suddenly you’re all better. Plus, we need to add some more. We can switch it up. We get to do squats, push-ups, jumping jacks, crunches and more. If you want to become stronger, you gotta work for it.”
	Naoto groaned and leaned against the wall, smashing the elevator call button. “Please, no...” she begged.
	Yukiko sighed. “As long as I can rest for now, I don’t care anymore...”
	Chie crossed her arms. “Well, if you want to be self-sufficient, this is necessary. You want to be able to stand up on your own, don’t you? Do you want to need help getting out of bed every day?”
	You could almost watch the two less active girls deflate. They didn’t want to admit it, but Chie was right. Naoto continued to rapidly mash the elevator button, pretending it would make it come even faster. After a few more seconds, the elevator arrived with a pleasant ding. Of course, it was the elevator on the opposite side. With a groan, they staggered into the booth, dreaming of the food they would have on the roof of the department store. Meat skewers, steak, soda, ice cream, takoyaki and so much more. Their stomachs looked very full, but they didn’t feel like it.
	Unfortunately, even the elevator was a struggle. Chie and Rise entered first and got into the corners, but as Yukiko and Naoto approached, space became a premium. The elevators were not particularly big as they were only designed to hold a couple people, with merchandise using a service elevator in the employees only area. Yukiko found herself pressed into Chie, her stomach enveloping Chie’s arm and wedging the bottom-heavy girl’s backside into the corner.
	“Hey, Yukiko, watch out!” Chie exclaimed.
	The rational thing to do would be to wait, Naoto was too tired to think straight. She tried to work her way into the already overstuffed room, pressing herself up against Rise. Their bellies pressed together, lifting their breasts up high, with both girls now having their own chins stuffed into their own cavernous cleavage.
	“Naoto, wait, I can’t breathe like this!” said Rise.
	The elevator was like a sardine can full of adipose. Breasts, bellies and butts pressed into one another, with not enough room for a fly to move. It was almost impossible to tell where one girl began and another girl ended. And it was simply too much. Naoto and Yukiko’s asses pressed together at the side, sticking out of the booth, leaving no room for the door to close. And to only add insult to injury, as they settled down, a red light on the panel flashed, noting that the elevator had surpassed its weight limit.
	A minute later, after much squirming and straining, Naoto and Yukiko stood outside the elevator, watching the door close as Chie and Rise made their way to the roof, the sanctuary they would have to keep waiting to reach. The two girls, feeling like comrades in the exercise wars, leaned into each other, too tried to stand on their own. Salvation would have to wait for another elevator.

November 3, 2011
Yasogami High Gates
	The leering did not diminish on the second day. In fact, it only got worse. Once again the girls, or at least the three who had arrived, found themselves waiting at the gate to the school in workout clothes that left almost nothing to the imagination. This time however a sizable crowd had gathered to watch the sizable girls. An army of boys, and almost as many girls, who seemed to have their eyes on one girl in particular, stood across from them, phones in hand, taking a number of pictures and videos.
	Rise, naturally, enjoyed all the attention. She didn’t mind striking a few poses to the cheers and shrieks of her loyal fans. “Hey hey, everybody! It’s your love filled Risette! Risette is always glad to have your support!” She leaned forward, blowing her adoring public a kiss with a wink. The fact that this caused her belly to hang down even farther, which she, accentuated, accidentally of course, with a little twist of her torso was merely an added bonus, but one the crowd ate up. “Send me all your love!”
	“Idols really never do take a day off, do they,” said Yukiko, amazed at how Rise always managed to become the center of attention at will. “At least it takes some of the attention off us, right Naoto?” When the detective didn’t respond, she turned to her. “Naoto?”
	The Detective Prince seemed to be doing her best to ignore the crowd and instead focused her attention on a heart shaped box she held in her hand. Every couple of seconds she carefully picked a chocolate from the box and popped it into her mouth, taking a moment to savor each and every bite.
	“Naoto? Where did you…?”
	Naoto jerked back in surprise. “Ah!” she squealed. “Oh, uh, this? It was, er, a gift… in my, uh, that is...” She cleared her throat, took a deep breath and gathered her composure. “What I mean is, someone left it in my shoe box this morning and… I mean, I was going to throw it out, but Yu saw it, and he thought it would be a waste, and the girl who made it probably put a lot of thought and energy into it, so I thought it would be rude...”
	“Wait, a girl?” Yukiko covered her mouth in surprise. “You have a female secret admirer?”
	Naoto looked away. “Uh, well, this one was from… one such individual. The others, some were from… some boys, but there were also some...”
	“How many boxes did you get?”
	The final chocolate went down into the bottomless pit. Naoto licked her lips and her fingers quickly, as if no one would notice. “Only about a… dozen… today...”
	“M-Miss Shirogane!” An unknown voice came from the crowd. A plump-faced girl with short brown hair emerged from the crowd and approached Naoto, box in hand.
	“Y-yes?  Can I help you?” said Naoto, puzzled by the sudden interruption. She had a good memory for names and faces, but she didn’t know much about this girl other than she had occasionally seen her coming out of the class next door. Though the girl had certainly grown quite a bit since she first saw her. The girl had been a bit on the portly side when Naoto had first come to school but in a couple of months she had grown to the point her uniform was in serious need of an upgrade. Naoto knew those buttons were not long for this world.
	“Miss Shirogane, I know you don’t know me and we haven’t really spoken but, the way you carry yourself really inspires me.” The girl took a deep breath, her cheeks turning so red she could have been mistaken for an overripe apple. “And the way you looked up on the stage at the pageant made me feel… I mean… what I want to say is... IlikeyouandIwashopingyou’dacceptthisbecauseIworkedreallyhardonthisandIhopewecanbecomecloserthankyou!”
	The girl who never gave her name shoved a gift box wrapped in pink ribbon into Naoto, missing her hands, but the box became enveloped between her belly and her sports bra’s contents, holding it in place. With her gift delivered, she turned and ran away at an impressive speed.
	It took Naoto several seconds to catch up to the meaning of what just happened. When the meaning finally hit her brain, she froze up in embarrassment. She had gotten some letters from girls before, but this was something else. It did not take the spectating students any time at all to react, as they cheered with renewed vigor.
	“Hey, looks like your fan club just got another member!” said Rise, who had been watching the whole scene with a smile on her face. She grabbed the gift box and pulled it from its fatty prison and opened it up. Inside was a heart shaped block of chocolate. Rise snapped a part off and held it to Naoto’s lips. “C’mon, you said it yourself, it’d be a waste not eat them, after all the effort she put into it.”
	“I-I did say that, but I also don’t think—I mean, I don’t really feel—she’s a--”
	“Oh just be quiet and eat up,” said Rise, forcing the chunk of chocolate into Naoto’s protesting mouth.
	“Mph!” Naoto quieted down the moment the chocolaty morsel melted on her tongue. “Mmm...” She savored the bite. “It’s… very sweet...”
	“See? There’s perks to having fans. You should go talk to her later and thank her for the chocolate,” said Rise.
	“That won’t be necessary. It was a nice gesture, but I really don’t know what to say.” Naoto went to pull her hat over her eyes instinctively before realizing it wasn’t there. “And I really don’t think I need any more chocolate.”
	“Oh really?” asked Rise, her lips slowly curling into a sly smile. “Not even if it’s really good?”
	Naoto took a few steps back. “I-it’s not about the quality of the chocolate. It’s just, we’re trying to get back into some kind of shape and I really don’t want to have more sweets.”
	Rise closed in, holding up the remainder of the chocolate heart in her hand. Naoto backed away, straight into the stone wall beside the gate. “Really? You don’t want any more of this delicious chocolate?”
	“Y-yes, I don’t want to have any more chocolate!”
	Rise stretched her free arm out and slammed it into the wall beside Naoto, partially pinning the detective in. The two girls’ gargantuan exposed bellies pressed into each other like handfuls of warm clay. “So, you don’t want this chocolate here? Even though you said it was really sweet?” She held the chocolate heart right in front of Naoto’s face.
	“No, I d-don’t want it,” Naoto said, unable to take her eyes off of it. “I don’t n-need it.” Her voice was cracking.
	“Aww, but look, it’s melting.” Rise stared at a trickle of chocolate running down the side of her hand. She pulled her hand close and gently licked it with the tip of her tongue. “Oh wow, that is good!”
	“Rise, please, I really… don’t… want...” Naoto trailed off as she stared at the smile on Rise’s face and the chocolate heart that had brought so much please. And it became too much. Without another word, Naoto grabbed the confection and quickly dug in with the same intensity that already cleared out her entire stash for the day.
	“See, it’s way better to be honest with yourself,” said Rise. She watched intently as Naoto took large bites out of the solid treat and the pleasure radiating off of her. It was continued to make Rise want to tease her even more. She placed both palms on Naoto’s immense, flabby belly and kneaded the soft flesh that yielded to her fingers. It was like sticking her hands in a warm marshmallow.
	“R-Rise, please...” Naoto moaned, but couldn’t bring herself to stop eating.
	“Please what?” Rise asked teasingly.
	“Please...” Naoto swallowed a chunk of chocolate and let out a deep sigh. “Mmm...” As Rise rubbed deeper, her knees grew weak and Naoto slid down the stone wall until she was on the ground, her knees and legs spread wide to make room for the monstrous belly pushing them apart.
	But Rise was not finished. “Just relax for once, okay?” she said as she knelt down and continued to rub, shake and massage the largest belly she had ever seen in her life. She even lowered one hand, gently inserting her fingers deep into Naoto’s navel.
	“Eek!” Naoto released a high pitched squeak as she felt Rise’s digits squirm around in her belly button. It was a surreal although pleasant feeling, although she couldn’t admit that out loud. It was so shocking it actually got her distracted from finishing her chocolate.
	“Now come on, you know you want the rest,” said Rise, taking the heart from Naoto’s hands and pressing it into her mouth. Naoto didn’t resist and, with labored breath and flushed cheeks, slowly ate the rest of the heart. It was a sight that filled Rise with a warm pleasure and a strange kind of excitement. What was this feeling? She couldn’t understand, but as the detective took the last bite, she felt disappointed that she didn’t have more to offer. She wanted to see Naoto eat even more. “Just say that it feels good. It’s okay to admit you like something.”
	“It feels… good…” Naoto said in a light whisper. Her eyes seemed almost glazed over, like she was in a trance. Her cheeks were red and small smile was obscured by the chocolate on the side of her lips. And with the heart all gone, Naoto went for the only source left and leaned forward.
	“Eh?” This time it was Rise who was surprised.
	Naoto opened her mouth and slowly put Rise’s chocolate stained fingers in her mouth, her tongue scraping off every lick of sweetness she could.
	Whatever feelings Rise had just multiplied a hundred fold. Her body was warm, her heart was beating a mile a minute. She wanted more of this, too. She needed to--
	“Uh, what’s going on here?”
	Chie’s voice was like a bucket of ice water. The feeling was gone, and in its place the sudden awareness of where they were. Rise and Naoto turned their heads to see the confused martial arts aficionado, a blushing, speechless Yukiko and a crowd of students staring in a combination of disbelief and exctiement.
	Naoto’s face turned to a tomato and she quickly took Rise’s now perfectly clean fingers out of her mouth and threw her hands over her face, trying to tell herself that if she couldn’t see the world, the world couldn’t see her. It didn’t work, but it was all she could try. Getting up and running off on her own was not a physical possibility.
	“Oh, h-hey, Chie,” Rise said in a rare moment of being caught off guard. She wiped off her fingers on the side of her pants and moved into recovery mode. “It was just a little… pre-workout exercise. Anyway!” She continued on before Chie could question anything. “What took you so long?”
	Looking back and forth across the strange scene, Chie decided it would be best not to ask any questions. “I was making preparations. I called Yukiko’s folks and asked if it was all right if we used the springs after our training.”
	“Wait, really?” Yukiko tilted her head back in thought. “Well, we did get a cancellation earlier today… The springs should probably be empty for a few hours now. It sounds like it should be fine… but wait… Does that mean…?”
	Chie nodded. “That’s right! Today we’re jogging all the way to the inn!”
	“EH?! But that’s even further away than Junes!” cried Yukiko.
	Chie folded her arms and nodded. “That’s true, but you have to increase your distance or you’ll never make any progress!”
	“But not after a single day!” Yukiko objected.
	“Nonsense! We got this! Now let’s get warmed up and move out there! I bet we can even get some good cooking when we’re done!”
	“Ooh, I know just what to order,” said Rise with a grin.
	“Oh, I’ll help with that!” said Yukiko.
	Naoto buried her head deeper into her hands. “Please don’t...”

November 3, 2011
Amagi Inn Hot Springs
	Chie, Yukiko and Naoto staggered towards the soothing water of the springs. They didn’t bother with towels or anything. They were too tired, too sore and too hungry to care. Their outfits were slipped off, albeit with some difficulty, and dropped onto the floor of the changing room. It didn’t help that in the case of one girl, trying to cover up with a mere towel was an exercise in futility. They were drenched in sweat from head to toe and just wanted to relax and have their cares melt away.
	With the speed of a tired tortoise, they walked to the edge and dipped their toes into the warm waters, gently lowering themselves. Or at least as gently as they were capable of. Some of them swore they could see the water level rise substantially as they lowered themselves in, but the feeling of the spring’s warmth flowing over their ample flesh was simply too magical to devote any thought to anything else.
	“This is just what we needed,” said Yukiko, leaning back and letting the stress flow off her. The aches in her joints seemed to melt away.
	“What you do after a workout can be just as important as what you do during a workout, you know,” said Chie, justifying her decision. “You gotta relax right.”
	“It’s like a weight’s been lifted off of me,” said Naoto. She was incredibly correct, as much of that weight floated to the surface and bobbed up and down in front of her, displaying the buoyancy of fat cells.
	Several minutes passed in complete silence as the girls allowed the healing properties of the water to do their work, but eventually an obvious question came up.
	“Hey, where’s Rise?” said Chie, looking around.
	“That’s strange,” said Yukiko. “I know she was here when we came in. She was behind us in the halls.”
	As if to answer their questions, the sound of the door to the changing room sliding open was heard, followed by the patter of footsteps heading their way. They turned to see an unbelievably energetic and wobbling ball of Rise charging at them. Completely naked she made a dash for the water, every part of her moving at incredible speed. Her engorged stomach bounced up and down, her belly button jumping in every direction, stretching and squashing as it did, occasionally being lost into the multiple rolls that made up her stomach. Her thighs jiggled back and forth, her ass shaking in and out of view and hanging so low you could see it from between her thighs. Her arms, her shoulders, even her cheeks shaking and wobbling. But the most entrancing part was the head-sized breasts jumping up and down. It was a sight to behold, or at least it was until Rise managed to demonstrate why the sports bras has been so necessary earlier in the day. As Rise bounded forward, her chest jumped upward and she managed to smack herself in the face with the wet, loud WHAP of wet flesh on wet flesh.
	This act of self-destruction slowed Rise to a crawl as she put her hand on her face, checking her nose to make sure nothing was hurt. Without any comment, she waddled the rest of the distance, sliding into the water. She sighed contentedly as the soothing waters covered her corpulent form.
	Everyone present knew that there was no point in mentioning Rise’s own attack on herself, and silently agreed to forget they had seen it. But there was one other question that had to be asked. “Uh. Hey Rise. Where have you been?” asked Chie.
	A sly grin crept onto Rise’s lips. “I was just talking to your mother, Yukiko. I had some specific orders.”
	“What kind of orders?” asked Yukiko.
	And again the door opened, but this time the ensuing sound was those of carts being pushed across a hard floor. At the end of that cart was a well-rounded form dressed in a kimono. Yukiko’s mother, smiling broadly, was pushing a cart of entrees into the bath.
	“Don’t mind me, girls. Help yourselves! There’s plenty to go around,” said Yukiko’s mother. She took several silver platters off the cart and placed them at the edge of the bath. Each platter was covered in a traditional Japanese meal in full. And there was plenty of it.
	“Uh, mother, what are you doing?” asked Yukiko.
	“It was your friend’s idea,” said Yukiko’s mother, eyeing Rise and giving a little wave. Rise waved back. “Well, the last time you girls were here I brought you some snacks, and that got her thinking of offering meals in the bath. A good bath helps the digestion, you know. So we’re going to try it out!”
	Yukiko stared at the food in front of her. She was wary of this idea, and felt there had to be more to this, but on the other hand…
	GURGLE
	Yukiko’s stomach growled, demanding tribute. She couldn’t deny she wanted a good meal more than anything in the world right now. Well, there was no sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth.
	“Now you girls enjoy, I’ll be back in a bit to collect the plates,” said Yukiko’s mother, turning on her heels and pushing the tray, showing she was just as round from the back as the front. The resemblance was uncanny. “And make sure you eat every bite, Yukiko” she added before disappearing back into the inn.
	Well, one meal couldn’t hurt. And they were all truly famished. And so the feeding began.
	“All right, let’s dig in!” cried Chie, eyeing the beefbowl.
	It didn’t take long for it to finish, however.
	SLURP.
	Naoto held an empty bowl up to her lips, slurping down the last of the broth. She sighed, disappointment in her voice, and placed the bowl back down on the tray.
	“What’s wrong, Naoto?” asked Rise, her voice disconcertingly playful. “Not enough?”
	“Eh?” Naoto turned suddenly, not expecting the question. “N-no, it was delicious. I am quite full, thank you.”
	“Aww, that’s too bad,” said Rise. “Then the rest of this is going to go to waste.”
	“The rest?” Chie, Yukiko and Naoto all perked up at once
	Once again the door opened to the sound of another cart coming in, with the same driver behind it. Upon it was another set of trays.
	“Wait, more?!” said Yukiko in disbelief. “Mother, what are you doing?”
	Yukiko’s mother began the work of collecting the used trays and setting them on the lower level of the multi-tiered cart. “Why bringing out the second course. We have to test out the menu, see what works, what doesn’t. It’s nice of you all to help taste test all of this.” In front of each girl was placed a fresh platter, just as full as the rest. “Now, please eat it all and don’t be afraid to tell us what you really think. It’s important we get this exactly right.” And with that, Yukiko’s mother left without a word. Or at least any words she would listen to.
	“...Well, this okay, right?” asked Chie. “I mean, I said what’s important is that we get the exercise done, that we keep moving. If we work hard, we can eat big, right?”
	Sweat dripped down Yukiko’s cheek. “I… suppose so. I mean, it’s not like we’ll do this everyday, right?”
	“Right! We earned a reward!” said Rise, enthusiastically and getting started on her Soba.
	“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea...” said Naoto.
	Rise pouted. “Come on, dig in Naoto. I know you’re still hungry.”
	“N-no!” Naoto said with force. “I’m quite full.”
	GURGLE.
	Except the voice of her stomach told the real story.
	“See, you can lie, but your stomach can’t. It’s like I say, just be honest. Besides, didn’t you say earlier it’d be a waste to let food prepared for you go to waste?”
	Naoto sighed. She couldn’t argue that’d be disrespectful to leave food out and let it go to waste. Well, one more meal wouldn’t hurt. Until it turned into another two. Another three. Another four. And another five.

	Chie picked herself up out of the bath and sat her tremendous butt down on the side of the giant tub. She leaned back until she came crashing down onto the hard, stone floor. But with a satisfied burp, she patted her stomach. She kicked her legs gently in the warm water and sighed. “Oh geeze, I am stuffed. Yukiko, your mother is too much.”
	Yukiko leaned over the side of the bath, letting her globular gut rest on the cold floor. She petted and rubbed the swollen stomach, letting her perky and growing melons lie on top of their new shelf. “You can say that again,” she said irritably. “And if we keep eating like this, there will be too much of us. I mean, even more than usual.”
	Chie squirmed on the floor. Her butt was so large that attempting to lie on the floor like this meant that her hips and legs were pushed too high into the air. It was a bit like trying to form a bridge on your back, but with none of the actual work involved. It wasn’t particularly comfortable, so she sat up. Or at least tried to, and ended up resulting to the tried true technique of rolling over onto her stomach first. Chie sighed. “I think you’re right. Too much of a good thing will just have us jogging in place, so to speak.”
	Yukiko groaned. “Ugh, please don’t say jogging.”
	“Maybe we need to work on some alternate plans,” said Chie.
	“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” said Yukiko. “I think my mom is seriously trying to make us too fat to move.”
	The two girls looked at Rise and Naoto who were both relaxing on their backs on some towels they had put on the floor. Well, they assumed it was Naoto and Rise. In truth, from this angle all you could see of the two girls was a pair of immense legs, a mountainous gut, and a pair of gigantic breasts sitting atop them, like oversized mandarin oranges upon the world’s largest and second largest New Year’s Mochi. Yukiko tried to suppress her laughter. Chie was just thankful that their guts still managed to hang low enough between their legs to keep them semi-decent, for whatever that meant.
	“Are you two going to be okay here?” asked Chie.
	Rise threw her hand in the air, giving the two a thumbs up. “Yeah, don’t worry. We’re just gonna rest here for a bit, let that meal sink in.”
	“All right, we’ll be waiting for you guys upstairs when we’re done,” said Chie. “Good work out there today. Keep this up and we’ll be in great shape in no time!”
	“As long as we stay away from my mother...” Yukiko added under her breath as the two of them  headed for the changing room.
	A few minutes passed in deathly silence, much to Naoto’s relief. She had been concerned that Rise might try something funny, but it seemed the idol was content just to relax.
	The door opened once more, but it wasn’t the sound of Chie and Yukiko leaving, but of another visitor arriving. “Ah, it’s here!” exclaimed Rise.
	Naoto’s eyes widened. This likely was not going to be good.
	“Who is ready for dessert?” asked Yukiko’s mother.
	Naoto groaned. Please, she knew she didn’t have the control. Don’t do this. Maybe she could pretend to have fallen asleep.
	“Thanks, Mrs. Amagi. You’re the best!” said Rise.
	“Oh, nonsense,” said Yukiko’s mother. “I’m just doing this as thanks for you all taking such good care of my Yukiko. Now you take care!”
	“Thanks a lot!” said Rise, watching the innkeeper take off for the last time.
	Naoto tried to look at what had been brought in, but quickly realized she was stuck. Her flesh stuck to the floor, and she wasn’t nimble enough to sit up on her own. All she could do was wait. Eventually, a featureless paper bag was dropped next to her head and she felt a tremendous pressure on her stomach. She looked down to see that Rise had sat down and was now using her stomach as a pillow, just like the night after the pageant.
	Rise leaned back into Naoto’s ample midsection and kneaded the flesh with her hands, making a nice cushion for herself, much to Naoto’s embarrassment. Rise looked down at her own massive gut. The fact she could see it over her head-sized melons was a testament to how big it was, if the multiple rolls making it up weren’t evidence enough. But he she was leaning into a girl who was yet bigger than she was by a good margin. Here was a girl who but months ago passed for a boy, now lying there with a chest that was simply out of this world. She was using this girl as a pillow for herself.
	And she was okay with that. Except for one thing. Rise had started gaining in part because of Yu. She had tasted the love in his food, the effort and skill he put into his craft, and wanted more of it. She wasn’t ashamed of it. It wasn’t wrong to want to indulge in love. To want to fill yourself with love. To have so much love in you that you can share it with the world. There wasn’t anything wrong with that and she was going to prove it. Idols were supposed to be slim supermodels, the world had said. She had spent years on the right diet, doing the right exercise, all to maintain that figure. And she was going to prove that wasn’t necessary. She was going to fill herself with love, doing what she loved, and she was going to show it to the world on stage!
	Except Kanamin beat her to it. People were already seeing the love that came with some extra curves. But that was fine, too. She could still go out there and do it the best. She wasn’t the biggest girl. Naoto beat her there. She wasn’t the first. Kanamin had her there. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t show the world what she was made of.
	Rise reached into the bag and pulled out a donut, which she munched on quietly. She licked the pink frosting off first before devouring the rest in a few bites.
	There was something that bothered her, though. The girl she was resting on had a problem. She could handle losing in the battle of the bulges. But what she couldn’t abide by was losing that battle to someone who wasn’t honest with their feelings. Naoto had promised to be more honest with them, but she still held herself back. She knew why she was doing it. She knew she was worried about her size. But she also knew nothing good could come from denying your feelings. Wasn’t that what fighting shadows was all about?
	“Hey Naoto, you still hungry?” asked Rise.
	“What? N-no! I’m stuffed!” said Naoto.
	And as if on cue, Naoto’s stomach let loose a mighty roar. Rise could feel it rumbling behind her head and back.
	“Liar,” said Rise. “That was nowhere near enough for you.” Rise turned herself over and put her arms into the massive wall of flesh. “It’s okay to admit it.”
	“But I already had five meals, on top of everything at school. That’s more than enough,” said Naoto.
	“That’s what your head is saying, but it’s not what this is saying.” Rise raised a hand and gave the stomach in front of her a mighty slap. “It’s saying it wants more, and you should just say so.”
	Naoto shook her head. “Rise, please. I feel like I can barely move as it is.”
	Rise stood up and pushed the bag even closer to Naoto’s head. “But you’re not saying you don’t want more.” She sat down, pulled a chocolate donut from the bag and held it in front of the detective’s mouth.
	Naoto stared at the decadent treat, a bit of droll escaping from her lips. “I-I shouldn’t,” she said. But even as she did, she brought herself closer, lifting her head and biting into it. The cream inside poured out into her mouth and all over her lips. The switch in her mind was beginning to flip.
	“But you want to,” said Rise. “And I just want you to admit it. I want you to stop making excuses and to accept it. What you do with those feelings is your choice, but I can’t accept losing to someone who doesn’t admit what they want.”
	“Lose? What I want? Rise, what are you—ah!”
	Naoto felt a cold chill as some oil was poured onto her belly. Rise dug her hands in to the orb of flesh, kneading it roughly.
	“Ahh! Ahhhhhh!” Naoto moaned.
	“Come on, there’s plenty more here,” said Rise, taking another donut out of the bag. “I asked if Yu would mind dropping off some of his donuts. I know they’re what got you hooked. And there’s plenty more to go.”
	Rise stuffed another sweet into Naoto’s mouth. The detective’s eyes seemed to glaze over a bit, and her body relaxed. All of her attention seemed to move to what was going on in her mouth and in her belly. “I am… a little hungry...” she said quietly.
	“That’s better,” said Rise. “Maybe I’ll just have to train you to admit it more often. Until you stop denying it.” She plunged her hands into the doughy midsection and began rubbing deeply.
	Naoto’s moans became louder and then, of her own accord, she reached into the bag and took a donut on her own. She bit into it, smiling a bit as she bit into it, savoring the feeling of the baked sweet rolling around on her tongue.
	Rise watched the pleasure filling Naoto’s face and a strange sensation came over herself. She was getting excited. Her own breathing getting heavier. She got an idea, and poured some oil over her own gut and pressed it into Naoto’s.
	“That’s… good...” Naoto said quietly. She swallows another piece, her smile widening.
	Rise’s grin got wider, too. This was a lot of fun. Maybe too much. “So, you’re still hungry?” said Rise.
	“I’m always hungry,” Naoto said honestly. “I’m always thinking about food.”
	Rise’s grin spread from ear to ear. “See? Now, maybe I just need to teach you to be this honest everyday.”
	There was nothing wrong with that, right? It was just skinship between friends. And it wasn’t good to deny yourself.
	“So you like Yu’s donuts?”
	“I love them,” said Naoto, stuffing half of one into her mouth.
	“And you love belly rubs?”
	“They feel… really good,” said Naoto, her switch completely flipped.
	Rise pressed herself into the stomach even more and sighed. This was so great. She didn’t understand what she was feeling, but watching Naoto eat Yu’s donuts… Actually, come to think of it, she rarely saw Yu eat. He was always working to feed others. But was he getting enough pleasure himself?
	Several strange ideas began to form in Rise’s mind. Maybe there were more people out there who needed help being honest with themselves. And maybe she was the right teacher for the job.

November 3, 2011
Amagi Inn, Naoto’s Room
	“Geeze, that Rise...” Naoto paced back in forth in her room, her face as red as it had ever been. She looked back at what she did in that bath and the embarrassment came flowing back. She wanted to go home and hide away, but it was getting too late, so Yukiko insisted that she stay the night. So all she could do was stay in her room and go over the events of an hour ago. She couldn’t believe they had to call in Chie and Yukiko again to help her get up off the floor again.
	Tap tap tap
	A knock came onto the door. Naoto was sure it was Rise, probably here to tease her some more. Still, she had to answer it. She pulled on the drawstring of her oversized bathrobe until it was uncomfortably tight and made for the door.
	With one yank, she pulled the door open wide. “Rise, would you mind--”
	“Good evening, Naoto.” It wasn’t Rise. It was Yu, standing there in his winter jacket.
	Naoto shook her head. She had to switch mental gears. “Oh, uh, Yu, it’s good to see you. Uh, can I help you?”
	“Well, the truth is I’ve been here a while. I dropped off a bag of treats at Rise’s request. But I decided to hang around. Apparently Yukiko’s mother wanted to ask me some questions.”
	It had to be related to either cooking, or making sure Yukiko was eating his cooking, didn’t it? Naoto wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
	“Anyway,” Yu continued, “when I heard you were still here, I came looking for you.”
	“For me?” Naoto asked, surprised. “Is there something I can do for you?”
	“Actually, I wanted you to have this. Someone on the street in a suit told me to give it to you.”
	Yu reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card. He handed it to Naoto who started to examine it. Why would someone give something to Yu to give to her? This was definitely strange.
	“Is it a message from the killer? No, I don’t think… hmmm...” She turned it over and saw a message written on the back.
	DEAR DETECTIVE, YOUR PRIZED POSSESSIONS ARE IN MY HANDS. CAN YOU RECOVER THEM? THE GAME IS AFOOT.  -The Phantom Thief

November 6, 2011
Heaven
	This was the worst case scenario. Nanako had been kidnapped. Rise and Teddie could sense her in the TV world. They had precious little time to spare. But worst of all, their fears had come to pass.
	“I… just need a minute...” Yukiko was doubled over, sweat pouring down her face. She backed into a wall and slid down until she was sitting on the ground. Naoto was already beside her.
	They were only a few floors into the dungeon, having found a safe room to hide out in, but they were already pushing their limits. Even running this short a distance and doing a little fighting was enough to drain them. No one dared say a thing, but they all knew the truth that the girls were slowing them down. In the past, they had been a little slower, but never like this.
	Rise summoned Kanzeon and scanned the floors to the best of her abilities. “We seemed to have… about another 8 or 9 floors to go. I can’t be 100% certain, but it’s still a ways off.”
	Their hearts sank. Nanako was in danger, but at this rate it would take forever to reach her. But rushing on ahead was impossible.
	At times like this, Yu was always a source of inspiration. His unflappable nature and super human ability to stay focused even in danger was a source of strength. But today he was uncharacteristically lost. As the group waited to catch their breath, he constantly turned his head to the door, his feet shifting uncomfortably. His eagerness to get back out there was palpable, but he also wouldn’t leave his friends behind.
	Yosuke put a hand on his shoulder. “Look partner, I know you’re worried. We all are, but we can’t just rush in. Who’s going to protect Nanako if we get hurt? Why don’t we take it easy, take it slow from here on?”
	With a deep inhale, Yu sighed and dropped his head. “You’re right. Thanks, Yosuke. We do this together.” He took his weapon and threw it over his shoulder. Some of his usual stoic nature seemed to have come back. “We’re not going to take any chances, alright? Let’s head out when we’re ready.”
	Yukiko pushed herself to her feet with a grunt. “Yeah. We’re right behind you.”
	Beside her, Chie punched her fist into an open palm. “Yeah, we’re not leaving without Nanako!”
	Rise and Yosuke grabbed Naoto’s hands and helped pull her up to her feet. She brushed herself off and pulled out her revolver. “There’s no way we’re going to allow this case to go unsolved. So please allow us to fight for you out there.”
	“We’re in this together!” said Rise, pumping her fist.
	“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go save Nanako!” Kanji cracked his knuckles and with the strength of a bull he kicked open the door, the slamming of the stone doors reverberating throughout the dungeon.
	The group stepped out into the hallway once more, the beautiful visage of Heaven standing in stark contrast to the weight on their own hearts. As they began to walk down the maze-like passages, they had to remind themselves that despite the gentle atmosphere, this was still a fog-filled trap overrun with shadows that wouldn’t hesitate to take them down in a moment. More than ever, they had to be on alert.
	“It’s hard to believe this came from Nana-chan’s mind...” said Teddie with melancholy. “She must miss her mom so much...”
	“She’s such an innocent girl,” said Chie.
	They continued on, mesmerized by the beauty, perhaps too much. They needed to be on their guard but the peaceful atmosphere was disarming.
	“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this place even felt nice enough to have a picnic,” started Yukiko. “It’s just so calming. I could even--”
	“Yukiko, watch out!” Kanji charged into Yukiko without warning. She was heavy, but a tackle from Kanji was still more than enough to have her stumble several feet away before falling onto her rear end.
	Yukiko shook her head, unsure of what had just happened. When she came to her senses, a giant, person-sized sword was thrust into the ground where she had been standing moments ago. And holding onto the hilt of that sword was a shadow. However, this shadow looked more like a giant robot from an 80’s action show for kids. Its bright and colorful plating did not fit its murderous intent.
	“What the hell is that thing?!” cried Yosuke.
	With a speed that fit its massive frame, the shadow slowly lifted its weapon and prepared to strike again. It swung its blade in a wide arc, forcing everyone to scatter. The good news was the enemy was slow and as cumbersome as one would expect. The bad news was so were the girls, and the sheer force the robot had meant one wrong move would be deadly.
	“I don’t care what it is, it’s going down!” cried Kanji, running up from the side and holding a giant shield over his head. He dashed to the robot’s side and slammed the metal plate into the robot’s leg with all his strength. The clash of steel on steel was deafening.
	And a moment later, the robot, unfazed, simply kicked its leg out sideways and sent Kanji skidding across the ground.
	“Dammit, what the hell is that thing made of?” asked Kanji, wincing in pain.
	“Physical attacks aren’t very effective,” said Rise, scanning the enemy. A flow of information scrolled past her eyes. “Its defenses are ridiculously high. We gotta find an elemental weakness instead.”
	The robot turned its focus onto Yukiko, who was still recovering and trying to stand. Sensing an easy target, it raised its weapon high. Yukiko covered her face and turned away, unable to look.
	BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.
	Six shots rang out and six times a metallic clang came from the robot’s head. Though it appeared largely undamaged, six rounds from Naoto’s gun managed to draw its attention, as it slowly turned away from the downed Yukiko and looked at the Detective Prince, quietly reloading her revolver. With the grace of a clumsy giant, it turned towards her and changed its focus. It brought its sword down on the hefty girl who seemed unfazed.
	“Naoto! Get out of the—huh?” Rise cried out to Naoto, but she stared in confusion when she saw the gigantic shadow go flying through the air. It wasn’t some secret move or a hidden jetpack. The sword had collided with Naoto and bounced off with such force that it sent it rocketing away.
	“Megidolaon!”
	Before the body of the shadow could hit the ground, a searing ball of light dropped out of the sky, colliding with the robot. The entire area was bathed in a pale, violet light as it exploded violently. For a moment it was like being caught in a hurricane. The wind was so fierce and the light so bright everyone covered their faces to shield themselves. When the storm died down, the team looked to see that the shadow was completely gone. A small blackened crater where it had been was the only proof it had ever existed.
	The entire team looked towards Naoto. The obese detective holstered her gun and stared back. The force of the blast had blown off her hat and while she had managed to deflect the blow, it still did some damage to her jacket which was now popped open, revealing the taught white dress shirt underneath which bounced up and down, still jiggling for a while after the blast.
	“That was so BEARY cool!” yelled Teddie with excitement. “You’re just too big! Your layers of hibernation fat caused the attack to bounce right off of you!”
	The blood rushed to Naoto’s face in a fine cocktail of embarrassment and anger. “I’m not a hibernating bear! I just used a physical attack repelling spell! It was the most sensible strategy when facing an enemy with overwhelming physical abilities!”
	Everyone stared for a moment, looking at the gut in front of them. Naoto had managed to tuck much of it into her pants, with a belt that was probably longer than she was tall digging into the flesh, which bulged around the leather strap. I mean, it couldn’t reflect a blow on its own, could it…?
	“I said it was tetrakarn! Tetrakarn!” screamed Naoto, her face turning further shades of red.
	“Snrk.” Yukiko began to laugh. “Hahahaha!”
	It was contagious, as the rest of the team began to snicker and laugh as well. The tension and the fear all evaporated. It was like a weight had been lifted off them all.
	“I think we needed that,” said Rise.
	“Still, thank you for saving me,” said Yukiko, bowing slightly to both Kanji and Naoto.
	“I didn’t do much,” said Kanji, blushing slightly and scratching the back of his head. “Naoto was the one who took it out.”
	“That was amazing, too!” said Chie excitedly. “How’d you do that?”
	Yu handed Naoto her hat and she placed it back on her head. “I just focused my mind and let loose. I do feel like I’ve got a bit more power behind my attacks today.”
	“Well, you’ve certainly got a lot of… energy stored up in there,” said Yosuke teasingly. “Guess if your agility goes down, something else goes up?”
	Naoto shot him an angry glare that sent a shiver up his spine.
	“Uh, just forget I said anything...”
	“Still, it seems like some of the shadows here are getting even stronger,” said Rise, scanning the floors around them. “We’ll have to be extra on guard.”
	With that, the group decided to get back to exploring, taking it slow but steady. For quite some time they walked down the maze-like halls, constantly looking over their shoulders to make sure nothing else was trying to sneak up on them. Fortunately nothing they came across seemed to be quite as dangerous as the robot that got the jump on them. A few packs of minor shadows occasionally approached, but they were dispatched with ease. A wide barrage of fire or ice or such was usually all it took. Once after Yukiko seemed to take some extreme delight in watching a pack of five shadows explode in flame, the rest of the team felt a little more worried about their own teammate than what lied ahead.
	“Good work, you guys. We’ve only got a few more floors to go,” said Rise after some time. “I sense some strong shadows nearby, but so far none of them have approached us.”
	Chie wiped her brow. “How about we take a break?” she asked.
	“Sounds like a plan,” said Yu, sitting down in a corner and putting his sword aside. “Let’s not get overconfident.”
	Yosuke nodded to his partner. It was good to see him more relaxed and back to his old self. He took a couple drinks out and tossed a Fountain Dew over to Yu. “Let’s make sure we’re good and rested for what’s up ahead.”
	WHUMP.
	Chie dropped right onto the ground. The boys could swear they felt a tremor as she did so. She flapped her track jacket like a fan to cool down. “It feels like a sauna in here,” she said.
	“Really? I think it feels a little chilly if anything,” said Yosuke. “The sweat I’ve built up from fighting is just making it even colder.”
	Chie removed her jacket entirely and leaned back. Her white school uniform underneath was soaked in sweat until it had become see-through. The garment clung to her pear shaped body like a second skin. She fanned herself with her hand as she took a deep breath. “Maybe I’m just sensitive to the heat,” she said.
	It was likely less to do with temperature tolerance and everything to do with insulation. This was why all of the boys seemed perfectly fine, if a bit tired while all the girls, despite slowing their pace, were now sweating profusely. But no one dared speak the obvious.
	Yukiko slumped down next to her friend, letting her stomach rest on the floor as she spread out her legs. She let out a deep sigh as she leaned forward and used her own belly and chest to rest her head. “I would give anything for a topsicle right now,” she said.
	Naoto leaned up against a rock wall, wiping the sweat from her brow. She was baking in her winter coat, even if the front was wide open. She popped the top couple of buttons of her dress shirt, giving her chest a chance to breathe a bit, a fact that drew several pairs of eyes as an unfathomable amount of cleavage spilled out. Granted the shirt had been so soaked that little had been hidden to begin with, her dark blue lace-trimmed bra visible through the fabric. “I could use a nice bowl of ice-cream,” she said under her breath.
	Chie stroked her chin. “What if we cooled the whole place down?” she thought aloud.
	“What do you mean?” asked Yukiko, pulling her face out of her own breasts.
	Chie struggled back to her feet. “Just wondering… Mabufula!” she shouted, and her Persona manifested itself before ice began to grow from the ground. Spears of ice jutted up from the floor and the ground was covered in a thin layer of ice. Every bit of the floor and walls all around them in an instant had turned into a winter wonderland.
	She grabbed the tip of one stalagmite and broke it off, creating an instant, if flavorless, ice pop to enjoy. Chie stuffed the icicle in her mouth and slumped back in the bliss that only came from cooling off after a good workout.
	“Hey, let me try that!” said Yukiko who grabbed an icicle from her seat and gave it a solid lick. She shuddered as a stream of ice ran down her spine. The chill seemed to envelope her entire body.
	“Well, I don’t think this was what our Personas were meant to be used for,” said Yosuke. “But I guess if it works, it works.”
	“Oh, hey, what if we grind it up? We could make shaved ice!” said Chie.
	“Ooh, that sounds good,” said Rise. “But don’t we need syrup for that? Who carries syrup around with them?”
	“I do!” said Teddie, who reached into his bear suit and pulled out a small condiment bottle.
	With a raised eyebrow, Naoto asked “Teddie, why do you carry around a bottle of syrup with you everywhere?”
	“Well, I really love topsicles, but at the same time, I really love shaved ice. So then I had this great idea, what if you put the flavor of shaved ice on a topsicle?” Teddie leaned back and smiled smugly. “So now, like a cub scout, I am always pre-beared, just in case!”
	“That seems a bit excessive,” said Naoto, though the thought of cooling down with dessert was tantalizing.
	“Let me do the honors then,” said Yu stepping forward. “Izanagi!” In a moment a card appeared hovering before Yu. With one hand he crushed it and his Persona emerged. The giant humanoid figure grasped his weapon, a combination of sword and combat knife, and began to slash at a pillar of ice. The blade moved too fast to see, and in a moment what had been a tall spear of ice was now a soft pile of snow upon the ground.
	“Whoa!” cried Chie. “That was awesome!”
	“Even your Persona can help cook, sorta,” said Yukiko. “Maybe I could try using mine to flame broil some meat.”
	“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Naoto.
	“Come on, let’s just dig in,” said Rise who got on her knees and grabbed the syrup bottle from Teddie. She poured the blue liquid all over the pile before grabbing a scoop with her bare hands. “Oh, that’s cold!” She cried, but still held it up and took a big bite out of it. “Oh, and it’s blueberry, too! My favorite!”
	“Actually, the color of the syrup is what gives it its flavor,” explained Naoto. “The syrup for various ‘flavors’ of shaved ice is actually the same thing but with a different coloring agent added. Your brain associates the color with a specific flavor, like blueberry, lemon, orange, cherry and so on, which means--”
	“Hey, Chie, think fast!” Yukiko scooped a ball of makeshift snow into her hand and threw it at her friend, smacking her right in the gut.
	“Oof!” Chie fell over with a loud thud.
	“Hey, I was going to eat that part!” said Rise angrily.
	Naoto sighed as her explanation was ignored. But maybe it didn’t really matter as long as everyone was having fun. And they were. The girls and the boys had all joined in. Teddie had decided to make a strangely shaped snow angel on one side of the pile. Chie and Yukiko were engaged in a strange snowball fight where the decision whether to eat or throw their ammunition was constantly being weighed. Even Kanji was having fun, trying to see if he could get his Persona to carve up one of the ice pillars Chie had erected, though everything he touched ended up smashed rather than shaved.
	Deciding to join in, Naoto bent over to grab a handful of snow. Unfortunately, with her stomach in the way she could not bend far enough forward to grab anything. As she bent over, her stomach pressed into her thighs and prevented her from getting any further.
	And when she tried to force it a little more, her balance began to shift. She was simply too front-heavy to lean over so far and was feeling gravity do its relentless work. She gasped as she felt herself about to fall over and land in the snow, when a pair of arms wrapped under her arms, digging into their doughy flesh and holding her up.
	“Are you okay there?” asked Yu.
	“Oh, uh, yes, th-thank you,” said Naoto blushing. “But it’s quite all right. I don’t want to be a burden on you all.”
	Yu bent down and picked up a scoop of snow and placed it in her hands. “There’s no shame in relying on others, Naoto. I’m helping you with the Phantom Thief case but you helped us get to where we are. So don’t think of yourself as a burden.”
	Despite the snow around her, Naoto could feel her internal temperature rising again as more sweat began to pour and her cheeks reddened. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. She felt the need to bury herself face first in the snow until she cooled down, but she managed to resist the urge and merely ate what she was given.
	“Say, senpai,” Naoto began. “When we’re all done with this, when Nanako is safe, I hope you’ll come and visit me for a while.” Naoto paused before realizing what she had just said. “I-I mean in regards to the Phantom Thief case! I have some thoughts and wanted to run them past you!”
	Yu chuckled. “I know what you meant, Naoto. That sounds fine. Maybe we can go and get something to eat when we do.”
	A roar seemed to echo across the dungeon. It was coming from Naoto’s stomach.
	“I could definitely go for… I mean, that sounds fine, thank you...” She pulled her hat over her eyes. She couldn’t bear to look at Yu for some reason.
	Meanwhile, Rise was not amused. She had been watching a short ways away in slight irritation, although she knew it was wrong. Still, weren’t those two getting a little too close? Yu was supposed to be the one to fill her with his (culinary) love and Naoto was her friend and pet project. And seeing them like that was filling Rise with strange urges that she didn’t quite understand. It was a mix of jealousy, embarrassment, excitement, joy and maybe a little hunger. She was used to being very in control of her emotions, but the last month, watching her friends, she was having some confusing feelings and she didn’t know how to work through them. She wanted to walk over there and feed both of them enough shaved ice until they couldn’t move, but she settled for throwing a snowball instead.
	“Hey Naoto, catch!” Rise grabbed a packed handful of ice and threw her arms back. But before she could throw it, she sensed something approaching at high speeds.
	A light erupted in the center of the room where the pile of snow was highest. The air was filled with a pale, purple light that they had seen a little while ago, but this was not Naoto’s doing.
	“Everybody, get down!” Rise shrieked as she realized what was happening.
	An explosion erupted in the middle of the floor. It took nearly everyone by surprise, launching most of the team far from the epicenter of the blast. Teddie in particular, who had been buried in the snow was launched with such force he must have been airborne for five seconds. When everyone’s senses had returned, all eyes turned to a figure descending from above. A golden shadow, shaped like scales of justice, dropped to the floor with a metallic clang.
	“Guys, it;’s a tough one! Get ready!” Rise cried as she summoned Kanzeon and began to analyze the foe. She couldn’t get a very good reading, but she could tell it was not something to be trifled with.
	With a graceful snapping of her wrist, Yukiko opened her fan and started to concentrate. “Everyone, I’ll heal you and give you support. So just focus on—Ah!”
	Yukiko’s speech of support was interrupted as a chunk of ice was hurled directly at her with incredible speed. The young girl was thrown back, sliding across the floor.
	“Yukiko!” Chie yelled, watching her friend bounce across the hallway. This distraction was ill-timed though as a fireball headed directly for her, sending her flying as well.
	Gritting her teeth, Rise kept scanning. “Guys, watch out. It seems like it can read and exploit all of our weaknesses.”
	A glowing bolt of electricity shot out from the giant scale, heading straight for Yosuke. The boy braced himself, realizing he was likely to be the next target. With the warning he managed to hold his ground, but that was all he could do.
	“Dammit, how are we supposed to break through if it can read our weaknesses?” Yosuke asked.
	“We just plow through, dammit!” said Kanji who only knew one strategy, a head-on assault. He raised his weapon and charged straight at the shadow, prepared to tank whatever came his way. But the gust of wind that came from the monster was too much even for the beefy Tatsumi, who was launched across the room, landing right on top of the recovering Teddie, knocking both of them out.
	The worst part about fighting such an inhuman enemy was the lack of any visible tell on its body. It had no facial expressions or body movements that would telegraph its next attack. The scales would shift, but that could mean anything was about to happen. All they could do was brace themselves and prepare for the worst. But this also left no real options of offense.
	“Rise, can you focus on predicting the shadow’s next attack?” asked Naoto.
	“I think so, but I won’t be able to offer any other--”
	“That’s fine, I think I have an idea,” Naoto continued.
	She gestured to Yu who ran into the path of the shadow, offering himself as an obvious target.
	“Senpai, Garudyne!”
	As expected, the scale targeted Yu’s current weakness. But before the wind could be launched, a change in Yu’s psyche. “Fortuna!” In a moment Izanagi vanished and a lithe woman with a spinning wheel for a stomach appeared in his place. The blast of wind disappeared as soon as it came into contact with Yu.
	“Ziodyne! Incoming electricity!” Rise declared.
	“Odin!” The bolt vanished.
	“Agidyne!” said Rise.
	“Surt!” the fireball was negated.
 	With every attack Yu stepped closer, his rapidly changing Persona absorbing the damage before he can be hit. But this also left him merely negating the attacks without fighting back. It was merely a stalemate, and one that couldn’t be kept up forever. But as Yu advanced, so did Naoto, waddling right behind him. When the two of them were almost within melee range, they began their counter-attack.
	“Sukuna-Hikona!” A small butterfly-like boy appeared over Naoto’s head, a laser-sword in his hands. Sukuna-Hikona slashed at the scale, causing it to flinch and stagger backwards.
	“Rise, charge me and senapi up!” said Naoto.
	“Eh? Uh, okay!” Rise had no idea what Naoto had in mind, but she wasn’t going to question it. She focused Kanzeon’s power away from scanning and reinforced their strength strength, speed and endurance.
	Switching back to Izanagi, Yu gave it his all as he slashed at the shadow, knocking it over for a brief moment, but that was all he needed to do.
	“Bufudyne!” Naoto cast her magic, but it wasn’t aimed at the shadow. Rather, she aimed it at the floor. A pillar of ice shot up from under her feet, lifting her into the air. “Garudyne!” she shouted as once again she targeted herself. With the height of the pillar, the lift of the wind and the boosted agility from Rise, Naoto launched herself high into the air, spreading her arms and legs out wide. She hovered over the shadow for a moment before dropping like a lead weight. More than several hundred pounds of morbidly obese detective came smashing down on top of the shadow, crushing it instantly. The powerful foe dissipated into a purple mist as Naoto belly-flopped it to death.
	Everyone was quiet save for a few groans of pain as the team got everyone to their feet, except for Naoto who stayed on the ground, elevated several feet, only the tips of her toes and fingers as well as the queen sized mattress that was her stomach touching the floor. While the attack had worked just as she had planned, she felt like celebrating this fact would be to focus on something she’d rather not.
	“Well, uh, that’s using your head. Or, uh, your stomach, I guess,” said Yosuke, unable to read the mood as usual.
	Naoto shot him a glare. Or at least she tried to. He was behind her and she couldn’t turn far enough to actually see him, but somehow he still felt her gaze.
	“Still that was awesome!” said Chie. “You really saved our hides back there.”
	“That was some quick thinking,” said Rise. “You’re really becoming a secret weapon. Maybe I’ll treat you later to a nice restaurant so we can turbo charge your ammunition.” She grinned mischievously.
	“Th-that’s quite all right,” said Naoto. If this was the cost of power, she was fine with being a little less powerful.
	Yu offered her a hand as he helped her, with some considerable effort, to her feet. The attack had done quite some damage to her clothes as popped buttons allowed globes of flesh to poke out of her shirt, but everyone pretended they couldn’t see it for the moment. Naoto herself definitely couldn’t.
	“That was some good work, Naoto,” said Yu. “I don’t think I could have done it without Yu.”
	Her cheeks reddened once more. This was becoming their natural state. “I-it was nothing. I couldn’t have done it without your ability to change your weakness and strengths at will. It was still a risky plan anyway.”
	Yu put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “But it worked. You proved to everyone that you could never be a burden.”
	Naoto covered her mouth with her hand to hide the faint smile that was developing on her lips. “Th-thank you for the kind words, but let’s get back to the mission. We have to save Nanako.”
	Rise felt the stew of emotions under her skin begin to boil up again as she saw Yu and Naoto grow a little bit closer, but quickly pressed it down. This was not the time for this. Instead she focused her attention on the paths ahead of them. “It looks like we’re all clear to the end,” said Rise. “We should have a clear run to Nanako and Namatame.”
	“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Kanji, cracking his knuckles. “Let’s do this! We’ve got a little girl to save.”
	“Yeah, we’re not leaving without her,” said Chie.
	“We’ll do it together,” added Yukiko.
	“Hold on Nanako, your Prince Teddie is coming to save you!”
	“Let’s put an end to this cases, once and for all,” said Naoto, back to her old self.
	The team’s eyes were filled with determination. They didn’t know what was lying in wait for them, but they also knew they would stand up to whatever lay ahead. Nanako was as good as saved.