Struggling Diet Warriors Chapter 4: Rumbling Thunder (Revamped!) (Patreon)

Ami was trying to think, but her train of thought was being assaulted by the uncomfortable wobbling slap of her belly jiggling into her thighs and the billowing huffs that she wheezed through her nose. Her top was rolling over the hill of her torso, creeping up to the iron fingers that were squeezing her tight.

Beads of sweat were forming on the tracks, derailing the train where their knees knocking together, forced to keep time with the one who was setting their waddling pace.

“Kushieda!!” she whined as the other girl giggled, purposefully striding forward in a gait so wide it might as well be a skip. “Slow down!!”

“Nope!” Kushieda chimed. Their waists were clapped together, but Kushieda’s slender torso gave her well-fitting shirt nowhere to grip. “The best thing for a diet warrior to eat is a mouthful of exercise with some cheap humble pie!”

“What does that even mean?!” Ami tried to pull away, but Kushieda had her like a piggy in a bear trap. She was doing all that she could to keep her sweatpants from sliding down and exposing her butt.

She continuously kicked herself in her heels, creating a stumbling mess that would leave her old strut-walk ashamed. She was just revealed that nobody else was around to see her tummy flopping out.

Except the glowing hot sun that was Kushieda.

“Alright!” the leader squeezed a handful of Ami’s side, pulling her to a stop before bouncing into her with her hip. She smiled at the door to the high school’s locker room. “They should probably be in here.”

“C-can you please let me go?” Ami frowned, breathing heavily through her nose.

“I dunno~” came the singsong reply. Another subtle squish that felt far too aware. “I didn’t want to give you a chance to rethink it and run.” 

Ami’s lips curled up in actual disgust. “Seriously? I would never.” She took a moment to hike up her sweatpants, an act that was largely unsuccessful as they clung to her now sweaty thighs. “Running is for children.”

“Oh, oops,” Kushieda squeaked, releasing her shackles on Ami’s waist. 

The doughy girl bent slightly, causing a fold on her tummy as she tried to catch her breath.  

Kushieda moved behind Ami, pulling sweatshirt down to cover Ami’s tummy. “I didn’t mean to pull it that high.” 

The train was down near the start of the hall, gasping and chugging to get back on track. Without it, Ami gave Kushieda a puppy dog pout while a bead of salty sweat dripped from her scalp. “These clothes don’t really fit too well after someone busted my garter…”

Kushieda winced, eyes closing and lifting a hand to rub the back of her hair. “I-it really busted, huh?”

“Yes.”

The redhead colored a shameful pink, tapping her fingers together before straightening up. “Oh! I know!” she shouted.

Kushieda lifted her shirt.

Ami looked down at the girl’s small waist. How her hips flowed into a tight torso before shapely turning back out near her ribs. She wasn’t perfect by any means, but she was currently a golden hourglass showing off to a pale doughnut.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Ami asked.

“From one diet warrior to another!” Kushieda posed with fingers of peace, lifting up enough to show her black bra. Her top rested over her chest while she reached down and pinched an inch of her tummy. “See? I’m soft too!”

It was like a dolphin swam up to a whale to compare their blubber.

The sapphire became the color of a ruby. Ami's pout fell into a much more frustrated scowl, and she opened her mouth to say something scathing, to hiss an angry response.

All that came out was a whisper. “Please don’t compare yourself to me. I know what I look like.”

Kushieda’s beaming smile dropped along with her top.

The girls stood in silence for a moment before Kushieda shuffled forward. “Sorry…” she said. “I didn’t… I thought I…” she sighed. “Can you tell I’m bad at this?”

“Yes.”

The redhead puffed with a tiny chuckle. “I’m… sorry about your garter.”

Ami narrowed her eyes. “You assaulted me.”

“T-technically, I assaulted your garter… The, uhh, Armor of… Lies?”

Ami’s glare flowed outward like a winter tundra.

“Um…” Kushieda sweat. “D-diet warriors struggle together!”

Whips of chill were trying to freeze the red sun.

“Hooraaaay…”

Ami inhaled deeply, held it, and let it go. The train wheezed into the station, reminding her why she was here. 

She tried to smile as sugary sweet as a puffy doughnut could, even as the beast released an offended growl. Diet warriors. What trash.

“Well, um, hopefully they haven’t headed off without us.” Kushieda slid open the paper door to the locker room and headed inside. 

The large girl followed, her cheery grin left behind in her wake.

The damn Taiga. This was all her fault. If she had just left Ami alone, then the young model would have been perfectly-

‘I hope you like it.’

Ami swallowed.

The fluttering feeling in her tummy was abruptly banished as the rank scent finally registered. Her nose wrinkled up automatically as hellish memories of jumping jacks and bicycle kicks washed over her thighs.

She made a sound of abject disgust, “Bwagh. It smells like teenagers.”

Kushieda turned around, lifting an eyebrow with a speculative smirk. “I mean, yeah. We’re teenagers.”

Ami lifted herself up in indignation, her gym uniform exposing her pale muffintop. “Maybe you are,” she said proudly. “I am a woman.”

“And what a woman…”

Ami looked back to see Kushieda’s eyes lifting up from her rear, darting casually up and to the side. With a loud “Hmph!” she tried to tug her sweater back down, not realizing that her top wasn’t the problem before she moved on ahead, hearing the soft but strong tone of Ryuuji’s voice.

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“Takasu!” came a light cheerful call. Ryuuji turned to look over his shoulder.

His young male mind balked at the plump figure of Ami Kawashima. She stood with her arms clasped behind her back, leaning slightly forwards. A pale muffin top squeezed by tight red thread, Ami’s top had risen just over her navel.

Ami’s belly button gave her an almost pregnant look, but with a doughy softness that exemplified a wide horizontal pinch. He’d seen Ami’s stretchmarks before, but the tiny white lines looked much brighter here in the soft light, like ghostly white scratches on an albino cow.

She didn’t have a potbelly, not anymore. There was too much flour squeezed into the bag, the fat was spreading throughout her whole body. Her pale pinch pooched over an even heavier bottom. Her full hips and thick thighs had turned the model into a fat juicy pear. 

The image was completed by her pants clutching scandalously low on her haunches, revealing the deepening fold of her thighs. Behind her, Minori Kushieda’s face was as red as her hair whilst she openly gazed at Ami’s backside and the exposed top of her double-pillowed rear.

“Guess what!” Ami compelled. She closed her eyes, twisting back and forth while a pleasant smile spread on her soft face. “I decided to come along with you, I figured you could show me around town! It's been so long since I've really walked around Hachinomori!”

Ryuuji’s reply was lost in his throat. He felt himself stammer, but a second glance at her exposed body warned him off. 

He’d seen her Ami’s belly erupt from that garter just yesterday. He’d been seeing her bisected by her sweats throughout all of today. So why did she look so much bigger right now? Was it seeing her in motion? Or did the peek at her hips expose a new level of fatness? 

A whole new level… just how many tiers did the girl have left?

His attention snapped back to her face when her violet eyes opened and he realized that she wasn’t looking at him. Her deep eyes sharpened into a leer, her pleasantly soft smile turning into a devil-horned smirk. Ryuuji turned to see what Ami was looking at.

Taiga’s expression was dark. Her long brown hair could have been a wavy forest in the dim lighting of the locker room, with her back to the overcast windows giving her a shadowy and implacable presence. She said nothing. 

Somehow, that made her more frightening.

“Wellll?” Ami prompted.

Finally, Taiga spoke up. “Minorin, does the piglet have a curly tail back there? Or is it just her porky ass?”

Ami’s smarmy grin grew larger and she stood up straight. “Oh, sorry Aisaka. I must have overlooked you.” She it said dismissively, as if she hadn’t been staring before placing a hand on her exposed hip in a modeling pose.

The smirk vanished.

Her hand, very subtly, squeezed her hip. Then it slid around to the fat of her ass. Her eyes had become very wide, though she still didn’t look down. She simply reached lower, pulling her pants upwards. 

The tread of her sweats howled as they strained to slide over her chubby thighs. She winced, letting go and causing the waistband to snap to her tummy, which released an audible ‘Bwomph!’ as she bounced. That got her to look, pink touching her flawless cheeks while her hands tugged down at her sweater to try and cover her abundant middle.

Minori stepped forwards with placating hands, partially blocking the blushing Ami from sight. “Well, hey. We’re diet warriors, right? We’ve gotta always motivate one another if we’re gonna be able to exercise all of our own flab off,” she laughed nervously. 

Ryuuji could see the clear self-satisfaction Taiga was getting at Ami’s expense. He knew that cocky stance, could see the swell in Taiga’s non-existent chest as she made ready to launch into a tirade.

Taiga began to chuckle in a threatening tone, the huntress spotting her favorite prey. All the temperature was sucked out as the palmtop tornado was about to begin.

Then Ryuuji stood up. Taiga’s laugh broke off before she could begin, her brown eyes suddenly catching even the overcast light as she looked to him in sudden surprise. He towered over her for only a moment before he looked past her towards the door. “Come on,” he bade, “they’ll be starting soon.”

Without waiting, he strode past Taiga. After a moment, he could hear the light clopping of her shoes. “Hey! Get back here! The owner leads the dog, not the other way around!”

A smile began trying to slither onto his face. He had to fight it back as Taiga quickly caught up to him, taking long strides with her short legs. He could hear Minori and Ami coming along too.

“W-wait up!” Ami coughed. “Running’s for children!” Another heavy puffed was followed by a wheezy, “Dammit!”

“It’s not that bad,” Minori replied. “Working out’s important! Your muscles will be happy with you after we’re done!” 

“Actually,” Ami paused to take a large breath, “I’m not really doing this,” she broke off again, “to lose weight.” 

Ryuuji had a very Taiga-ish thought. He glanced to the miniature girl who wore a giant, nasty grin, seeming satisfied to let the piggy dig her own...

Oh God. She was invading his brain!

He groaned, drawing a speculative look from the tiny tiger. But a suspicious glance was far better than another fight, so he permitted himself a sigh of relief. It looks like the storm would blow over. 

Ryuuji reached forwards and slid the door open. The humidity that washed over them was muggy, like walking into an overworked kitchen. The dense air clung to their skin, and the heat that came with it felt uncomfortable. 

The young man turned his eyes to the heavens. The gray sight that greeted him sent with it a wave of uneasiness. Taiga stepped outside without any issue, and he followed.

“Ohhhh, gross. We have to go out in this?” Ami complained.

“Summer’s coming quick. Soon it’ll be time to hit the beach!”

A not-so-subtle whine could be heard from Ami’s tummy. Very quietly she mumbled the words, “Ice cream…”

“What about you, Ryuuji?” Minori asked. “You ready to head down to the hot summer sands?” 

“I don’t even have swim trunks,” he informed. “What about you?”

“I need to upsize my swimsuit,” Minori laughed sheepishly. “How about yours, Taiga? Want to go shopp-”

The redheaded girl began stammering. Ryuuji had just enough time to catch the murderous glare Taiga had fired at Minori before twisting back to the front.

“Oh?” Ami asked. “Hmm. Upsizing, huh? That’s never any fun.”

“I-it’s because of… umm…” 

“Ahhh, I see! That’s why you volunteered. I understand, so that’s why you would feel the need to lose weight.”

The hairs on Ryuuji’s neck stood up on edge, a chill passing up his spine before working its way around to his neck. The breath of the Reaper flowed over his shoulders, frost crystallizing on the lobe of his ear. 

A raindrop tumbled down, a bottom-heavy globule that struck against him flat on the cheek.

“Hey!” boomed a mechanical voice, “Slackers! Get the hell over here!!”

The pressure faded and Ryuuji looked up. A tall girl with long blue hair stood proudly on a raised platform. Her gym uniform hung loosely off of her small frame, except where her arms flexed with strong muscles. The girl’s hard expression and the megaphone in her hand denoted her position as a leader before Ryuuji recognized the Student Council president, Sumire Kano.

But something was wrong with Sumire. It wasn’t her pale face, nor her straight blue hair. Both looked as handsome as the president always did, but something about the strong girl’s look fought for his attention. Her chin seemed sharper, her movements more exaggerated and powerful. He felt his eyes run up her legs, analyzing how the sweats hung from her well-toned body in a way he’d never done before.

The megaphone screeched when she raised it back to her mouth, “Let’s go let’s go let’s go! Get over here or get lost, you can’t participate if you don’t move it!”

Minori passed Ryuuji, running with both hands up towards her shoulders in a remarkably cute fashion. Her open jacket fluttered in the air behind her, and the way her hair rocked back and forth with her adorable run was-

*SMACK*

Hot pain suddenly flared from Ryuuji’s neck. His head dipped forward and his hands flew out to stop himself from stumbling. “YEOW!” he hollered. Tears leapt to his eyes, and he rounded on his assailant. 

Taiga’s face was red with rage, a heat pouring from her that was far more than humid.

The heat of his own anger won out, and before he could stop he began shouting. “What the hell was that for?!”

Taiga sprung up to grab him by the shoulders. “You stupid mutt!” she hissed, “Get your tongue back in your damn mouth! Did you not just hear what fatass just said to her?!”

“Umm, I’m right here…” Ami said softly.

The vein on Taiga’s temple throbbed and she kicked Ryuuji in the shin. 

“Yaaow! Quit it!”

Her little hands gripped his hair by the handful and she pulled, throwing him forwards. His feet fell flat, racing to keep up with his body while he was launched into line and nearly toppled straight into Minori.

He managed to catch himself and felt his rage deflate like a popped balloon when he came within a foot of the glowing redhead. Embarrassment quickly washed over him like a tsunami, sweeping away all pain in the flood. 

He quickly straightened, his arm flying behind his head and ruffled his own hair. “H-hey Minori,” he managed through wrecked nerves followed by an awkward chuckle. “Sorry about that, I, uh, lost my….” 

A soft voice interrupted his train of thought. He opened his eyes and looked at Minori.

Kushieda’s eyes were frighteningly narrow. Her mouth was twisting through a variety of  shapes while she rapidly muttered. “It must be the pudding it has to be the pudding what else could it be but the pudding.” Her pupils were growing rounder now, filling out until they were almost fat. Then her whispering became a singing chant, “Cheat day cheat day now the flab won’t go away.”

Her hands fell to her belly, gripping handfuls of imaginary fat and lifting them, dropping to release an imaginary clap that, somehow, reverberated clearly throughout the schoolyard.

Taiga walked in front of Minori, her large brown eyes locked onto Ryuuji. The boy looked from her back to Minori, whose mouth began to blur words together. Ryuuji raised an arm behind her back, feeling a scratch develop in his throat. 

Still she went on, “DietwarriorImadietwarriorsofatsofatImadietfailure.”

His hand was quivering as her brought it down down lightly on her shoulder. Minori froze, her body becoming as solid as a statue. 

Ryuuji swallowed before speaking. “Hey, Kushieda?” he asked.

The frozen star that was Minori Kushieda turned at a glacial pace. Her fat pupils didn’t so much as regard Ryuuji as stare through him.

“Hey,” Ami cut in, “is she oka-”

She was cut off by the sudden dull impact of Taiga’s fist sinking into her stomach. Ami’s empty doughball collapsed around the blow, letting Taiga’s fist sink into and be surrounded by waves of pudge. The overweight beauty doubled over with a rather disturbing sound. 

“What was that, little piglet? Did you just squeal?”

Ryuuji and Minori ignored them, her ghostly eyes staring into his shaking soul. “I just, umm,” he began. “I just… I wanted to say thank you. Your dietary efforts inspire me greatly, as I’m sure they do… uhh… everyone here.”

Minori blinked once. Twice. Her eyes trained upwards to Ryuuji’s. “You mean, I’m not a great big sow that’s so heckin’ fat she can’t zip her uniform closed?” she asked, her tone not quite as crazy.

“We barely have any room for this one,” Taiga snarled, her hand seizing a handful of Ami’s love handle.

Ami coughed. “H-hey,” she batted at Taiga’s hand with a beat red face. “Getoffa me you little twerp.” A stream of sweat was dripping from her forehead. “Y-you’re just being mean cause you’re still wearing child-sized swi- Nyaaagh!” she was cut off by a foot stomping down on her toes.

Minori seemed to miss all of that, looking directly at Ryuuji. “Of course not,” he said, his face a shining light red. He looked down at her body. “W-why can’t you zip your uniform shut?”

The dead voice returned. “Cause I’m a great big sow that’s so heckin’ fat she can’t zip her uniform closed.”

Ryuuji flinched more painfully than when Taiga had hit him. “Ami can get her outfit closed,” he suggested.

“Ryuuji?!?” Ami exclaimed, sounding shocked and betrayed.

“Quiet, pig!!”

He ignored them. “If you want, maybe I can make all of us dinner later? We can t-t-t-” he felt himself breaking off, realizing he’d just invited Minori to come to his house. He made an effort of will to stop stuttering, “talk recipes?”

Ahead of them, Ryuuji heard a deep growl of a large tummy gurgling. 

“You have got to be kidding. Really?” Taiga asked.

Minori’s eyes blinked again, and suddenly they didn’t seem so chubby. Her skin didn’t look so gray. “Will there be soba noodles with koregusu?”

Again, another loud belly gurgle.

“What is wrong with you?!”

“Stop bullying meee,” Ami whined, her stomach letting out another long grovel.

“Uh, whatever you'd like! Koregusu, sure!! We can stop by the market and get some things. I’ve got a little extra money my mom gave me for this month,” Ryuuji said. He instinctively began checking his pocket, making sure he still had his wallet on him.

The moment he took his hand from her shoulder, Minori reached up and gripped it. Ryuuji froze, his eyes dating back to hers. 

Minori’s dark eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Ryuuji,” she whispered. Her grip on his fingers tightened.

Ryuuji felt like he was going to pass out.

He was brought back to Earth by the ear-splitting screech of the megaphone being switched on. Ryuuji and Minori split apart to cover their exposed ears, turning to face the offending noise. 

Sumire was fiddling with the megaphone in front of the assembling student body, walking back to her post from the huddled-up group of the student council. She must have joined them at some point after Ryuuji… lost attention. He felt himself analyzing her movement again.

The sapphire president approached the pedestal she’d stood on before, deftly hopping up and landing atop of the five-foot stand as easy as if it were taking a simple step.

“Hey guys,” Kitamura greeted. He approached with his hand full of plastic bags. “Here, Aisaka. I’ve brought these for your group.” 

Taiga, having relinquished her tight grip on Ami’s fat roll, took the bags with a shaking hand.

“Okay you freaks!” Sumire began, but Ryuuji her voice was so different he immediately tuned her right out.

Just what was it with this girl. Why the hell was he noticing her so much today?

Sumire’s foul mouth and gruff voice was grating on his ears as she went over the details of the cleanup’s plans. But her leadership had her instructions came off as comradery rather than arrogant. But that’s always how she is. So what is it today that’s making him feel like something is so…

Sumire raised a fist in the air, the fabric of her uniform billowing for a split moment to round out entirely. It was only for the blink of an eye, but like lightning the moment stuck in Ryuji’s mind as he turned his attention to the only other sapphire-haired girl he had ever known.

Ami Kawashima was pouting, rubbing at her waist through the fabric of her gym uniform. Her body bounced up and down beneath the tightness, jiggling inside like a jar stuffed with jelly. She rolled up the shirt to show some light white marks above her hips, and an angry pink pinch from where Taiga had manhandled her.

Ryuuji directed his gaze to her face. She definitely looked bigger now than she had yesterday, especially with her neck tucking back while she looked at herself. The skin of her cheeks looked so soft and rounded, yet with an astoundingly pure complexion. She gnawed on her lip, the slightest little change, when she pushed inwards on her fluff-filled sides.

Compared to the council president, Ami looked like a domesticated cow standing under a angry house cat. Her hair was untrimmed, her body tended only by a garden of sweets, and she wore a heavy, dull expression that made standing around look tiring. While Sumire was sharp and quick, Ami’s movement were sluggishly bovine. From the wobbling gait of her overweight walk to the way she ate. Chewing each mouthful so long, savoring every single bite. ‘Running is for children,’ that’s what she’d said. Ami was never in a hurry to do anything… 

Yet there was a sharpness beneath Ami’s curves, the way her voice seemed to take charge of the conversation or how she just seemed to pull peoples’ attention… even now, he couldn’t help but look at her. Sumire, attractive and beautiful and slim, was standing up on center stage, but Ryuuji couldn’t take his eyes off of Ami. How her sweats clung into her chubby butt cheeks, how her thighs would fight when she walked, or how her belly looked like it wouldn’t even fit into that constrictive garter.

Ami, somehow seeming to feel Ryuuji’s thoughts, glanced over her shoulder. Her violet eyes met his and, again, that connection formed.

Beneath the mask, Ami’s plump lips had a soft, dimpled smile.

Then she noticed that she had flipped up her shirt and, with a bounce that must have been hard on her knees, the blushing girl ripped her shirt back down and spun to the front. Ryuuji felt himself chuckle at the honestly cute action, then looked up ahead.

Directly ahead of him were the hazelnut eyes of a predator. There was a dangerous spark in them, something that screamed at the evolutionary animal inside of Ryuuji to turn and run. 

His feet didn’t move an inch. They wouldn’t respond, as the man’s brain was frozen by the tiger’s death stare.

The animal inside of him prepared to let out an anguished death cry.

“You better have something sweeter than koregusu planned for me, mutt,” Taiga growled though her tooth filled smile.

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The tiger and the piglet led the mutt and the red sun down the empty street. Ryuuji wished for a bit more sunshine, but he was honestly just happy she wasn’t covered in frost. 

It was too hot for that.

The sweltering heat came down from gray clouds was so humid that it was practically mist. It made Ryuuji wish for the spray of the beach, hell he’d even take a sprinkler right now.

Minori and Ami both walked with their hands behind their heads, puffing deeply through the hot, sticky air and sweating like pigs. It was the closest that Ryuuji had ever seen Minori to Ami, both girls grumbling quietly beneath the heavy temperature.

Taiga, meanwhile, seemed mostly unaffected. Not that that made her any more cheerful.

“This is stupid,” Taiga bemoaned, “you’re stupid. How did I let you talk me into this?”

“For once,” Ami said before taking a heavy breath, “I agree with the runt. This is all your fault, Takasu.”

“Oh, come on girls, that’s not how it goes!” Minori said, skipping to the front of the group. She turned, placing her hands on her hips. “Where’s your team spirit?!”

Ryuuji picked himself up from his knee, having just collected an empty plastic shopping back. He placed it in to his third trash bag before swinging it over his shoulder to accompany the filled other two. “Hey, I didn’t want to do this. I have better things to be doing, you know.”

“Like making me dinner,” Taiga said. 

Ami’s belly rumbled for the fourth time this block. “Oh, please don’t mention dinner. I didn’t bring a lunch today,” she held her offending tummy in both her hands.

“You had mine!” Ryuuji complained.

“That doesn’t count!” Ami whined. “I’m starving. Can’t we be done yet?”

“The piglet’s right,” Taiga said, lifting her empty hands up behind her head like the other two girls. 

“Thank yo- hey!”

“Kitamura’s not here, why don’t we go do something else?” Taiga turned, looking to Ryuuji.

Minori, the only other person with a trash bag, crinkled it between her tightening hands. Her face fell into a deep pout before she shuffled up behind Taiga, taking tiny steps like a waddling penguin and drawing out Ryuuji’s protracted smile.

Taiga, still looking at Ryuji, rolled her eyes, “Minorin, come on. This is boring.”

“Cause you and Kawashima are both making me collect all your trash…” Ryuuji mumbled.

Minori made the sound of a sad little dog, her lip jutting out even further. Taiga’s head slowly turned till she could see the deep pout out of the corner her eye before the small girl’s body went limp, her long mane of hair draping over her fully.

“Can’t we, like, go to the market? There’s probably tons of trash over there, and we’re gonna head that way anyways, right?” Ami asked.

Taiga glanced over to her, before her eyes turned back to Ryuuji. “Yeah, let’s do that,” she affirmed. Then, without waiting for the group to decide, she and Ami turned and started lazily walking down the nearby alleyway towards the market.

Ryuuji huffed. Why did he keep getting stuck with the short end of the stick? He never used to have this problem. People just avoided him, or called him creepy, but he didn’t have to do all of this… stuff.

He stood there for a moment just watching them. The short lithe girl and the much… larger lady. Both of them were so strange, he’d never met anyone like either of them. Then again, he didn’t meet many people that didn’t automatically assume he was some sort of thug. 

They were both so different. Even just the way they walked, Taiga’s uncaring brisk pace against Ami’s doughy strut with longer strides, to the way that they looked. Ami looked like her thigh might be as big around as Taiga’s waistline.

And yet, he stood here holding both of their bags while they wandered side by side off towards the market, undoubtedly both with food on their minds.

“It’s nice to see them coming closer,” Minori said softly. 

Ryuuji turned and looked to her. The red sun radiating a soft, warm glow from her smile as she watched the two girls. He looked back, trying to see what she saw.

“They seem like they’re ready to kill each other,” he said, incredulous.

Minori nodded her head. “Yeah. I sorta hope they don’t though. Can you imagine what a battle between those two would look like?” she asked, starting to walk after them.

Ryuuji tried to imagine it. “Like a fist fight?”

Minori shook her head. “A battle,” she repeated. “Just picture it.” 

He pictured that there’d be plenty of sweets.

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Taiga wished it would start raining. She could smell it on the air, the electricity was making the hairs on her neck stand on edge. There were a lot of hairs there.

It was irritating. This whole day was irritating! First she had to give up half her lunch so that dumbass wouldn’t frikin starve, and now Kitamura had gone off with the wrong group. 

How dense could the guy be? He couldn’t actually…

Taiga bit her lip, the thought of how he’d whispered to himself while that tall blue ogre stood before them all, yapping her mouth through that stupid loud megaphone. 

What did he mean by, “She sure is something?!” Sumire? She was a dog! A frikin chihuahua!  All she was was surely annoying!

“God, how much longer? I’m starving,” Ami whined.

Taiga’s eyes narrowed, her glare casting to the side. She could see the curvature of Ami’s stomach, her meaty breasts sitting atop of it. Heck, even this tall blue marshmallow was better than that stupid ogre woman. Although the marshmallow was stupid too. 

Why is everyone so stupid?

Are we almost to this stupid market? I’m starving!

Taiga felt her belly grovel, a small, high noise that pierced the lull of everyone’s marching feet. Without a moment’s hesitation, she turned and poked Ami’s tummy.

“Does your stomach ever stop growling? No wonder you’re such a little pig,” she chided.

Ami’s cheeks went pink, her tummy jiggling from the impact. She batted at Taiga’s finger. “Hey, watch it you little shrimp!”

“Why, what are you gonna do? Sit on me?”

“Maybe,” Ami seemed to seriously consider it, her chubby chin folding as she scowled downward.

Taiga’s grin sharpened. “Try it, you frikin cow. I bet you’re all rumble and no bite.”

Ami’s cheeks turned redder. “Would you cut it out? I’m hungry, besides that wasn’t even me. You’re probably hungry too, aren’t you? You ate less than I did!”

“Our whole group ate less than you put away.”

“Girls! Ladies! Friends! Romans!” Minori said, popping up in between the two. “I’ll take the blame. My belly’s always rumbling. I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse! Or maybe a whole cow!!” she giggled.

“Hear that, Ami? Minorin is gonna take a big bite outta ya,” Taiga sniggered.

Ami, though, had apparently grown distracted as her stomach actually did growl this time. “Oh, I would die for some beef right now…” she moaned.

Ryuuji spoke up from the back of the group, “Well, I can always cook something into the noodles. There’s a few shops we can go by at the market. It’s just around the corner.”

“Thanks flight attendant, I know where we are!” Taiga said. She dashed off ahead at a quickened step, her left hand tracing over the wall before she turned round its sharp edge.

The Hachinomori Market was really more just a street. A length of road ran down for two blocks with small stalls set up, and a handful of stores were carved into little hole-in-the-wall areas. It’d always been a popular place, and some bigger companies, like Sumo Sushi, had recently moved into small storefront sections. But even these made an effort within the small community to beautify the spot and make the area attractive. A number of flowerbeds marked the many windows, while potted plants hung from overhead posts.

Not that Taiga cared about any of that. She was too busy taking deep breath, smelling the familiar scent of open-market food roasting in the air. It made her shoulders slump and a smile fill out her face. It smelled tasty, and she was hungry. She opened her eyes after catching a scent, taking in the market at large. 

It was pretty quiet today. Not too many people walking about. Probably due to the impending rain. Hachinomori always got stupid humid, and it was too early for the ice cream karts to be strolling around. It was too uncomfortable, not to mention the impending spring shower. Hanging around was anything but enticing.

But the food made it worth it.

Taiga suddenly found herself surrounded by giants as Ami and Minori brushed against her shoulders. “Oooooh,” they both moaned, their noses flicking up and down as they took in the scent of freshly grilled meet. Taiga felt her shoulder jive against Minori’s quaking belly, felt her elbow dig into Ami’s rumbling gut.

“Gah!!” she staggered forwards, smothered between the girls' queer sensation. Both girls followed, pushing her in tighter, while neither seemed to notice she was even there. “Come on,” Taiga grumbled, wrapping her arms behind and pulling them both forwards. She checked that Ryuuji was still with them, giving his amused smirk a glowering stare. “Let’s go get these noodles.”

The group headed down the street.

“Good evening, Kushieda!” bade a woman that was packing up her wares. Taiga spotted several small trinkets, each obviously hand carved.

“Oh! Hi Mrs. Tagashi!”

“Hey! Kushieda!” a man waved from inside another shop, this one with several books laid about.

“Howdy, Mr. Kettei!” came the bubbly reply.

“Are you friends with everyone here?” Ryuuji asked.

Minori hummed, “Not everyone, but I’ve worked a few different stores. Besides, I really only know the people I shop with all the time. They just know my last name cause I’m always stopping by.”

Another voice shouted out as they passed a shop that smelled particularly tasty. “Hey! Ami!” came a woman’s greeting.

Ami yelped before ducking down, trying to hide her massive bulk behind Taiga’s tiny frame. “Crap crap crap noooo not now.”

Taiga looked over into the store. A hefty young lady was waving towards their group as they passed. She gestured towards her wares in the display cases bellow. “Your frequent buyer’s cards gotta be coming up soon! Wanna earn your freebie tonight?” Taiga looked at the display. About three dozen frosting covered pastries shown beneath the glass, from chocolates to brownies, to cream-packed doughnuts.

Very slowly, she turned her gaze onto the crouching blue doughnut.

They locked eyes.

Taiga grinned.

Ami’s sweat had quickened as she bounced up to her feet, causing her gym shirt to ride up past her navel again. “N-not today, Raiko!” 

“Okay!” Raiko waved a pleasant plump arm. “See you tomorrow!”

The group passed out of sight of the large woman’s stall. Taiga was still staring up into Ami, who gave herself a double chin as she nervously giggled. “It’s on my way to school, I can’t not get breakfast.”

“Aren’t you neighbors with Kitamura?” Ryuuji asked.

“Y-yeah?”

“He lives just two blocks from me… On the other side of school.”

“Eheh, uhh, aren’t we here for something specific?! Those noodles or spice or whatever?” Ami diverted.

Ryuuji perked his lips, turning and nodding towards the spice shop. “I’ve got the sobba noodles already. We just need koregusu.”

Taiga filled the interaction away for later. Maybe she’d have to make a stop by Raiko’s doughnut shop before class someday. See if she could place a special order…

Just then, a pair of girls came walking out of a beauty shop across the street. Both wore Ohashi High School uniforms, and after a moment Taiga recognized them as her classmates, Maya and Nanako.

The two girls looked up from their conversation. Nanako’s eyes went wide in surprise, but Maya was first to react. “Ami? Kushieda? And Aisaka too. What are you all doing here?”

“Hey, Takasu, good to see you,” mumbled Ryuuji to himself from the back of the group. “I’m gonna go get the spices,” he said much louder.

“Hey ‘Takasu’,” Taiga mimed his bitter tone, “don’t forget the sweet stuff too!”

“I already made your sauce last night,” he called back without looking over his shoulder. He dumped the trash bags into a nearby bin, closing it a little too forcefully.

Taiga frowned. The heck was he so bitter about? It’s not like she didn’t acknowledge him.

Ami, meanwhile, had engaged the others in conversation, telling them of what they’d been doing. 

“Oh,” Nanako hummed, one colorful brow raised in a speculative expression. “I wouldn’t have thought someone like you’d do public service.”

Ami rubbed at her neck, “Yup, that’s me. I’m always willing to help others.”

Taiga came up behind her and tugged her shirt down to cover her belly fat. “Oh, can it, piglet,” she said, “You’d be ready to bolt if we weren’t heading to dinner after this.”

Nobody said anything for a second, though Taiga noticed Maya and Nanako exchanged a glance as she came around Ami’s bulk. Ami now held the sides of her shirt, tugging it down herself.

“Or waddle,” Taiga probed for a reaction.

Before Ami could satisfy her, Maya cleared her throat. “Actually, we were just about to stop at the McDonald’s down on the market’s end. Would you guys like to join us?”

Taiga turned, squinting her eye at the orange-haired girl. “I just said we were about to head to dinner. Are you deaf?”

Maya turned from Ami to Taiga before visibly dismissing her and turning back to Ami. “Come on, I’m sure a couple hard workers like you girls could at least go for a snack. Just to tide you over.”

“Excuse me, you-” Taiga suddenly felt a sharp tension on her shoulder as a hand clamped over it. She turned, preparing a viper’s bite for what had to be Ami’s hand, but halted herself when she saw Minori’s wide pink-colored eyes.

“J-just a snack,” the girl pleaded shakily, her eyes boring a hole into Taiga. Almost all of Minori quavered as a piercing tummy quailed aloud. It reminded the tiger of her own stomach, which was overworked and underfed. 

She glanced over Minori’s shoulder as Ryuuji exited the store, a bitter look on his face. He looked upset, and Taiga noticed he was also empty handed. Her brain worked quickly before she turned back to Minori.

“Just a snack,” she nodded.

“Yay!” shouted three of the five girls. Taiga, surrounded by a field of hopping giants and moving bodies, felt herself get uncomfortably still. Then she noticed Nanako and her evil-looking grin. 

Her classmate was playing with her long purple hair as she watched Ami bounce. The sapphire and the garnet had linked arms, hopping up and down and exposing Ami further. 

That stupid piglet, she was making a scene! “Alright alright, quit it you two!!” Taiga ordered. She snatched Ami’s shirt and pulled it back down. “Would you get some better clothes already?”

Ami didn’t even seem to hear her. “Oh, wow. This is so lucky,” she turned to Maya. “I was just thinking about beef earlier.”

They pack of ladies began moving forward, led by Ami and Minori’s obvious hunger.

Taiga, meanwhile, headed back and grabbed Ryuuji by the wrist before turning. “Come on, we gotta get moving!” she said, dragging him along.

“Hey, watch your nails!” he protested.

“If we don’t get there, that pig’s gonna make them run out of meat!” She loosened her grip, merely tugging him along rather than ripping him apart, though she still scampered after the group, her tummy wanting for something nice and sweet.

“That store’s too expensive,” Ryuuji complained to her. “I could make that stuff myself in a week.”

Taiga glanced over her shoulder. His eyes were off to the side, uncomfortable. With her suspicions confirmed, Taiga let herself feel better. She could fix everything. 

Just after snacks. 

“Don’t worry about that! We can figure out dinner later!!” She pulled harder, making him bleat another protest before quickening their pace into a juvenile run.

They caught up to the group, racing past a candy shop that was so new that they were still decorating. Even in a rush, Taiga felt her eyes glance up at the logo of a large chocolate colored top hat. She quickly decided that she’d need to come back here with Ryuuji when they opened. Maybe Minorin and Ami would like to come too. 

She rushed up the side of the group, releasing her hold on Ryuuji, and settled herself in front, her speed quickly falling back to the group’s walking pace. She then felt the increasingly familiar, and very unwelcome, sensation of Ami and Minori quickly overtaking her on either side. Her peripheral vision became filled with red thread.

“Oh, hey Takasu,” said Nanako. “I didn’t think you’d be joining us.”

Taiga glanced to the side, peering around Ami’s belly. Nanako was leaning backwards, thereby blocked by the large pale doughball that was Ami Kawashima, but Maya had her eyes lasered in on Ami's gut. Maya apparently noticed Taiga’s gaze, shifting to meet it with her own. She had been sneering, though now she had an eyebrow raised. It made Taiga’s eyes darken. 

Who the hell did she think she was, sneering at her? 

She was about to interject when a large glob of drool fell past her face. She turned up to see Minorin had moved, and was now hovering over the shoulder between her and Ami. The girl's red hair outshined the overcast daylight, and a sudden beartrap clamped down on Taiga's waist, clutching the tiger into a sideways hug. Taiga made a confused sound that she heard Ami echo as both girls were pulled into the vice of the trap, forced to keep in step with Minori's excited pace.

They approached the sign for McDonalds while Minori began to pine like a reverant cult member. “The golden arches, the lords above send down their scent so we mere mortals may take a bite of ambrosia.” 

Taiga’s hungry nose began to pick up whiffs of the fast food, but she maintained control. “Would you get off?!” Taiga shouted, pulling at Minori’s arm. “It’s just a damn burger!”

Minori looked down at her and let go, looking startled. She then looked over to her other side, where Ami slumped into her hold, her fat gut flubbing around Minori's handhold. She was drooling, violet eyes sparkling as she chanted in line with Minori’s worship. “The burgers, the fries, and so many pies.”

At the mention of pie, Minori’s eyes glazed over once more before she leaned into Ami. Taiga heard their stomachs growl in unison, watched their strides lengthen. “Apple... piiiie…” A trickle of drool was dripping down her chin.

Maya and Nanako, meanwhile, simply looked confused. They were quick to follow, scampering in their hungry girls' wobbling wake. Ami and Minori entered the restaurant, belly first, each girl moaning like a piggy in heat.

The small girl looked over to Ryuuji, who raised his hands, “Actually, I was gonna get a chicken sandwich.”

She snorted, trying not to laugh at his goofy-but-honest expression. She could smell the salty French fries on the air, and her own tummy hopped in anticipation. “Your loss,” she shrugged, and headed inside.

“I must be missing something pretty big. Just listening to you is making me hungry.”