Finally, with college taken care of and summer vacation on the way, I can commence the working on WFP. Got chapter 4 ready and going to work on the fifth chapter.

as usual Naomi belongs to  joe-schmendrik (and credit for him for proofreading)

all characters belong to me

Chapter 4

The six weeks Charlotte had to train for was a grueling ordeal for anyone that had to deal with this for a while. Combined with Kella’s hired trainers, the diet she had to go on and most of her time doing her schoolwork in between training breaks. Luckily for her, her college professors allowed her to complete her assignments and tests as she trained by having Mizuki deliver the assignments to where she was at and back. Now, this very day was going to be interesting for Charlotte.

Mizuki, with a delivery of new homework assignments from Charlotte’s classes, walked up into the foyer. The usual security guided the human to where Charlotte was. The human could hear the sound of physical blows, grunts, and the trainer yelling out at her.

“C’mon, you fat tub of lard,” the trainer yelled. “This is only Level 3, and I know you can push it. Double-time, lardo!”
Mizuki could see Charlotte in a sparring match with one of the Inpachi training dummies while her trainer, a middle-aged black man, who watched the match, going full drill sergeant on the firebird. The human girl could watch that heavy ample body of Charlotte’s take blow after blow while delivering the same back. When the machine lunged a punch, Charlotte grabbed it and threw it across the room, sending it crashing right into the weight rack. Charlotte winced at the sudden destruction she caused.
“Oooh. Oops,” she sheepishly exclaimed as the trainer noticed that Mizuki arrived.
“Alright, you earned your breather,” the trainer said as Charlotte began to head toward a nearby table. Mizuki began to find herself amazed at the avian’s body. What once was lithe and slim before, now stood a bulky firebird that had a wide waist and belly; ample legs, firm but with fat and finally looked a bit fuller. Her gym shorts showed no signs of snugness as it rode up her butt. Even Mizuki was puzzled.

“How do those clothes work?”, Mizuki asked. "I know you outgrew your school uniform three weeks ago, but I've always seen you in those workout clothes. How do your clothes not even chaff or slip every time you work out?"

Charlotte, who was starting on a specially made bento meal, replied to the human, “Oh these? Kella had them specifically tailored so that I don’t wear them out, get any rash or have awkward moments of it riding up my butt.” She smiled a bit. “It’s like it was literally tailored to my body”

“And spared no expense for that indeed,” replied the feline’s voice as she headed toward Charlotte’s trainer. “How did the training go?”
"Stellar, as usual, Miss Elise," the trainer answered with a commanding smile. "That girl can sure knock out the training dummies!"

“Good, I got a lot on her to win for tomorrow,” Kella explained “After all; the preliminaries will have her competing against every woman in Kansai. So, I need to make absolutely certain she is ready.”

“Well, there’s the damaged dummy over there,” Mizuki said, pointing to the damaged machine.
Kella sighed in annoyance. “You do know that’s the third one you wrecked, Charlotte. It’s getting expensive to replace those things.”

“Yeah, um, sorry about that,” Charlotte smiled sheepishly as she felt pretty embarrassed over breaking her expensive robots. “I guess I don’t know my own strength.”

“No need to apologize, Charlotte,” Kella said. “Just don’t try to break any more dummies, okay? Oh, and by the way, I got your new outfit ready for the competition.”

The firebird's eyes beamed as she heard the news on her outfit. She was wondering how Kella managed to get her outfit to work. “May I try it on?”

“Certainly," said Kella. "You shall find it in your room. I want to know how it fits. In addition, I have ensured your information can be updated. Anyway, try your costume on and see how it fits."

Charlotte beckoned Mizuki over. She knew she would need some help getting dressed. But, she also wanted to keep up to date with events outside her training. Once they arrived in Charlotte’s new room, which was quite vast and seemed a bit more modern than the old room she lived in. She began to undress, inspecting her form. Luckily, Kella helped her acquire underwear and panties of adequate size for her current frame.

“Well, at least you got a pair of underwear that fits you,” Mizuki stated.

“Kella helped me with that big-time,” Charlotte said, "Clothing, education, food, and boarding." She began to put on her shorts, which managed to fit those hefty legs and lower belly easily without feeling tight. "So, what's been going on at school?"
"For starters, some professors have canceled class so that everyone can go see the preliminaries. Other than that, I know the WFP Club's going to watch the prelims live, not to mention their president in action."

“I know they’ll watch Suzuka,” Charlotte replied as her eyes narrowed with agitation. “Wait a minute, did you say they’re watching the match in Edion? Why would they do that?”

The human girl blushed a bit, “Well … I did talk about how you were going to participate in the preliminaries and --”

Charlotte’s eyes widened upon hearing that people have heard of her participation, “Does he know?”

“Who?” Mizuki asked.

“Toshi!” Charlotte snapped. “Does Toshi know I'm competing?”

“No. I mean, I didn’t see him. I don’t know if he's into that. Are you worried that he might not find you attractive”

“What?! No! I just don’t --“ She stammered a bit as she went back to getting dressed. “I don’t want to have him see me like this.”

Mizuki was about to give a comment until Charlotte finished putting on her outfit. The uwagi was wide enough to wrap around her body (though, for the time being, she only had her bra underneath). The shitabaki were large enough to fit nicely around Charlotte’s lower half without chaffing or being too snug. She noticed it had a red, double-lined streak down the side. The obi was made of a material similar to elastic, so it lightly hugged around the firebird’s belly without digging in.

“So, how do I look?” Charlotte asked as Mizuki inspected her uniform.
“It’s not bad, but it looks like any other uniform you'd find.”

“Seems like it,” Charlotte returned. “At least, it fits well, just like my workout clothes.”

She left her room. Mizuki began to look around the gym, awestruck as before. Nothing was different, but she would usually read the fighting data the Inapachi dummies downloaded and wondered which level three fighter Charlotte was going to spar with next.
Meanwhile, Charlotte decided to check up where Kella was and show her the uniform. She found the feline was watching the local news, probably figuring out what had been going on around Japan and the world. Kella would turn around to notice Charlotte and her martial arts uniform.

“Ah, excellent. It fits well, does it not?” Kella says with glee.

"It sure does," Charlotte answered. “But, it feels a bit like any run-of-the-mill uniform. I was expecting a --“

“Tut-tut,” Kella hushed. “I know you think it's bland, but that uniform is the based on my earlier designs. Don’t worry, darling. You’ll wear what I designed soon enough. Now come, sit down. I was watching the local sports news.”
Kella beckoned Charlotte over to a nearby chair, which happened to fit her wide form.

“-- So, expect tomorrow to be a bit on the breezy side for those near the Kinai Plains. On a top note, the Women's Fighter Plus Preliminaries will begin tomorrow. Reports from all over the region are showing some impressive turn-outs. From Fukuoka and all the way to Sapporo, the regions are reporting plenty of eager women hoping to make it to the Nationals for their chance to represent Japan in the A ranks. We wish every girl out there the best of luck.”

Charlotte listened to the reporter as she was surprised at the “Record High” reports. She was only at the park a few weeks ago, signing up, and yet she wasn’t expecting that many. She began to have a hint of nervous jitters, while Kella turned her attention back to Charlotte.
The feline knew that look, as she’d seen that many times in her experience with fighters. All she said to Charlotte were these words of encouragement: “Don’t fret. I know you have what it takes to get through the preliminaries.”

Charlotte smiled a bit. Yet, she began to wonder what tomorrow would bring for her as the anchorman began to show archived footage of past battles. Soon, she caught sight of an old archived fight of Naomi’s debut match. Once the news report ended, Charlotte looked at the time, noticing that it was nearly the evening.

“Sheesh. It’s nearly 11 o’clock already?” Charlotte asked herself. “I can’t believe they showed all of that for that long. I best hit the hay”

The feline nodded in agreement, “You do that, darling. I have to do some final checks on the paperwork and your ride for tomorrow. Rest well, I need you up and early tomorrow morning”

******************************************************************************
Morning arrived in the form of an alarm clock whose blaring snapped Charlotte awake. Opening her heavy eyes and shaking the doziness off, she saw she only had thirty minutes to get to her destination. With such short time left, she saw a perfect opportunity to panic as she hastily slipped on her pajamas, before fumbling out of her room. Though Kella saw this, she looked rather patient as she greeted Charlotte.

"Ah, there you are," Kella said. “I was wondering when you were going to wake up.”

“I kinda overslept,” Charlotte replied in slight embarrassment. “I expected the alarm clock to, at least, give me an hour.”

“Don’t worry, darling. I got everything ready during your slumber. Which reminds me: your breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen. Help yourself to it, then get yourself ready and meet me in the foyer. I have arranged a surprise for you.”
Acknowledging, the firebird went to the kitchen to eat her miso soup and a rolled omelet. She was surprised at sat on the table, considering her routine meals were comparably rich in protein. The chef, however, explained that the soup and omelet would ensure high calories but overwhelm her stomach. Without hesitation, Charlotte inhaled her breakfast, slurping her soup and engulfing her omelet. As soon as she finished, she sprinted to the foyer and found Kella, who sat in a wooden bench, reading her book.

"I see you are ready for your ride,” Kella greeted once again with a calm yet enthusiastic smile.

"I sure am! So, are we riding in a limo to the Edion Arena?”

"A limousine?" chortled Kella. "What are you? Some kind of prissy fashionista? No no no, we’re traveling in style.”

She guided the firebird out the front door. Charlotte could see what Kella spoke about: this vehicle was no mere limousine or a bus. It was a long, sturdy vehicle, one-tenth the length of a soccer field.

“Holy hell!” Charlotte exclaimed. “Is that a Hummer?!”

“It certainly is," Kella explained. This is what Naomi used in her travels throughout Japan. It should have all the space you will need, just as it did for her. She made an interesting choice for her vehicle, you see."

The chauffeur opened the door for the two ladies.
“Now come, come, we have to get you to Edion.”
Once Charlotte crawled inside, she knew Kella wasn't kidding. This enormous jeep was designed for someone as big as Naomi, and the firebird felt like a child inside of it. Kella sat on the other side, motioning for the driver to take them to Edion.

A feeling of nervousness and uncertainty came over Charlotte as she scanned through the interior of the stretch Hummer. Kella smiled and only said these words to Charlotte: “Darling, do relax. I know you’ll do well.”

Charlotte smiled back, starting to shake the tension off. She asked Kella, “Did Naomi have snacks in this thing? That breakfast felt pretty light.”

*********************************************************************

Mizuki, who managed to buy herself her ticket to see the preliminaries, found herself missing the bus to Edion. She found herself wheezing in exhaustion as she leaned against the bus-stop sign.

“Great! Just great! I missed the bus,” Mizuki panted. She turned toward a person waiting for the next bus, who simply looked at Mizuki before going back to reading his newspaper.
“It'll be another thirty minutes before the next bus, too. I can’t be late for Charlotte’s preliminaries.”
Alas, all Mizuki could do was sit on the bench and catch her breath. However, just as she thought she would be late, she saw someone driving a scooter. Judging by the uniform this young male human wore, he was a male college student with black hair, slim build and a bit of a clean attitude despite that he had a delinquent’s jacket.

“Hey, Mizuki,” The scooter-riding youth said. “What are you waiting here for?”

“Hi, Toshi,” Mizuki waved. “I missed the bus to Edion, so I’m waiting for the next one. What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Who, me?” Toshi asked. “Well … classes are canceled for the day, and I thought I'd, you know, check out the competition.”

Mizuki sounded surprised as she said, “Wait a second. You want to see the preliminaries, too? I didn’t know you were into the World Fighter Plus.”

Toshi began to blush a bit, for some reason. “Well, you know, Charlotte always kept talking about that tournament. So, I wanted to see what made it so popular besides the combat”.

“Yeah. I'll bet she’s over there, already.” Mizuki said.

“She’s ahead of us?” Toshi asked.

“Oh, you'd be surprised," Mizuki said. “By the way, mind if I get a hitch a ride?”

“Why not?” Toshi replied. Mizuki sat behind on him his scooter and the two of them made their way to the Edion Arena. Mizuki began to wonder how Toshi and Charlotte would react, seeing each other in the same room. She had an awkward feeling that this would lead Charlotte's being pissed off. However, she put that to the back of her mind, for she wanted to see her friend win the preliminaries.

******************************************************************************

Meanwhile, back in the Hummer, Charlotte had been listening to Kella’s story about Naomi's first time starting in the WFP tournament.

"-- So, her own father, Mister Masayuki Hayami, paid for the Hummer, among other things." Kella said to Charlotte “So, that’s how Naomi got this ride to begin with.”

“Besides breaking the axels on your limo?” Charlotte asked with a small chuckle.

"Yes, that, too," Kella said with a smile.

"We are here, Miss Kella," said the driver told Kella.

“And here is where we get off. Let’s get you signed in, Miss Ishizu.”
Once the car was parked, the two got out and headed toward the Edion Arena. She saw several other people who signed up from before, all of them in various races, shapes and heights enter the arena.

“Guess this is it,” Charlotte said to herself as she stepped into the reception hall of the arena. “Time to see if I can make the grade."