Another commission for  sumo-griz, a continuation of Mushu getting big, this time of a more soft power expansion. This is going to be something of a series, so look out for more!

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Mushu, Mulan, et al © Didney
Story © c'est moi

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A truly impressive specimen was lounging in the gardens just outside the Ancestral Shrine of the Fa family estate; though perhaps a bit short, the dragon made up for it in width. The now revered guardian of Fa Mulan, Mushu, had grown into a juggernaut. Yellow scales rippled over a vast, meaty chest shaped like a pair of stone slabs, his long, winding torso lined with diamond-cut abs. His arms were roped with thick, bulging muscles that rippled as red, shining scales warped around them. Smirking as his bicep swelled just by raising another potsticker to his mouth, he snapped his fingers, raising up an empty cup.

“Hey! I’m out of tea, here. How’s the great stone dragon supposed to be on top of his game if he can’t stay refreshed?” Mushu looked over his mountainous shoulder, having to tilt his head to peek over his own brawn, his long whiskers tickling the crest of his pecs.

The sagacious and fully bearded First Ancestor of the Fa family appeared, rapping his staff on the stone floor of the shrine. “Mushu, we have allowed you to be the new Great Stone Dragon, but that does not make us your servants, and- agh!”

Mushu reached up, gripping the First Ancestor’s beard and yanking down, flexing his powerful arm and bouncing his pecs, which heaved against his chin, when he and the spirit were face to face. “I made one mistake in one thousand years, and you and every other ancestor wouldn’t let me live it down ‘til I helped Mulan save all China. I rang that gong through five dynasties, so I think you can do me the small favor of pouring me some tea.” He gripped tighter, his other bicep jostling his meaty flank as he held up his cup. “So, waddya say?”

The First Ancestor rolled his eyes, summoning more tea for the dragon, and was at last released. “Arrogance does not befit a guardian of the Fa family.”

Mushu smirked, sipping his tea. “It’s not arrogance if I’m just being true to myself, right?”

The First Ancestor sighed deeply. “We’ll see how ‘true to yourself’ you are when Mulan marries into the Li family.”

“I-” Mushu looked up, jumping to his feet. “Wait, what?”

The spirit of the Fa Family grinned, stroking his beard. “Surely you’ve not been so wrapped up admiring your own muscle to realize that Mulan is to marry Shang, no? The Li family is an ancient and respected family, a military family, with ancestors that have served China since the beginning. Their guardian spirits are fierce, strong, and, well… they may not be as impressed with you as you are.”

“Hey, just let ‘em see me!” Mushu protested, pumping up his arms. “I’m the biggest, baddest guardian in China, and I-”

“Mushu?”

The dragon spun around, and gave a broad smile when he spotted Mulan. His current charge, the newest hero of China, had spent a year at home, recovering from her campaign to save the empire. Her eyes widened, and her smile faltered when she saw her guardian dragon. “Mushu? What happened to you?”

“Pretty nice, right?” Mushu flexed his arm again. “Now, I’m twice- no, three times the guardian! Fitting for China’s greatest hero, right?”

Mulan brushed back her long black hair. “I don’t understand. How’d you get so big?”

“Oh, you know. Been taking care of myself, tai-chi, that sort of thing.” Mushu looked at Mulan uncertainly. “But I look good, right?”

Mulan chuckled a bit. “I- I think so, yeah. You’ll be a match for any Hun army now, right?”

“You know it.” Mushu lost himself as he flexed again, his bulging flanks flaring out like the wings he always wished he had. “But you and Shang, right? You sure he’s the man for you?”

Mulan smirked. “I’m sure. But, I just came to say goodbye. If Shang and I are going to marry, we need to go through the usual ceremonies- and, uh, if the matchmaker’s going to be involved, well… she probably hasn’t forgotten what happened the last time I visited her home. It’ll take a few days in town to win her over.”

“Hey, you take all the time you need. Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen here with me on the job.”

The young heroine chuckled. “Somehow, that doesn’t have me entirely convinced. But just try not to outgrow the estate, alright? I’ll still want to know exactly what you did to get that size. Last thing I need with a wedding coming up is a surprise, alright, Mushu?” She bent down, patting his mane.

“Yeah, yeah. Now get outta here, or I’ll start to think you don’t trust me,” Mushu smirked, waving her off.

The rest of the day passed in general quiet. A little too quiet; with nothing to do, Mushu was quickly getting bored. He was about to go back and sulk in the shrine when, just as he lumbered past the estate’s koi pond, he picked up a scent. He frowned; it was another spirit. One that didn’t belong to the Fa family. Rolling his broad shoulders, Mushu followed the scent to a secluded area of the Fa estate, covered in a bamboo grove. There, crouching amongst the brush, was an intimidating figure. It was tall and lean, with cloven hooves burning in magical fire, a black body, and a horse’s skull for a face, wreathed in flame.

“Horse demon!” Mushu snarled, palming his fist as his biceps grinded against his pumped chest. “You picked the wrong family to haunt!”

“Peace, dragon,” the horse demon said. “I am a messenger, bearing a gift from an admirer.”

“An admirer?” Mushu scoffed. “Look at me, I got loads of them. You gonna be a bit more specific?”

“My master wishes to give a token of his admiration.” The Horse demon presented a basket to Mushu, and the dragon’s eyes bulged as he saw the most succulent, juicy peaches he had ever seen. “Peaches of Heaven.”

“Where’d you get those?” Mushu looked up at the horse demon. “Just who is your master?”

The Horse demon held up his hand. “I will answer one question, and one alone. I have been instructed to come every day, then you may ask another question each day.”

“Hold on, this is shadier than a cherry tree orchard. Why can I-”

“Choose your words carefully, dragon!” the demon snapped, his fiery mane flaring until it scorched the top leaves of bamboo stalks surrounding them. “If you are to receive this gift, you must promise. Your word is binding; one question, and one question alone.”

The dragon tapped his foot, glaring at the demon. His curiosity in what a Peach of Heaven tasted like, however, won out. “Alright, I promise.” He paused, choosing his question carefully. “Now answer me. How’d a horse demon- or its master- get Peaches of Heaven? That’s supposed to be the most amazing food in the spirit world.”

“My master is a man that reveres the spirit world. He has spoken with, and served, spirits great and old. He has earned an orchard’s worth of peaches for his service,” the Horse demon recited. “Enjoy your gift, dragon.” Without another word, the spirit creature disappeared in a great blaze; when Mushu opened his eyes again, the peaches remained, pristine and tempting.

The dragon needed no more prompting; it was one of the greatest privileges for a spirit to indulge in Peaches from the Jade Emperor’s own orchards. They promised immortality to mortals, but for a spirit, they were a delicacy without compare. He snapped one up, and nearly fell on his wide back from the overwhelming sweetness of the fruit.

“Sweet Ancestors,” he gasped, quickly taking another huge chomp out of the peach. “Where has this been all my life?” He smirked as he polished off the fruit. “Yeah, this is food worthy of the greatest guardian spirit in China.”

The dragon rolled his mountainous shoulders, those huge traps pressing up against his cheeks before he dived for his prize, tearing through the basket. The taste of the Heavenly Peaches was incomparable in its sweetness; it was said to be a harbinger of prosperity and great fortune, but the taste alone was as sweet as the first drops of water to a man dying of thirst. Mushu tore the basket apart with his powerful arms by the end, leaving nothing but the pits.

“Man…” he sighed contentedly, leaning against the bamboo and patting his middle, his thick abs slightly curved from the several peaches he had just consumed. “If he’s coming every day, I could get used to this…”

The next morning, Mushu was already impatiently waiting in the secluded bamboo grove, having slipped out before any of the Ancestors could figure out where he was; the last thing he wanted was the prospect of sharing his new treat. Pumping his thick arms, he was getting particularly hungry by the time the horse demon appeared. The scent of the peaches made the dragon’s whiskers flutter with anticipation.

“So… I still get to ask a question, right?” Mushu asked.

The fiery demon nodded, his face stoic.

“Alright,” Mushu quickly snatched up a peach, his pecs bouncing as he bit into the fruit. “Just why is your master so willing to give away his peaches? He could just sell ‘em and live better than the Emperor.”

“He owes you a great debt of gratitude, dragon,” the demon responded.

“Oh yeah? What debt’s that? It’s not like he owes me money.” Mushu paused to roll his mountainous shoulders and crossed his arms, biceps digging into his chest. “I’d know who he was if he did.”

The demon snarled, the flames soon consuming his body. “Is the Fa family guardian so quick to break his word? You were to ask one question! One!” The horse-like creature was engulfed in flame. “Remember your promise, or my master will not deign to share his treasures with the likes of you!” With that final warning, the demon disappeared.

“Pfft,” Mushu scoffed, immediately digging into the basket, a peach in each hand. “Maybe I don’t want anymore.” He had already finished the two peaches in his hand, and was digging through the basket again. “These Peaches aren’t all that.” His words rang a bit hollow when, a few minutes later, the basket was once again empty. Looking first at the empty basket, then peering over his chest where there was a small mountain of peach pits, Mushu growled softly to himself before lumbering off.

The day after, Mushu returned to the grove, but after hours of waiting, he realized the horse demon wasn’t coming. Feeling hungry and in a sour mood, Mushu left empty handed and sulked in the ancestral shrine.

“Oh dear,” the First Ancestor’s voice floated over to the dragon, his form materializing before Mushu’s eyes. “You seem more insufferable than usual.”

“Hey, don’t mess with me today, a, uh… friend blew me off, alright?”

The First Ancestor arched his brow. “You have a friend?”

Mushu swiped at the spirit, tensing his powerful arms. “I said don’t mess with me!”

“Very well, I won’t kick you while you’re down,” the First Ancestor raised his hands. “You have a… familiar scent about you, however.” He narrowed his eyes. “I can’t put my finger on it, but it seems imminently familiar… fruit?”

“It’s, uh, a new shampoo,” Mushu said quickly, darting his eyes.

The First Ancestor stroked his beard. He didn’t seem convinced. “Very well. Will you perhaps exercise, then?”

Mushu jumped up, snarling as he pumped his arms and flexed, biceps swelling in size. “Do I look like I need to exercise?”

The First Ancestor’s arched brow reached new heights. Mushu was still an immensely impressive specimen, with a mighty build and powerful, massive muscles, but there was a subtle difference. Whatever he had been eating these past few days had made a profound impact; already, his long middle was smooth again; doubtless, still hard as stone, but where just a few days ago there had been diamond cut abs, there was now a substantial bulge. “No,” the spirit finally said. “I suppose you would know best.”

“That’s right,” Mushu lumbered away, ranting to himself. “Think you can tell me how to keep in shape- only shape you’ve ever been for the past five dynasties is a circle.”

The First Ancestor watched Mushu from afar, slowly shaking his head and saying a silent prayer for the future of the Fa family.

The days that followed did little to improve Mushu’s mood; three days straight, the horse demon never appeared, leaving Mushu feeling hungrier and hungrier with each passing day. He rooted through the Fa family’s larder, but nothing could come close to comparing to the taste of the Heavenly Peaches. By the fourth day, Mushu was just about ready to hunt down the horse demon and turn him into demonic glue when, one last time, he travelled to the bamboo grove and waited, pacing and kicking at any unfortunate pebble in his path.

“You have been waiting.”

Mushu spun on the spot, and in that moment, he would never be happier to see a demon. The horse demon stood there with a basket overflowing with peaches, his fiery body seeming just a bit bigger than before. He stood there, silent, his hollow eyes boring into the dragon.

“So…” Mushu clapped once, bouncing his chest. “I, uh, take it you’re waiting for an apology.” His eyes were drifting between the demon and his prize.

The horse demon nodded once, remaining silent.

Mushu sighed, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Fine. I’m… sorry that I asked too many questions. If I upset your master, then I apologize.” There was another awkward pause, and Mushu’s hand slowly drifted towards the peach basket. “So, we’re good, right…?”

The demon snatched the basket away. “My master is willing to return his gift to you, on the condition that you ask no more questions.”

“Oh, hey, that’s absolutely fine with me,” Mushu instantly grinned. “I’m just happy to receive the, uh. Sentiments from a fan.”

The horse demon nodded, and dropped the peach basket at his feet. “If you break this contract, you will never taste of these peaches again.”

“No problem, I’m a dragon of my word,” Mushu declared. The horse demon gave him a long look, and the dragon rolled his eyes. “Most of the time. Happy?”

The demon disappeared without another word. Mushu immediately smiled wide, and lunged at the basket, biting deep into the first peach he could wrap his fingers around, sighing with deep relief when that intoxicatingly sweet taste hit his tongue.

“Oh, baby,” Mushu groaned in delight, snatching up another peach and rubbing it against his scaly pecs. “Let’s never be apart again,” he crowed, gobbling up his prize. The rest of his day was spent in glee, eating up the peaches and lounging in the shade of the bamboo grove.

A week past, and each day quickly fell into a predictable pattern. Every morning, Mushu would travel to the grove and wait for the demon, and then, true to his word, the dragon asked nothing as another basket overflowing with that divine fruit was dropped at his feet. For about an hour, he would devour the peaches, so quick to chomp into them he would swallow the pits whole. After his binge, he would lean back, slits of sunlight streaming through the bamboo stalks and warming his full belly, and nap most of the day away.

As this new routine continued, the ancestors in the shrine were beginning to notice Mushu’s absence. While they wouldn’t admit they missed him, the fact that the family guardian seemed to have disappeared, and the entire Fa family had not yet come back, was starting to put them on edge. When an entire week had past, the collected spirits of the Fa ancestors breathed a sigh of relief when Mushu summoned them by ringing the gong.

“Ah, Mushu,” the First Ancestor stretched, taking in a deep breath as the ancestors woke up. “We were beginning to think something…” the spirit immediately frowned. “...Happened to you.”

The dragon before them was even larger than they had grown accustomed to, but Mushu was noticeably softer. While his arms and chest still seemed strong and powerful, much of their definition had seeped away. He moved with a slow, lumbering gait, and his torso was now thick and round, quickly in danger of becoming wider than it was long, and soft to the touch.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mushu waved them off. “Sorry, I been busy, okay? In fact, I just finished off a very-” the dragon cut off immediately, and unleashed a loud belch, “Important meeting… alright?”

“What was this meeting, four, five, or six courses?” the First Ancestor quipped. “Have you never exercised in all this time, Mushu? I thought you were going to be the next Great Stone Dragon,” he smirked.

“I am absolutely the Great Stone Dragon!” Mushu countered, flexing his arms. His biceps came up at an impressive degree, but they had lost a noticeable degree of their luster. “Don’t see none of you able to pull it off better than me!”

“I will not presume to judge family guardians,” another Ancestor with a discerning eye began, “but shouldn’t the guardian spirit of Mulan be in better…” his question drifted off as he sniffed the air. “Is that… is that the scent of the Peaches of Heaven?”

There was an excited murmuring that quickly spread to all the Ancestor spirits. “Mushu,” the First Ancestor crossed his arm, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at the thickened dragon. “Have you been indulging in Peaches of Heaven?”

“No!” Mushu shot back quickly. “...I only had a few.” He looked across the shrine, at several shocked faces plastered across the Ancestors. “I don’t have to explain my diet to you bunch of stiffs! None of you have eaten for centuries!”

“The Peaches of Heaven are from the Jade Emperor’s private orchards,” the First Ancestor said. “Mushu, what did you do?”

“I didn’t steal them! They were gifts from an admirer. You know. Because I’m a hero?” the dragon snarled.

A scholarly Ancestor quickly summoned up a scroll. “The Peaches of Heaven are the most indulgent fruit ever made! They grant immortality to mortals, but to a spirit, they are nothing short of decadent. Even so, you would have had to consume dozens to see these type of results!”

“Just who is this admirer, Mushu?” the First Ancestor asked.

“I-” the dragon blustered. “I don’t need to tell you! That’s… an invasion of privacy!”

“But the Peaches of Heaven-”

Mushu waved off the ancestor, stomping out of the shrine. “Man, screw all of you guys! I’ll eat what I want, where I want! I’m the Great Stone Dragon!” Huffing to himself, Mushu lumbered across the grounds of the family estate. He wasn’t going to listen to those bunch of old fogies; when was the last time any of them had saved China? He just wanted to wait for tomorrow. Some Heavenly Peaches would take the edge off of this.

As more time passed, the dragon found less and less reason or will to travel to the shrine; the Ancestors were just going to bring him down. They were obviously just jealous they couldn’t get their hands on such a treat. Whatever was going on, another Heavenly Peach would make anything that was going better for Mushu. As the days wore on, something was nagging at the back of his head; there was something he should be worried about, almost like there was something that he forgot. It was unsettling, but Mushu was soon able to shrug it off with another bite of peach.

He soon lost count of days that must have past; when the horse demon showed up, the fiery creature had to prod Mushu awake.

“You slept here?” the demon asked. The pile of peach pits left in the grove had grown to a staggering height and size, a small mountain that was quickly rising as tall as the bamboo stalks.

Mushu yawned, stretching his thick arms over his head. “Hey, it’s nice out here,” he mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. The dragon was moving around less and less these days, and if he had to be somewhere, why not in a nice, pleasant garden where he would get the sweetest fruit in existence on a daily basis?

The horse demon grunted; he was looming large over the dragon, his fiery mane brighter, his blackened limbs stronger and thicker with a harder, wider torso. This was in stark contrast to Mushu, who was, indeed, wider, but it was all soft, squishy flab. There were doubtless strong, powerful muscles still packed on his frame, but it was all buried under a soft, heavy layer of fat, dominated by a massive gut with the shape and density of a cannonball, ballooning out across his long torso, stretching out his yellow scales to their greatest extent. His stubby legs had grown wider than they were tall, it seemed, and his arms wobbled with blubber with every movement. When the horse demon dropped the peaches at Mushu’s feet, his rounded face billowed with chubby cheeks; he struggled to sit up, his belly squishing against his large, doughy chest, resting against his hill of a stomach like sacks of flour. Gasping from exertion, Mushu at last grabbed a peach, and took a huge chump out of it.

“Ah, that’s better,” Mushu sighed, leaning back and patting his belly.

“I have a message from my master,” the horse demon announced.

“Oh yeah?” Mushu huffed as he sat up again; he couldn’t see the demon over the crest of his own spherical middle. “What’s my biggest fan got for me?”

“My master wishes to extend his gratitude; you have upheld your promise, and your patience shall be rewarded,” the creature said.

“Yeah?” Mushu perked up, polishing off his second peach. “He’s got more peaches for me?”

“No,” the demon said flatly. “My master is ready to reveal himself to you; his name is Shan Modu, Lord of the Huns.”

“The- the Huns?” Mushu shot up faster than his current size could allow, causing a great amount of jiggling up and down his blubbery frame. “Why is a Hun sending me gifts?”

“Shan Modu wanted to thank you, great dragon, for allowing him to ascend to the peak of Hun society. His brother was Shan Yu, and he could not have achieved his status with his brother in the way.”

The color slowly drained out of Mushu’s face. “Sh-shan Yu? But- but my girl Mulan took him out!”

The horse demon nodded. “Precisely. That is why Shan Modu will be paying a visit to Fa Mulan to show his gratitude in person.” The burly demon stomped over, pinning Mushu back to the ground by pressing down on his belly, his flaming hand sinking in deep to the dragon’s lard. “Enjoy the peaches.”

Mushu was left shocked in silence, his eyes wide with terror and his mouth left wide open as the demon disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Oooh no…” He huffed and puffed, exerting all his strength to raise himself up on his stubby legs, thighs rolling off each other as he steadied himself, his belly eclipsing everything as it sank down to his knees. He took a few waddling steps as fast as he could. “Ancestors!” He wheezed, trying to go faster. “Ancestors, we got a- oof!” The rotund dragon tripped on a stone, and fell belly-first. Kicking his fatty legs in the air, he felt his balance tipping downwards. “Aw, no…” he muttered, as his belly began sloshing to the side, and his whole, spherical frame began picking up speed. He was rolling down the slope, almost bouncing along the way. Like a snowball rolling down the mountainside, he was slipping down the grounds of the Fa estate and rolled straight into the shrine, smashing into the gong that summoned the ancestors.

As the spirits appeared, Mushu was left on his back, pinned down by his own weight, his dome-like belly looming over him, cutting off his line of sight from most of the ancestors. “So…” Mushu chuckled nervously. “Ancestors. What were you saying about Heavenly Peaches…? This is all just bloat, right?”