Hajime has grown wise to his cousins' war against his waistline, but a real warrior knows how to adapt to his battlefield for ultimate victory- after a good lunch, though. Enjoy, and see the conclusion right away at Big Stories here!

Art by  silver-stag

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Hajime's stoic philosophy and reliance on zen meditation had begun to serve him well in this period of change. He had begun to resent the rapid weight gain he had undergone, the utter destruction of his once chiseled physique, fitted tightly with lean, defined muscle; the body of a samurai. But the Bushido Code was very clear on how the true warrior should face such challenges— he should never be taken by surprise, nor allow the disturbance of his spirit. So, despite the hundreds of pounds that he had packed on through countless feasts brought upon by his pudgy cousins and clan mates, he tried to carry himself with some measure of dignity, and continued to train— he was, at long last, in a fit state to be a sumo wrestler after all, and his cousins encouraged this new approach.

It was still very hard work, as he had become a very large tanuki— the largest in his clan's history, his cousins proudly announced. He had trouble following the forms and stretches sumo wrestlers took to remain limber; were it not the roiling mass of his ponderously huge, wrecking ball of a belly pressing down, it was the sheer width of his keg-sized legs, the shifting of hundreds of blubbery pounds making the act of maintaining balance far more difficult than he had ever dealt with. His entire body was now overly padded with heavy layers of pork, beef, and shrimp-fed mass, from his pillowy chest to the reams hanging off his bloated arms, and yet, there was still a warrior inside keeping up the fight.

"Come on, Haji," one of his cousins teased, performing the leg exercises with far more ease. "Just ten more minutes and we can have a big lunch with all your favorites. I think you're just about ready for your first match."

Hajime grit his teeth. He had grown wise to what his cousins were doing; he was keeping up his training for a very important match. He only hoped the clan was prepared, for their sake— he would not let his honor be mocked like this for much longer, and he was now much bigger than nearly all of his cousins combined. Still, vengeance could wait for after lunch.