"Hrrgh!"

The rough sound of two bodies colliding was heard briefly, followed by a grunt as the two disengaged, both males panting heavily. A large wolf stood opposite a slightly smaller puma, both dressed in judo gi. The wolf's outfit was clearly ill-fitting though, blue fur poking out from a small gap, the gi unable to completely cover a fairly round middle. Sweat streaked through his fur, but he shook it off unconsciously, bringing his arms up again as he stared down his sparring partner. The puma opposite him, smaller and lither, quickly darted in as if to exploit an opening. His paws shot forward, grabbing at the larger wolf's outstretched arm.

"I've got you now, Takuma!"

The puma turned, his back pressed up against his opponent's protruding middle, the captured limb over one of his shoulders. Grunting, he pulled forward, leaning as he attempted a throw. Takuma's weight was shifted onto his toes, the wolf's balance wavering, but his feet would not lift off of the ground. The puma's face was starting to go red as he strained, trying to use his opponent's weight against him for the throw. The problem was that the weight was too much for his smaller frame; he literally could not get his opponent further forward between the soft belly pressed up against his back and the wolf's overall size, and his grip loosened as his breath hissed out.

Takuma took the opening provided to him, grabbing the arm around his wrist and pulling it behind the puma's back. His opponent gasped as he felt the creaking in the joints of his shoulder, especially as the wolf put a bit more pressure on, before finally yielding, raising his free paw to indicate that he submitted. Takuma released the puma, letting him go with a sigh of his own, though his was the slow release of a held breath, a slow relaxation of his body. The wolf ran a paw through his sweat-slicked fur, brushing it back into some semblance of order. He grinned and turned to his sparring partner, holding out his paw.

"That was a good match... you're really quick, and I think you would have gotten me if-"

"I would have won if you weren't such a lardball; I couldn't even get the throw done because you're so fat!"

Takuma paused, stunned by the insult and the snapping, acidic tone that his former opponent used. The puma, on the other hand, departed quickly, leaving the wolf to just stare after him. After a few moments, the lupine lowered his paw and let his gaze fall, feeling suddenly saddened. He scratched at the back of his head, fingers running through his blue fur as he turned to get ready to leave himself. He grabbed his bag from where he had left it against the wall, pausing only long enough to pull a large hooded sweatshirt and a pair of flip-flops from it. The former was tugged over his torso with some difficulty, and even so it left an inch or so of blue fur and belly poking out from beneath it.

Takuma tugged at the sweatshirt again, but it was no use; it fit like it always had, if not a little bit more snugly. With a resigned sigh, the wolf shook his head and slipped his footpaws into the flip-flops, securing them before tossing the bag over his shoulder and heading out from the dojo. It seemed like his clothes were getting much snugger lately, especially around his middle; maybe he had been putting on a little weight. He had been eating a lot recently, though Takuma figured that it was because of all of the working out he had been doing; judo took a lot of energy out of him! He simply ate to keep his body fueled up, and if that added a few inches around his middle it wasn't terrible. So what if his shirts rode up just a little bit? He could get a bigger size.

However, it did bother him that the puma had used his weight so offensively, trying to insult him just because he couldn't find the leverage to throw him. Takuma didn't mind being a little overweight at all; it wasn't that big of a deal, and he rather liked the feeling of eating more than just a small "reasonable" portion; he did like to eat until he was full. But the fact was that it had a negative overtone to it, and others often looked down on those who liked to enjoy themselves just a little bit more than them.

Takuma shook his head, rolling his eyes. He wasn't going to let the puma get to him; it was a stupid reason to be upset. Instead, he was going to enjoy his day, forgetting about the sore loser. There were plenty of things he could do with his day, plenty of ways to have fun. He was almost smiling when he left the dojo that he had visited for the afternoon, his bag over his shoulder and a whistle on his lips. Yeah, he definitely wasn't going to be put down by someone who wouldn't even show a little courtesy just because he couldn't throw him. It just meant that the puma couldn't find a good leverage spot, or he didn't have enough strength, not that Takuma's weight was too much. Heck, he had seen several martial artists far heavier than him get thrown. Yeah, his weight wasn't at fault here.

The wolf nodded to himself as he headed out of the dojo, his mental self-justification increasing with every step that he took. It lasted him all the way out to the end of the block, until it was abruptly interrupted by a loud rumbling sound from his middle. Blinking in surprise, he reached down to pat his belly, a thoughtful look coming over his muzzle as he tried to remember when he had last eaten. Well, he had gotten a nice hearty breakfast that morning, and a big snack right before he left for the dojo for a bit of extra energy. He had been at the dojo for about two hours... so about that. Still his belly rumbled; all that sparring must have really taken some energy if he was already hungry again!

However, Takuma didn't feel like going all the way home just to get something to eat. He was out in the city, so he could probably just stop by a restaurant, fill up, and then go on with his day. The wolf had come all the way out to the city, so he wanted to hang out, see the sights. It wouldn't be hard to find a restaurant either; after all, it [I]was[/I] the city! All he had to do was look around, and he'd see a sign, or some kind of advertisement. In fact, he decided that the first such sign he saw would be the restaurant he went to, unless it was something he wasn't in the mood for. Like Mexican; that just didn't really sit well with his stomach right now.

His eyes darted around as he looked for some sort of restaurant, wondering almost eagerly what he'd be enjoying for his lunch today. Finally, his eyes fell on a sign, sitting right by the dojo. It was advertising a restaurant called Futotta's Sushi Bar, with an all-you-can-eat style of dining at a flat rate. Takuma had to admit that the idea sounded appealing, as well as suitable; judo and sushi were both Japanese after all, so they went together well. Without a moment's further ado, the wolf decided that this was his choice for a meal stop, and that he would get there or die trying! Besides, it couldn't be far; there was even an arrow on the advertisement pointing in the direction of the sushi bar.

[I]'A quick five-minute walk and I'll have a full belly to go explore the city on. I can work off the meal, and eat more when I get home! This won't take too long...'[/I]

---

"Huff... what... what was... huff... I thinking..."

Takuma reached the top of the long hill he had just finished climbing, collapsing onto a bench nearby. The reinforced wood groaned very lightly under his weight suddenly flopping down upon it, but the wolf didn't pay it any mind. Instead he was more concerned with catching his breath, his chest heaving up and down while he leaned against the bench's back. As he had said between breaths a moment ago, he hadn't the faintest idea what he was thinking, braving a hill like that. Nearly three blocks long, the slope rose up at a steep, forty-degree angle the entire way. Takuma had told himself at the base "Oh, it's not that long" and "It'll be over quickly"; boy, had that little self pep-talk been wrong!

Wiping at the sweat soaking into his fur, Takuma groaned and sat up again. Was it really worth all of this work just to get to a sushi bar? If it hadn't been for his own persistence, the wolf would have just gone to the pizza place he had passed halfway up the hill; sure, pizza and Judo didn't go together as well, but it wouldn't require all of the work! It was a wonder he had survived up the hill, and it wasn't just him; even several slim or fit furs were taking breaks along the way. There were several restaurants and rest stops built along the long hill as well; they were probably making a killing off of anyone who dared walk up the large incline! And if it was that hard getting up it, Takuma didn't want to know how "easy" it would be to get down. Likely he'd be rolling and bouncing after the first few steps!

However, he had braved his way up to the top of the hill; now he just had to find this Futotta place; after all, he had come this far, he wasn't just going to turn around and give up after all of the work he had put into getting here! Taking a deep breath, finally getting his second wind back after that terrible hill, Takuma pushed himself off of the bench to get back on his feet. This elicited another short squeal of protest from the structure at his weight, but the wolf ignored it, instead looking for another sign that would point him towards the restaurant that he was looking for so that he could hurry up and eat!

Since leaving the dojo, Takuma had followed a trail of signs that had led him on a twisting trail across the city. He thought it was odd, but had followed them anyway, not noticing how far he had gone or how long it had taken. The wolf had started his trek at about noon, but now it was nearly a half hour later and he still was following the signs. Just where was this place? It must be pretty fancy based on just how much advertisement they could afford, too! The thought of a nice, fancy all-you-can-eat sushi bar with a low one-time cost was very appealing, and probably the only reason that Takuma was continuing on his strange quest for food. It would be worth it in the end, right?

Continuing to try and explain himself, the wolf started back along the road, hoping fervently that the restaurant was nearby. The signs were getting more frequent now, all hurrying him along towards his destination. Quickly Takuma picked up his pace, though he never left a fast walk; he was already tired as it was, and jogging with his weight would just tire him out even more quickly. He went down the block, turned the corner, and continued past a small plaza that seemed to be a series of shops lining either side of it. However, he stopped partway through, one of the signs causing him to instantly turn, and there the shop was!

Takuma's ears perked up as he realized that he had finally made it to Futotta's Sushi Bar at long last, but they soon fell in disappointment as he looked inside. This is what he had taken that long walk for, including the dreadful hill? The building was small, a little bigger than most fast-food restaurants, with one large window facing outwards to allow a view of the inside. Along the wall that the window was set into was one row of tables, and on the wall opposite it there was another. In the center there was a bar-like structure, a conveyer belt moving in a wide oval with a narrow counter along it for people to sit at. Presumably this is where pieces of sushi would move along to be grabbed by those who wanted it, cooked with style in the hollow center of the conveyor loop by a chef.

The wolf had to admit that the place wasn't as fancy as he had hoped. With all of the advertising and the distance that he had traveled, Takuma had assumed that the place would be a bit more... well, impressive. However, from what he saw it was anything but. It wasn't run-down, but it wouldn't be winning any awards either. On a positive note, prices would probably be cheaper; fancy restaurants had the habit of being ridiculously expensive. The downside was that the food would probably lose a bit of quality as well. Takuma wasn't sure that it was worth it after all of the trouble he had gone through to get there; there were other restaurants, after all, like the steakhouse across the plaza.

Yet somehow, despite his objections and griping about being misinformed to the nature of the sushi bar, Takuma found himself drawn towards the small building. He had come for sushi, after all, and besides which, the place deserved a chance. It was the wolf's fault for making an assumption based on the frequency of advertisement, after all, and he had dedicated himself to a course of action. There was nothing wrong with going through his decision, right? Takuma nodded, justified once more; he could judge the place by its food, not its advertisement. That was only fair.

A bell above the door rang as he entered, causing Takuma to look up with a confused look. Most sushi bars were far too busy to have a little bell like that one be heard... that was not a good sign if this place wasn't packed enough that a small bell could be heard. Frowning, the blue wolf stepped inside and looked around. It seemed his fears were to be confirmed; the sushi bar was empty. No customers were present, and the only fur in sight was a black wolf standing behind the centralized conveyor belts. Clearly he was the chef for the bar.

Internally, he gave out a small sigh and told himself to just have patience. For all he knew, the place could just happen be a hidden gem with no name and a low budget, but with incredible food and a chef with pure culinary talent. Not likely, but it was a possibility, and until proven otherwise he felt he should at least give the place the benefit of the doubt. Taking in a deep breath, Takuma pushed himself forward to the counter, where the chef looked to be practically falling asleep. The floor boards creaked lightly under him with each step he took, but the smaller wolf didn't seem to hear over the gentle hum of the moving conveyor. In fact, he didn't even seem to notice that there was someone in his restaurant at all. He just stood there, mindlessly staring at a crossword puzzle from the local newspaper even as Takuma walked right up to the counter.

Feeling a bit awkward, Takuma tapped the edge of the counter and politely tried to get the chef's attention. "Um, excuse me?"

The chef suddenly jumped with a start as though splashed with a bucket of cold water, his wide eyes darting around the room for a moment before finally focusing in on the only other person in the room. He blinked his eyes in surprise, with a look upon his face that clearly showed he hadn't expected to see a single soul walk through the door. But the look soon melted away into a more warming expression, a sincere smile widening across his muzzle.

"Hi there! Welcome to Futotta's Sushi Bar! Forgive me for not greeting you sooner, things have just been extremely slow lately and I really get into my crossword puzzles when I'm bored."

[I]'No kidding...'[/I], Takuma thought to himself. The wolf was seriously beginning to regret being so determined to have a meal in this specific restaurant. But he had already made up his mind, and he would at least wait to see how the food tasted before rendering his final judgment of the place.

"Nah, don't worry about it. It's not the first time I've had it happen."

The chef flashed another winning smile before casually leaning against a small kitchen counter inside his little oval workspace. "So, I assume you're here because of our advertisements?"

Takuma nodded. "Yeah. I saw your signs outside of my dojo, so I figured I'd give this place a try. It was pretty far and took me a while to find the restaurant though..."

"Ah, well, you're not the only one who's had that trouble. We're pretty new, so we're not exactly on the maps or mainstream just yet..." The chef softly stroked his chin fur as he spoke. "You see, we ordered a number of our supplies two weeks ago, mostly straight from Japan. Restaurant décor, signs, general kitchen supplies, et cetera. But thanks to customs, everything's been considerably delayed, and we still haven't received it yet. Thankfully, all of the ordered food ingredients already came. But until our shipment arrives for the rest of the supplies, we have to make do with using simple promotional posters just to advertise our existence."

[I]'...well, that explains a lot.'[/I], the blue wolf inwardly said as he chuckled under his breath. It at least meant that there was still a chance at getting a good meal, despite the restaurant's outer appearances. It all depended on the quality of the ingredients and how skilled the chef in front of him was. Was he the type to be able to whip up a decent dish using smart combinations of the right ingredients, or would he be more the type to just lazily slap random pieces of poor quality fish and the wrong type of rice together and call it sushi?
"Ah well. At any rate..." the chef said, intruding upon Takuma's thoughts, "Since you not only came a long way to get here but you're also the first customer for today, how about a free sushi-filled lunch, on the house."

Takuma blinked in confusion. It took him a moment before he finally registered that he was just offered a free meal. "H-Huh? You serious?"

The chef gave yet again another smile and nodded. "Of course. The food out here's just going to spoil otherwise. Just grab a plate from under the counter and we'll have you learn the true meaning of Futotta in no time."

The chef dramatically waved his paw toward a stack of plates piled up in a little niche underneath the counter, like a showgirl on a game show presenting the fabulous prizes to be won, before flipping a switch beneath his kitchen counter. Suddenly the conveyor belt came whirring to life, with polished plates of steel slowly revolving around the center as an airport baggage claim would while an unseen motor purred like a kitten. Still smiling, the chef then pulled out thin white plastic mats to put the sushi on and began placing them on the belt as though setting a table.

Almost unconsciously, Takuma grabbed a plate from under the counter and plopped himself down on one of the stools; surprisingly, the chair didn't creak as he sat on it for once. Perhaps the restaurant was one that expected heftier people such as himself to be dining there. When the chef was finished setting the sushi mats down, he folded his paws together and did a rather theatrical display of cracking his knuckles before leaning forward again.

"Normally, a sushi bar like this will make up color coded plates of sushi and just endlessly plow them onto the conveyor belt, then count how many plates the customer has gone through and bill them thusly. Not here, though. Here, we place our sushi almost directly on the belt, have the customers pick and choose as much or as little as they want of any type that comes their way, and simply charge the customer as though he were eating at a regular buffet."

Never losing his smile, the chef then clapped his paws together. "Now then, let's begin. First, what kinds of sushi are you familiar with?"

"Um...well, I don't know the name but I remember those little roll kinds that you see in bulk at stores. Like little rolls of rice with some veggies and tuna in the center."

"I believe what you're thinking of is called makizushi. It literally means rolled sushi. Let's start you off with some of those, shall we?" The black wolf quickly swept off his kitchen counter with a single brush of his paw, even though the counter was already spotless. He then pulled out a bowl of rice and several containers of ingredients, along with a small foldable bamboo mat and sheets of some strange paper-like seaweed.

"This mat here is called a makisu. This is what we use to roll the sushi in. These sheets of algae here are called nori; it will act more or less as a shell for the roll. What we do is we lay one out on the mat, apply a layer of prepared sushi rice over it, and then top the center with what we want to fill our makizushi with. Now, is there any particular center filling you would like?"

Takuma scratched his chubby chin thoughtfully. "Um...well, I can't really think of any. Why don't you surprise me with something?"

The chef merely smiled yet again and nodded, before opening a cooler from under the counter and pulling out a light red piece of fish meat. "Let's start your palette with some Spanish Mackerel then."

Without another word, the chef laid the seaweed paper out on the mat and placed a large ball of rice onto it. He then started to knead the rice out, quickly and professionally, before taking a knife out and deftly slicing the mackerel so quick that Takuma was worried he might find a finger in his food instead. Still with that knowing smile, the black wolf then gently spread a bit of green vegetable paste over the rice as an adhesive before laying the newly cut strips of fish meat along the center. After lining everything up, he rolled the mat and sushi whole until it resembled something like a large, dark green cigar, packed with rice and a juicy red center. He then laid it down on the board and cut it into several pieces with the same speed and accuracy as he had attacked the mackerel, until finally eight pieces of sushi lay on the board exactly as Takuma had envisioned it to be.

Takuma couldn't help but smile and wag his tail behind him in anticipation. His hope was definitely restored, it looked absolutely delicious! He watched as he the chef transferred the sushi to a mat on the conveyor belt opposite him, slowly placing one piece on at a time as though the chef knew that Takuma was getting excited and was deliberately teasing him. When the pieces of sushi finally made their way around to him, he reached out like an excited kid grabbing the first Christmas present under the tree and brought the makizushi piece up to his mouth without any thought of how dignified it seemed to just snarf it down.

All of a sudden, his long trip up the hill seemed entirely worth it. The sushi crumbled softly in his mouth as he bit into it, the flavor melting from the roll and merging together with his taste buds. It was just simple sushi, but the richness of it was even better than what he could ever remember having before. It was unbelievably good, and yet he had watched the entire process of how it was made and there was nothing out of the ordinary; it was just a simple dish that took mere seconds to make. Either Takuma was [i]that[/i] hungry, or he really had hit upon a hidden diamond in the rough!

"This... this is incredible, sir!" he managed to say as he finished the first piece, immediately reaching out for another before the conveyor took the mat out of his reach. The chef gave a theatrical bow, before clearing his counter for another round of sushi-making.

"Next, I'm going to let you try some nigirizushi, one of the oldest and simplest forms of sushi. All it is really is a handful of rice pressed against a sliver of raw fish. We'll use Yellowfin Tuna this time."

He pulled out a small chunk of dark red fish meat from the cooler and set it down on the edge of his cutting board. With a proud grin, he then drew his knife out of its holder, flipped it up into the air like a juggler, and brought it down onto the tuna with three quick and precise strikes. As he sliced, the thin slivers of tuna would skid across the cutting board as if being dealt by a card dealer. He then pulled out the vegetable paste from before, spread a thin layer across the tuna slices, and began pressing an oval of rice onto it.

"And voila," the chef proudly announced as he held it up, "The purest type of sushi: nigiri."

It was simple, just a mold of rice the size of his finger topped with a layer of fish. Not even enough to be called a sandwich or be thought of as more than a snack. But Takuma knew already that its taste was always a unique and exquisite experience when done properly, and the makizushi he had just had previously made him quite sure that he was in the hands of an expert. The chef quickly formed two more pieces in a heartbeat and placed them on another moving mat, sending them down the line toward the eager blue wolf. Takuma never even noticed that his own smile was getting as wide as his chef's.

As soon as the nigiri was within reach, Takuma practically pounced forward for a piece, his sense of restraint long since left by the wayside as he took it whole with one bite. It was by far a simpler piece of sushi than even the makizushi roll, yet it was somehow an absolutely delicious treat of its own class. He had been to some places before where they cut the meat wrong and it ended up being a little too chewy. Here though, the fish seemed to just fall apart in his mouth perfectly, as though the fish itself had evolved in its life just so that it could be eaten with absolute enjoyment.

"Well?" the chef pressed dutifully as he wiped his counter clean yet again. Takuma merely gave him a wide smile, unaware of the little pieces of grain accidentally slipping out as he did so. The chef laughed and gave another little mocking bow. "I've been working tirelessly to master this craft for just this place, and have spared no expense on getting the finest and freshest ingredients around. The fruits of my labor will be well worth it in the end."

"No doubt about it! I don't think I've ever seen a chef quite as skilled as you are!" Takuma exclaimed after finishing off yet another piece of nigiri, not forgetting that the first mat should be coming around again with the makizushi rolls. The chef merely smiled again and pulled out another small jar for his counter. Rather than pulling out another fish though, he opened the jar up and started to pour what looked to be a pinkish orange sauerkraut straight onto one of the passing mats, along with placing a pair of chopsticks down for it.

"This here is called gari. It's just pickled ginger. You use it as a palette cleanser, to wipe the taste of the previous piece of sushi out of your mouth in preparation for the next piece. You can also just eat it as a little side dish too if you want, but for now I'd recommend only using a little just to clear your taste buds out a bit for the next segment of our sushi-making."

Takuma's ears perked, and he watched the gari come around to him even as he finished off another piece of makizushi. When it finally reached him, he gently picked up the chopsticks and plucked a bit of it off the top, bringing it to his mouth and nibbling on it as he would were it a bit of cheese and he a mouse. It was a slightly sweet substance, yet distinctly different than the taste of sushi and was in fact losing its flavor rather quickly. Subtle enough to not stir his sense of taste too much, yet strong enough to overpower the taste of the pieces he had just eaten.

Suddenly, something didn't feel right. He felt a shiver run up his spine and a sudden dreariness behind his eyes. The consistent wag to his tail and smile quickly vanished as he tried to figure out what this feeling was. The chef didn't seem to notice the change in Takuma, he was too busy whipping up another masterpiece. Takuma watched as the knife flashed again and again, cutting many slivers of multiple fish, but for some reason the blue wolf couldn't focus on him much. His eyes started to droop of their own, and his body began to feel the dizziness and exhaustion from his excessive workout from the day (both in the gym and the journey afterward).

[i]'I guess...'[/i], Takuma thought, [i]'I guess everything is finally catching up with how tired I really am. I should be fine if I just relax with some more food.'[/i]. But as soon as he reached forward for another helping of a piece of nigiri, the room began to slowly spin around him. His paw missed the piece he was grabbing for as his vision started to blur in a familiar drowsy haze. He tried to ease himself a bit by leaning back and just shaking his head clear, but the action nearly caused him to fall off his chair. Soon, he was having a problem even sitting upright, his large body swaying dangerously on his chair as everything swam around him. He struggled to just try to keep his eyes open, but it was no use resisting; the second that his eyelids closed themselves, he found it impossible to open them again.

And then, everything went still.

---

Takuma slowly opened his eyes as consciousness returned to him again, and the first thing he noticed was the sound of the pattering rain outside the room he was in. His vision was still blurred with sleep, and everything seemed so dark. About the only thing that he could see was a bit of filtered streetlight seeping in through the cracks of what was probably a closed window shutter. He tried blinking to clear the sleep out of his eyes and focus again, but it was just to dark to make anything out.

What had happened? He remembered having his match against the puma at the dojo... had he passed out afterward? Wait, no, he had left in search of a good lunch afterward. He remembered because it had been such a pain to try to find this one specific place. What was the name of the place again? Oh yeah, that's right. Futotta's Sushi Bar.

He looked around a bit in the dark, and suddenly realized that he was still in the bar. All of the lights had been turned off and the windows covered up, but it was definitely the same room. He could vaguely make out the outline of the door he had entered in through, though it was now covered up with what looked like a bamboo curtain with only pin-width lines of light shining through. The tables and chairs were still stacked up along the wall, looking like creepy black shadows that would have fitted well in a haunted house if there were any cobwebs.

Takuma picked at his memory. Had he collapsed or something during his meal? He couldn't remember anything after partaking of some of the chef's sushi. He must have fallen asleep somehow, because not only had he been there long enough for the sky to grow dark, but a storm had moved in overhead. The rumbling thunder and cold chill was enough to send a shiver up his spine.

It took Takuma a few moments to orient himself and notice that he was lying on his side. With a soft grunt, he tried to push himself up from where he laid, when he suddenly realized that he couldn't move his arms; something was tying his paws down behind his back. He squirmed his arms and shoulders to try to pull them free, but the only thing he succeeded in doing was hurting his wrist a little. The rope or whatever it was had been tied on tight enough to keep him firmly bound. He slowly tried to move his feet to at least sit up, but as he predicted, those too had been bound tightly to the point of immobility.

"...crap, this isn't good..." he said to himself.

All of a sudden, a light came on over him. He closed his eyes against the sudden brightness, too scared and confused to do anything more than lay there. The gentle hum of the electric light sounded over the rain, giving the room an eerie silence that frightened him. When he opened his eyes again, the first thing he realized was that he was looking straight down the conveyor belt path. His body had been hoisted up and tied onto the counter in such a way that he was not only level with the motionless conveyor belt but his head actually rested right over it. The rest of the restaurant was still dark; the only lights that were on were the lights over top of the conveyor belt (presumably to better spotlight the choice morsels that would be passing by), and a single overhead light for the chef's cooking area.

Where had the chef gone? Was he the one who had done this? That's when Takuma suddenly remembered the gari, and how suddenly he had felt so drowsy... the gari had been spiked, that black wolf had drugged him! He didn't know what the guy was planning, but he knew that he certainly didn't want to be any part of it. Takuma struggled against his bindings to try to break free, but it was no use. The ropes were just too strong and tight.

That's when he heard the sudden creaking of the floorboard.

"Welcome..." a voice called out from the darkness, slowly drawing closer to the frightened blue wolf. The creaking gradually got louder as a shadowy figure stepped closer to the light. "I don't believe I ever introduced myself earlier. My name is Zee, and tonight, I figured I'd have some fun with you."

Stepping out of the shadows, the black wolf who had been his chef earlier slowly strolled forward towards him, no longer wearing the white furnishings of a chef but still carrying that wide grin he had had almost since Takuma had met him. There was something sinister about that smile, though Takuma couldn't bring himself to call it evil or malevolent per se. The black wolf came up to him and leaned over to make sure he was secured still, tying the rope a little tighter without it digging into Takuma's skin at all, before gracefully sliding a finger along the blue wolf's arm as he walked away. Takuma knew he should have shouted for help, or have done something more to resist, but he was just too scared to think or move. All he could do was stare helplessly.

Zee circled around the bar to an opening, where he gracefully jumped over the counter into the center once again. He then raised his arms out like a ringleader at a circus, basking in the glow of the spotlight.

"Mon cher, monsieur. It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now we invite you to relax, let us pull you a chair, as Futotta's proudly presents: your dinner."

[i]'...huh?'[/i]

Without another word, the black wolf pulled out a remote control and pressed a button to make the conveyor belt come back to life again, the motors whirring noisily as the metal plates began to move once more. Takuma was torn between being scared like nothing else by the contraption moving merely an inch away from him, and confused as to just what the heck this guy Zee was doing.

What did he want? It obviously wasn't rape or robbery, he wouldn't be going through such theatrics if either were the case. Murder? No, that wasn't right either, because if this guy were going to kill him he could have done so in countless ways a lot sooner. Like putting arsenic in the gari instead of a sleeping drought. What then did this guy possibly want...?

Wait, hadn't he heard the name Zee somewhere before? When was that... oh yeah, there was that one online news article about the strange incidents around the city where people would bloat up to incredible sizes in the oddest of places. Scientists so far had been unable to figure it out, but theorized that it was the cause of some type of venomous bee stings from a new mutation of insects. However, some locals had claimed the incidents to be the work of a notorious prankster named Zee. Surely this wasn't the same guy...

Takuma's attention was brought back to his predicament when he felt something insistently press against his muzzle. The wolf's eyes immediately shot down to single piece of nigiri bumping against his nose, his muzzle blocking the way of its passage along the conveyor belt line. Confused, he looked up at Zee to try to see what he was doing... and as he did so, his jaw dropped in utter astonishment. All of his feelings of fear were soon turned to feelings of complete incredulity.

Zee stood at the same counter he had previously, furiously slashing away at several different fish at once with a pair of knives while humming the tune to the song "Be Our Guest", each flash of his steel producing a perfect little sliver of sushi meat the exact same size as all the others in a stack next to him. When he had cut the last little bit up, he stabbed both knives down into his cutting like a drummer beating his finale note. The black wolf looked over to Takuma a bit out of breath, but flashed him that trademark smile again and began grabbing small handfuls of rice out of a bowl next to him. Takuma's stomach gurgled softly with an emptiness, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in what was likely to be hours, even if it was a bad time to be thinking about food.

Suddenly, everything became clear to Takuma. "...wait, you're not thinking of..."

"Yup, that's exactly what I'm thinking of," Zee said with a hint devilish glee, "So I hope you're a big fan of seafood, because you're about to be stuffed to the gills!"

As soon as he said that, he started to place more pieces of nigiri down onto the belt, letting them ride the train down to where Takuma lay like a helpless damsel tied up across the tracks. Zee's fingers moved like mad, grabbing thin slices of fish and making varying bits of sushi before flipping them carefully yet gracefully onto the conveyor belt.

"H-Hey wait a minu- ack!" Takuma started to say, but he was quickly cut off as the sliding piece of nigiri that had been wanting past him managed to slip into his mouth instead, causing him to sputter a bit. As he quickly chewed the piece down to clear his passage, a single voice in his head took the split moment he had to observe that the sushi was still as absolutely delicious as it had been previously that day, while another voice warned him that there were about fifteen more sushi missiles coming his way.

Zee grinned down at him with that mischievous look as he worked. He flipped another piece of nigiri onto the belt, and Takuma couldn't help but marvel at how the sushi managed to maintain its shape. He'd have figured that the rice would splatter everywhere, but the wolf had tossed it just right so that it stayed in one piece. The black wolf then rolled out more makizushi like he had before, taking only three to four seconds to concoct his dish and literally roll about ten pieces onto the conveyor belt like a child would roll a tire down a hillside.

The blue wolf drew his focus back to the sushi pieces slowly approaching him and tried to figure out what to do. He was stuck tight to the counter, so the most he could move was to tilt his head a bit, but it wasn't nearly enough to avoid the oncoming flood of food. Pieces began bumping up against his muzzle, with slightly moist fish slices rubbing against his fur and bits of rice threatening to go up his nose if he didn't remove himself from their warpath. However, Takuma refused to open his mouth up or give into temptation to eat any. He figured that if this was the same prankster he had read about, then the best way to get everything to stop was to not give into his antics.

Looking over, Zee put down the piece of sushi that he was in the process of making and wiped his paws clean. "Oh right, I almost forgot about that. One moment."

He reached down underneath his little counter and pulled up a small cord tied to something on the floor. Flashing a mischievous glance at the larger wolf, Zee then gave a mighty tug on the cord, and instantaneously Takuma gave out a yelp of surprise as a small bit of electricity zapped his tail. It didn't hurt at all, but it was more than enough for what Zee intended. The second that he had opened his maw, the multitudes of sushi that had been stacking up and seeking entrance finally crammed into his mouth all at once, forcing his mouth wide open.

Takuma barely had time to try to chew into them before they slipped down his gullet, rice, fish, flavor and all. But for every piece that he swallowed down, another two would soon be pushing their way in too, making it entirely impossible for him to close his jaws and stop the flow of sushi goodness. Part of him wanted out of the restaurant in the worst of ways, but he couldn't deny that another part of him was at least enjoying the free food he was being given. His stomach had been subtly but consistently reminding him of how hungry he was, and he had to admit that out of all the foods he could have been force fed, he was at least being given some of the best tasting sushi he had ever had.

Back at the kitchen counter, Zee was working at a furious pace to create as much and as varied sushi as he possibly could. Small rolls of sushi with the rice on the outside, hard pressed squares of rice, sometimes even just raw slivers of meat. He would quickly grab a small handful of rice and choose from over a dozen types of seafood delicacies to create each and every masterpiece: tuna, mackerel, squid, red snappers, eel, prong, crab legs, you name it. With each and every piece that he made, he would flip onto the conveyor belt as if the food itself were an acrobat jumping into a pool, and each and every one of those pieces would slowly ride the food train down to the trapped blue wolf, helpless to do anything but let the food stuff itself into his muzzle by the sheer magnitude.

Takuma could feel his belly slowly growing bigger as it tried to digest everything that he ate. Sometimes he could work his teeth into a piece and chomp down on the wonderful flavors being offered to him, but more often than not the sushi would go down his throat whole. The black wolf was just making so many so quickly that the sushi was stacking against him without any respite. There was nothing much he could do, save for at least letting his stomach and taste buds enjoy the treat they had been given. And he could definitely tell that his stomach was enjoying it all, for it was as big as it would have been after having eaten an entire Thanksgiving meal! Well, if he was ever served entirely sushi for Thanksgiving.

Zee gave out a soft sigh of relief as he wiped his forehead with a napkin. "I'm starting to run out of ingredients here, all thanks to you..." he chided teasingly, "But not to worry. I made sure to come well prepared."

Eyes wide, Takuma was dreading what else the prankster had planned as the black wolf turned around and started to rummage under his counter. He could hear the tinkling of several jars and rustling of several cardboard boxes, but the never ending flow of sushi made it near impossible for Takuma to concentrate on what the wolf was doing. His focus was constantly stolen away by pieces of sushi bumping against his chin and nose; he once had a octopus piece try to make a home in his nostril, while a nigiri topped with a shrimp bumped up right between his eyes, as though it were trying to stare him down.

When Zee finally re-emerged, he held up a large box and set it down on his counter with a grin. "You know one of the best things about living in the city? You can find a store for almost everything you need, including bulk sushi made daily."

With a wink, he opened the box up and started to pull out packages of pre-made sushi, each looking just as delicious as the ones he had done on his own, and poured them out onto the conveyor belt. The flow of food was already so packed that Takuma couldn't close his mouth, but the amount that Zee was starting to pile onto the belt was twice as much as what was already stacking against him!

Yet still, his stomach seemed to growl with delight from the mere thought of more food to fill him with. He was beginning to grow fatter than he had ever been before, even before he had started training at the dojo! His belly had rounded him out to make him look like a giant pregnant wolf, his three and a half foot gut hanging out from under his already overly stretched shirt. What muscle he had on his arms faded as his limbs grew chubby, reminding him a little of a children's inflatable pool ring straightened out. But his stomach still oddly craved more of the nourishment being forced into his muzzle.

He had lost count of the amount piling through his jaw ages ago, and now was beginning to not even be able to tell the different pieces of sushi apart from each other. It was slowly becoming like a single entity, one giant piece of sushi formed from the hundreds of normal ones. Each taste was unique to the fish and combination, but they all shared two things: they were delicious, and they were going into his belly no matter what they were. The counter creaked ominously under him as he continued to eat more and more, his belly growing bigger inch by inch with every morsel that he consumed. He was larger perhaps than the biggest sumo wrestler that he could think of, with his middle so huge that it was a miracle that he was even still able to fit over the conveyor belt.

It wasn't much longer before there was a loud crack and Takuma felt the counter give way beneath him. He gave a muffed cry as he crashed to the floor, landing right on his fat butt. He sat there dazed for a minute, half knowing that the counter had finally broken under his weight yet half wondering still what had just happened. It was only when he felt several pieces of sushi start to rain down on him that he regained his focus again.

Looking up, he saw that not only had he broken the counter, but had crashed right through the conveyor belt. Yet the sushi kept coming still, piling over the edge and falling down around him. Without thinking, he instinctively brought his paw up to shield him from the seafood assault. It took him a few moments before realizing... his paws had broken free! Maybe it was from the fall, or perhaps his wrists had simply grown too big for the rope. Either way, his first reaction was to try to crawl away for help, now that he was no longer bound, but something in his mind held him back.

Did he really want to get away from all this? Futotta's was certainly a strange place, and Zee quite obviously meant it all as a prank on him, but... he couldn't lie to himself, he was entirely enjoying himself! Instead of going for help, he decided to let himself lie back on the floor with an open mouth, grinning almost even wider than the black wolf had in the entire day as pieces of sushi fell into his maw like mana from heaven.

Zee, who had been standing and watching on the other side of the bar ever since the counter collapsed, simply laughed to himself and started to put on his raincoat. "Well, it looks like my work here is done. Just do me a favor and lock up when you're done... assuming you can get off the ground, that is."

And with that, he grabbed his umbrella and started out the door, turning to give Takuma one last wink before disappearing into the night.

Takuma closed his eyes and let the pieces fall toward him, feeling a bit like a young boy trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue. Sweet, sweet snowflakes, made of rice and raw fish. There was still hundreds of sushi pieces up on the belt, falling one by one into his awaiting mouth. Each sushi that he swallowed packed more filling into his already enormous belly, which swelled inch by inch every time he did so. His cheeks, stuffed currently with a few pieces of salmon, had grown puffier than any hamster he knew of, and his neck and throat had grown thicker the wheel of his neighbor's golf cart. It wasn't long either before his belly itself had grown large enough to swallow the entirety of his neighbor's golf cart whole.

He just couldn't help but to keep eating, his senses loving every bite he took. He loved the smell of the fish, the sticky texture of the rice, the sight of it raining down upon him, even the sound of it as it fell into his mouth, but most of all, he absolutely craved the taste of every morsel he consumed. He just couldn't get enough of it!

Takuma could feel his wide chest press up against the remains of the broken counter, slowly lifting it from the floor itself as he continued to munch on the raining sushi at a rate even Pac-Man would have been proud of, but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was getting more of the deliciousness above him. Even when he could feel his overly round belly press up against the ceiling, it didn't matter to him. But when the last bit of sushi, a makizushi roll made just like the first one he had eaten that day, fell into his mouth, he felt like the world had suddenly stopped spinning. He couldn't hide his disappointment that the fun had ended, even though there probably wasn't much room left for his belly to even expand if he kept going.

He laid back lazily with a tired but satisfied sigh. His thoughts wandered momentarily to the puma who had insulted his weight earlier in the day. Heh, if he could see Takuma now, he'd be wetting his pants. He was already one of the best at his dojo, but with his new size and weight, he felt he could take on the best in the whole world!

Takuma grinned happily to himself as he slowly fell asleep, dreaming of how he would become the world's greatest, with a gold trophy in one paw and sushi roll in his other...