Chapter 2 - Kana

The day at work was a quiet one, which suited me perfectly. Sure, days like these could be boring at times, but they gave me plenty of time to work on my recipes. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with my family’s recipes, but I knew I could do better. I had to do better if I was to be successful in Tokyo. My ‘experiments’ were going quite well so far, because I managed to elevate the flavor of my parents’ meals to a whole new level. There was one very apparent side effect though. Even more apparent when I saw Himiko-chan entering the kitchen. Just a couple of months ago, Himiko was your typical slight and skinny teen, much like I was. Now, after being my personal guinea pig… uhm, I mean taste-tester, she was barely able to squeeze herself into her school uniform.
“We’ve got some customers, Kana-chan.” Himiko announced, bringing me out of my thoughts. I rose to my tiptoes and peeked over the half-wall separating the kitchen with the front of the restaurant. I saw three pregnant ladies, but something about one of them looked very familiar. Woah, she’s got an incredible bust! She looks even bigger than my arch-nemesis Zuki! I thought, gritting my teeth just from thinking about her. One day I’ll have my revenge! One day I’ll show her whose ramen is too salty! Nobody criticizes my cooking! Nobody! Especially not some stupid cow with udders larger than her head! “Wait a minute… that is Zuki-san!” I stared at her giant middle in disbelief. How can she be pregnant? I saw her like a month ago and she was… normal. “I’ll handle them.” I told Himiko with a malicious smile. I didn’t have a plan yet, but I knew I would come up with a way to enact my revenge!

“Zuki-san!” I cried, gaining the attention of my arch-nemesis. She looked so horrified, I could barely stop myself from laughing.
“H-hey Kana-chan.” Zuki-san greeted me back.
“Wow, you’re pregnant! Who’s the lucky guy?” I asked and my suspicions were confirmed by the bright red spots appearing on her cheeks.
“Y-you don’t know him, Kana-chan.” She said unconvincingly.
“You got to bring him here sometimes, I’d really like to meet him!” I said, teasing her. “Come, come. You and your friends get the best table in the house!” 
I brought the group to the table that was a bit out of the way and watched with a grin as Zuki tried to squeeze her curvaceous body into the booth. It won’t be so easy the next time. I’m gonna make sure your friends see you as the fraud you are!

“There’s no way she’s pregnant!” I told Himiko after coming back to the kitchen. “That lying bitch is only pretending to be pregnant!”
“Why would she do that?” Himiko asked sheepishly, knowing me too well to disagree with me openly.
“Hmm… That's a really good question you raise. Why would she do that?” I tapped my fingers against my cheek thinking about it. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter now. Prepare yourself, Himiko, we’re doing the special today!”

A maniacal laughter left my lips. “That fat bitch doesn’t even realize how many times I refilled her meal already!” This is gonna be easier than I thought! When she gets up, it will be obvious she’s just fat and not pregnant! I made sure to go to Zuki’s table as often as I could and from the bits and pieces of conversations I found out the trio signed up for pregnant yoga. Hm, maybe I could use this information to my advantage. A plan was starting to form in my mind. Yes… that could definitely work! I giggled at my genius. I almost feel bad for the fatty! Almost.

The two ‘side characters’ started to rise to their feet and I could see the panic in Zuki’s eyes. Oh, it looks so sweet! I just hope she doesn’t blow her cover now. I’ll have to intervene if she tries to stand up! The two preggos turned away from Zuki and headed to me to pay for their meals.
“The meal was really amazing!” said the one on the left, who I thought was Aiko.
“I’m glad you enjoyed your meal.” I said with a bright smile. “Please come back anytime. Zuki-san and her friends are always welcome in our humble restaurant.”
“With food this good? We’ll be back for sure!”
Like the good worker I was, I accompanied those women out of the door, smiling politely all the while. When they finally left I turned to the corner where Zuki sat, failing to sneakily check the consequences of her gluttony. I grinned. You won’t be able to walk out of your flat when I’m done with you!

“Would you like anything else, Zuki-san?” I asked my beautiful rival. As much as I hated her, I didn’t have an issue admitting Zuki was extraordinarily beautiful, despite being clearly overweight. If I had tits like she does, I would be world famous already... Hell, I’d probably rule the world!
“Can I get a bottle of sake?” Zuki asked.
“You shouldn’t drink in your condition!”
“I’m not pregnant, ok?” Zuki shouted.
I was shocked. Not by the information and not even by her admitting it so easily. I was shocked by her tone of absolute despair! Oh, what a sweet sweet sound for my ears it was!
“I just wanted to lose some weight and look at me now! I’m fatter than ever and on top of things I misled two nice ladies into thinking I was pregnant…” Zuki covered her face with her hands.
Ooh, this is almost too good! I laid my hand on her shoulder, pretending concern for her well-being, while barely able to hold in my laughter. “I’ll be right back.” I said, hoping she wouldn’t hear the glee from my voice.

I rushed into the kitchen, pumping my arms victoriously. “Yes, yes, yes! This is perfect! She’s so down and I haven't even started trying yet!”
“Don’t you think you’re overdoing it? She looks devastated!” Himiko pointed out.
“Are you trying to talk back to me?!” I cried in anger. “Maybe you would prefer it if I made you my test subject again!”
Himiko looked terrified. “N-no! I’m sorry!”
“You will be sorry if you ever try to speak on her behalf!” I pierced her through with a gaze. “Hand me a bottle of sake and some snacks!” I commanded.
“So, you were right, she’s not pregnant.” Himiko said almost sadly.
“Of course, I was right! I’m always right! You weren’t questioning me, were you?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.
“N-No! Of course not!” She cried, whiter than the wall.
I grinned. How I love when she squirms in fear before me!

I took the bottle Himiko was handing me and two cups. It was already getting quite late, unbelievable how long those three harpies managed to stuff their faces, and I knew Himiko could handle any stray customer on her own.
I sat down across the table from Zuki and filled her cup with sake. Then I pushed the bottle towards her and waited until she poured me some sake as well. Zuki might have been only a customer, but pouring sake for yourself was still rude.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

I listened carefully to what Zuki, whose speech was more and more influenced by alcohol, had to say. I was searching for ways to use the knowledge against her, but in the end, it wasn’t difficult to come up with a plan.
“What can I do?! I can either pay the full price, which I can’t afford, or I can keep pretending I’m pregnant!” Zuki said, before leaning forward, resting her head on top of her own breasts. “And I don’t even know how I could do that.” She said, the sound muffled by her boobs.
A mischievous grin appeared on my face. “I may have an idea. You could come here every day and I would let you eat just enough to appear pregnant.”
Zuki raised her head, obviously having a hard time concentrating. “That could work!” She shouted with excitement. Then she went gloomy again. “I don’t have the money to eat here every day…”
“Don’t worry about that! It’s on the house. After all, you are my friend Zuki-san!”
Zuki’s eyes were filling with tears. Drunk and emotional, she grabbed me and pulled me face first into her cleavage. “You’re the best Kana-chan!”

“Oof, she’s so heavy!” Himiko complained. We both had one of Zuki’s arms around our shoulders, dragging the drunk fatty to her home. “And I thought getting her out of the booth was the difficult part…”
Himiko had a point. Zuki was so bloated, it took us a good half an hour to squeeze her out. I was in awe of how huge her gut became. She’s got enormous capacity. I thought, over the moon, from knowing just how much easier it would make to fulfill my plan. I can’t wait to see the helpless blob she’s bound to become! Elated by the thought I would finally have my revenge, Zuki suddenly didn’t feel as heavy as she really was.