Post by Grisha on Aug 15, 2021 19:51:48 GMT -8
The transformation fan was strange to Lena. While it was cool that it allowed her to disguise herself, she hadn’t expected to turn into a dog. Barkley had told her that there were other forms she could change into, but he preferred the one she was in currently. Hm…she wondered why. Ever since Lena was turned into a shiba inu, Barkley’s paw hadn’t let up on her paw. She was his three-foot height and wearing a fancy kimono. She had to keep the fan raised to her face for if she lowered it, she would change back. It took some concentration. There had been more than once where she wanted to lower the fan.
“Do you really think we’ll find Grisha here?” Lena asked.
Barkley was smiling broadly and marching happily as he led Lena along. “Oh, he’s here all right. I can’t forget Grisha’s smell.”
Lena’s ears lowered in embarrassment. “He didn’t bathe as often as my father and I.”
“I could tell. But he smells pretty clean today.”
Her ears perked. “You can tell that much from his scent.”
Barkley grinned over at her. “I can smell the body wash.”
“Can I smell as good as you in this form?”
“No; because you’re not really a beastman. The fan just maintains an illusion.”
It had been relieving to know that her body hadn’t actually transformed. If she had really turned into a dog, then she would have been upset. They walked past tourists and people who could have been competitors. They wore outfits she had never seen before. Some were representing their school. Ahead of them was a stand that smelled of chicken and spice. The sign above it read Tori Tori Chicken! Seated before the stand was a large man wearing a loud and horribly tacky shirt. His dark hair grew in a thick mane, which stopped just at the end of his shoulder blades. Grisha’s scent was leading him straight toward him, but Barkley wasn’t sure about who he was seeing.
Lena’s paw tensed in Barkley’s as she whispered, “There he is.”
Barkley blinked. “Wearing that terrible shirt?”
“Yes. I’m so glad he’s here.”
Barkley stopped and faced her. He patted the top of her paw in reassurance. “Remember, you’re my girlfriend Wanita.”
An angry vein swelled up and pulsed on Lena’s head and suddenly her paw was crushing Barkley’s. The shiba inu near crumpled over as Lena growled, “I am not your girlfriend, and what kind of a name is Wanita?”
Barkley whined and yelped, “Okay, okay, okay! Not my girlfriend. You’re my sister and I’ll come up with a different name!”
Lena released his paw and hmphed. Her nose was directed to the sky with the fan still pressed against it. Barkley growled softly and licked his paw. Now, he understood the fury Grisha often dealt with. He headed over to Grisha and stared up in amazement at the mountain of small buffalo wings he was eating. He was tossing the whole legs into his mouth, his strong teeth and jaws crunching through the bone like chips. Barkley couldn’t believe how many there were, and he watched a cow…in a chicken costume walk over with a pail full of drumsticks that he dumped into the landfill of chicken.
“Grisha?” Barkley called in uncertainty.
The Saiyan paused in his eating to turn on the bench to face the old dog. Barkley’s jaw dropped at the sight of the gut that was resting in his lap. It had popped at least two lower buttons on his shirt. He had gotten bigger all right.
“Barkley!” Grisha happily exclaimed.
Barkley crossed his arms before his chest and growled, “Why is it that every time we meet you’re usually in some sort of bad shape? Aren’t you here to compete in the tournament?”
Grisha merely grinned, which annoyed the dog more. Did he not realize he was being scolded? He thumbed over his shoulder. “This Toro Bro. Grisha beat Beef and Pig Toro. Chicken Toro left.”
The cow in the chicken costume known as Tori Toro paused in his cooking upon finally realizing who Grisha was. At first, he thought he was some gluttonous customer trying to ruin his business at the WMAT. Now he realized that he’s some gluttonous competitor trying to ruin his business at the WMAT! And he said he had defeated his other brothers. Steam shot from the cow’s nostrils, out the mouth of the chicken.
“I’ll show you,” he angrily vowed. The cow then sulked hopelessly. I’m running out of chicken! I swore I had bought enough to feed the whole tournament, but I am losing everything to that monster! There must be something I can do to save my business.
Tori glanced over his shoulder to see that Grisha was distracted. Now was his chance. He glanced over to the other vendors, noticing a Taco King stand. Glancing once more back at Grisha, he snuck away from his stand to creep over to Taco King.
Barkley sighed some. And here I thought you were stuffing your face out of grief.
He noticed Grisha sniffing. The Saiyan sniffed himself before looking at Barkley strangely. Then his eyes drifted over to the disguised Lena who had been keeping her distance. She didn’t have to stand that far away!
“U-uh, Wanita! Come here and meet a student of mine,” Barkley beckoned.
Lena gave Barkley a venomous glare for sticking with the name before she sheepishly walked over to stand next to him. Grisha leaned forward, sniffing at her. Barkley stepped before her and grinned, “Come on, Grisha she’s shy. You can’t be sniffing like that. It can be offensive in my culture.”
That seemed like enough to get Grisha to stop probing. They had forgotten how good his sense of smell was. Grisha straightened on the bench and seemed to be restraining a look of disappointment. “Sorry,” he apologized.
“She’s my girl-oof!”
“I’m his sister,” Lena interjected with an elbow to Barkley’s side. “You must be Grisha. I’ve heard so much about you. You’re so big and strong. You should do well in this tournament!”
She had tried to cheer him up, but she and Barkley could still see the look of disappointment on his face. “Are you all right, Grisha? You’re not here alone, are you? Where’s Lena and Tobias?”
Alone. Grisha’s face scrunched up into an ugly look as tears welled into his eyes. He suddenly turned to face the mountain of chicken and started cramming handfuls of the drumsticks into his mouth, while crying pathetically. Both Barkley and Lena jumped in shock.
So he was binge eating! Barkley thought in horror. He latched onto Grisha’s pants and shirt and shouted, “Come on Grisha! Let’s talk about it! Don’t do this to yourself before the tournament!”
Lena also couldn’t help by cry, seeing how hurt he was. She latched onto his other side and exclaimed, “I’m so sorry Grisha!”
There was a poof of smoke as Lena changed back. Grisha froze, his cheeks as round as a squirrel’s and full of drumsticks. Barkley tilted his head passed Grisha’s back and wildly pointed at the fan in Lena’s hand. She had it lowered. Lena felt her heart skip when she realized it and quickly brought it back up to her face just when Grisha looked her way. A plume of more white smoke blasted into the Saiyan’s face before a massive belly expanded into him, sending him falling across the bench. Barkley backpedaled in shock to see that Lena had become some beastman elephant. She wasn’t used to the height and size shift and struggled to maintain her balance.
“I-I don’t know how to control myself!” she cried. She unsteadily turned, and Grisha braced himself as he became bathed in the shadow of a giant ass. He thrust out his hands to stop it, watching them sink and disappear into the flabby flesh until a great quake shook the tournament grounds.
The loud thoom had caused many heads to turn. Tori took it as his chance to steal the cardboard container of Reaper Sauce from the back of Taco King. It was odd watching a chicken snatch up the box and swallow it down. Racing back over to his shop, flapping his wings and clucking with villainous laughter, the chicken regurgitated the box onto the floor. Tori picked it up, unscrewed the cap, and started dousing all the wings he had made in the blueish-black sauce. He raced over to the front where the chicken landfill was and saw that his greedy customer was still distracted. He dumped the last of the sauce over the mountain before fleeing back over to the fryer, to fry up some more.
Try to defeat me now! Tori triumphantly cried in his mind.
The bench had been demolished. The smoke was clearing from another rapid transformation, but nothing could hide the crater that Grisha’s body was half-submerged in. Lena had transformed into a strange feline creature and was too afraid to turn around and look. She kept her face buried in the fan in shame.
“Is it bad?” she whimpered.
Barkley fanned dust and transformation smoke out of the crater to see drumsticks everywhere and Grisha, looking like his soul had left. The shiba inu removed the reed from his mouth and poked Grisha’s cheek. “Welp, I think you finally killed him this time,” Barkley informed.
“What?!” Lena’s blue fur puffed and she whirled to stare into the crater. Grisha couldn’t be defeated before the fight. She dropped to her knees next to his legs resting outside the hole. She rested a paw on his leg and wiggled it around. “Grisha! You have to get up!”
Barkley started tickling the Saiyan’s nose with the leaves protruding from his reed twig. Grisha inhaled a breath and sneezed before his dark-grey eyes cracked open. “Who attack Grisha?” he groggily questioned.
Barkley and Lena then realized they hadn’t known how to explain what had happened. “A wild elephant escaped and you were unfortunately in the way!”
Lena stared wide-eyed at Barkley. Did he really think Grisha would believe that?
Grisha sat up rubbing his head. “Why keep wild elephants here?”
AH! HE BELIEVED IT! Lena thought in disbelief.
Grisha rested a hand outside the crater and slowly sat up. His back uttered a few cracks and pops and a pleasant smile spread across his face. He grasped his skull by the side and chin, and gave his neck two sickening cracks that made Barkley and Lena cringe.
“Mm…feel good!” Grisha happily cheered. He rose to his feet and glanced down at the shattered bench. “Uh oh…”
Barkley waved his hands up at him. “Uh, don’t worry about that. Are you okay, Big Guy?”
Grisha sniffed and glanced over at Lena’s new form. He blinked and pointed at the cat. “Where sister?”
Lena’s tail shot straight up in alarm and Barkley raced over to stand before the cat. “She went to go look around!”
Grisha frowned in sadness. “Kitty smell like Lena. Barkley sister smell like Lena too.”
The Saiyan marched back over to the drumstick mountain and tossed one into his mouth. Barkley angrily marched after him. “Not this again! Will you stop doing this to yourself?”
Grisha sniffed as tears spilled from his eyes. “I must beat Chicken Cow.”
“I’m a bull buh-kok!” Tori corrected over his shoulder.
“And what will you get if you win?”
Tori removed the frying basket from the oil and set it to dry. He walked over to Grisha, Barkley, and Lena and explained, “The Toro Brothers most coveted food items. It makes the one who consumes them twice as strong. This fatso has come here with a map. My usual store isn’t on Papaya Island so how he managed to find me must be fate. Unfortunately for you, you won’t be beating me today.”
Barkley and Lena crossed their arms. “You sound so sure of yourself.”
“Do you know how many walruses Grisha can eat?” Lena defended.
Grisha blinked and glanced over his shoulder at Lena who stared down at the ground, keeping the fan pressed to her face. Barkley cocked a lip at her as though to say you’re talking too much. “Yeah! Have you seen the size of the walruses on Walrus Island? Grisha eats them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!”
Grisha’s eyes narrowed as he reflected on the claim. Lena had never allowed him to eat walruses for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She said they were too fattening to be eaten all the time. He only got to eat as much walrus as he wanted during festivals. Tori was trying not to chicken out. His cow muzzle kept grinning confidently from the open beak of the chicken costume.
Suddenly, there was a loud rumble and squelch noise, and their eyes went to Grisha’s stomach that had shrank a few inches. Tori’s grin stretched into one of panic at the sight. Barkley smirked and raised his muzzle smugly, “Looks like while we’re standing here chatting Grisha’s metabolism is fast at work.”
Lena opened her mouth about to blurt out another Grisha fact until she caught herself. “He’s going to put you out of business!”
Tori clenched his fists and bellowed, “Like hell!” He raced back over to the fryer to cook up some more chicken.
Barkley looked up at the giant. “All right; so you can eat this guy out of town for all I care. As long as you can promise me this won’t get in the way of you competing.”
Grisha grinned bestially and patted his stomach. “More I eat; stronger I get.”
“He’ll burn all of those calories in the fights!” Lena cheered, thrusting a paw into the air.
“You’re getting into this,” Barkley teased.
Her ears folded back against her head as she blushed. “It must be all the energy around me. It’s making me so excited.”
Grisha stepped back over to the drumstick mountain and started feasting as before. When Barkley’s attention focused on them, he frowned with suspicion. The color of the sauce had been different. He remembered the sauce being brighter and he couldn’t exactly recall the hue. He walked over to Lena and asked quietly, “Do you remember those drumsticks being that color?”
Lena gazed at the chicken and sighed. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying much attention to the chicken.”
Barkley smirked and teased, “No; you were paying attention to someone else.”
Lena tagged him in the face with her paw. “You’re not funny!”
Barkley rubbed his cheek and grinned. Her claws were sharp. He approached Grisha and tugged on his pants leg. “Hey Grisha; do you notice the sauce is different?” he asked.
The Saiyan stopped and held up a chicken leg before his eyes. He turned it and sniffed it some only to turn his nose into his shoulder. “Very spicy,” he told Barkley.
Tori was sweating bullets in his costume. They must have been onto him. It was too late. The big guy had already scarfed down a good amount. He should be feeling it soon.
Grisha continued to frown at the drumstick as he tried to recall the last time he had eaten something so hot. It had been a taco, but it had blue bits on it. The chicken drum was covered in a bluish-black sauce. He glanced down at his shirt, noticing stains that almost matched his shirt. His brows lifted with realization and Barkley could see the look on his face. He followed his eyes to the stains on his shirt and growled, “So he did change the sauce. I knew it!”
The sauce…it had been the same as the taco. Grisha felt his temperature rising. His face started to flush red as sweat formed on his brow. The Saiyan set down the drumstick and turned to pace in circles. “Grisha, are you all right?” Barkley asked in concern.
Tori approached the counter cackling. “What was it about eating my shop out of business? What’s wrong little monkey? Can’t handle the heat?”
Little?! Grisha’s brows crashed together as a low and angry growl escaped him. He couldn’t stop pacing. He could feel his insides boiling.
“You’re a cheater to change the sauce mid-competition!” Barkley growled.
“Am I? Who makes the rules, hm? It’s my shop. I decide who the winner is.”
“Grisha, give up this stupid game. It’s only going to cause you harm!”
Grisha shook his head. “Last Toro bro!”
“The WMAT means so much more than this!”
“Grisha beat WMAT too!”
“Barkley!” Lena called over to him. She beckoned him over with the wave of her paw. Barkley briskly walked over and she explained, “Grisha needs to eat dairy. Whenever something was too spicy for me, my mother always gave me some milk, and I felt better. That should help Grisha’s upset stomach.”
Barkley glanced around at the other vendors. His ears shot forward when he noticed an ice cream vendor. “I think I found just the thing. Wait here and help him take his mind off of the pain.”
Lena watched Barkley dart away, and then looked over at the pacing Grisha. She swallowed her nervousness and crept toward him. Don’t say anything that’ll give yourself away, she told herself. “Grisha; I’m sorry that you’re hurting, and I don’t just mean your stomach pain. Why are you sad?”
Grisha frowned some. He was hesitant to answer. He glanced over at the blue cat who was gazing at him with so much concern. He didn’t understand why. She didn’t even know him. “Come here and sit,” Lena demanded softly.
The Saiyan later wouldn’t know why he had listened. He had just acted without thinking about it. He sat cross-legged upon the ground. Lena stepped closer to him, encouraging him with the fanning of her paw. “Just focus on breathing. Deep breaths. Now, tell me what’s wrong?”
Grisha gazed down at the ground and answered sullenly through pants. “I have no home anymore. I left home long ago, and when I come back. Everything different. It Grisha fault for leaving. I wish I never leave.”
Lena couldn’t bear it. She lunged at Grisha and doing her best to keep the fan against her face, she wrapped an arm around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Grisha’s eyes widened and he rested a hand against the cat’s fuzzy back. “No; you’re wrong. It’s not your fault. They forgot and gave up on you. They probably didn’t know you were going to return. What were you to do? Stay cooped up there forever. Is that what they wanted?”
The cat had felt so familiar. The way she hugged him and spoke. The way she smelled, but she was a cat thing. He meditated over her words and even though she said it wasn’t his fault, he had lost his chance with the person he loved. Lena leaned back from his shoulder and gazed at the defeated look on his face. Where had the spark gone? He used to be so full of energy and happy. Now he seemed so empty. He wouldn’t be able to fight like that. She clawed his cheek, causing Grisha to growl angrily. Her kitty claws hadn’t even left a mark.
“Is that how you plan to win the tournament? Crying like a big baby?” she taunted.
Grisha rose on his hands and knees and made a grab for her. She sprang away from his attempt only to watch him sink onto his shoulder. His arm crossed over his stomach as he felt it groan.
The Saiyan Metabo Factory
“It’s happening all over again,” the factory manager sighed. He looked at a photo of his father on the console. He had perished in the last factory meltdown. It had only been months before this one. The entire digestive system was on fire, and the bay doors were about to give way once more. The manager picked up the frame and walked toward the end of the balcony. He stared bravely at the bay doors as they cracked, releasing pressurized steam.
“Everyone’s gone and safe just as you ensured before,” he spoke to the photo.
“Out of the way!” Barkley yelled, carrying a large Styrofoam cup filled with a vanilla milkshake.
Lena stepped out of the dog’s way and informed, “I did my best. He’s crashing!”
“Stand clear,” Barkley ordered like an experienced EMT. He rested a paw on Grisha’s shoulder and bit the lid and straw off the cup. “Grisha; come on. I have something for you. You need to drink it slowly or you’ll get brain freeze.”
Grisha pushed off the ground, lifting his shoulders and stared down at the milkshake. With a shaky hand, he took the dessert beverage and brought it to his mouth. The cold cream rushed down his esophagus neutralizing the capsaicin down to the pit of his stomach. The giant moaned a sigh of relief as he slowly tipped back his head, continuing to gulp down the drink.
The Saiyan Metabo Factory
A burst of steam passed throughout the factory. It started hot and then cooled as dairy put out the fires of the horrid chemical. The manager watched the bay doors turn from an angry red to a neutral, cool gray. Embracing his father’s photo, he dropped to his knees and praised, “Thank the intestinal gods!”
To Tori’s horror, he watched Grisha rise back to his feet. He finished the milkshake and breathed a pleasant breath into the sky as though exhaling exhaust fumes, “Aaah~!”
“No; no; no; no! That’s not fair!” Tori angrily slammed his hooves upon the counter.
“Like you were being fair yourself. I can’t stand cheaters and hypocrites,” Barkley growled. He accepted the empty Styrofoam cup and smiled up at the giant. “How do you feel Grisha?”
Dragging his tongue across his upper lip to gather the remnants of vanilla, he grinned as though his spirit was rejuvenated. “Ready for more chicken,” he declared.
“You should be able to eat way more with the ice cream in your stomach. We’ll standby with more in case you need some!” Lena happily informed.
Grisha glared over at the cat, causing her to step back in shock. He hadn’t forgotten that she had clawed him even if it didn’t hurt him. Lena’s ears lowered some as she hid behind her fan. Had she made him dislike her? Grisha glanced off to the side briefly before he sighed and walked over to her. He crouched before the blue cat and gently rested his hand on top of her head. He gave her two pats before he said with an appreciative smile, “Thanks. I know Kitty try to help.”
Lena’s ears perked up and she nodded happily, wiping a tear from her eye. “I will cheer for you. I know you can do this Grisha. You’re strong and I believe in you. Don’t worry about anything else. You have me and Barkley here. We’ll support you!”
The grin suddenly left Grisha’s face as he asked, “Who is Kitty?”
Barkley quickly inserted himself between Grisha and Lena. “She’s uh, my cousin! Nyatilie.”
Grisha stood, wearing a confused expression before he shrugged his shoulders and walked right back over to the drumstick pile to resume eating. Tori screamed at him, “You’re eating all of my money! I was supposed to make thousands here! Maybe even millions with my chicken!”
The Saiyan gave the bull an insensitive look as he tossed a drumstick into his mouth.
“I hope you get a stomach ache!” Tori raced back over to the fryer to begin preparing more chicken.
After a few batches more of chicken and milkshakes, Grisha planted a hand against Tori’s face as he clawed at him to try and stop him from eating the last drumstick. He popped the last piece of chicken into his mouth and then released Tori’s face, allowing his head to knock against the counter.
“You brute! I can’t believe it! You defeated my other brothers and now me!” Tori raged. Steam shot from his nostrils as he kicked and rolled about on the counter. After his tantrum, he sighed a long and deep breath, his arms and legs going limp. “I suppose it was bound to happen. We should have known that some legendary fat ass was going to come along and defeat our challenge.”
Lena pointed a claw at the bull. “Grisha’s actually in very good shape!”
Barkley lowered a single ear and arched a dotted brow. “He was in shape,” he said staring at the girth that protruded from his grease and sauce-stained shirt.
Grisha grinned and patted his stomach. “Fuel…” He then curled his arms upwards, flexing his muscles as he jokingly said, “Muscle Fuel!”
Yards away, a paparazzi zoomed in and took a picture of Grisha flexing. The photo was quickly shared through a network and suddenly arrived in the phone of a certain director. Blip. The blond man had been slumped in his chair, watching an old Muscle Fuel commercial on the DynoTube. It had been the golden age of Muscle Fuel. They were rising in business until their idol mysteriously disappeared. Stefan’s blue eyes lazily rolled over to his cell phone. He slapped his hand upon it and slid it off the table. Thumbing through the passcode, he pulled up the latest message and a bolt of excitement shot through his body so fast that he jumped to his feet. Clutching his cell phone with both hands, he brought it close to his face, staring hard at the photo that was sent to him.
“It’s…It’s him! HA HA HA! IT’S HIM! IT’S GRISHA!” he exclaimed. “I recognize that giant anywhere. He’s gotten a little fat. But we can fix that! Our star is back! MUSCLE FUEL IS BACK IN BUSINESS!”
He picked up his office phone as it immediately dialed the secretary. “Diane! Prepare the chopper. I want everyone on it. The whole crew! Makeup artists, cameramen, marketing; everybody! WE FOUND GRISHA!”
“Oh, I am so happy fo-”
Stefan hung up and raced out of his office. He barged out of the suite, clapping his hands. “Let’s go people! Move, move, move!”
The entire Muscle Fuel team was racing for the rooftop. “Here I come baby! HERE. I. COME!” he maniacally exclaimed.
Meanwhile, both Barkley and Lena watched as Grisha’s belt suddenly popped, dropping an even larger belly over the hem of his pants. Sweat beads were sliding down their faces. Barkley couldn’t resist the cringe face he was making. “I think he overdid it this time…”
Lena’s eyes squinted some as she hid her own cringe face behind the transformation fan. “I’ve seen worse. This is nothing,” she whispered.
“Worse than this?” Barkley whispered back.
“You should see him after eating walruses. That meat isn’t easy to burn through. Chicken is pretty lean. He’ll be more than okay.”
Grisha blushed as he lowered his arms. He turned to Tori, pointing at himself with a thumb. “I win. Where prize?”
Tori’s arms shuffled around in his chicken costume until the chicken leaned over and dropped from its beak a capsule. “We call it the Moo of Might. If I were you, I’d wait until you have an empty stomach before attempting to eat that.”
Barkley raced over and dove like a baseball player in front of Grisha before he could stoop down and pick it up. “I’ll hold onto this!” he hastily informed.
Grisha growled and yelled, “Give back!”
Barkley stood and brushed off his robes. “You’re big enough Grisha. Last we want is for you to feel tempted to eat again before the tournament starts.”
He raced over to Lena and handed the capsule to her. “Whatever you do. Don’t accidentally push the button. If you do push it, you can just push the button again and throw the capsule at whatever it is you’re packing away.”
Lena nodded in understanding and tensed when she saw Grisha glaring at her. She motioned her paws behind her back. If her appearance was just an illusion, she should have been able to reach her pockets. After storing it away, she brought her hands around again and Grisha gave her a bewildered and disturbed look. Where had she stowed it?
“There? Are you happy now? Now get the hell away from my shop. If my brothers try to put you up to anymore of their stupid challenges, you tell them to leave me out of it. I’m actually trying to establish a profitable business!” Tori yelled.
Grisha, Barkley, and Lena walked away from the chicken shop. The shiba inu looked up at the Saiyan. “Have you signed up yet?”
Before Grisha could answer, a hover Chinook-like aircraft suddenly dropped down from the sky before them. The propellers’ winds near blew Barkley’s and Lena’s tiny bodies away. They latched onto Grisha’s pants legs until the blades stopped turning. Lena gazed at the artistic graphic on the side of the aircraft that read: Muscle Fuel and groaned.
“Not these guys again,” she moaned.
“You know these guys?” Barkley asked.
“Grisha and my-” Lena peered up at Grisha realizing she had his full attention. The cat released his pants leg and kicked her feet. “N-nothing! I don’t know who these guys are. Muscle Fuel? What is that? Ha, ha, ha!”
Grisha looked up at the aircraft and stared at what appeared to be symbology to his brain. Over the years, his speaking had improved some but not his reading. The doors on the aircraft slid open and out sprang a man in a white suit.
Grrriiiiiiiiiishaaaaa~!
There was no one between them. No one in his way. He charged toward the shaggy, fat, tacky-shirt-wearing fighter as though he were a long-lost son. When he was three feet away, Stefan sprang into the air, arms spread in a flying embrace. Barkley and Lena had been watching blankly until they watched Grisha pivot out of the way of the man. Their mouths dropped and Stefan’s own eyes near bulged out of their sockets as he went flying by. Before the man could eat the concrete, Grisha’s eyes narrowed and he swiftly reached out to snag the back of his suit collar. He held him aloft like a pup before he turned him around so he could closely inspect him. He even gave the man a few sniffs.
WHAT!? HE DOESN’T REMEMBER HIM!? Lena thought in shock.
He doesn’t remember me? Stefan thought as a sweat bead rolled down his face.
Barkley had no idea what was going on.
“Have you forgotten me? I’m Stefan Spatzleburg! Your boss! I thought I lost you forever. It’s so good to see that you’re alive and well.”
The corner of Grisha’s mouth cocked as he huffed an irritable breath. He set the man down safely on his feet. Stefan waved his hands down Grisha’s body as he assessed him with an artistic eye. “I love the new look. We can work with this. Yes; yes; yes, yes, YES! I can see it now. A motivational ad. We’ll capture you in your fat and bloated state and get you to perform some workouts. We want the world to feel your pain. We want all of those fat guys out there to relate. You’ll drink some Muscle Fuel, and we’ll transition to your after video. Yeah! We’ll capture that godly bod of yours. Judy! Call the trainer!”
“Yes, Sir!” returned the assistant.
Barkley stepped between Stefan and Grisha and growled, “Now hold on! What is this? Seriously. What is going on here? Grisha is a student of the Turtle School. No one is training him unless either me or Master Will says so!”
Lena also added with her paws on her hips. “Grisha doesn’t need training. He just needs a nap and that tummy will be gone!”
Just as they were talking, his stomach shrank a few inches and Stefan gawked in disbelief. “Fascinating. We’ll make sure you have the best nap you ever had, but we need to run these scenes in the state you’re in. All right everyone, get him ready!”
“Hey, wait! What are you doing with Grisha? He doesn’t have to do anything for you!” Lena growled.
Stefan bowed his head and brought his fingers to his forehead. With a sigh of aggravation, he growled, “Who is this cat person?”
“You should be asking who is this dog person. Grisha, you don’t have to do anything they say. I don’t know who they are or how they know you, but they don’t own you!”
“Au contraire my canine friend. I do own him,” Stefan corrected. “Judy! Bring me that contract from two years ago.”
“Yes, Sir!”
The secretary strode by and deposited a tablet in his awaiting hand. Stefan slid his finger along the pages down to the signature line. He then flipped it around for Barkley and Lena to see. “Right there. Tobias Winters; Grisha’s guardian has agreed to sign him over to my company.”
Barkley frowned at the contract and grumbled, “Why would Tobias sign this? Why would he want to get rid of Grisha? I thought-”
He had almost looked at Lena and had to halt his sentence. He saw the stunned look on her feline face. She was staring at the contract as though it wasn’t even real. Stefan smiled at their shocked faces and turned to Grisha, holding the tablet up for him to see. “Do you see there Grisha? Your poor, bumpkin family sold you to me for 100,000 zeni. I honestly think you’re worth millions, but I’m not about to complain.”
Grisha was frowning in confusion. “Sell Grisha?” He didn’t even know he could be sold. Was that really a thing?
Lena was staring wide-eyed at the ground. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her father had tried to get rid of Grisha long ago. That was where he got all of that zeni. She buried her face into her paw to keep from losing her mind.
Barkley scowled. “Tobias can’t sell Grisha to you.”
Stefan smirked condescendingly at the shiba inu. “Oh, but he did. According to this contract, he will work for us for as long as we can make sales with him. Therefore, he is property of Muscle Fuel! Yeah! Isn’t that exciting Grisha? You get to see the world and make lots of money!”
Grisha was still trying to fit the star shape into the circle hole. He slammed the piece against the hole several times while he mused over everything. Sold. He imagined someone buying a candy bar and exchanging the fancy paper for it. He then imagined the candy bar being him and fancy paper being exchanged for him. Changing shapes, Grisha slowly looked up as realization gradually dawned on his face. The circle shape finally passed through the hole.
“Grisha family sell Grisha like candy bar,” he breathed in shock.
“You’re one expensive candy bar! Ha, ha, ha!” Stefan laughed.
Lena could see the devastated look on Grisha’s face. Just when she thought she had managed to build him up again, her father always seemed to manage to knock them both down. She raced over to Grisha and sternly told him, “Grisha; you’re big, strong, and you don’t have to take orders from anyone. You don’t have to work for them if you don’t want to. You can live where you want to live and go where you want to go!”
Grisha’s brain was spiraling. Even if the blue cat was right, he still couldn’t believe it. “I have no home. I guess…Muscle Fuel Grisha new home…”
“Yes! And we’ll take good care of you as long as you make me money! Were you trying to get into the tournament?” Stefan asked.
Grisha looked at the blond man in surprise and nodded.
“Boom! You’re in. Just like that. See how easy that is?”
Lena’s claws latched onto Grisha’s pants. “Don’t go. Please.”
Grisha glanced down at the cat and frowned. “Sorry.” He turned and left Lena sitting there on her knees. Barkley quickly raced over to her and rested a paw on her shoulder.
“Are you just going to let him walk away again?” he asked.
Lena sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I can’t get through to him.”
“Not as you are. If you just showed yourself to him, then he would listen.”
“I-I can’t yet. I broke his heart and now he’s convinced he has no home to return to. If this new life makes him happy, then I don’t want to ruin it. He thinks we sold him…”
“Not ‘we.’ I think Grisha knows that Tobias is to blame. It’s not your fault Lena.”
“Why didn’t I see this? Two years ago, and I never saw any of this! Am I blind?” She wiped her eyes some more and scowled. “I’ll see how he does in the tournament. I didn’t come all the way here for no reason. Grisha won’t be leaving with that group. He’ll be leaving with me!”
Barkley’s tail wagged and he patted her shoulder. “That’s the spirit. I’m not too worried about that contract Spatzlebrain seems so set on. Once you mend everything with Grisha, then I know he’ll come around.”
WC: 6,205