The next morning ,Katara was pleased to discover the massive stomach ache from yesterday's raw seafood and butter binge was staring to lose its edge. She admitted to herself that she had succumbed to gluttony for the better half of the previous day. She grew ravenously hungry waddling down to the beach, and all the exercise it required didn't help any either. She wasn't turning heads with her flatulence this time, as, without food for a day, her gassiness plummeted in frequency and no longer sounded like gunpowder being ignited. Even that irritated Katara, though. Part of her had grown accustomed to the warmth and gentle wave of relief she felt every with every few steps since she decided she was physically unable to hold back due to politeness' sake anymore. Upon arriving at the beach, she fished out anything and everything she could after downing a few sticks of butter for bending fuel. (Thank goodness the market opens pretty early on Kiyoshi Island, Katara thought!) She indiscriminately chowed down on koi, raw oysters, occasional tufts of seaweed, some puffer-crab, and what she figured must have been a jellyfishsquid. After eating just about everything the tide brought in with block after block of butter, she let herself collapse into the sand like a bloated sea-mammal and collect her thoughts.

Katara was banking that Suki would see past the euphoria of her first calorie high and order a search for Ty Lee, as she knew Suki possessed pristine sense of motivation and a clear sense of duty to the Kiyoshi Warriors. However, Katara had also once thought she herself had large stores of willpower. At the very least, she considered herself polite. As she lay there, listening to her body churn the mishmash of seafood and oil into more body fat and noisome bursts of gas originating from both her mouth and rear end, she knew the last thing she could call herself at that moment in time was well-mannered. She experienced the harsh sting of her guilt once more, though she was quick to defend herself this time. "It's not like I have a choice; my body needs to process all this food I...can't help but...yeah that sounds right, can't help but eat." But something about her self-talk made Katara even more nervous. She hadn't felt any guilt as she was stuffing her face, only when she was full to bursting did her body seem to let her have thoughts independent of her urges. Even worse, she couldn't help but have a bit of a craving for some chocolate, even as she winced against the stomach cramps that had rapidly developed as she ate and ate and ate.

So, Katara knew that both Suki and Ty Lee,who had the willpower of a child when her acrobatics and other attention-seeking antics weren't involved,may very well be too enraptured by their new urges to fight them, rendering themselves at this point (or at whatever point Katara decided to move her gelatinous butt off the beach to resume the search) too chunky to reverse the chi-block. Katara guessed they must have gotten at least twenty pounds heavier, maybe more. Offhandedly, Katara wondered what parts of them were getting the biggest, as her and Toph had been growing equally soft in very different ways. "Ty Lee's probably going to have boobs as big as my head, judging from those times I saw her in a swimsuit..." Katara muttered half-jealously. At that point Katara's eyes widened as she realized she was sidetracking herself yet again. Knowing that her friends were probably now in the same boat as she had been, Katara decided that there was only one option left; find Azula.

As the sun began to set, Katara felt light(ish) enough to heave herself to a standing position. Her back ached from the exertion, but not as much as her stomach. All the fat that was collecting on her thighs made her feel like she was walking waist-deep in pudding compared to her old, fit self. Smiling to herself as she felt the familiar and comforting bursts of flatulence once again sounding off from her rear as she walked, Katara began her search for the easiest way to contact the government. When she heard that a fire nation steamer was docked at Kiyoshi Island, she immediately decided on a plan. She would inform Zuko that they had been cured of their "affliction" and that they wanted to join in the chase for Azula! She asked for an army-sized battleship, but with only the barest skeleton crew. She also requested to be informed of any sightings of Azula by any of the Earth or Fire kingdom forces, just as if the ship was an on-duty patrol vessel. After the message was given to a fire nation soldier, Katara leisurely made her way down the row of merchant ships, purchasing an armada's worth of provisions for delivery within the week. After all, not having a regiment of soldiers and tanks on board made that much more room for snacks.

Now that it was a new day,Katara examined herself and guessed she had hit 200 pounds, as her belly was now hanging over the upper part of her groin. She definitely added another six inches or so to her hips, and when Katara stopped to pick her underwear out from her doughy butt cheeks, she noticed a couple of small dimples amidst the once smooth light-coffee tinted flesh of her posterior. A few flecks of cellulite that Katara had kept her eye on since she first started plumping up were now beginning to spread; her rear wasn't quite affected by much of it yet but that looked like her future; her inner thighs sported a generous strip of the slightly bumpy flesh, especially in the region -just- under her butt, by the banana rolls. It seemed likely her body wouldn't be able to differentiate her thighs with her rear as it continued its development into what looked like saddlebags. She felt flesh starting to creep under her chin when she looked down, as well. Katara also readjusted her cloth wrappings; the amount she had on could only cover the lower two thirds of her bust now; her breasts had jutted out further and were wide enough force a slit of cleavage through her multiple layers of clothing. Katara noticed her elbows seemed to disappear when she held her arms straight, and her knees seemed to be slowly sinking into their own cradle of flesh.

Sighing, Katara figured she would finally wash herself up now that there was nothing to do but wait...as soon as she grabbed breakfast. Of course, if she spotted Toph and the girls on the way, she would regrettably have to postpone her hygiene yet another night. Tragic, Katara tried to tell herself. Very tragic.

-----

The sunlight streaming through Suki's bedroom window illuminated Toph's triumphant grin."Nope, I didn't slip anything into your food! You slept in and missed drills today all by yourself, Suki!" She wasn't lying, either. Suki had become particularly invested in the day of gorging Toph had laid out for her when it finally clicked with the gluttonous earth-bender what her "favorite" foods were; anything that she was denied as a child growing up in the Kiyoshi warriors! Anything that make Suki spout a line like "Oh, I can never eat that on duty, it makes me lethargic!" or "That's terrible for my complexion, its all fat, no nutrition!" was a food Toph made sure was readily available 24/7. She seemed to have a particular week spot for cheese. After the seventh cheese-steak of her ninth meal of the day, Suki fell into a gluttony-bolstered sleep that not even her discipline could override. Three hours after sunrise, Suki finally began to stir. Toph wasted no time heaving her uncooperative, gassy body into Suki's room to tell her the good news.

Suki, clad in just a pair of green linen shorts and a baggy white night-shirt, moaned with frustration and brought her pillow over her head. After some squirming she eventually got herself to stand up, her bare feet getting the slightest chill as they touched the floor. She scratched at a tiny pink pimple that had appeared on her cheek overnight and let out a heartburn-tinged belch, which Toph couldn't help but inhale deeply; cheese-steak smelled great, and she never smelled anything outside of her own cloud of flatulence lately, so it really didn't register as much different from the real thing to her. Suki winced with slight discomfort. Her hand automatically went to her stomach, which was bulging enough to be outlined in her night-shirt. "I guess I'll go in tomorrow then...I'll have to say I was sick, coming in late will only give the girls wrong ideas."

Toph, still grinning, put her arm around Suki's waist, almost pulling her into her kitchen.(except at doorways, which Toph couldn't fit through with someone else in tow) "Sounds like a plan, bright and early tomorrow you'll be back on track! But for now, you've gotta try what I've got going for breakfast, -uuuurp-!"