Japan

Edmond Honda pushed with his tremendous bulk against the professional wrestler, Mika Nanakawa as she attempted to grapple the sumo for an overhead back flip. With the fat of his stomach and the sudden jolt of it’s fast motion, R. Mika was pushed back, and lost her grip on the fat man. He was sweating heavily as he battled. Being so fat, he worked up sweats easily and often, not that it got him down. In fact, Honda liked to sweat, even if it was rather disgusting. Then again, sumo wrestlers, weren’t exactly the talk of the ladies. After all, when it came down to choosing between oh, say a karate man or a sumo, there was no contest which one would get the girl. Suffice to say, Honda was no virgin in spite of the fact of his massive weight, and glandular odors. It didn’t matter too much to him either way, for Honda enjoyed life, and was pretty much just thrilled to be alive.

Honda wasn’t always such a cheery person though. Before he became a sumo, he was just a sad, fat Japanese kid with few friends. As he continued his battle with Mika, he sprung into the air, his arms and legs extended wide as though he were belly flopping, but gravity pushed him upwards, nearly ten feet off the ground, before he tucked in his legs and arms, falling downwards with speed, “Kiai!” he roared, a traditional Japanese burst of power as he lunged vertically to the ground below. Unfortunately for him, Mika was out of the way in time to avoid transforming into a pancake, upon where she struck with a powerful punch, catching Honda at the side of his fat stomach, before he could block or send her arm away. “You are getting better, Mika. I am sure, gah… you will do just fine at Zangief’s event.” he stated as he winced in pain. It wasn’t too painful to the sumo, being known for endurance, but it did feel painful.

“Edmond…” Mika began to speak as she wiped a few beads of sweat from the side of her head.

“Hah!” He laughed heartily, “You can call me Ed if you want to keep it short.”

She shook her head, “That would be disrespectful.” she replied, before returning to what she wished to mention. “You don’t seem to be fully focused.”

Honda nodded, “You are quite observant.” complimented Honda, causing the blonde to smile coyly at the praise. “Hai, I’m not fully focused at this moment.” Honda admitted. “I was thinking.” he stated, pausing in between his words, “I realize that it is not a good idea to think about something other than the fight while it is happening.”

“You aren’t one to usually be so sad, Honda.” Mika stated calmly.

A slight, yet forced laugh escaped from the sumo, lacking the deep enthusiasm it usually had, “I was not always as I happy as I am now,” Honda sighed, “I used to just be some fat kid who would often get picked on, and teased. I felt miserable and afraid to interact with people. That is, until I took up rikishi.”

“When did that happen?” Mika asked.

“Long ago. I began sumo when I was eleven if I recall correctly.” Honda replied. “I had been attacked by a bully. I usually did not attack back, but I could not hold my anger back that time. A teacher was near enough to see what happened and broke up the fight, though neither of us were really hurt.”

“So I guess you got in trouble?” Mika asked.

“Erm, no.” Honda shook his face painted head, “However, the principal did have an understanding for me, somewhat.” Honda paused to catch his breath, “He did have a friend who was a sumo sensei, and figured I could do well to learn it. I figured I had nothing to lose, and oh how amazingly true that turned out to be. I gained so much focus, self control, and strength that I became happy. I was happy that even a hideous, fat blob like myself could still achieve great things and enjoy life to the fullest.”

“You’re not hideous.” Mika stated, “You don’t sound like your usual self at this time.”

Honda laughed, “I guess I don’t sound like my usual self.” He sighed, pausing in between his words, as he bowed his head, “My apologies for wasting your time with my self pity.”

Mika eyed his cautiously, “What do you need to be sorry about?” the wrestling woman asked, “You’re such a kind person, I’m almost surprised to hear this all.”

“As I said, I’m sorry to have wasted your time with it.” Honda noted.

“Don’t be.” Mika countered, placing an arm on the rikishi’s shoulder, “It’s understandable, and I think we all feel guilt sometimes.”

The sumo nodded, “Thank you Mika.” he sighed, “Still, I apologize for wasting your time yet again. Thank you nonetheless for lending your ear.”

“Stop saying sorry!” Mika snapped, clenching her fists tightly as she took a deep breath, calming down. “Um, I didn’t mean to yell like that.” she laughed nervously at her rage.

Honda shrugged, a slight smile on his painted face “That’s quite alright. You probably were pumped for a hearty battle, but instead had to listen to my rarely heard simpering.” Honda blinked, as his eyes widened suddenly, “I know what!” he exclaimed with a snap of his fingers, “Why don’t we sit down to lunch first?” he offered, “My students say that I am a very good cook.”

Mika considered the offer for a minute, as a silent stomach rumbling made the decision for her, “I’ll stay.” she confirmed.

Honda smiled, “Do not worry about ruining your figure. The food itself is not fattening.” he laughed, feeling a bit better from before, “What keeps us sumo wrestlers at our heaviest is the amount we eat, not the food itself.”

Mika flustered slightly, as she smiled to hide the pride she felt. The sumo however, was nowhere to be seen in the room, so here was nothing to fear. ‘Honda-san is a great and unique person.’ Mika thought, rather amazed by seeing a rare side of Honda’s deep personality that she never knew existed. If only others knew the benevolent rikishi the way Mika did, they’d realize that a big heart needed a big stomach to hold it, and Honda may have not had a big enough stomach for his heart if that were literally the case.