It had all finally come to an end. The Ambition of the Dark Falz, and their master, the Profound Darkness. While their spawn still roamed the universe, they wouldn’t be anywhere near as hard to deal with now that the chains that controlled them were severed. Thus, the agents of ARKS could take things at their own pace.
But this newfound freedom meant that a lot of the individuals that were involved in all of the schemes that Oracle had been wrapped up in were now left without much to do. Well, mostly a certain young Newman who had done her best to save everyone. Now that there were nobody to save, and her body still needed to get a lot of Dark Falz’ influence removed by remaining on standby, she had a lot of time to spend…
The girl, Rupika, kicked her legs around in the Cafe aboard one of the ARKS ships. She had a lot of thoughts on her mind, all of them revolving around the events that immediately transpired following her suspension. Events that she wished that she could’ve avoided, but the four-eyed bastard decided to throw her into one of his devious little plans.
Casra, one of the Three Heroes of ARKS, had decided to send her a special little payload. Upon checking her Visiphone, she discovered illicit pictures of quite a few girls that she had encountered across her journey. And attached was an equally illicit message, telling her that he could be convinced to dispose of all the copies, if she bought the very last set. A very special set that would make a certain somebody close to her heart break out in tears if it was ever let out into the world at large…
Thus, she ended up sitting here with a pair of photos in her hands. She made sure that the devious Hero deleted every single trace of the photos he had sent her, so that she’d have the lone copies in existence. And now that she had time to really let the contents sink in, she understood why he thought they would ruin her…
Among all the pictures she had received, they were nothing compared to the ones in her hands right this moment. Whether it were the cute cheesecake stuff she had seen of Io, or the pictures of the whale-sized Pati being… played with by Tia, neither came close. Because none of them contained proof that ARKS’ idol, Quna, had fallen prey to the same lethargy that had captured Rupika herself.
Unlike the Newman, the idol had gotten… well, to say that she seemed like she could use a bath would be an understatement. The environment depicted in the pictures was dark and dank, which meant that she couldn’t make out a lot of the details. But considering the fact that she wasn’t wearing much except for a bra and panties that were themed after the suit she wore whenever she acted as an Assassin for the four-eyed bastard, quality wasn’t a concern. It was easy to see how she had let herself go, especially as the sides of her belly leaked out over her underwear and begged to be released from that tight garment.
Nobody could be allowed to see these pictures. They were terribly cursed. If anybody besides her did, they’d no doubt spread rumors about the girl’s condition, and her chances at making everyone’s hearts resonate with her song would dwindle and fade on the spot. She couldn’t allow that to happen… e-even if she thought the look of the much-heavier idol was kind of cute…
Just as she stashed them away into a safe pocket, a noise rang through her ears. Somebody was trying to communicate with her. Hopefully it wasn’t that four-eyed bastard again…
“Oi. Guardian.”
The voice was a little sluggish, but it was definitely familiar. The communications module didn’t show an image for the one on the other end, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out who it was. And considering the images that she had just stashed into her pocket, it made too much sense.
“Y-Yeah? W-What do you want?” Rupika replied, keeping a hushed tone so that nobody would really bother her. She was still in a public space, after all. If anybody were to question her why she was talking to a featureless screen, then… It’d be hard to hide.
A groan echoed from the other end of the line, the idol clearly not in a great state. “Get here, as fast as you can. I need your help with something. You better not tell anybody either, especially not Casra.” Her voice was interspersed with the occasional gasp, sending a couple of worrying shocks through the girl’s spine as the private chat came to an end.
There were a lot of thoughts running through the girl’s head at this point. What could she possibly want her for? ...She didn’t know that she bought those pictures, right? There was no way, Casra promised that she knew nothing about them…
Regardless, she had to act. So she got up from her spot in the café and headed straight for the transporter that would lead to the ship’s private quarters, hoping that she wasn’t about to get scolded or yelled at.
If only she could’ve imagined how badly the Idol had adjusted to life as it now was…
---
“You’ve seen better days, Rupika.”
The voice of Quna greeted the Newman as she entered the very special private quarters, using a set of numbers known only to the two of them. Nobody else knew this combination, because it wasn’t supposed to be an active set of quarters. It was supposed to be closed for renovation and rented out to one of the newer ARKS, but it had instead been repurposed for the idol’s use whenever she didn’t have anything to do…
And she had put it to good use. By absolutely trashing it. Snacks of many different varieties were strewn across the floor, some of them specifically requested from some of the regions that ARKS had been able to explore. Some of it was trashier than the trashiest of fast food, courtesy of the Café’s experiments into food that could satisfy any kind of ARKS. And then there were drinks, pies and all sort of other goodies just littering the floor, showing how much she had indulged herself.
To make matters worse, she had grown since those pictured had been taken. Now? Well, she had decided to wear her bodysuit, the Zelsius, once more. Since the bikini that she tried to lounge around in was digging too hard into her body, she had to go for something that was able to stretch. And while it was able to do just that, it had started absorbing the filth that she put out. Whether it was the sweat that ran down her body, or the juices that splashed out from her meals. Despite wearing the outfit of an assassin, she didn’t look like she could move as much as an inch with how heavy she seemed…
In fact, that belly of hers was so big that it was struggling to stay on the couch that she used to relax. It was poking out over the size, while the stretchy golden material kept it pressed in as much as it could. If she had chosen to wear anything else, it would no doubt eclipse the couch by a fair bit, if not at least take up half of it by itself. All while she didn’t seem bothered at all, more just annoyed that it meant she had to order food instead of fetching it herself…
Of course, while she wasn’t the model of perfect health or physique, neither was the Newman. After spending a few days at the Resort before the crisis involving Harokutan, she had… well she had turned into a proverbial butterball. It was astonishing that she could even manage to defeat the threats that plagued the oriental planet, and repel Dark Falz despite it all. Of course, most of that was because of the Techniques that she commanded, but that still left everyone floored.
The only thing that saved her from being just as big as the girl stuck on the couch was the fact that she still had a girl that wanted her to be better. A girl that she had pushed herself to save, despite the odds. And, well, now that it was all over… Oh, she was going to get just as fat as her, wasn’t she…
“Y-Yeah, I guess you could say that…” Rupika finally spoke up as her mind wandered, imagining herself stuck on a couch just like that while her white-haired friend fed her by hand. A fantasy that she had to quickly shake her head to dispel, lest she get too excited to help the idol. “S-So… W-Why do you need my help?” She asked, her face completely reddened from her wild and erotic imagination…
Quna rubbed away at her belly slightly, sweat running down the side of her face from the heat of the air around them. “I don’t wanna be fat, Rupika!” She said with a bit of annoyance in her voice, huffing as she squeezed into it. “I wanna be on stage and sing for everyone, but ever since Casra set up that recording of me to repeat every few days, I’ve not been able to get up there and sing on my own! Not to mention, since you’ve dealt with everything that hid in the darkness of ARKS, I haven’t had a reason to go out and kill, so…”
“...S-So you’re stuck on a couch, eating your sorrows away?” The Newman replied, only to freeze as the larger girl shot a glare into her eyes. “S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything, it’s just-”
The Idol shook her head as she slowly but surely managed to sit up properly, the furniture underneath her creaking and bending in response to her weight. “Look. Just help me with this diet. Then I’ll treat you when we’re done. As long as this thing…” She paused, pinching at the Zelsius itself before letting it snap back against her thickened form. “Gets back to its original shape, then we’re golden…”
“Diet..? But won’t eating more just-” Rupika spoke up, only to receive another glare. It seemed like the Idol was in a terribly foul mood, one that could only be explained by her utter lack of outside contact. Only the four-eyed bastard had bothered to talk to her before the Newman arrived, which would naturally make anybody kind of bitter…
Instead of trying to argue further against the near-immobile idol, the Newman decided that it would be best to just obey. She reached into her pocket to pull out a little notepad as the idol started prattling off a list of dishes that would make her lose weight, quietly having her eyes widen as she noticed the sheer amount…
“A-All of these?” She asked, not sure if she heard everything correctly. Surely the idol didn’t think she could lose weight from eating that much food even if it was all healthy. But the nod she received in return was resolute. “A-Alright, if you say so, I’ll go ask if it can all be made…”
Quna grinned a little in response. “You’re a real lifesaver, Rupika. Thanks.” Despite her rotten mood earlier, she could still show her appreciation for the girl who had done so much for her. Whether it was standing with her against her old friend gone mad, or helping her out with this benign endeavor. She knew that the Newman was there for her.
Now, together, they’d lose weight. For sure..!
---
...It didn’t work. It really, especially didn’t work.
At first, it seemed like things were on an upswing. Rupika had tried to sneak a couple of dishes out of the order, so that the two could eat a bit more healthy. Despite her own wishes, because she very much did want to eat a lot. And bit by bit, the two had their waistlines shrink inward. It was working…
But it only worked for so long. The Idol, still without any sort of work that could keep her occupied, eventually fell prey to her own body’s cravings. She wanted something high in energy, something that would keep her from falling asleep so that she could at least use her heart to compose another song that she’d charm the hearts of all of ARKS with. And because of her stubborn moods, the Newman couldn’t argue against her, resulting in their meals growing more and more unhealthy as those cravings took hold…
“Ruuupiiiikaaaaa!” At the end of it all, the Idol was beyond frustrated! So much so that she couldn’t help but scream the name of her helper, the sound bouncing around in the tiny private quarters and threatening to shatter at least one eardrum if she went a few octaves higher. “We’re even fatter than before! How’d you mess this up so badly!?”
The Newman covered up her ears as the sound made her belly jiggle, showing the power in the Idol’s voice. “I-I told you that eating that much, no matter how healthy the meals are, wouldn’t help…” She muttered, but the reply was muffled by the sound around her. “A-And those cravings didn’t he-”
She was cut off by the sound of the idol’s voice jabbing her in the oversized tummy, her own clothes barely fitting on her at this point. At least the idol had been nice enough to lend her a matching Zelsius, one that was just as purple as her normal outfit. It preserved her dignity, and didn’t tie her back to the idol at least. Well, it was supposed to preserve her dignity, but combined with all the weird looks she got, it made her stop up in the middle of her trips from sheer embarrassment. Especially as her fat jiggled around, only barely impeded by the stretchy fabric…
“If you complain about something you did again, I’ll… I’ll!” Quna tried to act like she was upset, only to deflate as she let out a groan. Getting angry just made her belly upset instead of her heart, and now she was craving things again. Thankfully, her oversized friend was on hand, letting her get a bite of a delicacy from Lilipa that she had asked for the night before… “Thanks…”
Rupika smiled a little as she sat down by the couch, which had seen much better days. If the Idol ever tried to get off it, the supports would shatter and it would go flying everywhere. It was a good thing that she was practically stuck there, and movement was growing ever impossible...
“S-So… D-Do we still try the diet..?” The Newman asked innocently, almost hoping that the Idol would say no. That way, she didn’t have to embarrass herself any longer. She could go hang out at PaTia’s resort again and just sleep the pounds off, which would probably help her more than this futile attempt at keeping their tummies satiated with ‘healthy foods’...
Quna rubbed away at her belly, which was now definitely the size of the couch, which went a long way to explain why the furniture was on the verge of breaking three times over. “...No, there’s no point. I can’t get any better, I’ll just keep on slipping back into my old habits. Thanks for trying, Rupika, but… It’d probably be best to just stop here.” Finally, she let the stubborn part of her mind go, admitting her own faults in the process.
This brought a smile to Rupika’s face as she clapped her hands together. “W-Well, if that’s all then, I think, uh…” She paused as her belly started growling. Hunger was about to consume her, so she was probably going to head to the Café at this point… But there was still something on her mind. “...W-What are you going to do now, Quna?”
“Probably scream Casra’s ear off for selling my photos.” She plainly admitted, sending a massive shocking chill down the Newman’s spine. “...What, you thought I didn’t know? I worked as an assassin for Luther for so long, and you don’t think I’m able to pick up on that four-eyed bastard spying on me?” The way that she revealed all of that so casually nearly made the purple-haired fatty faint in shock.
The Newman tried her best to keep herself conscious as she stammered and stuttered. “W-Well i-i-if you knew, t-then why didn’t you tell me?” She asked, her heart racing so hard that she felt like it could burst out of her chest at any one moment. And the sweat gathering underneath her purple Zelsius didn’t help matters either, as a wet spot started forming right around her crotch. That shock had done more than just terrify her…
“Because I didn’t want you to worry about it.” Quna replied with a smile. “Though, seeing how you kept on nearly drooling whenever you looked at me with those longing eyes of yours… I’m starting to wonder if Casra wanted you to have those pictures because he knew you’d keep them from other people, or because he had guessed your fetish…”
Rupika sighed. All of that careful tiptoeing around the truth, and the carpet got yanked out from underneath her just like that. At least she didn’t need to feel like she was treating on thin ice around the Idol. Now it was just the usual nervousness she felt around fatties that she had romantic interests towards…
“I… I should go. I need to go tell Matoi that I want to-” The Newman tried to find an excuse to leave, only for the bigger fatty to grab her suit and let go, making it snap back and cause her to yelp in pain. “W-What is it? C-Can’t I go?”
Quna grinned and giggled cheekily, her aggressive behavior completely gone. “Since you mucked up everything, how about you at least get us some lunch? Then we’ll be even.” Of course her gluttonous cravings would pop up again, and this time the Newman didn’t even bother trying to go against them.
In the end, neither the Idol nor the Guardian lost any weight. But instead, they grew closer… Emotionally. Their tummies were in the way of a physical connection, something that Rupika came to accept.
She just hoped Matoi wasn’t going to get on her case for being with Quna for so long…