The one who knows him best… (Drider Tf) (Patreon)

“I can’t stand this anymore!” Marie yelled, making Shima turn around to look at her confused. “You have been spending so much time together with Hiros lately while I couldn’t, and that is so unfair!”

“I am sorry, but I fail to see where that's unfair,” Shima answered, shaking her head before showing her iPad to the angry fox girl. “I have been working with him a lot lately and we have finished lots of projects together. You know that we have only been working together, right?”

“That's still more that I got to do with him lately…” Marie hung her head dejected for a moment, before her kitsune ears perked up again. “That's why I will not let you hog him for yourself any longer! I challenge you to a duel of a game!”

“...”

“...”

“...a game?”

“Yes, any game. I am quite confident in my gaming abilities.”

“Sure…if you say so…” Shima blinked a few times as she thought about what had just happened. So a kitsune and good friend of Hiros had just appeared in her room, declared that she is jealous, and challenged her to a game to determine who gets to spend the evening with Hiros. How absurd.

“And you are letting me pick the game?” Shima asked, just to make sure.

“Well, any game that I feel like I have a shot at winning in. I don't want to lose just because of a rigged game.”

“Gotcha… Hmm…” Shima nodded and then asked. “I know you are Nagisa’s disciple, right? Does that mean you are good at transforming people?”

“I am getting better at it. Why do you ask?” Marie asked, genuinely curious.

“Then how about this game: We both have one shot to transform the other to the best of our ability into something that Hiros would really like. Whoever's form he likes better gets to spend the evening with him.” Shima declared, before giving a mischievous smile. “Would that be a game you think you can take me on?”

“Ha! I definitely can! I know Hiros far better than you and know what monstergirls and tropes he likes best. You’re on!” Marie cracked her knuckles while she said that, padding her pockets before returning a big grin.

“Perfect. Then I guess I let you go first~” Shima spoke as you gestured at Marie, almost as if to taunt her.

“Fine. I’ll show you my newest invention~” Marie chimed back, pulling out a can of what looked like insect spray from her pocket and pointed it at Shima. “It… uhm… was originally intended to be a new insect spray, but it… uhm… had some side effects…”

Shima just looked at her puzzled for a moment, before Marie cried out. “But what it does really isn’t a bug, it's a feature!” and sprayed the Shima from top to bottom with the liquid inside the can.

Shima recoiled a bit as although she had been ready for it, getting doused by a spray bottle still brought that certain surprise factor with it. However, Shima knew that this was no ordinary liquid as her body pretty much immediately reacted to it, beginning to shake as she felt her insides shift and turn.

“Very… well. Then let's… see what you got. Ugh…” Shima grunted, suddenly feeling like her lower half was under immense pressure. And from her peripheral vision, she could even see something expanding from her backside, which got a chuckle out of her. “A bigger butt, eh? I give you that. That's definitely something he would enjoy.”

“No, not a big butt,” Marie said just as something burst out from Shima’s pants. It was big, black, and hard… and just continued to grow and grow, which made Shima just a slight bit unwell. Marie continued by saying. “In our business, we call that, a thorax~”

“A thorax…? Ack…!” Shima’s legs suddenly gave in as the load on her behind simply grew too heavy to keep her upright. It had already become about the size of the rest of her body, so that was understandable, though something also seemed to not quite right with her legs as well.

They were getting smaller, thinner, and weaker. The skin around her legs also started to take on a more blackish color as it hardened and became more rigid, almost as if it was changing to become chitin armor. Which prompted Shima to snarkily reply. “Seriously? You made an insect spray that turns people into insects…?”

“Not quite.” Marie instantly deflects, almost as if she had seen the question coming. “My inventions always solve the things I made them for. I made it to get rid of insects, but instead of getting rid of insects directly, it turns people into monster girls that can get rid of insects~ For example…”

“A spider girl~” Then Shima had to suppress grunts as one after another insect-like legs sprouted out from the midsection of her thorax, then hitting the ground. For as weird as that feeling had been, with every leg that appeared she actually gained a lot more strength and mobility again, as after the fourth leg she could stand again, after the sixth she could move and after the eighth she truly felt like she could pretty much do anything.

But her body wasn’t done yet seemingly, as just when she finally got the feeling for movement with her new appendages, she felt the same kind of pressure just below her armpits, while her hands also began to feel somewhat sore. Well not sore, just… stiff?

“But I included something special in your dose, just to truly give me the edge in this game. Do you want to guess?” Marie asked as two additional limbs sprouted out from below her armpits, making Shima instinctively hug herself as she tried to feel them. Yet they just continued to grow regardless, forming two fully grown arms in a matter of seconds, with hands fully coated in chitin, just like her original ones were by this point.

“What do you think? Do you think you can beat this?” Marie asked with a smug look on her face.

“Give me a moment. I feel like the amount of limbs I have more than tripled just now and I am kinda suffering from sensory overload a bit.” Shima answered while looking at all four of her hands coated in black armor as she moved her fingers trying to get a feel for each hand.

“I guess that makes sense considering… that.” Marie gestured at Shima, then turned to look at the ceiling. “Just tell me when you are ready for your turn.”

“Alright. I am ready.” Shima said, pulling out her iPad in one hand and her pen in the other. “The question is: Are you ready?”

“Y-yes!” Marie braced herself for impact as Shima's pen made contact with her tablet. Then she moved the pen over the pad expertly, making a few clicking and clacking noises, sometimes flicking the pen between her fingers and thinking a bit to herself.

“Uhm…” Marie let out. “Did something happen?”

“Not really.” Shima began to smirk, doing her best to suppress a laugh. “I am a human… I guess now Spider artist. My best shot at transforming you really isn’t all that impressive, all things considered.”

“Huh?!?” Marie gasped. “Wait. Then I won by default. Why would you challenge me to a game that you knew you would…”

“Oh, I think you misunderstood something.” Shima grinned, moving a bit closer to the by-now slightly terrified kitsune in front of her. “I said the winner would be the one whose form would appeal more to Hiros.”

“What?!?” Marie gasped once again as the realization dawned on her.

“You gave it your best shot, I gave it my best shot. You are a kitsune with slight furry vibes, I am a massive spider girl with four arms. Which form do you think Hiros would like more?”

“I… you… ugh… damn it…” Marie let her head hang in defeat, knowing that she had been beaten. And by smartness no less. “Fine. Yeah, you win. But could you do me a favor and tell Hiros that I would like to hang out with him sometime in the near future? It's been a while.”

“Sure, I'll do that.” Shima said, then put her pad and pen and a few other things into her bag and threw it over her shoulder…s, then continued with “But I really gotta go now. We promised to meet up together this evening, so I can’t afford to come in late~ See you next time you would like to challenge me, Marie~”

“Yeah…” The dejected kitsune sighed. “Until next time…”

—

“...” Hiros stared for a moment at the giant ten-legged beast in front of him in a mixture of awe and bewilderment, before he finally managed to get words out of his mouth. “...Hi Shima. A-Are you ready to work together? We still have that CYOC to discuss and… wow.”

“You really like spider girls, don’t you?” Shima just smiled.

“Yes.”

“Ara ara~ Then I am glad I met your little blue friend today~ She definitely showed me that her bug deterrent worked quite well~”

—

An epic duel between artist and goddess. This is a fight that Marie can not afford to lose and luckily for her, she has a few more improved tricks up her sleeve…

Pic drawn by NickFairy