One morning, Gash Bell wakes up to find he has become a girl. He runs around screaming. But it's not just him. Kiyomaro is also a girl, Tio and Umagon have become boys, and Folgore has transformed into a woman of breathtaking beauty.
Due to the battle to decide the king of the demon world, an ancient curse has been triggered. To break the curse, they must find the 'Heart of Truth' within one week. But what is the 'Heart of Truth'? Nobody knows.
Panic erupts. Yet Gash, who can't ignore people i
Zatch Bell!! ~The Cursed Great Reversal!?~ - Folgore Joins the Battle! Love in the Mirror and the Broken Genius
Since that morning's uproar, it felt like the whole world had gotten a whole lot noisier.
The Takamine family living room was now both the curse countermeasure headquarters and a front-row seat to a slapstick spectacle.
Day three of the curse. As the sun began to climb higher, that slapstick reached its peak.
"Oh, how beautiful I am!"
A sparkling voice rang through the Takamine living room. Its owner refused to budge even a single step from in front of the large full-length mirror. She swept back her waist-length, wavy platinum blonde hair, her deep, clear sapphire eyes gazing enraptured at her own reflection.
A peerless beauty who would make anyone turn their head. Every gesture was picture-perfect, and her mere presence brightened the room.
But the moment she opened her mouth, an unfortunate flood of narcissism poured out.
"Folgore! Listen to me! I want to discuss how to break the curse!"
Gash called out desperately, their slightly grown-out blonde hair swaying. The hem of their blue outfit fluttered softly with their movements. But Folgore acted as if she couldn't hear a thing.
"Ah, my beauty is a world treasure... Could someone as beautiful as I possibly do something as barbaric as fighting? I could not! My will to battle is zero! Zero!"
"...There's useless, and then there's this."
Kiyomaro clutched their head. Their glossy black hair, tied into twin tails, slipped off their shoulders. Their narrow brown eyes were completely tinged with resignation.
"Enough! Cut it out already! I'm taking that mirror away!"
Tio, having run out of patience, closed in on Folgore. Her strong-willed amethyst eyes burned with anger, enough to make her short-cropped purple hair stand on end. Her body, made slightly more muscular by the curse, looked dependable now.
She reached out to snatch the mirror away.
"Wh-what are you doing?! Are you trying to defile beauty?!"
The two began grappling over the mirror.
"Let go!"
"No! I absolutely will not let go!"
Crash!
Finally, a small hand mirror fell to the floor and shattered. But Folgore was undeterred, now clinging to the large full-length mirror.
"Oh, how could you! The mirror that reflects my beauty!"
"Serves you right! Now we can talk!"
"...No, I feel like the situation just got worse."
Just as Kiyomaro muttered, Folgore began to grow even more enraptured with her own reflection in the mirror.
"...Even reflected in a broken mirror, I am beautiful. A fragmented beauty... like an abstract painting..."
"Merumeru~"
In the corner of the room, Umagon yawned. Their fluffy silver-white fur swayed gently. Aside from the ribbon perched cutely on the top of their head, they were the same as always. Completely unperturbed by this chaotic situation, they lounged about lazily.
In the end, Tio's monstrous strength won out.
She took the mirror from Folgore, held it high, and declared:
"Today, we are going to discuss how to break this curse! Got it, Folgore!"
"How cruel... To not understand my beauty... you people are barbarians..."
Folgore crouched on the floor, pretending to cry. There was no trace left of the world-class superstar.
Thanks to this huge commotion, the Takamine living room was so wrecked there was nowhere to step. A toppled vase, scattered cushions, shards of the broken mirror.
"...I'm going to school. Good luck with the cleanup."
Kiyomaro let out a heavy sigh and fled the house.
From the living room, Folgore's crying and Tio's lecturing could still be heard.
"Kiyomaro! Do your best!"
With Gash's innocent cheer at their back, Kiyomaro headed for Mochinoki First Middle School.
*(It's quieter at school than at home...)*
That's what they thought. Kiyomaro, at this moment, still didn't know.
---
Mochinoki First Middle School. A public middle school with a four-story building and about six hundred students.
Kiyomaro was a third-year here, known as the top genius of their grade.
But today, Kiyomaro was different.
Fourth period math class. The blackboard was packed with complex formulas. The teacher's voice sounded faint, like a distant radio.
*(I wonder what Gash is doing right now.)*
Before they knew it, their head was full of Gash.
That exchange with Folgore this morning. That innocent, pure, more straightforward than anyone else guy.
*(I hope Tio isn't teasing them again.)*
A sharp pang struck deep in their chest.
*(...That's jealousy.)*
They couldn't lie to themselves anymore.
Kiyomaro's right hand, as if it were a separate creature, ran a mechanical pencil along the edge of their notebook.
Their hand moved unconsciously.
They were drawing Gash's face.
A broadly smiling face. An angry face with puffed-out cheeks. And a shy, bashful expression, a little embarrassed about being turned into a girl.
*(You're always like this.)*
*(Stirring up my heart.)*
Before they knew it, the margins of the notebook were filled with sketches of Gash.
Their feelings for Gash had completely spilled out onto the page. Kiyomaro was utterly unaware of what they were doing.
"Takamine, solve the next problem."
The teacher's voice suddenly sounded close.
"...Huh?"
When Kiyomaro looked up, the teacher was standing right beside them.
This is bad. They're going to see the notebook.
But before that, a hand reached out from the side.
"Hey everyone, look! The genius Takamine is drawing weird doodles!"
Kanayama, a male student in the next seat, snatched Kiyomaro's notebook and held it high.
"Stop it, give it back!!"
The color drained from Kiyomaro's face.
The eyes of the entire classroom gathered on the notebook.
"Who's this? Their girlfriend?"
"They draw surprisingly cute pictures."
"Isn't that face kind of childish?"
"Is Takamine actually an anime otaku or something? Gross."
Teasing words rained down from all directions.
Even the teacher peered into the snatched notebook and smirked.
"Takamine, love-struck, are we? That's not like you."
Those words were the finishing blow.
*(No, this is...!)*
No excuses came to mind. Because it was the truth.
"I said stop it...!!"
Kiyomaro shouted loudly and snatched the notebook back.
Their perfect mask crumbled audibly. The top genius of the grade. The cool, cynical one. That persona was nowhere to be found.
All that remained was the figure of a single bashful boy, in love with another boy.
Kanayama took a picture of that disgraceful scene with their smartphone. The mechanical click sounded like a death sentence.
"...!"
Desperately holding back tears, Kiyomaro dashed out of the classroom.
They ran down the hallway. Raced down the stairs. The curious stares of other students pierced them.
*(I can't take this anymore...)*
They burst out of the school building and circled around to the back garden. Under the big cherry blossom tree, Kiyomaro finally stopped.
They slumped down into a crouch.
*(What have I done...)*
They opened the notebook in their hands. On the edge of the crumpled page, Gash's smile was distorted.
*(It's gross, isn't it, something like this...)*
*(Even though I'm Gash's partner...)*
The tears wouldn't stop, from self-loathing and shame.
Their friendship with Gash had, before they knew it, turned into love.
And that fact had been exposed, in this way, to their entire class.
"...I'm disgusting."
Clutching the notebook, Kiyomaro cried, stifling their voice.
How long had they been like that?
"Kiyomaro!? Are you okay!?"
Suddenly, a worried voice fell upon them.
Gash, who had been waiting outside for school to end, noticed something was wrong with Kiyomaro and rushed over. Gash's small hand gently touched Kiyomaro's shoulder.
"Don't come near me!!"
Kiyomaro violently shook off Gash's hand.
"...Kiyomaro?"
Gash froze, eyes wide. Their large brown eyes wavered like a wounded small animal.
*(No, don't look at me like that...)*
Even as they screamed that in their heart, only words of rejection came out of their mouth.
"Leave me alone..."
Their voice trembled.
"Right now, I don't want to see your face."
They knew they were saying something awful. Right now, Gash's pure eyes were painful to them. When they saw those eyes, they felt like their own ugly possessiveness and jealousy were being seen through completely, and they couldn't bear it.
Kiyomaro turned their back on the crouching Gash and ran away.
"...Kiyomaro, did I... do something bad...?"
Gash was left alone under the cherry blossom tree.
They didn't understand the meaning of Kiyomaro's rejection. They just felt a sensation as if a huge hole had opened in their heart.
Tears spilled from Gash's large eyes.
"Does Kiyomaro... hate me now...? Why...?"
Gash crouched down and sobbed aloud.
Just then, something soft and warm touched their cheek.
"Meru..."
Before they knew it, Umagon was right beside them. They nuzzled their fluffy silver-white fur against Gash and wiped their tears with a soft snout.
"Umagon... Kiyomaro hates me now..."
"Merumeru."
Umagon cried gently and then lay down next to Gash. They said nothing. But they just stayed quietly by Gash's side.
Gash clung to Umagon's warm body and continued crying until their voice gave out.
---
Evening. Kiyomaro returned to the Takamine house.
The sound of the front door opening echoed through the quiet home.
In the living room, Gash sat on the sofa, hugging their knees. The area around their eyes was red and swollen. Umagon was snuggled up beside them worriedly.
Kiyomaro couldn't meet Gash's eyes. Without saying anything, they tried to go to their room.
"Hey, Takamine Kiyomaro! What did you do to Gash!"
But Tio wouldn't allow that. She stood in Kiyomaro's way and glared with her strong amethyst eyes.
"It has nothing to do with me."
"It has everything to do with you! Gash was crying that much! You must have said something!"
"...I said it. That I didn't want to see their face."
"What...! Don't screw with me! You useless piece of—!"
Tio grabbed Kiyomaro by the collar. Now that she had a man's body, she had considerable strength.
"I knew I'd have to protect Gash after all! I can't leave them to someone like you!"
Tio shoved Kiyomaro away and reached out to put an arm around Gash's shoulder.
That was the moment.
Something inside Kiyomaro snapped audibly.
The collapse of emotional control due to the curse. The fatigue from consecutive sleepless nights. And above all, the fear that Gash might be taken away.
All of it mixed together and blew their reason away.
"Don't screw with me!!!"
Kiyomaro's scream echoed throughout the house.
"I'm the one... I'm the one who's been with them all along, calling them an eel and an idiot!!"
Tears streamed down their face.
"Gash's partner... is me!! Like hell I'm handing them over to you!!"
Everyone present froze.
Tio stopped in surprise. Even Folgore, who had been gazing at her reflection in the mirror, looked up and stared at Kiyomaro.
Gash was watching Kiyomaro with wide, round eyes.
*(Ah...)*
Realizing the meaning of the words they had just spoken, Kiyomaro turned bright red and covered their mouth.
This was practically a confession.
"I'm not, that's not what I..."
Kiyomaro stammered.
"...Kiyomaro."
Gash stood up from the sofa.
Unable to look Gash in the face, Kiyomaro fled into their own room.
---
Night.
Kiyomaro sat on their bed, hugging their knees.
No one had come to their room after that.
*(I said it...)*
They clutched their head.
*(Gash definitely thinks I'm weird now.)*
*(Tio and Folgore know everything too.)*
It was the worst day. Exposed in front of the class, hurting Gash, and then practically shouting their feelings of love for all to hear.
Knock, knock.
There was a hesitant knock.
"...Kiyomaro, can I come in?"
It was Gash's voice. Kiyomaro instinctively tensed up.
"...Don't come in."
"Umagon told me. 'If you don't talk, nothing will change.'"
"Meru."
From the other side of the door, they could hear Umagon's cry too. It seemed they had been pushed to come.
Without
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