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!?~ - Goodbye Morning! The Magic That Becomes Zero and the Vanishing Memories
The fourth day of the curse.
Morning light streamed through the windows of the Takamine household.
Gash ran to Kiyomaro's room, just like always.
Their slightly overgrown blond hair swayed softly. The small horns on their head seemed to glint faintly in the morning sun.
"Kiyomarooo! It's morning! Time to wake uuup!"
They threw the door open with a bang.
Kiyomaro was already awake.
Sitting in front of the mirror.
Glossy black hair tied up in twin-tails. They were touching it with their own hand, looking at their transformed appearance with something like bewilderment.
"Kiyomaro? What's wrong, staring at your own face like that?"
Kiyomaro slowly turned around.
Their narrow, brown eyes reflected Gash.
But those eyes were cold. The kind of eyes you'd use to look at something you'd never seen before.
"…Who are you?"
Gash's heart gave a massive, painful thump.
"…Huh?"
"Where is this, and who are you?"
"Wh-what are you saying, Kiyomaro! It's me! Gash! Your partner!"
Gash desperately rushed over to Kiyomaro.
They reached out their small hands, trying to cling to them.
"…You're creepy. Don't touch me."
Kiyomaro brushed Gash's arms away as if swatting a bug.
A sharp pain stabbed through Gash's chest.
"N-no way… Kiyomaro, do you really not know who I am? We've fought together all this time, you and me…"
Their voice trembled.
Heat welled up behind their eyes.
Kiyomaro stood up expressionlessly and turned their back on Gash.
"I don't know you. And get out of here. Being around you gives me a headache."
A cold voice.
It was the words of rejection from the one partner Gash had feared losing most of all.
Gash collapsed on the spot.
"…Uu… ah…"
Tears spilled over.
They wouldn't stop.
Kiyomaro didn't even glance at the sobbing Gash, just sat back down in front of the mirror.
As if no one else was even there.
Wiping their tears, Gash burst into the living room.
"Umagon…! Umagon…!"
"Meru?"
Umagon, who had been sprawled out in the corner of the room, immediately noticed something was wrong with Gash.
Their fluffy, platinum-white fur swayed as they rushed over to Gash.
"Kiyomaro… Kiyomaro doesn't…!"
"Meru meru…"
Umagon gently rubbed against Gash's leg.
"What do I do… Ah, that's it! Zakeru! If I show them my spell, Kiyomaro will definitely remember!"
Gash sprang up as if jolted by electricity, grabbed the red spellbook, and ran back to Kiyomaro's room.
"Kiyomaro! Please watch! If you see this, you'll definitely remember!"
Kiyomaro looked at Gash with clear annoyance.
Gash took a deep breath.
They raised the spellbook high and shouted with all their soul's power.
"Zakeru!"
What came from their mouth was a tiny speck of light.
It just made a small crackling sound, like static electricity.
It couldn't even knock over an empty can on the desk.
"…Why?"
They shouted again.
"Zakeru! Zakeruuu!"
Nothing happened.
The power of Kiyomaro's heart, along with their memories, had completely vanished to zero.
They had lost their partner and their power at the same time.
The spellbook slipped from Gash's hands.
"Uu… Uwaaaaaah!"
Gash clutched the spellbook and sank to the floor.
They couldn't even lift their face anymore.
"Gash!"
The door of the Takamine house flew open and Tio burst in.
Short-cropped purple hair. Determined, amethyst-colored eyes.
"What happened! That bastard Kiyomaro forgot about you?!"
Gash lifted their tear-streaked, crumpled face.
"Tio… Zakeru won't come out anymore either… I'm…"
"…I see."
Tio clenched their fist tightly.
And then, as if steeling their resolve, they stood directly in front of Gash.
"There's no more time! The true heart—it's definitely about conveying words of love! This 'true heart' thing that breaks the curse… Gash, I'm convinced of it! It's love! Words of love!"
Tio's voice was filled with passion.
"…Love?"
"Yes! Telling someone clearly how you feel about them! That's the key to breaking the curse that shatters the mirror!"
Tio's eyes were more serious than ever before, but also somehow desperate.
With Kiyomaro gone now, they were fighting against the ugly part of their own heart that saw this as their chance.
"Gash!"
Tio grabbed Gash firmly by both shoulders.
"I love you! Go out with me! I'll make you happier than anyone else ever could, I swear it!"
It was a manly, straightforward confession.
"…Huh?"
Gash's eyes widened and they froze.
Their mind couldn't process what was happening.
Only Tio's earnest eyes burned themselves into their heart.
"Just watching you talk to Kiyomaro made my chest churn. I wanted to do something for you, but I never knew how. Even if I'm stuck in this girl's body right now, I want to protect you."
"…Tio…"
All Gash could do was say their name.
At that moment.
Clatter.
A loud noise came from the hallway.
From Kiyomaro's room.
Kiyomaro stumbled into the living room.
Tears were welling up in their eyes.
They quickly grew into large droplets and spilled onto the floor.
"…Stop it…"
It was a voice that sounded wrenched out of them.
"Stop it… Don't say any more…"
Kiyomaro clutched their head, as if fighting something invisible.
"I… I have something I need to tell Gash… I don't want someone like you to take that from me…!"
Tio's words—"I love you"—had ignited the flames of jealousy that had been sleeping inside Kiyomaro.
Their fading memories and the "true feelings" they had suppressed deep in their heart were now trying to surge back all at once, fueled by jealousy.
"…I, to Gash…"
In that instant, the strength drained from Kiyomaro's body.
Like a marionette whose strings had been cut, they collapsed on the spot.
"Kiyomaroooo!!"
Gash's scream echoed through the Takamine house.
Gash practically tumbled over themselves rushing to Kiyomaro, lifting their body up.
The cold eyes from before were gone now.
Firmly closed eyelids. A pale face.
"No! Kiyomaro! Kiyomarooo!! Open your eyes! It's me, Gash! Don't leave me behiiiind!!"
Gash's voice was no longer anything but a shriek.
"What a beautiful scream… No, this is hardly the time for that!"
At that voice, Folgore finally tore their eyes away from the mirror and rushed into the living room.
Their platinum-blond hair, reaching down to their waist, swayed as their sapphire-blue eyes took in the situation.
"Kiyomaro-kun!? What in the world! The curse must have entered its final stage!"
"Meru…!"
Even the usually calm Umagon let out a pained cry and pressed close to the fallen Kiyomaro.
"Kiyomaro… No… Without Kiyomaro, I'm… I'm…!!"
Gash could do nothing but cling to the motionless Kiyomaro and wail.
Their desperate cries were simply swallowed up, hollow and empty, into the ceiling of the Takamine house.
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