Josuke Higashikata, a first-year student at Joestar High School in Morioh, wakes up one morning to a bizarre and terrifying discovery. His pants are way too loose. Looking in the mirror, he finds a stunningly beautiful girl staring back, a girl with a familiar face and a very unfamiliar body.
Panicking, he rushes out to find his home in utter chaos. His nephew Jotaro is now a hulking, muscular man. His mother has transformed into a stooped old guy. It seems a mysterious curse has swept through
A Bizarre Gender-Bender Rhapsody - Tragedy at Café du Magot! A Sudden Love Triangle
The air in front of Morioh Station still carried a slight chill.
Jousuke and Kouichi, still dragging the chaos of yesterday with them, stepped into Café du Magot, facing the station rotary.
*Clink-clank*, chimed the doorbell.
" Welcome. Please, sit wherever you like."
The café was wrapped in the quiet of late morning. The rich aroma of coffee. An old jazz record on the wall played softly. Jousuke, having claimed a window seat, let out a deep sigh.
" Haaah... what the hell is up with this body?"
Jousuke stared down at her own hands. Slender fingers. Delicate wrists. Impossible to believe this was the same body that had been male just yesterday.
Across the table, Kouichi pulled out a small notebook.
" Jousuke-kun, let's just organize what we know. First, I'll summarize the facts."
Kouichi set his pen to paper with a serious expression.
" The targets of this phenomenon are, apparently, all Stand users worldwide. But for some reason, I'm the only one unaffected."
" That's what I'm saying. Why just you, I wonder."
Jousuke picked up the menu. Cake set, 650 yen. The photo of the strawberry shortcake looked infuriatingly delicious.
" Jousuke-kun, are you listening?"
" Kouichi, let's eat this! Your treat!"
" Wha—?! Why me?!"
" I dropped my wallet in all that chaos yesterday. Come on, we're best friends, right?"
Jousuke fixed Kouichi with a gaze, her large blue eyes glistening.
Kouichi's face flushed bright red.
*(Wh-what is this cuteness... I know it's Jousuke-kun, and yet!)*
" F-fine! I'll treat you! So just stop making that face!"
" That's great, Kouichi!"
Jousuke beamed.
She called the waiter and ordered two cake sets. When the strawberry shortcake arrived, Jousuke gazed at it with pure delight.
" Whoa, awesome! The presentation's perfect too!"
She took a bite with her fork.
Jousuke's face lit up brilliantly.
" So good! Sweet and fluffy, this is seriously the best!"
Kouichi watched that smile intently.
*(Ever since Jousuke-kun became a girl... that might be the happiest face I've seen her make.)*
Jousuke innocently stuffed her cheeks with cake. The sight was so lovely and charming, it was hard to imagine the rough-and-tumble Jousuke of usual.
" Kouichi, what's up? You're not eating?"
Jousuke looked up. Around her mouth, pure white whipped cream was smeared all over.
" Jousuke-kun, you've got some on your face."
" Huh? No way."
Jousuke tried to lick it off with her tongue, but couldn't quite manage. She scrubbed at it with the back of her hand.
" Ugh, this long hair gets in the way. A girl's body is seriously inconvenient."
Jousuke grumbled under her breath.
Seeing that, Kouichi couldn't help but laugh.
" That's so like you, Jousuke-kun."
" Hm? What's that supposed to mean?"
" No, nothing. It's just... you really are still Jousuke-kun. Even if your appearance changes, who you are inside hasn't changed at all."
Jousuke combed her fingers through her hair, looking a little embarrassed.
" Obviously. I'm me."
At those words, Kouichi felt a gentle warmth spread through his chest.
*(That's right. Jousuke-kun is Jousuke-kun. So I... I have to protect Jousuke-kun.)*
Kouichi clenched his fist quietly.
That was when it happened.
*Clink-clank.*
The doorbell chimed once more.
Both of their gazes naturally turned toward the entrance.
Standing there was—emerald green hair long enough to reach her waist. A distinctive hair clip rising from the top like two antennae—with a fountain pen stabbed through its tip.
Narrowed golden eyes slowly surveyed the interior. Like a cat searching for prey.
A white coat draped over her shoulders, a sketchbook in one hand.
It was Kishibe Rohan.
" Oh my."
Rohan's golden eyes locked onto Jousuke by the window.
In an instant, those eyes gleamed sharply.
" This is... this is!"
Without a greeting, Rohan strode boldly right up to Jousuke. Then, as if Kouichi's presence didn't even register in her sight, she stared intently into Jousuke's face.
" This facial structure... the line of the jaw, the bridge of the nose, and those eyes! What perfect proportions! The moment I saw you, an electric shock ran through me!"
" H-hey, Rohan-sensei?!"
Jousuke recoiled instinctively.
" I don't know who you are, but you're the ultimate reference material. Let me take a little peek inside your heart."
Rohan smoothly extended her right hand. At her fingertips, the presence of an invisible Stand gathered.
" Heaven's Door!"
Jousuke shouted reflexively, trying to summon Crazy Diamond.
" Jousuke-kun! Don't!"
Kouichi shot to his feet with a clatter and clung to Jousuke's right arm.
" We're in a café! Everyone's watching! Using Stands is bad!"
" Let go, Kouichi! She just tried to use Heaven's Door on me out of nowhere!"
Jousuke yelled, but Kouichi desperately held onto her arm and wouldn't let go.
In that split-second opening—
Rohan's slender white fingers touched Jousuke's cheek softly.
" ...Caught you."
*Flip, flip, flip.*
A few pages of Jousuke's cheek transformed into a "book." The effect of Heaven's Door.
Rohan narrowed her golden eyes and scanned the pages.
" ...What?"
Rohan's expression shifted to shock.
" These memories... that snowy day... and this name... Higashikata Jousuke...?"
Rohan slowly raised her head. Her golden eyes stared fixedly at Jousuke.
" You... you're *that* Higashikata Jousuke?!"
" Yeah! Got a problem?!"
Jousuke shook off Rohan's hand.
Rohan stood stunned for a moment. Her face gradually transformed into a bewitching smile.
" I see... so that's it... that scruffy high school boy turned into such a peerless beauty..."
Rohan stood up. Then, in a loud voice that echoed throughout the café, she declared:
" I've decided against using you as reference! I've fallen in love with you! Higashikata Jousuke, you are my destined motif!"
" WHAAAAAT?!"
Jousuke broke out in goosebumps and leaped back from her chair.
" The appearance of a beautiful girl, and the soul of a hot-blooded man—this gap is too perfect! To think such an existence that inspires such creative drive exists in this world!"
" Stop it! You're creeping me out!"
" Consider yourself without the right to refuse, Jousuke. From today on, you are mine."
" Like hell I am! Kouichi, help!"
" Eeeeh?! What am I supposed to do?!"
Kouichi was in a panic, on the verge of tears.
The other customers in the café were stirring, looking their way. A fierce argument between two beautiful women—of course it drew attention.
—That was when it happened.
*BANG!!*
The café door was blown off its hinges with tremendous force.
" Kouichi-kuuun!!!"
What echoed was an ear-splitting scream.
What appeared was a hulking figure, well over 180 centimeters tall, rippling with muscle. But what she wore was the girls' uniform of Jousuke High School. A sailor uniform stretched to its absolute bursting point.
Her arms were twice as thick as before.
" Yukako?!"
" Kouichi-kun! I finally found you! I've been chasing you since this morning!"
Yukako charged straight into the café. Nearby customers screamed and dodged away from her massive frame.
" Right now, both my power and my Stand are the strongest! Now I can protect you twenty-four hours a day!"
Yukako forcibly embraced Kouichi.
" Ow ow ow ow!! My bones! My bones are creaking!!"
Kouichi's spine groaned and creaked. His face turned deathly pale.
" Hey, Yukako! Let go of Kouichi!"
Jousuke grabbed at Yukako's arm.
But—
" Oh?"
Yukako pushed Jousuke aside effortlessly with one hand.
Jousuke's body floated lightly into the air and landed with a thud against the wall.
" Whoa! What's with this strength!"
" Stop touching Kouichi-kun. I'm strong now. Someone like you, one hand is more than enough."
At those words, Rohan's golden eyes narrowed sharply.
" Wait just a moment... you touched Jousuke, didn't you?"
" I touched her. Do you have a problem with that?"
" Take your filthy hands off Jousuke! Jousuke is my motif!"
" You're the one who should stay away from Kouichi-kun! I'm the one protecting Kouichi-kun!"
Their gazes clashed, sparks flying.
" What did you say? Can a muscle-bound daruma doll like you even comprehend art?"
" Art? What are you talking about at a time like this?! My love is pure! If you get in my way, I'll remove you by force!"
Jousuke, slumped against the wall, held her head in her hands.
" What the hell is this situation!! You're all insane!!"
Jousuke tried to summon Crazy Diamond again—
" Stop, Jousuke-kun! I said no Stands inside the shop!"
With the last shreds of his reason, Kouichi clung to Jousuke's leg. In Yukako's arms, his face a mess of tears and snot, he still desperately tried to stop her.
" If we bring Stands out here, it's a violation of the unwritten rules! It'll become a police matter! If that happens, the Speedwagon Foundation's information control will get involved!"
" Then what the hell do we do about this situation?!"
—At that moment.
*Beep, beep, beep.*
The sound of the clerk picking up the phone receiver behind the counter.
" I'm calling the police!"
In that instant.
All four of them froze dead in their tracks.
" ...Crap."
" The unwritten rules."
" ...Anything but the police. My manuscript will be delayed."
" If Kouichi-kun gets arrested, I won't be able to protect him."
All four simultaneously sprang into action.
Yukako, still carrying Kouichi under one arm, slammed a 10,000-yen bill onto the counter.
" Here! For the trouble!"
Rohan swiftly pulled a 10,000-yen bill from her sketchbook and did the same.
" For me as well. Keep the change."
And with her other hand, Rohan grabbed Jousuke's wrist in an iron grip.
" Now, let's go, Jousuke."
" Let go! Why the hell are you grabbing my wrist?!"
" Because you are my motif. I won't let you escape."
The four of them burst out the café door.
Overturned tables. Shattered window glass.
The other customers, dumbfounded.
The interior of Café du Magot looked like a battlefield.
---
—Fifteen minutes later.
In front of Angelo Rock.
The four of them stopped, gasping for breath.
Dusk was approaching, the sky just beginning to tinge with orange.
Jousuke, her wrist still held by Rohan, breathed heavily.
Kouichi, still cradled in Yukako's arms, looked like he didn't have a will to live.
" Let go already, Rohan!"
Jousuke shouted.
" I will absolutely not let go. You are my destined person, after all."
Rohan wore a devilish smile.
" Jousuke-kun... I'm done for..."
" It's okay, Kouichi-kun! This time, I won't let anyone interfere! Just like this, to my house—"
" Stooop!! Jousuke-kun, help!!"
" Shut up! I'm not exactly in a position to help right now either!"
Jousuke yelled, then took a deep breath.
" ...Alright. Anyway, for now, we're going to Joutarou-san. If anyone can do something about this chaos, it might be him."
At those words, Rohan chuckled softly.
" Ah, Joutarou. I met him just a little while ago in the lobby of the Morioh Grand Hotel."
" ...Huh?"
" Apparently, he stopped by the hotel during a walk and was sitting dejected on a lobby sofa in a proper ladylike pose. He was even wiping away tears, saying, 'Jousuke called me "ossan" and it hurt.'"
" ...You're kidding."
Jousuke's face went pale.
*(Right... that thing from yesterday...)*
The memory came flooding back. The 190-centimeter giant, leaning against the wall with his head hung low.
A chill ran down Jousuke's spine.
" ...A-anyway, let's go. We have to do something about that maidenly giant."
" I will accompany you as your lover."
" I will accompany you as Kouichi-kun's guardian!"
" Just do whatever you want with me..."
The four of them began to make their way through the twilight shopping district.
Jousuke walked alongside Rohan, her wrist still held captive.
Then, Rohan whispered in a voice only Jousuke could hear.
" ...Hey, Jousuke."
" ...What."
" Earlier, when I read your heart—I saw a memory of being saved b
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