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Leonard was in… a bit of a predicament…
His squad was ambushed by some Beyonders of the Demoness Sect. They managed to handle it without any major injuries except for the fact that Leonard had gotten corrupted in the process.
The result of that corruption?
He was now a woman.
His already long hair had grown longer, his hips had widened slightly and most importantly… He now had boobs.
Which made him immediately have to button up his shirt after accidentally flashing his teammates. The Demoness Sect surely gave him such exaggerated assets on purpose…
Thankfully, the Red Gloves always carried spare uniforms with how violent their fights would get and the likelihood of clothes getting ripped, so Cindy just handed him her spare to wear.
“Oh my god,” Cindy gasped from laughter. “Captain, are you sure you haven’t been a demoness all along!?”
“Watch yourself,” Leonard glared with no real anger. “Keep this up and I’ll steal your fiance away.”
“Ah, Captain, you should save that for your secret lover~” Cindy teased. “Like this, you could definitely sweep them off their feet!”
Despite never naming Klein, his teammates picked up on his lovesick longing and all knew his heart was reserved for another. Despite Leonard’s beauty, all of his teammates knew the truth that Leonard only had two things in his mind: work and his ‘secret lover’ as they put it.
Jeers and teases came from his teammates as Leonard groaned. He supposed it was a good thing that they could comfortably joke like this…
“Hah, in all seriousness…” Albert attempted and failed to stifle his laughter. “Are you okay? Are there any side effects of the corruption?”
Thankfully not, Pallez had dealt with all of the other effects that naturally came with corruption from the Demoness abilities… If Leonard suddenly had some sort of sex pollen, he was sure he’d end it all himself.
“Tch,” Pallez scoffed. “You’d be dead a hundred times over by now without me, boy.”
With a defeated sigh, he replied, “No, there shouldn’t be any side effects… I’ll have to go to the church to see if I can be cleansed of… this. Let’s just get going now.”
If people stared at Leonard before, they were definitely staring at him now… Thankfully, being surrounded by his teammates made a lot of people back off, but a few creeps did catcall him. One inebriated man even went up to Leonard and caressed his arm, inviting him for a wild night together.
With a simple twirl of his gun, the man backed off, thankfully.
Finally, they made it to Saint Samuel Cathedral.
“Leonard, you’re back–” Soest said, until he looked up. He blinked, before a look of utter flabbergastation appeared on his face. “What the fu–”
“Bob, handle this,” Leonard ordered before practically running to his office and slamming the door without a second glance.
Leonard practically collapsed into his chair, groaning with his head in his hands.
‘The Tarot Club!’ Leonard realized with horror. It was Saturday, in two days, he had to go to the Tarot Club and explain to the members and Mister Fool, a god, that he suddenly became a woman.
He was absolutely mortified.
‘Surely Mr. Fool would understand that I’ve been corrupted…’ Leonard reasoned. He took a deep breath before beginning to pray.
“The Fool that doesn't belong to this era; The Mysterious Ruler above the Gray Fog; The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck, uh, honorable Mr. Fool, I’ve been corrupted by Beyonders of the Rose School of Thought.” Leonard began to explain the situation before he felt a gentle glow wash down upon him and he noticed six pairs of wings envelop him.
It was Mr. Fool’s angel. He received purification!
Leonard quickly lifted his hands, but no. His boobs were still there and he was still a woman. ‘Did it… Did it fail!? No, that can’t be! Mr. Fool must have a reason for this!’
Quickly after, Leonard was enveloped in a red light and suddenly found himself in Mr. Fool’s divine Kingdom. But this time, instead of the long table, it was a small round one. And on the other end was not Mr. Fool, but rather Gerhman Sparrow or Klein.
“Klein?” Leonard said in shock and embarrassment at his partner seeing him like this. “Uh, well, I got corrupted or something…”
Klein nodded, morphing back into Klein Moretti. “I know. You will be fine, the corruption will last for a week at most until you return back to normal.”
“That’s good,” Leonard smiled, relaxing easily. “So uh, why did you come to see me?” He stared at Klein who fell silent and looked away, almost… embarrassedly? His face showed no change in expression, but such an act was out of the norm for Klein. “Did you miss me!?” Leonard asked eagerly with a smile.
“We are literally dating, Leonard,” Klein half-heartedly glared with no real heat.
“I know,” Leonard smiled with adoration. “It still makes me really happy.”
Klein sighed. “The Tarot meeting is in two days, by the way. You’re going to have to explain to the Tarot members about your… situation.”
“Don’t remind me… My reputation is going to be ruined!”
“Leonard, you never had a reputation to begin with…” Klein said with a smile. “But how has this been for you? If you wish, I’m sure I could convince Mr. Fool to permanently get rid of the corruption.” Of course, Klein had no definitive way to do so, but if Leonard was uncomfortable, Klein would figure something out.
“It’s not too bad actually, after the initial embarrassment,” Leonard waved his hand. He stood up and leaned over the table. “Besides, perhaps I could seduce you like this…” He traced Klein’s jaw with his finger, a sly smile on his face.
Klein’s face remained composed as always, but Leonard caught the red tinge on his ears. Leonard smiled proudly at that.
“Seduce me…” Klein muttered. “But Leonard, you already own my heart. What need is there to seduce me if I am all yours?” He smiled cheekily.
Leonard straightened up and flushed wildly. He slumped back in his chair, looking away. Klein laughed. Leonard was always the one flirting with him, but in reality, just a few words could turn Leonard into a flustered mess.
“Won’t you come see me later?” Leonard asked. “I want to see you and hold you…”
If the Red Gloves had a busy schedule, Klein’s was far worse. He had to juggle multiple identities, keep tabs on allies and deal with enemies. But for Leonard? He could make time. He always could.
“Of course, my Dear Poet.”
—————
Despite his body modification, the Red Gloves always had work to do. Thankfully, Soest took pity on his predicament and assigned the mission originally for his team to another. That left them with paperwork duty, which Leonard had no qualms about unlike his bored team.
By the time he finished, it was almost eight. He told his team to go home an hour ago and finished the rest by himself. Well, just because he developed overworking tendencies didn’t mean his team should suffer because of it.
He hurried home, excited to see a certain Seer again. He opened the door and found Klein, this time as Merlin Hermes, sitting on his sofa relaxedly.
“Klein,” Leonard smiled, full of adoration. He closed the door behind him and walked towards Klein.
Klein snapped his fingers and suddenly, he and Leonard were in more comfortable clothes and he had shifted his face from Merlin Hermes back into Klein Moretti. Leonard sat next to Klein, hugging him tightly.
“I missed you, Klein…” Leonard whined.
‘You’re such a dog…’ Klein snickered. “We just saw each other in Mr. Fool’s divine kingdom.”
“That doesn’t count! You haven’t taken a break in ages!”
Klein smiled, petting Leonard’s head. “That’s what I have you for. My Dear Poet, my anchor.”
He twirled Leonard’s hair with his other hand. It really had grown longer with his gender change. Leonard was the prettiest person Klein ever knew in either gender, but Klein couldn’t help but wonder what Leonard would look like with proper makeup and a dress. Maybe Leonard would let Klein dress him up later…
Leonard smiled and hugged Klein tighter and Klein felt his heart surge. For the first time in a while, Klein allowed himself to relax a little and fall asleep in the arms of his poet.
The next day, his teammates stared in stunned silence as their workaholic Captain, who hardly bothered to brush his hair in the morning, walked into the office looking like a changed person.
His hair was properly styled for once, combed and styled into a ponytail with strands framing his face. He even had a light amount of makeup applied to his face, simply enhancing his features.
Cindy nudged Albert. “I guess he seduced his little lover…?”
—————
Soon enough, Leonard found himself engulfed by a red light and found himself sitting at the stone table.
As always, Miss Justice stood up first with a curtsey, greeting Mr. Fool. The others quickly followed suit before sitting back down.
“What the– You’re a woman!?” Came a yelp from beside Leonard. Mr. Moon was staring in shock at Leonard. Every member whipped their heads at the noise and all stared at Leonard.
“… Uh, yeah, so…” he began.
“Did you switch to the Demoness pathway Mr. Star!?”
Everyone was staring at him with a mix of confusion, intrigue and flabbergastation.
From the corner of his eye, Leonard could even see Klein’s mouth twitch! Klein was definitely laughing at him! “Ahem, well…” Leonard tried to act calm. “I had a… mishap of sorts when dealing with the Demoness Sect. I’m fine of course, but as a consequence, I’m stuck like this for a week.”
“Oh my god…” Ms. Magician whispered. Ms. Judgement looked at her with knowing exasperation.
‘Shit, she’s definitely thinking about something weird…’ Leonard thought.
“Demonesses can just do that?” Miss Justice asked. She had never encountered, well, never knowingly encountered a Demoness before.
“Usually, the corruption of a Demoness causes one to desire intense sexual pleasure… A few people I knew either died after not engaging in sexual activity or lost themselves entirely to the pleasure,” Ms. Judgement replied. “Though I don’t know why this whole… gender changing thing happened.”
‘Oh my god… Thank god I have the Old Man…’ Leonard thought with horror.
“Hmph…” Mr. Moon spoke again. “You look much better as a woman. This would look perfect as a doll. Mr. Star, say, I propose a deal.”
“I– No, I will not be turned into a doll!” Leonard said rather indignantly.
‘A doll of genderbend Leonard…’ Klein thought. ‘Actually, one of Leonard normally would be nice too… Wait, what the hell are you thinking Klein!?’
From the other side of the table, Miss Justice watched Mr. World with intrigue. Whenever matters related to Mr. Star were brought up, Mr. World seemed to be the slightest more expressive. She also noticed that Mr. Star was more expressive than he already was whenever topics regarding Mr. World were brought up.
Like right now, he seemed conflicted at the thought of Mr. Star being turned into a doll… ‘He doesn’t seem angry or annoyed. Could he perhaps want one? Perhaps they are in a relationship!? No, Mr. World must never find out what you are thinking Audrey!’
“Are there monsters that can change your gender on the mainland?” Little Sun innocently asked.
Mr. Hanged Man cleared his throat. “Uh, not usually unless you’re dealing with Beyonders of the Demoness pathway…” He explained.
“Mr. Star, I assure you I can provide payment!” Mr. Moon insisted on making Mr. Star into a doll. “All you need to do is model for a day…”
Before Mr. Star could argue back, the chaise was interrupted by Ms. Hermit this time. “Ahem,” Ms. Hermit cleared her throat. “On the subject of the Demoness Sect, is there anything strange about their movements as of late?”
With that question, the meeting gradually turned back into its usual discussions, with Mr. Moon and Miss. Magician glancing at Mr. Star every so often.
… They were never going to take him seriously ever again, were they?
—————
“You know… A doll of you would be nice…”
“Klein!”