Synopsis: Lauren, an european transfer student, is always having trouble at his school. Looking like a typical delinquent and with a sharp tongue he cannot control, he always ended up in trouble with the local delinquents. But thanks to his strenght, he always managed to beat them all up... until one night one of them shoot him down with a gun. The very next moment, Lauren awakened in the body of Princess Laura, thanks to the botched spell of a second rate magician. Now he has to live in this new world, where everyone expect this rebellious, violent boy to behave like a graceful girl. Genre: Gender Bender, Action, Adventure, Humour, Comedy, Slice of Life CAUTION: contain some mild profanity I will be posting this story on Royal Road too. Table of Content Chapter 0 - The Beast becomes the Beauty Chapter 1 - I don't want to Believe
Chapter 0 The Beast becomes the Beauty “Die you damn monster!” screamed the last one of the thugs, lunging at Lauren with a kitchen knife. Lauren sneered, and with a swift movement he hit the thug's wrist with his baseball bat. The guy grunted in pain, and the knife fell from his hand. Before he could do anything else, Lauren punched him in the face, making blood flow from his nose, and then kicked him between his legs just to be sure. The delinquent fell to the ground, squirming in pain. “Eh, if being a monster being different than you losers, then I'm glad to be one!” said Lauren, looking around to see if anyone else was going to attack him. But no one of the other people presents in that small park was in any shape to lift a finger, let alone attack him. Six delinquents, including the one he just beated, were on the ground, moving weakly. None of them lost consciousness, as their moaning and cursing attested, but despite the obvious pain none of them had received any serious injury. No broken bones, no head trauma... just some bloodied noses and very big bruises in uncomfortable places. Meanwhile Lauren was virtually unscratched. “Good” he thought “I'm really getting the hang of it.” He went and kneeled beside the leader of that group, a young man with ridiculously blond dyed spiky hairs. He probably did that to look intimidating, but Lauren though he looked like a bleached porcupine. He used his baseball bat to lift the thug's bloodied face, forcing the yankee to look him in the eyes. The delinquent leader looked at him with impotent rage, but an healthy dose of fear was keeping it down. “Listen up buddy!” Lauren said, in a cheerful tone, while displaying his trademark shark smile “Since I'm in a good mood, I'm willing to let you off lightly this time. Buuuuut...” he said in a mockingly musical tone “If you guys try to ambush me again, theeeen I'm gonna be forced to use my bat in more creative ways!” He lifted the bat, grabbing it by the head, and looked intently at it, measuring its girth with his fingers. “Well... what is the circumference of this thing? I'd say around 20 cm... what do you think?” “W-what are you getting at, you bastard!?!” asked porcupine head, a mixture of rage, confusion, pain and fear in his voice. “Well, all I'm saying is that if you don't want to experience this 20 cm thick bat accomodating inside your rectum, you'd better stay the hell away from me.” cheerfully answered Lauren, but his violet eyes were as cold as ice “Are we clear?” “Y-yes! Absolutely!” promptly answered porcupine head, panic in his voice “I won't bother you again! P-please!” “Splendid!” Lauren smiled, straightening up “Well then, now that we've have reached an understanding, I'm gonna go my way. Ta ta!” And with those carefree words, Lauren walked away, whistling merrily as he jumped over the other delinquents still prone on the ground, his bat resting on his shoulder. Only when he was well out of their sight, he dropped some of his happy go lucky facade, getting serious and hiding his bat in his bag again. He then let out a tired sigh. It was the third ambush of the month. It was like this ever since he sent that biker gang to the hospital. When he first arrived to Japan, at least the delinquents were more open about their moves: they challenged him directly, first alone or in small groups, then with bigger numbers. But as they kept getting their ass kicked, they resorted to more cowardly methods: ambushing him, trying to vandalize his home, some even using women as bait to try and lure him into traps. But nothing had worked. Armed with his sense of justice, his hands, kicks and his trusty aluminium baseball bat, Lauren had smashed through each and every adversary. Now he was feared and loathed, known as the Beast of Sakurai High, the Yellow Monster, and many other nicknames. Lauren smiled weakly. It was like he was the protagonist of some shitty action story. The kind of story he'd have loved and wished he could be a part of just a couple of years before. But reality was a whole another package. “I suppose that's partly my fault.” he said to himself, his mild amusement barely covering his fatigue “But somehow I think it couldn't be helped.” About 1,8 metres tall, with broad shoulder, blond hairs, chilling blue eyes and sharp features (especially his nose), Lauren looked like the poster boy for a yankee in Japan. Coupled with his sharp tongue and willingness to get involved in fights, all these things made him a target for all the numerous delinquents that infested the neighborhood. But those hoodlums failed to anticipate the scope of his strenght, and got annihilated as result. Though to be fair, not many people had a father like Lauren's. Lauren's step father, an ex Yakuza that turned over a new leaf and met Lauren's mother in Europe, had taught everything he knew about self defense to his step son. Every dirty trick, every move, every strategy had been pounded into a young Lauren's body through many hours of training. And the young boy had loved every minute of it. Fighting seemed incredibly entertaining for him, and he had dedicated himself to learn everything his father could teach him with passion. Besides, his step father taught him to always live by his own rules. “Always do what you think is right!” he said “Your beliefs are the only thing that no one can take from you. But if you throw them away, you'll never get them back!”. Lauren missed the reassuring voice and presence of his dad. If he was still with him, he'd surely give him advice to get out of trouble... or at least he'd support him wholeheartedly. But he was gone. A sudden heart attack had taken him just after they arrived in Japan, leavin Lauren alone with his mother, who had gone back in Europe. She wanted Lauren to go back with her, but he was too stubborn to leave his school. It would have looked like he had run away, and he couldn't bear this thought. And so, during his first day of school at Sakurai High, what did he do? Why, of course he had to get nosy and interfere with the bullies and delinquents activities, acting upon his sense of justice without any regard for the consequences. Lauren admitted that he did so in part to cover his pain for the loss of his father, but if he could go back in time... he'd still have probably done the same. But that costed him any chance of social life. Although he never bullied anyone his classmates avoided him, too scared of possible ripercussion from the delinquents to befriend him. The teachers loathed him, cause he said what he thought about their methods of “keeping order” to their face. And the hoodlums he fought, well... forget about “reaching understading through your fists”: they were just a bunch of cowardly, self absorbed, sociopathic bullies. No honor or manliness among them: only desperation, hate and arrogance. Although he didn't feel any remorse in kicking their asses, Lauren felt bad just being associated with them. “Buncha' spineless motherf*ckers!” he thought “I'd wish the world would be like a shounen novel... where people actually valued honor and justice. But I guess that's just fantasy!” He was still on his way to home when he heard a noise from behind his back. Lauren started turning, alarmed, but something hit him, accompanied by a loud explosion, and he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his side. His legs failed him, and he fell to the ground, counghing blood. Raising his eyes, he saw Porcupine Head, looking at him with hate, something metallic in his hand. Looking better, Lauren recognized the object as a small gun. “Not so tough now, b*tch, uh?” snarked the delinquent, looking at him from upside down, before pointing the gun against him. “Oh f*ck...” said Lauren, just as Porcupine Head pulled the trigger again. Then everything went dark. “Uhhh... what the sexual reproduction act just happened!?!” said Lauren weakly. He felt incredibly weak, as if he had been ill for a long time. His thoughts were scrambled, and he couldn't really see: everytime he opened his eyes, it was painful and everything was blurry, so he kept them shut. “She awake! Oh praise Nerva! She's awake!” cried an unknown voice, deep and full of excitement. “Please your majesty, calm down!” said another voice, slimy and servile “I've got to make sure the ritual has worked properly. I've managed to reconnect her soul to her body, but I still don't know if the connection is stable. A strong emotion could undo all of my hard work.” “Oh... of course. What do I need to do then?” asked the first voice, full of concern. “Well, leaving the room would be advisable, until I'm sure she's stable. Seeing you could make her too emotional.” “Of course, of course... I'll be right outside of the door. Let me in as soon as you're sure she's stable!” There was a sound of steps and those of a closing door. Those discussion didn't make much sense to Lauren. He thought he heard the word “soul”, and that they were talking about a girl... but everything was confused. Slowly, his thoughts started clearing, and he remembered what happened to him. “That damn Porcupine Head shot me!” he thought with rage “That coward! But since I think I'm still alive, that means I'm in a hospital. So... the slimy one is probably a doctor that was talking about a female patient. Maybe she's in the same room as me.” He tried his best to open his eyes, and this time he managed to see a colored ceiling. Everything was still blurry but it didn't hurt him anymore. He was laying down on some sort of soft bed, and looking around he could see a very big room. He couldn't make out the details, but it looked like the room was very richly furnished. “What kind of hospital is this?” Lauren wondered “Some sort of specialized clinic?” Then, he decided to try and get up. His whole body felt... wrong, like it wasn't his own, and it felt incredibly heavy, especially on the chest. But he felt no pain at all. “They must have very good painkillers here.” he thought, but then a couple of cold hand stopped him from raising. “Please princess, I know that you want to get up, but be patient for a while longer.” said the slimy voice “I've gotta make sure you're stable.” “Eh... first time... someone calls me... princess...” Lauren said weakly, with a small trace of amusement. This doctor was obviously making small jokes to put him at ease. And he probably needed that. Not even his own voice felt right... it was very high pitched, like that of a girl. A sudden, terrible thought appeared in Lauren's mind. “Did that porcupine head bastard did something to my family jewels!?!” Lauren thought with a trace of panic. Castrating your enemies was rare, but not unheard of among delinquents. And he had certainly earned enough ire to make those hoolingans resort to extreme methods! Slowly moving his hand, trembling with fear, Lauren checked between his legs. IT WAS GONE! The sudden adrenaline rush made him jump up, as the awareness of what he thought happened to him swept away the fog in his mind. “T-that damn son born out of wedlock castrated me!” He almost screamed, again with that high pitched, girly tone. Now sitting up, he looked down at his body... and istantly froze. There were... two huge masses of meat protrunding from his chest, so big that he couldn't even see his waist past them. It took him a while to recognize them as boobs. “Woah... princess! Are you ok?” asked the slimy voice again, and finally Lauren turned to watch him. It was a fat, bald middle aged man. He was unnaturally pale, and this was accentuated by his black robes. He kinda looked like the mix between a pig and a slug squeezed toghether in a priest robe. With a puzzled and worried expression in his eyes, he started talking again. “Uhmm... maybe the link between the soul and the body is still disturbed. Let me see if I can... UGH!” the slug man discourse was interrupted by Lauren's hand, that reached to his throat and started chocking him. “What have you done to me, you son of a woman of the streets?” he asked with pure rage “Have you performed a sex-change operation on me? Who gave you permission to do that!?!” Still chocking, the guy responded with a pained whisper. “I-I don't know... what... you're t-talking about... Princess... I... I just... recalled... your soul... into your... body...” His face was turning blue, his hand struggling and failing to free himself, so Lauren let him go. He fell to the ground, gasping for air, and so Lauren asked: “What do you mean “recall my soul into my body”? Where the hell am I!?! Answer quickly... oh, and if you try and call for help, I'll snap your neck this time!” The fat man looked at him with horror, a sudden realization appearing on his face. “You... you are not Princess Laura!?!” he asked, panic in his voice. “Heck no! I'm Lauren! Lauren Takashi!” “Oh heavens! Oh hells! This is bad! This is really, really bad!” the Slug Man started crying, but Lauren stopped him. “What do you mean? What did you do to me!?! Explain yourself!” The pale, fat man looked at him in the face with consternation. “I... I think I made a terrible mistake. I was asked to put the princess's soul back in her body to awaken her, but I got the wrong soul! Oh, the king is gonna have my head for this!”
There is gonna be some romance, but I'm gonna play it for laughs. Mostly like Ranma 1/2. So technically speaking, no Yuri. Just comedy.
Lol why do people always get summoned from Japan? Japan must really be a massive 'power spot'. Guns are extremely rare in Japan so the death seems kind of unrealistic. There are so few guns in circulation and even fewer incidents with them. Just some thoughts I had. A few spelling mistakes here and there too but it's coherent English.
Well... if a guy is gonna go after Lauren, he'd better be prepared to be punched into the ceiling. This is gonna be a plot point later. There is a reason for it, don't worry.
Just like how Aliens always attack America when they come to visit. Highschoolers always get transported to other world from Japan.
Well, there is gonna be some, but it will be comedy more than drama. Not many serious moments can survive Lauren's snark.
I just hope romance won't be a main thing for the MC but I won't mind humor of people failing to get her attention. Too many MC's gender bender character always think that they have to be in a relationship to be truly happy and the people around them basically thinking the same thing too.
They'll get his/her attention allright... as well as a punch in the face and a summary kick to the jaw. Glad you like it! As soon as the mod will approve it!
Chapter 2 - I don't want to Believe Lauren almost thought his eyes were going to pop out of his sockets. The look of disbelief in his face was probably showing a lot, cause Slug Man coughed awkwardly and said: “Listen... I know that all this is hard to swallow... but... well, you should know that necromancy, and magic in general, is not an exact science. Only recently we necromancers have been allowed to practice our arts openly. Some mistakes are to be taken into account! After all, this is the first time I ever tried to recall someone's soul from Limbo!” As if suddenly realizing something, Slugman started mumbling to himself. “Although... this is interesting. I never knew that it was possible for a soul to inhabit someone else's body! This opens whole new orizons in magic theory! It's a sensational discovery that could...!” He couldn't finish, as Lauren's fist hit him straight in the face, making him stumble back. “Ouch!” he cried again, but Lauren could tell he was more surprised than in pain. The punch had been pathetically weak, although perfectly executed. “Whatever they did to my body, it sapped away all of my strenght!” thought Lauren “Well, if they think this makes me harmless, they're in for a surprise! I know dozens of ways to hurt them using barely any strenght!” Meanwhile, he said out loud: “Magic!?! Necromancy!?! What fool do you take me for!?! We're in the 21st century Slugman! No one is gonna believe ya if you blabber about magic! Now you're gonna tell me what really happened, or I'll play an eye for an eye and rip out your family jewels too!” He raised his hand, mimicking the act of grabbing and ripping out something, and walked right in front of Slug Man, who appeared both confused and terrified. “Wha... 21st century? No magic?” Slugman was puzzled, a look of pure amazement appeared in his face “Wait a second! That can't be true!” “What can't be true, Slugman?” asked Lauren. “Ehm... perhaps, do you come from a place called Japan?” he asked tentatively. “Uh... yes.” that question surprised Lauren “I lived in Japan for the last year... do you mean to tell me we're not in Japan right now?” Slugman's face was the (slimy) picture of amazement. Then, all of a sudden, he grew very excited. “That mean... I summoned a soul from Keyworld! I performed a magic that was thought to be the exclusive domain of the gods! Oh, this is even more earthbreaking news than I thought!” He looked incredibly hyper, but Lauren couldn't take any more of his sh*t and interrupted him. “Hey hey hey! Let's concentrate on the matter at hand now!” he said angrily “What do you mean with Keyworld ? Are you perhaps implying that right now I'm in another world?” Slugman stopped for a moment, then gave him a worried look. “Uhm, yes.” he answered “I take that you're from the world called Earth. Well, it seems I accidentaly summoned you to our world, that is called Bodh.” “And you expect me to believe in such male bovine fecal matter?” asked Lauren in a pissed tone, and then he stopped for a second, realizing the choice of words he just used “What, what the reproduction act did I just say!?!” “Uhm, well... if you're trying to say profanities, then it's just the Princess's Divine Blessing acting up.” said Slugman “The what now!?!” Lauren asked, bewildered. “That's an example of the magic of this world.” explained Slugman “Her highness Laura Marzia Auriga, whose body you currently inhabit, had received the Divine Blessing of Grace. That means that everything about her is automatically made more graceful, language included. This is why all profanities are automatically... ehm... censored the way you just experienced.” “And you acting up upon your reproductive instinct son born out of wedlock think I'm gonna believe you?” Lauren said, and then stopped after realizing how “f*cking bastard” came out of his mouth. He then tried to scream some more profanities “Motherlover! Son of a woman who sells her body! Fecal matter! What the mating hell is wrong with me!?!” “Ehm... I told you. That's the Divine Blessing of the Princess.” “Do you mean that I'm actually in another reproduction act world right now!?! More like you did something to my brain as well! If ya had done surgery to change my sex, while not some lobotomy to prevent me from mating swearing as well uh!?!” Slugman stopped for a while, and then said, a bit scared: “Well, I have only heard stories, but it seems that people from your world started accepting the fact that they are actually in another world after seeing the sky. Maybe you should give a look too?” And he pointed at a big window, currently almost completely covered with blue satin curtains. Lauren hesitated a bit, but then he regained his resolve and marched to the window, completely opening the curtains with an abrupt movement. Beyond the exsquisitely made window and glasses, he could see a wide garden, surrounded by numerous white palaces. It all looked kinda baroque, like some 17th century french castles he had seen in his youth. But what striked him more was the sky: it was apparently noon, but three huge moons of different colors could be seen with naked eye, a small white one high in the sky and two big red ones surfacing from the horizon. It looked like the cover of some fantasy book, and the realization that he was actually in some other world finally hit Lauren. “Wha... how is it possible! Am I... am I really in another world!?!” he stuttered softly. “Yeah. That is what I was trying to say.” Slugman nodded “Uh... so looking at the sky really convinces you people that you're in another world. Always thought it was just a legend.” Lauren turned to him. “Why did you... do this to me? Are you some kind of wizard!?! Why did you brought me here!?!” “Uh... yes, I am a mage... a necromancer, to be exact.” answered Slugman “And although I do believe it was my spell that brought you here, it was completely by accident!” “By accident!?! How!?! How do you bring someone here in someone else's body by accident!?!” “I don't know!” Slugmen replied in a whiny tone “The whole process of recalling someone's soul is kinda new for mages. Usually meddling with souls is a cleric thing, and they are not keen on details like how does something work. For them, it's all their deity's will and whatnot!” Slugman voice had a little bit of acrimony while talking about clerics, but after this small digression he kept on explaining. “Anyway, I used my powers to reach into Limbo, the plane between the world of the living and the world of the dead, searching for princess Laura's soul. When I found it... or rather, when I thought I had found it, I dragged it back into her body.” He then looked at Lauren with a puzzled expression. “But, for some reason, what I found wasn't the princess's soul... it was yours.” “Wait wait wait!” Lauren was bewildered “How in the hell did you mistook my soul for that of the princess? Are you... I dunno, soul blind or something!?!” “I told you that I don't know! I've never really messed with souls before!” again, Slugman had the whiny tone of a kid “I thought that the princess's soul would still somehow be linked to her body, since it was still technically alive. But following that link what I found was your soul instead!” “And how the heck was my soul linked to the princess's body?” “I don't know! I can only postulate that...” Slugman's response was interrupted by the door opening. A tall, middle aged man entered the room. He was blonde, with icy blue eyes and a sparse goatee, and he was dressed in luxurious blue clothes with a crimson mantle on his shoulders. The newcomer looked at Lauren, tears in his eyes, and then spoke. “Laura? Are... are you really awake?” “Uh... well... yes, I'm awake.” said Lauren “Although I'm not really...” He couldn't go on. The old man runned at him, grabbing him in a tight hug. “Oh Laura! My child! Papa was so worried for you!” Tears were openly flowing through his cheeks. Lauren was too dazed to do anything. This old man clearly cherished his daughter a lot, and Lauren felt really uncomfortable at the prospect of telling him that he was possessing her body. Still, better do it now than later. “Uh... I'm sorry, whoever you are, but I'm not really...” “Wait you majesty!” cried Slugman, before Lauren could continue “I told you to wait outside! There is a... a complication.” The old man looked up at the necromancer, a bit worried. “What do you mean with a complication?” he asked. “Well, it seems that the princess is currently experiencing amnesia and some personality changes of sort.” explained the mage, getting between Lauren and the old man “I think it's the result of her soul being separated from her body for so long. In order to make a full recovery, I'd advise that you keep a certain distance from her for the time being!” “Hey, what are you playing at!?!” asked Lauren, confused and suspicious “Didn't we just talked about... OUCH!” Lauren moaned as Slugman stepped on his toes while giving him a warning look. Meanwhile Laura's father looked surprised and confused, but then nodded with concern. “Of course, you told me that. Sorry, but the desire to see my daughter overwhelmed by common sense. I'll keep my distance for now.” He walked away, exiting the room again. Just before he closed the door, he said: “Forgive me Laura... I'll be back with you as soon as it'll be safe for you! Don't worry, you'll always be in papa's thought! And if you need something, I'll come to you at any moment!” Then he left, leaving Lauren and the necromancer alone again. With a suspicious and angry expression, Lauren turned to the mage. “Why did you not tell him the truth, you scoundrel!?!” he asked with a voice full of menace “Why are you playing with that old man's feelings like this? I'm not his daughter! He has the right to know that!” “Telling him the truth is exactly what we cannot do right now!” replied Slugman “If he discover that I brought some stranger's soul in his daughter body, he'll have my head on a pike before the sun is set! And you won't fare much better! He'd have your soul cast into Limbo again by some Sedh's cleric in order to vacate that body!” This stopped Lauren in his track. Yeah, having a male soul in your daughter body wouldn't make any sane parent happy... but he didn't ask for this, right? It was an accident. Surely he'd show some lenience. “Well... it's not like I did anything to her, right?” Lauren asked “After all, it's completely your fault I'm in this situation, isn't it?” “Well... who knows?” the necromancer made a wily expression “I'm the only one apart from you that can say something about it. And I imagine that if I say that you are the one responsible, my words would carry a certain weight.” “You mating son of a...” Lauren almost screamed, jumping at the hateful, slimy fat man. But before he could reach him, the mage lifted his right hand, which was now holding a small black crystal, and suddenly Lauren's body was completely paralyzed. “Listen up, you idiot!” said the necromancer, still holding up the small crystal “I got nothing against you, but if you're gonna let me die, the least I could do is take you with me. Like it or not, but we need each other to survive for now.” Slugman gave a worried look at the door, and then returned his concentration on Lauren, who was still struggling and failing to move. “His majesty is not the most reasonable man when it comes to his daughter. He literally had men flogged for looking at her the wrong way. Now imagine what he'd do to us.” Somehow, Lauren could imagine it. It wasn't a pleasant image. “Now, with further studies, I think I could actually find a way to get the princess back into her body and you back in your world. Or maybe I could get your soul into another body if you wish to stay here.” the mage continued “But I need time for it. So, if you help me get some, we can both walk away from this with our lives. Otherwise, we are both dead. So, what do you say? Are you gonna help me or not?” Lauren reflected for a moment. He tried to move, but the force that was keeping him paralized didn't budge. Besides, he didn't really have much choice, did he? “Ok, fine. I'll help you, Slugman. But God is my witness, if you try to double cross me, I'll mating slit your throat in your sleep!” “Well... good enough for me.” said the necromancer, lowering his hand. Lauren fell on the floor when the paralysis disappeared “Although... you keep calling me Slugman for some reason, but I think that we need proper introduction if we're gonna work toghether. My name is Arban Dabrak, and I'm a necromancer. Nice to make your acquaitance. And you are...?” Arban extended his hand, waiting for Lauren to shake it. But the boy (or rather girl now) looked at it with pure disgust, like it was some kind of gigantic maggot. “Name's Lauren. But if you think that I'll call you anything other than Slugman, you're awfully wrong, you slimy pile of fecal matter!”
Oh? You should've posted the next chapter separately I think. Unless people set it to 'Watch Thread' or whatever, I don't think anybody is gonna notice it. Or, maybe you could post it on a site, like royalroadl or whatever.
Oh, nice. I'll look it up sometime when I'm not busy then. And I was saying that you create a new thread for the new chapter and give a link to the previous chapter/first chapter at the very beginning or a link to your royalroad page. You should also copy and paste the summary and tags there again if you want new readers. I actually don't know how these community fictions work here in novelupdates, but that method is sure to get you more readers...right?