<Leo> 

It was an early summer morning.

The birds were singing, the leaves were rustling, and the cows were mooing.

In this distant village far from the capital. Everything was at peace.

'Why haven't I woken up from this terrible dream?'

At the very edge of said village, two log cabins could be found. In one of these log cabins a little girl with fiery orange hair could be seen. She was tightly clutching onto her pillow while hiding under her blanket.

'This is completely unfair!!'

No matter how many times Leo thought about his situation, it still didn't make sense to him. He was supposed to be a God. An all-powerful being. A symbol and up holder of morality and justice. Most importantly... he was supposed to be a HE!!

'Where did I go wrong? What did I do?! Please answer me, Universe!!'

Leo gave, what must have been, his millionth prayer and like usual it was ignored.

A soft whimper escaped his lips as he mulled over his absurd situation.

Leo, now formally called Cleo, was born into the home of a retired adventuring couple. Both his parents were master flame crafters with his father specialising in body enhancement and his mother outer manipulation. They owned a modest sized cabin house with four bedrooms and an outdoor toilet bath. 

Cleo was the lastborn in the family with her older sister being the first. She was an eccentric, loud and frankly quite annoying character. A likely sad consequence of living with her family. They were all odd balls and shady characters. It was hard to exactly pin down why though. It always felt like they were hiding something.  

Leo let out a sigh.

Cleo's life was not inherently bad. Her family for all its oddities were not evil. She had three cooked meals a day, plenty of friends and a roof over her a head. The problem was not the life itself but... the fact that it was not HIS. 

'I am a God for crying out loud!' 

Leo didn't remember what entirely happened after or during the fight with his immortal enemy. It was for that reason his current predicaments were so baffling.

'Though... I do guess a break from all the fighting is rather welcome'  

Leo had been fighting his immortal enemy for so long he couldn't even remember.

'That's it... I just need to think a little more positively' 

This could all be some kind of elaborate test set up by the Universe for all he knew. 

'Right!! I can't lie down all mopey!!!' 

As if sensing his rising spirits, his bedroom door sounded. Creaking out.

'Oh no! I need to-!'

"Good morning, Cleo!!"

Before Leo could act, he felt his blanket being violently ripped off him. Wearing only undergarments, the cold felt especially biting.

"Maya! I told you to knock first!!"(L)

"~I did but my sweet, little, baby sister refused to respond! I was so worried!!~"(M)

Leo glared at his new sister. He really hated when she used that baby tone. It was something he never failed to mention.

"Okay, okay! Sorry! I won't do the voice. No need to look at me so badly"(M)

'Ugh, you always say that'

Despite knowing that, Leo always found himself forgiving her.

'This time I swear...!'

After snatching the blanket back, Leo prepared to yell at her to get out the room when suddenly... A flash of red appeared and tackled him down.

"Arf! Woof!"

"N-not now Merry! I need to-"(L)

The fluffy red puppy started cuddling up to Leo. Almost instantly killing his sour mood.

'I'm not going to!'

While playing with the puppy, it felt like she was trying to say something.

'I'm not going to forgive her this time!'

The puppy didn't really do anything besides play and lick Leo's fingers. Leo looked up to his sister. She was watching him while wearing a playful smile. 

'I guess she wasn't really trying to annoy me this time and I did ask her to wake me if I took too long... Ah, fine!'

"Y-you're forgiven"(L)

"Huh? Oh, OH! As expected from my sweet little sis! You're too kind!"(M)

"W-wait don't-! Get off me!"(L)

Leo might have appreciated the hug if it didn't sound like his sister forgot the apology.

"I need to get changed already!"(L)

Maya got off the bed with Merry in hand.

"Of course, you don't want to keep your friend waiting. Now quickly get changed"(M)

"I told you, he's not my friend! He's my mortal enemy!!"(L)

Now mortal anyway.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say"(M)

"Grrr, just leave!"(L)

"Ah? Why?"(M)

"I'm changing!"(L)

"Oh, please Cleo. I used to see you changed all the time. There's nothing to be embarrassed about"(M)

When Leo was first reborn, he didn't have all his previous memories. In fact, he had none. It was only when he turned three, did they start to slowly flow in. As of right now, Leo felt like he had more than half of his previous memory, but it was difficult to tell. It was for that reason did have a lot of embarrassing memories.

"I don't care! A-and stop saying stuff like that!"(L)

Leo got up and pushed Maya and Merry out of the door.

"Be sure to pick something really cu-!"(M)

Leo finally slammed the door shut before leaning against it.

'It's too early in the morning for this!'

After letting out another sigh, Leo got up and walked to the small cabinet.

Leo's room was pretty bare except this cabinet, his bed, and the small sleeping pad Merry would use at times. It was all to his liking though and to the dismay of his mother and sister. They always kept trying to fill his room with useless junk.

'Merry is the only person in this house with even half decent manners'

The little red fluffy puppy was a gift for turning six. Leo's new father had come home with it hidden within his shirt. If Leo was being honest, he was beyond excited by the puppy. The cute thing was just so damn adorable. 

'Huh? I swore I saw them yesterday'

The skirt and shorts combination Leo normally used where missing. The only thing left in the cabinet was a dress that went just pass the knees.

'Did I already wear them?'

It was a little hard to track. Leo would go through about two a day because his mother insisted. Apparently, he was always dirty when he got back.

'But I know I saw them... wait. Ah, today is a special day, isn't it?'

Leo reached for the dress while letting out yet another sigh. His mother likely didn't wash his clothes. She probably assumed Leo would naturally go for the dress today. 

'I should really say something'

It wasn't like Leo had anything against dresses... but they just felt uncomfortable to wear.

'Something a little more manly wouldn't hurt...'

Every time he mustered up the courage to say something though, guilt would start to eat away at him. His mother handmade most of the dresses he wore. She did it with so much enthusiasm and excitement, it was hard to say no. Plus, his sister loved giving her own old clothes. Those two factors made it impossibly hard to speak.

'What am I doing?'

Swallowing up his internal grumblings, Leo returned his attention to the cabinet. Something was different about this dress. It looked super brand new.

'She even dyed it...'

The dress was dyed a light green similar to a field and like a green field, it was decorated with flowers.

'Where the heck did she get so much dye?!'

The dress was colourful. Too colourful. 

Leo removed the dress from the cabinet. There was no way his enemy was going to let a chance like this go.

'That doesn't matter!'

Clutching the dress, Leo knew what he had to do.

 

 

The smell of breakfast wafted around the whole house. Leo's father was working his usual magic in the kitchen.

Walking into the living room, Leo mentally prepared for the day ahead.

"Morning my darling, sleep well?"

"Yes, mom"(L)

Leo's mother wore a wide smile. 

"That dress looks so lovely on you! Please, come over dear"(m)

Leo shuffled over to his mother where she inspected her work.

"Oho, you should wear dresses like this every day. They work so well on you!"(m)

"I know right!"(M)

Seeing where this was going, Leo decided to intervene. He couldn't let his sister and mother completely have their way.

"I, uh, shouldn't really... You know I play a lot and get dirty. It might ruin the dresses..."(L)

"Ah, you're such a considerate girl"(m)

Leo's mother proceeded to crush him into a hug.

"Y-yeah"(L)

After finally being released, Leo proceeded to make way to the door. He had a job to do after all. He doesn't wake up early for nothing.

"Cleo! How is my little girl doing? Oh, is that a new dress?" 

Before Leo could make it more than two steps, a pair of hands grabbed him.

"I-I'm okay dad but, please put me down. I'm going to get late! And yes, it is a new one"(L)

"Off to walk Merry?"(d)

"Yea, but I also need to keep my enemy in check! There's no telling what he could be up to!"(L)

"Oh, you're still playing that game?"(d)

"I keep telling you it's not a game! It's a matter of life and death!"(L)

"Of course, my mistake"(d)

Leo could only glare at his father. No matter how many times he told his family, none of them believed a thing he said. There was evil living just next door.

'It's that stupid story's fault!' 

When Leo was younger, his parents used to read him a bedtime story. A story eerily similar to his own. It was the thing that jogged his memory but at the same time discredited him.  It was aggravating.

 'Hmm... I need to go already'

Every second spent away from that vile evil, was one he could use to do harm.

"Okay then! See you guys later"(L)

Leo ran for the door and grabbed its handle.

"Forgetting something?"(m)

Leo looked to his mother. She was pointing at his hair.

"I'll do it later, okay. Bye!"(L)

"Tut-tut, Not so fast young lady. Comeback here"(m)

"Mom, please! I promise I'll do it later"(m)

"No can do. You can't go out with such a nice dress and such rough hair"(m)

Leo pleaded with his eyes and after a firm side-to-side head shake, sulked back to her.

"Don't worry. I'll be quick. You won't miss a second with Neve"(m)

Leo was never a fan of long hair, but now it was starting to get on his nerves. Every morning, he had to waste precious time. Time that could be used to watch his enemy.

'I really should just cut my hair'

Sat in front of his mother, he tried to patiently wait.

 

"Okay, you're free to go"(m)

"Yes! See you in a bit"(L)

"Bye-bye!"(M)

"Make sure to come quick, I'm making your favourite!"(d)

Leo grabbed Merry off the chair she started dozing in while sprinting to the door.

'Finally, I can go!'

"Oh, and make sure to take care of the dress on your walk!"(m)

"Got it!"(L)

As Leo closed the front door, he looked up in time to see the same action mirrored.

Across the road, on the steps of a wooden cabin, stood a boy and a dog.

The boy wore pants and a shirt that were coloured similar to Leo's own. A pattern of different coloured feathers were scattered on the clothes. The dog that stood beside the boy looked like his owner. Its fur a dark blue that lightened further from the roots were matching its owner's own hair.

The pair of boy and dog froze when their eyes laid on the pair of girl and dog.

Leo felt his teeth clench.

An old enemy was in sight.