I Died and Was Reincarnated as a Goth Femboy

Kenjiro stormed into the main hall of the Femboy Adventuring Guild, his mind a chaotic mess. He needed a distraction, something difficult and dangerous to focus on instead of his confusing feelings about Ryo's teasing and the handsome, mysterious man from the church.

"Party up!" he yelled, not addressing anyone in particular but knowing his team would hear. "We're taking a new mission. Now."

His party quickly assembled around the mission board. Kaito had a knowing, foxy smirk on his face, DragonSlayer69 was trying very hard to look anywhere but at Kenjiro's bunny suit, Lyrielle was nervously wringing her hands, and Gluteus stood at attention, ready for orders.

"What's the rush, leader?" Kaito purred. "Trying to run from your feelings?"

"I'm not running from anything!" Kenjiro snapped, his face flushing. "I just... want to get stronger! Now, which one of these looks like it has the most stuff to punch?"

He scanned the board, his red eyes blazing. He needed something tough, something that would require all his focus. As he was about to point to a dangerous-looking Rank B monster hunt, a figure detached itself from the shadows of a nearby pillar. It was a person wrapped in a dark, hooded cloak, their face completely obscured.

"You are the one they call Bombom," the figure said, their voice a dry, raspy whisper.

Kenjiro's party immediately went on guard, Gluteus stepping protectively in front of him. "State your business," the knight boomed.

The cloaked figure ignored him, their hidden gaze fixed solely on Kenjiro. "I have seen your broadcasts. I have seen the one who appeared before you in the cathedral."

Kenjiro's heart skipped a beat. "You know who he is?"

"I know what he is," the figure corrected. "You seek the one marked '03'? He is not of this world. He is an echo, a fragment of a soul torn in two."

The figure took a step closer. "He seeks his 'other half.' They are two sides of the same coin, cursed to be apart, destined to search for each other across the planes."

The information hit Kenjiro like a physical blow. A cursed being, torn in two, searching for his other half. It sounded like something out of a tragic romance novel. It was confusing, and it made his heart ache for a reason he couldn't understand.

"So what?" Kenjiro scoffed, trying to mask his sudden turmoil with his usual bravado. "I don't care about some numbered pretty boys! I just want to get stronger!"

"The one marked '01' was last seen in the Sunken City of Azerikor, a place lost to time and infested with ancient guardians," the cloaked figure continued, completely ignoring his outburst. "If you wish to find one, you must first find the other."

And with that cryptic message, the figure simply melted back into the shadows, leaving the party standing there in stunned silence.

The desire for a simple, mindless quest was gone, replaced by a burning, frustrating curiosity. He didn't want to care. He wanted to punch monsters and get rich. But the image of 03's sad eyes was burned into his mind.

"Fine!" he yelled at the empty space where the informant had been. "Forget the missions!" He turned and stormed away from the board. "We're going to the library! We're finding out everything there is to know about some stupid Sunken City!"

His party, startled by the sudden change of plans, scrambled to follow their furious, blushing, and utterly conflicted leader.

Kenjiro stormed through the guild hall, his party scrambling to keep up with his furious, bunny-suited stride. His destination: the guild's library. It was a place he had actively avoided, a vast, circular room with towering shelves that spiraled up into a domed ceiling, smelling of old paper and dust.

"Alright, spread out!" he commanded, trying to sound like a seasoned general instead of a confused, blushing boy on a mission he didn't understand. "We're looking for anything on the 'Sunken City of Azerikor.' Don't come back until you find something!"

The party dispersed. Gluteus Maximus, taking the order literally, attempted to lift an entire bookshelf to check for books that might have fallen behind it. Lyrielle, her high perception stat making her the most suited for the task, closed her eyes and ran her fingers along the spines of ancient tomes, sensing for any trace of relevant magic. DragonSlayer69, meanwhile, tried to show off by grabbing the largest, most ridiculously oversized book he could find, grunting with effort as he heaved it onto a table with a loud thud.

Kaito, naturally, used this as an opportunity to sidle up to Kenjiro. "You know," he purred, his tail swishing, "if you get tired of all this dusty old research, my room is just down the hall…"

"Not now, Kaito!" Kenjiro snapped, his face flushing. He was trying to focus, but the image of 03's sad, beautiful face kept flashing in his mind. I'm no one without him. The words echoed, making his heart do a weird, annoying flutter.

Frustrated with himself, he did the only thing that made sense: he activated his hover-drone. The familiar buzz of the livestream camera was a comfort.

"Hey everyone," he said to the drone, forcing a cocky smirk. "Bombom here, doing some super-secret, high-level research. Big things are coming."

The chat immediately flooded with comments, none of which were helpful.

OMG he's in the library! So smart!

Is this about the hot mystery guy we never saw from the last stream?

Being inteligent will not hide your cuteness from us

marry me Bombom

#bombombiggyat

"I-it's not about him!" Kenjiro yelled at the drone. "And stop with the hashtags, you weirdos!"

"I-I think I found something!" Lyrielle's soft voice cut through his tirade.

The party gathered around the small table where she had placed a dusty, leather-bound book. Its title, barely legible, was embossed in silver: Echoes of the Twin Souls. The text was written in a swirling, ancient script.

"I can read it," Lyrielle said, blushing under the sudden attention. She began to translate, her voice soft but clear. "It tells of two beings, two halves of a single, powerful soul from a world beyond our own. They were known as the Sun and the Moon. A great war with the gods of their realm tore them apart, and as a punishment, they were cursed and separated."

She paused, her finger tracing the next line of text. "The Sun, the one marked '02,' was imprisoned. His prison was a city of light, Azerikor, which was then cast into the depths of the ocean to be lost forever. The Moon, the one you saw, '03,' was cast into the shadows between worlds, doomed to search for the light he could never reach."

Kenjiro's breath caught in his throat. It was more tragic than he could have imagined.

"To enter the Sunken City," Lyrielle continued, her eyes wide, "one must possess a key. An artifact that resonates with the power of the moon. The book calls it the 'Moon-Kissed Pearl.'"

"And where do we find this pearl?" DragonSlayer asked, for once looking serious.

Lyrielle scanned the final page. "It says the pearl was a gift to the ancient kingdom of the merfolk. Their last known location was… the Whispering Deeps."

"Well, well. Doing my job for me, are we?"

The party jumped. Ryo was leaning against a nearby bookshelf, an amused smirk on his face. He must have been listening the whole time.

"The Whispering Deeps," Ryo mused, pushing himself off the shelf. "Nasty place. The currents are treacherous, and the merfolk are famously hostile to anyone from the surface. Getting that pearl won't be easy." He paused, his smirk widening. "Especially since another party has already accepted a high-paying quest to retrieve a 'valuable artifact' from the merfolk kingdom."

Kenjiro's eye twitched. "What other party?"

Ryo's grin was positively wicked. "Oh, just a new, surprisingly competent team led by a very enthusiastic admirer of yours. A fellow named Taguro."

The name hit Kenjiro like a physical blow. His copycat. His weird, wall-staring, uncomfortably-forward fan was now his rival. The frustration, the jealousy, and the inexplicable ache in his heart all coalesced into a single, explosive point of pure rage.

"FINE!" he roared, slamming his fist on the table and making the ancient book jump. "LET HIM TRY! I DON'T CARE ABOUT HIM, AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT SOME STUPID PRETTY BOY'S OTHER HALF!"

He pointed a trembling finger at the map on the wall. "We're going to the Whispering Deeps! We're getting that pearl, and we're going to that Sunken City! And if that copycat simp gets in my way, I'll show him what a real monster looks like!"

His party, startled but galvanized by his fiery declaration, nodded in unison. The race had officially begun.

The party piled into their personal armored car, the atmosphere thick with the new, sharp-edged rivalry. Kenjiro was practically vibrating with competitive energy, his red eyes fixed on the road ahead. He didn't care about ancient curses or tragic backstories; he only cared that his weird, clingy copycat was one step ahead of him, and he refused to let that stand.