After rewatching the entire Gash Bell series, I decided to rewrite this series. There's just so much I felt I needed to change, and I wanted to continue exploring the possibilities between Kiyomaro and Megumi too ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
If you have read this series before, I would still recommend you to reread the chapters! I have tweaked the storyline according to where the manga had left off so that the series is more natural.
Hope that you guys would like it! 3
Gash Bell sighed as he finished signing his last document for the day (at least he thought it was), placing the feathered pen on the large table beside him gently. His ambitions to become king of the Makai suddenly seemed so dreadful ever since he stepped up the throne. Each day was filled with endless stacks of papers to be signed, numerous numbers of meetings with different governors, and lesson after lesson that would equip the Makai king with more knowledge about ruling the Makai.
It could be worse, Gash thought to himself. If not for his trusty legislator Earth who was ever patient with teaching him legal matters and advising him accordingly, Zeon to help him familiarise with the ways of royalty, and so many other trustworthy friends, Gash could never have found it easier to navigate through his life as a king.
The Makai king hopped off his high chair, bending his body left and right to stretch his sore muscles. He leaned forward with his fingers interlocked, stretching himself again until he heard a "crack."
Ah, that felt much better. Gash patted his cheeks, reminding himself that he had to gather all his energy once again. As a king, he was his people's energiser. He would be going out to meet his friends right now, and of course he couldn't pull a long face. Well, not that he could either, Gash couldn't be any happier to give himself a break and go out to play with his friends.
The Makai king was just about to push open the large doors out of his room, when the doors burst open before him instead.
"My king, where do you think you're going?" A short old man with white hair walked in, pushing his glasses as he looked at the king, puzzled.
"Unu, I'm heading out to play with Tio, Umagon and my other friends! We agreed to meet right about now." Gash said cheerily.
"I'm afraid not, my king. We have a meeting arranged in light of the recent discovery at the Crystal Cavern! The ministers are gathering to discuss about the strange activities that have been ongoing recently," the butler knew how much it was difficult for the 10-year old ruler to cope with all the kingly duties, but also found it helpless. Over the past 5 years as king, though, he had to admit that Gash had grew tremendously as a king and had learnt to balance between his duties and friendships.
"Unu... I... see," Gash said with much disappointment as his head hung low. It wasn't the first time when he had had to miss his playdates, and with the recent strange activities, there had been several impromptu meetings to discuss the next actions to take. The Makai king let out a sigh again, clenching his fist before looking up at his butler with much determination. "Unu, please lead me to the meeting venue, Butler-dono."
Gash knew that he had another 995 years to go as a king. There were bound to be even more challenging tasks as a king but also more opportunities to play with his friends. Of course, he was fully aware of the weight of his duties too - he couldn't dismiss any impromptu meetings addressing issues that could potentially cause trouble in the Makai. His precious friends could be put in danger any time!
The blonde mamono king followed the old man, but the two were stopped just before they took their second step.
"Gash!"
"Meru meru me!"
A red haired mamono and a pony were running in their direction. Tio waved her hand excitedly while Umagon swung his head in excitement as he galloped towards his best friend.
"Tio! Umagon! What are you doing here?" Gash couldn't contain his excitement.
The old man beside Gash cleared his throat, only to be ignored by the three children.
"You were taking awhile, so we decided to come over and get you!" Tio explained, watching as Umagon leapt forward into Gash's arms and became showering him with endless kisses.
"Umagon! That tickles!" Gash laughed, falling to the ground. The mamono king smiled sadly as he looked up at his friends. "I'm afraid I can't join you guys today though, there's an urgent meeting I need to sit in right now."
"Eh?! But you haven't played with us in such a long while!" Tio protested.
Gash was about to retort, when the ground beneath the mamono began to tremble vigorously. The three children backed away as they watched vases drop from shelves, photos on the walls vibrating wildly, and their legs trembling, both from fear and the earthquake.
"My king, we have to take cover!"
"Unu!"
The four ran for the stairs leading to the exit of the castle, watching as the ground behind them started to crack. The exit was in sight, and the four was just about to rush out when the old man stopped.
"No, the golden book!" The old man suddenly ran back into the castle, much to the dismay of Gash, Tio and Umagon.
The three children followed urgently, only to be led to the throne room. The old man took out a golden book from beneath the throne, before pushing the children out of the castle. The children watched as the castle behind them collapsed, panting as they stopped outside the castle , but what surprised them was that the ground had not stopped shaking!
"The whole mamono world is affected!" Tio cried out.
Many mamonos rushed towards the king all at once, all crying out of anxiety. Umagon rushed towards the king, hugging him as he cried. A petite child who wore an infant's outfit and who had a duck's mouth burst into tears, falling to the ground. Another girl with short wavy pink hair looked up at Gash worriedly, lip trembling furiously. All the mamonos stared at Gash intently, waiting for their king to give them an order.
"My king, what should we do now?" The old man asked as everyone else looked at Gash, who gulped.
"Butler-dono, please get all the mamono to the human world safely. I have to separate the golden book," Gash said solemnly after some consideration.
"Separate the golden book?" Everyone gasped at once.
"Unu," The mamono king nodded his head. "The golden book holds the spells of all the mamonos who were involved in the battle for the title of the mamono king five years ago. If the book is separated, all the books will return back to their mamono owners. I need the mamono to protect their books, but not to fight one another. In the name of the king of the mamono world, I order the hundred mamonos to find their human partners once more and team up to find the threat which is destroying the mamono world!"
And with that, Gash took the golden book, holding it in two hands with his eyes closed. The book began to glow, before turning red. The other mamonos before Gash all gasped when they saw a book appear on each of their hands.
"To the human world!"
Takamine Kiyomaro stirred in his sleep before opening his eyes. He'd dreamt of his friend of five years ago - the brave young blonde who adored yellowtail. He seemed to be in pain, in trouble. The raven-haired genius groaned as he got up from his bed, rubbing his head. He stood up and walked towards his window, only to have his eyes widen.
A beam of red light was shooting down from the heavens.
Kiyomaro blinked before rubbing his eyes, only to see the light starting to fade. He quickly pulled on a jacket and a fresh set of clothes, before quietly making his way out of his house.
He was certain that the light stopped at the park. Swiftly, Kiyomaro made his way to the park, nervous yet excited. He did not know what was awaiting him, but it felt as though someone was calling him.
It couldn't be... Could it?
Kiyomaro panted, hands on his knees as he bent his body and gasped for breath when he stopped at the entrance of the park. His breath hitched for a moment, and he straightened his body when he saw the red light fading away completely, only to reveal...
Gash.
Kiyomaro fought hard to stop the tears threatening to spill out. It had been five years since he was separated from his partner - the very partner who had did more than to just survive with him in battle. Gash had changed his world, got him friends, helped him grow, and literally been through life and death with him.
His partner.
The young mamono king stood where the red beam of light had shown down on. He took a deep breath, silently hoping that his teleportation technique had at least send him somewhere close to Kiyomaro's place. He slowly opened his golden orbs, tightening his grip on his red book.
Gash felt joy - so much joy, surge inside him when the very first thing he saw was Kiyomaro. He begun to sniff, tears rolling down his cheeks. He hugged the book even tighter, before running towards the man he once called a partner.
The two enveloped in a tight, brotherly hug, tears rolling down their cheeks in the form of two streams. Five years of separation had been way too long, even though in honest truth, neither had placed hopes on meeting each other again so soon.
But at last, they were reunited, and that was all that mattered.
"Ara, Gash! It's great to have you with us again after five years!" Kiyomaro's mother said cheerily as she placed a plate on the kitchen table.
"Unu! Haha-dono, it's great to see you again too!" Gash replied just as enthusiastically. The Makai king leaned over the table, staring with gleaming eyes at the yellowtail that had been set on the plate.
"Buri!" Gash cheered, drool rolling down his mouth. Kiyomaro looked at the king with disdain, though still amused and heartened at how after the past five years, his partner hadn't changed one bit.
At the sidelines, Hana couldn't stop smiling to herself either. Sure she did always had Kiyomaro, but it was always different when Gash was around. After all, Gash had a different air of energy to him, and Kiyomaro, having grown up, tend to spend more time out from time to time too.
The nineteen-year old genius was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when the doorbell rang.
"Who could it be so early in the morning? Kiyomaro, could you get the door for me, please?" Kiyomaro's mother asked while still cooking.
"Sure," Kiyomaro said tiredly, trudging towards the door. He gave a bored look, having expected to see Suzume. His ex-classmate still popped by from time to time, all in good will. Over the years, Kiyomaro had grew conscious of her feelings towards him, though, he regrettably couldn't return them. Suzume always held a special place in his heart as his first friend (aside from Gash), but even so, Kiyomaro was clear that he had no other affectionate feelings towards the dense but kind female.
The genius opened the door only to see a brunette of his age and a young pink-haired girl.
"Megumi! Tio!" Kiyomaro gasped, almost embarassed by the bored look he'd given.
The idol smiled back at him with a wink, before looking back at him with concern.
"Are we disturbing you? It's just that..." Megumi could not find the words to express herself.
Kiyomaro shook his head, opening the door for the two females to enter.
"No problem. I'm waiting for Gash's explanation later on too."
Megumi smiled, entering politely while Tio beamed, hurriedly taking off her shoes to run into the kitchen and accompany her friend. Megumi and Kiyomaro blushed lightly at each other, each with a small smile, as Kiyomaro closed the door for Megumi and escorted her into the house.
"Ara, Megumi-chan, Tio-chan!" Hana said cheerily.
"Good morning, Hana-san. Sorry for the intrusion," Megumi greeted back, bowing with a shade of red across her cheek.
Hana beamed, shaking her head. "No worries at all, you know I always love a lively household! Come join us for breakfast!"
"Really? Itadakimasu!" Tio cheered, hopping onto an empty seat. Megumi shook her head. She normally would have corrected Tio's improper action, but couldn't find it in herself to do so after finally being reunited again.
"It's alright, Megumi. You know we don't mind. Come join us." Thank heavens for Kiyomaro who always seemed to understand what Megumi was thinking. The brunette smiled back at the genius, before taking a seat beside him.
Megumi never felt time pass any faster than it had in the last five years without Tio. She found herself teary-eyed as she gazed at her partner, who, as usual, was quarrelling with Gash over who deserved the last tamagoyaki. Having lived alone all these years, it was difficult for Megumi to wake up without Tio in the household and having her trusty partner lecture her about being late for her schedules. Megumi finally felt the void in her heart closing after all these years. The idol gently wiped the tears that were brimming along her eyes, shaking her head at the genius who had been gazing at her with concern.
Kiyomaro knew just how Megumi felt. The first day of high school had felt weird without Gash pouncing on him with his gym bag and yelling at him to go to school. School almost felt a little less exciting with the mamono tailing him each day. Kiyomaro couldn't admit that he didn't miss the times where he had to yell at the mamono for being destructive with his Vulcan 300 while he was studying. The household was a lot more quiet without Gash around.
The pair exchanged a sentimental look, before each turning back to their own mamono. Neither of them were surprised to see a teary-eyed Gash who had lost the last tamagoyaki to Tio, who was triumphantly enjoying her prize. Five years had passed, yet it felt like beyond their appearances, nothing had changed.
"Alright, let's head up to the room, shall we?" Kiyomaro got up, gesturing to the rest who nodded their heads in unison.
"I'll bring some refreshments up for you later!" Hana called as the four climbed up the stairs to Kiyomaro's room.
Gash and Tio immediately sat on the floor, where Kiyomaro had prepared a table for the discussion. The idol made her way onto the genius' bed, sitting down gently while Kiyomaro crossed over to his chair.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you guys here, but why are you here?" Kiyomaro asked.
"Unu," The mamono king nodded his head. "It's been five years since the battle, but the mamono world has met with a crisis."
"What sort of crisis?" Megumi asked worriedly.
"Our land is tearing apart, for an unknown reason. Darkness is resounding throughout our world, tearing it. Just for shelter against the threat, all the mamonos have been sent to the human world, and the hundred mamonos previously involved in the battle five years ago each have their books again. This time, we are to uncover this threat and defeat it together! But in the human world, only a mamono with a book and book keeper can have the power to cast spells. Therefore, humans, we would once more like to seek your help," Gash got up from the floor, looking at the group of humans before him. He bowed, fists clenched. "Please help save our world."
The humans all froze as Tio looked up at Megumi with a determined expression. Kiyomaro stared at his mamono, before shutting his eyes with a smile and getting up to kneel down next to his partner. He placed a hand on Gash's head, patting it.
"Geez, Gash, what are you saying? Stop being so formal with us, we're friends, aren't we?" Kiyomaro grinned.
The mamono king blinked before turning around only to see Megumi nod her head in agreement. He beamed, gratefully smiling back at his partner.
"Unu! Arigato, Kiyomaro."
Kiyomaro smiled back cordially at the mamono, before turning back to the group with a stern expression. "Either way, we need to be strategic about this. We're not sure what the exact threat that we're faced with is."
"Could we maybe seek Apollo's help to create a way for us to all communicate?" Megumi suggested, earning a nod from Kiyomaro.
"Apollo can be the main contact point from each of us. I'm sure that with his help, we can keep each other updated on any strange activity."
"Megumi! Time, time!" Tio interrupted urgently, tapping on her red floral watch. Megumi gasped in response, shooting Kiyomaro and Gash an apologetic look.
"It's alright, we'll contact Apollo in the meantime. I'd like to head out with Gash to refresh a little on our spells too - I wonder if thre've been any different spells." Kiyomaro smiled.
"I'm so sorry about it, Kiyomaro-kun, Gash-kun. I promise we'll join you shortly as soon as we're done with this recording session!" Megumi pressed her palms together in an apologetic gesture.
Tio pouted. "Aw, I want to do some training too!"
"Tio shouldn't train with us! She'll end up murdering me!" Gash cried out.
"What was that, Gash?" Tio gritted her teeth, a dark aura surrounding her. She made an evil face as she strangled the mamono king.
"Hora, Tio, let's get moving. The more we procrastinate, the later we'll be joining Kiyomaro-kun and Gash-kun." Megumi was already at the door. Tio followed grudgingly, dropping the mamono king who was gasping for breath in the process, while the idol waved cheerily at Kiyomaro and Gash, before vanishing shortly.
Kiyomaro turned to Gash. "Alright then, let's get started on our work."
"So, they've all escaped from our first threat."
"Even if they did, they can't run from us long. It's thanks to them that we are free now."
"You're right. And it's thanks to them that we can once more rise to rule the universe!"
"One hundred of them have spell books and human partners, do you think we'll manage?"
"The six of us are invincible! There isn't anything to be afraid of."
"That's right. Let's head to the human world, where the mamonos have all fled to. We'll eliminate the most dangerous threats first - the mamonos."
"Flame, you're up. You're the perfect one to start the ball rolling."
A red wolf with dark red eyes growled under his breath, emitting smoke from his nostrils.
"I'll handle them just fine."
"Zakeruga!"
Kiyomaro ordered, pointing his finger at a boulder. Gash's eyeballs turned gold as a shot of lightning was blasted out from his mouth, destroying the boulder.
"Not bad at all, Gash. You still have the basics, at least," Kiyomaro grinned, patting his mamono on the head.
"Unu! I am the mamono king, after all! Butler-sama makes me practice a lot!" Gash said enthusiastically, beaming back at his book keeper.
Kiyomaro's gaze remained focused on the red book as he cautiously flipped through the pages. Just as he guessed, the spells were still the same as when he had returned to the mamono world. The Zakeruga Gash had just fired was also of comparable calibre, albeit a little more powerful, Kiyomaro noticed. Perhaps the result of Gash having not slacked off in the mamono world.
Neither of them, however, had yet to realise that they were being watched under a pair of vengeful eyes.
Amidst the peak of the cliff before them stood a single German shepherd. At first glance, it looked just like any other regular German shepherd, with the exception of a stroke of red fur along its ear. The canine stood tall and proud, observing the genius and mamono below carefully.
Flame started to pace along the cliff as he watched his foes' attacks. Kiyomaro had just fired a spell called Teozakeru, a less concentrated beam of Zakeruga, but more powerful.
Lost in his concentration on the enemy, Flame failed to notice a stray piece of rock lying in his path. The rock flew off the cliff, unfortunately hitting the head of the Makai king.
"Ouch!"
Kiyomaro turned to his mamono in surprise, before darting his gaze to where he quickly calculated the source of the rock. Pointing his finger steadily at the source, the genius immediately fired a spell.
"Zakeruga!"
The genius' plot succeeded, having drawn out the German shepherd that had been perched on the cliff. Kiyomaro sighed, noticing that it was just a dog, or so he thought. He turned to Gash, who was still rubbing his sore head.
"Seems like it was just a dog. Let's carry on."
Flame snickered at the naiveness of the genius and his partner. Lucky for the disguises.
But Flame was not letting them off easy.
The Attributale willed a blast of flames to surround himself. Kiyomaro's instincts caught the strange activity, causing him to direct his attention to the top of the cliff once more. The genius' eyes widened as he noticed the flames fading away to reveal a large black wolf. The tip of his right ear was a bright red Kiyomaro couldn't miss.
Flame smirked.
"Gash, watch out!" Kiyomaro yelled urgently, grabbing the Makai king and pulling him away as he noticed a wave of fire coming down at them.
Kiyomaro barely managed to get the two out of the way. Gash immediately willed his mantle to extend and form a protective shield around them, but Kiyomaro could still feel the intense heat sipping through the thick mantle. The genius gripped Gash and the book tightly as he felt the heat in contact with his skin, gritting.
The lone wolf lifted his head proudly as he stopped the heat wave. Kiyomaro was already gasping for breath from the intensity of the heat wave earlier - something he had never encountered in any of his previous fights.
"Don't be complacent, that was just a simple heat wave."
Kiyomaro's eyes widened in horror, turning his gaze to his charred sleeve. If even that was enough to burn his sleeve, he couldn't imagine battling the monster at his full strength.
Flame leaped down from the cliff, gingerly landing on the ground before Kiyomaro and Gash. Kiyomaro found himself meeting a pair of blood red eyes as the Attributale gazed into him. The genius gulped, evidently feeling the difference in the strength of the monster.
"Who are you?" Gash interrupted his thoughts, clenching his fists as he met the gaze of his mortal enemy.
Flame smirked. "I thought you would never ask, Makai king. It was thrilling to destroy your world."
Gash gritted his teeth as his fists trembled in anger. Both Kiyomaro and Gash watched cautiously as Flame began to pace slowly around them.
"My name is Flame, and I am the fire user of the Attributales."
"Attributale?" Kiyomaro repeated.
"That's right. The Attributales consists of six other demons like myself who each has a different element. We aim to rule the universe, but firstly, we have to eliminate," Flame turned to glare at Kiyomaro and Gash with an intimidating look, his dark red eyes almost piercing through their bodies, "the mamonos."
"The mamonos? Why?" Kiyomaro was shocked.
"The mamonos are the only other beings who actually possess power. If they interfere with our plan, we would have trouble. Therefore, we will eliminate them before they eliminate us, though, that is unlikely," Flame smirked, raising his head high.
"What did you just say?" Gash took a step forward, clenching his fists tightly.
"Gash!" Kiyomaro held out a hand before the blond mamodo, shaking his head.
Gash gritted his teeth as he took a step back, feeling helpless.
"You were the ones who destructed the mamodo world?" Kiyomaro asked.
"Destructed? The world still exists, just in shreds," the wolf hissed, pacing around the book keeper and mamono in an attempt to make them nervous.
"Why you..." Gash glared at Flame intently.
"Fight me. You know you want to. For revenge. For us having taken over your world. For us taking away what once belonged to you. For us invading your home. Fight me, and feed me with power," Flame grinned slyly.
Gash clenched his fists, breath quickening as he heard Flame's words.
"Gash, don't be angered by him! He wants you to be angry," Kiyomaro warned.
"Kiyomaro," Gash began, causing Kiyomaro to freeze. "Help me defeat this guy, please."
Kiyomaro blinked, before smiling and opening the red book.
"Sure thing. It'll just be like the good old times, Gash."
Thanks for reading! :-)