"I already told you Dad, Lydia and I are tired of it!" Jonathon Goldo yelled over the phone.
"Johnny this is an opportunity I won't let you foolishly throw away! Don't you realize that if you just go back to college and take some more Archeology classes you'll just take off where I am and be set for life? Isn't that the kind of life you wanted for your wife and yourself?" Mr. Goldo replied back into the receiver angrily.
"We've already discussed this… I don't care about that. The two of us are fine with our life now, and I don't want to start going back to college just as the baby's about to arrive!"
"But that baby is even more of a reason to do it! Think of everything you could provide for it."
Jonathon paused for a second, but then responded with finality, "Listen Dad, I've said my peace. Do me a favor and don't call me about this again," and a click was heard on the other line.
Mr. Goldo simply stared at the phone, shaking in rage. "What a foolish boy!" He scowled to himself. He just didn't understand… His son could simply go to college for his profession and when the time came for himself to retire, there was a job just waiting for him! Any other man would take it in these hard times. "Maybe I spoiled him too much…" Mr. Goldo murmured, taking out a cigar and lighting it.
The father and son had always had differing opinions. The older man had a passion for art as well as a strong sense of justice with street smarts to match. He had grown up in poverty in the United States, and after meeting his wife he found something he loved and was worth fighting for, and gave everything he had to obtain that perfect job.
By the time Jonathan was born, the Goldo's had a steady income, putting them in a financial situation they could all be proud of. Mrs. Goldo lost her life to cancer just 4 years ago, and for some reason that lead to all this arguing between their only son and Mr. Goldo.
He was starting to think that Jonathon didn't understand the value of money and would regret not being able to give his future child the best life possible like he himself had always desired for his own family.
"I'm sorry Karen… I just don't know what to do." He thought to himself, staring at a picture of his wife.
Picking up his coat, Mr. Goldo turned to the closet and pulled out his fishing pole. He was never all that good at fishing, in fact he'd he lucky to catch a single fish, but the older man liked the alone time it provided as he thought to himself over the ocean water.
His job often made him busy, traveling around a lot, but he enjoyed those rare moments he stayed at home.
Grabbing his keys; he headed out the door and got into his car, going to the pier.
He nodded a greeting to a few of the locals he was used to, and went to his usual spot alone out there. Most people here knew Mr. Goldo, and never really too his spot, but this time around he was surprised to see a young man, seemingly around 15 years old with white hair standing straight up just sitting in his usual spot with a hand-made fishing pole.
The elder man stood and stared for a while, just watching the kid attempt fishing with that joke of a pole. After a minute or so, he chuckled to himself when the kid stood up angrily and said, "UGH THIS ISN'T WORKING! STUPID!" and tossed his creation into the water… quite a long ways, surprising Mr. Goldo with his extreme strength at such a young age.
Finally deciding to do something about it, he walked over with his own fishing pole and handed it to the young man. "Here, try this one out." He smiled, wanted to see what the kid would do.
At first he just eyed the old man warily, but then took it cautiously saying, "Uh… ok thanks." and awkwardly turned back to the water. Taking a seat next to him, Mr. Goldo pulled out a cigar and lit it up, earning a look from the stranger who still didn't seem to understand what this old guy was doing sticking around with him.
"Well, aren't you going to try it out?" Mr. Goldo urged, making a shooing motion with his hands.
"Yeah yeah just give me a sec." The kid huffed, and then cast his line into the water.
The two sat in silence for a while, neither really sure what to say. To be honest, Mr. Goldo wasn't sure why he was being nice to this strange kid… but something about him was very familiar.
Surprisingly, the bated line began jerking suddenly, taking both of them off guard. "Woah geeze!" Danny grimaced, tugging the line with all his might. "Oh wow you got one! Reel it in!" Mr. Goldo proclaimed.
Grunting a bit, Danny pulled harder, smiling because it defiantly felt like a big one. Mr. Goldo's eyebrows raised when he realized that the whole dock was creaking, as if the fish should have been able to pull this kid into the water by now. Needless to say he was more than a little surprised when the hook finally emerged from the water with a giant Blue Marlin dangling angrily, at least 3 times Danny's size.
"Check it out!" The teenager smiled eyeing his prize with pride.
"Nice job!" Mr. Goldo praised, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder, genuinely impressed that this kid was so strong as to have taken on a full grown Blue Marlin. "What's your name son?"
"It's Danny." He laughed, caught up in the moment.
"Well it's good to meet you Danny Boy. You can call me Mr. Goldo." The older man nodded, taking a puff of his cigar.
It was then that Mr. Goldo noticed a purple book on the other side of Danny and asked him about it. "It's… uh… well." He tried to explain, but failed miserably. Instead, Mr. Goldo picked up the book and was fascinated by this sort of language he in his extensive studies had never come across. He could read a single line… "The first spell, Jioruk. What's that supposed to mean?"
Danny's eyes widened, seeing that this man he had just met was his partner for the battle to become king of the mamodo world. At last he had found him.
"Heh. Don't worry, I'll explain it." He grinned.
Of course, like any other story such as this, Mr. Goldo had a tough time believing that Danny really was from the mamodo world and that this book was the key to his power, but after a quick and somewhat frightening demonstration of Danny injuring himself and Mr. Goldo having to use the spell to heal him, it was much easier to think he was telling the truth.
The two of them became inseparable after that… not because they absolutely loved each other or anything, but they were partners in this battle: simple as that.
Mr. Goldo discovered that he treated Danny sort of like his son… but upon the recent fuss with his own boy, the older man was a bit stricter with Danny, trying to get him to learn important lessons and mature. Danny however, didn't quite see it that way, but never the less their relationship was like that of father and son.
"So Danny Boy… tell me about your family back home." Mr. Goldo asked one day while the two were traveling to Cairo for his newest business trip.
"Will you cut it out with the Danny Boy?!" Danny moaned angrily.
"Just answer the question." He replied, no nonsense.
Danny rested his head on his hand that was propped up against the window and answered, "Well… I guess there's mom. She's really the only one I consider 'family.'"
"What about your siblings? Or father?" Mr. Goldo pressed.
Sighing Danny went on, "I have an older sister but she was always way older so I never really knew her. She was gone before I was even born and…" He paused, face growing darker. "I don't think of that guy as my father."
Mr. Goldo sensed this was a topic that was hard for Danny to explain, but the boy continued on without further pressure. "Apparently he just left on us soon as Emma moved out… Mom would never tell me the reason but I'm sure… it wasn't her fault."
Presuming Emma was Danny's sister; the older man looked down guessing that maybe Danny was so rough around the edges and rebellious… because he didn't have that father figure.
"But we're doing fine on our own, Mom and me. We don't need him anyway." He finished, looking out the window, and the rest of the trip remained quiet.
The two of them didn't face that many mamodo during Danny's time in the human world. They traveled a lot, but maybe they just weren't lucky… or unlucky enough to cross them. The few times they did their fighting style was simple. Danny would run in and do all the work and Mr. Goldo would stand back and read the spell if necessary. The young mamodo actually preferred it that way so there was minimal risk of his partner being injured.
They helped each other in everything. Mr. Goldo used Danny to help him provide extra security when he went on his trips while they always stayed together in case of an attack. Although at times they got fed up with each other, disagreeing like any relationship between two of such differing age groups, they always managed to work it out and they always trusted each other.
The Shimera statue mission was supposed to be one of their most important, and Mr. Goldo was very excited about the responsibility while Danny grumbled; not getting its importance. As usual Mr. Goldo took the opportunity to try to educate Danny Boy, but failing because of the youth's stubbornness.
The statue was stolen and then recovered, but in the process Mr. Goldo put his life on the line trying to get Danny to see that saving the statue was more important than anything else, but luckily he didn't have to make the choice thanks to a new-found friendship with Zatch Bell.
Just when they were supposed to be out of danger, an unfortunate accident occurred… and this time Danny was the one to put his life on the line to save the statue. A difficult choice was made, and it resulted in Danny's book catching on fire, losing his chance to become King of the mamodo world.
As his book was burning, Mr. Goldo couldn't help but swell with pride from witnessing Danny's act of unselfishness. He had given up maybe the greatest chance he would ever have… to keep a promise, to help his partner… How could Mr. Goldo not be proud? Of course this also meant he would lose Danny… just when he realized what a strong young man he was all along.
"I'm proud of you Danny, so very proud." Mr. Goldo smiled.
"You're losing it old man…" Danny smirked, tears running down his face as he too realized what this meant, "That's the first time you didn't call me Danny Boy."
"That's all over with, because as far as I'm concerned you're not a boy anymore." The older man replied, placing his hand the teenager's shoulder just like he had done the first time they met.
Danny turned to Kiyo and Zatch behind him, addressing the pair that had helped him and said, "Hey, pull yourselves together. There's nothing to cry about… Look at me, I lost my shot to become the mamodo king… and I've never felt happier; I don't know why."
"You did your job well and now I can finally admit who you are." Mr. Goldo started, hugging him, "You're my son… Danny. You're my son."
Danny's eyes widened slightly, remembering that time he had told Mr. Goldo about his family… about his father. "Your… son?"
It was true. Ever since they met Danny and Mr. Goldo had known it… all their time spent together neither could regret. In so many ways Mr. Goldo was like his real dad. They argued and fought, but trusted and depended on each other. All this time Danny had never even thought to consider it, but he finally found himself a father figure. He learned how to keep his promises and how to appreciate what others found important.
"Thank you." He whispered, before disappearing along with his book.
Now clutching only empty air, Mr. Goldo stood up straight and replied, "No, thank you Danny. Our time together was all too short." He smiled, letting a few stray tears slip and bringing his cigar up to his mouth.
A few days later, Mr. Goldo returned back home. Since Danny had gone he felt much emptier… like a part of him was missing. True he would probably always miss Danny, but with the son he still had here he knew he had to take the chance to make things right.
Dialing Jonathon's number, Mr. Goldo held the phone up to his ear and listened to the ringing.
"Hello?" A familiar voice answered.
"Jonathon? It's me."
"Oh… hey Dad." He replied cautiously.
"Listen, I was wrong to push you into my job. I know now that's never what you wanted. Everyone has their own dreams and passions, and what you have right now with Lydia is wonderful so don't give that up to listen to this old man." Mr. Goldo explained, eyes tearing up a bit.
He heard nothing but silence on the other line and wondered if everything was ok until at last Jonathan replied, "Wow. Thanks Dad… I'm glad you finally understand that I'm happy."
"Of course. You're a man and have the right to make your own decisions," the older man smiled.
He heard a small laugh on the other end and then, "Oh! I guess I should tell you that Lydia and I just went to the doctor today and found out the baby's going to be a boy! You have any name suggestions?"
Mr. Goldo wore a tender smile and wiped his eyes while responding, "Well… How about… Danny?"