DISCLAIMER: I do not own Zatch Bell. Makoto Raiku and Shogakun do.
Jay Leon was the average high school student, had a lot of friends, A's and B's, but he was more of an academic than a jock. He was walking back home in the rain, a pretty common thing Portland, but that day was everything but ordinary.
Jay pulled his hoodie over his head. The rain poured over him, as he walked toward Conway road. There was a kid in the middle of the road, holding a dark brown book in his hands, waving it around, asking if people could ready. Nobody even dared to stop for him, no warn him of the oncoming traffic. "Hey, you!" Jay yelled at the kid. He couldn't just let him get hit. The kid turned his head. Suddenly, a light seemed to flood upon him…. A car was coming straight for him.
"Run!" Jay told him. The kid raised an eyebrow at him. The lights got brighter. The kid turned his head and gasped. He took a step back. The car hit him, sending him flying backwards. He tumbled backwards, and then put one of his hands on the ground. He skidded for about half a block. He then stood up straight, grabbing his right hand. There was a crowd around him, gasping and asking if he was okay. The driver of the car that hit him came out of the car.
"Idiot! This is an $80,000 car! You shouldn't stand in the middle of the road!" The driver yelled, then getting back into the car and skidding off.
"You okay?" Jay asked, pushing through the crowd.
"I'm fine…" The kid said, looking at his palm. There was only a scratch on the lower part of the hand, but how could that be, when he skidded on his hand for half a block? Jay helped him up, cutting through the crowd.
"I tried to warn you. Where do you live? I'll take you there." Jay asked.
"Can I just go home with you for now? Until the rain stops?" The kid asked.
After a few minutes, Jay let himself into his house. Alan followed Jay slowly, holding his dark brown book close to him. "Need a towel?" Jay asked. Alan nodded, as Jay retreated into the bathroom. Alan looked the house over. I wonder if this guy is my book owner…pretty cool place, too. Alan thought. Jay came out of the bathroom with a clean towel. He threw it to Alan.
"So, where do you go to school?" Jay asked. The kid was getting the water out of his ears.
"Huh?" Alan said, thinking it over. The…. uh… Mamono School.
"Where's that?" Jay asked. The kid blinked. He took out his book.
"Can you read this book?" the kid asked, trying to change the subject, as well as see whether he was the book owner or not. Jay took the book, flipping through it.
"There are some weird markings in here, but I can only read a single line." Jay said. The book started to glow.
"Let's go outside." The kid said, dragging Jay along with him. They stared at the fence between Jay and his neighbor's house.
"Now, read." The kid said, a bit jittery.
"Braidon." Jay said. He closed his eyes. He felt a gust. He opened his eyes, to see a brown whip made of the kid's hair repel back to him. The fence was completely destroyed.
"What was that?" Jay asked, his jaw dropping.
"Hair? That's my power?" the kid asked.
"Tch, you'd think I'd do better than hair, of all things. I'm a Mamodo. And you are my book owner." The kid sighed.
"What?" Jay said.
"Is this why you weren't hurt when the car hit you?" Jay asked.
"Yes. But it only gets worse from there, because there are ninety-nine others that will try to take that book and burn it. Don't let 'em." The kid answered.
"I don't really understand. First of all, what's a mamodo, and why are you here?" Jay asked.
"Okay, I'll answer both your questions in one go. A mamodo is a being with powers. The king wanted someone to succeed him, someone who could handle the throne of the entire Mamodo world. So, that king set up this challenge so that he would have someone to succeed him every thousand or so years. And here is myself and ninety-nine other strong competitors that want to burn my book. Now, this book is like a human's passport. In order for me to stay in this world, I have to keep my passport safe. If my passport were to be burned, I go back to the Demon world. This keeps going on until we get to the final ten. The final ten will be the most powerful and elusive Demons of all. The last Demon standing, when only one of these books remain on Earth, the Demon who belongs to that book wins. Then the Demon disappears back to the Demon world for his coronation. If I win, then after I disappear you have the option to keep all your memories of me, or give all your memories up for one wish. That about sums it up," the kid answered, a bit out of breath.
"But how do I burn a book with hair?" Jay asked, since it was the kid's power. The kid scoffed.
"You don't. Do you have a match?" the kid asked.
"Yeah, let's get inside. My mom's a lawyer so she won't be home until late at night, so we should a lot have time for you to clarify everything."
"By the way, I'm Alan. Let's promise we'll make it to the end." Alan introduced himself.
"Promise. I'm Jay." Jay answered, while introducing himself.
(End Of Chapter 1: 100 Mamodo left)