Author's Note: It's been a while but I'm back. I really enjoy the pairing of Kiyo and Ivy. This is actually my second time writing for this pairing (But this story isn't related to the first one I wrote.) The first one I wrote back in 2011. I deleted it off this website. You can find where it is by clicking on my profile. I hope you all enjoy reading this.
"Bye Ms Kinoyama!" Some of the children yelled through the windows as the bus drove away.
Ivy gave them a wave until the bus was out of sight. She looked down at her watch and set it to go off in half an hour. Now that the tour was done, she could go on a break. She made her way back through the building and towards the break room. She really loved this job. She got to work in a beautiful environment and got the opportunity to teach children.
When she got to the room, she saw her co-workers, Sakura and Nerine, were already sitting down drinking coffee. She noticed that the coffee pot was still hot and had at least enough for one mug.
"You make your job look so effortless." Sakura said, giving Ivy a smile. "And you were working with children. I'm over twice your age and I can't even handle it when my seven-year-old son brings two of his friends over in one day."
Ivy let out a chuckle as she poured herself a cup. Even if she was still just a teenager, she had always found it easy to talk to children. Maybe it had something to do with being still young herself.
"By the way, before I forget, that friend of yours is here." Nerine mentioned.
"You mean Zatch?" Ivy asked, taking a sip.
"No, his older brother I think. The one that use to come here and brood."
"She must be talking about Kiyo." Ivy thought.
"And you didn't see Zatch with him?" she inquired.
"No. Honestly, he seems like he wants to be alone, like the way he was before." Nerine took a big drink out of her mug, finishing her coffee.
"What gives you that impression?" she questioned.
Nerine got up and went to wash her mug in the sink. "There seems to be a bit of a dark cloud looming over him. Like he wants to be left alone."
Ivy stood there for a moment, before turning towards the door and saying, "I'm going to have my break in the garden."
When she left the room, the two girls who were still in the break room look at each other and giggled lightly.
Just as she thought, Kiyo was sitting by that one tree he always sat by when he used to come here. He didn't have a book in his hand, and his eyes were closed as he leaned on the tree. However, she could tell he wasn't resting. Ivy walked over and sat next to him.
"I know it's Friday, but you should be in school."
Kiyo opened his eyes and saw Ivy. He was quite for a couple of seconds before replying. "I just wanted to spend some time alone today."
Ivy nodded. "So, where's Zatch today?"
"He's hanging out with Tia and Megumi today."
Ivy raised an eyebrow. "It wouldn't happen to be the teen idol Megumi, would it?" she joked.
Kiyo's smiled slightly. "Yes actually." He lifted his back and head off the tree. "He's hanging out on set with them today while they shoot their next music video."
Ivy's mouth opened slightly. She could tell Kiyo was being completely serious. Ivy smiled. "Wow, so you really have made some interesting friends." Ivy then thought of something. She looked at Kiyo with a serious look on her face. "Is she the one that Zatch mentioned that you went on a 'date' with?"
There was a bit of a panic look on Kiyo's face. Ivy couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Relax," she said as she wrapped one of her arms around him. "Zatch explained to me that the one you went on the 'date' with is in the same situation as you and Zatch. I know you only did it so you guys could forget about this whole 'fight to be king' thing for a day."
In one of his recent visits, he explained about Zatch's situation. She did have a feeling that Zatch wasn't quite human, but to be from another world entirely was something she would've never predicted. It was amazing that Kiyo was helping Zatch in his goal to become a kind king. But if anyone could help make Zatch's goal happen, it was Kiyo.
Kiyo blushed as Ivy brought him in closer to her. "We didn't end up getting away from it. There were two Mamodo's that were fighting as a team there as well. We ended up battling them." After a couple of seconds, Kiyo looked up at Ivy. "You're not annoyed about it?"
A cat like smile appeared on Ivy's face. "Do I have a reason not to trust my boyfriend?" Kiyo shook his head a little fast. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the forehead before removing her arm from around him. "Then no, I don't have a problem with you spending time with other women."
Ivy and Kiyo had been dating for about a month and a half now. It happened about three weeks after she meet Zatch for the first time. Whenever Kiyo and Zatch had come since then, during her breaks she and Kiyo would have conversations. Eventually, he decided to ask her to hang out outside of the Botanical gardens. After a while the two of them started dating. She had been interested in Kiyo even before Zatch came into the picture, but she was initially surprised when he asked her to be his girlfriend.
The only ones that knew were her parents, her friends outside of work, Kiyo's mother and Zatch. None of Kiyo's friends knew as far as she knew, which she understood. Even if Kiyo had friends now, kids in school could be merciless. Ivy's friends didn't tease her for it because even though she worked for a living, there's only one year's difference between the two. She hadn't told any of her friends at work, but she had a feeling that some of them knew. Her parents were just happy that she was dating someone that looked like he was, 'going places'.
She was more surprised when she met Kiyo's mother and she was so understanding about her situation. She didn't expect the mother of such a smart kid to be so understanding of her son dating someone who dropped out of school to work.
Kiyo was nervous about telling Zatch, because of his "big mouth". But both of them knew that he should know. So, Ivy said that she would tell him and would take full responsibility if he told anyone. Kiyo hadn't mentioned anybody else knowing, so she assumed that Zatch hadn't told anyone.
When Ivy saw the relaxed look on Kiyo's face, she could tell he wasn't like he was before. He wasn't trying to drive people away. But she could tell since she saw him today that there was something bothering him. He was trying to hide it since they started talking, but she could see right through him.
"So, are you going to tell me what's the matter?" she asked simply.
Kiyo looked right at her. He was smart enough to know that denying it would do him no good. He also knew that she wasn't going to press the matter if he said he didn't want to talk about it. Weather he told her or not was up to him.
After thinking about it, he decided to tell her. "It's about this girl I met named Shion."
"Another girl?" Ivy said in a teasing manner. When Kiyo didn't react this time, she could tell that whatever happened, didn't end well. "I assume you met her as part of the Mamodo battles." It wasn't a question.
Kiyo let out a breath before continuing. "Her partner was a cat named Nya. They were after a piece of a mirror that Zatch happened to have. They were told by another Mamodo and his partner that if they got all three pieces, they could find a way to be together forever."
Ivy looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"We gave them the piece and went with them, but it turns out they were tricked. It was a power amplifier for Mamodo's. They used Shion and Nya's desire to be together against them and he ended up burning their book."
"But you and Zatch were able to beat them, right?" Ivy asked, feeling slightly worried. Kiyo gave her a nod. Ivy let out a sigh of relief. "So, what happened to the girl?"
"She transferred to a different school quite a distance away." Kiyo turned his head to look at some of the plants. "I doubt I will see her again."
She placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Do you think she's going to be ok?"
Kiyo looked back at her with a smile. "I do."
She was glad to hear that, however, that still left her original question unanswered.
"So, what is actually bothering you?" she asked, putting her hand under his chin to make him look her in the eye.
"It's just…" he paused for a moment, trying to think of the right way to explain it. "I realise we're going to have to battle some good people as well as bad in this battle. Some people that have grown really close with there Mamodo's." He turned his head away and placed his chin on his knees. "I want to help Zatch on his goal to become a kind king. But no matter your intentions, you have to step on people on the way to the final battle."
Ivy now understood what was bothering him. She was sure that Kiyo had made friends with other Mamodo's and their partners during these battles. He was worried about fighting them and burning their books. Ivy smiled. She moved closer to him and placed one arm around his shoulders and one arm where his heart was.
"You've got a big heart Kiyo. That's why I always knew that you didn't really want to drive people away." Kiyo lifted his head to look at his girlfriend. "You would never do anything to hurt anyone. You have to fight these battles to make sure that Zatch becomes a kind king. And the good Mamodo's that you fight along the way, will be happy that they were defeated by someone with good intentions and not bad ones. That goes for any friends you've made along the way as well."
A smile broke out on Kiyo's face. He reached out his arm and gave her a hug. "you're an incredible person, you know that?"
Ivy smiled and wrapped her other arm around him. "Takes one to know one."
A beeping noise started coming from Ivy's watch. They pulled apart and Ivy looked and saw her break was up. She let out a sigh and stood up.
"Got to get back to work?" Kiyo asked as he stood up as well.
Ivy nodded. "You going to head back home?"
"Yeah, I need to pick Zatch up in about an hour anyway."
"Well you have a great day." Ivy said, as she started walking away. She then thought of something. She turned around and said, "I'll be over at seven."
Kiyo stopped and turned his head to face her. "Are you having dinner at my house?" he asked with a confused look on his face.
Ivy shook her head. "Nah, were going out to dinner tonight. It's a Friday so you don't have to worry about school tomorrow."
Kiyo rubbed the back of his head. "Well I do have a test on the coming Tuesday."
Ivy put a fake pout on her face. "I didn't get to eat anything during my break. You owe me a meal."
"Alright you don't have to guilt trip me." Kiyo said, rolling his eyes. "Is there anywhere you want to go in particular?"
"We can go to either a restaurant or a food truck in a park, as long as you're paying." She gave him a wink.
Kiyo nodded. "Alright, I guess I'll see you in five hours." The two exchanged a smile before they both headed off in their respective directions.
Ivy's words really did help Kiyo. Thanks to her reassurance, he now had the strength to keep on fight until Zatch achieved his goal.