Disclaimer: Anything Zatch Bell related is in no way mine, excluding custom made Mamodos, cities, and the like.
Chapter 1: The Beginning
CRACK! The sound of breaking ribs echo through the park, as a boy droops down to the moist, humid grass scattered through the area after having the wind knocked out of him. Standing over the injured youngster was another boy, much larger in stature, mainly in terms of physique, though both his hair and eyes gave him in a feminine look, both being a turquoise and hazel coloring respectively. He sports a frayed medium-sized jacket, dark cobalt in color, whilst a skull with crossbones rests on the left shoulder area of the jacket. In addition to his jacket he wears some black denim jeans with a white strip running up the left pants-leg; these pants aren't as bad as his jacket, except near the ankles were they're slightly worn down, though they are still in great condition. Around his waist rests not one, but two belts; one around his waist and one running from the left hip up to a few inches above the right hip. For shoes, he wears black split-toed sneakers with exceptionally small cleats for traction on most terrain.
As he stood their in the mid of the park, surrounded by several boys, some around his age, others younger and older, he glanced at the sun positioned overhead, it's radiant light reflecting off his feminine, hazel brown eyes. This was just another one of his natural days, having to fight off a gang of guys from differing schools in the district, all because he gets tangled up in their affairs each and every time he decides to do anything at all. The entire gang stares him down, their bloodthirsty mind-set clearly detectable by the lad. Neo, however, wasn't fazed by bloodlust in the least as he "fakes" a smile, giving off the impression that he likes this habitually frightening atmosphere. He knew they sought a serious fight to the death, his demise being the thing they truly desired, so he decided to accept their challenge by stomping on their companion's face, whom he just knocked flat on his ass. Their anger stirring violently out of control, they go on the offensive, ready to shed some blood by any means necessary and charged at him simultaneously, readying knives, brace knuckles, among several other deadly utensils.
"Damn. This shit again? Sigh….I'm getting so damn tired of this."
Neo sighed vociferously as he initiates to takes out of entire first wave in less than two minutes with amazingly swift maneuvers through the horde of boys and various blows to the stomachs, ribs, groins, and heads of each of them. The second and third wave looked slightly shocked at the boy, hesitating to attack unlike before. However, the cries of the leader to "kill that bastard" exterminated their wavering thoughts, putting them back in their homicidal mood.
"Humph. That's better. I thought you guys were chickening out on me after pulling out all the stops to finally kick my ass. Well, whatever. Let's get back to it…."
Both the second and third waves unite their forces to try and take Neo out, only to have their efforts foiled as well. Neo inflicts a mighty blow to the closest guy in the face, following up with an elbow strike to the chest of the guy directly next to him. As the two begin to collapse from the pain, Neo proceeds to kick them both in the surrounding crowd, causing several of them to tumble from the weigh of the two combined. Having reduced their numbers greatly, he makes short work of the remaining wave of grunts, by ramming a few of their faces into the nearby pavement, slamming their head together sending out a loud reverberation of cracking skulls, as well as kneeing in their stomachs with absolute raw force until it exits out of their backsides. Having not broken a sweat yet, he strolls over to the last guy, supposedly the leader of the gang, and stares him down with his usual emotionless, yet still awfully intimidating gaze, which appeared to be having its own little effect on him, his dull gray eyelids showing the fear embedded within them. His long, rich, shiny purple hair is cut short not even reaching passing his neck, with trimmed fringes that reach just below his seemingly dead eyes. His attire matched that of his little underlings, with his jet black jacket, the sleeves having white stripes running down them to the wrist area. Under his jacket was a long bloody-red tee shirt that covered the majority of his thighs and knees, some baggy blue jean shorts hugging tightly around them, whilst his grimy sneakers trudge across the morning dew lawn.
"C'mon Lance….For what reason do you think you can kick my ass, when this is what….the third time I've won? Quantity ain't shit to me unless you've got some quality to back it up."
He explains to the one named Lance, who stood their in a daze with mixed feelings of both fear and rage, having to deal with them both in his own little world.
"I don't wanna admit it to this bastard, but it's true. He's like a fucking juggernaut compared to these guys. Unfortunate for him, I've come prepared. Hehehe…."
It didn't really take much too fool an overgrown monkey, Lance thought.
Lance thought to himself as he forces a disappointed facial expression in an attempt to fool the unsuspecting Neo.
"Damn… Whatever man, I quit…I don't even care anymore…." His acting was rather astonishing, as Lance not only had the look down, but the heartbreaking passion to boot. It was definitely fooling the more or less impassive Neo whom shrugged and turned out, pondering on whether he should let Lance leave without any broken bones this time.
"Well, at least you know now. Maybe I can finally go somewhere without your punk ass crew annoying the hell out of me….There's still the others though…..damn….I ain't ever gonna be able to relax around here." Neo mumbles to himself in a rather depressing tone of voice, soon rambling on about something other mess, when suddenly, Lance comes rushing up behind him, knife in hand, ready to thrust it into his back. Just as he was closing in, Neo sidesteps to the left, narrowly avoiding the knife and seizes Lance's wrist, twisting it in the process, and whips him around, dislocating his entire arm until it is nearly warped in the shape of a pretzel. The cries of agony from Lance could be heard throughout the park, catching the attention of many whom where in the vicinity at the time, including little kids playing on the playground, and their parents. Neo, also having become aware of Lance attracting attention to them, decides it was time to get out of there, proceeding to casually walk off as though nothing at all happened, something he was more or less an expert at….
Everything looked as though it was going pretty good; Neo just kicked another bunch of wankster guys' asses and it was a rather lukewarm morning, something he always enjoyed, even if it never looked like it. As he continues his morning stroll across the park, he happens to take notice of a peculiar kid staring him down with energetic eyes, a huge cheesy grin taking up half the space on his face on top of a slide. Even though the kid didn't seem too apprehensive, that facial expression still put him at uneasiness; those large round amethyst eyes gaping down upon, whilst the silvery red highlighted black hair glistened in the sunlight. It appeared as though the kid has been in the sun a while though, as his skin tone was abnormal tan. His attire didn't seem to shabby though, consisting of a maroon and black vest with metallic pads on the shoulders, with a black shirt underneath. The shorts he worked were semi-long, with similar colors like that of his vest, being both black and maroon, with golden straps coiling from the left side of his waist, around his thighs, and back to the right side of his waist. His hands were covered in black gloves with golden strikes going around the wrist, the fingers cut off as well, whilst lastly his shoes were, like the rest of his clothing, black and maroon with some stylish golden threads decorating the exterior.
"This kid is pissing me off and scaring me. Not a good combination at moment." Neo thought to himself as he walk up to the kid, leisurely, yet cautiously at the same time for reasons he was unaware of. This kid seem to have a glow about him that seem abnormal compared to anybody he's ever meet in his lifetime. This intrigued him greatly to the point where he had to investigate this kid, whoever he was supposed to be….
"Oi." He called out, trying not to avoid the kid's disturbing gaze, and continues, "Who the hell are you? Why are you staring at me so damn hard? You got a problem with me or something?" The kid's eyes immediately shot completely open, as though Neo frightened them. Instead, he simply leaped off the swing set, ascending above 15 feet into the air, and descends back to the earth, landing perfectly in front of Neo as though the impact had no effect on his little legs.
"Neh! I still haven't gotten that down….Anyway, to answer your questions: My name's Pulse! You're my book holder. And yes, I do have a problem with you. You're weak as hell for a book holder. Or are all humans like that?"
Neo stared in definite confusion, not having any idea what the hell the kid was saying to him.
"Is this kid on meds or something? What in the hell is a book holder? And what the hell does he mean by "you humans." Judas, this bastard's getting on my nerves."
And with that concluding thought, Neo decided to walk away, ignoring the kid's following statements.
"OI!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING!! GET BACK HERE, DAMNIT!!"
Pulse immediately took off after Neo in a run, almost about to catch him when Neo takes notice of the hyperactive kid, and takes off into a run of his own, having some strange feeling this guy would mix him into something big. And he definitely didn't want any drama today seeing as it was the weekend; a high school student's time for some well deserved R&R. Neo, however, didn't really go to school very much, always skipping any chance he got. And even when he went, he didn't do anything besides sleep, and stare into space all day. He was, without a doubt, a lazy, rebellious guy, no matter which way anyone looked at it, the only thing he ever truly had a passion for was fighting, and even at that, he isn't able to do his best, solely because no one's ever pushed him beyond his limits. This was Neo in all of his pitiful glory.
"Phew…I think I lost him. Damn, that kid is persistent and annoying. Don't think he'll find me here though."
Surveying his surroundings with a regretful, though still emotionless facial expression, realizing he was in a dark alley, the brilliance from the sun fading into the night's sky, soon to be replaced with light of the moon. Not wanting any trouble to come leaping out of a trash can, he decides to casually, though quickly make his way out of the maze-like alleyways. Appearing to go on endless for what appeared to be half an hour, the worn out boy decides to take a break, having not had the chance to do so at all today due to those high schoolers trying to get back at him and that annoying ass kid.
"Goddamnit, what a day this has been. I seriously fucking hope nothing else happens…Ah, shit, I'm going to jinx myself."
It was to Neo's apprehension to find that his jinx had surprisingly come true, having taken notice upon some a rather massive creature walking towards, the snarling sounds echoing through the sinister alley indicating that it was one hell of a beast. Coming closer towards, his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, though only enough to see if was a dog, not entirely what kind. From the bubbly foam around its mouth, however, he immediately knew this dog was not going to be easy to handle.
"Just my shitty luck huh…"
The teenage hooligan slowly made his way up, cautiously awaiting for the dog to pounce so he could react accordingly, though it wasn't going to be very effective, his break having been interrupted and all. Scanning his rear with the utmost concern, he slowly backed away, deciding not to wrestle the monstrous to the dog and fear of being bitten. Instead, he'd simply run away, no matter how irksome it make have felt for him. The dog was slowly, yet steady getting angrier, bending it's legs to some extent, giving away the fact he was ready to take off. Taking this as finally the time to get the fuck out of here, Neo quickly twirls around, preparing to take off as fast as—
"FUCK!!!"
It appeared as though he had spun to quickly and haven't regained his balance, causing his foot to trip over the other and twist to a rather abnormal angle that simply looked painful from sight alone. This truly wasn't Neo's day…though a certain something may have just made it not as bad. Just as the dog was dashing forward, it's powerful legs pushing it forward at a extraordinary velocity, a figure spontaneously appeared in front of the boy, sending out a revolving mid-air kick to the dog face, sending it soaring into a wall, striking it with unbelievable force that produced a massive dent. The dog, lying heavily injured in a miniscule pile of rubble, immediately passed out. A look of great astonishment had overshadowed Neo's face, gazing into the darkness to see what the hell that was. It would definitely be an understatement to say the boy was utterly dumbfounded when he'd seen who it was; the annoying as hell kid from earlier. A long moment of awkward silence remained amongst the two, finally breaking when the boy decided to say something, though rather unexpectedly.
"What the fuck was THAT? You was about to get your ass handed to you by a fucking dog of all things. My god, you fucking fail so hard. And to think I thought of you as a potential book holder of all things. Judas, what the shitty hell is wrong with me."
Staring at the kid with a look of "this fucker had better not be talking to me", he slowly made his way up, struggling however due to his sprain ankle. Looking the kid over with a newfound look of curiosity, he decided to ask a rather silly question.
"Oi, kid. What the hell are you? You suddenly come out of nowhere and kick the shit out of that dog with that much strength. There's no fucking way in hell you're human."
The boys look of disappointed was immediately removed, only to be consume by a small grin, a mouth full of razor sharp teeth being shown, and spoke in a seemingly intelligent way, though still with an air of a moron.
"Aww, if only you could fight as well as you can analyze stuff like that. But yeah, I ain't human. A mamodo is a much better way to classify me as, or a demon. Either way, yeah, that's me."
Neo stood their almost transfixed at the small boy, though appearing more so unconvinced at the little bastard's words.
"Alright, I dunno what the fuck is going on, but I suppose I'll play ago. So, you shitty demon, what the hell is it you want from me?
"BASTARD! DUN CALL ME A SHITTY DEMON! I COULD SO FUCKING OWN YOU!
"I honestly doubt that, but that's beside the point; answering my fucking question."
Looking severely annoyed at the moment, the kid continued on, holding back another explosive statement.
"What do I want? Meh. That's simple. All I wanted from you is to see whether or not you could read the wording in this book is all."
Looking just as annoyed as the kid himself, he spoke in a calm, though clearly pissed off tone of voice.
"You were chasing me down for hours before, just so you could get me to read a fucking BOOK?"
"Basically, yeah."
Holding back his rage to the highest degree, he sighed heavily, taking a look at this so called book the kid was carrying around. Snatching it from him, he examined the cover, looking surprised as hell at the look of it all.
"Well, open it why don'cha."
"Shut the fuck up."
Mumbling under his breath, the kid did as he was told, not taking his eyes off Neo. Finally deciding to open the book up, he regretted doing so, wondering why the hell this kid gave him a book in a fucked up as language."
"There isn't anyway in hell I can read this—"
"Look through more than the first page, dumbass."
A disgustingly large vein popped out of Neo's neck, a low growl emanating through gritted teeth as it took all his willpower not to kick the small boy's ass. Opening a few pages with a dull expression, he soon comes to a particular page where he is capable of reading the strange wording.
"The hell? I can read this shit? Psi Balloons? Wait, that's Belumos. What in God's name is Psi Belumos?"
Neo would found out for himself in a very unsuspecting way, as the book had started to glow brightly, the words from the spell being just as loud. Wondering what the hell this was, he looked up at Pulse attempting to receive a well-deserved explanation when suddenly a massive explosion had occurred, sending a great collection of dirt and rubble everywhere. When it'd finally cleared, he seen the kid's eyes glowing amethyst, just as the book had done, though it finally died down. Looking once again dumbfound, unable to find the words to say anything at all, he just stood their gaping at the sight of the colossal hole in the wall, possibly fifty times larger than the small hole he'd created from sending the dog flying into. Finally breaking the silence once more, Pulse just scratches his head whilst doing so, looking very let down.
"Damn. It looks like I've landed myself a weak-ass book holder. Man, the future battles with this shitty partner of mine are going to be sad."
Registering the words, "book holder", "battles", and partner", he finally opened his mouth, speaking in an awfully lost and confused manner.
"...What the hell just happened?"