"I hope you're actually over this time. I skipped school to come here." Eve moved aside to invite her brother, Sindri, into the apartment she formerly shared with her boyfriend. Boxes sat on every chair and table, mismatched shoes and clothes were crammed into a boy's shoulder bag, and Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen lay on the pullout couch. "Love the décor. Haven't seen something this messy since your last breakup with Caleb."

Eve rolled her eyes and chucked a sweatshirt into a box. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Sindri grabbed one of the heavier boxes and pulled it to his chest. His nose ring looked duller in the table lamp and she could say the same for his appearance. He found his first gray hair last week. That didn't do much to heighten his self-confidence. Despite her suggestions of hair dye.

"Guess you're not gonna tell me about it," he said and held the door open with his boot. "Where's he now? I'd enjoy knocking some of his teeth out for money."

She twirled her fingers through her brown-blonde hair and laughed. Caleb would never turn down a dare for money. It was a hobby of his and helped pay for his tattoos. He had a sleeve-in-progress that went from his shoulder to elbow. She only accommodated a bottle of poison on her wrist since their relationship.

Thinking about Caleb was only trouble. Yet it was tear-grueling to stop remembering everything about him.

"Milan. He's visiting his extended family."

"And you didn't go?"

"Yeah, visiting my ex-boyfriend's family is totally not awkward."

Sindri snorted at her and they headed with bags in hand to the stairs. "I thought you would've had something planned, you know, for those three-years he's been stuck with you."

Eve gave him a look that could split steel. "Things change."

"Faster than they seem," he retorted and shoved her stuff in the trunk, returning to the door. Eve stood beside the car for a few moments, fingers tracing the bottle's shape on her wrist. She had gotten it when Caleb dared her. "Are you coming or no? I don't think it's possible to lift all your junk by myself."

She pushed past him, adrenaline racing her up the stairs. If Caleb cared, he wouldn't have booked the first flight out of Tokyo and told her to have her shit out before he came back from the trip.

It was all his fault. She couldn't have saved their relationship even if she tried. Things can sometimes end as effortlessly as a page ripped out of a novel, concluding the story.

The question is sprung forward. How is a story finished when it's barely been started?

Sindri jogged for the door again with another container. He was probably trying to finish up with her and catch one of his afternoon college classes.

She would've graduated from high school this year. But she dropped out two years ago with the persuading from Caleb. Rumors still cloud her every move by saying that she got pregnant and married a millionaire. Caleb and she laughed over it one year, joking that he was only a rich man by his tattoos.

Eve abandoned her apartment keys on the counter and took her last possessions.

Screw romance.

Later in the day, once her belongings were moved into Sindri's guestroom and he made it in time for his last class, she grabbed a takeout bag of sushi and went on her way. Evening clouds slower than turtles.

Earbuds in and sweater folded over her shorts and T-shirt, she waited patiently for a green light. The techno song on her MP3 melted into soft rock but before the song could build, a rush of footsteps milled behind her and she shook out her earbuds, looking over her shoulder –

A child, no older than seven, grabbed her legs and forced her onto the pavement. He had small shoulders, light hazel hair, and blue eyes that matched hers. His clothes were dirty and he was in need of soap and laundry detergent. A book with weird symbols secured to his back.

She was too surprised for words. The boy had more. "I found you, finally! I just know it!" He still held onto her and scrabbled to get his book, making faces.

"Kid, I don't know –"

"Wait!" he murmured angrily. The book skated off his shoulders and onto the concrete. She got a better look at it. It was the exact color of beach sand and had a cracked spine. "Read it! I know you can!"

Deep pressure flowed through her like a sip of champagne. She took it from his hands and flipped through it, finding symbols mixed with bizarre words. Nothing she knew.

"Seriously, I can't read any of this," Eve swore. The child deflated, shoulders drooping. She went through the first pages and found something that made sense. Words shining in large gold print. "I think I can read this little part."

The boy grinned. Eve strained to read it.

"Upra."

He turned his head and a blast of slippery red paint gushed out of the child's mouth, all across the street. At that moment, she wanted to run away before something happened to her.

"My name is Sundance," the boy introduced and gave her a better look of his eyes – dark blue like cornflowers and rimmed in black. "I know this sounds crazy but I'm a mamodo and I'm one of a hundred in a battle to become king of my world. I need your help to read my book and protect it at all costs. I trust you with my life. For the duration of the battle, you'll be like my parent, my mom." Sundance looked at her hopefully. "Can you do that?"

A kid she never met before trusted her with his life. Someone so innocent and pure had made her something important. Even though it'd only be for a short time, she couldn't just shrug off his words.

"I… okay."

He smiled and it became brighter than an explosion of diamonds.

I hope y'all like this story. I deleted my last Zatch Bell! fanfic because I didn't really know what to write and I have a few plans for this already. Besides, I know how a lot of you are probably tired of seeing Vivi and Demi.

I feel proud to upload this and I hope it's well-received! *crosses fingers*

Here's a submission form, by the way. Maybe if you like the story, you could submit a character.

Book-Keeper Name:

Age:

Looks:

Typical Attire:

Personality:

History (about three sentences is fine.):

Other:

Mamodo Name:

Element:

Age:

Looks:

Typical Attire:

Personality:

History:

Spells: