黒色のクリスマス!
Kokushoku no Christmas!
I do not own Konjiki no Gash! Or Konjiki no Gash Bell! Or Zatch Bell! They belong to Makoto Raiku, Shuukan Shounen Sunday, Shougakukan, VIZ Media, Touei Animation, and Cartoon Network.
Zorcu and Jeeno are property of Rahkshi500.
Author's note: It is strongely recomended that you read "Kokushoku no Foncé!" before this, if only to understand the events leading up to this story.
Level 1: レ・ザンジュ・ダン・ノ・カンパーニュ
Level 1: Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes
The sky was heavy and overcast that day, more so than usual. The air was crisp and cold with the advent of winter replacing autumn. It was silent that December day, not even a breeze stirring the heavy woods.
Just how the ones standing in the woods liked it.
A thin boy of about sixteen with thick messy black hair and wearing heavier clothes than he was used to in order to protect him from the cold stood still. In his hand was a large open dark purple hardbound book. Its words were a language only he could understand. The boy's eyes were on a passage he hadn't read before. He smiled grimly as tried to imagine what the passage might mean.
"Are you ready?" asked his companion, a girl of about seven. She was deathly pale, like a porcelain doll, and had short silky black hair. She wore a fine black dress adorned with black silk ribbons. Strangely, each joint on her hands ware defined by thin black lines.
"I'm always ready," the boy said. "Here comes the next one!"
The girl thrust her left hand out and pointed to a thick old tree, her palm facing out. She smiled in anticipation—it had been four thousand years since anyone read the passage the boy was about to read aloud. "Do it Ken! Read it to me!"
The boy grinned. From the girl's excitement he knew this was going to be a good one. He would read this one with gusto. He took a deep breath, exhaled. He was ready.
"Jaurro Anheiruga!"
A small ring of crackling black energy appeared in her palm. It floated away from her hand and rapidly expanded to a huge size. The black ring revolved in the air, arcs of black lightening dancing along it. Then eleven curved rays of concentrated dark energy emanated from the ring. The rays had a tight corkscrew shape. They swept forward and struck the tree simultaneously. There was a black flash and an eerily quiet explosion, and the grand old tree was blown to grayish toothpicks. The black ring had disappeared.
The boy, Ken Bak, stared. "That's Jaurro Anheiruga? Sweet!"
The girl, Foncé Ying, smiled proudly. "That was my favorite spell in my Rosé incarnation. Fantastique, no?"
"Trés fantastique!" an older girl sitting on a nearby rock exclaimed. She had long spiky blond hair and wore a dark blue robe and a dark blue witch's hat. Both hat and robe were decorated with silver astrological symbols. She also had dark blue elbow-length gloves.
Foncé turned and gave a bow. "Thank you kindly, Ishtar."
"Ishtar!" Ken snapped. "What are you doing here? Don't you know how dangerous some of Foncé's spells are?"
Ishtar hopped off her rock and walked to Foncé and Ken. "I just had to see Foncé's magnificent dark power for myself!"
Ken sighed. "Ishtar, we're practicing with some of Foncé's strongest spells here. You might accidentally get injured or even sent back to the World of Devils."
"Her book isn't here Ken," Foncé retorted. "And we Devils are much sturdier than you humans."
Ishtar's eyes grew large and dewy. "Oh Foncé!" she gushed. "You always defend me! How kind my dear Azula is!"
Foncé smiled slyly. "And how loyal my dear Ty Lee is."
What's with these two? Ken asked himself. Something cold suddenly touched his cheek, and he slapped a hand to his face.
"Is something wrong Ken?" Foncé asked.
"I think it's starting to rain," Ken answered. He pulled his hand away to find a drop of cold water on his fingers. Then a tiny white shape landed into his open palm. He blinked, and looked straight up into the gray sky above. More cold white flakes were beginning to drift down to Earth. Foncé and Ishtar followed his gaze.
"It's not raining," Ken said absently. "It's snowing."
"The language sure has changed over the years," said Griffon, an exceptionally pale man with long white hair. He was sitting in a chair, turning through a modern-day French edition of the Holy Bible.
"It certainly has," replied Yadau, a handsome red-haired teenager, peering over Griffon's shoulder. "A lot can change over a thousand years, especially with humans and their tiny lives."
Griffon tossed the bible onto a table next to him. He dropped his chin into his hands, a depressed look on his face. "It's very frightening to me. I don't think I'll ever be able to adjust to the customs and language now. I can only communicate through you, Yadau."
Yadau smiled, and placed a friendly hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll help you, and I'm sure Lady Serpenté and her current incarnation's brother will be all too glad to help. After all, they see you as valuable. Lady Serpenté in particular is curious about the role you played in her incarnation's father's research."
Griffon looked away. "I'm sure whatever Lady Serpenté knows exceeds what Sabré and I accomplished."
"For the most part that is true. However, you achieved the type of immortality Lady Serpenté and Lord Fudimo failed to achieve."
"Yes, but at the cost of craving flesh blood and meat."
"All An'uuto feel like that. Don't worry too much about that."
"So this 'Christmas' is a 'day of shopping'?"
Aoi, a thin, buxom girl of sixteen with orange hair, smiled and nodded. "That's right! A celebration of shopping and money and cookies and…more shopping!"
Princesa, a tall, slim, full-figured Devil girl with dark skin and a mature face, furiously wrote this fact down in her journal on human culture. "Most fascinating," her murmured.
They were in Aoi's room at the castle. Aoi sat on her bed while Princesa sat on a chair.
"So I must purchase material goods in order to participate in Christmas?"
"Yup. Better give some of those things to me. Part of Christmas is giving stuff to people you like, and you like me, right?"
Princesa glanced at Aoi. "You are my bookkeeper; nothing more."
"So cold," muttered Aoi, and she wondered once again why she couldn't have gotten a horny male Devil she could easily manipulate with her good looks.
"Zorcu! Come quick!" cried Jeanette "Jeeno" Chanel, a pretty twelve-year-old girl with short, soft brown hair and a gray sweater. Zorcu, a short boy with pale yellow hair and a purple hooded jacket, came running through the halls of Château de Fouché. He came to a screeching halt next to Jeeno.
"What is it?" he asked.
Jeeno pointed through a wide picture window. Snowflakes could be seen falling lazily from the sky. It was beginning to pile up on the village of Auseuil, France. "It's it beautiful Zorcu? I haven't seen snow in a long time!"
"I guess it's nice," he said.
"Ah," said a voice behind them, "it's that time of year again."
Zorcu and Jeeno turned to find Lord Pierre Fouché, a short man in French military dress and the castellan of Château de Fouché, smiling behind them. "Christmas has come to Auseuil once again!"
Zorcu looked puzzled. "Christmas?" he asked.
"It's the happiest time of year here!" said Jeeno. "I'm so glad you'll get to experience it with me."
Fouché began to sing a song in his reedy voice.
Les anges dans nos campagnes
Ont entonné l'hymne des cieux,
Et l'écho de nos montagnes
Redit ce chant mélodieux:
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Jeeno clapped her hands in delight, and sang the next part.
Bergers, pour qui cette fête?
Quel est l'objet de tous ces chants?
Quel vainqueur, quelle conquête
Mérite ces cris triomphants:
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!"You have a marvelous voice," said Fouché. "Let's sing the rest together!"
"Alright!" Jeeno agreed.
Ils annoncent la naissance
Du libérateur d'Israël
Et pleins de reconnaissance
Chantent en ce jour solennel:
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Cherchons tous l'heureux village
Qui l'a vu naître sous ses toits
Offrons-lui le tendre homage
Et de nos cœurs et de nos voix:
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Bergers, quittez vos retraites,
Unissez-vous à leurs concerts,
Et que vos tendres musettes
Fassent retenir les airs:
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
"I love that song," Jeeno said after finishing.
"I still don't get it," said Zorcu. "What's this 'Christmas' you keep talking about?"
"That's right," said Fouché. "I forget at times that you come from another world. Maybe we should gather all of the Devils up and explain Christmas to them."
"Good idea!" chirped Jeeno. "It will be fun explaining the holidays to everyone."
She suddenly hugged her Devil tightly.
"Oh Zorcu, this will be the best Christmas ever!"
To be continued...
Author's notes: Here's a new story from me everyone! It's a side story to events in "Kokushoku no Foncé!" I wrote this a while back, but FanFiction Dot Net wouldn't let me upload any documents for the longest time! All is well now though.