Disclaimer: I do not own Zatch Bell or any of its characters.
(Flashbacks are in underlined italic this chapter.)
Chapter 7: The Independent King's Resolve
Tonight would be the last that Kyo and Allen would spend in the hospital. Even though they had recovered long before the doctors decided to keep them there to make sure. As everyone else ran around packing and doing any last minute things Leo sat in a chair near the door, half asleep. He then began thinking of his days back in the demon world.
A boy who seemed to be a younger Leo ran around a playground with other small children. Un like the Leo of today this one seemed to where a smile just about all the time. As time went by and the sun began to set a huge lion entered the playground. However no one was surprised or scared, as if it were normal. The Lion also seemed to be pretty old in age.
"Master Leo are you ready to go your father wants you back at home a.s.a.p."
"Okay, let's go Tobagi-san." Leo climbed onto the lion's back and held on tightly to his fur as Tobagi took off at high speeds. Within a few minutes they had reached the place where Leo had lived his entire life. It was an average sized house by demon world standards. It contained the standard rooms such bed and bath, kitchen, but it also had a training room and a basement. Leo's father would usually work out in the training room, and in the basement play cards with some of his old friends. As they entered the house Leo's father and another man was standing next to him.
His father was , to put it simply was like a much larger Leo who gave off a pretty laid back atmosphere when around him. The man next to him had light blue hair, and same color eyes. He had a huge grin on his face. He wore an all white short sleeved jacket with the collar turned up and the zipper undone, revealing his bare chest. His hands were clawed, and he had a few fangs as well. He also wore white pants that ended in black, and black and white shoes with three spikes on the end, by the looks of them the shoes were especially made for combat.
"As of now Tobagi will be resigning as your guardian." His father began. "He has been a family guardian for over a century, protecting me even when I was a child. But he's currently growing in age and as of today my old friend Panjaku will take his place."
"Hey kid, pleased to meet the kid I'll be protecting for a while." He held out his hand for Leo to shake.
Leo crossed his arm and turned to face away from the stranger. "No, I want Tobagi-san!"
"Master Leo, your father is right. Besides, just because I'm no longer your guardian doesn't mean we still can't be friends."
"Fine I guess you can be my guardian." He shook the man's hand.
"You know kid, back about a thousand years ago me and your dad fought together in the demon battles for king. Your dad's pretty strong but was beaten pretty early on."
"Hey I was jumped by a group of mamodo's!" His dad replied.
"Sure you were. You've been using that excuse for the past thousand years. I kept on fighting for a while, but eventually lost. Those were good times then."
A few months went by and during that time Leo began to trust and befriend his new guardian. It was around ten pm or so and Leo still hadn't returned. Worried his father and Panjuku set out to look for him.
Leo ran frantically down the street from a small group of older people. There were three or four of them and chasing him down the streets. When Leo got tired of running he decided to turn and fight back. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" He ran at one and punched him in the gut with all of his might, having no effect at all.
"The kids got guts, but that's not enough." The man picked him up by his shirt and threw him into a wall. "You shouldn't have wandered into the territory of our gang. Don't worry-
Leo picked up a shard of broken glass and threw it at the man's face, cutting his cheek. The man wiped his fingers across it and licked the blood off. "We were just gonna rough you up a bit, but since you did that I might just kill you. As he was about to call the other men to join him in the beating he noticed that they were all on the ground. As he turned back to Leo Panjuku was standing in front of him
"You assholes, how dare you attack a child. For that I will definitely kill you." Panjaku kicked the man in the gut. The speed of the kick so fast that it couldn't even be seen, the strength was enough to actually lift the gang member into the air. As he began to fall back towards the ground Panjuku began to rapidly stab at him with his clawed hands. As he was about to finish the job with a stab to a vital organ he felt something tug at his leg. It was Leo.
"Panjaku-san, please stop! Please don't kill him." Leo said with a continuous stream of tears coming from his eyes. With those words Panjaku seemed to immediately return to his senses.
"I'm sorry you had to see that kid. Let's go find your dad, he's worried sick."
Years passed and Leo never forgot that night. The night when Panjaku seemed to become a completely different person.
Leo sat on the branch of a tree in the forest. He was just relaxing when he Noticed Panjaku walk by. He jumped out of the tree to greet his old friend.
"Hey kid, you ready for the demon battle in a couple months?"
"Yep, I've been training and getting ready just in case I get packed." Leo said flexing his muscles and posing.
"You will get picked, you've changed from the whiny brat I met years ago into a strong young man."
"Thanks, hey wait! Did you just call me a whiny brat?!"
"Hahahahahah." Panjuku began laughing as he pulled something out of his pocket."Anyway I've got to go discuss a few thing with your dad for a while, go hang out with your friends or something." He gave Leo about five bucks in demon money. Without a second thought Leo grabbed the money and ran off.
After a while he checked the time. It was almost dinner time and his father was usually mad when he was late for dinner. As he approached the house he could feel something different in the atmosphere. The he heard a large crashing noise there was a struggle going on. Fearing the worst he ran inside.
Once inside he saw something he would never forget. There were large holes in the walls, claw marks on everything even the ceiling. Worst than the claw marks that had destroyed the place there was also blood. He didn't anyone else in the house until he heard a large crash from the basement. He quickly ran down the stairs and entered. Once inside he saw his father deceased body lying on the ground. On the other side of the room was Panjaku, who was beating on Tobagi.
"Panjaku-san!! What are you doing?!"
"Master Leo, get out of here now, this isn't the same man you've always known!"
"Shut up old man, you're really pissing me off." With one quick movement he was easily able to decapitate the old Lion. "Now then kid, you're next!" Grabbing him by the throat Panajku lifted Leo into the air and slammed him into a wall. Looking into Leo's eyes he saw something different. "That's what I'm talking about! That look of hatred, you want to kill me don't you. You want revenge!"
"WHY DID YOU DO IT?!"
"If you want to know then enter the demon battles, and fight me. And kill me if you can! I may not be a child anymore, but I'll be there you can count on it! Hahahahhahahahahaha!" He knocked Leo unconscious and left the house. His white clothing stained with blood of old friends.
When Leo came to he began to cry and kept crying, mourning the death of his father and close friend. He continued to cry for a few weeks or so until he realized that crying would get nothing accomplished. He would enter the demon battle, find Panjaku and kill him. Since that day Leo has never been the same. He began to hang out with friends less and less, until he stopped altogether.
Leo was awakened when someone opened the door and him in the face. "C'mon Leo it's time to go."
"Bastard, you don't even say sorry for hitting me with the door.
Father...why did you ever trust that man?
End of chapter seven, I thought it turned out pretty good. And How's that for character development and foreshadowing.
