Greetings, reader. This is my first fanfic, so don't completely tear me apart. And I apologize in advance for any OoCness.

Disc: I do NOT own Zatch Bell or anything related to Zatch Bell. However, I guess I DO own my OCs.

A New Mamodo: Friend or Foe?

By Kasek

It was another… er, normal day in Mochinoki. Zatch was being attacked by… er, playing with Naomi again, while Kiyo just sat and watched him get tortured… ahem, have fun.

"Kiyo, HELP ME!" Zatch cried, as he ran for his life.

"Why should I? This is way too much fun," Kiyo said, his eyes watching Zatch race across the playground, oblivious to the two figures approaching the scene.

"Are you sure you sensed a Mamodo around here?" the taller one said.

"Of course. What, do you really think I'd go through this much trouble for a prank?"

A large sweatdrop made itself known on the first's face. "YES."

Kiyo noticed the two figures approaching him. He inspected the taller one first. He appeared to be around Kiyo's age. He had short, brown hair that reminded Kiyo of his own hair, and big, blue eyes that gave a carefree air about him. He wore a grey vest atop of a green-and-white striped, long sleeved shirt, and blue jeans. He also had a matching grey backpack.

The little boy with him was strange indeed. He wore an outfit reminiscent of Robin Hood's, and had really narrow eyes, a hint of green barely conceivable. He had a bow slung over his shoulder, and a quiver strapped to his back. Kiyo reached for his bag, just in case. Looking at the little bit of orange hair sticking out from beneath his feathered cap, Kiyo noticed something that confirmed his suspicions; the kid had pointed ears!

Before Kiyo could call out to Zatch, the blonde Mamodo ran behind the two newcomers, hoping to use them as a shield. His ploy worked; Naomi backed off after the glare she got from the elfin Mamodo.

"You just got lucky, Zatch! I'll get you next time!" she said, and then she "drove" off. The new Mamodo's ears flickered at Zatch's name.

"Zatch? As in Zatch Bell?" he thought to himself, turning to the boy that had used them as a shield.

"Thank you for saving me from Naomi, THANK YOU!" he exclaimed, tears of joy in his eyes.

"Yep, that's him." He whispered to himself, and then he nodded to his partner.

Kiyo ran over to the scene. "Zatch, get away from them! That kid's a Mamodo!"

Zatch looked at Kiyo, then at the Mamodo, then at his partner, who was pulling their spellbook from his backpack. Kiyo realized that Zatch wasn't in battle mode, and had to pull him away from them.

"But Kiyo, they can't be bad guys, they saved me from Naomi!"

"Zatch, now is not the time to be arguing with me!"

The green Mamodo stepped forward, grabbing their attention. "Well, Zatch, I'm surprised that you're even still in this battle. How did you manage to survive?"

Zatch stared at him for a moment. "Wait, you know me?"

The elf's face turned completely red, and his eyes became even narrower. Kiyo could've sworn he had heard something snap.

"YOU MEAN YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME? ME!"

The boy made a mad dash towards Zatch, but was held back by his partner, who had grabbed his quiver in the nick of time.

"Now, now, Peerin, we can't be making a scene in public now, can we?"

Peerin mumbled something to himself under his breath.

The book owner looked at Zatch and Kiyo. "So you're Zatch Bell, huh? And you must be his book owner. My name is Nathan, and this is Peerin. And you are?"

"You can just call me Kiyo. What do you want, Nathan?"

"I would think that obvious. We came to fight a Mamodo. However now that we know who our opponent is, I'll have to delay a little bit."

Kiyo looked at Nathan suspiciously. "What do you mean delay?"

"Well, I had heard Zatch was a really nice guy, so I presume you're going to want to battle away from any innocent bystanders, correct?"

Kiyo couldn't believe his ears. It had been forever since they fought with someone nice. "Alright, so where do you guys want to fight?"

Both Nathan and Peerin sweatdropped. "Well actually, we're new in town. We don't know where anything is."

Kiyo had to think for a minute. "Well, do you know where the river by the train station is?"

"Yeah, we crossed over it on the way here. So that's our battleground, huh? What time should we come?"

Kiyo didn't need to really think for that one. "How about 3 O'clock, tomorrow afternoon?"

Both Nathan and Peerin nodded. "Fine with us. See you then." And with that, both teams went their separate ways.

Sorry if it's a little long. Plz R&R.