Fop: Happy 20th anniversary of the Konjiki no Gash Bell manga! I thought it'd be appropriate to make a fanfic this year! I hope you enjoy! I also don't own any of the characters.

Chapter 1

Dear Kiyo,

I know what you're thinking. You are wondering why you are receiving a letter from me at such an unexpected time. You are also wondering how I acquired your address. If you must know, it's not that difficult to remember the street address of the house I stayed in during our 10 months of training for the battle with Clear Note. Alternatively, I could have just simply asked myself, "Where does Kiyo live?", and the answer would easily come to mind, but while that would be the easiest way to the answer, that is also a lazy way to obtain someone's address.

As you may have already known, I have been traveling the world, and it's been a little over a year since our last encounter. You should be close to the end of your first year of high school by now. Although, with your level of intellect, and the fact that you no longer have these battles to distract you, you should be able to skip a grade.

I haven't bothered to contact anyone else who was involved in the battle with Clear, or the battle to become king in general, not that I would, but I find that you and I have some sort of connection, and not just because we both have had the same ability at one point, but because I feel both of our demons will have a mutual connection towards something.

Let me explain. During my travels, I've started to learn to look at things differently and how certain emotions work to change one's life. You would understand this based on your own past; however, something has irked me recently. This premonition, where I sense both of our demons are about to have a mutual connection towards something, I am still unable to solve this myself. With your intelligence, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out, but I-"

"Kiyo!"

Kiyo looked over his shoulder at the call from his mother downstairs. Her calling pulled him from his letter reading and reminded him that he had somewhere else to be.

"Don't be late for school!"

He folded the letter and placed it in his bag. He was already dressed since he received the letter last night when his mom told him to check the mail. He saw the letter that was addressed to him, but he had to study for final exams and placed the letter in his desk drawer to read some other day. While getting ready for school, he misplaced some of his pens, and while searching for them, found the letter he had forgotten about and started reading it immediately.

Ignoring the pens – as he figured he'll ask a classmate for one later – he ran down the steps, kissed his mother goodbye, and hurried off to school, schoolbag clasped in one hand and slung over his shoulder.

"Kiyo!"

He turned and saw his mother holding a bento. "Don't forget your lunch," she said.

"Oh!" He ran back to take his bento from her and gave her a "thank you" before leaving again. As he ran, he remembered that his mom never had to call out to him before to give him his lunch since Zatch would always be the one to deliver it to him whenever he forgot.

Kiyo slowed his pace at the thought of the little blond boy he'd grown to adore so much. Sure, he thought he was annoying, but the house has been quieter since he left, and Kiyo's mom seemed lonelier without the bustle of a small child filling the constant emptiness of the home.

He looked down at the ground, mindful of not running into people as he walked. "Huh. Zatch…I wonder how you're doing now."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"C'mon, already! Throw it!"

"I'm getting to it!"

A little blond boy around the age of eight jutted his thumb upright at arm's length. He had one of his golden eyes closed, focusing on a basket hanging from the branch of a giant tree that was several feet away from him. "I just gotta' get the right angle."

"Well, you're not gonna' beat my score anyway, Zatch," said a girl with long reddish hair.

Zatch turned towards her direction with a face of determination. "You watch me, Tia! I'll beat your and Kolulu's scores!"

Tia crossed her arms, grinned at Zatch, and nodded. "Alright, then. Show us!"

Zatch looked back at the suspended basket, picked up the medium-sized ball that was lying at his feet, and let out a long exhale. He threw his arms back and tossed the ball, but it completely missed the target, ricocheted off the tree's bark, and landed on his face.

Kolulu, a girl with short pink hair that curled inwards at her shoulders, and who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke when the ball made contact with Zatch's face. "Wow. He sucks at this."

Tia instantly started laughing. Not only was she entertained at Zatch's bad throwing, but the fact that Kolulu made a comment that was so unlike her, that was the complete opposite of her sweet demeanor, it made the entire situation even funnier to Tia. Seeing her friend laugh, Kolulu quickly joined in.

Zatch rapidly turned his attention to the two girls who were giggling at him and cried, "No, don't laugh! I can do it! Watch this!"

Sensing something was wrong, Tia stopped laughing and looked at Zatch who held the ball over his head while facing the ground. Seeing how he angled it, Tia ran up to him. "Wait, Zatch! Don't-"

Too late. Zatch threw the ball towards the ground. It bounced from the ground, bounced off his face, flew towards the tree, bounced from the tree, and flew through an opened window that led to one of the castle's office rooms on the ground floor.

When all three children saw where the ball had gone, Zatch scratched the back of his head and looked at the two girls nervously. "Oops."

"Oops?" Tia said in response as she grabbed Zatch's beige colored brooch. "Zatch, you dork! Now what are we supposed to do? This was why I didn't want to play at your house!"

"Calm down, Tia!" Kolulu put a hand on Tia's shoulder, and Tia immediately calmed when she saw her. "It's not a big deal. It was just an accident. Be thankful the window was already opened. Let's just go in and get it."

Zatch nodded quickly multiple times, tears running down his face. "Yes! What Kolulu said! Let's just go in and get it!"

"Hm!" Tia let go of Zatch and he lightly fell to the ground. "Fine."

Zatch got up and patted the dust off his blue mantle. "Okay! I'm still getting used to where everything is in the castle, but if memory serves me correctly, that room is-"

He stopped mid-sentence while pointing towards the window, his jaw slightly open in surprise. Both girls were behind him and didn't see what was in front of him.

"That room is what, Zatch?" Tia asked.

Both girls looked towards his direction, but only Tia had the same expression as Zatch. Kolulu was the only one who stared with wonderment as she had never seen him this close before.

Standing on the sill of the window was a boy about their age cloaked in white. His frame mirrored Zatch in everything except for his colors. He was paler in complexion and had silvery platinum blond hair in contrast with Zatch's golden blond hair. The only striking appearance about him were his eyes; royal purple with gleams of white lighting in them. His eye colors were a complete mystery as no one else in Makai had them, not even his parents.

The ball Zatch threw was in his hand and he was bouncing it in the air as Zatch, Tia, and Kolulu all stared at him. "Looking for this?" He asked.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''

…but I'm concerned about Zeno.

Kiyo continued reading his letter during lunch. He isolated himself on the rooftop of the school to get some privacy instead of eating with his friends in the classroom like he usually does. He, of course, told them where he was going and why, and they understood. Although, sitting on the rooftop alone reminded him of the times when he would skip class in junior high to read at the botanical garden. This time was completely different; he had more understanding friends now who gave him the time he wanted to read a letter from an old companion.

It's evident that his perceptive on life has changed after our battle on Faudo, but I do not think that his sudden change will affect the perspective of how other's view him. The answer talker won't tell me, perhaps because it cannot answer questions specific to demons currently in Makai, but based on how humans and other creatures react towards other beings who have mistreated them, I can only assume the same can happen to demons. I fear that despite his new outlook on life, he won't be able to gain companionship outside of Zatch.

I'm not saying that Zatch is incapable to being Zeno's best friend; it's just not easy for someone of Zeno's background to have someone else suddenly become friendly towards him. Of course, it's not unheard of where people blindly accept you regardless of your past, but you can't doubt the fact that there will be some sort of hesitation.

Kiyo instantly thought of Kane, one of his old friends from junior high school, after reading the last line. Even though Kane now goes to a different school like all his other friends from junior high, he remembered how Kane was hesitant on opening up to Kiyo after the bank incident. Kane definitely had doubts about Kiyo as a precaution before he fully opened up to him, and he understood and forgave Kane for that. He can only imagine what it would be like for Zeno who had actually done a lot worse given his reputation. He continued reading.

Naturally, people are skeptical. It's because of this that I fear Zeno will eventually grow back to his old self; a state of loneliness and resentment, not towards Zatch, but towards other demons. Unless-"

"Hey, Kiyo!"

Kiyo looked up to see one of his friends at the door to the rooftop. He slightly opened it to only let half of his body step outside, other half still enclosed in the darkness of the school building's staircase. It was someone new he met when he entered high school and they became friends almost instantly.

"Sorry to bother you, man." The boy scratched the back of his neck. "The school bell is about to ring. Just thought I would come get you since you haven't come back yet."

"Oh!" Kiyo hurriedly gathered his stuff and ate what was left of his lunch. "Thanks! You're a great friend."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Hi, Zeno," said Zatch who put his hand down to stop pointing at his brother. "I'm sorry if we bothered you."

"It's quite alright, but shouldn't you be preparing for tomorrow's meeting with the counsel? It's a follow-up from last month's meeting. Did you review your minutes from last time?"

"Uh…no."

Zeno stopped bouncing the ball in his hand and there were a few seconds of silence before he spoke.

"No? Then, what are you doing?"

Zatch looked up at the sky and turned his face away from Zeno.

"Zatch?"

Zatch completely turned around, back towards Zeno, still facing the sky.

Zeno sighed. "Zatch, don't do this again. Look at me."

Zatch didn't move.

"Zatch? Zatch, look at me."

The two girls kept glancing back and forth between Zatch and Zeno. Tia was getting a little impatient since she was the one who initially suggested they didn't play since Zatch may be busy, but Zatch insisted that they play since both she and Kolulu were at the castle anyway since their moms were old friends with Zatch and Zeno's mom.

Zeno threw the ball at the back of Zatch's head. "Stupid! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Zatch balled his fists and his whole body shook. He finally turned around. "What's wrong with me taking a break? Tia's and Kolulu's moms are visiting our mom for the day, and I wanted to play since they were already here." He pointed at Zeno. "You never play with me when I ask anyway!"

The girls were fidgeting and started to look as if they didn't want to be in this situation, but since their moms were not ready to leave yet, they couldn't just go home, which left them in an awkward position within this family squabble.

Zeno rolled his eyes. "It's not that I don't want to. I'm really busy helping you. Since you're not fully educated in the laws of the land yet, I have been managing several tasks of yours on top of ruling my regularly designated principalities. Because you're slacking off, I'm more busy than usual. Stop playing around and get back to work. This is not how a king should act."

Zatch was silent for a time before brightening. He asked, "Well, if you're so busy, why don't you play with us?"

"Are you deaf?"

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Zatch gestured towards the two girls who were several feet away from him. "The four of us can play together!"

"Did you not hear a word I just said? Absolutely not."

Zatch frowned and murmured, "you're being a butt."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, you're being a butt, Zeno!"

"How dare you insult me with such an infantile remark!"

"Um…"

Both boys looked in the direction of where the girls were and saw that Kolulu was standing a bit closer, which made her stand in between Zatch and Tia.

"Uh, yeah," she said. "Why don't you play with us, Prince Zeno?"

Zatch turned back to Zeno. "See? Kolulu thinks so too! C'mon, let's play."

"Just leave him alone." Tia was the one who stepped forward this time and stood next to Kolulu. "Even if he did have time, he probably doesn't want to play with us anyway."

Zeno was silent and his eyes dropped at the comment. He remembered telling Zatch back on Faudo that he was too busy training for the throne with adult soldiers that he was not allowed to play like other demon children. Looking back at all the work he had to do in the office behind him, he sighed. Other than the two brothers now living together, nothing had changed.

"That's not true," Zatch said. Zeno looked up as Zatch continued talking. "My brother has been alone for a long time. We were separated shortly after we were born, and he told me that he was so busy training for the battles that he couldn't play with anyone."

Kolulu gasped, one hand covering her mouth. "How awful. Another reason to not like those battles."

Tia looked taken aback as she was unsure of what to say after her last comment.

"I think now is a good time, Zeno." Zatch extended his hand. "Won't you play with us today?"

Kolulu stepped forward and stood beside Zatch. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah! Please, play with us, Prince Zeno. It's always better with more people."

Zeno glanced at Tia, curious to know how she'll react to the others' approach. His facial expression seemed to be one of waiting, as if giving the impression that Tia was the only one who didn't offer some sort of sacrifice to the Thunder Emperor.

She noticed Zeno's heavy staring and shook her head to rid the fear he was blanketing over her. "Oh, yeah, yeah! I think so, too," she said, hands on her hips. "In fact, I bet he can't beat our scores!"

"What was that?"

Zatch and Kolulu flinched.

Tia smiled, but started to sweat and tremble, not knowing if it was a good idea to taunt Zeno. "I…I said, I don't th-think you can b-beat our sc-scores."

Zeno cocked his head to the side and grinned, showing off his razor-like teeth. "Is that a challenge?"

Tia gulped.

Zeno lowered his gaze, bangs shadowing his eyes, and let out a low chuckle. "Alright, then. I'll play your little game."

He leapt from the window sill and landed gracefully in the midst of them. A small wind picked up right before he landed, and both girls had to hold down their dresses. The air instantly grew heavy when the wind died down, and Zatch and Tia had a sudden look of caution, wondering if their playdate invitation was a good idea. Even Kolulu, who felt pity for Zeno just a moment ago, had a look of worry on her face.

Zeno's mantle started to swirl around his body even though there was no breeze. His chuckles gradually grew louder as more power flowed through him. "Let's play."