Note: Ugh. I hate coming up with names. Oh well, Tanio would do.

Disclaimer: I Zatch Bell own not.

Chapter Two: Another Menace

"Hey! Who are you?" asked Sean as he whirled around. A young boy of about seven years old stood facing Sean. He was wearing a light-blue cloak and had orange hair that covered his ears.

There were two lines going down his face, and his hair and cloak were blowing softly against the wind.

"My name is Tanio," was the reply. "Why were you in the desert?"

"How did you know I was there?" Sean said.

"That book, well, it was in the desert," said Tanio, pointing to the pink textbook. "I left it there, hoping no one would find it, but..." There was a brief pause.

"You said you can read it," continued Tanio. Wordlessly, Sean opened the book and read the first page.

"The first spell, Zakeru," read Sean. Tanio opened his mouth and shot a bolt of electricity at the sky.

"What's your name?" asked Tanio, offering his hand.

"Hey, I'm not touching that hand until you tell me what kind of monster you are!" said Sean as he backed away.

"I am... a mamodo," said Tanio, sitting down next to Sean. "Mamodos come from Makai, where we have magical powers. But here on Earth, we can only use magic if a human reads our spell book. That human becomes the mamodo's destined partner."

"But why are you here? Why are we paired up?"

"To fight a battle. Every millennium, one hundred mamodos are sent to Earth to fight. The goal of this battle is to burn each other's books using our spells. When a mamodo's book is burnt, whoever it belongs to gets immediately sent back to Makai. The last one standing takes over the ruler of Makai and becomes the new ruler."

Sean still looked troubled. "Okay, then. Why did you leave your book behind in the desert?"

"It was because I had nothing else to do," said Tanio as he looked down. "I'd rather not fight this battle. I have no idea why I was chosen in the first place. That's why, I was really depressed when you found my book. That means you're my destined partner, and that I must fight this battle." Sean stared at Tanio with utmost disdain, but he sat down next to Tanio to hear him continue.

"I left the book in the desert, hoping that a mamodo would find it and burn it. That way, I won't have to fight."

"Heh, but the desert has no limits," spat Sean. "Coward. How can you expect another mamodo to find your book?"

"Mamodos are attracted to each others' books," said Tanio. "We have special senses."

"I have only one word to say," said Sean. Tanio looked at him anxiously. "IDIOT! If you hate fighting so much, then fight!"

"WHA- Why is that?" asked Tanio angrily.

"Let's see... you told me that the winner becomes the ruler of Makai. That's why someone like you should strive for power, not just give up upon entering the battle! Listen, Tanio. You have a reason for power. Your reason is because you dislike fighting. If you hate fighting, and you have no power, how can you prevent future battles?"

Tanio gaped at Sean.

"Each one of you," said King Gash. "Must become strong and confident, and endure this battle. No matter how much hardship you encounter, no matter how much friends you will lose... Each one of you must stay strong, and win the power to stop all future battles from mutilating Makai!"

"What are you staring at?" snapped Sean, bringing Tanio back into his senses.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Tanio. "Let's hurry up and train, so I can be ruler of Makai!" He offered Sean his hand and Sean shook it happily.

"But anyway, you still haven't answered my question," said Tanio after a few moments.

"Uh... what was it again?" asked Sean sweat dropping.

"Why were you in the desert?"

"Oh that. My name is Sean, and I'm a secret explorer. As you know, everything around here is desert. My job is to search the wasteland to look for treasure and other mysterious stuff. And because the desert has been around for centuries, lots of myths and legends about it have been told, and I wanted to prove them true. Unfortunately, after years of searching, all I found was sand and more sand, until I found this."

Sean showed Tanio the spell book. "Anyway, I have to let mom know that you're staying with us."

"What will you say?" asked Tanio.

"You're an orphan from another nation that's suffering from food shortages. While searching for food, you got lost in the desert and wandered into Oat Beach city."

"Okay," said Sean's mom. Sean, Tanio, and Sean's mom were in the oat farm. The water for watering these plants came from the ocean, since the city was located on a coast.

"Yay!" said Sean as he dashed out into the beach.

"Tanio, come here," said Sean's mom as she beckoned him. She was watering oats, along with other women and children. There was not a man in sight. "I want you to take good care of Sean. He worries me to death all the time, and I need you to make sure he doesn't get into trouble. Understand?"

"You can count of me, ma'am," said Tanio. Sean's mother laughed.

"Thank you, but you can call me mom."

"Thank you, mom," said Tanio as he ran towards Sean at the beach. Sean was sitting in front of the waves, staring at the horizon. Surprisingly, there was nobody else on the beach. Everybody in town were planting and watering at the farm.

"Say, do you have a father?" asked Tanio as he sat next to Sean.

"Yes, but... all males are required to join the army when they turn twenty. Sickness and hunger are everywhere, so nations fight primarily for food and water. And because Oat Beach city has an oat farm and the beach, lots of other cities attack us to gain our land. My dad fights to defend this city from foreigners. But we only fight when attacked. Most of the time we're friendly. I've never seen my dad. When I asked mom about it, she just said that he left for war and was never heard from again."

"Sean..." said Tanio. "Do you think we can take this? Can I really be that strong? It's already a war-stricken world. And now another battle is introduced."

"Yep, it's another menace."

Note: Somebody, please review. Also, I need some mamodos so here's the form:

Demon/Mamodo

Name:

Appearance:

Background/Personality:

Spells + Description:

Human

Name:

Appearance:

Background/Personality:

Anyway, nobody tried to guess where I got inspiration. Reminder: There will be a prize.