Zatch Bell: Kolulu Story
By:CleruSonofShintetsu
[Chapter 4: A Chilling Calm]
It has been three days since the conflict at Kiyo's school. As Lori and Kolulu parted ways with Kiyo and Shin, a seedy meeting was occurring by the docks, spearheaded by a peculiar team of tournament participants.
The warehouse contained only two people: a man in a pink coat, and a robotic boy of notable size.
The man spoke up first. "Robnos...are you sure this is going to work?" he asked, skeptical of the scheme he had been drumming up.
Chuckling, Robnos began to explain. "Well now, Ruku, if I'm going to become the king of all Mamodo, I need to realize that my own power alone cannot possibly govern that world. Strong as I know I will soon be, I need to adapt, build my empire off the backs of the lesser Mamodo, making them know their place and all that."
Now an eyebrow was raised as Ruku then asked, "Oh? When did this come up in that computer brain of yours?"
"It's NOT a computer brain, Ruku! But it is a big and intelligent one in any case." Robnos corrected before moving on. "What I am doing is looking for any sign of a Mamodo who might be willing to fight for me in exchange for a higher office once the tournament is over. Unfortunately, most of the ones in Japan seem to be out of the game by now."
Ruku scratched his chin, "Oh really now? That quickly? Who did we miss out on?"
Robnos sighed and listed the few he knew for certain were defeated. "Well there WAS that icy brat I liked back in the Mamodo world, but I don't sense his presence anymore, he was surely taken out by now. Then there was the leaf-haired whelp who I tried talking to, but he kicked me in the face and ran into that botanical garden. That was a bust too..." he said, trying to think of the last Mamodo he wanted to recruit.
"Then there's that snot-nosed blueblood Fein, but I don't sense him either so, hey, that's one rival taken care of eh?" he snickered. "Basically, Ruku, I need proxies, and you, my most cherished companion, are going to help me assert my dominance over them! I hear a concert is going to take place soon, so we should attend it and see if any of the more performance-inclined Mamodo like myself are going to be there."
Ruku was following along fine and well, but then he heard Robnos mention himself as being...performance-inclined? "Wait, you like to perform?" he asked, tilting his head.
Robnos twirled once and bowed gracefully. "Indeed I do Ruku, indeed I genuinely do. But we can save that for another time, right now I need to find out if any Mamodo remain in this country that I can manipulate."
The man then perked up. "What about that mushroom boy-" before being cut off with a stomp of Robnos' foot.
"DO NOT SUGGEST FRIENDSHIP WITH THAT LITTLE MUSHROOM BRAT AGAIN! He humiliated me...that little weakling, he tossed us in the water and didn't even TRY burning our book! Fortunate sure, but he WILL pay!" Robnos yelled, startling Ruku and causing him to fall flat on his posterior.
"O-okay okay okay okay! I'm s-sorry Robnos! I won't do it ever again!" he said, waving his hands in front of his face in a panic.
Robnos laughed, recovered, and subsequently sat down soon after. "Come on, let's go, we gotta do something productive today." he said, before the two left the warehouse.
[Meanwhile...]
Lori and Kolulu came here after their school day had ended, on Kiyo's suggestion no less. The two simply strolled through the garden, enjoying the sight of the plants and chatting about whatever topics were on their minds at the moment. Perhaps today, they hoped, would be a day to relax from the previous three consecutive fights they had gotten themselves into.
Of course, even a day without battle would be one where the seeds of trouble were planted for later. In this case, the two found their trip to the garden to be surprisingly decent, as any damaged plants and other objects in the garden were replaced a while ago, so next to no signs of battle were left behind.
However, just as they were about to leave, Kolulu stopped for a moment, suddenly shuddering as though a sharp chill ran down her back. "L-Lori...you didn't see anything strange back there...did you?"
Lori looked down to Kolulu and tilted her head in concern. "No...why? You look spooked by something, did a bug bite or sting you?" she asked, kneeling down and feeling her forehead. Thankfully, Kolulu was perfectly healthy, but still unnerved by something.
Unbeknownst to the both of them, something was watching them in the distance, and as they got up and tried to shrug it off, the presence continued to follow the duo all the way to their home. Then, there was little activity to be had, and the presence had vanished. Kolulu, trying to calm down after the feeling had hit her, began to prepare a simple bowl of chicken noodle soup while Lori did her homework.
Lori then turned on the TV, where an advertisement was just starting up. She paused her progress on the homework and took a gander at the TV.
"Come one, come all, come to the Concert Hall in Mochinoki City! This Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY, will feature numerous artists both new and old, ready to show the world the magic of their acts! Such artists include the magician, Great Kai, the tap dancer, Kazuto, and the star of the show...Megumi! Along with other newcomers, these 12 performers are sure to brighten up your day this Sunday! This is your last chance to get tickets because they will either sell out tomorrow or the day after at this rate! Come on down to Mochinoki Concert Hall!"
Kolulu perked up and heard the whole thing, and her hype for the oncoming concert had been rekindled. "Lori, the concert is going to happen soon, right?"
Lori nodded and smiled, "Indeed it is! I am so happy to take you there, I hope everything will run swimmingly when it comes around. Anyways..." she said, taking something out of her bag. "I got you something from school today, Kolulu." she said, taking out a cherry ring pop and sliding the bag over to Kolulu from across the table.
Kolulu looked at the bag and picked it up, examining the candy in question. "Is this a ring?" she asked, opening the bag and taking it out.
"It's a ring pop! Its a candy ring you wear on your finger and lick or eat it over time, try it." she said, watching as Kolulu put on the ring and began to lick the candy crystal on top.
Kolulu perked up, absolutely stunned by the simple if artificial flavor of the candy ring itself. "Wow, what a zap to the taste buds, this is tasty! It's no fish but, it's great, thank you Lori!" she said, continuing to consume the ring pop at an excited and rapid pace.
Lori laughed lightly at this, happy to see her back in shape after the recent string of battles the two had been through. Yet, Lori was still perturbed by a dark feeling in her mind, one which dreaded the concert more than she was hyped for it. If ANY Mamodo battles were to happen, surely the concert would be the place to stage one, right? She sighed as she shook her head. "Kolulu..." she muttered to herself, "I really hope you and I can catch a break soon, it's only been three battles but...so much ruthless battle can only cause long-term problems for a child like you, especially with the spells we use..." she continued to say under her breath.
[The Next Day...]
Another standard day, until Kiyo rang Lori's doorbell. Lori answers the door and greets Kiyo, who appears to be holding something in his hand.
"Hey Lori, I found this little toy I made for Zatch, I...wanted to give it to Kolulu, if she wanted it that is. I know Zatch won't be needing it anymore..." he said, still pinched by the slight guilt he had.
Lori noticed this, but said nothing about it. She looked down at Volcan, the cute little box toy with stick limbs being cute as ever, and gently took it. "Thanks Kiyo, would you like to come in?" she offered, holding the door open for him with a smile.
"O-oh! Sure thing, I don't mind hanging out for a few, I haven't been here since..." he said, cutting himself off before entering.
Once more, Lori noticed this, but said nothing about it. Perhaps it was still too soon to talk about it again...
Kiyo and Lori sat by the TV as it played some random cartoon channel that Kolulu was watching. Curious, Kiyo took a gander at the show, it was...interesting.
The show began with an upbeat yet dramatic opening theme. Kiyo read the title to himself, out loud, as it appeared on screen during the intro. "Pollen the Pixie Knight...?" he said, tilting his head.
Lori perked up, "Oh! It's a new favorite of hers, you see-" but she was cut off by Kolulu eagerly explaining it.
"Oh my gosh! It's so good! The blend of drama and goofiness, the amazing intro song, Pollen's struggle! It's the first drama I've ever read or watched." she stated, as the intro began to showcase Pollen and her posse of Pixies, akin to that of a role call.
When the intro finished, Kolulu and the others decided to watch the episode. Kiyo was rolling his eyes at it, while Lori passively watched with barely more than curiosity. By the end, Kolulu was almost ready to press her face to the screen, while Kiyo was genuinely curious about the lore and his facial expression matched it. Lori was simply enjoying it all, if perhaps not to the extent that Kiyo and Kolulu were.
Lori DID, however, notice Kiyo's curiosity and giggled at him. "You're into girly anime, Kiyo?" she teased, Kiyo jumping in his seat and glaring at her in shock.
"N-no! Shaddap, it's just...better written than other girly shows, that doesn't mean I like it or anything- God dangit!" he exclaimed, to which Lori laughed out loud.
"Oh my God...ohhhh my God, Kiyo, Kiyooo! They should cast you as the male pixie rival in the next season of the show! You sounded JUST like him!" she said, wiping a tear from her eye as Kolulu picked up two nearby bean bags and threw them at Lori and Kiyo's faces.
"Shush!" she said with a puffy cheeked expression, much to the amusement of everyone in the room, including Kolulu's. "It's not polite to chatter when we're watching the show you know. That's hardly concert etiquette now is it?" she said, that last part as a tease to Lori specifically.
Kiyo folded his arms and his cheeks were slightly red in embarrassment. "Yeah yeah bite me..." he got up and left, stopping at the door and saying, "But in all seriousness, it was nice chatting with ya. Later girls." he said before exiting the house.
Perhaps...even if the concert was as doomed to conflict as Lori thought, she sighed in relief knowing that good moments like these were always around the corner, ready to remind her that not everything is so grim. So the two went about their day once more...
[Later that night, by the docks...]
Robnos and Ruku were sitting by some crates by the somewhat busy docks. The lights were on, the people and workers were strolling about, and a boat had finally gotten back from it's trip. Robnos grinned wildly as the presence he felt got stronger.
"There they are...alright Ruku, let's go greet the lucky team..." he said, getting up as Roku did the same.
"Robnos..." he began, looking a bit concerned, "are you positive this is the Mamodo and book wielder we're looking for?"
Robnos shook his head, "So very pitiful of you Ruku...just stop being a worry wart and play along. Look, there they are!" he said, pointing towards a duo of well dressed gentlemen.
A man in a white suit named Rembrandt, and a young teen named Maruss, were exiting the ship along with a small crowd of other passengers, and chatting about who-knows-what. As they made their way onto the docks, Maruss immediately took notice of Robnos and his eyes widened, before nudging Rembrandt. The book wielders readied their spell books in case they were needed, but Robnos shook his head.
"I'm not here to fight you man, just wanted to talk." he offered, giving a disturbing smile to Maruss. Maruss and Rembrandt, who were admittedly too tired to bother fighting anyone right now, decided to give this a shot, as much as they didn't want to.
The two pairs approached each other, and Rembrandt visibly cringed at the bizarre appearance of Robnos. "And what could strange people like YOU possibly want with US?" he asked.
Robnos bowed politely and grinned. "I am Robnos, and I think our teams can benefit greatly from each other in this tournament. What say we team up and increase our odds of making it to the end? Then when the alliance runs it's course, one of us is declared king by fair and proper combat?" he suggested, to which Maruss...actually considered it.
Maruss scratched his chin and thought about it. On the one hand, he really had no reason to care about or trust this weird robotic Mamodo, knowing full well that the moment they turn their backs, their book could be in mortal peril. On the other hand, the prospect was definitely tempting. But alas...
"Nah, what makes you think we can trust you anyway? Huh, punk?" He said, aiming to poke Robnos in the forehead before his hand was grabbed by him.
"Easy buddy...I know of a concert you could take advantage of. There's this wild crazy she-freak running around that I've been keeping tabs on, so I was thinking...why not kill two birds with one stone?" he started, Maruss gritting his teeth in mild pain and confusion.
"W-what are you on about?" he questioned, trying to wriggle his hand out of Robnos' grip.
Robnos continued, "What I am suggesting is this...there is another Mamodo who I sensed frequenting that place, my recon abilities have determined she's weak, and very vulnerable. If you run into any trouble with the she-freak, I promise on my honor as the potential future king that I will protect you before you and your book are torn to shreds." he offered, letting go of Maruss' hand.
Maruss rubbed his now sore wrist and sneered. "Hmph, we'll see about that, but hey, I appreciate the advice. So...what's your name, weirdo?"
Robnos twirled and then bowed. "I am Robnos, the invincible Robnos in fact, and I will do my part if you do yours...partner~"
And so the pairs parted ways, but not before Ruku cleared his throat and grabbed Rembrandt's attention.
"H-hey, uhh...sorry about the boy, he's more of a mad genius than I ever expected him to be. Mamodo, am I right? ...Crap, was that racist?" he said, causing Rembrandt to chortle at it.
"If it is, it's just an accident. I hope you can live up to the creepy ambitions that robot has, I'm quite curious about you two. My Mamodo is also pretty wild in his own way. Anyways, take care ya puffy-coated stranger." he said, waving goodbye and catching up to Maruss.
Ruku sighed, feeling more and more like a pawn over the course of these past couple of days. He rubbed his temples as he followed Robnos in a hurry. "Gods, give me strength, this boy is going to be the death of me one day I just know it..."