Zatch Bell: Kolulu Story
By:CleruSonofShintetsu
[Chapter 9: The Office, The Footprints, and the Paper-Faced Giant]
The wayward group stops at the school where Kiyo's father works, Kanchome whistling to them for attention.
"Hey, listen! I know you have some super duper important things to do at the school here, so I wanted to thank you guys again for helping me get a lead on Folgore! The nearest village is just down the way right?" he asked, pointing in the direction of a main dirt road.
Kiyo nodded and gave him a thumbs up. "Yep! Just keep down that road and take a right at the first turn you see, and you'll be there in a flash!" he explained.
Kanchome began laughing with glee as he waved goodbye, happy to know he'd probably find Folgore soon. Kiyo sighed and looked at Lori.
"He's...very excitable isn't he?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning back.
"Yes, he really is...kind of like Zatch was in a way." Lori replied, looking at the sky and thinking for a moment. "I wonder...I wonder how he's doing now? What's the Mamodo World like?" she asked.
Kolulu piped up, but before she could respond, her evil side made a smart-alec remark in her mind. ("It's a diseased nightmare world of inconsistent biology where half of us look normal and the other half make you wonder if our makers were drunk that evening when creating us.")
Kolulu glared into the distance, as if somehow the ghost of her evil side was standing right next to her. Quickly fixing this, she answered Lori's question.
"Uhh...it's...surprisingly similar to Earth in a few ways. There are places that look similar enough, like open fields, forests and lakes...but many of them either look different with many wonderful different colors and demon plants, or are inhabited by creatures only seen in the Mamodo World. I once saw a three headed fish in a lake I played with Tia by! I think it was called a Three-Headed Thunder-Spitter." she recalled, smiling sweetly at the memory of that day.
"It was the first day we met..." Kolulu continued, "but that's a story for another time. For now, uhh...shall we head inside?" she asked.
"Very fascinating! I do hope it's possible to visit your world one day, Kolulu!" Lori said, before responding to her question. "Yes, let's go, it's...time we put this to rest. Kiyo," she started, looking him in the eye with a concerned look. "...are you ready for this?"
Kiyo took a deep breath, "Yeah...let's get this over with, his office should be at..." he said, guiding the group down the halls of the school until they entered his office. When they got there, however, it was empty, save for a man attempting to call Kiyo's father with a frustrated look on his face.
The group blinked in confusion, then Kiyo walked towards him, clearing his throat. "Uhh...excuse me, but...what are you doing in my father's office?"
The man growled, flipping his phone shut and speaking in a firm tone of voice. "Sorry, but I don't think I heard you, I was too busy trying to get some tardy staff member to answer! Damn foreign exchange professor...or whatever we call such professors." he said, sighing roughly and approaching Kiyo in kind.
"Alright, repeat your question, lad." he instructed, motioning him to do so.
Kiyo blinked twice in confusion, before nodding. "I'm Kiyo Takamine, son of Seitaro Takamine, I've come here on a trip to visit him regarding some important news." he explained.
This lightened the expression on the professor's face, and he muttered in understanding. "Yes...that does seem understandable. Unfortunately, and when I think about it it's not just him, several people are going missing lately. Rumor has it a village was just ransacked earlier, and I pray it didn't have any of our own in it. However...things are lining up in a bad way..." he explained, his every word slowly causing anxiety to wash over the group.
"Wait...ransacked? What has been happening recently? This is the second person we've met who spoke of this now...! Sir, please tell us everything you know!" he asked with urgency.
The man shrugged, "I'm sorry lad, we don't have enough information yet! We don't even have a full news report of the thing yet, and Parco Folgore's concert is the word on most peoples' lips right now..." he said, Kiyo stomping his foot in response.
"Darn it! We-" he cut himself short, sighing and calming down swiftly. "Sorry, sorry...look, do you at least know the exact village he was last headed to?" he asked.
During their conversation, Kolulu had been walking around the room, curiously gazing upon the various books and trinkets and other objects in the room. She spots a flower on the ground, near a bookshelf, an odd species she's never seen before...or has she? She examines the flower front to back, but before she could think on it further...her evil side spoke to her again.
"Hey marshmallow head, this situation reeks of Mamodo activity. In fact, I can almost taste the energy in the room! You better get me into a fight soon, because I cannot WAIT to take on whoever I'm sensing in the far distance!" she said, cackling madly soon after.
Kolulu clutched her hair and growled softly in the corner. "Shut up shut up shut up...!" she said as quietly as possible. Lori noticed it, however, and approached her, kneeling down and putting a hand on Kolulu's shoulder, startling her as she snapped around to face Lori.
"Kolulu...are you okay? You seemed anxious just now..." she asked, tilting her head and brushing Kolulu's cheek with her hand.
Kolulu nodded quickly, forcing a smile on her face. "Yeah, everything is fine, really! Honestly, I just...feel bad for Kiyo, I hope the ghost knights didn't take his dad..." she said, frowning.
Kiyo and the man then shook hands, Kiyo whistling to the pair in the corner to get their attention.
"Alright guys, let's go! We need to get to that village and find out what happened back there! You ready?" he asked.
Kolulu and Lori give Kiyo a determined nod, and follow him out of the building, setting out for the village soon after.
[Meanwhile, at the village...]
The village was awash in local law enforcement and other officials trying to ease the population and assess the damage. On the hillside opposite of the one the cackling duo stood on, a young boy grits his teeth at the horror of the town, having been wrecked by the attack.
"Mum, dad...I'll find you, I'll save you...I need you! I..." he said, running back from where he came, down the hill and trying to find any trace of footprints from the knights, but to no avail. "Darn it! Why do footprints never show up as easily as they do in movies!?" he cried in frustration, before hearing something off in the distance.
It sounded like...singing? The singing was more of a rhythmic chant, a fast paced and upbeat one at that. "Who the heck is making such a goofy chant at this time of day...?" he asked himself, the brown-haired youth moving towards the noise.
The boy soon came across two people; a blonde girl with two pigtails, and a dancing green-clothed child some distance away from her, performing a very peculiar dance, and chanting these words:
"Yopopoi, topopoi, suppopopoi! Yopopoi, topopoi, suppopopoi!" the child chanted, dancing along with his arms out and hopping as he did so.
The brown-haired boy looked on in confusion, not so much annoyed as he was confused by the odd dance. Then he hears the girl pipe up.
"Ugh, isn't he just the worst? Such a nuisance...a stain on my life I tell you." She said, causing the brown-haired boy to walk over to her with a shrug.
"I guess? I dunno...he's alright, if a bit goofy." he said, making sure to keep a careful eye on her basket. It was perfect for stealing he thought, he was getting pretty hungry and he didn't even have breakfast in the past three days. He inches closet as he glances back at the dancing child.
The girl shook her head, "Nevermind...I'm Djem, you?" she asked, before biting into a sandwich she was nearly finished with.
"...Ron." he said, lying about his true name, Kory. No sense in a thief giving his true name out to just anybody. He inched closer to her basket and his heart beat in anticipation. Whatever that basket held could surely feed him throughout the entire day.
"Ron? Cute, anyways...did you see the village over the hill? It was absolutely torn apart!" She said, still looking at the sky.
Kory nodded, "Speaking of that, I think I see someone coming over the hill now, look!" he said, pointing at the hill that overlooked the village. As Djem glanced over at it, he quickly grabbed the basket and ran off.
Djem hears the sound of this, and gasps, getting up and spinning to face him. "H-HEY! THIEF, GIVE MY BASKET BACK!" she yelled, sprinting after him.
Yopopo stopped what he was doing and looked back at the scene unfolding. "Y-Yopopoi!" he yelled, running after the thief with a determined look in his eye and his chest puffed out. His book was in there, and he couldn't allow some common thief to nab it from him!
"Darn it all, love, you're really pushing your luck tryin' to tail me! You don't even NEED the basket, you pampered loser!" he said, before running at full speed.
Yopopo likewise picked up speed, taking advantage of his innate advantages as a Mamodo and prepping himself for a fight. As Yopopo closed in, he lunged for a tackle...only to find himself getting whacked across the face and sent crashing into Djem by Kory, causing everyone involved to stop and process what just happened.
"W-woah! Darn it, man! I didn't mean to hit you so hard! I...I just wanted to protect myself!" Kory said, now contemplating between going over to them, dropping the basket, or taking it, then running after any of the prior options were chosen.
Yopopo got teary eyed as he held his now swollen and bruised cheek, and Djem writhed under him, shoving him off without a care.
"Get off me Yopopo! Ow...what the heck was that!?" she asked, glaring daggers at Kory. She slowly got up stomping over to him and preparing to darn near kill him at this rate. "I'll make you pay for ruining my afternoon you stupid thieving gutter punk!" she said with a snarl.
Kory stepped back, glaring right back at her. "You don't understand! Even if my parents were still with me, we grew up in the darn slums of this city! You may not be rich, but you're happy healthy and wise none the less! You have nice clothes, well done hair, pampered skin, I can barely get ONE of those things on a GOOD year! So step off and let me have this before I swing at your face, INTENTIONALLY!" he threatened, getting himself into position to swing the basket, this time with painful intent.
Djem closed in, and Kory was about to swing...then a spell was cast from above the two.
"JIKIR!"
A gust of wind blew between the two, sending them both tumbling back and falling on their rear ends. In the sky, a ginger child and a pink-shirt-wearing teenager were hovering above them on a wheel-less skateboard.
"For cryin' out loud... just watchin' you kids make a scene over something this stupid is really ticking me off... Hyde, set us down."
The two dismount the board and Eido sighed in frustration as he approached.
Djem piped up first, "Just who are YOU supposed to be? Some tourist?" Djem asked, not even bothering to ask about the spell that was just cast.
Yopopo, meanwhile, was already feeling better as his eyes sparkled with excitement at seeing another Mamodo, so he approached Hyde and started dancing and singing again.
"Yopopoi, Topopoi, Suppopopoi!"
Hyde stepped back awkwardly. "Uhh...no thanks, I'm good." he said with a sweat drop.
Yopopo stopped and nodded with a disappointed frown. "Yopopo..."
Eido leaned down and looked back and forth between Djem and Kory. "Look, I'm not mister moral man or anything, I'm not a teacher or whatever...but your little argument hits close to home. You, little man, give her back the basket, now." he instructed with a firm tone of voice.
Kory sighed in defeat, placing it at Djem's feet.
"You, he's not worth staying mad at, stupid as his action was, lets try to forgive and forget, okay?" he said, both kids awkwardly nodding and tapping their fingers.
Hyde was in awe, he had NEVER seen him this genuine, serious, or...anything that wasn't some variant of "mildly sleazy slacker" before. Needless to say, he was impressed deep down, even if it was a small victory in his opinion.
Eido turned around and hopped onto the board, motioning for Hyde to hop on, to which the latter did.
"You two behave now, oh and be careful! Some whackjobs are raiding villages and causing a HUGE mess! Good luck little dudes, and try to remember how awesome I was for ending that little fight of yours~!" he said with a wink, causing Hyde to sigh.
"You moron..." Hyde muttered aloud, suddenly feeling disappointed again.
"Eat grass, Hyde, JIKIR!" he called out, the two flying off and away from the trio of children.
Djem took the basket in hand and turned around, saying one thing to Kory before she left. "I'll forgive you this time, but so help me if I ever see you stealing from me or anyone else again, I'll shove my shoe so far up your bum that they'll be pulling it back out for weeks!" she said, walking away and leaving Kory with a rather gruesome image in his mind.
Yopopo followed her, waving goodbye meekly to Kory.
Kory groaned, sitting down in a cross legged position and feeling terrible about his failed theft. His stomach rumbled and he cringed at the feeling. "What am I gonna do now...?"
[Meanwhile, at Steng's Castle]
Two men sat across from each other on the balcony at the top floor of the castle. Both were sipping tea together, much to Steng's personal indifference.
"Alright fancy pants, what do ya want this time?" he asked, sipping the tea as the man across from him began to respond.
"Well now, my esteemed Steng...it appears a whole gaggle of Mamodo have just arrived on the island. My scouting efforts have produced four Mamodo in particular." the British Gentleman began, raising a finger as he listed them off one by one.
"First, there is the one I'm most familiar with, Yopopo, the singing and dancing child who can only appear to say his own name or variations of it. He's eager, but weak all the same."
"Second," he continued, "there's Tia, the Mamodo partner of the one and only Megumi herself, she'll make a fine hostage or servant to be sure, her AND her book owner."
Steng grinned at that one, another celebrity? That makes two now, and he liked the prospect of these high value targets. "Continue...?" Steng insisted.
"Third," the gentleman said, "this ginger boy with wind powers that I know little about, but if he truly is on the island then he surely holds potential to be either a staunch ally or a dangerous foe..."
"Lastly, there is a very peculiar one running around looking for Folgore, why it may even be HIS Mamodo! Unfortunately..." the gentleman was cut off by Steng beginning to yell.
"WAIT, Folgore has a Mamodo too!? That's perfect! Hahaha! Oh boy, our boss is gonna have a whole lineup of Mamodo then! Alright, what Mamodo does he have? Surely something most flamboyant and powerful eh?" Steng asked with excitement.
The Britsh Gentleman chuckled awkwardly, tugging at his collar. "W-well...he looks and seems to be rather weak...of body and of emotions it seems..."
Meanwhile, as the two spoke, Kikuropu started to growl, grabbing at his paper mask and taking it off. "Grah! No like mask, mask blind me!" he yelled in protest.
British Gentleman glared at him and smacked the ground with his cane. "OI, BEHAVE YOURSELF, OAF! I'm making you a proper gentleman, and that gaping eye of yours is UNSIGHTLY! Put it back on or I'll jab your eye again!"
Kikuropu jumped, shaking in his non-existent boots before putting it back on. "O-okay...sorry..." he said with a whine.
British Gentleman sighed. "Mamodo...I swear we got the opposite ones here, why didn't I get the genius? You're the straight-laced boxer, he'd be a much better fit for you..." he mused in frustration.
"Oi, no gettin' wise with me! Just explain why you're here beyond scouting detail already!" Steng said with a growl.
"Fine, I'm here to tell you that our boss, that silver haired child, will be meeting up with us again for his weekly inspection, so I expect you to have made progress on developing this castle, lest we BOTH get zapped by that horrible lightning of his again! Are we clear?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah yeah, go twirl that mustache elsewhere, we're done talkin' here." Steng ordered, handwaving him away as he downed the last of his tea.
The gentleman leaves with a tip of the hat and Steng rubs his temples.
"That loon is only useful for the money...otherwise that kid's operation would never work so well...this whole campaign better be worth it, ESPECIALLY if the English army gets involved..." Steng said in contemplation, looking out at the waning daylight, slowly making way for a sunset.