Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell.

A/N: As you can see, I have completely altered my story from what is originally was. To those of you have enjoyed the old one, I'm sorry. I didn't like the old plot line and just decided to scrap it. This one's got the same basic premise, and I will try to incorporate mild humor when I can. Thanks for being patient.

Sometimes, Kiyo felt that his life was one big sitcom for the cosmic gods to laugh at. That out of all the people in the world, he would be chosen to participate in an epic fighting tournament to find the king of the demon world.

Why was this so?

Was it because he was a genius? Was it because he skipped school too often? Was it because he thought everybody at school was a brainless idiot? What did he ever do to deserve this?

As he hefted a giant trout over his shoulder, Kiyo cursed fate and its cruel devices.

The fifteen year old boy set the fish on the cutting board. His mother was sick, so it was up to him to prepare breakfast while she was sleeping upstairs in her room.

"Kiyo! Kiyo! When can we eat?!"

"After this is done cooking."

"But Kiyo…I'm hungry now!"

"Sit down and wait." said Kiyo sternly.

"Morning Kiy-"

"- I SAID SIT DOWN!" and then he halted. That voice did not belong to Zatch. Kiyo turned to find Suzy sitting at the breakfast table and a wide smile on her face.

"How did you get in here?" he asked slowly.

"Through the door!"

"I locked the door."

"I know!"

Zatch laughed out loud as if Suzy just said the punch line to a funny joke. Suzy laughed too. Kiyo, however, was still positioned over the fish with the knife in his fist. He trembled as if to lash out suddenly, but the sudden ring of the doorbell prevented any potential homicides from occurring. "Stay here. I'll deal with you two later."

Yes, it was just another day in the life of Kiyo Takamine. Chaotic, dysfunctional, nonsensical. Who could today's mystery visitor be? Kiyo thought sarcastically. Despite his misgivings, when he peered into the peephole, Kiyo received a shock to his heart.

Outside his porch was the infamous duo, Brago and Sherry. Kiyo clenched his hand into tight balls and gritted his teeth. He and Zatch had run into the team in the past. They were dangerous and formidable foes. With painful clarity, Kiyo remembered the beating he took. He and Zatch had only just learned about the mamodo tournament, and those two, with no mercy, started attacking right away. It was with some unknown reason that they left Zatch's spell book alone.

Perhaps now they had returned to finish the job?

Kiyo took action right away. Should a collision occur (and he knew it would), destruction to the house would be imminent. Mom was still sleeping upstairs. He also knew he couldn't risk a fight with Suzy in the perimeters. She would get caught in the crossfire. Thinking quick, Kiyo sprinted back to the kitchen as quietly as he could.

"Zatch!" he hissed as loud as he dared. "We have to get out now! Brago and Sherry are here."

He blew into the kitchen. What he saw made his eyes widen.

Zatch and Suzy, getting impatient, had already begun trying to cook the fish themselves. There was an alarming smoke rising from the grill, and in systematic order, the fumes rose to the ceiling whereupon it kissed the plastic detector.

Kiyo's mouth opened into a slight "o".

BEEPBEEPBEEP! BEEPBEEPBEEP!

Then, rain.

Of all the worse things that could happen, why? The question repeated itself in his mind many times while he brough this arms up to cover his head. The blaring sirens gave no sign of rescinding as the water poured down. No doubt Brago and Sherry could hear from outside. They would come in to investigate right away.

He didn't even think about it. Kiyo charged upstairs to where his mom was and threw the door open. She was still in her pajamas, getting up rather groggily. "Kiyo? What's going on?"

"Mom, we have to leave now." He pulled his jacket on her and helped her to the door.

Downstairs, the sprinklers stopped running but the alarm was still going off. A panicked Suzy was screaming while Zatch ducked under the counter top and munched on his fish. Zatch saw Kiyo when he came down.

"Is something going on, Kiyo?"

"Nothing much, Zatch," said Kiyo, annoyed. He drew the jacket hood over his mother's head and prepared to step into the flood. "Except that Brago is outside waiting to burn our books!"

Zatch's reaction was instantaneous. He jumped up and hit his head underneath the table. Recovering quickly, Zatch ran over to Kiyo's book bag. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find the book!"

Suzy, looking confused, scampered over to Kiyo's side like a wounded puppy. It looked like a bad time to be here. "Should I go?"

He shot her a hard look. "Yeah, we're all going."

But before anybody could say anything else, the door slammed open. A dark looking mamodo emerged. His blonde book owner fell into step behind him. They were carrying luggage.

Brago scanned the wet and dripping premises. There were three humans, but where was Zatch?

"I wish to speak to the lightning mamodo."

Zatch, who was crouched behind Kiyo's book bag, jumped out. He wore a look of determination. "Don't hurt them! I'll fight you so just leave them alone!"

Zatch charged toward Brago but the gravity mamodo sidestepped him easily. He grabbed Zatch's cloak and easily kept the struggling boy in place.

"We don't want to hurt you," said Sherry. She swept across the room slowly. Instantly, she turned her attention toward Kiyo. Their eyes met. Lightning shot back and forth between the two. But as Kiyo looked into her oceanic eyes, he saw a grudging, but genuine offering for peace.

"Zatch, stand down."

The little mamodo froze. "But Kiyo!"

The teenager silenced his partner with a warning look. Brago let go of the now limp mamodo.

Kiyo moved his eyes around the kitchen. Everything was drenched with water. "Let's talk outside," said Kiyo uncomfortably.

"Are you my son's school friends?" asked his mother. Her sallow face was pinched into an expression of worry. Mrs. Takamine clutched the jacket closer to her body.

Brago and Sherry exchanged a solemn glance. Sherry looked a little guilty. "We're sorry for intruding madam, but we have urgent business with your son."

"Now wait just a minute, don't I get a say in this? I'm his mother. Whatever is Kiyo's business is my business."

"Please," pleaded Sherry. She wasn't sure if Kiyo's mother knew about the mamodo battle. Sherry didn't want to hurt the woman if at all possible. So she was careful with her words. "We need to talk to Kiyo and Zatch alone."

Mrs. Takamine faltered. She swept the sweat building on her forehead with back of her hand. "You…"

"Mom, it's okay, it's school related." intervened Kiyo. Although he said that, he had no idea how he was going to explain this mess. Hopefully, his mother was too sick to realize what was amiss.

Mrs. Takamine looked back at the strange duo. True, they were young enough to go to Kiyo's school. But there were some obvious oddities in their appearance. The girl was a foreigner and the boy had grey skin.

Meanwhile, Suzy was trembling. She didn't know what was happening, but she was scared. It was almost like animal instinct. The two strangers hadn't done anything to make them seem threatening, but the fear was there all the same.

Zatch looked down. He wasn't sure what Kiyo was thinking of doing. Brago and Sherry were dangerous. What could his book owner hope to accomplish? But looking at the two frightened females, Zatch consented that first they needed to be brought out of harm's way.

"Yeah, they're our friends!" he grinned as bright as a ray of sunshine. There was no waver in his voice. It was convincing. For a second, even Kiyo half believed it was true. Kiyo congratulated his partner in his head. Zatch was more intelligent than he gave him credit for.

Quick thinking, Zatch.

For added effect, the boy faced Brago and playfully punched him in the arm. Slowly, so he wasn't alarmed. "Right?"

Brago, not knowing how to follow the act, nodded.

Kiyo saw his mother loosen up. She was letting her guard down. He squeezed her shoulder and then laughed.

"They're the new foreign exchange students," said Kiyo. "Sorry. I forgot to tell you, but dad signed them up for us. The e-mail you sent me, Sherry, didn't it say you were in drama?"

Sherry caught on. "Yes, we wanted to surprise you. But I guess we took it too far. Madame Takamine, I'm sorry we arrived so late. Brago and I were supposed to arrive last night, but the flight ran into some unexpected delays."

"Where are you from?"

"France."

Unpredictably, Mrs. Takamine asked something in French. A shocked Kiyo remembered his mother telling him that she had spent four years of her education in Paris. Sherry also looked taken aback, but she responded in kind. Mrs. Takamine laughed at something she said. For some time, the two spoke fluently while the rest of the party waited it out.

Finally, his mother gazed at the newcomers with a contented look on her face. She sighed, leaning against her son. "I apologize for my rudeness. I must've been extra hormonal because of my cold. I'm also sorry for the disrepair in the kitchen."

She sniffed, and then dragged her sleeve across her nose. "I'm a horrible hostess. Forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive!" smiled Sherry. It looked out of place from her usually hateful expressions. "We were horrible guests, so it evens out. Truce?"

Mrs. Takamine smiled back. "Truce."

Kiyo took this opportunity to get her out of the way. "Come on, mom, let's get you back to bed. You need to rest up. Suzy, can you be with her? Sherry, Brago, Zatch, and I will clean up the kitchen."

When the two women were safely upstairs, Kiyo turned to the owners of the black book. No more smiles. Even Zatch had scurried over to his side once his mother and Suzy were out of sight.

Kiyo led them to the backyard.

"What do you want with us?" asked Zatch. While glaring, he handed the red book to Kiyo. The two got into a defensive stance.

"Put that away," growled Brago. "We already said we weren't looking for a fight."

Sherry also nodded her assent. Again, she looked directly at Kiyo. She seemed to be forcing herself. There was honesty swirling in her eyes, raw amounts of it. She was aware of it, too. Sherry knew she was vulnerable; that what her and Brago had to say would put them in a weak position. But all the same, she was trying to communicate to Kiyo with her eyes. Maybe she was too ashamed to say it aloud.

Against Kiyo's better judgment, his heart was telling him that they weren't looking for trouble. His mind was saying yes, his heart was saying no.

He sighed. Kiyo carefully set the red book at his feet. An alarmed Zatch pulled at his pant legs. "KIYO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Let them talk, Zatch."

She brought out the black book and turned to the first page. Kiyo swallowed. He hoped he hadn't misjudged Sherry's intentions because she looked like she was about to…

Brago's hand shot out.

"Reis!"

Straight away, Kiyo ducked for cover. He shut his eyes tightly. I shouldn't have trusted her, he thought. Just as he prepared for impact, he heard Zatch yell out.

A beat.

Had they missed? No, it was unlikely. Cautiously, Kiyo pried his eyes open.

Brago and Sherry were still standing there. Both had an aggravated look on their face. The blonde girl was folding her arms across her chest as if to protect herself from a hurricane. Her disgruntlement was made obvious by the frown caving downwards in her mouth and the tension in her eyes.

Finally, the girl threw the black book down at her feet.

"We've lost our powers."

A/N: Please review. Constructive criticism is welcomed.