Tears In My Eyes

When I first saw Kiyo Takamine, I was immediately jealous of him. That wasn't because he already had a partner when I had none; it was more than that. Before Zatch came to the human world, I was the only friend he had. He enjoyed being with me so much that in time, I considered him a friend too. I had tried to follow him when we were sent to the human world, but couldn't find him until I saw him in England. I was so happy to see him again I couldn't even speak. Then I saw the tall black haired human standing nearby. Zatch had complied to him so easily and happily that I immediately saw him as Zatch's human partner without looking to see if he had a spell book. I saw them again once they came back to Japan, and immediately latched myself onto Zatch. I heard the human's name – Kiyo – and was overcome with jealousy and bit his hand. The screams he made almost satisfied me.

Kiyo was cautious with me from that point on. He had tried to help me with my spell book on my back, but ended up destroying it with scissors. My tears and voice only made him laugh harder, which fueled strength I hadn't known before. I beat the human to pulp. Kiyo had it wrong though – I didn't dislike him because he was connected to the battle for king and I wasn't. Every time when I saw Kiyo and Zatch together, it reminded me of how the blonde mamodo and I were together. The friendship that two had was in par to my friendship with Zatch. When I saw Zatch's eyes follow Kiyo whenever the human left for school or other activities, I could see the adoration in his eyes. Zatch admired and held his human partner in high esteem. Their friendship and well-being to each other was important to each other. It made me wish that Zatch had looked at me in that way. And so I boiled in my resentment. I also disliked the fact that Kiyo had named me Ponygon. Kiyo just ignored me the best he could.

During the winter when it was cold out, I often slept by Kiyo's and Zatch's room. Sometimes I could hear a voice speaking in a hushed whisper, and I was shocked to realize that it was Kiyo who had spoken during the nights. His larger hand was affectionately patting Zatch's soft hair, and he said this. "I won't let anything happen to you, Zatch. That's a promise I intend to never fail." Zatch told me after his first defeat that his biggest fear was something happening to Kiyo – he wouldn't know what to do if that happened. Kiyo was different in my eyes now. I don't know what happened. His anger towards me turned into tolerance and then mild amusement. Zatch told me he was a little worried about me when I was gone searching for my human partner. I surprised myself by thinking that I wanted a human partner like Kiyo. He wasn't just a genius or a good partner to Zatch. During the months I was with the human and his mamodo partner, I came to realize that beneath his short-tempered exterior, Kiyo had a tender heart. When my human partner came to me, Kiyo's respect for me increased. He recognized me as strong, and that made me happy. I still remember the time when I thought of protecting my friends instead of running away – I had thought of Kiyo as one of my friends too.

When had that happened?

The same thought ran through my mind as Kiyo lay still on the ground. I had never seen him so injured before. Then Megumi said that Kiyo was dead. The attempts to revive him were futile; nothing worked. I stared at the very face that I once had hated, and the face that had mocked me. How had we become so close that tears we were coming to my eyes?

"Please don't go Kiyo! You are my friend!" I shouted. Unlike all the other times, I felt certain that Kiyo could hear me.