This is a colab between Twilight and me. It started when she read another fic where a mamono getting sick and she told me about it. Then I had a funny idea; we should write a story about Brago getting sick. And from that funny idea of mine, this story was born. Alrighty, the story's a little short, but overall, we had fun with it : D You may be able to tell who wrote what, but that's okay, it's still good.

R&R please!

Disclaimer: Zatch Bell is owned by neither LM nor Twi

The Mamono's Sickness: Who Knew?

The dark demon grumbled as he shoved his hands as deep as he could into his pockets, glaring at everything in his sight . Just a few steps behind him, Sherry strode along, shielding her companion's night-colored book from the heavy rain that was pouring down upon them, soaking their clothing and making it stick to their skin. Brago, wearing fur, began to become very irritated.

"Damn battle," he muttered, "Damn rain…"

Unfortunately for him, and perhaps Sherry, as she had to endure his parade of cursing at the little faults of life and the present heat of the moment, the previous battle did not go as the mamono had planned. Being one who always enjoyed a good fight, the last one had proved to not be, and the enemy's book had been burnt in a matter of moments. Amateurs.

Not to mention the fact that Sherry had actually done quite well that time, despite the battle being so short. But Brago would not admit this out loud, it was too out of character for him. Besides, his mind was laser focused on cursing out the rain and this strange feeling welling up within his stomach that he couldn't quite place, as he had never felt it before…

"Must be all this damn rain," he muttered to himself as he and Sherry approached Sherry's mansion.

Brago opened the door and the two of them stumbled through the threshold dripping wet. Brago was now more irritated than he ever remembered being and Sherry was now slightly suspicious of his behavior. He had a hand over his gut as he walked and seemed to be wincing as he walked on. At first she did not want to say anything, but eventually her concern for her demonic companion got the best of her.

"Brago...? Are you feeling okay?" Sherry inquired.

"I'm fine!"

"Okay..." She said, walking into her room to get some dry clothes.

The two carried on not talking much as they found dry clothes and hot beverages to warm them after their excursion through the outdoor's downpour. Once Sherry was sure that her dress would dry properly, she noticed that Brago looked even worse than he did when the two of them walked in. He looked worn out and more placid than one would normally describe him as. As Sherry was getting ready to turn in for the night, she felt that she needed to do something to make him feel better. Is there really anything wrong with him that he's just not telling me? Sherry thought to her self. He hasn't slept much lately, but then again, he doesn't sleep much anyway... She was now very worried and felt that she needed to do something.

"Brago, you're not looking to good right now. Are you sure you feel okay?" Sherry asked with a slightly worried expression across her face.

"Yes," Brago replied, but Sherry could see from the look on his face, despite how much he tried to hide it, said that he was not okay.

"Well... If you're not feeling too good, you could sleep on the other side of the bed... You really look like you could use a good night' s rest..."

"I told you, I'm fine!" he replied in a harsher tone than necessary.

"Are you sure? Because the way you look right now implies that the last thing you need right now is to stay up all night."

"Sherry, I'm fine," Brago turned his face from Sherry to try to keep his temper down.

"No, you obviously are not. At least try to sleep tonight. It doesn't have to be in my bed, but at least sleep!"

"Sherry, I'm fine!!" He said, glaring at her with all the darkness his body could muster without lashing out at her.

"Fine!" Sherry said, stalking off to her bed room to sleep.

Brago waited until Sherry was asleep to creep into her room to sit on the floor and wait out the night. Sleep. What a waste of time, Brago thought to himself scornfully. Why must we be paired with these weak humans if all they seem to do is grow frail and waste my time? At thinking this, Brago glared over at the bed Sherry was now sleeping on. Her face looked serene and yet slightly troubled at that moment. She was probably thinking about their previous conversation in her sleep. At seeing her face, something crept up into Brago's mind. He had heard Sherry call that thing guilt. It was an odd sensation for him that he tried to ignore, but it was eating away at him. He tried meditating and slipping into that realm in his mind that no one knew about, but the guilt continued gnawing at his consciences and he finally gave into it. Reluctantly, Brago got off the floor and walked over to Sherry's bed. He took a quick glance at her face, which was now peaceful, and climbed into her bed on the other side. He lay on his side with his back to Sherry thinking that he would not sleep anyway, but he was fast asleep with in the next five minutes.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The song of birds echoed through the crisp morning air as a soft sunlight penetrated into Sherry's bedroom, lightening the open space. When the brightness hit the said woman's face, her azure orbs slowly fluttered open to see what was up and then quickly closed in protest to the bright light. Great, it was morning…

After a small yawn and few minutes of stalling to wake up (which was something she really didn't want to do), the blonde decided to finally clamber out of bed even with it being so comfortable under the warm covers. If it weren't for the fact that in any minute, Brago would probably loudly barge in on her, scaring the living daylights out of her system as he went on another "Get up and stop wasting our time so we can train!" tirade, she would gladly sleep in just a little longer. Sure, she was obsessed about getting Brago the crown and freeing her friend, but that didn't mean she couldn't at least enjoy some time by herself and actually sleep when it was provided to her on rare occasions such as this. But… there was something different about that morning; she couldn't quite place her finger on it…

And then it dawned on her.

Turning her head around to face the unexplained source of warmth beside her, Sherry's cerulean orbs suddenly widened as she tightly held her breath, suppressing a slight blush at the sight before her. Lying on his side with his back facing her was none other than Brago himself, sound asleep. The woman watched intensely as his shoulders slowly rose and fell in a steady rhythm with each breath he took, uttering a soft, soothing sound as he breathed in and out.

Sherry inched closer to the demon's body and peered over him, getting a good look at his face. His eyes were closed with his expression twisted into the slight frown he always wore upon his face, only a little softer than usual this time. Brago's lips were just slightly parted and his face was somewhat tucked into his shoulder as he slept quite soundly, not even stirring with her over him like that. Sherry blinked. Is… is he really asleep? He really must have been tired… What was wrong with him last night?

And yet… this had never happened before, Sherry mused, watching with now high interest as her dark companion slept. Brago was always lamenting her on how sleep was a waste of time and an unnecessary need, when in fact it was a heavy requirement for humans. During the night, he would always wait it out or merely spend his time meditating—not resting !

About an hour later, Brago started to regain his conciseness and noticed how comfortable he was. He was lying on a cushioned thing that was soft and somewhat silky. Brago's eyes started to flutter open, but at the sudden entrance of light shut back close. He found that he was very comfortable in the --- whatever it was. Suddenly, Brago's eyes shot open and he threw off the covers. He sat up, but at first could not remember why he had been sleeping in Sherry's bed, but then he remembered everything that had gone on the night before and it all made sense. He shot a quick glance at the nearest clock, glared at it for it said 9:30 AM, and swung his legs off of the bed and put his feet on the floor and stood up quickly. As he stood, his vision blurred for a moment and he felt a tinge of pain both in his head and in his gut. He stuck out an arm and leaned against the wall until his vision cleared and then went to go find Sherry.

"Sherry, why'd you let me sleep this late?" Brago asked as he walked into the kitchen. He would have been yelling at her, but he was a little too queasy to excerpt that much energy.

"Well, you were asleep and waking people up when they're asleep can make that person exceedingly grumpy," she replied in a matter-a-fact way as she continued to read her book at the kitchen table.

Brago was about to say something back, but at that moment he had a particularly bad twang of pain in his gut and he n early let out a grunt. He keeled over a little bit and had to sit in a chair. Sherry raised an eyebrow out of confusion and put her book down. He sat down. Is that normal? she thought to herself. Brago, having more energy now that he was sitting and was not effected as much by the stomach pains, started yelling at Sherry.

"You could have set some kind of alarm or something. It's not like I wouldn't have gotten up anyway! And why are you just staring at me!?!"

"Is there any reason you sat down to yell at me?" Sherry asked completely out of confusion, this earned her an angry glare.

Brago, being a slightly self conscious mamono, did not respond with anything but a glare and then and turned his head from Sherry's inquiring eyes.

For a moment, Sherry paused, slightly musing to herself as she studied Brago's appearance. There he was, simply sitting there on the chair, glaring at her with all his might. Strangely, he looked a little flushed for some unknown reason and just… well, didn't look too good. Without a word, the woman stood up and quietly strode over to her dark companion, not at all tearing her scrutinizing blue gaze from Brago's confused crimson. He demon blinked when his bookkeeper stopped right in front of him and bent down just slightly, staring at him curiously.

"Sherry… what are you doing…?" Brago stared with wide eyes as Sherry raised her hand, poised to take action. He was about to interrupt and snap at her again when she suddenly pressed the back of her hand against his forehead. This sudden gesture was so foreign to him that Brago just naturally slapped her hand away from him, eyeing her in annoyance. "What was that all ab—"

"Brago…You're running a fever."

The demon stopped right where he was and stared again. "What?"

"You're sick."

Crimson eyes widening, the demon frowned and shot out a nasty disclaimer. "You know as well as I do that I do not get sick! What the hell are you saying, woman?"

"If you're not sick, explain why you're burning up!" argued the blonde defensively. Her expression soon relaxed and she sighed, placing her finger to her mouth in question. "If you're sick, then it's not good to fight. What could you have, anyway?" By staring at the now very annoyed mamono before her, Sherry knew that she had already answered her own question, due to Brago glaring at her as he held onto his abdomen in pain. A stomach virus.

"Who knew that you'd get sick," Sherry murmured to herself. "Of all to choose from…"

"I am not sick!" Brago seethed. Denial.

"Well, might as well fix you something…" sighed Sherry as she turned around and stalked towards the kitchen, musing over the old recipe she had in mind…

About ten minutes later, Brago was staring at a strange cup of…something very watery and brown looking. There was a musty odor coming from the 'stuff' within the small cup in Sherry's hands as well as small particles of identified substances he'd rather not know. The blonde bookkeeper held it out to her demon companion and he looked up at the woman in slight confusion, raising his brow.

"What… is this?"

"Drink it, it'll make you feel better," reassured Sherry, smiling sincerely. Brago blinked again before scowling and turning away, frowning slightly as he mentally winced from the small tinge in his stomach.

"I will not. What do you take me for, a weakling?" snapped the demon angrily as he turned around, ruby eyes ablaze shrunken to the point of disappearance and ablaze with irritation. "I don't need any damn substance to help me! Only the weak need help from another material, it's the sheer proof of weakness!"

"Brago, it's a family recipe, it works like a charm," continued Sherry, ignoring the irritated mamono's ranting; it had become something she was rather used to and she was determined to try and get her point across. "I always took this when I was a little girl and it worked perfectly!"

Again, she earned a very dark glare. Dark glares... He's gonna need to find some other, more effective ways to discourage me, Sherry thought to herself as she placed the cup of 'stuff' on the table and sat back down in her seat.

The day continued on much like this, with Sherry trying to give Brago something to help with the bug. Unfortunately for Sherry, she attempted in vain and all she got out of it was a very irritated Brago. The two of them stayed at Sherry's mansion all day, but Sherry was moving around a lot, much to Brago's displeasure. He found himself holding onto his gut a little less during the day, but still holding onto it nonetheless.

That night as Sherry was about to slip in between the covers of her bed, Brago walked in and sat down on the floor. She thought about asking Brago if he wanted to sleep in her bed again that night, but when she was about to ask she noticed that Brago was thinking something over in his head. What's he thinking about? she asked herself as she laid down. To her surprise, Brago stood up and walked over to the other side of the bed. At first, Sherry was not sure if she had asked Brago to if he wanted to sleep in her bed or not, she just watched him with wide eyes. As Brago slipped in between the covers, he could feel Sherry's eyes on him and he rolled over so he was looking at her.

"What?" he asked in an irritated voice.

"You got in my bed without me asking you if you wanted to," Sherry replied, still wide eyed.

"Hmph," Brago said, rolling back over. "You would've asked me anyway." Sherry realized that she would have and just averted her eyes for a moment out of slight embarrassment.

"Well," Sherry said in a slightly unsure tone, "Good night, Brago." After saying this, Sherry laid down so she was looking at Brago's back and closed her eyes, awaiting sleep.

"..." Brago hesitated, not sure if he should respond or not, but then a miniscule part of his previous guilt crept up and he decided that he needed to reply somehow. So he turned over and said in a soft voice heavy with sleep, "Good night, Sherry."