The Dark Prince

Two years after Sherry and Brago were paired up in the fight for mamodo king, she is finally starting to understand her demon partner. That is, until he does something completely unexpected.

BragoxSherry

Romance, drama, smut, fantasy.

Rated M (18+) for mature themes, strong sexuality, slight gore, slight language, and adult situations. You have been warned!

Reminder: I do not own Zatch Bell or any of it's characters. Only this story is my original creation.

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful spring day.

The wind gently stirring the new foliage on the rustling branches of the large surrounding trees.

The clearing they found was speckled with violet blooms and smelled of fresh morning air.

Cerulean eyes peeked open to glance over to her traveling companion. Stifling a snicker behind the back of her hand, the blonde switched her attention to the white wisps of clouds slowly crawling along the clear blue expanse of sky.

'Even now, he scowls as if the gentle breeze were testing his nerves.' She thought, amusedly.

The grey-skinned male beside her continued to glare at everything and nothing in particular, dark-lined eyelids squinting in suppressed annoyance.

He gave little thought to try to pinpoint the exact point of his growing ire- merely chalking it up to a number of things that usually annoyed him.

The smell of the earth that reminded him how different this world was from his own, and yet, how similar. How bright the sun was as it shown down merrily against his skin, making a prickle of sweat bead under his thick dark cloak, mocking him and his chosen attire. The creature sitting next to him and her lowly human weaknesses, demanding him to stop and fulfill her needs lest she slow him down further.

He thought on his last musing further, folding his legs to cross and laying his wrists against his knees in a meditative form.

Humans.

He could not deny that they perplexed him. So many kinds of humans and varieties of emotions they held. The demon cracked an eye to stare at the blonde from his peripheral. He had witnessed her strength and courage in the heat of battle, watched her body thrown to the ground and littered with injuries and seen how she had picked herself up and continued on despite her fragile body. And yet, he had also seen her sorrow, her depravity, her madness.

Brago knew the girl wasn't completely there. He had lived through many of her delirious spells to understand her mind was broken from her past of abuse and neglect.

These creatures required a coddling that he could not fully comprehend. They require affection and happiness to keep their will to live intact.

More than once had he been forced to save her life. Not only from their battles, but from her own hands.

'Foolish creatures.'

A rustling of fabric brought him out of his thoughts and he opened his eyes to peer over at the girl.

Sherry now faced him, her dress tucked underneath her knees as she sat with her legs curled beneath her.

"What?" He snapped, letting his annoyance show in his normally bored tone but refusing to raise his voice. She continued to stare at him and he brought his arms up to cross over his strong chest, long pointed nails glinting in the sunlight.

The mamodo thought himself prepared for everything, but the sudden question caught him off guard.

"Brago, how old are you?"

Her voice was feminine and sweet, expressing only of the fraction of the curiosity he could smell lacing her scent.

His fingers twitched where they rested against his forearm, the only indication that he had been startled by the question.

"Why do you need to know, Sherry.." He growled, her name rolling slowly off his tongue slowly in silent warning.

She dismissed the threat, flicking one of her long curls behind her shoulder as she looked the demon up and down.

"It's been two years," She began again, hiding her amusement as the demon bristled at her.

"You've grown a little taller, but are just about the same height as when we met."

A low growl was her only reply for a an undetermined amount of time.

Sherry had only recently noticed the small growth spurt in Brago, as he usually kept his distance from her in normal settings. She had only noticed it in their last battle when it had ended with her needing to be carried out on his back. When he set her down after bringing her to a safe area, she had noticed as she stood behind him that his head now reached her shoulders. Ever since then she questioned his age in relation to his height.

Just how old was the demon? How tall would he become? Was this his peak height?

She had thought back to the other mamodos they have met thus far- most of which being even shorter than her companion. But there were a handful who were actually pretty large.

Sherry studied the face of the being before her, noticing how it was sort of round which suggested youth, but yet his ashen skin was littered with more scars than she could count.

'Maybe he's had a hard life, like me.' She mused to herself.

"Size has no bearing on my power, Sherry." He began, his voice low but didn't seem as harsh as it was before. "And if it will shut you up, I'll let you know I am four hundred years of age."

She couldn't help how her mouth began gaping open like a fish.

He was amused by her shock, but hid it well with a cold stare of indifference.

"Wh- How long do mamodo live?!" She stammered, her eyes round in surprise.

He shrugged, not knowing many other demons personally.

"A few millennia, maybe tens."

His vague answer nearly floored her, her eyes searching over the four hundred year old being with new admiration.

Before she would stop herself, they question shot out of her lips.

"How mature does that make you?!"

He cocked his head to the side, rolling the question around and trying to decipher it. If she were insulting his maturity, she would regret it.

The woman's pale cheeks flushed a pretty pink, her hands now wringing together in her lap.

"I meant- what I mean is, what stage of life would your age bring you in?"

He blinked his dark maroon eyes slowly, understanding now what she was asking, but musing the best way to appeal to her human lifemarks.

"Hn. If I were to put it in human terms, I would say that I would be considered what you species calls 'a teenager."

A grin lit up her normally impassive features, and he froze as a laugh began to tumble from her lips.

Hairless brows pulled down and a fang peeked out from his lip.

'She mocks me?'

After a few moments, the girl quieted her laughter and wiped at her eyes, trying to look apologetic at the now bristling demon.

"Sorry, Brago. I didn't mean to laugh," She choked, running her hands over her now flushed face as she tried to reign in her mirth.

"It's just that, I am twenty now and I'm considered an adult. To hear a four hundred year old demon say he's a teenager just tickled me the wrong way."

He narrowed his eyes at her unfamiliar wording.

'My words tickled her?'

"Don't misunderstand, human. I am no spring whelp!" He caught himself as he began to growl at her and reigned in his rising temper. "Hn. I am not fully grown, but I am capable enough for many things."

'Killing, conquering, mating." He mused silently, priding himself that his instincts told him as much without the need of anyone teaching him.

He would never admit to anyone-not even himself-that he had missed out on the crucial childhood bonding between parent and child that every other demon had.

No, he was never taught by anything other than his own instincts how to survive or what to desire as he grew. But he took great pride in the knowledge that he has made it this far on his own, well. His eyes refocused on the human girl still staring at him from only a few feet away.

He wasn't exactly on his own now, and he could admit that her strength did add to his own, but he could not deny that his own power is mostly what brought them this far into the battle of for mamodo king.

Normally, such chats between the two would have stopped there, but for some reason, the blonde was unusually curious and talkative today.

"What about your family? Do you miss them back in your own world? Did you have friends? What about-"

"Enough!" He snarled, uncrossing his arms and standing erect, casting a shadow over her figure, glaring down at her.

"My old life means nothing! I will become the new king and make a new life after this tedious battle is over and done with."

The demon turned away from her, beginning to walk off with only a backwards glance over his shoulder to her slightly stunned expression.

"Take your rest," He murmured, feeling his temper cool the further he strode into the forest,

"I'll be back in a few hours. And don't get yourself killed."

Sherry slowly pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them to her body as she watched his dark figure disappear into the forest.

She sighed, wondering what she did wrong for the millionth time since she met her partner.

You would think after two years of always being with someone you would learn a few things about them. She shook her head, burying her face into her knees as she closed her eyes to the world.

What was she thinking? She tried to take advantage of the new information Brago decided to give her about himself, and it only got her shunned and left alone. She should have known better.

oOo

It was hot.

Lifting an ash-colored arm, Brago made quick work of throwing off his thick cloak leaving his chest bare with only his mesh shirt. Running a clawed hand through his hair, he suppressed a sigh as his eyes unfocused and his thoughts took hold.

He sat with his back against a tree, lost in memories that he longed to forget, but a blue eyed woman kept entering his mind, disrupting those unpleasant experiences of his youth.

Sometimes he asked himself why he chose her. Why he chose a broken woman on the verge of death to aid him in this fight.

Maybe it was his male ego rescuing a female in distress.

Maybe it was the knowledge that she would owe her life to him and devote everything to his cause.

It definitely had something to do with the look in her eyes. The look that reflected his own heart.

Deciding he had enough of his mind's wandering, the mamodo crossed his arms and legs and closed his eyes, blanking his mind for a few hours of meditative rest.

Images of long golden locks swinging in the wind faded into nothingness as his breathing evened out.

oOo

The sound of a stick snapping closeby caused her eyes to burst open, blue orbs straining to focus through the darkness that blanketed the clearing in the direction she heard it.

Her heart sped as a shadow emerged around a tree, fear hitching her breath as she could still not see who it was.

"Brago?" She called, clutching the book that had laid in her lap tightly to her chest.

The only answer was a rustling as the figure continued a steady pace towards her, pressing carelessly through the bushes that were in its path.

She sat up and crawled backwards to press her back against a large tree, trying to decide if she should run and hide or scream and hope her mamodo would come to her rescue.

Finally the figure began to approach the moonlight streaking through the trees.

A grateful gasp left her as she recognized the back boot that came into view, followed by the dark cloak that spiked out in every direction.

"Brago, don't scare me like that!" She admonished, clutching a hand over her pounding heart.

"You could have told me it was you, instead of scaring me half to de-"

A rush of wind and his dark form was suddenly standing right before her, his expression hidden in the shadows of the night.

Only his blood red gaze shown against the white of his eyes as they were locked onto hers.

She gasped again, shocked at how close he was in so short of time and how eerie his eyes looked against the black surrounding them.

Her hands betrayed her as they trembled around the book still clutched to her chest, unsure how to react as he continued to silently pierce her with his hard stare.

She felt frozen in place and her mind blanked as a clawed hand came out and he pulled his nails through the long curl that fell along her cheek.

An uncontrollable shiver ran along her spine as the sharp points grazed her skin slowly before continuing on to the end of her hair.

The very end was now caught in his grip and his large fist clenched around it.

"Sherry…"

His voice was low and rough, trailing off and leaving the rest seemingly unspoken.

Her heart beat wildly at his voice, making her feel suddenly dizzy for a reason unknown.

Her lips parted to speak, but just as he appeared before her, he was across the clearing in a whirl of movement with his back to her.

He scented the air.

The smell of her confusion, shock, and anticipation still hung thickly in the clearing and it wasn't helping with his sudden moodswings.

He needed to stay away from her.

He didn't know what was happening, but he knew as soon as he caught her scent that she was making it worse.

Maybe he was going mad.

He smirked to himself as he began to settle down with his side against the tree.

'Maybe her insanity is rubbing off on me.'

He growled lowly as the breeze did little to cool his overheated skin, even in the dropping temperatures of the night, his skin felt sticky and suffocating under the cloak.

Mindless of his companion, he stripped out of his top for the second time that day and tossed it aside.

He promised her a few hours of rest.

He hated to admit it, but currently he was the one suddenly needing more time.

"We will head out in the morning."

His voice still feel rough in his throat, scratching its way out in a sound resembling a growl.

He didn't bother to listen for her reply, sinking into meditation to compensate for the sleep he refused to take.

No, he would not sleep until he had become king.

oOo

Sherry watched as the figure across the nearly 40 foot clearing slumped against the tree, sensing instantly as he drifted off into another plane of consciousness.

She shifted, huddling in on herself as another cool breeze pierced through her thin dress and caused goosebumps to form on her arms.

She had gawked at the demon when she saw him discard his cloak, watching with envy as the thick mass fell uselessly at his boots.

Even though it was spring now, the nights could still get pretty chilly.

She contemplated building a fire, but quickly decided against it when she thought how pissed Brago would be.

His previous words rang in her mind, causing a scowl on her features as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fool. We stop only for your body to rest in your weakened state, and you presume to bring attention to yourself by building a fire in the night. Fires are to be used in the day time for cooking meals, nothing more."

Although, she would be lying if she ignored the real reason she didn't want to make a fire.

Her trembling grew worse, no longer from the cold as her eyes became unfocused as she fell into the dark pit of old memories.

The rest of her night was spent curled up on the forest floor, trembling as a name fell from her lips like a chant.

"Koko…"

oOo

The next morning came sooner than expected, the blonde sitting up and stretching her limbs as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

A smile curled her lips.

She really couldn't remember much of last night after Brago scared the beejebus outta her, but somehow she was feeling refreshed and in an unusually optimistic mood.

She found the dark figure of her companion nestled against a large tree, her eyes scanning over the grey expanse of muscled arms crossed over his bare torso.

She stood up, brushing off her dress and slowly walking over to see if he knew she was awake yet.

As she got closer, she could see that even his hardened abs and chest were not bare of the scars that she now realized must litter his entire body.

For being a 'teenager,' he sure did have a lot of them.

Sherry assumed he was meditating, but upon closer inspection, realized his mouth hung slightly agape with soft breaths.

He was asleep.

Cerulean eyes widened as she studied his slumbering form. In all her time with the demon, she had never seen him sleep. Meditate, sure.

But she believed this was the first time he had actually slept since coming to this world.

She began to wonder what made him decide to sleep, but derailed from her pondering by his sudden gasp.

Her eyes flew up from his lips to his eyelids- still closed with sleep.

She watched with interest as his eyes rolled, fluttering underneath the lids and she wondered what he was dreaming about.

"Fuck.."

Sherry's hand shot up to stop herself from voicing her surprise at the explicit that left his pale lips.

Over the years, the demon had began picking up on the more common human language.

She would be lying if she claimed to not be amused when he had picked up on modern-day swear words, slowly incorporating them into his language, especially when he was upset.

But this… They way he said it did not sound like he was mad.

Her cheeks flushed hotly as he said it again, this time louder and with sudden emotion.

"FUCK…" He groaned, his brows drawing down in concentration.

She froze solid as he shifted his position, pulling his crossed legs apart and spreading them out in front of himself. She watched as his arms slowly unwound, one falling limp to his side as the other one rested on his chest.

She gulped thickly, her mouth feeling suddenly very dry as she watched in horror as his clawed hand began trailing down his bare chest.

Her breath stopped as his nails grazed down his peck, sliding further across the sharp definition of his abs, the muscles rippling under the skin at his own touch.

They slid down one set, two, three…

A gasp left her lips as his claw ran lower, coming to stop to cup around the noticeable bulge in his dark, furred pants.

Sherry stumbled backwards, tripping on her own feet and falling to her bottom as she tried to escape in her shock.

The sound of her gasp woke him instantly.

Dark lids slammed open and red eyes rolled down from where they had gone to the back of his skull.

Still delirious with sleep, the demon shot to his feet, springing over towards the noise that woke him and pinning the body of his attacker to the ground by its arms.

Sherry cried out, screaming her fear as Brago pounced on top of her and pinned her to the forest floor, his nails digging into her flesh as his eyes fought to focus on her face.

His teeth were bared, sharp and glistening as a growl tore from his throat, making her tremble in under him.

"Brago- Brago! It's me!"

The mamodo sniffed, taking in her scent and using it to help clear his clouded mind.

He blinked forcefully, the snarl on his lips softening as recognition came to him.

He loosened his grip on her upper arms, but not letting them go completely.

He hovered over her, his vision clearing to take in her large blue eyes, sparkling with unshed tears and the fear that radiated off of her was the final click into place.

"Sherry.." He murmured, groaning as his brain began to pound against his skull.

'What happened? Why is it I cannot remember most of last night? The last thing I remember is meditating next to that tree.. And then.'

An image suddenly flashed into memory, a hazy picture of someone sprawled out on a bed.

The covers were pink, the room oddly familiar in a way he knew he should recognize.

The body on the bed was a woman's, she lay on her back with her long, light colored hair fanning around her head against the pillows.

He furrowed his brow, trying to get the picture to clear from the fuzziness.

Her skin was pale, long slender legs spread out and arms thrown out at her sides, her palms facing up.

She was bare, slender shoulders led down to the fuzzy outline of an ample bosom then down to a slender waist that cut in sharply, then out again with the swell of her hips.

He blinked in his dream, suddenly finding himself over the woman, one leg in between her knees, his arms locked to hold his body above hers as his chin hovering over her chest.

He absently noticed he was also bare, not caring as much about that fact in the moment as he was intent on seeing her face.

His dream self blinked several times, finding that each blink made the picture clearer.

He froze when he noticed the eyes were a startling blue- the hair a golden blonde- the lips a soft pink.

Sherry.

The next time he blinked, the scene changed.

It was an almost out-of-body experience as he watched the woman now sitting in his lap.

Her body was still fuzzy, but he could make out the outline of her breasts as they began to bounce up and down.

A pulsing sensation brought his attention down to his lap, eyes widening as he observed himself buried within her core.

His mouth gaped open on its own as he felt himself sliding within her. Each bounce she made cause him to almost slip out, before she came back down on him, swallowing him completely and clamping around his girth.

"Fuck…"

He squeezed his eyes shut, basking in the sensation as he felt a coiling low in his abdomen.

When his dream self opened its eyes again, he was suddenly over her again.

This time, her legs were wrapped around his hips, his body pressed down against hers completely, and he knew he was inside her again when he felt her squeeze around him.

He moved his hips forward, seeking the heat that engulfed him as he pushed all the way inside her.

Her lips parted with a silent moan, her chest heaving and he began thrusting in and out of her wet center.

His toes began to curl, his breath coming in pants as he shoved deeper inside Sherry.

"FUCK.." He groaned, his head rolling forward as he buried his face in her breasts.

He opened his eyes again, feeling the loss of her body and now she was kneeling in front of him on her bed.

When she didn't move, he reached out and took her hand.

He cupped her smaller hand in his, forcing her to run the soft palm down his chest, his abs, he almost growled as her hand cupped his groin, his legs spread wide for the attention.

Brago blinked, snapping back to reality from his memory of the vision to stare down at Sherry's familiar face under him.

"What happened?" He snapped, anger and confusion apparent on his features as he found himself in the same position as the vision, yet everything was different.

Sherry's face was flushed, her fear slowly ebbing away as the demon seemed to become fully conscious.

"You- you were sleeping," She began, watching as his eyes widened at her words.

"You just woke up and-"

"A dream" He interrupted, putting the pieces together slowly.

He focused on her features, crystal clear and as similar as they seemed to the dream, very different.

Brago sprang up, jumping away from her as if she had burned him and turned his back to her.

His eyes shot down to his pants, now fully aware that his body was having a reaction to the dream he had.

He raked a clawed hand through his hair roughly, trying to put the images out of his mind and calm his still racing heart.

He fell asleep.

How could he let himself fall asleep.

An aggravated growl left his throat and he listened as Sherry got to her feet and began walking back to the tree she left her supplies under.

The next thing Sherry said to him worsened his mood tenfold.

"Brago, I need to go back home."