Finding You Can Change: Chapter 06
Chikorita-Trainer1
T
Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell!
It was now the beginning of the second week since Sherry had come to the mamodo world. She wasn't just using her journal to record her time there, she was also using it to plan out lessons for Brago. She decided it was time to teach him some human terminology.
"Brago, come here," said Sherry. Brago got up from where he had been reading and came over to sit beside Sherry in front of the fireplace.
"Yes?" he asked, annoyedly.
"Remember when we met that boy Jeff and his grandfather in the mountains?" she asked.
"Of course. And we stopped those loggers from demolishing their cabin," answered Brago.
"Right. But before that, after you brought them the bear, you told that kid to 'become a man. Become strong. And never cry.' Remember?"
"YES," Brago growled. He could tell he was about to be criticized.
"Well, there's a term in the human world for that. It's a relatively new term, Toxic Masculinity," said Sherry.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Brago prickled.
"It means that certain expectations of males are often damaging to them as a whole. Damaging to everyone. Men are told from birth to reject any emotions that aren't anger and competitiveness. But that's not healthy. It's much better for everyone if we all accept our emotions and learn to express them in a rational way. So telling a little boy to never cry, because it makes him less of a man, is wrong."
"And how does encouraging him to cry in the face of danger help him?" Brago growled.
"It's not that he should cry in the face of danger, it's that he should be able to cry when he needs to. It's been proven that holding your feelings inside, repressing sadness and confusion until it erupts as anger and violence, is a bad thing. It hurts the men who are doing it, and it negatively affects their relationships with others."
"Human men, maybe! But this is how things are done in the mamodo world!" Brago argued. Sherry did not allow herself to lose her patience with him.
"That's not true at all, Brago. Look where it's gotten you. Zatch has made this a world where mamodo can live peacefully among one another. You only know how to express anger and contempt, and you don't fit into this world. And you're not happy."
"I would be happy if the world were the way it was before Zatch became king!" Brago growled. "HE changed our world! It was fine before!"
"How can you say that when the majority of the population is happy, and you're the only one who isn't?" said Sherry.
Brago's eyes widened and he looked down. Sherry was right. He wasn't happy, and he was in the minority.
"What are you afraid will happen if you express yourself in a nonviolent way?" she asked softly.
Brago thought about it.
He thought and thought.
He played a scenario out in his head.
"Sherry, I have feelings for you."
"No, Brago. I don't feel the same way."
(If I can't rage and destroy, I'll probably break down and start crying. If I cry, how can I possibly change the situation in my favor?)
"Brago?"
"Nothing! I'm not afraid of anything! Not everything is about fear, you know! Sometimes I just DON'T LIKE THINGS. It's not that I'm AFRAID of the alternative, I just have a preference!"
"OK, OK," Sherry said, holding up her hands. "I accept that. It's OK."
"Some things are challenging, Sherry. Some things are inevitable. And you can wallow in sadness and change nothing, or you can take action and make the world what you want it to be."
"But you CAN'T, Brago. Getting angry and breaking everything isn't changing anything! You HAVE to know this!" said Sherry.
"There is one thing I can't change no matter what, Sherry! Your lifespan! You will age and wither and die in this world! I want you to leave because I don't want to have to go through that, OK?!"
"You don't want me to die?" Sherry asked softly. Brago uncomfortably turned away.
"Of course I don't," he whispered, his voice trembling.
"So you'd rather push me away than face the truth? Now who's being a coward?"
Brago didn't even bother to continue fighting. He just got up and left the room.
How DARE she?! he thought to himself as he hurried down the hallway. He needed a place to be alone. Anywhere. He quickly ran out onto a balcony, scaled the castle walls and climbed up onto a spired rooftop and crouched on the edge like a gargoyle.
Call me a coward? A coward is someone who runs from their own death. A coward is someone who runs away from being physically hurt. The pain she's asking me to endure...it's nothing like that. Nothing like the physical scars of battle.
Well, he seemed to understand the concept of toxic masculinity, thought Sherry. It's perfectly normal for him to be defiant and rebuff it at first. But I can tell he's thinking about the things I've told him. He's trying. He's trying really hard to change.
Meanwhile, ever since the fight in the forest, word had gotten around that there was a human in the mamodo world. A human who was once Brago's bookkeeper. When the news reached Zofis, he knew he didn't need to fear Brago anymore.
That foolish human girl is Brago's weakness! I know he cares for her! Now that I have that to hold over his head, he can never intimidate me again! thought the pyrokinetic mamodo.
Zofis just needed to wait for another opportunity when Sherry would leave the castle. Then he would strike.
Later that evening, after dinner, Brago returned to Sherry's room.
"You're back," said Sherry, sitting up from where she had been reading on her bed. She set aside the book of human/mamodo relations and got up to greet Brago.
"And you're still here," Brago muttered, only because he couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Yes. How are you feeling?" Sherry asked. Brago shrugged.
"I would like to release some tension," he said. "However, since I'm not allowed to be violent, I expect you to provide me with a way to do so."
Sherry smiled. She knew that Brago was doing this to get on her nerves. He was hoping she would be speechless and without any suggestions, and that she would have to backtrack on what she'd taught him earlier. But Sherry was too smart for that.
The human girl smiled and said,
"I recommend a hot bath."
Brago looked at her as if she had suddenly sprouted another head.
"WHAT?!" he roared. Sherry just giggled behind her hand.
"Tension, both emotional and physical, can be alleviated through relaxation. And what could be more relaxing than a nice hot bubble bath? Follow me," she said, walking to the bathroom. Brago didn't move. "Brago?" she said sternly. The mamodo put his hands in his pockets and followed her into the bathroom.
Sherry turned on the tap and steaming hot water began to fill the tub. She added some soap formula to create bubbles.
"Naturally I'll leave you in privacy, but I promise you this will help," said Sherry, turning past Brago and exiting the room.
"You're serious?" he sneered. "You don't actually expect me to—"
"I expect you to follow my advice the same way you've been doing so for the past week. Have I been wrong yet?" Sherry challenged.
Brago relented.
"Fine!" And just to be a dick, he angrily looked her in the eye as he removed his cloak and shirt, as well as his fishnet sleeves. Sherry blushed at the sight of his chiseled chest.
Brago stared at Sherry's flushed reaction as he took off his pants, leaving himself in just his furry underwear.
"What—you see something you like?"
"AS IF!" Sherry shrieked as she practically ran out of the room.
Oh my gosh! What did he-? Sherry couldn't even get through the thought, her heart was pounding so hard in her chest.
A bath? Ridiculous! I've never bathed in my life! Brago thought as he tossed his underwear aside and stepped into the tub. He did feel some comfort at the warm water on his skin, but he was still too proud to really indulge himself.
Well, I suppose it's not horrible.
"SHERRY!" he yelled.
"Yeah?" came the human girl's voice from outside the room.
"Come here!" he growled. He expected Sherry to shriek in embarrassment and insist that it was inappropriate for her to be in the bathroom with him, but she entered.
"What?" she asked.
"What am I supposed to do in here?" he grumbled.
"Uh, wash yourself? Relax? What do you mean, 'supposed to do'?"
"Mamodo don't wash themselves. That's a stupid human practice."
"Then just sit back and enjoy it."
"What's to enjoy? It's just water!"
Sherry groaned and leaned her head back. "OH. MY. GOSH. You are impossible!"
"Maybe you have no idea what you're talking about," he muttered under his breath. She still heard it.
I can't tell if he's testing me. I can't tell if he's trying to trick me. He probably feels vulnerable and embarrassed that he's naked in front of me, even if I can't see him. I think he's trying to mess with me, but I can't be sure, thought Sherry.
"Pathetic human," Brago grumped. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the edge of the tub. "How the hell is one supposed to enjoy a bath?"
You know what? Scew it. I'm taking control of this situation! Sherry thought to herself as she shed her clothing. The tub was big enough for two people. She set her clothes aside and stepped into the tub along with Brago. She sat down in the bubbles before Brago could open his eyes.
"Wh-what the hell?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" cried Brago once he felt her presence in the tub.
"Taking a relaxing bubble bath," Sherry said without smiling. She kept her face dead serious so Brago wouldn't think she was coming on to him.
"WITH ME?!" Brago yelled.
"Oh, get over yourself," said Sherry, leaning back and closing her eyes. "There's plenty of room." She lifted her feet out of the water and crossed her legs, resting her ankles on the rim of the tub just beside Brago's head.
"Get your feet away from me, human!" he growled.
"No. Now be quiet and relax," Sherry ordered. Brago didn't like that she was so calm and collected. He drew his knees up to his chest beneath the bubbles and closed his eyes.
The pair sat in silence for a few minutes before the circulation in Sherry's legs began to cut off, and she needed to change positions. Brago only opened his eyes when he felt her move.
He looked across the tub to see Sherry reach behind her to grab a bar of soap and begin to lather her upper arms. She gently brought the bar from her shoulder to her elbow, to under the water, then change hands, and do the same to her opposite arm. He could feel her bare foot touch his under the suds.
"What are you doing?"
"Give me your arm," said Sherry, holding out her hand. Brago obeyed. He extended his right arm, palm up, and Sherry gently ran the bar of soap up from his hand to his elbow, and slowly back again.
Brago's heart was doing flips in his chest. He was surprised it wasn't causing the water to ripple, it was pounding so hard. He was naked, in the tub, with SHERRY BELMONT. How had things gotten to this point? He was responding to her almost robotically as she asked for his other arm to wash, and then told him to turn around so she could wash his back.
It was terrifying, but also sensual and lovely. To have Sherry touching him so gently and intimately. To be so close with his human partner, closer than they'd ever been before.
He found that he was lowering his guard. His muscles had unclenched, his eyelids had drooped, he was relaxed.
And he found himself wishing that Sherry would lean in and kiss the back of his neck. But she never did.
After about twenty minutes of silence, Sherry set the bar of soap aside, placed her hands on Brago's shoulders, and leaned in to whisper in his ear "Better?"
"Yes," Brago answered.
"Good. OK, let me get out," Sherry said in a completely different tone of voice. Like what they'd just done was nothing. She stood up, Brago still facing away from her, got out of the tub and grabbed a towel.
"I'll see you in a bit," she said as she walked back into her room to get dressed.
Brago just sat there in the still-full tub, thinking about what had just happened and how it made him feel.
I can't believe I just did that! Sherry thought to herself. Moreover, I can't believe I pulled it off! I just got in the tub with Brago, butt-ass-naked, and washed him. Without losing my composure! Holy crap, if Mother could see me now! HA!
But it felt good to be so close with Brago. It didn't feel like I was trying to seduce him, it felt natural. Like that's how it should always be between us.
Oh, God. I love him. I love Brago.
END OF CHAPTER 06
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