Here's another little one-shot featuring some Toujou x Shizuka fluff! I seriously love this pairing so much because they're just so adorable together! I especially love Shizuka a lot because she's pretty, level-headed, sensible, and I like to see her as Toujou's moral compass. Kind of like how Furuichi is Oga's moral compass. I just wish we got to know a bit more about their childhood friendship.

This is set after Toujou and Izuma's fight with Graphel during the Prince En arc. I'm basing it off mostly the manga, specifically chapters 82-87, but for those who haven't seen the anime, there is a part in episode 41 when Shizuka intervenes and hits Graphel over the head with a dummy, which angers him and he grabs her by the neck and nearly chokes her. So, I'm also including that moment from the episode.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this fluffy one-shot!

Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.

Pushing the Limit

"Thanks again for taking care of my injuries, Shizuka-san," Izuma Kaname thanked as he made his way to the door. "I really appreciate it."

"Yeah," the strawberry-haired girl said hoarsely. "Good night, Izuma-kun." The door closed and Nanami Shizuka sighed. It had been a really long day and she was tired. She wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but she had to make sure that Toujou was all right. Well, it was a good thing that her family was out of the house for the evening.

She turned to face Toujou Hidetora, who was sitting on her couch, various bandages on his face and arms. A good deal of them were from his fight with Izuma, but the worse ones were from when he fought those fin-eared strangers with unusual, military-ish uniforms and black coats. According to Izuma, they had come to kill Oga-kun. Why they would want to kill him was beyond her.

Those two guys… she had never seen them before, yet she could tell that they weren't normal. The tall one, called Graphel, had scared her, especially when he had tried to choke her after she had whacked him with a dummy. The shorter, more boyish one, he didn't fight at all but if she had to bet, then that guy would definitely be as strong, if not stronger, that the tall guy. And Toujou just pushed things way too far by fighting them while he was in no condition to fight.

"Always pushing the limits. What am I going to do with you, Tora…" she sighed, shaking her head as she took care of another wound on his shoulder. "You took it way too far today!"

Toujou chuckled, which irritated Shizuka even further. "Don't laugh!" she scolded. "It's not funny! You could've died!" She applied some disinfectant on the cut and Toujou hissed from the sting of the spray.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I've never met anyone like that guy before! I seriously wanna take him on again!"

"That guy was way too strong," Shizuka tried to reason with him as she lightly wiped the wound with a cotton ball. "Couldn't you sense the killing aura he had? If Kanzaki hadn't jumped in, you would've died." Her eyes lowered. "I was honestly scared, Tora. Really, I was."

Toujou opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it upon seeing her face. Her hazel eyes shined with concern and genuine fear, and he felt a bit guilty upon seeing her like that. "You were scared?" he asked. "Why?"

"Because…" she trailed off as she tied the knot of the bandage. "Because… it reminded me of the first time you were injured like that. You know… the Incident."

Upon hearing that, Toujou felt twice as bad. The Incident had happened when they were twelve years old during a warm summer night. It was also the first time he had gotten involved in a serious fight. Yes, he had been fighting since he was fairly young, yet those fights were never this serious or heavy. While the fight didn't involve guns, it was still pretty intense.

Toujou and Shizuka had happened to get involved in the fight on their way home from the arcade that evening. They had tried to take their usual path but that was where the fight was happening. It turned out to be a gang war that was taking place between two criminal gangs. They had tried to go an alternate route, but Shizuka was suddenly dragged in by one of the thugs who was a lecherous perv.

Seeing that happen had set off Toujou big time. Messing around with him was one thing, but anyone who dared lay a hand on Shizuka would regret it. Toujou had been livid and without thinking, he jumped into the fight, beating up a great deal of them. However, the two leaders had gotten annoyed that a middle schooler had interrupted their fight. Toujou had received a severe beating that had sent him to the hospital in critical condition. Shizuka had never been so scared before in her life. The fact that he had already gotten such a ruthless beating scared her. She had also been incredibly worried for him. Worried that next time, he would die.

"Seeing you all beaten like that…" Shizuka's voice interrupted his thoughts. He saw that she had lowered her head, her bangs covering her eyes. "It reminded me of the Incident. I really thought I was going to lose you, Tora." Her tone was sincere and gentle. "When that guy said, 'You really should've just stayed down', that was… that was exactly what one of those gang leaders had said before he was about to beat you with a baseball bat. Before the cops had come."

Toujou was surprised when he saw her eyes shining with unshed tears. "You always push the limits, Tora. You keep on saying that you love fighting, that you always want to find people who are as strong as you," she continued, covering her mouth with her hand. "But I'm scared. I'm worried that one day, it'll go too far, and you'll… you'll..." She was cut off when she felt Toujou gently pull her close to him.

"Shizuka, you worry too much," Toujou simply said. She looked up and saw him smiling fondly at her. "I won't let that happen. I just have to get stronger. Tomorrow, I'm gonna go ask Zen-san how to fight those guys, and then I can go and get stronger!"

Upon hearing that, a small smile crossed her face. "You really haven't changed at all," she said, hugging him.

Toujou laughed and Shizuka felt her face heating up. "You haven't changed much either, Shizuka," he grinned as he hugged her back.

He noticed her neck at that point and saw the red marks from where that Graphel guy had grabbed her by the neck. Normally, whenever she hit any guy with something whenever they tried to attack him from behind, they would just be so surprised. But this guy had really gotten pissed and he tried to choke her for getting involved.

Shizuka noticed him looking at her neck and she blushed a bit. "Tora… is something wrong?" she asked.

"How does your throat feel?" he asked.

She gently touched her throat, wincing slightly. "It hurts quite a bit," she admitted.

"Wait here." She watched as Toujou got up and left the room.

After a while, he came back holding a glass of water, an ice pack, and some Tylenol. "Here," he said, handing her the ice pack. "It'll ease the pain a bit."

"Thanks," she said softly as she gently pressed it onto her neck. "Tora… can you, maybe… stay here a little longer?" she asked shyly.

Toujou was surprised at the request. However, he nodded as he felt his face heat up. "S-Sure, I guess," he said, sitting down next to her. The moment he sat down on the couch, he felt Shizuka rest her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, moving closer to him, feeling comforted and safe. "You're so warm, Tora. And you smell nice."

Toujou blushed a bit by what she said. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Damn, you're freezing," he mumbled. Seeing a blanket nearby, he wrapped it around her as she closed her eyes.

After a while, he felt the need to say something to her. "Shizuka, listen here," he started. "I want you to know this."

"Hmm?" she hummed sleepily.

"I'll always protect you, no matter what. We may have drifted apart somewhat, but I will always be there for you. You… You mean a lot to me, Shizuka. And just for you, I'll try not to-" He stopped when he heard a sigh escape from her. He turned slightly and saw that she had already fallen asleep on his shoulder, her breathing steady.

Toujou smiled at the sight, a small chuckle escaping from him. "She really hasn't changed much," he said to himself quietly, shaking his head. He gently lifted her up and carried her to her bedroom, being careful not to wake her up.

As he lay her down on her bed, he admired her for a moment. At this moment, she looked so peaceful and innocent. "Good night, Shizuka," he whispered. He was about to leave the room when he suddenly turned around and did something even he thought he would never do.

He planted a little kiss on her forehead. An affectionate, friendly kiss, the kind that childhood friends give each other, he told himself. And as he left the room, he saw a smile cross her face.

Just for her, he promised himself as he walked home that night. Just for her, he wouldn't push the limits so much. She really meant a lot to him, and he swore that he would protect her, no matter what.

I hope you all enjoyed! Please tell me what you think!

Thanks for reading! Have a good night!