Desperation

Chapter 1: "And To Show It To You..."

Toujou seemed to materialize out of thin air, and Oga couldn't help staring when he managed to land a punch in Takamiya's face, the impact big enough to create a crater in the side of the wall that hadn't been damaged yet.

Che.

He had worn him out first, after all.

"How many times are you going to keep the fun all to yourself, huh? Your dad sucks, Beel"

Beel gurgled a greeting and Toujou flashed him an enthusiastic grin, looking far too pleased with himself. If it had been a different time, maybe Oga would've smiled too and hurled an insult right back at him.

But it had been two hours since midnight and time was pressing.

"Toujou! What the hell are you doing here!? I don't have time for this right now! If I don't defeat Takamiya by sunrise–"

Oga had barely enough time to block the kick Takamiya had aimed at his back. He was open to another attack, but at least Toujou was making himself useful. Using both arms this time, he sent Takamiya flying through the hallway. Two was better than one, right?

"I know" Toujou cut in before Oga could say anything. They only had a few seconds before Takamiya charged again "Saotome told me what happened. This bastard kidnapped Furuichi, right? We can get him back if we beat him together"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple"

Takamiya had stood up, wiping the blood from his face.

"You really think I'm going to let you cheat, Oga?" his hand went for his pocket as he calmly walked back towards them "Is this really the best you can do? You have to rely on others to defeat me?" He had retrieved the fragment of Furuichi's soul, eerily floating inside his hand "Or do I have to destroy this to prove you wrong?"

But Oga had already launched himself against Takamiya, ignoring Toujou's warnings to stand back; this wasn't about winning anymore, if he didn't gather all of Furuichi's soul before the sun rose, then he would…

No, he would never allow that.

And when he was done, he would take his time to break every bone in Takamiya's body with his bare hands.

"Give it back!" for once Takamiya hadn't anticipated Oga's attack; he hastily rushed back, but Oga was already in range "GIVE IT BACK TO ME!"

Toujou was suddenly there, and in his haste to evade the attack the fragment had escaped Takamiya's grip. Oga made a jump for it, he was close enough to grab it; but was it even possible to touch a piece of soul? What if the piece was attached to Takamiya and–

"Adah!"

Baby Beel made his move instead. Standing in top of his father's head, he reached for it with his hand, and just as he grazed it with his fingers, the fragment shone, like a tiny star in the dark hallway, and flew off to enter Oga's body.

Oga lost his balance from the impact, even though it had been as light as his heart skipping a beat, and reached for his chest.

"What–"

"What the hell was that?" Toujou asked, bewildered.

Oga looked up to Baby Beel, who seemed just as confused as he was, before catching Takamiya's gaze.

"Lucifer!"

He looked furious.

"Wait, was that thing important or something?"

Toujou's questions went ignored. Whatever had happened had been outside of Takamiya's calculations, but Oga had no time to dwell on that, much less fight with that stupid Lolifer. He grabbed on to Beel and took off at top speed.

Those bastards had to be nearby. There were still five pieces left.

"HEY!" Oga could hear Takamiya running after him, but a sudden explosion in the wall told him that Toujou had once again smashed him against the wall.

"You need to find more of those, right!? Go get the other stars! I'll hold him off!"

"THEY'RE NOT STARS, YOU MORON!"

"Where are you going, Udagawa? Aren't you hungry?"

The masked man turned towards the group who were enthusiastically flexing their muscles and comparing sizes with each other, thrilled by their new strange surge of power.

"Oh, no" he addressed the only girl in the group "I assure you, I have already had my fill. And besides, dinner is already finished, is it not?"

The eerie smile on his face should have been enough warning that something was not right, but the girl just smirked; that wonderful light feeling already starting to cloud her senses.

"Oh, right" she said "Thank you for dessert".

She watched him leave through the door, chuckling to himself, just as one of the group reached for the table and smashed it with one finger.

"Woah" he said as he watched the crumbling bits on the floor "I feel so awesome! I'm so damn strong!"

"What was that, anyway?" the girl said as she bent down to examine the damage "That thing he gave us?"

"Who cares? We're stronger, aren't we?" said the biggest guy of them all, reaching for a pack of cigarettes in his jacket "With this much power we could probably even take on Og–"

But no sooner had he said the name that Oga had blasted through the wall as if summoned. His face completely devoid of emotion, his eyes glazed and unfocused, staring ahead as though he was mesmerized by the sight in front of him.

Wait, what was he doing here?

"What the– How the hell did you get here? We weren't going to send the distress message until tomorrow!"

But Oga didn't answer, only turning his head towards them, unperturbed.

"Give them back"

"Huh?"

Their new-found power was the only thing that prevented them from cowering as Oga started approaching them.

"Give them back" he repeated.

"Give what back?" the nerve of this guy, blasting through the wall and making demands as though he owned the damned place "What the hell are you talking about, huh? If you just wanna get beat up, say so, you bitch"

"I know you have them!" Oga didn't seem to have listened to him at all, but he was getting angrier "I know they're here, give them back right NOW"

"What the fuck is this bastard mumbling about?"

Easy for the toughest guy to say. The thug he was closest to was starting to get nervous at Oga's increasingly irrational demeanor. He had just started to consider that it'd be easier for the group to just crush him with their new-found powers –surely he would have no chance, with four against one?– but before he could voice his thoughts, to the unfortune of everyone involved, the girl who had just been licking her fingers spoke up.

"Ah– You think he means those weird fragments we ate just now?"

And just like that, Oga saw red.

The anger he had been fighting to keep down, lest he lose himself, finally exploded inside his head, and he couldn't see clearly anymore. He had nearly turned into a demon once. He wasn't sure what would become of him if he allowed it to happen again. But all of that took a backseat at the single thought of insatiable need for retaliation. He could feel the darkness circling his arms and chest, the blood drawing from his fists as he teared at his palms, and the red that now clouded his vision.

He needed blood in his hands. Their blood.

His scream tore through the night as he charged at them.

He took them by surprise, surely not expecting to see a half-demon in front of their eyes, but they kept their stance anyway. The surge of power had felt so good, so light, it had gone to their heads; they outnumbered the monster, he was only one man, how could they possible lose against him?

They didn't know, of course, thay they had unknowingly angered a demon. And that not even their cries for mercy would be enough to deter him.

Saotome already regretted coming to the school grounds. He was only supposed to stand guard that night, but not only had Oga showed up out of nowhere, now Toujou had gotten involved too. And if anyone noticed he was there–

"Leaving so soon, Saotome?"

Of course.

The spell master turned around to reluctantly greet the mockery of a wizard walking out of the gates of the school, smirking as he approached him.

"What do you want, Udagawa?"

"Such manners" the observer chuckled "You didn't even say good-bye. Doesn't your post end in two hours?"

"I'm leaving early today" No need to explain himself. Shorts answer were safe "There's something I need to take care of"

"Surely not to meet with your most recent disciple?"

Saotome could feel the penetratring gaze sent in his direction through the mask, as though Udagawa was hoping to catch the slightest hint of a lie on Saotome's face, but his expression betrayed nothing.

"As if"

Udagawa only smiled. He made no attempt of breaking the silence as the minutes went by, perhaps expecting Saotome to break down from the pressure. And all with just that damn smile on his face. Weirdo.

"If that's all, I'm leaving"

Without waiting for answer, he turned and walked away. Udagawa didn't follow, but called after him when he started rummaging his pockets, looking for a lighter.

"Remember who you're working for, Saotome. Remember what's at stake"

As if he needed to. He couldn't afford to betray Solomon's group, but he could at least give Oga a gentle nudge into the right direction. And Toujou had just happened to walk by. So as long as no one ever knew, what was the harm in it?

"Yeah, yeah"

His hands were covered in blood, but he was not satisfied.

The battered bodies littering the ground were not enough. He was still angry. He still didn't have what he was looking for. They refused to give them back.

"P-Please" the thug pleaded at the demon holding him by his neck "Mercy! I don't know how to give it back! If I could I–"

He cried when Oga leaned in, standing mere inches from his face, the red from his eyes filled with nothing but promises of death and pain.

"Do I have to rip out your entrails to look for it, then?"

Oga would have done it. He cared little for the trash in front him, shaking and crying and begging to be let go. It was his fault anyway. He had taken what wasn't his. And he refused to give it back. These bastards had taken Furuichi's heart, and now he was going to take something from them.

He had raised his hand, ready for a swift attack, ignoring the pathetic cries of his victim. Oga really would have done it.

Had it not been for that sudden voice inside his head.

"OGA! STOP!"

And the only reason he did, was because it belonged to Furuichi.