Hey everyone! I've been really busy these past few days, so I've hardly had much time to update 'Furuichi the Lieutenant'. However, when I was rereading the manga, the cover image for Chapter 95 immediately gave me some inspiration to write this little one-shot. I wanted to try and capture Hilda's softer side, as well as show a friendship between her and Misaki, as I think that they'd be pretty good friends. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.

Rest and Recovery

Hilda sighed as she took a sip of her warm milk with honey, slightly pulling the covers closer to keep warm. Glancing out of the window, she observed the activity on the streets below. She could see schoolgirls and boys coming home from school, either on foot or on bicycle, as the sun was slowly dipping below the horizon, and she could see the orange slowly fading up into the deep inky blue of the night.

Almost two days had passed since both Hilda, Oga, and her Young Master had been attacked by Hecadoth, one of Behemoth's men. Her stomach still hurt from when Hecadoth had speared her and disabled her powers. A lot has happened since then. Both Oga and the Young Master have gone to train and get stronger. In the meantime, Lamia had apparently teamed up with Furuichi and some Ishiyama students to search for Lord En. And in the midst of this, she was stuck in bed, recovering from her injury. Dr. Furcas had recommended that she get uninterrupted rest, as straining herself would slow down the recovery process. Since then, Hilda had done nothing other than laying down in Oga's bed, only getting out of bed to have a bath or get ready for bed. Otherwise, she ate her meals in bed, and either slept or just observed the streets from the window.

Lost in her thoughts, the wet nurse was brought back to reality when she heard a ping from her Demon World communicator, which was placed on the bedside table. Curiously, Hilda picked it up, and opened the message screen. It was a message from Lamia.

Hilda-nee-sama, there's finally some progress! Lord En is playing net games! These humans have managed to be quite useful in locating him! He's still being stubborn and insisting that we beat him if we want to know where he is, but it should be okay!

Though she didn't show it, Hilda was relieved that they have managed to make some progress. Briefly, she wondered how Oga and the Young Master were doing in their training. Feeling bored, she picked up the remote for Oga's TV and turned it on, changing the channel to her favourite drama. This had become another pastime for her ever since she came to the Human World. Normally, the demon would be utterly captivated by an episode of the drama show, but for some reason, she couldn't focus on the episode on the screen.

"It's rather lonely here…" Hilda mumbled to herself, picking up a book from the floor. It was a series of romance novels that tied in with her favourite drama, and this was the first volume. She had bought it when she had gone out shopping with Oga's mother. When she had noticed Hilda's interest in the book, Mrs. Oga had bought it for her.

The first time Hilda had read the book, it was a captivating read. However, since this was the only book she had in here, Hilda had read through it at least a thousand times.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she heard a knock on the door. "Hilda-chan?" It was Misaki. "I brought you some dinner."

The door opened, revealing Oga's older sister, holding a steaming cup of instant ramen. "Some ramen to help you feel better," she said, giving Hilda a friendly smile.

Hilda nodded. "Th-Thanks," she thanked her. She was truly grateful to Misaki, as she was like the sister she never had. To be honest, it was the company of Misaki that kept her from feeling completely lonely, as she often made time to talk to her after college and was always making sure she was okay.

"How are you feeling now, Hilda-chan?" Misaki asked her, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"It could be worse," Hilda admitted, taking a hold of the hot cup. Being careful with it, she balanced it on her lap before picking up the plastic spoon and drinking some of the hot broth. This was her first time having ramen, and she had to admit, it tasted quite nice.

Since the first day she had moved in with Oga, Hilda had taken a real liking to Misaki. She had been very kind to her and treated her like she was one of the family. She was the one who had introduced her to dramas and often encouraged her to have some more time to herself. While she was initially confused at that, since as a wet nurse, her priorities revolved around the needs of her Young Master, Hilda was slowly starting to have some time for herself with some help from Misaki.

"Is this your first time having ramen?" Misaki asked.

"Yes, actually," Hilda admitted. "It's quite good." She picked up the chopsticks that Misaki had brought and broke them apart before twirling some noodles and eating them.

Misaki smiled. "I'm glad you like it," she said. "I picked this up from the convenience store on my way home from college. Though, it's nothing compared to the real ramen."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." Misaki placed her hands on her lap, her eyes shining with excitement. "Tell you what, Hilda-chan. When you get better, I'll take you to the ramen shop, where you can have some real ramen!"

Hilda couldn't help but smile at the suggestion. "Sure," she said.

The sun had already set well below the horizon, and had given way to night. The bedroom light had already been turned on, and the TV was just playing in the background as Hilda and Misaki sat in a comfortable silence. Hilda glanced out of the window to see if anything interesting was happening in the streets. She saw a woman and her pet dog walking down the well-lit streets, as well as a man riding by on his bicycle. It was fairly simple and mundane, but for some reason, she rather liked the view of the streets. Eventually, she turned her attention back to her food, this time, setting it on the table and picking up her book.

Upon seeing this, Misaki snapped her fingers. "Right! I almost forgot something!" she exclaimed before leaving the room.

Hilda stared at the door in confusion, wondering what could've caused Misaki to leave. However, her question was answered moments later when Misaki came in with a stack of books.

"Here," she said proudly. "I noticed that you really liked this series quite a bit, so I decided to buy the next few volumes for you!"

Hilda couldn't help but stare at Misaki in surprise. "You… did this for me?" she asked, her voice betraying her shock.

"Of course!" Misaki responded. "Seeing as you're my sister-in-law, I decided to be the best sister-in-law I possibly could be!" She smiled as she set the books down. "Also, you must be seriously bored, just laying there and recovering from your injury. This'll help make the process faster."

For some reason, Hilda felt her cheeks grow warm upon hearing Misaki's reasoning for buying these books. It touched her to hear that Misaki had done this just for her. Her visible eye softened slightly as her lips curled into a kind smile. "Thank you, Misaki-san," she thanked her warmly before taking the second volume to start reading. It was one of those rare moments when she showed her hidden warmth to someone who wasn't her Young Master.

Misaki was very surprised to see the smile appear on Hilda's face. Since the day that Hilda had moved in, she had rarely smiled or acted kind towards anyone other than Beel-chan, and while she had her less strict and tense moments with her and Tatsumi's mother, it was still very rare. However, it was very pretty to look at. The way she looked down as a slight blush stained her cheeks, before that small, yet warm smile crossed her face was quite cute, actually.

It felt good to see Hilda smiling right now, especially considering how she had been attacked almost two nights ago. Misaki didn't know much about what happened specifically, only that Hilda had been wounded pretty badly and needed a week to recover. It seemed like since the attack, Hilda had been very tense and cautious, and was always checking her phone, or whatever it was, for something. When she asked her once, Hilda had only responded by saying that she was making sure Lamia, the pink-haired girl who nearly strangled Tatsumi while tending his wounds, was okay.

"Tell me, Hilda-chan," Misaki started, causing Hilda to look up from her book. "Sorry to interrupt, but what is it that you like about those romance novels? I know that they are a tie-in with your favourite drama, but why do you like it?"

Hilda thought for a moment. "Well…" A tiny smile appeared on her face. "I have never seen anything like it before. The story is just so well captured and so entertaining, and I can't help but yearn to find out what happens next."

"Ehh? You mean you don't have dramas in Macau?" Misaki asked, surprised.

"Do you like dramas?" Hilda asked.

Misaki shook her head. "Eh, not really, actually," she admitted. "I'm not really a fan of dramas. If I do watch them, it's when I'm bored and there's nothing on TV."

Hilda put the book down, deciding that she wanted to talk with Misaki a little more. She really was such an interesting person, and she couldn't help but want to know more about her. Before she could say anything, Misaki asked a question.

"Say, Hilda-chan, do you like it here?" she asked.

Hilda was somewhat taken aback by the question. "What… Why are you asking me this?" she asked.

Misaki shrugged. "Well, I'm just curious," she said. "You've been here for quite some time now, right? I just want to know if you like it here."

The demon thought about the question. It was true, she had been in the Human World for a while now, and had even grown accustomed to life in the Human World. Hilda thought about her life from the day she had moved in with Oga.

From the day she moved in, it seemed like her life had become a lot more… colourful. When she was in the Demon World, her days consisted of being by her Young Master's side, attending to him regularly and making sure he was happy. She had been used to having a stern, stoic, smileless expression on her face everyday, making sure she was the loyal, dutiful wet nurse of Kaiser de Emperana Beelzebub IV. All her own needs were secondary, as her master's needs always came first. When her Young Master had taken a liking to Oga, Hilda was bewildered, to be honest, and she had not been looking forward to living in the Human World.

However, when she had moved in, her life had changed quite a bit. Her days were quite unpredictable, as she met a variety of new people with various characters. Here, Hilda had felt the warmth and comfort of being a member of a family, even if it wasn't her own. Here, Hilda had found hobbies and interests, as well as things that she didn't like. Here, Hilda got along with various humans and found a worthy human opponent, Kunieda Aoi. And here, Hilda learned how to find time for herself only, and she slowly began to open up and break down the barriers surrounding her heart. Ultimately, Hilda had become less guarded and more open. At that last point, Misaki's face came into her mind, much to her surprise.

She didn't know why Misaki's face suddenly appeared. However, it didn't matter. Hilda finally had her answer.

A small smile crossed her face. "I like it," she said softly. "I really like it here."

Misaki turned to Hilda. "Really?"

Hilda smiled at her. "Yes." She looked down. "I think it wouldn't be so bad if I stayed here a little longer."

At that, Misaki smiled at her. "That's great. I'm glad you like it here."

The two of them continued to make small talk as the TV continued playing the drama in the background. Time passed by quickly, and before they realized, it was already getting late. "Ah, it's late," Misaki noted as she stood up. "Well, I have to go to sleep, since I have college tomorrow. And I don't want to delay your recovery. Need help getting to the bathroom?"

Hilda shook her head. "No, I'm okay," she said, slowly getting up from the bed. She winced as a sharp pain struck her side as she stood up.

"You sure?" Suddenly, Hilda felt Misaki's arm wrapping around her shoulders as she helped her make her way to the bathroom for a bath. Though she was surprised, Hilda didn't protest.

The entire time that Hilda took her bath, Misaki stood outside the bathroom, in case Hilda needed any help with anything. When Hilda was done getting ready to sleep, Misaki helped her back to her room and made sure she was okay before leaving. As she pulled the blankets over her, Hilda couldn't help but smile. Misaki really made this boring period of recovery worth it.

Even if she couldn't do much right now, so long as Misaki was here, everything was alright. In fact, she almost didn't want to recover immediately. But as that thought crossed her mind, Hilda crushed it. What am I thinking? She thought. I am a wet nurse. I cannot get distracted so easily.

But even then, Hilda admitted, it would be nice. And to be honest… it really wouldn't be so bad. I think I need to spend some time with Misaki a little more… I have to find a way to thank her. she thought as she drifted off into sleep.

I hope you all enjoyed :) Let me know how I did!

Also, on another note, I've been working on a third story in the 'Konketsu no Shoujo' series. This time, it'll be more of a horror story and will focus on themes of vengeance and ghosts. I want to try and get it out by the Christmas holidays, so please be patient! Also, I will do my best to continue 'Furuichi the Lieutenant', once I'm able to find enough time.

Have a good one, everyone!