A/n Apologies for the late update. Future updates will be even later if Real Life has anything to say about it. Don't hold your breath.

Title: Sticks and stones may break my bones
Universe: Beelzebub
Theme/Topic: 88) Pain
Rating: K+ for language
Character/Pairing/s: Oga, Hilda, Misaki, Furuichi and Beel
Spoilers/Warnings:None
Summary: Everyone an their uncle know that Tatsumi Oga is immune to pain.
Notes: Not my best work. meh.

Tatsumi Oga is badassery personified, with some allowances made for sheer stupidity of course.

Regular beatings, both given and received have toughened him up like nothing else and it is a general consensus among fellow students of Ishiyama High that he is all but immune to pain. They say he eats nails for breakfast and crushes boulders with his teeth. They say he can take on a hundred men blindfolded and hands tied behind his back. They say he can win any argument with his wife. Senpai and Kouhai worship the ground he treads on (when they are not challenging him to reckless duels of honour that is). All in all, the Ogre of Ishiyama is both revered and feared.

Hilda scoffs at this. Any immunity to pain is a result of an intimate acquaintance with her Young Master and all that such an association entails. After all, it would be hardly seemly if the Parent of the Demon Lord died of a little electrocution. Underneath the Cool image, her co-parent is really a whiny brat.

Misaki is inclined to agree with her blonde 'sister-in-law'. She gleefully tells anyone who is willing to listen what a big baby her little brother is. And when they raise their collective brows, she produces the photographic evidence of Tatsumi, aged 15 screaming as she practices eyebrow plucking on him.

Furuichi shudders as the mystery of why his best friend had shown up to school with pencilled-on eyebrows for two weeks in middle school is finally cleared but clears his throat, a small part of him feeling obligated to defend his best friend in face of such terrifying foes. "He fought Kanzaki. And Himekawa's minions. And Toujou."

"Mere humans." Hilda points out. "His enhanced abilities are no match for them."

"He rescued you from Jabberwock." He says.

Hilda scoffs but cannot meet his eyes as she replies. "I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

And while Furuichi would like to point out that she was half-dead and amnesiac when Oga pulled her down from the stake he is rudely interrupted by Misaki who has little patience for the supernatural, especially when it occurs under her own nose. "Tatsumi is a big baby" she snarls daring the silver-haired pervert to contradict her.

Furuichi doesn't cower. Doesn't.

The tension in the air is broken by the subject in question as he wanders in to the room where his surrogate son is happily playing with a set of Lego meant to be owned by children thrice his age and four times as big. The toy expressly states that it is only for children above three but such rules are for wimps and the Oga family has always been a little badass like that.

"Dabuh!" the green-haired boy invites the adults in the room to admire his latest and so far greatest creation and Tatsumi wanders over to where Hilda and the rest are making appropriate noises of admiration.

"I still think he is immune to pain" Furuichi belligerently whispers to no one in particular under the cover of Misaki's gushings at her nephew's cleverness. It may be termed as hero worship at this point but his best friend has saved his ass on enough number of occasions for it to be excused.

Hilda who hears it says nothing but Oga who doesn't, howls. He has stepped on a Lego.