The show isn't over yet folks! For a second or two, I almost gave up on this...needless to say, I got my rhythm back! Instead of coming up with a useless explanation for my absence, I'll just let you guys enjoy the new chapter, I've keep you waiting more than enough anyways!

10:

Recovery and Desertion

(Oga)

"….Thou hast lost...even with all that power before thee. How pathetic."

My eyes snapped open. I couldn't see jack-shit at first. Huh, last I remember, I was on the ground….and, and the son of a bitch who kicked my ass, I remember him walking away. That dumbass Furuichi was screaming….

And baby Beel…was crying…

I panicked, noticing he wasn't even remotely close. I waited for me to be fried to death somehow. The shock never came.

I blinked, looking at my hands as if seeing them for the first time. "I'm…I'm alive?" A wave of relief washed over me as I felt my bruised face. I was alive, probably looking like shit, but I was alive.

"Has the power of the Royal family been reduced to such a pitiful state? Or….have The Great Demon King's servants handed this power to a fool?"

I frowned, "Oi! Who the hell do you think you are, calling me a fool like that?! And…and where the hell am I anyways?"

"Who I am and where you are is of the least importance. What is important, is the road that lies before thee…"

I growled, still trying to find who the hell was talking to me, "Start making sense damn it! None of this cryptic shit!"

"Very well. I've come to you with a warning, human…"

For some reason, my anger faded, I stopped looking, and just listened.

"There are forces conspiring against thee, forces of unimaginable power….they hunt thee, and the soon-to-be Demon King."

"That's it?" I laughed, dusting myself off and getting to my feet, "I say, bring it on! Beel and I can take on anything they throw at us!"

"Naïve fool. If thou cannot defeat a mere human by thy own power, how does thou expect to stand against Hell's own?"

"I'll find a way damn it, besides, that last fight was a lucky win."

"Be that as it may, continue to ignore the power that has been bestowed upon thou, and thou will lead thyself to death!"

My eyes widened, "Fuck that! No way am I ever turning into one of you!"

"I did not state for thou to become a demon, I simply stated for thou to use that which is given to thee properly….Although, sooner or later, that body will grow obsolete, restraining thee from your full potential…"

I crossed my arms, "Hmph, whatever, as soon as this whole mess is over, I'm passing the kid to somebody else."

"Does thou truly believe it will simply end after that?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask.

"…There is a way to make you stronger still….yes….seek out the human Saotome….he is branded with the Fly King's Seal like thyself…"

I blinked, "wait….you mean, they're other contractors beside me?"

"Of course, fool. Were thou more skilled in using thy gifts, thou would have sensed them among you days ago."

I frowned, sighing, "So this Saotome, he'll train me then?"

"If thou is worthy."

"Ok, and how the hell does somebody become 'worthy' to get trained by this asshole?"

"Thou should not insult him…considering the strong bond he has with the Royal Family…Saotome is one, if not the strongest, Spellmaster there is."

"Really?" I grinned, "Alright fine, I'll look for this old man then, see if I could pick up a thing or two. Ha, these guys outta be a cakewalk after this!"

"Do not celebrate yet human, until thou leaves behind the fear that grasps thee, thou is filth to them…..It is time I take my leave, for now; farewell Tatsumi Oga…."

"Oi! Wait! How do you-"

….

(Hilda)

"Slave, what are you doing?" I demanded, glaring at the human that blocked the doorway. "Well, answer me peasant."

"Hilda-san!" he looked back at me in surprise, "I-I can explain! See, there's-"

"Move it!"

I let out a small smile, she never disappoints, "Ah, Lamia, just in time." The girl let out a small squeal, shoving the human aside and hugging my waist, catching me by surprise. After a few seconds, I returned the hug.

"I missed you soooo much Hilda-nee-sama!" she said, practically jumping from excitement. She cleared her throat, "Of course, I might have been here earlier if this idiot had let me explain." She glared at the Slave menacingly, "who is this idiot anyway?"

Before he could speak, I answered for him, "He is a slave of sorts to the young master's human contractor. I apologize on his behalf, and assure you, this will not happen again. Isn't that right, slave?"

"A slave? Well, now it makes sense!"

He stood there, mouth opening and closing rapidly, "Wait, wait, wait," he held up his hands, sitting on one of Oga's chairs, "let me take this in one thing at a time…I have been here, for about three hours, and now you decide to show up?"

I nodded, "Indeed, I had gone back to the Demon World in search of a medic. It was tiring, but at long last I've finally found one."

"And where the hell is this medic?!" he demanded, practically ripping out his silver locks, "Oga might already be dead for all-OW! WHAT THE-"

I saw the child huff angrily, sharply kicking the human's knee cap. "Again," she growled, glaring at the now yelping weakling with her arms crossed, "if you would've listened to what I was trying to tell you, you might've realized that I am said medic!"

The slave glared at her, gawking with wide eyes before breaking out into hysterical laughter. "I'm sorry-I just-I-I-You-you wanna run that-" he managed to choke out between his laughter, further agitating the young Lamia.

"Truth be told, I'm actually an assistant, but seeing as the doctor has urgent business back home, I came in his place."

"Really?" I ask, actually surprised by her answer, "last I checked, Dr. Rachmaninoff had no appointments to tend to."

"It was kind of a last minute thing," she replied with a nervous laugh, "he sends his apologies to the young master and yourself." With that out of the way, the child cleared her throat, shoving the silver haired human aside and proceeding to the bedside.

She stared at the comatose idiot for quite some time, occasionally scribbling notes down. "Well, it's like I originally imagined."

"Wh-what's wrong with him then?" the human beside me asked in a timed voice. I simply rolled my eyes, this buffoon could very well be overreacting.

"For starters he reeks of peasant! Honestly, couldn't master Beelzebub chose anyone else?!" She glared back at us, her face suddenly turning chalk white. "I-I don't mean to insult master Beelzebub's preferences, it's just that…."

"We understand Lamia," I soothed the startled child, "I happen to wholeheartedly agree with your opinion on this man. Personal opinions aside, what is medically wrong with this idiot?"

"Hmm…well, to put it in simple terms, he was beat to the brink of his life, literally. I have no idea what kind of demon attacked him, but it sure left an impression."

I frowned, it couldn't be. If a demon was in the area, in especially a demon of that high a caliber, Raejin or I would've sensed it arriving ahead of time. I held my head, suddenly feeling lightheaded for the second time today.

"It wasn't a demon." Both Lamia and I turned to face Oga's slave, his face to the ground and his voice was trembling with a hint of fear.

"What are you saying?" I demanded, crossing my arms, he couldn't mean that….

"It wasn't a demon," he repeated, gulping as if he were swallowing stones, "the guy that did this to Oga, was human."

Preposterous!

"Are you sure," I asked, not attempting to hide my surprise, "demons come in all shapes and sizes, you could have easily been confused."

He shook his head sadly "I'm sure…"

"Aha! I knew it! I knew this human would be worthless the second I laid eyes on him!" I had to restrain the young one from going over and striking the almost-died human.

"Easy Lamia," I managed to breath out, "these humans are not to be underestimated. I've seen it first hand, they can be deadly." That seemed to calm her down, at least for now. "Besides, let's not rule out the fact that this human he speaks of may be a Spellmaster."

"I-I suppose you're right Hilda-Nee-sama…" she muttered quietly.

"I still don't understand why that damned idiot never called upon the master's aid…" I muttered aloud, "this should not have happened."

"Hilda-san," the human breathed, "baby Beel, he couldn't help him even if Oga let him."

"What are you saying, of course he could! How dare you, there's nothing the master can't do!"

"Hilda-san, he's not getting better, in fact, he looked worse than when he was in the house."

Lamia let out a startled cry, gripping my hand. I breathed, feeling as though my heart would burst through my chest at any moment. "Where is he now?" I gasped, fearing the worst.

The human gestured towards a lump next to his friend. "He hasn't left his side since the fight." So saying, he walked over towards it, "It's ok Beel, Hilda brought someone here that's ganna make you and Oga feel better, kay?"

He gently pulled off the covers, and let out a scream.

"H-he's not here! BABY BEEL'S GONE!"

….

(Raejin)

Grr….When in the nine Hells did this headache get this bad? Sighing, I rose off the ground with reluctance.

"We don't have much time…they're almost here…" I growled, cursing myself for being so useless. I glare back at Oga's household, if he's in as bad a shape as I think he is, then our last line of defense is Hilda, and even she can do so much against what we're about to face.

The streets were already dark, and next to no one was wandering them. I leaped downward, quickly regretting it as I almost lost my balance. I caught myself, watching as my sweat dropped towards the concrete. Damn those bastards….

Ishiyama literally felt like a ghost town. Not that it mattered, it was the dead of night after all. Stupid headache, guess it wouldn't hurt to walk around a bit. I stumbled as I walked further away, falling to the ground as my head felt it was ready to split.

I snapped my head up, hearing laughter echoing across the dead street. "Whose there?" I coughed out weakly, trying in vain to search for the source.

"Whose there?" I heard it parrot with a quick laugh, "Nobody in particular…"

I spun around, glaring at the human standing before me. I frowned, getting to my feet and quickly wiping my brow. He was tall, somewhat dark skinned, his long hair held by a bandana. The smell of alcohol and cigars were fresh on him. If I didn't know any better, I'd assume him to be a regular bystander. Something told me otherwise.

I suddenly had the urge to flee, yet at the same time, I wanted to bash his face in. I growled in the end, looking him over once more. "Who are you old man, and why the hell do you seem so…familiar?"

He coughed before answering, knowing fully well that I was weak and defenseless right now. "Come on now," he scoffed, "I'm not that old am I?" he looked like he wanted me to answer that, but got the message that I wouldn't, "and anyways, the same could be said for you, demon."

I laughed, it came out more like a croak than anything else. "Well, someone's been doin' some digging." I replied sarcastically, "However did you see through my disguise?" He blinked and glared at me for the longest time, probably thinking I was stupid. "Oi, didn't your mother teach you it's rude to stare?"

"And not just any demon either, you've got ties with the Royal Family, which would make you…Ha! So that bastard did have a brat running around…interesting."

"What gave it away," I demanded, "I'm not exactly distinguishable with this crap on."

"You've got your old man's eyes," he replied simply, stepping closer, "and his mouth." He stopped, inches from where I stood before backing off. "Demon fever eh? Hope it's not passible towards humans…I'm assuming the King's son is sick too?"

"Oi, how-"

"Did I know the next demon king was here? Well, there's the fact that you're here, we don't get many demons here; secondly, judging by the fever you've got, Hell's forces are at our doorstep, and thirdly, one of my students happen to catch the little tyke, along with his contracter. In other words, a blind man could see that."

I suddenly felt like a dumbass, "…right…" I muttered quietly.

His face suddenly darkened, "How bad?" he asked.

"Eh, excuse me?"

"How bad is the kid's fever?"

"…..Royal Fever…."

"You're shitting me. At that age?"

"Does it sound like I'm shitting you? He hasn't had experiences with hostile demons yet."

The human spat, taking out a pack of cigars and lighting one in his mouth. "Ok, ok, we still got a fighting chance," he turned to me, "please tell me you've inherited some of your old man's fighting skills, we're ganna need it."

With exaggerated enthusiasm, I replied, "Gee, I'd love to help you guys, but seeing as I'm restrained like a dog on a leash, I kinda can't." My head started to pound again, but I ignored it as best as I could.

"Walk with me kid," he called over, shoving his hands in his pockets, "we're running low on time as it is."

"Oi, you haven't answered my question, who the hell are ya, and how do you know so much about demons?"

He turned to look at me, a cocky smirk on his face, "Saotome. Zenjuro Saotome."

Well, shit, that explains a lot.

…..

(Oga)

"HANG ON A MINUTE DAMN IT!"

What the-I'm…I'm in my own room again. I glared down at my bandaged hands, suddenly feeling like I got hit by a truck in my sleep. I pushed the covers off, glaring at all the bandages wrapped around my body. Man, I knew it was ganna be bad, just not this bad.

I growled, "I can't move with these damn things!" I started tearing one off my ribs, holding back a scream.

"They're there for you not to move you dumbass!"

I blinked. Ok, I might be an idiot, but even I knew that was not dumbassichi's voice just now. "Oi! Who said that just now?" I demanded, "Ya got some nerve, breaking into my house while I'm venerable! Come on show yourself!"

"Down here you idiot!"

I cast my glair downward and….ok, lemme just say that shit just went from plain weird to downright fucked up like that.

"Oga, thank god you're awake!" My head snapped towards the sound of Bakaichi's voice. He looked like he'd been close to having a panic attack (on second thought, he probably did have one knowing him). Hilda just looked….wait a minute, does she-does she actually looked worried about something?

"Hilda, Furuichi….whose the brat with the pink hair?" The words came out by themselves, I swear! They forced their way outta my mouth all of a sudden! I felt the sting on my already bruised check come before I even had time to blink.

"Wha-what was that-"

"For your information, this 'brat' just saved you from dying." I blinked, glaring at the pink haired girl at my bedside. "You're welcome, jerk." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"You-you did this?" I ask, glaring at Hilda and Furuichi, then at the kid in front of me. "How?"

She looked like I just slapped her back or something. "Helllloooo, I am a doctor ya know!"

"Nurse…" I heard Furuichi mutter under his breath. Come to think of it, I barely noticed the white coat and the….err, I'm assuming the thing on her head was a cap or hat.

"Whatever!" she growled, her green eyes blazing with anger.

"Oga, I know you're not 100% healed yet, but we kinda got a problem…"

I glared at my idiot friend, "What kind of problem?"

"The master is missing," the maid cut in, glaring at me like she wanted to gut me.

I blinked, sitting up a bit more. "What?"

"You heard me you idiot," she crossed her arms, "because of your recklessness, the young master has disappeared."

I glared at her, my peanut sized brain trying to make sense of all this, and the fact that I was still living for some reason. I received another slap from the brat with pink hair. "You are the worst!" she yelled in my face, damn, and I thought Beel was loud! "This is-this is-how can you be so STUPID?! Why would Beelze-sama choose someone so weak, so-so USELESS?!" she stopped wailing on me, trying to wipe the hot tears rolling down her face. "B-B-BEELZE-SAMA!"

The girl was now full blown crying.

I looked at the two standing at the doorway, and sighed. Furuichi just looked, shocked, then again, it wasn't surprising at all. Hilda looked….I don't even know what to say. I can't believe I'm actually seeing this woman practically break down and join the girl.

Then I felt it. It's what normal people would call despair. I might be a lot of things, but I'm not a complete fucking bastard that's ganna just sit back and leave a defenseless child alone, Demon King or not.

And yes, if you can believe it….the kid's grown on me, maybe just a little.

"Don't cry girl," I told her, patting her head lightly. The pain all over my body didn't seem so bad anymore.

"L-Lamia…"

"Hmm?" what was it she just said…Lama?

"That's my name you idiot! Lamia!" she yelled. She was starting to break down again.

"Don't cry Lamia," I grunted as I forced myself up, probably opening a couple of my injuries. Its ganna hurt like a son of a bitch, but I'll live. I turned towards Lamia, she was staring at me the way baby Beel did. I gave her a thumbs up and flashed her the least threatening smile I could offer. "I'll get Beel back, I promise. I won't abandon him like this."

Her reaction wasn't what I expected at all…

"What are you doing still standing there?!" she demanded, no longer crying as much and forcing a smile, "Get out there and find Beelze-Sama you…you…BAKA!"

"Oga…." Furuichi laughed, even though he looked ready to start panicking again "you're hurt…you can't seriously think you're going to-"

"Furuichi you idiot! Are you mocking me?! These wounds are nothing to a man like myself!" They sure hurt like shit though….."Just you wait, I'm ganna find Beel, and the bastard that did this, even if I gotta drag myself to get to him!"

"Hmph," Hilda crossed her arms, obviously doubting my skills like she always does, "And what, may I ask, will you do once you find this man?"

I smirked, "Isn't it obvious, I'm ganna beat the shit outta him!"

Oh just you wait Toujou, if you think this would keep me down, you're in for a shitty surprise. And after that, even if it takes me weeks, I'm ganna find that old man, and make him train me no matter what!

But first, I'm bringing the brat home.

…

(?)

"Sheesh, and here I thought your last job was bad…."

"Shut up Shoji, you wanna help me out or not?"

I sighed, "Sure Toujou-san, why not?"

"Then hurry it up!" he snapped, "I promised the old man I'd have this place cleared by morning for double the pay!"

I shook my head, opening up another plastic bag. "Wonder how long it'll be till you screw up this job and-"

"Shoji….shut your mouth…."

"Why-what's up?"

"I hear something….maybe a stray dog or cat…."

"…."

He started to look around, dropping his trash bags. Yeah, double the pay right? "That's where you're hiding huh?!"

It's….it's…

"That's a b-baby?" Yeah….I'm seeing right….a green haired, sick looking, naked baby hiding in a trash bin. "This isn't good, Toujou-san what should we-"

"Good! Good! C'mere little guy, I'm not ganna hurt ya!"

"Wha-what are you doing?! He's not an animal ya know! He's a human being and-And he just latched himself on to you…just like that…."

"Shoji I'm….totally ganna keep him."

"A-A-No! NO! NO! HAVE YOU LOST IT?! YOU CAN'T JUST 'KEEP' A CHILD LIKE THAT…CAN YOU?! I MEAN, IT'S-IT'S JUST TOO DAMN WEIRD!"

Aw who am I kidding, nothing I say will make sense to this idiot…hopefully, this kid is an orphan.