Warning: uh... feelings? and OOCness. hopefully not too much.
Disclaimer: in the past, present, or future, Beelzebub will never be mine.
A/N: aah we're nearing the ending. even I'm sad now. but it certainly would be better than to leave all of ya hangin', eh?
thank you all for your suggestions, and this is what I come up with! for those expecting amnesia, sorry... that would drag this story out far longer than it already has (with the irresponsible updates)! I love the idea of Amnesia!Furuichi, but the poor guy has had enough already. Maybe one day... oh heck, don't get your hopes up, 'kay?
So, on to the story!
Reminder: italics are thoughts.
They spent the whole time in utter silence. Oga walked at the front, simply following his instinct on getting home. Kunieda and Tojou followed him, unsure of what to do but felt the need to watch over Oga when he dazed out this much. Himekawa and Kanzaki had left earlier to prepare their own revenge while Nene had also left early to attend some Red Tails business.
When they arrived at Oga's house, it was Misaki who had opened the door.
"Tatsumi? Eh, wait—," Oga ignored her and walked through. Misaki found it strange, but she quickly disregarded it when she saw Kunieda.
"Ah, Aoi, right?" she smiled, "come on in. You, too, big guy," Misaki referred to Tojou, he gave her a small smile but made no attempt to move.
"Misaki-san," Kunieda was a little nervous, she couldn't simply ignore the fact that she was the Red Tails Founder and she became flustered, "we, uh…"
"We're just taking him home, we'll leave now," Tojou said instead of Kunieda, refusing the invitation.
"Why don't you come inside? Tatsumi looked really strange, so you need to tell me of what happened," Misaki was a sharp woman, and although she barely thought much of her baby brother, she understood him, nonetheless. "Wait, where's Takachin? I thought Tatsumi was looking for him?" Misaki was honestly puzzled, did he have a fight with Takachin? That could explain his strange behavior.
Tojou and Kunieda looked at each other, unsure of what to tell. But Misaki pressed (intimidated) them to talk, and what she wanted, she got. It was Kunieda then who told her the whole story, along with Furuichi's condition while Tojou sat there motionlessly. Hilda was in the kitchen when they talked and had heard all of the horrifying details. While Misaki was still tending to the guests, Hilda quickly and quietly went to Oga's room.
Oga was sprawled down on his stomach, face buried in the pillow. "Beel-sama, come on, let's give him some space," Hilda grabbed Baby Beel from Oga's side, looking at the unmoving guy sympathetically.
"Dabuh…" Beel wanted to stay with his broken father, but he also knew that he needed to leave his father alone, so he agreed to go into Hilda's arm, looking at him worriedly.
Before leaving, Hilda stopped in front of the door. She mumbled out "I'm sorry", knowing he was awake and heard her small comfort. She then left the room with the quiet Beel.
After Kunieda and Tojou left, Misaki went to Oga's room. She stood in front of the door for a while before finally decided to go in. She was there for Oga as he broke down.
"Tatsumi," she called,
"Go away," he mumbled against the pillow. He was exhausted and didn't really want to deal with his sister.
Misaki was quiet for a second but continued. "Tatsumi… it's okay, it's all right," as she sat on the bed, her hand stroked her brother's trembling back.
"Go away, please," it was bizarre to hear her brother said the word 'please'. But even so, she wasn't budging.
"No, you're not going through this alone. This might not be the first time Furuichi was hurt, but this one is definitely the most horrible, so I'm not going to let you guilt-tripping yourself." Misaki's voice wavered a little, but she quickly controlled it and tried to convince herself as well as her brother, "It's going to be okay, everything will be all right, as usual."
"No, it won't…" Oga replied, his voice was hoarse from overuse. He turned his head and saw his sister's eyes, "it's not okay, and nothing's all right." His guards were all down as his gaze shifted. He couldn't pretend that everything was okay.
Misaki saw the tear-streaked face and didn't know what to do. She had never been a loving sister to Oga nor seen his unguarded emotions, and she was at a loss on what to say or what to do when she's also feeling distress like this. She had acknowledged Furuichi like her own brother and loved him like she loved Oga.
"Just… let it all out," Misaki simply said. The one who needed motivation right now was her brother. She needed to be strong for him.
His voice was barely above whispers, "I… failed… I failed…to protect him. I failed to be there for him. I failed to help him. I wasn't there for him when he could possibly be begging for his life… and it was all because of me. There is only one rule; I get him in troubles, I get him out of troubles. I've put him in constant danger and I know that but still, I had left him. If only… if only…" Oga murmured in a scratchy voice. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. His pillow had a lingering smell of Furuichi's shampoo from the countless sleepovers they've had. Furuichi's comic books were scattered around his room, and there was even his favorite sweater, hanging on Oga's closet because Furuichi had left some of his clothes in case he needed to stay the night. His room is a constant reminder that his life revolved around Furuichi, his best friend, the only one who stayed with him even through the mud. "I should've just left him alone…"
Misaki felt the weight of those words. She understood everything because she knew the kind of person Oga was, as well as Furuichi was. "This is the only time I'm going to treat you as my little brother, don't ever mention this again." She started with a threat, a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. "Listen, I know Takachin will come through. He is Taka, the manliest man I've ever met. He's the bravest man I've known. He is the one who stands and stays beside you. He is your friend. Do you really believe he'll blame you? Don't insult him, Tatsumi. He'll keep on standing beside you, even if you're going to tell him 'don't'. He is just that strong."
Misaki smiled at Oga, she suddenly remembered Furuichi's terrified face when he tagged along in that party with Donbura High, and yet Furuichi said 'yes' enthusiastically when she had asked him to be Oga's friend. She patted Oga's head once before slowly patting his back again, "He's a good guy. In all the time that we've known him, we both know how loyal and how understanding he is. You can't be like this, Tatsumi, not when Takachin is fighting for his life. Listen to him well, and asks his forgiveness even though we both know he'll brush it aside because he believes it's not your fault. Just… be there for him. From what I heard, I'm not sure he has enough strength to overcome this incident alone." Kunieda's words were ringing in her ear, 'and there was this video… they say it contained a video of Furuichi almost got sexually assaulted.'
Misaki can't curse badly enough for the guy who dared did that. "Don't you dare pull away from him, Tatsumi, don't you dare. If you do that, he'll be broken, and I won't forgive you."
Misaki's speech was a real wake-up call. He knew he shouldn't be weeping like this, he was Oga 'Child Rearing Demon' Tatsumi—for god's sake—one of the most dangerous delinquent in the city. He messed up, and as much as he wanted to wallow in despair, he needed to make amends. What she said was all true, and he never, not for one moment, did he dared to pull away from Furuichi. He wanted to atone for everything, he was going to be there for Furuichi, and he won't ever leave him, ever again. He needed his best friend. He needed his partner, the real one who could ground him to the core. He needed Furuichi Takayuki.
His eyes focused, the look of determination on Oga's face made Misaki smiled. She then slapped his back as hard as she can, making him yelped. "Go get him!" she grinned.
Oga glared at her threateningly before giving her a small nod, a small sign of gratitude. He then dashed outside, grabbing Beel from Hilda's hand who stood in front of the door, shamelessly eavesdropping. She gave him a small smirk as she saw him run outside the house with an excited Beel on his shoulder.
"Nice speech," Hilda praised,
"It's all true. Sometimes I wish Tatsumi could take examples from Takachin, but oh well," Misaki just shrugged her shoulders, feeling satisfied. "Should we visit Takachin tomorrow together, Hilda-chan?" and Hilda was sure that Misaki loved Furuichi just as much as she loved her brother and how much it actually hurt her to hear that Furuichi was attacked when she saw Misaki's sad smile.
Hilda realized that the person she deemed useless before was of a great importance for the Oga's siblings. She might not have thought much for Oga's sidekick, but Furuichi had shown his own charisma and wit several times. Baby Beel even had some kind of attachment to the white-haired boy. She wondered what kind of relationship Oga and Misaki have with the honor student—long before she intruded on their lives—to prompt their strong emotional dismay.
Hilda stopped her musing and simply answered "yeah."
-0-
He walked on the empty hallway with much ease compared to when the first time he came here. Oga went inside the room, noticing there was nothing out of the ordinary, well, except for the small dents here and there, and the cracks on the wall. He walked closer to the bed, unsure of what to feel when he saw that Furuichi hadn't awakened. The doctor had told him that it was natural for Furuichi to be unconscious for twenty-four hours, considering the arduous surgery that he went through, he needed to rest for as long and as much as he could. There was nothing Oga could do, so he grabbed the chair and sat it on the left side of the bed, carefully holding the bruised hand. He left out a small snigger, realizing that this was so out of character of him. If Furuichi had been awake, he'd definitely felt weirded out because of this.
"And here I am, holding your hand—feeling guilty and all. If you wake up now, I'll slap your hand away, huh," Oga said to the silent boy. Looking at his expression, Oga doubted Furuichi will wake up now, so he kept his tight hold on the hand.
"When you fought me with all your might using Behemoth's power, I was terrified you're really going to die. I realized at that time, that I really need to take a better care of you. You were hurt because of my ignorance, and I promise to myself to make up for it. And yet…," Oga stopped his words, he didn't need to continue it. The proof of his negligence was right in front of him.
Oga shut his mouth. He tightened his hold—a new promise made, and waited for his best friend to open his eyes, with a quiet Baby Beel on his side.
-0-
There were a lot of people coming to visit the injured boy. In the morning, after Furuichi's parents and Honoka left, Miki came alone. After some time, feeling a little bit awkward in the room, he then left early. Not long after that, Misaki, Hilda, Alaindelon, and Lamia came together. Oga ignored his sister, but he noticed her shaking as she stood there on Furuichi's bedside. Hilda was silently holding baby Beel the whole time she was in the room. Lamia and Alaindelon cried uncontrollably and refused to leave, at first. But after Beel patted her on the head and said something ('dah, dabuh, dah, dah!') Lamia finally left with Misaki and Hilda who dragged Alaindelon out of the room.
In the afternoon, Red Tails members, along with Shiroyama and Natsume, came together with Kanzaki and Kunieda. Shiroyama expressed his sympathy, feeling a bit raged inside, and promised to keep tabs on the perpetrators who lay restlessly on a hospital. Natsume was quietly observing Furuichi, and then said a simple 'sorry' before he left the room. Shiroyama then followed him. The Red Tails members also expressed their sympathy before Nene and the others finally left the room to Kunieda, Kanzaki, and Oga.
The rest of the Tohoshinki then came. Tojou brought a flower he got from the store in front of his part-time job, and Himekawa informed them that he had checked the place where those delinquents had held Furuichi. He also told them information about the thugs names as well as their addresses, in case they sneak away from the hospital. He then gave Furuichi's phone back to Oga, and left with Kanzaki, saying they had better things to do.
Not long after Kanzaki and Himekawa left, Furuichi started moving. Oga quickly went to his bedside as the others also crowding around the bed.
Slowly and quietly, Furuichi opened his eyes. He groaned as the light hit him, but he forced them to open, and as soon as his eyes adjusted, he saw Oga's face.
"Oga…?" his hoarse voice called, and then he looked around and found the others, "Sen-pai…?"
"Here, Furuichi, drink first," Kunieda gave a glass of water Furuichi, careful not to spill anything. "Better?"
"Thanks, Kunieda-senpai," Furuichi flashed a small smile. "Wha… How did I get here?" Furuichi's brain felt a little fuzzy, and he didn't quite like it.
"A passerby found you and called you an ambulance," Kunieda answered, there was a sad smile on her face. She peeked a look at Oga, who hadn't said anything. His face was blank, and it kind of horrified Kunieda.
"Aah, yeah… I remember it now," Furuichi sighed and closed his eyes. The memories of the previous days relieved behind his eyelids. He was glad that that nightmare was over, even though he didn't come out unscathed.
"You scared us, ya know?" Tojou's voice brought Furuichi back to the reality.
"Sorry…," He looked at the part-time worker, smiling at the sentiment. Tojou opened his mouth, about to say something more, but no words came out. He just sent an apologetic smile towards the younger boy.
"Hey, it's not your fault, okay? I'm sorry, too, that we didn't search for you immediately," Kunieda looked forlorn, she felt bad for not noticing things sooner.
"What am I, five? Senpai, I'm not your responsibility." Furuichi let out a small chuckle. "I missed the meeting, too, so you really shouldn't fault yourself. By the way, how are you?" Furuichi asked, remembering that Kunieda got hurt before the appointed meeting.
"I'm fine, Furuichi. You should think more about yourself for now. Besides, we can't have the meeting without the brain, right?" Kunieda sent him a small smile, one that reached her eyes.
"Aaw, Senpai! Your modesty is so cute!" Furuichi was so happy that the Queen was thinking about him. He really felt that Kunieda had tried to be more understanding since the time he hugged her before, so he relished the thought that he was appreciated, cared, and acknowledged by her.
"Furuichi…," Kunieda warned him, she glared at the sick boy non-threateningly, but with a stern expression. They then laughed together while Tojou simply smiled.
They continued to chit chat for a minute before a doctor and a nurse came to check in on Furuichi. The doctor checked on his motor skills and told Furuichi that he was mostly fine. His slashes' wounds would leave scars, and his broken arm will be in cast for about four to six weeks but his ribcages needed to heal on its own, so the doctor could only prescribe some painkillers for them. Furuichi also needed to stay in the hospital for three to five days for further check-ups of his surgery. All in all, he was lucky that none of his broken ribs punctured any organ. The doctor then left while the nurse changed his IV. The nurse told him what medicines to take and when, then told Furuichi that the painkiller was already in the IV and soon would take effect. She left, then Tojou and Kunieda said their goodbyes.
All the while, Oga hadn't said anything and simply watched—like a hawk—over Furuichi. Baby Beel sometimes made random noises and Furuichi replied randomly though he didn't really dare to cast his eyes on the adoptive father. Before anyone of them could say anything, Furuichi was taken away to dreamland as the painkiller started to work.
When he woke up, noticing his brain wasn't as fuzzy as before, Furuichi was surprised to see that Oga and Baby Beel still sitting in the same chair at his bedside. Neither one said anything. He pondered if Oga had been in the room the whole time he fell asleep.
Furuichi looked around the room and finally noticed the cracks and dents on the wall. He wondered what had happened, did Oga do that? He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. He then looked at Baby Beel who was currently sleeping on Oga's shoulder. His green hair is as unkempt as ever but Furuichi felt his inside warmed up at the sight. In the end, he dared himself to look back at Oga's eyes, holding the stare steady. Even after all this time, I still don't know what's going on inside that head of him.
"How are you feeling?" it registered a bit late, but Furuichi just comprehended that Oga had spoken to him.
"I'm…all right, overall. How's the demon world?" Furuichi asked back, suddenly feeling awkward.
"Same old, same old," Oga answered unenthusiastically, his gaze was brought down to stare at Furuichi's hand. "Tell me," he demanded.
"Oga…," Furuichi breathed out, he didn't really want to tell it, but Oga had always insisted on being told the whole story of any event when Furuichi got in trouble. Like when Himekawa kidnapped Furuichi and Hilda, as soon as they got home, Oga had forced the full story out of Furuichi. Oga might not be a person who liked to tell people about what he's feeling, but he always listened to Furuichi's. Furuichi guessed it was some kind of atonement—a way to make him felt better by talking it out, and for Oga to hide his remorse—but sometimes it was just downright uncomfortable.
"Tell me what happened, Furuichi," Oga insisted. He was calm and collected, but Furuichi can tell that he was livid. His calm demeanor couldn't really hide his fury that Furuichi had known too well. His focused gaze was still directed at Furuichi, and it was unnerving. Furuichi looked away.
"Look, It's nothing… I was just…," Furuichi didn't know what to say, but Oga kept watching him closely. Furuichi sighed. "There were these Nasu's henchmen, I guess they've seen us together or heard some rumors, and they asked where you are since you haven't been to school." Furuichi loathed it. He wished that he was stronger and able to protect his own sorry ass. He hated it, that every time he had to talk about him being beaten by other thugs, it was always because he was friends with Oga. He felt like he had cornered Oga, and if this kind of emotion chipped away at his own feeling, Furuichi wondered how Oga must have felt.
"They were looking for me?" Oga growled, but a hint of snarl was quickly buried, he was going to listen to the very end. He shut his mouth, face appallingly blank.
"I told them you were away and they didn't believe me. I was also kinda being smartass, so maybe that's why they hit me. Before I knew it, I was already at an abandoned building." Furuichi continued, phrasing his words carefully as he kept telling what had happened to him. Occasionally, Oga asked how this or that injury happened. Furuichi also carefully redacted the part where he was almost got raped, mainly because he didn't remember much other than the pain, the ragged breaths, and the fear that gripped him at that time.
(And to be completely honest, it wasn't the first time something like that had happened. Furuichi was not someone who you'd call feminine, but his body type—the slender torso, the pearl-white skin, rosy lips and long eyelashes—often invited unnecessary attraction.)
Oga listened closely, taking notice on how uncomfortable Furuichi was, how his face paled when he jumped the story from night time to morning, how considerate he was to avoid making Oga felt bad, and how much he tried to hide his own shame and regret. All Oga could think of was why had Furuichi put up with me? Why did he have to suffer so much for me? Why isn't he blaming me? Why is he not mad at me? And Oga couldn't find the answer.
"Oga?" Furuichi called, pulling him out of his reverie. "Don't think that hard, your brain might overload," Furuichi mocked lightly with a smirked on his face.
Furuichi was trying hard to make everything back to normal, but everything was neither normal nor okay for Oga. He got up and hugged the kind idiot, carefully—minding his injuries, and Furuichi froze.
"Oga?! Wai-what are you doing?! O-Oga?!" recovering from the shock, Furuichi was flustered. Oga wasn't the type to touch anyone, much less hug someone.
"Shut up. Just… just accept it." Oga grumbled. "I'm sorry… It's all my fault, and you don't deserve this. I'm sorry, Furuichi. I'm sorry." He murmured softly. His voice was clear, and Furuichi had heard how his guilt weighing him down. Furuichi felt a pain in his chest.
"It's fine, Oga," Furuichi said as he pushed Oga away, "This is not something that hadn't happened before, so I'm fine, and it's not your fault." Oga wanted to protest, but Furuichi's teary eyes caught him off guard. "I'm pathetic, this is all my own fault. I'm sorry, Oga. If only I was stronger, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. I just wish that…," words failed him, he could wish forever but nothing would've changed. Furuichi couldn't hold his tears and Oga quickly hugged him back. Furuichi held on to Oga as if he was his lifeline and Oga buried his face into the side of Furuichi's neck as if he can't get close enough to protect his only friend.
"Dabuh," Baby Beel was awake now and quietly tapping Furuichi's head in a comforting manner. Furuichi then cried harder. Oga tightened his hug a little, assuring Furuichi that he cared; that he wouldn't let him go and leave him.
"You have no reason to question your strength, didn't I tell you that you're damn strong already? I was the one at fault here, and I'm sorry, Furuichi," he whispered, voice barely audible against Furuichi's sobs. But Furuichi heard it, and despite everything, he was the one who chose to stay with Oga.
"I'm sorry, too," Furuichi mumbled, still clinging to the other boy, taking in all the comfort that his best friend was giving him.
The two of them had blamed their own selves for what had happened, so they held on to each other, dissipating their worries, their regrets, and their shame that had weighed them down. Oga felt sick that Furuichi would blame himself, and he vowed to never let Furuichi felt like that ever again. And Furuichi felt bad for making the aloof Oga showed this much attention to him, even though Furuichi had always known that Oga was a caring person deep down. Both of them thought each other as an enigma, one that they enjoyed as it was.
When Oga backed away, Furuichi gave him a relieved smile, and Oga scoffed. They laughed out loud as their embarrassment caught up with them. Oga gave Furuichi a look-over, looking for any sign if he somehow had hurt Furuichi more with his intense embrace, but Furuichi only grinned and wiped his tears with his good hand. "I'm fine, Oga. Thanks for worrying," he retorted.
"…Idiot," Oga softly murmured as he looked away. Furuichi and Baby Beel laughed at him, and Oga let out a small smile, maybe things could go back to normal, now, huh?
-0-
so, what you'd expect on the next chapter?