Disclaimer: I don't own Beelzebub. All recognizable characters belong to the rightful owner.

Chapter 7: Important Person

Dr. Forkas examined the unconscious figure lying on the bed anew. Baby Beel slept on Kunieda's lap, who was sitting quietly on a chair in order to not disturb the doctor and his assistant Muu.

The Moomu-doctor looked at her pensively. "Oga Tatsumi's body and brain function are alright. He might regain consciousness at any moment." Hearing Forkas' report, Kunieda sighed in relief. However, she got agitated after the doctor added something. "His current condition has nothing to do with his previous injury though. It seems as if... the flow of energy within him was blocked for awhile."

This was not news to her. Forkas could tell that by seeing her calmness. She looked rather nervous as he inquired. "That's a technique to put a demon out of action."

Kunieda considered whether to speak or not at first. Deliberately, she began to talk. "Oga... was about to lose control over Beel-chan's demonic powers earlier. Isa-chan, a friend of mine, taught me an exorcism once. Thereby, I was able to stop him for the time being..."

Silence filled the room after her short explanation. Forkas looked at the sleeping infant and turned back to the motionless Oga then. "Well, there's not much I can do here then." he bid farewell and left with his assistant. The doctor seemed to be in a hurry all of a sudden.

Kunieda didn't give much thought to it though. She placed the baby on the bed and dropped with exhaustion on a nearby chair. The passing minutes felt like hours as a movement of the bed sheets caught her attention.

"Oga, how do you feel?" She stood up and approached him.

"Where's... Hilda?" Oga mumbled as he opened his eyes.

Kunieda hid her slight disappointment at his very first words after awakening. She lowered her gaze. "She left."

Oga frowned and tried to get up. Unfortunately, he couldn't move freely due to the exorcism. "What happened...?"

A train of the events flashed in her mind but there wasn't much to narrate. "Well... after you collapsed, Hilda-san..." Even saying her name made her still shudder. "...told us to 'disappear'. And she left that behind." Kunieda pointed at something on the commode.

They both looked at the pink flower there. Hilda had shot the item at them before she had left the hall. Kunieda remembered briefly seeing it stuck on the future Queen's hair back then. She didn't know why but Kunieda had felt the urge to show it to Oga and pocketed it. Moreover, she wondered why Hilda had left it behind at all. If she had intended to attack the humans seriously, she'd have chosen a more suitable weapon then.

Did the flower have a meaning?

Kunieda knew a few things about flowers more or less. From what her grandpa taught her, she made out the flower to be an oleander although the blossom was bigger than a normal one. She also knew the significance of that flower:

Warning.

Did Hilda want to warn... or rather menace them to leave her realm?

"Kunieda..." Oga's voice interrupted her chain of thought. "Where's Furuichi?"

Only then did Kunieda realize the absence of the third human. "Now that you mention it..." she muttered to herself and started to worry.

"Jeez! That idiot shouldn't roam...alone..." Oga gritted his teeth and tried to angle his upper body.

Right on cue, the silver-head entered the room without warning. Catching sight of his best friend, he seemed to be relieved. "Oga... glad to see you're fine." Furuichi smiled weakly but looked like a ghost at the same time.

The other two observed him suspiciously. "Furuichi-kun, where have you been?" Kunieda asked with concern evident in her voice.

Furuichi let out a hollow laugh and scratched his head. "I've kinda got lost while I was looking for the toilet." Kunieda arched a brow and didn't seem to buy it. "A-anyway... now that Oga's woken up, why don't we get ready and set out for our world?"

"What happened to your neck?!" Oga hissed keenly as he noticed Furuichi's weird posture.

The latter visibly stiffened at the hushed but ominous question and averted his eyes. "I don't know what you mean..."

Kunieda glared at his odd behavior. She closed the little distance between them and reached for his collar. She was shocked to see red marks nether his neck. "Furuichi-kun! Who the heck did this to you?!"

The respondent shut his eyes and remained silent.

"Furuichi, who the hell did it?!" Oga repeated her question angrily, ready to burst any moment.

Furuichi looked back at him with a sorrowful, albeit determined expression. "The same person who attacked you."

Another silence filled the room. Kunieda turned her gaze to the two men alternately and blinked in confusion. "The same person...?"

Furuichi kept his face straight whereas the other clenched his teeth hard. Oga was surprised, outraged and mistrustful at the same time. The mixture of feelings reflected in his fierce eyes and his loss for words confirmed Furuichi's suspicion.

Oga had known the identity of his attacker all along.

Kunieda was clueless and didn't understand the muted staring competition between them. "Would somebody tell me what's going on?!" she exclaimed furiously.

Furuichi almost whispered in return. "The person who stabbed Oga is Hilda."

Kunieda breathed in sharply. She covered her mouth and her eyes opened wide by hearing the shocking news. Oga's expression didn't change. He slightly flinched as his friend stated the bitter truth. Furuichi could just sympathize with them and remembered his encounter with the Blonde an hour ago.

A low chuckle escaped Hilda's lips. "You insult me. Let's assume that you're right and I really attacked him... do you seriously believe that he'd survive that?"

Furuichi stared at her back and replied. "That's why I came here. The question preoccupying me is whether you wanted Oga to survive."

Hilda clenched her fists. "What makes you think that it was me who attacked him?"

He grinned and looked up at the ceiling as if he was recalling something. "You know, Hilda, Oga's damn strong. So strong that he can sense the smallest threat behind his back. He's always been on the watch since we were children..." The Princess' lack of interest didn't bother him and Furuichi went on. "Back then, I hoped that he'd find someone he could turn his back on without any worries. And he did. An important ally..." She shifted her head a little towards him. "Thus, the only person who's stabbed him can be none other than y-..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the words got stuck in his throat. Furuichi didn't realize what happened until he heard a cry. "Hilda-hime!" Lamia, who remained quiet during the whole conversation, called out and her high voice clanged in the room. Furuichi opened one eye in pain and found Hilda's hand squeezing his neck.

"Don't make me laugh, you rat!" Hilda yelled in rage. "Important?! He stole everyone – everything important to me! You think I'm gonna forgive him after hearing your shitty flattery?!" Grasping her hand, Furuichi was earnestly suffocating. "How about I take the life of his important person in return?!"

"Hilda-neesama!" Lamia cried, tears streaming down her face. "Please, stop...!"

The ruthless Princess let go and Furuichi went down on his knees, coughing severely. Lamia dropped to his level as he tried to catch his breath. After calming down a little, he looked up at Hilda's exposed right eye as she loured down at him chillingly.

"I won't forgive Oga Tatsumi for killing Madam Iris!"

A/N: Revelations, revelations...! Shocked? I'd love to see your reactions after reading the last line.

REVIEW! ...please?