The night sky over Ishiyama cracked open with fire. Brilliant streaks of red, green, and gold burst against the darkness, raining sparks down like molten confetti. The air vibrated with the echoes of the fireworks, a mixture of awe and raw tension thick enough to choke on.
On the rooftop, Oga Tatsumi stood with his fists clenched, his eyes locked across the space at Toujo Hidetora. Between them, Baby Beel giggled weakly at the sight of the explosions. Kogen stood close, his pale profile cut sharp against the glow, every line of him too composed for someone standing in the middle of a battlefield.
Beel's cheeks were still flushed with fever, but his eyes widened with each burst in the sky, his little arms reaching as though he could grab hold of the sparks. His laugh cracked, small but determined.
Then, suddenly, the glow on his skin shifted. The unnatural fever-heat that had burned him up for days flickered, faltered—then broke like glass shattering. Beel exhaled, a sound so soft yet so relieved it silenced even the murmurs of the delinquents below.
"Beel..." Oga muttered, his chest tightening.
The baby's fever vanished like mist under the sun. His tiny body shook once and then stilled, energy returning to him. And with that strength, he twisted in Toujo's arms, little fingers clawing toward Oga.
Everyone felt it—the shift in weight, the choice being made.
"Da—!" Beel squealed, the sound ragged but unmistakable, and reached for Oga's head the way he always did.
Oga took a step forward automatically, his heart jolting in his ribs. That was it. That was the proof he didn't need to say out loud. Beel wanted him. Always him.
But before Beel could fully lunge forward, Kogen's arm extended like a wall, stopping the baby gently. His dark eyes, shimmering under the firelight, lifted to Oga. For once, the faint teasing smirk he wore was gone.
"What do you really think of Beel, Oga?" Kogen asked quietly.
The rooftop went dead silent. Fireworks popped above, painting them all in shifting light, but no one spoke. Even Toujo's heavy presence seemed to dim for a moment, his eyes narrowing as if he too wanted to hear the answer.
Oga froze, the words catching in his throat. It wasn't a question he expected—not from Kogen, not from anyone. But as he stared at that impossibly calm, almost angelic face framed by explosions, something clicked.
That day—when Kogen had stayed with Toujo, when he'd walked away carrying Beel instead of bringing him back—it hadn't been betrayal. It hadn't been weakness. Kogen wasn't taking Beel from him.
He was forcing Oga to see it. To realize what Beel truly meant.
It slammed into Oga all at once, heavy and undeniable. Kogen wasn't protecting Toujo's claim—he was protecting Beel's truth. He wanted Oga to face the thing he kept dodging behind insults and scowls: that Beel wasn't just some nuisance dumped on him. He was his.
Oga's breath came harsh, his fists trembling at his sides. The rooftop seemed to stretch, fireworks freezing in mid-bloom as though waiting for him.
"I..." His voice came rough, unpolished, dragged from somewhere deeper than his temper. He didn't flinch from it this time.
"I am his father."
The words weren't shouted. They didn't need to be. They carried weight enough to crush the silence.
Kogen's eyes widened just slightly, the firelight flickering across his sharp features. His lips parted, and for the first time, his smile wasn't sly or mocking. It was soft. Genuine.
Like a fallen angel, Oga thought irritably, though the image clung to him all the same.
"Good," Kogen whispered, and finally stepped aside. He lowered Beel gently into Oga's waiting arms.
The baby squealed again, clinging onto Oga's head, tiny sparks of demonic power flickering between them.
And in that instant—Oga was somewhere else.
The rooftop dissolved. He was standing in the dreamscape again, the one the Demon World drug had dragged him into during treatment. Circles inscribed with runes stretched in every direction, glowing faintly. In the middle of them, Beel sat curled up, asleep, surrounded by that electrical barrier that had nearly ripped Oga apart before.
But this time, Oga wasn't hesitating. His legs moved without thought, striding straight through the shocks, each spark tearing at his muscles, trying to peel him away. He didn't stop. Didn't flinch.
"Oi, brat," Oga muttered through clenched teeth, electricity scorching his skin. "I told you already. Doesn't matter how much power you dump on me. I'll take it. Whether you like it or not."
He reached through, grabbing Beel up, hoisting him against his chest. The sparks screamed, but they broke, shattering away like glass dust in the wind.
The baby stirred in his arms, looking up.
And Oga just smirked, even as his body shook from the shocks. "I told you. You're mine. Deal with it."
The circles vanished. The field collapsed. And Beel's tiny hand clung to Oga's shirt like it always had.
Back on the rooftop, Oga's eyes opened. Beel was on his head again, laughing as though nothing had ever been wrong. The bond hummed between them, familiar and grounding, the kind of thing that didn't need explanation.
Kogen stood back, watching. His smile lingered, faint but sincere. For the first time, Oga didn't feel the urge to knock him through a wall. He just... understood.
"...So that's why you did it," Oga muttered, his eyes flicking to Kogen. "You wanted me to figure it out myself."
Kogen tilted his head, the firelight catching on his pale skin, his features absurdly beautiful in a way that annoyed Oga even now. "Took you long enough, idiot."
Oga's lip twitched. He didn't deny it.
But the quiet was shattered by a low laugh.
"Heh," Toujo said, his deep voice rolling across the rooftop. He had been silent the whole time, letting the scene play out, but now he stepped forward, the fireworks still crackling overhead. "That's good. Real good. You finally said it."
His grin widened, sharp and wolfish. "But now we see if you can back it up."
Oga turned, Beel perched firmly on his head now, sparking with tiny arcs of energy that made his hair stand on end. His blood roared in his veins, fury mixing with a clarity he hadn't felt before.
The rooftop seemed to shrink, the distance between him and Toujo narrowing with every heartbeat.
Toujo's fists clenched. Oga's knuckles cracked. Sparks from the last firework showered between them, casting the rooftop in a rain of gold.
The crowd below held its breath. Kanzaki, Himekawa, Shiroyama, Kunieda, the Red Tails—all of them froze, waiting for the clash they knew was coming.
Oga's glare locked onto Toujo's, the bond with Beel thrumming through him like a live wire.
"This ends now," Oga growled.
Toujo's grin widened even more.
The rooftop trembled under their steps as both delinquents surged forward—
To be continued...