The corridors of Ishiyama General Hospital echoed with chaos—not from patients, but from the mismatched group storming its pristine halls. Nurses pressed themselves flat against the walls as if dodging a natural disaster.
At the front, Oga Tatsumi stomped forward like a thundercloud, his scowl so deep it could curdle milk. Baby Beel sat perched on his shoulder, drooling rivers that splattered against the spotless floor tiles with wet plops. Each drop sent the cleaning staff into fresh despair.
Right behind him floated Kogen, all composed grace, a faint smile tugging his lips, carrying himself like some ethereal fallen angel who had accidentally wandered into the human world. The hospital lights caught on his silver hair, making him glow. Every nurse who peeked from behind a clipboard stopped breathing for a second.
"Why does he look like he's on the cover of some shoujo manga?!" Furuichi hissed from the rear, clutching his head in despair. "We're going to see Toujo, not shoot a romance drama!"
"Fufu," Lamia smirked, her oversized hat bobbing as she walked, "if we were shooting a romance drama, Oga would be the jealous husband barging in to confront his wife's affair."
"Oi, oi, oi—don't just start running your mouth!" Oga barked over his shoulder, veins bulging. "What's this about a husband? Affair?!"
Hilda, elegantly carrying herself with folded arms, chimed in with her usual cool sharpness. "Lamia is mistaken. It's not Oga who is the husband. It's more fitting to say Kogen is the dignified spouse... and Oga is the mistress clinging desperately."
The words hit like a meteor.
Oga's eyes bulged, face turning so red it rivaled a boiled octopus. "HUH?! THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!" His shout reverberated down the hall, sending a tray of medical tools rattling to the floor in a nearby room.
Furuichi clapped his hands together in a dramatic prayer pose. "God, it's true... Oga's basically the side piece. My best friend, reduced to a homewrecker..."
"WHO'S REDUCED TO WHAT?!" Oga whirled, grabbing Furuichi by the collar and shaking him so violently that the poor boy's glasses nearly flew off.
Baby Beel, meanwhile, found the chaos hilarious, clapping his tiny hands and letting out an enthusiastic "Daabuuuu!" with each shake.
The doctor trailing them—an unfortunate man who had been roped into escort duty—sighed so hard it might've aged him a decade. "Could you please refrain from causing disturbances in the hospital? There are sick people trying to—"
"Zip it, Doc!" Oga snapped, still throttling Furuichi. "If these idiots would keep their damn mouths shut, I wouldn't have to yell!"
"You're the loudest one here!" Furuichi squealed, arms flailing like spaghetti noodles. "And stop shaking me, my spine isn't a maraca!"
Kogen, of course, simply walked serenely at their side, not a single hair out of place. If anything, the commotion around him only emphasized how angelic he looked. Beel stretched out chubby hands toward him, babbling happily.
"See?" Lamia muttered slyly. "Even Baby Beel prefers his mother figure."
That stopped Oga cold. He dropped Furuichi like a sack of laundry, face twitching. "Oi. What the hell did you just say?"
Lamia smirked like the devil she was. "Kogen's obviously the mother figure. Beel is reaching out to him with such pure love. Meanwhile, you're the brute who only knows how to throw punches and glare."
Oga's blood pressure skyrocketed. "WHO CARES ABOUT THAT?! THE BRAT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY!"
"Responsibility," Hilda echoed with a faint, mocking curl of her lips. "An interesting word choice, considering how many times you've tried to shove Beel onto someone else."
"GHHHH—!" Oga sputtered, fists clenching, but before he could unleash a full explosion, Kogen placed a calming hand on his shoulder.
"Relax, Oga," he said softly, his voice soothing like cool water. "We're here for Toujo. Let's not fight in front of Beel."
The moment his hand touched Oga, the world seemed to freeze. Nurses gasped, sparkling shoujo-style backgrounds practically bursting behind them. Oga stiffened like he'd been electrocuted. His face darkened crimson—not from embarrassment, surely, but from rage (or so he told himself).
"Don't just touch me like that, dammit!" he barked, shrugging him off violently. "What are you, some kind of—some kind of—!"
"Some kind of what?" Kogen asked innocently, tilting his head, looking for all the world like a lost angel.
Oga's mouth opened and closed. Nothing came out but incoherent choking noises. Furuichi, despite still recovering from whiplash, leaned in with a lecherous grin. "Some kind of lover?"
"DIEEEEEE!" Oga roared, dropkicking Furuichi so hard he slammed into a rolling supply cart, which careened down the hallway and sent several orderlies screaming.
By the time security guards appeared at the far end of the corridor, their group had already reached Toujo's room. The door loomed ahead, sterile and ordinary, yet Oga felt his stomach twist in knots.
Kogen knocked gently before sliding the door open.
Inside, Toujo sat propped up in bed, bandages covering half his torso and forehead. He looked like he'd been through hell, yet the moment his eyes landed on Beel, his entire expression softened.
"Oi, chibi," Toujo greeted warmly, his voice rough but full of genuine affection. Beel squealed, wriggling in Kogen's arms. Toujo then looked up at Kogen, and his grin widened. "And you. Glad you came."
But when his eyes shifted past them and locked on Oga, that grin instantly twisted into a scowl so sharp it could cut steel.
"Oga," Toujo said flatly, venom dripping from his voice. "You've got some nerve showing your face."
The temperature in the room plummeted. Oga's teeth ground together, fury rising like a tidal wave, but beneath it all, something else stirred—a sting in his chest when he saw how naturally Beel and Kogen gravitated toward Toujo's presence.
A sting that felt a lot like jealousy.