The Duel

is chapter 18 of the Beelzebub manga.

Summary
On the rooftop of Ishiyama High, Tatsumi and Aoi are about to fight each other. Aoi tells Tatsumi that he is unforgivable. Tatsumi thinks that Aoi is thoughtful for coming back and asks her what she won’t forgive. Aggravated, Aoi tries to strike Tatsumi, but Tatsumi barely dodges it. Aoi demands he come over to her, to which Tatsumi believes Aoi wants to take Beelzebub from him. Now happy, Tatsumi obliges and holds Beelzebub in front of him, ready for Aoi to take him. Aoi is shocked at Tatsumi using Beelzebub as a shield, not thinking that Tatsumi wants her to take him. She asks what she did with “those two”, referring to Nene and Chiaki. Tatsumi thinks Aoi is referring to Hajime and Tatsuya. With a vague memory of them, Tatsumi recalls having beaten them down as fast as he could. Again fuming, Aoi strikes Tatsumi and proclaims him a demon.

A flashback from a few hours earlier show Tatsumi in the way of Nene and Chiaki taking him back to Hilda. Beelzebub spots a vicious cat and begins fighting it. Eventually, Beelzebub is victorious, or so he thought making a pose. The cat is hanging on Beelzebub’s right fist with its mouth. It bites his hand, causing Beelzebub to cry. Tatsumi tries to help Beelzebub get the cat off him. Nene tries to ask Tatsumi for a fight, but Tatsumi refuses and runs off with Beelzebub and the cat. Nene and Chiaki leave, contemplating Tatsumi’s attitude. Suddenly, a tall figure appears behind them, striking Chiaki down first, then Nene after proclaiming Tatsumi is diabolical.

Nene is now awake in the nurse’s office next to Chiaki who is still resting. An underling standing next to her is grateful that she is awake and tells her that Aoi is taking revenge for them and fighting Tatsumi on the roof. Realizing a misunderstanding between the two, Nene rushes out to the rooftop and finds other underlings lying on the stairs beaten on her way. At the top of the stairs, she spots MK5 blocking the door to the rooftop. Elsewhere on the rooftop, Ikari recalls their plan of letting Tatsumi and Aoi beating themselves up, then coming in to take them out. He remarks that their plan had gone well with a newly introduced student, Miwa. Tatsumi is kneeling on the floor, slightly bleeding in the head from Aoi’s latest strike.

Characters in order of appearance

 * 1) Tatsumi Oga
 * 2) Beelzebub
 * 3) Aoi Kunieda
 * 4) Hajime Kanzaki
 * 5) Tatsuya Himekawa
 * 6) Takayuki Furuichi (flashback)
 * 7) Shintarō Natsume (flashback)
 * 8) Nene Ōmori (flashback)
 * 9) Chiaki Tanimura (flashback)
 * 10) Nakata (flashback)
 * 11) Shimamura
 * 12) Chatō
 * 13) Buu
 * 14) Ikari
 * 15) Miwa