Ichigo Awakens

(Sitri Main Residence: Guest Room)

"JUST A DISTRACTION!?" Rias yelled out in furious disbelief, sitting up from the bed she was in. "ALL THAT!? THAT WHOLE GAME, WAS MEANT TO BE JUST A DISTRACTION!?" The Rating Game ended in Sona's victory. Rias took the bait as Sona requested the boon that Saji won in his match with Issei, a small purple pill that she immediately swallowed, under the context that none of her peerage gave it to her. The arena was filled with an inch of water, courtesy of Orihime using Aqua to supply it, to even the playing field since the 'Power of Destruction' required no such medium compared to the Sitri's water magic. It was somewhat moot though as when Rias charged her magic, Sona immediately used Reversal on her and the clashing energies of Rias's magic caused it to explode. Sona barely had time to shield herself with water but Rias was fried as a result. She refused to give up, still standing despite what happened, but was ultimately declared the loser when Sona used her magic and the water to launch her next to Rias and pulled a sword hilt from under her skirt onto the Gremory's neck as a blade of liquid metal flowed up from the hilt. It was only then that she passed out and collapsed, taken to the Sitri house to recover.

"Yes Rias, yes it was." Sirzechs confirmed, looking apologetically at his sister. In the room with her were the four Satans, Azazel, Ichigo, Orihime, her peerage, and Sona and her peerage. The rest of the Gotei agents had already returned to the Soul Society. "And we're so sorry it turned out like that. I did not expect ICHIGO to make Sona so cruel!" The crimson Devil yelled toward the Shinigami, who merely raised an eyebrow.

"What for!?" Issei demanded, staying by Rias's side though he did stand at the ready to charge at Ichigo. "What was so important that it had to be this way!? Why did we have to fight like this against our friends!? To break our trust like this!?" All eyes were on the Red Dragon as he glared defiantly at the Commander of the Gotei, trying to burn a hole through him with his eyes alone.

"To destroy the Old Satan Faction." Ichigo answered, remaining calm against the young Dragon. "During the attack on the peace summit, we captured Katerea Leviathan and interrogated her until we got a list of names that belonged to the terrorist rebels. Our plan was to bug them with surveillance bacteria in order to get as much information from them as we could, in order to prevent any more terrorist attacks or the like from them. The Rating Game was the distraction to ensure that our stealth forces could infiltrate and infect them without anyone noticing and the more interesting the game then the more likely it was that no one would notice them." The expressions on the Gremory Peerage softened somewhat, but they still glared at him. "Rias wasn't told because she's known to be emotional, her anger needed to be genuine while Sona is known to be level headed. We could leave it to her to handle the distraction part of the plan."

"I'm sorry that I crossed the line in what I said Rias." Sona said, lowering her head apologetically. "I wanted to make sure the mission was a success." Kiba glowered at the Sitri heiress.

"What you said, but not about what you did?" The Gremory Knight challenged, Koneko and Akeno joining him while Saji led the Sitri Peerage to defend their King in the growing standoff. "Aren't we supposed to be allies? And how could you fight with such underhanded and dishonorable tactics!?"

"What good is honor if your comrades are dead?" Saji returned, his voice holding an odd mix of genuine belief and somewhat robotic recitation that shocked the Gremory group as a whole. "If you're protecting something, do whatever it takes to protect them and win. War only has what rules you give yourself. If you have time to complain, then focus on getting stronger." That last one sounded like a direct quote and not his own words. "In that game, you were our enemies and we acted accordingly."

"As well you should have." Ichigo said, gaining everyone's attention once more. "It's good that your lessons stuck. Never forget your resolve." The entire Sitri Peerage stood at attention and responded with a firm 'Sir!', gaining concerned and worried looks from the rest of the room. "From now on, you are to trust your own judgments in whatever conflict you face. Do not hesitate in the face of a threat and never abandon your allies. The safety net that is 'Orihime Kurosaki' won't always be there to catch you."

"It should never have come to this Ichigo!" Sirzechs growled, glaring at the Shinigami in fury at the thought that Ichigo had conditioned the Sitri peerage into becoming his soldiers. "I did not fight in a bloody civil war, slaughtering scores of my own kind, just to condemn them to that same fate!" Ichigo returned Sirzechs's glare and calmly took a breath.

"My second year as a Captain, during our own time of peace, I regularly sparred with my fellow Captains." The Head Captain explained. "One of my best partners is my brother-in-law, Byakuya Kuchiki. During one of our fights, I used an illusion technique to mess with his vision and he immediately blinded himself by cutting his own eyes." When he said that, the entire room froze in shock. "He continued the fight relying on all of his other senses and ignoring the pain. He was healed by the end of it, but I hope I explained the extent of his resolve to do his duty and fight for what he believes in." Ichigo proceeded to walk toward the door as silence engulfed the room. "If anyone needs me, I'm going to take a bath."

(Hours later, with Rias)

It was the middle of the night and here she was, naked as the day she was born and next to her beloved Issei as was her preference but was unable to sleep due to a restless mind. She could understand Sona's actions once they were explained but she couldn't accept or empathize with the methods. Hearing the story of that one Shinigami reminded her of Issei sacrificing his arm for the power to rescue her, but she couldn't understand why anyone would go that far in a training exercise. Even if you used the excuse that such damage was easily reversible with Orihime's power or Soul Society's healing technology, why would anyone push themselves that far in training? She only pushed Issei that hard in the beginning to get him to catch up to the rest of her peerage and Azazel's own program was to brush up on the basics or learn to accept their heritages with only Issei getting really pushed in any capacity. They got breaks to practice etiquette and noble practices since they were part of the Gremory family now, but Sona's training made it clear they never got that. She slowly crawled out of the bed and slipped on a robe before leaving the bedroom, letting her precious pawn get the sleep that she was unable to enjoy at the moment.

She wandered through the halls of the Sitri house as the storm of her thoughts continued to rage. She had confidence in her strength but Sona played her like a fiddle in the second half of their Game, crushing every advantage with preparation and newly developed powers, showing that gap in her abilities between them. Orihime's warning about her weakness returned to her mind, her decision to train with a stronger opponent coming back, and how she ignored it by listening to Azazel's advice instead and arrogantly thinking that Sona couldn't come up with a proper counter to her group's power. She bit her thumb in frustration at both herself and the entire situation before she heard something out in the courtyard. She looked out the window and saw Sona wearing light blue pajamas swinging around a sword, recognizing the hilt as the one she had during their match. She was surprised to see that same sword shift into spear, an ax, a whip, a plethora of different weapons all from that ever changing liquid metal. Sona finally stopped and made her way to a gazebo with a tea set and plate of cookies on the table with a towel on one of the chairs. Rias opened the window and silently flew down to the gazebo as the Sitri heiress shed her top and began to wipe herself down.

"Still training? At this time of night?" Rias asked, getting Sona's attention as she kept wiping away the sweat from her naked torso. "Didn't you earn a break yet?"

"Never." She answered, putting her top back on and using her magic to pour the both of them some of the tea, lavender based on the smell, before offering the plate of cookies. "Here. I got these from Kurosaki Sensei and cookies are mandatory for peace talks."

"No arguments there." Rias agreed before taking a small shortbread cookie and sitting down as Sona took her seat. "And really? No breaks?"

"Not if I want to master the Fluens Chalybe(Flowing Steel)." Sona told her as she presented the hilt. "Brother told me that it's locked to the Sitri bloodline and made by mixing steel with... water based Reishi or something like that. Anyway, it's an ever changing weapon based on my skill and focus with my bloodline magic and he wanted me to train with it every chance I get. Used this Chinese martial artist as an example to follow, Li Shuwen. Apparently he swung his spear fifty times if he woke up in the middle of the night."

"Dedicated." Rias could only say as they enjoyed the small tea party. "I'm furious Sona," she finally said, "I'm furious at you for what you did. Even if I can understand it, I can't fully accept it. But... I'm more angry with myself." She let out a sigh and looked down into her tea. "I lost my battle with Riser, I recognized that Kokabiel was beyond my team and our abilities, I lost my role as overseer of Kuoh, and I underestimated you and your team's resolve." She let out a short laugh. "Even my goal was laughable. Sairaorg wants to become king, you want to build that school, I... just want to live with my peerage and be the Rating Game champion. How lazy is that?"

"That's pretty close to Ichigo's ultimate goal actually." The Sitri heiress said, surprising the crimson haired Devil. "During my fourteenth birthday I asked him why he was constantly training, even with the power he possessed. He told me that his end goal was to be able to protect everything that was precious to him, and as the years go on that goal only increases in scope. He spent his entire life training to that end goal, meanwhile you and I lived the privileged spoiled life under our doting siblings. Something we need to change." Rias nodded in response to that. Time passed as the two settled into a comfortable silence, reminiscing on their respective pasts as they enjoyed the tea and cookies.

"That was delightful." Rias said as they finished the midnight snack before letting out a yawn, one of the maids making a nighttime round coming by to take their dishes. "I think it's time I go back to bed." Sona nodded in agreement as they both flew back to the still open window and slipped inside, a butler coming by and shutting it before advising the two to return to bed. "I'm still mad Sona, and I don't forgive you... but... if you still see me as an ally, then I will return the sentiments."

"Good night Rias." The Sitri heiress said with a smile. "But I hope you'll at least help me pick out an outfit for my date with Saji." Rias let out a short laugh.

"Sure, why not rub THAT in my face?" She asked in good mirth. "Maybe I'll bring Issei along and we can make it a double date." Now Sona giggled before they began to walk away from each other, before Rias stopped. "By the way Sona, that didn't taste like Kurosaki Sensei's usual cookies. They were... better, and I feel... different. But in a good way." Sona thought for a moment.

"She said that she got them from Soul Society, maybe some of their ingredients have certain affects?" The water Devil guessed. "She said they were made by... I think she said their name was Kirio Hikifune? Maybe we can ask her about it later, but I doubt she would let us be poisoned or drugged."

(The Next Day: Lilith, Main Satan HQ)

"Okay, parties of the first and second part.... agree to.... yadda yadda yadda," Ichigo said as he read the marriage contract with Serafall, making sure everything was in order while the other Satans listened in on the Surveillance Bacteria recordings and present conversations. After revealing the truth to the Gremory peerage and Ichigo's own story involving Byakuya, everyone went to the Sitri baths to clean themselves and have that discussion the Satans demanded from Ichigo. The results of that talk was the agreement that no Devil associated with the young heirs was allowed to undergo Soul Society training without a Satan's permission and supervision under one of their peerage members. Ichigo called this coddling while the Satans referred to his 'training' as torture... mostly what he and Esdeath did.

"(-still an impressive set of matches.)" He overheard from the recordings, this from the Old Satan faction. "(Kind of wished we got more combat data to work with.)(No matter, our leader has a plan. We just have to wait for their instructions.)(One of the games right? I can't wait to see it all crumble apart!)(Remember, that Orihime woman is a priority target now. That healing power must become ours!)"

"Maybe you shouldn't bring Orihime here anymore." Sirzechs suggested, sounding genuinely concerned. "Having her showcase her healing powers just painted a giant target on her."

"Yes it did." The Shogun admitted, still going through the contract. "But I'm not worried since she's never without protection. Mind clarifying paragraph six, subsection B?" He asked Serafall as they continued to review the contract.

"We, wah~, should start planning on how to limit the damage or to outright neutralize the possible attack from the Old Satan faction." Falbium suggested, yawning at the start. "But I don't think we have all the members bugged, meaning that some could be planning without our knowing." He said with a tired and annoyed groan. "So we'd be planning for an attack that we don't know the when or how in the event that it would happen, beyond one of the Rating Games in this tournament."

"Sounds like we need to review everything about the games. Again." Ajuka said as he switched to the Great King faction.

"(-no win situation.)(It would've been less damaging if that damned Gremory had won! At least she wasn't fighting so cowardly.)(Even if we successfully stacked the decks in their favor, I don't think we had a way around those surprise techniques.)" Ichigo could only roll his eyes, the ignorance and arrogance of those that romanticized battle never failed to disappoint him. "(Those disgraces to Devil purity may coddle their lessers, but they'd never dream of actually trying to elevate those filthy reincarnates and half-breeds to our level like that damned Sitri brat.)" Serafall crushed the pen in her hand as the ink froze before spilling onto the marriage contract forms, her face calm but her eyes promised death. Sirzechs himself started tapping his finger but was covered in a dark red aura as his destructive magic was barely kept in check. "(And those foolish Satans are actually listening to that damned Shinigami instead of us! That brat needs to stay out of Devil affairs.)(Poisoning him has yielded no results. Maybe it's time we put Serafall to sleep for good?)" That got everyone's attention.

"(Infecting a Satan with the Sleeping Sickness?)(We've been careful about who we infect, but never something this major.) Now Ichigo's pen shattered as his form was radiating a black aura that started warping the air around him. "(We should. The shock would stop that brat Sona from furthering her goal and we can replace her with someone more compliant to our needs.)(We got rid of Cleria once she became a detriment, this is only slightly more difficult.)" Before anything else could be said, the feed was cut off by Ajuka turning off the feed.

'I think I should listen to the rest alone.' The Beelzebub thought as he took in the sight of the three angry beings radiating power. 'If I play anymore... Lilith might get erased.'

(Soul Society; Squad 1 barracks)

At Ichigo's desk was Byakuya Kuchiki, going over the reports from the after math of the stealth operation in the Devils' realm in his brother's stead. The calm and collected noble reading through and sorting each paper with efficient and detailed scrutiny while Kagetora and Renji Abarai, a male Shinigami with long crimson hair in a single braid, a pair of headbands of tiger print and solid black that hid tattoos on his head, and the Squad 6 lieutenant's badge on his arm, brought him more reports. As he poured over the documents, he noticed a few reports and one priority target that read 'failure to infect'. Rereading those papers showed that the problem wasn't reaching the targets, something rejected the bacteria. He activated Ichigo's desk computer and faxed the documents to Squad 12 before video calling Urahara.

"Hey Byakuya," the jovial scientist greeted as he appeared, his green and white bucket hat shielding his eyes, "how is it sitting in the Head Captain's seat?"

"Irrelevant." The noble calmly stated, preferring to finish this work quickly since he had many other responsibilities to attend to. "What do you make of these reports?" Urahara's smile melted to a joking frown.

"Fine, be that way." He said before adopting a more serious expression. "Mayuri was constantly monitoring the surveillance bacteria in the event something like this actually managed to happen. From his observations, it wasn't anything natural to the Devil's biology, else previous infections wouldn't have taken. It was like the subjects in question were already infected with a foreign substance that managed to identify both the Kido and the bacteria as something that had to be expelled from the body. We don't have enough data to know anything for certain, but from what little we have both guessed something divine in origin."

"And all the targets seemed to be confirmed members of the Old Satan Faction with this 'Diodora Astaroth' being a suspected, or rather confirmed now, member." Byakuya added as he looked over the papers again. "We'll have to research what kind of gods or 'holy relics' could supply this kind of energy." He turned his attention to a separate report, with more successful results. "What are the plans with the Phoenix Tears?"

"Phoenix Tears from the Phenex clan are the main healing method of the Devils," Urahara explained, "able to restore their physical health with the exception of missing body parts like organs, limbs, and blood. Though they can reattach things like limbs if they have them on hand. The downside, according to these notes copied from the Phenex clan archives, is that they're difficult to produce. Lots of complicated rituals and requirements to actually make one. The plan is to fix that and make something that can be as useful and easy to mass produce."

"And we had to steal them because?"

"They're the biggest source of income for the Phenex clan and they'd likely not part with those secrets easily. Else they would've asked for some help despite their lack of healing methods." Byakuya could only nod in understanding. He's met plenty of pig headed nobles back in the day.

(Back in the Netherworld; The next day)

After some further talks and negotiating, it was agreed that the first Devil supervisor for the further training of the Sitri and Gremory groups would be Sirzechs's Knight, Okita Souji. If he thought it was too rough, then the training stopped immediately and they had to alter it. Soul Society would also assist in studying the 'sleeping sickness' the Great King faction uses and help further refine and practice the new high speed movement technique for the Devil's that's, so far, still unnamed. That would be left to Sona and her group for inventing the technique. Speaking of, despite the talk between the two Kings, the Sitri and Gremory groups kept their distance from each other with the occasional glare. Just another thing to fix once they all got back to Japan... well, after the 'honeymoon' vacation for him and Serafall. Just a day or two of doing anything except for work in Akihabara. Which he was hoping she'd keep secret from a certain old man.

"Come on~." Odin said, playing up his age. "Let an old man join you. Just till the town itself. I'd love to see the maid cafes I've heard so much about." The entire group was in the foyer of the Sitri mansion, Sirzechs and the other three Satans seeing them off with Odin and Rossweisse coming along. Michael already returned to Heaven to do some work there, so the group leaving consisted of the Sitri and Gremory groups, the Greek Goddesses Hestia and Artemis, Azazel, Serafall, Orihime, Ichigo, and Okita. The Japanese Devil was wearing his traditional Shinsengumi uniform, looking very similar to a Shinigami Captain but with a blue long sleeved haori.

"I hear ya old man." Azazel said, patting Odin's shoulder. "Just thinking of those short skirts, those cute poses, that possibility of a big chested-"

"Let's go. I don't want to deal with any perverts on this trip." Ichigo said, opening a hole into the Garganta while Azazel and Odin daydreamed. The Fallen Angel snapped out of it and jumped back to the group, Rossweisse was dragging the whining Odin away from the group, and Ichigo created a Reishi walkway for the group as they entered the abyssal dimension. "Good-bye." Ichigo said to the Satans before stopping at the entryway. "One more thing. Diodora and his peerage are banned from Japan. Something's unsettling about him." He warned to Sirzechs and Ajuka, both of whom nodded as the hole closed.

The trip from there was a relatively quiet affair as Ichigo brought them to Kuoh first, in front of the Soul Dragon Candy shop that was the Gotei Bureau in the city. Azazel, Okita, and Orihime took the young Devils and escorted them back to their homes while Ichigo brought Serafall, Hestia, and Artemis with him to Karakura town. The two Goddesses wanted to see his hometown and Hestia insisted that she see the place he called his home as an equal exchange for the hospitality he enjoyed in Olympus. He had to leave them in Karakura with an escort of a few Quincy but they were left at a Yokai inn in Shadow Karakura that was run by Zashiki Warashi, something neither Goddess seemed to mind as they took a great shine to the child like spirits. As night fell the two made their way outside with solid ground before Artemis started stomping her foot, calling to a ruler beneath the earth.

"Come my brother." Hestia spoke out into the darkness, the shadows thickening as two bright blue dots appeared and an unnatural chill filled the air. "I'm glad you could reach this place. Limited as it is." She said with a smile as Artemis stopped stomping and knelt before her uncle. The God of the Greek Underworld and lord of the Dead, Hades.

"It certainly helps that this realm is within the shadows," a raspy layered voice spoke from the concentration of darkness, "this meeting of ours is meant to be kept secret after all."

"I can't believe he's still being that obstinate, even after we lost Heracles and Perseus." Hestia groaned. "'Willing to participate but only as necessary.'"

"'Olympus will handle its own problems.'" The two siblings quoted their brother and king, Zeus. "Even after pulling back from mortal affairs, that idiot still does not grasp the full severity of the situation."

"He was always more like a cruel tyrant than a just king and the mortals always suffered for it." The elder Goddess groaned, thinking back on their brother's colorful and shameful history. "Well, the good news is that our mutual friend seems to be taking the matter seriously."

"Excellent... but, it's not up to you or I." Hades's gaze shifted to the still kneeling Artemis. "What do you think, my dear niece?" The Goddess of the Hunt raised her head.

"I will do it." She said, her eyes resolute as she made the decision that would rock Olympus to its core.

(A separate inn late into the night)

After a long day of shopping, events ranging from games to cosplay photos, and visiting many different themed cafes, they would switch out from the bright lights and endless noise of the human side city to the more subdued and calm shadow side, manned by spiritually aware humans and Yokai. They were given a traditional room without much flair, it being short notice, and first had an herbal bath to wash off the day and any sweat while refreshing themselves mentally. They returned to their room, a large one that had a nice view of a rock garden and the dark sky, with a modest spread set out on a table in the middle of the living space. The meal consisted of rice, miso soup, tempura veggies, stir fry noodles, small cups of sauces and condiments, and a large wooden plate filled with thick slices of what resembled tuna meat but seemed like something else. For drinks they had different teas, wines, and ice water.

"My, this is so modest." Serafall said as she sat at the table, both her and Ichigo dressed in white yukata after their soak. "Honestly, compared to all the banquets and gourmet meals made to impress, all the displays of extravagance and wealth, this is so refreshing!" She cheered before picking up her chopsticks. "Thanks for the food!" She said before sampling a little bit of everything. "MMMM! So good!"

"I'll let the chef know." Ichigo responded with a smile, picking up a slice of meat and dipping it into his soy sauce. "The course I ordered uses ingredients grown and developed here at the inn; all the vegetables and grains were grown here on the inn's grounds with the meat being harvested from a draconic fish." Serafall tilted her head so Ichigo explained the recent study of draconic energies and their mutations.

"I see." She said once her husband finished, picking up another slice of the pink flesh and eating it. "Quite rich in flavor and there's this delightful springiness in every bite!" Serafall shook excitedly as she enjoyed each bite, making Ichigo smile as he grabbed a sake bottle and poured them both a small cup. She took hers gratefully and slowly drank her mouthful. "Can't speak much about the quality of the alcohol though." She said, slightly disappointed before apologizing with a cutesy wink. "Sorry for complaining 'darling~'."

"Yeah. From what I've heard, every brewer is still experimenting with these new methods." He said, though Serafall didn't seem to hear as she kept eating, prompting Ichigo to do the same.

"So... why do you keep insisting on these harsh training measures?" The Satan asked once they almost finished their dishes. "I get pushing yourself in preparation for the battles to come, but do you put your own family through the same punishment?"

"Admittedly, no." Ichigo answered before slurping up some of his noodles. "They had more time to train with nothing immediately threatening our peace. The idea of a time limit seemed to bring back some old memories of my own training, none of my teachers or training partners ever took it easy with me." He took another drink of sake. "The most I get to do with my children is usually some light sparring and tag when I have the time." Serafall nodded in agreement, knowing how much time she's had to sacrifice because of her position. "So most of their training is usually left to others of my family and co-workers."

"Not as brutal as Esdeath I should think."

"Of course not." Ichigo answered with a light laugh. "They already learned instinct and resolve." Serafall tilted her head.

"Is that the real reason you had them be so rough on Sona's peerage? To learn instinct and resolve?"

"The ability to react and counter without thinking is an important skill and to act without hesitation is just as vital. You wanted me to train them to win, but this will help them survive. Too bad the only way to learn and train both can only really be done by pushing them so harshly." The Devil pouted by resumed eating. "But, now they can focus on moderate exercise and a healthy diet."

"And this diet is?" She asked, already thinking of some kind of horrible gruel or black bubbling tea. Something you'd see in an anime.

"You're actually eating it right now." Her husband said, surprising the Leviathan before she looked disappointed. "You thought of some kind of gut wrenching gruel didn't you? Looks disgusting but is super healthy?" He guessed, making her nod. "No. Even with the guarantee that it'd augment and strengthen the body, no one would eat it if it tasted like shit."

"Right!?" She immediately agreed before gulping down the last of her rice. "Wait, what was that about 'augmenting'?" She asked the moment that last bit registered with her.

"The food and drinks we're currently enjoying was grown with a special method, meant to allow it to empower those that consume it." The Shogun began to explain. "Think of it like how one trains for weeks to be able to increase their magic by a tenth. Eating this food cuts that time down and improves their physical health." Serafall looked at the dishes and tried to analyze herself, sensing any change to her body and power and noted a fractional increase to her power. "This is far from what the master of this method is capable of, but I figured you'd want to test it fir-what are you doing?" He explained before noticing that she started chugging down each bottle of wine.

"It's fine right!?" She said after finishing a bottle of plum wine. "You said it yourself that this is good for people! Tasty liquor without drawbacks!" She said before grabbing another sake bottle and started drinking.

"That is not what I said and the alcohol is still in the experimental stage since..." He tried saying before the Satan fell back, her face beet red and giggling drunkenly. "Reishi makes the flavor and liquor stronger." Ichigo sighed as he went to her side and scooped her up in his arms.

"Whee~! My darling hubby~!" She slurred before wrapping her arms around her neck as he carried her to the bed. "Hey! Smooch~." She puckered her lips up but her request was ignored as Ichigo laid her on the bed and drew an Inguz(ᛜ/ᛝ) rune over her with the intention of sobering her up, separating the alcohol from her body.

"There." He said as Serafall seemed to calm down and the red flush faded from her body. "Much bet-" He was interrupted when she suddenly grabbed his yukata robe and pulled him down, face to face.

"I said smooch." She repeated before crashing her lips to his. It didn't take either long to deepen the kiss, Ichigo slowly crawling on top of her while her arms wrapped around his body again, slipping past his robe and touching his bare skin. They separated after a bit and gazed into each other's eyes, Serafall's crystal blue and Ichigo's earthen brown. "I've waited for this for six years. Please don't stop." She asked with want, making Ichigo caress her cheek before leaning down to kiss her again before his hand drifted to her robes and slowly pulled them open. He trailed kisses down from her mouth, her neck, between the valley of her chest, her stomach, over her womb, down to her bare womanhood.

"Smells nice." Ichigo growled in a primal tone, making the Satan shiver as a trail of slick began to drip from her fuckhole. He spread her lower lips and slowly lapped up her juices making her coo in delight as he coaxed more of her juices out before sliding a finger into her. She began to twist and buck her hips slightly, trying to help him find that sweet spot to make her gush. She soon felt a second finger as the two began to curl up against the top of her love canal, letting out a sharp gasp as he hit her sweet spot and began teasing her pink pearl.

"Keep going! Keep going!" She whispered breathlessly as she grasped his head, holding it against her crotch as she felt her climax approaching. After one last flick and a gentle bite her body was wracked with climax, tensing as the sense of pleasure made its way through the Devil. A quick application of Rune magic cleaned his face of any remaining juices as he climbed over her once again, capturing her lips in another kiss that she was happy to return, wrapping her arms and legs around his torso. There were no words, just sense and need as his cock found its way to her entrance and buried himself deep into her body.

The outside world was dead to them, nothing mattered more than the thrusts and the bounces and the pleasure of their tantric love making. Serafall had a few partners over her long life; a few flings, a personal experiment here and there, but not a one felt like anything beyond the physical. The visible aura and the gentle pressure over her entire being made it feel like he was connecting to her very soul. Soon she felt herself clench around him as her pussy began to writhe and milk him, demanding more of them to connect before he erupted inside her. Still holding on to one another, Ichigo fell on his back with Serafall falling off from on top of him.

"That was nice." Serafall hummed as she curled up at his side with her head on his shoulder, contently rubbing her stomach as the warmth of his seed spread through her core. Ichigo draped his arm around her, his hand following hers on instinct. "Though, the others told me you could've gone for hours and could be much rougher. Any reason why you didn't?"

"Mostly because we have work tomorrow." Ichigo answered. "War plans for the Khaos Brigade, training the next generation, the paperwork we actually have to do... I hate being this busy."

"Agreed." The Leviathan groaned. "Sometimes I just want to smash up my office and spend a whole day with my sister doing... I don't even care. Just something with my family." They closed their eyes, Ichigo using Fullbring to manipulate the gray comforter to cover the both of them, and waited for sleep to take them. While the steady grasp of slumber came, Serafall never stopped rubbing her belly.

"I know the chances of this taking are nigh impossible, and it'd be terrible timing for both of us, but if you did get pregnant from this then what would you be hoping for?" The Captain Commander asked, planning for the future when everything was peaceful again. Serafall smiled as she thought, creating the child in her mind.

"Probably a girl." She started. "With my black hair and blue eyes, but she'd be short and spiky like daddy's. She'd wear fake glasses because she looks up to her auntie Sona, but enjoy all the stuff I do."

"Maybe she'd end up with a birthmark that looks like a set of ice shards and flowing water. I get something like tribal tattoos when I use my Hollow form." Ichigo added, seeing a flowing stream ending in jagged spikes along one of the hypothetical daughter's arms. "And maybe she'd have the powers of a Quincy as well. The future Satan Leviathan... in another few centuries or so."

"Maybe." Serafall finished, seeing a clear image of their daughter as sleep claimed the both of them, the desire to actually bring this child to life being the final feeling of the Satan as she thought 'I'd love to see you'. Unbeknownst to the now sleeping couple a pale blue light began to shine, originating from Ichigo's hand. As the light faded, a small orb would sink back into his flesh.

(Kuoh Student Council Room: 2 days after returning)

"So, representing the Church and Heaven, Irina Shindou," Irina smiled as she waved, "and added security from the Gotei, Xenovia Quarta," the Shinigami in training nodded, "these two will be attending Kuoh Academy with us." Sona informed the ORC while rubbing her head, Rias joining in with the sense of a headache coming on. Neither peerage were back on casual speaking terms, but they still worked together in both patrols and training sessions. Tatsuki had a zero tolerance policy for drama getting in the way of doing their duty, they may not like each other at the moment but they still worked together. As such, the introduction of the two new students Irina and Xenovia, now dressed in the Kuoh uniforms.

"Hello again!" The upbeat Irina greeted first. "I'm Issei's childhood friend, future bride, and lord Michael's Ace of the new Brave Saints system!" She unfurled her pure white angel wings before flying to her betrothed... and getting intercepted by Rias as she stepped in between them. "I'd like to join the Occult Research Club." She said before Rias could do much beyond pout and glare.

"I know I agreed to him having a harem, but wait your turn." The Devil sighed while Xenovia stepped forward.

"Following Head Captain Kurosaki's direction, I will be furthering my education here as well as my Soul Reaper training. However, I will be joining the Student Council."

"For now, we help them settle in before everything gets back on track with our training and usual business measures." All the Devils to nodded to Sona's order while the Angel and trainee Shinigami went over to Asia. "Try to make the most of this rare downtime. I know I will when Saji takes me on our date~." She said, sending a teasing and daring glance to Rias while ignoring Saji's flustered reaction.

"Oh, playing that card are you?" Rias asked with a vein mark appearing on her head. "Well, Issei, let's further our own relationship." Now Issei was flustered, but there was a pause and slight haunted look that covered him before Koneko pulled on his shirt with concern in her eyes. "Issei is everything alright?" Rias asked, once she noticed something was up with her favorite servant.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine!" He said, trying to pass off the his hesitation. "Just thinking of the happy ending!" He said with a laugh at his poor joke, but the look of concern didn't leave the faces of the peerage. With the exception of Asia who was dealing with her own matters.

"I'm so sorry it took this long for me to finally apologize." Xenovia said, bowing her head along with Irina, likewise apologizing for what happened back at the start of the Excalibur matter. "What I said to you then was completely out of line."

"It's fine." The kind Bishop insisted. "I'm quite satisfied with my life as it is now. But... if you want, then the three of us could spend a day together. I can show you around the school and town!" She offered with a smile, earning one from the the other two. As everyone was making plans, a green light started shining with the Astaroth family crest appearing in front of the door. Soon enough, Diodora Astaroth came out of the circle.

"Astaroth, you're not welcome here." Sona warned, every other Devil getting ready to fight despite the lack of hostility from the young lord. "Weren't you told that?"

"Isn't Kuoh neutral ground?" He asked, tilting his head but not moving while he scanned the others. "Isn't it unreasonable to keep me from here?"

"Still Japan and still under the Gotei's jurisdiction and you're banned. Leave." Sona said again, sounding more insistent.

"I just need to speak with Asia for a moment-"

"Don't bother my servant and go home." Rias demanded.

"But-" Diodora tried saying before the sound of the door opening brought their attention to Bazz-B.

"Hi there. Name's Bazzard Black and I'm your deportation officer. You have till the count of five to get the fuck out." The Sternritter calmly said as he started walking up to Diodora.

"Wha-?" The young heir started to ask before the Quincy grabbed his face.

"One." He started, his hand glowing with heat as Diodora's face began to burn, the Devil letting out a muffled scream as he tried to pry the Quincy's hand off.

(Omake)

Karin's Teaching Career

Captain Hitsugaya was going over reports on his squad's training and planned joint exercises for the up and coming counter attack on the Old Satan Faction for when they made their move. Squads 2 and 12 were planning out most of the details but each individual squad would still be expected to play out some role in the war to come against the traitor Devils. He rubbed his brow, thankful for his competent lieutenant in Esdeath sharing the burden, but the workload never seemed to lessen since the reformation of Soul Society started ten years ago. He managed to finish another stack before deciding a break would be for the best, stretching his arms as he tried to think of what to actually do. His answer came from a knock on his office door frame, turning to find Karin out of uniform with a black tanktop and gray sweatpants with a smile and a paper bag in hand.

"Hey hun." She greeted, walking in as he rose to meet her. "I decided to stop by Gatonden and pick up some food from the 'all nighter' course." She informed before giving him a quick kiss. "Just cause." He smiled as she went to the spare table and took out two containers with General Tsao style chicken with whole grain tuna onigiri and protein milk drinks.

"You're too good to me." Toshiro said with a smile as the two sat down to eat. Halfway through the meal, he noticed a certain listlessness in her expression. "Everything alright?" She released a sigh before setting down her chopsticks and looking out to the Squad 1 barracks.

"Bro sent Xenovia to Kuoh." She revealed, earning an understanding nod from her husband. "And she hasn't even achieved her Shikai yet."

"It's a sign of cooperation and trust to send her there, and you did great for what time you had." He claimed, getting her to smile a little.

"Maybe I'll try taking on more students in the future then." She said, earning a sweatdrop from Toshiro as he silently apologized to every student she'd take on. The reports on her teaching methods were not pretty.

(DxDiaries!)

Hades

Death. Many fear it, some embrace it, all will inevitably succumb to it in one way or another. Whether it be by failing health, the malevolent machinations of others, or by sheer bad luck, everyone will eventually die from the most feeble of mortals to the greatest of Gods and Dragons. The souls of the dead face their judgments; the punishments of the damned, the blessings of the righteous, and the stagnation of the benign, many will eventually be cleansed of their pasts before returning to the cycle once more. Even the Gods will face that fate, they may die but their spirits eventually reform and take back their position as a different god filling the same role. The Biblical God being a reminder of that mortality but not the process of revival. However, there is a way to truly die and cease one's existence.

Forgotten by nearly all the world, only the oldest of Gods and those that govern the realms of the Dead remember, the only real way to kill a God is to fully absorb them. That's why the Hollows of old were such a threat, the original disruptions of the Balance of Souls, for they devoured so many before the old Gods could fight back properly. When the Gods of Greece took up our place, I recognized the importance of the Balance and rigged the game of lots between myself and my brothers to ensure I took that role. My brothers were more wild and temperamental, and the cycle needs stability. But I underestimated the meddling of my kin.

At first it was somewhat tolerable; one or two of the greater mortal heroes of our realms revived more like a God than a mortal with how much of their old lives they retained, mostly to keep cleaning up after Zeus or any other God made a mess of things due to their vanity. Then more came into the mix, and the problem spread throughout the world. More and more souls going through an incomplete reincarnation process, but none of that compared to the real problem. How much the regular masses of humans suffer from the backlash of the mystical.

I love the humans and only want to keep the balance, I've never interfered in their lives or caused them any trouble. Yet, unfairly, I've become something akin to the original Satan as a power hungry tyrant! My greatest crime was listening to my brother and kidnapping my wife Persephone, just to relieve myself of the isolation for a bit instead of courting her. It worked out and I can tolerate only seeing her for half the year. Thankfully everyone believed our lie about the pomegranate seeds, otherwise Demeter would never let her go. She was very possessive of her daughter. This half a year exchange system would persist until that outsider decided to butt in.

I immediately distrusted Ichigo Kurosaki the moment I heard he was a Japanese Shinigami, I was around during the creation of their Gotei 13 and how brutal and flawed their foul system was. No true judgment, utter disregard for the souls under their care, all they did was try to maintain the Balance of Souls while creating most of the problems that would plague them. However, that cheeky brat had the audacity to invoke the rules of hospitality in my domain, and if nothing else I steadfastly obeyed the laws... the sensible ones at least. But, despite the breach of etiquette, I would demand to know what his aim was first before he could settle in. The answer actually surprised me, and was refreshingly not a lie or any deception after using every method to pry the absolute truth from him. He came to study.

He explained his eventual future as the leader of the Gotei and the reformation of their Soul Society and set out on a journey to train and improve his combat capability as the military leader but decided that learning under me the way to govern was too good of an opportunity to pass. As much as I approved of this idea, I decided to test him and his resolve. First was his commitment to the role as a reaper and eventual Lord of the Dead by having him gather the souls of the recently deceased, no matter their age or the people around them. That was actually easy on him since he was already used to playing such a role in his home country and... something about a distant world he was temporarily in charge of. I needed to give him a different task.

From then on I treated him as one of my shades, and I was very grateful for his help. Even if he was just one person and learning the intricacies of the bureaucratic system for the first time, having someone that eager and capable managed to lighten the load of my duty which was the greatest thing I could ask for. We kept to that for the months he was down here until my beloved queen came down, then he decided to meddle in our affairs by challenging this system.

Artemis

Gods are in general proud and slow to change, we Olympians even more so. We're more prone to punish the mortals for their arrogance rather than reflect on our own poor behavior. I myself had a rather... questionable past of overreacting to disrespect. I'm not proud of what I did to Aura and Callisto, overreacting to a taunt and punishing one of my maidens for my father defiling her. That said, when forced to listen, Ichigo made a few good points about our actions.

It was the start of the fall and winter seasons, when my sister Persephone went down to the Underworld to rule as queen. Though she'd deny it for the sake of her possessive mother, this was actually her favorite half of the year. The time she went from a coddled porcelain doll in a gilded cage to a beloved and respected queen. Her "official role" may include 'Goddess of Spring', but it was always coincidental to Demeter doing her job again once she got her daughter back. Ichigo decided that this system was a little messed up and choose to argue against it, and thanks to having the backing of Hades we had to give him his audience. My uncle may be an overworked desk jockey, I think that's the term, but he was without doubt the most powerful of the Gods of Greece. Comes from his difficult job of watching over his ever expanding realm and serving as the prison warden of the worst of our realm.

When Ichigo convinced my uncle to petition for a change to the current system, the case was brought to the Olympians to debate. This mostly consisted of the most involved parties before the whole council to vote; Zeus as our king, Hades and Persephone, and Demeter as the plaintiff and defendants, and Athena and Hestia as the advisors. Ichigo wasn't included since he was a foreigner in this affair, but he was still a guest and under the protection of our law of Xenia. He wanted to choose his host and chose me out of all the Gods. When questioned why he claimed I was the only one he was interested in, which initially excited Aphrodite before he clarified that it was only in regards to archery. That offended my brother Apollo before Ichigo pointed out his own less than pleasant past.

I kept him at a distance, not fully trusting his intentions regarding me despite his claims. Learning about his many wives didn't really help that, though I did have to commend his love for his children. Eventually I accepted an archery match against him, a closer match than I would care to admit though I still won. Then we did a hunting competition... and he crushed me. I never thought a human could move so quickly or could match my tracking skills. Stupid Pesquisa and flash movements.

After that I we started getting closer, strictly as friends. A fact we ensured we rubbed right in Aphrodite's face, along with her utter inability to fully sway him with her powers. Apparently he took many precautions to keep himself safe from that manic Goddess specifically. To never fall for her charms or allow her to influence his desires for others. I never felt closer to a man as we constantly took every chance to mess with her on that front. He was the first mortal man since Orion I have come to call my friend.

The final day of the trial came and Persephone ultimately choose to reside in the Underworld as queen out of love for my uncle and a dedication to her only real duty. It wasn't like she and Demeter couldn't visit each other despite the new arrangement, but my aunt still took offense to this and threatened to neglect her duty once again. Refusing to tolerate a repeat of that, Zeus used his authority to render Demeter a powerless mortal and relegated her role as Goddess of the Harvest and Agriculture to a nymph under Hera's command. The punishment was to last until Demeter learned to respect her daughter's independence, and she's still a human last time I checked.

Ichigo stuck around Greece for a little while longer, letting Hades and Persephone enjoy their first actual honeymoon... ever. After a week the happy couple returned to work because... they actually missed it. I had a few more competitions with Ichigo that eventually turned into me hunting him as the ultimate prey... and I never managed to catch him. My kin never stopped trying to get him to party and cut loose in their way, but he never joined in that revelry. He eventually just disappeared, leaving a letter for Hermes to deliver to me with Hades when he delivered some souls down to the Underworld with Thanatos.

"I'm sorry to leave without saying a proper goodbye, but the seals that keep Aphrodite's influence from affecting me are almost spent and I'm tired of your brothers trying to get me to go drinking with them. Let's keep the hunting game going next time we meet."

Honestly? I couldn't blame him.