DxD: Fusion

Chapter 65: Debrief

The main hall of the Fushimi Inari shrine complex had been repurposed for the occasion—low tables arranged in a loose semicircle. Youkai elders occupied one arc, their ages ranging from merely ancient to something that predated the current dynasty. A few seats were notably empty, the unfortunate result of war.

Sona Sitri sat with her peerage behind her. Serafall had claimed a cushion near, her rebuilt magical girl outfit pristine despite everything.

Sirzechs sat with the composed stillness of a man accustomed to rooms that fell quiet when he entered them.

Azazel had found a position slightly apart from the others, his dark wings folded with practiced neatness, arms crossed and sporting a small smirk.

Kunou sat at the front of the room, very close to the empty cushion beside her. The cushion that everyone in the room was, in their various ways, watching.

Toshio and Akeno arrived together.

They came through the shoji screen at the precise moment the last elder settled into his seat, which meant every eye in the room had somewhere to be and chose them instead. Toshio moved with the unhurried economy that had become his natural register—measured steps, steel-blue eyes doing a single clean sweep of the room before settling into neutral. Akeno walked half a step behind his left shoulder, her raven hair pinned up in the style she favored for formal occasions, her expression carrying its usual composed warmth.

Almost usual.

Rias caught it in the first second. A single strand of black hair that had escaped the pin and curled against the back of Akeno’s neck. The faintest asymmetry in the collar of her uniform, the kind produced by dressing in a hurried fashion.

The particular quality of ease in the way Akeno moved—not the careful, deliberate grace she performed for rooms full of people, but something looser, something that belonged to a person whose body had recently been reminded it was capable of pleasure.

Rias looked down at her tea and willed the heat in her face to behave itself.

It did not behave itself.

Akeno, passing behind her King to take the cushion on Toshio’s left, let her hand trail briefly across Rias’ shoulder. The touch communicated nothing that could be written down and everything that didn’t need to be. Rias kept her eyes on her tea. The blush, she decided, was simply the temperature of the room.

Toshio settled between them. He placed Shinjūka at his side with practiced care, her presence in his awareness like a mathematical constant.

"Amano-san, I’m glad to see you’re okay." Sirzechs politely said. "And thank you for everything you did for my dear sister and her peerage." Rias’ eyes snapped to her older brother in surprise. Based on the last conversation they had about him, her brother definitely did not seem like he supported contact with Toshio.

"Please, just Toshio. I dislike being called by my last name," Toshio replied, nodding his head slightly. "And I assure you, Lucifer-sama, it’s a privilege to be able to protect and take care of my friends and girlfriend." That bombshell silenced the room. Many knew about Akeno and Toshio’s intimate relationship, but to declare it openly with such powerful figures in the room shocked many. Akeno included.

Akeno, no longer wearing her normal maid-like expression, stared at Toshio wide-eyed, covering her slightly ajar lips with her fingertips. The blush that followed was expected. Toshio looked around, slightly confused. Didn’t they know about him and Akeno already?

Rias only glanced at Toshio before returning her gaze to her tea. She couldn’t admit to herself that she was disappointed that the last word of his statement wasn’t plural.

"Quite bold of you, Toshi-tan, to announce such a scandalous relationship between devil and human~," Serafall said with dramatic flair. "And in front of all these people. I’m impressed!" Toshio was at a bit of a loss. His expression grew a touch bashful.

"Uh, sorry. I thought you all already knew." They did, but that wasn’t the point.

"Oh, and Leviathan Levia-tan, your statement isn’t quite correct. I’m sure I’ll get to explain it during the debrief." Serafall almost pouted when Toshio started with Leviathan, but then her eyes morphed into stars at what came after.

"Toshi-tan! I declare you to be my second favorite person in the room!" She pointed directly at him. Toshio figured he’d score a few brownie points with that one. "First of course, belonging to my beautiful, dear sister~" Serafall declared with a lilted voice. Her eyes turned into hearts as she shifted her gaze to Sona. Sona facepalmed with enough force to take a normal human’s head off, blush filling her cheeks.

Toshio couldn’t help but wonder how deep that sister complex went. Would Serafall actually go that far?

During the conversation, Sirzechs couldn’t help but wonder at what Toshio meant just then. What about her statement was not correct?

"That being the case, Toshio, please call me Sirzechs then." The satan did his best to ignore Serafall’s shenanigans. Toshio nodded his head.

Akeno was now looking at her tea, joining Rias but for an entirely different reason.

Azazel, standing nearby, curious about the same thing as Sirzechs was, was about to inquire further, but then they all heard footsteps coming from the head of the room.

They all looked at the door behind the empty cushion at the front of the room.

Then the shoji door opened.

Yasaka entered slowly.

She moved with the deliberate, unhurried quality of someone who had been told by every person with medical authority in her vicinity that she should still be resting and had chosen to interpret that advice as a suggestion about pace rather than activity.

Her golden hair was dressed simply, falling loose over the shoulders of layered robes in white and soft amber. Her golden eyes were clear, carrying none of the corrupted crimson that had burned through them on the mountainside.

Kunou was attached to her left side with both arms and the absolute structural commitment of a child who had spent three days in the particular hell of not knowing if her mother was going to wake up.

Yasaka reached the front cushion and lowered herself onto it with the measured care of someone whose body was still recovering from recent events. Several of the elder youkai made small, involuntary sounds of relief that they would have denied making if asked.

She let her gaze move across the assembled room with the calm authority of a leader taking inventory of her allies. It paused briefly on Toshio.

The smile she gave him was small and specific and carried several layers of meaning that the room’s omniscient atmosphere catalogued in full—gratitude, warmth, and something that would have made Rias’ tea require more attention if she had been looking in the right direction at the right moment. She was not. She was, in fact, looking extremely intently at her tea.

Toshio received the smile with a slight incline of his head. His expression didn’t change. But something in the set of his shoulders acknowledged it.

"I want to begin," Yasaka began, her voice carrying the particular resonance of someone accustomed to rooms that listened, "by expressing my gratitude to everyone present." She let her eyes move across the arc of faces—elders, faction leaders, students who had fought on a battlefield that had no business containing students.

"I am told the situation was resolved through the combined effort of every person in this room and others not present. I am also told that several of you were significantly injured in the process." Her gaze found Serafall, who waved a hand with the breezy dismissal of someone who had been obliterated and reformed and considered it a Tuesday.

"I am aware that I was incapacitated for the majority of what occurred. I would appreciate if everyone brought me up to speed." Yasaka softly demanded, rather than asked.

"It was one crazy day Yasa-tan!" Serafall had decided to start off listing events. Rias and Akeno explained their parts, but often relied on Toshio due to his near perfect memory to fill in the gaps. Toshio explained his battles with the demon leadership, including Aeshama, which caused the girls next to him to wince. Both Rias and Akeno were thankful Toshio didn’t go into much detail.

Then the battle with Lucion was described first by Serafall, unusally serious. Sirzechs took over at the part where he joined the battlefield. Describing Lucion’s power, what the demon was doing to Yasaka and the leylines, and his impressive power. Then it came to Toshio’s transformation, something Toshio was very interested in. Maybe it would shed some light on the ’?’s in his system panel.

"Toshio, do you remember anything that happened?" Azazel took over here, him by far being the most well versed in the different powers of their universe.

"Once my head was, pierced," Toshio’s hand found Akeno’s, sensing she needed support from reliving the emotional turmoil she no doubt felt. "I have no memory of anything, until I woke up just a few hours ago." Azazel expected that to be the case. Toshio also wasn’t going to tell them about his inner world or Shinjūka.

"So does that mean you lost control of some power?" Azazel took command of the questioning, something Toshio expected to happen.

"I don’t know. Could you explain what happened?" Toshio requested.

"Ah, yes that might help." Azazel went to explain the events of Toshio’s transformation, describing it and even showing pictures via magic. Some where fearful of the visage. A few others trembled, though not in fear, but arousal.

"The power you displayed was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Faster than anything I’ve seen too." Azazel described.

Toshio was taken aback by the picture itself. Did he, hollowfy? No, that couldn’t be all. He focused solely on his enemy, protecting his allies. Then there was that hug with Akeno. Ichigo, when he lost control of his inner hollow against Ulquiorra, he certainly wouldn’t have hugged Orihime.

"The last attack, Lucion couldn’t even defend against. It was a soul-based attack. Something he obviously couldn’t defend against." Azazel was now speaking out loud, lost in thought about Toshio’s form. No one stopped him, as they were interested too.

"Him shouting ’soul attack’ certainly helped narrow it down. Then there was that cherry blossom tree, showing those montages of what looked like memories. Some of them even had Yokai in them from recent battles. Could it have inflicted those wounds? No, he could have regenerated from that. Could have been..." Azazel went on.

Toshio was floored by all of it. Was it like the Ghost Rider’s penance stare? But it seemed like more than that. It went beyond physical damage. The way Azazel described Lucion’s expressions, it was like he was experiencing all of the mental strife he had inflicted as well. The demon lord had undoubtably caused a tremendous amount of suffering in his long life. This attack could be the key trump card to use against all the other demons.

Now if he could just access and use it.

"Azazel, I think we’ve heard enough," Sirzechs announced, holding his hand up.

"Oh right, I was rambling. Sorry about that," the fallen angel leader said sheepishly. But he quickly recovered, directing his focus back at Toshio.

"So, any input, Toshio?" Toshio was unsure of how to respond. He also noticed the other powerful individuals becoming more guarded. An attack that went through every defense? That inflicted the suffering they caused others? None of them were true angels. They had all inflicted suffering to some degree.

The silence stretched as Toshio came up with a response. Akeno’s hand didn’t leave his, providing silent encouragement.

"To be honest, I’m not too sure what I am," he lied. He’d give them a partial truth. "And I can’t really explain what that form was either. This was my first time seeing it, let alone experiencing it." The others remained skeptical.

"But one thing I can tell you, I woke up different this morning. Fundamentally different. I do not believe I am still human." Based on what they had just heard, this wasn’t much of a surprise. What human could do those things?

"But not only that, I’m no longer bound by human mortality. Based on my calculations and on what I can sense from all other supernatural beings, I’ve elevated to the same plane as them. I don’t think I’m immortal by any stretch, but it might not be that far off."

The room processed this in silence. Yasaka, who had seen more transformations and recoveries in her centuries than most could imagine, actually blinked. Her golden eyes searched Toshio’s face for any sign of uncertainty and found none.

Azazel’s lips parted to speak and then didn’t, his analytical mind clearly recalibrating every prior model he’d built about the boy.

Sirzechs’ eyes narrowed with rare, open calculation. He saw a threat, or at least a new variable, and his aura bled through the cracks in his composure, just for a heartbeat. It was the Power of Destruction in its purest form, and it pressed down on the room with the promise of total obliteration.

Rias felt it immediately, the way a drop of ink felt itself dissolve in an ocean. She looked to Toshio, expecting him to shrink or retreat. Instead, for the first time in any of their company, she saw him truly flex.

Toshio’s reply was not in words but in the output of his own aura: it rolled out from his body in a silent, colorless pressure that seemed to compress the very air. The coalescence of all energies.

The tableware on every surface rattled. The shoji screens along the wall flexed outward, as if straining to contain the pressure. The youkai elders, creatures whose mastery over their own energies was legend, found their breath hitching involuntarily.

The clash of powers, perfectly invisible to any non-spiritual sense, ravaged the room. Sirzechs’ aura was a tide of annihilation, a devouring red that promised erasure at the atomic level. Toshio’s was null, the pressure of a void so complete it bent everything around it to its will; the gravity of a black hole; the absolute of a number so large it looped back around to zero.

Every being in the room with the senses to perceive it felt it. Most couldn’t move, even if they’d wanted to. Azazel’s face split into a slow, delighted smile, even as the pressure forced him to brace with both hands on the tabletop. It was an energy type he had never felt before. It was exhilarating!

Beside him, Serafall giggled, her eyes alight with the kind of reckless joy that comes from watching two titans test the boundaries of the possible.

Kunou, clutching Yasaka’s sleeve, whimpered in terror, but her mother’s hand gently squeezed hers until the panic faded. Akeno and Rias, both pressed to the floor by the competing energies, exchanged a single, wild-eyed glance. The message was clear enough: this was not a debate. This was a negotiation at the level of existence itself.

It lasted perhaps eight seconds.

The pressure snapped off. Sirzechs was the first to relent, the withdrawal as disciplined as the attack. Toshio’s coalesced pressure faded immediately after, as if it had never been at all. The silence that followed was a living thing, stretching across the room and into everyone’s lungs.

Sirzechs smiled. It was thin but genuine.

"Impressive."

He said it as a compliment, but also as a statement of fact. He had forced Toshio’s hand; Toshio had responded in kind. The balance had been measured.

Sirzechs’ gaze lingered on Toshio for a moment, then slid to Rias with a residue of pride not even the most disciplined Maou could suppress.

Azazel gave a low, appreciative whistle. "No longer a human, huh?" He shook his head, clearly delighted. "Now, I believe it." He of course doubted his claims at first, but no human could produce that level or that unique kind of energy. The feel of Toshio’s presence alone emanated a kind of vitality and life force that no human could ever possess.

And he wasn’t the only one who felt that. All the respective leaders could feel it. This was no longer a human.

Well, that kind of solves the lifespan issue... Rias couldn’t help but think in the back of her mind once she got over the shock of the new information.

Yasaka, for her part, decided to clarify the political dimension immediately. "With respect, Sirzechs-sama, the question that matters now is whether Toshio will choose to support the devils, or stand alone." Her voice was level, but the implication was not lost on anyone.

Sirzechs nodded once, then turned fully to Toshio. "You’ve proven yourself strong. But you understand why I must ask— are you our ally, or will you someday be our enemy?" His tone was perfectly even, but the pressure behind it lingered.

Toshio’s answer was as calm as his demeanor had ever been. "I am ally to devils, to youkai, and to humans," he said. "I have no reason to harm any of you. In fact, every person I care the most about"— he glanced to Akeno, then to Rias, then even briefly to Serafall and Sona— "are devils. Now even a few youkai. I will never be a threat to those I count as friends."

He paused, the next words charged with a gravity that made the room lean in. "But if there is ever a threat to my friends, my family, or my world— I will not hesitate." The implication was clear: his allegiance was personal, not political, and his definition of family was broad.

Sirzechs accepted this with a slight bow of his head, conceding the point. "That is all I needed to hear," he said. The tension in the room dissipated as rapidly as it had come, leaving only a lingering sense of awe.

Akeno, who had been holding her breath, finally exhaled. She squeezed Toshio’s hand under the table, her relief palpable. Rias, for her part, found herself smiling despite the residual adrenaline in her blood. She didn’t know what to call the feeling, but it was closer to hope than she had felt in years.

Serafall broke the silence first. "See!" she sang out, voice full of mischief and satisfaction. "Toshi-tan is the best! I want to adopt him and have tea parties together with him and Sona-tan!" She winked at Sona, who now looked as if she’d rather be anywhere but here.

Azazel, ever the tactician, leaned forward. "If I may, I’d like to formally extend an invitation. The next time you consider a faction, Toshio, know the Grigori would make you an extremely generous offer. All the research grants you could ever want." There was a grin in his eyes, but the offer was real.

Yasaka inclined her head. "Should you ever wish to visit Kyoto, you will always be welcome among my people." Her words were soft, but the warmth in them was unmistakable. Her eyes carried a badly disguised look of hunger. What that meant, Toshio didn’t really know.

The youkai elders, who had been silent throughout, now exchanged a series of rapid, whispered conversations.

Yasaka watched them, her face a mask of impeccable composure, but a different tension ran beneath her skin. She had been the axis of her people for centuries, and although she had dealt with gods, devils, and monsters before, but never had she sat across from something that did not fit into any known category of being.

"Toshio, although you may not remember what happened, I am very grateful for you saving me and my people. Something that I believe deserves, rewarding." A mischievous glimmer twinkled in her eye, her chest lowering ever so slightly, exposing her already generous cleavage. He smirk and meaning, was not lost on it’s intended audience.

"Gratitude and your well-being is reward enough, Yasaka-sama." Toshio bowed his head.

"All the more reason to then~," Yasaka giggled. Kunou, not quite understanding, nodded vehemently.

"Yeah! Toshio deserves to be rewarded! He saved my mom and all our people!" the little fox shouted joyously. Akeno looked over at Toshio with lilted and perverse eyes. Toshio glanced at her and sighed.

"I’m quite well off financially, and I no desire for artifacts. So maybe a favor from the youkai could be arranged?" Toshio negotiated. Yasaka sat back slowly, a pout briefly crossing her features, but were schooled expertly.

"I believe that can indeed be arranged." Akeno giggled at her boyfriend. You’d think with everything they did together he wouldn’t be so prudish.

After a few more discussions about the events that occurred, filling in any other gaps, Serafall brought up the last important topic.

"Now then," Serafall started, more serious than was normal for her. "The devils under the new Satan faction and the youkai of Japan are now in an official alliance. You, being an independent entity, are part of no faction, technically." Toshio nodded, clearly seeing where this was going.

"The terms of this alliance are that if one faction is attacked or needs support, that faction can request aide from the other faction, who has to respond to some degree. Obviously, neither faction can attack each other or hinder their livelihoods. Unlike a treaty," Serafall glanced playfully at Azazel, who was picking his nails. "there is much more good faith toward those who are in the alliance." Toshio nodded his head, understanding such a basic concept.

"Would you, Toshio-tan, as an independent, be willing to join this alliance?" Toshio had already made up his mind before she finished. Wasn’t the answer obvious? He stood from his seat.

"I, Toshio Amano, would be honored to join such an alliance," he said resolutely.

"Yay!!! Toshi-tan! Serafall flew across the table and hugged him. He hesitated, but returned the hug, not really thinking anything of it. It seemed pretty on brand for Serafall. Serafall quickly pulled back.

"Toshi-tan really is the second best! He even hugs back! Unlike my cute little sister," Serafall said the last part with a pout. Toshio couldn’t help but chuckle at her antics. She really did make every room she was in much livelier and happier.

A unique magical circle formed above her outstretched hand. "I just need a teensie bit of your blood and we’ll be all good!" Toshio nodded.

"No small print I have to worry about right? No strange marriage contracts with other devils?" Serafall pouted.

"You’re no fun." She quickly revised a part of the circle.

Wait she actually had something like that in there?! Toshio thought.

"Serafall, don’t sneak anything in there please," Sirzechs said exasperatedly.

"It was just going to be for me n’ Sona-tan so we can have a bunch of fun n’ stuff," she muttered quiet enough for no one to understand her. Except the person in front of her. Toshio was shocked, but did his best to school his features, hoping she didn’t notice that he heard her.

Toshio cut his finger and produced a drop of blood that landed on the magic circle. Those who were paying attention would have noticed that the color of his blood was such a dark red, it was almost black. Toshio certainly noticed.

Well that’s not normal. He thought. The magic circle pulsed once, then dissipated.

With that, the meeting ended soon after. Before they could all leave, Sirzechs pulled Toshio aside, telling Rias and Akeno to go on ahead.

Sirzechs led Toshio through a side corridor lined with lanterns that flickered against the polished wood, their light making the Satan’s hair seem even more vividly red. There was a deliberate distance as they walked, not a word exchanged until they reached a quiet alcove overlooking the inner garden—an arrangement of moss and stone that looked as if it had never been anything but ancient and undisturbed.

Sirzechs stopped, hands folded behind his back, gaze fixed on the central rock formation. For a moment he simply stood, the stately stillness of someone for whom patience was intrinsic.

"You know," he said finally, "when Rias told me about you, I was... skeptical." The admission was delivered without heat but also without apology. "I thought she was being idealistic. That she saw something in you she wanted to see, rather than what was truly there. I suppose, in a way, that’s my failing as an older brother."

Toshio considered this, then inclined his head. "I was aware of your feelings," he said. "Rias is not subtle when she’s frustrated." The faintest hint of amusement traced his voice.

Sirzechs turned to face him, the faint crescent of a smile at the corner of his mouth. "No, she is not. But she is also rarely wrong about people. It seems her judgment was, as usual, impeccable." He let the compliment hang in the air for a moment, then continued, "I owe you an apology, Toshio. I underestimated you. Not just your strength, but your commitment. And that was unwise."

Toshio shook his head. "I never took offense. I was... uncertain myself." His eyes flicked to the garden, the geometry of the stones. "But I have come to value Rias, and I would lay down my life for her, and for the others."

Sirzechs seemed to absorb this with a gravity that was personal as well as political. "That’s what I hoped to hear," he said softly. "There are not many I trust with my sister’s well-being. But you have more than proven yourself. Should you ever need anything, you have but to ask." The words carried weight; they were not mere politeness.

There was a pause, as if Sirzechs waited for some response that did not immediately present itself. Then his eyes narrowed, just slightly. "May I ask you a personal question?"

Toshio nodded.

"What do you think of Rias?" The question was so direct it seemed to momentarily unsettle the rhythm of the conversation.

Toshio blinked. "She is... my friend," he said, slowly, as if tasting the word. "She is incredibly kind, and much smarter than she thinks she is. She does not let people see how much she cares about them, but I know. And I owe her more than I can repay. She’s saved my life once."

The Satan’s smile deepened. "You remind me a little of myself, when I was young." He turned back to the garden, as if the next words were meant for the moss and stone as much as for Toshio.

"Battling fate and winning, but like me, you may go back and take some of fate’s strings with you." This left Toshio a bit puzzled, but he didn’t dwell on it.

Maybe I should have another conversation with Rias about him. Maybe, without Grafia at first... the Satan thought.

"At any rate," Sirzechs said, softening the moment with the faintest arch of a brow, "my curiosity is satisfied. For now." He looked back at Toshio, the weight of centuries behind his gaze, and for a moment Toshio felt himself measured not as a peer, nor a subordinate, but as an equal—one anomaly to another.

"I hope we can continue to work together for a long time, Toshio. The world, as it stands, is increasingly in need of people who can choose their own path."

The Satan extended his hand. Toshio took it, the shake firm and brief.

"I hope so as well, Sirzechs."