Chapter 7: Truth's and Training

I don't own DxD; I just use its characters and techniques. All credit goes to its creator. Same applies for anything that I used from other animes.

Welcome to Chapter 7 boys and girls. Things got real fun recently for our hero. Taking Rias Gremory's virginity as Grayfia watched in amusement. Screwing with Riser Phenex as Grayfia again watched in amusement. Man, Grayfia sees all the good stuff…. Anyway it's time to prepare for battle and now Rias is aware of just how powerful Issei is.

"So let me get this straight. A few minutes after I left your house, Rias popped up and stripped naked for you begging that you take her virginity?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Then Grayfia showed up, and instead of stopping Rias, she allowed it to happen and even gave Rias some tips?"

"That's about right."

"Then a day later Koneko confronted you about your relationship with Rias and about Asia?"

"Yep, but I dealt with that."

"Then Riser came and, after you insulted him in your typical Issei manner, agreed to a rating game in ten days?"

"That about sums it up."

"Not to mention he's gunning for you because you kissed his sister's hand after being 'offended by his sloppy groping'?"

"Ain't I great?"

"What you are is bonkers. It makes me wonder why in the world I slept with you in the first place." Sona groaned. Sona noticed that Rias was walking with a limp during class so she asked Issei about what happened. She was beginning to wish she hadn't.

"If I remember correctly, you did it because you thought it would awaken the sacred gear you believed I had, and when it didn't activate, you tried to erase my memories… which actually activated my sacred gear." Issei teased as he sat in his bed with Sona early in the morning. He and Sona had another one of their 'tutoring sessions' the night before because he was going on a training trip with Rias. Of course this time she stayed over since they weren't going to see each other for a while.

"That was a rhetorical question." Sona groaned.

"Look on the bright side." Issei chuckled.

"I fail to see the bright side in all of this." Sona deadpanned.

"Well, let's see. Even though Koneko knows about us, she won't say anything because I convinced her not to. Grayfia didn't have a problem with me sleeping with Rias and she'll stop Sirzechs from doing the same. We have ten days to train for the battle against Riser, which by the way we'll easily win with my power and strategic mind. Plus Rias still has no idea I'm sleeping with you." Issei smirked. Things were going about as well as he could've hoped, now all that was left to take care of Riser.

"That was another rhetorical question." Sona groaned. Pillow talk with Issei was sometimes fun but sometimes it was extremely annoying. Her lessons to help Issei had worked even better than she imagined.

"Oh well. We're off for training tomorrow and Rias is no doubt thrilled at just how powerful I am." Issei boasted.

"I guess." Sona said timidly shocking Issei.

"What's wrong, Sona? You're never this timid." Issei asked in confusion.

"Well, I'm just wondering what now? Rias is beautiful and I'm pretty sure once you save her from Riser you'll have her as putty in your hands." Sona revealed on the verge of tears, at least before Issei bonked her on the head. "What was that for?" Sona yelled.

"Rias has snuck into my room, and been naked by the way, on at least twenty occasions since I've become a devil. It would've been absolute child's play to sleep with her if I wanted to. Yet I waited until just before Riser to do something."

"Twenty times!" Sona gasped in shock. For Sona it meant that Rias was in Issei's room as much as she was and that was saying something.

"That's right, Sitri. He had enough respect to not sleep with your friend till he absolutely had to, even though he's under no obligation to do so. However you can discuss this another time. The nun is waiting for you two to finish your lover's quarrel." Ddraig told the pair.

"Thank you, Ddraig." Sona replied.

"Glad to help. I'll give you some credit girl because I still don't know how my partner resisted her for that long. He must care about you quite a bit." Ddraig said with a smirk.

"Troublesome dragon." Issei groaned. He was right that he cared about Sona and ever since they started seeing each other, he never considered sleeping with Rias.

"You're welcome" Ddraig retorted.

"See you later Issei; and train hard." Sona said smiling as she activated a magic circle to go home. Because she turned away, Issei didn't see the massive blush on her face as she left the room.

"Hey Asia, you can come in now, sorry about making you wait for us." Issei said calmly as he lay in bed.

"You asked me to wake you when it was time to go. I guess you guys took longer than usual." Asia said timidly. Asia was already dressed to go for the training trip.

"No worries Asia, I didn't expect Sona to stay all night." Issei said nonchalantly. As he got up, he forgot that he was naked underneath the covers.

"Umm….Issei-san, can I ask you something?" Asia asked timidly as she tried to block her eyes.

"Sure." Issei said nonchalantly turning towards the nun who could see EVERYTHING Issei had to offer.

"What's your relationship with Sona? I know you two do those things, but are you a couple?" Asia said nervously because of Issei's naked state.

"I hate to interrupt this hilariously awkward moment but, GET SOME PANTS ON PARTNER!" Ddraig yelled.

Ddraig's words made Issei finally remember that he was still naked. "Oops, sorry Asia." Issei said bashfully as he grabbed a towel to cover himself. It wasn't the first time Asia had seen him naked but it was still not something he liked dealing with.

"It's fine, but your question...?" Asia said calmly trying to return to the original topic.

"I can't really tell you what Sona and I are. Sure we hook up a lot, but I don't know how much more there is to it." Issei said calmly as he made his way to the shower. This day was just getting started after all.

(Scene Skip)

Issei and gang arrived in Rias's mountain villa ready to train for the battle with Riser. Fortunately for Rias and the ORC, Riser gave them ten days to train for the rating game. Sure Issei's power was great, but the group would need to improve their skills big time in order to make up for the numbers difference. "So everybody, let's get started!" Rias said happily in her red and white tracksuit. Issei and Kiba were both in black and white tracksuits with white shirts underneath. Akeno was in a tracksuit similar to Rias's. Asia was in a white shirt with the bottom of the tracksuit. Koneko was in a white shirt and bloomers. All in all everybody was ready for battle.

"Sounds good to me. So what do you want to do?" Issei said calmly.

"Well since we've never seen your real power, Issei, how about we start with that? I want to see just how powerful you are." Rias said calmly.

"Sounds good to me Rias, how high do you want me to go?" Issei said with a wry smile.

"What do you mean how high?" Rias said almost in shock. 'The power he showed us yesterday was incredible. How much stronger could he be?' Rias thought to herself.

"Well, what I showed you yesterday was the power I had before I got my evil pieces, remember? Now that I have the evil pieces I can go a little higher." Issei revealed.

"How strong are you?" Rias said with a serious expression on her face. Depending on Issei's strength she might not need to train at all.

"See for yourself." Issei said smiling as he focused his energy and making sure to channel the energy through his evil pieces. Needless to say the results certainly caught Rias off guard.

Rias P.O.V

We had just finished our first day of training and any nervousness I may have had about the battle with Riser had already vanished. When I saw his power the other day after Riser left I knew he was strong, but today Issei blew my mind. The fact that his strength before he got the evil pieces was close to my own was one thing, but his full power had me stunned. I couldn't have asked for a more powerful servant.

"Hey Rias, is everything okay?" Akeno asked me as we sat in the female side of the hot springs. Fortunately for me Issei wasn't on the male side, so we could talk without his hearing getting in the way.

"I'm fine; I just can't believe Issei is so strong." I told my best friend.

"Of course, and to think a year ago he was just a normal human." Akeno told me.

Akeno's words caught me off guard, "You're right, he WAS just a normal human." I replied calmly but the more I thought about it I realized something was very wrong. "Hey Akeno, I'll see you tomorrow. I need to figure something out." I said as I left the baths to change. I didn't want to say anything because Akeno was absolutely right. Issei was indeed a normal human just a year ago. In fact, when he first caught my eye I couldn't sense any supernatural power at all. There's no way that he should be that powerful, especially since he just became a devil. I had some investigating to do.

When I got back to my room I went to the laptop I used to organize my devil work and turned it on. I needed to look over Issei's file and see if I missed something about his family. I hadn't. Then I looked over Issei's contracts and hoped something would stand out. Fortunately for me something did; the red cosplay outfit that Issei got on one of his first contracts. I didn't think about it too much at the time but I realized that this outfit was for a woman. In fact, if I didn't know any better I'd say it might actually fit me based on the size. I quickly summoned my familiar and asked her bring me the outfit. I went to the mirror and tried it on and I got the shock of my life. Not only did it fit me like a glove, but all I needed was a matching staff and I looked exactly like Sona's older sister when she wore that weird outfit of hers. I needed to call Sona. Somehow Issei was connected to Serafall and I needed to figure out how.

"Hey Rias, what's bothering you?" Sona said sleepily as I called her. It was late at night so Sona was obviously tired.

"You know my new pawn, Issei?" I asked her cautiously.

"What about him?" Sona said dismissively. I could tell there was a little annoyance in her voice.

"I'm pretty sure, Serafall made a contract with him." I revealed to my best friend.

"What did you just say?" Sona replied in shock.

I explained what happened with the outfit and about my worries about Issei, "So what do you think" I asked nervously. If he was being used by Serafall it would explain everything

"I gotta go Rias" Sona said angrily before hanging up. I couldn't blame her for being annoyed because it was bothering me too. It appears Serafall hid her identity to make a contract with Issei and she wouldn't do that without a real good reason.

(NORMAL P.O.V)

Things had definitely gotten interesting for Rias thanks to her investigation. It explained why he was so powerful and how he had such a vast knowledge of the supernatural. Of course when the pawn in question arrived, he was as calm as could be. 'Well he's not giving me any visual hints. Guess I'll have to do this the hard way.' Rias said to herself. She would have to confront Issei about it directly. After everybody got some food it was time for Rias to do what she had to do. "Okay guys, so here's the plan for this morning" Rias said regally. "Akeno, I want you to practice magic with Asia. Kiba and Koneko, you guys are by yourselves and I'm gonna train with Issei."

"Aww….I wanted a little private time with my cute junior." Akeno pouted.

"I see, so I guess you wanted to personally test my strength?" Issei said calmly.

"That's right. You easily beat Kiba and Koneko yesterday, and now I'm curious how you'd fare against me."

"Sounds like fun." Issei said happily clearly unaware of what Rias was planning.

"Hey Rias, can I spar with him in the afternoon?" Akeno pouted.

"Fine Akeno, but me and Issei need a little one on one time." Rias said calmly. With that breakfast came to a close and everybody went back to their rooms to prepare.

(Scene Skip)

Issei and Rias were standing in a clearing in their tracksuits and both were relatively calm. At least until Issei broke the ice. "So Rias, why are we really training by ourselves?" Issei said smiling. Issei knew something was up and he figured that he should just be blunt. His mind games were fun, but now was not the time.

"This is why, Issei." Rias said with a wry smile on her face. Casting a magic circle, the Gremory Princess changed into the cosplay outfit that Issei got from his first contract.

"I'm confused. I thought we were going to fight. Then again that outfit looks amazing on you." Issei said sarcastically. Internally he was slightly nervous, but since this was Rias, he figured he could work things out.

"We are, but I figured I'd show you the outfit beforehand. After all that's why Milky gave it to you." Rias said with a wry smile of her own.

"What do you mean by that?" Issei replied nonchalantly.

Rias was annoyed that he didn't react to the name but continued nonetheless, "Serafall is strange, but she does love her cosplay outfits. I guess she gave it to you knowing that you'd give it to me. Though I have to admit Milky was a good nickname to hide the truth" Rias said cunningly. Once again Issei didn't react to Rias's annoyance.

"You told me that Serafall was the name of one of the Maou. Why in the world would a Maou set up a contract with a devil like me?" Issei replied managing to keep his cool. It was clear to Issei that Rias knew about Serafall having a contract with him. The question was had she made the connection to Sona yet.

"True, it would make no sense. Serafall's only interested in her magical girl TV show and her sister, Sona." Rias revealed.

"Again, what does that have to do with me?" Issei said calmly. 'Good, Rias hasn't realized the truth.' Issei thought to himself.

"I mean my brother's a Devil King also, but he can't do anything about my marriage. Maybe Serafall wanted to help in her own way?" Rias questioned hoping to get a reaction out of Issei.

'She's not even close, but that is a smart answer.' Issei thought to himself. Rias believed that Serafall sent Issei in order to stop the marriage. She was close but didn't have all the answers; luckily for him "I don't know what you're talking about, Rias?" Issei replied.

'Damn him, he didn't take the bait.' Rias cursed internally. Whatever was going on she didn't like it, but Issei was right and that could be shelved for another time.

Issei was tired of the mind games so he decided to end this on his own terms. Walking up to his master he smiled before grabbing her on the waist and kissing her on the lips once again. The kiss was quick and but it served to calm Rias down. "I get it your shocked at how strong I am. However right now you have more important things to do, like getting rid of the fiancée you utterly hate. Focus on that Rias and all will be revealed in time." Issei said gently.

Rias was blushing crimson after the kiss and his explanation and it calmed her down. "You're right, Issei. We have a rating game to win." Rias said sternly before transforming back to the tracksuit and beginning their training spar.

(Scene Skip)

(Sona P.O.V)

Normally I loved weekends because they allowed me to relax after a crazy week of dealing with the students of Kuoh academy. This particular weekend, I wouldn't have that luxury thanks to me worrying about Issei. My best friend Rias left with her team the day before to prepare for the rating game with Riser Phenex. I was worried that once Issei took out Riser he would switch to Rias and leave me all alone. The fact that he might be in contact with my sister changed everything.

"Sona, is everything okay?" My queen Tsubaki called to me from right in front of my desk. Unbelievable, I can't believe I didn't notice Tsubaki come into the student council room. I was slipping at the worst possible time.

"No, it's not, Tsubaki. No it's not." I replied to my loyal queen. Maybe it was time I tell somebody the truth and hope Issei doesn't get mad at me.

"Sona, you can tell me anything." Tsubaki told me with her gentle smile.

"Okay then, but what I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room." I said calmly as I began to explain everything about my relationship with Issei. It felt as though a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. Of course I didn't mention my sister's possible involvement since nothing was certain.

"That's quite a story." Tsubaki said in disbelief. The look of shock on her face was understandable.

"Tell me about it. There were times even I couldn't figure out what was going on. Me, the student council president, was sneaking around with one of the school's top perverts. It felt like the start to some crappy doujin." I replied being as honest with my queen as possible.

"I'm surprised that you're so bothered by everything." Tsubaki told me.

"What do you mean?" I replied. It didn't make sense.

"Well, right now you two are merely "acquaintances" as you put it. If that's the case, just stop seeing each other." Tsubaki said bluntly.

"Yes, I know, Tsubaki, and I would've agreed with you a few months ago. However, the longer we've done it, the more I've found the current arrangement is rather pleasant." I admitted in my own stoic way. Of course I was actually in love with him, but I couldn't tell Tsubaki that. Not to mention that Serafall's involvement complicated things.

"You do remember his original goal correct?" Tsubaki replied.

I thought about it for a moment and realized what was going on. "Yes I do Tsubaki, thank you." I told my loyal queen. He did used to talk about being a harem king after all and in truth it was hard to keep up with his stamina. I had my solution and it was simply a matter of getting him to agree.

"No problem. Now let's get going. The rest of the council needs their fearless leader." Tsubaki said with her trademark smile. With my queen's words promptly in my head I was ready to go to work.

(NORMAL P.O.V)

"Alright everybody, let's show them what we're made of!" Rias said confidently as the group sat in the ORC building. The training trip had given Rias all the motivation she needed to begin the battle with Riser. Grayfia had just finished telling the group that the location of the battle would be a copy of Kuoh Academy. Now Rias wanted to get some last minute strategizing in. Thanks to a map of Kuoh and the knowledge of where each person had their base, Rias was in business.

"Well guys, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Issei said calmly. The training trip had elevated Issei to the strategist of the group, something he could thank Sona for. Kinda hard to have pillow talk when one person has no idea what the other person's talking about. That, in addition to his strength, had made him the unofficial King of the Gremory group.

"Give us the bad news first." Rias groaned. She loved his tactical side, but she hated his sarcastic streak.

"The bad news is that Riser has a full set of peerage members, one of whom is his little sister, Ravel. Meanwhile we have only four members who can actually fight."

"What do you mean four?" Asia wondered.

"We have me, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba. Rias can't really fight because if she goes out, Riser will target her and the battle will end immediately. Rias can't beat him and she knows it. You can't fight Asia, because well, ya know, you're the healer."

"So the bad news is that they have more manpower than we do. We knew that already going in." Rias groaned. Issei may have been her pawn but the guy really knew how to handle business. The way he coldly revealed their weaknesses was necessary.

"The good news is we have far better quality. I took a look at their power when Riser showed them off so I know that only Yubelluna and Riser are a problem. The rest of his peerage is pathetically weak."

"So wait you can beat Ravel?" Rias said in shock.

"Yes, I can, but I don't have to. In fact we only need to do a few things in order to win." Issei said confidently.

"What do you mean?" Rias wondered.

"Get ready because this is a complicated plan and we have to follow it to a T." Issei said smiling as he explained what he was after. Once he was done he looked at the group calmly and asked. "So does everybody understand the plan?"

"Yes!" The group replied. Soon Grayfia arrived and the time had come to take them to the battlefield.

That's it for Chapter 7 everybody. Things are heating up beautifully in the DxD world. Rias suspects that Issei received training from Serafall but can't confirm it. Sona tells Tsubaki about the relationship between her and Issei, and Rias is about to face off against Riser. Next chapter the battle begins and Issei proves to be the force that everybody expected.