A/N: 500 followers and nearly 200 reviews! That's kind of insane! I really appreciate all of the support and I hope to keep earning it. Here's the training arc I've been looking forward to writing for a while and I hope it meets your expectations. I wanted to go into at least a little depth on what each person was focusing on, so this takes place over the course of the first day. The rest of the ten will be a time skip, with potential references to their training during the actual rating game. In addition, I hinted about a character named Beatha that was...influential...enough to cause at least a bit of fear in Tiamat. Some context about what this is is interspersed around this training arc and I honestly really like how it turned out. The next chapter will get into the rating game against Riser, so I hope you're excited about that. For now, that's it! I'll try to have an update schedule of two chapters per week, though I am slowing down so I don't get hit with burnout. I'm confident I can finish this story.

P.S Bonus points if you answer the riddle correctly.

{Time & Place - ?}

"Well...this is...fucking boring…" Yahweh mumbled to himself, lounging around in the dimensional gap. "How do you two stand it?"

"..."

"..."

Neither responded. "Sounds to me like you try to outbore the boredom...nice…"

Yahweh and the two other massive creatures continued to do nothing for a long time. A very long time. If you were to take a single mustard seed and place it in an empty box that was sixteen miles long, sixteen miles wide, and sixteen miles high, and continued to do that once every one-hundred years, that is how long the three did absolutely nothing.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Yahweh shouted. "THERE HAS TO BE A POINT TO THIS! GREAT RED? OPHIS? COME ON, BACK ME UP HERE!"

"..." Great Red said nothing, only let out a snort of air, and rolled back over.

"Empty…" Ophis said simply, still not really acknowledging anything.

"What does empty mean?" Yahweh asked. "Bah! Who cares! We're all-powerful, super-creatures! We CANNOT be this bored! I'm going to find something to do!"

And so, the one-day future Lord set out on a journey...across the dimensional gap...alone... He quickly found that there truly was nothing there. It was the dimensional gap. It was an infinitely large plane of absolutely nothing, no one, and non-existence. Entertainment was not present.

{Line Break}

"Hmm, very close, but still incorrect," Michael shook his head. "You fail."

"That's every move I have! What could possibly be left?" Rias demanded, frustrated at her repeated failures at something she'd thought she was pretty good at...chess.

"You're failing to see the bigger picture. This isn't exactly an easy puzzle," he explained, returning the pieces to their starting positions. "Allow me to demonstrate. Firstly, the queen captures the pawn at h7, checking the black king."

"That's a queen sacrifice!" Rias exclaimed. "Wait, I tried that on my third attempt! You said it's unwise to sacrifice your queen!"

"And what did you do after that?"

"I moved the queen back!" she defended.

"Exactly. Sacrificing your queen is unwise unless you have a very good reason to. You didn't have a good reason, you were simply trying to find out what I wanted you to do," Michael explained. He then went on to begin solving the chess puzzle, explaining each step as he made it. "And finally-"

"King to d2 revealing a hidden check with a checkmate…" Rias breathed out. "That's incredible! That's a seven-move forced checkmate! Even Sona would be hard-pressed to see that!"

"Indeed. Believe it or not, this was a human chess game," Michael chuckled, putting the pieces away. "Edward Lasker vs George Alan Thomas in 1912, a casual game of chess that went down in the history books. I've played, and been handily beaten by, the former in the 1915 New York Masters tournament. He's an exceptional player."

"You play chess in human tournaments?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Indeed. In fact, several famous players throughout history have been devils, angels, or fallen angels in disguise. It's a leader's game and one we tend to enjoy. Honestly though? The best players tend to be humans. Perhaps it's how they've survived this long."

"I had no idea," Rias responded honestly. "I knew that it was a good strategy game, but to this level…"

"What I'd like you to see, Rias, is not the board and its pieces, but a commander and his army," Michael explained. "They are not one and the same. You see, in the real world, telling your pawn to sacrifice himself is not something every leader will willingly do and even fewer pawns will willingly follow."

"I'd never sacrifice any of my peerage members like that!"

"Exactly. Therein lies the difference. Chess is a game of mentality and strategy, but they are not one and the same. To be a good leader you must have a good mind, yes, but to be a great leader, you must be a good leader with a good heart. Chess is but one way to practice seeing the forest for more than just the trees."

"And that, Rias, is why Michael is here today," Issei informed her, walking into the room. "Because Michael is a true leader. The best there is. Someone who makes decisions, hard ones and easy ones. Someone who makes mistakes, small ones and big ones. Michael is a person who moves past them all for what he believes is the greater good. While this is a simple rating game, yes, you are the leader of a peerage. The goal is for your presence alone to make them want to follow you. For your mind and your heart. Right now, they follow you because they are your friends or because you saved them. That makes them loyal followers, yes, but can you expect that in the future? Do you expect each of your peerage members to be pure-hearted followers that you lucked out by saving their lives? What if Katase had resented you?"

"I never thought about it before," Rias admitted, actually showing a slight amount of shame on her face. "I was too worried about Riser...I never considered that I wasn't a very good leader."

"You've done his puzzles, now it's time for mine. I want you to think about the answer to the question I'm about to ask for a minimum duration of the rest of the day," Issei explained. "When you believe you know the answer, you may give it to me. You get one guess per day, should you wish to use it. If you get the answer by the final day or before, your training was successful. In addition, only you may answer this riddle. No assistance in any way, which means you may not repeat the question to anyone else."

"What's the question?" she asked, determined to get the answer.

"Two men of equal strength, swordsman A and swordsman B, clash their swords together. Who is the winner?"

"That's the riddle?" she blinked. "But...that's easy! The winner is the one who comes up with the greatest strategy!"

"I told you to take the rest of the day before you answer it," Issei replied, his face not changing to hint whether she was right or wrong. "For now, I'll leave you with Michael."

{Time & Place - ?}

"Well, if there's nothing to do, then I'll MAKE something to do!" Yahweh declared, having enough of doing absolutely nothing. "I can do anything I want! I'm all-powerful! I'll just create a place with stuff. Then, whenever I get bored, I can go to the place and interact with all the stuff."

And so that's what Yahweh did. He spent a great many years planning how everything would work. He decided that he wouldn't make it too big, but also not too small, only around 46 billion light-years before you came back to the other side. After all, he wanted to be able to explore everything without running out of stuff to do, but he also wanted to interact with the stuff soon, dammit! Also, since this was an experiment, he wanted to make sure it would keep going if he were to leave. After all, his creation shouldn't destroy itself just because he got bored again and wanted to go find something else to do, so, he set up the place to be relatively autonomous. Maybe someone else would come along to check it out, who knew.

Yahweh divided the place up, which he called his 'universe,' into a bunch of sections called 'galaxies.' In each galaxy, he put a bunch of stuff. Each one held different stuff for him to play around with and discover what it did later. For now, though, he just put it there. Once he'd finished filling about three-quarters of his universe with stuff, he was visited by Ophis and Great Red, who proceeded to do absolutely nothing. However, this lack of any activity gave Yahweh a brilliant idea.

{Line Break}

"You have excellent control," Dulio praised, nodding his head in approval. "The Priestess of Thunder is quite a fitting nickname."

"Why thank you," she bowed slightly.

"However," he continued. "You lack a great deal of power. I find that rather...strange...seeing as power is practically radiating off of you. You aren't holding back, are you?"

"No," she answered, with a hardly noticeable tint of hesitation.

"Hmmm," the Joker hummed for a moment. "Very well. There are multiple ways to increase the power you give off. The simplest one would be to simply increase the amount of magic, or in your case demonic energy, that you're putting into the spell."

"That would weaken my control and drain my reserves faster, so the training would involve strengthening those?" she asked him.

"Which is why I don't feel like that training is the correct approach. Your reserves seem more than adequate for your age and skill level and I already mentioned that the control you have is exquisite. We'll have to find a new way to increase your raw power."

"I have a suggestion," Issei volunteered, emerging from the forest. "Akeno, how much do you know about physics? The properties of electricity in which your lightning is formed?"

"Not much," she admitted, sticking her tongue out slightly.

"I would start there. Dulio, why don't you give her an example? Blow up that tree with your ice." Issei gestured to a nearby tree.

"Ah," he nodded, following his train of thought. The Joker activated his Zenith Tempest, and, a short time later, the tree exploded from the center, shattering with a loud explosive noise. Oddly enough, however, there was no smoke, nor evidence of magical residue being used. Simply the parts of the tree that were shattered in the explosion.

"Now, your hint is that Dulio used ice magic," Issei began. "How did he make the tree explode?"

"Well," she thought for a moment. "All trees have sap, right? He froze the sap inside of the tree."

"And that made the tree explode because…"

"When liquid freezes, it expands. The sap's expansion exceeded what the tree could handle and it shattered under the pressure."

"Very well done," Issei praised. "Exactly correct. What I'd like you to better understand, is the physical properties behind electricity, electromagnetism, diffusion, power, and charge. All concepts centered around physics and chemistry."

"I understand what Dulio did, but how is that going to help me?" Akeno asked. "Just knowing how the lighting works isn't going to increase how strong it is."

"True, but it will allow you to maximize its effectiveness. Here's an example," he explained. "The equation for electrical power is voltage multiplied by current. The current is measured by a change in the electrical charge divided by how long it takes for that change to occur. In other words, to increase your power you have to increase your voltage and your current. Your voltage is primarily based on your demonic energy. More energy input results in a higher voltage, which is why the attack is stronger. It does not, however, affect the electrical current."

"How do I increase the electrical current?" she asked him.

"Well, for starters, you read this," he tossed her a physics textbook. "But, as a basic answer, I'll cede you to Dulio."

"Because current is affected by charge and time, there are two ways to increase your current. The first, and easiest way, would be to increase the change in charge. Electrical charge is how the matter interacts with the electromagnetic field…" Dulio began to explain the basic principles of electricity to the priestess.

'Now that I'm really looking at her,' Issei narrowed his eyes slightly. 'I'm getting a Fallen vibe from her. How about you?'

"Mmmhmm," Yahweh nodded. "Not one of mine, though. She's also an evil piece and I don't think those work on angels of any kind. They are polar opposites, after all."

'So, in all likelihood, she's a hybrid,' Issei mused. 'Strange. She's never mentioned it before.'

"Half-breeds are often embarrassed of their origins. Perhaps that has something to do with it?" Yahweh guessed. "Talk to Yuuma about it. If she does indeed have some issues with her Fallen Angel side, Yuuma should be able to understand."

'Yaknow, when you have a good idea, you really have a good idea.'

"You just said the same thing twice, and yet, I'm insulted…"

'Too easy.'

{Time & Place - ?}

"There is a chance that if I add too much stuff, I'll just get bored of it," Yahweh thought aloud, stroking his beard in thought. "Ah hah! I'll fill the rest of it with the opposite of stuff!"

So that's what Yahweh did. The last quarter of his creation was filled with the opposite of stuff. What does that mean, you ask? Who fucking knows. Yahweh does, but he won't tell us, because he hasn't gotten bored of the stuff yet. Until he does, the opposite of stuff will remain a secret.

Now with the universe filled with stuff, and the opposite of stuff, Yahweh decided to go through and check everything out. It was very pretty, he quickly realized, and he was full of pride in his creation. He spent a very long time interacting with all the stuff he'd created. A very long time. If you took all the sand particles at the bottom of the Ganges River and counted them, attributing each sand particle to one hundred years, that would be a waste of time, but it would also give you a rough idea of how long Yahweh spent playing with all his stuff. Until...once again…

"I'M BORED!" Yahweh groaned, sitting on the ground in the dimensional gap once more. "And I've only explored about half of my universe! It's all too similar! Maybe I should make a new one…"

"..." Great Red snorted very loudly and then flew off, doing several flips along the way.

"Well...that's new…"

"Red was bored…" Ophis said simply.

"SO WAS I!" Yahweh exclaimed, relieved that someone else shared in his pain. "Wait! This gives me a brilliant idea!"

{Line Break}

"HIT HARDER!" Dima roared loudly. "YOU CALL THAT PUNCH? I CALL THAT FLICK FROM ANGRY TOAD!"

"I'M TRYING!" Koneko yelled back, punching even harder.

"DIMA NOT AMUSED BY LITTLE GIRL! PUNCH!"

"AAAAHHHH!" Koneko roared.

'I feel as though I'm not needed here…' Issei shivered, quickly leaving the area.

"Happy place...happy place…" Yahweh mumbled, terrified that the naturally quiet young girl was now in a screaming match with a large Russian. "Never go back...never…"

{Line Break}

"You're getting the hang of it," Yuuma nodded approvingly. "Just try to-"

"What's wrong?" Xenovia asked, stopping her attempt at making a light spear when Yuuma paused and turned her head, seeming to be looking for something in the forest.

"ISSEI~!" Yuuma squealed, taking off and tackling something that was hiding in a tree down onto the ground.

"OOF!" Issei grunted, hitting the ground from Yuuma's super-effective snuggle attack. "Ow~."

"Aw, it didn't hurt that bad," Yuuma giggled, sitting up on top of him. "Whatcha doing here?"

"I came to check up on you two," he sighed, sitting up and pinching her cheek. "And it seems like you're not training Xenovia."

"I am too!" she pouted. "I just noticed you were here!"

"So, how are you coming along, Xenovia?" Issei asked, choosing to ignore Yuuma for the time being.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I can't quite get the light to stay in form for very long."

"Hmm," Issei hummed for a moment. "Have you tried forming it around an object first?"

"What?" Xenovia looked confused.

"If you're having trouble with its structural integrity, you can find an object shaped relatively similarly, such as a branch or an actual spear, and pour your light magic around it, using the object as a mold."

"Won't whatever object I use get destroyed?"

"Not if you don't want it to. Light magic is largely intent-based. If you practice with it, it will do what you want it to, allotting it follows the allowances of the power, of course."

"So, if I just will it to not destroy this," Xenovia questioned, having broken a large branch of a nearby tree. "It won't get destroyed?"

"Not if Yuuma taught you correctly," he replied, poking Yuuma in the stomach, causing her to let out another giggle. "If it does get destroyed, go back to the basics and try again."

Xenovia shut her eyes, gripping the large stick tightly, as light slowly started to surround it.

"She's doing it!" Yuuma exclaimed. "That's much better than earlier!"

"Wow," Xenovia seemed impressed. "This is much easier."

"True, but that should just help you with the basics. Once you understand how to keep it in its shape-" Issei was cut off by a slight popping noise as the light dissipated. The King chuckled momentarily before continuing. "Then go back to trying to make it without having to use a medium."

"I understand," Xenovia nodded, before attempting the exercise once more.

"So, we have some time to ourselves then. Right, Issei~." Yuuma purred, looking him in the eyes.

"Almost," he replied back, in a similar tone. "You have time to yourself. I've gotta go."

"Wha- Issei~!" Yuuma whined.

"Nope," he shook his head, giving her a quick kiss before standing and walking away. "I've got other people to see and you have plenty more to teach Xenovia. You can never get too strong, you know."

"Fine," she huffed. "I expect extra cuddles, Issei."

"You always expect that," he waved as he set off. "Good luck."

{Time & Place - ?}

Armed with his new idea, Yahweh once again returned to his universe, starting in the next galaxy that he hadn't explored yet. That was where he decided that he needed to make stuff that could be sentient. If there was nothing to do and no one to talk to, he'd just make something to do and someone to talk to! Why didn't he think of that sooner?
Yahweh spent many more years setting this galaxy up how he wanted it, modifying all his rules slightly so that the sentient things could be comfortable. After that, he picked up one of his creations where he decided they would live, which was really just a giant ball of rock he mashed together, he started filling it with what he called 'living stuff.' It was different from his usual stuff, but also the same. It wouldn't be any fun, he decided, if he were to just create living stuff, so he decided to make living stuff out of the stuff he already had.

"Now this is entertainment!" Yahweh thought, as his creations began to begin their existence.

It really wasn't entertaining, considering all he really made were things so small he could barely see them even after shrinking down to his minimum size, but considering how long he'd been alive with nothing to do, it was certainly a step in the right direction.

{Line Break}

"Looks like Kiba's up next," Issei said to himself, walking towards the blonde. "I wonder how they're-"

"AAAAHHHH!" screamed a voice from across the forest.

"THAT ALL YOU GOT, BLONDIE?" roared a second voice, one he recognized as Griselda. "THAT'S BARELY A SCRATCH! YOU CAN HARDLY SEE THE BONE AT ALL!"

"SOMEBODY SAVE ME!" the first voice screamed again.

Issei stopped his walking, turned around, and walked away, whistling a tune softly to himself. "On second thought, I think Griselda may be insulted if I showed up. I wouldn't want her to think I didn't trust her, or anything."

"Chicken," Yahweh snicked.

'So, if you were in my place, you'd head over there and check it out?'

"..."

'...'

"..."

'That's what I thought.'

"Whatever…"

Seeing as Griselda had...ahem...everything under control, Issei decided that he'd go see Asia next. So, he walked over to the lake, set on doing whatever he could do help his adorable little Asia become the best healer in Heaven!

{Line Break}

"Very good," Raphael praised. "You're doing an excellent job. See if you can focus that same amount of power into a larger area."

"O-ok," she struggled out, feeling the stress of the technique. "I think...I can...get it…! AHH~!"

The green light she'd been steadily expanding suddenly popped, shoving her backwards slightly with a loud yelp of surprise. Instead of hitting the ground, however, she found herself in a pair of very warm and very strong arms.

"That's quite some power you put behind that," Issei chuckled, sitting down with Asia on his lap as Raphael walked over to the two. "What are you working on? Twilight healing shouldn't explode like that."

"Um...Raphael told me there was more the Sacred Gear could do than just one person's injuries," Asia admitted shyly, her face red from the attention she was getting.

"Oh?" he seemed surprised, looking up at Raphael. "What else can it do?"

"In its base form, the only other thing it can do is work over mid-ranged distances and increase its potency," Raphael admitted. "However, its Balance Breaker is something else entirely. We're working on general magical ability and control so she can improve both together."

"A very good idea for the first day. I probably just would have had her practice using it as long as possible and work on her agility," he admitted. "Anything else in mind? You're way better at explaining this than I am, so, honestly, I don't think I have much else to do here."

"As a matter of fact, yes. Since she is so new to magical power, I don't believe she'll be able to master the Balance Breaker any time soon," he admitted, Asia looking down in disappointment in response. "However, I'd like to teach her some defensive abilities in order to protect herself."

"Very good idea," he nodded, before turning to Asia. "Hey, don't get down on yourself, alright? Balance Breakers aren't something you learn overnight."

"I know...I just-"

"Nope. No buts," he interrupted, hushing her. "Do you know how long it took me to get mine? A year. A full year of dedicated Balance Breaker training just to activate it. Most people never even get theirs, ok?"

"I just don't want to be the only one who doesn't get any stronger," Asia admitted sadly.

"And you won't be, because you'll get a lot stronger," he reassured her, hugging her tightly to his chest. "Raphael is the best of the best and you'll be better than ever after the ten days are up, alright? You just need to be confident in yourself. You're my adorable five. If I didn't have full faith in you, I wouldn't have added you to my deck, and I definitely wouldn't have asked you to play in the Rating Game for Rias, alright? So, trust me. You're amazing now and you're only going to keep getting better."

"He's quite right, you know," Raphael nodded in agreement. "I've only known one Twilight Healing user better than yourself. No one else has gotten to your level and you have plenty of room to continue growing, especially if you plan to focus on healing arts as a priority."

"Alright...if you're sure. I'll do my best!"

"That's my girl," he praised, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before standing and setting her back on her feet. "Oh, also, Raphael? I suggest wards over barriers. Probably more her style."

"Hmm," he hummed for a moment.

"Wards?" Asia asked curiously.

"He'll explain when the time comes," Issei replied.

"I agree with you," Raphael nodded. "Wards do seem more her style. When we finish with the magic exercises, I'll go over everything about wards and barriers."

"Good luck, Asia," Issei waved as he headed back into the forest.

'I'll do my best!' she said to herself again, trying to psych herself up even more. 'For Rias and Issei!'

{Time & Place - ?}

Unfortunately, Yahweh quickly realized that he wanted to do other things for a while, because all the stuff he made he set up to do its own thing, and he was quickly getting bored again.

"I know! I'll make a new living thing to watch everything for me!" Yahweh declared and got to work. This, he decided, was his masterpiece. Better than the other silly things he'd made, like a giant statue of Great Red made out of some of the stuff he'd created, or a machine that made his beard liquid. This was a brilliant creation.

What he'd created was a large deer, nearly three times larger than any of the deer that would come to be several hundred million years in the future. Its antlers were massive and adorned with earthly trappings; symbolisms of life, nature, and beauty. They were golden, green, brown, and shimmering with light. The hoofs of his creation were powerful, yet graceful. Capable of leveling the ground, yet delicate when walking. Its fur was brown and soft, with a fluffy, white underbelly, and a short tail. Its eyes shimmered with the green that he decided would be the color of this place.

"I'll call you, Beatha!" Yahweh decided, naming his creation.

"Father?" the creature blinked at him in confusion, though it did not move its mouth in the slightest. "What...where...why...and who am I?"

"YOU CAN TALK?!" Yahweh exclaimed. "Well, telepathically, but still! I must be even more impressive than I thought!"

'So, you created me?" Beatha asked.

"We have much to discuss…"

A short while later, Yahweh had given Beatha all of his instructions.

"So, I am Beatha," the creature nodded. "And those are my tasks? Very well. I hope you return one day."

"Don't worry about that, I'll see you eventually."

"When you do, please come here. To this land. I shall return every 100 years," Beatha told him. "And I will hope that one day, you will return to me."

"Sounds like a plan, Beatha," Yahweh gave the mighty deer a thumbs up. "See you around!"

{Line Break}

"Your strikes are honest, but they are not true," the old man lectured, as he attempted to correct the pinkette.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Katase protested. "Those mean the exact same thing!"

"They do not!" Minamoto replied sharply. "Honest strikes are accurate and strong, while true strikes are precise and powerful."

"THOSE ARE STILL THE SAME!"

"Alright, Katse, calm yourself," Issei chuckled, coming out and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He's trying to help."

"Are you sure he's a legendary swordsman, Issei?" she turned to him and sighed, groaning into his shoulder in frustration.

"He can hear you, ya know."

"Sorry," she mumbled, her cheeks slightly pink.

"It is of no consequence," the elderly trainer waved her off. "I understand your frustrations, however, in order to get stronger, you must overcome those frustrations!"

"How good would you say Katase is now?" Issei asked.

"She is exquisitely...mediocre," he answered honestly.

"Ugh~," Katase groaned again.

"However, the possessor of such a powerful sword is destined for greatness, if they are willing to put in the work."

"I agree," Issei nodded. "You were the star of the kendo club, Katase, what happened to all that drive to get better? Where's your motivation? I'm honestly a little disappointed."

"I am motivated!" she said back defiantly.

"Really? It doesn't seem to me like you're trying very hard," he taunted, egging her on.

"ISSEI!" she shouted, shoving him away from her. "What the hell is your problem?!"
"Hey, the Katase I know wouldn't give up so easily," he shrugged.

"Issei…" she growled, clutching her sword tightly. "I'm not giving up…"

"Are you sure about that? Sure looks like it."

"This is the worst idea you've had...in a very long time…" Yahweh groaned.

'Nah, it'll be fine,' he waved him off.

"ISSEI!" she shouted, charging at him with her sword. "HIIYAAH!"

CLANG

Issei managed to deflect it with a powerful light sword, engaging the pinkette in a sword-based duel. He shoved her backward, swinging at her midsection with a quick swipe, which she back-stepped, before coming in with a thrust. Issei jumped out of the way, swinging at her center of mass again, beginning a rapid series of strikes met with blocks and parries.

"Hmm," hummed Minamoto, stroking his beard. "Interesting…"

The two met in a blade lock, each trying to overpower the other. "See? You don't seem to be putting much effort in at all," Issei taunted again.

"SCREW YOU, ISSEI!" Katase shouted again, shoving her weight into the sword to break the lock.

She then went on the offensive, rapidly swinging her sword in various angles, each only being met with blocks. After a nearly successful hit that Issei was forced to jump back from, Katase tried to utilize her knight speed to get behind him, which he quickly spun around and blocked. Following up with his block, she feinted, allowing Issei to go for a counterattack. Noticing this, she dodged to the side and slammed her sword down on his light sword, causing Issei to lose his grip. Now with her opponent disarmed, Katase quickly held the tip of her sword to his throat.

"Who's...giving up...now…" Katase panted, tired from the five-minute bout.

"Amazing!" Issei praised, grinning widely. "You did absolutely amazing!"

"Huh?" she lowered her sword, tilting her head in confusion, allowing Issei to rush in and give her a life-squeezing hug.

"You did so much better than you usually do!" he praised, spinning the pinkette around. "Sure, I wasn't really using my full strength, but you disarmed me in only five-minutes! Last time, you could only beat me if I wasn't using any angel strength."

"Very well done," Minamoto praised, approaching the two as Issei set the confused girl down. "Your strikes were fast and true. Many mistakes were made, yes, but that allows many lessons to teach."

"You didn't really believe I'd think you'd given up, right?" he smirked teasingly. "I was just riling up that fire of yours so you'd quit whining about it!"

"Issei~," she whined, pouting. "That was mean! I thought you were serious…"

"Hey, of course, I wasn't. I believe in you fully. I wouldn't get Yoshitsune no Minamoto as a trainer for just anybody, you know," he winked at her. "Just listen to him, ok? Trust that he knows what he's talking about. Use your head and if you still don't understand something, you can always ask me about it later. I'll do the best I can to help you, but I believe Minamoto is all you need."

"If you really think so," she sighed and then looked at him hesitantly. "Just...don't do that again...ok? I really...I really thought you didn't believe in me anymore…"

"I'm really sorry," he apologized, hugging her lightly. "I just needed that fire back in you. You were frustrated because you didn't understand and I didn't want you to lose hope. I know you'll be a brilliant swordswoman. I have full faith in you and that will never ever change. I hope you won't forget that, but I am sorry."

"You better be," she hummed, returning the hug.

"I should get going. You've got training to do and I need to work a few things out," he pulled away. "Do your best, ok? I know you'll do amazing."

"I will," she nodded, before giving him a deep kiss. "Thank you."

{Line Break}

"Looks like you're all still alive," Issei praised the various trainees and trainers that had just returned to the estate. "Good job."

"My brain hurts," Akeno groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"It wasn't too bad," Rias said, shrugging. "A lot of work, sure, but I think it could have been worse."

"Speak...for yourself…" Koneko deadpanned between pants, vaping laid out fully on the ground.

"Seriously," Katase agreed, sore and out of breath herself.

"Issei, why didn't you warn us?" Asia asked breathlessly. "Raphael had to help me walk back…"

"Look at it this way," Issei shrugged. "At least you aren't Kiba."

"Kill...me…" Kiba croaked from the floor, looking more dead than alive as everyone turned to look at him.

"He's exaggerating," Griselda scoffed.

"No…" Xenovia shivered in her own memories, causing most of the others to gulp in fear of the swords-using angel.

"Well!" Issei clapped his hands together. "I guess it's time for us to eat and then get to bed. I believe Michael, Dulio, Griselda, and Raphael have to get back to Heaven and will be back tomorrow, while Dima and Minamoto will be joining us."

"Dima very hungry," Dima nodded.

"I appreciate your hospitality, Lady Rias," Minamoto bowed.

"Yuuma will start dinner, but in the meantime, some of you look like you could use help," he chuckled, looking at the various trainees groaning in pain. "Rias, why don't you take care of Koneko and Kiba while I help Asia and Katase?"

"I can do that," she nodded, moving to help her blonde knight move off his place on the ground, which was oddly surrounded by a damp, red substance. Strange…

"We're off," Michael informed them, waving at the group alongside the rest of the Heavenly residents. "I won't be returning tomorrow, however, everyone else will be here. Until next time."

"Make sure you survive the night," Griselda ordered.

"I look forward to working with you again tomorrow," Dulio smiled and crunched into another apple.

"You did wonderful, Asia," Raphael praised. "Be prepared for tomorrow and get enough rest!"

With their farewells given, the group teleported back to the sky, as Issei gently lifted Asia in one arm and Katase in the other. "Akeno, why don't you show Minamoto and Dima to their rooms?"

"Alright," she sighed, trying to rub the headache away. "Please, come with me."

"Sleep important to Dima," Dima grunted, following the priestess.

"You know I'm spoiling you two to death, don't you?" Issei chuckled as he walked away. "You're both more than capable of walking."

"What's your point?" Katase teased, poking him while Asia just blushed and looked away.

"Just that you should be very grateful that I'm so good to you both," he sarcastically boasted. "I'm kind of the best."

"Oh, sure you are," she rolled her eyes. "And that's why you got Kiba to train under Griselda. What's wrong with her anyway?"

"You make a compelling argument," he chuckled, opening the door to the girls' room. "She's just a training freak. It's her forte."

"Well, thanks for not giving her to me, I guess."

"You're very welcome," he replied, setting the two down on a bed before sitting between them and hugging them both to his sides. "We'll beat Riser...I know we will."

"We'll kick that poultry asshole into next week!" Katase said confidently, snuggling into his warmth. "Easily!"

"I-I believe we'll win, too!" Asia added, slightly nervously.

"Issei~!" Yuuma exclaimed, running into the room and tackling him for herself. "You left me out!"

"You were supposed to be starting dinner," he pointed out from underneath her.

"I did that, but you weren't there!" she huffed. "You were taking too long. I can't have Katase or Asia getting your virginity before me, after all."

"This again," Issei groaned.

{Line Break}

The group had finally prepared and eaten their meal, Minamoto and Dima retiring for the room for the night, while the girls, Issei, and Kiba decided to visit the bathhouse before they went to sleep themselves. Before she was able to leave, however, Issei stopped Yuuma.

"Hold on a second," he said, grabbing her hand lightly.

"Naughty, Issei!" she giggled. "Did you want to join the bath with us? Ooh, or maybe you wanted to do something else while they took a bath? Hmm?"

"No! I mean, I would-wait, no!" he shook his head as she continued to giggle. "That's not what I wanted to ask you. I wanted to know if you could do something for me."

"What is it?"

"I want you to talk to Akeno."

"That's it? What for?" she asked him, confused.

"She's a half-breed," he admitted. "And I think she's upset about that. I can't say for certain, but she should be even stronger than she already is, but she's holding herself back. It's not exactly uncommon for people to be embarrassed about being a half-breed, so I thought that might be it."

"So you thought I'd be able to relate to her because of my situation?"

"I did. You're great to talk to, so I was hoping you could try."

"If there really is something wrong with her, I'll try my best to help," she declared confidently. "No one should have to suffer because of what they are…"

"Yuuma," he smiled sadly, bringing her into a tight hug.

"I'll do whatever I can," she whispered to him, returning the gesture.

"I love you, Yuuma," he told her.

"I love you too, Issei," she murmured, internally squealing. 'Finally!'