Sup guys? Welcome to chapter 9 of my story. As you can see, I'm back! Thank God that the hiatus wasn't long. Wouldn't want to keep each and every single one of you who are reading this story in suspense now, would I? For those who sent me PM's and wrote reviews, I want to thank you. Despite the hiatus being for just 3 days, I still appreciate the kind words and the support. One last thing, for those who have read my review that I posted a few days ago, there Is something important at the author's notes at the end. If you want, skip the chapter, go read the announcement and then read the chapter. It has something to do with Issei's development and it's something I wanted to do, though I'm a little hesitant. Anyway, on with chapter 9! The real one this time!

Chapter 9: Time to train.

After the events that happened in the clubhouse, or the Old School Building, Issei and Rias' peerage agreed that in order to stand a chance against Riser and his peerage, they're going to have to get stronger. So they agreed that they will train.

Rias said that there was a mansion the belonged to the Gremory family in the mountains. She said that is where they were going to train. And so here they are. Walking up a mountain so they could get to the mansion.

Issei was walking with a large hiker's bag on his back. Though it consisted of many items, Issei was able to carry it without breaking a sweat. Though he couldn't say the same about Rias and Asia.

"I-Issei… Could you wait for us?" Rias said, panting with her hands on her knees.

Issei sighed and stopped walking. He turned around and pointed his finger at Koneko. Rias turned around and looked at Koneko. She immediately understood why he pointed at her.

Koneko was carrying twice the luggage of Issei with little to no difficulty. She passed Rias and made her way up the mountain.

Rias sighed.

"My, my, President it looks like you really have trouble keeping up." Akeno said with a smile as she passed Rias. She was carrying a slightly small bag than Issei.

"Sorry President." Kiba also said with his usual charming smile as he also passed Rias. He was carrying a bag that was the same size as Issei's.

Rias then looked at Asia. She had the smallest bag out of all of them. She looked at Issei with a pout and continued to walk up the mountain.

Once reaching the top, Issei looked at his surroundings. There was a wooden mansion in front of him and surrounding it was loads of trees. The weather was clear with white clouds in the sky. There was slight wind, but it wasn't strong.

"As I said in the clubroom, my family owns this mansion. This is where we are going to train for ten days." Rias said with a smile.

Issei waited for Rias to unlock the door to the mansion. Once she did, they entered the house. Everyone then set their hiking bags in the kitchen. Rias and the rest of the girls went to the second floor to get changed, while Kiba and Issei changed downstairs.

Before Kiba could take off his shirt, he got an idea. He turned to look at Issei, only for him to widen his eyes.

Issei's back shoulders were covered in red dragon scales with a few black dragon spikes.

"Issei… how did you become like this?" Kiba asked.

Issei looked at his back and then knew what he was talking about.

[This is what being a Half-Dragon does to you.] Ddraig said.

Kiba could only nod. He and Issei put on their school gym shirts and shorts and walked outside. The girls were already there and ready, wearing their school gym clothes.

"Alright everyone, here is what is going to happen. Me and Akeno are going to go into the deeper parts of the forest and do a magic spar, so we can see whose magic power is stronger and whose needs work on a certain category. Koneko and Kiba, you two are going to spar against Issei. You two figure out who is going first. Asia, me and Akeno are going to get to you later, so just stay here and heal any injuries, if there are any." Rias said.

Everyone nodded. Seeing that everyone understood what they were going to do, Rias and Akeno went into the forest. Asia went and sat down under a tree and waited for the spar between Issei and Kiba/ Koneko.

"So Koneko, I think it's only fair if I fight Issei first, don't you think?" Kiba asked with a charming smile.

Koneko nodded and went over to where Asia was sitting. She sat down next to her and waited for Kiba and Issei to begin their spar.

"Issei, don't you think that you should use a sword as well?" Kiba said as he grabbed a wooden sword from the wall.

Issei nodded and went to grab a sword as well. Despite never training with a sword, he had an idea on how to use one, which was enough for him. He took a stance and waited for Kiba to do the first move.

Kiba dashed forward with his incredible speed and went to strike Issei. Issei easily parried Kiba, and went to strike him back. Kiba also blocked Issei's attack, but it caused him to stumble a little because of the power Issei put behind his strike.

Issei noticed him stumble. He repeatedly began to strike Kiba, who was blocking his attacks with difficulty. Issei delivered a low kick to Kiba's legs, causing him to fall to the floor. Issei then stood over him and raised the wooden sword in the air.

Kiba parried the incoming sword with his own and managed to kick Issei off of him. Kiba quickly stood up and jumped away from Issei.

"I have to say Issei; your skill with a sword is pretty good. But I think that it's time I get serious as well." Kiba said with his charming smile.

Kiba took his stance and dashed towards Issei. Issei raised his sword to block an incoming attack from Kiba, but Kiba disappeared. But Issei knew better than that. Kiba appeared behind him and went to strike Issei at the back of Issei's head. Issei also disappeared and reappeared behind Kiba.

When Kiba saw Issei disappear, Kiba quickly turned around, only to receive a strong punch to the face. Kiba stumbled a bit, but before he could raise his guard, Issei stroke Kiba's sword with all the power he could muster. Kiba's sword left his hands and fell to the ground, two feet away from him.

Kiba looked at his sword in shock. No one has ever managed to strip him of his sword thus far. He turned towards Issei, but like before, was met with another punch to the face, sending him crashing down. Kiba looked up and saw Issei standing over him with his sword raised, like before.

Kiba shut his eyes tightly and waited for the strike to come. He heard a wooden sword dropping to the ground. He opened one eye and saw Issei that Issei has dropped his sword and extended his hand towards Kiba.

Kiba took Issei's hand and Issei pulled him back to his feet. Kiba nodded in thanks with a small smile on his face.

[That was a good effort, Knight of Gremory] Ddraig said.

"Thank you, but Issei was the better man. Looks like I still have a way to go." Kiba said.

[True that. If I remember correctly, Rias Gremory said that a Knight has high speed, but low defense. So, the next time you spar with my Partner, make sure that you focus only on blocking my Partners attacks. We will also work a little bit on your speed and stamina, but that will come in the last days that we are going to be here.] Ddraig said.

Kiba nodded and went under the tree Asia and Koneko were sitting. Koneko stood up and started to walk towards Issei just as Asia began to heal Kiba. Koneko walked over to where Kiba was standing a few minutes ago and took her fighting stance silently.

Issei remembered that Koneko was Rias' Rook and she told him that a Rook is very powerful and has a very high defense. So he could expect that Koneko is going to be a little difficult, but enjoyable at the same time.

Koneko was the first to start their fight, by running towards Issei and threw a punch. Issei caught the punch with his hand, causing a small echo to be heard and for Issei to narrow his eyes a bit. For such a little girl, she sure did pack a punch. (A/N: There's a Call of Duty Zombies reference somewhere in there.)

Koneko retracted her hand and tried to kick Issei, but he jumped back. After jumping back, he immediately dashed towards her, and threw a punch. Koneko blocked the punch easily, but Issei then kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the floor.

Koneko quickly got up and narrowed her eyes at Issei. She knew that this is going to be a hard fight. So she needed to come up with a plan and fast.

Issei disappeared. Koneko looked above her and saw him coming towards her. She moved out of the way, making Issei punch the mountain, creating a small crater. Koneko took the opportunity and punched Issei in the face.

Koneko's eyes widened. Her punch went unfazed by Issei. He didn't flinch, he didn't move from where he was and he, as you probably have guessed, didn't have a reaction.

Issei raised his hand from the crater and grabbed Koneko's wrist. She tried to pull away from him, but she was shocked once more when she realized that she couldn't.

"Impossible. How are you stronger than me?" Koneko asked, not able to hide her shock from entering her voice.

Issei just gave a mere shrug. He then pulled her down and kneed her in her stomach. This caused her to spit both blood and spit. When Issei removed his knee from her stomach, she grabbed her stomach and fell to her knees, gritting her teeth. Issei then grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up from the ground. He then punched her in the face, sending her back down.

Koneko hasn't recovered from the knee that Issei delivered. She was coughing up blood from her mouth. Issei approached the fallen girl and put one of his knees on her stomach where he previously kneed her. This caused her eyes to go wide as she felt a sharp pain go through her body as Issei's began to put pressure on her stomach. This caused her to cough and spit even more blood. Issei then raised his left arm in the air and clenched it into a fist. Before he could bring his fist down, someone interrupted him.

[That is enough Partner! You don't need to beat her into unconsciousness! Let Asia heal her.] Ddraig shouted out of Issei's right hand.

Issei frowned at what the dragon told him, but he stopped. He removed his knee from her stomach, allowing her to stop coughing blood. Issei then looked at Asia, who was looking at him with a shocked expression, a hand over her mouth and eyes wide.

Issei looked away from Asia. He walked backwards and pointed a finger at Koneko. Asia apparently got the message as she stood up from where she was sitting and ran to where Koneko was. She put her hands over her, a green glow emitting from her ring.

"Issei, don't you think you could be a little bit less brutal when training with us? I know you want us to be strong, but if you are this brutal during the ten days that we will stay here… Let's just say that there may be some wounds that Asia's healing cannot reach. We don't want to fight whilst being injured now." Kiba said with a smile.

Issei looked at him with his usual glare. Kiba only smiled. But Issei agreed with him. He'll tone down his brutalness a bit.

After Asia finished healing Koneko, she stood up and looked at Issei with a small frown. Issei ignored it though.

"So… what are we supposed to do until Rias and Akeno finish their training?" Asia asked.

[Well, something you could do is train you beneficial weaknesses. Kiba, you could train let Issei only attack you while you defend. Koneko, as a rook you have strength and a very high defense, but you are lacking speed. So what I'm thinking is that we put a little bit of extra weight on you and have you jog for about three to four hours. Does that sound good to you?] Ddraig asked.

Everyone nodded, having no objections. Before they could resume their training, they saw Rias and Akeno come out of the forest with torn clothes, but it was enough to cover their breasts. They also had black smudges on their cheeks.

"So, how was training with Issei Kiba, Koneko?" Rias asked with a smile.

"Well, it could have gone better for us. You could say that we got the royal beating.Though Issei was a little bit more brutal to Koneko that he was with me." Kiba said.

"Oh? And how brutal was he?" Rias asked as she looked at Issei.

"Well… he kneed Koneko in her stomach, causing her to spit blood. After that, he punched her in the face and put one of his knees to where he kneed her, causing her to spit out more blood. He was going to continue, but the Red Dragon Emperor stopped him. I also told him to tone it down a bit with his brutal nature, only when training." Kiba said.

Rias looked at Issei with a disapproved look.

"Issei, please refrain from injuring severely the members of my peerage. We might need a lot of training in order to defeat Riser and his peerage, but beating and injuring my servants will create the opposite of helping. Thank Maou that Asia was able to heal Kiba and Koneko, but you must know that there might be some wounds that Asia's healing might not reach." Rias scolded Issei, but repeated what Kiba said a few seconds ago.

"I literally just told him that…" Kiba muttered with a sweat drop.

Issei only nodded.

"But other than that, what schedule did Issei create for you?" Rias asked.

"When I'm training with Issei, I will mostly block his attacks so I can raise my defensive capabilities. Koneko will do jogs with heavy waits in order to get faster. She will also spar with Issei from time to time." Kiba said.

Rias nodded.

"Asia, what we have decided, is that I want to somewhat expand you healing range and increase the power of your magic barrier. But, that will have to wait until tomorrow. It's getting quite late." Rias said looking at the now setting sun and the orange sky.

Everybody nodded and made their way to the mansion. Asia said that she'll make dinner and Akeno said that she'll help her. After an hour, dinner was ready. Everyone gathered in the kitchen and sat down on the table. Dinner consisted of ramen, yakisoba-pan and unadon rice. Whilst eating, Rias said.

"This is quite delicious Asia."

"I-I can't take all of the credit. Akeno helped as well." Asia said with a blush and a smile.

"I only helped. Asia did all of the cooking." Akeno said with a smile.

"Still, this is still very delicious." Kiba complimented with a charming smile.

Asia only blushed from the praise she was receiving.

When everyone was finished, Rias stretched and smiled.

"Ah, that was quite nice. Let's take a bath before we go to sleep." Rias said, standing up from her chair.

The girls only nodded. Issei rubbed his left eye and stood up from his chair as well.

"Issei, would you like to join us in the bath as well?" Rias asked with a smile.

Issei looked at her with wide eyes and a small tint of red on his cheeks. He was seriously not expecting this kind of proposal.

"I don't mind you know. Akeno, would like for Issei to join us in the bath?" Rias asked, looking at her queen with a smile.

"My, my… I don't particularly mind." Akeno said, liking on of her fingers with a sadistic smile.

"I-I also want to bathe with Issei!" Asia said loudly while blushing.

Issei could only stare at the three girls in shock. What the hell is wrong with them, letting a guy have a bath with them!

"Koneko, you're the boss now. If you say no, then Issei will have to wait until we finish our bath." Rias said.

All eyes were now on Koneko. She was looking at Issei who was also looking at her. She was also blushing as she looked down and mumbled something that Issei unfortunately heard.

"What was that, Koneko?" Rias asked.

Koneko looked like she was overheating. Her face turned even redder than a tomato.

"I said (mumble) mind." She mumbled, but only Issei heard her as he put his face in his hands.

"What was that, Koneko?" Akeno asked with a teasing smile as she also had a small feeling on what Koneko's answer was.

Koneko looked up a little and glared at Akeno, who only laughed. But, she decided to repeat her answer a little louder this time.

"I said that I don't mind."

"Well, it looks like you are joining us after all Issei." Rias said with a cheerful smile.

Issei then removed his face from his hands and looked at them, an idea forming in his mind.

[Partner, you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?] Ddraig asked inside Issei's head, a small hint of amusement in his voice.

He looked at the group of girls with his usual glare, confusing them a little. He then started to do something unexpected. His hands went down to his belt and started to open it. All of the girls blushed at his sudden action and covered their eyes when they heard Issei unzipping the zipper of his pants. Well… all the girls that weren't Akeno. She had her hands on her cheeks, covering her blush, but she was smiling as she saw Issei unzipping his pants.

"I-Issei! P-Please wait until we enter the bath first! Asia shouted as she went tomato face.

Issei looked at her, but decided to comply. He zipped the zipper of his pants and closed his belt, allowing the girls to look at him.

"Well… This was clearly unexpected of you Issei. But, I think I kinda like that teasing moos that you put on. I want to see you tease us more often." Rias said with a smile, her blush staying as she said those words.

Issei only shrugged. He turned and started to walk away, but stopped when he felt someone grab him.

"And where do you think you're going Issei? You're going to take that bath with us, whether you like it or not." Akeno said with a smile.

Issei only sighed. This is going to be so awkward for him.

After the bath:

Issei was lying on his bed, but he couldn't sleep. His mind was on the Rating Game that was coming up in the next nine days. It was pointless thinking about it now, since they had a week to train, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. He just sighed and got out of bed.

He opened the door to his balcony and looked at the full moon. The sky was filled with many stars tonight. He then heard a sigh from next to him. He turned to his right and saw Rias, wearing glasses and reading a small book. She was wearing a nightgown which mostly covered her body. It went down to her legs. She also had a frustrating look on her face.

Issei approached Rias. Rias heard him walking towards her and looked at him with a smile.

"Ah, Issei. Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" Rias asked.

Issei only shrugged.

[The real question is, what are you doing up? And what is that book that you're reading? Also, don't devils have perfect eye sight? Why are you wearing glasses?] Ddraig asked.

"Oh this? It's nothing really; it just helps me think better. Heh, that is proof that I have been in the Human world for a long time now." Rias said with a smile.

"And this book contains a few things about the Phoenixes, like their strengths for example. I'm looking to see if there are any weaknesses that we could use to our advantage, but sadly I see none." Rias continued with a sigh.

[Well, I'm not an expert on the Phoenixes, but I might know a weakness of theirs.] Ddraig said, catching Rias' and Issei's attention.

"Really? What is it?" Rias asked.

[As you know, a Phoenix is practically immortal, due to their fast regeneration. But there are two things that are not immortal to a Phoenix and that's his heart and mind.] Ddraig said.

"That… doesn't really help us." Rias said with a sad sigh.

[It actually does I bit, His heart might be a little hard, but his mind is definitely. We don't have to hurt him physically, but mentally. I'm still trying to find a way for that. Physically beating would most likely be hard.] Ddraig said.

Rias nodded and started to form a plan in her head.

[Rias let me ask you something. Why did you not accept Riser's proposal?] Ddraig asked, causing Issei to raise a brow at his unexpected question.

"It's because I'm a Gremory." Rias said.

[… I don't think I follow. Do you hate being a Gremory?] Ddraig asked.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. I'm very proud that I'm a Gremory. It's just… people look at me and say 'It's Rias, the heir of the Gremory Clan.' I don't want to be seen like that. I want people to see me as Rias, or more importantly, a person instead of a devil. That's one of the reasons as to why I came to the Human world. They treat me more as a person instead of a devil. I never felt like that like that in the Underworld. That's why I don't want to marry Riser. If I marry him, than he would never let me come to the Human world. I would also lose my peerage if I married Riser." Rias said.

Issei looked at Rias. She was still not done.

"As I said, the person that I want to marry is someone that will love me as me, Rias instead of the heiress of the Gremory Clan. Riser sees me as 'The Heiress of the Gremory Family' instead of Rias." Rias said.

[I understand. That's quite a good reason.] Ddraig said.

"I know. Too bad that my family don't listen to me." Rias said with a frown.

Rias then yawned and stretched. She looked at Issei with a smile.

"I'm glad that you were here to listen to me Issei. Goodnight." Rias said.

She entered her own room and closed the door. Issei yawned as well. He entered his own room and closed the door to the balcony. He lied down to his bed and sleep overcome him.

Nine days later, Day of the Rating game:

Issei was sitting on his bed at the mansion. Nine days have passed quite fast, in his opinion. Though he didn't admit it to Rias' peerage, he was quite proud of the people he trained. Kiba, now had a better defense as he was able to block almost all of Issei's attacks, even some of the more unpredictable ones. Koneko's speed increased as well. Every time that they sparred, Issei made sure that she wore something heavy. Due to that, her speed increased.

Issei then heard a knock on his door. The door opened, revealing Asia. She was looking at him with a nervous face.

"I-Issei… can I stay with you u-until we leave for the Rating Game?" She asked.

Issei nodded and pat the empty space besides him. Asia walked over to him and sat next to him on the bed. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Issei… I'm scared." Asia said in a shaku voice.

Issei only put an arm around her, hugging her and stroking her hair.

[Don't worry Asia; Issei will protect you if something were to happen. Also, I want to ask you something.] Ddraig said.

"W-What is it?" Asia asked.

[Do you have any holy water with you?] Ddraig asked.

And that is the end of chapter 9. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. And I hope you guys enjoyed the teasing Issei. Enjoy him while you still can, because when we enter the Kokabiel Arc, things will take a dark turn. Now, on to what I said at the beginning of the chapter and in my review. I have decided something. I have already decided on how I want this story to end. What I still don't know, is how I will end the Kokabiel Arc. Something that I have thought, Is that Kokabiel reveals something to Issei, causing him to snap. He runs away from the group and he doesn't appear until the Peace Meeting Arc. Second option that I thought is Kokabiel reveals the same thing, but Issei doesn't run away. He will still snap, though from his rage, he'll accidently use Juggernaut Drive. You can vote in the reviews up until the end of the Kokabiel Arc, which is like chapter 16, maybe 18. I'll tell you guys which chapter is the last chapter to vote. Again, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, thank you for your kind words in the reviews and from some of your PM's. So until next time, I'll see you when you're older, don't go changing.