The following morning, Issei got up and took a shower after spinning his Gacha. He got nothing noteworthy. He then had breakfast with his family, kissed Raynare and said goodbye. Issei then got on V-Max and headed to Kuoh Academy, where he would be meeting Rias. From there, they all headed to the mountains of Kuoh.
For the start of Kiba and Akeno's training, their Gravity Runes were increased to double their usual ones while they ran up the mountain. As for Koneko, it was four times the usual intensity of the Gravity Rune.
Once they were up the mountain, Issei told them to give him a hundred laps. Kiba and Akeno were glaring at Issei, but he didn't care. Akeno tried to seduce Issei to lessen her training's intensity, but it failed. Issei even conjured fire and threw them at Kiba and Akeno to get them running.
Koneko is Issei's favourite since she never complains, and she would even smile when she completes her task. Plus, he loved giving her head pats.
Once Kiba and Akeno were done with their laps, they panted for air. Then they saw Koneko, who was barely even sweating.
"H-How are you not tired?" Kiba said. They train as much as each other. So, why was Koneko not sweating as much? It couldn't be because of the rook piece since that only gives a boost in strength, not stamina. In fact, it's the knight piece that boosts stamina. "Did you even complete a hundred laps?".
"I did," Koneko said. She then skipped to where Issei was, and she received her head pats. "Did I do good?".
"You did great, Koneko. Well done," Issei said. He then got to thinking. Maybe he should reward Koneko's hard work by cooking her dinner later. "You know what? I'll give you a reward later. I think you deserve it".
"Hmm…" Koneko thought. She didn't know Issei could cook. At least he didn't look like someone that cooks. "You can cook?".
"I can," Issei said. He smiled at Koneko. This wasn't the first time people thought he wasn't one to cook. "I'll surprise you at dinner".
The next task Kiba, Akeno and Koneko were given was to spar with Issei. The look on the face of Rias, Akeno, Kiba and Koneko when they saw Issei duplicate himself. It was hilarious.
Kiba was being pushed to complete his comprehension and mastery of [Demon Sealing Strike] as he would be Rias' trump card. Only he had the power to stop the healing of Riser. But at the same time, Kiba was also being taught [Divine Regeneration of the Vermillion Bird] so he could continue fighting as long as he had Demonic Power.
For Koneko, she was being taught the other techniques of Re-Taekwondo such as Hoe Grab, Rising Back Kick, Reverse Sweeping Kick, Blue Dragon Kick, Twin-Dragon Kick, etc. Koneko's mastery over Re-Taekwondo was great. She's diligent and willing to learn. Hence the speed of her progress was incredible.
As for Akeno, the real Issei wanted to speak to her about her heritage. Issei knows that she's a Fallen Angel. He could also see that she still resents her Fallen Angel half.
"So, Issei, did you bring me away from the others to have fun?" Akeno said. She smirked and giggled while she swayed her hips as she walked toward Issei. "You know the things I'm into. If you can't take it, the safe word is sugar apples".
"That's not why I brought you here, Akeno," Issei said. He sighed at Akeno's attempt at flirting with him. "I wanted to speak to you about your Fallen Angel heritage".
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Akeno said. She didn't know how Issei found out, but she was scared that Issei might no longer like her. Fallen Angels, after all, don't have the best reputation. "I'm a Devil, not a Fallen Angel".
"Akeno, I have special eyes that allow me to see different types of energy," Issei said. That was one of the Fiery Eyes Golden Pupil's abilities. "I can tell the difference between the aura of a Devil and that of a Fallen Angel. You, Akeno, have both. I want to know why you're holding back your powers as a Fallen Angel?".
"I-I hate it! I hate my Fallen Angel blood!" Akeno shouted. Due to her father being unable to save her and her mother, Akeno developed a hatred for Fallen Angels. She has developed a sense of self-loathing towards her Fallen Angel nature. "If I could choose, I would choose not to have any Fallen Angel blood as it disgust me".
"I see…But you know, you hating your Fallen Angel blood, is you denying your mother's love for you and your father," Issei said. He wanted to help Akeno stop her self-loathing due to being half Fallen Angel. Then he thought, what if Akeno's mother was here? Would she be able to help her lessen Akeno's hatred for Fallen Angels? Issei didn't know, but it was worth a shot. "Tell me, Akeno. Do you wish to see your mother again?".
"I wish…I wish that I could see her again," Akeno said. She was not in tears. "She is the only one that ever cared for me".
"What if I told you that I can help you bring her back?" Issei said. He didn't have much use for the extra resurrection stones with him since he had already given one to each of his parents, Asia and Raynare. "Would you like that?".
"It's impossible," Akeno said. There was a Sacred Gear that was able to bring people back, but it's nowhere to be found. "I don't think it would be possible".
"Akeno, listen to me. All you have to do is answer yes or no," Issei said. He then looked Akeno in the eye and asked his question. "Do you wish to bring your mother back to life?".
"Y-Yes! Of course, I would". Akeno said. She didn't know why Issei asked her these questions, but she answered them honestly. "I would do anything to have my mother back".
"Good," Issei said. He then took out a stone from his inventory and handed it to Akeno. "Take it and wish for your mother back".
"What's this?" Akeno wiped her tears and looked at the stone in her hand with confusion. It looked like an ordinary stone, except that it was multi-coloured. "This is a stone".
"It's known as the Resurrection Stone," Issei said. Just from the name, Akeno realised what it was meant to do. But is it real, or is it a practical joke? No, Issei isn't that type of person. "Think of the person you want to bring back to life, and they will come back to life".
Akeno didn't know what to think. Issei isn't the type to joke about such things, but her logic tells her that bringing back the dead is not entirely impossible. However, can a plain-looking stone really bring people back to life?
Nevertheless, Akeno gave it a shot. She thought about her mother on the day of the incident. Akeno thought about the fond memories she had growing up with her mother. Not a moment later, the Resurrection Stone lit up the entire area.
Once the light dimmed, Akeno saw a person in front of her that looked almost like her. No, this person resembles her mother perfectly. She was even wearing the clothes the day she died.
"A-Akeno!" the woman said. She then moved to hug Akeno. "I-I missed you so much!".
"M-Mom?! How is this possible?" Akeno said. She was not mistaken. The person hugging her is her mother. "W-What's going on?".
"What's going on? You were the one that brought me back to life," Akeno's mom said. She looked at her daughter in confusion. "You were the one that brought me back to life, right?".
"Technically, yes," Akeno said. She then looked at Issei and pointed at him. "But he was the one who gave me the item to do so".
Akeno's mom looked at Issei. She remembers him clearly.
"I remember you," Akeno's mom said. "You were there that day. You fought off those Fallen Angels sent to kill Akeno and me. Thank you. My name is Himejima Shuri".
"Hyoudou Issei," Issei said. He then bowed at Shuri, who was also bowing to him. "I'll leave you to reunite with your daughter".
Issei went back inside the mansion rather than to Kiba or Koneko since they were already trained by a duplicate. Whilst inside, Issei met Rias, who was reading a book and making strategies for the Rating Game.
"Oh, Issei, How is the training going?" Rias said. She saw how hard her Peerage was training. So, she came to the library to read books about strategies to try and find the best way to defeat Riser. "I saw how hard you were pushing them".
"Well, this ten days of intense training was a deal," Issei said. When Rias found out that she could cancel the engagement with a Rating Game, she took it and made a deal with Issei about doing intense training. "As long as you keep your end of the deal of letting Asia enter Kuoh and not inviting her to anyone's Peerage, then this deal is worth it".
"I did some investigation on you before when I was planning to invite you to my Peerage," Rias said. Issei already knew that. "But I didn't know you had a sister".
"Asia is my foster sister," Issei said. It was the truth, and his parents even got official documents. "She's new to the family. Since she arrived, I can see it in her eyes how much she wants to experience school life like a normal person".
"I see. No wonder I had no information on it. I'll inform Sona about our deal," Rias said. She may be a Devil, but she does honour her deals rather than look for a loophole. "By the way, how I saw you brought Akeno to a place to talk to her, was there something wrong?".
"You see, I knew that Akeno was a Fallen Angel and that she was holding herself back," Issei said. He didn't like that Akeno would sometimes hold back her magic since her Fallen Angel's light manipulation would sometime manifest itself when she got serious and had this look of disgust on herself. "I wanted to help her get rid of her hatred of Fallen Angels so that she would stop loathing herself".
"I've noticed that for quite a while, but I didn't know how to tackle the subject matter. I've never experienced what Akeno has," Rias said. She was saddened that she could do nothing about it. "So, where is she now? Did you succeed?".
"Akeno is back where I left," Issei said. He then looked in the direction that Akeno was. "She's currently reuniting with her mother".
Rias nodded her head. She then went back to read the book in her hand. A second later, she realised what Issei had said. Rias ran to the window and looked at the location that Issei was looking at. Sure enough, Akeno was speaking to someone that has a striking similarity to her.