To Akeno, time seemed to slow down as Issei rose his head to meet hers.

As soon it happened, she instantly realized what was going on.

Suddenly, Issei felt electricity run through his veins in large quantities. Before he knew it, he was thrown back and soon was met with a very angry looking Akeno Himejima glaring at him.

It seemed she didn't like that very much.

She was about to continue but that's when she noticed something, Issei wasn't moving, but he was just looking at her, it was his eyes that made her quiver a bit in fear.

Before they were calm, but now they were more primal.

He looked hungry to be honest.

It also seemed like the room they were in got darker all of a sudden.

The air seemed heavier and she noticed the pressure, and realized what he was doing.

He seemed to be in a trance and was subconsciously leaking a bit of his aura.

Issei suddenly snapped back and the feeling she was getting went away, she looked at him as he stood up and groaned. Issei suddenly turned to her and walked forwards.

That's when her previous thoughts returned and she threw a punch at Issei. However it landed in his palm as he looked at her with a smile.

"I see I honestly should of waited to do that, but I needed to get you to calm down, so you could hear me out. Even more soon now, so how about I show you something?" He said suddenly.

Akeno blinked and looked at him sideways.

"Show me what?" She asked skeptical.

Issei sighed and began the next phase of his plan.

"Akeno.. Do you trust me?" He asked slowly.

His response was a scoff, he grinned when he heard that and held out his hand.

"Do you think I'll hurt you?" He said calmly.

That's when her eyes widened.

His eyes show no intent of lying either, she sighed and took his hand.

That's when she heard a small thank you from him, she looked at him a bit odd and that's when he spoke again.

"Take a deep breath." He said suddenly.

She looked at him a bit, but nonetheless nodded.

She was starting to trust him a bit, he didn't seem to have any ill intent with her. He was being completely honest and sincere with her, so she would see what he wanted to show her.

Suddenly her eyes widened as the temperature drastically dropped and darkness enveloped her vision. However, she could still see Issei, but it was just him and her, in a pitch black void of nothingness around them. His eyes were calm and knowing though, almost telling her it was going to be okay, and just to bare through it.

Before she knew it, they reappeared out of the estate and into the woods.

It was the exact area where they found him earlier, so why were they here?

She asked that to him.

"The reason we're here, is due to the fact it has the right requirements for what I want to show you." He replied.

That's when she started to draw a blank.

"Where are you going with this? Don't be vague and beat around the bush, just tell me flat out." She said suddenly.

Issei chuckled, but nodded nonetheless.

She wanted the truth, and he knew he couldn't keep her waiting.

"Follow me." He said.

As he walked towards the waterfall, she had no idea what was coming.

That's when he sat down at the bank of the river that flowed outwards. She sat down next to him as he gestured for her to do so.

"The reason I brought you here has to do with the same question I asked you before. I see this unjustified hate and I can't understand it, I know you're life was rough, even if I don't know the exact details. The reason I know you had a rough life, is because I can see it in your eyes. They looked similar to how mine were portrayed a year or so ago." He said softly.

She was about to say something, but Issei beat her to the punch.

"No more hiding it, I'm going to use a technique that was developed for certain situations to show you the inside of my mind, my memories." He said suddenly.

She was startled, but she didn't get to say anything in response yet.

"You'll be the first one to claim this right, so honestly you should be thankful. Hopefully, my experiences should enlighten you on what you should be really focusing on." He said.

She narrowed her eyes, she had no idea what she was going to be shown. However, she had to admit she was damn curious and this opportunity wasn't going to come again, like he said she would be the first one. So if she denied him, the chance would no doubt go to someone else.

For Issei he knew Kuroka was off limits to her, in a couple senses.

Firstly, Kuroka was his first and he would love her like no tomorrow, and she already told him she would share, so he was willing to see if Akeno was able to learn to like him.

Also, he exposed his complete thoughts to Kuroka, she knew pretty much everything about him, spare a few small details that weren't harmless, and she would understand when it was time. It was that fact that made him okay using the technique on Akeno, since Kuroka already could get in his mind if she wanted to.

"So how does this work?" Akeno asked suddenly.

Issei looked at her and started to explain.

"It's a bit confusing, so I'll just show you with it simplified." He said vaguely.

She saw the grin on his face when he said that, but it had excitement behind it. Before she knew it, his raised his hand up and she watched as a vibrant green energy swirled to life in his hands.

She soon felt the energy it packed behind it, it radiated life and almost all of the energy that the forest had around them.

That's when she realized what it was.

"Senjutsu." She said suddenly.

He nodded, but didn't look at her. He was completely concentrating on the mass of energy in his palm.

With what concentration he could spare he spoke a few words.

"Yes, now grab my hand." He said suddenly.

She looked at him for a moment, then relented.

As soon as her hand touched his, the energy in between dissipated and they were both left with a light glow.

"Now just relax, senjustu makes it easier for me to bring you in. Once you feel the darkness cover you, which you'll know when it happens, don't panic, just embrace it and you'll see what happens." He said suddenly.

She nodded numbly and started to breathe deeply. Before she knew it, she started to feel a little out of tune. She could still feel Issei, but it was only him, it was like she was isolated.

It was a few seconds later and that's when she felt something.

It was stronger than the feeling she got when she traveled with him.

This feeling almost knocked the wind out of her, just by how fast it hit her.

She was drifting and she knew it.

That's when Issei let go, and she opened her eyes.

She was met with a blinding light, which could only be what she thought was sunlight.

She looked down to avoid the glare in her eyes and was met with another revelation, sand and water entered her vision shortly.

She turned around and was shocked yet again, what she saw wasn't what she was expecting. They were on a island with a active volcano, it wasn't close to them at all though, it was a bit in the distance.

The volcano definitely gave her the chills, the setting was just right to make it hard to not notice, that it was there, looming in the background.

"This is the part of my mind that houses my memories. It's a little weird how it forms, but it's symbolic. Some parts are more direct on their meaning, but everything you see has a meaning, even down to the small details, so you may need to think a bit on just what it means." Issei said suddenly.

As she looked at him, she asked what she needed.

"So what does this island mean?" She asked.

Issei looked at her and started to explain.

"It's like a hope for better days, but with a dangerous obstacle on the horizon." He said.

She wanted to say something else, but Issei spoke first.

"We are at the end of my memories, the most recent ones to be exact. So in order to show you what I want, we must go back through the whole thing." He said.

That's when he started walking towards the edge of the beach. That's when Akeno noticed something on the horizon.

It was a city.

Issei suddenly shot his hand out forwards and a few tendrils of darkness came to life. Akeno watched with a bit of curiousity and fear as they grabbed the both of them and started to carry them towards the city on the horizon.

"This is my mind, so I have complete control over it. Thankfully that helps out quite a bit so that we won't be here forever." He said quickly.

Before they knew it, they were set down on the streets. As Akeno looked around the area, she wasn't expecting it too look like it did.

The city was in ruins, and their wasn't a soul in sight.

Windows with broken glass was all around her, the concrete that they walked on was cracked and had weeds growing through them, the building themselves were starting to crumble.

It looked like no one had been there in ages.

It was a ghost town.

"What all this?" She asked.

Issei looked up to the sky and sighed, he kept on walking forwards while he answered.

Akeno knew to follow him.

"It's a part of my life... A time when I wasn't who I was now, something to be explained a little later." He replied.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Akeno looked at him for a second, his expression was serious.

"I should warn you, we are getting to the darker parts of my memories. These parts have tormented me before, so my mind will reflect it. Don't be surprised if you hallucinate at bit." She heard.

She tilted her head as what he exactly meant by that, but nonetheless, she knew some of the stuff she would see wouldn't be good.

"What do you mean exactly?" She obviously asked.

Issei looked at her with a bit of an annoyed face, he wasn't about to just come out with it.

"You'll see soon enough, it won't be too much longer now." He said quickly.

He wasn't saying anything else, Akeno followed him yet again for about another 10 minutes until she hear something.

It was thunder.

As it started to rain, Issei's shadows hung above them, keeping them dry.

"A storm in here?" She asked.

Issei turned to her and nodded.

"We're almost there, that's the sign of it. This is what I wanted to show you, you will see soon." He said.

Before they knew it, they turned around a block, and Issei eventually stopped before a house.

She could tell he was very uncomfortable being there, but why?

She wanted to know why, but before she could ask, Issei beat her to the punch.

"Go inside, trust me, it would be better for me to stay out of it."

She wasn't expecting that either, but the look in his eyes was enough to get her to walk up to the door alone.

As she touched the door knob, it opened without even needed to be twisted.

The house was very dark and gloomy, and the first thing she noticed was the stench of iron hitting her nose.

"Blood?" She wondered.

It got stronger the farther she walked in.

Sure enough she felt it on her shoes as she stepped in a puddle, when she reached down and saw the dark liquid splattered across the floor, her eyes widened.

She needed to know what was in here.

She needed some light.

Suddenly a small crackle of lightning flowed through her fingers, pulsing a light blue, giving her just enough light to see correctly, and boy was she horrified.

It wasn't just on the floor, the walls were covered as well.

"Who's blood is this?" She kept asking herself.

As she walked a little further on, there was no traces of any other amounts of blood, it was just in the one area.

That's when she turned around and saw something.

It was a vision of a woman and man getting stabbed with a light spear, suddenly it got very dark yet again as she could feel an enormous pressure build up that sent her to her knees.

Her vision darkened as she was effected, the power that was affecting her, definitely was filled with hatred and rage.

A few seconds later, it stopped, and her vision returned slowly.

As she peered back at where the blood puddles were, she saw a body.

She knew now this was definitely a hallucination, but her eyes were glued to the body nonetheless.

She noticed a few details soon.

Firstly, the amount of wounds he had was definitely uncountable, his body was obviously thrashed around heavily.

She then noticed his wings, and she didn't know what to think.

She knew what she was seeing wasn't her own thoughts toying with her, but she didn't think she would see something like this.

The fallen's wings were battered and slashed beyond the point of return, it was a very dark scene indeed. As she drew closer, hoping that it wasn't true, realization hit her like a train.

Whatever or whoever caused all the pressure did the act.

Only person could pop up in her mind now, that's when she stood up and walked towards the door.

She was going to get some answers, and quite a bit, whether she liked it or not.

As soon as she marched up to Issei, he rose his hand up.

"Before we talk about this, let's get out of here shall we?"

Akeno blinked, then took his hand.

Before they knew it, they were back to reality.

Akeno stood up quickly, suddenly Issei grabbed her and pulled her back down to his side.

"I will explain here, just believe me this is tough, and a part of me doesn't know why I am going to tell you. However, I feel like that this is a way to help both of us." He said softly.

His tone suddenly got her attention as he wasn't really looking at her, a few quick glances here and there, maybe to gauge her reaction or something along those lines. He mainly just had his eyes on the water, staring at his reflection.

"So what did you see?" He asked suddenly.

She tilted her head, like he should of known already. However, he sighed and spoke again.

"A friend of mine theorized that whoever came in to see it, that my mind wouldn't show everything, but it would show enough." He said.

She looked at him for a moment, then finally relented and told him what she saw.

When he heard, he was startled. He didn't expect her to describe what she did, however, there was no going back now. He let her in, so he'd have to tell.

"The man you saw was a grunt, who was ordered by his superior to put an end to my family, I suspect he would of tried to kill me, if I didn't already have my powers at the time. My parents were dead before me, and a darker and more violent side of me took over in a fit of rage."

She was about to speak up, but Issei looked at her sharply.

"So if that happened to me, why do you think I'd be the same as other fallen?" He asked annoyed.

She knew now.

Issei looked down, but suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.

Peering over, the first thing he saw a lock of hair right up against him. Akeno had laid her head on his shoulder, before Issei knew it, she fired off a question.

"So how did you end up as the person you are now?"

Issei widened his eyes, he'd have to tell white lie here. She'd eventually met Kuroka, so it wouldn't be that bad once the truth was known.

"A very close friend of mine."

Akeno tilted her head.

"Was it a girl? Am I not your first?"

Issei made no obvious expression, but he was cursing himself in his head. He shouldn't of put it past Akeno to ask something like that.

Akeno quickly smirked.

"Oh well, it's not like I don't mind. If fact I would love to be a mistress." Akeno whispered the last part.

Issei didn't know what to think yet, but he definitely was smiling, he knew it was also time to go back.

So when he stood, so did she.

{Scene Break} {Morning}

As it was technically the last day he was going to give them them all a surprise, though afterwards, he needed to give them tomorrow off to rest up.

Before everyone knew it, they stood in front of them.

"So what are we doing today?" Kiba asked suddenly.

Issei looked at all of them as he spoke.

"Since tomorrow is our last day, I figured I'd do something today and you guys will have tomorrow off to rest up for the rating game. I want you all to come at me with everything you got, I want to you to pull out all the stops and come at me with killer intent." He started.

That shocked the group, Akeno was the one to speak up.

"Really Issei? Us against you? Isn't that a bit unfair?" She pouted.

Her response was a chuckle.

"Don't worry, I'll hold back on you guys, but I won't give it up, trust me. No, that is why you have tomorrow off."

Akeno looked at him a bit, suddenly the group noticed the friendly banter between the two of them, their thoughts were cut off as Issei spoke again.

"If there is anything in the world, that is your secret weapon against a serious person who has the strength to kill you, that would be teamwork. It can be like a honed dagger, like they say it's up to you. You put that 'dagger' in the hands of experienced person who has the skill with that weapon, and they can be a force to be reckoned with. The analogy might be a bit weird, but it has the same concepts. A team who knows each of the member's strength's and weakness, can overpower quite a bit of foes." He said.

Everyone took his words to heart for a moment, still no one spoke up.

It was then Kiba and Koneko charged in suddenly.

"Right off the bat huh? A swordsmen and a tank, definitely the right choice between the group for close combat. Akeno and Rias will most likely be support when they feel the time is right. They're waiting for a chance to strike... Smart." He thought as he dodged a swipe from Kiba.

Issei quickly backflipped as Akeno launched a lightning bolt at him, it seemed they were all starting.

Once again, Kiba and Koneko were on his tail, he grabbed Koneko's fist as it came near him, and swung her around like a bat, slamming her into Kiba and sending them skidding backwards.

They weren't done though, Kiba got back up along with Koneko. Kiba's endurance was a little stronger now, and Koneko had the power of the rook on her side. With determined eyes, they charged yet again.

This time, Kiba leapt over Issei while Koneko was closing in quickly by using Kiba as cover. Kiba found his sword against Issei's as he slammed it down, Koneko's fist met Issei's shadow as it formed a barrier where her fist was.

Suddenly the skies darkened as Issei looked overhead to see Akeno in the air, and a storm above her.

Several lightning strikes were sent down towards him.

There was only one thing to do.

Kiba suddenly fell on top of Koneko as Issei melted away.,

Akeno felt him materialize behind her, she looked over her shoulders to see him with his wings out. He had a smile on his face, Akeno knew he wouldn't do anything serious.

Suddenly she felt a presence behind her, and Issei wasn't in front of her.

When she turned he was gone again.

"Come on Akeno! Give me a good fight!" She heard from behind.

Akeno suddenly whipped around and launched yet another lightning bolt, but to no avail, yet again it missed.

It was a game of cat and mouse, and the others knew it.

Suddenly Issei reappeared a distance away from Akeno and launched a wave of darkness that soared at her with great intent, with no hesitation, Akeno leapt cleanly out of the way.

Suddenly all of Issei's most primal instincts kicked in, and his wings were curled around his body to shield him from the incoming blast.

As Issei regained his bearings, he looked down to see Rias. Suddenly he looked over his shoulder to see Kiba and Koneko, devil wings outstretched, hovering in the air.

Issei decided a fight in the air wasn't a good matchup currently, as everyone witnessed him start to fall at a incredible pace, they had no choice but to dive downwards to keep up.

He was baiting this fight back on the ground, and they had no choice but to take it.

The pace was still on as it seemed the moment Kiba and Koneko landed they didn't hesitate and jumped right into action.

Koneko's fist hit Issei's elbow this time as he put up a guard, that was his moment and he was going to take it forcefully.

Koneko barely had time to react as she was grabbed yet again, this time she was swung high into the air.

That's wouldn't damage her that much, it was more of a divide and conquer tactic.

Issei quickly ducked as Kiba missed with a horizontal slash, but Kiba followed it up with a downwards slash, but Issei just knew it was coming and rolled right under it, standing quickly right behind his opponent, Issei delievered a quick elbow to his back.

Kiba was sent tumbling forwards, quickly burying his sword in the ground to break his fall.

Koneko and Kiba were taken care of momentarily, Kiba would be first to come back at him, and he knew that.

Issei wasted no time and dashed towards Rias.

Rias quickly launched several blasts of her power of destruction towards Issei, who seemingly dodged them all, the afterimages were proof that it didn't hit. Issei suddenly decided he was going to up it a bit and go on the offensive.

When Issei's shadow suddenly transformed into tendrils that were homing in on Rias, she quickly took to the air and fired a few crimson blasts that destroyed a few of the tendrils on contact.

Suddenly one of the tendrils grabbed Rias's leg, who felt it yank her back down to the ground.

Everyone looked at the crater that she was currently in, Issei knew she would be fine, he didn't put really any power in that at all.

Suddenly, Issei jumped backwards to avoid a large lightning bolt that was aimed with a ton of precision.

As he looked to the culprit, Issei grinned.

This time, Issei appeared behind Akeno and grabbed her and put her in a hold.

Akeno wasn't going to go out with a fight, and Issei knew that. It seemed they're personalities were definitely fit for each other. Issei felt electricity run though his veins, and was forced to let go of the girl.

Akeno had a dark smile as Issei felt several more lightning strikes enter his nervous system.

He couldn't process anything besides the amount of power that was going through his system, it wasn't fatal, but it still did hurt like all hell.

Issei realized then and there, that this group had what it took, if they learned and continued to employ teamwork like they were showing. So, he decided he would give them the test.

Suddenly Issei disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the training ground.

Soon, he was surrounded.

That was what he wanted.

"For now, you guys have surprised me yet again. So, think of this next part as a test. I don't think you'll be able to win, but if you can make it through the next part, them you definitely are ready." They all heard suddenly.

As he finished, they all felt the temperature drop in large amounts, the chill of the winds that were sent out from Issei's aura was enough to make their instincts kick in.

Suddenly the skies darkened, but it was still day, so that didn't really make sense to them.

When they saw a glow around Issei, they were shocked to see him using a sacred gear.

As they got a look at it, they noticed it wasn't like your normal sacred gear. It was a full piece of chest armor, specifically the shoulder pads and the gauntlets. As the onyx gems started to glow brightly, they were shocked to see it produce a blast of energy, then the whole area around them turn to darkness.

They all felt their senses dull considerably, nothing could be seen now and they could only feel their feet on the ground and hear a bit of background noise, Issei's sacred gear was definitely something else.

They definitely weren't expecting that, but in hindsight, they should of thought it could of helped them.

Akeno was the first one to let go off all of her senses except for sound, somehow she could feel his aura a bit, it was foggy and hidden. Like it was masked and it was using a decoy on her.

Issei quickly sidestepped as she burst past him. He didn't expect her to come close to him yet,

"Taking leave of all senses, and allowing for a single one to take over completely. Such a technique that can be a double edged sword, when mastered is very useful. For Akeno, that might of been a emotional or a magical response, or not. Either way, in times of crisis, most magical energies can impede mental functions." He thought to himself.

Suddenly to his right, Issei felt a small spark of energy and saw a barely visible flame, it was just a small spark, however, it was still a flame. Even if it was weakened by Issei's area of effect, it still gave the user a small amount of light to see just what was nearby.

Issei knew the user would benefit from it a lot as well. Kiba was a swordsman after all, and if he had a single piece of light around him, to help him in what close combat he could deal with, he would definitely fare a lot better than most who are smart and charge blindly.

For Kiba, it was another story all together. He could see literal waves of darkness that were split in between his sword as he trudged forwards, the pressure was quite intense, as he definitely slowed down more the closer he got to Issei.

Kiba knew he wasn't going to be able to get close, his stamina wouldn't last forever. So that's when he decided to roll over and let it continue without him.

As Issei watched Kiba stop, he realized he was done. So when Kiba felt shadows pull him out of the match, Issei hoped he didn't get scared. Kiba did well enough, and knowing when to give up and let your teammates do the rest was a big thing as well.

Issei was honestly bored a bit now, so he decided to end it.

Suddenly the group felt a large amount of pressure and they were shocked to see something incredible happen.

All the darkness that Issei put out, was suddenly sweeping around him like a tornado. With the visibility back in the area, they were witnessing something they weren't told off, they knew it too.

Akeno was shocked to see the all to familiar green energy of life start to mix with the darkness.

As they watched the wisps of green and black energy come off of his semi humanoid form, they didn't move.

It was weird, the form definitely radiated power and authority in every direction, backed by a monumental amount of force, but it was calm and patient. The very energy of life it gave off was warm and had a very potent presence, it was that feeling they got that drew them in.

Suddenly the energy started to fade and retreat back to wherever it came from, and Issei was left standing with smirk.

He was a bit impressed, most of them fought hard, so it was good enough for him. As he told them to stand down, he told them simply to rest up and prepare, and they followed him when he started walking towards the estate.

For Issei he was deep in converse with Erebus.

The dragon had said something that needed his attention, so the moment in when Erebus spoke, after he got his attention was one to not forget.

[Issei... Listen to me when I say this, I have a piece of advice for you. In the past I've said your trigger for the Balance Breaker would be rage, but it seems I could be wrong, and you might just have the potential to prove me wrong.]

Issei stopped, due to the fact he wasn't expecting that. The other's quickly noticed something was up, but he just waved them off.

"What do you mean?"

The dragon was silent for a moment.

[If you're going to do this, we aren't going to do this the easy way. No, when the time comes, I'll give you a push and we'll see if you can do it.]

After that the dragon was silent, and Issei knew, he wasn't getting anything out of him.

So he sighed and walked into the estate and started to prepare mentally, for what was to come.

After Raiser lost.