Akeno Himejima

Akeno Himejima is a first-year college student at Kuoh Academy and one of the many female protagonists of High School DxD. She is Rias Gremory's Queen as well as her best friend. Akeno is one of Kuoh Academy's Two Great Ladies alongside Rias.

Appearance
Akeno is a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure with very long black hair and violet eyes. Her hair is usually tied in a long ponytail, reaching all the way down to her legs with two strands sticking out from the top and sloping backward, with an orange ribbon keeping it in place.

Like most of the girls at Kuoh Academy, she wears the customary Kuoh Academy girls' school uniform, along with black calf-length socks.

As revealed in the visual book with her data, her body measurements are [B102-W60-H89 cm]. Her slender figure is thanks to her weight being quite low [54 kg]. Akeno's height is 168 cm. (5 feet 6 inches), making her a character of average height.

In the anime, during battles, she often transforms her clothes into a traditional miko attire, consisting of a white haori with red accents, a red hakama, and a pair of zōri with white tabi.

When she first revealed herself as a Fallen Angel in front of Issei in Volume 4, she reveals one Devil wing and one Fallen Angel wing. This later changes to six Fallen Angel wings with the aid of two bracelets (no longer required) given to her by Azazel. In this form, it is stated by Yuuto Kiba that she looks like a high tier Fallen Angel; possibly a Cadre.

Personality
She is first seen to be very elegant and gentle, but is in fact highly sadistic in battle and doesn't show any mercy or remorse towards the enemies she slays. She also loves to tease Issei and Rias. Akeno has also stated that she has some masochism in her as well. She is shown to be somewhat vulgar, flirting with Issei as such and doesn't care if Rias knows or saw her doing the act, but does care enough to not steal him away from her. After falling in love with him, she becomes very seductive and obsessed to have an affair with Issei whenever she finds a chance, which is often interrupted by Rias and some others.

She also has a weak side to her once she removes her mask of being an Onee-Sama, what is left is her true side of "depending" on a man which is generally Issei. If danger arises to him, she will become depressed or it can also lead to a rise in her tension. The latter occurred when Issei was injured in the Rating Game between the Sitri and Gremory groups, and the former when Issei was thought to be dead in the Dimensional Gap.

Despite being seductive toward Issei and acting like a mature young woman, Akeno is still innocent and emotional towards love and acts like a girl her age whenever she is on a date with Issei. However, this still does not stop her being seductive and flirting with Issei. Despite being seen calm and clear, Akeno does get jealous like the other girls and will fight for Issei.

History
Akeno is the only child of Shuri Himejima, a Shinto priestess and Baraqiel, a Fallen Angel and one of the leaders of the Fallen Angel organization, Grigori. As a child, Akeno was close to her mother and fell into despair when she witnessed her mother's death, blaming her father for not being able to protect her. After the death of Shuri, Akeno stayed with her mother's relative before being kicked out due to her Fallen Angel blood.

At the tender age of 10, without food or money, Akeno journeyed throughout Japan using her skills to purify evil spirits that she learned from her mother in order to survive, doing so for a year and a half. When she stumbled into a certain town, Akeno indirectly saved a human that was contracted with a Devil from the Gremory Clan. Fearing that the Devil would kill her due to her Fallen Angel heritage, Akeno decided to hide from them. Later, while trying to leave the town, Akeno was suddenly attacked by her relatives from the Himejima Clan who came to kill her. Before her Grand-Uncle Suou Himejima could land the decisive blow, Rias, and her father's Bishop, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, appeared and talked Akeno's family out of killing her with two conditions; first Akeno is to never enter the territory under the Himejima Clan and second, to always stay beside Rias. She then moved into the Gremory Palace where she was taught various things from studies, to how a lady should act as well as deepening her bonds with Rias, becoming her best friend in the process.

Upon entering Junior High, Rias received her Evil Pieces and made Akeno her first servant. She later entered Kuoh Academy alongside Rias and helped her in re-establishing the Occult Research Club becoming its Vice-President.

The Red Dragon Emperor's Awakening
Akeno made her first appearance in Volume 1, introducing herself to Issei who just came to the Occult Research Club. She later assisted Rias in facing the Fallen Angels Dohnaseek, Kalawarner, and Mittelt, which they won after terminating the three.

In Volume 2, she helps her master Rias in her Rating Game against her then fiancé, Riser Phenex, eliminating four members of Riser's peerage before facing Riser's Queen, Yubelluna, which she lost after the latter used the Phoenix Tears. She is later seen in Rias' engagement party and helped Issei in his attempt to rescue Rias by knocking out the guards who were attempting to stop him.

Birth of the Breast Dragon Emperor
In Volume 3, Akeno was in charge of scattering Issei's Dragon power, where she attempted to seduce Issei until Rias enters at the time, angrily scolding them. When Kokabiel declared that he would attack Kuoh Academy, Akeno called for the Satan, Sirzechs Lucifer's help, talking back to Rias when she condemned Akeno for calling her brother, telling Rias that she understands Rias not wanting to bring her brother into this after the family problem, but tells her that Kokabiel attacking is not a problem that should be taken lightly. During the battle against Kokabiel, she and Rias terminate all the Cerberus that Kokabiel took with him from the Underworld. She and the rest of the Gremory Team then fought against Kokabiel but were easily overwhelmed by the latter until the interference of Vali Lucifer who came to take Kokabiel back with him under Azazel's orders.

In Volume 4, Issei went to the shrine Akeno lived at to receive Ascalon from the Archangel Michael. After Michael left, Akeno reveals her identity as a Fallen Angel/Human hybrid to Issei, telling Issei she has dirty wings, afraid that she would be hated, but ended up falling in love with Issei instead after the latter says that he hates Fallen Angels but likes Akeno. He tells her that he never disliked the gentle side of her and knowing her past does not change his feelings. During the peace talks between the leaders of the Three Factions, Akeno was stopped by Gasper's time-stopping powers and was unable to help. When Azazel became the adviser for the Occult Research Club, he asked if Akeno still hates Baraqiel, which Akeno replies by saying that she has no intention of forgiving him, claiming that it was his fault that her mother died. She later happily moves into the Hyoudou Residence under Sirzechs' suggestion.

In Volume 5, she, along with the other members of the Occult Research Club, accompanied Rias to the Underworld for the Young Devils Gathering. When Azazel plans out the training menu for the Gremory Team, he tells Akeno that she needs to accept the blood in her. While initially refusing to use her Holy Lightning powers, she eventually starts to use it in the Rating Game between Rias and Sona Sitri after Issei's persuasion, telling her to become strong. Through her new powers, Akeno easily defeats Sona's Bishop, Reya Kusaka, before changing her target to Sona's Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, forcing Tsubaki to retreat.

In Volume 6, Rias and Diodora Astaroth's supposed Rating Game was interrupted by the Khaos Brigade and Diodora who is allied with them. While on their way to rescue Asia, Issei (under Koneko's suggestion), asks Akeno out on a date if she manages to defeat Diodora's peerage, much to Rias' dismay. During their attempt to rescue Issei from the Juggernaut Drive, Akeno asked Rias to use her breasts to snap Issei out of the Juggernaut Drive while sadly claiming that she is not suited for the task. After the incident with Diodora, Akeno was last seen cheering on both Issei and Asia during their three-legged race.

The Heroic Oppai Dragon
In Volume 7, Akeno reminded Issei of his promise with her during the incident with Diodora as Issei agrees to go on a date with her. After fending off the Sacred Gear possessors of the Hero Factions, Akeno happily prepares for her date. The next day, Issei and Akeno goes on their promised date which was stalked by their friends until Akeno takes Issei and runs away from the others. The two then head into a red-light district, but their date ends abruptly as both of them met Odin, Rossweisse, and Baraqiel, Akeno's father, who was serving as Odin's bodyguard at the time. At first, she refused to accept Baraqiel and denied their relationship, telling Baraqiel that he is not her father even going as far as to try and seek comfort through Issei by sex, but denied the request, as Issei doesn't want to hurt her more. During the final fight against Loki, Akeno, while under the effects of Issei's Pailingual, admitted that she loves her father, but blames him because if she doesn't blame someone, she will mentally lose herself. After the battle, she finally made amends with her father and her love for Issei deepens, kissing him on the lips for the first time.

In Volume 9, before Issei's trip to Kyoto, Akeno sneaked into his room to seduce him, but she is spotted by an angered Rias. Koneko is revealed to have also sneaked into his room also clinging onto him, wanting to do several days worth of Senjutsu treatment for tonight, further aggravating Rias. Suddenly Asia barges into the room annoyed at being left out again also clinging onto Issei.

In Volume 10, she faces Kuisha Abaddon, Sairaorg's Queen, during the Rating Game between Rias and Sairaorg, but was defeated by Kuisha handing the Gremory Team their first loss in the match. She and the rest of the Occult Research Club members are later seen peeping at Issei who confessed his love to Rias, congratulating them while Akeno claims that she can finally become serious at having an affair with Issei.

In Volume 11, Akeno, Issei, and Yuuto went to the Glasya-Labolas territory to take a promotion test to become Middle-Class Devils. While she, Issei and Yuuto are resting after the test, they are suddenly attacked by Cao Cao and Georg who came to steal Ophis' powers. The battle ended with both the Gremory and Vali Teams losing to the two of them and Ophis' powers being stolen. At the end of Volume 11, while waiting for Issei to return from the crumbling dimension, Akeno, like the rest of the Occult Research Club, was surprised that only Issei's Evil Pieces returned and was shocked to find out that Issei had died.

In Volume 12, Akeno, who was still in shock at Issei's "death", sat at the Gremory Palace with no emotion until her father came to cheer her up. She, along with Rias and the others, later goes to the human world to meet the creator of the Evil Pieces, Ajuka Beelzebub, to have him check on Issei's Evil Pieces, which was interrupted by the appearance of the Khaos Brigade. During the fight against Siegfried, Akeno, like the rest of the girls of the Gremory Team, was unable to display her usual strength until Issei's Evil Pieces reacted and conveyed Issei's feelings from the Dimensional Gap, allowing Akeno to regain her determination to fight. She then reveals a bracelet given to her by her father and Azazel that strengthens her Holy Lightning, giving her six black wings. She later assisted Xenovia and Irina in fighting against Jeanne and nearly won until Jeanne takes a child hostage. Like Issei and Yuuto, Akeno is officially promoted into a Middle-Class Devil.

The Legend of Oppai Dragon and his Lively Companions
In Volume 14, she and the other members of the Occult Research Club had a meeting with the Director of the Magician Council, Mephisto Pheles, regarding the pact between the Occult Research Club and Magicians. She also helped Rias in mastering her new finishing attack. With Rias's absence, Akeno goes to sleep together with Issei. She tells him how she felt when he was thought to be dead and Issei answers her saying that he will always be by her side and they will get stronger together. After the Khaos Brigade kidnapped the first-year students of the Occult Research Club, Akeno, along with the other members of the Occult Research Club and the Student Council then go to battle the Stray Magicians and Magicians of Khaos Brigade, easily defeating them. During the battle, Akeno revealed her new move, Raikōryū, which allows her to transform her Holy Lightning into the shape of an Asian Dragon. She later meets the person in charge of the incident, Euclid Lucifuge, who then summons Grendel to battle Issei.

In Volume 15, Sona came to Issei's home to have a discussion with what the Sitri and Gremory groups would do while Rias, Yuuto, and Azazel are in Romania. They moved their discussion to the underground pool when Kuroka and Le Fay arrived and were shocked when Kuroka mentioned that they fought the Evil Dragon, Aži Dahāka who was thought to be deceased. Akeno then tells Issei about her past on how she met Rias.

In Volume 16, Akeno, along with the Occult Research Club members, Bennia, and Loup Garou, went to Romania to aid Rias and Yuuto who were confined in the Tepes Castle. She then participated in the attempt to stop the extraction of the Longinus, Sephiroth Graal, from Valerie Tepes and rescue her; fighting the enhanced vampires and Grendel along the way. She later teamed up with Rias to defeat the mass-produced Evil Dragons that are rampaging in the Carmilla's castle town. After returning from Romania, she participated in the meeting for the formation of the D×D.

In Volume 17, Akeno and the Occult Research Club went to the Underworld and participated in the experience day for the school Sona Sitri built located at Auros in the Agares territory. While doing the respective activities assigned to them, Qlippoth managed to surround both Auros and Agreas inside a barrier and announced their intent to attack after a certain period of time. Before the time was up, they reconfirmed their plan and Akeno ended up pairing with Meguri of the Sitri group and fought against the mass-produced Evil Dragons.

Akeno and the Occult Research Club went to Heaven in Volume 18 to talk to Michael about the Christmas project that the alliance is working on. After the meeting, Michael informed them about the death of officials from the Church and on the presence of Evil Dragons were present. Akeno helped defend Heaven from the attack of Qlippoth. She, along with Rias, Koneko, Gasper, Yuuto, Rossweisse, and Cao Cao, fought against the group of the Evil Dragon's: Ladon and three Grendel clones. Akeno successfully defeated a clone with the help of Yuuto and Rossweisse and finished off another that was weakened by Cao Cao. After the fight against Qlippoth in Heaven, Akeno and the Occult Research Club celebrated Christmas and she and Rias announced that Asia and Yuuto will take over as the new President and Vice-President respectively.

Akeno participated in the fight against the exorcists that rebelled against the Church in Volume 19. The D×D members that will fight were grouped into two and Akeno was grouped together with the rest of the Gremory team (except for Yuuto), Genshirou Saji, and Arthur Pendragon to fight against the group of exorcists led by Vasco Strada. The group had a hard time fighting against Strada even with the help of Yuuto and Irina who joined after their own fight ended; though they were able to eventually defeat him. After Strada's defeat, Walburga suddenly appeared bringing hundreds of mass-produced Evil Dragons, but they were rendered useless because the field that they were fighting at was created by Rossweisse which can disable the mass-produced Evil Dragons; much to Walburga's surprise, forcing her to fight after all her escape routes were blocked. Walburga used her subspecies Balance Breaker and was defeated with Akeno and the rest of the group's concerted effort.

In Volume 20, Akeno, along with the Occult Research Club, the Sitri group, and Azazel, went to a dimension owned by Ajuka Beelzebub. After hearing the explanations given by Ajuka revolving around the corruption that was prevalent in the Rating Games, they were ordered to immediately go back to Kuoh Town by Ajuka as a report came in that Ophis was attacked by an Evil Dragon and Issei's Issei's Parents were held hostage. The D×D team then prepared to, for the first time, be on the offensive against Qlippoth as Vali's team finally located Agreas' location. Akeno then participated in the fight against the mass-produced Evil Dragons.

In Volume 21, days after Trihexa was unsealed, at the hospital where Issei was being taken care of, Akeno is delighted to see her cousin Suzaku, who has become the current head of the Himejima clan who will help in the war against Qlippoth. Later after Issei was able to leave the patient room, Akeno and the rest of her teammates head to an island in the coastal waters of Japan, where they battle Apophis' army of Evil Dragons, fake Scale Mails and one of the Imperial beasts bodies.

In Volume 22, Akeno lured Issei into the Grigori version of the room in the attempts to have sex with him, calling it a special graduation ceremony, where they were caught by Rias who joins them not wanting to be left out. They were interrupted by the arrival of Ravel and the Church Trio, with Ravel giving the news to Rias about the Rating Game World Tournament. After this, Akeno kisses Issei's cheek and leaves with Rias. On the day of graduation, Akeno goes together with Issei and Rias to Kuoh Academy, holding Issei's arm while they walk. In the ceremony, Baraqiel shed tears witnessing Akeno's graduation, which causes Akeno to become embarrassed. Akeno then watches Issei propose to Rias and smiles at their joyous union.

Red Dragon Emperor of the Blazing Truth × White Dragon Emperor of the Morning Star: The True Dragon(s) of the Kuoh Academy
Akeno attended the opening ceremony of the Azazel Cup and witness Issei's grand entrance through Ryuuteimaru. Before the match between Baraqiel and Issei, Baraqiel asks Akeno on who she's gonna be cheering for, which she teases him by saying Issei and hugs him which caused Baraqiel to shed tears and run off. Akeno revealed her sorrowful side and wanted both Issei and Baraqiel to win and expressed her jealousy on Rias for having a strong man who wants to be with her forever, after the talk she leaves to Rias's side. After Issei's match against Baraqiel, Akeno was in so much joy after Issei's confession and she began to call him "darling" and she challenged Rias that she will bear Issei's child before her.

Powers & Abilities
Holy Lightning: Akeno's signature skill that she inherited from her father, Baraqiel. Akeno combines the power of light and thunder to create Holy Lightning. Magic Expert: Akeno has shown herself to be skilled in the use of magic with her, Rias, and Rossweisse being the top magic specialists in the Peerage (before Rossweisse left). She has been shown to be able to use magic to strengthen the power of her defense by focusing on the Rook trait of her Queen piece.
 * Fallen Angel Form : A form that is achieved by condensing her Holy Lightning blood. In this form, Akeno gains six black wings and drastically enhances her Holy Lightning abilities. At first, this transformation required the use of two special bracelets made by Azazel, but as of Volume 17, Akeno is now able to enter this form on her own.
 * Holy Lightning Dragon : Due to her constant draining of Issei's Dragon aura, she has gained the ability to shape her Holy Lightning into the form of an Asian Dragon, which can move as if it was alive. It has been shown to be immensely powerful, devouring large fragments of rocks and erasing one of Grendel's fireballs.
 * Elemental Magic: Akeno excels at natural elements like lightning, ice, fire, and water. Similar to the Holy Lightning Dragon, Akeno can also form Asian Dragons out of fire and ice and send them against her enemies.
 * Transformation: Usually when Akeno needs to use all of her magic power, she transforms into a priestess that gave her the epithet, "Priestess of Thunder".

Stealth Expert: As mentioned by Issei and Rias, Akeno has developed a skill to sneak behind people without leaving any presence.

Purification Practitioner: Akeno has the power to purify evil spirits which she learned from her mother. However, since she lacks Senjutsu prowess, her ability is inferior to Koneko's and Kuroka's.

Enhanced Strength and Defense: As a Queen, Akeno possesses enhanced strength and endurance through the Rook trait of her Queen piece, but due to Akeno never resorting to physical confrontations, it's unknown how her physical prowess compares to Koneko.

Enhanced Speed: As a Queen, Akeno also has the Knight speed enhancement through her Queen piece though as Akeno primarily uses magic in fights, it's unknown if she is as fast as Yuuto or not.

Demonic Power: Despite being a Reincarnated Devil, Akeno shows great potential in demonic powers where she is on par with Rias (her king and a High-Class Devil). Akeno's prowess is acknowledged to be the strongest member of the peerage right behind Rias herself with Riser Phenex commenting that before the ten-day training period, only Akeno can fight on par with the members of his peerage. Her overall demonic powers and magic are enhanced through the power of the Bishop aspect of her Queen piece. Later on, she became one of the first three members of Rias's peerage to be promoted to Middle-Class along with Issei and Yuuto.

Flight: Being a Devil, Akeno can fly using either her Devil wings or Fallen Angel wings.

Quotes

 * "Ara Ara Ufufufu." [Oh my, Oh my (giggles).]
 * "Those who even try to lay a hand on my president shall be punished endlessly." (Season 1, Episode 3)
 * "You can rely on me more, you know." (Season 2 New)
 * (To Issei) "...You said some killing words... After hearing that... won't I really get serious..." (Volume 4, Life 3)
 * (To Issei) "Ufufu. That would make it my first kiss, I guess." (Volume 7 New Life)

Trivia

 * Akeno has large breasts due to her Fallen Angel blood, as Azazel mentions in Volume 8 that female Fallen Angels possess seductive bodies.
 * Azazel has stated that, even for a Fallen Angel, Akeno is particularly seductive.
 * Akeno's last name, Himejima, means "Princess Island".
 * Akeno inherited her sadistic personality from her mother and her masochistic personality from her father.
 * It was revealed in Ishibumi's other work, -SLASHDØG-, that Akeno is related by blood to Tobio Ikuse as cousins.
 * Tobio's grandmother is a member of the Himejima clan.
 * Akeno's birthday is on July 21.
 * Issei in Volume 1 of the novels called Akeno "Yamato Nadeshiko" which means "personification of an idealised Japanese woman", or "the epitome of pure, feminine beauty".