Occult Research Club – Emergency Strategy Meeting

Rias: Everyone’s here. Good. Issei, stand in the center.

Issei: Eh?! Why me?!

Akeno: Ara~ because something strange has been clinging to you all day.

Issei: That sounds way worse than it is!

Asia (worried): Issei-san… your aura feels very calm. Too calm.

Issei: Too calm is bad now?!

Rossweisse: For a Sacred Gear user like you? Yes.

(Issei scratches his head, steps forward. His movement is instinctively precise — he stops exactly where Rias intended.)

Rias (eyes narrow): …You didn’t ask where to stand.

Issei: I just guessed?

Koneko: You didn’t guess.

Xenovia (arms crossed): Your body moved like a trained warrior. You are not one.

Issei: HEY—!

Irina (tilting head): But she’s right. You usually trip before landing cool.

Issei: Why is everyone agreeing?!

(A faint pressure fills the room. No malice. Just weight.)

Akeno (smiling, but alert): There it is again.

Asia (clutching her staff): It feels… protective.

Rossweisse: And restrictive. Like a limiter.

Rias (firm): Issei. When did this start?

Issei (thinking): Uh… sometime after training yesterday. I stopped forcing my power and it just… behaved.

Xenovia: A Sacred Gear does not “behave.”

Koneko: Unless something is making it.

(Issei raises his arm slightly. The Boosted Gear does NOT activate — but the room still reacts. Papers flutter. Magic circles flicker.)

Issei: I didn’t even call it!

Rossweisse (tense): That’s automatic response.

Irina: That’s scary.

Issei (nervous laugh): Okay, okay— but I don’t feel possessed or anything!

Rias: No. If anything, you feel… supervised.

(Silence.)

Akeno: Ara~ like a parent watching a child near fire.

Issei: That’s NOT reassuring!

Xenovia (serious): The Red Dragon Emperor is ancient. If it wished to dominate you, you wouldn’t be standing.

Asia (softly): So… maybe it trusts him?

Koneko: Or it’s testing him.

(Issei clenches his fist. His body straightens on its own. Breathing evens out.)

Issei (quiet): …Yeah. That sounds right.

Rias (decisive): Then here’s what we’ll do.

Everyone looks at her.

Rias: We continue as normal. No forcing power. No shortcuts.

Rossweisse: You’re letting the dragon set the pace?

Rias: I’m letting Issei prove he can keep control.

(She steps closer to him.) And if something changes—

Issei: —I’ll tell you.

(The pressure fades instantly.)

Akeno (relaxed smile): Ara~ looks like the meeting’s over.

Irina: I still think it’s creepy.

Xenovia: I think it’s efficient.

Asia (smiling): I believe in you, Issei-san.

Issei (grinning, awkward as ever): Haha… thanks. Though I really wish my dragon would give feedback once in a while.

(Nothing answers. The room remains silent — perfectly controlled.)

Rias (to herself): …So that’s the Red Dragon Emperor.