Seduction of the Occult

The atmosphere in the Occult Research Club had changed. After Ayush left the room the previous day, something unspoken hung between Rias, Akeno, and Issei. It was subtle, barely perceptible, but it was enough to make Issei feel like an outsider—enough to make him question what he had seen.

For the first time since he joined the club, Issei felt uneasy about his place with Rias and Akeno. The way they had acted around Ayush, their subtle body language, the way they seemed so comfortable around him... It didn't sit right with Issei. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about Ayush that made him feel like he was losing control—like he was being pushed to the side.

The following afternoon, Issei lingered in the clubroom after the day's meeting had wrapped up. Rias and Akeno sat together, chatting softly while Kiba and Koneko had already left. Ayush wasn't there, and for a moment, Issei considered bringing up his concerns. He didn't want to seem paranoid, but the nagging feeling in his chest wouldn't go away.

Finally, after gathering his courage, Issei spoke up.

"Hey, Rias," he began, his voice hesitant. "About yesterday... I kinda noticed something."

Rias glanced at him, her expression soft but curious. "Noticed what?" she asked, her tone casual, though Akeno's gaze had already sharpened slightly, picking up on the tension in his voice.

Issei shifted in his seat, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under their stares. "It's just... I couldn't help but notice that you two were acting a bit... different around Ayush." He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the right words. "It felt like you were, I don't know, really close to him. Closer than usual."

Rias and Akeno exchanged a quick glance, and for a brief second, a flicker of something passed between them—something that Issei didn't catch. It was the look of two people who were in on a secret, a secret they weren't ready to share.

Akeno was the first to break the silence, her voice light and playful. "Oh, Issei," she said, chuckling softly as she waved off his concerns. "You're imagining things. We were just trying to make Ayush feel welcome. He's new, after all."

Rias nodded, her expression warm but carefully neutral. "Exactly. We didn't want him to feel out of place. We're not used to having outsiders in the club, so we wanted to make sure he felt comfortable."

Issei blinked, his confusion deepening. "So... you weren't, like, trying to flirt with him or anything?"

Rias laughed softly, her gaze gentle but with a hint of something else—a faint trace of disappointment that Issei didn't pick up on. "No, of course not, Issei," she reassured him. "You must have misunderstood."

Akeno's smile widened as she leaned forward, her fingers brushing lightly against Issei's arm in a comforting gesture. "We were just being friendly," she purred, her tone soothing. "There's nothing to worry about. You're our Issei, after all."

The words were meant to calm him, and they did—at least on the surface. Issei let out a small sigh of relief, forcing a grin as he tried to shake off the lingering doubt. "Yeah... I guess I was just overthinking it," he muttered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Rias and Akeno exchanged another glance, this one more subtle than the last. In that brief moment, both women felt the same quiet realization: Issei had believed them. He had bought into their explanation without question, even though both of them knew there had been more going on beneath the surface.

And that realization brought with it a pang of disappointment.

After Issei left the room, the silence between Rias and Akeno stretched longer than usual. Both women sat in quiet contemplation, each lost in their own thoughts. Rias, for her part, couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that had settled in her chest. She had always known Issei wasn't the sharpest when it came to understanding complex emotions or reading the subtleties of relationships, but today had solidified something for her.

He was... simple. Too simple.

When Issei had voiced his concerns about Ayush, Rias had expected him to dig deeper, to push harder for the truth. But instead, he had accepted their explanation so easily, without question. It was almost as if he was too afraid to confront what he really felt.

And that realization stung more than Rias cared to admit.

Akeno, on the other hand, felt a similar sense of frustration. She had always enjoyed teasing Issei, pushing his buttons and watching his reactions. But today, his reaction had been... disappointing. He hadn't questioned them, hadn't pushed back in the way she'd expected. He had just accepted their words and let the conversation drop.

She had lied to him, and he had believed it without a second thought.

"He didn't even try to argue," Akeno murmured softly, her voice breaking the silence between her and Rias.

Rias glanced at her, frowning slightly. "I know," she replied, her tone tinged with disappointment. "I thought he would at least question it more."

Akeno sighed, leaning back in her chair as she folded her arms over her chest. "It's like he's afraid to push too hard, like he doesn't want to see what's really happening."

Rias nodded, her gaze distant as she stared at the table in front of her. "He's... not wrong to be suspicious," she admitted quietly. "There is something about Ayush."

Akeno's lips curled into a small, knowing smile. "You feel it too, don't you?" she asked, her voice low and conspiratorial.

Rias didn't answer right away. Instead, she sat in silence for a long moment, her mind replaying the interactions she'd had with Ayush over the past few days. The way he spoke, the way he carried himself—it was different from anyone she had ever met. He didn't fawn over her like Issei did, and he didn't seem intimidated by her power. In fact, he almost seemed... amused by it, like he was playing his own game, one she hadn't fully figured out yet.

"I do," Rias finally admitted, her voice soft. "There's something about him that feels... different."

Akeno nodded, her smile widening. "I think we should keep an eye on him," she said, her voice tinged with excitement. "There's more to him than he's letting on."

Rias nodded in agreement, though a part of her still felt conflicted. Ayush was intriguing, but he was also dangerous. She could sense it in the way he looked at her, the way his presence seemed to shift the energy in the room whenever he was around.

But even as Rias and Akeno tried to convince themselves that they needed to be careful, they couldn't ignore the growing pull they felt toward Ayush. It was subtle, like a magnetic force that drew them in without them even realizing it. And as much as they tried to push it aside, they both knew that the more time they spent around him, the harder it would be to resist.

Issei, on the other hand, was none the wiser. He had left the room feeling reassured, convinced that he had just misunderstood the situation. But what Issei didn't realize was that by accepting the lie, he had only pushed Rias and Akeno further away from him.

In the quiet of the clubroom, Rias and Akeno sat together, their disappointment in Issei lingering in the air like a quiet storm.

And in the back of both their minds, one name lingered longer than the rest.

Ayush.