AN: This one is rather short since it's just to explain the whole inner voice thing. The next one will be longer, I promise.

So, I've got the who, but what are you, Ifrit?

'A fair question, but first, take out thy pendant.'

My pendant?

I reach into my shirt and take it out… only to find that the stone that is held in the dragon's mouth is glowing softly.

'That is me. My spirit resides within that stone.'

Ok… So, what you're nothing but a spirit that lives in the stone?

'I am not sure if it is correct to say that, but in a sense, yes. That stone is called a Ryuu-stone.'

… A what?

'It is a stone that holds the soul of a being. A dragons' soul.'

"Whoa, wait, what? You're a dragon?!"

'I believe that I told thee you do not need speak.'

"Excuse me if I got surprised. But seriously, you're a dragon?"

'No.'

"But you just said-"

'I said that I am not but a soul residing within the stone. I am no longer a dragon. I am but the spirit of one.'

"Then how did you become like that?"

'Long ago, when me and my brethren still roamed the landed and ruled the skys, monsters and humans alike feared us, studied us, worshipped us. We were powerful and great. Few of us ever had contact with either monsters or humans, but those that did were the ones worshipped as symbols of strength.'

"Hmm. Sounds like you guys had a good life."

'Perhaps, but not all good things last. In time, their fear grew beyond their love for us. We were then hunted down like we were game. Humans and monters banded together to takes us down. We were not always great in number, but we quickly dwindled… into dozens.'

"Dozens? How many were there of you?"

'Hundreds. Maybe thousands. I cannot be sure. It has been so long and I kept to myself, never revealing my presents to the world.'

Then how did you become… like you are now?

'One day, there came a group of humans to where I slept. Needless to say, I met them with violence. However, they pleaded and begged for me to listen to them. Being sentient, dragons had the ability to speak to others, but, as I said before, I never had the need to speak to them. But, something compelled me to speak to these humans. They told me that they had a way to preserve the dragons, perhaps forever. Their solution was the Ryuu-stones. The stones would take our souls and we would lie dormant.'

Yeah… That seems like it worked out perfectly, huh?

'Not all spells are perfect.'

Sorry.

'In any event, the group of humans told me, like others before me, that I would lie dormant forever, until there came one that could control me and my powers. Each one from the group of humans took a stone, and passed it down through their family. The one before you, your grandfather, was aware of my presents. I chose not to speak to any other hosts aside from him and you. I could feel the power in your bloodline, but he was not the one to perfectly control me.'

Then who is?

'You.'

What? Why me?

'The ones who can control us are not made or trained. They are simply born with the ability to do so.'

Mind explaining how?

'Those that are able to control us take our essence into themselves. Our spirits merge into one. You remain human, but are something much more. A dragonewt.'

Uh… A what now?

'Dragonewt. Half-human, half-dragon.'

Still not making any sense.

'Perhaps there will be a time where thou will fully understand. Good things come to those who wait, as they say.'

Whatever… But, one last question, are there others like me? Ones who are… dragonewts?

'Yes. As to how many there are, I can not tell.'

Perfect…

*GURGLE*

'Thou should eat something. Make sure to eat plenty of protein.'

Is this going to be a regular thing?

'Possibly.'

Joy…

*BEEP BEEP* *BEEP BEEP*

Ugh…

*CLICK*

'Good morrow, Nathan.'

Morning… I'm going to have to get used to this…

Man, Ifrit has been talking to me nonstop sense last night. Whether it's complaining about how I spend a lot of time on my laptop or what I eat, he always has a comment to make… Not always great ones, either. I go through my usual morning routine, without much input from him, thankfully. I grab my bag from the table and make my way downstairs. I spot the guy from yesterday, and he books it in the opposite direction. Guess I scared him plenty yesterday. I meet up with Tsukune and Moka in our usual meet up spot.

"Hey you two," I call out.

"Good morning, Nathan," Moka responds.

"Morning," Tsukune says. I walk up to them and look around. "Looking for Mizore?"

"Yeah," I respond. "Trying to spot her before she has the chance to spook me."

"You haven't done so yet," Moka says with a small smile. "She's very good at it, huh?"

"I'll say. I just need to figure out how she does it."

'Turn around.'

I turn to see Mizore not five feet away, once again hiding behind a tree.

"You caught me," she says, surprised. Then, she smiles a bit. "I'm surprised that you were able to."

"So am I," I tell her.

"Yahoo~!" Here comes the storm.

*CRASH*

Kurumu has, once again, tackled Tsukune to the ground in one of her hugs. Moka is trying to pull her off, but sucks his blood once she gets him free. I really feel sorry for the guy. It's a wonder how he's alive now.

'If there is one thing I can say about humans, it's that they have great durability. Especially him.'

You can say that again.

"By the way," Mizore pipes up, getting everyone, even the now conscious Tsukune to look at her. "Don't we have tests coming up?"

"Oh crap!" Kurumu cries, gripping her hair. "I'm not prepared! I'm so going to fail!"

"They're coming up in a couple of days," Moka reassures. "You'll have time to study."

"Uh, oh," Tsukune mutters.

"You forget too?" I ask him.

"Yup."

Well this is going to be fun. We have to study for these tests coming up. Man, I just know that I'm going to fail…