Chapter Two: The Voice In My Head

All around me, the world was eerily silent.

Moments ago, I was in the arms of a beautiful woman. Then, suddenly, I was here. Wherever here even is. Was this a dream? Some form of deep consciousness? Suddenly, I was surrounded by dark air; thrown straight into a boundless void. I couldn't see, taste, or even feel my surroundings.

I couldn't see my body, yet I instantly tasted the sharp tang of smoke in those glands at the front of my throat, and when I took another breath, I choked, and my eyes felt like they wanted to break out into tears. I tried to swing myself around and away from the aroma, however I was but a speck of conscious in this strange world, a prisoner. I panicked, just as a speck of light began to form above me, and what I suddenly saw almost dumped me anyway.

A sea of fire, an all-encompassing blaze with an inverted layer of smoke below the flames at a height of well-over four hundred feet above, arching down with what seemed to be gale force winds. I'd never seen anything quite like it, and I surged with both panic and awe. It was as if the immediate world was like some giant coliseum suddenly on fire.

I'd never seen such a frightful sight before. The whirl of flame, preceded by the poisonous gases, superheated air, and reflected heat, would be on me in less than two minutes—well before that, it would cook my lungs.

I smelled the bitterness of the flames; it pricked my nostrils so acutely I was certain they'd bleed. But the smell of burning was only the beginning. My vision grew blurry. I tried looking away from the surrounding destruction and attempted to clear the blistering heat from my face and the wild thoughts that swept through my mind like a swarm of angry birds.

I screamed and tried shutting my eyes, but I had no eyelids to close, and nothing escaped my lips as the searing flames encompassed me whole. And then, there was darkness. Everything was silent.

"BOY."

Without warning, a deep voice boomed from within the darkness, managing to shake the void itself. A deep growl, like something belonging to some sort of ancient being, a Great One.

If I had teeth, they'd be trembling into dust. The being's voice was like that of a hurling lightning bolt coming down from the heavens. I peered into the darkness, waiting to see what had spoken to me.

And then, there was light.

I could see it now: a pair of bright red eyes, keen with observation. Like a fitful stream of molten magma straight from the earth's very core: red, hot, and destructive.

I tried to blink. It couldn't be.

Terrified, confused, and dazed, all at once, my brain fumbled for the name of this creature, and it came back to me, all the way from the primordial age of storytelling.

A dragon.

It was a God damn dragon.

And he stared at me, beaming. He was smiling!

His big fiery eyes complemented his speech; the vocals were powerful enough to damage my eardrums. His head was lengthy and massive; the skull was extremely wide at the rear but had a narrow snout, perhaps allowing for binocular vision. Above, wisps of smoke exited his large nostrils, and the tip of his upper jaw was U-shaped and curved all the way to his ears, where two massive black horns projected downwards.

The protruding teeth displayed marked heterodonty, like that of a prehistoric Tyrannosaur. The array of teeth at the front of the upper jaw were closely packed, D-shaped in cross section, and had strengthening ridges on the rear surface, where the tips were reinforced as chisel-like blades and curved backwards. The remaining teeth were robust, like oversized bananas rather than daggers, and more widely spaced. The long, muscular neck was covered in crimson jagged scales and formed a natural S-shaped curve.

His forelimbs and arms were huge, scarred, and brawny, sporting several large, sharp claws that practically reminded me of medieval spears. Below his packed under-parts, two hind limbs floated midair alongside a long and heavy coiled tail; both thick and hardened like two tree trunks. However, my eyes never left his massively spread wings, which were akin to those of an incalculable bat.

"You seem unsettled." He spoke again, shaking the vacuum around us.

I stared at him in disbelief, as I slowly recognized his voice.

"There were incantations keeping us from conversing, but I have successfully ridded us of them. Though, it seems we received some outside help as well." The great beast chuckled, not unlike that of a human. "We can finally get to know each other, Issei Hyoudou."

It really was him. The voice in my head.

How could this be? What incantations was he talking about? I was schizophrenic, a patient currently overcoming his auditory hallucinations. It's what I spent years at the hospital for! An overwhelming sense of dread, bewilderment, and frustration washed over me.

What I'd give to escape this present nightmare and return to the real world! Perhaps even to that beautiful girl from earlier.

"Would you now?" said the dragon, as if he were reading my thoughts. Though his tone was foreboding, I was slowly beginning to relax. Slowly but surely, I was starting to come to a strange sense that, maybe, I really had nothing to fear from this immaculate being.

"You're beginning to lighten up," the dragon continued smiling away with those gargantuan teeth, "good." His incredible wings dropped to his sides and the dragon leaned his long neck forward, bringing his massive expression only a few feet from mine. "Long awaited introductions are in order, friend. Don't be afraid. Speak."

If I could, I would've, but my mouth remained sealed shut.

Seeing my pitiful state, the dragon broke out into a hearty chuckle. "My apologies, dear friend. So much is happening to you today. You have a great many sorrows burning in your heart. And, unfortunately, as fate would have it, you will have even more sorrows in the not-so-distant future."

Despite my own condition and the setting, I thought of Doctor Sakura, my foster parents, Motohama and Matsuda, and that lovely, mysterious classmate from earlier.

Suddenly, I had a voice. "I-Is this for real…?" I stuttered.

My first words to a dragon, and I stutter.

He showed off an array of brilliant teeth again. "Oh, yes. We presently dwell within the confines of inter-space. This, my friend, is your very soul. Or, more accurately, our soul." His voice resonated within his great chest. "Tell me, what is the current year?"

I had to think for a moment—2017.

"What month is it now?"

I wasn't a fan of that. "August."

"Hmm…" He grunted. "So, it's been forty-eight years since that day."

Suddenly, the little light we had, mainly from the dragon's own aura, noticeably darkened. A whisp of air passed us, as we both glanced at the formation of something beyond us, deep within the void.

It felt as though something was watching us. A shadow.

"We've run out of time."He spoke, turning his massive head to face me. "I suppose that's the story of our lives, huh?"

I smiled. I was starting to like him, as much as you can like a giant, fire-breathing lizard.

Suddenly, a vortex flames erupted around us, the heat and light encasing us both in a world of fire. He spoke again, softer this time. "Issei Hyoudou, we are partners, destined for whatever fate is of your choosing. So, listen well." The fire continued to rise, but he remained calm. "Continue to grow stronger, so that you may use my power, and mine alone."

The flames blinded me. "Wait!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, hoping he would hear. "I'll definitely be back, you understand?!"

I gasped and woke up.

Sitting upright, I pushed the hair out of my eyes and blinked. I was on fire.

Or, more accurately, I had been. I raised my arms, dumbstruck at the faint trickles of painless sun-colored flame, accompanied by flickering currents of mauve electricity, which ran up them, then to my hands, and were deep within my blood, veins, and flesh; slowly dying out after a second passed.

I kicked off the covers to a bed, struggling to pace my breathing. By the time my uncanny flashes had gone away I was already so freaked out and high on adrenaline that thought I would probably pass out all over again. The bed I'd been in was dark and burnt to hell, but it didn't smell or seem to smoke. And my body was spotless, like nothing had even happened to it.

Was that all real? Was I just, now, on fire?

I reached out and dragged back the grey curtain that hid my view, revealing a lonesome, sterile room, what I could only guess to be the school infirmary. Despite the many ongoing abnormalities, the dragon's words echoed in my head. Incantation? Like a spell? Why did he say we share a soul?

My briefcase was by the bed, so I searched around its contents for the mobile phone Mrs. Hyoudou had gifted to me. I fumbled around with the screen passcode, again questioning my age, and discovered the time: 2:07 pm.

Outside the window, I could see storm clouds far out in the distance. I struggled to shove my phone away and slowly forced myself up.

I stumbled a little as I pushed myself past the infirmary exit. I didn't make it very far, but I made it outside and, with the number of hallways and stairwells I had to use, that was a miracle in itself.

I walked through an exit doorway and onto campus. It felt like summer, even though it was technically already fall, and all the evening first years and upperclassmen were scrambling to their final classes of the day. They looked about as exhausted as I felt.

I must have looked lousy, but eventually decided to not care. Nobody seemed to have recognized me from the morning incident either, which was all okay in my book.

There were a few roach-coaches across the street, past campus, and I figured I could get one of those bottled coffees from one of the food carts. As I stood in line, I noticed people looking at me, and I figured I'd strangle the first one that made a smart comment. I stepped up to the counter and asked for the yellow can, which cost me a couple yen.

"Here ya go, Gaijin."

I let him live.

I wandered back across and sat on one of the low cement walls that had flowering shrubs planted behind them. My back felt funny, and my shoulders ached; surprisingly little damage for a guy who was just set on fire.

Despite the ominous clouds off in the distance, it was a gorgeous day, and the cherry blossoms were exploding in a riot of effusive colors. I pulled in a deep breath. Despite the tumultuous day, something still particularly bothered me. Like I was still being watched.

I cracked open the can to try and get in a quick sip when someone moved my school bag and sat on the wall besides me.

She was beautiful and reminded me of someone, yet I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Her long dark hair was sleek like one of those models' you'd see in the Olay ads; she had particularly vivid, nebula violet eyes; and noticeably sensual curves, outlined by a light brown uniform and flannel skirt. She carried her own distinctive school bag.

She smiled and pointed to the can in my hand. "Is that coffee?" Her voice was soft and cheery, matching her relaxed, cute appearance.

I looked at the item in my hand and said: "I think so."

She reached out with a snowy hand, reminding me of my mysterious crimson haired classmate. "Here, I'll show you what to do with that." Curious, I handed her the drink, and she poured it out on the sidewalk. A random classmate, lugging a stack of books, was walking past and gave her a dirty look.

I frowned. "That was my coffee."

"No, this is your coffee." She handed me another colorful can from one of the bags, and I held it with both hands. She opened her own and took a sip. "Better?"

"I guess. Yeah, thanks." I tried not to fall for her eyes. "I'm… Issei."

"Yuuma." She crossed her legs at the ankle, putting her white socks in full view. "Yuuma Amano." I was starting to think this girl was more than just a fellow student.

I opened my coffee and looked at the decisively dark brew. "This looks strong."

"Espresso, double-shot. I thought you could use it." She looked at me. "You were kinda giving off the energy of… I don't know, a sick puppy." She sweetly giggled.

I took a sip and asked. "So, do you just casually take pity on random people, or something?"

"Or random, saddened, cute guys." She smiled and winked. "A big difference."

I could feel my face heat up and tried not to directly look at her, putting on my big boy voice. "Thanks…"

Her ruby lips drew back into a mischievous little smile. "You're very welcome. Oh, if you're hungry too." She dug into the bag and handed a collection of biscuits and a tiny paper napkin. "Biscotti. I always keep it around for emergencies." She chewed on one herself, and I watched as she unconsciously began swinging her intertwined soft legs. "Almond, my favorite."

The biscuits were good, and the only sound for a while was the munching of our communal snacking. I noticed she was looking at me again, so I smiled as best I could.

"What year are you?" She asked.

"Second," I bit into another cookie, "you?"

She munched some more. "Same." She glanced over my uniform. "Different school, though. I'm not smart enough to get into the Kuoh Private Academy," she laughed, "but I do love your food stands. That's why I drop by every so often."

"Is it really that special?" I asked, then took a sip of my coffee.

I leaned back a little more, took another breath, and looked above the collection of food carts to the clear blue sky. I could feel the thumping in my chest as the temptation to turn and count the floors of the main building tugged at my jaw. A few fat sparrows ambled over from across the street and positioned themselves in front of us. I broke off a little cookie and tossed it their way. They grabbed the pieces and looked at me for some more, giving up on Yuuma as a native.

"You don't think so?" She replied, watching me.

I nodded. "Well, it's only been one day. One heck of a weird day, I might add."

She didn't say anything for a while. "Everyone has those."

I looked at her, pouting like a child. "I'm… not so sure."

She ignored my response and looked back into the bag. "I got another pack of these cookies, if you'd like them."

I wanted to say something but took another deep breath instead; the darkness was there as we made small talk. I just got through the most outrageous, insane experiences of my life, and now I was having small talk with a pretty girl. This was beyond ridiculous.

"Sure, thanks."

"You're very welcome."

I tossed the sparrows more of the cookie. "I'm not very particular when it comes to food."

She smiled. "That so?" She sipped her coffee and watched as I continued to feed the birds. "I may have to toughen you up a bit this semester, then."

I blinked. "Huh…?"

The sparrows were now standing on the wide part of my school shoes, happily taking the crumbs from my fingers. I, meanwhile, remained speechless.

She turned, beaming, and handed me a phone decorated in pink glamour with one hand and took a sip from the coffee with another. On the screen was her number. "You got plans this weekend?"

I accepted the phone and handed the remainder of the biscotti to the birds, trying hard not to get to giddy. "Not at the moment, not really." I responded, pulling out my own phone to add in the new contact.

Dragons. Beautiful women. And I didn't even attend a single class today.


An hour or so passed, the skies were looking more threatening, and I wasn't sure if it was thunder I was hearing in the distance or the train on the bridge.

I eventually made it home, but there was no car in the driveway. I turned and walked to the door, reached above the mailbox, and pulled down a note with the key. Mr. Hyoudou quickly learned I wasn't so good with doors after the bathroom incident, so he had the key filed so that it would now operate smoothly in the lock. I opened the door and stepped inside.

I dropped off my bag and shoes in the entry hallway and walked into the kitchen. I was hungry and there was a random restaurant menu by the toaster, which gave me the luxury of narrowing down my choices. I opened the fridge and there was a six-pack of Yebisu, so I popped a can open and drank it while I went upstairs to the bathroom. Mr. Hyoudou would give me some crap later for drinking, but I was okay with that. I took a shower and got some clean clothes from my duffle, which I kept in the closet. Most of the stuff Mrs. Hyoudou had bought me was too small anyways.

The clock downstairs told me I still had three hours before they would be back, so I got the pad from beside the phone and read the numerous and assorted messages from practically everybody in the neighborhood.

There were no messages from Doctor Sakura.

I shuttled the resurging, hurt thoughts toward the back of my mind and placed the notebook on the coffee table. I had been here a full week and hadn't called her once, just as promised. I suppose I had been waiting for my feelings to move on, yet now maybe was the time to do so. I should call.

I looked at the phone but just didn't have the energy. I took a deep breath, lay back against the pillows on the sofa, and closed my eyes. After what seemed like a long time, I was finally about to go to sleep.

Then, the phone rang, and I lifted my eyelids to stare over at the ticking arms of the living room clock that told me that I'd been sitting there for about half-an-hour. I heard Mr. Hyoudou's recorded voice on the answering machine and heard the beep. "Hi, honey, me and dad are going to be out late tonight. I just wanted to check in and tell you that there's plenty of food in the fridge you can warm up for dinner." She sounded tired. "Please call me when you're available. I love you, kiddo!" I was about to reach for the phone when the line went dead.

I sighed and went upstairs to the terrace doors and listened to the sporadic drops hit the roof. It was a gentle rainfall that unfocused the edges of the town night, making all the surfaces glisten. I watched the drops fall slowly past the white of the streetlights and into the widening pools on our grass. I looked up, in the distance, at the span of the bridge connecting the train yard to Kyoto and listened to the steady thrum of the late-night traffic…

I wasn't quite feeling the effects of the alcohol yet, so I went downstairs for another beer. The lights were off, but I didn't remember turning them on to begin with.

That's when I heard something—a creaky, discomforting sound that reminded me of an old wooden armchair. Right before entering the kitchen, I thought I saw movement from somewhere in the darkness of the living room. I had just about convinced myself that it was nothing when a hint of movement came into my view.

That's when I began to feel my heart in my mouth.

Even in the pitch black he was easy to spot; it was his smirk. Tall and thin, grey dress shirt and a long black raincoat. He had long dark hair underneath a brown fedora, classic Waspish good looks, and all I could think of was the frightening feeling I experienced when encountering my red-headed classmate in the morning.

I blinked and said "yo", and he actually nodded to me.

"Yo." He dryly mimicked, then kept coming toward me. I was looking a little closer now, but it was only when I noticed the dried blood stained on his gloves that I really began to panic.

"Who the hell are you!? How did you get in here!?" I raised my voice, but he caught me with a hand to the shoulder, which propelled me to the far wall. I hit the drywall hard enough to make a dent in it, but quickly pulled myself up, thanking the Lord that my back muscles took most of the brunt force.

He was strong, enough so even to throw me with little to no effort. He didn't move, but his eyes flicked around the contained space. I moved about two more feet back.

"You know what I am?" He asked.

I had the sneaking suspicion he wasn't buying time, and I looked around my kitchen again, thinking that somebody should be coming to my rescue by now, but knew that was a fleeting sentiment. What I needed, now, was a weapon.

"Such cowardice," he snarled, "you've forgotten your place."

I hadn't the faintest clue to what he was babbling on about, so I ignored his words and focused on the immediate danger; stick and stones are what inevitably break your bones. I inclined my head a little and brought up my arms, keeping my left fist vertically about six inches from face and my right fist besides the chin.

I suppose he thought I was going to hit him, but I was wrong; he threw a quick punch into my shoulder. I'm sure I looked surprised as my backside was pushed up against a drawer. I tried not to wince, but my shoulder felt like someone had just slugged it with a baseball bat.

"You little, impudent annoyance!" He wasn't giving up on using physical force, swiftly grappling me by the throat and forcing my head against the back of the metal sink.

My head made an awful noise from the collision, and I could feel wetness drip onto my face, and figured it was either water or my own blood. His grip felt like a constrictor squeezing its prey, and I grabbed his arm with both of my hands, struggling to pry him off as my vision began to blur, and I gasped for air. All those workouts at the hospital, years of training, and for what! I couldn't even budge this asshole!

"We cannot abide attention to such failures." He huffed, almost like he was insulted.

I couldn't tell if it was just my dissipating conscious playing tricks on me, but there were dark feathers falling all around us. Deep dark feathers from a giant pair of raven-like wings spouted from his back, extending over me like a great, ominous thundercloud.

"Perhaps… this will get the ball rolling."

Suddenly, there was light. A flicker of bright electricity manifested in his unoccupied hand, a jagged streak of hot, angry energy that reminded me of lightning. The weapon crackled and forked until forming a complete shape, a javelin. "Don't move." Some of the smirk came back. "This'll only hurt a lot." He spoke as he brought the flaming, sizzling weapon towards my forehead.

I scrambled to escape his grip, but it felt like trying to move literal steel; his strength was just too much. "Get off!" I was yelling as loudly as my lungs could support in hopes that someone would hear the racket and call for the police.

I howled for a moment and continued my doomed struggle until I finally began to feel the grip around my throat lessen and the pain in my head slowly become obsolete.

Suddenly, seeps of electricity began to discharge from my hands and arms, slowly becoming a mixture of reddish, rugged flames. The intruder's strength I had feared now seemed to dissipate, and I looked right at him with an ugly sneer.

"What the…" His eyes widened and I could see my very own reflect in his irises. My eyes were red with fury. This guy was probably used to having his way, but he was in a different ballpark now.

I grabbed his wrist with my right and brought my left up and around his throat, effectively blocking him from using the spear. He was taller than me, but with my newfound strength, I had him flattened against the fridge. He tried to kick me, but I had prepared for that by turning my body a little away.

"Don't move." I warned.

He struggled some more and started to yell, but I closed my grip on his windpipe and the only thing that came out was a wheezy yell. His eyes bulged, and I thought about how the thumb fits so well over the larynx, and with one good squeeze…

I could feel the nausea in the back of my throat, rising up to tell me what I was doing was wrong. I stood there swallowing the bile that kept reminding me who I was and of what I could forgive myself. It took a few seconds, but I lessened my grip and allowed him a little more air. His eyes stayed wide, but they didn't bug quite as much as before.

"Talk," I commanded, "or I'm going to pinch your head off."

He looked around wildly, probably thinking of an escape. "As if I'd lower myself to your level, Issei! You're nothing but a damned human!"

"How do you know my name?"

I let him swallow. "Wouldn't you like to know!"

I gave him a taste of his own medicine and rabbit-punched a quick jab between the eyes and popped his nose. I felt the cartilage explode on impact and removed my wet fist to see that I'd accidentally turned the guy's expression into a discombobulated hubcap. His eyes rolled back, and I felt his legs limp.

I dropped the unconscious body onto the kitchen floor, not realizing my own strength. I felt tired all over, and sat down next to him, my hands dropping to my lap. I could hardly think; my hands were shaking so hard. I wasn't covered in fire anymore, so there was that. After a minute or two, I nodded and took a deep breath.

I rolled to my side and stood up slowly; my shoulder was starting to swell like a balloon. I put my hand out and against the fridge, steadied myself, and took another breath. I pushed off and walked over to the phone.

That's when I felt a hot, agonizing pain shoot through me. I screamed and looked down as my stomach erupted into a wave of red and entrails, followed by the horrific reveal of a sizzling light spear embedded in me. I staggered, bile and other fluids dripping from my mouth, and fell onto the floor. I could hear the soft patter of footsteps and used my fleeting strength to turn myself around.

Seeing her, I felt hot tears run down my face.

Doctor Sakura stepped out of the shadows with another glowing spear in her hand.

"Hello, Issei."