Chapter 9-Voices

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.

Voices

"You know," Joshua commented idly as he sat at his desk, a cup of coffee to his right and a book between his hands. "When I imagined studying magic, it sounded a lot better than this is turning out to be."

The only response he got was a hiss from Nagini. The snake was, as was now usual, wrapped around his neck and over his shoulders. It seemed she had taken a liking to that spot, because Joshua would be hard pressed to think of a moment when he was at his apartment when she wasn't there.

Granted, he wasn't at his place much, since he had started his physical training back up after getting his Ward situation somewhat under control. He was even out of the city since he now drove the Hunter's car to the forest to have a quiet place to practice with the Magic Revolver. It was a small boon that the thing used his magical energy to form bullets, not only did it mean that he didn't need to buy the ammunition but it also helped deplete his reserves so that he could meditate and increase his Magic.

On a somewhat related note, getting the Hunter's car under his name had been surprisingly easy. It took some rummaging through the dead man's things back at the house and some liberal practice of his Drawing skill to get the signature copied just right, but he was now the actual owner of the car. Joshua had also started planning to put some wards around the actual house too, and see if he could have it on the side as an emergency house… but that was a slightly more complicated matter or so he thought. It had eased some of his worries about driving that car around… although those had been the smaller ones, if he was honest.

Back to the present, Joshua distracted himself from the rather dull explanation of the circle variations needed to affect the sound dampening Ward he was studying now by calling for some System screens. They were always nice to look at, and a great way to motivate himself to continue improving, he had found.

[Throwing Weapon Mastery – Lvl 5/100

Determines the user's ability to fight with throwing weapons.

Increases accuracy when throwing a throwing weapon by 5%.

Increases Dexterity when fighting with a throwing weapon by 1.25%.

Increases damage output when fighting with a throwing weapon by 1.25%.]

[Revolver Mastery – Lvl 3/100

Determines the user's ability to fight with revolvers.

Increases accuracy when firing a revolver by 3%.

Increases Dexterity when handling a revolver by 0.75%.

Decreases recoil effect of revolvers on the user by 0.75%.]

They weren't all that, but for only a week of training, it was great progress. Or maybe Joshua's expectations were lowered after dealing with his more… 'balanced' System. Either way, he was happy with what he was getting. And that wasn't even mentioning the most unexpected development.

It had come while he was in the forest. Joshua had decided that, while he was there, he might as well get some Running done too. And, since the place was so… less than ideal, he had ended up doing some jumping over fallen trees and some other moves to avoid the natural obstacles around like rocks or low branches.

That had the pleasant side effect of giving him a Jumping and a Maneuvering skill. But it was when he got the last one that the true surprise happened. He could almost see the screens in front of him.

[Skills Updated: Running, Jumping, Maneuvering]

[Skill Unlocked: Parkour]

It opened a new realm of possibilities. Although, if Joshua was honest, he was just happy that he had less skills to keep track of. It had also been both a bummer and a relief when he actually opened the Skill's screen.

[Parkour – Lvl 7/100

Determines the user's ability to free run.

Increases Speed while running by 14%.

Increases Strength while jumping by 14%.

Increases Dexterity while maneuvering by 14%.

Decreases exhaustion from running, jumping and maneuvering by 7%.]

It was a bummer because Running had been Lvl 10 before the update. However, Joshua could only see positives, considering that Jumping and Maneuvering had both been Lvl 1. Three levels wasn't that much of a loss and, truthfully, he wouldn't have been surprised if Parkour had been lower level than it ended up being. He also had to admit, he rather liked doing that compared to simple runni-

A poke on his side brought Joshua back to the present as he turned to regard Nagini who was staring at him from over his shoulder.

"Can't you let me space out and be lazy?" He asked, only to receive another poke with the snake's head. "You spend too much time with Cheshire in here," A more feline hiss from behind him told Joshua that the comment wasn't appreciated, at all. "I guess Morag's been moved to the favorite spot now."

[Bond: Nagini has gone up a level.]

[Bond: Morag has gone up a level.]

'Huh?' Joshua thought intelligently. He wasn't really surprised by the levels, since he had somewhat gotten used to them. He was more caught off guard by the fact that they leveled at that particular moment. It didn't feel very… bonding, he guessed. Although, the interaction had been somewhat friendly…

'Does it really matter?' Joshua thought with a shrug that got him a hiss from Nagini.

[Bond

Cheshire - 10/10

Determines the user's bond closeness with Cheshire.

Nagini - 5/10

Determines the user's bond closeness with Snake.

Morag - 3/10

Determines the user's bond closeness with Spider.]

"Half way there to being my familiar, Nagini," Joshua said with a slight smile as he brought a hand up to scratch the snake under her jaw. He didn't receive a response but she leaned against his touch and that told him all he needed.

[}-o-{]

"Much better, right girl?" Joshua asked Cheshire with a tired smile and as he listened from inside his apartment. No sound reached his ears, and that's exactly what he had gone for. The fact that a minute before his place had been filled with the sound of music and what not coming from the club nearby only served to accentuate his success, at least in his mind.

With a smile, he called for a System screen.

[Sound Dampening Ward - Lvl 1/50

A Special Ward which the user can cast to reduce the amount of sounds that pass through its limits.

Requires a Wardstone of Special Typing.

Effectiveness and Area are determined by Skill Level, Wardstone Quality and Magic Quantity.

Consumption with circle - G to ∞

Consumption without circle - E to ∞]

It was a nice spell, and he guessed it made sense for it to have lower Consumption, since it was clearly less powerful than the Concealing Ward. He was also pretty happy that he had gotten a level in Ward Magic and Spell Modification while he was at it. It only increased his desire to cast some wards around the area of his apartment and maybe look for some more. They could be useful and they would also work towards leveling his skills. It was a win-win scenario if he ever saw one.

"But for now, I gotta level Concealing Ward the most, maybe increase Magic some more and definitely increase my combat skills," Joshua summarized. While having some useful stuff to work with would have been nice, his priority was in keeping himself alive. For that, he needed a Concealing Ward that was as strong as he could possibly manage. That, and to be able to defend himself, of course.

"You know what that means?" Joshua asked his familiar, earning the cat equivalent of a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, we are going back to the forest. Heard that, Nagini? Cheshire might catch something for you out there, how's that sound?" He called out, trying to bring some cheer onto himself. It was one of those days when he really didn't feel like exercising, but he had to so he would anyway.

The young man was, however, surprised when he didn't get the usual answer from the snake. Usually, she would hiss something and continue lying where she was, if that. Or, when she was on his shoulders like she was right now, she would get off to let him go. This time, instead, she strengthened her hold around her neck. Not enough that he had to worry about his own pet choking the air out of him, fortunately.

"So… you want to come with us?" Joshau asked, hazarding a guess. As time passed, he thought he was coming to understand his animal's signs much better, either because of the bond or just practice. Unnaturally, Nagini gave him a very obvious nod. Before Cheshire, he would have been surprised by that. Now though... "Just want to get out or do you plan on hunting something yourself for once?" He asked as he stood up and looked for the cards that held the Magic Revolver and some knives for throwing.

The snake hissed something at him and, while he couldn't understand what that meant, he nodded along as if he could. It was kind of like one would do with a babbling child, just nod as if you understood and more often than not his pets would be happy with that. At least, he thought that was a safe strategy until they became actual familiars like Cheshire. The cat had become a lot more intelligent after the change, and hadn't taken too kindly to having him ignore what she 'said'.

"So, I can't have you come on my shoulders, girl," Joshua told Nagini once he was done gathering his things. With a regretful smile, he pulled out a backpack and opened it. For a moment, the snake raised her head to give him what he thought was a glare. Eventually though, she let out a soft hiss that he took as a sigh and slithering inside the bag. "Thanks girl, I promise I'll let you out as soon as I can," His only response was a hiss that, this time, he couldn't quite place the meaning for.

"Now..." Joshua carefully slung the backpack over his shoulder and took a deep breath in, just like he always did. Getting in the car and driving still took a toll on him, leaving him tired and stressed. It was, however, a necessary evil. "Let's go, Cheshire," He said softly with a smile that wasn't quite there.

[}-o-{]

A gunshot echoed through the forest as a light bullet hit right through a tree, slightly off the center of a bullseye carved on its bark. Pulling the Magic Revolver down, Joshua looked at his shot's result and shrugged. 'Not bad. One of the better tries I've made, actually,' He mused before sighing. He wasn't that tired yet, but he could already feel the drain in his magic that using the weapon caused. 'Time to meditate-'

[Revolver Mastery has gone up a level.]

'Nice,' He smiled, feeling much better about stopping now that he knew he had made actual progress. After finding a nice spot to sit down cross legged, he looked around for a moment. None of the two animals he had brought with him were on sight. It didn't worry him too much though, since he knew Cheshire could take care of herself and Nagini even more so. The snake getting lost was a possibility, but the cat should be able to track her down easily enough.

'I feel kind of bad about leaving Morag at home now,' Joshua thought. 'Is that weird?' He thought after a moment. Spiders weren't dogs, after all. On the other hand, Morag wasn't a normal spider anymore. Not with three levels in Bond. It wasn't much, but it was enough that he had considered letting the arachnid walk on his palm or something of the sort. Especially since he had read that Black Widows were actually very unlikely to bite unless they had no way to escape.

The problem was, however, that he wasn't over what had transpired that night in the Hunter's house. Morag was to be his executioner, and that knowledge was firmly engraved in his mind. 'I have to get over it though, if I want to actually have Morag as my familiar. She is bound to touch me eventually...' Joshua thought to himself, not feeling like he meant any of those words really.

The rustling of some leaves to his side got his attention and he turned to see Cheshire walking towards him.

"Hey, girl, how's it going?" Joshua said out of habit, earning a pleased meow. He still didn't know what the cat did when she moved around, but he guessed she was just taking a walk. After all, more often than not she came without any prey to say she went hunting. "Did you see Nagini somewhere?" That got a tilted head to the side before she shook her head. "Hmm… Well, we'll stay here until I finish meditating, so I guess we can leave her be for the moment," He mused. "I was just about to start, actually. Could you keep watch, meanwhile?" He asked and the cat immediately made her way to his lap, where she got a smile and soft petting before he took a deep breath in and closed his eyes.

Meditation was, he had found, not so bad an activity. While every attempt he had made in his old life had been met with boredom only, now that he was aware of his own magic, it was rather enjoyable. Feeling that energy moving inside himself, filling him with a sensation that he couldn't put into words no matter how much he tried. Kind of like trying to explain a color to someone that was blind, all descriptions seemed… lacking.

Joshua had also tried to find a mind aspect for the skill. To see if there was such a thing like Occlumency or the like. After all, the last thing he wanted was to have his mind read or otherwise messed with. His attempts had been met with nothing though, something that didn't reassure him as much as he wanted it to. After all, the Mind Arts were something that was present in almost all magic words in some aspect. Until he found veritable information of the stuff not existing, he would continue trying.

That day, however, he wasn't particularly motivated. Joshua had barely gathered enough will to actually go out to exercise. So, he decided to give himself a break and just enjoy the energy aspect of Meditation. 'That, and Cheshire's presence,' He thought with a small smile feeling the soft fur of the cat under his hand, even as he kept most of his focus on the swirling energy inside himself and-

'What?' Joshua frowned, immediately and unwillingly letting go of the thing that had disturbed him. 'What was that?' He wondered, taking a deep breath in and trying to reach the same state again. There had been something there, besides his magic. Something that he hadn't ever felt before.

Sure enough, when he finally managed to push his eagerness aside to be able to concentrate, he felt it again. It felt… similar to his magic, very much so. It was almost the same. 'Maybe that's why I didn't notice before?' He wondered, but he continued trying to decipher just what that was. It was next to his magic, touching, almost as if the two energies were pressing against one another but never quite fusing together.

And then, the energy moved.

And his hand rose.

When his eyes opened, shocked, he saw Cheshire standing on his lap instead of just lying on it. As if sensing his gaze, the cat turned her amber eyes towards him. With a questioning meow, she broke him from his staring and he blinked repeatedly.

Then he blinked again as a blue screen appeared in front of him.

[Skill Unlocked: Magic Sense]

'Oh, baby, this is awesome!' Joshua thought, as a grin spread over his face. Sensing was, quite possibly, one of his favorite skills… theoretically, that is, since he didn't have any beforehand. Now though, he could finally-

[Quest Complete: Unlock Magic Sense

Rewards:

+ 5 Magic Levels

+ 5 Perception Levels

+ 10 Meditation Levels]

'Wow, why is this a Quest tho-'

[Title Unlocked: Novice Magician]

'Ok, this is great,' Joshua thought, still smiling from ear to ear and half-expecting another screen to appear in front of him. 'Ok, let's take this one step at a time,' He decided then, when it was evident that nothing new would pop up.

'Magic Sense?' He called firstly, to take a look at his new skill that he was already looking forward to training with. He had been toying with the idea of setting up Detection Wards related to magic next around his apartment and maybe even the rest of the city, if he could manage that. Now though, he might not even need that.

[Magic Sense - Lvl 1/100

Determines the user's ability to sense magical energy and spells.

Precision is determined by Skill and Perception Level.

Increases the range of Magic Sense by 3%.]

'Nothing too surprising,' He noted with a slight nod. 'The Perception part is a little unexpected, but not too much. I guess I can see the relation between sensing and perception. Besides, the Quest gave me some levels on that, didn't it?' Joshua's eyes moved to the side, dismissing the skill screen and focusing on the previously mentioned one.

'Why was this even a Quest though,' The young man frowned. 'Was I supposed to get this later? That… sounds kind of possible. Especially with the Meditation levels in the Quest. Was Meditation supposed to unlock it later and I got ahead? Although… I did find the skill while using Meditation, so the levels might be because of that...' Growing tired of theorizing without a real way of confirming anything, Joshua shook his head and continued his little analysis.

'I'm guessing either the Magic levels or the Meditation levels unlocked the Novice Magician title… or maybe that was Magic Sense? Maybe even all of the above,' He shrugged, still wearing a slight, pleased smile on his face. He was quite happy with the unexpected but appreciated developments he had in this exercise session. 'And to think I didn't want to come,' He thought, shaking his head.

'Anyway, Novice Magician,' Joshua called last.

[Novice Magician

Increases the growth speed of Magic by 10%.

Increases the growth speed of all Magical Masteries and Spells by 15%.]

'Sweeeeet,' He decided instantly as his grin grew once more. Without a second thought, he pulled his Status screen, taking a split second to be pleased with his increased Perception and Magic. Especially the second, since it had broken through into the 20s. Then, he equipped his new title. It didn't make him feel any different, but he was just glad he had something to put there, nevermind something so useful.

"Thanks, Cheshire, you are awesome," Joshua praised, grinning at the cat while his hand moved to pet her. His familiar tilted her head to the side, obviously confused since she wasn't privy to Joshua's thoughts (yet, at least) and had no way to see the System screens. A second later, she decided to roll with it, apparently, and settled on my lap, basking on the attention and the compliments he kept giving her.

"Ok, I'll continue meditating now, girl," He told the cat as he closed his eyes. This time though, he had something else to do while he was at it, which was to see if he could practice both, Meditation and Magic Sense at the same time. He soon found out that, yes, he could.

And so, something else was added to his already pretty full list of skills to train.

[}-o-{]

[Unknown]

The voices had spoken to her and she had listened.

All her life, she had heard them, whispering in her ear. Crazy, more than one had called her. Even her own parents had tried to silence the voices. That was why she now kept their existence to herself. However, that didn't mean that she didn't listen to them. After all, they had never steered her wrong.

Unfortunately, her parents had started to grow wary of her some time ago. She guessed that they suspected her act, seeing through some slip she must have made somewhere. Then both of them began keeping her at arm's length, barely speaking to her. Curt answers followed that. And eventually, harsh reproaches for anything and everything.

She had put up with all that, because she didn't know what else to do and the voices remained silent on the matter.

One day, that changed. The voices finally offered an answer to her predicament. Running away, going to a place that would be better for her. 'Finding her destiny,' The voices had said. Although, she noticed that they sounded strangely unsure, something that had never happened.

'Options,' She had heard once, when the voices were more whispers than actual messages. As if they had been talking between themselves instead of speaking to her. Another unprecedented event, something that seemed to be common those days. 'A variable, an anomaly,' She had heard in that same conversation.

She didn't care much for that though. All she cared about was that she had an out, a way to avoid her current life that seemed to be spiraling downwards really fast. Not that it had ever been sunshine and rainbows, but the point stood. No more hateful parents, no more judging peers, no more crying herself to sleep or hiding who she was.

She didn't know what 'her destiny' was, but she would take her chances with it if it got her away from where she had been.

In hindsight, however, she might have wanted to prepare better for her little self-searching. She had burned through her savings traveling where the voices told her, barely eating already, as she used every bit of cash she had to pay for transport and for a roof over her head when she needed to.

Now, she had nothing. No food, no roof and, more importantly, no money.

She could have used her looks, maybe. She knew she wasn't ugly. She could have easily gotten someone to pay her a meal, maybe even gotten a place to stay the night that wasn't the streets. She would never do that though. She would sooner die than sell herself like that… although, in the situation she was in, that might be a possibility.

It was now her third night without a place to stay already. She had managed to get some money, mostly out of people that had taken pity on her. Her aforementioned looks had helped her there, she knew, but it was better than actively using them, or so her mind told her. That thought might have been helped by the fact that starving wasn't something that she enjoyed, who knew.

However, she was receiving less and less money, as if life decided she had gotten enough. She could almost feel her stomach complaining already, even though there was no reason to be hungry. Her mind had, apparently, decided to conjure the feeling out of thin air to mock her decisions.

It certainly didn't help that, through the days, desperation had started to build up in her. Not only because of her pauper situation, but also because of what the voices had told her. Was she missing out on her destiny because of this? Had she failed to reach it and that's why this was happening? Was she doomed now? Condemned to starve to death or be killed while sleeping out in the open? Something worse than that, maybe?

Anxious thoughts were pushed aside when a black and white shape moved towards her. Her eyes moved to the side and took the sight of the cat, her frowning face softening and her lips curling up the smallest bit. The feline walked up to her and regarded her dirty, probably smelly, self with amber eyes. She didn't know how she could tell, but the cat looked… unimpressed with her.

'Even stray animals think I'm a lost cause,' She thought self-deprecatingly.

"Cheshire?" A voice called out, and the cat perked up, its head turned to the side where the question had come from. "Cheshire?!" The man, she recognized, tried again, louder this time. "Where did you go, girl?"

The cat seemed to respond with a loud meow, almost a screech.

"There you are," Then she saw him. A man in his twenties, she guessed, if not less. Black hair that didn't seem to be styled in any way, instead simply left to its devices without looking bad, even if it didn't look good by any means. His skin seemed pale, almost sickly to her eyes.

But his eyes, blue eyes much like her own, were the most defining feature in her opinion. Where hers were light, sky blue, his were cold, dark blue, resembling sapphires. They left an impression, that was for sure, even before they had looked directly at hers.

"She wasn't bothering you, was she?" The man asked her, nodding towards the cat.

"Hm, er… no, no. Nothing like that," She replied hesitantly. "She just walked up to me just now."

"Hm, she did, huh?" The man mumbled, turning his attention back to the cat and the girl herself relaxed. She hadn't even noticed she had been tense to begin with until those eyes moved away from her. A moment of silence followed, and the girl looked between man and feline as they seemed to stare at one another. Then, the animal looked at her and went back to the man. "No, Cheshire."

"Hm… is something the matter… mister?" She asked, unsure.

"No, don't worry," He reassured her. "Just Cheshire here and her habit of picking up… people," He added after a slight pause, confusing her even more. "We are not bringing her with us. This is different from the last time, Cheshire, she isn't an animal. I can't just pick her up and bring her home," The man exasperatedly denied as he walked up to the cat and picked her up. "I'm very sorry for this whole… thing. Have a nice day," He told her and turned to leave.

And then, the voices spoke.

'The anomaly,' They whispered in her mind and she perked up, her eyes snapping towards the retreating back of the man with renewed intensity.

'My destiny?' She asked, even though the voices rarely answered her questions directly.

'No,' They said, shocking her. 'Destiny is misty, hazy, muddled,' They told her and she grew worried. Was she right? Had she lost her chance? 'The anomaly is important,' They changed the subject back to the man and she stood up, following him. 'Fate… is changing. Ripples all around. An uncertain future...'

"Excuse me," She called out and the man stopped, turning to her with a confused frown. She gulped down her nervousness, looking at the ground and poking it with her right foot. "I… could I come with you?"

The bewildered man opened his mouth to say something, probably questioning why she wanted to go with a complete stranger or something along those lines. Truth was… she was tired of being in the streets. She was also desperate. But, most of all, as was usual in her life, she was listening to the voices.

Something had happened to her destiny, it seemed. It had, apparently, vanished, or at the very least changed. Her reason to roam was gone and she had no path to follow. But the voices had said the man was important. Important and nothing else. No warnings had come regarding him, even after she had taken action. So, she could at least go with him and see what happened. It wasn't like-

'Savior,' A lonely voice whispered in her ear, almost going unheard. But it was, and it made the girl almost perk up and grin. That cleared any doubt that she might have had in an instant.

Meanwhile, she saw the man close his mouth without saying anything, before he turned to the cat still in his arms. They looked at one another and the girl noticed that he seemed to grow annoyed, something that worried her. Had she inconvenienced him?

"Don't look so damn smug," He grumbled, speaking to the cat and unknowingly reassuring the girl. She would have worried about him talking to a cat, but she had voices in her head, so she wasn't one to judge. "And you," She stood straight once more under the judging eyes of the man. Then he sighed. "Sure… You can come," He mumbled resignedly as he turned and started walking again, this time with her walking by his side. "I'm Joshua Davis, by the way. What's your name?"

"Jeanne," She replied with a wide smile, one that she hadn't worn for years. "Just Jeanne, a pleasure to meet you, Joshua."

"Well, I hope you don't mind snakes, Jeanne," The man, Joshua, commented, his right hand patting the backpack he carried, for some reason.

"Snakes?" She asked, blinking.

"And spiders, for that matter."

"Spiders?"

[} Chapter End {]