Fairy Tail's Angel chapter 01: Natsu's Dreams
BW: Hey everyone. BW here, with a new crossover. A friend of mine asked me to make a crossover with Sora no Otoshimono, and Fairy Tail. I thought it might be interesting, so I decide to do it. While it won't mirror the exact events, a few things will be tweaked so be ready. Let's get this thing started.
(I don't own Fairy Tail or the SNO series)
(Lucy's Narration)
Hello, Lucy here. Right now, we're taking the train to a town here our new job is, which is incredibly low paying. By we, I mean "Fairy Tail's strongest team", consisting of myself, Erza, Gray, Happy, and Natsu, who is currently out at the moment, due to his motion sickness.
I simply sigh to myself, and wonder, how we got into this mess. But then, I remember, we're actually going to said town and job for Natsu.
(Narration ends)
(-Several Hours earlier-)
A few days, after Team Natsu returned from Galuna Island, things in the Fairy Tail guild seem to have returned to normal. Members of the guild regularly partying, and frequently picking fights with each other, and occasionally, doing their own thing.
However, one particularly member of Fairy Tail, wasn't feeling quite like himself. It was Natsu, who sat by himself at a table in the guild hall. It looked like he deprived of sleep, or something. This is very peculiar, even for Natsu. He just, zoned out, and stared off into space.
Lucy walks over to Happy. "Hey, Happy, what's wrong with Natsu?" she asked the blue cat.
"I don't know. Ever since we got back from Galuna Island, Natsu's been acting all weird."
"Looks to me like he hasn't gotten any sleep." said Gray, who was just walking by, and coincidently, without most of his cloths.
"Gray, your clothes!" Cana casually remains him, again, causing him to jump.
"Gah!" Gray screamed.
"Hey, you don't think that Moon Drip stuff got to him too, do you?" Happy asked Lucy. He recalled the Moon Drip's effects on the people of Galuna. It made them think they were human, and turn into demons at night, however, it later turned out that the humans were in fact demons from the start, and the Moon Drip caused their memory to warp.
"I wouldn't know. All I know is, this is strange." Lucy answered, "With Natsu so silent, it feels kinda quiet and awkward."
Happy, with his little wings, flies over to Natsu. He is filled with concern for his best friend, and wants to know what's bother him. "Natsu, what's the matter? You weren't affected by the Moon Drip from Galuna Island, did you?" Happy asked the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"Huh…? Oh, hey, Happy…" Natsu yawned, finally taking notice of his little buddy, "No… none of that Moon Drip stuff effected me, I'm just tired." Natsu answers.
"What?! You, tired?" Lucy gasped, in pure disbelief. As long as she's known Natsu, tired was one thing she never that Natsu would be. Each day, he's filled with energy. Now, he's tired? What going on here?
"Well, I haven't gotten much sleep lately… 'cause of this weird dream I'm having…" Natsu begins explaining, "Some grassy field… clear, almost cloudless, blue sky… and a mysterious girl…" Natsu listed down the strange things.
"What? You mean, you've been having some weird dream about a girl in a field?" Lucy inquires. Now, she was starting to get curious about this dream Natsu's talking about.
"Yeah, but that's not the weird part. What gets weird is that the girl had wings on her back." Natsu said, "She shows up from out of nowhere, and then she flies away as soon as I try to talk to her. And it almost seemed real."
"A girl with wings?" Gray wonders. He was listening in, due to curiosity as well. By the way, he still hasn't found his clothes.
"Natsu, there's no one else with wings besides me." boasted Happy.
"I don't think he was talking about you." said Lucy.
"So, you got any idea as to who she is?" Gray asks Natsu, "Like maybe someone you met in the past?"
"Nope, never seen her before." Natsu answered, "In fact, I've been having the same dream over and over for the past few days."
"I see. It's probably got nothing to do with the Moon Drip, because otherwise, it'd be night, and not day in the dream." said Gray, "There's something else at work, if you're having dreams about this girl over and over."
"Yeah… can't stop thinking about her too."
"Oh, I see! So, if this girl keeps him up at night, maybe Natsu's in love!" claimed Happy.
"WHAT?!" most of the entire guild heard what Happy said. "NATSU, IN LOVE!"
"What's with you guys?!" Natsu yelled.
"Is it true, Natsu?! You like some girl?!" Elfman asks Natsu, with some blush on his face.
"That's not fair, Natsu! I haven't even met her yet!" Loke complained to Natsu.
"Simmer down! Why would I be in love?! She barely speaks to me! And it's all in a dream!" Natsu retorted.
"A dream?" repeated Macao.
"Huh? So Natsu likes some dream girl. That explains it." said Wakaba.
"Explains what?!"
"Well, since it's your dream, maybe she likes you." said Loke.
"Huh?!"
"But you know, the only kind of girl that go for a guy like Natsu would be…" at that moment, Macao, Wakaba, Elfman, and Loki began picturing what kind of girl would like Natsu. They pictured a female pink dragon with red lipstick. The female dragon winked. That's what caused them all burst out in uncontrollable laughter at the thought.
"Ahahaha! Oh god! My stomach!" Wakaba laughed, tightly holding his stomach.
"Oh god! What a perfect match!" Macao laughed, slapping Wakaba in the back as he laughed.
"Yeah, she's perfect for you, Natsu!" said Loke, barely able to contain his laughter.
"Yeah, truly worthy of a man like you, Natsu!" Elfman chuckled.
"HEY! What did you think of, you bastards?!" Natsu yelled, clearly annoyed by their laughter. He decided he wanted to punch their lights out, and so engages in a fight with them, and other guild members. Now, they're beating the crap out of each other.
"Well, he's back to normal." said Lucy, with a sweat-drop running down the back of her head. That's when Mirajane approaches Lucy.
"So it seems." Mirajane agreed.
"So, what're we gonna do?" Lucy asked Mira, "If he keeps having those dreams, it could cause a problem. Especially when we have work."
That's when Mirajane began thinking. It took her a while, but she came with a very simple idea, "Here's an idea! Why not take a job from the Request Board?"
"Take a job? Are you sure?"
"I think it'll take his mind off it if he goes." Mira suggests.
"I think he's already forgotten what we were talking about." stated Lucy, pointing at the brawl Natsu is currently in.
"Well, I think it's a good idea." said Erza's voice, who came up from behind the two.
"Eh? Erza?" Lucy gasped in surprised.
"I've been concerned about Natsu's well-being as well. If a nice, quiet job might take his mind off what's troubling him, then that's good." said Erza. A second later, she pulled out a request form out of nowhere and showed it to Lucy and Mirajane. "In fact, I already got a job for us right now."
"So fast!" Lucy yelled in surprise.
"Let me see... hmm..." Mirajane began examining the request, "Looking for assistance in research on a mysterious object. Signed, President Sugata, head of the New World Discovery Department?"
"New World Discovery? What's that?" Lucy asked.
"Just some research group he created. Though, it's mostly just him." explained Erza, "It seems this Sugata person wants help on something he found recently."
"And... he's wants help from us?" Lucy inquires, examining the request form herself, and then, noticed something odd on request form, "Hold on! Did you look at this pay? 100 jewel?! I mean, what the hell?!"
"Maybe he doesn't have enough money to pay a sufficient amount." Mirajane said.
"And he still managed to put up this request? I'm sorry, but there is no way any guild in their right mind would expect this job." said Lucy. She couldn't believe someone with only 100 jewel could even try something like this. "I mean, seriously. For only 100 jewel? That's just ridicules!"
"Well, thankfully, we're not in our right mind." said Erza, as she rolled up the paper, "Plus, we've been known to do ridicules things over the years, am I right?"
Lucy and Mira were surprised to hear this. "Erza, are you serious?" Lucy asked Erza.
"I'm always serious. With a simple job like this, there's no way we can screw up."
"And you're fine with the 100 jewel as a reward?"
"You want Natsu back to normal, don't you?" Erza asks in response. Lucy paused, and glances at Natsu. He seems fine now, but she is worried that if keeps up, Natsu might lose his drive, and she didn't think anyone would want that, and so she reluctantly agrees.
(-Present Time: On board the train to Sorami-)
Which brings us to our heroes current situation. While the rest of Team Natsu were discussing their job, Natsu himself remains out like a light, again thanks to his motion sickness. Well, instead of 'out like a light', maybe we should say that he's miserable enough to pass out where he's sitting.
"So, about this Sugata person..." Lucy started.
"Yes, I think the form said that he lives in a town known as Sorami." said Erza.
"Sorami?" Gray asked.
"It's quiet town, and while it's not that big, it is peaceful." Erza explained, "The form itself says it all."
"Okay, so what do you know about Sugata? Is he a famous person or something?" Gray inquires.
"Not to my knowledge." Erza answered Gray, "Aside from claiming to be a researcher, I don't know anything about him."
"I don't think he'd be a famous person if he only gave out a 100 Jewel for this silly job." Lucy commented, "In any event, what do you think is this mysterious object he mentioned?"
"That I don't know. The request form didn't say." Erza answered Lucy.
"Then why bother picking it out?!"
"Oh! I know! Maybe he's researching fish!" Happy suggested. It was a half-assed guess at best on his part.
"If you really don't know, then don't say anything." Lucy said to Happy.
"At any rate, all our questions will be answered when we meet Sugata in person." said Gray.
"Yeah, we should save our questions for later." Lucy agreed.
Meanwhile, while everyone else is talking, Natsu had fallen asleep, and is having a dream. A very familiar dream. It was the same dream as the other nights before.
(-Natsu's Dream-)
Natsu stands alone in the near cloudless field. He stares up at the sky, for what seemed like moments. In front of him was the same girl in this dream, floating in the air with her wings chained to the sky.
"Help me..." pleaded the girl, "Help me... the sky has me in its grip... the sky has me in its grip..." she repeated.
Natsu attempts to reach out to her, but she is too far in the sky to even hope to touch her, let alone save her from the sky.
"Natsu... Natsu...! Natsu...!"
(-Reality-)
"Natsu!" Lucy yelled at Natsu to wake up. His body twitch a little, meaning he's woken up. His head was hanging downward though.
"C'mon, wake up! We've reached Sorami already!" Lucy informed Natsu, with an annoyed tone, however, that changed when Natsu lifts his head up, and she sees his face. Her face turned from annoyed to sympatric, when she realized what happened. "You had that dream again, didn't you?"
"Huh?"
"You're crying..." Lucy said. Natsu noticed, and wiped them off. That's the first time she ever saw Natsu cry. She decided not to mention it to the other guild member, otherwise, they may not let Natsu live down, or they may get sympathetic on him, and he won't tolerate it.
"Natsu, maybe you should see a doctor about this." Happy suggests, flying on his little wings.
"I don't need to see a doctor. I'm fine!"
"But, if you're crying in your sleep then it has to be something serious!" Lucy retorted. Natsu's laidback nature sometimes got on her nerves.
"Why are you pissed all of a sudden?" Natsu groaned.
"I wouldn't be so pissed if you took things more seriously!"
"Natsu, Lucy! We're getting off!" Erza yelled for them. Lucy drags Natsu out of the train before it departed. Now the team are walking around town looked for their client. Looking around, it really is a small town. It's surrounded by mountains, and there are plenty of fields filled with plants growing. Probably the biggest attraction of all is this huge cherry blossom tree near a mountain that is visible to everyone in town.
"This place really is peaceful, isn't it?" Lucy awed at just about everything. She felt pumped up from seeing it all, and now ready to work. "Okay, so where are we supposed to find our client?" Lucy asked.
"Well, I imagine we would need to find the Sugata residence." Erza answered.
"But, we know don't where that is." said Gray. That's when he spotted two girls walking by, and decided to ask them for directions. However, just as he was about ask them where Sugata lived, they panicked, blushing beet red, and quickly fled. "What the..."
"Gray, your clothes." Erza sighed.
"Aah!" Gray jumped at the realization that he unknowingly stripped himself of his clothes again. Seeing him without his clothes and only his underwear must've embarrassed the girls and driven them off.
"Gray had the right idea though. We should ask around, and learn where the Sugata residence is."
"Alright, let's do it." Erza agreed. The teams split up, Natsu with Lucy and Happy, Erza and Gray. Erza's with Gray to make sure he doesn't lose his clothes again in front of people as they ask about.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Natsu continue to talk about Natsu's dream and going to see a doctor about it.
"Seriously Natsu, I think you should see a doctor about this dream of yours." Lucy pushes her suggestion.
"Geez, I told you, I'm fine! It's not like it's ruining my life." Natsu retorted.
"You never know what'll happen in the future! That's why I say you should see a doctor!"
"You mean see a shrink, right?"
"Hey, maybe we could ask Sugata." Happy suggests, "He might know something about Natsu's dream."
"Wow, that's some smart thinking, Happy. I'm impressed." Lucy said to Happy.
"Hey, who's side are you on?" Natsu asked, unimpressed.
"Stop complaining! We may not know much about him, but at least know Sugata's a researcher of some kind. If we got him to help us after we've helped him..."
"You're looking for someone named Sugata?" asked a voice from behind the three. They turned around to see a girl, who is probably a few years younger than them, with long purple hair. She wore a long summer dress, and is amazingly beautiful. She has a very bewitching smile as well.
"Uh..." the two were silent at first, feeling surprised by the sudden appearance of this girl.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to butt in. I'm Mikako Satsukitane." the girl, Mikako introduced herself, "Just call me Mikako."
"Um, okay. I'm Lucy, and this is Natsu, and Happy." Lucy introduced herself, and Natsu and Happy respectively.
"Yo!" Natsu said.
"Aye!" Happy said.
"What an amusing pair." Mikako lightly chuckled, "So anyway, you're looking for Sugata, right?"
"Yeah, we're looking for him because we're from a wizard guild, and we just accepted a job from his request form that was sent to our guild." Lucy explained.
"Oh, I see. Wizards are you? I didn't think wizards of all things would come to a tiny town like this one. Especially because of a request, for a measly reward of 100 jewel."
"Yeah, well... wait, are there no wizards in Sorami?"
"No. But, maybe that's why it's so peaceful here." said Mikako.
"Yeah, I guess so." Lucy smiled a bit, thinking about the scenery she saw earlier.
"It's utterly boring." Mikako commented.
"What?" Lucy jumped. Did she hear that right? Lucy is starting to get the impression that there's more to this girl then meets the eye.
That's when Erza and Gray unwittingly joined them.
"Man, people here are just nuts." Gray complained.
"That's because you keep taking off you're clothes in front of them." Erza retorted.
"Erza, Gray?"
"Oh? More of your wizard friends?" asked Mikako.
"Yes. We're all part of a team, you see." Lucy anwered.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'd like to know-"
"Yes I do." Mikako immediately answered.
"Eh?"
"Your friends here aready told me about your job. He's at the riverbank, so I'll take you to see Sugata."
"The riverbank?" the wizard team ask in unison.
(-Riverbank-)
Flowing in the river, are fish, ripe for a picking. A young man, using a spear, catches several fish with ease. He's been living by this river for some time, and gained experience in being a fisherman.
After catching the fish, the silver haired young man cooks them in a fire he built himself, and while waiting for the fish to cook, he dries up his clothes, haning them up in a makeshift rake.
Team Natsu, watching all of this, are bewildered, especially Lucy.
"What..." she began, "What is this?!" Lucy bursted, seeing a tent in front of her. It's clear that this Sugata character wasn't "by" the river, he lives by the river.
"A-Are you Sugata? The one who sent this request form?" Erza shows Sugata the request form.
"Yes. That's correct." Sugata replied, "I am Eiishiro Sugata. And this is my assistant, Pretty." Sugata introduced himself, along with a magical girl doll he pulled from out of nowhere.
"Do you really live here?" Natsu asked Sugata.
"Yes. That is also correct." Sugata rplied to Natsu, "Welcome to my humble home." Sugata bowed politely to Natsu and his friends.
"Uh, thanks for having us." Gray thanked, as he bowed as well. He felt he should be a little more polite.
"No. Not at all." Sugata bowed again. Gray and, surprisingly, Natsu followed the same motion.
"Lucy..." Erza whispers to Lucy.
"Yeah... I know... I take back of all my complaints up to now..." Lucy said, with a gloomy shadow hanging over her head.
After Sugata dressed himself in his dry clothes, business finally got under way.
"Now then, to get down to buisiness." said Sugata.
Lucy, feeling she should do this now, had something to ask Sugata, "Um, before we get started, can I ask you something?"
"Yes, go ahead." Sugata replied.
"My teammate, Natsu. He's been having strange dreams lately, ever since we got back from a mission in the past." Lucy begins explaining.
"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu snapped, "Don't talk about this now!"
Lucy ignored Natsu, and decidedto continue, "When this job is over, can you give us an input on it?"
"Hold it! Are you even listening?!' Natsu yelled, infuriated.
"I asked him "when this job is over". Which means, we'll put it off, until were finished!"
"I don't give a damn! I alreayd told you, I'm fine!"
"Actually, I'm quite intruiged by this dream of yours." said Sugata, surprising Natsu and Lucy, "I'd like to know more. If my theory is right."
That's when Lucy decided to explain the details of Natsu's dream to Sugata, even if Natsu protested it. Erza had to personally shut Natsu up, by intimidating him, so Lcuy can concentrate on what she's doing.
"I see what your getting at, and I understand your concerns. Many intelligent people believe dreams to be eletrical signals in your brain sends out when prossessing memories. In other worlds, your desires and memories become your dreams when you sleep." said Sugata.
"Uh... okaaay..." Natsu didn't understand a word of what Sugata was saying.
"But, knowing what magic is, the theories about dreams is only a hypothesis ground in reality. And even with magic, you explain reality using unreal terms." Sugata continued.
"Do you understand a single word he's saying?" Lucy whispered to Gray.
"Just act you get it, and be quiet." Gray whispered back, looking like eh's paying attetion.
"So you don't know." Lucy guessed.
"Ugh! This is making my brain hurt!" Natsu groaned.
"How surprising." Lucy commented.
Sugata, after setting it up on a table kept near his tent, turns on a Surveillance Lacrima, a magical item used for, well, surveillance. Lucy is surprised that he has a Lacrima despite the state he lives in.
"Now, take a look at this." Sugata said to Natsu and the others. Natsu, instead of looking at the image on the Lacrima, exanimes the magical girl doll in Sugata's hand. "Not that!" Sugata scolded Natsu, lightly swinging the doll around. Team Natsu's focus is now on the image in Lacrima. There's a black spot circulating around the map inside the lacrima.
"What's that?" asked Natsu.
"Looks like a black hole or something." said Gray.
"A black hole?!" Lucy jumped. She hoped it wasn't dangerous.
"Do you know anything about this?" Erza asked Sugata.
"Yes. You see, this hole has been circulating around Fiore, and researchers have been trying to figure out what it is for years, but none has been successful in understanding it." Sugata explained.
"And you do?" Happy asked Sugata.
"Yes." Sugata answered, "I understand what this hole means." Sugata begins to tilt his glasses up slightly, "And I understand what your dream is to." Sugata added, "They are both part a of New World!" he proclaimed.
A close image of an island, and the ocean waving around it appeared in the background, as Sugata continue his rant, meanwhile Team Natsu is staying before him, "Those fools in the magic research department! Something with this much mass, and this much displacement, could only mean a New World is floating up there in the sky right now!"
Waves suddenly consumes the team, and are carried off by the waters.
"This recurring dream of yours is also part of the New World. Have faith in me, and I will unlock the mysteries behind that dream." Sugata said, with glimmering lights shinning around him.
Back in reality, "Hey wait! Isn't that stretching it a bit? I just wanted to know if there are any problems about..." Lucy tried saying, but was apparently being ignored, as usual.
"The New World will fly over this town by midnight. I plan to see it with my own eyes."
"And you're not listening to me are you?" Lucy sheepishly asked. Happy lets out a "pft" noise, like he was holding in a laugh. "I don't need your opinion!"
"So, should we all come?" Erza asked Sugata.
"Yes, that should be fine."
"Hey, you guys buying this junk?!" Natsu yelled. He disaproved of this from the start, and still makes note of his protests, but like Lucy, he is ignored. "And you, your just making this up, aren't you?!" he continue to yell in the background.
"Alright, we'll meet at the Cherry Blossom Tree near the shrine at midnight."
(-Midnight: Huge Cherry Blossom Tree-)
It's 12 o'clock midnight. At the Cherry Blossom Tree near the shrine. The whole gang should be there, however, it would seem Natsu is the only there. He sat there, silently and blankly staring at the starry night sky. Natsu remembered what his friends said to him before they left.
"Sorry, Natsu. But we were so caught in finding Sugata that we didn't find a place to stay." said Erza. So, she, Lucy, and Gray went out looking for a proper place to stay, leaving Natsu to go looking for Sugata, however...
"Apologizes, Natsu. It would Mikako needs me tonight. I don't I'll be joining you." said Sugata, with rope tied around his arms by men in black, so that he wouldn't escape.
Now it's just Natsu sitting by himself by the Cherry Blossom Tree.
[To those who said wanted to meet up here...
Huh? No ones else is here besides me! Thanks a lot!
By Natsu]
Natsu made a mental letter, while staring up at the sky.
"To hell with this! I'm gone!" Natsu yelled, and prepared to stomp away from the tree, but...
"Natsu!" Happy's voice cried, making Natsu stop. He flow with his little wings to Natsu's position.
"Happy? What's going on?" Natsu asked.
"We gotta go Natsu! Your in danger if you stay here!" Happy warned.
"What? What're you talking about?" Natsu asked, confused.
"I ran into Sugata on the here to tell you we found a place to stay! And he said there's a big change with the black hole!"
"What?"
"The holes is moving right towards us! Sugata's on his way now! But, we gotta move!"
But it was too let. Natsu looked up at the sky again, only to see an enormous black hole hovering in said sky. Natsu is so stuned, he didn't move. Suddenly, a bright golden light came flying out of the hole, and straight towards Natsu and Happy.
"What the...?" Natsu gasped, before getting blown away slightly by the impact the light made, as it crashed landed right in front of them, creating a large crater.
Natsu wasn't out, but he landed on his back.
"Natsu!" Happy called to Natsu when he went to check out the inside, and cause of the crater. Natsu got up, and ran to the crater. What they found is astounding. The first thing to appear out of the smoke were breasts, possibly as big as Lucy's.
"Wha... a person..." Natsu gasped in shock. The smoke clears completely by then, showing a pale skinned girl with long rosy pink hair tied securly by red ribbons, unconscious from the fall. She dressed strangely, almost other worldly. Almost everything on her was white. She even had a collar around her neck. But, the most bizarre thing about her was the large set of wings on her back.
"No... normal people don't have wings on their backs." Happy stated. He noticed right away, that this girl is not normal. Natsu concurred. But, there's no time for deductions. Because, huge support beam like structures came hurling out of the black hole, crashing down around them.
"We can worry about this later! We gotta get her out of here!" said Natsu. He climbs down the crater, and picks the girl up, and carries her on his back.
"Happy, you go find Sugata, and bring him here. I'll keep her safe until them."
"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered in full agreement, and flew away. Though, he's still worried about Natsu, he knew Natsu wouldn't die so easily, and had faith in him.
Back at the crater, Natsu is climbing his way out, with the girl on his back, still unconscious. "Don't worry... I don't know what goin' on here... but I'll get you through this, I swear." Natsu swore to the girl, as he already stood up from his climb, but one of the support beams head right towards. Its coming way too fast to make counter strike, and his hands are tied. Natsu is in trouble. "Oh crap..." Natsu thought, and waited to be squished under the structure, however nothing happened, expect a gentle breeze.
Natsu felt his body being lifted into the air. When opened his eyes, the night sky was covered with beautiful feathers and sparkles. Natsu looked behind, and saw the girl again, this time, she's not asleep, but awake, with her big emerald colored, melancholy eyes, gently carrying him away in her arms. Her eyes weren't the only things open. Her wing had flapped their way open, get her, and Natsu away from danger.
(Song: Sense of Wonder: Start)
"Imprinting prossess, begin." said the girl in a soft, quiet tone. Suddenly, a cain began to form from out of nowhere, stretching from the girl's collar to Natsu's right hand, circling around, and binding itself to his hand.
"What the..?" Natsu exclaimed as he watched what happened. Even if he can use and has many magics, he's never anything like this.
Moments later, the angel girl descends down, and lets Natsu down before bowing herself submissively to him.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." she said, "I am a Pet-Class Angeloid. Type, Alpha: Ikaros." the girl introduced. She rose her head, "My purpose is to fufill your ever want and desire, My Master."
Natsu simply stared at her, stunned with a sense of wonder.
(Song ends)
BW: It took me a long time, but I finally did it. I published the Fairy Tail's Angel story. (shout out to key of fate2) I apologize for the long wait. Pleae enjoy, and wait till next chapter. Whenever it may be.