Sigh, honestly. Let me try this AGAIN. Allow me to explain. The reason that I did not update yesterday is that I've had to rewrite this chapter 2 times already, this is the 3rd time. Because, while I was writing, my screen flipped out for once and didn't boot up from sleep mode with my laptop (which should be pretty much impossible btw). Then, my GPU failed and I had to reboot again. So that lost me about one and a half chapter. Ugh, I quit writing after that. But I'm gonna try to get this done once more. I won't leave you guys hanging this week without a chapter. Expect future updates to always come on Saturday for this story, and Wednesday for my other. Mostly because, those dates are quite a bit more convenient than Tuesday and Friday. Reason for that being that those days grant me the possibility to write the chapters entirely on the day itself. Alright, enough of that. So now, we got another flame to Natsu's arsenal. I don't want Blaze to be as accessible as Violet though. Now, don't you people be taking that the wrong way, you damn pervs. I suppose I'm one to talk :P Ok... Let's go... for the third time.


At the time, I wanted to believe Blaze's rejoining with the Dragon Slayer was but a coincidence. Little did I know that in this world, nothing is coincidental...

"Natsu's been out of it for a while now, he oughta wake up soon. Thank you for taking him in." We're inside the medicinal resident of the place, which was more like a tent than a real building. The people here have been treating him with some kind of herbs and given him some rest. They're actually really nice.

"It is we who are in your debt. I think it's safe to say that the riddance of a pest from over a decade is a bit more valuable than a bit of treatment." He laughs slightly. I suppose he's right, so I think as I shift my eyes to Natsu's resting figure. Until, he suddenly jumps up with a loud inhale. After realizing where he was, he calmly exhales.

"Phew, I totally forgot what happened. It's coming back now, so what'd you guys do?"

"They dragged you in here and got you some good rest, so how'd it go?"

"He uh... 'accepted' me?" I suppose he's still confused about it all.

"Great, so now you've got a second flame. You probably won't be able to use his as freely as my own. And you'll have to start from scratch with his magic, as if you haven't learned any magic yet. You'll kinda be starting over with him, but not leaving me behind. I'm terrible at explaining it, but you get it right?" Ugh, why can't I just get it out. Look at his dumbfounded look, probably doesn't understand a word.

"So... My childhood revamped?" He grins at me, oh hell no.

"HAH, you wish. Blaze won't be that great of a teacher, he's more like you. You might say he's a TAD more mature than you are, but that's saying a lot already."

"You're just jealous because I'm stronger than you!" Ouch, is that... Blaze? I can hear him, too? Damn, that's some headache. So, this is what Natsu's been going through the entire time? How can he stand this?

"Damn, I forgot about the whole 'semi-present' thing."

"Yeah. Dammit Blaze, knock before you barge in on a conversation." I curse at Natsu's forehead, it's a funny sight actually.

"Wait, Violet, you heard him too?" He's just as surprised as I was.

"Yeah, I'm confused about that as well. Though I suppose it's got something to do with the connection between us." The connection between us? That felt kind of awkward, saying that.

"Eheheh, I suppose."

"Are you guys gonna be staring at each other much longer, or are we gonna get moving? You guys were just passing by for something else, right? You've got stuff to do, get going already!" Curse him, he's only been with us for five minutes and he's already bugging me.

"Right, I totally forgot about that. We gotta get omving. Sorry, chief. Thanks for the help!" Natsu drags me out of the place, leaving behind the kind man. He waves us goodbye as we lose sight of him. Now, we're wandering through the forest again. On our way, we find the original, larger path again. Seems like we just lost track of it, and so it eventually leads us to the place we need to be. The village was surrounded by a large wooden wall and a city gate. A woman steps out of it, presumably to greet us.

"Welcome to Koyatsumi village! We don't usually get too much visiters, or are you just passing by?" She's dressed in a way similar to that of the previous people. Only a bit more civilised, but mostly, revealing...

"Actually, we're from Magnolia. We came to help out with the problem you guys had around here." Dammit Natsu, not everybody needs to know who we are. We could've just asked to speak with the guy in charge around here. A mayor might be saying a lot.

"Oh, i should've guessed that such a strong man was here to rid us of this pest. How kind of you to assist us in our time of need." She speaks as she slowly walks to and around Natsu. Hold on for a second, is she honestly just straight up flirting with him? In front of me? No shame?

"Excuse me, we'd like to keep this strictly business-related."

"Oh, and you've got a pretty assistant, too. I suppose I should bring you to the city hall, then. Follow me." I swear, this bitch is gonna get it some day! Ugh, as we walk through the village, it reminds me of those Western type things. Kind of like where Bisca and Alzack spend their time. The houses were also made out of wood, and the ground was clear from plants. Thinking back about it, why is that? It's in the middle of a freaking forest. What bugs me though, is that all the people we say were being rather... intimate. It's like everyone around here wanted anyone that way. Phew, the large building gets in sight, I won't have to stare at this whore's ass for long anymore. We stop before the fairly large door, as the woman knocks.

"Sir, there's assistance from the nearby city."

"Splendid, enter!" She opens the door from us. As they slide open, a small man is revealed to us. He sits in a large chair behind a large desk, emphasizing his own size. It's a comical sight, that's for sure.

"Ah, so these are the mages from the city of stone. Please, have a seat." I step forward and sit down on the chair before him. Natsu follows my example a second later. The way he stared at me made me kind of uncomfortable.

"So, what can you tell us about this beast?"

"Ah, yes. Straight to business, I see. Well, only few have seen the beast in person, and fewer have made it back to the village. We know little of it, but we're certain that it has a lair nearby and that it does not like to get out of it. It loves the wood of the Yokobu tree, which happens to be the wood our village was forged from. It has devoured most of those trees nearby, so now it aims for our village."

"You said it does not like to move away from it's lair, then how does it collect this wood?" Natsu asks him, good point.

"We've seen little of them, but there are... things.. cooperating with it. We don't know what, why or how, but they're collecting the stuff for it. They come in two forms, heavy lifters and swift scouters. As the name we gave them implies, the lifters are the ones doing the real carrying, while the scouters make sure the road is safe and make sure that no one's around. They come in a large pack during the night. So far, only one of our villagers has seen them. It was a little child who hid herself in a barrel out of fear. If you want to know the location of it's lair, I suggest you talk to the barkeeper of the Tenebako bar just on the other side of the road. All rumors pass his ears. He might even be able to tell you more than that. So, that's about all I can tell you. The job doesn't seem easy, will the two of you help us?"

"Of course, that's the entire purpose of us being here! So, you mentioned in the job description that we might be able to lure it out or something, care to enlighten us?" After all, Natsu picked the job because of just that.

"Yes, yes of course. You see, it loves the kind of wood. I'm sure that, if there's a good amount of it nearby her lair, it'll come for it. Problem is that it's most likely guarded by her 'associates', so you'll have to be careful if you attempt to pull this off. I would ask someone to guide you through the whole thing, but I doubt anyone has the courage to do so. I'm sure that you'll be able to lure it out, I don't know of anything that could resist a body so pure and sincere." He's staring at me again. This is starting to get really uncomfortable. He's even freaking drooling on the spot!

"Eh, we oughta get going. We have to get rid of it as soon as possible, after all." Natsu saved me from his mental prison by pulling me out of there. I'm glad to see that these people's pushiness is irritating him as well.

"So, now what do we do?" We can't just head out and see what happens, that would be suicide.

"First, we get a place to stay. I think it's safe to assume that we won't be able to round this job up in a mere day, especially considering there's only a little bit left of it." I suppose that sounds reasonable enough. Though, I still feel kind of icky about this village. Especially around the subject of sleeping.

"Let's go to that bartender first."

"Alright, c'mon." So we make our way to the place that the small man described. A lot of people were here, and so there was a lot of intense staring and kissing going on.

"Hey there, new folks. That's unusual."

"Yo, we're here to help the village out." Natsu greets him while explaining who we are again, I suppose we might as well throw it around by now.

"Ah, mages, are we? If you need information, I'm your guy! Name's Gûntr, pleased to meetcha." Natsu and him shake hands. I honestly just want to avoid physical contact with anyone around here.

"And here's quite a find lady you got there." Oh god, here we go again. Another perv.

"E-Eh, she's uh... She's taken." Natsu, I think you might've given him the wrong message. He winks as Natsu, thinking he understands.

"Too bad, you really won't share, huh? Oh well. Since you're helping us out, the room's free. Here, it's the third door to the right. Don't worry, there's a king-size bed." Now he winks at me, damn it. We enter the room after having some trouble with the door. It was nice and cozy, a little too cozy. It had some really nice accents to it, probably implying something... Ugh, what is wrong with this village?

"A single bed, huh." Natsu stares at thing while mumbling.

"Yeah, you didn't bother to ask him for a room with seperate beds." Honestly, I don't mind too much. But I can't tell him that.

"I have a feeling that there aren't any rooms like that." Oh.. I did not think of that. He actually has a pretty good point, that sounds pretty reasonable for this place.

"I-I suppose. Well, I guess we're sharing the bed then."

"I could sleep on the ground, if you wa-"

"No!" He seems surprised by my yell. Why the hell did I react like that.

"I uh, I'd... I wouldn't want that." God, this is so awkward. I'm blushing like crazy. It's true though, I don't want him to. I'd li-His arms surround me out of nowhere.

"Thanks, we should really get some rest." He whispers, so freaking gentle. I think this is getting too much.

"Yeah, you're probably right." I motion him to turn around, so that I can change. He nods as he turns to face the curtains.

"The mission sounds a lot more complicated than I primarily had envisioned."

"Yeah, I think we should head out in the forest nearby tomorrow morning and train a bit before we collect some information. I have some stuff in mind."

"Alright, sounds like a plan."

"And what the hell is up with this place, everybody acts so... impulsive. So.. intimate. And they're all so into that. It's like it's all they live for. I was afraid I'd lose my innocense aroundh ere."

"I was fearing for that, too."

"So I noticed. Thanks, by the way."

"It's nothing, it's one of the last things I want to have happen to you. Now, we oughta stop tinkering about this. You done yet?"A few minutes later, I find myself in the bed next to him. It feels nice, his skin, his temperature, his breath...


FINALLY, I managed to write this damn crap without my computer telling me to fuck the hell off! Glorious progress of invention and evolution! What am I even saying at this point? Anyways, I got a pretty cool vision of some stuff in the future in this story. I, of course, won't tell you guys yet. Thanks for reading this chapter, which was oh so frustrating to write for the third damn time. At least my suffering came to an end... for now.