Notes: Ok so here is the actual chapter for this week. There's not much to comment other than my life as a student has become a never-ending cycle of tests and due dates, so needless to say I'll be pretty busy in the following week(s).

Thanks to everyone who's been dropping by, and especial thanks to those of you who have been leaving feedback. I'm very thankful for those messages some of you left showing concern for me and this story.

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Chapter 38: Forgiveness is Optional

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The entire following week turned out a lot better than Zidane actually expected it to be. Kuja was still walking around like he owned the place, the students had yet to fully move on from him and Kuja and on to the next big scoop, and Umbridge was out for his blood…well, more than usual. After finding out about his relationship to Kuja, she decided that if she was unable to make Kuja's life impossible after he ridiculed her in front of the school, then she would go for the next best thing. Thankfully, he had the cunning and sneakiness of a thief (he was one after all), so he always seemed to slip away from danger. He was smart enough to know when Umbridge was setting a trap for him.

Still, despite everything, he felt alright.

These past few days, he felt almost as if a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders. After telling Neville, Luna, and the trio about Kuja, they had been oddly subdued. Their suspicion had been turned into acceptance and understanding now that their curiosities had been temporarily quelled. They had also taken it fairly well, despite what he had believed at first. Yes, his story had been heavily edited to erase any references to Gaia, Terra, or anything from the war, really, but at the end of the day the story was still very accurate. He hadn't lied. Except for the whole thing about his mother's possible death, since…well, he didn't really have a mother or so to speak of.

That talk had also helped him greatly, at least more than the teens could imagine that it had. Hermione's comment in particular had rung deep inside of him. Though it sounded like a freaking joke at first and almost made him laugh, the little voice inside of his head told him otherwise in a 'what if' sort of way. The scariest part was that after thinking calmly on the matter, as he wasn't really known to do, but did anyways, he realized that it made some sense.

What if Kuja really was here in some bizarre attempt to actually bond with him?

Sure, the whole 'surprise and traumatize you by appearing randomly in your life' thing did sound like something he would to just for kicks. Especially since the silver haired sadist did seem to enjoy watching him suffer. But this was a lot different. Kuja actually decided to stay.

Why would he stay if he had that huge mansion back in France? What did this place have that he didn't get back home? Was it the mood around the castle? He highly doubted it since Kuja seemed to highly dislike people. Aristocratic parties and balls were okay, since it was more like a game of manipulating others that way. Kuja hated kids, that much was obvious. He probably saw them as nothing more than ungraceful (not to mention unfabulous) snot-nosed brats. So unless he suddenly became a huge masochist, he just couldn't understand why he would take a teaching position (especially since he wasn't allowed to inflict harm upon them). Was it the country then? The culture? The cuisine? Well that obviously wasn't right since Kuja was French at heart. He also obviously hated British food, since he made a point to comment on how bland it was at any given opportunity. If he really liked the place, then he would have come before.

The only thing that he could think of that was capable of drawing Kuja here was his own presence. That fact alone was what made Hermione's words echo as clear as day in his mind. Kuja had been acting differently since the last time they faced each other. For starters he had agreed to help him. A year ago or so, he would have laughed at how absurd that idea sounded. Sure, he didn't exactly say it out loud, Kuja was too proud for that, but the message was the same.

He didn't know what brought on the change. Maybe it was his near death experienced that triggered something. He had transported them away from harm's way before. Maybe after landing here and spending all those months alone in a completely different world had given him enough time to think about all of those 'what if's'.

'Then some months after, I suddenly appear inside his house.' Zidane thought. It didn't matter how it came about, all that mattered was that it had indeed happened.

Was it possible that Kuja had ditched his former life for him? Had he seen his chance and tried to hold onto the only real bond he had, even if it was a weak and flimsy bond? Kuja didn't exactly grow up with a mentally healthy lifestyle. He wasn't even sure if Kuja had grown up, since as far as he knew from what Garland told him, he was created differently from Kuja to start out as an infant and then grow in a natural way. Kuja had not, and that obviously had some repercussions when it came to his psyche. That had been the reason he wasn't able to trance, until he used Queen Brahne's soul. He just didn't understand the emotions that fueled it since he didn't really have a childhood.

'Maybe this is just his own messed up way of trying to get closer to me, 'cause eidolons forbid he actually say it to my face and take a blow to his pride.' Zidane thought with a sigh.

Although he hated to admit it, he did feel rather comforted by the fact that he was no longer alone on this planet. Even he who had no social difficulties whatsoever, still found it hard to live and make friends on this planet. It wasn't so hard on Gaia since there was such a great deal of diversity. But here it was so blatantly obvious that he was different. The people here just didn't understand that different wasn't something to be rejected or feared. He actually dreaded the day he would have to tell Neville and Luna. Even the other none human species that inhabited the land seemed to be rather hostile to him. He wouldn't even get started on the plants.

'I guess I'll have to talk to him about it.' Zidane thought with a sigh. 'Yet another awkward conversation that I need to have. I haven't told Dagger about any of this yet, so I guess I should start with that. Then I'll talk to Kuja. I'd like to ask him a couple of things. I have a request for him as well.'

The request was actually concerning Harry. He noticed the change almost instantly after the first day of classes, and then during the following week. He was clearly tired, with huge bags under his eyes that had come to stay. That was his first clue. Harry didn't usually sneak out at night like he did, so he shouldn't have had those unless he just wasn't sleeping well. His face was paler than usual, with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead looking an angry red. That was also worrying. The wizards dismissed it, but Zidane knew better. A scar that old shouldn't look like it was made only a few months prior. As far as he knew, Harry hadn't reopened the long since closed wound either, so the possibilities of it getting infected (which would explain why it looked irritated) were null, unless of course, it was due to something else entirely. That scar had been made by magic, and though the few scars he had gotten from such incidents (Kuja's Flare Star being the most prominent example), never reacted like that, the jury was still out on this one. It had been caused by a spell that instantly killed which by all means is very different from the Death spell he's familiar with, since the latter just brought you to a state of near-death. Not to mention that it was cast by Voldy Moldy, and it served as some kind of link between the two. It really was a confusing affair.

Harry had also been having almost constant nightmares every night, and he really was starting to get worried. He wasn't sure if the teen even slept anymore. Zidane knew that he would soon reach the point where his own body just wouldn't be able to withstand the abuse. Still, the messy haired teen was rather stubborn. He had eavesdropped on the trio several times, only to see Harry ignore Hermione's advice to go to the Hospital Wing for some Dreamless Sleep potion. Harry insisted that it wouldn't work since his dreams weren't really even dreams anymore.

Zidane would have none of that. Harry was more than just his charge now, he was a friend. He had also helped him earlier, so it was high time he returned the favor. Discreetly of course, since he still didn't want to blow his cover. He was just thankful that he still had some sleeping weed with him. Dobby had been quite eager to help too. He was the one that made sure to slip it into his dinner. The dose was small enough to make him drowsy. If that wasn't enough to help, a Sleep spell to the back usually did the trick. Harry would still wake up later, many times from a nightmare, but at least he managed to get a few hours of rest every day.

It was by eavesdropping that he also discovered about the Occlumency lessons with Snape, since apparently nobody told him anything anymore (the Order was still a touchy subject for him). He had been suspicious when Harry said he had Remedial Potions with Snape, because seriously, the man hated his guts. Snape would never teach Harry unless he was forced to do it by Dumbledore, and if he was forced into it, then it only meant that it was nothing less than necessary. Still, how could Dumbledore expect Harry to be taught like that by Snape? He could power a small kingdom with all the animosity emanating from the two when confined in a small room together.

And even worse, the lesson appeared to be doing shit.

Instead of strengthening his mental shields, these lessons only appeared to be weakening them. So, either Snape's lesson weren't sticking, or he was purposely lowering his guard to make him vulnerable to attack. He highly doubted the last since Snape was completely loyal to the Order, or to be more specific, Dumbledore. And even if this could help them get inside the enemy's head, there was little to no point of that if the enemy could do the same to them. Scratch that, Voldemort could do worse, considering that he was so damn experienced in the art of mind-rape.

It was for that reason that he was going to resort to Kuja. He could try to teach Harry himself since he'd had his own fair share of intruders in his mind, which he had learned to shut out, but that would endanger his cover. Kuja was the best option. Hell, Kuja was one of the reasons he learned to do that in the first place. He didn't need much proper guidance anyways. Mikoto had explained the finer points of the techniques, which even now he didn't really understand, but the rest was all him. Maybe he really wasn't the best candidate for the job. In reality, he still had no idea how he did it. It was something that just came to him naturally. It just felt right and he went along with it, kind of like going into trance. Kuja was a lot better than him in that sense. At least he knew what he was doing.

'Then I guess I'll have to talk with Snape, too.' Zidane thought with a sigh as he plopped down on his bed and began stripping down to a white T-shirt and boxers. It was way too cold to go full birthday suit. It was surprisingly early and he could even hear the laughs coming from the Common Room. They twins were showing off some new hat that made your head invisible or something like that. Since he could easily make himself invisible with no problems, the idea wasn't all that appealing to him. That's partially why he decided to head on to bed early and think about all the current problems. 'Geez, do I have to do everything around here? It's not like I don't have other things to do. Angelina has had me working my damn tail off in practice. With the current weather it'll likely freeze off too.'

Zidane's tail bristled slightly before curling itself around him at the thought.

'So many things to do…' Zidane thought with a grimace. 'I should get started then…no time like the present, eh?'

Zidane gave a small nervous chuckle at the thought before reaching out for his bag and then retrieving Une's Mirror. Briefly after setting the mirror under his pillow, he wondered if Dagger would kill him in a swift merciful way, or a long and painful one. He actually preferred that to the alternative of getting turned into some animal, just as Regent Cid was for cheating on his wife, Hilda. Dagger had been spending too much time with her, and he was really starting to get worried that she was getting ideas. Hopefully, he was just far enough from the line of fire to be safe. He wasn't keen on waking up as a monkey or a cat, because if Dagger was going to go for some animal, it would surely be one of those two.

'At least that's one good thing about being away. It will definitely give her time to cool down and think about it.' Zidane thought as he laid his head on his pillow and looked up into the top of his four-poster bed, his eye-lids drooping as he waited to be taken by Morpheus's embrace.

Before he knew it, he was back in that grassy plain with the large oak in the middle, half the sky portraying the day, while the other was still bathed in night. Unlike the trees outside on the school grounds, the oak was still as green as ever. Sitting right under it was none other than his precious canary; the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The grass rustled slightly at his approach, making Dagger turn her head and look at the new arrival. When her chocolate colored eyes landed on him, a warm smile spread on her face, making her look absolutely radiant. It only made him feel worse for being the one that would dash that smile from her face.

"Zidane! Where have you been? You haven't made contact in weeks!" Dagger chastised, though she was clearly happy that he was alright.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've been sort of busy…" Zidane said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, though as usual, his tail betrayed his expression and curled around, moving uneasily.

Unfortunately, Dagger already knew him too well so she easily caught on.

"Did something happen?" Dagger asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as they bore into his own cyan gaze.

Zidane automatically avoided her gaze by looking down, suddenly finding his boots very interesting. It didn't help that his tail stopped and bristled for a moment before continuing its nervous swing. He mentally cursed himself for giving such an obvious reaction when, as an actor and a thief, he knew that this was the reaction of someone that was lying about something, feeling guilty, or just trying to avoid a certain subject. Dagger obviously knew that as well.

"You could say that." Zidane said with a nervous laugh. He just couldn't lie to her. Not when he loved her so much, and especially not since it wouldn't work anyways. She could pick out any lie he told her, since she knew every inch of him.

"What happened?" Dagger said, hands going to her hips as her voice took on that certain tone that women used primarily when they knew they wouldn't like the answer. It wasn't a question, it was an order.

The thief rubbed the bridge of his nose before he gave a sigh and shot Dagger a look that conveyed just how serious it was. Seeing that look made Dagger's hands leave her hips as her expression turned into one of serious concern. He didn't often use this expression, so she clearly understood the gravity of the situation.

"Zidane, what happened?" Dagger repeated again. There was a hint of unease in her voice now, since she clearly knew that something was wrong. Before she could say anything else, Zidane quickly began.

"Remember the incident at the Iifa Tree?" Zidane said and Dagger nodded just slightly, her brows furrowed in thought as she wondered just how this was relevant to their current talk. "Remember how I told you guys that I found Kuja as he was dying, and that he said he was sorry for everything?"

"Yes, but what does this have to do with anything?" Dagger asked.

"Remember how we searched for his body after the tree settled, but were never really able to find anything since we assumed that he had been crushed?" Zidane asked again, eyes pleading for Dagger to get the hint. Thankfully, she was a lot more than just dazzling good looks. Zidane just watched nervously, his tail twitching as he saw comprehension dawn in her face as well as shock and complete disbelief.

"Zidane, you aren't saying that he-" Dagger began, her eyes wide as she looked at her future husband.

"Sorry babe, but I'm afraid it's true." Zidane said with a sigh. "Kuja is alive, and he is here as well."

Dagger looked at him for a moment as if it were all some kind of sick joke, but when she saw that he wasn't laughing, the full realization of what he just said hit her.

Zidane wasn't lying.

Seeing the way Dagger seemed to freeze in place as her eyes widened, a myriad of emotions flashing through them, though they were mainly shock, fear, anger, and confusion, Zidane quickly wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to reassure her. "Dag, listen to me. Before you say anything, I just have to tell you that things are different now. He's different now. He really did mean it when he said he was sorry. He's helping me find a way back, too."

Dagger looked at him, her chocolate brown eyes looking at him in question.

"It's true. I don't know how to explain it, but he's changed. I mean, he is still a huge narcissist and everything, but he's not plotting to take over the world, and he isn't insane anymore, well not completely insane." Zidane said, trying his best to placate his future wife.

"Hey, I resent that." Another voice said, making both teens freeze. Turning their heads to the side, they saw none other than the silvered haired-genome strolling casually through the grassy plains towards them.

'Well, speak of the devil…' The blonde teen thought with a sigh. This could either turn out really well or really bad. It mostly depended on what Dagger's reaction would be. So far it was just shock, but it could very well turn into outright fury. "What are you doing here? How long have you been here anyways?"

"Long enough." Kuja deadpanned before turning to greet Dagger. "Queen Garnet."

"Kuja." Dagger replied flatly.

"It's been too long. How have things been?" Kuja said, attempting to start a conversation. Dagger just continued to look at him flatly. Zidane winced slightly. Things had been tough on Alexandria after what happened at the Iifa Tree, mostly because of the reconstruction the city had to go through due to the massive amounts of damage that Kuja had caused. Obviously, it was not the right thing to ask if the way Dagger crossed her arms over her chest was anything to go by.

'Well, this is awkward.' Zidane thought before shooting Kuja a look that clearly said 'go apologize'. Kuja just crossed his own arms with a stubborn and yet surprisingly childish look.

The teen looked at him in exasperation. Things were hanging by a thread here and Kuja was too preoccupied with his own pride to admit that he did wrong. Zidane shot him another look, this one said 'at least do something!'. Kuja gave a sigh before turning towards Dagger and reluctantly opening his mouth. But before he could say anything, Dagger had already spoken.

"Listen Kuja, I'm not ready at all to forgive you about all the things you've done. I'd honestly like to believe you are completely evil and lock you up in some dark dungeon for the rest of your life. But you did transport us right out of Memoria and save us all, which proves that maybe somewhere very deep inside you there might just be some good as well." Dagger said, her voice unwavering as she looked at Kuja, her chocolate brown eyes as cold as ice, yet they burned with resolve. "Zidane went to save you, risking his own life in the process. I may not trust you, but I do trust Zidane. If you have even an ounce of good in you, then please bring Zidane safely back here and show me that I have not made a mistake by trusting you."

Zidane looked at Dagger in surprise, and judging by Kuja's heavily veiled look, he hadn't expected that either. Kuja quickly set up a façade again, before giving a smirk. "Very well then, I was itching for a challenge. This world is incredibly dull and it was time for the start of a new act."

Dagger looked at Kuja for a moment, as if studying him, before turning towards Zidane and giving him a small peck on the cheek. "Well, I guess I should go."

"What, so soon?" The blonde questioned.

"I should go start preparing things now if we're having a meeting. The others were worried since we hadn't heard from you in a while, and well, this is also something they should know." The young queen said, her eyes once again landing on the older genome.

"Wait, you serious?!" Zidane asked in alarm.

"Zidane, it's best that they learn now than later." Dagger said with a sigh, before turning to Kuja once more. "It'll only be our close circle though, so they won't likely come after him if you tell them not to. As much animosity as they have towards Kuja, they respect you a lot more, so they'll listen to what you have to say."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. At most, Amarant will want to pick a fight with him just for the sake of it." Zidane said.

"You owe me once you get back." Dagger chastised as she pressed her forehead against Zidane's.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'll definitely make it up to you." Zidane said brushing away a stray strand of Dagger's hair as they separated, Dagger's image then fading as she left the dreamscape.

After a few moments of silence the blonde then turned towards the older genome.

"Hey Kuja?" Zidane began.

"Hmm?" The man turned to look at him in question.

"How is it that you are here anyways? I don't believe I ever told you about Une's Mirror being under my pillow."

A large predatory smirk quickly made its way across the genome's pale face. "Why, I slipped inside your bed of course."

"YOU WHAT?!" Zidane cried out, eyes wide in anger and shock.

"I was only joking. No need to be so sour. It will make you age prematurely." Kuja said. "I simply tried to reach you from my quarters when I was drawn to this place. I must admit, I never thought that such an old artifact had such interesting magical properties. To think it was in my own auction house all this time…"

"Wait, your quarters?" Zidane asked.

"What? Did you think that teachers sleep outside? Of course we get our own rooms." Kuja said.

"Well, yeah I know. I just never really thought about it, that's all." Zidane said, before returning to the matter at hand. "So where is yours? I have some things I'd like to talk to you about, but I would rather not talk to you during class. The others are getting suspicious, not to mention that because you pissed Umbridge off, she is doing her best to catch me red-handed at something and make me her escape goat."

"I see." Kuja said before giving him a teasing smirk. "Well if you are that interested, all you have to do is head over to the armory near the Trophy Room on the third floor and talk with the ninth suit of armor to the left. The password is 'Flare-star'."

Zidane rolled his eyes at the predictable password, but otherwise said nothing.

"I'll be waiting." Kuja said teasingly, before he too disappeared from the grassy plain. With a sigh, Zidane followed as well.

He was infinitely grateful that there was an obvious lack of 'Kuja sleeping next to him' when he woke up back inside the boy's dormitory.

'Thank Odin.' Zidane though in relief.

'I'm still here, you know?' Kuja's voice echoed in his head.

'Dammit Kuja, get out!' Zidane hissed.

'Well if you really want me gone, there's nothing I can do about it. I know when I am not wanted. I was just thinking that since you're not with anyone right now, it would be the perfect time for you to say what you wanted to tell me earlier.' Kuja's voice said with an indignant sniff. 'Especially now that the old man Dumbly is asleep and so is Mr. Greasy hair, nobody is awake to rudely eavesdrop.'

'I suppose you're right, though I had no idea that they could eavesdrop on our conversations like that. It's that mind reading thing right? Legilimence?' Zidane asked.

'That's right my magically-challenged little brother, though it's not really mind reading.' Kuja said, making Zidane bristle at the name. 'Normally eye contact makes it easier for the caster, but it's not completely necessary. The greasy haired spy might be talented, but when he tried to do it on me, he only showed me the limits to his ability. The old man however, is a mystery. Though clearly going senile, Dumbles has quite a bit of power to back up his claims. Not really as much as I do if we consider raw magical power, but he is certainly has a higher number of mastery in different spells. It's him we have to worry about. Especially since the first time we met, he not only tried to discreetly pry my mind open, but he also managed to use that spell as a means of communication, rather than just extraction.'

'What do you mean by that? We communicate like this all the time. What's the big deal?' Zidane asked.

'Well that's because we aren't wizards. Our brains work in a different way. At least I think yours is working.' Kuja teased, making Zidane bristle again. 'Oh don't be so stiff, it's just a harmless little joke.'

'So what's this about different brains?' Zidane said flatly, ignoring the genome's other comment.

'Well you see, when Garland got around to making the first genomes, he devised a way to make communication easier between all of them. You know, to make giving orders easier if he could tap into everyone's minds at once. Like the queen of a large beehive. He made it so that pathways were created between genomes to facilitate this kind of communication, and eventually, we simply began using this system to communicate with other genomes, and by 'we' I'm not really talking about the others. You know how unsociable they are.' Kuja explained. 'Humans, and by extension Wizards, do not have these 'paths' already set in their minds, so this type of communication is impossible for them, unless of course, they use magic. Even in those cases, it requires a great deal of skill to actually form coherent words to insert into a person's head rather than just a bunch of incomprehensible mesh of feelings, sights, memories, sounds, and other bits of information. Legilimency's basic form involves just extraction and interpreting information from someone's mind, yet its most advanced form allows a person to influence that mind. I believe only the best would be able to use it as a crude means of communication. Do you see now?'

'Yeah, I guess I can see where you are coming from.' Zidane said before grinning. 'And since you know so much, I was thinking that you would be a great teacher to Harry.'

'Excuse me?' Kuja said with a mental scoff.

'That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Harry is taking some Occulmency lessons with Snape, but it's apparently not working out. He is looking a lot worse than before. I was thinking that maybe you'd get involved to help things out.' The blonde said with a mental shrug.

'Ha! That's not surprising really. It's clear that Mr. greasy hair hates the Potter boy.' Kuja said. 'But whatever made you think that I would just start helping everybody that came at my doorstep? What do I look like, some kind of missionary? Don't be naïve, little brother.'

'So you are saying you don't have what it takes?' Zidane teased.

'Do not try to bait me with that trick.' The silver-haired man replied.

'Come on Kuja, doing something good every once in a while won't kill you.' Zidane said.

'I beg to differ.' Kuja deadpanned.

'Think about it this way, you get to piss off Snape, screw up Dumbledore's meticulous plans, and mess around with Harry all at once. It's like hitting three birds with one stone.' The thief said flatly.

'Well that is true.' Kuja said, thinking about it. 'Alright, I think I will give it a chance. I'll have a little chat with Mr. Greasy hair very soon then…very soon indeed…'

'Can you stop that?' Zidane said, interrupting Kuja's evil chuckles. 'It's creepy.'

"No it's alright." A voice called as it walked up the steps from the Common Room. Zidane froze, momentarily forgetting that nobody else could hear his mental conversation with Kuja. "I think I'll go to bed early."

The door to the dorms creaked open by the time Zidane recognized the tired voice as Harry's. Kuja too stopped chuckling, his interest piqued by the blonde genome's sudden silence. Zidane just sat quietly on his bed, hangings drawn as he listened to Harry's dragging footsteps. It was strange that the messy haired teen was heading to bed on his own free will. Sleep was something he'd been avoiding since the Occlumency lessons began. Did something happen?

Zidane's thoughts were stopped when maniac laugher suddenly filled his ears, and surprisingly, they were not from Kuja this time, but rather the emerald-eyed teen in the room. The blonde froze, shivers running down his spine while his tail bristled under the blanket of invisibility that covered it. Every instinct told him that something was wrong, so he nearly ripped the hangings off just as Ron's worried voice began to call out to Harry.

"Harry! HARRY!" Ron called as his friend fell to the floor in a laughing heap.

Zidane tensed as he approached the messy haired teen. Just like that night when Mr. Weasley was attacked, there was an unpleasant and foreboding sort of air about Harry. Zidane realized what was happening then.

"Snap him out of it!" The blonde snapped, making Ron jump slightly from his shock-induced state and then do the only thing he could think of doing at a moment like this. With a loud slap, Harry fell to the floor, laugher suddenly stopping only to be replaced by heavy gasps for breath. After a few moments passed, Harry finally opened his eyes.

"What happened?" Ron asked, face white.

"I… dunno…" Harry gasped, sitting up again. "He's really happy…really happy."

"You-Know-Who is?" Ron asked, for a moment forgetting that the thief was still there.

"Something good's happened." Harry mumbled, his face ashen. "Something he's been hoping for."

Zidane mentally cursed.

'That boy is on his way to becoming a puppet at this rate.' Kuja's voice commented, reminding him again of the older genome's presence within his own mind. Zidane sighed in return, knowing that Kuja was actually right for once.

'Change of plans. We're going to have to act NOW.' The blonde replied.

…

To be continued…

…

A/N: Not much to add here. I might add an omake in next week's chapter if I have the time. See you next week!