Chapter 8: Let's go to a Tropical Island!
The next day the guild was as rowdy and loud as ever. Natsu was running around the guild like a hyperactive child, carrying a flaming chicken breast in one hand and a mug of alcohol in the other.
Lucy was sitting at the same wooden table alongside Gray, Levy, and Elfman. She couldn't help but smile at the craziness she has now come to love.
"I cannot believe Erza's arrest was just for show!" Lucy said.
"So, in the end, what became of Natsu's man to man challenge against Erza?" Elfman said.
"She's a man?" Gray said.
Natsu, hearing Elfman talk about yesterday's duel caused him to remember that he never actually won his fight against Erza.
"That's right I forgot! We have to pick up where we left off, Erza!" Natsu yelled as he ran his way over to the armored woman, quickly devouring his food at breakneck pace.
Erza was sitting nearby eating some lunch when Natsu came running over. "Not today, Natsu. I'm not in the mood."
But Natsu didn't heed Erza's warning and continued to barrel his way through the guild now with his fists alight. "Here I come!"
"Oh well." Erza sighed as she got up from her seat, quickly requiped a giant hammer and hit Natsu with relative ease. The force of the blow caused Natsu to collide with table after table as he finally hit one of the guild walls in a heap of blood and splinters before falling unconscious almost instantly.
"If I must start, then let's start." Erza said, expecting Natsu to charge again.
"And it's all over!" happy yelled, seeing Natsu knocked out.
And almost the entire guild started laughing at the sorry state Natsu was in. Every time Natsu would challenge Erza it would always end in his instant defeat.
"Erza is as powerful as ever!" Elfman yelled.
"You call that a fight, Natsu?!" Gray said laughing.
Lucy watched as she saw Mirajane collapse on the ground and yet the laughing continued. No one seemed to care one of their guild mates might be hurt.
"Mira?!" Lucy shouted.
Lucy saw as Gray too collapsed only seconds after Mirajane, his head slamming onto the wooden table. Next it was Elfman who collapsed onto the floor, Then Erza and Natsu.
As Lucy looked around, she noticed the same effects happening to the whole guild. Her heart felt as if it was about to beat out of her chest and she slowly became short of breath.
She saw a strange man walking in through the guild doors. Covered in many layers of clothes to hide almost every part of his body and fitted with various staffs radiating powerful magic.
Lucy fought hard against Mystogan's sleeping magic, refusing to be put to sleep. Lucy stood, swaying back and forth in one spot. It took so much strength to just stay awake, she wasn't sure that if she took a step, she wouldn't stay awake.
"No! I won't…I won't fall asleep…you can't make me…" Lucy mumbled to herself as she desperately tried to stave off the sleep magic.
As she stood there, panic started to rise in her chest. Lucy knew her thoughts were irrational; they couldn't find her here; she was safe surrounded by her friends. But despite knowing all this her panic would not subside. Lucy felt her heartbeat quicken and she felt the sweat that dripped down her back. She suddenly felt constricted by her cloak, by her clothes, as if 'they' were back again to restrain and hurt her.
Lucy took a deep breath and mustered up her courage to yell at the cloaked figure that was talking with the master.
"You! Who do you think you are!? Are you working for 'him'!?" Lucy's outburst startled Mystogan who turned to see the girl resisting his magic.
"Don't worry about her. She's out newest member, Lucy." Makarov said, struggling to stay awake. To say he was impressed that Lucy could stay awake under the pressure of the sleep magic was an understatement. Even he, a wizard saint had trouble keeping his eyes open.
Mystogan nodded in understanding and grabbed a monster hunting job from the request board and left the guild. Disappearing into thin air.
Just as Mystogan was walking towards the doors, the magic took what was left of her strength and Lucy fell to the floor with a loud thud.
As Natsu started to wake up from the effects of Mystogan's sleep magic he heard a blood-curdling scream. Instantly his instincts told him something was wrong. Was someone attacking the guild? Was someone hurt? He frantically looked around until he saw Lucy laying on the ground in a heap loudly sobbing.
Natsu saw Mirajane and Levy desperately trying to calm her down, but whatever they did it didn't work. Natsu was unsure of what to do. He just stood there in the guild staring. That was until a certain memory flooded his mind.
Natsu remembered whenever he was upset or had a nightmare, Igneel would press his large snout against his head and he remembered the almost instant calming effect it had.
Natsu didn't know why but his legs started to move on their own. As he got closer and closer to Lucy, he made his decision. He wasn't sure if what he was about to do would help her, but he knew he had to do something.
When Natsu reached Lucy, he kneeled down on his left leg and when he moved closer towards Lucy's face, she flinched.
Natsu gently placed his right arm on Lucy's head and pressed his forehead up against hers and for a moment her breathing hitched and she stopped sobbing. Natsu could smell the almost overwhelming scent of her salty tears as they entered his nose.
'Just how many times has she cried?'
'Just how long has she shed these tears?'
Those thoughts raced through his head and Natsu silently vowed to himself then and there that he would never let any harm come to his friend… to his family… to his Lucy.
"You don't need to cry any more Lucy. Save those tears for later. It doesn't matter who comes after you or how strong they are, I will…No, we will all protect you." Natsu declared.
"N-natsu?" Lucy murmured, looking up as tears fell down her cheek.
"Yeah, it's me, Natsu. I'm here." Natsu said.
Lucy suddenly embraced Natsu in a tight hug, almost knocking him over. She hid her face in the crook of his neck as she continued to cry.
"I'm sorry…" Lucy murmured in between shaky breaths.
"What are you sorry for?" Natsu said.
Lucy took a deep breath before she gathered the courage to speak. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this. I'm trying to be strong and I want to get stronger… but I just…"
Natsu didn't say anything, he just let her stay in his embrace for as long as she needed to. After a few minutes she stopped crying and was silent except for the occasional sniffle and her deep breaths.
Lucy let go of Natsu and with shaky legs, got up from the floor and pulled the hood of her cloak closer to her face, desperate to try to hide her face.
Lucy looked up at Mirajane, trying to tell her she wanted to leave but the words just would not leave her mouth. Lucy just stood there with her mouth open like a goldfish.
"Are you okay, Lucy?" Mirajane said with a look of sympathy on her face.
Lucy shook her head, tears still streaming down her face. "N-no. Can I g-go h-home?"
"Here." Mirajane said as she fished out the house key from one of her skirt pockets. "Are you sure you're, okay?"
"I-i-I-"The words were stuck in her throat. For some reason she just couldn't get the words out. Every attempt ended in a stuttering mess.
"You don't have to say anything." Mirajane placed the house key into the palm of Lucy's hand.
"T-thank you." Was all Lucy said as she ran out the guild, not wanting anyone's gaze landing on her.
Lucy ran as fast as she could to the other side of Magnolia where Mirajane's cottage was located. Even with tears distorting her vision, she skillfully weaved her way thought the various crowds in the streets.
Before Lucy opened the door to her new home, she contemplated leaving the guild. "Everyone must hate me after all the trouble I caused. I need to leave Magnolia; it was a bad idea staying in one place for too long anyway." Lucy thought to herself.
As Lucy put the key in the lock and opened the front door, she was shocked to see Natsu and Happy laying in the middle of the living room doing sit-ups shirtless.
"Welcome home!" Natsu greeted.
"Aye!" Happy shouted.
"W-why are you exercising in Mira's home?" Lucy said, voice still horse from crying so much.
"We have to build up our strength to beat Erza and Laxus!" Natsu explained while switching to pushups.
"I see…" Lucy murmured as she wiped away her tears.
"Since we're a team you can train with us. Here, we got these for you! You like pink, don't you, Lucy?" Natsu said with a big toothy grin as he picked up a pair of pink dumbbells and handed them to Lucy.
"Thank you Natsu. I will treasure them." Lucy said with a sniffle.
"I suppose that since we are a team I should train with you, I wouldn't want to be rude and reject your offer." Lucy said as she dropped to the floor and joined Natsu and Happy in their exercise routine.
After a few minutes of exercise Natsu suddenly stopped, seemingly thinking about something important.
"I've made a decision…" Natsu said.
Lucy turned her head to her left to look at Natsu. "What about?" Lucy asked.
"I'm going on an S-Class quest, Lucy!" Natsu proudly declared with Happy unfurling the request for Lucy to look at.
"What's an S-Class quest, Natsu?" Lucy said as she cocked her head in confusion.
"It's a special mission!" Natsu said.
"Special mission?" Lucy said, repeating Natsu.
"Yeah! When you work really hard in the guild you can take on super tough missions with lots of reward money!" Natsu said as he shadowboxed nearby in excitement.
That caught Lucy's attention. She knew she needed the money and despite how much Mira insisted that the clothes were a gift, Lucy still felt the need to repay her.
"So, what is the mission about anyway?" Lucy said.
"The job is to save an entire island!" Happy said, pointing to the drawing of the island on the mission poster.
"Let's give it a try!" Natsu said.
"An entire island?" Lucy said, surprised such a huge mission could be carried out by just three guild members.
"Yep! The cursed island of Galuna! Ooh!" Natsu said as he tried to spook Lucy, which had no effect.
"Look Lushee! It even comes with a golden gate key!" Happy proclaimed, as he picked out the flyer from his small green backpack and pointed to the fine print of the mission.
Lucy's eyes went wide. "A golden key? Natsu! Happy! We have to go to Galuna island first thing in the morning." With that exciting news her earlier doubts were swept away for the moment. She would always do what she could to get her hands on another golden key of the zodiac.
"Yeah, let's go! We'll meet outside the guild just before dawn so we can get to Hargeon by afternoon." Natsu said.
"Are we not taking a train?" Lucy asked.
Natsu shook his head, just thinking of riding on a train made him feel queasy. "No, I don't think I can survive another train ride."
"That's fine with me. I do want to see the sights, and I heard there are a few small towns along the route to Hargeon I want to see." Lucy explained.
"Then it's all decided then!" Happy said.
"See ya tomorrow, Luce!" Natsu said with a big toothy grin as he pushed up the window frame nearest to him and jumped out.
Lucy blushed at the thought of Natsu's smile. For some reason that grin could always make her feel good. "Just one more mission before I leave can't be too bad, right?"
After Natsu left, Lucy felt that she needed to keep her mind off what happened earlier in the day. She spotted a rather thick and large book on a shelf near the living room window and upon closer inspection it was a Kemu Zaleon book, one of her favorite authors.
'Our Fates Intertwined' the title read as she brushed her fingers against the embossed title. It was a book Lucy read over and over on those dark nights with the light of a flickering candle, the only source of light illuminating the pages.
It was about a man and a woman who were fated to be together and together who's destinies would change the fate of the world. Lucy thought the book was too cheesy even for her, but even so she started reading the book and she became so engrossed in it that she didn't realize that Mirajane had come home and started cooking dinner.
It was a quiet dinner with neither wanting to talk about the only topic of conversation that would come up- Lucy's meltdown at the guild. Lucy finished up quickly, not having the appetite to eat another filling of Mirajane's stew she made earlier. After washing her dishes and having a quick shower, Lucy headed to bed and hoped she would quickly fall asleep, not wanting to experience the terrible day any further.
"Lucy… are you asleep?" Mirajane quietly said.
"No. Why?" Lucy replied.
"I just need to know if you're alright." Mirajane said.
Lucy's face scrunched up in confusion. "Of course, I'm alright."
"It's just… earlier today after Mystogan put everyone to sleep…you…" Mirajane was not sure how to even say what she wanted to, let alone say it in a way that wouldn't upset the girl lying next to her.
Lucy gripped the blankets that were covering her tightly. "I-I thought he was someone else…"
"What do you mean by someone else?" Mirajane replied.
"When…when I…" Lucy shook her head. "No, a few years ago b-bad men would always…put me to sleep… and…"
Mirajane turned her body to face Lucy, the apprehension about asking Lucy about her past she had a moment ago disappeared as she knew Lucy was upset, having trouble recalling her past.
"It's okay Lucy, you don't have to say anything." Mirajane said with a reassuring smile, although she doubted Lucy could make out her facial features just from the few beams of moonlight shining through the window beside her bed.
There was silence as Mirajane didn't attempt to talk to Lucy, the last thing she wanted to do was upset the poor girl. The only sounds that remained in the quiet room was the creaking of the lacrima fan above them and the sounds of both girls breathing.
Just as Mirajane was about to fall back to sleep she heard Lucy mumble something, trying and failing to say something. Mirajane didn't say anything, she knew that if Lucy needed to talk, she would talk.
"T-these men… they would h-hurt me when… when I slept… he…B-b-br…" Lucy murmured quietly in between sniffles. So quietly that Mirajane just barely picked up on what she said.
Mirajane felt a chill run down her spine as she heard Lucy's words. "Someone hurt Lucy? Why would someone hurt an innocent girl?" Mirajane thought.
"W-when I woke up, it… it was a-always so d-dark…." Lucy murmured in between sniffles as she started to cry.
She wanted to be stronger than this, to just leave it all in the past and forget about it, but no matter how hard she tried to forget someone or something would always bring her back to those horrible days. The rational part of Lucy knew she shouldn't be telling Mira all of this, but another part of her told her that Mira was kind and could be trusted.
Lucy felt Mirajane pull her into her embrace and when she started to massage her head Lucy flinched but allowed herself to be comforted by the older woman.
Mirajane massaged Lucy's head the same way she did with Lisanna and Elfman when they were kids. "It's okay Lucy, you can let it all out. Your safe here."
Lucy grabbed onto Mirajane's pink nightgown and buried her head into Mirajane's chest as her cries turned into loud sobs. She felt Mirajane rubbing her head and soothingly reassuring her in that sing-song voice of hers.
As Mirajane comforted the poor girl who was crying into her chest, she grits her teeth and as if on instinct her magical aura started to burst forth. Mirajane knew she could not let her magic seal be broken, so she forced her magic back and continued to comfort Lucy and focused on protecting her from whatever danger she may face.
After what felt like hours Lucy's sobs turned into quiet whimpers, and she lost her vice like grip on Mirajane's nightgown as she fell into a dreamless sleep. Exhausted both physically and emotionally, Mirajane rolled onto her back and embraced sleep, for she would have another long and tiring day ahead of her.
When Mirajane woke up in the morning she was surprised to see that the bed was empty. She figured that Lucy must have woken up early to get a head start on the day, so she thought nothing of it until she started her job at the guild.
Mirajane greeted Makarov with a simple hello as he unlocked the guild doors. Mirajane spent the morning doing odd jobs around the guild hall and over time slowly more and more people started to trickle into the empty guild. Despite putting her attention towards her work, she still had a nagging feeling at the back of her head that told her something was wrong.
Mirajane walked up to the second floor to check over the S-Class requests, to add a few new ones that came in recently, and to take down a few that have already been completed by other guilds. When she looked over the board, she noticed one of the flyers was gone.
"Oh no! Master! One of the requests from the second-floor request board is missing!" Mirajane yelled as she made her way down the steps to the first floor.
Makarov spat out his mug of beer when he heard the news. It went all over his clothes and the wooden floor in front of him.
Laxus sat in his usual post in a seat near the second-floor balcony looking over the non-S-Class wizards on the first floor.
Laxus threw his legs onto the table Infront of him and stretched. "Oh…Now that you mention it, I noticed a cat burglar sneak up here last night."
"Happy?!" Mirajane yelled.
"That's a pretty big breach of the rules. That means expulsion when they get back, right? But hey, if they take an S-Class quest lightly they won't ever be coming back!" Laxus said.
Mirajane stormed back up to the second-floor and glared daggers into Laxus. "If any harm comes to Lucy, then I'll- "
"What? What could you possibly do? Your magic was sealed up years ago! Your nothing but a useless barmaid!" Laxus yelled.
Mirajane glared daggers into Laxus, her magic aura leaking out of the seal, crackling with power.
"Oh, don't give me that look! Why do you care about her so much anyway? You've only known her for about a week." Laxus clapped his hands together, realizing something. "Is blondie just a replacement for Lis…"
Before Laxus could finish his sentence, he was thrown from the second floor of the guild and crashed into the wooden floorboards down below.
Elfman stood there next to the ruins of the wooden table Laxus was sitting by just seconds before, his left arm transformed into a giant, metallic claw. Elfman tried to console his crying sister next to him. "Don't say something you'll regret. It's not manly."
"I didn't expect that! To think a weakling like you could even touch me! Well, I guess gramps gave you S-Class consideration for a reason." Laxus said as he got up from the crater in the ground that formed under the impact of his fall.
Laxus was just about to teleport himself up to the second floor with his lightning magic when Makarov unleashed a fraction of his magic aura, instantly Laxus and Elfman calmed down.
"Laxus! Elfman! Enough of this, and get down from there, you're not S-Class yet, Elfman!" Makarov yelled. Scolding his 'children.'
As Mirajane walked back down to the first floor, she apologized to the master for the trouble she caused. Makarov just waved it off saying that sometimes even family fight.
"Um, master..." Mirajane said. Her nervous tone evident, still shaken up from before.
"Yes, what is it my dear?" Makarov asked.
"It's about the S-class mission that went missing." Mirajane said.
"With all of what happened I had forgotten about the missing request. Which one was it?" Makarov said.
"The cursed island of Galuna." Mirajane said with a sniffle as she walked off.
"The demon Isle!?" Makarov yelled.
"I can't believe Lulu would do something like that." Levy mumbled to herself.
"What was that?" Jet asked.
"Oh nothing!" Levy said, waving off her teammate.
"Laxus! Go bring them back!" Makarov yelled.
"Hell no! It's not my problem. If they get killed it's their own stupidity that caused it!" Laxus yelled back at his grandfather from far back at the second floor, brooding like a child.
"You have to go! No other wizard can bring Natsu back by force!" Makarov said.
Gray suddenly sat up from his chair and started to walk out the guild doors, but stopped just at the entrance. "Master, I will be the one to get those morons back. Count on it."
"Then go now!" Makarov sighed before taking a swig of his beer. "I swear one day these kids will be the death of me."
When the trio of wizards made their way to the port town of Hargeon, Lucy could hear the seagulls screeching and smell the nice, salty ocean water. A large smile was on her face as he took in the sights and reminisced.
"Wow, this brings back memories. This was the town you and I met, Natsu! And you too, Happy." Lucy said.
"It wasn't even that long ago." Natsu said.
"Grandma Lucy!" Happy snickered.
Lucy looked around and noticed that the dock was brand new. "Oh, they fixed the dock." Lucy said.
"Yeah, cause the fish lady wrecked it." Happy snickered with a big smile.
"Her name is Aquarius and she is not a fish, she is a mermaid." Lucy scolded Happy.
"First order of business is finding a boat going to Galuna island." Lucy said.
"A boat?! No way, why can't we just swim there instead?!" Natsu shouted.
"Unless you want to get tired and drown halfway there, then I don't think it is a good idea." Lucy explained.
Natsu pouted like a child upon hearing the bad news.
They went closer to the docks and walked around asking everyone that owned a boat. Natsu, Lucy and Happy had asked fishermen, traders and even pirates when they were getting desperate for a boat. But despite how fearsome or skilled these people were no one wanted to take them to Galuna Island.
Just when they were about to give up, they found a man wearing a cloak tying his boat to the dock with some heavy rope and went over to try and convince him to take them to Galuna island.
"I don't know why you want to go, but you won't find a sailor who will want to take you. Even the pirates avoid the island." The cloaked man said.
"Aye! We know." Happy exclaimed.
"I suppose we might have to swim then." Lucy said as she sat down on a short stone wall nearby.
"So, it's decided then. We swim!" Natsu said with a toothy grin.
"Aye!" Happy said, agreeing to Natsu's crazy idea.
"Swim? Sure, if you wanna commit suicide. At least the man-eating sharks will be happy with their free meal." The same cloaked man said.
"I'm not scared. I'll just grill em!" Natsu yelled. Taking the cloaked man's words as a challenge.
"You can't light fires on the open ocean so your magic is useless." Lucy explained.
"Yeah, well if it's hot enough I'll just burn the ocean!" Natsu yelled back.
As Lucy sat on the stone wall, she heard footsteps walking up behind her. Just as she felt the presence of a hand on her shoulder and, not wanting to take any chances, she grabbed the wrist of the mystery person and flipped them onto the ground, throwing them so hard, the impact created a small crater.
Just as Lucy turned around, Lucy heard Natsu laughing and the familiar voice of a man groaning.
"Gray?!" She said in shock as she lent a hand for him to stand up.
Gray rubbed the back of his head. "Wow what a hit. Your stronger than I expected. I mean I've seen you in battle but still."
"I am so sorry, Gray." Lucy said as she gave a small bow.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. Didn't hurt a bit." Gray said, brushing of Lucy's concerns.
"What are you doing here?!" Natsu said with a scowl.
"I'm here to take you back. Master's orders!" Gray announced.
Lucy was confused by this. The master had never cared when they previously took missions and even let them do almost whatever they wanted. Lucy was suspicious Gray was trying to interfere with their work.
"I am sorry but the job has already been taken Gray, you can't have it." Lucy said.
"I'm not here to do the job, I'm here to take you three back to the guild!" Gray said.
"Oh yeah?! You wanna bet?" Natsu yelled as he lit his fists on fire, ready for a brawl with gray.
"If I have to do it the hard way I will. I won't go easy on you Natsu!" Gray said as mist started to form around his hands.
The cloaked fisherman saw the magic being released by the two rival mages and was quite confused. "Magic? You guys are wizards?"
The two rivals stopped their fighting and along with Lucy and Happy looked at the fisherman.
"You wouldn't be going to rid the island of it's curse, would you?" The cloaked fisherman asked.
Yeah!" Natsu yelled.
"That is correct." Lucy replied.
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.
"NO! Never!" Gray yelled.
"Then get on!" The cloaked fisherman said as he untied the heavy rope from the port.
"Let's go!" Natsu said as he kicked gray in the face, Knocking him out instantly.
"Why did you knock him out for?" Lucy said, she helped Natsu drag Gray onto the small boat.
"We'll need him for later! More people mean we can fight worse guys!" Natsu said with a sparkle of excitement in his eyes.
Instantly as the boat started rocking Natsu was hanging off the edge trying not to spill his stomach, instantly regretting his decision to go to an island surrounded by water.
Shortly after the boat trip started, Gray awoke to find himself bound by rope sitting on a boat headed to the very same island he was trying to get them away from.
"Why the hell am I tied up? Natsu?!" Gray said.
"Oh, your awake." Lucy said.
"Of course, I'm awake. Why'd you tie me up?!" Gray grumbled.
"I didn't it was all Natsu's doing." Lucy said as she pointed to him hurling into the ocean.
Gray looked up at the cloaked man rowing the boat and glared at him. "Mister, why'd you suddenly decide to take us?"
"My name is bobo, and long ago I was once a man of that island. I escaped that awful curse…" The man said.
"Say, what is the curse?" Happy asked.
"If you go to that island your body will become twisted and grotesque like mine." Bobo said as he removed his cloak, revealing a dark black forearm that had spikes protruding from it and claws instead of a hand.
Lucy gasped in shock as she saw the twisted and deformed arm the man showed them.
"That arm! Maybe I have the same curse. Maybe I can be cured… and finally go back to being normal." Lucy thought.
"Do you really think you can remove the curse? The demon curse?!" Bobo said.
"Your arm…" Gray said.
"It's come into view… the cursed island…" Bobo said.
They all stared at the island as the boat got closer and when Gray, Lucy and Happy looked back at the man, he was gone. Gone as if he was never on the boat in the first place.
"He's gone?" Lucy said.
"Did he fall out?" Gray said.
Happy jumped into the ocean to see, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. Happy jumped back onto the boat and shook his head.
"What happened to him?" Gray asked.
"I do not-"Lucy was cut off as she saw a tidal wave approach them. Gray and Happy quickly noticed as well but before they could do anything the wave crashed over them, capsizing their small, fragile boat.
Lucy fell into the ocean and swallowed a mouthful of water as she tried to breathe. She swam up to the surface and took a deep breath before she was thrown back into the watery deep and the ocean raged against them, as if furious for attempting to step onto the island.
Lucy could feel her lungs burning for air as she tried swimming faster and faster, but just as she was about to make it to the surface, another wave crashed her back down. She was far too exhausted to try and swim back up again, all her muscles telling her to relax, but she knew she shouldn't do it. She needed to stay alive, she needed to save Happy and Gray and Natsu.
Just then a terrible thought hit her as she sunk lower and lower. "Gray's probably dead, he was tied up with sturdy rope, Natsu was out cold when the tidal wave hit so he never had a chance and Happy… poor Happy…"
Lucy saw spots of black obscure her vision and her lungs burned as they begged for air.
"I don't want to die… not like this… not like this…" Lucy panicked right before she blacked out, hitting the dark and cold ocean floor.
Hey everyone! It's been a long time since the last update. Sorry about that, but just a heads up, work is getting far too busy to be updating anymore than once or twice a month. I will try to update more, but there are no promises. Anyway, i hope you enjoy the latest chapter!