Again, just wow! Hard to believe I've made it to the end of yet another fic! And possibly my best written one thus far too.
I could probably go out of my way to write some grand speech of sorts here, but ultimately there are no words eloquent enough, poetic enough, or simply great enough to express my thanks to all of you!
Special shout out to all of my reviewers: Impstar, who'd been with me since the beginning of this fic and even its prequel, as well as rex4487, Reflection102, Ahnenerbe, Pravda93, dragonfox123, Stratos263, locothehood, tera12, pyro of the flame road, avidreaded, guest reviewer 'king,' ElizabethGreene-QueenofViruses, Blackout1998, Cloudbloodbane, Ryujin Zangetsu 17, Eternal King, Demon King73, garoorar, eliteshadow, ImagineBreaker7, and the various guest reviewers! Even if there were only reviews for a handful of chapters and even if some of them found this fic not to their liking, I still highly value the fact that you reviewed at all! To those of you that weren't quite impressed by this fic, please know too that I'll be trying to learn from my mistakes and avoid similar things in the future!
Now onto the epilogue, everyone! And to all those of you who favorited and/or followed this fic or me, you have my eternal thanks as well!
P.S. And have a Happy New Year too, everyone!
P.P.S IMPORTANT NOTE AT BOTTOM.
Epilogue
"Calm down, Ruby, there'll be plenty more cookies later!" Yang exclaimed, watching with slight worry as her younger sister swallowed a fresh batch of cookies that had just been delivered personally to their dorm room. Said batch of cookies had been so large and promptly devoured with such speed that the blonde brawler genuinely worried for her sister's well-being.
Ruby tried to say something in turn, but could barely utter a single understandable word, her mouth stuffed to the brim with the chocolate chip cookies she'd just sucked up.
"Ruby, please chew your food," Weiss chastised, albeit weakly. She'd been partners and friends with her team leader long enough now to have gotten used to her quirks.
Ruby paused in her futile attempts to talk just long to follow Weiss' advice. She then grinned sheepishly. "Sorry…"
Blake, normally one to sit out of conversations even with her friends, now decided to speak up. "Let's see just how long you being sorry lasts…" she began in good humor. "Probably until the next batch of cookies is whipped up."
The team leader giggled in embarrassment before her expression took on a more solemn quality. "Kinda stinks though that we're stuck in our own room though…"
With just that simple statement, her friends' mood became somewhat more downcast overall.
It's been just five days since the end of the battle with the Holy Knights and during this time, many things had come up. Following Naruto's defeating of Rogue Flame, his return to the real world had all but snapped everyone all across the globe out of their stupor and had unintentionally sent a number of people in a panic. Despite having seen his battle with the Mage of Misfortune, many had found his power to be of such an impossible level that it had simply caused them to lose their minds, figuratively anyways.
As a result, Naruto and the other ancient magi had to make a hasty retreat to Beacon Academy, with their new captives – Mercury, Cinder, Celine, Kalma, and Heracles – in tow along with teams RWBY and JNPR. Teams RWBY and JNPR having been seen in action by a handful of people, both personally and live on air when the helicopters had caught up had led to both teams becoming something akin to celebrities, or at the very least the new objects of interest in the eyes of the entire world.
When they'd returned and had separated from the ancient magi, not even a half hour later, the rest of the academy had somehow caught wind of their return and had swarmed them, many demanding answers to all sorts of questions they'd had. This had prompted both teams to make a run for their dorms and had holed up as best as they could to ward off the crowd. But although this had succeeded in making the students eventually give up for now, it certainly hadn't stopped various reporters over the course of the past few days somehow obtain their contact information and start calling them relentlessly.
It was only thanks to a quick call to Ozpin that some strings were pulled and the endless barrage of questions had ceased… for now. Team RWBY as well as team JNPR knew very well that this was far from over.
And that thought had only made them feel genuinely concerned for the ancient magi, knowing that if they – the admittedly enhanced students – had garnered such 'excitement,' then the ancient magi must be drowning in a veritable sea of questions and demands from virtually everyone in the world, up to and including the likes of the council and James Ironwood.
That all said, team RWBY was content in knowing that they could remain here in their dorm until the heat starts to die down for them. Ozpin had even been kind enough to get food delivered personally to them and team JNPR across the hall to spare them having to go to the cafeteria or into Vale to get something to eat, lest they risk being mobbed.
"Just what do you think will happen now?" Ruby then asked as she lied on the floor, fidgeting slightly. "I-I mean, we all managed to do some good, but now the whole world is kinda just…"
Ever since that night, news stations had been abuzz, hard at work in reporting on and discussing the bombshells dropped in the wake of the Holy Knights' actions, magic at the forefront in every conversation and the possible effects this could have on the world at large. As some of them had predicted, it initially seemed that some people were all for it while others saw magic as something terrifying, to be done away with. But in the neverending discussions on it so far, it seemed there was also a third party that more or less adopted a 'wait and see' approach to the whole matter.
It had gotten so bad though that virtually every channel had been replaced with one news channel or another, all other programs canceled for the forseeable future.
"…Whatever happens will happen," Blake answered quietly. "All that can be done now is just help keep things from boiling over… especially since magic will likely draw some unwanted attention from more… unsavory people."
She averted her eyes at that, thinking of her old friend Adam, who had been taken into custody mere hours after Rogue had been defeated. He and the lieutenant had thankfully both remained unconscious and had gone unnoticed until Blake and Pyrrha had reported them to Ozpin, who had then subtly dispatched some people to go pick them up and lock them up for the time being. The same went for Roman, who was taken into Atlas custody separately from the others, though one of the ancient magi – Ryuichi – had gone with them to ensure the criminal caused no trouble during his transport.
Weiss nodded, agreeing with the cat Faunus. "It's going to be rather unpleasant overall; until the world starts to get used to the existence of magic, things will escalate in some form or another. We just don't know how though…"
"Hey at least Professor Namikaze and the others are on it, right?" Yang now chipped in, trying to smile brightly but failing.
Weiss and Blake both shot her a flat look. Even Ruby, normally so nice and awkward, looked at her older sister as if she was someone to be pitied a bit.
"What?" Yang said a moment later, kind of creeped out by the looks.
"If anything, them being involved at all might make things worse," Weiss said simply. "While they'll definitely have to pull damage control, with their abilities having been revealed to the world, they're going to be the center of a lot of attention. I can only imagine how fiercely the public is hounding them, let alone people of general Ironwood's status."
"Their worst fear had more or less been realized, Yang," Blake now said. "While they must've at least thought of something to try and make things better, doing things in practice usually don't go as well as they do in theory… they're going to have their hands full for a long while."
Yang grumbled as she felt talked down to. "Yeah, well… you never know. If anything, they ought to be thanked for stopping the Holy Knights. I mean, everyone all saw pretty clearly that the Holy Knights weren't exactly saints."
She spoke, of course, of the recordings of the battles broadcasted all across the globe, Vidar's magical weapon having been able to record the fights in such quality that while the recordings had been silent at first, just prior to them ending, audio had kicked in and everyone had heard a good portion of the conversations held between the ancient magi and the Holy Knights. It was rather hard to make it any clearer that the Holy Knights, for all of their good intentions, were extremists that had indulged in crime to get things done.
"I sure hope so, sis…" Ruby said softly, looking uncertain.
Unfortunately, while team RWBY may not exactly be aware of it, there were already people out there in the world that seemed to be in agreement with what some of the Holy Knights had said to varying degrees. Trouble seemed all but inevitable now.
"Well, in any case," Weiss began. "All we can do is just wait things out… and hope for the best."
Her friends all nodded firmly, agreeing on that.
"True," Blake said, smiling a little.
"Yeah!" Ruby now exclaimed, trying to see the good in all of this.
"You said, Weiss Queen!" Yang said with a grin.
"Uh, why a pun now after all this time?!" Weiss then retaliated, the mood ruined by the buxom blonde.
Yang simply laughed, which only caused the Schnee heiress to start bickering with her, with Ruby and Blake serving as silent viewers to it.
But despite the bickering, all four of them sported a subtle smile. For while things may be ambiguous now, they still at least had each other.
And for them, that was enough.
Meanwhile in the dorm just across the hall, Jaune was in the midst of a somewhat arduous task. "Almost done…"
"Okay…" came the soft reply.
"Jaune, you missed a spot there," Ren then spoke up.
"Ah…" Jaune silently grumbled to himself now.
Prryha chuckled a little, somewhat uncertain, but amused overall. "You more or less got it though."
"Go, Jaune!" Nora exclaimed excitedly.
A moment later, Jaune sighed as he finally finished what he was doing: combing Kalma's somewhat unruly hair. "Done," he said with a slight smile.
"Thanks…" Kalma replied, her dog ears visible for all to see and they wiggled a little happily. Dressed in plain clothes, Kalma cherished her current spot, her back pressing against Jaune's chest as she sat directly in front of him, the blond having spent the past several minutes trying to get her hair straightened out, in turn revealing a surprising skill with a brush that he'd undoubtedly picked up from having seven sisters.
"You're welcome…" Jaune said lowly, but somewhat hesitantly.
In the wake of that night days ago, he'd been more than a little shocked, hurt, and betrayed to see that not only was his sister a Holy Knight, but so was Kalma, whom he'd come to regard as a friend within the brief time they'd spent together at Burgundy.
But not long after they'd been taken into custody, Jaune had finally snapped out of his funk enough to inquire about what would happen to both Celine and Kalma. As much as they'd hurt him, albeit unintentionally, he still couldn't help but think of them as precious to him in one form or another.
His sister, Celine, was to remain within the custody of Atlas, having been turned back into a normal person by Naruto, who'd used Da Capo Zero to undo the process that had made her a Holy Knight – something he'd also done to Kalma and to the others in custody in order to make them much easier to be contained. Having been informed by the powers that be the extent of Celine's involvement with the Holy Knights, especially Vidar, following their quick and thorough interrogation of her – made all the quicker by her resigned compliance – Jaune doubted that Celine would be let go anytime soon. That being said, Naruto and Miki, despite being shocked and even horrified to see one of their own blood had been one of the Holy Knights, had firmly stated they'd see what they can do to make things a little better for Celine. For as far as anyone could tell, she herself had never directly engaged in any of the group's activities outside of what had happened that night, with her having fought and nearly killed Takehiko.
Despite her actions, she was still family which meant Naruto and Miki would try to look out for her somehow though they made it clear she'd still have to deal with the consequences of her actions.
Jaune hadn't seen her since then though, having just been able to barely exchange coherent words with her just prior to her being carted off to somewhere by James Ironwood himself. But as hurt as he was, she was still his sister. Until Naruto and Miki could update him on Celine's situation, all he could do was pray for her and hope to get to talk to her soon.
As for Kalma, she had become something of a special case amongst the people taken into custody. One look at her had been all that was needed for everyone to tell that she wasn't exactly the type to intentionally do any harm. Nonetheless, the fact that her Relic, Surma, had harmed a number of people during its infiltration of Beacon along with its actions at Burgundy and Vale had made things look rather bad for the young girl, more so when she'd reluctantly and tearfully admitted that she'd given the beast some orders during its battle with Yuko and Hanako to speed up the battle. And there was the fact that while she may not have directly committed any crimes, she was still indirectly responsible for the harm and collateral damage Surma had caused in addition to being part of the Holy Knights, who had collectively committed a number of crimes, ranging from theft to murder concerning Orochimaru at the hands of Heracles. Not quite guilty by association, but not exactly pardoned either due to said association.
However, a rather gentle inquiry from Ozpin himself had helped paint him and others a picture of Kalma's life prior to becoming a Holy Knight, which became confirmed when she'd given them her original name to look up and look into: Saara Virtanen. It hadn't been a particularly pretty picture; Kalma, once known as Saara before casting off her birth name permanently, had grown up as a shy girl, often stricken with illnesses of varying degrees before becoming all but crippled by one much more severe than the rest, one that would've left her bedridden in and of itself. But alas, that hadn't been the end to it. A detailed background check had revealed a harsh childhood that had consisted of being the victim to extreme racism from others due to her being a Faunus as well as having physically and verbally abusive parents, who'd often take out their anger out on her thanks to having been fiercely discriminated against themselves, pushed to the brink day after day. They'd all but crushed her self-esteem from a very young age, having made no attempts to hide their disgust at having her as their daughter. Her frequent bouts of illnesses had only further sparked rage from them, having found a 'weak' daughter to be less than desirable too.
It was only when Kalma, broken from the abuse, had finally fled one night despite her frail state that she'd bumped into Vidar one day… and from there, the story didn't really need to be continued; he'd spoken sweet words to her that had easily enamored her into joining him and the Holy Knights.
This sad tale had not necessarily excused her from the actions or lack thereof she'd taken, but had helped to mitigate things somewhat in the eyes of many, including the ancient magi who'd been particularly sympathetic to her plights. Her young age had also been another alleviating factor for her, as locking up a sixteen year old girl would've left a rather bad taste in people's mouths, even in James Ironwood's despite his rather excessive paranoia and vigilance.
And during their inquiries, Ozpin and the others had learned that Surma had sometimes been prone to disobedience, partially out of great concern for Kalma and also partially because during some instances the beast would get far too worked up to pay attention to anything other than its targets. It was during the learning of this fact that they then discovered Surma's attack upon the students and teachers of Beacon was of its own choosing and not at the behest of Kalma, who'd even begged the sentient Relic to cease its actions at the time.
Alas, this all still didn't change the fact that she was a member of the Holy Knights and so the powers that be had wished to punish her accordingly.
However, this was where Jaune came in.
Despite having been deep in a stupor at the time still, Jaune had been able to snap out of it enough to beg for the chance to hear Kalma's story. Many had insisted against it, but Ozpin, Naruto, and Miki had listened to his pleas and had granted them on just one condition: he could be present for Ozpin's questioning of the girl, but he'd have to remain out of sight and only watch/listen. The leader of team JNPR had agreed to this without hassle and had been present during Kalma's telling of her life, just out of sight in the next room over, observing through one-way glass.
Having heard her past life, Jaune's funk had vanished promptly thereafter and had once again asked if anything could be done to help her. While understanding the facts as they stood, the blond teen was adamant in saying that she shouldn't be punished too harshly, especially since it seemed as if she was highly reluctant to do whatever Vidar would ask of her to do. He'd made the case that she'd simply been desperate for some positive attention, hence the sibling-esque bond she'd had with the one known as Indra as well as her having carried out the mostly nonviolent tasks Vidar gave her.
This was perhaps not the best argument he could've made, but the council and James reluctantly understood the point he had been trying to make at the time; Kalma's situation was rather like that of someone getting swept up into a dangerous cult, so lonely and desperate to fit in and belong that she'd hesitantly do whatever such a dangerous cult would ask. That is more or less what Kalma's situation was like.
So in the end, with again some great leniency on the behalf of Ozpin, the council and James had agreed to make Kalma's punishment relatively light compared to whatever they'd had in mind in the very beginning.
And it was as followed:
Complete quarantine from the rest of the world and under watch almost 24/7 for an indefinite period of time, at least until something more fitting could be prepared for her. If she wished to leave the grounds, she must do so with her watchers in tow and only after receiving official approval. Any attempts on her part to leave the eyes of her watchers will be punished severely regardless of her age. Her powers as a Holy Knight are to be taken away via Naruto's Da Capo Zero, restoring her to the point in time prior to going through the process of becoming a pseudo-magus. Her future punishment, whatever it will be, will be considered carefully in light of the mitigating circumstances already explained to them and also will be based on how compliant she is with the council and with Atlas' military, James Ironwood naturally leading them.
Her watchers: team JNPR.
Hence why she was here with them in their dorm.
All that considered, however, it was ultimately a beneficial deal to both parties. Ozpin, the council, and James get to keep her in custody and have her cooperation as they continued to dig deep into current matters on the Holy Knights' still unknown activities and the revealing of magic and in exchange Kalma at least gets to be with people she somewhat knows.
"T-Thank you, Jaune…" Kalma then muttered again as she looked into a little mirror that he'd handed to her earlier. The quiet girl smiled slightly at seeing how her hair had turned out.
Then, very slowly, she stood up and faced the rest of team JNPR, all of whom sat on their own beds. "A-And…." she began hesitantly. "Thank you too f-for agreeing to watch over me…"
She was honestly feeling pretty scared right now. When she'd first been informed of what her punishment was, she'd been relieved and terrified; she'd be with Jaune and get to talk with him, but just how would he treat her now that her being a Holy Knight was known to him? That had been what plagued her initially. However, when she'd been picked up by team JNPR from her cell, she'd been happy to see that while Jaune was clearly shocked and hurt still by what'd happened, he still seemed to treat her like he did before, back when they'd been in Burgundy. And over the past few days that she'd been under their care, she and Jaune had talked quite a bit. It'd been very awkward and tense at first, which was to be expected, but as of just yesterday it seemed as if things were beginning to go smoothly now. Nonetheless, Kalma wished she could do something to make things better.
However, her relationship with Jaune wasn't really what terrified her right now. What had her so scared to speak were his teammates.
During the course of the past few days, she'd mainly interacted with Jaune, though every now and then his friends would add into the conversations. But she'd never directly interacted with them before and it scared her. Just because Jaune appeared willing to forgive her to some extent, the same naturally couldn't possibly be said for the rest of team JNPR. Did they hate her? Did they still hold some sort of hostility to her, if not for what Surma did in Burgundy, then for her role in general amongst the Holy Knights?
"U-Uhmm…" Kalma flinched involuntarily as she tried to speak yet again. She bowed her head in growing shame and remorse. "A-About what happened in B-Burgundy… I'm sorry for what S-Surma did…" she managed to finally say, stuttering only a little throughout the sentence.
Closing her eyes, she awaited whatever their response would be. Although she was doing pretty well so far under team JNPR's care, she still couldn't help but imagine angry and vile words being thrown her way any second now, a life of discrimination and abuse having done this to her.
To her shock, Pyrrha actually laughed a little. "It's alright," she said. "While this is admittedly an awkward situation right now… we know that your Relic hadn't really been listening to you at the time," the redhead said. She smiled a little, trying to calm Kalma down, who now looked to her with almost comically wide eyes. "…We were told about your 'circumstances' prior to joining the Holy Knights," she then said, making Kalma's breath hitch slightly in shock. "And while it doesn't quite excuse everything, we do understand that things were out of your control most of the time… you just wanted somewhere to belong."
"So while it is still going to be a little weird for us all," Ren now spoke, the normally stoic boy smiling softly. "We're more than willing to make this work… if you're willing to do so too."
"Yeah!" Nora chipped in, giving Kalma a megawatt smile so bright that it was almost literally blinding. "If our fearless leader thinks of you as a friend, then we're your friends too!"
"I…I…I!" Kalma tried to speak, but to no avail. With just a handful of words from each of Jaune's closest friends, she'd been rendered speechless.
She all but jumped out of her skin when a hand suddenly yet gently placed itself upon her shoulder. Turning around, she saw that Jaune had stood up and it was his hand gripping her now. The blond teen's eyes, changed so long ago now thanks to his awakening, made for a somewhat intimidating appearance, but here before Kalma's own eyes, Jaune's slightly discolored eyes carried nothing but kindness.
"I'm here for you, Kalma. We all are," he said simply. "While we may not know what'll happen in the future for you or be able to replicate the same sort of bond you had with that Indra guy… we're here for you. And we'll be there for you every step of the way if you'll let us."
The word he said were so simple and kind of cheesy, like something right out of a comic or adventure novel. But even then… the words just meant too much to Kalma for her to care.
Tears formed in her eyes and began to spill forth slowly onto the floor. Kalma's svelte frame shook as she tried to hold back a sob. With somewhat surprising speed, she turned around and hugged Jaune as tightly as she could, her head just barely reaching his chest.
Prior to now, the only person who'd ever been there for her was Indra and even then, the man couldn't be around her all the time; Vidar would always have him do one thing or another. And while the deceased young man had tried to check up on her often, he never really tried to delve deeper into any of her problems. That wasn't to say that this made the bond between them any weaker, but Kalma had always unconsciously wished for more.
And now that is exactly what Jaune and his friends were offering.
Although she would miss Indra dearly, the sixteen year old couldn't help but feel something she hadn't felt for a very long time: hope.
"Thank you… Thank you…" the former sixth seat repeated over and over as the dam within her mind finally broke, the tears and sobs coming with reckless abandon now.
And as Jaune returned her hug with his own, firm yet gentle, everyone there couldn't help but smile.
While things as they stood now were far from great overall, while things would likely remain that way for a long time, they didn't care. Because through it all, they'll have each other and that's what matters the most.
Meanwhile, with Naruto, the blond magus was currently with his wife, Hanako, and a few of his friends. Ryuichi, Mari, and Ozpin were with him within the confines of Ozpin's office, all of them having retreated there after yet another long day.
"It just never ends…" Mari spoke first with a sigh. She was looking a little haggard as were everyone else, even Naruto.
"To be expected in light of what'd happened," Ozpin replied, the man without his coffee cup for once. He'd been so busy working alongside the ancient magi in the wake of magic's reveal that he'd hardly had the time to indulge in his guilty pleasure. Nor did he feel the need to do so; he'd been so overwhelmed with work that he highly doubted coffee would be able to alleviate his ever increasing fatigue.
"True," Ryuichi then muttered, leaning back in his seat. Then he slowly leaned forward, looking to Naruto. "You alright, Naruto? Your body still sore?"
Naruto grimaced, which was answer enough.
When he'd used Da Capo Finale to finally take down Rogue Flame, he had deactivated Valhalla and returned to the real world thereafter, making sure to appear in a spot well away from people to avoid potentially being swarmed. This had been a wise move, for only five minutes after he'd done so, Da Capo Finale had worn off and his body had been wracked with immense pain far greater than anything he'd ever experienced before. That was the price that had to be paid for the rune he'd created. While it did tax his all but infinite mana reserves a fair bit, the 'unmerging' process was the true price to pay, Naruto's past selves being painfully ripped away and restored to their proper spots in time.
When he'd first ever created and used Da Capo Finale, the strain had been so unexpected and great that he'd been nearly unconscious for a whole day. But having had time to practice it a bit more, refine it some more, he'd grown used to the pain enough that now he could remain conscious without too much hassle. Unfortunately, it left his entire body feeling extremely sore even now, as if he'd pulled every single muscle in his body a dozen times over.
It certainly made moving around on his own a chore. However, his wife had certainly had no issue in helping him get from place to place in a timely fashion over the past five days. Miki had even gone as far as to wrap Naruto's arm around her waist whenever she helped him walk to places, always placing Naruto's hand very close to her shapely and muscular hips. Naruto himself had been far from upset with this, even taking slight advantage by having given his wife little playful pinches every now and then during their walks.
This had been perhaps the only thing keeping the blond magus sane and going throughout the fallout of that night. Ever since that night had come to an end and the public had gone crazy over the revealing of magic, he'd been overcome with the duty of damage control, a duty that his wife and the other ancient magi alongside Ozpin had been trying to follow through on.
Results had been… mixed to say the least.
On the one hand, despite the veritable hellfire of a media storm that had engulfed all of Remnant, it'd become pretty clear that not everyone had taken to magic badly. Some seemed genuinely thankful to the magi for stopping the Holy Knights. But of course, there those that were perhaps too thankful; already there was some talk of Naruto actually being a god, with the other ancient magi and magi in general being his apostles. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there were people calling for their heads, figuratively speaking, deeming them responsible for the fighting that broke out that night. The more extreme members of this group literally did call for their heads, a number of people having already made vocal their fear and hatred of magic despite it only having been revealed just days ago.
Then there were those that seemed to be in the middle ground, neither hating magic nor accepting, neither being grateful towards the ancient magi or thinking they're beings that need to be punished; these people still seemed to be more in a state of shock still, their minds still trying to come to terms with magic's existence. Only time will tell how the people that fall into this category will react for real.
That aside, all of them felt rather relieved that they've yet to hear of magic somehow making relations between humans and Faunus even worse. At least not yet, as far as they know.
Still, this was far from an ideal situation.
"What have the others said?" Hanako asked tiredly, the humanoid magical weapon looking like she was ready to fall asleep, yet somehow persisted.
"Yuko says she's been all but swarmed upon her return," Mari replied just as haggardly. "Takehiko's not been in touch yet and Masami is still digging into things pretty slowly. Daisuke's already sent word that things are just as crazy in the other kingdoms."
She was referring to the self-imposed tasks that their friends had taken up. Having returned home to Vacuo, Yuko had decided to gather info on the situation from a much more personal perspective by interacting with her fellow teachers from her school along with the children and their families. Thankfully for the red eyed magus, they all had so far seemed rather receptive of her identity as a magus being revealed, but the sheer number of questions they had regarding everything kept her busy. Takehiko, despite founding and running a club meant for a wealthier sort of crowd, was digging as deep as he could into the criminal underground. After all, not everyone that came into his club was of an upstanding sort, wealth and status notwithstanding as some of his customers had some interesting contacts. And so far they've yet to hear word from him as he no doubt was busy trying to figure out the full scope of things. There was a bit of a good sign in that crime seems to have stopped for the time being, though none of them knew how long that would last.
As for Masami, whereas Yuko sought out information on a public level while Takehiko handled the more criminal element, she used her status and position as CEO to figure out the more political and economic ramifications magic was having on the world. However, as stupefied as many of her fellow business partners and high class socialites were, they still liked to play things close to the chest at all times, their two faced natures making it hard even for the beautiful Masami to discern what, if any, intentions the wealthy and influential might have for magi and magic.
Daisuke, being the nomad that he is, had sought to use his Field Changer to scope out all of the other kingdoms and virtually every area in between, wishing to see just exactly how far the news had traveled and what the fallout was in every area that his friends couldn't cover. Of the four ancient magi, he was the one consistently calling in and reported that so far there wasn't a single populated spot that isn't aware of magic. Apparently, Vidar's transmission had reached very far indeed.
Taking into account all of this, everyone in the office groaned simultaneously. "There's too much going on too far," Ozpin stated, rubbing his temple as if to soothe himself. "Combined with the council and James still trying to do their own thing, we're sorely underequipped for this."
"Let's at least be thankful everyone doesn't know everything about magi…" Ryuichi tried to point out. And he raised a good point; while the world now knew of magic and the existence of magi, they still were in the dark about the existence of OOParts and their role in the awakening of magi, that only certain people were even born with innate magical abilities, and that magi tend to be pretty long lived. Ryuichi was certain that if people had somehow learned of these facts, there'd be a mad scramble for OOParts and for various reasons; no doubt some would desire them to become magi or others to try and destroy the OOParts. No doubt that some of the more extremist people would try to find out a way to root out those born with magical abilities and put them down or segregate them. No doubt others would try to find the OOParts and at least see if they can be used to make them longer lived.
As bad as things were now, it still could've been worse, is what Ryuichi silently thought.
It was also a though shared by everyone else. "Still doesn't make this much better… there's a lot more damage control to be done," Naruto commented. As glad as he was for what Ryuichi said, they all still couldn't afford to forget the momentous task they had.
"Alas, worrying about it won't do us much good," Ozpin replied, now trying to regain his long since crumbled composure. "All we can do is do the best we can. Didn't you say that to me once, Naruto? So long ago…"
Naruto looked to Ozpin and actually laughed a little. "I did. Never would've thought I'd hear my own words thrown right back at me."
Ozpin smirked a bit. "There's a first time for everything, I suppose." Slowly, the man began to stand. "…How about we all turn in early for the night? As crazy as things are, there's yet to be any riots or other outbreaks of mayhem occurring. At the very least, we can use a little rest to be better prepared and focused for the days and weeks ahead."
More like months and years, was what everyone else there silently thought as Ozpin finished speaking. But the headmaster of Beacon had a point. Bickering about things wouldn't do them any good nor would it do anyone else any good if they can't concentrate on this fallout.
"You're right," Mari agreed easily enough. She stood up, stifling a yawn in the process before gently grabbing her husband and pulling him to his feet. She yawned again as soon as she did so. "Gah… sure wish I could just go to sleep and wake up with all of this solved."
Ryuichi chuckled a little at his wife's words. "You and me both, honey…"
Mari simply smiled at his simple words and silently bid Naruto, Miki, and Hanako a good night before all but dragging Ryuichi with her out of the room. Ozpin silently followed after them, but not before he too said a brief good night to the remaining three.
Within the span of a mere moment, three people had just left almost abruptly and now it was just Naruto, his wife, and magical weapon within Ozpin's office.
"They're right, master… We could really use the sleep anyway," Hanako stated.
Naruto just grunted in response.
This made Hanako pout. "Master! You know that even you need to rest too! Your body is still really sore!"
"I know, I know…" Naruto now said, but still made no effort to get up and leave for his room. "Go on ahead, Hanako. Just give me a few minutes here…"
Hanako's pout vanished and a look of concern appeared on her face as she stared at her master for a solid minute. When the magus in question simply met her gaze and gave a microscopic nod, she sighed. "Okay…" she said a little reluctantly. Clearly, her master still couldn't help but think back on the battles those nights ago. Nonetheless, it seemed that he wasn't going to be swelling on that too much longer, so she could likely expect him and Miki to turn in for the evening soon enough.
Naruto and Miki waited silently as Hanako then got up and quietly left the room.
"And so there were two…" Miki commented a few seconds afterwards.
"Mhm." Naruto could only nod before looking to his right hand. It was the hand that he'd used to launch his ultimate move to defeat Rogue Flame for good.
Gungnir Divine Zero, the most powerful ability in his entire arsenal. Just as the bond between Hanako and him had allowed her to create Fenris Laevateinn, it had in turn allowed Naruto to create something new as well. Gungnir Divine Zero was said creation, a cross between Tatsuya's Overlimit Gungnir, Hanako's Laevateinn and his Da Capo Zero given form, an outpouring of mana that mixed with the previous two attacks to create something that could literally reduce anything it hits to absolute nothingness.
As such it was an attack so powerful, so absolute that not even something like Tatsuya's 'eternal' body granted passively by Das Rheingold or Rogue's Double Stock ability could offer adequate protection against it.
However, it wasn't necessarily the attack in and of itself that occupied Naruto's thoughts.
"Stop that," Miki suddenly said. "Please."
"Hmm? Stop what?" Naruto asked of his wife.
"You're wondering if you should've used your Da Capo Finale earlier, before Rogue had taken over for that guy," Miki answered. She and the others having been informed by Naruto of what had occurred between him and Vidar as well as Rogue's identity, she was now privy to what Vidar had done to reveal magic's existence. "You're wondering if maybe you'd do done so, none of this would be happening."
Naruto was rendered silent by this for several seconds before cracking a light smile. "Nothing gets by you, you know that?"
"Well, I am your wife," Miki stated.
"Mhm…" Naruto lowered his hand and sighed. "A bad habit of mine, thinking of 'what-ifs' like that. Still… I probably could've stopped this if I'd been more proactive."
"It's in the past now, Naruto," Miki said softly. "And not even your Da Capo Zero can fix that. You're letting what that guy said get to you."
"Maybe." Naruto couldn't help but dwell on what Vidar had said to him prior to them fighting, of just how much good magic could do for the world. Was the man perhaps right? As of now there seemed to be plenty of people that were all for magic in the wake of that night, but just what are their reasons for this support?
His thoughts were interrupted when Miki placed her hand over his. It was a gentle action, but firm as well, demanding his attention immediately.
"Stop." That was all his wife had to say.
It was enough to make Naruto chuckle weakly. "Sorry." He paused, closing his eyes in the process. But when he opened them a moment later, whatever doubts may have been plaguing him appeared to have vanished. "Hah… like I told Ozpin that one time, all we can do at times… is just do our best, right?"
Now Miki smiled. "That's right. I just wish he didn't have to say it aloud for you to get it."
Naruto chuckled again. "Hey, even I'm not immune to a little self-doubt, right?"
"True… none of us are. But we can't afford to be like this, not when things have only just begun," Miki said. "After your fight with Rogue was witnessed by everyone, you've become a symbol for all magi…" She trailed off.
Naruto nodded, immediately understanding what she was getting at. "Yeah, so I guess I'm going to have a lot of expectations to live up to now. For everyone's sakes."
Indeed, with his power now having been revealed in full to the world's eyes, there was no way he could possibly remain out of the limelight now. If he was to try and go into hiding or at the very least remain out of the public eye, there would be a lot of people looking for him for various reasons. That likely wouldn't turn out well.
Despite having hidden for so long so avidly among people, the ultimate magus had no choice now but to buck up and do what he can for not just magi, but for everyone else as well.
This thought was enough to make him shake his head in disbelief and amusement, if only at how much greater his duties had suddenly become. "Oh joy… all of the public appearances I'm going to have to make now," he partially joked. He had no idea what exactly people were saying about him or his friends, but the only way to squash rumors was to personally make an appearance and dispel them before said rumors could spiral out of control.
Miki giggled a little. "Well, I do hear that Lisa Lavender has been pestering for an exclusive interview," she remarked.
And unlike her husband, she was actually completely serious; ever since the end of that night, Vale's most iconic reporter had been hounding for an exclusive interview with any of the ancient magi, especially Naruto. She'd been doing so with a vigor that far exceeded even that of other callers, the rescue of herself and her friends from the White Fang goons by Ryuichi having instilled a fire in her unlike anything she's ever felt before. Witnessing Naruto's battle with Rogue had only stoked said fire even more, resulting in a figurative inferno that had left the reporter calling at all hours of the day relentlessly. It'd been driving Naruto and the others insane.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'll think on that. But in all honesty, I don't think I'm ready for dealing with someone that serious about her job."
This got a slight laugh out of both himself and Miki. It did wonders for the couple.
And so moments later after a little more talking, the two vacated the office and returned to their room to sleep.
They did so feeling much more at ease than just ten minutes ago, the little talk between them having alleviated their moods greatly.
For as daunting as things now stood – the various public responses to magic, their descendant Celine having been a Holy Knight, what militaries such as Atlas might do – they had the feeling that things would turn out okay if they just worked together and did the best they could.
With this in mind to keep them at ease, Naruto and Miki slept. And they slept well, ready to embrace the future ahead of them all, with all of its troubles and uncertainties and hopes.
END
Again, I can't believe I was able to complete yet another fic! What a ride this was for me!
Sorry if it seemed like this epilogue was a little lackluster though; I tried to address the main issues that would trouble them all for the future of Remnant in this fic. And as for the things I didn't elaborate on, well, I leave that to your imaginations!
With this now said, regarding my next fic, I honestly don't know what it'll be about or when I'll get started on it; in regards to the former, I have several ideas bouncing around in my head, all of which I really want to try out while in regards to the latter, I hope to start working on my 2nd original novel first for a while before even thinking of starting the next fanfic.
So on that particular note, I can't quite say when that'll be. At the very least though, I want to try and get at least a good 10 to 20 chapters for my original novel done before starting my next fanfic. But knowing myself, it could be before or after reaching such numbers.
In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this epilogue and thank you all once again for reading!
Until my next fic, everyone! Take care!
-Rialga.