Philosophy Class with Shin'en Sucks

Ta-da! Like I said, jumping back and forth.

To address a couple of Reviews:

Nnnn: Yes, this is a PJO/RWBY crossover because Shin'en is Percy from another timeline. He's from my Backup Plan trilogy.

Guest from Sep. 2: Well, if that's true, that's just sad.

Moving on, this will be the last filler-type chapter before we move into canon with the Argus Limited incident.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or RWBY

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Upon waking in the morning, the first thing Shin'en was the same thing he always did, and that was connect with the hydrosphere for the next ten miles so that he could take stock of his surroundings. What that meant was that he became attuned to all the water in that ten-mile radius, all the water in the air, the plumbing, in bodies, and so on, and he became aware of just about everything.

Yes, it was just as invasive and gross as you could probably imagine it to be, but its utility was inarguable.

Shin'en could feel all the bacteria, dirt, and dust floating around. He could feel all the bugs and vermin creeping and scurrying in the walls. He could feel the dogs and cats in alleyways, and all the wildlife beyond the walls of this city called Mistral.

Things in the privacy of people's homes weren't hidden from him by any means: people in the bathroom, showering, using the toilet, wiping, brushing and flossing their teeth. Parents waking their babies and toddlers up, all in various states of mental readiness to change diapers. Parents waking their small children and older kids, either excited to not have to wash pee-soaked bedding, disappointed they had to wash pee-soaked bedding, happy that the pull-up didn't leak, or wet beds weren't a factor at all in the morning routine, and it was just the struggle of waking up the kiddos and making breakfast.

In Shin'en's life, he had dealt with all of that and more.

Parents often didn't appreciate how merciful a wet bed was compared to one that had poop smeared all over it.

Of course, Shin'en was also aware of all the more personal and intimate details going on in someone's home, such as all the sex, and masturbation, and the girls and women waking up to find their periods had started in the night and they needed to get to work on laundry, and all the other females that had to change whatever hygiene product they used.

On the flipside of things, Shin'en was also aware of the kids and women that were chained in basements or locked in rooms, and the men being abused by their wives or girlfriends, and the kids being beaten or yelled at by their parent(s), and all other manner of evil. Thankfully, these were actually few and far between, but still present.

Shin'en would deal with that in a few minutes.

Right now, he had breakfast to prepare.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, if it isn't the Fellowship," Shin'en greeted the company of Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Qrow, and Oscar as they found their way to the cafeteria of Haven Academy, where a certified feast had been prepared.

"Huh?" was a common response, since none of them knew what the Lord of the Rings was.

Then there was Ruby.

"FOOOOOOOD!"

"Uh, what is all this?" Qrow asked, gesturing at the long table covered in breakfast.

Pancakes, waffles, French toast, eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, pork chops, chicken, fruits, milk, fruit juices, water, tea, cereal, donuts, bagels, syrup, butter, and just about anything else you could think of for breakfast. Shin'en had not spared the kitchen.

"This is food," said the demigod with a straight face. "You will need a hearty meal for today's festivities."

"Which would be…?" Weiss prompted.

Shin'en's smile was downright vicious. "I'm going to kick your asses."

After a tense breakfast, they all found themselves in one of Haven's many training rooms. Well, the biggest one they had, actually.

"Good morning, I hope you all slept well," Shin'en said, standing next to a boom box. "Today shall be a day of learning. You will teach me about the history of this world since my departure, and in turn, I will teach you about the world before this one. Not with sitting and talking, mind you. That's boring. Instead…we shall be engaging in combat."

There were mixed reactions, some excited and eager, other apprehensive.

Shin'en flipped on the boom box, and made everyone confused. The box played the sound of a crashing gong, and then a synth beat started up, and then a disembodied voice.

Test your might…test your might…

Shin'en rolled his shoulders and his neck, and brought his arms forward to roll his wrists. A smile began creeping across his face, and the whole thing was unnerving.

What was happening?

Test your might…test your might…

And then:

MORTAL KOMBAT!

Shin'en's foot collided with Qrow's chest as a throwback to their very first encounter. The impact broke the Huntsman's Aura, and the collision between his head and the ground knocked him out.

After he flew to the opposite side of the arena, of course.

Shin'en just went down the line after that, delivering on his promise to kick everyone's ass. He did so literally, in fact. His foot got firmly planted on everyone's buttcheek and sent them flying. None of the girls were spared having an outline of his boot on their butts.

Shin'en believed in true gender equality.

He also didn't show any mercy based on age, as he kicked Oscar's ass too.

In not even two seconds, everyone besides Shin'en and Qrow were limping around and having to lean on someone for support because of how bad the damage to their bottom was. Only because of their Aura were any of them actually able to stand, because if they didn't have that, Shin'en would have splintered their whole pelvis.

For his part, Shin'en looked genuinely perturbed. He shut off the music with a twitch of his finger (chakra thread), and cleared his throat. "I do apologize. I thought that I wouldn't need to manage my strength to such a degree."

"My butt…" Ruby whined, hanging off her big sister, who was leaning on the wall, trying to keep her weight on her right foot.

"Just how strong are you?" Yang demanded.

"I can lift a half a million tons like this."

Everyone's eyes popped out of their heads. They knew how much a ton was, and so half a million—500,000—was leaving them utterly flabbergasted. They were struggling to think of anything in the world that weighed that much, and the best anyone was coming with was maybe an Atlas airship, or a train. Then there was the "like this" comment. What did he mean by that?

"Is that what it's like being a demigod?" Blake asked through her winces as she and Weiss leaned on each other.

"Two-thirds god," Shin'en said. "Demi means half. To answer your question, more or less. Demigods are naturally stronger than most other beings since they are half god, but I'm the uppermost echelon for beings like me."

"How did you get that strong?" Jaune asked, unceremoniously lying on the ground on his side that didn't get kicked.

"Spinach," Shin'en answered. "A whole lot of spinach."

"There is no way that spinach made you that strong!"

"Well, like I said, I'm two-thirds god. Spinach is a divine delicacy, and it reacted well with my body. Lots of energy."

"How were you born two-thirds god?" Ren asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to.

"My mother was human, and my father was a god. Through my life, I've tapped into the divine side of my heritage so much that I've started blurring the boundary."

"Does that mean…you could become a full god?"

"Potentially, yes, but I have no intention of becoming a full god. I'm quite happy where I'm at. Anyway, that's enough questions of me. Time to get back to what we were doing."

"But we're crippled!" Weiss protested.

She wasn't too far off, actually. Their Aura might've protected their pelvis from being completely splintered, but everyone's bone was bruised. If you pulled their pants down, you'd see a rather horrifying bruise of green and purple on their bottom in the shape of a boot. The damage had effectively limited their mobility to where all of them could barely stand.

"Nonsense," Shin'en dismissed. "A little bit of pelvic bruising is all. Easily remedied."

He proved what he meant by that when he pulled water from the air around them and had it zoom from person to person, invading their personal space and their dignity. The water would settle on their butt and briefly glow before moving to another person, and after the water left, all the damage had been healed and the person in question could walk normally again.

"That's…" Blake struggled to find the words to describe instantaneous water-based healing.

"Incredible," Weiss said.

"Amazing," Nora offered.

"Now I can sit down again!" Ruby cheered.

"Of course," Shin'en's voice cut above them all, "I'm sure you all realize what this means, yes?"

"You can hit us really hard and then just heal us again?" Ren guessed.

"Correct."

The good guys, sans Qrow, lost all color in their face.

Shin'en flipped on the boom box again with a toothy smile.

MORTAL KOMBAT!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A great deal was learned in the two weeks leading to the group's departure to Argus.

Weiss was an expert in Dust, Blake an expert in the history of the Faunus, Qrow an expert on the Grimm, Ozpin an expert in the history of Remnant, and everyone else had enough knowledge to be considered well-rounded. Shin'en conducted his history lessons through combat, asking his questions while fighting, and also teaching.

It was only days into their extended stay in Haven Academy that Qrow approached Shin'en in private.

"You have kids, don't you? Or at least, you've trained kids. A lot of them."

"What makes you think that?" Shin'en asked.

"The way you are around those kids," Qrow gestured in the general direction of the other dorms where the girls and boys were turning in for the evening. "You know how to teach them without berating them or tearing them down. You know how to criticize them while building them up. You know how to keep the mood light but the tone serious. You hold back enough to make the fight interesting, let them think they have a chance, help them build their confidence, but you could crush them like bugs whenever you wanted. You have experience teaching kids how to fight to protect themselves and others."

"Thank you," Shin'en said. "You are correct. I have trained many children in my life."

"Just how long have you been alive? You said it's been three thousand years since your time and now. Are you really that old?"

"I don't know," Shin'en answered truthfully. "Where I live, and what I do…time is strange there. It doesn't move in a linear fashion as in one hour after the other, one day, then the next day, then the next, etc."

"…what the fuck does that mean?"

Shin'en snorted. "The easiest way to explain it is that I live in a slipspace dimension where time flows in a highly irregular frame of reference to all other planes of reality."

Qrow stared at Shin'en. "I haven't had enough to drink yet," he decided.

The demigod produced a bottle of the good stuff. "The kids here knew how to hide their spirits."

In truth, the bottle actually came from Lionheart's private stash in his office, but that wasn't important. Wasn't like the late headmaster needed it.

Qrow's eyes almost sparkled at seeing the whiskey. "That they did."

After so many shots, the Huntsman's cheeks were tinged red.

"You ever fucked a woman in the ass?" Qrow slurred.

"My sexual activities are of no concern of yours," Shin'en said, sober as when he woke up.

"I tried that once—once. Damn whore didn't even—hic—have the common courtesy to…to…ah…was it even a woman…? I don't remember. Place had some—hic—good liquor, I tell ya. Anyway, rammed that bitch from behind and got shit on my dick! One of the—hic—worst experiences of my life."

"Indeed."

"Wha 'bout you? Ever get shit…on your dick?"

"My wife farted on me while we were spooning. That's the closest I have ever come to having fecal material on my penis."

"Lucky man." Qrow belched. "Were you lucky enough to be born an only child?"

"No. I had a twin sister older than me by twelve minutes. She died a long time ago."

Even drunk, Qrow still paused to look at Shin'en to make sure he hadn't just touched a nerve that would result in him actually dying this time. However, there were no shadows over Shin'en's eyes, no cold look on his face, and there was nothing in his posture or general atmosphere that set off alarm bells in Qrow's mind. Instead, Shin'en was totally cool, calm, and collected.

"Like I said, she passed a long time ago. I have had ample time to grieve and mourn, make peace with the fact that she's gone and there's nothing I can do about that, and move on with life. It was a harder thing to actually do than what I make it sound like, though."

"I…see…"

"When things settle, you will reconnect with your sister, Raven, while you still can."

It wasn't a suggestion, or a question, but an instruction, and given how easily Shin'en could beat his ass into the ground, Qrow was steeply inclined to obey.

It was still a scary thought that this guy who only looked a few years older than Yang was actually some uber-powerful demigod from a time in which different gods ruled the world and things were vastly different.

It was still a very scary thought that this guy who only looked a few years older than Yang was actually the little kid from over ten years ago that had showed up out of nowhere, saved Summer's life, and then vanished without a trace.

"I will, yeah," Qrow said.

After finishing the whiskey in his glass, the Huntsman left for bed.

The next day, Shin'en got to inspect the technological advancement of Remnant when Yang punched at him with her mechanical arm during training, and he caught her fist, kicked her away, and ended up tearing off her arm.

"Impeccable workmanship," Shin'en said, inspecting the prosthetic. "Fully functioning neurobiological interface, and tailormade to be compatible with your fighting style. Let's see…magazine, barrel, and-"

Bzzzzzz

The hand, specifically the pointer and middle fingers, started to softly vibrate.

Shin'en stared at the arm before slowly moving his eyes up.

Yang's face was redder her than her eyes when her Semblance was active. Blake's ears were flat against her head, her eyes wide, and she had a hand over her mouth. Weiss had a similar expression to Blake's, with her glacial blue eyes wide as saucers, and her free hand was covering her mouth. Ren was wide-eyed and pale, while Jaune was having flashbacks of when he accidently found one of his big sister's toys that did the same thing. Nora and Qrow were both trying to hold in their laughter, while Oscar was confused and Ozpin didn't want to explain it.

Then there was Ruby. "I knew your arm had a Scroll function that let you take calls!"

"Y-Yep," Yang said in a weak voice. "That's…what that does!"

Her eyes were pleading for help when she looked at Shin'en.

The demigod proceeded to hold the robotic arm up to his ear after he hit the button to turn off the vibration. "Hello? She's not available at the moment, but I can take a message. Of course. Good day to you as well."

"Who was it?" Ruby asked.

"Scam caller," Shin'en answered as he tossed the arm back to Yang, who reattached it while staring at the ground. "Wanted to talk to Yang about her car's extended warranty."

"I've gotten calls like that before," Ruby said, "and I'm always like, I don't even have a car! I have Crescent Rose!"

"Indeed."

Later that night, after Ruby had gone to the bathroom, Blake looked over and asked what else Yang's arm could do, much to Weiss's mortification, and Yang's embarrassment.

As the days progressed, Shin'en did answer certain questions regarding the bygone era of the Shinobi. He told them about the old gods, the Shinto. Izanagi, Izanami, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susano'o, Kagutsuchi, and so on. He revealed that his godly father was Susano'o, the god of storms, which was technically a lie since his actual godly father was Poseidon, but Shin'en knew these people weren't ready for the existential crisis brought on by multidimensional knowledge.

Shin'en gave an abridged history of Izanagi planting the God Tree, the woman Kaguya that ate the fruit and obtained the power of the gods, how Izanagi cheated on his wife with Kaguya and had the demigod twins Hagoromo and Hamura, how Kaguya more or less lost her mind when the people rebelled against her, how the twins had to do battle with her in the name of justice, they won, and then Hagoromo used the power of his mother to create the nine Tailed-Beasts, and how he used his own power to spread chakra through the world.

That big, long, mostly factual story just to explain what chakra was and how the general populace got it.

And then how they used it to slaughter each other in droves for centuries on end after Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, finally died of old age, during what was historically known as the Warring Clans era.

Shin'en explained the advent of Hashirama Senju and his powerful Wood Style jutsu, and Madara Uchiha and his powerful Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Widely regarded as gods in their own right, the two men founded the first of what would be called the Hidden Villages, the Hidden Leaf Village, as a stab at peace in the world through unification between the Senju and Uchiha clans. Other clans followed suit, coming together to form their own Hidden Villages, those main ones being the Hidden Sand, Hidden Stone, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Mist.

Peace was brokered through Hashirama's Wood Style being able to subdue the Tailed Beasts, and the Uzumaki's clan Sealing Jutsu being able to contain the Beasts, leading to a power balance created by distributing the creatures amongst the villages. The Hidden Sand was given the One-Tail, the Hidden Cloud got the Two and Eight-Tails, the Hidden Mist got the Three and Six-Tails, the Hidden Stone got the Four and Five-Tails, a small yet large village known as the Hidden Waterfall was given the Seven-Tails, and the Hidden Leaf kept the Nine-Tails.

Then Hashirama died barely ten years later and the Great War broke out between the villages over a resource smash-and-grab. The Great War was later renamed the First Great Ninja War, because the Second Great Ninja broke out twenty years after the first, largely due in part to struggling economies. Then, it would be thirty years after that that the Third Great Ninja War started, because all the smaller countries got tired of being the battlegrounds of the Great Nations and their cold war skirmishes, and so started their own conflicts along the various borders until full-scale war once again broke out, and alliances were quickly formed on the grounds of "you help us in the war and we'll protect your lands from the enemy."

The Third Great Ninja War saw numbers of child soldiers as young as eight not seen since the Warring Clans period.

Thrown somewhere in the middle of all that were explanations behind chakra and its functionality, various jutsu, various people like Hanzo the Salamander, the Sannin Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, kekkei genkai, doujutsu, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his sensei Tobirama Senju, who was Hashirama's younger brother, and Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of the Hidden Leaf whose teleportation jutsu made him so feared that he practically ended the Third War by himself, and such exploits earned him the title of Fourth Hokage after Hiruzen retired.

Shin'en also explained how shinobi operated, which wasn't a difficult task since even in Remnant, ninja were a thing…somehow. However, ninja in Remnant existed in romance novels and children's programs. Back in Shin'en's time, children could be hired to assassinate authors and producers. There were laws against such things today.

With the abridged history of the Shinobi Era more or less delivered, it was safe to say that nobody wanted to go back and live in that time, and they were glad such times were over. Grimm were terrible, yes, but having an enemy like the Grimm was much more preferable to having an enemy that was a child.

At least the Grimm were pure. They weren't motivated by greed, lust, pride, delusions of grandeur, or a bonus on their paystub. They acted only the basic instinct to destroy—and they did not discriminate. Human or Faunus, rich or poor, young or old, smart or stupid, gay or straight, religious or nonreligious—it didn't matter. If wasn't basic wildlife or other Grimm, they would destroy it.

Shinobi, on the other hand…it was like all the human problems Remnant still faced, but so much worse. At least Remnant didn't go through three world wars in a hundred years. It was rather hard to go to war when you had the constant threat of Grimm all over the place.

Of course, there were the questions of what exactly did Shin'en do. He had said that he had been a "passionate young person scheming in the shadows," but what did that mean? He said he was the demigod son of Susano'o—was he treated like royalty from birth or something, being the child of a god? Were there other demigods?

And perhaps the biggest question of all: what happened to make the Shinto gods leave?

To these personal questions, Shin'en answered exactly zero of them.

He reserved his right to only answer what he wanted to answer.

The good guys didn't have that luxury.

As such, Shin'en's life continued to be the number one mystery in the lives of the good guys, and the potential answers to those questions continued to be a source of unease amongst most. Just who was Shin'en Yūrei? What had he done?

Answers that would come later, because it came to pass that on the day before the team was due to set out of the Argus Unlimited to begin their journey to Atlas to join up with James Ironwood, Shin'en hit everyone in the face with ice cold reality.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shin'en didn't really mean to become the hurricane upon the parade. It was just who he was given all that he had been through, all that he had seen, all that he had experienced, and all that he believed and taught the many children that had been under his care.

After Ruby's inspiring speech about how they were all going to defeat Salem and save the world, the demigod had lost all mirth as he adopted an erect posture with a stoney countenance.

"Is that so?" Shin'en asked in a neutral tone. "You will defeat Salem, and that's that? The world will become a better place in the next instant?"

"Well, I mean…yeah?" Ruby shifted from foot to foot. "Isn't Salem, like, the master of the Grimm? If she dies, then they all die?"

It was Ozpin that answered as he took over Oscar. "No, Ms. Rose. Unfortunately, as much as I would love to say otherwise, the Grimm will not go extinct with Salem's death. Remember the fairy tail? Grimm were created by the God of Darkness. They rise from the black pools in the Land of Darkness."

Ruby nodded at this, undeterred. "Then after Salem, we'll destroy all those pools."

Ozpin looked at Shin'en, and Shin'en looked at Ozpin, and in that moment, they both understood each other. Deeply.

Their conversations had actually been quite limited these past two weeks, since both knew the other was hiding something, and both were gauging what that was and just each other was. However, in that look they shared, they might as well have been best friends their whole lives.

With that look, they understood that they were old souls that had seen many things, including the abundant optimism that Ruby exuded like solar radiation. Including in all those things they had seen, however, was how that optimism usually lead to soul-crushing cynicism whenever reality set in. Oh, sure, destroying Salem and eradicating the Grimm would be great leaps forward towards a better future for everyone, but unfortunately, there was so much more than just those things that had to be done.

Ozpin knew it, but he was more content to let the kids hold on to that optimism, and let them have happy dreams and bright hopes for the future—while they still could.

Shin'en didn't. He made sure that the kids he trained knew well what kind of near-hopeless and miserable endeavor they were getting into when it came "saving the world."

"Very well," the demigod said. "Before you go diving headfirst into such a grand noble endeavor, let's make sure you know exactly what you're getting into."

The atmosphere changed in the academy. Suddenly there was a chill in the air, the lights seemed dimmer, the shadows longer, and Shin'en was no longer…well…happy. He was a degree of serious no one had seen him be at yet, and it was scary.

"Let's delve into the realm of hypotheticals," Shin'en continued. "Let us say that you succeed. You have destroyed Salem and these Grimm pools, and every Grimm on the planet dies. There are no more Grimm, and no more grand threats to humanity. Now what?"

Ruby shifted. "Um…well…I could become a teacher…?"

"A teacher?" Shin'en mused with a cocked brow. "What are you going to teach? All you know is how to fight Grimm, but there aren't anymore Grimm. You killed them all."

Ruby shifted in the opposite direction, because now she appreciated that without Grimm, she'd be out of a job. In fact, all the Huntsmen and Huntresses would be out of a job. They dedicated their lives to fighting the Creatures of Grimm, but if there were no more Grimm to fight, then what would they do…?

Weiss stepped up, and spoke with confidence. "We'd enter into an age of peace and prosperity. Now that we don't have to worry about Grimm, we can focus our resources on technological advancement. Medicine, communications, farming, transportation, and more."

Shin'en hummed. "And how are the Faunus going to fit into all this?"

Weiss promptly lost her confidence as the demigod brought up what was inarguably Problem Number One in this hypothetical post-Salem/post-Grimm world.

Everyone felt uncomfortable now that the glaring socio-political problem was brought before them, and no one had a concrete answer.

"Unfortunately, children, killing Salem and eradicating the Grimm will not magically improve the general public opinion of the Faunus. They will still have their plot of dirt that is Menagerie, they will still have their limited lawful rights that are stomped upon as we speak, and they will still be viewed as inferior to humans due to whatever reason anyone can think of. That being said, there is a solution for every problem, so—what do you suggest? Ms. Belladona, perhaps? In this hypothetical world we are constructing where there is no Salem and there are no more Grimm, what do you want to see for your species?"

Blake's answer was almost immediate. "I want to see my people-"

"Stop."

Blake jerked backwards as if Shin'en had actually slapped her. "What?"

"Before you go any further, please define who your people are. Are the Faunus who want to see mankind groveling at their feet and begging forgiveness, with themselves as the rightful rulers of the planet, included in your people?"

"Of course not! Those Faunus are extremists and will make things worse for everyone!"

"Agreed. As you were saying."

"What even was the point of that question?"

"I'll come back to it. Continue."

Blake swallowed. "I want to see my people treated with fairness and equality. I want them to be able to live anywhere they want without being ostracized or discriminated. I want them to have the same opportunities that humans have when it comes to employment, education, and government. I want them to have voices in government, to be able to hold offices and represent the Faunus."

"You want them to have freedom and liberty."

"Yes, exactly!"

Shin'en gave her a hard stare. "And how would you go about that? Legislation? Because that's worked out so very well, hasn't it?"

Blake shrank in on herself as cold reality settled on her shoulders.

"More legislation, perhaps?" Shin'en continued. "Maybe for all your hard work and effort in killing Salem and the Grimm, the world recognizes you as a great hero—despite being a Faunus—and you are able to secure a spot and the, shall we say, New World Council, being renowned as a champion of Faunus rights. With your new office, you make it law that businesses, schools, and whatever can no longer discriminate against the Faunus. You make it so that businesses have to hire a certain number of Faunus. Schools have to have a certain number of Faunus attendees….What are you going to do about the opposition?

"What will be your counter to those humans who shout and stamp their feet at you for trampling on their rights? How dare you force employers to hire Faunus just because they're Faunus. How dare you force schools to accept Faunus just because they're Faunus. Don't you know that Faunus are dangerous because of their teeth, and claws, and tails? How could you put human kids in danger by making them go to school with those animals that could tear them apart. Then what are you going to do about those employers that hire Faunus, and then give them the shit detail? Dangerous demolition jobs, high-risk plant jobs dealing with chemicals and electricity, unsafe mine shafts, and so on. Then, of course, what of those extremist Faunus you mentioned earlier? What will you do when things eventually spiral out of control, and for all your efforts in trying to bring freedom and liberty to the Faunus, you only bring more tension and chaos?"

Blake was staring at the ground, her spirits utterly crushed as she felt indescribably cold. "I…I don't…I don't know…"

Shin'en hummed. "Does anyone have any hopeful ideas? Ozpin, maybe?"

Through Oscar, Ozpin gripped his staff as everyone turned to look at him, Blake being the most desperate of all.

"It is a daunting task to be sure," Ozpin said. "Perhaps even more daunting than the one we face now, but it is by no means an impossible task. Do not despair, Ms. Belladona-"

"But how?" Blake demanded. "We won our revolution, but nothing's changed! Faunus are still spit on and sneered at, and they're still bullied in schools! I saw Cardin picking on Velvet at Beacon!"

"And what did you do about that?" Shin'en asked.

Blake went quiet.

The whole arena went quiet, because everyone besides Qrow and Ozpin had been there that day in the cafeteria when they all just sat there and let Velvet fend for herself. A person had been in need of help, a Faunus, and they all just sat there. They lamented how it was awful for a Faunus to be treated that way, yet they did nothing about it.

Shin'en looked back at Ozpin. "You were saying something?"

"I was, yes. What we desire is a great change, and it will not be accomplished with violence nor isolation. It will be a tremendous challenge for both sides. Humans will have to let go of their hate, mistrust, and prejudice, and the same is true of the Faunus. Only through perseverance and understanding will peace be found between the two."

Such an answer met with mixed receptions in the good guys. Some were inspired, some were more cynical.

Shin'en continued. "Let's move on in our hypothetical world. Salem has been destroyed, the Grimm extinct, and now we shall add terrific human/Faunus relations. No more racism in any facet, as both sides now love each other as kin. Another great leap to a better tomorrow, yes? With all that technological advancement Weiss spoke of. Now, what about the little guys?"

Jaune was almost afraid to ask. "The little guys?"

"Yes, the little guys. You have saved the world from Grimm, brought peace between the Faunus and humans, are improving technology for all, now what about the little guys? Criminal organizations aren't going to disappear in this beautiful new world of yours. You will still have thieves, murderers, syndicates, cartels, etc., and we can't forget those pesky corrupt politicians nor those evil corporations, right? Drugs on the streets, children being trafficked across the globe to be used as sex toys for depraved rich people, bandit tribes preying on travelers—so on and so forth. Ironically enough, kids, when you save this world and everyone in it, you'll also be saving some of the vilest scum imaginable, and thanks to you, they will continue with their evil deeds. How are you going to handle that on your conscience?

"And what are you going to do about these individuals? Execute them? Imprison them? Where are you going to get the money for the prisons? Taxes? Are you going to make the people pay for the housing, healthcare, meals, and safety of criminals? In this new world, what kind of justice system are you going to implement? How are you going to make sure that it isn't corrupted, that judges and lawyers aren't swayed by money or public opinion, and that juries remain protected from threats like blackmail, extortion, or intimidation, and that evidence is gathered honestly and also remains protected, free from tampering?"

As Shin'en continued pouring it on and utterly flaying everyone's hopes and dreams by using nothing more than the sheer reality of the world they lived in, morale was rapidly approaching zero, and even showing signs of dipping into the negatives. Even the ever bubbly Ruby looked pale and gaunt, struggling to find even the most naïve of responses.

"Please stop…"

Shin'en looked at the haunted Nora. "No," he said with absolute finality.

With a breath, he continued.

"Unfortunately, this is not some children's fantasy book or television program. This is the real world, and defeating the primary antagonist does not magically bring about peace everlasting. If you defeat Salem, you still have Grimm. If you destroy the Grimm, you still have the Faunus situation. If you resolve the Faunus dilemma, then you have a whole slew of other problems to deal with, problems you enabled because you—and I cannot stress this enough—saved the world.

"When you save the world, all you have really done is preserve the systems that are already in place. Crime, corruption, racism, etc. The caveat, children, is that after you save the world, then you must be active in its affairs if you really want to make it a better place, and that is where things get unfathomably difficult. However you plan to tackle a situation, there will be people who support you, and people who oppose you, and those people will go out of their way to make more problems for you just because they don't like you, or whatever you did is seen as a personal slight against them despite how erroneous that is, and they wont listen to reason simply because they want an excuse to cause mayhem. Get revenge.

"But let's say you pull it all off. Let's wrap up our hypothetical world, shall we? Salem has been destroyed, and the Grimm are now extinct, neither of them will ever return. Faunus and humans now live in total harmony together, their divisions now only a bad memory. Even better, you have successfully brought the world into a state of utopia, where there are no criminals, where no need is unmet and no want can't be fulfilled within reason. Everyone is happy and healthy, including all of you…and your families. Yes, now that peace has been achieved, you can all settle down now with your partner. Maybe you'll discover romantic feelings for each other, or maybe you have yet to meet your true love, but whatever the case, now you can settle down, have children, and watch them grow up. And then, because everything is so peaceful and prosperous, you even get to see your grandchildren grow to adulthood….

"But then something happens. Perhaps the climates undergoes a massive shift, bringing droughts, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, or maybe the tectonic plates violently shift and trigger massive earthquakes across the planet, and send gigantic tsunamis at all the coasts. Maybe old feuds are brought back, with some Faunus rallying others behind them to make a bid for a world in which humans are subservient to the Faunus, or vice versa with the humans. Or maybe…somehow Salem returns-" Shin'en had adopted a faint smirk and a little glimmer in his eye, like that was some kind of joke, but how that was supposed to be funny was anyone's guess "-or maybe the Grimm come crawling out of some deep reservoir that no one knew about. Maybe none of these things. Maybe some charismatic individual will rise up and want to establish a new world order for no other reason than because they simply want to see the world plunged into chaos.

"Of course, lets not discount those grandkids of yours. Maybe they want to do things differently than their grandmas, and so they seek to implement change. Or maybe only some want to change things, and the others oppose them, and then there's a schism. A great split down the middle, or however you can think to slice it, and the people take their sides as the lines are drawn. As each side digs deeper and deeper, the tensions running higher and higher, someone finally lights the match and ignites the powder keg: war. A great war finally breaks out before any of you are even dead, but are now old and withered, your hair the color of snow, your bodies too weak to fight. Then you get to bear witness to the most horrible tragedy of all: the peaceful world you all fought so hard to make, utterly destroyed by your own grandchildren…"

And the way that Shin'en said that last line made it abundantly clear that he had personal experience with that.

He cleared his throat and straightened his back.

"Do not be mistaken, though. With enough willpower and dedication, and with your powers and passion, the world you seek can be made. You can defeat Salem, destroy the Grimm, bring peace between the humans and Faunus, implement systems of justice that bring down corrupt leaders and crooked companies, and develop great technological marvels that eliminate poverty, hunger, disease, and more. You can make the utopia you desire for your children…but do not be mistaken about this, either: the world you seek to make cannot be maintained.

"No matter your efforts or your safeguards, everything will fall apart. Decay is the natural progression of things, and your utopia will be no different. In time, chaos and calamity will return, and then everything will be back to square one, and it will be as if none of you did anything at all to make the world a better place."

Yang's fists clenched. Her eyes started to tinge on red as her frustration with the apparent futility of it all started to get to her. "Then what are we supposed to do!?" she demanded. "Just—not do anything at all? Just throw our hands up, Well, it's all going to be for nothing anyway, so might as well just retire early."

"I never said that," Shin'en answered calmly. "My entire discourse just now to make sure you all know exactly what you're getting yourself into when you say you want to be heroes and save the world. There's a lot more to saving the world than defeating some great evil force. There are other pockets of evil, and if you don't address them, they will grow and fester like a cancer, and it will be your fault because you saved those evil pockets, but didn't do anything about them. I'm making sure that you all understand that being a hero is a grueling and brutal life that will destroy you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually if you aren't strong enough to weather the onslaught. Are you sure that's the life you want? That after Salem, you will then have to contend with the Grimm and a thousand other problems, all of which will require you to sacrifice your wants for the needs of others? And then, even after you have achieved world peace, are you prepared to watch it all unravel before you even die?"

After so many moments of utter silence, Ruby whispered something under her breath.

Shin'en heard what she said, and he needed her to say it louder so he could launch into part two of his lesson. "Louder, please, Ms. Rose."

Ruby looked up at him. "That can't be it!" she insisted. "We work so hard to save the world and make it a better place, and then it just falls apart again—that can't be it!"

Shin'en smiled, but it was not a kind smile, or a mean one. "You are correct. Ms. Rose. It is true that you can make the world a better, safer place, and it is true that your efforts will be undone by others. However, given time, even those efforts will be undone. It is a cycle, children. Times of strife will end in times of peace as good men and women stand up and do what needs to be done. Then those times of peace will end in times of strife as bad men and women stand up and commit to evil. Then those times will end in peace, then strife, then peace, strife, peace, strife—ad infinitum. Now, let me ask you this: is that the kind of world you want? A constant back-and-forth struggle with your grandchildren, and their grandchildren after them, and even their grandchildren, all caught in the middle until some higher power decides they don't like humanity or the Faunus, and so wipes them all out in their entirety?"

Ruby's mouth tightened. "No."

"No?"

"No," Ruby said again. "I don't want that kind of world, where other kids have to risk their lives to save the day. I want…I want a world that will stay good. Forever."

"Impossible," Shin'en said. "Unless you ascend to godhood and live forever, and use your divine power to be an active agent in the affairs of the mortals, executing judgement upon the wicked, rewarding the righteous, bringing rain to the farmers, and all other manner of things that are considered to be 'good,' it is impossible for the world to stay forever good, because the people in the world cannot stay good. You would have to reach inside of every man, woman, and child on the planet, and change their souls on the fundamental level to always be selfless, gallant, humble, calm, patient, and more, so that they are always good people, and that, Ruby, leads to the ethical conundrum of free will. Is it better to have free will, and be able to choose to do good, or to do evil, or is it better to not have free will, and everyone is good all the time?"

Ruby swallowed, not at all prepared for a question as heavy as that today.

"Do you understand now?" Shin'en asked.

"I…I think so…" Ruby hesitated.

"Tell me what you understand."

"…there's a lot do after we defeat Salem, and we have to do it, because if we don't, then we didn't really do anything to change things for the better, but even if we do all of it, someone else will come along and make things bad again…"

"But?"

"…but someone else will come along and makes things good again…and then someone bad…then someone good, then someone bad, and then someone good again. Over and over. A cycle."

"And?"

Ruby's mouth set into a thin line. "And that's not good. Constantly circling back to people fighting and killing each other isn't good."

"Astute observation. What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do about anything a hundred years from now, but I know that's not an excuse to give up on tomorrow. I'm not going to be around forever, so while I'm here, I'm going to do everything I can to make the world better. For everyone. Human and Faunus. I don't care what it takes or how much it costs me, I won't give up."

Shin'en stared at her for a few tense, silent seconds, before he brought his hands from behind him and started to clap. Not sarcastically, sardonically, or patronizingly, but genuinely. His eyes even shown with something akin to pride. "Well done, Ruby Rose, well done. That is the correct answer."

Shin'en addressed them all.

"There is an old prayer: Lord, please give the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; please give me the courage to change the things I can; and please give me the wisdom to know the difference. There is nothing any of you can do about anything that happens in your advanced age, and after you die. But while you are of able mind and body, there is a responsibility that comes with having the powers that you do. Of much is given, much is required, and wherever you can use your powers to help others, you must do so. Do you understand this?"

Everyone from young Oscar to dusty old Qrow nodded their heads with sounds of affirmation.

"Good," Shin'en said. "Very good."

"Hey, Shin'en?"

"Yes, Ms. Rose?"

"That's what you tried to do, isn't it? When you say you were a passionate young person that schemed from the shadows, you mean you tried to break that cycle so that all the suffering would permanently end."

Shin'en considered the question. "Correct," he finally admitted.

"…did it…did it work?"

"Ruby. Does it look like it worked?"

"No, I guess not."

Shin'en nodded. "This concludes today's lesson. Your homework is to think about what I said, apply it to how your world works, and then decide for yourself what you want to do with your lives. Tomorrow, we leave for Argus so we can make it to Atlas. When that happens, your childhoods will officially be over, and you will all be adults. That is because kids cannot save the world. They are too inexperienced and ignorant to appreciate the enormity of the task that is being a hero, and often run away from responsibility to cling to the comfort of personal pursuits. Not you. All of you now understand what is required of a hero, and now you have the rest of the day and the night to make the adult decision if that's something you really you want to be when you grow up."

After looking everyone in the eye, Shin'en turned and left them to their devices.

It was a big day tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Whew, college does take a toll. Between class time, homework time, and having to go to work, whenever I finally find the free time, I'm just like, 'Urgh.'

So, yeah. Slower updates.

How was Shin'en's discourse on reality and heroes? Accurate? Too edgy? Can any of my veteran followers surmise where he derives such a philosophy? And what's all this about kids (plural) that Shin'en keeps mentioning? Just how many kids does he have now?

Minor spoilers: a whole bunch, but only very few of them are actually his.

The answer lies in the past. Eight years ago, to be exact.

You could say this chapter is in memoriam to my start as an author eight years and five days ago.

Happy birthday to Backup Plan!

Switching gears here, the next story to be updated will be Dragon Princess, and I am open to suggestions about whatever AU Chaos decided to integrate Marina into. I have my own idea, but I am open to everyone else's.

In the meantime, please Fav, Follow, and Review!