Onwards, to an Everchanging World

The next few weeks were a blur of events.

The failure of the guards to prevent Fukuro from entering the portal outraged both the heads of the Draconic Balance and North Wind styles, who stripped the guards from their titles and forced them to go through disciplinary action.

The murderer who caused the event in the first place was eventually caught after proper deciphering of the magicule traces from the detectives, and the town soon came to focus more on the kids.

Yoruhi’s and Tatsuko’s injuries were smaller, and so they were quickly patched by Altair on the spot, while Ryuji, who had major injuries, had to be taken to a professional medic who used their magic to slowly repair the cut across his chest.

He was now on a way to a full recovery, however, the cut would prove to be extremely deep, and it would remain a scar on his body forever. Ryuji didn’t mind it, and took it as a mark of pride that showed his valor in protecting his friends, and his father who was super proud of him, agreed.

Word began to spread across town about the three little kids who went in and survived inside the Nightmare Realm, and their story was told on the newly formed news channels on the TV. They pestered the kids for details, but they just remained silent about the whole ordeal, as advised by Vivian.

“They really need to make new laws about interrogating kids,” Vivian said, “all this new technology and no protections…”

Vivian also gave Tatsuko a good reprimanding for pulling off the stunt, but she told her she was also proud that she cared so much about her scouting partner, for that’s what good assassins did.

Her parents on the other hand, were not so eager about their daughter's shenanigans, and so they grounded her for a month. During this time period, she was unable to meet with Altair, who didn’t make any attempts to visit her either. Their relationship remained strained until the grounding period was over, and Tatsuko made it her goal to visit Altair first.

During the month of the Harvest Moon, Tatsuko found Altair sitting alone at the top floor of the library, and she nervously went to confront her.

“Altair…” she quietly murmured.

Altair silently looked at her, but her expression remained emotionless.

“Altair… I just want to say that I’m sorry,” Tatsuko started, “I really, really, shouldn’t have said those things to you, and they were extremely insensitive… And my distress over Fukuro was not an excuse to say that about you, and I want to let you know that those words weren’t how I really feel about you.”

“But you know you said them anyway right?” Altair quietly asked.

“Yes.”

“And you know that when words are said, they can’t be easily taken back, right?”

“Yes…”

“And that you really, really, are a big dumb idiot, for letting yourself say that, right?”

“Yes…” Tatsuko’s voice croaked. “You were right. I'm the biggest idiot in the world, who doesn’t ever think about the consequences of her actions… nor words. I’m always making big, stupid mistakes… and so that’s why I want to spend every day making it up to you… I’m really, really sorry Altair.”

Tears began to well up in her eyes, and this time, Altair stood up to hug her.

“There,” she said. “That’s the kind of hug you always wanted right?”

Tatsuko silently nodded through her tears.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

“It’s okay,” Altair said, “I forgive you. As long as you don’t ever say that again okay?”

Tatsuko nodded.

After they let go of their embrace, Tatsuko wiped the tears from her eyes and asked, “You know how I said I always wanted to have a sister back when we first met?”

“Yeah,” Altair said with a smile.

“That desire hasn’t changed.”

And so the two friends forgave each other, and were willing to give their friendship another shot. Meanwhile, Yoruhi’s bond with his mentor began to increase after their spectacular tag-team attack, and he began to practice more combos with Arien.

“After you learn the technical aspect of casting magic, it all comes down to your imagination for how powerful it is,” Arien explained to him. “So feel free to get creative.”

The two of them go on to create a few more styles of casting, ranging from flamethrowers to artillery-style firing.

One day however, Arien came to visit him at the estate and gave him a respectful bow. It had been a year since the incident in the Nightmare Realm and had been 5 years since they had first started training together. Yoruhi, now ten, sensed that the day was coming soon, and he was prepared for the news upon seeing his mentor.

“I will be returning back to my home in Elmsvale now,” she said, “it’s been a pleasure working with you Yoruhi, and I hope I get to see you blossom into an even stronger mage than I am one day.”

“Thank you master,” Yoruhi said, “for everything you’ve taught me. If I do surpass you one day, I hope you know that I couldn’t have done it without your help.”

She gave him one last endearing pat on the head, before heading off on the road.

Yoruhi would spend the next few years training alone, working through the basic concepts Arien had taught him. Though he never fully cracked Detonation Magic, he found himself growing closer to the idea of Weaving, almost instinctively shaping magicules with greater precision.

Ryuji’s name quickly became known across town for his stand in the Nightmare Realm, a story that kept growing as people filled in the details themselves. Under Hayate’s guidance, he learned to weave the earth beneath him and picked up Imbuement Magic, channeling wind into his sword for sharper, swifter strikes.

Tatsuko returned to Vivian’s training, now finally being able to wield magic. With proper guidance, she learned to use Enhancement Magic without straining her body, which let her strength and speed climb to new heights. She eventually began practicing Imbuement Magic too, combining it with her Light Magic to hide weapons and obscure her movements more effectively.

Altair on the other hand, would see the least improvement among the four friends. Under the guidance of her father, the only thing she really got better at was stitching up bigger and more complex wounds. Because her father never let her train too hard, her physical prowess was stunted, and she couldn’t do the many things that even Yoruhi was becoming capable of as his stamina and endurance improved.

She was caught between the boundaries of becoming an adventurer and doctor, and because those two sides overlapped so much, her father was unable to see what she really wanted to be when she grew up. Everything she did for the sake of being a proper healer, looked like it was for the sake of becoming a proper doctor, and so Dr. Weiss began to believe that his daughter was finally letting go of her desire to become an adventurer, especially since she had not entered the Nightmare Realm with the rest of her adventurer friends.

She wanted to be an adventurer at heart however, but couldn’t find it in herself to tell her father. Because her father had yet to find the cure for the parasitic flower on her head, she began to understand her mother’s intentions a lot more; the cure could not be found dawdling around in one city. It required an effort to expand your boundaries and explore the world, which her father was too stubborn to see.

While her father believed that if the cure wasn’t found by the time Altair graduated to post-secondary schooling, that she would not become an adventurer; Altair had instead resolved herself to pursue the path of an adventurer if that was the case, since it implied that the cure can only be found out in the world and not in Hanamichi. And even if she had been cured by then, she would still follow the path of her friends, for she would then no longer have any constraints holding her back.

The years passed, and by the time the children turned twelve, their goals had solidified. Their dreams of adventuring were no longer vague ideas but unchanging promises to themselves and each other.

The four children sat above the top floor of the library gazing down at the city below. Having become better at resolving conflicts with each other, they were now more focused on the future ahead of them.

“So…” Tatsuko asked as she looked down the window, “what’s the next step on our journey?”

“Well, we have four years left before we pick an academy to go to to get our adventuring license,” Yoruhi said. “I suppose we should make the most of what we have left in this city. After all, once we graduate we’ll be busy exploring the whole wide world.”

“Haha, but that’s after we graduate,” said Altair, “We still need to pick an academy to go to.”

“What about Spellbound Academy?” Ryuji suggested.

“Spellbound?” Tatsuko asked. “You wish. Only the top adventurers can get into that school.”

“Hey, I think we’re pretty talented ourselves,” Ryuji shrugged.

“I agree, but we still have yet to receive a letter of invitation from them,” Yoruhi said. “And they start sending those out pretty early. Without an invitation from them, the academy becomes a lot harder to apply for.”

“I guess we’re just not cool enough for them yet,” Altair laughed.

“Hah, well I guess we just have to show them then huh?” Tatsuko said.

“We’ll need to do something really big and cool,” Ryuji agreed.

“Cooler than the Nightmare Realm?”

“Way cooler.”

“Then I suppose that’s our next goal,” Yoruhi said standing up.

“Let’s go show the world what we got.”