CHAPTER 20 (Epilogue): The Wonderful of Something Started

He waited just out of sight as the physical manifestation of his heart walked onto the stage to stand at the podium and face the impressive gathering of people. The wobble in her knees and tremor in her voice that he noticed not two seconds prior were completely gone and he smiled with pride. The auditorium at LME was packed that evening to the point that some people had to stand along the back wall.

Beside him, he heard Maria's light, happy sigh. She'd been excitedly chattering away with her daughter mere minutes earlier, before shooing her away to go enjoy the lecture. His own family was out there somewhere, though he couldn't see them from where he stood and he could only just make out the outline of Yukihito's glasses from where he sat three seats down from Kanae in the front row. He looked down at Maria to see her also wearing a rapturous smile while she watched the young woman be formally introduced to the audience.

"Who would've guessed that this would ever be happening?"

His answering chuckle was soft. "I certainly didn't. For one thing, I never would've guessed you'd let the key to your family's biggest secret be revealed."

"You two found it on your own, there wasn't much I could do to stop you. I figured, at the very least I could offer my blessing and support while you worked tirelessly to compile the data and release your findings." Maria shrugged, twisting her lips into a wry grin as she looked to one side. "Besides, we both know it's technically not the biggest secret. I still have one that I'm keeping to myself. Well, the two of you and Ms. Kotonami being the exceptions."

His lips stretched wider and he looked back out to where Kyoko stood. "I think it's safe with us."

They fell silent when the applause died down and Kyoko's voice projected across the filled auditorium.

"Two years ago, I made a mistake," she began, then stopped and laughed. "Actually I made several mistakes. But the first one was casting this spell."

An enlarged page, nearly four times her size, with Lory Takarada's True Love Seeking Spell transcribed on it floated a couple meters above her head. She pointed up to it and waited for the shocked whispers and gasps to work their way through the crowd. Kyoko emphatically nodded along with them, folding her arms across her chest.

"I know, right? First thing they teach you in magical studies is to explicitly avoid doing this," her shoulders lifted in an exaggerated shrug and she sighed loudly. "In my very shoddy defense, I wasn't thinking clearly and my most recent relationship at that time had just come to a very messy end." She leaned towards the audience as if she were secretly confiding in them. "Trust me, you don't want to know the details. Honestly, I feel the most sorry for the poor buffet table."

That earned her a wave of rumbling laughter from the audience. This seemed to spur her on and she grinned while pacing the length of the stage.

"I don't know if I should be jealous that she's a more charismatic presenter than I am or not," Maria remarked just loudly enough to be heard over the din of voices.

"Well, if anything, that's thanks to you," he countered. "If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have faced the things she hid away from and became a better version of herself."

He noticed her surveying him from head to toe. "The same applies to you, doesn't it?"

"I think that goes without saying."

Maria only nodded and they returned their focus to the young woman on the stage.

"My next mistake was failing to translate a very important rune," Kyoko pointed at the spell above her again. "I thought it said love avoidance. Again, I wasn't in my right mind. It's not an excuse, I realize this. It's just what it is."

The audience remained silent, waiting to discover where all this exposition would lead.

"Anyway, this led me to finding my supposed true love, who just so happens to be this guy," she gestured to where he waited just offstage.

A sudden attack of nerves pulsed through him and his feet decided they'd rather stay put than move. He'd done things far scarier than this. It seemed contradictory that now was the time his fight or flight response would be triggered.

"I guess that's my cue," he said it more as an encouragement to step forward than anything else.

"I'd say 'knock 'em dead' but I know you can manage that with your looks alone," Maria joked, nudging him with her elbow. "You both worked hard to get here and this is a big deal. In more ways than one. Take some time to enjoy the spotlight while you can."

He felt her push him again and his feet finally started moving. The immediate reaction was a combination of whistles and excited chatter as he approached where Kyoko stood. She took it all in stride and waved a dismissive hand towards the crowd.

"I know, I know!" she shouted in agreement, pointing between herself and him. "I didn't believe it either. I refused to! Seriously, who would ever believe that their true love was this good looking, much less the head of a prominent coven. Much less the son of Kuu and Julie Hizuri. I mean, come on, never in my life would I presume I'd be that lucky."

He laughed and came to a stop right beside her, meeting her smile with his own before turning to face the audience.

"But she was," he stated simply. "Then again, so was I."

"We were both lucky." Her grin was wide and effusive. "And today we get to tell you all about how we solved a puzzle that baffled the magic community for decades while falling in love along the way."

The end

(and the beginning)

(If you immediately came to this chapter and are wholly confused, YOU WENT TOO FAR! Go back one chapter and read what you missed. This was another dual chapter release.)

THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK!

Seriously, I was having the worst time trying to write the previous chapter and it took me two weeks to realize it was because my brain was obsessed with writing the end first. So I let it do what it wanted and, bam, chapter 19 happened in no time flat.

Thank you to everyone who came on this one-and-a-half year journey with me. It was amazing and I loved every excruciating second of it (yes, even the hard parts). Now I can hear some of you wondering if I'd ever consider writing a continuation. I won't lie that the thought has crossed my mind, but I feel like I'm content to leave the story as it is. For now, at least.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the encouraging reviews and the messages of support on Discord. I love you all and I am so happy to finally have more time to work on finishing up Anomalous because I realized way too late that writing both at the same time was a lot more than I could handle. You are gems and I am lucky to have you as my readers.

Hugs and kisses,

Aikori