In Secret (Sequel to Behind the Scenes)

Epilogue

"D'ya really mean 't? We gonna tell 'im?" Steven grabbed his best friend by the shoulders, staring into the other boy's eyes. The black haired boy stared back, nodding firmly. "They're sending us all away, trying to 'make things easier on us' or find us homes or whatever. They'll send us away too if we don't tell him. We need him, Steven. He can keep training us." The blonde boy stood still a moment longer before letting out a whoop and leaping into the air, turning to run towards the Fairy Tail guildhall.

It had been crazy busy the last few weeks, everyone getting ready for some event, as well as the guildmaster arranging places for the orphans to go to. At first they'd just sort of assumed that everyone would stay with the Fairies, as they were used to taking in people without families. But for some of the littles it had been too much. Saki would shriek whenever she saw Natsu start fighting with Gray, the flames scaring her so much that she would literally run and hide. This of course would make Kasai close up, hiding himself away to sob, still holding himself to blame for the deaths of their friends.

Kel and Kyle would never be able to use their magic separately. Although her spirits were still high, the little girl was blind, her eyes too damaged by the flames for even Wendy's healing. She'd never be able to see which card she was using, or what her target would be. Kyle's hands were too damaged for him to be able to handle the cards. He could manage basic tasks, but the intricate magic and movements needed for shuffling and pulling his cards would never be something he had the ability to do. However, before he'd mysteriously disappeared, Rat had taken the twins aside. None of the adults knew what was going on, the telepath hadn't uttered a word, so even the Dragon Slayers couldn't hear him. The twins had solemnly nodded and Rat waved to a few of the other orphans to come stand behind them. He placed a hand on each of their heads, and closed his eyes, and a moment later both twins shrieked and passed out. Wendy ran over, but by the time she got there, they were sitting up again.

Kel had reacted to Wendy as if she could see her, but her depth perception was a little off when she reached her hand out to the healer girl. In the chaos of everyone realizing that the telepathic boy with crazy magical ability had linked their minds so Kyle could share his eyesight with his sister, Rat vanished. Natsu and Gajeel both went after him, following his scent trail, and were gone for hours. When they finally walked back into the guild, they were laughing about something, but couldn't remember what it was to tell anyone. Couldn't remember they'd been searching for someone. Didn't know where they'd been. No one else in the Fairy Tail guild seemed to be able to remember who the two Dragon Slayers had gone searching for except the Master, who was sitting with a grin on his face, staying strangely quiet today for some reason.

Fitz moved into the home of the little old woman he had found so much support in. Within a day of funeral proceedings being finished, he'd shown up at her house. Somehow she knew already what had happened and merely opened her door wider, inviting him into her home. Gajeel nodded to her from a block away, unseen by the boy who no longer trusted him, but watching out for him anyway. The Dragon Slayer had shown up in the middle of the night, leaving a note and some jewel to provide for the young man, and then made sure Fitz made it here.

Kasai was training with Natsu on a regular basis, learning to control his magic a little better, but that would only get him so far. Unlike the Dragon Slayer, the young boy couldn't just inhale and consume fire if it got out of control, he could only generate it. After a few weeks he couldn't handle the guilt he felt every time he saw his family of orphans, assuming that they all blamed him, and begged Makarov to find him another teacher, somewhere far away. The Master had of course complied, tracking down and making arrangements with Totomaru, knowing the man would be more than capable of helping Kasai learn control.

Ryos easily matched pace with his teammate, but his energy level was significantly subdued. Yes, he was excited to tell their mentor that they shared the same magic. Yes, he was eager to learn anything the man still had to teach them. But he was still anxious that Gajeel wouldn't believe them. Or anxious that he wouldn't train them. Or... he was just anxious. He couldn't even put it all into words. Maybe it was just the energy that had been around the hall lately, maybe he'd caught the anxiety that everyone else was exuding. They reached the doors to the guildhall and Steven raced to them, Ryos watching him curiously. Somehow his friend hadn't noticed the strange silence.

The blonde threw the doors open and dashed inside, sliding to a halt. It was a ghost town inside. There was only one man that they could see or hear, and the scents of everyone else were faint. "W-what the hell? Max, where is everyone?" The Sand Mage jumped a little in surprise, not expecting anyone to be around at the moment. "Oh, hey boys! They all went down to the docks to see off the S-Class candidates! They left today for the trials, but they should be back in about a week. Everyone else should be here for lunch in an hour or so. Can I get you boys anything while we wait?"

The two young Dragon Slayers glanced at each other and ran back out the door. Without uttering a word, Ryos threw his hand out to his friend, Steven grabbing onto him without hesitation. Between one step and the next, they melted into the ground, a shadow furiously racing through the grass. The burst out of a wall in an alley near the docks within just a few minutes, Ryos leaning against it a moment to catch his breath as his blonde friend raced out towards the water. By the time he caught up to his partner, Steven was sat at the end of a pier, his feet dangling into the water. "Ya prolly can't take us t'them, eh?"

His shoulders drooped, and Ryos kicked a rock into the water. "I don't know, honestly, and I don't want to risk being underwater if I lose control. They'll be back in a week, and we'll be right here. I'll tell him before he can even leave the boat, I promise." He stood in silence a few minutes, waiting to see if his promise was enough. Steven suddenly leapt up, tackling his friend into the water below them. When they both came up sputtering, the blonde was laughing, splashing water around. "We're gonna have a family 'gain!"

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And we're out! This is the end of this particular fic, my wonderful dear readers. I've got a few things in the works with this pair, and in the future their children. It will, however be set in the world of my best friend and partner-in-crime's fics, and most likely not published here. Find me on fanfiction.net or Tumblr, username gajeelswoman. Thank you for sticking it out with me through the ridiculous waiting periods as I struggled through writer's block. Much loves!