A Deathly Secret

Summary: Instead of being gone for seven years, the Tenrou S-Class trial mages were gone for eight. Oh, and Natsu wasn't with them due to a life threatening injury he acquired during a mission. Because of this, after the core members of Fairy Tail were proclaimed dead, Natsu was made the Master of Fairy Tail instead of Macao. But, when the Tenrou group returns, they bear a deathly secret, and say they could have come back after seven years, but decided to train and proclaim two S-Class mages during the eighth. The only thing is, they have ALL changed during the years spent away. *Canon Couples*

AN: If you want more information about what the S-Class exams are, go to wiki/S-Class_Mage_Promotion_Trial

Chapter 1: Waiting

Natsu POV

I sat in the infirmary bed, and watched the lacrima my team had set up for me before they left for the S-Class exams. They were carrying the connected lacrima in their carriage, and I got sick from even glancing out the window. The only reason I'm not with them is because an enemy that we faced on our latest mission, that was a water mage like Juvia, trapped me in a sphere of water and I started inhaling it… a lot.

Wendy said I got water in my lungs, and that it is definitely not a good thing since I am a Fire Dragon Slayer. My thoughts were interrupted though, by the lacrima cracking and soon exploding. The last thing I saw through it was my teams horrified faces and right before the minor explosion (which I then ate), I heard Lucy gasp. Then, I sighed. Before they left, Wendy told me that I had to stay in this bed for about a year before the fluid was finally out of my lungs, and, thankfully, the trials will be done quickly, so when Wendy gets back, she can speed my healing up, and keep me company, along with Happy, who went with them.

Even though I couldn't participate in the trials, Happy went to help the old man watch over the battles while still being inconspicuous. I can't wait until they get back, it's soo boring without them here. But I know that they'll be back soon.

*Timeskip 2 years*

They're still not back! The trials are only supposed to last a short amount of time, at most a month, but now it's been 2 years! 2 whole years, for half of which I had to sit in that stupid infirmary bed, getting the water out of my lungs. Macao and the others that stayed here kept telling me not to worry, especially since I was promoted to an S-Class mage (they said "I deserved it") and was made Master soon after I was released from the infirmary.

They said that it was just the S-Class exams, and it was just taking a little longer than normal, but this was always accompanied by awkward chuckles. But now, those who went to Tenrou Island, were starting to worry everyone that they left in Magnolia, and even further, because there were people, usually mages, that were not in Magnolia that are still worried about the Tenrou mages, like Meredy and Lyon, for Juvia. With Happy gone, our house feels really empty, so I stay in Luce's apartment, but even it is starting to lose her smell.

I go on S-Class missions, and am cautious about what I destroy, so that I get almost all, or all of the reward money, so that I can pay her rent. The land lady (a scary woman) had lowered it, because of Fairy Tail's need and the news of the missing members (it seems she actually liked Lucy, even if she turned in her rent late a few hundred times).

Fairy Tail is in desperate need of help though, because the Council keeps on fining us for damages we haven't even made in the last two years, and so we have had to ask for money from Twilight Ogre, a new guild in Magnolia. It's lonely without everyone here, especially Mira, because she brightened up the whole room.

But, Romeo and the others are still here, so it doesn't feel as empty. Romeo joined the guild this year, as he turned eleven in the beginning of the year, but he's been growing more and more distant as more time passes by. But, to pay these fines, I have to go on even more S-Class missions, and so Macao is in charge of the guild most of the time.

*Timeskip 6 months*

"Everyone! I'm back from my mission!" I yelled as I kicked down the doors of our guild. Only to see some guys from Twilight Ogre tormenting the rest of the remaining Fairies, trying to get money of them. I walked up behind one of them, my face darkening, and grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and grabbed him by his neck, demanding,

"What do you think you're doing?" He shrieked, and started to shake, while just staring at me. The rest of the brutes stopped tormenting the others, and turned towards where I stood, grinning darkly at them, and I asked again,

"What do you think you're doing?", my voice getting slower and darker with each word I spoke. Finally, one of the thugs stuttered out an answer saying,

"Our master said that you Fairies owed us money, and he wanted us to collect your monthly dues." getting more and more confident with each word that he spoke. I turned to fully face him, asking the mage that had answered,

"What monthly dues?" He laughed, spitting into my face I may add, and replied,

"The ones we collect so that you can pay back your debt, of course." The other men that were with him joined in on his laughter.

"What do you mean our debt?" I asked. "I paid that months ago after going on a supposed-to-be-10-year-mission-but-it-only-took-2-months-for-me." He stopped laughing and finally looked straight at me, taking on a shocked look.

"Wait a minute. You paid it back?" I nodded.

"B-but that means t-that you're…" He started to stutter. "Salamander" He whispered my name, and the only thing I did to answer him was give him a predatory grin. Then, it was over for them, as I stood up straight, took a deep breath, put my fists together and yelled,

"Fire Dragon's ROAR". I had become much more powerful so that I could protect my family after I was made S-Class and had taken the mantle of Master of Fairy Tail, that my roar knocked the Ogres out right away. I turned to where Macao and Wakaba were sitting on the ground and reached out my hand to them, and once they stood up, I started to rant, under my breath I may add, while dragging the Ogres back to their grotesque guild building.

I kicked down their doors, not caring about the splintering cracks that ran down their lengths after that, and let out such a murderous aura that every member that I came across cowered in fear of my wrath. I threw the thugs into their master's office, and soon followed them, baring my teeth at his face.

"How dare you send your members to take money from my members to pay back our already paid dues" I growled. He shook for a minute, and said,

"It won't happen again."

As I walked out of his office, I turned around one more time, and said,

"It had better not." He shook even more, but the doors of his office closed as I walked out, so I couldn't see the Twilight Ogre master anymore. I started to head back to the guild, but soon decided against it, and headed on a path through the woods, heading towards Happy's and my old home. I soon came open our small cottage and ducked through the old doorframe, pushing open the handcrafted door. I smiled as I looked around, gazing fondly at where so many memories were held, either by pictures in frames, or marked by cracks in the walls, or places where Lucy's cleaning spray had left an area permanently spotless (she vowed to never use those homemade cleaners again).

There were pictures of Lisanna and I when we were younger, and I saw the passing of time as I looked along the row. After the original picture of Lisanna and I, there was a picture of us and Happy, who was just newly-born and was cradled in Lisanna's arms. Then after those, it was Lucy, Happy and I smiling at the camera, my arm around her, and her making the hand sign that we had thought up. It was from right after she joined. After the picture of the original Team Natsu, it was all of the former Team Natsu, all of us, even Erza, were smiling at the camera, even if hers was a slight lifting of the mouth, that could be mistaken for a grimace.

It was taken right after our first 'mission' as a team, when we had stopped the Dark guild from killing the guild masters with Lullaby. I ran my finger along the mantle of our fireplace, and lifted it up to look at the dust that had been carried off it by my finger. I sighed, looking around even more, seeing the state of distress that I had left my old house in. Once the lost Fairies (as they were now called) were proclaimed dead, I couldn't believe it, and once I finally did believe it, I lost it.

I locked myself in the house, and threw a major dragon tantrum. The walls were still burnt from where I had spewed fire all around me. No one could have helped me while I was like that. There were still broken dressers from where I had used my Fire Dragon's Iron Fist. Lucy would not have been proud of me when that happened, but at the moment, I hadn't cared what she would have thought.

I know that the rest of the guild members that are still here were very worried about me when that happened, and are worried that it could happen again, if we lost anyone else. After I calmed down, I took mission after mission, and the only thing that finally stopped me from draining my magic dry was Porlyusica beating me over the head with her broom for working myself into magical exhaustion. But, that faze of me accepting they were gone stopped when Romeo reminded me that I had become the Master of the guild, which he had done by reminding me about what we owed Twilight Ogre.

So, I've accepted that their gone, for good, and so I grieve for them on the day that they left for the Exams. I bring Lucy's mom flowers on July 7th, as Lucy would, and I've been talking with her dad. He really feels bad for what he did when Lucy was younger, and wishes that he could have made it up to her before Tenrou Island sunk into the ocean.

There is peace between all the Light guilds, and there haven't been big Dark guilds popping up all over the place, unlike before the Exams. A new guild, called Sabertooth, has been created, but they're a light guild, so it's nothing to worry about. For once, everything is going perfectly for Fairy Tail, and finally, we have an amount of peace.

In a few months, Bisca and Alzack and going to get married, and I found out that there are two other dragons slayers, Sting and Rogue, who are in the new guild, Sabertooth. Yes, they killed Weisslogia and Skiadrum, their adoptive parents, but they were both very sick, and were going to die anyways, so they wanted their children to be 'true' dragon slayers.

But, it's fine because Sting and Rogue both grieve their dragons, and we get together every once in a while, just to talk about our guilds, and our dragons. Something funny is that I'm pretty sure that Sting idolizes me and Rogue idolized Gajeel, and used to be in Phantom Lord, going by the name Ryos. Funny, huh?