Thanks for the comments so far, guys. From this point the story changes a little bit, because the character changes too. I'm in the final stretch, there's still a lot to publish and rest assured that I'm going to finish this story, as I said, it got bigger than I expected.

I would like to know what you are thinking so far and if you would like Ryker to have some interaction with a character, or more interaction with a specific character. I can fit in the next few chapters something.

That said, what do you prefer? (just a poll, kkk):

Ryker X Cana;

Ryker X Erza;

Ryker X Mirajane;

.

Thank you all and enjoy the chapter...

Ryker tossed and sweated as he slept in his bed. Some memories of the past came back that night to haunt him, coming in nightmare form. He recalled one of the most traumatic moments he had spent in his world, in the past.

"Silvia! Not you! Run! Get out of here!", he screamed and thrashed in bed. The memory that came to her mind was nothing short of the death of one, if not her childhood best friend, in the midst of a terrible battle. They were 15 years old when, in the middle of a destroyed city, Silva was shot in the chest by a magic steel spear, coming from somewhere, followed by many others, completely piercing every part of her small body. In other words, she was impaled by countless metal spears.

Ryker had no chance to save her. When he reached her body, she was already dead. Her eyes were cold and lifeless, covered in blood that stained her beautiful hair and her innocent face.

"SILVIA!" Ryker yelled in despair, getting up from the bed, all sweaty and scared. He put a hand to his face and for a while he was getting his sanity and breath back. The mage got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face with a troubled expression, a little cold water would calm him down. Then he went to the kitchen and took a sip of sugar water, Mira said it was good to calm down.

It was still relatively early, just early in the morning, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep again that night. He remembered his friend who was identical to Wendy and an uncontrollable worry seized his heart.

"Wendy!" he was scared. Was she okay, was she safe? Had something happened to her? He needed to know, he couldn't relax if he didn't know she was okay. He needed to go see her.

Ryker changed into something casual and light, leaving his fangs and running to Fairy Hills. The city was deserted, apart from a few people walking, coming and going in the cool, dark night. Upon reaching his destination he knew he had to be careful. Erza didn't like boys around and they were banned in there, but he needed to know.

The mage wouldn't want to invade her abode, but it was necessary, in fact he thought he was crazy for doing so. Deep down he knew she was okay, and that her behavior was weird, but his heart wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't see her soon.

Ryker crept around the corners of the building, avoiding points of light, moving in the shadows. With his experience in Special Forces he knew very well how to enter a building undetected. As he had taken the little girl home several times, he knew where her bedroom window was located.

Stopping under Wendy's window, he began to climb, reaching his goal he slowly tested the window. Not surprisingly, it was unlocked. In silence he opened it and entered the room, moving as quietly as possible, going to the girl's bed. Standing beside her, his heart stilled. Wendy was sleeping with Carla beside her, she looked like an angel at peace. A relief and a huge weight were lifted from his shoulder at the image, he admired it with a calm and tender face.

Settling himself on a sofa in the little Dragon Slayer's room, he waited for the day to dawn. He wasn't coming home that night, he needed, for some reason, to ensure her safety.

As soon as the day cleared, rays of light streamed in through the window, illuminating the room with a warm light. Wendy lazily began to wake up and stretch out on the bed beside Carla, who did the same.

"Good morning, Carla", Wendy said sitting up in bed comfortably, still too lazy to get out of the comfort of the covers, rubbing her eyes trying to wake up.

"Good morning, Wendy," Carla said, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

The young Dragon Slayer put her feet on the cold floor and reached for her kitten slippers and got out of bed, dizzy from sleep. She didn't see straight, her eyes half closed, but it looked like someone was sitting on her couch, and it wasn't any of the girls in the dorm. She cried out in despair, waking the sleeping man with a start.

"W… what is it!?", he yelled scared.

"R...Ryker!?", Wendy said recognizing the guy, at the same time that Carla came to the side of her protégé, with an irritated face.

"What are you doing here?" Exceed inquired seriously and annoyed.

"W…what am I doing?" he repeated the confused question.

"Are you an idiot by any chance?" Carla confronted him.

"Carla, calm down. It's just Ryker," Wendy said reassuringly.

"Yes, but he can't be here." Carla snapped. "Besides, he still hasn't said what he's doing in our room," she looked at him seriously.

Ryker stopped, and the entire night before and the reason he was in Wendy's room came to the fore. His fear that she was hurt or in trouble made him invade the place recklessly. He saw that she was safe and that confirmation made him so relieved that he couldn't leave her alone. He wanted to stay and protect her forever, he wanted her to have that innocent face and look, he didn't want the real world to take that away from her.

He smiled, a genuine and tender one. "Sorry for breaking into your room, Wendy. I just wanted to know if you were okay." Carla looked at him suspiciously, but she did it to everyone anyway.

Wendy smiled happily. "I think everything is fine. In this case, good morning".

"Good morning," he said back.

Despite his cheerful face, something came to the little girl's mind, something he'd said just before. "Ryker, why did you say you wanted to see if I was safe?" she asked gently.

The wizard looked at her deeply, seeing her expression, showing slight concern. There was no longer any reason to lie. "Sorry, Wendy," he began awkwardly. "It's just that I had a nightmare. I remembered the death of…", it was still difficult for him to speak, "of Sofia. You two are so alike, I was afraid something might have happened. I had to make sure you were safe."

Wendy and Carla looked at him with eyes wide open. "I'm sorry," the little mage said. "But, I thought you didn't have this kind of thing anymore," she said innocently.

Ryker smiled slightly, moved closer and stroked her head. "Unfortunately I have. I suffer from war stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. I'll keep this forever." Wendy envelops him in a hug taking him by surprise.

The wizard smiled at the young woman and at a world where he could have that warm feeling in his chest. "Hey shorty!" she called to her and she looked up. "Want to spend a day with your 'brother'?" he asked smiling.

A beautiful gleam in the little Dragon Slayer's eyes lit up the entire room and she nodded, confirming to a happy soldier.

"Meet me at home. There's something there that I think you'll like," he said, heading to the window.

"What is it?", Wendy asked excitedly.

"That you'll have to find out," he said before jumping out of the room, leaving a hopeful girl and a suspicious cat.

Ryker was at his house, arranging to have everything ready for the arrival of his 'sister'. He wanted everything to be spotless, even though he wasn't the most messy person in the world, his house wasn't the cleanest either. In time he relaxed and began to turn more like a civilian than a military man.

He hears a knock at the door, and goes to answer it. "Welcome Wendy, Carla," he said as he opened the door, letting the two of them enter.

"It's a nice apartment, Ryker," Wendy said looking around. "But there doesn't seem to be much of anything," she noted. His house only had a three-seater sofa, a coffee table, and a full kitchen with a few dishes.

"All I need is this," he explained. "Want something?"

"We're fine thanks," Carla said rather haughtily.

"Not yet, but thanks," Wendy said with a smile.

"Well then, have a seat", he pointed to the sofa, the two of them sat down on the comfortable object.

"You said you were going to show me something," Wendy said with her eyes bright. "What is it?" she said excitedly.

The wizard looked at her amusedly. "So you only came for the surprise! Thank you for considering me as a person," he said with mock indignation and hurt.

"N…no, it's not like that. I… I just…" she said embarrassed and awkwardly thinking she hurt him, being stopped by Ryker's laugh and his mischievous face. She saw it, saw the joke and laughed back, feeling relieved. If there was any real fact in the world, it was that Wendy would be incapable of hurting anyone.

Ryker whistled and a small beige dog ran out of the back of the apartment towards the sound.

"A dog!" Carla yelled and jumped into Wendy's lap.

"What's it!? It's just a puppy. Or will it say that you are afraid of a puppy", he said to the cat with a malicious way of teasing.

"He's right, Carla. It's just a really cute puppy", Wendy soothed her as she looked on with a beautiful twinkle in her eyes and a cheerful, amused face, seeing the young animal.

"Dogs are dogs, keep him away from me," she said, glaring at the animal, who didn't care. He was running to and fro sniffing all over the land wagging his tail, all content. When he got close to Wendy he sniffed her and jumped on her, who had fun with the little animal.

"Can I?", the young woman asked with twinkle in her eyes to the owner of the animal, who smiled in confirmation. She picked up the dog in her lap and petted it, content with the animal, who licked her mercilessly.

"Like it?" Ryker said smiling at the two of them playing with each other.

"Yes, he is very cute", she said hugging him. "When did you get it?"

"As soon as I came back to live here, after my… stress. I thought taking care of something alive would do me good, and I've always wanted a dog. It was the obvious choice."

Carla looked at the animal suspiciously and at a distance, not wanting to mix with that animal.

"What's his name?"

"Wolf"

"Creative," Carla said sarcastically.

"Dog names don't need to get creative, pussy," he said making her look away superbly. Ryker decided to scratch the back of her neck, Carla turned to him angrily, who just smirked. However, for some reason, she didn't speak or do anything, just stood still while he continued.

Wendy had fun with her friend, her 'brother' and Wolf, who did not rest in the games.

"How about we go for a walk," Ryker suggested, and everyone agreed.

They were walking through the streets of Magnolia, on that beautiful sunny day. Wendy was carrying Wolf on a leash, which displeased Carla, because she was a cat, and to Ryker's slight, discreet smile.

They talked about many things and had fun together. Wendy played ball for Wolf to fetch and Ryker taught her how to command the dog, with voice commands. The young Dragon Slayer was having a fun day with her 'brother' and her newest four-legged friend. It was the first day like this she'd had with Ryker, to tell you the truth. Generally speaking they were always busy and the time she spent with him while he was in crisis was not the same thing. There was worry, sadness and pain. But now it was joy, happiness and fun. She was enjoying it a lot and he showed a softer side.

Everyone stopped at a square and the magician bought them ice cream, after eating some junk in a stall. They were enjoying their icy sweets, sitting on a bench, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Wolf, lying at Wendy's feet, rested peacefully.

Wendy looked at Ryker and stared at him for a while with a cute expression and a slight blush on her cheeks. "Ryker," she called. "You like Erza, don't you?" she said shyly.

He looked at her suddenly with wide eyes. "What's this story, Wendy!?"

The little one cringed awkwardly. "It's the way you look, it's different," she said.

Ryker stopped and thought for a moment and turned back to the girl beside him smiling. "Usually those gossips from the guild put me with Mira. Erza is new," he spoke lightly to the girl.

"But how you look at Erza is different. She's special to you, isn't she?" Wendy said with bright eyes.

"Well…" he sighed, "she's special too. I mean, Mira is my first and best friend, Erza is…different," he said with a contemplative smile.

"So you love her?" she said, taking Ryker by surprise.

"Wendy! That's not a matter for your age!"

The young Dragon Slayer blushed in embarrassment but had an amused smile on her face. "I, I wouldn't mind. I like Erza like a big sister and I would like her and you to be happy. And if you like her I think you should go out together", she said slyly and awkwardly landing.

"Wendy!" he caught her attention, and the girl smiled back. He sighed and resigned himself to the awkward situation. "I do not know. Maybe I like her more than as a friend. But I'm not sure it's mutual."

"You like it, and I think she likes you too," Wendy said hastily, before any bigger doubts popped into his head.

"Ah, so now you read others' feelings, too. Is it a new Dragon Slayers ability?" he said mockingly.

"No…", she said in a sly and cute way. "But I'm not silly. I saw how she looks at you and how you look at her. I know you like each other", she said with a beautiful smile.

"Just by looking?" Ryker said in disbelief.

"I've had a lot of experience with couples forming in the guild," Ryker can't deny that.

"But what if I'm interested in Mira, or some other girl?" she said, challenging her.

Wendy smiles. "I do not mind. I just want to see you happy", she says and clings to his arm resting her head on his shoulder comfortably. Ryker smiles at the proximity. That feeling brought him peace, lightness and joy. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, and she blushed. She was happy with him and wanted the best for him, always.

"Let's go back, we can watch some movie and eat popcorn," he said, making the little mage smile.

He let her pick the movies and series they watched the rest of the day and he swore it was almost a torture section. All those cute animal movies. How he wanted to slaughter every one of them, but when he saw Wendy's contented face he forgot everything, she was more important, and he was glad she was happy.

For years he had no one he could call family, real family. With Wendy he could, even though she was not of the same blood as him, well, neither was he of the same blood as his parents, as someone abandoned him at their doorstep and they kindly raised him as a real son. He saw her as his little sister, someone with unbreakable bonds. Romantic love may end, but sibling love is eternal and unconditional. His love for her and her love for him was the only certainty he would have for a lifetime.

As time passed, Wendy and Carla fell asleep. Ryker scooped them up in his arms and he carried them to his room, tucking them gently into his bed and covering them with blankets. He smiled at the sight of the two of them sleeping peacefully. Without making a sound he left the room and closed the door, for them to rest in peace, he settled on the sofa. Before falling asleep he thought about what Wendy had said and smiled.

"Erza. Erza. Erza Scarlet. Yeah, it's a beautiful name."

Thanks for your suport Sekiro Yasai. I hope you'll continue enjoying.